Weekend Adventures!!!

The weekend began on Thursday, June 11, 2009 with the Opening Ceremonies of the Utah Summer Games. My sister and I walked down to the Eccles Collesium (SUU's football stadium). IT WAS A BLAST!!!!! They started with a march of all the athletes (there were definitely a lot), then after then had all made it to the front of the stage the fun began. Two American Idol hopefuls performed (don't ask me who 'cause I don't remember and don't really care). They also had Felipe and Sione from The Biggest Loser--it was amazing to see how great they looked in real life instead of just on TV. All of this was NOTHING though compared to the main act---IMAGINE!!!!! Imagine is a Beatles Tribute Band and are about as close to the actual Beatles performing that you can get. They were awesome!!!! I LOVE THE BEATLES!!!! And to end the Opening Ceremonies, of course there had to be fireworks!!!!!!!!! Overall, it was a great night!!!!!

Friday, June 12, 2009 was yet another fun-filled night!!!! Every other Friday St. George has a movie on the field. I love watching movies on a big screen in perfect weather. This week it was Madagascar 2. I had never seen it before, and I don't know why I waited so long to--it was hilarious!!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009 we woke up bright and early to head back down to St. George for the rest of the weekend. Our first stop was a market at Tuachan Ampitheathre. There wasn't really a whole lot of things there but it was still fun to walk around and see some nice arts and crafts. I also got a GREAT Mary Kay contact. There was a booth with this lady who was selling pink tools!!! We exchanged business cards and briefly talked about possibly doing parties for each other!! I really hope that something comes from it!!! :) Next, my sister and I just kinda bummed around town until we could check into our hotel. At my work Christmas party (yes, it was 6 months ago) I got a free night stay at the hotel where our party was held. I finally decided I better use it before it expired!! It was SO NICE just to sit and lounge and be lazy!!! The only time we left the room was to go get dinner---so from 3 PM to 11 AM we were stuck in a hotel room and it was the best!!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009 was our trip to Snow Canyon for some hiking. We had a little trouble at the beginning with the car not starting at the grocery store, but after waiting for 1 1/2 hours the car started and we were off again. I debated just going back to Cedar City without hiking, but the track record with the car is that it usually doesn't die twice in one day, so I took the chance (I'm glad we did because there were no other problems. The only official hike that we did was Three Ponds. It was a beautiful hike, but there was not much water in the ponds and about half the trail was deep sand which sucked. I definitely want to go back in the early spring, so that I can see the ponds full of water and the run off. We also took a couple of little hikes around and a trail called Pioneer Names. Pioneer Names is supposed to have pioneer names (who knew...lol) on the red rock dating back to 1883. I don't know if we weren't looking hard enough or looking in the right spot or what, but NO pioneer names were to be found. Before we left St. George and headed back to Cedar City we had to stop at In 'N' Out Burger!!! I'm not a big fan of burgers, but I love that place. I'm glad that there is one so close to me and everytime I make a trip to St. George I always make sure to make a stop there.

So there you have it--mine and my sisters weekend getaway to St. George and all the fun adventures!!! Can't wait to get out and have fun again soon!!! :) Here are just a few pictures from our adventures--there were so many that it was hard to just choose a few!!!

Healthy Living

So with the help of Healthy Living and Snap Fitness I have been trying to lose weight. I have been doing this off and on for a couple months now, but I need to start doing it all 100% instead of counting calories here and there and going to the gym when I'm exhausted. So last week was the first week that I actually kept track of my calories all week (and for the most part stayed within my calorie range) and went to the gym when I was supposed to!!!

The results: Unfortunately this week I only lost 1 pound, but I am not going to give up. Losing weight is sooo HARD to do, but I am determined to do it. I have a goal outfit picked out and hanging where I see it everyday and I a planner where I write down everything I eat. There are also other added benefits to eating healthier and exercising:

• I have more energy. Even though I am so exhausted at the end of the day and do not want to make that dreaded trip to the gym I still feel like I have more energy over all.
• I notice that I'm not always craving snacks. Even though I am only eating 1500-1600 calories a day I notice that I am not hungry or craving things. Half the time my meals are so filling that I can't even finish them.
• My mood seems to be better.

Overall, this whole lifestyle change is going good. I'm really worried what will happen when school starts up again in the fall and I don't have time to count calories and go to the gym as often. But that is a few months away so for now I am going to keep doing what I am doing and hopefully have weekly updates for y'all. Maybe letting people know what I lose will push me to work a little harder!!!

Sisterly Love

My sister, Melissa, is staying with me for the summer. She got here Saturday, June 6 and will be in Cedar City until the middle of August. I am hoping that we get to spend some good quality time with each other while she is here. Her plan is to get a summer job to save up some money. We also have a few fun things that we want to do. This weekend we are going to the Utah Summer Games Opening Ceremonies and also taking a trip down to St. George. Other things planned: all the many festivals going on this summer in Cedar City (Cedar isn't known as Festival City, USA for nothing), hiking, camping, Tuachan, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

When she first got into town we stopped at a Top Spot (a local burger joint) for lunch. We then got all settled and got some groceries (my kitchen was definitely very empty). That evening we went to the SUU campus to walk around and then walked to The Pizza Factory for dinner. Walking around SUU was a lot of fun; I haven't been on campus for about a month now (so long ago....I am ready to go back). Melissa is thinking about going to SUU after she graduates next year. There are a ton of different statues and sculptures around campus that are great to look at and see.

Yummy Top Spot!!!! I love this local burger joint!!!




Sculpture in front of the SUU Centrum.


The beautiful sunset!!!!


Pizza Factory -- Great food with a friend can't beat it!!!!
I sure did have great food with a friend -- nothing truly can beat that!!!


So here is to a great summer with my sister!! I hope it all goes good and that we have a lot of fun!!!!

Mary Kay

I have been a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant for 10 months now, and all I have to show for it are a few orders from family and a couple of friends and a TON of product sitting in boxes!!! I see a problem with this. I started Mary Kay because I knew that I could use some extra income to help pay off credit cards as well as try to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people while having fun with skin care. That has not happened, and I have decided that I need to do something about it. I need to quit making excuses and just do the things that I need to do to be successful in this business. It is not like it is rocket science or anything. Even if I don't sell any product for a little bit; if I could just get some contacts and some facials I would be pleased. BABY STEPS RIGHT?!?!?!?!

I have a lot of things that I need to do before I really get going. I do not want to start out and be all unorganized and not know what I am doing. So first, I need to get my inventory organized as well as the few customer profiles that I have. Then I need to start marketing at putting myself out there. As scary as it sounds, yes, I am going to have to talk to strangers. I believe and know that I can do this if I really dedicate myself (which I have not done the past 10 months).

So I am going to stop with the excuses and just take that leap and hopefully I can make something out of this business. Because right now I really do need the money. My first goal: Get all Mary Kay related things into one pile and organize it!!!