Positoovity

If you don't know where that word comes from, don't you fret. 

It's a pretty famous bird that sings a whole song about "Positoovity" and quite frankly it's easily becoming one of my favorite songs. 

Okay, okay, I'll tell you where it comes from, Disney's The Little Mermaid on Broadway. 

I'm including a video so that you can all be introduced to the beauty that is Positoovity. 

I'm blogging about it today because this morning was a "running" day. Meaning I ran this morning. (Just the thought alone of me FINALLY back out there are running makes my heart do a happy dance!)

Positoovity is on my playlist for what I think are obvious reasons. Let me explain. 

Scuttle sings this song and if anyone has seen The Little Mermaid, you'll know that Scuttle has quite an interesting vernacular for things. For example, a "fork" is a "dinglehopper" and is not used for eating but for combing one's hair, or in this case, "positivity" is "positoovity" and thank goodness they mean the same thing. 

He is a know-it-all bird who knows really "nothing" but is actually pretty wise. 

Wait. What?

Yeah, he may be terribly misinformed but he has good intentions and what he says helps Ariel develop her land legs, if you will. 

Now for the running part of this post. Usually the first 15 minutes of my run are energy packed. During the "walk" intervals, it's a brisk heart pumping walk that is almost faster than the "jog" intervals of the workout. However, when minutes 16-20 hit, suddenly I'm dragging my burning legs along at a pretty slow pace. That being said, I do try to pace myself in the first half of the workout so that this doesn't happen but clearly I need to keep working on that... Anyway, around minute 16ish my calves were BURNING. A good burn, but still burning. I was playfully debating with myself about calling it quits but then this song came on. 

The first line Scuttle says is "What's this? You giving up so soon? You gotta have a little gumption. Yeah! A can-do kinda attitude. Take it from a gull who knows."

It made me smile. "Okay, Scuttle, I'll keep going." Then. all of a sudden I could imagine this fluffy seagull tap-dancing next to me as I ran. It's silly I know but after listening to the song, can't you feel it too?

Something else I noticed is one of Sebastian's lines. He says, "Positoovity? Why there's no such word." Okay, Mr. Crabby-pants! (teheh) But Scuttle isn't deterred. He keeps going. And says, "'Course there is! In the dictionary between popsuckle and prehysterical. Believe you me, I've seen it work miracles!" 

How true is that? The power of positivity is SO much more than just positive thinking. It can work MIRACLES!!! Now, don't get me wrong, some things require positivity in addition to a health regime set up by a doctor or therapist etc. What I like to take away from this though is the idea that being positive, having the best outlook on life no matter what you're dealing with, can truly help you with anything you might be facing. School. Work. A baby who won't sleep. Depression. All of those things in one bundle. Bills. A crappy car. Burning calf muscles. A positive outlook won't make those things go away but it can help the situation not seem so gargantuan and help you through it. That is what I think the word "positoovity" really means.

Got it?

I don't really think the writers of the song thought, "Gee, Caitlin will need this song for running just as much as Ariel is going to need it for when she gets her legs and has to kiss Prince Eric!" but here you have it. So, here is my challenge to you via Scuttle:

Let that POSITOOVITY work for YOU!!! 

Happy positoovitying, friends!

Backpacks and Lunchboxes

Backpacks. Books. Bouquets of newly sharpened pencils. 

School has started again and while this is my last Fall semester of my undergraduate degree, I'm a mix of excited and exhausted and it's only the second week! I have some really great classes that make me happy to go to school and then, of course, I have some really hard classes that make me want to stay in bed and watch Gossip Girl.

Wouldn't it just be easier that way?

Which is my point, really. Life would be easier in so many ways if we didn't have to load up our backpacks and pack our lunchboxes and sharpen our pencils and turn our brains to "learning" mode. However, if that were the situation, we'd be sacks of eyeballs, teeth and bones with nothing really to offer the world. 

Recently I took a quiz on PlayBuzz, the Buzzfeed of quizzes I guess, and was informed, after clicking on some pictures, that I had a "secret obsession with letting myself down". 

Well, isn't that the oldest news of the decade. 

It made me stop and think, though. Now, I know it was just a "silly quiz" and that I shouldn't put stock in it but it was fairly accurate. Perhaps I'm not "obsessed" with letting myself down, but I do worry about so many things and school just so happens to be one of them. It's become bad enough, that my body literally can't handle stress. Because of stressful situations, some beyond my control, I've acquired, if you will, adrenal fatigue* and now any situation that is remotely stressful or hard makes me want to sleep or turn my brain off which makes learning quite difficult.

