Gratitude

At our church we don’t have a paid clergyman who speaks every week. It is quite the opposite, and that is what I love about our church services. Members of the congregation are invited to speak on different topics. Because no one has any financial gain or incentive, the topics and messages are always real and pure.


The reason I explain this to you is because this past Sunday I was given the opportunity to speak on Gratitude. As I prepared my talk, I began to realize the countless blessings I have been given and how I do not adequately express my thanks. I take so much for granted.

I am grateful for my bed, my pillow, carpet, running water, hot water to bath in, food, my two hands, my two legs, my apartment, my car, paved roads, my job, the people I work with, my husband, my mom & dad, my friends, my family, my health, my mind, my education, the gospel, Jesus Christ, the list could go on and on.

Starting today, I would like to publically express my gratitude to people I love dearly.

Today, I would like to express my gratitude to Ryan.

In any relationship, it is easy to get comfortable and notice all the things that your partner does wrong and not acknowledge all the things that your partner does right. I would like to take this opportunity to tell y’all some of the wonderful qualities that I appreciate about Ryan.

Ryan is a romantic. I was spoiled with a storybook engagement. He will on occasion leave a handwritten note on the counter or get me a special treat (aka Klondike bar) and leave it in the freezer with a note.

Pic of us the night he proposed.

Ryan is athletic. Not only is he athletic, but he is also competitive. Ryan won the Parker Brother Olympics a few years ago and last year our team won the Parker Amazing Race competition. This competitive drive allows Ryan to reach for the sky because he is a determined soul.

Ryan also enjoys watching sports. He is a great friend to curl up on the couch with and watch a sports game with. Don’t be fooled by all his sport watching though; he also thoroughly enjoys a good chick flick.

Ryan is more of a stay up late and watch TV guy, but he knows how much I value my sleep. I appreciate how he tucks me into bed every night and prays with me. Then he turns down the TV so I am not bothered by the noise.

I haven’t ever met anyone who loves food as much as I do until I met Ryan. I appreciate his great tastes in food and his willingness to splurge when we go out. If you ever go out with Ryan, there is no question of whether or not you are getting a dessert, the question is, which dessert you are getting?

Ryan even helps around the house. Ryan has always been great at vacuuming. He creates the most precise lines with the vacuum. He also helps with the laundry, which I greatly appreciate with my limited schedule at home.

I love love love how Ryan randomly offers me a back massage or a foot massage. What wife gets that treatment? I think most women have to beg and plead.

Ryan is one of the most non-judgmental people I know. He is always giving people the benefit of the doubt. He roots and rallies for the underdog.

Ryan has a deep understanding of the scriptures. He is great at explaining verses of scripture to me. He does a great job of breaking things down in terms that I understand and in a fashion that helps me remember things.

I am grateful for Ryan!

I Thought My Cheerleading Days Were OVER!

Saturday I spent the day in LA with my sister. You never know what you are going to do when you visit Colie. She is full of adventures. This Saturday, we went to watch and support her friend Noura who is on a flag football team. These teams take their flag football games very seriously. They had matching jersey's with their numbers and names on the back. The spectators had pom poms. The team also had 6 feet tall banners to run through before the start of the game and at half time. Everyone was yelling cheers and chants along the sidelines. It reminded me of the old Cheerleading days back in Texas.

We did some old cheers like, "Our team is what? DYNAMITE" and we did "Be Aggressive" and of course the classic, "Let’s Go Angels." Noura's cousin overheard that I was a cheerleader and told me that he travels the country teaching lessons and that we should do some stunts.

I was a little nervous considering it's probably been 6 years since I've done any stunting and I was barefoot.

But this guy seemed totally confident. He tossed me up in the air and TA-DA there I was. It was a blast.  Now I want to go take some stunting classes.  I wish I would have brought my camera :( . This is the only shot we got.

Guess Who I Got To See?

While on the subject of BYU.  This past weekend, I got to see a couple of friends from BYU.  These two girls were my neighbors my junior year.  When I say neighbors I basiclaly mean roomates because our doors, closets, and pantries were always open to one another.

Kaeli traveled all the way from New Haven, CT, for the baby blessing of her neice. Yes she is the girl that you always hear me talking about who is working on a PhD at Yale.  Emily made the journey all the way from LA ;).  She is the girl you always hear me talking about who is getting her PhD at UCLA.  Can you believe I surrounded myself with such smarty pants?  I guess you can be smart and have tons of fun!

It was great catching up with these gals.  I am so grateful for wonderful friends.  What would college be without friends?  Honestly, think about.  You leave your family and parents to a school in a different state where you might know one or two people.  Your parents are no longer your go-to source for comfort.

The friends you make become your family and support system.  Your friends are the people that are there for you after a rotten breakup.  They are the people who are there to bring you chicken noodle soup when you are sick.  They are the people who laugh with you after an awful date.

I miss all of my FERNWOOD GIRLS! I wish all of y'all could have joined us this weekend.

Here we are throwing it down at the Y!

Kaeli and Brittany shooting guns.

Watch out for this CHICKA!

