Sleep is a wonderful thing

Something miraculous happened last night. I went to bed at 10pm and didn't wake up until after 6:30am when Eli woke up hungry. As if that weren't amazing enough, he went back to sleep for a good hour and a half after that.

I can't tell you how wonderful this was. 

Eli hasn't always been a terrible sleeper. There were a couple months where he would at least give us a solid 5-6 hours straight, but lately he's been waking up more often than I really care to discuss. It's been lousy. I've been exhausted. My house has been suffering. And I've been feeling grouchy and overwhelmed. 

Until this morning. 

When I woke up this morning, birds and angels started singing when I realized it wasn't some unholy hour like usualy. I felt like a brand new woman! For the first time in a long time I woke up feeling motivated and ready to go. And this is what I did with all that energy:

• Got dressed and ready for the day before Eli woke up
• Ate breakfast
• Did a load of dishes
• Went to Home Depot for supplies for my Etsy shop, which has been keeping me very busy lately... yay!
• Put Eli down for a nap
• Sanded and prepped Etsy signs 
• Replied to emails and messages 
• Threw together a terrible lunch since I lost track of time... but hey, we ate something! Even though it may or may not have been leftover mashed potatoes, some frozen waffles, and blackberries. (Note: must go grocery shopping tomorrow.)
• Mailed off most of our Christmas cards
• Mailed off Etsy packages
• Put Eli down for another nap
• Stained a bunch of signs
• Baked up some of the peanut butter kiss cookie dough that was left over from last night... YUM
• Ate too many cookies and watched some episodes of The Mindy Project
• Did not make dinner (see above) (hashtag: #noregrets)
• Cleaned the almost all the carpets upstairs
• Wrote this blog post 

I feel so accomplished. It's amazing what a difference it makes to be well-rested, because I'm pretty sure I got more done today than I did all last week. (Seriously though.) And now I am going to sleep and pray that Eli does too! (Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeaaaaase!)

This makes it worth it

Eli has started sleeping much better lately, usually around 5-7 hours of solid sleep a night before waking up to eat. I'm starting to feel a little more human, and I'm very thankful for that!

He sleeps in his bouncer (it's the only comfortable position with his cast) in our room, but in the morning I often pull him into our bed so I can nurse him laying down, and then I keep him there because he is so snuggly and sweet that I don't want to put him back. 

I mean, just look at him. 

I love to snuggle up close with my nose to his head so I can soak up that sweet baby smell and kiss his soft little cheeks. And when I look over and see my other handsome boy sleeping next to me, I can't help but think about how lucky I am to have them both and it makes me so happy.

Even though I'm exhausted and stressed, and being a new mom is really hard sometimes, I find that all those things leave my mind when I make sure to enjoy peaceful moments like this when they come. 

And they always come, especially just when I feel like I'm about to go bonkers. Thank the heavens above for that.

Are we there yet?

I'm struggling today. There's a lot on my mind that is stressing me out and I'm having a hard time dealing with it right now. I'm exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and ready to not be pregnant anymore. This silly baby just doesn't seem quite ready to come yet, no matter how hard I try to convince him otherwise. I really thought he'd be here by now, and it's becoming more and more difficult to be patient, especially since now I'm at the point where I need to make some decisions before my doctor's appointment tomorrow. 

Here are the top 3 scenarios we're looking at right now:

Option 1: Go into labor naturally, ideally soon. Like... maybe today? ;)

This would be very, very nice. For realsies. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem likely that this will happen. Who knows, though? Maybe it will! I hope so.

Pros: Everything, but especially the fact that it's more likely I could stick to my birth plan/wishes if this happened, and that would mean a lot to me. (Although I know the most important thing is to get my baby here safely, and I'm willing to do what it takes to make that happen... no matter what.) 

Cons: None. Come on, baby... let's do this! 

Option 2: Get induced Thursday or Friday. 

I'd rather not get induced, but my doctor doesn't want me to go past 41 weeks.

Pros: I'd be done this week. Dallin could take off Friday and then be with me the rest of the weekend.

