Am I Really??

Yep. I guess I am. I'm going to blog about hunting. But, that's not all, so try not to just leave now haha.

 

So, Spencer's big elk hunt started in September. He had from mid August through end of September off from school. So, as a family, we pretty much lived at the cabin, so he could scout during the day. He lived on the mountain (except slept) for over a month. Me and the boys lived at the cabin, with ocassional trips back to Nephi.

 

I'll tell you what. It was not easy! I knew he had waited a long time (15 years to be exact), for this opportunity, so I really wanted to be a good sport about it. But gosh. He left early in the morning, and didn't come home until after dark. By then, the kids were ready for bed, and so was I. And not only that, there just isn't much to do at a cabin with two little ones. We definitely got bored, and on each other's nerves.

Finally, it was time for the hunt to actually start (which just means that the date came where he could now shoot at something, and it lasts about a week). Good golly, I wanted all of his time and mine to be worth it, and I wanted him to get something he'd be happy with.

It's a hard hunt, no doubt. They had hardly any action during the first 6 days of the hunt. I literally was praying/pleading all day, every day that all of our time and effort towards this darn hunt would be worth it. Not only that, but I really think Spencer would have slipped into a mini (ish) depression if he hadn't come out successful. I'm serious. His heart, soul, and passion depended on this. Finally, on day 7 they found what he was looking for!

 

He got himself this monster of a bull. He's very happy with it, and I'm just glad it was a success!! His brother helped him hunt for the first half of the week, and then his friend Brad, and Brad's friend helped for the latter part of the week. Brad and Daryl were the ones who were with Spence when he got his elk. We're very grateful to all those who helped Spence on his hunt.

 

Here are some pics of me and the kids while Spence was out hunting. I love this picture of Gavin, but it makes me sad, too. He just looks so grown up! He's definitely my little buddy, and such a good boy. We get on each other's nerves, yes, but he's such a joy to have around.

Oh, this kid. He's a hoot. He can be so stinkin' serious, then super silly, then SUPER ORNERY! It frustrates me. He gives me such a hard time just about every day, but if I ever leave him with anyone else, apparently he's an absolute angel. What the heck! It's so not fair. I literally can't go pee, or even stand up from the couch without him flippin' a freakin' cookie. Nonetheless, he is my sweet baby, and I'm so glad. He's a cutie I couldn't live without.

Hahaha!! He found a chocolate (wrapped), and got into it. I didn't realize until he had practically eaten the whole thing. But, I had to take it away, because  it still had the wrapper. He was a little upset.

Out taking a walk. Don't mind Gavin's messy face.... But they sure are cute, and make my days so fun.

Fish Lake is a beautiful place.

So, this year was my first deer tag. I had drawn out last year, but had to turn it back in, because I was like 37 weeks pregnant with Tanner, and I wasn't about to wander the mountain! This year, although I was pregnant again, I wasn't as far along. I really wasn't looking forward to it. Haha! I just wanted to get it over with. I don't mind being involved with my husband's hobbies, but sometimes, I just don't want to be haha. Anyway, it actually was pretty enjoyable for me. Opening day (first day of the hunt. Sorry, I am just not sure how much of this makes sense to all of you), we went to the place where Spencer got his deer last year, and were seeing a lot of bucks. My bro in-law ended up killing his that day. ANYWAY, this is not a hunting blog, I don't want to get into that mumbo jumbo....

It wore me out hiking all over that stinkin' mountain. It's way rocky, way steep, and just not my cup of tea to wander all over. But, it was alright. The next day, it was just me and Spence. We took our time since the day before had really worn me out.

We decided to go to a place in the same general area as the day before, and pulled up to this cliff to look over it, and see if we could see anything. Nothing... So we chatted. And I literally said, "I just want to get a buck" (I wanted to make all of the hiking, and babysitter's time worth it, and for my hubby to be proud of me), and right after I said that, Spencer says, "Go get the gun".

We talked about the pros and cons of going for him, as this was the last day I had planned on hunting. We decided the opportunity was too perfect to pass up. So, from 360 yards away, I made the shot and got him. Haha. I was pretty nervous about killing an animal! After I had shot, Spencer says, "I was going to tell you this, but decided against it, but I've never shot an animal from that far." He was pretty proud I made it in one shot from that distance.

 He's not impressive, but he's my first, and at least I got one, and that it was a good shot. Sorry 'bout the blood btw.... I was nervous to walk up to him, I thought I would feel bad about killing something haha. But, actually as I walked up to him, I had this huge sense of respect for this animal come over me. Weird, huh?!? Haha! That sounds weird, but it's true. The circle of life is a magical thing.. ;)

I shot him from atop these cliffs... And yes, we had to hike down that sucker, and then back up, with deer in tow.

I'm glad we had this experience together. I actually enjoyed it, and Spencer ended up being very proud of me, which is the only thing I cared about anyway. So it worked out.

In case you haven't heard, we're having a GIRL! I'm so happy about that. I thought it was a girl, and at the ultrasound, my nerves were going crazy! Finally, we looked for the gender, and yep! Girl. Yay. So, it makes things a little more exciting. I get to shop for a girl! I haven't bought anything yet, but have looked online, and it is just too much fun.

Half Marathon

It has been a few months, and who knows if anyone even reads my blog anymore, but here it goes anyway!

 

I did it! I ran the Salt Lake City Half Marathon!

I'm going to babble some (I actually mean a lot). Forgive me.

Training sucked. Not going to lie. I hated having to work a run into my schedule. There was never a good time to run. In the mornings, I had to do it before the boys woke up, which was fine, but it also meant I had to do it on the treadmill since Spencer has to leave so early to drive to school. Well, I hate the treadmill, so that was kind of rough on my consistency. Or, I had to run during naptime, which meant I had to go all morning without showering, and then run, and shower in the middle of the day, and not get any housework/other things done during naptime. OR.... I had to run after the kids were down for bed, which cut into my relaxing/me time. Essentially, it was difficult to find the time and motivation to run. But, nonetheless, I did, because I paid that darn $75 and I was running that half marathon. I had no choice. Which is exactly why I signed up to do it in the first place, because I knew it would force me to get some exercise! Oh, ps. I ran my long runs on Saturday's when Spencer was home, so that helped, because I just can't run more than 4 miles on the treadmill.

 

This was my first race EVER. The week before,I had ran 11 miles, but I only ran 4 miles the week of my race haha. I knew I'd be okay, but that's about how my training was too (not very consistent, therefore I probably didn't train the BEST). The night before the race, I was so stinking nervous! I was just so afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. AND I knew it was supposed to rain, AND aunt flo decided to pay a visit (tmi, kinda sorry), so I just didn't know how I was going to handle all of that. I am a big whimp of the cold, so I was expecting me to just hate the entire race, and never want to race again.

 

The next morning, me, my sister Amy, and my sister-in-law, got on trax at 5:30, I believe? Can't remember exactly. Anyway, it was raining, and freezing, and windy, and miserable. The ride on trax was nice, because we were the first passengers, so we got seats, and got to get nice and warm while we rode them to SLC. At each stop, tons of runners loaded the train. It was so exciting to me to see all of these people heading to this race! I was getting really nervous at this point.

Finally, we arrived at U of U, and it was raining, and cold and windy still. Poop. My sweet sister bought me a poncho, so I was very grateful for that (thanks again Am!). We only had about 20-30 minutes til the race started.

 

We knew we didn't want to start when the actual race started (your time doesn't start until you cross the start line), because there was going to be so many people, you'd be running foot-to-heel for quite a while. So we watched the huge crowd take off instead, and that was so fun to see! Holy cow, there was so many people!! This picture, honestly does not do it justice. It was crazy! It looked like this for several minutes. We think we heard there was over 7,000 registered! That inclusdes the half and full marathon, which all of the runners started at the same time.

 

It rained the. whole. time! Some times it was just a light sprinkle, other times I was having a hard time seeing, because so much water was dripping down my face.

It was so cool to see all of these people who had trained for this race. I saw a guy at one point, who had to be at least over 300 pounds, and he was running the FULL marathon! Amazing! Good for him, right? I also saw a father running while pushing his son, who is confined to a wheelchair, and his shirt on the back said, "I Run For Bart". Little kids were running! I'm bad at age estimates, but maybe 9 or 10 years old? So cool. Old ladies and old gentlemen. I mean, it was a very diverse group, and it was honestly so inspiring to see all of these people running!

 

My sister and I stayed pretty much next to each other the entire race. We just both had the same comfortable pace, so it worked out. Shana though, is so speedy, we lost her after the first mile! We couldn't find her after the race either, to take a picture.

 

Surprisingly, I felt great pretty much the entire race. The only thing was the rain and cold. Physically and mentally, I felt awesome. I was just having so much fun, which sounds weird considering what I was doing, but I was. Plus, it went fast! I wasn't like dreading the next mile, or the next 6 miles, it just went pretty fast.

 

Spencer came up to see me finish, and I'm so glad he did. He was a great support through this. If there were days when I just really didn't want to train, he held me to it. He also helped me out with the boys, so I could get some training in. Thanks a bunch to my hunny!

So, as I was nearing the finish line, I was looking for him, and luckily I saw him right as I was passing him, or I would have felt sad that I didn't get to see him as I ran the last few yards.

I look funny, I know. Whatev.

 

We did it!! Again, it was so awesome, and if you have considered running, do it. I hated running, but now I have learned that it is something that does me a whole lot of good in so many different ways. Honestly. I feel great.

After the race, I was pretty dang sore. Walking down stairs was a killer. My knees felt like they might just pop off or something. They hurt. I was still in awe/shock that I actually did it, and better than I thought I would, too, btw. Under 2.5 hours. I was planning on running it in 2.5 or longer. I'm slow, don't judge. Which brings me to my next point: I am going to run another one this fall or late summer. My goal is to run it under 2 hours. I'm not sure which one I'm going to do yet, I'll let you know ;) My sister is probably going to run it with me again, too, so I'm excited about that! Anyway, yay for running and meeting goals. What a high.

As A Mom..

I'm always thinking ahead (and I'm sure you fellow mommas can relate). "If I shower right after he's down for his nap, then I can be ready, and maybe have the laundry folded before he wakes up." Or today's example...

We just got back from the grocery store. I had the truck today, so I parked on the street where we always park it. Gavin had fallen asleep in his carseat. So as I pulled up to our house, I began to "plan ahead". Well, it didn't go "according to plan"! The plan was, take the groceries in first, so when I take Gavin inside and go to lay him down for his nap, I won't have to worry about the groceries in case Gavin wakes up, and needs help to go back to sleep. So, I began taking groceries in. After my first load in, I came back for my second, turned off the truck, locked it, put the keys in my bag that was still on the passenger seat, and grabbed another handful of groceries. As I came back out.... Yep. The passenger door to the truck had shut on it's own. The keys, my phone, my baby all in the locked truck. As soon as I realized I needed to find help, panic set in.

I ran to the neighbors who live just behind us, because she is a nursery leader with me, and of course she'd be home and willing to help. "knock, knock". No answer. Blah. Meanwhile, I'm hoping Gavin is still sleeping, and not getting too hot. I then ran to the neighbors just next to us, because I thought she too, was a stay-at-home mom. "Knock, knock". No answer there. Now, I was about to break down, and let all the tears and sobbing loose.

I ran across the street. Thankfully, she saw me coming, and just let me in. I told her the situation while trying to stay composed, and she handed me her phone. I called Spencer, because he had the spare key. Well, I figured he wouldn't answer because he was in class. Aaaand he didn't. She suggests I run to her next door neighbor, because he is a cop, and probably has a slim jim. I do so. Knock. And no answer from him either. I run back to the nice lady's home, and we decide to call unified police. Well, apparently they don't carry slim jim's anymore, and will just break the window to get the baby out. We decided not to take that route.

Then, we realized there is another cop who lives on our street kind of behind me. She says, "Call your husband, and run over to that guys house. Take my phone with you." So I do. I call Spencer, still on the verge of breaking down because my sweet little boy was locked in the truck, I couldn't get to him if I wanted to, and it was just getting hotter in there by the second. I hadn't checked on him yet in the midst of all of this, because I just wanted to get him out right away. Spencer answers (YAY!) and then I lose it. I am practically sobbing while I am trying to explain to him what happened. I ask if he can come home with the spare key. He said he would. After I had hung up with him, the other neighbor cop had come outside, and started working on the truck with a slim jim.

Well, our truck is hard to unlock WITH the key, so with a slim jim, it just wasn't working. He keeps at it the whole time, trying different techniques, and the lady across the street, along with her daughter are there too. I kept checking on my Gavin to make sure he wasn't getting too sweaty, still breathing, etc. Then he wakes up. He spots me right away, and just watches all of us through the window. Not a peep came out of his mouth. A few smiles, but mostly just watching us. It seemed like it was taking FOREVER for Spencer to get home. Then the cop says, "His head is getting really sweaty, and his face is getting red." Okay, then I really started to panic. I could see his little head was soaking wet. His hair looked like he had JUST got out of the bath, his cheeks were red, and he had sweat dripping down his forehead.

FINALLY Spencer gets back, we open the truck, and get Gavin out. Poor kid! His head was soaked, and his whole body was damp from sweat. :( We thanked our neighbors, and even though they couldn't unlock the truck for me, the fact that they were willing to help, and were there with me to the end meant a lot. I would have been a terrible wreck if I were just waiting for Spencer by myself while staring at Gavin through the window, knowing there was nothing I could do. So, I am very grateful for them and their graciousness.

We took Gavin inside, I undressed him, and tried to get him to drink some juice. He was acting totally normal. Thank goodness! He's fine, and is his usual self, so I don't think he got too dehydrated. Luckily this situation didn't turn out worse than it did, and do I have to say that I know there are scarier situations out there? I do I know that. I know we are lucky it wasn't worse than it was. But, nonetheless it was a rough time for me. I had never felt so helpless. Gavin was stuck in that hot truck for over 30 minutes. Longest 30 minutes of my life! It honestly felt like hours.

But, it's over, we're all okay. And I'm a better prepared mom for next time. Hopefully!

Scrapbook

So I'm pretty excited. I just finished and ordered my {digital} scrapbook for years 2007-2011 {the years spencer and I spent together before we had Gavin}. It took some time to get done {not as much as a paper scrapbook thankgoodness!}, but it is finished, and everything that could be documented in there; is. A relief! I now have to get caught up on my 2012, and then order that scrapbook at the end of the year. Then do it for each year after this. Personal history has been fun for me :) My parents are the family history specialists in their ward, so I will have to learn from them how to do my family history as well. Just thought I would share this exciting news haha. Hoorah for finished projects!

Ps. I used Shutterfly! Pretty great website, and simple too.

Photo-A-Day

I saw on another blog that someone did this for February. I just saw this like just now, but I decided I'm going to do it for March. I like to take pictures, and attempt to edit them to look cool, and I think it will be neat to look back at each day of the month of March. To appreciate the little things ya know?

Feel free to join in the fun. I think it would be neat to see everyone's interpretations of each of these, because they will all probably be different. Creativity. Yay! Oh and for day 30 and 31- well that be up to you.

March is only a few days away which also means move-in day is only a few days away. Carazy!

Not Complaining But...

It is Friday night. We have the house to ourselves, the baby is asleep, and Spence is doing homework. I'm grateful he is so dedicated and all, but he said that he would be finished over an hour ago. Not sure how much longer it will be from now. I'm getting bored of facebook and pinterest, and blogs. I just want to enjoy my Friday night with my hubby, a great movie and junk food.

On another note, I can fit into jeans that I haven't been able to fit into since high school. Not only fit, but fit comfortably. Goodness gracious I don't know what I'd do without Zumba. {Now I'm probably just going to ramble}... If you have not found a workout that you LOVE. I mean something that you HAVE to do because you look forward to it, and if you didn't do it you would hate yourself because you missed out on a great time AND a great work out. If you have not found that, try Zumba. I have found mine and it is Zumba as I implied.

Okay.

See ya.

Looove It

I just wanted to share this incredibly awesome video . It's funny, reassuring, and sad all at once. "Wait, what?" Just watch it. :)

Excited Much?

So I've been going to Zumba right? The girl who teaches it actually used to be my dance teacher at my aunt's studio up north... She's now the Juab high drill team choreographer, and teaches dance, and Zumba as mentioned at her mom's studio. Tonight, she sent me a message on facebook asking if I would be interested in judging an audition for her studio competition team. :D I am so excited! I have not done any judging, but I love that she asked because it will give me some experience. I would love to have my own studio someday. I mean, really I could've been a last resort or something haha, but I really don't care what choice I was, because I'm just excited.

A little bit of pressure on me though? Definitely.

Am I going a little overboard with my excitement? Probably. Can't help it! Don't judge me!

I'll let ya know how it goes... :)

Ridiculous, I Know.

Christmas post coming soon...

I have this sad and pathetic battle with how I want my hair. I have been growing it out for 2 and a half years! It is long now, and I do enjoy experimenting with different do's I can do with it. My problem is this: I want the best look for me. My husband prefers longer hair even though he says he is okay with whatever I do. I have half the people I know telling me to cut it short, and the other half telling me to keep it long. I don't want to ask anyone for their opinions anymore, because they obviously have not helped! I have also always believed that long hair is beautiful, and short hair is cute. Though there are definitely a lot of short hair do's that make women look their most beautiful. And I'm not saying that "cute" hair is bad. I think I am like any other woman, and want to feel beautiful!

Well, I posted on facebook a while ago that I wasn't sure what to do with my hair (long or short). I had some say things like, "I liked your short hair", or "With short hair, I can't pull my hair back in a ponytail." I then made the decision that I was going to enjoy having long hair for a while, and see how I felt in a few months. Tonight is what has brought me back to my ridiculous predicament.

Spencer was recording me and Gavin playing. I have my hair straight and down. As I watched that video, I just didn't like the long hair look on me! Pictures don't show the whole picture all of the time, and I just wasn't happy with what I saw.

