New Year!

Gotta love Christmas break. Unfortunately my plans to go play at Disney World for a week were shattered when I got sick.. :( But other than that it's been a pretty nice break. I've found that I like coming home so much more than I did last year.

So, it's almost the new year. And I'm going to do what 99 percent of people do at this point..make goals for the new year that will likely be shot by February. It's worth a try though, right? Here's a few:

1. Keep resolutions
2. Get in shape
3. Eat better
4. Cook meals
5. Go to bed early

Haha we'll see how this goes. They're the pretty simple goals every one makes but we'll see how they go for me. Good luck everyone :P

Outside my window: Snow...lots of snow...please go away please and thank you :)

Brag Moment.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. While I could be referring to the fabulous Christmas season that I'm so excited for or the fact that in a little over a week I'll be half way done with college, I'm actually referring to the fabulous season knows as College Football. Every year my family participates in ESPN's College Pick'em. And every year I get either 1st or 2nd place. This year I'm back on top at #1. Go team. :) That's right..94 percent accuracy and 550 total points. Granted I am still ranked in the thousands overall, but I do get bragging rights in the Matheson family..at least until March Madness (predicting college basketball is not my forte).

If you don't believe me, check it out :)

The semester is almost over..finally. Hopefully I'll like my classes better next semester. I am beyond grateful that I am almost done with ISys and Finance. Next semester is going to be crazy busy, but hopefully it's not all school. I have my internship with the Utah Flash and a job in the Marriott Undergraduate Advisement Center. I'm also a campus rep for the Disney college program and will be taking a full class schedule. I'm definitely going to need to be more organized. But it should be a good, fun semester.

Next week, I'm half way through college. Yes way.

Outside my window: December? doesn't look like it. Complaints? absolutely not.

Weekend Assignment #2

Stress? We're all stressed. It's the week before finals and obviously everyone has way too much stuff to do and way too little motivation to get any of it done. But if we were to all help each other out a little bit, could we diminish the stress a little? I think so. This week my wonderful, fabulous roommate Ju turned the big 2-0. She is no longer a teenager. Exciting? I think so. She had a lot going on on her birthday--so much that it definitely shouldn't have been legal. So what did I do? Grabbed my other two roommates and spent part of the crazy afternoon making BTS cake and finding some friends who were home to celebrate with us. It gave everyone the chance to breathe and have a good time with friends and get re-energized for whatever else they had going on that night and for the rest of the week. So much fun. And me and Ju definitely devoured the leftover cake the next day. So worth the calories. :)

Outside my window: A beautiful winter day that totally doesn't feel like December. I'm loving it :)

Wiiiiinding down.

One week left of class. 4 days. 2 projects. 4 finals. Go team. I'm pretty excited. This semester has been pretty fun and definitely better than last year but I am so ready for it to be over. Christmas break is going to be fabulous, I can tell. I'm spending a week in Florida which will be so very much fun. I can't wait! And the time before that will be spent probably going crazy with my cute little sister. I swear last week during Thanksgiving break our family was going to kill us, especially my sister and her husband. Haha oh he has to love his sisters in law. Tonight I start my internship with the Utah Flash NBA Developmental League team. Pretty excited but kinda nervous. It'll be different and interesting but I think I'm ready. I've been watching way too much Gilmore Girls lately...gotta love living vicariously through fictional characters' lives when there's nothing going on in your own. Ahhh good times. Almost done.

Outside my window: cold snow.

Thankful Fors

It's Thanksgiving week. A gratitude list seems appropriate. And beyond the basic obvious ones like the gospel, family, and friends, here's some random, simple things that make life a little better that I'm grateful for:

