Even More Adventures

2 1/2 weeks into veganism and I've decided that it is not a lifestyle that I can continue forever (I'll finish out the four weeks though); not because I am missing a specific food that I can't live without, but because of how much of a hassle it is in general. It is so annoying for anyone that I am around because even though they can eat whatever they want, I have to make sure that there is a vegan option for me. I want to thank all of my family and friends for being so supportive and helpful, especially Stan who became mostly vegan by association, but not by choice. I really love the health effects because my body does feel great, in fact, I completed a 40 mile bike ride in Vegas last weekend and felt awesome. I think that the general theory of veganism rocks, but it has its flaws. I have never gone on a diet before so I had never been able to understand how frustrating it it to "not" be able to eat something or to have to say "Oh, I would love that, but I can't have it". Also, I never thought I would say that I am sick of orange juice, but I am so sick of orange juice, any fruit juice in fact. Still lovin' the Clif bars, though, I will continue on those. :)

I love hiking!! We went up and got to see all the leaves two weeks ago, it was gorgeous. I love living so close to so many trailheads.

Documenting our lives. :)

This is the only pic I got during the bike ride. There were a ton of ducks in this area of big fancy houses with their own private lakes. I was surprised at how nice other parts of Vegas was, I thought it was all ghetto-y and nasty, but was wrong.

Me riding in. I love that I'm casually flipping the camera off :)

Yay for funny shirts. :)

Veganism-Week 1

I have finished my first week as a vegan. From what I have experienced so far here are a few things I've noticed:

• I really love Clif bars, I could eat them like candy.
• It is not as hard as I thought, but it does take planning.
  
• I have not noticed being tired or lethargic as some people have said I would be. In fact, I have had some pretty late nights this last week and I still feel pretty good. I went on a 10 mile bike ride yesterday and a nice hike last night and I'm not even feeling it today.
  
• Some foods have animal products that you would never even think about (like orange juice, tortillas, & re-fried beans). I have to read the label on everything that I eat.
• The first day I was sooo hungry, but after better planning I am happy to say I get full faster and I am not hungry throughout the day like I was when I was eating normal foods.
• People love to make fun of vegans. :)
  

So far, I feel it has been a success. I do not have the right motivations to keep this going forever, but I really like how my body is feeling. My fear is that I will start eating like crazy when I am done with this experiment and my body will go nuts, but hopefully some of the habits I am picking up now will stay with me after this month.

Change Update!!

Looks like I got my wish. I got a new job! It's with the same company, but at our administration offices, so it looks like I will have to finally start dressing like an adult. Good-bye chacos, t-shirts, and jeans. I am way excited, but a little nervous because I have been in the same office for the last four years and really love most of my co-workers most of the time. My new boss seems really cool and so do most of the people that I have met over there, though, so it will be really good.
Other changes ...

My bedroom is getting remodeled! Right now I am living in Jordan's room cause she moved out, but because it's not a huge room all of my stuff is in the living room, hallway, and the spare bedroom, some mornings it is a little frustrating, but will all be worth it soon!

I think that I am going to try vegan-ism for a month. Not because of the whole "fish have feelings too!" thought, but I'm curious about the physical effects that it will have on my body. I feel that many people that do the vegan lifestyle do it and then act like they are morally superior, which really annoys me, so I want to make my point clear, that I am doing it purely for physical results. I am doing my senior research project on genetically modified foods which got me thinking about it, then last week Stan and I got some sickness from hell, which caused me to not want to eat anything ever again so I decided now that everything is completely out of my body I want to try to add only organic/non-animal products to see what happens. Wish me luck because it's going to take lots of planning and I would like to start now so by the time I get to Thanksgiving I can eat food again. After researching it I realized that I can't eat chocolate and this will fall over Halloween ... it will be a test of my will-power.

