Celebrating Freedom

    Every year on the 4th of July, all of my mom's side of the family get together in Kanarraville for a fun celebration. The morning starts off with a patriotic parade. As a kid, I would talk about how we were going to decorate our float for months in advance. The small three minute parade was the highlight of the day. After the parade there is a talent show for anyone to participate in. For as long as I can remember, a group of girls who are a bit older than me would get up and play their fiddles. I was so in awe by them and actually motivated to begin playing the violin myself. When you are little, you tend to look up to the older girls and think they are so cool! haha. In the afternoon, there is always games and races at the park. In the evening, there is a fun dance where it is very interesting to see my dad's "cool" moves haha. Now that I am older, I still love this holiday. I love celebrating our country's freedom and spending time with my family.

    Throughout my life, I have always desired freedom. As a child, age sixteen could not come soon enough. I wanted to be able to drive and go to the mall anytime I pleased. Throughout my teenage years, I would yearn for the weekends and crave the feeling of summer. School was tiring and  I just wanted to be able to hang out with my friends. I also wanted to have access to my cell phone and car… which was rare considering my seminary attendance! haha.  Most of all, I wanted freedom.

    Having this strong desire for freedom is not rare. Freedom is something that has been sought after for ages. In the United States, freedom of speech is included in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, which was added to the Constitution in 1791. In result of this, everyone is able to speak their opinion without censorship or restraint. In addition, the First Amendment prohibits the making of any law impeding on the free exercise of religion. I am so beyond thankful for my religious freedom.  By virtue to my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I am free. By making righteous choices, we can be free from the bondages of financial struggles, addictions, teen pregnancies, STDs, and many more issues that are in our society today. I am so blessed to have been raised in a church full of freedom. 

    Once again, I would like to express my gratitude for being able to worship my Heavenly Father. I am thankful for our  freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and our God given right of agency. Although I am far from perfect, I will continue to strive to do my best to live the Gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ teaches us how to be free, and freedom equals happiness. 

A Day in May

    Cute home decor is so much fun! I love to decorate but it can get really expensive sometimes. There is a long wall right when you walk in to my house that looked very plain. I was having a hard time finding something that fit and was not out of my price range. Pallet art has become very popular on Pinterest and it just so happens that my husband works at a pallet shop! I told him the dimensions I was looking for and he made this for me. I looked up pictures online and used that to figure out exactly what I wanted. I used acrylic paints and a clear setting spray on top. It was super fun to make and I love having lots of bright colors in my house during this time of year!! I had fun making this over the weekend as well as hanging out with my family that was in town.
    We spent the weekend eating out and shopping. My favorite lunch spot is actually my work place, Jimmy Johns. They have low carb lettuce wraps called Unwiches. They are so tasty as well as healthy. If you are Paleo, you can order it without mayo. I also really like their Vito, and will occasionally order that with extra hot peppers and veggies.
    My family ended up going home Sunday evening. On Monday, Carl and I decided to go hiking. The rain from the weekend had finally cleared up and I was really happy about it. It was such a beautiful day. We hiked to Emerald Pools in Zion. It was super busy which was to be expected over Memorial day weekend. Despite that, we still had lots of fun. We did not have any problems getting on to the packed shuttles because it was just the two of us. I was surprised because I may have liked the Red Rock hike we did the previous week just a little bit more. Emerald Pools was pretty but the Fern Canyon was just as pretty without all of the people. 
    

Happy Life

     I have been wanting to go hiking so badly lately but have not had the chance. Whether it is rain or snow, the weather has been really bad here in Cedar City lately. I am SO tired of it. I love hiking so much because it is an awesome way to get exercise and see the beautiful things Heavenly Father created for us at the same time. This past weekend we had plans to go backpacking with some friends and I was really excited. The rain put a huge damper on that, so Carl and I decided to go to Vegas where it was forecasted to be nice and dry. We found this really cool hike in Red Rock called "Fern Canyon." It was so beautiful, I almost forgot that we were in Vegas!! Also, the weather was awesome for a morning hike. It was a lot of fun and I really liked hanging out with my cute hubby. 
   

On top of that, I got to spend the rest of the weekend with my family. I am having a hard time believing that my little sister is graduating in a few weeks. Time flies so quickly! She has become such a beautiful person inside and out. I am so thankful for her and the example she has set for me in my life. She is one of the sweetest and most sincere people I know. She has been a hard worker in her high school years with all of her AP classes, part time Job, and being a good friend to everyone she surrounds. We have had so much fun together over the past years with playing Barbies, to being shopping buddies. I love all of our late night phone calls and I am going to miss her even more when she moves all the way up north. I love having such an awesome sister! Congrats to her and all of the other 2015 graduates. Keep up the great work!
Seriously though… Look how gorgeous she is!! <333

Whole30

     Recently my mom and I were chatting on the phone when she told me about something called the Whole30. Apparently the ladies in her office were talking about it and she wanted to give it a try. She convinced me to do it with her and I have been hooked ever since. If you do not know what the Whole30 program is, you should definitely check it out! Certain food groups could be having a negative impact on your overall health without you even realizing it. Many symptoms are directly linked to the foods you eat. The Whole30 has you strip them out of your diet completely for 30 days. It was hard for me in the beginning, but after about the first week I noticed how much more energy I have. I also noticed that my moods seem to be more balanced and I feel really happy! I used to get down on myself sometimes when I was having one of  those "I am so fat" moods. I especially liked the rule of "no weighing yourself." There has been a countless number of times where I tried dieting and weighed myself so much that I would only get discouraged. By following this rule, I was able to stay on track and focused for the entire 30 days. Lastly, there is no calorie counting whatsoever. The goal is to eat until you are satisfied as long as you are eating things that are allowed. It is an awesome way to eat and feel healthy. For more details you can check it out here! Ihttp://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

Below is one of my favorites recipes to make for breakfast. It keeps me plenty full until lunch and it is so tasty. Growing up I had never had sweet potatoes unless they were topped with brown sugar or marshmallows in a weird dish. I have always hated them until I started realizing they do not have to be super sweet. You can cook them with salty or spicy things and the sweetness counteracts it perfectly! 

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes 

Ingredients: 

Makes one Twice Baked Potato 

(My measurements are not approximate because I do not measure things very often when I am cooking) 

-1 Sweet Potato

-1/4 Onion

-1 Tsp. Garlic

-1/2 Jalapeño, seeded 

-2 slices of bacon (Be sure to find some that was not cured with sugar) 

-Creole Seasoning (or whatever your favorite seasoning is) 

-1 Egg

-Green Onion to sprinkle on top 

I began by poking holes in my sweet potato and putting it in the microwave. If you prefer, you can bake it at 400 degrees for about 45mins. I was in a hurry and did not have time for that! I microwaved mine for about 6 mins, flipping it over halfway through. The time might change depending on the size, so just keep checking it. 

While that was cooking I cooked my bacon in a skillet. I then chopped my onion, garlic, and Jalapeño. I am a huge fan of really spicy food so I use peppers and creole seasoning in almost everything I make. If you do not like that, you can simply leave it out. I then cooked the onion, garlic, and Jalapeño in the bacon grease. 

Next I sliced my sweet potato in half and hollowed out the insides, keeping the skin as my "bowl." I mashed the insides and added it to the skillet mixture as well as my seasonings. After everything was mixed, I put it back in the skin, leaving a small indent for my egg. 

I then cracked an egg, into the "sweet potato bowl" and sprinkled some seasonings on top as well as the bacon pieces and green onion. 

Lastly, I put it in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on it, and take it out when the egg is fully cooked.