My 2018 New Year's Resolutions

Hello friends! It's a new year and I always get so excited, hyping up the new year and hoping it'll be better than the last. The past few years have been hard, but 2017 overall was good. I got pregnant after three years of trying and a miscarriage, and I was so blessed to have my beautiful twins, who I'm just obsessed with. Yes, I spent most the year pregnant and miserable, and the medical bills have been an adventure, but 2017 was the best year I've had in a while. So good job 2017!

Last year I made tons of goals/resolutions for the year (which I'll talk about a little later on in this post). My whole reasoning was that with tons of goals, I would at least accomplish some of them. I didn't care about getting everything done on my list... I think part of me knew I would get pregnant and most my life plans/goals would change.

This year, I'm doing the complete opposite. Because I only have one goal. So if I don't accomplish it then it'll be really sad. Now, even though it's technically one goal, it has a few parts to it, so let's go over my goal for 2018.

TO WRITE

That's it. Very simple, straightforward, not complicated at all. But honestly, it will (hopefully) be the most impactful goal of my entire life.

I have said on this blog so many times that I want to be a book author. But have you seen any books of mine yet? Nope. Because I don't write enough. I was ten when I first knew I wanted to write. TEN! I'm now twenty-seven. That's seventeen years of wasted time! Honestly, I'm sick of being upset with myself, so we're doing this!!

As I said there are a few parts to it, so let's go over that.

First is possibly the obvious one, to write my books and finish a book. I have way too many story ideas written down and I just need to finish one. And yes, I would love to get published as soon as possible, but that's not going to be my goal until I complete a book.

The second is working on Heroes & Villains as well as a few other short story ideas I'm workshopping (which is the beginning of a whole other blog I'm thinking of, but that's another story for another day). I love Heroes & Villains but I don't work on it enough because I just want my readers to be caught up to where I am. I'm skipping ahead to the end, but forgetting to work on the foundation first. I've already been working on this quite a bit and you can expect the next collection of stories to start arriving very soon.

Lastly is writing on this blog. Every year I say I'm going to write more but then I never do. But I'm really thinking this will be my year. Why? Because I'm a stay-at-home mom who now has so much more time to work on blogging! I also have a friend who's going to help out with taking photos and that maybe someday I can convince to be my assistant because she's ridiculously organized and amazing at life. She's also my BFFL so working with her is like the ultimate dream job.

So, yeah, my goal this year is to write and that's it. But I'm really happy about it. I've never loved a goal more in my life nor have I ever been more motivated to reach a goal (except maybe last year with my whole pregnancy goal).

Here's just a recap of all my goals from last year and a look at what I was able to accomplish:

MY 2018 GOALS & RESOLUTIONS
	HEALTH		SPIRITUAL		BLOGGING
Yes	-Eat healthier	Yes	-Pray daily	No	-Find my style
Yes	-Get to sleep/rise early	No	-Read the Book of Mormon	No	-Work on the Chris & Kaylee Show
No	-Workout 4x per week	No	-Visit the temple monthly	Yes	-Find my voice
No	-Run a 5k	Maybe	-Become more Christlike	Yes	-Be myself
No	-Lose fat, gain muscle	No	-Give service daily	No	-Become a #BossBabe
Yes	-Dance	No	-Have family home evening	No	-Blog at least 2x per week
	HOME LIFE		FINANCIAL	No	-Get 2 blog sponsors
No	-Cook more	No	-Pay all bills on time	Yes	-Learn how to make money blogging
Yes	-Move into an apartment	No	-Save up money for a trip	Ish	-Start vlogging
No	-Clean home daily	No	-Become financially stable	No	-Take video editing course
No	-Craft more		FUN	No	-Be more active on social media
No	-Sew four projects	No	-Find 1 new city event a month	Yes	-Work on photography skills
No	-Grow a plant	No	-Explore everywhere		WRITING
	PERSONAL	No	-Visit museums	No	-Weekly writing prompts
Yes	-Think positively	No	-Sing more	Yes	-Find my voice
Yes	-Be a warrior	Yes	-Dance more	No	-Learn more
Yes	-Be a better wife	No	-Plan a trip	No	-Go to a writing conference
Yes	-Love more			No	-Take a writing course
Yes	-Work with passion			No	-Publish a short story on Amazon
Yes	-Find my voice			Yes	-Write 30 minutes a day
No	-Tell my story			No	-Read more
Yes	-Be myself
Yes	-Become pregnant/learn what my body needs to have a baby

So yeah... didn't do great. But as I mentioned, getting pregnant changed a lot of things. Especially when I found out it was twins. Small tangent here, I had every intention to keep working after having my baby until I learned it was twins. Because affording any sort of childcare for twins would be impossible. Though affording to live on one income is difficult as well, but we are picking our battles here.

Of course, just because I didn't reach those goals last year doesn't mean I'm completely giving up on them. Some of them are lifelong goals so I'll be continuing on with them in mind.

