I have put off writing this post for awhile now. I was afraid that if I wrote it that everyone was going to think that it was just another attempt and that it would not last long. For the past month I have been dieting. Yes.... again! I know that I have said this before (a few times actually), but this time I mean business. I know somewhere in the last few months I have had a change of heart. Or maybe a change of mind. I have been so unhappy about the way that I look. I hate not fitting into clothes that I once used to. I finally came to the realization that I needed to make a change. I was the only one that could make that change. I suddenly realized that I was not doing this for Gabe, for my family, for my future kids, not for anyone but myself. I hate looking in the mirror. The mirror is one of my biggest fears. When I look in the mirror I know that I have to see what I look like and I hate it.
One of the biggest downfalls I have about dieting is that I do it for a minute and when I don't see the results right away I get discouraged and give up. Well I can honestly say that I have not gotten discouraged yet.... In the past month I have been on a strict diet, working out more than I have ever worked out in my entire life. My legs have become noodles, I often feel like an old lady, I am so sore all the time. But I am told that pain is good. For those that don't know this, I am very conscious about what people think about me. I know that it is probably not the best trait to have. This did not help when it came to going to the gym. There are several "in fit" people there. I selfishly hoped that there were other people there that were in the same boat I was. Not in the best shape, a little heavier but willing to make the change. There has been a few but not as much as I would of liked. Every time I go it gets a little easier to learn that I need to focus on myself. There may be those that are asking themselves why a person like me is at the gym. But I am trying, it is a big step that I am even here. I am also sure that I have a tendency to exaggerate a little. I am sure some of those people don't even care what I do.
I am happy to report that I have lost sixteen pounds in the past month. Go me!!!! I feel great, my clothes are fitting better, and I have so much energy. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I struggle, when I feel that it's not working. But I have to keep telling myself that I can do it. How badly do I want this? I will keep making updates about my progress. This is only the beginning and I am determined to make it a perfect end.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
2+2=?
Tonight, I am reminded of how everyone of us has our own talents. For as long as I can remember I have loved numbers. Call me crazy, but math was and is my favorite school subject. In school, I was the first person in my third grade class to memorize all the multiplication. When the teacher would put the numbers on the chalk board, they were in my head. This is the one subject that I never had to think about. I aced all the exams, assignments, and quizzes and even did the extra credit problems. I was the math geek that everyone came to to ask questions. I was the one that everyone wanted to be friends with in math class, just so they had some chance of getting a passing grade. By the time I was in the 9th grade I was taking college credit math courses and by the time I was a junior I had finished all the math courses I would ever need for college. Although math was my strength, English was not. I may be able to add millions of numbers together in my head, but you put me in front of a computer and tell me to write a paper... I crumble. I sit there for hours looking at the white screen in hopes by some miracle the words would start flowing. There would be times where all I wanted to do was pull my hair out, scream, and even cry. After many hours and hard concentration, I thought that I had finally written a suitable paper. Every time the teacher would hand back that paper, I was probably the only student that had the most errors. There are probably some of you who are reading this blog and noticing all of my errors now and yes, I am that bad. My brother is an English major. He can write a paper at the drop of a hat and its perfect. At one point in time, I had him peer edit a paper of mine. He could not even get through the first paragraph without saying "This is not a paper". I often thought how could two siblings be so different? How could I be so good in math and so horrible in English. How could Scottie be so good in English and hate math? After finishing math so long ago, I have forgotten just how much people hate it.
