Subtle Captivation: Change: New Years Goals

I recently (aka, just an hour or so ago) read a post by a friend (check her out over at A Novel Life) about New Year’s Resolutions. Here, read the post and then come back. Don’t get lost in her amazing and thought jerking posts quite yet.

Read it? Good, let’s continue.

I agreed with basically everything she said, and realized that I actually haven’t written and New Year’s Goals (if you didn’t read her post you’ll probably be a bit confused here). I have “flimsy” thoughts of basically what I want to do. So here I am going to show you how to break down your flimsy goals into achievable ones.

Flimsy Goals: 
Lose Weight 
Get in shape 
Get closer to God 
Get Tan 
Become a Beast 

Let’s break ‘em down.

Lose Weight 
I want to weigh 115 by May

Get in Shape 
I want to be able to run a half marathon, have my splits, and have defined abs.
  
Get Closer to God 
I want to read the entire Book of Mormon again

Get Tan
I want to look like an Oompa Loompa. Just kidding, I’d like to get a nice golden tan to make all my Alaska friends jealous.

Become a Beast 
I want to be able to do pirouettes en pointe’, a vertical penche, bring my leg up to my ear, and do a back hand spring.

Now the goals are a little more defined, but they can get even better. Let’s make a little plan.

Lose Weight 
 I want to weigh 115 by May.

• Do the Smoothie Detox Diet we do smoothies instead of juice because you get more out of it.
• No juice/soda in March 
• No sweets of any kind in April 
• Go on daily walks/runs 

Get in Shape 
I want to be able to run a half marathon, have my splits, and have defined abs.

• Daily walk/run and Tinkerbelle Half Marathon Training 
• Stretch splits every day (wall stretch, splits, etc.) 
• Do the Fab Ab challenge, combine with regular core work out
• Amanda Russel Work Outs

Get Closer to God 
I want to read the entire Book of Mormon again

• Read three chapters of the Book of Mormon every day 

Get Tan 
I’d like to get a nice golden tan to make all my Alaska friends jealous.

• Sunny days at the water park 
• Tan in the back yard 
• Go on walks on sunny days 
• Spend time in the sun, reading or doing homework 

Become a Beast 
I want to be able to do pirouettes en pointe’, a vertical penche, bring my leg up to my ear, and do a back hand spring.

• Practice balancing on one leg, core engaged, on demi pointe and then with pointe shoes 
• Continue ab and core training 
• Stretch all the time 
• Practice back hand springs, maybe find a studio doing tumbling classes  
• Take private ballet classes 

You can add so much more detail to your goals. I have work out plans written up and placed all around the house to remind me to do them. I’m going to add more detail to my plans and print them and pin them to my walls, that way I won’t forget. By breaking your goals down into detail and specifics, they become more achievable and you’re less likely to say “It’s too hard” or “It’s not that important”. Pick things that are important to you, and stick with it.

Well, there ya go. That's my tidbit for today.

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Subtle Captivation, who cares what day anyway?

Seriously, I don't know how long I can keep this up. I might just have to post erratically. I really want to do this though! I want to remember what went on this year, here in Utah....
But dang, seriously, it seems like I never have any time. I guess I'm just lazy. And really, every detail of my life is rather boring. Whatever.

Follow meh on Instagram here. I wonder if you can even make an account without a phone...interesting. Yes, but I honestly love posting pictures there, probably to the dismay of my followers. So you can keep up with me there, as well as at my dance blog, Dancing Day By Day.

Oh, and every now and then I'll post on here or here. That's extremely rare. I mean, especially the clothing one. I still have purple nail polish left on my left hand from my date in January. Although, we did just go shopping for new clothes and I got some pretty amazing clothes...maybe I should go post? Maybe.

Anyway, maybe I'll post tomorrow. That seems to be the keyword here....maybe.

See ya!

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Subtle Captivation, Week Seven; Change

2/5/13 Change

Change. That’s the topic of this month. The thought behind this is that I would be going through some change, adjusting to life in Utah, and that the seasons would be changing as well. There’s still snow outside, but that’s part of the change. It’s melting, and the sun is shining through the branches of the trees, slowly warming up the world.

