Cabin Fun With My New And Old BFF

Last weekend Chris and I had the wonderful pleasure of having Jodi, my life long friend, and her adorable daughter Ariana up to the cabin.  We were up there from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.  What a great weekend it was too.  We did pine cone racing, decorated sugar cookies, hiking, fossil hunting, and a little bit of relaxing.  I am so grateful to have Jodi in my life.  We have litterally been friends since the day we were born.  Almost 27 years, and still counting.  And I know that I can always pick up where I left off with her.  It is a very low maintenance relationship.  It's perfect.  She also keeps me grounded and reminds me what it's like to have a true friend.  I am so happy that her daughter, Ariana, loves me too.  She is my new BFF.  She gave me the other half of her Best Friends necklace.  So our best friend status is official.  Now Jodi needs to find a new bestie.  OR we can still be friends and just not let Airi know.  I could go into all kinds of detail about every second that we were there, but I think that I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  I sure do love that blonde girl and her super cute daughter.  BF for life!!

It's official!

Airi and Jodi decorating their sugar cookies.

Maralee taking us on a hiking adventure.

We did a lot of pine cone racing.

Chris and Airiana pine cone racing.

Airiana is smashing up rocks to try and find some fossils.

Jodi was really good at the fossil game.  She found a ton right away.

Loading the trebuchet.  It was fun to see that thing in action.

He is my favorite person.

We loved pine cone racing just as much as Airiana.  Yes, we become children we are together.

The End Is In Sight

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my orthodontist.  I thought it was going to be just like every other appointment.  I would go in, he would make a few adjustments, and then I would schedule an appointment for 4 weeks later and do the same thing at the next appointment.  But yesterday was different.  Yesterday was special.  Yesterday was the day that I scheduled the day for removal of this 2 year commitment.  June 19 is the day!!  I was hoping to have them off by my birthday (which is June 11), but I can handle having it as a late birthday present.  I immediately made a countdown in my phone.  I will be able to know down to the second when I will get them off.  As of right now I have, 2 months 20 hours and 24 minutes.

I have 2 appointments set up for that day.  9:00 in the morning is the big deal one.  The time that they come off.  Then I have an appointment 4:00 that afternoon to get fitted for my retainers.  I will have a permanent one put in on the bottom, and I will be super cool and have the old school metal one for the top.  He said that normally they do the clear ones ( the ones that look like mouth guards), but with my treatment and all of the work that has been done, I need the metal one.  I am not super jazzed about that, but I will do whatever I need to do, and wear whatever I need to wear in order for my teeth to stay perfect.

I don't know what I am going to do without them.  They are part of my identity now.  I don't really notice that they are there anymore.  I am no longer annoyed that I have them.  I have accepted that I have adult braces.  And those will eventually give me beautiful and perfect teeth.  I haven't really thought about the day that they would come off.  Now that it has been brought to my attention, and there is a date set that is fast approaching, I can't wait!!  I can't wait to see what I look like with straight, beautiful, white teeth.

It's hard to believe that my teeth looked as bad as they did before. . .

1 month before they were put on.  We were zip lining in Costa Rica.

And as of a couple of weeks ago, they look like this. . . 

Taken a couple of weeks ago.

And in 8 weeks, there will be a picture of me braces free!  I can't wait for that day!!  Only 8 weeks to go.  Seeing as I have had them on for 2 years already, 2 months 20 hours and 16 minutes doesn't seem so bad.

Refund Baby!

This will be a short post.  But we were so excited that I couldn't help, but share.

We decided to bite the bullet and did our taxes yesterday.  Normally tax time is a pretty rough time for our house.  Since Chris owns his own business, taxes are rough because of self employment tax.  We always end up owing money, and not a small amount.  The more money we make in a year, the higher amount of taxes we pay in April.  Sometimes it's hard to hope that we make a lot of money that year.  But like everyone, we like making money.  Given this information, we always go into tax season with a pretty negative attitude. Anyway, we sat down and did them yesterday, and for the first time ever since being married we are getting a refund back!!!!  Not from federal, only from the state, and it's not a ton.  But still, money is money.  We are pretty excited about it.  Yesterday was a good day in the Gardner house.  Too bad it's not good news every April, but we'll take at least one.

New Job, But Not Really

As most of you know, the practice I was working at closed in October.  That was tough.  I had only been there for 3 1/2 months, so it was all still new.  The doctor called me in November and said that he may have another job lined up for me with the doctor that wanted to buy his practice.  He said that he would give the new doctor my information so he could get in touch with me.  Well, November, December, and January had passed and still no phone call.  And then in early February I got a call from Dr. Mendenhall asking me if I was still interested in working for him.  At this point I was torn.  I had gotten used to the "Stay at home wife" gig and was loving it!  So to start working again was going to be a tough decision.  Especially since I lost my last job with a start up practice.  But I decided to meet up with him and see what kind of vibe I would get from him.

