I STARTED VLOGGING!

I finally made, edited, and uploaded my first vlog onto YouTube! Yay!

I want to vlog regularly to capture video memories of my life. I love all the photos I have, but there's so much life in a video that you just can't capture in a photo.

I have a few videos filmed that I just need to buckle down and edit. I felt so motivated to film them, but it's hard to make myself edit them in a timely manner. 

So, don't judge it too hard because it's my first one, but here is my first vlog!  
And if you're into the whole YouTube thing, you can subscribe so you can see all my other ones when they come! I'm hoping to do one a week.

OPERATION: GET HEALTHY!

Okay you guys, I'm doing it. I'm finally doing it! 

I'm going to get healthy, and get back in shape. Ultimately, my end goal is to feel healthy, happy, and toned again. I want to feel good in my jeans, be happy about all the photos I'm tagged in (curse you double chin!), and just over all feel healthy in this beautiful body I've been given.

I started on Wednesday (January 10), and my goal is to lose 15 pounds to reach my target weight of 125 again! *You mean you don't already weigh 125, Olivia?!* No I don't, kind reader, but that was so sweet of you to say. ;)

For my own sanity about it all, I have to continually tell myself "I'm not on a diet, I'm just getting healthy". I feel like as soon as I use the word "diet" I start to instantly feel deprived of all the chocolate chip cookies, pizza, and taco stand burritos I could be eating. It's definitely all psychological for me, so instead, I have to tell myself I'm just getting healthy and fit! 

So far I've limited myself to a protein shake for breakfast, a Lean Cuisine meal for lunch, and a healthy option for dinner: a salad, chicken and veggies, a bowl of air, etc. Just kidding about the last one. I also bought a nice juicer a while ago, but I hate how much of the fruit and vegetable you lose by juicing. I feel like i'm better off just eating all those fruits and veggies rather than throwing away 30% of each one in the left over pulp. 

I'm still figuring out what I want to do for exercise because winter makes that kind of tricky, plus I don't particularly enjoy exercising. I do love swimming though so maybe I'll buy myself another membership to the pool by the U! Until I figure out what I want my regular type of exercise to be, I've just been trying to consciously walk more, and I've been doing pushups and wall sits at work every time I take a bathroom break. It's not much, I know, but hopefully it will all slowly but surely lead to a healthier happier Olivia! 

Is anyone else currently trying to get healthy as well? I would love to have a buddy through all of this if anyone else is currently losing weight too! Let me know! We can be a support buddy to each other. :) 

Goal Weight: 125lbs. Because I looked gooood at 125.
End Date: Hopefully by March 15th.

___________________

Protein Shakes I buy:  www.costco.com/Premier-Protein
I get the chocolate, and vanilla ones which are really good! I've yet to try any of the others yet. When they're on sale at Costco, it comes out to $1.11 for one drink, not too shabby.

RAINY DAY WEDNESDAY

I love a good rainy day! Who doesn't though, right? I just love the overall mood of a rainy day. The world seems to slow down even if just for a little bit. As much as I absolutely love sunshine, I always think how I wouldn't mind if each day started overcast for an hour or two. There's just something about an overcast, drizzly morning that I love!

  
For Christmas, I got these Matte Red Hunter Rainboots from my Mama that I'm really loving! I've wanted some Hunter boots for a while but I never think to just splurge and buy myself some, so I'm so happy my mom did! They have so many fun colors to choose from, and I secretly want like 3 more, but these Matte Red ones were my absolute favorite! I just feel like I'm meant to stomp around puddles in London when I wear them and that's a fun feeling!

This grey sweater is also new and so naturally it's one of my favorites at the moment! It's from H&M and was on sale for $12! 12 dollars, you guys. It's seriously the softest sweater, and I love the slouchy, cozy aspect to it.
 

Hunter Rain Boots: www.hunterboots.com/rainboots/red
Sweater: H&M: www.hm.com/ladies/knitwear/grey

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS!

I'm a sucker for New Year's Resolutions. I know a lot of people don't like them, but I really love the idea of setting new goals for your life, and re-evaluating what's important to you each January. It's silly, and cliche, but it does feel like a fresh start to be a better you, and I absolutely love that!

