2011

Michael and I are sitting in our living room, watching TV, and listening to our puppies sleep. I'M IN HEAVEN. We just went on a long 2-hour hike in our "backyard" and when we got back, they were exhausted. While I was sitting here listening to the peace and quiet, I thought back to the amazing things that happened this year:

#1: I became a BYU Alumnus

Graduating was an amazing and wonderful experience. I am so grateful and I appreciate all the help from everyone who made this goal possible. I love BYU and I love my Linguistics degree.

#2: I got a full-time job at BYU and a part-time job working in Linguistics.

Being able to work at the Honor Code Office is such a huge blessing. The work is difficult and frustrating, but I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with. I love my co-workers. Everyone at my work has such hilarious personalities, and we get along so great together. It's my family away from my family. My Linguistics job is a huge blessing as well. I am so grateful that I am able to continue working in the field I love. It also gets me really good work experience for when I decide to get back into my field for good.

#3: We were able to move to a bigger place.

We were having a really hard time finding somewhere to move to after we got Leia. Very, VERY, few places allow dogs, especially if you're renting. It was also difficult trying to find a place that was affordable and relatively near by. We found our house and it was perfect. We have enough space for our puppies, enough room for us, and it is so well priced.

#4: We brought home our beautiful babies! (puppies...)

Leia sleeping in a very lady-like manner.

I love my dogs. I know some people think I go too far and I'm a bit obsessed, but I honestly don't care. They bring so much joy to my life. I never had a dog growing up, so having someone that relies on you for their well-being and love really opened my eyes. I never thought I could love something so much (apart from Michael obviously). They each have their own cute personalities and are always happy to be with Michael and me. They are also the reason why I have stayed in shape. We walk them at least twice a day... so all that walking really helps burn off those cookies or treats I indulge in at work.

#5: Michael still likes me.

I know, a miracle. But seriously, it was so nice to celebrate our 2nd anniversary this year. Ever since we've been married, life has been above and beyond amazing. He is everything I could have ever hoped for. We are on the same page and have the same goals. I am so grateful to have him and I am proud to have the last name Black. Michael is my prince and I am excited to celebrate our 3rd year of marriage this next year.

2011 was awesome, but I am excited to see what adventures await in 2012! Happy New Years!!!

Holiday Season

I love the holidays :).

It's been so nice. My birthday was super fun and I got to eat all-you-can-eat sushi. And let me tell you, I ate ALL I could eat. I also had a nice loooong break and relaxed with the pups. We did a lot of hiking and "running" (they ran... Michael and I watched them run. That still counts though, right?). It was nice to be outside and watching our furry babies enjoy their time with us.

We celebrated Christmas latino style. Well, almost. We didn't eat our "dinner" on Christmas eve mainly out of laziness, but we did open presents at midnight. I loved the look on Michael's face when he saw all the things I got him :). I finally was able to successfully hide and wrap everything without him knowing what I got him! And he said that he was honestly surprised by how AWESOME my gifts were. Just being awesome, what can I say. Christmas morning was very relaxing with only one hour of church. Our Christmas dinner was absolutely delicious. Honestly, I have never had ham as good as our ham was on Christmas. I stuffed my face, for days after that as well. And we had rolls from Shirley that were delicious. That bakery is legit.

Anywho, the week after was also pretty chill. Not a lot of work, and more days off :). The weather has been really nice too. Mid 40's and 50's. That means that a huge cold front is coming... yay. But it's been super nice and we have been going on long hikes behind our house with the Black clan. I must say, life is pretty good right now. We're excited for the new year, and Michael is more excited about starting his last semester at the Y.

I love pinterest. Especially when I find gems like this:

Kills me every time I read it.

My Beloved

I have been the worst wife the past couple days... Poor Michael has had to deal with my mood swings and stupidity which are mainly coming from his inability to accept that we should get a new dog.

I know... retarded.

Anywho, I hope to make it up to my poor husband by giving him a shout out on my blog :). Michael is pretty fantastic. Not only is he incredibly handsome and good at everything he does (except for what I ask him to do...) (jk, I keep forgetting that I'm trying to be nice), but he is also the funniest guy I know. I mean, he'll be sitting there and then randomly break into song. It's adorable. And I love watching him play with Luke and Leia. If he is any where close as good as being a father as he is with Luke and Leia, then he'll be an amazing human father <3. If that doesn't make sense, it's ok. It took me about 10 minutes to write that sentence and by the end I just gave up. Basically, Michael rocks.

