what have we been doing all summer?!

This summer has been such a blast! Hubs and I have been constantly outside riding bikes, hiking, long walks, riding horses, camping, rock climbing, you name it. 

We are trying to relax and have fun one day at a time. 

Last week we went camping with my family, it was so fun! The weather was perfect, the view was beautiful and the company was great! We took the horses with us and we went on a few trail rides. 

We ran into a moose on one of our rides. My heart stopped beating for a second, then it ran off, whew!

Here's to another month of summer fun!

Onto 2014!

I have started a few posts to catch up on the past few weeks  months. But finishing and publishing them is overwhelming so I keep putting them off. I think I'll just start fresh and go from here!

- This week I am home with a lung infection. Yuck. Hard to breathe yuck. I have been rereading the Harry Potter series to keep me occupied as well as a little T.V. I am currently listening to a natural fertility webinar while blogging and cooking spaghetti (with the spaghetti squash for noodles), sweet potatoes, salad, and sauteed spinach. I crave some healthy and REAL FOOD. No more popcorn or string cheese for me, please.

- This is the first time where I've actually made New Year's Resolutions with the intentions to stick it out. To be honest I can hardly even remember what my previous goals were. So for 2014, I have been working on two things:

1- To get healthy 

2- To be more organized

Very broad, I know. I'm keeping it simple. To get healthy for me obviously means being able to feel great and get pregnant with the least amount of harsh drugs as possible. To get there I have cut out all wheat and refined sugar. I have tried this multiple times last year but never lasted long. I plan on sticking to this lifestyle 90% but have been 100% wheat and sugar free so far! And it honestly hasn't been that hard. Hubs has been doing it with me too so that helps A LOT. As Jimmy said when I told him he didn't have to be on such a restricted diet, "I'm going to do this with with you so that when you get frustrated and want to give up, I can know what you are going through to help." That made my heart swoooon. My only concern with this is that he might go too low carb and it would interfere with his health goals. I try to make sure there is a balance for the both of us. He gets a lot of oatmeal, eggs, rice, beans, sweet potatoes, protein shakes, etc. 

I have a calendar I get to check off at the end of the day that has helped a ton! If I see that I have gone so many days without wheat and sugar along with exercising daily, I get motivated for more. Likewise, when I get tempted to eat a piece of cake at the end of my work shift, I turn it away not wanting to lose my whole day over one treat. It's gotta be worth it!

To be more organized has been a great one already. I find when I am organized my days run much smoother, I have a healthy and yummy menu, I don't spend as much money, I blog more, I am able to unplug for spiritual growth, and I feel at peace. I went so far as to type up a detailed schedule of how my day should go, meal ideas, which supplements and hormones I need to take on which days, reminders for me to lay out tomorrow's outfit, etc. Sounds a bit extreme??? Surprisingly, I feel so much more calm and happy since making this goal!

How are your goals coming along? 

December Happenings

December has been so full of fun activities! I get to attend five different work parties, bake and receive yummy goodies, spend a little more time with Hubs than I'm used to, and enjoy lots of giant mugs full of fruity "teas" while cuddling with Jimmy in front of the T.V. We've probably seen Home Alone too many times. 

Speaking of movies, Jimmy took me to see Frozen the other week, I looooved it! Been listening to the soundtrack, especially this song by Demi Lovato all day today. 

We also saw the new Hobbit movie, whatever its called. Today marks Jimmy's third time seeing it. Three times in four days! Goodness. And to go along with the theme, my living room floor is covered in Lord of the Rings Legos. I'm practicing my patience. ;)

ugly sweater party for work with my sister and oldest brother

one of the boys in my primary brought me this little card and bag of chocolate the other day

and of course I had to do a little decorating the day after Thanksgiving! I actually had a TON of projects lined up but didn't have the time so I told myself to not stress over it and enjoy a little simplicity this year. I made the Santa sleigh garland with my Silhouette machine, it was super easy and quick!

I just had to take a few pictures of my parent's tree, I love it!

And of course my mom set our Thanksgiving table to be so pretty and I had to snap a few photos of that as well.

 This quote has been my favorite for the year, it has helped me so much. I designed this then my Silhouette drew it for me. I think I'm going to make a large one for my house!

