the time has come...

to end my adventures here.

See....this blog has finished it's purpose. (at least, in my eyes it has....)  I started this blog as a way to document my adventures through college, my adventures in dating, my frustrations and joys with ballet at BYU and really....all the cool kids (read: the writers/readers of the 100 Hour Board at BYU) were doing it, so I decided to jump on that bandwagon.

And you know what? I've moved on from all of those worlds. I'm not in school anymore (thank goodness!), I'm engaged and don't have crazy dating stories anymore (hurrah!), I'm not dancing as much these days and I no longer read the 100 Hour Board. Like ever. So...this is the end of love and war...at least it's the end of a battle. On to better and brighter things!

I will always be grateful to the 100 Hour Board and many of their writers for influencing me to start this here blog. It has brought about many GREAT friendships, killed at least one relationship, and in the end helped me to find a voice in writing.

I don't want to completely give up blogging, and while my new blog is NOT private, I'm not going to post a link to it here. If you want to keep following just shoot me an email, leave a comment, or look for the links that happen to show up on my Facebook account.

I really hope you'll want to keep following me, but if you're trying to weed out people from your Google Reader (is anybody else's as ridiculous as mine?! sheesh!) then now would be the time and I won't even notice.

Thanks again for a great 7+ years guys. You're awesome!

It's official!

so....you might have noticed (if we're friends) on Facebook and Twitter....but last night I got engaged to Soldier Boy!

That's right! It's officially official! I'm getting MARRIED!!!! I am so excited and stoked to get to marry my best friend. Last night was AMAZING.

It all started shortly after we both got home from work, Soldier Boy suggested that we go to the Blue Iguana. This restaurant holds a lot of memories for us as it is one of the places we went near the very beginning of our relationship (before we were officially dating, in fact). The food was delicious as always.

After dinner Solider Boy suggested that we go to the Gallivan Center Outdoor Ice Skating Rink. This was something we had seen as an idea to do this weekend, and I was so excited to get to do that with him. :o)

At one point I gave Soldier Boy a really hard time about not having a ring yet...and he teased me by suggesting that it would happen up in his hometown because he knows the area better over there. Not five minutes later we were on the ice again "dancing" in the middle and he looked at me, told me he loved me and I said, "I love you too!" and he then said "really? well then...." and he got down on one knee pulled out my ring and asked me to marry him.

:) :) :) :) :) 

I said yes and that folks, is how I got engaged to my best friend last night! I'm so excited to start the process of planning this wedding and start our life together. :)

my ring. this picture doesn't do it justice. It is gorgeous!!

suggestions?

Hello dear internet friends! this morning I'm enjoying the awesomeness of getting to dress up at my job. :o) Sometimes my work is AWESOME. :o)

ANYWHO.....I need some help from y'all.

My sweet, amazing boyfriend Soldier Boy is taking me to Ballet West's The Lottery this weekend. :) I didn't buy season tickets because of the cost this year and because this fall show was the ONLY one I really wanted to go to - the other performances will be good, but this is the one show I didn't want to miss. So Soldier Boy is being awesome and is taking me to the ballet.

So what's the problem you ask? Well.....I don't know what to wear. I have a couple of formal outfits that I can wear....but I'm not sure which one to wear this time. so, let me present my cases and then you can help me out. ;)

Option 1: the Chinese outfit

This outfit is the one I made two years ago (with lots of help from mom....) I've worn the top and skirt several times since then - not always together - and I do like it....















Option 2: the Polka Dot Dress

This outfit is one that I purchased (with help from Soldier Boy) to take to my friend's Fashion Show in March...I also wore it on a date w/him to the ballet when we first started dating.














Option 3: Brown and Teal

I don't have a picture of this outfit, but I have worn it to the ballet once before (with Monkey Man last year) It's the brown skirt from above and then a teal blouse that I purchased. I look really good in this outfit and I do love it. :o)

So there you go....my three options. I'm leaning towards Option #1....but we'll see what y'all think/how I feel Saturday morning.

:o)

guess what?

hey guys, guess what? I'm going to DISNEYLAND!!!

I know, I know, it feels like I just went (a little more than 6 months ago) and I wasn't really planning on going again so SOON....but it just happened!

It all started with me realizing I had a floating holiday that I needed to use before the end of the year. I'm not going to VA for Christmas this year and that's when I usually use my floating holiday. So in talking with my awesome boyfriend he suggested that I take it on a Thursday before one of my normal 3-day weekends. I thought this was a brilliant idea and we took a look at the calendar and decided that taking it next weekend would be perfect. Soldier Boy is still looking for a job so we decided we would go somewhere. We talked about a lot of different ideas from going to St. George, to Denver, to Park City we then turned our minds to go going to Disneyland. Well...we put a post up on a facebook to see if we could fill the car with others and we did! So....now we're going to Disneyland next weekend - during Halloween time! I'm so excited about this! I've heard Disneyland at Halloween time is the best thing ever, so I'm very much looking forward to going out of town with some friends and my awesome boyfriend. :o)

See ya when I get back! :-)

in this moment...

Hey guys. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm constantly apologizing for not posting enough. The thing is...I really just don't have the time. There will probably be a time in my life when I post a ton again, but right now is just not it and you know what? I'm okay with that! I will keep trying to post from time to time, but the thing is this blog is not needed for what it was originally created for - a venting place for my stories about ballet and boys. I'm not in school anymore, I have found the love of my life (and even though it's not official yet, SPOILER: we're going to get married someday in the future) and I am so fulfilled in my life in other ways that I don't need this blog in the same way.

There's a part of me that has even considered starting a new blog - no pseudonyms attached and moving on with my life. Need I be anonymous anymore? I don't know....I wonder the same thing  about my twitter account. The more I get involved in work with social media, the more I wonder if I need to be doing more of my social media things with my real name...and not my cute pseudonym that my mom still uses as my nickname at home.

And yet, this blog still holds a special place for me and starting new sounds...hard. Or something. I like my little blog space here. It has treated me so well and I would feel bad abandoning it.

So...please bear with my while I try to figure out what in the world I'm doing in the blogging world. I know I'll figure it out someday. Maybe I'll just reveal my real identity into the world and what not. I don't know. What I do know is that something has got to be figured out.

Anyways. I have tons of other things to talk about and maybe if I have some time in the future we'll get to those things, for now, thank you for sticking around and reading my sporadic, crazy posts. I'm sure I'll figure things out.

Eventually.

Fall is coming!!!

You guys! Fall is coming!! As I drive to work in the mornings my little car thermostat has started registering A LOT cooler in the mornings (example, this morning it was 59 as I drove to work!) and I need a sweatshirt for the first little bit every morning.

I love it.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons and it makes me SO HAPPY that Fall is practically here. What I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is the fact that it is the 12th of September. Man. Where does time go????

Anyways, I have some good news for all y'all. TWO pieces of good news actually....

1.  Soldier Boy decided at the beginning of the month that it would be better for him to live closer to me and his daughter rather than closer to work (which actually ended at the beginning of September) SO...he's been looking for somewhere to live. Well, a facebook friend in my ward posted something on the ward facebook page Monday morning, Soldier Boy called and he has a place to live that is literally down the street from me. :o) This is PERFECT for us and is going to be SO GREAT.

