Grateful Sunday

ETERNAL FAMILIES AND ONE AMAZING WOMAN

This past week, our family lost someone very dear and special to all of our hearts. My Uncle Art passed away. While in his passing, he is finally freed from his tired body, my heart goes out to his beloved and devoted wife, Elaine. This lady is amazing to me. I admire and love her so much. Years ago, can't remember how many, Uncle Art had a stroke. It left him without much use of one side of his body and unable to care for himself. Rather than place him in a home, my Aunt took care of him. She devoted her life to him!! I have NEVER heard her complain. She always had a smile on her face and was more than happy to tend to his every need. Until he became much weaker, she took him to all the family get togethers, ward activities, and they attended the temple each week. I truly do not know how she did it. I love her, and I am sad for her during this time but knowing her, she will go on without hardly flinching and continue to be the woman I admire so much and hope to one day be in a small way!

FRIENDS

The last few weeks have been rather forgettable! Drama at home and in my own little self has made life really hard. Lucky for me, I've had some great friends who have really stepped up to the plate and made me feel loved or at least wanted! They have made me leave my house, get out there and have some fun! Its really helped me forget for a while how unhappy certain things are and that some people so care. Thank you so much ladies, you know who you are;) I'm extremely grateful for you!

My Twilight Review

Since everyone is so into the whole Twilight thing, I figured I'd share my story....I went, waited basically the whole freakin' weekend outside. Saw the movie, was bored out of my head, and went home a little mad that I waited hours for that!!

On the good side, I got to play about five mad games of Speed before Melani kindly refused to play anymore. She claims it was out of immodesty, I think she was discourage cause I was winning each game...is it my fault I'm so good..lol..:) I also ate some yummy taco bell and an amazing mt. dew while waiting. I made friends with an older woman waiting in line and after the movie, in the bathroom, she was so excited about the film and all I could say was, "It was fun," in order to not burst her bubble of happiness and obvious joy about the movie!

I do not recommend the movie....Edward was hot but only by the end of the movie, and the acting was awful, "special effects" laughable, and the cheesy ackward moments were my favorite just cause I could laugh out loud and entertain myself with more than the cocoa kisses Melani had brought. I did read the books, but I hated those too, so why I thought I may like this movie, I don't know! Must be the massive amounts of mt. dew I've consumed and all those damn kisses in the last week, it affected my judgement!!




I give the move 1.5 stars out of 5 just cause Edward was rockin' the whole vampire thing! I will probably be shot down but oh well, someone has gotta be the hater:)

Grateful Sunday

Its a little hard to be grateful at the moment!! I have some sort of bronchial issue going on so I have no voice and a very sore throat!! But other than feeling a little under the weather, I am grateful for a few things!!!

CHIROPRACTORS

In high school, and for a year at EAC, I had some major back issues. Its always been there but since I hate the chiropractor, I tend to ignore it, or at least until I can hardly walk and have to go in! Earlier this year, I started going to my cousin Dennis, and he opened my eyes to a better, healthy back, and made me realize how much better you can feel!! Anyways, this last week, my back was (and still is) really bad. I missed a few days of work and actually had a migraine headache. Not fun. I am grateful for a chiropractor in Thatcher who is helping me get back into fighting form and seems to really care that I get better. I woke up Saturday feeling so good that I went and played raquetball and went walking. Needless to say, I was an eager beaver and will be going back to chiropractor tomorrow:)

NOT HAVING TO PAY BACK ALL MY STUDENT GRANT $$$

I withdrew from school this semester. My health hasn't been superb and it was interferring with doing my clinicals. After talking to my teacher, she suggested I get it taken care of now before I am way into the nursing program. It was an extremely hard decision which compounded some other problems, but now I am seeing the light and know it will all work out. As a consequence of dropping out, I had a HUGE amount of grant money that I was given (were talking thousands of dollars). I was worried I would have to pay it all back. Thankfully, EAC is only making me pay back $350 and pay for next semester's classes on my own, which is completely doable. So yeah, I am extremely blessed in that regard!

ITS COOLING OFF

Yeah for not suffocating from the heat wave everytime you walk out the door. I know I will love the cooler weather in Thatcher, after enduring the Mesa heat for awhile. I am so excited to actually have to wear a jacket and sleep with more than a sheet at night!! WAHOO!!

I'm in Love....

This candy is the best. Seriously, I can't stop eating, and have almost finished the bag. Ya'll need to go and try it....SO GOOD!!!!

My First Tag: 8 THINGS

I'm really excited to get a tag, I'm a nerd, I love doing these things...

