How Does One Take the Leap?

Today I was looking through old pictures and I came across these two jems, and I had this interesting thought.....

Indulge me for a moment....

Some days I'm inspired and my mind is extremely motivated. But then I have days where I wonder how was I ever felt that way and I struggle with staying inspired and motivated. I'll have this genius plan of how I'm going to change a certain aspect of my life and then the next day I sit at my desk and wonder to myself, "What happened? Where did all those amazing positive thoughts go? What happened to the passion to make the change?". 

I think a majority of my life is spent in the position of the above photos. In the ready to launch position. In that position I am full of inspiration and motivation but I haven't actually done anything yet to make a change. And then sometimes, when I'm feeling brave, I lift my heels off the ground and I start laying ground work.

But how often do I get to this position?

Seriously though, how come I don't get to this position more often? I want to. But why don't I? I'm on this path to discover what is happening between photo two and photo three. Any tips??

To Be Alive Is Extraordinary!

I've been having a rough couple weeks, which I blame myself for. I've been negative, neglecting myself and complaining a lot. Thinking I wasn't doing enough. My job isn't glamorous enough, I'm not changing the world enough, I'm not fit enough, I'm not stylish enough. Which is ironic because my blog's main focus is finding joy in the journey, "enjoying to the end". But I guess it only makes sense that I would have to learn the same lesson that I'm trying to share with the world.

But this week has been so much better and let me tell you why. I've been taking care of myself, being more patient, I've found my passion, and I've discovered if I do my best each day then that is enough. Tomorrow I can do a little bit better.

Found here.

Last week I was listening to a seminar by Tiffany Peterson, that reminded me of something very important. It hit me pretty hard. She was asking us to rate our confidence level on a scale from 1 to 10. Then she said I don't care what number you picked because you're all 10's. I thought to myself, "of course you say that, you make money off of telling people that". But then she continued to remind us of the time we've held a new born baby, if we have. To think of how amazed we were by this tiny little creation that has just come into the world. And as she explained this I realized "Dangit. She is right!"

The fact that we are alive and well is amazing! Just because we aren't finding a cure for cancer, teaching children in third world countries, or solving world hunger doesn't mean we aren't fantastic beings.

I was reminded of one of my favorite lines from "The Fault In Our Stars". If you haven't read the book or seen it, it is about a girl who has cancer and her relationship with a young man who is in remissions. When Augustus first hangs out with Hazel and is trying to get to know here he asks her this:

Augustus Waters: What's your story?

Hazel Grace Lancaster: I was diagnosed when I was 13...

Augustus Waters: No no no, Your real story.

Hazel Grace Lancaster: I am quite unextraordinary.

Augustus Waters: I reject that.

"I reject that." I love that line. He had only known this girl for maybe an hour and already he wasn't letting her sell herself short. I know I'm guilty of this. I'm the number one offender of saying I am "unextraordinary".

But lets think about this for a second....Who gets to decide what is extraordinary? Who decided that only if you're traveling, changing the world in the public eye, and have an extremely successful career means you're extraordinary?! Whoever it was must have been very convincing because I personally I feel this way sometimes.

Hazel may be a fictional character, but the fact that she is fighting cancer and staying relatively positive is pretty extraordinary to me.

I think the fact that my sister is raising three kids on her own is pretty extraordinary. 

I think the fact that my mother is putting her business aside to help my sister is pretty extraordinary. 

I think the fact that one of my best friends is staying strong on his mission despite family struggles at home is pretty extraordinary.

I think the fact that the youth in my classes are able to get through middle school and high school without succumbing to peer pressure is pretty extraordinary. 

I think the fact that Sydney (my missionary) was able to go on his mission without looking back because he believed it was right, without the approval of his mother is pretty extraordinary.

I can think of many examples of being extraordinary in my eyes, and I think you can too.

Lets simplify the world and start recognizing the true examples of extraordinary behavior. Lets take the pressure off of ourselves to become these "amazing" people according to the world's standards. Lets just see that it is great to be alive, in a world that is hard.

Lets be a little better today then we were yesterday, and know that is enough!

Blog Tour

I was invited to be a part of this "Blog Tour" that is going through the blog world right now. I was invited by my sister who did it for our own blog, Sisters, What! She is the main reason our blog is even successful!

So this blog tour has asked us to answer these questions about our creative process, I'll do my best.

1) What am I working on?

Can I answer this question with a list of what I wish I was working on? But seriously, the list is a mile long. I feel like I have no time to work on what I actually want to work on. Luckily I do have a few projects right now that I've been working on, even if I've been working on them for far too long. Maybe writing about them will get me working faster!

My room: There are a few reasons I'm re-doing my room right now and the first reason is because I want my room to be a safe, inspiring, happy place. A place where I can get to know myself and draw closer to my Heavenly Father, a place where I can be enlightened and learn more. I want inspiring words and pictures, that are full of color and life, all over the wall. Second reason is, my room needs to seriously be organized. It looks "tidy", but by tidy I mean there are random piles all over the room that only mean something to me. But even then when I'm trying to find something I have to look through each pile. And the third reason is, I want to get rid of all my "stuff". Things that I've always kept because I'm convinced they mean something, or that I'll wear one day, or actually need. Clearly if you haven't "needed" it in the past six months you probably won't need it in the next six months. The reason this project is taking me so long is because it is so hard for me to de-clutter, organize and be creative. Let me know if you have any great tips and/or ideas. Pictured is some of my inspiration for my room. Don't you love the clean and brightness of each picture!?