Last note, I always pick a theme song for the year and this year was just super difficult because there are so many that I thought of. So I made a whole playlist of them which you can listen to below. Basically, this year is about getting work done (which is ironic since I'm technically unemployed) and these are all songs that motivate me. But I did end up choosing one main one and you can read about it HERE.

Well, I think that's it for this post. Let me know your goals for the new year in the comment section below! Thanks, you're a hero! 

2018 Theme Song

Hello my lovely friends! I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season and are as excited for the New Year as I am.

Today I am supposed to talk about my theme song for 2018. As you may know, every year I pick out a theme song for the year. I've been doing this since I graduated high school and it's something that means a lot to me because music is such an important and special influence in my life.

Usually, I have thought about my song choice extensively for months and have the song picked out by November (because the past few years everytime November hits I'm ready for the New Year). This year was the hardest to pick out a song. In fact, I'm not even 100% behind my song choice. I blame the past few months of learning to be a mom and to be unemployed. My life is SO different than it's ever been and I think it's hard to adjust to that. My usual habits and tendencies are hard to go back to considering I'm suddenly a stay-at-home mom of two.

While I did end up choosing a specific song for 2018, I made an entire playlist of songs to help motivate me through the year. I'll go over it below and my reasoning behind them.

Overall, I wanted a song that would motivate me to do something outside my normal comfort zone. If you aren't a regular blog reader of mine, I have depression and social anxiety and can be an all over emotional wreck a lot of the time. I tend to stay in my private little box, too afraid to take risks and go after my dreams for fear of failing. This year I want to get outside that box and change my life.

A few weeks ago I finally was inspired by a song that came on over my Spotify. As I mentioned, I'm not completely obsessed with my theme song as I usually am, but that's why I have a whole playlist.

Anyways, my theme song for 2018 is "I Lived" by One Republic. 

There are so many lyrics in this song that just speak to me, so it's difficult to go over which ones I want for 2018 without quoting the whole song. But I think more than anything, I love the actual title of the song. I LIVED.

When I was seventeen years old I was suicidal and made a few attempts at ending my life. I had no idea as a teenager that my life would end up like this: married to my soulmate with a cute dog and the most adorable baby girls. I don't believe seventeen-year-olds make the smartest decision, but by far the greatest decision of my entire life was to not end it.

I survived my teenage years. I survived college and the struggles I went through there. I survived cutting myself, sexual assault, and a miscarriage and have ended up today in the best place I think my life has ever been in. I survived so much pain and I hope to continue to fight through every struggle that is thrown at me.

However, no matter how grateful I am for my life so far, I feel as if I've merely been surviving each day. I want to live each day. I want to wake up every morning with an excitement for each day and the possibilities it could bring. I want to end this year quoting the song: "I owned every second that this world could give."

I want to plan adventures for not just myself, but for my husband and my daughters. I want us to make memories to last a lifetime. But I think more than anything, I want to build an excitement for life in my daughters that I never had. I know they're young, they won't remember this year, but I want to get into the habit of giving my children opportunities and excitement.

2018 is about living life to the fullest and I'm excited for this year and creating the best year ever.

Now real fast I'm going to go over my playlist. I subtitled this as my "Power Playlist" because it's all songs that motivate me to get up and do something. These are great workout song, hype songs, and dancing song. This playlist is great for so many things and I am already so obsessed with listening to it all the time. I'm sure I'll continue to add new songs throughout the year because this is my "Power Playlist" and if I find a new song that empowers me, it belongs.

Quick note, the first part is all females because originally that's what I wanted: female empowerment. But honestly, no power playlist is complete without "Butterflies and Hurricanes" by Muse, so I broke the original rules, but I'm so happy with this playlist I wouldn't have it any other way.

Do you pick out a theme song for the year? Let me know yours in the comments below!! 

2017 Goals & Resolutions

Hello friends! It's 2017. A new year. A new opportunity. Anything could happen. Time for new goals.

Back in November (because I was completely ready for a new year back then) I wrote down over two pages in my notebook of the goals I had for the new year. A lot of them will not make sense to you, but they mean something to me personally.

And while the majority of you already have your list, if you need a bit more inspiration, here's my lengthy list of goals and resolutions for 2017 by category.

HEALTH

-Eat healthier
-Get to sleep/rise early
-Workout 4x per week
-Run a 5k
-Lose fat, gain muscle
-Dance

HOME LIFE

-Cook more
-Move into an apartment
-Clean home daily
-Craft more
-Sew four projects
-Grow a plant

BLOGGING

-Find my style
-Work on the Chris & Kaylee Show
-Find my voice
-Be myself
-Become a #BossBabe
-Blog at least 2x per week
-Get 2 blog sponsors
-Learn how to make money blogging
-Start vlogging
-Take video editing course
-Be more active on social media
-Work on photography skills

SPIRITUAL

-Pray daily
-Read the Book of Mormon
-Visit the temple monthly
-Become more Christlike
-Give service daily
-Have family home evening

WRITING

-Weekly writing prompts
-Find my voice (again)
-Learn more
-Go to a writing conference
-Take a writing course
-Publish a short story on Amazon
-Write 30 minutes a day
-Read more

FINANCIAL

-Pay all bills on time
-Save up money for a trip
-Become financially stable

FUN

-Find 1 new city event a month
-Explore everywhere
-Visit museums
-Sing more
-Dance more
-Plan a trip

PERSONAL

-Think positively
-Be a warrior
-Become pregnant/learn what my body needs to have a baby
-Be a better wife
-Love more
-Work with passion
-Find my voice (third time)
-Tell my story
-Be myself


Now I'm well aware that having this many goals makes it more difficult to acheive them all. So the main goal is to follow my theme song of the year, "The Weight of Living: Part II" by Bastille, which asks this question: "DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU'VE BECOME?" And if the answer is ever no, then it's time to stop what I'm doing and make a change.

These are all goals to help me become the person I want to be, the person I know I'm capable of becoming. I've gotten lost so many times along the way, but I know I'm capable of so much more. I know it's a lot, but if I can even just acheive half of them, then I'll be changing myself for the better.

If you're still reading this, I want you to know that I will have one monthly specific goal for myself as well as challenging my readers to do as well. For this month my goal, that I challenge you to do too, is to find 5 quotes that speak to you. Whether they are song lyrics, scripture verses, or spoken by a parent or friend, it doesn't matter. Anything that's important to you is elligable.

My first quote was included in my Theme Song post, the quote above is my second, but I still have three more to find. Pinterest is where I find mine, but go searching the internet for what speaks to you.

At the end of the month I will do a whole post on all 5 quotes that I picked out and in the comment section of that post we can discuss all our quotes and why they specifically speak to us. I want this blog to be more of a community, and that what these monthly goals are for.

Good luck with all your goals and resolutions this year! Hopefully you don't have as many as me...

______________________________________________________

What are some of your goals? Let me know in the comments below!  

Happy Tuesday 1/12/2016

Not being sick anymore

Getting started on my New Years Resolutions

Workout soreness

Having fantastic numbers at work

My Q&A a Day 5 Year Journal

All my R2D2 stuff I got for Christmas

Sunny days (even though it's still freezing)

Having my own car temporarily

Feeling at peace

Chris and Zoram

Welcome to 2016!

Welcome to 2016 and the new and improved "The Dancing Cow" blog page! I'm sure you've already seen the makeover, but what you haven't seen are the many posts I have planned for this year. This year is going to be BIG. I have so much planned and I'm being much more organized about it, so let's take a look at what you'll see this year on my blog!

CHARITY OF THE MONTH

This is the big one. When I first started this blog I knew I wanted to use it to bring awareness and donations to different charities. Somewhere along the way I got too discouraged since I'm almost always broke. But even if I can't always afford to give a lot to the charities I enjoy, I can still share them with you and still make a difference.

Every month there will be a new charity. This year is basically all planned out, but suggestions are always welcome and may even beat out the ones I have planned. If you do suggest a charity to me it will be featured on my Charity of the Month page where everyone can see it for all eternity. To suggest a charity just email me at thedancingcowblogger@gmail.com with info about your charity and how to donate. You can also write a guest post about your charity on my blog, just send me an email and we'll see what we can do.

By myself I can't make much of a difference, but with your help we can bring awareness to the many charities out there and help people all over the world that are in need.

FASHION FRIDAY

I say all the time that Fashion Friday is a thing, but it really hasn't been. This year I'm making more of an effort, but please keep in mind it probably won't happen every Friday. Especially right now when the sun sets so early, it's very difficult for me to get good enough pictures since I work all day. Just be patient with me and I'll do my best.

WRITING

I say it all the time, I AM GOING TO BE A WRITER. I am going to publish a book someday. But in order to do that, I should probably get comfortable with letting people read my writing. This year you'll be seeing a lot more of my writing up on my blog. I'm working on poems and short stories and I'm going to be sharing them with you! To easily find all my writing posts you can click HERE.

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

I have a YouTube page. It's been around for almost a year but you probably don't know about it because I haven't done much with it. This year I am planning on posting a video to YouTube every other Wednesday. All those videos I will automatically post to my blog as well so you have fast access to them, but you should also subscribe to my channel to get instant notice when videos are uploaded.

In addition to my planned videos, I am working to do vlogs of my daily life with Chris. Those videos will be a bit more random about when I post them, but I should have at least one a month. These vlogs are just going to be about our fun life together with Zoram... Zoram is our puppy. I haven't once said on this blog yet that we got a puppy. But we have a puppy. His name is Zoram Gerrard Farnes and he is adorable.

GIVEAWAYS

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't have a couple giveaways? I probably will only have 4 this year, probably do it like a quarterly thing. Keep in mind that I am very poor so giveaways will only happen if I am financially stable and if this blog can get more sponsorship. Speaking of which...

 SHOUT OUTS AND SPONSORING

While this blog is about me and my life, it wouldn't exist without you, the readers. So I want to highlight you. Every month during my Monthly Favorite's post I will give shout outs to some of my favorite comments and followers from all types of social media. I honestly could not do this without you and you deserve to be recognized.

I do have a tab on my blog about Sponsoring. I offer a variety of ad sizes at different costs so you can have your own blog, YouTube page, or company advertised on this page. Now I'm not into blogging strictly for the money (which is apparent since I've been doing this four years and haven't made one cent) so 50% of any proceeds will go directly to the Charity of the Month. This way you can advertise your blog and help a charity at the same time. It's a win-win situation. Of the remainder, 30% will go back to you guys through giveaways. I may be poor, but I don't need money from blogging and I'd much rather use it on charities and you.

BEING HAPPY AND HAVING FUN

Last year was honestly one of the hardest years of my life. I have high hopes for this year, mostly because I'm going to make it great. I'm not going to wait around to do fun things or be happy, I'm going to be happy now. My theme song for the year is Tomorrow Never Comes by the Zac Brown Band and I am going to live my life doing things now, being happy now, because you never should put off what you could do today.



This year is going to be awesome! I already have a calendar with posts lined up and I'm so excited to share them all with you! Don't forget to follow my blog, and find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat so you can always keep up to date with new posts. I love you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2016 Theme Songs

Last year I posted about my 2015 Theme Song. Now I've always thought of a theme song for the year, but last year was the first time I posted it on my blog. But I truly loved it and I think you did too (that probably a lie) so I'm sharing it with you again.

This year I have two, but one is for me and the other is specifically for this blog. So here they are, my 2016 theme songs!

Let's start with the one specifically for this blog.

CHANGE BY CARRIE UNDERWOOD

I believe I mentioned that I am bringing back Charity of the Month in 2016. This has always been something I wanted but it's hard because being completely broke myself I don't feel like I'm doing anything.

Starting this year it's going to be a little different though. I will have one main charity featured a month that will be highlighted on the side of my blog. However, the last time I did Charity of the Month I actually got emails asking if their charity could be featured, so I'm going to have an ongoing list of charities that you suggest and care about. And if you do have a charity, you are more than welcome to contact me about writing a guest post on my blog all about your charity.

I know that my personal income can't make much of a difference, but if we all group together I truly believe we can make a change for the better. That is why Carrie Underwood's brilliant song is the theme song for The Dancing Cow this year as we make Charity of the Month stronger.


TOMORROW NEVER COMES BY ZAC BROWN BAND

About two months ago I had my miscarriage and when I went back to work it was... just the worst. That first week I came back I would often leave my desk to cry in the bathroom or simply just cry at my desk. I was a wreck. So one of those days I began to cry, thinking about the baby I had lost, and this song came on. I don't know how or why but I immediately stopped crying and really listened to it, taking in the words.

This is my personal theme song for this year. Things happen that can make or break us, but as long as we live each day to the fullest then we'll be able to make it through. This year is about getting things done. No more procrastinating, no more laziness, no more waiting for the right time, NOW is the right time.

I'm not going to put things off anymore. I can be happy now and I need to stop waiting for it to happen. I made a goal years ago that I would do things that make me happy, but I keep putting things off because it doesn't feel like the right time. "I'M GONNA LIVE MY LIFE LIKE TOMORROW NEVER COMES" I can be happy, I can be successful, I can be who I want to be right now and I need to stop putting it off.

Last year was so hard for me. Depression hit me hard all year long and then my miscarriage nearly killed me. But I have high hopes for this year. When we are at our lowest, there's no place left but up. This year is going to be amazing for both me and my blog and I hope you stick around to see it all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My 2016 New Years Resolutions

My 2015 Theme Song

In high school I always picked a "theme song" for the year. A song that helped inspire me throughout the year. For example, the year I graduated high school and moved away for college, my theme song was "I Have Confidence" from The Sound of Music, because I wanted to build more confidence in myself. And honestly, it worked. My confidence level between high school and college went significantly up.

I haven't picked a theme song for a couple years, but while at work I heard a song that literally blew my mind. It's the coolest song in the world and it is the perfect theme song for my year. Prepare your speakers to just blast this song in your face, because it's the greatest song to blast out loud. Love it!!

Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse

I've never really listened to Muse until recently, but they are pretty much amazing. Seriously though, why have I never listened to Muse before??? I'm so glad my husband recommended them, because they blow my mind.

Here is why this is my theme song. Besides being a very powerful song, it has wonderful lyrics that perfectly describe what I want to accomplish this year.

