What I Am Thankful For....November 18th

What I am thankful for...R. Reading!!!!

Anyone who really knows me, knows I love, and I mean LOVE, reading. I always have been crazy about books. When I first started to really get into chapter books, I would stay up all night reading. Or at least I would try but my dad usually caught me and told me to turn off my light and go to bed. So I then graduated to stealing my dad's flashlights and sneak them upstairs to use. The only problem was that they would slip down the side of my bed and the wall so I would have to keep getting a new one to take upstairs with me. Well my dad would get pretty angry when he could never find a flashlight. He would be searching all over the place and I would sneak upstairs and bring my stash all down stairs and then wait till he was in the next room and then I would say "Hey Dad, look I found the flashlights." I thought I was pretty clever but I wasn't, my dad always knew I had them.

I love reading. I love the places that it takes you, the people you meet. It is just incredible the things you can learn about from reading. I love books so much that I usually have a book in my purse. Because you never know when you are going to have some downtime to read. I really do love reading.

What I Am Thankful For....November 17th

What I am thankful for...Q. Homemade Quilts

I love quilts. In my memory I have never really have ever used a store bought quilt. My grandmothers always made me quilts and I would use them all the time. I love my quilts and the memories they give me. My mom made me a Christmas Ranch quilt and I love it. I love horses and ranches and Christmas so it is perfect.

I made a quilt when I was a Junior and it has pictures of my dad's side of the family's pictures on it. I use it constantly. I love looking at the pictures and remember my grandparents.

My mom is currently working on a quilt for me and I am so ecstatic for it. It is going to be a western quilt but with pictures of me and my grandpas who were cowboys. I am thankful that my mother has that talent to be able to make it for me.

What I Am Thankful For....November 16th

What I am thankful for...P. PSYCH

My absolute favorite tv show is Psych. I love Shawn and Gus. I love their silly antics and that through out the day I can think of quotes from the show to fit with almost anything.

It is kind of silly to be thankful for it but I really love watching and laughing from the characters.

What I Am Thankful For....November 15th

What I am thankful for...O. The Outdoors.

I love the outdoors. I love the mountains. I love the ocean. I just love being outside. I like to go on hikes and see amazing sights.

I am very thankful that my front yard view is beautiful mountains right now, but I do wish I was close to the ocean too. I love Northern Western coast. It is just so beautiful and I definitely took it for granted when I lived closer to it.

What I Am Thankful For....November 14th

What I am thankful for...N. My nieces and nephews.

I have always loved kids and I always wanted tons of nieces and nephews. Which I wasn't sure was going to happen since I only have one brother. Well I have quite a few and love each and every one of them. I have 3 nephews and 2 nieces and one more on the way that we don't know yet what they are going to be. I am now going to talk about each of them and what I love about them.

Dominic: He is growing up so fast. He loves animals. He also loves Star Wars and anything Legos. He is so smart. He basically taught himself how to swim. He is fearless at trying for what he wants. I am very proud of him and can't wait to see all the great things he will accomplish.

Here is a picture of Dominic and Corbin at Disneyland.

Corbin: He also is growing up so fast. He is a master at Pokemon and actually competes in competitions. He has won a few of those and that is just so awesome. He also is a Lego and Star Wars fan. Corbin and Dominic are always together and I think it is great that they have great friends in each other.

Ashlynn: She is a special little girl. I met her when she was barely 4. From the very first day she became my little buddy. She hardly even knew me and she was willing to go wherever I went. She is a very vivacious little girl. She sings, dances, reads, and is just adorable. She spent the whole summer with me this past summer and she was a wonderful companion. I am so proud to be her Aunt and to see the wonderful things she will accomplish someday.

Ashlynn in San Fran.

Hayden: I felt like this little boy was my baby. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him. When he was a baby he always wanted me but then he fell in love with my mom and always wanted her. He is in kindergarten now and I can't believe that he is that old. He is a booger but we love him for it. He loves to talk and he loves treats. A couple times when I have gone to their house to visit, I would sleep on their couch, well quite a few times I would wake up with a sweaty face and feel like someone was sitting on my chest, and then I would wake up and my cute little Hayden was there asleep right on top of me. He cracks me up.

