The Quiet Things...

Ka-Ching

2011-11-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

I feel like every day lately is just filled with some exciting news (though nothing tops the news of my dear nephew being born). Here are just a few things that have happened since my last post that have made the last couple days just fantastic:

*I finally got around to returning some of the few straggling wedding gifts that needed to be returned. We now have gift cards to just about any shop in town.

*We finally found a TV stand that we both love that will work for the size of TV we hope to get on Black Friday.

*The a fore mentioned TV stand is less than we were anticipating, so now we can use the remaining amount of gift cards to get a decent dresser. We've been using one that I got for cheap at D.I. It looks really cute, but it's barely functional. The drawers are a constant balancing act. I have had my toes smashed more than once because the drawers refuse to stay in. Thus- I am SO excited for a new dresser.

*This weekend is my weekend off of work. That in itself is really great...but my parents are heading to Michigan to meet that adorable little nephew of mine, so I get to go home and hang out with Camille and Tanner for the weekend. We are going to have a blast. It's definitely making this week drag by though! Can't wait to go home!

*We officially get to go home for Thanksgiving AND Christmas. We were both able to work it out so we have Thursday through Sunday off for Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas off. I really didn't think there was any way I could get more than a couple days off for Christmas. At one point it was even looking like I would have to work on Christmas Day, so I was really really pleased that my boss was able to work out the schedule so that I could have that week off.

*Our car is getting closer to fixed every day! My best friend's brother was able to take it into his work today to look at it and he's got it narrowed down to what he thinks it is. He fixed it up today and wants me to drive it around tomorrow to see if it runs like it's supposed to. If not, he knows for sure what it is and will be able to fix it pretty easily. The end of the car troubles is finally in sight!

*Along those same lines, my best friend happens to have an extra car right now that she is trying to sell. She was nice enough to let me use it until my car is fixed so Luke or I don't have to attempt riding a bike to work/school. She's a lifesaver!

*One of the guests staying at the hotel tonight decided to surprise me by bringing me back a steak and potatoes after he finished eating at Ruby Rivers. Mmmmm. So good. Some people are just so nice!

*We got our furnace fixed yesterday! This morning was heaven; waking up to a warm house instead of a freezing cold one. It's a lot easier to find the motivation to get out of bed when you are certain you can make it to the shower without freezing to death.

*Luke's mom and sister (and maybe aunt?) are coming into town tomorrow to take us to dinner. A girl that I work with was sweet enough to volunteer to cover for me for a couple of hours so that I can join them. :)

*I had Monday and Tuesday off and was able to find a place for every single box that we had out in the guest bedroom. Now there are officially NO boxes in site until you open up any of our closets. It actually feels like we have a second bedroom now!

*Okay---and now the final news, that I am SO SO SO excited for. It took a while to convince Luke to let me make this purchase. We were able to combine all of our Bed, Bath & Beyond gift cards and it ended up costing hardly anything once we used our 20% off coupon. Isn't it gorgeous?! I just love it so much. We ended up having to order it in because they didn't have it in stock, but it should be coming late this week or early next week. I have wanted one of these for SO long, I can't believe we will actually have one so soon! Man, I can't wait!

Needless to say, the last two days have been very busy, but SO great. I just love when the good things just keep piling on. It makes the stinky things a lot easier to deal with in a cheerful manner. It sure makes it a lot easier to count your blessings when they are more obvious than a slap in the face.

I'm Ashamed

2011-11-07T18:36:00.001-08:00

Yes. I know. I have skipped right over blogging about some of the most important times of my life; preparing for my wedding, my actual wedding, the honeymoon, and getting used to married life. It was all so hectic and flew by so fast that I never even thought about blogging! But here's a brief (or not so brief) recap:

So our engagement was six months long. Everyone said it would drag by, and I guess in some ways it did, but for the most part it did not seem long enough! I am still amazed at the amount of planning that goes into weddings! I don't know how people that have to plan the actual ceremony on top of everything else do it! I'm sure I didn't even see half of the hard work that went into it either. I know my dad worked hard all spring and summer long to get the backyard looking great. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours him and the rest of my family put into putting flowers in, pulling weeds, cleaning things out, bringing things in, putting things up, pulling things down, and on and on. I know it was a huge sacrifice of time that went into this and I am incredibly grateful that I was blessed with a family that loves me enough to work that hard for me. My mom was especially amazing. I've never been very good at picturing things...so picking things out for the reception was really hard for me. Luckily, my mom is amazing at pulling all sorts of things together and making them look fantastic. My Aunt Debie, Aunt Tammi, and my cousins Larkin and Savannah also helped a ton! Debie and Savannah helped my mom a lot with the decorations at the reception and put a lot of work into making our shed not stick out like a sore thumb. Tammi and Larkin took on the HUGE job of the food at the reception. They made who knows how many cookies and delegated the making of even more to other family members. I've gotten so many compliments one how great the food was and how cute it was displayed. I seriously loved EVERYTHING about the reception. And there is no way it would have looked that good if I had been calling all the shots. My mother-in-law did a fantastic job at the luncheon as well. Texas Roadhouse catered, which is mine and Luke's very favorite place to eat, so that was great. She did a great job of making the gym into a perfect luncheon. Luke's older sister, Margaret, was our photography and did a really good job of capturing some priceless moments. Our pictures are seriously amazing. Luke's friend James did a really good job of putting together a picture slide show/video to show at the luncheon. I am so lucky to have such great family and friends that stepped in when they were needed and did all they could to make sure that my wedding day was perfect. Special shout-out to Camille and Tanner who helped my mom and my dad with all of the things they had to do to get ready for the wedding. I know things got a lot stressful at times but they were always (or almost always) happy to help and fun to be around. They're great.

One of my very favorite parts of the wedding was how much family was able to come! The family reunion for my Dad's side was the week before my wedding (which my parents were also in charge of! Talk about busy people!), so TONS of family were able to work out their schedule so that they could stay for the wedding. This meant so much to me. My family is the most important thing to me and my wedding day wouldn't have been nearly as great without having some of the most important people there with me. The sealing room was PACKED. Such a great reminder of how much Luke and I are loved. I have such a huge family that I don't get to talk to everyone as much as I would like, but I really love all of them and appreciate the sacrifices many made so that they could be there to support me.

I would be in the wrong to not mention mine and Luke's friends as well. They came from ALL over to be there. One even came up from California just so he could be there for our wedding day. We had another friend make a 2 hour detour from her trip home just so that she could be there for the sealing. I can't even begin to describe how much I love our friends. They are the greatest friends you can imagine. I know that neither one of us would be the people we are today without their support. They're not the kind of friends that I can ever imagine living without.