"Change everything you are and everything you were" 

This quote is not part of my yearly theme in it's entirety.  But as I shared yesterday, one of my New Years Resolutions is to "become the person I want to be". Which obviously involves change. I don't plan on changing everything I am and everything I was, but I want to change what I do, what I stand for, and what I work towards.

"Best, you've got to be the best, you've got to change the world, and use this chance to be heard. Your time is now."

I want to be the best person I can be. I want to serve others, I want to make a difference by sharing my experiences, my stories, and my life with others. I want to blog, to make videos, to share myself. I want to be heard. I want people to listen or read to what I have to say. I want to be the best that I have ever been. And I do believe that this is my year. 

"Don't let yourself down. Don't let yourself go. Your last chance has arrived."

Too many time have I sabotaged myself. I have always been my own worst enemy, telling myself I'm not good enough, that I can't do something, letting myself down continually until I'm broken. This is the year I stop sabotaging myself, I stop letting my depression control me. I'm so much better than that! I can do things, I can accomplish things if I would just give myself a chance! It may not be my last chance, but it another chance to do something and make myself the person I want to be.  

See? Isn't this song perfect? 

I am so excited for this year. I'm going to make a change in both myself and work towards changing the world. Things are going to be different. So be prepared because by the end of this year, I will not be the same. I will be unstoppable. 

2015 New Years Resolutions

It's that time of year again. And while I'm pretty sure I massively failed at last years resolutions. I'm excited for this years. Though I'm giving myself a break and only doing five instead of the usual ten. And without any further ado, here they are:

Let me expand a bit on these resolutions for you.

It has been my dream since the age of nine to have a book published and in the last few months I have taken that dream and worked on it even harder. I have a feeling 2015 will be my year to finish a book and begin getting it published. Whether it succeeds or fails, I don't really care, as long as my lifelong dream gets fulfilled.

I always dream of being a stay-at-home mom. Working as a fitness instructor in the mornings and coming home to blog and be with my children. I want to be a mother who cooks and cleans and makes the home a wonderful place for my children. While we don't know when we'll have children yet, I want to start preparing now. Learning to cook is my first step.

As mentioned in the last paragraph, I would love to be a fitness instructor. This is something I've actually thought of for many years, but never really pursued. I want to now though. And in order to teach fitness, I have to know how to exercise. I've been unhappy with my weight because I just keep gaining and it's time I do something about it. As I've stated many time before, my new life goal is to do the things that make me happy, gaining weight does not make me happy, therefore I have to get that out of my life.

Again, all I want in life is to do what makes me happy. I am not the person I want to be yet. There is so much that I feel is missing from my life. This year I turn 25 and that's a big deal to me. I may never have my life completely figured out, but I had always hoped that by my mid-twenties I would have a better idea of what my life would be like. I want to be a better person. I want to read my scriptures more, I want to blog more, I want to write, I want to give more, I want to share my thoughts with others more, I want to cook more, I want to be more clean, I want to craft more, I want to sew more, I want to stop sitting around watching TV all day, I want to be a hard worker, I want to save more money, I want to get my body in shape, I want to be with family more, I want to work towards starting a family, I want to make my home a sanctuary, I want to love my husband more... and the list goes on and on.

I have a strong feeling that this is my year, that I will accomplish something great this year if I just get off the couch, turn off the TV, and do something. This is my year, I will make this my year. There is so much that goes along with my last resolution, and I have such an incredible feeling that I'm going to make it, I'm going to succeed, and I'm going to become the person that I've been striving for my whole life.

April Review

Isn't that the cutest little chick? He's on there for two reasons: Easter and the fact that I went to Baby Animal Days. Good times.

So for the first time this year, my Monthly Review post will (hopefully) be more exciting. I'm actually going to write about what happened this month! Shocker for something called a "Monthly Review". Unlike my lengthy reviews last year, I'm keeping things short and sweet and labeling all events by the date they happened. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you like the new outline of my monthly review! And be sure to stick around till the end to see how well I did on my New Year Resolutions this month!

1st: I watched the finale of How I Met Your Mother and was truly disappointed. You can read all about that HERE. I also just had an incredibly emotional day and I can't even fully describe how awful the first day of April was. And that's no April Fools Day joke.

5th: Chris and I visited Baby Animal Days!!! You can read about it HERE. I GOT TO PET A COW!!!! It was such a fun event and I hope we can go back every year!!

7th: Happy Birthday to my friend Lauren!!! On this day I began really freaking out about our move to Texas. There was only four weeks left and so much left to do! I was feeling completely overwhelmed!!

10th: I donated plasma for my second time. You can read about my first, disastrous time, HERE. This time was a bit better. I tweeted through the whole experience. I still got lightheaded and they had to bring me juice and crackers, but I made it through okay.

