Stocking Stuffers For The People In My Life

Ironically, the year I'm living in an apartment with a fireplace, I don't have stockings. I had plans to make some but don't have the money yet. But I don't mind too much since my girls aren't aware enough to notice or care. And they're still getting gifts so it doesn't matter.

Below I've made short lists of stocking gift ideas for all different types of people that I see commonly in my own life. Because they are stocking stuffers, I tried to stick with as cheap as possible. Also, can I get a shout out for writing most of this post on my phone because my laptop wasn't working? It's so hard to do this on a phone!

FOR WRITERS

Let's start with a category I'm most familiar with because I'm a part of it. I highly recommend 642 Tiny Things To Write About and Q&A a Day. I have both of these and while I don't use them as much as I should, they are both great for helping boost creativity. Notebooks and pens and pencils are always great items as well.

PET LOVERS

While you can always give them dog or cat toys directly, most things with an animal, or specifically their animal is appreciated. For example, I have a sheltie so dogs like Lassie appeal to me more. People also tend to give me cow or cow print items because they know I'll appreciate it. Keychains, notebooks, stuffed animals, and mugs are great go-to items.

STAY AT HOME MOMS

I'm now (mostly) a stay at home mom. It was a weird and hard transition for me, but totally worth it. For someone taking care of kids all day, great gift items include slippers or comfy sucks, books, music, baby toys to entertain the little ones, and... I'm often told wine, I personally don't drink so I don't know what wine drinkers enjoy, but if you know the recipient is a fan then go for it!

MUSIC LOVERS

Ah music. I'm obsessed. As a music lover, I'm always a fan of CDs, iTunes giftcards, and headphones.

MAKEUP ARTISTS

I always appreciate new makeup tools and products to play around with. There are literally too many options out there and most makeup items can fit within a small budget. Just visit Ulta or your local drugstore to get good prices on fun items.

BEARDED MEN

I love having a husband with a beard. Beards are sexy. Beards also take a lot of upkeep. Similar to makeup, there are a lot of options out there, you just have to go look.

NERDS & GEEKS

Being a nerd or geek is the best. I think everyone has something that they're a nerd about. For me, it's Arrow and Sherlock. For Chris, it's Star Wars. For my sister, it's Harry Potter. Though I'm positive all of us have a lot more nerdy-loves as well. One of my favorite Christmas gift ideas is to find that person's nerdy side and just go with it!

COOKS

Bakers and cooks are fairly easy, because buying simple cooking tools can be really cheap (you can get like anything from the Dollar Store). Because it's so easy, it's fun to make it cute. Like giving ingredients for a cookie recipe in a mason jar, or wrapping wooden spoons in pot holders. There are tons of cute ideas on Pinterest for this one. 

FITNESS JUNKIES

This one can get more expensive, but it doesn't always have to. Headphones, water bottles, sweat towels, and other small items to help out a gym goer are always appreciated. 

These are the most common people in my own life, but hopefully, this gives you an idea for other types of people as well. Buying stocking stuffers doesn't have to be expensive, in fact, I typically go to the Dollar Store for most things, it's all about being creative, finding a person's niche, and having fun with it. Overall, people will love you just for the effort you make to get them a gift. 

What category do you fall into or which one did I miss that relates most to you? Let me know down below!! Thanks, you're a hero! 

How To Become A Fitness Junkie With Kaylee Farnes

STEP 1: Join a gym. Preferably a real expensive one with all the amenities of a resort and a cost that will never be worth the few times you go.

(They don't all have to be expensive. My husband and I go to Vasa Fitness for a reasonable price.)

STEP 2: Weigh and measure yourself to get a starting point. Then cry over ice cream because you really let yourself go.

STEP 3: Create a workout playlist of all your favorite songs. Spend as much time as you can on it, probably during the hour that would be best spent at the gym.

(You can check out my Spotify playlist of workout songs by CLICKING HERE.)

STEP 4: Download all of the fitness and dieting apps and buy all the products so you're well prepared.

