Disney World

We arrived.

Today was kind of a surreal day for me. I headed out the door, like most people do in the morning, but with my Mom. I headed to the airport, which is so not normal.
We landed in Orlando, which is an amazing airport with ok bathrooms. We did not have to get our bags, because they would magically appear in our room later that evening (SO AMAZING). We ate enormous meals that were already paid for. I ran for thirty minutes around a beautiful lake with loads of smokers getting their fix, which was not so helpful or beautiful, but at least they were all friendly.
(As a little side note, running in 90% humidity and 78° is no joke my friends. Hoping I acclimate before Saturday night.)

I am at Disney World. Hard to believe after all the planning and reserving and paying, we are really really here.

Together Again

Let's see if I can reignite this blogging thing. NaBloPoMo, I'm coming for you.

Short and sweet today.

It was a nice day. Fast Sundays usually are though. Testimony meeting never disappoints. Lots of changes in the dynamics in the ward I am in, including new move-in's, new presidency in Relief Society, and of course growing children. Had an enjoyable dinner and evening with my sister and nephews. Now off to bed to sleep off the daylight savings time hangover.

How to Run Injury Free: A Beginning Runner's Point of View Part 1

I am by no means a professional runner. I am not even a decent runner at this point. I am what you would call a beginner.

That being said, I have learned quite a few things already about running, and would like to pass this information on to the masses of people (I've had over 12,000 pageviews, so that I consider to be the masses) who read this blog.

FIRST: Walk. Walking is one of the first things we learn to do with our bodies. First comes walking, THEN comes running. If you don't walk well, you will not run well. If you walk well, you WILL run well.

The first track where I walked the mile, rather than ran it, as a kid.

Every distance race I have done so far (5k, 10k, 10 Miler, Half Marathon), I first walked. With one exception. The 10 Miler. And my legs paid for that DEARLY.

So make sure you can walk the distance first. And not just a casual walking pace. Make it an active walk. No, not the speed walking craziness! Although, if that is your cup of tea, by all means. Just a good paced walk for you that elevates your heart rate. If you are a beginner walker (as in, not able to walk long distances yet), work up to a weekly or daily tally of miles or steps. Pedometers are excellent trackers and encourage-ers. They are regularly available on smartphones, and you can even find some pretty cheap deals at your local discount store for good pedometers if you don't carry your phone everywhere like I do.

(Tip: check out amazon.com or your local TJMAXX/Ross/Marshalls...you can find some GREAT deals at all of these places).

SECOND: Strengthen. Walking is all great and good, but running requires landing with all of your weight on your legs. If you have weak knees, ankles, hips, even your gluteus maximus and back, running is going to be SUPER rough.

Strengthen your core!! (AKA, back and abdomens) Something has to hold them up. Believe me, after 10 miles, you just want to fall right on over if you haven't worked on these muscles. Get those crunches going!

Strengthen your butt!! It connects the bottom half of your body to the top half...all of which are involved in running. So in many ways, it's the most important thing to strengthen. According to one of my physical therapists, strengthening your butt will reduce your chance for legs injuries significantly. She actually gave me a percentage, but I don't remember the actual number she told me, AND I believe most percentages are made up anyways. But logically, it totally makes sense. So work on that booty!

Strengthen your thighs! Quads, hamstrings, and all the muscles in between. And make sure you stretch them as well. ESPECIALLY your IT Band! After my half marathon, the only things that truly were in pain were my IT Bands. I would definitely consult a physical therapist for good stretches and exercises in this area. IT Bands can be tricky to truly stretch. And those youtube videos...yeah, they don't work for me.

Find a great walking path in your area to train. 

Strengthen your calf muscles!! They attach to your knees, right along with your quads and hamstrings, so they are just as important. And by doing this, you will help keep from having shin splints! I have only experienced shin splints once, so this really and truly helps. Do not over do the calf muscle exercises though, if you are a beginner. Start slow and light weights.

Strengthen your feet and toes!! Yes, this sounds kind of weird. We were not taught foot exercises in PE. But think about it. What is physically hitting the ground and propelling yourself forward? Where is all your leg strength focused? YOUR FEET!!

