Pleased to report- Success!

I am quite proud of myself.  I successfully made it from Tuesday to Tuesday without playing Candy Crush at all.  I think I got lucky.  My parents came to visit, I spent a lot of time cleaning to prepare for that, and it wasn't too hard to keep myself busy.  Along with my parents visiting, they bought me ice cream.  Receiving my reward early made me feel much more obligated to keep to my promise.

Now, my parents bought me two different flavors of ice cream (mint chocolate chip because it's amazing and vanilla to eat with yummy peach cobbler).  I feel that since I got double the reward I was intending, I ought to do double the work.  I let myself have today to check the many "candy crush requests" and to run out of lives several times.  Starting tomorrow, I will pay my second week for which I already have my reward.  Thursday to Thursday- it shouldn't be too difficult.  I'm going to Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow, on a hike on Saturday, and to Tuscan from Monday to Thursday.  I can do this!

Something to do

The challenge I made myself has finally become rather challenging.  Throughout the weekend, my parents were visiting and we were either out and about and busy or at home talking to each other.  If I ever felt the desire to play Candy Crush, I would just close my laptop and talk more with my parents.  

They left yesterday, and as fate would have it, I'm not feeling well today.  I came home from work early and spent the entire afternoon switching between reading, watching netflix, and trying to take a nap.  Around 3:30, I hadn't yet managed to actually take a nap and I was too tired to keep reading.  Checking my 13 Candy Crush requests was starting to look pretty tempting.  I thought of all my back up plans: play guitar- I gave it to my parents to take home since I only have 3 weeks left that should be busy and I don't want to have to deal with it on the plane; Blog- not feeling up to writing; work on a book- again, not feeling up to writing (not even feeling up to reading).

Options exhausted, I did the only thing I could do.  I closed my laptop, rolled over in bed, and tried again to fall asleep.  It finally worked...for about an hour longer than I intended.  I'm going to have trouble falling asleep tonight.  However, it's 5:30 and, despite already having been home for 6 hours, I still have not played Candy Crush.  I just have about 6 more to go... I need to find something to do. More netflix maybe?

Today will be easy

Fortunately for me, it is the third Wednesday of the month.  This means that community game night is tonight.  It starts at 6:30 and ends whenever I'm tired enough to go home and go to sleep.  I only have to keep myself occupied until 6:30.

Even more fortunately, I have family coming to visit this weekend.  Family is a pretty good excuse to get myself to clean the house up a little bit.  An hour and a half of cleaning, then game night.  I have no need to play Candy Crush.

This will be hard

It is time I buckle down and finally take up the challenge of the habit I've been avoiding.  Instead of developing a new habit, I'm going to un-develop a habit that is wasting far too much time.  I meant to write this up Sunday, but I was reluctant and felt like procrastinating and was certain I would think of something else that I could call my habit this week.  However, I need to do this... I need to quit Candy Crush. At least for a little bit.

When I first came up the mountain, I was spending a little too much time playing Bejeweled Blitz.  I decided to cut back, but I had no clear cut plan on how.  As a result, I felt bored, found a new game, and now spend all my time on it.  I'm kinda back where I started, but I'm going to do better this time.  Here is my plan:

1- My fault last time was that I went from one game to another; therefore, I am abstaining from all internet games.  I'm still going to allow myself to play other stuff on my computer (like solitaire) but nothing which requires me to be connected to the internet.

2- Since there is so much I'm not letting myself do, I need something to take up my time.  Instead, I shall do one of three things: Pick up my guitar and learn and/or write a new song, Pull out my notebook and get started on a book that I've decided to write, or Blog. You might here from me a lot this week, but that's okay, because I have lots of things about which I've been meaning to write.

3- To reward myself, should I succeed in completing the week as planned (and I will make myself do an entire week- that means all the way till next Tuesday) I will let myself buy ice cream.  This seems like an adequate reward, it's been a few weeks since I've had ice cream.  Any suggestions which flavor I should buy?

Week 8

Well, it's been a while. I seem to have gotten busy/lazy/procrastinatory and not written in quite a while, which is really quite a shame because I've had lots of interesting ideas to write about, I just haven't written them.  This shall have to be remedied...eventually.

I realized I never posted my goal for week 7, which was the week of June 23-29. Last week didn't count as a week in my goal because I was on vacation.  To be honest, I don't remember what my goal was. I think I intended it to be no candy- like I intended week 6 to be no candy, but my adviser had dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joes.  One can't just pass those up.  About 1 day into the week, I changed my goal...but I don't remember to what it was changed.  This is why I'm supposed to be blogging these things.

Anyways. For week 8, I've decided to focus on enforcing good habits instead of developing new ones.  This is a little different from the maintenance week I had about a month ago.  That was working on habits I've developed since the plan began.  I'm focusing this week on two habits which I've been working on for a while- praying every morning and studying my scriptures.  Since coming to the Middle-of-Nowhere, I've had lots of time on my hands and set a goal to study my scriptures for at least 30 minutes a day.  This goal kinda collapsed while I was on vacation, I think I got 5 minutes a day instead.  Morning prayer has always been difficult for me. Saying a prayer before going to bed is easy to remember, but I don't wake up well, or quickly, so remembering a prayer in the morning is much more difficult.  This habit also faltered significantly while on vacation.  So, this week will be designated to re-enforcing these two essential habits.

Of all the habits on which I have focused, these are the two that truly make me feel like I'm becoming a better person.  Running might bring me closer to making my goal distance, making breakfast might bring me closer to good eating habits, going to bed early brings me closer to getting to work on time.  Prayer and scriptures bring me closer to God, there is nowhere else I need to be.

A habit-less week

After the car crash, I really couldn't think of a habit for the past week.  This was mostly caused by fatigue which prevented me from actually trying to think of a habit on which I can improve.  I also realized, as helpful as the habits are, as much as I'm enjoying developing new habits, they aren't the most important things.  Good eating habits and making the bed help make life a little better, but they aren't the point of it.

I let the past week be a recovery week.  It was a time to relax, not stress about remembering to go jogging or floss or whatever.  I want to say thank you for all the support I felt in the past week.  Thank you to the many of you who read my previous post and commented either there or somewhere on facebook.  Thanks for the phone calls and skype chats and an even bigger thanks to those who were able to speak to me in person.  I honestly enjoyed the opportunity to tell about the crash a million times over.  This helped me to understand what happened and see more fully with each recollection the miracle I experienced.  Last week I was able to report that I was physically unharmed.  I can now report that I'm unharmed mentally as well.  I'm not afraid of cars, or the mountain roads.  I don't get tense whenever going around the corner at which I crashed.  I even walked to it yesterday in order to take pictures.  I know that God was watching over me when the crash happened and I know He is always watching over me, so I'm not worried.

I also had this past week be a maintenance week.  Each day was an opportunity to analyze the habits I've been working on and make sure I'm still doing a decent job with each.  I can report that I'm still successfully taking a multi-vitamin each day... and I'm mostly-successfully going to bed on time every night. I've at least developed enough of a habit of waking up early that I get up at 7:30 without an alarm now.  (I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to being able to stay up till sunrise again).  I still make my bed and I still exercise regularly.  Despite the elevation, I'm able to run about half a mile, which I'm pretty sure is the farthest I've ever been able to run, so I consider this an accomplishment.  And lastly- I've been eating great breakfasts.  I'm a huge fan of this habit because of the effect it has on my mornings.  I've not been worrying about exact amounts of sugar or anything, I've just tried to eat a full, balanced breakfast.  As a result, I don't get hungry till nearly lunch time, it's wonderful.  My favorite breakfast meals to make have been scrambled eggs with toast and a glass of V8 splash and an english muffin with Adams peanut butter and a banana on it. Yum.

For next week, I had planned breaking a habit instead of making one- and that habit was going to be candy consumption.  However, on the way back from grocery shopping today, we stopped at the Old Apple Barn and bought fudge, so that habit will have to wait till I'm out of fudge.  Instead, I'm going to work on a habit of balanced lunches to build on my breakfast habit.  This means getting the salad instead of dessert when I eat at the employee cafe (you can choose one or the other or pay 50 cents extra for both).  I'm going to have a good week!

A Sweet Cut Back

I have decided that my weekly habits for the month of June will all have a common theme- decreasing my somewhat outrageous sugar intake.  Now- when I say sugar I am not referring to the natural substances that occurs in almost everything (lactose, fructose, anything-else-tose).  We are supposed to eat fruits and drink milk and such, so I'm not to worried about how much of that I get.  When I say sugar, I'm referring to finding sugar and high fructose corn syrup and such on ingredients lists, the sweet stuff added to my food to encourage me to eat it.  I hope, this month, to develop eating habits which result in eating a little less of the stuff. 

