Just shy of 10 things to tell you.

 

1- These pictures have nothing to do with this post.

 

2- Yes, that is a dog in a suitcase. I have no control over my cousins when I babysit. So I took a picture.

 

3- And yes, that is my husband and sister playing ping pong...their style.

 

4- I've got tonight off. I would say TGIF. But I don't even know what to do with a Friday night anymore. Hubs and I keep talking about it but we don't even know how to celebrate.

 

5- I'm kind of jealous of all of the kids who just started their summer break. They get to play all day long in the sun without a care in the world for a few months. I mean, where's our summer break from work?

 

6- Hubby and I attended two wedding receptions last night. Let the wedding season begin. Let my wallet empty on wedding gifts while my tummy fills up on little sandwiches and pastries. Its a fair trade off.

 

7- I should really clean my house today.

 

8- We ate the first strawberries of the season right from our little garden this week. MMMM.

 

9- Wifey confession time. Hubs was supposed to come home Monday from his backpacking trip. When his name popped up on my caller ID at 9 AM on Saturday morning, my first thought was that it would be the paramedics telling me he was dead. Instead it was, "Hey babe....I finished early.....I'm sitting in a park....my feet hurt so bad....can you come pick me up?" Turns out 10 miles in he remembered he had a payment due for scout camp. He hiked 22 miles the next day so he could be responsible and make his payment. He walked like the oldest man I have ever seen for two days.

Answered Prayers

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I walked through the door after work and switched on the news right after it happened. Something I rarely even do. I watched the replay of the explosions and listened to runners share what shook their world. I saw a lot of brutally injured people with faces badly burned and legs needing amputations. I kept thinking about the past two shootings we just experienced as a nation as well. So many stresses and worries kept running through my head. How am I supposed to bring children into this world? How do I protect them from any of this harm?

 

I later answered my door as I heard the bell ring right before dinner. Members of a search party were on my door handing me a flier and asking if I had seen a young girl who went missing. I had not. And I was feeling very overwhelmed once again.

 

In the past I have dealt best with other's tragedy by pretending it never happened. I do not like living or watching others live in sadness. I am very sensitive to other's pain but try to push it away.

 

But yesterday I felt like I needed to be better. I learned to accept the hardships we may be facing and do what I can do. Later that night my husband and I prayed for the others. Their losses, hardships, and the world they're living in.

 

Today I have seen prayers being answered. That young girl had been found safe and as I watched the news this morning, I kept hearing runners tell stories of how others reached out to them. People were starting to see the good in each other as they pulled together.

 

I've realized that I won't be able to shelter my family from the dangers of the world once again. But as much as I hate to admit it, its okay. Because even though there is some pretty scary stuff out there, there is also a lot of good this world has to offer us.

 

I've made a goal today to always look for the best when it seems hardest to.

 

 

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when pinterest fails you

I sure do love easy hair-doo's. I spend a total of two minutes (at the most) on my hair everyday. Curling it with my snazzy curling rod is my fastest style yet, minus my single braid I often do too. But even now that seems to be taking up too much of my morning. So lazy, I know.

 And on Pinterest,  I keep seeing all of these "No heat overnight curls tutorial, guaranteed to get you gorgeous giant beachy waves with no work!"

Whatever.

I've tried so many of them, with each failing me.

But this week, this week I thought I really had a chance at pulling one of the tutorials off.

I showered at night like I always do (again, it saves me time in the morning and I don't like the thought of getting into bed all gross)

Then I spent waaaaay too much time trying to figure out that dang rope braid thing.

Whoever can get that on their first time has pure talent.

I hopped into bed telling Jimmy that I already knew I looked like I belonged in the Brady Bunch.

I blame that on the braids coming down in front of my ears.

I slept all night long.

Then the next morning, excited to see my beautiful voluminous curls, I gently started taking out my rope braids.

And instantly, in that moment, I gasped.

Like my hair was dying to get out of the braid, it all just poofed out at once.

Like really poofed.

It almost looked like I had an afro.

An afro would have looked better on me.

No, it down right looked like I had a poodle laying on my head.

A giant fat poodle.

And I couldn't get it off.

I ran downstairs to the bathroom to try to fix my hair with anything I could find.

I thought water would work, but instead I run into Hubs, who took one look at me and said, "You look like Raggedy Anne!"

Of course this had to happen on the morning we are already rushing out the door.

So the only thing I could do was to braid it all back in one single, (non ropey!) traditional braid.

I was hoping this would solve my problems.

But I went from looking like I had a full on poodle over my head to looking like I had sprouted a poodle's tail over night.

Because at the very end of the tight, frizzy braid I had just wrestled with, was one giant, puffy, puff ball.

 

And that my friends, is how I went about my day.

and we are all jumbled up

Loving this new headband I recently made. Can't get enough of this floral trend.

 

 

I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging on a regular basis. I've gotten in a rut where I think if I don't have anything super exciting or new to share then its not worth writing down. But then I look back on last week and I can't even remember the little things that happened! Geez girl! So I made a goal to get on the computer and just write about anything and everything that feels appropriate. And we all know I'm really good at rambling on and on about nothing and hubs knows its possible for me to talk his ear off and when I was a little girl I- ANYWHO...

 

- I've been so sick this entire winter. Cold/cough/sore throat thing. I'm over it. Summer? You there? Please make your grand appearance sooner rather than later. Thank you.

 

- Monday morning I had a nose bleed (another reason why we need to get out of this dry weather, anybody else having these a lot?). Well, we were already running late to go shooting because I didn't sleep the night before (again, thank you sickie germs), Jimmy had flags, our super reliable and newer corolla's engine lights flashed on so we had to take it in to the mechanic. (More on that later) and we needed to drop by Walmart to pick up a few things. While I was trying to take care of my nosebleed, Jimmy offered to "draw on my makeup" for me. Haha, cute! He pulled out my eyeliner and just got started right away. I thought he did a pretty good job ;)

 

- On Saturday our corolla started shaking and the engine light came on. Mind you this is a nicer and newer corolla. We took it to the Toyota mechanics. After taking it apart and putting it back together multiple time, they came to the conclusion that it was low quality gas. Yeah...I've been filling that thing up with Costco gas because its like 10 cents cheaper...looks like we are back on Chevron.

 

- I stopped my last fertility treatments in December. Honestly, I'm super relieved that I'm not on the drugs anymore. Hubs was actually the one who said he didn't want me back on them. Plus it was all actually making my health decline more and more but the docs wanted to keep upping my doses and add more stuff in and test out some hefty shots and start pumping in some fake hormones even though they admitted that the last treatment was not good for me and whew! You see where I'm going with this? So I dropped everything cold turkey and am now going to go on a natural/herbal/healthy diet approach. I feel much better about this.

 

- I need to go make some din-din now. We're testing out a chicken cooked in apple juice recipe. Super easy and healthy with 3 ingredient ? Yes please. (Recipe here- note- instead of buying the juice, I'm just juicing an apple myself for the health and flavor benefits. Hopefully it works.)

 

Looking forward to my night off with the hubs! Happy almost weekend everyone!

just an overload for my own recapping pleasures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently "overload" is an understatement around here. Lately I have been trying to think of any major things that happened this past year. But in reality I just could not pin any spectacular "milestones" down. Last year was crazy- newly weds, new house, all that jazz. This is year has been nothing like I imagined. None of my little "plans" actually planned out the way I wanted them to. I have had to learn more patience and to rely on my Heavenly Father and my own testimony more than I ever had to. I have learned more about what becoming a woman means, my love for my family has grown immensely, I can say I've earned my title "Clean Freak" (Nobody saw that one coming!) and I have learned my way around a kitchen.

 

As I scanned through my old photos from throughout the year, I couldn't help but smile (and click "upload upload upload!") at all of the fun adventures Mr. Hubs and I were able to have.

You can probably tell we love anything outdoors.

And camping wherever possible- even the living room? YES!

We attempted to start our own family with a pair of bunnies. Totally impulse. It was a holiday, we were both home, and the hubs said, "I want a bunny, lets go get some bunnies." Of course I couldn't turn that one down! (Bravo, Hubs) One pet store later and we had us some baby bunnies.

 Basil Stag Hare and Princess Poppy. We later found out Princess Poppy wasn't a girl.

 But Princess Poppy still goes by his birth  name.

 We probably should have planned that one out better.

 Jimmy was able to start his own garden. He did a fantastic job! All credit goes to him, not me. I wasn't even allowed near it because apparently my thumb is not so green. But Jimmy reassures me that I'm going to have to learn because he won't have any time this summer. (Yay for big boy jobs!)

 

I love that man. So much. Its so weird how your love for somebody just keeps growing and growing everyday. You think at one point it wouldn't be able to grow anymore but then Cupid laughs in your face and shoots more arrows your way. Its really quite nice.

 

 

 

 

 

still feeling thankful

I'm sitting here in a Thanksgiving hangover. The hubs and I just ate leftover jello salad for breakfast. And on the agenda for this weekend is lots of cleaning, Christmas decorating, and watching that movie "Wreck it Ralph."

But I can't help but think about all of my blessings! Its been so good for Jimmy and I to talk about our many blessings lately. We really are so blessed! I could go on and on about all of the people I am grateful for and then tell you all about the many blessings I have, but that might be a long post. So, with a few experiences lately, I'll share with you what I'm feeling rather thankful for this Holiday season.

My dad. I have a pretty great dad. The other day, when we got hit with a nasty snow storm, I almost got in an accident because my truck was sliding all over the road, along with the other cars around me. I ended up just pulling off to the side and walking the rest of the way to my destination. But later I still had to go to work and I was too scared to drive myself. So I called my dad. (who was at work himself) Before I even said anything, he was worried and asked me if I was okay. I told him my situation and before I could ask him to take me to work, he said he would drive me! And what other dad takes his girls to all the Twilight and Justin Beiber Movies? He does so many other great things for me. I hope he can understand that I will always still be his little girl.

My momma. Funny how I get comments that my mom and I could be sisters. And not just because my momma has time on her side, but because of our relationship! I love going over to talk with her during the day. She is one of my closest friends who I share my most personal feelings with, and she has helped me out in so many ways. I can tell she really cares about me. She has been so great helping me deal with my health, more than the doctors have been able to. Its been so fun having a close relationship with my momma.

My sister. We've always been BFF's. It helps that we aren't much apart in age. We grew up sharing a room our whole lives, some of our best memories happened because of that! And even now that we are both away from home, and she is swamped kicking school's booty, we are still super close. Jo always encourages me and keeps my attitude in check. She is my vaulting buddy and knows what I'm thinking before it comes out of my mouth. I hope that we never move far apart because I can't go a few days without seeing her! Plus, she makes a great date. :)

And of course, Jimmy, aka Mr. Hubs. The past year and almost a half (what the heck? where has time gone???) has been such a fun ride with him. We have been through so many adventures together already. He has been there for me and is so supportive. From letting me talk his ears off (which happen a lot!) to holding me when I cry, to the late mornings in bed when  he won't let me out because he wants to cuddle. Jimmy doesn't let a day go by without some sort of laughter. No matter how much is on his plate and could be stressed, he chooses to not bring it home and does his best to make me happy. He lets me experiment making up dinner recipes, and has never said anything bad about the meals I make, even when I'm not satisfied. I love that he is so intelligent, I turn to him for all advice. Its so nice that he is such a hard worker and understands his role as the provider. I know our family is in good hands!

Of course, there are so many more people I want to write about. But there is no way I can get to everybody today! So there are always more posts to write :)

Hope everybody had a fabulous Thanksgiving! And Merry Christmas! ;)






P.S. I can't get to everybody personally, so I hope this will do for at least now...A special "THANK YOU" to every one of you for your kind words and enouragement on my previous post, it really means a lot to us! Just another one of our blessings to have amazing family and friends! So Thank you thank you thank you! Now go eat some more Thanksgiving leftovers, I know I am! :)

this man, oh my!

 

 

 

Yesterday at work I was talking to one of my coworkers. He's a fun guy from Mexico and still in high school. He had just gotten out of a relationship and was telling me about how they would always fight and they both love to be right so it simply couldn't work out. Which can be hard for me to believe because he is such a nice guy. He later got to asking me about my husband and our marriage. Convo went like this:

 

 Him: "Is your husband the jealous type?"

Me: "Nah, I can get way more jealous than him. He's pretty chill."

 

Him: "Well he probably trusts you then, huh?"

Me: "I would hope so! There's not really a reason to not trust each other."

 

Him a few minutes later: "Does your husband get mad easily?"

Me: "Haha, Nooooooo. He's the most patient person I've ever met."

Him: "Well all guys get mad. So he has to get mad."

Me: "Not really. I've never seen I'm flip out. He's really just chill."

 

Him: "Hmmmmmmm................you talk like an old white lady."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rambles

Getting our fancy on. Most of my family and my grandpa at a family wedding.

 

 

I've fallen out of the whole blogging world lately. I was just going on so many fun little adventures I kind of just stopped. But then I look back at my summer and see that I never recorded anything! Boo-hoo. So here's to getting in bloggy shape!

