My Thoughts and Treasures

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-09-13T08:11:00.001-06:00

Michael and I are moving soon... We're pretty excitedWe'll be moving just a few blocks away from where we are now, into Michael's parents basement apartment.
I'll put up pics soon.It's really cute!
There's only one bedroom instead of the two we have now, but it has a small room that comes off of it and the living room is about twice the size of the one we have now, which is awesome! The kitchen has more cupboards though it doesn't have a separate dining room which is totally fine because we can fit a table in the kitchen.
My treasure today is the new dining room table we got for our new place!The one we have now is too wide to fit comfortably in our kitchen so we got this new one from Ikea, and we are pretty excited about it :-)

It has drawers on both sides, and it fold up nice and small

And you can lift up one side at a time, or both! It can seat up to 6 people.

What's your treasure today?

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-09-06T07:08:00.002-06:00

You're probably staring at your computer screen in shock right now. I understand. You probably thought you'd never see this meme again!But I'm back... I'm trying to be :-)
I've missed blogging. I've missed reading your comments and commenting on your blogs.I've missed reading your Small Treasure posts.
That's the main reason I wanted to start blogging more frequently again, because I think it's so important to appreciate the little things. Having this meme makes me do it, and reading your posts brightens my day!
So here we are!
There aren't any rules with Small Treasure Tuesdays I just ask that you share your post here so we can all read itI hope that you'll link back here so other people can get involved (you can do that by including my button ;-)And please read (and if you feel so inclined, comment) on other posts to spread the love That's it! :-)

The treasure I'm sharing today is the newest addition to the Magistro family

Ashlyn Nicole Here she is with her proud Mamma and Pappa

She is such a doll. We all love her already!

Elisa (the mamma) is the first of Michael's sisters to have a baby, it's pretty exciting!

Look at all that hair! in these photos she's about 12 hours old.
She is 5 weeks old now! I haven't spent a lot of time with her yet, but I have been able to see her smile and hear her laugh :)
What's your treasure today?It can be as long or as short as you want; it can be anything!

Two Years is a Treasure

2011-08-22T01:05:00.000-06:00

Guess what today (technically yesterday, August 21) is...Alright, alright I'll tell you!

It's my two year anniversary!

He is my best friend

We have so much fun together

He pushes and helps me to follow my dreams,

improve my talents and become the person I want to be

I love that we can be goofy together

I love that we make each other laugh everyday

I love us.

These have been the best two years of my lifeHe is my favorite person and such a wonderful man. I'm looking forward to an eternity of adventures and happiness

Nuts About Berries is a Treasure

2011-08-15T08:41:00.000-06:00

I love Zupas. It's one of my favorite places to eat lunch (or dinner!) They have awesome food, but my favorite thing to get is the Nuts About Berries salad. It is awesome.
Well, Michael and I went to a dinner party Saturday night, and we were asked to bring the salad. So, Michael had the great idea of making the Nuts About Berries.
I looked online, found this recipe, and it turned out great!I sweetened it with agave, and I used roasted walnuts because I wasn't able to find roasted almonds or roast my own. But it was still wonderful. Everyone seemed to like it.

Note: this is not a pic of my salad. I didn't remember to take a picture before it was too late
I'm starting to enjoy cooking more and more, which I know Michael is grateful for ;-)
What are some of your favorite recipes?
And as a side note: when you guys go to dinner parties, do you give the host/hostess a gift? And if so, what?

Costume Discounters is a Treasure

2011-08-12T13:14:00.000-06:00

October is drawing ever closer which means that so is one of my favorite holidays...Halloween!

I just love dressing up, don't you? The only problem I tend to have with Halloween costumes is that they always feel rather awkward and feeble. To me, Halloween costumes have always been something I would wear once, and then never again.
But, this year I've had the lucky opportunity of being contacted by the good people of Costume Discounters and so I know things will be different :-)
I had the chance to choose a costume to review, and let me tell you, it was a difficult decision. There was so much to choose from!
At first I was a little worried I wouldn't find anything I liked, and I was kind of skeptical about finding something for a better price than what I usually pay for my costume needs. As soon as I got to their website, I recognized how absurd my uncertainty was.
I was most pleasantly surprised! From everything I looked at on their site (I looked at baby costumes, adult costumes, teen costumes, wigs and accessories) and as far as I can tell, their prices beat out everywhere else I've shopped.
Being 5ft tall I checked out their handy size charts to find out what size costume would work best, luckily for me I could shop in the teen costumes section! Don't worry, they have amazing costumes for all ages, I know because I looked around quite thoroughly ;-).
Their site was very easy to navigate, they have great customer service, they really have great prices and because of how nicely organized it is I was able to look through a large variety of popular themes, characters and time periods quite easily.
I was drawn to the Alice in Wonderland costumes, because I loved the colors and characters. My favorite costume, and the one I was lucky enough to get, was the Mad Hatter Teen Costume!Isn't is awesome?!I have to say, it is even better in person. If that's possible.
The fabric is better than expected. Out of every store purchased costume I've ever had, it is the most comfortable, and sturdy. I can move around without feeling like it will come apart at the seems! It fits really well, and I don't have of my usual issues with costumes such as it being uncomfortable, having flimsy fabric, a shotty sewing job, being a poor fit and an unimaginative design.
So, without further ado, here is how it turned out

It didn't come with the leggings, I just thought they looked cute with it.

Because I'm the Mad Hatter, I just had to do this makeshift photo shoot with a tea cup!

I love that the jacket has coattails!

When I initially read the description, I figured that the shoe covers would probably be an aspect that I couldn't count on to work out, because I had never had shoe covers work very well in the past, however these ones are really nice! So far, they've been working quite well for me.

I love how this costume came with so many little details that made it all the better.

The little glovelettes, the boot covers, the hat, the neckerchief... All of it just really makes the outfit!

Also, I want to wear this skirt around as part of my everyday apparel ;-)

It's too cute.

I am loving all of the colors together!

This is the most comfortable Halloween costume from a store that I've ever had the pleasure of wearing!

Aren't the coattails awesome!

I will definitely be wearing this costume as much as possible during this Halloween season, and in years to come.

And I will, without a doubt, purchase from Costume Discounters in the future.

Not only do I love this costume, as well as many others that I want to purchase, but their prices are simply unbeatable. AND they made me feel like I was an important customer whom they would be happy to assist with any questions or concerns.

So if you're looking for a great Halloween costume for an amazing price,check out Costume Discounters

I received the Ma Hatter Teen Costume from Costume Discounters in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item, and it is completely honest and objective.

A break is a bitter-sweet treasure

2011-07-26T21:59:00.000-06:00

Don't worry, I'm still here!

I took this quote from one of my friend's blogs
In case you haven't noticed, I've been taking a break from my blog to "go confidently in the direction of (my) dreams." I've been getting more organized, getting ready for some changes in my life, fighting the plagiarism accusations, doing things I've been putting off and getting refocused on what's most important in life.
I'll be back soon-ish. But know that I've missed you guys!I hope you've all been having a fantastic summer!
Until next time.ps. after a couple months of fighting it, I finally got a passing grade on my paper and in my class! :-D I'm super pleased. It just goes to show that when you fight for what is right, the road may be long and hard, but it pays off in the end.

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-06-07T07:52:00.002-06:00

Happy Tuesday everyone!I'm back from my week of absence! Memorial day kind of threw me off...If you wrote a post last week, you can link both up if you'd like!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!

So, this week my treasure is the video I posted yesterday (of course!), the warm weather finally!, and the fact that my hubby and I have been married for almost 2 years!!

This is us on our one year anniversary :-)

We grow closer together everyday. I love him dearly.

AND What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)

This Song is a Treasure

2011-06-06T08:40:00.001-06:00

If you have ever dealt with addiction, or know someone who has, you should watch this video.

It was written and performed by my sister in-law Mia, as well as my hubby Michael.It is so powerful.
Michael made the video for it, and he worked so hard on picking pictures that could symbolize the lyrics as well as the message they are trying to get across.
I think you should all watch it to the end! and pass it on to your loved ones.
They have many wonderful songs that help take people through the steps of addiction and overcoming it. They have a cd out called Project Heal (available on iTunes and cdbaby), and are hoping to make another one soon.
ps. Sorry for my lack of blogging last week!Small Treasure Tuesdays will be back tomorrow :-)I'm sharing this at Nain's meme because I'm motivated to spread this video to everyone; because I think everyone can benefit from it in one way or another :)

Motivation is a Treasure

2011-05-26T19:27:00.000-06:00

I totally spaced and didn't mention this on Monday, but here is this weeks challenge on Reasons to Lose.
I've been working out a lot las week and this week. I'm helping one of my good friends to win her offices Biggest Loser. My body is not used to working out two days in a row... possibly three. All I'm saying is she better win ;-P
I hope she does. She deserves it.
In other news I will hopefully be hearing back from the Dept. Chair tomorrow. It's been a pain, and I've had to have multiple people go over my case. If you have time please send positive thoughts and prayers my way, and his way so that he'll believe me.
If he doesn't follow my schools procedure then I will be taking my story to the news. The headlines will read something like "(my schools name) defends the pride of an adjunct instructor more than they defend the rights of a student." Pretty catchy huh? That should get peoples attention.
I hope all is well with you all. I've been super stressed about this whole situation. I really hope that it turns out in my favor, and soon.
I'm linking to Nain's meme Motivation Monday, even though it isn't Monday.because I'm motivated to fight this, and to help my friend win her Biggest Loser competition

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-05-24T10:36:00.004-06:00

Happy Tuesday everyone!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
I knew this would happen... as soon as my photo challenge ended I've gone a whole week without blogging. I'm going to have to work on that :-)
This week I'm sharing ten blogs that make me smile (in no particular order):1 1/3. Life in the Pitts, 1 2/3. The Kaiser Two, 1 3/3. Amber's Blog2. NieNie Dialogues 3. Adventures in Love and Happiness4. You are my Fave5. Those Northern Skies6. View From Down Here7. Smacksy8. My New Life as a Housewife9. Hyperbole and a Half10. Color Me Katie
Yeah, I cheated and put 12, but I figured if my sisters blogs were under the same number it would count :-) What are some blogs that make you smile?
AND What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)
Treasured Participants:Chloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeNain @ View From Down Here

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-05-18T15:18:00.000-06:00

I had this post scheduled, but I made an error in the date when it was supposed to publish. And I only just realized... I do apologize! But you can still link up :-D
Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesday, on Wednesday!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
My Treasure is that it is the last day in my photo challenge... which is also kind of sad.I was doing so well up until the end, but even though my posts didn't always make it on time, they always made it. :)
I hope you guys enjoyed following my challenge. Let me know if you do it too!
So the last prompt is a photo of the place you would like to live out your days.

