Admid my mid-life crisis, I have decided to become a hiker.

The funny thing about this is that I am totally serious. I haven't always wanted to spend time in the mountains. As a child, my family had a cabin in Midway, Utah. We spent so many summers at that cabin. I liked it, but they were Utah summers. Dry. Weedy. And, frankly, not fun to run out and play. To "hike" meant following the road as far as I wanted to (or until I got scared) then turning around and heading back. My hikes were more like walks. However, my brothers were always hiking. Once as a teenager, I went hiking with my brother who decided to head STRAIGHT up the mountain instead of finding a trail to follow. WHAT THE HECK! Who does that? Anyway, I have never really loved hiking. It just wasn't for me. Plus, I'm a whimp when it comes to being alone in nature. What about the bears, cougars/mountain lions, snakes, poison ivy, creepy guys waiting for me to walk past so they can murder me and throw me off the cliff (legit fear). But I want to change that. Seeing my friends and family find peace in nature has made me somewhat envious. I have become addicted to noise and technology in an unhealthy way. My mind and eyes have to be "on" constantly; on the computer or on my phone.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I want to change. I want to find peace in my surroundings and in nature. I want to go someplace where I can't be "ON". And, I want to write about it. Consider this my open, online journal that anyone can read if you want. This is the start (hopefully) of the change I want to make in my life. To be come more centered, happy and peaceful. Plus, my trainer says that hiking is the very best cardio workout and burns the most fat - so there's that.

A lesson for me about me…

Dear Jennie,

How are you doing on your Year of Me? I know that you get down pretty easily and that you often have a lot of stress on your plate. You worry about your kids and grand-kids. You worry about your aging mother, your injured brother, your working-too-hard husband, and your stupid weight issues. You have not had an easy life, but, you really haven’t had a bad life, have you? You have two parents who love you. You have a few siblings who love you, too. You have loads of nieces and nephews and cousins who adore you (How can they not? You are most certainly the coolest aunt in the history of the world!). You have a loving and wonderful husband who would do anything for you. And, you have the truthfulness of the Gospel. You pretty much have it all. No, seriously, you really have it all. You may have not lived a conventional life, but those are boring anyway. You are destined for greatness! You have an incredible power when you pray. {Remember that time you prayed for rain and got a tornado?} Anyway, you have a talent of praying. You understand the scriptures fairly well. You love everyone and can get along with almost everyone. You are really smart! You just need to apply yourself a little more.

 
The other day you gave someone some advice about success. You said “90% of our accomplishments in life is menta. If we get past the fear of failure and success, we become capable of changing not just ourselves for good, but also the world.” Take your own advice. Don’t be scared to fail. And don’t be scared to succeed. YOU GOT THIS! You are a rockstar. Now, go out and prove it!

The Year of ME!!!

ITS ALL ABOUT ME!!!

So I have declared this the year of ME. What does this mean? I am going to stop putting myself in other places and keep myself at home (or with family). I am focusing on what I need physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I am going to stop being so busy that I don't have time to serve or share my mad ninja skills with my neighbors and friends. My husband doesn't believe I can do it. Not that he doesn't have faith in me, but usually after every major event I host/help/work at I promise myself never to do it again - and I always do. But not this year!

I have already started somewhat by developing the 4S' diet. Its not really a diet as much as it is a challenge. Starting on January 1st, I am abstaining from Sugar, Soda, Seconds, and Starches - for a year.  Aside from a hard day once in a while, it hasn't been too bad to maintain. I have dropped 14lbs so far and feel really good. I don't miss sugar as much as I thought I would. :)

Next, I am giving up my community theater work for the year. I love doing it, but it has seemed to take up too much of my time. I am focusing on whats good, better or best and tho this volunteer work is good, its not better or best.

Finally, I am going to work on cultivating other talents/gifts. I am going to finish all my crafting projects. I am going to practice my guitar and ukulele more. I am going to write a lot more and I am going to run a lot more.

So there you have it. That's the project for the year so far. As I say in my mirror every morning... "Go get 'em, tiger!"

Peace out!

Conference Weekend!

This weekend was amazing! 

I got to meet Whitley Weeks for the first time. She is our new little grand-baby girl! She is soo stinkin' cute. LOVE HER! 