I have a hair appointment this Saturday, and feel like I have to hurry up and decide what to do.

This is the cut I'm really liking.

I DO want to know what you think about me getting this cut?

Ever Notice?

So since this is my blog, and I now know who is reading it, I'm going to be less afraid of what I post.

Do you ever notice how it's hard for people to just be okay with the way everyone else is? Why do people have a hard time with being happy for someone if they are happy? For example, say there is someone who decides to not go to school. That this guy/gal would prefer a lower-income job that they may or may not move up in. That's what they PREFER. Sure, I think most would agree that college education is beneficial, and you can usually make more money. So what, if this person decides that they don't want to do that. Their choice, that they are happy with. Drop the judgements, and be happy for them right? Or... Say someone has already gone to school, has a pretty good degree, and then decides they want to go back to school to get a totally different Bachelor's or Master's. Some might say, shouldn't you be putting time into your family? A house? Well, if this person chooses it, and feels that it is best for THEM, and they are happy, why be so judgemental? Ya know what I'm saying? If someone chooses one way, there are judgements, and yet someone else can choose the opposite and there other judgements.

It's like a comment I saw on a friend's blog once. If someone doesn't have kids, people are always wondering, "When are you going to start popping out little ones?". Or if someone has quite a few kids, or kids that are close together in age, "When are you going to STOP popping out little ones?" It's silly. It's just silly that some people just can't be okay with the way others live their lives.

Now, if someone is being unfair to someone else in their choices, that is different. But, still there shouldn't be judgements.

This is just something that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It can be frustrating to me that people just can't get along with each other, or be happy for one another.

I am a cheesey person. That's just who I am. I like things cheesey {food and/or the way I live my life}. This is an example of my cheesey-ness: I am doing 25 days of Christmas for Spencer. {thanks to pinterest} each day, there might be a memory, a compliment, a service that I will do for him, or a date planned. It has been fun for me and him. Now, my siblings would probably tease me about that. Which is totally fine, because they tease me about a lot of things, and I'm not the only one that gets teased. But, truthfully, I can't see any of my siblings doing something like that for their spouse. Why? Probably because it's too cheesey for them. Which is just fine! I'm not saying that you have to be cheesey to be happy or enjoy life. That's just one way I do it.

And writing posts like this, some people might would find it being a little too much of my own thoughts put out there. Well, this blog has become my journal, and I enjoy writing my thoughts. I used to write in my journal {not my blog} once a week. But since I had Gavin, it has become a lot harder to do so, because actual writing takes longer than typing. Hence, this post. I think one day I will be happy I wrote in my journal/blog, and be able to hopefully see how I've progressed over the years.

Anyway! I am glad I can come on here, and be who I am! I am not trying to be anyone I'm not. So thanks for reading!

-Kelli

A Few Things..

1- I did pretty good last week. 3 hours of working out via Zumba. I know I said I was going to do 4 hours, but I didn't. No excuse. I'm still doing better (not great) with my eating habits. I bought some new groceries to have healthy meals. Today, I worked out for about 45 mins, and will go to 1 hr of Zumba tonight, and then tomorrow morning as well. I plan to work out for about 1 hr and 45 mins each day this week. There ya go! That is my goal.

2- Gavin is smiling SO much now. It is so fun! Practically all I have to do is talk, and he smiles. It's so great. He will also get the "chills" a lot, and it's sooo funny. He coos and squeals all the time. His personality is really starting to show as well. He is a silly boy.

3- Ya know how I mentioned that we're living in Spencer's parent's basement? And ya know how we weren't sure if we should look for another apt, or stay here until the super affordable apt is available? Well we've finally figured it out. First, I want to mention how my emotions were during my first year of college. CONFUSING okay? One minute I felt one way about one guy, and the next minute, I felt completely different. That is what this whole living situation reminds me of. One minute, living in here for four or so more months seems like it's probably what's best. I wouldn't have to work, we really like the ward, yaddy yadda. The next minute I'm thinking in some ways, it would be easier to just have our own apt. Spencer wouldn't be driving so much, we'd have our own space, using our own furniture, feeling like we're independent yaddy yadda. If we were to get an apt, I'd have to work. I've had a few job offers, and everytime I find out more about the job, or as soon as I'm offered the job, I back out. Or as soon as I find an apt that would work for us, I can never commit. It's been frustrating, because I've known that I want us to have our own apt, feel as independent as we possibly can, and use our own stuff. But I just can't come to terms with the fact that if I got a job I would have to spend a significant amount of time away from Gavin everyday. What I'm getting to, is I already have a job! I'm a stay at home wife and mother! Good grief Kelli! So many mothers wish they had the opportunity to stay home, and here I am looking for another job that would take me away from my full-time job that I love so incredibly much. Yesterday, this realization just HIT me. I know that it had crossed my mind or whatever, but never did I fully comprehend it like I did yesterday. Living here, having no money isn't going to last forever. Just a few months (at least the "living here" part. The "having no money" will last for at least a few more years). I can do it. I want to do it, because I'll be able to be the one to raise my child. I'm so blessed, and I know Heavenly Father wanted me to realize that yesterday.

