Just A Little Randomness

big surprise, I haven't posted in a while, but I have a friend who has declared every thursday "random thought thursday" so I said to myself, what the hey! Warning: these are probs more then thoughts cause I am a women of a lot of words.

Since purple is my fav color, random thought uno, I love YW's! I was driving around at the activity tuesday night on a photo scavenger hunt with a car full of 12 yr old girls, a good song came on the radio, we pumped it and sang at the top of our lungs! It's sweet to feel young again and that totally makes one of my top 5 moments in YW's so far!

I've started this digestive cleanser called Dr-Ho's Ab-Trimmer. you have to take these weird pills in the morning that taste like garlic and then this powder you can mix with water or juice. the first day I decided to try it with water, got all of it down but one last swig. took a deep breath, tipped the glass back, felt the mixture hit my hangy thing in the back on my mouth, gagged and spit it all out of the floor. immediately busted up laughing, oh this was at work too. no one was around but it was still a priceless moment, one moment gross mixture going down my throat, now gross mixture on the floor for me to clean up.

I'm so busy I don't have time to clean my house. It's almost to the point of ridiculous. Not only my house but my life. part of me loves it cause I feel like I'm always getting somethang done but somewhere in my subconscious I know it's only a matter of time before I crack. oh, and nate just got called into the elders quorum pres.

do you remember how old you were when you started noticing boys? I guess it was sometime in elementry school when my best friend glenda told this boy clint that i liked him and I was too afraid to talk to him so i avoided the whole situation until he showed up at my house. it was a little "say anything" now that I think about it but sweet. so driving randomly with these yw girls, need to take a pic of someone doing a pop-a-wheely on a bike, see two teenage boys, stop and ask them to do it. one girls out takin the pic the other two are inside talking about the kids muscles and randomly say "I bet he has a six pack." i busted up laughing and asked them how they knew about six packs. One of the girls named Ryanne said, "um, we're getting to the age where we notice those kinds of things." yikes! okay then. but seriously, aren't they too young to be noticing those kinds of things??? I suddenly feel really old

New fav show, "How I Met your Mother." hi-larious!!!! plus there's a character in the show named Robin who's from Canada (bonus) and she does every stereotypical canadian thing imagined! I find it immensely entertaining.

the whole "Twilight" craze-fest that seems to have taken over everyone in world is driving me NUTSO!! today on the radio I heard that they're (I don't know who specifically)starting these interactive twilight parties where you can go and dress up and have some kind of "twilight experience." now I love books, ya'll out there know I LOVE books and fiction, but come on! what is the point? so you go this party and meet weird guys dressed as edward and vampires and bring to life this book then after partying it up, you have to return to real life, your own house, your own job. why try to bring something to life that is never gonna be?!?!?! just seems so unhealthy. man, what a downer am I...

Life is Full

Life has been so crazy lately! When I think back on the past few months I wonder what in the world I did cause I have a horrible memory but it's slowly coming back. The biggest thing in my life right now is my new callling in church. About two months ago I got called as a Laurel advisor for the girls in my church from 16-18 years old. It came as a total surprise cause I felt like I'd finally just got a hang of my old calling, teaching the 14-15 sunday school class which just happened to be all boys and I loved it!! I looked forward to sunday school every week and I hoped that I was able to spark the same kind of desire in my class. I had all these ideas ready to go for the next couple of months and then WHAM out of nowhere I got released! On one hand I was super excited to be working in Young Women's but on the other hand I was super freaked out to be working with young women! I just felt like I was so not cool enough to be teaching them or relating to them.

The first month was not so bad cause we had stake conference and general conference so I only really had to teach them twice. Then one day at an activity I get pulled into the bishops office and extended the calling of 1st counselor in the YW's presidency. The funny thing was that I wasn't too surprised about that for some reason so I accepted. I was totally stressed out about it and I happened to be hanging out with our new YW Pres and I asked her why me. She said she knew there was a definite reason I was called into that position, I was the only person and spot she knew right away once being called herself, but that she wasn't going to tell me because she felt like it was something I needed to find out for myself.

Since then I've had huge growing experiences with the gospel. A few months ago before I was called into YW's I'd been feeling a little low and I was struggling with the "why" of my own life. Although I wasn't unhappy where I was I couldn't help feeling a little unfulfilled with what I was doing. I'm a little ashamed to say I even put off praying for understanding and humility for fear of how the Lord might teach me. I started gradually trying to change my attitude and attend more activities organized to help in spiritual growth (my fav? Ensign night) and listening to more uplifting music. One thing that helped so much was listening to a book on CD called "The Holy Secret." I think the most beneficial thing I got out of that book was how to study the scriptures better. It really renewed my desire to search and ponder. I realized that I didn't know all the lessons and reasons for things in the scriptures and that nothing was put in them by coincidence. The icing on the cake was having to teach the presidency message for all the young women on faith. I really prayed and searched for a better understanding of this principle and was surprised not only by what I learned but also by how much I already knew. The trick was teaching not what I wanted but what the Lord wanted but also at one point acknowledging that what I prepared was fine with what the Lord wanted.

I've been so busy organizing and trying to be someone who the girls will want to look up to and can. I think I've grown a lot in loving myself and where I'm at because I realized that the girls in YW's won't be comfortable with someone who is not comfortable with herself first. I know I still have a lot to work on but I'm so grateful to be having this experience! Our wards in the little suburb we live in are getting reorganized and branch is being made so I might only be in this calling for another 3 weeks but I'm so grateful for the learning I've been able to do and for the Lord knowing me well enough to know that I would take this experience and try to do the best I can! I'm amazed all the time by how well the Lord knows us and how much trust He has in us. He gives us callings and trials that we don't ever think we ourselves could ever handle, but he knows what we're capable of. Yes my life is full, I might not understand exactly why I am where I am but I can appreciate that I am where I'm supposed to be and that I'm on the Lord's path.

Complete Fiction...or Not???

Time for my monthly post...usually I would tell of some super fun experience I had in the past month and there have been a lot of them, my fav? My "Twilight Release Party" that took place this last Saturday! So fun! There's nothing like a bunch of good friends hanging together eatin' tasty food and discussing one of the best books ever (maybe even in the series). Not to mention waiting in line at Walmart with all the crazy teenagers shouting stuff at the passing cars and showing off for each other. Alas, that's not what I'm going to write about but it does bring me around to something that has been on my mind for a while.

Whenever I read a book and I get super into it, as anyone who's ever lived with me can attest to. I cry, I laugh out loud, and get angry right along with the characters in each book and as I do I always want to talk to someone about what I'm feeling. That person usually ends up being my hubby since he's around all the time. He supportingly (word??) waits for me to finish explaining what is so crazy about this particular part in this particular book. Then when I'm finished he gives me that little 'Your crazy' smile and says, "It's not real..."

"It's not real..." Three little words that crushed whatever fairyland I'm in that day and bring my literary world to a screaming halt. Sadly those have been the words I usually hear from anyone I've ever dated along with why not read something that's about some one's real life, something that's worth something. That got me thinking about why are books important...and I couldn't really say why they are. I know that reading with kids in one of the most important things ever but as for a 'why', as in a tangible result, something to show for it, I couldn't put my finger on anything. I just knew in my little heart that all the books I've read since I was in elementary (that's when I remember reading on my own) have somehow shaped my life and made me who I am today.

Okay, so this is going to seem really dorkey, or maybe it's not and I'm just a little insecure, but I was watching my new favorite show (yes not a book, but still falls into the category of fiction so I'm counting it), "Castle." Let me give you a quick synopsis, it's about a fiction novelist (Castle) who gets called into help the NYPD solve a copy-cat murder based on his novels. This puts him in contact with the young attractive detective on the case whom he ends up deciding to make the main character in his next series. It's funny and full of romantic tension. Anywho, so the point? Well, in last weeks episode, Castle and the detective are trying to solve a case involving rich HS kids that seem like their on the straight and narrow when all along their doing and dealing drugs and in the end, killing. Castle has this amazing daughter who is ever parents dream kid, early to bed, early to rise, always finishes homework on time, cleans the house, responsible...the list goes on and on. So, during the midst of this investigation Castle begins to wonder if he's daughter is as good as he thinks she is so he asks her straight up if she's ever done drugs. She assures him that she hasn't and that she doesn't have those kinds of friends and he makes sure that she knows she can tell him anything, honesty is the best policy. In the meantime she's been bugging him to let her go on this Washington DC trip and he keeps saying no because he's not going, but eventually decided to let her. Then one morning she wakes up her dad crying saying that she has something to tell him (and I'm like 'oh no!! she is doing drugs! no kid is safe it seems!!'). She ends up admitting that she wasn't completely honest with him and tells him about a horrible night when she was rushing to catch the subway and didn't have money to get on the train so she hopped the turn mill and caught her train anyway. The next day she payed for two rides on the train and didn't ride and Castle realizes what a good kid he has. So onto the end, Castle ends up solving the case and going on his kids trip to DC and I had a huge epiphany.