8 Television shows I watch....
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice
ER
The Office
Brothers and Sisters
Flight of the Conchords
Jon and Kate + 8
The Hills
*Granted I only really watch a few of these...most the time I'm so tired I fast forward on the DVR*

8 Favorite Restaurants....
Chick-fil-a
Chalos
R&R Buffet
Burger King (best hamburgers in town)
Pei Wei/Panda Express
Mimis Cafe
Olive Garden
Tortas Paquime

8 Books I've read recently....

Ashley & Jen

Brittney

*Id like to say, the only reason I read the above two, was for "research"!!! I'm not a normally jack weyland, "churchy" book reader*
East of Eden
Mafia to Mormon
The Innocent
Wicked
Doctrine and Covenants
Body for Life (skimmed it)

8 Things that happened yesterday....
Work
Chiropractor
Jogged
Took Rachel and Kavan on a walk through cotton fields
Cried
Bought Peppermint Oreos
Danced with streamers
Rocked little ones to sleep

8 Things I am looking forward to....
Losing weight

Holidays to be over (I'm a total grinch this year...watch out)
Finding and keeping inner peace for myself
Getting healthy
Finding a ward
Starting school
Finding "love" (lol...girl can dream right!)
Moving out

My back not hurting


8 Things I wish for....
to be skinny
Have a significant other
money
a Wii
family to be healthy
cute clothes
A car that isn't white
To be graduated from school

I TAG:

Whoever is bored enough to want to do this!

This video cracks me up on so many levels. Its long, but seriously watch all the way through!!! I really want to play this game...anyone want to join me?!!

Grateful Sunday

Yo Yo Yo. Another full week and much to be grateful for!!! Here we go....

THE KAVANATOR

(aka Kavan)

This guy is seriously a light in my life. He is so stinkin' hilarious!!! He has a smile that brightens up a room and a killer sense of humor. The other day he came into the kitchen and I handed him a piece of cheese. He started laughing so hard and I didn' say anything....the little man was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes, and it lasted a good few minutes. Often we make faces at each other and it cracks us both us!!! I love teaching him new things, like crossing his eyes and sticking his nostrils together, you know, the important things in life. My favorite line to date from him was when he was stung by a scorpion. He kept telling everyone he was stung by a crab!! The kid is awesome and everyone who meets him, instantly falls in love! I like to think I'm his favorite and it goes both ways, he is one of my favorites too!

TEMPLES

It seems like everyone is posting about this. Seeing that I haven't gone through the temple yet, its kinda weird to say I am grateful for these. But I am. It gives me a sense of hope, a goal to work towards, an ideal or expectation to myself so I can be worthy to go through. I have seen people in my life who uphold their standards and enjoy the blessing of this place. I see the joy and testimony they have. I also see people in my life who have chosen to not uphold these covenants and I see the sorrow and dissapointments they experience in their life. I want to be worthy and experience the peace that is found inside!! I have felt it on the temple grounds and its wonderful but I can only imagine what its like inside. I am thankful we are able to have these on earth today and that one will be built so close to home! I miss going to the mesa temple and it will be great to have one here!

I GOT PAID!!

Ummmm...hello! First paycheck in 6 months, wouldn't you be excited!!

THE KILLERS

(the band)
I love this band. Their music always puts me in a great mood!! Not too mention one of my favorite songs to play on guitar hero is When You Were Young and just happens to be one of my favs. I can't wait for their new album at the end of the month!

HOT BATHS
Recently, I have rediscovered my back problems. Its been extremely unpleasant. Since I hate to pay to see a chiropractor (Dennis, my cousin, pops family for free) I usually wait until I cannot walk to go. So a hot bath is my saving grace. I took at least three today and will probably have to take many more till I'm all healed up. Telling you, add some epsom salt and its pure bliss.

I VOTED
and it felt wonderful and I loved wearing my sticker and having all the kids in my classroom be jealous of it!

Rachel is 5!!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY RACHEY!!!

Wednesday, the 5, was Rachel Garner's (Deb's daughter) birthday!! We had a quiet family dinner and watched her open her gifts. It was fun to see her get so excited!! She has come a long way the last few years, and it is great to see her really enjoy the things around her. I love her sweet spirit and she is a crazy, funny girl!! She gives the best kisses and I love hearing her speak. You know when she talks, that what she will say is important. I feel incredibly blessed to have her in my life. Love you Rachey!!!

In her new dress-up clothes! In her words, "AWESOME!"

This is my favorite picture! She looks so sweet and isn't pulling her crazy cheesey smile face!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

My trip last weekend to Mesa, to celebrate Halloween was, for the most part, a complete bust! That morning, my stomache area started to hurt really bad. Not a sick hurt but a painful, extremely uncomfortable hurt. It was hard to breath and it made it hard to eat, or enjoy anything for the most part. So instead of staying the whole weekend, I went home saturday morning and wasted tons of money on gas. BUT. I did have fun that night getting free chipotle, going to Paul's halloween party, and staying up late catching up with old friends. Plus, I did get to hit up Target for a bit which I loved so much!!!

Here is the happy girls getting ready to eat!!!!

I was really excited, so happy, I wanted to do the "Happy Dance!"

Here I am in my getup!! The workers seemed pretty amused by it. They all laughed when I walked in. I don't think it was that funny but they sure did!! This year, all the workers had foil on and handed out foil to all the customers who weren't wearing any. It was pretty awesome. My favorite was a guy dressed like a dragon or devil, but he had a tail. Pretty awesome, should have taken a picture!!

