MCW Here I am!

Well I have lots I could blog about as of late. My life has been one change after another. I went from graduating from USU which you saw earlier (I don't know who I am talking to really besides myself because I think everyone stopped reading my blog when they checked every day for three months and didn't find any updates, oh well, I guess its for my sanity), then I spent the summer working with my awesome new brother-in-law Sam Thacker doing landscaping. Jami definitely picked a good one, and it was a fantastic working summer. During the summer I traveled to Jackson Hole with friends and communed with the Tetons one last time before I left, we traveled to Zions and did our "guys" trip, even getting to walk through nipple deep water, repel down slot canyons, and poop in a bag and carry it out! Shortly after I took a trip to Panama which deserves its own separate post, and immediately I packed up and my Dad and I drove out here to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Now I officially start school tomorrow! They say as of Friday, when we held our White Coat ceremony, we became apart of officially, even at the lowest rung, the professional world of Health Care. Well I will update you on all this another day cause my battery is about to die and I am sitting in my car sharing the internet with summer who so kindly left theirs unsecured( the techs couldn't install until aug 26th) Well here is a picture of me and my roommate at our ceremony. Love you all lots and if you actually read this, leave a comment.

Graduation and moving on

May 4th I graduated from the Utah State University! I know my sister has already posted this on her blog, but I thought I would make a mention of it here.
It was a great day. I of course forgot my camera, but got a few pics from some friends. One of the funniest things about the day was how my roommate Bryce Jensen and I showed up for the commencement. Rather than drive a car the couple of blocks from our house we decided bikes would be the way to go. Oh ya, we only had one bike that functioned properly. So the two of us hopped on his bike and rode on the main street to campus. We were dressed up for graduation and waved to all the laughing people in there cars on the way. We rode right through the crowd on the quad, parked, and joined the procession. It was great! Thanks to Bryce for being such a great roommate for the past 2 1/2 years!
We all walked to the commencement, heard some good speeches, and then were let go. My family came up and we went out to the Indian Oven in Logan. Anyone who likes Indian food would love to go to this store! It is a must eat! I loved the food and the fact the my family ( and my grandma) would take so much time to make me feel special. I love them so much!
We then went to my graduation! I graduated with a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree so that put me in the college of HASS. That is one of the biggest at the university. Anyone who has attended a graduation knows that the more people there are the longer you have to stay, watching people walk across the stage, most of whom you don't know. Well we needed to get home for The Savior Of The World production my mom and sisters were in. I decided to appease my family and leave early. I was one of the first to walk across the stage and then walked right up the stairs and out of the building. My little nieces and nephew really enjoyed that!
Now that I am done with USU I look back with fond memories. It was a great time! I would have to do a huge post that no one would want to read to ever do it justice. Now I am on to Medical school at Medical College of Wisconsin. It will be an adventure! I leave around August 7th and will be living with Rich Beutler who is also from Layton. I will have to post more about this later. Good bye!

Since January

Before




I guess its time that I finally post again. (Thanks everyone for all the reminders:)) I apologize to everyone who has come to my blog hoping to find a new post and finding nothing. I would say that I have been too busy but that would be a lie. I just haven't made posting a priority like I could have. I have suggested to all to subscribe to my blog through google reader so that you can be notified when I do post. So here you go, another post after such a long time!

Well for this post I will tell something that many people already know, but many might not. When I got back from my mission three years ago (ya its hard for me to believe its been that long as well), a couple things happened. I started working manual labor causing me to be very hungry. I stopped walking around and sweating all day, and I started eating excessively. Because of these things I went from 165 lbs up to 195ish pounds, topping out at around 197 or so. Often times I would see people and they would ask if I had been working out because I was looking "big" or a little more filled out. I had to respond with the truth, that I had just been eating. I would eat until there was nothing left on my plate. I would eat beyond the point of being satisfied. I would eat much more than my fair share while there are many in the world who have nothing. So for two or so years I kept up my "good" eating habits, exercising occasionally, and remained just below two hundred pounds. I remember that I may have topped two hundred at one put which put me in the cleidsdale (spelling) classification for a marathon. Many times I talked that I wanted to lose weight and get back down to a healthy weight (my BMI - body mass index- says I can be anywhere from 135- 175 lbs, I think the 170s are good for me).
So on New Years I set one of those infamous resolutions. I wanted to lose 23 pounds by my birthday April 23rd. That would require losing about 1.5 lbs or so a week. I had my goal, it was broken down into smaller achievable increments, I thought I was set. After the first week of not losing weight I remembered that I needed a method of how to do it. I also thought that it would be good to include others. I asked my brother in law Trent to join with the goal of losing 5 lbs in five weeks. He joined in. After the first five weeks I had lost 9 lbs! I was very happy! I was weighing myself every time I got the chance, which was every morning on a unreliable scale. The true tests would come when I visited home on the official scale. We reset the goal and after each five weeks I had lost at least five pounds! On April 23rd I rode my bike to the HYPER building at Utah State and hopped up on the scale. My starting weight had been 197 lbs. I set the balances and there I was, a whopping 174lbs! I had done it! I lost 23 lbs exactly!. I don't share any of this to boast, this is just my life.
So some might be asking themselves, "What was your method?" I didn't buy anything off of those infomercials, or try any weight loss drug, nor did a do some fanatical weight loss work out plan (however I did have one ready and did it a few times). All I did was eat half of what I normally ate. That's all! I would eat like my brother Sean who stops when he feels he is satisfied. For the first couple weeks I felt like I was starving. But after each meal I felt satisfied and just had to be in control of my body. Sometimes I spaced the content of the meals out throughout the day so I wouldn't feel so deprived, but the portions remained the same. When I began seeing the results it became easier and easier. I wasn't starving myself, but I was training my body to be happy with what it needed. I still ate enough. So for me, my weight loss was all about self mastery. I don't claim this will work for anyone else (though others have told me they are now trying it and its working) but it did work for me. I get weird looks taking home a box from a restaurant, I have to save a lot of food from meals (which helps the food go farther), but its all worth it. Now I have a new lifestyle when it comes to eating. I am the one in control now, not the food in control of me. I am currently maintaining a weight of 168- 171. So from just over 200 down to 166lbs at one time, I feel a whole lot better. Feel free to remind me to eat appropriately anytime you see me, cause because I am addicted to food, I need all the help I can get!



After

Another Snow day!

A few hours free? A nice day? A huge snowy hill? Where do you think four big little kids would go????


You sure guessed it! To Old Main on USU campus for the best sledding in town! This last Saturday my roommate Bryce, my old roommate Joey, his brother Nick, and I bundled up in our snow clothes and joined the throng a little kids sliding, crashing, bumping, and laughing their way down the hill. We brought some tire tubes, but they didn't work so well so I very nice lady offered us some faster sleds and we were on our way. We raced, went in trains, flew off jumps, and avoided running into any of the hundreds of kids all around us. I felt so light hearted and happy to be out in the sun, reliving some of my favorite childhood past times. A shout out to all those of Oakridge Circle who spent some awesome nights sledding in the fresh powder under the bright moon, and to those of 1375E who used to take the brave plunge down the "widowmaker." I guess at heart I am still a little kid (cause at belly I sure can't claim the same!). I really love the wonderful snow we have been getting and hope that you have all been able to take some time and enjoy it also. I feel like I should be saying something profound or life-changing right now, but nothing is really coming to mind. I will get better at this post thing. Love ya all!

SNOW!

As many of you know, I am still a college student and as such I have the right to have tons of fun doing stupid things. I for one don't think being pulled on a tube behind a car at 30mph is as stupid as some people tell me. But for the sake of argument, despite who is right, it sure is FUN! When the homework is just driving us crazy and the snow is falling beautifully we jump in the car and head up to green canyon with our tubes, tow rope, make-shift warm clothes (notice the tennis shoes) and let out some stress. This was the first "run" of the day so Bryce Jensen (my roommate and driver) wanted to make sure I survived and went more slowly. However, the next day we went up (which is the second video) we tried to figure out just how soft the snow actually was. Back and forth we went on this snow covered dirt road. Most people just stare at us and we yell "Wahooo!" as load as we can. The cars that pass on the side of the road make things a little more interesting. All in all no one got hurt! This is one of our favorite activities, along side spinning donuts in the street in front of house trying to end the spin in the driveway! Sadly my college days are numbered and drawing to a close here in May and I guess I will have to be a little bit more cautious ..... or maybe not! Have fun in the snow!

Stolen from Lichelle

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A 1940's Christmas

My cute Nana and Papa used to perform at nursing homes during the Christmas time before Nana passed away. My brother thought it would be fun to carry on the tradition this year. My cousin Brooke, brother Brad and their friend Jeff are pictured above singing and my Papashaw is below, isn't he the most handsome, almost 90-yr old ever?

They came up with a darling program with lots of fun songs from or about the 1940's - war time - as well as some fun newer songs, like "Christmas Cookies Babe", featuring Jeff on the guitar. They have performed at 2 places with 2 more to go. The elderly folks love them and ask for their record album! What a great thing to do this Christmas time. It was fun to listen to them. Oh, and my mom accompanies them. I took my kids today, so it was fun to have 4 generations there!

I absolutely love the landscapes and beautiful vistas. When I think of them, this one often pops into my head, Camp Loll Lake of the Woods. Just thought that I would share some of what is going on in my head with you.