10 things I love about him:

#1: His cooking! I am so blessed to have a husband who actually likes to cook and cooks AMAZINGLY.
#2: He's almost as lazy as me. I don't have to feel pressure to be a work-out freak or out-door freak because Michael loves to sit on the couch next to me!
#3: He has my same sense of humor. We both love watching the same shows.
#4: He loves dogs. And I love dogs.
#5: He doesn't get offended easily. Apparently I'm rude, so I thank him for not actually believing anything that comes out of my mouth.
#6: He's my Wikipedia. He knows everything about everything.
#7: He's patient. I mean, he's still married to me so that just kind of explains itself.
#8: He loves watching movies! We both like the gory kind with lots of fighting. No romance please, I'm sensitive.
#9: He doesn't budge even when I'm being a brat. The me-begging-for-a-puppy case is a prime example. I'm a brat and want useless things, but he cares more about our financial health than my temper tantrums. I'm beyond grateful for that.
#10: He prays and reads scriptures with me even when I'm tired. He always makes sure that we are doing what we should be and that we are worthy to go to the temple. Couldn't ask for a better man.

Anywho, life is great and it's mainly because Michael is great. I love you sweetheart and I apologize again for how stupid I've been!

Here are some pictures that remind me of you:

I keep showing him funny things I find online... and he never laughs... he just stares and then goes back to what he's doing. 

This is something similar to what you told me yesterday. 

Yup.

I LOVE YOU MICHAEL BLACK!

My New Commitment

A couple weeks ago I got called to work with the young women in my ward. I was SCARED, but they have been very welcoming and sweet. I've been thinking a lot about what lessons I hope they learn growing up and how I can help them learn those lessons. One big thing I've been thinking about, and one thing that has become an increasingly dangerous problem, is weight management and weight perception. I've talked about this before, but it's such a prevalent problem that it needs repeating.

Yesterday, Becky, our new student employee, was talking about this one class she took about addictions. She was saying how drug addictions can take years to clean out of your system. For example, cigarettes (which aren't even the worse on the drug pyramid) takes 8 years for all the mental effects to leave your system. 8 years! She then mentioned that the worse addiction, even more than drugs, are eating disorders. Bulimia and anorexia are so harmful in the fact that it not only affects their mental state but it also attacks the physical system. She was saying how even though a person can mentally get over bulimia or anorexia, their body cannot. Their body will still respond to food as it had when the person was actively engaging in the eating disorder.

I think that is so depressing. Bulimia destroys your body in so many disgusting ways. And I've noticed that the problem of physical appearance has been getting worse and worse. I was talking with some people in my ward and one person was saying how their friends mother was always on some type of diet. What is sad is that this type of thinking is heritable. Daughters who grow up around mothers who talk about their weight or dieting are more likely to develop eating disorders or will mentally be more inclined to worry about their weight and eating.

I know that I am one of the biggest culprits of this type of thinking. I am constantly thinking about how I need to lose weight or how I "shouldn't have eaten that". I'm tired of it. I'm tired of feeling fat when I'm not. I'm tired of looking at pictures of skinny girls. Most of the guys I've talked to don't even like skinny girls. Most of them say that skinny girls are disgusting and look sick. Why then, do we try so hard to look nastily skinny?! I have decided to take a vow starting yesterday (I probably should have written this post yesterday...) that I will never talk about my weight in a negative way. I do not want to raise my kids or expose my kids to me being negative about my weight. I want to set an example to my kids and to the young women that loving your body is freedom. Taking care of your body in a grateful manner shows respect not only for yourself, but for Heavenly Father's creation.

Showing that you are proud of your body, no matter what shape or size, is one of the biggest displays of courage women can show today. Screw the media with their nasty skinny girls. I'm tired of beating myself up.

If I want to eat a doughnut, so help me I will!

Here is a pinterest picture I died laughing at:

Have a great week :).