(Got to get those Fitbit steps in. Also, the above Gif is from "The IT Crowd" which is on Netflix, go check it out.)

STEP 5: Create a Pinterest board with hundreds of workouts and dieting tips that you'll forget about and never use.

(I'm compulsively on Pinterest every night before bed. You can look at my fitness board by CLICKING HERE.)

STEP 6: Start a new Instagram account for all your #GymSelfies.

(I'm guilty of this for sure and you can view them all on my second Instagram account @kayleeshealthylife)

STEP 7: Share all your weight loss and fitness goals on social media so everyone else can know how good you are.

STEP 8: After a good workout reward yourself with some chocolate. You earned it.

(Can I just be Taylor Swift in a crown? Please?)

STEP 9: Tweet about your workout. If it's not on social media, it didn't happen.

(Shameless Twitter plug, @cowgirl_kaylee)

STEP 10: Repeat the above steps over and over again until your magically fit.

____________________________________________________________

Yes, yes, I'm very funny. But in all honesty, this has been my understanding of health goals. Health and fitness goals are hard. So ridiculously hard. We make goals that seem possible in the beginning, but the work and time we have to put into it can be overwhelming.

Mondays on this blog are now all about health and fitness. This doesn't just include physical health. As someone who has depression and works to raise more awareness about the seriousness of mental health, my Monday health posts will include mental, emotional, and physical. We should always be growing our brains as well as our bodies, and learning to help our emotions work for us instead of against us.

All my life I have wanted to help people and I've decided that now is the time to do something about it. I am not perfect. I have many struggles, insecurities, and make mistakes daily. But I know I'm not alone. We are not alone and if we work together, we are capable of anything. We are a team, the Dancing Cow Team, and together we can help make ourselves and the world better.

Monday health posts are not all set in stone, they may not start immediately, but by the end of the year, they should be a consistent thing. As always, I'm grateful for my amazing blog readers because, without you, this idea would never have happened. I love you all, more than I can express.

This post contains affiliate links.

Stand Up To Cancer - Charity of the Month

Hey friends! It's a new month and we're attempting to get back on track for Charity of the Month. It's been a difficult year for me, I'm sure you understand, but I'm trying to make this blog more of a priority as we get into the final half of 2016. Although I am thinking each charity will be highlighted for two months instead of just one.

This month's charity is Stand Up To Cancer.  Cancer is just the worst. I'm pretty sure there isn't a person left on earth who hasn't seen someone go through cancer or have cancer themselves. I had my own cancer scare before my wedding, watched a friend go through chemotherapy for cancer, and had an aunt die from cancer. Cancer is the devil and I think if there's anything we can do to stop it, we should.

You can make your donations to Stand Up To Cancer by CLICKING HERE. The minimum donation about you can do is $35, however, if you download my new favorite app Charity Miles, you can walk, run, or bike and help donate to the charity as well!

If you want to join this blog's team on Charity Miles just search for DancingCowHerd and become a team member. If we're all running for Stand Up To Cancer this month we can really make a difference!

Any chance we have to help rid the world of cancer should be taken. It's a terrible disease that needs to be stopped.

Charity Miles Team!

Hey friends! So as you know I'm always looking for ways to give back. I've recently discovered an awesome app that allows you to help out a charity simply by walking. I've only used it once so far, so I'm not an expert but in this post I'll tell you all I know and how I've formed a team for us to work together.

So you can download Charity Miles on either your Apple or Android phone for free. When you open up the app it immediately opens up a list of organizations that you can choose to run or walk for. There are 37 to choose from and they are all wonderful!

As I mentioned before I have only used the app once and it was to go on a walk with Chris and Zoram. I let Chris choose and his pick was the American Diabetes Association, but you are able to pick a new charity every time you use the app. A lot of the charities are ones that I have previously or have planned to use for Charity of the Month. I'm thinking that if we can build up our team then we can just follow my pick for Charity of the Month and make a bigger dent in helping out an awesome organization. 

I'm getting ahead of myself, let's do a little more explaining.

