The Frehners

My LoVeR

2012-02-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day. I never have been and probably never will be. It’s a waste of a good day in my opinion. I don’t need a special day to let my hubby know how much I care about him. I use to think Valentines was so great when I was in elementary and I could decorate my Valentine boxes and let that special someone know I was crushing on them. Middle school didn’t disappoint either. I remember my school sold roses at lunch and you could have them delivered to your crush during class. I was always stoked to get a rose. In high school I had a steady boyfriend and he was a winner and would break up with me before V-Day and then want to get back together so I just began to dislike the holiday. Everybody makes such a big deal about it and I just don’t see the excitement.

I will admit that I do try to make Valentine’s Day special for Jake. I don’t do anything to exciting. Usually a nice dinner that takes me hours to cook and one of his favorite desserts. He appreciates it and I enjoy making his day. For as long as I can remember Jake would bake me a heart shaped Cherry Chip cake. Oh I love that boy. I will never forget the first Valentine’s Day he did that. I knew he was a keeper. What man takes the time to actually bake a cake for his lover? A heart shaped cake at that! He’s the best.

This year I’ve run out of ideas. I attempted to do 14 days of Valentines but I got sick and never made it to the store to pick up everything I needed. I made it to 5 days at least and I’m sure he thought I was corny but he loved it anyway. Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday so I’m hoping we can grab a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy’s, watch some of our DVR shows {anything besides basketball} and just hang out. That would be the perfect V-Day for me.

So in honor of the day of LoVe I thought I would jot down a few things I love about my handsome husband and best friend. No lie, this past year was probably one of the hardest years I’ve had in a long time. I was very unsure about so many things in life and Jake came to my rescue way more than once.

He’s been my rock, my best friend and always has a listening ear. He helps me so much around our house. Just yesterday I was cooking for my little sister’s birthday party and I had dirty dishes piled high in the sink…..He did them without even being asked just to help me and make life easier. Not only did he do them once, he did them 3 other times yesterday {I cooked ALL day}! I’m so grateful for him.

He pushes me out of bed every day to do our workout. He lets me watch my girly shows and doesn’t complain as long as I’m cuddled up to him on the couch. He fixes me dinner pretty much every night and doesn’t complain. He makes me laugh daily and once in a great while he does something out of the ordinary and romantic just to let me know he loves me. He always offers to take my friends and me to our summer concerts and then stays up late to come pick us up after we’ve had our fun. He stands up for me and is so unselfish.

I see some guys and the way they treat girls and I truly am one of the luckiest girl’s in the world to have Jake as my husband. He loves me just the way I am and doesn’t ever ask me to change anything. I love our life together.

Happy Love Day Everyone!

Feeling Good!

2012-02-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

These past few weeks have been taking their sweet time passing. We have a doctor appointment with an Endocrinologist doctor in February & I feel like I’ve been waiting for years. I’ve been off of the Lupron shot for about a two months now and yet I have still had some crazy side effects. Hot flashes, headaches & night sweats. All things that are rather un-enjoyable but its life so I’m dealing with them. There are much worse things in life I’m sure of it. I should be feeling normal again but I’m not quite sure what normal feels like. My mood is much better than it has been. I have more patience with people and I feel better about life in general. That’s a bonus. So for now we wait until our first appointment with the doctor we chose & we will decide where to go from there. Hopefully it’s only good news from here on out. Crossing our fingers & toes!
I’ve been feeling super sluggish lately. Beyond exhausted….it’s ridiculous so I decided to do something about it. I told the hubby I needed to start working out faithfully. I enjoy running and do it every so often but I don’t have a normal routine. The meds I was on definitely took their course on my body so I needed to change the way I was feeling. Jake suggested we start doing P90X together. If you know my hubby you know he works so hard every day. He’s a brick mason and his work is so hard on his body so I was surprised he even wanted to work out with me. Usually he’s against it because he’s already exhausted from his day. I was stoked so we borrowed the P90X DVD’s from our good friend and started the routine three weeks ago.

We get up early & work out for a good hour and then get ready for work. I love spending my early mornings with him & it’s nice to have a work out partner who won’t let me give up. The work out is insane and such hard work. My body is super sore but it’s definitely worth it. Even though I’ve been physically exhausted for the past few weeks, I feel so much better. I look forward to eating better throughout the day & getting back into shape. I can already feel a difference in my body & I’m so excited to keep our morning routine going. I do need some different food ideas so if anybody has any awesome suggestions please send them my way. I have a hard time finding meals to cook that are healthy with very little ingredients. It’s hard to work 10 hours a day and then come home and want to cook a nice meal. I’m all about the easy Mac for dinner. :)

Lots of January birthdays. I will post on those later and add pictures of course.

Ringing in 2012 the CoOl WaY!

2012-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

Our New Year's Eve was awesome. It was relaxing & simple. Not a lot of planning which is exactly what I wanted. It went something like this.....

-Picked up Rod & Jacque {we were missing Cary & Chelsey this year. Sad day for us.}
-Texas Roadhouse for dinner at 5:30 so we could beat the rush. 85 minute wait....sheesh, not what we expected.
-Argued with Rod to check out the bar area for 4 empty seats. He said, "yeah right. Your crazy. There's not an empty seat in this place." He checked, he never came back. We pushed our way through the crowds of people & wouldn't you know....4 empty seats waiting just for US! It must have been our lucky night.
-Headed to the movies to watch Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise {who by the way creeps me out}. Played with our smart phones, people watched & ate some amazing Gelato & ice cream.
-Left the movies & drove around. One of us suggested the local bar, the Lazy Dog Saloon. It's a great place to people watch. The hubs shut down the idea but drove that way just to amuse us. It was empty so we drove right past & then couldn't agree on a second choice and ended up back at Rod & Jacque's playing Phase 10.
-The clock struck 12 & we said Happy New Year, gave our significant others a small peck & continued on with our card game. It was down to the wire & someone had to win.
-I won!!! I was happy. Rod was upset because Jake made fun of him for losing the game. Jacque was an awesome score keeper. Jake was sad that he's usually the card game champ. Our night was complete. It was perfect. We all had fun.

Here's to 2012 being awesome!

PS-I didn't take one picture. What was I thinking????

2011 Re-Cap!

2012-01-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

{Highs of 2011}

1. Ringing in the New Year with friends

2. Visiting St. George often

3. Quick trip to Hoover Dam with my lover, Mom & Step Dad

4. Celebrating several birthdays on the Frehner side

5. Meeting the newest member of our "friend circle." Baby Daxton! Cary & Chelsey are proud parents & he's perfect. Love him.

6. 4th of July traditions

7. Frehner family reunion in Mesquite. Perfect!

8. Visiting with Jake's Oma while she was here. It was her last visit ever and I threw her an "un-birthday party" & she loved it. She's amazing.

9. Hanging out with my nieces & nephews

10. Our good friends Rod & Jacque getting engaged

11. Dad's 50th b-day celebration in Mesquite

12. Taking care of my Grandparents. Love taking them Sunday dinner & giving my sweet Grandpa a break once in a while.

13. Thanksgiving in St. George with my side of the fam

14. Hearing my other set of Grandparents are moving to St. George. Cannot wait for them to be close

15. Texas vacation with my girl's & Hawaii vacation with my bestie. Something I'll never forget!

16. Spending the holidays with our families and friends
17. Having a VERY understanding and supportive, amazing, selfless husband through all of the good & the bad
18. Concerts with my FAVORITE people. Limo rides, front row seats & nights I will NEVER forget.

{Lows of 2011}

1. Learning I have severe Endometriosis
2. Having a horrible surgery to help clean up the Endometriosis
3. Learning that I may not ever have babies because of the Endometriosis
4. Putting my super understanding and amazing husband through hell & back while I dealt with emotions, medications & other issues. I'm very lucky to have him.
*Stupid Endometriosis anyway, way to put a damper on my year*

More highs in 2011 than lows. I'm extremely happy about that & feel so blessed everyday to have the family and friends that I have. As if I didn't know what was important in life before all of these tests {I call the lows tests because I'm sure there is a purpose. I just don't know that purpose yet}, I now really understand what's important in life. I'm blessed to have the life I have. I have it pretty dang good. Here's to good news in 2012 for the hubs & I!!!
PS- Don't ever forget to tell those you care about just how much they mean to you....you never know where life will take you.

The Holidays

2011-12-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

Oh boy were we busy this year. We are busy every year around the holidays but who isn't? It's the best time of year to spend time with family and we did just that. The week of Christmas was packed full of fun & it did NOT disappoint. It was perfect....I was slightly stressed at times but it was still perfect. The week started when my Mom and her husband came to visit. They stayed at our house and I enjoy having company. I planned a small get together with my Step Dad's kids and grandkids and we had the best time. I really enjoyed myself and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

My Mom & I got coffee, pedicures and manicures and chatted the day away. We did some Christmas shopping too. I love spending that time with her. There is nothing better than a day out with my Mom. I sure miss her now that she lives in St. George. Not far but I still miss her everyday......

My Step Family!

They are fun, crazy and loud and I love every second of it. Watching the kiddos open gifts was awesome. They were so excited.

Next up was my family Christmas party. This is a tradition we do every year and it's one of my favorites. We didn't have a party last year and I was pretty bummed. I don't get to see my cousins as often as I would like so I look forward to this one time of year and we have carried on this tradition since as far back as I can remember. My uncles get crazy and sing on their guitars, my Grandma laughs and gives hugs and the kids get soooo excited when Santa arrives. My cousins Kim & Lori were kind enough to offer their home for our annual party this year and I can't thank them enough. There were a lot of peeps in their house but I'm so grateful they did that for everyone.

Doesn't my Grandma look beautiful? My Mom dolled her up for the party and she looked amazing. I'm so happy she came to the party. She's not a fan of big crowds & loud people but for this party she seemed ok. She was excited to have her family in one room all together. It brought much joy to her face and I'm so glad her and my Grandpa are still around to celebrate with us. My cousin Dylan was also there {bottom left photo}. He's in the military and he's just awesome. I was excited to see his handsome face!

Love this crazy family of mine.

Christmas Eve at the Frehners.

This is our yearly tradition in Jake's family and I get so excited. We rotate families every year for gifts and I get so excited to pick out the perfect gift for the family we have. We had Jake's brothers fam this year so the boys got a cool sled, an awesome search and rescue helicopter and a remote control jeep. They were so fun to watch open their gifts. I say this every time but this house is complete chaos when we all get together and it's so much fun. Do I sound crazy? I might be....but I LOVE it! I made North Pole cupcakes for dessert and they were time consuming but worth it. Jake even helped me. I love baking everything around the holidays but this year I didn't have as much time as I usually have so they weren't perfect but they were still delicious.

My mother in law got a Kindle Fire {I'm super jealous by the way} & my brother in law Jared took that beautiful pic of the temple and sent it to me to have it framed for her and my father in law. It was gorgeous and she loved her Kindle. The kiddos crack me up. They run around like crazy people, play with iPhones, climb on things they shouldn't be climbing on and are all sugared up before Santa comes....It's awesome!

Like my new reloading kit?

~~Just what I always wanted~~....But inside all bundled up was a perfect little iPhone waiting for me. I've told Jake over and over that I WON'T buy myself an iPhone. I don't need a phone that smart and I don't need to waste my money. He insisted that I "keep up with technology." Needless to say I LOVE IT. It's been tough getting use to but I'm really glad I have it now. It's amazing what that little thing can do.

Christmas morning is still my favorite.

Jake & I wake up early and exchange gifts and stockings. I love stockings. They are the best things ever. The first year we were in our home & I told Jake I was doing a stocking for him he was kind of dumb founded but I think he likes the tradition just as much as I do and he always fills my stocking with awesome stuff.

Like his new kicks?

He needed some nice new shoes so I bought him this pair & an awesome pair of white Puma's that I doubt he will ever wear because he's worried about ruining them. He was stoked so that made me happy. He also got a gift card to Sportsman's & sadly a BYU hat. It was rough buying a BYU hat but I did it & he was happy so that's all that matters.

Last but NOT least-Dad's house Christmas morning!

Like his tree? He loves the Dallas Cowboys so it's decorated in blue, silver and white. After we open our gifts to each other we head to my Dad's for more Christmas morning fun. We open gifts and eat the best cinnamon rolls EVER. I would give you all the recipe but they are ~~fat free~~ so you would probably hate them.

{lots of sugar and butter and cinnamon.that's all.nothing else for the topping.amazing}.

My Grandparents celebrate with us this year and my Aunt and her son also came to visit. It was nice having everyone in the same room on a holiday. It doesn't happen often because they live in Cali so this was a nice surprise for us. We opened presents, ate, and relaxed. Then we came back for a Taco dinner. A tradition we do every year. A Mexican fiesta for Christmas dinner. It's so delicious.

Christmas this year was eventful & exciting. I'm lucky to have the family that I have & the friends in our lives. We are so blessed. I'm lucky to have a husband who spoils me & surprises me. Jake & I took my other set of grandparents In N Out burger for Christmas Eve dinner. My Grandma was so excited. She eats that hamburger like it's going out of style. I wish I would have taken a picture. I have lots of goals for 2012 & I have lots of ideas. I hope this next year brings us happiness and lots of luck.

Oh Christmas Tree....

2011-12-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

When I think of Christmas I always think of that one Christmas song that I would hear playing on Christmas morning. My parents always made our Christmas mornings amazing. I'm so lucky to have the parents that I have. That one song is and old song by a country group called Alabama. It played every Christmas morning and it's by far still my VERY FAVORITE. It's called Christmas in Dixie. I could listen to it over and over and over. I've yet to find the song on CD....We listened to it by tape I'm pretty sure. A few years back Jake found a Kenny Chesney Christmas CD & he sings that song on that CD. I was so excited. So that will be playing on Christmas morning.

I procrastinate on putting up our tree every year. This year I was not waiting. I'm so excited for the holidays. The picture is awful but I love our tree. It's not full of ornaments but it's perfect for us. Jake even put up the outside Christmas decor this year. I was so excited. I hate bugging him to do it so I don't. He usually does it but it's always later in the December month. This year the decor was up the last weekend in November. We are so on top of it. I love having our house to decorate.

This pic is pretty awful too. I was in a hurry because it's COLD outside! I have lots of fun things planned for the week of Christmas. I have a work Christmas party I plan every year, it's my nephews 7th birthday so we will be celebrating at the Spaghetti Factory. My Mom and her husband will be in town so we plan on doing some major shopping and wrapping presents. We have a small get together planned at our house for my Step Dads kiddos and grand kids. I can't wait. Pizza, gingerbread houses and lots of fun. It's going to be a great holiday, if only I could get my shopping finished. I was on such a great roll and then my motivation went out the door.

Happy Holidays!

A visit from my FaVoRiTe

2011-12-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

I love the quote above. I seen that and immediately thought of Brooke. We've been friends for a VERY long time and in that time we've lived 300 miles or more away from each other. I hate that she's not close because I LOVE having her here. She came to visit from Texas and only had one night to go out with me. I was pretty bummed so Jake & I met her and her Dad and his friends for dinner to celebrate his 50th birthday. Friday night we went out to a fun Western bar and danced the night away. I forget how much I miss not seeing her...I'm just use to not having her here to do these fun things with. When she is here it's like no time has passed. We laugh, act crazy and goofy, tell secrets and for that time I forget about anything negative going on in the "real world." It's wonderful!!!

She was suppose to leave on Saturday but decided to stay another day and she chose to hang out with me for the day. Pretty lucky huh? I was excited. We didn't have anywhere in particular to be so we shopped, had lunch, had coffee and then watched a movie later that night. I was sad when she had to go home. I miss her like crazy again and think it's time for a Texas trip to visit her.

Love you Brooke!

The Turkey Day Holiday!

2011-12-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

I wish I would have taken some more decent pics on Thanksgiving. I was busy helping my cute Mom cook and forgot I had my camera. I'm glad that I got a few good ones.

My studly brother mashing the taters

Crazies!

Love this pic of these two handsome boys

I also got to meet my sweet little cousin Fin. He's a miracle baby...really he is. I won't go into details but he's such a sweet boy. His Mom sure is thankful he's here. I love this pic of the two of them. So glad I finally got to play with him.

The Holidays

2011-12-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

I love this time of year. I love this time of year a lot more than I have in the past for some reason. As I got older, the holidays became boring to me. I take on too much and stress myself out and that’s never fun. Our families have awesome traditions and I really enjoy those but the time leading up to the holidays is never my favorite. This year has been different. I started shopping early, I have a week full of fun activities planned for the family the week of Christmas, I’ve listened to Christmas music daily while at work, I’ve found several delicious holiday recipes I’m excited to try & we have plans to go downtown to eat dinner with our great friends and see the lights at Temple Square. I don’t feel overwhelmed this year. I’m really enjoying the season.

Thanksgiving was amazing. I loved spending the time with family. We drove to St. George and it was warm, t-shirt weather. I was in heaven. I’m thankful for my Mom’s good cooking and the time spent with family. We went shopping for a bit on Black Friday but the nieces and nephews had other ideas of fun so we cut our shopping trip short so that my Mom {a.k.a. Grandma} could spoil her grandkids. We missed Jake’s family but are excited to be with them next year. I have so much to be grateful for this year.

I’m so blessed, even on the not so great days. Jake’s been such a supportive husband. He’s been the one to put up with my crazy moods, anger, sadness, frustration etc…I don’t know how I got so lucky but I am. I thank God every day that I married him, even on the bad days. I’m thankful for wonderful parents. I always go back to the day I had surgery. My Mom stayed with me and then went back to St. George to work for a couple of days and then came back to take care of me some more, make our meals, clean my house etc. She’s amazing. She’s also my very best friend. My Dad came in my hospital room with a dozen red roses and they were the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen. He’s not a fan of hospitals so I expected that to be it but to my surprise he stayed with me EVERYDAY for four days straight. He sat in silence while I rested and watched daytime TV. He snuck me fast food and made me laugh. He’s a great Dad & during those hard times I am more thankful than ever to have the parents that I do. Love them to pieces.

My siblings are crazy but I love them and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my nephews to the moon & back. Jake’s family is equally wonderful. I’ve grown closer to them this year and I’m thankful for them in so many ways. I love the chaos at Sunday dinners and all of the sweet kiddos I get to love on. I was blessed with more nieces and nephews than I ever thought possible. I am thankful that Jake and I spent time with his Grandma while she visited this past summer. She and I have a bond that I can’t explain but I love her so much. She’s the sweetest little lady ever. I’m also thankful that for the time I get to spend with my Grandparents. Both sets. They are truly amazing people. Our friends are also awesome. I can say that we have those few GREAT friends that we can always count on and I’m so, so, soooo thankful for them. Always!

It’s been an eventful past year. I’m so excited that tomorrow on the 7th will be my VERY LAST round of Lupron. It’s been a long 6 months on this shot. I hope the emotional rollercoaster was worth it. My options now are to find a way to get pregnant or have a hysterectomy. The hysterectomy isn’t an option for me right now so we have to find a way to get prego. It’s not something that will be easy but in the end I’m sure it will be worth it. It’s hard not to know the unknown. I wish I had a crystal ball sometimes to make my decisions for me. The research and options are overwhelming but how do you know what’s best for you and your body? It doesn’t help that “infertility” can cost thousands and thousands of dollars and that in itself is very stressful. What if I waste money trying certain things? What if those things just don’t work? Then what? I have a lot of questions without answers so for now I will be patient and am thankful that this will be my very last shot on this dreaded medication. I got lucky, my side effects weren’t as bad as I thought they would be but it was a pretty rough 6 months for this girl and my body.

Here’s to 2012 rolling in with more blessings than I can count.

That’s life in a nutshell.

Pictures to follow……

where.i'm.at.

2011-11-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

.Where.I'm.At.

Seen this idea on another blog but I don't have the link.

I'm a space cadet lately but it was a really cute idea.

The idea is to fill in the answers and then in so many months fill out the same questions and see how much things have changed. Who knows if I'll ever keep up on it or remember I ever did it, BUT for today I feel like it's a Q&A kind of day.

It's Thursday and it's my FRIDAY!

Woo Woo

Date: November 17, 2011
My Initials: CMF

Age: 25 1/2 {Gee I feel old}

Size: Small, 3/4 pants or 25/26 waist, 7 1/2 shoe

Friday Nights: Well at the moment my Friday nights are usually spent alone because it's hunting season and the hubs is out of town every weekend. Sometimes I spend my Friday nights with the girl's or my sis. Last weekend and then Jake will be home and we can celebrate the holidays and enjoy the season. Can't wait!

{i kind of like my hubby. can you tell}

Hair Style: Hair is super long, kind of driving me crazy. Contemplating cutting it off. Dark brown w/carmel highlights.

Favorite place to dine out: Zupas, or Sam Pan

{that sounds delish at the moment. Jake's out of town for work so it might be one of those fast food nights. Wait it's a fast food night everytime he's gone. I hate cooking for one. Hate it, hate it.}

Favorite Outfit: Comfy clothes. It's COLD outside so you can see me in hoodies and sweats this time of year. Of course I have to dress business for work but the minute I'm home it's hoodie and sweats. My weekends are usually in my super cute boots with my skinny jeans and a comfy top. I get lazy in the cold winter months and like to be comfy.

Love Life: I have a husband who is pretty awesome.

Home Life: Amazing! Love cooking dinner with Jake, love re-decorating my house 5+ times, love changing the pictures in my frames, love Sunday breakfast in bed that Jake makes me, love playing with my crazy dogs and seeing them so excited to see me in the mornings, love lazy t.v. days and I even love doing the laundry. Love our home life. It's pretty amazing and I'm pretty lucky.

TV shows: Not a fan of t.v. You can usually find football on our t.v. or CSI, Storage Wars, UFC fights, or the news. Jake's the t.v. guy in our house. I'd rather do something productive like clean, cook, bake or craft. If I am watching t.v. I'm usually watching Lifetime movies. I'm a sucker for a good movie.

Extra time: Dinner with friends, girl's night out, date nights with the hubby, hanging with our nieces and nephews, working on our budget for 2012, talking about this past year, Sunday dinners, X-Mas shopping and oh so much more.

What excites me: Christmas music.the Christmas decor going up around the city.the smell of Christmas.crafting.country dancing with my girls.scrapbooking.decorating.baking new goodies.finding the perfect gift for someone for the holidays.doing things for others.making my grandparents dinner and visiting with them at LEAST once a week.anticipating Jake coming home from out of town.new boots for the season.watching my nephew play football.the unknown for 2012.a good book.thanksgiving is a week away.black friday shopping with my mom.baking pumpkin pies.that today is MY Friday.

A moment I never want to forget: I was at Jake's Mom's house for our nieces birthday. She turned 3. She was eating her cake and I was standing over her taking a picture and she turned around and said, "here you go CourtAney. Cake. Eat it. It's good." So I took a bite and she puckered her lips to give me kisses. Sweetest moment of the night. Hope she loves me as much as I love her.

Share.your.world.thursday.

2011-11-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

Inside my world

1. Go back five years, would you have pictured your life as it is now or would it have been different? If so, how or why?
5 years ago I would have been 20 years old, living it up, single, not a care in the world, road trips with friends, late nights, dates, etc....At the time I didn't want to be married. I wanted to be single. I enjoyed my single days. They reminded me of who I was. I wouldn't picture my life as it is now. My hubby and I had dated before I was 20 and we broke up. I was young, wasn't sure what I wanted and didn't want to be tied down to one person. I never thought in a million years we would EVER work things out, but we did and I'm so grateful because he's definitely my ROCK. This past year has been a trial for me with my health and I NEVER pictured that. I never thought the options of having babies would be taken from me because of some nasty disease growing inside me. Funny how life works out but I'm grateful for the road I'm on with my husband. Very blessed!
2. In a perfect world with no attachments, my career would be...
This is tough. I've always, always wanted to be an attorney. Maybe a family attorney or a prosecutor. I love the criminal justice field. The school is what scared me off.
Now days I would be happy owning my own photography studio. A fun one, a comfortable one, and one where I could take amazing pictures. I would love to wake up and take great pictures of cute kiddos or families etc. I would love to make my own hours and charge what I think is fair. I would love to make memories for people. That would be my perfect world career.
3. Name one thing you do {or don't do} that the world may think strange of you.
I shave my legs EVERYDAY. Never fails. Even when I'm camping in the outdoors I shave my legs. Sometimes if I shower in the a.m. get dirty for some reason and shower in the p.m. I shave my legs both times. Odd? Yes maybe but I HATE the feel of hair on my legs. Even when I'm sickly I will get in the bath and shave my legs. Craziness....I'm an odd girl. What can I say?
Happy Thursday!

{Girl's Night Out}

2011-11-13T22:20:00.000-08:00

Haven't been out with the girl's in quite a while. I've been a pretty lame home body. Jake's been hunting every weekend and I've been home throwing myself pitty parties and re-decorating my house over and over and over. Ok the pitty parties only happened two weekends in a row and I blame my doctor for giving me bad news. The re-decorating has only been going on for the past month. I change my mind a lot....A girl's night out was in order and did I have a great time or what? Went out with some cute girlie's from work. They are tons of fun. It's funny who you meet in life and how you meet people. These cute gals ROCK. They make me laugh, they are fun, crazy and I love them.

