BPW: you! + thursday

The terrible thing about today is that is feels like it's Friday. but it isn't, and when I have to remind myself that, I get a little grumpy. The great thing about today, is that my boss got us pizza and ice cream for lunch, and we left work an hour early. paid. and i did a ton of really great work today. i love my job! it's the exact kind of busy work i have always enjoyed. most people don't like "busy work" but i love it! 

the other nice thing about today is that it's 70 degrees, which my really attractive husband put on his bibs and jersey and took his bike out for another ride. the terrible thing is that i still can't go with him. changing that next season, we hope! 

today is going to be nothing but relaxing. i haven't moved from the couch since i got home and put sweats on, and there's not a sound besides the clicking of the keyboard while i type. so relaxing. i get to catch up on my hulu! i love it when i get to do that! 

other thoughts about today:

i'm so grateful to have a husband who will randomly send me funny things that happen to him and sporadic "i love you!" 's. 

i also love that he is just as content with my idea of a junk food dinner including hot dogs and potato chips as he is with a fancy meal at communal. 

and i love that it's finally spring. we're hoping to head back to buckhorn wash next month if it's not too wet and do some exploring in jackass benches. anybody wanna come???

blog positivity week: 

another awesome thing about blogging is YOU GUYS. i don't have many official followers (shout out, 29!), but i am getting international views and returning visitors daily. i don't know who you are, but i love you! 

just this week alone, my stat counter has recorded visitors from:

all over southern utah (mostly st. george)

around here in northern/central utah (draper, salt lake, orem, provo, payson, west jordan, etc, etc)

colorado 

massachusetts 

missouri 

hawaii 

australia 

california 

michigan 

wisconsin 

texas 

idaho 

new york 

iowa 

korea 

tasmania

alberta 

kansas 

maryland 

south carolina 

saudi arabia

um... that makes me feel pretty great about myself. i don't feel like i have anything special going on here, but knowing that i'm providing enough entertainment for people to read this, let alone, keep coming back, is pretty cool. 

i have met some AMAZING people through the blogosphere. amazing, i tell you. to name a few:

stephanie & mr. nielson: this couple was in an airplane accident a few years ago, and her road back from that is amazing, inspiring, and miraculous. nie nie is easily the most inspirational, influential person i've ever "met". 

namoi & josh: rockstar diaries is easily one of the most popular blogs around, but man. not only is that baby eleanor the cutest thing ever, but they are solid. such a great family, and members, no less! so awesome!

sydney & tyson: another super popular blog, written by members! the daybook is my go-to when i want to laugh. sydney is hilarious, and her son everett has the best facial expressions i've ever seen! so awesome.

sam & sarah: sarah is my sister in law's sister in law. if that makes sense. so i have done things with her a few times, but i feel like i know the most about her through her blog. she is amazing! so, so crafty, absolutely gorgeous, and she is so multi-faceted. she is a farm girl, loves horses, but still sews like a champion, and has flawless hair and makeup. she's also one of the sweetest people i've ever known.

sam & chas: they are both artists. so artsy. they are in SLC, and sam is seriously the biggest trooper. she's not much older than i am, and she's pretty much been to hell and back more than once, and she is so much stronger for it! she is so willing to share her experiences and share it with others, and there is a strength in doing that, that not many people have. she is a killer painter, too.

hue & hum: i couldn't say enough good things! caitlin and robbie are pretty much the coolest. she's an artist. he's a musician (and in one of my favorite bands, the fictionist!) robbie is also the brother of one of our best friends, and devin's old mission companion, TJ! they are both so incredibly talented, and caitlin constantly finds a way to relate the process of art to life. she is so creative and interesting, and also hilarious! you should check out her fotoshop phridays!

brittany: brittany is the mother of a family from new england where devin serve his mission. and when i think brittany, i think "i am mom, hear me roar!" she is everything i aspire to be as a mother, and so passionate and loving. she is also an amazingly talented artist, and has so many great thoughts to share. i cannot WAIT to meet her in two months when we head our to new england! she is so inspiring.

and who could forget my trusted besties? kylee and valeri both write hilarious and entertaining blogs. kylee blogs about really book-smart stuff. like her literary english sort of stuff that she is studying at UVU. she's always quoting some really, really old genius, and making really funny metaphors about herself and her life. it's pretty much why we're best friends. valeri's blog is sometimes my only way of getting caught up on her life and pregnancy! that little bayli grey is coming any day now, and it's been fun to see her and garrison prepare and learn. she is amazing! i can hardly wait for her to be a mama! 