First of all, before we go any further, let me remind you that I am NOT a medical professional. So don't take my advice and blame me for anything wrong that happens. Because I am not even going to pretend to be the leading expert on this advice.

But your local family general practioner is! DEFINITELY check in with her/him and FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE...or get a second opinion if you don't like their advice. :D

Lucky for me, after having multiple knee and ankle injuries, I know a number of exercises taught to me by my wonderful physical therapists. If you don't have a physical therapist, you should. They are wonderful people who are all about REMOVING pain from your body. Yes, by inflicting it, but the long term benefits are GREAT! In the future I may share some exercises that have helped me. But again, I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL!! The beginner flag could not be waved any more, could it?

THIRD: Walk. I know, I said that already. But this one is different.

When I first was forced...yes, forced!... to run, I would get side stitches, cramps in my feet, cramps all over my legs, and could barely breath.

The mile 13 marker...before the race

I was never taught how to actually run. There is an actual form to running. Now, everyone has their own style, and there are many ways that work well as far as 'form' running is concerned. So you have to find what works best for you. Once you find what form works best for you, this is what I recommend:

Practice walking using that form.

Novel, right?

Pump your arms the same way you would running. Raise your knees about to where they would raise to if you were running. BREATH the way you would if you were running (if you do paced breathing for example, in for three steps, out for 2 steps). Land on your feet the way you would if you were running (flat, front of the foot, midstrike, whatever). If you can do that for 3.1 miles, then you can run it.

I am a musician by trade, so this seriously resonates with me. If you can play it correctly slowly, you can do the same thing quickly. If you haven't learned how to do it slowly, with correct form, correct positioning, etc...how in the world can you do it quickly?

I know, I sound like slow and steady wins the race. Well, it's a very true statement.

That's my advice for now. Feel free to comment/share/judge. Well, you could choose to not harshly judge...but giving your own recommendations for things you disagree with, I'm totally OK with!

Like I said, I'm a BEGINNER! I love being a beginner, and I will love being an intermediate soon!

Why are you in such a positive mood?

Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. -Charles Swindoll

Today, someone replied to a comment I made in a rather mean-spirited way and completely misunderstood what I meant. It took me by surprise, and initially I felt a little pain from the comment. But then I realized that 1)the person was probably having a bad day, 2)obviously totally misunderstood my intentions. So I replied by simply clarifying, without any accusations or false modesty, and left it at that.

The original author of the post then contacted me, apologized for that person, etc., and I gave the above reasons for not being really hurt and made it clear I was more than happy to forgive the person of their snarky comment. I kept throwing all these 'happys' back at him, and he asked 'Why are you in such a positive mood? Any particular reason?'

This took me by surprise. I realized that I sounded like this insanely, maybe even annoyingly positive person throughout our chat. I assure you I am truly not, though I suppose I can be at times. I gave him some generic answer of 'well, I guess I am just at peace with my lot today.' But really, in other cases, from a different mouth, or on a different day, that comment might have really hurt me and festered unholy thoughts.

I have been pondering why on earth I was so happy to let that comment go as just an ill-written reply rather than going into a rather involved argument with this person who exists out there in the universe, whom I might add I do not even know.

Once upon a time ago, I had a relationship that was really really great. Until we didn't see each other face to face for a long time. And then it was really great, then just great, going on to good, and then...

I blame 50% of the problems we started having on the fact that we couldn't see each other. Face to face interactions are so essential. Phone calls, text messages, emails, letters...they all can be totally misconstrued. And they were. Facial expressions, tone of voice, the spirit in which you are talking with; they all are so very essential.

The relationship failed. My world came spiraling down. I was in bad shape.

It's been years, but I have come to some peace about what happened. And I decided that forgiveness is a wonderful, wonderful gift. And it produces peace, joy and happiness.

