Life...as told by Shaina

Now, let me first say it says easier, it doesn’t say easy peasy! Starting a workout routine or even starting healthy habits takes time and patience with yourself! Be sure to set achievable goals so that you can start off on the right foot. This means if you don’t work out at all right now, don’t make a goal to work out every day! Think about your schedule and set an achievable goal for yourself. This could be anything from 1 day to 3, but be sure to take small steps. Your fitness is not a destination, it’s a journey! When I first started adding a fitness routine into my daily schedule I started off working out after work. At the time it worked great, but I started to notice that things would start creeping into my workout time. For example, dinner, hanging out with friends, being super tired, etc. I was able to overcome those things, but I really wanted to have more time after work to relax or hang out with friends (this was pre-corona). I moved my workouts to the morning startin...

Throughout my recent fitness transformation, I’ve realized that it is in fact a journey. I think a lot of times people think that getting fit is a one-stop shop. They think that once they get to a certain weight or their bodies look a certain way, then they will be done. I’m here to tell you, that attaining a healthy life is not a point you can cross off! It is a journey and a constant process of choosing to do those healthy things. I’m not just talking about eating healthy and working out.  There is so much more to health than just those two things (don’t get me wrong, they are super important), you also have to get enough sleep every night, drink water, as well as focus on your mental and emotional health. Does that help show you that it’s not just one thing to cross off? It’s a constant journey to improve ourselves and live the best that we can. And this means that it’s not always easy-rather, it’s hard! Recently our church had a conference and one of the talks really ...

Last January (2019) I decided I needed to make a change. I was commuting an hour and ten minutes one way and most of my job consisted of sitting. I also was going to be turning 25 (I know, so old! ;)) and heard somewhere that after you turn 25 it’s a lot harder to become healthy. (I have no idea if that is true, but it scared me enough to motivate me)  So I decided I needed to find something that I could do to stay healthy. The hard part was that by the time I got home from work it was 6:30 pm and I was starving and ready for dinner.  I didn’t want to go anywhere after driving to work and was already getting up at 5:50 am. I didn’t know how I was going to fit it in until a very wise co-worker suggested I eat a snack on the way home! It was like a light-bulb went off in my brain.  You all may have noticed that was the answer right away, but for me when I was trying to figure it out, I just saw a huge roadblock. Once she suggested that my biggest “excuse” was gone and ...

I’m really good at doing what people tell me to do. Like, give me an assignment and I can get it done! The harder part comes when you give me more freedom. Like I have to call all the shots?? I actually got feedback from one of my internship supervisors that related to this. I walked into the one on one thinking I was going to get perfect marks. And he surprised me! But in a good way, he told me, “You’re really great at coming to us and asking what you can do to help. I would love it if instead of coming to us and asking what you could do, you instead came to us with an idea or even something that you had already done. Fulfill a need and take that initiative! You are a part of this internship for a reason and we trust you.” That was probably the best constructive feedback I have ever gotten and I really took it in stride. I started looking for ways I could help and contribute instead of just asking. Flash-forward two years later and I was walking into another one on one with ...

Guys, I have to share this, because first of all, I’m super proud of myself. Second of all, it’s a major breakthrough! I was home eating dinner the other night and reading my book. When I read I am very invested in the book. I completely understand the phrase, “Lose yourself in a good book.” That’s what I do. I am completely lost to the world when I read. Micah would completely agree. Which funny story, Micah never saw me a read a book until we were married! When we were dating, I was working in Minnesota and had a crazy work schedule. I didn’t have time to lose myself in a book, because I am the type of person that likes to read the book and read the whole thing. Anyways, I say all this to tell you that when I read I am very distracted. So I had finished my dinner, it was fajitas- they were delicious! (Fajitas are what we have when we don’t know what to eat because we always have the ingredients and I found this homemade fajita spice that is perfection!) I finished m...

So, this is going to sound very ‘English Major’ of me, but I love finding the life-lessons in movies. Or maybe not even finding the lesson, but what did the movie get me to reflect on. I think I can safely blame this on my parents and my background as an English major.  (Side note: I once wrote a paper comparing two Star Trek movies and how the villains reflected world events at the time. It was my favorite paper to write, I just watched the two movies!)  Back to my previous thought, I can blame my parents because after movies we would always debrief on the car ride home. We talked about what we liked and what we thought about the movie (the Avengers series is a lovely conversation starter and I have all the thoughts about those, but to give you a snippet- I’m a big Iron Man fan). Anyways, this weekend we went and saw Ford v Ferrari. It was really good and I was pleasantly surprised! To be honest, I only went because Micah really wanted to watch it and we hadn’t ...