then there's my sisters! chloe and amanda are in-law sisters, but it doesn't really matter. sisters are sisters! they both write hilarious, amazing blogs and i LOVE reading them, even if they already told me the stories! the longer we've known each other, the closer we get, and i LOVE IT! they are amazing. i can't believe they're my sisters! 

my little sister kayla writes a pretty awesome blog too. her perspective of life, and high school, and love is so different from mine, and i love reading about how she does it all! she is gorgeous, genius, and hilarious, and i love her. the end.

i would link up to all those blogs, but they are pretty much all on my side bar ----> and if not, i bet you already follow them! i love these guys. they make blogging what it is to me. 

BPW: writing + wednesday

Wednesday has been good to me, too. It's been an all around great week, truthfully. 

I stayed late at work so my "team" can go home AN HOUR EARLY (PAID!!!) tomorrow. That's right. Work has been so great, obviously. It's been good for me. Good for us. 

Devin has some potentially big changes (did i word that right...?) coming up in this next week or so. More on that later... the only thing that matters is that we are both feeling really great about everything that's going on. 

We are making steak kabobs right now. literally. i'm sitting in the kitchen. devin just put the steak on the stove. and i'm refraining from eating all the orange and yellow peppers...! then we'll make the rounds to our family and catch up and drop off...

Blog Positivity Week:

I love to write. I always have. I even spent a year at Dixie State College, trying to keep my head above the water that is a mass communications major. I was taking 17-21 credits, all relevant to journalism, and I was a section editor at the ripe young age of 18, which entailed at least 40 hours a week worth of editing, writing, proofing, photographing, and critiquing. It's a meticulous little job. Not for everyone. Not for me either, unfortunately. (if you care to know more about my journalism career or my time at dsc, read here.) It was the most stressful experience I have ever had, but I'm grateful for it every day. I learned so much, and even though that may not always show, with my typo's and grammatical errors, I am a good writer. I know I am. And that's not bragging, I promise. It's just... one of those things. Blogging is a little different then journalism, and writing newspaper articles, but still. Anyway, blogging is an awesome way for me to practice my writing. As often as every day. I think it's healthy to write. No matter what form you use to do it in. I also love the ability to channel thoughts into words. I think it takes  a lot of creativity and talent to do it in a good way, and I'm still learning, but it's something I've always aspired to do. 

I also think blogging/writing is a great outlet. A creative outlet to get my thoughts and ideas out there, a way to keep myself composed, and not bottle things up. A way to share the girly things my husband doesn't care to listen to (haha). I couldn't say enough things about writing. And the fact that blogging allows me to write as often as I want, how I want, where and when, and about what... makes blogging important to me. I am a huge believer in the power of the written word. I would often communicate to Devin difficult things through email while we were dating and engaged. I always felt like I sounded so dumb, that it was hard for me to talk about those things in person when we were dating, and more so when we were engaged, but he totally understood the difference it makes to be able to write out your thoughts and organize them. That's a prime example. I think everyone should be able to have an outlet like this for whatever it is they do or want. Just another reason why I love to blog!

BPW: inspiration + countdowns

TUESDAY has been okay. Devin doesn't work on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are his school days. So my tuesdays generally start with several curse words in my head as I kiss him goodbye while he's still in bed, and I head off to work on a mean, cold morning (I say mean, because we almost his 70 like, 2 days ago. what a joke it is to wake up to 20 degrees again! boo.)

Tuesday got a little better when I came home for lunch and we had hot dogs and watched daytime sitcoms like "Yes, Dear" and "King of Queens" - classics. It also got better when I got to work and "unintentionally" spent at least 1/2 an hour hanging out with my boss, not on the phone. It was pretty awesome. She's easily one of the coolest bosses I've ever had. (Alex and Jamie are easily the best bosses... haha! I miss them!)

Then it got GREAT when I got to leave work 1/2 an hour early and get paid for it! It's because our team in our department did exceptionally well yesterday, and as a reward, we get to duck out early! Wahoo! I love incentives like that.

I came home and we watched Seinfeld until Devin went to class. During that time, I watched the episodes of Buried Life where the boys deliver a baby and compete in a krump competition. This show is hilarious, and also cool in an inspiring way. Those are some good guys. Then I watched the CNBC show called something like... "The Facebook Obsession" it was interesting, but not really. Whatever.

