A job well done

Here's the thing.  I hate 2 people at my work.  They are the worst workers ever, and make my job more stressful.  But today I noticed that they actually did really well.  I'm so grateful for a job well done.  It makes everyone much happier!  For real.

Dad

When I was a baby, my mom and dad got divorced.  My mom got custody of all the kids, but he fought for us.  The agreement was every summer and every other Christmas we'd visit our dad.  Then at age 14, each kid got to decide if they visited my dad in alabama or not.  It was fine at first, but then I got to be in junior high and all I wanted in life was to spend the summers in Utah with my friends.  It seemed like that's when everything happened.  I couldn't wait until I was 14.  For some reason though, when I turned 14 I still had to visit my dad in Alabama.  I grew to resent being forced to be somewhere without my friends.  I became moody and rebellious because of that; my crazy teenage hormones also played a huge part in the rebelliousness.  I constantly fought with my step mom during the summers and I was almost always grounded; trust me I was a monster.  Then one Christmas I decided to just buck up and deal with it.  I didn't say anything rude for a good 2 weeks.  Go me.  Then I just snapped and mouthed off to my step-mom.  Because of that I got kicked out of my dads house on New Years Day.  Literally.  My step-mom kicked me down the stairs and out the door.  My dad packed my things and drove me to the airport and told me I was never welcome in his house unless I got an attitude change.  I was 16 at the time, and from then on I refused to speak to him.  I hated my dad.  I was overwhelmed by the fact that not even my own father could love me.

In college one of my roommates was really close with her dad, but he died while she was in high school.  She missed him so much all the time.  One of my other good friends also had a huge fallout with his dad, but he just decided to get over it and started working on his relationship with his dad.  Him and my roommate were inspirations to me.  They made me realize life is too short to hold resentments and grudges.  They are unnecessary and silly things.  I finally gained the courage to call my dad my first year in college.  It was so nice talking to him.  Since then our relationship has grown tremendously, and I have realized that my dad has loved me all along.  He's made mistakes, but so have I.  I am grateful for the relationship we have today.  He walked me down the aisle and generously paid for my wedding.  It's been so nice these past two days to spend some time with him!  I love my poppa!

Care free happiness

My dad is in town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Only for today and tomorrow but it's been exciting.  Tonight we went to Tucanos in the Gateway and it was outstanding.  For those who haven't been to a brazilian grill, let me explain.  You sit down and immediately men bring you meat.  Not on a plate.  No no.  They have the whole thing on a long stick, and they slice off the amount of meat you want.  It's all different meat, all cooked differently.  They continue bringing meat to you and everyone else they can until they are out of meat.  Then they go and get some more.  It's a never-ending cycle.  My first Brazilian Grill experience was at Rodizios in Trolley Square.  My reviews?  GO TO TUCANOS!  They were both delicious no doubt.  Tucanos had more room at the tables, and the layout overall was larger.  Instead of the white of Rodizio, there are colors everywhere in Tucanos.  Not in a tacky way.  It was excellently decorated.  And the salad bar was actually called the Salad Festival, which clearly makes it a bazillion times cooler anyway.  As for the food, it was about the same.  But I enjoyed my experience at Tucanos a whole lot more.

Another thing about Brazilian Grills is because there is so much meat constantly attacking, people get really weird.  I remember at Rodizio Grill me and Ammon were CRAZY on the ride home.  This time was no exception.  I don't know, being around family and stuffing my face just does something to me.  It makes me happier than I could ever be I think.  I laugh at everything and can't stop oftentimes.  My dad thought I was on crazy pills.  But it was perfect, because he was on crazy pills too.  The mixture of a late dinner and a full belly makes him so silly and I love it.  Of course Becky's silly all the time and I love that too.  I am just grateful for that care free happiness I felt tonight, laughing about some meat that fell into my poppas shake and a bunch of other ridiculous nothings.

Aaron

Dear Aaron,

Today I am grateful for you.  I'm grateful for you everyday, but today is set aside just for you.  You are going through such a tough time right now and it makes my heart hurt for you.  But you should know how much I love you, and how much I look up to you.

You've always been a great example for me.  I loved when I was in junior high and you were in high school and you took me to and from school.  I felt so cool being picked up by my cool brother after school.  You always make something silly become permanent.  Like when you told us to go bark out a window?  And we did?  And then that became an inside joke for forever.  Or when we started using "bananas" as a hug code word.  I'm not sure if you started it, but I remember you especially making it stick.  You seem to always be the one that starts the hug attacks.  I'll have to get you back as soon as I see you again, because I know you can use it.

