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Saturday, April 28, 2012

No more fast food for me...kind of.

So I have made my decision. No fast food for me this summer, well kind of. I don't think I could ever give up all fast food forever, because I love food! (I mean how could I live in Indiana for three months and not eat at Steak'n'Shake!) I've decided to make some changes though to be healthier and get in shape and this is the next big decision I have made.

I am only going to allow myself to eat fast food once a month this summer. This seems like a feasible goal for me, although I know I'm going to want to break it multiple times, especially since I will be working in Columbus this summer where there are hundreds of choices. I should probably clarify that the "fast food" that I can only eat once month is what we would call the bad and unhealthy fast food. I thought about defining fast food as any eating place with a drive-thru window, but Subway and even some Panera Bread places have drive-thru windows, and I would not consider them unhealthy. So I am banning myself from the so-called unhealthy fast food places, which means no frostys from Wendy's, no pizza from Domino's but just once a month. Only one fast food meal all together each month this summer.

As I am putting this new stipulation into writing I am realizing the reality of it. And it's not making me very happy. I will definitely see the benefits though when I am training for the Top of Utah Marathon that is in September, and hopefully in my wallet as well. Not eating fast food all the time will help me to save my hard earned money this summer that I will desperately need for school this fall.

It all begins now. Hopefully I can have enough will power to stay strong, especially as I am driving across the country in two weeks back home to Indiana. Not eating fast food or only eating it once will be quite a challenge, but here I go. I can do this!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

It's time for some changes...

Exercising, diets, eating out, healthy choices and fast food have all been recent topics for Cody and I. We have been dating for almost a whole year now (Yay us!). One of our favorite things to do, besides visiting dairy farms, is to go out to eat. Besides the effect we feel in our wallet, we are starting to realize its affecting us physically. And sadly I am coming to the realization that I have gained some weight.

Looking back over this past year though I am not surprised. I have literally eaten whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and how ever much I wanted. It sure has been fun, but I don't like the extra pounds, the heavy breathing I get just from walking up a flight of stairs, and looking at all the money I spend on food each month. So I have made the decision to change this. Actually I made the decision a long time ago but never seemed to have the motivation to actually do anything about it. I would make little changes here and there, like walk to campus or do a quick workout, but I have not been committed or consistent. It all changes today. Right now actually.

I am not exactly sure how I want to approach slash start this endeavor. There seems to be so many different ways I can go about doing this. I have had a few ideas how I want to get healthy and back in shape while shedding some pounds.

The Top of Utah Marathon is held in September here in Logan, and I have toyed with the idea of participating. It would take some good dedication and a lot of training to do so, but I like the challenge. Unfortunately, my foot has decided to hurt and turn black and blue from an old injury, so I haven't started any real training yet. Besides training for a marathon this fall, I want to stay active and take some type of fitness class this summer. My internship this summer with the 4-H program will keep me on my feet for some part of my time, but then again I will have office hours every week when the fair or 4-H camp isn't in full swing. This means I plan for my summer to include a lot of outdoor activities and work (hopefully some horse riding slash training and good old labor around the family farm with my dad). And I mentioned a fitness class. Besides a conditioning class I took the fall of my sophomore year here at USU, I have never taken a fitness class. I have always had interest in doing one though. So I'm excited to find one back home that is once or twice a week, and hopefully I can get my sisters to join me!

So I have mentioned a lot of exercising that I will be doing, but what about food? This is where it could get ugly. I love food, especially sweets. Cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cake, ice cream, you name it, I love it! Besides just eating, I love to cook, and it's not always the healthiest. I haven't decided how to go about this. I have used the MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone recently that counts your calories, and gives you daily nutrition details. It quickly made me realize that I eat way more calories than I should, and that I am not getting enough of my essential vitamins and nutrients. This means I need to be conscious of my choices, and what I put into my body. A summer fast of no fast food is one of my recent thoughts. I don't know if I am ready to make such a commitment. I need to ponder it a little more.

In two weeks the semester will be done, and I will be on my way back to Indiana for the summer. I am so excited to start my internship, spend time with friends and family, and make some smart and healthy changes. This is just the beginning of it all. We will see what the summer has in store for me.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A Summer back home in Indiana...

So if you haven't heard yet I am returning back home to Indiana for the summer!!!

Ever since I moved out to Utah for school I have wanted to go back home for a summer, however it was just never able to happen...until now. I will be working full time for the Bartholomew County Extension Office as the Summer 4-H Intern.

Growing up at home I lived for the County Fair every summer. I showed our Jersey dairy cows, sheep, swine, and of course competed with my horse and pony in the contesting events. Besides livestock, I did sewing projects, gift wrapping, and microwave foods. I can't wait to spend my entire summer working with the program that made every one of my summers amazing. I'm looking forward to working with all the young 4-Hers and putting together a great 4-H camp and 4-H week at the fairgrounds.