2 Years Later...

Two years ago we bought a RELIABLE Honda Accord. We got custom wheels/rims and tinted the windows, but the car was still missing something.

The car is finally complete. Saturday I busted out the tools, and I put a BYU alumni license plate holder on Honda! You are probably laughing right now at how excited I am, but literally since the day I drove that car off the lot, I wanted a BYU plate holder.

I am proud of the education I attained from BYU. Just this past weekend I was with a couple of my favorite gals who I met at BYU. I told these girls that I wouldn't trade my education from BYU for an education at any other university. It is not just the education and knowledge you gain at BYU, but it is the experience you gain while at BYU. To be immersed with people of your same faith who share your same values and morals is not an everyday occurrence.  I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to attend BYU.

(I blanked out most of the numbers and letters on my license plate for all you crazy people out there.)

HELP - SPRINT PHONE

Howdy y'all. I've used Sprint since my first cell phone in high school. I've never really had any problems with them besides the fact that in my parents house back home, I wouldn't get the best service. However, I think I'm ready to try out another company because I've been having lots of problems with Sprint as of late. Earlier this summer, my phone stopped working and luckily I have a kind friend who is letting me use one of her old Sprint phones until the contract expires so I didn't have to pay full price for a phone. (You know how they charge you like $600 if you don't renew your contract.) 


Recently the other phone on my same family plan also broke! So we ordered a phone on ebay to replace it. We got the phone in the mail, but the person didn't send a CHARGER with the phone. I went to about 5 stores to find a charger that would fit the phone. I charged the phone for 4 hours and then took the phone to the store to have the number transfered. However, at the store, they couldn't turn the phone on! So basically this phone that we just bought off of ebay is broken and I wasted all that time finding a charger for it.


So here is my point. My contract expires with Sprint the 16th of January. I am wondering if anyone in the area has an OLD SPRINT PHONE and charger that we can use for the next month and half. Please let me know. Ryan is about ready to pull his hair out because he doesn't have a working phone.

Did you get a Trick or a Treat?

This Halloween was filled with all TRICKS. I badly wanted to go to a haunted house; however, I found an illusionist show that seemed really intriguing, so I opted for the show. It was AWFUL! My five year old niece could have done better magic tricks than what these people were doing. Ry and I left very disappointed, but hungry. After a couple failed attempts to get dinner at a restaurant (who knew restaurants closed early on Halloween?), we ended up in the drive thru line at Taco Bell.

Thanks to lots of TV commercials, we remembered that Taco Bell was offering their new Black Jack Taco free from 6pm to midnight on Halloween. We ordered 2 free Black Jack Tacos and we felt dumb for not ordering anything else, so we bought a bean and cheese burrito.

As we ate our tacos in the car Ryan and I were pleasantly surprised at how yummy these tacos were. We laughed about how funny it would be if we just went to different Taco Bell's all night getting free tacos. Guess what we ended up doing the rest of the night? Yep, we went Taco Bell hopping. It was hilarious. At each stop we would hide our evidence from the previous stop. Each time we ordered, Ryan would laugh a little and have the biggest grin on his face. We thought we were so smart and TRICKY! We ate 8 Black Jack tacos and 1 bean and cheese burrito for a whopping $1.08. BEAT THAT ALL YOU COUPON CLIPPERS!

Check out the photos our Taco Bell evidence and our carved pumpkins

HAUNTED HOUSE

I am looking for a fun Haunted House in the area.  If any of you southern California resdients have any suggestions of places you've been to or heard about, let me know. 

And if any of you who would want to join in on the spooky fun, drop me a note!

MUSIC

While updating my music playlist, I started thinking about the music I like. I love music that makes me move. I love songs that have a fun beat. Nothing makes me happier than a song that immediately makes my hips and shoulders SHAKE!


I've never been a fan of the arty fartsy, weird, no one knows groups. It just doesn't do anything for me. Sure I appreciate the talent that goes into producing the music, but it just doesn't make me tick. I'm a busy girl. I don't have time to go research these "no name" groups. Give me to top 20 hits; they've already been tested and they're on the list for a reason.


On to another thought. I've heard that lyrics of songs affect us subconsciously. I am not sold on this concept. I think there are two different ways to listen to music. You either listen to the beats and instrumentals or you listen to the words. I am a beat girl. I could listen to a song literally 20 times and have NO IDEA what the song is about or know the lyrics.


Just ask my friends. My friend Ashley used to make fun of me all the time. We would be jamming out singing a song in the car together and she would just laugh because I would sing the wrong words to just about every song. I don't listen to the words. My mind doesn't digest the music that way. For example, the song you are probably listening to right now on my playlist is 1/2 in English and 1/2 in another language. I could care less what language it is. I judge the song/music by how the song makes me move. This can sometimes get me in trouble. I will be jamming out to a song, and someone will ask, "Do you know what this song is about?" I'll reply with, nope, have no idea. Then they break it down for me. Sometimes, it stinks because the songs that have a great beat get ruined by the lyrics. I would rather just not know what the songs are about and enjoy the music. (That is what I do naturally.)

Now I'm in the mood to listen to music and dance the night away. You know what I'll be doing for FHE ;)