Things that make me happy

 Jared and I bought our first Christmas Tree together. It was an impulse buy and we don't even care.

I won an awesome purse from a giveaway off of Leanne Barlow's blog. Worth $250 and I got that baby for free! 

Shopping at City Creek with these lovely ladies. Too bad all of us suck at shopping and we didn't buy anything. Next time guys...next time.

 It's not the french fries that make me so happy it's the fact that both Jenny and I felt that we needed our own side of fries. The picture does NOT do it justice. I ate about 1/4 of them and called it quits. So gross.

 This little guy was sleeping with one eye closed, one eye open....slightly creepy but super impressive.

This man rocks my socks and so does our awesome Christmas sweaters.

And this little man was cracking me up at family dinner. He all the sudden decided that he wanted to be a princess. #3oldersisters

Christmas came early

Last night for FHE, Jared and I decided that we needed to buy a Christmas Tree and put up decorations. When we got home there was a nice little package sitting on our door step...My Free purse that I won off of a giveaway on a blog worth 250 buckaroos was sitting there in all it's glory. We made hot chocolate and just sat and watched the Christmas tree lights twinkle. It was awesome.

The purse doesn't look like much from the picture but man oh man is it beautiful. And it was $250 bucks and I got it for FREE!...Life doesn't get much better than that.

Fail

Well this whole posting every day about what I'm thankful for was an epic fail....I guess I'm just not a thankful person. (kidding) As for an update on my life..

Jared and I are heading off today to sunny California for Thanksgiving and I couldn't be more excited to get out of this cold weather. Not really looking forward to the long drive and getting there at like 1:00 in the morning but that's alright.

Jared and I got back from Grace, Idaho on Sunday night. We wanted to visit my Grandma up there and it was an absolute blast. I've been to Grace before but it was for a family reunion so I had all my siblings there. It was nice just to spend some alone time with GMA Funk. Let me tell you...Grace is one TINY town. It's beautiful there and I would love to go back but definitely not live there. I need more hussle and bussle in my life.

Jared and I interviewed for the complex management position annnnnnnnddd we didn't get. I'm actually kind of relieved. It would have been so awesome to save over 700 dollars more a month but I don't think I would have enjoyed having girls scream at me and come into my house whenever they want. I don't really like girls as it is and we would be living back in the single living style apartments without a dishwasher or washer dryer. Now I'm looking for something else to do that can get us that extra 700 bucks a month. Seriously people...I'm obsessed with money. It's not good. Knowing what we could've had....ugh drives me crazy.

Jared and I planned more of our trip to Italy last night for FHE and I am getting SOOOO excited. Less than 4 weeks away :) We threw out the idea of taking a little ferry out to the island of capri....ahhh can't wait. So gorgeous. The water looks incredible...too bad we aren't going during the Summer or else I would be in that water in a second...fully clothed and all. Heck...I may just do it anyway with a coat on. Who cares...Vivia Italia!!!












(PS...did you notice that practically all of my paragraphs started with "Jared and I"? I know...terrible writing skills.)

Day 10

Today I'm grateful for lazy days...more like unproductive days. I have literally watched 10 episodes of Friday Night Lights today which is so pathetic. I took a two hour break to go to the women's soccer game and then started back up again. It's awful but has been kind of blissful. After a busy week at work it's nice just to lay on the couch all day long.

As a side note...Jared and I saw a mouse running right in front of our door as we walked by. I about had a heart attack. Now every time I have walked out our door (which has only been once today mind you), i have ran out and up the stairs because I'm so freaked out. It is a legit fear that I have.

Day 9

I'm grateful for a husband who studies so hard. He pulled out a 92% on his second o-chem test today and I couldn't be more proud of him! He has seriously been studying every single night for weeks just to prepare for this test and it definitely paid off. I guess I technically should have been grateful for this yesterday since that's when he took the test but my excitement for him carried through to today. He really needed a good grade on this test and a 92% is not too shabby. He definitely couldn't have done it with out the help of Heavenly Father. We've been praying hard for this (well at least I have) and I know that He deserves the biggest thanks.

On a different note...Jared and I are watching 24 together. We're on season 3 and it is SO good. Jack Bauer just kills me. "Millions of lives are at stake". HAHA I love it. So I'm also thankful today for that show :) Happy weekend everyone!

Day 8

Today I am grateful for a rockin volleyball team. I'm playing on a good ol' co-ed volleyball team with my hubs and we haven't lost yet...undefeated baby. We just had our last game tonight of regular play. It was a close call and went to three games but we pulled out a W. Now it's time for play offs. Can't wait. I'm thankful for a body that allows me to be active and do what I want.

Day 7

Today I'm grateful for Friday Night Lights. It's such a good show. I'm hooked. I watch too many tv shows as it is but this one by far beats them out. I love the premise of the whole thing and seriously live vicariously through these people. I cry when they cry, I laugh when they laugh, and my stomach fluttered when Matt Saracen asked Julie on a date. If you haven't seen it, you should probably start watching it because it's that good.

Day 6

Most of you probably think I'm going to say that I'm grateful to be an American and that I can vote. But you're wrong. That's not what I'm thankful for today. Probably because I suck at being an American and I forgot to order my absentee ballot until a few days ago and of course it never came in the mail. Trust me, I feel pretty guilty about it. So today I am grateful for sweatshirts. I am convinced that where my new desk sits at work is at least 10 degrees colder than where my old office was. It gets so cold. I have to wear at least a sweatshirt or jacket just to function. So, today I'm grateful for my BYU hoodie.

P.S. Let's all take a moment of silence because this girl didn't use any ... in this post.

...

I've realized that I use a ton of these: ...

It's a really bad habit. And to be honest, I don't even think I know how to use ... properly. It's actually really annoying. If I don't use ... in my sentences when I type, I literally can't think straight. My words don't come out right...my sentences aren't right...I can't think of what I want to say. But who am I kidding...my sentences aren't right anyway when I use ...

So, can someone PLEASE teach me the correct usage of ... so that I can type and think like a normal human being.

Day 5

Today I am grateful for my mint truffle hot chocolate. Besides the fact that it nearly burned my lips off, I'm still grateful for it. It is mmm mmm good...too bad it's not sponsered by Campbells. Anywho, I'm grateful to be drinking my hot chocolate, laying in my sweats in a warm apartment...well not so warm I guess. I'm convinced it is sometimes colder in our apartment that it is outside. But that's beside the point. Life is good.

Day 4: Tender Mercies

Today I'm grateful for my calling as the Primary President in our ward. I seriously love those kids to death. It's amazing to see the miracles that God provides. Today we made some improvement with a little boy in sunbeams. He is usually a terror and today was no different except for the fact that I was able to talk to him without him telling me to go away. That may not seem like much at all but to me it meant the world. A couple weeks ago, I was at a loss for what to do and thought there was no hope. God's tender mercy today changed my attitude and can't wait to see the progress this little boy makes. Baby steps is all it takes.

Day 3

I'm grateful today for my sissy Lori. She rocked it at her rugby game this afternoon. It was so fun to watch her play. She is one tough girl let me tell you...walking off that field with blood on her jersey. Can't wait to watch more games and hopefully the national championship. Love you girl.

Month of Thanks

Since it's November and it is a month devoted to Thanks I want to try and blog about at least one thing I'm thankful for every day. I know a lot of other people are probably doing the same thing but I think it helps to remember the good things in life so I'm going to do it too. Since I missed yesterday, I'm going to do two today.

1. Yesterday I was thankful for my job. It was extremely busy yesterday- I didn't have time to take a lunch because I was at meetings and working on projects all day, I stayed almost an hour later than usual but I came home feeling really happy about my day. I felt really accomplished and I'm grateful for a job that pays me so well. I have a great boss and I love the people I work with.

2. Today I am grateful for a healthy body. I woke up at 5:15 this morning like I do every day and went for a run. I went to work and felt fine and after about 20 minutes of being there I felt super sick. My vitamin and banana did not mesh well in my tummy this morning. It's the times when I'm sick that I feel especially grateful for when I am healthy.

And just for kicks...one more thing I'm grateful for is the fact that it is November now and I can officially say that I am going to Italy NEXT month! WOOOO!

Blandito?

So I was on pinterest today and saw this....






This has got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. I really don't understand what's going on here. And the taco looking formation with the couple spooning? So awkward. I especially like the second to last photo...the girl looks extremely happy to be in her mother's arms. The little white ball things that are used to tie this thing up reminds me of one of those old school ponytail holder things with the big balls on the end of them. I thought those were so cool and I always wore them. How tacky. The best part about this whole thing is it's name...blandito? What does that even mean? I can just imagine someone trying to come up with the name:
"so what should we call this thing? Well.... ito means small and it looks a little bland so blandito it is!"

Let me direct your attention to the picture towards the top with the three loops and the ponytail ball holder thing in the middle. I showed Jared and he said in a very serious tone "oh well yah...the bottom too loops are where you put your legs through and the top is where your body comes out. It's supposed to help you sit up I'm sure." hahhaha I can't get the mental image out of my head. That could not be comfortable.

Somebody please buy this for me just so that I can say I have a blandito. The name in itself is worth the purchase. 

Fat Girl Syndrome

I just went to the grocery store to buy a bag of tortilla chips to go with my quesadilla (or however you spell it) and I walked out with a box of milk duds, two boxes of popsicles, and a gallon of ice cream. I seriously didn't even realize what I had done until I got to the car. I just kept grabbing, swiped my card and then thought to myself "what in the world did I just do." Talk about a sweet tooth that I didn't even know I had. And when i texted Jared to tell him the damage I had done, all he responded was "I am so in love with you." #fatgirlsyndrome right here...

19 year old women missionaries

I cannot believe how much controversy is going around ever since President Monson announced the new age for girls to serve a mission. I figured since everyone else is talking about it, what the heck, why don't I add my two cents. And I realize that I may receive some rebuttal for talking about this issue but I don't care. I was reading an article earlier and a woman responded saying how she wished that this would have been announced a few years ago. This woman had always wanted to go on a mission but then got married at the age of 21. She said,

"I got married at 21. I was a year away from graduating college so I was going to wait for that before I went on a mission, and instead I got married right before my senior year. Now I am one of those women who look to her husband for answers to things I could have learned for myself. I ask him about the miracles he witnessed. I rely on him in most everything. I would be a much stronger woman today if I had served a mission for myself."

I highly disagree with this woman. First, you chose to get married instead of going on a mission. If you wanted to go on a mission that bad, then you shouldn't have gotten married. Simple as that.

Second, just because your husband served a mission does not mean that you have to go to your husband for answers to everything. A mission doesn't change you. God changes you. Sure, I agree that there are opportunities you will have on a mission that you can't gain anywhere else. However, I do believe that for women, the things you can learn from a mission, you can learn them elsewhere. Quit wallowing away saying that you always have to go to your husband for things you could have learned for yourself. Go learn them then. If you really want to learn something for yourself: study, fast, pray. Stop feeling like you're not entitled to a testimony of your own. I rely on my husband for most everything as well but it's not because he served a mission. It's because we are a team and I like to hear his thoughts and opinions.

Third,  miracles happen every day. You don't have to go on a mission to witness miracles. Faith precedes the miracle, not a mission precedes the miracle.

Lastly, I don't feel that I am any less of a woman or that I don't have as strong of a testimony just because I didn't serve a mission. I have found my testimony and have been converted through other life experiences.

My goodness, I'm passionate about this. I understand that that's the way this woman feels and maybe she regrets that she didn't go on a mission. But stop feeling sorry for yourself. Move on. Ask questions. Be smart. Our prophet is a pretty inspired man and I think if God wanted this announcement to be made a few years ago, He probably would've. Maybe you weren't meant to go on a mission since you got married. So how about you focus on the life you have now and what you can learn from it and stop thinking about what could have been.

9 for 9

I'm 9 for 9 everybody! I have worked out every single day for the past 9 days minus Sunday but that doesn't count. And 7 out of those 9 days have been at 5:30 in the morning. I feel super good minus the fact that I have had a splitting head ache every single day for the past week. Not normal. Anyway, my work out consists of:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday are my cardio days. Some days I run around and around and around the track. It gets boring but I like it for some reason. Some days I ride the bike and then go run around and around afterwards. Most of the time it feels like I can run faster after I've just beaten the crap out of my legs from being on the bike...go figure.

Tuesday/Thursday are my weight days. I'm not super good with weights but I do it because I like to justify by saying that I need to tone my body. But really it's because I just don't want to run around and around anymore. Most of the time I do my upper half of my body with free weights but now I've started to do my lower half because I really need to strengthen my legs so I can run farther.

I've decided that I need to get real running shoes. Right now I just wear my cross trainers and they are terrible. I can't run with them because they are too heavy so I end up just running bare foot because I run faster. And because of that my calves are so. stinking. sore.

All I'm trying to say is I'm proud of myself. I've never been able to consistently keep a good work out but I've done pretty darn good the last couple months. I get out of shape so fast so I hope I can keep it up.

Oh and PS...

2 and a half months till we go here:




and here
SOOO excited!