Life, As I Know It

Ready for some Christy updates? Lots to share, my friends; lots to share!

I seem to be basing most of these blogs around my resolutions, or as I prefer to call them, goals. I mentioned before that I don't like resolutions because they're so cliche and are rarely achieved (at least by me!). But goals seem attainable! So, goals they are! Moving right along, here is how I'm progressing with my goals...

Hanging out with friends more (at least once a month)--CHECK! Scott & I went over to April & Waring Harvey's house the Sunday before MLK Day. I love hanging out with them because we have so much in common, laugh a lot, and just feel comfortable together. We can sit with them somewhere for HOURS and just talk and we're not bored or awkward. This time we hung out at their house, went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, came back to the house for more hanging out, then went out to get frozen yogurt. I LOVE these hip new frozen yogurt places, where you select your yogurt flavor and proceed down a buffet line of toppings and mixin's. Your price is based on the final weight of your cup of yogurt. It's so tempting not to overload the cup with all the delicious toppings available because they all look so tasty. Last time I went to one of these places, I fell into that trap and ended up with a really weird combination of flavors. This time, I was wiser. I got the lower calorie option (Cranberry and Pomegranate Sorbet) and tried to only put toppings that I thought would compliment that flavor (and used them SPARINGLY). The result was DELICIOUS! :) So, friend time and trying to stick to my healthy living goals--check!

So, since I brought it up, healthy living goals...they are going really well, I think. I have been eating more fruits and vegetables both with my meals and as snacks. We cook healthier recipes for dinners, and on the occasions where we do eat out, I try to get the lower calorie options and eat less!! Part of my problem has always been gorging myself on delicious things when I go out. Those things are always bad for me. Now when I go somewhere that I know isn't going to necessarily be healthy (like a Mexican restaurant), I try to get a smaller portion meal than I usually would. And surprisingly I've found that I'm actually satisfied. I don't feel like I'm about to burst when I leave, but I don't feel hungry either. I've also been working out more often. I go to the gym a few times a week and sometimes I work out at home by dancing to music, jumping around, lifting weights, or do other at-home exercises like crunches and leg lifts. Last week I lost 1.8 pounds! Definitely in line with my goal of 10 pounds in 2 months and a great improvement from the previous week's .2 pound! I'm hoping to see an even greater loss this week. But even if it remains fairly constant, I don't need much more than a pound a week to meet my goal. :) I already feel better about myself, and I'm happy with the way I'm living. It's not just a means to lose weight, it's a lifestyle change that I'm excited about!

So far I'm managing school work really well. I've got the next few weeks of my life already planned out and I haven't fallen behind yet! I know this is only the second week of classes, but with all this textbook reading, it's easy to fall behind.

As discussed in my previous post, I am growing closer to God and spending more time with Him. I am thrilled to be getting that closeness with The Lord back, and I'm learning to recognize my sanctification process in all that I experience. I want to praise God for speaking to us in unmistakable ways. Ya know how sometimes you might think something or read something and wonder...was that God? I love that when you may be unsure, God will say it again in another way! A lot of the revelation I had this past week was discussed and explained (though with different analogies) in church yesterday! Brandon was essentially preaching the message I had been needing to hear. How amazing that God orchestrates things like that. And it's a reminder that if He can orchestrate messages, He can certainly orchestrate circumstances in my life. I'm just trying my best to give them to Him and not worry about them in the meantime.

On my non-school book reading, I am far above my goal of one book a month for this month! I'm already on my 3rd! (4th if you count the small giftbook of my grandpa's that I read in 20 minutes). I finished up The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner a week or so ago. It was a really quick read (hence, short life), but I enjoyed it. I loved the characters and knowing Bree's fate from Eclipse didn't ruin the suspense. In fact, I found myself feeling for her all the more. Stephanie Meyer has a great way of making readers care about her characters. I mean, how many mad crushes are there for Edward and/or Jacob? TONS! Because we fell in love with them along with Bella. I really admire that kind of talent. And now I am on to a new book called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. It's set in China in the 1800's and chronicles the life of a young girl named Lily and her laotong (an arranged permanent friendship that last a lifetime, much like an arranged marriage but with more love and compassion afterwards) Snow Flower. I'm fascinated by the cultural history in this book! I knew about many of these customs and traditions (and many I did not know of), but I had no idea what it was really like emotionally for these women! Everything from footbinding to women's duties to arranged marriages! Even their friendships weren't of their choosing! It's very enlightening, intriguing, and even entertaining. Lisa See is a brilliant storyteller, and I'm captivated by every line! I'm about halfway through the book. I bought a new book the other night called Lipstick in Afghanistan that I plan to read next. Now I'm interested in reading about other countries, and the very title of this book caught my eye. I believe it's about a recently graduated nursing student who goes on a mission to Afghanistan after 911. I'm looking forward to it.

I realize this post is going on FOREVER, but there's so much I've been doing lately! Saturday I worked at the Southern Conference on Children from 7-4:30. Much of the time I was just sitting at the front desk in case of questions, so I spent a lot of time online. I wrote my last blog and talked to some people on facebook. I actually spoke with Charlie Phelps, who was a Mormon missionary who came to see my family when I was a senior in high school. I actually was an active Mormon for a few months during that time... But it was a great conversation because we hadn't spoken in a while. We talked about my family, his life issues, and our relationships with God. It's always so refreshing and encouraging to have these types of conversations with others. He is no longer a missionary and wasn't in the mindset to convert me, so we didn't have those kinds of strains on the conversation. It was just an honest, open conversation about our walks with God. Definitely helped me get through the day.

And lastly, Scott and I had a date night after I got off work. We went to El Som (where I had a SMALL burrito), Booksamillion, and the movies to see No Strings Attached with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman. It was about what you would expect for that type of movie. Probably too much profanity, but that was to be expected for a movie about friends with benefits. But of course it turns into a very predictable, yet still rather charming, love story. I'm not going to say it was a particularly well-done movie, but it was entertaining. I would recommend watching it on DVD, but we wanted a fun date night so we went for it. Apparently I'm in a Natalie Portman fest or something. We watched Brothers, Black Swan, and this movie all in one month!!

Well, kids, I think that's it for me! Time for me to make some tasty dinner (honey-crusted chicken, corn, edamame, and rolls), and get ready for my hubby to come home from work. Life, as I know it, is pretty darn good right now! :) I hope you can say the same!

~Christy