Sammy Grace's Place

Semester has begun

2012-02-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

geez. posts are all about school these days. sorry. its a massive chunk of our lives right now. almost done for me tho.

So i spend 2 days a week at the preschool here at the college. and I just have to tell you another one of the conversations i was a part of the other day.

Little boy #1: This is the boy club!
Little boy #2: (no reply, just walkin around the club)
Little boy #1: This is the boy club! Cuz boys are cool...and girls are.... boys are cool right?
Little boy #2: (still no reply just chillin)
Sammy: So is there a password to get into this club?
Little boy #1: Yes, it's Open Sesame! but don't tell any girls!
(I had no idea it'd be so hard to get it out of him)
Little boy #1 to Little boy #2: Yeah, boys are cool, LET'S GO DIG A HOLE!

Yes, boys are cool. But they are nerdy from day one. :) thats why us girls cant get enough of em.

Last Semester...

2012-01-20T09:23:00.001-08:00

This is my last semester of school...is it? As far as my Associates Degree of Science, why yes, it is my last semester. My mind has been pondering continuing and hitting it hard for a Bachelor's Degree but I'm not a hundred percent sure what I would do yet? I've thought about Secondary Education, I've thought about a few different things, but my heart isn't passionately set on any one thing. Therefore, as of right now, I think the plan is to not waste time and money on school anymore until I know exactly what I want to do. I would love to be a Seminary teacher, I know that for sure, and I know how to go about it, and that would be my main reason for getting a Bachelor's Degree, but again I'm not sure that its even the right time for that right now. I just don't know!

Medical Transcription: let's be honest it's been put a little on the back burner because of trying to finish my degree. However, I found out I can get an extension if I have to, and I still have till August before I'd have to do that so hopefully I can finish before then.

My last two classes this semester are Math 1050, ....so fun.... and Child Guidance, which is actually pretty fun. I have to do 35 hours of lab work in the preschool though, I wasn't expecting that hunk of homework, but I think I've made it work with my schedule so I can get that done at the end of February and all the assignments that have to do with the preschool done by then too. This class is gonna be a lot more than I thought it would, but I love the teacher so it's worth it. It's gonna help me learn how to be a better mom, (hopefully?) which is always worth it.
While I was digging holes with the preschoolers in the sandbox the other day, one of the preschool girls leaned over and whispered in my ear,
"Guess what? I'm suuuuper nice."
I said, "Oh yeah? I'm sure you are"
And she responded, (still whispering) "I am, and when I grow up I'm gonna turn into a superhero"

Lucky me, I get to meet this superhero first! I'm gonna try and sneak her autograph one of the days she practices writing her name "the kindergarten way"...

Anyway, that's life, school, and work. And spending time with family in every spare moment I have. First and foremost my husband, even though we go from literally 7 am to midnight/1am before we see each other some days.

oh, Kojo the dog is doing wonderfully. He's only had one poop and one pee accident in the house thus far. Other than that he's potty trained and good to go. He stays in his bed all night and doesn't wander the house, and he is so smart! He's learning to "sit" and "stay" and he's gotten into our routine pretty well. We love him he is so much fun, and it's cute that Colten busts out some sort of baby voice with him--Kojo loves it when Colten comes home and says "where's my gooood buddy!?" it's pretty stinkin cute.

finally a post.........

2011-12-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

First, in May of 2011 there was a big hole in the ground. It was pretty exciting.

Then, they put up walls to pour cement in for the basement. That was even more exciting.

Then, all of a sudden, the next day...;)...there was a house framed. (We didn't take good pics during this stage)

Then a roof with tile on it was added.

Then it was stucco(ed)?

(first layer)

Then rock, and finishing touches. (and a truck we no longer have... i miss that one)

And now we are moved in! FINALLY! one crazy summer later. And I came home the other day to this:

My very attractive husband cutting up a tree in the back yard so that we won't freeze our hinders off at night. And then now that we've lived in our house for a month or so, we decided we wanted to add another member to the fam...

This here is Kojo. What a cutie patootie huh. He's an 8 month old Border Collie that we adopted from the Hurricane Shelter. He is such a good dog. We love him so much already. His name is from a language called Twi, the language Colten learned the most of while he was in Ghana. In Ghana, you are named for what day you were born. Kojo means Monday born, and we adopted him on Monday so we thought it was fitting. In this pic he looks like hes dead, but there will be much more alive pictures through the years to come I'm sure.

This was my first crafty project. I put together this African flower arrangement for our African-themed room. :) we're fun huh haha.

Technically this was the first project, but it's not done yet. I will spray paint the bottom of the lamp brown. but I hot glued this lamp to its plaidy perfection thanks to an idea from good ole' pinterest.

Lots has happened in 2011 that I am overwhelmed thinking back on. December has brought a lot of happiness though. It's like all the stress has finally started to release and although there's still so much ahead I'm so happy. I now work only at the movie theater, so even though I loved my other job, it's less stress to only have one. I will be getting my Associates Degree this spring semester. (finally) And things are looking good. I know that Heavenly Father loves me, despite the challenges I face and the tests I'm sure I fail, he keeps giving me opportunities to learn and grow. I'm thankful for that. Life's good. Gotta love it. :)

C.O.

2011-11-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

We got an official Certificate of Occupancy today! That means we get to move in. Life has been craaaaaaaaaaaaaazy busy. One day I will post pictures. I'm just stoked we will be moving in this weekend hopefully- so to all family and friends who want to help- Saturday is the day :) woot woot!

Something That Works

2011-10-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

It's been on my mind today, so here I go.

Things that work:
-Man made products: microwaves, washers&dryers, lights, cars, etc. They all work, and when they quit working, it works to just replace them.
-Some more random items:
Umbrellas-they work when it is raining
Alarm clocks- (hopefully) they work to get our day started on time
Lotion-works to help relieve dry skin (sounds like a commercial...)
Phones- work when we want to call people for any reason at all
-Things that work better if:
-Stop signs work better if you stop at them.
-Looking both ways before you cross the road usually works better if you are planning on making it to the other side...there's a pun here, I could also say that it works better to look both ways if you're planning on NOT making it to the other side yet...
-Hot chocolate works better if its cold outside
-People usually work better if they get enough rest, enough food, and enough playtime (playtime is in there for a reason, we all need it)
-Inspirational quotes work better if you read them frequently (as opposed to putting them on your wall and reading them once a year)
-Holidays work better if there's someone to share them with (could be a sad subject, but generally speaking we all know it's the truth)
-Marriages work better if both people want it to work.
-Books work better if people read them.

The list goes on and on. But the biggest one I want to add to the list is an explanation, and it's spiritual. Read on if interested...

We read in James that "faith without works is dead."(2:17) Therefore, faith, usually works better if, you put some action, some work, some belief, [all of the above] into it. I have been taught this, and I think I've even practiced it, but I think because sometimes we drift off the path of what we know to be true, I had lost sight of what this really means. When I read my scriptures, when I read conference talks, when I pray more fervently, and I sincerely try to love those around me the way that Christ does, faith is easier. I don't think faith is easy, but I think it can get easier as we put more into it. Haven't you ever heard a parent say, "you're only gonna get outta life what you put into it" ? I sure have. But with my lazy tendencies, and the natural woman inside of me saying 'that's too hard' I think I had forgotten what having faith is all about.

I feel...and truly felt today...what can only be described as, joy. Not because anything miraculous happened. In fact, I experienced trials today much as I do everyday, just as we all do every day. But because of some increased scripture reading, a lot more effort on my part in the prayer department, and trying to listen to the spirit, I feel like I dealt with those trials easier. Not only that, but I was able to say, with confidence, the things that Heavenly Father would have had me say. I didn't have a perfect day, don't start thinking that, and I didn't act perfectly today, but I had a certain feeling of peace, and as I wrote earlier, joy. I think that just happens when we learn more about the gospel. I think it happens when we realize how much God loves His children. My heart feels full today. As I sit here and think, it's truly not because I look to the future and don't see a million and a half things on my To Do List, but it is because I have more faith that Heavenly Father, and His Son are right there with me, to help me as I go through what life has in store. I'm thankful for that.

I guess that what I'm saying is, faith is a huge thing. In the Bible Jesus taught that even if you have (I wont word it exactly) 'faith has a mustard seed, you can move mountains.' In one of the conference talks a while back a general authority reminded us that for our day, faith as a mustard seed can move mountains of despair, mountains of stress, and i think that means it can fill valleys of emptiness too.

I tend to like to see things right out in front of me, and my husband is even more so that way. He's very smart and detailed and so he's taught me to look at every detail and that's a very good trait to have, in business, and in many areas of life. These thoughts run through my head: Ya gotta look at the numbers! Ya gotta see if it really works! Ya gotta see if the investment you put in really gives back! I know, with all my heart, that "[when] ye have faith, ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma 32:21) And I can testify, that through faith, I have gotten way more out, than what I put in. I had to make the investment, by doing more of what the Lord has asked me to do, and it's worth more than I ever realized.

Just an update...

2011-10-05T15:34:00.001-07:00

We officially live with my parents. woot woot! I'ts nice though, we just have the basement to ourselves, my mom is still cooking dinner for an army of people every night, and I just feel like I have to clean less. It's nice. :) The house is taking longer than we thought, people keep asking, is it painted?...yes... what about the flooring?...all done except for carpet which is the last thing so it doesn't get all dirty...plumbing? basically almost all done just a few last things here and there, electricity? up and running and all the light fixtures are in! Stair rail is in, and the back deck is almost done, urgh it's just so close i can feel it, but yet it's still so far away. I keep getting all these ideas of how I want to decorate once we are actually in the house, and i'm excited, but theres just so much other stuff on our plates I don't know how we'll ever get it all done. We will though, one day, far away. It's been good though, quite a learning experience for mostly Colten, but also for me. For example: I learned how to grout tile, and therefore today I even helped my hubby do the hearthstone for our fireplace. *Seriously I'm going to post pics, but I want to post a final product picture- so i'm waiting until we finish the porch to post the whole process and maybe the shutters on the windows... I dont know for sure but the pics will come! eventually...

Still working on school, wonderful school. I'm learning a lot. as usual. thatswhatschoolisfor...ha I am trying to kick my toosh in gear though and work on MT stuff, I was a slacker for a little while, now I'm getting back on track cuz I really want to be done with it and start working! I'm just pluggin away at my other two jobs, and taking life as it comes. We start attending our new ward on Sunday-- I'm excited. Life's good. The Lord loves all of us. Just keep going. Just keep going. Just keep going.

One Year Anniversary

2011-09-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well, we officially have been married for over a year now. crazy how time flies! Some days I just look at Colten and think, really? is it true? am I really finally married to my best friend? ...wait you mean I'm not just still writing him while he lives in Africa? Right! It's so exciting to not be in that stage, even though--as crazy as it sounds--there are times where I miss getting those letters and every monday morning checking my email...but then that feeling quickly goes away:)
I love my hubby so much. I was teaching the Beehives in our ward on sunday and the lesson was "Marriage Standards" and I was so thankful that I was able to testify of the temple and what a blessing it is to be married there. I was so thankful I was able to talk about my husband and what an amazing guy he is. I got all teary-eyed, but I hope the girls heard what I was saying, because I feel so blessed, and I want them to feel the same way too.

I love that my husband does the dishes. (not every day, but enough that it's still special and I'm still so thankful for it)
I love that he is such a hard worker. He has basically built our house, I've been there cheering him on, I even learned how to grout tile, but it doesn't even compare to the time, blood, sweat, and (i dont think he's cried over anything yet.. haha) more sweat that he has put into our house. I'm so thankful to him for all he does. I just wish I could show him that more.
I love that he is a nerd! Cuz I'm a nerd! So it's a perfect match!
I love being married to someone who knows (way better than I do) how to be quiet. Sounds weird, but I've realized he is so good at knowing when NOT to say something, when to hold his tongue, and that's a trait I need to absorb from him haha.
I love that he makes me laugh.
I love how handsome he is. mmm mmm good.
I love that he forgives me so easily.
I love that he is a righteous holder of the priesthood, and that he lives his life in a way that he doesn't accept exceptions, (if that makes sense) he just does the right things.
I love how good my husband is, which according to dictionary.com, that means, "morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous."

9-17-2010. a good day. a grand day. the day I married my best friend.

Reminiscing...sp?

2011-09-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Seeing as how Colten and I have an anniversary coming up, I was looking over my posts from this time last year and they are actually similar to how i'm feeling right now...I got a lot on my plate. Only this year, instead of school, work, and a weddin'---I got school, 2 jobs, and a house to be moving in soon. So i'm gonna copy my self-inspirational post that I did last year....

I WILL keep up on my homework/studies.

I WILL be patient while the house gets closer...and closer...and closer.

I WILL get all the stuff thats in our little casita out and into a new house before the end of this month...i hope. how does so much stuff accumulate?

I WILL keep going. :) sometimes that's all it comes down to.

I am so grateful to be married to a wonderful husband. I won't get too far on that one yet though, I'll do a gushy wushy mushy love post closer to our anniversary. with pictures. exciting. :)

Only In Hurricane

2011-08-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Only in hurricane can you go to a bank, and the teller, an older lady, offers you some home-grown tomatoes. I had this happen to me today, and it brought a serious smile to my face. The tomatoes were real tasty too.

Exciting News!

2011-08-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I got a new job! It pays a lot better, and it will be an exciting change :) I will still be working at the theater probably 2 nights a week until I finish this medical transcription program. I would just like to say though, that its amazing how much Heavenly Father cares about his children. Sometimes I feel like the deepest prayers in my heart that I might have never even actually prayed, are answered in ways I never could've dreamed up on my own. I'm so thankful for a Heavenly Father who knows me, and knows my needs, and helps me to endure through tough things, and then gives me a better way. I'm thankful for a mom who listens so well, and also guides me through tough things. I'm especially grateful for a husband who is so patient and listens as well, and helps me in every way he can.

I'm also STILL going to college this semester haha but only taking 2 classes. One of which I'm gonna test out of. I'm excited though, I'm taking a Child Development class and it should be very interesting.

We're shooting for next month to move in...end of next month, but next month! When the outside is stucco(ed?) I'm gonna do a whole start to finish post, we've been taking pictures at all the stages, and its pretty cool.

Lots of things going on, but I'm quite happy about where we're at. Completely random but very true: if you have a pandora account, you should create the station called "60s, 70s, and 80s pop" it's SOOO fun. some songs are dumb, naturally,they can't all be perfect, but for the most part i've adored it haha. I turn it on and just start dancing.

Wise Advice From Someone With Experience

2011-08-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

When attempting to wash your car at home:

#1- use a hose. not a red bowl filled with water that you try to continuously fill with water and attempt to splash off your car/truck. there are a plethora of reasons behind this...

#2- check the weather report. in southern utah, even if it starts out as a sunny (and innocent) morning, the weather may become cruel and raining.

I had an off day....

Career Step---2 meanings

2011-08-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

So, I officially enrolled, just now actually. Careerstep.com is where the magic began :) Actually it started with one idea from my hubby, who in casual conversation mentioned, Medical Transcription, I then discussed with my mom (what the heck) that was, and since that moment,every once in a while...[specifically on horrible days at work] it kept popping up in my mind, "Medical Transcription Sammy, Medical Transcription!" So, I finally listened and started finding out a little more about it, found careerstep.com, but couldn't make any for sure decisions.

Then... Last week in Young Womens all of us leaders had to introduce ourselves and one of my fellow leaders said that she did MT and that just got my mind really-a-goin, and so on Sunday I chatted with her about it, and she did it through careerstep.com too!!! Small world?! I think not! I think that Heavenly Father just gives us opportunities and says, "here ya go, its up to you though" As i was asking her all about the program she couldn't have been more in love with her job and more excited to tell me about it. She said, "the only downfall is I wish I'd done it sooner"
Most people don't feel that way about their jobs...

I'm hopefully on my way to feeling that way though! Ever since high school ended I have been trying to figure out what to do and gone lots of different routes, and ultimately I'd still like to become a teacher (i think) but this program can help me achieve a good job now, and I can continue to work towards that degree all the time. This job would also enable us to start a family (not that we're going to any time soon I'm not hinting) because I can work from home and would never have to quit my job! Its just good to find something I'm actually excited about!
*I even found out I guess my grandma polve used to do MT...must be in my blood... haha. Anyway, I'm excited, and I wanted to share with y'all.

Fun Ideas!

2011-08-06T14:01:00.001-07:00

So, I've narrowed my thoughts, and I've found a "style," persay, that I love. And Colten likes it too. I love just good ole' country home decor. Literally I typed that into Bing and recieved pictures of homes that I love! Amazing ideas, some a little too weird, but some exactly what I picture. I love antique stuff, old wood, and it's cheap usually cuz my hubby and I can make stuff ourselves, or get something and turn it into what we want! We got a dining room table that we're gonna stain to a darker color, and we'll make it look good! (I'll post when we do) I'm just very excited :) this coming week the sheet rock will be put up and the stucco will be put on. Then it's all just painting and finish work. I'm so thankful to be married to an unbelievably hard worker. He is pretty amazing. Well, I took a break from cleaning (i've let our place get a smidge dirtier than it ever should be) so I needa get back to that. I'm excited though!

p.s....I think I'm gonna enroll in the online medical transcription program on monday!...wish me luck!

Life Changes.

2011-08-03T08:49:00.001-07:00

This summer has been crazy. I have spent most of my time working, scheduling people, starting movies over and over and over again. Closing my eyes and telling myself, "you have to keep going just picture the paycheck" (which is actually surprisingly lower than what most people get paid for a management position, i'm not complainin i'm just sayin) and opening my eyes just to push start on another movie. My job has it's ups like every job but it definitely has its downs too. I have always tried to be professional about it, but sometimes my jar fills up an I'm ready to explode. Thankfully, I have an amazing husband who is always listening and helping me out. Let's just say I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for any business ventures that might come my way. Also thankfully, I married into an awesome family who happens to be full of entreprenuers (sp?) and starting businesses is what they do! And they are successful at them! I'm also looking into starting a Medical Transcription program... work from home, make good money, hmmm sounds like my kind of job! haha we'll see though, I just need to buckle down and decide somethin. Something I do love doing- weddings. I don't wanna be in charge of em by all means, but I love working with my family and I am not yet sick of the daddy/daughter dances, all the first dances, the flowers, the treats, and all of the above. I really enjoy every once in a while gettin to even work with my hubby when he works at a wedding. It's fun:) I have some ideas rollin around in my head for different jobs, we'll see what happens.