We really like Utah a lot, and we love St George. We would like to travel around, and I of course want to visit Michigan (where I grew up) but we would be perfectly happy to live out our days in Utah

But wherever we are, as long as we're together, I'm home :-)

What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)

Treasured Participants:

Chloe @ My New Life as a Housewife

Nain @ View From Down Here

Day 34 is a Treasure

2011-05-16T09:06:00.000-06:00

I'm glad my post that I had written on Wednesday came back! Sweet.I'm also glad blogger worked out it's issues :-)
Well, I kind of got behind over the weekend, so here is day 34.The prompt is a photo of your parents at your age

I'm not actually certain how old they were in this picture, but I like it.They're having fun together, and they look happy :-)
Remember Reasons to Lose? Well, I won the award for doing the most challenges! Which is pretty awesome if I do say so myself. We're starting up another 3 months today, and I'm going to be in charge this "season" of posting the weekly challenges.
You guys are of course welcome to play along! If anyone is interested I'll have a post over there each week where you can link up how you did on the challenges as well? Let me know if that's something you're interested in :-)
Since I'm motivated to do well this season (on working out and on posting the challenges) I'm linking this post to Nain's meme Motivation Monday! :-)

Blogger Was Not Being a Treasure

2011-05-13T10:45:00.001-06:00

Hey guys! I'm still alive...Blogger wouldn't work for me all yesterday, and the night before, and so I couldn't upload yesterdays photo challenge. As long as blogger is still working when I get home from work I'll do yesterdays post today, and I'll finish the challenge tomorrow.
Hope you're all having a great week!
Are any of you going to do the photo challenge? And do you have any suggestions on what I should blog about once my challenge is done?ps. I had a Wednesday post as well... but apparently blogger lost it. And I only just realized. So I'll try to re-write that for you all.

Day 33 is a Treasure

2011-05-11T19:35:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that there are only two days left in my challenge...What in the world will I blog about once it's done?!Crazy.
Anyway, today the prompt is a picture of an accomplishment

Getting married to the perfect man for me was, I think, an accomplishment ;-)

And I'm also showing a picture from my ten minute play for which I was a semi-finalist at a national competition. This picture is when it was being performed in a stylized reading.
What's an accomplishment in your life?

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-05-10T08:43:00.001-06:00

Happy Tuesday Everyone!
Last weeks turn out of Small Treasure Tuesdays was awesome!I'm hoping for another week as good :-)
I really appreciate all of you guys posting and linking up, it made my day 87% better ;-)
You know the drill:Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
Today my treasure is you guys, thank you again for all of your positive vibes, thoughts and prayers you've been sending my way :-)
And my treasure is also todays photo prompt.A picture of a place you'd like to travelI love to travel. It's so fun! Especially with Michael :-)

Ireland. I would love to walk through a castle.

I would love to go on a cruise to the Caribbean

and on a cruise to Alaska. Michael has been on a cruise to Alaska before, the pictures were gorgeous and he loved it.
I've wanted to visit those places, possibly the longest. They would be so much fun! Especially on a cruise ;-)
But right now, what I really want to do is travel to St. George and have some delicious fondue :-D
What's a place you'd like to travel to?andWhat's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)
Treasured Participants:Nain @ View From Down HereChloe @ My New Life as a Housewife

Day 31 is a Treasure

2011-05-09T22:40:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday!I haven't heard back from the Dept. Chair yet, but I'm hopeful. And I'll email him tomorrow or Wednesday if I don't hear from him by then.
I hope you all had a great weekend, and a great Monday :-)
Today the prompt is a picture of your favorite superhero.Superheroes are awesome in their own ways, each of them are unique and interesting to read aboutBut I'm going to have to say that my favorite is

Batman.Because he's a real person using technology and his own strength to try and make a differenceHe's pretty rad :-)
In other news, Reasons to Lose has finished it's third "season."Each season is three months.So I'm motivated to write about how I did, and I'll share those results with you all too in case you don't read Reasons to Lose. Which I would understand... Though it is awesome. ;-)
So I'm linking this to Nain's meme, Motivation Monday
Who is your favorite superhero? and What is motivating you this week?

Day 30 is a Treasure

2011-05-08T21:43:00.000-06:00

I was doing so well for 29 days! I cut it a little close by posting some just before midnight, but still... and then yesterday I didn't post at all.Oops :-)
Oh well, I don't really feel bad, because I've been busy.So, I decided I would post today to make up for it, since I haven't been posting on Sundays at all
The photo for day 30 is a picture of someone you loveI love a lot of people. A lot.
And normally I would post an adorable picture of my husband, but I wanted to mix it up, seeing as if I could turn this into 30ish days of photos of him! haha, excluding a few days of course. Like day 28. I'm just saying.
But since today is Mothers Day I thought I would share a picture of my beautiful mom.

It's a little fuzzy, but here are two pictures of my beautiful mom.

She was an amazing woman.

The second picture is my mom holding me when I was a baby

And I thought I would also include two great mother figures in my life right now

My step-mom, JoAnn, and my mother-in-law Bobbi. They both do so very much for me and Michael. They are great women as well.
I hope you all had a blessed mothers day!

Day 29 is a Treasure

2011-05-07T00:17:00.000-06:00

Michael and I met with the dept. chair today, and I'm very hopeful.Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and positive vibesI feel like a weight has been lifted, I don't feel defeated anymore, and I don't feel helpless. It's great to feel empowered.
The things my instructor is accusing me of, I can defend. All five of them. Some of his accusations are silly, but I don't want to write about them yet. I want to wait until this whole debacle is behind me. I don't want to give anyone any reasons to not let me pass the class.
One thing I will say is that he definitely did not follow the published policy at my school, and he attempted to take away my rights to defend my paper and my honor.
I think I have a pretty good case. I'll keep you guys updated.I'll hopefully find out more on Monday. The dept chair was very nice, and he seemed very willing to work with me. I provided him with a very thick packet of all my evidence.
Since Monday night I haven't been sleeping well, and I've been so stressed out and worried. I'm hoping that tonight I'll sleep better and that my stress will leave because I know I have done all I could thus far.
Anyway, today the challenge is to share a picture that always makes you smileThere are a lot of pics that make me smile, I'm a picture-a-holic. But acceptance is the first step, right? ;-)I seriously take more pictures then I know what to do with...
I chose this one

This was taken at Lagoon last summerI love this picture, and it always makes me smile, because we were being so care-free, playing in the water. My dad was able to capture a moment of such joy on Michaels face. I love it.
What's a picture that makes you smile?

Day 28 is a Treasure

2011-05-05T22:26:00.000-06:00

Today's photo challenge is a picture of something you're afraid ofI, of course, had to choose spiders.
They frighten me immensely

And really, can you blame me?
What's something you're afraid of?

Day 27 is a Treasure

2011-05-04T23:17:00.000-06:00

Well, I got my paper back finally! It feels like it took forever. I'll update you all about it tomorrow.

I just wanted to post todays challenge before midnight, that way I'm technically not a day late ;-P

The challenge is to post a picture of you with a family member

I chose this picture of me with my brothers and sisters because this week we're all together again!

My sister Helena is visiting from Pittsburgh.

Her husband didn't get to come, which is unfortunate, but we're glad we get to spend time with her :-)

Thank you all for your supportive comments, thoughts and prayers.

I'm meeting with the department chair on Friday, so if you don't mind sending good vibes, thoughts and prayers my way a little longer that would be greatly appreciated :-)

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-05-03T12:14:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone.
I'm not feeling like my normal exuberant self, I simply am feeling drained.I feel like I've been violated, picked on, humiliated and manipulated.
I'm in desperate need of reading your treasures, and I need to think about my own small treasures. It's important for me to not get defeated so that I remember I am not guilty, and so that I keep fighting for the grade I deserve.
So, you know the drill (and I don't feel like copying my normal spiel) Link up your post in the comments, it can be anything that is a treasure to you!Anything at all. No pressure for a long post, or anything.And I would also encourage you to read other peoples posts, because they are all really good.
I'm glad I have this photo challenge going on, so I can use todays challenge as my treasure.
The challenge today is a photo of something that means a lot to you.And so even if I didn't have this challenge I think it would be the same thing:

The way my husband and family have confidence in me, know who I am and are willing to help me with this battle of accused plagiarism.
So, write up a post and leave the link in the comments, and I will add it to the bottom of this post!Please? I need to read happy things today :)
Treasured ParticipantsChloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeNain @ View From Down HereDenise @ Pitterpat and the StickycatBrynnie @ There's a New Brandall in Town

Day 25 is Not a Treasure...

