Monday Awesomeness

Something awesome for your brain on Monday....since Monday is mostly in our brains, anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day!

a story of love

This is my first Valentine's Day as a married lady. I'm gonna be honest, most of my Valentine's Days have been spent "alone", pining for the day when I would have someone special to share it with. You know, that's just how it went.

My V-Days didn't get good until Matt came along. Lesbehonest, I was just happy to have someone awesome to spend time with. But he went all out to make me feel special.

These past two years, Matt was on his mission in the Philippines. The first Valentine's Day was spent hoping this guy I was going on dates with would call me (he didn't) and the next one was spent pranking people around Provo with my roommate and a mannequin head on a broom stick painted like David Bowie. Let's just say it was a weird two years.

I don't know what this year will bring, but I'm happy to have an excuse to reflect on why I love my husband and other special people in my life. Here are some links I found to help you guys get in the holiday spirit:

A tribute to 19 years of being single on Feb 14th: 10 great things about being single on valentine's day

diy chocolate heart wall (I would love to walk home to this any. day.)

"I love everything about you" color-yourself printable

a printable chalkboard valentine

Plus, in case you missed it, a post about what no one tells you about being engaged.

And...some quotes on love:




"Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don't see it yourself." - unknown

“All I understood was that she was the girl I sat up every night thinking about, and when I’m with her, I feel happy to be alive. Like I can do anything. Even talk to you like this. So that’s, that’s what I think is love, mom. When I’m better because she’s here.” - Cory Matthews, Boy Meets World

"I wish never to be parted from you from this day on." - Mr. Darcy

"Never allow your happiness to depend on a relationship. I think it's a very special thing to find love. It's beautiful. Nothing can match it. But make sure you find other things in live that you love besides...your love." - unknown

"A reporter asked the couple, 'How did you stay together for 65 years?' The woman replied, 'We were born in a time when if something was broken, we would fix it, not throw it away.'"

"And them my soul saw you and went, 'Oh there you are. I've been looking for you.'"

"Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused." - Alan Cohen

"'I was waiting for the longest time,' she said. 'I thought you forgot.' 'It is hard to forget,' I said, 'when there is such an empty space when you are gone.'"

Be A Party

Have you seen Kid President yet? What am I saying? Of course you have! Remember how I'm always the last one on the boat when anything cool happens? I don't know why I'm like that...but I've seen KP's videos get re-posted a kajillion times and never clicked on them until my co-worker sent me a link this weekend. 

He's basically just a kid in a suit who dances around and gives pep talks to adults, because adults are boring. He's awesome.

My favorite advice from him so far?

This may or may not be my new motto for the week. So happy Monday, you beautiful people! Go out there and be a party! 

PS: My two favorite videos to date.

Why I want to be BFF with Lucille Ball

A Sunday Quote

"Stress is caused by being 'here' but wanting to be 'there'."

-Eckhart Tolle

And this talk by President Uchtdorf.

BTW, I think I found my happy place. And it's wherever this house is.

Why I admire Martin Luther King, Jr.

MLK's "I Have A Dream" Speech

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! I loved looking up quotes and watching this video to remind me why I have a day off of work...and then I spent the rest of the day cleaning + cooking up a storm. I only seem to have energy to do things around the house on days when I don't have work. 

Anyway, I'm glad we have the Internet to share things like this speech for those of us who weren't there that day.

A Sunday Quote

Why I want to be BFF with Zooey Deschanel

A Sunday Quote

"Repentance is a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world...repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined." - Pearl of Great Price, Repentance

edit: Guys, I have to admit something. I have a great testimony of the Gospel, but when I go to a new ward, I have a hard time getting motivated to go because I feel so alone without friends at church. For the past few months, instead of being proactive and making friends, I have been pitying myself for not being cool enough to have people flocking to me by now. BTW, our ward is 90% new people who are thinking the exact same thing... I go to church, and am slowly learning peoples' names, but it's a very slow process for me to feel completely myself. 

We recently got a new RS president who has been focusing on ward unity lately. Today she gave a great lesson that made me realize something: if I want to have friends, I need to be a friend. She talked about how repentance is not some scary thing you do when you've done something horribly sinful, but "a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world...repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined." - PoGP. She asked us to repent about our thoughts about feeling lonely in the ward, and to be a friend first. 

So I'm repenting. Instead of feeling weird about not knowing anyone, I am going to be proactive about making friends and learning together at church. I'm excited.

