Reasons I LOVE Indiana

Can I just tell you that I really do love living in Indianapolis?! It has seriously been one awesome adventure for Austin and I. Aside from living so far from our families, it is by far one of the coolest places I have been. The West is so "new" compared to the east. I mean, we went walking in downtown Indianapolis and saw buildings that had been restored and kept in working condition since the early-mid 1800's. AMAZING! Of course, I am so much like my mother and I really love and appreciate old things. Austin thinks it's weird--this passion I have for old things and for history--mainly Church History. But, I do love it and we are living in such an awesome place for it!

Besides all the old things here, I LOVE green, humidity, sunshine, and having things to do on my days off besides laundry and homework. I have a few pictures of the green that I love so much and I will do another post of the other things I love...tomorrow! Chao!

This first one is a picture of the "lake" behind my apartment building.

This is the same lake, just the opposite end.

The nest two are pictures of the forest that is on both sides of the road to the apartments.

This is part of the road leading to the apartments.

Pictures

I wanted to post pics of the green drink and answer a few questions....

This is the green drink before being blended and of course, after being blended. Looks gross, I know, but it is SOOOO good!

I did this three times a week in place of breakfast cereal, but I would still have something healthy such ACTIVA yogurt or something like that, which is also quite reasonable at Costco. Alos, I made sure I was eathing healthy snacks between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner, keeping my metabolism alive all day. It was certainly an aquired taste, but I promise you, you will like it if you just keep with it! It's much easier and more affordable if you decide to do it with a friend. I have most of my friends here in Indiana hooked on it, so we buy the produce in bulk and then divide it, and the cost, after the trip to COSTCO. It's awesome! And summer is the perfect time to do it!! Yummy fresh produce is easy to find, and your swimming suit is great motivation!! Good luck to all you who decide to go for it!

My Little Green Secret

When I was on my mission, I gained like 50 pounds, maybe a little more...weighing in at a whopping....you thought I was actually going to tell you!? Not a chance in the world. Let's just say....as I came down the escalator at the airport in SLC, I'm sure there were thoughts of "Wow, I hope she can lose all that weight." I was a cream-puff...sweet, fluffly, and filled with great-tasting, but not so great for you--stuff :-)

Also on my mission, I lived in Sedona, AZ for 6 WONDERFUL weeks and learned a LOT about myself and, believe it or not, nutrition. I lived with a family, the Reader's, who only ate whole foods, organic fruits and veggies, and meat only in the winter. It was their interpretation of the word of wisdom, which I thought was a great lifestyle for them. Sister Reader had been taking nearly 10 pills or more a day and had all sorts of health problems which left her overweight and quite unhappy with herself. Her husband supported her as she decided it was time for some life-changes and when she found the "Green Drink" he also jumped on board.

By the time my companion and I came to live with them, they had housed somewhere around 10 different companionships and had shared this delightful secret with all of them. I'm sure when she saw our plump bodies and sweet smiles walk up to her front door she knew we were also perfect candidates and also knew that we wanted something healthy!!

Every morning for six weeks, Sister Reader invited us over for green-drink/breakfast and I dropped 15 pounds during that 6 weeks and felt better than I had in MONTHS!! So, I wanted to share it with all of you! It's tasty, satisfying, and very very good for you. One quart a day gives you all the fruits and veggie servings you need for a day!

Things you will need:

Baby Spinach

Baby Spring Mix (I go organic with both of these because I can get it SUPER cheap at COSTCO)

You could use turnip leaves, Arugala, pretty much anything green EXCEPT romaine, leaf, or iceburg lettuce. Trust me, it's NASTY.

Fruit...and LOTS of it!

I prefer these:

1 banana is a MUST

1 apple, not cored, but chopped up so your blender can handle it

strawberries

raspberries

pears, also not cored, but chopped up

peaches are delightful when they're in season, but...take the pit out :-)

a peeled orange during the winter is great but you can add orange-flavored vita water if you prefer.

Fill up your blender about 1/3 full with the greens and 2/3 full of fruit. Put water in it until it comes above the line of the greens and blend for about 2-3 minutes!

Green Drink wasn't made up by the Readers, they actually read a book about it, studied it, and then decided to go for it. The book they read, they actually gave a copy of to me. It's called "Green for Life" and if you googled it you could find out more about it.

I came home from my mission and went to college. I did green drink 3 days a week for the next 8 months and managed to drop 50+ pounds and feel better than I have in years! Trust me, it's delightful, I LOVE IT! I wish I had some before/after pictures but all my before pictures are tucked away in Rexburg. Again, having a hard time retrieving pictures from my camera so maybe next time!

