Apologies Schmologies...

I AM SORRY I HAVE BEEN GONE FOR SO LONG!!!!! Please forgive me. I have had so much been going on that I haven't been so good about keeping up on this here blog that I have.

Things I will need to recap on:

- Decisions with Job, Current situation, Body...etc

- Moving to California

- 2 seperate Job offers... what to do...

- Possible move again to Las Vegas

- My Relationship with my love :)

- Wedding FUN for friends and family...

We have MUCHO mucho to discuss!!!! I will be back... later tonight or tomorrow. Peace!

Day 9 of the 365 Day Challenge.... Big Girl You are Beautiful!!

I saw this girl tonight at Sammy's Karaoke. I also saw her last week as well. Turns out Chazzkah is a regular when it comes to Karaoke at Sammy's. And I believe that she has every reason to be. It isn't necessarily her voice that brings the crowd, it is the fact that she mentioned to me in a frantic panic type of excitement, "I even have an outfit change for the 3rd song!" Her enthusiasm for Karaoke is unmatched with any that I have ever seen. I guess that isn't saying too much given that I am not a Karaoke expertise, however, her ability to entertain was fantastic.

When I first saw her last week, well actually, it began when I first heard her singing last week. I was in one room of Sammy's and she began to sing "Big girls (you are beautiful)" by MIKA. I really enjoy that song and I don't feel that too many people know that song and are aware of the amazing lyrics and so it took me by surprise to even hear it being sung by someone. Anywho, I heard her singing it and to my surprise she blew it out of the water!!! She did such a great job not only singing it, but belting it and rocking as a woman should!! She was not ashamed but embraced all that she was and all that this song was. My natural instinct was to be proud of her for respecting herself and demanding respect from every person in that room. Immediately I fell in love with her. So when I saw her tonight, I knew that I needed to post a video of her singing. Remember, it isn't necessarily the voice. It's the ambiance!!! It's her sassy attitude, it's her make-up, costume, and style that just brings it!

* Disclaimer: This video doesn't even cut it. She was so much better than this video can portray! Sorry it doesn't do her justice!

Day 8 of the 365 Day Challenge...Bumps and Bruises...

So I think that the idea of this photo was better than what it turned out to be. So I apologize if it startles you a little more than the usual.

Today I was considerably aware of how many times I hit my knees on pretty much everything! You see, a few months ago it was brought to my attention that I have daggers for knees. Or knives as they have been referred to as. They bang on things and jab John in the ribs. They are seriously daggers and I am just realizing what my best weapon is!! So WATCH OUT!!!!

(also, there is like 6 bruises on my knees and a little scab. I took this picture to show the battle proof)

Don't mess with me or I will dag you with my knees!

One more thing....

So remember how I mentioned that John and I have been watching Grey's Anatomy like it was going out of style?? Well, we watched the last two episodes of Season 6 last night. We are about to begin Season 7 (which is the season that Grey's Anatomy is currently on) which means, we will soon be caught up with reality. This has to be some of the saddest news of my life. And the reason that I don't want to be caught up is because then what would happen is I would actually have to begin watching commercials. I hate commercials.

Anyway, also.. the last two episodes of Season 6 are the most intense episodes EVER! John and I both agreed that it made watching the other 5 Seasons totally worth it! I know we are crazy. At one point during the intense episodes I looked at John and totally girled on him by saying that I was happy that we were sharing these moments together and he was so into it that he couldn't even comment back to me other than to say "keep watching!" really, really, really fast! I definitely had myself a good laugh. We are serious about Grey's. Serious.

K well- go watch Grey's now. I know you want to. :)

Day 7 of the 365 Day Challenge...

So this is the interesting thing I mentioned that I had experienced that I am not sure I may ever experience again in my life. If you look at it, you may see a cookie. Don't worry, that is what I see too.

But if you look closer... you see CANDIED BACON!!!!!!! Yep, that is right. That is a cookie made with chocolate chips and candied bacon. My boss brought it into work and gave one to me. I was so fascinated with it. You could actually taste the bacon. It was actually really good. It scared me while I was eating it, and I was completely surprised at how much of the bacon I could taste but how sweet and good it was. You should totally try it someday and tell me how you like it.

.... and Whitney, I challenge you to make these and tell me what you think. k? deal? Great. Glad you agreed. :)

Day 6 of the 365 Day Challenge...

So on Sunday (my day 6 of the challenge), John and I were invited to go eat dinner over at my cousins Heather and James' house. She was so great to invite us, especially since she made all the food. And it was extremely delicious. :) So thanks Heather, if you are reading this, we loved eating your food :).

