Best of 2011

This is Part 1 of a 3-Part Post Series I'm going to do for my blog. This post will focus on my best and favorite moments of 2011. The second post will be my worst and least favorite moments of 2011. The final post will be a revisiting of my resolution for 2011 and seeing how well or not well I did.

MY BEST MOMENTS OF 2011

(These are in no particular order. Just as they come to mind.)

1. Joining the Navy.  I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be in the military. It had never seemed like a possible thing until just recently. I'm excited for the adventures and experiences that await me on this new chapter in my life. 

2. Transferring stores and becoming a supervisor. At the beginning of 2011 I got promoted and changed to another Deseret Book in Ammon, ID. This has been such a great and positive change in my life! I actually get along with my boss, I love the people I work with (for the most part), and Christmas was a breeze! Would I ever go back to the Temple store? Not in a million years. 

3. Kira. This woman has been such a blessing in my life. She has taught me how to stand up for myself and to follow my dreams. I probably would have been stuck in a life I never wanted if it weren't for her. She inspired me to join the Navy among other things. 

4. Lagoon trip. I went on a Lagoon trip this summer with Mike and Lacey, Brittany, and Kira. We had a blast. Kira and I even rode on the insane ride that shoots you up while you're sitting in this little ball. That is something I never would have done. I'm a lot braver these days. 

5. Year of Change. I think 2011 will always stand in my mind as a year of change. Not like big changes, but I know I've changed and grown a lot just in a short year. Who I was last year is completely different from who I am now.

6. Getting in Shape. I've lost a total of 35 lbs. and I'm in the best shape of my life. I never thought I'd be able to run a 5K and I did that this year with Kira and some mutual friends of ours. I feel like I can conquer the world because I was able to conquer that demon which has been my self-image. I feel comfortable in my own skin now.

7. Mike & Lacey's Wedding.  I was able to attend my friend Mike's wedding in Oakland, CA. It was a beautiful wedding and I was honored to be a part of it as the best man. The trip itself wasn't my favorite, but the wedding part was amazing. It was also the first trip where I've made all the arrangements for myself and flew down all by myself. Sad that I was 28 when I finally did this, but at least it happened, right?

8. Good Books & Good Music. I've read a lot of books and a lot of them have been really good. I can only think of a couple off the top of my head that weren't that great. There has also been a lot of really good music this year. Tori Amos, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj, Chevelle, Adele, and Florence + the Machine have pretty much dominated this year for me.

9. Hannah. This girl is amazing! There are some people you just connect with and it's like your souls rejoice because you've finally reunited with an old friend. That is how I feel with Hannah. We are kindred spirits.

10. Zumba! This has been the year for Zumba for me. I got addicted and now I can't get enough. Such a fun and enjoyable workout. 

That is all for Part 1. Stay Tuned for Part 2 (The Worst of 2011)!

Bragging a Little

A couple weeks ago I went to Rue 21 with my friend Whitney. They had jeans on sale for $8! Of course I had to get a pair because of that price. I grabbed a 32x30 jean which has been my size for awhile now (it feels great to get back to that size! 36x30 was awful!). I tried them on and they fit great but they were a little baggy which surprised me. So Whitney grabbed me a 30x30. I was pretty certain I would not fit into them. But I did! Granted, they were a little snug, but they fit! I ended up getting the 32x30, but I also left with a boosted ego because I could fit into 30x30s! I haven't been able to do that since high school!

So that got me thinking. Ok. I got this bad cold so I hadn't been able to workout and it's taken me awhile to get back into my groove and be motivated to workout. But last week I did good and worked out a lot. Anyway, I had been thinking about my Rue21 trip and I thought to myself, "Self, you have not weighed yourself in awhile." That is when I went in and weighed myself, fully expecting to be disappointed that I was still at 180 lbs. (Don't get me wrong, I love this weight, but I have wanted to get down lower for awhile.)

Drum roll please.

I weighed in at 175 lbs.! I could not believe my eyes! I know weight fluctuates, but it is hard to fluctuate that much!

