Learning to Appreciate

"Make sure your knees don't go past your toes and try to come down to a 90 degree angle from your knees to your hips." The words of the exercise video I was following along to tonight are so familiar that I could probably speak right along with good ol' Tammy Lee. As I was doing my squats, lunges, and sumos my thoughts drifted to how I have not been doing so well at eating healthily and exercising regularly since I've been so busy with work and Solo & Ensemble... and to the extra few pounds that have found their way to my hips in the last few months. In a wave of flustered and annoyed emotion, I thought, "Why do our bodies have to gain weight? Why can't our bodies just grow and mature to a certain point, and then stay that way for the rest of our lives?" I thought this was an ideal and perfect situation... for about five minutes.

As soon as I started to really think about why God would make it so that our bodies gained weight, something occurred to me. If our bodies, which are gifts from our Heavenly Father, did not gain weight when we ate junk food then how would we ever appreciate and take proper care of them? If there wasn't that consequence to eating incorrectly and not respecting our bodies enough then I can only imagine how poorly all of us would treat our bodies and how nutrient poor all of diets would be. 

A smile spread across my face as I thought about how thankful I was that our bodies gain weight. If not then I would not be exercising to make mine stronger and I would not do my best to eat properly. I am grateful for the body that I have, for the strength that I have, and for the health that I sustain. And coming to this realization gave me even more motivation to do my best to take care of this wonderful gift!

"Alright, now give me three in one!" My mind snaps back to the video and I realize I hate Tammy Lee. My butt is going to hurt tomorrow.

Partly Cloudy

A blank. That is what my mind has been drawing all morning long. I have come to the conclusion that there is a neuron strike going on in my brain right now. A group of neurons have decided that they have been working too hard but to no avail, and so they are not going to do the same job. While they still function enough to keep me breathing, walking, and alive they are not functioning on a high level. It has just been one of those mornings where no matter what you wear, how cute you fix your hair, or how perfect your make up is, the day already seems like a bad one.

It's one of those days where no matter what fun things you have planned for later you still feel like something awful is going to happen. Today is one of those days where time turns to stone and the minutes feel like hours. I am constantly thinking "maybe if I go and get this done, it will feel like a better day." Upon accomplishing certain thing, nothing seems better. If anything it seems worse because my task list is one item shorter meaning that I am closer to useless hours wasted away with nothing to do.

And while this morning seems to be turning into one of those days where nothing seems to cheer you up, I am determined to not let it end that way. I have a fun day planned! 

2:00 pm... I leave work

3:00-5:30pm...Rehearse with Solo & Ensemble students

6:00 pm... Have dinner with Lance and Lauren (so excited for that!)

9:00 pm... Go watch Derek play in his basketball game.

I love being a part of Solo & Ensemble and getting to work with these students. I have not seen Lauren and Lance since they got married in June 2009, so it is going to be so fun to have dinner with them! And I love going to support and watch Derek play basketball. 

But still this cloudy mood is hanging around... urgh. 

It will go away.

The Hunger Games

 I recently finished reading these three books by Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. They were incredible books that depicted the human race after a destructive world war, leaving a small population left to be governed by the Capitol. Katniss Everdeen captures your interest within the first few pages of the book. The ever enduring love she has for her younger sister Prim is her motivation for all of her actions. It is the driving force within her; to protect her sister from the terror and brutality that is their existence. I fell in love with Peeta Mellark in the first book, and stayed that way through the whole series. 

The deep and vibrant characters push her story along and keep the reader rushing to keep up. I could not put the books down and found myself using my spare time to read more. Some might dislike these books due to the "glorifying of violence" that is contained within the plot. However, I do not think she glorifies violence in any way. She shows that is a necessary part of surviving in their world and then shows the deep and enduring after-effects. 

My personal opinion? These books are captivating and I hope with all the hope I can muster right now that the movies will do them justice. 

I love these books.