Healthy Body Image Challenge Day 7: "Eating Healthy"

Is there a way to eat healthy when out with friends or family? Such as going out to eat. I know that there are a lot of places that offer lower calorie options, but what about when eating at a family function? Or at a place where those lower calorie options are not there?

I guess I could just plan on not worrying about it. When it's a celebration, just relax. If I really want to watch it, then it's all about proportions. I don't need to eat everything in sight. I can eat lots of different things, but in smaller proportions. It's just hard when there are so many great things.

Eating out is the same way. Buffets are the worst! I guess I just need to be better during the rest of the week. I need to watch what I eat the other times so that it can really be a celebration when I go out with family or friends.

So really it comes to healthy eating the rest of the time. I guess that is not too bad because I have more control over what I eat at home. In the end, it's all up to me. That can be the hardest part. :) Good thing Ryan is a good protector and supporter of healthy eating. It helps me to stay closer to my goals.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010
This is a big year! First of all, I've never had a boyfriend on my birthday. How lucky I am that not only do I have a boyfriend, but he is my fiancé! How wonderful is that! We weren't going to celebrate today on my actual birthday because Ryan is still in the middle of school and had a paper to work on, so we celebrated on July 23rd instead. We really just took it easy because we had been so busy with wedding plans, but we still went out to dinner. We went to Chili's and I had a wonderful 6 oz. steak with pico de gallo on it. Yum! He got me a CTR ring as a present, but it was the wrong size, so he had to take it back. He got a ring with little cubic zirconium's embedded in the sides (like my ring - except there were 4 on each side). I loved it!

Then we went to a movie after dinner.

Happy Birthday to me. I just love those bright blue eyes.

The family at Chili's

Jakers

Another picture, trying to get everyone in the shot. :)

I love my fiancé! He is so romantic.

The next day, Saturday July 24th, was the day I did my bridals up at the Utah State Capitol. (I will do a separate post on that). We went to dinner with Ryan's family for my birthday at Chili's that night. (2 nights in a row? Not complaining at ALL!) It was fun to be with the family and Ryan's parents got me some more things from my registry. Don & Mel gave me a baseball book called "Kiss it Good-bye". They have some fun family traditions and I am looking forward to being the newest member of the Peck family in 12 days!

Blessed

I am truly blessed to have a great family and wonderful friends. In the past few days I have had some wonderful talks with wonderful people in my life. I am so grateful for the support that they show me and how much they care for me. It is the last part of spring break and I am sad because I need to go back to work, but school is coming to a close and we need to persevere to the end. I have some great examples in my life of those that have continued to press forward, or kampa pa (shempa po - can't write it in swedish lettering) which means "struggle on".
There are some hard workers out there and I have seen how they have been blessed because of their choices. I hope to be like them someday. Thanks to all of those who have supported me throughout the years. I am truly blessed.

School Days become better when. . .

So, I am still here at school, despite my New Year's resolution to not stay past 5. First, I was supposed to be here until 7 because of an ESL class that I am taking, so Tuesday is the only day I should be here that late. Well, unbeknownst to my colleague and I, we didn't have class, so I thought, "Sweet, I can get a lot of stuff done in my classroom that I put off when I went home for the holidays and closed my classroom door not to return until a day before school resumed."

However, when I got to my classroom, I did other things, such as reading a little bit ahead of my students in "The Tale of Despereaux" (that is legitimate classwork since I need to read it with my students for Guided Reading), emailing my Christmas letter to family and friends that I did not have an address for, and then I got hooked on looking at my friend Erin's blog.

She is one that I can always count on to have some witty post on her blog. Well, the one for today got me hooked. It was a class posted at a school titled "How to Survive a Zombie Invasion." For Real?!? I laughed so hard. Please check out her blog just to see the details of it. Then I saw that she had posted all of her texts for the past year, 2009. I did not know she did this and found some of mine in the smattering of texts. I loved it. I even checked in January of 2009 to see if she had posted her 2008 texts, and she had. I was amused to find the one we still joke about today. I wrote "Hurry, they are eating all my candy." This was because we didn't realize children would actually trick or treat at our door, so I sent her to Allen's and she got whatever was left there.

The point of it is, I spent a long time looking at some of her posts, laughing my head off and just remembering good times. I may have needed that more than getting school work done because it was a long day. Or, I really should've been working instead. Either way, I'm still at school, but soon to be gone. Thanks Erin and thanks to everyone that posts and makes my day a little bit brighter.

