New Year's Resolutions

I have a ton of resolutions and I have put them into three different categories; physical, spiritual, and other. I can honestly say that I will probably not get all of these goals accomplished this year but I am setting a goal to do as many as I can (at least 2 in each category). I know I'm being a pessimist but I also don't want to overwhelm myself with a ton of resolutions. So here are what in my dream world I would like to accomplish in 2012 and how I plan on accomplishing some of them! Who knows I might actually get them all done!

*means they are on the top of my list
Spiritual Goals:
1. Read and study the scriptures daily for at least 15 minutes if not longer*
2. Pray sincerely every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to bed* (I'm pretty good about my evening prayers...not so much my morning prayers and not necessarily sencere)
3. Finish reading the Book of Mormon by my birthday***
4. Keep a scripture journal where I can write down all of the things that I get out of the scriptures

Physical Goals:
1. Eat wayyyy healthier!*
2. Exercise for at least 40 minutes every other day*
    -Start with easy exercises and slowly increase the level of difficuty
3. By the end of the year be able to run 5 miles straight
    -Start by running a little ways and every day increasing that amount.
    -If I can run 5 miles I plan on continuing with this until I can run 8, 10, etc.
4. Be more active
    -Walk the dog everyday
    -Engage in other things besides watching tv and reading

Other:
1. Figure out what I am doing schoolwise and make a plan*
    -Research schools and programs
    -Apply to schools
2. Be a better me*********
    -Be a better person
    -Be the person I want to be
    -Work on being the person I want to be
    -"Fake it until you make it"
3. Help my mom out more around the house without her yelling at me
4. Serve others more frequently**
5. Make five new friends*
    -Be more social
    -Engage in conversation
    -Introduce myself to people I don't know
6. Journal
7. Blog more often
8. Learn one new fun song and one new church song on the piano*
9. Record what books I read
10. Keep a positive outlook in all things

I really want to be 2012 to be a year where I can truly find myself spiritually and mentally. I also want to stop hating the person I am and start being the person I want to be, both mentally and physically. Hopefully these resolutions will be steps to obtaining that ultimate goal. I want 2012 to be a great year. I don't want to look back and regret anything this year. I hope this year can be a year of growing and progressing to a better place. I am officially on the road to a better me today!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Wow I can't believe it's already 2012! I feel like 2011 just started. As the first blog post of the year I have decided (because of the fact that I was so bad at blogging in the first place) to write a list of all the things I did this year.
*=defining moments
January:
-Started last semester of high school*
-Started thinking about moving to Tracy and started looking at houses
February:

-Celebrated my 18th birthday and became a legal adult*
-My seminary class threw me a surprise birthday party

-I dropped (or someone dropped) my iPad and I ended up getting a new one for free (even though it was supposed to over $200 to replace it)
-Went on my last Steven's Creek Ward Youth Snow Retreat and had a blast!
-Continued looking for houses in Tracy, Manteca, and Lathrop
-Put offers on two houses but didn't get them
-Found our dream house and found out that we got it!

-Started packing up our house and my life in Cupertino
March:
-Moved to Manteca, CA on March 13th??? (I think that was the day)***

-Had to say goodbye to Jesse
-Attended Youth Conference the same weekend we moved*************
        -Heard Sister Elaine Dalton (the General Young Women's President) speak and got to meet her!
-Moved into my new room. This included organizing like crazy, and downsizing (some-what)

-First night in my new room
-First day in new ward (the Northland Ward in the Manteca, CA stake)
-Started online school at Delta Charter High School*
-First day at new Seminary
April:
-Tali and Ty visit
-Ty moves into my room and started his internship
-I made a trip to Rexburg to spend time with Natalia for three weeks***
         -Saw Brenna Scannell who I hadn't seen in way to long!
         -This is the time that I really felt that BYU-I was the school I wanted to eventually end up in
-I sliced my head open at the Salt Lake City airport (right by my eyebrow so now my eyebrow looks funny)
-Returned home to sunny California!
May:
-Celebrated my mom's birthday and Mother's Day
-Was Charity's model for her Mockboards at school
-Graduated from high school with straight As in my last semester!*
June:
-Graduated from Seminary***************************** (one of the best moments of my life!)
-Went to Utah
-Saw Grandma Pohlsander and Grandma Wardle 
-Spent time at Temple Square (I love that place!)***

-Got a new pair of scriptures since my old pair were falling apart (They have already gotten a lot of use)*
-Went camping at Big Basin
July:
-Got my permit and started to practice driving*
-Ty finished his internship so I got to move back into my room
-Six Flags
-Beach
-Pizza my Heart
-4th of the July complete with the parade, swimming, barbeque, and two nights of fireworks. 
-Was Charity's model for Mockboard again
-We had an exchange student from Spain
-Went to Yosemite 
-Jelly Belly Factory
-Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
-Hung out with the Morgans
August:
-Got/ started a babysitting job
-Got into decorating cupcakes

-Helped Charity and Anthony move into their new apartment in Turlock
-Was Charity's model for Stateboard
September:
-Beach with Jesse
October:
-Halloween

-Carved around 20 pumpkins

November:
-Moved to the Singles Ward*
-Saw Breaking Dawn and loved it!!!
-Had an amazing Thanksgiving!*
-Performed at the Stake Christmas Fireside, both in the choir and accompanied my family on the piano*
December:
-I got my driver's license*** and became my mother's errand runner
-Got a new phone
-Had a fabulous Christmas with family
-Became an Aunt to Elliott Wilford Wardle*
-Got a full time nannying job beginning in March*
-Had fun with the Morgan girls
-Went to the beach with Jesse and Brooke and had a lot of fun New Years Eve
-Spent time with my Grandpa
-Spent New Years Eve babysitting and then was in bed listening to fireworks around the neighbor as the new year came in.