The app uses the GPS in your phone to measure your distance. It can also use motion sensors if running indoors, but most likely it'll be less accurate. Personally I wish it could connect to my Fitbit and get my miles from there because I've been doing a lot of treadmill workouts. Maybe someday it'll happen. 

However, like with my Fitbit, there are always inconsistencies and room for error. So I wouldn't recommend using this solely to track distance for a workout. For me personally, I just let it do its thing and whether or not the numbers are completely accurate, I'm not going to worry about it. 

Walkers and runners can earn up to 25¢ and cyclists can earn 10¢ per mile. I realize this is not a lot, but as a team we can make a difference. (I promise I'll get to the team in a minute.)

The app is super easy to use. You just open it up, choose your charity, then start your walk. That's it. Insanely easy! When you're done you have the option to share your miles and progress on social media, if you want. This app is fantastic at not taking over any of your social media and posting things that you don't want to. 

I've also been able to connect this app to my Walgreens Balance Rewards account. Walgreens is amazing at helping out organizations in need and I'm able to get rewarded for my efforts using this app and taking care of my body through exercise. You can earn 20 points for every mile. Since I live in walking distance to Walgreens and it's my go-to drop in place, I love that I can get rewards in the store simply by walking, while also helping out charitable organizations. Seriously, how could it get any better than that? 

You can set reminders on the app as well so you don't forget to take your daily walk, run, or bike ride. 

If you have any further questions on this app you can check out their FAQ page HERE. 

Finally, let's get into teams. Because of my desire for Charity of the Month, I've decided to create a team for all of us to work together towards the same goal. Simply go to the menu bar, click teams then type in DancingCowHerd to find our team. I'm currently the only member (big shocker there) and the team page looks like this:

As I said, I've only used this app once while walking my dog, so our team mile total is very low, but I'm planning on doing a 5k soon and if I can find a good way to keep my phone on my person while I run on the treadmill at the gym every day (because I've been doing awesome at it), then my personal miles will go up. Also, hopefully, more people join our team and our team total will grow. 

Now I will continue to do Charity of the Month each month and if the charity I choose is one of the options on this app then I will be using it for the month. I would love if you joined me in choosing the Charity of the Month so we could make a bigger impact for the month, but you are always welcome to choose your own. I would never force you to ignore a charity you are truly passionate about. 

If you decide to download the app, please join our team and don't forget to track your miles. I would love to have you join my team and together we can make a difference. 

____________________________________________________________________

I am not affiliated with Charity Miles or Walgreen Balance Rewards programs in any way. I was not compensated and any views or opinions were my own.

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

My 2016 New Years Resolutions

My Christmas Wishlist

People (mainly just family) have been asking me what I want for Christmas and I haven't been able to figure it out. But I decided a few things that I want and honestly can't think of much else I would need. So here goes!

A Vlogging Camera

This is the main thing I want. Some of you may have already discovered my YouTube channel (which hasn't had any activity in months and kind of sucks so if you haven't subscribed I totally understand). My original intention for this channel was to do vlogs and I even filmed one with Chris for our anniversary activities (back in May) but my camera was so bad basically none of the footage was good enough for me. The problem with this on my wishlist is that I cannot for the life of me figure out what would be best. I do love the cameras that allow you to flip the screen so you can see yourself while filming yourself. I have super shaky (and often sweaty) hands basically all the time so cameras that are easy to hold and keep steady are essential for me.  And I want one that has a good microphone, good picture, and would be easy to upload to my computer. I've looked up lots of cameras but I just can't make a decision.

Whether or not this is gifted to me, I do intend on getting a vlogging camera soon and 2016 will be the year of vlogging for me and Chris.... mainly just me vlogging Chris being his adorable self. Like a while ago when he was driving me to zumba and he was saying he could teach zumba and started showing off his moves while driving. Literally, I cannot blog enough stories of his awesomeness without them sounding flat and fake, which is why I need to be secretly filming him, which is how all good marriages work.