Why I want to be BFF with Meryl Streep

I'm pretty sure Meryl Streep has navigated Hollywood aging in the most graceful way ever. Plus, in the span of a year she played The Devil in The Devil Wears Prada + Julia Childe in Julie + Julia. I want to give her a hug and maybe go to an art museum with her. And then I'd ask her how Alec Baldwin is at kissing, on a scale of 1-10. 

A Sunday Quote

Why I want to be BFF with Emma Stone

I think I've written about Emma Stone before. I love the vulnerability and humor she brings to the roles she plays. She has a personality behind the beauty, which is rare in women in Hollywood. Plus, she advocates eating the damn red velvet cupcake because life is short. Here, here! 

A Sunday Quote

Today's Sunday Quote comes straight to you from Les Miserables. I cried maybe eight times during that movie, even more than the pregnant lady next to me. If you haven't already noticed, I tend to be a little sappy about the media I consume. I'm always looking for something to learn or take away from it. My favorite aspect of the whole Les Mis idea is that JVJ was shown mercy, and in turn showed mercy to so many people in his life because one person saw past his outward image. The priest created this ripple effect that hit others he never even met, in ways he could probably never fully comprehend. Love goes a long way. 

What was your favorite part?

Why I want to be BFF with Sarah Jessica Parker

I fell in love with Sarah Jessica Parker watching Sex + the City. She just has this undefinable quality that makes me want to follow her around and give her things. I love the clothes her character wore and the ideas she brought up in her column. I wish I could pull of that wardrobe and I want to be a writer like Carrie, using my life as inspiration for words. 

SJP is married to Ferris from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I would never have put them together, but I get it. Her life choices just seem so interesting. So cheers to you, SJP! You have fabulous style! Don't listen to what anybody says about your face, because I think it's beautiful.

The True Meaning of Christmas: A Babe, born in Bethlehem

It's Christmas Sunday! I'm so excited to go to church and listen to the story of Jesus' birth and life. I've been reading up on him here, and it's getting me really excited for Christmas. I love having a reason to learn and think more of my Savior. To get you in the Christmas mood, here's a quote on the true meaning of Christmas, and a short movie of the nativity. Enjoy your Sunday! 

"The Christmas season is a time to celebrate the priceless gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His birth, which we commemorate during this season, is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of all mankind, the King of kings, the Prince of Peace, and our joy and salvation. This Christmas season will have greater meaning as we seek to follow His example and live His teachings."

-found here

Why I want to be BFF with Shia Labeouf

Do you guys remember Even Stevens? That show from the Disney Channel? By some grace of God, that annoying little brother turned out to be the smokin lead character in Lawless. I would probably just take him out for proverbial coffee and ask him what it took to get from point A to point B...and then recreate it in girl form. 

A Sunday Quote

I hope you had some of both of these this weekend. I know I did. If you didn't literally laugh out loud when you saw this cat, keep looking until you do. This picture makes me so happy.

We just got back from seeing The Hobbit. That movie is so long and epic that I felt like I had a reality hangover when I walked out of the theater. We also got to try out Texas Roadhouse with our friends who just had a baby. We were there for their first night out since she's been born!

In other news, I may have gone extra hard at the gym today just so I could nosh on the gingerbread house we made at cousin night.

I'm also pretty sure I'm starting a book club. Message me if you're interested in joining! I'll probably post the book on here so anyone who wants to can join in!

Why I want to be BFF with Tom Hardy

Every movie I have seen with Tom Hardy in it has been mesmerizing. Even his walk is mesmerizing. Turns out he's just an old softie under that beautiful face. Need I say more? Tom, let's be friends.

A Quote

The Best Thing Matt Has Ever Said To Me

So Matt and I spend a lot of time at home relaxing. Work is crazy, and home is this blissful sanctuary where we watch tv and google crap until the cows come home. We go on real dates on the weekends and go to the gym or the store, but we do spend a lot of after-work time at home. Last night I did yoga and Matt got pumped on his doorway pull-up contraption. And then we ate dinner on the couch. Something on tv must have referenced a chicken (I wasn't paying attention), because all of a sudden, Matt blurts out,

"Babe, did you know that I know how to hypnotize chickens?"

I mean, you can't just spring something like that on someone who's knee-deep in Pinterest. It's just too random! It was so out of the blue that I couldn't stop laughing for like 3 whole minutes.

Just the image of him trying to calm a chicken down makes me crack up.

I didn't even know chicken hypnosis was a thing! Apparently you do that before you kill it. Which makes me sad.

But there you go! Now you and I know about one more crazy strange thing that exists in the world.

So this is officially the best thing Matt has ever said to me, besides all that romantic stuff he said while we were engaged haha.

Happy hump day, y'all.