Weekend Update and more...

This weekend was great! It all started Friday night when Jeff and I had date night. We just spent the entire evening hanging out and laughing and talking, no video games, no computer, just us playing funny word games and "what if" games and stuff. It was very fun to reconnect after a looooong horrible week for both of us.

Saturday was also good. We were scheduled to go sky diving but the cloud cover got us again, plus I didn't want to be late for when my dad came to town. Instead we went rock climbing with Chris, outside near Georgetown Hospital. It was fun. Then my dad, step mom, and little sister came to town. I showed them our new house, they seemed to like it, and then we went to my cousin, Molly's, homecoming dinner. She just got back from a mission to Norway, and it was really awesome to hear about that, and to see my family and cousins. Unfortunately we weren't able to stay because Jeff had made plans to see his brother, over dinner, the same night. So we went from one dinner to the next, and spent some quality time with Jeff's brother and the rest of his family. It was nice to see Chris again as well.

Today, Sunday, was probably the best day of the whole weekend. I got to go to my cousin's homecoming talk at church, and then have lunch with my family. I really miss my family a lot, especially not being around Rebekah while she's grown up. I regret that a lot, but there's not much that I could have done to change that. I had fun being around her and laughing and talking with my family. It's always a bitter sweet thing to have my family around because having them here makes me miss them so much more when they leave. It was a short trip, but hopefully Jeff and I can visit them soon, and spend a weekend or maybe a week with them at some point. It's hard being an adult with no time. When we got home, we decided to just chill because we spent the entire weekend being social. I watched a lot of South Park episodes and now everything I write I hear in Cartman's voice. lol. I love Cartman... he just cracks me up.

I've also decided that from this point on I am going to make a final decision to get the last 10 lbs off my frame. I have put it off for long enough, hit a plateau and not been able to get past it. It's time for drastic measures. After making myself sick on chocolate mousse, I have decided that I am taking sugar completely out of my diet, seeing as it is my one and only weakness when it comes to eating healthy. I can avoid Pizza, I can stop eating bread, I can even eat a whole bowl of broccoli with a smile on my face... but I can't say no to the colorful box of nerds at the mini mart. I can't pass the candy bowl at the restaurant without taking one. And I'm tired of not having self control. The reason I'm blogging about it is because I want everyone to know I am commited to this. I have been contemplating it for weeks, and have decided it has to happen. I am off sugar until June 1st. When I get to that mark, I will reward myself with a new pair of pants, and will reconsider allowing sugar back into my diet. Until then it's out. I am also starting a new cardio routine, and will be adding Spinning classes to my regimine. Hopefully with a few tweaks to my routine and taking the sugar out of my diet, I can get rid of this extra bit of fat I have been working so hard at getting rid of. Sure, it may seem superficial, but to me it's like this goal I have aimed at for so long, and I'm finally looking at the end of the tunnel, it's only 10 paces away, and yet every time I try to walk those 10 paces, some ugly monster holds me back. And I am ready to take that guy on and beat the crap out of him, then walk my 10 paces and reach my goal. So hopefully in a month I can blog about how awesome it is to be 10 lbs lighter.

Blog Out.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ahhh... that's me, sighing with relief. I finally took my Algebra test! It only took me agonizing over it for the past 5 days to finally study enough to feel comfortable to enter the testing center with my head held high with fake confidence. I only enlisted the help of not only my husband and fellow math-student/friend Sommer, but also my personal trainer, Jake, who was very awesome to help me after one of our sessions. With the help of my behind-the-scenes team, and my own brain power... I might've actually pulled a C or if I'm lucky with the curve, a B. I didn't realize that I was in the testing center for 3 hours, taking the test. The time flew by. I agonized over each and every question, found new ways to calculate math problems I was unsure of, and I even took to guessing numbers to populate "X" until I found the true value (true desperation). When I finally got out of the testing center it was 6:15 pm. I hadn't eaten in hours. But I managed to make it to class at 6:45. I'm so glad I did.

I won't bore you with what we learned in class, aside from the FANTASTIC NEWS!!! Some of the more whiney class members started complaining about the test. I thought it was bad that I took 3 hours, one guy took 5! Most took between 2 and 3 hours to complete the test. One girl cried after it was over. Another almost threw up. I chimed in and said I considered suicide halfway through it. (Just kidding, people don't take kindly to such jokes). So the professor reminded us that he does curve and then offered us something stupendous! He's letting us take home our final! YAY! That's right, my comprehensive final is a take-home test. I can't be happier. And then the test on the next section is pushed back to our final date! The relief I feel right now is... invigorating. I just want to scream out with JOY! AHHHHHHHH!

Yes, this post is about Math. Stupid Math. But really... I am kinda getting into it. It's like infinite puzzles, and I LOVE it when I can solve them with ease!

In other news... Jeffrey and I leave May 7th for Lorraine's wedding. Anyone driving from SLC to Idaho Falls for Lorraine's wedding, please let me know and maybe we can work some sort of carpool action or something. We are renting a car so we're not trying to mooch off anyone, I just want to see and spend time with my Utah friends if I can!

K. Blog Out.

Maid Of Honor

This weekend was consumed with Jeff and my search for the perfect Maid of Honor dress. We started at BCBG and ended up at David's Bridal, where I finally found a dress that was the correct color and tasteful enough to work. The sense of relief is overwhelming. Here's a link to my dress... it also comes with a little jacket for when I'm on temple grounds. I got it in "mermaid." I don't know if I'm in love with it, but I like it a lot... http://www.davidsbridal.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplayView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051&categoryId=-49998973&colorName=Mermaid&subCategory=-49998976%7c-49998975%7c-49998973&top_category=&catentryId=1000233

Even though I HATE shopping especially when it's really crouded, I had a really good time with Jeff. We were laughing and joking around the whole time and it was fun just walking around together and enjoying the good company. It's weird because there was a time I used to enjoy shopping, but now it's just annoying, and I find it kind of hurts my self esteem. Like, I already hate that I haven't lost a clothing size in months, but when I go to the mall and try on dresses, and I range from size to size, it really screws with my self image. It's just not worth it. I'd rather stick with the clothing in my closet than deal with that.

But some of the most fun moments of the weekend were on Friday night! We had Tom, Chris and his little brother over to play "You're in the Movies." Which, by the way, is an awesome party game and everyone needs to play it at least once in their life. We created some hilarious clips, I just wish the game created a real movie... that would be sweet. I'm gonna work on getting those clips onto the computer so you guys can enjoy the awesomeness that we created.

Anyways, I am currently searching for a way to get to Lorraines wedding and not miss my test the day before... wish me luck!

Blog Out

Deep Thoughts by Caitlin McHottikins Hartung...

This segment will be called Deep Thoughts by Caitlin McHottikins Hartung, it will appear once a week from now on:

So I realize that I can be the most evil, mean person on this planet when my hormones are going awry, and this past 2 weeks I was going insane. So yesterday and today I have been SO HAPPY! I can't really explain the difference, but it's like a cloudy 2 months, and suddenly, the sun peaks through and everything is happy and birds sing as you walk. I have all this energy and a little swing in my step. I went to gymnastics and am finally able to do my back handspring without any assistance, just a little verbal motivation from my peeps! YAY! I loved spending more time with Brandy and her baby yesterday. I will probably be visiting her often to get my baby fix and then get back to having a life. That's what scares me most about having kids, once you have them, your life goes out the window and it's all about them. I'm not ready to take the backseat and give everything up for anyone. And I see people having kids and having no money or time to do anything fun and they seem so depressed. Getting married alone can kind of put a damper on your social life, kids pretty much end it. Well, maybe not end it... you can make friends with other parents, and your old friends can visit you, but you can't take a road trip to vegas, or fly off to italy for a month, not with a kid. Not if you want to be a good, responsible parent. Unless of course you're Angelina and Brad and can afford it. So I've decided that I am really really ok with waiting a few more years till I start popping out babies.

I have created my list of things to do before having kids, and here it is:

-Sky Diving

-Hang Gliding

-Paragliding

-wind surfing

-backpack across Europe

-spend months in South America and learn Spanish

-help Jeff learn German, then visit Germany for a few months (maybe live there)

-Visit Switzerland and partake in the good chocolate and facials

-become good at kick boxing or a martial art of some sort

-complete a round off back handspring backflip routine on the runway trampoline

-go to China

-go to Italy

-pretty much go to every country possible

-buy a sports car (hehe)

-get down to 23% body fat

-get certified as a personal trainer

-finish my bachelors degree

-start my career

I figure this will take me 3 years or so to complete. I'll be 25 then. I'm cool with that.

Jeff's Birthday Weekend...

Saturday: We woke up, ready to commit virtual suicide, jumping out of an airplane with nothing but a parachute and an instructor strapped to our backs... unfortunately, the weather did not feel like allowing us this incredible addrenaline rush, and therefore we awoke to a cancelled class due to cloud cover. Not cool.

So instead we went rock climbing. Rock climbing was fun. We went to the North Austin Rock Gym which is mainly a bouldering gym (meaning no ropes), we all got tired pretty fast cause it's been a really long time since we've climbed.

After climbing we went to a family dinner to celebrate Jeff's b-day at a place called 3 Forks. It was incredible! Delicious! Yum! I had the filet minon and Jeff got this steak called the tommahawk, it was 30 oz., and 20 oz of edible flesh. He ate most of it, but had already filled up on appetizers, a salad, and a soup before that. I don't know how he eats like he does and keeps his body fat so low. It makes me sick.

After dinner we all went back to the in-law's house and played guitar hero on Andrew's Playstation 3. It was cool.

Sunday: Easter. We went to the in laws for easter brunch, and had really huge sandwiches. Then we went to the Aunts house and played cards and then had a big yummy dinner and cake for Jeff, and then we played spades, and it was my first time, but Aunt Sherry and I won! Woot Woot!

And that was the extent of our weekend.

Next weekend we learn to hang glide. Two weekends after that we go Sky Diving for realsies.

Easter

Easter is a happy time for me, a time full of some of the best memories I have from childhood. See, in my family, holidays were done right. Birthdays consisted of HUGE celebrations, with tons of friends and family members present to make the birthday boy/girl feel special. Halloween was anticipated for weeks in advance, outfits were created by my mother's talented hands. Christmas was a holiday unparalleled in it's ability to give off magical vibes and warm fuzzy feelings. However, EASTER was one of the most fun holidays I can remember. My parents turned Easter Egg hunting into a legundary game of skill. They spent hours hiding eggs while we slept, sometimes forcing us outside for hours while they came up with clever hiding places for our tiny, multi-colored eggs. Each of us 4 kids had the same amount of eggs. Each of our eggs had our first initial inked on them, and we were only allowed to collect our initialed eggs. We weren't allowed to help our siblings out, and the first one to find all of their eggs was awarded the satisfaction of being the best. What was amazing, was that we all usually ended up having all but 1 egg, with the hardest spot holding our last eggs in one cluster. Some eggs were so well hidden, we never found them. They'd turn up on another easter egg hunt, or be found while moving furniture. To this day I miss Easter at my family's house. I fully intend on bringing my future children home to my parent's to create wonderful memories for themselves. I can't wait!

This Easter, Jeffrey and I will enjoy with my in-laws, and then with my two of my favorite Aunts, Sherry and Didi, and their children. We'll have good food and good company and play cards. It's ironic how close Jeff's birthday is to Easter, the celebration of the rebirth of Jesus Christ after his ultimate sacrifice and resurrection. It reflects what a good man Jeff is, an easter gift to his mother, and later to me. But it still does not compare to the gift that Jesus Christ has given to all of us, chance for eternal life, and redemption. Let us all remember the sacrifice that was made for us, that we may one day return to live with Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ. I am eternally greatful for the opportunity.

Enjoy your Easter, and remember that I love you all.

What a day...

Today I worked out with Jake again. I'm learning a lot still, and am greatful to have his help. He also was kind enough to measure my body fat with this weird electrode machine that shoots an electric current through your body and tells you what your body fat percentage is and how much water you have in your body.

I was disappointed to find I have 29% body fat. It feels like I've been trying so hard and no improvement. My weight won't budge, my body fat percentage won't budge. I've been on this diet for a while now, and what's it doing for me?

In funnier news, Jeff came home and said "Where's Akira?" "Why?" I asked. "I'm going to kill her," he replied. Again, I asked him "Why?" Then he leaned in real close and made me sniff his left shoulder. It smelled like Pee. I started to giggle. Then he took it off and showed me this HUGE yellow pee stain. Apparently, Akira was peeing in his *giggle* laundry bin where he stores his clean clothes (in our closet). It was hilarious. He spent all day wearing Akira's special brand of cologne! MUAHAHA! Akira got in on April Fools! I came up with all kinds of fun nicknames to call him after that. Pee Boy is my current favorite.

In other news, as soon as my computer is fixed (should be tonight) I will post the video of the prank Susan and I played on Jeff yesterday. It was great.

In the meantime,

Blog OUT