Q&A A Day: 5 Year Journal

I wanted this last year but didn't tell anyone and was too poor/stingy to buy it myself (but I think I will buy it myself this year if I don't get it for Christmas). This journal is awesome! It asks you a question everyday and you can just write a short sentence answer, but it's for five years so the next year on the same day you answer the same question and see how your life has changed. This is soooo good for someone like me who loves to write and has a lot of emotions but can never consistently write in a journal. It's answering one question a day, which I can totally do! And while I have this blog to do it as well, seeing how your answers change each year just sounds amazing to me! I'm so excited to get this to start in 2016!!

Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year

Another book, this one written by my idol, hero, and girl crush, the fabulous Demi Lovato. I also wanted this last year but it never happened (I'm so lazy and just don't tell people what I want). This book is amazing! I've seen it at a store and looked through it and knew I needed it. It has a different quote, story from Demi, and a goal for each day. Demi Lovato's story helps me to deal with my depression, she is my role model and she has already helped me so much. This book will be perfect as I try to start over in 2016 from my miscarriage, a summer of depression, and other negatives from 2015. And again, whether or not it's gifted to me, it's definitely time for me to have this book.

Devonne by Demi

Besides vlogging, my YouTube channel is also meant to be about things I enjoy, which includes hair and makeup (the only things on the channel so far). Demi Lovato (see, I'm obsessed with her) has created her own skincare line and I've done a lot of research on it. I want this... a lot. I've already been participating (sometimes) in her #NoMakeupMonday because I, like her, believe that women need to embrace their real beauty. And if you've ever seen Demi's #NMM photos you'll have seen that her skin is absolutely flawless, and a lot of that is because of her skincare line. Honestly, who wouldn't want to have skin like Demi Lovato?

Workout Clothes

As I mentioned last week, I am kicking my gym habit into gear. I worked out 3 days last week which is a big accomplishment for me. I'm working towards actually being able to run (because I literally cannot run) and hope to run a 5k with Chris this next summer (unless I get pregnant and the pregnancy prevents me from running a 5k... honestly my real Christmas want is to have a baby, but we'll see how that goes). Besides running, I want to get back into dancing. I have always, always, ALWAYS wanted to teach dance and it's honestly just stupid that I'm not. I'm currently so out of shape and inflexible that dance isn't really happening right now, but I'm going to make it happen soon. I'm going to dance and teach dance. That's the goal. So obviously I need cute clothes to wear while getting fit.

Clothes in General

What girl doesn't want more clothes?!? I have been struggling lately with my current wardrobe because of the fact I'm at my highest weight, my short pregnancy did give me a slight belly, and most my clothes I've had since high school. So I'm always looking for new additions to my wardrobe because I also want to keep up with #FashionFriday posts on this blog. This is not a fashion blog, but clothes and style are something I like so I want to have Fridays to show off my wardrobe, but I have to like my wardrobe first (and not work during the only sunlight in these winter months making it nearly impossible to take good photos because I can't do it in the dark outside and the lighting in my apartment is awful). I love clothes, Chris says I have too many, but I like having options. Clothes are always on my wishlist.

What things are on your Christmas Wishlist? Let me know in the comments below! 

A Good Day To Start A Change

Hello friends! If you saw my last post you know that I've set some new goals for myself and one of them is to be healthier. Today is a Monday so what better day to start making a change for the better.

I would love for all of you to join me on my health/weight loss journey. Keep in mind, one of my main goals is to get pregnant again so weight loss, at least the goal weight I'm wanting, may not happen for a while if I get pregnant again.

For this go around I am planning on eating healthier and eating a good amount of calories each day. I will be going to the gym every night after work, starting with slow simple exercises at first and moving from there. There isn't a set plan to what I'll be doing on a daily basis but I would love for you to join me anyways in reaching your goals.

To help me achieve my goals I have two apps that I am using. For my birthday Chris gave me the Fitbit Charge HR . I have been loving it so far! I am using the Fitbit app to track my steps, sleep, and an estimated calories burnt for the day. Because I do not like how Fitbit tracks their food diary, I am also using My Fitness Pal. I absolutely love this app for tracking what I eat. What's especially nice is that these apps can be linked together, so in using My Fitness Pal, it will automatically subtract calories burnt from my Fitbit. It's genius and I love the way they can work together like that.

