The Light at the End of the Tunnel

It has been two months since I graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Consumer and Community Studies...and it's about time! You are probably thinking that I have been in school forever, and you are correct. It didn't help that I changed my major twice and transferred schools. But in the end, I found a program that I loved.

By the end of my final semester, I felt so burned out, like many students do. I kept telling myself I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The last two semesters I was working on average 35 hours per week, taking 15 credits, serving as president of the Financial Planning Association, and serving on the Human Rights Campaign steering committee. I am still struggling with the feeling of being burned out even though it has been two months. I feel the same way I did 2 1/2 years ago when I left Brigham Young University - Idaho feeling exhausted from school, work, student clubs, and church responsibilities. I guess my body just takes a while to re-coop after a long period of stress. But, I bet by this fall I will be feeling much better, especially when the heat dies down.

It feels strange to not have reading assignments, papers, or exams, but I am not complaining. I actually enjoy having a typical Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, kind of work schedule and be able to come home and do something other than homework. Now I spend my evenings running, reading, staining my bookshelf, working on a budget, or simply relaxing while watching Pretty Little Liars, my new favorite show (yes, I know I should be embarrassed that I watch a teen-girl TV show).

While I am definitely enjoying this break from school, I hope I don't get too comfortable. My plan is to start a graduate program in September 2014, but my fear is I will enjoy my "no-homework" life so much that I will not want to go back. But, since I work full-time at the University of Utah, both Christopher and I are able to go back to school with a 50% tuition reduction, one of the many perks of working at the U. So we have no excuse not to go back. When else will have have a 50% tuition reduction?

Although my life has slowed down a bit, I am still keeping myself busy with personal goals (like training for another half marathon happening this Wednesday, July 24th). And maybe I will even blog about some of those things :)

Becoming an Herbivore

Okay, not really.  I do not think I could completely give up meat.  I love hamburgers, ribs, and chicken.  I might be able to "eat meat sparingly," but I know myself well enough to know I will most likely never completely eliminate meat from my diet.  For now I will start by participating in Meatless Monday.

But recently Christopher and I have been watching various documentaries such as Food, Inc., Fresh, and Forks over Knives.  These documentaries, particularly the latter, have made me rethink the foods I buy and what I eat.  I realized I can still have the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals necessary from a plant-based diet, while avoiding cholesterol and other negative results from a diet largely of meat.

After watching those documentaries, we both have committed to living a little bit healthier lives.  Now we shop at the local Farmer's Market and participate in a co-op called Bountiful Baskets.  We also started to preserve our food by dehydration (thanks to my mother for giving me the dehydrator) and freezing.

Also after watching those documentaries, I have been inspired to quit school and start my own greenhouse!  Okay, again that is another lie.  But at this moment, almost anything can motivate me to quit school.  I am so burned out...

This is all the produce I received from my Bountiful Basket purchase - I paid $16.50 for all of this:

Here are some strawberries and bananas we dehydrated:

One morning we made an omelet garnished fresh tomatoes and squash with Italian Herbs and Seasoning:

Sadly I do not have the picture of Christopher's Egg Plant Lasagna he made on Saturday.  It was delicious!

Maybe one day, when I am not a poor college-student anymore, I will start a greenhouse and a food blog.  But until then, enjoy the inconsistent, random blog posts from me :)

The Worst Parade Ever!

Some people think I am crazy because I like to run.  They're probably right. Running fulfills many purposes for me.  Health is only part of the reason.  I also like the warmth from the sun, the beating of my heart, and the feeling of accomplishment.  Running is also like therapy, but a lot cheaper.

Last fall Audra convinced me to sign up for the South Jordan Half-Marathon.  After that race, I kind of became addicted to running in half-marathons.  Soon after the South Jordan race, I signed up for the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon.  I tried to convince a lot of my friends to sign up with me, but for many of them, asking them to sign up with me, was like pulling teeth.  As a matter of fact, I bet many of them would rather have their teeth pulled than to run 13.1 miles with me.

I was kind of nervous for this race because I train as well for this race as I did for the South Jordan race.  I worried that I might injure myself, or just really struggle to finish.  I definitely felt much more pain this time around and even became a little dizzy around mile eight or nine. 

Luckily, there were funny signs like these which made me laugh off the pain:

As runners passed by him, he yelled, "This is by far the worst parade ever!"

Here I am towards the end of the race, about 60 seconds to the finish line:

 After I completed the race, I jumped back in to run with my friend Alesha:

This is what I look like after 13.1 miles:

I am impressed with the medals they give to all those who completed the race:

Needless to say, I enjoyed the run, but I was extremely exhausted by the end and had two hurting knees.  I decided to take a short nap afterwards that ended up being just over four hours!

Here is a comparison of my South Jordan Half-Marathon and my Salt Lake City Half-Marathon:

I was about 30 seconds per mile slower at the SLC race.  If I would have ran the same pace as I did at the South Jordan race (6:51/mile) I would have placed 68th overall instead of 146th.  It's amazing to me how 30 seconds per mile slower can make a difference of 78 spots.

