Review of 2014 Goals

It’s hard to believe we’re coming towards the end of 2014. I realized that this year has been one of the first that I have been dedicated enough to follow through on my New Years Resolutions. I’m ecstatic about the positive changes these goals have made in my life. I love setting goals!

Here were my goals for the year.

1.  Don’t let any situation control my attitude
2. Make daily scripture study more meaningful
3. Learn to love myself/build a positive self-image

I made a point to write down my goals, decorate them, and put them in a place that I could see every single day. It really helped to start off each day being reminded of what I wanted to accomplish. I know my list sounds pretty broad, but I made smaller goals that would aid in the progression of the main goals.

I think these are things that I will continue to work on for the rest of my life, but consciously deciding to focus on them has really helped me improve in these areas. Goals number 1 and 3 were things that I didn’t think I would make much progress in, but I’ve really surprised myself with the how far I've come. That made me realize how much more we are capable of accomplishing when we really try our best.

Throughout this year, I have also learned that making progress in these areas isn’t always as easy as it seems. I was faced with an opportunity that I knew would give me a lot of anxiety and stress. It would have been easy to avoid the situation and move on, but I knew it would be great practice for goal number one. I took that opportunity, and it hasn’t been easy. It’s been absolutely worth it though. I am in a much better place than I was at the beginning of the year in regard to that goal.

My second goal has probably been the easiest of the three. My mom in law told me that she listens to the scriptures with the audio feature while she does other things. I decided to try it out myself, and I love it! I’m moving through the Book of Mormon a lot faster, and I have found that I view scripture passages in different light by listening rather than only reading silently. I still like to have quiet reading time, but I am loving the variation.

My third goal, loving myself, is a hard one to track. It’s pretty difficult to come up with specific situations that will help me build a positive self-image. One thing, though, that has helped is to stop with comparisons and judgments. Stop wishing you looked like the girls on Pinterest. Stop envying others' talents, and stop caring what people think. Loving yourself regardless of others opinions is easier said than done. I think almost all women can relate to that.

I have really proved to myself what I can accomplish when I set my mind to a task, and when I make it a priority. I’m excited for this upcoming year, and for upcoming New Year’s Resolutions. 

The Little Things

Lately, our lives have consisted of work, work, and more work. 

We’re very grateful to have jobs, but still, sometimes the weekends won’t come soon enough. I only wish Michael’s weekends matched up with mine.

The hard thing is that I work from 9:30 am-3:30 pm, Michael has to be at work at 4:00 pm. We have enough time to exchange the keys to the car and a quick kiss before he has to leave. We see each other during our lunch breaks, and that’s about it. 

Though we don’t see each other as often as I’m used to, I’ve learned to appreciate the little things, and so has he. 

When he gets home from work at night, he plays one of my favorite songs in the car. When I get up in the morning to leave for work, I hear the song playing, it’s a sweet reminder that he was thinking of me. 

I stare out the window like a little kid waiting for him to come home for his dinner/lunch break. I’ve warmed up his food and I prance to the door as soon as he pulls in the driveway. 

Every once in a while, we do have a day off together. I appreciate date night so much more. 

Simple thoughtful texts help bridge the gap while we’re not with each other. 

He comes home while I’m sleeping and cuddles up to me, even if I’m in too deep of a sleep to know he’s there. But the times I do wake up, I start mumbling nonsense, and he just thinks it’s cute.

New Chapter: La Grande

Michael and I have been living in La Grande for about 3 weeks now. We’re staying with his parents to save some money for the next few months before we head back to college.

I was apprehensive about living here for quirky reasons, to be honest. I know that living with the “in-laws” doesn’t sound pleasant in general. But honestly, I don’t think of them as in-laws, they’re just my family. But, that being said, it is a little bit of a culture shock living with them semi-permanently.

And that’s okay.

I was nervous about getting a job, driving in a new town, and driving our manual car in a new town. His parents live at the top of the hill, enough said. There’s also the worry of being in a new ward, feeling like a burden to his parents, and hoping that his family won’t hate me after being around me so much. (Okay, that was a little overdramatic…)

Living with anxiety means I anticipate the worst possible outcome in every situation. But I’m happy to report I have been overcoming these quirky little fears one step at a time while living here. I’ve been making leaps and bounds of progress.

