Hello! If you're still reading this blog that I started ages ago, I'd like to invite you to hop on over to my other blogs.
Soulful Brilliance: Be a Light! soulfulbrilliance.com
Living in Crescendo livingincrescendo.tumblr.com
Luvz,
Meg:0)
Hello friends and family! Just some quick reminders: I have started a new blog to tell about my life for the year 2012. Check it out at http://megz2012.tumblr.com/
Also, I have started a new website to assist others in making things happen in their lives and find their authentic selves. Please visit and follow us at http://soulfulbrilliance.blogspot.com/.
Thanks!
So it's been a while. :0) I've been pretty busy learning some new things about myself and some old beliefs that are surfacing now that the big beliefs are out of the way. It's been interesting to say the least! :0)
Last Friday, I got a new cat. His name is Binx. He's pretty cute. He was scared and hiding for the first couple days, but each new day I see more and more of his personality come out. The first night I had him I looked everywhere I could think of and couldn't find him. We finally found him huddled in a tiny corner behind a box. The next morning I searched for a couple hours in every nook and cranny of my apartment and still couldn't find him. My dad came down and helped me look and after 20 or so minutes we found him under the stove. Then (yes there's more :0) later that day I lost him again. He had smooshed himself behind the big pillows on one of the couches. I'm thinking his name should be Houdini instead of Binx :0)
Last night I kept hearing him in my windowsill playing around....I think I'm going to be mad, as I heard him climbing my curtains. I haven't had a chance to look yet, but I'm thinking there could be some kitty holes in them now....lol! Oh the joys of kittens! :0)
School is going well. I'm allowing myself to be the awesome, amazing, successful teacher that I am! It's been great! By the end of the day I'm exhausted and ready for bed, but at least I get a lot accomplished at work! :0)
That's about it...There's more I could say, but I get to go get some work done now, so I'll save it for later :0)
It doesn't matter where you are in life, change will find you! Even
if you lock yourself in your room and sit around all day, you will
change (and usually not for the better). This whole shift in my life
was a big, fat, giant change for me. A change that had been a long time
coming. I desired a change in my life for many, many years, but just
couldn't get anything to stick. I would go on weight watchers, then
revert back to my old self. I would read self-help books and try to do
what they said, then revert back to my old patterns.
When
I first learned of Marci's program, a part of me shuddered at the
price. Why would I want to pay that much money for something when I
would just revert back to my old patterns and behaviors when it was
over? Then as I've mentioned before I met with Marci and learned some
reasons I wasn't been able to create lasting change in my patterns and
behaviors. One of the things that helped me to take that big step and
do the program was the scripture in Phil. 4:13,
This is one of my favorites! I absolutely LOVE my life!
The other day I walked out of the gym and was amazed at the beautiful way the sun was reflecting off the clouds as it was rising above the mountains' tall peaks. Then as I was driving home from the gym and I saw this:
Before I start I just wanted to let you know that I started a new blog just for my 90 Golden nuggets (just in case some of you don't want to read all the other stuff that happens in my life) :0) It is megz90.blogspot.com. I will be posting my golden nuggets on both blogs. This blog will just have extra stuff that happens in my life :0)
Golden Nugget #3 FOOD IS MY FRIEND!!! #4 NUTRITION IS 80% OF MY RESULTS! #5 YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! #6 MY BODY IS A TEMPLE
Before starting my 90 days, I had a love/hate relationship with food. I loved to eat it, but hated how fat I believed it made me...One of the first things I learned was that food is my friend. I just had to learn how to correctly feed my body to turn it into the fat-burning machine it was meant to be! I've learned to eat a healthy protein and then fill up on fruits and veggies. I also learned to eat every 2-3 hours. Eighty-percent of your results are due to your nutrition. If I fill my body with junk, I will feel like junk. If I fill my body with healthy nutritious food, I will feel healthy! You are what you eat! :0)
Heavenly Father blessed me with this amazing body that can do AMAZING things if I treat it the way I should. In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Paul says,
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
"If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
My body is a temple and I need to feed it the right kinds of food to help it perform it's proper functions. I've always thought about treating my body like a temple and making sure not to get tattoos or take harmful substances into my body, but I never really thought about the food I eat and how it can effect my temple. Now that I've truly discovered that my body feels better when I fill it with healthy food, I will continue the rest of my life eating this way.
Does that mean that I will never eat a sugary treat ever again? No!!! I love chocolate just as much as the next person, but I won't be eating it all the time. Everything in moderation.
Well here we go! :0) I'm going to share 90 golden nuggets with you that I learned in my 90 day mind and body transformation.
I would first like to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I am grateful for His loving guidance, which has lead me to this BEAUTIFUL LIFE I am now blessed to be living! Each day I live on this earth is a gift from Him. I am grateful for THIS DAY! I choose to live this day in the best way possible. I am grateful also to a loving and supportive family who have done more than they know in supporting me in this big change in my life. I am opening my heart and allowing wonderful things to flow into my life!
June 13, 2011 I started on a journey. It was exciting and scary all at the same time. I invested a lot of money and was planning on investing a large amount of time and energy.
Investment: ME! I got tired of the Meg that was drowning out her greatness and decided to do something about it.
Enter: Marci Lock
My cousin Kenzy started a program called "The 90 Day Mind and Body Transformation". I saw her transform right before my eyes. I was interested, so I went to a No Excuses Seminar with Marci. I learned SO much in that three hours I was with Marci! That was where I was going to let this story end, until I received an e-mail from Marci's assistant telling me that Marci had requested that I meet with her. She doesn't do that apparently. :0) I was a little apprehensive to go, but go I did and after a long talk about my life and what I was struggling with she invited me to join her next 90 Day Transformation team...
The Decision: I never rush into things like this and went home praying and trying to figure out if this is a path my Heavenly Father might want me to take in my life(it was going to cost a small fortune). I ended up in the temple and by the time I left I knew what I had to do...find the money somehow because this was something I needed to do. So find the money I did and joined the team.
The First Few Weeks: The first few weeks were in short a living hell! I could barely move when I left the gym that first morning. I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Was it really worth it?
Is it Worth it? Yes! After 10 weeks of learning and growing, I have become stronger, not only in body, but also in mind. I have learned to not let my perception of what others think of me to stop me from ROCKING OUT IN MY GREATNESS!!!!! I have learned to be the authentic me and to better communicate my needs, challenges, and blessings to others. I have learned to love myself for who and what I am and to let my greatness out for others to see! I have learned SO much!
This journey of self discovery has inspired me to be the BEST me and to CHOOSE MY BEST LIFE!!!
MY LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!!!
Look for tidbits of the tools and knowledge I have gain in posts to come!
So excited to be doing Ragnar again this year. Yes, last year was rough with me getting sick and all, but I'm going to work hard to be sure that doesn't happen this year! Hopefully all goes well! Running with Alyssa family. I've been doing mega exercise this week and I hurt so bad that I hope I can run tomorrow! Wish me luck! :0)
I don't know what's going on with me this week, but I feel like such a grouch! I guess maybe the stress of everything in my life is finally culminating into a full blown grouch attack! I really need a vacation from life, but I just don't see that happening any time soon. :0( I just want to sit around and do nothing for just one day. May be after today things will calm down. I finished my testing and my portfolio and now I just need to get all my homework done for the 90.
If only I could control 8-9 year olds now...My class has been crazy off the wall the past few weeks and I think it's going to get worse. They are as tired of school as I am and there are still three weeks left! I'm going to have to do some crazy planning of fun games and activities to keep them from driving me insane.
I could keep going, but I'll stop complaining now. Life could be a lot worse and I have a lot to be thankful for!
