Spring & growth are in the air

Happy 2nd day of spring!!

Being (quite literally) allergic to all trees and grass types, I relate to this meme more than I would like to admit.

There is no denying however, just how absolutely beautiful the weather is! Being that winter never really made its way to the southwest, I could say that spring has been here since the new year begun. But I digress . . . my point is that I am very happy the sun has finally come out to play. I took a pleasant little walk today, and am thankful for the chance to drink in the warmth, the cool breeze, and the sun's gorgeous rays (fully protected by sunscreen of course). I never can be gloomy for too long when it is this lovely outside. :)

And I've digressed once more . . .

Since my last post, both my work and home life have been full, full, full, leaving me one busy bee. I have an odd sense that I say this nearly all the time. When I am not tied to my work desk (or home office desk, knocking out some over time), I am sweating it out at the gym (or at home. more to come on this!), spending time with my husband, expanding my soul knowledge (more on that too!), or burying my nose in one of the following books.

(1) Tribal Leadership by  Dave Logan,  John King, &  Halee Fischer-Wright
(2) State of Wonder by Anne Patchett
(3) How Google Works by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg
(4) The Maze Runner by James Dashner
(5) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

You may have noticed that my "currently reading" list has grown lol. When I set a personal challenge, I really like to dive right in! The difference about this round of goal setting versus any other time, can be summed up in one word. Accountability. Using my journal, iPhone reminders, social media (FB and this blog mainly), I am making sure to keep each of my goals top of mind. Positive self talk helps too. In the past, I have said many not-so-nice things to myself, as retribution for not fully meeting a goal. It is no surprise that putting myself down has never once aided me.

Now I am not saying that everyday is rainbows and sunshine. That would just be an outright lie. L o n g workdays. Menu/meal planning. Running errands. Household chores. Taking care of the fur kids. Sending time with husband. Gym time. Etc . . . Etc . . . It can all be so draining, and discouraging to then make time for personal growth. But what worth anything in life comes easy? When the terrain gets rocky, it's high time to lace up your hiking boots and trek on into the horizon.

There are a plethora of quotes to back this up. I leave you with the three that really resonate with me at this moment in time.

How are you enjoying this lovely spring weekend?

Mind. Body. Soul. [Part One: Mind]

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As I mentioned two posts ago (here), I am really focusing on self-growth this year.

You may say, "well isn't 'self-growth' a little vague?" The answer is yes! It absolutely is. And for that reason, I broke this one massive idea into three different focuses: Mind. Body. Soul. Doing so will allow me to delve deeper into each, instead of wrestling with one behemoth concept.

Today, I'd like to talk about growing the mind.

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." ~ Plutarch

What am I doing to expand my noodle?

Well, I have a few goals lined up. At the moment, I am working on establishing better, healthier reading habits. Growing up, I was rarely without a book in hand. My thirst was so insatiable, and I gnawed through them so quickly that I often read several at a time, so as not to ever be without.

As I grew up and went to collage, 95% of the reading I did was for school. As I entered the real world, my time was split between school, work, and minute amounts of sleep. Since I lived on my own, and payed my way through school, not working (usually two jobs at once, sheesh) was absolutely not an option. My downtime went from freedom to zilch in no time flat.

Now that I have established a career, my free-time-o-meter has risen. These days it is just a matter of working to restructure downtime around my relationship, pets, friends, family, and me time.

Not wanting to bite off more than I can chew, I am starting small. My goal is to ready daily (no less than 15 minutes is my starting sweet spot), and to read a minimum of one book a month. Small. Bite-sized. Attainable. 

What am I reading right now?

Currently, I am reading Tribal Leadership. After my last work review (in December), I set an intention to take my leadership skills to the next level. This book has been in the company "library" for years. I am about half way though so far, and am really enjoying the point of view and research done by the three authors.

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I have also just (barely) begun reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. On the Kindle app, I am only 4 pages in, so no thoughts just yet. This book was selected by a coworker. She decided to jump start our work book club. We shall see how this read goes. It is not one I would typically pick up myself. That is sort of the aim of book club though. Each of us has such different reading tastes. As Forest Gump would say, "You never know what you're gonna get!"
 