Jimmy got us tickets to the "Music and the Spoken Word" this Sunday so we went to that in Salt Lake. The guests were Deborah Voigt (opera singer) and John Rys-Davis (Lord of the Rings actor- *insert Jimmy's excitement here*)  It was SO GOOD. Nothing like I expected. I didn't know they would have so much dancing and acting. The stage was set up to replicate Charles Dickens' town and they did a musical which was titled, "A Dickens Christmas." It was so cool. My favorite was all of the ballerinas and other dancers as well as tumblers doing all kinds of tumbling (back flips, ect.) on stage. It was so fun when Charles and The Ghost of Christmas Present (John Rys-Davis) flew over the town because they flew over the heads of the audience. John Rys-Davis also narrated the scriptures of Christ's birth and Debora Voigt put on a spectacular performance as well as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Symphony. 

We then walked around Temple square for a bit and enjoyed the warm(er) weather before we headed back home for family pictures.

What a fun month it has been so far! I finally finished my Christmas shopping today, now I just need to get it all wrapped up and under the tree! 

just some of the few things happening from like a month ago until now

Whew! A month gone by and I haven't been on blogger, what a shame. I wish I could give you a good excuse that says we've been out traveling the world or something like that but in all honesty, we've been glamming it up with.......work. So elaborate, I know. ;)

 

This is the busier season for both hubs and I so we get to be pretty crazy. Since last year was so hectic and exhausting (no more 12 hour work days, please), I've been attempting to gear up a little better with freezer meals being made, groceries stocked up, and not stressing out so much about the house getting a little messy. That one is a work in progress.

 

I sometimes get to sneak away for trail rides on ponies. It is such a great stress reliever and so much fun.

 

 

 

I heard of marinating a bunch of meat, cooking it up, and throwing it in the freezer. You can add it to just about any dish and save yourself a lot of time on those late nights. This keeps us from running out to buy unnecessary, overpriced, and unhealthy fast food. Its definitely one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" moments for me.

I had my first ever "oh-yum-this-is-actually-really-good" grain free pizza today. It sure doesn't get credit for looks but totally makes up for it in taste and ease! It was so quick and simple to whip up and actually satisfied my pizza cravings that come just about every day. Get the recipe here.

Hubs and I are both working on some health goals right now so this fits the bill for me.

 

 

And then there are these little gems that make those health goals fly right out the window. My sister and I had a caramel apple dipping party on Halloween. We were sick to our stomachs but it was so worth it! My favorite was the caramel, chocolate, pretzel dipped apple. The candy bar ones were fabulous too.

Hubs and I try to make room for each other even though our days get pretty crazy. We usually keep it pretty simple with lots of cuddling and movies in the evenings. The romance most always ends with me pushing and kicking hubs while he attempts to tickle my feet for "one minute" as he says. This morning while we were cuddling in bed Hubs asked me, "Will you put your arms in the air for one minute?" Um, NO!

I've also been playing with my new Silhouette Cameo while I can. We put our Christmas décor up the day after Thanksgiving so I gotta hustle and finish all of my projects!

 



 Jimmy's home teaching companion unexpectedly lost their four month old baby girl this week. We had the other kids over at our house for a bit so that realllly kept me busy. I don't know how you super moms do it. Her funeral was today and it was very sweet. She was such a happy little baby that will be missed but we know she was needed more on the other side. Baby A makes a perfect little angel.

 

Oh, and this place is amazing. I've made it a goal to go every week (this girl needs it) so if you ever need a temple buddy just let me know. :)

a new look, fall, and other things

 

We headed up to Cascade Springs this week for our yearly fall drive and walk. We've been going since we were dating a few years ago and always look forward to it! Hubby has been going since he was a kid with his family and I'm happy to say that we still carry the tradition on.

 

 

I wanted to get some cute photos with Jimmy while we were there, but unfortunately my carsickness kicked into over drive the farther up the trail we walked so we ended up not staying too long. Its not uncommon for me to get slight motion sickness on curvy roads but I assumed that it would go away once in the fresh air. It didn't this time and I'm wondering if it had something to do with the elevation or something I ate previously?

 

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My sister convinced me to take the ponies on a trail ride last Saturday morning. It was a blast! I took my old pony, Sugar Lips, that my parents still use for riding lessons. We went bareback (no saddles) around the dike by the lake. We cantered (horsey ran) a lot and I didn't even fall off! I was sure I would because its been a while since I've done that. Plus we were laughing so hard because we looked so funny on our full speed ponies taking a run for it. I am sure feeling it in my legs and abs this week. But it was so worth it! 

 

 

 

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After our ride, Jimmy convinced me to go rock climbing up the canyon...Yeah, I have NO muscles this week! I really wasn't in the mood and declined to climb for a while because the only rock we could climb was one I was mad at. (I can't get very far up it at all). I finally just went so Jimmy would stop inviting me. I was on the rock for ages and was so irritated that I was struggling so much that I was determined to beat that dang rock. Before I knew it I was sitting at the top looking over the tip of the temple and fall leaves covering the valley! I'm glad my Hubby knows me and pushes me to try new things.