2011-05-03T00:31:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry I didn't post this sooner guys, you would not believe the day I'm having.
I'm being falsely accused of plagiarism for my last paper.Yeah, awesome huh?
I have an excellent case though, I am building a packet to take to the Dean if my teacher doesn't work with me on fixing this, and I'm working on what I'm going to say to my teacher.
1) I didn't plagiarize. Even if it was unintentional (which the only thing I can think of would be that I missed an in-text citation).
2) He didn't follow the guidelines laid out by my University, instead he just gave me a 0 in the class
3) He didn't give me the chance to defend myself, or my paper...
the list could go on, and it does. I'm writing everything down. I emailed him today, and if he doesn't respond tomorrow afternoon I'm calling him, and then if he doesn't work with me I'm taking it to the Dean, and the school newspaper and possibly getting my dad's lawyers involved.
He is breaking the protocol on how these things are supposed to be dealt with, he gives people poor grades when they don't agree with his opinions, and he has given people B's even when they did not provide scholarly sources as the syllabus stated they needed to.
I am not taking this lightly, because accusing someone of plagiarism in college is never done lightly. I don't know why he did it, he hasn't explained why. I feel so violated, and unrighteously judged.
Wish me luck guys. I'm calling him tomorrow, and then possibly going to the Dean the day after.
And now for my photo of the day.The challenge is to post a picture of you a year ago:

This was me and Michael almost exactly a year ago, at one of my closest friend's weddings. I was the maid of honor :-)
I'm linking this to Nain's meme, Motivation Monday, because I'm motivated to defend my honor and not let a teacher ruin my reputation over something I didn't do, and accuse me falsely for plagiarism.

Day 24 is a Treasure

2011-04-30T22:40:00.003-06:00

Last night Michael and I stayed at a hotel in Salt Lake and saw the Broadway production of Young Frankenstein! It was a lot of fun to go out of town for a night.
His father gave us his tickets because he's in Italy right now, and he arranged for us to stay at a hotel. It was so nice.
We walked from our hotel to a restaurant, then to the Capital Theatre, and then back to our hotel. It was super cold after the show! There was a freeze warning, but we didn't know when we first left on foot.
It was great fun! The play was well acted, they all had great talent, the dancing and singing was super, but I don't think I would recommend it to anyone. It had a lot of vulgar parts and all of the songs (it was a musical) were very uncomfortable.
Sitting in front of us was a couple with their three young kids, I would guess the oldest was ten. I felt awkward for them. Luckily their parents made them leave early.
Anyway, it was a great night on the town!
And today the photo prompt is something you wish you could change. There are lots of things that I wish I could go back and do differently if I could: things I would say, things I wouldn't say, things I would do, things I wouldn't do. But those things are not to be mentioned today. Instead I'll say

Gas prices. But not only in the superficial way, because I understand peak oil, so I know we're getting to the point where oil will not be able to get any cheaper.
So when I say gas prices I also mean I wish I could change the oil companies so that they would allow alternative energy sources to come out instead of abolishing any breakthroughs as they have done thus far.
I wish I could change it so that instead of being addicted to oil, everyone around the world used clean, renewable energy.
What's something you wish you could change?and What are your fun plans for the weekend? Do they include an awkward play? ;-P

Day 23 is a Treasure

2011-04-29T10:51:00.000-06:00

Today the prompt is a picture of your favorite book.
I am an avid reader. I absolutely love reading! Getting engrossed in a new world and story is one of my favorite things to do. I have many books that I love, and that I reread more than once. But my consistent favorites are:

The Harry Potter books, of course! And The Name of the Wind. I LOVE the Name of the Wind.
What's your favorite book?

Day 22 is a Treasure

2011-04-28T09:36:00.001-06:00

Wow... I'm at 22 already! I feel like I'll be lost when this is over.What in the world will I blog about?! :-P
Today the prompt is a picture of something you wish you were better at
This was easy for me, because it's been on my mind a lot lately.There are a lot of things I wish I was better at, and I'm working on. Things like patience, math, jewelry, writing, guitar and cooking. Definitely cooking.
But right now, the thing I wish I was better at the most?

Singing. I really wish I was a better singer. I always have.
This was me being goofy after the Magistro Family benefit Christmas Concert last Christmas :-)
What's something you wish you were better at?

Day 21 is a Treasure

2011-04-27T10:42:00.000-06:00

So far so good, there's no infection with the bite!Whew. Let's hope it stays that way :-)
Today the prompt is a picture of something you wish you could forget.

Logan's Run... oh gosh, there are no words for such silly, pointlessness.
Glitter... need I say more?
and Transformers 2... I really, really liked the first one. But the second? Come on! there was hardly any plot, the story had big holes in it, and they added a bunch of vulgarity just to grab your attention. Here's hoping the third is more like the first.
What's something you wish you could forget?

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-04-26T09:39:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday all, and welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
My treasure is, of course, my photo for the day :-)
The challenge today is a habit you wish you didn't have, and normally that wouldn't be a treasure, but I take it as a challenge to change. And I am working hard to improve, and to me, that makes it a treasure :-D
The habits I wish I didn't have the most are procrastinating and biting/picking at my nails

But like I said, my treasure is that I am working on changing these habits, and I've been seeing improvements :-) The hardest part is finding something else to fidget with instead of my nails ;-P
Treasured Participants:Nain @ View From Down HereAmber @ Amber Le Shell RantsChloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeMelissa @ Those Northern SkiesDenise @ Pitterpat and the Stickycat
What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)

Day 19 is a Treasure

2011-04-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday Everyone!
Before I share my photo with you all, I'm going to tell you about my Easter.On Saturday night Michael and I hid plastic candy filled eggs, and Easter baskets for each other around our apartment. So on Easter morning we had a fun little hunt! It was great. It was our first time spending Easter morning at home and doing our own hunt. It really was a blast.
I hid Michaels basket on our coat rack, it looks similar to this here, only a dark brown/black. I hung it underneath my jackets. It had him stumped for a little while :-)
Then we went to church, after which we went to Michaels parents house, we had an egg hunt with the kids, which was so cute, and we had a delicious dinner and read some very nice quotes about the reasons why we celebrate Easter. We also were celebrating two of Michaels sisters birthdays, so we had birthday cake too.
It was lots of fun.
However, after church and before we went to my Mr's parents, we had some down time. In which I wrapped the birthday gifts and Michael did some reading in bed. His feet were under the covers, and all the sudden he felt a little pinch on the top of one of his big toes. Figuring he had just gotten some hair caught on the bedding he thought little of it.
Until it started to hurt. And then his leg started to feel a little numb and tingly.
Ripping the covers off he searched for the culprit so we could know what kind of spider bite we were dealing with, but whatever it was, it was gone.
Over the next few hours the bite got very swollen, red and painful to the touch. I of course called the hospital, but they would charge me a butt load of money just to diagnose if the bite was lethal. So I called poison control, luckily the lady was very friendly, and she had me describe his symptoms. She assured me that the only very poisonous spiders in our area are black widows, and as long as he doesn't start getting muscle clenching within 4 hours after the bite, he would be fine.
We were also instructed to keep it clean, and dry. I watched it closely, and thankfully he is fine! Now all I have to do is keep an eye on it the next few days to make sure it doesn't get infected.
I was so worried though guys, I can't tell you how relieved I am that it isn't serious.
When we got home we tore our bed apart. We searched everywhere and found no trace of any spiders (although we know we have them, we killed 3 last week). So, we changed all of our bedding, moved our bed away from the wall, sprayed lemon juice everywhere, and we'll be calling a professional to come spray soon.
We think it was a wolf spider, their bites are said to feel like a bee sting, which is pretty much how it felt for Michael.
I have a deep, deep hatred of spiders. I am so not okay with them being anywhere near my bed!You can read about another spider experience here.
Anyway, I hope your easter was fun, and not as scary!
Now onto my photo challenge.Today the prompt is a picture of you when you were little:
I don't have many pictures of me when I was little on my computer, and I have no idea how to use the scanner, so you'll just have to make due with some of the random ones I could find ;-)

This was my first birthday

I'm not sure how old I am here, but it's Halloween, and I'm Little Red Riding Hood :)

And I'm pretty sure this one was on St. Patty's day :-)
Do you have some cute pics on your blog of when you were little? If so leave the link and I'll check it out too :)
I'm linking this to Nain's meme Motivation Monday, because I'm motivated to get rid of the spiders!

Day 18 is a Treasure

2011-04-23T09:46:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow is Easter! It's such a lovely time of year, and it's a fun holiday :-)
What are your plans for easter?I'm planning on going out today to buy the things for Michael's easter basket, this will be our first year hiding baskets for each other. It will be most enjoyable I think ;-)We painted eggs last night with my family, it was such fun!
Today the challenge is a picture of your biggest insecurity.
Here's the thing, I try to avoid pictures of it, and so I couldn't find any. Now, granted I didn't look at every single, but through the ones I have on my computer I don't have any. I might from high school, but those aren't scanned in... anyway, this is the closest thing I could find

So, my insecurity is my back
I have scoliosis, and even though I hide it well and I haven't let it hold me back from anything that I want to do, it is still something that I struggle with.
I'm not as insecure about it as I used to be, but it is still my biggest insecurity.
I'm very grateful that I have my great chiropractor who has been able to help my back become more aligned and that I have my inversion table which helps even more.
My chiropractor said that the improvement my back has made is much more than he thought possible, and it is making him believe in miracles. That was very nice to hear. :)
What's your biggest insecurity?ps. Remember I won't be posting tomorrow
pps. Happy Easter Everyone!!

Day 17 is a Treasure

2011-04-22T11:50:00.000-06:00

Today the prompt is a picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
I try to be willing and open to change, growth and development and as such I try to allow things to impact my life and help mold it and me in a positive way.
That's the dream, right? ;-)

Alas, I cannot show pictures of everything that has impacted my life recently and so I decided to choose making jewelry because that has had a big impact on my life, I also am showing a few of the books that have impacted me recently and I have the documentary "Tapped" because it, and other documentaries have made a huge difference in my life
What is something that has impacted your life recently?

