Halloween

Halloween has never been my favorite holiday. To me, Halloween officially closes the door on summer and putting my flip flops into retirement makes me a little sad, but I think the biggest reason I don't love Halloween is the costume part. For some reason everyone likes to use Halloween as an excuse to wear as little as possible and it drives me a little crazy. So instead of dealing with the moral dilemma of modesty, I usually go with my fall back costume of one of Gus's old baseball uniforms, hat and eye black, which is boring, but it's also cheap, easy and requires VERY little effort on my part.

This year, for some reason, I decided to put a little more effort in to my costume. I think living with Andi and Lindy for the past few years have had the biggest influence on my Halloween attitude change. I've always played around with idea of being a super hero but I could never decide which one or how to go about doing it without spending a ton of money so after careful consideration I decided to be my own superhero. Everyone was using a tutu of some sort for their costumes this year and I didn't want to be left out but I'm pretty sure if I were to be a superhero my costume would probably consist of a tutu any way.

Here are some pictures of our Halloween weekend.

It's time for a new obsession

I have what some would call an obsessive personality. This has been both a blessing and a curse in my life. It has helped me get good grades in school, excel in sports, finish books in record time and learn song lyrics but as of late this "obsessive" part of my personality has made my life less than ideal. You see, once I start thinking about something I have a very difficult time turning it off. The majority, not all, of my obsessions fall into four categories, School, Work/Money, My Weight, and Boys. You would think that since I'm not in school I would have less to obsess about but somehow all the obsessive energy that went into school has somehow found it's way into the other 3 categories.

Now, I don't want to brag or anything, but I know myself pretty well. I know that once something/someone becomes an obsession.....ok, I just realized that saying that someone becoming an obsession sounds a little creepy but it's what happens and I seriously can't help it....so yeah, something becomes an obsession and I'm a goner. Knowing this fun fact about myself, I will try and steer clear of those things that I know could turn into an obsession. I have, however, found the best way to cure an obsession.....find a new one!

A couple of nights ago I came to the conclusion that if I didn't find something else to obsess on in my life I was going to have a very miserable winter and so I've been trying to decide what I wanted to focus (fancy word for obsess) on and this is what I've come up with....I am going to start training for a Sprint Triathlon! Details and updates to come!

Strongest When I'm Weak

I virtually have no excuse for my lack of blogging besides mere laziness; therefore, I'm going to blame it on summertime. Summer is a time for being lazy, I'm pretty sure there are songs about it, you could google it and you see for yourself, or you could just take my word for it, either way, I'll be right, so if you want to waste your time go right ahead. This summer has been so great, more details to come later, but I've learned one thing the summer......life is not easy. I know, profound right? For some reason this realization has hit me like a ton of bricks these past few months, and getting by a ton of bricks is not as fun as it sounds.

I just reread my last blog post and I do have a hard time complaining about my life because, let's face it, I don't have much to complain about. I have decent health, an amazing family, great friends, and surrounded by people who have similar beliefs, but somehow, I can find plenty to whine about.

I've been on a roller coaster of emotion (bonus points if you recognized the Anchorman quote) these past months... I love being single, I hate being single, maybe I should go back to school, why in the heck would I want to go back to school, I'm interested in this guy, no wait, interested in this guy, no wait, not interested in anyone...I think you know where I'm going with this. So that is how my life has been, basically the roller coaster from hell (sorry for the language, but sometimes it's needed) and I can't for the life of me get off of it.

So here comes the real inspiration for this post... I'm on this roller coaster from you know where, feeling somewhat helpless, and I came across this artist named Marianne Beard. I don't know much about her but I've fallen in love with her music. There is a song in particular that I'm slightly obsessed with at the moment. I don't even know the name of it but the lyrics have been exactly what I've needed to hear. This isn't the whole song, just my favorite lines. I wish I knew how to just post the song because it's seriously amazing. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have, if you want the whole song, let me know and I'll do my best to get it to you.

So here I am with this news, I've never been this scared before
I've been down a million roads, but never anything of this form
I don't know why, but somehow I'll get through all of this bad news

Another day, another stage, sometimes I feel confused
I've heard it all, in every place, there is only so much I can do
I can't see why, but I can see how life is sweet and means something deeper to me
No more slippin away, no more losing my breath, losing myself in this game

Because I can be tough when the challenge is rough
I'm not alone in this fight
I can be brave when the road is unpaved
When I'm tested in life
Even when I'm tired and worn down, can't get up from my knees
I'm starting to believe, I'm strongest when I'm weak

It's hard to appreciate fully without the music but I think you get the idea.

Now I just have to sit back, put my hands up in the air and enjoy this ride.

Seriously So Blessed

Welp, I made it 3 months in a row. I would like to say that I have a good excuse for missing April's post like I was crazy busy with work, or I was volunteering for so many great causes that I couldn't find a spare minute to blog, but is all reality, I was just lazy and couldn't find anything to write about. But I am going to do my best not to miss another month for the rest of the year (and I started writing this post in May so I'm counting it) .

I'm sure you have all been at the edge of your seats wondering what I have been up to since my last post so here a couple of highlights from the last couple months

• I don't work full-time any more, Hallelujah! I'm picking up more shifts at Anytime Fitness and doing more individual consults, which I'm loving, missing the money from working more but definitely not missing answering phones all day
  
• I spent Spring Break with my family down in St. George (oh the joys of not working full-time) and it was a total blast!
• I babysit my adorable niece for nearly two weeks and had soooo much fun, but I have a completely new appreciation for my mother.
• I went and saw my dad's orthopedic surgeon and he wanted to try doing Physical Therapy on my IT band and see if that helped my knee pain and oh my has it!! I wish I would have done it years ago. I'm sure I'm always going to have knee issues but at least I can walk without it killing me. I even played volleyball without it hurting too much. I can't tell you how excited I am about how good I'm feeling! Maybe eventually I can run again, I'm definitely crossing my fingers!

So as I approach my 26th birthday, I seriously can't believe I'm 26. I'm having some slight problems getting excited for this birthday, I can't exactly pinpoint why, maybe it's because now I'm officially closer to 30 then 20 or now I have to buy TWO packs of candles to get the right number on my cake but 26 is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth, I'm trying really hard to get more excited about it but it's been difficult.

I think my main issue with turning 26 is comparing my life to some of my friends who are married and almost done having kids and I haven't even started! I know that sounds silly and I know I'm still young and have plenty of time to start a family and I'll look back at this time and know it was all for reason, it's just so easy to compare your life with others and think your life is lacking in some way. BUT, as I've thought about it, I am seriously so blessed!!!(I got that from this blog, seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com, check it out, it hilarious, but for me this is a little more serious)

Here are a few reasons why I am Seriously, So Blessed!

My Family
I have an amazing family. My parents couldn't be better examples of hard work and selfless love. They would do anything for me and have supported me through every decision, good or bad and I know for a fact I wouldn't be where I am today without them. I never thought the day would come that me and my sisters would actually get along, and I'm not saying that we don't drive each other a little crazy, but we can almost go a whole weekend without arguing. And even though Gus has his "teenage moments" I couldn't ask for a better little bro...what other 16 year old boy says I love you when you get off the phone with them. I could never write about my family without including my Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles and cousins who I love with all of my heart.

My Friends
I have be Seriously, So Blessed with fantastic friends, both past and present. Even though I don't get to see my friends from high school nearly as much as I would like, whenever we do get together it's like nothing has changed, minus the fact that most of them are married and have major adult responsibilities, like raising children and a mortgage. We can still sit around and talk for hours (much to their husbands despair I am sure) about all the stupid/fun things we used to do and even though my life is much different then theirs right now I still love every opportunity I have to see them.

And what can I say about my present group of girls, I just love them. To the outside world we couldn't be more different, but I feel like we are kindred spirits, cut from the same cloth...we were meant to be in each others life, plain and simple. I know they will always have my back and I would do anything for them. I have learned so much from each one of them and I hope I've taught them something in return, like the difference between a starting pitcher and a closing pitcher, and I know I will have them in my life for years to come.