Wonderful Wednesdays

I thought I was having a bad day today, but then when I was on facebook, I realized that EVERYONE was having a bad day today. Funny how that happens. Anywho, it's Wednesday, which means it's not Friday. In other words, Wednesdays won't ever really be a good day. Especially when you forget it's Wednesday and think it's Friday.

I wasn't sure what to blog about and I wanted to avoid the usual "complain about hipsters" thing because I can go on and on with that topic. I've been thinking a lot about working out and how to manage my time between working both jobs, family, YW calling, etc. It's been really hard to find time and motivation since I don't have a gym membership anymore (You have to get reallllly creative). So I've decided that since I don't have time to work out after work because I usually have 12343u23 other things to do, I will work out in the mornings! It makes PERFECT sense! Why not wake up about 1 1/2 hours earlier than you would have, and just do some healthy exercises right!?

You can ask my unused work out clothes how good that's going... I've tried so hard to get up in the morning. The night before I pump myself up and I get everything ready so that I do the most minimal amount of thinking possible in the morning. I tell myself repeatedly that it will happen and I go to bed listening to work out music (thinking that it will linger until I wake up...). In the morning, all that motivation falls apart and I end up waking up at my usual time... suck.

Moral of the story: put your alarm clock out of arms reach. Maybe I'll move mine. Probably not.

BTW, I want a camera soo bad. I have this nasty bruise on my hip from running into a door (they're tricky things) and I wanted to post it with some funny comments. My dogs also do funny things that I want to take pictures of or take a video of. But I can't.

Yay for Thursday tomorrow. Weekend Eve!

Thanksgiving

I love the holidays! I've honestly been looking forward for this time of year since last Christmas. I love everything about this time: Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Thanksgiving food, Thanksgiving break, snow, cold weather, family, and Black Friday!

This Thanksgiving is exciting because it's the first one with just Michael, me, and the pups. Basically our first "family" Thanksgiving. We have all the delicious food ready and I'm looking forward to feasting for the next couple days. We bought the dogs some tasty new treats for the event and we'll give them some turkey for dinner :). They are spoiled and fat. This morning, Michael and I started our cooking feast by getting the turkey ready. It was a lot of fun... which I would never think since cooking has usually been stressful for me. It was fun to inject the turkey with broth and then spread butter all over it. Well funny story. So here we are, getting ready to put the turkey in and Michael goes to get the plastic bag thing that the turkey goes in. I pick up the greasy, wet turkey while Michael holds the bag open. I drop the turkey into the bag, and next thing you know, our turkey rips through the plastic bag and it goes flying to the floor. I love having broth and stuffing on my floor. We both looked at each other, laughed, and then got annoyed that our turkey was on the floor. Thank GOODNESS our dogs were outside. That would have been a disaster if they were inside. After a minute of regrouping, we finally got the turkey in the bag and dressed it again.

The bird is in our oven, cooking. Later we're going to make some sweet potato casserole with marshmellows, green bean casserole, rolls, and salad.

Nuff Said.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Home Sick

No, I'm not "homesick"... well, fine I am. I mean to say that I am AT home, sick. I finally decided to take a full sick day and recover. How's that going you might ask? Not too well.... I still have so much to do. The dogs ran out of food last night so this morning I made them some yummy chicken with carrots and potatoes :). I actually liked cooking for them. I also got some dishes done and cleaned the kitchen. I did some part-time work and now I'm sitting again, after folding laundry and making the bed, to do more part-time work. I don't ever think I will enjoy a "day-off" or "sick-day" until I'm really old. And by that time I'll either be retired or dead. or both. I miss the good ol' days in high school where my day off consisted of playing crazy-taxi on playstation for hours. Or playing the SIMS on my computer... for hours. Or sleeping. Or reading. Basically everything but what I've been doing today. One good thing about staying home today is that I free up time for tomorrow!

Catherine, Michael, and I will be going Thanksgiving shopping tomorrow. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. I haven't cooked a Thanksgiving dinner yet, so I'm hoping to make my cooking debut next weekend. I love Thanksgiving and I love eating Thanksgiving food. I also LOVE Black Friday! I can't tell you how excited I am. I get to do all my Christmas shopping then :). It's also a day where Michael doesn't stand behind me and say, "Oh, do we need that?" 5 most annoying words. Michael and I want to get some tasty recipes to make yummy food for the dogs. I know, people think that I'm a little over board with my dogs. I don't think I am. They are part of my family and they have distinct personalities. They aren't just mindless animals content with whatever comes there way. They have feelings. Anywho, I don't want to start my "animals have feelings" debate. I am a proud pup mom and I can't wait to spoil them next week.

I hope that we can find a camera next week during Black Friday. I think we have a warranty on our old one.. but we can't find the box. I also think that it expired a couple months ago. Hopefully there will be actual pictures of us on here soon (especially since I want to take our Christmas Card picture soon!). Here's the thought for today:

something I keep trying to tell Michael

Sick

I've had the head cold for a couple days now. I'm ready to rip my nose off and suction out all the mucus. I'm also looking forward to a nice sleep that doesn't have me waking up all throughout the night because I can't breathe through my nose and I accidentally close my mouth. I should be at home resting, but it gets sooo boring there by yourself. It's so weird how I say that now. I usually jump at the chance to stay home and do nothing but now that I earn my sick leave... I'd rather not waste it. I mean, what if I get something horrible and really do have to stay home? Right? Because that happens often enough?

Now I'm thinking that I should have stayed...

I need one of these. And maybe a trashcan strapped to my waist? Perfect.

Fo' real....

Movie Mania

So many good movies are coming out soon!!! (and by soon, I mean next year).

#1: Immortals

It's rated R... so maybe I'll wait till the edited version comes out? Anywho, it's very 300-like. I heard that the actual story line sucks, but it's very visually appealing. Good enough. I don't go to the movies to think; I go to relax and enjoy myself.

#2: Snow White & the Huntman

Honestly, this movie looks freakin AMAZING. Kristen Stewart doesn't seem like a bad Snow White, but I feel like they could have done better. W/e, Hemsworth more than makes up for it :).

#3: Hunger Games

I have yet to read the books (next on my reading list), but the story looks exciting. I'm debating on waiting for the movie to come out first before I read... This movie also has a Hemsworth in it, perfecto.


I really wish someone would remake the Eragon movie... and then finish the series. I'm on the third book and not too excited about reading the last one (which recently came out). Michael read the fourth one already (he finished it in less than 24 hours after it came out) and wasn't too happy about the ending. I heard the last book of Hunger Games is the same. I hate having books that end poorly. It discredits the author and makes their work tainted. But w/e, I'm not an author, I don't have the patience to write a book.

If anyone has book recommendations, I would love to hear them!

Health

Lately I have been SUPER moody and really irritated (yes, that's possible). Unfortunately, the poor souls who read my blog have had to go through my rantings about how I either want to kill someone or hurt them close to killing them. Let me make this clear: I have never killed anyone. And I probably won't. Unless you hurt my dogs (Michael you can hurt, but I would feel sorry for you because he can bend you in half and break you).

Anywho, so today I want to talk about how much I love my body. Hahaha, you're probably thinking "Wow, she's stuck up". Or maybe you always think that. W/e. This morning I actually got up and took my dogs on a walk/run to help Leia out with her anxiety (the internet told me that more exercise should help... we'll see). While near the end of the walk my stomach started to hurt HORRIBLY. I was due for my period (sorry to anyone out there with a weak stomach), so I got scared because the pain resembled the pain I use to feel in High School whenever I got my period.

So here I am, 6:20 AM struggling to get home. The funny thing about this is I was only half a block from my house, but when you're in THAT much pain, every step feels like an eternity. So as I'm walking, I start to throw up everywhere. And by everywhere, I really do mean everywhere. Sidewalk, road, people's front yards, a car I think.... it got nasty. The nastiest part though, I had to drag my dogs away from the throw up because they would lick it off the road (or off my face...). I finally got home, got up stairs, and just worked hell on my poor toilet. I called Michael to help me out, but poor guy has never been through one of these episodes. And he was half awake. Well I finally get the mental ability to take some hard core cramp medicine and I lay down on the ground with my heating pad on full blast. Let me just tell you, it's in those moments, where the pain just doesn't feel like it will stop and where the pain is so intense you consider shooting yourself in the foot, that you realize what real strength is. I'm not considering myself a super strong person physically (I whine going up stairs), but I do think that I am mentally strong and I'm grateful for the times that make me that way.

After the whole episode (which lasted about 30 minutes), I sat on the ground feeling 200% better. Honestly, anything after that would have been 200%, but w/e. I felt great, and I LOVE my body! I may not have tight, sexy abs or nice toned legs. Heck, my arms can lift me if the wind blows fast enough, but my body is still amazing. It lets me do so much and makes it possible for me to live the life I live. I can play with my puppies in the backyard, run outside with them, go hiking outside in beautiful Utah. I can work and do what they require of me (hopefully...). I can speak with relative ease (unless I'm excited). I can see funny shows and beautiful scenery. I can hear good music and funny jokes. I can feel my husband when he gives me a hug. I can smell his amazing cooking. I'm not ever in pain, unless I'm exercising, but that's different. I can eat awesome food and not worrying about getting sick from it.

I hate being sick. I hate being strapped down to a bed in pain. I love my body for making it possible for me to do the things I love and I hope that when and if I have daughters, that they love their body for what it can do, not for what it looks like.

Being Mormon

Mormonism has been in the spotlight for some time now. Some good, but mainly bad. I usually ignore most comments about it (especially if anyone calls us a "cult") because people who make comments about my religion MOST LIKELY have never actually studied my religion or have not taken the time to listen to members.

Anywho, like I said, I don't really get bothered but I found this article about "Young Mormons".

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/fashion/young-mormons-find-ways-to-be-hip.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&smid=fb-share

This article is RETARDED. Most of the people that were interviewed don't sound like they're active and if they are... then they're point of view about the church is a little weird.

Here is something that really bothered me:

Rebelling, If Only Just a Little

 

WHAT THE CHURCH SAYS

Many adult Mormons follow the practice of wearing the temple garment, which for men, means long boxer briefs and a scoop-neck T-shirt and, for women, knee-length shorts and a top with cap sleeves.

HOW TO GET AROUND IT

For men, tank tops are out, but you can stay on-trend in a button-down plaid shirt, rolled selvedge jeans and boat shoes. For women, one popular option is the “Zooey Deschanel look” — ruffled blouse, bow collar and a high-waisted pencil skirt. 

Me: JUST BE MODEST. PERIOD.

WHAT THE CHURCH SAYS

Mormons are told not to “disfigure” themselves “with tattoos or body piercing.”

HOW TO GET AROUND IT

Cover up the tattoos or at least try a compromise, like getting a tattoo of a beehive, a Mormon symbol of working together for the common good. 

Me: NO TATTOOS OR BODY PIERCINGS. Even if you get a picture of the prophet on your back, it is still NOT appropriate. 

WHAT THE CHURCH SAYS

No beards on missionaries or Brigham Young University students.

HOW TO GET AROUND IT

An allergic reaction to shaving, demonstrated by razor bumps, can score you a “beard card” at B.Y.U.

 Me: I DARE you to come to the Honor Code Office. See how "easy" it is to get a beard waiver. 

WHAT THE CHURCH SAYS

No consumption of alcohol, even at social functions.

HOW TO GET AROUND IT

Drink Pellegrino and don’t bother to correct other party guests who assume you are in recovery.

 Me: Just drink water, so you can stop being fat.

This article is annoying. People are annoying. I'm tired and want to go home and eat.

This made me laugh out loud.

So Tired

I think one of the biggest reasons I blog is to help keep myself awake at work. I'm not bored or anything, I have PLENTY to do. I just ate lunch, so my brain kicks into "napping" mode. I've always thought this was weird because my body responds well to a stable routine. I (usually) wake up fine at 7:00 AM since my body is use to it, and I (usually) don't get hungry till about 12:30 which is when I take my lunch. I also use the bathroom around the same time everyday. So here's my question, why do I get tired randomly during the day when I NEVER take naps. And by never, that doesn't include Sundays. Anywho, it annoys me because all I want to do is slam my face on my desk and pass out until someone notices.

So this morning, Michael and I had an interesting discussion about the birthrate in the United States. A couple years ago I was in the 1 credit political science class and the teacher showed this clip about how races with large birth rates will dominate the world in about 50 years. She said that the lowest a birth rate can be before the population "back-tracks" is 2.0. Most first world countries average around 1.5. I think France had the lowest at 1.1 (or Japan... probably Japan). The number signifies the number of children per household (or family). The United States has 2 kids per family, meaning that they replace the parents without adding anything. In France, couples only have about 1 child, meaning that only one parent is being replaced. It's simple math (which I suck at):

2=2 - you replace the people that die, but your population doesn't grow
1=2 - you only replace one person that dies, so your population goes down


Anywho, another interesting fact I learned is that the only reason the United States has a 2.0 birth rate is because of the minority populations (mainly hispanic). So in 50 years, about half of the U.S. population will be hispanic :D. Good thing I went to college now... I probably wouldn't have been able to get a scholarship since hispanics won't be the minority soon.

Another interesting fact is that the Muslim population has a birthrate of 8.9. Yes, 8.9. The video my professor showed in class was pointed toward explaining how first world countries need to push for a higher birth rates or else the "mixture" of races will vanish. We'll only be either Muslim or Hispanic.


It's funny how hypocritical I make myself sound (since I should, by BYU standards, have 2 kids already). Yes I want kids, but I think that waiting another 2 years before we start will be fine? Yes. Sounds great.

I have puppies to raise.

Funny Pictures

I found these AFTER I posted my last post:

Loser hipsters, get a life.

At Work... Alone

No one is here. I'm sitting at my desk trying really hard to stay busy. Linda, my boss, and the afternoon student secretary, Megan, are both out. The counselors that have offices in the main office are gone. Larry, head honcho, is here, but he keeps walking in and out of the office. I'm so bored..............

Anywho, being left to my thoughts leads to either genius ideas or a list of things that annoy me. Today, unfortunately, the latter has happened. I just read an article in the Daily Universe about hipsters. I don't know why, but my blood boils when I hear that word. My blood boils when I see people who try really hard to be described as that word. If you consider yourself a hipster, stop reading now. If you consider yourself a hipster and don't mind being offend, keep reading.

Basically the whole thought of a hipster makes me sick in my stomach. How are those people able to function in society normally? Oh wait, they don't. In my opinion, it seems that all they care about is how to NOT fit into society. I once read this quote that made me giggle:

"I'm just trying to be different, like everyone else."

I've always been amazed at how one sentence could expose people like hipsters so thoroughly. So many people try so hard to be like hipsters... and I don't understand why. Why would you want to wear thick rimmed glasses when you don't have to? You look like a retard. If you google "hipster", most of the images that come up have people with those stupid glasses. Newsflash: YOU DON'T LOOK INTELLIGENT.

douche bag example #1

 And maybe the "intelligent" aspect of the glasses isn't what they're looking for. Maybe they WANT to look like huge douche bags. If that's the case, congrats, you win.

Another thing that bothers me is a hipster's obsessive nature with listening to bands that no one knows about. I'll admit, my late years of High School and early years of College were filled with band seeking. It wasn't till after I got over that, that I realized how exhausting it was. And honestly, most of those bands sound the same. It's all the same nasty noise (they come out with gems every now and again). I usually got a headache from listening to all that crap which then got so bad that Britney Spears started to sound like the Tabernacle choir in comparison. I feel like the only reason hipsters do that is to feel like they have physical evidence of their "hipsterness". I hope they know, most people do not honestly give a rats butt about how they know 50 obscure, awful bands.

Finally, the things that irritates me the most (I think mainly because I work in the Honor Code Office) is a hipster's obsession with hair. They need to have it, and they need to have a lot of it. It seems like the hairy you are, the greater claim you have to the title "hipster". Let me make a point:

VERY handsome and clean shaven

pure YUCK

You know, sometimes I feel bad for hipsters. They spend their entire existence working so hard to be different with no obvious advantages. Women hipsters have to compete not only with other girls, but with guys to see who has the tighter jean/legging. Men hipsters probably spend their entire day wondering if their private parts will ever grow back. I'm not really sure how to handle this increasingly annoying problem... maybe the following:

                                  1. Ignore them (they only exists to get attention)

                         2. Kill them

The first might lead to less criminal charges, but the second would be very satisfying.

Babies

No, I'm not pregnant. But looking on pinterest has made me want a baby girl SO BAD. Maybe someone in my family should have a baby girl (hint hint Jennifer Orgill...) :).

