How I deal....

I can usually handle a break-up pretty well. usually being the key word.

This time around has been interesting since I saw the other side of breaking-up. I have found myself still going through the same grief cycle and what not.

First thing that's always on my agenda? New shoes. Oh and did these new shoes deliver...please observe:

Hot, no? I am so in love with these gold glitter stilettos. They make me tall, add some pizzaz to any outfit and are just plain AWESOME.

Next thing on my agenda is to immerse myself in crafty projects and hang out with all my friends. Done and done. I finished my sister's wedding gift (a wedding album of everything from their wedding. I am so awesome) and gave it to her this weekend. I hung out with Surfer Boy and other peeps from my ward and basically just had a fun time.

The next thing that usually happens after a break-up is that I begin to miss having a boyfriend but don't necessarily miss the boy I was dating specifically. I am currently in that phase. It is always a hard phase to get out of, but I will persevere. :o) Today I'm doing that by reminding myself of the awesomeness through a few quotes. Enjoy and have a marvelous Martin Luther King Jr. Day (I SO wish I had the day off. :( )

a relief with sadness sandwich

So. I'm currently chowing down on a relief with sadness sandwich. I know, it doesn't sound like the most exciting sandwich in the world, but it is one filled with everything that my mind, heart, and soul need right now.

Last night I broke up with Monkey Man. Sad, I know. But it had to happen. See....things just weren't jiving for me anymore. There's a whole lot of reason to why I broke up with him, but a lot of it is SO personal that I just don't feel comfortable sharing it here. I do know that it was the right thing to do - without a doubt. It was sad to see his face fall when I told him the things I needed to tell him, but he took it graciously and didn't put up a fight. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe more tears? I'm a really hard person to break up with and so I just figured it could quite possibly be like that. Luckily, it wasn't and after I left his house I drove down to see Sister B and her hubby. We talked a bit and finished a puzzle that's been on their table since Thanksgiving. :o)

After I got home I saw this quote twice in two different places within 5 minutes of each other:

While it isn't perfect, I do feel like it describes what I did. The courage that it took to do what I did didn't roar. And here I am tyring again....not in the same way - but I am not going to wallow. I am not going to throw myself a pity party because I KNOW that what I did was right. I KNOW that there are other things out there for me and I KNOW that I'm going to be okay. I just have to keep on trying. And try I will. My dear friend blogged about courage and having to choose between things that are "good" and things that are "best." Not always an easy choice as I have found out. Her words of wisdom rang true to me last night and this I know..... I will try again tomorrow. Until another time my friends, God bless.

Confuzzled

You guys, I am very confuzzled.

This is going to be a post with lots of thoughts that might be incomplete. You might not know the whole story behind all my thoughts. I'm sorry if that's the case, but I feel the need to share with SOMEONE what is going on and I need to get this written out because maybe it will make more sense. Maybe. I make no guarantees. Also, you can feel welcome to post any advice, but don't feel offended if I disregard it entirely. Remember, you might not know the whole story.

Okay, that being said.....

I like Monkey Man. I really do, but I just don't know if I feel anything deeper. I thought I did, I really did. But then....I don't know it's like someone pushed a button and now I'm not really sure I feel that way. Maybe it's because the thrill has worn off a little bit. Maybe it's because I was super duper emotional all last week, plus I had a slew of extra hormones and the stress of a wedding, my teaching job giving me some grief and teaching relief society weighing heavily on my mind.

This past week there have been more times when I have felt impatient and frustrated with Monkey Man then at any other time in our relationship, but the thing is - we haven't been dating for a super long time. 2.5 months. Which compared to my relationship with SwingKid is like a drop in the bucket. Not that I plan on dating someone for a bazillion years before marrying them....but 2.5 months is not a long time. I know that I don't know everything about him and I realized that in the past few days. We treat different situations VERY differently. We have different thought processes on how certain things should work. It's not on anything that is a deal-breaker for me....but how many of those differences can one have before they equal a deal-breaker?

Before you ask, no I haven't talked to Monkey Man about this. For two reasons 1) I'm still not sure what all of my hang-ups are - I just know they are there and that they seem to be really really big. But that just might be my imagination and 2) I'm nervous that it's going to mean breaking up (or something maybe not! but i just don't know) and doing THAT scares me. Monkey Man is the sweetest guy in the whole wide world and I don't want to hurt him. (Plus I've never had to really break up with someone before. I suck at it.) We get along really well...it's just...I'm not sure if he's someone that I want to be with for forever. He's going out of town in two weeks for a weekend and I think that's going to be really good for me. (even though I just was away from him for 9 days for Christmas...it just....was different then. something changed. Seriously, some elf pushed a button.)

I don't even know what I'm asking, or if I'm asking anything. This is one of those battles in love that bugs me. I just don't know what to do, but right now NOTHING feels right. There's a small part of me that wouldn't mind going on dates with other people right now....and I don't know if that's just because I'm confuzzled and I want to run away from the situation - or if it's a sign that it might be time to move one from this phase of my life. The thing is....I know that if I say anything or suggest even the slightest thing is going to completely blindside this poor, sweet boy. sigh. Any wise words my friends? I certainly could use them.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful time of year and the time you (hopefully!) get to spend with your families! I know that I am enjoying every. single. minute (all the while missing Monkey Man). Here's a little something that I wanted to share with you that will hopefully put you in the proper mood. Much love!

Friday Things!

Hello my dearest Internet friends! I apologize that it's been several days since I last posted, but with spending a whole day on a plane/in an airport and then enjoying the lack of responsibility that I have right now, I just haven't felt like posting! However, I thought on today, this being Christmas Adam and all, I would leave you with a few things..... :o)

• Being with my family is awesome. I haven't seen them since my sister's wedding in June and it's great to be able to spend time with them.

• I am starting to catch up on sleep and it is wonderful. I really love not having to wake up to an alarm clock every day. :o)

• Having the Brother-in-law around is...different. It definitely makes things more interesting. Not bad, just interesting. 

• I am intrigued to see what happens when there is more than one significant other around here. That will be fun times.

• I wonder what the coming year will bring. While I had a year full of growth and flourishing - it still feels like I did a lot of the same old same old. I guess that's an adult life for ya....but I still wonder what next year will be like. I'm excited for it to come so I can see. :o)

• I miss Monkey Man like crazy. When we said goodnight/goodbye on Tuesday night (really early Wednesday morning) I thought that the next 8 days were going to go by SO SLOWLY. But then we were talking last night and I realized just how quickly my vacation was going to come to an end. I think it helps that I'll still have a holiday and a few days before having to go back to real life once I'm back in Utah.

• Monkey Man got me a great Christmas present: a really pretty brown infinity scarf + black hand warmer things. (like fingerless gloves without the finger parts) He did a great job for the first gift giving-ness in our relationship. ;)

• I haven't been to the gym since Monday evening...but I'm going later this afternoon AND I am going running with my dad tomorrow morning. So that's good.

• Virginia is not that cold right now. In fact, when I stepped off the plane it was balmy 63 degrees. I love it. The house is a little cooler than that - it's the way the house was built, but the fact is there is NO snow, NO ice, and NO need for crazy amounts of layers. I am totally okay with this this year. In fact, I prayed for it. ;)

Basically, I am really enjoying my time off and my first real vacation in a LONG, LONG time. I don't really count the week I took off for my sister's wedding or any of the times I took off for other reasons and had a "staycation" as vacation. This is my first REAL vacation in a year and boy, do I deserve it! I hope you all have the best Christmas weekend ever! I'll be in touch...eventually. ;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 51st Edition

Well m'dears. The fact that I haven't posted in a week should be a testament to how busy I really have been in the past week. Since last Tuesday I have:

