Handsome is a babe. I just adore him.

Last night I was up excruciating late making treats for his work. I was uber frustrated because the last dessert I was working on turned out to be an epic fail. (if you know me well you know that ruining food is just the absolute worst in my book)

It was quarter after two this morning before I finally crawled into bed. I laid down exhausted, just to find that my pillows were horribly uncomfortable. Annoyed, I turned on my cell phone light in the dark, lifted my pillow and what do you think was there? A new laptop!

Yay for an early Christmas and for having a man who knows how to make the season bright! :) Thank you Matthew!

Blogging is a little therapeutic. I write my blog in a word doc before posting, sometimes, when I really have things on my mind I'll spend hours on a thought, sometimes over a couple of days I'll work out my thoughts on virtual paper. Some times I'll move them over to a post, usually not. So my actual posts end up being fairly boring. But sometimes its just enough to post an unfinished though out to this little itty bitty corner of the web. Just so its gotten out of my mind.

As a follow up to my ramblings. I am SO happy. My life is SO blessed and I am truly so so grateful for all of the amazing opportunities that I have had and do have in my life. I am VERY grateful for my job. I have worked long and hard to get it and the benefits and the lessons learned from being where I am are priceless to me. It has been and still is a huge blessing.

I just am not sure what to do next. Some days more than others. I sincerely envy those who know exactly what their "plan" is and exactly what direction it is in which they are moving and when they will march with the right foot and when with the left. I'm not exactly one of those people. But I sure do like the journey of it all. I know where I'm headed in the end. Its just figuring out the between here and there. :) So yes, occasionally you will find me sitting at a booth much like this one. Don't worry. No doubt I will be enjoying myself. Wave as you go and I'll see you along up the road a ways.

While I was running a couple days ago, I got to thinking about momentum and the difference between being lazy and being tired.

This has really been on my mind a lot lately. A little self examination if you will.

After running on the treadmill for a few minutes my legs felt like they were tired. They told me that I should stop running. It had been too long since I had worked out last and a couple of minutes were all they could take. Yes, I thought, that is true, it has been a long time since I have hit the treadmill, but I have loads of energy right now and I am not tired. Only you are. (Referring to my legs)

Actually, I thought - you are not tired. You are merely being lazy.

This got me to thinking about how to make them stop being lazy.

I started to play around with how I was running and I noticed two things.

(Stay with me, I promise I'm not crazy.  - well.. I promise that I don't think I'm crazy. This will all come together in the end. I think...)

Like I said, I started to pay around with how I was running and I noticed two things.

The first was that when I slowed down the pace I was running at, my legs started to feel heavier and wanted to slow down even more, it got to a point where I was slowing down exponentially. If I let them have their way, I would be stopped in no time and would go flying off the treadmill.

The second was that when I gradually started to push myself to run faster, my legs built momentum and the felt lighter.

As a result, I kept running faster. As I dipped into my energy reserves and I was able to go much faster and further with every stride.

So this told me that if I built on what I was doing rather than relaxing, I get more momentum and I go exponentially further, so…

To answer my own question: “How do I stop my legs from being lazy?”

Well, I moved faster.

But what if my legs really were tired.. and not just lazy. What if it were my insides. My feelings, my spirit (maybe?) that was telling me to slow down and stop running. What do you when its your insides that are whining and pleading with you to stop all the commotion and just sit. down.

How do you know the difference between when your insides are truly tired and when you are just lazy. Whats the difference? How do you know when you should stop running or when you should just run faster?

I'm not really sure.

As you may have guessed my insides are either 1. tired or 2. lazy. and I'm not sure which one.

It has been very rare that when I have felt unsatisfied with my life that "getting busy" has not solved the problem.

But right now I am in that point of uncertainty as to what is really the reason for my fatigue.

Its like... when you've just gotten home from a long day at work, and have a busy night ahead of you. You have just enough time for one of two things. Go to the gym or take a nap. And you are standing your room half dressed trying to decide if you are taking off your clothes so that you can put gym clothes on or if you are actually preparing for a serious napping. (If you can't tell, I find myself in this exact situation all the time. Husband is no longer surprised to find me standing in our room half undressed for no apparent reason.) Both seem like they could be really good for you and may help you get through the evening. You are uncertain which is the real right choice. If you choose to nap is it because you are actually tired or because you are too lazy to go to the gym? How do you know the difference?

Anyway, to get right down to it, I don't want to work full time anymore. I just don't want to do it. And I'm not sure if I just don't want to because I'm lazy or if its because I'm tired. And if it really is because I'm tired... is that good enough reason?

I want to be home when husband gets up for work. I want to make him breakfast. I want to have time to keep our house clean and I want to find a hobbies that I love. I want to get more classes done - but don't want to be in classes until 9:30 at night meaning I don't get home until 10. I want to learn to be a good homemaker BEFORE we have children. I'm tired of having to choose between going to the gym and taking a nap. Cleaning my house or spending a few minutes with my husband. I want both. I want time to teach myself to a better cook and home decorator. I want to start a project and finish it with a decent amount of time (meaning within two months)

I am tired of being at work. I'm tired of rushing to be there at 8. I'm tired of being there until well well well past dark and past the time that its even reasonable to think about starting to make a real dinner. I'm tired of not being a good neighbor (sorry Shirley, Bergen and Katie..). I'm tired of being patient with people who think their problems are all my fault. I'm tired of being interrupted in the beginning, semi middle, middle and end of projects so that I have to stay after 5 to finally get something done. I'm weary of standing in my closet every morning wracking my brain for some way to be both professional, attractive and comfortable all in the same outfit. I'm tire of sitting in my office, not taking lunch breaks and eating crappy unhealthy food.

I want to be home. I want to nest. (No, not rest, nest. Yes, I want to nest. But resting would be nice too.) No I am not pregnant but someday I will be and right now I feel totally and completely unprepared. Mind, body, spirit, home, skills. Everything. Everything feels unprepared and tired. I'm tired of it. Everything feels tired.

Or does it?

Does it all feel tired or does is really feel lazy?

Should I run faster or is the answer really to slow down? Who knows. I sure don't.

Now and then I see a picture that just really makes me happy. For example:

Geezz... I just need to tell the world how adorable my sister is. Seriously. She is just by sunshine.

I love how simple she is and how little things make her so happy. We took her out for her birthday a little while ago to see the penguins at the Aquarium. After wards we ended up eating at Panda Express for lunch just because it was fast and everyone liked it. When I told her that we were going to eat there she got SO excited - literally started clapping her hands and said "Do I get to eat an egg roll???"

Haha! Yes Sarah! If it makes you that happy I will buy you all the egg rolls in the world - its worth it. :) You are worth it! 

The world is a better place because God gave us little sisters!

Are you a Swaggernaut yet? If not I highly recommend you become one! You haven't heard of Swagbucks? Neither have a lot of people apparently because I've gotten a lot of questions about it! 

Swagbucks is a search engine (powered by google and ask.com) that gives you points for doing your everyday searches. You exchange those points for prizes or gift cards in their store. Easy cheesy! 

I always exchange mine for electronic $5.00 gift cards to Amazon.com. I've been using swagbucks since the end of August and have earned $30.00 in Amazon gift cards, most of which I used to by one of my sisters Christmas gifts. Thats a free $30.00 to do what I'm already doing anyway! :)

I earn between 10 and 30 points a day depending on how much I search. Just 450 points gets you an Amazon gift card (or others!) To earn points faster, I search for websites that I would normally just type in the direct address for, like facebook. Downloading the search/tool bar makes it super easy to search!

Anywho - I totally recommend swaggin it. ---> Swagbucks

 Directions:

1.Go to Google maps. 

2. Go to "Get Directions." 

3. Type Japan as the start location. 

4. Type China as the end location. 

5. Go to direction #43. 

6. Laugh.

Have a great day! 

This youtube video made my whole day

Dear married friends or friends who will soon be married, or friends who are thinking about getting married, or friends who are old enough to think about things you do when you're married;

Read this blog —> Gwen in Love
(Links at the bottom so that you have to read the rest...)

This blog focus on improving marriages and sex. (Gasp! sex!? Tiffany - did you just say sex on your blog!) Yes, sex. But dont worry its not your mother's birds and bees talk, nor is it weird chat room grossness. Gwen is a young married (and mormon) hottie (like many of you!). She is hip and honest - and tasteful and truthful.

A lot of  people get embarrassed and awkward talking about sex. But lets face it... we're all doin it - otherwise where did all these babies come from?? As women, sometimes we want it.. sometimes we don't, but no matter what, sex effects our marriage, our confidence, our fulfillment and it all stems out from there. So, why are we not talking about it? :: shrugs shoulders :: 

Anyway, I felt like this was an important blog to share. I feel like a lot of newly married (and not newly married) women feel too shy, awkward or embarrassed to ask questions or seek out advice or sexy suggestions. Well. Whether or not thats you - I think its well worth it to check out Gwen in Love Here and then Here.

If you know me, you know I'm not crafty. But I really wanted a wreath for our back door and when  I found this home made wreath I knew I would have to give it a try! It is made of natural color coffee filters and a foam wreath ring. So simple! Tonight I finally had time to put it together!

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! Next time I would probably use a smaller size foam ring - this was a lot bigger than I imagined it. I think I'll make one to go on our pantry door as well. :)

 

Good call

 

At some point today I lost my motivation.

If you see it.

Please have it to call home.

Thanks much.

I was reading an argument on facebook tonight between stay at home moms and working women. They were trying to hash out which job was "harder" and who had the right to complain. It was ridiculous. (Even more ridiculous was that I spent a good 35 minutes reading every comment and post!) Although it started out fairly civil, by the end there was nails, hair, spit, diapers and time cards flying around wildly.

Maybe it’s just me but I don't think they are even comparable. I seriously refuse to even pretend to understand what its like being a full time mom - because I've never done it and while I’m excited to have my turn to do that some day, I have no right to size up the physical, mental and emotional strength that it takes to do it day in and day out. Moms - you rock!

On the flip side I do know what its like to work full time and be a student. and it's really hard. Like - really hard. Sometimes I get down on myself or frustrated because of all of the things that I would really like to do - that I wish with all my heart that I could do - that never make it to even the middle of my to do list. Some days I wonder how long I can do it and stay sane. Kudos to you workingwomen - I'm with you - its rough!

When I'm really discouraged I often think to myself "ugh.. if I can't do all of this how will I ever handle being a mom?"  Then I remind myself - working full time and going to school is nothing like being a mom! - I don't mean compared to being a mom - I mean just what I said - it’s nothing like being a mom. and being a mom is nothing like working full time in an office or any other job and going to school. I feel like they are totally different worlds - I don't think you can even say that they are equally hard - because they are just too different.

I'm really excited to be a mom - when its time. I'm excited for when its my turn to be part of that. It made me sad to read tonight how angry people got when it came to their position in life - I'm sure most women who were posting their opinions were writing in the heat of the moment - mostly defensively but most of the women were so intent on "proving" that their job was harder and that they were right that they all sounded so unhappy. Finally one cool headed women had the following to say -I appreciated the way she put it.

    I'll put it this way. Before I got married, everyone told me "Marriage changes everything." But what they failed to tell me is that marriage actually does, in fact, change everything! (Is there an echo?) The point is that marriage changes your relationship in ways that you can't understand until you're already married. People without kids understand, in a vague kind of way, that having kids changes everything -- schedules, priorities, finances. But it actually does, in fact, change everything about you. It changes your first thought when you wake up and your last thought when you go to sleep. My friends without kids wake up early on a Saturday and think, "I can sleep in as long as I want." I wake up early on a Saturday and think "Why hasn't that baby cried for me yet?" and immediately go run to check on him. Parenthood means 18 years of no sleeping in, and sleeping on a hair trigger for the slightest cry, whine, or phone call -- and then they go to college, where we all know you'll never have to worry about them again. 

    People without kids under credit the strain of mental and emotional exhaustion. It's hard. No, it's not "OMG My life is so hard, there is nothing good about my existence" hard. I get an adorable kid out of the deal, who's basically the most well behaved, happy little man to ever live, and that does make things easier. I've never had a report at work smile at me like he does...

A few things I love about what she said - first - I absolutely agree that "it" changes everything and we can't totally understand that until we have experienced it ourselves. We can put so many words into that blank. "_______ changes everything. But what they failed to tell me is that _______ actually does, in fact, change everything!"

Like they say - hines sight is 20/20. You could put marriage, dating, college, graduating from high school, children, cancer - anything in that spot and I feel like it would be true. We need to give experience more credit. Its so hard to understand that we don’t understand something or someone until we have experienced it for ourselves. I love that she points that out instead of just telling people that they are wrong and to stick it.

The second thing she said that really got me personally was about her son "I've never had a report at work smile at me like he does..." Reading that was really encouraging to me. Even though a moment ago I said that working full time was really hard - I really like it (Most days - because who really loves what they do 100% of every second) I'll be honest that working and being good at what I do validates the way I feel about myself and one of my worries about becoming a stay a full time mom is loosing that. It honestly concerns me to loose myself in something that I'm afraid that I may not be very good at. So when she said that it warmed by heart. Does that make sense? Maybe not to you - but to me it gave me hope that I can successfully and happily make that change when the time is right.

I always - ALWAYS appreciate talking with women who have children I feel like I learn so much every time. Thanks to you ladies who are really patient with my curiosity about your mommy lives. :) You are REALLY awesome and you are doing an amazing job. Fellow working ladies - keep your chin up. I know what your dealing with and you are seriously doing GREAT. You should wear flats to work one day -its a nice break.

To steal a line from Forest Gump - thats all I have to say about that.

A few people have asked about the cheese ball I've made... so I thought I'd post it in case you'd like it too! Super easy! 

Ranch Cheddar Cheese Ball - 
16 oz softened cream cheese 
1 package of ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 cup graded cheddar cheese 
2-3 cooked bacon strips cooled and crumbled
1/2 cup chopped almonds (or nut of choice - optional of course!)
 
Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature. Add cheese, bacon and ranch mix.  Mix well to  combine.Use your hands to roll the mixture into a ball - I usually put the mixture into the middle of a sheet of plastic wrap and use that to form my ball so my hands aren't in it. But it is a little more difficult. Put the chopped nuts in a bowl. Roll the cheese ball in the nuts. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

This is reeeally strong tasting right after you make it. I always make it the night before I need it to let the flavors settle together a little more. If you are going to make it right before you serve it - i would use maybe half the ranch mix. - also this recipe makes a massive cheese ball - enough for two balls in my opinion. If I'm not making it for the entire office, I'll cut the recipe in half or at least make two balls and give one away.

This is a long but rockin article. Here --> But will it make you happy?

Its about a woman and her husband who choose to downsize their life and live more simply. Today it's what I'm aching for! I get so caught up in all the "stuff". Lately I have felt a serious longing to cut out all the things that clutter up my life. I want what these people have - which - ironically is less! Sometimes I count all of the blessing and opportunities that we have and I wonder if its too much. Is it possible to be too blessed? I worry that we are sacrificing the best things for a whole lot of just good things. I know a couple who's family motto is "Prepare and Simplify" They have cute reminders of it all over their house and I felt like they really live up to it. Although they are monetarily capable of having so much more than they do, they seemed to have everything they need and want. How desirable - to have what you want and want what you have and not always be out looking for more.

Here is a another article that I think goes along with this idea. --> 7 green things our grandparents did

 Some of the suggestions might sound funny with all of the advances in technology and life "upgrades" we have now, but I can't think of anything that sounds more relaxing than hanging clothes out to dry on a line. Standing in the sun, enjoying your chore for once. Or workingin a garden, or playing games with people you love. I guess I just want to slow down. I swear the world is spinning faster then it used to.

Maybe we can start tonight...maybe Matthew wants to play skipbo.....

Today at work I looked up from a looming stack of paperwork to see my incredibly handsome husband standing at my window! Just seeing him there was enough to make my day, but then from out of no where he hands me a dozen beautiful roses!

Sigh... I am SO lucky!

 

Lol! Yes, they are in a Dr Pepper cup - but being at work I had very few options for vases! :)

 Thanks to Matthew's work tonight we attended A Night with the Stars -  a fundraiser for the American Lung Association held at La Caille.

It was a dream to be there. I felt like I had literally stepped into a fairy tale. Everything at La Caille is vibrant and colorful as if we had walked right into a painting. From the bright blue peacocks to the colors of the food we were served, everything had a life of its own. It felt so good to just relax - especially while supporting a great cause!

A silent auction was help before dinner and although we place several bids, we came home empty handed. Some of the items up for auction were just amazing. One in particularly unique item was an oxygen tank that had been used to climb to the top of Mt. Everest and back by Apa Sherpa. He was one of the many  -"local" celebrities that joined us for the fundraiser.

One of the best things about tonight was meeting a hand full of the great people Matthew works with. Including us there five couples from the company and I was surprised to see that we were all about the same age.  For the most part I was the only new comer to the group, so there was lots to talk about and I really enjoyed getting a chance to watch and listen to each personality and the dynamics of each couple before jumping into the fun. (I know it makes me a nerd but I love to study people) They were such a fun group and I loved getting to know them a little better. One of them was nice enough to snap a few pictures for us on the way out.

I had such a great time! and while I wouldn't ever want to trade all of our Arctic Circle/Spanish Fork Theater date nights with fancy dresses and expensive dinners its was a beautiful evening out!

Are any of you mineral makeup junkies? If so - ring in your words of wisdom -  because I absolutely positively do not understand mineral powder foundation! I ordered some the other day with high hopes - but tonight I look a lot more like this than anything else. ----------------------> :)

these are the ones we practice on

while we wait for our own to come

Do you do something special to let your love know you love and appreciate them?

I've been trying to think of little nice things to do for Hottie Honey to let him know I love him. Unfortunately  - he doesn't "do" cards or candy. I can't tell you how many  forgotten unopended cards I have found fallen under the bed or still stuck in the hiding spots that I giddily placed them in- hoping he would find them and feel loved. Maybe he thinks cards are girly? I'm not really sure.. But whatever the reason I have learn not to write in cards when I do buy them and under no circumstances will I ever put something inside one again! (Somewhere floating around our house is a $25 gift card to Cold Stone in an unopened Valentine's Day card... sigh... we may never find it.)   :)

So I've been looking online for other suggestions and I found these! HERE

How cute! and what a great idea - Matthew does LOVE sugar cookies and since my message is right on top - he'll have to read it! ;)

I'm not however made of money and can't bring myself to spend $60 + S/H on 16 little cookies, so I figure I had better make them on my own.

It shouldn't be too hard...right?

I'll let you know.

Do you have any suggestions for quick "hey lover I lover you!" ideas?

Yesterday I mentioned my concern about whether or not a principle still has value if your the only one who cares about it.

Yesterday I was sure that it did. Today has been a little bit harder.

I promised my department that I would stay with them for 12 more months in return for a retention increase -which they gave it to me.

Then I got offered a better job. Not just a better job, but a job I've been working towards for almost five years now.

What do you do?

Here are the questions I asked myself.

Where would I be most happy?
Is it breaking my integrity to leave?
If my boss got a better job offer - wouldn't he leave?
Is it smart to show loyalty to my department when chances are minimal that they will show loyalty to me later?
Are my goals more important than my integrity?
What do I get out of staying?...a pat on the back...by myself? what good is that?
Does God have plans that I don't know about?
Am I getting in the way?

I turned down the job. My dream job.

Yesterday I felt like it was the right thing to do. Today I feel heart broken. Crying at work is very unprofessional. But I went in the bathroom and cried.

I cried and cried and cried until my sides ached and I got hiccups and my head hurt. Personal Principles vs. Personal Goals. (Hash that one out for yourself. You'll cry too.)

Then, in between hiccups and more tears I had a funny thought:

"If integrity isn't important  - why is it one of the Young Women Values?"

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him.
We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things,
and in all places" as we strive to live
the Young Women values, which are:
Faith
Divine Nature
Individual Worth
Knowledge
Choice and Accountability
Good Works
Integrity and
Virtue.
We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values,
we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants,
receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

 My thought process continued.

But it IS one the Young Women Values... so it must be important.

I repeated this thought several times in my head.

But it IS one the Young Women Values... so it must be important.

But it IS one the Young Women Values... so it must be important.

So...

even though this really hurts.

and I want to make it different.

Its going to be okay.

and that's the final conclusion. It's going to be okay. :)

"If there is one thing I have learned it is that when God can not give us what we want, He will give us everything He can. And we make it easier for Him to do that by making good choices and being good people."
- Carole Ann Faust

When is it okay to put your goals before your integrity?

If no one values a principle but you, is it still valuable?

Should you show loyalty, when none will be shown in return?

These are the questions I'm working on. 

Today I picked 

Never

Yes

and 

Yes

Here's hoping I made the right choices.

no, wait.

Here's knowing I made the right choices.

Ingredients
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sour cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (Swiss is also great!)
3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3-4 finely chopped mushrooms
Season to taste
1 tube (10 ounces) refrigerated biscuits

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.
Add eggs; mix well.
Stir in cheese, bacon, mushrooms and seasoning; set aside.
Separate dough into 10 biscuits; flatten into 5-in.circles. (I actually use 2/3 of a biscuit in each tin otherwise the dough over takes the filling!)
Press each into the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin cup.
Divide the egg mixture among biscuit-lined muffin cups, using about 2 tablespoons for each.
Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Let stand 5 minutes before removing from tin and serving.

So yummy! We have also used mix -ins like summer squash, tomatoes, zucchini and ham.

(makes 10 +)

Eggs Benedict

This is the quickest and simplest of our favorites. Most recipes ask that you to make your own Hollandaise sauce but we choose to be super simple and by a mix at the store –  (a $1.50 in the packaged food isle) then all you need is milk and butter for the sauce. But I’ll include a blender recipe – because I’ll bet is really good!

All you need:
Two English Muffins
Your choice of ham, bacon or Canadian bacon slices (usually go for ham because we often have it on hand)
Four eggs
Hollandaise sauce

It doesn’t get much more simple than this –

Make you sauce, fry your ham and toast each side of your English muffins. Poach each egg (another simplifier – crack the egg in a small glass container with a little onion powder and pepper and microwave for 30 or until yolk is cooked to your pleasing – du du! A perfect poached egg in a fraction of the time. This is great if you are a one frying pan family like we have been!)

Stack them up and top with Hollandaise sauce. Then enjoy!!

(makes 4)

Blender Hollandaise
    * 10 Tbsp unsalted butter
    * 3 egg yolks
    * 1 Tbsp lemon juice
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * Dash of cayenne or Tabasco

What have we been up to lately? Two things: Homework and overtime.

Sigh.

Do you know what makes it all worth it? Good grades? No… Extra money? Nope. It’s breakfast.  I can handle anything these crazy weeks bring as long as I get to wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings and make some scrumptious breakfast with Handsome Man.  Since I don't have much else to say - for the next few of days I thought I'd share our 4 favorites. They are all super simple but so delicious!

Strawberry Shortcake

Mmm... These come straight off the Bisquick box. While I’m not normally a bisquick fan they have perfected this mouth-watering pile of happiness. This is by far our favorite! I can almost guarantee that if you visit us between 10 am and 1 pm on a weekend morning we’ll make this for you!

4 cups sliced strawberries
½ cup sugar
2 1/3 cups original; Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 8oz container of frozen whipped topping, thawed.

Mix the strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar until juicey; set a side
Heat oven to 425
Stir bisquick mix, milk, 3 Tbsp sugar and the butter until soft dough forms. Drop by large heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Split the warm shortcakes, fill (stuff!) and top with strawberries and whipped topping!

(makes 6)

Matthew loathes dying in Mario.

I loath ironing these shirts.

It seems I can think of a quick fix for both our ailments. :)

Now...how do I convince him that ironing is better than Mario?

...

Cave exploring!

Duck feeding!

Fire works!

The fireworks were pretty loud, so Paul and I wore hats and Sarah watched from inside. :)

 

 Yay familia!

I wonder how Pepperidge Farm gets those fishy crackers to smile...??

I was moseying around tonight and found this talk from www.lds.org. Its called Television and Time by Elder F. Burton Howard of the First Quorum of the Seventy. It really hit home. I wouldn't say I spend a lot of time watching television - but I certainly waste plenty of time doing other things just as unimportant and unproductive. My biggest excuse for things left undone is always "There wasn't enough time!" Here is a part of what he said - I can't believe it was back in the 70s! Imagine if he could see us now....

     "Now, brothers and sisters, one of the great cries of modern man is we don’t have time to do the things we should do. We don’t do our genealogy because we don’t have time. We don’t love our neighbor because we don’t have time. And yet we spend more time watching television than any other single elective thing in this world. I don’t believe the excuse is going to hold any water with the Lord. I don’t believe that we can ever say we didn’t have time. I think all we’ll be able to say, rather lamely, is that our priorities were not the same as the Lord’s."

I'm setting a goal to prioritize more and set weekly goal of things I want to get done. Here are a few for the rest of the week.

For me:
1. Go on 4 walks
2. Everyday make 10 minutes of quiet time for myself

For me the wife:
1. Make Matthew Eggs Benedict

For me the house keeper:
1. Vacuum both staircases
2. Wash the front of the refrigerator

For me the student:
1. Read Theories’ of Physical Science chapters 2-7 for class and get my home work done the night before (ugh...literally like 100 pages...)

While that may seems like a weak list, I would feel really happy at the end of the week if I knew those things had gotten done.

Have you read, "Don't be in a hurry" from this months Ensign? - also priceless. I need to frame it somewhere as a reminder. :)

We had a happy surprise this week! Our "container garden" has been doing awesome - but I thought it would still be weeks before we would have blossoms. When I went out to water our tomatoes they had some little shining faces to show off! Yeay!

Today is the two year anniversary of the day I think Matthew and I met. :) We have agreed to disagree on the actual date - was it the 15th of June or the 22nd? Some of you were there! :) Either way - one Sunday morning, two years ago I got up in church to give a talk and my eyes fell on the most handsome man I'd ever see - and the voice in the back of my mind said "He is going to be soo much trouble."..... Turns out.. it was right!

In honor of this pseudo-holiday here are 101 things I love about you Hottie Honey

I love the way I know you'll never give up on me.
I love that you are honest about your opinions – even when I don’t want to hear them.
I love the way you look at me.
I love how beautiful your eyes are.
I love the way I can't imagine a day without you in my life.
I love the way if we were ever separated I wouldn't know how to go on.
I love the way you let me cuddle with your arm.
I love your great butt.
I love how I know you'll always be there when I need you to be.
I love the fact that I will always be there for you too.
I love how when I dream of my life partner, the only person that I can see is you.
I love how complete I feel when I am with you.
I love how our bodies just fit together.
I love that you are everything that I could ever dream of.
I love the way you make me laugh.
I love how dang sexy you are.
I love the way you laugh.
I love the way you don't compromise yourself.
I love your mind.
I love your thoughtfulness.
I love your tenderness.
I love your hands.
I love that you are that you are the man and I am the woman – YOUR woman.
I love the way you tell me you love me with your eyes.
I love the way you treat my friends even the weird ones.
I love how sometimes I have to tell you no.
I love how delicious you are to me.
I love how you demand respect but are far from controlling.
I love how I would do anything in this world to make you happy.
I love how you water the plants when I forget.
I love your voice.
I love that I STILL get chills I get when you kiss me.
I love how valiantly you honor your priesthood.
I love your sensuality.
I love how our love feels like the perfect romance movie.
I love the way you handle stressful things.
I love the way you respect me.
I love the way you protect and defend me.
I love the way you kiss.
I love how you feel when we cuddle.
I love that you are the hardest working person I know.
I love the way you support me in my ever changing hobbies most recent obsessions.
I love that so often I close my eyes and I still see you there.
I love waking up to find we've been cuddling for a long time.
I love your intelligence.
I love your ability to make friends where ever we go.
I love your love for life.
I love your passion for your hobbies and interests.
I love how every time I look at you, my insides tighten and I fall in love with you again.
I love how patient you are with me.
I love how even though you are a crazy nascar driver I still feel safe with you.
I love how my spirit smiles whenever you walk into the room.
I love how you love me.
I love that I can’t really remember life before you.
I love the ways you choose to show your affection for me.
I love the way you inspire me to be a better person.
I love the way you spark my creativity and imagination.
I love how you let me stand very very close to you when we walk.
I love the way you make me feel like anything is possible as long as I'm with you.
I love your sense of humor.
I love the way you make me feel like royalty.
I love the way you dress.
I love you just the way you are.
I love your spontaneity.
I love our life together.
I love how if I died right now I would be the happiest person alive knowing I found my one true love.
I love that the idea of always being with you actually makes me excited to grow old.
I love you are honest with your feelings.
I love the way you look when you’re sleeping.
I love your willingness to share everything and most especially your heart with me – except milk. You don’t share milk and that is just fine with me.
I love that you listen country music, just because you love me.
I love the way you treat me.
I love that you are a good man.
I love the way you take care of us.
I love how sometimes you are a cocky son of a gun.
I love how turned on I am watching you cook.
I love the way you show your affection when we are around friends or family.
I love it when I buy the wrong ranch or jelly and you demand that I return them and get the right ones. :)
I love the confidence you have in yourself.
I love that you have so much faith in our Father.
I love your ability to make me feel better when times are tough.
I love how much you love my siblings.
I love that no matter what we do I cannot get enough of you.
I love the way we make up after not getting along.
I love how you treat children.
I love how much you love my family.
I love that you are a dork.
I love that you respect my parents.
I love the way you support me when I'm off track.
I love the way you take the time to show me how much you love me.
I love your great hair.
I love your body – every piece of it!
I love your openness to try new things.
I love your ability to talk things through.
I love your courage to be you.
I love that even though it annoys you, you let me sit very very VERY close to you on the couch when we watch TV.
I love your greatness.
I love the fact that you want to be with me and only me.
I love your scrambled eggs. They are one of the seven world wonders.
I love the way you prefer vegetables and fruit to junk food.
I love that you have an endless amount of patience for my siblings. Lol.. and me.
I love that you encourage me to learn.
I love that you always always smell good.
I love that you put tomatoes, avocados and Parmesan cheese on everything.
I love that you don’t change you to fit me.
I love that you open the door for me.
I love how you will go out of your way to make sure that we are still dating each other.
I love you because you are you!

Please welcome the newest member of our family! A few weeks ago an online nursery had a sale, $20.00 off of a $20.00 or more purchase so we thought "What the heck! Lets buy something!" So today this little Improved Meyer Dwarf Lemon Tree was delivered to our door. It looks a kind of sad, but I would be too if I had been shipped in a box all the way from Penn. Hopefully within the next year or two it will look more like this! lol.... but we'll see what happens.

Who IS that handsome devil? Aw... thats my hottie honey! Happy Birthday baby! Thanks for being the greatest husband a girl could ever have! You're all the things I wanted when I was young and didn't know any better and still everything my mother prayed for! :)

umm delic! Tonight for dinner we took Matthew's dad out to Rooster in Provo. yuum. I could have died. Although I'm pretty sure the men would have preferred bbq somewhere I had wanted to try this place for a long time. I found a $25.00 gift certificate for them off of CityDeals for only $12.50 so I thought it was a good time to give it a whirl! (what? you've never heard of CityDeals? They are awesome- really. 1/2 off gift certificates - what more could you want? okay… more than half off and that happens too!)
I'm a diehard potsticker lover. We ordered a half a dozen each of the pork & chive and the shrimp with roasted red peppers dumplings (potstickers) (9), udon noodle stir fry with oyster mushrooms (11), a small plate of Shrimp and fresh herb fritters (5) and two orders of their grilled asparagus and grilled cotija cheese (5).
I really couldn’t have been happier! The dumplings were the best I had had in at least 8 years - seriously. I still remember the last time a had great dumplings, I was in Hawaii and my aunt had just made a massive platter full for a family outing. (When i say dumplings think oriental style not southern grandma - those are a whole different love story) The asparagus and cheese was also some of the best I've ever tasted and I'm super picky about how I will eat it.
Next time I go I will try something besides the udon noodles, but its not because I didn't like them - there were just a few to many mushrooms for my taste - but the think doughy noodles were scrumptious
We went a little over board for dessert and got both the chocolate lava cake with hazelnut whipped cream and the cheesecake wontons with blueberry sauce to split. (7 a piece I think) The wontons were to die for. um.. I'll be dreaming food in my sleep!
When its just Matthew and I eating out we don't usually order so much food. We skip the appetizers and a lot of times will share a meal because we never finish two. But I'm so glad we tried so many things tonight! Sometimes you just need to get out and try a new place! I absolutely recommend your wander over to citydeals.com, grabyourself a certificate and then head to Rooster on a date night!  - I will GLADLY come with you!

Check out this super cute recipe card! Its a free pdf from the blog Vol. 25. (She has some other really cute downloads too - like love notes for your lover!) I'm trying to do better at meal planning and right now my recipe binder is just a billion printed pages that I can't never seem to sort through so I'm excited to put them on real recipe cards!

Do you meal plan? I'm not very good at coming up with something to make off the top of my head at the end of the day when we are both tired and hungry- I'm too much of a planner for that. So I have been gathering recipes I know we like to have on hand, picking two of them on Sunday night and adding whatever ingredients we don't already have to my shopping list for that week. That way I know that when hottie honey's stomach growls we have at least two options for a home made dinner. (Sometimes we still opt for pizza but who doesn't like a good pizza once and while! :) )   Do you have any easy-breezy dinners you love to make? I would love to give them a try! :)

Have you looked outside? Yep- a rainy Sunday. Thanks Lord. You rock.

Tonight we went with Matthew's family to see Jerry Seinfeld live at Abravanel Hall! HILARIOUS! I loved it. If you ever get the chance to go see him, its worth it!
We followed it up by a scrumptious dinner at Hires and playing sardines with Matthew volvo - squishing 6 of us in. :) What a great night! Happy early birthday hottie honey!

It was a crazy morning. But I guess the whole last week has been. Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday-

Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday all blurred into one long never ending day. I had woke up late again, and though I had only been awake for 25 minutes I could already feel the tired frustration growing.

So in a huge rush, I kissed my sleeping honey on the cheek and make a b-line exit for the bedroom door. "ugh..." I thought..."again with the rushing everywhere... this isn't worth it!!" I could have just cried.

"Wait!" Matthew shot up in bed - clearly more asleep than not. "Lets pray!

My heart melted. I wasn't in the mind set for it and I certainly didn't have time. But it was exactly what I needed. I'm so grateful when Matthew forces me to take a quiet moment. No tv, no radio, internet or car, no rushing. Just quiet.

Have you listened to Keith Urban's song "Raining on Sunday"? Its an old one, but remains on my list of - "Top 5 Songs That Make Me Feel Better". Some times I sing it to myself on crazy days.

It ticks just like a Timex
It never lets up on you
Who said life was easy
The job is never through
It'll run us 'til we're ragged
It'll harden our hearts
And love could use a day of rest
Before we both start falling apart


Pray that it's raining on Sunday
Stormin' like crazy
We'll hide under the covers all afternoon
Baby whatever comes Monday
Can take care of itself
'Cause we got better things that we could do
When it's raining on Sunday


Your love is like religion
A cross in Mexico
And your kiss is like the innocence
Of a prayer nailed to a door
Oh surrender in much sweeter
When we both let it go
Let the water wash our bodies clean
And love wash our souls


I pray that it's raining on Sunday
Stormin' like crazy
We'll hide under the covers all afternoon
Baby whatever comes Monday
Can take care of itself
'Cause we got better things that we could do
When it's raining on Sunday

What helps you get through the crazy days?

For you who are using printable coupons only, this blogger (HERE) does a really good job of posting new links. This Coupon Databse (HERE) by the Krazy Coupon Lady is also a great resource. To use it I hit CTRL+F to search for items that are on my grocery list that I don't already have coupons for. For example, I type in "foil" to search for any coupons for aluminum foil. If the word you typed in is listed on the page it will highlight it, to see if there are any more, hit you enter key. Don't forget to print them twice!

Here are a few of my favorites right now -

• 0.70 cents off any Pillsbury Cresents (HERE)
• $1.00 off of any Gold'n Plump Natural Chicken (HERE) (I love this chicken - its MUCH better than the frozen bags)
• $1.50 off and Pond's cream, towelette or cleansing product (HERE) (My favorite wipes for removing make-up)

Enjoy! :)

Last weekend was the Utah Special Olympics Summer Games! My work was great to let me take time off to spend with Sarah! Paul usually competes too, but this time he stayed home. She did a GREAT job running the 25, 50 and 100 meter dashed - bringing home 3 ribbons! I'm so proud of you Sarah!