1. A hug from your parents
2.  Cute little babies
3. Oreos dipped in cookies-and-cream ice cream 
4. An A
5. Catching a really good highlight reel on ESPN 
6. The smell of spring flowers
7. Hot chocolate on a cold day
8. Cold water on a hot day
9. The sound of a rainstorm
10. Movie nights
11. Pumpkin pie
12. Parties
13. Fields of tall grass
14. Horses
15. Water tubing
16. Good music
17. Fresh rolls dipped in gravy
18. New places
19. Good smelling candles
20. Fresh fruit
21. FHE
22. Warm blankets while it's snowing
23. Baby laughs
24. Christmas lights
25. The holidays in general
26. Cuddling
27. Girls nights out
28. The sound of the rain on the roof
29. Cake
30. Summer nights
31. Dancing
32. Fruit smoothies
33. Palm trees
34. Hot showers
35. Snowflakes
36. Bare feet
37. Long walks
38. Long talks
39. Smiles from a cute stranger
40. Road trips
41. Early summer days when you can open all the windows
42. Crickets
43. Dreams
44. Snow covered pine trees
45. The feeling of cool grass beneath your feet
46. Outdoor cafes
47. Pancakes with maple syrup
48. Sleeping longer than 6 hours
49. Pretty pictures
50. Big fuzzy sweatshirts
51. Fountains
52. Sunny days
53. Christmas trees on top of cars
54. Sand
55. Meditation
56. Photography
57. The color of leaves in the fall
58. Hot apple cider
59. Goldfish (the cracker)
60. Summer sun
61. Starry skies
62. Swimming pools
63. Pranks
64. Perfume
65. Halloween pumpkins
66. Ocean Waves
67. Good workouts
68. The way leaves swirl in the wind
69. My Mom and Dad
70. Freedom
71. Fireworks
72. Chocolate
73. Disney
74. Santa Claus
75. Picnics
76. Mountains
77. Hugs
78. Butterflies
79. Butterflies in your stomach
80. The sound of birds chirping
81. Stormy days
82. A roaring fireplace
83. Smiles
84. Helping others
85. Fun
86. New experiences
87. Life itself
88. Love
89. Berries
90. Walking barefoot in grass.
91. Listening to good music in the car.
92. Taking a long, relaxing shower
93. A good movie
94. Finding $20 in your pocket
95. Watching the sunrise
96. Walking on the beach
97. A morning run
98. Waking up and realizing you have a few more hours to sleep
99. Watching the sunset
100. Talking to someone you haven't seen in a while
101. Dark chocolate
102. Dancing like you’re crazy
103. Telling jokes till your sides ache
104. A long conversation with a good friend
105. Lemonade
106. Kissing in the rain
107. Being lazy on a Sunday
108. Waking to a clean house
109. An uncluttered room
110. Banana splits
111. Pillow fights
112. Fries and frosties
113. Singing in the shower, loudly
114. Dancing in the rain and stomping in puddles
115. A cold glass of milk with a sticky peanut butter sandwich
116. Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies
117. Helping someone in need
118. Making someone smile
119. Homemade pie
120. A nature hike
121. Laying back and watching the stars
122. Making a sandcastle
123. Floating in the water
124. Taking an afternoon nap
125. Watching little kids on Christmas morning
126. Laying back and looking up at clouds
127. Watching the ocean
128. Getting a massage
129. BTS cake (or BTBTLOC cake...)
130. Acting crazy in public
131. Seeing your savings account grow
132. Blowing bubbles
133. Food. I love food.
134. The feeling after a good workout
135. Checking something off your to-do list
136. Playing a good game of basketball, football, soccer...
137. A clear desk
138. Fresh popped popcorn
139. A fresh snow
140. Swinging on a swing
141. Homemade strawberry shortcake
142. Playing hooky
143. Staying up all night talking
144. Swimming at night
145. Knowing you did your best
146. Going home after being away
147. Watching little kid shows and remember how great it was to be that young
148. Accomplishing a goal
149. Daydreaming
150. Having a plan for the future..and while you know it won't work out exactly how you've planned, it'll all work out in the end :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Outside my window: snow. I'll be okay with it until New Year's...and then it should probably leave.

Shut the door..the farmer's coming!

Who doesn't love a good inside joke?

This past weekend my roommates and I got all bundled up and my awesome sister took pictures of us. Hundreds of them.

And with those hours of picture taking, several inside jokes were brought up, and a few more were created. Inside jokes along with lots of random, funny phrases...here's just a few.

Beth's gonna hate me

Shut the door, the farmer's coming!

Jump!

Apparently Beth can't..

Well that was stupid..

Let's make sad faces again!

 Defection!

I guess we weren't supposed to throw them yet?..

Holly struggles..

Something about being Bigger and Tanner...

Can I get an epic with that fail?

Lindsay's fat picture..

"Did you just say Lindsay's fat? That totally made my day!"

I've got dirt on my hand! :(

That's nasty.

I know I know I know I know!

B 'n' B baby

Aw we're so great.

 And Rascal Flatts' new CD is pretty great too. Just sayin.

Outside my window: Crispy autumn leaves that remind me that it's almost time for Thanksgiving break :D

I should take more pictures..

Last night was great.

Chocolate in the bowl. Oreos on the counter. Milk in our amazing massive mugs.

This year has been so busy and so crazy. The three awesome girls that I live with and I hardly ever get to all hang out together. Everyone has their own schedule and things to get done and their own sleeping patterns. We hardly ever get to all sit around and laugh and talk together. Last night was full of chocolate, laughing, boy stories, and bonding time. I love my girls, and with everything going on it's been hard lately. We are all so different, and yet have quite a bit in common. ("Defection!") It's nights like last night where I remind myself that people really are put into our lives for a reason and that we have to find those times where we can make the most of the simple things in life.

I just wish I had pictures of it. I really should take more pictures.

I love my Foxy ladies!

Outside my window: The west side of the Tanner building full of sleeping and studying people.

And the winner is...

Mike Lee. :) Go team. For those of you who don't know, my dad has been working for the last long while for Mike Lee, who is now the senator elect for the state of Utah. Yes, we won. :) Then again it's not a huge surprise seeing as he was the Republican candidate and there's hardly ever a democrat who wins in this state. (Yes, Matheson did win. And it's only cuz he has a great last name, let's be honest.) It was a really fun night full of music and speeches and so much yummy food. We definitely went from room to room tasting the food. There was so much of it and I definitely felt like throwing up by the end. Oh, and I was on TV. :P Well, the side/back of my head was. My dad had several shining moments on camera. After all he is the one who gets to introduce Mike all the time and make sure his speeches are fabulous. It was a really fun night and great to have the entire family together celebrating. So, great job team. Hurray for the chance to vote, I hope you all took the chance to vote and exercise your rights in this country. That's all for now. :)

Outside my window: dark and not so cold. Yay. :)

101 Ways to Live Your Life to the Fullest

So I found this page called the Personal Excellence Blog. They had a list of 101 ways to live your life to the fullest..and I thought it was pretty great. So here's my thoughts on the items in the list..(warning: there really are 101)

1. Live every day on a fresh new start. Don’t be held back by what happened yesterday, the day before, the week before, the year before, and so on.Thoughts of yesterday really can just drag you down. Who cares about the speeding ticket or bad grade yesterday or last week? Let it go..it's in the past. ("You gotta put your behind in your past" according to Pumba)
   
   
2. Be true to who you are. Stop trying to please other people or be someone else. It’s better to be an original version of yourself than an exact duplicate of someone else. Seriously, where's the fun in being someone else?
3. Quit complaining. Don’t be like the howling dog, always howling and never doing anything. Stop complaining about your problems and work on them instead. In a lot of discussions so much more time is spent on the problem than the solution. Identify the problem and move on!
4. Be proactive. Stop waiting for others around you to do something and take action yourself instead. If everyone is waiting for everyone else, nothing will ever get done. 
5. Rather than think “what if”, think “next time”. Don’t think about things you can’t change (namely what has happened and thoughts of other people) or unhappy things because these are disempowering. Instead focus on the things you can action upon. That’s the most constructive thing you can do in any situation. We always here the "what I planned, what I did, what I should've done" phrase..again, it's in the past. Move on and plan for better next time.
6. Focus on WHAT vs. How. Focus on WHAT you want first, before you think about HOW to do it. Anything is possible, as long as you set your mind, heart and soul to it. It's "ready, aim, fire" not "ready, fire, aim" right?
7. Create your own opportunities. You can wait for opportunities to drop in life. Or, you can go out there and create your own opportunities. The latter is definite and much more empowering. Things are hardly ever going to land in your lap and fall in a row. Make your own life happen.
8. Live more consciously each day. Stop sleepwalking through life. Your life is something to be experienced, not coasted through. This is so hard for me. I go into autopilot mode all the time. Think about what you're doing and why you're doing it. Focus.
9. Be committed to your growth. In the Map of Consciousness, there are 17 levels of consciousness – from Shame to Enlightenment. The higher level of consciousness you are in, the richer your life experience. Achieving higher consciousness comes from your commitment to growth. If you want to stay in the same place you are in life, go into that autopilot mode. You won't move. But if you want to get farther and grow, take charge of that growth. Make it happen.
10. Know your inner self. This means knowing who you are and what you represent. Be clear of your personal identity. How often do we, especially as college students, really take time to just sit and think about ourselves? In order to grow and make a difference for others, we have to be able to get to know ourselves. On a spiritual note, even the Savior took time for Himself during His ministry. We should definitely follow His example.
    
    
    
11. Discover your real life purpose. Set the mission statement for your life; one that will drive you to life your life to the fullest. When I come up with one, I'll blog about it.
12. Live in alignment with your purpose. What can you start doing immediately that will let you live 100% in alignment with your purpose? How can you live true to your purpose within every context/situation/environment you are in, every second of the day? Immediately, 100%, every, true...sounds intense. Just do your best, have a goal :)
13. Set your life commandments. Define your personal commandments to live your best life. What adages and principles do you want to follow in your life? Thou shalt not kill. I work on it everyday.
14. Discover your values. Values are the essence of what makes you, you. Family. Gospel. Friends...
15. Hold yourself to the highest conduct. Every one of us have our own set of ethics, principles and moral codes. Live true to them every day. Also, live in full alignment with your purpose (#11), commandments (#13) and values (#14). It makes a large list of things to live up to. One day at a time..
16. Design your ideal life. What is your ideal life? Design it. First, assess your life at the moment via the life wheel. Then, ask yourself what it takes to live a 10/10 life (in all 10 areas – career, health, love, social, etc…). What is the life that will make you the best person you can ever be? Set your BHAGs – big, hairy and audacious goals! There are no limits in life – only those you set for yourself! This itself is a huge list. Kind of overwhelming hoping that I'll accomplish all of it.
17. Stop putting life on hold. Are you putting any parts of your life on hold? What is one area of your life you have been putting off/avoiding/denying? Uncover it and start working on it. Basically everything is on hold until I finish school it seems like..I should work on that.
18. Create your life handbook. Your life handbook is your life-long personal manual to live your best life – from your mission statement, your values, your long-term goals, short-term goals, personal strengths, blind spots to address, plans, among others. Create your book first then build on from there.
19. Set your goals. After you design your ideal life, set your 5-year, 3-year and 1-year goals. The more specific your goals, the better!  I'll be honest, doing this stresses me out.
    