 Cute little Hayden.

Jovie: When she was a baby everyone thought she was my baby. We had matching blue eyes and she loved me. She still loves me. She couldn't say my name for a long time and all she could say was "Sa" and at first I thought she was calling everyone that but nope it was just for me. She loves to sing and dance. She loves her kitties even if they don't love her loving on them. She is a cutie and I just love visiting her. Now I am "Yissa" and she gets so excited when she sees me and it makes me feel very loved.

 Cute little Jovie.

 Jovie and me.

 Hayden, me, and Dominic.

My favorite picture of Jovie and me when she was a baby.

What I Am Thankful For....November 13th

What I am thankful for....M. My Moema.

My Moema is the best! She is my best friend. She has been there for me through everything and loves me unconditionally. I am pretty sure all of my friends wished they had an awesome mom like me. She always laughs at my jokes and my guy stories.

One of my favorite things about my mom is that she used to take my friends and me out heart attacking and Booing. She would drive us around to all the boys houses and then she would park down the street and then be our get-a-way driver. We had so much fun. She would even drive by a little while after so that we could check if the boys got the stuff. It is one of my most favorite memories of Jr. High.

Or another time, my friend and I were having a sleep over and we were talking about the two cute Ryans in our class and my mom was asking which Ryan do we each get. We didn't know because they both were very cute. So she took two markers, a red one and a yellow one, and then assigned each Ryan and color and then mixed it up behind her back and us choose. We were laughing so hard.

My mom didn't have a perfect childhood but it has made her stronger and even more wonderful than I could ever imagine. One of my really good guy friends in Jr. High was living with his Aunt and Uncle and it wasn't really a great situation for him. Well he decided he had had enough and was going to run away. Because we were such good friends he stopped by my house first to say good bye. Luckily my mom was home at the time and she talked to him. I don't know exactly what she said to him but whatever she said to him made a difference to him because he didn't run away. Because of her experiences as a child, she was able to reach out to one of my friends and help them at their time of need by sharing similar experiences. I don't talk to that guy anymore but he was a good friend at the time and I was so thankful that my mom was my mom because she can help others and reaches out to them.

I do most everything with my mom. She is my best friend. We go on trips together and I talk to her every day. I love my mom very much and I hope she realizes how much she means to me because I don't think I could survive without her.

Thank you mom for everything you do!

 Hiking and finding a banana slug.

 Hiking

 She is special. :)

 San Francisco, another hot spot we like to go to.

 Run to Feed the Hungry.

 Disneyland at Christmas time. Our favorite thing to do.

She looks so cute but I look blah.

What I Am Thankful For....November 12th

What I am thankful for...L. Love

I am not in love currently and don't have a love of my life, but I am so excited of the prospect of finding the love of my life.

But also I am thankful for the love I feel from my family and friends and from the students I teach.

I am also thankful for the love I feel from my Heavenly Parents and Brother.

What I Am Thankful For....November 11th

What I am thankful for.....K. Knowledge.

Knowledge is power, they always say and I have to agree. Especially since I am a teacher. I am glad that we have knowledge and we have opportunities to expand our knowledge every day. I am glad I get to help children learn every day and get excited about learning.

What I Am Thankful For....November 10th

What I am thankful for....J. My Job.

I am an elementary school teacher and I love it. I love working with children and helping them learn. I loved all of my teachers when I was a student and now I get that opportunity to help and inspire them like they did for me.

I am also thankful I have a job. I know there are many people out there that don't have a job and struggle every day. I am just glad I have a great job with wonderful coworkers. Some of my greatest friends are people who I have met through work. I am thankful for that every day.

What I Am Thankful For....November 9th.

What I am thankful for.....I. Ice Cream!!!!!


It is silly post but I am thankful for ice cream because it is so good especially with brownies or a cazookie or buttermilk cake. :)

I love cookie dough ice cream and cookies and cream ice cream and I like vanilla ice cream with fudge swirls or hot fudge.

