Caught Up

So I fell a little behind in my scripture reading because of the holiday, but today I'm finally caught back up.

I have only read the Book of Mormon this quickly twice.

Usually I do the regular, read one chapter a day, thing.

But it amazes me how great the actual "story" of the Book of Mormon is too.

Of course it's about so much more than that, but the story is great as well.

I am still finding little things that pop out to me each day when I read.

And some days it's just the act of reading that makes it all worth it, because of how I feel after I'm done.

I love this book!

Happy in the Here & Now

As I was driving to work today I realized that part of having a contented heart, is being happy in the here & now.

This is not always an easy thing for me.

I'm always looking forward to the next thing: holidays, breaks from school or work, my husband's graduation, moving to a bigger apartment/house.

But mostly, a baby.

We've wanted a baby for about 11/2 years. After a miscarriage about a year ago, it's been an even harder thing to be patient for.

But we've come to the realization that at this point in our lives, this may not be in the plans for us.

I need to find peace with that. I'm trying to.

I think I need to focus instead on the other things that are making me happy.

Like how my husband has been able to stay at home every night this week, instead of spending the night at the school.

Or how Christmas time makes me feel so happy inside, and I love sitting in our little living room looking at all the decorations.

And wrapping presents last night for my husband was so fun because I got him something he'll never think of, but that I know he'll love.

And writing.

In anticipation of my goals next month I borrowed a book from the library to help get me ready. It's all about writing.

I'm so nervous, but excited at the same time.

I'm not going to be a "one day" writer anymore. I'm going to be a novelist!

Push Up Update

Today I did my final test for push ups.

I missed a few days so I think I got a little out of it.

But I ended up doing 50 push ups in a row!!!

I know that's not quite 100, but it's 25 times better than where I started. (2 push ups)

And I've decided to focus on the positive. Because it could be worse, I could only be able to do 2 still.

I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm going to keep working on it and see if I can't get to that 100 mark.

December - Keep a Contented Heart & Pay Attention

This month I'm going to Keep a Contented Heart & Pay Attention.

My Resolutions:

• Laugh Out Loud
• I used to be the person who's laugh you could hear from the other end of the room. Sometimes I still am. But it used to happen more frequently. I think some of the trials I've gone through have made me more reserved when it comes to actually laughing out loud. I want to go back to having less things inhibiting that trait.

• Use Good Manners
• No burping out loud - even at home.
• (Sadly, I burp louder than my husband. I need to stop this.)
• Don't try to "top" people.
• Be less sarcastic.
• This might be the hardest one. I come from a very sarcastic family, and my husband and I are sarcastic together. But I've found that sometimes it becomes hurtful so I want to work on trying to be less sarcastic.

• Examine "True Rules"
• What rules govern my life but may not necessarily be true?

• Stimulate the Mind in New Ways
• What can I do to help myself pay attention to the here & now?
• I think the Gratitude Journal goal helped make me more aware of things, but what else can I do to make sure I'm not missing the joy in the journey?

Month 2 Review

Let's Review:

Pray: OK.

We do pretty good at night prayers, but the morning is hard.

Read Scriptures: Pretty good.

Doing that challenge to read 10 pages every day actually worked pretty well. I really enjoy reading the scriptures and I love reading bigger chunks because I understand what's going on better. I know it's not really about the storyline, but I feel like that helps me stay in tune with everything.

I did struggle and got a little behind due to the holiday. I'm still catching up, but I will get there.

Gratitude Notebook: Bad, but Better.

I actually didn't end up keeping an actual notebook. I did make a few posts on here about things I was grateful for. But because I made it a goal to notice things, I actually did notice more. And I think that's more important than the actual writing it down every time.

Overall: Pretty good.

Not perfect, but I don't think that happiness = perfect. I'm just going to keep trying.

Previous goals review

Bed by 10, up at 6:30: Still struggling.

Going to bed at 10 is getting better, though not perfect. The morning is still awful. Even at 7. Sad, I know.

Exercise: Still doing pretty good.

Because of the holiday we fell a little behind, but we're still going. Last check, I could do 40 push ups in a row.

Eat Breakfast: A little better.

At the beginning of the month I was doing better than more recently. I'm still working on it though.

Organize & De-clutter: Bad.

I don't think that I'm going to keep track of this one anymore. I have done pretty well at just keeping my table and computer desk clear of piles, so I think that's good enough for me.