Word to the Wiser Than Me

So, as you know I've been working towards a goal of being healthier. The thing is, right before I made this goal, my darling husband filled our refrigerator with my favorite frozen pizza's (they were on sale for $1 each). I avoided them (for the most part) for a couple of weeks, but I eventually broke down one afternoon and decided to have one for lunch. I looked at the nutrition facts and saw that there were only 370 calories, and 180 fat calories. In my opinion, I thought that was pretty good for a whole pizza. So I ate one, and enjoyed it. I continued to eat one for lunch about every other day.

Last night, I was telling Chris about my discovery and about how happy I was to have something "good" to eat that wasn't killing my calorie count. "There's no way," he said and opened the freezer and took out one to read the back. "There's 370 calories per serving," he said "There are 2 servings in this one pizza."
My heart sank. My lunch time indulgence was too good to be true.
Read the label thoroughly before you get too excited. Like my mother always said, "If it's too good to be true, it usually is."

Hobby Crisis

For those of you who don't know...I have changed my major to Social Work with the hopes of becoming a Marriage & Family therapist. I think its great, and am so excited to learn and work in this field. There's just one downside: I miss singing and doing theater. Up until about April of last year it was my whole life. I didn't think I was capable of doing anything else. I am glad to have found a new path in life, but I want to make room for something I still love and hold near & dear to my heart. Theater is so time consuming; how do I make room for something in my schedule that has a tenancy to take over? School is hard, I want time at home with my husband, I want to sing again. Is it possible to have everything that you want? Or am I being totally selfish?

How do you make time for things that you love, that aren't your #1 (or #2) priority?

Date Time

Today has been (yet another) perfect Saturday. Chris and I decided to go on a spontaneous date this afternoon. We went to Subway for lunch with our gift card. We love to eat at Subway.
Next, we drove down to Idaho Falls to return some things and go shopping so I could spend my birthday money. I must say, it was a very successful trip. Here are the sweet deals I scored:

If I could share one tidbit of info I would say to NEVER buy anything full price at DownEast. I saw the peach colored shirt in the store about 2 months ago for $35. I got it for $13 with an additional 30%. I love clearance sales. :)
Then we headed over to Barnes & Noble to look at some journals and to get some salted caramel hot chocolate, one of Chris' favorites. It was my first time trying it--sooo good! Get some before the Christmas season is over (Is it already the Christmas season?).
Finally, we went to Macy's (the department store) to spend a gift card we got as a wedding gift. We had fun looking through all the fun appliances. We found a hidden treasure on sale, bought it, and brought it home.

Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to the newest edition to the John home...

We registered for a popcorn machine, but never got one...so we bought ourselves one. Here's to many bowls of warm, buttery popcorn (and equally as many gym trips to compensate). 

Media Management

Well, my Media Management Unit in Family Foundations has come to a close. I thought you might be interested in the final result. I am proud to say that I have not logged into Facebook since October 26. I'm not particularly proud of the rest of the results, but I will definitely learn from them. Here is the finally tally of my media use in the last two weeks:

So...In the last two weeks I spent 42.1 hours watching TV or movies. That's a part-time job. Yikes. The thing is, 12.1 hours of TV is about 52 minutes a day- which equals one episode of a TV show. In the last two weeks I watched 8 movies. To me, that doesn't seem like an insane or unreasonable amount, but when you look at the actual number of hours it seems a whole lot worse. 42.1 hours is 8% of 14 days. Now I see that there is no excuse for me not to go to the gym, not go to the temple, not read my scriptures, not write in my journal...etc.

I also wanted to include a few quotes from my paper I submitted. I will keep it short so I don't lose you. :)

"I was the most surprised with how much I didn’t miss Facebook. Its amazing how something that was a part of my daily life really didn’t matter. I didn’t feel disconnected from my friends or family. I wasn’t dying to know what was going on in random "friends" lives. I was more productive and on my computer a lot less. I also found that I would be inclined to want to check my Facebook at school, usually during class. What a waste. I’m paying to be here and to get an education; no class is too boring or seemingly “unimportant” that Facebook should take precedence."

In closing...

"I plan to continue monitoring and minimizing unnecessary media use. I have too many things I want to do and more important things to do with my time. I have things I want to accomplish in my life; sitting on the couch fulfills none of them. I think if I can continue to improve, this “plan” will help me be better in all aspects of my life. I will get more done- helping me to achieve more goals. I will have real relationships that will develop and grow; relationships that exist and thrive on real communication, not cyber communication....I won’t be too caught up in that show or the “he said, she said” that goes on in the Facebook world."


OK, maybe not as short as I originally thought....I have a lot to say, I guess. Now, get off your computer and go read a book or something. :)

Snakes & Cuddles

Last night I had a terrible dream. In my dream, Chris and I found a snake in our front room. It was huge. After my close encounter with it Chris took to it with a shot gun. Relieved we went into the kitchen...there were 2 more. They lunged at us. Just in time, Chris shot both of them. I was so distressed. I ran into our bedroom and hid in our bed. Then I heard a low hissing noise. I sat up and saw our whole bedroom floor was covered in these huge pythons.

I was suddenly awake and super jumpy. I tired to fall back asleep but I couldn't; I was too freaked out. I rolled over and tapped Chris on the shoulder. He groggily rolled towards me and I wormed my way into his arms, and slept peacefully the rest of the night.

