We can do hard things.

   This last weekend I went with my internship group to complete a ropes course and it was such a neat experience for me and I just wanted to share a few thoughts. There were things we did that were really scary. like falling from 40 feet in a swing scary, and jumping from the top of a tree to a wobbly tall platform 6 feet out scary. As a group we accomplished tasks that of course seemed impossible through creativity, determination, and a little perseverance. At one point I was walking a wire, reaching out to my partner hanging out of a tree just to have enough balance to make the last 3 feet or so to the finish line. Doing all these things was a reminder to me that we create so many limitations in our heads that we let dictate what we do.
    When we were jumping from the tree, one of our research leaders, who is a professor at BYU, talked about how even though we knew we were safe, and harnessed in, some of us really struggled taking that leap. He explained to us that our autonomic nervous systems freaks out like we're going to die when we face something scary even if our conscious self knows we are safe. This is the fancy way of saying that our bodies are wired to elicit certain responses (such as an elevated heart rate, sweating, locking up, etc) when danger is perceived. Knowing logically that we are not in any real danger though, we can recognize our body's responses as a trained reaction rather than something actually rooted in potential harm. Our minds are incredible but it's important to know the difference between what's in our heads and what actually poses a threat.
     It's been said before that working out is 50% perspiration and 50% determination and I fully agree! So much about exercise is in our heads. Motivating ourselves to get moving, pushing ourselves so we can grow stronger, run farther, last longer.  Sometimes I get to a point where my legs are burning and I'm sweating like a pig and the thought pops in my head that I've done enough, I can take it easy on myself and cut my time short for the day. Then I think back on the hard things I've done throughout my life both physically and mentally, and I realize that I take myself for granted sometimes. I can do hard things. In the last year, I've gone from never having stepped foot into a gym, to working out, regularly, for over an hour at a time, on a fairly regular basis. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things figuring out my schedule between work, my internship, and my volunteer work, but I'm doing it! This last year has been tough in ways but I am making things happen and am working my butt off (literally) and it feels great.

It really is wonderful to be young with the world at your fingertips

<3 K

Ready, set, GO!

I LOVE new starts. A move, a new apartment, a new friend, a new season, a new year. I just love the idea of being able to start fresh on things. For me the end of the school year marks a new beginning for me. It means spring and summertime with (hopefully) more time, extra sun, and good old summer fun. As you all know, I've been working towards a healthier lifestyle in the past year and have done pretty well in some aspects. It's been hard work and has been harder to keep up during the school year but even with what I have accomplished this far, I can say I'm proud of myself. This being said, I still have some pounds to drop to get to my goal weight as I have done more maintaining the past few months than losing. I have found that when I journal/track my successes I do better at staying focused so for the next few weeks I will be updating you with my thoughts on this whole process. I'll try to keep up with other posts too to keep things from getting too boring ;) So here's to a fresh start on fitness!

   
One of the tools I've used to help keep everything straight as I work towards my goals is this free app for my iPhone called myfitnesspal- love this sucker.

myfitnesspal app

The app allows you to set a goal for your daily calorie intake then lets you know if you're over or under depending on what foods you've eaten for the day. It will also subtract calories based on the exercise/calories burned for the day that you enter in. You can also add water intake, and notes to keep track of your other fitness/health goals. Seriously, this thing makes "journaling" so easy. I almost always have my phone on me too so taking a couple minutes to enter in my meal after I eat is really pretty easy to do although it might take a couple days to get in a habit of getting everything in. I find this especially helpful because some times I eat more calories worth of food than I realize. This helps make me aware of the calories in my food and encourages healthier eating as I work to stay away from the red zone past my goal!

The only thing I haven't cared for with this app is that there is no estimate provided for calories burned during strength training. I guess I don't get that when I go to the gym either (as opposed to an elliptical or something). Also eating out can be tricky... all the more reason to skip it! :)

There are so many resources available to help people become healthier so I always love hearing about what works for others in the real world (not some paid bimbo in a magazine ad- ha!). What works for you guys??

For those of you done with yet another school year, I hope you too are enjoying this lovely summer weather. It is fantastic. end of story. 

<3 Kayla

BEA-utiful part 2

Hello all!
   I meant to get to this sooner but since it's been awhile I'm going to go over a couple different products in one post that I've come to adore as of recent.

These suckers are amazing. Nike Pro Women's shorts. Most of the running shorts I work out in are lined with those awkward "underwear" things but I still wear underwear with my shorts so I've tried different cuts to find what is most comfortable and such. These can be worn by themselves but with BYU standards at the gym I workout in, I have to be a bit more modest so I just wear these under whatever shorts I'm wearing when I go. I love them because unlike other underwear I have tried, they don't ride up, roll up, or fall down. They're comfortable, flattering, and move with you exactly how they should. I started with one pair and now have 4 of 5 so I can always have a pair handy for they gym. Bonus: I get these at Sports Authority or Dicks sporting goods and there is almost ALWAYS a pair on the sales/clearance rack (especially at SA). LOVE these.

Another product I've tried recently is Big Sexy's dry shampoo. This stuff is pretty darn good. I've heard others raving about dry shampoo for a quick post work out clean up or even just to stretch time between showers if you're in a hurry or trying to give your hair a bit of a break. You just spray it in, let it sit for a minute or so, then brush it out. It absorbs the oils and adds a bit of volume to your hair leaving it clean and ready to go. Your hair should probably be at least dry though when you apply ;) Any one else have any luck with dry shampoos? This is the first I've tried so I'd love to hear of other brands that work well or better :)

Finally, this moisturizer. It's sooooooo good :) it's super light and doesn't feel greasy at all on your face. you can lather on as much as you want and it just leaves your face feeling fresh. I'd say more on it but that pretty much sums up it's goodness. Try it. love it. 

B-E-A-utiful.

People who give workout advice often suggest a reward system so that you can treat yourself as you progress through stages towards your end goal. For me, I normally like to treat myself with any form of frozen creamy goodness- milkshakes, smoothies, fruit bars, fro yo, or straight up ice cream. These are all sugary and somewhat defeat the purpose of working out SO I have tried to find new ways to reward myself that are more conducive to the lifestyle changes I'm making. That being said, I have discovered some great products that I wanted to share with everyone. I was going to do these all in one post but decided that would be a LONG post haha. so we'll call this a mini series for now. Stay posted!
I have never been a lipstick wearer, in fact it's still a newer thing for me. However, there is something to be said for a rockin shade of lipstick. It's a great way to polish off an outfit. Elizabeth Taylor put it well when she said, "Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together". Whether you feel like a mess or not, lipstick helps pull everything together. This is by far my favorite lipstick I've tried so far-

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Rasberry Pie

It's as good as it sounds. A lot of lipsticks just make me feel like I have chalk on my lips (ok, maybe not THAT bad- but bad). This is really moisturizing and almost feels like a good chapstick BUT there is the coverage that should be expected from a lipstick and the colors are oh so fantastic. I have this in Candy Apple which is a coral-y kind of red, Rasberry Pie which is just a darker pink, and Berry Smoothie which is a more natural looking lip color. While moisturizing lipstick has a rep for not lasting as long, the first two colors I mentioned are bolder and tend to stain my lips a bit so after it's faded a bit of lip gloss helps keep the look going longer. These are great and I plan on getting more of them to add to my growing collection.

What lipsticks have you tried and loved? I'm still a newbie with this and would love to hear what's worked for you! 

<3 Kayla

Many Good Things

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!! Ours was quiet but a good time :) On christmas eve, we had dinner at my moms with my little brother Tanner, and my mom's boyfriend, and his mom. We played some games, ate LOTS of pie, and watched a good handful of Chrismas movies. It was almost one by the time Steven and I got home and since it was technically Christmas, we decided to open up most of our presents then. it's not like we're little kids or anything ;) we saved some presents to open with our family when Josh is home and the big celebration begins but one of the gifts Steven opened was a game I had given him. We then proceeded to play canasta in bed until about 5 in the morning when I decided I had lost enough for the night and was ready to crash haha. good times. One of my favorite parts of Christmas this year though was getting Steven's big gift- a new guitar <3 I hadn't gotten a new guitar since my beginner one. Although I had an upgrade when I got to take over Josh's while he was on his misison. Since he'll be home soon though, I thought it may be a good time to get myself a big girl guitar. I haven't played very much since I got married because between the job I got then and adjusting to married life, I have had NO time. With school winding down though and with a better schedule this coming semester, I'm really looking forward to getting back into my music and writing.

                                          Isn't she beautiful???? gahh. LOVE it. and HIM :)

Because we both splurged a little on eachother for christmas this year , I decided to wait on all the apartment updates I was going to shoot for over the break. So no pictures yet there. But we'll see. hopefully soon!

With my more manageable schedule I will have this next semester, I'm planning on getting back into the workout routine I worked so hard to get into over the summer. While I did not work out consistently during Fall, I went to the gym occasionally when I did have the time to do so. Since then, Steven and I have invested in a bike machine to keep at home to help fill in days when going to the gym just won't work out. Between that and having free mornings 3X a week, I'll make it happen!! We are going to Hawaii for a friend's wedding this summer and you bet I'm gonna be beach ready ;) After seeing what I could do last summer, I know I can drop the remaining weight I have to go to reach my goal and I'm super excited about it. I feel SO much better and energized when I exercise regularly and it just keeps me in a good mood which will help me stay sane when school gets crazy as it always manages to do.