 Whitley Anne Weeks and Grandma Jennie

 So majestic...like a lion on the savannah...

 Our last session of conference...he slept first...woke up...then I slept.

Overcoming the weak...

So I have always considered myself a strong person. As in, I can lift a lot and carry more than I should and so on, but when it comes to inner strength, I am super weak. 

Weak-minded, weak-willed, weak-hearted.  

I think the best way to improve on the weakness is to practice being 

strong-minded, strong-willed and strong-hearted.

From my previous post, you saw that I was doing my own personal 30-day challenge. I have started out pretty weak. I had a good breakfast...yesterday.  Today, starting now, I will not cheat in my nutrition. I will not miss my workouts at Crossfit and I will en devour to endure, nay, thrive in this challenge. 

As my trainer would say..."It's all in your mind"

One valuable aspect of this challenge that I am missing the boat is meditation. I know its important for our mental and physical make-up. So I vow to add a ten minute meditation into each day. 

Now to find the perfect meditation spot.... :)

Nutrition Challenge

Recently, at my gym, we completed a 9 week nutrition challenge. The goal: follow a meal plan/diet for 9 weeks, set a goal for how often to attend the gym, and set a fitness goal you would like to accomplish. 

I chose the Zone Diet. I made the condition that I could eat out once every two weeks and that I would go to the gym 4 days a week. 

I set a goal of completing the beginning workout which was 10-30-50 pullups, situps and lunges for time, three minutes faster than intially. 

My results: 

22 lbs lost

18 inches lost

nutrition goal, kept

gym attendance, done

and my final workout: 

30 seconds faster, but in the first workout, my "50" lunges were cut to 30 because I was struggling so much. The final workout I did 50 lunges 30 seconds faster!

Because this was a gym-wide challenge, there was quite a bit of money in the pot. Though I didn't win, I did find out that I was one of six finalists. Made. My. Day. 

I just want you all to know that I am starting my own 30 day challenge. I am sticking with the Zone Diet. I am attending the gym three days a week, and my milestone workout will be  10 rounds of 200 Meter Run, 5 Overhead squats (45#), and 5 Wall Walks.  

If you want to know my workouts, checkout CrossfitSouthtown.com.  I am telling you, this stuff is fun! Also, a big shout out to the owner/trainer of Crossfit Southtown for always being so supportive: Thanks, Shellece!

His Grace is all the difference.

Last week in Young Women's, our class learned about Grace. The teacher shared this talk by Brad Wilcox, who so clearly put into perspective the principle of Grace. How grateful I am to the Lord for His pure love and for his wanting me to do good and to choose to change to become more like Him. I love the Lord and hope to one day, return to live with Him.

Writing Prompts continued...

2. What 5 websites do you visit often and why...?

Well, this may be a boring topic to say the least. I am lucky to work at a job where we have seasons of work. Since I am in an off season, I have a lot of time on my hands which is spent surfing.  The web that is. So five websites I visit are:
1. People.com: I call this my trash time. I don't really care about what the rich and famous are doing and many of the articles published by People.com are pretty shameless. However, I find it amusing to see what Reese Witherspoon is sporting to show off her baby bump.  What Matthew McConaughey is NOT wearing? How does Katie really feel about Scientology? Anyway, this is why I frequent People.com. For mindless entertainment.
2. Facebook.com: Let's face it. Everyone is addicted to Facebook. This is where you get to walk down the proverbial hall in the never ending high school and say hey or boo to everyone you pass (a.k.a. your "friends") most of whom, you don't really care about and who really could care less about you. Yet, we find it fascinating that someone who we haven't seen or talked to in 20 years has a sudden interest in what we do minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. To tell you the truth, I am probably going to dump the facebook crowd after October. I have a commitment that will end then and I will be a facebook free woman...HALLELUJAH!
3. KSL.com: The local news station website. I mostly look at this because I hate watching the doom and gloom on the nightly news. Checking out the website allows me to pick and choose which stories interest me.
4. Pinterest.com: What can I say...I am blissfully addicted to this sight. I love all the many crafting, DIY, and style ideas. Also, I am influenced more by Pinterest than by any other website.
5. IMDB.com: I love this site for no other reason but this inquiring mind would love to know more about movies, characters, and actors. I love reading the trivia about a movie or actor I just watched. Whether this is influenced by my theater background or my husbands "need to know" stuff, its interesting...what can I say?

