Jamming in July

Who doesn't love July?? I love celebrating the 4th of July and feeling the patriotism flow through my soul. If you've seen the movie, Man of Steel, then you might remember the following quote in the last scene.." How do we know you won't one day act against America's interests?" And what did Superman say in reply? "I grew up in Kansas, General. I'm about as American as it gets" When my best friend and I saw this in the theater I think I literally shrieked with Kansas pride. Something about growing up in the midwest, especially being raised in my particular family, makes me such a patriotic person. I love the USA and am so thankful for all the past and present service men and women!

This 4th of July, I spent it among new friends, one of which I made in school this summer. Kasie and I spent the day shopping, enjoying the Freedom Festival, getting dinner, and watching fireworks outside the Stadium of Fire with some guy friends. Here are some pictures from our night:

 
 

Best limeade I've ever had. Yum!

 One Friday night my sister took her oldest two, Kaden and Leighton, to an Orem Owlz game. Since I lived just across the freeway, I joined them and enjoyed their company. We watched the ballgame for several innings and talked while the kiddos played on the playground equipment. You probably can't tell from the picture with Leighton and I, but she LOVES me. She wanted me to hold her the whole night and of course I couldn't refuse. She loves getting gum and lipstick from my purse and taking pictures together. We have a special bond that gives me so much happiness! Once we took the kids to to play on the equipment, Tasha and I were chatting and snapping some pictures, when Kaden pulled down his little pants and took care of business next to the other playing children. Tasha knew instantly what was going on and turned 50 shades of red, while I laughed, haha. It was one of those moments I was glad I am the Aunt and not the Mom ;)

My beautiful sister Tasha and I (photocredit to her)



My sister is such a beautiful mother!

Tasha told me later that night, when she was putting the kids to bed she asked what their favorite parts of the day were. Little Miss Leighton said, "Calissa". Bless her heart! I sure love my niece and nephews and my sweet sister Tasha and brother Ryan. They bring such joy to my life and make me feel so much love! In fact, after one long weekend of boating I became very sick and dehydrated and needed help. I was close to passing out and called my mom to see if I should call for an ambulance. She phoned my brother-in-law, who kindly picked me up and took me to the hospital. Thank you Ryan for being so good to me and acting as my older brother when I need you!

July was a month filled with a ton of dates, meeting new people, boating, and just having a blast enjoying the summer time. During a date, I went up into the canyon to briefly enjoy a gorgeous summertime view of the mountains, lake, city lights, and the setting sun. Oh what a beautiful site! My date snapped these amazing pictures, which did not even do the scene justice, but will have to suffice. 

 

 

I kept my workouts consistent in July, mixing them up to keep it fun and worthwhile. A friend I made, told me about Surfset Fitness, a total body workout used to mimic surfing. The workout is done on a surfboard that is balanced on top of three balls, so it uses your core and muscles to help balance the board. I invited my friend, Cleopatra, to join me and we had a great time trying a new type of workout. Thanks for coming with me girl!

I kept up my usual workout throughout the month and when I hit the scale I was surprised to find I had dropped a few more pounds. I've been establishing portion control, cleaner eating, and allowing myself a cheat day once a week to help curve my cravings. Overall, my energy has boosted a ton and so has my confidence. I was happy to discover in July that I could once again fit several pairs of dress pants I hadn't been able to wear since I was 19. Wow! That was a great milestone in my journey to being healthy and fit :)

I am still a work in progress, but I love where I am headed and try to encourage others with their goals. If you have instagram or follow me on instagram (@calissakaye) you may have noticed I started something I call motivational Monday where I post an inspiring quote each Monday. Mostly it's a positive message I use for the start of my week and hope it helps others who are doing the same. Here are some of my favorite workout related quotes and pics I snapped in the gym in July: 

 

It's important to remember that you shouldn't compare yourself to others. Fitness should be fun and about making yourself feel better in the body that you have. Love yourself!

All in all, July was a GREAT month. A great mix of social, dating, family, and fitness. To top off the month, I found a place to live that had two rooms open for my best friend and I. What a blessing! I truly believe the Lord is in the details and hears our prayers, no matter how simple our requests are. I hope you all had a great July. Much love!

Calissa

Inner Ramblings on a Grey Day

I've been reading various books on dating, how men and women view the world, how to find happiness, and how to avoid falling in love with a jerk. I've love reading in general, but reading something so pertaining to this stage of my life is rather enjoyable. However, through all of the passages and chapters I read, I am left with thinking, "how am I supposed to remember all of this?" Being back in the dating scene has been confusing, exhilarating, flattering, and exhausting. My hope is now that I have experienced relationships that most others in the single scene haven't, that I can use that knowledge to date more efficinelty and effectively. However, even the thought of dating efficiently and effectively, well that sounds like a business proposal, calculated and emotionless. Perhaps my tendency to want to reach my goals in life gets in the way of being more relaxed about life. I know I have a tendency to be a Type A personality and this is the way I was created, but I really try my best to enjoy the journey instead of the destination.

So what is my journey and what is my destination? My journey is gaining life experiences and knowledge, meeting new people, having fun, and hopefully being a good friend to others. What is my destination? Quite simply, happiness-lasting happiness. Preferably sharing my life with someone that treats me well, a satisfying relationship that encourages me to be my best self, doing something that gives me purpose, giving to others 110%, and being happy with the person I am in life.

