How it all began...

...is still one of my favorite stories.

I remember the day I realized that Sam was special. It was something in his smile that just made me feel happy whenever I was around him. We were at church on a Sunday in October 2014. He sweetly smiled as we snapped our first selfie, and we went out on our first date a few weeks later.

The day I became his girlfriend was January 21, 2015. We were going down to BYU for the Divine Comedy Alumni Show (only so we could see the cast of Studio C), and he said that his roommates were asking about his girlfriend. "Oh, so am I your girlfriend?" "I'm not opposed to it."

Our friendly relationship continued to blossom, and he proposed to me on April 25th, 2015. We were at the opera, and my phone died shortly after I posted our engagement selfie to Facebook. Good thing too, because my phone was flooded with texts the next time I turned it on.

 I married my sweetheart on July 18, 2015 in the Bountiful Temple in front of a plethora of family and friends, and fondly look back on the photos of that amazing day. The details blur together every now and then, but the feelings are pretty memorable.

Sam was my rock as I worked a job I didn't particularly care for so I could finish my Master's degree, and then gave me routine pep talks as I spent six weeks interviewing for different jobs. After a fun family vacation with his side of the family and starting a new job that freed up my summer time, I began house-hunting so we could get out of our apartment.

We found our castle... 

...and adopted a Princess!

Now, as we approach our second anniversary this summer, we realized that there is only one thing that could make our fairytale even better.

Coming December 2017!

I think I'm really good at...

...giving people pep talks when they are feeling low.

Ironically, this is something I wish I could do for myself. I've been pretty down lately, mostly because I've felt under the weather for about a week.

Regardless, I'm really good at giving pep talks; I think it's because I'm really good at pointing out all the positive elements in any given situation in which I am not at the center.

I actually shared this with A (my Little Sister from BBBS) last night at the end-of-year social. I can tell someone's goodness and know for an absolute fact that they are capable of doing amazing things.

So I guess you can say bringing people up is something I am really good at, especially because what I have to say is always sincere.

It can be challenging when I myself and feeling low, mostly because I tend to get more irrupted than usual and angrily point out someones strength and unintentionally compare us to prove that I am less than. But I think I've gotten good at reminding myself that when I give these talks, it is about them and not me.

I myself have needed several pep talks lately, and lucky for me Sam always pulls through with what I need. Mostly he sends me late night texts that I get in the morning when I turn my phone back on. I definitely got a good one, I can't believe we've been together for over two years!

So, what is something you think you are good? What is a hidden talent you think makes you special?

Taking Family Pictures

We had the opportunity for Mere to take some family pics of us, and we really wanted to have some nice photos of us with our sweet puppy. So we met up at Oquirrh Lake for an impromptu photo shoot.

As usual, Mere did a stellar job. We got a few really great pics that capture this little pup's personality pretty well, and some nice shots of the three of us.

If I really loved myself...

... I would silence the little voice inside my head that says I'm never going to be enough.

I thought about this post for awhile, and felt like the prompt was a loaded question. First, it suggests that I don't love myself enough. Secondly, I don't love myself enough to try to be happy.

So let's address what me loving myself actually looks like.

• I cook everything I eat

This one may seem weird, but since I eat leftovers for lunch everyday, I have to cook or else I won't eat. I take the time to plan out our weekly menu and make our grocery list so that I can shop in about 20 minutes, and we eat much better than we did when we first got married.

The love part comes into play because I know that I took the time to make extra food so that I could eat a hot lunch the next day. It's a comfort to know that I won't let myself starve ;) Every now and then I'll try some new recipes and make some yummy treats that we snack on for a few days. It's the little things; love is a verb. It may be smaller, but it is important.

• I walk my dog almost every day

My cute little puppers stays in her crate all day, so I do my best to walk her every day as soon as I get home from work. Depending on the day, the walk lengths vary, but she always gets around the block at least once. This one may be a little more for me lately than for her, because it usually depends on how many steps I need to hit my daily goal.

Regardless, she gets a good walk most days. Unless the weather is less than desirable, which was our entire winter season unfortunately. Since she's such a tiny thing, she can't go on multiple walks that are very long every day. Really all she needs is one, and we learned during break that she is not a morning dog and cannot focus if we walk in the morning. She takes after Sam for sure on this one1

• I try to get a full night's sleep every night

I'd been exhausted the week before break, and deduced that I wasn't getting enough sleep. I spent most of break sleeping in, but learning that I can go to bed sooner definitely works in my favor. I'm usually just a few minutes shy of a full 8hrs, but I think I'm doing all right. It's horribly unfair that I naturally am waking up before 6am on weekends, because I'd really love to sleep in a little bit longer.

• I make sacrifices for my husband

Sam is much more religious than I am, so certain religious sacrifices aren't considered sacrifices in his eyes. but again, it comes back to time. I take the time to read scriptures with him every morning before I leave for work, and we pray together. We also pray together at night, usually when I'm already in bed. I'm sure a lot of people would think, "Huh, well that's not a real sacrifice." But it is. I sacrifice my time to do the little things that are important to Sam, which means less time for me to get dressed/make lunch/work out/shower/etcetera. He makes sacrifices for me too, and I always acknowledge his small acts. 

Love really is a verb.

So instead of asking yourself, "If you really loved yourself, what would you do?"

Try asking yourself, "What ways do I practice self-love?"

I think the mindset is much, much better.

#springbreakprojects

Spring break provided the best opportunity to nest in the house. I decided to paint the kitchen and our spare room, and after sifting through multiple shades of green we found the perfect shade.

I bought all my supplies (except the paint) at the dollar store, and had a few friends over to help me.

On Wednesday, Mary came over to help me paint the kitchen.

See before (top) and after (bottom)

On Thursday I started on the spare room, and binge-watched the Gilmore Girl's mini-series to help me track the time.

Overall, I think it turned out really nice. 

Now we just need to put the furniture in it to make it look like an actual bedroom.

Gamer 5k

Scoshi convinces me to do the Gamer 5k with her today, and in her holy wisdom of nerd-dom she insisted that I dress up as well. Lucky for me, she had a surplus of costume choices for me to choose from, and we ended up going as pokemon.

Pikachu, Charizard, and Jigglypuff

I got a medal shaped like a game controller!

Sam was a sweetheart and came to cheer us on while we walked with Scoshi's doggie Rose.

Doing the 5k reminds me of the summer of 5k's, which was summer 2013 where I think I did about five or six of them. This one was definitely the most fun out of all the 5k's past.

As a child

When I was a kid I liked to read a lot of books, which is probably why my greatest fictional heroes were Belle, Hermione, and Matilda. I loved to learn, school came easy for me, and I strongly remember the first moment where I developed my grade superiority complex.

I was in third grade.

My teacher was Miss Kitty.

We were doing timed math problems on half sheets of paper. I'm good at math, especially arithmetic, so I burned through these pretty fast. But there was a mean girl in my class who is at the core of this memory. She was really pretty, but not very nice, and her name was Claudia. She was part of the Latino girl clique in my class that formed when I was in 1st grade and they wouldn't let me play with them.

I'd always wondered why.

As we got older, they became even prettier and meaner.

Anyway, I had already finished my half-sheet of math problems and gotten 100%. Miss Kitty counted the problems and then wrote and circled the letter 'A' at the top by my name. I smugly walked back to my desk and thought, "A's are the very best!"

As per our usual routine, I pulled out a book to read while everyone else finished their problems. I watched Claudia walk up to the teacher and hand her the paper. Once again, Miss Kitty counted the problems and wrote a letter at the top. She wrote a 'B' this time. Claudia didn't even notice what the grade was because she didn't even look. She got back to her desk and began reading a fashion magazine while the rest of her clique struggled with their math problems.

In that moment, I realized that I thought it was more important to be smart than to be pretty. What was the point of being beautiful of you appeared dumb?

In that moment, I wanted to be the best at the one thing I was good at: school. It became my lot in life to get straight A's, all the while thinking that it somehow made me special.

As high school graduation neared, I discovered that straight A's didn't make me special. I wish that people had highlighted some of my other qualities as a child, because I don't feel very special now that I'm not in school anymore and don't get any validation from grades.

I wish people had highlighted acts of kindness, acts of service, words of affirmation, emotional support, etc. Maybe I'd be more well-adjusted if I knew other things that were special about myself besides my brain. Perhaps my creativity or thoughtfulness.

One day, I will practice this wish on my own children.