So glad we finally got together. I forgot how much I love shake my booty to some country songs. Line dancing is my FAVE. Love it. Seen some old friends, met some new ones and had one heck of a night. We must do it again very soon.

Thanks cute girls. Love your faces!

Breakfast On The Go

2011-11-13T22:09:00.000-08:00

As I was browsing on Pinterest the other night, the hubby and I came across the Breakfast on the go photo/blog. What a GREAT idea. I try to "guide" my husband towards the healthier meals in life. We eat junk, there's no mistaking that, Jake's FAVE drink is Mountain Dew. Not just one....3 times a day, & I love my coffee {not the normal I'm gonna brew it myself but the expensive 1,000 calories}. Sometimes I do try to think of creative meals that are somewhat healthy and delicious. When we found this we were stoked to try it. I'm not a huge breakfast fan but I have pills I have to take daily and therefore I have to eat something in the a.m. So we tried it and can I just tell you these cute little breakfast on the go meals were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

{don't mind my EXCELLENT food photo skills. they are horrible}

I changed the recipe slightly by not using Greek Yogurt but using low fat Vanilla.

-RECIPE-

medium sized mason jars

1 cup of yogurt {your choice}

a handful of fresh fruit

a handful of Granola

a drizzle of honey if you prefer.

pour yogurt into mason jar, had the handful of fruit, a drizzle of honey if you like, and add the granola on top so it stays crunchy. Seal with the lid and pop in the fridge.

I'm not big on measuring. Can you tell?

These things were heaven. I made 5 at a time because that's how much yogurt I had enough for. I had extra fruit because we bought at Costco and I had extra Granola. Five jars were perfect. The fruit wasn't soggy, the flavor rocked and it was an awesome breakfast.

filling, fast, healthy and easy.

Plus they were a hit with Jake & even some guys at work.

Enjoy!

Soup, Soup, Soup

2011-11-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

In the fall/winter I'm obsessed with soup. I love to try new soups, old recipes and sometimes even create my own. Some days I wish I wasn't at work so I could cook soup for my hubby & I, the in laws, my Dad, Grandparents, homeless people and so on....

But I do work so the easier the better because by the time I get home, the last thing I really want to do is cook.

I came across this recipe & was excited to try it. My hubby LOVES Tomato Soup so the Tortellini was just a bonus.

Soup turned out great. Wasn't as creamy as the picture looks so maybe I added a bit to much liquid. It was still pretty good and super easy.

That was the best part! It also made enough for Jake and I to each have one bowl and there was probably enough for an extra two bowls depending on what size soup bowls you use. I'll definitely try this recipe again and maybe try to make it a bit more creamy next time.

Oh I also made homemade cinnamon/honey butter. It was delicious. Recipes are below. I don't have a pic of the butter. Dang it. I'll take one next time.

Tomato-Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup, undiluted

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups 2% milk

2 cups half-and-half cream

1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes {I just used canned Italian Style chopped tomatoes}

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Additional shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

Cook tortellini according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Tomato-Tortellini-Soup?keycode=ZFB

Cinnamon/Honey Butter ~~{Calorie free right????}~~

2 sticks of butter-at room temp.

1 cup of powdered sugar

1 cup honey

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon {I used a bit more though}

Blend well and there you have it. DELICIOUS cinnamon/honey butter!

Monday Madness

2011-11-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

{Wrote this on Monday. Never had a chance to post it.}

It's no secret I'm not a fan of Mondays.

Especially when we have to change our clocks back an hour and I feel like I'm at work for more than the 10 hours I'm already there.

I got up this morning and did my work out. That was a first and MAYBE a last. Getting up at 5 a.m. to run and lift weights and what not really sounded like a great idea yesterday but today it doesn't seem like it was such an excellent idea. I might keep doing it. I need to keep doing it. We shall see when my alarm goes off at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning and my hubby again asks, "What are you thinking?"

Ohhh Mondays I wish I could skip you and head right on in to Tuesday.

Here's a few of my FAVORITE sites that I look forward to browsing on when I get home on Mondays.

I'm such a sucker for a good blog....

Happy Monday!

PS-I also dislike driving home in the DARK. I feel like I need to be sleeping, not driving home from work.

http://www.thewoodco.blogspot.com/
{LOVE the Wood Connection. I have so many craft projects from this place.}

http://karaspartyideas.blogspot.com/
{If only I had the $ to plan amazing parties like this website shows. That's my dream.}

http://pinterest.com/
{Yep-addicted to this sight big time.}

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/
{A delicious collection of recipes. I love trying the new things this girl posts.}

Happy web surfing.

Mission Accomplished!

2011-11-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry for those who don't "agree" with hunting animals. Please feel free to quit reading this post. I really don't want to offend anyone but I'm stoked, my hubby is stoked and life is good!

Missions accomplished. He got his deer on the rifle hunt. He was so excited. Can you tell by the grin on his face?

Love this picture.

I told him to bring the deer home first so I could take pics, meaning the head and the antlers.

So he did....he brought the WHOLE deer home. LOL

I was slightly disturbed thinking he would have done away with the body before he came home but he didn't. I'm all for him hunting and love these pics but I don't like to see the "aftermath" if I don't have to. I love Bambi...still.

But he's proud, I'm happy for him. He was excited and that makes me excited and the antlers are hanging in the garage. :)

Good job babe.

It's OK Thursdays!

2011-11-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Yes that's right....it's OK Thursday.

It's late, but it's still Thursday.

It's OK......that I didn't drink coffee today even though I craved it like no other.

It's OK.....I ate way more calories than I should have and that Thursdays are my weakest days during the week. It's my "Friday." I'm weak...what can I say? Costa Vida for lunch, Zupa's for dinner WITH a slice of Pumpkin Cheesecake and maybe a chocolate covered Strawberry...or two. Yes it's OK.

It's OK....I rubbed my hubby's back after a long day of work instead of making his lunch. Maybe I'll be more motivated in the early a.m. to do that for him BUT it is my Friday and I kind of want to sleep in. That's OK too.

It's OK.....I've spent WAY to much time on Pinterest this week. That web site is addicting. Why didn't I think of something like that? It's really such a stupid concept too. Dang you web surfing. You suck me in at least a few times a week.

It's OK....I spent my day at work looking at case after case after case and feeling like I might go insane if I have to look at the same things over and over and over AGAIN. Those tedious projects get me every time. At least I have a job that I enjoy. At least I even have A JOB. I'm grateful for that by the way.

It's OK.....that it will be very cold tomorrow and I have errands to run. I'll be bundled up that's for sure.

Last but NOT least....It's OK that tomorrow is the freakin weekend and I'm about to have me some fun.

Wedding dress shopping with my favorite gals, dinner & a movie with my super awesome hubby, family time on Sunday.

That's ALL OK with me!

Today I am Grateful For....

2011-11-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today I'm grateful for.....

My vehicle that gets me from A to B. Yes, I know that might be an odd thing to be grateful for and maybe even a bit materialistic or shallow but this morning while I drove to work, I seen a young Mom and her baby that was bundled in a stroller, standing next to the bus stop waiting for the bus. It was cold outside. I felt bad, I almost stopped to give her a ride. Maybe she chooses to ride the bus and in that case...props to her but I still felt bad that she was standing in the cold, trying to keep her baby bundled tightly and I was driving to work in my warm car.

So I'm grateful that I have a reliable vehicle to take me to the places I need or want to go. I'll sure be glad when my car is paid off though. That will be a great day!

I'm also grateful for Pumpkin Spice Latte's at Starbucks. I'm not a fan of Starbucks but during the fall season I will drink one of these delicious beverages. Mmmm they are amazing. The simple joys in life.

Love them....

Happy Thursday!

November = Being Grateful

2011-11-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

I love this month.

I love that the leaves really change colors.

I love the smell of Pumpkin Pie and Turkey in the oven.

I love that people feel more grateful than other months.

I love the smell of the night when I walk outside and it's FREEZING cold.

I love all of it.

Thanksgiving is my favorite. Cooking with my Mom is the best. I was never into cooking. When I was younger I would go to my friend Marissa's house and we would drink some adult beverages at 10:00 a.m. and attempt to make our Thanksgiving pies. I can't say I'm proud of that tradition that we use to have but I can say that those were memories I will never forget and we had so much fun. Ohhh to be young and crazy again...I had fun with that crazy girl.

Anyway, I grew up and eventually realized what was important in life.

Cooking Thanksgiving with my Mom is awesome. She's the best cook in the world. Being married is sometimes a struggle around the holidays because I feel like Jake and I have to juggle our time between everyone. Thanksgiving use to be an all day event. We would wake up, I would help my Mom cook, we would eat their and then go to Jake's Mom's to eat some more and eat dessert. By the time we got home we felt as large as an elephant and vowed to never do it again. But we did for a couple years.

I love my family traditions so it's been quite hard for me to give in and learn Jake's family traditions.

I love his family and I LOVE their traditions so now we just switch years and everything is easier.

Ahhhhhh I love when we can relax on holidays and actually enjoy family and friends. It makes things so much more great.

This year I have lots to be grateful for. When I look back I get angry that I am now faced with infertility issues but when I look at the bigger picture, I have lots of love in my life, a great husband who tries and tries to be there for me, amazing family. All sides are wonderful. I love spending time with Jake's family and hearing the kiddos yell and scream and cry. It's my favorite. It makes my Sundays better. I love spending time with my Mom. Since she's moved to St. George I miss her more everyday but I enjoy our time together so much more now. I love hanging out with my Dad and his girlfriend. We always have lots of fun together, lots of laughs and get to do lots of exciting things. I love my time with Jake. I love when we have no where to be. I love when we can sit on our couch {which isn't often} and just veg.

I'm grateful for my job, my house, my car, my friends and co-workers, my health,

my health insurance,

{yes this is something I'm so grateful for}

and so on.....You get the picture I'm sure.

So happy November!!!!

{Happy Fall Ya'all}

2011-10-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

My nephew Braxton turned 14 last week. I swear this kid was just 6 years old. He's such a stud and such a great kid. He loves to hunt, rocks at sports and is a nice person. What more could an Aunt ask for? He's at the "I don't like to hug you" stage BUT I went to watch him play football last weekend and I got a big cheesy grin out of him when he seen me standing on the sidelines. Loved it!

Happy birthday bud. Love you so much!

Braxton & his sweet gun. He was stoked!

My Kayson bug was in a particularly great mood with his Auntie Courtney. We laughed, wrestled and teased each other. I wish he would stop growing. He will be 7 in December. I miss the baby stage with him but I LOVE that he and I can play together now. I think he secretly loves when I tickle torture him and give him lots of kisses.

My Mom and her husband were in town and I was so excited. I love having my Mom in town and I love visiting her. The only problem is...I never want her to leave when she's here or I'm there. Anyway, she got in some good grand kid time. Kayson loves his Grandma Pam tons.

My Dad and Kayson wrestling. He also loves his Grandpa Mark.

These two are also buds. Kayson teases Jake like no other about being a BYU lover. It's so fun to watch them play together.

Last but not least...these two awesome peeps {dad & his girlfriend Lindsay} took me to the Utes first Pac 12 game. I was sickly. I caught a horrid cold a couple days before so I wasn't feeling the best but how could I pass up this chance? They always spoil me. I had the best time. The Utes really sucked it up at this game but I had fun just watching the people, enjoying the cool fall day, hanging out with my Dad & Lindsay and eating really greasy nachos and drinking Dr. Pepper. It was perfect. I didn't want it to end.

Thanks guys for the fun night. I really did enjoy hanging out.

My hubby didn't get anything on this hunt. BUMMER! One less animal I have to hang in my "hunting room." But don't fret....there's more hunting trips for the next 5 weekends I believe, so I'm positive he will come home with something. He's at it again this weekend. Another weekend alone. I'm bound to have a better weekend than I did last weekend though. I have lots to keep me busy. Getting my hair done, meeting a friend for coffee, craft projects, more football games, a house to clean, a photography shoot for my cousin & maybe some more pumpkin recipes. I love this time of year and really need to enjoy it before it's gone.

So HAPPY FALL YA'ALL.

To Facebook or NOT to Facebook

2011-10-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

I will admit it, I'm a Facebook junkie. I love to know what's going on in other people's lives but I also really love the fact that I can keep in contact with family, old friends and others through Facebook. I don't know how many friends I have but I do know that I've never "accepted" a friend that I don't know. I either know them, am related to them, or they are acquaintances. I think it's weird that people have "friends" that they DON'T know. Lately FB is driving me insane. I think that people post things to get under other people's skin. I HATE when people post their whole entire day on Facebook...where they are at every second of the day. It drives me INSANE when people are on "dates" or out with their loved ones and they are posting about it on Facebook. Why are you not enjoying each other's company?