Day 16 is a Treasure

2011-04-21T23:24:00.000-06:00

My internet has been completely stupid and has not let me upload a picture until now, and since this is a photo challenge, I couldn't post this until I got the picture up :-)***Last night I turned in my 13 page paper!And I gave my ten minute presentation on it... I sure hope I get a good grade, I worked so hard.
Monday is my last day in this class, it's my "final" and I have to turn in a Self-Reflective 1-2 page paper then too, but that will be very easy. The hard work is over, now I just have to wait for him to grade it :-)
Today the photo prompt is a picture of someone that inspires you.My husband inspires me to be the best version of myself, which I love. He's so great :-)
The picture I'm going to choose though, is of my dad.He has always been one of my biggest fans, and he inspires me to continue to learn, improve my talents, try new things and to work for what I want. He's a great father, and a great teacher. I've learned so much from him.

He inspires me :-)

Day 15 is a Treasure

2011-04-20T09:59:00.000-06:00

Today the prompt for my photo challenge is a picture of something you'd like to do before you die
There are a lot of things I would love to do with Michael, a lot of places I want us to travel toAnd of course I want us to have a family ;-)
But I'm only going to show you guys two of the many things I want to do, and they are:

to publish at least one play and open a community theater :-)
Those are two things that I have wanted to do for a long, long time.Here's hoping we'll have enough money someday, right ;-)
What are some things you want to do before you die?

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-04-19T10:08:00.004-06:00

Happy Tuesday All!And welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays which also happens to be day 14 in my photo challenge!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page. If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
Today my treasure is prompted by the photo challenge, which is a photo of someone you could not imagine your life without.
Of course I could answer this as my husband, or my family, but again, I wanted to do something different.Otherwise just about every picture would be of Michael ;-)
So, I'm going to show some people whose work helped to shape me into who I am today. Without them, I would be a completely different person.

The people I chose, the ones I think I would be the most different without (excluding my husband, family and friends of course) are:
Joseph Smith -without him I might not have the church that I belong to, and it has truly shaped me into the woman I am todayJane Austen -she, and other authors, are a large reason why I want to major in creative writing. Her books also helped me to appreciate the English languageJ.K. Rowling -I cannot imagine not having the Harry Potter books. They taught me to really love reading, and they've helped to expand my imaginationWalt Disney -I also can't imagine not growing up with the Disney movies and characters that we all know and love, they too helped me to expand my mind and think outside the box
I'm giving an honorable mention to Lucy Maud Montgomery, she and many other authors could also be attributed to my love of reading and desire to write.
They are all my treasure this week. :-)
What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-) Treasured Participants:Nain @ View From Down HereChloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeTina @ Art Chick Studio

Day 13 is a Treasure

2011-04-18T22:05:00.002-06:00

I am so late in posting this guys! I don't know what got into me!... Actually I do.It's the week before finals and I've been finishing my final paper. 10-15 pages, the thing is a beast! But I'm almost done with it, I just have some fine tuning and editing, but I've got everything on paper at least :-)
Anyway, I've been so busy with it I didn't have time to write this post early and schedule it, pretty much my entire weekend was devoted to this paper. I hope you guys did something fun to make up for my not doing anything terribly exciting ;-PSo, I'm writing it now, at 9:30 in the p.m. But at least it will get out before day 14! :-D
Okay, so the prompt today is a picture of your favorite band or artist.
Here's the thing, I enjoy music in basically every genre, I have favorite songs, and artists in each genre and so it's very difficult to pick just one. Another reason why it is hard is due to the fact that I am constantly finding new artists that I love!
So, what I decided to share today is my three new favorite artists/bands that I've discovered since the beginning of this year!

My favorite might just be composer Tree Adams; especially his song "Open Road." and other favorites are Blonde Redheads, and Callie Moore
They all have a unique sound and quality that I like, and I enjoy them for different reasons.If you know of any great songs/artists/bands let me know!I'm always looking for more :-) Honorable mentions include: Fun, Pomplamoose and Frou Frou.
***This week I'm motivated to finish my paper and ace the challenges on Reasons to Lose. You can read the challenge here.And of course you can participate as well! :-) I'm linking up with Nain's meme, Motivation Monday

Day 12 is a Treasure

2011-04-16T09:08:00.005-06:00

Looking at those celebrities I chose, you guys are right, I can see a certain "type" as well ;-) Hahaha
The funny thing is that in all of my past boyfriends, and guys I've dated, non of them looked even remotely like those celebrities. Like, at all. Save for Michael. I think he looks a lot like Shia Labeouf, but don't worry, that's not why I married him ;-)
Anyway, enough of this silliness! I'm excited to share the photo for todayThe prompt is a picture of something you love.

This photo was taken at our wedding. Doesn't it look mouthwatering?
I share a deep love with chocolate covered strawberries. I don't have them very often, but I seriously can't get enough! I certainly crave them often.
I think chocolate covered fruit should be a main food group. Who's with me?
What's something you love?ps. other favorites that I crave often include Chinese food, cheese and chocolate fondue, and red mango
pps. Remember I won't be posting on Sunday, so I'll be back with day 13 on Monday!I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. :-)

Day 11 is a Treasure

2011-04-15T09:28:00.000-06:00

Good day all! I'm glad you enjoyed my goofy collage yesterday ;-)I am trying to get better at responding to comments, but please know that I appreciate all of them! You guys are awesome.
Today the prompt is a picture of someone you see yourself marrying one day.

Since I am married, and deeply in love, I can't see myself ever marrying anyone else :-P So I thought it would be fun to post some celebrity *crushes I used to have instead.
These are "crushes" I used to have, and while I can appreciate their good looks, I haven't had a "crush" on an actor in years :-)

What celebrity crushes have you had?*Crush isn't really the right word, they are just celebrities I thought were very attractive for one reason or another... Especially Shia Labeouf ;-)

Day 10 is a Treasure

2011-04-14T11:02:00.000-06:00

Good day all!

Again, I apologize for not noticing that yesterdays post didn't go as scheduled sooner, but at least I noticed eventually, right? ;-)

Michael and I have the chance to go to one of his good friends weddings today, we've been invited to the ceremony, luncheon and reception!

Sadly we won't be able to go to it all because we need to show up for work for at least a little bit, LoL. But we'll get to do most of it, and I'm sure it will be a great day.

Today is day ten, and the prompt is a photo of the person you do the most fun stuff with.

I like to have fun with anyone and everyone.

But of course the person I do the most fun things with is Michael :-)

So I made a collage of just a few of the tons of thousands of fun moments that we've had

Hope you enjoy looking at it :-)

Who do you do the most fun things with?

Day 9 is a Treasure

2011-04-13T08:53:00.007-06:00

Shoot! I'm sorry everyone, I thought I had this scheduled to post this morning, I just realized it didn't work...

I hope you guys enjoyed my blogging twice yesterday!

It will probably never happen again :-P

Just kidding.

Today is day 9! and it's the day a 5 page rough draft is due in my class. I stayed up until 11 writing it, and now I'm writing this so that it will post while I'm at work :-)

I know you're all dying to know, so I'll tell you.

My paper (which will be 15 pages when I'm done) is about the privatization of water in the United States, mainly bottled water. It's an argumentative paper and I'm arguing that people should refrain from drinking bottled water and I explain the negative effects on the environment as well as on our health.

It's a very interesting topic. I've been learning a lot, especially since 5 of the 10 sources we need have to be scholarly. Needless to say I've been learning a lot of new words... LoL

***

Today the photo prompt is a picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

The obvious would of course be my family.

Especially my parents, my dad and my mom. And of course I could also include my sisters, my brothers and my sister-in-law (she's like a sister to me). They have all gotten me through so much.

Others I could picture would include my Heavenly Father, friends from high school, a few select teachers, authors, musicians and some artists.

If it was to be a picture of who will get me through the most, that would of course be Michael :-)

I could even use Michael as the picture for today, as we have been through so so much together already.

However I decided on doing something other then the obvious

The theatre :-)

(I'm in the blue dress up front).

I know it sounds funny, but being involved in the theatre got me through so very much during high school.

Being in the theatre helped to get me through my mothers death, it helped me to overcome intense shyness, speak my mind more, and express feelings and emotions in healthy ways

Through it I learned to be myself and to love who that was, I gained confidence and I learned many other life lessons while being in and working on plays.

And so the theatre is "who" got me through the most :-)

I got to be a lead in play in high school, but I wasn't the lead until this play here which was in college.

Who has gotten you through the most?

I'd love to hear about it :)

Motivation is a Treasure

2011-04-12T13:08:00.001-06:00

I know I already blogged today, I just wanted to delight you all with another post!

Don't worry you can still link up a treasure with Small Treasure Tuesdays :-) I just realized haven't talked about Reasons to Lose in a while

It is still going strong!

Kind of...

I'm still having a lot of fun doing the challenges each week, and I realized I haven't been sharing the challenges with you all. So I was thinking I would blog about what they are each week so you guys can play along too!

Sometimes it helps to have a specific thing you have to accomplish, and it's great to have the support system.

If any of you guys do start doing the challenges I can link to them on the Reasons to Lose blog so everyone can see. Let me know if this is something you're interested in :-)

Each week on Reasons to Lose we get 2 new challenges. Always a physical and then either an emotional or nutritional one. Challenges are posted and started Sunday. They go through Saturday.

If you decide to blog about it, tell us how you did! Be honest! Do good? Do bad? How do you feel?

We are switching it up a little with this weeks challenges, It is creativity week! You pick your challenge! Think of what you are working on and what you want to do better at or try this week. Pick 2 challenges. One Physical and one nutritional.