Being married is so great.

Cancer of the Mind

 "Pornographic or erotic stories and pictures are worse than filthy or polluted food. The body has defenses to rid itself of unwholesome food. With a few fatal exceptions, bad food will only make you sick but do no permanent harm. In contrast, a person who feasts upon filthy stories or pornographic or erotic pictures and literature records them in this marvelous retrieval system we call a brain. The brain won't vomit back filth. Once recorded, it will always remain subject to recall, flashing its perverted images across your mind and drawing you away from the wholesome things in life."
It seems to me that, lately, I have heard a lot of depressing pornography statistics. Did you know that 82% of college age men admitted to viewing pornography regularly (that's admitted...). In a BYU-Idaho study 62% of male students admitted to having/had pornography problems. Those odds are terrible! Ladies- we are not immune! 32% of college age women admitted having a pornography problem. This epidemic is growing on all planes. No one is immune.
Pornography is such a scary thing. It is terrifyingly accessible and literally impossible to avoid-- even unintentional contact.
For an assignment in my Family Foundations class we were asked to read several talks regarding the issue. The most influential talk (for me) was Pornography given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in the April 2005 General conference. I received a lot of comfort from this talk and thought I'd share. I hope that you can find some hope in Elder Oaks' words like I did.
The body/mind analogy can be somewhat depressing, but I saw it as a defense mechanism. The first step to protection is prevention. I take comfort in knowing that I can prevent pornography by staying away from all filth, not just that found on the internet. I know I can improve in the areas of the music I listen to, the movies and TV I watch, and the media I read. Elder Oaks says "the test of what is evil is not the degree but its effect." By eliminating the "smaller" evils in life, the "bigger" ones become less of an issue.
My biggest source of comfort came from this statement; "an endowed priesthood bearer's fall into pornography never occurs during periods of regular worship in the temple; it happens when he has become casual in his temple worship." What a great promise! As long as we are renewing our covenants and diligently attending the temple...we cannot fall into pornography. No wonder we have been counseled to have a photo of the temple in every room. The spirit will make us strong and we will be able to resist temptation and our Heavenly Father will bless us.

That's enough from me! I hope that someone, somewhere will benefit from reading this and that we can all protect ourselves from this cancerous addiction.

::Nineteen:A Year in Review ::

Nineteen. Its been a great year for me....for obvious reasons and not-so-obvious reasons. Here's a recap of my year in photos. 

November 2010: I turn 19 and participate in my first collegiate musical. 

"The Spitfire Grill"

I also go on my first date with my future husband on November 13.

...which ended in a grass fight.

We become an official couple on Nov. 21

December 2010: Chris and I continue dating & say "I love you." I spent Christmas at home with my family.

Before Chris left for N.Carolina for Christmas we went on an amazing date to Temple Square and we ate at the Garden

A screen shot of our Christmas Skype conversation

January 2011: I travel to St. George and perform in Spelling Bee at the Utah Theater Association Conference. Chris and I are engaged January 30th

February 2011: Spelling Bee performs at Westminster. Chris' mom and sister come and I meet them for the first time.

March 2011: Spring Break! I spend it wedding planning, including dress shopping.

Looking at the different styles with my future sister-in-law

Dress #6...skeptical about the slimmer fit as opposed to a fuller (ball gown) fit.

The veil wins me over

My Dress Finding Crew

April 2011: Chris and I finally reside in the same state. :) We take engagement photos and prepare to move to South Carolina for our internship at Plantation Resort in Myrtle Beach. I finish up my last semester at Westminster College.

The Pie is our favorite place to eat.

May 2011: We make the move to South Carolina and begin working. I live at the resort and Chris lives with his Aunt & Uncle.

All the Interns got a free surf lesson

Relaxing in my condo

Friends who lived behind our condo

June 2011: Chris and I work hard and play hard.

Our favorite place to eat: the best Wendy's on the planet. Its clean, they play old music and there are fresh flowers on every table.

We got in free to the aquarium

July 2011:  We take our beach bridal photos. I get a parasite in my ear (I'll spare you the photo) and experience the worst ear infection ever. Our last day of work is July 14. We spend a week in Fayetteville NC and then return home to Utah.

August 2011: I have 4 bridal showers in 3 days. Chris turns 23 and I take out my endowment on his birthday. We are married on 8/12/11 at 10:20am and it is the most perfect day. We spend 2 weeks on our honeymoon.

No editing has been done to any of these photos

September 2011: We move into our first apartment. I start my first semester of school. I love BYU-I and the special spirit that is here.

October 2011: We make a spontaneous trip to Utah for a weekend. We get our pell grants. Chris decides to apply to the paramedic program and I decide to go into Social Work (with the intent of doing marriage & family therapy).

We like to eat at Pizza Pie Cafe.

November 2011: I turn 20. I love married life and my life here in Rexburg. I have started a new blog, started exercising again, and have begun to learn to cook.
Looking back....I am a million miles away from where I would have thought I'd be a year ago. However, I am so happy and so blessed and wouldn't have changed a thing in the last year.

Birthday Flowers Mom & Dad had delivered.

Pasta dinner with my sweetheart

Ice Cream Cake from Coldstone

Here's to a happy 2012 & age 20!