Learning feeds my brain cells

First day of School!!

One month in! Even though its only been one month, I have already learned SO much, not only in education, but in life as well....Here is a humble list of all the things that I have learned thus far....

1: I LOVE school!! For so many years I really struggled with school and never reached my full potential..with a better attitude and stronger motivation...I am doing much better...that being said, here are few OTHER things I have learned...

2: Attitude can make all the difference, before I started this semester I made up my mind that I was going to not only do okay in all my classes, but excel. So therefore, I made a new years resolution to myself that I would always believe in myself and never say, I can't do this or I am not smart enough for this. Instead I must always say I can and I will. ...It has really helped me this semester

3: I also made a new years resolution to not procrastinate. I happen to be the Queen of this...so this semester I decided I would write down ALL my assignments, papers, and projects at the beginning and make sure they were done before the day before...It has worked great so far.

4: Family is the most important thing in life. Im almost 24 and I am just now getting it lol..go figure..now if I can just teach that to my sisters ;)...family before boys lol

5: you should always give more than you take. Another resolution I had was to be more like Christ. Christ was always giving and never excepted anything in return. I think that is a key to happiness in life "losing yourself in service, you then find it". I am trying hard to do this whenever I can.

6: We become like those we surround ourselves with, therefore its important to surround ourselves with positive people. I recently have been struggling with a friend of mine who had a habit of gossiping and speaking ill of their other friends...I had really tried hard lately to ignore conversations that were negative and shut down when they want to speak ill of others. The other day I guess I kind of got a blessing in disguise, this particular friend completely threw me under the bus and I came home really hurt that a good friend could treat me this way. This was a blessing because it made me realize that this is not the kind of person I want to associate myself with. Unfortunately, I have to be around this person on a regular basis,I talked to Garrett and we both decided that the best thing to do was to turn the other cheek and to just live well.

7: Learning feeds my brain cells...awesome lol...They must have been starving for so long

8: Garrett is the most supportive husband ever.

9: God Lives!! Garrett and I were talking about last semester when we were unable to get aid for school and prayed if we should fork over the money for me to go. We went to temple and our answer was I work the semester then go back in January and everything would work out.I remember thinking, umm Okay, I don't like this but Ill trust you, and WOW amazing to me how everything has just fallen into place. We have been immensely blessed.

10: Hard Times is the most boring book ever...I hope to never read it again

Okay so that's the update with me :). Garrett is still working at IHG and looking for a second part time job. He will be taking the GMAT in March and we are really hoping he will do really well. Since we are poor now we spend most of our time at home, sometimes we go stir crazy but we just keep the end goal in mind...only 6 more months in Utah!

Daddy's little girl

Since my parents were divorced, I didn't get the time with my dad that my other sisters and brother do. Which, I always was super jealous of. But I was watching this movie trailor, The last Song,...yes with Miley Cyrus, I don't care what anyone says, I love her...anyway. There is a line in the trailor that reminded me of my dad. " Sometimes you have to be apart from the people you love, but that doesn't mean you love them less...sometimes it makes you love them more." I just love that line because its so true. I mean, you get what life gives you and you do the best you can. I always resented the fact that I got less time with dad than my other siblings, I never thought it was fair...Sometimes I even thought that meant, he loved me a little less because he had less time with me. But recently I realized that just isn't true. Now that I am older, and oh so much more wise, I can understand all the many sacrifices my dad made for me BECAUSE we had to be separated. When I was young, each Sunday my dad would faithfully call. I LOVED those phone calls, even though I was super young, he managed to keep me on the phone for forever. We used to play games...like we would race, I would fake pant and say, "beat ya! I won". My dad always let me win. We also used to play "guess what I am thinking of". My dad always went out of his way to show me he loved me. Even when I got married, I was kind of annoyed that he wasn't over protective. My sisters think its weird that he never freaks out when boys come over for dates, but I am pretty sure its just because he loves us beyond himself, he really just wants us to be happy, even if it IS hard to give us away. Anyway, isn't that the ultimate kind of love, wanting someone else to be happy even if it comes at your expense..that or I am completely wrong and he couldn't wait to get rid of me ;), but I don't think that's what it was.

I have four favorite days with my dad that I was thinking about today....

1: I was 5 or 6 and he had a motorbike. He put me on the back and we went to the little creek in my grandmammas neighborhood...just me and him. It wasn't really anything super special I guess, but I didn't get a lot of time with my dad and that summer, it really meant a lot

2: I was little and it was fourth of July, my dad and I crawled on the roof of my Grammammas house to watch the fireworks...I thought that was the COOLEST thing ever. And it was just me and him...awesome.

2: The day before I got married, I got my endowments taken out. I remember walking into the celestial room and seeing my dad...I knew he was proud of me..and really thats all I ever wanted, to make my dad proud...at that moment, I knew he was the proudest he had ever been of me. I got the best hug from him ever that night.

3: Christmas Break, my dad took me on a date. I really needed that time....I had been having a rough few months and it was so nice to just talk to my dad...he has always been a great listener and I needed him and he was there

Also, My dad is a really good example of how a good man should be. Here are some examples..
1: My dad works really hard for his family. He puts in a ton of hours to provide us with all the things we need, and even the things we want.
2: My dad loves to spend time with us. Whenever I wanna watch a movie or play a game, he will always say yes.
3: He is a worthy priesthood holder. My dad has always (from what I remember) been true to his beliefs and always been there to give me a blessing whenever I need it
4: My dad can always make me laugh, even if I don't want to
5: He can fix anything, even a broken heart..he is magical
6: As mentioned before, he is a good listener
7: He can admit when he is wrong, and will always apologize if he has hurt you
8: He has a great sense of humor. Some of the best family times have been just sitting at the dinner table laughing together
9: He gives really god hugs....its not lame for me to use that because he really does...he gives sincere hugs that send his love way down to your core ..yes I just said that
10: He is always there for me. I know that no matter what happens..I can always no matter what, count on my dad.

Life isn't always what we want it to be, but we have to do the best we can. Nothing change that I got "less" time with my dad but I think we did pretty good with what we had.

I am not sure why I wrote this post but I guess I just really love my Dad and I wanted to share. Mainly because love should be shared more...so I will work on that...the sharing love thing more :)

A day with Shelldon

I discovered a few things today,
1: Our Hawaii Videos! Super fun...I have officially watched them all...its Saturday so I'm allowed
2: I am a weirdo, really its a miracle I got married.

The following video is of me and this shell creature I found and fell in love with...odd but enjoy

There are few more video's of me and Shelldon that I will post later..when I need to feel happy. But for now, enjoy the oddness that is me

Good Tidings We Bring

*WARNING* the following entry is rather lengthy, you may need to take a
break and come back to finish, or just not begin at all and look at the
pretty pictures and draw your own conclusions. Yes I did a day by day
documentation, or attempted too...give me a break, Its my last day of
work and I'm bored... so sue me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I CAN'T believe IT'S 2010...that just blows my mind. I
honestly feel like I should flying around in a hover craft or something.
Well, I suppose I need to blog our Christmas. Garrett and I really
scored this Christmas, we had an overload of gifts and family..both in a
good way. My dad flew us home for Christmas (thanks dad!)...so we tried
our hand at juggling 3 families....it was stressful, im not gonna lie.
However, we had a TON of fun!!!!! We had a super busy 2 weeks so Ill just
start at the beginning....

We flew in Dec. 19th in the middle of the afternoon..the first day we
just hung around with my family...minus my dad and younger sister
Lindsey...don't worry we will get to that shortly. Anyway, I ran some
errands with Heidi and then we attended the twins basketball game later
with Garrett's family...they did pretty well, I was impressed.
The next day was Sunday, .....we missed church..I woke up sick..boo. But
we still had a good day and split time with both families.

Monday- Monday, we went to see Avatar in 3D with the Bradham Bunch....it
was amazing!!!

Tuesday!- we spent Tuesday with my family, Garrett and I helped Heidi
bake our traditional Christmas cookies, Christmas was very different at
my house this year. My sister just got a new job and was working ALL the
time, and my dad and sister were still gone at this point. So our house
was pretty quiet..but we made do. I usually start frosting cookies and
get bored after my third...I think 4 is the most I have ever
done....until this Christmas...This Christmas...I did 18!! Even though
some of the family was gone, we still had a blast and I think Heidi was
glad she had more help this year with those cookies.. Here are some
picks of our masterpieces...



Garrett and Mitch



Wednesday..I got to go shooting with my new dad and all my brudders! I
think I surprised my father in law when I told him I wanted to go...It
was AWESOME!!!!!! I love love love guns! and one day Garrett will give
in and get me my very own. We got to shoot a 9 millimeter as well as an AR15
Rifle..man that baby is Smooth! Here are a few shots of our lovely
outing.

Behold, the beast


Garrett with our shots


At midnight was when my Padre was finally coming home..my sister
Sarah and I were still a little...annoyed I guess is the right
word...that my dad didn't bring us...so Pay back. We volunteered to pick
him up from the airport so Heidi wouldn't have to since it was so late.
But we decided to make it fun...we made team mom shirts as shown below.

The front reads: Team Mom...the back reads : Homebound 09...cause Dad is
a ditcher...we also prepared welcoming signs....the sign Sarah is holding is a fake for sale sign we placed on my dads new mustang..SUCKER


CHRISTMAS EVE!!! - We spent Christmas Eve with Garrett's Family. I had a
lot of fun! We did secret Santa and watched A Muppets Christmas
Carol...a tradition which Garrett is not a fan of :) The only sad part
about this evening is that I failed to get a single picture!! Not
ONE!!!! ...meh...By the time we got home, we still had time to do my
family's tradition of opening our Christmas PJ's and sibling
gifts.....as you can tell by the pictures...we thoroughly enjoyed the
PJs this year...



As you can see..always a struggle to fight for dads attention


CHRISTMAS DAY!!- We spent the morning with my family...it was fun to
have Garrett join in the free for all that we do. We got a LOT of cool
stuff from my parents, my favorite gift was a beautiful wedding book
Heidi put together...I also got my fill of clothes, make up, and
perfume...Garrett even broke down and got me the jeans I have been
begging for!...I got Garrett a 1.5 TB hard drive, which I got a super good
deal on black Friday....my parents also pitched in to help me get him a
GPS which he loves :)...

HOLY SANTA...he CAME!!..I think he may have jipped some other poor kids..


We spent the afternoon with the Bradhams...I scored all kinds of awesome
scrapbooking stuff...I also received a Bradham Family Cook Book my
mother in law made...I LOVE it!!!!! I can't wait to start using it. I
also opened two sets of earrings from the twins....Garrett announced I
didn't have pierced ears..(embarrassing!)..but we took care of that
later ;) ..we also Opened....THIS LITTLE BEAUTY!!!



yes, a beloved kitchen aide...oh how I heart this baby!!!! I was a happy
girl Christmas Day. We had a lot of fun experiencing Christmas Day
through each others traditions. We were extremely blessed with all the
wonderful gifts our parents got us. We obviously weren't able to get this bad boy on a plane, so we returned it and bought another one when we got here...I ended up getting a red one...but you can still see my adoration


The day after Christmas we headed for Tennessee! We stayed for 2.5 days
and ....HOly FUn! My aunt Angel flew in town from Florida and my uncle
Phillip drove up from Alabama. We had TONS of people at my house. I grew
up super close to all my aunts, uncles, and cousins so it was a very
special Christmas for me. We spent our time going through my old school
journals and mom old yearbooks. It was so wonderful to have everyone
around the whole time. I could not have asked for a better Christmas! My
mom even took us shopping and got me a sweet snow coat and adorable
boots! I had soo much fun in Tennessee and only wish we had been able to
have more time there to spend with family and see my friends :(

Brevin and Caden...I loved them!


Almost the whole gang



Okay, enough day to day....the rest of our holiday we tried to squeeze
in as much time with each family as we possibly could. I got to go on a
mommy daughter date with my new mom..she took me to pierce my ears and
we did a little shopping! I had a blast and I am really thankful that I
was able to spend some one on one time with her. I got really blessed
with such a wonderful mother in law, I know most girls have issues with
theirs, but mine is awesome. ....I also got to go on a daddy daughter
date with my dad. That really meant a lot to me. I was sad I didn't get
to see him too terribly much this Christmas with all his travels, and me
having to split my time...it is nice to have a dad who will listen and
be supportive. We went to Olive Garden and saw Sherlock Holmes..(which
is really good). It is a memory I will always have and cherish. This
Christmas didn't turn out exactly how I thought it would, but nothing
ever really does anyway..and that is what makes like so great. We did
our best to be fair and have fun at the same time...I think we did okay.
I think the most important thing is that we we able to bond with both
families, and let them get to know their new child a little better. I
was able to grow closer to my new family and I realized how lucky I am.
Our last night at home the Bradhams took us all out to dinner, my father
in law asked me if I ever thought I would have so many brothers in
law...I said no, but I love it. And I do. I LOVE my new family, I have
the most wonderful parents in law and the coolest new brothers...and I
am pretty sure Garrett loves his new family too :)

This picture equals depression because its the one and only, single, solitary photo I got with the Bradham side this season...I say LAME to that


I honestly just feel so blessed for all that Garrett and I have and I am stoked for this new year. I have a lot I would like to work on and I can't wait for all the adventures that lie ahead.

A game show love connection

In case none of you are aware, when I am having a bad day...I like to "dance" it out.

Keep that in mind for later.

My favorite two boys...keep that in mind for later too :)



I have been having a lot of bad days lately. It seems like its always one thing after the other, which is fine because isn't that what life is all about? We are here to be tested. between my current job, my emotional garbage, not getting a job I really wanted and getting some bad news last week, I have been fighting my natural instincts to let it get to me. But we are also here to be happy..."men are that they may have joy". But can a girl catch a break? Lately it seems almost all my joy has come from my husband, which I discovered tonight, is just enough and then some.

*side note* I am REALLY bad at suppressing my feelings. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I feel things..differently... stronger than other people. Its my blessing and curse...anyway that's another story.


So on top of my inner "sadness"...I had a crappy day, again! really? I mean awesome. So I came home just really .....unpleasant. I feel really bad for poor Garrett, he has really had a crazy wife and he has been so great...(most days ;) but hey, no one is perfect. Anyway, back to today. I had my breaking point when I opened up my 1.09 sonic cheeseburger and it was mutilated. It looked like a 5 year old played with it before they put it in the bag for me, you get what you pay for I guess. Yes, a cheeseburger was my melting point. I can't help it, I love my food. Anyway, as I am crying over my inner issues, this horrid day, and my burger..my sweet husband comes and holds me and kisses me and asks me what would make me happy. I want to point out that he was sick and had just thrown up. I needed out of the house so we went out to the mall and just walked around and came home and did my favorite thing...DANCED, to my new favorite song...Soul Sista by Train and it was glorious! My wonderful, sick, unselfish husband danced with me and even Chauncey joined in. I am a firm believer in dancing things out....I also believe it works better when you dance with someone else. I knew when I got engaged to Garrett I was going to be marrying my best friend, tonight, that was reaffirmed to me and I am so thankful for that...I also realized today, that at the end of the day, none of the stupid things people do that hurt your feelings, a job you hate, or even a new broken phone and a mutilated burger...don't really matter. And if at the end of that long hard day, I can dance around and let loose with someone who makes me laugh when I didn't even want to smile...then that is what counts, that's what matters. I got really lucky in life. I may not be rich, I may hate my nose, my job, and that I still haven't finished school, I may never get that love and attention from certain people that I want, my family may be dysfunctional, and I may have a lot of emotional baggage, but I married my best friend...not everyone can say that, but I can and I am so grateful because you can't ask for anything better than that :)

After a good "dance out"