While we were at dinner, my soon-to-be SIL Jordyn was there and she brought me these little mustardy yellow beauties for me to have to potentially wear to her wedding. I am excited to be a bridesmaid! Aren't they so fun!

We also finished cutting, gluing and putting together her really adorable bridal party/ family invites to dress in the colors and be a part of their wedding day. It was so fun!

Day 5 of the 365 Day Challenge...

So on Saturday (day 5 of both march and of my challenge) I decided to work out. It was ridiculous because as it turns out, I am actually out of shape. Surprissssssseeeee!!!! Well, at least surprise to me. I guess if I were to be diagnosed by a doctor of sorts, he would give me "denial" as my disease. I think I was/ am in denial about how out of shape I am. I have usually kept a fair amount of workouts up my sleeve during the week, but since I moved here I do not have a gym pass and it is snowing and white all the time and so I feel I am a little limited on my ability to get some sort of cardio in my days. However, I decided I was going to do something more like pilates and yoga combined to work out this body I have. So I did. And it was painful.

The second thing that I did on saturday was photoshopped some pictures for my brother chad's and his beautiful fiance Jordyn's wedding announcements. It was fun to go take pictures of them, however, Chad STRUGGLED to open his eyes. Just look at his eyes in some of the pictures. Struggled, I say. So, if anyone has any good suggestions of how to fix this dilemma that I have, I would love your input. :)

Over all it was a really fun day and I really enjoyed my work out. I could barley get up Sunday morning. It was definitely a chore to get my body moving and out of bed. :)

Day 4 of 365...

So FRIDAY was my day 4 (March 4th) of this wonderful adventure of my 365 photo a day challenge. I felt like the week had been really long and tiring and I came home from work that day around 5:30 PM. I messed around on my computer for about an hour and decided that I wanted to take a nap. Plus, I was waiting for John to finish studying and take his exam. I could have easily gone out and found people to hang out with, but when I walked into my room, it was just TOOO tempting... Don't you think so?

So, I did myself the favor and climbed right on in there, and cozied myself all up and fell asleep around 6:38 PM and woke up at 9:37 PM. I would like to take this time to thank all of you for not calling me and interrupting my beauty rest. :) It was one of the most glorious feelings to fall asleep and not have to worry about when I was waking up. When I did wake up, I laid there for several minutes until my phone began to ring and my Johnald (yes I call him Johnald, and Yes I gave him the nickname, thank you very much!) called me to let me know that he was on his way over to see me. I was so well rested and felt like I could be a normal person again! It was fantastic! I recommend naps to all and to all a good NAP!

I know I haven't been posting

I know I havent been posting, however I have been gathering photos to post for you for that last three days. And my goal is to put them on tomorrow. So stay tuned until then..

As of right now, I am taking advantage of the fact that John went home abnormally early (usually he is here until curfew. I know, BYU's standards) but he had to go home early to do some homework. Anyway, I am going to bed right now. At 10:40 at night. I am absolutely looking forward to it. I know you are jealous, don't lie.

Anyway, again, stay tuned for the pictures to come. The one for today was... well, you could say and interesting experience and I am not sure I will have another one quite like it.

Til next time....

Day 3 of 365... and then there was bowling..

COSMIC BOWLLLLLLIIIINNNGGGGGGGG!!!!!

Today of my day 3 adventures we went bowling with some family and friends and it was a BLAST! I used to hate bowling because it was so dumb. Now I figured out how to like it. The secret to having a good time whilst bowling is to bring along friends. Especially ones that are funny. So here are some of our silly adventures with bowling tonight. And also, you can check out just how cool we really are. ;)

Look Mine and John's ugly bowling shoes glowed. It was cosmic bowling duh.

Love. Love. Love Cassie!

It is Jordan and Cassie's 6 months being married today! Congrats to you guys!

It is also mine and John's 6 month mark for us dating. We met at Jordan and Cassie's wedding! It was so fun!

We. Are. Cool. Amen.

We are John and Stephanie. Nice to meet you.

You are Welcome.

and you can thank me in person for this one....:)

Day 2 of 365..

My day 2 consisted of painting my nails... I love painting my nails. My cousin Cassie invited me over solely so that we could paint our nails together. It was a totally fun excuse to hang out. We were just girls. Not women or wives/ girlfriends. We were girls for 2 whole hours. :) We just chatted our hearts out and talked about life and our men and our nails. It was a blast! Thank you Cassie for thinking to invite me over! I Loved it!!

SEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I know you're jealous!

Also part of our nail painting session, we discussed and contemplated toe surgery for my ugly toes on my right foot only. haha. Something you should know (if you already don't) is that I have two different feet. My left foot is actually nice looking (if you can say that about feet) and then there is my right foot. I am not sure what happened in the process of my feet forming. They just don't look like my each other at all. Let's face it, I am one of those weird people with two different feet. Just accept me. and Love me. and Kiss me. and Hug me. I apologize before hand if they offend you, cause they offend me too.

Also it consisted of some serious planning for the month of April. I have 2 weddings during that month and I also have a retreat during that month too. The traveling and time off of work is a bit stressful, especially since it will all cost money. BUT! I am grateful that I have family getting married and I am looking forward to going and being a part of all the fun, but it really will be stressful. Heather will vouch for me. She's been stressin all day!

I am also soo excited because my cousin Nicole started the 365 photo challenge with me! Feel free to check her site out and comment there! I am excited to have each other to do this together! Everyone who is reading this right now... GO and START your own dang blog because I want to see you and your life already! geez! k? haha

Anyway.. I have had a fantastic day. I really love it up here in rexburg!! and I la la la LOVE my Boyfriend!!! :)

DAY 1 of the 365 challenge...

A dear friend of mine sent me an email today that asked me to be a part of the 365 day challenge. This challenge requires that you take a picture a day and post it on your blog. The picture represents something about your day; maybe what it was like, how it went, how you felt, what you saw... etc. I decided to take the challenge and so here is my day 1 of the 365 photo challenge.

PHOTO 1 Day 1....

I recently just got a job where I feel like I am constantly performing inorder to show that I have what it takes to do what is asked of me. After a long day of this at work, I stopped by at Sammy's Cafe to see local people perform in their venue. And as I did, I felt like this would show how I was feeling at work today... Like I was putting on a show... I'm ready to watch some Grey's.

Lately...

I am pretty sure that EVERYONE I know is either engaged or getting engaged. I receive a Facebook invite to go to someone's reception or for them to send me an invitation or to announce simply that they are engaged probably once a week. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy for all these people! Weddings and Marriage are exciting... But I just think it's fairly ironic that it is all happening at the same time. Not just friends but family too... for example. My brother Chad is to be wedded on April 29th, my cousin Colette is to be murried April 1st, and my other cousin Michael is to be joined in marriage with Ana on... well when they decide (they just got engaged). Then there are my other 2 cousins that JUST got married a few weeks/ months ago. ANNNNNNNNNND there is talk of sweet, dear, lovely friends of mine who will be getting engaged soon too. See.. EVERYONE is engaged. haha or getting there. We're all working on it I guess. Who can complain? Tis the Season. :)

This one is for Whitney...

I dedicate this blog entry to my SIL Whitney. She loves to cook and is an extraordinair when it comes to cooking.

The reason I dedicate this entry to her is because I went grocery shopping at a wonderful invention of a place called Winco. See, this entry deals with food. Lots and Lots of food.

Look. See for yourself...

I was so incredibly amazed at how much food I got for such an incredibly low price. $145. Thats it. For ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL of this. Im almost positive this much food will last 3 weeks or longer. Last time I went grocery shopping was 3 1/2 weeks ago at Winco and I even spent less. Bless you Winco for letting me buy your entire store. Sorry to everyone else in Idaho because I bought all of the food in the whole entire state.

So Whitney, I thought you would be proud of me. I am being all domesticated and homey-like... as we discussed... on many occasions ;)

On a side note. I seem to have these random moments of my life that make me so aware of how aware Heavenly Father is of me. For instance, yesterday (saturday) I seemed to have a bit of a rough day. And I knew it was going to be rough when I woke up. I could feel it in my soul. And it turns out it was. Surprise, surprise...and in the course of the events that took place yesterday, the evening ended with John talking me through my frustration and showing me how much I had to be grateful for and how aware God is of my situation. I love him for his love for me and his willingness to understand who I am and take the time to help me see when I am so clouded by my own inadequacies. So the random moment came while I was in church today, in Relief Society and the whole lesson was on God's love for each person. One of the subjects that the teacher focused on was exactly what I was working through yesterday, how perfect right? That is when I know He is taking time for me. He always does and always will. Why you ask? Because I am His daughter and He loves me unconditionally, even with my complaints and imperfections :)... I couldn't be more grateful for His love.

New shoes and Roses...