Sometimes during my "journey" all the emotions that go along with dating are rather exhausting and perhaps my reason for writing down my inner ramblings. I am a hopeless hopeful romantic by nature, so meeting and dating new guys is exciting. However, the mental energy that goes into prepping for a first date, how long do I wait to text them back, or is he into me? You get the picture of the exhaustion of dating and all the questions one might think to themselves. Don't get me wrong...I don't sit by my phone all day. I am at school starting at 7:30 am  and don't get home from work and the gym until 7:30 and do homework for hours. My days are ALWAYS filled like this and so I rarely get a chance to just sit and think uninterrupted. Because of that, sometimes my emotions and experiences catch up with me and I'm left feeling overwhelmed.

It's days like today, that as I walk amongst hundreds and hundreds of other students on campus that I feel so alone, despite being surrounded by so many people. The past few weeks I've been learning so much, pondering my life, and as I walk through the halls I put my headphones in and crank up my music. I don't feel like chatting, I feel like letting the music speak to my soul. At times when no words can seem to soothe me, I crank my music loud to mute my mind and feel the beat, hoping it will resonate some feelings. That is what I love about music. It is so spiritual to me-helps me feel emotions when I don't feel like feeling and when I want to feel emotions it amplifies them. When I'm in the mood to sing I sing along (which is 99% of the time) and the other 1% of the time I can just listen and let it express the feelings I can't seem to speak. Oh music! What would I do without you and your beautiful melodies and verses? Back to being surrounded by so many people and feeling alone. I can't help but think as I am surrounded by so many people, strangers, people that I will never know, it's beautiful! I am just one person out of so many billions of people that are living. I can walk around, not talk to anyone, people watch, listen to music, and just ponder my silly thoughts to myself. I wonder what other people are thinking about, what their stresses are, and count my blessings that I live such a good life with a positive and optimistic outlook. Okay, so today my thoughts are not as cherry and bright as they are everyday, but it's healthy to experience an array of emotions in order to appreciate the absolutely happy days. Over 3/4 of my days are filled with waking up happy, loving life, appreciating the simple pleasures, feeling blessed, and going to bed happy.

So on this exception of a day, what do I do? I let myself ponder for a few hours, maybe reflect a bit, and then I decide to be happy. So that's it...I'm getting off my deep thinking, lost in thought, soapbox of an attitude and deciding to have a great day. That's it! I believe in putting positive energy into the world and receiving back-it always works and makes my days positive. I hope you all have a wonderful day! You are loved, thought of, admired, and treasured by so many. In fact, if you are reading this my life has probably been better because of you. So thank you! If for any reason you are feeling the way I was before I wrote this, decide now to feel better. Soothe your soul with music, cupcakes (one of my less effective techniques), or whatever speaks to you. Whatever it may be, feel the emotions and then let go of them. You are AMAZING! Have a great day!

Calissa

Joyful June

June was all about enjoying the summer, outdoors, and fitness! I reconnected with one of my best friends, Sandi, over dinner at Tepenyaki at the start of the month. We caught up, shared some funny stories, and ate some great food. Afterwards, we ended up going to a party with some old friends, and just had fun. After that night, we decided we wanted to move into together but it in the meantime we'd get together once a week during the summer and do some sort of fun activity. Sandi has always "gotten me" so well and I've always felt so comfortable around her. I just love her to pieces and am so glad we are back in each others lives!

I went to a Tim McGraw concert in June with Sandi, along with her friend from school, Ashley. We got some lawn seats and drove up to get our "country" on. Of course I found it fun to reconnect with my Kansas roots and threw on a pair of boots and skirt and listened to the great sounds of Tim McGraw. I have to admit, he has the voice of a God and the body of one too! What talent and soul comes from that mans voice! We snapped some of these pictures that night:

Also in June, my friend Leah, came into town from LA. I was lucky to snag some of her limited time and we got pedicures together. We chatted, caught up, shared some funny stories, and ended the night with getting some tasty chocolates from See's. So good!! Leah is just so amazing! I can't wait until she comes back in town the next time :)

Another highlight of Utah summers is boating! I usually end up just going to Utah lake to boat with friends, but went to East Creek Reservoir for the first time. All I can say, is it is worth the extra drive. The water was beautiful and so was the scenery! I  made friends with Janae-what a down to earth girl. She was a blast to hang out with and it reminded me how much I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends.

Of course, during the summer I attended summer school and did my best to balance school, work, gym, and social life. Overall I think my dedication was highest to work, gym, social life, and school in that order but it all worked out in the end. I'm still loving the work I do and enjoyed a golf tournament the Utah County Realtors participated in, at a local country club. Our office staff helped in the morning and spent the afternoon driving people around in carts, having a nice lunch, eating treats, getting a quick massage, and having a nice lunch. It was a rather relaxing and fun day out of the office! I ran into my friend, Annai, from culinary school, who happened to stop by to drop something off for her boss during the tournament. It was so good to see her and it made me think the whole bunch of us should get together soon. Hint..hint! :) Here are some pictures of that I snagged on the course, which is so beautiful by the way:

June was a great month, like most other months, I felt I had so much to be grateful for. I am blessed with a wonderful family, healthy body, great job and co-workers, a beautiful state to live in, and so much more! Hope you all had a wonderful June as well :)

Calissa