I'm linking this to Nain's meme Motivation Monday because I'm motivated to pick my challenges and to stay active and healthy!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-04-12T08:24:00.002-06:00

Welcome everyone to Small Treasure Tuesdays, and day two of my photo challenge!Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
My Treasure for this fine Tuesday is sharing with you all today's photo challenge The prompt for day 8 is a photo that makes you laugh
Michael and I come across many things that we find humorous, and so I try to keep my camera on me so we can take photos and have a laugh another day as well :-)

Here are some of the ones that always make me laugh

I didn't take this one, but the longer I look at it the funnier it gets
I'd love to see a picture that makes you laugh! If you write a post about it be sure to let me know :-)
What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-) Treasured participants:Chloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeMelissa @ Those Northern Skies

Day 7 is a Treasure

2011-04-11T16:45:00.000-06:00

I meant to write this last night, but I lost track of time :-)We celebrated my Grandmas birthday last night, and it was great fun!She is adorable.
I hope everyone had a good weekend? Mine was great. I got to catch up on some sleep, work on my next paper, make some jewelry, read and spend time with my Mr. :-)
Today the photo prompt is a picture of a place you've traveled to.I was going to use some different pictures, but since I'm writing this at work I'm limited to photos I've already put on the interweb
I've done a bit of traveling in the States with my family. I especially loved going to Nauvoo, Palmyra, the Aztec ruins and Niagara Falls.
I like to travel :-)
Michael and I have traveled to California, St. George and Mexico together. He is the best travel companion :-)

For our honeymoon we went on a cruise to Mexico,

On the cruise ship

Playing in the Ocean

Pretending to be a cactus :-)

It was an amazing trip! I loved every minute of it, and we both hope to go on more cruises in the future. We especially want to go on a cruise to Alaska.
Other places we want to travel to include Italy (he has a lot of family there) and the Czech Republic, he served a two year mission for our church there.
What are some places you've traveled to? ps. I apologize for not photo-shopping those 4 pics into 1, I didn't have time to at work :-)

Day 6 is a treasure

2011-04-09T16:32:00.000-06:00

Ah it's the weekend. The glorious, glorious weekend.I hope you all had a nice Friday night.
Mine was pretty great! Michael had the chance to sing at a restaurant and we each got a free 5 course Italian dinner out of it! It was very nice. He did a great job singing, the food was delicious, our parents, my grandma, my sister and her husband all came along as well. It was a fun night.I just love listening to him sing.
The photo prompt for today is a picture of a person you would love to trade places with for a day.
There are many women throughout history to now that I admire and would love to spend time with such as Susan B. Anthony, Dorothea Lange, Oprah Winfrey (she gets on my nerves at times, but I respect her), Mother Teresa, Emma Smith, Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart, Mary Cassatt, Maggie O'Kane, Georgia O'Keeffe, Meryl Streep, Audrey Hepburn, Jane Goodall, Maya Lin, Harriet Tubman, Nellie Bly, Jacqueline Kennedy, Carrie Chapman Catt, Eve Ensler, J.K. Rowling and many others.
Those are all women that I admire, and I wish I could have conversations with all of them, but who would I want to trade places with?

I thought I would trade places with Jane Goodall because then I would have the opportunity to spend time with chimpanzees, and work to help save them. I love animals.

Or I would want to trade places with Maggie O'Kane because she is a very brave strong individual, she is a wonderful journalists and has traveled all over the world to cover important stories which is something I used to want to do.

However, if I could trade places with anyone (even if they have passed away) I would choose Audrey Hepburn because she was such an inspiring, kind hearted individual. She was not only a great dancer, singer and actor she also devoted much of her time, energy and life to humanitarian causes such as the UNICEF. She is a wonderful example.
As fun as it was to try and think of who I would trade places with, I have no desire to really trade places with anyone :-) I'm very happy.
I'm curious, who would you trade places with for a day?

ps. As tomorrow is Sunday, which is a very busy day for me, I won't be blogging, so you'll have to wait until Monday for day 7. :)

Day 5 is a Treasure

2011-04-08T08:15:00.000-06:00

I didn't realize my picture yesterday was cut off, so it is fixed now in case any of you were wondering :-)
Today the prompt is a picture of your favorite memory.
I'm sure I'm like all of you when I say that I have many favored memories.
All of mine and Michaels "firsts" are some of my favorite memories, but I don't have pictures of those things. The first date, the first time we held hands, our first kiss, our first dance... you get the idea ;-) and since I can't show you all of those things, I made a collage of some of my other favorite memories

1.When Michael proposed, 2. when we got married, 3. performing on stage, 4. Michael singing to me, 5. being silly together, 6. traveling to St. George, 7. going to Disney Land, 8. winning my playwright award, 9. our honeymoon, 10. trying new things -like 4-wheeling, 11. dancing with my dad, 12. being silly with my siblings, 13. being in Mexico with Michael.
I'm rather indecisive about these things. I'm very blessed, and I am having a hard time picking just one memory so I do hope you enjoyed seeing quite a few.
Many of my favorite memories aren't specific things, but more like feelings. Such as being silly with Michael, we laugh often together, and we have a lot of fun. I don't have a specific moment in mind, but those times together are all my favorite :-)
Even when specific details are forgotten, the feelings that are shared (especially those shared often) are what will be remembered :-)
What are some of your favorite memories?

Day 4 is a Treasure

2011-04-07T08:20:00.001-06:00

The prompt today is a picture of your perfect day.
I've had many nearly perfect days, and some that felt perfect as well! So instead of choosing one day, I'm compiling -with my limited editing skills-some elements from those days. If they could all be mixed together it would be a "perfect day" for me.

My perfect day would include not having to work and being able to spend the entire day with Michael. It would also include swimming in the nice sun warmed lake at St. George, being in Disneyland for a few hours, eating at Anasazi in St. George- they have the best fondue I've ever tasted. It would also involve getting red mango, eating chocolate covered strawberries, listening to Michael sing, dancing and not getting tired, listening to music that has real meaning, playing a few board or card games with close family and friends. It might also include writing a letter longhand without my hand getting cramped, or maybe creating a beautiful piece of jewelry. And it would definitely end with cuddling on the couch with Michael and reading some of my favorite books.
But really, I don't need to do all of those things for a day to be perfect :-)I would be happy to simply spend the entire day with Michael. Anything else would just be a bonus ;-)
If you could do anything without getting tired, what would your perfect day include?

Day 3 is a Treasure

2011-04-06T09:35:00.001-06:00

Thank you everyone who participates in Small Treasure Tuesdays! You guys are awesome :-)and you can still link up if you want
Today is day 3 of my photo challenge, and good news! My sister Amber and my sister-in-law Annie are thinking about joining in on the challenge as well! I'll let you know if they do. :-)
Today the prompt is a picture of the cast from your favorite t.v. showI like watching t.v. and movies. We use Netflix however, we don't ever plan on getting cable. I like it a lot, I would highly recommend netflix to everyone
I just grabbed these photos off the interweb, I hope you can see them clearly

And I hope it isn't too small for you guys to see my mad editing skills :-P

I enjoy watching pretty much anything entertaining, and it was too hard to pick one favorite.

Here are the ones I chose, The Office, Bones, Psych, 30 Rock and House before they got rid of Kutner and 13. Getting rid of those two was the worst things that ever happened to the show I think.

Other shows I enjoy include Monk, Leverage, West Wing, Pushing Daisies, Better off Ted and 3rd Rock from the Sun.

What are some of your favorite shows?

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-04-05T08:01:00.003-06:00

My treasure today is that it's Day 2 in my photo challenge!
Today's prompt is A picture of the person you're the closest to.

Michael is my best friend, and I love him dearly. I honestly could not imagine a better eternal companion for me. I'm more comfortable with him than I've ever been with anyone. I can tell him anything, and I know I never have to worry about him judging me. As corny as it may sound, he completes me, he's my other half :-D

What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-) Treasured participants:Chloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeMelissa @ Those Northern SkiesNain @ View From Down HereAmber @ Amber LaShell RantsTina @ Art Chick Studio

Day 1 A picture of me

2011-04-04T10:31:00.000-06:00

It's day 1 of my 35 photos in 35 days challenge!
Today the prompt is a picture of you with 15 facts

This is a picture from when my sister and I went to Florida together

I chose it because it shows my goofy side :-P

And now for those 15 facts:

1. I am 5 ft tall on a good day, though sometimes I measure a little under

2. I absolutely love being married to Michael and I couldn't imagine a better husband for me

3. I love watching documentaries and learning new sides to issues

4. I drink from a glass water bottle because I don't agree with the practices of plastic water bottle companies.

5. Now that I've done it a few times I really like cutting my own hair

6. I am an avid reader, it's one of my favorite things to do. I hope to write and publish a book someday

7. I have two sisters and two brothers that I adore. And as of almost two years ago I have some pretty rad step-siblings, nieces and nephews as well

8. I enjoy going to school and learning, but I'm getting kind of tired of it right now

9. I love vintage clothing, jewelry and cars

10. It used to bug me when people begin to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving, but now I say to each his own

11. I like listening to all types of music, and I'm constantly finding new bands/artists that I enjoy

12. I have a fondness for buying from antique and vintage shops, even though I rarely do it

13. I have a problem with procrastination that I am fighting to overcome. Acceptance is the first step right? ;-)

14. I look forward to one day having kids with Michael. He will make the greatest dad.

15. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and it is a wonderful religion. I'm the person I am today because of it. :-)

Photos are Treasures

2011-04-03T23:29:00.000-06:00

Those of you that frequent my blog know that there isn't usually much to read...I started out pretty well, blogging regularly, and talking about a variety of things that were hopefully entertaining :-P
Well, I haven't been doing as good with it lately.So, I'm doing a 35 photos in 35 days challenge! I'm hoping that will help keep me blogging a little more frequently.
Each day I will post a picture responding to the prompts.I'll share them with you all in case any of you would like to follow along as well!
It will be fun. Promise.
Here are the prompts:1. A picture of yourself with 15 facts2. A picture of you and the person you are the closest with3. A picture of the cast from your favorite show4. A picture of your perfect day5. A picture of your favorite memory6. A picture of a person you'd like to trade places with for a day7. A picture of a place you've traveled to8. A picture that makes you laugh9. A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most10. A picture of the person you do the most fun stuff with11. A picture of someone you see yourself marrying one day12. A picture of something you love13. A picture of your favorite band or artist14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without15. A picture of something you want to do before you die16. A picture of someone who inspires you17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact in your life recently18. A picture of your biggest insecurity19. A picture of you when you were little20. A picture of a habit you wish you didn't have21. A picture of something you wish you could forget22. A picture of something you wish you were better at23. A picture of your favorite book24. A picture of something you wish you could change25. A picture of you last year26. A picture of something that means a lot to you27. A picture of yourself and a family member28. A picture of something you're afraid of29. A picture that can always make you smile30. A picture of someone you love31. A picture of your favorite superhero32. A picture of somewhere you'd like to travel33. A picture of an accomplishment34. A picture of your parents at your age35. A picture of where you'd like to live out your days
I'll start tomorrow :-)Let me know if you play along!