I’m not scared to drive stick anymore. I drive around town all the time! A new town to me.

I have a job. Two jobs actually (counting piano lessons).

The ward here is awesome, and I’m trying to be really involved in it. I’ve joined the ward choir!

But most importantly, I’m making tons of memories with the family. I love being able to attend soccer games and birthdays and other events that really help me feel involved in their lives. I can only imagine how close I’ll feel to them by the time I leave.

Family Reunion: Arkansas

Our family reunion started with a 23 hour car ride. That was interesting… to say the least. Michael, Tyler, and I were all smashed in the backseat with 3-4 pillows.

But upon arriving in Arkansas, we felt right at home. We had a lot of really fun activities planned for this trip, and we made so many great memories! My nieces and nephews are so adorable, each and every one of them. I currently have 10 nieces and nephews. I swear they’re the cutest in the world. There was swimming, kayaking, shopping, movies, bike rides, museums, splash park, and much more that made this family reunion unforgettable. Here are some of my favorite memories from the trip.

• My nephew Mason eating everything and all the time. He's 17 months old and as cute as could be. It seems like every time I saw him, he was either in his high chair eating food or walking around the house with some sort of snack. A few times he decided to eat markers and ended up with a purple/blue mouth and face. 
• Kendall and her obsession with "excuse me." My niece, Kendall, is 4 years old. She is really sassy with the most innocent little voice you can imagine. Lately she's into saying "excuse me" all the time. She'll say it every time she wants someone's attention. I swear she says it at least 15 times a day. "Excuse me, I need a drink!" "Excuse me, you stole my spot." One day we went to a really neat museum. Some of the artwork was guarded with a line on the floor saying "Don't Cross." Some random stranger had their foot across the line, so Kendall goes up to them and says "Excuse me, you're crossing the line!!!" I'm sure they were surprised to be chastened by a 4 year old girl. 
• Theater Night. Dan and Tara have a pretty enormous backyard. They also have a GIGANTIC screen that they put on the side of their house to have theater nights. It was really awesome! It was truly our own drive-in movie experience, with an awesome sound system and all. 
• Country Dancing. It's a tradition in the Christensen family to do old country dances like the Virginia Reel, hokey pokey, chicken dance, and other silly/fun dances. My grandma taught all my cousins how to do these dances, so we thought it would be fun to continue the tradition. I had previously learned the Virginia Reel, so I had the opportunity to teach it to my family, and it was a blast!
• On the Pontoon. The day we took the pontoon out to Beaver Lake was fantastic! We rented it for the whole day, so we played, and played, and played. There was even a barbecue on the pontoon. The water was really clear, and it was the absolute perfect temperature. We parked the pontoon by a shore, and played for hours on the rocks. There were very large boulders and rocks along the shore, and the water got suddenly very deep off shore, so we jumped off the rocks into the water all day. It was an absolute blast. 

Arkansas really is a beautiful area. We went on bike rides inside a gorgeous deciduous forest area and went kayaking twice in the local lakes. But even the small moments of the vacation made it worth while. My nieces loved for me to read them books, so we spent quite a bit of time just reading with each other, and it was really precious. My family created our own volleyball team and played some intense games. We went swimming and shopping and just plain socializing!

One great part of the vacation was being able to see my nephew, Gavin, get baptized. It was a very well-organized and very personalized baptism. There were pictures and videos of Gavin that made it really special.

We had many laughs with each other. Especially while playing catch phrase. One specific time, it was McKenzie's turn. I guess it was one of those "you had to be there" moments, but we could not stop laughing! This is how that round went:

McKenzie: “This comes out your butt!”

So of course, we all screamed, “Poop!!”

McKenzie: “No… It’s not a solid”

“DIARRHEA!!!!” We screamed in unison

McKenzie had a fit of giggles, so we all started laughing, too. We sounded ridiculous. Then the timer went off, and we lost a point because we were all laughing so hard we were crying. This continued for about 5 minutes before we could resume the game. The word she was trying to get us to guess was “gas tank.” Now it all makes sense....

