The end of January

January has never been my favorite. Winter has never been my favorite. I think I honestly have SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I am crazy excited for daylight savings time! I might make a paper chain count down - March 11th!! I'm excited for longer days and warmer weather. And while I realize those things are still months away, my heart is a little lighter knowing that at least January is over!!

Temple marriage

Today is my parents' anniversary. I am thankful that they chose to be married for time AND all eternity. I am thankful that their decision made it possible for my family to be together forever. I'm thankful for their example and I'm excited to have the opportunity to follow it someday!!

Sunshine

My winter white face finally has some color again! I wish I could stay in California for a few more days to enjoy the warm sunshine!! But, I can't. Tomorrow I get to fly home. Hopefully the next couple months will go quickly so I can enjoy warm sunshine at home!!

The beach

This morning I ran on the beach. Today I lounged around in the sun on the beach. This evening I watched the sun set on the beach. I probably should have been a California girl!! Oh how I love the beach!

The number zero

Zero, as in the number of times I puked last night.  Zero - the number of miles and minutes until we arrive at our destination (Huntington Beach, CA). Zero - the altitude at my current location. Zero - the number of miles away I am from the ocean. Zero - the number of times I will have to work or wear a coat in the next 2 days. Zero - the number of places I would rather be right now.

Sprite

The puking started just after midnight and continued until the morning. Not fun!! My sister was kind enough to bring me some sprite. She left it on the door step so she wouldn't risk contamination. I don't blame her. The sugar and the bubbles were just what my queasy tummy needed. I'm pretty sure I've filled my sick quota for the year already!! No more for me!!

Blessings

Last Wednesday I was supposed to be at the temple for my ward/stake temple night. I made a goal when I went through the temple the first time to go back at least once a month. So far, so good - I usually go once a month for ward temple night anyway. But, I wasn't able to go last week because I was sick. Last Wednesday I decided I would go this Wednesday instead. But tonight there were so many reasons why I almost changed my mind. I knew if I didn't go tonight, there's no way I would make before the end of the month. I almost decided I would just go twice in February to make up for it. But I didn't decide that. I decided to get to the temple. Tonight my experience at the temple was a little different. It was pretty incredible. It was important for me to be at the temple tonight and I definitely think the experiences I had tonight were a blessing from a loving Heavenly Father.

Racquetball

I love the dang sport!! I got to play today with some of my co-workers...yes, I beat them. It has probably been close to 2 years since the last time I played...way too long - especially considering I used to play every day when I lived in Idaho! Today I was rusty. And I'm sure I'll be extra sore tomorrow. But it was worth it! Now I want to play again, and soon!! I'll have to find a league to play with or something.

One of my favorite pictures - an opponent after I was done with him!!

People who look out for me

I'm lucky to work with a whole team of people who look out for me! Today my co-worker Linda left early to help her mom who lives in Bountiful. Not too long after Linda left, she called me to tell me that I should leave early because the weather was getting really bad up north. It was thoughtful of her to think of me! And, my boss was kind enough to let me follow Linda's advice and leave early so I wouldn't have to battle snow AND rush hour traffic!

Visiting teaching

I have some opinions about visiting teaching in a singles ward...but that's a long story. I know visiting reaching is important. But even though I know it's important, I have been a horrible visiting teacher. I haven't know my partner or the girls I teach and I get really frustrated when my list changes every month (which is why I usually just don't do it). But, one of my goals for 2012 was to be a good visiting teacher - get to know my partner and my girls, love them, care for them, and fulfill my calling like I should. This morning I had my partner and all three of the girls we teach over for breakfast. It was great! It was so fun to get to know them better! I really hope my route will stay the same for a little while! I love my partner and the girls we teach are amazing! It may not be so hard to accomplish my goal for the rest of the year!!

Help

Today I'm thankful that I don't have to everything alone all the time. I'm thankful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with incredible people in my life. Those people help me. Sometimes those people sacrifice a lot to help me. Sometimes those people don't even know they're helping. And sometimes those people help me by letting me help them.

The Media Center

My TV is basically a computer - I have my awesome, geeky brothers to thank for that!  I love it.  The best part would have to be that I can record TV without having to pay a monthly fee.  I don't watch a ton of TV, but there are a few shows I really enjoy.  And with the help of the media center, I can watch those shows when I want!  Today's technology constantly amazes me.

Krista

Today is her birthday and I love her stinkin' guts. Krista has always been one of those true friends - the kind of friend you can go months without seeing and still pick up right where you left off. There are a few things I really admire about her. She is the same person no matter who is around. She is not afraid to tell it like it is. She has a solid testimony of the gospel and she's not afraid to share it. She has been faithful and diligent in every calling I have seen her hold - including visiting teaching. She loves her family. I could probably write a whole book about Krista and the crazy things we've done together. She's an important part of my life, I love her, and today I'm thankful that she was born.

Ibuprofen

There are quite a few medications that I don't love. I tried taking unison once and it actually kept me awake all night. NyQuil does the same thing (which kind of sucks when you have a cold!). The prescription pain killers I got after having knee

surgery made me puke my guts out. The steroids they gave me when I lost my hearing also made me puke my guts out. But ibuprofen is my saving grace in the world of medicine. It just works for my body and I am so thankful!! The headache I got this evening didn't stand a chance against that ibuprofen!!

My bathtub

It is probably one of my favorite things about my house. It's huge. It's deep. And I'm the only one who uses it so it's not too hard to keep clean. I love to enjoy my bathtub at night, particularly in the winter. I love climbing into bed after a hot bath - clean, relaxed, and warm! And tonight, as an added bonus - I am going to bed able to breathe out of both nostrils! I can only hope that I actually get to sleep before that changes!!

Sick days

I'm not thankful for the days that I am sick, but I am thankful for "sick days" that allow me and my germs to stay home from work. I'd much rather be miserable in the comfort of my own home than have to be miserable at work!

Hot showers

The kind that create all sorts of steam to clear out all the snot packed in your sinuses when you have a cold. I have a cold - which I am NOT thankful for. But I am thankful I could breathe freely (out of both nostrils) for 10 minutes while I was in the shower this morning.

A successful craft day

After some last minute rearranging due to some "very important basketball games," we had a great day. A little less than 20 of our friends got together at the church for 12 hours of crafting. Some worked on scrapbooks, some did some sewing, and some finally tried some of the things they'd pinned on pinterest! I made two skirts and a little wallet to hold all my gift/reward/store cards. It will be hard to decide which new skirt I'm going to wear to church tomorrow!!

Promptings

It's interesting to me how the Spirit works in my life. Sometimes I don't realize that something is a prompting until I look back on it. During my workday, I usually count down the time until lunch. It breaks up the day, and if I'm being honest - I really like food. All week I have eaten leftover taco pasta for lunch. I really like taco pasta. But for some reason (AKA - the Spirit), all morning I thought about how much I did NOT want to eat taco pasta. When lunch time came around, I talked myself into the pasta, even though I really didn't want it. I heated it up, took one bite and then threw it in the garbage. I quickly changed my lunch break plans and went out in search of food. While I drove to the gluten bakery (that has delicious sandwiches and treats), I called my mom - just because. Well, my mom really needed that phone call. And if I had eaten taco pasta like I had planned, I would have followed through my previous lunch break plans, which would not have allowed for a quick conversation with my mama. It wasn't until I hung up the phone that I realized that the "I don't want to eat taco pasta" feeling was really a gentle nudge from my Heavenly Father to get me to be in the right place at the right time.

Adorable voicemails

This afternoon I got the most adorable message from my little man Jake. It said (please imagine the 5-year-old lisp), "Hi, dis is Jacob. I wuv you Jetta and...I...need...to say...somefing to you. I...want you to come to Boondocks wif me...someday. So, when it's the wight day, can you please come over and pick me up and um...let's go to Boondocks, kay?" Seriously?!? It was definitely the highlight of my day. My co-workers also enjoyed hearing it as I went around the office playing it on speakerphone. Of course I called his mom back later to tell her that yes, I will take him to Boondocks - when it's the wight day!!

To-do lists

More specifically being able to cross things off to-do lists (yes, I usually have multiple). I've been contemplating going to grad school for a while now. It just seems logical. I live school, my job will pay for most of it, why not? I decided to go for it and started the fabulous application process. Today I crossed a big to-do off my "grad school application to-do list." I have my letters of recommendation all squared away - which was a lot more work than I imagined it to be! I also got a pretty good start on my "entrance exam," which is basically a 10-page paper with pretty vague instructions. I am very excited for the day (hopefully in the not too distant future) that I can cross off the last to-do on my grad school application list!

A good nights' sleep

Last night, I did NOT get one. I don't do well on lack of sleep. It is very normal for me to cry for no good reason, simply because I'm sleep deprived. Today was no exception. I watched a YouTube video - I cried. I wrote an email - I cried. I read an email - I cried. I received a very thoughtful text - I cried. I should probably clarify. I never actually full-out cried. I just got teary. But that's not the point. The point is - today I am grateful for the nights that I crawl into bed, find sleep quickly, and stay asleep all night. And I sincerely hope (for everyone's sake) that tonight is one of those nights!!

The opportunity we have to learn

That's what this life is about - learning and growing. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way, but we can still take that opportunity to grow and become better. I'm grateful for the hard things I learned today and I intend to grow from them and be better.

Testimonies

I love fast and testimony meetings. My own testimony is strengthened the most by personal experiences (my own as well as others') that relate to gospel principles. I love the way the Spirit communicates with me as people in my ward testify of the truthfulness of the gospel. I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true!

Lazy Saturdays

My Saturdays are usually pretty packed - chores, errands, sometimes fun. It makes me happy to occasionally get a Saturday like today - with absolutely nothing planned. Even though I didn't have anything on my list of things to do today, I didn't spend the whole day watching TV in my PJs. I did manage to run, get ready for the day, get all my laundry done, folded, and put away and visit my mom. Lazy Saturdays and fabulous Sundays make for great weekends!

Old emails

I don't delete my emails. Sometimes it gives me anxiety when I open my yahoo account and it says I have 2100 emails in my inbox (and that doesn't include all the emails I've organized into folders). Today I read through quite a few email conversations I had with old friends and family. Some of those were emails I exchanged with my dad while I was up in Idaho. Reading through those emails helped me remember just how much he cared about, how much he wanted me to succeed in everything, and how proud he was of me. I'm grateful we wrote those emails and I'm grateful I kept them.

In one of his emails my dad wrote, "Just take each day for what it is and try and get some satisfaction of accomplishment and/or enjoyment so you don't think that day was a total waste. Stay focused on your major goals (give some thought to them each day and if necessary, revise you plan) and if you do, and if it's important enough to you, those goals will be met. And besides having the smarts to accomplish about anything you set your mind to, you also have the Lord on your side and he is well aware of your situation and your worthy desires. Your prayers will be answered!" I love that my dad wrote these words more that four years ago and yet, I feel like it applies perfectly to my life right now too! I'm grateful to still be able to gain wisdom and comfort from my dad, even though he's not here.

Jakey

Today is his birthday. He is FIVE!! When he was really little, I lived with him and his family. When we drove in the car, I always got to sit next to Jake. On almost every car ride, he would reach out and rest his hand on my arm. It melted my heart. Now he is older, but he still melts my heart. He is always SUPER excited to see me, he says the funniest things, he gives the cheesiest grins, and he definitely gives the best loves! Oh how I adore that little man!!

My health

I'm so grateful to have a functioning, healthy body. Sure it's not perfect - I may have celiac disease and I may be deaf in my left ear...but I can still do everything I want to (with a few minor adjustments). I have seen quite a few loved ones struggle with health issues. I am so glad I don't have to deal with those issues myself - at least not yet. I know there may come a day when my health struggles, which is why I will be grateful for the health I have now!

A car with a good heater and seat warmers

The weather this winter (and especially the last few weeks) has been fairly mild. But this morning, I left in a hurry and forgot my coat. Even though it wasn't super cold, by the time I pulled out of the driveway I was freezing! Lucky for me that good heater warmed the air in my car (on full blast) and the seat warmers warmed my seat! I was toasty while I drove to work this morning!

Surprise friend meetings

I'm a people person (kind of). While I don't love talking to people I don't know, I do love to talk to people I do know. Today I was surprised to run into two old friends. One I saw in the mall and the other I ran into at the airport. It was fun to see them for a minute, give/receive a hug, and talk for a minute. I'm blessed to have some amazing people in my life, even if I don't get to see them all the time!

A Clean Slate

There is something wonderful about starting something new - a new job, a new semester at school, a new year, a new week, a new day. It's an opportunity to evaluate yourself, and, if necessary, make some changes to be better. I'm grateful for the clean slate that this new year brings, and I'm also grateful for the clean slate I received as I participated in the Sacrament at church today. Both the new year and taking the Sacrament have helped me evaluate myself, determine where I am and where I want to be, and make some goals to help me get there.