School is starting...yikes! and yep i'm still not done. haha. I told myself that i'm getting that dang associates degree though, and it is true I am going to! If I wanted to go crazy I could probably finish this semester, but it doesn't look like I'm gonna go crazy. I'm gonna wait and finish next spring I think...we'll see.

building a house...that's a speaks-for-itself kindof a change...idk what i'm gonna do, all we've ever lived in obviously is a one bedroom, very small but very perfectsized for only 2 people, a house at any size is bigger than the casita. the casita has been great though- i couldn't be more grateful to my family for lettin us occupy it :)

welp, my minds going crazy with decorating ideas, the thoughts of actually moving...and looking for other job opportunities, but its all very exciting:) this summer I've learned a lot about myself as I seem to do every new season of every year because life throws curveballs and each ones different so ya gotta keep learning how to catch em! I'm just excited for change!
and i'm excited cuz i think were going to cali tomorrow, just for overnight but its always fun to get away :) i think thats all folks. sorry for saying crazy so much. ;)

Heres where we're at...

2011-07-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Or at least where we were at...The tile is currently being put on the roof so it looks a little different now but this is the jist of our house. It is really long, but not very deep, kinda like a trailor haha. Thats why its not all the way in the pic, but on the far right its just the garage and on the left you can pretty much see what it looks like. Pretty exciting:)

Life's crazy right now- to say the least. Maybe, just maybe one day I'll get this patience thing down and stop worrying about everything. haha.

No Eggshells Here

2011-07-09T16:03:00.000-07:00

Too often we are scared of eggshells.
Get out of my bread! Get out of the scrambled eggs! ...

I have learned of another place in which they do not belong.
Friendships. No eggshells please! Get out among friends!

No one likes the attempt of eggshell walking.
They aren't very sturdy.
If eggshells are in friendships, then those become lots less sturdy too.
In life we find friends who maybe didnt even know they gave us eggshells to try.

When those shells break, it is sad, very sad.
However, when you find a friend who hates eggshells too,
then we all shout WAHOOOO!
I'm lucky to have some of those precious friends.
I have found,
one of the most beautiful phrases in life can be phrased differently than you ever thought.

When I make a mistake, and I think "I'm sorry" and my eyes start to shed a tear,
It's nice to hear a friend say, "No Eggshells Here"
-Sammy Grace :)

"The simple but observable fact is that the more you love, the more you are able to love"
-Dr. Joyce Brothers

"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure teh betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I need a Hero!

2011-07-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so if you haven't noticed, my blog isn't deleted yet. I was like in the 90 percentage range of decision making to delete this blog, but the percentage has gone down. We'll just see what happens...

The title of this post has to do with a thought that came to me last night. I personally actually dont need a hero, because I know who my hero is.

However, working in the movie theater business gets a smidge tiring when (almost) every single movie in some form or another has a hero, a villain, a damsel in distress, and a happy ending. I'm losing my umph for watching movies because my predictions are becoming scarily more accurate. Last night my mind ventured into why, why is there a need, a dream, a hope for that one special hero that will come and save everyone and we wont have any troubles anymore? Why do our minds create and connect with story after story about that one man, the one man with magical powers, the one who has something none of us has? Then I'm thinking it was the spirit that helped me to know the answer.

IT'S BECAUSE: the reason we are all here on this planet is because way way way back in the day we chose to follow Christ. Satan presented a plan, and Christ presented a plan that was in line with our Heavenly Father's purposes and we all chose the...dare I say...the hero route. Now the last thing I want to do is make Christ's life and mission and His sacrifice seem a smaller ordeal, I don't want to really compare Him to the silly heros we watch in movies. But, it's understandable why we connect with that thought pattern so easily, because we always have! Our spirits remember choosing the path that would create a way for all of us to return to our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ is the one, the Only Begotten Son, He did save us from physical death, and gave us a choice so that if we choose Him we can be saved from a spiritual death also. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Perfect Example. He is, in a sense, my hero. He died for me- and for all of us. He suffered for pains, temptations, sicknesses, sins, and basically for all the bad/hard stuff we would ever go through. No one else can do that. No one else. I'm glad that I know the truth. I'm glad I know who the real hero is for all of us. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is teaching me everyday--even though too many times I don't listen. I'm a work in progress though, and I'm never gonna stop tryin.

Those were my thoughts, this is a good reason to have a blog. Life's crazy right now, and it's good that I sit down and write at some point. Although I really miss the pen and paper for a journal... i'm a much faster typer.

I think...

2011-06-17T20:38:00.001-07:00

I'm gonna delete my blog. It's moments away, but its gonna be a messy break up cuz theres things about the blogging world that i do like. its a long story, a long explanation, and it will probably be my next post, i'm just preparing you for the sad day when sammy says bye to blogging. (because i'm sure you're all dying to read about my life....cough cough sarcasm cough cough)

but i might as well give y'all a last run down of how life's going before i peace out forever.

building a house, yes we are. the basement is in and framed, and the main floor will be framed next week, and the garage is also getting poured next week. am i a little overwhelmed? duh.

still not done with school? i am not done yet, but hopefully by the end of this year i will have my associates degree in something. wish me luck.

prego? negative. and not for a while folks.

dream job? where am i headed with my life? well, my dream job would be to be a seminary teacher. i'm a loooooong ways away from that, but one day i hope to become that.

still married? yes. for some reason in the first year of marriage (at least i hope this happened to you folks or else everyone and their dog just thinks colten and i wont work out) people keep asking colten and i, "so do ya still love each other?" isn't that weird to ask people straight up how their marriage is going at any stage of the game? i think it is...maybe thats just me tho. just sayin- i dont go around asking people who have been married for 20 years, "so do you still love each other?" and i certainly dont ask old couples the same question. maybe i should tho....

still working at the ole cinemas? yep. could talk about THAT subject forever but i wont.

excited to go to school in the fall? yes. excited to move into a house this fall? yes. overwhelmed? yes. thankful? yes. beyond measure. stressed tho? yes. but one of these days i'll learn not to sweat the small stuff, and to trust more in the Lord. it's a life long process- and thats just the way it is.

KOLOB

2011-05-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

This was actually up where Colten proposed, i think just before he did?

These are last summer's photos, but we didn't take any for our first trip this year, but that's cuz it was a work trip i'll tell you what. haha. Colten and Kelby had to put up tons of fence, and Kathie and I attacked the cabin, mice tend to reside there over the winter no matter how good they close it up, so we have to clean everything up, but now its all clean and ready for all summer long! I love Kolob. I don't think I went up there once while Colten was gone though, I didn't really have anyone to go with, and its not the same without Colten. It's a beautiful place no matter what though, and I can't wait to spend weekends up at the cabin with my hubby!

In other news, the work on the house is officially beginning today folks. Today! Colten is going to begin the digging/whatever to get our lot ready. I'm excited!

Ticked

2011-05-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

positivity leaving for 2 seconds...

i'm pretty sure a denny's employee jacked my phone. my brand new phone. my brand new smart phone that i was having so much fun with. i need to get over it, and i'm almost there, but i'm still bugged and resisting the urge to just drive over there and search all of their things till i find it. i went to verizon though and put it on the 'lost or stolen' list and so they can never use the phone, they could try and sell it though so i'm keeping my eyes open on ksl or craigslist to find it.

ok bringing positivity back...

our house plans are finished. and they are going through the city and should be reviewed on wednesday and hopefully pass the requirements. :) i'm excited! it will be good. good good.

relay for life was this weekend, and i sang at it, but i'm not sure if it sounded good or not because of the wind and idk the music was really loud but i think it went ok...

we went to vegas and listened to an older couple that colten knew on his mission give their non-homecoming talk/homecoming talk and they were an awesome couple, colten loves them and i can easily see why.

well, this is whats happening in the iverson home. sorry no pics. have a good day. watch your phones so they dont get stoled.

Honey Oat Bread Recipe

2011-05-06T07:24:00.000-07:00

I don't have pics, but just trust me on this- this is yummmmmy bread. It's gone before there's time for pictures! It's quoted by my brother-in-law to be "unreal" and my sister-in-law as "delicious" I can promise you, you won't regret trying this out. This is the bread that I make regularly. I love it, Colten loves it, and I haven't found anyone yet who hasn't thoroughly enjoyed it.

And it's easy.

Start out with about 5 cups of flour, though you might use about 7 cups altogether
Sift the flour! even if it says presifted, i sift it anyway
2 eggs
3 Tbls of soy lecithin OR dough enhancer (can be found at leavitts kitchen center) both work
1 cup oats
1/2 cup of honey (darker the honey, darker the bread will look)
2 Tbls of veg. oil
1 Tbls of salt
2 active dry yeast packets, or about 41/2 tsp of yeast if going out of a jar
2 1/2 cups warm water (actual recipe calls for 2 1/3 cups...i've done both it worked each time)
1 tablespoon sugar

I hope i don't make this sound too complicated, because its truly easy. if it were hard i wouldn't make it as often as i do, and i don't have a breadmaker.

First, get your water, it needs to be warm. my sister Jenny taught me the best trick or explanation for just how warm, "it's the right temperature when it the water doesn't feel like it's pinching your skin" ---that is the truth, test it with your pinky, there is a change in temperature where the water stops pinching. just make sure its not too hot. then add the sugar into the water, and the yeast. Stir with a spoon every once in a while to "proof?" it i think its called...

Then, sift the first 5 cups of flour mixed with the dough enhancer/soy lecithin into a big bowl. And throw everything else in there! What I do with the eggs- i crack the first one into the bowl, but the second one i crack into a separate bowl, whisk it, and use most of it for the bread, but I save a enough to brush the top of the dough right before it goes into the oven to help it look brown and beautiful when it comes out.

Once the yeast is ready, and added to the other ingredients, mix all together until it becomes hard to mix--then dump onto a counter that has flour (lots) on it and start playing with it! or kneading it--for technical terms. it starts out feeling like its not gonna turn into real dough, but just keep adding flour, getting your hands dirty, and kneading that dough like your life depends on it... when it feels a lot more sturdy, put it in a clean bowl and let it rise for around 45 min, it might rise fast, if it isnt then just give it time. (mine rose for an hour yesterday or more and was still grand)

Then punch it down and knead again! add flour obviously to make it less sticky, but you wont need as much flour this time. (if its really sticky, keep adding flour, I've never added too much flour and i've added a lot before) when its ready, separate into 2 or 3 loaves. i usually do 2 big loaves, but this is a alot of dough and would be fine for 3 medium sized loaves. Put in greased bread pans, and let rise a second time for 30-40 min, (this is a good time to preheat oven and leave the pans on top of the oven so they will rise even better) and then stick in the oven at 325 for 50-60 min. top of bread will look done a little sooner so make sure and go the full 50 at least because the browning created by the eggwash can be a tad deceiving.

I hope this didn't sound too crazy- it takes time, but I like it because I can start the recipe, then go do something else while it rises, come back and finish. I've experimented with this bread a couple times and it seems pretty fool proof. the texture has come out slightly different as I've changed the recipe, but I believe i've got it pretty much perfected. it's super delicious. just the sound of Honey Oat bread makes most of us go, "ooooo..... aaaaahhhhh" so for fun just try it out and see if ya like it.:)
Also- I usually make the full recipe and wrap one loaf in tinfoil and put it in the freezer, its still good when we thaw it out and use it. I'm not sure how long it would last in there...cuz we use it pretty quick, but I'd say it freezes pretty well.

Today.

2011-05-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

Today is, what i like to joke as, housewife day. why? because i get to feel like a housewife a little bit more than usual. Today i do not have to work. Today i do not have school. Today i will make bread (because i haven't made it in a couple weeks now and we don't buy it so we've just been lacking) and i have decided to try my first attempt at homemade chicken noodle soup. Today i will have dinner prepared by the time my hubby is home. (i think...) Today i will not change from pajamas to regular clothes because i do not need to. Today i will be doing a lot of dishes. Today i will vacuum, clean the bathroom, wash our sheets, and do loads of laundry that are currently piled on the floor. Why all today you ask? because at my job, I do the scheduling for about 30 people, and yet I still ended up needing to work for the next seven days. Some double shifts, some late nights, and some making $ is in store starting tomorrow. So today is a precious day. a special day. Here I come bread- chicken noodle soup- and empty sink- although you three do not exist yet i am going to create you! yay!

I might leave the house for one thing, because today is pay day...and thats just uplifting no matter who ya are or where ya from.

Oh Susannah. I only have one ya know.

2011-04-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

This fella, Forrest Barnard, is who my lil sister is marrying on Friday, April 22nd 2011. I only have one little sister- i spent most of my time being a little sister too so to have one that i could torture and yet be best friends with was so great. p.s. nana you know im still sorry i was such a bum to you at times growing up. i wuv you. this post is for you.

these are my most recent pics- obviously from our weddin day. but its hard to get pics when they live in idaho. we just needa be better at carrying a camera.

i love this picture. i just love it. sisters are sisters forever ya know? forever. and i'm like tearing up thinking about this lil sis. i love her. i'm so happy for her. i'm gonna bawl this weekend. she looks so pretty in her dress- refer to my cousins blog on the left hand side click on "Amy & Drew" and you will find some of her bridals.

random photo i had on my comp. funny- susannah and i sometimes (especially now that its even more special when we get to see each other) like to sit really close. hence, this is a small recliner, we both are in this recliner. and of course our cutiepatootie niece grace is sharing with the love. nana and i are nerds.

obviously you cant see her face, but her camo jacket, john deere hat w/flames, and her big ole shades make it impossible to not know its her. :) hahaha. this was us trying to figure our way through utah on a little road trip adventure in which we had to go pick up one of my good friends. this was fun. just fun. we needed that trip. nana, lets do this again sometime.

this was just another random pic- us at general conference last april i believe. its a pic from a phone which explains why it kinda looks weird.

i just wanted to dedicate a post all to my lil sis. because you know, she is my buddy for life and even after. i forget sometimes that there is one other person in this world who really does think a lot like me, talks like me, (cant tell the difference between us on the phone) laughs at the same exact stuff as me, and even laughs at my dumb jokes, and idk- someone to tell me im pretty when im feelin the opposite. she's always made me feel like i'm important. even when we were little she always wanted to be my twin (which drove me completely insane) it still made me feel good to know she wanted to be like me. but see, she was always the loving sister who wanted to go around and give the world a hug. and secretly i really wanted to be like her.

ya probably didnt know this, but when nana was little (im not gonna get into alll the details) she got really sick. we almost lost her. i still remember being a little gal laying in my bed and crying cuz i didn't want her to leave me. i knew my life wouldn't be the same if i didn't grow up with her. somehow, thanks to a loving Heavenly Father who answers prayers of little girls and of loving mothers (and everyone) susie q is still with us. and is doing awesome. i'm so lucky to have a good sister like her. i love my whole family- they are all amazing, but this post is dedicated to the baby of the fam- the caboose, the little gal who we tricked into believing bum was spelled bumb. (that was me and jesse who did that, still funny, high five jesse!) but it just goes to show how trusting she was and still is, and her innocent and loving spirit will always show us all up.

Forrest is about to be sealed for eternity to an angel. I couldn't have picked anyone better for her to spend the rest of her life with. I love these two amazing people. I am so excited for this weekend-most of all to be there to see my little sister get married in the temple. wow...it will be an incredible experience. I love you nana! Congrats on gettin hitched! :)

last of all, a poem, i wrote this for susannah December 12, 1008. she was feelin down and so i decided to throw somethin together quickly and it turned out great.

Dear Susannah,

You Rock My World.

Your just that kind of girl.

Rainbows are not as pretty as you

Thank good you have a normal size shoe.....................(if you know me you know i dont)

Lifes gonna get better i promise dude

I hope the laundry detergent i bought works for you..(i know, but it rhymed and i did buy some)

I love christmas-i know we'll have fun

even if this year isn't the 'best' one.

Life will keep goin after this new year,

everyone will be talking about how samuel killed that big deer (i am sooo random sometimes)

I love you sister don't ever forget

I promise that life will be good ready, get set!

You are a hottie no matter what anyone says

But even on the inside your prettier than flowers

This hard stuff ain't your fault

Don't hold up your feelings in a vault

Be strong---you go girl

Simply because you rock my world.

Love, Sammy

it made her laugh. thats what its purpose was. so there ya go people i have the best lil sister in the world. just sayin.

Little Addition to the Family...

2011-04-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

Did I scare ya? cuz i not prego. no no no. and the addition to our fam is littler than most of its species.

We got a 2004 Honda Rebel. size: 250. (all i know is that means its a small motorcycle, and i know that for sure cuz the guy who sold it to us said the reason for selling it is cuz he was too fat for it.)

This is not the motorcycle, but ours looks exactly like this. We got a screeeeamin deal on it, and long story short- the bike only had 24 miles on it. ya, the guy also didn't know anything about motorcycles in general...including how to read the trip odometer vs actual mileage.

its been fun cruising around on this here and there. i'm not gonna get on it till i get me a helmet tho- and i need to get a helmet that i actually LIKE- so im gonna be a stickler about that. we're actually trying to sell it- see if we can't make a little extra money on it, but i kinda wanna keep it... normally i'm not a fan of motorcycles, but this one has a hard time goin over 60 mph so i'm not too worried.

oh blogger blogger.

2011-04-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

well, i want to i guess its called, "export my blog" but my sis tells me it dont work right, and i dont wanna pay to make it a book, but eventually im planning on saying goodbye to the blogging world...

until then....

here's whats up.

House Plans. That's whats up! i am getting excited! i am lookin and lookin and believe it or not i keep turning to Mexican Style anything! ya know the beautiful awesome tiles such as these:

this is where the tiles would be placed, backsplash of our kitchen. this is just an idea. i dont love the white cupboards though, i'd go with something else. ivory with a rustic/brown wash to em, most likely. i want to paint my own tiles, but seeing how brushfire pottery no longer exists (sadface times ten) i prob wont do that.

here's the conclusion i came to, i love rustic cabin looking homes/decor, but they lack color 90 percent of the time, i like color. not crazy crazy colors, but i like color. so somehow in the mesh of color and cabins, i have found how much i love mexican style. cuz they bring everything together beautifully. but then there's the touch of Africa that i want somewhere in our house with all our stuff from Ghana, and there's just lots of ideas running through my head. people are gonna think i'm crazy for trying to mix Africa, Mexico, Cowboy, and a little bit of contemporary into one home. However, many thought i was initially crazy to do an African themed wedding with animal prints gallore- and i think with the help of an amazing mother-in-law it was very successful. i think i can do a sweet looking house. i really believe it. even with all my likes. oh and ya wanna know what other country has awesome style? Greece! Mamma Mia! thats what i'm talkin about.

i like dark wood, pretty much across the board (that was kindof funny how i said that) so idk i just have lots of ideas. hope i can figure it all out! haha pretty exciting tho.

