31 happy things in March :)

My friend Emily told me I should track 31 things that make me happy this month. 

I didn't really think I should commit to doing it cause I'm already behind, but I think it will help me be more appreciative and remind me of how much I've been blessed.

#1 - My Husband

This picture was taken during our date for our 3rd wedding anniversary.

I remember thinking first being married to Cimaron and thinking that I loved him then... now I can't even compare the way I felt then with how I feel now. I love him more and more everyday.

He's my best friend. I always thought it was corny when people said that about their spouses. I didn't think it could be possible, but I've proven myself wrong and I guess I can consider myself corny, too. 

On a side-note, he makes me laugh... lots

Got a Job!

I'm officially employed! I will be working at DownEast Outfitters as an HR assistant. I started working there about 2 years ago while I was going to school. I enjoyed working there and had a great manager that took the time and effort to make working there one of the best experiences I have had. She took such an interest in me and trained me to be a temporary manager while she went on leave.  When I was done working in the Ogden store, I didn't think I would go back.

Cimaron got a job as a reporter for The Spectrum in Cedar. I knew that leaving Salt Lake meant that I wouldn't have many opportunities for a job in HR and I ended up applying for a manager position at the DownEast Outfitters in Cedar City. I managed that store for 4 months until Cimaron got a job offer at the Salt Lake Tribune and we decided to move again. Even though I didn't want to look for another job, I was excited that I would be able to apply for jobs that were related to my degree.

Finding a "related" job was more difficult than I expected. I had an opportunity to manage at the Gateway store but told them that I wanted to try to get a job more related to my degree. I felt sick turning down a job, but now that we were back in Salt Lake I felt like I owed it to myself to at least try before I took something that I wouldn't be satisfied with. Luckily, the lady who was interested in having me manage a store told me about an opportunity with DownEast in their HR department. So, I applied for the position. It took a while before I got an interview. I applied for several other positions while I waited and heard nothing back from them. Eventually, I landed an interview with DownEast, and now I've got the job. I am so glad that I didn't treat my first job with DownEast as if it didn't matter.

I'm excited to get started!

Justice.

For the last five weeks, I have watched news coverage, read news articles written by my husband, and listened to his experiences with the Brian David Mitchell trial.

After hearing so much about it, I started to get upset with the fact that anyone could possibly think that this man deserved anything but a guilty verdict. So, I stopped listening, and followed as little as I could.

I was so glad to hear that he was found guilty today. I was afraid that he would be found innocent due to being "insane" and I worried about how that verdict would benefit so many other criminals out there. I feel like anyone can do knowingly do something horrible and then act as if they are "insane." There is no doubt that he is mentally ill, but not to the point of not being able to know right from wrong. He knew what he did was wrong the whole time he did it and used religion to justify it.

As for Elizabeth Smart, she is a great example of strength, courage, and hope. It is amazing to see someone who has been through so much pain smile again. It shows that no matter how dark things may get, there is hope that we will see brighter days.

Ho Ho Ho!

I saw this cute Christmas decoration idea on a blog that I follow. Mine aren't as great as the ones that I copied... but I'm happy with how they turned out!

 3 Cones

 covered them with felt (instead of velvet)

 added pom pom to the top and fur around bottom

 vinyl for belt and some square sequins for the blingin buckle!

 Ta Da!

Ho ho Ho!

Here are some pics of the rest of the decorations...

 table deco

 close up of the balls

 my slinky santa... is my FAV

 stockings hung nowhere near a chimney...maybe he'll come through the wall?

the tree :) 

Gotta love Christmas! Having all of this stuff out makes our apartment feel more like home. I'm dreading the day I have to take them down. So maybe I won't.

Thankful.

I know I'm a little behind on the thankful trend but it's still November so I thought I'd give it a shot :)

I am thankful for my husband. I would say he is the best husband in the world, but I don't want to argue with all of you who also have good husbands. All I can say is he is the best for me. He knows me, hears me, comforts me, encourages me, makes me laugh, and loves me... he even fixes my computer.

I am thankful for my parents. My parents have always supported me and given me strength to go on. I love them so much and hope to show and receive the same love from my future children.

I am thankful for my sisters and brother. They give me motivation to be the best I can be. Every time I leave I count down the hours until I can see them again. I want to be a good example for them and someone they can talk to and know that I'll love them no matter what.

I am thankful for Jesus Christ and the Atonement. He is the ultimate example of perfection and selflessness. He gave me a gift that I can never re-pay. He is always there and ready to forgive me. He always loves. He gave his life for us, that we could be saved, and gave all the glory to his father.  I know that I am not perfect, and I make mistakes that I may not even realize, sometimes I don't live up to people's expectations for me or the ones I set for myself, but I will not stop trying. I can only my best.

I just want it.

So I have a new favorite drink.

{Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash}

I needed to go to the store for something and had to have one. When I got to the register, it wasn't ringing in. The cashier asked me if I knew how much it was.

Me: "No. I just want it." 

Cashier: "Is $1.19 ok?"

Me: "Sure"

Cashier: "You must really want it... you'd probably still buy it if it were $5!"

Me: "Yep."

I wonder if anyone else goes to the store and just has to have that one thing and doesn't care what the price is? It doesn't happen to me that often, especially since I'm kind of cheap... I guess it just wasn't my day for resisting such a refreshing beverage.

I can cook.... cereal.

Today I thought I would try to make some dinner rolls. How hard could it be?

A little too hard for me I guess. I felt a little too confident with the first batch I made and somehow skipped putting the eggs in the mixture. I didn't notice I forgot them until after I had kneaded the dough. So I piled the dough on a cookie sheet and made some gross bread.

The second batch was a little more successful. I included the eggs. Now I am just waiting for them to rise and put them in the oven. But... I just realized that I forgot the salt.

I'm trying to learn how to cook and today wasn't very encouraging. Maybe I should just stick to frozen rhodes rolls.