Living the Life...

My last day at work was almost three (3) weeks ago.  It was a bitter sweet day.  I was sad to say goodbye to everyone and my life for the past 18 months. but to be honest, I was not myself anymore and was extremely stressed out.  It was the best decision for me (and the husband's sanity) for me to take a break.  

To celebrate i booked a 18 day vacation to California.  At first I didn't think it was that long to be away from the husband (what was i thinking?!?!?).  Once he dropped me off at the airport i realized i wouldn't see him for SO LONG!  No kisses, no hugs, no nothing..so sad! but California was a blast and he came to visit for 4 days!

Here are some highlights of the vacay...

^^^^I saw Pitch Perfect 2 times while I was in Cali.  You need to go NOW to see it if you haven't yet.  I laughed harder the 2nd time.  I loved it!^^

 

 Gas Prices are Redic!

 

 Girls Day!  Happy Birthday Linds!

 

My parents were so kind, and gave us Laker tickets!  It was so fun to go out on a date!  And it was weird to see Howard and Nash on the Laker's court.

 

Ryan and I flew back to Utah today, and it is FREEZING here!  I am wishing I was back in California right about NOW!

It was such a fun trip and am so grateful for my family and friends.  I was able to spend quality time with so many people that mean so much to me!  I am so glad that I have a loving husband that was "ok" with me going to California for such a long time to de-stress and have fun.

I am now starting a new job this week.  I don't anticipate it being stressful.  but i think i may have the best job...working from home, part-time!  How cool is that?  I got hooked up!  To be honest, I am nervous to start though because this position was made up for me and I will be making decisions for different properties, but I can't wait to start this new adventure!

I hope you all had a great October (since I was gone for most of it) and are getting ready for Halloween.  It is time for me to get thinking what the husband and I are going to be since we have a party this weekend!

Loves!

Wood Crafts

My friend Whitney introduced me to an amazing store today, The Wood Connection.  I am in love with this store.  They have all sorts of raw wood art, so you can create whatever you are feeling like.  We both wanted to Halloween decorations since the holiday is right around the corner.

We chose to do...

The bats

 and...

this skull/Halloween date.

At this store, you buy all of the materials and then paint/put together the creation.  The bats were about $3 each and the skull was about $4.  Those prices include all of the wood.  You do have to purchase the ribbon, vinyl, paper, paint, and any other supplies separate but it still was a cheap and VERY cute craft.  For both of the above, it cost me about $20.

I will be going back to pick up more crafts soon!  They have displays of all the sets so you know what to make, or to give you an idea.  They have every holiday/season as well as picture frames and many more items.

Here is some up close, and almost finished pictures of these crafts:

"Happy Halloween" Banner

I failed last week and didn't post my craft...so you are lucky and will get two this week!  I am horrible about taking pictures along the way because I am usually too excited to get the project going so I forget to take a lot of pictures :/  Sorry!

My friend Jessett and I wanted to do a craft so we came up with this bad boy....

 

The best part is that this cost less than $10 to make!!!

I started by cutting the felt pieces into triangles.  I measured it 28 cm so all of the triangles were the same size.  After, that was done, I printed letters in my favorite font (size 550 pt).  I taped them on the opposite color felt and cut them out.  

I laid it all out once I was done cutting.  Then I used hot glue to attached them to each other.

I used clothes pins to attach the felt to the string and then just taped it up. It was so easy to do!

Other words you can try for Halloween are:

Spooky

Boo

Witch

Trick or Treat

Busy Weekend...

Backyard Concert

Friday Night Destiny and Gordan LeSueur invited me to a backyard concert to see...

David Osmond

Justin Cash

 

Christopher Williams 

 

We arrived about an hour early because we didn't really know what to expect and how many people would show up.  Rather than being the people who show up way early and watch the musicians practice we decided to go walk around the Riverwoods.  We went inside Provo Beach Resort to explore what they had and found the best ice cream ever...Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Although I am not from Texas, this is the ice cream that my husband and every Texan loves!  

Back to the concert...It was AMAZING!  All 3 of the artists were so good!  We sat of a blanket on the grass for 2.5 hours and listened to stories followed by beautiful songs they wrote.  Go visit their websites so you can get a little snippet to what I saw Friday!  They do backyard concerts pretty often...I will definitely be going again!

Brigham City Temple Open House

On Saturday I was blessed to go up to Brigham City to go to the temple open house.  I love going to the temple and it is even better when you go with a great family, the LeSueur's!  Maddie and Lindon came with us and it was their first time at a temple open house.  They loved seeing all of the pictures of Jesus!  It was great to see another House of the Lord go up and serve so many people!

 

You can visit the temple website to learn more!

Utah Vs. Byu Football Game

In Utah, this football game is also known as the Holy War.  The biggest Utah Rivalry was last night.   Our household is split, I am a UTE and Ryan is a COUGAR...this equals tense game days once a year.  We went to the Nicol's house for dinner and the game...and I was the only Ute fan there.  I don't do well when I am the only one rooting for someone/something. 

But I was pleased that UTAH WON!!! It was a stressful 2nd half though.  The fans rushed the field 3 times which gave BYU 3 chances to score a field goal and win...but they didn't!  It was stressful but the UTES pulled it off! I am proud to be a UTE!

On a side note: I hate how much trash talk I hear during rival games.  I don't talk crap about BYU, I just support the school I love and went to.  People need to learn to not be as cruel as they are.  It is only a game anyways.

Overall, it was a fun weekend! I hope you all had a great weekend too!

P.s. Today I am working on my craft for the week so I can reach the challenge I set for myself:)

Thankful for Families

family time is the best.  with Ryan's parents living in Texas and my parents living in California, it is hard to spend a lot of time with them.  When we are able to get together, it is very much enjoyed.

In the past month, we were lucky enough to see both families.  In early August we went out to Maryland for Keaton and Carrie's wedding.  I have only been to the East Coast one other time and I loved it.  Although it is very humid, it is so green and beautiful.  The wedding turned out so great and we couldn't be more happy for Keaton and Carrie!

We stayed up late every night playing games with everyone, went shopping, ate yummy food, and just sat talking.  I wish we got to see everyone more often, but I am grateful for the time I do get to spend time with them.



Just last week, we went to Lake Powell with my family.  I love that my whole family was able to make it to the lake this year.  Ryan and I went for 5 days (my first real vacation of the summer) and it was magical.  Ryan spent his time fishing, shooting fish, building a fish pool in the lake, wake boarding, and doing other "man" things.  I on the other hand spent my time laying out, talking to the girls, and playing with my cute nephew and nice.  It saddens me that I live in Utah and they live in California.  I hope one day soon we can move closer to them so I can spend more time with them.







What a STUD!!!

 I can't wait until Thanksgiving and Christmas when I get to see both families again!! 

The Challenge

A day doesn't go by where I don't bug Ryan because of boredom.  I have never had a real hobby and in the end it leads me to bugging Ry to go do something fun with me.  He has a busy schedule working full time and going to school, so it is time I find something to keep me  

busy after work.  

(This will come in handy when one day I am a stay at home mom!)  

I am creating a challenge for myself to keep me busy and hopefully start something I love.  The challenge is as follows:

1. Blog at least once a week

and

2. Complete a craft once a month

My sister-in-law has a wonderful blog that I enjoy reading each week, so my hope is that one day my blog turns into the same thing.  Check her blog out for fun "Do's and Don'ts" and GREAT craft ideas!

 

Wish me luck

and

Happy Blogging!

One Clear Voice...

Today I had the opportunity to go to my stake Women's Conference with my friend, Tiffany.

The group One Clear Voice lead the conference with song and words.

It was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever experiences. Hearing the stories from the girls and then the songs they sung was just simply amazing.

Here is a link to their website so you can listen to their songs and hopefully feel the spirit like I did today.
http://www.oneclearvoicemusic.com/index.html

I invite you all to listen and share their music to others.

First Finished Quilt...

Over Christmas break, my mother-in-law taught me how to sew! She bought be a pattern for my birthday and when we went to Texas we went and bought fabric and started my quilt. I haven't finished it yet because I need to send it off to get quilted!

But I decided to make a quilt for my dear friend Sarah, who is having a baby girl soon! It was a little frustrating learning how to set up my sewing machine but I got the hang of it and I think the blanket turned out cute, I think!

It started with my trying to decide what fabrics at the store:

Then cutting everything out....This was probably the worst part!

Then slowly sewing everything together...

Then BAM! The finished product!!!

I think that this type of quilt is an easy and cute starter quilt!!! It wasn't perfectby any means, but you live and you learn, right?

I already want to start another project!! We will see what I come up with:)

New Years Resolutions

This year I decided to go out of my comfort zone with planning my New Years Resolutions.

1st- No SODA. This one isn't too bad and it is healthier for me to not drink soda. I love my Dr. Pepper but know I drink too much of it and I honestly have been feeling so much better.

2nd- No SHOPPING. Now this one is hard. IF you know me, then you know I like to shop. I have decided not to buy any clothes, shoes, or accessories this year. I figured that I have everything I need and I could and should spend our money on what we actually need, if anything at all. So far I have been good and think I will stay strong the whole year. Ryan thinks it won't last long, so we will see...

so far: Steph-1 Failure-0

What are your resolutions? Have you kept them so far?

This Weekend...

This Weekend has gone by TOO fast!

Friday-Ryan worked from home and I had the day off so we got a bunch done around the house and just relaxed...before we knew it, it was time for dinner but neither of us felt like cooking so we went to Teppanyaki and got some yummy food! after dinner we passed out from a long week of starting school and working so much.---It was an overall nice day/night and wasn't too stressful.

Saturday- I woke up and finished my quilt I have been working on. I made the quilt for my friend Sarah whose baby shower is next weekend. I love it and am so happy my mother-in-law taught me how to sew! (I will post a picture once I give it to Sarah so it stays a surprise for her). After I finished the quilt Ryan and I went grocery shopping for the week. And that night we went out with our friends, Whitney and James, to Cheesecake Factory. I have been craving it for so long and it was so fun to hang out with our friends and get to know them better.

You can't go to the Cheesecake Factory and not get a cheesecake...so my choice was the Red Velvet!

Sunday- I decided to attempt Cafe Rio Pork once again...and it turned out delicious. I started cooking the meat at 7:15 am in order for it to get cooked enough and be super tender. Whitney, James and Whitney's brother and sister came over to have dinner with us. It was so much fun to have company and enjoy a delicious meal... I think that it tasted better than Cafe Rio :)

My Pork Salad

I then made Raspberry Shortbread cookies for dessert...I got the recipe from my sister in law, Tina. Ryan and I are addicted to them, which is bad because they are mainly butter and sugar.

The Delicious Cookies...

I know have to get some homework done and get a work project done by morning...It might be a long night but that's what life is about right?

Over all it was a wonderful weekend, full of food, friends, and crafts. I love weekends like these, even they go by fast, because we are able to spend time with those we love.


---On a side note---I am taking a stress management class this semester and last week we learned about breathing and tension in our body. This week I have been focusing on just breathing when I get tense or frustrated...it really has helped, so if you get frustrated or feel tense just sit up straight, relax your eyes and focus on your breath...it will really help, it has for me so far:)