Camping is for...Ortiz's!

Hahaha. Ha ha ha. Yea, that title is not funny. But for some reason it totally made me laugh. Again and again.

Well, guess what. Jake and I finally broke out our camping gear and headed up the nearby Hobble Creek Canyon past Springville, Utah for a short overnight stay. We have been trying to go for a couple weeks, but the rainy weather has scared us off for a little while.

Jake is definitely a camping person. I caught on pretty quickly that he is ALL ABOUT an authentic camping experience. I mention roasting sticks; he prefers whittling a stick. I mention a sleeping pad; he insists camping is about sleeping on the ground. What should we eat? Tin foil dinners of course! We had a blast and it was really cute to see Jake get so dang happy about camping, and playing with fire, and looking for kindling.

We went with my friend Kailee and her new fiancee Dan. (Not that she had an old fiancee. They are just recently engaged - Oct. 10, 2014!) We couldn't leave at the same time and didn't know exactly where we'd end up...which proved to be slightly problematic when we realized we had NO phone reception. So after we found our spot, I left Jake to set up and I drove the 20 minutes back down the canyon to deliver the message to Kailee where we were.

The night before we left, Jake set up the tent in our living room to make sure he had all the pieces. I wasn't around at the time, and even though he sent me a picture, I didn't realize how small the tent is. It's a two-man tent, which is perfect for us...I just was caught off guard haha. But it was cute and warm and comfy snuggly next to that hot hubby of mine.

We are already planning our next camping adventure! Suggestions? Send them my way.

Jake REALLY likes his Capri Sun. Don't you LOVE his hat? :D

This One Time...10-Year-Old Boys Hit On Me At the Pool

Today Jake and I headed to the pool on this sunny Saturday afternoon. As we are enjoying the water, I look up and see this kid standing by the side of the pool watching us. I don't think anything of it until I catch him looking again...once...twice...three times.

"I think that kid is watching me," I tell Jake.

This kid who is yes, probably 10—at most 12.

The next time I see him, he makes eye contact, blows two kissy faces my way, and jumps into the water to join his friends.

The next 15 or 20 minutes then include these three little boys blowing kisses my way and making the Taylor Swift hand heart—with the occasional wink thrown in. Jake and I try to do our own things and not pay attention, but at one point Jake just kisses me—you know, to claim his territory. They got a kick out of that—with some oooOOOOOoooo's and then some encouragement like, "Hey, you're on the Kiss Cam" and "You can do better than that!"

At this point we are in the middle of the 6-foot-deep water, so of course they can't get anywhere really close to us. (Granted, I can't really hang out there by myself either, but I've got a tall husband to hang onto to keep me from A—drowning and B—exhaustion from treading water.) But these boys enjoy hanging out by the side and keep watching us.

So we swim back to the middle of the pool when they are distracted and are there for maybe 5 minutes when they get OUT of the water looking for us and then start getting into our area. Jake dives us underwater where we sneakily head back to the deep waters and then sneak out to sit on our towels.

No more than 5 minutes later, these boys are as close as they dare get making their faces and signals. The initial boy is now WAVING ME OVER. Really, boy...really? I wave him off, shake my head, and put on my "don't bother me look" complete with sunglasses, hat, headphones, and book. Boys, do you realize I could be your mother?

And that was my day at the pool.

P.S. I am definitely NOT married to a 10-year old. I snapped some stalker model shots of my hot husband when he wasn't looking. Luckily, I don't think he reads my blog. We'll see if I hear anything about this later...

Oo-la-la! 

It's Time for the Proposal Story

I had already started writing this post when I realized today is the 19th...which means Jake and I have been engaged for exactly one month. Wow, that has flown by! Only 11 weeks and 3 days left. Or 80 days. Or 1,931 hours. Or 115,860 minutes. But who's counting, right? 

This story begins, for me, back in January, probably around the 5th. At least, that's when I realized a proposal may be coming soon.

