Ok, guys, it's Monday and you know what that means! I made it through the "long" Saturday run! Hooray! First milestone is over and done with. Ok, so it was only five miles, you gotta start somewhere! :) I woke up on Saturday morning at about 7 to go running. The weatherman said it was supposed to snow from 6 AM to 7 AM and then rain from 7-8 or something and then just be cold. Well guess what? He was WRONG! It was so wonderful! I ran in a long sleeved shirt (that's actually about 3/4 sleeve on me) and I was just fine. I actually got a little hot towards the end.
So anyway, I was supposed to maybe try and go running with my sister Nicole, but she wasn't feeling well and was going to wait a little longer to see if she started to feel a little better. I wanted to wait, but I had work that morning too, so I had to get started. Matt would have gone with me, but he was still "hungover" from the MCAT the previous morning (talk about mentally EXHAUSTING!), so I let him sleep in and I headed out by myself. That was the first thing I was so proud of myself for. I used to HATE running by myself. I would start out too fast, I couldn't pace myself, and I wouldn't push myself as hard as I could have because I could stop and walk without holding anyone back. Man, I don't realize what a headcase I am until I write it all out... But anyway, I went by myself..
So I started out and I had Matt's watch to try to pace myself a little better and Matt had already plotted out a 5 mile route for me to run. (Ok, so maybe I still couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband, but at least I ran it alone, right??) About 2 miles into it, I checked my watch and realized I wasn't running as fast as I would have liked to or even as fast as I thought I was, so I was a little bummed and thought I wouldn't be able to finish in my goal time (I was hoping to finish in 50 minutes). But nonetheless, I kept running. I felt surprisingly good though! My one mistake is that about the first half of my run was flat or downhill which meant...? The second half would be flat or uphill... YIPPEE! My legs felt good, I was running a good pace, my foot wasn't hurting at all, and that helped make me mentally strong. Then I turned the corner of 1000 N. and 600 E. and started heading up 10th towards Aggie Village. (The locations and coordinates are for those of you familiar with Logan and its setup) Well from 600-800 E. is a slight incline and then from 800-1000 E is a STEEP hill. HOLY. CRAP. Ok, I was feeling good, but that hill murdered me. Haha I mastered what my husband likes to call the "survival shuffle". It is when you are basically barely moving but you are still in running form and bouncing up and down as if you're running. I made it, I did the survival shuffle until I recovered and then I got back up to pace and finished my run strong.
I was so excited when I finished and didn't feel like I was going to die (anymore). I was even happier when I looked down at my watch and I had finished it in 47 minutes! Ok, for those of you who are runners, I know that's not ALL that great, but I felt accomplished. Let me put it into perspective for you:
Before I met Matthew, I had barely run more than like 2 miles I think. Last year (I don't remember if we were just dating or engaged at this point) Matt and I went for a run together. We said we would go for like half an hour because I was terrified of running with him and that we would go at "my pace". Well... that run turned into 5 miles and I'm pretty sure we were barely running above a walking pace. When we got home from that run, Matthew told me how proud he was of me and I was pretty stoked myself because that was the farthest I had EVER run. In my entire life. I asked Matt how long we had been running for and he said "It only took us like... 50 minutes or something like that!" Oh... my cute boyfriend/fiancee told me a lie to make me feel better... Haha he tells me now that it took us about an hour if not a little more. So anyway, I tell that story because in just one year I took almost 15 minutes off my 5 mile time! I was really excited about that. This was the first time I actually saw the improvements I've made because they were significant enough to see!
Anyway, let's wrap this up... Haha Long story short, I think I am becoming addicted to running. I love the way it makes me feel about myself. I have found that I have a ton more energy throughout the day (most days, some days I'm just a lost cause regardless) and I am not as concerned about my weight or other trivial things. I finally understood the advice about how "weight is just a number, you need to focus on other things like how you feel and how your clothes fit". Yes, Matthew, you are right and you have been all along. Anyway, I guess my "advice" for this post (even if it's just to myself) is... Get out and do something! Even if you can't run and you can't do this or that or whatever else, get out and do something you CAN. If you find yourself in a rut like I've been in for the past little while, get out and try something new and active. It makes you feel better about yourself and it helps blow off a little steam. The past little while, life has been stressful and monotonous all at the same time, but training for this half is the best decision I made. It has brought some excitement back into my life. I am doing better at living day to day rather than waiting for the future to come. My "I'll be happy when..." attitude is almost completely gone and I am happy with my life right here, right now. :) BTW I'm sorry these past few posts have been pictureless and are super lame. I will try to get more pictures up, but there's nothing to take pictures of when you're running alone! Until next time. :)
P.S. I ran 4 miles today and felt great. Tomorrow is the dreaded interval day. Let's pray I survive. :)
Monday, April 16, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Week 1
Ok, so here I am posting about my "week 1" training. I know it's only Wednesday, so it's probably too soon to post, but in all honestly, I have been indirectly training for a half marathon for a while now. The training schedule that I have doesn't have you run any more than like 4 miles during the week. You save all of your long runs for Saturdays, which is the only thing I haven't been doing so far. But can I just tell you that actually signing up for the race, having that motivation and goal to move towards, as well as talking to my sisters about it has made ALL the difference in my desire to run and workout. I am not just doing it for the sake of doing it anymore. It's not "I guess I'll go work out now..." It's "When do I get to go running today??". I don't know, call me a freak or tell me it'll all go back to normal when the novelty wears off, but I get excited to run now! Knowing that I am moving towards a higher goal is SO great for me.
So I started off on Monday with a 5K. I ran 3.1 miles and it felt pretty good! I think I was supposed to run 3.5 but I hadn't completely solidified my workout regimen yet... Oh well. My foot had kind of started hurting again (I got tendonitis pretty bad in it a few months back and ended up in a stupid walking boot), but it wasn't anything big.
Tuesday was a fun day because I knew I got to go running with Matt. I get off work at 5:30 that day, so we have time to go running together afterwards, and it's usually about the time he needs to take a break from studying for the MCAT anyway. So it was our "interval training" day. It didn't seem like it was going to be that bad. You run for 40 minutes and do 5 minutes "fast" and 5 minutes "slow". In order for me to try to put "fast" and "slow" into perspective, I'll use the speeds on a treadmill. I usually like to run on a treadmill at a pretty stead 6.5 (don't judge). That's a good pace for me where I feel like I can go for awhile. Well.. using that as my base, that makes my "fast" pace a 7.5 and my "slow" pace a 5.5. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Wrong! I hated it. haha All this time I have been running at a nice and easy stead pace and all of a sudden I have to speed up? Get outta here! Well.. needless to say I am learning to run through pain (I HATE side-aches) but I felt freaking awesome afterwards! We ended up running just over 4 miles in 40 minutes, so I thought that was good! A couple things I learned during this day: I am capable of more than I think I am (when I think I can't take another step and I am going to collapse, I end up being able to run another mile). The second thing is that you NEVER regret working out. I don't know if anyone else is different, but I feel freaking awesome after I work out! Matt even says that I glow and I just have a different look when I've been working out.
