Please welcome the newest member of our family!

This is Simon, my new pet beta fish. I know, it's the typical college pet and I'm no longer in college. It seems like it's time for a real pet, like a kitten or puppy or bunny. I quite agree. But we're not sure we're allowed to have pets down here and my neighbors upstairs bought him for me. He's very pretty, much prettier than this picture shows. He head is a very dark blackish-purple color, his body is mainly a light blue, and his fins have a lot of reddish-pink in on them. Beautiful. I like him. He seems to be getting acquainted to his new home well. I bought him a large vase instead of a regular fish bowl. It makes for a nice decoration on any table I take him too. I think he'll enjoy watching movies with me, eating dinner with me, and sitting at my desk when I'm reading or writing. He's a great new pet.

It seems like I've been waiting to hear back from my interview for so long. But it's only been one day. Isn't it funny how time seems to drag on when we're waiting? I could possibly hear back tomorrow, but will definitely hear by Friday. I still have a real good feeling about this position. It is two minutes away from my house, within walking distance. It is a beautiful school and the staff seem to be such amazing women! Th director and I get along great so that will make starting out a lot easier. I must remember to always try to be approachable in life. It makes it so much easier to meet new people and to set them at ease. I don't anticipate ever being director of a school, but possibly a director of an agency someday, or even just a greeter at church. Friendliness is a good trait to have in all areas of life.

I have grown to be less than satisfied with my body. Over the past year I have made some very poor choices in regards to my body. I stopped going to the gym regularly out of sheer laziness. I would do crunches in my room and call it a workout. Not a wise choice. I would go for midnight snack runs with my friends, also not a good choice. Not only would we be eating at all times of the night but we generally wouldn't be eating healthy foods. More like chili dogs and cheese fries from Sheetz. I didn't really notice my body changing that much until the past week or so. I still fit into all of my clothes so I figured I was still in decent shape. Now, I still fit into all my clothes so it's not like I've become a monster or anything, but I have developed some deposits of sorts spread around my body that just will not do. Will not do at all. Yesterday Matthew and I went to Target and I got this pilates set I had been coveting for quite some time and a new jumprope since mine mysteriously disappeared when I was last home! I suspect my sister in the latter case. This past week I have been doing my normal abdominal routine but I have now added to it some exercises with the aide of the pilates set. I have already begun feeling healthier the past week since I began stretching and doing various forms of crunches every night, but now with the added cardio through jumproping and the pilates routine I have confidence in shedding the extra pounds I've accrued over the past year. I had forgotten how good it feels to work out. I'm trying to find the perfect gym to get a membership at. Something that has all the machines I use, a pool for swimming laps, a good weight room for Matthew to use, and maybe even tennis courts so I can persuade Matthew to play with me! I am looking into a few different gyms and trying to find one that's not too far from our house.

I am not sure if anyone actually reads this blog, I do not promote it as much as my other pages. This is mainly for my own musings and to get my thoughts and feelings out so I can read them back later. If you are reading this though, I hope you have a most blessed day. Go find a good book, find a tree in a park to lean against, pack an apple or pear for the journey, and explore a new existence. That always brightens my day, without fail.

Cheers,
Rebecca Iveson