Our One Year Anniversary

Today is our one year anniversary! I can’t believe how fast this year has gone.

Before we got married, we had several people tell us that if we got through the first year, we would be set for life. They gave us the impression that our first year would be fighting and conflict nearly every day. I’m very happy to say this was NOT the case for us. Granted, neither Michael nor I are confrontational people, so I’m sure that helped us a lot through this first year of our marriage.

Honestly, I have never had a better year in my life. Being married has really helped build my testimony of the Plan of Happiness. Though a year really isn’t that long, I understand now why marriage is such a crucial step in our progression towards the celestial kingdom. Not only is the sealing covenant the pinnacle of the covenants we make here on earth, but being married in general compels couples to develop Christ-like qualities. Let me explain….

Selflessness -I think being selfless is one of the major qualities that is developed due to marriage. I am constantly thinking of Michael’s well-being. It is no longer just about me.

Service- Being married gives me the opportunity to give service every day of my life. Even if they’re simple things like making dinner or doing dishes so he doesn’t have to.

Patience- Ah, patience. Marriage is all about learning to be a unit, rather than two individuals. This can only be obtained through patience. Some of my weaknesses are his strengths, and vice versa. It takes patience to help each other develop stronger attributes in those areas.

Love- Of course, this is the obvious one. In my marriage class, we have discussed what true love actually means. We decided that it means we love every side of the person, not just loving them for what you want them to be, or only focusing on the aspects you like the most. My love for Michael increases each and every day. It causes me to think about Christ, and the perfect love He feels for each and every one of us. It truly is unfathomable.

Conklin Cookin'

A few months after I got married, I discovered I have this passion for cooking. My experiments in the kitchen don't always turn out, but when they do, I have the greatest sense of accomplishment! I was raised with home cooked meals every night, so I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. In fact, the first time I ever prepared/ate a hamburger helper meal was when I was engaged. 

Ever since I have decided to make cooking part of my life, I have been more than pleased. It's so worth the effort! Here are some of the benefits I've seen since I've been cooking. 

1. It can be much cheaper. I honestly don't think people realize how much money a home cooked meal can save you. Michael and I always have a few basic ingredients on hand that can be used in countless meals. It's fun being creative with ingredients so you don't have to buy expensive items. 

2. It's considerably healthier! Since you are the one making your own meal, you can control how much salt/sugar/oil goes into the meal. Not to mention, you know where all the ingredients came from. Looking on the label of frozen or boxed meals is a pretty scary wake-up call. Home cooking isn't only good for avoiding bad foods, but it's also easier to implement healthy foods into your diet. 

3. It's a good way to spend your time. Yes, I'll admit it, cooking a nice meal is sometimes very time consuming. But when I think about it, instead of spending an hour or so watching TV or getting on Facebook, I was spending it cooking. I think that has much more value. In fact, sometimes Michael and I cook things together and it's a fun way to spend time with each other!

4. Correct Portion Sizes. Portion sizes have been getting out of control over the last few decades. This is weird, but I end up eating less when I make my own food. Not considerably less, but a more correct portion size. I did a little Google research to find out why this always happens to me. Turns out, sense of smell is a huge part of the whole eating experience. By the time the food is actually done, I've become so exposed to the smell of the food, part of my appetite is already satisfied. 

 

The Wedding

Of course I didn't sleep a wink before our wedding. I started doing my hair and make-up much too early but I had nothing else to do with all those extra hours before anyone was awake. The ceremony started at 10:00 AM. The day was filled with lots of hugs and "congratulations" and small talk. After the ceremony, the families took pictures outside the temple. Of course, in the middle of our photo session, something got caught UNDER Michael's contact, and taking pictures literally became a pain.

We had a luncheon at my parents house after the ceremony. Our reception didn't start till 6:00, so we had hours and hours and HOURS to kill. Although it was nice to be able to talk to my relatives and friends, I was anxious for the reception to be over with! I don't really love being the center of attention in large group settings, so it was a pretty overwhelming day. All I know is that I had just been sealed to the love of my life, and that's all that was important to me.

 Anyway, after all the formalities, I could finally relax. Once we got all the wedding decor off our car, Michael and I drove off as Mr. and Mrs. Conklin.