January Review

This year I'm switching up my Monthly Review posts. Instead of boring you with lengthy stories of everything I did that month, I am going to take a look at my New Years Resolutions and see how well I've been doing. What good are making resolutions if you don't keep working at them throughout the year? I will still tell a few stories from the month but I will mainly focus on the resolutions. So here we go!

First of all, I have absolutely no stories for you this month. This month consisted of me being in school and being deathly ill. And then my laptop broke so I didn't write on this blog for like a week. The only highlight was my first experience snowboarding which was exciting. But yeah, I don't have any stories for you this month. Sorry.

Alright, let's all keep in mind that it's only been one month and I was sick for half of that month, so if I failed on some of these I should be forgiven.

1. To gain 100 blog followers. 
I have not yet reached 100 but I have however increased my followers in the past month. Yay me! Don't forget that if you follow me on Facebook I will be doing an exclusive giveaway for my Facebook followers. I might not even talk about it on my blog so you have to follow me on Facebook to learn about it. That will be coming up after the Ultimate Valentine Card Exchange, which you should also participate in because you could win!

2. To run a 5k.
I have neither done this nor prepared for one. I haven't run at all this month. But hey, again, I was sick.

3. To get six-pack abs.
Also a failure. I haven't been to the gym this month and I ate a lot of donuts this month.

4. To improve my math skills. 
I also have not yet been working on this, but I need to soon. I have to start preparing for the math placement exam because I'm really hoping to get into Math 1050 this summer.

5. To make school more of a priority.
Win!!! I have been focusing really hard on school this semester and have been keeping up with all the homework and reading. My grades are really good right now and I plan to keep them that way. I've also been doing some new studying styles which I will be writing about in a Study Tips Part 2! Be prepared.

6. To eat healthier.
As I previously mentioned, I've eaten a significant amount of donuts this month. I don't know what it is about being sick that makes me crave donuts, but it did. Major fail on this one.

7. To save up more money. 
I suppose I could mark this as a win. We are definitely doing better financially than we have in the past, so that's a win. But there's always room for improvement here.

8. To not procrastinate.
On homework, this is a success. On cleaning my bedroom, this is a major fail. Our downstairs is clean though so I'm grateful for that. But I still have a significant amount of work to do on this one... later. (ha ha that was a joke I promise)

9. To read more.
Because of school I've had to read a lot lately. However, the main point of this goal was to read books other than school books, so it's a sort of success, sort of fail. But this semester it will be really difficult for me to find the time to read for fun, so I might have to procrastinate on this goal.

10. To pray and read my scriptures everyday.
I am sad to say I have not been doing this. However, my husband and I have been going to all our church meetings, participating in class, keeping up with tithing and fast offerings, and really been focusing on making church more of a priority. It's hard to get into the habit of praying and reading scriptures everyday when it's been a while since you've last done it, but we're working on it together. So while I have not met this goal, I have been making progress, and that's important too.

Have you been working on your New Years Resolutions? Tell me about it in the comments below! Don't forget to join in on the Valentine Card Exchange starting tomorrow! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

I honestly have the greatest mom in the world. She has stood by me and supported me through everything. She wanted me to live out my dreams and helped me through dance my whole life. She helps me in school, even since preschool and still now in college. She gave me the greatest wedding in the world, which I will forever be grateful for. She helped me when I didn't feel like myself and I was truly unhappy, she helped me to feel better, and is always there to help me feel better.

She is one of the smartest, strongest, bravest, kindest people I've ever met and is one of the greatest influences on me. She taught me to be myself. She taught me to live my dreams, and that I am capable of doing anything. She taught me to be kind to others, no matter if they are different than me. She taught me about the church that I have grown up in and learn to love more each and everyday. She taught me to love.

There aren't enough words in the world to describe the greatness of my mother. I love her so very much and sometimes it's really hard living two hours away from her, I miss seeing her everyday.

Happy birthday mom! I hope your birthday is the greatest and you have a wonderful year! I love you so very much! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 

1st Annual Ultimate Valentine Card Exchange!!

Song of the Week: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

Firstly, this song just reminds me of How I Met Your Mother (see video below) and secondly, this version is one of the most beautiful and romantic things I've ever heard in my life! Thank you to the random girl on Twitter I started following that shared this song on Twitter. You made my life complete just by this song. So so so so so beautiful!

