Gillian Michelle

{ a day of love... }

2012-02-09T19:44:00.002-07:00

there's something grand about holidays. they always bring a special feeling and reason to celebrate. new years, valentine's day, st. patrick's day, easter, memorial day, 4th of july, labor day, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas and probably a few mixed in between that i've forgotten [sorry christopher columbus, martin luther king jr and presidents...]. i bet if you close your eyes you can almost feel a holiday and it's atmosphere surround you by remembering how you celebrated it growing up.

you may [or may not] know that valentine's day is fast approaching and i think this holiday often gets a bad wrap...especially from single people. but, i [a single person] am here to state the valentine's day can be full of fun and celebration even if that special someone isn't around to send you flowers [although that'd be nice...dear [future] husband...].

i was thinking about valentine's day last night and what i should do to make it fun and i remembered it as a kid. i have this awesome aunt you see, her name is aunt char, and she's pretty much one of the most thoughtful people you can ever imagine.

and i'm pretty sure there was not a holiday that went by that we did not receive some sort of little packaged surprise...even when i left home for college, it always came in the mail, like clock work. the packages were not big or necessarily elaborate, but they were thoughtful. and consistent. and i've decided in this crazy world we live in, sometimes thoughtfulness and consistency are the best things we could possibly ask for from people. on holidays and every other day of the year.

and so, i am attempting to become a more thoughtful and consistent person...and i'm starting with my own nephews and niece. because i want them to remember their aunt gillie as someone who always remembered them on special days and all the other days in between.

give someone close by hugs and kisses. then send someone far away a package.

it's good for the soul.

p.s. i am the chunky 5 month old baby in aunt char's lap in the above picture

p.p.s. i ate a giant cupcake for dinner tonight

p.p.p.s. i wore red to work today. and contrary to popular belief in my office, it can represent things other than the university of utah. [the love month]

{ little letters from me... }

2012-02-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

dear blog readers.
sorry i'm such a slacker lately. i will be better...soon.

dear sleep,
i really wish we spent more time together lately...

dear hair.
you're just gonna have to deal with being pulled back today. sleep finally came around 1 or 2 am, so i took advantage of it as long as possible.

dear utah winter 2011-2012.
i am not complaining about the lack of snow...but if you start snowing in february/march and continue until june/july, the complaining will commence in a serious kind of way.

dear new pink gingham shirt.
i love you.

dear terra mia ristorante.
your pizza was delicious the other night! next visit...i see gelato in my future.

dear boxes taking over my office.
i am tired of tripping over you. tomorrow we part ways...

dear costco sample guy.
the ~~little~~ taller brother and i definitely doubled back and took two of your ice cream samples on saturday. oops!

dear afternoon headaches.
i am not a fan of yours...please go away!

dear [future] husband.
i make my bed every single day. i seem to be ocd about it...i hope you can deal with that...

dear chicago.
i've enjoyed my visits over the past couple years, but they will be no more as my favorite family has officially relocated to new mexico, effective today.

dear football office.
thanks for having food today. i really ~~needed~~ wanted that bagel and cream cheese.

dear nyc.
i plan on seeing you may 4. get ready...i wanna do it all!

{ i just really like... }

2012-01-23T22:12:00.002-07:00

...the color green...

movie quote of the day...

"put it on it'll make your eyes look fiercely green..."

how to lose a guy in 10 days

if you've never seen it...stop whatever you're doing and watch it immediately.

if you haven't seen it in a while...stop whatever you're doing and watch it immediately.

{ let's get real: random ramblings... }

2012-01-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

i'm just gonna give it to you straight. my mind is seemingly a complete blank, but is also racing faster than i can keep up with it seems. how is it that even possible? can you even have a blankly racing mind? apparently yes...because i surely do.

the truth is, i just can't seem to think of anything to write about. so random ramblings is what i've settled on...

random rambling number 1: i am a very lucky and blessed person. no details are even necessary...it's just a simple fact.

random rambling number 2: i am having a good hairday and i love good hairdays. and it's a dirty hairday. now i know i've blogged about this before...but it never ceases to amaze me. it's magic...really. who would've thought that the best hairdays would go against everything you ever learned as a kid [cleanliness is best...]??

random rambling number 3: i killed all my houseplants, and i'm really sad about it. it's funny, really, how much satisfaction you can gain from successfully keeping plants alive because you grow attached to them. i thought i had broken my curse of killing green things, but alas, it has returned. apparently leaving your plants outside overnight [in freezing temperatures] is not such a good idea. i put them out to get some sunshine and ended up killing them instead. dangit.

random rambling number 4: 35,000 is a big number, right? i've always thought so. but i became even more convinced of that fact this week as i sat in a meeting and was told i am co-responsible for a service project at women's conference in which thousands of women will assemble 35,000 backpacks for kids who can't afford them. are you thinking yikes? cause i sure am.

random rambling number 5: the last couple of weeks i have had a number of quiet confirmations that timing is everything...and more specifically...the lord's timing is everything. last night i was reading this talk and i was reminded that not only is the lord's timing everything, but often the timing of various events in our lives are directly influenced by the agency of others. and until the timing is right for them to exercise that agency in accordance with ours...we'd better get out our patience and continue to live our life to the fullest. because it could be a while, and there's absolutely no reason not to.

random rambling number 6: i love my iphone and i love the instagram app [follow me @gillianchavez]. this is my last week or so via instagram.

top row: saturday manicure, i bought red vans!, i made bread, fortune cookie

2nd row: brother/sister lunch date, in bed before 10:30!, rainy day driving, slab pizza

3rd row: saturday morning sunshine in bed, best cookies ever!, my hair comparisons [ages 3 and 26], gym time

4th row: mcdonalds french fries, homemade oreos, surprise [anonymous] gift at my front door, baby nohea

here's to hoping my mind stops blankly racing soon and settles on some good blogging topics. and until then...do something fun and happy that you love. i will too.

