The Shamrock Shuffle and Two Thoughts

I just want to do a quick check in today. Yesterday Robyn and I did our town's 5k. The Shamrock shuffle is a 5k Lebanon puts on to raise money for their rec programs. We walked most of it but were able to jog a little bit. I have been doing a couch to 5k program and we decided to just follow what the program for the run. Couch to 5k is an app I have on my phone that has you alternate between jogging and running until you can jog for about 30 minutes straight. If you want to run a 5k and don't know where to start I suggest getting that app and following it. While our time was in no way impressive it did feel good to finish my first official 5k. I am looking forward to finishing the couch to 5k and running another race. 

My health thoughts for today:

1) Get a partner to work out with you. It's a lot more fun when you aren't dying alone. Also, a partner can push you when you want to give up. 

2) Find a program that works for you. Start off slow and stick with it. If you don't enjoy the program don't be afraid to find another one. 

Thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts, comments or questions let me know below.  

We have a one year old!

Yesterday, Emma turned one! I am in shock. I am not quite sure where the time went. I'm also not sure what we did before Emma was in our lives. Yesterday was a lot of fun. We continued some old birthday traditions and started a few new ones. 

First, Robyn did an amazing job decorating and getting everything ready. She has skills I could only dream of. Our daughter is lucky to have such a loving and caring mom. 

My family has always done birthday waffles. Emma loved this tradition. I'm pretty sure she ate her waffle faster than I ate mine.

Finally, we let her open up presents and she was in heaven. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled her with a cool new blue car. She isn't sure how she will pay for her license and car insurance so she has only played with her car in the living room.  

Finally, we ended the day with cake. Our friend Elizabeth made two beautiful cakes. Emma loved her smash cake even though she was a little shy at first she finally got the concept that she could destroy the cake. 

It was an absolutely perfect day. I am so grateful that I get to be this little girls dad. She fills our lives with such joy and happiness. Watching her learn and grow is one of the coolest things I have ever done. This year has been a wild ride filled with so many fun adventures. I can't wait to see what this next year has in store for our family! 

Getting Back on the Horse

Well, two years ago I wrote a very well intentioned post about how I was going to start losing weight and blog about it every week to stay accountable. Since I have not posted in two years clearly I failed. However, I think its more important to get back on the horse and start trying again than to worry about past failures. Weight loss is hard and it sucks. It's a process that takes time with many ups and downs.

Since January I have been focusing more on my health. Eating right and small workouts have been key. I have lost about twenty pounds and it feels great. I know this is just a small start and I have a long way to go. However, I want to keep the momentum going. I'm hoping I can use this blog as a tool to sort out my thoughts on what works for me and what doesn't. So here are three thoughts for this week:

1) I won't run a marathon my first week exercising. Short and easy workouts that are spread out will allow me to be more active each day and not burn out or injure myself. Sometimes I get frustrated that in high school I played football, basketball, lacrosse, and track yet now I have gained so much weight and I can't do basic workouts. I have to tell myself that it doesn't matter where I am at now but what matters is what direction I am headed. The work I am putting in today will make all the difference tomorrow.  Slow and steady wins the race - and loses the weight.

2) Meal prep is key. I need to set time aside to make my lunch each night. If I don't pack a healthy lunch in the evening I'll be rushed in the morning and throw crap into my lunch as I head out the door. Preparing healthy snacks and food early in the week allow me to quickly grab something when I'm hungry and not stress or give into cravings.

3) I need to find workouts I like. Robyn and I joined a gym which is perfect for us. I can go in the morning and do cardio or lift weights and Robyn can go when they have daycare available and get her workout in. I also enjoy jogging (it's more of a swift walk than a jog at this point). For me, it is my time to listen to music, think, and get some cardio in. Find a workout that you'll actually do and do it. It doesn't need to be running a marathon or doing a triathlon - any activity is better than nothing.

I hope these ramblings are helpful. My plan moving forward is to try and write more frequently about my health and weight loss adventure. I also want to use this blog to write about my family and our adorable child. So stay tuned for that. I would love to hear your comments and advice about my posts! Thanks for following and helping me on my journey!

The Heavy Truth

This weekend I stepped on the scale and realized to my dismay that I currently weigh the most I have ever weighed in my life. A couple of times I have managed to lose weight and feel good about myself but eventually it came back. The reality of the situation is that my whole life I have lost the weight war. I have taken the past few days to think about what made me successful during those few periods in which I did drop weight and I think it boils down to two things: habit and accountability. First, I created a lifestyle in which eating healthy and exercise were everyday occurrences. I was able to say no when offered pizza, candy and soda. I was proud and happy about the way I felt and the changes I was experiencing. It was these healthy habits that helped me to make progress. Second, my close friends and family knew about my goals and asked frequently how I was doing. This constant reminder pushed me to be accountable for my actions during the day so that I could honestly report back and feel good about my choices. In writing this blog I hope to do a few things. First and foremost to hold myself accountable along my journey to a healthier me and second, to provide support and encouragement for those who find themselves in similar situations. I plan to write weekly about my strategies and my failures. I am going to write open and honestly and as such will be grateful for your support and encouragement. If you are still reading this you must be really bored but thank you for your support. I guess the best place to start is by saying that this year I hope to lose 100 pounds and run a marathon. These are both BIG goals I have had for a very long time and I think this is a good year to accomplish them.  This week in order to get on track I am trying a smoothie cleanse and small daily workouts of around 30 minutes. I have tried juice and smoothie fasts in the past and after the first few days I have felt really good so lets hope it helps this time! I am so excited to start this journey and I know it is going to be long and hard but with good habits and by keeping myself accountable I know it is possible.

A year in review

ive tried many times over the past year to write a second blog entry but every time  i sit down to attempt it i cant seem to find the right words. it   seems only appropriate to me that i find myself writing this on my way to brazil from BYU since my first entry was on my way to BYU from Brazil. Life is one crazy ride that is for sure. since returning home from my mission i have wanted to go back to that country every day. i didn't realize just how bad I've missed the people, the beautiful language, and exciting culture until i found myself today sitting in the jfk airport surrounded by the most beautiful people. as we boarded the plane we seemed to be transported to a new country and yet we were just on the tarmac in New York. The sounds of that lovely latin language whirled around me. one of the most fascinating things to me is that no one was frustrated or agitated like a normal flight in the US. There was just excitement and energy - the Brazilian way. next to me a seat was double booked it was amazing at how calm, friendly and even helpful everyone was. No one seemed to get angry at those little inconveniences that trouble most americans.  As i buckled up the stewardess came by with a little passion fruit candy as i popped it into my mouth, the delicious flavor hitting my tounge, i was instantly taken back to my mission and everything i experienced at that precious time in my life... Now i do not want to write here about this trip to brazil, there will be plenty of time for that later, nor do i necessarily want to write about my mission but i want to talk about the things i learned on my mission and how it has changed my life specifically in the past year. The first lesson i learned was to work: On a mission you learn to work. Even the missionaries who don't want to work seem to pick up those habits and grow considerably. When i first got to Provo i was taking a full course load, i got a job at the MTC teaching portuguese, and i was called to the elders quorum presidency. I remember nights laying in bed thinking i couldn't do it. Wanting to go back to the simple and organized pattern of the mission but you cant really do that. So i did what i did every day on the mission i just woke up and got it done. It seemed there where days i did more than i should have had time to do. sometimes you just have to wake up and do it even if you don't think you can. second, trust in the Lord: I quickly learned in the MTC as a young missionary that i couldn't do it on my own and i had to depend entirely on the Lord if i wanted to be an affective representative of Christ. I had to trust in his timing and that he knew better for me. It has been the same thing in the past year. i would do as much as i could but then i had to leave the rest up to the Lord. I can look back on the past and see the times where i know the Lord made up when i was certainly lacking. Other times life didn't go quite how i planned a girl broke up with me, a grade came back a little lower than i thought, or i offended someone when i didn't want to.  But the wonderful thing is that i can say the Lord knew what he was doing. Everything i passed through taught me something and changed me into who i am. One of my mission presidents favorite sayings that really touched me was, "we need to have the faith to succeed but also the faith not to." third, the importance of planning: One of my favorite times on the mission was weekly and daily planning when you could sit down with your companion and make goals and then figure out how you were going to do them.  I have to admit i haven't been perfect at this over the past year but i have tried hard. I know how important it is to make goals and then plan out how you are going to accomplish those goals. One of the keys for me is to not get complacent; when i get close to reaching a goal i need to quickly figure out a new goal that will push me and stretch me so that i am always progressing and growing. I think another important aspect is the combination of  long term and short term goals. The two go together like peanut butter and jelly. when we plan right we can use our time effectively and more efficiently than we originally thought. fourth, pray earnestly: When we work hard, trust in the Lord, and plan our best we are then in a position that we can actually go to the Lord and ask for his help.  Missionaries dont just simply plan and go out and work but there are another two important principles: the prayer of faith and accountability.  So it has been for me this past year, when i sit down and plan out my day  i realize i have more to do than can possibly be done in one day so i get down on my knees and tell my Father in Heaven what i think i can handle. Then i plead with him to help me with the rest and i get up and go to work.  The beauty is it doesnt stop there when i get home at night i pray again to tell the Lord what i've done with the time that he has given and to thank him for the help that he gave me. Prayer is one of the most important ways we show gratitude, recieve strength, get revelation, and communicate with our Father in Heaven. It brings peace and just makes life better. (i would also include scripture study here. when we make the basics a priority in our life we are blessed.) Fifth, live to serve: A mission is two years of straight service. Your purpose is to help others twenty four hours a day, although sometimes the people dont see it that way... but thats a different story.  Since I have been home i have heard people say things like "im done worrying about others" or "im only going to do what makes me happy" and "i hate when i help others but they dont thank me or help me back". Anytime i hear something like that i cringe and something doesnt feel right. As i have thought about why i was so happy on my mission ive realized it was because i wasnt worried about me. I found joy in bringing happiness to others and you know what? it didnt stop when i was released as a full time missionary. I have found that the only way to truly find joy in this life is to forget my wants and desires and to always look for moments to help others. Please, lets not worry about what we get in return but lets serve and give of our time because its the right thing to do.  Its the human thing to do.  Sixth, personal reflection and self evaluation: There is never really time set aside for personal evaluation on a mission, maybe its personal study, or when we set goals, or P-day but every missionary inevitably finds time to sit and ponder about how they are doing and if theyre off course to try and get back on. I have found in the past year that real life is hectic. Taking a few minutes to leave the hustle and bustle of the world and to just sit and think can really help to make life seem more manageble.  Sometimes as you sit nothing really happens but that you got to relax for a few minutes but other times whisperings and promptings will come that can be answers to the big problems in your life. As i have listened to those promptings i have been blessed and extremely grateful i took time to just sit and think.  One key part of this time for me is reflecting on my relationship with my Savior and seeing how i have increased it in the past week and to think about how i will make it stronger in the next week. time to meditate is great. Seventh, its not the end until you die: Every elder (and sister) knows that you cant stop working until your stake president asks  you to take of your name tag because if you do for just one moment you could miss that golden contact or the family that has been prepared just for you. What ive found is that its the same for us.  If we arent always ready we could miss out on a great opourtunity.  But what i really mean when I say that it isnt the end unitl we die is that sometimes we are too hard on ourselves. I am the first to admit i often feel inadiquite, i feel like ive made too many mistakes to be of any worth to anyone. We forget that every day is a new day. We can take each day and be better than yesterday. I think that if we do that we will be on the right track. To quote one of my favorite men, "try a little harder to be a little better". So often we forget Christ and what he did for us. Maybe we dont literraly forget him but we dont understand his sacrifice and it we dont use it. The atonement was so that all those mistakes we made can be washed away but it goes beyond that its there to help make us perfect. When you're not feeling up to par remember that its never too late to change, unless you just died and then... well you wouldnt be reading this. 

An Awkward Phase

A lot of people ask me how I am doing, "What’s it like being back?" they ask.  I don't think anyone who hasn't served a full time mission for The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can fully understand the thoughts and feelings that I have. My whole life was building up to this mission.  This time when I could forget myself and help others, go out and teach others about the gospel.  I did it! For two years I had that chance I lived it and loved it, serving the people of Park City, Utah and Bahia, Brasil. (If you want to read about that you can go to our family blog www.menderfamily.blogspot.com)  Suddenly on August 4th I found myself sitting in the Atlanta Georgia airport all by myself. It was finished, and a few hours later I would be with my family.  I desperately fought to remember all the people I had met, taught, and loved. I heard voices but the sounds didn't register. Where were the soft voices and flowing vowels, the palletized sounds of a language I loved so much?  At some point it hit me that there was no going back - I was truly headed home.  As soon as my plane landed in NH and I saw my family, the excitement started and I barely had time to think.   My mother had perfectly planned out all my time so that I had very little free time, which was probably a good thing. From doctors appointments, to homecoming talks, and a motorcycle class, my time was all used up in what seemed like a fast paced race. But now, I find myself with too much time on my hands.  This week my parents and I started a cross-country road trip. I have, since infancy, been designated as the backseat boy.  In fact, I’m writing from the backseat. It seems that everything reminds me of Brasil, and my life that seems so long ago.  I’m here and I must go forward but a part of me wants to go back to the rigid schedule: wake up, workout, shower, study, work, lunch, work, plan, and sleep.  It’s a schedule that works, that illuminates the mind and soul. Although I know I’m starting a new schedule, one where I make the times, and I call the shots. I have so many goals, hopes, desires, and fears.  It’s a tricky question, "How am I doing" I’m happy, I’m nervous, I want to go back and I want to go forward.  I’m stuck in what I call an awkward phase, where the mission still calls me, but the future silently invites me to join it not knowing what awaits, but hoping that I can apply those lessons I learned in the hot Brazilian sun.  I guess all I can do is go with the flow and relax as we finish our lovely road trip and cruise into Happy Valley.