Jake and I were together that evening looking at some calendar items. I saw his birthday on my phone and mentioned something about it. He told me not to make plans that evening and that he wanted to plan a night with just us. That's what got my mind rolling about the idea. Looking back, Jake says that he wasn't thinking about proposing that night. I don't know if I believe that. It seemed so obvious to me.

The next couple weeks, I saw clues popping up everywhere. Mentions of a secret I'd find out about soon. Comments in conversations with friends. Little things here and there that under normal circumstances might not stand out. But PROPOSAL was on my mind, and I saw mention of it everywhere. Jake definitely stepped up his romantic side (he's always great at that anyways) and surprised me with notes, little presents, and a ton of cute comments about me and our relationship.

As his birthday inched closer, Jake expanded his request for me to not make plans to the entire weekend. Don't plan anything all weekend.

On the Wednesday before that weekend, Jake and I were together at his house both on computers doing homework (him) and working on client projects (me) when he asked something along these lines: "If I planned a big date, would you want to know details or would you want to be surprised?"

"Hmm. I'd be ok being surprised."

That satisfied him for a few minutes, but he couldn't hold in the news when he excitedly asked "Want to go to Vegas this weekend?"

Jake served his mission in Vegas, and we had talked about going to visit before. So the idea wasn't completely random. Again, not necessarily suspicious in other circumstances. Jake thought I'd like a little notice to pack and such, rather than surprising me with that. He told me to pack for an evening out, church, and hiking.

We set out on our drive around 6 am Saturday morning. We both really enjoy road trips and had a splendid time talking, listening to music (yes, I made him listen to multiple Taylor Swift albums), joking and having fun. We arrived at the home of a family from his mission where we brought in our bags, chatted, and prepared to head to the strip for the evening. We walked around for just a little bit, watched the Bellagio fountain show, and headed to see the Blue Man Group.

I could tell Jake was waiting for the right moment. And that he had considered popping the question at the fountains, but in the end, he didn't feel that the atmosphere was right for our relationship. I was simply enjoying spending time with my favorite person and trying not to make him any more nervous. As we headed back for the evening, I knew he was a little disappointed and a little stressed about finding the right moment. He was so darn cute. I was trying not to focus on anything and to simply let things happen—or not happen—as they may.

Sunday morning we got dressed up in our church clothes and headed to Calico Basin. Because of schedule conflicts, we opted to enjoy the outdoors with a casual boardwalk stroll instead of a formal hike. The boardwalk makes a big loop around the area. We took things slow, stopping often, chatting, holding hands, kissing...being a really annoying cheesy couple. In the center of the boardwalk, there's a big deck type of area. We made our way there, enjoying the scenery, the weather, and the company.

This was the moment. I knew it.

Jake knew it too. He stops me and looks me in the eye. I will forever remember the intensity on his face. Leading up to this moment, he shared a poem in pieces every few steps. I'll spare you the details, but it was full cheese, expressing love and happiness and the such. Yes, I loved it. As he looks at me, he asks what I want out of life. After my response, he says how much he loves me. He smoothly pulls the ring out of his pocket, gets down on one knee, and asks me to marry him.

I immediately pull him up, kiss him, and say yes. He has to stop me to say, "You've got to put on the ring!" Oh yea. The ring is on. We are engaged.

We continue our little stroll holding hands, being really happy, with me more than occasionally staring at the ring on my finger. We continued the day by attending a ward Jake served in and visiting another family from his mission—their home is where Jake first introduced me as his fiance.

The family whose home we stayed out provided a fantastic meal for dinner and for Jake's birthday. After dinner, we headed back on the road where we made our phone calls to family and began discussing all the splendid planning details that follow an engagement.

If you haven't heard, we are getting married in the Washington, D.C. LDS temple on May 10. Thank you for all your support and excitement!

Happiness Comes in the Little Things

Today as I sat reading, working, and making my "the-holidays-are-approaching-quickly" to-do list, I noticed a sneaky smile had appeared on my face. I wasn't aware of a particular reason.

After a moment of reflection being by myself in this moment, I realized that hey—I'm happy. I'm working hard. I'm getting things done. I have great relationships with amazing people. I know who I am. I know where I want to be. And I can rely on my faith and relationship with my Heavenly Father to get there.

For me, happiness comes in the little things of everyday life. Today those little things include the following.

• Looking at my nerdy Christmas tree sparkling in the corner...even though, yes, it is daytime.
• A semi-clean apartment with dishes washed, floor swept, trash emptied, and bathroom wiped down.
• A tired but healthy body that lets me push it to sometimes teach 5 classes in one day. And it keeps going day after day. 
• Waking up tired and unsure how I'll be able to teach. And then finding my energy and thinking "Yep, I can do this!"
• Amazing people who continue attending my classes. Who smile from the back row. Who know my choreography down flat from coming for 3 years or 3 months. Who make the whole teaching experience amazing and worth it.
• Getting back in the habit of writing...and posting here! 
• Touching base with friends. Even if it's a late-night visit, a quick Facebook message, a series of text messages, or a random chat online.
• Cleaning out space in my life. This includes time space as well as physical space.
• Having some extra cash in my pocket from selling things taking up physical space. 
• The exciting prospect of vacuuming (Yes I know...) 
• Waking up expecting bad roads and a frozen car...only to face pretty warm weather and a no-scraping morning. 
• Feeling motivation to cook
• Feeling on top of something I usually forget. (Uh, car registration anyone? Check my "Don't Forget Anything" post about doing this two months late last year.) I have an appointment tomorrow. 
• Seeing and recognizing personal improvement
• Knowing there have been, currently are, and will continue to be great people willing to reach out to me and welcome me into their lives
• Acknowledging the amazing people I get to work with
• Seeing blessing after blessing after blessing in my life
• Feeling financially secure even months after leaving a full-time, salaried position with all the coveted benefits
• Being able to encourage and advise people who are making decisions I have previously faced
• Having great opportunities to serve 
• Seeing the good, the special, and the unique greatness in those around me

That's just a start today. I need to actually proceed with my previously mentioned to-do list. I'm grateful for so much in my life. I'm grateful to be happy. I'm full of love today...I love you all!

My Life in Instagrams—September Edition

September was a great month—one that mostly revolved around U-Jam and excellent weather. I'm very excited about what October will bring. I've already put to use boots and scarfs, and the weather has been heavenly. It *may* have snowed this morning, but it's already sunny and the air has a crisp, cool feel to it. With that, let's take a look at my life in Instagrams.

Sept 5 was my brother's 22 birthday. "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22!" I took him to dinner to celebrate and we had fun.

I did a lot of U-Jam stuff in September. In addition to learning my routines, filming a video demo and sending that in, and shadowing current classes, I also worked on my "cool" factor. I've learned that the best way to pull off the hip hop look is...well...don't care what I wear and honestly...wear what I might wear to bed. :) Sweatpants are awesome. 

We had fantastic weather this month. And for me that means, rain, rain, clouds, thunderstorms, and more rain. I love it... I love it, I love it, I love it. Check out the flooding in this parking lot.

Again, more U-Jam. I'd find empty studios to practice in and get used to rocking the baseball hate.

Ah, 1 p.m. with a temperature under 60 degrees. Take away the heat, world, and bring back fall air.

I decided I need to read more, so my latest run to the library resulted in me bringing home this stack of reads. My one rule was that I had to get some fiction books.

LDS General Conference is this weekend but the last weekend in September was the Relief Society broadcast...so kinda like a sneak peak to the full conference weekend. I'm pretty excited to spend this Saturday and Sunday listening to the modern prophets and apostles. 