If I haven't made myself clear: We are staying here til around March. It's an ideal situation, because I'll be able to actively fulfill my calling in life. I have always known that being a mother and wife is all that I've wanted to do. When the apt up north becomes available, our rent (utilities included) will be close to the same amount we're spending a month on gas currently. Which is close to half of what most apartments cost. Grantid, the apt is only a one bedroom, but is still significantly cheaper than most one bedroom apts.  So I wouldn't have to work up there either. Again, still ideal as far as priorities go...

Why is it always so hard.

I am trying to change my blogger header. While I love the picture, it is too large, and off center. I do not remember doing anything different this time than what I did with my last header. It's ridiculous. And late. So excuse my un-finished remodeling for a time, because I am going to bed. Blogger just makes things so difficult sometimes! Good night.

Mind Power

I very strongly believe in the power of the mind.

I once heard a story about a little boy who had leukemia. (i think)
The little boy decided to have his own army to battle the sickness.
He would imagine his army going throughout his body fighting the sick cells.
And guess what.
He was cured. (okay, I am not sure if my facts are entirely correct, but I'm sure they are close)
Another boy had unbelieveable rage issues.
7 years old.
He tried to kill his mom, and threatened his parents numerous times.
Said very hateful/hurtful words to them.
Here comes the good part.
He started meeting with a psychiatrist (?), and they found a way to control those behaviors.
How?
His mind.
Now at 10 yers old.
HE is in control of the illness, not the illness in control of him.
He makes the decision to block out the negative and feel the positive.
He said that he feels a light within himself now.
He wants everyone to feel that light that he feels.
A love light.
The positive is the light, and when the negative tries to intereferes, he fights it off with the positive.

I tend to be a negative thinker.

I immediately think about the negative about every

situation before thinking about the positive.

I used to be a lot worse.

Believe it or not.

One positive thing about my thinking is that if I don't like something about myself,

I do my best to change it.

Not always is it a quick fix.

In fact, it never is.

I want to be a positive thinker.

A positive person..

I have made strides in the past few years.

The strides took me some time.

But, I made them.

That's what counts.

And I'll continue to make them.

If I am feeling stressed about a situation.

Like moving into a smaller apartment.

I can think,

Well, great.

Less storage space.

Less space for visitors.

Less space for the baby.

Or I can think

We'll be saving A TON of money.

We'll be so close to family.

It is our little temporary home that our little family will always gather at.

And ya know what?

I would bet that as long as I'm thinking about the positives,

my experience in that little apartment will be a happy one.

And probably I'll be happier, which will make my little family happier.

Moral of the story is.

You can make life out what you want it to be.

I know someone who is constantly making their life harder than it needs to be.

Constantly thinking negatively to an extreme.

If they could turn that negativity around to positiveness to the same amount of extreme,

I know they would be successful and happy in their life.

They would love more and hate less.

And actually, it takes more energy to be negative than it does to be positive.

Yeah?
Yes!

So, here is to positive thinking!



Currently Loving:

Youtube is awesome.  Hair tutorials, makeup tutorials. The whole bit.

I don't love that pretty much anything can be posted on youtube (if you catch my drift).

But otherwise, I love youtube!

Do I know how to FRENCH braid my own hair you ask?

No. YES! Yes, I do! Thanks to you youtube-ers!

Do I know how to do a bohemian hairstyle?

No. Of course!

Thanks youtube-ers!

My hair would be even more life-less without you.

note to readers: I know you probably think I'm a weirdo/challenged person if I couldn't have figured these hairstyles out on my own. And that's just fine.

I can't believe it myself.

I thought it was such a stupid idea!

Still do.

Why would anyone want to participate in a competition (come on! We all know that's exactly what it is!) for someone you hope to spend the rest of your life with?!

I don't get it. 

I also don't understand why I love to watch the dang show.

I started watching it at the end of the season with Vienna and Jake.

I got addicted immediately.

Pathetic!

I don't love the bachelorette, Ashley.  

So, why do I love the show?

I don't know!

I'm almost there! [sigh of relief inserted here].

This pregnancy is coming to an end.

HE is almost here! Gah! I can't wait to meet my little man. Like seriously!

Being lonely is coming to an end! Meaning, I will be closer to my family and friends in about a month!

I so look forward to living closer to them all. It will be nice to head to my parents house, or see my family whenever the heck I want. I won't have to request work off a month or more in advance to do so, and then drive over three hours to get there. Oh gosh. I'm SOOOO Excited!

I'm also almost done with my job. 6 days people! 6 days left of working until I do not have to wake up at 5 am, and deal with needy old people. Hallelujah! Though I know there will be plenty of things I will miss about my job.  Like the cool people that work there, and the feeling of accomplishment at the end of every shift.

Why would anyone who was born and raised in Utah, and has experienced some of the beauty and adventures you can have here, not want to live here FOREVER?

I love Utah.

It is my home.

I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else.

Even if my entire family lived in paradise, my heart would always be with the LDS-Chapel-On-Every-Corner, temple-within-1hour-at-most, mountain-surrounding, red-rock-landscape, Utah.

Nothing beats it.

And, I do appreciate that we are a little bit more sheltered here in Utah.

I don't need to experience living in another state, nor do I desire to.

I'm perfectly happy with my home state!

And nothing anyone can say will ever change my mind.

"Smile!"

I guess I'm just not a "smiley" person.

People tell me all the time that I need to smile more.

I don't do it on purpose.

Usually, I'm just going about my business, or I feel like if I gave a big smile passing people, it would be too fake.

I don't like fake-ness.

I do, however, give a "lip smile" as I'm walking past people.

I just don't smile with my teeth.
I have tried to smile bigger, and smile more to people.
I'm just not good at it.

Part of it might be because I never used to smile with my teeth before I got braces.

So, I am sorry if I look like I'm mad at you all the time.

Or if I look like I'm always having a bad day.

Or that I just don't want to interact with you Ever.

It's not the case.

I'm just not a smile-er.

Sorry!

I will keep trying.

"Poor"

Today, I have been thinking a lot about money for some reason.

Spencer and I do not consider ourselves poor.

We, in fact, do very well.

We don't make a lot of money. Not even close.

But, we do our best to be wise with our money.

We have a budget that we stick pretty close to, or that we at least keep in mind when we want to spend money.

We don't live paycheck to paycheck, and never have.

We don't have any credit card debt.

We haven't had any debt for school up until this coming fall, when Spencer goes to graduate school.

We are in debt for our car. Which, sometimes we regret doing so, but we did need a nicer car for us to feel comfortable driving with a baby in the back seat.

We have never been on an extravagant vacation.

We did go on a cruise shortly after we were married, thanks to Spencer's parents :)

We have taken little weekend vacations here and there, that we save up for.

We don't need our parents to help pay for anything.

Although, they do offer.

We have never gone without!

We have a pretty good savings going.

What I'm trying to say is, I'm grateful that we have some self discipline when it comes to money.

I never used to be this way until I married Spencer. He's a good teacher :)

Never have I worried about having enough money to pay bills, or buy groceries.

I never want us to have credit card debt. It is so nice knowing that we are in good standing.

We both have great credit too.

It's just nice knowing that we are doing well for ourselves, and don't have financial stress.

I have some people close to me, who are financially stressed. Some it's because of un-wise choices.

Others, it's because of the economy.

It's never fun seeing anybody I care about stressed about money.

Anyway, that's just been on my mind. :)



Oh Dear...

If you don't know....

I rejoined facebook..............

Grr...

I just really missed seeing what my good friends/family had to say on a regular basis.

I'm not on it as much as I used to be so that is good.  It doesn't "appeal" (is that the right word?) to me like it used to.

I don't care for it like I used to other than the convenience of keeping in touch with everyone.

So I probably won't even be on as much as I was in the old days. ;)

Remember how I said I wouldn't judge you if you kept your facebook even though you may have struggled with the same things I did? Well return the favor, and don't judge me :) Gracias.

Belly pic coming soon! (whether you care or not) :)

Survival Of Finals

This is how we do it:

Motivation boosters.

Pretty sweet eh? Thanks to my mother in-law we are set for finals.

Well, at least the eating and encouraging words part of finals...

Spencer and I also decided to go for a picnic/fishing day trip.

We of course thought it'd be warm weather.

Silly us! Utah weather never cooperates with outdoor activities!

It was just a tad windy. Windy enough we couldn't cast a line.

It was also too cold for my liking.

So this is what we did instead:

Talked and ate.

Talked and ate.

Took random pictures as well.

Random like this one:

Yay!

So Close, Yet So Far.

I am really super duper-ly looking forward to school being over!