Updating my "whereabouts" is fun for me because I can't do it on my phone. When I'm with my friends I'm always quick to say, "did you tag me here?" I'm half joking usually but I think it's funny you can even do that. Sometimes I get the vibe that people want their lives to sound cooler than they really are so they post things just for that reason. Sometimes I think people get to involved in other people's business on Facebook but I guess it is a social network and if you have a Facebook then you should be prepared to let the world see into your life.

Don't get me wrong, I post on Facebook about my day or my weekend or something exciting but it's never to boast or brag...it's just because I can. I don't care if anyone comments, I don't care if anyone reads it. I do it just to do it. Lately Facebook is driving me insane though. I see the people who hate their lives EVERYDAY and I want to smack them and tell them to be grateful for what life has given them because it's probably not so bad. I see the people who post where they have been the entire weekend and make their lives sound super exciting and then you ask if they had a fun weekend and it's all negative. Did you forget you were posting you were on vacation at a 5 start resort? I don't feel sorry for you.

I feel like Facebook as of lately is the debbie downer of the day. Hurt feelings, rude comments to make someone angry, but oh it wasn't intentional. People letting the world know that they hate their life. GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT THEN. Quit posting it on Facebook for the world to see. I think that is honestly the way people feel communicating is easiest now days. What happened to a good chit chat with your best friend. Voice to voice...you can hear the person laughing and you can hear the emotion in their voice. Now days it's a comment here or there on Facebook or a text message. I hate not having real conversations with people. I'm not so much a phone person but I hate calling someone for days on end and then getting a text message asking me what I'm doing. Are you kidding me? I've been calling you for days and all I get is a text message?

I love when people ask to be your friend on Facebook, you accept and then they start going through your pictures and get hurt about you hanging out with someone they don't like or whatever and then they make a rude comment? This is me, this is my life, this is who is in my life. If you don't like it then by all means why are you friends with me? At the end of the day it's like a reality t.v. show that people are addicted to, can't get enough and it's about 90% drama. So needless to say, I'm really considering deleting my Facebook all together. It seems its the way of life now days and I hate that. I miss having REAL conversations with people.

Maui 2011

2011-10-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

{Hawaii was amazing}

I felt so great while I was there. I didn't have to think about life for a whole 11 days and it was pure bliss. I woke up to the sound of the ocean every day. I drank my coffee and watched the waves roll in and the palm trees glisten in the sun. I seen sights I've never seen before, some were more beautiful than others.

{the women in Hawaii don't believe in covering up when they nurse in the middle of a store. they continue to shop and go about their business in a COSTCO and let it ALL hang out}

Did I mention we stumbled upon a nude beach? That was a sight I'll never forget. We seen people hiking, we followed, we turned the corner and BAM. Ohhh my! We left in a quick hurry after we watched the train wreck for a slight second....I never knew old people liked to be naked, in public, on a beach. WOW!

We drew names in the sand, we laughed, we sat in silence on the beach, we talked, we cooked dinner, we met new people and we had the best vacation ever.

The two best of friends in the whole wide world.

We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise while we watched the boats right on the water.

There was even a rainbow one day. Loved it!

The most amazing ice cream invented. Why do they not sell this in stores in Utah? If I could have smuggled this in my suitcase...Ohhh I would be in heaven every day...until it was gone of course.

My view when I woke up.

Our body boards. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this. We were pro's and we had the greatest time together. So many laughs. We even had competitions with others around us. The others didn't know it but I'm pretty sure we won every time.

My lovely Hawaii tan that has now already faded. What I wouldn't give to be this color every day all year long. I love the sunshine that's for sure.

I had such an amazing time with my BFF. I missed my hubby so much though. 11 days is a long time to be away from one another. I probably won't do it again but it was worth the experience that's for sure. Hopefully someday I can take Jake to Hawaii and show him around. He would love it!

Hawaii 2011

{a trip to never forget and the pics are proof}

My Child!!!

2011-10-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

My child!

Had to share this picture. Tuff was exhausted when we were camping because he kept me up ALL NIGHT...LITERALLY. He wanted to go outside and then come back in the trailer with his muddy feet and then go back outside all night long. Finally Jake put him and our other dog on their chains and left them outside. Of course they start barking and crying because they are SPOILED and we didn't want to disturb the people in tents in our camp so I went out and slept for a bit in the camp chair and the dogs laid next to me and were quiet for a minute. Jake wasn't going to have that {me sleeping in the dark in a camp chair at 3 a.m.} so inside we went...AGAIN. Pretty sure our friends Rod & Jacque hated us and our dogs that day.

Spoiled is what they are....

Long story short, the next night Tuff was beyond exhausted but I wouldn't let him sleep. So he sat in the camp chair upright like a human and kept dosing off like a human. Bobbing the head and everything. I wish I had video. It was hysterical! Everyone laughed. Poor dog.

Did I mention he's spoiled??

Tis the season....again

2011-10-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

This handsome dude is gone for the weekend because it is that time of year again.

HUNTING SEASON!

Lucky for him it's already snowing in the mountains and probably 30 degrees.

{hence the reason I'm here blogging and he's in the mountains with his buds}

Did I mention I'm not a fan of the cold and this weather here went from 70's to high 30's in the a.m. VERY QUICK.

Anyway he left on Friday and won't be home until Monday and I hope he gets what he's looking for.

I do miss him though...this house sure is quiet when I'm the only one here.

{Shot #4}

2011-10-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had shot #4 of Lupron. I'm so close to being done but I'm so over the whole process already. It's emotionally draining and it doesn't help that it's been in the 40's outside. I'm a home body when it's freezing and I like to stay indoors. I NEED the sunshine. I had a lovely chat with my doctor the other day. We had Jake checked out to make sure everything was ok with him and it is...to a certain point I guess. That was part of this lovely Endometriosis process so that someday I can get prego. I won't go into detail in my blog but basically my doctor told me I need to start checking into infertility doctors because I probably won't ever be able to get pregnant unless I do IVF. Even then she's not sure it will ever happen. Such a positive conversation I had with her....NOT! I still don't understand why this is one struggle after another. Am I being punished for not wanting kids when I turned 19? I'm 25 and will be 26 in six months. Am I to late for kids or what? I can't figure it out. Everything you hope for your future can come crashing down in an instant and I'm not sure how to deal with feelings like this.....

I hate being the debbie downer but I'm pretty frustrated and sad. That's how I would explain this whole process....sadness. My doctor made a point of saying that I am being proactive and trying to better myself by taking these shots but remind me again how I am suppose to afford to have one child if I have to do IVF, let alone 2 or 3 like I had hoped? It doesn't make sense to me. What a crazy roller coaster this has been. It doesn't sound like it will be getting any better anytime soon. For those Mom's who have no infertility issues and can get pregnant at the drop of a hat....well I envy you. Don't ever take that for granted. You are LUCKY!!! Not that I'm not. I'm blessed in life. I have an amazing life but this up/down stuff is really getting to me lately.

So that's where I'm at in life right now. I don't talk about this issue much because I'm pretty sure nobody likes to hear me gripe and I hate being the complainer in the group but it is what it is. I can't change it, or maybe I can and I just don't know that yet but the waiting game and the unknown SUCKS. What a week....what a freakin week....

Fridays Likes & Dislike

2011-09-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

{Dislikes}

1. Selfish people! I've come in contact with a lot of selfish people in my life lately and it's beginning to drive me crazy. Why do I go out of my way to make others happy? Oh because it's my nature and I ENJOY it. I love making others happy but at the end of the day when I need to talk to someone and nobody bothers to ask how I'm doing, it can get a little frustrating.

2. White Liars! Why? Why lie? Where does it get you in life? I've never understood. Especially when the person your lying to KNOWS your lying. Quit making yourself look like an idiot please. It's not worth it. The truth ALWAYS comes out. Even when it's a white lie.

3. The weather forecast for next Thursday.

58 DEGREES & RAIN. Are you kidding me??

Oh summer how I will miss you.

4. I'M SICK! Noooo I've been healthy all summer but now I've caught the dreaded head cold. Vitamins and cold medicine will be my best friend this weekend because I don't have time to be SICK.

{Likes}

1. I'm obsessed with magazines lately. Odd...I know. I LOVE when the holiday magazines come out with food recipes, party ideas, craft ideas, health and body information etc....It's a really bad habit because I have about a million magazines piled high at home waiting for me to have 5 hours to read them

{ha isn't going to happen soon}

I don't even care because I love magazines. My husband thinks I'm insane. When we grocery shop, I even sneak them in with the food and he never even knows. It's awesome!

2. T.G.I.F. It's been pretty hard to get back into the swing of things since Hawaii. I'm not gonna lie, I felt pretty dang good about waking up to the ocean everyday. It was pure bliss. I'm so glad it's Friday today. I have a crazy busy weekend. I have birthday shopping to do for about 35 birthdays that I missed in September, I have my nephews football game tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Oktoberfest with the ladies from work, Dad's house to clean on Sunday, two birthday dinners Sunday evening...oh and my Grandparents celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary so I told them I would come make them a candle lit dinner since my Grandma can't walk and it's tough for her to get out of the house. I'm still soooo thankful it's FRIDAY!

3. My hubby is headed to the BYU football game with his Dad. This makes me happy. I love when Jake gets to spend one on one time with his Dad. It's important to do those things in life.

4. Fall is in the air and I'm ready to bake my buns off. Not literally but I'm so stoked for some pumpkin cooking. LOVE FALL, LOVE FALL WEATHER....My favorite!

5. FINALLY get to go to my nephews football game in the morning. Haven't seen him play yet but I heard he rocks that field and I'm stoked to see him play.

Happy Friday all!

Hawaii

2011-09-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hawaii was AMAZING. These videos of my favorite girl having fun on the beach makes me miss that trip already. Oh I love my BFF.

{Hawaii pics to follow}

50 Years of LiFe

2011-09-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

My Dad turned 50 last weekend.

Dad & his girlfriend Lindsay

He rocks! His girlfriend & I planned a birthday party in Mesquite, Nevada. We relaxed poolside, had an awesome party with pizza and cake and enjoyed each others company. I think my Dad enjoyed it.

It turned out extra special because my amazing Grandparents and beautiful Aunt came from California to celebrate with us. I was so excited to have the family together. Everything turned out great,

{a little overwhelming} but awesome.

On Saturday the boys went golfing and the girl's stayed back to lay by the pool. It was a great time. Lots of laughs, lots of great memories.

Hope my Dad had a great 50th birthday. I hope it was memorable for him. I hope he enjoyed being spoiled {even though he HATES being the center of attention}! He never lets me celebrate his birthday so this was a treat for me. And the girl above in the picture {my little sister} showed up. Did I mention she moved to St. George? I miss her. She was extra helpful this weekend and I appreciate her tons. Thanks sis.

Jake couldn't come because he was helping his Mom around her house. She has some big projects and he's so handy that she needs his help. I was super bummed. I got home from Hawaii on a Monday and left again Thursday night. I feel like he and I haven't spent any time together these last few weeks....

{Oh wait...we haven't.} Sad day! I think a date night is in order....during the week of course because his hunt starts next weekend. When does time slow down??

{My Friendly Reminder}

2011-09-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

Loved this today!

There is a difference between being focused on the outcome and being attached to the outcome. Truly being focused on the outcome means giving your 100% to manifest that outcome, creating the conversation and the behavior that will bring you closer to that outcome, and understanding there are things outside your control that could affect whether you reach that outcome or not. Being attached to the outcome will lead to frustration and disappointment if the outcome is not met - despite the existence of things outside your control. Realize that all you can control is your own give and your own attitude in the midst of that give. Let go of any attachment to how it turns out.

Quote of the day

2011-09-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

Love this. Made my day better to see this. I was having a down kind of day.

So true!

Enjoy....

ME + PARADISE=HAPPINESS

2011-09-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

I'm headed here. With my BEST FRIEND! What more could a girl ask for?

I'm bummed my husband can't come along but my mind needs a break and he understands that. Plus it's hunting season. That boy doesn't come off the mountain unless it's to work.

I'll be leaving next week and I am counting down days now.

I'm blessed!

That's all......

If Only....

2011-08-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

If only money grew on trees I could have the career I would LOVE.

Love my job, love my co-workers but I love planning parties and taking pictures so much more than my 10 hour a day job.

Do I sound selfish?

I'm a dreamer....

I wish I had a job that allowed me to plan beautiful parties like the ones below...