The gospel of Jesus Christ, it is about repentance, yes...but I really believe that it really is about forgiveness. To repent at all, you must forgive others, yourself, the powers and influences that caused the sin or transgression or cup to fall and break or broken arm...or a Facebook comment. The ability to let go of the pain, the hatred, the guilt...they all can be swept away and replaced by the most amazing gift God can give...His love. His joy, peace, happiness. And make it possible for you to love this enigma who is having a bad day.

Who knew such a small thing would create some immense reflection for me today.

Resolved

Happy New Year!

Totally did not keep any of my resolutions last year. So. Putting up some basics, some simplistic resolutions, things that are way doable.

Resolved: That I will floss my teeth at least one every day.

Resolved: That I will put the toilet paper roll on the toilet paper ring every time a new roll is needed.

Resolved: That I will get ready for the day within an hour of waking up, regardless of if I have do go out the door that day. (Exception: actual, honest to goodness sick days)

Resolved: That I will memorize a poem a week. A poem that is meaningful to me. Scripture may be put in place of a poem.

Resolved: To find a way to perform music in public at least once every two months. Cannot use Church twice in a row.

Resolved: To write. To write a story. To write my story.

Resolved: To choose happiness. Every day. To have joy. Every day. And to share this happiness and joy every single day with someone else.

Resolved: To get healthier. Mind, spirit, and body. To do a little better with these three areas every day. Just a little.

Resolved: To report on this progress on the first of every month. On this forum.

Yes, I am resolved.

What are you resolved to do this year?

Pedometer

I have this lovely app on my phone that tells me how many steps I've taken that day.  And so far, it's been let accurate.
Over 20,000 steps so far for the last two days.

My legs feel great.

My feet do not.

So, we'll see how tomorrow goes!

Conquering Mountains

Disneyland has a number of rides that are mountains. I rode all of them today. I actually want expecting that, especially since Space Mountain was slated to be closed today.
Big Thunder was the first mountain I conquered. Then Matterhorn, Space, and of course ending with Splash.
My poor shoes. I had planned on wearing them this entire trip. But they are sopping wet from having been on Splash Mountain twice today. Love the ride. Hate what it does to my shoes.
California Adventure tomorrow. :) Should be fun!

Spiritual Journeys

My cousin and I ward hopped today. We c visited a family ward that has a hub of mid-singles (the acronym MSA is totally a thing here... cool and word at the same time), and discovered there is a mid-singles ward as well. The building we lamed in first was the coolest Church Meetinghouse I have visited. It had this amazing mosaic on the main street side worth a depiction of Lehi and the tree of life. The building had a courtyard in the center. And we had to go outside to attend the mid-singles Sunday school class. Was really an interesting building. Easy to get lost in. And right next to the ocean. :)
We then visited my cousins assigned ward (YSA) which happened to be meeting with another ward (again, YSA). Got our Break the Fast on, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.
There was this beautiful bay that had a path going around it, about an 8 mile round trip, that we passed. It was beautiful and inspiring.
Been spiritually fed today. :)

Day two. #nablopomo

Start of a Journey

A family I once nannied for invited me to accompany them to Disneyland. I happened to have a credit for a plane ticket I never used and family near enough to Anaheim where I could stay.

So, a mere three weeks ago I was suddenly coming out to California. Since I am not fully employed as of yet, I extended the trip so I could spend some time job searching here in California.

I have to say I was thoroughly zenned out during the first leg. The flight was very empty, I listened to orchestral music, and read some General Conference addresses.

We have had a relaxing day so far here. No agenda for today. I am so grateful I will have a bed to sleep in tonight.

Happy first day of NaBloPoMo!

I was going to...

...write an entire blog post complaining about my non-functioning knee and all the things I can't do with it. Instead, I am going to write about something good.

This whole time I've been down and out, I have had a running joke that keeps on keeping on...and it hasn't been pushed by me.

I got my toenails done a week before the fateful accident. I decided to get gel-nails done, so that they would last and last. It was an extremely smart decision on my part.

Fast forward to 30 minutes after the accident. Sister missionary shows up, is helping, comforting, etc. She looks down at my toes and says: At least your nails look good!

Folks, that was the first time I stopped crying. I laughed.

The mission nurse shows up: At least your nails look good!

Nurse at the ER: Your nails look great!