Well, there you have it. Everything there is to know about my surfing habits.

Writing Prompts

As a writer, I sometimes find it hard to find topics to write about. So, I am experiementing with writing prompts. I will be using this blog as a forum for my writing from writing prompts. If any of you out there have a writing prompt you would like to share, please do so! And check back the next day for the results!  So as of today, here is the first writing prompt...

1. What is something that you lost or gave away that you can never replace.

In my short 36 years on this earth, I have lost or given away many things. In fact, I cannot remember much of what was given, but I remember many things losts. When something is lost, its a tragedy. Giving something doesn't not care the emotional trama of loss. So here is a short list of things I have lost in life...

• One of my first dolls as a little girl. She was blond haired with a beautiful green velvet dress. I left her at the neighbor's house. When I went back to get her, the neighbor's little girl claimed not to know what I was talking about. I think she did.
• My set of Maddona tapes. I think my mom threw them out. I knew every note and lyric on those tapes. Although now, I don't really regret losing them.
• Trust. In my opinion once you lose someone's trust or they lose yours, its near impossible to get that back. Unfortunately, in 36 years, I know I have been on both sides of the trust coin.
• I lost my dad a couple of years ago to cancer.  Sure, he was older and lived a long full life. But, I know for a fact that no matter how old your parent is, losing them SUCKS!
• On that blue note, I have also lost a dear friend to cancer. My dear Kathy Jensen was the sweetest, most kind person I had ever met. Her absense is felt everyday.

I guess thats enough of what was lost. As the first post in this serious of writing prompts, I will have to mention this one is quite depressing. I hate leaving that mood to you as a reader. So here is a list of irreplacable things I have found in my lifetime.

• I found my husband on-line...or he found me. Either way, I am most grateful to have such a love in my life. I had prayed, oh so long, for a love like his. I am blessed to have him in my life.
• I found an awesome deal at the DI. I bought an old 1970's something coffee table that I promptly turned into a cute entertainment center. I consider this an amazing find!
• I found myself among all the experiences of life. I found out who I am, what I like and don't like. I found out that I am stronger that I give myself credit for. I am one tough cookie with a tender heart. I cry when I am happy, sad, frustrated, angry, or irritated. I am a perfect mix of my mom and Dad's personality. I have just enough of each to make me pretty awesome.
• I found a love for running.
• I found a love for designing and creating.

I feel better now.

Our Trip to the Northwest!

This is our trip to the Northwest. We spend night one in Oregon...on the coast...like, right on the coast. I just have three words for you...Best. Trip. Ever!

From our campsite!

We camped here...

Much of the road was like this. I kept watching for Edward to jump out...

We stopped here...my first time seeing a lighthouse upclose and it was cool!

But I thought it would be bigger...

But the views...O.M.W.

This is at Fort Stevens.

The 4 mile bridge crossing the mouth of the Columbia River. Oregon to Washington.

Astoria, OR  I wanted to meet the Goonies, but I couldn't find any.  Boo!

When life gets busy and you forget to do,
The things you care for can forget you too.

So, lately, life has been going a million miles an hour. I have been working with my buddy Nancey Owen on the Relay for Life. We just completed our second year as The "A" Team! This year, we had lots of things come up. Namely, Nancey had some health issues. Needless to say we decided to go low key at Relay. Guess what! Best. Relay. Ever.  We raffled a new beach cruiser that was donated along with a beach bag full of stuff to go to the beach. The lady who won was so grateful. She had tears in her eyes. We also sold dutch-oven fruit cobler. Between the raffle and the cobler we made about $650. WOOT!  We also had the opportunity to host Holly and Trent Rasmussen on our team. They are currently fighting the battle of thier lifetime...and in my estimation they are winning!

Other going on's:

I was led by a friend from Hyrum to join the Time Out for Women team. Basically, I do some word of mouth stuff, share on facebook, and blog about it. In turn, I get free admission to the TOFW event, I also get to help usher, serve fellow sisters, and overall, have a great time. If any of you are interested, please let me know. I am putting together this week a group rate group.