2/6/13 Change

I’ve been trying to get integrated into the ward and the stake, meet people. But I’m so scared that I’m going to scare them off. I don’t feel like I can be myself and as open and fun loving as I am. It’s weird.

2/7/13 Change

Today was warm, and I could smell summer in the air. I feel as if it has been winter for a hundred years, like in Narnia, and the world is finally waking up.

2/8/13 Change

Speaking of change, the world is bipolar. Yesterday the sun was shining and grass was poking through, and today the sky si full of dark grey clouds dumping snow on us by the gallon full. Yay.

2/9/13 Change

I really want to write something. Not this kind of something, a book or story kind of something. But my idea was shot down as impractical and fairy tale like. That’s what I want though! I want a fairy tale ish book, a happily ever after. What I would really like to do is write it in a more “romantic” era. But I don’t have the knowledge to do that, which means a bit of work and research. And then again, I wouldn’t WANT to portray the past eras as dirty and unhygienic (which in reality, they were). I’d want to portray the rolling hills and green scenery, the towering trees and fresh air and clear blue skies and sunshine. I want to write about writing letters instead of texting or emailing, wearing long pretty dresses, reading from a large library. I want to write about something completely impractical while still staying practical. Is that too much to ask? I made a list of what I want to write about, or rather, what I associate with the time I would like to write about (it’s not a complete list).

A castle

A farm

A beautiful girl

Long flowing dresses

And horses galloping through fields

Trees blossoming with flowers

And fancy dirt roads

Books bound with leather

And barefoot toes snuggling green grass

The smell of fresh flowers

And sunshine

And clean air

Strong old men

Women and children

Dogs frolicking and barking

A handsome prince

Birds singing in the tress

A forest tall, wide, and dense

Baths in a trough

And little cottages with gardens out front

Carriages and wagons

Smocks covered in dirt and soot

Small hand sewn dolls

And rough wooden fences

Candles light the night

And fires provide warmth

Thick homemade bread

And cheese

And milk

Subtle Captivation, Week Five: People Around Me, Change

January 22^nd-31^st People Around Me

Hello Monday. We meet again. The day when you’re supposed to be getting back into the routine of things. Kimber went to school and Ben and the kids left. I spent part of the day trying to clean up and the other part being lazy.

Tuesday…it snowed. A lot. The roads were awful. Kimber’s school was cancelled so we took some pictures in the snow for her Beacon application. Woot. It was cold. I didn’t go to ballet.

Wednesday we decorated journals for mutual while watching Pride and Prejudice. I didn’t catch much of the movie, so I borrowed it from my leader.

Thursday….what did I even do on Thursday? I think…I helped watch Miles…and then cleaned Elizabeth and Allan’s house with Grandma and Grandpa. I think we ate pizza that night…or was it Taco Bell? I think it was Taco Bell. Lavish, right?

February 1^st-3^rd Change

Friday I dragged my feet a bit. I wasn’t really inclined to go to Youth Conference. At all. A little bit of a pep talk form Mason (hardly a pep talk really…more of a “you’re gonna go. No matter what.” That’s not exactly what he said, he actually said “Have fun choosing Youth Conference!” but…same thing), and then I watched Pride and Prejudice, which kind of made me giddy (I am a HOPELESS romantic.) So I went. I actually ended up having a pretty good time.

Saturday was a long day. It was fun, but also tiring. We went cross country skiing, and can I just say that that is a MAJOR WORKOUT? I applaud those who do it and regular skiing for fun. That is hard stuff. I got to know some of the young women in the ward a lot better, which was nice. All in all, a pretty good day. But coming home was definitely one of my favorite parts. I laid down on the couch and almost fell asleep.

Sunday…today…ow. Just ow. I hurt all over. Push-ups on Friday night and skiing on Saturday…makes for some pain. We went to sacrament meeting, and then came home because my stomach wasn’t feeling well and Kaleb was being a buttmunch. Kimber did my hair and make-up and we did another one of her pictures for her application. Woohoo, only four letters left.