Friend who took care of me for 72 hours straight: At least your nails look good!

A few more times, especially after I got home: At least your nails look good!!

So folks. The lesson learned is: I am forever and always going to get my toes done with gel nails.

So This is a Story...

All about how my life got turned upside down.

Once upon a time I was living in paradise. Well, paradise with potholes and people who persistently disobey traffic laws.

THEN: the unthinkable happened. The job disappeared.

Yes, that is all the detail you will get on the disappearance. I wasn't fired. The job just ended quite suddenly.

THEN: the even more unthinkable happened. I dislocated my knee.

No, not the one I've dislocated about 15 times (honestly, that probably isn't an exaggeration) and had surgery on. THE OTHER ONE. While I was still in paradise. Paradise with great doctors and service but terrible supplies.

And that went down one day before the job ended and two days before I was flying back to the states.

That was May 1st. I am still waiting to find out whether I need surgery on that knee or if I can start torture physical therapy right away.

So. There you have it.

It's been quite the emotional roller coaster. I loved the family I worked for...the kids, the parents, and all the other people I worked with/hung out with. I loved the beaches. I loved being warm all the time. I loved my skin and my hair in paradise. I loved finding new things to do. I loved all the new things I did do.

And it's all gone.

So, my mental status has been a little totally all over the place.

Anywho. I might be posting more. Not sure about much in my life at the moment, so we'll see if blogging will really make a huge reappearance.

Small Small World

Stake conference. In Puerto Rico. And my cousin's cousin shows up, on vacation, with his family. Who goes to a stake conference on vacation?
He wouldn't have picked me out of a field, but he is rather recognizable with his very red hair. Took him a while to place me.
I love small world moments. They happen every once in a while.

The Fork

Tonight after the adult session of stake conference I decided to treat myself and got a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. (I got the Hershey Chocolate Bar Cheesecake if you were wondering...not my usual, but very good) When I got home, I emptied the bag and discovered the server had put two forks in my bag.
So what, right? Well, I got all kinds of introspect-y on those two forks. The server might have thought I would go home and share the slice with someone. (Anyone who knows me well would know that that would never happen...they can get their own slice ;) ) Or she might have grabbed two by accident. Whichever it was, I kept thinking that there really should be someone else that I could share a piece of cheesecake with. (Emphasis on could).
A member of the Seventy spoke at stake conference tonight. Even through being translated from Spanish to English, the messages I was supposed to get came through loud and clear.
After the session ended I went up and chatted with him. He asked me how I was doing, how I was handling things here in Puerto Rico (we've met before). I was honest and said that I wasn't so sure I should stay here three years, being that the dating scene is non-existent and I'm not getting any younger. He gave me a few bits of advice on that front, but the main bit of wisdom was that I needed to do what the Lord wanted me to do. That things could come together in the most extraordinary ways, as long as I do what the Lord wants me to do.
So. Going to make a checklist and get right on that. :)
And seek inspiration and make sure that I am where He wants me to be, and doing what He wants me to be doing.
And hopefully, by some miracle, I'll find the man that this fork belongs to.

