Convenient

My sister Kristie

demonstrating just how convenient little nephews can be:



hahaha Happy Holidays!!!

:)

Neat Experience

I had forgotten this experience until a dear friend of mine reminded me!

A few years back (2006) I was watching a segment on TV
during the half time in between General Conference sessions.

It was a special on South America and its people.

I remember sitting there by myself, glued to the TV...

My heart ached for these people.

All of the sudden, I was overcome with the Spirit,
and I felt that I was supposed to serve these people!

I knew right then that if I was called on a mission-
that's were I would serve. (South America)
.............................................................................................

It's amazing to see that personal revelation come to pass!
Again, I am overwhelmed with the Sprirt,
knowing that I have been called to teach the gospel
to these people whom I already love!
...Just like I was told that I would!

:)

Called to Serve

I know this update is a little late.  For some reason, I have been hesitant to write it.  The reality of it all has still been sinking in, and I wanted to make sure I was in full awareness before posting about it. :)

On Wednesday, November 10, 2010

 I was sitting in my English class when I got a text from my dad saying: "It's here!!!"

My heart stopped...."My call is here?!?!  I only turned my mission papers in 10 days ago!!!!" 

 { I was not expecting it this soon! }

But ready or not, a letter containing life-changing information was waiting for me at home.

I wanted my family and close friends to be there with me when I opened it....which meant I had to wait until 8:30pm to open it!  Usually people hate waiting.  They want to know, and they want to know NOW. 

That wasn't the case for me.  I was not ready to open it.  I was scared out of my mind!! hahaha

I literally thought that I was about to go into cardiac arrest!

I felt sick to my stomach (due to nerves)
and was afraid that when I opened my mouth to read my call,
throw up would come out instead of actual words.

{ I tell ya...I was all sorts of nervous! }

I can't put into words what it felt like to be in that position; to find out where I would be living for the next year and a half of my life.
Not only that...but really acknowledging what it was that I "signed up" for.

I would leave everything: my family, my friends, my education, my job, my home, my bed, most of my clothes and material posessions...everything!  It's not like I am just picking up and moving somewhere new...

I am leaving everything I have ever known.

It is an intense feeling.

But what I would be getting in return has no price-tag.  It is invaluable.  This is the first time in my life where I have the opportunity to fully consecrate my life to the Lord. To give him ALL that I have.

To give ALL of me. 

Ok, so finally everyone arrived!  All 30 of us crammed into my tiny living room.  Smiles were on everyone's faces.  You could feel the excitement! { I could feel the love of my family and friends, and that was so overwhelming in and of itself! That meant more to me than they will ever know! }

We began with prayer...and then...it was time.

I slowly opened the envelope, and pulled out the contents within.

Quickly my eyes caught the name of a forgein country!

My heart leaped!!

No one knew except me...

{ I may or may not have done a small victory dance at this point }

I began to read aloud the letter:

"Dear Sister Kitto,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You are assigned to labor in the Chile Osorno Mission..."

An erruption of cheers and applause broke out! haha I think I even heard some "Arrriba!'s" hahaha

It was a struggle to finish the letter, as I was overcome with the spirit and many emotions.

Tearfully, I got through it all.

{  I am to report to the Provo MTC on March 16, 2011.  }

I you are like me, you are thinking: "Chile=WARM!!! Yay!!!!"

Well...unfortunately, this is not the case!

hahaha

You see, the Chile Osorno Mission is the most southern mission in the world...

AKA

We are the closest to ANTARCTICA!!!! (So keep me in your prayers!)

Yes, I will be preaching to the penguins!! ;)

There seasons are opposite of ours here in America! I will have warm Christmas' and freezing 4th of July's!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to serve a mission! I am so excited to be Hermana Kitto :)

I am excited to speak Spanish!!! I am so excited to serve the people in Chile and to bring them the blessing of true gospel! This is the beginning.  I hope and pray that the Lord will take my inadequacies, and make me equal to all He has called me to do.  I hope to continue to prepare myself in every way to be a worthy and able missionary of the Lord.

"Come what may, and love it."

Shout out to the winners who guessed correctly:
*Shea Terry
*Jana Boschetti
*Anthony Holst
*Rachel Lanham Kitto
*Tuare Garrido
:)

101 degrees

Last night I was feeling a bit under the weather...

My temperature was rising and I was shivering under 4 blankets & a hoodie!

I finally decided that I would go upstairs and take some medicine.

My mom suggested that I take Niquil.

I looked and looked and looked {...for a good 30 seconds...} and could not find it.

...this brought me to tears...

hahaha...I was literally crying!!

When I realized I was crying, and what I was crying about,

I gave up my search and headed straight to bed...

"I am too tired to be sick...."

Luckily, my mom came down a few minutes later...with Niquil. 

She made sure she gave me the one that had alcohol in it...apparently I looked like I needed it...hahaha

Last night I slept like a baby....I woke up multiple times, crying...hahaha I was definitely not in my normal state of mind yesterday!! 

Today I am still feeling under the weather...and all I want to do is watch ELF...and eat Beef flavored Top Ramen.  

Here's to a speedy recovery...

Wish me luck!!

Auntie Ray-Ray :)

Can I just take this moment to tell you

that I absolutely LOVE being an
AUNTIE?!

Because I do!

And here is why:

I have the cutest nephew in the world!

No competition...

No questions asked...

THE CUTEST!

Look at that FACE!!!

...such a charmer...

..YUP..

I love being his auntie

:)

Leaps and Bounds

As of late, I have been in full swing in trying to tone up.

From Halloween till New Years is the easiest time for me to get in shape.

Why?

Because with so many treats available, I find it easier to stay clear from them.

...As apposed to the other 9 months of the year

when I welcome treats with a big chubby grin on my face...

:D

Well this year, besides trying to eat healthier,

I have also been making leaps and bounds of progess

on making exercise a part of my daily routine!

{ I have always stayed some-what active,
but I haven't really experienced the results my heart secretly longs for }

...Since being in my Nutrition 2010 class,

my teacher (basketball coach/weight-lifter/healthy man)

has ingrained into my head that...

 *The key to a lean, healthy body is...

weight lifting!

Seems kind of backwards, doesn't it?

I thought so!

I have an athletic build, and am always self-conscience that if I weight lift

I will get HUGE and not be cute and feminie.

This is not true.

I am amazed at how quickly I have seen results--

{ in my loose clothes and on the scale }

I am getting a cute and more feminie figure everyday!

Weight lifting is vital to losing fat!

MUSCLE BURNS CALORIES!

did you hear me?

The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn on its own...

aka = faster metabolism!

My daily routine will usually include one or both of my favorite work out videos:

The early 90's hit:

Synergetics

*12 minutes, 2x a day

* No sweating

*Fun to watch
(spandex leotards in bright colors)

*AMAZING RESULTS!

{ My family swears by this video!! It transformed my sisters'
pre-teen chub into teenage bombshell! ;)

I feel my body getting tighter and tighter after everytime I work out! }

{ man, doesn't this picture just make you want to work out?? :) }

.....

My second, and all time favorite is Chelen Johnsons':

Turbo Jam

*5 AMAZING work outs

-Learn & Burn

-20 min. Work Out

-Turbo Sculpt

-Cardio Party

-Ab Jam

{...sounds pretty fun, huh? ;)  My FAVORITE is

TURBO SCULPT

and AB JAM

:)

I am still trying to find love for Cardio Party.

...cardio is definitely not my kind of party...

yet. }

*Simple to do

*Time flies by

*...I may or may not want to cry sometimes...

*Sweatiest work out ever!!!

*QUICK RESULTS

{ Especially when you incorporate her eating guide! AhMazing!! :) }

{ Can't you just see how much FUN this work out is? ;) }

I highly suggest BOTH of these work out plans!

Synergetics: $3 used on Amazon.com

...pretty sure you can afford this little beauty...

(or it could possibly be in your mom's VHS collection at home)

Turbo Jam: $15.59 used on Amazon.com

That's a steal compared to what I paid for it!

This was my first ever informercial purchase :)

{ Very pleased with that decision, btw! }

Just thought I would share my happy thoughts with you all!

Start exercising and you can be happy, too!

"Exercise gives you endorphins,

endorphins make you happy!

Happy people just don't shoot their husbands.

...They just don't!"

Too true, Elle.

:)

Happy Holidays to you! 

Feel free to join me in staying away from too many treats,

and lets start shaping up!

:)

Dumb Habits

I have some dumb habits...
one in particular is dominating my life at the moment.

I have the habit of keeping myself completely busy...all the time.
I LOOK for things to do, not out of boredom (I am usually pretty excited about the not-so-important task) but out of feeling that things need to get done. 

I don't know if this is anxiety...I don't know what I would be anxious about!

This bad habit is especially annoying at night time...
I don't let myself go to bed until I do a whole bunch of nothing!!
Like for real!  I find myself up SUPER late: cleaning/organizing...writing letters...goal setting...exercising...editing pictures...staring at my ever-changing teeth...freebreezing my room...reading...facebooking...blogging...reading other blogs...pretty much anything but sleeping.

THIS ISN'T HEALTHY!!!

IT IS RIDICULOUS!!!

Tonight I am doing my watercolor assignment.......but as I wait for the layers to dry, I feel the need to upload all of my CD's onto my iTunes...why??  Haha I have no clue!!!!  (And while I am waiting for that to upload, here I am blogging!)

{ sneak peak of the work in progress: washes + layers of masking = sooo fun }

I need some kind of chill pill!!  I don't like taking naps...I feel like they are a waste of time...because, OF COURSE, I should  be using that time to do some sort of job or project or ANYTHING!

I think it would be great to be OCD about doing homework...too bad that one hasn't caught on yet...

Well.  I am going to go finish my painting...and then go STRAIGHT TO BED! 

No more lolly-gagging...
{ Why in the world do we say "lolly-gagging"??? haha }

Wish me luck!!
And if you have any suggestions for me...I would love to hear them!!!