You have such a great soul, through and through.  Everything lights up when you're around.  I know it's so cliche but it's true.  You are one of those people that everyone loves.  People just feel better after being around you.  You're so full of life and ideas and energy!  You are completely selfless and generous in almost everything you do.  You are a dork.  I love the inside jokes we have!  Remember who you are Aaron.  But more importantly, where you live!!!

Remember when we would check the sibs out of school for lunch every so often?  That was so fun.

Remember when you tried to imitate a bull on christmas, but really you just ended up showing us all your nose snot?

Remember when you came home from your mission, and we were all freaked out at the Ocho Ocho?

Remember when I was making big mistakes in my life, and you were there for me?  And we went to Gandy's and just ate and talked?

Remember when you married me and Clifton?

I chose you to marry us for a reason Aaron.

You are one of my heros and you always have been!

I know right now is hard.

Today is hard.

But you are a strong person!  You can do anything!  Please don't let anyone make you want to destroy yourself or the person you have become.  Your family is all here for you at anytime!  We love you Aaron!  You may not want to hear it right now, but Heavenly Father loves you so much and He always always wants to hear how you are doing no exceptions.  I love you!!!  And today I am so grateful to have you as my brother.  You have been such a blessing in my life.  I know you'll continue to be a blessing; but please don't forget who you are.  I love you just the way you are, and that's all I'll ever need!

Love, Jesse



Chips

today was madness.  i don't even know why my emotions were crazy.  on the way to cliftons sisters' house we almost turned around.  i started crying and things were not going good.  big fat argument.  why?

i had no chips.

i am not a chip person.  i rarely eat them and buy them even less than that.  it's a big waste of money to me.  but for some reason me and my body needed chips.  in a way i've never needed a food before (no i'm not pregnant i promise).  i was panicking and whining and being a huge pain because we had no chips.  clifton offered to stop by a store but i didn't want to break the Sabbath like we had before.  we are working on a lot of things and that one was really important today.

and then the heavens opened up and there were two huge bags of chips at his sisters house.  i then almost cried because i was so happy.  i ate a lot of chips.  delicious.  i am grateful for chips, on the rare occasion that i need them.

Cliftons family

I am so grateful for Cliftons family.

I hear about couples that don't get along with inlaws and it's hard to imagine.

My inlaw everything has been great.

I love his parents, siblings, cousins, nieces & nephews, you name it.

I went to his extended family Christmas party last year without him...apparently not many newlyweds do that?

I don't know.  I feel like I am so blessed to marry into such an amazing family!

Gym classes

Right after I graduated high school I didn't have much to do before I went off to college in the fall.  I loved working out at the time and decided to start going to the gym classes at the new Golds Gym center.  I went to bodypump every other day at 5:30...AM.  The whole summer.  I honestly can't remember why I went that early, but I do remember feeling incredible about life and myself after working out.  Of course I was hungry afterwards, so I went to Smiths and bought a few fresh crueller donuts usually.  It was my favorite habit.  I distinctly remember many mornings driving home in my convertible after my workout as the sun was rising.  It was gorgeous.  I had a lot to look forward to and life was just good.  I was truly happy.

Between then and before marrying Clifton I struggled being happy with who I was.  I made foolish decisions after my first heartbreak as a freshman and fell into habits that were hard to break.  Not until after marrying Clifton was able to really be happy with myself again.  It wasn't until we started going back to church and knowing God as a couple that I've felt that true happiness I felt right out of high school.  We're still working towards being the people we want to be, but we are happy.  I've started working out again and so has he.  We don't stay up as late and we cling to our family.  We are wiser with our money and we take time to relax.

Today I went back to bodyattack with my sisters and remembered why I loved those gym classes so much!  It's fun working out with complete strangers, it really is.  It's hilarious for me and my sister to watch others and ourselves.  Since it was our first time in that class we had no idea what was going on.  We looked so foolish.  And the instructor totally noticed.  Everytime she would look at us she'd start smiling as we messed something up.  It was a complete blast and I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to attend these awesome classes.

I feel like I'm really being me again.

Scout

I know I've already blogged about my adorable dog which you can read here, but that completely doesn't count because that was last year.  So today I'm grateful for Scout.  We have grown to love him SO much!!!  And he loves us.  I still love his cute paws!!!  He's gotten so spoiled though.  He just comes up on our bed whenever he wants, or scootches in between us on the sofa.  I'm pretty sure he thinks he's the king of everything.  I think it's super dorky when I hear owners talking to their pets as if they're babies, or the owners pretend to be their pet; but I totally do it to.  Me and Clifton love playing the "this is what Scout is saying" game.  Whenever Scout goes to the door and looks back one of us usually says "come on mom and dad, time to go out I'm ready" or something similar.  It's so much fun to pretend he has a voice and can actually talk to us!  That's right, we've turned into one of those couples.

Black lab/border collie

Don't you love that face?  I do too.

Peace of mind, body, and soul

"Running is a beautiful beautiful thing! It is wonderful as an antidepressant, a time to exercise your mind and body, a constant adventure, a time to think, and a method of motivation to make you want to be better in every way. I feel a peace and joy in running and being in nature that only God can provide!"

A lot of stuff has been going on lately.  I'm so grateful for peace of mind, body, and soul despite everything bad that happens.  Today I had that after my run and I just had a clarity of what I had to do.  I'm going to do it soon, and I know it's the right decision for me.  I know it will make me happier in the long run.

I pray my brother got that as well.  The one that is separated.  He went running with me and I hope it has the same effect on him as it does with me, because he needs it.  He needs the comfort and the clarity and the peace that everything will be fine.

Floss

Growing up, flossing really wasn't important.  My mom was so busy raising 7 kids all by herself and working that things like that just weren't crucial.  Sure be grossed out, I'd like to see you do it.  So even now I hate flossing.  It's true.  I'm not a flosser.  I don't even care who is disgusted by this fact. 

Two years ago I got a job at Fatcats as the Events Assistant.  At this job there was tootsie rolls and fruities EVERYWHERE.  Especially in my office.  So during the day I would just put a few in my mouth.  No harm done right?  Who doesn't love little treats throughout the workday?  Obviously it was more than a few.  I counted the wrappers in the garbage one day and there was over a hundred.  I'm just going to leave it at that.  Ok fine!  I'm addicted to them!  I have the fattest sweet tooth on the planet.  After many months of doing this and not flossing, I guess bad things happen to teeth.  I went to the dentist 6 months later and had....................wait for it................



















ELEVEN cavities.  That's right.  I have never had a cavity in my life and pride myself on my genetically beautiful teeth.  Well at least I used to.  Guess where all of these cavities were?  You guessed it; in between my teeth.  The place that floss would've cleaned marvelously.  I'm such an idiot.  Oh and I was still on my moms dental plan, so she was pissed.  Needless to say she took me off immediately.

This experience 2 years ago has forced me to finally start flossing my teeth (although I won't lie, I only do it after eating candy).  For some reason this week I've done it every night.  GOLD STAR FOR ME!  I know it's silly, it just makes me feel good now.  So today I am grateful for floss.  God bless you don't get 11 cavities in one visit.

Chocolate

There is never enough chocolate in my life.  Ever.  I like milk chocolate the best, but when I'm desparate I'll tolerate anything else; even that dark chocolate waxy crap.  My favorite is to buy some chocolate chips and just eat those, but I'm really ok with anything else.  Reeses.  100 Grand.  TWIX.  Rolos.  Tootsie Rolls (yes that's totally considered chocolate to me).  M&Ms.  *sigh* what I wouldn't give for chocolate.  Today I was blessed (yes I'm sticking with that word in this scenario!) to find a bag of chocolate chips in the cupboards.  I thought I had already eaten them all!  I was very very happy...yep still happy.  Many hours later.  Yum.

Family

I love my family so much!  There's a lot of them and it's a party all the time.  I have 6 brothers and 5 sisters.  Yep.  Of course 4 are step, and 3 are half, but I grew up with the half and consider them full blood siblings.  Half.  Psh.  That's such a dumb term, seriously.  As if it makes us less of a sibling.  At one time or other I've had a hatrid for one sibling.  But for the past few years and currently we all have been getting along so great.  I think it's because we're all out of high school and don't live together.  Being older just makes everything more fun, especially with family.


Last year my family decided to start international night, where one sunday every few months we would eat dinner from a different culture and learn about it as well.  The first one we did was French night.  Today, we did Italian night.  Yum!  So of course for our Italian attire, me and Clifton "dressed up" as Mario and Luigi.  I know we are so awesome.  I put together a few interesting facts about Italy, my sister taught us a song, and we all pitched in on making genuine Italian food.  It was stupendous. 

I want a huge family.  Like really big.  10 kids?  Probably.  8 or 12 are great numbers too.  Hey, maybe we'll even have sextuplets and knock out half of them right there in one shot!  Honestly I would love that!  Although I've never had a baby, not to mention multiples so we'll just see.  Sometimes I think about how Clifton will handle it.  I think about if we can only tolerate 4 kids, or maybe not even conceive.  That thought hurts my heart.  I think big families are so wonderful because that's just all the more people that will love you for you; no strings attached.  I've had plenty of "friends" decide after an argument that I wasn't worth being friends with.  Honestly I just think they aren't strong enough to be able to handle hardships.  What are they gonna do when their spouse does something wrong?  Leave them in the dust just like that?  Family is built in friends and acceptance and love.  They are who we can be crazy with.  Depressed.  Psycho angry.  Thoughtful.  Passionate.  Embarrassing.  Who wouldn't want a whole lot of that?!

Ok, I know that big families aren't for everyone and I'm definitely not calling anyone weak for not having a lot.  It's hard to raise kids in such a poisonous world and some parents are happy with their 3 or however many.  No judgements from me!  In my life though, I need a big family.  Growing up with my numerous siblings has been the biggest blessing of my life.  It continues to bless me as I watch how quickly everyone will drop everything they are doing at that moment to help a brother in need during a separation.  My brothers and sisters are my absolute best friends and I love them.  We hang out all the time and I'm grateful every single day.

Wedding reception.  We were able to get a picture of the most important 3 siblings!

Sooo...4th of July is a pretty huge thing at our house.  Our garbage was 3/4 full of just $400 firework crap.

We go to Fatcats for a lot of family events.  Valentines day being one of them.

Thanksgiving 2 years ago.  We each got our own bottle of sparkling cider.  It was a party.

Volleyball is an activity we do all the time in the summer.  Last year for 4th of July we were wrestling with each other mercilessly playing when Kristin lost an earring.  So we looked for it.  Success.

Dad and Jonah visited from Alabama wahoo!

Right after Aaron would've gotten kicked out of Lagoon if the people recognized him.

Being grownup

So the past few months I've been wanting to cut my hair!  But since California I haven't really wanted to because it was the longest I've had it and it was the crazy sexy windblown wave that I love.  Well.  Today after work I was bored so I decided to go get it cut.  I made an appointment and got all dressed and excited and everything...all to realize just before I left that my money was with Clifton.  Poop.  I was so mad.  You don't even know.  So I went to the bathroom and at some point while taking a pee, I decided I was going to cut my hair myself.  That's right.  I've been the only one that's cut my bangs, and I cut my hair 3 years ago but that was easy because it wasn't a too dramatic cut.  Other than that I'm useless.  It was one of my crazy ideas that I just had to follow through on you know?

I put my hair in a ponytail, braided it, then started to cut.  The whole time I was cutting I was thinking "oh my gosh I'm cutting my hair, oh my gosh!"  It really took forever, because my hair is ridiculously thick.  And I had regular scissors.  Anyways here is a picture of me right after I cut it.  Not bad eh?

Clifton hates it.  I don't care :P

The point is: I am SO grateful to be an adult!  I LOVE being able to wear whatever I want!  I LOVE being able to stay up as late as I want or don't want!  I LOVE not being forced to do chores!  I LOVE doing things on my own time!  I LOVE paying for things myself!  I LOVE BEING GROWNUP! 

Marriage

Sometimes when things happen, the shock is the worst part about it. 

I found out today that my brothers wife left him.  Well they're not divorced and there's still a chance, but they are separated and she moved out.  I am so upset.  I looked up to them and their relationship so much!  I feel foolish for being so upset about it since I'm not the one actually going through it.  But I really really am.  I've been around divorce my whole life but I am so appalled.  And I'm mad I found out days later than everyone else.  Family is the most important thing to me right now, and it is so important to me that we share big news like that with each other.  I told Clifton and he was just as shocked as I was.  Seriously, no one saw it coming.

Now since it's not my marriage and it's not me, I cannot reveal any details.  Which sucks, because I want to so bad.  That wouldn't really be right though.  I know that there are so many things in a relationship that other people don't know.  Some of me and my husbands friends think they know things about our relationship, but they really don't.  We are extremely open, but marriage is a very sacred thing and of course we want to keep it that way.

I am so grateful for marriage and the relationship me and Clifton have.  I cannot wait to get sealed in the Temple.

Breaks

Wowza.  Today at work, we were slow.  Cha-ching!  It was glorious.  I'm grateful for little breaks to rejuvenate.

Lazy days

My brain is going to explode.  Work is so crazy!  Today was ridiculous.  I get so stressed and frustrated with it sometimes.  I almost started crying today actually.  I was so glad when I got off.  You know what I did?  I plopped down on the love sac and watched movies for 6 hours.  It was glorious.  I don't even feel bad haha!  I love lazy days.

Good manners

Today at work there were so many people that were so polite!  They kept saying "thank you" and "excuse me mam" etc.  It wasn't in an overbearing fake way either.  I'm grateful for people that have honest to goodness good manners.  It's refreshing.

Pi (3.1415926535897932384626...)

When I was in 7th grade, my math teacher had the first 100 numbers of pi bordering his room.  At this Junior High, the 30 minutes directly after lunch were spent reading.  Kids were supposed to read in their classroom after lunch until the teacher decided to start the lesson.  I had math right after lunch.  Lots of times I forgot my book.  I actually hated being forced to read at the time so whenever I forgot my book or didn't feel like reading, I passed the time by memorizing pi.  I figured it would come in handy one day.  You know, like one of those odd tidbits of information that WILL come in handy if I'm ever on a game show.  Besides, my older brother Aaron had memorized the first 50 numbers of pi for extra credit once and I thought he was the coolest.  One time in my math class we had a substitute, and this substitute for some reason said we could leave way early if anyone had the first 40 numbers of pi memorized.  At the time I had about 30 numbers memorized, so my hand shot in the air and after she called on me I started repeating what I knew.  Everyone stared  at me in shock.  But then the substitute counted and realized I didn't have the full 40 so we didn't get to leave.  It was still way fun for me though.  I thought I was the coolest.  And seriously, everyone was way impressed.

Since that math class, I have loved pi.  In high school I finally had a math teacher that celebrated pi day (March 14--3.14) and it was a blast.  I hated pie at the time but it was a day of no work in math!  Don't get me wrong I love math.  But this teacher was horrendous, and he had a glass eyeball that would sometimes move separate from his other eye just like Madeye Moody.  It was freaky.

My older brother Aaron went to the Philippines on his mission and was going to bring us back philippino jerseys with our favorite number, so I had him put the pi symbol on mine.  I know.  I'm cool.  It is now my favorite nightgown since it's so huge though.

Anyways, I'm not a huge freak about pi.  But I do celebrate it and pi is my favorite number.  Along with 8.  I want 8 children.

Um yeah.

HAPPY PI DAY!

And in case you are wondering, I do still have 25 numbers of pi memorized.  I put them in the title of this post.  It's fun.

Safety

Today I am grateful for safety.

History

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the past.  Not necessarily my past, but history in general.  History is Cliftons favorite subject and I've found myself getting more and more interested in it.  I am huge into preserving memories and such, and I already called dibs on being the family historian when my mom dies.  I love reading autobiographies like Anne Frank.  I like history.

Only recently have I received a greater appreciation and respect for those who lived before me.  Not having full water use is a pretty big deal.  I have to fill up a huge container of water from the bathroom then bring it to the sink anytime I want to do the dishes.  Of course the water gets dirty fast so I have to do this about 4 times depending on the amount of dishes.  It is tiring.  Any time we want to use the toilet, we have to do the same thing.   We have gone to my brothers house to shower.  It is seriously a pain.  But each time I want to complain I think of how grateful and blessed I am to even have a house!

Anyway, just think of the pioneers.  I'm on my period as well and with everything else going on, can you even imagine how the women handled it back then?!  They didn't even have tampons!  Or the luxury of being able to just lay in bed for hours at a time with a heat pad and ibuprofen.  It is incredible to me.  Even the people with the actual outhouses.  Having to go outside just to do your business?  Sounds cold and creepy to me.

Each generation has their challenges and trials.  I am grateful for history, to show me that at least I don't have to go through what they (people in the past) did.  Plus, it's so fascinating!

DATES!!!

Oh my goodness I love dating my husband!!
It's a huge excitement for me to have him formally ask me on a date.
By formally I mean: "Jesse will you go on a date with me?"
It's the best!
We went to Applebees with another couple tonight.
On the way we decided on a spending limit...no drinks or dessert.
Just the 2 for $20 deal they have.
When we got there Clifton got some lemonade and I gave him a look.
Um hello honey.  No drinks.
But then he just smiled all cute and said "It's a date babe, get whatever you want."

CUTEST!  I love him.  I love dates.

Motivation

A lot of people have a hard time with motivating themselves.  Yes.  I am one of those people.  Not because I don't care, but because I don't care enough.  I work out every day, I go to work, and I do the dishes when I'm not exhausted.  Other spare time is spent having sex with Clifton doing things I enjoy like reading and watching movies.  So what if I'm not super motivated to keep my house really clean!  I love cleaning and organizing, but it's true; my house is a freakin pigsty.  We don't have people over much and when we do I honestly don't care what they think.  I would like to keep my house more clean because when my house is beautiful I am extremely happy.  I just don't have enough motivation.

Today I cleaned and had motivation and it was wonderful.  I love my lazy days, but I'm grateful for motivation to keep things moving along.

Food

I love food.  I love my ability to eat whatever I want and not have it affect my body.  Of course, working out regularly definitely plays a part.  I'm usually the first at any kind of gathering to be at the serving table, pigging out big time.  Today Clifton got our tax refund, so we were able to get actual food for the first time in months.  It was wonderful.  I love food.

Utah

UTAH...THIS IS THE PLACE (3:40)

Words- Sam Francis, Gary Francis

Music- Gary Francis

Utah! People working together

Utah! What a great place to be.

Blessed from Heaven above.

It's the land that we love.

This is the place!

Utah! With its mountains and valleys.

Utah! With its canyons and streams.

You can go anywhere.

But there's none that compare.

This is the place!

It was Brigham Young who led the pioneers across the plains.

They suffered with the trials they had to face.

With faith they kept on going till they reached the Great Salt Lake

Here they heard the words..."THIS IS THE PLACE!"

Utah! With its focus on family,

Utah! Helps each child to succeed.

People care how they live.

Each has so much to give.

This is the place!

Utah! Getting bigger and better.

Utah! Always leading the way.

New technology's here...

Growing faster each year.

This is the place!

There is beauty in the snow-capped mountains, in the lakes and streams.

There are valleys filled with farms and orchards too.

The spirit of its people shows in everything they do.

Utah is the place where dreams come true.

Utah! With its pioneer spirit.

Utah! What a great legacy!

Blessed from Heaven above.

It's the land that we love.

This is the place

Utah! Utah! Utah!

THIS IS THE PLACE!

That right there is the state song of Utah.  I always think about how wonderful it would be to live somewhere that's warm all the time.  Like California.  Of course, I think California is everyones dream hehe.  I just love being hot and the idea of going to the beach to lay out or play some beach volleyball just entices me!  Me and Clifton have talked about it a bit lately and I realized I really love living here in Utah.  We are all really blessed to live here where there are 4 seasons.  Sun all the time only creates dessert, and snow all the time only creates bitterness.  It's healthy for the earth to have the different temperatures.  And because of the cold climate we sometimes get here, we don't have to worry about certain things that others have to.  The termites can't really servive in the cold and neither can lots of other harmful bacteria or viruses.  At my dads house in Alabama every summer we have to powerwash the hedges, because a certain bacteria grows on them and kills them.  We don't have to worry about that here.  Obviously there are the downsides, but overall I really enjoy living here.  I know lots of people hate it, but I think it's great.  It's such a beautiful state!

Besides the cold, another issue is religion.  I think it can be really difficult for pretty much any religion to live in Utah.  Having a religion is hard enough sometimes anywhere, but I think especially in Utah it can get complicated.  Pressures to be a certain way create self-righteous people that lie about worthiness.  Things like that.  Me and Clifton have talked about that as well and think it's a good thing overall.  We won't force our religion on our kids.  We will let them choose if they ask us.  Whatever they choose, we will let them know that what we believe makes us incredibly happy and brings us joy that no other belief has.  We will also let them know that we will love them no matter what.  If they decide not to believe in God, so be it.  But if they decide that they need the gospel in their lives like we do, it will be nice having so many around that have the same basic beliefs that they do.