Keeping Healthy

In the last 4 years I've slowly regressed to my pre college weight. For some people, this would be a really good thing. For me, it isn't.
In high school I topped out at 240 pounds. For a 6 foot tall girl, that isn't too bad, but it isn't terribly good either. For a 6 foot tall girl with chronic knee problems, history of depression, and a family history of weight related diseases such as diabetes, this weight gain is very bad.
When I left high school I moved in with grandpa, and prepared to start college. Well, I was supposed to prepare, but then I got very sick. The doctor believed it was mono. It was the sickest I have ever been. I couldn't swallow without a great deal of pain. The tonsils looked like baseballs in the back of my throat. I couldn't eat, could hardly drink, and had a fever that wouldn't go away.
After a week, the fever finally broke. Eating was still difficult for a few weeks.
Then I checked my weight. To my great surprise, I had lost ten pounds that first week. I lost another 10 the next week, and continued losing 5 pounds a week for quite a long time. Nothing fit me any more. Except my shoes. Anyone who knew me that first year of college can testify I was in baggy heaven. I got down to 175, and stayed around there for the next 8 years.
Well. Here I am. And I don't exactly want to hope for a second bout of mono. And there are other things that have also crept up into my life in the last five years that need to be weeded out. I am not the woman I want to be. Time to come clean and healthy.
First of all, I am changing my diet. I am making sure I load up on vegetables and fruits. I have two other people who are keeping track of their food intake along with me. Not exactly calorie counting. Just being accountable for what we eat. We'll be changing the dinner menu to healthier food, which will make it easier for all of us.
Second, exercise. Three days a week I will have someone with me at the gym. The other days I will be starting a running routine. I have a 10K I am preparing for in February. And I will be doing a half-marathon at some point this year. If you are interested in doing a Disney run with me, speak now. My two sources who were going to come have since dropped out for personal reasons, and I'd rather not go it alone.
Third, which should be first, spiritual and mental health. I have totally dropped off the scripture reading bandwagon. For the last three nights I have fallen asleep listening to the Book of Mormon. It's nice, because my phone turns off sometime after I fall asleep, so it doesn't wake me up. THIS DOES NOT COUNT AS SCRIPTURE READING. So. This one I am going to be accountable to myself on. We'll see how this goes. Every morning I will be reading before the gym or before taking the girls I nanny to school.
Fourth, learning Spanish. I need to grow intellectually, and this is the perfect way to do it. Every day after the workout for at least twenty minutes.
Fifth, music. I need more of it in my life. The fact I now have two music callings at church does not fulfill the need I have to grow musically. This one I am still figuring out.
There. Not exactly a New Year's resolution thing. More like fixing my lifestyle. I guess you could call it resolutions, because I am resolved.
This better stick.

Research

I have had a relaxing day. Haven't done much at all in fact.

Except play around on my lovely new phone. Discovering more of the fun things I can do with it. I really am loving it. I caught up on Bones a bit (spoiler: Bones finally got married! ), played around on Pinterest, read email, bought a new Children's songbook, downloaded music to my phone that I've wanted to own.

While dawdling around on Pinterest, I decided to search for Puerto Rico to see what people have pinned.

I discovered that there were quite a few little islands belonging to the territory that have awesome coral reefs, beaches, caves, forts, lighthouses, and hiking that I need to see. I knew of three, two of which I have visited already. But even then, one I've only done by taking a taxi to a beach rather than explore it for myself.

I was amazed at how many things I haven't even heard about. And I'm excited to travel around a bit. I can't wait to visit the other islands in the Caribbean as well.
The easy access to internet via the phone suddenly has opened up a world of possibilities for me. Glad I took the plunge and made a big upgrade in my life.

New Year's

Don't worry, not going to bore you with any resolutions I am making for the year. We'll, except that I am going to try to be vigilant about keeping the blog up to date now that I have the technology that will allow me to post easily.

I am going to say how grateful I am for the ability and blessing to start all over.

We've all made a mistake here and there, and I have made my fair share of them. They can be fleeing silly mistakes, ignorant ones, super bad where the heck did that come from mistakes, or a mistake that grows into a monster. I've been through the loop on most classifications of mistakes. I just am rather private about them because I hate admitting to my weaknesses.

So here I am, Bayamón, Puerto Rico ringing with frogs, bugs, trains, motorcycles, midnight fireworks the night after the big event, and a language I only understand bits of, looking introspectively at what I want to change. There are a lot of things on my list.

Suddenly I felt this rush of gratitude knowing that I can in fact change. It may take what feels like an eternity to accomplish all the changes I want to make in myself, but by golly I can do it.

I look forward to these symbolic opportunities to renew, to leave the past behind, and try again and change for the better. New Year's Day is a great one. Every Sunday when I partake of the sacrament is another. Every 6 months at General Conference I feel that urge to change again.

Now. I need to get working.

Return of the Dead Blogger

I should now be able to blog for reals on a regular basis. This very post is being brought to you by the very toy that is going to be responsible for this great and marvelous event. My brand new phone is kind of amazing. So... my first New Year's resolution shall be to blog regularly. And with pictures.

For the Win

So...there is this 8 year old girl. One of the two girls I nanny. She is as stubborn as they come. nd she lives in her own little world I think half the time. Quite different than her older sister. She  bounces about when she is happy, and plants herself to the floor when she doesnkt get her way.

When I asked her to do something, she instantly decided that she did not want to do it and wouldn't a lot of the time. I wasn't going to have it. So on a few occassions her father has stepped in to let her know she was to listenm Then thing is, I wanted to win her over. Get her to do things because she wanted to do them for me. So after watching and observing her for quite a while, I have discovered that she responds to games. If I dare her to do something, she will do it. The time game doesn't work well for her...but tickling does.Threats make her shut completely down. So, I have to get creative. BUT, I can't and don't want to make EVERYTHING a game. I decided to test the waters today. I asked her to put her socks in the laundry room. She started to walk away from them, and gave her a questioning look, and she turned around and took care of the socks.

Win. Hoping this keeps up! This is the first time it has taken this long for a young kid to realize how good they have it with me as their nanny.

Little Miss Lazy Pants

Apparently I have forgotten how to live without company. I took Crystal to the airport this morning and have lazed about most of the day. I did manage to stop by CVS to pick up various items I realized I should have about the house, but for the most part I seriously did nothing. It was kind of nice though...tomorrow I start back into my regular schedule. Which I should talk about on here one day, but that is not today.

I have come to realize that it is not good for man to be alone. Or without a working drier. But let's talk about this first point a bit.

It is also not good for woman to be alone either. At least not this woman. I greatly dislike living by myself. I can do it, but I function far better when I have others surrounding me. This little miss lazy bones thing might be weird for today, but in all actuality this isn't the first time I have been lazy a lot of the day. I do it on a regular basis when I am alone and have the day free from obligations. I hate this fact. Even when I have obligations on a mostly lazy day, I really despise going to do whatever it is until I get there and then feel an intense amount of relief when it's over and move as quickly as possible to my room, my pj's, and my bed.

I know. I am complaining about being a lazy bum. Big whoop. People, I need some sort of intervention, even if it is me intervening with myself. It is a miracle I actually made a decent dinner. Usually it's toast. Or plain bread if the toaster was put away. Lazy. Bum.

Anyways. I miss living with people. I miss having kids knock on my door asking for a ride. Or to watch a movie. Or to go for a walk. Or for a way to earn money. Man I loved living with that family in Utah.

Dagnabit. I want my own! I need motivation to make a good dinner. Kids are great for that. So are husbands apparently. :)

No, I don't necessarily need an intervention. I know, I need to figure out how to flirt cause apparently I have no abilities in that department to attract a guy to get a family. I need to make myself good meals so I am healthy. I need to have projects outside of work to work on, such as really learning Spanish and maybe crotcheting.

Today just was a rather introspective, lazy day.

Bioluminescent Bay

My cousin Crystal and I went on a kayaking tour of a bioluminescent bay and lagoon tonight. We got in our kayaks in the bay, kayaked ourselves into a canal, and suddenly the water started glowing whenever we touched it with our paddles! I couldn't believe it, so I tried tossing some water to see what it would do, and sure enough every drop glowed. It was beautiful and amazing. I loved it when it got really dark in the mangrove covered canal, the glowing would get more intense. The ambiance in the canal was cool too...very Pirates of the Caribbean ride-like...

The lagoon itself was amazing. As people from the tour moved along, you could see the water under their kayaks start to glow super intensely. I realized if you just looked at the water, it sparkled as the water would disturb itself as it flowed. We had some time to move around a bit in the lagoon without the pack of kayaks.

Then we headed back to the bay...and a HUGE rain and wind storm came up right as we got into the bay...Crystal was already tired from having surfed this morning, and she was a little under the weather, so I kept having to encourage her to paddle faster and with more arm strength than what she was...it was a little crazy. Up till that point my shirt had stayed dry, but it was thoroughly soaked through with the rain and the little waves that crashed against the boat. What an adventure!!