2. A LONG time ago, Soldier Boy put in his packet to be promoted from a Specialist in the reserves to being a Sergeant. After a long time waiting, lots of paperwork and a sliver of good news last week, he was issued his orders as a SERGEANT yesterday. The BEST thing about this is that because of the slowness and the fact that his orders should have come through a LONG time ago, they were back dated to 1 May 2012. Meaning....he'll get a nice back pay paycheck coming to him as soon as they process that paperwork. (oh the paperwork in the military. ick) ANYWAYS. this is a BIG DEAL and we're so grateful it came through when it did. He'll have his "pinning" ceremony this weekend at his monthly drill exercise and it's going to be great. I am so proud of him for completing this HUGE milestone. :o) My boyfriend is the best.

So there you go! We're hoping for one more big piece of news in the coming weeks, but we have to wait a little bit for that....so I'll stay hush-hush about it for a while longer. In the meantime, we just keep chugging along. :o) Ciao!

A little Thursday by my side...

guys. It's Thursday. It has been a long, long (emotional) week and I'm glad to say the weekend is almost within reach. I unfortunately work tomorrow, but that will lead to a long weekend, short work week and another long weekend, so I think I can handle it....ANYWAYS. let's get on with things shall we?

• Last night I got together with my besties from my time in AIDA for a little frozen yogurt goodness. Man, I LOVE those girls SO MUCH! they are just super awesome. I always enjoy talking with them. :o)

• I went to a State Liquor store last night with my Sister B and bought vodka.

• Yes, I bought vodka.

• No, I didn't drink it.

• INSTEAD! I made vanilla extract by slicing and scraping Madagascar Vanilla Beans. It was a fun adventure. :o)

• Also, I just like saying the word vodka. It's fun.

• Soldier Boy, his daughter and I are all going to the Brigham City Temple open house tomorrow evening. I am VERY excited about this.

• As mentioned above I have a 3-day weekend (YAY Labor Day!), followed by a 3-day work week and ending with another 3-day weekend. HAPPY DAY. Seriously, SO HAPPY.

• My mind is still trying to get settled and realize that I'm no longer moving....it's kind of a weird feeling.

• Also, I need to go to the temple, it's been far too long, that will happen next Friday - on my day off. FOR SURE. :o)

• I am making a meal plan for next month so I can do more bulk shopping at Costco. Any meal suggestions you want to leave are VERY welcome. :o)

• In other news....August ends tomorrow and I'm having a really hard time accepting the fact that summer is practically over. :(

that's all folks! have a great weekend!!

Tender Mercy Tuesday: 62nd Edition

Hello my friends! It's been a little while since I've done a Tender Mercy Tuesday huh? Sorry about that - not that there haven't been blessings in my life....it's just I haven't taken the time to sit down and tell you about them.

Last night I received a wonderful tender mercy during my run. Now this might not make sense at first, but stay with me and it might make sense in the end. (I hope)

As you may recall, I have been doing ballet basically my entire life. So excuse me while I talk about dance for just a moment (this relates, I promise!) When you turn (pirouettes, chaines, fouettes, etc) there is a technique dancers use to not get dizzy: spotting. So, when you spot when turning and traveling across the floor/stage you pick a spot in the place you want to end up and you want this spot to be just above eye level so that your chin doesn't drop and the audience can't see your pretty face. BUT as you get closer to your destination, your spot has to change otherwise your chin is going to end up too high in the air, your focus too high and you'll defeat the purpose of spotting and end up a dizzy mess.

You're probably wondering right now what this has to do with running, well let me tell you!

See, when I run I like to pick an object to run to, often a lampost or a bush, or a tree. Something easily identifiable. Often, I pick this object with the thought that "if I just get to that tree then I can walk for just a second." Usually I then a pick another object to walk to...this process usually happens as I'm getting very tired and drained and am trying to push myself. Last week as I started running again (after too long of a hiatus) I found myself using this "trick" of pushing myself (or so I thought) quite often. Well last night, things went differently.

Soldier Boy and I decided to pick a new place to run besides the block around my house and jumped on his motorcycle to go to the City Park which I kid you not is less than a mile from my house. This City Park is HUGE. We had found a runner's map that ran a route around the park that was about 2 miles. We didn't end up going the 2 miles (we skipped one of the loops and took a shortcut. ;) ) but the great thing about this run is that I had a new realization. See, if I apply the theories of spotting to my run, then I go longer and keep up a very regular pace (especially if I'm listening to some good music, which I was!). See, instead of picking an object to run/jog to and then walking, as I got closer to my object of choice I would pick a new object to run to - BEFORE I reached the original object. Make sense? All I know is that it made my run so much easier last night - Saturday I had gotten really sick while running and was worried that last night would be the same. I am happy to report that for me, I have a new way to run and get through the hard parts (I even ran up TWO small hills WITHOUT STOPPING! This is huge for me as I hate hills) and a way to push through my runs. I am very excited to try this theory out again in the near future and hopefully use it in longer distance runs as I get more in shape.

Also - just a random fact about last night's run. After it was finished, Soldier Boy and I were stretching in the parking lot and all of a sudden fireworks started going off. It was a great way to celebrate the end of a great run for us and we chilled out on the grass for a bit before heading back to my place. :o) Good times.

Thursday Things

Hey all. Look at me! Posting TWO DAYS IN A ROW!!! I'm so awesome. :o)

It's THURSDAY (which I love) so that means....

YAY!!!! Let's get this party started, shall we? :o)

• I'm not going dancing tonight at the normal Blue Tango venue, but instead plan on spending a relaxing evening with Soldier Boy, his daughter, and my wonderful swimming pool. :o)

• I don't think I've told you, but if we're pinterest friend you've noticed...I'm the chairperson for the Annual Company Family Picnic. I LOVE the family picnic and am SO EXCITED to be heading it up. We're having a Western themed evening/carnival with a Chili Cook-Off that should be fun times. :o)

• School is starting and that means there are back-to-school sales EVERYWHERE. It makes me wish *I* was going back to school so I could justify buying fun things. Don't get me wrong, I am VERY happy to be not in school. I just wish I could justify buying things....

• I have grand plans for my day off tomorrow. I am (fingers crossed!) going to have NO MORE BOXES to unpack by the end of tomorrow/this weekend. Good goal right? :o)

• Soldier Boy is taking me out on a date! on Saturday! granted, we tend to do things that could be classified as dates...but this is a for real, planned for, paid for, paired off date. :o) Just like Elder Oaks defined it. :o) I'm SUPER EXCITED. (It's all a surprise, but I'm 99% sure we're going to the cheesecake factory.)

• So...I may have mentioned that I'm maybe getting into audio books? but I'm not sure yet...ANYWAYS. the point of this bullet is to ask for suggestions for books to listen to...i know not every book is perfect for audio reading, so which ones are your favorites?

anyways, i think that's all folks...hopefully your weekend is as splenderific as mine. :o) I'm hoping to get in a trip the Gardner's Village farmer's market...but we'll see. CIAO!

2 weeks later...

Hey guys!

So I've been living at my new place for TWO WEEKS as of today, and let me just tell you that I LOVE not being homeless anymore! There is so much less stress knowing that where I'm headed after work is a place that I can call MINE. Makes me happy.

Since moving I have found that there are Pros and Cons to my new place (as I think there ALWAYS is with new things.) So for your reading enjoyment, today I give you the Pros and Cons of living up north.....

Pros

• I have my own bathroom. Our new apartment that I share w/my roommate is a 2 bed/2 bath setup and I'm in love with it.

• Natural Light. Because of where our apartment is, we get SO MUCH natural light, especially in the late afternoon and this makes me happy.

• I still have a washer and dryer IN my apartment. This is fantastic.

• I only have 1 other roommate. SERIOUSLY cuts down on the drama. :o)

• I live in the middle of practically everything the Salt Lake Valley has to offer. It's SO FAST to get anywhere! 

• Swimming Pool/Hot Tub. need I say more? 

• I'm closer to Soldier Boy. WIN! Also, it puts us a lot closer to where his daughter lives and it makes it easier to spend time with her which is a HUGE win.

• I live closer to some of my friends. This is happy.

• Also, we live closer to some dancing venues

Cons

• the commute. Obviously commuting a minimum of 35 minutes each way does get annoying, but i have rediscovered an old favorite in morning talk shows and am slowly being converted to audio books. So it's not THAT bad.

• It's smaller than my last apartment....and I have a lot of stuff. I'm trying to go through things as I unpack and get rid of more...but still! 

• There's not a great place to put a good sized kitchen garbage can. This annoys me. I have one under the sink...but it's shorter which = me emptying it more often. I hate taking out the trash.

• The lighting in the apartment is WEIRD. There are no main lights in the lv room or either bedroom, and the plugs that are controlled by the light switches are in an awkward spot and are NOT helpful. (and even better, some of the light switches are in REALLY odd places. It's just weird.)

• I am not as close to some of my friends...which makes it hard to plan activities. 

• We live farther from Blue Tango...living close to other venues helps balance this out...a little bit.

I think that's it....for now. Who knows, maybe I'll update this list someday, for now I'm still trying to get that last box emptied and out of my apartment....until next time - adios!

I'm baaaack....almost

Hey friends! It's been a while hasn't it? :o) Life has been extremely ________ (pick your favorite adjective; I'm pretty sure it will fit. :P )

Seriously though, last time I left you with lists of things I HAVE done and things that were HAPPENING and yada yada yada. Since it's has just about been three weeks since I last wrote, I thought you deserved a little update.

so here you go a few things I have done (some picture proof...)

• I have officially moved out of my place of living in O*. I lived there for 3 years. It was good to me, until it came time to clean. Seriously? Cleaning that place was AWFUL. Luckily I'm done and I don't care anymore.

• SAW MY FAMILY!! to celebrate, we grilled pizza: 

• Drove to New Mexico....and back: 

• on the way back I kissed my boyfriend in all 4 states at one time:

• THEN I became homeless. You guys, being homeless sucks. Granted, I have somewhere to stay and all that jazz, but not having a place that is MINE is just not so much fun. :( 

• OH! I went to Soldier Boy's Family reunion. We went camping at Beaver Mountain and took a day trip to the North Shore of Bear Lake. HOLY MOLY is Bear Lake GORGEOUS! I had never been before and it was SO SO SO great. Unfortunately, I left all kinds of photo taking devices packed in a box/in my purse/in my car so there is no photo documentation...but it was FUN TIMES.

• My boyfriend? He's amazing. He had his daughter this past weekend (well, a little bit longer, but I digress) and he's just  the most amazing dad. Seriously, it warms my soul to see him interacting with her. I can't wait to have kids with him and all that jazz.

• also, my boyfriend puts up with my random emotional outbursts. I've had my share of them these past few weeks and I've been rather stressed and such and have had more than one crying session. Luckily for me, Soldier Boy lets me cry on his shoulder and holds me until I am better.

I think that's it for now. I'm sure I'm missing things...but once I'm moved in to my new apartment and I have some kind of internet I will check back in with you...until next time, keep smiling! :o)

Thursday Things Update Style

So...I know that Thursday Things sometimes ends up being an update of sorts and today's post is no exception. I haven't posted in a couple of weeks and for that, I apologize. Life has been treating me so well and has been so insanely busy that I just haven't had time to be here....but I am here today! Hopefully you didn't miss me too much....

without further ado....

• Since the last time I blogged I have:
• signed a contract for a new apartment.
• rented a storage unit
• begun the awful process of moving. oh how I hate moving.
• saw The Amazing Spiderman movie. SO GOOD.
• Went camping w/Solider Boy's ward
• threw my sister a baby shower
• went to my last meeting as a Relief Society President.

• so yeah. I've been busy. which is good. the next three weeks? also going to be busy. in the next three weeks I will:
• go to my family reunion in New Mexico. I'll get to see my grandpa who I haven't seen in about 8 years and introduce my boyfriend/future fiance to my family. 
• yes. you read that right. someday Soldier Boy is going to go from being my boyfriend to being my fiance to being my husband. Currently there is no timeline for these events, other than we want them to happen and I can't wait for that day.
• I will move out of my current apartment and be "homeless" for eight days.
• Go to Soldier Boy's family reunion. That will be crazy fun times.
• Move into my new apartment. (SO EXCITED!!!)

•  Because I'm moving, I'm being released as Relief Society President. This is bittersweet for me. I have loved my calling and I love my sisters, but at the same time I'm a little burned out and am ready for change in my life.

• I've recently had my nails done twice with shellac polish and oh. my. gosh. BEST THING EVER guys! Seriously! This stuff doesn't chip, it just grows out and it's fantastic and I love it so much. also. my friend who does it? she's adorable and does fun things.

• I just turned on Pandora at work and all I asked of the Pandora gods was for good things to be played today. The first song on my Today's Hits/80s Pop/Contemporary Country mix? Bon Jovi. You Give Love A Bad Name. Well-played Pandora gods. Well-played.

• My boyfriend is seriously amazing. I love him so much. We always have the best time when we're together.

• oh and his daughter? She's the cutest thing ever. Seriously, love her. I made her this dress from Pinterest a couple of weeks ago and she looks ADORABLE in it. :o)

• I am very excited to spoil my future nephew. He'll be here in about 8 weeks! eek! 

• You know what's really awesome? life. I love life. 

Hope everything is going well with all y'all. :o) Here's to the rest of summer being AWESOME! Until the next time....ciao!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 61st Edition

So, sometimes I get overwhelmed. (who doesn't, right?) The amount of sticky notes on my desk at work, the pile of laundry in the corner of my bedroom, the knowledge of knowing that I'm moving but I don't know WHERE to yet, and the beginnings of packing up my entire house for said move are just a few of the things that are weighing me down right now.

That's just the tip of the iceberg folks. :P Luckily, I have some amazing people in my life that remind me that those things don't matter in the eternal scheme of things and really, having faith that everything is going to work out is the most important thing of all. I've studied, read, and been in several meetings in the past two weeks where faith has been taught/discussed. I think the Lord has been trying to remind me that I need to continue on. I'm not going to get all the answers right away, but I will get them when the time is right.

I was reminded of this again last night when reading Ether 12 with Soldier Boy. What amazing things faith can help you do...if you but believe. So that's what I'm doing. I'm moving on with worrying about life and I'm just going to trust and believe and have FAITH that everything is going to work out perfectly.

And in the meantime I might eat a lot of brownies. ;) lol. Have a great Tuesday y'all!

Friday Things

Hey dear friends! Are you melting yet? It's definitely summertime around these parts with temperatures extremely hot. I'm not going to lie, I've been looking forward to some hot weather lately. I'm excited to spend time out in the sun doing fun summer-like things.

with that note, let's get this party started!

• For the first time in my life I am going to The Mormon Miracle Pageant down in Manti. I'm really kind of excited, even if it's cheesy. :o)

• As part of this excitement, Soldier Boy and I are going to go camping! woo hoo! I love camping and I'm excited to do it with the someone that I love.

• Soldier Boy's daughter is coming too! I always look forward to spending time with her. It should be good times.

• Dancing last night was lots of fun times. I love dancing with my boyfriend. He's an amazing dancer and it's always a wonderful time to be dancing with him. :o)

• One of my former Relief Society presidents is getting married tomorrow. I am so happy for her and am excited to go and wish her well.

• Pandora and I have been really good friends as of late. I'm a fan of music. HUGE fan.

• So....I'm moving right? I still don't know where yet, but I'm working on that. :P I hate looking for somewhere to live. It's so...crazy.

• the show last weekend went well. It wasn't without it's dramatic moments, but it went well. My girls performed admirably and I was so proud of them. They looked amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls to end my year on. I'll miss them, but I look forward to the new opportunities that await me in the future.

• My room is a disaster. Because I'm moving sometime in the next 6 weeks...I really don't want to clean it. I should just start putting things into boxes....hmmmm......

• work has been fairly crazy this past week. :P I might be starting to go crazy...

I think that's about it my friends. Life is great now that it is officially summer time. Now to just find somewhere to live.... catch ya on the flip side!

important things

I have lots of things I want to blog about right now, but we interrupt our regular posting for this special post.

today is Soldier Boy's 30th birthday.

I am so lucky to have Soldier Boy in my life. He is my rock. He is constantly providing support, love, and belief in my dreams. He holds me when life gets hard, tickles me to make me laugh, and kisses the world away. He really is  the best boyfriend in the entire world.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart - I love you!!

tonight I'm hosting a dinner party with friends and such - there will be 9 (i think? if i counted right...) adults at this party. I'm more than a little nervous to be making food and what not for so many people. but I know it will all be worth it. birthdays are a big deal in my world and Soldier Boy better get used to that! :o)

Thursday Things

hi guys. :o)

• I bought a new swimsuit last weekend. I love it. It's the "sexiest" swimsuit I own...and Soldier Boy loves it. No surprises there.

• This weekend is show weekend. It's also my LAST show weekend. It's not really bittersweet for me...in fact, I'm really excited and have been counting down for weeks now.

• Since normal classes are no longer happening (YAY for them being done!) I get to spend time with Solider Boy and his daughter on his one night a week with her! That happens tonight, and I'm excited to spend more time with the both of them.

• In talking to Soldier Boy the other day, I found out that due to some interesting circumstances that nothing special is happening on Father's Day for him. I am not okay with this. I told him that I'm coming and making him and his daughter dinner. 

• This is extra nice because the gift I'm planning on giving him (a variation on this tutorial - I'm adding a picture of Soldier Boy w/his daughter) can be given to him BY his daughter....even if she only helped a little bit. (let me tracer her hands a couple of weeks ago...)

•  let's see what else is happening...oh! dancing tonight. I'm going for a bit, and I'm excited. like always. :o)

• tomorrow is my day off and I have a little bit of pampering happening, a lunch date and then a to-do list that seems like it's a mile long....

• I've started looking for somewhere to move, but there are still a few variables to figure out with that and so I haven't really put forth a TON

i think that's about it.  Have a great weekend all y'all!

Tender Mercy Tuesday: 60th Edition

Hello dearest internet friends.

I know some of you probably remember my post from last week. Today I want to explain some of the statements - because now I can.

from last week's post:

I need... to stay calm
I hate... having to keep secrets from certain people in my life. But some people can't know what's going on yet.
I hurt... knowing that I'm going to break some people's hearts this week.
I hope... that everyone can be understanding when certain things come to light...

These four statements brought some concern from some of my friends. I know this, because they reached out to me about it. I am SO GRATEFUL to have so many great people in my life that are concerned for my well-being when I post passive-aggressively. :o)

rest assured that everything is okay. I announced on Saturday that this year is my last year at AofB - the studio I trained at and have been teaching at for years. This studio gave me my first teaching job and my first opportunity to work with a company - BU2. I have loved teaching and I have loved my girls. However, do to certain circumstances both in my personal life and with things that have happened the past couple of years at the studio I have come to terms that it is time for me to move on. I won't be teaching at AofB next year, and while it's hard - it is the BEST thing for me hands down.

Now for my Tender Mercy Tuesday thought that directly relates to the things above. A whole lot of dramatic crap happened yesterday at dress rehearsal. So much so that I was extremely frustrated with certain people (still am actually) and very emotional that by the time I got to Soldier Boy's place I had been crying for a good 15 minutes. This is where my tender mercy comes in - I have been blessed with a man who is so extremely understanding. Soldier Boy held me while I cried and then helped me take out my frustrations on a soda pop can with a revolver. (granted, we had planned on going shooting before all this went down, but still) I am so glad that I have been given someone who understands what I am going through and stands up for me and my feelings. Seriously, my boyfriend is a rockstar.

And that my friends, is all. I hope your Tuesday evening is fantastic, as for me and my evening - I get to spend it with my boyfriend - halleluiah. 

2 months of happiness plus an adventure in the mountains

Hey guys! How are all y'all?!

Last night Soldier Boy and I celebrated 2 months of happiness. I love being his girlfriend. It makes me so happy to do girlfriend-like things for him. I make dinner for us several nights a week and it is one of my favorite things to be able to do that. Soldier Boy loves it (what boy wouldn't?!) and is so appreciative it just makes me want to keep on doing it! sigh. Life is good in our little world.

So on Friday night this last weekend I told Soldier Boy that I wanted to go on an adventure. Well, his suggestion was that we go up Spanish Fork canyon and try out the natural hot springs that are up there. We've tried the ones in Saratoga Springs and the ones in Ogden, but not these particular ones. We'd heard good things about them and decided to give it a go. After looking up some information we decided to head on down. Now, we prepared to go on a little hike - but also knew that there would be close to a full moon so we thought we could do this hike without a flashlight. This was not a brilliant idea. Luckily, some kind samaritans saw our plight as they were hiking OUT of the canyon and gave us their almost dead flashlight. It gave us just enough light to get to the hot pots and back completely dying out right as we got to our car.

Now, we knew from our little googling before hand that this hike wouldn't be super strenuous and would be about 2.25 miles one way....well, what we didn't really think about is the fact that hiking at night takes longer because it is dark and even with a flashlight it's hard to see. So....our little adventure of hiking and soaking in the hot pots and the hiking back took WAY longer than either of us anticipated BUT it was a TOTAL success and was SO MUCH FUN.

One thing to note if you ever go these hot springs - the sulfur content is higher than any other hot springs Soldier Boy and I have been to in Utah. It turned my sterling silver CTR ring black. Granted, cleaning said ring with jewelry cleaner or silver cleaner will clean it right up. For now I'm leaving it because my ring looks SUPER awesome black. But I wouldn't wear any other jewelry in the future.

Just as a side note, Soldier Boy and I decided that our favorite hot springs are the ones in Ogden. I don't know if we'll ever go to the ones in Spanish Fork again. That long of a hike sort of defeats the purpose of relaxing...but it was absolutely beautiful up there. The view of the night sky was absolutely incredible. :o) 

feelings on a Tuesday afternoon

this meme/idea stolen from the lovely Rasha over at and this is what She said.....

I feel... anxious

I want... for all the puzzle pieces to fall into place
I need... to stay calm
I wish... I could know when everything was going to happen. I like knowing the "when" of things.
I watched... my favorite tv show with Soldier Boy last night.
I am... trying to be patient. I'm not sure it's working.

I love... Soldier Boy. He is currently my rock when it comes to all the coming changes. He is so strong and wonderful to me.
I hate... having to keep secrets from certain people in my life. But some people can't know what's going on yet.
I hurt... knowing that I'm going to break some people's hearts this week.
I hope... that everyone can be understanding when certain things come to light...

What are you feeling?

 

p.s. I promise that I haven't forgotten about Tender Mercy Tuesday. I have been feeling a little off lately and haven't felt like I had things to share. I am going to start taking time to reevaluate what I have been blessed with in my life. I know it is important to share these things. Watch for a new Tender Mercy Tuesday post next week!

sometimes....

sometimes life is really busy. Now is one of those times. I'm sorry. I wish I wasn't so busy sometimes and I could post really cool things, but then I don't really have cool things to post right now. My dating life revolves around my sweet, adorkable boyfriend Soldier Boy. I'm kind of head over heels for this guy and I'm okay with that.

The good news is that it's Thursday and that can only mean one thing.....

• my weekend up north was SUPER fantastic!!! I loved every minute of it and had the time of my life. 

• Soldier Boy's daughter (who really needs a 'nym....hmmm...) is ADORABLE and she loves me. which is good because....

• I get to spend all day with her tomorrow! due to some interesting circumstances that I don't quite understand, I'm babysitting. :o)

• I'm really, really excited about this. My original plan for my day off included lunch w/Soldier Boy, so that's still happening - there will just be an extra person with us. ;)

• 2 more weeks of dance classes....yes, I AM counting down. I'm rather excited for the end of the year.

• I'm getting really excited about my summer this year. Soldier Boy and I have tentative plans for a good chunk of June and I'm rather stoked about this.

• Work was insanely busy all week long. Gah!!

• My brain is fried.

• But I get to go dancing tonight, so it's all good.

That's all guys. Life is good. I'm good. Give me a couple weeks and then things will be even better. Maybe I'll actually blog about my summer adventures.... :o)

Have a great weekend!!

M.I.A.

So....I've been missing in action the past week or so. For this, I apologize. Being sick really threw me for a loop. After spending all day Saturday in Ogden I had to play catch up at home with my chores/other responsibilities. I have a lot on my plate right now and I'm getting really close to the end of my rope. Here's hoping things calm down before I blow a gasket or something along those lines.

I have so many random things to tell you that I think we'll do a little  Friday Things! :o) Enjoy!

• I keep trying to participate in the photo-a-day meme on Instagram, but I have failed miserably for the past three months. Maybe when life isn't trying to kill me....

• The year-end show for my company is in 3 short weeks. I'm excited to get things said and done for this year, I'm beyond burnt out with teaching and I am very much looking forward to not teaching this summer.

• The next two weeks should be pretty awesome. I have a three-day weekend (yay for Memorial Day! Paid Holiday! WOO HOO!!) then a three-day work week followed by another three-day weekend (yay day off!) so the next week or so should be GRAND.

• I get to spend all this weekend up in L* I'm rather stoked to spend the entire weekend chillaxin' with Soldier Boy + daughter.

• I got a new phone last weekend! Nothing super fancy - I'm still in the world of non-smart phones. But he's pretty cute and I'm a fan.

• Yesterday was just awful. I had a horrid dentist call me at work and yell at me. It was not fun times.

• Oh! I'm trying to find a cute craft to do for Soldier Boy for Father's Day. He's the best dad ever and I want him to know that. If you have ideas, please share! Pinterest only takes me so far....

• Pandora and I have  been really good friends as of late. I've got a shuffle of the 80s pop station, Today's Hits and Contemporary Country playing and oh man, oh man. GOOD STUFF y'all! I'm in love.

• My visiting teachers visited me earlier this week. I love visiting teaching. It always manages to lift my spirits.

• Today is a ridiculously busy day as I get ready for my long weekend not in O-town. It's okay, I can deal.

• I feel like I'm forgetting to tell you something. :P oh well....

 HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND EVERYONE!! :o) Party Hard!

blergh

I seriously make the worst sick person.

When I was younger my mom would have to bribe me/tie me down in my bed to keep me home from school when I was sick. I was too responsible and loved school too much to want to miss it. I remember one particular year - sophomore year of high school I believe...it was spring time and I had strep throat for the third time that year. I had gotten my drugs that morning but wasn't cleared to go to school. However I had a test for my computer class that my teacher had warned us COULD NOT be made up NO MATTER the reason we weren't there. I went to school and took the test. My mom was so mad at me!

Fast forward to yesterday and today. Both days I woke up feeling awful. I knew I could function if it was absolutely necessary, but overall I felt icky and didn't want to move. I did what any grown woman does -  I called my mom. I needed her to tell me it was okay to stay home. :o)

So I've been home sick - and let me tell you - it sounds all glorified and stuff when someone else is the person that gets to skip out on work responsibilities and be home sick but when it is you? It sucks. Hard core. I've hated just lounging around. There's nothing good on tv, I don't have enough energy to clean the kitchen or be crafty and it's really hard to concentrate on a book when you're sick. So you do nothing but watch reality tv shows.

Here's hoping I feel better tomorrow. It's my day off so I can continue to get loads of sleep and hopefully feel well enough to get some tasks done and then play with the boyfriend all weekend. Speaking of the boyfriend, he's been so sweet to me while I've been sick. He took such good care of me last night. I'm a fan of him. ;)

Have a good weekend all! Stay healthy!

Friday Giggles and Awesomeness

So....I sort of had two Mondays this week. The real Monday and then yesterday....after having Wednesday off and getting to play all day with Soldier Boy and his daughter coming back to work yesterday was just horrid.

ANYWAYS. It's finally Friday and I'm looking forward to it being tomorrow night when I can go on a date with my handsome boyfriend. :o) In the meantime here are two awesome videos that I found while perusing the interwebs this morning.

This first one is a clip of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the company of men that parodies classical ballet while dressed as females dancing a part of Swan Lake. It's hilarious - at least - to me it is. I understand that not everyone out there is going to understand WHY this is so funny...but trust me. It's hilarious.

Hilarious, no? :o)

The second video that I found is a flash mob in the Copenhagen Metro. I think it would be THE COOLEST thing to experience a flash mob like this. Pure awesome.

Happy Friday everyone! I hope it is a great day for you and leads to the best weekend. :o)

just a few things....

hey guys. remember me? yeah. i've been busy. sue me. I'm always busy. :P but it's the good kind of busy - I'm busy having the TIME OF MY LIFE!!! :o)

anywho. here are just a few things on my mind as of late:

• the boyfriend is awesome. Today we celebrate our one month of officially dating-ness. he is so super fantastic and I am so lucky that he is mine. so, so lucky.

• yesterday i spent the day with the boyfriend and his daughter. It was a great day filled with sunshine and happiness. the only downside was having the day end and both of us driving away from each other until Saturday night. :P

• if you haven't tried out e.l.f cosmetics you totally should. they have GREAT products with AMAZING customer service. just for example: i ordered some product and it shipped and what not, but it was missing an item. i emailed them today, they got back to me the SAME DAY and are shipping out the missing product asap. This makes me REALLY happy. OH and they are now selling select products in Target. awesomeness.

• I'm not going dancing tonight. I have too many things to get done. PLUS Soldier Boy isn't going...and I don't like going when he's not there.

• Blogging for work? It's awesome. I am in love with it. I want to do more of it.

• I am moving in July - but I don't know where to yet. It makes me nervous to not know details to certain variables in my life. sigh.

• oh. if you know of somewhere that is month-to-month renting, with an unfurnished bedroom north of orem and south of sandy available sometime in July please let me know? thank you. :o)

• after looking at my budget and looking at my loans - it has officially been decided that i will be paying off my car loan by the end of October. this is just 2 months shy of the three years that i have owned said car. I'm REALLY excited about this.

• my coworker just asked what we would like without eyelashes. hmm. interesting thought.

• I think I'm going to try out this manicure this weekend. Should be fun times.

and with that...i think i'm going to call it a post. have a great day y'all!

34:03

See those numbers up above? yeah....that was my time in the 5k on Saturday! Awesome, right?!

34:03.

That is a minute and half FASTER than my last time of 35:35. :o) Also! I only walked ONE BLOCK of the entire 5k. That in of itself is a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT for me.

See, the last time I ran 3 miles (about a week ago with Solider Boy) I had to walk a good portion of our run. So to only walk one block, that was an awesome feat for me. I am feeling so good about my accomplishments from this last 5k. Now I need to find one to run in each month for the rest of the summer. I'm looking forward to dropping my time to 30 minutes or less. :o)

WOO HOO!!!!

Thursday Thinga-ma-bobs

hey guys.

life is busy. I need to re-balance things out. Kind of like balancing tires on your car? Yup. Need to balance a few things out in my life. I should probably work on that this next week. in said balancing, I need to find time to be posting more again. I miss it. I miss you guys!

let's get this show on the road shall we?

• Soldier Boy aka my boyfriend is the best boyfriend. I love spending time with him.

• Last night had us in the craziest of laughing fits after something that he did. Oh man. I'm giggling to myself just thinking about it. 

• I love being able to laugh with Soldier Boy. It bodes well for us methinks.

• I don't work tomorrow. Huzzah. Seriously. This is good news!

• I have fun plans tomorrow...including finding out if my sister is having a boy or a girl, I can't wait to be an aunt!

• Starting Saturday Soldier Boy has his daughter for a whole week. I'm taking off Wednesday to have crazy fun adventures with the two of them. I'm very much looking forward to it.

• I teach Relief Society on Sunday. My lesson is not prepared. I'm trying to not be nervous about it.

• Because Soldier Boy has his daughter I will see less of him this next week. *sad face*

• I'm going to be moving at the end of the July. I don't know where to yet. Somewhere north probably. It needs to be month-to-month and reasonably priced. Any suggestions?

• I'm running in a 5k on Saturday. I'm hoping for similar results to the one I ran in October.

• I plan on running at least 3 more 5ks this summer. I need one in June. And August. I'm not worried about July or September. I know which ones I'll run then....

• My goal is to have my 5k down to under 30 min by the end of the summer.

• There are only 6 more weeks left to the dance school year. This pleases me more than you probably could ever know.

And that's about it. :o) Life is good. I'm busy - but not too busy (I think) and I'm very much looking forward to the future. I just wish I knew when "things" were going to fall into place. But then, I always wonder that. :P

Until next time peeps....Cheerio!

Favorite Things on A Friday

Dearest Friends.

Is it just me or has this past week felt FOREVER long? I am so grateful that it is finally Friday. Now if the work day will fly by then I will be a happy camper. :o) I'm very much looking forward to date night tonight and then spending the morning (post-rehearsal) and early afternoon with my sweet boyfriend. THEN I'm going to go to the temple tomorrow night. It should be good times.

Before I share a few favorite things with you, I'm sure you have all been waiting with baited breath for the outcome of my doctor's appointment yesterday. First of all, I was there for TWO HOURS. Seriously, longest wait of my life. Sigh. Oh well. The news is: GOOD! there's nothing seriously wrong with my knee. The popping is fairly normal - the grinding I feel behind my knee cap can be helped with a brace that the doctor gave me and he confirmed that my graft/meniscus all look fantastic. So that was good. I'm glad to have gotten it checked out and to have that worry no longer present. :o)

OKAY! Favorite things today!

I have a thing for brownies right now. mmmm...

Truth:

I love life. It's so great.

I think I need to try out this recipe.

this quote. oh man. AMEN.

Finally - a little bit of the Piano Guys awesomeness to kick-start the weekend the right way. :) Enjoy!

Anxious on a Thursday

I'm sitting here at work trying so VERY hard to stay on task.

It's not working.

But shh.... don't tell my boss. sigh.

As I mentioned yesterday I'm off to see my orthopedic surgeon today. Why might you ask? Well...my knee has been feeling funny.

Here's what I'm telling my doctor about my knee: it will sometimes pop constantly....but not a good pop but lots of little grinding pops never feels better unlike when i pop my hip or something THEN sometimes it feels like it needs to pop - there's all this pressure and it won't pop, but instead feels like there is a partially blown up balloon - you know the kind that you can't squish and pop but you squish and it just changes shape? yeah. my knee feels like that sometimes.

sigh. Here's hoping my doctor has some answers for me.....

Let's move on to other things to keep me distracted shall we?

• Soldier Boy is the BEST boyfriend. I like him lots and lots. Last night he asked me if I'd go on a date with him Friday night. ;) I said yes, of course. 

• My bright pink shoes? Yeah...they're AWESOME. see for yourself:

• I get to blog for work now. If we're real-life friends you've probably seen the links on Facebook. I'm cool like that.

• I'm kind of loving social media everything at work right now. It keeps me sane.

•  I'm not going to lie: I've been loving the super nice, super warm weather we've been enjoying round these parts. I hate to see it go in the coming days.

• The Tulip Festival? So much win! Loved it!

• This weekend is going to be fun....I hope. ;) I'm just excited that the weekend is basically here. :o)

So there you go. Stay tuned for the post-appointment update. :P Prayers would be great! See you on the flip side!

half way

hey there. it's been a long week so far, and it's only Wednesday.

Yesterday was rough. I'm sorry I didn't get to a tender mercies post - I haven't done one in a while and I think I need to remember to take time to pause and reflect on the blessings I have been given as of late. So hopefully you'll see something next Tuesday. :o)

Last night my classes were missing over half the students. In both of them. With only seven weeks until the show and the year-end dances no where near being done...I'm starting to get a little stressed out. gah. That's the one thing about teaching advanced classes - the girls are all older and in high school and trying to do everything under the sun because they CAN and because they want to have the best possible resumes to get into colleges. bah. This is when I am grateful my mom made me choose just ONE thing to focus on. :o) Hopefully I have all the girls in class in the coming weeks. :P

I bought some bright pink sparkly TOM knockoffs....they are uber adorable. :o)

I get to go spend the evening with Soldier Boy tonight. I always look forward to my evenings with him - they rock my world. :o)

My coworker and I are sitting on exercise balls at work today. :o) It's fun. For now. Hopefully this bodes well for my figure. ;)

Finally, I'm going to go see my orthopedic surgeoun tomorrow. Remember him? He gave me bad news....he gave me good news. I'm hoping for good news tomorrow. See...my knee has been doing this weird popping thing as of late.

Monday Madness

hey kids.

I had the best weekend. Seriously, I wish that I could have just pushed pause on Saturday and stayed there for a very long time.

