Something Special?

I really need to find something "extra special" for me to do with my time...I know I've said it time and time again, but I'm serious. I can't wake up, go to work, cook/clean, workout, go to sleep, repeat....anymore. I mean of course I can, but can I add something else a little more exciting in there too?

Maybe I should decide to become a biker...and then when I workout and am doing the Tour de France bike I will feel like I'm doing something special for me...we'll go with that right now and see how it works. I have to pick something simple like that right now, since I only have so much time to add something "extra" to my days.

I think I'll start doing cute little surprises for Kohn frequently. Cause he's so busy and he just needs to see that he's appreciated. Because he works, goes to school, works around here, and is just a busy guy and I'm sure proud of him! And I can say that I'm going to do little surprises now and then because he doesn't read this blog...so nothing is getting ruined by me writing about it! :)

So, I follow a couple of different blogs. I follow some fashion blogs, I follow some running blogs, some health blogs, and some regular family blogs. So, there's this really awesome blog I never allow myself to get behind on, runsforcookies.com. I found it like a year after she had started it, and let's just say I had a lot of catching up to do ;) I don't know, it's just nice to read about the "struggles" she has with running too, and to know I'm not the only one. But my point of bringing that up was this...she has recently started this fun weekly goal thing. Every week she sets 3 goals for herself to accomplish that week. She sets a food goal, a fitness goal, and a misc goal. And then she follows up on it the next week. And it seems to work for her because she knows people are reading to see if she's a "failure" or not.

Now, I know that she has A LOT more readers than I do, but I can still think someone out there is holding me accountable ;) I think it would be fun. And I know I probably sound like a broken record always talking about how I'm going to make all these great goals and it's just going to be awesome...and then you never hear anything about it...well yeah, it's probably because I sort of just let it go. But I'm really going to give this one an honest effort. I'll put my goals up on Sunday's, and then report on Sunday's as well. We'll see how it all goes ;)

I guess I'll get to the current "point" of this blog and be thankful...

#240...I am thankful that I don't have a whole lot of thankful posts to catch up on this time around. Just two! That's like a record for me, I think. Go me! :)

#241...I am thankful that we all have so many different examples around us. Admit it, you see someone do something great and you think to yourself that you want to do that great something too. And then when you do, you kind of change a bit, but it's definitely for the best. Funny how that works. We all talk about how we should love us and not try to be like anyone else, and I'm definitely not encouraging that we try to be like anybody else, but we do all get little ideas of what to do from our surroundings. And we all know it's true no matter what you say. And you know what, it's not a bad thing. We all help each other grow by our examples, and I am thankful for that.

I also am thankful that we're one day closer to the weekend, but that doesn't count, cause I'm always thankful for that! :)

Everyone have a happy Wednesday night! :)

Car Alarm...

It's me again. Back to write about little tidbits of who know's what. It's weird cause sometimes I'll just be thinking that I should write on the blog, so I don't get way far behind on the thankful posts...but I really don't want to, because I don't have a whole lot to say...and then I say a lot more than I thought I would. I guess that's what we call "writer's inspiration"...or not. Whatever.

I am going to make this a quick one. Because I'm afraid I have "writer's block" right now...so, here we go.

#236...I am thankful that all these years (well months) Kohn has never locked our white car. Because he discovered something fascinating today when he did decide to lock it because he had millions of dollars worth of books in their. I guess that old car has an alarm. Who knew? Not me. So I don't really know how it all went down, but the alarm went off and there was no way to disarm it. So they had to disconnect a bunch of stuff. And now he's at Auto Zone seeing if they can fix it. Oh boy. Moral of the story...don't lock your cars ;)...jokes.

#237...I am thankful for a nice neighbor. So I bought some raspberries for a baseball fundraiser...and I was carrying all 6 cartons in and I dropped one...so I took the other 5 in and then headed back outside to pick them up. Well, my nice neighbor helped me pick them up. She sure is nice.

#238...I am thankful for eye drops. Maybe? I've had this dumb infection that keeps coming back, ever since March. And eye drops helped get rid of it last time, after I finally went to an eye doctor. But now it's back. So I'm wondering if maybe the eye drops didn't do the exact trick. Or if maybe I kept using the same mascara after the infection was gone. As soon as this one clears up I'll switch mascara and see how great those eye drops may or may not be...