And I wish I had the money to just open my own photography studio. I'm blessed that I have had the opportunity to learn and continue learning the ropes of editing pictures and takings pictures etc...but it would sure be nice to have some money thrown my way so I could do all of this as MY JOB!

{Sigh} For now I will continue to be happy working my 10 hour a day job and assisting the public with their criminal cases. I'm just lucky I even have a job in this crazy economy.

Happy Friday folks!

{Family Pics}

2011-08-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Love this family! They were so much fun. They had me laughing the whole time and were so fun to take pictures of. The kiddos were even patient for the first half. I've never done a photo shoot with more than 4 people so this was a challenge for me and I gladly accepted. I hope they enjoy these pics. First family photo in a lot of years from what I hear but you can tell they love each other so much.

Enjoy guys!!

CrAzY for TiM

2011-08-19T18:17:00.000-07:00

Remember the Mega ticket I posted about that my hubster got me for my birthday? He knows the way to my heart that's for sure. 4 summer concerts with my favorite gals. What a better present then that? First Kenny, then Tim and Sugarland is tomorrow. So stoked.

Anyway we had the pleasure of taking a Hummer Limo to Tim a couple weekends ago. How much fun did we have you ask??

SOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!

Best ride yet. Ok except when my hubby kindly takes us or picks us up. He rocks. :)

Tim was amazing. Seriously this was probably the best concert of the summer. Let me explain why....

{see pictures below}

Limo-check

Amazing group of friends and some new friends-check

Posing as Tim's Angels-Check

More random pics of our adventure-check

Somehow making security think we belong in the front row right next to the stage-PRICELESS

Yup that's right. We had lawn seats, the rest of our group had front row seats and then there was the "pit" which was standing room only up close and personal to the stage. First we snuck to the front row seats where our friends were sitting and security kicked us out. Then my friend Chelsey pulled out a ticket for the "pit" that someone had given her so she could sneak in. Chels flashed that ticket and after that we felt like movie stars. We were escorted around to get wrist bands, meanwhile my heart is pounding because I'm wondering how we are going to pull this off with 1 ticket. Just our luck-NO MORE WRIST BANDS. So I kindly asked the woman security if she could just go ahead and escort us down to the stage so that we don't miss the show. So she did and the rest is history....

Except for that minor detail that I touched Tim 3 times, his arm, his hand, and his leg...oh and I think his boot too. That man has some hard rock legs. :) Never been that close to the stage in my life but we were soooo lucky! Our friends in the front row seats were slightly confused how we got kicked out and then ended up touching Tim all night.

That's how we do it!!!

Ha Ha Ha Classic story. One I love to tell if you haven't noticed. Let's hope our next concert {tomorrow} goes the exact same way. I'm sure security knows who we are by now....right???

{Life In The Fast Lane}

2011-08-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

Does anybody else feel like their weekends are always jam packed of summer fun? I'm worn out by the time September hits. We have had something going on every weekend for the past few months and to be quite honest...I am ready for the fall weather. Weird I know because I'm such a summer girl but I'm ready to bake some pumpkin goodies, have some warm Sunday dinners with our friends, watch the leaves fall, drink hot chocolate and enjoy Fall. In about mid January I will take all of this back and say I want summer or spring but for now I'm excited.

Like I said we have had lots going on. BBQ's, family parties, Sunday dinners, photo shoots, getting prepared for hunting season, work, birthdays, summer concerts, weekend vacations etc. etc....Sometimes I think I take on to much and then regret it later on because I can't do everything I volunteered to do and then I get stressed out. BUT I enjoy making others happy and so hopefully this summer I've put a smile on at least one person's face. :)

I'm on round #2 of Lupron. I had my second shot on August 5th. What a roller coaster these past two months have been for me. I'd like to say the side effects are minimal and in a way they are. I can deal with most everything but my mood has been horrid. I feel sorry for anyone who has to be around me at the moment. I overreact to EVERYTHING, I get irritated on a minute's notice and I freak out for no real reason. As weird as it sounds I can't even control it. I know when I'm being mean or fighting a losing battle just because I feel the need to but I can't stop myself and when I try it gets 10 times worse. Some days I feel like a crazy person...literally. My hubby tries to remind me that it's for good reasoning but some days it's not worth it to me to feel the way I feel. I hate feeling down and not being able to get out of that funk. It's horrible. I hate feeling like I have a terrible life for the time being...I don't. I have an amazing life and amazing friends and family and I am the luckiest girl in the world. I know my body needs this break so I will continue to take this crazy medication but I sure hope it all pays off in the end because I don't think I'll do this again....

Hunting season begins this weekend but Jake will be home. Sad day....but we have the Frehner family reunion tomorrow and he felt like he should be here since that happens once every 10 years or so. :) Needless to say he's probably really excited to get up on the mountain next weekend. As for me, I will be home visiting with some family that will be in town, having a yard sale to de-junk my home and hopefully enjoying some much needed me time. After next weekend I have another eventful few weeks and I am super excited to post about all of that.

Happy Birthday Mama

2011-07-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

My beautiful Mom turned 55 last week. Doesn't she look awesome for being 55? I love her. I decided to head down to St. George to celebrate her birthday with her. My sister tagged along. I smuggled a Beans & Brew Iced coffee in the cooler with a ginormous bag of their special whip cream and my Mom was in HEAVEN when we opened the cooler. Beans & Brew is 10 times better than Starbucks but there's not a Beans in St. George. She was so excited. We got pedicures, had delicious meals, laid by the pool & shopped till we dropped. I loved this trip!

She still does silly things that make us laugh like pose with her favorite surfer boy "Fred." That's what we named him anyway. She makes the best food in the whole world, she is by far the sweetest woman I know and would do anything for anyone, especially her kids. She spoils us. We are so lucky to have a Mom like her. I don't know what I would do without her. I'm so glad I'm her daughter! Love you Mom!

Friends!

2011-07-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a love story....

These two below met, hung out, quit hanging out and then started hanging out again and now they are getting HITCHED!

If you know my friend Rod, he's always been...let's just say "the ladies man." Or so he thought. He wasn't that boy you would bring home to Mama but I love him just the same even though at times I wanted to punch him in the eye for being an idiot and finding the most ridiculous women ever....

Then one day he brought Jacque around. I don't know where he found her...well actually I do but that doesn't matter because she is by far the BEST girl he's dated ever. Hands down, this girl rocks! She fits into our circle of friends so perfect. From day one she has always been friendly and sweet. We love her. Seriously, I don't know how Rod lucked out but THANK GOD he did. I am so happy he found Jacque and I'm even more happy that he loves her enough to want to settle down and have babies. :)

So congrats you two love birds. I love you both so much and Jacque, we really are sooo glad that you found our friend Rod. You've made him a better person and he is lucky to have you.

The end of that love story.

So on to my post....a couple of weekends ago we went out for Rod's birthday. We went to dinner downtown and then to a piano bar called Keys On Main. Super fun, super laid back and lots of laughs. What could be better?

At Keys you can pay the piano players $20 to bring someone on stage and allow them to be embarrassed. It was Rod's birthday so of course we took that chance and paid the piano players {I'm sure there's a more appropriate name for them but I don't know it} $20. Rod was ok with the idea and then took it upon himself to counter offer & pay them even more money to bring his beautiful fiance on stage. Pretty romantic huh? I didn't tell him because he was trying to be cruel but the way everyone else seen it, it was cute!

Rod ruining our plan

Jacque wanting to know just how much he paid them to do this....

And then they danced to the song that by the way....turned dirty. Ha Ha You could see how much these two love each other. I laughed so hard. They put on a good show for us. It was a great time!

And then our night ended with some group pics and a few homeless people asking for money and other "favors." Literally.....Oh the things you see downtown. Pure entertainment.

{I LoVe this cute family}

2011-07-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

The Necaise Family

Established 2010

Baby boy Daxton born May of 2011

And they are perfect and my best friends.

Love them and love their pics. They are so photogenic and I had a blast taking their pics.

Enjoy!

My Two FAVORITE habits as of lately

2011-07-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Tan iced Mocha from Beans & Brew

Large sweet Tea with extra ice from Mickey D's

Why do my two worst habits have to involve sugar, sugar, sugar. Ughh I've always loved a good iced coffee but in the summer months I could live off of them. I do get them in "light" but still. Oh man they are my favorite right now. And who can beat $1.08 for a LARGE sweet tea that reminds me of my Grandma?? Ha Ha That's the excuse I use...It reminds me of my Grandma and I miss her because she lives far away and we drink sweet tea together when she's visiting. So yep that's my excuse.

Ughhh worst habits ever. I'm trying to kick it! Yes I know, a long time ago I posted that I was done with the caffeine and coffee and all that junk but when it's warm outside there's nothing better than a big huge iced coffee or large sweet tea. That's all!

{Goin Coastal with Kenny}

2011-07-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

Concert season! Such a blissful part of my life. I love the sunshine, the music, the friends, the laughs and the people watching. Kenny Chesney didn't disappoint. There were a ton of people but it didn't stop us from having a good time. My hubby is fantastic & drove us girl's to the concert and was then going to pick us up until we found our wonderful friends Buc & Kellie and they offered to take us home. Such a great summer night! Love these memories......

Met up with my Dad & his girlfriend for a quick drink before the show

Had lots of fun with great people

Kellie's cute daughters hung out with us. Sweetest girl's ever.

And to top off our night Jacque and I literally found the SHORT BUS and of course had to take a picture right in front of it. The girl in the driver seat had NO IDEA what she was doing and kept turning on the wiper blades rather than starting the bus. Ha Ha Ha Ohhh good times had by all. Here's to another great summer of concerts with my favorite people.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

We had a very eventful weekend for the 4th. I LOVE the 4th of July holiday. It's my all time fave. I would choose the 4th over Christmas anyday. This year it seemed busy and I was always in a hurry to be somewhere but I enjoyed myself anyway. Jake & I went to Iceberg for some dinner and then to the Riverton festivities. Great place to watch people. I forgot my camera but my cute friend Jacque took pics so I will have steal hers. The firework show was amazing as always. On Sunday I met up with my favorite co-workers to visit at the pool. Our good friend Chasity was visiting and it was so great to see her and her daughter. Love them!

Cute Jacob telling stories

Some of the WVC girls & Landon my favorite little man

After my pool time we headed to Jake's Mom's house for the annual tank wars. Pretty sure my hubby won because he RoCkS.

We ate smores after dinner and they were messy but so delicious

We enjoyed each others company and the sound of the kiddos laughing and having fun

The aftermath of the {tank wars}

We gave kisses through the bars {my favorite}

We had some much needed girl chat

We posed for pictures

We wrote our names in sparklers

We rode scooters like little kids

And we had the best time!

PS-On the 4th {Monday} Jake & I were watching t.v. and the firework show in Boston came on. Wow...amazing. That will be on my bucket list to see in person someday. It was never ending and they had the coolest fireworks ever. Best show! I will go there someday and watch that in person. It rocked!

Goin Coastal.....

2011-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Goin to see Kenny Chesney in concert tomorrow. Yes-concert season has begun and I couldn't be more excited. Something about the gorgeous summer nights, great friends and amazing music. I'm a sucker for a good country concert. I don't wear the cowboy boots and hat like I should {I secretly wish I could pull that off} but I always have a great time. Kenny puts on a great show everytime and what better way to spend the night then with my favorite girls?

Love me some good country music.

Did I also mention I started the dreaded Lupron drug for my Endometriosis? I started reading the side effects and peoples stories and it scared me off but after meeting with the doctor and having her explain a picture of my insides, I knew it was the best decision for now. There are 4 stages of Endo and she said I'm well beyond the 4th stage. Long story short I got the one month shot of the meds and am waiting for those side effects to kick in. Day 2 and I'm feeling ok. Slightly dizzy this morning and a slight headache through out the day but other than that I'm great. Knock on wood!

I did start a blog just for my Endometriosis. Kind of lame but as I looked for inside information on the nasty disease I didn't find any really great blogs that explained everything and what people have been through. I found awful forums that I never want to read again but not actual documentation on blogs. The ones I did find were super negative and didn't help me at all. So I started my own. Judge me if you'd like but it is what it is.....

http://endometriosiscurse.blogspot.com/

The Very Unbirthday Party

2011-07-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

Jake's Oma is visiting from Germany. She's amazing. She has amazing stories and is always so kind to me. I love her. She told me this will be her last time visiting the states...forever. That made me so sad, but I know she's getting older and it's hard for her to travel those long distances. I wish she lived closer so I could help take care of her. Before she leaves in September I would like to throw her the best "Unbirthday" imaginable. We never get to celebrate her birthday because she's so far away so I thought it would be fun to celebrate in August when Jake's brother is visiting again. Anybody have any brilliant ideas for an unbirthday??? I want her to be excited...I want to make her very last trip to see her family memorable and I want her to feel loved! All ideas are appreciated.