A little background information for you all.  Dr. Mendenhall bought the space that the previous doctor had, but did not keep the name.  So it is basically the same exact job and location I was at before.  It is just under a new name and with a new doctor.

To make a long story a little bit shorter, I had a really good feeling when I met with him.  He has a good head on his shoulders and knows that overhead needs to be low in order for a new business to make it.  He offered me a job, and asked if I would basically be in charge of the office.  I told him that I would be happy to work for him and could start as soon as he needed me.  I got 2 good recommendations from other doctors that I have worked for previously.  So shout out to them!  Thank you so much Dr. Gubler and Dr. McKell.  I don't know that I would have gotten this job with out you!  I started the end of February, so I have been at the new job for about a month now.  Precision Vision has been a wonderful place to work.  I really really like my job.  I haven't like a job this much since I first started at Timpanogos Vision Center.  It's a really good fit.  There are 2 employees (me and another kid) and 1 doctor.  It is small, but great.  We have only had a soft opening so far, but plan on doing a grand opening in a few weeks.  We want to get everything set up and ready to go before we plan our big party.  I have most been pricing frames, and getting all of the frame boards organized.  And I just started organizing all of the drawers and cupboards.  Things will be great here.  I have a good feeling about it.  I feel appreciated and taken seriously.  Which is a nice change to have at a job.  I know that I am going to be here for a long time.  I will keep you updated on how things are going as more time passes.

Thanks for reading friends!

Project of the Unemployed

2 posts in 2 days?  Things are starting to get interesting here I guess.  Not really.  I just happened to make curtains yesterday.

I bought the fabric at IKEA.  If you haven't thought about or didn't know you could get fabric there, I highly recommend it.  They have AMAZING fabric to choose from.  I got enough to make curtains for our sliding glass door.  The curtains we had before were fine.  And Chris and I actually both really liked them.  But now that the new fabric is up, I can't imagine why we put up with the other curtains for so long.  The new ones brighten up the room, and they make our walls look more green.  (Which is the color they really are.)  Anyway, they turned out perfect.  I had some help from my wonderful mother-in-law.  And I am happy that she was and is so willing to help me.

I LOVE THEM!!!!

I am so happy with them.  Even this morning I just stood next to our table and stared at them.  They look much better in the space, and they are much more us.  They match our house much better.  I guess we just love green, yellow, and white together.

It's a good color combination.

I has been almost a year since we moved in and I thought that it would be nice to get our house a birthday present.  Chris thinks I'm crazy for it, but I like to do weird things like that.  The curtains are a good birthday present.  But we also have another super fun, Pinterest inspired thing in the works.  Stay tuned for more!

Yes, We're Still Alive

I saw that my last post was done over 2 months ago.  That's a long time.  I guess there hasn't been anything super note worthy that has happened.  I mean we have had Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years, but nothing super exciting happened with those.  Just the normal family things.

Chris and I are doing well.  I am still jobless, but lets be honest, I love it!  Being able to cook and clean and find fun projects on Pinterest is the best.  If a job came along that I couldn't pass up, I would take it.  But I am not actively looking for a job anymore.  Chris is plugging away with clients, and landed a few more good ones.  We are thrilled about that.  He is also spending a lot of his free time on his truck.  All of the engine work is done (minus the placement of the air filter) and the front end is back on.  That is a pretty big milestone.  All that's left is body work/paint and the inside.  Mostly cosmetic things.  I am proud of him for doing something so hard, but so amazing.

Other than that we are pretty boring.  (Boring isn't always such a bad thing though.)  We are coming up on a year of being in our house.  Where does the time go?  It feels like we moved in only a few months ago.

If anything new/fun/exciting happens to us, I will make sure to update you all.  As for right now, we are just happy to be spending time together even if our life seems boring. 

The 15 Days Are Over

Disclaimer:  There are before and after pictures of me in this post.  Please don't judge me too harshly.

Well, I did it.  The 15 days are now over and I can say that the experience was a success.  I made sure to keep a log of my weight, food, and workout activity.  If you are struggling to lose some unwanted and unnecessary weight, this could work for you.  But only if you have the determination and drive to stick with it.  It's not fun, and it was a little harder than I expected it to be, but it was so worth it.  As I have mentioned before, I have already lost 50 pounds in the last 2 years.  During the 2 years, I have made it my personal goal to get back to my pre-wedding weight.  And because I worked really hard over these last 2 weeks, I was able to accomplish that goal.  After 2 long years, I have finally lost all of the weight I have set out to lose.

In 15 days I lost a total of 7.2 pounds.  (That's a grand total of almost 60 pounds since I started losing weight.)  My BMI went down 1.1 points.  And I lost a total of 6 inches from various body parts.  I am going to add in my journal to this post so if someone is interested in how I accomplished it you can see it all here.  There will also be pictures of before and after as well.  Just from over the 2 weeks.  I don't have a before before picture.  Although, I wish I did.  I am a little nervous and on the fence about doing this.  I still don't have the body that I would like, and no, it's not perfect.  So please don't judge me.  I definitely don't look like a model or a super skinny person, but the change that has happened with my body is crazy.  And I am trying this new thing of loving my new self and being proud of what I have accomplished.  So I am going to swallow my fear, and post pictures of my body for the world to see.  Oh boy.  Here goes nothing.

15 Day Challenge

Before:

After:

DAY 1

Weight: 142.4

BMI: 22.9

Hips: 42.0

Thighs: 24.0

Waist: 30.5

Throughout the process I took cold showers, wrote in my journal, always tried to get 8hrs of sleep, and only drinking water and nothing else. Good sleep was even more important than food.

During the 2 weeks, no salt, no dressing, and no sugar 

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and slices of apple
Lunch: Chicken salad.  I made my own dressing with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and Mrs. Dash.
Dinner: Baked chicken thigh and raw vegetables.  Tonight I had cauliflower and cabbage.

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20
No cardio

Every day I timed myself how long the workouts took and tried to do it faster and faster. The first time took me 30 minutes.

DAY 2

Weight: 142.0

BMI: 22.9

Breakfast: Cucumber sandwich
Lunch: Chicken thigh and carrots.
Dinner: 3 hard boiled eggs and raw vegetables.  Tonight I had broccoli, carrots, and cabbage.

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20
No cardio

DAY 3

Weight: 141.2

BMI: 22.8

Breakfast: Woke up late for church, so I didn’t have any time to eat breakfast.
Lunch: Tomato and avocado salad
Dinner: Roast beef and vegetables.  Tonight I had butternut squash, mushrooms, onions, and asparagus.

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

Since it was Sunday, I made it a rest day.

DAY 4

Weight:139.4

BMI: 22.5

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and celery
Lunch: Pork salad with cucumbers.
Dinner: Grilled chicken and veggies.  Tonight I had butternut squash, onion, carrots, and cabbage.

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20
No cardio

DAY 5

Weight: 139.4

BMI: 22.5

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and celery
Lunch: Pork salad with cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, and celery.
Dinner: Blitzen with mushroom and asparagus sauce.  Butternut squash, pineapple, and raspberries.  (I had dinner at my in-laws tonight.  I didn’t want to tell them about my diet, because I didn’t want them to cater the meal to me.  I just ate a lot of things that I could, and only a small portion of the things that are not on this diet plan.)

Snack: Cucumber sandwich

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (10lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (12.5lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- First set 50 swings, then 20, then 20

DAY 6

Weight: 138.6

BMI: 22.4

Breakfast: I felt sick this morning so I didn’t have breakfast.
Lunch: Grilled chicken and butternut squash.
Dinner: What Chris and I call bean dip and a chicken thigh.

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 7

Weight: 138.6

BMI: 22.4

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and celery.
Lunch: Cucumber sandwich.
Dinner: Pork roast and roasted veggies

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 8

Weight: 138.6

BMI: 22.4

Breakfast: Chris slept on the couch, so I didn’t want to wake him up by making breakfast.
Lunch: My mom came to visit, and I didn’t want to eat out.
Dinner: My mom took us to the Mongolian Grill for Chris’ birthday dinner.  Pork, chicken, and veggies.

WORKOUT:
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 9

Weight: 138.2

BMI: 22.3

Breakfast: Chris slept on the couch, so I didn’t want to wake him up by making breakfast.
Lunch: Tomato and avocado salad with grilled chicken.
Dinner: Broccoli, mushroom, and onion frittata.

WORKOUT:

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4
Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 10

Weight: 138.2

BMI: 22.3

Breakfast: Leftover broccoli, mushroom, and onion frittata.
Lunch: Tomato and avocado salad with grilled chicken.
Dinner: Hawaiian haystacks with no dressing and very little rice.

Since it was Sunday, I made it a rest day.

DAY 11

Started my period today, so I am not going to weigh in until it is done.

Breakfast: Felt sick, so I didn’t have breakfast.
Lunch: Cucumber sandwich.
Dinner: Pork Roast and butternut squash.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

PM Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

DAY 12

Didn’t weigh in.

Breakfast: Felt sick, so I didn’t have breakfast.
Lunch: Mother-in-law took us to lunch, so I did the best that I could given the circumstances. 1 beef taco.

Dinner: Tuesday nights we have dinner at the in-laws.  So again, I did the best that I could given the circumstances.  4 mushroom ravioli, 2 meatballs, and a giant salad.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

PM Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

DAY 13

Weight: 138.2

BMI: 22.3

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs.
Lunch: 2 cups of homemade granola.

