“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” – Oprah

One month down. This post is to report where I’m at with the goals I set for 2018 as well as highlight what I’ve been up to.

Attend church. Get a temple recommend. Receive the Melchizedek priesthood. Go through the temple. Date. Read The Book of Mormon, The Bible, Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.

I am in the Salem Hills YSA Ward. 100% attendance for all four Sundays this month. I am not a fan of having church start at 1 p.m., I’d honestly prefer if it started at 8 a.m. However, I get to sleep in and get some reading done in the mornings. I’ve met with the Bishop and am meeting with the first counselor to work toward getting a recommend, the priesthood and to go through the temple.

I started a 2018 LDS Reading Challenge group on Facebook. I found a website where you can input the start and end date and it creates a reading schedule. One of the main reasons I created the group was so that I could have people follow along and be held accountable to keep reading. Strength in numbers. I am also trying to serve more around the house. I’m not consistent every night, because, I’m human and sometimes just want to go to bed and watch Netflix/Hulu. While I clean up, I’ll listen to a couple of conference talks. I started in the April 1990 (the year I was born) conference and will work my way to the most recent conference. Once I’ve made more progress with spiritual goals, I’ll begin putting myself out there to date. I need to work on myself before I can be in a relationship. I’ve also started a gratitude journal where I write at least three things I was grateful for each day.

“And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.” (1 Nephi 15:24)

Read at least one book a month.

The book for book club this month was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. “Henry, a Chinese American, remembers a young Japanese American girl from his childhood in the 1940s – Keiko Okabe, with whom he forged a bond of friendship and innocent love that transcended the prejudices of their Old World ancestors.”

I loved the story line from beginning to end and would recommend this easy read.

I also read What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton. “In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I’ve often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I’m letting my guard down.”

Love her or hate her, I recommend delving into this 400+ page book (let me know if you’d like to borrow it). Onward together.

Pay off my student loan.

My loan balance on January 1^st was $8,072.79. Someone commented on one of my Facebook posts a few months back and mentioned I should look into Dave Ramsey. I’ve been listening to his episodes on my podcast app every night. I have completed step 1 and saved $1,000. I am currently in step 2 paying off my debts. The only debt I have is my student loan. I paid $988.78 toward my loan and should have the total debt paid off at the beginning of October (earlier depending on the amount of my tax refund).

Eat healthy (less eating out). Exercise (at least three times a week).

My cousin’s Kylie and Haylie created a Biggest Loser challenge that goes from January 2^nd until March 2^nd. I haven’t had any soda this month and I haven’t gone to any fast food restaurants. I’ve focused heavily on meal prepping and sticking to salads or a healthier lunch option at work.

I’ve tried to get to bed between 9 and 10 and normally get up around 7. I hit my step goal of 11,000 steps a day 19 of the 31 days this month. I worked out 20 of the 31 days this month

My weight on January 1^st was 233.5. I lost 18.1 pounds and now weigh 215.4. One month left of the challenge. I have taken a face picture every night so I can see the difference. January 1st compared to January 31st.

 

Work –

• A bunch of us created a bracket for The Bachelor.
• We play HQ almost every day at 1. It’s a live game show where you can win money if you get all 12 questions right. None of us have won… yet!
• Egyptian Rat Screw with Brittany and Candace out on the deck.
• Got switched from hourly to salary
• Transitioned into doing Local SEO

Shows I’m watching(ed) –

Seinfeld, Roseanne (have to finish it before the revival in March), Golden Globes (LOVED Oprah’s speech), Black Mirror (very strange but addicting), The Amazing Race (probably my favorite reality/game show on TV), The Four (this show is annoying but I have to finish the season), This Is Us (I. Cry. Every. Single. Episode.), Riverdale, 9-1-1 (highly recommend), The Good Doctor (only a few episodes in), Glee (started for the third time), The Bachelor (JanuARIE)

Movies I watched –

Jungle 2 Jungle, Bring It On, Tommy Boy, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Pocahontas, Rent, The Greatest Showman (Sing-a-long version), Simon Birch, Step Brothers

Podcasts I’m listening to –

Intelligence Matters with Michael Morell, Majority 54, Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Required Listening, Scrubbing in with Becca Tilley, So Random with Corinne Olympios, Stuff You Should Know, Ted Talks Daily, The Ben & Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast, The Daily, The Dave Ramsey Show, The Minimalists, Up First and Your Favorite Thing Podcast with Wells & Brandi

If you are wondering what Lindsay Lohan is up to, check out her last interview with Wendy Williams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF3H48pN4Ao

January 1^st – Mom’s birthday with family at Olive Garden (there is one in Spanish Fork now, happy day!)

January 3^rd – Had dinner with my friend’s Katie and Stacie. <3

January 5^th – Justin’s (my mom’s cousin) birthday, went to the Midway Ice Castles for the first time.

 

January 11^th – The flu :/

January 13^th – Bridget and Sati’s wedding

January 14^th – Worldwide Devotional with Dieter F. Uchtdorf and his wife Harriet

January 16^th – The first presidency was announced! President Russell M. Nelson with first counselor, Dallin H. Oaks and second counselor, Henry B. Eyring

January 17^th – Made peanut butter with Brittany at Winco

January 18^th – Watched The Greatest Showman sing-a-long version with Delite and Jenna

January 19^th – Went to the Sundance Film Festival with Shinah. We got into Clara’s Ghost and saw the following celebrities: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Joaquin Phoenix, Dennis O’Hare, Haley Joel Osment, Chris, Abby, Bridey and Paula Elliott. We then had dinner and hung out with Andrea, Dan and Emi.

January 22^nd – Dinner, games and watched Simon Birch for the first time with Chase and Marissa

January 27^th – Dustin replaced my back rotors and brakes at Jiffy Lube (What. A. Blessing. Having a brother that knows cars). Had dinner with Amanda and Kylie and then Dustin joined us as we watched Step Brothers

January 28^th – Watched The Grammy’s with my grandma. Loved all of the performances, especially Lady Gaga’s, Kesha’s, Pink’s, Miley Cyrus and Elton John’s!

January 30^th – Tried rabbit for the first time at work. Not bad.

January 31^st – My friend Danielle is home from her mission. Had lunch with her at work.

“Commit to the easy things and do them as perfectly as you can, BIG things will follow. Daily prayer, study the scriptures, Word of Wisdom, attending church, pray with real intent, pay tithes and offerings. Do these things even if you don’t want to. They may be small but they are very important. These little dots make up the master painting of your life. Out of small things will come that which is great.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf