Gymming it up

Today the thoughts of Heidi center around the gym. Well not just today I guess but that past week. I went to the gym for the first time in a too ridiculously long time on Monday and I thought about the experience afterwards.

*As a side note, if you haven't guessed I really have nothing to do while at work. Today I should be researching grad schools but I'm a little on information overload in that area and am trying to work it out in my head first. So today was spent internet shopping and commenting on my book club book. Haha and now that that's explained...*

Okay so the gym: I realized that what I love about going to the gym and working out is not that I get more in shape or tone down, although those are definite benefits! It's really that just the act of doing something makes me feel amazing. I think that as a girl I go on cycles about how I feel about myself, some days are just crappy days and I don't think I look good. And other days I feel awesome (usually after one of my boys tells me I look good but beside the point). But my cycle starts to really spiral downwards if I haven't been doing anything for a while, anything like going to the gym or playing soccer or even walking with the sis'. When I feel bad about how I'm looking, or even just feeling like I'm not looking good, then I get really down and everything seems to get worse. And going to the gym just changes that all around. In one small hour I can go from being annoyed that my back hurts so stinking bad and my shirt doesn't accentuate the right part of, to thinking that I don't care about my back because I'll forget about it soon and the shirt doesn't look that bad. Showering after I've sweated just feels so fulfilling, like the cold water just takes away my bad mood with the soap. Plus even if your excercising doesn't help you lose weight, it has so many amazing benefits! Like petting a dog lowers your blood pressure, just walking and getting your heart rate up helps your body from the inside. I also think that just the act of getting your a** into the gym takes a lot, and you can be proud that you did something. You may not see the results right away but at least you can say you did something with your day.

If I'm having a bad day I buy jelly beans. It's just what I do at school. I go to target and buy jelly belly's, because I'm addicted. I know that I do this and it happens everytime. But when I work out instead it helps so much because I'm not being destructive to myself anymore or making my image of myself worse. I know people who are even more destructive with their habits and I wish I could help them, but the other thing I realized is that your image of yourself, not just your body, but your entire life, has to come from the inside. And if you don't like what you see, it doesn't matter if other people give you advice or tell you different, your opinion is the one you listen to. So you have to kick yourself into gear and change your own life, you can't wait for someone to come along and tell you you're pretty (although it helps ;). And it does no good to complain about your life when you're not doing anything to change it.

Haha I guess that was my soapbox for the day. I didn't expect to go on like that. But I do feel that everyone has bad days and you have to use those bad days to make things better, otherwise things just keep getting worse.

Cali Trip: Act III - San Fran

In this act the cast explores Concord, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Oakland, San Francisco, and the Muir Woods. All in the space of two days.

So this was the last leg of our trip before our 15 hour car trip home. We stayed with Cory's grandparents in Concord which is really pretty. It reminds me of San Diego where my aunt used to live. So we got there and the night that we got there we went to a play called Musical! And it's sort of a parody of all the great screen writers, like Rogers and Hammerstein and Andrew Loyd Webber, but in their parody they're actually honoring them. It was good and really made me want to see all those plays. I love Broadway and LOVE the music. I decided that I'm going to get the music that I'm missing so I can listen to it more often.

The next day we went to the Oakland temple to pick up the grandparents then we drove into San Francisco by way of the Bay Bridge. First of all, Cory's grandfather, I love him because he's constantly talking and telling stories. So we're beginning to go across the bridge and he says, the just fixed one of these spans because it just collapsed during the last earthquake. Okay I'm secretly (or not so secretly) terrified of bridges. I don't know why but they just scare me. So this was THE wrong time to be saying this to me.... I was thinking, oh my gosh, we're going to die, these things are not stable and we'll just go down into the bay. Crap. But we made it across...whew. Then we went to Pier 39 and wandered around the shops and saw the sea lions and Alcatraz. Found out that there are sharks in the bay haha, that was a fun fact. Then we were going up and down the streets, literally. I didn't realize just how steep those streets are, it's insane. I would not have a standard there! We saw the trolleys going all over the place and we even got to drive down Lombard Street; the crookedest street in America! That was a trip, and people actually live off the street, it would be so annoying to me to have to drive down that street every day! Then we went shopping at Macy's, get this, just the women's store, is 7 stories high! It was the biggest deparment store I've ever seen.

