It's ok to be proud of yourself every now and again

There are lots of times as a mother that you just can't help but be proud of your kid(s).

And there are less amount of times that I feel that same proudness of myself.


But this post is about one of those lesser times.


I will say it. I am proud of myself.


So, I entered a contest. An exercise contest.


And a few weeks ago I found out I was 1 of 9 semi-finalists out of 200 people

While, I did not win, I am still flattered that my essay was picked.


If you are interesed, you can read my essay here.


It talks about my journey of going from this:

Yes, it's ok for you to silently comment on the massiveness of my belly. Because well, it was...massive. I didn't really grasp how large I was at the time, but now I look back and man, I was big!

To this:

You should feel loved because I normally wouldn't post a picture like this. :)

There is still work to be done, but I just wanted to let you in on the accomplishments I have made so far. :)

Two Thousand Ten

I have to admit.

It seems a bit surreal.

Entering a new decade and all.

New year means new goals. Or old goals that I have not accomplished yet.

Here they are. My goals for 2010:

• exercise daily (except for weekends. I am not a weekend exerciser.) for at least 30 minutes
• meal plan weekly
• write in my journal at least once a week
• read scriptures everyday (personally and with Dan)
• Pray morning and night (personally and with Dan)
• Read Ensign each month
• Comment more on other people's blogs. (For some reason I am not very good at this. I really do love reading all of your blogs. I just am horrible at leaving a comment.)
• Try new hobbies (I had this goal last year and it totally worked. I now can add crafting and running to my hobbies. Let's see what this year brings.)
• Read at least two new books a month (I've upped the number of books this year.)
• Become a better at budgeting. (This is something I started last year and I actually have enjoyed. I have it on my list this year because it is something that can always be worked on.)
• Build up Food Storage.
• Visit Teach monthly
• Organize time better (This will be KEY if I want to accomplish any of these goals.)
• Be a better wife and mother
• Laugh more
• Love more
• Learn more

Now that I am completely overwhelmed and you think I am crazy...

It's time to get started.

Here's to a wonderful 2010 filled with accomplishing goals!

A Love/Hate Relationship

Can any of you guess what I could possibly have a love/hate relationship with?

I'll give you a hint.

It is what every sane woman has a love/hate relationship with. (At least I think so.)

You guessed it.

Exercise.

Why is it that I love the sense of accomplishment after I have exercised, but HATE actually doing the exercising?

Ok. Maybe hate is too strong of a word.

Dislike. No, dislike isn't strong enough.

Is there a word inbetween dislike and hate?

Anyway. You get the point.

Why am I telling you this, you ask?

Well, despite the fact that exercising is not my favorite thing to do, (Can I tell you how I wish I were one of those people that just loved to go out for a nice run everyday.)

I have made it a goal to exercise every. single. day.

And I am proud to report that I have done just that, since the beginning of December and I actually might be kind of, sort of learning to like it.

But only just a little bit.