Hit the pavement

Everyday I fight a battle with myself. To eat or not to eat? I have inherited quite a few wonderful qualities from my father and one that is not so good- a sweet tooth like no other.

I come home from work and need some time to just relax from the stress I undergo there... and one of the habits I had with a kid was to eat junk food when I was stressed or even bored. Terrible, I know. After losing 85 lbs now, I have had to change that habit... but man is a struggle.

What has saved me from this you ask?

Running.

I never thought I would LOVE running, but now, I can hardly wait to get my running shoes on and go for a nice long run. Especially now that the weather is getting nicer and I can run in the mountains. I mean, look at the VIEW I have when running. Nothing quite like the beauty of Cache Valley.

Lately, Running has literally saved me. The stress of working full time at a very demanding job and going to school full time has made me want to go crazy at times, but hitting the pavement has been just what the doctor ordered. Who woulda thought? Cami Brown, a runner? I guess its true.

Utah vs Texas Proms

So this past semester I have been doing a huge research project on how Prom & other school dances affect adolescents self esteem and it's pretty amazing the things I have come upon. I have interviewed many teens here in Utah and interviewed many from Houston. What a contrast those 2 states are culturally.

Utah Prom:
In Utah, teens ask out their dates in these very elaborate ways (something I never really understood but it's cool I guess) like decorating their whole room in some elaborate way and then the person getting asked has to "answer" them in another elaborate way. Average money spent on prom in Utah (from what I have found anyway) is about 100-200. That includes the dress (alot of girls here borrow and swap dresses with friends, sisters, cousins etc) and a lot of them will make dinner at their house and then play games at their house after the dance or even go to a movie. (Geoff and I went to a midnight showing of Iron Man last year with about 50 high schoolers in their prom get-up last year. It was interesting for sure). I interviewed about 30 girls here and 75% of those girls went on some sort of diet to make sure they looked their best for prom. One even took laxatives for a few days before the Prom to be extra skinny. That made me pretty sad for her. I interviewed about 30 male teens in Utah and found that for about 80% of them that looks are their number one criteria for choosing a prom date. *side-note: Last night Geoff and I went out to eat and there was like 30 high school kids in their Prom get up and I have to say that Utah prom dresses are very modest yet kinda ugly. I was baffled at what was in style here. A lot of them looked like wedding dresses that are lime green or hot pink. But at least they are modest. Anyways, that's besides the point.

Texas Prom:
Most kids ask their date out through text or just by asking them out in the hallways at school. It's def. not a big ordeal like in Utah. The average money spent on the prom was around 400-500. Big difference from Utah. Most adolescents in Texas will go to some fancy restaurant in a limo, go to the dance for a little while and then go to a beach house or some other fancy party afterwords. Out of 30 girls I interviewed in Texas 50% went on diets or exersized a lot before the dance to be sure to look their best. Something interesting though is that the average girl spent about 3 1/2 hours getting ready (this includes getting their hair/nail/makeup done) where in Utah is was about 2. When asking the males in Texas what their number one criteria for chosing a date, about 60% also said looks. Lots of the dresses are VERY skanky. More skin showing the better.

My conclusion for all of this is this: high school sucks.

Just kidding.

But really, I find it very sad about how no matter where you live, there is so much emphasis on looks and being attractive physically. So many times when I was interviewing all these adolescents, I wanted to tell them they are are wasting so much time, money and effort on ONE night that you won't really care about years later. I also wanted to scold all the girls for focusing so much on looks but who would I be to judge them? I am probably just as harsh on myself. What can we do as women to not let ourselves think that way?

Anyway, just found some of my findings interesting and wanted to share. My point is not to rag on either state's proms. Both have good and bad to offer and the overall thing I learned is that yes, these dances do have an effect on self esteem of adolescents. I am just SO glad I am not in high school anymore. You couldn't pay me to go back in time and re-live those days!

Heavy Load

This is how I feel right now. Homework. It's all I seem to do besides going to the gym. I have THREE huge projects due this week, 2 tests and a 10 page paper. Pray for my sanity!

Don't worry... the semester ends in a few weeks and then I get to start right back up with 155 credits taken at summer school!

Hey, at least I only will have 2 more semesters til I graduate, right?

On a happier note- I took a nice break this weekend from the madness, went to Park City to shop and dine and then spent Easter sunday at my grandparents. I needed it or else I might have pulled out all my hair!

Break-through

Today I had a break-through. I realized that I can-not control everything. Big surprise eh?

Some of you know that Geoff and I have been trying to get pregnant for almost a year now. Had two miscarriages along the way and many devastating visits of the "monthly" visitor. Today was one of those days where tears came from frustration and dissapointment from something I have never wanted more and yet seems SO out of reach.

Thank goodness this happened today:


Conference.

Just what the doctor ordered.

I think I needed a kick in the pants to humble me. Every month, after taking numerous pregnancy tests I have a pitty-party and always ask questions like "Why is it that I take extra good care of my body, exersize 6 days a week, eat extremely healthy and people who live really unhealthy lifestyles get pregnant without hardly trying? Why is it that I am financially responsible, educated and a hard worker and married to an amazing man and teenagers get pregnant from a one night stand?"