I consider my husband to be an intelligent person. When Gabe and I first got married, we had to go through the immigration process for him to be a permanent resident. During an appointment at the immigration office, Gabe was handed a booklet. This booklet contained all the information about becoming a citizen of the U.S. That evening Gabe and I sat down and opened the booklet. There were things like what to expect on the citizen test. There is a writing portion, a vocabulary portion, and then a history portion. Within the history portion you are asked ten questions that are pulled from a bank of 100 questions about the U.S. history. I thought it would be fun to go through the questions to see how much Gabe knew about U.S. history without even studying. Well, the results were Gabe answered 97 out of 100 questions right. I instantly felt dumb. How could someone that had only lived in the U.S. for a short time, know more history then me who has lived here my entire life. I got a little discouraged and really had to rethink my intelligence. But this afternoon I was reminded of something very important. Gabe is taking math right now. As we sat down at our kitchen table so that I could review the concepts that he had been learning the last few weeks. I handed him a practice quiz that I had taken a good amount of time to make that entailed all of the problems that he would expect to find on his exam tomorrow. After reviewing the concepts, I set the cell phone alarm to go off in one hour. He had one hour to finish this practice exam on his own without any help. I had left the room for a short moment and upon returning the practice exam was on the other side of the table, and Gabe's head was laying down. It had only been five minutes since he began the exam. Needless to say, we went through the practice exam together and I made a different one that he can take tonight without any help. As I sat there explaining the concepts that I knew all so well, and Gabe sitting there frustrated and whispering the words "I just don't get it". I was reminded that I am not dumb, nor should I question my intelligence because I can't write a paper, or recall history. Gabe should not feel dumb or question his intelligence because he does not understand math. Any one of you should not feel dumb or question your intelligence. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. And lucky for us, our children will have a father who can teach them to write and teach history, and a mother who can teach math and science. They get the best of both worlds.
I consider my husband to be an intelligent person. When Gabe and I first got married, we had to go through the immigration process for him to be a permanent resident. During an appointment at the immigration office, Gabe was handed a booklet. This booklet contained all the information about becoming a citizen of the U.S. That evening Gabe and I sat down and opened the booklet. There were things like what to expect on the citizen test. There is a writing portion, a vocabulary portion, and then a history portion. Within the history portion you are asked ten questions that are pulled from a bank of 100 questions about the U.S. history. I thought it would be fun to go through the questions to see how much Gabe knew about U.S. history without even studying. Well, the results were Gabe answered 97 out of 100 questions right. I instantly felt dumb. How could someone that had only lived in the U.S. for a short time, know more history then me who has lived here my entire life. I got a little discouraged and really had to rethink my intelligence. But this afternoon I was reminded of something very important. Gabe is taking math right now. As we sat down at our kitchen table so that I could review the concepts that he had been learning the last few weeks. I handed him a practice quiz that I had taken a good amount of time to make that entailed all of the problems that he would expect to find on his exam tomorrow. After reviewing the concepts, I set the cell phone alarm to go off in one hour. He had one hour to finish this practice exam on his own without any help. I had left the room for a short moment and upon returning the practice exam was on the other side of the table, and Gabe's head was laying down. It had only been five minutes since he began the exam. Needless to say, we went through the practice exam together and I made a different one that he can take tonight without any help. As I sat there explaining the concepts that I knew all so well, and Gabe sitting there frustrated and whispering the words "I just don't get it". I was reminded that I am not dumb, nor should I question my intelligence because I can't write a paper, or recall history. Gabe should not feel dumb or question his intelligence because he does not understand math. Any one of you should not feel dumb or question your intelligence. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. And lucky for us, our children will have a father who can teach them to write and teach history, and a mother who can teach math and science. They get the best of both worlds.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Neves Family Vacation 2013
Can't believe that we are half way through January already! It seems just like yesterday, we were putting up the Christmas tree, and the world had gone crazy shopping. Gabe and I had a great holiday season. We spent a quiet New Years Eve at home with Gabe's mom and brother. We watched movies, talked, and ate delicious food. On New Years Day, we slept in, did a little shopping, and then we were able to go to dinner with my family and Gabe's family. It's always so great, that we can all get together as one big happy family.
In 2011, after Gabe and I got married we did a ton of traveling. Hawaii, LA, Las Vegas, and ended the year in Brazil. Gabe loves to travel, he would spend everyday somewhere new if I let him. But since Gabe lost his job in the beginning of 2012 we were not able to have any vacations this last year. Gabe was heartbroken, so since it had been a year, Gabe's family was going to be in town, and we finally got back on our feet, we decided that it would be a great time to start planning yearly Neves family vacations. This year, our destination was San Diego. I had been to San Diego a few years ago, with a friend but Gabe nor his family had ever been. So, we all packed our bags and the 3rd day of January the entire Neves family (which only consists of 4 of us at the moment) was on a plane to California! We had rented a condo, and had tons of plans for the week. But without fail, a family vacation is not a vacation without a little stress. When we landed and were retrieving our luggage, my suitcase came, then Gabe's, then Lucia's and then...... Marcello's luggage never came. They lost it, it fact they never had put it on the plane. So his suitcase, was sitting in SLC. Lucky for us, the condo had a washer and dryer, so we could wash his one pair of clothes that he had on. After two days, we got the suitcase back. It was just a slight downer to the trip. We quickly recovered, and went about our week. We went to Sea World, did a city tour, shopped, went to Little Italy, ate fantastic food, spent some time at the beach, and just really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to the end, Lucia and Marcello had an earlier flight back to Brazil so we dropped them off at the airport. It was hard to say goodbye to them. This time was a little different, this family vacation allowed for us to all get a little closer. Lucia and I built a good relationship and I was sad to see her go. Marcello and I get along so well, for the first time, I am not the youngest in the family, so we can all pick on him. There were a few tears shed, and tons of hugs. Gabe and I had like 8 hours to kill before our flight left. So, we went to lunch, shopped around, and just hung out for awhile. We had a layover in Vegas, upon arriving my mother had called to inform that there was a blizzard in Utah and that our connecting flight had been delayed. By that time I just wanted to get home, and go to bed. So Gabe and I grabbed expensive airport food for dinner, and two hours later boarded the plane. Upon boarding, the lovely stewardess came on the intercom and announced that we were going to try to fly to SLC, and if the pilot felt that it was unsafe to land the plane in SLC, we were going to turn around and come back to Vegas. Great.... the one thing I kept thinking was I sure hope they brought extra Diet Coke's because I was going to need the entire can. Long and behold, we landed in 3ft of snow, took us 30 mins to taxi to the gate, waited outside in the cold for an hour to get a taxi , and then what normally is a 15 min drive from the airport to our house took an hour to get home. We arrived home just after 1 a.m. and it has taken me the entire week to catch up on sleep.
It was a much needed vacation. The next family Vacation is already in the works. Maybe Gabe and I will go back to Brazil, with a mini vacation to RIO. Maybe they will come back to Utah and then we will go somewhere new. Or maybe just maybe we will meet half way and do a cruise across the Caribbean.
In 2011, after Gabe and I got married we did a ton of traveling. Hawaii, LA, Las Vegas, and ended the year in Brazil. Gabe loves to travel, he would spend everyday somewhere new if I let him. But since Gabe lost his job in the beginning of 2012 we were not able to have any vacations this last year. Gabe was heartbroken, so since it had been a year, Gabe's family was going to be in town, and we finally got back on our feet, we decided that it would be a great time to start planning yearly Neves family vacations. This year, our destination was San Diego. I had been to San Diego a few years ago, with a friend but Gabe nor his family had ever been. So, we all packed our bags and the 3rd day of January the entire Neves family (which only consists of 4 of us at the moment) was on a plane to California! We had rented a condo, and had tons of plans for the week. But without fail, a family vacation is not a vacation without a little stress. When we landed and were retrieving our luggage, my suitcase came, then Gabe's, then Lucia's and then...... Marcello's luggage never came. They lost it, it fact they never had put it on the plane. So his suitcase, was sitting in SLC. Lucky for us, the condo had a washer and dryer, so we could wash his one pair of clothes that he had on. After two days, we got the suitcase back. It was just a slight downer to the trip. We quickly recovered, and went about our week. We went to Sea World, did a city tour, shopped, went to Little Italy, ate fantastic food, spent some