Serious Coupon Trip

2011-03-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

So tonight I got 70 32 oz bottles of powerade for 6 dollars (and i think 41 cents but not sure). Thanks to awesome ladies in my fam and ward who occasionally clue me in when they're about to get a serious deal i now have powerade for a long time. i guess including the coupons (which we got off ebay) i spent 12 bucks. but i believe that still evens out to 17 cents a bottle. if you dont count the price of the coupons- and still count what we paid for them at the store with dang tax- we got em for 9 cents a bottle. sweeeeeeeeet huh. yep. thought i'd share that with y'all. :) i'm excited. OOOOOoh and i only have to finish the border to my quilt and i will be all done with it:) score.

Washington DC!

2011-03-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

So, what happened was, on Tuesday (a couple weeks ago) we got a phone call. It was from Colten's brother- he asked if we wanted to go with the Young Farmers and Ranchers group (sent by the Farm Bureau) to Washington DC to tour it, and to talk to our senators and representatives from the state of Utah about issues regarding agriculture....we were to leave that Friday. Well, initially both of us were like, ahhhh we have jobs, we have school we can't miss all of this... but then Colten's bro gave colten a talking-to and he was right, this is a once in a lifetime oppurtunity and so we took it! It was soo much fun. Now y'all get to take the trip with us! The above picture is of the changing of the guards outside the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" which is in Arlington Cemetary.

This was IDK what but it was also in arlington, and i didn't think colten was allowed to go sit down there so I didn't go down to that part but colten sure did and we got a pic of it.

These pictures are all in backwards order by the way because this was the last day we were there. This was at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum which was a pretty cool place.

Arlington Cemetary- what a special spirit that resides here! Very cool.

This is Senator Orrin Hatch. May I just mention that we were on the front row during this part because our assignment was to talk to him personally, and somehow colten snuck in a picture- and it really wasn't a moment where it was appropriate for picture taking but he still did it anyway. We took another picture with him where he put his arm around me and said, "I like it when the women stand by me in pictures" we have yet to recieve that pic from email but it was cool too :) I loved this man, he's been doing his job for a loooong time, and he knows what he's talking about.
He said a lot of great things and I agreed with everything he said. Colten and I spoke to him about Estate Taxes but we were telling someone to agree with us when he already whole heartedly did haha. (which we knew but we still had to talk to him) Basically, estate taxes are dumb and he knows it and he is trying to abolish them.

This was us outside the capitol. aren't we cute? :) p.s. i was cold 90% of the time we were there. and everyone kept saying "Oh you guys got good weather to come and enjoy here" and i kept thinking "um, i'm from southern utah people. i dont do well with any cold at all." so i'm wearing this jacket in every pic basically.

Also at one of the smithsonians... the natural history one....this is the BIGGEST DIAMOND IN THE WORLD. and its blue:) kinda cool.

Big mouth shark. Real big mouth shark.

Irish Elk- apparently they were huuuuuge. like this fella for example. its funny, when i went with my fam to england/scotland/wales- in Scotland (i think) in one of the castles, there were antlers on the wall about this same size and they also said it was from an Irish elk- so they couldn't be tooo old but they were huge thats for sure.

In the same museum they also had an african section which i thought was a little random, but there was a lot about Ghana so of course Colten about died of happiness. This is how he would actually barter with ghanaians (whatever it is he's doing with his hands) so we had to take this picture.

She was a nice lady too.

The capitol. Cool pic huh. We thought so.

This was at Old Ebbit's Grill which apparently has been around for like um, forever. Pretty much every president has eaten here and it's a favorite of them. I had crab cakes that were scrumptious. my hair looks a little funny but it rained that day so give me a break.

In the capitol, each state gets to contribute 2 statues of people from their state that are special basically. So ours were Philo T. Farnsworth (who invented the TV and who i'm related to cool huh) and none other than the admired Brigham Young who is shown above. we thought that was awesome.

While touring the capitol our tour guide made us wear head phones so we could hear him talking the whole time, but we were probably only like 5 feet away from him 90% of the time so it was dumb that we had to wear them but i still followed the rules. i was also a little bored of him cuz he was a rude tour guide. but the capitol was cool.

in this room in the capitol there are like 6 huge paintings, and of all people pictured, one of them was Pocahontus (the real one, not disney fantasized one) on her wedding day, idk we didnt take a pic of that cuz i wanted to, but oh well.

inside of the capitol dome

Another picture that was inappropriate to take but colten snuck one anyway, this was where we were learning a little more about all the issues we were to talk to the big guys about.

Public transportation. Interesting. Kinda gross and just exactly what ya see in the movies. I definitely felt out of place every time we used the metro system. Especially if colten was wearing his cowboy hat- we stood out like....i wont say, we just really stood out.

The place Abraham Lincoln got shot. Fords theatre. I couldn't tell ya why but i didn't have a good feeling in this end of town.

The most chinese part of china town was this thing over the road. But we still lived it up in Chinatown.

All of our tour guides told us the same thing, there are about 3 chinese restaurants in china town. So after trying desperately to find somewhere to eat- we ended up following the other couple we were with to a place i wont ever eat at again. i dont look unhappy in this picture, but i was. some of you know where we ended up eating, but i dont wanna tell cuz i am embarrassed about it.

this was in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. Yet again another very interesting tour guide. this was right above a place i cant remember the exact name of but the majority of the people died here. :(

I love my nerd hubby.

All we got to see of the washington dc temple. right there. and we only saw that much cuz we convinced our bus driver to take a small detour. its pretty though.

The next bunch of pics are from Mount Vernon- George Washington's home. this was part of the farm where the slaves lived and the little hut up there is actually a very big grainery. it was cool.

the river down the hill from the house. colten is purposely posing like that fyi. aint he a cutie?

a door down to (what they told us) was where some folks were buried at one time or still might be i can't remember....

just walkin around mt vernon and its hugeness.

view from ole George's back porch. a bit jealous? yes me too.

his house. fun fact for ya (guess that movie) outside of his house looks exactly like it has white bricks covering it. but actually, its wood cut out to look like bricks then covered in the white stuff. who knew?

Washington Monument. This thing is tall. We saw it more close up the first night but that night we didn't have the camera.

This is my hubby outside the White House Visitor's center in which we watched a movie that toured us through the white house because we couldn't go in the actual white house. everyone else on the tour could but we couldn't because we were called short notice--which was because we were in place of another couple that was supposed to go. They apparently do a background check six months in advance. but everyone told us the white house tour was lame. so i think we actually got the better end of the deal.

thats all folks! we had a blast! now i gotta go pack cuz we goin campin. woot woot. yeah for allergies. they;ll probably be awesome on our camping trip.

Funny Hubby Part 2

2011-03-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

(even though there could be way more posts like this I can only remember so many- but this one was classic)

First off, definition time, NPF stands for (in my family) "Natural Physiological Function" and it's a nice/funny way of just saying FART. yep i capitolized it cuz sometimes it's funnier that way.

I'm gonna just make this quick and to the point because i don't want a super long post about a fart, but this is what my hubby said to my mom and I when (for some reason i can't explain, but every family at one point or another discusses the subject) we were talking about NPFs and how the acronym came about,

"My NPFs don't have an odor any more than a snowflake"

Thanks again to my dearest hubby, for making us all giggle every now and again.

Thoughts. What do you think?

2011-02-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

There were like massive awesome moments of today. Example #1- going to the temple with some cool gals. Sammi, Charlee, Brittany, and I went today to the most beautiful place in the world. I have loads and loads to learn as far as temples go, but I know one thing, I'm pretty sure the feeling there is a lot what heavens gonna be like- sweeeeeet.

Thoughts of today: As a result of an interesting book which I am still reading, (the survivors club) I have come to some conclusions and I wanna voice my opinion. To not be exact- but to tell the story quickly and efficiently-- there was a 72 year old woman who lived in an apartment complex that she managed in somewhere in california. One night she heard noises outside and went out to check on things. There was an extreeemely drunk man out there. She told him to stop whatever it was he was doing- and he followed her back to her apartment, broke in, and did to her things that should not be mentioned in detail on this blog. In other words, he was inappropriate enough to go to jail for it. Well, although the doctors took care of her, she ended up dying approximately 1-2 months later of a number of problems, pnuemonia (sp?) "brought on by advanced lung cancer and the failure of her heart and kidneys" (pg 243) ( don't worry this post will end positively) So, her lawyer decides that he's gonna charge the drunk guy with homicide too----why you ask? because this lawyer claims that the man not only hurt the woman, but he "killed her will to live."

(jesse i'm using more paragraphs :) love ya ) Now I wanna know what you guys think, really, tell me. because this is how I feel, you can't kill someone elses will to live. Before we came to this earth, we fought for agency, or the ability to choose- for lack of the better definition i have at home for this word. This was a gift given to us that we can really only take away from ourselves-- right? They say that the woman in the story was a cheerful, happy, fun loving woman until she went through this horrible trial. AND not to say that I would react a ton differently, but she chose to lose her will to live- if in fact that was what really killed her. She turned into a very sad person, and that was how she chose to look at her situation. I personally feel that although this man did horrible things to an innocent woman, he can't take away her will to survive. No one can take that from me, no one can take it from... anyone else but themselves! We choose how we will react to every situation. We choose how to survive. We choose to turn that frown upside down people!

I know one thing for sure, on either side of the story this would just be a tough situation. My heart goes out to anyone who has suffered like this woman did. But, trials come- but they also go! that's the beautiful part! they come, and then they go. yeah, they may come back, but they will leave again. and life is about enjoying to the fullest the moments that bring joy. One of the most beautiful parts- is agency- the blessing is in the part where either we choose to let he moment bring us down, or we let the moment make us soar. Our desires direct our agency, and the choices we make directly reflect what we really want out of this life. So, all I'm sayin is make good choices. it all comes down to that. Our moms were right. Go figure.

Oh, P.S.

2011-02-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of deleting my facebook. I have to remove all the stuff that has ever been put on. Just getting the word out- no one get offended I love you all I just really have a deep hatred for facebook. I just can't stand it. I once heard a statistic that like 40-50% of all facebookers check their facebook 1st thing in the morning. I wanted to puke. I just don't wanna be a part of something that is turning into too much. Idk. the truth is I honestly don't think negatively about anyone who has one because it's hard to find someone who doesn't have one. I just can't stand it for me, i just don't want it anymore. So, if anyone else has deleted theirs and they have advice let me know. the good thing about facebook is that it does keep ya connected to people you normally wouldn't keep as close of contact with. but my blog helps me do that, and I figure that's not how the world ever was before so why do I need to do so now? IDK call me weird, old-fashioned maybe, whatever, but I just get a bad feeling about it and lately its gotten worse like I need to delete it. So, in the next little while if you go to check mine and you find i'm not on it's because its been deleted not because i deleted you. :) so no worries.

Humbling. And even Empowering.

2011-02-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

This isn't a post about one big huge momentous happening in which I was shot down into humble territory. It is a post about little moments that remind me how grateful I am- or rather, how grateful I should be. I've been reading a book called, "The Survivors Club" and I was gonna post somethin-or-uther about it at the end. But I'm halfway through and just thought I'd throw somethin out about it. I've read about people who have survived ridiculous events such as: falling 30000 feet out of an airplane, (p.s. the airplane exploded so she already survived the bomb) landing in dirt, and living. (True Story) A woman who was attacked by a cougar- i can't remember the statistics for this exactly but just know it RARELY happens and also know that the cougar basically chewed on her face during the experience so it's crazy that she survived. A woman hit by a 43000 pound truck while riding her bike- her injuries included : broken: neck, clavicle, scapula, sacrum, all right side ribs, sternum, patellas, right tibia, right fibula, and pelvis. Oh and it severed her aorta, collapsed her lungs, liver was shoved into chest cavity, diaphragm ruptured and her kidneys were bruised. When the doctors calculated her likelyhood of living it literally was a zerrro. There are also people who have managed to get out of crashed and burning planes just in time, people who survive the ocean all alone and freezing, and one gal who survived the Holocaust- and what's crazy about her is how she got out, the nazis thought she was dead because she was so tiny and sick looking so they through her into the pile of corpses- where not too long after some other good people came and saw her waving her hand and saved her. Most of these were women, I didn't mean to do that but it's true there are a lot of women who have survived a lot of junk. These stories are amazing- they are no doubt humbling. BUT then, I go to church, or I talk to folks at work, and I realize how many survivors I talk to everyday. People who have survived things I don't even want to think about. Even if they don't deal with the physical things, they have dealt with heartbreak all the same, they have dealt with loneliness, and they have felt the pain that comes around everyday just from being sad. Now remember this is now a blog about positive things, and so although the above mentioned experiences may have seemed negative they REALLY are positve. Why? Because. God loves us. How do we pull that truth out of all this heartache? Because He gives each of us trials to see if we'll survive em. And you know what? it makes us more like Him every time we do. And that's what He really wants, is for us to understand, to learn, and to become. My trials have been trials specifically for Sammy-for me- and they are still teaching me what I need to learn- and life is so much about what I learn from them and how i let it affect my choices. So anyway, I'm sending a shout out to all the survivors out there that have survived what may be percieved as big or small- they are survivors nonetheless. My family is full of survivors and I'm glad i have such great examples to look to. I'm thankful for the things I've "survived"(though they may be mental more than physical 95% of the time) it's good for me. It means I have the trust of Heavenly Father who knows I can work through anything. The same goes for everyone who reads this, Surviving is different- it has many forms, but it reaches inside a person and forces them to choose to pull out the divinely inherited traits they have and use them to become more like Him- Or to choose to leave what's inside of them alone and pretend it's not there because it seems easier. The world puts a certain pressure on the people living here and now that hasn't really been there before. Pull through it though, don't let pressures weigh you down. In the simplest of terms, You Can Do It!

What science says about how to be happy.

2011-02-01T14:19:00.001-08:00

Well, here are some more positive thinking things. I found this list while doing a smidge of research for one of my classes. Part of me thought- well thank you Time Magazine, aka Captain Obvious, for telling me "eight steps to living a more satisfying life." Then I thought, how simple- but yet how true it is. What I'm about to tell you just may be the key. Or the secret. Or whatever you wanna call it. Bottomline: these are beneficial for anyone, anywhere, anytime.

To give credit where it's due, this is from the artcle "The New Science of Happiness" from above mentioned Time Magazine and it's author is Claudia Wallis, and it was written way back in January of 2005.

The list goes as follows:

1-Count Your Blessings (have we heard this one before?)

2- Practice acts of kindness

3-Savor Life's Joys

4- Thank a Mentor

5- Learn to Forgive (this includes yourself)

6- Invest time and energy in friends and family

7- Take care of your body

8- Develop strategies for coping with stress and hardships

We all make mistakes, life is not about being perfect it's about working towards being better than what you were yesterday. And then it's about if you happen to be worse than you were yesterday, start over! Keep going! Keep moving forward! I've had a bad habit of holding on to negative things. Whether it's something I did, something someone did to me, something life brought to my plate, or whatever, I have tended to focus on those. I don't know when I started doing this, but I wasn't always this way. However, it's time to think happier thoughts. I have had bad days and I know I will have many more. But, I have so much to be thankful for that its not worth it anymore to sweat the small stuff. First off, I have the gospel, Second, I have my amazing husband. Then ya add on the amazing people in my life who I love so much. Family, Friends, Co-workers, Ward members, everyone. I have not been the best that I always could have been. But again, This is me trying to be better. Good, Better, Best right? Each of the above 8 topics all connect to the gospel and that solidifies how I feel about my testimony of my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ and Their plan for us.

One of the other bits of research that I read about showed how studies say that surprisingly (or not) relationships are really what people look forward to, find strength in, and gain satisfaction from. Overall happiness comes from the people we love and are connected to. Isn't that a beautiful thing? It's so true. Take away everything, but the people we know are who matter most. Even though we may do things to either intentionally or unintentionally to hurt others- thats where the #5 comes in. That's so key. If I hold onto the anger I have towards someone, it only eats at me. It has no effect on them. That's what I've learned. So, as I keep learning what to "Do" and what to "Don't" in this life I'll keep trying to be better. Because I'm hoping to spend this life being happy :) Thank you science for proving what most of us already knew, but needed some reminding about.

Alright Alright.

2011-01-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

I put the last post up with only laughter and funness in mind but I was quickly reminded I am not the only one in this world with working taste buds. It just so happens I belong to a family of citrus lovers so I'll quit bringing up the strawberry subject :) hehehe.

p.s. I just got an awesome to the possum level email from my dear friend charlee-- forwards can be frustrating but she always sends not frustrating but amazing ones so let's just say I had tears welling up... from an email! They put a picture to show the "real meaning" of certain words and this was one of them:

Compassion:

If you want the whole thing leave me your email, but if not I wont be offended :) i loved this though and I thought I'd share a little positive heart warming thought for a moment. I decided I want to do more of that- although many of my thoughts can be very sarcastic its only cuz I'd rather laugh at something than cry about it. If that makes sense....but I thought maybe I'd start posting only truly positive thoughts from now on.... can I commit myself to this? yes. because it's worth it.

So, one more positive thought for my day: the small and simple thing I just now experienced:

I sneezed, and luckily, placed to my right was a box of tissues. Now, this may not seem amazing at first, but normally at work I have to run downstairs to the bathroom to blow my nose, but today there are tissues right next to the desk. Wonderful right? Yes. Wonderful.

Blogworthy Thoughts of a Concerned Husband

2011-01-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

a.k.a. Life Question #200

"Why is it, that candy companies keep producing Lime, Lemon, and Orange flavors (as he's eating skittles) when everyone knows Strawberry is the best! I could eat Strawberry skittles all day! But I can only eat the other flavors every once in a while"

So, those were pretty close to his exact words and ya know what? I felt it was a valid question. Why do companies make so much of those flavors when we all pick out the strawberry flavors anyway! Think about it, Skittles, Dots, Starbursts, Mike and Ikes, etc. They may produce new "Tropical" or otherwise "exciting" flavors but then why does the American public still reach for the same old thing? When it comes to Dots in fact, I literally will not eat any other color but the pink cuz it's just not worth it. Starbursts I'll admit are pretty good all around. Skittles, you don't really need the whole rainbow do ya? but then again i guess something your doin is working right for ya...Either way it's somethin to think about. I love having a funny husband, he will keep me laughing till we're both in wheelchairs and diapers...even though that image in and of itself is quite a bit to laugh about.

p.s. i'm so ridiculously ready for summer that I JUST googled Kolob Mountain pics. Yep.