Random Treasures

2011-04-02T13:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday everyone!Are you shocked I actually wrote a blog in addition to Small Treasure Tuesdays?Me too... LoL
I'm having a great day so far, and I wanted to share with you some of the reasons.
I finished an amazing book. Do you like/love fantasy? The Name of the Wind was the best fantasy book I have ever read. I would highly recommend it to everyone.I just finished its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear. If you like fantasy, you'll love these books.
Also, I recently had the opportunity to do some modeling with my friend Bryn in her studio, and here are some of the pictures she took. She's very talented :-)

I don't usually like pictures of me very much, but I'm liking these ones so far.
Lastly, and most importantly, I'm having a great day because today and tomorrow is our General Conference, I get to listen to the leaders of my church, including our prophet, address us and receive inspiration and instruction. You can listen or watch too if you would like!
Have a happy Saturday everyone!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-03-29T08:14:00.003-06:00

I am so sorry that I did nothing on this blog last week. I feel badly for not even setting up Small Treasure Tuesdays! However, thank you to everyone who participated even though I was negligent.
Namely Nain at View From Down Here and Chloe at My New Life as a Housewife
You should check out their posts, they have some pretty good treasures!And because I feel badly about not linking to them sooner ;-)
Well, without further ado: Welcome everyone to Small Treasure Tuesdays!Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
My treasure this week is that I got an A in my intermediate writing class!98%, and I'm pretty dang proud.
My teacher has stated that he sees a C grade as meaning you followed the assignment description, a B means you went above and beyond, and he never gives out A's...
On my first paper in this class I received a C. and man was I bummed. But needless to say, my spirits have been lifted! :-D
What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-) Treasured Participants:Melisa @ Those Northern SkiesChloe @ My New Life as a HousewifeNain @ View From Down Here

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-03-15T14:56:00.000-06:00

Welcome all to Small Treasure Tuesdays!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! One of my treasures this week is spring break! Spring break starts today and it will be nice to get a break from my class so I can have more time finishing my next paper, and it will be nice for Michael to not have to go to his early morning calculus class.
Also Michaels birthday is this weekend :-)My friend Rebecca had a great idea of a fun little thing to do for him on his birthday, so a break will also give us more time to finish planning... I'll give you the details of what we're planning after the fact, just in case Michael reads this
What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-) Treasured participants:Nain @ View From Down HereChloe @ My New Life as a Housewife

Small TreasureTuesdays

2011-03-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays! I used to dislike Tuesdays, but now that I get to read your treasures it's fast becoming one of my favorite days :-)
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! This week my treasure is getting to spend time with my families

The family I married into

and my family I love my family very much, and I would show a picture of my mother as well, but I'm at my work computer and don't have any here... Another time :-) I'm so blessed to have great friendships with my awesome families.I seriously love them all dearly, and I feel very blessed to have each of them in my life. What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-) Nain @ View From Down Here Chloe @ My New Life as a Housewife

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-03-01T11:20:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays Everyone!
I hope you're having a great week so far. Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! Today, my treasure is that I got new business cards for my jewelry!I love them.

My awesome and talented brother in law Dave designed them for me.

What do you think?

If you're looking for new and personal business cards, websites or anything I would definitely recommend him :-)

What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-) Nain @ View From Down Here

P.S. I've been having issues with being able to upload my jewelry pictures, so if you check out my etsy, I apologize that it isn't updated yet... But I'm motivated to get it working this week!

Motivation is a Treasure

2011-02-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

This week, I am motivated to organize my storage closet.Michael and I live in a cute two bedroom apartment, we love it! But there isn't a lot of storage space.
We have this little area outside, and it has become crowded with my art supplies (I don't have the space for them in our apartment) Christmas and other holiday decorations, and some toys that I kept in very good condition in the hope of one day giving them to my children.
So... the plan is to go through it all over the weekend, get rid of some stuff, and organize the rest.I've been doing some price comparisons via the interweb and it appears that Kmart has some nice big storage shelves for $15 -even though I'm not a fan of the store, I'm a fan of the price. :-) I'm also motivated to organize the area by our bookshelves, it always seems to accumulate clutter. I'll let you know how it all goes. What are you motivated to do this week?
I'm linking to Nain's meme Motivation MondayYou should too :-)

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-02-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am so late in doing this guys!I apologize. But better late than never, right?
Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays on Thursday :-P
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-)
So this week my treasure is waking up early, getting stuff done around the house and being able to spend quality time with Michael.
Since we both work full-time, and are each taking a class, when we get home I don't have the motivation to clean or cook or do any of the things that I want to do around the house.
But I've been waking up earlier (not as early as Nain, as you can see in her post below) but early enough to have more energy, and get stuff done before I go to work.
I feel much happier and accomplished, even if I only have time for a load of laundry and dishes, it's still something and it makes me happy :-)
AND I've had some extra time to spend with my special someone in the evenings too, which I treasure immensely.
What's your treasure this week?I'd love to hear about it, just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to this post :-)
Nain @ View From Down Here

Oh, and feel free to grab my button :-)

New Jewelry Designs are a Treasure

2011-02-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to capture good light with my jewelry so these pictures aren't very good.

My father paid me to make this set of earrings, bracelet and necklace for my step-mother on Valentines Day. I'll be making a similar set to sell on my etsy shop, so I thought I'd show you guys.

I'm very proud of it :-)What do you think?

Motivation is a Treasure

2011-02-17T10:36:00.003-07:00

I know it isn't Monday, but I still wanted to participate in Nain's Motivation Monday
And this week I'm motivated to update my etsy shop (finally, right?), organize and de-clutter some areas of my apartment and hopefully get an A on my paper :-D
Though I won't find out about the paper til Monday... It might be a long weekend, I need to keep my mind off of it ;-) so I'm also motivated to keep myself busy and now worry about my paper!
What's motivating you this week?
Stop by Nain's blog and let us all know :-)

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-02-15T22:35:00.001-07:00

Welcome everyone to Small Treasure Tuesdays!
Here's my little spiel ;-)
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! Sorry I got this up so late today, I have a big paper due in my writing class tomorrow, and so I didn't have time to write it ahead of time :-)
My treasure is that my paper is pretty much finished (I just have a few little things to fix)I'm majoring in creative writing, and the class I'm in now is an academic writing class focusing on analysis and research writing. It's fun! it's just different than what I'm used to. So even though this paper is only 6 pages long, it took me quite a while to write it.
I'm having fun though! I took a few years off of school, and it's kind of nice to be back. Even though it's just the one class this semester. I gotta ease my way back into it right? :-)
What's your treasure? I'd love to read about it.Just leave the link in a comment and I'll add it to the end of this post!
Treasured posts:Warm Weather is a TreasureSpousal Prank Calls are a Treasure
Thanks to everyone who linked up!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-02-08T21:28:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!

Today my treasure is this thing

My inversion table :-)

I seriously love it.

I have a slight case of scoliosis, and as a result I get back pain and a lot of shoulder tension. My chiropractor recommended getting an inversion table and it has really helped. I don't feel as much pain and I can go longer in between visits to the chiropractor.
I would highly recommend it to everyone, it has so many benefits!Gravity can really wear on you, and hanging upside down can help relax the body and correct any misalignments.

The ideal amount of time to hang upside down is 15 minutes!You definitely have to work up to that.
Michael and I started out at ten seconds and added a few more seconds each day. We're up to around 3 minutes now! And we've gotten to the point where it doesn't hurt our heads anymore just our ankles.
I've noticed such a difference. Saving money on chiropractor visits and experiencing less back pain is definitely a treasure
Treasured Participants:House Updates are a Treasure
I'd love to hear your treasures too!Since linky isn't free anymore, if you want to participate just leave the link to your post in a comment and I'll add it to the bottom of the post :-)

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-02-01T22:35:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
I've really enjoyed doing Small Treasure Tuesdays!It's been such an uplifting part of my week.
Due to linkytools no longer being a free service (which I totally understand!) I'm not sure if I'll be able to budget that in right now. So, starting next Tuesday you can add the link to your post in a comment and I'll add it to the end of each Small Treasure Tuesday post. At least until I can budget it :-)
How does that sound to you guys?
My treasure today is my husbands patience, constant support and encouragement.
Also, this song

What's your treasure?Have a good week everyone!

Being motivated is a Treasure

2011-01-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes... My hair has been bothering me for a while, it's just at that length that begins to drive you crazy. So, last night, I got fed up with it, and so I got motivated to fix it...
That's right. I did it. I cut my own hair!I've never done it before, and let me tell you, I was scared.

Once I got past the worry over ruining it, I actually had fun! Who knew that cutting your own hair could be enjoyable? I sure wouldn't have expected it.
After I was finished, I was completely covered in little pieces of hair, and it was surrounding me on the bathroom floor. I'll definitely have to put a plastic bag over myself next time :-P

The lighting isn't too great, I took these on my phone

again, bad lighting...

I even got a bunch of layers, which I am a fan of on me :-) So that is the story of how being motivated helped me to overcame my fears of thinking I won't be good at something I've never tried before.
I'm also motivated to try other things I've been to scared to fail at in the past.
What's motivating you this week? Stop by Nain's new meme and let us know!You can also tell me in a comment ;-)

Motivated to be Healthy

2011-01-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

Michael and I are constantly looking for ways to improve our health and quality of life. We've been learning more and more about plastic, and how bad it is.
Right now, it isn't realistic for us to say we're cutting all plastic from our lives, but we are trying to eliminate wherever possible.

We just got these amazing glass water bottles, I love them.

It was kind of hard to get a good picture.

You can purchase these bottles on amazon. They have a lot of other styles to choose from too.

Stainless steel is good too, but it's so hard to find bottles that don't have plastic lids -it took me a while to even find a glass one that didn't have any plastic! And yes, the lids are generally made from polypropylene and are BPA free, but studies are now showing that they may still have other harmful chemicals that leech, or sweat, from that type of plastic into water or food.

There's a new water bottle by Klean Kanteen coming out later this year that will be the first entirely plastic free stainless steel bottle. It's pretty cool! I love my glass bottle, but I kind of want this one too :-)

We're also going to be buying these toothbrushes from Life Without Plastic (or ones like them) that have no plastic.
We've also been reading ingredient labels when we shop, and try to know everything we put into our bodies. It's kind of scary at first, but I feel a lot better knowing.
Because we're becoming more aware of how we treat our bodies, I started making our own toothpaste!I feel so old school saying that...
So, I'm motivated to be aware of the things I'm putting into my body, and to take steps towards healthier living!
What's something you're motivated to do? I'm linking up to Nain's new meme Motivation Monday,and I'd love to see you there :-)

ps. you can still link up to Small Treasure Tuesdays!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-01-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!on Wednesday this week... oops :-)
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
(Sorry I'm late in getting this up guys) My Treasure today, and on Tuesday :-P, is getting stuff from some of the awesome blogging friends I've made!

I got this vinyl from Leanne over at Organize and Decorate EverythingI've never used vinyl before, and I'm way excited about it!

I got these patterns from Denise over at Pitterpat and the StickycatI don't feel comfortable on a sewing machine, but I'm thinking I'm going to get comfy to make these!

And I got these makeup samples from Nain over at View from Down Here
If you're looking for some makeup, check out Nain's Mary Kay site. She's great and she's given me some awesome advice! I'd been looking for some new eye shadows, and Mary Kay has some great hues and sets with instructions for different looks. I know she can help you find what you're looking for.
These ladies are awesome!
And sure, the vinyl and patterns were given to me because I won giveaways, and the makeup was because I requested it, but that doesn't make it any less special or cool ;-)
So, if anyone would like to send me some free stuff, I'm game. Always.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your treasures! The linky will be open until Saturday night.

Motivation is a Treasure

2011-01-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've made such great friends, and learned so much through this blog, and even though I don't write as often as I would like to, I really enjoy it.
I have lots of ideas for things to say on here and pictures to share, however I've been having difficulties over the last few months actually doing it.
Since I'm taking a class, working full time, and trying to keep my apartment organized, I've been finding myself too busy. But I know I can make time :-)
I'm thinking positively ladies!
I have a game plan, and it involves waking up super early (which I am not a fan of) so I have more time during the day to get stuff done. I'm trying some new techniques in managing time, so that I will be able to do everything I need to and not feel guilty about blogging :-)
You know what I mean.
So, I'm motivated to manage my time better, get the most out of everyday, and blog a little more!
Baby steps :-)
And here's a picture of my sweet husband from when we were at Disneyland

He really is the cutest. :-)
I'm also motivated to help him feel less stressedHe's taking a calculus class. Need I say more? :-P
What's motivating you this week?You can stop on over at Nain's meme and tell us about it!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-01-18T09:17:00.001-07:00

It's that time of week again!You guys make me love Tuesdays more and more :-)
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
My treasure is finding time to make jewelry!
Over the holidays, as you know, I've let some things slip through the cracks like blogging and making jewelry. But I have a new planner where I've been writing everything I have to do each day, and it has been working wonders with scheduling and making time for everything I have to do.
I haven't yet been able to take pictures of all of my most recent pictures due to bad lighting :-PBut here are some!

I'll share more pictures later.I'm looking forward to reading about your treasures!
The linky will be open until Saturday

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2011-01-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone who continued to write your Small Treasure Tuesday post, even when I was too lazy to set up the linky! :-)
You guys are awesome. Again, I'm sorry for being gone so long.
So, In case you are new, or can't remember since it's been ages, here's my little intro: Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! Today, my treasure is that my bruise is finally getting better!You can read about how I got it here That's right, I got said bruise on the 19th of December, and it's just now almost gone! This next part is rather gross: It turns out that there is a sack of fluid, I can't remember what it's called, but it protects the bones or something. Anyway, when I hit the pavement, that sack ruptured... which is why I was so swollen, and it had a lot of red in the bruise because of rotting blood... It grossed me out just writing that. I picture these things too vividly for my own good. So, in order to get the swelling to go down, and for the bruise to get better, it has to get massaged everyday. I've been making Michael do it, because it hurts too much to force myself. It hurts a ton to get it massaged, but it feels much better the next day. And I'm happy to report that the swelling is all gone, and the discoloration is almost entirely gone as well. And it no longer hurts to walk! And that's my treasure. You're welcome. ;-) eew... rotting blood. So gross. I am very exciting to read your treasures! The linky will be open until Saturday night!

My absence is not a treasure

2011-01-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hey blogging friends! I've been away for far too long.
Did you miss me?
I'm so behind on my blog reading, I must apologize. When Christmas got close I stopped coming onto blogger, and now things are settled down but I've had difficulty making time. I've missed you all though, and I'll start reading your blogs again soon!
After a year and a half break, I'm going back to school. I'm just taking one (possibly two if I get off the waitlist) classes this semester. I'm looking forward to it though!
I'm a Creative Writing major, and so it is a writing class :-) What better way to get back into the swing of things, right?
My poor husband though -who has also been taking a break- is kicking off going back to school with a calculus class... I can't imagine. But, he's enjoying it so far.
My Christmas was absolutely lovely! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays as well. I'd love to hear about them :-)
If I missed any awesome posts during my absence please link to it in the comments, that way I will be sure not to miss it as I try to catch up.
I will blog about my wonderful holidays and other things another time.I just wanted to stop in and say "Hi"
And tomorrow we'll do Small Treasure Tuesdays! I've missed doing that linky party.
Have a great day friends!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-12-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!
I know, I'm super late in getting this up! But in my defense... it's almost Christmas!
I love Christmas.
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
Christmas is my treasure.I just love this time of year!
I love the spirit of giving, picking out gifts for loved ones, remembering the reason for the season and just how peaceful this time of year feels... everything.
I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas!
I'd love to hear about your holiday, your traditions or anything! The linky will be open until Sunday
I have so much I want to share with you all, I'll try and catch up after the holidays :-)

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-12-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!
And look, I actually got this party up in time this week!!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
Today, I am not going into work.Instead, I'm finishing up my Christmas shopping!!
And as you can tell from yesterdays post, I love shopping for others.It brings me so much joy to give to others.
I'll be using the Wishlist Factory to make sure I get things people want :-)You should check it out!
***Another treasure I'm appreciating, are the chances I have to serve. Especially during the holiday season.
I had the wonderful opportunity of being able to serve food to homeless people a few weeks ago while my husband and his sisters sang Christmas songs to help bring them some holiday cheer.
It was a wonderful experience.
We'll be going again on the 23rd, and I am looking forward to that very much.
What's a treasure in your life?
The linky will be open until Saturday night!

Christmas Shopping is a Treasure

2010-12-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas!So.Much.
Getting gifts isn't my love language, but I really enjoy giving gifts to others to help them feel loved! And Christmas is the perfect time to do that :-)
Every year I look forward to Christmas for many reasons (it's a magical time of year) I especially look forward to being able to watch my loved ones open the gifts that I picked out for them. I love seeing the excitement, and joy! If I could I would give people gifts everyday so I could see that.
Well, maybe not everyday...
My husband isn't a huge fan of shopping, so it's a good thing I've learned to drive a stick, so that this year I don't need to torture him by making him take me everywhere ;-) One thing that has made Christmas shopping so nice and less stressful is this website my awesome brother in law made. It's called Wishlist Factory. It's an advanced wishlist system that allows families, friends, and other groups of people to create private wishlists for any event or holiday! Sweet huh? It's completely free, and very user-friendly. You should totally check it out!It has made shopping so.much.easier.
If you're going to spend money, it helps to know what people want :-P
So, I'm motivated to finish my shopping!My goal is to get it all done by tomorrow, and have everything wrapped by this weekend!
How's your shopping coming?
I'm linking this up to Nain's new meme

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-12-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time of week again! Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays :-)
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! I apologize that I don't have pictures to go with my treasure yet, but I'll post some later tonight. So you might want to check back later ;-)
My treasure today is Christmas decorations.I LOVE when my house is all decorated for Christmas. It makes me so happy!
I love the feel of said decor, the colors, the snow-men, the nutcrackers, angels and nativities. We just barely finished decorating our tree, and I love it!I wanted to do more uniform ornaments this year, and I think it looks pretty good for my first time ;-)
I got this wreath for $4 at Wal-Mart and I decorated that with all my childhood ornaments, that way they could still be enjoyed.
I love this time of year so much!
Have you finished decorating yet? The linky will be open until Saturday night!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-12-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm late in posting this. I'm sorry guys!The holidays are such treasures, but they sure take up a lot of time :-)
Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays! Well, I guess I should say Wednesday this week :-P Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! My husband is always one of my treasures.and today I'm really grateful for his patience, love and understanding. He's the best!
The only car we have is a stick, and I never learned to drive a stick growing up. So, Christmas shopping can be a bit tricky, especially since my husband isn't exactly a fan of shopping.
So, my awesome husband has been teaching me to drive a stick! And while I am trying to be a good student, and I'm catching on pretty quickly, I think it still requires a lot of patience on his part. Especially when I ~~complain~~ worry that it's harder than an automatic and I'll never get the hang of it. He's been a great teacher though, and he's been helping me to feel very comfortable with it.and the amazing thing is- I'm really starting to get it, and I'm finding it fun!
What's your treasure?The linky will be open until Saturday night!

Thanksgiving is a Treasure

2010-11-26T00:36:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for so many things.
I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, my loving families, my great friends.
I'm grateful for my life, the roof over my head, conversations with my brothers and laughing with my sisters.
I'm thankful for the silly times with my husband and for his understanding nature.
I'm thankful for my body, the chances I have to grow and work on myself, the love of those around me, and all of the many blessings in my life.
What are you grateful for?
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-11-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

I love Tuesdays!Doing the Small Treasures really makes my day so much better, thank you everyone who participates. I love reading your treasures, they brighten my day!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures! One of my favorite things about winter is bundling up under a blanket and drinking hot chocolate. I love it! Especially when it's snowing outside. Today, at 3pm a huge blizzard is supposed to hit my town. The radio said that it will be the worst snow storm Utah has seen in 100 years! So, everyone is being sent home early from my work.
I'm hoping that when we get home, my hubby and I can just cuddle, watch a movie and drink hot coco.
So, even if the storm doesn't hit, the fact that I get to leave early and indulge in the goodness of hot chocolatey goodness is a treasure.

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-11-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

Oh dear, I'm so sorry guys! I thought today was Monday for most of the day, and when I realized how wrong I was, I wasn't near a computer... Oops!
Anyway, welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
It's beginning to be that special time of year again!I love the holiday season!
While I am super excited to put up Christmas decorations, I want to wait until after Thanksgiving -or at least closer to Thanksgiving :-)
A treasure I'm appreciating today is family

I love my family. They are wonderful and I'm so blessed to have them!

And my new family. They are all wonderful as well, I couldn't have married into a better family!
I am one very blessed girl :-)
And since Christmas is on my mind too, I had to share these pictures.

On our way to my parents house last Christmas Eve we saw Santa beginning to make his rounds on his Harley

Isn't he darling?
I really love this time of year!

You can link up until Saturday night!

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-11-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!

Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
Today my treasure is working out with all my sisters Every Monday my sister Amber, and my sister in law Annie do the 30 Day Shred together. It's fun, and hard. We encourage each other to keep going when we want to break the TV and curse at Jillian. My other sister, Helena, lives in Pittsburgh so she hasn't been able to workout with us. But now she has a webcam!
So last night we all worked out together, and it.was.awesome.
Helena is very entertaining on skype :-)
What's a treasure you're appreciating today?

Follow Me. NOW is a Treasure

2010-11-06T19:27:00.000-06:00

Welcome new followers from Follow Me. NOW
You know those "follow parties" that happen all around the blogging community?Well, my sister started one. (You'll find her blog very amusing)
Make sure you read the ~~rules~~ guidelines

She's very strict about these things. And they are all really important.

I'm hoping she doesn't notice that I'm not putting her button on my sidebar.

Or she might leave me a mean comment.

I threw it in a few extra times to make up for it.

Oh well, she'll leave an even meaner one when she see's that I am not following the 16 people...

So, basically if you Follow Me. NOW (FM.N) and leave me a comment telling me that you are FM.N then I'll follow you back! Isn't that genius?

Have a good weekend!

And don't forget to FM.N

Writing Reviews is a Treasure

2010-11-04T15:24:00.000-06:00

I'm pleased to announce that I will have the opportunity to review something from CSN stores soon! I'm pretty excited :-)
Now to decide what to review... maybe I'll choose one of their many nightstands, or coffee tables.
It's going to be a difficult decision. They have over 200 stores, and they sell pretty much everything.
Maybe I'll get a salad spinner... I've been wanting one for a while now.
Anyway, it will be my first time writing a review of a product. Any suggestions?

Cheetah and Dog Best Friends are a Treasure

2010-11-04T09:32:00.000-06:00

Since today isn't "Wordless" like yesterday ;-) I'd like to explain the picture I used for Wordless Wednesday
When my family went to Disney, we also went to the Sand Diego Zoo.
I LOVE that zoo! They are undoubtedly the best zoo in the world-they have the most animals, and they work very hard to protect all animals and species.
I love animals a lot.
Anyway, my favorite part was the cheetah. The reason? This picture says it all:

All the cheetahs that are in the zoo (and some wolves) are paired with a golden retriever since they are pups, they grow up together. They are best friends. :-)

And get this, the golden retriever has the dominant relationship! It is so cute. The dogs stay with them in their cages, and they not only keep each other company, but the dog helps the cheetah feel secure and safe.

(source)It's darling.
I wasn't able to get my own picture of the dog and cheetah together, that sign of their first cheetah/dog duo is as close as I got. But when I go back I'll get a picture then :-)

Here's another adorable story

Wordless Wednesday is a Treasure

2010-11-03T10:30:00.000-06:00

This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-11-02T08:41:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!!
Did you guys have a great Halloween? I sure hope so.
Halloween is so fun. I love dressing up, eating candy, going to haunted houses, playing with dry ice... everything!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
Of course my treasure today is Halloween
We got to hang out with my family the day before Halloween and carved pumpkins, and then we spent time with Michaels family on Halloween. It was awesome.
We even went to a haunted house on Halloween night -I screamed a lot!

We called ourselves "The Colorful Cap Couple" :-)

I had a lot of fun throwing together a bunch of colors for this.

Like my pants? They are plastic! Let me tell you, they kept my legs very warm :-)

Unfortunately bloggers up-loader for images stopped working after these pics. So you'll have to wait suspensively for more Halloween pictures. Our pumpkins look awesome! :-)

I'm excited to read your treasures! Thank you to everyone who participates.

The linky will be open until Friday night

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-10-27T00:08:00.000-06:00

I'm very late in getting this up, sorry guys! We got back from the happiest place on earth last night, and my poor husband has been very sick today...
But welcome to Small Treasure Tuesdays!Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
My treasure was being able to go to Disneyland!

It was wonderful! I loved it so much.

And, I got my picture with Mickey! (thanks again Amber!)

Disney really is magical. I loved Toon-TownI'm excited to go back sometime and see more of the park!
I'll share more pictures another day :-)
Now I would love to read about your treasures!The linky will be open until Saturday night

My 100th Post is a Treasure

2010-10-21T13:28:00.000-06:00

On this, the 100th post of My Thoughts and Treasures, I am pleased to announce that I will be going to the happiest place on earth for the first time in my life!
That's right... I'm going to Disneyland!

(source)
I am so excited guys! I've wanted to go since I was a little girl.I hope I get a picture with Mickey. I've always wanted one :-)
I'm sooo excited!
I'm sure when I return I will have lots of fun pictures to share with you all :-)
We'll only be at Disneyland for one day this time, but I'm sure I'll be able to experience Disney and get to ride many wondrous rides. There will be 2 parades the day we will be there, as well as fireworks. Sweet!
We're leaving Tomorrow and getting back Monday, and since we will be in California for a few days, we will also have the chance to go to a zoo and Medieval Times dinner. I'm so excited! It will be fantastic!
You guys... I'm really, really looking forward to it...
And did I mention that I'm excited? :-P
***Thank you so much everyone for reading about my thoughts and my treasures. You.guys.rock!
If you have any things you would like to see on my blog, please feel free to let me know.
It's so fun, and I'm glad to have made so many wonderful blogging friends :-) and I want to make sure you're enjoying reading as much as I'm enjoying writing.
I'll post again when I get back :-DI hope you all enjoy your weekend! What fun plans do you have?

Small Treasure Tuesdays

2010-10-19T08:06:00.000-06:00

It's that time of the week again!I love Small Treasure Tuesdays, Thank you so much to everyone who links up!
Remember, your post doesn't have to be long, it can be as simple as linking up a picture or a quote. I don't want anyone feeling overwhelmed by this :-) Here are the guidelines:1) Make sure you link directly to the page your Small Treasure Tuesdays post is on, not your main blog page.If you don't have a blog, you can still participate and leave your treasure in a comment.
2) Please link back here so other people can join in on the fun! A good way to do that is by grabbing my button :-)
3) Visit as many people as you want/can. All I ask is that you please visit the person above you in the list, and leave a comment. Everyone loves to know what you think of their treasures!
Today, I am appreciating giveaways!
I pretty much always enter them, but I don't win.
A few months ago I was lucky enough to win a cute bracelet, which was very exciting!
But now, I've really hit the jackpot....One of my good blogging friends hosted a giveaway for Expressions Vinyl, and, you guessed it, I won!
I've never used vinyl before, but I have tons of ideas!I'm so excited I can't even tell you.If anyone has any tips, please pass them on!
What's a treasure in your life today? I'd love to hear about it!
The linky party will be open until Friday night :-)