There's even more.

Today, I weighed myself again, just to see if I'd gained back the 5 lbs. over my trip to Utah.

I weighed in at 172 lbs. That's right, kiddos.

I don't know what I've done differently either. I upped the reps on my weightlifting workout. I've eaten even smaller portions. Sometimes I forget to eat lunch. And I've also stopped eating late at night. So that has helped a lot, I guess. I'm planning on cutting out sweets altogether, but I don't know if I can actually do that. I might just have to exercise more control. I must admit that sweets have not really tempted me of late. My appetite, altogether, has changed a lot just recently.

My goal when I first started working out and trying to lose some weight was to get down to 170 lbs. That seemed like a lofty goal, but now it is entirely plausible!

Now that I've bragged I will probably wake up with an extra 8 lbs. Oh well. :)

2009: A Year in Review

January:

I was living at Mike's house in Rexburg and started my final semester at BYU-Idaho. During this month I began reading The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde for my senior capstone English class. Also, on the 16th, my sister gave birth to two beautiful twin boys named Morgan Rico and Wyatt Bruce Chacon. They are an awesome addition to the family.

February:

Still plowing away at the last semester of school. Another Valentine's Day without a significant other to profess my love with flowers and chocolates to. Oh well.

March:

This was a great month. We had Giselle (Gigi) sealed to my parents and also did Brittany's temple work. It was a very special and spiritual experience that I will not forget. It was after this that I finally felt at peace about the whole thing. We have also continued the tradition of going out to eat as a family on birthdays, so we went out for Britt's birthday.

April:

We celebrated Kate's 27th birthday on the 8th. And I graduated from BYU-Idaho FINALLY! My degree was in English, professional writing, with a minor in public relations. The world was my oyster and I was ready to hit the road running!

May:

This month found me moving out of Mike's house and back in with my parents and Gigi. It has been a good move because I have been able to save up money while looking for a big-kid job.

June:

Gigi had her second birthday. On her birthday we took family pictures which would eventually be the motivation for me to lose weight.

July:

I started a workout regimen using my parents' Bowflex and their elliptical machine and saw immediate results. Also, this was the month I went to Tori Amos' concert in Salt Lake City. She was AMAZING and by far the best concert I've ever been to. Somewhere either in June or July we had a big Art Taylor family reunion up here. We had a big bbq and then the next day we caravan'ed up to West Yellowstone and other hot spots. It was great to be with the clan again.

August:

I turned 26 on the 4th which puts me closer to 30 than 20. It's hard to think of that simply because I thought I would be in a different place in my life at this point, but what can ya do? It has been hard for me to get out of a jaded funk about girls and dating.

September:

Still plugging away at work at Deseret Book. They were starting construction on the remodel. We added a distribution center to the store which was a big undertaking for all involved.

October:

We moved the store out into a tent for a week while they finished up the store's remodel. I went down to St. George for Jeremy and Megan Young's baby boy's blessing. They named him Hadley Taylor Young. It was great to get away and to see my friends there, so much so I really didn't want to leave. I even toyed with the idea of moving down there. It is still a possibility.

As soon as I got back I pulled a 14-hour day at work putting the store back together. What a mess!

November:

I officially lost 20 lbs. this month. What a great feeling to be in shape. I forgot what it was like not to cringe whenever I looked in the mirror. :)

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle's house near Rexburg. I was good and didn't overindulge even with all the yummy-yummy food to eat.

December:

Insanity! Deseret Book became my second home because I was there so much. Tension was high the last couple weeks but we survived the Christmas rush. Now we get to take a sigh of relief as January comes and gives us some time to think and recover from the madness.

Also, I finished the rough draft of my novel! What an awesome thing to have that done. I have already started the rewrite and am very happy with the results thus far.

I am in a much different place in my life now. Much more at ease and comfortable with where I'm at. It's not that I'm getting complacent. I just know that I'm not going to sit around and wait for life to happen to me anymore. 2010 will be a year of changes, travels, and LIFE!