    
    
20. Take action on your goals and dreams. Create an action plan with your strategy, plan and immediate next steps. 
21. Create your bucket list, i.e. things to do before you die. Then, get out to achieve them.
22. Don’t do things for the sake of doing them. Always evaluate what you’re doing and only do it if there is meaning behind them. Don’t be afraid to quit the things that don’t serve your path. This is something that has always been hard for me. It took a messed up arm to get me to quit piano even though I probably should've quit earlier..but hey, it worked out.
23. Do the things you love, because life is too precious to spend it doing anything else. If you don’t enjoy something, then don’t do it. Spend your time and energy on things that bring you fulfillment and happiness. Right now I'm trying to find something I really love doing to distract me from how much I don't really love school. Unfortunately I might not have time until next semester.
24. Discover your passion in life. What sets you on fire? Go out there (and explore inward) to know what you love to do.
25. Make your passion a full-fledged career. Then, start pursuing it. Stop working in a job you are passionless towards. Quit your job when you are ready to do it full-time.
26. Turn your passion into a huge success. Turn your passion into a multi-million dollar business. Better yet, make it a multi-billion dollar one. Wouldn't that be nice?
27. Learn from criticism. Be open to criticism but don’t be affected by it. Criticism is meant to help you be a better person. Learn from it. Another thing I could definitely work on.
28. Be positive. Is the glass half empty or half full? How about neither? It’s actually all-full – the bottom half is water, the top half is air. It’s all a matter of perception. Take on empowering perceptions, not those that bind you. If you can see the positive sides of every thing, you’ll be able to live a much richer life than others. And another..

29. Do unto others what you would like others to do unto you. The law of reciprocity – Golden Rule
30. Don’t complain or badmouth about other people.
31. Be empathetic. If everyone only see life from his/her own perspective, we’ll forever be close-minded and insular. See things from others’ shoes.
32. Be a compassionate person. Show compassion and kindness to everyone around you
33. Develop 100% self-belief. Believe in yourself and your abilities. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you?
34. Let go of unhappy past. This means past grievances, heartbreaks, sadness, disappointments, etc.
35. Forgive those who may have done you wrong in the past. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize it was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
36. Let go of attachments. Don’t fixate yourself with a certain status, fame, wealth or material possessions. These are impermanent and will ultimately disappear one day when you die. Focus on growing and living life to the fullest instead.
37. Let go of relationships that do not serve you. That means negative people, dishonest people, people who don’t respect you, people who make you feel bad about yourself and relationships that prevent you from growing.
38. Spend more time with people who enable you. Hang out with people who you compatible with, like-minded people, people who are positive, successful, strong achievers and positive for your growth. You are after all the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
    
    
39. Build genuine, authentic connections with people around you – strangers, friends, family, colleagues, business partners, customers/clients, etc. Spend more time to know them better and foster stronger connections.
40. Connect with an old friend. There is no end to the number of friends you can have. Reach out to people from the past.
41. Do a kind deed a day. What is something you can do today that will make the world a better place? Go and do it.
42. Help other people who are in need. Voluntarism is one outlet. You can also start with your friends and family.
43. Help people when they least expect it, without reason. You don’t need any reason to help others. Do it because you want to. Share the love with everyone.
44. Go dating (if you’re single).
    
45. Fall in love ♥
46. Review your life. Set a weekly review session to assess how you are doing for your goals and your life. Review your purpose once every 3-6 months too so you know you’re on the right path.
47. Overcome procrastination. Procrastination is a huge waste of your time (and your life). Get rid of it once and for all.
48. 30 minutes a day. Set aside at least 30 minutes every day to work on a quadrant 2 goal that, when you achieve it, will bring about the biggest source of fulfillment and happiness in your life
49. Get out there and make new friends – whether in your workplace, online, friends’ friends, social groups, etc.
50. Be your advisor (from the future). Imagine you’re the future you, 5 years later. How would you advise yourself? Write it down. Now, apply them. Check out a related article #17: Future Prediction Exercise in The Personal Excellence Book, which is about predicting your future then learning from it.
51. Write a letter to your future self. Actually, write 3 letters – for yourself in 1, 3 and 5 years. The longer the letters, the better. Envision how you’ll be like in the future. Make each letter a minimum 2 pages long. Now, seal them and put them in a safe place. Set it in your calendar so you’ll know to open them when it’s time. This will inspire you to work your hardest and achieve your maximum results in the time period.

