i will and i can

Remember that time I ran 6.5 miles by accident.

How does that happen one asks?

Serious miscalculations concerning time, distance, and being stuck in the middle of nowhere so that you have no choice, but to finish.

It was my fault, really, if we're being honest here.  I'd driven that road so many times that it began to seem like a short distance. So short, apparently, that I thought we could run it in 45 minutes.

And that my friends is the definition of a fool. One who thinks she knows what she's doing when in reality she is clueless.

So even though it took much longer than we thought and was much further than we anticipated, although we almost died when we got home, there was also a bit of excitement.

Because we just ran 6.5 miles.

That is a hard thing to do. Obviously we were no marathon runners.

But we did it!

And it made me realize that I can probably do a lot more than I thought I could.

I thought about this on my run this morning. I'm sick with a cold, my throat has been giving me problems, and I got maybe an hour of sleep last night, because my little babe is sick too.

Come on, I know you've got some great excuses too.

So make today different.

THROW AWAY those excuses. See what you're made of. Do something hard.

*apologize to someone you've hurt
*go for a run even if you're sure you'll hate it
*forgive that person who's let you down lately
*bake a cake even if you've classified yourself as the "Worst cook in America"
*pray
*look beyond yourself and see who you can help
*be happy (it's a choice really)

Stop thinking about all the reasons why not. And just go for it.

Weekend Wishes

It is Fah-Ri-Day!

It's going to be a loooonng, busy weekend.

Especially because Elle's nap's went from 2 1/2 hours 3 times a day to 45 minutes 2 times a day in less than a week.

That girl. Keeps. Me. Busy.

Also I've been working on painting and re-doing the Master bathroom. So far it's been a disaster and I have no motivation to finish. Except when I have to pee, because then I go in there, shudder in disgust, and cry.

And by cry I mean run out as fast as my little legs can go.

Trust me. You don't want to see it.

But maybe today I will go to Home Depot and someone from HGTV will stop and ask me if I'd like a free bathroom makeover. To which I will say yes and then everyone in my house will be able to pee in luxury.

I may need a reality check here pretty soonish.


I've been watching this Discovery Channel show called "Out of the Wild" where basically people are dropped off in the middle of nowhere land Alaska and spend a little more than a month hiking to civilization living off porcupine and squirrel.There's no prize, just a pat on the back you give to yourself for surviving.


Sounds dreamy, doesn't it?


The good thing that comes out of it is you figure out what you're made of.  And I want to do it.


SO BAD.


Until then..I'll keep dreaming that my bathroom cabinets paint themselves. Life is so good.

Have a great weekend.

Woes of a Repentant Wife

She: Honey I can't use our toothpaste anymore.

Him: Why?

She: Because I just remembered Crest burns my mouth. It feels like I'm brushing my teeth with acid.

Him: Ok.

She: What? Ok? This is not ok. Did you hear what I just said? Acid, honey. It's awful. I'm buying new toothpaste.

Him: Ok.

She: You need to be more sensitive to me. You should be caring about my toothpaste problems.

Him: Baby, I'm sorry it burns your mouth. That must be really hard.

She: Ugh nevermind. I don't want your pity sympathy.

The teeny tiny rice bag explosion.

Life is just hard sometimes.

You know what I'm saying?

Toothpaste makes your mouth feel like crap (not literally). Rice bags aren't as durable as you once thought. Muddy buddies only sound good for breakfast.

So it's important to keep things in perspective.

And show a little Gratitude.

For a husband that doesn't take himself (or me,obviously) too seriously.

One who knows when to surrender.

Always has a trick or two up his sleeve.

Isn't afraid to give life a roundhouse smack to the face when it needs it.

But, perhaps most importantly, is there for me on the rainy days.

So if you need a little cheering up. If today, or yesterday, or tomorrow, end up not going as planned and get you a little down..wise up and give some love to those who love you when you need it most. You'll be feeling better before you know it.

"God gave you 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you"? "

  -William A. Ward

I also liked this one..

"The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you." -John E. Southard

So to the man I love...

Thanks for being so bomb-diggity awesome. I heart you.

Count your blessings..name them one by one.

Hair Destiny

I think it's obvious that I've been blessed with incredible hair.

I mean just look at those thin, little strands. Even at the age of 18 months my hair was destined for greatness.

If ONLY I could've known what the future held for me and my locks of l-o-v-e.

 Calm down ladies..I know your jealousy is raging as you see how amazing I look in an up-do.

Can you blame me for being born with a perfect bedhead?

 I'm thinking because I was a cheerleader at the age of 5 that this was a mandatory style for the team? Fortunately, I recovered from this hair tragedy and moved on..

The Perm.

Age couldn't stop me from change so I went dark brown.

And then back to blonde.

Long and luscious.

Short and strikingly similar to 5 year old bedhead me.

Curly..I just can't make up my mind what I want.

But I have news for you people.

This Monday I will no longer just be fulfilling my own hair dreams..I'm going to Cosmetology school!

And I'm seriously considering getting Dredlocks. I'm sure someone will need the practice.

To dred or not to dred. That is the question.

Just close your eyes and hope for the best

So about a month ago I went to IKEA and found this standing lamp in the "as is" section..

I thought $9 bucks was a pretty good deal.

There wasn't a lampshade with it. But luckily, several months ago this crazy woman we bought couches from unloaded her truck filled with lamps and shades onto our front yard so I just happened to have one lying around.

Obviously I'm not the type to be satisfied if I couldn't paint or do something to it.

We love this quote, but I couldn't figure out where to put it in our house.

 I taped the quote to the inside of the lampshade.

 Dark brown paint that was from other house projects.

I took a small, very fine paintbrush and just went for it.

Not too shabby. Only took me 45 min from start to finish.

I like it.

I love it.

What say you?

The whoopie cushion that saved the day.

I think I may be part owl.

Do you ever have nights where you just lie in bed, so tired, but you can't seem to fall asleep?

Well, this is me almost every night.

So last night, while Andrew snoozed, I played with my newest favorite phone app.

A Whoopie Cushion.

It's pretty entertaining if you like that sorta thing. Or if you have some W.C memory that makes you laugh while lying in bed around midnight.

Like this one..

While serving a mission in Wyoming, my favorite Australian companion and I were invited to dinner at a family's home that we had just met. The four of them seemed really nice and weren't too familiar with missionaries so we wanted to make a good impression.

Tucek had recently acquired a whoopie cushion and was making good use of it everywhere we went.

We thought it would be a great way to break the "ice" or "wind" I should say, by sharing the toy with our new friends.

After careful planning we went to dinner and were greeted by this sweet, unsuspecting family. After the opening prayer, my compy just started letting it rip.

My role was to act embarrassed and upset whenever she couldn't hold it in. I spent most of dinner giving apologies in the most serious of tones.

Francey, the mama, finally couldn't keep silent any longer and starting say things like, "We are so glad you feel so comfortable with us!" and "It's alright, we all do it sometimes!"

The two teenagers couldn't stop laughing. I remained embarrassed and would periodically turn to Tucek and whisper loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Stop that, it's disgusting!"

Finally, we couldn't take it anymore and once dessert was served we spilled our secret and proudly showed off our whoopie cushion as proof that Tucek didn't have some sort of medical condition.

They thought it was hysterical. And every now and then I get an email reminding me how much they love us and how awesome that night was. 

Oh how whoopie cushions can bring a little more love to the world. 

So, because it has absolutely nothing to do with whoopie cushions or staying up late, here is my newly updated Guest room!

See...I can be simple.

This creates a feeling of "Italy" not..."Provo"

My $5 nightstand...thanks Goodwill!

I feel like a mirror (of any size) is essential for a guest bedroom.

My friend Steph painted this for me..isn't it AWESOME?

Two of my favorite little girlies made these for me when I had my surgery. So cute.

I kind of like the 2 closet idea.

My most favorite painting in all the land.

 

 

 

Remember this post about my once cantaloupe room? What do you think of it now?

Awesome Possum

This weekend we're busy watching General Conference.  The time of year when the Prophet and Apostles speak and remind us how much God loves us and wants us to be happy.  I love it. A whole lot.

We're also...

*Pondering life decisions.

*Partying (soooo righteously) because Provo, Utah is getting another Temple. Yeah baby!

*Visiting with mission buddies and old friends. Loooove.

*I've smoked Andrew in every card game we've played this weekend..and it rocked my socks.

*Falling in love with Ellie as we do everyday, because she is the bomb diggity and gets cooler by the hour.

Hope your weekend is as sweet as ours!