#239...I am thankful for cars. Seriously. I just love to drive.

Well that was short...shorter than normal...so I am wrapping it up and shall call it good.

Happy Monday!

Like A Freight Train...

Being sick is one of the worst things ever. Being sick with the flu IS the worst thing ever. The little bug has been going around at the daycare, and it kind of just came out of nowhere. We were at our staff meeting on Monday and I was talking about how I hadn't had the flu for as long as I could remember. I even knocked on wood, but I guess it didn't work.

Nicole, a girl I work with, was telling us we all needed to drink grape juice because it helps keep the flu away when you've been exposed to it. Well, I seriously thought about it, but was just too lazy to go to the store to get some. I should have not been lazy...because everyone else that drank grape juice seems to be doing just fine.

Just my luck.

So I had to call off work yesterday, and just kind of laid around and slept all day and puked all day. And all that stuff....and then today I worked 6-11 and now I am home and I just don't know what to do. Because the apartment is clean, other than the dishes, but I'm just not feeling up to that yet. Dishes make me nauseous even without recovering from the flu...

Kohn won't be home for another 4 hours, and I've had just about enough TV to last me a good long while. The normal things I do when I'm bored like this consist of working out. I don't know if that's a good idea yet...I guess I could hop on the elliptical in our spare bedroom and go for however long I can stand...not that you care...I'm just rambling. Moving on.

#234...I am thankful for sprite and oyster crackers. They were the only things I could keep down yesterday. Maybe next time around I'll be thankful for grape juice too...

#235...I am thankful for when I had a washer and dryer right there whenever I needed it. I can not express enough how annoyed I am with not having them. This has gotta change and it's gotta change fast...grrrr.

Anyways, life is good, and I'm so glad yesterday is over. That flu hit me like a freight train...and I'm so done with it.

Tomorrow is Friday. YES. Happy early weekend! :)

Vacuuming Outside & Telling Time!

It's almost been a week, and here I am just writing again. I'm really good at falling behind. I've been working a lot though. Which is good, so I can't complain. Oh and with that, I have good news!

So, when I started the job at Best Friends I was hired as a temp. So that meant no benefits, no set hours, and all that stuff. Well...recently 30 contracted hours came open at work in the 1 year old classroom, and I applied. And....I got it! So, starting September 2nd I am contracted 30 hours each week! And I can get insurance! Which you can bet we will. Insurance will be awesome through the hospital! Oh, the perks of working for the hospital :) Anyway, I'm pretty excited!

Yesterday was a pretty long day. I got to work at 8, and then got to close, and we close at 6. But then we had a staff meeting which is from 6-8. Yes, I was there for 12 hours! That should be great for my paycheck! But still...it was a long time to be in that building! Good thing I enjoy being there! I actually clocked in at 7:55 in the morning and clocked out at 7:55 that night, haha so EXACTLY 12 hours.

I can't complain though because that long day was followed by my day off, today! :) And it's already been a pretty successful one. And it's just going to keep getting better. I have accomplished lots and still have lots to accomplish. Best feeling ever. I love crossing things off my to-do list. Because yes, I live by to-do lists! ;)

I get to babysit my cute little cousin, Erynn, tonight. She's like 7 or so weeks. And she is precious! It'll only be for a couple hours, but it'll be great! Every time I see Erynn there is tons of family there, so my holding baby time is limited. Not tonight :)

But, like I said, I have lots to do today so I should cut to the chase and be thankful.

#228...I am thankful for alarm clocks. My reason being, I am not the type of person to have an internal alarm clock, no matter how much I think about what time I need to wake up in the morning. It just doesn't happen for me. So I'm glad I have those annoying little buzzy things that tell me to wake up. Though I do hate when they go off.

#229...I am thankful for a vacuum. My neighbors probably think I'm crazy because I'm that girl that vacuums outside. It's true, this morning I vacuumed my welcome mat, and then all the twigs and stuff down around by our door. It was just so much more convenient than sweeping. And it didn't hurt anything. Plus, our entryway looks lots better than our neighbors ;)

#230...I am thankful for honest people. I love it when people can just say it how it is. Even if someone is going to get upset. Sometimes it's just gotta be done. Depending on the situation, I may or may not be able to just be blunt. So I'm thankful there are people that can. Like it or not, most of the time it solves problems quicker.