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We are three months into 2015, and so far, I have stuck to (and even surpassed) my monthly one-book minimum. The books I have had my nose stuck in so far are:



(1) Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson (January's pick)
(2) To All the Boy's I've Ever Loved by Jenny Han (February)
(3) Wild by Cheryl Strayed (February's second pick)

Setting this goal (even as simple as it is) has really grounded me. I feel myself getting a little closer to the book-loving worm I have always been at heart.

Do you enjoy reading? Why or why not?

If you do, what are you reading right now?

Until next time . . .

Ch-ch-ch-changes

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I am not sure how many times a girl can go through the cycle of setting her mind on something, just to let it fall through her hands like sand. What I do know, is that each day is a new day. Every sunrise is one more opportunity to make the change(s) you want to see, happen.

Last year held a lot of challenges for me. Most proved to be for the good, although I may not have recognized them as such, or welcomed them at first. Change is inevitable. And it is going to happen whether or not I am on board.

Change is one of the few guarantees in life.

Recently, my eyes have opened up to the realization that I spent much of life trying to convince myself that I am not afraid of change. Why? To appear tough? To appear in control? To appear different, somehow immune to the stress of change? Probably a little of all three. The reality is, sometimes I pray with all my might for change. Sometimes I even try to force change. Other times I am shaking-in-my-sneaks terrified that the good things in life will change. All three are completely okay reactions. All three are entirely human reactions.

There comes a moment after such a realization in which you must either choose to change or bury your head in the sand. I do not want to turn a blind eye, which is why I made a promise to myself. A promise to focus (really focus) on self growth this year. I vowed not to allow past failures cloud my vision. Or to let the fear of change and presumed failure hinder my progress.

"...I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work..." ~ Thomas Edison

Change is hard. Self-inflicted change is even more challenging. I have accepted that challenge. New day. One more opportunity to make the change.

press rewind

Today I am pressing the rewind button. Here's a little recap on what when on these past four months . . .

Moving day! At the end of September, we said goodbye to our old rental and roommate. It was so strange standing in an empty house that was once filled with all of our cozy possessions. Can't say I miss the old house though. We are now back on the side of town that we like. I am further away from work, but we are closer to all our friends and favorite eateries.

I took a break from moving to celebrate my friend Tracie's last few weeks as a single lady! Our group was made up of about eight ladies. We dressed up, went to a swanky Italian restaurant, and out dancing afterwards. It was a blast! And that's coming from a girl that isn't a big fan of crowds, or social gatherings in general.

Two weeks later, she celebrated her wedding day!

The wedding was a hoot! So fun. They even had a photo booth!

Mid October, we took a drive to AZ to see Luke Bryan with the dude's parents. He put on such a great performance! Definitely very deserving of the 2014 Artist of the Year award! Lee Brice and Cole Swindel opened for him, and were both equally as great.

The drive to AZ was absolutely awful, and we nearly missed the concert because of really heavy traffic. We did make though, thankfully. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and lounging around with the family.

Halloween round 1! This was taken at my company's annual charity golf event.

Halloween round 2! Agnes (from Despicable Me), a cowgirl, and Catwoman. :)

Then there was the day we packed up and went Jeepin'. A little 4-wheeling, and a bit of frosty-weather hiking.

I also said goodbye to my crazy long locks.

After. It's a little hard to tell, but my hairdresser took nearly 6 inches off! He also added a mix of lowlights and highlights.

Oh, how I LOVE the holiday season! Thanksgiving morning was spent in the kitchen. I whipped up my favorite cranberry orange muffins. One regular batch, and one gluten-free, dairy-free batch! The me-friendly version came out so light and flurry, my mind was nearly blown! I've made these muffins for years, and just this year decided to alter the recipe so that I can eat them. I seriously couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

I also made: from-scratch crescent dinner rolls (not me friendly), two batches of stuffing (one regular, one me-friendly), cranberry orange sauce, two pumpkin pies (again, one regular, and one me-friendly), maple sweet potatoes, and a roasted squash/brussel sprout dish.

Day after Turkey day brunch: gluten- and dairy-free cranberry orange muffin with a mimosa. :)

Once Thanksgiving was over, out came the Christmas decorations!

My honey bought me a jersey. Funny how this little piece of clothing makes me feel like a "real fan" now, lol. Oh, and let's not talk about yesterday's Wildcard match up against Baltimore . . .