For the first week of June, week 4 of the 'program', I'm focusing on breakfast.  My traditional breakfast, as anyone who's lived with me knows, is a large bowl of Malt-O-Meal's Cinnamon Toasters. This large bowl, once I figured out how many servings I fit in it, contains nearly 27 grams of sugar.  Now, that's not too terrible, but it is about the equivalent of eating 1/4 cup of M&M's for breakfast, not exactly the "balanced breakfast" I've been told I should start my day with.  

Since yesterday was my shopping day, I bought fancy things like oatmeal, English muffins and bananas. I've always felt bananas were a very breakfast-y fruit.  I even splurged and bought brown eggs (white eggs give me a stomach ache).  I'm all set for a weeks worth of balanced breakfasts.  And I get to figure out how to cook at 9000+ ft.  This will be fun.

"You don't have to find out you're dying to start living"

I think that statement basically sums up why I have been striving to become something better.  It's from a youtube video I saw recently- the story of a 17 year old who knew he was dying.  He made every day worth living.  Life wasn't always perfect, there were hard times and bad days, but that didn't take away from the chance to live and change....

I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with all this.  I just wanted to share this video with you.  I feel like it explains a little bit why I'm doing what I'm doing.  I'm not terminally ill; I don't anticipate dying anytime in the near future.  I believe, however, that I should be able to fall asleep every night feeling that the day was a good last day, even if it isn't my last day.

It's like the story of that little Scottish lady (brief pause for a google search), Mary Murray Murdoch.  She was a Mormon Pioneer in the 1850's, traveling from Scotland to America, and then joining a hand cart company to join other members of the church in Utah.  She passed away before reaching her destination, but her final words are recorded as being "Tell John (her son) I died with my face toward Zion."  Completing the trip wasn't the most important thing. What mattered was the daily effort made to get there, never turning back, never giving up.  That is the sort of person I want to be.  I want to face forward, upward, God-ward every day.  I hope to know every day that I'm further along that path, even if just a little, and that I'm still facing the right way.  I don't want to wait to find out I'm dying before I start trying to use every day to live a wonderful life and help others do the same.

Habits

So... it has been a while since I've posted anything.  I won't try to blame it on being busy- I haven't been.  I just seem to not be in the mood to blog during my many hours of free time. As my last blog explained, I've moved to an itty bitty town in Middle-of-Nowhere, New Mexico.  I'm suffering withdrawals from my friends and the loneliness seems to not lead to blogging. Odd.

I've come to the conclusion that in my twelve weeks of almost-solitude I will have a lot of "me" time.  I'm going to use this time to really apply myself to my goal of becoming a better person every day.  One of the ways I hope to develop myself this summer is developing uplifting habits that will make each day of life better.  One a week for 12 weeks, or sometimes two because one is really easy. Of course- I'm already in Week 3, so I should report on what I've done so far...

Week 1- This week had two goals because one was super easy.  Throughout my mission and for a good while before that, I was very diligent at taking a multi-vitamin every day.  Somehow, my multi-vitamins got lost in my bathroom drawer while at school and I haven't taken them since I returned home a year ago. My first goal was to begin taking these on a daily basis.  I keep them on a table right next to the bathroom- I figure I walk past there enough times a day to see it at least once and remember. I've done a really good job with this habit.

My other habit for Week 1 is work-induced.  I'm a night time person, this is why I intend to do night time astronomy. My summer research position is at a solar observatory.  Work starts not long after sunrise and, if the sky is clear all day, ends about an hour before sunset.  This has created the need to return to another habit I haven't had since my mission- an early bedtime.  I'm actually really impressed with how well I've been doing with this one.  I get in bed at 10, and I get up at 6...kinda (my alarm goes off at 6, and I don't stay in bed too long after that).  This is a wonderful habit which probably won't last a day after my internship ends, but it makes life easier while I'm here.

Week 2- Making my bed every morning.  The first week, I was far too tired at 6 a.m. to think long enough to make my bed.  Making my bed starts the day with the attitude that I will be clean and organized.  This attitude prevents dishes from piling up in the sink and my work place stays really neat.  I like this habit.