• gotten my hair done - it looks fantastic! I'm in love with it.
• Played volleyball
• Hung out with Monkey Man countless times.
• Made pumpkin bread and white chocolate popcorn as gifts.
• Done my visiting teaching.
• Collected sub-for-Santa gifts from people in my ward
• Sung in my ward's Christmas program
• Hung out with Truit + Husband. They met Monkey Man. It was good times.
• Went to temple square...again. :o)
• Went to a wedding reception
• Caught the bouquet without trying. (seriously. It fell into my hands. No jumping required for this girl!)
• Had roommate Christmas
• Have my bags 75% packed (checked bag is 99% packed, carry-on and personal item are almost done)
• Checked into my departing flight :o)
• Taught several ballet classes
• Went to they gym and worked out with my trainer - twice!
• Worked on my day off. :(

It's been a very busy past seven days. I still have a few things to take care of this afternoon/evening. But once my ballet classes are taught I should be go to go and then I'll get to hang out with Monkey Man all night and have Christmas with him. :o) I'm excited. I'm also sad to be leaving him for so long. Thankfully there is plenty of technology to help us stay in contact for the 9 days I'll be gone.

This is not the point of the post  - the main point is to tell you about the most wonderful tender mercy I had this past week.

Life has obviously been really, really busy for me and I've been very stressed - especially the past couple of days. However, I have had times when the spirit of Christmas has been so strong and has blessed my life and reminded me why I do what I do at this time of year.

I've had the wonderful opportunity to help organize a sub-for-Santa for a couple of families in the home stake that feeds into our single's ward. It has been a wonderful experience to see people from my ward step it up and shower these families with generosity. These families that weren't going to have any kind of Christmas are now going to have a wonderful Christmas filled with love and laughter. There are so many wonderful people in the world and I feel so blessed to be able to know so many of them.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 50th Edition

Hello my dears! I hope you're having a wonderful Tuesday. My brain is feeling a little on the fried side, but I had the most wonderful evening last night. After frosting cookies, Monkey Man and I along with some friends played with the xbox Kinnect. Totally counting that as my workout last night. The dancing game rocks my socks.

But let's get to the point of this post - my tender mercy of the week. Saturday was going to be an insanely busy day for me and I had 5 different things that I needed attend because of my responsibilities. However, as Friday evening progressed 2 of those 5 things got canceled. This made me so happy and honestly made my Saturday much more bearable.

It is always the smallest things that will make me realize how very blessed I really am and I am so thankful for all the blessings I have been given since I started this meme. It's hard to believe that it has been over a year already since the induction of this meme.

As I reflect on the past year (and get ready to do my yearly recap) I am blown away by the love that has been shown to me in SO many different ways. My word of they year - Flourish - has been so very good to me. I'm currently brainstorming different words for next year's word of the year. Any suggestions?

In the meantime....I'm starting to freakout about EVERYTHING that needs to get done between now and next Tuesday....I'm not really positive on how that's all going to go down :P Here's hoping I can be productive this evening! Ciao!

A Friday!!!

Hello dearest friends.

Guess what?

It's FRIDAY! Oh how I love that today is Friday. Tomorrow is going to be my busiest day of the month BY FAR, but I'm still excited for it to be the weekend. This is mostly because this is my last FULL week of work until the middle of January. (I have planned my vacationing/time off well.....  ;) )

Last night Monkey Man took me salsa dancing. It was a blast. I loved every minute of it. He's a very good dancer and I enjoyed being in his arms throughout the evening. Loved it.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Don't implode! ;) (that's my one goal this weekend - don't implode)

Thursday Things

Hi guys. things are crazy. When are they not crazy right? but really....this time of year is always nuts-o in the office and this year is NO exception. I have just a few thoughts that I want to share with y'all today.

