iJanuary

^ tubing up at soldier hollow with friends and breaking rules like we were 16

^ i was in the kitchen cooking when dash comes out of the bedroom tangled up in my bra… 

i don't even wanna know

^ my favorite peruvian food, their national dish lomo saltado.
we go to a peruvian restaurant regularly so i can get it.

^ one last hooray with all the kents before everyone went back home from the holidays 

^ our homemade buffet for the championship games 

(our "pre" super bowl party)

^ the kent/miller special…. 

chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough on top of brownies.  

^ groupon sushi.  try it if you dare (we didn't puke so that's good, right?).

^ make your own pizza night at the snows for our monthly sunday dinner.  

and a homemade double decker cake for dessert

^ celebrating dawson's NEW JOB with a dinner at pallet

^ triple date with the millers and the snows (not pictured: wives).  

we went to a bar because we were craving some greasy food, not because we are wild on friday nights.

well i guess we were pretty obvious because the waiter totally stereotyped us:

and i promise we weren't even wearing bump its, knee length shorts or shade shirts.

quarter of a century

happy birthday husband!!!

dawson is a quarter of a century old now.
which means that we are both a quarter of a century for the next 2 weeks.
which might not ACTUALLY be a big deal, but the phrase "quarter of a century" sounds pretty important to me so i'm going to make it one.

i have only known daw for 9 years and been married to him for 2.5 years,
but i already know that he is the most amazing person i have ever met or ever will meet in my life.
that boy is EVERYTHING to me.
he is my favorite part of every day and the best part of my entire life.
i would be completely lost without him.

so here is a 25 reason tribute to why i love this amazing man so freaking much.

1. he makes me laugh.  every day.  without fail.
2. he is the hardest worker i know and i know he will be wildly successful in whatever he tries
3. he puts up with my crazy health foods and will tell me anything i make for dinner is delicious
4. he is very very good looking
5. he will go work out with me, which might sound dumb but is a huge deal to me
6. he gives me compliments every day, even when i am looking/feeling my worst
7. he loves dash as much as i do... he always makes sure dash is fed, walked, and will come home on his lunch break just to play with him.  i know he is going to be a great dad to a real baby!
8. he is extremely intelligent but doesn't make me feel dumb when i need him to explain something to me
9. he will wake up and drive me to work at 6:30am if i ask/need him to
10. he makes sure we always say our prayers and takes me to the temple on a regular basis
11. he always starts my car for me a few minutes before i leave so it's warm
12. he tries to surprise me with things but is terrible at surprises and it's the cutest thing ever
13. he is a race car driver (according to him... but he really is a very good driver)
14. he visits me at work and will even bring dash to visit sometimes
15. he gets along great with my family and cares about his relationship with them
16. he loves his family and is close with his parents and all his siblings, and talks to all of them on a regular basis 
17. he makes sure i'm always driving the safest car possible (even with his habit of buying/selling a car every few months)
18. he is always willing to help those in need, even if it is an inconvenience to him
19. he has great friends and i know this is because he is a great friend himself
20. he kisses me before he leaves for work every morning (if i'm not working)
21. he tells everyone he hates cuddling, but he is the one that makes sure we are cuddling while we fall asleep
22. he ALWAYS helps with the laundry and dishes (and sometimes even the bathroom!)
23. he gives me the worlds best hug and kiss whenever we first see each other after work
24. he won't let more than a few hours go bye without some form of communication (usually we have a non-stop text conversation going)
25. he tells me he loves me on a daily basis, but not only that he makes sure that i know that he loves me by all of his actions (as noted by everything above)

workin' on my fitness

i feel incredibly dorky doing this,. but since it is is one of my favorite things in life, i have decided to do some fitness or health related posts every once in awhile.

i will be the first to admit that i am by no means an expert and have no actual training or formal education on the subject.  i just love everything related to the body and being healthy.

