Halloween with the Stevens' looks like...

Kevin and I did not dress up today. Kevin went so far as to wear his Gryffindor shirt. Brilliant.
I've seen some hilarious costumes on campus today including: Mz. Frizzle + the Magic School Bus, Bane, Tinkerbell, Lego people, and an Arab.
Even though we are super lame Halloween participants, we have done some really fun fall/Halloweenish things including:

Usually when fall comes, I get very grumpy because fall means that winter is right around the corner. This fall though, I'm totally overwhelmed by how beautiful everything is. What a gorgeous world we live in!

 For date night last week, we went to our favorite spot; a giant rock about a quarter of a mile hike above the Y. It's the place where we had our first kiss, first said the L word and got engaged. We brought up hot chocolate in our thermos and watched the sun go down. Can you say romantic evening? It so was. 

 This is how we dressed up for our ward Halloween Party. I'm not very good at the costume thing. Maybe when some kids come into the picture I'll get some enthusiasm. The party was a total blast though. Great food, awesome company and a hilarious magic show.

On Monday we had a combined FHE with some good friends from the ward and carved pumpkins! Yay, we did a Halloweenie activity! (Let's be real, I spent the majority of the time holding their new baby. Best FHE activity ever right?)

Life continues to be wonderful kids! We are happy and content and plugging along.

falling in my lap

It's so funny how things just happen that you have no control over isn't it?
I just registered for my last semester of college. Three weeks ago, I was planning on taking 4 classes which would only be 12 credits, I was NOT going to do an internship, and I was going to just work less than 10 hours a week. I was going to keep it as easy as possible.
Then I found out that I was two credits short and that I have to take another class in order to graduate.
Then I found out about an internship that was too perfect to pass up.
Then I found out that that internship is only one credit, when I need three to graduate.
Then I found out about another internship that I can do online, and do as many credits as I want.
Then my boss asked me to TA for another of his classes, which would allow me to work 15 hours a week.
Sigh. So now I'll be taking 4 classes still, plus one credit of internship, plus 15 hours of work a week.
And then the semester after I graduate, I'll have to finish up my internship credits.
Still easy, just more hours of my time allocated to different things.
I'm super grateful for all these opportunities, but April  24th can't come soon enough!

simplicity

Our little life has become very simple this semester (at least for me!). I feel good about that. I like not being on the go all the time. We go to bed early and wake up early. I either go for a run or do reading for class. Then comes class for a few hours each day and I hit the gym on my non-running days. I'm almost always home by 3:30. I walk to and from school and, especially right now, I'm loving the beautiful walk. We live in an especially beautiful part of our college town. I get home, sometimes do some reading for classes, and make dinner. Kevin gets home at either 4 or 5 and we have dinner. I read, a lot. I crochet, a lot. I walk movies and TV shows, a lot. Sometimes if I'm lucky I get to socialize with my neighbors. I also bake way more than I should (always the same two things, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or banana bread). 

It's a nice change of pace. I enjoy the fact that I have other things in my life besides just school and work. I love taking time to be by myself. I love going to the temple on the weekends and reconnecting spiritually. I love having time to take care of my body and take care of myself. I especially love spending time with my husband in the evenings (even if he's doing homework), and going to bed together every night.

For a while, I felt guilty at how simple my schedule has been. I got caught in the trap of thinking that if I'm not killing myself because I'm so busy, I'm not using my time well or being productive. Now I realize that on the contrary, when life is simple, I can get so much more done and I can be a much more well-rounded person.

Life is great friends. 

And here's a picture for my sisters, who refuse to read words in blogposts.

8 reasons why I love exercising

Dang it, I wanted so badly to be better at blogging this semester. Oh well...

So, as I've expressed before, I love to work out. This semester has been awesome because I actually have time to exercise every day and it has made such a difference in my overall well being. So I wanted to do a blog post giving some of my favorite reasons to work out.

1. I have more energy. This morning I seriously just wanted to sleep in instead of going out into the cold to run. But, I've realized through experience that, paradoxically, I will actually have a higher energy level if I go on a three mile run than if I sleep in for an extra half hour. So I forced myself out the door, and now I'm feeling great!