Today I felt like I got my butt kicked multiple times! Not in that, I was physically beaten up, but more of the “Shaina, are you listening? This is for you!” The focus today was: how am I working towards my goals? How am I making progress towards the life I want to live? It all started this morning when I decided to listen to a podcast called #WeGotGoals with my favorite BeachBody super trainer, Autumn Calabrese. Literally, this lady has become an inspiration to me. Single mom, successful, smart, helps others, and looks amazing doing it! In this podcast she talked about how New Year’s goals are important, but why are you waiting until January (which is 2 months away) to start working on them? Why not start now? That hit home! I’ve been working on my fitness since last summer, but actually buckled down this January. The amount of progress I’ve made is amazing, and I’m so grateful that I have documented the changes that have happened! (You gotta take those pictures and measurem...

Hello! It's only been 6 years...a lot has happened since then! I really don't have any excuses to explain why I stopped blogging, other then life happened and I got busy! I'm going to do a quick timeline of events to get us all on the same page: 2013-2016: Had many identity crises trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life 2016: Graduated from BYU with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Minor in Non-profit Management Accepted a post-grad internship at the University of Minnesota in their Sports Marketing Department. (Yes...a girl from South Carolina moved to Minnesota) Met my now husband, Micah about two weeks after I moved there (I'll share our story one day) Decided I missed working with people one-on-one and looked into advising positions and started applying for master's programs in Higher Education 2017: Got accepted into Ball State University's masters program in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education (1 year track) Go...

You know when a dog does something that they're not supposed to do and they come up to you with their tail between their legs? That's how I feel coming back to write a post on this blog...I had even tried to only write once a week, but that plan died. Oh well. But hello, world! I still am alive, just slowly being killed by exams, my job, and homework. Ah, the joys of college life. But I'm a Resident Assistant this year, and it's been pretty fun. Minus the not having a social life, but it's been good. So my last post I was starting the list of things about myself...so after a long period of not writing, here's the next part of those series of posts. 3 Legitimate Fears that I have and why: 1. Failing-At pretty much anything, failing at my job, failing at being a good friend, failing out of school, once I get a job failing at that. I just don't want to let anyone down, I don't want to not know about something and have something go terribly wrong with my...

I saw this on a friend's blog a while ago and wanted to do it...and then I didn't. So! Now I'm going to do it! It's a list of 30 things that you write about yourself everyday, but since I'm in college and this is like the busiest 3 weeks of this semester, I'm going to shorten it to every week. (Yes, the reason I'm writing right now is because I finished the easier parts of my homework and I am now procrastinating.) I got this list from a friend who got it from:  Hopes and Dreams . Okay, so the first thing is 20 random things about me. I hate seagulls. (Like seriously, I do. And I'm currently living in Utah where they love seagulls.) I once watched 7 movies in one day. Dedication people! I go Country Swing dancing on Tuesdays. I got to meet Jenny Phillips, Jon Schmidt, Downtown Fiction, and Big Time Rush! I love writing fiction and sometimes poems. My favorite fun-to-read book is the Miss Match series by Erynn Mangum I won a cruise with Taylor S...

Ahh, life. I love how crazy it can get sometimes...and I mean all the time in college! But as many stressful weeks I've had, I've also had a lot of moments of relief. I did have a paper for English due on Monday, but it got moved back to the week after Thanksgiving! I am so excited! I was pretty worried, since I have to study for Psychology this weekend, but now I can just focus on Psych! But also, in my government class we were talking about the involvement of the media in politics, and how the media has evolved from hard news to soft news, and how things can be spread much easier now! Our homework was to read a couple of articles that urged us to do something to promote our beliefs. So I made a mormon.org profile! Yay!  http://mormon.org/me/B4GF  (that's my profile, in case you want to visit...and you should visit even if you don't want too!)  But, I love BYU! Just in case you haven't figured that out yet! I don't have very much else to add, but I just wante...

Why hello world! Long time, no post! Contrary to popular belief, I have in fact not dropped of off the face of the earth. I have just been contained in a bubble. A BYU bubble. A pretty great bubble, if I do say so myself! But yes, I am alive and doing great! First of all, I love BYU! It's amazing! There are so many great people here and I've made a lot of friends! I also love my classes! Fun fact: Today I went to the testing center and got an A on one of my college midterms! I felt (and still feel) super accomplished! It's been kind of crazy, trying to adjust to the all the work that you get in college. You want to go out and have fun, but you also have to do all that reading that is waiting for you...and it just gets bigger the longer you let it sit there. (Not like I have any experience with that of course) Plus, in school before you took all of your midterms the same week. I've started taking my second round of midterms, and I haven't even finished my first roun...

So, as I was reviewing my blog I realized my profile picture is very out of date. I then turned to Facebook to try and find an appropriate picture, but I have no recent ones of just me! I think because I sometimes feel weird taking pictures by myself so I make funny faces to make me feel less funny...but then the picture turns out horrible! So you will just have to suffer with my out of date picture. :) Anyways, we just got back from Washington D.C. today! It was a lot of  fun! I had to keep reminding myself I was in Washington D.C. It was weird, not like I had forgotten that I wasn't home, but it just felt normal in a lot of places. (I'm weird, I know) But it was a whole bunch of fun! I think one of my favorite memories was last night. Lela, Dad, Vanessa, and I (Mom wasn't feeling good so she stayed at the hotel, and tried to work my computer, which is a separate funny story) walked around D.C. and saw the WWII monument, the Washington Monument, the White House (f...