I know that I am failing to mention SO many people that did a great deal to help with the wedding. If I mentioned everyone that helped, this blog would be never ending. I really appreciate everyone's love and support. You all mean the world to me!

(At this point I would like to thank Blogger for automatically saving my drafts. I accidentally just exited out and about died until I realized this was all saved)

We went to Disneyland for our honeymoon. It was a surprise for me until we got up to the gate to get on. Luke knows me much too well. I LOVE rollercoasters...and warmth. We stayed at a Holiday Inn about a block away from the park, so we were able to walk there in about five minutes. It was perfect. The hotel gave us a free upgrade when they found out we were on our honeymoon and our room was AMAZING. The hotel staff was really great. It was the best week ever. Disneyland really does cast a magical spell. It was the perfect honeymoon. Luke did really good at getting things set up so that they would be perfect for us.

About a week before we left for Idaho, we FINALLY found an apartment that both of us loved. We had already had one apartment slip between our fingers, so we were so relieved when we got the final notice that the apartment was ours! It's a cute little 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment about a mile from campus. One of the main reasons that I have put off blogging since we got home from the honeymoon is because I wanted to post pictures of our place. Sadly, that is still not going to happen in this post. It's VERY close though. We actually were able to get everything unpacked and put away faster than I expected....but we still don't have a real tv stand or dresser. We are getting both of those this weekend (hopefully) so I will post pictures soon I promise!

Now for some very exciting news....I am an aunt :) I have the most adorable little nephew. Logan Bradley Couch. You can't even imagine how much I love him. I have watched every video that my mom has sent of him at least 5 times. He's SO cute. SO SO SO cute. He's so alert for a newborn! I've always felt like most newborns look a bit....squished and alien-y. Not this little guy though! He's got the cutest chubby cheeks and does not look even a little squished or alien-y. I'll admit I'm already mad for the little man and I haven't even met him yet. That's really the only downer about the whole thing is I don't get to meet him until Christmas time. But you bet I'll cherish every second that I get to be with him!

That is all for now. I'll try to be better about blogging more often. It might prove to be difficult. Married life is turning out to be incredibly busy, but I will try :)

The Heart of Life

2011-06-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot of time but wanted to give a few quick shout outs:

*First: Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad! Yay! Best parents a girl could ask for. They provided me with a great example growing up of the type of marriage that I want. Thanks for getting married and loving each other so much :)

*Second: Shout out to my wonderful fiance, Luke. Yes, I am cheesy....But he's great. He got the final approval on Sunday to be ordained an elder. I don't think I've ever seen anyone more excited for anything before. His enthusiasm and dedication towards working towards the temple constantly amazes me.

That's all I have time for today....Just thought that both of these were worth a quick blog.

Ramble On

2011-04-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

I've decided that in a 2 1/2 hour class, the last hour is solely dedicated to being off task. The person on my left is playing games on his Ipad. The person in front of me is texting. The one on my right is facebooking. I am blogging....and this is one of my favorite classes! My conclusion? 2 1/2 hours is waaay too long.

This weekend Luke and I decided to go home for his friends mission report. The problem was that Luke worked until 3 on Saturday...but don't worry. That didn't stop us. We ended up pulling into town about 7:30pm on Saturday night and left around 6pm on Sunday evening. It was a quick trip, but semi-productive. My mom supplied me with an LDS 4-month checklist for the wedding. Really made me realize that we have a LOT that still needs to be done. No stress or anything though right?

I really don't have anything to say in this post. Really though....basically nothing. You should probably stop reading now since anything from here on out will be the bored ramblings of a hungry student. Here are some random thoughts I have.

*Moustache's are a funny thing. Some guys look weird without one, some look weird with them. It's just a strange occurance.

*My friend Quertis once wrote a blog about some confusion he had regarding the word 'Stache.' Some radio company or something was sponsoring some sort of a giveaway for the person that sent in a picture of the best game stash. My friend, having a moustache, assumed they meant 'stache' as in hair under your nose. Of course, the company meant stash as in 'collection of games.' So my friend sent in a picture of his moustache, feeling his chances of winning were pretty good. Only a while later did he realize what he had done. This story makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

*I really don't know why I'm thinking about moustache's right now. There is not anyone around me that has one.

*I can't remember if my class ends at 8 or 8:30. I'm hoping 8.

*This girl in class just said that she's never traveled further than 30 minutes away from her home that she's lived in all her life. Woooooow. How is that even possible?!

I won't bore you anymore with the rest of my thoughts. I'll just finish up with my smiles...

Straight smiles:
1) I've recently rediscovered my love for apples. They're so great
2) I got to see my family for a little bit this weekend.
3) One of my closest cousins is getting married on Saturday....I'm really quite happy for her.
4) I've seen one of my oldest friends 6 out of the last 7 days. I love friends
5) I got the closest parking spot possible to my class today

Sly smiles:
1) I have a ton to do for the wedding = means the wedding is getting closer!
2) Lots of homework and quizzes = the end of the semester is coming up!
3) Finals week is soon = summer is soon!
4) Lots of laundry to put away when I got back from Idaho = lots of new clothes to wear :)
5) My bananas are too old to eat = I can make banana bread

Won't Back Down

2011-04-05T23:27:00.000-07:00

This won't even qualify as a real post...but I wanted to share this with everyone:

Apr 05 @ Lakers		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	TOTAL
	Jazz	20	14	23	29	86
	Lakers	24	16	17	28	85

Yeaaaah!

That's all :)

Check Yes or No

2011-04-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend was simply fantastic. One of the best I've had in a long time.

It all started with the Jazz v. Lakers game on Friday night. My parents had gotten us tickets for Luke's birthday, which was pre the great Sloan and Williams debacle. Needless to say, I was wary of how entertaining the 'game' was going to be. Although the final score would not suggest it, the game was actually a really good one (up until halfway through the third quarter). The Jazz were actually winning the entire game, by quite a bit...but in classic Jazz fashion, lost the 12 point lead that they had maintained for the majority of the game in the fourth quarter. We ended up losing 85-96. We both still had a fun time though. It's always fun to go out and do something out of the ordinary on the weekends.

The best part of the entire game actually happened before the doors even opened. They say a picture says a thousand words. In that case, I'll say no more on this subject and simply share the two pictures that make me jump with joy every time I see them.

:):):) I know that I said I would say no more on the subject. I lied. These two were SO nice. They were both nice enough to stop and sign a couple autographs and snap a quick picture with us (yes, we got autographs as well). Needless to say, it was a pretty good start to our weekend.

My Uncle Bruce works security at the Energy Solutions Arena (which will always be the Delta Center to me). Before the game, we went to give him a quick hello. Since he was down on the floor, we got to sit front row to watch some players warm up. As much as I hate the Lakers, I do like Odom and Gasol. Because of this, I find this picture adorable:

We also snapped this picture of us before the game.

Due to the extreme classiness of the Lakers' fans (and admittedly the Jazz fans), after the game there were multiple fights breaking out. A complete stranger decided it was necessary to approach me as I was leaving the arena to say, 'Go on home baby girl. Your team sucks.' People these days...After the game, we headed to Luke's aunt's house. His mom and little sister were down for the weekend, and they were staying there as well. We all stayed up WAY too late Friday night, but had fun :)

Saturday morning/afternoon consisted of Luke and I going to Bed, Bath & Beyond to register. It took SO freaking long! We did a lot better than we had at Target (where we registered for a whopping 27 items). Bed, Bath, & Beyond was very helpful because they had a little list of suggestions for things to register for for each room in your house. It helped organize our thoughts better than I thought it would. I'm now in the process of comparing registries. I think we'll fill in the little things that we need but aren't registered for at either BB&B or Target when we go register at Walmart.

Saturday evening we went to the George Strait concert. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Loved him last time we saw him...loved him this time. He's great. We went with Luke's mom, his sister, his aunt, and his cousin. Words can't even describe how much fun it was. Luke's mom won some tickets that were a few rows closer than ours, so me and Luke's cousin went over and sat in them for the opening acts. The seats were nice there, but the company better in our other spot, so we headed back for George. There's really nothing else to say except for that he is amazing.

Overall, it was a really great weekend. This next weekend is going to have an awfully hard time matching it.

This weekends straight smiles:
1) Arby's turkey bacon club. Try it. You won't regret it.
2) Seeing my future mother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt-in-law, and cousin-in-law. They're the best. So much fun to be around.
3) Got to see one of our good friends Tom for about 70 seconds before he caught his flight back to California.
4) Had a lot of fun and laughs registering with Luke :)
5) I feel like this one is too obvious and shouldn't count, but I'm counting it anyways. The concert and the game. I'll remember this weekend all my life, so I think it deserves to be one of the weekend's straight smiles.

This weekends sly smiles:
1) A girl tried to pick a fight with me at the Laker's game = Made me realize how easy it is for people (including myself) to get so caught up in something as silly as a game, that they forget what is really important. I was able to apply this to the little things in my life that I put importance in, when I should be focusing more on better things....like helping others.
2) Coming out of the concert only to be soaked by a terrible rain storm = Luke ended up running to go grab the car, which made it so I didn't have to walk the few blocks to get to it...and my feet were already hurting.
3) Forgetting to double check the tip-off time for the game, and arriving about an hour and a half before the doors opened = gave me and Luke a chance to go for a short walk and talk. One of my favorite parts of the weekend
4) Having to say goodbye to my future in-laws and their adorable little dog = I get to see them either this coming weekend or next!
5) I really don't have a fifth one. It was hard enough for me to think of four bad things that happened this weekend. Everything else was simply a straight smile :)

Something More

2011-03-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

Lately I've felt that my days are too long and I have too much to do to really take time to be happy. Today I had more time to reflect and it struck me. I'm engaged to a man I love, I have an amazing family that I get to see pretty regularly, I have made some great new friends at work, I love my job, I love my major...So why don't I feel incredibly happy more often? The reason? Because I don't take the time to recognize my blessings. I think that during this time of my life when I should be happy, Satan is working really hard to pull me down. But no more! Be prepared for an optimistic blog!

I'm the worst blogger ever. I'm fully aware. I know you're all thinking it. I think, 'Well what have I done this week?" My answer is always, "School, work, same old." So I never blog. I've made a new vow. In church on Sunday, the first counselor in the relief society spoke. She talked about a new years resolution she had made to write down a good thing that has happened to her every day. She had a little red book that she used. I've decided to use this blog as my optimism tracker. In every blog, I'm going to try to find five good things that happen to me each day. I'll call these my 'Straight Smiles.' On top of these, I've decided to take five not so good things that happen to me each day, and list a way that these things are actually good things. I'll call these things my 'Sly Smiles.'

Today's Straight Smiles:
1. I got to use the new eyeliner I bought last night for the first time. The kind I've been using tends to flake out halfway through the day, ending in black specs all over my face. This new kind is fantastic!
2. While running an errand at the mall for Luke, I ran into Rue 21 for a quick glance. I found the perfect shirt to go with my outfit for the George Strait concert on Saturday. The best part? It was on sale for only $4!
3. Luke's roommate made up some of my favorite fries and accidentally made too many, and gave me the rest :)
4. A girl at work was cleaning out her closet and brought four bags of clothes into work. We're pretty close to the same size, so I scored 4 new pairs of pants, 3 new shirts, and 1 very comfy old sweater (this was actually yesterday, but it was so great that it deserves to carry over into today)
5. I found an unopened bag of chicken nuggets in the freezer that I had forgotten about. I tried them for the first time today...they were pretty dang delicious.

Because I had a very pessimistic week, today's list will have 10 Sly Smiles:

1. I can't afford a new book = Led me to set up an account at the library and now I can rent a new book every week!
2. I have to drive 45 minutes each way to work every day = Gives me an hour and a half each day to listen to new music quietly and to have my 'quiet time.'
3. My classes are hard = I'm finally in classes that challenge me and therefore cause me to learn new things
4. I can't see my family whenever I want = I enjoy the time I get to spend with them even more than before
5. Some of my classmates are hard to get along with = Gives me the opportunity to learn to love my 'enemies' and learn to develop a professional relationship with people I don't necessarily like.
6. I didn't do so great on a test = My professor included notes on my essay of things I can do to improve. Now I know exactly what I need to do to do better on the next one.
7. My friend was too busy to play tonight = Forced me to work on a paper that I need to finish up
8. One Tree Hill isn't on again for a couple more weeks = I've been able to go back and watch a couple old episodes, causing me to fall in love with it all over again
9. Gas is SO expensive = Forced me to set up a strict budget for myself, that I've stuck to pretty well, and I've been doing a LOT better at saving my money.
10. Only one speaker on my computer is working = forced me to stop listening to music which causes me to get distracted by focusing on lyrics, and made me focus on the assignment that I'm working on.

I Love You Because...

2011-01-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

To begin, I want to apologize for the delayed-ness of this post. But, as they say, better late than never!

For those of you that haven't heard....On Christmas Eve, Luke asked me to marry him. And I said yes! By popular demand, here is the story:

On Christmas Eve, Luke came to pick me up for our Christmas date. We sat and talked with my family for a while before we took off. I thought this was rather strange, seeing as he was later than we had originally planned and I had a family dinner at my aunts house at five that we had to be at. I thought that Luke would want to leave soon so that we had more time for dinner and what not, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. That should have been my first hint that something was up, but I am admittedly thick.

We left for dinner and ended up at our old trusty Texas Roadhouse. We both love it there, so we almost always end up eating there when we eat out....something that I am completely okay with. We had a great, but uneventful, dinner.

We finished up with dinner around 4:30. There was some discussion of going for a short walk, but due to the cold weather outside-we settled on a short drive instead. We drove up towards the windmills and talked about various things. Little did I know that the reason for this drive was that Luke was waiting for his friends to get into position at the spot where he planned to propose. After a short while, we ended up turning around and heading back into town. Seeing as it was about 4:50, I assumed that we would be heading to my Aunt Jackie's now. However, Luke proposed that we go for a short walk around the river. This was when I finally started to realize that something was going on. I still didn't have the slightest idea WHAT it was, but I knew it was something. Because of this, I agreed to a short walk, as long as it was very short. We pulled up to the river and got out. We have a spot down there that we visit fairly often, and Luke headed straight for that spot. At this point, I'm thinking he has an extra awesome Christmas present for me, but I still had no idea what was really going on.

We stood by the river for a while. I knew that something was coming, but I wasn't sure what. Meanwhile, Luke was stalling to make sure that his friends that were going to be taking pictures were in position...so the conversation was kind of strained. After a little while I mentioned that we should probably get going to my Aunt Jackie's. He said, "Alright, we can get going, but before we do, can you do me a favor?" And I said, "Yes." He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Obviously, I said yes again. We hugged and kissed and such and then he got down on one knee again to put the ring on my finger.

After the ring was on my finger, we walked back to his car. At this point we headed to my Aunt Jackie's and I called my sister and told her to bring my parents and siblings outside so we could all talk. To my surprise, ALL of my siblings knew about the proposal already. This explained Camille's insistence that we paint my nails nicely earlier that day. Everybody was very happy for us and there were hugs all around. We then went inside to show my ring to all of the cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, etc.

After this we went to Luke's house to show his whole family. They all knew about it beforehand also, but were nevertheless very happy for us. We spent a while with them, ran to show a couple of our closest friends, then headed back to Luke's again.

All in all, it was the perfect proposal that I had hoped for...and he's the perfect guy for me! I couldn't be happier :). His friends were hiding in the bushes during the actual proposal, taking pictures and video. I'll post those as soon as I get them.

Thanks everybody for your congratulations! I'm extremely blessed to have such great friends and family, as well as an amazing fiance!

It's My Life

2011-01-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

I decided it was about time for a new blog update. I was just reading through my last post and it's sorely outdated...

First things first. I do have a job. I have been working at Stampin' Up since August/September-ish. I work in the call center there. It's actually a pretty great job. I was a little leery about working in a call center, but the environment there is super positive! All of the girls/ladies that I work with are great and I love my bosses. The company is an awesome company to work for and the pay is good as well.

I was living in Herriman during my last post, but this has recently changed. Over Christmas break my dad, Robert, and Luke helped move me down to my new place in Orem. The room is smaller than I would have liked, but the area and the rest of the apartment is so nice that it makes up for the room size. I'll post some picture of my room for now, and we'll see if I one day get around to posting pictures of the rest of the place.

I finished up my first semester at UVU, and I loved it (for the most part)! I had a couple of classes that were not so pleasant, but the ones that applied directly to my major were great. This coming semester should be even better because all of my classes are geared directly towards my major. Classes start tomorrow, and I'll admit that I am pretty stinkin' excited! This semester I am taking Civil Litigation and Preparation, Legal Research in the Library, Criminal Law, Mediation & Negotiation, and Family Law. The two subjects that I'm really interested in are Criminal Law and Family Law, so I can't wait to jump into both of these classes! My school schedule worked out so that I have the bulk of my classes on Monday and Wednesday, one class on Tuesday evening, and none on Thursday and Friday. It was kinda a nightmare getting this worked out with my work schedule, but we finally were able to work it out! My only complaint about my school/work schedule is my Mondays. I will be going to class in the morning, then heading up to Riverton for work from 12:30-3:30 and then back down to Orem for class at 4:00. It's going to be interesting. Thank goodness I'm living down here on a permanent basis now or my Monday's would just be WAY too much.

Over the Christmas Break I got to see a lot of my favorite family members! Robert and Stacie came from Michigan! It was so great to see them again. I haven't seen either one of them since they moved out to Michigan, so it was great to sit and catch up with them. I also got to see Cody and Larkin for a couple nights between Utah and Arizona. They're always fun to have around! Tyler and Missy were in town as well. That little Jacoby is such a crack up! I wish we all got to see him more often :(. I briefly got to see Jordyn and her new boy. I think it's safe to say we were all impressed. On top of this, I got to see all of the Idaho Falls relatives as well as some of the Utah relatives I don't get to see as often. I'm sure there were more relatives that I didn't mention, but seeing EVERYONE was great. I always love being home, but even more so during the holidays! I was so blessed to be able to get work off for two full weeks and just enjoy being around those that I love.

The best news is yet to come....but I think it deserves a post of it's own. I'm sure there are some out there that don't want to read through all of these boring details to get to the main story. Stay posted, the big story is coming out within the hour.

Show Me The Money

2010-09-08T11:23:00.001-07:00

First things first. Here's a picture of my quilt that I was supposed to post in my last blog....

Pretty cute eh?

Here's a quick update of life as I know it:

*I had a job interview yesterday as well as one today. Yesterday's went pretty well. The opening was for an administrative assistant at a company called eVenture. The job pays $10/hr for the first couple weeks, and then once training is complete, it bumps up to $10.50/hr. The interview went well...but they are looking for someone to work 11:30-5:00, Monday through Friday...and I can't work until 1:00. The girl interviewing me said that she really liked me and was going to talk to her manager and see if they could work something out. I'm supposed to hear from her today....so keep your fingers crossed. My job interview today is at Stampin' Up. My two cousins that I'm living with both work here, so I have a couple ins. The opening here is for phones. I'm not a huge fan of talking on the phone, but it seems like a good business to work for. Hopefully I don't botch the interview too badly :S

*I had my first 3 quizzes due over the weekend. I am pretty happy to say that I got 100% on all of them! Okay...so they were open book...and only 5 questions long...and I had 30 minutes for each quiz....But I'm still happy about it!

*I am in desperate need for a good book. My work load for my classes has been a lot lighter than I anticipated...and I have quite a bit of spare time between classes where I don't know what to do with myself.

*I downloaded skype last night. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but I haven't tried it out yet....so I'll let you know once I have actually used it.

*One disadvantage of ordering text books online is the waiting for them to arrive.

*This guy in one of my classes today informed the class that his wife hit him last week...with a car. On purpose. Be careful who you marry.

*I really dislike people who argue a point with the professor. Or try to have a one on one conversation with the professor while he is lecturing. There's a reason professors have office hours people!

*It seems like my gas tank is forever running on empty....oi. This wouldn't be as bad if I had an endless amount of money to put into it.

*I absolutely love falling asleep to the sound of rain and thunder.

*Life is good. I am happy. I just need money :)

My Standard Break From Life

2010-09-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

I've decided to finally break my fast from blogging. It's funny how when I am not at all busy, I can never find time to blog...but when I should be really busy, I somehow manage to squeeze it in. I think there's a word for that. Procrastination? That may be it.

I was telling my sister-in-law and mom the other day that I wanted to wait to blog until I had my quilt and blanket done that I had been working on. I've had the blanket done for a few months (Thanks to my Aunt Debie for letting me use her quilting frames!). I just barely finished up my quilt about a week before I moved to school. I had SO many people help me with this quilt! There's no way I would have finished it on my own. A few shoutouts to my Grandma Couch, Mom, Camille, Aunt Joan, Aunt Sharon, Aunt Tammi, and Sarah! I absolutely LOVE the final product! I don't have a picture of my blanket yet, but I'll post one of my quilt. It's adorable if I do say so myself. (I can't get my picture to post now, but I WILL post is shortly)

For those of you that don't know, I'm now living in Herriman, Utah. I live with two of my cousins, Mindy and Jessica Couch. The townhouse we're living in is really nice and I really love it! The only downside is the commute to Orem each day for school. It's about a 30 minute drive, but it usually goes by really fast so it's not too bad. I've officially decided what I want to be when I want to grow up...and that is a Paralegal. I just started into the program this semester, and I should be able to graduate in four semesters.

So far I am really enjoying my classes. I have one class that is a bit ridiculous, but all the other ones are great! I actually WANT to do the homework and finish all the reading...which doesn't happen very often. I'm excited to take classes that are challenging and that I can't just coast by in. These intro classes that I'm taking this semester aren't too tough of course, but they're still interesting to me.

One last thing....It's my baby sister's sweet sixteen today! She's seriously the funnest (yes, it's a word) person to be around! She can make anyone laugh. She's also the sweetest person I know....she feels bad when she tells even the littlest white lie and can't handle making anyone feel bad at all. I love you Mill! Have a great birthday!

Vegas! And some happy news...

2010-04-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend Luke and I went to Vegas! It's only two and a half hours away from Cedar, so we were able to just make a day run of it. It was so much fun! I was able to find a blog that someone posted that lives in Vegas that outlined the 'must-sees' of Vegas for someone that is only there for one day. It kept us pretty busy throughout the day, but not so much that it wasn't fun. We had a very good time.

We started out on the lower part of the strip. The first place we stopped was the Luxor. I'd never been in here before...but it's very cool. The architecture was awesome. The only downer was that the blog I had mentioned something about it having a hidden away garden, and we weren't able to find it.

We then went through Excalibur and then on to New York, New York. We decided to splurge a little bit and go on the rollercoaster. We were going to go on the rocket thing on top of the stratosphere, but you have to pay like $20 to even get up there and then another $15 to ride the ride! Not exactly worth it to me. But I'm very glad we decided on New York, New York because the rollercoaster was very fun! I suggest it to anyone that decides to road-trip to Vegas sometime. Definitely worth the $$.

From there we went to check out the Bellagio. This was definitely my favorite place. I've decided to start saving up for a room there....It's sooo gorgeous! I have always loved the fountain show out front, but I had never been inside before. They have this cute little conservatory in the lobby. The flowers are GORGEOUS! And they have cute decorations like gigantic ant statues, mushrooms, and gardening buckets and shovels. They also had giant butterflies and such hanging from the ceiling. I'll attach some pictures. It was a really cool place.

We then went across the street to the Paris hotel. I was really excited for this one because I think the Eiffel tower is awesome. It ended up being just as cool as I hoped. They offer this Eiffel tower ride where they take you to the top and just let you look out across Vegas. We didn't end up doing it because I would want to go up after dark, and after dark it was twice as much as during the day. Not worth it to me or Luke. There was this cute little walkway that we wandered through past the casino and eating area. It's called the Streets of Paris walkway. It was a walkway that led to Bally's that was designed to look like the streets of Paris. Very cool.

We then stopped at the M&M and Coke factories. If we were to go back again, I would want to spend more time here. We kinda had to rush because there was still SO much to see. But both factories were very cool.

We then stopped by the MGM on the way back to the car. The lion habitat in there is very cool! AND there were new baby cubs! I guess they let a certain number of people play with the cubs in the mornings...Definitely jealous of those people. The cubs were adorable. Also, MGM was hosting the ACM Awards the next day, so we hung around where they were going to be for a while...hoping to see someone famous. No luck :(

Once we got to the car we drove to the upper part of the strip. We decided to bypass the Fashion Show Mall because I wasn't in a shopping mood (and neither was my wallet!) and we were a bit behind schedule. We did check out the Mirage, but I was definitely let down. They have a White Tiger and a Dolphin habitat here, but it was rather pricey to get in. I assumed that since the Lion habitat in the MGM was free, these ones would be too. They did have a mini tropical rainforest area near the lobby which was pretty cool. I was still disappointed with the Mirage overall though.

We walked through the Caesars palace area for the next bit. The place is so huge that it was kinda a waste to even try to see everything, so we just walked through the grounds on the way to our next stop and looked in on the Forum shops area. The Venetian was next on our list and it was VERY cool. The wax figure museum that Luke wanted to see was pretty expensive (are you noticing the trend here yet? I didn't realize how expensive EVERYTHING is in Vegas! Except for the parking: absolutely free), so we didn't end up checking that out. The Grand Canal and the Grand Canal Shoppe areas were awesome! The gondolas were really cool and unique. I wanted to ride one, but didn't bother checking into it. I'm sure it was out of the budget we set for ourselves, and we were still pretty tight on time. I still enjoyed the Venetian very much.

We decided that it was about time to eat then...we walked to SO many different places trying to find a buffet that wouldn't break the budget....We had seen a buffet at New York, New York that was $20 a person for dinner, so we were hoping to find one around that same price. We didn't want to head back to New York, New York because we were clear on the opposite side of the strip, and our feet hurt VERY BAD. We weren't able to find a buffet that was less than $30/person on the upper strip, so we ended up trying this New York Pizza place that was in a food court near Herrah's. The pizza was huge, dripping with grease, and delicious! It may have taken a few years off my life, but it was definitely worth it.

After eating, we decided to head towards our last stop, downtown Las Vegas. I had researched ways to do this beforehand and had decided the Trolley was the best way to go. Turns out-no one has ever heard of the Trolley. We asked various workers at Harrah's and they all gave us blank stares. We decided to try out the monorail, but once we walked ALL the way to the station we found out that it didn't go downtown. By this point I was super frustrated. I was a dummy and decided to wear flats with absolutely zero arch support. Biggest mistake of my life...My feet were seriously killing me, so you can imagine my despair at finding out the long walk to the monorail was not only pointless, but that we had to walk all the way back out front of Harrah's to catch the bus. Once we got outside of Harrah's, we couldn't find the bus stop anywhere. What a joke. We found out that the closest bus stop was at the Venetian, so we headed there.

When the bus FINALLY came we were lucky enough to step on, only to be told by the driver (quite rudely) that we had to get off and wait for the next bus. So we waited around for about 30 minutes or so for the next bus. The other people that had to wait with us were very entertaining though. They were very nice and super funny. They were cracking everyone up. When the next bus came, our new little group of friends were all able to get on. We ended up heading to the second floor of the bus and hanging out up there. There weren't seats, but we were just happy to finally be on the bus. At the next stop, the bus suddenly decided to stop working. I guess the doors wouldn't shut or something. This cleared people off the bus real fast (with lots of language!) so it was a blessing because we finally got to sit down. Even though the drive to downtown ended up taking nearly an hour, I don't regret it at all. The people on the second level were SO funny. It made the ride very enjoyable and ended up being one of my favorite parts.

When we FINALLY got to downtown I was worried that it would be a let down after all the hassle it took to get there. It was not. Even though by this point I wanted to die rather than take another step, I still think it was worth every problem we had getting there. The light show on Fremont street was really cool, and we had a nice surprise afterwards. It turns out that Miranda Lambert was having a concert there! I'm not really into any of her music, but it was still enjoyable. The place was packed though! It was a little bit nuts. After we watched that for a while, we checked out some of the shops and hotels around there. I was very impressed with downtown Vegas. And we were able to find a Walgreens and I got some arch support insoles. Made a world of difference.

The bus ride back to the strip was as much of a hassle as the bus ride there. We finally got back to where we parked, only to find the parking garage closed! There were no signs ANYWHERE saying that it closed so we were freaking out. We saw some workers walking down there, so Luke ran after them and talked with them. They pointed out the one gate that was left open and then told us that we should hurry because it gets pretty scary down there....Needless to say, I've never hurried so fast to a car before. Yikes! We got out of there pretty fast and then we both felt immensely better. From there we just headed back to Cedar (getting back WAY later than planned). It was an AWESOME trip. I enjoyed spending the day with Luke and seeing so many fun things. We both had a blast and were reminded of how much fun we can have together. I'm very lucky to have him! He didn't complain once about how slow I was walking or my complaining about my feet. He's a sweetheart :)

And now for the happy news.....For those of you that don't know, Luke was given the Aaronic priesthood on Sunday. He's been working towards this with the bishop for a few months and I'm VERY proud of him. He's now working towards getting the Melchezidec (I have no idea how to spell that) and should be getting that within a month or so. I'm so very happy and proud of him!

I think it's safe to say this is the longest blog EVER. I sometimes have the gift of gab and don't know when to stop. But I'm very happy with where I'm at and who I'm with...I can't wait to come home this summer though!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am proud to write that Luke and I actually DID accomplish one of the activities this weekend that was mentioned in my last post. We made it to Zion's...and it was beautiful!

Our Friday started out with my parents pulling into town to pick up the things that I had packed for them to take home on their way from St. George. Luckily, the 5 bins, 2 cabinets, and multiple boxes fit just great in the back of my dad's truck! I was a little worried! After that I got showered and ready for the day and headed to work. After work, Luke and I watched 'The Princess and The Frog.' Such a cute movie! I was singing and smiling the whole time we watched it. Luke endured the movie and my commentating. After the trip to return the movie to redbox and pick up some things at Walmart, I was pooped and went promptly to bed. Lately, I've been getting WAY tired very early. I find myself occasionally skipping dinner because I'm just too tired. This may be what is contributing to my tiredness....

Saturday morning began with me completely sleeping through the majority of morning session of conference. I woke up in time to listen to Eyring's talk, and was able to watch the remainder of the morning session. I really look forward to conference, so I was not a happy camper about sleeping through a session! After morning session, Luke and I decided to head to St. George to check out this boot store he had seen when we were down visiting my family last week. It was a really cool little store that was going out of business. The owner was a nice guy that reminded me a lot of my Uncle Frank. There was a cute purse there that I ALMOST bought...but Luke advised me to wait and if I decided I really wanted it, we could come back. I've decided I really want it, and when we head to Vegas, we're going to stop at the store again.

From St. George, we headed up to Zion's! I was so excited that Luke agreed to go! He was really good about it...Didn't complain even a little! We ended up going on the Emerald Pools hike.

This is us near the end of the hike. It was so pretty up there!

We ended up taking the shuttle through the park after the hike and enjoyed all the gorgeous scenery. The only bummer about the day was that I ended up missing the morning AND the afternoon session of conference on Saturday. Good thing that they're online!

Today has been pretty great so far. I did an Easter egg hunt for Luke! I'm a firm believer that Easter isn't Easter without the egg hunt! He's waiting patiently for me to finish this post so that he can go hunt for them. He also made us some breakfast this morning and has a nice dinner planned for tonight. I'm one lucky girl :) I'll be posting pictures of our Easter activities soon.

I hope everyone's Easter has been great and that you all enjoyed conference as much as I did! How blessed we are to have such a firm knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. I love this church!

Four. More. Weekends.

2010-03-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

Since I'm heading home so soon, I've decided to make a plan for every weekend that I have left in Cedar to go and do something fun.

This weekend is Easter weekend, so I've decided to do Easter activities to make it fun. I convinced Luke to let me do an Easter Egg hunt for him. I'm pretty much a kid at heart, I know, but I can't imagine Easter without at least one Easter egg hunt! I'm way excited for it! We also are planning on dyeing some eggs. A friend was telling me about this cool way to dye eggs that involves onions and tea. It sounded really awesome and I'm going to try to attempt it.

Luke and I have already decided to make a day run to Vegas on one of the weekends. It would be nice if we could make a weekend trip out of it, but we don't know anyone there and neither one of us has enough money for hotel rooms, so a day run it will have to be. I don't exactly know what we'll do there (I've never been a huge fan of Vegas), but it's only a couple hours away so I know I'd regret not making the trip while I'm so close. I'm sure that we'll find something to keep us entertained all day! I'll just have to remember to keep my eyes closed as we're walking the strip. Yuck.

