Posted by jena on Apr 25, 2010 in
Exercise,
Family Fun,
Goals As some of you know, I have a new hobby, climbing. McKay and I go top rope climbing at a fun indoor climbing gym. McKay started to climb a little over a year ago. Recently he took me and now I am hooked. I really enjoy it and hate it at the same time right now. There is a lot of trust involved and a lot of fighting against human instinct.
I struggle on some climbs making it to the top. I struggle with fear of falling, or my harness breaking, or the rope splitting. After a few climbs, I start to loosen up and feel like I can do it, but by then, I am so tired I struggle making it to the top!
I will continue to get stronger, to lose weight, and to conquer my fears. I enjoy it enough that this is something I want to do.
We bought harnesses for both the girls. They both really enjoy it too. I will post pictures soon.
Yes it is 3:20 am, and I can’t sleep, so I am blurging 
Good Morning!
—Jena
Posted by jena on Jan 3, 2010 in
Deep Thoughts,
Goals Happy New Year Peeps! I wasn’t home on the 1st to post my first post of the year, the 3rd works for me since I love the number three!
I am really looking forward to a new year. I love that the calendar starts all over and we get to celebrate holidays all over again. I love how people also look over the past and look to the future and make goals to progress in life.
I like that people have New Year’s Resolutions, I like to call mine goals. So, here are mine in no particular order:
- Lose my last 60 lbs out of 120 lbs total
- Get back into Archery, dust off the bow and shoot it!
- De-Junk and Organize my house
- Finish writing and illustrating my children’s picture book
- Start writing my YA Paranormal novel
- Write and Mail letters to friends and family
- Go to school to become a personal trainer
- Schedule Internet time
- Go to bed earlier
- Get up earlier
- Run a lot of half marathons so that next year I can run a full!
- Teach my 4 year old how to read
- Help my 7 year old reach her goals and dreams
- Do more for my husband
- Remember to stop and take care of myself as much as possible
- Not let people hurt me emotionally
Well, there it is, all possible if I commit and make an effort!
Here is to an amazing year!
–Jena
Posted by jena on Dec 6, 2009 in
Goals,
Life,
Weight Loss When I lose 26 more pounds I will have lost a total of 85 pounds! To get to my goal weight I will need to lose 35 more pounds after that which makes my grand total of weight loss of 120 pounds. I look forward to completing this task that I have been after for the last 2 1/2 years!
I am running in a few half marathons next year, one in January and I am also running in a 3 part race in Jan./Feb. The way it will work is I run a 5k, then 2 weeks later a 10k then 2 weeks later a 15k for a total of 30k and if I complete all 3 I get a medal. This 3 part race will be out at Saltair and it is going to be a lot of fun!
Once I complete my weight loss I would like to go to school to get my Diploma in Personal Training and Fitness so I can help others live a healthier happier life.
I have a fun year to look forward to!
-Jena
Posted by jena on Nov 3, 2009 in
Exercise,
Goals,
Life List After I finished the Nike+ Human Race, the owners of Salt Lake Running Co. asked me to do a blog post for them about my weight loss Journey, it was posted today!
Please go check it out! Thanks! http://saltlakerunning.blogspot.com/2009/11/jenas-journey.html
–Jena
Posted by jena on Sep 25, 2009 in
Goals Project clean my house from top to bottom in 2 weeks: DONE!!!!
I didn’t post yesterday because I didn’t clean the fridge out as planned. Life happens, so, today I had double duty. Now I don’t want to whine, but today has been a rough day I sprained my ankle last night and I can’t walk very well, and I am fighting off a lame summer cold, so I almost tossed my whole plan out the window on the LAST DAY, but I didn’t want to have all the hard work I have done in the last 2 weeks stand for nothing. My point, you can do anything you want to do if you set your mind to it, and my second point, if you say your are going to do something, you do it!
Thanks to all my friends who come and visit my blurg and have been cheering me on here, facebook and in person. It means a lot to have good, supportive friends!
Drum Roll Please…………………………………………………….
Before and After of Fridge, Cupboards and Drawers!
Enjoy~
-Jena
Posted by jena on Sep 23, 2009 in
Goals Today I needed to get the Laundry room done. It was also pointed out by a friend that I said I did my Pantry and Shoe Closet on Monday, well, as you saw, I cleaned the Shoe Closet but I totally forgot the Pantry, so I cleaned the Pantry out today as well. I am very determined to do everything I promised to do and I will not make excuses, and I will get the jobs done in the two week time frame I have set. This is something that is important to me. I think a lot of people say they will do things, and don’t carry them through, or make a lot of excuses! Well, if you know me, I do what I say and I mean it and I don’t have time or patience for excuses and if I make a mistake, I fix it!