time at the beach, and just really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately, all good things had to come to the end, Lucia and Marcello had an earlier flight back to Brazil so we dropped them off at the airport. It was hard to say goodbye to them. This time was a little different, this family vacation allowed for us to all get a little closer. Lucia and I built a good relationship and I was sad to see her go. Marcello and I get along so well, for the first time, I am not the youngest in the family, so we can all pick on him. There were a few tears shed, and tons of hugs. Gabe and I had like 8 hours to kill before our flight left. So, we went to lunch, shopped around, and just hung out for awhile. We had a layover in Vegas, upon arriving my mother had called to inform that there was a blizzard in Utah and that our connecting flight had been delayed. By that time I just wanted to get home, and go to bed. So Gabe and I grabbed expensive airport food for dinner, and two hours later boarded the plane. Upon boarding, the lovely stewardess came on the intercom and announced that we were going to try to fly to SLC, and if the pilot felt that it was unsafe to land the plane in SLC, we were going to turn around and come back to Vegas. Great.... the one thing I kept thinking was I sure hope they brought extra Diet Coke's because I was going to need the entire can. Long and behold, we landed in 3ft of snow, took us 30 mins to taxi to the gate, waited outside in the cold for an hour to get a taxi , and then what normally is a 15 min drive from the airport to our house took an hour to get home. We arrived home just after 1 a.m. and it has taken me the entire week to catch up on sleep.
It was a much needed vacation. The next family Vacation is already in the works. Maybe Gabe and I will go back to Brazil, with a mini vacation to RIO. Maybe they will come back to Utah and then we will go somewhere new. Or maybe just maybe we will meet half way and do a cruise across the Caribbean.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Christmas 2012
Well another Christmas has come and gone. I still cannot believe that in just a few hours it is going to be 2013. Sometimes I wish that time would go a little faster but after it is gone I want more time. This Christmas was one of the best Christmas's that I have had in a really long time. I worked Christmas Eve night. It was kind of a slow night and kinda long. My brother and sister-in-law have recently bought a new house and they wanted to be able to celebrate in their new home. On Christmas day, Gabe and I went to Ogden to Scott and Brooke's house. It was so much fun to see the girls show us all of their presents that Santa brought. Their little eyes lit up, and they were so excited to play with all the toys. It reminded me that Christmas is such a magical time. We opened up our gifts from each other, ate dinner, played games, and watched a movie. Gabe and I slept over. It was so nice to be with our own little family and spend quality time with them. I cannot wait for the day that Gabe and I have our little ones running around and getting excited for Santa. This week has been somewhat crazy though. Between Christmas and my in-laws coming I have kept pretty busy. We are so excited that Lucia and Marcello are here. I don't think that we really know how much we miss them until they are here. It has been so fun and so wonderful to have them here. We do not get to see them that often and so when they are here, we take advantage of it. We are going to celebrate New Years together and then on Thurs, we are all flying to San Diego. It will be so much fun. I cannot wait to just have time to relax and have time for ourselves. It is a much needed break. I hope you all have an amazing and safe New Years!!!!!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tis the Season
I cannot believe that is already December already! I feel as though this year has gone by so fast. It only seems just yesterday that Gabe and I were getting married. Over the last few years I have been less fond of Christmas. I am not sure if it's because I am getting older and becoming a scrooge, or because I don't have any kids. I just feel that instead of being a time for family and the true meaning of Christmas, it is rushed and stressful. For the past few weeks I have been trying to de-junk my house. My mother and brother in law are going to be here just after Christmas. I can't wait for them to get here because we miss them terribly. But this time is going to be a little different. They are staying with us. I am a little nervous. I have a tendency to over think things and freak out a lot. I just want everything to be perfect. So i have been trying to get the house together. I have been so wrapped up in cleaning that I have forgotten that I still need to buy gifts. I have not done one ounce of Christmas shopping. I just feel that there is so much to be done and so little time. I have Gabe's gifts and that's it.