12th: I donated plasma again and I didn't get lightheaded or dizzy or pass out or anything!! I did great! The guy who helped me earlier that week brought be juice and crackers before they even put the needle in me. And anytime he passed me he would make sure I was doing alright. It was nice. Because of my two plasma donations that week I was finally able to buy groceries! Yay! Now we have food in the house and we hope it lasts us until our move.

13th: There has been a duck living right by our front door just sitting on some eggs. On the 13th the eggs were hatched and we got to see three little ducklings! Even though ducks scare me, these little ducks are really cute. But I'm still paranoid about them living right outside my door. (PS, they were gone the next day and have never come back, only leave pieces of egg shells and tons of feathers.)

14th: I had an idea. An ingenious idea that has the potential to change my whole life.... but I'm not yet ready to share it yet. You'll have to wait a bit longer.

15th: I am not doing a Monthly Favorites post this month so I'm adding a few things on here. And on this day I wrote the most popular post of the month: 10 Weird Things About Me.

19th: We went to the aquarium and OH MY GOSH I'M IN LOVE!!! I have always been obsessed with aquariums and zoos and the new aquarium in Draper is absolutely amazing!!! There were so many incredible fish there and I had so much fun with my hubby, brother, brother-in-law, and mother-in-law. It was the best and, since there is no Monthly Favorites post this month, this was my most favorite event of the month! So much fun! And it got me super excited for our Texas move and going to SeaWorld!!

20th: Easter Sunday! I had a fabulous Easter with my family. I always feel so spoiled by the Easter Bunny and this year was no exception. I love my parents and all they do for me and now for Chris as well. Easter is about remembering the resurrection of our brother, Jesus Christ. I love Easter and what it truly means. And I apologize for not doing a blog post about my Easter. If you would like one leave a comment below and let me know. Also on this day, happy 19th birthday to my sweet cousin Cami! I love her so much!

23rd: I was given a free dinner on campus for cleaning up after the Howl! It's nice to go to the all-you-can-eat place for cleaning up after college students at 1:00am. The Howl is one of the many reasons I do not like my job... But (when this post is published) I am no longer working there. We're moving to Texas and I get to find something new. I'm excited!

24th: HALLELUJAH FOR TAX REFUNDS!!! That's all I have to say.

25th: I finally got to see Divergent and I was so insanely happy and I loved it so so much!!! I just want to go see it again and again!!

26th: Chris and I went to the temple with my cousin Cami (and other family members) as she went through for the first time to prepare for her mission! It had been a while since we went through the temple and it was good for us as we are preparing for our big move. Afterwards we went to my cousin Nate's house and had lunch and I got to hold his adorable baby Will. He's the cutest! Then Chris and I went home and fell asleep for hours. Seriously, Chris slept in until like 7:00. It was weird, but I felt incredibly caught up on sleep, so that was a plus.

28th: We got our storage unit so we could start moving the things not coming to Texas with us into storage. It's insane how soon we're moving!!

30th: Tomorrow is my last day of work! What??? Two years ago I thought I was done with my janitor job forever but then last year after three months of unemployment I had to take it back. This past year (school year) of working as a janitor was really hard. It's been four years of being a janitor and that's just not what I want to be doing with my life. I love my boss, I love my coworkers, and it really isn't a bad job. It's just not me, and I'm happy to be leaving and hopefully I don't have to go back again. It's weird to be leaving the same job twice, but I'm excited for new adventures in Texas!

Also, on May 2nd, we move to Texas! This is one of the craziest things I've done in my life but I'm so excited and Chris and I are just happy that we get to try out this new adventure together! As you can guess, I will not be writing on this blog until we're all settled, so it may be a while til my next post (besides scheduled posts about Book Club and Charity of the Month) so I'm sorry that I won't get to talk with you for a while. I love all my readers and wish us luck and safety on our journey to Texas! When I get back I'm sure I'll have lot to say about the longest car ride of my life!

__________________________________________________________

And now onto how I'm doing on my New Years Resolutions. You can read all about my New Years Resolutions HERE.

To gain 100 blog followers: Again, technically I do have over 200 when I add up all my social media sites, but I'm focusing on getting 100 on just one site. I haven't been doing much this month to get new followers but this summer gaining more followers is definitely a focus as well as giveaways for my new and old followers!

To run a 5k: I am no longer doing the Color Vibe, which makes me sad, but I have this big goal thing I'm working towards so maybe I'll be trained enough to run a 5k soon. I just have to find one. Maybe I'll do the one in the fall that they do at Thanksgiving Point. We'll see.

To get six pack abs: Definitely have not been working on this this month. I've been eating ridiculously this month but starting in May I have some big plans.

To improve my math skills: I honestly just want to kick this goal out of the mix. I don't really want to improve in math, no matter how bad I am at it! Ugh. We'll see I guess.

To make school more of a priority: This goal is complicated right now. There is a lot going on with my college career that you don't know about yet and it's changing lots of things. I have big decisions to make and so much to think about so this goal is on hold until further notice.