 

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Also, last week my brand new Silhouette Cameo came for me in the mail! Woo hoo! I've been wanting one for a while now and saved up some baby sitting money for it. Whew! I'm still a newbie and just trying to figure things out but I can tell it will be well played with and loved. That last sentence just sounded like someone was talking about a baby or something.

 

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And just one last update for y'all before you get too bored with my looong post. I've been getting migraines and headaches the past couple of weeks. They've been lasting all day and continue to get worse as time goes by. I watch my diet and water intake very closely and knew there were no changes there. I keep trying to figure out what was going on when I noticed I consistently get a headache when looking at any type of screen. Since I work in front of a computer all day and the headaches were getting worse pretty quickly, I made an eye appointment per my hubby's and mom's advice. For a girl who comes from a family that doesn't have any vision problems, I received really weird news. We found out that my right eye is far sighted while my left eye is near sighted. My vision is still pretty good but my eyes are constantly trying to "fight" with each other and adjust, causing headaches. So I was kindly ordered some special little reading/screen glasses to help my head not hurt all day.

I figured I might as well have fun with them if I have to live with them so I tried on like a hundred of funky and fun glasses. The girls at the front desk had a ball helping me try them out and narrow down my options until I picked these ones (and please excuse my awkward face)

 

 

 

 

I LOVE my little cat lenses! And I just noticed I'm wearing a leopard shirt under as well. I guess you could say I'm a sucker for anything leopard print. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

lets catch up with some random things

I've kind of fallen off the social media planet lately. Just been stuck in my own little world doing my own thing. I'm keeping busy busy busy. Its a blessing and a curse, really. Still trying to work on prioritizing my schedule and to do list. I was so swamped for a few weeks right when we came home from our trip with starting up more work hours and our house projects. Whew! Now that we are officially done with remodeling for a while, we just crash on the couch in front of the TV on our spare time. Maybe we will get bored in a few days and find other ways to keep busy. WHO KNOWS. We obviously have a "busy" issue. Tips anyone???

In other news beyond thinking about remodeling...

-I am loving fall! I got 4 fall cardigans the other day with price tags of $3.99 on each of them! Woo-hoo!

- I finally created a craft closet the other week. I. love. it. I still need to make it look cute before I post pictures. But it is so much fun to work in!

- I need to get my teensy porch decorated for fall. I'm not much for swapping out the indoor décor but the porch is something I always enjoy decorating for the holidays.

- Speaking of holidays, maybe I can convince hubby that we need Christmas lights this year? I've never been able to convince him. So the sad, grumpy, house of ours will most likely look a little Grinch for yet another year this winter.

- And OH MY GOSH. The other week our Toyota Corolla stopped working. We were too busy to get it towed to the mechanic with everything going on so I just drove our spare truck. Well, we finally got it in over the weekend and GUESS WHAT. Turns out a rodent had chewed through the wires of our car. Let me repeat. A RODENT CHEWED THROUGH THE WIRES OF OUR CAR. Oh of course, why shouldn't that poor little rodent be able to snack on our car parts?

Disney 2013 Recap

Whew! It has been so busy around here. We got back from California and jumped right into work and remodeling our bathroom. It's coming along so well and I am in love already! Can't wait to get that post going up as soon as its done next week.

 

Cali was so so so much fun. We loved every minute of it. It was just me and Jimmy for a while, my parents met up with us on and off. We were lucky enough to be able to tag along with my dad since he had a work conference right next to Disneyland.

 

While we were in California, we spent our first day doing nothing but the beach. It was so perfect to relax! We even found a quiet beach to lay out on.

 

 

 

We also went to Knotts Berry Farm for the first time. If you love thrill rides, head to Knotts! It was a blast and I can't believe some of the rides I went on. And there were hardly any wait times.

 

 

 

 

And of course, Disneyland/California Adventure! We were in the park for a couple of days and got so much done. We rode just about every ride and played around, saw a couple of shows, ate lots of food,

 

(My parents behind me)

 

 

(For my LEGO loving husband's family, and yes those are made out of LEGOS!)

 

 

And tracked down characters. We even got to meet some of the characters who hardly ever come out which was a lot of fun!

 

 

 

 

 

We had so much fun on our vacation, we are already talking about when we can go on another one! Better save our pennies...