And now, the How I Met Your Mother version:

Broken Laptop Adventures

Hi friends! For any of you who follow me on Twitter, you know that my laptop is broken. I'm currently on my husband's laptop but we aren't very good at sharing one laptop which means I will not be posting as much. I will also be using computers on campus to write blog posts, but that means I can't use all the pictures I have on my laptop.

PS, speaking of losing things on my laptop, for anyone who knows me well, you know that I have always, always, always, wanted to be a best selling author. Or at least have a book published. Lately I've been writing a lot in my book and it's getting really good... and then my laptop dies and I can no longer access the document. I'm not happy. Luckily I have a dad who can get the files off for me so they aren't lost forever.

Anyways, I suppose a broken laptop could be good for me. It means I'll spend less time goofing off and more time doing homework... on campus... where I feel like I can't goof off with social media because there are people watching. So maybe this is a blessing in disguise and my grades will get better. It's a possibility.

Please follow me on Twitter where I am posting all about my broken laptop adventure. Because it's really hard for me to not have one.

As I said on Twitter yesterday here's a quote from Phoebe Buffay on Friends: "If you'd like to receive emails about my upcoming shows then please give me money so I can buy a computer." It's the same here too. If you want me to blog more, help me buy a computer (PS, I'm totally joking, I don't expect anyone to buy me a computer, I'll be buying a new one with my own money sometime in the future).

Anyways, I should go, my husband needs his laptop to do an assignment... but I also have an essay to write... see, this isn't going to work out very well. Don't worry, I'll be going on campus soon and staying there till I finish my essay (and other homework).

Don't forget about the Blogger's Valentine Exchange starting February 1st! Read about it HERE. 

THANKS FOR READING!!! 

The Dream in Which I Met Ariana Grande

I have a lot of weird dreams. I think it's because I'm a writer, and I write weird things sometimes. I mean I love reading Edgar Allan Poe and creepy stories like that so sometimes that's just where my mind goes in my dreams, and it's weird.

But last night's dream wasn't weird. In fact, it was like the opposite of weird, because not only did it feel incredibly real, when I woke up I realized it should be real. Well maybe not exactly, but the part where I met Ariana Grande and we became friends should be real.

The dream took place at a stake dance. Yes, a stake dance. I'm twenty-three, haven't been to a stake dance since I was like sixteen, plus I'm married and was still married in the dream, but for some strange reason I was at a stake dance. For any of you who don't know, stake dances are put on by the LDS church for their youth ages fourteen and up. I went to them a lot because I love to dance and it was fun to meet new people and hang out with my friends.

But basically, just know that the dream took place in a church at a dance. That's all you need to know about that anyways.

So I was dancing with my old friends from the neighborhood that I grew up in. For some reason we were all still married, but our husbands were absent. I don't know where they were, but they were gone. We still talked about them and there was no cheating involved, but no husbands were apparently allowed in my dream.

We were just dancing the night away and who happens to somehow get stranded at a church building in Sandy and/or Draper, Utah (where I don't even live anymore)... ARIANA GRANDE.

To fully understand the significance of this dream you have to understand that I have a potentially unhealthy obsession with Ariana Grande. I think she is beyond gorgeous, her singing voice is absolutely incredible, she's actually a talented actor despite the fact I dislike the shows she's in and her character is dumb but still cute, and I honestly just obsess over her Twitter and Instagram because I love the way she is so honest and real with her fans.

I LOVE ARIANA GRANDE!

Anyways, so she walks in with some boy who is her friend (I'm guessing) and for some reason she has her red hair (like in the picture above) and it's in a pony-tail (I had my long hair in the dream because I have yet to dream of myself with shorter hair, I just don't feel like me right now). She and her friend are noticed, but mostly ignored, and they just sort of walk around for a while and end up just sitting on the stage.

Me, wanting to get closer, go to the stage to start digging through my purse for chapstick (because I'm addicted to chapstick so that's a perfectly reasonable cover, see, even in my dreams I'm smooth). So I end up getting closer to the lovely Ariana Grande and ask her some questions (which I honestly can't remember).

But I very distinctly remember her gracefully leaping off the stage to come hug me. And... is it weird that I know she's slightly shorter than me and in my dream that hug accounted for our height differences? And the hug lasted a while too and felt so incredibly real.