• I went to the temple last night with members of my ward. It was so wonderful to be there with my friends. I love going to the temple and last night was no exception. I had a wonderful expereince and can't wait to repeat it sometime in the near future.

• Tonight Monkey Man is taking me salsa dancing. :o) 

• I'm nervous and I think I know why. See...the last time a significant other took me dancing it was SwingKid and it was @ Blue Tango - a venue we frequented often when we were dating and a place I still frequent. (In fact, I'm ditching Blue Tango tonight for salsa dancing.) And I'm just nervous about dancing with Monkey Man. I'm sure he's a fabulous dancer...but it's still a little nerve wracking. I'm sure it will be fine, but for now I'm nervous.

• I leave for VA in 13 days. I have WAY too much to do between now and then. I have no idea how I'm going to get everything done in the next 13 days. GAH!

• Have I mentioned that work is insane? Yeah. INSANE.

I am pretty sure there are more things that I was going to share with you. Unfortunately, my brain is not working very well these days. I think it has something to do with a) the insanity at work and b) being twitterpated. ;) Hope you all have a great evening. I'm pretty sure I'll be back tomorrow. ;)

"it's busy season!"

that is our  go-to phrase here at work these days. My coworker is super cute when she says it to justify our three-week lead time on our product. The months of November/December are always crazy in the office, but this year it seems to be amplified 100x or so. Life is INSANE around the office.

Anyways. Seeing as how it's been almost a week since I last posted I figured a bullet-point list would be the best way to catch you up on my awesome life. (seriously, life is uber awesome.)

• Monkey Man is the sweetest guy in the whole wide world and I'm the luckiest girl ever. Seriously. I catch myself staring at him all the time and thinking to myself, "how did I get so lucky?" things are good.

• Went to Temple Square on Saturday night w/Monkey Man and another couple to see the lights, go to dinner (Z'Tejas @ Gateway. okay food. not my favorite restaurant) and then party it up at the Clark Planetarium. We took fun pictures on the moon and mars. It was a blast (although VERY cold).

• Had the annual Christmas tour day for my ballet company. that was a day full of driving and stuff. Nothing bad happened and it was a pretty good day overall. 

• Made Aebelskivers last night w/Sister B and her husband and Monkey Man. Also, we watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional and played games. It was fun times. 

• during the course of this week, Monkey Man and I have something together to do/attend 5/7 days. :o) I'm very excited about this.

• I'm finding it hard to believe that it's been a year. Part of me is shocked it has only been a year. At times it feels longer. 

• I'm addicted to cherry coridal kisses and m&ms. :o) yummy.

• I haven't been very good about going to the gym the past week or so. My trainer is going to kill me.

• I get to party it up with my ballet girls tonight. I'm rather excited to see all my friends. It's been awhile.

• I leave for VA in 16 days. EEK! Christmas is going to be here before I know it. :P

• I need an idea for a mass gift for my RS sisters. Any and all ideas are welcome. a DIY project is not really feasible at this point, but I need to keep cost down as well....so yeah. Please suggest something. ;)

• My office was a brisk 56 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. SO COLD. Stupid next door office that controls the thermostat and doesn't leave it on during the weekends. :P

• The world is very, very small. Roommate R (one of my favorite persons EVER) is friends with someone that Monkey Man knows as well. Insane how small the world is. ESPECIALLY in Utah.

Basically, I'm really  busy with life in general but I'm super happy, twitterpated, and joyful as an elf.  :o) Have a wonderful day!

Holiday Hangover

I am not wanting to be at work this morning, I have an awful holiday hangover. It's definitely a Monday morning around here and I'm hoping that I don't die from the insanity of it all.

I had the most lovely Sunday yesterday. I waxed domestic yesterday and made a pot roast in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots. I also had prepared a green salad, my favorite holiday jello salad and a pumpkin pie. OH! And crescent rolls. I had a major craving for those. So, I made a lot of food. :o) Then, I invited Monkey Man and a couple that are really good friends with him. (I like them too, for the record.) We had a blast eating good food and playing Ticket to Ride. It was fun times. After the friends left Monkey Man and I decorated my Christmas tree.

