liebster

So I was going through the many blogs I read, trying to catch up on all of them (mostly because I was avoiding doing my homework) and I was reading the beautiful, talented and lovely Michaela @ Our Dimond Life talk about a neato little thing called the Liebster Award.  Basically, a fun way for smaller scale bloggers to promote each other and get to know each other better.  As I read the post, I learned lots about Michaela and thought that this was such a cool thing.  As I reached the end of the post, I saw SHE NOMINATED ME!  AH!  Could life get any better?  I submit that it could not.   

My blog is pretty low key.  I created it as a newly wed, living and loving in Wyoming where all of my family lives in Utah, Nevada, Texas and a million other places.  I figured this would be a fun way to keep in touch with everyone.  As I've continued blogging, I've found that it is a wonderful way to express myself.  It has become much more important than I ever intended.  So, Thanks Micahela!  You're a doll and I'm so happy you love my blog enough to nominate me for such a cool honor!  

The Rules:

1. Thank and link back to the blogger who presented you with the award.

2. List 11 random facts about yourself

3. Answer the 11 questions you were asked.

4. Present/Nominate a Leibster blog award to 3-5 other bloggers with less than 200 followers.

11 Random Facts About Myself

1. I LOVE LEMON!  My love affair with citrus started early in my life and never ended.  I still cook with lemon or lime at least twice a week, have lemon/orange/lime/grapefruit scentsy bars melting at all times of the day and I even have the gosh darned cutest lemon shaped tea pot.  Once we finally purchase the house we want, I want a completely citrus themed kitchen.  Yeah, that is happening.  

2. The hubs and I were high school sweethearts.  And, I love him and I am so grateful that we met, but it SUCKED.  Being practicing members of the LDS faith, we knew we loved each other, we knew we wanted to get married, and there was literally nothing to do about it.  He had a mission to go on, I had school to go to.  It was basically a situation in which we just had to put our faith in the Lord and listen to what he needed us to do.  Eventually he got home, we dated for about two years and then got married.  It worked out perfectly for us, marriage is the best thing to ever happen to me.  However, I would never hope for anyone to go through that.  Because the five years (two of which were spent 3000 miles away) spent just waiting for the time to be right, was difficult.  The Lord knows what we need and as we follow His counsel, we'll always be in the place we need to be.  It just was not fun at the time, now I'm grateful for it. 

3. Ellen Degeneres will make me laugh no matter what is going on in my life.  She really is the best.  To quote my good friend, Cody, "You either love Ellen Degeneres or you let the terrorists win."  And if you think otherwise, feel free to watch the following clip that will, ultimately, change your mind.

You can also read this article, which will surely inspire you to love Mrs. Degeneres as much as I do.

4. I sang in Carnegie Hall when I was 18.  Seriously, one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life.  I absolutely love New York.  I can't wait to take my husband back to New York City someday and have him experience the east coast too.

  

5. My hubby and I spend most nights watching Doctor Who and The Big Bang Theory.  And I spend basically all of my other tv time watching Food Network.  LOVE IT!

6. Cooking is super relaxing for me.  I love to make up recipes as I go along, so I'm terrible at actually writing a recipe down to follow it.  Someday maybe I'll get good about writing my recipes down, but for now I just have them all up in my noggin. 

7. In addition to cooking, I LOVE BAKING!  I love baking cupcakes, cakes, and any other sweet concoctions.

8. I am obsessed with fun hair colors (i.e. putting purple/pink/other things) in hair.  Never have I been brave enough to do it myself, but I love how it looks on other people.  Maybe someday I'll be brave enough to put a little fun color in my hair somewhere.

9.  I love anything with mint in it.  If mint is anywhere related to the food, I will most likely eat it.  

10. I love to cross stitch.  I know, I'm basically an 80 year old woman in a 20 year old body.  Currently I'm working on a little cross stitch for our (hopefully) new home kitchen.  

11. Getting dressed up is one of my favorite things.  I like taking the time to pick out a cute outfit, wear skirts and dresses, do my hair and put on all of my make up.  Nothing makes me feel better on a rough day then just making myself look a little bit better.  

11 Questions Michaela Asked Me

1. What is your go to comfort food?
Oh. Em. GEE.  I freaking love my dad's homemade stroganoff.  He makes it with gluten-free condensed mushroom soup and ground turkey with gluten-free quinoa noodles, just for me! (Lots of food allergies, he's a champ and adjusted the recipe for me.  He makes the real stuff for the rest of the family.)  However, my mom's pasta salad is also a real winner. 

2. If you could be any animal in the safari, what would you be?
I have a thing for tigers and zebras.  Since I was young, I was obsessed with anything with stripes.  I even had an imaginary friend named Tina the Tiger.  I was an odd child...

3. What is one of your bad habits?
Ick, I bite my nails basically all the time.  Drives my poor hubby CRAZY! 

4. What is your favorite Snack?
I love popcorn.  Plain and simple.  It's my go to most of the time.

5. What is something you wish you knew more about?
I love psychology and would love to learn more about it.  I've taken a few psych classes in college, but I'm always up for absorbing more about how the mind works.

6. What are three things on your bucket list?
Own a house (in full, not just have a mortgage), Take my hubby to NYC, See Mt. Rushmore in real life (it sounds weird, but I've always wanted to go there!)

7. Name three things in your purse right now?
Wallet, Baby Lips Lip Balm, Favorite VS Lotion

8. Favorite beauty tip?
ALWAYS WASH YOUR FACE AT NIGHT.  No matter what.  Even if you're all cuddled up in bed, warm and cozy, ready to sleep.  Wash your face.  With whatever cleanser works best for your skin, just do it.  If you do nothing else, do that.  Your skin will THANK YOU! 

9. What is one thing we will never catch you doing?
Skydiving...or Rock Climbing....Or basically anything that will put me in mortal danger.  I'm not a risky girl, I like being alive far too much. 

10. What is the happiest moment of your life so far?
It sounds super cliché, but the day I got married was definitely the happiest.   As well as basically every day after that. (The day I finally beat Pokémon Ruby is a close second)

11. What is your favorite quote?
I am obsessed with quotes and my favorite changes basically every day.  I have journals FULL of quotes sitting on my bookshelf ranging from when I was 10 to the present.  I think the favorite that always seems to make me happy is simple:

"Choose your love, Love your choice." 

-Thomas S. Monson

I choose to nominate the following AMAZING blogs that I read ALL THE TIME!  You people make me laugh, occasionally cry, and always feel better about life after reading your lovely words.  Congrats to:

Kathryn @ Sentiments from the Support Staff
Summer @ Summer Simmons-Turpin
Jenni @ Jenni & Chauncey
Bree @ Scribbles & Snapshots
Alicia @ The Deyoung Life

And the 11 questions for you lovely ladies are:
1. What do you doodle when you let your mind wander?
2. What is your guilty pleasure?
3. Favorite Movie?
4. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
5. What is one of your pet peeves?
6. Would you rather go to a party or cuddle up at home?
7. What is the best advice you ever received?
8. What is the best advice you have ever given?
9. Are you a writer, a reader or both?
10. What is your favorite board/card game?
11. All time favorite recipe?

the "other" man

I like to say that JD has two personalities.  The one that I fell in love with...and the one that comes out when he is asleep.

DISCLAIMER: I love him no matter what.  However, this beast comes alive when the man is asleep.  He's very affectionate and cuddly when he's awake.  Then the second the REM cycle begins, it is like this incredibly non-touchable menace is born.

I get cranky when I don't get enough rest, which is normal for most people. However, JD gets cranky when he is actually asleep, when he doesn't get enough rest or is dreaming.  I will never understand this.

Perfect Example: The other night I was having really bad, strange dreams.  I kept waking up so I attempted to shake JD awake, at which point he pulled his entire comforter around his face and rolled to the farthest side of the bed.  I fell back asleep...and had another scary dream.  I attempted to shake him awake again saying "JD...JD, honey..."  His response: "What?!"  I quietly said, "I had a bad dream."  His response:
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"DEAL WITH IT."

At which point he rolled over and went back to sleep.

After I told him this story in the morning, I received lots of kisses, hugs and heard him say quite a few times, "I'm sorry my subconscious is such a jerk!"

It's hard to get mad at him with a face like this.

 JD circa 2008, shortly before his mission...yes, he still owns that beanie and t-shirt

determined

It has been awhile.  It was quite an eventful Christmas filled with family, new babies, loud games, lots of beautiful gifts and my dad putting his head through a wall.  Pictures forthcoming.  However, with the new year upon us, I thought it fitting to talk to you about my goals for the new year.

Some of you may or may not have seen the buzz around the blogosphere, but the One Little Word project is one I think it amazing!  Ali Edwards challenges readers to select a single word to help them throughout the year.  To let that word speak to you, to embrace the word and all meanings/possibilities encumbered by it.  I really enjoyed reading about this challenge, she's been doing it for a few years now but I am now just learning about it.  However, I love it. 

I often find myself making the same resolutions each and every year, then never keeping them.  It gets overwhelming, I get busy and I end up just "surviving" the year rather than conquering it.  Not any more...because the word that spoke to me for this year is...

source

 

This year, I am determined.  I'm attacking this year with determination to achieve my goals and not just simply live, but to  conquer.  I hope to continually improve myself and be determined to do so.  I hope to be determined in all things including: taking care of myself, more enjoyable work experience, continuing to improve my school work, being determined to keep things tidy and always determined to stay positive through any trial.  2013 is looking to be an amazing year and I am excited for it. 

 

 

Do any of you have a word you hope to inspire you new year?  What is it and what does it mean to you?  I'd love to hear what word inspires you to be your best self in this coming New Year.





thanks

Blessings are in abundance in my life.  It's a wonderful thing.  Even though I'm stressed with school (finals are just around the corner), work has been busy as all get out (new assistant, tons of new cases, 2 cases went to trial last week), and cleaning gets me even more stressed (however, I have been keeping consistent with keeping the bathroom clean and keeping up with laundry. Small victories!).  Sometimes I find myself struggling to keep positive when things aren't going the way I want, plan or expect.  However, with the holidays approaching I am thinking about all of the wonderful blessings in my life.  So, here I go to try and list a few:

• My husband, he makes me so happy
• The Coca-Cola Company, for giving me the amazing opportunity to attend college.  I am a 2011 Coca Cola Scholar and part of an amazing family of wonderfully talented individuals.  20,000 applied, 250 were chosen.  I am lucky to be part of such a wonderful group.  After attending the scholar conference in Atlanta, GA and meeting scholars from around the country we interviewed for the various levels of scholarship awards.  I was fortunate to receive a $10,000 scholarship to attend college.  It is only through the Coca Cola Company that I am able to continue my education and earn my degree, even if I hate college sometimes.
• Diet Coke, not only is it putting me through college with money, it gives me the energy necessary to stay up until all hours of the night studying and accomplishing homework.
• Family, my siblings (both sets) are always there for me, I have the most gorgeous nieces in the world and I have the best parents (both sets) on the planet.  I'm also fortunate to be close with my cousins, aunts and uncles.
• Wyoming, I really enjoy where we live.  My parent's have been so wonderful letting us live rent free in the basement.  We both have jobs here.  I can attend college at a good rate here.  I like living in a small town.  I grew up in a small town, I hope to raise my children in a small (or at least smallish) community.
• This blog, it's small.  I don't have a lot of followers.  However, I love each and every person that reads.  It's a wonderful outlet to express my thoughts and hopefully others relate to me.
• Jobs, JD and I both have employment making us money so we are able to pay our bills and save for our future. 
• My faith, I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I am so happy I was married in the temple for time and all eternity.  I am so happy I have the gospel in my life.  I am so grateful for missionary work and for the opportunity to participate in the full and everlasting gospel in these latter-days.
• Friends, even though I live SO far away from my school friends and I miss them like crazy, they always keep in contact with me.  And it makes me so happy.  I also am happy to be making friends up here in Wyoming and to get to know the women in my Relief Society group in our ward.

Life is unpredictable.  Things ALWAYS change for the better, even when it doesn't seem like it.  Blissful contentedness is a wonderful thing.  And I'm happy to be finally experiencing it after a few weeks of heartache and frustration.  

marriage 101

I've read that your first year of marriage and the events that occur during it define the marriage for the rest of your life.  I believe we had a moment, a singular moment, that defined our marriage.  This happened during our first week, nay, our second day of marriage. 

Before our wedding, everyone in my family was getting this absolutely horrible flu.  This included my mother the day before my wedding.  So, I'd been trying to fight this flu away so I didn't have to get it on the day of my wedding.  We made it through the wedding day and had an absolute perfect day.  It was truly the happiest day of my life and I fall deeper in love with my husband every day.

Now, for the reality part.  We got to our darling bed and breakfast (Anniversary Inn.  Seriously, go there, it's adorable)  and had....a fun time (don't oooh la la at me, you know what happens on honeymoons).  We woke up the next morning and watched tv while we ate breakfast.  Then suddenly, I threw up.  All over our bed.  And all over our bathroom.  My husband calmly picked me up, sat me in our tub, started the bath and he proceeded to clean the bathroom, going and getting cleaner from the maids.  He washed me, picked me up, put me in some pajamas and put me into bed.  It was...awful.  Simply horrid.  Mortifying even.  One day into the marriage and he's cleaning puke.  I assumed he was thinking, "What did I get myself into with this one?"  But, I learned something through that terrible experience.  We will always pick each other up.  Even in the deepest, darkest, even embarrassing parts of our lives, we have each other. 

Since then, there's been more throw up for both of us.  Bills that we need to get paid.  Laundry that is never finished.  Messy rooms that can never stay clean.  Jobs that need to be found and stress up the hoozie-whatzit.  However, there's a few things that always keep up going and keep us together and strong in our marriage.

1. We pray.  Every. Single. Night.  Together and privately.  It is incredibly difficult to be worried, stressed or upset when you're praying to the Lord. "The strength of a man and wife joined together in God’s sight is far greater than the sum of the strengths of each of the two individuals. That’s because the Holy Spirit unites them and gives added power to their prayers." -Stormie Ormartian
2. We read scriptures.  Almost. Every. Single. Night.  Same principle.  When you're coming closer to the Lord and Christ, it's nearly impossible to be upset or worried about the stresses of the mortal world.
3. We do our best not to let the little things get us down.  I often find myself completely overwhelmed and frustrated over not having enough hours in the day to do homework, laundry, work out, cook and be the perfect "happy" wife at all times.  And, luckily, my hubby has even said "If I wanted the perfect cookie cutter wife, I wouldn't have married you."  Some people think it's an insult, I consider it a GREAT compliment to be out of the ordinary. 
4. We talk about everything.  No lies, no secrets. To quote a certain "dancer" from The Office, "Secrets secrets are no fun.  Secrets secrets hurt someone."
5. We forgive and forget.  We never bring up past mistakes in arguments.  Okay, never sounds absolute.  We aren't perfect people.  We make mistakes, but reliving and rehashing out old problems never fixes them.
6. We write in our journals most every day.  It's these small, separate, private moments that keep us (ourselves) together.  In order to care for each other, we need to care for ourselves.  And we work to keep up on this one. 
7. We'd don't point out each others flaws and mistakes. 
8. And, we fall deeper in love each day.  (Probably the easiest and most important factor in our happy marriage)

my blessing

Our First "official" Valentine's Day

February 2011



My husband is probably one of the greatest blessings of my life as of lately.  Especially this morning when I lost my wedding ring.

Seriously, it was tragic.  Here's the story: Last night, we had a ward party at a pool.  I got in the water with my niece and swam with her.  I didn't want to lose my ring in the pool, so I put my rings in my purse.  This morning as I was getting ready to go to work, I couldn't find them. 

I. Freaked. OUT.

I ran into our bedroom screaming and crying for JD to get up and help me look.  Mind you, he was still sleeping.  He remanied very calm and went through my purse while I was still in hysterics.  He then sat me down, held my hands and said a wonderfully sweet prayer.  Thanking Heavenly Father for me and asking for help to find the symbol of our great love for one another.  After the prayer, I felt a little more peaceful.  However, I was still just trying to pull myself together.  So, my husband went outside to my truck.  And, somehow, he found it.

You may or may not know this, but I have a tendency to "panic" pretty easily.  It's something I try to deal with, but sometimes I just can't help myself.  But my husband knows just want to do and what to say to keep me calm.  He never panics, he never gets upset with me when I get anxious or worked up.  He's truly my blessing in my life.  When I get worried or upset or scared, he always comforts me.  I'm truly a lucky woman to have him in my life.

The end.  Also, I probably need to finish my filing before blogging at work...bleh, oh well.

married.

Well, it's official.  We have a "we're married" blog.  My old bloggity-blog just wasn't cutting it for me anymore.  I decided I wanted to make one for JD and I and our adventures as a family. 

Here's a little preview of our wedding day:

Exiting the Temple as husband and wife

 


















The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

Smiles and Cake Cutting at our Wedding Dinner
 

 

So, now we're living up in Wyoming.  I work for an attorney.  My hubby is seeking employment.  We're happy.  Except for the fact I've had the flu 3 times since we've been married.  I also sprained my ankle.  We love being together all the time.  We love playing games together and spending time with each other.  Seriously, he is perfect for me.   I don't know what I'd ever do without him.  Stay tuned for more of our geeky adventures together.