Thrift store score + #ootdeverydaymay

I'm just really in love with this dress I found at a thrift store and had to post a picture really fast. Tomorrow I will try to get some better pictures so you can see the before and after shots (I did some altering), but for now here's just a quick shot of the lace detail at the collar.

Also, if you read Harley and Jane you might have read about the "Outfit a day every day in May" funsies going on. I'm going to try to do it (although let's be honest, I probably won't actually do it every day...), and if you are on Instagram you should do it too! Hashtag #ootdeverydaymay

Waterslides Canyon

This weekend's canyoneering adventure took us to Waterslides Canyon, which is out in the middle of nowhere somewhere kind of by Roosevelt Lake (but not really, I'm serious when I say there is nothing nearby).

I've been on some pretty fun canyons, but this one (besides the long hike/rock hop and  getting carsick for the second time in my life) was such a blast. It is aptly named Waterslides canyon for the many sweet slides that make this trip worth the effort!

But before we got to the fun stuff, we had to hike/rappel into the canyon. Here I am on the first rap. 

The sun is a ginger's worst enemy. I took advantage of any opportunity to take cover. :)

Finally to the water! It felt so good to get in! 

Dallin on the first slide! This one was so fun that we kept climbing up to do it again over and over. 

My turn!

Our friends Bret and Jeff came too

Such a beautiful place on such a beautiful day!

My splash at the end of a steep slide. I like this one!

Purty.

Dallin and me in our supersuits. ;)

Dallin getting ready to go down the big one! You can't tell in this picture, but this slide is about 40 feet high and very steep, plus there is a bit of a jump that can really launch you if you hit it right. Let's just say I was really good at hitting it just right, and my backside is probably going to feel a little funny for a while... haha! 

You can kind of see me getting launched in the second picture.. This was terrifying, by the way... haha. It might look tame in the pictures, but it was pretty scary, especially from the top! It's really steep and much higher than it looks in these pictures.

Jeff jumping by the big slide

I thought I had a video of me going down the big slide, but apparently I don't so here is one of Jeff!
(P.S. Enjoy my awkward giggling . Please tell me I don't always sound like that...)

Awww.

Having fun with the waterproof camera

All in all it was a good trip, but let's just say there was no way I was wearing heels to church today. I'm a wee bit sore. It was definitely worth it though. 

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On an unrelated note, remember how I mentioned in this post about how afraid I am to play the piano in church? Well guess who is the new pianist for the Spanish branch we are now attending? Yep, that would be me! This ought to be very interesting. I knew this day would come, and to be honest I'm really thankful that it came when we're in a small branch of super nice people that I already love so much. 

Oh, and if this Spanish branch business is news to you, Dallin was called last week to be in the branch presidency so we will both be attending there from now on. Dallin is fluent in Spanish, but I don't know very much and have a really hard time separating Spanish from Russian in my mind. It's just a matter of time until I start spouting off Russian when I mean to say something in Spanish. I'm telling you, it is going to happen. I'm exciting though! It's going to be an adventure for sure! 

On another unrelated note, aren't tulips such happy flowers? Spring flowers are my favorite.

Happy Sunday!

Top 5 worst fears {Friday five}

I like to think of myself as a pretty fearless person, but I do have some things I am afraid of.
Here's five of the biggest ones. 

P.S. Don't judge me, I'm a weird person with some weird fears. ;)

1. Heights. 

This is kind of ironic since my husband and I love to canyoneer. Most of the canyons we do are technical, meaning they require rappelling and/or climbing, and quite a few of those rappels are pretty high. So far, the longest rappel I've done is about 200 feet. 

See little me at the top? I was probably about 1/2 of the way down at that point. Eeep!

And yet, even though we do this often, I am still pretty scared of heights. However, I do think I am slowly getting over it. Slowly. Also, I'm very thankful that I am totally fine with airplanes, tall amusement park rides, etc. 

But things like this make me very dizzy. 

And especially things like this. Oy.

These pictures could be scenes from my worst nightmares. Seriously. 

2. Getting abducted

Speaking of my worst nightmares, most of them involve big, scary guys and dark alleys. I have had some scary real life experiences that contribute to this fear too. I take several security measures to protect myself, and just do my best to stay safe but even so this will probably always be a fear of mine. 

3. Passing cars on 2-lane highways

This is pretty silly, but I am deathly afraid of passing anybody unless there are more than two lanes. I will do it on occasion, but only if the road is straight so I can see far ahead and there are no cars coming my way at all. It doesn't matter if the oncoming car is a mile away, I will not pass it. Dallin is not quite as patient as I am (and also isn't paranoid like me) so he will pass if he has enough time, even if there is oncoming traffic. Every time it absolutely terrifies me to be in the same lane as a car coming directly towards me at 55+ MPH. (shudder)

 My husband gets a kick out of this sometimes, and I can't blame him for laughing at his white-knuckled, wide-eyed, hyperventilating wife in the passenger seat freaking out about the car that is half a mile away from us. 

4. Being asked to play the piano/organ in church

I can count the piano lessons I've had on one hand. I taught myself quite a bit though, and I know how to play a handful of hymns. Unfortunately, even though I am not very good, there have been a few times when I had to play the piano at church functions and I was the seminary pianist (or co-pianist) all four years. It terrifies me. Usually I get through the first verse or two okay, but it is downhill from there! Ever since we got a piano I have been practicing, but let's just say I don't practice anywhere near enough... haha! I have a feeling that one of these days I'm going to be asked to be a Relief Society or Primary pianist. Maybe that will be what it takes to purge that fear. ;)

5. Swimming in the dark

Because obviously that is when all the scary water creatures come to the surface with their tentacles and sharp teeth to prey on unsuspecting humans. ;) This fear is totally irrational and very ridiculous, but even just thinking about being in dark water gives me the heebie jeebies. (Although I did swallow this fear once to play a game using glow sticks and water bottles at Lake Powell once, and it was a awsome.)

Well, there you have it. Do we share any of the same fears? Can we be phobia phriends? 

(Yeah, I think I'm pretty clever sometimes... heh heh)

And will you ever believe me if I say I'm really not living in fear all the time, even if this post makes it seem that way? :) 

20 seconds of insane courage

Have you ever seen the movie We Bought a Zoo? 

If you haven't, I definitely recommend it... as long as you love heart-warming, tear-jerking movies featuring Matt Damon and lots of awesome animals. ;)

My favorite part of the movie is this quote:

I don't know about you, but one of my faults is that I tend to keep myself safely within the bounds of my comfort zone. I've certainly improved a lot in the past few years, but I still can be very intimidated by fears of failure or embarrassment. 

This is so silly, because when I think about the most rewarding and wonderful experiences of my life, they are all things that took me well outside of my comfort zone. For example, a year and a half ago I spent 4 months in Russia teaching English. Was it scary? Yes. I was pretty nervous. Russia is kind of crazy, and since this was actually the second time I traveled there I knew what I was getting myself into. But was it awesome? YES, and I miss it terribly. I am so thankful I swallowed my fears and went for it. 

Teaching seminary is another great example. It is very challenging, but I can't even tell you how much I love it or the things I've learned. If I had chickened out (I've never turned down a calling, but I was tempted... haha!), I would have missed out on a lot.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you have to get out of your comfort zone and have a little insane courage if you want to accomplish great things. Don't be afraid to pursue a secret dream, tackle any obstacle that you encounter, or break out of your comfort zone.

P.S. Here's the song that inspired this post. I love me some Sara B., and this song makes me happy.

I wanna see YOU be brave. 

Do something crazy today! :)

Call someone today

I'm really, really horrible at keeping in touch with people. I just tend to forget, or I put it off until it is more convenient to call/write (which obviously is never, I'm too busy for it to ever be "convenient"), or some other silly thing happens that prevents me from doing it. 

This makes me sad. I regret not talking to my family more often, particularly my older siblings and grandparents. Thankfully I do facetime with my parents and younger siblings often, partially because I just can't get enough of my adorable baby sister (and love being entertained by the rest of my cute siblings too). Other than that, I am really bad at keeping up with family, especially since we are spread across several states.

Lately, I've been feeling like something needs to change. I've got to be better. This morning, I had the thought come to my mind that I should give my grandpa H. a call. "Ok," I thought. "In a minute when I finish what I'm doing." A few seconds later, the thought came again. "Give him a call. Right now."

So I did. 

And I am so glad I listened to that prompting. 

My grandma H. passed away somewhat suddenly a couple of years ago. It was is really hard on my sweet grandpa. He just loves her so much. Every time I have talked to him since then she is almost always the subject of our conversation  He asks me how married life is going, and then tells me (again) how much he loves and misses his Lila. That means so much to me. I am thankful to have parents and grandparents that have taught me by example how to have a happy life and marriage. I'm also grateful to have been close with all four of my grandparents.

While he spoke of my grandma today, it reminded me again of how fragile life is and that it may not be long before he is reunited with her. That also makes me sad. On the other hand, it also makes me thankful to know that families are eternal. Isn't that just wonderful? I love that so much about the gospel. Family is the most important thing and I'm so happy to be sealed to mine for time and eternity. 

Grandpa H and me at my wedding last year. Isn't he cute?

My challenge to you is to give someone a call today. Or maybe shoot someone a message. It only takes a few minutes but it can make a huge difference in your life and theirs.

Currently, I'm...

Loving: This springy, bird-singing, grass-growing, perfect weather. It makes my heart happy! Spring will always be my favorite season.

Feeling: Like Mother Nature punched me in the gut. And punched it hard. But also happy that I can stay home and eat my feelings until she goes away. Ah, the joys of womanhood...

Reading: Les Miserables. The abridged version, which is still pretty dang long. So far so good!

Watching: Psych and Duck Dynasty with Dallin. We're a little obsessed with both of them. I'm also watching The Voice on my own, and I love it! (P.S. Ryan Innes is one of Dallin's college friends which is kinda neat! Hope he wins!)

Listening to: Music from The Voice (especially this and this)

Eating: Lots of strawberries. I'm really thankful that some of my cravings are actually healthy! Although I am thinking that I might need to dip some of them in chocolate, because chocolate dipped strawberries are one of my favorite things in the world. Mmmm.

Working on: A million sewing/refashioning/craft projects. My goal is to finish one of them today. We'll see how that goes... hah! :) Just to name a few of my projects, I've got a maxi skirt to finish, a smash book to work on, a thrifted dress to alter, and a DIY camera bag to complete.

Wearing: Mint jeans. They make me very happy. :D

Wishing: Tomorrow's seminary lesson would prepare itself. Five lessons a week is a lot of work. Good thing I love it, even though I get a little burnt out sometimes! It helps that my students are the best.

Thankful: For a sweet husband, good health (knock on wood), and the good, kind, selfless people that keep my faith in humanity going strong.

Looking forward to: Spain! It's getting so close!

A pearl beyond price

Today I re-watched this talk by Elder L. Whitney Clayton from General Conference and it got me thinking (again) about happiness and success in marriage. 

I've often wondered what happens to two people who seem(ed) so in love that causes them to lose that spark or even get divorced. Now that I am married, I find myself pondering more often about what the difference is between a happy marriage and an unhappy marriage. I never want us to lose that spark. We have made covenants to be faithful to each other for time and eternity, and that is really, really long time to spend with someone you don't adore, don't you think? I'm really thankful to be a member of the LDS church and to have grown up in a good family. Both of these things have helped me learn from a young age how to have a good marriage.

While there are many factors that can determine success of marriage, I believe the most important one is the mutual willingness to put your marriage and your spouse first. This means remembering that your marriage is special. It is precious. It should never be put on the back burner, not for any reason. It should always be your number one priority. 

Elder Clayton articulates my thoughts on this subject much better. Here's a quote from the talk I mentioned earlier:

"I have observed that in the happiest marriages both the husband and wife consider their relationship to be a pearl beyond price, a treasure of infinite worth. They both leave their fathers and mothers and set out together to build a marriage that will prosper for eternity. They understand that they walk a divinely ordained path. They know that no other relationship of any kind can bring as much joy, generate as much good, or produce as much personal refinement. Watch and learn: the best marriage partners regard their marriages as priceless." 

Those are wise words, and I know they are true. Never take your marriage or spouse for granted. Just as Elder Clayton said in his talk (which might be the most shared quote from conference!), marriage truly is a gift from God. Treat it like one.

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