Dinner: Roasted veggies.  Cabbage, broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms, and onions.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

PM Planks - 90 secs
Turkish Get Ups - 4 on each side (12.5lb dumbbell)
Goblet squats - 12x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Triple crushers 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Double, clean, squat, press 10x3 (15lb dumbbell)
Kettlebell swings (12.5lbs dumbbell)- Trying to do all 90 at once now.  I haven’t been able to yet, but I am getting close.

DAY 14

Weight: 137.0

BMI: 22.1

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Was baby sitting a friend’s kids so I didn’t get a lunch in.

Dinner: 2 cups of homemade granola.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

Plank 90 sec

DAY 15

Weight: 135.4

BMI: 21.9

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs.
Lunch: 2 cups of homemade granola.

Dinner: Hard boiled eggs.

WORKOUT:

AM Stationary Bike – 20 minutes

Stairs – Ran the stairs 4 times x4

Plank 90 sec

DAY 16

Final weigh in:

Weight: 135.2

BMI: 21.8

Waist: 28.5

Hips: 41.0

Thighs: 22.5

Moms, Crafts, and Mongolian

Last Saturday my wonderful mom decided that she wanted to come to Springville and spend the day with us.  I am so glad that she did.  We had a wonderful time together.  We chose to do some crafting as our activity.  Before hand my mom had me look up some ideas on (you guessed it) Pinterest, and then we would chose once she got to my house.  She doesn't get the opportunity to spend money on herself very often, so this was the perfect activity for her to give herself some much needed attention.  We went to Hobby Lobby to take care of all of our crafting needs, and came out an hour and a half later.  We spent a lot of time in the store going back and forth on ideas, materials, and price.  But everything festive and Christmasy was half off, so the price wasn't actually that bad.  Once we got back to my house the crafting began.  Here is what we came up with;

Drum basket and Peppermints

I did a very quick craft which consisted of a basket, peppermints that you would stick on your Christmas tree, and tissue paper.  It was very easy.

Thank you Pinterest!

This was my favorite craft that we have done.  My mom's is JOY and mine is NOEL.  We got wooden craft letters, scrap paper, and things to cover our wreaths.  It was a really fun project.  I can't wait to hang it on our walls and start being festive.

After we were done crafting my mom wanted to take Chris out for his birthday dinner.  His birthday was on October 28 (He turned 28 on 28.  It was his Golden Birthday.), but my mom still wanted to celebrate it with us.  We decided to try a new place.  It's a little place here in Springville called the Mongolian Grill.  It was actually quite good.  And a killer price.  You get all you can eat Mongolian, rice, an appetizer, and soup for $9.95.  So we will definitely be going back.  Once dinner was over, we got distracted my the bread place and another little shop called Rod Works in the complex.  We headed into Rod Works just to see what kind of things they had.  If I had a lot of money, it would have been spent in there.  It was really cute.  I didn't get anything, but my mom did.

They are great!

My mom likes to decorate her house for the winter in snowmen.  She tried to get a new one every year, and this year she got 2.  Both while she was with me.  She got the snowman with the cardinal from Hobby Lobby.  And the snowman countdown from Rod Works.  She tried to convince herself that she didn't want or need it.  But as you can she, she didn't do a good job of that because it ended up going home with her.

It was great being able to see my mom.  It means a lot to me that she would take the time to come visit us.  I love her dearly and can't wait for the holiday season when I get to see her even more.

15 Days Is Nothing

I just realized that I forgot to post an update on my 30 Day Cross Fit Challenge.  I finished it on October 3.  It was tough.  I lost 4 pounds and about 3 inches total off of my whole body.  The biggest change was just in body shape though.  I like to lose weight in a weird way.  Sometimes I can work really really hard, but not weight comes off.  Instead my body just changes its shape and the way it looks.  For the better of course, but it's still frustrating sometimes to not see results on the scale.  Even thought I had a lot of progress with the 30 Day Challenge I am still not at a comfortable place to post the pictures online for all to see.

Starting today I am doing a new thing that I, of course, found on Pinterest.  It's a 15 day exercise and meal plan.  The girl who wrote it wrote down everything that she ate, the workout she did, and her progress along the way.  The food is pretty straight forward.  I will eat a lot of protein and veggies.  There's no salt, no sugar, essentially no flavor involved.  But the nice thing is that there is just no way to fail because she gives you everything you need to succeed.  So, I am going to try it.  It's only 15 days.  Anyone can do anything for 15 days.  And with the results that she saw with it, I have to give it a try.  I am also going to include the link to her journal.  Click HERE to see it.

Wish me luck.  It's going to be tough, but it's only 15 days.  I can do it.

Keeping Busy

Since I don't have a job I have had to find things to keep myself busy so I don't go crazy.  I have turned to crafting as a source of my entertainment.  The first thing that I did (with the help of my wonderful mother-in-law) was make a curtain to go in our bathroom window.

