Celebrating Success

Being in a family ward now, my relief society sisters aren't all in the same phase of life as I am. I was used to going to church with people who were all going to school, dating, debating serving a mission, etc. Goals were a temple marriage, surviving finals week, or getting that cute boy to ask you out. It has been an interesting transition to say the least. I've really enjoyed getting to know these other sisters, though. They have taught me so much. One of the many things they have taught me is the importance of celebrating success, even in little things. I'm learning that there are different successes to celebrate with each stage of life. It's fun to hear the sisters share their personal triumphs each week. Some of them being:

• Potty training toddler had no accidents this week
• Teenage son finally passed his drivers test after previously failing 
• Husband graduated
• Baby slept through the night
• Took the time to get a hair cut this week
• New recipe that was well-received by most of the family
• Finished first 5k

When we dwell more on our successes than our failures, we are so. much. happier. This week I've tried hard to notice my personal successes and it's really helped my attitude improve. Some of my recent successes were:

• Doing my visiting teaching
• Trying a yummy new recipe
• Finding cute new sandals for $10
• Putting together surprise packages for siblings and siblings-in-law
• Discovering that if I eat more slowly I don't get stomach aches
• Remembering to get the car tires rotated

It's amazing the number of positive things we can find in our day if only we look for them. What were some of your successes this week?

Things That Make Me Happy

• Cafe Rio for dinner AND having leftovers for lunch the next day
• Finding out I passed my CHES exam. I'm a certified health education specialist!
• Having a sweet husband to remind me I don't have to do something just because everyone else is doing it
• Going to the temple and feeling its peace
• Otter pops
• Hearing from old friends
• Sunshine
• Good hair days
• A clean car with a full gas tank
• Finding new ways to improve my health
• Laughing with my husband
• Movie Nights
• Good friends
• Getting my diploma in the mail 
• Getting more comfortable with my new job
• Slowly starting to figure out where our life is headed in the next 5ish years 
• Supportive family
• Late-night talks
• Repentance
• Watermelon

Hello a year later...

Hey everyone! Sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for like a year. See, I met this boy (my husband) and things like blogging took the back seat for awhile. This will continue to be my personal blog, but if you're interested in more specific details of my life, follow our private blog (colemanandlindsey.wordpress.com). Just comment or send me your email address and I'll send you an invite to the blog!

Well I guess I'll give a few updates! I got married to the most wonderful man ever this past January. Married life is the best, but it's also different than I thought I would be. It's not like I was one of those girls that imagined this perfect fantasy marriage, nor was I the negative "marriage is about finding someone you can put up with forever" thinker. I just didn't realize how much marriage would teach me, especially so quickly.

Fairly soon after we were married I realized that I have a pride issue. I like to do everything perfectly and pride myself on being able to do multiple perfect things all at the same time. Newsflash... That's not possible. I was trying to be a full-time student, part-time employee, top-notch intern, and the "perfect housewife" that had the house cleaned, bills paid, and dinner ready the second my husband walked in the door. I was constantly apologizing to my husband over silly things like leaving my work clothes on the floor, or that the bathroom wasn't clean. This really started to take a toll on me emotionally because I felt like I wasn't measuring up. Luckily, I married a man who understood how marital relationships should work. He would say things to me like, "Why are you apologizing that dinner isn't done? You were gone all day, too, can't I help you?" or "I use these dishes, too. Shouldn't I help you wash them?" Other times, I'd be running around the house trying to make things "perfect" when he'd pick me up, set me on the couch and say, "How about we clean up later and right now we can spend some time together and talk about our day."

See... He was trying to teach me that successful relationships aren't about each person completing a list of checklist items and acting like nothing is wrong. Marriage is about working together, supporting each other, and loving unconditionally. It's about finding ways to serve one another and remembering to appreciate and acknowledge what the other does for you. Being a great wife isn't about having the bed made every morning or having dinner ready by 5:30 on the dot... It's much more than that. I'm so grateful to my sweet husband for helping me see that. 

Anyway, enough on that topic. The next big update is that I'm a college graduate. Yep, no more school. I'm one of those full-time working people. It's weird. Growing up is scary, and my anxiety problem doesn't help. Soon Coleman will be applying for grad school and we'll likely move to a new state. I'm still trying to get used to my grown-up job and missing my old job and friends so much. Don't get me wrong, I love my new job, it's just different. I've missed the boy drama, gossip, and friendship I had with the girls at my old job. On top of it, our apartment contract is up soon and we have to find a new place to live. Apartment hunting is the worst. Everything will work out just great though, I know it :)

And finally, I've been searching all over the internet to find the perfect puppy to buy my mother-in-law. In the process I've found dozens of "perfect" puppies for me. The other night I showed them all to Coleman and begged him to let me buy one. He reminded me that we're not allowed to have puppies at our apartment. So... if anyone knows of a nice, inexpensive apartment that allows pets, hook me up! 

That's all for now. Sorry for the randomness. Hopefully I'm better at updating from now on!