Soldier Boy, his daughter (suggestions for a 'nym?) and I had the best time up in his hometown. The sun was out, the skies were blue, and we spent a good chunk of time outside. :o) I got a little sunburned, but it was wonderful. We played on the swings, took naps (not intentionally for me), talked, watched a movie or two, rode the three-wheeler (SO MUCH WIN) and ate good food. Soldier Boy's sister and her family came up Saturday evening and that was really nice to see them and stuff. I didn't want to leave Saturday night and come back to O-town...but it was necessary. I had responsibilities to fill. :P

Regardless, this weekend was absolutely lovely. Soldier Boy surprised me last night and we had a great time together. I just love being with him! I can't wait until I can always be with him. :o)

Tonight we're going to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I am VERY much looking forward to this date night tonight. :o) We're just one step closer to summer fun times and I'm rather excited for summer to be here. Soldier Boy and I are going to have the best time. :o) woot!

Thursday thingies

I'm uber swamped, running on 4 hours of sleep and hoping that I can get everything done that needs to get done. ha. but...here we go.

• I have the best boyfriend ever. We might have stayed up too late last night, but it was because we were having the best conversation. I love talking with him.

• dancing. tonight. be there or be boring.

• i'm hoping all ten members of my company are in class tonight. We only have 8 weeks until the show...we need to get crackin' on choreography!

• we got badges/swipe cards for our new security system at work. I love them. 

• I'm spending time with the boyfriend and his daughter this weekend....I'm REALLY nervous about it.

• Seriously, I'm ridiculously nervous.

• Although Solider Boy did say the sweetest thing when I was telling him about this fear. He said, "Alishka, you have nothing to worry about. Honsetly, [daughter] is not going to remember a time when you weren't a part of her life."

• See? sweetest boyfriend ever. Totally put me at ease.

• BUT it's still a new facet to our relationship. guess we'll see what happens.....

• It's going to be SO SO SO pretty this weekend. I'm stoked to play outside and stuff.

• ALSO my Beckybob is in town AS WE SPEAK and we're playing tomorrow and i am just OH SO EXCITED. Truly. EXCITED!!

that's about it. :o) Have a great weekend!

One week....

I realize today is Tuesday and that usually means that I post a wonderful Tender Mercy Tuesday post about blessings in my life. I do have lots of things to be grateful right now, but honestly I'm still riding cloud 9 as I think about what happened one week ago today.

Speaking of one week, every time I think of that phrase I think of this fun song  by the Barenaked Ladies. Also fun fact: the theme song to my favorite tv show The Big Bang Theory? Sung by the Barenaked Ladies. I knew they were awesome for a reason. ;)

Anyways. I had a great weekend - it was filled with zumba, dinner with friends, and Ballet West with Soldier Boy aka my boyfriend. (I don't think I'll ever get tired of calling him my boyfriend. *grin*) I'll post a recap about that later - I was slightly disappointed with parts of it and wowed with others. :o) In the meantime, I'm enjoying the fact that I'm dating the sweetest guy in the entire world. :o) Have a great tax day folks!

Friday Things....

Hey dearest friends! It's been quite the week over here in Alishka land. I've been so busy and trying to get  things done - it's been crazy! I'm very much looking forward to my weekend and the weeks to come...but for now let me express some of my thoughts that are in my head....

• It's Friday the 13th. EVERY time a Friday the 13th rolls around I can't help but think of that one Friday the 13th in which I tore my MCL.

• being able to call Soldier Boy my boyfriend is the best thing ever.

• I burned my finger curling my hair yesterday. My finger still hurts.

• I love chapstick. It's amazing stuff. I wonder who invented chapstick?

• Thank you Google.... the inventory of chaptstick

• I get to go see Ballet West's performance of Emeralds (and Petit Mort and Paquita) this weekend. I'm ridiculously excited!

• I'm getting very excited for summertime. Soldier Boy and I have lots of fun plans of things we want to do together and with his daughter (hmmm...I might need to give her a 'nym!)

• I don't think I've told you this yet....but my sister is making me an Aunt at the end of September! I'm really excited to be an aunt and have a cute little niece or nephew to spoil. :o) It will be fun times.

• There's a family reunion coming up...in July! I'm excited for that fun times. My family is pretty cool and I'm excited to introduce Soldier Boy to them all.

• I'm trying to decide what to wear to the ballet on Saturday...I'm thinking of a little black dress I have...or my brown skirt w/teal top. We'll see how I feel on Saturday. ;)

• I'm wishing I could go to Disneyland again. Right now. That would be awesome sauce.

• I hate taxes - they are retarded.

• Life is an amazing gift and I feel SO BLESSED right now.

ANYWAYS. I hope all y'all have a great weekend - hopefully this Friday the 13th isn't too crazy for you. ;) 

NEWS!!!

dearest lovelies.....

I have the best of news.

the future boyfriend (Soldier Boy) is now officially my real-life boyfriend!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything that we were waiting for to go through is signed, sealed and delivered. This makes me so ridionkulously happy!

The story of how I found out is amazing. Are you ready for this?

SO. It's Spring Break round these parts so I only had TWO ballet students in my class and three in my choreography class (out of 5 for both of them) so...we goofed around a bit and whatever. So earlier in the day Soldier Boy had texted me asking when I get out of class so he knew when to expect my call (legit question, although slightly suspicious) and then just as I was getting out of class he texted me and asked for my roommate's phone number. also a little suspicious, but oh well. (btw I never see him on Tuesdays. I don't get done w/teaching until 8:15 putting me at home around 8:30 or so...it's just not worth it right now)

So I'm driving home talking to him and like 5 minutes into our conversation he tells me he has to go, but he'll call me right back. Within 5 minutes he does. we're talking and whatever and I'm walking up the stairs and as I get to my apt door, there's a HUGE bouquet of flowers (see pic below) and I'm all "someone left me (i think?) flowers..." and Soldier Boy doesn't say a WORD. then...as I'm opening the door, he hangs up and there he is walking towards me. He grabs my face....and kisses me. and I kiss him back. and drop like half the things in my arms (not the flowers) and then I pull away and say "it's all done then? signed, sealed, delivered?" and he said "yup." and then we proceeded to make out like rabbits. Okay, maybe not that bad....but there was a lot of kissing. and then he told me he wanted to take his girlfriend out to dinner so I quickly changed out of my teaching clothes and we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and I couldn't stop looking at him. I mean, kissing him before for that one week was good and all....but this. THIS was amazingly better because now there's all these feelings we've developed through real conversations.

So there you go. I am officially off the market (probably for the rest of my life) and I couldn't be happier.

the beautiful flowers my BOYFRIEND gave me last night. SO PRETTY!!!

Marvelous Monday Meanderings

My dearest friends!

It has been FAR too long since my last (sort of depressing) post! I apologize for that! So many amazing things have been happening and life is splendidly wonderful and I have a rosier/happier outlook on life. Granted, there are still hard things BUT they are suddenly more manageable. Funny how that happens.

FIRST off, there was the 182nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was a wonderful weekend where I was spoiled with lots of quality time with my future boyfriend, Soldier Boy. We also had the wonderful opportunity (thanks Chilly!) to go to the Afternoon Session in the conference center, which is ALWAYS a treat. We had a blast.

SECOND off, we (Soldier Boy and I) got GREAT news this week and it puts us one step closer to being in a real-life, public relationship. :o) I can't wait to kiss that boy again. He drives me crazy (in a good way) and I can't wait until I can call him mine for reals.