52. Declutter. Start from your computer, then your table, your room, your bag/wallet, and your home. The more you throw the unwanted and old stuff away, the more room you’re creating for new things to enter.
53. Keep learning. There is something to learn from everything you see, hear and experience. This includes your mistakes and past misshaps (if any). Learn to interpret each event objectively. Focus on what you can learn from it so you can apply them moving forward.
54. Keep developing yourself. Equip yourself with a huge breadth of knowledge. Learn different skills, pick up different hobbies, study different fields.
55. Keep upgrading yourself. Equip yourself with a huge depth of knowledge. While you can usually only level up to 99 in video games, in real life you can level up to infinity. Go for further studies if need be. Develop your skills. Level up. Build your >10,000 hours in each skill.
56. Try new things. What’s something you’d normally not do? Get out of your comfort zone try something different. It can be something simple like taking a new bus route, trying a new food item, picking up a new hobby, or something bigger like studying a different field, picking a new skill, traveling to a country you’ll never visit, etc. You set your own limits.
57. Get yourself out there. This applies for everything. (a) Get out there geographically. Go out, travel and explore the world. Set sail into the sea. Go backpacking by yourself and visit as many countries as possible. Get on a road trip and visit the different places that come out. (B) Get out there situationally. Stop sticking to routines and comfort zones. Try something different. (c) Get out there in life. Stop watching TV and living vicariously through the TV characters. Go and live the life of your dreams.
58. Be the absolute best in what you do. Go for the #1 position in what you do. If you want to spend your time doing something, you might as well be the best in it. Strive for the best – you don’t deserve anything lesser than that.
59. Don’t settle. In the same lines as #58, don’t settle for less. Don’t settle for someone you don’t like as your partner. Don’t settle for a job you don’t like #25). Don’t settle for friends who make you feel like a lesser person (#37). Don’t settle for a weight you are unhappy with. Go for what you really want.
60. Stretch yourself. What are you doing now? How can you achieve more? Set bigger goals. Explore your limits and break them.
61. Embrace new ideas. Don’t mentally limit yourself; Let your mind be a breeding ground for new ideas.
    
    
62. Create your inspirational haven. Turn your room into a place you love. Do the same for your work desk. Get rid of things that make you unproductive. Surround it with things that inspire you and trigger you to action.
63. Behave as your ideal self will. All of us have an ideal vision of who we want to be. How is your ideal self like? How can you start to be that ideal self now?
64. Set your role models in life. With role models, you become much better than you can be by yourself. I personally am inspired by Tyra Banks (for her passion for helping women build their self-esteem and changing notions of beauty), Ivanka Trump (for her success, intellect and beauty), Donald Trump (for his success and drive in life), Oprah (for being who she is), Lady Gaga (for her talent and not being afraid to be different), and many more. Seeing them and what they do reminds me of what I can be and what I can do, so they drive me on to greater heights.
65. Get mentors and/or coaches. There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone work with you on your goals. Not only will they drive you to achieve more for yourself, they’ll also share with you important advice which you can use to create even more success for yourself. Many of my clients approach me to coach them and the net result: they achieve significantly more progress and results in their life than if they had worked alone.
66. Uncover your blind spots. The more you uncover, the more you grow, the better you become.
67. Increase your consciousness. The more conscious you are, the more evolved you become.
68. Ask for feedback. As much as we try to uncover our blind spots (#66), there will be areas we cannot identify. Asking for feedback gives us an additional perspective. Some people to approach will be friends, family, colleagues, boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.
69. Generate passive income. Create passive income streams so your income is not tied to the time you spend on your work. Of course you’ll still continue to work, but only because you want to and not because you have to.
70. Help others live their best lives. There is no better way to grow than to help others grow. Ultimately, the world is one. As High School Musical says..we are all in this together.
71. Get married / Start your family / Have kids! Someday haha..
72. Improve the world. There are many things in the world that needs your attention and help. Poverty. Disaster recovery. Illiteracy. Children in need. Depleting rainforests. Animal rescue. Endangered species. How can you do your part? Find it.
73. Spearhead a humanitarian cause/organization you are passionate about.
74. Give more value than you receive. There is so much unspeakable joy that comes from giving. And when you keep giving, you’ll find that you actually receive a lot more in return, in spades.
75. Be big picture focus. You can either set your eyes on the big things or get hung up by the nitty gritty details. The former will help you get a lot more out of life than the latter. Focus on the big rocks in life and put first things first (Quadrant 2 tasks). Practice the 80/20 rule – focus on the 20% things that give you the 80% fulfillment in life.
76. Be clear of your end objective. What is the end goal you seek? Is what you’re doing bringing you there? If not, put it aside. As long as you keep taking on things that meets your end goal, you’ll eventually reach there.
77. Go the 80/20 route. For every goal you have, there are different paths to achieve it. Pick out the 80/20 path, i.e. the most effective path that brings you there the fastest with least amount of effort.
78. Prioritize (80/20 actions). As you embark on the 80/20 path for your goals, focus on the important tasks and cut out the less important ones. That means do the 20% actions that give you the 80% results.
79. Live in the moment. Are your thoughts wandering around all the time? Calm your mind down. Be present. The only time you’re ever living is in this moment. Meditation helps to remove mental clutter.
80. Relish in the little moments. Snuggling under warm covers on a rainy day. Ice cream on a hot day. A kiss with your loved one. Being with your best friend. A walk by the park. The breeze on your face. Quiet, alone time. Watching the sun rise/set. Soak in all these little moments of life. They are what make up your life. Aw :) So true.
81. Take a break. Being the best also requires you to take breaks when needed. Make sure you rest when needed. Doing so lets you walk the longer mile ahead.
82. Stop wanting things a certain way. I wrote a 3-part series before on the downsides of perfectionism and how to overcome them. Be firm on your end goals and your ideals, but let go of the fixation that things have to be a certain way. You’ll realize it’s by doing that that you achieve what you want.
    
    
83. Focus on creation. I love flowers :)
84. Don’t criticize or judge others. Respect others for who they are.
85. The only person you can change is yourself. Stop expecting others to behave in a certain way. Rather than demand that others around you change, focus on changing yourself. You’ll be happier and live a more fulfilling life this way.
86. Embrace gratitude. Be grateful for everything you have today, and everything you will get in the future.
87. Express gratitude. Let the people who’ve touched you know of your gratitude towards them. You’ll be surprised what a little act like this can do. If you don’t tell them, they’ll never know.
88. Let loose and have fun. Sing at the top of your lungs. Dance in the rain . Run barefoot and feel the ground underneath your feet. Release of your self-imposed shackles and be free .
89. Get into nature. Many of us live in concrete jungles. Soak in the beauty of nature.
90. You have a choice. Recognize you always have a choice in how to live your life.
91. Laugh more . Are you reading this with a straight face? Smile and have fun .
92. Embrace change. The only thing that’s constant is change. Change means growth. Rather than resist change, learn to versatile such that you can make the best out of the changes that come. In fact, become an agent of change.
93. Be more risk-inclined. Don’t be afraid to take risks. The bigger your risks, the bigger your return.
94. Embrace mistakes. The more mistakes you make, the faster you learn. Make sure to draw lessons so you can build on them. (#53)
95. Embrace disappointments. Many people try to avoid feeling disappointed. They develop a resistant relationship with disappointment. However, disappointment is part and parcel of being human – it reflects your real passions. Don’t resist it – instead, embrace it. Understand it, then channel into it to create more in life.

96. Challenge your fears. All of us have fears. Fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, fear of risk… All our fears keep us in the same position and prevent us from growing. Rather than avoid your fears, recognize they are the compass for growth. Address and overcome them.
97. Maximize your mind, body, heart and soul. Living your best life requires you to maximize yourself mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. If you’re highly successful, very materially abundant, have a big circle of friends, very spiritually aware but you neglect your physical health, that’s not living your life to the fullest. The same for other scenarios where a part of you is blocked off. Maximize all 4 aspects of you.
98. Be your best self. Essentially all the articles here at The Personal Excellence Blog are about being your best self and achieving your highest potential. It’s only through being the best we can be that we live our life to the fullest. This is why the motto of the site is “Be your best self, Live your best life“.
99. Love yourself. You are the person you have to live with for the rest with your life. Treasure and love yourself.
100. Love others. Be grateful for all the people around you because they help you to grow. They enrich your life experience. Without them, your life would not have been the same.
101. Last but not least: Love life. I always find living to be a fascinating experience. How we’re all on earth, with millions of species, over 7 billion people, and all thriving in its own way, existing, co-existing and in co-creation mode. There’s so much we don’t know out there, so much to be experienced in life, that it’s just wonderful. 

101 things. A lot to work on. A lot to live up to. A lot to aspire to. A lot to fulfill. Ready, go :)

Outside my window: pretty leaves and blue sky. Hopefully it sticks around for a while longer ;)

"Give her some slack, then reel her in. Then give her some slack..."

K first of all, BCS standings...8 out of the top 10 teams are undefeated..and the 2 that aren't used to be ranked 1 and 2. Go figure.  Second, I have a working phone again. Yay. :)

On Sunday I went to the mission farewell for Foxwood #103's dear friend, Elder Thomas Biggs. It was wonderful--he did such an amazing job! Not to mention we're basically the best-looking fan club he could've asked for. :P





After the farewell and pictures and running back to Provo so that Beth could play piano for our amazing ward choir, I went home and relaxed. I'd finished just the day before a week of death and definitely deserved it. Me and Beth (ok, basically just Beth) made and awesome dinner of mashed potatoes, steak and peas. It was pretty great especially since the only real food I'd had in the previous two days was a Cafe Rio Salad (again, courtesy of Beth. Isn't she the greatest?). And then I made these amazing pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with my good friend Ethan Cook. You'd think with his last name he's pretty much be professional but he was mostly the best at eating the batter. He looked pretty darn good though:

It is definitely the greatest apron ever and he wore it pretty well.

