Jarom.

Okay this is just a real quick post about my scripture study tonight..

I read the Book of Jarom tonight in the Book of Mormon ... incredible I read an entire book at once right? That is because it is like a page long ..

So here are my thoughts on Jarom, I love him. I love the book of Jarom. I recently have been thinking a lot about the small books in the BOM ( Book of Mormon) like Jarom and why they are in there. I have felt that they are so short so why does it matter that they are even in there? Would it really make a difference if we took Jarom's page out? Most people do not even know who Jarom is.

Here are my thoughts and my testimony (yes I am putting my testimony of Jarom on the internet.) I know that Jarom's book is important and is the word of God. If it were not true then they would not of put it in there. The fact something so small is in there I know it contains greatness.  As I read it I could not stop feeling the spirit and having my prayers answered. I know that the the Nephites were led by our Heavenly Father because they kept the Law of moses and not only that but they worked hard. In verse 11 it says they "labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering". They continued to spread the gospel and teach of the Messiah. Take it back a to verse 4 it states that the disciples that  were not stiff-necked and had faith would receive revelation and communion with the Holy Spirit.

Wow that is exactly what I need and desire. I want to have the Holy Ghosts constant companionship so I know that every choice I make in life was the correct one. I want to be as close to my Savior as possible and have the blessings of peace and strength because of it. I am so grateful for the Book of Jarom and that it has given me the simple reminder that I can have those things if I have humility, faith, hard work and am willing. I know that when I am working hard like the people I read about in the BOM that I am more happy. I also know that we can all and should all be missionaries through example in our everyday life like the Nephites.

"I AM A MORMON. I KNOW IT. I LIVE IT. I LOVE IT."- Sister Dibbs

3:00 AM

It is a little late to be up but I just have so much to say.
As soon as I start typing it is like all the hussel and bussel in my head suddenly vanishes..
I do not know how I feel about the new year. Because for once it means more than a night that I stay out late and have a good time. For once, it is the opportunity to end and start all over. Thanks to the atonement I can do that anytime, but for some reason the year 2013 stings. It stings because I have grown so much this year. I have had so many big events happen that it hurts it is over. This year I fell in love for my first time, this year I defeated the end of my senior year and graduated, this year I spent my summer in love with the man of my dreams, this year I moved out and started life on my own, this year I stepped into Utah Valley University with my head held high and my dreams ready to take flight, this year I had my heart smashed and vaporized, this year I learned to stand on my own two feet and love myself, I learned who I am this year and what I want, this year I lost my hero Bob Koch (my grandpa/best friend), this year I made friends who have changed who I am for the better, and this year I have learned that the atonement can really take all pain. Even the pain caused from losing loved ones. I am a daughter of a king, and I need to look at the new year in the eye and be brave. I can do this! I can let go of this year and have faith for the year to come. I will love again and achieve greatness.

Here is another one of my guilty pleasures, Alicia Cards poems, because I loved it so much.

After a while you learn

The subtle difference between

Holding a hand and chaining a soul

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning

And company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn

That kisses aren't countracts

And presents aren't promises

And you begin to accept your defeats

With your head up and your eyes ahead

With the grace of a woman

Not the grief of a child.

And you learn 

To build all your roads on today

Because tomorrow's ground is

Too uncertain for plans

And futures have a way

Of falling down in mid flight.

After a while you learn

That even sunshine burns if you get too much

So you plant your own garden

And decorate your own soul

Instead of waiting

For someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn 

That you really can endure

That you are really strong

And you really do have worth

And you learn and you learn

With every goodbye, you learn.

Ventilation System

While the reason I began this blog was for the sole purpose of my communications class, not that I did not ever want a blog but not one about a dedicated topic like working out... Working out is a passion of mine hands down but I just do not find that any of my workouts are all that interesting or worth while to write about.   So this post is a little unusual to this themed blog. 

This will be rather something similar to a vent. I need to just vent.. and let all my hot air out. After months of holding on to a hopeless hope I finally got the courage and strength to let go. Now this was not an easy task by all means but I had a lot of help! As Alicia Card one of my friends wrote a poem on her blog about it and this is something that was really helpful to me. This is one of the most beautiful poems ever.

 "To let go doesn't mean to stop caring.

It means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off.

It's the realization that I can't control another.

To let go is not to enable, but to Allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness which means,

the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another.

I can only change myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix.

But to be supportive to let go is not to judge but to

allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle.

Arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to effect their own outcomes.

To let go is not to be protective.

It is to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to deny, but to accept.