#231...I am thankful for picture messages. I think I would die if I didn't get a picture of my cute nephew, Jaxon, as often as I do. Especially since he's living in Spokane, Washington for the next 2 years :( I miss the little man. So at least I can see him through pictures!

#232...I am thankful for holidays. Because holidays bring families together, and they are a time to celebrate. Plus, they will also bring David, Angela, and Jaxon to Idaho :) Holiday's are just a happy time!

#233...I am thankful for clocks and things that tell time. I would be lost without them. I think even if telling time by the positioning of the sun was the only way to tell time and the only thing we knew I still wouldn't be able to do it. I'd be lost and always late for work...

I really do enjoy writing these thankful posts, they make me really think.

But now, I have to get ready for more things to be done today.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Tuesday! :)

EPIC Adventure

So it's been a little over a week. And I of course now decide to write some more because I am avoiding cleaning like nobody's business. It's my day off this week and I SHOULD be cleaning up the mess that's kinda been here for far too long. With Epic over the weekend and being sick and working lots, well, nothing got done around our apartment. I can only stand a mess for so long though, so it will get done sooner than later. I'll actually probably get to it after this post, because for some reason I really get into a cleaning/homemaker mood after I write on the blog. So this is a good idea.

There's so much to say. But I don't even know where to start. And...I just don't know. So I guess I'll just be thankful and touch on things as I go.

#219...I am thankful for my uncle Mike! He let us take 2 vans from his dealership over the weekend to use for Epic. They were nice, spacious vans, and they were perfect. Thanks Uncle Mike! I doubt you're reading this, but it's the thought that counts :)

#220...I am thankful that my cold got better in the nick of time. Thursday night I was feeling like death and was worrying a little because the race was the next day. But I woke up the next morning, felt a little groggy, got going, but then I was just fine. I only blew my nose a few times here and there. It was perfect timing.

#221...I am thankful for the overcast weather that we had part of the day on Friday. Of course it was overcast until Meagan got out to run, and then David ran, and then I ran, and then it started to rain and get cool after I was done. Just our luck, right? ;) but at least it wasn't too bad for the rest of our team for that leg.

#222...I am thankful for random people doing the race that I didn't even know. Well, I guess just the nice ones ;). My first leg was 9.31 miles in 100 degree weather. And when my team wasn't around other teams would offer me water and squirt me in the face, and it was fabulous. I sure did appreciate them.

#223...I am thankful for chocolate milk. Nothing sounded better after a long, hot run than a cup of cold chocolate milk. Mmmmm. So good.

#224...I am thankful that other people are good about taking pictures. I took my camera on our little Epic adventure, but only took one picture at the beginning. Thank goodness Shawn took pictures, and Angela took pictures, and Haley took pictures. Though the action shots aren't very attractive it still is good to have the memory ;)

#225...I am thankful for jackets. After each of my runs I got a little cold, so it was always nice to have my jacket nearby to help warm me up.

#226...I am thankful that I had the experience to run Epic, now I really feel like I can do hard things, because trust me that was hard. But a huge confidence booster.

#227...I am thankful that I got to have the experience of Epic with my siblings. It was fun to have them in my van, and it was fun to have Rikki and Angela there to cheer us all on. And it was awesome to have my mom and dad and my mom-in-law there at the end too! :) And of course, I loved when my cute niece Hallie yelled out the window and said "We love you!" when I was running the yucky 9 miles! I definitely felt like cheering each other on and what not brought us closer. Maybe they don't feel the same way ;) but I do!

I guess now that I'm all caught up and such I should get to the cleaning business...because my cousin, Cheri, is coming home from her mission today and we're all meeting in Brigham City to have dinner. It'll be the first time that Kohn and Cheri meet. I'm excited because they're both two people that I love lots! :)

Lately I've been thinking and it has become so important to me to not take anything for granted, especially anyone. So just think about that and I hope we can all kinda live by that :)

Why Are You A Mormon?

My favorite thing in the whole wide world is when a precious baby falls asleep cuddled in your arms. It just makes me never want to put that cute baby in their crib....until another baby starts crying. Because I've got to stop the other baby from crying so it doesn't wake up the sleeping baby. Because I don't know how precious the sleeping baby will be when it is woken up 5 minutes into their nap. It's true, these were really my only worries today. Don't you wish those were your only worries? It was nice while the time lasted. Now I am worried about not being sick this weekend.

I am just starting to get a soar throat and my nose has been running today too. I can't be sick when I run Epic. It's just not okay. Here's hoping it's just a small little thing. I guess I'll just need to sleep as much as I can to make myself better. Here is an excuse to talk NyQuil ;) now I won't only be taking it to just make myself fall asleep....and I have only done that on a few occasions. Don't judge.

Moving on....Glenn Beck was pretty fantastic last night. I'm the type of person that can barely make it through a 15 minute talk, but he had me entertained for the whole 50ish minutes that he spoke. The time flew and the whole entire talk was incredible.

Why are you a Mormon? That was his question. Think about it...if you don't know, then you better figure it out. I think I'll be reading the Book of Mormon again. The fireside really was awesome. I don't even know what to say. Because he just had so many great things to say. The man sure does make you think though.

It is currently 91 degrees and I am in sweats. And I have been all day. Yep. Getting sick. Crap. I just can't seem to keep my mind off of that. So I'll just be thankful now...

#218...I am thankful for wipes and gloves. There were some seriously NASTY diapers today. And you bet I was beyond glad that I had gloves on when I was changing those diapers. And it definitely helps that we use wipes for babies too. Because I just don't know how great toilet paper would be in that case.

I find that some of the things I talk about lately are not a good reflection. All I talk about is sleeping babies, burping babies, pooping babies...I guess I do spend all day with multiple babies most of the time though. I need to get out more when I'm not at work. Maybe I'll have cooler things to talk about ;)

Kohn is going to cook some chicken cordon bleu for me and his brother, Shawn, tonight. I love this meal. So I'm pretty excited. The main thing I'm excited for though is that he will be cooking, and I don't have to cook dinner. I am going to find something productive to do with my time while he cooks though, something other than watching some TV show that I'm way too obsessed with. Mark my words.

Other than feeling under the weather, today has been a pretty good day. And I'm excited for all the days to come that I feel better and can really work on bettering myself.

Glenn Beck

Hello, again. I think this is record breaking. This time around I only have 1 thankful thing to say. And I even wrote 2 blog posts in one day midmorning. Oh well what time it was, it still got done. I'm sitting in Weston, just ate some dinner, and am waiting to go to a pretty neat fireside. And I was by the computer and just felt this urge to type. Because it feels good. So, again, here I am.

We're looking to buy a townhome. Not quite sure if I mentioned this already, but it's true. We are. We thought about renting for a few short minutes, and then my realtor grandma helped us realize that it would be more beneficial to buy since we'll be there for so long. So...we are now "house hunters". I feel so grown up. Anyway, we just got back from discussing some things with my grandma, and I am just so ready to make this happen. I am ready to move, I am ready to sort of start over. It will be a new ward, new neighbors, a new area. We won't be in the "ghetto", if Logan even really has a ghetto. But it'l give us a chance to not be so shy and reserved this time around. And I am ready. Friends, here we come ;) We just need to make sure we have the moneys...oh money, money, money. The goal is to spend our Christmas in our new place. Pretty realistic goal I do believe. So here we go!

I'm thinking of naming this blog something else. I mean the name is cute and precious and stuff. But...there will come a time when we've been married a while and it will no longer exactly be a "beginning". I just don't know what name to go with. I need a creative bug. I kind of want to have a "purpose" for this blog too. I mean yes, it is meant for my thankful thoughts and to update about our lives. But our lives aren't too exciting and so there aren't really much updates. I guess I'll need a creative bug to figure this out too. Just be aware, there will be changes in the near future. Maybe. As long as I keep up my "love" for blogging. Maybe blogging will become my "hobby". Haha oooooooh, I am ridiculous. It shouldn't be hard to find a hobby that I enjoy, but I have found it's a lot more difficult than I thought. I guess I don't want to settle...now I just sound like I'm talking about dating. So I will stop.

Here is my thankful thought...

#217...I am thankful for cool conversion stories. They honestly are so inspiring. I mentioned earlier that we are getting ready to head off to a fireside. And I said a pretty neat fireside. Why so neat? Because it is Glenn Beck. And he is sharing his conversion story. I'm excited.