It probably would've made more sense to trade aprons but I think it worked out just fine. Especially wearing them to ward prayer. Now that was fun. And everyone was jealous.

It was a party. And the muffins were absolutely fantastic. We just happened to make way too many cuz Beth had the brilliant idea of doubling the recipe and Ethan agreed. Way to go kids. Luckily we have some hungry people in our ward that ate them.

In case you weren't aware (and if you weren't, you obviously don't know me very well. Or really at all for that matter..) I love Disney movies. A lot. So we watched Hunchback of Notre Dame. But the best part was that I didn't even suggest it. Ah I love it when I'm not the only one who wants to watch some movie I saw for the first time when I was like 5 years old. I still remember seeing this movie in theaters..totally freaked me out. Watching it now that I'm older is so much better--and a lot funnier. That's where my subject quote came from :)

One of my favorite quotes:

Phoebus: Why is it, whenever we meet, I end up bleeding?

Esmeralda: You're lucky. That arrow almost pierced your heart.

Phoebus: [holding her hand to his heart] I'm not so sure it didn't.

Can I get an "awwwwww!"? Love it. It was a successful Sunday.

On Monday night our FHE group went to the corn maze with another group. And me and Beth were bad influences and made other people come with us. Baha. It was fun though. While some people obviously don't know the rules of mazes *cough cough Ethan* it was fun watching everyone try to scare people and be scary. The jumping thing was fun too, just not worth the wait. Cold Stone followed and it was a great end to the night. Another success. Go team.

 

We have some pretty cool friends. Just sayin.

Well folks, that's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your week. :)

Outside my window: Cold weather..:( cuddle weather? :P ;)

Really Quick.

150 AFAP (as fast as possible)

So I'm getting to the end of my crazy week with six midterms, ten quizzes, and so very many assignments. Not to mention deadlines coming up for other assignments and tests next week and applications for internships and study abroad stuff meaning I have to figure out what I want to do with my life next year. Add mission farewells, church activities, work, cleaning checks, and everything else basically gets put on hold. This gives you a really pointless blog post to read that’s basically about nothing. I hope you’re enjoying these few minutes that you will never get back. Hopefully next week I'll be back on top of everything and back to my normal routine and have something somewhat amusing to keep you entertained for a minute. And now I get to check one more thing off my to-do list in five…four…three…two…one…150 words. Later!

Can I buy you ice cream?

Tonight I was at Macey's. I was getting an ice cream cone. Everyone knows that Macey's has some pretty amazing soft-serve ice cream cones. In front of me in line were two girls that were dressed in BYU sweats and sweatshirts. It was almost their turn in line and I asked them if they were getting ice cream. They said they were and I asked if I could buy it for them. They looked really surprised but hesitantly agreed to let me buy it for them. They both wanted a twist ice cream cone so I ordered and laughed as they thanked me. My roommate was with me and they asked her if I usually do things like this. She said not necessarily but that I just felt like doing something nice. They kept saying thank you and I just smiled and said it was no problem and went on with the rest of my night. The ice cream definitely tasted better than usual. :) 

Outside my window: rain. lots of rain. :)

Just a list.

Everyone makes lists. I'm not much of a to-do list person, but have made several lists--long ones. There are a few main ones though. One being the what-I-want-in-my-future-husband list every young Mormon girl writes about 12 times, if not more. The other being a list of things to do before I die--my bucket list.

First, we have the obvious ones that are more like goals than anything:

Graduate from college

I am currently a business major looking to graduate in April of 2012. My emphasis is marketing. Very exciting.

Work for ESPN

This one isn't quite as likely as the first but my dream job is doing marketing for ESPN in New York City. Depending on how my life decides to go, I really want to do an internship with them the summer after I graduate. Sports marketing would be so very much fun.

Go on a mission

Whether it's when I'm 21 or when I'm old, I really want to serve a mission. I think serving as an elderly couple would be the coolest thing ever.

Have kids

Awww isn't he just the cutest thing? This is kind of a no-brainer one..of course I want to have kids. Probably four or five of them. Preferably more boys than girls and not more than one at a time. And because of that I'll probably get triplet girls. Twice. That would happen to me. However it happens, I just want kids like most other people in this world. But first...

Get married

...I have to get married. While everyone thought I'd get married as a freshman, I proved them all wrong and now there is heated debate about if I'll ever get married at all. :P just kidding. Kinda. But someday I do wanna get married. In the temple, of course. We'll see how long that takes. ;P

There are other things I want to do that maybe aren't quite as big but just make life that much more exciting (and I know, a lot of them are things that most everyone has done by 19 but hey, how many people can say they had chicken pox in Australia? That's what I thought. Don't judge):

Ride on a Ferris Wheel

I know, it's sad. I have never been on a Ferris Wheel in my entire life. Everyone tells me it's not even that great but still, everyone's been on one. A lot of it came from the movie "Charlie" which I absolutely love and a big part of it is the Ferris Wheel. I watched that movie with a good friend of mine in high school and he told me, after finding out that I'd never ridden one, that I'll probably never get the chance until I'm with the guy I'm gonna marry. I'd like to think that seeing as every time I've ever gone anywhere that has a Ferris Wheel it's always been out of service the day I'm there..