VICES

So, we all have our "vices" right? Some are different than others, most people don't have the SAME vices as another person, but....everyone has them. Some people's vices deal with perfection, some people deal with food, drink, whatever... I have found some of my "vices" or addictions are good, and some are just plain BAD. Please, don't judge me....I feel brave just writing about this.

VICE #1 Exercise. Yes, believe it or not, I become obsessed with exercise. When I simply cannot exercise I freak out because I don't feel good about myself. Then when I do exercise I tend to go "overboard" as my new friends call it. Tami and Taffy and perhaps most of my family wouldn't think that running on the treadmill for over an hour is overboard, but for most people....normal people....it is. I've decided that in the long run, the obsession with exercise is a good thing. Look at my mom for example. She looks AMAZING! Most people think we are sisters when we go places together. If I can look like her at 50 years old, I will consider myself blessed.

VICE #2 Chocolate-Covered Strawberries. Okay, so I guess I have to be addicted to exercise if THIS is one of my vices. Perhaps I'm addicted to exercise BECAUSE I'm also addicted to these wonderful little treats. Really, the addiction can be blamed on my friend Jessica for making them for us for EVERY get-together. However, I'm the only one to blame for them going from plate to mouth.

VICE #3 Perfection. Who, besides the Savior, is perfect? If you are, please, let me know and then tell me how you got there! I drive myself crazy when I can't do everything right and do it right the first time. I just started a new job at Applebees as a waitress. I have been doing this kind of work for a really LONG time, so I consider myself pretty good at it. Well, day #1 at said job proved otherwise. I was tense and nervous, and stumbling over my words, and I'm sure my trainer was very worried about his tip percentage as I greeted his tables. I went home feeling completely mortified and useless. Why do I do this to myself? I cannot be perfect at everything I do. This obsession has got to stop!

VICE #4 Workaholism. Day #2 on the new job, my boss told me she wants me to work 5-6 nights a week and I said, "Okay, no problem." before I even CONSIDER my husband and his job schedule. Some people might think this is silly, but let me tell you...last semester I worked 40-60 hours a week and it was not a good situation for Austin and I. I became a work-aholic. EVERYTHING and everyone at work came first. I called it loyalty to my job, my husband called it insanity. I agree with him now, but I am still having a hard time separating myself from a heavy work-load. So, I had to approach my boss today and tell her I can only work 3-4 shifts a week, and no more than four. She was okay with that, to my surprise, and Austin was so excited that I had the courage to actually confront her about it instead of just handing my life over to them.

VICE #5 Money. Perhaps I was a work-aholic because I'm scared to death of having NO money. I don't think I have been financially secure since I graduated high school. I was always scraping to make ends meet. Some of it was my fault, some of it was just the deck of cards I was dealt. So I have ALWAYS worked, every semester...full time work schedule. It has been so good for me in so many ways, and I am thankful my parents expected me to work hard and that I have been able to rise to that expectation. Right before Austin and I started dating, I had no money and no job, thus living on a credit card. Finally I found a job and things were looking up. Then we started dating, I moved to Rexburg and the FIRST day back in Rexburg, I total my car. WHAT A BLESSING! The insurance payment helped me pay off the credit card and put some money away. I am so thankful for that accident. Since then, I have taken money management classes, opened two savings accounts, and for the first time in my life, I feel financially "okay." I was tired of money running my life and I guess it always will to some extent, but I feel more in control than I ever have. (Hint: PAY YOUR TITHING!)

You may be wondering why I wrote about all these "VICES" of mine. Believe me, there are more, but I'll save face a little and not exploit all of my imperfections. I wanted to write about them because they're real, they can bless your life or make it more difficult, not all vices lead to destruction, and....I need some ideas on other people's "VICES" preferably the good ones. I need some new hobbies!! I need to find something other than exercise, work, and money to help me find self-actualization. I am open to any fun ideas you may have!

Easter and Indiana

We spent Easter in Caldwell with Austin's family and their Easter tradition isn't chocolate and eggs galore, but it's FRUIT!! WONDERFUL FRUIT!!! We woke up Easter morning to this beautiful display on the table and we ate breakfast....fruit. Of course there was some chocolate, but not as much as I have had in Easter's past.

Markie and Paulie, our sister from France. I love these girls!! This was outside on the deck where we ate Easter dinner and started our small egg hunt.
This is the whole family before we took off down the road.

Jeff, me and Austin. Jeff and Austin have been best friends since they have been little boys. I inherited him, too. It's okay, I guess....no really, he is a lot of fun and we are going to miss him a lot.

Jeff has separation anxiety.

Okay, now these are pictures of our apartment in Indiana. We didn't bring a ton of stuff with us, so it's kind of empty. However, I want you to notice the quilt on the bed. My Grannie Oberg made this for us for our wedding. I love it! Of course, it had to be purple...just like the baby blanket she made me MANY years ago.