When the dance ended, shortly after the hug and more talking to Ariana Grande, I walked outside with her and her friend. They said that their car broke down a few blocks away and they figured a good play to hang out would be a church. I immediately offer them a ride and even invite them over for some food and games... and Ariana Grande said yes. (It's like my first date with her... I'm totally joking! I was still married in the dream and I don't like her in that way, ha ha)

We walk to my car, which happens to be my husbands car that has a big Liverpool FC sticker on the back windshield and the boy with Ariana Grande gets really excited. He says he also loves Liverpool! (At this point in the dream, my husband was awake and watching a Liverpool game, I think he infected my dream because the boy also said something about Aston Villa, which is who Liverpool was playing in the game my husband was watching. Apparently I'm very receptive with I'm half asleep.)

The boy talked about getting some alcohol, I told him I don't drink, but I wouldn't care if he did, but I knew that all liquor stores were already closed for the night (okay, this one is weird because I had a dream months ago about driving around looking for a open liquor store at ten at night (don't ask why because I don't know) so in this new dream, I was basing the idea that all liquor stores were closed on that old dream, I have very vivid and memorable dreams, apparently)

We all get in my car and drive to some house... or hotel... it was weird and I don't know what it was but I had never been there before. We hang out, play some games, and end up all falling asleep on the couches and the floor. (Seriously, where is my husband? I mean I had his car. We only have one car, what was he doing? I'm very concerned for my missing dream husband.)

And then I started to wake up but not before my dream shifted and we suddenly became stranded in the place we were in because of a flash flood (my dreams always tend to have a random shift at the end when I'm waking up).

So that's my dream.

...but there's more to this post.

You see, when I woke up (and my husband chastised me for sleeping in until noon (hello, I have been incredibly sick and dying all week, I think I have an excuse)) not only did that dream feel like it had actually happened, it felt like it should happen.

I'm not saying I was predicting the future (like that one time I had a dream my uncle proposed and I woke up the next day to find out that he actually had) but that the idea of Ariana Grande and myself becoming friends could, and should, actually become a reality.

I mean, why can't we be friends? Sure she's a busy celebrity and I haven't worked all week and just sat on a couch a watched Psych (seriously, I've never been this sick before), but I honestly believe that Ariana Grande and I could be friends. It's not just the dream, but her personality that I see and read about in interviews, I truly, honestly, sincerely believe that our personalities would match incredibly well and we could become good friends... if we ever met.

This dream could be a last desperate chance for me to find a friend. I've been struggling for so long (nearly a year) with the fact that I don't have any friends, even in my dreams I don't have any friends to hang out with. I'm usually alone, with my husband, or the dream isn't even about me.

And people always say that I'm overreacting when I say I don't have any friends but here are the facts: I haven't hung out with anyone besides my husband or family members in almost a year; I never get any phone calls or even text messages from friends, only family; when on Facebook I say "I'm sick, who wants to bring me food ;)" I get two replies, one from a boy who used to have a crush on me and lives two hours away and the other from my husband (who was currently an hour away); even when I meet new people, we talk in class or at work, but they seem to have no desire to hang out with me outside of class or work and don't even try to get my phone number; and lastly, the friends that I thought I had, that have been my friends forever, that were my bridesmaids... I haven't heard from since my wedding.

The facts are there people, I'm not overreacting about me not having any friends.

So this dream, in a way, could be a way for me to find a friend, even if it's just in my dreams. Because people need people. I need friends. I love my husband to death and I love being around him all the time, but sometimes he goes off with his friends, why don't I have any friends to hang out with?

Ariana Grande could be my friend. I do believe if we met in real life we could be friends, good friends. But we probably will never meet, so at least I have her as a friend in my dreams.

I love you Ariana Grande, thanks for being a friend! 

Song of the Week: I See Fire

This song is so beautiful and I absolutely love The Hobbit! This song deserves to be shared everywhere, it's just amazing! Also, who else loves The Hobbit movies? The first one is building up it's spot on my list of favorite movies. It's just a fantastic movie that was so beautiful done. I love it! I really need to see the second one again though, because I went to the midnight premier and was tired so I need to see it again to really comprehend it, because I was confused at some parts. Anyways, I hope you all have a fabulous Saturday! 

THANKS FOR READING! 

Five on Friday: Huge Announcement!!

It has been a long time since I've done a Five on Friday post! I do these posts as a link-up with The Good Life Blog. It's a great way to meet new bloggers so if you can't joined in already, you should! 

one

Classes started back up last week and I already feel behind. I suppose it just hasn't fully sunk in that I'm back in school and I just want to work and do my own thing. I have also been sick a lot so I did not start out on a good foot. Not to mention that my classes are all pretty boring, yet a ton of work. I have to read six Shakespeare plays, and five Robert Louis Stevenson books. Anyways, school's back in session which means (if my record holds true) I'll be writing more posts on this blog to avoid doing homework. Because that's just what happens.

two

I have been sick for forever and I am so supremely sick of being sick! My goodness! And it just keeps getting worse and doctors don't help and I'm sick of it. I don't have much else to say on the matter, just read my post from earlier this week although, I did visit the the doctors again and had a fever, got more pills, missed two days of classes and got way behind, and missed an entire week of work. Major hit financially, but it was really good for me to rest this week.

three

My obsession with Meghan Rosette has grown. I think I'm onto full blown stalker now. I majorly stalk her on Instagram and Twitter but mostly I just sit on my couch and watch her Youtube videos, wishing my wardrobe could look half as good as hers, or if I could even own half as many things as she does. She's just a very bubbly and uplifting person and that's why I love watching her so much.

four

I want to become more of a fashion blogger!!! This is partly because of my Meghan Rosette obsession but also of my love for my good friend Kalee's blog, Fred Rongo. After seeing Kalee's success I grew jealous and realized that the two most popular types of blogs out there are fashion and parenting. I'm not a parent yet but I can certainly attempt to do fashion. So in the upcoming weeks I will be adding a Fashion tab to the top of my blog and posting much more about my own personal wardrobe (even though I'm struggling to like it) and also hair and makeup stuff. If you have any helpful suggestions or tips for me please leave a comment below!

And now drum roll please... Here's my huge announcement!!! 

five

Starting February 1st I'm doing my own link-up!! This is a special Valentines Day link-up that I hope to do annually. Remember in elementary school when we made little mailboxes and everyone in class handed out little valentines to everyone? Well this is sort of like that. Except that these are E-Valentines meant to represent you and your blog (but honestly you could just make a Valentine like the picture above and I'd be happy with that too).

Please spread the word about this upcoming link-up because... after linking up your own Valentine, you can vote for your five favorites and the winner with the most votes will win a $25 gift card to Target (the price may go up if I can find helpers to share this link-up and contribute, leave a comment below or send me an email if you'd like to help out). Full details will come on February 1st and voting starts February 2nd, so mark your calendars and get ready for the Ultimate Valentine Card Exchange!

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to stay updated with the Valentine Exchange and other happenings on my blog! 

THANKS FOR READING!!! 

Web Video Wednesday: Let it Go

This video is the best! It's both adorable and hilarious! Little kids are the cutest! I literally have nothing else to say about this video. Sorry. 

I struggle sometimes to find a good video for Web Video Wednesday, so if you find a good one, let me know! 

My Sickness Story

It all started after Thanksgiving (yes, that long ago). I woke up the week after Thanksgiving with a sore throat. But I had no other symptoms so I tried to ignore it. A few days later the sore throat was gone but now I had a runny/stuffy nose. And then that was the only symptom and while it was annoying, I was, for the most part, fine.

A week after the sore throat it all combined into a cold. Not the worst cold I've ever had, but a cold none the less. I was still able to go about work and school (finals week actually) normally because my symptoms weren't so severe.

The cold persisted and finally, the day before Christmas Eve I noticed a white spot in the back of my throat and I immediately assumed something was wrong considering my sore throat had started almost three weeks prior.

We drove home on Christmas Eve and I was so caught up in the excitement of Christmas that I was able to mostly forget about my cold, except for the occasional cough. Later that night I checked my throat again and the white spot was gone and I felt (oddly enough) significantly better. As my Christmas break continued, I found myself feeling better and better.

Everything was going great again until after New Years and I went snowboarding. Being on the mountain in the snow (despite how warm it was that day) brought back my runny nose. My nose was so runny on that trip, in fact, that I rubbed the skin on my nose raw with my snow gloves just from that one day on the mountain.

That runny nose turned into a real cold again, but with no sore throat, yet a horrible cough. A cough that made me leave class for water on the first day because I couldn't breathe because I had been coughing for the past five minutes. Almost right after that class we visited the wellness center on campus which is free for students.

The doctor there looked over me and determined that I was fine. He said everything looked good, at the moment I wasn't coughing at all, and he deemed it just a cold. He briefly considered strep, bronchitis, and even mono but never tested those theories. He prescribed me some medicine which I started taking that night.

Just the day after first taking the medicine I felt supremely better! I had more energy, I wasn't coughing nearly as much, and my nose wasn't runny anymore. I was so happy that the medicine had worked!

... but apparently it was only temporary.

As soon as his prescription was gone, I woke up the next day with a sore throat. The day after that (yesterday) was even worse, major ear pain, extremely stuffed up nose, sinus headache, sore throat, constantly sneezing, overly exhausted, and feeling worse than I had through the whole duration of this sickness. I even took work off to rest and slept forever.

So now I want to visit a real doctor and figure out what is really wrong with me. I know I have a horrible immune system but let's be honest, this is getting ridiculous. It's been over a month, my husband hasn't gotten sick through this whole ordeal despite the fact that he still constantly kisses me when I'm sick (love him to death for it too), and it's taking a huge hit on my body physically, emotionally, and financially (because I have to miss work because I basically am too tired to do anything, also, doctors and medicine cost way too much).

What was your longest cold? Also, if you have any tips or advice to get me better, please leave a comment below! 

THANKS FOR READING!!! 

Why I Can't Look At Facebook Anymore

You know what's hard? Life. Life is hard. You know what's harder? Watching all your friend succeeding in life and doing all these wonderful things while you've been sitting on a couch for the past three days watching it all happen on Facebook.

It's not that I'm not happy with my life. I love my husband and my family. I love the people I'm around. But it's just hard to see what all my friends are going through and seeing that I'm not there yet. I'm not even close. All my friends are having babies and graduated and getting really good jobs and going on tons of vacations while I am starting over in college and can barely afford rent.

When I was younger I always wanted to grow up and be a ballerina and while that quickly changed, it's crazy that I have like four or five friends on Facebook that are professional ballerinas or teaching dance professionally, some of which are younger than me. And I wish I could teach dance, it's all I've ever wanted to do, but I'm not.

Then I have all the friends who are pregnant or have babies... and there's a ton of those. And I'm not saying I want a baby right now (okay, maybe I do) but it's still hard for me to see all these friends taking this giant step in their lives.

And then all the graduates, which is actually the hardest for me. This is my fourth year in college, typically you graduate after your fourth year, especially when your major is teaching, like mine is, but no, after this year of college I still have like three and a half years of college left, possibly more considering I can't get into a class I needed this semester. And while I absolutely love my sister to death, it's hard for me that she graduated super fast, is now in graduate school and will probably graduate for a second time before I even graduate once. Michelle, I love you but your success is hard for me especially when mom and dad always compare me to you.

Then there's all the friends who pretend to understand my money problems but really just don't get it. They live in the basements of their relatives or their family pays their rent and they have expensive phones and cars and go on tons of trips yet try to pretend they understand my money issues. I had to move in order to afford to pay rent. They don't understand it and it's annoying that they pretend to.

Finally we have the icing on the cake, the fact that all these "friends" never really talk to me, never hang out with me, and aren't real friends. The hardest part is knowing that none of my Facebook friends are real friends. And while they're moving on with their lives and becoming successful, they're also moving on from me. They aren't really my friends anymore.

And that is why I can't look at Facebook anymore. 

P.S. -This blog has a Facebook page and you're welcome to follow it to keep up with all my new blog posts. One of my New Years Resolutions is to get 100 blog followers so if you like this blog on Facebook you can help me reach my goal! Also, in the near future I'll be doing a Giveaway exclusively for my Facebook followers so you have the like the page to enter it! So please like my Facebook page and you could win a special prize!

P.S.S. -You can also follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+

Pinterest Sunday: DIY, Foods, Neon, Cruel, Disney, Pink, Pinwheel, Roadtrip, Scriptures, Disney Parks, and Phoebe

This week I've pinned a ridiculous amount of clothing/fashion pins because I just want to shop and I'm so sick of my current wardrobe.... but I am going to save most of those pins for a Fashion Friday post this week. So stay tuned for all of those and I hope you enjoy this Pinterest Sunday post! 