Then... we cooked. After Devin got home from class early (nothing better than a cool professor). We made creamy italian chicken, rice, and squash/zucchini. YUM. And I even made chocolate mousse for dessert. I don't think I've ever seen Devin's eyes get to wide and happy as they did when I pulled the ingredients out!

Now? It's Jazz game time. For the... 3rd night in a row, I believe? Man, I wish I liked basketball more. And I'm guessing we'll end the night with some mousse in bed, while watching The Buried Life.

so mostly... Tuesday's been good to me.

now about the countdowns:

1 year until we get to plan our next anniversary trip (we're thinking... beachy.)

1.5 months until we get iPhones. which has been a LONG time coming. it's about time. my phone is awful. i've never even had a smart phone. and i'm jealous of instagram-ers. i wanna play :(

2 months exactly until we are off to BOSTON!!!

3 days until we go to the hunger games with all our family/friends!

4 days until we go skiing with Josh and Amy! We are taking them for I think both of their first times, and it will probably be our last chance to get out this season. Luckily, we still have some free passes! So maybe i'm a little glad we've had some recent snow... because that means fresh powder on the mountain :)

what i love about blogging today:

so many IDEAS out there. so much INSPIRATION. from other bloggers. i think the blogging world attracts women (mostly) who are crafty, which is really handy for me, because i'm still learning how to be crafty, and i'm slowly getting better at it. i learn so much from these other bloggers. so many tips and tricks. lots of cute things to try... crafts, and things on myself! how do you think i learned all the hairstyles i wear lately??? haha blogging is the best. i love how much i can learn and figure out from the bloggers around me. they are some amazing ladies! (i single out women because i only follow girl blogs. except for my husband. but he hasn't posted since... a few days before our wedding, i think? what a slacker.... haha! just kidding.)

okay. i'm done. i don't have the patience to blog tonight. i scarffed down an in-n-out cheeseburger and fries for lunch yesterday and i still feel sick. i also think i might be allergic to grapes. they give me heartburn... what the H, mario?

BPW: connecting. + sunday/monday

like i mentioned in this post here, i'm participating in blog positivity week! (BPW) so... this week, i am making it a point to be positive, talk about my favorite things about the blogosphere, and encourage all other bloggers to do the same.

so first of all, yesterday was Sunday. and we went to church for the first time in 3 weeks. because those past 3 weeks, at least one of us was terribly sick. which is a problem when you're calling is in the nursery. but today, we finally got back to church, and it felt so good. i feel like i never notice how much i have missed the uplifting feelings i get from church each weeks until i don't get them... so i was all smiles. even when nursery was a full 2 hours of wiping runny noses and trying to explain to the 2 year olds that throwing big, plastic cars at each other is not a good idea. they are adorable anyway. we had 10 kids in nursery! that's a lot! they were all great. all of them. so cute. it was so great to be at church. i should really stop taking that blessing for granted. not only do we have an amazing ward family to spend each sunday with, but we live 2 houses down from our church building, which is another blessing.

today, was great. it consisted of:

doing work at work. (I don't mean that as in actual work, although i did do actual work at work... that's why i go there... but I mean it in the boy way. Like... I really showed today who's boss, and I went to town on that work day, and I made it my b... you get the point.) i got a 100% of a recording. which is a big deal to nobody but my co-workers who know what i'm talking about. but it's really cool, and i'm really proud of myself. it pretty much just means i am doing good at my job. 100% good. which is goooood.

going to CPK with Devin (he was a first timer). it was delicious and weird. as usual. 

mall browsing. which was only at trade home (my secret shoe store that nobody else seems to shop at), macy's, the weird game store (which had no games we wanted, or knowledge of the games they did have...), and express. 

grocery shopping. we went to target. they've been remodeling. i thought they would leave grocery alone. i thought wrong. they moved basically everything all over. UGH. whatever. i had that store DOWN. i did work on that store. and the very second I am totally completely 100% confident with my target knowledge... they switch it all up and move practically EVERYTHING. grocery shopping is always entertaining. i think Target might just make up for this switch though. they're getting a starbucks?? if i can get a vanilla bean frappuccino (my computer keeps saying that's spelled wrong... but google says it's right. all of you actual coffee drinkers, correct me. because i only pretend. it's only vanilla bean, after all...) in there, i will be a happy girl. and probably get one every time i go there.

finally freaking finding out who A is. and that "finale" didn't solve ANYTHING. especially at the end. who the heck is Mona talking to??? who was in the black dress??? why is mya dead??? is she even dead??? ugh. i never finish an episode feeling satisfied. so i guess the people behind the show are doing their job. 

the voice. which is one of our favorite shows. 