Dan as an Emo Guy ( I thought he was a Newsie), Gina, Me, and Merilee as the chick from Star Wars (can't remember her name)

Happy Halloween!!!

Next year, I'm going all out! I want to do a fun costume and get really dressed up!! I do love my bowling ball, though. Watching Gina put hers on was hilarious. She literally stood in front of the mirror and kept laughing at herself. I told her when we are old ladies, we will have to whip these babies out!! Its seriously the most comfortable costume I've ever had!!

A Belated Grateful Sunday Post

Okay, I wasn't going to do one this week. Just because it was late and I have been feeling super unwell the last four-five days. But this news is just too good to pass up! Its made me really appreciate and become aware of the Lord's hand in my life. It woke me up, and made me realize that he does HEAR and does ANSWER my prayers. For some reason, I have been unaware of all the GOOD in my life! I am so thankful for the gospel and the peace it brings into my life. How lucky are we to have the gospel and the peace it brings. Anyways, the whole reason for this "new" perspective is....drum roll please....I WAS APPROVED FOR ACCHSS (however you spell it)!!!!! This means I can go to the drs and start getting the help I need to get well again. Gosh, just the thought of feeling good and having energy again is almost unimaginable!! WAHOOO!!! So I've been praying, fasting SO HARD that this would happen. Especially lately, its been so hard to function and work and try to be happy. So this is truly a great blessing. I am so so happy and tomorrow I'm heading to the doc and making a few other phone calls. So HERE I COME GOOD HEALTH!!!!

Halloween Pasts

Halloween is so fun!! Its a holiday I look forward to each year!! I love the decor, carving pumpking, eating loads of candy, dressing up, and best of all FREE CHIPOTLE!!!! Its a tradition started last year and I will continue till the end!!! The deal is you have to come to the restaraunt dressed as a burrito and they will give it to you for free. Since they're like almost ten bucks its a pretty sweet deal!! Here are a few halloween outfits from the last few years and best of all, myself as a burrito!This was my first halloween once I moved to Mesa. I wasn't going to dress up and at the last minute decided to be a punk person...everyone thought I was madonna...a fat one, at least!!

Gina had never carved a pumpkin before...I think anyways..can't remember!! So we woke up at 5am Halloween morning and carved our pumpkins!! This was the year that Gina introduced me to Garfield's Halloween movie...my favorite next to the Great Pumpkin' Charlie Brown.

This is my favorite costume!! Obviously she is a pin and I'm the bowling ball! We got a lot of great compliments on this one. Plus it was easy and SO COMFORTABLE!

We were so excited you wouldn't believe!

PRETENDING to be a "stuffed" burrito. In fact, I was starving and wanted to cry cause I couldn't eat the freakin' burrito!

*side-note: last year I had my wisdom teeth out four days before halloween. So not only was I unable to eat the burrito my face is swollen!

Grateful Sundays

I need to be more thankful for things in my life. I tend to lean towards the selfish, "its all about me" side of life. My favorite subject to talk about it me...lol...but seriously its so easy to focus on the bad in life. I want to regain my positive outlook and to become more selfless and to see the Lord's hand more readily in my life. So, lucky for you, I will try to post each sunday things that I am grateful for!

MISSIONARIES

We had two elders over the other night. It was awesome! No, not because they just happen to be fun and good looking but because they brought a special spirit into our home, one that was needed. To just have them present was enough but they shared a few scriptures that really touched me, and reminded me of feeling the Spirit. I have not been as active in the gospel as I should be, and this was a great reminder of what I am missing when I decide not to attend all my meetings or to make the gospel a priority. It was a great reminder to me, to know that the church is true and that the Lord does love me.

DR. PEPPER

Seriously. This stuff, and Coca-Cola, is my saving grace when working. Withstanding 8+hours of little children under the age of 3 who happen to be extremely loud, anyone would need a pick me up. Since my health has been bad, this stuff helps me stay alert enough to take care of the little ones with a smile on my face and allows all of us to have a good time!! Plus, it just tastes so darn good!!

WORK





To finally have a job and to be making my own money is a great relief to me. I hate having to ask for money and depend on others. Its a sense of comfort knowing that pretty soon I can depend on myself! I can already feel a change in me and some of the sadness and depression that I've been carrying for awhile is disappearing!! It makes me happy to be at work and to be surrounded by these little ones who are so full of love, happiness, and bring out the teacher in me! I love teaching and working with them, its seriously a blast even when they break the fishtank and waterlog the classroom!

Gone and Done It

I've been playing with the idea of a blog for awhile. In fact, I've had this thing for a few months and did nothing with it! Been a "blog stalker" for awhile and decided to join in on the fun! I've always loved to write and have gone astray from that in the last few years. I figured this would be a good, small way to tap back into that. So I hope you all will enjoy this is as much I hope to!!







Yeah for blogs!!

Julee, now that I've updated this, ITS YOUR TURN!!

The end.