It is always easier to lose weight when you have friends helping you out. I will be tweeting about my experiences and you can check those out by following me on Twitter @cowgirl_kaylee. You can also friend me on My Fitness Pal and see my progress on there. My username is CowgirlKayls. You can find me on the Fitbit app as well, however I will not accept challenges from people I don't know (at least not at this time, maybe we can do a challenge all together someday though).

I've been through a lot recently and am still going through a difficult time but I'm committed to changing myself for the better. I've already been working on a change spiritually (more on that later), and I feel it's time I started working on the change physically. I love who I am and I'm continually working on growing a better self-image, and I truly believe this journey will help me to become the person I want to be and only make me love myself more.

I love you all and hope to hear about your weight loss or getting healthy experiences as well. And in case you didn't know... I have red hair now. :)

Happy Tuesday 4/28/15

My writing project

The finale of Chuck (tears, so many tears...)

This video

Feeling successful

Getting faster at work

The Avengers comes out Friday

Tax returns

BuzzFeed quizzes

Gym visits

My laptop

Painting my nails

My fish Duke

And Chris for making life better when things get hard

Happy Tuesdays are about making a list of the things that have made me happy. No details, no stories, just the simple beautiful things in life that bring happiness and joy.

If you'd like to join in, stop by every Tuesday and share your post with me!

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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Top Ten Reasons I Can't Lose Weight

Before ya'll freak out and say I'm too skinny to lose weight, you're wrong. I know I'm not obese, but after nine months of marriage there is absolutely no way I could fit back into my wedding dress, and that fact makes me die a little inside. My goal is to get back to the weight I was before my wedding. And that's a completely reasonable goal. So don't be hating on me! Anyways, here are the top ten reasons I haven't been able to lose weight!

1.Time. I don't have time to go to the gym!

2. Sickness. I was sick basically all of January and now I'm sick again, and if you think I'm being a wimp I just barely ran from a building to a car and it resulted in a massive cough attack and difficulty breathing.

3. School. Yes, I'm blaming college for my problems a lot lately...

4. My husband works at Papa Johns. I mean seriously, how do you lose weight when you can have discounted pizza all the time?

5. I hate cooking so eating greasy fast food makes me happier. But it's a horrible, horrible addiction for both my body and my wallet.

6. Holidays. We had so much leftover Christmas candy and as soon as that was gone we got Valentine's candy. Nobody give me candy for St. Patrick's Day!

7. Laziness. I could go to the gym... or I could sit and watch New Girl!

8. But my job is like exercise right??? I do carry around a vacuum on my back and am on my feet the whole time.

9. Procrastination. It's one of my greatest talents. (wink wink)

10. I'M ADDICTED TO FOOD!!! And I honestly can't stop eating.

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!! 

Pinterest Sunday: DIY, Foods, Neon, Cruel, Disney, Pink, Pinwheel, Roadtrip, Scriptures, Disney Parks, and Phoebe

This week I've pinned a ridiculous amount of clothing/fashion pins because I just want to shop and I'm so sick of my current wardrobe.... but I am going to save most of those pins for a Fashion Friday post this week. So stay tuned for all of those and I hope you enjoy this Pinterest Sunday post! 

As one of his Christmas presents, I promised my husband I would make a board/frame thing for the pictures of fish he catches. I had a pretty good idea in mind but then I saw this and knew I have to do this! But I could use like fishing wire and hooks! It'll be great! Stay tuned for a tutorial and video on it when I finally get around to making it. 

New Year, new me. I'm trying to lose one pound a week up  until my one year anniversary, because then I'll be at my wedding weight (yes I strayed that far off in the last 8 months). So I'm always looking for healthy foods and ways to lose weight. 

P.S. -I am already behind. I got sick so I didn't go to the gym at all last week and we still have tons of left over candy from Christmas (I have a theory that Santa gives us all so much candy so he doesn't feel as overweight himself) but this week I'll be starting a new routine (even though I still feel sick) and I'll be writing about it on here soon. 