This One Time...I worked at Build-a-Bear

When I was a junior in high school, I landed a job working at the one and only Build-a-Bear Workshop.

A brand new store was opening in the mall near where I lived in Virginia and I was one of the original staff brought on for the store opening. I remember the interview included a lot of personality questions and random things like asking what animal I think I would be. I'm fairly certain I said something about being a butterfly and something about being social and friendly.

I worked there for over a year, and I think one more Christmas break. It was a great job for me as a high school student and I still get a little nostalgic when I walk by a store.

These pictures are from our Bearacademy Awards Party when we celebrated being open for a year. In addition to my one year of service and "Great 'Be There'" recognition, I also got the "Most likely to become a Britney impersonator" award. Because, yes, when I was younger and very, very skinny,  people would often randomly tell me that I look like Britney Spears. (Like stop me in bathrooms or get people to take pictures of us together random.)  I've never seen the similarity.  :-)

  

Lost...But Never Found

I was putting away some items in my bedroom today and could not stop thinking "Where in the world did all of my baskets go?"

You see, I have this skinny shelving unit and used to have a basket on every shelf. Three shelves are behind a door and THOSE had baskets. For a total of six baskets.

Since I moved, I can only find three. All of the ones I used in the doored shelves are gone.

And it's driving me crazy.

I can not come up with any idea as to where they might be. And this got me thinking about the other random things to go missing from my life.

Like a long black maxi skirt that I wore all the time last year? Nowhere to be found.

I'm hoping that by some miracle I find both of these things again. But have you ever lost something like that and found it much, much later? What's the story? Let's share!

This One Time...We Had a Garage Sale in The Rain

This one time my sister Susie and I decided to have a garage sale. This was in the middle of May when I had just moved, and she was about to move. We both had quite a few things to get rid of and decided that the work of a garage sale was worth it...plus we thought we'd have fun! (Yea, we are kinda crazy like that. 

Well the morning of the planned garage sale (I guess technically it would be a yard sale) turned out to be quite cloudy—with what looked like very high chances of rain. 

We decided to go ahead with our plan anyway. 

I had printed tons of signs with cute phrases like "A gal's dream yard sale" or "Scrapbooking supplies galore" or "Come one, come all" and, uh, "Yard Sale." 

I taught a Zumba class that morning at 8 am, so Susie and I met up early to get everything ready and hang up the signs, and I took off while Susie held down the fort. Our set up quite literally turned out to be a fort. 

The rain definitely came. And it was quite a chilly day. 

All of our stuff ended up huddled together under a large tarp. 

We didn't sell MUCH that day. But I had fun. And I'd probably do it again...and hope for better weather. 

The "This One Time" series is a new thing I'm doing to share some random stories and experiences from my life. One of my projects this past week has been to go through and organize a lot of old pictures and documents. That project inspired this series. 

Little Ways To Live a More Simple Life - What Are Yours?

Several weeks have passed since my organization Motivation Monday with the quote that said organization is about living a efficiency, saving time, and improving your quality of life.  I have continued thinking about little tweaks in my life that can help me be mentally more organized. The nature of this post reminds me of those from the Happiness Project.

(Has anyone read that book?). My basic take-away from that book was that the things that make us happy—in this case through organization—are typically very small things that are very simple to apply to our lives ONCE WE RECOGNIZE THEM. Sometimes we don't know WHY we feel so disorganized or unhappy and might not think that very tiny things can actually make a very big difference in our lives.

That said, I thought I share a few VERY, VERY simple tweaks I've been incorporating that have helped me feel more organized.

1. Keys. 
A few months ago my sister mentioned to me that I always seem to be losing my keys. I thought she was wrong because I didn't think looking in my purse for 1 minute for them qualified as always losing them. They were somewhere in my bag right?

