March Review

Unlike January and February, March did not fly by. In fact, March was incredibly long and eventful. In a day everything would switch. My life was changing every second and each new day was a different event some stressful, some exciting, some life changing, some tiring, I could go on and on.

Yet despite March being long and eventful, I don't have exciting stories to tell you and I don't want to talk about the stressful events and such. So instead of going into details about what happened I'm just going straight into my New Years Resolutions.

You can read over all my blog posts from the month of March by CLICKING HERE. That will give you a general idea of what I've been up to this month.

New Years Resolution Update: 

[To gain 100 blog followers] I just got over 200 in my total! Yay me! But the main goal is to get 100 in a single social media outlet. So while I'm  getting incredibly close and I am really proud of the difference these past few months have made, I still have more work to do. So don't forget to help me out by sharing my blog with others!

[To run a 5k] I haven't been working on this. I went to the gym for a week and worked really hard, but not on my running. And with all these changes going on in my life it's difficult to do this.

[To get six-pack abs] Again, haven't been working too hard on this. Although I did lose five pounds this month so that's a start.

[To improve my math skills] I am haven't a really hard time wanting to do this one. There's a lot going on in my educational path and future right now so this goal is going on the back-burner for a little while.

[To make school more of a priority] Again, there are many changes going on with me and my education (and we're not getting into them right now) but this goal is also going on the back burner for a little while. I'll explain later but read my I Hate College post and the follow up post to get the general idea.

[To eat healthier] I don't know about healthier, but I haven't been eating as much. I've been using the amazing app My Fitness Pal to keep track of my calorie intake and this means I'm not eating massive amounts of food with billions of calories. So I'm doing really well I guess, but I really should eat more fruits and vegetables.

[To save up more money] Things are changing, we're moving to Texas, we're making big life decisions, but we were successful in Money Free March (for the most part) so we are taking steps to saving more money.

[To not procrastinate] It's hard to work on a goal to not procrastinate when you're an expert at procrastination. So no, I haven't been working on this one. But I have planned out all the things we have to do before our move to Texas, so maybe that's a start.

[To read more] I'm procrastinating this one due to school but I have a big list of books to read this summer and will start up my Book Club again in May! Yay!

[To pray and read my scriptures everyday] I've been praying a lot more this month and listening to General Conference talks as I get ready in the morning. I just need to work harder on praying and start getting into my scriptures again. But I'm definitely working on this one.

I do apologize for lack of content and excitement on this post, but honestly as I was looking back over the month I had nothing to say about it. Don't forget to check out my March Favorites post from yesterday! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Five On Friday: A Sign From God

This post is part of a link-up I do with The Good Life. If you don't already, you should join in on the fun! And if you found me through the link-up, welcome to my blog! Everyone reading, if you don't want to read through the whole thing, just skip down to #5 because it's my favorite and it's super important and I'd love you forever if you read it! THANK YOU!!! 

{one}
So I downloaded an awesome app on my new phone which made my notification ringtone sound like this little guy:

And I'm pretty much in love. I get super excited whenever someone sends me a text because then I get to hear the adorable R2D2, who is my most favorite character in the whole Star Wars franchise. Yep, my favorite character is a droid who doesn't actually talk, but he honestly has the most personality!

{two}
Next week is my Spring Break!

And you know what I'm doing with my Spring Break (Wa hoo!) ...homework and working. Yep, I'm staying in Logan and getting relaxation, caught up on homework, and going to work to get paid (because it's still Money Free March). To be honest, I didn't even realize it was Spring Break until Monday, and I don't really care. I've never gone anywhere for Spring Break (except to Washington and Idaho my first year, but it wasn't a vacation, see #5 below) and I honestly enjoy staying and making some money. Because it's just relaxing to be out of school for a week. And Logan is dead when all the college students leave so you can go anywhere with no lines!

{three}
(Sorry, no YouTube video for this one) I have gone to the gym three times this week. Yay me! But let's backtrack a little. On Monday I was having issues with my depression and was just really feeling down. One of my main issues was when I looked in the mirror, I just wasn't happy. While THIS POST was written as a joke, I've really been struggling lately seeing how much weight I've gained since my wedding. I'm just not happy with myself. So while I can't just get rid of my depression, I can get rid of the extra weight that's bothering me. And this week I've been eating right and going to the gym and it's honestly making me happier. Yay for working out!