if you read this and think i'm an idiot, i do not take offense.  if you read it and find something you like, then even better.  and if you read this and are embarrassed for me, then please tell me and i'll stop doing posts like this and we'll pretend it never happened.  deal?

i'm just gonna start off with my own fitness commandments, and the plan is to just post my own workouts or health tips every so often.  i'm not going to become a "fitness blogger".  i'm not going to post any radical ideas that no one has ever heard of.  and i don't think that my advice is better than anyone else's.

the main idea of my "commandments" is that it makes it my lifestyle.  it isn't a diet or fad or something extreme that i am going to only follow for a month.  it is my life, day in and day out, and has been for 5+ years now.  i'm not burning myself out or killing myself, so it makes being healthy and working out easier to do, and even enjoyable.  that's how i feel at least.


ok i think that's enough warnings.  now here goes nothing.


1.  weights are your best friend, and cardio is overrated.  
ok, maybe not ALL cardio is overrated.  i just hate it with a passion.  i haven't done more than 20 minutes on a treadmill/elliptical/bike in years.  girls are so afraid of lifting because they think they will be big and manly, but i can assure you that's false.  i used to be THAT girl on the elliptical... you know the one.  the girl who spends hours on the elliptical watching tv or reading at the same time, but never gets any skinnier.  i hated going to the gym.  then i started lifting and everything changed!!!  i lost weight and inches, and i loved working out.  it's simple people.  lifting gives you more muscle.  muscle takes up less space than fat, so if you have more muscle you are smaller.  the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns - even when you're NOT working out.  therefore, lifting = muscle = everything you want.

2.  aim to work out about 4 days a week, no longer than an hour each time.  
maybe you don't agree with this.  maybe you need to work out more often or for longer periods to feel like you are getting a good workout.  but for me, this is plenty.  i never work out on sundays, and then i have one or two free days a week.  this way i never feel guilty or bad for days that i don't have time or simply don't feel like working out.  i also never stay more than an hour, and usually it's more like half an hour.  that way i never feel like i can't fit it in or get bored at the gym, because that makes working out seem too stressful and hard to commit to.  but i also never rest when i work out.  it's 30 minutes non-stop (that way you get your heartrate up and boom - there's your cardiovascular workout!).  oh and i should also mention i don't ALWAYS go to the gym.  i have plenty of workouts that i can do without ever leaving my house (i also have days where i consider a long walk with my dog my workout). 

3.  when it comes to eating, follow the 80/20 rule.
once i went off sugar for a week.  only a week.  then i couldn't take it anymore, and i binged on anything and everything sugary and chocolatey.  it's obvious that i can't handle cutting the sweet stuff out completely (or dairy.  i can't leave out my cheese).  so now i just aim for eating healthy 80% of the time.  i don't cut out things because as soon as i do, it's all i can think about.  i eat cheese, ranch dressing, carbs, chocolate, etc.  it makes me happy.  however i eat it in moderation, because i don't want clogged arteries at the age of 25.  moderation doesn't work for some people.  but it works for me and i recommend it.  you will feel good because you are eating healthy the majority of the time, but you will be happy because when it's your friends birthday you can eat cake without feeling bad about it. (and P.S.  yes there are certain times in life where i don't follow 80/20 completely.  mainly when sugar and hormones combine.  being better about this is my new years resolutions)

4.  workout and eat clean to be healthy and live longer - NOT to be a fitness model.  
not dissing on fitness models.  you people rock and are more mentally tough then i ever could be.  but i'm not on a quest for a perfect, rock hard body (although i am envious of any girl with a 6-pack).  if i was, i wouldn't live by my above mentioned mottos.  i realize that i don't care enough to be that dedicated.  my main concern is my own health.  i want to avoid any illnesses or injuries that i possible can.  i want my body to be healthy and strong, and to be one of those old ladies that can still do cartwheels with my grandchildren.  i figure i'm only given one body, so i might as well make it the best body that i can (but still enjoy food, because i sure love food).


well i think that's a long enough post for one day, yeah?  in the future, these posts will be much less wordy and hopefully less boring.  or maybe i will feel too dumb and future posts will never happen.  i'm feeling a little embarrassed right now actually so i'm just going to stop here.

thanks for not judging me.

snow day

dawson used to hate the snow.  

he hated cold weather and wanted to move us to california.

and then blair bought new snowmobiles.

now dawson and i are weather enemies.

he prays for fresh snow and is jubilant when it blizzards.

talk about a traitor.