So let us talk for a moment about my new job. I recently got a new job and I am really enjoying it. Well, after 5 days of being there, I was on the phone when one of my male co-workers walked by and set a Rose on my desk... a rose. And smiled at me and walked away. I leaned over to my supervisor (who is a man) and I asked if getting a rose was common occurrence in the office. You know, to get a rose your first week. My supervisor's response was, "I've never gotten one before." haha. Well, needless to say, it wasn't normal, which then meant that I was being hit on at work. The first week. With a rose. On my desk. Thank You. Very Much. Sir.

Here is my Rose. There is my Desk. That is my Lotion. I don't know who's sanitizer that is.

Second on our agenda and most important is the purchase that was made last weekend. Let's start off first by saying that John and I went to Utah last weekend because his dad was having a work meeting there and we wanted to go and say hi. Also, I wanted to meet him for the first time. It was so nice meeting his dad. It was really interesting to see where some of John's character traits come from and to see how he interacted with his dad. His dad is a very good man. I am grateful for that. John is a very good man. And I am even more grateful for that. :)

While we were there in SLC with his dad, we went to Nordstrom Rack. Bless Nordstrom Rack for being cheaper than Nordstrom but still having great clothes and shoes. Oh the SHOES! That's where I want to focus now. THE SHOES. I bought 3 pairs. I tried on like 15 blouses and none of them fit as well as these 3 pairs of shoes. There is something wonderful about having a confidence that your feet don't usually gain weight when the rest of your body does. So you always know that if you have the right size and the right shoe, they will ALWAYS look good. So thank you shoes for being really cute and really, just... perfect for me. :)

Like I said. CUTE. Just imagine a sun dress or skinny jeans.. I know, right?

I also have to do you the favor and introduce you to the brand of Seychelles. I was introduced to them when I sent a picture of the heels (below) to my cousin Heather and asked if they were worth their price. I didn't show her the brand because I didn't know what they were and didn't really care. (I am not really into brand things. I just want it to look good) Anyway, she knew exactly what brand they were because she really likes their make of shoes and the fit/style. I thank her for that because my eyes have been opened to this brand. :)

I guess I am a brand name person after all. ;) (only with Seychelles of course.)

iPod's....

Have you ever thought about actually sitting down and organizing your iPod? I mean, think about all the music that is on your iPod. And depending what size your iPod is the time that it would take you to do it would be incredible. Well, I did it today. It took me from 2:00pm- 6:30pm to eliminate 1100 songs from my 7500 list of songs. I also placed the majority of the songs in the correct "genre" that they are supposed to be in.

Anyway, How did you spend your day? haha.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I went to get a Pizza to eat for lunch with my cousin Heather today and when I ordered it they gave me the option of ordering it as a heart. Um, HELLO!!! It's Valentine's day! Absolutely. Thank you. I don't remember telling the guy my name, so when he said, "Thank you Stephanie" I was so confused. For like 5 minutes. I still cannot remember telling him. But thank you nice sir for making my pizza look like a heart.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE! :)

Like a Mad Woman... 2

I have been crafting earrings too. I love making them because they are so easy and so much cuter than the $5 pair you would buy at Target or somewhere else. Don't mind if I do, Thank you.

So enjoy, and be jealous that you weren't here to craft them with me. ;)

I believe these are my favorite pair. :)

These are the ones I am wearing today because today is Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day. :)

Cute.

Seriously.

:)

RED. Need I say more?

Yes. Mmmmhhmmm.

There is something about Gold jewelry that I just love.

I love me some solid black.

I was thinking that I could open up a little shop on etsy. I feel like everyone has one though. Any thoughts on whether or not I should? I am thinking yes. But I am also thinking, would it be worth it? haha.... Do you want some? If your birthday is coming up, maybe you'll get lucky. ;)

Like a Mad Woman....

I have been crafting like a MAD WOMAN lately. In fact, it has been rather insane. I have been rather insane and if I may admit, I have been addicted to two things lately. Two things that have fulfilled my ever increasing need to be satiated by them. Thing 1: Crafting. Duh. Thing 2: Grey's Anatomy. Let me introduce to you both of these things.

Crafting. What in the world? It is the best thing in the world to me, next to Grey's of course. (Yes, Grey's and I are on a first name basis) I have been crafting for Valentines and for fun. For Valentine's, I sewed together felt hearts to make a sort of Heart Garland. I got the idea from my SIL Whitney. When I saw them hanging from her big window in her front room...well, I wont lie, I almost cried. In their simplicity they brought me so much joy that in that moment, I knew that I had to make them. And so I did. And instead of making one garland, I made 6! I made some for my cousins because I just knew that it would bring them as much happiness as they brought and still bring to me. And they did. And here are pictures because you need to see them to understand the feeling and how cute and perfect they are for valentines. You can thank me later... :)

This is me.. crafting. I am soooo into it. (Also, I got an AH-MAY-ZING sewing machine for christmas, it is Bernina... it makes crafting so much more fun!)

HEARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You cannot tell me these do not make you happy!! Pah- leeeeeeease!

I know you need a close up. They're prettifull huh?

Its a GARLAND!! I hope you get the same warm fuzzy feeling I get when I see these... :)

Now, on to the Second greatest thing in the world next to crafting. I have discovered the world of Grey's Anatomy. I am not sure there are words to describe how amazing Grey's is. I have watched 2 full seasons in about 2 weeks. I know, its kind of sad. However, I hate to admit how much I am in love with it. I watch an episode and laugh my tush off and then within the same episode, I will cry harder than I did when my very own Grammy died. It is not that I am more emotionally attached to Grey's than my Grammy, it's that Grey's has a way of almost forcing you to care about their characters as though you know them. I am serious. I think about the characters as though I know them and love them as my closest of friends. I think about them when I am getting ready, in the shower, doing my make-up, and driving. I wonder what is going to happen to each of them in their different situations. I was at dinner last night with my cousins and I thought about Grey's 3 times while we were there for a total of 3 hours. I mean, c'mon. I am addicted. But I la la la la LOVE it and I am not afraid to admit it. The best part of it all is that John is into it as much as I am, except for the whole crying part. Bless my boyfriend for loving it with me. I don't feel as guilty when he is just as involved as I am. haha

Job Hunting...

I am looking for a job in Rexburg, Idaho. Everyone said that I was going to have the worst luck because there were so many people looking for jobs in Rexburg and since it was such a small town, jobs fill up quickly. Since I have moved here, I have had quite the luck with finding some good positions that only a degree holder could obtain. I am anxious to see which one will unfold to be mine. I have yet to be informed of the results. There are two that I am hoping for. One is a good job, family owned company and i believe will fit well for me. The other is a larger organization and provides me with financial security any recent college graduate would dream of.

Wish me luck! Also, if you know of any job openings in Rexburg or Idaho Falls, Let me know! I am your girl! :)

What you have been missing...

It is interesting to me that now that I have started this blog I have things that I want to say and pictures that I want to post. For instance, I was lying in my bed the other night thinking to myself about the different things that I wanted to write about on here. The thing is, if you know me, you know that I am not really one for ever writing on a blog. I am one of those who just "follows" blogs and worships those who write really well. So for me to even be dreaming up the things that I have a desire to say is a weird place for me to be in. Although, I do have to say that I relish, whole- heartedly, with the chance to actually have a blog (even if no one is reading it). It is liberating to me for some reason.

So what you have been missing lately is that I got the splendid chance to spend the entire weekend with my SIL Whitney and her children (and my children haha) Jack (5), Van a.k.a. Manny (2.5), and Violet (8 months). Bless Whitney's heart for putting up with me the entire weekend. I slept, ate, and partied with her the entire weekend and had a BLAST while doing so! On saturday, after being inside all day with the kids and cleaning, chatting, and eating (I don't know if I have mentioned how amazing of a cook Whitney is but check out her old blog www.rookie-cookie.com...it will blow your mind how incredibly talented she is) we left to go on an adventure to target. Oh how fun of an adventure it was! Here is a sneak peak into what we did as we roamed all the different isle with the kids....

Jack was so silly when he pulled out sponge bob and began to square dance with him! haha. We laughed so hard and Vanny had to hug EVERY single stuffed character in the isle. Buzz, Woody, Sponge bob... haha there were multiple Woody's and multiple Buzz's. It was the most adorable thing that he had to hug them all!

Then, sunday morning we were all getting ready for church and Van came to me and said, "Teff!! Teff!! Um weddy!!"... haha and this is what he was wearing!! hahah

And this is what happens when you ask him to model for you and do a pose! haha

And when he gets REALLY excited!!!...

And when he is just really cute, sitting there with his shirt off... hahah

I just had a really good time being there and miss them all so much!

Thanks Whit for feeding me and letting me crash on your couch this weekend! I am grateful that your home is so welcoming and that I can feel so comfortable there!

And thanks Ethan... for.. um.. well...letting me laugh at you when you fell asleep on the couch and thought you were "stuck" hahah.