I just love conversion stories because they help me to realize how lucky I am. Now it would be cool to be the one with an inspiring story, don't get me wrong, but I am pretty lucky that I've had it so easy. I was born into this church and knew from the get go that it is so true. I never doubted, and I know that I've always known it's true. I'm very lucky to have always had that faith and knowledge. And I'm proud of that.

If I remember, I'll share a little about the fireside. But with my memory I could easily forget. I have to write things down. ALL THE TIME. Ask my husband, he was reading my planner today, and I think he kind of laughed to himself about some of the things I had written down. You'd think they'd be common sense to remember, but I just am not that good. Thank goodness for pen and paper. And the ability to write, no less.

Wheels are still turning in my brain. And I'll come up with a purpose for this blog. A greater purpose. Just you wait.

Until next time...which will hopefully be tomorrow. But I'm not promising anything.

M-E...me.

I figured it out...I figured out my new hobby. Brace yourself, you may not expect it. My new hobby is....me. Yep, that's right. M-E...me.

Don't we all need to spend a little time with ourselves/on ourselves? YES. It's healthy. It's needed. I think I'll get more mani's and pedi's ;) spoil myself a bit. But out of all seriousness...

I'm going to work on being healthy, in every aspect. Healthy physically, healthy mentally, create healthy relationships....just plain old healthy. Healthy Haley, I like it.

I guess laying in bed hours upon hours really makes you think about things, reevaluate, and figure out what needs to change in our lives. Because let's face it, something can always afford to be changed. Hey, I guess I can work on healthy sleeping habits too.

For starters, let's work on healthy physically. Let's face it, I've let myself go a little bit. Maybe a lot bit. I'm married, I won my man, I can skip weeks and weeks of working out and eat whatever I want. And gain weight. Icky. I actually...can not. Because when I become unhealthy physically, I become unhealthy mentally...and that is pretty for no one. And that even makes relationships unhealthy. It just does. Read my next paragraph to understand a bit better.

I read an article about how bad body image makes you afraid of socializing. And while I'm not necessarily afraid to talk to people I can totally see it is true. If you're not comfortable with yourself then you definitely tend to stay back in the shadows more. Learned it first hand. Do not like it.

Anyway, back to the "for starters"...yes, physically healthy. We're going to tone this body right up, and we're going to do it the right way this time, because the wrong way will ALWAYS come back to bite you in the behind. Promise.

And mentally...well that'll be an adventure. Positive talk, here I come. I don't even know what to say about this because I'm embarrassed. I just know it will take work.

Healthy relationships...let's just say I'm going to just be a nice person to everyone. Life is really just so much easier that way. Too much energy is wasted holding grudges and thinking bad/mean/upsetting/etc thoughts. Every single person has good qualities about them, and that's what I'm going to seek.

And this will be the tough thing...I'm going to get over this "let's be lazy and feel bad for myself" mentality. If I don't like it then I better fix it. My apartment WILL stay clean, mark my words. When my apartment is messy, like it seems to be a lot lately, I feel like I fail. So it really is huge that I keep it clean and have a nice "home". It's important that I "clean" up a lot of things right now.

I'm going to get the sleep I need so I don't drag all day long, and I'm going to accomplish lots and feel that accomplishing feeling that I love, and unfortunately, miss so much. I'm going to make myself feel important.

No worries, we're not all serious. I still plan on finding a fun hobby, like crocheting ;) but how will I ever enjoy something if I don't enjoy the simple things first? Especially if I don't enjoy me. I guess this blog will now be dedicated to continuing my thankfulness, but also to talk about the changes that I am so ready to make. I decided this because everything is so much better when you can talk about it. And yes, I can talk to my hubs about it all I want, but I just REALLY enjoy writing. So writing about it makes me feel way good too.

I can't believe I'm really being this out there and open about this...though I'm not being as open as some may think. But there comes a point where all you can do is let it out and talk about it.

I realize a lot of this probably doesn't make sense and seems jumbled, but it makes sense to me. And as soon as I start really making progress here I am confident that you'll see a difference and maybe understand better.

Here's to becoming a healthy Haley and loving me....and if I fail, well then...kick me ;)

I Need A Hobby!

