Goals Aren't Accomplished Overnight

How do you accomplish goals? By constantly thinking about them, re-adjusting where needed and working toward them. So, even though it's the second week of February, here are the ways I'm going to focus on and work toward my 2016 goals:

Be Charitable: I've really enjoyed being more involved in my ward and callings, but I feel like I'm just barely chipping the surface. So for February, I'm going to keep the same focus as January. I've already seen that as I do this, I find more people who need to talk, need help or I've felt more inclined to offer help where I may not have done so before.

Be Healthy: I'm back to working out at least 3x a week. My goal is to get up to at least 5x a week, but for this month, my goal is to two-fold: get at least 8 hours of sleep at night and wake up by 5am. I know this will be a process. But, I know that I'm happiest and most productive when my I'm sleeping well. It all starts with going to bed early!

Be Disciplined: Last month, it was make and stick to a budget. I made my budget and I did fairly well, but could still be better. My goal this month (and probably for a few months) is to not go over my budget AT ALL. I think I really need to do this at least 3 months in a row to make a habit of it.

Be Positive/Grateful: I've really like the Thankful Thursdays I've been doing. It makes me think long and hard about meaningful things that I'm thankful for. The things top of mind aren't always meaningful, but I manage to find things that truly do matter. I'm going to continue doing Thankful Thursday but I'm also going to make a more concentrated effort to tell people how much I appreciate them and what they do. Everyone likes to know they're appreciated.

Turn To The Temple (Thankful Thursday)

It's no secret that I love temples, but today I got to go to the temple and I was reminded of how truly grateful I am for temples. I love going to different temples when I travel - just to see how unique they all are.. Knowing full well that all ordinances and teachings found inside are the exact same. Both of my parents are converts to the LDS church. Temples are places where families can be sealed together for time and all eternity. My grandfather passed away the day after his family was sealed together and I get chills almost every time I think about that. For me, aside from this very significant reason, I love temples because they're places of peace. You can escape the world. For a few hours when I go inside, I turn off my phone, cut out socializing and I just try to listen. Listen for promptings, inspiration or any knowledge that I might be able to gain while I'm there. When I don't know what else to do, I know I can always turn to the temple. It holds such a serene stillness and in this world filled with commotion. I'm extremely grateful that I can turn to the temple and feel particularly close to God and my Savior.

The Best of January

I thought I'd do a look back of my favorites/best of's in January. As a re-cap, I went to California, Kansas City, Independence, Las Vegas and finally made my way back home. 

California: This was taken the day we took family pictures - this wins a "best of" moment because it combines so many of my favorite things - CA, the beach, my family - it doesn't get much better than that. 

Kansas City: It was FREEZING! Because of that (or least that's what I think the reason was..) it was kind of like a ghost town. But, the sunsets were still beautiful and it was fun to walk around the iconic power and light district.

Attractions: Kansas City won with the art museum. It was pretty big - had a lot of variety and I could have spent several days there - but I'm a sucker for art. However, Independence definitely won most touching with the Liberty Jail. Seriously, I can't even put into words how touching it was.

 Las Vegas: I've been to Vegas enough times that I definitely don't take full advantage anymore. But this time, I was reminded of how much I like the strip at night. Aside from all the clubs, restaurants and shopping, there's tons of free, fun stuff to do like see the Bellagio gardens and water show, check out the street vendors and tour the M&M/Coke Factories. Next on my Vegas list are the Freemont zipline and High Roller.

 This was the way I kicked off my last day before I started my healthy meals. Sigh. Gotta go out with a bang, ya know? 

 Provo: Finally, I made it back home. I went on a tour of the Provo City Center Temple and am so excited for it to open in March! I went to Stake conference there when I was in college and I was in Provo the night it burned.