I also really want to make a trip to Zion's. I went with my family on a short hike on Saturday. It reminded me how much I love it there. It's my absolute favorite place for thinking. Relieved me of almost all the stress that I've felt lately and holds some of my favorite memories! I would really love to hike Angels Landing or The Narrows before I head back up to Idaho, but I'm not sure we'll have time. I'm really upset at myself for not making a single trip there since I've moved here (other than this last Saturday with my family). Luke DID agree to go on a hike at Zions with me if we have time. I'm thinking of either doing Emerald Pools (The hike I just did with my family) or maybe just Weeping Rock. I'm leaning towards Emerald Pools simply because I wasn't as impressed with Weeping Rock as I thought I would be.

There's also this state park called Sandy Hollows that Luke and I and a couple of his friends went and visited over the summer. I think we'll probably visit there again on the same weekend we do Zions. It's this hidden little lake that has a really awesome spot to jump from the red rocks into the lake. We had a lot of fun there, so I'm hoping we'll be able to find a weekend where the weather is warm enough for us to enjoy it again!

Somewhat related to my Zions trip, I want to make a trip to Bryce Canyon as well. I don't know Bryce Canyon nearly as well as I know Zions, but from what I've seen, it's gorgeous! Bryce is only an hour or so away, so we'll probably be able to do that on one of the Saturdays that we have left.

We only have four weekends left, so I think that's all we'll be able to do before we leave here. It's funny that I finally get to go home...and now things here are looking up for me! I have a nice job, I'm close to graduating, the weather is getting nice, and I finally have time to go do the things that I want to do! Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY excited to go home, and I definitely don't want to stay down here, but I wish I had gotten out a little bit more in the short time that I've been here. My biggest regret is not making it out to Zion's while I've been here, so hopefully Luke and I can make it out there before we leave for Idaho!

A couple quick P.S.'s. My family is in St. George this week. I was able to go down with them this weekend. So fun! I'm planning on making at least one more trip down to see them while they're there.

My other P.S. is that I have officially packed everything that I don't need for the next five weeks I'm down here. I decided I have WAY too much stuff, and got rid of quite a bit. I'm very proud...and I really hope that my stuff that I'm sending home can fit in my dad's truck :S.

Home!

2010-03-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'm currently sitting at day number 2 that I've been back in Cedar since Spring Break...and I'm already very homesick. Spending Spring Break at home was wonderful.

I was lucky enough to get to go up to the cabin with two of my best friends and Savannah and her roommates. All together there were eight of us girls up there. It was so much fun! Me and Savannah mostly reminisced and read old Parry Posts together. It was nice to get to spend some time with her since we don't get to see each other very often. It was also nice to spend some time with my friends Kelley and Jessie, who I also don't get to see very often! Overall, it was a very fun weekend! Despite the fact that my dad had to drive up to bring the spare key to my car up.....(I have an awesome dad)

I worked for Frank and Tammi on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday-which made the days go by fast and helped remind me that I'm really not making up some of the memories I have of certain customers there. There's always a good story to be had at Work Wear House.

Thursday was a pretty lazy day for me since I didn't work and my family was either at work or school. It felt so nice to do absolutely nothing for a day! I have always been a fan of being lazy when possible, and I haven't had a chance to do so in a while.

Friday was Tanner's 14th birthday! I can't believe my baby brother is getting so big! He is almost taller than me...a fact he is constantly reminding me about. I think he had a pretty great birthday. His big present was a basketball hoop from my parents. I'm definitely as excited about it as he is. I miss being able to shoot around outside the house...I think we'll make some good memories around that hoop!

Also on Friday, I went to a friend's wedding reception with Luke. It was gorgeous! It was at the Shelton Church out near Ririe. It was a cute little chapel that I wasn't aware existed. It was definitely a great place for a reception! The newlyweds are one of the cutest couples I know and it was great to see how happy they are! It made me even more excited for when my big day finally rolls around!

On Sunday Tanner was ordained to the office of Teacher. It was a really cool moment and it reminded me how lucky I am to be blessed with a family that is active and loves the church as much as I do. Sitting next to my mom and Camille as my dad ordained Tanner to a Teacher was a really peaceful moment. Another blessing that I'll have to tack onto my ever-growing list.

The absolute best part of my week at home was deciding on my plans for the summer. I have officially decided to move home! It feels so good to finally be able to know what my plans are for certain. The only downer about moving home is that I had to put my notice in at my job in Cedar. I love my job here. I enjoy the people that I work with and I enjoy my day-to-day duties. I put in my notice yesterday and they were very nice and understanding about the whole thing...even though I've only been working here for about two months. I'm definitely going to miss this job...but I am really excited to be living at home again. Now I just have to find a job for the summer.....

As far as next fall goes, my plan is to head back to Utah State and finish up my degree there. Hopefully by next May I'll be preparing to move back to Idaho Falls permanently. It feels nice to have more solid plans for my future :)

The next best part of my week was finding out that my family is coming to St. George for their Spring Break!...which means I get to see them soon! They are coming down on Friday and are picking me up to go down for the weekend with them. It will be so nice having them only forty-five minutes away for a week! I'm glad that things worked out so that they are able to come!

That's my Spring Break in a nutshell. I had a great time at home and I'm very excited to see my family on Friday and the rest of my family all summer long! Jack's Pack here I come!

Katie The Creep

2010-03-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

I have always been weirdly interested in watching people...I don't really know why I find it so interesting. Lately though, I've become OBSESSED with this.

Other than the time I spend locked up anti-socially in my room, all I am ever doing is watching people. And not like the 'Oh, that dress looks cute on her' or 'That kid has a weird walk'....but the full out sitting and watching a person for as long as I possibly can. I don't know what my problem is---but I'm much too aware that I'm a full-out creep. I'll find myself pretending to look at the clock at the back of the room in order to get a glimpse of what the girl that is sitting behind me is doing or seeing how long I can watch a person before we make awkward eye-contact one too many times.

Recently, I've started a new hobby of keeping count of how many times a certain person does something. For example, how many times will the person behind me cough or how many times will that boy click his pen throughout the class period. Usually, I just keep count in my head since Luke is in most of my classes and he is not aware of this habit, but when I'm alone I keep track of these kind of things on paper. I don't know if this hobby is just a result of me getting bored very easily, but I'm not fully comfortable with it. I'm so aware that I'm a creep, that I'm even creeping myself out. It's not normal.