I am pretty proud of myself.

I am pretty impressed with the work that I did.  For not having touched a sewing machine since Home Ec in Jr. High, I think I did pretty good.

I finished my second project yesterday.  It is a fall burlap wreath.  (Once again, thank you Pinterest.) I love that one as well.  I was a little worried that Chris wasn't going to, but he thought it was cool.  His choice of words.  Now I just need to figure out how to hang it on our front door.

I think it's pretty amazing.

I am trying to figure out my next project now.  We'll see what I can find on Pinterest.  Since that's where I get all of my crafting ideas.

Bittersweet

Well, today is my last day of my job.  I am kind of sad about it.  If I had another job to go to I don't think that it would be as bad, but I am moving forward to unemployment.  I check Craigslist and KSL every day to make sure that I don't miss out on something.  It is a little defeating sometimes not to find anything though.  If there are any other job search options out there that I don't know of, please let me know.  I don't really want to stay unemployed.  I am hoping to find something before Christmas.  I know that there are not a ton of options out there, but I do need to be a little picky about what I find.  I don't want to get a job that I am going to hate after 3 weeks.  I need a job that will be a good thing long term.  I know that the right job is out there for me.  It just hasn't turned up yet.  I need to stay positive and I need to be patient.  And for those of you that know me, patience is not something I am very good at.  Maybe this is a good learning opportunity for me.

What I need to do is find things to fill my day.  I can't sit around the house bored for the foreseeable future.  New hobbies?  Or maybe mastering old ones?

• Our house is going to be super duper clean while I am not working.  Cleaning always keeps me pretty busy.  
• I can work on my personal weight loss goals.  I now have 24 a day to kill, I might as well get in shape. 
•  I am still teaching myself how to crochet, so I can learn a few new things there.  Maybe actually make something?  
• I also can do a little bit of crafting.   I want to make a fall burlap wreath for our front door.  That could be a fun project.  
• I can get caught up on my reading.  I have 3 books that I am working on.  I could get those read pretty quickly now with all of my free time.  

Wow, maybe I won't be that bored.  There are quite a few things on that list.  I guess writing down my thoughts and options helped out a lot.  Thanks blog!  As for the job hunt, I will keep you posted.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will find something before Christmas.  With a positive outlook, and now a lot of hobbies, I know that time will pass quickly and I will find something soon.  Goodbye Eye Physicians of Utah.  Time for you to make room for the unknown.

Now What?

Last week, the doctor I work for came into the office and informed me that he was going to close the practice.  I am not sure when my last day will actually be, but I am thinking roughly about 2 weeks from now.  Which means, I am out of a job.  I knew that it was coming, I just didn't think that it would happen so soon.  He has a lot of overhead and not enough income coming in.  So it was just a matter of time before he had to make that very hard decision.  I was pretty sad about it last week since I have to hunt for a new job. I hate job hunting.  It's not fun to send out resumes, not here back from some places, go to interviews, be turned down, and learn the ins and outs of a new job.  Job hunting is the worst!  But it needs to be done.  So if you know of anywhere that is hiring, let me know.

I am still a little sad, and a little worried about what I am going to do next, but I know that there is something out there that is new and better for me.  Even if the next job I am meant to find isn't necessarily better than the job I have now, it will be better for me at this time in my life.  As I have said before, I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason.  This has happened for a reason.  This door in my life needs to close so that the next one will open.  It still doesn't make losing my job any easier.  But if I stay optimistic things will work out the way that they are supposed to.

Hey. . . Remember Me?

It has been a really long time since I have done a blog/life update.  We haven't done anything super interesting or exciting, but I decided that I should share something.  It will be a little bit of a mash-up.  "Our life over the last 30 days done with 4 pictures."Hey,

September 19, Chris and I celebrated our first date/first time meeting anniversary.  We have been together for 5 years now.  I know that celebrating something like that may sound strange to some of you out there, but it is a pretty big milestone in our relationship.  Since that's when the relationship started and without that day we wouldn't be married.  Plus I am a huge romantic sap for that kind of stuff.

One of the first pictures we ever took together

We celebrated low key by spending the day together.  Which was easy to do since I didn't have to work. We did decide to go to dinner.  So, I dressed up in my first date outfit, (Yes, I still remember what I wore that night.) and we went to Bombay House. That is where we went on our first date in Provo.  I would have like to go to where we had our first date, Roosters, but that is in Ogden we did the next best thing.  Again, I am a really big sap.