Week Two, Subtle Captivation: People Around Me

1/7/13 People Around Me

Today was spent getting ready for my flight down to Utah. Extremely busy, hectic. Said good bye to some people at the studio (Renaye, Rachel, Bekah, and Shannon!), and on the way to the airport I stopped and said good bye to Helen. The entire time Mason was messaging me, like the awesome friend he is. Renaye started texting me as I was about to get on the airplane, so we didn’t get to talk long.

1/8/13 People Around Me I arrived here in Utah at 10am this morning. Got off the plane, got my baggage, and drove to Megan’s house with Grandpa (after a 32 mile detour while we talked). Watched babies, and then tried to sleep. I realized I’m a bit spoiled by having a regular time I talk to people. It was weird not talking to Mason or Renaye when it was 12am o.O

1/9/13 People Around Me First day of babysitting, Elizabeth came over and helped clean and made babies lunch. I went to a Stake Young Women’s activity. Sadly disappointed in the lack of Priest’s, but the activity was fun, and I met some fun people.

1/10/13 People Around Me Monsters. Monsters everywhere. Also, Adelaide came home from the hospital. Went shopping with Kimber at the mall, looking for a pair of shoes. Left my wallet at Burlington on accident. Talked to Renaye, Helen, Mason, and Jamison.

1/11/13 People Around Me Went shopping with Megan and Ben and the kids. Got food, a pair of shoes, and recovered my wallet that I left at Burlington on accident yesterday. That was fun.

1/12/13 People Around Me Ran errands with Megan, Kimber, the kids, and Colton and Tori. Colton and Tori needed more food, and we needed to pick up some make-up for Kimber’s photo shoot. Then we came home and Kimber started working on my hair at 2pm, and we finished hair and make-up both at around 5:30. Ran out to do some pictures and came home and watched Bunheads in mah bed,

1/13/13 People Around Me Woke up at 10am, took a shower, kimber did my hair and make up for the picture, finished at around 1:30pm. Went and took the pictures, and got back and Kimber started putting some blonde high lights in my grandma’s hair, and realized she had some bleach left over so she put a couple high lights in my hair. Oh, church was cancelled, by the way. That’s why we didn’t go. Yep.

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Week One, Subtle Captivation: People Around Me

People Around Me

Disclaimer: I basically ended up doing a regular blog post/journal entry type thing after the first day this week. 

1/1/13 People Around Me: Abigail
Abigail is my younger sister. She is a beautiful, vibrant, talkative, and quite active four year old. What many people don’t know is that Abigail was born with an extremely rare heart defect called Tetrology of Fallot. She’s been attached to my hip since the day she came home from the hospital in Seattle with my mom, eight days after she was born. Although she has nearly died several times in her young life, Abigail is thriving. It’s fascinating watching how much she has changed.

Abigail started speech therapy as well as preschool two years ago, but she didn’t really start thriving until she switched to a smaller preschool class taught at the home of a friend of ours. Now Abigail has an avid fascination with letters and numbers, constantly pointing them out with exclamations of delight and sounding them out; “Ahhh” for “A” and “Sssss” for “S” are her favorites. Because we’re so close I can understand Abigail’s gestures and words with only a small amount of effort now that she has new words in her vocabulary, and boy does she talk. She’s a true Smith, using her hands and her words at the same time to communicate the full meaning, jabbering almost nonstop.

Her fascination doesn’t end with words and numbers though. It extends to my cat, Jasmine, as well as soda and candy and anything else with sugar in it, and bags. For Christmas we bought Abigail a unicorn back pack similar to a pillow pet (except it’s a back pack, obviously) because she would always steal mine and my mom’s bags and fill them with little treasures. My poor cat is so patient and sweet. She allows Abigail to do basically anything to her with only small protest. I’m sad to be leaving Abigail when I go to Utah next week (I’ll be there for nearly eight months). I don’t know what I’ll do without her!

1/2/13 People Around Me: Mason, JayCee, and Forrest Today I went on a date with Mason, doubling with Forrest and JayCee. It was just…fun. A lot of fun. We painted shirts and ate pizza, and then went on a photo scavenger hunt. Mason stayed for dinner and the my siblings wouldn't leave him alone, he is now their favorite person in the world.
All in all, today was fantastic.  