But yeah, I love ice cream!

What I Am Thankful For...November 8th

What I am thankful for...H. Hope.

I am thankful for hope, especially after this year. One of my dearest friends here in Utah was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. My heart nearly broke when she told me the news. I remember just telling myself not to cry in front of her, to be brave. Then as I was driving home I called my mom and I just balled. I was so scared. I have never had to rely so much on hope that she would make it.

Well she just had her masectomy (I don't know how to spell it) and she is getting stronger every day. I am thankful that I had that hope to rely on because I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have that hope.

What I Am Thankful For....November 7th

What I am thankful for.....G. The Gospel.

I am very thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am thankful for the principles and ordinances that the gospel provides. I am so glad that my family can be together forever. I am thankful for the opportunity to do Temple work. I also am thankful for the sacrifices that the early saints made for us and for the prophets and apostles. I am proud to be a member of this church.

What I Am Thankful For... November 6th

What I am thankful for....F. Family.

I love my family very much. My grandparents, my aunts and uncles, cousins, and all. I love them. Many of them have played important roles in my life and have helped me become the person I am today.

My grandparents for instance are all wonderful people.

My Grandma Lucas always let me come and visit her in Las Vegas and would save her tip money for me to spend when I was with her. She now lives close by my parents and it is fun to see her and go out with her when I am home. I know she loves me very much and I love her.

My Grandpa Lytle is also wonderful. Whenever I see him or talk to him, I always feel his love radiating through him for me. He always calls me Gal and I love it. He also instilled in me a love for horses. I know that he isn't really a cowboy anymore but he will always be a cowboy in my eyes.

My mom's parents are not married anymore but I am very thankful for them raising my mom and not giving her a normal childhood because she is an amazing lady. She is kind and caring and reaches out to so many people and helps them in their life and I don't think she even realizes it. But more about her later. She will get a post on November 13th that is just all about her and no one else.

Lastly my Grandpa and Grandma Burk. They lived by me my whole entire childhood and into adulthood. I saw them every week of my life up till I left for college. I never truly understood how much they meant to me until they were gone. My Grandma loved to cook and she was an amazing cook. And she would spoil me with food. I remember many a breakfast that all I ate was bacon and toast, I loved it! And she would make home made chocolate pudding just for me and put it in containers for me to eat. My grandparents survived the Great Depression and from that they had fascinating stories to tell. Towards the end of my grandpa's life I would ask him questions about his life and he would start way past the beginning of the story to really help me understand the story. My favorite story is of how my grandparents first met. My grandpa told that story so well. Both of my grandparents died while I was in Rexburg at school and it broke my heart not to be able to personally say good bye to them. I think of them constantly and how much they mean to me. I wish I would have asked more questions about their lives earlier on in my life and not so late like I did. I am thankful for them to raise my dad who had such an open mind he found the church and my mom. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa! I love you and miss you every day.

What I Am Thankful For.....November 6th

What I am thankful for.....F. Friends and Families.

In my life I have had so many important people in my life, some have been family, some friends, and some were close friends who felt like family. I am thankful for all the people who have been in my life and have made a difference in my life. I am very blessed with great family and friends. Here are some pictures of those people. I don't have all the pictures that I would like to have to post but there are many people who have been important to me. One person I didn't have a picture of was my crazy Tia Sallie. She is so awesome. She always remembers my birthday and has accepted me as one of her own. Thank you to all who have been a part of my life. I love you all!

 My cousin Rhena, who picks me up from the airport and includes me in all of her family activities.

 Miss Kim and me at the beach. I used to babysit her and now she is growing up to be a beautiful young woman. I am very proud of her.

 My mom, me, and Mary. Mary has been a part of my life since I don't know how long. She is like an Aunt to me. She and her husband are wonderful and I love visiting with them when I am home.

 This is me and Jill with a boy who shall not be named and that is a booger. Jill is awesome. She is one of my travel buddies and shopping buddies. She also is like another Aunt to me.

This is me, Shanna (aka Doobs), and Marilee. They are some great friends that I have had and still have since High School. They are great.