The next day we took a little day trip to the other side of the bay, across from the Golden Gate, although we didn't get to drive over it. On the way to the Muir woods we saw San Quinton, which I have to say is a massive and scary looking prison. We were going to the Muir Woods to see the huge redwood trees. These are not the incredibly massive ones that you can supposedly drive your car through, they are still huge. This forest was so pretty looking and it was crazy because the trees have a damping effect, so even though there were tons of people there it was still so quiet. It was one of the prettiest places I've ever seen. I felt like an ant walking around in the trees. And the dear that were there so didn't care about us, they were just munchin away on grass. And there were like thousands of ladybugs flying around! It was so insane, they were all over the place. There's one picture where it looks like I have a sock puppet on my hand but really I was just examining the huge ladybugs that kept landing on me. And everything was bigger there. The clovers were as big as my palm it was crazy. Then after that we drove down to a beach by the Pacific. I nearly upchuckied my cheese because the road was so windy right along the cliffs of the coast but the beach was really pretty. It always amazes me to look out on the ocean and just see water....

So that was our trip, there was lots of shopping thrown in there but those are the highlights!

Jokes for the trip:

• Geez if we were going 97 we'd be there by now!! (haha speeding....)
• Oh it's closed because someone got their arm cut off. (true story)
• Maybe they like that here, it is California.
• Oh my gosh I've never heard this song!?!?!?! (What You Got - Colby O'Donis)

Cali Trip: Act II - Tahoan

In this act we are in Tahoe California, Trukee, and Kings Beach.

This is the part of our trip where we spent the longest amount of time. 7 days to be exact. You might notice the disparity of number of pictures compared to any other act of our trip. Well there's good reason for this. First, we didn't do much, we relaxed!! Second, neither one of us did our hair the entire time or ever really got in real clothes, we lounged in pajamas. Haha it was glorious. Cory's mom was with us for about half the week so we sat and watched Veronica Mars season DVDs and an Aussie soap that Cory now has me addicted too.... We also played dominoes and Gin Rummy and read magazines and books and slept late and walked. Oh all the things you love to do when you relax. We actually only went to the beach one day out of 7 because it was kind of cold, and windy. And I don't do wind. I think it is an unnecessary weather pattern. Actually no because it's probably the most useful but really it bothers me. I don't enjoy it at all. But anyway, back to relaxing....oh wait that's all there was. We made some excursions into Trukee which was a fun small town. We shopped a little there had an amazing sugar cookie. At least I think it was amazing....Kelly ate most of it before I could get to it. Haha.

This act was fun because we just sat around talking and laughing and having fun. Making fun of characters on the shows, debating story lines and other such fun things as this. It was a little tense when I beat Kelly at dominoes, but the rematch was bad luck bears for Heidi so she was happy again after that :). I must also say that I freakin loved being cold. It was Paradise for me being able to be in sweats and a hoodie under a blanket on the couch watching tv. Paradise.

Thus ends Act II of Cali Trip. After a short intermission the cast will return for their final Act. Feel free to enjoy snacks or other delectables you may have brought with you.

Cali Trip: Act I - Disneyness

The beginning of the end. It was a cold dark night when we arrived... Haha just kidding, really it's just the beginning of my trip. We'll go step by step through this so it's not one giant long post with 4000 pictures....

Okay so this the beginning of our trip, the Disney portion of our adventure. So we were in Anaheim for three days. I wish I could show you the hotel we stayed in. It was the California Grand Hotel located right almost inside California adventure. From the first two pics you can see how close we were and the view we could get of some of the rides. So our first day we spent at California Adventure which houses such rides as Tower of Terror, California Screamin' (the roller coaster with mickey's ears), and Soarin' Over California. We rode Tower 3 times throughout the day, it got better each time and I got more nervous each time. Possibly because I knew what was coming. Although the first time totally caught me OFF guard because it's set up differently than the one in Florida so I wasn't expecting the switch up. We rode California Screamin' twice, it's an awesome roller coaster that goes around Mickey's ears and up and down. It's one of those ones that starts you off with jet propulsion which I think makes it better because the creaking up hills really stresses me out because I can't stop thinking about all the forces and how much stress must be in it. Haha lame I know. Soarin' Over California is this cool ride that is like a 3d ride because you're sitting in a chair and they lift you up so your feet are dangling then you're in front of a huge screen and they turn you and have air blowing in your face so you feel like you're flying. And the pictures were cool, all the different parts of Cali. We were a little sad that we didn't get to ride the ferris wheel, it has gondolas that move, they go around a track so it's like a ride ferris wheel. But they stopped it right before we got on... We also were delayed in riding a crazy town ride that is about Goofy and his roadtrips. But what's significant about it being delayed is that we walked past and it wasn't open so Kelly (Cory's mom) went to ask why not. She comes back and says "It's closed for a while because someone got their arm cut off in the ride." I think my reaction was "Oh my gosh are you serious?" And these other people eavesdropping like gasped, and then Kelly goes "No of course not, they wouldn't tell me that." Haha funniest thing ever also because of the foreign people listening in to our convo. Oh it made me laugh the entire time we were there. So that was CA Adventure, so much fun!