Each year, my team has a tradition of combining our November and December team outing budgets so that we can have an extra special Christmas dinner. This year it was a semi-fancy Italian restaurant. It's one of those places that doesn't open for dinner until 5:00 pm on the dot. Our outing was from 4 pm to 6 pm, so we hung out in the lounge and had cocktails while passing out our Secret Santa gifts. What a hoot that was!

Our new 2014 ornaments. Since 2008, we pick out at least two new ornaments a year. A his and a hers. I chose the swan this year, but absolutely love his "tea party" pick. Both are so pretty!

The family was a bit scattered this year, so the husband and I celebrated Christmas Eve with friends. Dinner, games, and gift exchanging. :)

Christmas day was so relaxing. We slept in, lounged around and opened the gifts we bought one another. Our friends came over around noon and we made a late brunch, with a spread that consisted of blueberry pancakes (I made my own special batch, sans wheat and dairy), hash browns, and bacon. Even I indulged in a piece that I dipped in maple syrup, and I am not a big fan of bacon at all. It was a breakfast/lunch of champions!

Every year, I enjoy the mix of cute and awkward family holiday pictures. This year, I decided to contribute my own. They were so mad at having to wait before chomping into their candy-cane bones, lol.

And even Dex got a little festive this year!

And this happened. I made my own cocoa with semi-sweet Ghirardelli choco chips, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and a cinnamon stick. And of course I had to top it off with a mountain of marshmallows!

I didn't get through all of the "Christmas" movies on my list. I never do, but I did watch all my favorites. Except for It's a Wonderful Life. Small sad face. It's one of my all-time favorites.

Last minute Spazmatics concert. They are rockin' 80s cover band. So fun!

They sure know how to put on a lively show!

And of course, I absolutely had to test out the Nespresso my MIL gave us for Christmas! Coffee heaven indeed!

The Monday after Christmas, we packed up the car and took a road trip to see my family in California.

Reunion! This little cat used to be mine before my family moved to Utah. My grandparents took her in as a temporary arrangement, while my family settled into our new home. She became very attached to my grandparents, and they to her, so she ended up staying for good. And here she is, a 17 year old little kitty! Can you believe it?!

I find my love for hiking slight ironic, since I grew up in farming country, which is flat, flat, flat! Lol!

I don't know what it is about animals, but they gravitate towards me, and I towards them. Here's my newest little friend. Meet Buddy. He showed up on my aunt's front door one day, and decided to stay. I've said it before, and I'll say it again . . . We do not choose our animal friends. They choose us. :)

Our NYE look. Getting ready for a fun night out with my aunt, her fiance, and a group of their friends. Yes, we are two 20 somethings that actually enjoy going out and hanging out with our parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. They can never be too old, or too boring to hang out with. Or maybe we are just middle aged at heart, lol!

Got our party faces on!

My aunt and I. :)

Pre-midnight silliness.

What a night! We rang in the new year at a local-yokel-party at the town's civic center. It was perfect. Not too crowded, but not dead either. There were drink and food tastings, a live band, and lots of dancing! It's funny how my aunt's friends gave us the shifty-eyed, confused look when they found out we were from Vegas. Why would we want to party in farm country when we're from the city of neon lights and endless parties?! Uhmm, because living in Vegas and vacationing in Vegas are two very different things. No, it's not a non-stop party. No, we don't gamble, or live in a casino. We have real jobs, a real house, and sometimes even need to take a vacation from the vacation destination city we live in. And low-key, small town parties are much more our speed. ;)

My grandma. I admire this woman so much!

And my grandpa. The coolest dude you will ever meet!

With the Christmas and NYE holidays behind us, it was time to pack up all of the holiday decor. This part always makes me a little sad. Until next year . . . Oh, and then there's Dexter. He must think he's a Christmas ornament. He kept climbing into the storage tubs as I packed everything up.

This pic is from this morning. With my in-laws in AZ, my SIL and her husband in TX, and one of my BIL in Oregon, it can be tough getting everyone together. The dude's other brother lives in town, but he is young and single, so we don't see him all too much.

In the past week, we've seen his parents twice! They stayed with us the weekend after Christmas, and flew in today for a short business/pleasure visit. So glad we were able to enjoy a late breakfast this morning. :)

Peace. Love. Happiness.
YK