The Gospel
I sometimes find it hard to talk about how important the gospel is to me, well because just that, it is so important to me and I get slightly emotional, so I'll make it quick. I am thankful every single day that I have the gospel in my life. I can't describe the comfort it gives me knowing that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me so much that he would sacrifice his Son so that I can come back and live with him one day, and that he has a plan for me. I have no doubt in my mind that that is true and it's what gets me through my toughest days when I don't feel like I'm ever going to get my happy ending. I can't imagine what my life would be like without the gospel and the hope and comfort if gives me in this crazy world of ours.

As you can see I am, Seriously, so blessed! My life is great and I can't wait for this summer and all the fun things to come!!

Just a Little Squiggly

I've had a hard time coming up with something I wanted to blog about this glorious month of March. I say glorious because March is one of my favorite months of the year, soooo many great things happen..spring training starts (meaning baseball season is just around the corner, meaning that my life will once again revolve around baseball scores and Joe Mauer's batting average) winter is all but over, St. Patrick's Day (I'm one quarter Irish, and although we don't completely embrace our Irish heritage, I still feel a small connection with this holiday), Sunshine Tournament...I could go on but I think you get the picture.

So, like I said, I've had a hard time thinking of something to blog about, and since I'm sure my faithful blog followers are on the edge of their seats in anticipation of my once a month blog post, I had to think of something really good because I would never want to disappoint my 7 followers (love all of you btw)

All my life, and by no fault of my own (I'd like to blame it on genetics), I feel like I've stood out. But I'd like to see how you would blend into a crowd when you're in elementary school and you're at least a head taller then everyone else. My mom said she never had a hard time finding me when she was picking me up from school, she just had to look for the tall blonde girl. I've been 5'10" since the 9th grade, making it a little difficult to go unnoticed. It was seriously one the greatest days of my life when boys in high school finally started passing me up. I LOVE standing next to guys who are a lot taller then me, it makes me feel small, which doesn't happen very often. But my height is not the what I wanted to focus on, I don't hate being tall but it does make certain things in my life a little challenging, like buying jeans, it's nearly impossible to fit jeans that are the right length, 99% of the time the regular length is too short and the longs are too long, can't tell you how annoying that is, but if you ever need to get something on a high shelf, well I'm your girl.

I think it's interesting how we see ourselves and how others perceive us can be totally different. I've never thought myself as a terribly unique person, just your run-of-the-mill, 20 something Mormon girl living in Provo, but over the last couple of years (this last year especially) I've come to realize that I am completely unique. I think that most of my life I just assumed that most people had the same sort of thought process as I do, but come to find out, I could not have been more wrong. I'm a horse of a different color, dance to the beat of my own drummer, and any other cliche you can come up with, it's taken me approximately 25 years to actually embrace and accept that I was never meant to blend in and realize that life is way more fun when you're a little squiggly.

So in light of my recent realization, I'm going to share with you a few things that make me a little different then the rest.......

• My slight obsession with the color purple, baseball, hair products and Victoria's Secret
  
• I would choose ESPN or a game of some sort over most TV shows, with the exception of Vampire Diaries, that trumps ESPN any day
• I will buy almost anything that costs a dollar
• I can't stand the sound of people brushing their teeth
• I can't leave my room without making my bed
• I like things to smell nice, hence air fresheners in my car, bedroom and my collection of perfume
  
• Chocolate-mint-nuff said
  
• My ipod on shuffle will get you anything from musicals to some old-school Nelly to The Judds
  
• I have a tendency to speak in movie quotes and/or relate real life experiences to Friends episodes
• I sometimes remember too much of what people say, do or post on facebook and think I sometimes come off as a little stalkerish
  
• Silence drives me crazy
• I can watch the same movies over and over again
• I get scared and freak myself out all the time
• When I was younger my teachers use to say, she's really smart, but she sure talks a lot...let's just say, not much has changed
• I love game shows!! It is my dream to go on the Price is Right
• I typically won't participate in anything unless I think I have a good chance of winning, or at least not coming in last (that's why you'll never find me challenging anyone to a foot race)...to say I'm competitive would be a bit of an understatement
  
• I'm easily entertained and can find humor in nearly anything
• I have what I'd like to call "sports tourettes" you never know what's going to come out of my mouth at a sporting event

Ok, I think that's enough, I wouldn't want to reveal too much about myself. And now in conclusion, after writing that list I would just to thank everyone for putting up with me and quirks, but I think it makes life a little more fun :)

We have to...it's Tradition

Ok, by show of hands who is impressed that I have blogged two months in a row....I know ya'll can't see me but I've got both hands raised high in the sky because I am very proud of myself, and I gotta say that these improvements are much easier to keep up on then resolutions, I think I just might make it a TRADITION!! That's right, I've decided that for the month of Feburary I'm going to share with the blogging world some of my favorite TrADiTioNS!!

First and foremost, I love the traditions that my family has, some have been passed down from generations and some have been started with us. Probably my favorite tradition, and one that growing up all of my friends were a little jealous of, is PILLOWCASES!! What are pillowcases you ask, only the greatest Christmas tradition of all time!! To understand the pillowcase tradition I'll have to give you a brief history lesson...you see, in England (where my mom was born and my grandma was raised) during the war paper and other supplies were so scarce that instead of wrapping presents "Santa" would leave presents in a pillowcase that children would put at the bottom of their beds on Christmas Eve. Obviously the war is over, there is an endless supply of wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, but the pillowcase tradition is still going strong. But since my Dad is American we also get stockings, that's right, a pillowcase and stockings, needless to say between my pillowcase, stocking and presents under the tree, I've never had a bad Christmas.

Some other favorite traditions include.....

• Mother Goose, you leave out one shoe on New Year's Eve and she leaves you little presents this is a tradition from my Dad's family, sorry no great story to explain this one...we just do it, because it's tradition. It's also a tradition that my Mom forgets about Mother Goose has to run to the store to get something for our shoes.
  
• Easter egg hunts!! I don't care how old I get I will always love Easter egg hunts. I think it all started when I was younger when me and some of my cousins would go to my Grandma Mary's the night before Easter and stuff garbage bags full of colorful plastic eggs with candy (we all know that Easter candy is the best) and change that my Grandma would save all year. Candy and money? How could I not grow up loving Easter egg hunts? There would also be a larger egg with each of our names on it that would be stuffed with candy and always have either fifty-cent pieces or silver dollars, this was the most exciting part of the Easter egg hunt, trying to find YOUR egg. We also had kind of unspoken rule, well at least I did with my sisters, that if you found someone else's egg you couldn't tell them where it was. The worst part of our Easter egg hunts at Grandma's was being the oldest. Typically, being the oldest has it advantages, but this was not one of those times. In this particular case, being the oldest meant that every kid younger then you got a head start. That's right, I would have to sit and watch as Gus would go, then Emily, then Jake, then Sam, then Kody, then Brooke and then me...that's a long time when there are eggs full of candy AND money to be hunted. But there were always more then enough eggs to go around and I always ended up with enough candy to last me for weeks and money that I'm sure I wasted on something frivolous, like slap bracelets or pogs at the gas station. After we opened our eggs, counted our money, and of course stuffed a few chocolate eggs in our mouths we would have a traditional lunch of sloppy joes, potato salad (made with eggs that we had dyed making it nice and colorful), queso dip with Fritos, deviled eggs and baked beans, in my humble opinion, one of the best meals ever! The recipes for these foods have also been passed down and will hopefully be served on Easter for years to come. So now, I'm....pause for dramatic effect.....25, and still love love love Easter egg hunts, rain or shine (and springtime in Utah there could even be snow) my Dad plays Easter bunny and not only hids eggs but our baskets as well. The basket hiding is something that we've picked up from my cousins but it's become one of my favorites parts about Easter. My parents have since learned after a couple years of "mild" disagreements that it's best to have an even number of eggs so that some people who will not be name...Brooke....don't make a beeline and get all the eggs. I can't wait to pass this tradition down to my family and help my kids love Easter as much as I do....phew that was long, sorry, but clearly I have a lot of memories associated with Easter.
• Baseball. I know, baseball is a sport but I feel like growing up in Spanish Fork has made it a tradition. I grew up at the ball park, either playing or just hanging out. It was my dream to work at the snack shack (I know I dream big) which turned out to be the greatest summer jobs ever, and of course softball was my life. I even worked at Grand Slam Batting Cages, yep, you can go ahead and add that to the list of dream jobs. One of the best parts of being involved with Spanish Fork baseball was and still is Sunshine. Ask anyone who has lived in Spanish Fork longer then 5 years and they will most likely know that Sunshine is one of the best weekends of the year, where most Spanish Forkians will be found in St. George watching the baseball team participate, and more often then not, winning the Sunshine tournament. The softball team also heads down there for a tournament of their own, which was also something that growing up I couldn't wait to play in. Even though I've been graduated for nearly 10 years now, it is still one of my favorite weekends of the entire year and I start counting down the days mid-February, which means that the countdown is on as we speak. I just love seeing people that I've grown up, catching up with old friends and enjoying the warm weather, even though this is not always the case, my junior year we had to play in snow, not exactly what you expected when you head down to St. George. Last year I took Amanda and Andi down for Sunshine and this year Lindy gets to come and I can't wait!!
• The last tradition (since this has once again turned into another lengthy post) that I'm going to share is our Sunday before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner. Every year since I can remember, we've had a Thanksgiving Dinner at my Aunt Kathi's house the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I can't honestly say how this tradition started, and I think the reason for it doesn't exist anymore, but I love that we still do it. My Aunt Kathi always has something fun for us to take home, usually something Christmasy (sp?) and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with every year.
• Wait, I lied, I have one more...not sure if you would call this tradition or habit but if it's between 2 and 4 pm and I'm within a 5 mile radius of a Sonic, I will be getting a Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper with Vanilla. One of my new favorite traditions!

As you can tell I love these traditions and the memories that are associtated with them. I look forward to them ever year and hope to continue to do so for years to come.

Improvements and Highlights

Ok, for many of you in blogger land you could probably say that my blog has been somewhat...lacking (which could quite possibly be the biggest understatement of the century) but as part of my New Year's improvements (I decided not to make resolutions this year, I just want to make improvements on things I'm already trying to be better at but that isn't really the point of this blog, well it does have a little something to do with it since my blog is actually part of my improvements) and yes I did just use two sets of parenthesis in less then one sentence, but I will never claim to have excellent grammar skills, it happened, get over it. So what have we learned so far...I suck at updating my blog and grammar...BUT, I'm going to be better at updating my blog but I make not promises that my grammar skills will improve because for the most part I just don't care if I use a semicolon correctly, I have way more important things to worry about...like what's going to happen on Vampire Diaries or what we are going to do on Friday night...as you can see waaayy more important then silly semicolon.

I decided that blogging at least once a month would be a good improvement on my current blogging habits, well, I guess once a YEAR would be an improvement on my current blogging habits, but I'm going to stick once a month. And staying true to the procrastination skills that I perfected in college, I am writing my January blog, on the 31st.

One of my friends has a fun tradition that at the beginning of each year they write down the highlights from the past year and then make predictions for the next year, so instead of trying to write about everything that has happened since I last blogged, which let's be honest, would be pretty boring to read and not so much fun for me to write, I decided that a few highlights would be the best way to start my blogging improvements.

2010 Highlights

#1- I went through the temple and received my endowment!
This was hands down the best decision I have ever made, I known I have said this about laser hair removal and permanent make-up but those don't even compare. Many people have asked why I decided to go through the temple even though I wasn't getting married or going on a mission, and it hasn't been the easiest question to answer because I wasn't exactly sure how to put it in words, so I'm going to try and explain this without getting all churchy (sp?), wish me luck. For the most part, and I emphasize, the most part, I have tried to live my life according to gospel standards. I was lucky enough to be raised by amazing parents and have had great friends who have helped make living those standards a little easier. That being said... there I was, about to turn 24 (which is Utah County, I might as well be picking out the names of my future cats) graduated from college, no prospects in sight ( I hate the word "prospects" but it fits well in this situation) ready to take the next step in my life. I just had no idea what that next step would be....I'm sure I'm the only person who has ever had this problem but try to imagine what it is like when your life doesn't quite turn out exactly how you had planned...so I toyed with the idea of a mission but that never has felt right and I didn't want to go just because I wasn't married, and the idea of going through the temple kept creeping into my head. But I always just pushed it away, mainly because it was so unconventional and I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to take on the responsibility that comes with receiving your endowment on my own. But the thoughts never went away and I started looking at the examples I have of strong single women in my life and knew that I wouldn't be alone if I ever did make the decision to go and they would always be there to support me. I go home every Sunday to spend time with the family and eat an actual home cooked meal and entire time at church that day I had been thinking about the temple and how I felt like I was ready, and the only thing holding me back was the fact that I hadn't found, and for lack of a better word "Mr. Right", so I come home that particular Sunday and what do I see, the Ensign, completely dedicated to Temples, with a picture of the St. George Temple (my all time favorite temple) on the front. I couldn't ignore the thoughts any longer and the next Sunday I talked to my bishop about a temple prep class and got the ball rolling. My grandma was more then thrilled for my decision, and my parents were nothing but supportive. Long story short, everything worked out perfectly, I had amazing friends and family who traveled all the way down to St. George to show their support and my niece Anya was blessed on the same day. It was a slightly stressful weekend but I still feel like it's been the best thing I have ever done.Wow, that was a lot longer then I intended...on to highlight #2

#2- Florida!!!
My sister Brooke, my cousin Emily and myself ( I could spend time trying to decided if that the right way to say all of those names, but like I've said before I have more important things to worry about besides grammar) went to Florida for Spring Training!! It was so much fun, we went to 7 baseball games in 10 days, saw Joe Mauer nearly everyday, got to go to Clearwater Beach and went to DisneyWorld! It was pretty much the best vacation ever! We aren't able to go this year due to undesirable money situations but we are definitely going to try and do this again#3 Summer
Summer 2010 was one that will go down in infamy! Kelsi, Amanda and I spend nearly everyday at the pool where we met lots of amazing people. We camped out for the parade, watched fireworks, went to rodeo's and a demolition derby! There was also a couple of road trips in there to St. George and even one to San Diego. I can't put into words how much I love the summer! It's by far my favorite season, summer memories are the only thing that get me through the freezing cold Utah winters....and I have a feeling that summer 2011 is going to kick summer 2010's butt, and I can't wait!#4 Moved into a house with Lindy, Andi and Amanda!!
The majority of my best friends from high school got married young. I, obviously, did not. In high school we spent nearly everyday together and got to be very close, but then they got busy with their married lives and I've been busy with my single one, and I have missed the bond that comes with having close friends. Don't get me wrong, I've been very fortunate to have found great friends since high schools, some that I'll hopefully have forever, but we have gone our separate ways, as sometimes happens in life and lost that close bond of seeing someone everyday and being involved in each others lives. I've also been lucky enough to have a lot of close guy friends as well, but I've that life isn't the same without close girl friends.

That being said, I have once again been extremely blessed to live with 3 girls that I absolutely LOVE and couldn't imagine my life without. Sometimes I think that we couldn't be more different, and in all reality we should get a long at all, but some how it works. We can spend hours just sitting around talking and laughing about nothing and give each other advice and we aren't afraid to tell it like it is. Between the boys and parties our lives rarely have a dull moment and I wouldn't want it any other way. Even though they don't quite understand my slight obsession with sports, they seem to tolerate it. I foresee having these girls in my life for years to come and I couldn't be more excited about it. Enjoy a couple of my favorite pictures of us chicas....let's be honest, who wouldn't want to hang out with us, we're pretty great ;)