Showing posts with label Friday Five. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Five. Show all posts

Friday, September 20, 2013

Five things Friday

1. I am a major pyro. I love fire and I could play with it, or even just watch it, for hours on end. Maybe it's a redhead thing? My mom wisely never allowed candles in our house (except on birthday cakes), and now I feel like a rebel when I use them.

2. Besides taking a couple of classes in high school, I was home schooled until I enrolled in a community college when I was 17. It makes me happy when people are surprised to hear this. What, do you expect me to wear a bonnet or something? And be completely socially incompetent? It cracks me up every time to see the shock in people's eyes!


3. I could eat salad for every single meal, no joke. That is how much I love it. On a somewhat related note, I love tomatoes so much that I eat them like apples, sometimes with a little salt sprinkled on top. So good

4. I'm an introvert. Even though I love being around people, I tend to be more of a quiet observer, and I love  (and need) my alone time. (Currently working on a post about this!) 

introvert

5. If could wear sweaters and scarves every day of the year, I probably would. I'm anxious for it to be cool enough to bust out my fall/winter clothes! 

Happy Friday! 

Friday, September 6, 2013

5 happy thoughts

Because sometimes writing them down makes them come into my head, and if we're being honest there aren't very many happy thoughts in my head at the moment as I lay in bed grouchy, sick, and tired.

1. I will be sleeping in my own bed tonight! This babysitting gig has been (for the most part, as seen by my last post) easier and more fun than I was anticipating, but 10 days is a long time to live in someone else's house and it will be nice to get back to normal life.

2. I married a keeper. He really is the best. Patient, sweet, and always making me laugh. I can't believe he was crazy enough to want to marry this crazy goof of a redhead, but I'm sure glad he did!

3. One of the little girls in the family we've been watching loves to come up, pat my belly, and say, "Hi baby" several times a day. She is also really excited to find out whether it is a boy or girl (as am I!) and has made me promise to text her mom when I find out in a few weeks so she can tell her. It is adorable. I might have to sneak her home with us tonight. Her parents won't notice, right?

4. It's Friday! I get my husband all to myself for the next couple of days! Yippee!

5. My almost 2-year-old sister makes my little heart melt every time she tells me "Lah-loo" (Love you) on the phone. She is pretty stinking cute. (And I'm not biased or anything....)

Funny to look back at these happy thoughts and see exactly what is on my mind... sleep, husband, and babies/kids. Must be pregnant or something... eh? :)

On an unrelated note, you should watch this. And all the other Kid Snippets while you're at it, because they are hilarious. Almost as hilarious as listening to the youngest kid we are watching start quoting lines from it at random and then bust up laughing. THE BEST.



Happy Friday!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Pterodactyls, blackberry jam, and Duck Dynasty

Well, this week was a doozy. A real doozy. I am so thankful today is Friday. Rather than whine about everything that went screwy this week, although I am tempted, here's a list of five happy things. :)

1. We got to see our little jelly bean yesterday! Annnnd... I'm pretty sure I am going to give birth to a pterodactyl. Either that or a chicken.



(P.S. Here is an even more hilarious ultrasound picture... bahahaha!)

2. I needed to switch to a different OBGYN. Usually this would be no problem, but in a town that only has two of them and the one I wanted was supposedly not accepting new patients, it was kinda stressing me out a bit. That's a major understatement, by the way. If I couldn't switch I was going to have to find one somewhere else, and the idea of traveling to all my appointments didn't really appeal to me, but sticking with the one I have been seeing was not an option. 

A couple weeks ago I called to see if there was anything that they could do, anything at all. That's actually a really funny story, but long story short I guess sometimes being a somewhat emotionally unstable pregnant lady has its perks. I completely broke down in violent tears which conveniently touched the heart of the sweet receptionist who made it her personal mission to get me the good doctor. This week they called to let me know she decided to take me on, and I am so thankful for that. So thankful. She is much more supportive of the birth and pregnancy I want to have, and it really puts my mind at ease to have her as my doctor! 

3. I found a blackberry patch not to0 far away from our house and I picked enough to make a triple batch of jam. Now, homemade jam tastes much better on homemade bread, so I made my mama's whole wheat bread to go with it. It was so worth the time and effort to enjoy this deliciousness. Mmmmm... :)


4. Duck Dynasty started again this week! :D My husband and I are big fans. It's really nice to see a wholesome, hilarious, uplifting show for once... makes me happy, happy, happy. ;)





5. I get to visit my sister in CA very soon! I can't wait to go to the beach. As much as I love my mountains, there is something about the sand and the sea that makes me happy. P.S. She is pregnant with twin girls due about 2 months before our baby! So exciting! 

Happy Friday! :)

Friday, May 3, 2013

Five beautiful things

I think it is a well known fact that this world is full of a lot of ugly, sad, scary things. 
I'm not one to watch the news very much, but I did have it on for a few minutes the other day and it was really depressing. There's so much crazy stuff going on that it can be easy to forget what a beautiful place this world is, and I do still believe that the good and happy and beautiful things in this world outweigh the bad. Sometimes you just have to work a little harder to find them.

Here are five of the beautiful things I've been loving lately.

1. This song by Gungor 


All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

I love this. So peaceful, hopeful, and inspiring. 

2. Tulips

I don't know if it is possible to be a tulip addict, but it so then I am one. Daffodils and tulips are my favorite flowers of all time, and that is saying a lot because I am a flower lover. 

P.S. Thank you Dallin for surprising me with a sweet new lens for my camera!
It was fun  testing it out on my tulips. :)

3. This shadow dancing performance



I mean... seriously? This blew my mind, and maybe even made me a little teary-eyed. Maybe. ;)

4. The Temple

Mesa, AZ Temple. Photo by me, taken a couple months ago.
This is one of my favorite places to go to find beauty, peace, and deeper purpose in my life. I love it here. It always feels like home to me. 

5. The Gospel

This morning I was reading my scriptures and it reminded me again of what a beautiful blessing the gospel is. It provides me with the peace and power I need to be happy and successful in life. For that I will always be thankful. One of the things I love the most about my faith is that it makes everything okay.

Because I know God and that He is aware of me, I have no reason to fear, and that knowledge is the most beautiful thing of all.



What are some beautiful things in your life lately? How do you stay positive and happy?


Friday, April 26, 2013

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? :) 

Friday, April 12, 2013

Top five pet peeves {Friday Five}

Let's be honest. I have more than five pet peeves. ;)
 Here are just 5 of them (in no particular order).

1. Bad drivers.

Although I hate to admit it, I can have a bit of road rage at times, In my defense, I usually do keep my cool, and the extent of my "road rage" is just sticking out my tongue in their general direction or wishing a flock of large birds would pelt their car with some... surprises. 

But... on the inside, this is how I feel. 

image

2. Bad spelling and grammar

I'm not saying my spelling and grammar is perfect. No siree. I make some pretty stupid mistakes sometimes. It doesn't bother me at all when people misspell a word or two, or make some other error by accident. It happens to the best of us. I also think it's okay to take some creative liberties that sacrifice some grammatical rules, as long as it isn't too hard to read. What does bother me is when people make really simple, obvious mistakes, and then make them all the time. I'm amazed that these people made it past elementary school, and that some of them even became my college professors. 

If you ever want to make my soul die a little, just tell me something like, "I don't know weather I like you're blog, because you write wierd stuff their sometimes and its alot of gross stuff about how much you love you're husband and that definately is way TMI."