It's been two days and even as I sit here typing this my body hurts, but thankfully not as bad as I thought it would! Running the Ogden Marathon was quite the adventure! Got sick around mile 10, lost just after mile 13, and finally finished after more than 6 hours. Only one teeny tiny blister! I love my shoes! I keep saying I never want to do this again, but that's what I said about Ragnar last year and I'm doing it this year, so we'll see! :0)
So here I am, only 39 hours until the marathon. I keep saying to myself, "It's going to be fun. It's going to be fun." Then I see all the rain coming down outside and think about how I hate running in the rain....Everyone help me out and pray for a nice day on Saturday! I can handle the cold, but not the wet. The past few weeks have been a battle getting myself out running. The angel and devil on my shoulders are always battling it out. Should I go run out in the rain? Should I go to the gym and run my six miles on the treadmill? Lots of should I's. Sadly the last two weeks have been me avoiding the decision all together and not running....NOT GOOD! I am going to do this anyways and just push through and finish. Even if it takes me all day to do it!
If you want to come cheer me on you can go to any of the following locations:
Eden Park (using alternate route over North Ogden Divide) Halfway
Ogden Parkway by Timbermine and the Dinosaur Park Only 5K to go
24th and Grant Home Stretch
25th and Grant Finish Line
The race starts at 7, I figure, barring any mishaps, I'll be finishing sometime between 12:30-1:00 p.m.
This adventure has been a long one full of aches and pains as well as a knowledge that I can work hard and truly accomplish anything I put my mind to doing. I'm ready to close this long-distance running chapter of my life and start on something new, something fun....Let me know if you have any ideas! :0)
So January 1st I made a goal to give up Diet Coke and other sodas. The first two months was horrible, but I stayed strong and now I have been soda free for four fabulous months. This last weekend I decided to do something daring and start on the next big addiction in my life...SUGAR...
Diet Coke was never this hard. I am now realizing just how addicted to sugar I really am. Sunday I'm walking in the kitchen and we have this bowl of candy sitting on the cupboard and I tried to talk myself out of it. Really, I tried! It went something like this:
Only 30 more days and I've had it! Had it with rain! Had it with the stupid cat! Had it with running! I'm in serious need of some motivation....
So we had an earthquake drill today. As we were walking outside after the "earthquake" stopped, the firealarm was going off. It is loud and very annoying. One of my girls shouted, "It sounds like a farting bumble bee!" I chuckled :0), asking myself if she had ever heard a bumble bee fart?
The alarm is going off. It's 4:00 a.m. Yes I'm one of those crazy people who gets up early and the fact that I'm going to run 18 miles makes me even crazier...I ate some breakfast and got all my stuff together. Then drove to my angel-sister-in-law Alyssa's house to run with her. She is amazing! We started off pretty good until the South Weber wind started blowing. How I hate running against the wind!!! I don't know what was up with me, but I was being so slow! We got through South Weber and made our way up a hill. My marvelous mother drove by at that point and shouted, "You go girls!" That gave me even more motivation, but alas I'm not that great of a runner and to me the hill was quite steep....I had to walk most of it. Bless Alyssa's heart she stayed with me the whole way up! I'm so lucky to have her in our family. My brother made a good choice when he decided to start chasing her. :0) Mom met us at the top of the hill for some more encouragement and on we went. Alyssa pulled away and I was better able to find my groove. I'm glad she was with me for the hill though because I'm not sure I would have made it without her!
By mile nine I was running an average 13.5 minute mile. It kind of went downhill from there (lol). By the time I got back to South Weber Drive I was beyond done, but Alyssa and my Mom met me and helped me make it through the last couple miles. Then I finished! in 4 hours and 20 minutes which is an average 14:26 mile. The last mile took me around 20-25 minutes, so it threw off my average :-(. But I still did better than I thought I would!
Only a short few weeks before the marathon...
Only 50 days left until the marathon. I'm loving the weather!!!! I love running outside and I discovered a new fun place to run near my parents' house (soon to be my house). I can't wait to get out and use it some more! Tomorrow morning I'm running with Alyssa at 5:00 in the morning. We're on the same running schedule. It's going to be a doozy...18 miles! I'm stoked/nervous. That's my farthest distance so far and I'm hoping I can make it without getting too sick... I guess we'll see :0)
It's getting closer to that wonderful marathon day!!! I've felt so unmotivated the past month that I haven't been running much...Yeah not good...This last week though, I got out and made myself do it. I had Addi on Saturday, so I had to leave work early Friday to go home and get on my running gear for a fabulous 16 mile jog...Well it was supposed to be 16 miles...I had a meeting to go to at work that I originally didn't know about, so I left later than I thought. The first 5 miles were the hardest. I couldn't get into a rhythm due to the fact that the road had many hills, but after that it was all down hill and straight. I actually did better than I thought I would do. I made it 14.2 miles before stopping. I would have finished, but I had to get home to get ready to go out for Brittnee's birthday. It was the longest run I've done to date. I also have to say that even though I haven't been sticking to my schedule, it still wasn't too bad! :0) Now I just have to get myself running a little less than twice that amount and doing it a little faster and I'll be able to get through the marathon without too many problems. I just keep chanting, "It's mostly downhill. It's mostly downhill." I figure if I keep telling myself that I will convince my mind that it can do anything! :0)
Dinner was fun! We went to Tucano's Brazillian Grill at the Gateway. They have delicious fried bananas! I love them! It was fun to be able to go and spend some time with friends out and about. We don't do it as much as we used to and sometimes I really miss having fun just hanging out! It's been a great week! I hope next week is just as amazing!
So I discovered a really cool website. You put in words from a song or just words and it spits them out into a cool arrangement. The biggest words are the most used words and the smaller words are the words that are used less.
Well, in a mere 100 days I will be running a marathon...Yikes! I'm at 11 miles tomorrow and I'm going to have to figure something new out for keeping my body alive before I get to more miles or I'll never make it through 26 miles, let alone the .2 that comes after it. I'll work on it and get back to you on that.
By the way, you should check out this blog written by my friend Michelle. She is another third grade teacher at school and she has a blog about funny things she hears kids say. They are hilarious!
Last summer when I ran Ragnar I met this amazing woman named Amber who was on my team. She was all energy and making sure we all had what we needed from water to encouragement. I had the opportunity to meet her family as well when we would stop between legs of the run. Her son was full of energy and FUNNY! He was fun to talk to. I found out that when he was 5 or 6 he had been diagnosed with leukemia, but had been in remission for a while.
A couple of weeks ago Tucker was told his leukemia had relapsed in his central nervous system. This week they also found out that his brain is swelling. The doctors are trying to figure out what caused his brain to swell and do not believe it was caused by his cancer or his treatments. Sounds like he is slowly starting to feel better, but will be in the hospital until they can see that his brain swelling has gone down.
Hearing his amazing story and reading about small miracles that are taking place has reminded me of how thankful I am for the life I have. I am blessed with an amazing family, a great job, and a healthy body. I am also thankful for the knowledge I have that I'm a daughter of God, that he loves me as I am, and that through my Savior, Jesus Christ my sins can be forgiven and I can return to live with Him again someday. Who could ask for more in their life?
To read more of Tucker's story or to donate to help their family click on the link in "My Friends" called "Well That Sucks!"-------->
I LOVE SKITTLES!!!!!!
The original kind....Just thought you should know.... :o)
It's finally a new year and I'm excited to make some new goals and do some new things! Some things to look forward to: Ogden Marathon 2011(Yikes!), Ragnar Wasatch Back 2011(I know I swore never to do it again, but hey I want to go and have fun this time!), moving back in with my parents, and a trip to WI and Nauvoo is also in the works!
As I ask myself what kind of goals I want to make this year, I come up all the normal resolutions I make at this time of year: lose 50 lbs, exercise more, Keep my room clean, write in my journal every day etc. I never do these things....hmmmmm...
"What should I do?" I ask myself. "Duh make them more specific!" So here we go:
Made it to bed at 9, but couldn't sleep again. Had a migraine... I feel better today and I'm looking forward to the weekend! I'm starting to feel that Christmas Spirit again. If only I had my own house....it would look amazing all decked out for Christmas! :0)
Sleep is good. I'm not getting any. Get home around 10 p.m. Laundry. Not able to sleep. 1ish I finally fall asleep. I swear that all I did last night was blink and then my alarm went off.
My goal for tonight: Be in Bed by 8:30!
I'll let you know how it goes! :0)