Six weeks, six packs

As many of you might already know, I am an avid Jillian Michaels fan. If you don't know who she is (shame on you!) she was the crazy trainer on the Biggest Loser and she's RIPPED. My collection of Jillian Michaels workout DVDs has recently doubled, as my mom sent me two new ones this week (thanks Mom!!).

My collection now includes:

Banish Fat Boost Metabolism

30 Day Shred

Yoga Meltdown

anddddd.... SIX WEEK SIX PACK

Random sidenote, but this ties in to Jillian, I promise. My roommate, Lindsey, is engaged to the man of her dreams and the happy couple plans to tie the knot on May 5th (shout out to Lindsey..."Cinco de mayo!") Because of this, Lindsey is on the LGN diet, and we, being the supportive roommates that we are, have decided to do it with her.

*For those of you who can't figure out what the LGN diet is, you can look it up but don't click on google images...I can't promise they will be G-rated*

So here is the plan: Katie and I are trying to fulfill our MyPlate recommendations every day. So far, she is doing much better at it than I am. But here are those requirements:

8 oz. grains

6.5 oz. protein

2 cups fruit

3 cups vegetables

3 cups dairy

Because I hate milk, and I seriously lag when it comes to vegetables, this is going to be a struggle (I had to buy chocolate syrup to make chocolate milk. It's the only way I can make the it bearable to drink). We loaded up on the produce at the store the other day, and I can happily say that when I had a sweet craving today, I reached for an apple instead of the usual cookies and chocolate! Yippee.

Besides eating healthy, the roommates and I are going to do Six Week Six Pack for six weeks and try to get jacked like Jillian. Seriously, she's crazy.

Bridget and I started this evening...you guys can give my other roommates crap for not joining us on the FIRST DAY OF THE PLAN

Now that this is written in ink (well, almost) I am going to be held accountable for my actions. Just ask me about my six pack on March 12.

I have a dream...to climb a mountain

Martin Luther King Jr. Day. What a man. What a day.

My original plans for this beloved holiday involved studying at the library, but when my dear friend Craig called me (literally 5 minutes after I cracked open my books at the library) and asked if I wanted to join in a Tom and Huck adventure, I just couldn't resist. After all, this holiday is supposed to be a nice little break from school, right? My roommate Katie didn't take much convincing either, so we both headed back home after getting absolutely nothing accomplished to ready ourselves for some adventuring.

Problem: It was bitterly cold outside.

Solution: 2 pairs of leggings, 1 pair of sweatpants, snow pants, 2 shirts, 1 sweatshirt, 1 snow jacket, 2 pairs of gloves, 2 pairs of socks, rain boots, beanie.

Problem: The mountain our friend, Kade, had had his eye on for awhile (more like a large hill up in the canyon if we're being totally honest) had no trail.

Solution: We blazed our own!...until we found a little deer trail, then we followed that to the top.

Kade and I on our way up the mountain.

See that road? That's where we started. Tom and Huck, heck yeah

Craig, Kade, and Katie during one of our many breaks. The mountain was freaking steep!

Side note: This excursion was further proof to me that guys never properly prepare themselves for anything. Craig and Kade showed up with only jeans and thin sweatshirts (keep in mind it was about 30 degrees out with a CRAZY wind chill factor) and no gloves. Luckily, I packed extra socks, which Kade used for his hands, and an extra hat (seen on Craig in the above picture).

Our shadows

My hot roommate

Ok this was the last picture I was able to take before my face froze and I was unable to smile. Katie and I on the way up.

And cue frozen face and sadly failed attempts at a normal smile...

Apparently, Craig and I both have frozen face syndrome. Sad that we couldn't even take a good picture once we were finally at the top.

My solution:

Headband over my mouth! This was taken on our way back down the mountain.

And finally back at the bottom. Craig gathered branches the whole way down so we could make an awesome fire and roast some hot dogs at the bottom of the mountain. And when I say WE could make a fire, I mean the boys. Katie and I are pretty much completely incapable when it comes to wilderness survival.

Also, I HATE hot dogs. I think this was the only time in my life I actually ate a hot dog and enjoyed it. Suffice it to say, we were starving by the end and I probably would have enjoyed any type of food as long as it was warm. On an even grosser note, the boys brought chili and we threw that on top of the hot dogs too. And it tasted SO good.

The Most Awkward Double Date of My Life

Now I'm sure you are all dying to read about this "awkward" date of mine, right? Well I TRICKED YOU! That was just a catchy title to get you to keep reading. Especially if you are reading this, Zacchary.

Anyway, my dear friend Kristen is dating a great guy named Paul, and last weekend I went on a double date with them and Paul's roommate, Zacchary. We started the night off at one of my very favorite places to eat, Zupas!

Because, embarrassingly enough, I worked at Zupas for about a month last year, I know all the secrets of what to order and why. Or at least I thought I did. Pesto chicken panini is always a winner, so I ordered that (without tomatoes of course) and usually I go for the tomato basil soup mixed with the Wisconsin cauliflower. Here is my reasoning: they are both good by themselves, but you put them together and it's magical. Also, the workers have to estimate on how much to give you since they do about half a scoop of each, and usually it turns out they fill your bowl a teensy bit higher than they usually would if you were only getting one type of soup, just because the measurements aren't as exact.