Yes, I am currently in Washington D.C. We drove up today to visit Lela until Tuesday, and to squeeze in as much sight seeing as we can in this small amount of time. We got in today and visited with Lela and our cousin Melanie and went to this little restaurant that was super good! We got pizza and some pretty tasty salads, and then went to the grocery store next door to get some ice cream for dessert! Then we went back to Melanie's house and visited with her and roommate. It was a bunch of fun just visiting and talking about basically everything. Then we embarked on a journey to Lela's place where she is staying (it has an official name, but I don't remember it right now,) and waited for her to pack her things to come stay with us in the hotel for the weekend. I had to wash someone's mug, which kind of made me annoyed since I don't even live there, but it can be my service for the week/day.  Then we braved the confusing streets and came back to the hotel, and here w...

So this was from a very long time ago...I just never finished it. So enjoy its briefness, while I write a new post on whats going on now. :) Well, in case anyone doesn't know...I'm officially a high school graduate! Crazy, right? I don't want to say that I remember freshman year like it was just yesterday, because I don't and it's super cliche, but I remember the first day of school this year! And time flies, seriously it does! And now I have my first job! I'm going to be working at Carowinds, the amusement park here in South Carolina and North Carolina. I will be working on the kids rides, so it should be pretty exciting! (Once I get my uniform fixed, because right now I look ridiculous!) But I had Orientation last Saturday and my training begins tomorrow! So hopefully that will all go well and I'll be able to make some friends! I already know one girl who will be working with me and she's been really nice so, yay for having a friend!

I love the feeling! I finally finished writing 20,000 words in a story that I have been working on since November. I was supposed to finish writing that amount in November, but this thing called life and school kept being very distracting. But I finally finished today, and I love the feeling of accomplishment! Mind you, I am not done with the story by any means, but this is the most I've ever written on one story idea! The average young adult novel is 40,000-80,000 so still a little bit to go! But now I have a nice chunk written! Anyways, I'm super excited about that! Plus I have a job interview tomorrow, so hopefully that will go well too! I really need a job, gotta make some money to pay for college and all the fun stuff that goes with it! Plus I only have 9 days of school left! Not counting my two AP exams that are this week, Thursday and Friday! I'm a little scared about my English exam, because we really haven't done much preparing for it, so I'm going to stud...

My title comes from Eric Church's Springsteen. I think it goes well with my thoughts too. And also, it's so true! Whenever a song comes on (usually country) I can remember the first time I listened to it, how I felt, and what I was doing. This usually only happens for older country songs, but still I love how melodies save memories in our heads! So, let's see what's happened since I last posted. Wow, that was a while ago! Well, I got into BYU!! Wooho!! I'm so excited! I'm ready to experience the full BYU experience. And yes, I'm aware that it will involve dating and lots of Mormon boys. And I'm totally fine with that! Especially since it will just be fun to be surrounded by Mormons! I don't know what I'll do around everybody, but I'll try and keep my cool! ;) But as you can tell, I'm so excited! Plus I get to be near Lela so we can party hardy and study...cruddy? And hard too! Also, I already know who my roommate is so I know we'll h...

YES! I can finally apply to the BYU's! So exciting! They said that I could apply starting October 1, but they changed it and I had to wait until today to actually start applying for the correct semster, and yay! I feel almost accomplished! Now to write two essays, talk to my bishop and stake president, and then do the applications for scholarships! I'm so excited to be able to go to college and do fun stuff and learn and be a college student! Then I shall feel super official! So thats my exciting news for today and this week! Except I have to wait until February to figure out if I was accepted so I hope I am and that I don't explode from waiting! :) But I also have to still focus on all my other classes, ACT and SAT, as well as AP classes, the play I am in (Museum), choir, trouveres, and other activities, so still staying quite busy! But my other news involves the play! I am already Maggie Snow and Kate Siv, but today I got the extra part of Mira Zadal! I'm pretty excit...

So there is this super intense song we're singing for trouveres and its awesome so if you want to listen to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nejycRrDHGI SUPER INTENSE! And it just sounds super cool! My part is the first women's part to come in, just in case you were wondering. :) ~Shaina

So I have no idea where to begin since I haven't posted in so long! (I really need to write on my journal too, but since I'm on the computer I'll try and be somewhat productive!) But today I made trouveres! (I have no idea if I spelled that right...) but that's the ensemble that comes out of the concert choir here! I'm so excited! Our rehearsals are from 7-9, so they'll be intense but hopefully fun! :) So I started looking at all of the college applications today and filled out some of the basic things for BYU, but you can't actually apply 'til October, so there goes my being productive! Oh well, at least I have some freeish time. Well, I take that back I'm actually procrastinating on some homework...I did some, but I didn't finish it completely. But don't worry! It's not due tomorrow! I did everything for tomorrow! But the classes in South Carolina are very different! First of all they have a block schedule so I'm only taking 4 class...