New Goals for the year

I've always been one of those people who write down there dreams in notebooks and doodle all over them. I find it works amazing to write them down somewhere you can look at as motivation. My mom every new year would have me and my sisters write down goals for the new year in different areas of our life. I still do it to this day. I've thought a lot about it latley and what would be good to work on this year- last years-

was to make it through two twin toddlers

Id say I conquered

they are still alive and so am I!

It was also a big goal to start the new online BYU program which I have also been doing to finish what I had left for my bachelors degreewhen I moved to Canada they wouldnt let me go to school so I spent almost 2 years waiting for my paperwork to go through before I could finish- luckily they came out with this program while I was waiting- what a blessing to graduate from the school I loved so much-and not having to worry about transferring everything I worked so hard on-my last goal last year was to do something with my love for planning events- who would've thought a business would come out of it. I'm greatful for a mother who pushed me- and told me to go for my dreams- nothings out of reach you can always accomplish what you love if you truly want it- there are no excuses- if you really want it you'll do it.

So for this year...

Spiritual-Read my scriptures- Write in my journal about what I learn

Physical-do another round of bikini boot-camp after baby girl johnson comes- that program does wonders I tell you

Mental-Get as much school done as mentally possible

Recreational-Take a sewing or photography class

Relationship-Date night with johnson a lot more- possible save up for a vacay -just the two of us for our 5th anniversary

Heres to a fresh new outlook and dreams.

Debut at the Bridal Show

So sorry these pics are random- they were shot with a larger file size camera and I'm still adjusting- but here are a couple pictures- yay it went so good! We talked to lots of brides and hopefully secured some new clients- are these cookies not fun- 700 of them - keshia made the chandelier template. signature cocktails are big in the bridal biz right now so we taught people about them and showed them our signature drink the crystal chandalier- I'll have to have carla post the recipe on the modblog- I loved our florals and our sign-modern and funky- and after many long hours our booth looked amazing and we had so much fun! more pictures are on facebook at this link...http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2142221&id=193308025&l=b295d67479

and to hear more about the show check out our blog. http://wwww.modsblog.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOD EVENTS AND CO!!!

It's official Today August 12th 2009 is Mod's birthday. We are unveiling for all to see. Oh so much that I've wanted to talk about the last few months can finally happen. This is so huge in my life right now that I wasn't sure how to do it justice throw a party ect... Then I thought just say what comes to your heart- you'll look back on it one day and remember how it felt tonight.

I feel exhilarated, full of zest for life, a feeling of accomplishment, my childhood dream being realized is surreal and brings me to tears as I type on my laptop tonight, while eating rice crispies and sitting in my damask jammies.

I've always loved to decorate parties my mom alway through big birthday parties for us and the decor was always something that mattered to me from an early age. My grandmother would always set the table with a centerpiece and fine china- saying any meal is special when your with those you love why not make it that way. It took me a while to figure out this is what I wanted to do for a career- I had many years of going back and forth trying to decide what was something that made me happy- that when I got up in the morning I would be excited to work. Debbie suggested when I moved to canada to take an event planning class while I waited for my work permit and permanent resident card. I took the class and knew thats where I was supposed to be- many classes followed and I knew a business degree would work well with event planning so My major was switched yet again to business and minors in Communications and Visual Arts. I knew I wanted to start my own company. If I could be my own boss it would give me the freedom to travel and still be a great mom to my kids. I would also have a big deal of freedom with creativity.

I realized what it takes to start a business and slowly worked on my business plan writing rewriting doing all I could to make my own little company work in the meantime I met some amazing women- women that had talents that I admired and women with spirits like my own. I thought about talking to them about working together-but put it to the side a couple times- one day one of the women approached me and asked the same question to me that I'd been contemplating for months- why not merge everyones talents and create a one stop shop event company...this is how MOD came to be. So without further ado....

I CAN FINALLY ANNOUNCE TO EVERYONE WHO THE MOD SQUAD IS!

I'm sure everyone knows my amazing friend Keshia Larsen I talk about her enough- Keshia is now a part of mod she is our graphic guru and makes everything from invitations to place setting cards to bridal party

t- shirts and custom favors. I love her so much- she's one of those friends that lasts a lifetime and beyond and I couldn't be more lucky to work with someone I adore every day.

