B E . P O S I T I V E

I sat underneath the sunshine yesterday, watching little Brie enjoy the water shooting from the ground. I drifted back and forth between my book and watching her run through the splash pads water feature. There were a ton of busy little mom’s watching their multiple children and talking to all the other mommies in their little groups. I couldn’t help but overhear some of their conversations though, so many of them were just like high school girls. I couldn’t believe some of the negativity and gossip spilling from their mouths. It actually kind of caught me off guard a few times. 

There are points in time when people need to vent, I understand that. But, if you want to live a life that is positive and upbeat then you need to surround yourself with positive people. Do not let yourself get caught up in the negativity and gossip that surrounds you sometimes. You can protect yourself and your energy in your everyday life, if you just remove yourself from the negative people and situations that bring you down.

Life Lately

Forewarning: This post may be a little graphic or TMI for some, a little Debbie downer for others, but I have it on my mind and I feel the need to express it.

Life has been extremely hard the last little while; emotionally and physically draining to say the least. 

I haven’t been feeling the best for the last couple of months; I guess two to be exact. I have been getting really dizzy, nausea, and stomach pains from hell. Since having my gallbladder out about 4 years ago, this was nothing new to me. I kind of just kept pushing through the pain and never really thought much about it. It wasn’t until last month, while visiting Brecken, which things seriously took a turn. My stomach pain turned serious, to the point that I didn’t want to get out of bed. I honestly felt like I had when I was having all my gallbladder issues years ago, it wasn’t fun to say the least. I spend the entire last day of my trip in bed. As soon as I got home, I had to talk to someone about it. 

I decided to call and talk to my doctor about the pain, she told me that she would like me to switch my probotic and start a detox cleanse of my body as soon as possible. (I try to do as much herbal as possible, before doing anything pharmaceutical.)  She thought that there was a possibility that there was virus in my body, one that had been going around Southern Utah. The bad part, I have a horrible immune system, due to being sick so many years ago, and it hasn’t exactly recovered to say the least. After talking to Kati, my best friends, she recommended the probiotic she has been using, Acidophilus. So, here I am a month later after switching my probiotic and doing a detox cleanse; feeling a lot better. It took my body about two weeks to completely normalize itself out, get back to its regular state, but it was so worth it. When picking out the Acidophilus, I found out there are two kinds; shelve or refrigerated. I went with the refrigerated kind, because it has a greater chance of being affective, since Acidophilus is a live bacteria.

Wait, there is more…

When I got home from being in North Dakota, I have my favorite yearly; completely joking. Not even 3 days later after my test, I received a call from the doctor’s office. My heart sank thinking that there is something wrong. I have always been scared of having an abnormal test come back, because of all the cancer that is within my family. Then, it happened, I received that dreadful call that I didn’t ever want to experience. I had an abnormal test come back, needed more testing. I will be honest; the week I had to wait was horrible. I thought about it all the time. I was so scared; my sister’s mother had just been diagnosed with Cancer, I’ve had friends’ loved ones diagnosed, and so many family members with problems; I immediately starting thinking the worst. Scared out of my mind, I went to my doctor appointment, had a few samples removed. When the results came back a week later, they said simple, looks like things are fine, but there are some places that we will need to be watching over the next little while. All I know, is in the moment, it was immediate relief that washed over me. Nothing serious, just watching to make sure nothing abnormal happens. All I can say, is the thought of something happening scared me enough, I can’t even imagine having received the news that something serious was wrong. I admire those who have cancer or serious things that have to be treated, you have strength.

Wait, this isn’t the end of it… there is still more.

I received news that we had a family member pass away unexpectedly a couple weeks ago. It honestly hit me a lot harder than I would have expected it too, even though we were cousins, we weren’t close. I think the fact is that, I was there at one point in my life. Depression is such a hard disease to deal with and not a lot of people will ever understand it. Especially those whom have never experienced the kind of ‘cloud’ it puts you into. Standing there that day, watching the family members try and understand was extremely hard for me. Taking a step back to see how it has affected the entire family, not just his wife and kids, really had me. I was an emotional wreck; it still is affecting me honestly. Being able to see how healthy I am and how much I understand my depression now, makes me feel blessed. My heart really aches for what he was going through, because it is really is such an incredibly hard thing to deal with and understand. 

As you can see, there has been a lot on my mind lately. It makes it hard to get into the swing of things on this little blog with so much going on. I can’t seem to focus, so sitting down to finish posts are hard, I am hoping that this really helps me get back into the swing of things… Because I have some adorable outfits to share with you, just need to get my butt in gear and get some photos taken. 

Also, I have been thinking about possible doing a series about personal struggles. Like, the affect and outcome of living with depression and anxiety. How I deal and have overcome it. Advice and questions. What do you think?

If you have made it all the way to the end, well thank you, I appreciate all the time. I knew it was a lot longer than I have anticipated it to be.