And Week 3- My goal this week is to get back into the habit of daily exercise.  You've heard me say a dozen times that I will start exercising, but I have a good excuse this time for why I stopped. Middle-of-Nowhere, NM happens to be at an elevation of 9000+ feet.  My body needed time to adjust to the lack of oxygen up here.  I let myself have two weeks to adjust and now I'm getting back to work. I went jogging today... I made it about 1/6th of a mile before I was way out of breath. But I pressed on! I alternated between walking and jogging and then came home and did a "Psych workout", one of those fancy workouts you find on pinterest with things to do based on commonly said phrases.  I'm feeling good and looking forward to tomorrow!

Colors

The past few weeks, I've been a little obsessed with the color throughout the world.  This is one reason I love Spring so much.  Not only does the coldness go away, but the nature bursts into laughter in the form of a million flowers.

I have always been a big fan of looking for those little things in life that make you smile.  Color is one of those things.  A bright green car, radiant flowers, sunlight through leaves, the sky, yellow rain boots, shiny tail-lights, and everything else colorful and alive just makes me want to smile.  These things pop into your eyesight, declaring "I'm not afraid to be seen, I'm not afraid of what I am."


I want to be a more colorful person. By this, I don't mean the style and color of clothing I wear, it's generally pretty colorful on it's own...unless it is one of my many black t-shirts that make some sort of astronomy joke.     I want to be colorful like a flower is colorful.  It's a matter of becoming something that isn't afraid to be seen. A flower knows what it is and is proud of it.  It opens up, admitting it is fragile and imperfect, yet not ashamed of this.

I am unique, bright, fragile, and most certainly imperfect.  I'm completely obsessed with stars and watches.  Sometimes, I'm afraid others might disapprove of my obsession or judge me on my imperfection.  But the world would be very dull if only the most perfect flowers bloomed.  So, as I prepare for a new move and a new job, this is what I shall strive to remember.  There is nothing wrong with being fragile.  I'm allowed to be a little obsessed.  I don't need to be afraid.

Finally April

 It is finally April! I'm so excited.  April is 3 days old and it has already been so much fun.  For starters, I would like to inform the world that I successfully completed the Lazy-Iron-Man.  Throughout the month of March, I swam 2.4 miles, biked 112, and ran 26.2.  I did it... and I got a free t-shirt out of it, as pictured.

I feel very accomplished and much healthier.  I can make it all the way across the pool once without stopping and about half the way back. (If I have fins on I can make it back and forth twice).  I can also bike about 16 miles in an hour on a stationary bike while reading a book.  I have no idea if I've lost weight, I didn't check it before and I don't know what it is now.  I do feel, however, that I am more toned than I was before.  I have had to start using my belt more often... and my swimsuit feels to big, which worries me when I'm swimming fast.  It just always feels like it will slide off my shoulders, but that might just be a result of the swimsuit being really old.  I'll have to get a new one for when I take this class again next semester.  My goal for next semester is to complete the 500 (10 laps) without fins.

Well, that was the end of March.  April started off great! My roommate and I woke up super early to pull April Fools day jokes on friends in the apartment complex.  My favorite was filling up someones care with newspaper.  We also switched out a guys entire wardrobe with girls clothes.  Of course, these two individuals have both declared revenge.  This should make the rest of April pretty exciting.

Life is about laughter and I am so grateful that I have friends who allow such laughter, even mischievous April Fool's Day laughter.

Promises

I am incredibly impressed with my ability to keep promises to myself.  I decided to begin flossing and promised myself I would do it.  I then stayed up till 2 am.  I got in my pj, brushed my teeth, remembered my promise, and wanted sooooo bad to just go to bed.  I didn't though- I actually flossed first.  Then the next night I was up till 1, and I did the same.  I remembered twice in a row, and despite the late hour, I flossed both times.  I can keep promises, even when they are just with myself.  It's strange, but I feel I can trust myself a lot more now.  That's all

A Little Sore

Fact of life: 5 exams in 1 week removes opportunities for blogging.  I'll be taking my 6th exam for the week in about an hour, but felt my brain needed the opportunity to recover and am therefore NOT studying anymore...ever...at least till Monday.

For a review of the week.  I've gotten surprisingly consistent in my Listerine usage.  I think I'm going to push myself one step further in dental hygiene and re-develop the habit of flossing.  Yes! It is written and therefore decided, I shall start tonight.

For my Lazy-Iron-Man, I have swum 20 laps (out of 79), biked 37 miles (out of 112) and run/quickly walked 4 miles (out of 26.2).  For this reason, I'm a little sore.  I didn't realize I was a little sore until about 20 minutes ago when I decided to take the stairs up to the fourth floor of the science building.  Basically, half way between the 2nd and 3rd floor, my legs began loudly protesting.  But stairs are good for you- so I pushed myself the rest of the way and am now greatly enjoying the opportunity to sit.

Lastly, I learned something wonderful yesterday.  I once heard the expression, "If you want to make God laugh, show him your life plans."  This quote never seemed quite accurate to me.  Heavenly Father wants us to set goals, make plans, and strive to become better.  While at work, the missionaries did an activity in which they planned out the upcoming week and made goals for where they want to be.  I recalled the phrase, "A goal not written down is merely a wish."  We were not born to merely wish.  We were made to achieve, and achievement comes through goals and plans.  Now, our plans do not always match God's plans for us, and his are generally better.  We might not always achieve what we expected.  Yet as we demonstrate our desire to become better, our ability to see the direction God desires for us to go will increase.  I'm not saying God doesn't laugh, anyone watching my life probably would, but I don't believe he laughs at our good intentions to change.  He tells us that our plans are wonderful, and then allows us to see his.

A Most Marvelous March

March has begun and it couldn't be better.  It's been a little crazy and busy, but splendid.  In the past two and a half days (since we are only at noon of March 3rd) I have been offered a research position at a national observatory, received an incredible movie in the mail (and watched said movie with a good friend), had two productive days of work, and prepared dinner for 100+ people in an hour with the assistance of the best committee in the world. Life has been good, and it will keep getting better.

For the month of March, I've committed myself to regular exercise. I have done this by signing up for the school's "Lazy Iron Man." An Iron Man is 2.4 miles swimming, 112 miles biking, and 26.2 miles running.  A Lazy Iron Man is taking those same distances and completing them in a month's time.  I have a grid with little boxes for each of those miles and have so far checked off 8 miles on the bike and 1 running.  Hopefully, this activity provides a kick start for regular exercise throughout the rest of the spring and summer. 

As with my attempt to whiten my teeth, the best way to know how much this made life better is to figure out where I am now and compare that to where I am in a month.   I'm not concerned about weight because I'm not over weight, losing weight isn't something people should be worried about.  I just want to be in shape.  Current shape: I can run approximately 2/5th of a mile before I feel like I can't breath anymore and have to walk.  I usually wear a size 10 in dress sizes and though I don't anticipate losing weight, I do hope that getting in shape helps me to be more toned and possibly drop a dress size.  So- Let's see where I am come April!

Consider the Lilies

Time to take a short break from studying and share a bit about why today was a better day.

To start with a scripture passage Matthew 6:28-34
       And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Take therfore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Now- what does this passage have to do with anything? For starters, it is one of my favorites.  These verses are a simple reminder that God will take care of us as we trust in him.  These verses though have recently developed an even deeper meaning to me.  To those who know me well, I teach at the MTC.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is well known for the missionaries sent throughout the world.  The MTC- or Missionary Training Center- is where they go for a brief training before being sent everywhere.  I get to work with these young men and women and prepare them for that work.  Many of these missionaries keep in touch with me after they leave by adding me to a list of recipients who receive weekly journal-like emails.  I'd like to share an experience relating to this scripture verse from Elder Butler, who has been serving in the Philippines for approximately 2 months.  He also read these verses and shared the following:

I initially thought about the people here and how for many of them, if they don't work on Sunday, then they don't eat on Sunday, and as missionaries we are asking them to keep all of Gods commandments including keeping the Sabbath day holy, and for me I would sometimes hesitate within myself, because I know these peoples situation and I know what it means for them to not work on Sunday and attend church. But it is a promise of the Lord, and the Lord knows that we need physical things as well as spiritual things, and if we put our priorities in the right place and show our faith the Lord he will make sure that we are taken care of. He takes care of the birds and clothes the lilies of the field in raiment that is more impressive than Solomon's temple, and he can also provide rice for a family if they make the decision to keep His commandments and keep His Sabbath day holy.

But in addition to this, as if to drive the point home, later that day as we were out teaching our less actives and investigators it was a very hot day and I didn't have any more water on me and I was very very thirsty, and sweating a lot, and of course I can't drink the water from the houses of the people or else I'll get sick. And there is no way we could return to our apartment to get water without wasting a lot of time, so we continue on with our teaching. But just as I was about to get to the point where I would need to get water from some place or else I might have some problems, it starts raining. And at first this was almost a mocking gesture to me, but then as we arrived at our investigators house I noticed how the water was running off my umbrella in a small stream. So I asked them for a cup, and with a few weird looks from them I took the cup and filled it up twice with the water running off my umbrella and drank. And as soon as I wasn't thirsty anymore it stopped raining and became clear and hot once more.