I rather enjoyed decorating my tree with someone. It was fun. After we were done, (it didn't take long, it's a tiny tree) we were sitting in the glow of the tiny twinkling lights and we started talking about the month of December. Now, December is a  busy month for anyone and there's always so much going on and as we started discussing the different activities (i.e. parties, wedding receptions, date nights etc) that we had planned we both pulled out our planners and started writing everything down. We are very busy in the month of December. :o) However, I am so excited. Monkey Man definitely wants me involved in his life and that makes me happy.

Also, we talked about New Year's Eve. We have an idea of what we want to do. It is a crazy idea, but it could be a lot of fun. I don't want to tell you what it is yet in case I jinx it and make it so we can't go....but let's suffice it to say that it would be my most adventurous New Year's Eve ever. :o)

Anyways, it's been a good weekend. I am thoroughly enjoying my relationship with Monkey Man and I know that the next 3.5 weeks are going to just FLY by and I will suddenly find myself in Virginia celebrating Christmas. :o)

This happened yesterday:

Christmas threw up in my living room. here, i'll prove it to you.

yup. definitely a disaster zone right now. so what do I do to combat the disaster that I need to deal with?

• I made a mail organizer. (I tried to follow this one tutorial, and then....me being my mother's daughter I tried to guesstimate on my own measurements. This mail organizer is one of THE ugliest things I have ever made. but....it's functional!)

• made a pumpkin pie. I did not do any pie baking for Turkey day (we ate dinner @ Mimi's cafe...that story coming later!) so today I did a little baking here and there.

• made my favorite jello salad. I'm cooking dinner tomorrow night for Monkey Man (and maybe some friends? we'll see) and I'm rather excited about it!

• danced around in my kitchen to the wonderful sounds of Michael Buble and She & Him Christmas albums (seriously, they rock. go buy them! The She & Him one is only $5 on Amazon MP3 Downloads right now!)

• went and bought fun new Christmas floral things. as if i didn't have enough Christmas stuff to begin with...

• and now I'm contemplating making some new pillow covers for the holidays.

and yes...the mess is still in my living room 24 hours later...ha ha ha ha. I promise it will be gone....eventually. ;)

Thursday Things - Thanksgiving Edition

I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for this beautiful Thanksgiving Day. Here are just a few things that I am grateful for today:

• My family - they are have always been supportive of me and my dreams and for that I will be eternally grateful.

• The restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I seriously don't know where I'd be in my life without it.

• My sweet boyfriend. I was not feeling well last night, at all, and he took time from his busy schedule to bring me chicken noodle soup and sit and just hold me. After he left I felt tons better. He's amazing and I am the luckiest girl in the world to call Monkey Man mine.

• My jobs. I work for the best company by day and do what I love by night. Not very many people are as lucky as I am in that regard and I feel so blessed to be able to do it all.

• My church calling. As hard as it can be sometimes to be over so many people and have so many responsibilities, I love it. I love the joy that comes from being able to serve those around me.

• My apartment and roommates. I live with the best girls in a great apartment. I am so glad that I found this place 2.5 years ago. 

• Technology and other comforts that come from living in the 21st century. I am very blessed to live in this day and age. 

I really am so very blessed in so many different ways. I hope each of you will take some time today to be thankful for everything you have been given. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

it's official

I'm twitterpated.

You're all probably going, "um....duh Alishka. You've been twitterpated for weeks now."

And this is true...but it's a much deeper twitterpation.

You see, the more time I spend with Monkey Man the more I discover all the great and wonderful things about him. I wouldn't even know where to start in telling you everything that I enjoy about him. I am loving where our relationship is right now and really enjoy having someone call me theirs.