My 2014 New Years Resolutions

2013 is almost over and I can honestly say this was one of the craziest years of my life. I started out the year with multiple jobs that I loved, engaged, making lots of money, enjoying life, living with my parents, etc. Then in May I got married to my best friend and the love of my life (Best day ever!) We enjoyed a fabulous, but eventful, honeymoon to Disneyland (and Ogden). We moved to Logan so we could finish college at Utah State (go aggies!!). I had a medical procedure done that I still haven't written about on this blog, but it was a big deal for me. I spent all summer looking for a job and finding myself very unsuccessful. I became horribly depressed (not my new husband's fault, I SWEAR!!!). I realized I had no friends in Logan and felt very much alone and focused the majority of my time on this blog. When school started I got my old job back as a janitor and had mixed feelings about it, but now it's going great. I worked really hard in school but felt extremely stressed most of the time. We ran out of money and couldn't get our bank account back in order and had to ask for help. We had to move to save money on housing. We were struggling for months until our financial aid paid us some money. And now here we are. 2014.

I can already tell 2014 is going to be a great year! It will be my first full year as a married woman and (hopefully) we won't be moving again so we'll be in the same place for the full year. Things already feel like they are looking up! I'm excited for what the year has to bring and I am so excited for 2014!

Before I get into my 2014 New Years Resolutions, let's take a look at my 2013 Resolutions and see how well I did (because I deserve a little shaming). Keep in mind that I haphazardly threw together my New Year's Resolutions last year and didn't do much thinking about them, although that's no excuse for my massive failures... Anyways, let's get into it.

My 2013 New Years Resolutions:

1. To limit my income of sugar and salt. (FAIL. I did really well at the beginning of the year because I had to fit into my wedding dress. But after that I massively failed and gained weight... a lot of weight.)

2. To learn to love cooking. (FAIL. I don't cook. I never cook. I've made some crockpot recipes but is that really cooking? I made cookies! But I did not in any way learn to love cooking.)

3. To become more flexible. (FAIL. I didn't just fail, I greatly failed, because not only did I get more flexible, I lost the flexibility I already had! I'm not flexible at all anymore! And I'm very very ashamed of it.)

4. To become a better friend. (Fail? I don't have any friends... so did I fail? All these failures are getting so pathetic!!)

5. To work harder for my education. (WIN! I count this as a win. There is always room for improvement, but I'm definitely working harder than I have in previous years. I've done really well this past semester and hope to do even better in future semesters.)

6. To learn ways to spend less money. (WIN! Yay! Winning streak! Last month I wrote a whole post about all the things I've learned to spend money, sort of, I'm planning another, better one in the future, but for now I'd say this is a win.)

7. To (finally) get a six pack. (FAIL. Pathetic again. As I said previously, I just gained weight, so this is a definite fail. (And for those of you who are confused, I meant six-pack abs, not beer.))

8. To be more organized and clean. (FAIL. I don't consider this a massive fail, but it's still a fail. But it's something I hope to continue to work on.)

9. To blog more. (WIN! This is a definite win. I've blogged so much more this year than last year, not only that, I've gotten a much bigger response than last year. So many page views and followers! It's been a fantastic year for this blog!)

10. To love Chris more each and every day. (WIN! This is a lifelong goal that can always be worked on, but I feel it's still a win this year.)


So as you can see, I didn't do very well this year. 4 out of 10 aren't the best odds, but we can still work on these right? After looking over these goals again and thinking about what's going on recently in my life, here are now my New Years Resolutions for 2014.

1. To gain 100 blog followers. (This can be through Facebook, Twitter, Blog Lovin', etc. So share this page with your friends to help me reach this goal! As a special incentive, soon I'll be doing a giveaway exclusively for my Facebook followers!)

2. To run a 5k. (This may not sound like a big deal, but I've never been a runner in my life, so it's a big deal for me.)

3. To get six-pack abs. (Yes, I'm bringing this one back. It's something I've wanted for a long time and I'm going to continue working towards it.)