Today was a good day as well. It was raining outside, so I decided to run on the treadmill in the gym instead, which was kind of a bummer. Today is supposed to be my cross-train day, but I like to "cross-train" with Jillian Michaels on that day because school and work is more hectic. So today I did the Thursday workout which is a 3.5 mile run and strength training. Well... treadmill meant I needed my ipod and a sweatshirt to go over the screen so I didn't just stare at it the whole time. A word of advice from a non-professional-- DO THAT. I have always found I can run farther, faster, longer if I can't see where I'm at. Some people like to track it, but I become so preoccupied with the whole "I've only run ____ FAR!!?... Well... Maybe I'll just run 2 miles today instead, this sucks..." Gosh, I hate that. I hope someone else can relate. Another game I play is that I start at 6.3, at the end of the first song I go up to 6.5, next song up to 6.7, back down as needed at the nest song and so on. I have found that I do better when I look at the short term "goals". So this time I said "I have to listen to ___ songs before I can look at how far I've run". Well... believe it or not, by the time I looked, I had already run 2.5 miles! I don't think you realize what an accomplishment that is, usually I look AT LEAST ever 1/4 mile! Haha and by the time you reach 2.5 then a new energy hits because it's like "I only have one mile left!" Call me weird, but I love it. Maybe if you're someone who is looking for a way to get into running or something, this will help. :)
So anyway, tomorrow is my cross train with Jillian, Friday is a stretch and strengthen day, and Saturday will be the much-anticipated 5 mile run with Matthew. I have committed myself to taking my anti-inflammatory medicine to try to get my foot to feel better, and Matthew even convinced me to wear my boot today. I hate that dang boot, but if it means I can run in this half-marathon, I'll do it. No time to take breaks! Gotta push through the pain for now!
So I'll leave you with my last soap-box and my extremely inexperienced opinion, so take it for what it's worth. 1. Read "Born to Run". It's a book and it is inspiring! It shows that our bodies are truly made to run ridiculously long distances and we have just ruined them by either eating too much, being "too busy" or just flat out telling ourselves we can't. 2. (which really shouldn't be a #2 because it's kind of just an addition) Are you scared of a long race? Just do it! Commit yourself, and you will probably be amazed at what you are capable of! When you start running and your body starts to hurt and ache and your knees feel like they need a replacement and your side starts to hurt... RUN THROUGH IT! That is one major thing I have learned. If you just ran up a steep hill, don't stop and walk because you're tired, keep your pace! If you do that, you will feel AWESOME in a couple of minutes. You need to give your body enough time to give off endorphins (natural pain killers) and you will feel so much better. My foot hurt for the whole first mile of my run tonight, but as soon as I got past that, I couldn't even feel it! Your body is AMAZING, seriously. It can do so much more than you could ever imagine!
Ok, are you sick of me acting like a pro after only a few days? Ok, I'll stop. I just know that there are probably a lot more people in my situation than not, and maybe some people just need to know they're not the only ones feeling that way and maybe they just need to know how to deal with mental lapses. (Some days the only way I get through mine is to have Matthew running with me so I'm dealing with my pride, or if I'm on the treadmill I race the person next to me.. Haha). So anyway... Get out and run, you won't regret it, you'll feel awesome and... I'll leave you with an opinion I CAN have. Freaking download Kelly Clarkson's song "Stronger" and run to that on repeat. It is freaking awesome and SO awesome. :) Until next time...
So I started off on Monday with a 5K. I ran 3.1 miles and it felt pretty good! I think I was supposed to run 3.5 but I hadn't completely solidified my workout regimen yet... Oh well. My foot had kind of started hurting again (I got tendonitis pretty bad in it a few months back and ended up in a stupid walking boot), but it wasn't anything big.
Tuesday was a fun day because I knew I got to go running with Matt. I get off work at 5:30 that day, so we have time to go running together afterwards, and it's usually about the time he needs to take a break from studying for the MCAT anyway. So it was our "interval training" day. It didn't seem like it was going to be that bad. You run for 40 minutes and do 5 minutes "fast" and 5 minutes "slow". In order for me to try to put "fast" and "slow" into perspective, I'll use the speeds on a treadmill. I usually like to run on a treadmill at a pretty stead 6.5 (don't judge). That's a good pace for me where I feel like I can go for awhile. Well.. using that as my base, that makes my "fast" pace a 7.5 and my "slow" pace a 5.5. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Wrong! I hated it. haha All this time I have been running at a nice and easy stead pace and all of a sudden I have to speed up? Get outta here! Well.. needless to say I am learning to run through pain (I HATE side-aches) but I felt freaking awesome afterwards! We ended up running just over 4 miles in 40 minutes, so I thought that was good! A couple things I learned during this day: I am capable of more than I think I am (when I think I can't take another step and I am going to collapse, I end up being able to run another mile). The second thing is that you NEVER regret working out. I don't know if anyone else is different, but I feel freaking awesome after I work out! Matt even says that I glow and I just have a different look when I've been working out.
Today was a good day as well. It was raining outside, so I decided to run on the treadmill in the gym instead, which was kind of a bummer. Today is supposed to be my cross-train day, but I like to "cross-train" with Jillian Michaels on that day because school and work is more hectic. So today I did the Thursday workout which is a 3.5 mile run and strength training. Well... treadmill meant I needed my ipod and a sweatshirt to go over the screen so I didn't just stare at it the whole time. A word of advice from a non-professional-- DO THAT. I have always found I can run farther, faster, longer if I can't see where I'm at. Some people like to track it, but I become so preoccupied with the whole "I've only run ____ FAR!!?... Well... Maybe I'll just run 2 miles today instead, this sucks..." Gosh, I hate that. I hope someone else can relate. Another game I play is that I start at 6.3, at the end of the first song I go up to 6.5, next song up to 6.7, back down as needed at the nest song and so on. I have found that I do better when I look at the short term "goals". So this time I said "I have to listen to ___ songs before I can look at how far I've run". Well... believe it or not, by the time I looked, I had already run 2.5 miles! I don't think you realize what an accomplishment that is, usually I look AT LEAST ever 1/4 mile! Haha and by the time you reach 2.5 then a new energy hits because it's like "I only have one mile left!" Call me weird, but I love it. Maybe if you're someone who is looking for a way to get into running or something, this will help. :)
So anyway, tomorrow is my cross train with Jillian, Friday is a stretch and strengthen day, and Saturday will be the much-anticipated 5 mile run with Matthew. I have committed myself to taking my anti-inflammatory medicine to try to get my foot to feel better, and Matthew even convinced me to wear my boot today. I hate that dang boot, but if it means I can run in this half-marathon, I'll do it. No time to take breaks! Gotta push through the pain for now!
