P90X

A few weeks ago Warren saw a infomercial for a home fitness training program called P90X. He decided that he was going to do it and the more and more he talked about it the more intrigued I became. I decided that I would do it with him and so we have been preparing ourselves to start. Last night Warren and I did the fitness test and wrote down our scores and such to keep track of our progress over 30, 60 and 90 days. This morning I took pictures of myself in different poses so I can also see the progress. I am very excited for the P90X and I hope that it goes well! So wish by Warren and I luck!

My Orange Valentine's Day

If you read my blog before on Valentine’s Day you might think that I seemed slightly negative towards the holiday, but this Valentines day was very amazing.
For Valentine’s Day this year I decided to make a fancy dinner for Warren and me. This included china, candles (the kind that doesn’t drip wax which was great because both Warren and I hit over one) flowers and yes I even pulled out multiple forks.
For the appetizer I made french onion soup. Knowing that Warren loves french onion soup this was quite the hit and it turned out great. For the main course we had Orange Roughy cooked in coconut, rice pilaf, and simmered lemon artichoke heart and stems.
Although this was very good what I was most proud of was the orange and chocolate tort that I made. It took a couple of hours but it was totally worth it.
After the movie Warren took me out to go see the movie The International. If you don’t know already it is a action movie where Clive Owen tries to take down a corrupt bank. Also, return for this Valentine’s Day feast Warren gave me a Orange tree! I have been wanting one for a very long time and even trying to convince him to get one. I love my new tree and I’m excited to put it next to my sweet plum bonsai.
So thank you Warren for the amazing tree and the first Valentine’s Day I have ever enjoyed. Thank you also Marie and Nate for letting me barrow your table. I hope you all also had an enjoyable Valentine’s Day.

My Orange Tort!

My Amazing Orange Tree!
(Warren is holding the Orange that fell of the tree during the shipping)
The Tort Tasted a lot Better Than it Looks

Family.

There are so many reason of why I want to pack up and move away from my family and never look at any of them again, especially tonight. They make me angry, sad, depressed and even self conscious. But I love them. Even though they are all insane (except my father, as anyone who knows him can agree) I have learned so much from each of them.

My father has taught/forced me to be more independent and become a harder worker. My mother taught me how to cook and clean and care for others. My sister Shannon taught me to think outside of the box while my other sister Annelise taught me to recognize the world around me and not just Provo, Utah or even the U.S.A. And last of all my brother Eric. My brother, who literally saved my life has taught me to love. That seems so silly because he seems like anything but a loving sweet sensitive guy now but when we were younger after experiencing hard times together we became inseparable. For years we would only sleep in the same room, eat together and even had to be in the same kindergarden class for a year. He was so kind and so protective it made me want to reach out and let others feel that same comfort and joy I felt with him.

I love my family. I am so glad I am sealed to them. The future for our family is looking very crazy right now. But like always, we’ll stick together.

My Family is Anything but Normal and Here are Some Reasons Why

1. My mother is obsessed with cleaning. Everything has to be spotless and if you leave your dishes every once and a while she will put them in your bed.
2. My sister Annelise will not wear the color pink because it ‘clashes with her aura’.
3. My sister Shannon believes one should be able to get an Ecclesiastical endorsement from a tree.
4. My brother believes murder to be a perfectly appropriate topic to discus at the dinner table.
5. My father has a dog bed in his office at BYU.
6. My mother spends an average of 5 days cooking in preparation for any holiday.
7. My Aunt is convinced my mother tied her to a tree when she was ten and if you ever bring it up they start arguing and sometimes fist fight.
8. I just found out that vacuuming everyday and moving the furniture is not normal.
9. The only reason we have cable is for Animal Planet.
10. I am the only one in my family to not have read the complete works of Shakespeare at least 3 times.
11. Over half of my immediate family teaches English.
12. We have a show dog named Kalif and he normally gets more in his Christmas stocking than any of the kids.
13. My sister Shannon dreams of living in a tree in the middle of the Amazon.
14. My father is 53 and can bike 200 miles in 2 days.
15. My father and nephew wore kilts at my sister’s wedding and her husband wore a cowboy hat.
16. We have all been to Europe 5 times and never been to Disneyland.
17. We have had pets by the names of Kalif, Shoki, Bronte (yes like the sisters), Baldrick, Sargon Lord of Septic Death, Ein, and Varmet.
18. My brother has worn bright girls fisherman rain boots everyday for the past month.
19. My mother doesn’t allow us to dip our cookies into milk in public.
20. The first time I ever ditched school was to go see the Prophet.

