Jackson Hole Weekend Getaway

 For Christmas I gifted Travis a ski trip to Jackson Hole. If you know my husband well you know skiing is one of his passions and he has always wanted to go on a ski trip!

We left early on Friday for the 5 hour drive to Jackson. We listened to music and enjoyed the work free day. We arrived at our Tiny Cabin and were so charmed! I would stay again at the Fireside Resort in a HEARTBEAT. This place was so cute and cozy and it was nice to have a whole place all to ourselves.

We had planned on night skiing that night when we got there, but when it was -8 degrees we opted for a nice meal and cuddling by the fire watching a movie instead.

The next day we woke up early to ski all day at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. This place was INTENSE. Definitely the steepest runs Ive ever done and I only stuck to the blue! The resort was breathtaking and I loved that a bunch of the lifts had closed in gondolas.

After skiing we showered up and headed to dinner in Jackson. We had so much good food while we were here!

The next day we explored jackson town. This place is so cute!!! We went to this ADORABLE place for lunch, got delicious caramels and fudge from Yippie- I- O, walked around the shops and then drove home.

We are definitely planning to come back! Next time I would definitely take an extra day to add in another ski day.

Life lately

I started writing this post in September, clearly the last couple months have gotten away from me. Here's a little update.

We put in our backyard and got a fence! And now we are done with our major house additions. After shutters, the backyard, and the fence we are tapped on house projects/expenses! I am sure we will have small furniture or maintenance expenses in the near future, but I feel like our house is basically complete at this point. I absolutely love it, and wish I was able to spend more time at home.

Had an amazing trip to Florida with my fam

If you haven't seen on my other social media channels, I have started my own business as a Shop Stevie rep. Its already been 6 weeks and I am so overwhelmed with the support people are giving me and the success its had already! I am also having a blast figuring this new small business out. I love that I am in charge, and that I decide where to go with it.

I have also started my first semester as a BYU-I online instructor! Ive been interested in teaching for a while, and this opportunity came up and I couldn't say no! I am teaching Introduction to Community Health this fall and am excited to get back into public health on a weekly basis.

I can definitely say I am excited for the Holidays coming up. We already have a Halloween party and Thanksgiving party we have been invited to outside of all of our family stuff. We also decided that this year we are going to stay home and actually pass out candy to the kids in our neighborhood for Halloween! I am SOO excited to just chill, watch disney channel halloween movies and meet more people in our neighborhood.

I may be working 80-90 hours a week right now between my 3 jobs, but I couldn't pass up any of these opportunities! Things are crazy, but I figure now is the time in my life to take risks and see where things can go. I am lucky to have a super supportive husband who is picking up the slack and supporting me in all my crazy ideas!

My sister took these amazing pics last weekend on the Alpine Loop! 

Here's to the next few months of craziness. Before I know it it'll be 2017.

My journey to running

My journey to becoming a runner is kind of odd. I didn't just love running from the outset. In fact, I really hated it. I would occasionally go on runs with my mom in high school and after abut a mile id head home cuz I couldn't take much more than that.

I didn't get into it until I had friends that were enthusiastic about running half marathons, and encouraged me to try it. At this point in my life, the longest I had ever run was probably a mile and a half and it wasn't fast. haha

My friends Xan and Megan got me to jump on the bandwagon. We ran together 3-5 times a week when training for my first half. It was honestly a blast, and I looked forward to our runs (almost) everyday.

It was a time to talk about life and figure out where we were going. To be honest I don't remember much running those couple months. Which is why this method worked for me. I trained without really feeling like I was training!

Plus I got two incredible best friends that I really don't think I would have become so close with without running. Ive been on trips with these girls and they were in my wedding. I love them so much!

Now I'm 3 halfs in and still loving the way running makes me feel. I still run with my friend Megan when we can, but life has gotten way crazy for both of us with full-time jobs, so its not quite as awesome as when we had so much free time back in the college days.

Those moments when I realize I am exercise crazy

1. Running in 40 degree's and pouring rain and loving it.

2. Waking up at 6 am on a work day to go to a spin class.

3. Using my free time to attend some kind of exercise class after work instead of watching tv.

4. Waking up early for yoga on a saturday.

5. Getting new long yoga pants and a sweatshirt from my work and my first thought being, "I want to try these out running outside in the cold."

I don't know when I became this crazy person, but here we are. Its even worse now that I work full-time sitting at a computer 50+hours a week. My body craves exercise!!!

Also, I loved these treadmill tips from HRG this week!

My after Half workout plan

When I am training for a half, I almost exclusively run, mostly because I feel more confident that way and I don't have 2 hours a day to exercise.

During the "off season" I like to switch it up.

Here are my plans post half:

Monday- 25 minutes running/15 minutes weights
Tuesday- Evening Yoga
Wednesday- Evening Yoga
Thursday-25 minutes running/15 minutes weights
Friday- Afternoon yoga
Saturday- Run/yoga if I can get it in

Now lets be honest, this isn't going to happen every week, but I love working out everyday and I love having goals. Being healthy is super important to me. I'm a huge believer that we create habits when we are young that will either help or hurt us throughout the rest of our lives.

Exercising is one goal I will always focus on because it makes you feel good, gives you endorphins (to make you happy and happy people just don't kill their husbands-Legally Blonde), and wards off disease, I mean how could I say no to that?

Say hello to my new running shoes

I am beyond excited to finally have new shoes that should help me run better and without pain! Turns out when you get into serious running shoes they aren't quite as cute (i've been nike loyal for years, but they don't cut it anymore). I am hoping they help me succeed in my Half and my future running goals.

These shoes were also kind of expensive, but the great thing about Brooks Shoes is that they have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Meaning you can actually run on them for a month and if they aren't working out you can return them/exchange them, no questions asked. Thats kind of what sold us.

I have only like 2 weeks left before the half, and I am kind of nervous after basically 3 weeks of down time.

Time to hit the pavement hard these last two weeks and really dedicate myself.

What are your go to running shoes?

My fav exercise clothes

Since I have been been doing some type of exercise 5-6 days a week i feel like I spend more time in my work out clothes than anything else. Which I am good with, they are more comfortable than regular clothes anyways, and I am becoming quite obsessed with some different brands and styles.

Nike shoes: I got these beauties for my birthday, and while I just did a strike analysis test and found out that I shouldn't run in them anymore because I over pronate and they aren't stable enough, I still love them and will wear them to other exercise.

Albion fit: Their workout clothes and swim is so comfy and beautiful! I have both of these pieces and wear them every week.

Fabletics: this is a new one for me. Its a workout line started by jennifer hudson. Its a monthly subscription, which you can skip or buy a full outfit each month. The clothes are well made and so soft, Ive never worn such comfy yoga pants!!! They are incredibly cheap since you become a VIP member (monthly subscription) with your first purchase ($30 for this tank, these pants, and a great sports bra). You can skip purchasing as many months in a row as you want.

I almost can't help buying new stuff because having cute/comfortable clothes makes it even easier to get out and run or head over to a yoga class.