Also during my blog hiatus, I went to Moab.  The clinic I work for, Eye Physicians of Utah, has opened a satellite clinic there.  So I went down to help train new people so they know what they are doing.  I left about 8:30 on the morning of September 27.  The drive was okay, but lonesome since I went by myself.  I got to the clinic around 11:30, and to my surprise, there was no one else was there.  There were 2 girls that I was supposed to train and they decided not to show up that day.  That was a really big disappointment. I still needed to be there though since the doctor couldn't have handled doing the eye exams and selling glasses alone.  I worked for about 6 hours, and then drove back home.  I reached my final home destination around 9:30.  Needless to say, it was a long day.  I worked as much as I drove.  But that's okay.  The doctor needed help, so I was happy to do my part.  I have only been to Moab one other time, so I forgot how beautiful it is there.

The picture doesn't do it justice.

There is not really a story for this next picture. . .  I am just in love with it because it is so adorable.  Chris was really nice and decided to share his fruit drink with our nephew Jack.  And I just happened to snap a picture at the perfect time.

It's perfect!

This is such a fun time of year for Chris and I.  We have Halloween and Chris' birthday all within a few days of each other.  So October is a fun celebrating month for us.  Well, mostly for me because Chris doesn't do much festive celebrating.  But he was really nice and helped with my latest crafting endeavor.

The Monster on our door.

It was a super easy project, and yes, I did get the idea on Pinterest.  I would be a really boring person if Pinterest weren't in my life.  I can't think of these things on my own.

So there you have it.  Our life over the last 30 days in a quick blog post.  Like I said, we haven't really done anything too exciting.  I still thought that I should share though. . .  At least the highlights.

A New Found Love

Crafting!  I know that isn't what you expected, right?  Thanks to Pinterest I have had this weird desire to start making my own holiday decorations for our house.  Maybe it's because we're now homeowners and poor, so we can't afford to just buy decorations.  But who's to say that if we were filthy rich I wouldn't still want to make my own things.  My wonderful mom and brother Zach came down to Springville to play with us yesterday.  I was pretty stressed out because I hadn't thought of any super fun plans for us to do on the Labor Day holiday.  Once they got here we chatted a few minutes and then decided that we were hungry.  Off to Glades.  For those of you who have been to Spanish Fork, or surrounding areas, and haven't been to Glades. . .  Shame on you.  But next time you're in the area, you MUST go.  It's not incredible food I have ever eaten, but the experience (and the sauce for fries) is reason enough to go.  After lunch, we tried to figure out something fun.  I showed my mom a few things on Pinterest that I had wanted to try, and she was game.  Off to Michaels we went.  It was there that I realized how cheap I truly am.  Some things for crafting are expensive.  Who knew?  But not to fear. . .  Well, maybe a little bit of fear. . .  We ended up going to Wal-Mart for some things at a cheaper rate.  Since Halloween is the next holiday coming up, we decided that that is what we were going to do.  Once the holiday gets closer, we have pumpkin ideas on our mind as well.  We have both thought of some pretty great ideas.  That is a post for a future date.  Next month I'll do Thanksgiving/Fall decorations, and in November I'll do Christmas decorations.  I am pretty stoked.  I want to keep it up because I loved it yesterday.  Even Chris got in on the action.  Where's Zach you may ask?  Don't worry he was taking care of the Wii.

Crafting it up in the basement.

Chris painted the faces.

Candy corn and yarn.

Both of the crafts were really easy.  A little time consuming (only a baby bit). . .  But pretty easy to do.  I'm excited to see what DIY Crafty Craft I'll do next.

30 Day Cross Fit Challenge

I saw a Cross Fit workout on Pinterest (of course) and I have decided that it would be a great one to try.  I have come a long way with my weight loss, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.  I do have a little way to go still so I don't want to just quit.  I would ideally like to lose another 10 or 15 pounds.  But my main goal is to tighten and tone everything.  I am not flabby anymore. . .  Just loose.  I enlisted the help of my dear friend Joleen Cotton.  Shout out to you girl!  I thought that this would be a workout best done with a friend.  That way I would be accountable if I didn't do it.

It is a 30 day challenge and we start on Monday.  The month of September is going to be dedicated to lifestyle changes and getting in shape.  I did a Cross Fit workout (which I also found on Pinterest) for about 2 weeks in July and I lost about 1 inch off of my waist, and 2 from each thigh.  It was awesome!  So I know that I will see major results from doing this workout for 30 days.  I am going to take a before on Sunday and after picture on October 1.  That is something that I will share with the group once I have finished the full 30 days.  Wish me luck. . .  This is going to suck, but it's also going to be SO worth it!

If anyone else would like to join us on this workout journey click here.  And let me know.  It's always easier to go through this kind stuff with a friend.