I'm grateful to live in Utah.  It really is a great place, and people don't give it enough credit.  They say people suck at driving and people are too judgemental; there are horrible drivers everywhere and perhaps people are too judgemental.  But it wouldn't be so irritating to those people if they didn't feel guilty about something like not living to their full potential.  I hate it when people bash on Utah.  It bugs me when people complain about the wacky weather every single year too.  Um it's not going to change, stop complaining or move...you've been here for over 2 years, you should expect this by now.  Other states are flawed too, stop looking for the negative.  Really, if you don't enjoy where you live then move.  If you can't move, then start enjoying where you live.  That's about all I have to say about that.  I love Utah.

Attractive people

I know.  This is not an ideal thing to be grateful for.  But I think it's totally fine, because everyone is attractive in their own way.  Everyone is beautiful to someone else.  Today while at work this extremely attractive couple came in and their faces just looked so good together!  Not in the "wow they look like siblings" way.  Just in the "their physical features really compliment each other" way.  It made me happy, and being the dork I am I told them.  I bet they've never heard that compliment from a complete stranger. 

Also, my husband is the most handsome man ever!  Seriously.  I love watching him sleep.  Which I do every night at 4:15 am, then again when I wake up.  Just kidding; I know he's going to read this eventually and I know how freaked out he gets if he thinks someone's watching him sleep.  Even if that someone is his wife.  Whatever lol.  He really is so cute though :)

Home cooked meals

Being so poor we can't afford much food, it's so nice going to my parents or my inlaws and having some delicious home-cooked meals.  Yummo.

Home

I LOVE traveling.  I love vacations.  I love variety.  If we had the money I'd probably move somewhere new and exciting every 4 months.  I love where I live, but I get kinda stir-crazy sometimes.  But after a vacation it's always nice going home.  I'm grateful I even have a home to go to.  I've literally been homeless for 2 weeks and although that was my adventure for the year, I would never choose it.  It was nice coming home after our lil trip :)

Laughter

Today I discovered damnyouautocorrect.com and epicwtfs.com.  And I peed my pants haha.  Actually everyone is trying to sleep and I have been failing at holding in my laughter.  When I tried holding it in I was making weird breathing noises and Clifton thought I was crying.  When he found out I was laughing he was mad, cause he woke up and got all worried for no reason.  Haha good times.  Here are some of my favorites.  For your enjoyment :)

Hahaha that last one is my all time all time fave.  HI!  Haha.  Ok today we went to the beach so here's some pictures as well.

Concentration

So here's the thing.  I should probably go to the doctor.  Cause I pee my pants.  A LOT.  I'm serious.  Every time isn't full on or anything, although sometimes it really is.  Most of the time it's a little tinkle, or enough to leave a nice wet spot on my pants.  I know you're probably super grossed out right now.  But it's my condition.  When my mom and stepdad Rob first got married it got to the point that one time he just looked at me and I peed my pants.  The guy is just so funny and I was used to him constantly tickling me and putting me in the trash can and such.  I think that's when it started actually.  Since then I have just not been able to keep my bladder under control.  I'm fine if I don't laugh.  But if someone gets me laughing really hard it takes everything I have to not have an accident and sometimes that isn't even good enough.  And if you know me...you also know how easy it is to make me laugh.  The only thing that stops my husband when he's tickling me is me shouting that I'm going to pee, but even then I'm sometimes laughing so hard I can't say anything.  Maybe it's overactive bladder, maybe I have really weak muscles down there that refuse to strengthen, maybe I need to be potty trained again.  I don't know.

This brings me to concentration.  Yesterday on Tower of Terror, I was having so much fun I peed my pants.  It ruined the rest of the day for me.  Ok not really, but I was really really upset.  Usually I just laugh an accident off and move on.  But I had no change of clothes, so I let it get to me.  Today I really wanted to go on Tower of Terror again.  So instead of focusing on the thrill of it, I concentrated on when the picture would be.  Concentrating on that still made it really fun for me, but not the pee-my-pants kind of fun.  Me and Clifton posed awesome for the picture, which is what I was concentrating on.  I'm super grateful for concentration.  You don't even know.

Seriously so hard for me to do on that ride

WE LOVE DONALD!!!!

Indiana Jones

Current winners of cutest couple

Such a happy moment with my husband :)

She loves it...

He loves it...

I love it...

And then there's JC.

I beat him in a shooting game!!!

Yep.  We're royalty.

The hottest knight ever

Best meal in the world.

Stupid knight threw the rose to her!  I was pissed lol

Hot tuuuuub