To eat healthier: Major fail this month. Peeps have been my favorite snack. I eat like four big meals a day. Bad, bad, bad! But as I said, May is my month to make a change and I have lots of goals for next month.

To save up more money: Can I just say how grateful I am for tax returns? Thank goodness that payment was able to help us get everything in order for the big move. We don't have a lot saved, but we're hoping this summer job will help us get lots of money to save up for school... and finally getting me a new laptop.

To not procrastinate: I have been slightly been procrastinating this month with packing. It's just so overwhelming to pack up our entire apartment for a second time. Also, this move this weekend is the third place we will be living since we've gotten married... and we're one week shy of a year. I know this has nothing to do with my goal, but it's ridiculous how many places we've lived in one year. But yeah, I've been fairly organized about a packing schedule, but I put it off till like last week.

To read more: I am super excited because Book Club starts back up next month!!! AKA, tomorrow!!! Be sure to check out the Book Club page on my blog to see what we'll be reading. Also, I'm happy for our long drive to Texas in a few days because I can finally read Insurgent which I bought months ago but haven't had the time to read yet. I'm happy that I'll get to read more now that school is out!

To pray and read my scriptures everyday: It makes me so sad every month to get to this goal and realize I'm not doing it. I know it sounds like procrastinating, but I truly believe this move to Texas is a chance to change my life for the better. I'm starting new things, I have new goals, I have new life plans, and so much is changing and I truly hope I can make a change for the better and work on this goal.

This Monthly Review post was much longer, but what did y'all think? If you have any suggestions for how I should do my review posts please leave a comment below. And please feel free to tell me all about your April! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

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!! 

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!! 

February Review

What? February's over? What is going on here??? I'm sorry but these last two months just flew by and weren't very good for me, so if this is any indication of how the rest of the year will go for me, I'm not looking forward to it.

Anyways, let's step into my brief review of February. Because nothing monumental happened, I'm just making a quick list of events. You can click on the links to read about them from any existing blog posts.

• I struggled in school. 
• I signed up for a 5k.
• I complained about not having a smartphone.
• I got a smartphone. 
• I got humiliated at school. 
• Suddenly it was Valentines Day.
• I learned I probably have Social Anxiety Disorder.
• I went to St. George.
• We celebrated my husband's 25th birthday. 
• We made a huge decision for this summer.
• I got sick again. 
• I had to give a presentation in school.
• I continued to struggle in school. 
• I announced we're moving to Texas. 
• I started my fashion posts on this blog. 
• And tonight I'm seeing Brian Reagan (and I'll write about it later).  

I don't understand why this year isn't going well for me. If you have any advice, please let me know! 

Now onto reviewing my New Years Resolutions to see how well I've been doing on them. You can read more about my resolutions for 2014 by CLICKING HERE. 

[To gain 100 blog followers] When I add up the followers from my five social media outlets (GFC, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram) I get over 150 followers!!! However, I wanted this goal to be more centered towards a single outlet. Facebook, for example. If I get 100 likes on Facebook this year I'll feel like I've fully accomplished this goal. I'm not saying I'm not happy with my current state, because I totally am, but I just want to branch out more. 

[To run a 5k] As I said earlier in this post, I signed up for a 5k! I am super excited for it! It's the Color Vibe in Cache Valley and I'm doing it with my family so it will be tons of fun. I would love to see my blog followers there as well, so don't forget to sign up and I'll see you there! (Read my full post HERE) I wrote this section before the whole Texas thing. Because we will be in Texas we won't be doing the Color Vibe in Cache Valley, but we'll try to find something in Texas or do something here when we get back. I'm upset I can no longer do the run, but I'm excited for Texas!

[To get six pack abs] Not yet, but I've been using the My Fitness Pal app to keep track of my calorie intake. The last time I used this (with an additional diet) I lost eight pounds! So with this app and training for my 5k, I'm sure my six pack will be here soon!

[To improve my math skills] I haven't worked on this one at all yet. To be honest, I'm scared to because I have such a horrible history with math, but it's something I have to do for my resolution, for my major, and for my future career. 

[To make school more of a priority] I don't know if I've done this. I spend a lot of time on campus and I've been doing my assignments, but I don't know if I'd consider it my main priority right now, so there is still work to do. 

[To eat healthier] Major failing here. However, with My Fitness Pal I know I'm not eating too many calories. I eat awful things like pizza and cookies all the time, but I don't go over my calorie intake goal. So that's a start, I guess... 

[To save up more money] Next month my husband and I are doing a "Money Free March", we are going to try to spend no money except for bills, fuel, and groceries. We eat out way too much and we both like to shop so next month we are going to stop and take a break and see how much money we can save up. I'm planning on writing blog posts about it and I'll tell you how it goes. 

[To not procrastinate] I don't think I'm doing very well at this one. I tend to wait to do my assignments until the last minute. (Because why write an essay when I could be working on my blog?) So I'm a procrastinator and being a horrible one at that by procrastinating at this particular New Years Resolution. Fail. 

