Boot Camp

When I started in my new department at work, the girls on my team (actually, we are all girls--it's crazy) had just signed up for Boot Camp. We have a gym at work that I joined and if you go twice a week, it's free! Anyway, Boot Camp costs a little extra but it's only a month and it was twice a week. The first week we went, they had us measured, weighed, and had us run a timed mile. I did okay on my mile but definitely wanted to improve but my measurements. Oh man. What a wake up call!

A little background...

Over the past year and a half I have gained a lot of weight...this is hard to admit. But, my last 2 semesters of school being newly married, working 30 hrs. and taking 17-19 credits kicked my butt. We didn't go to the gym often and went out to ice cream waaaaay too much. And, I am not one of those girls that can just eat whatever and burn it naturally --no way. I look at food and gain weight. This is no excuse, it was all my fault, but the reality was that it wasn't a priority. {There is my confession}

So I set New Year resolutions and have failed so far, but I still like that I set them. My activity and diet has increased immensely and I haven't gained, but just maintained. I recently lost 10 lbs (since June) but I couldn't really tell. Things fit fine, but I didn't go down a size, and I just continued diet and exercise. I have set a lot of goals and I'm going down in weight gradually but it's very, very slow and very, very frustrating.

Back to my story....

I was excited for boot camp because I knew it would be a physical challenge. It wasn't suppose to be competitive and we were suppose to do it as a group but in the end, all the girls bailed except for me and another girl. We challenged each other and on our off days would work out together and it was great! I learned a lot of new exercises and dusted the dust off my inner athlete and have LOVED working out!

In a months time, I saw GREAT results...

• Original Mile: 10:10 New Mile: 9:25
• Lost an additional 7lbs
• Lost 3 inches in my waist
• Lost 1/2 inch in my arms
• Lost 1% body fat
• Lost NOTHING in my legs (This was no surprised. Those are a project.)

Pretty great, huh? I wish my weight loss was more but I was very happy with the results. AND, in addition to the boot camp, the President of the company issued a challenge of no sugar, soda or meals over 600 calories and 5 days of exercise. You can have 1 free day but I don't really do the free day so that has helped a lot. 

I have cut my carbs, majorly, and I don't have desserts (well, sugar-free fudgesicle's) and then I eat the majority of my carbs and heavy foods early in the day and have a really lite dinner. It's been hard, but I have been consistent and I am starting to feel a change and it is awesome! 

I am still planning on continuing 3 days of heavy circuit training and then cardio on the other days (5-6 days/week). I hate at home work outs so I just go to the company gym or I have a membership at another gym. I get a lot of my workouts from my Pinterest. Yes, I am one of those people! I pin the workouts and I ACTUALLY do them. I plan out my workouts before I go to the gym and they are really, really great. Check out my fitness board if you are interested. 

Well, it just feels good to get it out there and to be even more accountable. The end.

Oh, and a little humor for those of you who are really skinny and don't have to work out and don't understand this post at all...

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Our New Roommate

Did we mention we have a new roommate? Cause we do! My baby sister, Caitlin, moved in with us 3 weeks go.

She just started online classes at BYU-Idaho and was too late to get housing so she is living with us till December and then she will move to Rexburg in January. My mom brought her up and so I had a week with her and it was a blast! We shopped, ate out, she cleaned my house, and used my sewing machine more than I did. She is the bomb. Seriously the hardest working woman I have ever known. We loved having her here and wouldn't mind adding her as a roommate ;)

(Photos from 4th of July when they last visited)

It's been fun having Caitlin living here! Nephi works nights so Caitlin and I usually go shopping, go to the gym, craft or watch Biggest Loser (We are obsessed. Netflix is heaven-sent). We also already went on a double-date and had a blast! We will see if they go out again....She got a job at Sam's Club and is taking 12 credits so she is a busy lady as well!

Since she moved in I wanted to make sure I had her room done so I had to clear out that room and that was a lot of work. I finished up the desk I was painting and still have a few things to wrap up in that room before I post pictures. I still need to do a house tour and that will happen soon. Promise.

Welcome, Cait! Happy to have you here!

25...it happend

On September 2nd it happened. I turned 25. Yep. I feel old.

How did I picture my life at 25? Honestly...exactly how it is! I wanted to be married, a RM, graduated from college and have a great career. I have all of those things and feel extremely blessed to have such a wonderful life.

We celebrated with a yummy steak dinner and had some friends over for a small celebration. We have some great friends. Nephi, of course, made me feel so special. He got me flowers, took me to dinner, and got me a new iPhone case, a necklace and a gift card! And then of course I went shopping. :) Nephi has always made me feel so special on my birthday. I have major birthday anxiety because I am always afraid people are going to forget and I hate when people sing happy birthday to me. People did forget my birthday but fortunately no one sang happy birthday to me so that was a huge relief. Ha! I count that as a victory.

