HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I hope everyone has a FUN and SAFE halloween!

I must say I felt a little silly driving to work today dressed as a flight attendant. But that's the beauty of Halloween. You're allowed to feel silly! It's wonderful.

Yay, we're homeowners again!

We closed this morning! It's so great knowing that beautiful home is finally ours after months of waiting. We get the keys tomorrow, and I CAN'T WAIT to start moving stuff in! I'll definitly post pictures as we get in and start decorating. I'll probably need help with some stuff. It's so different decorating a house compared to a condo. Our condo was kind of a more edgy look but I want this house to be more cozy and warm. It's hard for me to even be sitting here typing this post because I'm so excited. I also just started a new business venture that I'm REALLY excited about. If any of you want details leave your email address in the comments and I'll contact you about it. Happy Tuesday!

Grateful Sunday #2

Today I want to talk about how grateful I am for music, especially hymns and EFY music. The choir sang in sacrament today and it was really beautiful. There's nothing like feeling the spirit through beautiful music. I have practically all of the EFY cd's and will sometimes pop one in while driving to work. By the time I get to work I'm crying because I feel the spirit so strong. Although I'm not too musically talented I'm very grateful that music can touch me in a way nothing else can!

As promised.....

I got the pictures of my house to share. It's tough getting pictures of rooms without furniture and stuff in them, so use your imagination. I'm sure I'll be posting tons as we get in and start decorating.

I was going to post pictures of the 2 spare bedrooms but they're just bedrooms. Nothing really to see.

Birthday Book

So I was really excited to make my Birthday Book after the post about it. I finally finished it and honestly I'm not too thrilled with the final product. It's missing something and I couldn't ever decided what. But here are a few pictures of some of the pages. Let me know what you think!

House and Diesel Dog

We did our walkthrough this morning. It looks so great. Just a few minor touch-ups that they need to do and it will be perfect. We're scheduled to close on Tuesday! Yahoo. I can't wait to move all my stuff into that new house smell. I'll post some pictures of the completed product in the next couple days.

Also, it's my pups birthday today. He's 2! We need to take him to Petco and get him a new toy.

Wheeler Farm

I returned the favor of family pictures to Hannah at Wheeler Farm last night. It was a little challenging using a camera that I'd never used before, but I really really enjoyed myself. It was a lot of fun! Now, I just need to get myself a nice camera.

Caden is such a cutie!

Grateful Sunday #1

What an inspiring Sunday for me. You know how sometimes you go to church and feel like every song, every talk, or lesson was designed specifically for you? That was me today. I really enjoyed our Sunday School lesson. The lesson was aimed around trials that we go through in our lives and how we will find comfort if we can turn to the Lord. One point she made was one that really stood out to me. She said that even though we face many tough trials in our lives that they will never be harder than what our Brother, Jesus Christ, went through for us.

So for this first Grateful Sunday I'd like to talk about how grateful I am for the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

My Grandpa's death is one of the hardest things I've had to go through in my life so far. But when I put it in perspective compared to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I know it is not even a tiny fraction of what He went through. And because of this sacrifice we are able to turn to the Lord in our times of trial and adversity. How lucky we are to have a Heavenly Father who loved us so much that He sent His Son that we might live again. When I first found out that Grandpa had been diagnosed I often prayed to the Lord that he might be healed. But then I realized that this may not be the path the Lord had in store for him or for me or the rest of my family. I then turned to the Lord asking that I might understand His will. If His will was to take my Grandpa from this life that I might understand and be comforted. And I was. I found comfort in the knowledge that I have of eternal families and that it wouldn't be the last time I would see him. I hope that anyone that is going through a hard time in their lives knows that they can always turn to the Lord in prayer and feel the peace and comfort that He provides.

Things I've Been Enjoying

I've been totally smothered in kindness the past few weeks by friends and family. I appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers. Today I wanted to share a bit of what I'm enjoying. My company sent me this and I ate almost the whole thing by myself. Love Edible Arrangements.

Then my sweet aunts sent me 2 dozen red roses. I've had them on my desk since Monday and I have got to say they are some of the most fragrant roses I've ever smelt. Each time I sit down in my chair I get a whiff and it's heaven.

Although I haven't been enjoying work very much lately, I have been enjoying watching the leaves change from outside my office window. I know these are a little silly because it's trees in commercial parking lots but the colors are so beautiful.

I've really been enjoying going through the family pictures that Hannah took for us. Here's a sneak peek. I don't want to post the rest until I've had the chance to edit them, which will be a few weeks since I'm without photoshop right now.


I was talking to my Mom on the phone today and she asked about the house. I told her our closing date was probably going to be Tuesday the 28th. She sais wow that's only 12 days away. 12 days? No, that can't be right. But it is! It is only 12 days away!!! I didn't think it would ever come and now it's just right around the corner. I cannot wait to have my own space again. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to have had a place to stay for the past 4 months, but nothing beats going home to your own house and doing things your own way and having access to all your things. So excited. Don't know how else to explain it in words. Hope you enjoy your day!

Birthday Book

Was looking for a book I can write birthdays in so I never forget and came upon this SUPER CUTE idea by Beth Price. Can't wait to get into my house so I can start working on some fun projects like this one!







Birthday Book Instructions

Supplies for the book:

2 sheets (12x12) patterned paper for the cover size 8 ¼ x 6 ½ inches
2 pieces of chipboard or cardboard size 8 ¼ x 6 ½ inches
6 sheets (12x12) double-sided patterned paper – note that thicker weight paper works best
1 sheet white or vanilla card stock
6 index/page tabs
Calendar stamp (optional)

Instructions:

Adhere pattern paper for cover to chipboard and set aside. Do not embellish the front yet, you will want to do that after it has been bound.
With each of the double-sided sheets of paper, measure and crease 4 inches from the bottom on the horizontal.
Fold the 4 inches up. Now your paper is 8 inches tall. Fold the 8 inch tall paper in half vertically, so that the pockets are on the outside of the fold. Your pages should be 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide with pockets on the outside front and back.
Place your book covers on front and back, and have them bound at the local office supply store. You should tell the store that you need over-sized binding, to give the book room for expansion as you add cards.
Cut the plain white or vanilla card stock into 3x4 inch squares for the reminder cards on the pocket for each month. Print or stamp a calendar on each card. I used a calendar stamp, but you could also print a small calendar using your computer and clip art.
Cut slots in the pockets of your book and insert reminder cards. Add the names of all birthdays for that month. I circled each date so I could see at one glance when I need to be getting them in the mail.
Create index tabs for consecutive 2 months. So the first would be Jan-Feb, then Mar-Apr, and so on. Add those to the edge of your pocket pages.
Embellish the front of your book, and add cards!

My Weekend

Did the weekend seem too short to anyone besides me? We went and saw Eagle Eye, the new thriller with Shia LaBeouf. Loved it. It was so intense, I was on the edge of my seat the entire movie. I just think Shia is a great actor so I like most movies that he's in. Have you seen it? Did you like it? Saturday, we visited the Fall Home Show to check out a few things for the new house. We were looking into shutters and fencing and a few other things. Got some good ideas.

Saturday night we went to my Grandmas and made dinner. It's still a little depressing going over there. Things are so quiet and you can feel the absence of my Grandpa so much. I'm actually surprised at how hard his death hit me. I mean obviously I loved him, and knew I would miss him. But sometimes grief still strikes me and all I can do is cry. I miss him so much already. I've been trying really hard to think of something I might like to have of his to remember him by, and was having a hard time. I was showing my Aunt Linda my blog and the post I posted of my Grandpa and his suspenders. She said, "Why don't you take those suspenders? They mean something to you and are a good memory for you." I can't believe I didn't think of it before. I found a nice treasure box at Paisley Poppy in the district and put the camo suspenders, some beautiful rocks of my grandpas, pictures, and obituary in it. It's a nice keepsake box and something that I will enjoy showing my future children. Hopefully they can gain an understanding of what a great man he was.

Sunday we went to Corey and Janeens blessing for Owen, went to a family party on my side, and met up with my sweet friend Hannah, who braved the cold to take some family pictures of me, Darin and Diesel. Thanks again Hannah!

New Lashes

I won a contest at work that scored me some lash extensions! They are so fun and Taylor did such a great job on them. Check out Taylor's blog here, and get your own set of beautiful lashes! It's so great, you never have to put mascara on, or curl your lashes. You always look done up.

Before:

After:

Thanks Taylor! They're so fun!

Larger Pics

I finally figured out how to post larger pictures here on my blog. Here's a pic of my nieces when we went to the fair last month. Such cuties!



If you want to know how to post pics like this click here.

Win a Free Handbag

Handbag Planet is celebrating their website launch on October 15th by giving away a PURSE AN HOUR. Enter for your chance to win a free handbag here. I hope I win this one.

I honestly just got the chills

I'm SO happy. Twilight is now coming out November 21. I can't wait to see it. Here's the new trailer.

Sorry if you're trying to read my blog. I'm trying to reconstruct the layout and can't quite decide which way I want to go. It's a little boring right now.

Thanks a lot Kylene

I'm kidding. Kylene tagged me on her blog and normally I don't follow up on these tags, but she made me feel so guilty last night at Bunco (which by the way I didn't win) that I thought I better do it. :) The TAG is....what are 6 quirks about me? It really is tough trying to think about the weird and not so great things about you. I did tell Lacey and Kylene that all I would have to do is ask Darin and he would be able to list them off for me. It's true. I asked him, and he started shooting things at me at 100 miles a minute. Thanks honey.....

