This feels right

July 9th was my last post.  that's sad, and pitiful.  But mostly sad.  I would recap the year 2011 like most people have on their blogs but I don't really feel like it so i'll just mention a few discoveries that have enhanced my life in some way.

-quinoa

-the stock market

-spotify

-cleanliness (i've been a lot tidier this past year)

-the joys of driving a volvo

-bonsai trees

-graduating college

-full-time employment

-Chicago

-Canon DSLR

A few things of note for 2012.  I will be dunking a basketball on a standard size hoop (no trampolines involved).  I know Brett is going to comment on this one because he doesn't think I can do it.  That's fine.  I don't need my best friends encouragement to accomplish lofty goals.  

I also want to read a lot more, the goal is 2 books a month.  I really enjoy reading but often don't make time for it so this should be a good adjustment.  

I'm getting distracted so I should post this before I decide to just scrap the whole thing and wait another 6 months to post.

I'll leave you with a song that I've been listening to a lot lately.

I love music.  

Goal Update

So I figured it was time to give an update on my goals for the year.

Just a recap:
1. No fries for a year
2. Travel to two foreign countries (That I've never been to)
3. Become ambidextrous


It is July 9th and I have yet to have a fry since December 31.  It's been tough.  I've been to a lot of great burger places in the last few months and I've gotten really good at subbing a salad.
As most of you know my BF Brett and I went roadtrippin' to Switzerland for spring break.  I also just got back from Canada but it doesn't count since i've been there before.  As of right now I don't have plans for another country but i've got to get somewhere.. any suggestions would be welcomed.
As for my ambidextrousness I've gotten to the point where I always eat and brush my teeth left-handed.  Chopsticks were a little harder to master but I got it.  My next step is to start writing left-handed.

So... I decided to add a new goal.  I have to give a shout out to my brother for this one.  The other day he told me that he was not going to consume candy for a year.  I thought, "That's stupid.  I could never do that." A couple of days later I realized that candy is totally unnecessary so here goes nothin.  From this day forward I will not consume candy for a year.  And I guess while i'm at it I may as well cut out soda too.  Well there it is.

I really like having goals like this because it's empowering to exercise self-control.  It's not so much about the actual goal but more about sticking with a decision.

I can't remember the exact quote and I can't find it right now but there's a quote somewhere that talks about sticking with a commitment even after the excitement of making the decision has passed.

Change takes time but the decision to change happens in an instant.

It's been a few months since i've blogged.  I guess things have been pretty crazy as of late.  I moved out of my parent's basement (again), I graduated from college, and got a big person job as a recruiter for USU.  Those are all things worthy of blogging about but the thing that brought me back was something that happened tonight while I was at my parent's house for Sunday dinner.

We were celebrating my brother-in-law's birthday as well as the birthday of his youngest son Ben.  Ben just turned two.  He is one of the cutest and happiest two year olds I have ever met.

looking at himself with my iphone camera

He also suffers from seizures.  He's had them for over a year now. He has to wear a helmet because his body constantly jerks causing him to lose control and fall over.  Tonight was the first time I ever saw one of his seizures.

I have worked with people with disabilities for many years and have seen a lot of seizures but for some reason tonight really had an impact on me.  Seeing my little 2 year old nephew lying on his side convulsing and whimpering while his mom and dad knelt by his side waiting for it to pass was almost too much for me to watch.  I just stood and looked into his glazed eyes, praying that he would be ok.

I think it's natural to ask why it has to happen.  Why does such a sweet little boy have to suffer?  Why do his parent's have to stay awake at night wishing there was more they could do to help him?  I wish I knew the reasons why but I don't.  God does though.  And even though I can't begin to comprehend the intricacies of His plan for us, I know that He allowed His own son to descend below all things in order to give us the opportunity to live with Him again.

All of us have a purpose here.  We may get confused at times as to what that purpose is but God will always remind us if we're willing to pay attention.  I wish more than anything that I could trade places with Ben and give him the kind of life that I feel like he should have but I know that he is so much stronger than I ever could be and God has an important plan just for him.

Life is such a crazy journey full of so many unexpected turns.  So often I get caught up in trivial issues that don't really matter.  What really matters is that we are here to learn, love, and help each other experience true joy that can only come through following our Father's plan.

I am who I am because of the people that have come into my life and the relationships and experiences I've had with them.  Thank you Ben for helping me become a better person.  I love you.  

Stretch.

I'm sitting here in the SOAR office working. Trying to work.  It's one of those moments were you think to yourself, "I should be productive right now but... something is just holding you back.  I came to the conclusion that 97% of those instances can be instantly cured by stretching. 

According to Wikipedia stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific skeletal muscle (or muscle group) is deliberately elongated, often by abduction from the torso, in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and reaffirm comfortable muscle tone.[1] The result is a feeling of increased muscle control, flexibility and range of motion. Stretching is also used therapeutically to alleviate cramps.


In its most basic form, stretching is a natural and instinctive activity; it is performed by humans and many animals. It can be accompanied by yawning. Stretching often occurs instinctively after waking from sleep, after long periods of inactivity, or after exiting confined spaces and areas.

Increasing flexibility through stretching is one of the basic tenets of physical fitness. It is common for athletes to stretch before and after exercise in order to reduce injury and increase performance. Yoga involves the stretching of major muscle groups, some of which require a high level of flexibility to perform, for example the lotus position. Stretching can strengthen muscles, and in turn strong muscles are important to stretching safely and effectively.[2]


Stretching can be dangerous when performed incorrectly. There are many techniques for stretching in general, but depending on which muscle group is being stretched, some techniques may be ineffective or detrimental, even to the point of causing permanent damage to the tendons, ligaments and muscle fiber.[2] The physiological nature of stretching and theories about the effect of various techniques are therefore subject to heavy inquiry.

I feel like stretching is one of those things we all take for granted.  So wherever you are, stand up and let out a stretch.  You will feel amazing and your cholestoral will be lowered by 200 points. It's a fact.

This video can give you some good boogie body tips.  I recommend watching the whole thing.

Leading my life.

Yesterday I was at a retreat for the A-team (a group of students at USU who run the orientation program).  I was in charge of a short presentation on leadership.  I'm currently in a leadership class on campus and I've been involved with a lot of organizations that have helped me learn what a good leader is/does.

There are so many theories and aspects to leadership it is often hard to pick one that best fits you.  As I thought about what I could share to the group a video came to mind that I had seen months ago (see video below).  A few weeks ago in class we were discussing the difference between managing and leading.  We agreed that although managing isn't necessarily a bad thing it often deals more with just maintaining, or "keeping things under control" while leading should have more to do with expanding, growing, initiating, etc...

The small epiphany I had at that moment was, how can I try and lead others when I am only managing myself.  So often I feel like i'm just maintaining, or attempting to maintain where I am instead of growing and improving.  It's often very easy to get bogged down by our responsibilities to others and forget the responsibility we have to ourselves.  I believe that occurs because our responsibilities to others are usually spelled out very plainly.  We get job descriptions for our employment, mission statements for service organizations in which we volunteer, and manuals for our religious involvement.  Although we may not always live up to these expectations we know what they are.

Personally my religious beliefs are my manual for life but as I mentioned above, we still struggle sometimes even though we have all of the information in front of us.

Since yesterday I have really felt that need to stop maintaining and begin leading my life.  It sounds so easy on paper but it will definitely take a lot of hard work to implement.

(This video that I shared may be slightly extreme in its' attempt to express nonconformity but I love the overall message.  Also, the quote below has become one of my favorites.)

"When the sun sets, and the city idly drinks itself  into numbness,

in the sea will I wash."

TED

For some time I have been slightly obsessed with a website called TED.  Many of you may be familiar with TED already but for those of you who aren't let me elaborate.  TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design.  It was founded in 1984.  TED started out as an annual conference of invited speakers, musicians, scientists, etc.. Since 2006 the talks have been available free online at ted.com.  Their mission statement reads,


 "We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other."


I love that idea of a "community of curious souls"!  I think that we would all do well to become a little more curious.  Curiosity is defined as an emotion related to natural inquisitive behavior such as exploration, investigation, and learning. Sometimes I definitely lack that emotion but I recognize that I'm happiest when it's present.  


Anyway, TED talks are one way of sparking that curiosity.  Here is one video that I have really enjoyed recently.

Music.

I'm tired and really need to go to bed but I wanted to give a shameless plug for a new blog Brett and I started with the intent of exposing people to good music.

I'm sure those of you who read my blog also read brett's and probably already know about it but I just wanted to cover all the bases.  If you haven't checked it out yet please click here.  We're just getting it going but stop by and let us know what you think.  peace.