Hard Work Pays Off

Over the last 2 years, as some of you know, I have been working my butt off (literally) to get into better shape and lose some weight.  We had Gardner family pictures taken the beginning of June in 2011.  Looking over those, I had a very very hard time looking at what I was seeing.  There is no way that the fat girl in the pictures was me.  I just couldn't believe it.  What a sad realization to come to.  I decided then and there that I needed to change something in my life.  I couldn't keep going like I had been.  I had put of 50ish pounds since the day I got married.  That's 50 pounds in just over 2 years.  The sad part is that the majority of it was put on in the first year.  I didn't realize that I had gained so much weight.  I knew I had gotten a little soft, but I didn't realize how pillowy I actually was.  After seeing our family pictures, I was devastated and horrified that I had let myself go so much.  August 1, 2011 was the beginning for me. 

 

My friend Raelle said that she wanted to try Zumba at this place called Sweaty Chix in Springville.  I decided that it sounded like a lot of fun, and it has always been easier for me to have a work out buddy, so I chose to go with her.  In the first month of working out with some serious cardio I lost almost 15 pounds.  Raelle helped kick start my weight loss goal.  I am forever thankful to her for that.  She was my work out buddy and stuck it out with me for a long time.  We did different workouts together as well.  We tried Zumba, Hot Hula, and Hip Hop at Sweaty Chix, Zumba at home, kickboxing (which we both loved), and even Just Dance on the Wii.  Yes, we are that cool.  If you haven't ever tried it though, it really is a pretty good work out.  Over the 2 or so months, I lost another 15 pounds.  I couldn't believe the results I was getting.  Once we stopped paying for our membership at Sweaty Chix we kind of drifted off of working out together.  Life got busy, and we couldn't find a time when we could both go.  But I never stopped working out.  I did P90X at home a lot.  The motivation to work out with Tony Horton 4 or 5 days a week always pretty non existent, but I knew I wouldn't get thin by wishing for it and wanting it.  (Although that would be nice).  I had to get off of my butt and start working.

 

People always ask me, 'What did you do to lose all of that weight?'   'How did you do it?'  They thought that I had found some special secret to weight loss and was keeping it all to myself.  So they are always taken back when I tell them diet and exercise.  That is all that I did, and guess what?  It worked!  2 years is a long time.  It was a lot of work, and I wanted to give up a lot.  I knew that giving up wasn't an option though.  Some people are blessed with the genetics to lose weight and keep it off really easily.  Just like a lot of you, I am not one of those people.  I have to work extra hard in order to fight my genetic code, but that just means the rewards are so much sweeter.  I know a lot of you are thinking, 'I have tried everything.  Diet.  Exercise.  Fad diets.  And nothing works for me.  I can't seem to lose weight.'  My response. . .  You didn't try hard enough.  You didn't stick with it.  1 week of "trying" is not going to fix your 30-90 pounds of weight you want to lose.  You have to want it.  You have to fight for it.  And if you do, I promise you are going to like what you see on the other side. 

 

In a way, I am grateful to have had the struggle of losing 50 pounds. I know now that it is possible.  Even when I have been dealt a crappy hand of Genetic Blackjack I fought back and won.  I am walking proof that anything is possible.  It has been a long challenging road, and I am still trying to lose the last 5 or so pounds, but I can finally look at myself in a mirror and like what I see.  I have NEVER been able to do that before.




Goodbye Katie 2009-2011.  Welcome Katie 2013.



Our House the Home

Our yard is in!!  We are so thrilled!  The house is complete now.  Before I loved living here, but it always felt unfinished since we only had dirt surrounding us.  That is no longer the case.  We have a complete house.  And I get to work in my yard now.  I love yard work.  And no, that is not a sarcastic tone you are reading.  I really do love to work in the yard.  That is what my childhood was.  Pulling weeds, or planting new flowers, mowing, watering flowers and dry spots of the yard.  My parents always had to have a great looking yard, and they were working in it all of the time.  It was something that I logged away, and I am excited to be able to have a great looking yard myself.  AND I get to do so many fun things with it.  Next year I can plant adorable flowers, or more shrubs, maybe another tree or two.  The possibilities are endless.  I am really excited to finish it off.  I also get to look around and find patio furniture that I am in love with so that next year we can have that as well.  Our house is coming together.  It has been a slow process, and we are still not done.  We will eventually have all of the furniture that we need and want for our house.  We will have fun things for the outside as well.  I know that it is a process, but it is a process that I have loved trying to complete.

The first tree is in.

The patchwork quilt is started in the backyard.

The east side of the house.

Half of the backyard.

The other half of the backyard.

The shrubs in the back of the house.

The tree in the front yard.

The west side of the house.

The front of the house under the office window.

The front of the house under the garage windows.

Our house is now a home.

A Forever Family

On June 15, my cousin Briann was sealed to her adorable little family in the Brigham City temple forever.  It was such a beautiful ceremony.  I had never seen a sealing done with kids, but it truly opened my eyes to being a forever family.  Watching Bri and Todd be sealed, and then to watch them be sealed to their kids was the most amazing experience.  It was also really emotional for me too.  I am so happy for them, and know that Briann has been waiting for this day for a long time.  4 years ago, I started my own forever family, but I know have a different understanding and perspective on the whole thing.  I am so grateful that Bri and Todd invited Chris and I to be a part of their special day. 