[To read more] The only things I've been reading lately are my school books and Sparknotes for when I don't read my school books. This semester I really don't have the time to read for fun so this goal (along with my Book Club) will have to wait. 

[To pray and read my scriptures everyday] Once you get out of a habit, it can be so hard to get back into it. In high school I was so good at praying every night. I've never been good at reading my scriptures though. But I really want to work harder at this, I'm just trying to get back into it. 

Well there you have it. My February Review. To read my other monthly reviews CLICK HERE and don't forget to follow my blog on any of my social media outlets to keep up with new blog posts and upcoming giveaways! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Color Vibe

Alright people, if you look back on my New Years Resolutions you'll remember that one of my goals is to run a 5k. This is a big deal for me because I've never been a runner in the whole history of my life. I don't run. But this year I'm going to start.

Along with my family, I've signed up for the Cache Valley Color Vibe! Now I officially am working towards my goal! So every night after work I head next door to the gym on campus and run around the track. I'm a horrible runner and walk more than half the time but I've been doing a 3k to start with. But if I keep up with it I just know I'll get better and better and will eventually be able to run the whole way!

I want to invite all my blog readers to sign up for the Color Vibe too!  The Color Vibe takes place in many cities across the U.S. so you don't have to travel to Utah to participate. But if you are going to the Cache Valley one I would love to meet up with some of my readers while I'm there! I can also use this to check off number 91 from my Cache Valley Checklist!

So if you're a runner or not, maybe you should also set a goal to run in a 5k and become more active and fit! I'm so excited for this event and think it'll be lots of fun! I can't wait to see you there!

Leave a comment below if you'll be participating in the Color Vibe!

THANKS FOR READING!!! 

January Review

This year I'm switching up my Monthly Review posts. Instead of boring you with lengthy stories of everything I did that month, I am going to take a look at my New Years Resolutions and see how well I've been doing. What good are making resolutions if you don't keep working at them throughout the year? I will still tell a few stories from the month but I will mainly focus on the resolutions. So here we go!

First of all, I have absolutely no stories for you this month. This month consisted of me being in school and being deathly ill. And then my laptop broke so I didn't write on this blog for like a week. The only highlight was my first experience snowboarding which was exciting. But yeah, I don't have any stories for you this month. Sorry.

Alright, let's all keep in mind that it's only been one month and I was sick for half of that month, so if I failed on some of these I should be forgiven.

1. To gain 100 blog followers. 
I have not yet reached 100 but I have however increased my followers in the past month. Yay me! Don't forget that if you follow me on Facebook I will be doing an exclusive giveaway for my Facebook followers. I might not even talk about it on my blog so you have to follow me on Facebook to learn about it. That will be coming up after the Ultimate Valentine Card Exchange, which you should also participate in because you could win!

2. To run a 5k.
I have neither done this nor prepared for one. I haven't run at all this month. But hey, again, I was sick.

3. To get six-pack abs.
Also a failure. I haven't been to the gym this month and I ate a lot of donuts this month.

4. To improve my math skills. 
I also have not yet been working on this, but I need to soon. I have to start preparing for the math placement exam because I'm really hoping to get into Math 1050 this summer.

5. To make school more of a priority.
Win!!! I have been focusing really hard on school this semester and have been keeping up with all the homework and reading. My grades are really good right now and I plan to keep them that way. I've also been doing some new studying styles which I will be writing about in a Study Tips Part 2! Be prepared.

6. To eat healthier.
As I previously mentioned, I've eaten a significant amount of donuts this month. I don't know what it is about being sick that makes me crave donuts, but it did. Major fail on this one.

7. To save up more money. 
I suppose I could mark this as a win. We are definitely doing better financially than we have in the past, so that's a win. But there's always room for improvement here.

8. To not procrastinate.
On homework, this is a success. On cleaning my bedroom, this is a major fail. Our downstairs is clean though so I'm grateful for that. But I still have a significant amount of work to do on this one... later. (ha ha that was a joke I promise)

9. To read more.
Because of school I've had to read a lot lately. However, the main point of this goal was to read books other than school books, so it's a sort of success, sort of fail. But this semester it will be really difficult for me to find the time to read for fun, so I might have to procrastinate on this goal.

10. To pray and read my scriptures everyday.
I am sad to say I have not been doing this. However, my husband and I have been going to all our church meetings, participating in class, keeping up with tithing and fast offerings, and really been focusing on making church more of a priority. It's hard to get into the habit of praying and reading scriptures everyday when it's been a while since you've last done it, but we're working on it together. So while I have not met this goal, I have been making progress, and that's important too.

Have you been working on your New Years Resolutions? Tell me about it in the comments below! Don't forget to join in on the Valentine Card Exchange starting tomorrow! 

THANKS FOR READING!!