Garlic Pepper Steak...I was in HEAVEN! 

My shopping trip! I think all of this was less than $50. 

Birthday outfit with my new necklace I got myself. 

My party I basically threw myself. Ha! Nephi asked if I wanted people over and I said okay and a ton of people RSVP and less than half showed up! Ugh. I had a lot of left overs so Nephi took it all to work. But it was a simple sophisticated party with cheese & crackers and cake pops. 

My parents got me a sewing machine!!! I am so excited to have it. I have yet to use it, but I'm collecting pins on Pinterest of all the projects I want to do one day. I might challenge myself to do all homemade gifts for Christmas this year using the machine, but we will see. I just feel complete knowing it's in my closet and that I have access to it. My parents are the best.

We also went to the fair and ate way too much, per usual. We went with our good friends, the Cooks, and had a blast! We saw the hypnotist, got corn dogs and tigers ears and then chugged down a bottle of Tums at the end of the night. It was magical. Ps-Did we ever tell you we fell in love at the fair? Well, there is this story but the real "moment" happened after we went to the fair in 2010. Because we did. It's a little redneck but we are proud of it.

This is a little dark but it was a beautiful night!

That was my birthday and I am happy to be alive!

New, NEW, Job and Internship

Before you read this post, you must read this post.

In July I started working for Melaleuca. I was in their Management in Training program (M.I.T). It's an exclusive program for candidates that apply for positions at Melaleuca and they don't have a position open and they want to use them for an upcoming position. This is how they prepare for growth in the company and prepare for bringing in leaders. This program usually only has a handful of candidates and is open only to outside individuals.

During my interview process they considered me for marketing, writing, and M.I.T. I actually applied for a writing position for them in January but decided to go with the marketing position  instead with the other company because I don't want to write. (I have not regretted that decision ever.) So I interviewed with like 7 different people and found out 2 weeks later that they wanted me for the M.I.T program. The position they wanted me for was a marketing analyst which would be opening soon so I gladly accepted and went to work!

For the first 3 weeks I was part of training for their business development team. I had to learn a whole new compensation plan and policies like crazy and it was a lot of work and studying but I loved it! After training, as part of the program, I would be on the phones for 3 months taking calls and coaching their people on building their business and helping them with their problems. After 3 months, I would start cross-training with other departments and I would then be eligible to be interview for placement.

Being on the phones was soooo daunting! There was so much to remember but I ended up loving it! Being able to talk to so many people and coach and encourage them and celebrate success was awesome. I never dreaded going to work and was so impressed with their people and the people who work in the call center. I have made some great friends too and have felt blessed to be part of the company.

During my 3rd week of training I met with marketing to interview for the marketing analyst position. I became one of the final candidates and was sooooo excited to hear the results. During my 2nd week on the phones, I got a call that the Director of Global Events wanted to meet with me. Whaaaa? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE event planning, but she is literally the busiest person in the world and I didn't think they had any openings.

We met, she was great, and just chatted. She didn't even have my resume, so I gave it to her, and we casually talked and she educated me about their events and the process they go through. She said if they had any openings in the future that she would love me to apply and we left it at that. I walked away thinking that I was more interested in events than I thought I was. I LOVE event planning, but marketing is just more realistic to me and more versatile so I just ruled events out especially after I saw the instability in my previous company.

Well, I was very surprised the next day when I got a call that the president of Melaleuca wanted to meet with me. Wait, what!? I was shaking! I met with him, he is wonderful, and had another casual chat. He asked if I was interested in events and I said yes, and he was like, "Great, I know they are interested so I will give them the go ahead." Uhhh, really? What does that even mean!? (Turns out he hand picks people for the events team so he needed to meet with me first before they could hire me.) I worked with the recruiter, who is wonderful as well, and found out they were interested in me and at the next week I received the offer! So, that is where I have been for the past month. :)

It's been long hours, lots of work, and high paced. It's different than I thought it would be, in a good way, and I LOVE our team! There are only 4 event planners and about 10 events throughout the year that they cater to up to 8,000 people. Needless to say, we are busy and these women are the hardest working women I have ever known!

We just had kickoff in September and then have another event in October, in Hawaii. Unfortunately, since I came in too late I am not going. The girl I am replacing is the lead on the event so they are having her go to finish off her last assignment. I am really, really bummed about it but you never know, they may need me last minute and I may be packing my bags!! (Not likely, but a girl can dream.)

It's been an adjustment. I'm usually never home before 6 and taking a lunch is basically out of the question but really this is probably the last time in our lives that I will be able to work a job like this so we are going to enjoy the journey while we can! Nephi is the best support and will be rubbing my feet more than ever but he's happy to do it. :)

Nephi's schedule has also been crazy. He just started his internship shadowing a PA at a local clinic, volunteers with his aunt a few times a week taking blood practicing for his phlebotomy certificate, AND work. He is my hero. He is like a machine and I LOVE IT! We value our nights we have together, which are few, but we still have fun when we can. He is the best.