{four}
I went through the third season of Dance Academy on Netflix this week!

I truly love this show! I don't know how they do it but they make you simply fall in love with all the characters and really care about their lives and their drama (which is so unrealistic sometimes but I still love it). My husband hates it so I watch it while he's working, but I love this show so very much and it just makes me miss ballet and want to dance!!! Which leads into #5...

{five}
(This one is my favorite so pay attention!) Last night at work I was listening to my iPod (which, that alone is a rare occurrence because I hate having my headphones compete with the vacuum, but I was by myself, not vacuuming, and super bored so I needed some music (this whole event was miraculous and like a sign from God and the fact that I was listening to my iPod, which I normal don't, is just an incredible event)) and a song comes on that I first heard four years ago, almost exactly to the date (Spring Break 2010), right after my Grandpa's funeral. And when I first heard that song I replayed it over and over again and I knew in that moment that I had to choreograph a dance to this song about my grandpa and his relationship with my grandma.

I don't find it a coincidence that almost exactly four years later I hear the song on my iPod, replay it a few times, listening again to the beautiful words and picturing the dance in my head, almost in tears as it tells the story of my grandma and grandpa.

Recently I've been talking a lot about how I don't know what I want to do with my life anymore. I've been dancing since I was four years old and have been talking my whole life about wanting to dance forever and to teach dance. But somewhere along the way I forgot about dance and how much joy it brings me.

The event last night felt like a sign from God that I need to get back into dance. Not just that, but I absolutely need to choreograph that dance tribute to my grandpa who almost exactly four years ago passed away. So I have a new unofficial goal to finish the choreography for this dance and somehow, somewhere teach it to a willing couple. I absolutely have to see that dance in real life. When I listen to the song, I can see the dance clearly in my head and it brings me to tears. I need to see it in person, I need to create it.

I don't think it's a sign to drop everything and strictly devote my life to dance, but it's something I need to get back into soon. I feel so humbled and so blessed to have received this sign and I am truly grateful for an answer to my stress and problems from my loving Father in Heaven. I am truly blessed.

And Grandpa Clark, I love you very much. I love that even though you're gone I keep learning more and more about you and I keep loving you more with each new story. I miss you. We're taking good care of Grandma for you, she's happy but she misses you very much. I love you Grandpa, you are truly amazing and you are greatly missed. I can't wait to see you again someday! 

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Money Free March

Welcome to March! March is a good month. In Utah the weather flips from Spring to Winter and back and forth again everyday so it's certainly an adventure. But this has been a surprisingly warm Winter so who knows what will happen. St. Patrick's Day is exciting too. One year my best friend and I hosted a St. Patrick's Day party and it was pretty great up until a friend pulled a knife on another kid... yeah, high school was a weird time for me.

Anyways, this month my husband and I decided to do something different to help us out financially. We are not going to spend any money during the month of March. 

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule. We have to pay rent and other bills, we are allowed to buy gas for the car and necessary groceries, but that's it! Nothing else!

There are three main reasons for this challenge:

1. I made a New Years Resolution this year to save up more money and basically to give us a financially safe bank account. 
2. Last year we really struggled to pay bills and ended up having to move to a cheaper apartment. I don't want us to ever be in that situation again. 
3. We eat out... a lot. And by making the decision to not spend any money that means less fried food and possibly I'd be able to lose weight. 

This challenge will honestly be a challenge for us. We are comfortable and set in our ways, but we both know things need to change. So, with the exception of our date night yesterday, we are going to hide away our debit cards, not spend any cash, and only make necessary food purchases. It'll be good for us and help us save up some extra money but also maybe get us in the habit of spending less. 

I challenge you to join us in Money Free March! I'll be tweeting updates about our challenge on my Twitter page so don't forget to follow me! If you end up doing the challenge with us don't forget to tweet about it as well using #moneyfreemarch so I can see how you're doing as well! 

THANKS FOR READING!!