Now I am trying to decide what half-marathon to run next.  Sign up with me! 

10,000 Mormons and 25 Hindus

I am so glad spring is here and summer is around the corner. I can't stand the winter. I shouldn't complain, though. This past winter in Utah was so mild compared to what I have experienced in Rexburg, ID. But despite how mild this winter was, I am grateful spring has arrived with warmer weather and brighter days.

This past March I celebrated a Hindu tradition in Utah, of all places. I was surprised to learn that there are Hindus in Utah and they even have a temple. So a group of friends and I went to the Festival of Colors. I won't go into the history or meaning of the festival (you can go to Wikipedia for that info), but basically it is a tradition to celebrate the arrival of spring. I went on the last day and there were a couple hundred people there.

Here are some random pictures taken at the event:

For the next couple of days my snot was very colorful. It was so much fun I felt like a kid again!

Here is one last photo I saw floating around on Facebook and Pinterest. This is so true:

Extreme Couponing

Currently I don't have a TV where I live, and even if I did, I wouldn't have much time to watch anything. But when I did have access to satellite TV, I loved watching shows like American Idol, Glee, Amazing Race, the Ellen Show, and even Extreme Couponing on TLC. Yes, I know, that is very nerdy of me, but I am a personal finance nerd. That's what I am studying at the University of Utah.

Recently I have decided to save a little money by collecting coupons. So I made a coupon box organizer. My organizing technique is not as complicated or intense like the people on TLC's Extreme Couponing, but it works for me. Basically, I clip coupons and file them by the month they expire.

I have only saved a few dollars so far, but I will continue to clip coupons and keep track of how much I have saved. I am hoping my extreme couponing will allow me to retire at age 28 and own a home like this:

I have an Addiction!

First it started with a gateway drug: Facebook. Then my family convinced me to start a blog. After a couple years of blogging, that wasn't enough. I needed more. So a friend from BYU-Idaho got me hooked on twitter. I left BYU-Idaho and transferred to the University of Utah where I met my friend, and co-worker, Kelsy. She gave me a taste of Pinterest. Now I can't stop. Social media has taken over my life!!

I actually do love Pinterest. I wake up at 5 AM, shower, eat, and get on the Trax which takes me to campus. I open the library around 6:45 AM, well before most students are even awake. I work the morning shift at the library and it is usually pretty slow. So I have a lot of free time at the desk just waiting for students to arrive and ask for help. That idle time has only fueled my addiction to social media.

Recently I saw a picture like this on Pinterest and loved it. I decided I wanted to make this for the next time I was invited to a get together. My friend, Brig, invited Christopher and me to his apartment for a St. Patrick's themed party. We were all supposed to bring green treats. So here it is!

Christopher helped me make it. Honestly, the only thing that is semi-time consuming is carefully peeling the kiwi. This treat only took about 10 minutes to make.

Although I admit I have a social media addiction, I am glad it gives me some simple and creative ideas for parties. I am excited today is the first day of spring, which means summer is only a few months away! I can't wait for summer dinner parties, like picnics and BBQ's.

So, I will continue to use my drug, Pinterest, to fuel my addiction and give me some good ideas.

P.S. I am not the only one with a social media addiction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jT0JT3N47g

Dinner Parties

It seems like I have attended more dinner parties in the last six months since I moved to Salt Lake City, UT than I have in Rexburg, ID or La Grande, OR. Maybe it is a Utah thing, or maybe I now have friends who love dinner parties. I am not sure the reason, but I love it.

The dinner parties seemed to pick up right before Christmas and continued with frequency in this past month. Right before I came home for Christmas, my friend Kendra and I planned a little Christmas gathering at her place. Reed, her roommate and my friend, helped out too.

After my visit to Oregon for the holidays, I came back to Salt Lake City, UT. The week I got back, I had three dinner parties in a row. The first was at Christopher's condo with a couple friends that belong to the same social group as we do. It was the first time we met our friend, Rob.

The next day, my vegetarian friend from Portland, OR came to Salt Lake City, UT to visit family for the holidays. We had a potluck dinner with vegetarian options, played games, and socialized.

On New Year's Eve a small group of us got together for another potluck, games, and celebrating the New Year!

This past weekend, I went to a Housewarming party for my friend, Kellen, who just bought and remodeled his home. That was a blast! The next day I went to dinner with Christopher at Red Robin and later that evening we went to a birthday party for our friend, Steven. It was dinner at the Cheesecake Factory where I met Annie, and her son Isaac (although in the picture below is Ian, not Isaac).

I am pretty sure 'Phi was about to throw that sushi at me :)

Lastly, I celebrated the Lunar New Year at Reed's house on Sunday and Heather's house on Monday. I made Bul-go-gi, a Korean dish for Reed's dinner party. I got the recipe from Heather and it was delicious.

The best part of these dinner parties besides good food and a good time, was all the friends I made in the process. I met many funny, and absolutely wonderful people. Maybe one day I will own my own little home and can host regular dinner parties :)