I have also been asked to help with the Brigham City Temple Open House Cultural Celebration. I will be working behind the scenes, but I am so glad to help out.

Konnor Moore, Gary's son, is graduating this week from Marine Corp. Boot Camp. We are so proud of him and all he has done so far to change his path. I know it hasn't been easy, but he has worked hard to be better and has succeeded.

Well, thats all for now. Lots more to come...I'm sure.

Don't have a {Heart} attack!

I know, I know. I really have been miserable because my blog has been suffering from neglect for quite some time.

I keep saying I am going to keep it up and then,

I don't.

Well, I am who I am, what can I say?

What I can say is that life has been quite interesting the last few months.

In July of 2011 I got a new job. I was virtually unemployeed at the time

(though we writers call that freelancing).

My sweet honey and I were staying in my mom's basement.

All of us were getting worn out with the situation. 

So I earnestly started the hunt for an affordable apartment that would afford us the financial freedom to exist.

I looked high! I looked low! I looked to and fro. 

Though there were lots of options, none were affordable to us

(Eeff and Molly cost too much)!

So on a God-given whim, I decided to see if I could qualify for a home loan.

After months of unemployment, what do you think my credit is like.

Yeah, I know. Right?

But miracle of miracles, I qualified. WHEW! It wasn't a huge qualification, but still doable.

Well, we needed a down payment, so we scrimped and saved and had absolutely no expendatures except Food and Fuel. 

We totally skipped Christmas 

just to save all we could for a down payment.

Well, after looking at 100+ homes from Davis to Box Elder counties over the course of six weeks,

I was exhausted.

In the meantime, I kept tabs on UtahRealEstate.com to see if anything new became available from day to day in

Box Elder County. 

I just happend to get on the same day that a 1860 sq ft condo in Perry just had a price drop of $20,000.

Boy howdy!

I jumped on that deal like a fumbled football.

Needless to say, after a 60 day closing and six weeks of painting, we are finally 90% moved in.

The condo is in my old Perry 5th ward (which I love) and I have wonderful neighbors. I am close to my mom should I need anything.

My back windows and patio over look the most picturesque scene. Seriously if anyone needs a place to take photos...

I love all the space, the layout, and my new paint job.  I just bought new drapes last night that are adorable.

Its been a trial trying to get it decorated, boxes put away, and just getting it livable, but its slowly coming together.

My sweet friends Nancey and Karen have come several times to help get things

organized and put away.

I just have a lot of stuff!!!

So, if you were wondering what has been happening in my life lately, that's my story.

Where have I been...?

So it has been some time since I posted on this site. Where have I been? I have been traveling A LOT, but haven't posted because I also have been working A LOT. So this is a promise that I will be posting soon, but until then, enjoy some of these pics from recent events!

St. Kitts ZIP LINE and our assistant, Budwieser!

Me and the girls at an outdoor concert at my friends house!

Karen, ME, Kristy, and Nancey!

The babies and thier pumpkins... Halloween 2011

Some aquatic friends from a recent tropical vacay!

Crazy Busy...But So MUCH Fun!

Me and Gary on the bike.

Okay, for those of you who don't know, I only see my husband every other weekend. Our work schedules conflict and blardy, blardy, blar... The long and short of it is that when we do have "our weekend", we like to go and do something fun. This weekend was a complete BLAST!!! We went with our cruising buddies on a long motorcycle ride over the river and through the woods. We didn't end up at Grandma's house but landed ourselves in the "Caribbean of the Rockies" (a.k.a Bear Lake).

Our BUDDIES, the Gardners'

As we left our house in Perry and rode to Smithfield to meet our friends we got talking about life and our future and other stuff. One of the best things about riding on the bike is that we get so philisophical and have such amazing heart-to-hearts.

Mink Creek Valley

Emigration Canyon

From Smithfield we rode to Preston and up through the ever-so-gorgeous Emigration Canyon. I was kind of ridiculous with the camera. I bet I looked funny with camera in hand snapping pictures at anything I wanted. I took several self-portraits at arms length and lots of our friends riding behind us.

The old school/church/house

We rode through some of the most scenic country. There were rolling hills and farms, mountainous terraine, and then finally we came to the spralling Bear Lake Valley. We stopped at this really cool old school/church/house that was all boarded up. {I would love to purchase it and remodel it into a beautiful home, but unfortunately its too far of a commute for Gary and I}.

The very FULL Bear Lake

Bear Lake was really full, only two feet from the top. I was really impressed with how close the water was to the beach-front properties. We rode into Garden City and had lunch at the famous Cafe Sabor. I had thier fish tacos and can I just say YUM!!! Then we were off to ride around the lake.

At Cafe Sabor waiting for YUMMY fish tacos...

After stopping in Laketown for gas and sunscreen {I was too late and now look like a racoon}, we stopped at a friend-of-our-friends' house. She has a little nursery where she sells flowers. Her yard was picturesque with the lake in the background and some of the most beautiful flowers in the foreground. We took a few pictures, but my camera certainly doesn't do it justice.

The Pretty Flower place...

More of the pretty flower place...

Our Mug Shots!

Just one of a million pictures I took on our way
 down the canyon.

It took about an hour to get around the lake, but was so gorgeous and way worth it.  As we made our way back to the main hwy to get us to the canyon, we stopped at the Old Jailhouse Antique store. Gary and I love antiques and it was cool to see some of the stuff they had. There was a "picture opportunity" that was pretty funny and then there was the guys' facination with the bear {don't ask}. Part of the store was housed in the actual jailhouse from the early settlements. It was cool.

Karen and I at First Dam

We got our jackets on and headed down the Logan canyon to head home. The canyon had yummy smells, green foilage, and cool air. We love riding through that canyon. It's truly one of God's greatest creations.

We said good-bye to our buddies at First Dam and decided that we are going to start a motorcycle gang {we've got a motto and everything...}. Gary and I stopped at the Cache County fair before heading home. We walked around the booths and got some ice cream and then headed home. We were tired and sore by the time we got home, but we were happy. Riding always makes us happy!  

GoodBye, BUDDIES!!!

Another Utah Hotspot...well, almost!

If any of you have ever driven to Evanston on I-84, you will have noticed a little hint of evil that lerks along the road. This freak-of-nature experience (much like the Brumuda Triangle without all the mystery) was formed many thousands of years ago. Know as Devil's Slide, this unique geologic formation is a sight to behold. According to my most valuable, reasonable source, Wikipedia, Devil's Slide consists of two parallel limestone rocks that have been tilted by earth movement making them vertical. These rocks protrude 40 feet out of the mountainside. Intervening layers have eroded more quickly, forming a channel some 25 feet wide running hundreds of feet down the mountain. The next time you take the East-bound I-84 past Morgan, take a couple of minutes and relish in the slightly warmer-than-normal sight known as Devil's Slide...

A Wind Cave Weekend...

If you are wondering what to do on the weekend, here is something thats not just economical, but SO MUCH FUN!!!! Just up Logan Canyon in Northern Utah lies one of the best hikes in the state. The Wind Cave trail is about 1.3 miles and is not very difficult. It ends at a large cave/arch/natural air conditioner with extrodinary views. The slope is gradual enough for beginning hikers, but challenging enough for the advanced hiker. This is a trail that you can take the whole family. I took my dogs and nieces who all did very well (although they got really hot on the way back; we had to throw them - the dogs - in the waterfall to cool off).

A couple of things to remember...

Bring extra water for the young'ns and doggies

Plan to be gone at least three hours

Take potty bags for the dogs and kids

"Slow and Steady wins the race."

This is us, ready to hike!

The official first hike of the "Hiking Club"

Jennie, Charly, Marissa, Dan, Kassie, Olivia

Evidently, there is a water leak at the trail head. Luckily, some naughty people made a detour through the weeds. 

Here is the gorgeous waterfall that the dogs played in on thier way back down.  

This is us taking one of many breaks in the shade.

Sorry its crooked.

This is a view of the Crimson trail across the canyon. Logan Canyon is SO picturesque.

Eeffy loves to hike. He kept running ahead and then he would stop to make sure I was following close behind. That's a good kittycat!

Marissa on the other side of a switch back. She and Dan were so good to wait for me.

Another crooked picture, but I made it to the top!!! Who would have thought?

The slow pokes...YOU ROCK!!!

 In the cave...

 Me and the girls

The girls...they had to wait a while for us.

Me and Kassie

Ha ha ha...

We made it!