I'm at work on a Sunday.

2011-01-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

I can't complain too much about this fact, because we only have 2 showings, and I only have to do it once a month which I agreed to and feel fine about. But I miss our CTR 7 class, and ya.

Good News!

-I think I've finally jumped over the hill I kept falling down. The hill? What hill? The sick hill. I feel much better, and I owe it to my mom for telling me to actually take the pills I already have because it will help you she says, after she yells at me. AND guess what? they did help! yippy skippy! So, that means, I can start hanging out with Tony and Zumba Man with his dancing girls.

-Colten passed his tests and is now a CNA! WOOT WOOT. So, he will now be applying to Nursing Homes everywhere haha and hopefully he can get a job:) (I know he will cuz he rocks)

Bad News.

-Still haven't sold the truckeroo. However, we are discovering more aggressive sales tactics all over the place so I'm feelin like this week is the lucky week....drumroll everyone....drumroll...

Addicted to Food.

2011-01-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

You thought I was gonna tell you I'm addicted to food. But I'm not. I am, however, addicted to shows about people who ARE addicted to food. All these shows were supposed to get me up and moving...and they truly do bring motivation. However, I was taught that if you're sick (ya know coughing, sneezing, tissue-using-upping,) then it's bad to work out because then you are hurting your body worse. So I seriously can't get completely over whatever this stupid cold/flu/idontknowwhatyouarebutihateyoubug. So, this sickness has been my excuse for...well aside from the 'i'm too busy/tired' excuse....let's just not go for a ballpark figure this time around. I've just been sickly for too long. But, I am dreaming/thinking/self-motivating/watching episodes of "I Used To be Fat", and "The Biggest Loser" to prepare myself for the day when I can go back to hanging out with tony from P90X and/or the Spanish guy and his dancing girl friends from Zumba.

P.S. Dear Tony, (from p90x) (just wanted to make sure you knew who i was talking to)

You are intense. You drive me insane. I don't miss the nightmares I had about you (that's for real) but I do miss my big arm muscles. When I stop needing a tissue box every 5 seconds I'll come visit you again. And this time Colten might even come. Although he isn't sure about your system. Colten told me the other day when I wanted him to do a workout with me and you (Tony), that he wanted to work out (which he does already and is good) but he doesn't wanna die. So let's not cause him nightmares, but let's have fun and work hard.

Dear Cold/Flu/idon'tknowwhatyouarebutihateyoubug,

Please just leave me alone.

LET'S GET READY TO RAAAAAAAAAAMBLE.

2011-01-11T09:56:00.001-08:00

could the title be classified as clever? i want your opinion. it would make a smile appear on my face if someone told me it had an ounce of cleverness. cuz i thought it might end up in the field of cleverish titles.

ANYWAY, to begin the rambling session we'll start with school.

Sammy, why is it taking you so long to get your associates degree?

Well, because i come across semesters such as this one, where there is little money and much work. So I work, get money, then go more school later. :)

Sammy, are you STILL working at the theater?

ByGolly I still am. and ya know what? I like free movies. I truly do. and I like my other family there at the theater. There is a certain bond that is created between theater folk.
AND the checks are a motivation, we'll just throw that in there.

Life is good, just pluggin along. Trying to accomplish goals such as the quilt......ahh the quilt......why is it taking so long to finish the quilt?

Because simply stated, I'm a busy gal.

GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS!!!!

Time to empty the washer, put in dryer, reload washer, and maybe QUILT till its done, but by then it might be time for work again, and therefore i'll be heading there. Fun stuff.

Have a great day. I know I will.

Despite the sarcasm amongst some of these sentences, I have to say, honestly, i do feel good working a lot and getting a lot done at home. Do you know what I mean people? I like the feeling of "accomplishment" even though previously mentioned ramblings seem to show i have a hard time accomplishing....I do love the feeling. So I will finish quilt. I will finish school. I will reach goals. Determination People! Determination! It's January, everyone hold on to your determination! We all feel it, just keep going.

P.S. Today is 1-11-11....weird. I had to post something.

Jumping On The Bandwagon.

2011-01-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

Confession: Today (and yesterday) didn't bring too many inspirational ideas for the coming year. I pretty much have the same ongoing goals. However, I have been more inspired from y'all's lists with some locked down goals. These are it folks, if there are any more to be added I probably won't write them for the public to read- haha so here I go, 2011 here I come. ...(that was serious redundancy but its cool right?...)

-Workout (an ongoing goal of life I think, but hey i suppose i'm somewhat accomplishing it if i'm the same weight as I was Junior year of highschool?)

-Eat Better (shoulda been written alongside the first goal)

-Be Nicer (this ones been on since approximately....the time I entered Sunbeams)

-Read More Books, ok this one is not necessarily just like go out and find books to read, so i guess I should entitle it, "YOU BOUGHT THE BOOKS TO READ THEM, DON'T LET THE MONEY YOU SPENT SIT ON THE SHELF" (thats more like it).

-This here is a for real goal- Learn how to ride a horse better/again. I did it when I was little I think I can do it again.

-Build a House. Overwhelming? chya. but were gonna do it folks.

-Please let this be the year I finish my Associates Degree. ( i know guys! I know! shoulda been done! but i wanted to get good grades, I wanted to enjoy my classes, I wanted to work, so i didn't take as many courses.... blah blah blah i WILL finish! I WILL!)

-maybe be better at being positive, and more patient. ya. thats a good idea.

ok here is the truckerooo

2010-12-31T12:27:00.001-08:00

Truck For Sale

2010-12-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

We REALLY Want To Sell Our Truck. We LOVE the truck, but we have other places we can really use the mula. So, for any of you out there who mightpossiblymaybeplease know someone who wants a truck under the following description, please let us know.

(insert picture, that I don't have yet, but hopefully will soon)

Black Nissan Frontier
2WD
An old man owned it before us and hardly ever drove it, and we've taken great care of it so really guys, it's in pretty much perfect condition.
Stick Shift
30,000 miles. (ya, this thing still has like a million miles left in it-Nissan is great)
gets great gas mileage
brand new stereo with usb port and everything
exhaust that sounds sweeet (flowmaster)
Price: 14,000 (or best offer)

Seriously folks, Colten loves this truck. He has totally bonded with it. It has nothing wrong with it, as I said we just need the money to go into other investments. If you are interested, please call Colten, phone # 435-215-3847 or email him, colteniverson@yahoo.com

Funny Hubby.

2010-12-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

So on Christmas Eve, Colten and I took the fourwheeler out for a little spin. We rode out to Sand Hollow, and followed roads I'm 90% sure we weren't supposed to be on. But, Colten wanted to, and I did too. So we got to one of our special places out there, overlooking the lake, and we enjoyed each other's company, and we laughed, and then decided to head back. Previously on our ride we had discussed how it would be crazy if a ranger came out there and got mad at us. We expressed our slight worry of that possibility, and then we headed out. On our way back, Colten started driving really fast. Like really fast. Like this is the moment I just close my eyes and start praying/hoping that we dont crash. I yelled out to him, "Why are you driving so fast!" But, because of my lack of voice (i've had a bit of the larangitis this week sp?) and the loud rumble of the fourwheeler he didn't even hear me. So when he finally decided it would be okay to slow down so we could go through a gate, I said, "Why are you driving so fast!!!" (3 exclamation points that time if you noticed) He didn't answer me--he finished closing the gate and hopped back on the fourwheeler and then answered--right before he shot us into the 400 mph speed---"In my mind the ranger is chasing us!" ...........

the next little while of the drive I spent silently laughing because you couldn't hear me laugh from the rumble of the fourwheeler, but oh i was laughing. I believe its true that men never (ever) get over the little boy inside of them who likes to play cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, or what have you. When Colten is on that fourwheeler, or even when he's about to get on the fourwheeler, or even when he just got off the fourwheeler, his face never ceases to hold a smile and he gets all jumpy excited like it's the greatest thing in the whole world. I love it! It makes me happy to see him get all giddy. He loves that fourwheeler so much. I'm just always praying he doesn't hurt himself on it. He is a good driver though, and fourwheeling will always be a passion of ours. I do prefer, however, that he doesn't get any more ranger-chasing-us-ideas cuz i did get a bit worried.

p.s. that picture is actually colten on his trusty ole 400EX. In high school one of our buddies took the picture and I cartoonized it and we put it on his debit card-but no one ever believes its really him! so for the record- thats my hubby, and i'm pretty sure he's even wearing his wranglers :) i sure do love him!

p.s.s. we got good stuff for christmas. colten made one of my favorite old wooden chairs into a rocking chair, we got a new laptop, I got a kitchen aid, a printer, i got colten a sweeeeeet jacket, and colten got a bunch of tools for future house building (yay!) and i got a cute purse and a shirt and scarf, and we both got an awesome, beautiful big picture of the temple. I'm quite excited :) next up: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

3 Months. Whoa.

2010-12-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

So, we've been married for a whopping 3 months. CRAZY!? CRAZY wonderful!!!!! I wuv my hubby. Following pictures.....The first two, Colten in Ghana eating the most attractive way he knows how :)
Colten's food of choice: fu fu

Me, in London, eating the most attractive way I know how! (i think i win) To my credit though-- during that trip our regular mornings began at approximately 5 am. Therefore, I do have a reason to look like I'm on drugs. Colten's just hungry; Sammy just shoving food in her mouth cuz she's so stinking tired. (but i loved the trip dont get me wrong:)) what am I eating?

(please read the next line in your best English accent)

Why, fish n chips ole chap! What else would I be eating?

The picture below, (you can continue the accent if you want to--i did in my mind for a second there) is of Colten and I in Disneyland right after he got home. This was our attempt at getting a cute fireworks picture........ the fireworks ended up being in the exact wrong spot. But, we'd already tried like 5 times, and at least you can see the fireworks in this one. Do me a favor, pretend the fireworks are in the giant black area of the photo, where they were intended :) Oh, and pretend that the persons arm who blocked part of our firework, is not there.
Ah, Kolob. The best place on earth aside from the temple. Secret...My eyes are actually partially closed in this picture- however, you never would've noticed so I think it's a beautiful picture anyway. of all the pictures this is colten's favorite.

I wuv this pic, but more importantly, I just wanted to say, I love my husband. I'm so glad to be married to my best friend. I'm so thankful for his love and support. I love how he keeps me laughing, and how he is always mindful of my needs. I am so grateful I don't know quite how to express it. My heart has been so full with gratitude for my honey bunches. There have been times since we got married and since he got home where I've been in shock because I still couldn't believe he really was home. Now he and I will be together forever, and that feeling is greater than any feeling I've felt yet. I feel so blessed. I love you Colten, never forget.

SO

2010-12-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

we not getty housey. BUT. we still are thinking of building, and that seems more and more like the thing to do. BUT. we would still like the (cheaper) plan of getting a old junker and fixin it upper. Dang schools takin up our lives. BUT one day we both shall be even more grateful that we have our degrees...i hope...:) peace.

People.

2010-12-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

My sister posted a video this morning about the heroes in her life. It inspired me share some thoughts i've already had this morning and it's only 9:37 AM. (that's kindof a big deal folks cuz normally i'd be snoozin still)

So, let's start with a little bad news. We've all had bad encounters with people right? Moments where you feel like you seriously don't want to leave the house because you're sick of being hurt. I could go on about this- because i know we've all been there, we've all been offended, and we all get frustrated.

BUT

The good news is: for every raunchy encounter--many of us would agree that we've had TONS of amazing encounters. Small, but nonetheless spectacular moments that touch our hearts and lead our minds back to one person. This has been the theme of my life-lesson learned this week. Among institute classes, moments of pondering, sunday testimonies, and i don't really know what else--- i've realized how wonderful it truly is to experience Christ's love through other people. I have been so blessed to know people who have manifested His love for me through their actions. Through their actions, their words, and their Christ-centered life, they have helped me to know my Savior. They help me to understand in little ways more and more how much Christ loves me. I have found that one of the best truths in this life (I believe) is: people have an intent to do good. Even the roughest of folks on the outside feel the brightness of infinite joy, in a tiny moment, when they find themselves serving someone else. Every one of my family members has shown me a way to love someone else. Love--is an action word. It's not complete just as a feeling. I hope, I sincerely hope, that in my actions, my words, my thoughts, and my life, I can somehow show Christ's love for every person I encounter. Yes, I have said things that weren't nice--I've done things that weren't the best---and I am positive I've hurt feelings many a time. but i dont want this to be a confession moment--it's a learning moment. This is what I've learned, and hopefully I can take it and apply it in my life to the people I know and love, and the people I don't know or don't love...

Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

45. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Merry Christmas everybody. I'm thankful for a season that humbles me. A season that teaches me, and refocuses my thoughts and my heart.

Exciting Things.

2010-12-10T08:28:00.001-08:00

It's true, this post will be about exciting things. No pictures.....but exciting things nonetheless.

#1 exciting thing: i have absolutely no more homework. (unless you count studying for finals). Next week i will be done with the most stressful semester yet. Every girl in my classes has commented: "I still don't know how you ever got married during the semester!" And that's true, it was a crazy task. BUT, the nice thing was, we had just started our classes so it wasn't bad, and even though we were doing homework on our honeymoon, everything was still a blast and I don't regret it one bit. In fact, I got the pictures back that my cousin took of our wedding day, and Colten and I were looking through them....and I started tearing up again! Had to walk away or else I woulda lost it! haha. I take that as a good sign though. :) Anyway, we're almost done. Our schedules have been so insanely crazy that I'm excited for what (maybe) will be a break for us. Why the maybe? because......

#2 exciting thing: i guess that i thought this would jinx something if i posted it. but now...because i'm so stinking curious as to what's going to happen if it does jinx something that'll be ok, because i'll at least have my answer. are you going nuts not knowing what it is yet? haha well, its just something simple, but could be really exciting. we put an offer on a house, just a small-piece-o-junk-house, but it's got loads of potential. And it was in our price range. :) Its been taking the Bank so ridiculously long to decide though that at this point- i'm just wanting an answer. Even if its no! That'll be totally fine! I just needa know Bank of America! Decide! Take our offer or leave it! URGH. We have so many good ideas of decorating it and making it look saweeeeet. But that does nothing it they don't want our money. IF we do get the house, we'd be doing serious-everyday-hardcore-speedmode-remodeling. IF we don't get it, then we'll get ourselves a nice break from school before it starts again and then we'll wait for another opportunity.

#3 exciting thing: It's Christmastime! me wuv Christmastime.

Merry Christmas everybody. :)

Good Stuff

2010-12-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here's our tree. It's pretty right? Guess how much we have spent on our tree?
Total Cost: $4.50
Family Dollar is who we gave our money to, and they supplied some red and gold sparkly ornaments. Then, my mama let us borrow a small set of ornaments cuz I helped her decorate her tree (and she has approximately too many ornaments in general). Also, because i tied the big ole' ribbon for her tree, she let me do one for ours. And my dad is the one who brought home the real tree for us. (pretty exciting) :) ME LOVE CHRISTMAS.

This is a pretty braided bread creation. I braided it, and even made it! Cool huh? My mother has also shown me this really good bread recipe which is Colten's new favorite bread, and i like it a Lot too. Maybe I will get the recipe up here one day--if y'all want me to, comment and I will, if not, i won't worry about it. But i will tell you this, it only takes a half a cup of honey and an optional tablespoon of sugar (aside from the Tbls used for the yeast) and the only other thing my mom changed about it is she puts some cream as a substitute for some of the water. (oh and it makes two big loaves) My cousin Matt was down for the past week (seriously Matt is a rad dude, aside from the fact that he has a kagillion sweet toys that many of the guys in our family like to play with....guns/explosivestuff/i didn't tell you though...he is always so willing to help my mom with everything and anything she needs, and she is very appreciative-they are buddies :) Anyway, and he kneaded the bread so good that the bread was nice and tall. Who knew he could make bread? And wear an apron too? Ha Ha, we had a good time.

Bottomline: I like the holidays. I like a nice pine tree in my living room. I like bread/making bread. I love family.

p.s. sorry my pictures are so junky. I'm not good with bringing a camera. Thanks Verizon for supplying me with one that follows me everywhere I go. Even if the pics are blurryish.

i have a cute hubby.

2010-11-29T15:06:00.000-08:00

This morning while I was at my mother's house, in my dad's office, sitting at the computer, printing off coupons, I turned around just in time to see this....

AND thanks to Verizon, and all cellphone companies (sorry I can't give proper thanks to whomever is really responsible cuz i just don't know...) for providing cellphones with cameras, I was able to snatch up my phone, snap a picture, and smile:) My hubby was waiting for me (ready for me to be done) and I'm pretty sure that most of the time he sits down, if it's for a long enough period of time, he falls asleep (cuz he works so hard every other second of the day) AND turbo, the dog of everyone's dreams, thinks he's small enough to be a lapdog, but yet knows he doesn't fit so he's always got half of himself on your lap and the other half hanging off the side. Too cute huh. I know. Most the time I generally think Turbo looks uncomfortable, but he falls asleep in this position. Kid you not.

CooopAn Expereenthe....again

2010-11-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

That title says Coupon Experience, if you couldn't read it. I was tryin to be funny. I know. BUT okay, here we go.

Walgreens:

I bought 5 boxes of Royal Jello,

and 2 can things of Comet cleaner.

Total, 2.09

Savings, 3.72

that was just straight In-store Ad coupons. Main goal: (for me) is to save more than I spend. So, this trip, although not perfect, was successful. (no picture for this cuz it's pretty easy to imagine.)

This is what I got at Smiths. First let me tell you what I got, then I'll tell you what I did wrong.

5 cans of pringles
1 package of activia yogurt
5 Swanson broth cans (2 varieties)
4 cans of cream of mushroom soup
4 cans of chili
4 bags of pasta
2 things of Welch's grape juice (where I went wrong)
2 boxes of Hot Chocolate
3 cans of pears
1 gallon of milk

Okay, so, the grape juice, even with a deal and a coupon was still pretty expensive. Looking back over my receipt, I am also not 100% sure that the cashier rang it all up right, but close enough for me to just go ahead and go with it. I also could've used a better pringles coupon (bad call on my part) and I would've had one less thing of Pringles, and I could've maybe gotten one more thing of somethin else. Not everything I got had a coupon, but the store has sweet deals. Sad part- because I'm still not hardcore I did this all on the last night of the sale. Therefore, one of the items I was going to get for free (which would've downed the price a lot and helped me get more items) was already way gone. So, thanks to my Sis-in-Law Kathie for her help in helping me get this all figured out, and sorry to her too cuz she didn't get her cough drops:( (the item i would've gotten for free) So ya wanna know how much this bunch was?