So I'll leave you with my last soap-box and my extremely inexperienced opinion, so take it for what it's worth. 1. Read "Born to Run". It's a book and it is inspiring! It shows that our bodies are truly made to run ridiculously long distances and we have just ruined them by either eating too much, being "too busy" or just flat out telling ourselves we can't. 2. (which really shouldn't be a #2 because it's kind of just an addition) Are you scared of a long race? Just do it! Commit yourself, and you will probably be amazed at what you are capable of! When you start running and your body starts to hurt and ache and your knees feel like they need a replacement and your side starts to hurt... RUN THROUGH IT! That is one major thing I have learned. If you just ran up a steep hill, don't stop and walk because you're tired, keep your pace! If you do that, you will feel AWESOME in a couple of minutes. You need to give your body enough time to give off endorphins (natural pain killers) and you will feel so much better. My foot hurt for the whole first mile of my run tonight, but as soon as I got past that, I couldn't even feel it! Your body is AMAZING, seriously. It can do so much more than you could ever imagine!
Ok, are you sick of me acting like a pro after only a few days? Ok, I'll stop. I just know that there are probably a lot more people in my situation than not, and maybe some people just need to know they're not the only ones feeling that way and maybe they just need to know how to deal with mental lapses. (Some days the only way I get through mine is to have Matthew running with me so I'm dealing with my pride, or if I'm on the treadmill I race the person next to me.. Haha). So anyway... Get out and run, you won't regret it, you'll feel awesome and... I'll leave you with an opinion I CAN have. Freaking download Kelly Clarkson's song "Stronger" and run to that on repeat. It is freaking awesome and SO awesome. :) Until next time...
The Beginning!
Ok, so here I am again! YAY! My once every three months post! :) Well... Quick catch-up: Matt and I are doing fabulous. Life is great and we have really enjoyed our first year of marriage together. We haven't quite completed a year yet, but we are getting up there! We are currently both still attending school (Matt isn't quite attending, he just shows up on test days) and both of us will graduate in May. I will be the only one who actually walks because Matt walked last year (see picture below), but I still have 3 classes to take in the summer. I will take all of those classes in the 4-week semester in May (everyday, 7:30 AM-2:00 PM for four weeks... gross!) And then... DONE! I am so excited. Not to toot my own horn, but I am so excited that I have been able to finish college in 3 years. I loved college and loved the experiences that I was faced with, but I feel as though Matthew and I are ready to move on into the next phase of our lives and see what comes next!
Graduation is on May 4th and then we are looking at moving out the next weekend! Hooray!! No more student housing!! :) I am really excited, our new apartment is nicer than our current one (dishwasher included, praise the heavens!) and our rent is actually cheaper! The REALLY nice part (yes, maybe better than the dishwasher) is the fact that gas is included! That will save us A LOT of money in the winter, and we can maybe turn on the heat just a little more next winter. :)
So after May passes (and pray for the sake of my sanity that it passes quickly), we will have our Anniversary in June! I have no idea what we are going to do for that yet, but we haven't even taken any time to think about it. I have, however, taken some time to think about an anniversary gift... I obviously can't talk about it here. Did you know the first anniversary is the year of paper?? I had no idea, but how lame is that?? Haha I already made him a calendar for Christmas! I really screwed up that one, but I think my idea will be fun. The weekend after our Anniversary is Matt's birthday, June 9th, and on that very same day we are... running the freaking Bear Lake Half Marathon! What a joke, right? Ugh... I have always wanted to run a half marathon, but I've never signed up for one which means I've never seriously trained for one and I've always been content with just running about 3 miles a day. Well... It's official, folks! I am signed up and I've paid my $55! I HAVE to run it! (Look how hard core we are in the picture below... We can pretend, right?)
So anyway, Matthew and his sister, Trisha, are both runners and they decided they were going to do it and I just went for it and signed up myself! Well.. The next day I got to work... No, not running, who do you think I am! I called my sister Nicole and told her to sign up with me! (Hey, if I'm going down, I'm taking everyone within reach down with me!) Well... Nicole was scared but she REALLY wanted to do it. I all but got her to sign up right then. Then I half-jokingly invited my sister Angie. I say half-jokingly because she lives in Denver. Well... long story short, we convinced her too!! AHHH!!! So then Nicole sent out an e-mail and harassed my sister-in-law, Ang, and I harassed my brother, Josh, and I'm pretty sure we've convinced them too! I seriously can't tell you how excited I am! I am just so impressed by the amount of people who have stepped up and said "Ok, I'm just going to do it!" It is SO motivating for me! We have all decided that we will literally run it together and we have developed a "No sister left behind" motto. Of course, that has led to the idea of matching tank tops and all that good stuff that I will show later. We will definitely have to say "No sister left behind... unless you're pregnant" because I have two sisters who are pregnant and not able to run it with us...
So I apologize now, if running or working out isn't your thing, my blog probably won't be either for the next couple of months (if I ever post again). I am determined to become a runner. I want to talk about my ups and downs and my workouts and the times when I freaking rock it and the times when I puke or feel like pushing my "trainer" husband into the road (trust me, the first few days have already consisted of all of these). But I think it's fun. I truly believe ANYONE can run (obviously, there are always exceptions, so don't think I'm saying you should still be able to run if you have serious physical problems that make it so you literally can't run). Our bodies were made to run and I don't believe anyone that says it's bad for you. Anyone can run a 5K, but I also believe ANYONE can run/finish a half marathon! (If you don't believe me, check out Lauren from "The Biggest Loser", she got voted off this season and ran a half marathon afterwards, she still weighed well over 200 pounds!) So... That's my soapbox. I will run a half marathon and my goal is to do just that RUN a half marathon. I don't want to walk and I will be disappointed in myself if I do. So there ya have it, folks. If I continue to stay bored tonight, I will probably post about how training has gone so far this week. Heck, if you want to train along with me, let me know! We have a whole excel spreadsheet of every workout we will be doing until the race! Until I post again... :)
(Matthew and I when he "graduated" last year!)
Speaking of the future, here's what is to come: Matthew is taking the MCAT day after tomorrow... BAH!!! I think I am more nervous than him. Mainly because I have no control over anything. The funny thing is, me having no control is actually a good thing. Matthew is honestly the smartest person I know. He is incredible. I don't know how that kid knows SO much, but he does! It blows my mind most days. I can ask him any random question and he usually knows the answer. So anyway, he has been studying hard for that and I think he will do really well. Regardless, I will be spending all day Friday praying and trying to keep my mind off of it. :) Any other outside prayers would be fabulous!Graduation is on May 4th and then we are looking at moving out the next weekend! Hooray!! No more student housing!! :) I am really excited, our new apartment is nicer than our current one (dishwasher included, praise the heavens!) and our rent is actually cheaper! The REALLY nice part (yes, maybe better than the dishwasher) is the fact that gas is included! That will save us A LOT of money in the winter, and we can maybe turn on the heat just a little more next winter. :)
So after May passes (and pray for the sake of my sanity that it passes quickly), we will have our Anniversary in June! I have no idea what we are going to do for that yet, but we haven't even taken any time to think about it. I have, however, taken some time to think about an anniversary gift... I obviously can't talk about it here. Did you know the first anniversary is the year of paper?? I had no idea, but how lame is that?? Haha I already made him a calendar for Christmas! I really screwed up that one, but I think my idea will be fun. The weekend after our Anniversary is Matt's birthday, June 9th, and on that very same day we are... running the freaking Bear Lake Half Marathon! What a joke, right? Ugh... I have always wanted to run a half marathon, but I've never signed up for one which means I've never seriously trained for one and I've always been content with just running about 3 miles a day. Well... It's official, folks! I am signed up and I've paid my $55! I HAVE to run it! (Look how hard core we are in the picture below... We can pretend, right?)
So anyway, Matthew and his sister, Trisha, are both runners and they decided they were going to do it and I just went for it and signed up myself! Well.. The next day I got to work... No, not running, who do you think I am! I called my sister Nicole and told her to sign up with me! (Hey, if I'm going down, I'm taking everyone within reach down with me!) Well... Nicole was scared but she REALLY wanted to do it. I all but got her to sign up right then. Then I half-jokingly invited my sister Angie. I say half-jokingly because she lives in Denver. Well... long story short, we convinced her too!! AHHH!!! So then Nicole sent out an e-mail and harassed my sister-in-law, Ang, and I harassed my brother, Josh, and I'm pretty sure we've convinced them too! I seriously can't tell you how excited I am! I am just so impressed by the amount of people who have stepped up and said "Ok, I'm just going to do it!" It is SO motivating for me! We have all decided that we will literally run it together and we have developed a "No sister left behind" motto. Of course, that has led to the idea of matching tank tops and all that good stuff that I will show later. We will definitely have to say "No sister left behind... unless you're pregnant" because I have two sisters who are pregnant and not able to run it with us...So I apologize now, if running or working out isn't your thing, my blog probably won't be either for the next couple of months (if I ever post again). I am determined to become a runner. I want to talk about my ups and downs and my workouts and the times when I freaking rock it and the times when I puke or feel like pushing my "trainer" husband into the road (trust me, the first few days have already consisted of all of these). But I think it's fun. I truly believe ANYONE can run (obviously, there are always exceptions, so don't think I'm saying you should still be able to run if you have serious physical problems that make it so you literally can't run). Our bodies were made to run and I don't believe anyone that says it's bad for you. Anyone can run a 5K, but I also believe ANYONE can run/finish a half marathon! (If you don't believe me, check out Lauren from "The Biggest Loser", she got voted off this season and ran a half marathon afterwards, she still weighed well over 200 pounds!) So... That's my soapbox. I will run a half marathon and my goal is to do just that RUN a half marathon. I don't want to walk and I will be disappointed in myself if I do. So there ya have it, folks. If I continue to stay bored tonight, I will probably post about how training has gone so far this week. Heck, if you want to train along with me, let me know! We have a whole excel spreadsheet of every workout we will be doing until the race! Until I post again... :)
Monday, February 13, 2012
14 Days of Valentine's!
Yes, I know it's not Valentine's day yet, but I am writing about it. Sue me. I have had such a fun Valentine's celebration with Matthew so far! My sister's and I have a tradition (it was really their tradition, I just joined in this year...) of every year doing the "14 days of Valentines" for our husbands. Man, I have had so much fun! The funny thing is, I think I have enjoyed it more than Matthew has! Ok, I'm sure he's enjoyed it, but I have just had SO much fun.
My favorite day so far (before today, today is going to be AWESOME, details and pictures later) was the day I got nerf guns and we had a war. The funny thing is, the day before we had gone to Nicole's house and she had done it for Jeremy a few days prior, so we played with their Nerf guns for forever. Nicole had gotten 2 "big" ones for her and Jeremy, but then she got some puny guns for Makelle and Parker to play along. Well... when I went to Walmart to buy MY guns, there was only one of the "big" guns left... I thought about getting the big one for me and the puny one for him, but instead I just bought 2 puny ones. It was SO funny. Matt had gone out for a run and when he got back, I was hiding and his gun was sitting on the table with a note. It said something about declaring war on him. Well... The idea was for me to jump out before he had a chance to grab the gun, but he read that dang note faster than I expected! I heard him cock the gun and I said "OH CRAP!" and jumped out trying to shoot him. The next several minutes consisted of us running around our apartment and Matthew ducking, diving, and rolling all over the floor, and me just screaming. Our apartment is NOT very big... Haha the only held 3 darts at a time, but we kept just grabbing more and reloading our gun. It was so much fun. We have a lot of fun together. Since this is my blog, I'm going to say that I kicked his trash. ;) Afterwards, we were sitting on the couch laughing and he had the gun in his hand and he looked at it and said, "These are the same guns Makelle and Parker got, aren't they?" Dang... he noticed...
The other days have been lots of fun as well. Some have been smaller than others, but I just like to consider them as d
aily reminders that I love him. I have gotten him a pita from the Pita Pit (what we had on our first date) and taken it to him in the library, given him coupons, sour patch kids (marriage is sour and sweet), candy grams, etc. My NEW favorite is today... He won't read this before it's done, right? :) Nicole and I made chocolate-dipped fruit bouquets for Matt and Jeremy and delivered them to their work! Matt's little brother, Michael, works with him, so I'm having him take it to him when he goes to work. I am SO excited. Nicole and I had so much fun doing it and I just delivered it to Jeremy, and he loved it. We'll see what Matthew says! :) Nicole looked it up, and in order to have one of these professionally made and delivered to them, one this size costs like $100! I'm not even joking or exaggerating. It was so much fun to make too, it wouldn't have been nearly as fun if I just ordered it. Oh well, I just hope he likes it! Funny thing is, the one day I don't have planned is... tomorrow... haha the actual day! I'm a failure... I'll come up with something. :)
Update:
I had a little bit of a drawback to my awesome two weeks of celebrating... Last Monday night I was coming home from work and walking up the stairs to my apartment when all of a sudden my back tightened up. It literally felt like I had been stabbed in the back and I couldn't breath, walk, or anything. It was probably one of the worst pains I have ever had in my life (coming from the girl who has torn both of her ACL's...). I made it into my apartment and on the couch, but Matthew wasn't home, he was at his basketball game. I sat on the couch for about an hour and waited for him to get home (I had texted him and asked him to come home as soon as he could). He got home and looked at me, and I have never seen him get through that door and to the couch so fast, I had tears streaming down my face and neck because I couldn't raise my arms up to wipe them away. Nothing was helping. Matthew was AMAZING though. He immediately went into action. His little brother has had back pain for YEARS, so Matt called him over. Mikey brought over some of his muscle relaxants to try and help me get through the night. For that night and the next day Matt had to get up with me in the middle of the night when I had to use the restroom and had to literally pick me up out of bed and walk me in there. I couldn't stand up on my own. We went to the doctor first thing the next morning and of course they just said "I pulled a muscle"..... Seriously? Bite me, I've pulled a muscle before. That made me mad because I was in so much pain. Oh well... They gave me a pain killer and a muscle relaxant (I didn't tell them I had taken someone elses the night before) and sent me home. Long story short, Matthew has been so amazing to me throughout the whole thing. He has done EVERYTHING for me, and won't let me do ANYTHING (ok, so that makes me kind of mad...). But there are little things every day that he does that just confirm my decision to marry such an incredible man...
Besides that, life has been good! Matt is preparing to take the MCAT on April 13th (AHHHH!!!!) and I am just trying to find motivation for my classes before I graduate in May (AHHH!!!!). Life really is just fabulous. Lately, it has kind of gotten monotonous because we're just doing the same things day in and day out, but it's comfortable. We change it up every once in awhile. Mainly, I'm just so excited for spring break and summer! I love that time of year because Matt and I enjoy doing things outside so much. It will be a lot of fun. The med school applications will start sometime in May or June and then sometime at the end of the year our lives could be changing a lot. We should find out around then or the first of next year where Matthew will be attending medical school (assuming all goes well and he gets in). Have I told you how smart that kid is? He took his first practice MCAT not too long ago and he got a 33! For those of you who don't know what that means, basically, at all of the schools he is looking at applying to, their average score is a 25-27. Just thought I'd brag for a minute. We'll see what happens when he takes the real thing. :) There are a lot of exciting things coming up for us!
Well... this whole post has basically been my way of saying one thing. I love this time of year. But mainly I love this time of year because it reminds me how it makes me feel when I share my love with someone else. It reminds me of how EASY it is to do something small and fun to remind someone you love them EVERY day. I love my husband so much, and I love everything he does for me. I have made it a goal to tell him something SPECIFIC that I love about him every day. No, I will not proclaim it to the world on Facebook, and I will not just tell everyone else how much I love him, that takes away from how personal and intimate "love" should be. I will look him in the eyes and tell him, I will leave him a note, or I will send him a random text. If you like to say it on Facebook, that's fine too, it's just not how Matthew and I are. It's not that hard. Yes, I know that I'm a newlywed, and yes, I know that marriage gets harder, but I know that if I can make the effort to tell him how much I love and appreciate him DAILY, our marriage will be strong forever, and we will be just as in love 50 years from now as we are now. :) Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. I guess this is my blog, which can be "my journal", so I want to say this to hold myself accountable days, months, and years from now. I want to see if I can look back on this post and say that I have done it. If you have read this post until here... Get a life. Haha just kidding, thanks for reading and maybe you can leave me some advice on how to love him on those days when we probably won't like each other very much. I know they'll come. Haha love you all! Happy Valentine's Day!
My favorite day so far (before today, today is going to be AWESOME, details and pictures later) was the day I got nerf guns and we had a war. The funny thing is, the day before we had gone to Nicole's house and she had done it for Jeremy a few days prior, so we played with their Nerf guns for forever. Nicole had gotten 2 "big" ones for her and Jeremy, but then she got some puny guns for Makelle and Parker to play along. Well... when I went to Walmart to buy MY guns, there was only one of the "big" guns left... I thought about getting the big one for me and the puny one for him, but instead I just bought 2 puny ones. It was SO funny. Matt had gone out for a run and when he got back, I was hiding and his gun was sitting on the table with a note. It said something about declaring war on him. Well... The idea was for me to jump out before he had a chance to grab the gun, but he read that dang note faster than I expected! I heard him cock the gun and I said "OH CRAP!" and jumped out trying to shoot him. The next several minutes consisted of us running around our apartment and Matthew ducking, diving, and rolling all over the floor, and me just screaming. Our apartment is NOT very big... Haha the only held 3 darts at a time, but we kept just grabbing more and reloading our gun. It was so much fun. We have a lot of fun together. Since this is my blog, I'm going to say that I kicked his trash. ;) Afterwards, we were sitting on the couch laughing and he had the gun in his hand and he looked at it and said, "These are the same guns Makelle and Parker got, aren't they?" Dang... he noticed...
The other days have been lots of fun as well. Some have been smaller than others, but I just like to consider them as d
aily reminders that I love him. I have gotten him a pita from the Pita Pit (what we had on our first date) and taken it to him in the library, given him coupons, sour patch kids (marriage is sour and sweet), candy grams, etc. My NEW favorite is today... He won't read this before it's done, right? :) Nicole and I made chocolate-dipped fruit bouquets for Matt and Jeremy and delivered them to their work! Matt's little brother, Michael, works with him, so I'm having him take it to him when he goes to work. I am SO excited. Nicole and I had so much fun doing it and I just delivered it to Jeremy, and he loved it. We'll see what Matthew says! :) Nicole looked it up, and in order to have one of these professionally made and delivered to them, one this size costs like $100! I'm not even joking or exaggerating. It was so much fun to make too, it wouldn't have been nearly as fun if I just ordered it. Oh well, I just hope he likes it! Funny thing is, the one day I don't have planned is... tomorrow... haha the actual day! I'm a failure... I'll come up with something. :)Update:
I had a little bit of a drawback to my awesome two weeks of celebrating... Last Monday night I was coming home from work and walking up the stairs to my apartment when all of a sudden my back tightened up. It literally felt like I had been stabbed in the back and I couldn't breath, walk, or anything. It was probably one of the worst pains I have ever had in my life (coming from the girl who has torn both of her ACL's...). I made it into my apartment and on the couch, but Matthew wasn't home, he was at his basketball game. I sat on the couch for about an hour and waited for him to get home (I had texted him and asked him to come home as soon as he could). He got home and looked at me, and I have never seen him get through that door and to the couch so fast, I had tears streaming down my face and neck because I couldn't raise my arms up to wipe them away. Nothing was helping. Matthew was AMAZING though. He immediately went into action. His little brother has had back pain for YEARS, so Matt called him over. Mikey brought over some of his muscle relaxants to try and help me get through the night. For that night and the next day Matt had to get up with me in the middle of the night when I had to use the restroom and had to literally pick me up out of bed and walk me in there. I couldn't stand up on my own. We went to the doctor first thing the next morning and of course they just said "I pulled a muscle"..... Seriously? Bite me, I've pulled a muscle before. That made me mad because I was in so much pain. Oh well... They gave me a pain killer and a muscle relaxant (I didn't tell them I had taken someone elses the night before) and sent me home. Long story short, Matthew has been so amazing to me throughout the whole thing. He has done EVERYTHING for me, and won't let me do ANYTHING (ok, so that makes me kind of mad...). But there are little things every day that he does that just confirm my decision to marry such an incredible man...
Besides that, life has been good! Matt is preparing to take the MCAT on April 13th (AHHHH!!!!) and I am just trying to find motivation for my classes before I graduate in May (AHHH!!!!). Life really is just fabulous. Lately, it has kind of gotten monotonous because we're just doing the same things day in and day out, but it's comfortable. We change it up every once in awhile. Mainly, I'm just so excited for spring break and summer! I love that time of year because Matt and I enjoy doing things outside so much. It will be a lot of fun. The med school applications will start sometime in May or June and then sometime at the end of the year our lives could be changing a lot. We should find out around then or the first of next year where Matthew will be attending medical school (assuming all goes well and he gets in). Have I told you how smart that kid is? He took his first practice MCAT not too long ago and he got a 33! For those of you who don't know what that means, basically, at all of the schools he is looking at applying to, their average score is a 25-27. Just thought I'd brag for a minute. We'll see what happens when he takes the real thing. :) There are a lot of exciting things coming up for us!
Well... this whole post has basically been my way of saying one thing. I love this time of year. But mainly I love this time of year because it reminds me how it makes me feel when I share my love with someone else. It reminds me of how EASY it is to do something small and fun to remind someone you love them EVERY day. I love my husband so much, and I love everything he does for me. I have made it a goal to tell him something SPECIFIC that I love about him every day. No, I will not proclaim it to the world on Facebook, and I will not just tell everyone else how much I love him, that takes away from how personal and intimate "love" should be. I will look him in the eyes and tell him, I will leave him a note, or I will send him a random text. If you like to say it on Facebook, that's fine too, it's just not how Matthew and I are. It's not that hard. Yes, I know that I'm a newlywed, and yes, I know that marriage gets harder, but I know that if I can make the effort to tell him how much I love and appreciate him DAILY, our marriage will be strong forever, and we will be just as in love 50 years from now as we are now. :) Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. I guess this is my blog, which can be "my journal", so I want to say this to hold myself accountable days, months, and years from now. I want to see if I can look back on this post and say that I have done it. If you have read this post until here... Get a life. Haha just kidding, thanks for reading and maybe you can leave me some advice on how to love him on those days when we probably won't like each other very much. I know they'll come. Haha love you all! Happy Valentine's Day!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Fall Break! (If you can even call it that...)
So Utah State has one thing going against it and that is the length of its fall break. Seriously? Only one day off? That's kind of a joke and hardly anytime to really get a break. Nonetheless, Matthew and I decided to make it worth it somewhat. Our friends, Justin and Jessica invited us to go to Lagoon with them about a week ago, but we figured we couldn't go because we both had to work. On Thursday morning, Matthew found out that he got Friday afternoon off, so we figured if I could find someone to cover my shift, we might as well go! Well... after making a few phone calls and having an awesome coworker and manager working it out for me, I got it off! So we got to go to Lagoon when I hadn't been there in forever!
Jessica, Justin, me, and Matthew in line for Colossus
Well, after helping my sister with a minor emergency (she loosened a pipe in her kitchen and the result was water everywhere. She was home alone with 2 kids and since she was stuck holding the pipes together, she had no one else to turn the water off. The result was Matthew and I driving over there to help her out. haha) we met Justin and Jessica and headed out. We got in for half price, but the only way we got the deal was by entering at 5 PM for Frightmares. So we showed up and were determined to make it worth it (the result was us literally running from ride to ride like children). It was so much fun!
Matthew and I after getting into the park
The best ride of the day!
The new addition to our family :)
On another note... STORIE BETH IS MARRIED!!!! AHHH!!! On Wednesday, I got to go down and go to Storie's wedding and reception and it was such a great day! I hadn't met Jared before, which made me so sad, but I love him already! He is so great! Their ceremony was beautiful, Storie looked gorgeous, and we are excited to add another enthusiastic couple to our little group! Friends forever? I think so...
Storie and Jared coming out of the temple
So stinkin cute!!
Best Friends Forever!!
There's the three of us... Met Fall of 2009 playing soccer in New Mexico and now 2 years later in Fall of 2011 we are all MARRIED! We never would have thought that we would all be married within 4 months of each other, but it has been such a fun and exciting summer for all of us. I love them and I love their husbands and I hope we have a fun, lifelong friendship together!
Jaynee also got married on the 15th of October. I forgot my camera, which makes me so sad, but she looked BEAUTIFUL!! I got to go to her ceremony, luncheon, and reception that day and it was so much fun! I am so happy for them, but so sad that they will be in Cedar, so far away from us... Happy weddings though!! What a fun time of our lives, I am so happy for all of my friends, and even happier that they have all chosen to be married in the temple!! Happy, happy times! All is well here. :)
Jessica, Justin, me, and Matthew in line for ColossusWell, after helping my sister with a minor emergency (she loosened a pipe in her kitchen and the result was water everywhere. She was home alone with 2 kids and since she was stuck holding the pipes together, she had no one else to turn the water off. The result was Matthew and I driving over there to help her out. haha) we met Justin and Jessica and headed out. We got in for half price, but the only way we got the deal was by entering at 5 PM for Frightmares. So we showed up and were determined to make it worth it (the result was us literally running from ride to ride like children). It was so much fun!
Matthew and I after getting into the parkThe good news is, we made it onto all of the rides we wanted! We didn't make it to the Rocket in time, but we decided beforehand that wasn't a priority. The longest line we waited in was for the Samurai, of course, but it was SO worth it! I love that ride... Since I hadn't been to Lagoon in FOREVER, I had never been on the ride "Wicked" before. Holy. Crap!! That ride was a blast. You shoot off, go straight up, straight down (and I was in the front), through corkscrews, and just SO fast! My eyes leaked the entire time and I had tear streaks on the side of my face after it was over. I loved it!
The best ride of the day!During one of our "breaks" from the ride, Matthew decided to spend $2 to have some lady try to guess his weight. He was convinced there weren't very many people that can actually guess how much he weighs. Can you blame him though? I couldn't do it! Well... He was right, the lady had NO idea what to guess because he is so tall but so skinny, and he won a little stuffed dog! Of course he didn't care what he got, so he let me choose the color and everything, so I chose the bright pink one! (surprise, surprise...)
The new addition to our family :)All in all, it was a way fun night. We got hot chocolate and food afterward on our way back to Logan. Jessica and I of course fell asleep on the ride home, so Matthew and Justin just got to chat the whole way. I was glad we got to take advantage of the ONE DAY we got off instead of just working. And I am getting better at taking pictures of what we do, AND better at blogging! YAY! :)
On another note... STORIE BETH IS MARRIED!!!! AHHH!!! On Wednesday, I got to go down and go to Storie's wedding and reception and it was such a great day! I hadn't met Jared before, which made me so sad, but I love him already! He is so great! Their ceremony was beautiful, Storie looked gorgeous, and we are excited to add another enthusiastic couple to our little group! Friends forever? I think so...
Storie and Jared coming out of the temple
So stinkin cute!!
Best Friends Forever!!There's the three of us... Met Fall of 2009 playing soccer in New Mexico and now 2 years later in Fall of 2011 we are all MARRIED! We never would have thought that we would all be married within 4 months of each other, but it has been such a fun and exciting summer for all of us. I love them and I love their husbands and I hope we have a fun, lifelong friendship together!
Jaynee also got married on the 15th of October. I forgot my camera, which makes me so sad, but she looked BEAUTIFUL!! I got to go to her ceremony, luncheon, and reception that day and it was so much fun! I am so happy for them, but so sad that they will be in Cedar, so far away from us... Happy weddings though!! What a fun time of our lives, I am so happy for all of my friends, and even happier that they have all chosen to be married in the temple!! Happy, happy times! All is well here. :)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Top Ten Thursday
Ok, make fun of me for knowing this, but today it has been one year since Matthew and I went on our first date! WOW! I love looking back on all of the fun times we have had over the past year, and we weren't even married for all of it! It really is so hard for me to remember my life before I met Matthew, and I don't even like to think about it. Life is just so much better with him, not to mention LOTS more fun! In honor of our "one year mark" (even though this date isn't nearly as important as June 4th...) I am going to do Top Ten Thursday on the top ten most memorable moments from the past year. (Keep in mind, these are in no particular order...)
1- This one just happened the other day, so I thought I'd share. Matthew had a headache, so I was bringing him some Ibuprofen (prescription strength, at that...). So I walked into the room to hand it to him and (from his point of view) all I did was start freaking out and spitting white stuff out of my mouth. I ran into the other room and started rinsing my mouth out with water and gargling it. Matt and my mom had NO idea what was going on. What happened was, I had some candy corn in one hand and his pill in the other. Instead of popping the candy corn into my mouth, I put the pill in and bit down on it. It crumbled in my mouth and it was DISGUSTING... I don't even know if telling the story over the blog even makes it funny, but when Matthew tells it, it makes me laugh so hard I cry.
2- I have a feeling that a lot of these moments are going to consist of me either A) doing stupid things, or B) falling. This is the latter. Most of you have probably heard this story before but... oh well! Once upon a time, Lauren was going over to Matthew's apartment to see him. She decided she was going to knock on all of the windows of his apartment that she passed on her way to his door. Well... All this really did was get everyone in the apartment's attention before Lauren got to the front door, slipped on their welcome mat, and fell down straight to her butt. Once again, I laughed so hard I cried. I also believe Matthew's exact words were "I'll give you a second to get your pride back before opening the door." On another note: This was one of the first stories Matthew told his family when I first met them... Embarrassing!
3- Telling the story from #2 at my parent's house and accidentally slipping and falling AGAIN when reenacting it. This one resulted in a GIANT bruise on my butt....
4- Going to the Coca-Cola factory in Las Vegas and trying 16 flavors of Coke from around the world. We were laughing our heads off! Each of us would take turns trying it first, and when I tried the one from Italy first and was freaking out at how awful it was, Matthew didn't believe me until he tried it. He freaked out with how awful it was too. I loved listening to him try to describe how they tasted (ex: "It tasted like someone brushed their teeth, spit in a cup, then spit some mouth wash in there and watered it down and then made a drink out of it!" I believe that one was from Djibouti...)
5- The first time Matthew saw me in a competitive atmosphere (and the first time I saw him, gosh he drove me nuts...) We were playing Catch Phrase with my family and it always gets really competitive, especially when we play boys vs. girls. Matthew was being obnoxious (like he does when we're competing against each other) and I was getting SO mad. He thought it was hilarious. Once he watched me play soccer, he just realized competition brings out a whole new side to me.
6- One day Matt had an eye doctor's appointment and I was in Salt Lake for some reason. He called me after his appointment when he was laying down on his bed and I have never heard him whine like that before! I was laughing SO hard, and we still laugh about it today. He had his eyes dilated so he just kept saying, "I can't even read the paper! I can't see!" And he just went on an on... Like I said, this could just be a "you had to be there" thing, but this is my blog and I'm just kind of journaling at the moment... :) It was funny.
7- Watching Matthew dive head first into the waves on our honeymoon to Mexico and wondering just how old my husband really was. He seriously is the biggest 10 year old I've ever met. The kid has so much energy!!
8- The day we went up to campus and sat on a grassy field to watch "Falling Skies" online. We had to go to campus because we didn't have internet at our apartment. This date also consisted of us playing cranium with just the two of us. We also probably played Gin like crazy because I was obsessed this summer!
9- Where would I be without including our first date in my favorite memories?? That is where it all began. Dinner at the Pita Pit (which also consisted of playing Battle of the Sexes with just the two of us), painting pumpkins, and then going up to campus and "bowling" with the pumpkins. We knocked over half-full water bottles. Matthew will probably claim that he won, but we all know I did. Then to end the night, of course we had to go get ice cream from Charlie's! :)
10- Obviously this list wouldn't be complete without mentioning the day of our first kiss, the day we said "I love you" (even though that same day I thought he was going to break up with me), the day he proposed, and of course the day we were married!
We have had so much fun together this past year, and I can't wait for the many MANY years to come. Sorry for the cheese-ball post. I've never been one to be mushy on Facebook, and even if I was Matthew would never go along with it, but this is my blog, and sometimes I feel like talking about my husband and how great he is and of course to tell everyone how much fun we're having in our new life together! And no blog post is complete without some pictures, so here are some of the many faces of Matthew and Lauren. :)
The date where we ate everything with our hands and fingerpainted! :)
After we worked out some time. We like to pretend we're hard core. :)
The date where we went rock climbing with Alisha and Alex. :)
Last but not least, the very first picture of us together at the HOWL last year. :) Chick magnet? I think so...
1- This one just happened the other day, so I thought I'd share. Matthew had a headache, so I was bringing him some Ibuprofen (prescription strength, at that...). So I walked into the room to hand it to him and (from his point of view) all I did was start freaking out and spitting white stuff out of my mouth. I ran into the other room and started rinsing my mouth out with water and gargling it. Matt and my mom had NO idea what was going on. What happened was, I had some candy corn in one hand and his pill in the other. Instead of popping the candy corn into my mouth, I put the pill in and bit down on it. It crumbled in my mouth and it was DISGUSTING... I don't even know if telling the story over the blog even makes it funny, but when Matthew tells it, it makes me laugh so hard I cry.2- I have a feeling that a lot of these moments are going to consist of me either A) doing stupid things, or B) falling. This is the latter. Most of you have probably heard this story before but... oh well! Once upon a time, Lauren was going over to Matthew's apartment to see him. She decided she was going to knock on all of the windows of his apartment that she passed on her way to his door. Well... All this really did was get everyone in the apartment's attention before Lauren got to the front door, slipped on their welcome mat, and fell down straight to her butt. Once again, I laughed so hard I cried. I also believe Matthew's exact words were "I'll give you a second to get your pride back before opening the door." On another note: This was one of the first stories Matthew told his family when I first met them... Embarrassing!
3- Telling the story from #2 at my parent's house and accidentally slipping and falling AGAIN when reenacting it. This one resulted in a GIANT bruise on my butt....
4- Going to the Coca-Cola factory in Las Vegas and trying 16 flavors of Coke from around the world. We were laughing our heads off! Each of us would take turns trying it first, and when I tried the one from Italy first and was freaking out at how awful it was, Matthew didn't believe me until he tried it. He freaked out with how awful it was too. I loved listening to him try to describe how they tasted (ex: "It tasted like someone brushed their teeth, spit in a cup, then spit some mouth wash in there and watered it down and then made a drink out of it!" I believe that one was from Djibouti...)
5- The first time Matthew saw me in a competitive atmosphere (and the first time I saw him, gosh he drove me nuts...) We were playing Catch Phrase with my family and it always gets really competitive, especially when we play boys vs. girls. Matthew was being obnoxious (like he does when we're competing against each other) and I was getting SO mad. He thought it was hilarious. Once he watched me play soccer, he just realized competition brings out a whole new side to me.
6- One day Matt had an eye doctor's appointment and I was in Salt Lake for some reason. He called me after his appointment when he was laying down on his bed and I have never heard him whine like that before! I was laughing SO hard, and we still laugh about it today. He had his eyes dilated so he just kept saying, "I can't even read the paper! I can't see!" And he just went on an on... Like I said, this could just be a "you had to be there" thing, but this is my blog and I'm just kind of journaling at the moment... :) It was funny.
7- Watching Matthew dive head first into the waves on our honeymoon to Mexico and wondering just how old my husband really was. He seriously is the biggest 10 year old I've ever met. The kid has so much energy!!
8- The day we went up to campus and sat on a grassy field to watch "Falling Skies" online. We had to go to campus because we didn't have internet at our apartment. This date also consisted of us playing cranium with just the two of us. We also probably played Gin like crazy because I was obsessed this summer!
9- Where would I be without including our first date in my favorite memories?? That is where it all began. Dinner at the Pita Pit (which also consisted of playing Battle of the Sexes with just the two of us), painting pumpkins, and then going up to campus and "bowling" with the pumpkins. We knocked over half-full water bottles. Matthew will probably claim that he won, but we all know I did. Then to end the night, of course we had to go get ice cream from Charlie's! :)
10- Obviously this list wouldn't be complete without mentioning the day of our first kiss, the day we said "I love you" (even though that same day I thought he was going to break up with me), the day he proposed, and of course the day we were married!
We have had so much fun together this past year, and I can't wait for the many MANY years to come. Sorry for the cheese-ball post. I've never been one to be mushy on Facebook, and even if I was Matthew would never go along with it, but this is my blog, and sometimes I feel like talking about my husband and how great he is and of course to tell everyone how much fun we're having in our new life together! And no blog post is complete without some pictures, so here are some of the many faces of Matthew and Lauren. :)
The date where we ate everything with our hands and fingerpainted! :)
After we worked out some time. We like to pretend we're hard core. :)
The date where we went rock climbing with Alisha and Alex. :)
Last but not least, the very first picture of us together at the HOWL last year. :) Chick magnet? I think so...Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sometimes I like writing my thoughts. :)
Ok, so every few months I have a post about how I'm going to be better at blogging, but I never am! I think I just need to face the facts and realize that I just suck at blogging. One of these days I will get around to posting about my wonderful wedding day and our fabulous honeymoon, but I'm afraid that day is not today. Sadly enough, I have had a draft sitting there for about a month and a half now, and I just add to it every once in awhile. *Sigh* Maybe someday I'll be good at this.
What I was thinking of posting about, however, is that fabulous relief society broadcast and my favorite talk so far by President Uchtdorf. Gosh, those men always know what to do to really help me out when I am feeling down on myself and just down in general. This semester has been a tough one to say the least.. I go to school at 9:30 in the morning, go straight to work, and get home at 8 to what? Study or do homework before the next day begins. I have had countless breakdowns because there just aren't enough hours in the day. I really want to be able to have a clean house, clean dishes, a made bed, and then to just snuggle up with my husband at night to just have some time together. Oh boy, was I mistaken when I thought that was a realistic dream!
So on top of everything, I went to the broadcast on Saturday night with some friends and sat there and listened to a wonderful man giving me hope saying that I am not perfect and that's ok. A man telling me that I shouldn't hang my head because the most majestic being in existence loves me unconditionally and accepts my weaknesses. I especially loved when he told us that we are so quick to accept other people for their weaknesses, but extremely slow to forgive ourselves for our weaknesses. You know what? I'm not perfect. There are dishes in my sink, clothes on my floor, I have been struggling in school, I lose motivation to do anything a lot of the time, but that doesn't matter because every day I can wake up and strive to be better. I can try my best to be who I want to be, but accept it when I fall short. On top of the fact that God loves me, I have the best husband in the world. :) I don't know how I ever made it through the day or semesters of school without him. He motivates me, encourages me, and tells me that I am doing a good job (even though 99% of the time that's a lie). The man is wonderful and even cooks and sews my pants for me! So you know what? Life isn't so bad afterall. I have a wonderful husband, an incredible family, and we aren't doing so bad here.
And to top this all off, I found a quote this week that I am OBSESSED with. It was perfect to go along with the week I've had! :) Leave it to Elder Holland to help me out.
"No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves us-- Insecurities, anxieties, poor self-image, and all. He doesn't measure our talents or our looks; He doesn't measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other." Isn't that so great?? I love it. :)
So there you have it... Not sure if this post was me whining or showing that there is hope! Hmm... Take what you want from it, I suppose! I will get around to posting about my endowment, our wedding, honeymoon, and married life eventually! :)
What I was thinking of posting about, however, is that fabulous relief society broadcast and my favorite talk so far by President Uchtdorf. Gosh, those men always know what to do to really help me out when I am feeling down on myself and just down in general. This semester has been a tough one to say the least.. I go to school at 9:30 in the morning, go straight to work, and get home at 8 to what? Study or do homework before the next day begins. I have had countless breakdowns because there just aren't enough hours in the day. I really want to be able to have a clean house, clean dishes, a made bed, and then to just snuggle up with my husband at night to just have some time together. Oh boy, was I mistaken when I thought that was a realistic dream!
So on top of everything, I went to the broadcast on Saturday night with some friends and sat there and listened to a wonderful man giving me hope saying that I am not perfect and that's ok. A man telling me that I shouldn't hang my head because the most majestic being in existence loves me unconditionally and accepts my weaknesses. I especially loved when he told us that we are so quick to accept other people for their weaknesses, but extremely slow to forgive ourselves for our weaknesses. You know what? I'm not perfect. There are dishes in my sink, clothes on my floor, I have been struggling in school, I lose motivation to do anything a lot of the time, but that doesn't matter because every day I can wake up and strive to be better. I can try my best to be who I want to be, but accept it when I fall short. On top of the fact that God loves me, I have the best husband in the world. :) I don't know how I ever made it through the day or semesters of school without him. He motivates me, encourages me, and tells me that I am doing a good job (even though 99% of the time that's a lie). The man is wonderful and even cooks and sews my pants for me! So you know what? Life isn't so bad afterall. I have a wonderful husband, an incredible family, and we aren't doing so bad here.
And to top this all off, I found a quote this week that I am OBSESSED with. It was perfect to go along with the week I've had! :) Leave it to Elder Holland to help me out.
"No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves us-- Insecurities, anxieties, poor self-image, and all. He doesn't measure our talents or our looks; He doesn't measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other." Isn't that so great?? I love it. :)
So there you have it... Not sure if this post was me whining or showing that there is hope! Hmm... Take what you want from it, I suppose! I will get around to posting about my endowment, our wedding, honeymoon, and married life eventually! :)
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