Change

It should be borne in mind that there is nothing more difficult to arrange, more doubtful of success, and more dangerous to carry through than the initiation of change(s). The innovator makes enemies of all those who prospered under the old order, and only lukewarm support is forthcoming from those who would prosper under the new. Their support is lukewarm partly from fear of their adversaries who have the existing laws on their side, and partly because men are generally incredulous, never really trusting new things unless they have tested them by experiences. In consequence, whenever those who oppose the changes can do do, they attack vigorously and the defense made by others is only lukewarm. So (keep in mind) both the innovator and his friends are endangered together. –Machiavelli – The Prince circa 1513-14
It must be the changing of the seasons, but I feel so ready for a change in my life!! I completely agree with Niccolo Machiavelli (Zane's hero in high school) that change is very hard and usually people resist change, but at this point in my life I am craving a major change in my life! "That which we resist tends to persist" is a favorite quote of mine, I realize that I am resisting the opposite of change .... so, I'm throwing it out to the universe, that I want some change and excitement. Hopefully that last sentence isn't regretted in a few months. :)

And because no blog post is very fun without pics, here are a couple of my favorite things ...

My favorite (and totally gorgeous) sister in the whole world!

Happiest. Dog. Ever.Love this little girl!! Makes me almost want to have kids of my own. :)

One of my favorite books.
Hiking. :)

Moab!

Yay, another post! And another road trip. I went to Moab last week with my Dad riding 4-wheelers; it was so hot, but I had a ton of fun.

What is a road trip without some form of bodily fluid? :) Our hotel got new mattresses the day we were there and had their old mattresses just sitting in the parking lot. I appreciated that we had new mattresses, but was completely disgusted with the thought that I have probably slept in gallons of other people's urine (and other specimens) when traveling. Yum.

This sign drives me nuts!

Oh, look! More poor grammar on a large sign at Dad's favorite place on earth, ha ha. He hates this place and I had to beg him to go. I love it!

Sweaty Niki, how awesome is that?

We got swarmed by mosquitoes on one trail, he had over 50 bites on one arm!! Poor guy.

The above pic is the cliff that a truck fell off of, the below pic is of the truck and motorcycle.

Dad adventuring around Gemini Bridges.

Gemini Bridges

The road washed out, so we had to hike from here.

Now that I have no vacation left for the rest of the year there will be far fewer road trips :(, but the good news is that I will hopefully get to keep my job while finishing my internship and last semester of school (unless I go to grad school), so I won't complain anymore about lack of vaca.

Road Trip 2011

It's been awhile since I last posted, but I don't really have anything exciting going on in my life. I will finish school in December and then I have to decide what I am going to do with my life from there. :) Last week my company shut down, so I had a free week to do nothing. By Thursday afternoon I was really craving some form of adventure, so I decided that I was going to Mt Rushmore, but I had to get some homework done first, so I didn't get to leave til Friday afternoon. I just went by myself and had so much fun!! I am already planning one for next year which includes more time for hiking because there are so many trails around M.R. Here are a few pics of my trip.
This made me laugh because the garbage can says, "No dogs allowed", but not every garbage cab had it written on there. :) There is very little entertainment in Wyoming, so I took what I could get.

The view from my hotel window. I stayed in Lusk and the hotel was actually one of the cleanest ones that I have ever stayed in, the view just made me laugh.

Me being a nerdy tourist. The only problem with going on a road trip by yourself is that you have no one to take goofy pictures with. I am standing by the sign going into South Dakota, but I couldn't get a great pic.

This statue is huge! I probably only came up to their belly buttons, but it is just a scale of the artist's "vision".

This cute old man offered to take my picture with the profile of George in the background (probably because he saw my attempt). The zoom on my camera seemed to confuse him. He was sitting on the ground in this parking lot angled all weird just to get my pic, I thought it was sweet of him. We also chatted for a bit about the Mtn goat that was up there, but you can't see it in this pic.

Horsethief Lake is gorgeous! I hiked around here for a few hours.

I look so awkward in this picture. :)

I didn't have anyone to take my pic at this trail marker, but figured I needed a pic to document my life. Also, please don't mind the sweat, I had been hiking for awhile and it was pretty hot out.

Crazy Horse Monument. Since Mt. Rushmore took every coin in my ashtray for a parking pass I had no cash to get into see the Monument, plus I could see enough from the lower parking lot that I didn't feel like dropping another $10 for an only slightly better pic. Side note: My parking pass for MR is good until the end of the year, so if anyone is planning on going up there let me know and you can have it.

Jordan's dream town. It is somewhere in Wyoming near Lusk. I saw a headline on a newpaper that said "Town's population doubles to 4!" I would never recommend living in Wyoming it was so ghetto-y/dumpy. Casper was full of advertisements for meth addiction recovery programs because of their high meth usage.

