The one where I stick it to them

And by "them" I mean every company/person who runs a health clinic, nutrition group...you know who I'm talking about. The people who try to get you to buy shakes, health bars, memberships, etc. and promising you an amazing body complete with a six pack.

I have been wanting to get into the health/nutrition field specifically as a coach or trainer but everything I've looked into just didn't feel right. I don't feel like drinking a shake every morning and that's all I will need each day is healthy. I don't know about you but a couple red flags went up on that one. Plus, I like to eat!!

If you know me you know that I am completely against diets. I believe in being healthy the natural way, eating a balanced diet and exercise. I also believe that chocolate is sent directly from heaven and that avoiding it would be a crime.

Plus every single one was one of those pyramid companies that you first have to pay to become a part of before you start making money....poor student here. Um, no. 

Sooo...now that I won't/can't join any of these companies and I can't afford a gym pass what's a girl to do??

Start my own.

Really my dream is to start my own gym but seeing that I currently have a very tight budget with little savings..that is going to have to wait. So for now I'm going to get out there and get into shape and look like those people they advertise {for only $89.99 you can look like in just 4 days}...but I'm going to do it for next to nothing...aka on a poor student budget.

If you would like to follow I will be posting all the workouts, meals, etc. And if you have any input, ideas, suggestions, and such please leave a comment!

Project Sticking It (not like the cheerleader movie) commences today.

Pinterest craft

So one time I decided that I needed to start trying all of these awesome ideas that I find on Pinterest...10 pm last night to be exact.

 

Actually I started this project a week ago with the prep stuff but I actually finished and put it together last night.

 

Everyone has seen these wreaths and there are millions of tutorials so I'm not going to bother with that. Its super easy though! Beginner crafter here.

 

Ok so it was supposed to be a "fall" wreath but the dying went a little different. Instead of red and orange it turned out pink and cream. So here's to an early spring. (I just dyed the filters with paint in water)

Total cost: $1

Two Mormons in Vegas

Whenever I thought of Vegas I thought about the millions of drunks and scandalously dressed people of the world all gathered on one street (the strip).

That still is very true.

But this last weekend me and Stein got to go watch Jimmy Buffett play at the MGM Grand! Such a great concert!

I kinda felt like I was in the 70s as everyone was dressed so and I was the youngest person there by 20+ years haha but I've never been around a better crowd. Your either a die hard parrothead or you haven't heard of him.

And they were the nicest drunks I've ever been around! Haha they were so entertaining yet so very friendly. Say hello to the newest parrothead :)

I had so much fun walking around and seeing everything. But the second highlight of the trip was accomplishing something on my bucket list!!

SWIM WITH SHARKS

Ok so I had to revise this a tiny bit because, well, that was a tiny bit far-fetched. I heard about a hotel..the Golden Nugget..that had a water slide that went through a shark tank!! How cool is that?! So we made our way over there and I was seriously a kid in a candy store..Stein had to make me leave haha.

The first time I was going so fast that I didn't even see anything. But every time after that I had the biggest smile. Yes, I was in line with all the kids and running up the stairs to go again. So what.
It turns out there is a lot to do in Vegas being a Mormon! I definitely added a lot to my list of things to do down there next time.

P.s. this is my first post using my phone so I'm not exactly sure how its going to look. Hopefully the pictures show up!

Airing of Grievances.

Did I even spell that right? Too lazy to google it. But you get the idea.

Couple negative things of note that I need to get out.

1) a certain someone complained on their certain blog about a couple certain someones (which I'm sure one was me) about a certain subject. Being too happy and not being 'real'. Guess what. I am happy and that's as real as it gets. 

I am blessed beyond belief and I have a little secret to why I'm so happy but first let me set something straight. I agree, those ultra optimist people who have the high squeaky voices and a huge smile plastered on their face at all times (I'm quite certain they sleep with a smile too) are ANNOYING. I agree that it doesn't feel relatable or real to me either. Life is supposed to be hard. But there isn't a stumbling block that you can't overcome because the person that put that stumbling block in your way did so because He knew you could handle it. 