Next is Vanessa Ross- we all call her V. V has so much spunk and charisma that I just gravitate towards. V is one amazingly talented photographer and works alongside one of the best photographers in Canada. She has so much talent and I can't wait to see what photos she takes of us and our events. She is fun and relaxing to work with- which I need-and I can't wait to see what she does next-everything she touches turns to gold. And last but certainly not least is

Carla McDaniel our chef /caterer extraordinaire. Carla is one huge bundle of energy and I swear we're sisters or something. Our brainwaves connect like crazy. I love her efficiency and go get em attitude and I have her to thank for acting on a feeling to get together. She has such a passion for what she does and I consider myself so lucky to have her talent with my company.

We would love if everyone would join in the birthday celebration and follow us on our new event blog and check out our new website.

website-modeventsandco.com

blog-modsblog.com

On our blog we also have links to twitter, facebook, a rss feed and delicious. Certain promos and freebies will come off of these groups and our blog and it would delight us if you'd join read them.

We will be debuting at the Bridal Show in the Calgary Round Up Center at the end of September with out booth where we'll be teaching everyone to make their own signature drinks for parties as well as having some awesome giveaways- So come see us!!!!!

Last of all I want to thank some people who have gotten me to where I am.

My Parents, My Grandma Beverly, My Aunt Marilynn, Debbie, Brandon, Cheryl, Josh, All of my MOD Squad and countless friends,family and readers lastly, My Father In Heaven for helping me through the times where I didn't know which direction was right and my dreams seemed out of grasp.

I love you all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The color code as my final thesis...

I've always been fascinated by this book and how it divulges into peoples personality's and how they get along with others. For my organizational Communications class we had to take a subject we enjoyed learning about and turn that subject into a 15 page paper and powerpoint. I decided to write a lesson plan pretending I was a professor. Id have my students take the quiz and come back to class dressed in their color I'd then divide them into groups first in all their own colors and have them work out different leadership roles- then Id switch them so the colors were mixed. A discussion would ensue...
So basically thats the readers digest version of my project. I took organizational Leadership and tried to make other people see that there is more than one way that people lead in groups. If you have an afternoon on a beach this summer I highly recommend this book. you learn a lot about yourself and others. It helps with relationships also. I'm a red- Brandons a white- go figureI'm so glad this semester is almost over- it's been a lot of reading and a lot of late nights after the boys are all asleep- Brandon included. It will be nice to relax for a couple weeks before fall semester starts. I'm excited for my fall classes. I'm finishing my visual arts minor's last requirement class- on ancient art history- super stoked for that one-my last religion class-new testament- and then its on to finishing my business classes- sooo close- sooo excited to almost be done- I'm thinking of celebrating by doing something crazy- any ideas?

{A logo!}

#1

#2

#3

#4

I'm excited to announce I have a logo! well kind've I can't decide on a font. I want to attract corporate clients as well as brides- people who want coordinated birthdays family reunions baby showers bridal showers ect. Sooo... Tell me what you think or go vote on my poll on my sidebar.  Your opinion is very much appreciated I'm bad at descions on my own things. I've narrowed them down from a lot so here are my favorite 4. Which one do you love! This is the beginning of my dream so be honest! Also the words and chandelier are supposed to be black but I think my computer messed it up- so think of them as black with the hot pink events under it.{mega thanks to Keisha Larsen my designer for bearing with my pickiness-people if you need a website done she's the one to talk too! She's a super perfectionist- and I love it!}Here's her website... keshialarsendesigns.com It's currently under construction right now she's revamping it- but if you want her info let me know!

{picking out a logo}

So for my website that's being worked on were in the process of coming up with a logo- and I love this. I've really had to think about what calls to me- what embodies everything I want to convey in two seconds- and this jumped out at me- glam but modern as a sillouette-also we've been looking at rosette designs but this one seems to speak to me more on a personal level. It reminds me of my grandmas chandalier- That went over her dining room table. The one We used to decorate together for every meal. Makes me want to cry I miss her so much. I feel her with me all the time. I think we'll probabally be going with something like this.
 On a side note- you have to check out meez.com- they make aviators-All I can say id I havn't laughed that hard in a while.- Wait till you get to the animations part. It was fun to make one- to distract from my logo hunt inspiration.{ image courtesy of design-milk.com}

{Picking an Organization to join}

 {or....}

So on top of My BYU Stuff I have going on right now I'm trying to certify in the Event Industry. WHen I took some of my Event planning classes from Mount Royal they were big on two Organizations. Basically you have to take their courses and then take a test. They will then mail you your certificate of completion and you are officially certified. The only problem.. which one do I choose? Ises- International Special Events Society or ABC Assocation of Bridal Consulting. I want my company to be both so I'm not quite sure which one to choose. They each have pros and cons- ISES is a higher membership fee- but better recognized- and abc is well known cheaper and has a class in Los Angeles where I could go down and certify in a weekend- I like that Idea. Just get it done. I have a dear friend that's making my website and I can't tell you how excited I am that This is finally getting off the ground. Thanks to the entrepreneur magazine-it helped a ton! I'm keeping with my first name of Bliss- Nothing else attatched to it. I thought about some other names but they didn't fit who I was. And what I've wanted to do for a long time. So now is decision time..I'm horrible at decision making. Looks like I need a job to get me where I need to go. Please not retail again!

2008

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Had surgery- c section with my twinners and bought a house- lots of firsts this year
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did I lost weight and I survived
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Ha yes I did and many of my friends( hello I'm in Cranston ward the hub for babies)
4. Did anyone close to you die? no
5. What countries did you visit?Canada US and the Dominican Republic
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? size 4 jeans haa we'll see if that happens- and a new couch and deck- so i can enjoy my yard this year( anyone know anybody who builds decks?
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
April 1st my babies finally came- I worked so hard at keeping them in me for as long as possible and as hard as it was to have 16 extra pounds of baby in me it was an amzing exausting day of relief and dec 24th-a much needed vacation that I counted down to for months
9. What was your biggest failure? I choose to think optimistically and I don't feel like I failed at anything just learned things. All stuff happens for a reason
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes it's been a hard year on my health-being pregnant with twins was taxing on my body numb hands back pain no sleep-I had a hrribe horrible strep throat where I couldnt eat for a week- it killed even drinking water. It hurt more than my c section. Hives Kidney stones-and about 6 colds and the flu. I think my body is still getting back to normal.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Some awesome rock n republic jeans i love that they make my butt look good- every woman needs a pair of jeans like that-the exersaucers(thanks sara)- totally saved me! our house -a haircut and color- seriously nothing makes you feel better
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Brandon- wow what an amzing first time dad- helping me ut with newborn twins even though he has to wake up at 5 what patience- and everyone else who helped our family this year. Acacia for getting married Barrett for serving his mission Any first time mothers for surviving the first year.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed? I dont know I don't like depressing questions.
14. Where did most of your money go? Our new house and baby stuff cribs high chairs food
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our vacation to the Dominican Republic and getting into byui's online business degree finishing program and a massage brandon gt me for pregnant ladies with a hole in the table- it was the most amazing gift ever!
16. What song will always remind you of 2008?Anything with rhianna- I love her music and she got me through a crazy year.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:i. happier or sadder? ii. thinner or fatter? iii. richer or poorer? Happier to not be pregnant really people I hate being pregnant so much! lol thinner i was 7 moths with twins and poorer - we bought a house.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of. appreciateing the cuddliness of my boys
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? worrying about what people think
20. How will you be spending New Years?coming home on a plane from the dominican republicr
21.-
22. Did you fall in love in 2008? I'm more in love with brandon than I've ever been. And I fell head over hills in love with my sons
23. How many one-night stands? a plethera with the same guy
24.What was your favorite TV program? The office for making me laugh and Veronica Mars- It got me through no sleep nights with the boys- thank heavens for tivo- not even kidding- anyone having twins needs this cause youll be awake a lot :) I also love bones and jon and kate plus 8 shes the woman- and I adore her humor and relationship with jon- brandon and I totally get it
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? no
26. What was the best book you read?Multiple blessings by Kate Gosselin
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I've really enjoyed rhiannas music this year- on tough days when the boys had been crying brandon would get home and Id crank p her music in the rav put the windows down and sing at the top of my lungs in the car- its a huge energy release to this day for me. It makes me feel better to just sing.
28. What did you want and get? my boys here safely- my body back- I took it for grantid
29. What did you want and not get? a new couch and chairs for the bonus room- we have the comfy spooning couch upstairs and while its comfy it clashes with my red room which drives me insane
30. What was your favourite film of this year? hmm I didnt see a lot- kind've dissapointed with indiana jones- I mean aliens come on! did that bug anyone else- I liked valkyerie
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? march 20th- 22 I lied in bed all day hoping my babies would come soon- then got up enough energy to get out of bed and go to dinner at kelseys - I got awesome pickles mmm- and the tivo from brandon little did I know how much I would love it in weeks to come.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? more sleep-and alone time I 'm there with you kat!
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Lots of jewel tones purples plums greys. And as always accesscories- man I love them- I tried to dress up every day- even though I had twins- I didnt want to get out of the habit- and it made me feel good i think.
34. What kept you sane? Brandon being there to help me with the boys- nap time- granparents that love their grandsons. My bathtub- it was the only thing that took the pain away in the last two months.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? Presidential candidates talking about healthcare
37. Who did you miss?My family Cori Emm Sachin Steph and Melissa
Brandon every day while he's at work
38. Who was the best new person you met? Greyson and Harrison
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. To not be afraid to accept help- to not be afraid to be myself.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. one step at a time
I'm greatful for an amzing year of change and happiness. It's been quite a blur for me honestly and I hope that I'll be more awake for the next year ;)

My new goals for the year..

My mom is the woman who taught me how important goals were -every year we'd write down the things we wanted to accomplish that year and put them into categories short and long term- physical spiritual edcational personal and fun.. so i thought i'd share what i've been thinking about lately

physical-I'd really like to get to my ideal weight of 125-130 and keep it that way.

Run some type of a race or learn how to do yoga take a swim class with my boys

educational-start finishing school again- I was just informed today that I was accepted into the new program for byu's finishing online classes that I'm in. I start the second half of winter semester.

Learn some new skill- I'd love to learn how to sew or knit- can anyone help me out?

Spiritual-read all of the standard works- practice humility and empathy

Personal- try to be myself more- work on my relationships with family members and make them stronger

Fun- Start performing again- I've missed it a lot the past 5 years- it's a part of me I don't want supressed anymore. I'd love to be in a play again. Or start dancing again.

This is usually what I would make....

But I know I know I would eat it and cheat- so I guess staring and drooling at the pictures will have to do. Its been hard for me to not bake this year I really enjoy it. So my goal- If I get under 140 this week I'll bake fudge or dip chocolate strawberries. Don't these pictures look good I hate when commercials are on tv for the good stuff like pillsbury choc chip cookies that rise in the oven- it's like torcher! I'm craving chocolate coconut latley like a mad woman- that and chocolate mint mmmmm.

X is for...

X weighted!

I'm happy to announce this is my last week of bootcamp- and it's done wonders - all my jeans are loose! I've gone down a dress size and lost 15 pounds- I started at 158 when I went for my initial consultation and am now 143. My goal was to be under 150 at the end of bootcamp. My big goal is to get down to 130ish and stay there. and to get to a size 4. It's been a lot of work. Many sore nights lots of ibprofin and many nights I didnt want to go. But I'm glad I did because I'm feeling so much better about who I am and I know I can accomplish things. I think I've learned some good nutrition habits and would love to do bikni bootcamp again in the spring. I loved being outside running while looking at the lights-intense burning and all of us going ahhhhhhhhh! burpees-about a million push ups-jumping squats a zillion lunges 8 count body builders( I'm really gonna miss those) but most of all I loved that I met some amazing women. We laugh so much and I'm sad I won't get to see them for a while. I might do a program at midsun during january- we'll see how the ole' schedule looks closer to then. I went swimsuit shopping- it was actually fun :) Heres a pic of the suits I got... I was so tempted to get a snakeskin one but didnt want to scar my boys-and i didnt get a damsk one Irefrained and went for paisly and zebra instead yay!

Bikini Bootcamp Update...

So I went to my first workout...I was so nervous thinking great I'm going to be surrounded by super thin chicks that can woop my butt. But I had an amazing time and have met some really cool friends- One inparticular that also has fraternal twin boys with blue and brown eyes and her sons names end in son too! Yeah it was a little freaky! Anyways so this is what we do to workout...We run to warm up touch the ground when our trainer does jump in the air when our trainer does and do push ups when our trainer does all while running. Then we had this awesome little mini olympics set up. We grabbed a partner and went to different stations- it was fun because you got to talk inbetween. Which is crazy for me I've always liked to workout alone. It kept me distracted with how much it hurt. I probabally did 200 sit ups tonight 60 push ups- medicine ball throwing jump roping jumping over cones boxing( that was so fun)!!! Bootcamp was fun! I loved being outside in the cold weather because when you are moving you don't even notice it. She makes it fun! I'm so excited I've found something like this. The best part was when we did a relay race where we ran to a sign and had to sit on a whoopee cushion so our team could hear it and then run back- imature- but freakin hilarious- I kept thinking debbie wouldve loved this! don't ask our family and potty humor - i dont know- one time we watched this show just for laughs - kind've like candid camera-and they had a fake fart machine at a gym every time this girl bent over to stretch the machine would go off - but the girl wouldn't do anything- it showed a bunch of people looking at her- and it was so hilarious debbie thought it was crazy funny- iIthought it was funny but not like that- but man when that woman gets laughing she makes you want to laugh even harder-my sides hurt after it was such a fun moment- and the boys yelling at us from the other room what the heck is going on!-so yeah anyways-reminded me of that show. Our trainer made us special bananna muffins_ I hope I spelled that right bananna-thats always been a crazy word for me!-and they were sooo good- she told us were only supposd to have our carbs after we exercise because our body absorbs it as energy instead of storage- so there you go learned something today- oh and I have to drink the entire ocean..hopefully it will pay off- I'm now off to drug myself with ibprofin!( I found a damask bathing suit) I love it!- I know I'm crazy into damask right now- too much damask? never!

