Warning: May cause slight discomfort, pain, swelling, or redness

Two months have come and gone since my last post so here’s what you have missed in that time: Uh…well…hmm…

Yep, I’ve got nothing. Sometimes I am utterly astounded by how boring our lives are—every week is exactly like the last.

So yesterday, in an effort to break away from my normal routine, I tried something new. Instead of just running my standard 40 minutes at the gym and calling it good, I tried out a class. I have never attempted a class at the gym before for fear that I would not be able to keep up, feel stupid, and mostly because I knew I would look like an idiot—I experienced all this and more.

I attended an hour long power pump class—it’s like weight lifting/resistance training set to music kind of like aerobics—which, ps I will never try—defiantly not coordinated enough to do that! I awkwardly watched each of the class members as they prepared for the class collecting weights, dumbbells, mats, aerobic steps and exercise balls and I did the same.

Within the first 10 minutes of class I knew I was in trouble—I was so exhausted from the warm up my legs had ceased to function properly. I pooped out on the 4 reps of 20 legs lifts after the first rep, made it three-quarters of the way through the lunges, and half way through squats—and that was without the weights! By the time we moved on to the upper body my legs were ready to give out. Balancing on a ball we worked our abs, backs, arms and upper body, I had such a hard time balancing on ball (because my legs no longer had feeling) that I had to wimp out and sit on the aerobic step to complete the arms portion of the class.

The last 10 minutes of the class was dedicated to just abs and that’s when I gave up. My arms, legs, and back could no longer support my weight; I not could risk EVERY single muscle in my body being so sore I wouldn’t be able to climb out of bed in the morning—wise choice. Even so, Man, am I sore today! The simply act of just sitting at my desk puts enough pressure on my buttocks and hip to make them cramp up—ouch!

So will I ever go back? Probably—I like the challenge. It’s a good thing, though, the next class isn’t until Tuesday, that should give me enough to recover before I embark on my next “What was I thinking??! I look like idiot! I can’t keep up! Never have I felt this much pain!!” Adventure.

A New Adventure

After all of the waiting the day has finally come—Tyler’s first day at school—as a flight instructor of course! Tomorrow Tyler will meet with his first student (whose name, strangely enough, also happens to be Tyler).

Yesterday Tyler took me down to the UVU hanger at the Provo airport to show me the plane he will be instructing in.

He also showed off his neat cubby and cubical in the instructor's office. He even tried in his new uniform so I could get the whole effect.

Doesn’t he look adorable? He is so nervous but I know that he will do a fantastic job.

Good luck babe!

A Visit With the Family Circus

Being married can make splitting up the holidays hard; luckily for Tyler and me we were able to see both our families this year. We spend Christmas with the Crowthers and New Years with the Kuykendall/Hofheins clan.

My Family made the long, cold, icy trek from the beautiful land of CA to bring the Phyllis out to BYU. There were about 12 people and two dogs staying overnight at Grandma’s. During the day the house swelled to 22 people and 3 dogs! I managed to convince my baby brother stay at my house—due to a slight shortage of space.

New Years Eve T and E spent a day out on the slopes doing some manly bonding

News Years Day my aunts, cousins, sisters, mom, and I all went shopping (that’s 10 women all together). My boys (dad, brother, Tyler) said that they couldn’t take all of the estrogen and ditched—I am not really sure what they did while all the girls were shopping—maybe I don’t want to know.

It was so much fun having all of the family together. My parents and brother said their goodbyes Saturday—that always the worst part of visiting with loved ones—the goodbyes. It’s not so bad, though, we should be seeing them again in the not too distant future when they bring the man child out to the MTC—that will be a sad goodbye. For now I send them my love; I miss you guys! But, what I really missed the most is CA—when will the snow stop falling?!

Making Resolutions

I have never been a huge fan of goal-setting probably because I have never been very good at the whole follow through thing. Like most people that set goals for the New Year, I find that after setting rather lofty (and most of the time unachievable) goals, I soon become overwhelmed and slip back into my old habits. And when I fail, I feel angry and disappointed with myself because of my lack of discipline. So, a few years ago I decide to stop making New Year’s resolutions. I have adopted the following theory:

“He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; he who makes one is a fool” (Knowles).

Now, this is not to say that I never set goals and never achieve them, I just think that the idea of setting goals just because it’s the New Year is silly. When I identify and area for improvement in my life I try to break the habit and make the change as soon as possible. I have found that New Year’s goals let you say “I won’t think about that today; I’ll think about it tomorrow”; it’s just too easy to say you will start making improvements next year, next month, etc.

The end of the year is quickly approaching and I find myself thinking back over the last 363 days and trying to decide if I have made good use of the time I have been given. It has been a phenomenal year, and although I know I have many changes and improvements to make, I am still very pleased with this past year and what I have done with it. (Guess I should be—it’s not like I can re-do it if I am not.)

I hope 2009 will be as wonderful a year as 2008 has been.

When the magic fades

Yesterday was Christmas. Today I am 23 years old.

As a child this time of year was so special—magical even. I would wake up on Christmas Eve with butterflies in my stomach, my head full of all sorts of hopes and dreams for Christmas day.

I would reluctantly go to bed that night and lay awake waiting for the sounds of flying reindeer and sleigh bells. In the early morning hours I would sneak out of bed to survey the tree—all the gifts and treasures which had magically appeared. Then, impatiently, I would wait in my room watching the clock wishing and willing it to display the pre-approved wakeup time (set by Mom & Dad). Then, when the time had at last come, I would rush to my parent’s room. “Wake up; he came—Santa came. Can we get up now? Pleease?!” I wish Christmas held that kind of joy for me now.

This Christmas, like the past few, was less magical then those of my childhood. Each year as Christmas time approaches I feel a small rush of excitement as I remember Christmases of my childhood and secretly hope for the magic to return. Yet, sadly, with each successive year, the magic fades just a bit more and as I clear away the wrapping paper and bows, put away the tree and lights I am left with a little void inside, a part of me longing for the season to last a little longer.

For me, today, my birthday marks the end of the season, the end of a year. I have so many hopes and dreams for my life, my family, my future. My life is not what I pictured it would be like when I turned 23 but that’s alright; I have found that often different is better than anything I could have dreamed up or pictured.

And so, today, as I pack away Christmas and start a brand new year I look forward to the surprises, excitement and new adventures that will come my way. I am so excited for the day when it will be my turn to create the magic of the season for my own family.