Overall it was a pretty good year!

Diligence

In Relief Society today we had a lesson on diligence. We talked about how we can't move forward with out being diligent. We can't overcome our trials with out having family and diligence get through the tough times. We also talked about how you may have this perfect picture of who you think you should be but the truth is you become that person very slower and by being diligenct in all things.

This is a lot my experience with the piano. When I first started learning how to play the piano and really wasn't in 100%. I hardly practiced and I dreaded going to lessons because I always got discouraged. I would make mistakes and at the time I could barely read music. It would take me for what felt forever to just learn how to play a song that was a half a page, large print, in the key of C, and only one note for the right and left hands. It saws hard for me. So I quit. I got too discouraged and couldn't take it anymore. I can't tell you how much I regret decision. I have for many years. About 5 years or so I missed playing the piano so much that I got my old books out and started playing just for myself. I later started to teach myself more difficult. They weren't that super complicated but I was increasing my skill. I later got my sister's old book out and other books we had lying around the house. I kept teaching myself and getting better and better but I still wasnt satisfied. I think I've always had this image in my head of the perfect pianist. I have always wanted to be that person that can play this super complicated piece. The truth of the matter is I have to remind myself that they didn't start that way. Maybe someday I'll be that good for right now I'm as I can be. I'm as good as can be expected. About 2 years ago I started taking lessons again. I was faced with challenge again that I wasn't as good as I wanted to be.

To be completely honest I am extremely proud of where I am when it comes to the piano. When you look at ow many years I have actually been taught, not just self teaching, I am actually quite accomplished. Maybe I'm not a concert pianit but I can play hymns, I can sight read, I can pretty complicated things, and I can learn a song quickly. I have come a long way from where I strted . Ickow that this is one of those talents that I have been given and I love every opportunity I get toplay. I absolutely love playing the piano. If I haven't quit when I did I always wonder where I would be today when it comes the piano. When I really think about it I don't think I'd appreciate my talent as much as I do now. Mostly because it was my choice to go back into piano lessons, not my parenst. I got back into the peiano for myself and no one else. Now that has changed but playing the piano is my sanctuary.

Now what does this have to with diligence? I got discouraged a lot and still get discouraged when it comes to the polaying the piano. I'm still not where I want to be and sometimes I wish it could just jump the time and not have to put for the effort but I do. We can apply to life because we may want a certain outcome but the truth of the matter is if we don't put forth the work we won't ever get there. We need diligent in the hard times to achieve our goals. We need to be diligent in those hard times.

Fantastic Fall

I have to say that fall is my favorite time of year! The weather yesterday and today have been amazing. It's been cold, cloudy, windy, and rainy. Can life get any better than that? I know it sounds crazy but I 100% like the cold a whole lot better than the heat. It has been so nice the past couple of days with colder weather. I am absolutely loving it! And the colors are extraordinary. How can you not love this time of year? The rain. The colors. The smell. The food. Thanksgiving. The clouds. The wind. Watching movies. Fire in the fireplace. Curled up next the fireplace with a warm blanket with a really good book. Can I just say I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!!!

 How can you not love that????


Now since it is Friday I just say that I have really enjoyed today. All I've really done today is read a really great romance novel, The Princess by Lori Wick. It truly has been a fantastic Friday!

October through photos

Since I haven't updated my blog in way to long I have decided to update it with all of the pictures from the month of October. A lot of things have happening and now I am documenting it.

We started off the week with General Conference and the Manteca Street Fair.

Tony has been waiting for this park to open and it finally did. He had a great time.

At the fair there were blowup rides.

He had fun on those too.

Later in the month I went on a hike with my sister, dad, and Tony. I took this picture just randomly but I have to say it is an extremely beautiful.

We hiked along this river.

The second to last weekend in October I went with my mom and Charity and Anthony to the Del Osso Family Farm and went through the corn maze

We had a really fun time finding our way through the maze. What made it even better was that we went when it was dark and we didnt use a flashlight which make it just a little bit on the creep side.

I made decorations for our door out of paper.

My sister did pretty much the same thing but decorated her whole apartment

You can find her blog post about it here.

All of us dressed up on Halloween

Caleb and Alyssa were nerds, Tony was Spiderman as always, and I was a cowgirl.

Only one of the cutest couples on the planet.

Tony being Tony =D

I spent most of Halloween carving a lot of pumpkins. I think we ended up with a total of 14 pumpkins. I didn't carve all of them but I did gut most of the them, which in my opinion is the worst part.

Caleb's witch

I did this one. Part of the month fell off so I put it back together with toothpicks.

I did this one. The design was going to be a lot better than this but I broke the carving tool so I had to do it with a giant knife.

Alyssa's pumpkin. Isn't it cute???

Half of the pumpkins all lined up.

Those same pumpkins at night all lit up.

I did this one.

These are leaves. You can't really tell but it looked pretty cool.

Bats.