But I decided to have one specific place in my bag for my keys. Now I always put my keys in the buttoned front pocket of my purse when I'm out and about. (It's also been helpful to only use one purse for the past several weeks.) I have occasionally put those keys in a different pocket, and it totally throws me off! I make sure to put them in the pocket because it gives me a little piece of mind and when I have my hands full, I know exactly where to reach to find those keys.

Now when I get home, I've incorporated a little key spot similar to that from the Big Bang Theory.


My desk is right by the door when I walk into my apartment, so I unlock the door and drop the keys in their spot on the desk. I know right where they are and never have to search for them when I need to leave the house. I've also noticed that I've made the habit of jingling my keys as I'm walking out/locking the door as a double check that I have them and don't lock myself out. Because, yea, I've done that.

2. Put personal belongings in back seat behind driver's seat.
I don't have kids and usually drive around by myself so this is the method that works for me. On any given day, I likely have at least 2 or 3 bags with me: purse, laptop case, gym bag. Those are my three staples. For a while I was always putting these items on the front seat next to me. I'd often go to that door to drop them off and then walk around the car to get in. I'd either do the reverse when leaving my car OR I'd try to pick everything up while I'm sitting in the car and basically fall out with all of that stuff attached to me.

It wasn't pretty, let me tell you that.

Then I started putting my bags in the back seat behind me. I've been doing this for a couple week's regularly and it's amazing. 1). I always put my stuff there so I always know where those things are. 2) I don't have to walk around the car. I walk to my side of the car, stop at the back seat, then take one step and I'm in the driver's seat. 3) I don't fall out of my car with a million bags. I'm not even tempted to do this.

You guys, I told you these were very simple things that make my life easier. VERY.

3. Halved frozen bananas for smoothies.

I drink a lot of smoothies for breakfast or between classes when I don't have much time to eat. And any avid smoothie makers know that bananas help make a smoothie thick and creamy. I had previously seen tips for freezing banana slices, but that just didn't work for me. The slices all stuck together and I could never separate the right amount. But I realized that a half banana is pretty standard for most of my smoothies so I tried just freezing them cut that much.

This has worked SPLENDIDLY!

I placed the cut bananas on a plate in the freezer initially. Once they were mostly frozen I transfered them to a basic plastic sandwich bag like shown. They do not stick together and I can easily pick one to put in my Magic Bullet.

4. Organizing notes
I currently use Google Keep and Evernote to keep track of notes, blog ideas, important reminders and such. Google Keep is brand new and I'll do a post on it soon. I have the Google Keep widget on my phone and can add a note, photo, etc. with comments at any time from anywhere. This program works offline too and syncs with your Google Drive. But both programs are great ways to organize your thoughts, access information from anywhere, and have searchable files. I'll do a post looking more specifically into these programs soon.

Anyways those are my simple tips for a more simple life. I have sooo many more ways to simplify and organize my life. So think about what you do and let me know.

Taste of Utah Valley 2013

Last Saturday I was invited to go to the Taste of Utah Valley with some friends. I had heard of this event before but had never attended. It was basically an outdoor festival with food tasting and samples from a variety of restaurants in Utah Valley. And let me tell you, Utah Valley has some great restaurants.

I got to try food from some familiar places: The Olive Garden, Costa Vida, Utah Valley Convention Center, and Los Hermanos.

I got to try food from some places I'd only been once or twice: Station 22, Heirloom Restaurant Group (think Communal or Mountain West Burrito), Gloria's Little Italy, and Rubio's.

And I got to try food from places I had either never tried or never hear of: Old Towne Grill (hands down my favorite), The Choc'late Mousse Pie Bar, Sweeto Burrito (member of Provo's growing food truck family), and Enliten Bakery and Cafe.

It was a super fun event and a great way to get lunch on a Saturday. (I was stuffed and saved some things for dinner.) While I attended via friends, tickets are usually $10 — and that's definitely a steal! I've heard of several cities across the country doing similar events, so check to see if there's a good option near you! A tasting event is a great way to try new restaurants and get a taste of what's available in your area.

