Spiritual Sunday: Non-Scale Victories

💪🏻 Let’s talk about your #nonscalevictory ! 👏🏻 ⠀
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Here is mine from yesterday (I was SO proud of myself 😂). I was with some friends from church, and there were @crumblcookies there. If you know me, you know baked goods are my weakness 😅. Especially fun flavors like almond joy, raspberry cheesecake, Cinnamon Toast Crunch....ANYWAYS. I had eaten a lot of sugar the day before which made me feel gross, and I was about to go on a run. I knew that combination wouldn’t be a positive one, so I cut a fourth of the almond joy cookie, put it on a napkin, and saved it for tomorrow. BOOM! ⠀
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This is a 👏🏻BIG👏🏻DEAL for me. I didn’t deprive myself of a treat that I love, but also, I didn’t succumb to eating it at a bad time just because it was in front of me. I thought before I ate. That was amazing! Good job me!! 😋⠀
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I really want to hear your #nonscalevictory from last week or this weekend! I know you have one! Did you choose water over soda at dinner? Did you go on a walk after dinner instead of watching TV? Did you go to bed early? ⠀

Self-Care Saturday: Slapfish

🐠 Y’ALL NEED SLAPFISH. 🐠 Our mom is an avid fish ‘n chips fan, so we’ve gotten to try fish ‘n chips in California, Boston, England, New Zealand, and basically anywhere they sell it, right mom? 😋@tellyh654

And let me tell you, the fish ‘n chips at @slapfish in Lehi, Utah were the best I’ve had in Utah by far! Also, i ordered a delicious fish taco and I got lobster taquitos for free for being a @yelpslc elite! 😎👏🏻

I gave this little joint 5/5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. So grant your fish wish, do yourself a fish favor and order some fish and chips at @slapfish if you are a Utah resident (they have one in Lehi, Sandy, and Park City). #selfcaresaturday
-Anna 

Fresh Look Friday: Hair Transformation!

Happy #freshlookfriday ! I know we usually reserve today for fitness posts, but This is about hair fitness, right?! Having healthy hair is important and I neglect mine too often. I love @tysondanielhairdressing because these two dudes know exactly what they are doing! At the end of the style, Trinity used @sevenhaircare texture spray which is like dry shampoo combined with hair spray. It helps hold the style without making the hair crunchy!

Mental Health Monday: Imagine

My mom and I got to spend some time with my nephews today while Christina was teaching. In an hour, we played on the swings, went on the slide, jumped on the trampoline, measured the length of a dinosaur (44 feet), played make-believe dinosaurs (I was a raptor being chased by the 44 foot dinosaur and got bit...quite hard... on the back of my leg by a giganotosaurus), read books, played animals (Scotty was a Komodo dragon and I was a sloth), did online word games and jigsaw puzzles, played “name that tune,” did the Superman ride, and sang songs. There is never a dull moment with a 2 year old and 5 year old. While this does not sound like a recipe for preserving mental health, I felt so much joy in that hour with them. Playing make believe and being silly and watching children learn is so good for the soul! When I’m with them, I’m not worrying about what I weigh or my dating drama or my future life plans. I’m in the moment every second.

Self-Care Saturday: Girl Time!

We are getting the ultimate #selfcare experience this weekend! A getaway to park city with all three sisters and our mom 💕💕💕💕. We got pedicures, had dinner, and hit the outlets this morning. 

Anyone else love and need girl time?!? 🙋🏼‍♀️

Self-Care Saturday: JOMO

🌸 JOMO: (noun) The joy of missing out! 🌸 

Ever since i was a little girl, I have struggled with the ever-present FOMO: (noun) Fear of missing out 😬. I wanted to attend everything and be involved in everything and be friends with everyone, even when I was tired, not feelin’ it, or even sick 😂. As I’ve gotten older (and with the wise promptings of our mom @tellyh654), I have learned that there is power in being able to say no, thank you, I’m going to read my book tonight. There is power in purposely NOT making plans on a Friday night so that you can take a bubble bath and go to bed early.