Now this may have been a small thing, and maybe you could call it a happy coincidence, but to me it just reminded me of what I had studied earlier. I was in need, and the Lord provided a way. And if He can do that for me when I'm thirsty, He can do the same for these people when they are hungry. And as a result I have no more fear in asking these people to keep the commandments of the Lord, because I know that when he makes a promise he makes good on it.

After reading his experience, my conviction of the above passage didn't change, but I gained a deeper understanding of it's truth.  God really will provide all that we need.  As I continue to trust in Him and do my best, everything will be alright.  If I work my hardest and remain obedient and still don't get an A in every class, it does not mean I've failed.  I merely didn't need it (as much as I might think I do) because the Lord will provide all that we need.

Day 2

Step two of Becoming Better:
In an effort to be more fit- I went to swim class despite really not wanting to do it.  That's all.

I've also decided to take better care of my teeth by actually using the Listerine that has been sitting on my bathroom shelf since I moved in.  I had forgotten how much that stuff burns.   It also happens to be whitening Listerine, so I've taken a "before" picture. When I finish off the bottle I'll take an "after" picture so we can see if the additional cost of whitening Listerine is worth it.  Should be exciting!

Finally, today was an opportunity to learn the importance of loving others as God loves them.  Two women from my ward (local unit) at church shared a message with me of the little ways that we can strengthen each other in our faith.  One of the most important ways is to love them.  Everyone has moments when they feel alone or out of place.  New people always move in and out of my apartment complex and they probably feel a little like an out-cast for the first few days.  But they, just like you and I, are children of God.  His is a family to which we all belong.  No one is out of place.

Becoming Better

I've been analyzing my life the past few weeks and have concluded that I'm doing a pretty decent job.  I've maintained healthy habits, an effective study schedule, a somewhat-effective sleep schedule, and I'm trying hard to be a better friend.  Yet I've decided that I can become better.  There are little simple things I can do to improve life even more.  I can cut down sugar intake, increase exercise, turn my thoughts more toward Christ, and strive to love people around me even more.  I can do better, so I will.  I hereby recommit myself to live a better life.  I don't plan on jumping into this and change completely who I am today, that feels a little unreasonable. Instead, I plan on changing just one thing a day, or even one thing a week.   I would like to invite you along on this journey with me......

I feel like I am using the word I too often.  Admittedly, this is a very introspective blog, so the word I is somewhat required, especially since this is a pledge to change my life.  Yet the intent is not to focus on me.  I want to be a better person in order to be closer to God and better able to serve him.  Though I seem to be doing well compared to the standard college student, am I doing well enough to maintain my ability to serve God throughout my life?  My intent is to tell you of my journey to become better and the effect it has on life.  Maybe this will inspire you to see something you can do better, maybe you will just learn a new recipe as I share healthy (but student-affordable) recipes that I discover in my journey.  

This week- I decided to become a little healthier by switching from 2% milk to 1% milk.  This change was slightly forced upon me because the store was out of 2% milk when I went shopping last night. Unfortunately, the difference in taste is really distinct, but hopefully it will become more enjoyable.  Let's see how this goes.

Please join me in Becoming Better

I'm Ready!

Dear 2013,
We have only just met, yet we have already shared special experiences.  We have already had a chance to stay up till 4 a.m. and have also had the chance to wake up far earlier than I desired.  We've gone shopping, visited the doctor, and even had a hair appointment. I feel we shall soon be good friends.

Yet I foresee the journey will not always be so easy.  I wonder what you have in store for me.  You have prepared miracles for me.  There is adventure, excitement, and magic awaiting us as this friendship develops. But this isn't all, is it?  I fear what else lies in wait.  If I could see it all now, I probably would strive (admittedly in vain) to end our friendship immediately.  There will be pain and sadness.  Some adventures we face will be filled with loneliness and misunderstanding.  Can you deny this? You know it as well as I.

But I am not afraid.  You and I- we'll make it through.  I see this friendship lasting a long time.  Regardless of what lies ahead, and mostly because of it, I will become a better person.  One who will look back with gratitude for the time we had together.  That which is ahead of us will be difficult, wonderful, and life changing.

I'm ready!