Recently

Recently I went from this:

To This:

Dark Hair Again, and I seriously love it. We did a new little trend called "melting" and it's perfect because the bottom is still my natural color, but the top is dark. talk about genius idea. Thanks to my wonderful sister/best friend/hairstylist. honestly don't know what I'd do without her!

Ps have you ever been to Texas Roadhouse with my crazy family? Talk about an adventure.in the very best way.

So glad they always keep me laughing.. and on my toes!

20 secrets

Last weekend i had a dilemma. I went home for fall break which was Won-Der-Ful but i had this little issue where i just did NOT want to exercise. not even in the slightest. To top it off i wanted to eat basically everything in sight.. There was so MUCH good food around and i really felt like i had to take advantage. 

So i did. A lot. maybe a little too much. 

I ate and ate and justified it by thinking "it's fine. I'll just do a crazy workout tonight to burn it off." but that didn't happen. Luckily this only went on for about three days but it was three days too many. I felt so sluggish and even though it was nice giving my body a break from working out, it really wasn't worth it. My workout time is my therapy time and without it something is just off.

I've noticed this week how much BETTER i feel after sweating like crazy and pushing my body until I am SORE. i need that.

When i went back up to school Sunday night i found this neat article that has SERIOUSLY helped me get back in the right mind set and gave me motivation to keep working out and eating healthy.

Even if some days i don't want to.

20 secrets of very fit people:

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often. 
2. Look at exercise as a pleasure and a privilege, not a burden or chore. Rather than obsessing about your next meal, get excited about your next workout! (I LOVE THIS!)
3. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excess calories, even if they're from food that's fat free and high in protein, will turn to excess weight. 
4. Limit caffeine
5. Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.
6. Keep a daily log of what you're actually eating. This includes ALL of your snacking.
7. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) "unhealthy" treat, but never an unhealthy week or unhealthy vacation.
8. Enjoy contributing to the health of others by having a partner or friends to exercise with.
9. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising, or using things that keep you motivated and inspired, like new shoes or great music.
10. Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an overall way of life.
11. Invest in the right tools—good shoes, a portable MP3 player or iPod^®, fitness equipment, a new series of tapes, etc.
12. Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6 or 7 days a week. If some days you exercise once in the morning and once in the evening, even better! If you're eating right, exercise will fuel your energy level!
13. Don't compare your body to others'. Instead, work to be your personal best.
14. If your diet is unbalanced, take daily vitamin and mineral supplements for total health.
15. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.
16. Create an exercise schedule the day before instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to "find" the time.
17. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness.
18. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you're working out, if you're consuming too many calories, you'll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.
19. Get adequate amounts of sleep, but remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly. (easier said than done.)

20. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, not some number on a scale.

on a roll

Gosh I've just been on a blogging ROLL lately! 

Highlights of my day:

-Granola for breakfast

-Found out my class tomorrow is cancelled! that's right.

-Took a two hour nap.

-got ONE HUNDRED PERCENT on my fam finance exam! Dang. I hate to brag but..

-My favorite neighbor and childhood friend stephy fed me soup and bread bowls for dinner after we both rocked our exam. she is a saint.

-My other favorite neighbor (boy) *who i may or may not be crushing on* asked me to go play ping pong! score.

-Nighttime walk with 2 of my roommates just to vent and talk about life. :)

-Packing to go HOME!!!!

I realize i don't live very far away and I get to see my fam pretty often but for some reason I  am just SO FLIPPING excited to spend the weekend at HOME!! with my crazy fam. and sleep in my OWN big bed. and eat my moms YUMMY home cooked meals. I'm so flippin lucky.

if you got time watch my favorite clip right now.

shocking realization

So this past week I said something.. something I thought would never leave the mouth of ME.

Ever.

 but it did. and i don't have any regret.

Wanna know what it was?

"I love fall."

That was it. three words. three short words.

but they hold a lot of weight.

to be honest i have always DREADED fall. I would cringe just thinking about it. I wasnt even sure exactly why.Everyone in my fam seems to ADORE it. I've always had a deep hate for it.

I think it may have to do with the fact that SUMMER has my loyalty. And saying i liked fall which so harshly replaces beautiful summertime made me feel like i was betraying it. or maybe it's because the idea of carefree days being replaced by school is downright depressing. 

or maybe it has to do with the fact that the weather changes and i have to say goodbye to wearing my swimsuit all day long and say hello to pale skin.

but i guess i've matured enough to realize you really can love more than one season. (i'm so grown up)

It's really okay. and no one is going to get their feelings hurt.. (hopefully) :)

So that's that. Fall is wonderful. Life in general is wonderful. 

So me and homegirl kristen made a FALL Bucket list. Its posted on our fridge and makes me happy every-time i see it. maybe you'll like it too.

-Apple Picking

-Make Leaf Art

-Go 4 wheeling

-Have a photoshoot in a leaf pile

-Enjoy a bon fire w/ smores (check)

-Make Caramel Apples..delish.

-CORN MAZE

-Go to a pumpking patch and carve punkins

-Make Fall type cookies

-Go running while the air is crisp

-Bake Pies (check)

-Scary movie night with treats (check)

-Tell scary stories in a fort (check)

-FOOTBALL games! (check)

-Bike rides (check)

-Dance in the Rain

-Bake Homemade bread

*We're doing pretty good so far, but got a hecka lot more to cross off the list

Thursday

Thursday I had a lot of firsts(is that a word?)

I needed to be up by 4:30 in the a.m.. alarm never went off. (good thing i'm a light sleeper and woke up only 45 minutes to my phone vibrating)..first.

I drove to SLC with two other classmates. one being a married man with a broken leg..first.

I went to a Safety and Health Conference at University of Utah..first

 

I ate lunch with five grown men who were old enough to be my dad..first. (and awkward)

I didn't even get lost in the big city and stayed so so calm while driving.. first

I felt so grown up being a volunteer at a state wide conference..first.

 

I came home and worked on homework 'till i went to bed..first.

I even missed "treat night" just to make sure i wouldn't have homework over the weekend..first. 

Went to bed by 1130 because i was downright exhausted..first.

sunday loves

I WANT her hair!

We LOVE tandem bicycling

oh my

I seriously can't even wait!