2. I can eat more. A couple of months ago, I decided to download a calorie tracker on my phone (I kept gaining weight, and I couldn't figure out why). I realized that I was eating way more calories than my body needed so I tracked my calories for a little while. On the days that I work out, I can (and need to!) eat MORE. I love to eat, so this is a huge motivator for me.

3. It boosts my self-esteem. Working out improves my self-perception for a few reasons. First, I feel a sense of accomplishment as I watch my body make improvements. Second, even if I haven't lost any weight, I see my body in a more positive way. It's not really about how I look, but the way I feel about how I look is different.

4. I can show off a little. I know, this is super shallow. But I love going to the gym and being that girl that lifts along side the guys. I don't lift as much as the guys, but you can best bet that I'm lifting like three times as much as the girls! (Side-note, I've been trying to lift "heavy" instead of just doing endless reps with 5 pound weights. It has been amazing. I love it) I also feel really good when I can say that I ran 6 miles and that I'm training for a half marathon. I know. I'm super obnoxious. ;)

5. Better sex. No explanation needed.

6. I'm happier. My emotions are so much more balanced when I'm exercising consistently. Whether it's because of the shot of endorphin's I'm getting, or because I like myself more I can't say. But I have seen a definite correlation between working out and my general sense of happiness.

7. I'm more productive. Since I have more energy and feel good hormones, it seems like I can focus more. I also have a mentality of "I just accomplished _______ goal in my workout today, I can totally beast this paper." It's a really good feeling!

8. My spirit is happier. I have a testimony that our bodies and our spirits are closely influenced by each other. When my body is healthy, alert etc. I feel the spirit more and I see more of God's hand in my life.

Why do you love to work out?

The Beef I Have With Pinterest

I have a little confession. Sometimes I see the picture below and think, "Dang I wish my abs looked like that. Maybe if I do more crunches I can have that body too."

How terrible is that? I think it's terrible that I've thought that. 

I really do love Pinterest. I think it's so fun to get new ideas and expand my horizons. But when I see stuff like the pictures below I feel a little sick...

There is a fallacy associated with these two pictures, and a million more that look just as awful. The pin says: Do this routine before every shower: 50 jumping jacks, 5 pushups, 20 crunches and a 30 second plank. So worth it. The fallacy is that if you do this ridiculous routine, you will look like these women with these skinny, less than 10% fat bodies and their photoshopped abs. I think it's SO DUMB. That routine is practically nothing in terms of exercise. The only way that would make your body look like that is if you also starved yourself. 

This is another Pinterest thing that drives me crazy. "What kind of belly fat do you have? Crunches may be making the problem worse! Do this, this and that and you will have a flat belly and get rid of that pooch!"

Here's the thing. I got caught up in this for a while. I have a pooch. It's genetic. When I eat, my gut pokes out. I hated it. It made me so frustrated. "But these women on Pinterest have flat bellies and they just had to do this, this and that. What am I doing wrong??"

How pathetic is that?

Thankfully I came to myself and I realized that instead of trying to change my body, how about I just ACCEPT my body the way that it is? 

Here's how my body really is. My stomach is flat in the morning, when there is absolutely no food in my belly. The second I eat anything, there's a pooch. And I accept that about myself. It's genetics. It's how my mom is, it's how her sisters are, it's how my sisters are. 

IT'S OKAY.

Look at this picture. Look at that anorexic looking person. There's this obsession with the "thigh gap" these days. That when you stand with your legs together, they shouldn't touch. I think it's stupid. People with "thigh gaps" have a ridiculously low body fat percentage. It's not healthy for girls and women to get below 18% body fat. And again, with the fallacy of this picture. "If you do this routine, you will have skinny thighs, which apparently is the most socially desirable way for your thighs to be."

Instead of trying to change our bodies, let's love our bodies. I'm not saying that we shouldn't eat healthy or work out, I already talked about how much I love to eat healthy and work out. But I don't work out to look like these women all over Pinterest. I have a healthy lifestyle because I love my body, belly pooch and all. 

The next time you see something like this on Pinterest, think to yourself "how realistic is this for my body type? Not very. Okay, moving on."

Let's move on.