Disneyland Trip Spring 2009

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Our adventures driving to Disneyland

This was going to be epic and it was! I went to Disneyland with two of my co-workers from school, Jen Nieto and Susan Kelley. Susan's roommates Heidi Peaslee and Jenny Veatch were also part of the group. We drove down to Disneyland on Wednesday, April 15. On our way, we saw a semi that had turned over due to high winds and the tow truck that was trying to move it, we stopped in St. George so Jen could try and In-N-Out Burger for the first time (I believe she LOVED it!), we drove through Vegas SLOWLY (I have quite a few pictures from that because of TRAFFIC), I finished the book "Shakespeare's Secret", and then we finally made it to our hotel, the Clarion, close to Disneyland.
We found out that another co-worker, Scott Earl, and his family, were staying at the hotel next to us and had a hot tub. We tried to convince him to let us come over and use it too, but to no avail. We had to get a roll-away bed because there were only 2 queen size beds in our room, and we had 5 people. The room was way too small and we couldn't even fit the bed in there. Jen used her s-k-ills to get a suite (even though they said everything was full). We got pizza for dinner that night and then just ended up going to bed since we were getting up early to start our adventure. Susan was amazing and got us the hotel, food to pack in, and the 3-day park hopper passes. I think we each ended up paying about $200 (plus more for gas afterwards), but it was worth it for a fun Spring Break!

Our super cool hotel - Clarion

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Documentation is very, very important!

The morning of our first day at Disneyland started out with cereal and Secret Agent Oso. (Random cartoon on T.V. I'm sure loads of kids know who he is, but we didn't. Susan nicknamed me Secret Agent Oso after that). We decided that we were not going to spend money on two meals at Disneyland (way too expensive), so we brought in food. Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches, placed in a Chex Mix bag. Jenny and Heidi were taking their backpacks, so we placed our sandwiches and some fruit in there for lunch.

On our way, we stopped and got Jenny and I sunglasses since we didn't have any. We were stylin' now!

Without sunglasses (Jenny)

Now we are stylin'!

C - Chalyce

We are officially in the park!

When we got to the front we grabbed our tickets and then ran to get a fast pass for Indiana Jones right away. Then we went on the Jungle Cruise while we waited. On our way their we ran into Scott and his family, so we took a picture to show that we were all there at the same time.

Jen (5th), Scott (5th) , Chalyce (6th), & Susan (4th)

I took random pictures with my phone and sent them to my family to see if they could guess which ride we were on. (My friend Stephanie Truscott's sister had done that to Steph when she was in Disneyland, so I thought it would be fun). Most of my family responded. Maren ended up being the best at it.
We went on soooooo many rides! (Apparently, I found out later, that I was going at break-neck speeds. Jenny and Heidi nicknamed me break-neck Bohne, but hey, you've got to get all over the place quickly!)

Indiana Jones Ride

We had a crazy mishap on Indiana Jones though. We lost Jenny's backpack on the ride! They would actually have to stop the ride to get it and it wasn't worth it just for her. Luckily, another woman dropped hers as well, so they stopped the ride to find both of them. Good thing since our food was in there! We went up to the Swiss Family Robinson Tarzan Treehouse.

Jungle Cruise & Tarzan Treehouse

We went on the Pirate Ship and Mark Twain Steamboat, out to the island in the middle. 

Pirate Ship, Mark Twain Steamboat Ride

Jen & I on the ship

Pirate Ship Mast

Mark Twain Steamboat

Mark Twain Steamboat Paddle

Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion,

Jen & I on Buzz Lightyear

Star Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean (Captain Jack Sparrow in the middle of course), Haunted Mansion

Winnie the Pooh ride (got a picture with Pooh Bear, Eyeore, and Tigger),

Had lunch,

Went to Aladdin's Palace,

Small World, (watched the parade outside), and others.

Nope, the parade hasn't started yet

My tired feet!!!

Isn't Jen beautiful?!

Jen & I waiting for the parade

We went on Splash Mountain at night (dusk), so it was cold!

Cheese!

SPLASH MOUNTAIN!!

I'm hiding behind Susan. :-)

We were going to see the fireworks after dinner (Golden Horseshoe) - chicken strips with barbecue sauce, but we weren't in a designated area, so we  had to keep walking. We stayed until midnight, but no Fantasmic either. :-(

Chicken Strips are gone! French Fries left over.

Can I just say divine!

We decided to go do some karaoke and find the Pirate Captain's Quarters.

Jen was heating it up with Gabriella & Troy :-)

A cannon in the bedroom?

We went on the Matterhorn and the Finding Nemo (Submarine) ride instead.All the rides are so much fun!

I forgot, we ended up on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 3x because we had to get out of line. No complaints here. We love that ride!

Waiting in line.

Waiting First Time

Susan is dangerous!

Waiting Second Time

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad from Tarzan Treehouse.

Waiting Third Time :)

Jen is happy about our Fast Pass 

Fast Passes are the best invention, EVER!

That is where we saw the pirate guy :-) Ha ha ha ! It was so much fun! I love Disneyland!

Notice the skull? Did he just jump out of Pirates of the Caribbean?

Pictures of the Castle and Snow White's Grotto during the day.

Trying to take a picture of myself with Snow White in the background.

I love the cute little girl in her princess dress behind me!