But not learning, when I absolutely should be makes me feel like a failure. I fear letting myself down so much that I'll avoid trying new things or meeting new people or taking a risk. School is all of those things. The hard part about AF is that it's not like I have a panic attack becuase I'm heading to class. In fact, I am the kind of person that likes getting to know people and so I try. It's not until the end of the day that I realize that my body was registering certain events as stressful. How obnoxious is that?

 

This is a recent thing, too. As a kid and even throughout High School and my first couple years of college I loved meeting people and being outgoing and friendly. There were some who felt like I shouldn't be so gregarious but I was. Now, at age 24, I'm all reserved and awkward and it is frustrating because there are many moments when I don't feel like me.

That being said, I am trying to enjoy the journey that is life. Just, you know, ride the wave. If class is hard, let it be hard and push myself to be better.  If it's fun, enjoy it and take that feeling with me to my next event but keep busy. Keep going. Work out, make healthy and complete meals, do my homework, early to bed early to rise, take my vitamins, drink lots of water. All that jazz.

It's hard but it's rewarding and I'd rather be an exhausted but educated sack of eyeballs, teeth and bones than a nothing-to-offer-myself-or-my-family kind.

*Adrenal fatigue. I can't remember if I've written a post about this but this news was actually a relief! Weird, I know. My two previous doctors had basically given up on me so I switched to a new one. She is AMAZING. She listens and when I told her about my last experiences, which were less than amusing, she sympathized and said, "There is nothing we can't do to help you. We'll figure this out and we won't stop until we do!" Anyway, after giving what felt like a million tubes of blood (I think it was around 12, really), and a cotton swab chewy test thing, the results were in. Adrenal fatigue was the diagnosis. You'd think that on top of all the other medical things going on I'd be frustrated but this diagnosis brought some good news. Because of all the tests my doctor had run, she found that 1) I do NOT have insulin resistance and should have never been put on a medication for that 2) My blood levels are inconsistent for someone with PCOS. Now, she suggested that I have an ovarian ultrasound to be completely sure but she said that my blood looked good so it could just be one ovary instead of both.

That's two MAJOR things that were taken off (well, just about) my list of "ailments" which also means I'm not taking as many medications as I was before. In fact, now I'm only taking one. Nexium for GERD. That and vitamins, including Rhodiola Rosea. Rhodiola rosea helps with so many things but mainly fatigue and has been SO nice to have around.

Ready to Run

Don't worry, I'm not going to post about my running experiences every day but I AM going to be writing about it. Often. Why? Because that's what kept me going the first time I started running. 

Running is a weird experience for me. 

My lungs hate it, until about 20 minutes in. 

My feet love it until about 20 minutes after I'm finished.

My brain keeps saying "I can do this!" but my legs start to feel like jello after not too long.

Not only that but I have been on a running "hiatus" for almost a year now because of a stress fracture, followed by flair ups of tendonitis. So, I've been SO chicken pants to start running again. Getting hurt is not fun and I don't want to go through that again. Therefore, I've been avoiding running until today.

This time will be different!!

For example, today I changed some things about how I ran. 

I used the full 5 minutes of my warm up and actually warmed up instead of just jumping right on in to running. I prayed that my body would be able to handle it. I actually used my inhaler. 

I made sure I had a killer playlist. 

And I stretched when I got home. Good, LONG stretching. 

It's been about 20 minutes since I got back home and guess what?

My feet don't hurt like they usually do. They're a little tired but I did just go running to that is to be expected, I think. I also feel really good. My body is a little tired but I know that I was only able to run as well as I did this morning because I gave everything I had and I had divine help. Because I asked for it. 

I am still using my Couch to 5K app on my phone so I didn't run a full 30 minutes or anything but those minutes I was supposed to run, I ran!

So, here goes! 8 weeks of training, 3 days a week. 

Totally doable. 

And on my "off" days I'll be doing my stability ball and Jillian Michaels work outs. 

It's also the first day of Fall Semester classes! I haven't been this excited about school for a long time but this semester, I'm taking some really exciting classes! French and Italian Cinema, Food in the Home, History of Design and Architecture part 2! I'm stoked. 

So, here's to new beginnings! Happy September everyone!

That Little Sister of Mine, Wittle Wahwen

Yes. 

I just outed your nickname, Lauren. Or one of them at least.

And it's because this post is ALL ABOUT YOU! (Sorta.)

You and your habit forming ways that are way too easily passed off onto me. 

You see, I've become increasingly attached (we're gonna avoid the word "addicted") to certain things that YOU introduced me to.

Here is a list to name a few:

Revenge (TV Show)

Pretty Little Liars (TV Show)

Gossip Girl -or was that Kimberly? Eh, I'll just blame you. (TV Show)

The Selection Series (3 Books)

The Prophecy of the Sisters Series (3 Books)

Entwined (Book)

The Book Thief (Movie and Book)

That's not even a complete list, my dear sister. 

Let me just tell you two quick stories. Okay, maybe four. 

Story 1- Revenge

"You won't be able to stop watching it!" Well, by George, you were right. Only, I watch what there was on Netflix and became increasingly annoyed with the way TV producers/writers seem to think that a BAZILLION seasons with little to no plot progression is desirable (ABC, I'm looking at you! LOST? Once Upon a Time?? Revenge??? C'MON!!!) So, until the series is either cancelled or actually comes to an end. This one is on hold.

I like endings. I like them when they are well written, planned out before hand, make sense and don't throw random Polar Bears into the mix. My new catch phrase is "Don't worry because in the end, we'll find out they're all dead anyway." Stupid.

Story 2- Pretty Little Liars

Now, this. This is just mean. When you told me to watch this on Netflix, I naively believed that the four seasons on Netflix made up the entire series. Meaning, I'd see the story start to finish. But, no! No, they just happen to have another 3 seasons ahead of them! Just end it! "A" can't keep slipping through the cracks like this, Ali just makes me want to punch her in the face, the other girls must be REALLY naive if they think sticking by her is somehow going to help her or them, and I'm just tired of everyone being dumb. Just stop. Alas, I still watch it, every week, with the hope that the ABC Family writers will get their junk together...*sigh*

Story 3- The Selection Series

This series was good. Really, really good. What I didn't know and wasn't informed of, little Lauren, was that it was part of a SERIES and that series WASN'T EVEN DONE BEING WRITTEN! How could you do that to me? You're like a drug dealer but instead of illegal substances you "Fox Books"ed me! ("sell them cheap books and legal addictive stimulants"-You've Got Mail). Only you deal in books and tv shows! I loved it though. When the 3rd book came out, I was on my way home from a girl's trip, in the car and used my phone as a hotspot to buy and then download the book to my iPad. I don't think I've ever read a book faster. No, not "read", devoured. It was so good! Everyone should read it. The most bizarre mix of The Bachelor, Cinderella and The Hunger Games.

Last Story- The Prophecy of the Sisters

Now, this was more recent. You suggested it, I bought the book, but it sat on my shelf until just a couple weeks ago. I decided to take this book with me to Lake Powell so I had something to do when I wasn't in the water. Well,  you have a bad habit of not telling me when something is part of a series so I, yet again, flew through this book, this really interesting, really intriguing book just to come to the end and realize that it's a part of a trilogy! To make matters worse, of getting the next two books! Though I will say that I was happy to find that this trilogy was completed. When I got home, I downloaded the next two books. It's insane how I let you do this to me. 

In the end, however, I have enjoyed this roller coaster and will probably listen to you the next time you tell me to "read this" or "watch that". Only, I'm gonna get wise and ask you, "Is it a part of a series?" and "Is that series completed?" because, truly, you have great taste. So thanks!

We'll Have a Ball!

For most who know me or follow me on Instagram know that I like to work out. 

I've even given myself the name of "Bike Babe" because about a year ago I had tendonitis bad enough that I had to stop running and turned to biking. 

Lately, biking has only been one of the many workouts I've been doing. I really enjoy water aerobics or aqua zumba, weights, the eliptical and...

THIS.

A weighted stability ball. 

(It doesn't hurt that this Reebok ball is purple!! Love it.)

I think the reason I like this so much is because it's pretty easy to watch TV and workout, which I have done almost everyday since buying it at Target.

Not only that but it comes with a DVD with two workouts. An express 20 minute workout or a 40 minute workout for when you have the time. So, if you're me, you have no excuse to not do the 40 minute workout.

Let me just tell you that it is INTENSE!!

I thought, "Oh, it's just a ball and we're just going to be bouncing on it."

HA! HAHAHA! No.

 This ball is weighted. There is sand in the ball and, by George, if that doesn't up the ante I don't know what will. It's like doing Jillian Michaels with five pound weights strapped to your arms!! My body hurts SO GOOD after finishing a workout which mean two things: 1. Clearly I need to workout like that more because there are muscles that hurt that haven't hurt for ages and 2. It's a good workout.

I think my favorite part about this stability ball is the fact that crunches don't hurt my back. As for my favorite part of the workout? THE INSTRUCTOR!! She's pretty funny and seems really sweet. Encouraging but not forceful. It's basically an awesome 40 minutes of my day. You should try it out!

Olsen Family Reunion, Year Two

The Olsen family is a boat and lake family.

I am also a boat and lake person, so I guess it's a good thing that I am now a part of the Olsen Family!

Every year, we have a small family reunion down at Lake Powell here on the Utah side.

Basically, it's just a really great time playing in the water, hiking, learning (for me at least) water sports and
getting some much needed vitamin D.

Though I didn't get up and STAY up on the wake board, I did try my best and made a lot of progress. I now have a lovely tan and can't wait to go back next year.
I love my family!

A Cousin Vacation

So, sometimes I have lofty goals. 

For example: An Olsen cousin "vacation".

It started out being a trip to  Lake Powell over Pioneer Day weekend. 

But then we didn't have access to a boat. 

So we decided we could rent one for one of the days we'd all be there. 

But then we only had 4 cousins who could actually make it. 

So the four of us decided we could go by ourselves. 

But boat rental is expensive split two ways (two couples, you see.)

Then we decided camping up north would be just as fun. 

But then there were other hiccups. 

 But Neil and I were up for the challenge. 

You see, Jaiden and Beckah,(the other cousins) needed emergency assistance in regards to their town home, so Neil and I rolled up our sleeves and went to work.  But, we also rolled up our sleeves and went to play.

Work hard, play hard. 

There is no try. 

Yoda said that. I promise.

Anyway, it was quite the adventure and packed with FUN every step of the way. (Even though I was low on sleep and somewhat grouchy at times...Sorry, guys!)

Bear Lake back to Logan back to Bear Lake back to Provo. 

Two Year Anniversary

We still need to take our family pictures (like the ones we took last year) but aside from that, Neil and I recently celebrated our first two years of marriage.

We wanted something low key, not too expensive but FUN so we decided to spend a day at Lagoon!

When I was a kid, I got scared on roller coasters, as a teen, I couldn't get enough of them and now that I'm a little older, I'm having a hard time enjoying the adrenaline of roller coasters (and even bouncy boats! See the Lake Powell post coming soon!)

That being said, we did have a great time! We played in the water park, we ate deliciously fattening park foods, we rode a LOT of roller coasters and I even convinced Neil to go on the twirly swings. (He's not a fan of things that go around in circles. He prefers up and down rides.)

My Old Kentucky Home Vacation: Day 6, 7 and 8 Heading Home

Sunday we started heading home. 

On our way we passed through Indiana and I asked if we could take a detour to visit my Grandaddy's grave site.

Before we arrived there though, we found ourselves in the town of Santa Claus, IN. It has a massive amusement park and is THE place to go to find any and all Christmas decorations you may be looking for. Kristen was in HEAVEN.

We found ornaments, Christmas paintings and....SANTA!!

He was really there! But he was, of course, on vacation. It was so cool.

After we'd had our fill of Christmas in Springtime, we headed for Evansville. 

After some looking, we found the family grave site. My grandaddy and his family were buried  by one another and it was an emotional but happy happenstance.

It meant a lot to me to spend time there and tell some stories about him. 

We finished with a picnic and hopped back in the car with our sights set on Kansas City, MO but wanted to make one last pit stop to see the Budweiser Clydesdale horses.

We thought we'd get there before closing but we we just a few minutes too late so we gazed at them through the gate. They were still beautiful.

  After dinner, we made our stop for the night at a cousin's house. It was so nice to stretch out and get some sleep knowing we still had a ways to go.

Monday we woke up early and visited the Independence Visitor's Center and Liberty Jail. I'd never been to either location before (that I can remember) but it was such a beautiful spiritual experience that I was grateful we decided to go.

Day 7
We made it all the way to Denver, ate some Chinese food to "celebrate" Cinco de Mayo" and found a place for the night.

Day 8- Home Again, Home Again!
Though it was a most splendid vacation with just us girls, it was really nice to finish that last leg of the trip. We all returned to our homes, families, pets and BEDS. Hopefully next year brings about another fun adventure.

Maine, anyone?

My Old Kentucky Home Vacation: Day 5

So, you know, just catching up. 

Day 5 of our adventure was really a lot of fun and quite educational. 

We decided that we wanted to go and tour a horse barn. We were in Kentucky, so why not?

Well, Thoroughbred "Barns" aren't all to common near Louisville. Lexington, yes, however, Lexington was farther than we were willing to drive AND it was Derby Saturday so we didn't think any tours would be taking place. But that was only after we'd set up the tour at Undulata. 

It was such a beautiful estate. 

We got to watch the horses being trained and warmed up. 

We toured the house (and I was geeking out about all of the FABULOUS furniture.)

AND we got to see a colt that had been born mere hours before we had arrived.

 
 
After our tour we headed to the Louisville Temple and then to Downtown LaGrange. It was great, only everything closed early for the Derby so we didn't get to see much. Not even a train!


 

Following our visit to Downtown LaGrange, we headed home, placed some at home bets for the Derby and watched. We all picked our top 4 and my number 2 horse came in first, so it's a good thing there wasn't any money placed for these bets because I would've lost. After the Derby I made a quick visit to a friend (Hey Alisa!!) and then headed back home. 

It was a crazy long, beautiful day of education and fun.