As one of his Christmas presents, I promised my husband I would make a board/frame thing for the pictures of fish he catches. I had a pretty good idea in mind but then I saw this and knew I have to do this! But I could use like fishing wire and hooks! It'll be great! Stay tuned for a tutorial and video on it when I finally get around to making it. 

New Year, new me. I'm trying to lose one pound a week up  until my one year anniversary, because then I'll be at my wedding weight (yes I strayed that far off in the last 8 months). So I'm always looking for healthy foods and ways to lose weight. 

P.S. -I am already behind. I got sick so I didn't go to the gym at all last week and we still have tons of left over candy from Christmas (I have a theory that Santa gives us all so much candy so he doesn't feel as overweight himself) but this week I'll be starting a new routine (even though I still feel sick) and I'll be writing about it on here soon. 

Sponsor This Blog!

Hey friends! I'm doing a free monthly trial with Passion Fruit Ads to try and get more revenue on this blog. You can buy an ad on my page by clicking on Sponsor.

Sponsoring and advertising with my blog is different because only 10% of the money goes back to me. When you buy an ad on my blog I will give 70% of that money to the Charity of the Month  and then 20% goes back to you through Giveaways!

Buying an ad on my page helps to generate pageviews for your own blog as while as gives money to charity. You'll be helping others! And if you keep returning to my blog, it can pay off and come back to you through Giveaways!

There are three different types of ads to buy on my blog. There is a small ad, a large ad, and the extra large ad which gives you the opportunity to write a guest post on my blog! Please take this opportunity to purchase an ad now!

Song of the Week: Everybody's Got Somebody But Me

When we first heard this song, my husband and I had a disagreement. He was positive that Jason Mraz sang it and I was sure it was Hunter Hays, we didn't find out until later that we were both right. And we both love this song so very much! It just puts me in a good mood and makes me smile, even though I suppose it's a sad song... Anyways, I hope you enjoy the song of the week!

Fashion Friday: January Wishlist

Fashion Friday has always been a hit and miss on my blog. I just can't keep it up. But I hope to make a monthly wishlist made on Polyvore. Sometimes it'll be stuff for my apartment but usually it'll be clothes.

This month I'm in a black sort of mood and leather. I painted my nails black on Saturday, with this beautiful gold glitter in it that my sister gave to me for Christmas. My husband really wants me to get printed leggings and I really like the above ones or something similar. I also currently love infinity scarves and I've always had a boot obsession, so I just love the above outfit that I put together.

If you haven't already, check out Polyvore for outfit inspiration and to create your own wishlist! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Web Video Wednesday: Watch Mojo

I have a WatchMojo obsession/addiction. I watch all their new videos and stay on Youtube forever just watching WatchMojo. So to help you get addicted as well, here are just a few of their Top 10 videos.

The Snowboarding Experience

When I was younger my family went skiing. And. I. HATED. IT! It was the worst! It was cold, it took forever, and my stupid ski kept falling off and sliding down the mountain! Worst experience ever!

Flash forward to 2014 and I make the decision to try snowboarding to please my husband and his family (that's not true). Every year around Christmastime my husband's family stay at their condo in Wolf Creek and going snowboarding/skiing at Wolf Mountain. Not wanting to feel left out or cause anyone to not participate in their traditions, I decided to learn to snowboard, even though I was terrified.

So wearing my brother-in-law's clothes and using his snowboard (actually a combination of the twin's stuff (they are both on LDS missions so they didn't need it)), I geared up and joined my in-laws at Wolf Mountain.

My husband was wearing his new hat with a built in beard, which proved to be way to hot on the surprisingly hot winters day, but he looked good!

So I get strapped into the snowboard and we board the ski lift and head to the top of the bunny hill, where I fall off the ski lift into the snow and my husband helps drag me out of the way of others exiting the ski lift (thank goodness for my helmet, sunglasses, and the cold that helped hide my shame).

I sit at the top of the mountain, surrounded by my in-laws all trying to tell me how to tell me how to stand up. But I can't, because I have no strength... basically anywhere in my body... which was all proved through the duration of my experience. So my father-in-law had to help me up... multiple times.

After quite a bit of back-seat driving I am abandoned by everyone except my husband, who proved just how kind, loving, and patient he is as he sat there as it took me twenty (or more) minutes to get up after my many falls. Somehow I learned how to go down the mountain and we reached the bottom of the mountain and we got back on the ski lift to try again.

At the top, I again fell off the ski lift, to the major concern of the lift attendant who tried to instruct me on something but I was too concerned about getting up again to really care. So there I was at the top again, not knowing how to get up. This time took much longer to get up partly because a huge group of people were blocking my way and even if I did get up I wouldn't know how to get around all the people.

So I sat there, my husband far away from me down the mountain, but still in sight. Some random woman comes over and tries to teach me how to get up but it's just so difficult! And then my husband starts hopping up the mountain (miraculously without falling) to get back up to me. My mother-in-law shows up off the ski lift and comes over to help as well. So I am finally able to get up and start gliding down the mountain.

At this point I'm so frustrated about how difficult it is to get up that I do everything in my will power to not fall down. That time I only fell down three times going down the mountain and I started to understand why people might enjoy snowboarding, and I knew I liked it much better than I ever did skiing.

I think we went down another two times, each time my mother-in-law using her skis to help me up when I fell (thanks Michelle, you're fantastic!). Then we went into the lodge and had giant greasy French fries that were absolutely delicious! And I was done. I did not want to go back out in the cold again, I did not want to use any more of my strength, and I was just done.

But they made me go one more time so they could get a recording of my awesome snowboarding skills, which didn't even turn out so you can't see it. I went down the mountain one more time, without falling down once and I fell an exhilarating rush of adrenaline and felt really happy... until I reached the bottom, didn't know how to stop so I fell backwards and landed ridiculously hard on my arms. I was able to go back to the condo after that with my mother-in-law and eat fruit and take a nap.

I ended up ridiculously sore and unable to move basically any muscles for a few days. It was/is awful. I think I will try it again next year, after I complete all my New Years Resolutions and am stronger and can possibly be able to lift myself up off the ground, but for a first time I was happily satisfied and glad that I did it!

Have you ever tried something new that scared you? Leave a comment below and let me know! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Pinterest Sunday: Shirt, Money, Rebel, Glitter, Memento, Olaf, Hair, Psych, Motivation, Leggings, Red, Travel, Map, and Shrek

I don't really have an introduction for this post today. It's just another one of my Pinterest Sunday posts. But I hope you enjoy it! 

This shirt is super cute! I've never been a fan of long sleeves. I'm wearing one right now and I have the sleeves rolled up because I just can't handle sleeves, I don't know why. So I'm not sure if this shirt would actually be practical for me but I think it's super cute. 

Cut Your Spending by $400 a Month

I really love this list! It has a ton of really great ideas to cut spending, which I always need. 

Is there anyone who doesn't like Rebel Wilson? She's so awesome! And I love Ellen so much as well. Best pin I've ever pinned. ;)

Umm, I super need this! I have a glitter obsession and I just want to glitter-ize everything! 

I'm not a scrapbooker but I love to keep mementos from all my trips and general outings. I want to start doing this with all the fun things my husband and I do together. 

The Newest Members of the Family

Chris and I would like to welcome the two newest members of our family! Everyone meet Juan:

... and Sassy:

Juan Diego Farnes is a beautiful green beta fish with a prehistoric looking face. Salvador "Sassy" Farnes is a gay blue and red beta fish who is so incredibly beautiful and girlish.

Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I've been wanting beta fish since forever. My husband surprised me before we left for our Christmas vacation with a tank for our beta fish! We decided to wait until we were back home from all our Christmas break adventures to get the fish so they wouldn't die. So today we finally got them! I wanted a boy and a girl but the store didn't have any girls, but Sassy was so beautiful and we decided he could just be gay.

I absolutely love the newest members of our family! They are so fun to watch swimming around they are a great addition to our little family! But don't tell our apartment manager because I'm pretty sure they are technically not allowed. It says no pets and I think they include fish in that but my fish will not be making any messes or making much noise so we're bending the rules a bit.

What pets do you have? Leave a comment below and let me know! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Song of the Week: Counting Stars

I have been so obsessed with this song for so long and I'm so happy to finally make it Song of the Week! I wanted to all December but chose to just do Christmas songs. Anyways, I love this song, I've always loved One Republic, and if anyone would like to give me tickets to their concert I would love you forever! :)

I'm starting a new playlist for the 2014 Song of the Week Saturday posts on Spotify. Again, at the end of the year, I'll share it with you as a Christmas gift! So if you have a favorite song you want on the playlist, please leave a comment below and let me know! If you haven't listened to my 2013 playlist you can find it HERE.

Book Review: Divergent

If you look at my Book Club page, you will see that I am not doing Book Club for the beginning of 2014. This is because of my hectic semester where I have to read like ten Shakespeare plays. So I have to focus on those rather than reading for fun (although, when I understand what's going on, I usually find Shakespeare fun). I do apologize for this! But if I do read anything in my little bit of spare time, I will write a review and link it up on my Book Club page, like this one.

My Backstory:

I've been wanting to read this book for over a year. I got a preview of it on my Kindle Fire and read the first few chapters. I loved it but the preview was over. So I rented it from the library, but life got in the way. It was when I was working multiple jobs for long hours a day, I was planning a wedding, I was living two hours from my fiance, life was hectic and crazy, so I sadly returned the book to the library, never reading it.

Flash forward to Christmastime when I'm casually walking with my husband through Sam's Club and I see Divergent on a shelf and say out loud "Oh! I need to read this book before the movie comes out!" But my husband hears, "Oh! Buy me this book for Christmas!" ...which he did and I'm truly grateful for that.

The Story (No Spoilers): 

Divergent is about a Dystopian society where everyone is divided into Factions. There's Abnegation, the people who are selfless; Dauntless, those who are fearless; Candor, those who are honest; Amity, those who are kind; Erudite, those who love to learn; and the Factionless, who don't fit in any of the five Factions.

At the age of 16, each member of the society takes an aptitude test to see which Faction they would best fit in, then at the Choosing Ceremony, they get to decide which Faction they want to devote their lives to, potentially leaving behind their family forever.

Beatrice is one of this 16 year old and goes in to take the aptitude test, only her results are inconclusive. The test says she could be Abnegation, Dauntless, or Erudite. She is what they call Divergent. The test doesn't work on her making her a threat to the way society works.

My Review:

I finished this book in two and a half days. I basically didn't put it down after opening it on Christmas. I am not a fast reader, so when I finish a book super fast, you know it has to be a good one. This story does have some slow parts that I struggled to get through and sometimes the author doesn't explain things all that well, but I absolutely LOVED this book!!

Honestly, I may like it better than The Hunger Games , and I'm a big fan of that! The story is very different and it is so compelling. Quick spoiler (but a lame spoiler) the romantic portions of this book are a million times better than The Hunger Games, Twilight, and Harry Potter. Their relationship grows and builds and feels real, not incredibly forced and fake like in most teen novels.

I don't even know what else to say except that I loved this book and I am anxiously, not patiently, waiting to get the second book so I can read through that. I'm also excited for the movie, because while Tori seemed cheesy in the preview, it overall looks like it'll be a good movie. I'm currently forcing my husband to read this book and he is going to the movie premier with me.

As a side note, I will be making a Divergent craft for said movie premier and will do a tutorial on this blog. I don't want to tell you what it is yet though, but it'll be awesome!

Also, my sister and I took the test to see what Faction we would be. We took the test two different ways: the first way was the straightforward way where you pick one answer for each question, but the second way we wrote out all answers that applied to us for each question and then made a tally of how many of each letter answer we got. I feel the second way is more accurate in determining what you are and gives levels of what your second choice could be and so on. Anyways, I was in Abnegation. I'm not sure if that's what I would choose, but in both tests I was highest in Abnegation. I supposed it has something to do with my Charity of the Month.

Anyways, I highly recommend this book! I absolutely loved it and think that anyone who enjoys the current wave of dystopian books should read this one, because it's one of the best. 

Charity of the Month: Reading is Fundamental

I am a college student working towards a degree in elementary education, but I was formerly an English major and before that a journalism major (I've been in college forever and still have like three years to go). I love books and reading, hence my Book Club, and I'm a huge supporter of teaching reading properly and promoting literacy.

For Charity of the Month this month I am promoting Reading is Fundamental who has a goal to create a literate America and give all children access to books. They have a lot of different programs and locations, but not in my area. But we can all still donate online by CLICKING HERE. The minimum donation amount is $25. You can also volunteer if you're in their area.

I love reading and as a aspiring teacher I want to help create a literate America. I currently volunteer with Read Today and help tutor a 5th grader on his reading twice a week. If you can't make a money donation, please try to volunteer to help others to read.

Thank you so much for reading and for supporting my Charity of the Month!