Today I am thankful for a gym membership...
Well after getting a gym pass I have tried to make it a habit to go to the gym Monday through Friday before or after work. The past week though I wasn't able to go to the gym as much as I would have liked to. Boy did I notice a big change in my mood, I was a little more sluggish, stressed, cranky, and got annoyed easily. Not really understanding why I was so different I finally got some free time on Thursday before work to go to the gym. After I felt so much more relaxed, happy, and stress free. So not only does going to the gym help me physically but it also puts me in a way better mood and works as a stress reliever as well. I have always liked to get a good workout in the past but never put a whole lot of real value in it. Now I think I am going to make working out into my daily routine, I absolutely love what it does for me. I have always heard that exercising realises endorphins and in the wise words of Legally Blonde "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't!" Not only does it put me in a better mood but it helps me realive so much stress, one being in the way that I have an hour to just get to listen to my music and think. The second being that I think not only do we have stress in our minds but I think our body carries a lot of stress as well, by working out it lets me get rid of all that stress. Leaving me fully relaxed when I stretch after my workout. I am very thankful that I was given an able body and for the health that I have. It truly is a blessing to be able to do the things that I do, which is why I find it my job to take care of my body to make sure I stay healthy. As sore as I am and as silly as this post may seem, this is why today I am thankful for a gym membership.....and because I look fan-freakin-tastic!

My Favorite workout song.

Today I am thankful for challenges..
Challenges I have come to realize will always be apart of life, no matter how old, where I am in life, or what the day is. Challenges are just apart of life and always will be whether I like it or not. To me though I think there are two ways you can go about challenges, One being you can take the challenge as being that you are getting punished for something and be completely bitter about having to go through a challenge. Two you can look at a challenge as a way for you to learn and grow from this experience and not let this one little thing break you. In my patriarchal blessing it said that I would get the opportunity to grow by having challenges in my life. Now hearing this when I was only a 16 year old girl my first instinct was to panic. As I go back and read it now I can't help but be thankful to have challenges in my life and to have a promise that if I go through those challenges with a good heart that blessings will come from them. To me a challenge is just more of a test, it's a test of character, faith, and the heart. So when challenges are brought up in life I feel that is our time to show how strong we are and the kind of person that we truly are. For me I love a good challenge, meaning in the scheme of like in work or activities I'm doing, I think that also has something to do with my over competitive personality. I always see them as a way I can prove to people what kind of person I am and exactly what I can do. Life challenges yes are a little different, whether it be in the form of getting a new job, a passing of a loved one, a break up, or trying to learn a new skill. Ever person is different but at some point at life I am sure we all have experienced the same challenges. The important part about challenges I have come to find is you have to go through the challenge as a learning experience and a chance to grow. I know that I will have many challenges in my life but I know that is a way for me to become a better person. I know that my Heavenly Father wants nothing but the best for me and the way for me to become the best person is to be able to go through challenges in life. That is why today I am thankful for challenges in life so that I can learn and grow from having them.