Good luck 25, 24 was pretty unbeatable.

As my 25th birthday is quickly rounding the corner, I can't help but think about all that's happened, all the hats I've worn over the years and all that I've been lucky enough to experience in my life. I can honestly say that I am so glad to have gone through it all, because I am stronger, wiser and a better version of myself now. 

Four years ago, I was a body obsessed control freak who's life was passing by rapidly and I was putting my health, relationships and well-being at risk because of a short-term lifestyle that I thought was more of a priority than the things that were truly important. 

My identity was being the "gym rat" and the girl that always strived to look "better" each week. There are many positives that I take away from those years, one very big one being my personal training career. I never realized how rewarding that job was and how much joy it brought me until I was forced to walk away from it. I still miss all my clients, the early mornings and the late nights. The most rewarding part was having the ability to show people that there was a better version of them inside and seeing them proud of themselves and each having huge emotional and physical breakthroughs. I do hope to one day reenter the personal training world and use all that I've experienced to teach people that looking a certain way is not all that is important, loving yourself for who you are and what you look like is a gift that everyone should experience. 

The past three years have been some of the most daunting, physically and emotionally draining years I've experienced thus far. I was diagnosed with hip dysplasia after multiple misdiagnosis' at age 21 and spent the next two years going through reconstructive hip surgeries to correct the shallow hip sockets I was born with. I always thought I was invincible and would never have to go through any serious surgeries or have any injuries. What a wake up call surgery number one was, I was forced to open my eyes and realize that the lifestyle I had been living was extremely unhealthy for me, mentally, physically and emotionally. I was unable to fulfill my goal of becoming an Air Woman after joining in November of 2012. 

I had to go through an outpatient treatment program to learn how to love myself again, regain a good relationship with food and repair the relationships that I had damaged during my bodybuilding years. It's taken a lot of hard work and time, but I am feeling more like the Bridget I want to be now more than ever.

I no longer have hip dysplasia thanks to my amazing doctor in Salt Lake City who performed two major reconstructive hip surgeries on me. I'm also so lucky to have had my "A-Team" with me through the whole process to help keep me sane, strong and not allowing me to give up even though there were times I wanted to.

I've been able to love someone more than I ever thought possible and share life with him every single day after two years of long distance. We moved across the country together which was extremely bittersweet for me. We are engaged and starting to plan our wedding for the Summer of 2016. 

I lost my the most amazing cat that had been by my side for 18 years. I still miss her every day and am looking forward to seeing her again one day. Losing a pet is so heart breaking and only time helps heal that wound, but luckily she's in a better place and keeping my grandma company. 

I'm now able to share a piece of my heart with a little puppy who is so sweet, loving, smart and a pain in the booty at times. Owning a dog with Noah has been such an amazing learning experience and one I'm glad we put a lot of time and effort into thinking and planning for before getting Wendy. It's a big commitment and our lives have changed drastically since adopting her. It is completely worth it for us and we're happy to be "puppy people." 

I am so grateful for all the lessons that I've been able to take from the past few years and I'm looking forward to growing more and more as I'm sure life won't let up anytime soon. It can be messy, frustrating, uncontrollable at times, but through those rough times there are definitely silver linings that life offers us. Don't ever give up, no matter how hard things may be in the present moment. When you get through the hard, impossible times you'll be so happy you stuck through it and will be able to use those lessons and hardships to help others or yourself through things in the future. 

I'm excited to see what 25 has in store. 24 was pretty epic and memorable. Thanks to everyone for making this year so great. 

I miss you Albuquerque, can't wait to come home for Christmas. 

Lots of love. 

<3 B

Our Girl Wendy

Noah and I have wanted a dog for about two years now, but it was never something we could make work since we were 2,000 miles apart. I've always had animals and can't imagine living without animals for a long period of time so we decided to get a four legged friend. I totally would've taken my kitty cat, Pandy with me to Troy, but since Noah's allergic that wasn't possible, unfortunately. We have been researching different breeds of dogs we thought would best fit our lifestyle and personalities and finally landed on a Corgi. They're playful, yet cuddly and smart. We decided to look into Corgi rescues in our area and found a few that we liked, but never pulled the trigger on any of them. Then one day, I found Wendy. I was browsing a petfinder.com website and came across her pictures, there was also a video on her page and after watching it, I fell in love. I sent her link to Noah and he too fell in love with her. That night we decided to fill out an application for her and waited patiently for a response. We heard back the next day from someone who was doing a check on our application to make sure we would be a good fit for Wendy (I really appreciate that they do this, because let's be honest, some people should never own an animal.) After everything was checked out and we were approved, we learned that Wendy would have to be driven 4,000 miles to us in a semi by a guy named Greg. He owns an awesome company called Rescue Road Trips where he takes dogs from the south who are mostly in high kill shelters and drives them to their forever homes in New England and surrounding areas. Being involved with Rescue Road Trips has been such a rewarding experience and I'm so glad we were able to save Wendy from an uncertain future. Wendy was found on a Texas interstate where she was covered in fleas and ticks, luckily she wasn't afraid of people and jumped right into her rescuers car. She is 100% healthy now and our little cuddle bug :)

Wendy is about 8 months old, she's a mix of a bunch of different breeds we think, Corgi, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, maybe some Jack Russell Terrier. Who really knows, maybe someday we'll do a test and figure out what she really is. All I know is she's 18 lbs of adorable mutt. We love her already and can't wait to go on many adventures with her. I made a video of the day we got her, Greg calls it "Gotcha Day" and some other memories we've already made together :)

Thanks for reading and enjoy the video!

Wendy's video

Lots of love <3 B