Laugh Because You Feel Like it

Recently I have been thinking about how I am such an emotional person and deciding on whether or not I need to care less or become more logical because if one day I don't want to explode or if I am just like everyone else. As I think about it I have come to realize that I do everything in my life based on my emotions.

I went to BYU because I feel so strongly about becoming better educated. I became a dance major because I love to dance and it makes me feel good. I am dating Warren because he makes me feel amazing. I am friends with Marie, Nate, Heather, Tucker, Cherie, Cami and more because they make me feel good about myself and I love them all so much. I love watching old black and white movies because they make me feel nostalgic. I love to cook and bake because of the rewarding feeling I get when I’m done. I love to clean because of the instant gratification it gives me and I love to wear cute clothes and do my hair and make up cute everyday because it makes me feel better and more confident.

I could add on to this list forever, but it was exactly this list that made me realize we are all emotional in our own ways. It is our emotions that grab us by the hand and leads us through life. You can look at things logically all of the time but even then it’s based on emotions. You could want to go to school because you want a good job, and logically that makes perfect sense but if it wasn’t for you feeling that you need a good job you wouldn’t consider it. I believe that it is the same with every choice you make. It will always be slightly influenced by emotion. Otherwise why would you even be needing to make a choice?

So maybe there isn’t anything wrong with crying in a good movie, singing along to sappy songs and smiling, yelling at inanimate objects for existing just for me to trip on or laughing out loud at myself. Don’t get me wrong I think it is very important to be logical but let’s also embrace our emotions no mater how zany or odd they may seem and stop being so scared of others reactions. Today lets call up an old friend, go cliff diving, run 3 miles, write a ridiculous blog, or kiss someone you love all just because you feel like it. Be emotional. Life seems so much more fun when you let go.

Valentine's Day You've Got Potential

There are many stories about howValentine’s Day came about. There's the story of a martyr and a bishop by the names of Valentine but there was nothing romantic in their lives. Perhaps the holiday was named after the Saint Valentine who after being rejected by his mistress cut out his heart and sent it to her. Although it’s a interesting story, it doesn’t explain how the holiday turned into a pink doily covered lovefest.

I think Valentines day has the potential to be a great holiday but like always, the world has changed it into something else. In this case a gushy romantic holiday. Now I might be slightly biased because I had such a horrible Valentine’s day last year but I think Valentine's Day could have some improvements. Valentine's Day should not just focus on the couples and those in love. I think on Valentine's Day, everyone should show their love towards everyone they love. Sure you can focus on the one you love the most (husband, wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, fiance, etc.) a bit more than the others, but I think you should let others know you care too.

I also think there are so many different things that you could do to express their love for someone that doesn’t consist of anything pink, glittery, lacy, covered in hearts or even chocolate. For instance, one of my friends gave his wife a bonsai tree for Valentines day instead of flowers. Another one of my friends gave his girlfriend some of the classic books she loved that were not overly gushy Twilight romantic. Some of these books included The Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde, and The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. Last year I watched my cousin take his girlfriend to the Zoo and an art gallery, then found a very small random but cheap Indian restaurant to have dinner. He also bought flowers not only for his girlfriend but also for me and my mother. I look back and think how much better that was than the dinner at Chef's Table--the one everyone else is doing. I think Valentine’s Day is a fabulous holiday as long as you consider who you really should be sharing it with, rather than what the rest of the world is doing or what is considered 'traditional'.

Perhaps this year, we should all relax, breathe, and not not stress like we do about every holiday. Let’s enjoy Valentine’s Day.