To let go is not to nag, scold, or argue, 

but to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires,

but to take each day as it comes and to cherish the moment.

To let go is not to criticize and regulate anyone, 

but to become the best I can be.

To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is to fear less.

Trust in God more, and freely give the love he's given to me."

The pain and patience that I went through during the last couple months of my life have become something I am so grateful for. Those experiences as well as the ones that have come to follow are building blocks to me reaching my full potential. These have also helped me to learn a lot so I can help others going through similar situations.

Letting go has created this new freedom for me, one were I can smile, laugh, breathe and really enjoy life. I can now feel how awesome I am and not base it off of someone else's feelings for me.

I am now enjoying dating again and meeting new people. Motivation to work and do well in school has struck my soul hard. I want to travel to learn and gain experience, not to run away anymore. My desire to date is not to fill my time so I'm not thinking about him but to meet someone new that I can give my love to. 

With that being said, I use to think there was never going to be another that great. He is an extraordinary man that I will always love and respect. However ...(: I was absolutely wrong. There are others, who are incredible. And it is possible to love someone else.....

So..

I met this man, we can name him Phillip. 

Phillip came from literally no where. We have really kinda no mutual friends. We have no classes together. We simply have the same major which causes us to cross paths in the hall when our timing is right time to time. I really had never noticed him before November 14. I guess supposedly he had noticed me often by my smile in the hall but never had the courage to speak with me until that glorious Wednesday of November 14. 

Phillip and I passed on a flight of stairs in the LC at UVU. It was one of those moments where you make eye contact and smile at each other but keep walking. You both think to yourself, " Wow that person was super attractive. I really wish I knew them. Too bad my life is not a movie, therefore I will never see them again." and then you continue on walking as if nothing had ever happened. You usually tend to forget about it within minutes. 

Phillip on this unusual day made my day one like no other. He made it a movie day. I passed him again right before the stairs walking into the LA. This time he stopped and got my number. We have been on two dates since then (both super fun) I really am curious to see where this goes. I hope more than anything it works out. Its so scary because I am so fragile right now and he is the first to make me twitter-patted since him. It doesn't help that Christmas is the most romantic holiday and there will be so much room this next month for growth. 

Welp, I guess we will find out soon enough how lucky I am or if it is too good to be true! 

Entwined 
All that we are is defined 
By each-other's shipwrecked hearts 
And I shiver to think 
What would have been 
If I wouldn't have seen you in time 
Would we pass by 

Like parachutes and air balloons 
Or satellites and lonely moons 
We'd still be drifting far apart 
But thank the stars we are entwined 

-Jason Reeves

Recreational blizzard

To educe last winter and some of the fun, made me think of some really great activities that can help you get that extra calorie burner in for the day. 

As December hits in Utah, snow regularly fills the once hiked on trails. (unless it is like last winter, cough cough) This makes life really difficult for those of us who love hiking. However, thanks to the genius who decided to put tennis racket looking things on his feet, we can now enjoy hiking all year. Yes they are called snow shoes, use them. Last year this became something that I really enjoyed. Although "enjoyed" is a word to be taken lightly. It was fun don't get me wrong but it is a good warning to remember that snow makes the load a lot heavier so it is a little more work than your regular hike, but well worth it! The first time I went was for a date and we went up American Fork canyon. If you decide to go snowshoeing for your first time, I recommend that you do not dress too warm. The snow tends to play tricks on us and it is not quite as cold as it appears. 

Snow boarding is another winter passion I have. For those who have never been it is hard the first couple of times and then it becomes the most fun thing you will ever do. For the workout aspect of it, you get a great thigh, glut, and abdominal workout. Beginners will also probably have an arm workout as well. If you are one of those people who have lived in Utah their entire life and still have never been snowboarding but still claim to be a Utahan, then I would advise you to take up this great hobby soon. As a college student, snowboarding may be out of the budget but Brighton does night boarding 2 for the price of 1 nights so we can all participate. The way it works is you go to your local Arctic Circle and get a ranch burger asking for the Brighton night boarding pass. They will give you a 2 for the price of 1 pass for every burger.  Then 2 people get in for the price of like $34. It comes out to be like $17 each. I will be the first to tell you it makes for a great date! 

Last but not least, our beloved sledding. Sledding will be my favorite past time from child hood for ever. The list of memories from sledding seem to appear never ending. I remember running in the door from school changing with my siblings into our beat up, hideous old snow clothes and busting back out the door to run to our neighborhood park where there was a huge hill. The hill would be covered with kids of all ages and we would all sled till our parents forced us home because we could no longer see it was so dark. The fun didn't end their though, we would take off the wet clothes and replace them with PJs so we could eat dinner, drink hot coco and watch movies. 