new company website

http://breesblissinc.blogspot.com
So.. I've been working on my new company website...Thanks to a lot of help from Hilary- It's about where I want it. Check it out! I'm really really excited about it.

one of those days..

I'm having one of those days where I just feel crappy about myself. I hate looking at pictures of myself because it reminds me of how much weight baby and non baby weight;( I need to loose. I didnt think it would be this hard to get it off and I'm feeling cruddy about myself. I know I can do better and I'm discouraged. it feels like i just can't find time to exercise like I used to.It helps knowing I'm starting bikini bootcamp this week. I'm waiting for my hair to grow a little bit longer so I can get a total hair makeover- I hate my hair but I can't cut it it's so frustrating. I look so white- I feel so much better when I have some color to my skin. my iron is still so low that i look paler than I ever have before. It just feels like it's been so long since I've felt pretty. sorry if this is depressing. I'm not like this a lot. I just needed to get it out. - oh and on the hair again....I've decided to donate it to locks of love. Something I've always wanted to do but never thought I could. I need a new look. I'm sick of feeling this way!

bootcamp/photographer/byui

So I had my first consultation with my bootcamp woman- it was interesting. I had to go all the way downtown to meet with her ughh-but the place her office was in was soo cute like this little old vintage hotel. I loved it. Anywyas she has me get on the scale- I hate her scale it said 154 ugggg and then she said i was dehydrated and my body fat was 25% even more ugggg. Then I had to do a step test she put a heart rate moniter on me and timed my heart rate I have no clue what the numbers meant -i had to step up and down for 5 minutes then i had to do sit ups- which suprisingly I had no trouble with even after my c section so yay there! Then I did push ups she was impressed I did man push ups- but im sore today then i did a flexibility test - i wasnt scared for that im pretty flexible- not as much as I used to be but still pretty good then i did however many squats as i could in 5 minutes- also sore- i think it informed me that i am indeed out of shape. She was impressed that i actually weighed what i did after having twins and having a c section. And that i was being a lot harder on myself than she thought I should be- I guess we are always our own worst enemy. She said we'd work on my arms and my thighs- the areas i hate on me. and just an overall toning of my body/face because thats where i carry my weight. I'm so excited for no saddlebags- people im freaking motivated! She said it was important to have smaller portions and more often to increase metabolism. Also that i should be drinking more water- my flovoured water is allowed i asked her- hallelujiah!


oh and a question....anyone know a good photographer in calgary- my boys are growing and I need someone with some flair!

and I'm proud to announce I will be starting school again in January as part of 40 students who will be finishing there business degree online via webcams through byu-i- I can't wait to go to commencement. Its a huge goal of mine. I LOVE SCHOOL! I love learning and i value it very high in my life. I was thinking about going to u of c- but seriously do you think i have time for that and i hate the commute. Ill still be doing mount royals event and floral program but am excited to have my degree.- anyone know a good babysitter too? besides brooke and debbie they get enough of my boys :)

ok i'm admiting it

I think I'm finally admitting that I'm not as healthy as I thought I was. I'm not comfortable with how I look. so I feel like if I start writing down my goals they will be easier to keep. I'm starting my boot camp in a couple weeks- I go to a nutritionist and get a physical. This will prove to be enlightening I'm afraid. I know I'll be sad- failure isnt one of my friends- but this is the first step-getting over the fact that I'm not 125 lbs anymore. When I was pregnant I got up to 175. After they were born I went down to 150. -154 is what I am nowSo there you go raw information Thats what I weigh. I'm writing my true weight. My goal.... 130 I believe thats healthy for my height. I'm so ready to feel good again. And I'm going to work my butt off. But On the Flip side. I think of myself as a positive person. And when i put my mind to something by dang it's going to happen. For every bad thing I think about myself I'm going to try and find a good one. So this will be my last pitty party. Only good things from now. I'm going to write about one thing I like about myself.

Today.....my eyes I love how dark my eyes are. They are almond shaped and big and bright and I love that brandon loves them. I love that my son Harrison has my eyes.