How beautiful is this girl?! I want to dress my baby girl in pretty dresses...

But then again, I want to teach my daughter that what is outside is less important than what is inside. I read this blog/article a while ago saying how our society, from the beginning of a girl's life, focuses on her beauty (or lack thereof). Whenever we see a cute little girl, the first thing we mention is how cute she looks, or how pretty her hair is. We never ask them questions that trigger brain activity (but then again, I would probably never ask a 5 year old what she thinks about the meaning of life). But for young girls, around 8-10, no one ever asks them what books they like or what they think about certain topics. Michael use to be a primary teacher for 11 year old's, and I had to restrain myself from telling the girls how cute I thought their dresses were. 

It's difficult, so my solution is to not talk to children. Anywho, back to pictures of cute girls (I'm not a pedophile):

I hope my daughter has blue eyes and dark hair. My dad has blue eyes... and Michael has blue eyes, so maybe?

How precious is she?!

Those eyes

So beautiful and innocent

Love her cute outfit. I want to dress my baby girl in pretty clothes... 

Chunky cheeks and chunky lips

Basically, baby girls are the best.

If I ever get the chance to be a mama, I want my baby girls to be named Evelyn and Elayne. Evelyn I've liked since I was young and Elayne I got from a book I'm reading right now called the "Wheel of Time". I better have 2 girls, that's all I'm sayin'. 

Running

I keep hearing these stories about people finishing marathons:

She finished a marathon days before her due date. Then she gave birth. 

This guy is 100 years old. 

I breath heavily after climbing the stairs.......

Halloween Decorations

This post is mainly for me. Pinterest is fabulous, but one thing that I wish it had was a way to organize your boards (if anyone knows how to do this... let me know). I wish I could make sub categories in my board, but w/e. I'm going to post Halloween Decorations I'm GOING to be working on this weekend. THIS. IS. HAPPENING.

Maybe with Halloween colors? Then I can reuse the balls with different pin colors... 

Love this

This is cool

This seems REALLY easy. And cheap.

Make ghosts? Or a witch? Michael always has socks on the floor... maybe this will persuade him to pick up his socks

Cutes

I want to make these... maybe

Different colors?

My house WILL be decorated for Halloween.

Gratitude

At work I get some downtime, and one of my favorite things to do is visit this blog: http://justlittlethings.net/.  I heard that there are some blogs like this one, but the reason I like this one so much is because of how simple the design is. There are no distracting pictures or weirdo comments (there are comments.. but they're little).

Some of my favorites:

I recommend visiting the site. Anywho, not sure if I mentioned this, but Leia went to go get scooped out this weekend. She had surgery on Friday and we got to pick her up Saturday morning. Poor baby girl has stitches on her belly. The vets said to make sure she's relaxed and doesn't run around too much or play too hard... that just goes to show that they have NO IDEA what kind of dog she is. Basically, I've been expecting to see her guys hanging out of her stomach. She licks her stomach all the blasted time, runs up and down stairs like the building is collapsing, and attacks Luke whenever he has something in his mouth (which is always). We tried to put the cone on her head, but the first time was HORRIBLE. 

I wasn't planning on sharing the whole story, but it's pretty entertaining. So Michael and I decide to have a short date night and go see Captain America at the dollar theater. We decide to leave Luke in the garage and Leia in our bedroom (you can already see where our logic is flawed...). So we have a great time and come home to a quiet and peaceful home. We walk into our bedroom and Leia is innocently resting on the floor. I get ready for bed and then go to sit on my side, but I notice that it's moist. Michael, being as timely as he is, notices that there is a giant wet spot on the ground. Leia had decided that being potty trained was for losers, and let me tell you, she's no loser. She peed in a couple different spots on the carpet and decided to share that love on my side of the bed. Great. Dog.

Well, we finally clean everything up and then notice that she keeps licking her stupid stitches. We finally decide to get the big guns out and put her cone on. 

Oh. My. Gosh. 

I was already near breaking point stress level wise, but this just broke me. It took us about 20-25 minutes to get the stupid thing on her neck, but Leia has a tendency to loose control of her bladder when she's excited or scared. She peed again. On the floor. And this time, on Michael's side of the bed (I said a little prayer of thanks that it wasn't my side again). But this time we couldn't get that mad, because Leia was so traumatized by the whole experience that she was stiff as a board, probably wondering why we were deciding to torture her with the cone. It was hilarious. She would not move for anything, and she even placed herself so that her back was toward us like some stubborn child. That made me feel better. Until I had to fix the stupid cone. She had one part of the cone sticking out, so I took it upon myself to cut it so that she wouldn't bump into everything. I get the scissors down to the very bottom of the cone, and Leia decides to leap forward, managing to rip the cone off her head.

Everything after that was a blur... I think I remember seeing lights, some blood (probably from my eyes, since my head was about to explode), possibly some pee again.

Yay for cones. And psycho dogs.

Decorating

Pinterest and I have a very strong love/hate relationship. I love looking through all the cool things that people put up and imagining how things would look if I did them. I hate that I never have time or when I do have time, I just don't care anymore. I've found that I've developed a patterned set of responses when it comes to decorating or cooking.

#1. I see it on Pinterest

#2. I see myself making it

#3. I make a list of all the supplies and I schedule a time to make it

#4. I finally get time to make it

#5. I stand in front of the wall (or stove)

#6. My stress levels start to rise

#7. I start to forget why I so desperately wanted to do this

#8. I start to think about all the other fun things I could be doing

#9. I get on Pinterest

#10. See #1

It's a vicious cycle that has yet to break. Sorry house, you will never have cool crafts to cover your bare walls. Sorry stove, only Michael likes you.

Moody

I've been kinda moody today (if you ask Michael he might laugh and say that I'm moody all the time). But today I just feel weird. I guess this whole week as been weird really. Well not weird, just off.

So Sunday started with a blast... literally. Well Conference was actually amazing, but Michael and I both got the stomach flu. Michael got sick before I did, and his sickness was a lot more violent (note the word blast at the beginning).

Basically this... but not rainbows. 

My poor baby hubs had this little episode happen a couple times during the night. I was feeling fine, even after hearing him wretch in the bathroom, until around midnight that same night. My stomach was pretty upset, but I just tried to ignore it. Well let me tell you, if your stomach has something to say, it'll say it. And so I had my face time with the toilet later that night. The next morning, Michael felt pretty bad still but he was done with all the nasty stuff. I felt like I got hit by a bus. My entire body was extremely sore and achy. Basically Monday was spent sleeping, waking up delusional, falling back asleep, waking up to eat a cracker, and sleeping. 

Tuesday was a little different... Michael was better enough to go back to school and work. I, on the other hand, was still pretty out of it and sore. I progressed though, I was able to eat 2 crackers. I joke around about getting sick and losing weight... but then I actually get sick and hate it. 

Wednesday started out awesome. 

That's the face I had all day.

Until my basketball game... don't get me wrong, I LOVE basketball and I LOVE my team. So here is what happened... Michael and I are playing on a co-ed team and in the beginning of the game, our team gets called because one of our guys knocked over a girl. I honestly don't remember everything that happened... but I, at that moment, thought all the justice of the world fell. I decided to take it upon myself to right the wrong that was made against my team and flop for a foul. (you can already see where my logic was flawed). The very next play begins and some red head from the other team comes flying down the court. I think he was being followed by Michael.. I forget. Anywho, I strategically decide to move in front of him. Well kids, when something that is moving really fast collides with something that isn't moving at all, the object that is not moving gets hurt A LOT more than the object that is moving. I finally was able to learn something from Physical Science class during a basketball game. Well, I "flopped" to the ground trying to get a call and fell pretty hard on my hip. To my surprise, no call was called! Not one dang whistle was blown. I laid there, stunned at the injustice. And then my leg started to hurt. I got up, and stumbled right back down because my muscles weren't connecting with my bone. Basically I crippled myself while trying to cheat into getting a foul. 

Karma.

Anywho, the rest of the week was fun. Except for the fact that my baby mama Amara had to go to the hospital. She's beautiful and seven months pregnant; in other words, she's beautifully seven months pregnant. She's been doing well (as far as I know), but I still wanted to send some positive thoughts her way:

Love you Amara, Mei Le will be perfectly fine and perfectly beautiful :).