 

1/2/3/4

Exercise: The goal is pretty simple, exercise more. But since that isn't a realistic goal because how do you measure it, this is my real goal: running at least 2x a week, yoga 2x a week and some form of exercise every single day. It can be anything. Just as long as I'm moving and getting my heart beat up. What I want most is to do a little bit of exercise in the morning. Here are a few workouts I'm going to start doing. 

























Spiritual/Intellectual: I love reading, but sometimes I find myself just reading pure brain candy because it doesn't require much thinking 
when I'm tired. So I've made the goal to read one spiritual and/or intellectual book each month. I've started doing this over the summer and when I'm reading a book that makes me think and helps me grow I find I'm much more ambitious and happy. Here are a few of the books that are on my list for the next two months: 












2) How do my creative doings differ from others from its genre?

When someone thinks of creative people my name does not come to mind, but this is something that I've always wanted to be. My family has helped me see I am creative, just not in the crafty way. I create through my words and my daily life style. I think how I differ is that I just say it how it is, which can be good and bad. If you go through my posts you'll find I'm straight forward in my thoughts, and in how I live my life. 

3) Why do I write/create what I do?

I write because I want to help the world be a better place. I honestly don't know if anyone is actually reading my blog but I share my thoughts and my life in hope that someday one of my posts will help someone through the hard time that is life. That maybe one of the hard things I'm going through can help with someone who is going through the same thing. Just maybe it will make it easier for them then it was for me.

Found here.

 My blog is called "Enjoy to the End" because I want people to join me on my journey of trying to make this concept a central part of our lives. That we can enjoy the hard times, as crazy as that sounds. And that is why one of my favorite quotes was the inspiration for this blog, "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured", said by President Gordon B. Hinckley. 

4) How does your writing/creating process work?

Since my blog is fairly new I'm still ironing out my writing/creating process, trying to be more organized. But right now my posts really consist of what is on my mind lately and what I've been doing in my life. I try to write about things that are meaningful and not just fluff. I think of this as my meaningful journal. 

Now to pass on the torch to the next blog....A blog I just recently found is Simply Clarke. I love what Marquis has done with her blog. It is full of light and it is real. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

South Sound BBQ Festival

So I know my posts are a little random sometimes. From what I've been doing with my life to whats been on my mind but remember this blog is a form of a journal for me and my future family. When I don't feel like blogging I remind myself this is the best way to document my life!

Anyway a little over a month ago, July 5th to be exact, the South Sound BBQ Festival, that I mentioned here, took place. (Remember I'm the Event Coordinator for the Lacey Chamber of Commerce) It was the biggest event I've ever been in charge of and while it was so exhausting, I have to say it felt really good to be a part of. Not to mention I had a great team to help me out!

We estimated that the attendance was about 14,000 people, so a huge success! We guessed that I walked about 25-30 miles that day, and when I say walk I mean speed walk. No strolling occurred between 6 am and 10 pm. The most frequent thing said to me that day was, "You look like a man on a mission". Lets just say I struggled walking the next day....

Here are some pictures from the day of.....

We had a dunk tank where all the money went to our Kidwiler Scholarship Fund, and all the people dunked were important people in our community.

I live in Washington. Home of the 2014 Superbowl Champions, the Seahawks. So we were lucky enough to have Blitz and some Sea Gals in attendance.

Had a Chicken Wing Eating Contest... 

And lots of great vendors...

 This is actually my mom at her DoTerra booth. She got stung by a bee the day before and had a severe reaction (hence the swelling), but being the champ she is she still came!

Some jamming music...

The Backyard Joes Competition (amateur bbq contest)...

And my sisters were the best and made sure I got food. They were even caught on camera!

And I rocked my CamelBak and everyone was jealous, no really I got a million and a half comments about it....but lets be honest here, how could you not be.

 If I point it looks like I know what I'm doing

 This picture was taken around 9:30 pm when I finally sat and I had to be helped back up.

What a great day. Lots of good food, great people and good times were had by everyone! I feel blessed to have a job where I get to be a part of great events that bring my community together. 

God Is Real

I saw this video and just felt like shouting from the rooftops,

"GOD IS REAL AND HE LOVES YOU!!!"

But since that isn't socially acceptable, and I don't know of any rooftops where anyone will actually hear me I'm going to say it right here.

I know I have a Heavenly Father. This isn't just an idea in my mind, or something I think might be true. I know I have a Heavenly Father.

And guess what else I know...He loves me. He loves you. And He is a part of my every day life. He is a part of your every day life.

There aren't many things that I'm 100% sure of in life, but this is one of the things I'm 200% sure of!

Sometimes I've found it just takes realizing how much He loves us, just like President Thomas S. Monson (President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) is saying in the above quote, for us to have the windows opened to the love and blesses He wants to shed upon us. Not to mention all of the blessings He is already bestowing upon us even though we don't recognize it.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe."

If you ever feel like God is not there, you can lean on what I know. He is there. He is just waiting for you and for me to just believe! 

In a world where God is being kicked and ignored, I stand up and say... 

He lives, He loves me and I love Him!

One of my closest friends recently shared her thoughts on the exact same topic, check it out here.