 1/3/13 People Around Me
 I was supposed to get my permit today. Yeah, that failed. Note, I didn’t say I failed. We didn’t actually go to get it, but to make up for it I got to help with a 4 month old photo shoot AND….I got to hold her for 45 minutes. BESTDAYEVER. She was such a happy baby, too. Smiling and giggling and it was just so cute! I noticed that the mother had a heavy Spanish accent, and a little trouble with her English, but when her husband came in, he had impeccable English with only a slight accent.

The way he carried himself, I thought he was military. Upright, respectful, and aware. Turns out he’s actually a carpenter, but he was raised on a farm in a…er…well he said “Kind of like the Amish, but almost like a cult”, until they moved and he attended public school. Weird? Yes, my mom said she thinks he probably meant the Mennonites.

1/4/13 People Around Me
Once again, we attempted to get my permit, but we forgot my birth certificate and social security card. I cried. In my defense, it’d been a long day of waiting at the church while my mom helped with a funeral. I helped a bit with food, but today was just…dull. I didn’t want to do anything. Anyway, it was fun to watch the way the Sister Walther thought about all the little details and what needed to be done, and then helping to get them accomplished. Sister Jones lightheartedly made jokes while accomplishing what needed to be done. The women in my ward are quite fantastic.

 1/5/13 People Around Me
Swabamalama. Today was mah birthday party. First, we picked up Renaye at her house, then we went to the DMV in Eagle River, and then went back to Regina’s house where she “dressed” me. Then we went to the ice rink (Renaye rode on my lap because we had Regina and Stephen with us, and only three seats).

When we arrived at the ice rink, we met up with Helen and Bekah. Skip along to when Mason arrived as well, and then we all played tag and did a conga line. Yeah, we’re weird. Also, I fell. Well, “fell” is somewhat of an understatement. I kind of almost flew, and then hit the ground with extreme force. I have a wonderfully giant bruise from that. On my knees, hip, and hands. Worth it, though.

We then split into two cars and drove over to Pizza Hut where Holly, Kori, and Diego showed up. Boom, everybody who is gonna show up is here, yay! Proceed some entertaining conversations, head over to Pizza Hut after eating only a small amount of the FIVE PIZZAS my parents ordered, and then some silent observation.

Basically, there were three groups of friends at my party.

1. Wasilla/dance friends (Renaye and Bekah) 
2. Eagle River friends (Mason, Regina, Holly, Kori, and Stephen) 
3. Anchorage Friends (Helen and Diego) 

It was hard, not going to lie, trying to breach the gap between the different groups of people. Seriously! It’s as if they just didn’t have anything in common at all. Hmm.

After saying goodbye, we headed home (we gave Bekah and Renaye a ride), and I basically spent the rest of the day trying not to fall asleep and backing up my phone.

1/6/13 People Around Me

We ended up getting to church after sacrament ended. JayCee and I went to the Gospel Doctrine class because we didn’t have a teacher and were rebelling against being put into a younger class again.

Teacher: Could I get a volunteer for prayer?
Adult: I can do it
JayCee: *wide eyes, whispers* People actually volunteer in here!

We had the beginning of Relief Society, and then had a combined class. I got pulled out for the first part of the class to go watch my dad get ordained as a High Priest (that’s what it’s called, right? Above Elder?). Went back to class, had testimony meeting, and then started saying goodbye to everyone. I stopped and said goodbye to Becca and Caity in the hallway, and my mom left me at the church. My dad was still there, but he’s the ward clerk and had things he needed to do, so I didn’t get home until 4:30 (church gets out at 2pm).

The rest of the day kind of lazed by.

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Subtle Captivation

Here’s the thing…I’ve decided to start a new project. I know what you’re thinking, but I am determined to stick with this one! Here’s what it is.

The name is "Subtle Captivation".

Every month has a theme. Each day I will take a picture and write something to go along with the theme. It can be poetry, observation, anything. This happens every day of the week, but I’ll post the entire thing on Sunday. Some weeks may be longer than others, that’s just life. Deal with it.

Here are the themes:

January: People Around Me
February: Change
March: Color
April: Religion
May: Light
June: Beauty
July: Clothing
August: Knowledge
September: Loss
October: Memories
November: Dance
December: Music

~La vie est belle, Bri~