When I first moved here to SLC, my mother gave me my grandpa Krim's old Christmas tree for my apartment. I have used this Christmas tree for the last 5 years. My grandpa used this tree for many years and it was old to begin with. Last year as Gabe and I put up the Christmas tree, we decided that it was time to retire it. Everytime that we would touch it, the branches would fall off and it just looks so bare. So this year I wanted to have a pretty tree. We got a pre-lit tree so that we don't have to string lights ourselves. I even made my own ornaments. This is the one thing that I enjoy doing. I am pretty excited to put it up. Pictures to come soon!
Even though the next few weeks are going to be hectic, I hope that I have some time to really think about what Christmas is all about. It's not the gifts, or the food, or shopping, or even cleaning. It's about the spirit of giving and remembering the Saviors Birth. I too often forget what the meaning of Christmas is about, Maybe that is why I feel so stressed about Christmas. I hope that everyone has a great Christmas and that you take a little time to think about what it means to you.
When I first moved here to SLC, my mother gave me my grandpa Krim's old Christmas tree for my apartment. I have used this Christmas tree for the last 5 years. My grandpa used this tree for many years and it was old to begin with. Last year as Gabe and I put up the Christmas tree, we decided that it was time to retire it. Everytime that we would touch it, the branches would fall off and it just looks so bare. So this year I wanted to have a pretty tree. We got a pre-lit tree so that we don't have to string lights ourselves. I even made my own ornaments. This is the one thing that I enjoy doing. I am pretty excited to put it up. Pictures to come soon!
Even though the next few weeks are going to be hectic, I hope that I have some time to really think about what Christmas is all about. It's not the gifts, or the food, or shopping, or even cleaning. It's about the spirit of giving and remembering the Saviors Birth. I too often forget what the meaning of Christmas is about, Maybe that is why I feel so stressed about Christmas. I hope that everyone has a great Christmas and that you take a little time to think about what it means to you.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thanksgiving 2012
There are several different reasons as to why fall is my favorite season. I love when the leaves start to change different colors. There is something about the reds, oranges, and yellows that just make everything seem so warm. I also love fall because most of the country stops and really thinks about what they are grateful for. I too have thought about what I am grateful for. Here is my List: 1. I am grateful to have the church in my life. 2. I am grateful for my amazing husband, who loves and supports me 3. I am grateful for my mother, who teaches me every day 4. I am grateful for my father, who loves me unconditional 5. I am grateful for my brother and sister-in-law who are great examples 6. I am grateful for my two beautiful nieces who brighten my life 7. I am grateful for Gabe's family who always help us 8. I am grateful for my wonderful friends who are always there 9. I am grateful for my job 10. I am grateful for my education 11. I am grateful for my health 12. I am grateful for my little apartment 13. I am grateful for my car 14. I am grateful for my life
Looking over this list makes me realize that I really do have a lot of things that to be grateful. I am sure that there are many more. I have a lot in my life that others do not. I simply can't imagine my life without any of these things. For Thanksgiving this year, we will have a big family dinner with lots of amazing food and company. For that too I am grateful.Not many individuals say that they can do that. Although, this is the time of year that we all start to think about and give thanks to the things that we do have, it should not be the only time. I know that we get carried away in the duties of everyday and don't really take the time to say thanks. But we should all take a little more time in our lives to be thankful for what we have.
Friday, October 12, 2012
My Birthday 10/12/12!!!
Over the last few years, I have come across many individuals who don't like birthdays. They don't like getting older, they don't like celebrating, or maybe they just have never had a real birthday. For me, I enjoy every minute of my birthday. Sometimes, I enjoy the entire week of my birthday. We all have our own ways of celebrating and mine happen to be a little extreme. My brother and I are exactly 8 years and 4 days apart. Growing up we always celebrated our birthdays together. Not many can say that they enjoy sharing their birthdays with another sibling. But for me, I was the youngest and I always got what I wanted. One year, my mother had told us that we were going to have one birthday cake for the both of us. Scott wanted a Batman cake, I wanted a barbie cake. When the day of our party arrived and my mother brought out the barbie cake, Scott was not happy. Ever since then, Scott hates cake. I figure that my birthday is the one day out of the year that I get to celebrate me, and me alone. For that reason alone is why I love birthdays!
