5 reasons you should hit on me when I'm sick

So for the last 5 days I've been sick as a dog and I have yet to see the end in sight. But I started thinking about it and I decided that it would be really easy to win over my heart right now. Here are 5 reasons to hit on me when I'm sick:

1. I am au naturale no make up and such and so if you told me I was beautiful then it would really boost my esteem and I would love you forever (thanks husband)

2. I cannot seem to stop shivering so if you offered me your jacket or even better a blanket or 2 or 3 or 100, I would love you forever.

3. I wear really cool outfits when I am sick. The kind that if you saw someone else wearing it you would think 'dang I wish I could pull that off' (or maybe not..) But you would look so cool standing next to me (because anyone would look good standing next to this hot mess)

4. If you cuddle me or play with my hair I will love you forever.

5. And finally, I would be a really cheap date. You wouldn't have to take me out anywhere fancy, just give me a plethora of medicine and a redbox and I would be happy. Really all I need is the medicine who are we kidding..you could play xbox all night long.

Runner's High=Crack

Tonight I went for a run on an indoor track. I am way to wussy most of the time to run outside when it's dark and freeeeeezing outside. Normally running indoors can be kind of blah but tonight was magic. As a runner I feel like I am always looking for the next runner's high..I sound like a crack head but there is no feeling like it. I only set out to run 4 miles but the closer I got to those 4 miles the longer I wanted to go and before I knew it I had doubled that and the runners high came along with it. I wish every run could be as amazingly awesome, but I guess that is also what makes it so special. 

Goal setting tips and tricks

One of the main things I do every day at work is help people set goals. Since the new year just started and many of us have set new goals I thought I would share some tips.

1. Having long term goals is great! But many times we can get discouraged because of the time it takes to acheive these goals. So the first trick of the trade is to break down that long term goal into short term goals. This will help to keep motivation up and also allow you to evaluate your progress along the way.

2. Be REALISTIC. Try to keep your short term goals simple. Think of something that you are confident you can acheive in a weeks time. I can't tell you how many times I've met with people who try to make drastic changes, going from doing nothing to doing everything, and with the exception on 1 or 2 people this never works.

3. Be as specific as possible. A lot of times we don't meet our goals because we don't have a specific plan of action. For example:
Ineffective- I will lose weight by cutting back on the amount of fat I eat.
Effective- Long Term Goal: I will lose 10 pounds in 4 months.
Short Term Goal: I will lose .5 pounds per week by(this is the specific part): Exercising 40 minutes 4-5 days/week (you can even go farther, in fact I recommend it, and say in the mornings on monday, wednesday, friday, saturday). You can use this format if you would like:

This week I will:

What:______________________ (This is the action you are going to take ie: exercise or you can be even more specific and say what kind of exercise you are going to perform, ie: run)
How much:__________________ (How long are you going to do this activity for, ie: 40 minutes, or if for example you were working on a paper you could either say for 1 hour or until I complete x number of pages.)
When:______________________ (When are you going to do this ie: morning, or you could specify a time like 7 am, or you could set specific days)
How many: __________________ (How many days are you going to do this activity, ie: 4-5 days/week)
Confidence Level (0-10): _______(If it is less than 7 then you need to reevaluate your goal and see if there are any changes that you could make to increase your confidence level)

4. Write your goals down! Doing this has been proven to increase your success by 70%.

4. Make sure you set up times to evaluate your progress, so after 1-2 weeks or a month. This part is another key to success. During this time reflect on your successes as well as any barriers that you have incurred. If these barriers stopped you from acheiving your goal, then think about ways that you can solve this problem, this might mean that you have to makes changes to your goal. If you can't think of a solution try asking a friend or family member for any ideas that they may have.

5. Realize that set backs are part of life. Things usually don't go perfectly and that's ok! It just gives us an opportunity to use our brains to problem solve so we don't get alzheimers. Don't get discouraged! Use your set back as a learning opportunity, since you problem solved you will be able to tell that problem to hit the road should it come up in the future.

6. And lastly, celebrate your victories! Give yourself a reward, small or big, it doesn't matter you deserve it!

Setting these small goals will help to do a couple of things. They help you to stay on track. They don't overwhelm you. They help you to frequently evaluate your progress, and they help you to build confidence in your ability to acheive your goals! These little goals although small on their own, over time build on one another and before you know it you've acheived something great!

If you ever want someone to talk to about your goals, have any questions, or need help, I would love to talk to you, so plleeeeasssee let me know!

Arugula is the key to my heart

I go through phases where I am obsessed with certain foods and could eat them every meal for months. Sometimes they are healthy, sometimes not so much..but my current obsession is this:

• 
  

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pine nuts

• 2 5 ounce packages  arugula

• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Coarse salt
• Directions
• In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over low 
• heat until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. 
• Let cool. Place the arugula on a serving platter;
•  top with the pine nuts and lemon peel. 
• Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt; toss gently
• 
  

I LOVE arugula. And this salad is perfect and simple. Ok maybe I lied..I don't know what it tastes like in its true recipe form so I can't say it's perfect although I'm sure it's just as yummy. In my version I switched out pine nuts for pistachios because have you seen the price of pine nuts. yikes. The price of pistachios is even pushing it for me but I didn't think it would taste good with any other type of nut. Oh and I guess I don't add the salt I add pepper instead. gotta watch that sodium content :) Arugula is peppery on its own which is why I love it, it has such a strong flavor but a little extra pepper doesn't hurt. I had never had arugula until a couple years ago and at first the taste made me nervous, each bite I wasn't sure if I loved it or hated it, but our relationship has evolved, it is pretty serious. Try it..unless you are Al..you will probably hate it. :) love you friend. Enjoy!