"There are no coincidences with an omniscient being"

I choose to be happy. I wasn't always like this. Back in the awful, awkward jr. high days I was not a happy camper. I hated school, I hated how I wasn't as pretty as other girls, and I wasn't a big fan of my parents at the time either. The world was the worst at that point in my life haha it sounds funny now. But truth is that I was on the verge of being a chronically depressed person. Until one day I had a life changing thought/feeling.

Every second that passes will never be back again. Literally the second I just spent typing this sentence (yes, I'm that fast. Don't worry about it) is gone. So I had the thought "I really don't want to spend all these hours feeling down, sad, mad, etc. I want to DO something with my life and make the most of every one of those seconds"

News flash: "YOLO" is the biggest scam. That's way too much pressure.

Just live. With the ups and downs, the heartache and the success. 

Another secret: It's ok to cry and feel something when things go wrong whether it be a bad grade, a breakup, a death. It's ok to be sad. But in all things moderation. Keeping the bigger picture or eternal perspective has changed my life and the little things really don't get to me as much.

OK. Whew. If your still reading onto #2.

2) Another scam: I have realized in the past year that adults aren't who I thought they were.

When I was growing up, adults had it together. Jobs, cars, spouses, money, and they always had the answer and advice.

Now?

Ya, right. 

I've found more 40+ people who are more immature than I thought was possible for a full-grown human being. It's definitely a challenge having to deal with these certain people on a daily basis. 

On an optimist note: learning to deal with this type of a person will definitely increase my patience. That's if I don't blow up and disregard the 'respect for my elders' thing my parents taught me before patience has a chance.

I can do it, I can do it...

Ok. That's all...for now. I feel better.

2 days until a much needed weekend away! 

Toni's Wedding

I just realized I never blogged about this major event!! So here we go..two months later..

 

I am one of the lucky few who have lifetime friends from high school. We had the greatest times in high school, playing ball, food runs, movie nights, etc. But it hasn't stopped just because we moved on with our lives. Us three (Me, April, and Toni) literally went completely separate ways.

April went to Dixie down in St. George to play soccer, I stayed here and went to UVU, and Toni went to California to live with her dad. We didn't see each other very often but somehow everytime we did it was like I just saw them yesterday. Our friendship never missed a beat.

 

Well Toni is the 2nd of us three to get married and I am so so happy for her! Both her and April found guys that not only treat them well but that fit right in and it's not different or awkward when we all hangout. I love that! Toni and Mo's wedding was gorgeous!! I loved it and loved watching those two enjoy the day. Toni was so beautiful and her wedding had every bit of her personality stapled to it...minus the basketball shorts haha :)

Me and Ape definitely had fun just hanging out!

These were the most beautiful dresses, I really hope I get to wear it again!

 

 We even got to see some old high school buddies! Ben and Eddie!

 

It definitely was a wedding to remember and even two months later I'm still so happy for Toni and Mo!

 

And just like that, I'm the last one to get married. Three times the bridesmaid..not a bride..yet :)



Cornbelly's wins again.

Have I ever told you that I love my job? Well, I do.

Every year when Cornbelly's comes to town we have an employee night where our families get in for free. So much fun! This year Stein finally got to come with us :)

Honestly, it is geared more for kids, which, lucky I have two little sisters, works out perfect! They love it and it's always better to have fun with them anyways.

We once again tried to enter and exit the corn maze.....the correct way. I'm sorry to announce that we failed...again. We went in the big corn maze and somehow came out of the kids maze, only the Hardman family would accomplish that haha.

Did you know that there is such a job as "Corn Cop"? He was pretty funny, it was his first day apparently because he decided to be lost with us. It was funny to watch people's reaction as the "Corn Cop" had no idea where to go. He is probably well acquainted with it now...let's hope.

I'm also happy to announce that Halloween is becoming more and more enjoyable for me.