THINGS I WANT TO DO IN 2018:
(in no particular order)

1. Go to New York City.

2. Go to Disneyland! I haven't been since I was 18 and that was seriously forever ago. 

3. Go on a cruise. I've never been and I've always wanted to go! They just look so fun!

4. Go on more walks. Morning walks, evening walks, quick lunch break walks.   

5. Go back to Oregon to explore, and visit Andres + Phillip in their cute town!
 
6. Photograph more. Start filming more of my life to have as memories later in life.

7. Spend more time with family and friends. Whether that's in person, on Facetime, or on the phone. 

8. Lose those pesky 10 pounds. It sounds so easy in theory, it's just 10 pounds, but ohhh man I've been letting those extra pounds linger in my life for far too long. 

9. Roadtrip around the United States in the summer when I quit my job.

10. Move to Los Angeles.

11. Get a job at a movie studio/ tv set/ studio lot.

12. Be Happy. No matter what I accomplish this year, or where life takes me, I just want to be happy and learn to not stress the small stuff.

I want 2018 to be my best year yet, and I feel like it will be! It'll be a year of growth, of change, and of new accomplishments and adventures!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! | 2018 FOCUS.

Was it just me, or did 2017 fly by?! Honestly, 2017 was the quickest year of my life! It came and went in a matter of 4 months it felt like. I want to take things slow in 2018 and stop to enjoy all the little moments, stop to enjoy my life, and be happier in general.

My friend Phillip told me about the idea of picking a word or phrase to focus on for the year, rather than making New Year's Resolutions. I love New Year's Resolutions, but I also love this idea to pick one word to guide you through the year. I picked:

DELIBERATE.

I want to be more deliberate with my time, with my intentions, with my focus. I want to be meaningful in each moment, and be truly intentional in how I spend my life, and who I spend my time with. I want to choose to be happy everyday, choose to surround myself with positive people who I love, and choose to keep working towards my goals with an intentional heart each new day.


Being deliberate sounds really beneficial to me, and I'm excited to focus on that for 2018! What word would you guys choose to focus on for 2018? :)

BREAKFAST DATE WITH MELANIE!

Yesterday, Melanie and I went out to breakfast to Jantz Bakery to be buddies and catch up. It was such a yummy breakfast! She got super yummy looking french toast and I got the Farmer's Breakfast because, you know, I'm a farmer now. ;)

There's certain people in this life that you know no matter how much time passes, you can always just pick up right where you left off. Mel is definitely one of these friends. Granted, we saw each other not too long ago in October but it's just always so sad to live far away from your good friends. 

We became friends in our French class at Merced College back in 2011 I think, and have been buddies ever since. We both weren't super great at actually speaking French, but it brought us together and that's the best thing I got out of that class. 
Side note: For our final for that class, we had to tell a story or sing a little song in French, and that's the moment I realized I could read and write French fairly well but was sooo not great at speaking it. I butchered so much of my story, but somehow I still passed the class! Yay for nice, forgiving teachers!

Look how cute of a mama Melanie is; getting Wes all situated to watch his little show in peace. :)

One day I will win the lottery and win just enough money to buy up a street of houses in Santa Barbara or Santa Monica or somewhere for all my favorite people. I'll need to win enough money to buy like 18 homes, preferably near the ocean, no biggie right? haha

It was a lovely morning and I hope in 2018 I can make a better effort to visit with my friends more frequently. 

Thanks for being my buddy, Mel. :)

Mel's Blog:  melaniesmelcer.blogspot.com

COFFEE SHOP THOUGHTS.

Fleeting thoughts from my coffee shop morning.

I'm not really religious anymore and I've honestly never felt happier. It feels like a weight has been lifted off of me, and I know no one will understand that feeling until they come to their own personal mental happiness. For me, the church seemed to put a weighted pressure on my happiness, and now that I'm away from it for a bit, I feel like I see the world more clearly.

I finally realized today that for how much I fly, I just need to finally apply for TSA Pre-Check. I applied today and I have my interview on January 11th after they complete my background check! It's only $85 and it lasts for 5 years and then I can finally cut all those dumb lines at the airport once and for all! When I worked for JetBlue, it was seriously so nice to have Pre-Check! You just stroll by all the long lines, leave your shoes on, leave your dumb laptop in your carry on, and just feel like a real baller! haha.


I leave for California today! I was there not too long ago but I'm always ready to go back. I miss California. I miss home. I miss how sweet the air smells in California. That's one thing that I don't think Utahns will ever understand; just how sweet the air can actually smell from all the trees, and plants, and orchards. There's something about the air at home that smells so good and feels so happy to me.  

Maybe I'll move to LA in April. I initially thought I would try living in New York City first for a year or two come April, but now I'm thinking LA is calling my name. I just want to finally try to start breaking my way into the movie industry, and LA obviously is the place to do that. Plus I think I just need warm weather and palm trees in my life again!

I'm so over winter. It just technically started yesterday, but I'm already over it. My car is so bad in the snow and I live on a hill so leaving my house during winter gives me such bad anxiety. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a good snowy/icy street driver, and it stresses me out so bad. Jeremy said winter tires will help a bit, but I don't know how much you can really help a Corolla do well in the snow. 

La La Land is still the best movie. I watched it again recently and loved it just as much as the very first time I watched it. That opening dance sequence is so perfect! If you haven't seen La La Land yet, you're really missing out. Go watch it, and let it inspire you to pursue your personal dream! :)

Twenty five has been the year of the b****. Something magically happened when I turned 22 that made me suddenly not care what people thought of me. It seemed almost over night that I just started to live for me, and not care what others thought. But 25 has been a fun year too! I started to just be more bold in telling people off and standing up for myself. I've cussed out weird guys who have said gross things to me, I stand up for myself when I normally would just keep quiet, and I've stood up for others when they can't. 
Don't get me wrong, I'm still super nice, but this year I've had no problem being bold and bitchy when I need to be and I love that! 

I'm feeling really grateful for a lot in my life lately. I started a gratitude journal of some sort recently and it's been fun to take note of all the things I'm grateful for in my life. I'm just really happy lately, and I'm so glad my brain is a happy, positive thinking brain. :)

 

TEMPLE SQUARE LIGHTS!

My cousin Wes came to visit for a few days so we went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights! It's always so crowded and busy but it's still worth it to go. It's so pretty and it's fun to see the performances in the little church. After walking around Temple Square, we got hot drinks from Publik across the way in City Creek and then walked around City Creek for a bit. It was a fun night!

Right now, Publik has a super yummy holiday drink called Burnt Honey Mocha which is sooo good! You can get it with or without espresso but it's super good both ways! They put ginger salt on top which sounds so strange but all of it works so well together! I suggest trying it, it's yummy!

I love Christmastime! It's such a happy time! And I love getting to spend time with my family.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS.

My dear cousin, Oscar, passed away on Sunday. He was young, happy, full of life, and left our family way too soon. It made me really realize just how important my family is to me, and just how fragile life can truly be. Oscar was only 46 years old, and I think we all go through life assuming everyone will be here with us until they're old and grey, but sometimes that isn't what happens. 

The older I get, the more I realize that my family and friends are the only things that truly matter in this life. Everything else that I think is important in the moment falls completely short in comparison. Our relationships with our loved ones, and our family bonds are really all that matter in this life, because it's all we take with us to the next life, whatever you believe that may be. 

I love my family! I admire each one of them and the positive impact they've had on my life. My Espinoza family and Schultz family are all so funny and happy, and I feel so lucky to have been born into such a good bunch of people. 

I always make it a point to take a family group picture anytime a lot of us are together. No matter how much push back I get in the moment for trying to stop conversations, round kids up, and gather this many people at once, I won't stop doing it because these are the photos that make my heart the happiest, and these are the photos I will look back on when I'm older and be so glad we took it!

Hold your family tight. Let go of grudges quickly. Don't waste time not loving your family and friends with the capacity of your whole heart. Nothing else really matters anyway when you stop and think about it.


If you feel like donating, or praying, or sending happy thoughts to his children, his siblings, and his Mom, everything helps.
All donations will go towards helping his family pay off medical bills, funeral costs, picking up the pieces, etc. 

Oscar's Go Fund Me Link: gofundme.com/oscars-medical-fund

SALT + HONEY WINTER MARKET.

Last night was the opening party for the Salt and Honey Christmas Market I'm participating in! The party was from 6-9pm and the market opened to the general public today at 10am for the next two weeks. 

 

I volunteered to help at the party so I was on door duty checking guests in and giving out name badges. It was fun but I don't know if I would volunteer for the party again, it was just too crazy for me. And I didn't get any food and that's the saddest thing of all! I was so hungry all night but too busy to leave my check in table. I should have known the party would be crazy to try to help with; it just really sounded fun to me initially when I signed up. Oh well, I learned. haha

Forrest and Jeremy came to visit and help me so that was so nice to have them with me for most of it. They were both a little piece of comfort in a crazy moment.

 

I loved seeing all the different booths and all the cute things everyone makes! There are so many talented people that participate in these markets and it's always so fun to see all their products!

Go check it out if you need some cute Christmas gifts or if you just want to wander around the cutest little items! It's across from Barnes and Noble in The Gateway!