In fact, last night someone said, "I need to find myself an Alishka," and Monkey Man said, "well you can't have this one, she's taken." It was so sweet! sigh. He's just so wonderful and I feel so blessed to have him in my life right now.

We had a very low key weekend, but it was so much fun. I am really looking forward to spending lots of time with him this week. There's volleyball night, dinner with his family, (oh yeah, did I mention that I am eating Thanksgiving dinner w/his family on Thursday night? Well, I am. I'm rather nervous about it) movie night, basketball (maybe) and possibly ice skating and bowling. We'll see about those last two. :o) It's going to be a great week! I'm so excited!!

Hope all of you had a great weekend! :o) Have a lovely Monday.

Happy Dance!

guys. I love love love Thursdays. I always say that because it is oh so TRUE! :o) This week has been just awful in many ways and I am very glad to have weekend just about here. I have a lot of random things, so let's get this party started shall we?

• BLUE TANGO! TONIGHT! I am so excited to go dancing! One of my favorite peeps to dance with is going to be there tonight and I'm rather excited about this.

• Tomorrow is Date Night. In fact, this last weekend Monkey Man was conversing w/someone from the ward about Movie Night and the next movie we were going to do and where and such and the topic of when came up. This other person mentioned how we could do Friday and Monkey Man said, "Friday night is Date Night. You can't mess with Date Night." I was SO EXCITED to hear those words come from his mouth. I love Date Night. On the agenda is dinner, apple pie making and the annual lighting festival at the Riverwoods. Sounds festive right? :o)

• I am going to be crafty this weekend and I am just so excited about this. I'm going to make a new bag for my church stuff. :o) It should be pretty sweet. Maybe I'll take pictures and tell you about it. Maybe.

• I got whacked in the face with a volleyball last night. Got whiplash. WORST headache EVER. but it was a fun night regardless.

• Also, last night I had a training meeting with the General Relief Society board. It was a wonderful board. I took so many pages of notes of things that I can be doing better. Part of me LOVES these meetings and another part of me hates them because afterwards I just feel so inadequate. There is so much room for improvement.

• I am just so happy these days when it comes to Monkey Man. After an emotional breakdown (over things that have been building up for some time now) on Tuesday evening, Monkey Man let me gripe and complain. He lent the best listening ear. The conversation led to other topics and his philosophies on life and the gospel are so well aligned with mine it is sometimes scary. I really really really really like him. I think he's the bee's knees and love being able to spend time with him any way I can.

• My cousin is blessing her baby up in L* this weekend. Sister B, Brother-in-Law T and I are all going up to spend time with them. Monkey Man may or may not be coming depending on his schedule on Sunday. Regardless, I am excited to spend time with my cousins.
• I really love going to the gym. SO GREAT.

• I'm really excited for the Holidays. They are going to be so much fun this year.

• Also, what does when get a boy they've  been dating for a short time (*cough Monkey Man cough*) for Christmas? I'm thinking maybe I'll make a stocking and stuff it with cute, fun  knick knacks, but I'm not sure. Your ideas are welcome.

Have the most fantastic weekend ever friends! Loves!

The Grandest Wish of all....

At 11:11 today (11/11/11) I will be driving to Spanish Fork whilst on my lunch break to take care of a stupid ticket from my car accident on Halloween. pooh. BUT it means that I probably won't miss this auspicious event. :o)

All morning long I've been thinking of what I should wish for because a wish made on such a day as this is bound to be pretty amazing AND I would think it has the highest chance of coming true. :o) So...what does one wish for on this great event?

I have no idea.

While I continue to ponder my wishes so I can make that great wish in just a matter of hours, I want to take this time to thank all of the veterans - including both of my grandfathers. They have done so much to help keep our country safe and I'm grateful for their sacrifice. The world would be a much scarier place right now without them.

And finally, a little jovial Friday Fill-ins for ya today. I hope this day brings you the most happiness possible. Loves!