Total Savings: 30.16
Total Price: 23.23

But again, if you don't count the milk and the juice, I would've been about 5 dollars cheaper. But hey, I'm still learning. Colten is such a trooper- he came with me, and although it wasn't maybe his favorite thing at first, he was quite impressed with the deals we got. So I might be able to sucker him into going again:)

Life question # 5000

2010-11-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

So, since getting married I have learned a lot about my husband I never knew when he was my boyfriend, and I still didn't find out when he was my fiance. That sentence may bring the word (DUH) into most of your thoughts, I know I know, I'm just sayin. Anyhow, 1 major thing comes to mind as i type this post,

#1: He likes doing dishes...............................yep. (SWEEEEET HUH!)

A) (i've been writing a lot of outlines lately, just go with me here.)
B) About this doing dishes thing, he does them the opposite way I do them.....

let me explain, I fill up the sink on the side opposite the garbage disposal, then as I clean them I rinse the junk down the garbage disposal. I don't think it's too crazy!? But, he puts the plug on the side of garbage disposal, cleans them in that water, then rinses them in the other side of the sink!? I guess I grew up thinking everyone did them the same way. So, here is my question for y'all, what side of the sink do YOU do the dishes on? Although my bet is that 99% of you have dish washers so this isn't totally applicable, but I'm just wondering. and now that I've set your curiosity on a lit firework, we DO have a dishwasher, however, we don't use it. Why? We both agree (strangely enough) that it takes less water to just do them in the sink, and it's faster, and we just like it better. I can honestly say I took part in that vote and I am fine with doing dishes so no big deal :) but tell me? which side of sink do you start with?

P.s. I like the Pioneer Woman. I just realized I'm like 1.5 million people too late to figure this out. but I do, she has a good website.
and i just cooked up some pork chops from one of her recipes, it went over well. :)

guilty by association...dishes?

2010-11-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else clean some dishes simply because they are guilty by association? Maybe you pulled out the dish to use it, and you never ended up using it, but at the end of the cooking mess you see it surrounded by dirty dishes, and you can't help but just throw it in the sink along with the others. This happened to me today- particularly with measuring cups. If they are all attached to the same ring its hard to grab only one and anyway, i end up washing the whole thing. Then the phrase "guilty by association" came into my head and I thought it fit perfectly for those unlucky dishes who, even though they didn't get into anything dirty, they still get thrown in the suds. Random thoughts:)

Good ole Franky

2010-11-01T13:41:00.001-07:00

pic from, www.telegraph.co.uk

Frank Sinatra, I just want you to know

you have a one in a million voice.
You make me smile.

You may be a little old-fashioned,

but that just makes you all the more worthwhile.

Not many young folks understand

but if I lived in your time I would've danced to your band
You bring a certain lightness and peace

wish you weren't deceased (sp?)
You should've taught the guys today how to sing
even though most the time I reach for the country swing,

you make pandora.com even more of a great thing

I know your buddy Bing, (Crosby)

he's accompanied me and my family on many a Christmas Eve
You all had so much talent-velvet vocal chords

not to mention the beauty in your words

Thank you old timer for singing to me
You had a hard time being kind outside of sung lines,

but at least you shared your talent and I find

that when I'm sick, when i'm happy, feelin in love, or maybe a little blue,
You bring music to the moment and I just wanted to say thank you.

-Samantha Iverson, no stealin this poem please... ( cuz i know you're all dying to... ) ;)

Good thoughts

2010-10-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

I like the Fall.

I like Root Beer.

I like movies.

I like flowers.

I like Holidays.

I love my husband.

I love the temple.

I love Christmas.

I love sweaters and boots.

I love pizza.

I love my whole family (both sides).

I love the people I'm blessed to know.

I love a break from the summer heat.

I love poems.

I love music/singing.

I love how blessed I am.

I hope I can give back in some way or another.

I hope I can always see the blessings in my life.

I hope I can let others know how much I love them.

I hope for eternity (in the truest form of the word).

"A single thankful thought towards heaven is the most perfect of all prayers" -Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Big or small, shouldn't we be thankful for all?
It's that season again where we all post what we're thankful for- and ya know what? i like it because for a short time, we all become a little more grateful, a little more humble, and a lot happier. am I wrong? I really think there is a change amongst all people after halloween until the 1st of january. (including and most especially within myself there is a change) we all look upon the world with a little less judgement, and a little more love. I am sure this season won't be any different, those who enjoy giving will give, and those who enjoy giving thanks will give thanks. The best part of all when it comes to the Holiday season, is that people everywhere talk about Christ. They talk of Christ, they rejoice in Christ, and some without even knowing it preach of Christ. (go look up that scripture:)) It's a beautiful time of year folks and hopefully we all take advantage of how easy the holidays make it for us to focus our lives around Christ. He gave all, and we will give too, with the economy the way it is, many of us will be doing and giving just about all we can or have. I'm excited. I love how much better I feel this time of year. Hopefully I can keep that feeling with me throughout all of 2011 not just the two months at the end of the year. Happy Holidays, let the season begin. :)

Couponing. (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can)

2010-10-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well, my 2nd actual-ever-real-somewhat-trying couponing experience of my life I thought I did pretty good. (I still got a long way to go, but hey I'm still a beginner) I will say this, I saved more than I spent. And that's (in my beginner's book) in the category of "pretty good." So, technically today's experience would be my 3rd time actual-ever-somewhat-trying-harder to coupon experience. I didn't save more than I spent, but I only spent a dollar and some cents more than I saved. And, according to my boss' guessing of how much I could have spent on the items I bought, I saved approximately 4 dollars more than I saved. (confusing? I know) Either way, I'm excited about it, and I think I will get better with the help of a couple of my sisters-in-laws who are hardcore couponers- they got serious skills most of us would never even imagine of having. haha, seriously they are impressive, and with a little mentoring maybe I can one day be considered among the greats. Thanks to coupons I also got my boss and I two free drinks at Taco Bell, ya know those drinks that usually look pretty good but that ya never even consider because they are not in your price range? (price range for drinks meaning that it looks something like this: water-----water) Yep. Two limeades coming right up! I thought that was pretty sweet.

----trademark of today's couponing experience-----

The [priceless] fact that after I had recieved help two times from a worker to find certain items in the store, (keep in mind I didn't buy that many items so walking around until I needed to ask for help two times is kindof a lot of times) I finally get to the register, excited and relieved that I'm about to witness the kind of savings I haven't seen yet before in my lifetime------then all of a sudden, as the checker rings up the last 2 items, and as I reach into my purse to grasp my wallet I realize something----------my wallet is NOT THERE but in my wonderful school back pack----good thing----------as I frantically search my mind for a way to pay for these beautifully couponed items I cross out most options: I know I don't have cash in my wallet (which isn't a helpful option anyway seeing as how the wallet isn't with me), I don't think I can round up enough coins to pay for all this, (even if I could i don't know that I could do that to an unsuspecting cashier-i've already couponed every item, then to pay in coins? No way) and my mind joyfully lands on the last option: my car. The phrases Do I have money in there? I've got to have money in there---please tell me there's money SOMEWHERE IN THE CAR! and There hasn't been money in there in a while but this time there's gotta be... continue to run through my mind while the words coming out of my mouth are somehow explaining to the cashier that I don't have money, but I will get her some. THEN I remember. (angels sang at this precious moment) I DO HAVE MONEY IN MY CAR. My total price was $9.26 and my name was sitting on a ten dollar bill sitting in the console of my car awaiting it's turn to be spent. So I ran, I grabbed, I ran back, and I conquered. Then I carried my couponed items out to my car, shut the door, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Life Questions: And Ramblings

2010-10-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Life Question for y'all. I'm really hoping at least some one tells me they do this too, but if not it'll just confirm my nerdness.

Have you ever gotten so bored (at work/at school/at play/or home) that you sat on your computer, well, not actually sat on top of your computer i've never done that, but i mean sat at your computer, and after checking facebook, email, and/or blogs you're still bored so you close all the windows you had open on the screen and in the purest form of boredity you start making squares with the mouse? ya know the ones that make it so you can select a bunch of items on your desktop... and you just keep clicking and pulling, seeing all sorts of different sizes and shapes of squares. I cannot say that i've ever actually used this function to it's full intended purposes. I just play with it. It doesn't do anything but make squares. I bet it doesn't actually get used more than once a year for every 100 million people. But I hope i'm not alone in this one silly thing that i have done a time or two.

I just want some feedback. Has this happened to you to?

Last Question: There is a movie that recently came out titled "Legend of the Guardians." It's all about owls. I struggle with the desire to see this movie just for that simple fact, its all about OWLS. An animated movie all about lions, tigers, or bears (oh my) would have been much cooler in my opinion, even though it's been done many a time before (The Lion King, Simba you rocked my world as a child, and you still do). But, owls? really? 2 admittedly cool facts: they can turn their heads all the way around and they fly silently. Tigers however, now there's an animal. Flexible, Huge, Strong, Pretty, and Intense is really the last word to describe them. So now that i've rambled, here's the actual question, are owls in the category of intense too- or are they really not as cool as the movie portrays them to be? Bottomline: I suppose you could take just about any animal, make it hyper-masculine and put a crown on its head and call it a King. Then have that King have a son who has to prove his worthiness of the thrown by defeating an evil villain and in the process fall in love with a peasant animal (not pheasant, peasant, and by the way somehow that just brought a picture in my mind of a pheasant-owl, that was weird) and let the new king and new queen live happily ever after and you'll make some money in movie theaters- i guarantee it. Just tell me, owls? really?

Playin Around with Windows Live Writer…

2010-10-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

Amy Bigelow Photography:

She rocks.

And I love my husband.

He makes me laugh.

Although he didn’t laugh as hard as I’d hoped he would when it came to my spider story- but i am not sure guys understand? Ok, the truth? I’m not sure anyone fully understands my spider phobia- but for those who (hopefully) do, we’re in this together y’all! we’ll make it through!

We are going to General Conference tomorrow, the Sunday afternoon session- I am very excited. I love love love General Conference. There is spiritual learning that occurs during General Conference that just doesn’t happen anywhere else- except the temple. But, that’s a whole different greatness in itself so really General Conference still stands as something special.

Colten and I took Hwy 89 up here to Provo, it’s a much longer route, but I quite enjoy a difference in scenery. Lots of cute towns exist along that road and it makes the trip seem just as fast because it’s more appealing to the eye.

Sara is back home! I still haven’t seen her or the baby, but I think she will need some rest before i try and visit. Thanks to everyone’s prayers, wonderful surgeons, and Divine Intervention, Sara is home, and I believe she will be better and I really think she’ll be able to use her hand just fine again…My dad is living proof of reattachment of limbs coming through- he went head on into a semi once, in his truck. his arm was on the window sill (what do ya call that on a car?) at the time and basically it was hangin by a thread afterward. My grandma persuaded the doctors to sew it back on although they didn’t believe he would have full use of his arm ever again, well, guess what? Those of you who know my dad probably didn’t know that story and would’ve never known the difference because he uses his arm just fine. My prayer is, and my hope is, that sara’s fingers will have the same comeback. (i think they will :))

This is a random post, but we gonna see how Windows Live Writer treats me for blog posting….

Peace out…

Substitute Spider Killer

2010-10-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

I found a new use for an unuseful item so now its very useful. :) ha. Basically, Here is what happened today. I was cleaning, and cleaning, and i came across a little spider. (i hate that part of cleaning, you always find what you don't want to-am i right?) well, the carpet we have is tan and shaggy---in other words, perfect for spider hiding. So, when i saw the lil twirp crawling along, i was trying to concentrate on it but then it stopped moving...no bueno...cuz then i lost it. I couldn't find it! so i pretended like i never saw it...(i have to for my sanity) (even tho it doesn't really work) BUT THEN!---the same spider (at least i'm pretty sure it was the same one...now that i think about it i certainly hope it was the same one...) surprised me on the floor of the bathroom. (evil laughing then occurred) I thought, "I gotcha now buddy you can't hide on tile!" sidenote--has anyone noticed some spiders are smart? most the time they are dumb and they stop moving and ya can just hit em, but occasionally you get demon-hiding-and-speedily-running-never-stopping-spiders that just run and ya really can't catch em. This was one of those spiders. (URGH) but then fantastically, when it got in a corner it couldn't crawl into (thankfully) it stopped. it blessedly, wonderfully, amazingly, stopped. AND it stopped right underneath the counter that holds a sacred spider killing tonic commonly called hairspray. so, i slowly opened the cupboard door, (spider still stopped in its idiotic tracks) and to my unfortunate surprise, there was NO HAIRSPRAY!!!! This is one of those swear word moments, but i don't swear so therefore i just said "agh" or something to that affect....

I stood there, towering above what was, to my dismay, about to be a very unvictorious moment. BUT THEN! I noticed inside the cupboard was sitting a white bottle of Biolage gel. (sp?) Up until this fragile second of life, I never knew why I had kept that bottle around...to tell ya the truth, the stuff sucks. Biolage gel does not hold a single thing in place. it's purpose was unknown to me and my husband. and then, a lightbulb of wonder went off in my head. and i slowly reached over, picked up the gel, opened the lid, and squirted that dang spider before he ever knew what hit him. He attempted to crawl, but he couldn't. (sucker) and THAT ladies and gentlemen is how i came up with the Substitute Spider Killer. The stuff I thought was useless, is now quite useful and actually makes it into my best friend category. It wasn't the easiest form of clean up, but thats only because i got a little excited and carried away when it actually came time to kill the spider. so, for future reference, if your in a jam, or in a corner with a running spider, grab the gel folks, grab the gel.

Karma.

2010-09-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Colten and I were doing the usual run around get as much stuff done as possible while we momentarily dont have school or work or homework and Sammy played a little joke on him... He loaded up his brother's trailor and he was in the bobcat and he told me to drive the truck&said trailor up to my mom &dad's house, and he would meet me up there with the bobcat. Well, obviously a truck is much faster than a bobcat, therefore i cruised on up the hill and made it there way ahead of him. when i got there i couldn't remember where he wanted me to park it so i called him, then i got this genius idea, so i told him when he answered, "I hit something." (theatrical pause) he goes, "What!?" I said, "I hit something!" and ya know when you know someone so good you don't need to see their facial expression cuz you already know what it looks like? this was one of those moments, and it was a good face.

Then i busted up and told him the truth. and he was ticked. but he got a good laugh too :)

KARMA. last night he said something that required me to give him a little punch in the ribs, and so when i did, he FREAKED OUT so i hit it again (one of those dumb things like touching a bruise and asking the person if it hurts) and he sounded almost like he was gonna cry and was just repeatedly saying "Ow, ahhh Ow." and I was like "yeah whatever" but he kept going so then i got worried and then I started asking "what's wrong!" and of course being a girl my thoughts started going 100 mph worrying he had some scary issue i didn't know about and i basically stressing.... JUST like he wanted me to, and when i'd gotten to the point that satisfied his prank-pulling side, he busted up laughing. my next thoughts, dangit.

i love that i'm married to my best friend though, and that we have good times like these. i love how he makes me laugh. i'm glad to be the new Samantha Iverson.

Our wedding went great by the way! our cake was all animal print, the top layer we had to take down to cut it, so thats the red tiger striped one but picture all four tiers and it was pretty (freakin) sweet. my cake was one of my favorite parts of the decor.

picture by Amy Bigelow. :)

Married Life.

2010-09-23T22:23:00.001-07:00

Been Great! our honeymoon could've been longer- but seeing as how we got married 'in a hurry' we did it during the school year and it was back to school on monday for colten. we've just been running around here and there with homework, work, and attempting to move in. its been good though- we got a lot of very much needed stuff. Thank you to all those who came to the wedding, and for the wonderful gifts:) If ya didn't come-we still love ya and hope to see you soon. Here is just the little update for ya- i'm exhausted and need to go to bed. i'll try and keep ya 'posted' haha....punny... :) and one of these days i'll post pictures.

Good Stuff

2010-09-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

So i worked all weekend. double shifts friday, sunday, and monday. BUT i got saturday off and it was a good day, bridal shower during the day and then we helped out with the Peach Days Rodeo Saturday night. I will be honest, I was quite nervous to help out, but it went way smooth and it was really fun :) Colten and his bro Kelby won first in the Hide Race, I wish i had pics (mental note for next year) but it was awesome! they did it in 12.35 seconds! For those who dont know what the Hide Race is- one person rides their horse as fast as they can to the barrel on the other end of the arena, where the other person is waiting to jump on the old stiff cow hide that the rider is draggin around the barrel. Anyway they drag the hide and (hopefully) the person, back to the other side of the arena. whoever does it fastest wins- there was another couple who did it in 13 ish seconds, so that was awesome, but Kelby and Colten beat em by .30 ish seconds it was sweeet!

(this pic is from my phone and its blurry lame I know but its all i had haha) This here is awesome. We were cleaning up the casita we'll be staying in, and He wanted to vacuum the room haha so he did! and he did very well. He is so awesome. This was just a classic moment, that i hope will be repeated throughout our life together...haha. I just love him!

do ya like the new look?

2010-09-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

i do. ;) life is good. i still have issues completing all the tasks set before me but I shall conquer!
so we bought a bed and couches :) for a good deal at big lots! i like them. I am getting more and more excited to decorate what i can in our own little place. Somehow Ill fit that in, but only after the big day is over. This is my new mindset:

I WILL do my homeowrk to the best of my abylitees. (prob need wurk on speling)

I WILL accomplish the nitty gritty details of whatever else needs planning for this weddin.

I WILL somehow clean and pack my room and all that goes with it.

I WILL (try) to do it all with a smile on my face...and then when the real smile comes it will be because I will be married forever to my best friend.

i dont know.

2010-09-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

second bunch of invites? check.

dirty room full of future home stuff? check.

found a bed AND couches for WAY good deal? check.

do i like Big Lots? check.(Lots)

pile of laundry still sky high? check.

sad that with all my efforts put towards invitations I STILL have blonde moments?

frustrated that no matter what I do I guarantee I'll miss someone?

wishing I would've started an address list as soon as I could write?

CHECK.

Well. here's my new list:

2010-08-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

First bunch of invites sent out. check

school stuff started. check.

back to work. check.

million things to do-down to 999,999 things to do. check.

loving life though, through the midst of the lists of things to do? check.

ready to get married? ready as i'll ever be? check.

extremely excited? check.

totally in love? check.

ready to spend forever with my babay? (yes i spelled it that way on purpose) check.

ready to start writing my name as Samantha Iverson? check.

awkward doctors appointment. check.

place to live? check.

good times ahead? check.

smile on my face? check.

I Love Colten.

2010-08-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

So, everything's gonna be alright. I still have lots to do, but its all worth it. I get to be with him forever. Y'all don't understand how blessed I am! I'm so thankful.

p.s. I like country music. It soothes me.

WAHOOOOOO--Sammy has LOTS TO DOOOOOO

2010-08-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

So then why? why am i blogging? because i'm afraid if I don't, then I won't actually get anything done because my mind will explode. So, rather than exploding, i'm blogging. It helps. Today:

-homework (good thing college is so awesome,------ because i've only been to one day of classes and i have homework, but of course i was expecting it)

-make zucchini bread (which i've never done before, but i have to bring it to the relief society activity tonight (oh and it's out of wheat flour) so let's hope it turns out)

-send invitations (i dont like the post office very much)

-call members of the family who are for sure coming to the sealing- which if you are a member of the fam and you willlll be there, just comment on here and tell me :) save me a phone call:)

-attack laundry--it's been acting up (really up, like there's a jumping over requirement now) up, up, up, higher and higher, so we must attack! the first attack was staged last night, but guess what? now there's a mountain of cleeeeeeaaaaaan laundry that needs attackin.

list of things i really ought to do......but come second to the above mentioned items:

-my quilt, and pillow shams and pillow. yeah i'm making them-but have yet to finish. anyone wanna do pillow shams and a pillow for me for a weddin present?? i have the material :):):) ???
if not its cool, i'll get er done.

-start packing, right? cuz we'll be moving in on sept 10th...seems long ways away but it'll come up before ya know it!

-i dont know. my brain just stopped working. so the list is done for now.

p.s. the song that played throughout the typing of this song, was "Ooo heaven is a place on earth...." lol......i thought it was funny.....

Being Engaged. Updates. and Random Thoughts.

2010-08-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

Well well well.

Living life as an engaged couple. what can i say? the happiest time of yer life? yes AND no. haha.

Especially after 2 looooong years. It's amazing to really think about what's ahead for Colten and I. Sealed forever? FOREVER?! YESSSSSSSS.

and i can't wait.

but that's the tricky part folks, is even tho it's been 2 years of a life of waiting, ya got him here, and ya gotta wait some more! dangit. 3 weeks and 4 days still to go and i'm going crazy. I wanna be married to my best friend. I wanna NOT say goodbye at 10:30 (we're tryin to be good and set a curfew although some nights we are wild and stay till 11 haha) I want to be able to stay and just be with my hubby! Its so crazy though, life's coming at me fast now when for so long it was too slow. It felt like I'd never see him again, and now he's REALLY here, and we're REALLY getting married and it's REALLY happening September 17th, 2010.

I feel like i've been going at 200 miles an hour everyday because i've only got Colten on the brain, were always together, and if were not together we're catching up on what we didn't get done while we were together, and/or at work. Which is another thing, planning a wedding+school starting+both of our Math class situation sucking real bad+work+remembering that I'm gonna have to pack up my room+realizing that I still have to actually get the invites out that aren't here yet+thinking about the people who i may have missed on the list for invites+ again going home alone every night to my parents house+oh idk=kinda crappy.

more on the math subject:basically Colten and I both found out this week that Dixie apparently thinks we're dumb and is making us both take lower math classes. In fact, I may have to retake the math class I've already taken because I didn't take the next harder math class and it's been two years (if that makes sense) so i have to try and test in to math 1050 and come on folks, is that even possible? for me? i really think not. i'm bugged. Colten's bugged. We hate math. Math can go jump off a cliff if ya ask me.

We took Bridals yesterday and it was really hott, but my cousin Amy Bigelow (whose blog is on my blog list) is amazing at photography, and her editing skills are awesome cuz she makes the pic so dramatic. it was so fun hanging out with her and her husband Drew they are sooo funny, and they're fun, and they're just so nice, and I can't wait to see how everything turns out. We went all over the place too, Kolob, the temple, the Dixie red rocks, and a friends orchard. It was cool. She put some of the pics on facebook so check those out if ya want

I'm mainly doing an update tonight cuz so many things have been going on, and i haven't had time to blog. I am just in a daze watching life escalate(sp?) to the most important event of my life up to this point, and really the event that will affect eternity. I feel so blessed to be able to be sealed forever to my best friend. I'm glad we can laugh together over thee dumbest stuff. I'm thankful for the moments we fight (cuz then we get to make up haha) because it shows how much we trust each other to open up and say how we feel knowing the other person will still always love us. I'm contented to know that Colten is a man of God, and that he will always honor his priesthood. I'm grateful that Colten listens to me, that is a quality that will turn our marriage into an eternal marriage because if we can listen to one another then we can teach one another, and as we teach, we will each learn more and grow together as one in the gospel.

Life is just crazy right now. I want to go to the temple. I want to learn more about the gospel. I want to be better. I want to grow and learn and be better with Colten throughout our lives, always changing always flowing (get it- like pocahontus tells us rivers are, "what i like most about rivers is, you can't step in the same river twice, the waters always changing, always flowing" haha) but always progressing! Understanding our imperfections but committing to put every effort into becoming perfect through Christ. Only through Him though, we can't do it alone. we're not perfect, and we can't be without Him, that's why i liked Sammi Beardall's blog about mother's tryin too hard to be perfect cuz she's right y'all needa take some time to yourself and relax, and remember that Christ told us in Mathew 11:28-30 to

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"

Moroni tells us to (in chap 10 vs 32) "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love god with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

That's my favorite scripture. That's my life's goal. Even though I spend too much time in the realm of fear rather than faith (worrying runs in my family) I know that in the big scheme of things everythings gonna be alright (rockabye...haha) Life's meant to be enjoyed, and it's also a test, a test of a lot of things, faith, a desire to follow God's commandments, a follow-through with the best of our abilities to follow God's commandments, and it's a test to see if we can love the blessed people that God has sent us to be with. We show our love for God by showing love to those around us, and that is the center of all good things, Love. Love for Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Understanding of the love Jesus Christ has for each of us and the love our Father in Heaven has for each of us. It doesn't matter what people around us choose, it's not up to us folks! Our Heavenly Father understands our hearts, and He loves us no matter what. I hope that throughout this life, Colten and I, can always convey the love that is in our hearts for each of God's children. I know that I have too many judgemental moments, and that I struggle with understanding the pure love of Christ, but I know that it's real, and that I can recieve charity as a gift from Heavenly Father, and that I can then share it with those around me and they will feel the love I've felt from my Heavenly Father. I also hope, that I can always, always, always, convey the love I have for Colten to him. My hope for our marriage is that we will never stop talking, that we will always keep laughing, and that we will always be able to lean on each other, and that we'll both be able to turn to God to help us along the way.

Well. Well. Well.

Looks like another post goes from sour to sweet. haha. Math doesn't have to go jump off a cliff. but the math policy at dixie still can. I feel better though. I like blogging/journaling. It helps your mind focus on what's really important sometimes. I hope you guys liked my long post. I did :)

and i hope it all made sense...:)

ok already. here's the ring:

2010-08-09T23:11:00.001-07:00

the most important pic, the one directly above, is blurry. as hard as i tried it didn't work. i don't have skills like some of y'all do. but you can basically see it. the blurriness almost makes it look bigger than it really is haha. it's a simple ring and that's what i love, just one diamond. but some sweet angles and what not. it's the ring i fell in love with. and now i get to look at it everyday!

i hate getting addresses together. it's official. i never want anyone to have to go through this. lol. between my dad and our family, and the Iverson family, I'm bound to miss someone. and I really don't want to do that. I am slowly but surely assembling a list and gettin addresses and getting them in the labeler dealio. as i do that, i am scanning pic after pic for the weddin video. and blogging. Love it. Ya know as a lil girl (ok pretty much until you actually get engaged) you picture how exciting it's gonna be to plan a wedding, and it is don't get me wrong! i Love the ideas we've collectedly come up with and it's gonna be a hit haha but everybody kinda skips over the address part and for some reason i'm really struggling with it. the computer isn't even helpin out. but i shall conquer! i believe in me!

p.s. we went to disneyland. hope i get those pics up on here...eventually............once my mind stops going through names, numbers, streets, and zip codes.

Fun Stuff.

2010-08-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've been up to. Too much to do, too little time. Love it. Got a wedding to plan now. Sweet. but here's some pics :) Colten's way good at remembering to take pics so now my blog will have even more pics haha :) So this is Susannah and her...boy :) Forrest, and me and Colten at the Tim McGraw Concert.

Charlee, Me, Colten. Buddies.

there's a billion people huh!?

Tim McGraw concert last weekend :)

this was just at Kolob after the proposal :)

Just before the proposal :)

This was after the proposal :) beautiful view eh?

This was the Kolob trip we took the day after he got home. Fun Fun. :)

I'm Engaged!

2010-07-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

It is official :) i will post a pic of the ring as soon as i get the actual one. it's beautiful! and unique! and perfect! more important than the ring is the promise i have now made to Colten Iverson. He is my best friend and i cannot wait to start our life together. I love him and have loved him for a long time. It's only been a week and 2 days since he's been home but I definitely know he's the one. So, here's the story!

He told me that (yesterday) he was supposed to meet some guy up on Kolob to discuss somethin or other about some cows and some fenceline or somethin. I didn't really know exactly what he meant but he said he needed someone to go with him so I (of course) said I'd go. We head up the mountain like normal, he was dressed like he normally would be to go to Kolob, and I didn't really suspect anything. We stopped at his cabin, and then we switched to his fourwheeler and he starts driving super fast. (He said it was in part because of a storm coming in, but it was also cuz he was just so stinkin nervous!:) So we get to the top of the mountain basically and just picture this for a second before i go on, it's overcast and rainy (which i love) and Kolob is SO green right now, and we have this amazing view in front of us that makes you feel like you can see the whole world, and it is literally one of the prettiest places I've ever been to on Kolob. Once we get there, we park the fourwheeler (because we couldn't go any further) and he's like well let's start walking, and at this point i pretty much knew something was up cuz it finally dawned on me that DUH nobody would meet anyone here to talk about no stinkin cattle! so he takes me to the breathtaking view...and starts pointing out "significant places" such as, Sand Hollow, Kolob Reservoir, and so on, and then he goes, so "What could make this place significant?" and then I was like OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY (in my head) and then he grabs the back pack that had our sweaters in it and says "let's put our sweaters on" (lol) which was somewhat reasonable at the time cuz it was getting kindof chilly, but then he pulls out the sweaters and goes "Oh what's that?" in the bottom of the backpack was a little white box...so he pulls it out, opens it up, and at that point i'm not exactly even sure what he said because I just kept saying "Colten, Oh my gosh! Gosh! OH my gosh! Colten!" but i'm pretty sure he asked me to marry him because he was down on one knee, and the box was open and displaying the most beautiful ring ever! and I shook my head yes and don't really know what i said (it was all basically saying yes) and he goes "wait, so was there a yes there cuz i don't think i heard it" which just made me laugh. He later said he didn't hear cuz his head was just going crazy at that point. hahaha. so then (he's so sweet) he pulls out his scriptures and reads some key marriage scriptures and had me read some which was quite awesome i must say, and then he pulls out some FastBreaks (my favorite candy bar) and an iPod and we listened to "Lane's theme" which is both of our all time favorite piano piece...and thats when the tears came a lil for both of us but I was just in shock and also thinking, Finally! So, then we headed back down the trail while it was pouring rain and as we both got soaked I couldn't help but leave the smile that was on my face the whole time. As cute as that detail is, it wasn't cute when mud splashed on my face cuz then i tasted it.dangit. but i was still smiling. :) it was beautiful, amazing, peaceful, and the memory of a lifetime.

SO, save the date folks! we are officially getting married September 17th. I gotta get goin on invites and the whole shabang. I am just excited to finally be getting married! But more than that, I am just excited to finally be getting married to my best friend of all time, my one and only, the one who I'll always love, and trust. I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful :) LIFE'S GOOD :) Oh, and i'll post pics if i get em from his camera...but the story is pretty good for now:)

wow.

2010-07-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

This is the scene y'all realllly wanna see, it's out of order, the first pics are actually later, but this was our actual first meeting after 2 long years. I actually surprised him at the airport, he didn't know i was gonna be there ;) i so tricky... but i had my dad release him there, then i came in and surprised him. my dad took him in a little room, released him, and then when he came out, i was standing behind a giant smiley face, and they moved it out of the way and bam! we hugged for a while... haha. Neither one of us cried, which might seem weird, but honestly, we were both just in shock! but we cried later.

this pic is of colten and his bro kylynn who on the same day, got his mission call to canada! so that's pretty exciting :) it was a good day to say the least haha.

so, i know your all dying to know whats goin on, and i would've blogged but i can honestly say i've been with Colten every single day since he's been home and that means all day long we've just been together. haha so needless to say i wasn't gonna be like oh, can i just blog real quick? (even though truthfully i have been excited to tell y'all how things are going) to sum it all up let's just say: Life's Good. :) NO we're not officially engaged good gadfreys half or more of hurricane thinks we already are, but to clear up some confusion we're not engaged yet. Patience people, patience :) haha. He's happy, I'm happy, and things are goin good. The pic below is me and Jen prior to him getting there. :) haha we were both pretty excited.

This is of Colten and his papa. Long time no see eh? haha. can you feel the love? i can :) Colten's got one amazing family and these pics i hope you all know are...priceless.

Last the best of all the game, the reuniting of mother and son after 2 long years. Colten's mom sure is a trooper, one son comes home just as another one is about to leave. It's just because she's amazing and has raised such amazing boys there comes a time they gotta go serve the Lord :) i wish the pic wasn't so blurry but the moment was still amazing.

yeah, 2 days.

2010-07-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

2 days. 2 people. 2 years. 2 long. (but) 2 worth it. 2 many good times ahead. 2 thumbs up.

9 days.

2010-07-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

So do you remember this?

Well, now its this: the flowers in the vase are the months that passed (one of em lost its head in the move to provo) and the single rose is the last of the bunch all by itself hangin on my wall. there were moments i never thought i'd see this vase filled up, but its finally happened. i'm trying to think of something cute to do with all of them to keep them. either a better vase (cuz this one is just huge and not cute) or boxing them up i don't know. got any ideas? cuz i could use em.

p.s. i never thought i'd say this, but i think i've become a fan of scrapbooking. ill always at some point or another refer to it without the "s" in front of the word...haha but i'm admitting it free and clear, i like it. i liked it way back when in middle school ish but then that didn't last long- but now i like it again. who knew? not me. quilting, scrapbooking, what's happening to me? speaking of quilting, i need to get back to that, i think thats all i do these days. but i'm determined to get this quilt done. i still have pillow shams and another pillow to make too so that's why i gotta get on the ball!

P90x update: im takin a break. why? because if you don't sleep, then exercising hurts you more because your just completely running your body into the ground. or so i hear? if that's not true let me know, but also the heat from this southern utah weather drains out my energy. does anyone else feel this way? and quilting too! it can be kindof tiring believe it or not! so i'm focusing on the quilt right now, but i bought my own set of P90X videos so i can BRING IT for life! i really do enjoy it, and i've gotten a lot stronger. but for now, i'm kinda having a rough time sleeping, and then i'm tired all day so i'm putting it on hold but there's no way i'm done with it yet.

13 days. yeah. 13 days. wo. 13DAYS! thats it?

2010-07-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

here are some pics from the mish. i dont know which ones i've put on here... but these ones are some of my fav. 2 years is a loooooooong time folks. i can't believe were down to 13 days. gotta love it.

here are some cute pics of some of my nieces and nephews. These two are obviously adorable. (sorry this pic is from my phone) but they actually did this on their own, i think one of their moms may have said something like share with him or her but i know for sure we weren't expecting to look over an see this adorable picture goin on. did i already say they were adorable? maybe just one more time, they're so adorable! this is Colten's niece, she is also adorable. her and I are best friends, she told me herself :) i went to California with some of Colten's family to do some shopping and we had to go to the beach! so this was in Carlsbad, California. (I'm pretty sure) it was cool, but the beaches in Hawaii were cleaner...

Oh and the adorableness continues. My mother has a small bench for kids, and popsicles, could you ask for anything more? especially in this heat? Grandma's house rocks!

hey i have something cool to show you!

2010-06-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

This folks is my first quilt! yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! if you look closely you can see the stitching. yeah its taking me a long time cuz i'm stitching it all by hand. but, i'm only stitching one side of the stems, and the inside of the petals on the flowers, if that makes sense. i saw this fabric like 2 years ago ish in wal-mart and i fell in love with it. it's taken me an obviously long time to start this baby but i've got good reason to quicken the pace...if ya know what i'm sayin. i'm going to make pillow shams. I'm probably not going to quilt them- but we shall see. I also got some cute yellow fabric for the back of the pillow shams, and i'll probably make one pillow with it to go in front but we will also see about that. I can't wait to be done- but i've got a long time before that so i'm just stitching along... i thought i'd share with you my crafty side. :) cuz i do have one. i didn't know i did. but i do. :)

HEY Sammy Grace- what's goin on around your place?

2010-06-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

....i thought it was funny. but ya wanna hear a really funny one that i came up with? nana posted it on facebook but here it is again. Susannah and i were driving to manti to pick up our friend who needed a ride to st. george (susannah and i also needed a lil road trip so it worked out quite well) and along the way i was itching my nose and it was really irritating so nana asked if i needed a tissue and i said no, then i paused, and said "it just feels like my nose is being attacked by sneeze bugs" NOW is that or is that Not the perfect description of what your nose feels like just before you have to sneeze? i sure thought so. Susannah just giggled up a storm after that one. I'm not sure if that sweet phrase even comes close to my nieces dream of future employment- yep that's right folks she wants to be a 'cooking skydancer' and who wouldn't want to be one? i sure dont know. i don't know why i didn't think of that earlier. i probably coulda skipped out on college. dangit.

this will most definitely be a long post. but i neeed to just type my thoughts. its kindof...theraputic i guess, at times. ahhhh life. how is my life? its weird. right now it is anyway. i love it, dont get me wrong. but its weird. we're now down to 3 weeks and a few days. to be specific 24 days until Colten gets home. Can you believe it? i can't. but then again i can. cuz its sure been a (freakin) long time. In 2 years (ish) what have i accomplished? I don't know. I set a lot of goals and achieved a lot of em, don't get me wrong if you really wanted i could bust out a list right now of what i've accomplished. but in the BIG scheme of things what have I realllly accomplished?

