10.16 Review

And just like that October is over. Somehow there are only TWO more months of 2016...TWOOO! HOW???

I'm not going to lie, I am overly excited for 2017 and may have already started goal setting.....but, let's stick to the present.

This month was SO good! October 1st I ran a freaking marathon. I still can't even believe it happened. I worked so hard and it wasn't easy, but now I can say I've done it! I didn't have a goal time, just a goal to finish, but I kind of also wanted to get under 5 hours. I ended up finishing with a time of 5:09 and initially I was a little disappointed, but now I'm just proud.

I spent pretty much all of my free time with my family, which was wonderful. My sister Khemia came to Utah for a two week visit and I soaked it all up! Fall is my favorite so it was wonderful sharing it with my family. I wouldn't have changed a minute of how I spent my time while she was here...unless I would've spent more time with her, but....I didn't go well with my goals. And that is OKAY! Some months are really great and productive and others just aren't; it's called balance. At any rate, here's where I stand 10 months into 2016:

Go to the temple 24 times: I have been 19 times, so I am still one behind. Ever since I went to the Provo City Center open house in March I have been saying that I want to go back and do a session and this month I was finally able to do so. This temple has quickly become my favorite; it is SO beautiful inside!

Run a half marathon: This month I ran my 5th half marathon of the year! (in addition to the St George Marathon) On Saturday I ran the Provo Haunted Half and I loved it! The course was beautiful and it was fun to see everyone running in their costumes.

Run at least 200 miles: I should've changed this goal months ago, but oh well. I am at 796 miles for the year. This month my mileage was pretty low, but I needed some time to rest up. I have one more race this year and then I wil start thinking about what I will do next year. Favorite half marathons...anyone??

Travel somewhere new: Not this month. Although Mike and I have never been to St George together, so that was new. But stay tuned for when I post about my travel goals for next year. They have me tremendously excited and giddy!

Get a job that uses my Master's Degree: I accepted another semester contract with BYU-I. I have enjoyed teaching so much and hope one day to do it as my primary job.

Buy a house: Which turned into: rent a duplex. If you had asked me a month ago if we were going to buy next year when our lease is up, I would've said yes, but now I think we're good here for awhile.

Become foster parents: I've already written about how we can't foster with my current job. We talked about maybe fostering next year, but Mike works with foster kids and isn't sure if he wants it to be his full life, so we'll see. I'm not ready to give up that easily.

2016 reading goal: This was my ultimate focus this month. I made it a goal to read 5 books, which I was able to do. I am on book #43! I getting towards the end of my list and finding books is starting to get hard, but I am so close!


November goals:

Read 5 books and go to the temple 3 times.

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Every month I find myself more and more amazed at how happy I can be even though my circumstances haven't really changed. It's amazing that by simply changing your attitude, you can start to see all you have and appreciate it for what it is. This year's happiness challenge has empowered me and taught me to shoot for the moon. I've learned how important it is to take care of myself and to embrace all the things that make me who I am.

If you're interested in reading about having joy regardless of your circumstance, check out this talk:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/joy-and-spiritual-survival?lang=eng

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I dare you to set a goal for the next two months, crush it, and then see how good you feel!

9.16

Holy moly! September is already over! I say it every month, but this year has seriously FLOWN by! September was a busy month, a whirlwind; both good and draining! I was busy every weekend and felt like I didn't have much downtime, but I was able to do some fun things! 

Highlights from September: I ran the Big Cottonwood Half-Marathon and got a new PR, I enjoyed a birthday hike up to Willow Heights, I went to the State Fair with my family, Oktoberfest with my family, had a JJ camp reunion, went up to Millcreek Canyon multiple times, drove the Alpine Loop with Trevor and David, and my sister-in-law got married.

I really only have two goals left that I can work on finishing up before the end of the year, so I will start prioritizing them a little more than I have been. 

As I said, I ran a half marathon in September, so my total for the year so far is 4. 

No new traveling in September, just getting so anxious for our cruise in January! 

My running total for the year is 759 miles

I started teaching in September and I LOVE it! I always forget how much I love teaching until I start doing it again! I definitely want to do it again next semester and will probably apply to teach two classes starting next fall. I feel fulfilled knowing I am using my master's degree, which makes it all even better. 

I have attended the temple 17 times so I am behind by one trip. I am hoping to go three times this month. I did go to the SL temple in September which I haven't done in years, so that was pretty cool. I also FINALLY bought a new temple dress with some birthday money and I 100% regret not buying one sooner. Having a comfortable temple dress makes such a huge difference! 

My reading goal is coming along okay. I am behind with it, but only by about 3 books. I will have to read an average of 5 books a month for the next 3 months to finish on time, but that should be manageable. 

Goals not fulfilled this year:

I was really hoping we would be able to foster, we had talked about it and planned on starting the process around this time. With my job, I am not able to foster as it is a conflict of interest. I was so disappointed when I found that out. We are looking at some other options which I am sure I will blog about at some point. 

We had also hoped to buy a house this year. We figured we were both done with school and had the potential to get better paying jobs and the ability to "move up in the world". It took us too long to get jobs and since Mike is still building up his client base, we decided this was no longer realistic for this year. We are moving into a duplex and hope that maybe this time next year we can buy. The good news is we will be saving a lot of money, so maybe we will get to travel some more instead! 

This year really has been a good year. Every month when I sit down to blog about my progress, I am reminded how much I have really tried to stick with all of my goals; the ones listed and my overall goal of creating a happier lifestyle. I have learned that happiness is a choice and it is my choice. My life is far from perfect and not at all what I had planned it to be, but I am still happy because I choose to be and because I purposefully do things that make me happy. I have learned to do things on my own and to find people who like the same things as me. I don't hold myself back from opportunities. I don't sit around waiting for tomorrow or for the weekend. I take a few minutes everyday to think about all the things from the day that made me happy. All of these things have truly changed the way I see things. I wasn't unhappy before this year, but I can truly say that I am happier. 

It's never too late to start making the choice to be happy.