Besides working my dream job, I will be able to see all of my family and friends for more than just a few weeks at a time. I can hang with my incredible little nephews and twin nieces for the entire summer. Spend time with my little sisters that are living back home in a huge house with my parents. And help my dad farm and care for the cows and pigs during a great Indiana summer. I am so excited and anxious for it all to start, however leaving Cody (my cow crazy farm boyfriend) will be hard. He is pretty darn lucky though with a full time job working on his family dairy farm in Preston, Idaho. I'm going to miss him like crazy.

I don't think I could put into words how much I love home back in Hope, Indiana. I love the great summers full of the fair, corn and beans everywhere, driving around in a truck with the windows down, and hanging with my friends and family.

I hope everyone's ready for me to return, because I sure am!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Grandpa Moore...always in my heart.

My blogging is starting off very slow. It has been a long two weeks since I first posted though.

After submitting my first post, my day kind of turned upside down. 
My dad called me from back home in Indiana and informed me that my Grandpa Moore was in the hospital and that they had told everyone to come in and see him. It wasn't looking good. My heart instantly dropped, but then again I didn't feel too harshly because he has been in and out of the hospital for the past year or so and always came out of it strong. An hour later though my dad gave me word that my grandpa had passed away. I was instantly shocked, and then instantly crying. 

I couldn't believe that he was gone. The man that taught me how to hook a worm, water ski, catch dinner and then fry it up was gone. Every summer I worked right along side him in his Touchdown Lures company that produced fishing lures. The Indianapolis Star wrote a great article on the legend that he built called: Jonesville man's 'Touchdown' lure responsible for many big scores.

We would work all day long and then my sisters and cousins and I would run over to Taco Bell for lunch or if it was really hot we stopped by Tropical Sno for a snow cone. I remember putting hot dogs on the fishing poles early each morning, and then once we got back from working we would check to see if any catfish had been hooked. I lived out on the lake every summer, along with my sisters and cousins. The best part was when we would all stay in the basement for a week long. It would be full of skiing, fishing, campfires, s'mores, and tons of fried fish that we caught ourselves, of course.

Out of all the memories though, the one thing I always remember about my grandpa is that there was never a time he didn't tell us he loved us, or was proud of us. Both my grandpa and grandma were the best grandparents I could ask for. After anything and everything that happened they would tell us how much they loved me and all my family. And how proud of me they were. They always made it to my basketball games, my high school graduation, the county fair, and much more. That is what I'm going to miss the most. Just seeing his smiling face that told me how much he loved me.



Grandpa Moore will always be in my heart. I can't wait for the days that I can tell my children about him. I want them to know how amazing he was. And how much he would love them, because I know that he loves me and always will. 

Saturday, April 7, 2012

I'm actually doing this...

I have thought about this day for so long (the day I actually start a blog), but never seemed to have the courage or time, which I still feel like I don't, but I'm doing it anyway.

Most blogs have a main focus or theme behind them such as cooking, sewing, traveling, etc. Well, this is one reason I never had the courage to start a blog, because I have no idea what my focus would be. I entertained the idea of a cooking slash baking blog, but not sure how well I can keep up on that with going to school and working and spending time with my boyfriend and friends. And then I thought about sewing. My amazing mother recently gave me a sewing machine for my 21st birthday in February, but I'm no pro. The best way I can put it is that I have experience sewing, but I'm not an experienced sewer.

So with no definite consensus on a "theme", I decided I would make it a jumble of it all. And with that decision came the next dilemma of deciding on a blog name. With no concrete "theme" of my blog it needed to be something generic for my entire life right now and everything and anything I could be going through that could end up on the fancy new blog of mine. Now you're all probably looking back up at the title and wondering what I was thinking when I chose this. Well, you have to understand my childhood and my father in particular...

I grew up in a little country town of just over two thousand people in southern Indiana. Hope was it's name and "A Surprising Little Town" was our slogan. I lived on a farm just a few miles from the town square on a country road with my family of nine. Our farm (aerial picture below!) includes a herd of Jersey dairy cows (the best dairy cow breed in my opinion), POA ponies, a hog barn full of 4,000 baby pigs and of course chickens, dogs, and cats. My father farms just over 500 acres that include mainly corn and soybeans, as well as alfalfa hay for the animals.


My dad grew up on his parents farm just down the road from ours a few miles. His entire childhood consisted of farm work from sunrise to sunset (unless they were hiding from grandpa in the tree house they built). Milking cows, chopping wood, feeding animals and helping his dad with construction business were just a few things my dad and his 10 brothers did everyday, while his two sisters and mother were cooking and taking care of the home. This type of work ethic has been with my dad his whole life. And has been brought about some motivating sayings to stir the work on. "Pushin' the Pony" was just one of them, and probably the everyone's favorite. "Walk the Dog" and "Drop the Blade" were both other common sayings my dad would tell all us kids to get us working each day. Of course, it got quite a few laughs too, but we all grew up working hard out on the farm and in the house.

So as I thought about what to title this blog, I thought about how I'm so busy everyday just trying to do get things accomplished and be productive. My dad's familiar voice yelling "Pushin' the Pony" came to my mind, and that was it. This blog of mine will include all the craziness of my life that I'm trying to get accomplished. I'm not really sure what I'm doing, but I hope you enjoy!