Adam and Sugar

Sometimes you arrive at an event and find yourself improperly dressed for the activities being done. When that moment comes you have two choices: to abstain from the activities deemed "inappropriate" for you attire, or to disregard what others might say and have fun. I strongly recommend the second option.

Yesterday I spent hours chasing Adam through bounce houses and going with him down slides just because he assured me they were "super fun!" I was in a dress, and for a moment I thought about telling that sweet little boy I couldn't play with him because I had come in the wrong clothes. But the more he said, "Come! Fun!" the less I could resist him. And guess what - he may only be 2, but he knows what he's talking about. I haven't had that much fun in a LONG time.

Luckily our adventures didn't end there. When we went home Adam and I decided to make cookies. I had forgotten how exciting that can be to a 2 year old. The best part was after he discovered the dough was delicious he splatted some on me. (I'm still trying to decide whether or not it was on purpose). Then he decided to help me get it cleaned up by licking it off my arm. Even better still was that it took him a good couple minutes to get it licked completely clean. 

Of all the roles I play, Aunt Sugar is becoming more and more my favorite as time goes on. 

Thanks, Adam, for giving me a break from my crazy life and helping me play and laugh like a kid again! I love you!

What doesn't kill you

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger... or so I've been told.

But honestly this week I was beginning to think that for me it went something like "what doesn't kill you makes you weak enough that they can kill you tomorrow" or "what doesn't kill you leaves you maimed and useless."

But the truth is that Heavenly Father loves His children, which includes you and me and everyone else out there. And the hard things that we go through are not to make us weak, depressed, or ashamed of ourselves.

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: 

knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

And hope maketh not ashamed; 

because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts

 by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

Romans 5:3-5

If weekends were forever...

Raise your hand if you loved conference!
You can't see it, but my hand is WAY up in the air.
This weekend was absolutely perfect. Not only were the messages given in General Conference exactly what I needed to hear, as always, but the rest of the weekend fell so happily in to place that I can't think of a single thing I didn't love.
Saturday morning I got to sleep in all the way to 8:00am, which NEVER happens! It was a beautiful morning and my brother and I went for a run together (one of our favorite activities) and danced around the apartment to Earth, Wind, and Fire (another one of our favorite activities) all before making waffles and settling down for Conference. After the first session we met up with family to watch Boise State kick Nevada's trash for 2 quarters, watched the second session of Conference, and then finished the game. (GO BRONCOS!!!) Sunday was equally wonderful. Again I got to sleep in, spend time with family, be spiritually fed, and in keeping with tradition get together with some very close family friends for a delicious feast between sessions.
After a seriously stressful week of work it was the perfect way to come back to reality and be reminded of the truly important things in life:
my FAMILY, my FAITH, and of course, FOOTBALL :)

Little Victories

I can't believe it has literally almost been 6 months since the last time I blogged. Guess who has been a busy girl these days... this girl. But I have decided that I feel a lot better about what I do day to day when it is recorded. Even if no one else reads it or ever hears about it, writing it down somehow makes me feel accountable for the work I have done and the time I put in. So it is back to the blog for me!

For anyone who did not have the pleasure of hearing Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk from the General Relief Society Meeting this past weekend I highly recommend that you click on the following link. "Forget Me Not" President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

In his talk I felt that President Uchtdorf spoke directly into my soul and because of that I have been turning his words over in my head all week long. The biggest subject on my mind has been being patient with myself. Long term goals are not going to be realized all at once. I need to find happiness in the progress I make towards my goals every day. I have found that too often I am putting myself down for not yet being where I want to be rather than looking at how far I have come since I decided to change. This is something that has been on my mind for a while now, but I didn't have any idea how to make it better. Then these words spoke right to my heart. "God wants to help us to eventually turn all our weakness into strengths, but he knows this is a long term goal... [your] successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to him."

And that is when I decided I want to start recording my "little victories" of every day. 

I now have a little notebook I have been keeping in my purse that I have officially set apart to document my little victories. My long term goals are written on the back pages and I have the whole book to get closer to them. So far my entries range from finally writing the letter to my friend in the Army that I have been meaning to get out for weeks to organizing my bills to hearing that one of my patients has actually learned from the asthma class I teach and was able to wake her dad up when she was having an asthma attack the other night and tell him exactly what she needed to come out of it. 

Honestly I have already started to notice a major difference in my day as I write these little victories down. They give me even more reason to smile. 

Are you a WARRIOR?

Once upon a time I moved into my own apartment and didn't get internet set up for a month..... so this is my first post in a long time, but it will be a good one!

I have a question to ask you - Are you a warrior?

Because I am.

How do I know I am a warrior you ask?

Look at this:

A picture says a thousand words, does it not?

Hehe. SO this weekend Casey and I ran a 5K called The Warrior Dash and it was pretty much  the most empowering experience of my life. I literally left there on an adrenaline rush that is still going strong and with a new feeling that I am invincible! How could I feel any other way after hurdling over cars, jumping fences, running through rivers, climbing cargo nets, crawling through trenches, jumping over a fire, and swimming through a mud pit all in the course of 5 kilometers? I think it is safe to say it was the craziest frickin' day of my life.

And then to top it off at the end I was given a medal and a furry viking helmet. As if I didn't already feel powerful, the helmet did me in! It was the best day I have had in a long while and I love that Casey Anne was there to do it with me! WE ARE WARRIORS!

Beach bum

I have a confession to make. There is something I have wanted for quite a while and today I bought it just because. I didn't need it... but I love it! 

I am the proud owner of a big floppy beach hat like Dorris Day or Aubrey Hepburn would have worn with big sunglasses. I plan to wear it while I sit by my pool this summer reading a good book drinking a smoothie.

I tried it out today at the lake and I fear it has already become a part of me :)

I had a great time swinging in my hammock listening to Jack Johnson in the perfect weather we have been having lately.

Then we hit the water for the first time this season. It felt sooo good to be out there in the middle of the lake with the sun shining bright and a nice warm breeze... By the way, how cool is it that in March I can be out kayaking on the lake with my brothers and it isn't freezing cold!? I love Texas!

S'mores made a great end to the day's adventures. I have become a professional at melting the chocolate on the graham in preparation for the marshmallow. 

All in all it was just a great day. New hat, lake, hammock, and s'mores. What more could I ask for?

The bare necessities of life

My life officially got crazy when I started working 2 weeks ago. 

I hadn't found an apartment, but I thought I would be okay for a while commuting to Ft. Worth from my parent's house. However, after showing up a half hour late on my first day despite the fact that I left before 6am and didn't have to be there until 8am I started to consider finding my own place a much more serious matter. 

All I did that first week was drive back and forth between home and work and try not to develop a possibly fatal case of road rage. 

So Friday after work I signed a lease and Saturday I moved my few things in to my brand new beautiful apartment. Seriously it is awesome. 9 ft ceilings, crown molding, brand new carpet, brand new sinks and countertops... AWESOME.

My kitchen looks great! I already had a lot of good stuff and I recently bought the dishes I wanted and a bright red KitchenAid! 

The rest of my apartment though is sadly lacking... 

I have a coffee table and an air mattress.

That is all.

Seriously though, I don't have a TV which would be fine because I do have a computer, but I don't have internet set up yet... and as of right now I live all alone. I GET SO BORED. 

But I am very happy, and I love my job! And soon enough that will result in my getting paid and then I can start finding things (hopefully furniture) to fill my empty apartment with :) Until then I am making memories. I get to tell my kids one day about how I had to eat dinner sitting on a pillow on the floor at the coffee table, and I am sure they will be amused!