After the event you vote for the following categories: Most Unique, Best Hospitality, Best Presentation, Best Kept Secret, and Best Taste of the Valley. I've tried looking to see who won but no luck yet! (I'm betting Old Towne Grill did for their gourmet hamburgers. They've won in the past and definitely had the longest line for the entire event! Costa Vida's tacos were actually something I took home for later and mmm, mmm, it was pretty good. Crazy I had never tried them.

I didn't get as many pictures as I felt like I was taking but here are a few. The above picture is Olive Garden's sampling of bread/tomato...whatever fancy name that is, and delicious orangey slushie drink. Yea, you can tell I'm a total foodie right? :P

This was the line for Old Towne Grill...we had probably already stood in line for at least 15 minutes at this point.

Utah Valley Convention Center Sample. We had a lot of work events there, and the food was always great. This is...meat...and a fried artichoke heart.

This wasn't up our alley but Station 22 had a polenta crostini with shrimp and grits, covered in a crawfish etoufee. Now THAT's how a foodie talks. And I stole that description from their Facebook page.  

Oh man, who had this? I don't remember. Penne with sauce and red velvety dessert. That's me again.

Sweeto Burrito food truck sample. It was good. 

Hat, Welcome to My Head.

I'm trying to become a hat person. I actually bought my first hat in Hawaii in April. Don't judge me by that picture. I wore it a lot on that trip—it has a very beachy feel—but have only wore it a couple times since.

I'm working my way up though, because I find myself wearing hats a lot more since my U-Jam training last month. The trainer actually told us to try wearing a hat to help capture the "feel" of the hip hop choreography.

Well I did just that. As seen in these next couple pics. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I was trying to dress with more swagger...and then realized I was wearing a Taylor Swift shirt....oops. And you can't see it but that hat is a golf tournament hat with the Realtor logo on it. That's totally hip, right?

I've been looking for other hats that I think I could feel comfortable in. This black and white polka dot has definitely caught my eye on Ebay. LOVE IT!


And P.S. I just ordered something else from China that seriously came in about 1 week. Not too shabby.

While roaming Walmart for some much-needed food last night, I found this plain white with mesh hat for the lovely price of $1. That's how I like it. So I wore it today while practicing stuff. Selfie alert!!!

(And now I kinda want to get another one to maybe dye or get all crafty on. In a cool way, of course.)

I've also realized that hats can go a long way in hiding my sweaty self from the public. I seriously need this super power ya'll! Or when I'm in a public place working on Annesali stuff, the hat helps distract me from everything else going on and get more work done. It's like magic.

Oh, the downside? Hats give you hat hair. Imagine that.

How Dance Prepared Me to be a Fitness Instructor

I often reflect back to my days spent in various dance studios after school when I was younger. As much as I loved dancing (I even pursued a dance minor in college), I don't think I ever imagined myself doing something related to dance later in life. I had no plans to be a prima ballerina or dance with a professional team. I danced because I loved it and was kinda good at it (it's all relative :P).

I continued taking classes in college and got to participate in a variety of new styles of dance I hadn't done before. Hello ballroom. Hello clogging. Hello Irish dance. I had dozens of classes available to me at any time of the day and I took advantage of that opportunity.

When I graduated college, I no longer had that access to dance. I joined a local gym and started attending various fitness classes. Kickboxing, yoga, pump, and more. Eventually Zumba came along, and the format was a perfect fit for me. And here I am, years later, teaching Zumba and U-Jam, and plans to continue to expand into other formats in the future.

I recognize several things I learned through my dance training that transfer over to the world of fitness—both as an instructor and a participant.

Exercising in Groups is Fun & Motivating
Sure you can dance or workout alone. But when you do it with others, you will likely accomplish more and work harder. Make your workout an enjoyable experience. Let yourself learn from others. And let their strengths push you. If others can do those last 5 reps, so can you!

