To blog or not to blog

That has been the question on my mind for months.  I couldn’t think of anything to write about and I didn’t know if anyone was even reading my blog.  I came to the conclusion that I didn’t really care if anyone read it or not.  This blog is for me.  It is my journal of sorts.  I have a hard time writing in a regular journal on a daily basis.  I decided this was an easy method for me and still shows what I have done in my life and what I care about most.  So I am going to continue to blog.  I have a some new fun ideas that I am super excited about.  If no one else reads this I don’t mind but thanks to anyone who is still reading my blog.  I love to read about people’s lives and the fun things they do each day, week, year etc.  Even though I will be writing mainly for myself if I do have any readers I hope you find this interesting.  So as the Little Couple says in the beginning of their reality show of their lives:  “This is my story and welcome to it”. 

40 Before 40

I celebrated my 39th birthday on December 22.  It was a great day. I actually celebrated all weekend.  Friday at work my sweet co-worker took me to lunch. That evening I went to dinner with my parents.  On Saturday (my actual birthday) I spent the day with my mom and then I went to a Family Christmas party that night. They sang Happy Birthday to me.  It has always been hard to celebrate Christmas at the same time as my birthday.  I often have Christmas parties on my birthday.  The hardest year was when I turned 16 and I had a Family Christmas party instead of Sweet Sixteen Birthday party.  This year it didn't bother me as much especially when my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all sang to me. On Sunday I celebrated with my brother Jared and his family.   I decided I am going to enjoy this year so I created a 40 fun things to do before turning 40.  I plan to celebrate turning 40 so all of these fun things will lead up to a grand celebration. 

40 Thing Before Turning 40

1. Establish a workout routine and stick to it for at least 6 months.
2. Lose 40 pounds
3. Spend a few days in Park City
4. Lean to make mom's rolls
5. Learn to make 7 family dinners
6. Travel somewhere I have never been before
7. Go to Disneyworld to celebrate turning 40
8. Clean up craft room
9. Create a Yoga oasis somewhere in my home
10. Go to Tuacahn to see Mary Poppins and Starlight Express
11. Do a real retreat
12. Pay off debt
13. Staycation in Utah
14. Attend a ballet
15. Attend an opera
16. Attend a Jazz game
17. Attend a Real soccer game
18. Attend a symphony
19. Pass Zelda Twilight Princess
20. Pass Epic Mickey 2
21. Write in journal at least once a week
22. Plan trip to Europe before I turn 45
23. Go on a date
24. Get scrapbooks up to date
25. Visit Zermatt resort in Midway
26. Visit Timpanogos Cave again
27. Go to a restaurant I have never been to
28. Cook something with an ingredient I have never used before
29. Read 40 books
30. Photograph somehting from my life at least once a week
31. Go without sugar for 1 week
32. Watch a sunrise
33. Watch a sunset
34. Try acupuncture
35. Host a fondue party
36. Buy some red shoes
37. Do something that is not on this list but should have been
38. Write about each 40 before 40 item on my blog
39. Buy myself something special to celebrate my 40th birthday
40. Have a party to celebrate my 40th birthday

My New Toy

I found a new toy two weeks ago.  It is called a Fitbit.  It tracks the number of steps you take each day.  The number of floors you climb.  The calories you burn and your activity level.  It links to a program on your computer so you can track your activity.  I love charts and graphs so this was the perfect new gadget for me to help with my weight loss goals. 

Here are today's stats.

 Activity Level is 1000.  I couldn't sit still at work today so I was very active.

 Number of steps I took today.  This is the highest I have reached since I bought my Fitbit. 

 Miles I walked today.

 Calories I burned today.

Floors I climbed today. 

Stick a Pin in It!

I joined Pinterest yesterday. I am not sure I understand how it works yet but I like all the fun pictures and ideas. 

Stay Tuned

It has been a while since I updated my blog.  I am working on adding a few posts so stay tuned. 

Mount Rushmore

I finally had the chance to visit Mount Rushmore.  South Dakota and Mount Rushmore have been on my vacation list for about 10 years.  It took a lot of research to come up with fun ideas of things to do in South Dakota to convince my family to add this to their vacation list.  I created the perfect itinerary and included something for everyone.  It turned out to be a really fun trip that everyone enjoyed! 

 In Rapid City they have a wonderful exhibit called Presidential Walk. There is a bronze statue of every President of the United States on each corner around Main Street. I insisted on getting my picture taken with each statue. However, it was hot and it turned out that Main Street is huge. So after the first 10 we drove around and my Dad would stop near one of the corners so I could jump out of the car with Trent, Anne or Brandon and we would find the 4 statues on the corner and get the pictures. After a while I decided I just wanted to find President Lincoln since he is my favorite President. We found 32 out of the 42 statues. President Lincoln was #31. One day I will go back and get pictures with the other 10 and by then they will have added President Obama and whomever is the next President.

We almost didn't go to Crazy Horse.  I highly recommend it.  They have a wonderful museum with Indian artifacts.  In the artist's studio several Indian artists sell jewelry, paintings, flutes, etc.  I found the cutest jewelry there. 

Another place we almost didn't visit was Badlands National Park.  It is about a 2 hour drive from Mount Rushmore.  It turned out to be one of our favorite parts of the trip. 

22 down 3 more to go!

One of the goals on my Life List is to see half of the United States before I turn 40.  I added state number 22 this week.  I visited South Dakota.  I am hoping to visit Hawaii next year to pick up my sister from her mission.  That leaves 2 more that I need to visit by December 22, 2013.  Any suggestions? 

Here are the states I have visited so far (in alphabetical order):

Arizona
California
Connecticut
Florida
Idaho
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming