It's coming together!!

I have had such a blast decorating our first place : ) And I wanted to share some pictures of what's going on so far. The living and dining rooms are the closest to being done. We're still painting our room (can't quite seem to get the colors right! decided to paint over the cookie monster blue...) and the kitchen just needs some curtains and paint and it will be done too! It's just really exciting : ) so here they are...


the dining room...


the detail on the upholstery


the living room


fireplace and mantle

: )

Spring has sprung!!

So somehow while I was writing this, I got distracted and started multitasking and forgot about it. Here's me remembering. So this was supposed to be posted yesterday. Though it may not matter much.
When I got home from work today (yesterday) I really had to use the restroom and didn't have time to do anything else. My dog was upset that I didn't say hello and jumped me while I was on the toilet (yesterday), flailing on my lap leaving huge scratches down my leg. ouuuch. They feel like paper-cuts/rug-burns...(not so much anymore) anyway...
Today (yesterday) was a let down weather wise. It rained/is (was) cloudy. But yesterday (the day before yesterday) and the day before (the day before before yesterday) got into the 60's! It's like, hello spring! all of a sudden. I loved it. And I hope that there are no more snowy days. This (yesterday) morning I took Pippin for a walk and found flowers sprouting from the ground around the tree in our front yard! It makes me so happy :) Yay for spring! *end of yesterday's writing
Today today. It snowed. So much for the hoping...but that's Utah :)

hooray hooray!

About a month ago, I gave a sacrament meeting talk and mentioned that I play the flute...it came back to bite me in the rear...well, sort of. And in a pretty good way. Two weeks later I played in sacrament meeting with an old friend Jenna Cason (we played "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief". The same arrangement that we played at a youth conference our tiny Shreveport Louisiana stake hosted for us in Nauvoo, IL). It was a really moving experience to be able to play with her again. When Jenna and I would get together when we lived in LA, we would often sit around my parent's piano and play arrangements and that was how we had our fun. Jenna and I have not been so close lately as our schedules and lives have interfered too often...so it was good to play again with her and relive that experience. I texted her later "I feel like we're still attached at the hip musically.." Then in sacrament after we played the arrangement we noticed people's eyes were watery. We still got it if we can make people cry : )
With my job at Rise, I work with variously challenged special needs people ages ranging from the smallest toddler to the elderly. Recently I was paired with a mute woman in her 50's. Before I went to meet her and her mother who still cares for her, my boss told me they were both the sweetest people I'd ever meet. The description didn't disappoint. As I came in the door, the most loving, welcoming feeling came over me. It almost brought me to tears and I hadn't even spoken to either of them yet. The mother, Elsie, was leaning on her kitchen counter with her walker near by and her daughter Carol sitting at the table, face downcast. I later learned she doesn't like to look people in the eye. The conversation that proceeded was not utterly special, just normal details. Then Elsie started to tear up. She was so grateful that Rise had not just given up on Carol and that I was there to work with her. That they couldn't have picked a better person. She then told me to grab a handful of chocolates on the way out and to leave-we were going to be late to Carol's Special Mutual. This was about a month ago and I've since had the privilege of working with Carol many more times during the week. It's meeting people like Elsie and Carol that make life worth it for me. Elsie's stubborn determination to take care of her daughter and her sweetness and instant grandma-esque attitude make me want to try harder to be a better person. I already love them both so much and there's so much more that has impressed me about them that I couldn't begin to account for here. Just know there are people out there that will love unconditionally without even really getting to know you. Christ-like love are the words.
The title to this blog post was just my happiness for being able to write about these things I guess. haha. Just the words that I first thought of. Much love to all.

I'm Back!

After a long hiatus from blogging, I decided (after seeing my sister-in-law pick it back up, and after watching a recent House episode in which the sick girl was addicted to blogging) to start telling the one person that reads this more about my life. :)
Josh and I are waiting on one of the best things that happens all year: tax returns! Our plans are many though the return probably won't be enough to cover them all. A dining table is highest on the list (KSL has become my friend lately). A new bed, new clothes for both of us, a welcome table? for the living room, a remodeled master bath, a new recliner to replace the old stinky one in the spare room, and maybe a Wii game and some scentsy stuff. haha. never going to all happen. but it's a good wish list.
We're planning on going back to California this summer. It's something Josh and I are really looking forward to! It's the time of the year we can both work and earn great pay - so there are no worries on whether or not we can pay the bills. We also get to save money which is wonderful as well. Last year if we hadn't gone to California, we probably wouldn't be living in this mobile home for lack of a down payment, and we probably couldn't afford to live anywhere else besides one of our parent's houses. So so grateful that that has never been the case...basically, Josh working for Clark has been such a blessing and we're happy to do it again.
That's mainly what's happened...and it's not really all that fun to write about catch-up things. haha ketchup...but one more thing. I'm reading Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert. It acts as a sequel to Eat, Pray, Love. Both books I highly recommend. They are fantastically written and will give you insight to your own soul. I felt like I was reading a self-help book, yet being very entertained at the same time. Both are non-fiction as they are about the author's life. (I tried looking in the fiction section for Eat, Pray, Love when I first heard of it and grew very frustrated when it wasn't there!) So read it!
Much love, and here's to hoping I write again sooner than 6 months!
p.s. my header looks so stupid...I tried using power point to use the font, color, and positioning I wanted and it wouldn't take the file. Does anyone know how to fix it?