Cons: I'd like to give my body a chance to start things on its own and maybe it just needs a couple more days... Thursday/Friday is pretty soon and I'll only be 40 weeks and 4-5 days along. Do I really want to be induced so early? I'd also end up spending much more time in the hospital. Not a big fan of that idea.

Option 3: Get induced Monday.

I am pretty sure I could convince my doctor (she's really reasonable and nice) to let me do this, even though it means I'll be going a few days over 41 weeks.

Pros: I'd have a little more time to (hopefully) get things going naturally. It's longer than my impatient self would like to wait, but I know that if you don't have complications (and thankfully I don't) there's usually no reason to be concerned about going a little past 41 weeks. 

Cons: Dallin will have a really hard time leaving work for very long, particularly at the beginning of the week when things are craziest. He is the only pharmacist and nothing can happen when he is gone. I know I'll be much more comfortable, happy, and calm with him there. I'm not worried about him missing the actual birth – I know he will be there for that, no matter what – but I really want him there before and after too. 

I know that things will all work out the way they are supposed to, but it sure would be nice to know how and when, you know? I'm ready to meet this little babe! Hopefully he will be ready to meet us soon.   

Also, if I only had a dime for every time I've been asked, "Are you still pregnant?" Oy.

Okay. Grumpy post over. 

On a happier note, here's some things I've been thankful for this week:

Daffodils

Beautiful, warm weather

XL t-shirts

Symphony chocolate bars (the ones with toffee and almonds, of course)

Facetime

Almost all of my dishes are clean, thanks to Dallin. Is there anything better?

I've been sleeping well still. Hallelujah!

My Les Mis and Simon & Garfunkel stations on Pandora. The best.

Orange juice

Uplifting blogs (especially this post)

Prayer

Wanna do me a favor? Are there any hilarious videos, articles, or other miscellaneous awesomeness floating around the interwebz I should be aware of? If so, you should send me the link. :) 

Two

Two years ago today this handsome man and I got hitched. 

Cliché as it sounds, I don't know how I got so lucky. He makes me happier every day. 

When I was engaged, and for a little while after we got married, so many people gave me marriage tips or advice. I remember hearing lots of them say that things get really hard after a few months or a year, once the "honeymoon is over," but man... it just keeps getting better. I don't know if it's something we're doing right, or if we just happen to get along remarkably well. Most likely it's a little bit of both. All I know is that just when I think I couldn't possibly be any happier, somehow every day I am... and it's all his fault. ;) 

Happy anniversary, my dulcet darling! I'm so glad you are mine.

Blargh.

A few things I'm grateful for today:

• Antibiotics
• Herbal tea
• Homemade chicken soup
• Ice cold orange juice
• THE comfiest sweater ever (bought on sale). I have worn it almost daily since fall because I love it almost as much as my husband and maybe even a little more than Krispy Kreme. That's a lot, in case you were wondering. A LOT.

37 weeks, 5 days

• Long hot showers
• Humidifiers
• The luxury of being a bum all day with just myself to take care of. I crawled back in bed after Dallin went to work and slept for another 3 hours. It was glorious.
• The fact that it looks like I *should* be able to kick this sickness before going into labor (knock on wood!)
• Cough drops with pep talks

In other words, I'm sick and have been all week. Ready for the incessant pounding in my head to disappear. Hoping and praying it does before I have this baby. Thankful to be getting better, even if it feels like it's happening slower than the proverbial molasses in January. Since it won't be January tomorrow, maybe I'll be better then, no? 

(Side note: holy toledo it is really February tomorrow!? WHAT.)

Okay. Pity party over. Mikaela out. 

Warm Fuzzies

Christmas is just a few days away... yippee! This has always been my favorite holiday. Everything about just makes me happy inside.

Unfortunately, it seems like there hasn't been enough "warm fuzzies" going around the interwebz lately. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be thinking about happy, Christmas-y, festive goodness than all the controversial topics that have become the focus the past couple weeks. Thus, here are some of the things that have been giving me the warm fuzzies recently, just in case you need something to get you in the Christmas spirit too. 