I don't like scary movies and I don't like to dress up in costumes. So every year Halloween consisted of me eating discounted candy while I watched Hocus Pocus (which will always be a tradition) But now I really like going to all the haunted corn mazes/houses and enjoying the holiday! I'm still not on the scary movie/costume band wagon. Stein is though so maybe I'll come around.

Happy October!

Sparkles

I bet when you read the title you thought I was going to write about the stuff you put on your face and hair.

Wrong.

When I was five years old our neighbor's cat had some kittens. I got to go over and see the brand new kittens as they made the cutest little squeeks, just all huddled in a little clump. It was so cute, I wanted one instantly! I ran back over to my house, begged my parents for one and a few weeks later when they were ready to be away from their mom, I picked out my very first pet.

And so five-year old Marlisa named her first kitty...Sparkles.

I remember when I named her that and I honestly can't tell you why but I do know I was thinking more along the lines of sparklers instead of the makeup kind of sparkles. Maybe I was super excited for 4th of July, who knows.

Whatever the case may be, I LOVED my kitty. We dressed her up, when we could catch her and only until she took it off with her paws. We pushed her around in the baby stroller until she jumped out and we would chase down our baby and put her back. Once we got smart and buckled her up...she didn't play ever again.

I slept with her almost every night with her mostly sitting at the bottom of my bed keeping my feet warm. When she did sleep with you, you had to be sure to not move your feet or she would pounce. Also dragging a piece a string all over the house and moving something under the door were her favorite games. We only got her to fall for the laser trick once, she's way too smart. It was funny while it lasted though.

She did the weirdest things..slept in the sink, only drank water from the sink (hated the water in her bowl), she even went through a phase where she would climb up inside the vent in the ceiling in our unfinished basement. Weird.

We got back from a weekend away and noticed that she was skinnier than ever and was super out of it. She had always been a skinny cat but you could literally feel every bone in her body. She wasn't eating. She refused to eat anything and everything we put in front of her. After 17 years of keeping every type of meat off the counter and shooing her away from our dinners, she wouldn't eat those very things as we willingly gave it to her. It ripped my heart out. She couldn't take more than 5 steps without having to lay down, her meow was painful, I cried every single day.

After a couple days knowing she was probably going to die, we took her into the vet just to be sure. I was doing pretty good, I kept my emotions in check for quite a while. Until the vet told us she had kidney failure and handed me a piece of paper that told me how much the first day of treatment would cost..$500..that's just the first day, she said. 

I lost it.

We took her home and I had to swallow the fact that anyday she was going to be gone. My best friend for 17 years, the one who snuggled with me when I was sent to my room, the one who was always there when I got home, my cat. 

 For the next couple days I did everything I could to take care of her. Tried to choke back sobs and cuddled a lot. I lost so much sleep and got close to no homework done..so worth it.

On friday I could just tell that she was going to leave us that day. She didn't move, just layed down and let me give her a bath (she hates baths). We put her in a blanket and set her in a comfy spot. I stayed as long as I could until I had to get to work. When I left I thought she was going to be gone when I got home. To my suprise she was barely there when I got home. I know she waited for me.

About 15 minutes later Sparkles died in my arms. It was the hardest thing to go through. I can't even describe how hard it was.

I'm grateful that

1) she didn't go away to die like most animals do, that would've killed me.

2) I knew it was coming and got to spend time with her

3) that I got to have her for 17 years

4) that my family was around when it happened, we all go to be there to bury her

5) that I had an understanding family, friends, and boyfriend who were so great to me. 

I know it may seem a little funny or weird that I had such a hard time with a cat dying, most of you probably aren't cat people, but she was mine. 

3 days later I'm still emotional about it. I hate coming home to find no meow coming from the couch or chair, seeing an open tuna can sitting on the counter....untouched, but I love that I got to have her. I love that God gave us animals because they truly are the most amazing things in our lives. They teach us loyalty, unconditional love, and are the ultimate best friend.

Mine was Sparkles.