Go scuba diving/snorkeling

I kind of went snorkeling in DisneyWorld with some sharks and random fish but I don't think it really counts--we were in a big tank thing. And scuba diving would be sweet I think. I'd just have to make sure I remember to breathe..sometimes I struggle with that.

Dance in the pouring rain

I've danced in the rain before and I've been kissed in the rain before. Rain is just magical, let's be honest. But to dance in the pouring rain. Like ultimate downpour. That would be sweet. Let's be honest, I mostly just wanted to put this picture in my post.

Skydive

I just think it sounds like so much fun. I don't think could ever go alone but if I had someone with me I'd definitely be able to do it and I have a feeling that I'd really like it. And after doing it once I might not ever be able to do it again but that's the kinda thing you only need to do once. And I think it'd be best to do in some exotic place, yes? I think so.

Go to a concert

Unless you count classical concerts, which I don't, I have never really been to a real concert before. I've wanted to but whether I didn't have anyone to go with or didn't have the time, I've never had the chance. My dad took my sisters to Rascal Flatts a few years ago and I wanted to go so bad but it just didn't work out..bummer. I've had so many people tell me they were gonna take me or go with me but...fail. Never happened. Someday.

Climb to the top of a mountain

And I mean a big mountain. I've hiked little ones but I want to climb to the top of a big mountain. And those have pretty much just been Ensign Peak and then whatever we hike for girls' camp. So it's been a while. But seriously, I've never even hiked Timp or the "Y" and I live here. It needs to happen.

Go in a hot air balloon

I should've while I was in Florida since I worked like right next to one but never did..and even then that one was attached to the ground. It'd be fun to actually travel somewhere, even just a short distance, in a big, colorful balloon.

Ride a gondola in Venice

I've always wanted to go to Italy and this just seems like what you do there. Of course it would be so much better as a romantic activity, but whether I'm just by myself, with friends, or with a more-than-friend friend, I wanna go.

Ride a tandem bike

I just think it'd be fun. I actually saw someone riding one today..but they were alone so it kind of ruined the whole concept but I think it's so cute seeing couples on tandem bikes. Awwww...

Go on a cruise

I think going somewhere really exotic on a cruise would be so awesome. I've never been on a cruise but it sounds really fun. And I've heard they have lots of food on cruises..I like food. Some people that I know that have gone on cruises don't really like them but it seems like such a relaxing vacation..I dunno. It sounds like fun. At least to do once. If I could pick a cruise to go on it'd be the Disney Mediterranean Cruise. :D

Ride an elephant

I love elephants and riding one would just be really cool. That's all I have to say about that one.

Watch the sunrise

It seems like most people have watched the sunrise but I don't think I ever really have. Probably because I'm usually not somewhere where you can see it all that well and I'm usually doing other things and don't pay attention to where the sun is. And I'm not very patient either. But I want someone to sit me down and keep me company while I watch the sunrise. Watching it on the beach doesn't sound too bad either.

Learn how to wake board and/or surf

I know these are totally different activities but I've never learned how to do anything cool in the water. I've knee boarded like once and tubed plenty of times but I think it'd be cool to learn something a little harder..and a little more impressive.

Go skiing or snowboarding

I've lived in Utah for the last 7 years and have still never been. I don't think I've even ever been on a mountain that had snow on it. Yeah, sad. I couldn't tell you how many people have told me that they're going to take me but no one ever does. *cough cough* Bethany..

Catch a bouquet at a wedding

My sister didn't throw her bouquet at her wedding or I might have had a chance but I usually don't stick around at receptions long enough to see them throw the bouquet. It probably won't happen since I don't stay around for that part of the event but...it's all good. "i want to marry optimus prime." (comment by Geoff.)

Adopt from another country

I've watched several families in my home ward adopt from other countries and it seems like the coolest thing. I've also seen how stressful and difficult it can be, but I think it'd be so cool to be able to give some child a chance at a new life, one that isn't in a orphanage. 

So that's part of my bucket list. There's lots of other things like go to an NFL game, summer Olympic sporting event, and travel to lots of countries, but this was a sample. I'm pretty sure I have about 6 of these lists and I think one has over 100 things on it, but there's just a few. I'd better get started.

Outside my window: the Tanner Building. My second home away from home. Guys in shirts and ties? Yes please. Guys in suits? Yes please. I love my major ;)

*Just for future reference and the random information, my favorite thing ever is when guys wear nice, dark jeans with a button-down shirt. Ties add a nice touch to that ensemble. Just sayin..