I didn't get answer to any of those questions today. But what I did learn today from two talks in particular (Elder Scott and Pres. Eyring) that there is something I need to learn from this. Just as Elder Scott knew he needed to learn things from the death of his wife and 2 young children, so do I. I also learned that I need to reach out to others rather than feeling sorry for myself. For some reason, Heavenly Father is wanting us to wait a little longer to be parents and I know there are other women out there who are going through the same predicament that I am or worse. I also learned that if I doubt, there is no room for faith. I have to have faith that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and he will never forsake me.

So that is what I am going to do. I am going to look for opportunities to serve, and be a light to others and learn something while I wait for the blessing of a child. There will be bumps along the road but thank goodness I have a wonderful prophet and other church leaders who are a constant reminder of how to handle life's greatest dissapointments and turn to the Savior.

April's Fool

I had the best 25th birthday ever. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. I love birthdays, I love making a big deal out of them for other people, and of course, I LOVE my birthday. Geoff did a great job at making it a good one for me. Geoff made me a yummy breakfast with egg whites, turkey bacon and whole wheat toast. Delicious! Then, I took a 1/2 day of work, which I never do, and decided to just do some things that I wanted to do. So, I went to the gym for a couple of hours (I know some people think that may seem crazy but nothing makes me happier than the feeling of sweating and burning calories) and then I went to clean my car inside & out. I LOVE having a clean car. Then I came back home, got all dolled up and we went to pick up my best friend Jen and her husband Gene to go down to Salt lake for dinner and shopping. We went to Mimi's Cafe where I got the most amazing Salmon. We then went shopping at the Gateway... where I found NOTHING I wanted. Not a single thing. And both my parents and Geoff's gave me $$ to spend. I will just have to save it for a rainy day =) I recieved many phone calls throughout the day from family members and friends who remembered my birthday and that means more to me than anything. All in all, it was honestly the perfect day. I feel so blessed to have lived a good 25 years and can't wait for many, many more to come!

Here is me and my sweet husband at Mimi's:

One more reason why I LOVE Texas

My friend Cassie posted this on her blog and it made me so excited to read. Of course most of you know what a fan of Texas I am... But here is another reason why I love this state! It is now OK in Texas for teachers to teach doubt in evolution & the big band theory. Say all you want about Texas but I am a big fan of this. Science does NOT prove everything. As my friend Cassie stated, and I firmly believe as well, I do not see Texas as ever allowing or requiring their teachers to teach homosexuality as a norm. I am so glad we have people in Texas who are not afraid to go against the grain and let religion be an wonderful thing.

To read the full article- Go to the link below... God Bless Texas!!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819751472561761.html

Let's go fly a kite...

What we do in Logan, Utah to keep ourselves entertained.

Spring Break: Houston 2009

We are back in Utah now, sadly (no offense to any Utahns... it just doesn't quite compare to Texas, haha). We had a wonderful, WONDERFUL time. We spent so much time with friends and family and did SO much in the city... we never had a spare moment! Here are a few photos of our adventures this past week.

Us on the plane- Can you tell we are SO excited to be in Houston??

My sweet niece Abbi at the Park. I love this girl!!

Geoff and I took Abbi almost everywhere we went. If we can't be parents just yet- we will be the best aunt and uncle around.

Me and my two favorite girls. Abbi (my niece) and my best friend Sheree's little girl Ally Camille (yes, she is named after me which is why i love her so much haha )

Abbi's 3rd birthday party. Blowing out the candles

Is that not the CUTEST cake you have ever seen??

We went to the Houston Rodeo with my best friend Sheree and her husband Shaun. We had such a great time... It was AMAZING! We saw Clint Black there.

Me and Sheree- best friends since 6th grade.

Shaun & Geoff... Matching haha

Geoff eating a bbq turkey leg at the Rodeo. SO dang good. We also tried some fried alligtor which was really good, surprisingly!

Geoff's 27th bday. Abbi helping him blow out all those candles!

For his bday we went out for some really yummy Texas bbq at Pappa's bbq.

My whole family except for my brothers. Brett was in utah still and Ty has to work late

Us at the Kemah boardwalk- it was a GORGEOUS day. We rode rides and ate good food.

Just some fun pics of Abbi. Yes, I know. She is the CUTEST thing ever.

We went to the Museum District in Houston and spent a good chunk of time in the Natural history museum.

One of the most unique things we did during our trip was go to Mission control at NASA during the shuttle launch this sunday. My older brother works as a district manager for a congressman in Houston who is closely connected with NASA so we got a special VIP pass to go see the launch. Lets just say Geoff was in "nerd heaven".

All in all, it was such a great trip. We had so much fun and I really dreaded coming back to Logan. Thank goodness it has warmed up since we left (it snowed 2 feet the day we flew to Houston). I am so excited to move back to Houston. There is just so much diversity there that I have really missed. Anyway, it will be good to get back to a routine and to not be so tempted to spend so much money like I did over Spring Break!!

Fabulous!!

Seriously... Geoff and I are having way too much fun down here (Houston). We have been playing non-stop and just having a crazy good time. I forgot what it's like to live in a city where there is SO much to do, ALL the time!! I probably will never wanna leave. This only makes me SO much more excited to move back here in 9 months!

So excited!!

Tuesday morning Geoff and I are boarding a plane to Houston! I can hardly wait... Mostly to see the cutest little girl in the world Abbi Lynn Nelson. Heavenly Father hasn't blessed us with a child YET, so I am determined to be the BEST aunt ever to this little girl: