Tuesday, January 22, 2013

LOVE LOVE LOVE 2013!!

Blogging is not my forte...hence the lack of blog posts...but since today I'm home not feeling that great, I thought that I should update friends and fam about the exciting happenings in my life for 2013!!! :)
Super old picture, but it's adorable! LOVE THESE people!! :)
So...MOST exciting news for 2013 is that my Dad got called to be a MISSION PRESIDENT!!! :) I'm super excited for him and my mom and I have complete confidence that they are going to be fantastic!! We've received permission to let people know that they've been asked to learn RUSSIAN! Which is SUPER exciting! They'll find out where they're going in the end of February/early March...so we're all excited/nervous/ecstatic to see where they will go! I told them to watch Rocky IV and Anastasia to help them embrace the culture and enjoy Dimitri (let's be honest, who doesn't LOVE him?!). Jokes aside, it's been the best to see my parents receive this call and learn a new language. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that where much is given, much is required and the Lord will always be there to be your strength, courage, rock and Redeemer. Who knows...maybe next Christmas, I'll be in Siberia?!?! :)

Work is going really well! I love the babies and toddlers who I work with. My greatest joy every day is to see one of these kiddos learn how to speak, walk, pick up a fork or use a wheelchair. Update: I work as an event planner/marketing/PR guru for a non-profit that helps provide therapy for kiddos 0-3 years of age who have developmental delays and disabilities. Right now, we have our two largest fundraisers coming up in the next couple of months...so to say that it is a little crazy would be an understatement. :) But I keep on trucking along and learning daily of ways that I can improve and become better at what I need to do. It's such a blessing to have a job that I still get excited to go to everyday. :)

Church is great! The Gospel is TRUE! Serving in the Relief Society presidency and I LOVE it because I LOVE the girlies in our ward! They are so fantastic and I learn SO much from all of them. :) Family and friends are fabulous and I love spending time with them! Havin' a BLAST!! :)

Fabulous news for 2013: I FEEL FANTASTIC!!! For those who know me really well, knows that I have kind of a screwed up body (don't we all right?!). Since I was 12, I've been getting sick by a lot of different foods, starting with milk and then as time went on...it just got worse. :) A lot of trips to the doctor, natural medicine doctors, nutritionists, dieticians, etc. etc. etc...I finally found a doctor/naturopath who is fabulous! I started seeing him in September and the past four/five months, I haven't felt as good as I do now for the past 10 years! I feel in some ways, that I got my life back...such a blessing! :) He ran a lot of tests and trials and came up with a couple of things. One...everyone needs to get their Vitamin D checked...my levels were SUPER low, I was super deficient and especially for those who live up in the beautiful NW know that during the winter months, you don't see the sun as often as you would like. So I swear I started taking Vitamin D on steroids because of the crazy amount that I was taking, but I started feeling so much better. I also began an elimination diet...again.
Merry Christmas Morning 2012!
In March, it'll be SIX YEARS since I stopped eating all dairy products and refined sugars. That seemed to help some, but let me tell you...in September I went off all gluten products...and voila...I started feeling so much better! I introduced it back again and started feeling crummy again, so I became completely gluten free and my life is starting to feel normal again! :) My saving grace: Pamela's Chunky Chocolate Chip cookies (gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free)...this goodness is one of my many weaknesses. I go through...hmmm...probably 4 boxes of these a week...and the best part, I feel no guilt whatsoever eating them. :)
Order this here: http://pamelasproducts.com/products/cookies-and-biscotti/cookies/chunky-chocolate-chip-cookies/#!prettyPhoto
Since eating porkchops, rice and beans and the goodness of my mission, I gained tons of weight on the mission, but since it has been 2.6 years since I've been home (AHH!! :( ) I've lost about 30 lbs. (crazy, huh?!). Life is grand! I've turned into one of those granolas who I would always joke about...but it's such a great life. Yoga, Tai Chi anyone?! LOVE it! :) So I'm just so grateful for gluten free menus and sweet potato fries and my cookies...I could go on and on about the blessing/frustration that my body has been for me for the past 14 years, but all I can say is I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me, my needs and who sends me people in my life who are somehow perfectly tailored to strengthen and uplift me, correct me and help me see how I can improve and who absolutely love me and I can't help but LOVE them! So I'm excited for 2013! It'll be a crazy, new year and I can't wait to see what it brings!! :)

I'm done blabbing now. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

EM