Hey, look who's blogging!

It took a momentous occasion to get me back to blogging…my little sis became a Bikram yoga teacher. I am so proud of her and I can’t wait to take class from her.

The training is nothing short of intense. Since all I know from it is second-hand experience, I can’t even begin to give it justice, but here is a look at the daily schedule. Yes, two 90 minute classes a day, in addition to hours of lecture. 9 weeks. If this doesn’t make your jaw drop, try a Bikram class. Then think of doing that, times 2, every day for 9 weeks.

Since the training was in Vegas, I got to go to her last few days. I got to go to class on Thursday and Friday, including the very last class of the training. I am so glad I was there to experience that with Taryn. I loved all the classes I went to – this was definitely a once in a lifetime experience for this yogini.

Can you find me?

I also got to show my mom and sister where Matt and I got married! They even let us in the chapel to take pictures.

Mother of the bride + bride

Maid of honor + bride

All together now…

This weekend was great. Again, I am so proud of Taryn, not only for what she’s accomplished, but also what she has in store for her. Speaking from my own experience, Bikram yoga has helped me in countless ways (both inside and out). I am so grateful to Taryn for introducing me to it and for motivating me to keep at it. I know she will help many of her students. I am also proud of her for going out and pursuing something that she loves. Instead of staying at a job she hated, she decided to follow her passion. So, without further adieu, a toast to Taryn!

The celebration continues....

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!

Although Matt's birthday was last Friday, we are celebrating the whole month of August because that's what we do.

Here's to Matt on his 30th!

Why does the sun always shine on me?

You wouldn't guess it by my favorite hobby (Bikram Yoga), but I hate feeling trapped by heat, especially when I am in the car. I have found myself on multiple occasions whining to Matt, "Why does the sun always shine on me?". Pretty funny, I think!

Anyway, as alluded to in my last post, I love my husband. He brought me these this morning, after going camping with his friends the night before. I was so happy to see him, and I gave lots of hugs and kisses to my campfire-scented man!

Here's to peonies! (And pickles, my summer snack of choice, also pictured)

PS. Congrats to the Parks family on their new baby girl, Kate Elizabeth!

&

RIP Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson

Cheers to a year!

Hi friends!

It's been a year since I made the best decision of my life and did THIS!

ONE YEAR! Matt and I went back and forth with what we were going to do for this momentous occasion. After some pondering, we decided the best thing to do was to enjoy each others company and have a great weekend, which included (but was not limited to), the following:

The best sushi in Utah. I've been having a hankering for sushi, but sushi places aren't always vegan friendly. OH SUSHI is amazing! They have an entire vegetarian roll menu, complete with a vegan Vegas roll. In the spirit of a Vegas theme, Matt and I both got Vegas rolls (I got vegan, he got regular). I got another vegan roll and he got another yummy roll of his own and we both LOVED them. YUM.

Still in keeping with our theme, we went and saw "The Hangover". Hilarious. That day, we put on a huge event at work and Matt helped, so we were both exhausted, so we went to bed at a decent hour in preparation for our fun Saturday plans.....







That's right. The Wendover Fun Bus. And boy, was it fun.


I am not much into gambling, and I get really nasty when I am around too much smoke, so I decided to relax by the pool while my man did his thing.
And he did his thing WELL!
To reiterate, it was so fun. I want to go back this weekend. The rest of the weekend was spent eating good grub, watching good movies (if you haven't seen UP, you must!), being lazy in the rain, doing crossword puzzles, and enjoying each others company. I love being married, I love Matt, and I love us together. I love his affection, his talent and his passion. Matt helped with my event at work, and my co-worker told me after that she'd never seen someone love someone like Matt loves me, and that "he doesn't have any qualms about showing it". I laughed when she said it. After thinking about it, I realized how lucky I am. I am so lucky to be Meghan Mattson.

Matt, here's to us!

Go Veg!

Just one more reason to be a vegan....


'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

This ad was made for the Super Bowl, but was banned by NBC. You can read the article here. I was cracking up at the list of things that they found offensive. Funniest one: screwing herself with broccoli (fuzzy).

Go veg!

What a year!

I am back! I may be a little late, but why not give a toast to 2008? What a year it was!

My health

To start off 2008, I had part of my small intestine removed. I am lucky that was mostly an isolated incident, and not a forewarning of things to come for 2008. Soon after my surgery, I made the decision to finally commit to veganism. I had toyed with the idea for a few months, but in March of 2008, I eliminated ALL animal products from my diet. It has helped tremendously. Finally, I started practicing Bikram yoga in April. It's become a huge part of my life and my Crohn's "treatment". I practice just about everyday and will never go back to spending hours at the gym. I started Bikram when Matt gave me a package for my 25th birthday. I have completed a 30 Day Challenge twice and now am at a studio that is less than 2 miles from my house. Over 2008, I have found what helps me to feel at my best possible health and hopefully my health will continue to improve in 2009.

My job

In May, I got a job working for Salt Lake County as the Wellness Coordinator of their employee wellness program. Similar to my job in Utah County, except Utah County had about 600 in the program, Salt Lake has a few thousand. I was put in charge of marketing the program more and increasing participation through creation of a health coaching program, more wellness campaigns and competitions, and other things to create a "culture of wellness". At first, I felt like a little fish in a very large pond. But now, after 7 months, I have been able to step up my level of expertise and get the program out to more people. People now know my name and who I am, and to hide the fast food bag or soda bottle if they see me coming! Hahaha. After 7 months of being at this job, I continue to feel challenged..in a good way.

My house

In June 2008, we moved to a cute little bungalow right near Liberty Park in Salt Lake...or North SugarHouse :). We love love love it! When we lived in Provo and Orem, we would drive to Salt Lake all the time. Now, I have a hard time driving anywhere that is more south than 21st S.! I have everything I want within a 5 minute drive, or a scooter ride, weather-permitting. I realized when I was writing this that I don't have any pictures of our house!

My love

In a surprising turn of events, Matt and I got MARRIED on June 7th, 2008!!! YIPPEE!! After our 5 year anniversary on June 5th, we eloped. It was the best decision I've ever made! We are both so grateful for all the support we got from our families and friends.

We celebrated with a party in Utah in August and we just had one in New Jersey. Both parties were so much fun! Here are some pictures from the Utah party. Unfortunately, none of the pictures are on my computer, so I stole these from facebook tags!!

And here are some from the NJ party. We had a live band and lots of dancing. Matt sang me a few songs too. Everyone loved him. It was so fun to see people I hadn't seen since 8th grade!

My family.....

Me & Matt taking a break from dancing..

Two friends (Patricia & Rochelle), who I've known since kindergarten
2008 was quite the year. Not only did my life dramatically change, but I had a lot of fun along the way. Matt and I saw tons of concerts & movies, made new friends, tried new foods, voted for Obama, and had a lot of mind-opening experiences. I am so grateful for all the opportunities & experiences I've had this year. I love my life!

Here's to 2008!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO