What does normal life look like?

I figured not much had happened in the month since getting back from our trip, but when I started to write out major events over the last month I realised normal life has a lot going on!

Over the last month I started a Beachbody program with a high school friend as my coach. Knowing I was struggling to stay motivated to work out I figured this would be a good way to lose weight and build habits. I chose the workout program called Country Heat where you basically do country dance inspired workouts for 30 min a day. Additionally you drink a meal replacement shake called Shakeology once a day and eat balanced meals using portion controlled containers. The workouts were a lot of fun and getting up early each morning to workout is finally a habit. The shakes were really good and unfortunately I ran out and tried to find a cheaper alternative that is more accessible here in Australia, but it is awful! I haven't been so good at the diet, but I have been using youfoodz meals to help me have more balanced meals. Final verdict - I have lost 6 lbs over 30 days and now workout regularly 6 days a week! The next step is doing more intense workouts and eating better.

I got my hair cut from a local place with really great reviews. It was the most expensive haircut ever, but the award winning stylist did a good job. I've never seen anyone cut hair like that before! She cuts hair dry and in a very non-systematic way, but the end result is still great. The picture to the right isn't very good, but at least you can kind of see my hair. It also shows off my Lularoe skirt that I bought from my friend Laura in the US (Click here for her Lularoe page). I'm loving their clothes!

Matt and I decided to attend the EB Games Expo at Sydney Olympic Park last month. It was a lot of fun, and we really liked be able to see all the new games that were coming out. They had a bunch of stations where you could basically just sit and play games for as long as you want. While there they also had a Harry Potter store where I bought a wand for one of the youth from my church who LOVES Harry Potter. For the next few weeks I made her work off the debt to be able to keep the wand.

Replica of Hermione's wand

Another weekend we had the opportunity to watch General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As usual I pulled out my tiger puzzle to work on throughout conference. This time Matt had work off so we were able to watch it together. One of my overall favourite messages was that we are here on this earth to have joy!

"Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy? Yes! The answer is a resounding yes!"   Russell M. Nelson 

Sometimes it doesn't feel that way and I often feel like I was just doomed to be miserable a lot of the time. Eventually I remember that I tend to pick the difficult path because I feel it has the greater reward. Nevertheless, I really want to learn how to have joy in the journey and not just at the end of the path.

After conference I actually had a really bad bout with depression and the best way to describe it is to say I had a meltdown. Basically I was so overwhelmed with hopelessness particularly in regards to my marriage. Matt didn't seem to have much reaction to conference and it deeply saddened me and I felt that he was going in a completely different direction than me. For over 2+ years Matt has researched conspiracy theories and alternative health methods. Some I agree with, but others I felt were horribly wrong and I struggled to trust my own spouse because of some of the "crazy" ideas he believed in. It was extremely painful to argue about these things. This last month I mentally broke down and didn't think I could live with it anymore. To my surprise Matt just held me as I cried and told me that he felt that he couldn't prove what conspiracies were true and what might be propaganda, among many other things. In that moment when I felt all was lost and hopeless, his comment had directly answered my prayers - it gave me hope. I realised that all was NOT lost and that the Lord was helping him to see "the big picture." I wanted to share this because it is a major milestone for us. I feel like our paths have been aligned again and that we will be able to overcome our difficulties. We will always have our differences, but it is in working together with those differences that we can become strong.

Amidst all this, Matt and I have decided we are ready for a family. I've been off birth control for a while, but we weren't actively trying. I met with my naturopath who recommended I get some blood tests and dental work. I also did a hair mineral analysis again. Long story short, I may have some serious difficulties with pregnancy. I am low on molybdenum and manganese which are very important for reproductive hormones and embryo development. I likely have an autoimmune disorder and may have a MTHFR gene mutation that is genetic. This often leads to miscarriages (See diagram below). Anyway I'll have to see how my MTHFR test goes. More to come on this later. I'm not really worried, just not looking forward to difficulties.

Another Saturday was pretty full on as I had a naturopath appointment, then helped my friends Jaydene and Eleisha move, then the Sydney Home Show, then the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival, then a quick change and on to a Halloween Party! It was a very busy day, but was pretty fantastic! I wish Halloween was more popular here, but at least we did see a bunch of trick or treaters near the party. I just like having the one designated time of year to dress up! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures due to Matt having my phone (no pockets in my dress or cape), so these are from the host.

Our Galaxy Hostess - Josie!

As Facebook is going crazy with political news I thought I would end on my thoughts on the topic. After all this is for my friends, family, and myself and I want to remember how I felt. Personally I am soooo tired of all the political drama! In general I side with mostly republican views. When I initially heard Trump was running I thought it was a joke and never thought he would get very far. As it came close between Trump and Hilary later on I wasn't very satisfied with either as a person, and soon learned there was an independent conservative candidate named Evan McMullin. Did I believe he would win? No, of course not, but I felt he was the only running candidate that I could fully put my voting support towards. I've seen, read, and understand all positive and negative views towards all candidates, but ultimately I felt the best possible candidate was McMullin. If he was not running, I would have chosen Trump. This has nothing to do with him as a person or even his radical and extreme views of how to run the country. In the end I believe he best represents my political views and this is also backed by a quiz I took which shows which candidates you should vote for based on your political views (click here for quiz). Ultimately, there are pros and cons of EVERY president and we can't accurately predict how things will affect us. Regardless of who is our president, prime minister, or political leader, our responsibility is to "love thy neighbor as thyself".  When you love others, you tend to see their strengths rather than their flaws, or political views, or religious views, or sexual orientation, or race....and the world could benefit from a lot more love and a lot less hate, blame, and ridicule. I trust in God and His plan for me. I am not afraid for how things may change around me as long as I know I am doing my best to follow His way, which I know is much superior to mine.