This is the kitchen/dining room, taken from the doorway of the bathroom.

The living room, taken from the hallway

The hallway, with doorways into the laundry room, bathroom, and bedroom.

It's nothing too exciting, but it's a nice place and it's plenty big. Austin is always gone working, which I'm not complaining about, but it's hard to get pictures of us together in our new place. Hopefully I can get some pictures this weekend and make another post of those next week. All in all, we are loving it here and I'm excited to have a great summer!

I promised....here's the delivery! PICTURES!!!!!

About a month ago, my sister Tami and her boys Tel and Kimball came to visitus, as did my Mom, Livi and Tessa! It was great fun to have those boys come and fill up my baby-hungry arms and to have my sisters and my mom there too!

Tel with my snowboarding helmet on.Our landlords have horses and Tel wanted to go outside and see them. So, he was enchanted by them at first. But as soon as the horse nuzzled his nose closer.....
...immediate DISENCHANTMENT!!
Look at that face!! If looks could kill....the horse would be dead!

Look at that sweet face! He was SOOO tired.

Tel LOVED the noodles at Craigo's that night!!!

Grannie and Kimball...he can't decide if he wants to be happy or not. But isn't he adorable?!

Austin and Tessa's attempt at entertaining Tel.

Kimball getting ready for his night bath. He looks so much like Tyson did when Tyson was a baby...not that I remember that, my dear sisters, but I have seen pictures. Cute, cute!

Okay, last one of this baby. I'm sue you're wondering if have any other picutes except ones of Tel. I do, and I'm going to make a post of them next, but I had to do this LAST one of him.....okay, I'm done.

Rexburg, Cokeville, Rexburg, Boise.....Indiana!!!!!

I know, I know. I am the worst blogger in the world....but I do have my excuses. But I won't bore you with those. This last semester of school has been crazy!! It's been so good, too. Austin was taking a full load of classes and working three nights a week. I was working full time, 40+ hours a week, and taking 10 credits. I didn't think that would be a very hard schedule....I should have thought AGAIN! As hard as it was, it was very rewarding. I got an A in my hardest class, Anatomy and Physiology, and As and Bs in the others. Austin got a 4.0!!!!! Yea for 4.0's!! I am so proud of him. He worked so hard and it payed off just the way he had hoped.

Conference Weekend took us home to Cokeville where we spent the weekend with my family and celebrated my Grandma Teichert's 90th Birthday! (see Tessa's blog) The weather was really crummy so Tami and Casey weren't able to make the trek over the pass, but Taffy and Tony and family forged the weather and made it! I was so happy to see them because I knew I wouldn't see them again until September and by then the kids might forget who I am!!!

We returned to Rexburg to finish the last week of school, pack our apartment, and leave for Boise at the end of the week. The drive to Boise was nice because we changed cities and SEASONS!!! The grass was green and the trees were budding with flowers and leaves. On Saturday the sun shined ALL DAY and it felt so good! My husband calls me a sun lizard, and I am...I am addicted to the sun! Saturday, we went to eat sushi at the restraunt Austin propsed to me. My cousin, Heather, met us there with a friend and we had a great time catching up and laughing...that seems to always happen when we get together. It was good to see you, Heather!!We spent Easter Sunday with Austin's family and had a blast with them. We departed from there Sunday evening and drove back to Rexburg to load up our car and get a few hours of sleep before waking up and heading out.

We left for Indiana on Monday morning, made a quick stop in Cokeville for breakfast at my parent's house...Thanks MOM!!! Then we drove through to Laramie, gased up, ate lunch and kept driving. I felt like the fish on Finding Nemo, except my song was different. "Just keep driving, just keep driving!" We drove on to Omaha and found a place to sleep there after 16 hours in the car!!! There was a point when I thought a shot in the foot would have felt better than my bum felt....okay, probly not! We started again on Tuesday morning and finally reached Indianapolis on Tuesday night around 9:30.

The drive was worth it! We are here safe, and Indiana is gorgeous!! Our apartment is much bigger than our humble abode in Rexburg...I almost have no idea what to do with all that space. We could only bring a few things, though, because our car is only so big.

Okay, you may be wondering WHY we are in Indiana. Austin works for Pinnacle Security, doing summer sales, and this is where we were sent for the summer. Austin made his first sale this afternoon and is having a good time. I have spent time moving things, organizing, and making our apartment feel like "home." I have also made several new friends with the other wives whose husbands sell systems. They are wonderful ladies! I'm starting my job hunt on Monday! Wish me luck!

So here are pictures of our apartment here. I will make another post with other random pictures from the semester.

Okay....so the computer is being silly. Or, I just don't know how to operate it. So, I will make a post of just pictures as soon as Austin takes my pictures from my camera to the photo file.

Catch you later!