4. To improve my math skills. (I'm being forced to take more math classes as a part of my new major, but this time around I'm going to have a better attitude about it and work harder to get better grades.)

5. To make school more of a priority. (Don't tell my mom, but sometimes I skip class. It's just hard for me to wake up early sometimes! But this year things will be different, I'm going to work harder in school and really earn my grades by working hard.)

6. To eat healthier. (Because popcorn for dinner tastes good, but I really should stop doing it. Also, how else will I get my six-pack abs?)

7. To save up more money. (We've had a lot of issues with our bank account lately but things are starting to look up. We want to make sure that our bank account never goes through that again and want to save up as much money as we can to keep us financially safe.)

8. To not procrastinate. (I am the worst at this, but I'm going to get better this year.)

9. To read more. (I started my Book Club but haven't even been reading the books! This year I'm going to prioritize my time and make sure I read the books I pick so I can't keep up with my followers.)

10: To pray and read my scriptures everyday. (I have been majorly slacking on this and I'm very disappointed in myself because being LDS has blessed my life in so many ways and my Father in Heaven deserves to hear my prayers and all the things I'm grateful for in my life.)

These are my goals of the year. Feel free to chastise me if I you ever hear about me slacking off. I'd love to hear about your goals as well! Leave a comment below to let me know!

I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! THANKS FOR READING! 

Pinterest Sunday

I have been on Pinterest so much this week it's ridiculous! To see all my pins, feel free to CLICK HERE. Below are just some of my favorites from the week. Thanks for reading!

I would like to have a better job. That would be really nice for me. This article had some really good tips and it's a great reference for me for the future. To see the article CLICK HERE. 

4 EASY SCHOLARSHIPS ANY STUDENT CAN WIN

I don't have the best GPA right now and yes, being married brings a bit more financial aid, but we could always used more money for college. This is a great resource because you don't have to have a fantastic GPA to apply to these scholarships. 

I am NOT excited for winter to come, but I cannot get over how beautiful this picture is! 

I really miss ballet. I'm hardly even flexible anymore. I just love this picture and like to look at it and wish I could be doing that again... 

These are so simple and quick to do and can be incredibly effective! I'm sick of being at this weight, this is the biggest I've ever been in my life, so I'm working on changing that. These simple exercises are great for inner thighs, which are always a trouble spot for me. :)

I'm sick of going through a lot of cleaning on Saturdays and then letting everything pile up through the week. So I'm thinking of making a checklist/routine like this. This is a great example and something that I think would be great for my little apartment. 

Pinterest Sunday: Fitness & Health

So this Pinterest Sunday is more specific. I have gained about 25 pounds since my wedding and I am so sick of it! I'm not happy with my weight and my clothes don't fit me, so I'm doing something about it. So these are my favorite pins from Pinterest about losing weight, and some Youtube videos as the end. Enjoy!

You can find my whole Fitness board HERE. 

How Runners Build Endurance

50 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds

These are some really good ideas that are simple to do! 

Pinterest Sundays: Dinosaur, Vest, Hugging a Fish, Mila Kunis, Tiger, Etsy, Anthony Robbins, Library, Lies, Fall, Friends, Isaiah, Dance, Demi Lovato, Victoria Secret, Youtube, Bed, Princesses, Books, and Children.

I missed last Sunday and I was so upset! So this week's might be extra long, might be, we'll see. Enjoy!

So there's a super long pin that can be found HERE and I'm in love with it! Please check it out!!

I don't have much to say about this picture except that I love it. :)

I love this outfit so much and it's getting me really excited for fall! If you haven't already, don't forget to check out my back to school looks! 

I'm in love with this picture. It's both adorable and hilarious at the same time. Her face is just so cute! This picture reminds me of my husband and his love for fish and I'm sure he'll teach our daughter to love fish as much as this little girl. Ha ha!

My husband always tells me I look like Mila Kunis, I disagree, but I absolutely love her hair and makeup in this picture and it's a look that I would love to try out for myself. 

Love this quote and picture! It's just so cute and inspiring!