This year was an awesome birthday as well. Since Scott's birthday is 4 days before mine we usually just celebrate it together with our parents and do our owns things on the actual birthday! This year we decided to go to the Brick Oven for the family dinner. It was amazing!!! I had never been there before and needless to say we will be going back. You can either choose between pizza or pasta. It is all you can eat. With the pasta it comes with all you can eat salad, soup, and bread. You can choose any type of pasta you want and they make it in front of you. And then you can put any sauce you want. It's amazing. My brother and sister in law got the pizza buffet. With that you also get all you can eat salad a soup. They have waiters come around to your table bringing slices of all sorts of pizza. It was so amazing. I think that might be where we go from now on for every birthday!
Gabe knows how stressed out I have been the last few months, so for my present he gave me a spa day! It was amazing. The massage is just what i needed. I must have been really tense, because the therapists could not stop talking about how tight my back was and how many knots I had. She did an amazing job and if I had the money I could go every week. Since I have been on this diet, I have not had any junk food. I have been craving a hamburger like no other. So for lunch Gabe took me to get a hamburger. He is so sweet, massage and a hamburger what more can a girl ask for? ha ha. Then we did a little shopping. I tried to find a new outfit. But I feel that I am at that awkward stage in my diet where the clothes I have now are way to big but the smaller size don't fit quite right. I guess eating that hamburger today did not help any. So of course the one thing that fits no matter how much weight you lose. SHOES!!!! I bought some really cute boots for the winter. Then for dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory, because that is the other thing that I have been craving is cheesecake. Dinner was delicious and the Dulce DE Leche cheesecake was AMAZING!!! It was a great birthday. I am so lucky to have a great husband who spoils me rotten, and wonderful family and friends who also spoil me. Can't wait to see what this next year brings!!!!
This year was an awesome birthday as well. Since Scott's birthday is 4 days before mine we usually just celebrate it together with our parents and do our owns things on the actual birthday! This year we decided to go to the Brick Oven for the family dinner. It was amazing!!! I had never been there before and needless to say we will be going back. You can either choose between pizza or pasta. It is all you can eat. With the pasta it comes with all you can eat salad, soup, and bread. You can choose any type of pasta you want and they make it in front of you. And then you can put any sauce you want. It's amazing. My brother and sister in law got the pizza buffet. With that you also get all you can eat salad a soup. They have waiters come around to your table bringing slices of all sorts of pizza. It was so amazing. I think that might be where we go from now on for every birthday!
Gabe knows how stressed out I have been the last few months, so for my present he gave me a spa day! It was amazing. The massage is just what i needed. I must have been really tense, because the therapists could not stop talking about how tight my back was and how many knots I had. She did an amazing job and if I had the money I could go every week. Since I have been on this diet, I have not had any junk food. I have been craving a hamburger like no other. So for lunch Gabe took me to get a hamburger. He is so sweet, massage and a hamburger what more can a girl ask for? ha ha. Then we did a little shopping. I tried to find a new outfit. But I feel that I am at that awkward stage in my diet where the clothes I have now are way to big but the smaller size don't fit quite right. I guess eating that hamburger today did not help any. So of course the one thing that fits no matter how much weight you lose. SHOES!!!! I bought some really cute boots for the winter. Then for dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory, because that is the other thing that I have been craving is cheesecake. Dinner was delicious and the Dulce DE Leche cheesecake was AMAZING!!! It was a great birthday. I am so lucky to have a great husband who spoils me rotten, and wonderful family and friends who also spoil me. Can't wait to see what this next year brings!!!!
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