12 Feb
This little girl helps remind me of where we all truly receive our talents, and how we should use them. To help others feel good and feel the Love that God wants us to so badly feel, and remind us all where we come from. 
I love it!
28 Jan
This year Clark and I have changed the way we construct our daily routine.
1) We wake up earlier – One of my New Years resolutions is that by the end of the year I am comfortably waking up by 6am. I used to wake up at 5:30 every morning all through High School and College, so I know this is possible for me. It’s not that it takes me SO long to get ready for the day, it was and is because I LOVE to read and I used to get to school early and read my books before school started. I LOVE early in the morning! Not going to school early in the morning anymore, habits changed, so now I have to gradually work myself to wake up that early again. It’s possible. We’ve been doing good so far, wake up between 7:30 – 8am is a pretty good start!
2) Work from 9 – 5 — Clark and I have been missing family since Christmas, and have had to take some time here and there during the day to distract ourselves from our loneliness by doing something fun (like playing Wii). Never fear though, these past two weeks I’ve worked 80+ hours – so we’re all good. I’m pretty amazed at how the hours add up, knowing I was able to take the time here and there to play Wii with Clark! Ha! 
I love my evenings, they are so important to me, just like my early morning hours. So, it’s hard for me to stop during the day to do other things un-work related. But, missing family really bad – sometimes you need a break. Hopefully that will get less and less to where we can focus and make 9-5 entirely all about work and have nothing but FUN after 5! 
3) Workout – My other New Years Resolution is to weigh less than I did in 2009 by the end of 2010. So far I have achieved that goal, but I hope to go above and beyond this goal. I am truly blessed and so thankful that I have achieved what I feel a more important goal of speaking only loving words towards myself when for – pretty much my whole life prior, had a negative language that I would speak to myself. A distorted way of looking at my shape, which built up so much stress, that no wonder I couldn’t lose the weight easily and my body pretty much broke down. This time around is so much more different for me. I am satisfied just the way that I am and that is a tremendous change for me! Now I am truly able to look at changing my body in this order of purpose: A) To be more healthy B) To feel good about myself and build more confidence C) To look sexy for Clark ♥
For awhile there it was in the reverse order, and I believe working towards something with the wrong intent will never give you lasting results. This time for me, achieving my healthy weight will be a permanent and lasting result – and I am SO excited for that! I am also SO THANKFUL that my Cooper family is working on this with me. We’ve built a support system where everyone checks in through the week with motivating words of encouragement, helpful tips and funny confessions. We’re all in this together, and that’s another reason I feel this year is the year for a permanent, and real healthy change.
Clark and I have done AWESOME in being more active. So far this year 2010 we have worked out at least 4 days a week. Clark has used the FIRM with me some of the days, but has mostly used the Wii. I have been using the FIRM 3 days (M, W, F) and Yoga for Weightloss (Tu, Thu, Sat). For me, I feel I need to learn how to breathe better and loosen up my body because I feel so stiff all the time. There will be moments where all of a sudden I take a huge breath as if I was holding it for a long time and I surprise myself as I did not intend to! What the?! So, I believe alternating with Yoga will help my body allow itself to be comfortable and release all the extra poundage my body has been holding onto for awhile.
4) Play – For play during the week we usually either go to Borders Bookstore, or we watch one of our favorite shows on TV or Movie on Netflix. On Saturdays, as I mentioned in my last post, we have began a tradition of visiting a favorite Beach Spot to enjoy our home here in Cali. We are so fortunate to have the Beach near us and breathe in the Ocean Air, which I LOVE! I am so lucky to not have to be surrounded by sloshy snow this time of year, but rather OCEAN WAVES!!! Yipeee!!!
Awww, can you feel it?! This year is SO bright! So exhilarating like I was just reborn for the first time! I am SO EXCITED about life! ♥
21 Jan
The majority of what has been going on since we arrived back home from our Holiday trip has been A LOT of work! Everyone who knows me – knows I LOVE to blog, and to see me not blog, means I truly am VERY busy!
I would first like to list my New Years Resolutions, and then afterwards explain why I feel this year is different than any other year that I have lived. I feel this year to truly be a year of change and miracles…
I feel this year is differnt from all other years, because I had an incredible experience right as the new year started (Jan 1). For reasons I feel are too sacred to share publicly, the result being the point, is that I am free of my fears – for real. My anxiety is gone, my spontaneous and adventurous me is back and better than ever! As with any gospel principle, the work never stops – I will always need to maintain my closeness to the spirit by nourishing it as well as my physical self so I can remain strong and confident.
What I learned from the miracle that the experience was is that anything is possible with enough faith and trust in the Lord, as well as in yourself. I learned that one of the keys is to be in the service of others, think of what’s in it for them rather than what’s in it for you and anything you might be worried about, God will take care of. He will bless us and take care of us if we are doing His work. I have learned to see every experience (even the neg. ones) as an opportunity to grow stronger and love more. Learn to love others, as well as myself.
I am so happy. So blessed in my life, with a wonderful husband, family and friends. I have an amazing job, life is perfect. I feel this year is so different than any other year that I have lived, because I feel closer to the Lord, Heaven than ever. I feel 100% confident, happy, and safe and its an incredible feeling.