Also, I promise to put less mushy stuff, but I can't help it because my husband is pretty fantastic. Sorry. ;)

P.S. don't get me started on people who use the word "literally" incorrectly. Girl, if your heart is "literally breaking" then you should probably do something about it, like... call 911 maybe? ;)




3. Crude language

Few things disgust me as much as this does. One of the (many) reasons I quit my job a few months ago was the unceasing cursing and vulgar subject matter. It was never-ending, no matter how many times I nicely asked my co-workers to please stop talking about that stuff when I was around, or at least give me a heads up so I could plug my ears or go outside. It was miserable. Hearing the horrible things they said left me feeling filthy. Oh, I am so thankful I don't work there anymore. So thankful.

image
I have wanted to do this so many times.
4. Loud chewing

I am really trying to get over this one because it is a little ridiculous. Unfortunately, it seems like the older I get the more sensitive I am. I'm seriously concerned about what is going to happen when I am pregnant. Hopefully it doesn't get too serious or else I might be eating in seclusion for 9 months. ;)













5. These.








My response?



and



'Nuff said.

What are some of your biggest pet peeves?

P.S. If I we ever get a pet I shall name it Peeve so that I have a literal pet Peeve.

P.P.S. You should watch this. These guys are amazing.


Happy Friday! 

Friday, April 5, 2013

Top 5 places I've been {Friday Five}

I'm a list person. One of the reasons I blog is to help me be a better writer and practice organizing my thoughts into paragraphs and complete sentences. It's a work in progress. :) 

Just for funsies, I decided to start a Friday list series on this little blog of mine to pander to my list obsession. Every Friday (At least, every Friday that I feel like it) I'm going to post a list of 5 things whether it is five favorite foods/movies/books/outfits/places/scriptures/songs/blogs/etc, five items on my ever-growing bucket list, five most awkward/awesome/happy/scary moments, or whatever else I come up with. 

Today's list is my top five favorite places I've traveled to. 

1. Russia

I was lucky enough to have the chance to be a volunteer English teacher in Voronezh, Russia for 4 months in 2011. I also spent a month there when I was 16 when my family adopted three of my younger siblings from northern Russia.

I love that country so much. It is full of beautiful places and things, and some of the nicest people I've met. Oh, I hope I can go back! Maybe when we're old we can serve a mission there. :)




2. Maui

Dallin and I went on our honeymoon to Hawaii, and I absolutely loved it! It's one of the most beautiful places I've been. My favorite parts were driving the road to Hana, hiking around waterfalls, snorkeling, and the black sand beach.

Perfect weather, perfect views, and a sweet new husband to enjoy it with... could it be any better? ;)







 3. Zion National Park

This place is amazing. We like to go here to canyoneer, but there is a lot of other things to do if you aren't into that.

Like... hike half a mile to see this incredible view.



The first time I went to Zion was the day after I managed to chop off the end of my thumb (maybe I should blog about that escapade sometime... haha!). This meant I didn't get to go canyoneering since I couldn't get my big ol' bandage wet, plus every time I got my heart rate up it would start bleeding again. On the bright side, I got to leisurely walk out here and take self-timer pictures of myself. Not as fun as canyoneering, but still awesome. :)


If you are coming from AZ, you get to drive through a mile long tunnel. Here's a picture from one of the windows. Cool, eh?

The second time, I got to join in the canyoneering fun! This was my favorite part of the 2 days we spent there and the 3 canyons we did... the rappel from Mystery Canyon into the Zion Narrows. The itty bitty people down below that cheered for us made it even better. ;)



The Zion Narrows from where we rappelled. Pretty flipping awesome. 

4. Leprechaun Canyon

This slot cuts through Navajo sandstone, which makes for a really photogenic canyon. We've done several similar canyons, and it was really hard to pick just one, but I really liked this canyon... partially because it was really easy. ;) Some of the ones we do are much more strenuous, although those do leave me feeling really beastly once I'm done. :P




5. Buckskin Gulch

This is a long but incredibly beautiful hike! The whole thing is about 20 miles (if you exit out Paria) which we split between 2 days. Buckskin in the longest slot canyon in the world. It's just miles and miles of awesome. 

That's why I'm about to post a boatload of pictures. You have been warned. 








Well, there you have it! And I can't wait to add Spain to this list next month! :)