From This Day On. . . . .

"Fear not; only believe. This is a time to make resolutions that will be binding upon you. This is a season to set standards that will hold you to the right course and make you happy now and in the years to follow." -Gordon B. Hinkley

2011 has arrived & I'm plenty EXCITED for all it has in store for my family & I. This is the first year we're starting off without my parents & it's definitely different. Our New Years Eve was spent amongst our family & we were so happy to ring in the new year with the ones we love. We didn't get home until after 3 am. I stayed up & wrote my goals down in my journal for the new year. It's something that I've always done because I truly believe that setting goals is the first step to achieving them. It's the following through part that requires quite a bit more work.

This year I took a different approach to my goals. I wanted to be more REALISTIC in being able to achieve them so I thought really hard about these resolutions of mine. Life experiences over this past year really taught me what I should really be focusing on. The Lord, my family, myself & my schooling. And in that very order.

I am so grateful for so many different blessings that have recently occurred in our growing family. Nothing major in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of parents who are striving to set examples to young children. . . . .it's MAJOR to us. Especially because they're OUR children.

So with 2011 being in full swing, those of you that know me, know that health & fitness is a really BIG part of my life. It is really important to me. I try my best to set examples for my kids by living it myself. So I was sitting at my sister inlaw's house & the kids were playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii. I was so impressed with how amazing the game is. The dance routines on there are AWESOME & seriously are what I'd wanna learn to do. Seeing how much fun the kids were having, yet not noticing how much of a workout they were getting at the same time got me thinking that maybe this was the resolution for my kids to start getting active. :D New Years Eve came & we headed to Best Buy to purchase our new WII w/the Just Dance 2 game. We absolutely LOVE IT!! :D It's such a GREAT workout!! Our eyes are no longer fixated on the clock in hopes that our hour is up. Lol. Next game on the list?? Biggest Loser w/Jillian!! I love her!! :D

I've made up some guidelines so the kids know they can't just get up & play it anytime they want. Beds must be made, rooms must be clean, homework must be complete & so forth. :D We've created such wonderful memories with it already. :D

Continuing on this note. . . . .I was able to catch Teresa's zumba class this morning & she never disappoints. It was so invigorating!! :D I needed that. :D After the class, I had a chance to talk with her & she informed me of a 'Lifestyle Change' that she's heading herself. It's called 'Five Stars'. . . .I'll post details on it soon cause I'm still waiting to get it. :D But we got to talking about nutrition & making the change a lifestyle one so that it's not just another diet type thing. Something that will last a lifetime. She said that, "What you eat, makes you thin & what you do, makes you fit." It makes total sense!!

I always figured that I'll just workout & eat whatever I want. I've never really been a BIG junk food eater or soda pop drinker in the first place. But I love getting together with families & friends & eating whatever & however much I want. It's my TOTAL weakness. Ugh. . .But 2011 has brought me to newer heights & bigger goals. And I ain't gonna lie. . . . .I want a flippin SIX-PACK!! Hahahahaha. . . . . .I love seeing celebrity moms on tv that have had kids & look FABULOUS!! I want to do away with the stereotype that it's okay to be fat because you've had kids. I totally think that because of the very reason WE have kids, WE have more reason to be as healthy & as fit as we can be. :D

If I sound a little passionate about this, it's because I am. Being someone that has been in those shoes of feeling so insecure because I can't fit into anything I like. Adjusting my closet for my new SIZE clothing. Huffing & puffing when all I'm doing is playing with my kids. Not caring to see families & friends because I'm ashamed of the person I let myself become. These are the kinds of things that I struggled constantly with when my weight had hit an all time high & I found myself over 200 lbs. I fell into a bit of a depression. I stayed this way for about 10 months. I finally got sick of feeling this way & when January of 2008 hit, I got myself a gym membership at my local rec. I started running 3 or more miles a day, zumba, water aerobics, step class & anything else that sounded interesting. I cut down on carbs & ate more greens. I felt GREAT!! I lost about 50 lbs during that year.

December came & I found out I was pregnant. I was a little scared, but more excited & thrilled. There's two and a half years between my two youngest. For a while, we thought that we weren't able to have any more kids. I'd been miscarrying a lot, but the one right before I got pregnant landed me in the ER up at the University Hospital. It gave us quite a scare. I had miscarried in April & my bleeding continued on thru July. July 24th came & we were celebrating Pioneer Day at Liberty Park with the rest of our family. When we got up to leave, blood came gushing out of me & I felt so light headed. My sister rushed me to the hospital immediately & I got so sick. The doctors told me that I was EXTREMELY low on iron & that my body was having a hard time resetting itself back to normal after the miscarriage. They said I was anemic. I was bedridden & couldn't do anything for myself. On top of that, Hoko was out of state working in Montana & I felt like my WHOLE world was crumbling down. For the first time in my life, I lost total control of my body. I felt like a 90 yr old woman cause I was so weak. I couldn't, for the life of me, hold anything down. The only thing I could do was sleep & use the bathroom. I was MISERABLE, to say the least. I finally recovered & a couple of months later became pregnant with Savou.

I continued my workouts through my pregnancy. I ate healthy & had no complications when giving birth to him. He was our biggest baby, but my labor was the shortest with him. :D I left the hospital 20 lbs lighter & started working out two weeks later. I was able to drop the weight off & I'm back to my weight that I was before I got pregnant with him, but I'm still not satisfied. I'm definitely grateful, but I know I can do better than this.

I talked to my family today & everybody's on board & ready to start Monday off healthier. From this day on, we've made the decision as a family, to live a healthy lifestyle. For good. :D