What a special day for their family.

I know that it is a day that they will never forget.  Every time I go to a sealing it reminds me of the day that Chris and I kneeled across from each other and started our journey together.  I get pretty emotional and sappy because of it.  But who is surprised to hear that?  It helps me fall in love with Chris all over again.

Our very, very small but eternal family.

June 11: The Second Best Day of the Year

My birthday was pretty much amazing.  It is the 2nd best day of the year for me.  Chris's birthday is the best day of the year.  I love to spoil him.  This year, I kept it low key and spent my day with Chris. Of course I got to sleep in, which is a welcome change from the work week.  We went to the Spanish Fork movie theater and saw G.I. Joe.  Not a great movie. . .  At all.  The Spanish Fork theater is super cheap, so we didn't really care.  We just enjoy going and spending time together.  Ahhhhh.  After the movie we went to drop some things off at his parents house.  I call dibs for the best in-laws of all time.  They are really nice to me, take care of me, and treat me like their own daughter.  They don't treat me like a daughter-in-law and I love that.  For dinner, I of course chose Happy Sumo.  Chris doesn't do sushi, so I only choose to get it once a year.  Luckily they have other options there, so he usually gets a chicken and rice or noodle dish.  I always go for the sushi.  This year I got the Venus Roll.  After dinner we went home and watched some Chucks and Storage Wars.

It was so yummy!

It's weird to be 26.  I definitely don't feel that old.  I don't fee a day over 23.  I'm just sad I have to wait another 360 days till it's my birthday again.

Birthday Weekend

As most of you know, it was my birthday last week.  For those of you that knew that, you also may know that my birthday is a pretty big deal to me.  Some people don't understand why, but I always have to do something amazing to celebrate.  This year I decided that I wanted to go to the cabin the weekend before my birthday.  It was wonderful!  On Friday after my 'working interview' at my new job we headed right up.  We stopped on the way to get some food at Day's and a Papa Murphy's pizza to take up with us.  While we were at Day's I noticed that they had a snow cone shack, so naturally I had to stop and get us one.  I love me a good snow cone.  And I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to start my birthday weekend off right.

Blue Raspberry.  My favorite.

I got the snow cone and we were off.  Friday night we has pizza and ice cream, watched episodes of Chuck, my newest favorite show, and a movie.  Since we were up in the mountains, the weather was perfect and while we were waiting for our pizza to cook, we went on a little walk.

My mouth is still kind of blue from the snow cone.  It's fine, I'm a child.

We also decided that we wanted to have dinner on the deck.

It was perfect.

We of course slept in on Saturday and made a yummy breakfast of pancakes and eggs.  Later that day Chris's mom, dad and Scott came up to the cabin for the afternoon.  I really wanted to go on a hike, and Chris's mom was the perfect person to be the trail guide for us.  It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining and it was not too hot out.  It's like it was meant to be.

No filter needed.

On Saturday we decided that we needed to be a little useful, so we helped haul a bunch of wood.  That was the first time that I had the privilege of doing that.  And I have to say, it was a lot of fun.  It sounds a little bit intense and not fun at all, but it was.  I was pleasantly surprised by that.  Sunday my mom, dad, and Zach came up to the cabin for a birthday celebratory dinner.  We had hamburgers, cucumber salsa, watermelon, and brownies.  It was awesome.  A lighter dinner at a wonderful location with my family.  We took a little walk, did some of a puzzle, and just talked.  Everything about that day was perfect.  And then it wasn't anymore.  DUN DUN DUN!  As we were cleaning up the cabin before we left disaster struck.  I was folding up a blanket and felt a pinch.  Thinking it was a burr I tried to shake it off, but doing that make the pinching tighter and more painful.  As the "burr" fell to the blanket, I realized that it was a giant wasp.  Seeing as I am a really big baby and went into instant hysterics.  Mostly from the excruciating pain that I felt, but also from the fact that I am allergic as well.  I hadn't been stung in 10 or so years because I am terrified of them.  I wasn't sure how my body was going to react, so I possibly overreacted to what had just happened.

It's hard to see, but the white circle under my pointer finger is where it happened.

We went upstairs to find something to help with the pain.  As we were looking it started to get pretty swollen, which naturally given my irrational state, made me even more worried.  Chris gave some ice, which helped with the pain, and then he was back downstairs to kill the jerk who did this to me.  He was very sweet to take care of me while we hurried home to get me some Benadryl.

Overall, it was a great weekend.  It just had a sad ending.  But that's okay.  I am not going to remember that part in a few years.  I am just grateful that I have Chris to help make anything we do a great adventure.