Phone Etiquette ?

Ring Ring
Me: "Hello?"
Old Man: "Wow! Your voice is kind of sexy!"
M: (squirming uncomfortably) "Umm ... Thanks ... I guess. Is there something else I can help you with?"
So this is a scenario I seem to encounter often ... Is there some sort of etiquette I should be following when someone tells me that?

Life Lessons

So, most of you know my obsession with good / bad hygiene, I am morally opposed to bad hygiene. Just to help a few of you out (mostly people in my health class this semester) here are a few tips to make life more enjoyable for you and others that may be forced to sit near you in class, or on a bus, or share and office with you, or just be near you period.
1. SHOWER! EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! I don't know why this seems to be hard for some people, but seriously, it needs to be done. This one is not arguable (not that any of these tips are).
2. BRUSH YOUR TEETH! Also, not that hard, 3-4 minutes in the morning and at night, a little mouthwash and floss goes a long way too.
3. Wear clean clothes. It is NOT acceptable to be wearing dirty clothes all over the place. (exceptions would include on your way home from the gym, they do not include the fact that you were too lazy to change your gym clothes from the night before).
4. Do NOT under ANY circumstances pick your scabs and eat them in class (or anywhere for that matter)!!!!! You think I am kidding, but I witnessed this in class today ... I go to college, it is not like I am talking about small children, this woman is pursuing a Bachelor's degree! EEEEEWWWWW!!
5. Wear shoes out in public because we do not want to see your nasty Hobbit feet. This one seems like a no brainer, but witnessed this in class today too.
6. Wash your hands repeatedly throughout the day with soap! Sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself twice, or the alphabet, or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", whatever floats your boat as long as you are scrubbing after going to the bathroom, before eating, after touching dirty things, etc.
7. Last but not least, when you are eating Cheetos make sure that they do not fall into the crevices of your keyboard; you may not know who will get that keyboard next.
These are just a few simple and easy things that you can do to make your life and those aroung you just a little better. We thank you all for your participation!!

Aahhh Life! :)

I know, I should be doing homework . . . but my mom gave me a copy of the Ensign today and told me it had articles in it for me ... "Having the confidence to marry"
When I first got divorced there was nothing in the world that I wanted more than to get married and have kids. In my mind I imagined some sweet returned missionary with glasses, and quite frankly a nerd. I had my "stepford husband" all planned out. You know, the sunday school answers for the perfect husband. I would have done anything to get that, so I went to a single's ward (even the name makes me feel squemish) and I felt completely awkward! Only my friends knew that I was divorced, other than that I did not advertise that information. As I watched all of the guys (boys) in the ward I realized that there had to be more out there ... how could I settle for a guy who still lived with his mom? Yes, I know that I moved back in with my parents, but that isn't the point that I am trying to make.
These boys were just that, and they seemed to have no life experiences, to put it lightly they were dull. Anytime someone talked in church it seemed to be a contest to see how many times they could bring up their mission in class. That was all they knew how to talk about.
After reading the articles in the Ensign today I realized that I no longer have that strong desire to get married. Don't get me wrong, I would love to be married again and eventually have little tow-headed kids running around. I can't wait to be driving a carpool in my SUV and other soccer mom-ish accesories, but I always thought that having the perfect husband would make my life complete. I know now that it is just the beginning, I cannot rely on someone else to make me happy!! I need to work on becoming the person that I want to be, the person that I am destined to be, not waiting for that special someone to come and sweep me off my feet and make me happy.
I have learned time and time again, things don't work on my timeline, I have to trust that things are happening at certain times for certain reasons. Come what may and love it!! And I'm trying to do just that, my life is far from what I thought it would be, but I wouldn't change it for a second. I wouldn't be where I'm at today without everything that I have gone through and I know I complain way more than I should, and I know that I let people drive me crazy with even the tiniest things, but I really am blessed in my life and can't imagine ever having taken a different path.

Black Friday

So we all went out at 4:00am yesterday and went shopping. It was so much fun. I only have presents bought for 3 people though. I love the adrenaline of it all! I actually shoved a woman this year!!! But, it was an innocent shove that I didn't notice I had done until afterwards. :) Here is a pic of us and all the fun we were having, minus Russ cause he was sleeping in the car when we got this taken. Not sure if we could have fit one more person in the booth though.