Sleeping Beatuty's Castle

Friday, April 17, 2009

Today was our day for California Adventure! Since it was such a long line the day before, we went and did Space Mountain first. 

SPACE MOUNTAIN! We wanted to go the night before, but we waited for the next day.
It ended up being in our favor, only a 10 minute wait.

We went on Splash Mountain again (in the daytime = SUN) and Jen got soaked. 

Susan & I after Splash Mountain. We are wet, but not as bad as Jen!

Jen is in the middle, soaked to the bone!

We of course got a picture with Goofy in ToonTown. My favorite! We also waited for a long time to get a picture with Mickey. It was worth the wait!

I love Goofy!

Mickey & Me

We tried to wait in line for Cinderella, but the line was too long. We went by this place called Le Petit Chalet which made me think of The Small Chalyce. :)

We went to the 3-D Muppets Theatre which was fun and then went to the Monsters, Inc. ride. We went on Tower of Terror (Jen, Jenny, Heidi, and I) while Susan walked around (which was good since she found Cinderella and stood in line for us to meet up with her). I was a bit apprehensive on Tower of Terror. I was holding the handle really hard as well as Jen's hand. My hands were tingling afterwards, but it was fun.

Oh, the Golden Gate Bridge!

The top of the curtain - kind of hard to see.

Gotta love the Muppets

Inside the Muppet Theatre

That is one big eye!

Mike & Sully

Susan & Sully

CDA are good for behavior training at school? :)

Should I put them on speed dial?

The dreaded elevator!

We are on the left, I'm at the top on the far left.

Closer picture. Yes, Jen is probably feeling me squeezing her hand.

       We ran to where Susan was and ended up being last in line. Lucky us! We had to be the ones to turn others away. I got one with her and then we had the whole group. 

Cinderella & I

Jen, me, Cinderella, Heidi, Susan, & Jenny

We went to Screamin' after that and loved it. Susan loved it (even though she doesn't like roller coasters). I scared Jen a little bit when I said I felt sick before it. Then we went to do Soarin' and Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. (Heimlich - just so we can hear him speak Spanish in a German accent. I tried to record it on my phone, but it didn't work.) I also took a picture in a Britain Phone Booth. 

Calling England?

Superman's Changing Phone Booth

We went to Denny's for dinner and then came back (early) for the fireworks to sit in a designated area. :-) I love fireworks! Especially the ones at Disneyland!

Waiting for the fireworks to begin!

Before the lights come on for the show.

I love it all lit up

It is so beautiful lit up at night.

The change of lights and the fireworks.

Fireworks!

Love the glittering gold ones.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

So, when you get the park hopper pass, you get what is called a "Magical Morning". We got to come on Saturday at 7 A.M. before the park opens. It was actually really cool because there are way less people and kids, so we got to do all the kiddie rides a.k.a. spend time in Fantasy Land! We took a picture by the castle, rode all of the rides in Fantasy Land (just to name a few - Snow White, Peter Pan is one of my favorites!, Dumbo, Storybook Land, and the Carousel), I tried to pull out the Sword in the Stone, and rode Space Mountain and Indiana Jones one more time. It was so much fun!

Our last picture by the gates

Our Magical Morning (with a few others) :-)

Me in front of the castle

Pulling out Trying to pull out the Sword in the Stone 

No one was there this morning. My own store!

My knight in shining armor

Can I take him home with me? Please?!?

Then Jen and I shared a Dole Whip (love them - Hawaii!) and as we walked back to the center I heard - Miss Bohne! Miss Bohne! There was the Pino family and Jace was trying to hide. Mrs. Pino is my room mother, so it was funny to see them (especially Jace - he was not happy to see me). The last ride I went on was Autopia (the cars - which I think is where the new Cars attraction is). 

Walt Disney and Mickey Statue

All of us in front of it (where we saw the Pino's)

Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper

Ha ha ha! High School Musical! Gotta love the craze!

Cars!

Fantasy Land all together.

Cal (I'm by the A)

Cali (By the A)

Gold Car at Autopia (last ride)

California, knows how to party!

On our way out of the Magical Kingdom

Leaving the Happiest Place on Earth

I'm going to live here some day

Susan's last purchase in Disneyland. Yay!

Leaving our hotel

Outside our hotel window

The last stop for souvenirs

I already got my sunglasses here, so I'm good

Our Hotel

Sounds really ritzy, right? French accent?

The keys to the car that will whisk us away. How sad.

We got in the car at 2 to drive home (bummed to be leaving) and switched off driving. I just wrote in my journal and listened to Jen's book on tape about some romance. I love Jen! 

More Semi's, but no one tipped over, thank goodness.

Las Vegas

In-N-Out, not complaining that we went 2x :-)

We stopped in Las Vegas for In-N-Out and to visit a friend of Jenny's. We made it home at 2 A.M., but it was soooo much fun! Definitely a great vacation to remember!

Super cool, awesome Disneyland Trip - Jen, Susan, Chalyce, Jenny, and Heidi