Guess what, everyone! We found an apartment... a month ago. Oops! It's taken awhile for me to get around to posting more updates. We signed a contract on August 14th and finally got around to moving in on the 23rd. I've been slowly working on decorating the cute little place, hopefully I'm finished soon.
Coleman started school after Labor Day and that's kept him pretty busy. He's taking 14 credits, working, and volunteering at 3 different physical therapy clinics. Since we only have one car and I have to take it to work, he's been biking everywhere he needs to go. Unfortunately for him, we live on a hill, so he gets to power up that hill at the end of every day. At least he gets a good work out in, right?
I work full-time and have started prepping "freezer meals" so we can have dinner at a decent time after we get home. I just make the food we would normally eat and freeze it in to meal-sized portions. That way all I have to do is pop it in the oven and dinner is ready in less than an hour. It saves a lot of time, money (because we can buy in bulk), and energy for me. It's been so nice!
After dinner, Coleman usually has some homework to do. To keep myself busy while he studies, I've taken up indexing. I'd never indexed until Coleman taught me for family home evening one night. At first I got really frustrated, but this week Coleman pointed out that it might be easier to do English names. Haha! For some reason it hadn't occurred to me that it was so hard because I was doing Portuguese and Russian names. I'm happy to report that I've been much less frustrated since I started indexing names in my native language :)
More exciting news... We have a nephew! We finally became an aunt and uncle last week. Coleman's sister had a beautiful baby boy named Tommy. We're super excited about that.
Until next time :)
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
New Adventures
We have a lot of changes coming in the next month or so. Any of you who know me well, know that the anticipation of change usually causes a lot of anxiety for me. These changes have been no different, but I'm slowly learning to deal with the anxiety a little bit better.
The biggest change ahead of us is that we are moving sometime in the next two weeks. Where are we moving? Well, that hasn't entirely been worked out yet. All we know for sure is that we have to be out of our current apartment by the end of the month. Luckily, we have an apartment complex in mind that we'll probably sign with in the next week or so. In the mean time, I've been packing random things that we can live without and hoping I can get it all done before the next big change... fall semester.
Coleman starts his final year of undergraduate education in September. It's going to be a busy one. He's got heavy course load, night classes, work, volunteering at physical therapy clinics, doing research on campus, and studying for the GRE. I'll be working full time, but will probably have to pick up scrap booking or reading or something. (Any book recommendations would be appreciated.) I have a feeling our nights will be full of me trying to keep myself busy while Coleman studies all night. It's still so weird to me that I'm a college graduate and won't be going back to school (at least in the near future).
Hopefully by the next post we'll have an apartment. I know most of you readers have big changes coming your way, too- new semester, first teaching job, moving, babies coming, etc. Good luck!
Until next time...
The biggest change ahead of us is that we are moving sometime in the next two weeks. Where are we moving? Well, that hasn't entirely been worked out yet. All we know for sure is that we have to be out of our current apartment by the end of the month. Luckily, we have an apartment complex in mind that we'll probably sign with in the next week or so. In the mean time, I've been packing random things that we can live without and hoping I can get it all done before the next big change... fall semester.
Coleman starts his final year of undergraduate education in September. It's going to be a busy one. He's got heavy course load, night classes, work, volunteering at physical therapy clinics, doing research on campus, and studying for the GRE. I'll be working full time, but will probably have to pick up scrap booking or reading or something. (Any book recommendations would be appreciated.) I have a feeling our nights will be full of me trying to keep myself busy while Coleman studies all night. It's still so weird to me that I'm a college graduate and won't be going back to school (at least in the near future).
Hopefully by the next post we'll have an apartment. I know most of you readers have big changes coming your way, too- new semester, first teaching job, moving, babies coming, etc. Good luck!
Until next time...
Friday, August 1, 2014
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:
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:
- 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?
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
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
Thursday, July 10, 2014
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!
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!
Monday, July 1, 2013
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!
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!
Monday, June 24, 2013
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!
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!
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