Street Soccer

Street Soccer from Sheridan Shannon on Vimeo.


Sometimes the best way to have fun while getting a workout is to do something you love!

I am a "do stuff" type of chick, I love to play sports and be active, even if I am not good at them.
My really good friend Adam Frogley played street soccer for a club in high school. He loves soccer and would like to still have it part of his life now that he is in college. Him and I were walking to my apartment one day and passed through the tunnels that go to UVU. He instantly thought of how much fun it would be to play street soccer in the tunnels. That night we grabbed all of our close friends and played street soccer, it was a blast. The vimeo above is a music video of it that my friend Sheridan made because she thought it was so much fun.

Since we all had such a great time it has become a tradition. Every Monday night at 9:30 we play street soccer in the tunnels. It has been a fun way to be active and spend time with friends making memories.

Our street soccer tradition has evolved a lot since we started it over 2 months ago. We now have little street soccer goals and many new friends. Every week is different but some weeks we have up to 20 or so players. That is the best part. UVU has a large Middle Eastern community and many of them have came and have joined the fun.

With there being 6 other nights in a week sometimes I need other fun activities to stay active. With it being cold outside people often tend to cling to the idea of movies every night. To my loss I have tons of energy and can not watch movies all day everyday. Lately I have been playing basketball at a local LDS church with my friends. This has also been something that I have enjoyed a lot.

Work in Progress

So it has been awhile..

My cardio cut down has not been quite as successful as I would of wished for. I was doing really great and I was looking really great but then a couple weeks ago I got caught up with life and stopped doing the daily workouts. Not only did my gym determination fail but so did my great eating habits. 
I love candy and sweets as do most woman. I started compromising my healthy eating for sweets around halloween time. 

On top of all that I also ended up going for an 8 mile run the other day. I still have been doing some of the daily workouts just not consistently. Since I wasn't doing it perfect anyway that run was needed. 
The moral of the story is that... Well, this workout program from what I have done was a success, no one is perfect, it is just time to get motivated and keep doing it but the right way again (: 

The cool thing about eating right and working out is that it is never a waste, even if you do not do it perfect the first time or you mess up a lot. You always are better then the people who never tried and sit on the couch. You are always progressing if you are trying. 

Keep working hard!

Cardio Cut Down Challenge

Say what? Yes you heard me correctly, it is a cardio cut down challenge. From past posts its obvious to see that I love to run.  Running has been a passion since age 9. This nine year old McKayla would run with her Dad from then till the day she moved out! 

As much as this hurts I have decided I want to test the waters with muscle building. So a week ago I started Jamie Eason's Live Fit plan. It is a free twelve week plan that will help anyone with determination get fit! I am already in good shape but I am lacking muscles like in my arms and places you do not reach with abdominal workouts and running. If you are brave enough I dare you to try it out with me.

WEEK 1

This week was kind of interesting, I have never skipped out on cardio and the first phase of this program says NO CARDIO. Me being the rebel that I am decided a little hopefully will not hurt. So along with her workouts she has for me I do like a 15-20 minute run.

12 weeks of not only a workout change but a meal plan too. Luckily for me I am already a pretty healthy eater, so I have not had to make any dramatic changes. The biggest change I have had to make is that I have to eat every 3 hours. This seems so odd to me, eat more but lose weight? Here is how it works: Unlike cardio, a muscle workout burns calories all day (even when you are deep in slumber) cool huh? So if your body is constantly burning and losing weight, it is important to keep something going in you so your body will keep burning. If you do not then your body goes into starvation mode and will stop burning calories and fat. But eating a lot does not mean eating what ever. My diet for the next 12 weeks consists of Oatmeal for breakfast, tilapia or chicken with veggies for lunch, three egg whites with fruit or veggies for a snack, chicken, potato and rice for the next meal. That is a lot of food and it is like 1/3 of what Jamie says to eat! 

The rebel that I am I still have sweets.. A cookie never hurt anyone right? 

I feel like I am always eating.

Next comes the workout. The daily workout is on the website for your 12 week plan. Every day she works 2 muscles. As I have began trying them out I face the sad truth that I may be in shape but I have zero muscles in places like arms and shoulders.. The legs and butt muscles were on Monday and I still am sore from that workout! 

Ether way I am having fun and it never hurts to try something new! 

Here is a picture of Jamie Eason so you know her credibility!