1. Dallin sung in our former ward today so I went as well. In that ward, there is a sweet boy who has Down's syndrome that was ordained a deacon not long before we were called to the Spanish branch. One of the duties of being a deacon is passing the sacrament, and it melts my heart to see one of his fellow deacons gently guiding him around the chapel with his arm over his shoulder so he can participate. It always makes me think of Christ and how he helps me handle things that I can't do alone. I love it.

2. This video. If this doesn't make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, you just might be the Grinch himself.

Life is so much better when you are kinder to people around you, whether you think you deserve it or not, and is there any better way to get in the spirit of Christmas than that? 

3. Ingrid Michaelson's version of "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." It's chock full of happiness. (I'm not sure how legit this website is, but you can listen to it here)

4. Baby boy's wild movements are becoming more recognizable, like maybe there is actually a baby in there instead of an octopus (whew!). It's starting to sink in that he is coming very soon, ready or not. I'm so excited. Whenever I think about this wee babe of mine and how blessed I feel to be pregnant (something I wasn't sure I would get to experience), I get overwhelmed with happiness. Life is so very good. I can't wait for next Christmas, when there will be three of us instead of two.

5. This, which might be my very favorite Christmas song.

I especially love these lines:

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name

I'm so thankful for my Savior. He means everything to me, and I owe all the happiness, hope, and peace in my life to him. Even though I know I could never repay him for what he does for me, I know I can at least try to help those around me and become a better person, and isn't that what this season is all about? (That, and cookies. Always cookies. The end.)

Have a merry little Christmas! 

Obligatory Thanksgiving Post

Yeah, I know this is what every blog post written yesterday, today, and tomorrow is about... but whatever. Happy Thanksgiving just the same! I spent the day stuffing my face with the people I love most, and while that sounded rather cannibalistic I think you know what I meant. Good food and good family... what else do you need in life, really?

I have a love/hate relationship with certain holidays such as Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. I mean, gratitude and love are both great things to feel and express. We should do that all the time, right? Not just one day out of the year. Yet I guess it is good for us to be reminded.

I've been trying to be more grateful lately. It seems like the older I get the more cynical I'm becoming, a trend I'd really like to reverse as soon as possible so I can avoid turning into a crusty, irritable, grumpy old lady someday. One of the ways I've been trying to remedy my cynicism is being grateful for my blessings, not comparing my life with others, and looking for the uplifting things in life. I believe that is how true joy is found -- by feeling and expressing gratitude. I know I'm a lot happier when I take the time to think about the blessings I've been given instead of wishing for more. Now I just need to practice what I preach more often.

Here.

I haven't always kept a journal, but over the years I've collected quite a few of them. Today I was organizing a bookshelf that mostly has my books on it, including quite a few of those journals. I ended up doing a lot more sitting on my haunches reading through them than organizing.

Annnd... I'm okay with that. 

These particular journals cover bits and pieces of my life from when I was 10 years old until just before I left for Russia at age 19. Those nine years held a lot of adventures and challenges that shaped me into the person I am now. I started out as a stubborn tomboy of a 10-year-old, then stumbled through my difficult (and very character defining) teenage years, discovered what a wonderful place college can be, and then fell for the man I would later marry, all in those nine years.

Flipping through the pages of the journals took me back and reminded me of what a surprise my life has turned out to be. I would never have guessed that I would be where I am now. It's quite a bit different than the plans I made when I was a little 18-year-old. I thought I was so wise then, but little did I know what was in store for me, namely a dashing young(ish) man named Dallin and a game of ultimate frisbee that would end up taking my life in a different direction that I planned.

My life has not turned out as I expected, and every day I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful for the prayers that were not answered the way I wanted, the life plans that fell through, and the unexpected changes that landed me where I am now. I know I owe my happiness to failed plans and letting myself take chances.

During lunch today, when I was snuggled up to that husband of mine with my head on his chest and our little son kicking in my belly, I couldn't help but feel grateful. Grateful to be here.

Here, with a husband that is my bestest friend and makes me happier every day.

At the Mesa Temple a couple months ago.

Here, with a wee man-child that we get to meet in about 13 short weeks.

26 weeks

Here, living a life that is perfect for me. 

I think this picture that I posted on Instagram a couple days ago sums life lately up pretty well.

Here's the caption:

"I wanted to take a "baby bump" picture and started moving all the clutter out of the frame, but then I realized that sometimes "clutter" tells a story. So... here I am with le bump wrapped in my favorite comfy sweater, paint samples/masking tape on the wall, the one closet door (of four) that has made it back upstairs since I refinished them, a bunk bed waiting to be moved downstairs, bags of baby clothes from my mom, and the ipad I was using to prepare tomorrow's seminary lesson. 

Life is messy and imperfect, but oh so good."

(Most of this was written yesterday but didn't have time to post it until today, just FYI)

Why hello, November!

Is it really November already?? This year is slipping away so quickly. I hope things slow down a little bit though because November and December with their cool weather, holidays, and the abundance of delicious food that goes with said holidays make me really happy. I don't want it to slip through my fingers before I have a chance to thoroughly enjoy it. 

Today I wanted to put up some more fall/Thanksgiving decorations and I made these printables to frame. They aren't particularly festive so I can leave them up all year. Also, I couldn't decide which quote I preferred so I just made them all. :) Which one is your favorite?

(Click image to enlarge and then right click to save and print)

What are you doing to get in the Thanksgiving spirit? I have been nesting something fierce lately, so I plan on decorating my house, drinking lots of apple cider, and baking goodies in the next few days... All while wearing my favorite comfy, warm clothes since it has been pretty chilly here and I am hoping to avoid turning on the heat for as long as possible. In other words, I will be living in sweatpants, fuzzy socks, and my oh-so-cozy Hello sweater for the next 6 months.

I think I'm okay with that.

Halfway there, livin' on a prayer

I'm 20 weeks pregnant today. Halfway there! 20 more weeks, give or take, until we meet this tiny human and our family of two (and a half) becomes three.

I don't think that has really sunk in yet.

It's pretty hard to wrap my head around the fact that this is all really happening. I just got used to the idea of being a wife, and now I'm becoming (and in some ways already am) a mother? Whaaaaat? 

It's all a little crazy still, but I love it. I am so happy to be where I am today... married to the sweetest man, anticipating this little baby's arrival, and living a life that is even happier than I hoped. 

So sappy, I know. Just feeling really blessed today, I s'pose. :)

On a lighter note (because if you know me you'll know I'm not good at staying serious for very long), it's a really good thing that I ended up watching last night's Relief Society broadcast at home last night rather than going to the activity at the church. Let me put it this way... I was very well hydrated (Sonic's happy hour is hard to resist sometimes), and had an unfortunate incident involving a rather large sneeze while sitting cross-legged on the couch.

Truly, is there anything more glamorous than a pregnant woman? Lovely.

Also, wasn't the RS broadcast great? It just got me even more excited for General Conference next weekend! Yippee! Also, funny story, I like to write down some of my favorite quotes in a somewhat cute manner to post on instagram, and a couple of them ended up the the LDS General Conference facebook page and this Deseret News article. I sure would have made my handwriting a little neater if I had known it would end up there... just saying. Haha!

 

Happy Sunday! :)

Exciting news!

Just in case you haven't heard the news already...

...we've got a bun in the oven, coming February 2014!

We're pretty dang excited. We've been looking forward to it for a while, but now that it is actually here it's kind of hard to believe that there's a mini human being hidden inside my expanding midsection. A MINI HUMAN BEING, GUYS. 

And you know what? That's kind of rad. 

Even if said mini human being likes to turn me into a narcoleptic. A constantly peeing, always hungry, emotional, sometimes nauseated, pimply, narcoleptic, hot mess of a woman that doesn't want to do anything but eat, sleep, and watch Parks and Rec/The Office/Monk (again) on Netflix. 

All day, erryday.

And yet, I'm feeling very, very happy and thankful to be able to take on this crazy adventure. This might be a little personal, but I wasn't entirely sure I would be able to have kids, so we're both feeling very blessed indeed. Here's to a healthy pregnancy!

Before I finish up I just have to say that I really, really got lucky when it comes to that husband of mine. Not only does he put up with sharing a house with a psycho pregnant lady, he has been taking such good care of me by doing dishes, making me food when my stomach is wonky, giving me extra snuggles when he can tell I'm feeling blue, teaching seminary for me today (oh yeah, I'm still teaching this semester!), and just being sweet, supportive, and wonderful in general. 
I'll keep him, I s'pose. ;)

We are cheeseballs. Also, thanks to my lovely mama for the pictures!

Life update

I feel like I haven't been posting much about life lately, besides trip reports and such. This might be because things are kind of... uneventful right now. Nonetheless, here is a brief report on the very exciting lives of the Mr. and Mrs. Durfinator household.

Dallin: 

• Brings home the bacon every day. Not literal bacon, unfortunately, but he provides me the moola to buy it and that's just as good  because we still get bacon just the same. And come on... who doesn't like bacon? (Answer: no one that isn't in denial.) On a more serious note, I really am thankful for Dallin and his good job. I'm especially thankful that I will be able to stay at home with our kids in the future. Very blessed. 
• Goes canyoneering when he/we can, which is pretty often. 
• Does a great job in the Spanish branch presidency. At least, I think he does. And I'm definitely not biased or anything. Also, the fact that I think it's really attractive when he speaks Spanish absolutely doesn't influence my opinion at all. Nope.
• Is the best husband I could have asked for. Really though, he's a keeper and I'm very lucky he was crazy enough to want to marry me.

Mikaela:

• Unemployed, at least for now. I'm finding that this has its perks, meaning I love having time to read, sew, and do what I want. I'm taking advantage of it since I know it won't last.
• Busy getting ready for seminary to start. We have a new curriculum that I am SO excited about. It is going to make things so much easier on me and I think it works with my teaching style much better than the old manuals. Also, 8 of the mastery scriptures are different... whaaaaat? 
• Trying to become a better pianist. In other words, I'm trying to add a few songs to the list of 5-6 that I know since I'm the pianist in the Spanish branch and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that is getting tired of singing the same songs over and over and over. It's kind of hard though since I pretty much taught myself, meaning I stink. I am improving though, slowly but surely. Emphasis on the "slowly" part.
• Preparing to die during this weekend's heatwave. (I'm definitely not melodramatic or anything.) Living in the cool mountains my whole life has made me dread any temperatures over 95, and it will be well over that. Yes, I am a pansy, but seriously. I think the earth should have a temperature limit of 85 degrees max. Thank the heavens above for A/C... and popsicles.
• Goes canyoneering most of the time with Dallin. Not always though, because sometimes I wimp out on the really strenuous ones, especially when it is hot. (see above)

Even though things are fairly uneventful, life is good. Very good indeed. 

Roman theater ruins in Spain

A very attractive picture of us on our most recent adventure. We're pretty smoking hot.

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?

Just a quick thought

I can't believe the way things are going in this world we live in. It seems like the evil has escalated so much even in the past year or two. It makes me sick. Yesterday, with the bombing in Boston and the missing girl from Provo (who was found, hallelujah!), I was feeling a little disheartened, but then I came across this scripture yesterday as I was preparing my seminary lesson.

Romans 12:21

Even though there is so much evil, grief, and darkness in the world, I'm thankful for the comfort of the scriptures and the knowledge that good will win. Of that I am sure. 

I'm going to try to remember to do more good in the world. To cheer up the sad, make someone feel glad, and lighten someone's load the best I can.

Happy list

I've been having a very difficult week so far. I prefer not to get too personal on my blog since it is public, but I'm dealing with some stressful things that have been testing my patience and ability to stay calm, peaceful, and unafraid.

A couple years ago I started writing little "happy lists" whenever I feel upset, stressed, or frustrated. It helps me to think of all the positive, cheery things in my life and usually it is easier for me to chill out. Here's the one I posted this evening on facebook:

"Happy list of the day: Target, love notes, Burt's Bees lip balm, 

Olive Garden, comfy sweaters, prayer, scriptures, and happy music."

It made me feel a little better. If you were to ask me, "On a scale of 1 to watching Bambi as a child, how stressed are you?" I would probably say I went from a 9 to a 7.5, with 2-3 being average (I'm kind of an anxious person naturally. Also, don't judge me for my former fear of the movie Bambi. :P). 

Although my happy list did help, what really did the trick tonight was reading the Book of Mormon and listening to this conference talk about personal peace. There is great power in the scriptures, my friends. Great power. When I started reading, my heart felt like it had been wrapped in a toasty warm electric blanket and given a bowl of homemade chicken soup. 

There are a lot of things I am thankful to have in my life, but the scriptures and the ability to pray to my Father in Heaven are at the top of that list. What a blessing it is to be able to find peace through scriptures and prayer and the Spirit, no matter what stressful situations we may find ourselves in or what sorrows and challenges we face! So, my dear readers, if you are having a rough day too, just remember that peace can be found, God is aware of you, and everything will be okay in the end. I know that for a fact. 

Happiness is a Thankful Heart

When I was in Young Women, probably when I was about 14 years old, one of my leaders taught a lesson about gratitude and gave us all a small wooden heart that had the words "happiness is a thankful heart" painted on it. 

To be honest, I have to confess that I don't think I paid very much attention to that lesson... at least, not as much as I should have. I kept that little heart, though, and put it next to my mirror along with numerous other handouts my wonderful leaders made for us. :) Even if not much sunk into my hard head during the actual lesson, I looked at that heart every day and as I grew up a little bit I started to really understand what those words mean, and especially what they mean to me. 

To me, what the words on that heart mean is that the key to happiness is to be thankful, to be positive, to avoid looking for reasons to be unsatisfied, and to express gratitude to family, friends, and  our loving Heavenly Father. These are the things that will bring us the most joy. 

Doesn't it make such a difference to be thankful for everything you have, and not focus on things you don't have? Doesn't it change everything when you stop comparing your life to others, and remember how blessed you are? I know it does for me! 

And the most important part? Don't forget to be thankful always... not just around Thanksgiving. :)

On that note, have a wonderful Turkey Day! :) 

(P.S. One of the wonderful things about being married is having multiple Thanksgivings to enjoy... just sayin'. Hopefully it won't fatten me up too much. :P)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. But there is a truism associated with all types of human strength: Use it or lose it. When not used, muscles weaken, skills deteriorate, and faith disappears. President Thomas S. Monson stated: Think to thank." 

-President James E. Faust

Thankful

Today is one of those days when I really just can't believe how lucky blessed I am. Life really is so good. and I could not ask for more. Here are just a few things I am feeling thankful for today:

• My seminary class. They are awesome and I love teaching them every day. 
• My family, both the in-laws and the out-laws ;) Really though, I have the best family and I get to see some of them tomorrow! Yippee!
• My husband. I'm just going to leave it at that to avoid getting too sappy on here.
• Just kidding... I changed my mind. ;) That husband of mine is seriously the sweetest, cutest, funniest, most selfless person and he makes me so happy I can hardly stand it. I love him. :)
• My faith. Oh, I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and everything that encompasses... the scriptures, prayer, the Atonement, the gift of the Holy Ghost, everything. It's all true and I am so grateful to know who I am and who I can will become. 

And on a lighter note...

• Delicious leftovers
• Chocolate milk
• Fall
• Scarves and sweaters (I think I've worn this combination just about every day for a week)
• Netflix
• Facetime
• Apple cider scented candles (my house smells so good)
• Pinterest (I have so many projects I can't wait to start when I finally have time... which will probably be soon, as in the beginning of November! More on that later...)
• Mail, especially from missionaries! I just had another friend enter the MTC and I can't wait to write her :)
• General Conference (I've been trying to listen to a talk every day and I love it)
• This blog, because it motivates me to write a little more often. I used to be so good at writing in my journal...
• Etc, etc, etc... I'd write more if I didn't have to go to work. :/

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

-President Thomas S. Monson

Happiness is a thankful heart

Today is such a beautiful day. I went and sat on our deck out back for a while this morning since the weather is so perfect. The sky is blue, the trees are spring green, and the air smells sweet like summer.

I was in a thoughtful mood, thanks to the beauty and peacefulness. Here's what I was thinking about.  

It is so easy for me to forget how blessed I am. I am not thankful enough for all the wonderful people and opportunities and happiness in my life. The past few days I have been kind of stressed about some silly things, and it hasn't exactly made me feel like a ray of sunshine, to say the least. ;) I realized today that usually when I feel like this it is because I haven't taken the time to count my blessings and appreciate all the good things I have in my life. 

It's amazing what a difference it makes in my life when I am aware of and thankful for my blessings. I can't name them all, but here's the main ones I've been thinking about this morning.

1. My faith. I can't imagine not having the gospel in my life. The knowledge that my Heavenly Father and my Savior live and know me personally means everything to me.

2. My husband. I don't even know where to begin... All I know is that I am the luckiest girl that ever lived, and I'm so lucky blessed to be "stuck" with someone that loves me as much as he does. :)

3. My family. I know that I am who I am because of my family, especially my parents, and I will always be so thankful to them for putting up with their feisty, stubborn, redheaded daughter. :) And I really lucked out when it came to my in-laws, that's for sure! They are awesome. :)

I was looking up some stuff about gratitude on www.lds.org and found this
poem that President Eyring shared in this talk. I loved it so I had to add it to this post. 

Some murmur when the sky is clear

And wholly bright to view,

If one small speck of dark appear

In their great heaven of blue.

And some with thankful love are filled,

If but one streak of light,

One ray of God's good mercy, gild

The darkness of their night.

-Richard Chenevix Trench

Have a happy day, and don't forget to be thankful. :)

Happiness is a choice

Today has been a little bit rocky. It started last night with a painful toothache, and continued today with an equally painful trip to the dentist that left one side of my face numb and achy. Oh, so fun.

I've been moping around the house while Dallin is at work feeling sorry for myself most of the day today. I'd probably still be moping if I didn't have this quote pop into my head that my sister had on the mirror in our room years ago. 

"Happiness is a choice that requires effort sometimes."

-Aeschylus

I just love that quote. Aren't those wise words? I believe that happiness is something that you choose to have in your life, even when circumstances make it easy to do otherwise. It just takes a bit of work, which is worth it, right?

And it came to pass that I decided to make today a happy one. Here's how I did it.

Step one: Get off the couch and do something... besides playing angry birds -- that doesn't count. ;) My kitchen was a bit messy, and there were some dishes to be done, so I got to work on that. Funny how much better one feels about oneself when they do something productive. I'm pretty sure that doing some kind of cleaning of organizing is one of the quickest ways to get myself out of a "poor me" funk.

Step two: Turn on some music that I love. Piano music is one of my favorite things in the entire world, and thanks to sites like pandora.com and grooveshark.com I have all I could ever want at my fingertips! Beautiful music in my ears makes everything better.

Speaking of beautiful music, here is a sample from The Piano Guys (a musical group Jon Schmidt is a part of that includes cello... my second favorite instrument) that I love. Enjoy. :)


Step three: Crack open some of the many books on my bookshelf that have been neglected for too long. I used to read all the time... at least 1-2 books a week. That number declined rapidly once I started college, since I had papers to write an textbooks to study and tests to prepare for. There's just something about books that always makes me happy. It's my "thing". Now that I actually have the time to read I need to do it more often!

I need to wrap this up, but before I do I just had to brag about my husband who was willing to help me get comfortable and back to sleep last night when I was in a lot of pain, even though it was 2:00am. He's a keeper. :)

Also, I love this image. Sums up my feelings nicely. :)