**On a completely unrelated note..Ellen just gave her whole audience a 7 day trip to Australia. Needless to say I am very jealous. If anyone wants to give me a free trip to Australia, or anywhere really please feel free to contact me. Thanks.

Catch up

So it has been quite some time since I last posted, I think I am the worlds worst blogger, so lets do a little catch up. Sorry for the overload..it's been awhile.

I ended up running that 1/2 marathon in October, and although I didn't feel as prepared as I would have liked due to that minor injury..I still did pretty good and am officially addicted to them. Half way through it all I wanted to die and my legs felt like they had definitely died, but that last mile especially I was on cloud nine and felt invincible. I can't describe the feeling of finally seeing that finish line and crossing it, one of the best feelings I have ever had. So now I am thinking I may even do a full.. don't quote me on that though. I am planning on doing at least 2-3 halfs this year though.

My friend Emily and I after the race. She is a pro and was a great help at pushing me through my first race.

Thanksgiving was amazing. We drove to Seattle with my parents to visit my aunt and her family. It was perfect weather all the way there until we got into the mountains and there was a massive snow storm. There was a nasty looking accident on the side of the road, but you would've never known from the traffic because no one slowed down to look! I was some what amazed..is that just a Utah thing? Anywho it was mostly rainy while we were there but I guess that just completes our Seattle experience. Besides getting to spend  time with family, eat amazing food, and play hilarious rounds of catch phrase and pictionary(a family favorite), we also got to explore the city and do some black friday shopping. Of course my aunt took us on a tour of all the famous gazillionare's houses that live there including Bill Gates. Thank you Suri for your direction.

It was pouring the day we ventured here but I loved every minute

I don't know why Spencer hates taking pictures so much, he is so natural in front of the camera :)

We went to the Chihuly Glass Art Exhibit..it was amazing and left me in awe.

December was full of fun as well. We got to go to Disneyland with the Edwards clan, it was as magical as ever but I pretty much freezed my butt off there as it rained on the parade..literally.. :) We visited the lego store on a daily basis and the boys dreams came true when my in-laws bought them the christmas cottage set to build on christmas eve.

Had to get a picture with minnie. I was so sad I forgot to bring my minnie ears...

 The picture on the left is us waiting in line for our favoritest ride (indiana jones), well one of out favorites..it's too much pressure to decide. The picture on the right is my favorite picture of Spencer. I know he secretly wants to be a princess, or maybe it's not so secret since, as you can tell, he is pretty excited.

We started christmas eve off by going snow shoeing. We took the rest of the day pretty easy and slept over at the Edwards on christmas eve and spent the morning with them opening presents. My favorite moments were probably watching my neices open up their #1 their stockings (stella had the greatest reactions to it all) #2 their presents (same priceless reactions) and #3 watching stella use her big girl potty in the middle of us all after she opened it (she must take after Spencer). We waited around a little while so we would have a chance to talk to our favorite missionary, which was one of the best presents we could ask for! Then we headed back to salt lake where we hosted my parents at our house because they refused to put up christmas decorations, they must have watched the grinch too many times and caught the bug.

Snow shoeing  on Christmas Eve  at Donut Falls

What the family did Christmas Eve night

What I did Christmas Eve night (I think I had more fun)

As for other life events...

Spencer has only changed his major 3 times in the last semester :) haha. It is ok though because without the changes we would never have come to the same conclusion. I think I can officially say that he is getting his undergrad in biology with a minor in chemistry and should be graduated by next year!! He also just started taking an LSAT prep class as we will be applying to law schools in the fall. I think I am more anxious/nervous than he his..

Spencer will kill me if he sees this..but I will take the risk. This is how he studied for finals because he wanted to be by the christmas tree and not in the office. Good thing he has a  'tactical head lamp' for these emergency situations.

I am now in the process of applying to graduate school so cross your fingers that I get in. I was planning on taking my time with it all but with Spencer's new plan (which takes off 2 extra years..yay!) I am going to go full force and try to finish in a year and a half in case we have to move (I not so secretly want to, but Spencer is all for that in state tuition..he tries to convince me that it is a good idea to save money or something..)

Spencer and I decided that we are going to try and take on some healthier habits this semester together. We decided on a gym schedule and I am dedicated to cooking not only more often but trying to incorporate some healthy vegetarian and fish recipes a few times a week. So far it has been great, but if anyone has any yummy vegetarian recipes I would much appreciate it as I do not have that much experience in that department.

All in all 2012 was great, but I have a feeling 2013 is going to be even better.

new year, new name

I am changing our blog address..mostly because I hate it and have wanted to change it since the day I made it. Why did I even start the blog with this address? Well because I didn't feel like being creative and I wanted it to be done. This new name is muuuuuch more creative: nicoleandspencer.blogspot.com See I told you.. I think I tried out spencerandnicole.blogspot.com when I first started this, but it already exists, I checked it out cause I sometimes stalk people and it has only one post and it's from 2006, it is titled Welcome to the Jungle..maybe they got eaten in the jungle and we should put out a missing persons alert for them? Anyways it wasn't until today that I had the stroke of genius to try out our names the other way around. I think my schooling is definitely paying off. Also I am almost done writing a new post I just felt like I should add pictures and that takes some effort so it will be done by tonight.. I am probably just talking to myself so... The end.