Knowing that I feel this way, also brings reality into view that I am a delicious target for Satan, and I will need to work very hard to protect my state of mind. Like a mother protects her young, I will never give up.
8 Nov
Last Wednesday night Clark arrived back home from a week long vacation to go to Utah & Canada. He drove up with his Mom to visit Grandma who is on her last legs. She isn’t doing so well. 
All the while, each day Clark had a surprise for me – help me feel not so alone while he’s away. Some of you may recall back to when I went away on vacation last year to UT by myself I created a scavenger hunt for Clark. He told me I set the bar pretty high for a “love” scavenger hunt, but he had no problem meeting it, here is how it went:
Day 1 - After I took Clark to the Airport, I was told to go to UPS. I went, and there was a yellow sticky note on the bottom of our box. It said “go to …clarkcooper.cc . The hunt begins “:)
Each day I would receive a ‘Kiss Code’ that I would need to input in order to receive my reward. The first Kiss code was underneath his desk monitor. I inputted it and was told that he left his Credit Card hidden under the desk, use it to go on a shopping spree at Trader Joe’s. I LOVED it!
Day 2 – This was our Wards Halloween Party. I drove to and back from it with my friend Emily. After the party was over, there was a piece of paper with a “kiss code” on her windshield. I was BLOWN AWAY with shock! How in the world was he able to pull that stunt? I was very impressed. Later I found out that Clark had called our friend Eric, who had to do some heavy duty investigating to ‘secretly’ find out which car was Emily’s, stuck the code there and RAN! haha!!! Thanks Eric!
When I got home, I put the Kiss Code in and $5 shopping spree at Target, to get some goodies for a “Bachelorette Night” watching Gilmore Girls & Dr. Quinn.
Day 3 – Today’s clue was given to me from a friend of ours who came into town and had to rent some equipment from us. He brought it back and before he left handed me a piece of paper and told me that I couldn’t read it until he was gone. haha! CREATIVE Clark! That was VERY creative! He called him to write down the clue and give it to me .
I inputted the Kiss Code and it was to spend the entire day painting, and to send him a picture of my progress after I was done. awwwww!!! ♥♥♥
This night I was telling Clark about how I haven’t been able to get to sleep at night until 4am. It’s just different falling asleep peacefully, knowing your Man is there to protect you. Now that it’s just up to me to protect myself – I am like, grabbing my Police Pepper spray, having it on hand. My extra sharp pocket knife (both given to me by my Dad ever since I was nearly kidnapped by a creepy old man down by Salt Lake Community College… it later made the local TV news, the same guy who was Wanted for several kidnaps and rapes. The dude followed me everywhere – trying to get me to get in his car RIGHT NOW! …. eeee!!! scary!!!) both I slept with right next to me and carried with me everywhere I went. Clark let me use the credit card to buy a $10 Apartment Alarm from Amazon. It’s SO COOL! It’s a door-stop, that when placed pressure upon it has a 120db (I didn’t know what that meant, other than it’s REALLY loud) alarm. I was able to get it, based upon the commitment that I’d go to bed earlier, because if anyone tried to break in, the whole Apartment complex would know. I liked that.
Day 4 – Was Sunday so I wasn’t expecting a ‘go out’ and do something. This was a creative hidden clue. Clark had hacked into my blog site and cleverly put the kiss code in my banner, up next to my title. … my husband is so smart. ♥
I placed the code in and there was a picture of 2 oven mits and 2 oven pads, brand new from Canada (extra special, eh!). They are so pretty!
Day 5 – Today’s Kiss Code wasn’t hidden, but given to me by Clark himself.
I inputted the clue and it was a a Border’s Coupon for 40% off. To go and find a $10 book, and use the credit card for the $6 book. He’s been taking me to all our favorite shopping spots! LOVE HIM!!! ♥ He’s also cleverly motivating me to get out of the Apartment, because he knows otherwise I’d just stay in the whole time he’s gone
Day 6 - Today’s clue I had a riddle I had to search out on Google for the answer. It was really hard at first, but once I got it – it was a fun surprise. The result was to “use the credit card to go and get yourself a Whole Foods Deli sandwich” (one of our FAVORITES!). Yummy!
This morning there was 3 LOUD bangs on our Apartment door, it shot me RIGHT OUT of bed! With my heart pounding at a rapid speed, I was (thankfully) pleasantly surprised. At the door-step was an Amazon Box with our Alarm I purchased on Saturday I tested it out…. yes, let’s just say that I had to use the ladies room real bad before I tested it – and even MORE so after I tested it. … *ahem*… It works
Day 7 – The riddle today was SHOCKING! When I put it in, it said that Clark was in the air on his way back home!!! He wasn’t supposed to get home until tomorrow! I was SO SO SO SO SO EXCITED! I was to go and pick him up in 3 hours and we’d party it up tonight with one of our favorite shows, Ghost Whisperer
Hurray!
So since then, Clark and I have been off and on sick. Mostly him, with me slowly getting worse. He came home with a head cold which
has now transformed into both of us having Swine Flu. Clark said up in Canada it was all over the news, more so than on the news in UT. Who knows where he picked it up – I blame the airplane. He literally dunked his head in water in the kitchen sink when he got home (after he rubbed soap all over his head, I’ve never seen him do this). He said people were sick all over. 
I don’t mind being sick, I’m just happy he’s back home. ♥
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