Belated Happy New Year...

So, I've been MIA for a while and I apologize. After the stress of last quarter and the stress and craziness of the holidays and finally the back to school mess that exists almost constantly at AILV I have returned.

I spent most of my holiday break either sleeping, reading or with family. There were parties to enjoy, gifts to share, food to cook, places to go, sushi to eat and intense golf and bowling games to play in the Wii. It was an absolute blast of a holiday!

Marli gave us a puzzle for Christmas that was SO HARD! We spent a lot of time working on it as a family, with Marli, Danny and Carson, and the cats also felt the need to help. (and by help I mean hinder)











Jordan and Chris agreed to come with me to try out a sushi restaurant in Utah because I needed to find one to replace Ra for when I move back. They were very good sports about it and actually enjoyed eating the sushi (or they could have been lying...). We had so much fun that we went back the following week!!











I also enjoyed all of the time I got to spend driving up to the Draper Temple!! I am so excited for it open!! I think it is so beautiful. That and it is so close to home. Its just amazing!!



One of my favorite things about January is being able to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future one. I have a list of goals, both long term and short term that I am constantly working on accomplishing or adding to. I would like to share a few of them with you.

Culinary school has not been good to me in terms of my figure and health. (Big surprise, I know.) Because of this one of my goals this year is to get into better shape. Losing pounds is important to me, but not as important just feeling healthier. That’s more important to me. So, I joined a gym. Right now I visit said gym two to three days a week and do either Pilates or Yoga one to two of the other days a week. I think this is going to be a really good thing for me. Plus, actually having to pay for a gym membership is more of an incentive to go and make it worth it than just walking to the clubhouse (it’s free)...

My Dad has been chocolate and soda free for over four years now. Personally I think he is a bit crazy (I love my chocolate!), but he chose to do it for a wide variety of reasons and I respect that. I am also very proud that he has lasted this long. =]

(Now, why you ask am I bring this up?)

I am mentioning this because my Dad and I had a chat about me joining him this year. I thought very long and hard about it and I decided I would.

The soda part…not the chocolate part.

Therefore, as I am writing this blog I have officially not consumed soda for twenty days. Now I didn’t drink it that often to begin with, but let me tell you about the struggle that is no soda. The first week was easy. So was the second week. This week has been a bit harder. And I am predicting that next week will be worse. I am however, determined to see this one through, no matter how hard it gets. Whenever the craving strikes I make homemade lemon- or lime-ade. It is a beautiful arrangement.

The last of my goals I am going to mention here has to do with writing. I love writing.

(Hence the blog…)

I do however plan to get a bit more serious about it. I am taking a writing class this quarter that has so far been amazing and taught me a lot. I have set writing as a goal because I have slacked at it in the past. I plan to write here more often as well as in my personal journal and other things… who knows, maybe sometime I will share…

As for today, I have spent most of it watching (amid the homework) all of the Inaugural events that have been taking place and loving every minute of it. It is so exciting to be a part of change and even just to watch it happen. I was so young eight years ago and didn't pay much attention to politics at all, so I don't remember the last inauguration at all. Not to mention the fact that Bush didn’t change much between the first and last four years of his term, so it was pretty uneventful…There was no excitement in it at all for me. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t really understand what all the hoopla was all about anyway. This time however I watched the debates, listened to speeches and I voted. I was awesome to be part of it all firsthand this time!


My hope is that this new year of so many changes can be beneficial to many people for many different reasons!!