>>>

also, each day this week, i want to share a different thing about blogging that i love. so today?

connecting.

the majority of the blogs i follow are my friends and family. i've been lucky enough to live relatively close to all of them, but as you grow up, and get married, and have families, it gets a little harder to hear all the details of all the stories from all the people! blogging has been a fantastic way to stay in touch and in the loop with my friends and family. like, for instance, my mommy-to-be bestie, Val, recently moved into a house and has done a ton of renovating, and baby preparing, that we've both been too busy to catch up on in person (which i realize is sad, but it happens). so it's nice to be able to hear what she's up to, even when i don't get to see her every single week. same goes for my family. even though i live 5 minutes from my parents, i still love reading my younger sister's blog, because she's a high school senior, and never home anyway! i love that blogging allows me to connect/stay connected with the awesome people i have surrounding me.

blog positivity week

have you heard of this yet? if not, go here. if you want to participate? also go there.

i think this is a good initiative, because i have expressed several times how much i want blogging to remain a positive thing for me, and everyone else. 

so this week? 

happy thoughts

week in review

monday.... we had dinner with Ryan and Danica at Red Robin.

tuesday... i don't even remember

wednesday... also don't remember

thursday... got trained on newer, cooler stuff at work! i spent the evening with chelsey, stefani and loni planning val's shower

friday... lots of shower preparing, dinner with ashby family (pizza!), then movie night to watch Larry Crowne at our house with Amanda & Jason and Sean & Chloe, complete with root beer floats!

saturday... baby shower! spent some time with Kylee. met up with Kelli and Sean at Red Iguana in SLC, then to Gourmandise for dessert, of course! 

it's been a good week. 

we haven't been to church in 3 weeks (that's how sick we've been!!! :( boo) but we can't wait to play with those nursery kids! we've missed them. 

oh, baby!

i teamed up with one of my best friends from high school, Chelsey, to throw our other best friend, Valeri a killer baby shower (maybe that's an inappropriate term...) we had a build-a-library shower for little baby girl jones, and it was a smash (i figured i'd just keep going with the inappropriate terms...). i have never spent so much time at Pebbles in My Pocket in my life! not even for my wedding! and it was great. and worth all the work!

for starters, i put my amateur skills to work on an invitation. (another thing to make note of: this entire shower could have easily been sponsored by pinterest.com...). and I've gotta say... they turned out darn cute. i hand stamped every single little triangle, one at a time. and even though it was tedious, it went by quickly, and i'd do it again! i love how they turned out

next, the actual party:

I was put in charge of the cake. which turned out surprisingly well, with the help of my husband (who knew i married a baking-emergency expert??). a pintereest idea, for sure:

chelsey and justin had made sugar cookies, chelsey's amazing mom, Cindy had made delicious raspberry lemonade, and there was also a fruit bowl I put together, and Loni/Stef made lemon bars:

we kept the bunting banner theme going with the other decorations, including this banner (which I made at Pebbles in My Pocket) and the onesie banner.

these were the first girls i ever met in high school, and we've stayed so close ever since! i love them!

lots of girls came, and we had a great time getting TMI from val about pregnancy (which is typical. and expected.)

we played a hilarious game where Loni put different foods through my food processor and Val had to guess what they were... we were mostly nice...

and I put together some little bags of popcorn as party favors with chelsey. turned out great!

it was such a great time. Val got loaded up with cute clothes and books, loved her Addison Renee Boutique headbands, and we all had a fun time! obviously, the colors were pink, yellow and grey. yellow and grey, because that's just Valeri, plus Bayli's nursery colors, and pink... well because, she's a girl, of course! I was so happy with how this turned out and was proud of how well everything came together! There was also a cute picture line of all the sonograms of Bayli, that I didn't take a picture of. She has huge lips and she's gonna be SO PRETTY! I can hardly wait. Valeri is progressing perfectly, and could have this little girl any day now and I am so giddy! I love Val, and am so beyond happy for her. To watch her be a mother is going to be so much fun! She will be amazing, so I'm glad she's going first so I can learn how to do it!