LITTLE INTRODUCTION

If you are a new reader of Life in the Sunshine or have been around for a while, it is always a good idea to become reacquainted with the Author; Me. Since it is August, my birthday month, I thought it would be a perfect time to do a little Get to Know Me Series… So, Ladies and Gents, here it is.

 

 THE BASICS

So, obviously my name is McKenzie but I prefer to be called Kenzie. I am 24, will be 25 on the 28^th of this month. I was born in Northern Utah, but raised in the sweet sunshine of Southern Utah. I absolutely love living here; it is the most beautiful scenery I could ever imagine.

I am a manager of our families Dry Cleaning business. I never went to college, but I have an amazing father who has taught me all the in and out’s of the business. I wouldn’t change it for the world either; I believe that I have learned so much this way. Plus, his brain and my brain working together this past couple of years have really been amazing.

Family is the most important thing in my entire life. I am extremely blessed to be so close to my family. Here is the Spafford Clan: Lynn (dad), Marilyn (mom), Torie (sister), and Levi (brother). You can’t forget our precious dogs, because they too are family; Harlie (boxer) and Cougar (lab).

I am taken by the sweetest man on this earth; Brecken. We started dating in Dec ’08 and were completely smitten with each other. We moved to North Dakota together a year or so after dating, so he could purse a job up there. We broke up in Nov ’11 deciding it was the best thing for us at that time, sometimes as hard as it is, it is the best thing for a relationship. Brecken and I reconnected with each other April of this year and it has evolved into an amazing relationship.

My best friend is named Kati. You will see her a lot on the blog, especially when it has anything to do with outdoor adventures, shopping trips, travels, family events; you name it she will most likely be there. Kati and I have been friends since sophomore year in High School, so over 10 years now. She is my sidekick, my partner in crime, and my shoulder to cry on.

WHAT I LIKE

I am a lover of food, fashion, photos, outdoors/adventure, and travel.

When it comes to food, it doesn’t matter if I am in the kitchen or at a restaurant. I love to cook and eat. I am a huge lover of Pasta, Pizza, Steak, Seafood, Sushi, and of course Dessert. You can’t go without dessert my friends; it is the best part of the entire meal. Well, unless you have one amazing drink, then they possibly may tie with a 50/50 in my book. Plus, a good Raspberry Lime-Aid will make you a favorite person automatically in my book!

Fashion, well I will admit, I am slightly obsessed with clothing, shoes, and purses. I haven’t ever been a huge person into accessories, but have recently found a love for them. We will see how that relationship pans out. But in all seriousness, I love fashion. Then again, what isn’t to love about a new outfit and a perfect pair of shoes/heels?

There is something magical about photos to me. I love photography, even though I have never gotten really serious about doing it major. But, I mostly love going through photos that you have taken in the past and remembering that moment in time when you took it. The memories that come back, make that picture worth a thousand smiles. To top it off, I love to model for photos too! I will admit it, yep I love to get all ready and do a fun photoshoot!

Since I grew up in Southern Utah, I have a special place in my heart of the outdoors. I love the lake during the summer time. Hiking is wonderful in the Spring and Fall. Just simply being outside and enjoying the sunshine is the best thing ever. 

Travelling has always been something that I absolutely love! Since I was young, my family had the opportunity to be able to travel all sorts of places, but we always go back to Costa Rica. It has to be our favorite spot in the entire world. We love to go down and do Humanitarian work while we visit. There are so many places in the world I would love to be able to see in my lifetime.

North Dakota Vacation - Part 2

If you saw yesterday’s post, then you know what is about to happen. The wrap up of my North Dakota Vacation.

BRAD PAISLEY

But what is a fair without seeing

THE ANIMALS

It was absolutely adorable to watch our friend’s little girl get super excited to see all the animals. She even was able to pet a bunch of the horses in their stables and ride one.

I will admit; I was excited that the fair was in town while I was in town, but I was even more excited to just spend sometime with my boy (:

North Dakota Vacation - Part 1

I was so excited when I got the chance to be able to spend some more time with Brecken in North Dakota this past weekend. Anytime that work allows me to take time and getaway, I do it. I love being able to fly up and see him as much as possible. There is nothing better than being able to spend time with someone who makes you smile as much as he makes me smile! Now, I wont get into all the details of the weekend. I wanted to share some of my favorite moments.

Waiting to board the plane in St. George

 Shortly after taking off from the airport, just after passing Zion's National Park. I think Utah has to be on of the prettiest states, but I may be biased.

Does every guy do this or did I just get lucky?

While I was in town the North Dakota State Fair was going on. Which means lots of concerts and fair food! I was super excited when Brecken told me he got us tickets to go to the concerts! Yep, I am spoiled. While I would miss the first weekend of concerts, I still was able to see Florida Georgia Line, Three Days Grace, and Brad Paisley.

So, here is a small glimpse of the fun time we had at the fair…

FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

THREE DAYS GRACE

Tune in tomorrow for some more photos!