 

I'm a rambly kind of girl. Mr. Hubs could tell you that. And I only write a teensy bit on this blog because I'm sure nobody wants to sit around and listen to my ramblings. BUT. Then I realized that this is kind of what blogging is- creating your own space and making it what you want. Sometimes I think we follow what other people are posting. We follow those blogging "trends" that the big guys set. Well, we all know how good I am at keeping up with the latest trends (HA!) so I figured if I bust out in ramlbes, so be it.

 

Now why did I even tell you that?

 

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I don't have any snazzy outfits to show ya'll. Or cute kids to brag about. I don't even have daily crafts or delicious recipes to share. Someday I would love to get to that point. At least something of the sorts. But for now I am enjoying my reality. This consists of my sweet Mr. Hubs, a simple lifestyle, and my daily rambles.

Just to hold you over

We are heading off yet again for another little adventure to see some family and enjoy some time together with the outdoors. Yay for vay-cay's! (Thanks, Legally Blonde)

BUT! While emptying my memory card to make room for our soon to be vacation, I found some little gems and I couldn't resist sharing. This is what life around these parts looks like...As you can imagine, I probably laugh a lot.

Ping Pong Intensified

Yes that's a snuggie

                                                                     Mr. Buddy getting packed

                                                                         Tanning  Burning

                                                                      A classic for my hubs

                     Most girls are surprised with flowers, I'm surprised with cell phone "accessories"

                                                                   A house favorite

                                Because its perfectly normal to sleep in your sleeping bag on the couch
                                                                                  
                                                                                    &

There are no words, just giggles

Enjoy your weekend peeps! I'm off to do some more packing/cleaning/shopping/ and all that kind of jazz that comes with traveling. I just can't wait to hear the "you don't pack light aspirin and sunscreen aren't necessities that's a lot of clothes in there we really don't need all that food" comments. Girls gotta be prepared ya know!

this might be too deep for you...

The last thing I want this post to sound like is whiny. And its all jumbled up. But its just what's been on my mind. So here ya go....

I somehow manage to get "those" plates of baked goods delivered to me a lot. Its just one of the joys of living in a neighborhood with nice moms who love to bake. Again and again I find myself accepting batches of coconut macaroons, cookies, sweet munchies, etc. Its always so nice of the other women to think of sharing some with me. Tickles me pink. Today in church I was talking to one of the sisters' in the ward about yummy food. I had mentioned that I was craving cinnamon rolls without really thinking it through. I was delivered 2 cinnamon rolls later today. This sweet sister didn't know how much that meant to me. It lifted my spirits. Just one of those things that I really "needed."

This week I had been kind of down. Just one of those weeks ya know? Little things here and there. I had 3 of the 4 corners of my mouth numb due to cavities (how do they STILL get in there???), I felt sick and had a cold and sore throat, our curious little rabbit got out of his cage, made his way to the neighbors' yard, ate something that made him sick, then got attacked by the dog. We woke up one morning with a disgusting smell throughout our whole house. We figured it was a dead mouse somewhere so we pulled everything out of the cupboards in hopes to find the mouse. Fast forward to that evening. mice nests and a mouse fiesta inside the fridge and dishwasher. And the nest caused the fan to stop working in the fridge. We ended up ripping appliances out of the walls. The house smelled so bad, I felt sick to my stomach, my face was numb, I had a sick and injured rabbit, and I was inhaling as much fresh air outside as I could- it was all I could do to keep myself together.

Our neighbors were yet again so sweet to us. Running over to help with the plumbing and disconnecting appliances, digging out the yucky nests, bringing over their tools, and offering up their fridges and dishwashers for us to use. Amazing. Count your blessings, darling.

After washing my house with bleach, multiple air fresheners in use, open windows, and eliminating the yucky problem, our house is smelling dandy and...clean. 

I don't even know where I was going with this post. It seems a bit silly to me to write something like this one here. I promise I don't mean to sound like a Debby Downer. But I still felt like I should write this.

My point is- This week more than anything, I've learned that you need to be in tune with those you are around. Like the sweet sister who brought me a nice treat today. I didn't even mention anything about my week, yet she knew I could use the thoughtful handmade gift. And our neighbors who endured that disgusting smell just to help us out, or loaned us their tools knowing they probably would get ruined in the process, or offering up their own appliances so we could still have food to eat.

So I just wanted to say Thank You. Thank You to everyone who has ever been kind to us. I receive so much positive feedback on this blog daily. But I never get tired or think less of your support and kind comments. Every one of them makes my day.  

And my one goal for the week is to be more aware of other people's needs. And no more mice or injured rabbits, that's a good goal. :)