That's how you keep them safe. I'm not a parent yet so I'm sure I don't completely understand the fear a parent feels about that kid making the right choices away from home. But with the dream of parenthood in the future I worry that maybe I won't teach them the right things and that they'll be just like me having to do everything the hard way. So when watching this show and the interaction between this dad and his daughter I realized that that's how you keep them safe. You chaperon the field trips and dances and whatever else there is. You get to know their friends and make your house the place everyone wants to be and make it possible for your kids to have that open and honest relationship with you no matter what it is. I'm sure it won't be that cut and dry but it's was a huge lesson learned for me and realization smacking me right in the face. I'm so grateful that I work were I do and that Nate is so set on having our own business where we can set our own hours. That we have the control of our time not some boss guy sitting in an sky-rise somewhere who has no idea that I even exist only that the job is getting done. And I'm grateful that I belong to a church that teaches the importance of family. The funny thing is that I got all of this from a silly fictional show on TV of all places and I know that I've learned so many other important lessons from reading the books that I have. It's nice to finally have an example of that.

Now for a real life book that is awesome! Everyone should read if they are at all concerned about their retirement. It's called "Simple Wealth, Inevitable Wealth" by Nick Murray. Nick Murray is known as the financial advisor to financial advisors, so he's been around the block a time or two. He lays out with boldness and wit and humor the only way to have enough money to one day retire with money to live off of and leave to our kids and their kids. We all know that social security (or CPP in Canada) won't be around when were old and tired of working (hopefully that will be on our time table and not ages) so really our retirement nest-egg is up to us to acquire. This book is the perfect tool to get you started on your way! Read it, ponder it and then do it and if you have any questions, please just ask, I mean, can you really afford to not ask? Happy reading!!

The Perfect Valentine's Day

For most, Valentine's Day or for all terms and purposes "V-Day" seems to be expensive dinners and expensive gifts. Nate and I are totally not that kind of couple, not that they're bad, but we would really just rather save our money or put it towards our house or retirement. Sometimes though we get so caught up in the "saving money factor" that we end up doing nothing for specials days and it can be kind of a let down.

So this year for Valentine's Day I decided to try to do something nice. My first thing was remembering that it was coming, which I did, yay for me. I got together with some ladies in my ward and put together what they called "The 14 Days of Love." Each lady brought something that their hubby liked and then we combined them all and each lady went home with a special daily gift to give there hubby's up to V-Day. It was a fun idea and there was tons of cool stuff like heart shaped hand cuffs, and chocolate body paint, massage rocks, candy and cookies (I wish I would have taken a pic, it was a pretty sweet idea!). In the end though, it was a lot more work then I thought it would be. When V-day finally came, the bag was still full of the inedible stuff.

One would probably think that we spent V-day vigorously working our way through all the fun "toys" but I don't want to scare anyone away from my blog by going X-rated so instead we did this...

1. Slept in until 11 which is huge for us! We never get to sleep in even on weekends. It was wonderful to stay up late and wake up late for once!

2. Caught a flight to Berlin, New York, LA...we had a couple of gigs we had to rock out on Guitar Hero World Tour. We played some serious face-melting solos!!

3. Four hours later grabbed some lunch at one of our favorite places to eat...Edo Japan. We can eat there and have left overs for 20 bucks! "Two Bento Boxes please!"

4. Off to a total chic movie, "He's Just Not That Into You" (we had free passes). I know, totally cliche V-day activity, dragging the hubby or boy friend to a torturous girlie movie. I'm my defense, it kinda looked like a couple movie, funny for the guys and romantic for the girls...no such luck. Way too much dialogue and character development to be a guys movie. Nate was a good sport though and struggled...ahem, slept...through it. I did promise him a dose of guy stuff after the movie though--and no, it's not what you're thinking.

5. NBA Skill's Competition - This is where I yawn...excuse me. Hours of testosterone charged giant men slamming balls through hoops while doing crazy tricks! Dream come true...well, not completely but I do like sports and it was nice that Nate got to do something he really liked on our special day.

Although it seems like things were all planned out, nothing was. We flew by the seat of our pants embracing adventure when it came. haha It was so nice to have one day to not do anything productive but build our relationship. It felt like we were dating again. So fun!! Best Valentine's Day ever!

25 Random Things...

I thought this was kind of a fun idea. There's a tag going around facebook called "25 Random Things about me..." I decided to do and it was fun. I learned a lot about some of my good friends and I think they learned some interesting things about me. So, for all of you that aren't on facebook (shame, shame, seriously though, you should check it out) I brought it to my blog. So, without much ado, here is 25 random things about me...

1. Growing up I always wanted to live in another country someday...never thought it would be Canada, I'm not even sure I knew it existed.
2. I was adopted three days after I was born.
3. I've been tagged multiple times in "25 random things..." for the past week but until today I couldn't figure out how to make a note.
4. I've cruised through the Caribbean three times and LOVED it!
5. I have two bad habits that I can't seem to permanently break, biting my nails and picking my lips when they're chapped (gross, I know).
6. I love animals but never want to have one.
7. If I believed in reincarnation, I would come back as a professional athlete.
8. When I read a book it plays out in my head like a movie.
9. I have a hard time distinguishing between fact and fiction mostly because I read too many fiction books and watch too many movies.
10. I want to write and publish a novel of my very own and I actually have a few I'm working on right now.
11. I didn't vote for Obama but am happy he won.
12. I hardly ever play video games despite that my brother makes them for a living.
13. The biggest regret I have in my life is not going on a mission.
14. I hate tap water, I only drink bottled water which makes for sacks and sacks of empty bottles which totally makes my hubby crazy!
15. I could sit and just watch people for hours and hours. My fav memory of this is leaning on the back of the couch with my old roomies at BYU-Idaho and watching all the people go by.
16. I am super-duper afraid of sharks. I tried to conquer my fear once by researching all the different things I needed to know about sharks and I think I actually made it worse. It hasn't made me stop going in the ocean but I'm very cautious about when I do and what the conditions are.
17. I guess that brings me to another fear, deep open water and scary weird sea creatures. People keep urging me to get my scuba certification but I'm not sure if I would have enough courage to use it.
18. I absolutely love LOVE food but I can be a little picky about it sometimes.
19. When I was kid I thought I was giving a roly poly or potato bug a home when I stuck it up my nose. I ended having to go to the emergency and get it flushed out because I'd pushed it up so far.
20. My dream car is a Volkswagen Touareg.
21. I love names, like people's names. I think it really says a lot about who that person is or will be.
22. I love going to the dentist or doctors. I just don't find it super scary like most people seem to do. I would rather just figure out what's wrong so I can fix it.
23. I love eyes. I always notice whenever I meet someone new what color their eyes are.
24. I desperately want to have a kid with red hair. I love red hair esp my husband's color. I think subconsciously I knew I was supposed to marry someone with red hair because the only serious relationships I ever had have been with guys who had red hair.
25. I'm kinda an all or nothing type of person. I jump into things with both feet and hang on for the ride. Unfortunately that means I learn most of life's lessons the hard way...

Extra after thoughts:
26. I totally stole this idea from my friend Jaime.
27. Chuck Taylor's are my ultimate favorite shoe and my goal is to one day have them in all colors!
28. I heart short hair and want to cut mine off again.
29. I forget EVERYTHING! esp if it's something important that I need to use that day. There is a direct correlation between an objects importance and the likelihood of my forgetting it i.e. the more important it is the higher the chance I have for forgetting it at home. Tested and tried!
30. I have so many thoughts running through my head all the time that I often think I've said something out loud and didn't actually.

Bonus 31. I love my husband. He puts up with all my long-winded narratives and my crazy whimsical notions I get from reading too many fiction books. He is my bestest friend! Luv you!

#6 amendment: maybe a horse, like if I ever lived on a ranch or something...
#12 amendment: ahh, okay so I love guitar hero and rock band! best games ever!!!
#22 amendment: so I sound like I have Munchausen Syndrome which I don't. I never go to the doctor and hardly ever feel sick. Just wanted to clarify that point...

Since This is The Only Thing in Our Life Right Now...

More pictures of our ever progressing basement. We offically moved in January 5th and boy that was a very long day. We spent the whole day moving stuff into the basement and cleaning the upstairs to get it ready for the new renters. Okay, so it wasn't completely finished when we moved in...we still had the baseboards, the doors and trim, and finally the countertop in the kitchen.

One week, three days in basement: All doors almost completely hung, only the closet door left. No baseboards yet or a kitchen countertop. Might I mention that without a countertop it's really really hard to cook. We've been eating frozen pizzas and scamming off the parental units (thank you so much). We have someone coming over tomorrow to measure for a top from the Home Depot and apparently it takes four weeks to order the countertop in, so if anyone has any good ideas on easy, dishless dinners let me know! Oh, btw, did I mention that Nate washed our dishes in bathtub...totally gross and seemingly unsanitary! I couldn't even go in the bathroom while he was doing it, but no countertop means no kitchen sink...ick. Well, here are some pictures of our kitchen so far. I think it looks nice and it will look even better with a top on it!!!Our niece Rylee. She is such a good little helper! She was right there with me while I put together the cabinets and once we finished a few she said, "It's fits Rylee!" She got in and then told me to get the camera! I guess she knew it would be a cute picture!

Going back to the college days. We haven't bought a couch yet so for the first week all we had to sit on was our camping chairs. Nate's dad told us we had to take a picture of it to show our kids one day otherwise they wouldn't believe it! Now we have a futon in there until we find a couch we like and want to buy.

My Word

Your Word is "Fearless"

You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it! You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing. Sometimes your fearlessness means you're daring. You enjoy risky activities. And sometimes your fearlessness means you're courageous. You're brave enough to do the right thing, even when it's scary.

What's Your Word?