I was reminded of this a few days ago when I was casually making conversation with the girl who works the morning shift when I came in to relieve her. I brought up the fact that there is a boy who walks past the office at least 6 times every time I work and asked if she had seen him. She responded by saying she had never noticed him but had noticed the sticky note that read "Running count of how many times the kid with the glasses walks by" with 54 tally marks under it. She then continued to look at me like I had a serious problem and promptly leaving the office.

My obsession with watching people isn't limited to a certain type of person either. I'm obsessed with observing girls, boys, blonds, brunettes, skinny, overweight, dark-skinned, light-skinned, pretty, ugly, good-smelling, bad-smelling, cheerful, depressed, annoying, chill....well you get the idea. EVERYONE. It's like the crush you had in middle school where you wanted to know what that person was doing whenever possible....except it extends to everyone I interact with. I constantly find myself thinking 'I wonder what that kid with the dreadlocks is doing this weekend' or 'I wonder how that girl in Operations would handle a certain situation.' It's not that I find any certain person more interesting than another person, I have these thoughts about almost everybody that I interact with. It's seriously the weirdest thing ever. I try not to think about it, but it's like an extremely annoying song that you have stuck in your head...or an eye-twitch that just won't go away.

Even as I'm writing this blog I've been staring at the employee at the Pizza Hut across the parking lot that is taking a smoking break. He has rubbed his nose six times, has kicked the side of the building with the toe of his shoe twelve times and has walked in six and a half circles...now seven.

My name is Katie Couch and I am addicted to being a creep.

My Amazing Great Grandmother

2010-03-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

Today is my Grandma Parry's birthday. Since I am not in Idaho Falls, and therefore am not able to wish her Happy Birthday, I have decided to make a list my 5 favorite memories and things I admire about this wonderful person.

1. When I was younger, I looked forward to going to her house to spend quality time with her. Sometimes we would make different crafts. I'm sure all my cousins remember making Santas. I remember wanting mine to be different from everyone else's, so I decided to paint his cloak green instead of red. Grandma made me feel so special for my 'creativity' that I glowed for days. Othertimes we would play Phase 10. She always let me win. I can still remember all the little compliments that she gave me...like telling me I would be amazing at Kanasta because a couple times I drew the exact amount of cards I needed to deal. She has a way of complimenting you in a small way, that makes you feel like a much better person. This is just the way she is. She's a genuine, sweet, loving person.

2. Another thing I remember is the family dinners. I took them for granted when I was younger. Now, being so far away from home and not being able to go to the family dinners anymore, I realize how much I love them. It's amazing how large of a family I have, yet everyone knows nearly everybody else. This is because it's important to my grandparents. I'm so grateful for the close ties that I have with my cousins, second-cousins, uncles, aunts, great-uncles, great-aunts, etc. If it weren't so important to my grandparents to keep the family close, there are many ties that I have now, that I probably would not have otherwise. The tie that I have with my Grandma Parry is something that I treasure. The most amazing part about that tie with her is that it links me to SO many other ties with my family members. She's not content simply having a relationship with her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, or great-great grandchildren, but she wants every one of them to have a relationship with their extended family. I'm grateful this is so important to her and that she has passed it on to me. The relationships that are most dear to me are my relationships with my family, and I don't know who I would be today if it were not for them.

3. My Grandma is SO much fun to be around. She has an amazing sense of humor. She can make anyone laugh at almost any time! One memory that sticks out to me is playing Kanasta at the cabin with my family, Grandma, and either the Hopkins or the Roes (I can't remember! Sorry!). I have not enjoyed myself that thoroughly since. It was one of the first moments in my life when I was able to actually take a step back and realize how great my family (especially my great-grandma) is. She lit up the whole night with her teasing and quick remarks when someone was trying to pull something. It still makes me smile every time I think about that night.

4. My Grandma is ALWAYS there for me. I remember her coming to nearly every one of my sporting events as I grew up. What patience that must have taken! And it was not only for me that she did this! Ask any one of my cousins and I can guarantee that it was a rare event when Grandma wasn't able to make it to one of their games. It always made me feel so important when I saw my great-grandparents up in the stands watching me play. It was a wonderful way to remind me of their love.

5. My Great-Grandma has always made me feel loved. Even when I was an obnoxious child being rude to one of my cousins, she showed her love even as she scolded me. She has so much to do with how I turned out. She's made me want to be a much better person than I am. Every time I am having a rough time, I think of her example. She has been through so much in her life, yet I have NEVER heard her complain. Every time I see her, she has a smile on her face and everyone around her is enjoying her company. She is the strongest person I have ever known in my life, and the absolute biggest example to me of how to be an amazing person. Although I miss my Grandma Roe every day, I am SO blessed to have my great-grandma in my life. She has made me understand the true love of a grandparent. She has taught me so much and I treasure everything I have learned from her over the years.

I love you so much Grandma! I hope you have an amazing birthday! Thank you for everything you have done for me and continue to do for me. You are my biggest hero and I hope that you know that.

So Blessed

2010-02-28T09:22:00.001-08:00

I've decided to try out this blogging thing. I make no promises as to how long I'll keep it up though. Lately, some things have happened that have led to me having lots of time to myself...So I'm finding new ways to keep myself busy. I've figured out that I'm a lot more cheerful on days when I actually accomplish some things than I am on the days when I'm just lazy all day. Hopefully, this blog will help me feel a sense of accomplishment on days when I have nothing to do.

The past week or so I've been thinking a lot about how truly blessed I am. I have an amazing family that never fails to cheer me up. I've been blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. Whenever I get lonely or homesick, there's always someone for me to call. My friends are such a strength to me. It's not a rare day when a text or phone call from a friend turns my entire day around. I'm not very good at expressing my love and appreciation for the people in my life...But I want you all to know how much I love you all!

I'm also blessed with having the means necessary to attend school. I know this is a lot more than a lot of people have, and I take it for granted most of the time. I love learning new things and am SO grateful that I am able to pursue knowledge. I'm also grateful for my parents who have helped me learn responsibility. I hate to not have a steady job or be self sufficient. I know that this comes from the years my parents have put into raising me to be a responsible person and I know that it will help me as I go through life.

I'm also incredibly grateful for my amazing boyfriend. He's such a strength to me. He helps me be strong in my areas of weakness. He makes me want to continuously strive to better myself and my relationship with God. I take him for granted a lot more than I should, but he is everything that I need. I hope that I never stop being amazed by him and his goodness.

I'm grateful for you all. I know I don't say it as much as I should, but I love all of you. I appreciate all that you do for me, even though I'm not very good at expressing it. I hope that this mood of gratefulness doesn't fade too quickly for me and that I am able to keep realizing all the many things that I have been blessed with.