Mirroring can be Tricky (no concept of right left)
As an instructor I face the class and instruct via the concept of mirroring. So when I move my left arm, the class is moving their right arms. My first time mirroring was as a junior in high school on my new dance team after my family moved across the country. None of my teachers had used it before. I kept trying to switch the choreography and do exactly what the leader was doing. (When they did right, I wanted to do right too). Once I realized what I was expected to do, I understood, but it still took some getting used to to forget my left and right or the instructors left and right. Several of my students struggle with that, so I always share my experience so they relate.

Picking Up Choreography is a Learned Skill
I can't say how many routines I've learned in my lifetime, but the process of learning choreography is something that allows me to more quickly pick up new routines. When I attend a class as a student, I'm usually able to guess what they next move might be and recognize patterns when they appear in the moves. I encourage my students to recognize that this is a skill and takes practice, but that they will get better and better as they do it more. (And they do!)

Music Makes All the Difference
Music can speak to the soul. My most natural form of expression (along with writing) is dance, and music drives that expression. Sometimes music hypes us up and gives us the energy we thought we were lacking. It can motivate us to work harder and stay longer. It can inspire us and leave us leaving a workout happy and excited about life. Embrace that influence and use it for good.

Form Matters
"Tail down, stomach up." That's what one of my dance teachers always said. I'm thankful for my training in dance form to help me correct positions I see regularly in my students. A plie squat is foreign to many, as is the idea of opening the chest and reaching for the ceiling with the top of ones head, while relaxing the shoulder and neck. Some people have not had any exposure to these types of things, and they struggle with form a lot. Again, all it takes to improve is a little educational and instruction.

"Perfection" comes through Practice
You'll never come in and have a routine perfect the first time you learn it. Come to class again. You'll get better and better, and that routine will become easier and easier for you. As an instructor, the first time I teach a routine is never the best. I gauge my students to see what kind of instruction and cueing they best respond to, and I get better and better at teaching that routine. It's a two-way street. We all need practice.

There is Always More to Learn
This speaks for itself but is so true.

What Would Be Your Super Power?

Someone asked me last week what super power I would choose to have. And asked for no lazy answers. (I assumed that to mean no flying, invisibility, or teleporting. Although all of those would be awesome.)

I thought about this for a couple days. My two initial thoughts were these:

1. The ability to remember anything I see or hear. (Like a photographic memory but oh so much better!) (I just realized this would make conquering choreography so much easier.)

2. The ability to move things with my mind. Specifically chore-related things. So I could sit on my couch and thiiink about doing the dishes or putting away laundry and—walaa—those dreadful chores get done.

But finally the most appropriate choice came to me. This choice needs a little explanation. Let me try to begin.

First, the process associated with working out doesn't make sense to me: When we work out, our bodies sweat. We become wet and smelly. As a result, we have to shower to clean ourselves and then go through the process of getting ready again. (Yes, this is way more complicated for girls.)

Now, our bodies need physical exercise. Exercise is good for us physically, mentally, emotional, and more. But this good thing leads to a "bad" outcome: wet and smelly people.

My thought is to reverse this process. I believe working out, and sweating, should be the actual process that cleanses us. Not only would we have additional incentive to work out, but it would cut out the step of showering. If you are feeling particularly unclean one day, maybe you workout a little longer or attempt a more difficult routine. Plus, after my workouts, my endorphins are high and I want to be more adventurous, spend time with people, and more fully embrace life. But I'm often stopped by my unappealing appearance and need to take time out to shower and refresh. By the time I'm done, I'm tired and am more likely to just hang out at home.

But imagine if your workout actually left you clean, refreshed, and full of the same endorphins. Check a successful workout off your to-do list and immediately proceed to spending time doing productive activities, not showering and getting ready.

So that would be my super power: Sweating yourself clean.

The end.