What I Am Thankful For....November 5th

What I am thankful for.... E. EXERCISE!!!!!!!

I know surprise, surprise. But I do like to do exercise. I love that I am able to do things like 5ks or dance classes. If I couldn't do exercise then I wouldn't be able to do the things that I like to do. I love to be active and because I do some exercise I am able to do those things that I love to do.

Well this is short post but I am thankful that I can exercise and have the gym and a beautiful park just down the street. In fact I just bought some way HOT PINK stretchy pants to wear under my shorts for when I got out when it is dark. I have worn them around the house but not yet out in public, but I am sooooo excited to wear them!

What I Am Thankful.....November 4th

What I am thankful for.....D. My Daddy.

I love my dad. He is the best. I love spending time with him. My dad is a goofy guy, an excellent cook, outdoorsy, sporty, and a dancer. My dad always let me help out on building stuff and going to the outdoor show.

I love cooking with him and harassing him that I am better at certain cooking things than he is, which is totally true but he will never admit it.

I love going to driving range with him and watching Giants baseball with him. I am excited for his birthday this year because he wants to go to an away game with me for a weekend getaway.

One of my favorite memories of my Dad is all the times he danced with me in our kitchen. It didn't matter if we were singing something or we were listening to a cheer cd, he was always ready to bust a move. My mom always said she was waiting for dad to bust his hip out of place with his hip movements.

He always supported my activities. He came to many softball games and to games I was cheering at, he even almost got kicked out of a basketball game because he was making so many objections about the refs calls. :) When I would have to create cheer for try outs, he was always ready to offer a helping hand to help create the words. I don't know that many dads who would be willing to do that. And one of his favorite cheer dances was the "Freaky Teaky".

He always picked me up and dropped me off to school or whenever I moved, whether it was Rexburg or Las Vegas or Utah. We have had some great road trips.

I love my dad very much and so glad he is my dad.

 My dad and me at the Giants game.

 Us being silly at the game.

 My dad loves posing for pictures. :)

 My dad and me at Disneyland on the Monorail.

We like to take silly pictures too much!

What I am Thankful For....November 3rd

What I am thankful for.....C. My class.

I have been very blessed with some great students these past five years. Some have stayed very close to me where others I have lost touch with, but it doesn't really matter. I love my students every year, even if some are stinkers. :) I love my job. I love being able to inspire young children and making a difference in their lives.  I love when they invite to sports events, baptism, dance recitals, or birthdays. I love going and showing my support.

For example, one of my students invited me to his football game on November 3rd. I went and when I got there he didn't know I was there. I was standing with his mom and we were watching them line up and get ready for them to hike the ball, when all of sudden he turns around looks over at his mom and sees me and starts to wave. And then he quickly turns around and gets ready to play. It was so cute and made my whole day. Other parents noticed and thought it was so sweet.

My students this year threw me a surprise party for my birthday and it was so great and made me feel so special.

I love my students!

What I am Thankful for....November 2nd

What I am thankful for...... B. I am thankful for my brother Christopher. He can be sometimes a butt and drive me crazy but I love him to pieces. I still remember when I was really little and I had decided that I was going to marry my brother. :) It didn't last very long but I still chuckle when I think about it.

My brother and I actually have matching scars on our lips. I got mine when I was really little and my brother got his when he was 17.

One of my favorite stories of my brother deals with his scar. He was pitching on his High School Baseball team and the batter hit a line drive right back at my brother. It got him right in the face and split his lip. It was really bad and he had to go to the ER and get stitches. Well the next night, I was playing softball and I went to slide into home plate and radically dislocated my knee cap. Well my coach came out to help me up but he was just trying to give me a hand. Needless to say that was not helpful since I could barely stand. All of sudden there was my brother picking me up off the field and carry me off.  He says to me as I have tears streaming down my face, "You just had to out do me." It made me laugh even though I was in pain. My brother was supposed to stay away from anywhere dusty but it didn't stop him from coming to my aid. We decided to make up a story and say that I punched him in the face so he kicked me in the knee and that was the real reason we got injured. :)

Christopher Allen Burk, I love you very much and am very thankful that I have you in my life, even if you drive me a little crazy sometime. :)

Here is a couple pictures of him and his little girl Jovie.

What I am Thankful for....November 1st

So I know I am little late on this but I want to do a post every day of November to say what I am thankful for. I am going to do a letter of the alphabet every day and then fill up the extra days with whatever I want. So here it goes....A.

I am thankful for adventures. This summer I went with one of my besties to Greece and Turkey. It was the most amazing trip I have ever taken. The food, the culture, the myths, the history, EVERYTHING was just so amazing and memorable. I will post later all about my trip but I just want to show a few pictures here now.  I am very thankful that I could have this adventure. I got to be with one of my greatest friends and made some great new friends. I can't wait till I take another adventure.

 Me and the "oracle" from "My Life In Ruins".

 My new friend Michelle and I at Mykonos, where I had the BEST PIZZZA EVER!

 Me and Court on our cruise on the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

Me in Delphi.

Changing The Plan

So the whole Couch to 5k wasn't quite my cup of tea. It made me feel more defeated than actually feeling like I was accomplishing anything. But on a positive note the whole no soda thing is going really well. I don't really miss it at all. Sometimes I think to myself "A nice cold Pepsi sounds good." But then I am fine and don't drink it. To introduce my next topic, I have a funny little picture for you. :)

I recently was talking to my mom about the whole weight loss thing and she was telling me how she down loaded an app on her ipad that gives a running regime and it was free. Well I looked for one on my phone and I found one that I really liked and it was free, which was awesome. Well I haven't tried it out yet but it seems so much better than my original Couch to 5k. It is much more doable in my mind. I am going to start it this week and I am so excited. Supposedly I can download music onto my phone but I haven't figured it out yet, so I will have to just use my ipod and my phone at the same time. I am very excited to try it out.  So I will let you know how it goes.

So this blog is not just about weight loss, its about me improving my self and finding myself. Well I recently went back to school this past 6 weeks. I took ASL from UVU. I have loved the class. I want to take the intermediate class next, so that I can become fluent and communicate with those who are deaf. It has been hard and I am not perfect at signing but eventually I will get there. Next Fall, I would like to take the intermediate class and a beginning guitar class.  Too bad they weren't teaching a how to speak greek class, then I could have prepared for my trip.  :)

Speaking of my trip, I am soooooooo excited for it. I have never done something so exciting in my entire life. I can't wait to see all the historical landmarks of the Greek Myths. Well, that's all for now.

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE! Everybody Zumba!!!!!

So on my second weigh in I had to put one of stones back because I gained a pound but then the next weigh I lost 2 more pounds! So now I have 3 stones in the weight lost vase. It is not a lot but its a start. Plus I reflected on how I was doing with exercising and eating right, and I realized I was major slacking. I hadn't worked out that much and I wasn't eating right. So now I am working harder. I also have given up soda. I can't believe it! I love having a Pepsi every now and then, but no more. I have almost made a week of no soda. Plus I am trying to up my water intake, which I am doing a great job.

I have done an official Zumba class! It was so much fun! We did salsa, swing and some Bollywood dancing. It was so fun and it made me work hard and sweat. I can't wait to do it again. But here is a funny picture that I am sure applies to everyone but the Zumba Teacher. :) I hope that I SOMEDAY look how I feel, while I do Zumba. :)

Update On My Journey

So I have not done much with my goal. I have gone out to the track and done some walking but not a lot of jogging because it has been sooooooo cold!!!! But I have not been able to attend my Zumba class but I have done it on the Wii because I have an awesome Zumba game and it totally kicks butt! Then I got sick and boy was I sick! I felt like my head was not connected to my body. Well the worse is over except I have a cough now. So I am still going to be home bound with my excersize regime. I feel like this whole post is basically excuses, excuses, excuses! But no more I tell you!!!!