Week One Report

Well, I did cross fit for a whole three days before I decided to switch it up a bit. I went on my first run since March! In early April I ended up spraining my ankle, then broke my toe, and then had some other foot injuries. So... after weeks of recovery I was finally able to go for a run! It was a rather pathetic run. I only made it 2.5 miles, but I did it in 27 minutes in 80 degree weather. Not too shabby considering the shape I'm in now. I'll have to keep working at it if I'm going to reach my goal of finishing a half marathon this fall, though.

Also this week I started looking for internships. Am I old enough for that already? Guess so! As of right now I'm thinking I want to be a manager of programs that focus on adolescent substance abuse prevention and recovery as well as programs that teach parents how to help their children overcome addiction, depression, etc. I'd like to do an internship working with smoking cessation or other addictive behaviors. I'm also considering coordinating with a professor to do mentored research. I think it'd be way awesome to be able to do research with people who are really experienced and hopefully find new information that would help us to better serve the community. So many new and exciting things are ahead! I honestly don't know where life is taking me these next few months, but I'm excited to find out!

Lifestyle Intervention

My roommates and co-workers have heard me say over and over for awhile now that I'm starting my "lifestyle intervention." Unfortunately I've had a hard time actually following through with it. It's funny because as part of my major we study quite a bit about behavior change. I know dozens of behavior change theories, how to coach people to be able to make lifestyle changes, reasons for positive changes, etc. I'm now learning it's much more difficult to MAKE lifestyle changes than it is to simply coach others into doing it.

Well, my most recent attempt at my lifestyle intervention started this morning and might actually prove successful, thanks to my roommate, Reilly. We are becoming cross-fitters and I'm training for a half-marathon . I also refrained from buying cookies, ice cream, and my other usual unhealthy snack foods.

So... to help myself feel "accountable" for how well I work on my lifestyle intervention, I will be posting my successes and things I need to improve each week. We'll see how it goes! Here's to positive lifestyle changes!

Growing Up

I just realized that in a few short months, all my guy friends from high school will be home from their missions. Also, I'm graduating with a bachelor's degree in less one year. ONE. One is not a very big number. You know what this means? I'm growing up. I'm going to be a real adult soon. Yeah, I've been a "legal" adult for a few years now but it's really not the same. I've still only been working part time jobs, am on my parents' insurance plans, and just going to school with a bunch of other undergraduate students. In just one year I will have taken the GRE, have finished my bachelor's degree and be finishing up my internship. At this point I will have to decide if I'm going to get a full time job working in my chosen field or go on to graduate school right away. The skills I've learned in college will no longer be applied to random case studies with text book answers. Instead, I'll be using them to help REAL people in REAL life situations. Yes,  I will be helping change people's lives. Weird.

New year, new semester.

What am I supposed to be doing right now? Writing a paper. That doesn't sound very fun so I'm going to sit here in my room typing so that my roommates think I'm being a good student :)

Life is so great right now. I know I say that all the time, but it truly is. I couldn't be happier! I had a wonderful Christmas. I got to spend three whole weeks at home with my family and friends. I had so many fun lunch dates with old friends and got to see my returned missionary buddies. Can't believe they're all home!! Oh, and even got to have my old job back for those three weeks. SO grateful for that. Yay for making money and seeing my old work buddies again!

A new semester has started and I'm definitely struggling to get back into my studious routine. It's so much more fun to hang out with my friends, meet new people, waste time on Pinterest, etc. I am really enjoying my classes, though. I love being in upper-division classes and learning the things I actually WANT to learn. It's the best. Yes, the classes are hard and will be pretty demanding as the semester goes on, but I am so excited for it all. I recently changed my emphasis to environmental/occupational health to health promotion and I couldn't be more excited. I love that I've found something that will lead me to a career that I'm passionate about and will enjoy completely. No, I won't be making as much money as I would have been as a PA, but I know I will enjoy this much more. It's a perfect fit :)

Since it's the new year, I've set some goals for myself so I can grow and improve. I'm excited because in my pathophysiology class, we have the opportunity to make a healthy change in our life for a whole month. We're required to write about our experiences in a daily journal and at the end, write an evaluation. My goal is to exercise for at least thirty minutes five days a week. Believe it or not, I haven't been doing well with exercising since high school. It'll be good for me to get back in shape. Can't wait!

Also... I have a new room-roommate since my cute Becca is leaving on a mission in a couple of weeks. My new roommate's name is Lexi. I adore that girl. Seriously.  Nobody could ever truly replace Becca, but Lexi is super duper great. We hit it off so well, and she's quickly become one of my best friends. She's so sweet, fun, and just all-around wonderful. I just love her and am so grateful for that girl!

Obviously, my other roommates are still fantastic :) They're so patient with me and I love them! Couldn't ask for better roommates. Love you, Sarah and Whit!

While I'm listing the roommates I'm grateful for, I might as well give a shout out to our "fifth roommate," Alex. He's our FHE brother and comes over all the time. We've loved having him around to fix things, tell us stories, give advice, watch YouTube videos, and just have a good time. He's definitely taken the "big brother" role for the apartment and we're grateful for him.

Other exciting news... my family is coming down this weekend to visit and go to my cousin's mission farewell! I can't wait to see them!

Well, that's all I have for now. Sorry this post is so random (okay, all my posts are super random).

Until next time...