Monday, May 16, 2016

WONDERFUL. Plain and Simple.

What a wonderful couple weeks it has been!
 I am officially a DSU COLLEGE GRADUATE! 
 I can hardly believe it but it feels so great to be done and to have reached a goal I set for myself.
My cute mom, dad, Cec, Angel, Syd, and Aunty Tia came and surprised me the night before by decorating my house and bringing over a gift. My mom is always so thoughtful and she literally thought of everything to make me feel so special.
 Graduation day was wonderful and all my family spoiled me with love and support.
Plus my mother-in-law sat on the stand and gave me my diploma, how cool is that?
 I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family!!! They are always there for me no matter what the occasion is. Everyone came to cheer me on and make me feel special, and they succeeded because I felt like a million bucks. How did I get so blessed???
 My mom directed her last Miss Ivins Princess Pageant after being the pageant director for the last 10 years.
 This amazing woman gave up her crown as Miss Ivins Princess Pageant director tonight! She is so amazing and has always been a wonderful example of service, leadership, happiness, getting involved, and just getting things done! I am so grateful for her!
 Mothers day is always a treat, but it's especially a treat when you get to talk to your missionaries!!! Amy is doing great and is as beautiful as ever, both on the inside and the outside.
 This was the last Skype call for both Trevor and Amy!!! I can't even believe they will be back this year!!! Trevor was hilarious on his call, he is too cute and I can't wait till he is back making our family laugh.
 The way I was spoiled on Mother's Day you would've thought I was a mom, and the best one ever at that! Haha I love you babe, thanks for loving me back!
 Being a teacher at The Vault rocks, almost as much as @tiabstokes karaoke skills!
We are so spoiled at The Vault, as a teacher appreciation we were treated to a karaoke pedicure and dinner!
 My first strawberry from my garden. MMMM :)
 Happy 1st anniversary! Sorry I ate your wedding cake 😬😂😘 story told by my mom...
"You know the tradition where you freeze the top of your cake and eat it at your 1 year anniversary? Well funny story, a year ago after the wedding, Cambria and I didn't get any wedding cake and we heard it was delicious (plus we were starved from a busy day,) Cambria said, "mom the cake is disgusting after a year, let's just eat it and get a new one for their anniversary. " So we did. We brought over this cake all wrapped as If it had been in the freezer for a year, they were hesitant to eat it, then Angel told Cecilee, "you take the first bite" when she did she said, "OMG this is so fresh, it must have a ton of preservatives to taste this good after a year" so Angel dug in and had 2 pieces. Cambria comes over to have a piece and Cecilee was telling her how good it is even being in the freezer for a year. Cambria and I could not control our laughter, we spilled the beans."
Hopefully this doesn't make me a horrible sister??? Haha.
I got to hair model for Cecilee again and seriously, she is AMAZING! It blows my mind how creative and talented she is! Can you believe she got all of my hair to look like a faux hawk?
 I love this man and all his sweetness!!! He cooks more than I care to admit, laughs at all my weird jokes, constantly works to be the best husband every day, and plays guitar and sings like an angel! I love this candid picture I took of him in his element, I love how he lights up doing the things he loves!!! I love you.

Jeff, the cute dog lover, got bit by a dog this week and for no reason (he wasn't antagonizing the dog.) He had to get stitches and the doctor said it was a good bite but Jeff has been awesome about it, not complaining, still working through the pain, and he still loves all dogs. I'm a brat and like to joke around with him so I gave him the nickname "dog treat" cause he must be too tasty to resist!
 Morning after our Friday show we had our team sunrise practice and it was beautiful.
 I love this team and I'm sad that our year is coming to an end.
 Saturday night show was amazing in so many ways, we raised over $18,000 for Calum passing our $11,000 goal! There are so many wonderful people with generous hearts.
I was an emotional wreck because the spirit was so strong and it was just a beautiful night. I couldn't help but cry watching Calum (our cause) sitting on the front row, smiling, dancing, and cheering for us as we danced our hardest for him. Then when Calum's family took the stage to accept the check Calum's dad said the most beautiful words and my grandpa was felt there. Calum's dad said, "an amazing man left a legacy in the Hurricane valley and you saw some of his family on the stage tonight. I just want to say one thing, ALOHA!" It was amazing and my grandpa was definitely there.
 Blessed to have her as my role model, coach, Aunty, sister, boss, neighbor, and best friend. Whatever is thrown our way, we're ready!
 Saturday night was amazing and it was all possible because of this lady! She's amazing!!!
 I have no idea what I would do or who I would be without his love and support! He is an amazing kalamity husband who is at every event ready to cheer me on and record! I love him!
 So proud of this beautiful hermana!!! She is truly beautiful inside and out! She gave an inspiring homecoming report where she shared 3 perspective changes she learned in the mission: 
1) get out of your own way 
2) light shine bright 
3) zoom out
All three perspectives are applicable at any stage of life and it was a great reminder to me especially as I deal with my own trials.
We have another concert this Saturday for Jonah, so if you missed our Calum show you have another chance to come and support Jonah!!!!