In this case, however, the girl that did my soup loaded it up to the brim, but the guy that gave Zacchary his soup totally jipped him and gave him like half as much as usual, so apparently this trick doesn't work all the time.

But we did get a THREE BITE STRAWBERRY! What is that you might ask? It's a strawberry that is so big, it has to be eaten in three bites. Look at this thing!

After dinner we headed to Classic Skating in Orem.

I've been twice before, but you would never know it because I'm really not very good.

Although Zacchary and Paul wouldn't admit it, I'm pretty sure roller skating is their thing and they hang out with all the teeny bopper scene kids at Classic Skating every weekend. These two were stinking good at it!

Zacchary on one foot...no big deal...

Paul skating/dancing backwards

Cutest couple award, matching outfits!

Gotta have a train going at some point.

And of course, our hipster pic of the night:

Angles like this are hipster gold, right?

We ended the night by going to my new favorite place The Chocolate where we got various goodies. Kristen and Paul went for the cazookie (a rip-off of BJ's pazookie, but equally good).

I got caramel pecan hot chocolate (best thing of my life) and Zacchary went for the frosted glass of milk and vanilla ice cream (which the worker made fun of him for haha!)

Moral of the story: Go to Zupas, Classic Skating, or The Chocolate, (or all of the above!) if you want to eat great food and have a fabulous time. Oh, and good company can help too!

Peace and blessings, peace and blessings.

2011 in rewind

Because it is the new year, I thought a post summing up 2011 would be appropriate.

This year I:

Went to the Festival of Colors at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah

Tandem biked down the Provo River trail to Utah Lake and back

Lived in one of the most beautiful cities (at least in my opinion) in the world: Cuenca, Ecuador

I got to work with some of the most incredible children in the world

Including the world's cutest babies

Some were a little older...but equally great!

In Ecuador I enjoyed recreational activities such as:

Running on this beautiful river trail three times a week with the "running group"

Jumping into waterfalls

Wearing oh so cute harnesses to go ziplining

Purchasing and learning to play (sort of) a guitar

Playing soccer with (and usually getting slaughtered by) 10 year old Ecuadorian boys

And fearing for my life every time we got in this bus to drive anywhere (Ecuadorians are terrifying when it comes to the road)

I discovered that Ecuador had some great food to offer, such as burgers from El Carbonazo (two for one every Tuesday!)

While other foods weren't quite as delicious (cuy...aka Guinea pig, an Ecuadorian specialty)

I had the opportunity to visit the LDS Temple in Guayaquil, Ecuador...

and while in Guayaquil, I even stopped to fight with an iguana or two!

I bought some dank Amazon overalls and wore them to the sandy beach in Jambelí

And I also got to be the palest I've ever been in my entire life!

I finished up my trip to Ecuador by taking the scariest tiniest propellor plane to the Amazon basin where I:

hiked through the densest brush I've ever been in

took urban photos with the largest tree in the Amazon

swam in the Napo River with (sleeping) anacondas

Used a blowdart and hit the target on my first try

Enjoyed the Amazonian cuisine, including a live grub. This photo was taken shortly before I popped that nasty bug in my mouth.

For those of you who can't see it wiggling in my hand, here is a closer look:

After the Amazon trip I traveled to Quito on my way back to the states...

And I straddled the equator!

Upon returning home I reunited with some old friends,

Tried on a Lady GaGa wedding dress while thrifting with my sister,

And accidentally wore pretty much the exact same outfit as my friend, Kristen, did to church.

Then it was off to Mexico with my favorite people in the world!

We saw some ruins,

took some pictures,

And even got to climb to the very top of one of the towers!

We ate at yummy local restaurants that had delicious (but dangerous) food,

We met a little monkey (in my mom's hand) named Rango,

And we even visited a deserted island! In this picture, we (along with our guides) were the only ones there!

Then it was back to Provo, Utah for school!

I moved into a new apartment,

where I met one of my new best friends!

Shout out to Jess: I love you and miss you and this post came about largely due to your nagging!

I walked across a glacier while on my way up to the Mount Timpanogos summit!

I watched the sun rise from one of the highest mountains in Utah

I went roller skating and discovered I'm not great at it, but I still had a great time!

I planned a matching color shoe day or two with my roommates

I assisted in carving a pumpkin snowman for Halloween,

I dressed up as a mime,

and as Minnie Mouse for like the fifth year in a row!

I ran my second half marathon (the Halloween Half in Provo Canyon) with my roommate, Katie, and we dressed up as Batman. 1 hour 34 minutes baby!

I got several free t-shirts at BYU basketball games and cheered so loud I lost my voice.

I met Apa Sherpa, the man who holds the world record for the number of times he's climbed Everest!

I joined a band (sort of)

I made my very first gingerbread house

And I, along with my roommates, hosted a Classy Christmas Party!

I went to the beach...in December. I love California.

And I rang in the new year with a few of my favorite people at a dance party in Glendale.

2011 has been a most excellent year. Thank you to everyone in my life who made it great! I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!