(I honestly can't believe I'm even mentioning some of these)

1. I hate birds. I think they're psychotic. I won't go into too much detail because I've already dedicated an entire post to this topic. If you'd like to read it, please click here.

2. I absolutely cannot stand the sound of scraping silverware on plates, especially Hannahs :) While we were eating dinner last night at Hannahs for bunco, honestly all I could hear was peoples spoons and forks scraping across their plates and bowls. I literally just shuddered thinking about it. Really.
I could hardly carry on a conversation because of it. But what's even worse than plate on fork action, is when people take a bite and slide their teeth on the fork as it comes out. Luckily noone did this last night.

3. I'm a dreamer. What I want to be "when I grow up" changes at least 2-3 times a month.
Here's a list of some things I've wanted to be (or still do) over the course of my life:

-Interior Designer
-Candy shoppe owner (the candy apples didn't turn out quite right)
-Cosmetologist (Now I cringe when Darin says it's time to cut his hair again)
-Photographer (this is a new one. I just got photoshop and am going to start working with it)
-Chef

I guess I just have a lot of passions. I feel like if you have to spend your whole life working you may as well do something you really enjoy. I just haven't been able to find what it is yet.

4. I am a bit of a clean freak, which is quite surprising. If you were to ask anyone in my family what my room looked like when I was 16 they would say that you could hardly ever even see the floor it was so messy. After I grew up and got my own house I started to develop my "habit" I can't let the dishes sit in the sink for longer than a few hours. Darin asks, "Why can't we do that later?" I say, "Why can't we do it now" I just can't stand things out of place.

5. Hair in the food. If I find the hair in my food before it reaches my mouth I can still eat it. If the hair ends up in my mouth before I find it, I might go ballistic.

6. When I was about 14 I cut my nail too short and got an ingrown toenail that got so bad I had to get it removed by a doctor. While they proceeded to give me 2 shots in my big toe, I proceeded to scream bloody murder through the small clinic. Worse. Pain. I've. Ever. Felt. Now people make fun of me because my toenails are always a little on the long side. I'm too afraid to cut them short and get another ingrown toenail.

There. Now you all know some weird things about me. And they really are weird huh? I won't tag anyone but if you feel like a little soul searching try this one out!

Conference

What an inspiring conference weekend. I loved the talk by President Monson on change, and living in the moment. Obviously with the recent loss of my Grandpa I've had to adjust to that change. And although it's been very difficult I know with time it will get easier. I'm very thankful for the knowledge I have through the gospel that I will be able to see him again one day.

Living in the moment is definitly something I think everyone struggles with on occasion. I wish I could have had one more hug, one more conversation, one more kiss with my Grandpa. But it helps me realize now that I really need to cherish the relationships that I have. My Dad and I haven't always had the closest relationship and I've felt that my Grandpa's passing has helped bring us closer. I want to make sure that if he were to be gone tomorrow that I wouldn't have any regrets. We all need to cherish our relationships more each day.

The ways of the world will always make you think you need something bigger and better and this talk reminded me that I need to be grateful for the things that I have now. I really am so blessed and I need to continually be thankful to my Father in Heaven for all that I've been given.

What was your favorite talk this weekend?

Carving Winner!

I went to my first Halloween party on Saturday. We had a pumpkin carving contest, and me and my Mom won! Check out how awesome our pumpkin was!

Tiki God!

We cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin and ran a hose through it. The hose was connected to a propane tank. The pictures honestly don't even give it justice. I love October, it's so fun!

Tribute to Grandpa

I just got back from the services that were held in Paragonah, UT for my Grandpa. Everything really turned out quite beautifully and I know he would have been proud that we followed his wishes.

The services weren't open to public, it was only close friends and family. He didn't want a lot of people crying over him. We all made sure to wear jeans, he didn't want anything fancy, so if you're wondering why we all look like a bunch of hill billys it's because we are. :) We had a viewing in Salt Lake on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning we loaded my Grandpa into the back of the pick up truck (I know it's totally hick, right?) and the 3 sons, 1 brother and me drove him down to Paragonah with the rest of our family caravaning behind. The casket had a cover so it's not like you could tell that that's what it was. And believe me, we were very worried, so we made sure we strapped it in really tight.

It was definitly a very sad thing, but I was able to gain some peace and closure. It was a beautiful day, and I'm glad I was able to participate so much in the services.

After the graveside service, we went up to Red Creek Resevoir and celebrated my Grandpa's life the way he would have wanted us to. Some good old-fashioned fishing and grilling ribs on the BBQ. I felt particularly at peace while we were up there. And in a way I felt like my Grandpa sent some things down to us. We saw 4 deer across the lake drinking, a couple rabbits, and even caught 6 fish!! In only a few hours. Everything seemed more beautiful and even the food tasted better than it normally would have, I think. I know it's cheesy but I think Grandpa was telling us that it was ok to move on now. Here are some pictures from the past couple days.

Deal of the Month