 

although i will admit it was fun having a snow day with the whole kent family,

and taking all the little kids snowmobiling and sledding

and i will admit that i enjoyed myself and wouldn't mind going again sometime.
 

 

 

and i will admit that i can't be TOO mad at dawson,

because he looks pretty dang cute on that snowmobile.

however if he ever gets caught in an avalanche 

and breaks a femur and ends up as one of my patients at the hospital…  

i will be moving to california.

happy new year!

as amazing as 2013 was, i'm thinking that 2014 can top it.
we have a lot of plans but i don't want to jinx any of them so i'm keeping them on the D.L.
but what is a new year without new years resolutions?
even though i'm a week late, i'm going to write them down and commit now.


here are my personal resolutions:

eat less sugar.  i generally try to be a healthy eater.  i enjoy working out and eating healthy because it makes me feel better.  i follow all the fads (i'm so gullible), like daily green smoothies, eat chia and hemp seeds, take apple cider vinegar shots, eat tons of kale salads and quinoa, drink kombucha, love greek yogurt and kefir, avoid the microwave and plastic containers, etc.  but my downfall is my sweet tooth.  i joke around and say that i work out just so i can eat what i want, but i'm really not joking.  i'm serious.  i'm the girl that has dessert after EVERY meal, eats more than my share when we are "sharing" desserts, or goes back for 3rd or 4th (or 8th) helpings of brownies/cookies/cake.  if you don't believe me, you need to see me in action.
in 2014 i will no longer consume excessive amounts of sugar and limit myself to one dessert per day.

love myself and not care what others think.  i was recently informed that my dark blonde hair is boring, and my long hair is blah and accentuates my long face.  at first i was depressed and it started a cascade of self loathing: "wow, i really AM blah and boring. and my chin is too pointy.  and my forehead is a FIVEhead.  and my lips are so thin.  and i'm not stylish.  and i have nothing to wear.  i'm basically shaped like a hobbit.  and i gained so much holiday weight.  and…."  and i wanted to change everything about myself.  then my husband told me that i'm perfect and to him i'm the prettiest girl in the world.  and i wondered, who do i believe?  my husband who i am going to spend my life with?  or other people's opinions?
in 2014 i am going to choose to not compare myself to others or worry about what they think of me.  i am going to try to love myself as much as my husband does, and hopefully become a happier, more content person.

be more careful with money.  i could put this as a joint resolution, but really dawson doesn't spend any money ever besides on necessities.  i somehow find all kinds of things that i think are necessities, but really aren't.  i'm actually not a HUGE spender and we keep a good budget, but i tend to impulse buy and then i have a closet full of things that i have only worn once or twice and don't like anymore, or knick knacks around the house that just end up in the storage room or closest.
in 2014 i will be more aware of what i'm spending money on and won't impulse buy so that we can save more money for the future.


here are dawson's resolutions:

keep sugar intake under 30gm or less a day.

do one load of laundry a week.

have more patience, especially with things that are out of my control.

(dawson isn't a man of many words, as you can tell)


and here are our resolutions as a couple:

attend the temple at least 2 times a month.  we started going to the temple once a week this past fall and it made such a difference in our lives.  and then the holidays came and we were so busy that we didn't make it at all.  so no more of this all or nothing approach.
in 2014 we will attend the temple together at least 2 times a month.

be positive.  about our jobs, our relationship, ourselves, our friends, our family, etc.   i believe that negative thoughts really affect you in more ways than you think.  so we are going to get rid of all negativity!!!
in 2014 we will keep our thoughts and words positive.

wish us luck!