Girls Put in X in X Games

This weekend was probably my first, legitimate time on ESPN.com. All the other sporadic times I went on that website don't count because they were probably just to impress some boy that I liked.

This time it was for a much better cause. On Thursday, I was quite disappointed that my spontaneous snowboarding trip didn't happen because of the icy conditions at BYU (if you don't know what I'm talking about, watch this video). Guys, on Tuesday I had successfully landed my first box

Ok...even a little kid can go off a box...

...and gone off my first real jump!

My first jump! Not. This is crazy. 

I was ecstatic to go again! Mother Nature said no. Or more like "wait till next week." In the meantime, I found out that day the X Games were starting!

I'm like those annoying parents that live vicariously through their children. I was living vicariously through those amazing snowboarders! Why? Well, Shaun White is my celebrity crush, even without his  long hair...

And Elena Hight is an inspiration for any female! She landed a trick that no guy has even landed in a half-pipe competition. Watch it here. It's called a backside double rodeo (I think there's a more technical term for it; who cares, it just looks sweet!).

Now, you might not be a snowboarder...yet. But, let me tell you, it's offered me more happiness in the last 2 years than I could fully express. It has seen me through 2 hard break-ups. I can go up in the mountains for the peace, but also for a challenge.

Girls, we put the X in the X Games.

My Take on a New Year

I want to hark back to my most memorable New Years. We had gone to a church friend's house. In regards to the family's identity, apparently it is irrelevant, seeing as I do not remember. However, the important aspect to grasp is their house was grandiose to my little 7-year old eyes. The kitchen was stacked with windows intended to emit a beautiful ethereal, light during the day, yet the darkness gaped at me that night. I can't forget that eerie feeling like being in a haunted mansion, mostly because the house and its residents seemed foreign to me. Yet the festivities of the evening kept me relatively preoccupied. It was New Years Eve after all!
And this was the big one. The pinnacle event of the century, literally. From the 1900s to the 2000s. From the 20th to the 21st century.  Everyone was so antsy!
Then came time for the ball to drop. The crowd gathered around the TV in the living room within 5 minutes of the new day. I prolonged my stay in the kitchen. For some odd reason--with me it could have been a plethora of odd reasons I'm sure--I was fixated on the clock on the microwave in the kitchen!!
Time accelerated to the new year!
I anxiously watched the clock.
People started counting down!
I remember thinking it was just me and the clock! We were in this one together!
5...4...3...2...1!

While everyone was screaming in the living room, I still sat with my microwave clock anticlimactically. The clock was slow, so it reached midnight a minute slower than the actual New York ball drop. I hesitated in joining the crowd because I didn't want to give up on this little clock. Yet, it had failed me! I remember feeling so frustrated! Frustrated I missed actual midnight. Frustrated I missed the ball dropping (which I didn't actually watch until I was about 16). Frustrated that my clock was slow, and I was too stubborn to go in and join the crowd--even with coaxing from my parents. But, ultimately frustrated because I had started the century with a slow clock and...all by myself. Was this a foreshadowing of events to come?

Thankfully it wasn't. I have had many good experiences with time since then, so as to alleviate the frustration with that slow, microwave clock.

Just briefly, so I can have peace, I want to mention the 2012 goals listed on the side of my blog. I had, in fact, forgotten them for most of the year! However, it makes me firmly believe in those words of wisdom "Those that write down their goals are significantly more successful than those that don't." I can testify that I actually accomplished a majority of them.

1. Keep On Indexing/Finding People in Family History. I actually found some new members in my family, on my dad's side. I also did baptisms for the dead for them (don't know what I'm talking about? This link will explain it better), and my friends did the rest of their temple work. I also helped my grandpa a lot with his personal history. I've kind of become his personal family history secretary! It's really fun, and I've learned to value my family second only to God. 

2. Pay Off 25% of My Wells Fargo Loan. That's $33 a week. No big deal...Yeah, I'm still working on this one.

3. Continue to Read Novels. I found out how important it is to have your own interests. Especially in reading because you have a world entirely of your own in books. It's a little more light reading than I anticipated. I think Henry David Thoreau explains this concept well when he stated, "How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live." Apply that to reading as well. I always thought I was living life to the fullest until this year. There's so much living to be had! 

4. Improve My Cello Skills. I'm taking a cello lesson as a class this semester. I'm quite thrilled. :) I did take a cello class! It was great! Although I still don't dedicate enough time to this talent, I do have that in my arsenal. Watch out, world! 

5. Don't Forget to Give Myself "Me" Time. If you haven't noticed, I love Disney movies. I think there's a Disney song for every mood I'm in. Boy, I learned this lesson well, in different ways too. I think "me" time also incorporates a stress-free time. I have to thank my ex-boyfriend for teaching me about myself than I could ever learn on my own. 

6. Run 5 Times A Week. I can do it! Even though I don't have my running buddy Eleise with me. I didn't just limit myself to running. I snowboarded, rock climbed, repelled, hiked, biked, swam, zumba'd, lifted, self-defended, water skied, wake-boarded, slack lined, kickboxed, etc. There is so much more to physical activity than the boundaries of a basketball court. That's all I'll say on that matter.

7. Go To The Temple Monthly. I am so blessed to live close to temples. Once a month is definitely doable. So, I'm pretty sure I did this. I also visited a couple new temples this past year: the Laie, Hawai'i temple, the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, and the Atlanta Georgia Temple. Visited the classics too: Columbus Ohio and Provo Utah Temples. 

Well, that's about it. I am still formulating my goals for this year. I'll post them up here soon. 

Happy 2013!