The next day was Disney itself where the old school rides are like Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Indy, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and stuff like that. They were all so much fun. It was fun to plan out where we were going next and then go across the park back and forth to all of the things. For Splash Mountain it was funny because through the entire trip we were really lucky in getting to be at the front of all the lines (like Tower we sat in the front row twice out of three rides) and SM was no exception. So we're going up and realize we're going to be in the front of the ride (i.e. the soaking portion). So Kelly says oh I'll just sit in the back okay? You two get the front. Then Cory says Heidi I want you to sit in the front.... So Heidi sits in the front, and gets completely drenched.... Haha it was pretty funny though, seriously there was one dry portion on my back....And I loved the realization that your butt is always the last thing to dry out! We also saw this little production of the history of Disneyland, since it was the first one ever. It was cool, Steve Martin hosted and I didn't know that he got his start at Disneyland. I think that's so cool!

Overall it was such a fun part of the vacay and I bought lots of fun stuff! I also realized about myself though that I am not exactly a people person. I mean I can handle the crowds because I was expecting them, but when you can't get any open space around you because 13 year old little brats are talking to their friends and cutting you in line, I get a little annoyed... The little kids though running around are so freakin adorable because you can tell they are just loving being there. Even the ones who are almost shaking because they're so scared to go on Tower of Terror. Alright, so ends the saga of Cali Trip: Act I - Disney.

Getting there

Okay I know I've been totally slacking on blogging about my amazing trip. And side note: Yes Kara, I had never been to Disneyland, it's quite amazing I know but somehow I managed it.

So I'm getting to the blogging part about my trip it's just taking time to get pictures of everything all organized and I don't want to post something with no pictures because no pictures = no fun! Haha sometimes I think the only reason I do things is to have pictures. So more about my trip to come.

So instead of writing about my trip I'll write about something random that's kind of annoying me. So FEMA had a surplus of supplies and they gave it away. WHOA HOW CAN THEY DO SUCH A THING?!?!?! Well that's what people in New Orleans are saying because they're victims of Hurricane Katrina and they need all that stuff. Well FEMA asked all the states if they needed the stuff before they gave it away to the National Guard and other things like that. 16 states said they didn't need anything, including Louisiana. So people in New Orleans are MAD at FEMA saying that we say we care about the welfare of the world but we can't even take care of our own citizens and blah blah blah. Come on here people, don't be as stupid as you look. It's not like FEMA said oh we hate those people who were in the hurricane that was 3 years ago, so we're not going to give them anything. No, they asked the state if they wanted it and they said no. It's also not like that disaster was the only one we've had and those people deserve special treatment because they're sad. No. There are disasters every day like tornadoes in the sunbelt and fires in the west. FEMA also didn't just give that stuff to other countries and said screw America. All the millions of dollars of stuff went TO THE NEEDY in America. Now I feel bad that those people lost their homes and that New Orleans is stupid enough to have crappy levees and live below sea level. That makes me sad, but seriously get over yourselves and see the bigger picture. And don't blame FEMA, try starting out smaller and asking your own state government why they didn't ask for some.

Quizness/Tagging - Finally

Okay so I was challenged not once but TWICE to do this game and so what can I do but actually do it haha. So here we go, fun blogger game:

How to play this game: Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3 JOYS: Sitting with my family or friends and laughing, Working out, Reading (books like the classics and just the news or interesting stories)

3 FEARS: That I won't be good as an engineer, or whatever I do in the real world, as I am in school, That I will disappoint the people I love, That someday I won't be able to do the things I want to do physically or mentally

3 GOALS: To get my PhD. so I can teach (and also be Dr. Heidi haha), To learn at least something about everything (basically aspire to be my father), To have an awesome husband and family

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS: Um... currently obsessed with reading since I sadly only have time for it in the summer (I accumulate books through the school year then buy even more in the summer, I'm about 12 behind right now), I obsess/collect purses although the price is not discriminatory, I obsess about working out in my head but it doesn't translate as well as I'd like to my actual behavior

3 SURPRISING FACTS: Whenever I'm sitting at my desk or in the car I do muscle excercises like ab contractions so I can feel like I'm working out, I'm a big fan of exotic Italian cars, I love to be at home most the time and with my family, although partying and friends have their benefits

And the two people I know who have blogs and actually read mine already did this and tagged me! So I don't have 5 people to recommend....maybe some day.