It has been a wonderful couple weeks and as things start to slow down I am getting so excited for our Europe trip...only 20 more days!!!!! Can you believe it??? I can't!

Anyway, one last little update on the dreaded topic: fertility. Stop reading now if you don't want to hear a little bit of a rant...
7 months ago I started fertility specific treatment, I've had to take Provera every month to force a period then I've been doing the Letrezole fertility treatment and it hasn't been working for me. We've found out that I don't ovulate regularly (I actually haven't ovulated once in the last 7 months.) This last round of Letrezole I had to pair it with dexamethasone steroid to try to balance other hormones out to try to ovulate and it still didn't work. I now have been recommended to go to a specialist to take a more aggressive course and I was really bummed by that news. I know lots of women go through similar struggles but I've been having a hard time coping emotionally. The drugs I've had to take have caused me to gain some weight (even though I dance ridiculous amounts weekly,) break out constantly, feel tired regularly, act like a crazy person on the regular, and just feel crappy. I know everyone reacts to drugs differently, but they are not good to my body and the worst part is that they haven't helped me ovulate at all. I've decided I need to try to be more positive about it all and truly TRUST IN THE LORD, I never understood how hard those two things really are when you feel so defeated, BUT I know that the Lord is mindful of me and everything has it's reasons and timing is crucial. EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. Anyway, that's my little update in case you were wondering. On a positive note I hope everyone has a great week!!!!

Monday, May 2, 2016

It's HERE!

IT'S FINALLY HERE...GRADUATION DAY!!!
I can't even believe that all my hard work over the last four years is coming to an end...I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE IT! But you better believe I'm excited!
 Last Monday night we had our Vault Grandparent Night performance and I was left in charge. Although I went in a little stressed out, after dancing with some cute little old ladies all my stress was gone and i was just having fun. I love that Kalamity pushes me to do things I wouldn't do on my own, I love visiting my friends at Kindred Rehab and I love the joy they bring to my life.
 Our cute audience! They loved it, even if their faces didn't always show it haha.
I have a weird obsession with making my food look beautiful, I won't eat anything I cook unless it looks beautiful (I don't know what's wrong with me, and it's only food I make, I could care less how food others make for me looks hahaha I just want to eat it.)
My salad consisted of romaine lettuce (I grew), swiss chard (I grew), tomatos (I grew), red onions, tangerines, strawberries, feta cheese, guacamole, and Briana's poppyseed dressing!

Because I've had a lot of people ask how I make my salmon I thought I'd show how EASY it really is! 
  1. I thaw the salmon in cold water
  2. When it's thawed I season both sides of the salmon with both the "Boston Bay" and "Lemon Pepper" seasoning 
  3. Then I grill it on my George Forman grill till it's cooked (I also like to get the cross hatch grill marks to make it really pretty)
  4. After it's cooked thoroughly I spread the "Roasted Pineapple Habanero Sauce" on top and seer it till it's just barely crispy
WALA...MASTERPIECE!

 Because Cecilee graduates soon (June 8th-ish) she had her hair showcase where Syd and I got to be hair models.
 She gave me glamorous old Hollywood curls!
 My aunt and I taught a dance to the activity days age girls in our Stake, and she might of gave a little lesson last minute too hahaha.
 My friend Jaylene dropped these beauties by this last weekend and they were foodgasmic, salted caramel pecan and bacon rolls...mmmmmmmmmmmmm :)
 Syd had her last dance of her Junior year and she looked beautiful in my red dress! I can't believe how old she is, she is going to be a senior next year...WHAT???!!!
I just love walking out of church and seeing this view, it always reminds me to look up!!!

Well I have an exciting week with graduation and all and I cannot wait!!!
I hope everyone has a great week as well!!!