So, here are the before and after pictures of the Pantry which I did before I went to The Wizard of Oz, and some before and after of the Laundry Room that I did when I got home from the movie after the kids were in bed. I am so glad I got them done, it feels really good to make goals, and accomplish what I set out to do. I think the pantry and the laundry room look great!
Enjoy,
-Jena
Posted by jena on Sep 22, 2009 in
Goals Today I worked on the Garage for about 2 hours. I did all I could do without shelving and my Man to lift the heavy stuff! I think it looks and feels much better.
Off to Young Womens, and then for a run in the cool, Fall air!
-Jena
Here are the before and after:
Posted by jena on Sep 21, 2009 in
Goals Okay, today was day 1 of the second week of cleaning my house from top to bottom! It was not a big task, but it is something that I have put off over, and over…..
I added two laundry baskets to the closet so we can throw our shoes in them and keep them contained. The kids have one to share, and McKay and I have one to share. I am glad to have this one done, I hate having shoes piled all over the house, and I hate not being able to shut the closet, now there is no excuse!
To Do List:
- Monday: Shoe Closet/ Pantry
- Tuesday: Garage
- Wednesday:Laundry Room
- Thursday: Fridge
- Friday: Cupboards/Drawers
I hope tomorrow stays cool so that I can get the garage cleaned out as much as possible without McKay’s help, if not, I may switch Garage to Wednesday and do the Laundry room tomorrow.
Goodnight!
-Jena
Posted by jena on Sep 20, 2009 in
Goals Tomorrow starts week 2 of my “Simplify and clean my house from top to bottom goal”. If you missed the original post, here it is:
My post about my goals to Simplify
So this week, this is what I have planned:
Week 2: 21st-25th Main Floor
Monday: Shoe Closet/ Pantry
Tuesday: Garage
Wednesday:Laundry Room
Thursday: Fridge
Friday: Cupboards/Drawers
I will be posting before and after pictures all week, so tune in!
-Jena
Last weeks accomplishments:
Week 1: 14th-18th Upstairs
Monday: My Room
Tuesday: My Closet
Wednesday: The Hall/Hall Closet
Thursday: Get bookshelves out of Nahvi’s Room/Closet
Friday: Finish whatever is not done
Posted by jena on Sep 17, 2009 in
Goals My Goal today was to move the bookshelves out of Nahvi’s room and move them into my room. I didn’t get to the closet part, but that was the least important part of the job. McKay and I are both book lovers, so as you can imagine, lots of books! The shelves were emptied, moved and then the books were put back and organized.
I am proud of myself for setting these daily jobs and actually getting them done. I knew that I had to post them to motivate me even more because when I say I will do something, I do it and I mean it! Tune in next week for the main floor list of goals I set!
Ho Yeah! I look forward to a normal day of everyday chores tomorrow! I also will post before and after of Nahvi’s room which I am going to work on and finish now that the office stuff is gone.
-Jena
Before and Afters (click for bigger pics):
Posted by jena on Sep 16, 2009 in
Goals Can I say how stinking tired I am right now!? Wow, okay, so today I did the hall, hall closet, stairs and landing. I went through 90% of the boxes, threw away a ton of crap, organized them, found my Wedding Ring that has been lost for 4+ years. I also straightened the hall closet, cleaned off the stairs stacked with crap, and cleaned the kids book nook and game corner on the landing, then vacuumed which has not been done in long time, so long that I am embarrassed to admit to that!
I am looking forward to finishing up this week tomorrow with Nahvi’s room. We still have some office stuff in their, bookshelves and a desk and some other things that need to be removed!
I need to thank McKay for all his help hauling boxes down to the dungeon! My back also says thank you!
Enjoy the before and after photos, click on them to see slightly larger pictures.
-Jena
Posted by jena on Sep 16, 2009 in
Goals Okay, yesterday I tackled my closet/bathroom. It did not take as long as I thought which is good, because I had a lot of other things to do and not much time. I think I need to buy myself a Superwoman shirt, here is what I accomplished in one day:
- Temple
- Finished Cleaning Bedroom
- Babysat
- Made Lunch
- Went to Sams
- Went to Library
- Took Moab to a playdate
- Cleaned Bathroom
- Cleaned out Closet
- Took Moab to Piano(yay I didn’t forget!)
- Went to Albertsons on a Ranch run
- Picked up Pizza
- YW meeting with girls
- YW/YM Ultimate Frisbee
- Watched Biggest Loser
- Folded 5 loads of Laundry
- Made it to bed right before midnight!
Enjoy the before and after, sorry for the sideways pics(click for larger)! Today I am cleaning the boxes out of the hall and cleaning out the hall closet! Oh, and in one pic you can see what I got rid of : 2 bags of garbage, 2 bags of clothing donations, 1 bag of clothing to return to a friend, and one small bag of Moab’s old clothes for Nahvi. Yay!
-Jena
Posted by jena on Sep 15, 2009 in
Goals If you read my blurg yesterday you saw my list of stuff to get done in the next two weeks. Monday(yesterday) my job was to get my bedroom clean. I worked on it for around 7 hours yesterday and then finished it today with another hour and a half of work. It feels good to get it done! Today I am tackling my closet I have less time to work, about 3 hours, but I think I can get it done. Yes, I am an Optimist, one of my many awesome qualities 
To explain some of the mess, we moved Nahvi into our Office, we no longer have an office, so everything went in the hall and our room. 2+ months of living with it was 2+ months too long!
Here are some before and after pictures.
Before:
After:
Now all that is left is painting 1 wall , hanging our picture, and moving the bookshelves in.
Well, time to feed the kids and then it is off to clean out my closet!
-Jena
Posted by jena on Sep 14, 2009 in
Goals My newest goal/project is getting rid of junk/stuff we don’t need. Over 12 years of marriage, McKay and I have accumulated a lot of things. On top of that, we both have a hard time letting go of things, which is a bad combo! So, enough with that because we need the space and I want everything to have a place!
Two things make this hard: One, the kids and Two is that I look at it as a whole project, and I need to chop it up so it is not so overwhelming! I think I will make a list here and keep my progress updated! Maybe that will motivate me?
I once read/heard a tip. If you have something that you are emotionally attached to, that you should take a photo of it. Why? Well, what do you do when you pull out your box from High School? You look at everything through the box, memories rush through your mind and then you put it all back in a BOX. You can get the same nostalgia from a photo and it takes up less space!
Okay, I have posted it, now I am accountable! Better lay out the goals/deadlines here so I can report back.
This Week: 14th-18th Upstairs
Monday: My Room
Tuesday: My Closet
Wednesday: The Hall/Hall Closet
Thursday: Get bookshelves out of Nahvi’s Room/Closet
Friday: Finish whatever is not done
Next Week: 21st-25th Main Floor
Monday: Shoe Closet/ Pantry
Tuesday: Garage
Wednesday:Laundry Room
Thursday: Fridge
Friday: Cupboards/Drawers
I meant to do all the above for Spring Cleaning, now here we are and it is Fall. Seriously!
Wish me luck!
-Jena
Posted by jena on Jul 21, 2009 in
Goals,
Life So, here I am, 3 years later posting on my beloved blog of blurgs! When McKay told me about blogging, I liked the idea of writing and keeping an online journal to keep friends and family updated with what we are up to. I did not realize how popular blogs were until I moved to Salt Lake County a year after I started my blog. It was a whole new world. Before, I would only read my Husbands, then, all of a sudden I had at least 10 to keep me busy, now, I could not even tell you how many blogs I may visit when I have a chance.
I hope that if you have stumbled upon my blog, you enjoy it. I rarely complain, so it is a real treat for the reader if I find something to rant about! I don’t post here to brag, I post to share a little slice of my life and sometimes I’ll share a brilliant idea or two
Thanks for stopping by over the last 3 years! So since today, July 21st 2009, starts a new year of Blogging, I decided to set a few New Blog Year Resolutions or Goals!
Here we go:
I will try to post at least 3 times a week!
I will try to not get sucked into the Facebook Zone so I can spend more time on my blog.
I will try to come up with some fun things to look forward to on my blog that will keep you coming back for more.
Three is a good number to start with! Thanks again for stopping by. -Jena
Mini Post for today:
Sorry I have not written in awhile. Sometimes life just takes off! I have been having a wicked fun summer with my girls. My kids are in year-round school so we only have 3 real weeks of summer before the next school year starts. I have no problem with year round school, it helps me stay motivated for the girls so we can have an enjoyable summer! This is our last week of non-stop fun! Today we are going to Thanksgiving Point to see the Dino Museum and an IMAX. Tomorrow we are hitting the Movies, the Beach and a Bees Baseball Game. Moab gets to announce the players for one of the innings. Exciting!
Hope everyone has a great day!
-Jena
Posted by jena on Jun 14, 2009 in
Goals,
Life,
Life List,
Running I ran the Bear Lake Half Marathon yesterday. I finished it in 3:09. This is my second Half Marathon, and I am so happy with myself that I have accomplished this amazing goal for myself.
I just want to thank my hubby for doing it too, he ran this one in 2:31! Awesome! Thanks to our friends, Robb and Crystal who also ran this one with us and let McKay and I tag along!
-Jena
Posted by jena on Apr 25, 2009 in
Family Fun,
Goals,
Life List In March, McKay and I had the opportunity to visit New York City, thanks to a very generous friend. She helped me cross off one of my life list goals, to visit New York, thanks girl! We needed to go mid-week so the airline rates were cheaper, and make it a 1 day trip so we didn’t have to pay for a room , so we did it, and I would do it again. We left at 11:30 pm and returned the next day at 11:30 pm. Here are our photos of our wonderful trip. Notice, we took the girl’s most favorite stuffed animals with us so that they didn’t feel like we totally left them out.
Enjoy the photos, lots of great memories. You can watch the slideshow (PicLens link), or scroll down and look at individual photos.
–Jena
Posted by jena on Aug 19, 2008 in
Goals,
Life List,
Weight Loss Ok, so I am not a loser as in “I am Lame, or Pathetic” well… at least I hope not  Â
Anyways, some of you may or may not know that I have been trying to lose weight for a little over a year now. It has been coming off slow, but with a lot of dicipline and hard work, it is coming off. From last August(2007) up until July(2008) I lost approx. 30 or more lbs(I didn’t weigh at first), 8 of that came back. It didn’t matter how much I worked out, how many miles I ran, how healthy the food I ate, I HIT A HUGE WALL!
The wall made me decided to try something new. When I hit my goal, I will explain it all, so for now, I will say, what I am doing is working, and I have never felt better. I have energy, I am not tired( more than just being Mom tired), I am losing weight. So since July 20th 2008, the week before Moab started 1st grade, I have lost another 24 lbs!
I am so excited, it feels great to get over that wall, I have hit a couple small walls, one lame wall last week, but I kicked them over quick!
I am looking forward to watching Biggest Loser this fall. I have always said, if I were on that show, I would win because when I set my mind to do something, I do it. The problem with being on the show is being away from my family. My solution is to lose the weight with my family by my side. It is not easy, I walk, run or bike 2-4 miles a day, I don’t snack, I eat small meals. I have gone to at least 6 social events where there is food everywhere, because food is a huge part of life, and it is Everywhere!Living at a ranch with a doctor and personal trainers and no kids or husbands distracting would make it a lot easier to focus, but I love my hubby and my two girls too much to leave them for 4 months, because like I said, I would win, and I would be gone for 4 months!
Anyways, there you have it. I am the biggest loser in my own universe.
—Jena
Posted by jena on Apr 16, 2008 in
Goals,
Life,
Television Ok, so I don’t normally post about my T.V. watching, but I can not hold back on my thoughts from last nights result show on The Biggest Loser.
This whole season has been amazing. Watching this year, I have been so impressed and inspired by the contestants on the show, more than ever. Team Pink was my favorite from the start, and I was so disappointed when they were voted off, because I believed Ali could win from the get go, and I didn’t like the way that they were voted off, they deserved to be there. When they were voted off, Ali stated that she would be the Biggest Loser at the Finale, and I believed her.
She really believed what she was saying, and I knew she would show us all that she meant what she said. Well, lucky for her, a big twist in the game, and all her hard work at home, brought her back to the Ranch to earn the title of Biggest Loser, not just the at home Biggest Loser.
She earned it, she worked her behind off, and was the first Female Biggest Loser. It was inspiring and amazing. I was sick of hearing that it wasn’t possible for a female to win, and it was so nice to see Ali, stick to the hard work, all the way to the end, and prove that a woman can do it, she just has to work 100% harder to make it happen. Kelly also proved herself. The last weigh in was amazing to see double digits, from 2 females, and see the boys finally under the yellow line. It didn’t matter what man was in the bottom 3, Ali with her 112 pound weight loss was still the highest percentage lost out of every contestant this season.
Amazing! Nice job Ali.
—Jena
Check out the before and after photos at: The Biggest Loser 5