Things I Learn From My Siblings

Today is my brother—the youngest child and only boy in the family—Mckay's birthday. While most of us in the family still think of him like the picture below, he is actually turning 22. (What??)

I have to say that little Mckay has grown up to be a pretty cool kid. I have the lucky role to be the only immediate family member in the same state as Mckay, so I get to see all of his grown-up skills and characteristics a lot. I find myself looking to him as an example for things I don't do well and realized I do the same with each of my siblings. (I was also thinking about this on my sister Julianne's birthday a couple weeks ago.) So I've decided to give a little shout out to the amazing people that they are and share some of the many, many things I learn from my siblings—youngest to oldest.

All of the siblings together in May 2013 at Aspen Grove, Utah.
Julianne, Susanne, Mckay, Christianne, Karianne, Ruthanne

Mckay—This guy is very responsible, organized, and dedicated to excel. Even as a freshmen at BYU, he never goofed off or wasted time. (And we all know how the stereotypically freshmen male behaves.) He continues to show this dedication to doing well—in his school work, in his music, and in his professional pursuits. Mckay schedules to spend his "free" time in practice rooms (he's a drummer and music major). He knows when he needs to be doing school work and dedicates WAY more time to that stuff than I remember ever doing as a student. He is currently trying to get an introductory job related to his major and has dedicated his time this past week to learning programs and skills needed to spiff up his application. He's impressive. And he is never idle. Never. As a college student, Mckay doesn't necessarily have much money, but he is so incredibly responsible with his spending. He knows exactly where every dollar is going and what he is supposed to spend. He has a budget and sticks to it. Plus he's a saver—he rarely even spends his dedicated "spending" money. Happy birthday Mckay! Some girl needs sing this to ya: "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22. Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you!" 

Susie—She inspires me to be more outgoing, become a morning person, and also pushes me to be a better runner. Growing up, Susie was always the most fun and bubbly girl that everyone wanted to be friends with. She sees the fun in everything and has no problem striking up genuine conversations with perfect strangers (not a natural ability for me!). When she sets her mind to something, she does it! For a while, we'd go to the gym together at 5:30 am, and she'd have to call me every day to wake me up. She makes the perfect running buddy because she is patient with my slow running but also encourages me to go a little longer or a little faster. She also doesn't settle for the status quo. She is also a great example of taking leaps in life and letting go of what I'm comfortable with to experience a little adventure in life.

Ruthie—She pretty much knows everything, or at least how to find information about it. She is always the one I call with a question about how something works, where something is located, or who said what. (Before smart phones, she was my go-to GPS.) She is super smart and can pretty much pick up any skill. She learns quickly and will often dive into projects and learn how to do things as she goes. I'm pretty sure she could do almost ANYTHING just because of these skills, and I think that is amazing. She is also a great teacher and speaker and impresses me with her preparation when she does those things. 

Julianne—She is the business queen and who has already paved a path for me to follow by earning her MBA and using her awesome skills to get a start-up company off the ground. She shows me that hard work and some smart skills pay off and to not let my training go to waste. And that sometimes you have to invest a bit of time and money to get a result that pays off in the end. She is also a world traveler and inspires me to embrace unique opportunities when they come my way. She is always game for a trip and is AWESOME at balancing her career and personal life. 

Christianne—As the oldest of the bunch, she is a natural leader and knows how to get things done. One thing I always notice when I'm with Christianne is that if we talk about something, she'll just do it. I tend to want to plan things out and think about things before I do them. But if we're like, "Oh let's make a headband," she leads us to just sit down right there and make a headband. She is also the craftiest of us all and knows how to do all kinds of projects. I'm pretty sure she could create anything. And she's not afraid to learn new skills. She is also the mother of 4 and is so good and teaching her kids and being able to teach them at their level. I hope to be a mom like her some day.

Pretty much all of my siblings are awesome. And this small post doesn't even touch on all of the great characteristics they each possess.