1. Turkey is delicious. I love eating turkey - especially turkey sandwiches!

2. I love pumpkin pie. And plan on making plenty of it this year. :o)

3. On and on and on we go day in and day out.

4. The last time I saw my good former roommate Peximus Maximus was three years ago - until Wednesday afternoon! It was so fabulous to get to see and visit with her. She makes my heart happy.

5. Can you believe there are less than 2 weeks to Thanksgiving? This year is going to be over before we know it!

6. I need a personal assistant. There are too many things that I need to take care of that I just don't want to deal with right now.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my dinner date with Monkey Man, tomorrow my plans include rehearsal and cleaning my house and the Ward Dinner + Talent Show and Sunday, I want to make something yummy!

Happy it's Thursday!

Wow. Is it just me or has this week been eternally long? Honestly....Yesterday felt like it should have been Friday and yet it was only Wednesday. Also - work has been absolutely insane and I think I'm slowly going crazy.

Anywho. Let's get this show on the road before the phones ring again and I have to get myself to a meeting....

• I burned myself with my 3-barrell curling iron on Saturday. :( 

• I have a dinner-date with Monkey Man tomorrow night. I'm very much looking forward to that.

• There's Blue Tango dancing tonight (like always) but I'm not sure I'm going to go. I might come home and go to bed instead. We'll see.

• I'm subbing for another teacher tonight so I'll be teaching later than normal. That is one of the reasons why I might not go dancing. Plus...I am really, really tired right now. But maybe I'll have more energy later?

• I know last week I hinted at doing a post on my trainer...it's coming. Promise.

• I think I need some cupcakes. I really like cupcakes.

• I have a girl's night out coming up next week and I am just SO excited about it. PLUS I love the girls that I'm hanging out with which means that that evening should be just utter fantasticness.

• I have too many craft projects that I want to do. :P

• So I think I might need to have a crafty afternoon where I don't worry about how clean my house is - but instead I just craft away my day. Sounds like a good plan right?

I'm pretty sure there's something else I was going to mention to y'all today, but seriously? My brain is fried and the phones haven't stopped ringing. It seriously has taken me all day to post this. sigh. maybe tomorrow will be better??

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 45th Edition

I was so sad to have missed Tender Mercy Tuesday last week, but I'm back this week! I have had a good past couple of weeks filled with so many different tender mercies that it is hard to pick which one(s) to share with you.

Let me start with last week - Last week we had Stake Conference and it was the most wonderful thing. It was exactly what I needed that weekend and it lifted my spirits and answered questions for me in my life. 

My other tender mercy comes from last night. I had to make a decision whether or not to spend some one-on-one time with Monkey Man and most likely stay up late OR go to the gym and get to bed at a decent hour. I had told myself when I got into a relationship again that I didn't want to drop things that I like to do (like going to the gym) just to hang out with my significant other. However, last night I felt like it would be more beneficial to me AND my relationship with Monkey Man if I stayed and hung out with him.

BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Even though I only got 4.5 hours of sleep last night (i know, i know), the benefits of getting to be with Monkey Man were TOTALLY worth it. We watched a movie and after the movie was over, Monkey Man and I sat talking for over an hour and I learned so many things and got to know him even more and I found something out - he's committed to me. I mean, he didn't SAY those words exactly, but we were talking about the holidays and things coming up and Monkey Man told me he'd go to my work Christmas party w/me (we got our save the dates yesterday) and he's already put into his phone when I'm going to be gone to see my family. He told me he'd love it if I took him to DC someday, we're going to do something on New Year’s, he put my birthday in his phone...etc etc. And while that is just a whole bunch of little things that could or could not happen it's a BIG deal to me, because I’ve had past boyfriends that don’t like to commit to things in the future. Lots of guys feel that way. They don’t like to plan for things to far in advance just in case “it doesn't work out.”  I HATED that about those guys (or guys who would never plan ANYTHING *cough Grizzly Bear cough*.) Because, so what if we're not together THEN at least commit now and show me that I'm important to you! And Monkey Man did that. He hinted about meeting his family (well...warned me that I had no idea what they were like yet...and then kind of told me about them. It was fun) Also, he just....is amazing. I could tell when we were talking and discussing things that he cares about me and he wants to plan on spending time with me, and I love that so much. So there you go. A little insight to my current relationship, and while we haven't sat down and had a "DTR," I feel like I know where things stand based off of his actions and to me that is much better than any kind of DTR conversation we could have right now. :o) 

Basically, I'm happy. Monkey Man and I are dating and it's so great. It's gone so smoothly and effortlessly that I can't help but wonder what is in store for us in the future. It's just GOOD and I like it. 

Have a great Tuesday y'all!

Today has been....

officially declared "stupid people day." At least, at my place of work it has been. Today has been ridiculous when it comes to stupid people and their stupid requests.

ANYWHO. The good news is that today is THURSDAY and I just love Thursdays. (I think I say that every week, but it's so very true that I'm okay with saying it every week. :o) )

onward and upward!

• Not only is today THURSDAY, it's my FRIDAY. My weekend starts as soon as my company class is over tonight - 8pm. I can do this!

• I am sleeping in tomorrow. My Friday schedule is a little different than past Fridays and that includes sleeping and sleeping until  I can't sleep no more. Or 9:30 am. Whichever comes first. ;) 

• I'm going to the temple with a dear former roommate (Roommate LZ) on Saturday morning. I'm so excited to spend time with her in the best place ever!

• I haven't been serious grocery shopping in WEEKS. That is being rectified tomorrow. I even have a meal plan for several crock pot meals to make this next week. I'm excited. I hope they turn out...

• I have a post in the works about my gym trainer. He's a rock star (literally) and I can't wait to tell you all about him.

• Speaking of the gym...I'm going tomorrow AND Saturday. I'm just that cool.

• I also get to practice being a mime on Saturday for a show in April. Again...I'm just that cool.

• Monkey Man is adorable and I'm quickly falling head over heels for him...and yet I'm very calm about it. (most of the time) It's a very interesting ride and I couldn't be happier. 

• I love Greek yogurt. ESPECIALLY Greek yogurt by Yoplait. mmmm....yummy.

• Thanksgiving is only 3 weeks away! WOO HOO! I love holidays.

• the pile of sticky notes that have been used this week is ASTOUNDING. It has been so super busy this week. ai yi yi

• I played volleyball last night and at one point I chest bumped the volleyball. It was AWESOME.

• There was A LOT of laughter at volleyball last night. SO MUCH FUN. I loved it.

• Sometimes being a Relief Society President is hard. I do love it, but it's HARD.

• I have some fitness goals to share with you...but they're not completely finalized yet (which is bad of me...but deal with it.) I'll probably share them in the near future. Get ready for THAT awesomeness.

• I just realized the year is drawing to a close and I'm noticing how many things have helped me flourish this year. I need to start brainstorming a word for the year for 2012. 2012 is going to be good....I can feel it.

I feel like I'm forgetting something...but this has been a very long Thursday Things already, so I think I'll be done. For now. Until next time my dears, STAY HAPPY!!

WEDNESDAY!

So....I missed Tender Mercy Tuesday. I'm sorry! I had a great one planned in my head...but after a CRAZY Halloween night (car accident :( [my fault. so sad] and a party w/Monkey Man) and a VERY busy day on the phones....posting just didn't happen.

BUT I'm here today! The party with Monkey Man was so much fun. I love spending time with him and getting to hold his hand. :o) Everything is still very surreal to me. (a very good surreal though)

Tonight is going to be busy, but should be fun.

My brain is scattered, so I'm going to leave you with this AWESOME YouTube video that I shared via twitter earlier this morning and call it good. Happy Hump Day all y'all!