THIRDLY, one of the two studios I teach for had their year-end concert this weekend: Emotions are in Motion. I got to be a mime and it was REALLY fun! I enjoyed my moments on stage and got a kick out of playing with the audience. Good times. Also, this means that I am done teaching for said studio. HUZZAH for open Monday evenings! I'm so excited about this, I'm not quite sure WHAT to do with myself! :o)

MOVING right along.... I found this amazing quote from the ever brilliant wily brunette and I just HAD to share it with you.

"You're going to discover that conversations are best at 4 am. The heavier the eyelids, the sincerer the words. Those are the talks you'll remember. It's okay not to know the answer and silence is not awkward. It's shared, so share it more often than not."

Jeff Stuckel

There is truth in this statement yo. Soldier Boy and I always seem to have the BEST conversations in the early morning hours when we're so tired and really should be in bed. I love it.

FINALLY, I promise to be a better blogger. Or at least TRY to be a better blogger. Then maybe this whole catch up thing wouldn't seem so daunting because everything would be current. Have a lovely Spring day!

P.S. You should check out my friend and her blog post that went up yesterday about Sparkling. She's a lovely writer with a lovely thoughts on life and she's constantly reminding me to be the best person I am. Seriously, I don't know how I would get through some days without her. :o)

Words on Wednesday

so many words in my head right now.

Life is insane. Not that I would want to lead a boring life, mind you. BUT sometimes I wish it would be not so crazy and would just be....normal. Or something. But what is normal? Is there such a thing as normal? Probably not. Whoever tries to define normal is probably crazy. ;)

Life is hard. Yet again, I wouldn't have it any other way. An easy life? nah. How would one grow with an easy life? So when it comes down to it, a hard life is better than an easy one. In the long run. I'd rather be someone with lots of growth and change in my life then someone who is static and the same for a bazillion years. HOWEVER, this does not mean that I always enjoy the hard life. In fact right now? Right now it sucks.

Life is an adventure. Every day there is something new. Every day there are new things to try, new emotions to feel, new knowledge to internalize. I love this about life. I love adventure and the fact that MY life is an adventure brings me joy.

I need to remember that while life is all of these things - I don't have to go through all of these things by myself. IN FACT Heavenly Father has given me an INCREDIBLE family, the best friends in the world and a future boyfriend that I hope to make my everything.

Yes, life is insane, hard and an adventure, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

BRING LIFE ON!

Thursday Things

• I am tired. Also, my to-do list is ridonkulously long right now. Not a fan of that.

• This week has been rough. Granted, the week after a vacation is usually that way, but with some of the emotional turmoil in my life it was extra hard.

• I can't believe it's spring (and it actually feels like it!). This year is really going to fly by, I can feel it.

• There are changes coming to my life this next year - some that I know exactly when they're going to happen and some when I have NO IDEA when they're going to happen. I am ready for change.

• I know I'll be moving this summer. I'm not signing a year contract at my current residence. (as much as i love my place!) I don't know where I'm moving to yet....but I'm moving. I hate moving.

• I need to do some serious spring cleaning. I'm hoping to get a jump start on that this weekend.

• I can't help but remember the fun times from a year ago that happened this week. That was good times y'all, good times.

• Four of my Ten company members are missing class and rehearsal tonight because of school related events. This drives me nuts. I'm thinking we're just going to watch a movie today in class. I hardly ever do that. If ever really. That will be fun, right? sigh. I can't wait until this dance year is done. I'm so burned out right now.

• dancing tonight needs to happen. I need the release dancing brings. Especially when that dancing involves Solider Boy. He calms my heart.

• just ate lunch with some coworkers. made my day. sat outside...got some Vitamin D....I need more sunshine. Good thing the weather is going to be so fantastic this weekend.

• chocolate covered pomegranates are amazing. 

• i need a mani/pedi. i wonder if i have time to slip that in somewhere this weekend...

well. that's about it. I'm kind of all over the place today...I'm hoping I can get myself together and be really productive this weekend. :o) Have a great weekend everyone!

Three Things....

Thing #1 -

My trip to California was SO magical. I LOVED Disneyland with all of my little girl heart. It was the best thing I've ever done for myself. It was grand. My friend Josh's fashion show was FANTASTIC. Here is a link to see his collection (set 1 and set 2). It's very high men's fashion...in fact there's a chunk of it I would never even consider putting on Soldier Boy, but that suit. oh man. I LOVE that suit. :o)

Thing #2 -

The Photo-A-Day meme was going so well for me....and then I went to California and didn't do it AT ALL. Seriously. AT ALL. And trying to make up 5, 6? days worth of pictures at this point? so not worth it. In fact, I'm trying to do other things for March right now that I think I'm just going to bag the month of March, call it good and do the month of April. (I am doing this for a Day Zero goal after all) Sound good? good. :o)

Thing #3 -

I have  the best Tender Mercy for you today! So...without further ado, Tender Mercy Tuesday 59th Edition

So last night Soldier Boy and I were reading scriptures together. We were in the Book of Mormon, specifically Mosiah 23 and 24

I was reading when I read verses 15 and 16 in Chapter 24 where it says:

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

 16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

 I loved that. First, I loved that the people did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord. How hard must that have been? To be in the middle of so great a trial and yet to be willing to let the Lord be in control and to be HAPPY about it. and THEN verse sixteen then says that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord..[said]..on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage. So the Lord then blesses them for their faith AND patience.

I know the Lord always blesses us and that out of great trials come great blessings, but how often does he tell us WHEN the blessing will come and WHAT that blessing will be  for us? It's not very often. HOWEVER, I was comforted last night to know that it is POSSIBLE to be cheerful and patient in our trials and we will be blessed for it. It is not always the easiest thing to do, by any means, but it was comforting none-the-less. Trials always come. There's no way around them, they are the reason we are here on this earth - to be tried and tested and to come to an understanding before returning to live with our Father in Heaven. However, we're never given anything more than we can handle and we always have the opportunity to have the Holy Ghost, a comforter, to be with us. How grateful I am for these facts. I don't think I'd be able to live through some of my current (or past) trials with out these blessings from my loving Heavenly Father.  He really does loves us and want us to be happy and for that I will eternally be grateful.

Have a great day everyone!

Hi guys.

Hi friends.

I'm sorry I've been MIA. I haven't even gotten a Tender Mercy post up in a couple of weeks! GAH! I feel so bad...but I've been living my life and haven't had a ton of time to blog about it. I hope you follow me on twitter and stuff, because I do try to keep that updated. :o) Try being the operative word.

ANYWAYS....

I had a grand weekend, life is great and my future boyfriend is the best thing that has ever happened to me in the history of ever. Things are really good in that regard. In case you were wondering.

ALSO,

I leave for Disneyland in ... 7.5 hours. I'm rather excited about this trip of mine. I'm going with Surfer Boy (remember him? we're good friends still) the EQ Pres (yup, the RSP and the EQP are both going to be gone from church this weekend. good times!) and then another girl from my ward is coming. She's hilarious and I'm excited for our little road trip of awesomeness.

PLUS

I'm going to spend TWO DAYS in Disneyland this week. GAH. I am so excited I just can't stand it.

Don't miss me too much and I'll try to bring back loads of awesome stories and stuff about my trip. :o)

love you all!!

Photo-A-Day: a Sign

the construction. by my house. I hate it.