Being involved and in love with life is a wonderful thing, and I still am. But, life is even more breathtaking when you aren’t driven by FEAR to experience it. JOMO is just one small way that you can allow yourself to be driven by JOY 🌸. -Anna 

Mental Health Monday: Try New Things

One thing we discussed in my therapy this summer is my fear of looking stupid. A lot of my exposure therapy focused on this concern. One thing I’ve avoided is board games/card games because I have a difficult time understanding directions the first time through. It takes me awhile to figure out what’s going on and I always feel behind. I ask lots of questions and feel dumb. During our family trip this weekend, however, I decided to join my siblings and in-laws playing a game I’ve always dreaded: Settlers of Catan. I played once years ago and avoided it ever since. This time, I gave myself permission to figure it out slowly. I also feel safe with my family, which helped me be at ease. We had a blast and I wanted to play again, which is saying a lot! That night, I learned two new card games. We had so much fun that we played them again the next morning. It sounds really insignificant, but I was proud of myself for learning new games instead of avoiding them due to my insecurity. I didn’t miss out on the fun and I bonded with my family. A situation that once felt threatening instead contributed to a more joyous life.

Spiritual Sunday: Nature

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson 
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Self-Care Saturday: Gone Fishin'

This is Christina catching food for her young.

Self Care Saturday: There's Always Tomorrow

Have you ever had a day like this? I have. I was going through a really hard time, and I had volunteered to make cookies for something even though I shouldn’t have (because of #selfcare), and I left the house and left these chocolate chip cookies in the oven for around 3 hours. The house was filled with smoke when I got home, and when you stuck your finger in one of these bad boys, it turned to ash. Poof! So I took a pic to remind myself that sometimes, you have bad days, BUT bad days come to an end, and you can always make another batch tomorrow. 🍪

Self-Care Saturday: Gurus

Self-Care Saturday today was lunch at Guru’s with my sis @christinapendleton. Their sweet potato fries are unmatched! Good company good food! 😋

Self Care Saturday: Mindfulness

🐝 BE🐝✨M✨I✨N✨D✨F✨U✨L✨

Is self-care really an indulgence? No, it’s a necessity for your health and the health of those around you. Does it have to be expensive like a massage or take time like a nap? Not always.

Practicing mindfulness doesn’t cost a cent, and can be done at any point in the day. Mindfulness is simply focusing on the present moment, on your breathing, on your senses.

A fun trick I learned when I was a counselor at Camp KODA (Kids Out to Defeat Arthritis) is called “Five Things.” In an anxious moment (like before a doctors appointment, or when you find yourself worrying about the future or obsessing over the past), go through each of the 5 senses, and name 5 things you can touch/smell/taste/hear/see at the present moment.

Example: For touch, right now I can feel the leather of my chair, the book on my lap, the movement of my shirt, my thumbs on the screen of my phone, and the fingers on the back of my phone case.

Choose one of the five senses and comment below with your five things right now. Let this exercise bring you back to the mindful present. ✨

Mental Health Monday: Shoulding

There is a lot of shame associated with OCD and anxiety. I waste so much time telling myself how I “should” be: “You should be able to deal with this,” or, “You should be doing this regularly.” It’s exhausting and painful. There’s no allowance for being human. This is a phrase I learned with one of my therapists, Lisa. Whenever I catch myself “shoulding” myself, I try to change my inner dialogue. (Sidenote: posting this message is a form of exposure therapy for me because I’m ALMOST swearing in public 😂😂😂. See my “Dam It” post from a couple months ago to understand what I mean!). 

Self-Care Saturday: Bubble Baths

Philosophy: Joy is embracing life.

Take a bubble bath my friends. 🛁 💕

Thankful Thursday: Travel

“And I think to myself, ‘What a wonderful world.’” Some of my most treasured gifts are the experiences I’ve collected traveling. When I went to live in another country at age 21, my eyes were truly opened. My heart grew. The beauty of our world is astonishing. The kindness of people all over the globe is mind-blowing. I love Air B&B’s because they give a true feel for living in the community. Our world is a spectacular place and there is so much to explore! 

Travel is pricey. It’s a sacrifice of time and money, both of which can be very hard to come by. There are times and seasons to our lives that influence how much we can travel. I am in a phase of life where it is easier for me to do it. I recognize how lucky I am. But traveling doesn’t have to be across the ocean. It can be 300 miles north or a two hour drive east. It can be a day trip or a weekend adventure. But I think travel of any kind is important for so many reasons. Nature is healing. Meeting people with different experiences in new places gives us critical perspective. It’s nice to get away from our own concerns at home every once in awhile. Take advantage of travel opportunities in whatever phase of life you’re in. 

Here is a tip that I think can apply to everyone: I have a regular savings account and a travel savings bank account. I put money every month in to both accounts. It makes travel expenses feel more manageable.

Any guesses where some of these pictures were taken? Special thanks to @tellyh654 for tracking them down for me!

What We Are Eating Wednesday: Treat Yo'self

Hello everyone, my name is Anna and I just finished studying the human brain 🧠 for 7 HOURS. 7!!!!! I can’t even use my brain to think about anything else right now so I’m going to throw it back to something that makes me happy for today’s post.

And let me tell you, how can Cookie dough Oreo @nielsenscustard not make you happy?!? I’ll answer that for you, it’s impossible.

If you wanna pull a Donna and Tom (for my Parks and Rec) and have a #treatyoself moment, this is a good place to do it 😏👏🏻

Self-Care Saturday: Self-Monitoring

“Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat.” (From the book Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole) 

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I think this is a wonderful way to do #selfcare, to develop a positive relationship with food! And my sisters and I have all tried it! However, as @ktkarrots mentioned on our instastory recently...we were all blessed (cursed) with an INTENSE sweet tooth. So what happens when we give ourselves unconditional permission to eat you ask? Well, I personally, eat a lot of treats. At least one a day. 

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So, over time, I’ve developed a new system for myself. I want to stop the food fight too, but I need more rules when it comes to sugar. I try to not eat treats throughout the school/work week. But, when it comes to the weekend, I don’t just let it be a free-for-all. I try my best to pay attention to my body, and be reasonable about the amount of treats I eat so I don’t feel gross the whole weekend! -Anna

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How do you monitor your sugar intake? 

Self-Care Saturday: Exercise Endorphins

Yesterday, I felt a little off. My room is a total disaster, I had an assignment due at midnight that I had procrastinated, there were nachos sitting for forever in my stomach and making me feel gross, and I was allowing these frivolous things to make me feel bad about/for myself.

But this morning, I woke up at 5 am and ran a half marathon with two great friends from my program (@efishy and Alicia), and I completely forgot about the things that were making me feel down.

To quote Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t kill their husbands.They just don’t!” 😂

But for reals, endorphins trigger a positive feeling in our bodies, so the times when we least feel like exercising are often the times we could benefit from it the most!
-Anna

Self-Care Saturday: Past, Present, Future

Hey, it’s Anna here! ✨

Today was a beautiful day for a slightly treacherous trail run (or slide, if you were wearing beat-up Nike’s like us😂) with big sis @ktkarrots and friends (we missed @christinapendleton though!)! It always feels good to go a little out of my comfort zone, and do #selfcare care by growing towards my health goals! 💪🏻

In the first pic, I am doing a (dancer-version 😂) of the Warrior II yoga pose. The other day at my internship site, we did chair yoga and Iexplained to them that this pose represents mindfulness, because your back arm represents the past, which you learn from, your trunk represents the present, which you are living in, and your front arm represents the future, which you are looking toward! The past, present, and future help make up where you are at today, and that is healthy to acknowledge. But it’s important to remember that you are living in the NOW.

This kind of mindset helps us to not dwell on past mistakes, and to enjoy the moment rather than simply wishing for the future. Our mom @tellyh654 always reminds us, “don’t wish your life away!” And #mindfulness helps us do just that.

Mental Health Monday: Challenge Your Mind

Happy #mentalhealthmonday ! I’m writing this post from Charleston, SC. This trip is doing wonders for my mental health- I’m with some of my best friends from college seeing beautiful architecture and gardens, talking frankly about the joys and sorrows of my life, listening to my friends share their experiences and insights, discussing our faith, eating great food, and splurging a little without guilt. In preparation for our trip, we choose two books to read at home. Then, we sat amidst the beautiful flowers in the historic Magnolia gardens just outside Charleston and had a little book club meeting during our reunion. One of the books we read was philosophical, had challenging vocabulary, and required a lot of focus and mental energy. But it was so rewarding! We talked in our book discussion about how good it felt to read something that challenged our minds and used parts of our brains that hadn’t been “dusted off” in awhile. I firmly believe that pushing myself to learn is critical to maintaining a healthy mind. Progress adds dimension and richness to our lives. Whether it’s learning a new skill or picking up a new sport or hobby, the more we learn, the more empowered we are. We become more self-confident and find satisfaction in our lives. I have to add that there is danger with OCD of taking the principle to an extreme. Not being able to relax because one feels like they have to accomplish something every moment is not a healthy mindset. I’ve been there. It’s something one has to guard against. But it’s important to take risks often and try new things to remind ourselves how truly capable of growth we are. I’ve included lots of pictures of the Magnolia gardens for your viewing pleasure! SO BEAUTIFUL.