Kindness

I have been thinking a lot lately about the kind of person I am, and the kind of person I hope to be in the future.

Women, by nature, are catty. I hate that about us. I am the first to admit that I gossip and judge others. So I began thinking of ways to stop myself from doing this. My plan? Simply: Every time I see a person pass by me, wait on me, or even a patient I am registering at the hospital I will immediately compliment them in my head. I actually did this a few years back, and its amazing what you can open yourself up to if you’re constantly seeking out the good in people and situations. People around us are not perfect. Neither are we.

Too often I have had a conversation with one of my friends about a mutual friend. We sit and pick apart her life and her decisions all under the facade of “Being worried about her or wanting to help her.” That may be the case in some instances, but more than likely we are just trying to make ourselves, our choices, and our lives look better. If you are so willingly talking about others behind their back, chances are they are doing the exact same thing to you. Instead of constantly discussing others, or making snap judgements, look in the mirror. How can you better yourself? How can you become the type of woman that no one has a negative thing to say about? Remember judging others doesn’t determine the kind of person they are, it determines the kind of person YOU are. I know I wont change over night, I know I am still going to judge others and even be catty, but I am also going to make a conscious effort to be compassionate and loving to all of God’s children.

One day I hope this can be said about me :

Be the kind of woman that when your feet
hit the floor each morning the devil says
“Oh Crap, She’s up!”

One Year Anniversary!

Well I clearly took a little break from blogging but I am back! I will just fill you in on whats been going on with us the past month and a half

-Garren finished spring semesters with AMAZING grades He is so smart. He also just finished Microbiology in Maymester with an A. He is studying hard for the GRE in a few weeks.

-He is taking Chemistry I and II this summer semester.

On May 6th we celebrated our very first anniversary. I can’t believe we have been married for over a year now! It has certainly flown by, and has been the best year of my life. I love being married to my best friend.

To celebrate we stayed at a resort in St George. It was perfect because it was a nice getaway, and we didn’t have to spend half the weekend driving in the car to get there. He spoiled me

I’m still working in the hospital, and we recently took up swimming.  Now that we have been married for a year becoming parents is always in the fore front of my mind. No this is not an announcement. Its still about a year in the future, however I am definitely preparing now by losing the weight I gained over the past couple of years, saving lots of money, and ye,s even refinishing baby furniture. My need to be a mom is unlike ayn other desire I have ever felt, and I am determined to be the best possible mom I can be.

Garren applies to grad school this summer! Its very nerve racking. I know he will get in and I just need to have enough faith. I am a planner by nature, and not knowing where we will be moving to in a years time Freaks me out! Luckily I also love adventure, so I am very excited about moving some where new with him

I got my wisdom teeth out Thursday. It was long over due. The first day was HORRIBLE. I told Garren I would rather deal with pain than be numb any day of my life. They tell you to take an antibiotic and the pain meds as soon as you get home… Well when your numb for 10 hours after it and cant keep water in your mouth that’s virtually impossible. Pain I can deal with. Just another reason (though significantly less important) as to why I will never get an epidural when having a baby.

Two favorite new movies : The Avengers and What to Expect when Your Expecting. SO good!

Sorry I don’t have any pictures!

 

Montana <3

Well our vacation has come to an end. It was amazing! We left Thursday night last week and pulled into Heather and Kyle’s at 7:00 am Friday. I could not believe how gorgeous Montana is. I was blown away. We hadn’t seen the kids or Kyle and Heather since Christmas so we were all so stoked to see them.

Aryana got baptized on Saturday and it was a beautiful experience. I can’t wait to be a mom! She looked so cute and I was so grateful we got to share this experience with her.

The rest of the trip was spent hanging out with family, going to Glacier National Park (Most beautiful place I have ever seen) making an amazing purse, and actually sleeping! I slept every single night like a baby. I didn’t have trouble falling asleep at all. I guess if you take the stress out of my life I sleep well.

We got to go on a double date with Kyle and Heather. I seriously love them. I could talk to Heather for hours. It amazes me how alike we are. I guess that proves how alike Kyle and Garren are.

I hope we get to see them soon!

Garren and I have realized we can’t apply to all of the school we initially wanted to for his doctorate. A lot of places don’t take AP credits, which is ridiculous. He is basically being punished for excelling. He has been emailing all of these schools to figure out which ones we CAN apply too. So far we can apply to St. Augustine: Florida, San Diego, and Austin, Texas and Bellarmine in Kentucky. We can’t apply too Montana State, Eastern Washington, or George Washington in D.C.We are still waiting to hear from 3 schools so keep us in your prayers that we will get good news!

Here are some pictures from our trip!

I would tell you what this picture is about... but since he ate it I am not allowed too.... ha

 

Isn't Montana Beautiful?

 

Love her.... and I want a baby....

 

At Glacier National Park

 

Mmm yeah!

 

Happiness

 

The purse I made! Just needs buttons!

Camping

Well this was my second time camping and it was SO fun! Shelby and Kali and their friend Mike and their labs Toby and Pepper came down to camp with us! We originally wanted to go camping at Red Cliffs, but by the time we got down there at 7:45 all the camp sites were taking so we continues on to Quail Lake and got a campsite there. It was gorgeous.

Kali and Shelby didn’t get down there till about 9:30 and to our dismay they close the gates! So after some… uh… finagling at the exit we manged to get them in, have a delicious dinner, and roast some marshmallows. I was really scared I was going to freeze all night but I was pleasantly surprised. I slept decently. I woke up at about 6:45  and had to pee like crazy (tmi?) so I walked out of the tent, with every intention of going back to sleep, until I saw this:

Gorgeous!

So I sat and watched the sunrise and made my very first solo fire

My fire!

Eventually every one woke up and we decided to take the dogs down to the water and throw the ball for them, then we packed up and went back over to red cliffs to go hiking!

I went to take this picture, and they both made the same creepy face. Ha ha

Love her!

:)

Toby and Pepper

Part of beautiful hike!

The hike was amazing, and I am so glad I got to hang out with good friends and my amazing husband! OH! We also ran into my brother on the hike…. and he was holding hands with a girl! Oooh La la!

Tonight we are going to see this:

with Carlee and Trevor… and possibly Dillon and DaNae. SO EXCITED. Right now? I need a nap.

P.S. Pepe is a stud. Totally wasted on the freeway

Marriage Makes Your Hair Turn Gray

Story time! So the morning of our wedding day was super chill. We weren’t getting married till 1:45 pm so we had time to waste. I cuddled up to Garren and watched the Green Hornet for a bit, ran around and giggled with my two best friends, and slowly got ready. Well, as I was brushing my hair and looking in the mirror my heart dropped. Was that a gray hair?!? Yep sure enough I found my very FIRST gray hair on my wedding day. Don’t worry I didn’t wig out to much. I basically just laughed it off.

Yesterday I had a crazy bad migraine, feeling nauseous and all. I was also pretty lonely with it being my day off and Garren not home at all. So I went to bed at 8:30 to try and get rid of my headache. When Garren got home at 9:30 he cuddled in bed with me and started reading the scriptures: that’s when I saw it. A massive gray hair in his dark head of hair. I immediately jumped out of bed and ran for my tweezers; headache forgotten.

The Gray Hair!

 

Pretty Long!

 

So basically we are old and gray now

One of my favorite things to do with Garren is go to church. I have NEVER had some one to always go to church with. More times then not, I had to go alone. Now he is always by my side with his arm around me. I use to dream of having my family sit next to me on that pew, and now I do have my own family. I day dream of the day when our kids will be sitting there with us

Ready for Church My hair is getting so long!

I love our life

The Results

So Garren and I have come to a conclusion on the kind of role we want ‘worldly’ entertainment to play in our lives. We get such little time to actually spend with each other between both our jobs, Garren going to school, extracurricular activities, Garren putting in volunteering hours and preparing for the GRE. Plus the normal life necessities like cleaning, organizing, paying bills, grocery shopping, and laundry; it all adds up.

After long days we gravitated to the couch and relaxed in the ways we are both used too: sports and the internet. Not ok. With out the use of these things we have :

Gone on walks, went to the temple, read scriptures, played basketball, cooked together, played card games, had a water fight, looked at grad schools, and talked! It was amazing. It reminded me of why I married Garren. He is truly my best friend. He makes me laugh until I am hunched over crying, he makes me feel beautiful and smart and makes each day amazing.

We have now come to the agreement that half an hour is more than enough time to look at sports scores, or catch up with friends on facebook, or find my latest craft idea on pinterest. The great thing about discovering the amount of time we wasted is, every day now feels like date night!

Life truly is what we make of it, and from now on I’m going to ALWAYS make it count. I took Garren for granted a lot…….. I hope to look back on this experience and not allow myself to do that again. We are far to great TOGETHER to waste time on trivial things alone

 

This is what trying to get Garren to take a normal picture with me is like....

 

 

Loving the Challenge!

So guess what we did today? We didn’t look at sport scores, or get on facebook and pinterest. Garren worked from 6:00 am till 12:00 pm while I cleaned our home. Then I picked him up and we came back and played HORSE out side at our (semi ghetto) Basketball hoop. At first I was kicking his trash… and then he remembered how to shoot. Ha ha It was HOR (him) to H (me)…… and then I quickly lost. That’s ok its super fun! I don’t have the greatest shot right now but I am definitely getting better; Garren is a great teacher. He will basically be the best daddy ever.

Yeah Ghetto Basketball Hoop!

After playing HORSE Garren went to volunteer at the Physical Therapy place down the street from our apartment. I went shopping for dinner and necessities and then went to the gym. This was the first time I have really worked out since surgery (I am still sore) and it went great!  I ran for about half an hour and at first it was rough but then I felt great! I am so grateful to have had my gallbladder removed. Its amazing how much better I feel.

When I got home Garren and I went on a walk around the trail near our home. Its one of my favorite things to do, and during this particular walk Garren taught me all about soccer. It was fun

We got home and I made dinner: Stuffed Bell Peppers and salad. It was delicious.

The stuffing for the peppers: Ground Turkey, Coconut Rice, Terryaki/Soy Sauce and Lemon Pepper

The Delicious Salad

Final product capped with mozzarella cheese.

Now we are about to watch the movie Money Ball. I told Garren its a sly way of getting around his whole sports challenge After the movie we are going to take a picture of our old apartment, because I found something on pinterest (WEEKS ago) that  I want to make so stay tuned for that!