Good freaking morning...I can't sleep so I'm going to write this blog post now. And this accounts for the 4th of August. So I shall catch up all over again...excuse me if I mess up or say some things that are wrong, or something like that....I am so very tired. But just can't seem to sleep. Too much on this little mind of mine. Plus it's flaming hot. And the hubs is snoring his little heart out. Sleep is not in the cards for me right now...how unfortunate. I shall say that...

#208...I am thankful for sleep. I feel like I have probably said this before. And will probably have the same explanation. But here I go again. I am thankful for sleep, when it comes to me. It's a bummer when it doesn't quite come so easily. So those nights that I can just lay down and close my eyes and fall into a deep sleep are spectacular. I wish they'd come...always. 

#209...I am thankful for text messaging. Sound ridiculous? Well, it probably is. But it really is quite great to just be able to relay a message super fast without having to talk on the phone, especially if you don't want it to be overheard ;) I'm not much of a fan of talking on the phone anyway...but texts are superb. They're just so convenient. And you know it's true. 

#210...I am thankful for pain killers. Oh yes I am. I'm not one to normally use any type of medication. I'm just really not a fan. But when it's needed...well, it's needed. And I'm glad they are there.

#211...I am thankful for this lap top that I can haul around wherever I like. I can still lay in bed, be by the hubs, and occupy myself while I can't sleep. Maybe the lap top isn't so great. Because if I couldn't occupy myself while struggling to sleep I may just fall fast asleep due to boredom. But oh well...I'm not trying to  contradict this thankfulness...moving on.

#212...I am thankful for words. I love how words can be so touching. When you say just the right things it's honestly like a piece of art. Nothing is better than a good quote that really makes you think and can actually have a pretty decent impact on you. Now if only we could always remember those words that meant so much and changed you for that moment...

#213...I am thankful for stores that are open for what seems like always. If I need to pick up something random at 11:00 at night I know I can rely on my good ol' WalMart. Fabulous.

#214...I am thankful for blankets. Funny how just a few minutes ago I was saying it was hot. Because now I'm cold. I just really think I need to sleep...haha.

#215...I am thankful that Epic will be here sooner than later. Honestly I'm way super excited to do it, I know it'll be fun. But I'm also just way ready to be done with it. I am ready to be done stressing about my training. For instance...I had 5 miles on my schedule tonight, but I closed at work, so I didn't get home until about 6:30, and then we were out and about until about 11. SO I didn't get my run in. If I didn't have a big running thing coming up, I wouldn't stress about it. It will just be nice to get the stress out of the way and gone.

#216...I am thankful for shade. I was outside a lot today with my 1 year olds. And I'm telling you what. It would have been icky to be in the sun all day. The shade is always welcome on a hot summer day. 

Right now I feel like I could type for hours and hours on end about everything and nothing. People, I need to make a change. I do the same thing all the time. And quite frankly, I'm sick of it. I go to work, I run, I cook and clean, I watch Cold Case, and I go to bed. Where's the excitement in that routine every single day? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my life, I couldn't ask for anything better. I just want to throw some excitement in there. Or something like that. Kohn did take me on a picnic to the temple the other night, and that was just the sweetest thing ever, and I loved it :) so I'll give him props on that :) but what I need is a new hobby...something that I do. Like Kohn does baseball. What does Haley do? Yes, Haley runs, but she needs something more...look at me, talking in 3rd person ;) haha. Anyway. I kind of have thought about learning to play the piano. But then I would have to buy a piano, and have space for a piano. Maybe when we move I'll have space, but there is no space right now. Plus pianos are expensive. So then I've thought, maybe I'll crochet. But then I think I'd feel like an old lady. Maybe tennis lessons? But again, money. Bleh. I need SOMETHING. I guess everything does cost money. So I'll just have to find something I can handle. 

If I tried half of the things I've pinned on pinterest, I'd be set for life. Maybe I should get working on that ;) I've never been super crafty...maybe I'll make myself that way. But it doesn't sound ridiculously appealing either though. What is this? A midlife crisis? Haha joking, joking. I'm only bored. I'll figure something out. And it'll be great.

Anyway...I'm afraid I'm waking Kohn up with all this tapping of the keyboard. So I guess I'll show some consideration and end here. Thanks for reading this dreadfully painful, and long blog entry. Have a great weekend! :)