But on a happier note, I have joined the wonderful, addicting world of Pinterest! I thought I never would go on there or be a part of it but I succumbed and am now a member. I hate to admit it but it is pretty cool. It has some awesome ideas for decorations, recipes, and classroom ideas. I actually have done one of the ideas I saw on there. It is a weight loss goal/tracker idea. You need to have two vases and some pretty rocks or stones. Then you have to figure out how much weight you want to lose, once you have that number you count out that many stones and put it into a vase. As you go along with your excersizing and what not, you get on the scale and see if you lost anything. If you did lose some weight you take out that many stones and put it in the next vase. This way you can keep track of if you have lost weight and if you gain any back you have to take those stones back out of the weight lost vase. You can label the vases so you know which one is which but I decided not to so that I can reuse my vases for something else.
Well here is a picture of my vase that I made and I hope you notice that I have already put in two stones into the vase of weight lost!!! Wahoo!!!!

I will be posting more pictures of the jars as I keep going on my journey!

My Training Plan

So I decided to post what my workout/training plan. It is going to consist of jogging and walking and going to a Zumba class at the Rec Center that is down the street from my apartment. Plus I love dancing and Zumba is a great way to incorporate dancing and exercise. Well, here is my schedule. Let's just hope it doesn't kill me. :)

Week	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	5 min walk 2 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	5 min walk 2 min jog 5 min walk		5 min walk 3 min jog 5 min walk
2	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	5 min walk 3 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	5 min walk 4 min jog 5 min walk		5 min walk 5 min jog 5 min walk
3	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	5 min walk 6 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	4 min jog 5 min walk 4 min jog 5 min walk		5 min walk 7 min jog 5 min walk
4	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	5 min walk 7 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	5 min walk 8 min jog 5 min walk		5 min walk 9 min jog 5 min walk
5	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	5 min walk 9 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	6 min jog 5 min walk 6 min jog 5 min walk		5 min walk 10 min jog 5 min walk
6	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	5 min walk 11 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	5 min walk 10 min jog 5 min walk		13 min jog 5 min walk
7	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	15 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	15 min jog 5 min walk		8 min jog 5 min walk 8 min jog 5 min walk
8	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	16 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	17 min jog 5 min walk		17 min jog 5 min walk
9	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	18 min jog 5 min walk	ZUMBA	20 min jog 5 min walk		20 min jog
10	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	12 min jog 5 min walk 12 min jog	ZUMBA	24 min jog		25 min jog
11	Just a nice casual walk around the park	ZUMBA	25 min jog	ZUMBA	27 min jog		30 min jog

So as a side note, today I went to see the movie "The Vow". It was a very sweet movie based on true events. I enjoyed the movie, but it's not a movie that I plan on buying in the future. But what I really loved about the movie was the love the main guy had for his wife. She couldn't remember him at all but he stayed by her side and let her choose her new life. He didn't pressure her into returning to the woman he married, he just wanted her to be happy. It was just so sweet. I hope that someday I find someone who loves me for me and helps me strive to be the person I want to be and to be just happy.

Well, wish me luck with my work out plan. It starts tomorrow with a little walk around the park and then Zumba Monday night!

Starting Fresh

I know it is not very original but as one of my New Year's Resolutions was to get back in shape, lose weight, write in my journal, read the scriptures, date more, and travel more. I know, I know those are not very original and most everyone says them and some end up doing them but others sometimes never make their resolutions. To ensure that I do mine I decided to do a blog. This blog isn't for anyone but myself, if you are reading this, then you either stumbled on it by accident or I like you enough to share my journey with you.

The name of my blog is "Finding My Kefi". One place that I want to go and visit, more than ANYTHING, is Greece. Well "kefi" means spirit, passion, and joy. Since this is my blog of following my resolutions and all, I figured it would be the perfect title for my blog.

I am going to start a 5k training schedule called "Couch to 5k" and I am going to monitor my progress on here and to help me stick to my goal, my friend Courtney and I have booked a trip to Greece and Turkey this Summer. I am so excited. I don't want to be overweight when I am Greece or feel out of shape. So now I have a real goal and a date to make sure I accomplish it by.

So welcome to my journey of finding my kefi.