I have one test and one assignment due today. And then it's onto finals.

yay.

I have so many plans for after finals are over.

I work REAL early in the morning, which means I have practically the whole day after work.

So.

This summer is going to be busy.

I hope!

I want to go through ALL of our stuff/junk and get rid of what we can.

THEN.

I'm going to Deep DEEP clean the apartment.

To hopefully make the job of cleaning the apartment after we're packed, a little bit easier.

Doing these things before I get too far along in the pregnancy.

AND THEN....

I know you are so excited!

I'm going to start packing!!!

Whoop. Whoop. (I actually am looking forward to packing)

During this packing time, I plan on putting together the nursery, without fully putting it together.

We will be moving shortly after he arrives, but I still want to have the things ready for the nursery for when we have somewhere to put it. (When we move into our new place)

Between all of this, I'd like to do some sewing projects.

Baby blanket, and possibly a blanket for the hubs as well. I know! Fun right?!

P.S. My mother has begun to ask me when I want to have my baby shower. How far along would you suggest I plan on doing it? Thoughts?

 

Facebook No More.

Friend/Family member: "Kelli! I can't believe you want to get rid of facebook! I thought you loved facebook? Why get rid of it?"

Kelli: "I had been an active Facebook member since summer of 2008!

I have gotten back in touch with LOTS of people.

Some that I don't care to be in touch with.

Others that probably don't care to be in touch with me.

And thankfully, I've kept in touch easily with those I really love, like you friend/family member!

I AM a fan of facebook. Truly. It is so convenient to contact someone, because they can just get back to you on their own time.. And actually, it's fun! It's fun to comment on a silly status, or to come up with something creative to say right? Yeah. And I love being able to see current pictures of my friends, and their families, and I like my friends and family to see pictures of my life. And especially you! My friend/family member!

What I don't love about facebook is this:

1. It's addicting. Sometime during the time that I'm not on facebook, I think of facebook. In numerous ways. "That would be a good status" Or "I wonder what I'll find out about someone today" Or "This would be a great profile picture" Or, or, or, or, and it goes on. When we are out of town for the weekend, I rarely get on facebook. It's usually because we are visiting with family, or because I would feel silly to check my facebook just because I was curious. Know what I mean? So after those kind of weekends end, and we come back home, one of the first things I do... Yep! Facebook! UGH!

2. I put things off, because facebook is a great passer of time. I can't even tell you how much I could get done if I'd just not get on facebook at all. Homework for example. Facebook is a big distraction from homework! And housework! And exercise! And I'm usually eating something when I'm on facebook! And it's just ridiculous. Addition to that, when this baby makes his grand arrival, mommy doesn't want a silly distraction such as facebook! Because quite frankly, it is a big distraction to mommy.

3. As hard as I've tried to keep our life between us, and you my friend/family member, there is still a way for others to learn about our life. Those "others" are the ones that Spencer and I absolutely do not care to keep in contact with, or for them to know what we're up to, or for us to know what they're up to. It's our mutual friends with you! I won't hold it against you if you are friends with these people, I promise. So, yeah, there is always a way for them to find out what we're doing, to get "updates" on our life. And it's not like we're hiding anything or that these people are evil.  It's purely ex-boyfriends, and ex-girlfriends. HELLO! We've all moved on. So let's keep it that way... "Moved on." Mmkay? It's not so much ALL of the people we've dated. But with those that have tried really hard to stay in our lives, it's just extremely unnecessary.

4. Ca-reepers! Example: This new employee at my work, who is in a totally different department than I am started a few months ago or something. I swear to you I have said mmaybe two words to him. Maybe. So one day, I get a notification that so and so "wants to be friends on facebook". I'm thinking, "I don't know that name... I do not know this person" So, I look at his profile picture, and it's still not clicking who the heck this creeper is. And then BAM! Whaa?! He is an older guy (like late fifties) and I didn't even know he knew my name!! Yeah. Delete.

So those are the main reasons why my husband and I have decided to get rid of our facebook's."

*Friend/Family member smiles warmly, respects our decision, and moves on.*

Thank you friend/family member! I love you!

I will miss you facebook.

But, overtime I know that it is what's best for me.

And people will find ways to stay in contact with me if their heart so desires.

And you lovely people who maybe read my blog are now required to leave a comment.

Comments are open to everyone.... Sweet eh? Yes!

With no comments, I will feel disconnected from all of you. So please, make this girl feel connected. :)

And finally, here is to a new beginning!


P.S. This is what I feel is best for me. I would never judge you for keeping your facebook even if you struggle with the same things I did while I was a facebook member! Let's stay friends k? ;)

Love,
kelli