{LoVe me some SuMmEr nights}

2011-07-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had to make a quick run to the gas station to put gas in my car because well...I hate putting gas in my car and I probably wouldn't have made it to work tomorrow. Dang! Anyway, Jake jumped in the car and off we went. The weather was warm but their were a few dark clouds over the East mountains. Clouds + lightening show = I'm one happy girl. I love summer storms when you can smell the rain outside and you know something is coming. I love the lightening storms across the mountains and I love the after shots of a summer rainy night.

I took the above picture last year but it's my fave. I'm so glad I live in this state. We have the best rain storms ever and it makes me happy. Is that weird? I don't know...it's peaceful to me in a way!

Happy Tuesday all.

Dad's Day Weekend

2011-07-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day weekend we enjoyed a much needed weekend getaway. We were fortunate enough to spend the weekend with Jake's family for a family reunion and we also invited my Dad and his friends to tag along. We headed to none other than the {mini} sin city....Ok maybe Mesquite isn't sin city but we sure had a blast. Jake's Dad was excited to have the whole family in one place at one time. Jake's brother Tim flew their Oma {grandma} in from GERMANY & Jake's twin brother Jared came from Washington. Tim & Anny, Jake's brother and sister in law came from California and we all made the trek to Mesquite, Nevada where the weather was gorgeous and the sun was shining. Did I mention it was about {100 degrees}? During the day I played sun goddess & laid poolside for the whole day. Jake & his twin went sight seeing and bought some illegal fireworks while they were out. At night we had some family reunion dinners and games and then went out with my Dad and his girlfriend and their friends. Such a relaxing weekend.

Mike, Heike, myself & Jake's twin Jared enjoying the band in the lounge

Baby girl Jenny & Aunt Courtney. This is about the only time she let me touch her but she sure is cute.

Jon loved the slide

My Dad *RoCkS*

My mother in law & Oma

Jake playing in the pool with the kiddos. Watching this was pure bliss for me. Jake had tons of fun and I think the kids had an even better time.

This is by far the saddest cry EVER. It looks like he's screaming but he's not. It was the most quiet whine I have ever heard. Poor thing. Of course Aunt Courtney had to take pics.

But dancing with me made him happy. Love this little man tons.

Dad & his girlfriend Lindsay enjoying the music and people watching

sunshine.pool.great family.great drinks.good food.pictures.memories

One great time!

Weekend of FuN

2011-06-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

My good friend Chelsey & I planned a BBQ for Jake's birthday and her hubby Cary's birthday. They share the same birthday so it's fun for us to celebrate together. A few of our other friends have June birthdays so we celebrated with them too. I cooked a lot that day but it was well worth it. We had tons of fun with everybody and I think the birthday boys enjoyed themselves.

For Jake's actual birthday I made him a nice crock pot dinner and a delicious Fruit Pizza for dessert. Call me old fashioned but I have always LoVeD Fruit Pizza. It's one of my faves and it's definitely Jake's favorite. He loved it. He opened his gifts from me {he's very hard to shop for by the way} and then he fell asleep. He's been working long hours so needless to say his actual birthday probably wasn't to exciting but I hope he had a good day anyway.

Dessert Pizza {delicious.very easy}

Eating right off the plate.not even showered after a hard day of work.poor guy.

{Friend BBQ}

chels & baby Daxton {the newest edition to the Necaise family}

the other birthday boy Cary.

sweet Landon.sweetest little boy on the planet.

funny how our friend parties have changed over the years.not to long ago we would have kegs in the garage, loud music, drinking games, slumber parties and designated drivers.now there are kids all over the place.we make homemade ice cream & snow cones.we tell old stories and the parents of the group tell us funny stories about their cute kids & we all leave by 11 p.m. I wouldn't have it any other way though.when I sat there the other night and thought about all of that, it just made me grateful that I've had these friends long enough to do those fun things with.now days I LoVe that I get to play with all of the babies and take fun pictures of them.wouldn't trade our group of friends for anything in the world.

the Necaise family.they have the cutest kids on the planet.

the creep and the rockstar.

the mom's and jacque and myself.we are the only ones without babies but that's ok.we get to love on the other ones.

cute ashley working hard to make us some homemade ice cream.she rocks.it was delicious.

the OTHER Necaise family.they make cute kids too.

buc & kellie.the McCune family.

trouble at it's finest. ^^^^^

And last but not least this is the only time anyone will ever see this picture. I'm NOT a BYU fan in any way. Sorry for those who went to that college. I'm not against it and I will occasionally root for them when the Utes aren't playing BUT I love my Utes. Well the other day I came home from work feeling pretty crappy. My Mom just made Jake this blanket for his birthday because unfortunately he IS a BYU fan. On a better note, she washed the blanket before she gave it to him and you all know how Mom's laundry always smells better than yours. It smells like "home." Well because I felt crappy I curled up with this lovely blanket and was very comfortable for the time being. Jake got out of the shower and caught me half asleep with his BYU blanket. If my Dad ever sees this he will disown me for life. Ha Ha Ha My hubby on the other hand was promised by me that I would not delete this picture and I would post it on Facebook....yeah right. It's NOT going on Facebook but I will post it on my blog.

My FAVORITES!

2011-06-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

Remember this little man? I had the pleasure of taking his birthday pictures last year, although he's not so little anymore. My favorite little boy Landon and his Mama asked me to do some fun pictures for them. They were so patient after I had my surgery and I thank them for that. They have also been super patient with my editing. Unfortunately it's so hard to cram anything in after I work 10 hours a day. I love my Fridays off but it would be nice to have some free time to do the things I enjoy during the week, such as editing pictures! Anyway, these turned out perfect. I hope they love them as much as I love them.

Happy Birthday to my FAVORITE twins!

2011-06-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

the baby in the family

Jake is older...only by a minute or so. That's right, my hubby and his twin are celebrating their 28th birthday today.

These two are opposites but when they get together they always have each others back and LOVE ganging up on me. I see a lot of resemblance when they get together. A lot of Jake in Jared and vice versa. We got to spend a lot of time with Jared this past weekend and loved it. He's moving to Brazil for work and is always up for any adventure that comes his way. We love having him in town for the time being and look forward to having him home from Brazil soon.

Jake is just Jake. He's calm and cool. Always willing to help everyone out. Always taking care of me lately it seems....I don't know what I would have done without him for the past 3 months. He doesn't truly understand what I'm going through but he sure tries to understand and he does a great job. He's fun to be around and even likes my cooking {or so he says}. I love him!

So happy birthday to you twins. Here's to many more years but just remember you will always be OLDER than me and you are two years away from turning 30!!!

Love you both!

Preparing.....

2011-06-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

For the annual Frehner Family Tank Wars. Mind you this is what Jake bought as he passed through Wyoming while working out of town. $50 worth of fireworks...then we went to Mesquite and him and his twin decided they should hit up the Nevada fireworks stand and each spend about $50 more. The other Frehner family members got nothin on us this year.

Dad's Day!!

2011-06-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Have to give a shout out to my Dad. He pretty much RoCkS. He's a great guy and super fun to be around. I love hanging out with him. We irritate each other about 40% of the time {or more like I irritate him} but that's the James in us. I'm glad he's my Dad. We got to spend Father's Day in Mesquite laying by the pool. I'm not complaining. The weather was gorgeous, the nightlife was awesome and the company was the best. Love you Dad. Thanks for being a great person. XOXOXO

Pink Heals Event

2011-06-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

How cute is she? Ohhh I just love that little girl! A couple of weeks ago I attended the Pink Heals event to support breast cancer awareness. There's firemen all over {which was fine by me} but it's for a really good cause too. There's a pink firetruck those goes around to different cities and states and they have local firetrucks and the life flight helicopters you can go through. It was pretty interesting but spending part of the day with my lovely co-workers was the best.

Yep-I even got Jake to tag along in all of the pinkness with me.

{June Happenings}

2011-06-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

June has been quite the busy month. My little sister graduated high school, my Grandparents visited for her graduation, my Mom & her husband were also in town. We had Father's Day, birthdays and a family reunion too. I don't think we've really had time relax which is ok by me because I've done enough relaxing to last me a lifetime {although it is nice to sit and watch a movie now and then}.

Having my grandparents here for my sister's graduation was the best. My Grandma and I had lunch together and got to visit a lot. She gave me the most beautiful ring that has a pink stone and use to be her Mother's. I LOVE it. What an amazing gift to have considering I never got to meet her Mother {I will have to post a pic}.

My Dad had a very delicious dinner to celebrate my Brother's 30th birthday and Karlee's graduation. It was so great to have the family all together. We have lots of laughs when we get together.....

Happy 30th birthday to my brother Danny. I can't believe he's 30. He loves Banana Cream Pie so that's what I made him. I hope he enjoyed his day. He's sure a good guy.

My amazing Mom had a big to do at my other set of Grandparents house while she visited. She made the most delicious dinner for my sister and we all got to visit. The only picture I got of the guest of honor was her asleep on Grandma's couch. Imagine that. :)

But here she is right before she headed off to the Senior Dinner Dance. She looked so grown up. I don't have any fantastic pictures of her graduation. There are some on her camera I will have to steal. It was a busy weekend to say the least but I enjoyed every second of it. I love family time!

How Do I Choose A Favorite???

2011-06-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

I don't.....I just display them all for everyone to see.

This past week I had the pleasure of taking some photos of someone who is just like a sister to me and her cute kidos for their Daddy for Fathers Day. I've known Jaime since I was just a little girl and she's been around for a lot of years. I love her just like a sister and I love her cute kids too. They are precious and have the sweetest personalities. It was a good day for pics. Overcast, warm...PERFECT. The minute we get ready to take the pics Mr. Sunshine decided to come out and the kids had squinty eyes for a few of our pics. I still think they are precious and I seriously love every one of these pictures.

Enjoy......

{Pretty sure the one above is so perfect}

{Brexlee loves her big brother}

What a fun day. I hope the Ellison family loves these pics as much as I do. I also hope their Daddy is speechless when he sees his cute kids and beautiful wifey in the book we made him for Father's Day.

Missing Mitzi

2011-06-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

Found this video of my supervisor & one of my co-workers little girls. Made me miss Mitzi so much. Some of you might remember my post last July. Mitzi passed away and today I miss her tons for some reason. Must just be one of those days. She was such an amazing person and I miss her laugh and her jokes and her yummy chip dip she use to make. Life is short that's for sure.......Cherish everyday you have, you never know what could happen tomorrow.

Work, Work, Work

2011-06-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

I finally went back to work last week. Boy was that tough. I thought I would be going stir crazy being at home but I actually kept myself pretty busy with my crafts and cooking and other fun things. Being away from work was probably a blessing in disguise because before I left I was confused about my job and the way some things were going. I was burnt out I guess....The more time I took off due to my surgery, the less I wanted to go back. I loved being able to get up and do things around the house. I loved being able to sit in my craft room for hours and come up with creative things for my house. I loved being able to edit my pictures and that sort of thing. I did miss my co-workers dearly. I love my job and the work that I do but man I wish money grew on trees & insurance benefits weren't so expensive these days.....

So back to work I went and although Tuesday was dreadful, I was excited to see my co-workers and get back into the swing of things. I was busy and EXHAUSTED by the end of the day. My doctor told me I would be good to go within 6 weeks but my body might not agree. I get tired so easily and I need to build my strength back up a.s.a.p. I was sure glad when my Friday rolled around. Here's to hoping week two of work will be better and I will have some more energy. No time to be tired anymore but I am grateful I have an amazing supervisor who understands what I'm going through and totally supports me. She's great and therefore that makes me love my job! I'm sure someday I will have the opportunity to open my own business and work from home with my photography or something but for now I will appreciate that I have a good job and go to work with a smile on my face! :)

As for my body and my surgery...the doctor says I'm healing fantastic. Somedays I sure don't feel fantastic though. Like yesterday I was walking around Gateway with a friend and literally felt like I could go back to my car and sleep for 5 hours. I'm ready to go on hikes and nightly runs and that sort of thing but I guess I still need to take it easy. I haven't decided whats best for me right now...the doctor gave me 3 options and I'm still confused. Imagine that....Life long decisions like these are tough and maybe I am just being to indecisive but I don't know what to do with my body. I sure as hell don't want to go through that surgery again though so choosing the best option whether it be medicine that tricks my body into thinking it's going through menopause, a baby, or just birth control is down right stressful. So for now I'm taking it one day at a time and eventually I will decide. Sooner than later because the longer I wait the more my body will grow more Endometreosis and well we don't want that! That's all.....

Princess

2011-05-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lots of commotion ALWAYS at the Frehner family parties. Yesterday I caught this picture of baby Karlie crying big tears because the older girls went outside without her. Such a sad face and she was so mad at her Aunt Courtney for taking her picture when she was being dramatic.

This resulted in..........

This.........

She has her Uncle Jacob wrapped around her little finger. So she got her way of course

{which I don't blame him because if he hadn't taken her outside I would have lol but shhhh don't tell}

She's the princess and I can't get enough of her. She's soooo sweet!

Graduating Class of 2011

2011-05-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

Some days I miss school. I miss seeing my friends everyday, skipping class for hot chocolate at McDonald's, being asked to dances, crushing on random boys, awesome teachers & carefree nights. Those were the days....Fortunately for me they are over. Although I miss them every once in a while, I'm glad I'm an adult and have the life I have. My little sister on the other hand is experiencing all of this and more. She is the graduating class of 2011. Awesome huh? Can't wait to see her in her cap & gown with her diploma in hand. What an accomplishment. I remember my graduation. It couldn't come fast enough and now I wish I could relive those days just for a minute sometimes.....

I had taken some senior photos of my sister last fall. Those are old news...

{apparently high school girls like having their picture taken}

So a couple of weeks ago we set out to take some more senior photos that could be printed for graduation announcements.

I love these pictures. She's beautiful. I hope she has more success in life than she ever imagined and is able to do EVERYTHING she ever wanted to do. Congrats sister.

Love you forever!

Crafty Chic continued.........

2011-05-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

LoVe this craft. I seen this idea in my local wood shop & had to copy them. So cute, super easy & so cheap.

So I started out with this piece of wood. It's thick and only cost me $3.95 I believe.

I had the wood store drill a hold in the top for what I call a dowel. Maybe that's not the correct term but that's what I call it. I painted the piece of wood black. Top, bottom, front, sides & back.

I then took an 8x10 photo of my hubby and I and cut the edges slightly so that the picture fit a tiny bit smaller than the size of the wood.

I glued the picture on with gorilla glue {but I'm sure any type of wood glue would be fine}

I also painted the dowel for the top and took this amazing stuff called Mod Podge and very, very, VERY lightly put a coat over the picture. Mod Podge can be great but you only need a tiny bit. Don't brush it on hard, just use very light strokes. The end result makes the picture look like it's part of the wood. Pretty cool close up. Probably hard to get the effect via blogging.

Then I sprayed the sealer over the picture and over the piece of wood, added a black blow on the top and that's that. Took me about 15 minutes and it looks super cute on my dresser in my bedroom.

I really could get use to this crafting on a daily basis.

Crafty Chic!

2011-05-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

I have a MILLION recipes in my pantry. I mean it's a slight bit ridiculous when my recipe books and magazines pile up so high that I can't get to my food. I love recipes. I wish I had the time to cook all day and try new things but I don't. So I try the new recipes as often as I can. My amazing Grandma got me a subscription to the Taste Of Home magazine. I get a wonderful magazine every couple of months & really enjoy it. My husband HATES it because they pile up in the pantry and then I forget about them and that's that. So at the wood store the other day I found this cute mail holder that I thought I could turn into a magazine holder for my recipes. It turned out great, only problem is there isn't enough room for ALL of my magazines....Plan B for the extra magazines....I don't know my plan B yet but when I figure it out I'll let you know!

So I started out with the "mail holder." Unpainted & $6.95. I sanded the edges & painted them red so that I could go for the rustic look when I was finished.

I then painted the wood black & sprayed the whole thing with a clear sealant to protect the paint and make it shiny.

I took a piece of sandpaper and sanded the edges where I had painted red underneath {although I didn't get a picture of this it looked cool}

It looked rustic with the red paint showing through the black paint. I put my vinyl letters on the outside and there you have it. My new magazine recipe holder. I love it!

There's a wood store in Midvale that has amazing crafts. I'm addicted and pretty much wish I could quit my job and become a photographer/crafty chic! Happy Monday.

Happy Anniversary To Us!

2011-05-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

8 years ago I began dating that handsome guy below. We eventually broke up after being together for 6 months. I had just come out of a nasty high school break up and wanted my freedom. I got my freedom & then missed Jake & realized I had made a mistake. It was to late and he was being stubborn.

{which he still is}

So I decided to take a leap of faith and move to St. George. I had my things packed & was ready to leave the next day and guess who calls? Jake! Perfect timing {not}. I left anyway and lasted about 1 month in St. George & came back to the Riverton area. We started dating & the rest is history. We have been married for 3 years now. I have learned a lot in those 3 years.

Jake & I are complete opposites & some days that doesn't work and other days it works perfect. We let each other have our independence but would do absolutely anything for one another. We are truly each others best friend and I know I can count on him every single day. He is amazing. He's my Mr. fix it, my shoulder when I need one & my sense of humor when I've had a bad day. He fixes dinner every night before I get home from work

{come on, what man does that for his wife}

Not that I don't know how to fix dinner, he just gets home before me and by the time I get home and try to make a decent somewhat healthy meal it's almost bedtime. So he does that for us and never complains. He does dishes too. He helps our families out whenever they need him. He introduced me to our very best friends and I wouldn't trade any of them for the world. We are both extremely lucky! He has taken care of me so well since my surgery. He cooks, cleans, does laundry, takes me out when I need to get out & understands that I'm frustrated right now.

He's amazing. Marriage is hard work. No marriage is easy from what I hear. Somedays are better than others and somedays I don't give Jake enough credit for who he is and what he does for me. I've learned we make our own happiness in life. If I feel miserable then he feels miserable. If I'm happy then he's happy. If I'm sad then so is he. We truly choose our own paths sometimes so I hope that he & I always have each others back & love each other unconditionally everyday for the rest of our lives.

8 years ago.....

6 years ago....

3 years ago....

2 months ago....Wow we've aged well. LOL!!

When you recover from surgery what do you do for fun?

2011-05-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

You watch your cute Mama do tricks off the side of the pool. Isn't she awesome? No way I could do anything that exciting right now but I sure had fun watching her. She is so fun. I love her and loved spending Mother's Day with her.

loved the shorts weather.loved the sunshine.loved the yummy food.loved relaxing with a nice big glass of mom's homemade lemonade.

We took a short trip to the Hoover Dam. I can't walk to far right now so we didn't stay all day but it was exciting to see the scenery. I've never been there before. Amazing views that's for sure.

Jake even got to spend the weekend with me which was exciting.

Family is the best. That's all.

{Macaroon Fruit Dip}

2011-05-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe my Mom found a few years ago & I LOVE making this dip. It's so delicious and extremely addicting. It's great for summer BBQ's because it makes enough for about 30-50 people

{unless it's really well liked then it might only be enough for 20-30 people}

Recipe is below. Try it, I promise it will be a new favorite in your family!

2 cups of 16 oz. Sour Cream {or the whole thing if your making it for a crowd}

1-1/4 cups of PACKED brown sugar {or a little more if you like brown sugar}

1-1/2 cups of crumbled Macaroon cookies {make sure they crumble into fine small pieces}

Mix all together & refrigerate overnight.

I cut the Pineapple down the middle but left the green top. I always put the dip right in the Pineapple but be sure to dry it out first. I cut it in half and then scoop out the Pineapple & set a papertowl in it over night and put in the fridge. No reason to dirty a bowl when you have the Pineapple to use. If your feeding a large crowd I usually go to Costco to get Grapes, Strawberries, & Pineapple. All fruit is delicious in this dip.

Look Who Turned 70

2011-05-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Jake's amazing Dad turned 70 years old a couple of weeks ago. His sister had asked me to help plan a surprise party for him before my surgery and I happily agreed. Then my surgery didn't go as planned and I had little time to get a party thrown together but it all turned out better than we expected and his Dad enjoyed being the star for a weekend. My father in law is a man of few words but he sure loved being with his family and friends this weekend & we enjoyed seeing him happy and content.

Jake's brother Tim & his wife Anny surprised us all and booked a short trip to Utah for the surprise party. It was soooo great to have them here with us. There kids are growing up so fast and I hate that they aren't closer so we can be a part of that but we have so much fun when they come from California to see us. Tim & Anny showed up at my Mother In Laws house on Friday night and took all of us to dinner. Good food & good company!

Love Sami & baby Karlie.

Ethan showing me that he is now 3 years old. He gives the BEST bear hugs in the history of time.

My attempt at mini cupcakes. Seriously I can do what the pros can do and NOT end up paying $30 for a dozen cupcakes.

The delicious fruit platter I made. Recipe to follow because you will want to try this dip. It's amazing!

Baby Karlie was so mad at Uncle Tim for teasing her

Day #27 {A Picture Of Yourself & A Family Member}

2011-04-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

Who would have guessed I would choose a picture of my Kayson. We love this little boy.

Day #26 {A Picture Of Something That Means A Lot To You}

2011-04-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Family gatherings at Jake's Mom's house. We can count on at least one or two a month because there's a few birthdays at least every month. 4th of July is my favorite though....we have our tank wars and then we all go watch fireworks at Riverton Park. Such a fun time and it's even better when Jake's Oma {in the picture below} can come visit. It's not often we get to see her travel all the way from Germany but when she does we take full advantage of having her around.

Christmas dinner at my Dad's house every year! This tradition is something that I LOVE and that means a lot to me. My Grandma's homemade tacos are to die for and that's our menu every year. A Mexican food Christmas. It's always so much fun.

And last but not least....GIRL TRIPS with my Mama and my sister. We head down to St. George at least once a year and go to a play at the Tuachan. It's just us and we sit by the pool, eat a lot of not so good food, and shop until we drop. Although...this year I don't know where we will head since my Mom moved to St. George. Maybe we will head further south and land in Viva Las Vegas. Or Cali. I'll settle for either one!

Day #25 {A Picture Of Your Day}

2011-04-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

My days as of lately have consisted of a lot of daytime t.v. {which I don't enjoy to much} & me attempting to feel better after my major surgery. I wish I could exercise. My body is definitely tired of sitting for a good portion of my days. If I'm not sitting I'm probably eating because that's something I can do without the help of my hubby. LOL But today the sun is shining so I'll probably go sit outside and think about what kind of flowers to plant in my yard this year & then I might attempt to go find a summer dress to wear out. Nothing fits me right now because I'm so swollen in my abdomen area. It really is frustrating. You would think finding a cute sun dress would be super easy but....NOPE! I've yet to find one that I love or that I can wear in the spring & also in the summer. It could be that I don't love dresses anyway but since that's the only thing that will fit me at the moment it would be nice to find something I like. So that's my day today. So exciting I know.

Day #24 {A Picture Of Something You Wish You Could Change}

2011-04-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of different types of personality. Although I don't want to change my personality, I wish I could change the fact that I read into things way to much and often create scenario's in my head before they even happen just to prepare myself for the real situation. It always seems to work out in the best way possible but it drives me CrAzY in the meantime. I've always been one to avoid conflict if necessary but anytime I am faced with a problem I create this big situation in my head to make sure that I'm ready to take on anything. I'm getting better at this though. Yay for me! And thankfully it is something that I can change but it does take time and I'm a very impatient person.

Day #23 {A Picture Of Your Favorite Book}

2011-04-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

Super corny but I have ALWAYS loved the Chicken Soup books. I love reading real stories from real people and that's what these books are about. When I was a teenager I read all of the Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul books & as I get older I haven't read the newer ones as much as I'd like but they are still on my top list.

Anything Kristin Hannah writes is pretty much amazing. Firefly Lane was an amazing book and I'm excited to read more of her titles.

Day #22 {A Picture Of Something You Wish You Were Better At}

2011-04-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

I wish I was better at working out & healthier eating on a consistent basis. I get motivation and then go to work for 10 hours a day, come home to cook dinner and then it's bedtime. I need a workout buddy that will motivate me on a daily basis I guess.

Day #21 {A Picture Of Something You Wish You Could Forget}

2011-04-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Truthfully, I don't want to forget anything in my life. Even the bad times have made me who I am. I've met and dealt with not so nice people. I went through high school with a permanent sign on my back that said, "Kick me while I'm down," & I have had hard times just like anyone else in this world. There are small moments that I probably wish I didn't remember but mostly I've been lucky in life and nothing bad has ever happened to me or the people I love. {Knock on wood} So, I don't have a picture to post for this challenge. Boring I know! LOL

Sunshine

2011-04-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

I had to post a pic of these super cute cupcakes I made a few weeks ago for a work BBQ. They make me miss the sunshine but they are soooo easy and so fun. I used Teddy Grahams for the people, gummie Life Savers for the round floaters, Skittles as beach balls and that Zebra Stripe Fruit Gum as the beach towels. I got the recipe off of bettycrocker.com & they were a hit at the party!

Surgery

2011-04-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

I finally went in for my lovely surgery on April 11th. The week before I had my pre-opt appointment and the doctor felt confident that she would be able to do a very minor surgery and I would be good as new in a week. So when I went in for surgery I was positive that I would be in and out in no time. I was nervous and had my Mom & Jake with me. I don't like hospitals but then again...who really does? Off I went. I remember feeling super groggy and then waking up and asking Jake if I could go home now. He said, "No your going to have to stay here for a few days." I cried. That's NOT what I wanted to hear.

The doctor went in to do the "simple" surgery only to find out that the Endometreosis was all over & that my ovaries, fallopian tubes & bowels were basically glued to my uterus {which is a bad thing}. She then decided she would have to cut me open and do major reconstructing down there. She told me later on that my insides look like that of a cancer patient because it was so horrible. Needless to say I spent 4 days in the hospital. I hated every second of it. It's so uncomfortable and people are coming and going taking vital signs at all hours of the night. It hurt to pee, it hurt to walk, it hurt to stand up. It hurt to even just lay in bed.

The doctor finally came in and told me that I should take 6 weeks off of work which is extremely hard for me considering I like my job and take pride in what I do. She said that she wasn't even able to get all of the Endometreosis because if she would have tried she would have done more damage than anything and I would have problem after problem after problem. She also told me I have 3 options. I can try to get pregnant right away but that won't help my Endometreosis. I can get on birth control to try and help my body or I can get on a medication called Lupron which tricks my body into thinking I'm going through menopause {and yes deal with the symptoms of menopause} for 6 months and then immediately try to have a baby.

Now I'm at home trying to recover slowly and going stir crazy that I can't even fold laundry right now. I feel much better than I did when I was in the hospital but I'm still very swollen in my abdomen area and have to be very careful that I don't re-open my incision. I have LOTS of time to think about all of this and I've decided the worst part is NOT knowing what will really happen. The doctor obviously can't make promises that I can even have a baby with all of the reconstructing she had to do. She can't promise that the medication she wants me to take will make the Endometreosis completely go away. I hate not knowing what the future holds. It's driving me crazy and of course everything I watch on t.v. or read about online is about babies. Everyone I know is pregnant....kind of crazy.

I never thought I'd be making these decisions. I thought that I would just be able to wake up one day and say, "Ok it's time to get pregnant." Obviously that won't be my case. So I'll just wait and see what my future holds and try to make the best decisions possible. I had a lot of great supporters while I was in the hospital. I had tons of visitors and that made me so happy. I had my own floral shop even....everybody brought me the most beautiful flowers ever. I'm so lucky.

My Dad is AMAZING and stayed with me everyday. I don't know what I would have done without him there...He brought me the most gorgeous red roses, magazines, lunch {did I say I'm not a fan of hospital food} & he was always around trying to make me laugh and keep me positive. He did so much for me and I don't know how I'll ever repay him. My Mom was there also for my surgery. She had to go back to St. George and work and then came back to cook me dinner and get me out of the house for a bit. I love her tons. And Jake....he's been so sweet through this whole thing. He's done everything for me around the house. He cleans, cooks, gets me what I need, tells me to sit down when I try to do anything and is always there with a listening ear. He came home from work the other day and I just burst into tears. I was so angry & depressed and he made me feel so much better. He put me in the truck and we went through the drive through at Kneaders for dinner and just enjoyed each others company. What would I do without these wonderful people in my life????

So that's that. Cross your fingers things turn out the way they are suppose to. I know there are worse things in life than this so therefore I'm lucky.

25 YEARS YOUNG

2011-04-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me on April 6th. I'm fashionably late as always but had the most wonderful birthday so I thought I better blog about it. I might just be the luckiest girl in the world to have the family and friends that I have. My birthday celebration started off with a small surprise from a co-worker and her family. I was at work on a super boring Friday and they showed up with balloons, a slice of cake & LOTS of hugs. It was perfect and almost made me cry. My co-workers grandson loves me and I love him tons. He's the sweetest boy ever and is always so excited to see me.

Next celebration was at the Cheesecake Factory with a few of my favorite friends. My friend Chelsey and I share a birthday within weeks of each other so we usually like to celebrate together. Cheesecake Factory was AMAZING & the company of my friends was even better!

Happy Birthday to Chelsey & I. We of course had Cheesecake because you can't show up at the Cheescake Factory & not try a slice of Cheescake. We all ate so much that we had to get our Cheesecake to go. We enjoyed it much later after a night of card games.

I made Sunday dinner and invited my Dad & his girlfriend over for some crock pot Pork Chops. It was lots of fun and my awesome Dad made me a delicious Cherry Chip cake. He even brought candles. I'm spoiled! The next weekend my Mom came into town for my surgery and we did a FULL DAY OF SHOPPING. She spoils me too and I love our shopping days. Coffee and shoe sales. What could be better? I literally shopped all day and couldn't find anything I loved. Isn't that the way it goes though....once your looking for something you can never find it. We had fun anyway and my Mama is my favorite shopping partner.

And last but not least...this guy spoiled me with the Country Mega Ticket. I get to go to 4 of my favorite summer concerts with my friend Chelsey as my date. They are all paid for. All I have to do is show up. He knows the way to my heart huh?

It was a fantastic 25th birthday full of celebrations & I love my life!!!!

Day #20 {A Picture Of Somewhere You'd Love To Travel}

2011-04-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

GERMANY! I wish I could travel to Germany right now. That's where Jake's Oma {Grandmother} lives and she always sends me beautiful pictures of her town and her friends and I think it would be amazing to visit her and see her history. I know Jake would love it. His Oma is an amazing woman, a tell it how it is kind of woman but she's always been so gentle and sweet to me. I would love to be able to see her more. Maybe one day we can travel to Germany.

Day #19 {A Picture & A Letter}

2011-04-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Self,
You are 25 years old now & have lots to look forward to. You have a lot of amazing people in your life that are always cheering you on. Quit being so hard on yourself when it comes to life. You treat others kindly, you try to always do the right thing and you sincerely care about other people. That's what matters right now. You have a good job although I don't think you've reached your full potential. You have a lot of great ideas...don't wait for them to happen. Make them happen. Your independent {sometimes to independent} & you are smart. Go back to school if that's what you want to do. Open your own photography business if that's what you want to do. Whatever you choose to do just make sure it makes you happy. Be content with what you have & not what you wish you had. Life will be so much easier in the end!

Sincerely,
Me

Day #18 {A Picture Of Your Biggest Insecurity}

2011-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

Would you believe it? My biggest insecurity is my weight. Crazy I know...so I've been told. I can't help it though. I obsess over everything I eat. When I eat something horrible I completely regret it the next day and try to make up for it by not eating anything. Starving myself I guess. I work out as often as possible and then I try to eat healthier and eat what I'm suppose to in hopes that I will feel better but when I do eat 3 or 4 meals a day I feel like a huge fatty and feel like I'm gaining more weight than losing any. It really is frustrating and probably stems from an old boyfriend who thought it was fun to call me fat. Whew what a pain in the butt.

Day #17 {A Picture Of Something That Has Made A Huge Impact On Your Life Recently}

2011-04-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

As of recently Endometriosis has made a huge impact on my life. I've always been healthy, I've always taken care of myself and now I'm dealing with this mess. I went from just living life to a doctor telling me that I'm probably going to HAVE TO start having a family if I want kids and even then she can't promise that I can get pregnant. Then I go to surgery and she finds out that it's worse than she thought and wants me to take this medication that tricks my body into thinking it's going through menopause and then in 6 months I should try to have a baby but there's no guarantees.....I get that people go through things like this all of the time but I can't help & wonder why I am the lucky one. It's stressful and depressing. I have positive thoughts but sitting at home & recovering from surgery makes it really hard to think about anything else right now. {No picture necessary. It's not attractive by all means}

Day #16 {A Picture Of Someone Who Inspires You}

2011-04-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

These two beautiful ladies inspire me. My Mama and my Grandma. They are amazing women and I hope that I can be half the women they are someday. They are always worrying about everyone around them and making sure everybody is happy. Love them!

Day #15 {A Picture Of Something You Want To Do Before You Die}

2011-04-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

I don't have the patience to find pictures of EVERYTHING I want to do before I die so I'll list a few below.

learn to play the violin.tour of Italy.decorate an amazing cake.travel to another country and teach less privileged children how to read.learn to ice skate.see a live Broadway play.learn to snowboard.go on one BIG trip with my entire family.own my own business.

You get the idea? I have a lot to do before I die.

Day #14 {A Picture Of Someone You Could Never Imagine Your Life Without}

2011-04-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

I have A LOT of great people in my life. A lot of them I couldn't imagine my life without but this little man below is by far my FaVoRiTe. My life changed when my nephew Kayson was born. He loves his Aunt Courtney and I am truly happy and content when I get to spend time with him. He melts my heart and even as he gets older I love him even more.

Day #13 {A Picture Of Your Favorite Band Or Artist}

2011-04-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

I really do LOVE all music. As long as it has a good beat then I'm sold. I LOVE concerts. Especially the ones outdoors. There's something about a good song, good friends, a drink in my hand & singing along with the lyrics under the sun.

Day #12 {A Picture Of Something You Love}

2011-04-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

I LoVe the summer sun! I love sun tanning. I love playing in the water with my nieces and nephews. I love family BBQ's. I love that the sun doesn't set until 9:00 p.m. or later if I'm lucky. I love morning hikes with our friends and then being able to go to dinner and sit outside. I'm a summer girl for sure.

Day #11 {A Picture Of Something You HATE}

2011-04-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hate is a strong word and I try not to use in my vocabulary often but lying to my face is probably something I do hate. I've always been able to read people from the beginning of a conversation and I can usually tell when someone is lying to me. I'm also a listener and an observer. I watch people's actions and listen to what people are REALLY trying to say. So if your ever face to face with me....just be honest. The truth gets you farther in life. Always!

The Frehners

My LoVeR

Feeling Good!

Ringing in 2012 the CoOl WaY!

2011 Re-Cap!

*The Holidays*

Oh Christmas Tree....

A visit from my *FaVoRiTe*

The Turkey Day Holiday!

The Holidays

where.i'm.at.

Share.your.world.thursday.

{Girl's Night Out}

Breakfast On The Go

Soup, Soup, Soup

Monday Madness

Mission Accomplished!

It's OK Thursdays!

Today I am Grateful For....

November = Being Grateful

{Happy Fall Ya'all}

To Facebook or NOT to Facebook

Maui 2011

My Child!!!

Tis the season....again

{Shot #4}

Fridays Likes & Dislike

Hawaii

50 Years of LiFe

{My Friendly Reminder}

Quote of the day

ME + PARADISE=HAPPINESS

If Only....

{Family Pics}

CrAzY for TiM

{Life In The Fast Lane}

*Happy Birthday Mama*

Friends!

{I LoVe this cute family}

My Two FAVORITE habits as of lately

{Goin Coastal with Kenny}

4th of July Weekend

Goin Coastal.....

The Very Unbirthday Party

{LoVe me some SuMmEr nights}

Dad's Day Weekend

Weekend of *FuN*

My FAVORITES!

Happy Birthday to my FAVORITE twins!

Preparing.....

Dad's Day!!

Pink Heals Event

{June Happenings}

How Do I Choose A Favorite???

Missing Mitzi

Work, Work, Work

Princess

Graduating Class of 2011

Crafty Chic continued.........

Crafty Chic!

Happy Anniversary To Us!

When you recover from surgery what do you do for fun?

{Macaroon Fruit Dip}

Look Who Turned 70

Day #27 {A Picture Of Yourself & A Family Member}

Day #26 {A Picture Of Something That Means A Lot To You}

Day #25 {A Picture Of Your Day}

Day #24 {A Picture Of Something You Wish You Could Change}

Day #23 {A Picture Of Your Favorite Book}

Day #22 {A Picture Of Something You Wish You Were Better At}

Day #21 {A Picture Of Something You Wish You Could Forget}

Sunshine

Surgery

25 YEARS YOUNG

Day #20 {A Picture Of Somewhere You'd Love To Travel}

Day #19 {A Picture & A Letter}

Day #18 {A Picture Of Your Biggest Insecurity}

Day #17 {A Picture Of Something That Has Made A Huge Impact On Your Life Recently}

Day #16 {A Picture Of Someone Who Inspires You}

Day #15 {A Picture Of Something You Want To Do Before You Die}

The Holidays

A visit from my FaVoRiTe

Happy Birthday Mama

Weekend of FuN