He loves his internship and I love hearing the stories. He is going to make a great PA one day. I am so excited for that next step in our life! It's gonna be a while till we even get into school, but with all that he is doing know I feel so confident that we will get in and get going when the time comes. PA school is extremely competitive but Nephi is taking the necessary steps to get there and he is going to be great. No doubt.

At the East Idaho State Fair! See, we have a little fun in between :) 

That's us! Workin' for the weekend.

In the Zone

Hi, it's Mallory. I clarify only because of this post, and, because Nephi would never blog about this.

For the past several months I have been adjusting to our new lifestyle. Work, no school, moving, getting laid off, NEW job, callings, family changes, family happenings, health issues, etc. There is no doubt that Nephi and I are blessed beyond belief. In saying that however, there is something in my brain that makes me forget that occasionally. It's weird.

So, in dealing with all of this "stress" I stopped talking. (Which is weird for me.) I had a lot of built up emotion and was terrified to enter into certain situations where I know I would get more stressed or upset by. I became over-sensitive and over analytical. This doesn't happen to any of you does it? Riiiiight.

My good friend suggest I go get "zoned". I have done natural treatments and lymphatic massages in the past so this treatment didn't scare me. Footzone is a technique used to bring the body back into homeostasis (balance). Zoning works by triggering the energy points in the feet. I read this good description about it, "Picture your feet as the keyboard and your brains as the computer without the keyboard - the computer alone does not have a lot of success." Basically, there are certain spots in your feet that you can touch that align your body, get rid of your headaches, and other physical ailments that we may not enough know we have. I have had back problems since February and have hardly had relief so she thought this would be good for that. In addition to the physical aspect, there is the emotional aspect. This has been the ultimate lifesaver for me. I started going to this lady in Rigby thinking she would solve my back problems and it turned into something much more than that...

My first "zone" was incredible. I was a little nervous and my friend told me that I can talk to her about my emotional problems but I had made up my mind before I went in there that I was NOT going to talk. Just relax and hopefully walk away with zero back pain. Eh, not so much. I balled like a baby, and left feeling light as a feather! She asked me questions when she would get to certain parts in my feet and even asked my permission to "muscle test" (picking a certain muscle to heal physically and emotionally).

Turns out something that I have been putting on the back burner not thinking it was a big deal was my ultimate stress and causing my back pain. For the first month, I went every week. I couldn't get enough! My back was improving, not as fast as I wanted, but emotionally I felt incredible. After we made a huge break though, I felt fine about going twice a month and that is what I do now. Sometimes it's not enough, like this week, but I practice the techniques she teaches me and her services are priceless! And, my back feels fine. I only feel pain when I unpack boxes all day or whatever but I don't feel it when I'm sitting at my desk at work and that is priceless.

I have also learned so much about ME and I am not ashamed to admit that this had kept me afloat during these last few months more than anything. I am happier and Nephi is happier because he can tell I made a break through. My relationships that I have struggled with are improving, well--my side of them is improving. And that is HUGE.

Even though it is hard to admit my weaknesses when I am a person who has always prided myself on being open, honest, and good at creating relationships--it has been everything to admit it. My body didn't hide what I was burying inside and it's nice to start working on it.

So, if any of my Idaho friends are interested in trying out this lady, let me know and I will pass along the information. And, for those of you who are curious, here is my "textbook" that I read to help me understand the process. It will be at all major bookstores and of course you can find it online.

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I had to end it with a little humor ;)

The Vlogs

This is Nephi. Once in a while I post something. Today I'm posting our most recent vlogs from YouTube. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel if you want. Enjoy.

What have we been up to...

Date nights...can't miss those.

 Swimming at my brothers apartment complex's pool! Hot tub included :)

 Freaking out about Nephi working at a movie theater. Another topic for another post. 

Mormon Message for our study time.

Hair cuts we need. 

Hair cuts we WANT! (Should I?!)

 The sacrifices of decorating and fixing the smoke alarm. He eventually got down. 

 Some more decorating. Love my new mirror! (Clearance--$10!)

 Experimenting with the sewing machine. (Thanks for letting me borrow it, Sarah!)

 Thinking about cuddling this baby...I DIE! She is the sweetest. I live for the daily texts and videos. 

Things are good with us over here in good 'ol Idaho. We mostly work and play and we are LOVING Nephi not being in school. This week we are going Idaho's AAA baseball team game, playin' bunko with some ladies, getting zoned (I will expand upon that in another post), and then going camping this weekend with the Henderson's and Layton's! We are so excited. It will be my first "official" camping trip. Ha! We'll see how it goes...