Recovering

We survived finals!!!! barely, just in time, miraculously BUT we finished the semester on a pretty good note and are so happy to have made it to Christmas break :) Plans for the break include drinking lots of hot chocolate while it snows outside, watching lots of great movies, playing with friends/family and welcoming Josh home from his two year mission in OHIO!! SOOOO excited to have him back soon :)

I also have some fairly big plans for decorating and am super excited to post before, after, and in between photos when I get the ball rolling there. Steven prefers earth tones but I love me some color. To compromise, I'll be rearranging some things and adding on to what we have so our living room/dining area will consist of beiges, grays, creams, and a little bit of black for some contrast. kitchen area is still completely up in the air haha (suggestions are welcome!). our bathroom has been slowly coming together with navy, tan, and lime green and I'm loving it so far but I need to do something with the walls. I promised handmade stone sconces a while back and while i still love the idea... i have not started on that! maybe another project for the break? :) The bedroom will also have a lot of the earth tones but will have more colors thrown in with it and will be less matchy matchy, for lack of a better way to describe what I'm envisioning. Here are pics that capture what I'm going for though I think.

These are similar to the look I'm going for with the living room area. cool neutrals with some plants and crisp white/cream to pop against the darker solids. It should be good.

This picture fits well with the style I'm going for in the bedroom but these colors are not what will be in there.

The colors will be close to what we had in our bedroom before with some beige and cream of course but with pops of plum, dusty rose, dark brown and then some even smaller pops of random colors that will come in with the more mismatched stuff. This is kind of a new look for me because I have such a hard time putting things together for rooms that aren't part of a collection or set that's already been matched for me (unless the pieces I find are super matchy). Designers do this seemingly effortlessly though, and I'd like to get better at it so we'll see how this experiment goes :) pictures to come!

I porbably won't be on again for the next few days as I will be busy busy so MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

<3 K

hellooooo!

Wow I feel like it's been forever since I posted! Things started picking up a LOT the close that the new school year came. Here's what's new with us.

weight loss: After my 8 lb breakthrough I gained and lost a few pounds back and forth and haven't been working out very much since school started so I was afraid I had gained most of it back BUT, when I left the gym yesterday I was between 150-151 which means I've lost about 10 pounds!!!! I was so pumped because that is the absolute most progress i've seen in a straight shot for me. It's deff been hard sometime but I have stuck with this and have integrated this more into my lifestyle and and reaping the benefits of diligence! I still have more to go but, I'm 1/3 through my goal which means I'm deff on track for my abs at graduation. heck yes and booyah.

school: I'm loving school so far this semester. It is keeping me more busy than I would like but I love my classes. Ok, most of them at least. I only have one class I'm not crazy about and I think most of that has to do with the fact that it's an evening class. The reading is interesting though so that's good. Unrelated to classwork, I'm also LOVING seeing people on campus again. Especially friends from freshman year who have recently returned from missions- awesome! so that is school. I'm nervous about applying to grad schools/not getting in but since I'm only applying to a few programs as opposed to as many as I can get my hands on, I'll have to just not be harsh on myself if I don't get in right away.

work: I'm still working at SF and just today told my boss, if he doesn't find a replacement really soon.... I could probably just stay on because by the time he finds someone and has them trained, my schedule will be easing up and I'd be able to work more anyways. so we'll see if that happens. Since another employee just got a job offer elsewhere, he'd have to find 2 replacements ASAP to keep the office functioning which would be hard to do so I'm thinking i'll just hang around here at least until after graduation when I can get a real job in social work or something.

Steven: my wonderful, wonderful husband. He is back in school too and although I don't think he enjoys school as much as I do, he's doing well so far. He's having a hard time finding work so keep us in your prayers as we're hoping he gets one soon! He's having quite a bit of fun with all of his frisbee stuff too. He's captaining at least two teams, playing with 4 teams I think right now although only a couple of them hold practices and such. The others are just for fun. We also recently discovered that he had skin cancer! yikes! He had an abnormal growth in his arm and had it checked out and removed only to find out with the lab results that it was cancerous!!! I'm so glad he had it checked out though so we could nip it in the butt and get it out. Hopefully that will be the last we see of that!

So that's about all that's new with us! I realize this was long, but it had been quite a while. Stay posted on new updates with our apartment as I have been at work decorating and rearranging things :) I wish I could do more though!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful friday and don't forget to cheer the cougars on tomorrow at the BYU-UTAH game!!!

<3 K