Patience? not so much. I mean i think i'm better, but seeing as how my mom currently wants me to change my name to patience i think i've still got a lot to learn. (She literally is calling me patience on a regular basis)...i'll keep working on it.

Grown Spiritually? You better believe it! I know loads more now than i used to, yet i still feel completely...what's the word... Not knowledgeable? couldn't think of the word...dang. but anyway, and ya wanna know what i reallly wanna be when i "grow up"? a seminary substitute teacher. hahaha and i'm completely serious. i still wanna get my associates degree- and maybe try out for american idol (just for fun) but i love the gospel. i really do. that's all there is to it. I could go on forever about how much I love learning the gospel, and how much I love my Heavenly Father and how grateful I am for His Son Jesus Christ, but I wont. But truly, if I could help others learn what I know, I know I will learn even more and I will be able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands in a very useful way. I've learned so much, and i'm ridiculously excited to continue learning throughout the rest of my life. Plus, being a substitute seminary teacher I won't have a full time job, I'll meet lots of people, get paid, and still be home by the time my future children get home from school------while were on the subject though, what do I want to be even more than anything? where could i make the biggest impact? the biggest difference? in my home. yep folks being a mom is where its at. i'm obviously not one yet, and won't be for a while, but that is my true dream, my true desire, and what i've really always wanted. i really remember when i was a little girl, laying in bed, i thought over and over in my head what do i wanna be when i grow up? and as weirdo as it sounds, i thought of being a mom and the most amazing feeling came over me, and i was done for- that's what i really want. (p.s. maybe i REALLY should have entitled this post REALLY, cuz i sure say it alot)

Learned a lot about the real Samantha Grace? yes. oh yes. to a point (and my family will testify to this) over the past few...(many) months, i haven't been completely myself.... it's been hard to be. but i'm moving forward. at least always trying to. in the process i'm learning what i really love, what i want out of life, and just simply who i am. like for example- i do better talking to people one on one, not so good in groups. i just sit quietly in groups which is actually better cuz then i can just listen and i don't say anything stupid :) haha. i'm a white/blue personality, according to The Color Code (dun dun dun) yeah thats right its intense. so that taught me a lot about how i think and why i do certain things. I even just read a book called "The 5 Love Languages" and i found i'm a Quality Time kind of lover (that just sounds funny but idk how else to say it) and Words of Affirmation are very important to me. Look this stuff up folks its very interesting. what it means is i show love and need love by spending quality time with people. this can just mean sitting next to someone and talking to them. but words also fill up my "love tank" haha and so the words "I Love You" to me, mean so much more. anyway, those are all just specifics, but there's been a lot of other experiences that i've had that have taught me a bit more about who i am and some of its been great, and some not so great. but that's whats great is that i know where i need to improve, and i'll just keep swimming, just keep swimming, and then just keep swimming.

Met some amazing people? too many to count. I have made some serious friendships, and i'm so grateful for that. I've also learned more about friendship, and relationships, and people in general. I know i've got tons more to learn about people. I know i've made many mistakes, and too often I have hurt people I love, but I'm thankful for forgiveness, and hope to always be worthy of it. I hope even more so that, in the future, and everyday, that i don't take the people in my life for granted. They ARE what we take with us when we go, and knowing them, loving them, caring for them, teaching them, learning from them, and just being there for them is what it's all about. Through people we learn to be Christlike, through service and love. Obviously repentance and obedience are right up there with life's lessons, but the first and great commandment is to Love God, with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. and the 2nd is like unto it, to love thy neighbor as thyself. and isn't one of the ways we show love for God through serving our fellow men? i think so. so, I'm sorry to those I've hurt, I feel sorrow that I can't explain for ever hurting anyone. I do know now though, and this is one big huge important lesson, that even though we make mistakes, once we truly repent, we have to learn to move on. Sometimes I think I make myself think that if i feel sorry enough, then i can change how someone else feels, like if somehow I suffer enough then they will finally forgive, but that's not the way it works. God is our judge, and it is up to us to forgive all men. All the time. in every situation. So I have to let go of grudges, and pray that others will to, but sometimes they won't because they have agency, and I learned that thats ok. Men are that they might have joy, not sorrow. so if I do my best, and truly, humbly, repent when i sin, and believe that Christ will take my burdens upon Himself, through Him i can be ok, i can be stronger, and move forward with a smile on my face :)

I could just keep adding more. However, this is already a long post. I just feel so different from who i was 2 years ago, but its not a bad thing. I'm thankful for what I've gone through, and I'm thankful for trials. Even though that parts kinda hard to type, its the truth. Trials really are special, cuz they really change a person, it's up to us how we choose to change through the trial though, we can let it weaken us and weaken us and weaken us, or we can let it rebuild the little broken parts and make em stronger to withstand whatever else will come our way. I believe that. I know that. and that's all folks---have a wonderful week?! :)

Good News :) and a smidge bad...

2010-06-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

we'll start with the bad...still don't know which chicken is eatin the eggs...and truly it is awkward that they would even do that in the first place.

Good News:

#1- Colten only has like 5 weeks and a few days. I'm speechless. Happy, like really happy, like really really happy, yet speechless. y'all will hear more about that as time goes on fo sho.

#2- How is P90X going? we'll i've been trying to 'bring it' as Mr tony tells me everytime i turn it on, (which is it a bad sign that i had a creepy dream about him? he's supposed to be like a good idol figure to help me want to be more fit then i had this dream...made me see a whole new side to him haha but i still keep going) anyway, I don't know if i really look different, which i'm fine with, cuz i feel like i could punch through a couple walls, that was a weird visual...haha, but i can now do pushups, guy ones, maybe that's lame compared to some hardcore people who might read this blog, but really this is a big deal for me cuz i have a large lower half i gotta lift up and down everytime i do a 'guy' pushup. i just feel a lot more muscley, (sp?) and so the bottomline is that i decided p90x and i have a love/hate relationship. i don't wanna turn it on, but i hate it when i don't do it, and i love it afterward. I recommend p90x, it is a good system. it's fun, it's a variety of workouts, and it does bring results. (I hate the yoga video though i really wish they'd redo that)

#3 Life's good. I'm way behind on my Book of Mormon reading, but I have been reading other good books. I would recommend: The 5 Love Languages. I loved this book because ya just never think of some things, and how you can love people according to their love language. I can't remember the authors name right this second, and i'm not gonna run upstairs to check, but its a good book. Other Recommendation: Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy by Elder Richard G. Scott. I have about 3 more pages, so i mean i can't give ya a complete opinion...jk it's a good book and i'm positive the last lil bit will be worth reading. I must say this book found me, and I needed it. I will be looking back to this book throughout my life i can already tell. I marked that sucker up and down cuz it was just so good. It is full of principles, and reminders of God's love, which once you understand that, what else can bring true peace and happiness? Of course there are a lot of things, but the foundation is based in His love, for through His love and kindness He sent His Son who showed ultimate love, the kind of love the world had never seen before and the kind of love that will last forever, and is for every person ever...and ever.

I hope all of y'all have a fantastic 5 1/2 weeks cuz I sure will...I'll probably only be a smidge excited here and there about something comin up....i'm lying i hope you know...i'm gonna be extatic! and ridiculously unsettled with anticipation! lucky me. haha. its alllll worth it:)

Bad News.

2010-06-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

So, this will be hard for most of you, but just read on. We have a chicken (I'm possibly suspecting that there is actually 2 of them participating in the following evil act) that is eating eggs. BAD. when they do that they are supposed to become sunday dinner! but i dont know which one it is! and how do you catch em?!!?!! They are sneakily in and out of that chicken coop before i know which one is the culprit. Wish me luck. and when i do find out which one it is, wish me more luck that i'll actually be able to catch it. (That phrase is the reason this post does not need a picture, just visualize me trying to catch a chicken...) Random post, but thats my style. Just Sayin.

I'm Workin.

2010-05-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

well i had my first real workin on the ranch experience, i learned how to drive one of these:

and the first pic aint too pretty, but that's about as good as it gets. i tried purposely taking the pic with the word 'turbo' that was written on the side of the skidsteer because it made me feel just that much cooler. lol. i really enjoyed doin this work though, taking out trees is quite the stress reliever if ya ask me. Oh and last week i graduated from none other than the Hunter's Safety program :) haha i feel so...redneck. but i really do like hunting, and i really do like working outdoors. i really liked that i was driving a caterpillar brand skidsteer and i was wearing a John Deere hat. my dad gave me that hat its actually really cute, its white with brown writing and pink underneath. when we went to get gloves for me i sincerely tried finding just some normal but small sized gloves, but the only ones the store had in a size small were pink and they said "tuff chix" on em. haha so i got em! gotta love it. I've just had some sweet experiences the past two weeks. i just remembered i got a pic of those gloves on my phone because i sent one to susannah cuz they were so funny/sweet. so who's jealous of these babies:

they really did come in handy alot. haha "handy" get it? thats funny if ya got it...wow i'm a nerd. anyway, besides the spider bites from helping haul logs, the two days i spent on the ranch were fun, and the paycheck was nice.

The P90X journey begins.

2010-05-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

welllll, don't expect me to look like that lady. let me just get that phrase outta the way. but, i am bustin this program out like you aint never seen--- let me rephrase, like ya aint never seen me do. haha. Susannah has been doing this for 5 weeks now? she's kicking my toosh. i just have to laugh sometimes when i look over and she is doin push ups like its nobodys business and i'm still doin the 'girl pushups' but i'm improving. i did some workouts when i came home on the weekends during april, but now its the real everyday deal, and there have been some lazy moments on my part but honestly you feel so good, no INTENSE, after you do a workout and they're different everyday so ya don't get bored, and some of them are fun. ok, mostly one of them is fun haha. but its fun doin it with susannah even though our schedules are mis-matched most of the time. (or i just am sleeping when she gets up to do it before work) but hey this is only one week down. i'm getting used to feeling kinda sore, everyday. but i love that feeling to tell ya the truth. anyway, well see how big my muskles are at the end of 90 days, go me! go susannah! go P90X! Bring It!

JUSTIN BIEBER! apparently he's kindof a big deal around the age of oh idk 3-95 i guess. i did buy two of his songs for one of colten's nephews yesterday and i must say, i really quite like them. haha who knew?

Little Late...

2010-04-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

I got tagged with the what's in my purse? post haha so here goes.............

for starters let me just say that my purse has LITERALLY been in the VERY back of my car for a couple months now--possibly longer---i switch purses here and there too but i have one main one that has alllllll the junk in the world that for some reason i think i need...

purses and i have a love/hate/i-love-you-so-much-i-have-to-buy-you relationship. I have too many. and yet, i carry around my wallet all by itself for the most part, or i just shove some money in my pocket and pray i dont forget its there....(but if i do forget, chances are i'll find it later and finding money in your pocket is ALWAYS a good thing)

p.s. i went out to my car to find BOTH purses lol that i'm currently in the midst of... all because i realized just how interesting this post is turning out to be. maybe for no one else, but it is for me... cuz i just decided when it comes to purses i'm a complete nerdbomber. feel free to laugh. or just think im weird.

OK, i have for some reason, some old jazz tickets (that i didn't even buy haha somehow they ended up in my purse though)that were bought online so they are the big papers on the left.

-a mini book of mormon, i love the church what can i say? haha i must admit i'm not sure exactly why its in there...just cuz i thought i'd have some extra time and should bring it along? idk?

-gloves. yeah. thats how long i haven't used my purse, those were from like feb or jan

-a ridiculous amount of chapstick and lipgloss. can you EVER have too much? yes. but i dont care.

-i have 2 combs and a pick. i have a lot of hair.

-a yellow dance ticket from valentines day...

-gum, obviously.

-that cooly decorated bag on the left has an Epipen in it...i'm my mothers daughter what can i say? haha you never know when somethin is gonna have shrimp in it... LOL i'm ridiculous. i'm allergic to shrimp for real though and there was a time that within a few weeks i kept eating stuff and finding out it had shrimp in it and i would have to go quick and find benadryl-i can't be too deathly allergic to it otherwise i'd be dead but my moms a nurse. i can't help but have one of these in my purse.

-"the utah constitution and fun facts" LOL. i really plan on reading this cuz my dad bought it for me and it would be a good idea, and i guess i figured by throwing it in my purse i'd get around to it sometime hahahahahaha.

-a gold glittery zebra striped card holder from when i did pedicures. i dont do those anymore, but its cute?

-lotion

-tide to go pen, i must say, this came in handy once BIGTIME. but it actually was not for the reason you're thinking...rather than fulfilling its actual use of taking away stains (which it has done maybe twice) the best thing its ever done for me was quite a while ago, i was walking into a store called eccoci and they were having a contest and they asked me if i had one of those in my purse and since i did i got to 'pick a card' and the card i picked happened to say, 'free necklace' so i got a free necklace that is wayyyyyyy more expensive than anything i would normally buy. so there ya go. thanks tide to go.

-keys to my truck. that i can't drive yet. because it has no title. thanks to the previous owners. and since i've been living in provo i haven't been able to take it to the DMV but no worries my dad and i are going next week.

-3Dglasses. i liked avatar better in NOT 3D. i dont get the big deal about the whole 3D thing.

-random other papers, pencil lead?, vanilla body spray, inhaler, nail file, hand sanitizer, nail clippers, (some of these are in that lil blue bag), floss, and a little wallet-purse (lol if you got that) that is from guatemaula that holds my chapstick.

yes. i'm a nerd. i can't help it. now you know me a little better than you thought you did. haha. this post was good for me because now i'll clean up my act a little bit and organize my purse. who knows, i probably wont use it more. maybe i will?

First Birthday Present-

2010-04-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

My birthday isn't till monday--and apparently i have a package waiting at home from this amazing Elder Iverson- but i can't get it till wednesday. Oh well- this will tide me over till then. Isn't that adorable? :) made my whole birthday. He always seems to do that. I'm a lucky gal.

Baby Goat Time!

2010-04-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

The baby goats are finally here! well, two of them... i'll probably post more pictures another time. this is one of the first and healthy goat whose name is cloe, and her mama heidi. the second goat we named Angel, because she is all white. she was born with one of her organs (intenstines?) outside of her, so we had to do emergency surgery, haha we got a vet to come out no worries and he saved her. she is doing pretty well. I'm not sure what it is about goats, but i just love em.

today is the day, i'm supposed to be working on my paper i haven't started that's due tomorrow, and i have to sing two songs today, and take my yoga final. crazy! then i'll be back to hurricane wednesday night- and i'll be down for a few days. i can't wait:)

Interesting...

2010-04-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

IF you are bored, then this is something interesting you can do... look at all the albino animals you can! i didn't know so many animals could be born albino but i guess it can happen anytime. Here are some interesting ones...

Albino gorilla!
Albino Alligator!
albino squirrel!
albino giraffe!
Albino elk!
Albino moose!
Albino skunk
albino racoon!

these are just to start... once ya get lookin there are so many and its crazy.

Singing Recital and other random happenings

2010-04-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

*Next week, Tuesday, at exactly 5 pm my final singing recital will start. I will be the 2nd person to attempt singin the way i been taught. I will be singing "Amarilli Mia bella" or "Amarilli" I've seen it written both ways- and i will also be singing Unchained Melody. Youtube either of these songs if ya dont know what they are/if you're bored enough. I need to finalize the memorization of each of them, and i got one week to do so. I'm nervous, but not too bad.

*Easter was good, I went to GENERAL CONFERENCE! for the first time EVER! Susannah, Jesse, and I went to the Sunday morning session. I regret to say that i struggled for the majority of the beginning, i hadnt gotten enough sleep the past week ish. Saturday i was up at 5 am down to hurricane, then up late that night coming back, then up at 6 am on sunday and then sitting in a comfortable chair/semi dark lighting/someone just talking...i struggled. but i said a prayer and Heavenly Father helped me be awake after that. The whole experience was great though i'm excited for when me and colten will be able to go in october!

I'm not a major fan of this pic, but its more exciting to have pics. this was right after general conference.

* I get to move home in just a few weeks. I'm so excited- I miss my fam and I miss my animals. And everything else about good ole H-Town.

i like this.

2010-03-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYnJz4DlJWM&feature=related

even if you aren't a fan of country music-
its a video of Jason Meadows singng, 100% cowboy. just watch it.

oh one more thing...

2010-03-26T14:21:00.001-07:00

Isn't he so cute?

My very first Pot Roast.

2010-03-26T13:10:00.001-07:00

Ok, it may not look amazing, after being partially eaten. But ya know what? i am sooo proud of myself for this! my first pot roast, i roasted some vegetables separately so that the meat could cook slower and longer and be tender, juicy, goodness. and that is exactly what it was! It was an "arm roast" thanks to my wonderful parents for donating the meat. I put lots of good seasonings and butter and yumminess in there. Just sayin- i have cooking skills. Minus the multiple times I've burnt grilled cheese sandwiches....

Spare Currency.

2010-03-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night last week, I had the privilege of attending a Jazz game in Salt Lake City. I'm definitely not a city girl- and never have been. (i'm finding the truth in that more and more by living here) The part of the night that impacted me the most was walking back to the car---i saw like 6 homeless people holding up cardboard signs telling us why they need money. I can honestly say I've never seen that many in one setting, one lady didn't have a sign she just came up and asked if we had any 'spare currency.' I don't know how to explain how I felt- it broke my heart. I didn't give anyone any money because I've always heard that they are probably just normal people and they are just trying to get money the easiest way possible even if they have a job or what not. Every person we passed I wanted to give them something. I didn't actually have any cash, only my card so all I would've been able to give would have been spare change, but to one person that's just as important as any 'spare currency' right? I was really torn inside about this experience because I didn't think I'd done the right thing. Ironically enough, yesterday in my Institute class we read a scripture from the Book of Mormon,

Mosiah 4:16-25 "And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, an dturn him out to perish. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him or my food, nor impart of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just---But I say unto you, O man, whosever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold and for silver and for all riches which we have of every kind? And behold even at this time ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy." (that was only to vs 20 but i encourage all of you to read the last 5 verses of that little section)

I'm sorry this is such a long post with no pictures, but i just wanted to share with you what I learned, my teacher shared with us a good insight, and I'm not sure if he was quoting someone but its something to think about- What if 9 out of 10 of the people begging for money are doing it dishonestly? Should we continue to let them do that by giving them money? If we don't give them something though, what about the person who truly needed it? Do they miss out because of the unrighteousness of others? Here is what I found regarding the subject, John F. O'Donnel- President of the Guatemaula City temple said, "The church does much as an organization to help the needy. But what about the individuals who approach us? How do we know the difference between the truly needy, professional beggars, and the unnecessary begging that also exists...Based on scriptures and my experiences, I have decided that giving is a personal matter to be decided by each individual...In such situations, daily prayer for wisdom in all that we do can guide us to know in our hearts by the whisperings of the Spirit when and to whom we might give."
We can give through church programs, simply when we pay our tithing we can put a little extra in the Humanitarian Aid section, as much as we can. Times are hard for everyone right now, so if this post is making you feel guilty, it shouldn't. In vs 24 and 25 of chapter 4 in Mosiah it talks specifically to those who want to give but truly cannot. I just learned this weekend to put my heart in a better place- reach out to those who need it as much as possible and listen to the Spirit in order to do so. Even if all I give to someone is a little 'spare currency' it just might be the difference between that person having a meal that day or not.

101st post. intense eh?

2010-03-18T21:52:00.001-07:00

Pic of Beau from last year--or the year before---im not sure but its cute eh?

This lil goat now has a big giant pregnant belly and is ready to pop any second and i'm so excited i can't handle it.

Just another reason why i love Hurricane, it's beautiful.

This is the dog that accompanies me on so many walks. the adorable dog turbo, the smartest dog i've ever met.

I love Hurricane. I came to visit for a few days, i didnt get to visit everyone I would've liked to, I wanted to visit all of the lovely people i am so blessed to know but i needed a little vacation from life and needed some time to think, and walk my dog. and spend time with my mom and sissys. and it was fantastic. Life in a warm climate is fantastic. Animals are fantastic. My family is fantastic. I have to go back to provo tomorrow. did I mention hurricane is fantastic? that's because it is. Provo has some great things about it, and i've had lots of fun, but i am just happy to come back home.

Life Question...

2010-03-05T15:27:00.001-08:00

Can you get addicted to couponing? Because I just got the biggest high from buying so much for so little. It was... amazing.

good thing.

2010-03-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

good thing i somehow missed the instruction to be journaling my singing lessons experience for my class. good thing its week 8. good thing i'm just starting. funny tho- my teacher goes, yeah im sure none of you have started- i was in college too--just make it up, but get it turned in!

good thing i'm attempting to learn how to read Italian (im not translating, i'm just learning how to pronounce it) and if reading it isn't hard enough, singing it is just peachy. haha no i really am excited. i'm gonna be singing Amarilli Mi Bella randomly at the top of my lungs for the rest of my life. lucky friends and family! haha jk. funny story again tho- yesterday i was showing Charles my song and i was reading her some of the Italian and she was said do you know what it means? and i started reading/explaining the english translation but she couldn't see that the english was written directly on the piece of music so her eyes were widening and she was thinkin whoa there sammy! hahaha she goes, wait are you seriously like translating that right now? for a split second she thought i was a genius i think... I just busted up and showed her the english. good times.

YO MAMA

2010-02-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but I just wanted to post this. I have heard this song many a time but it's not a very famous song, so I decided I'd post it so you can read the beautiful message it contains. This is for my sisters, my mother, my aunts, my grandma, and all the wonderful women in my life who've put so much time, effort, love, work, blood, sweat, tears, and laughter into the families they raised or are currently raising. When I'm 89 years old, if I look back at my life, and these words are all that come to mind, I'll be satisfied. Being a mom is the most special job that Heavenly Father could have entrusted in us women. So, here ya go:

These Four Walls

Sara Evans

Wasn't that long ago

I was skippin to school with a lunchbox

Pigtails in my hair

Where did the time go?

One minute I'm playing in the sandbox

How did I get here from there

Making lunches and folding clothes

Is not the most glamorous life I know

But i've got so much more than most

I'm not famous but my kids think I'm a star

I'm not rich but I've made a million memories so far

I may not be a model but my man thinks I could be

I may not be royalty But in these four walls, I'm a queen

I had it all planned

First I'd make it big in Nashville

Then take Hollywood by storm

But it was in God's hands

There were three little lives that would need me

To one day be their mom

I wouldn't trade it for anything

Those movie stars don't have everything

I know I'm right where I wanna be

I'm not famous but my kids think I'm a star

I'm not rich but I've made a million memories so far

I may not be a model but my man thinks I could be

I'm not from royalty but in these four walls, I'm a Queen

I had to let it go but I have no regrets

I would have never known this kind of happiness

My Valentine

2010-02-15T00:29:00.000-08:00

He is my Valentine:) enough said. Not gonna get mushy on ya. I just love him:)

here are some cute quotes tho, maybe i will get a smidge mushy:

"You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, she is beautiful because you love her"-Anonymous ( and not really applicable to me, but it is tender)

"The reason it hurts so much to be seperate is because our souls are connected" -Nicholas Sparks

There were a lot more quotes, but i had a teacher in 8th grade who described true love in a way i've never forgotten, he said that true love is when you can be halfway across the world from that special someone, and be okay because you know that no matter what, no matter the space or time, you still love each other, you still trust each other, and your content. I agree, but i think your bound to hurt at some point during any sort of seperation from the one you love. As humans its natural for us to want to be selfish, want to be with that special person all the time, and im in no way saying there is anything wrong with that, life is meant to be shared with the one you love--forever is meant to be shared with the one you love. However, I do think there is something special about that kind of love I mentioned, the kind where its okay to be apart, because you found him/her! You found em, your hearts connected, and what a beautiful thing it is to be sealed in the temple for eternity (well i obviously wouldnt know the exact feeling of that beautiful gift but i can imagine) because this life is short, and you have forever. I think choosing someone to marry, the forever way is the exact definition of true love. If you can say, yep i ALWAYS want to be with you, then thats it! when ya know, ya know. There ya go. There's my valentine's day shpill.

"Can miles truly seperate you from friends?....If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?" Richard Bach

Life in Provo, UT

2010-02-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

Work: I work at The Chocolate. This is a picture of the Lemon Curd cupcakes that The Chocolate sells. The Chocolate is not a good place to work when you are trying to be healthy. I shoulda figured that out when I filled out the application to, THE CHOCOLATE. Really, the desserts are amazing and hard to turn down. If your ever in Orem, stop at The Chocolate, 212 south state st. a dessert cafe in which you can forget the world for a few moments, and enjoy a lil suga. Good thing i'm obsessed with yoga all of a sudden (p.s. don't think i'm like gettin all in intense shape, i'm only doin it 2 times a week, but i do love it so im tryin to figure out where i can do some more) it is just good to know im at least doing something to combat the smidge of extra sugar intake.

Classes: going swell. As swell as college classes get.

Church: Just got called a few weeks ago to be Gospel Doctrine teacher, I say that because my cousin michelle put on her blog that being a gospel doctrine teacher is one of her worst fears. Don't worry, I'll take on the job for ya! Its only a smidge intimidating walking into a room full of returned missionaries...(sarcasm, please tell me you got the sarcasm) but i am confident the Lord will help me get through every lesson as I do my part to study the lessons and teach em the best way i know how. Correction: as long as I do my part to study, so that I can be the instrument through which the spirit can teach those folks attending my class.

Missing: home. but, I do know I'm not alone. I got family everywhere I turn up here and its great:) I miss Turbo, the dog. The cute, smart, destructive, but oh-so-loving dog. A couple days ago I was talkin to my mom on the phone and I said, "is turbo by you?" and she said, "yes he is right here" so i told her to put the phone by him and she did and i said "Hi turbo! I miss you, I love you! (among other silly things people say to their dogs) and guess what turbo did? He started licking the phone.... tell me that doesn't almost bring a tear to your eye. He misses me too. I guess I'm just a sucker for dogs, thanks for that mom.

Another Story.

2010-02-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

So, this spider story happened a few months ago at my bestest buddy Nicole's house. Nicole and I were just chillin watching twilight. I felt a slight tickle on my arm (through my jacket sleeve) and thinking it was my hair i kinda just barely glanced down at my arm, and because we were in the dark, all i could see from the light of the TV was the shadowed shape of a giant spider on my arm. i froze for a second (literally only like half a second) wondering what to do, so i take my arm and swing it to my left attempting to fling the spider anywhere- as long as it was away from me, i didn't realize the coffee table was right next to me so i hit my hand on the coffee table (which did hurt but i didn't even think twice about it at the moment) i jump up (and continued kinda jumping cuz i didn't know where the spider landed) and had my jacket off within like 2 seconds (this is where they got the idea for 'jacket on' 'jacket off' part in the new karate kid movie- watch the trailor if you don't know what im talking about) and all of a sudden i was clear across the room on the other couch. Nicole was like are you okay? what the heck? i think i kinda said what was happening as i was using the flight part of my emergency section in my brain, probably something like, 'whoa, spider, arm, ah' idk, i dont remember that part as good you'd have to ask her. So then me and nicole are laughing (im still shaking though at this point) but neither of us moved or did anything till her mom and sister came into the room hahaha because nicole's mom was like it was silent and then all of a sudden i hear screaming and laughing! so nicole's mom and her lil sis teamed up and took care of the giant spider which they found behind the couch then smashed with a broom. and they can attest to the fact that it was seriously giant. That's my story. I should write a book. My family wonders why i'm so scared of spiders. try havin them try and eat you on a regular basis, you'd be scared to.

funny story.

2010-02-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

well, nothing too overwhelmingly exciting is going on in my life-things are good but nothing real carazy to blog about- so here is a sad/funny story from my middle school days that you might enjoy.

I was in Yearbook in 8th grade (yippeee skipppeeee) and our advisor was Mr. Fitz. He had a longer name but we just called him that. So i don't know what it is about my personality that says, 'please play tricks on me,' but one day he decided he'd heard enough and he was going to play a trick on the samster. so im just chillin, minding my own business and i see mr fitz walk behind me, didn't think anything of it right? so i notice people around me are slowly stepping away from me and laughing/look scared and i was confused and was looking at myself and all around me and couldn't figure out what was wrong, then i looked down at my shoulder and lo, and behold, guess what was there?? a dead spider!!!!!!! Thankful it was dead, but still scared to pieces nonetheless, i swooshed it away from my innocent shoulder and angrily walked away. Looking back it was funny---but maybe the title of this post shoulda been creepy story because it was CREEPY. I have other spider stories, but they're not for today. maybe another day. have a good day:)

Sense and Senstability

2010-01-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

So I just watched the TV version of Sense and Sensibility all 3 hours ish from BBC dvd whatnot. i liked it a lot! I was gonna put a pic up- but Maryann's dress was a little too low cut for sammy grace's place. so i decided against it. I quite enjoyed the show though- I thought Colonel Brandon was strangely attractive, and was so glad he got the girl in the end. and I was so happy Edward F. was smart and ended up with the right chicka too in the end. Jane Austen, you got skill girl! Your stories are sure long and slow, but yet I sure cannot get enough of them! they are saweeeet. so shout out to you Jane. I'm gonna probably name one of my girls with the middle name of jane, and maybe i'll pretend its after jane austen just cuz she is an amazing writer.

Stability- I'm settling into my new area. I got a job. Random i know- i wasn't going to but I was planning on singing in General Conference and that didn't work out but since i ended up getting a job it all works out. The Lord just kinda makes things work- even if they are not what we expect or want. It usually turns out better than we could have ever hoped for. Jesse is making me pray in the morning. Okay, let's be honest, the morning ritual actually goes more like this--- Jesse comes in---Sammy is sleeping----Jesse says ok let's pray!----Sammy grunts 'mmmkkk'-----she stays exactly where she is, eyes already closed----and Jesse prays, then says k See ya!----I grunt Amen. But we are for real studying the scriptures a ton more and I must say they are quite the treasure. I find myself loving it more and more. I always have loved the scriptures but sometimes studying just becomes---well, blehhhh--- but Elder L. Tom Perry said in a devotional he gave to Orem's Institute last Friday, that when we get like that, thats exactly when we need to immerse ourselves in the scripture. And I must admit- its a great and grand thing. I feel very blessed to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Thank goodness for the gospel- I've made so many mistakes this past year ish- I've had so many weak, weak moments. But the Lord helps me- through the Atonement we can become stronger in every aspect of life. It heals broken hearts, along with cleaning our slates. In the process our spiritual muscles get bigger and bigger:) Moving has helped me clear my head...and thats exactly what I need. Just some time to clear my head. I've got quite the year ahead of me....

It's All Good

2010-01-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

So, today was warmer. :) and I decided parking in BFE is ok. (stands for Butt-freaking-egypt) The reason why its ok is because when you put your iPod in, its really only a short walk and even tho its uphill an freezin its good for me. I love my institute classes as usual. Tomorrow night I'm going to audition to sing in the choir for Aprils General Conference during the Saturday afternoon session. wish me luck on that one....i'm so excited and praying that all goes well. i like yoga a lot. we haven't gotten super serious in my class yet but i jus love yoga so im quite excited to get goin. i may not look like i love yoga lol but i do! :) Thats an update for ya. Have a wonderful day.

First Day of School

2010-01-06T15:02:00.001-08:00

First off, let ,me say this, its funny how in middle school---for some of us it continued to high school--a large majority of us (especially girls) saw the first day of school equal to---beauty pageants across america. If you were seen with the same outfit as someone else no bueno. If your hair wasn't done in some fantastically out of the norm hairstyle, also no bueno. Many of us girls would say today, "Oh i didn't care, I never did, it never really mattered to me...blahblahblah" YOU KNOW IT DID! at some point, one first day of school in your background (you have 12 grades at least to choose from) you saw this first day as monumental, crucial, a milestone, a bridge much larger than anything San Francisco can come up with. We all did it, bought a cute new outfit, or wore your new hand-me-downs, either way you wore something special on that first day right? right.

Now, I'm old. I may have had many a shopping spree experiences in my lifetime but watching my bank account slowly decrease in size, I am now on the opposite end of the spectrum therefore I am in the process of attempting selling clothes- rather than buying new ones. Or when someone wants to get rid of their old stuff I'm the first one to say hey i'll take it! As for hairstyles- I forgot to bring anything with the secondary word in it's name being 'iron' in it with me to provo. Therefore you can see how important that is to me. All I gots is a hair dryer and a brush. I debated bringing makeup or not- because frankly its a pain if ya ask me. Fun when ya have the time but really kindof a pain. If i buy any new clothes though- its usually from wal-mart, and/or D.I. Anything I have that fits under the name-brand category is either from highschool, middle school, the clearance section, or from someone who didn't want it.

Today, I tried a little harder, I did wear some makeup, my hair was kinda gross but i wore a hat to try and cover that up. But it just hit me this morning how different my perspective of the 'first day of school' is now compared to what it used to be. What comes next in this lovely post is a compilation of myfirst day of school events---a few reasons why people still have nightmares about the first day of school when they're 85 years old.

I didn't wanna go to school today AT ALL. I left an hour early before my class and I STILL had to park in the parking lot that is ridiculously far away from any of the buildings. If that had happened at Dixie State at LEAST I would have been able to walk there on mostly a flat surface, and at least i wouldn't have frozen my toosh off. Ya know what is sad? I slipped on the steps coming out of the Institute building. If Charlee hadn't been standin next to me I would have been sitting on my frozen toosh. (Thanks mom and dad for giving me the middle name of grace, ya tried.)(i really do love my middle name cuz im named after my awesome grandma however it just seems a tad ironic at certain times in my life) Ya know what is sadder about this particular experience? There is NO ICE ON THE STEPS it hasn't snowed since i've been up here (knocking on wood) and yet i still find a way to slip on them WHAT AM I GONNA DO WHEN THERE IS ICE? There is however loads of snow every freakin where you turn! it doesn't melt up here folks! it just sits there...blocking precious parking spaces so that even my little car cannot pull in there and must pull a frickin mile more down the road.

My new pajama outfit--full out socks, sweatshirt, and sweatpants (try not to wear capris even if they are of heavy material your calves will still suffer.) I do not know how my other siblings have lived through this. They grew up in Sunny St George area how did they brave the cold? Is it because they eased into it gradually? possibly. Is it because they are tougher? possibly. All I knows is this- I hate the cold. Before this time (that has not even reached one week) I thought that maybe it'd be okay and with the proper winter attire I would be okay. False. Its still cold. I miss the sun. I really miss the sun. So in honor of Thumbelina, I use her words to sum up the feelings of my life right now. There actually is a whole lot more meaning to this song then ya might think.

Once there was the sun,

Bright and warm, and wonderful

Shining like the love within my heart

Now there's no more sun

Winter has killed everything

Even though its dark December

I'll remember sun

bottom line: folks, i'm cold.

today.

2010-01-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

This is the Ghanain Flag- This is what Colten sent to my family and one to his family. i took it and it is now hanging up in my new room:) i love it. as for the roses that colten gave me- i only brought four (and the vase of all the old ones) so that i can keep putting them in each month, but i should be back home in may ish so i thought i'd only bring some. im sad tho one of the roses got beheaded on the way up. Today i finally finished unpacking. its been a chill morning still just getting used to the idea of living somewhere else. Next week, i start school! ahhhh..... but ya know what? the sooner school comes the sooner its over then the sooner im home again then the sooner august rolls around....let's just say, 2009 was a rough year. 2010 is bound to be better. I'm not sayin im not grateful for the great experiences i had this past year, im just sayin it was rough. As i said before though, i'm excited for this new year.I dont really have too many resolutions- but if im gonna make a list here it goes:

-Same thing pretty much all of you have on your lists, be healthier- we all could work out a lil more, eat a lil less sugar, and eat a lil more greens.

-Do Good is school. Study, learn a lot, get so stressed out that i'll regret at some point spending the money i spent on school, then getting final grades and gettin a lil smile on my face as i think, "I did it!"

-Finish about 3 or 4 different projects i'm still currently working on.

-Finish reading the 3 books im still currently reading.

-try harder to take every day one day at a time, with a smile on my face. enjoy part of everyday, even if its only one hour on those days we all have that just seem to go all wrong- i wanna be able to look back and say its been fun- every day at some point, its been fun.

-Live. Laugh. Love. Go Big or Go Home. (that's my fav quote, but i like to add onto the end in smaller letters, "but don't be stupid")

Good luck to you all with your new years resolutions. Enjoy Today. :)

Officially Moved.

2010-01-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

I'm officially out of Hurricane for a while. i have a LOT of clothes. not as many shoes as i thought....ok i have tons of shoes but small feet means small shoes that means lots of shoes still fits in small boxes. so i'm pretty excited about that fact. i have soooo much to unpack. i couldve left more clothes at home but myu philosophy totally makes sense- if i happen to want to get cute for some sort of event or another- then what happens if i just wanna wear a particular shirt and i look through my closet and i got 'oh no i left it in hurricane!' then ill be annnnnoyed. so gotta bring em all. hope everything fits in my closet. really i hope it does. im ridiculous i know but hey- its all good.