{ soul sisters... }

2012-01-13T14:41:00.001-07:00

if you're anything like me, you find it's amazing how much you come to appreciate people once they are no longer a part of your everyday life. it's not that you didn't appreciate them before, you just simply didn't realize how important they were to you. then they leave and you find they were an intricate part of your life. and you miss that part desperately!

when i got my job [almost 2 years ago...weird!] i hit the co-worker jackpot when i was introduced to lia and lisa. they are two of the most genuine, sincere, beautiful and fun girls i could have ever asked to be associated with. and we became the fastest and bestest of friends. we spent nearly two years working closely together every day of the week [and some weekends] and enjoyed our daily morning staff meeting in which we discussed all things important [love lives, school, work, celebrities, the previous night's happenings and where we would be going to lunch that day #spark or #pizzafactory]. then as life happens, in august lia had a beautiful baby girl and her husband started a job in california, so we were forced to part ways. and although we couldn't be happier for lia's next stage of life [mother to a beautiful and perfect baby girl], we miss her desperately.

lucky for us, lia is in town for a couple of weeks and we have gotten to lunch together twice this week and we plan to do it again next week [we still have some favorite restaurants we have to hit!].

i think it's safe to say...we're soul sisters.

{ a kind of karma... }

2012-01-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

after i typed it i realized the title of this post is an slight alliteration. remember that vocabulary word from middle school language arts class? in case you don't, it's the repetition of a similar sound in a series of words...i got an A in that class in case you cared. and now i'm moving on...

karma. you know how it works, right? what goes around comes around. how the universe responds to the way you treat people. treat others as you would have them treat you. be nice...be rewarded but be not nice...be not rewarded.

get it? good.

weirdly i've been thinking about karma a lot lately. and although i wouldn't say i'm a firm believer in the universe retaliating "per se"...i am a firm believer that how you treat others has a great affect on your life. sometimes it's immediate and sometimes it's delayed, but the affect will come. i saw a quote the other day that read: "karma: it's only a b$#%@ if you are." profound words, i'd say. i mean, think about it. if you constantly act and treat poorly you will be acted upon and treated poorly. eventually.

in many cases i don't think we will see the fruits of our good deeds in tangible form. but...how nice would it be if we did? be nice, do good, be hopeful and you will see the return come as positive blessings in your own life. live by the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. it's just good common sense.

i think we can safely say that karma isn't necessarily controlled by the universe...but those with whom you interact and who reside with you in the universe will eventually control your karma. nice guys and girls don't always finish last.

{ emotional musings... }

2012-01-10T13:47:00.001-07:00

you know those moments in life when you are suddenly emotional for a [seemingly] unknown reason and you can feel the tears filling your eyes at a rapid pace? yeah, that moment for me was last night at approximately 10:30pm when i arrived home and felt physically and emotionally exhausted.

as i wandered into my dark house, i headed straight to the kitchen where i promptly ate approximately 3-5 cookies [i really can't be sure how many...i was emotional, remember?] and then i called my mother. because cookies and mothers solve all problems, yes? yes.

during our conversation we decided the following:

**you know...it's about "that time of the month"**

**my life seems to be in transition. and transition is just dang hard**

**my life seems to be overwhelming me right now and i need to step back and breathe**

**timing is everything and sometimes you have to pounce and sometimes you just have to wait**

{ for the record... }

2012-01-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

...it's january 8 and i still haven't written down any new years resolutions. i'd really like to, i just can't seem to commit. but i'm thinking i really need to take the plunge, because as a friend and i discussed this week, unless you write it down it will not happen. fact. so i'm formulating some resolutions to fall in the following categories: physical, spiritual, educational, social, emotional and marriage [wait...how'd that get in there?!] and i am going to...write. them. down.

and speaking of new years, i've successfully only worked 2 1/2 days so far this year. monday was a holiday, i left early on thursday not feeling well and spent friday on my couch watching movies and mindless tv while living off cough drops and swallowing A LOT to try and soothe my swollen throat. good news though, my strep culture yesterday morning said i do not have strep. unless, of course, the initial test failed and the second one succeeds. we'll know more on monday. in the meantime, i've got a fresh bag of cough drops ready to be consumed because the doctor said it'll probably get worse in the next couple of days. happy new year.

oh, and remember how i was thinking about being crafty that one day and was going to make this? well, now i think i might try making this. cute, right? and thanks to jodie, i have a hobby lobby gift card burning a hole in my wallet! [i honestly never thought those words would come out of my mouth...]

and finally...you know those dreams you had as a little girl? yes...you know...the ones where you were going to grow up to have straight hair [when yours was a crazy (cute), curly mess], you'd be on the dance team in college [when you don't even really like dancing at all] and then you'd graduate with a stellar job, live in the big city and have VIP passes to various events all while being accompanied by an extremely handsome man? yeah...i still have that dream.

for the record...it'll happen some day...i just know it.

[me on christmas day 1988]

{ 2011 lessons learned... }

2011-12-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

as each new year approaches, we always find ourselves making goals and resolutions for the upcoming 365 days that will improve our quality of life in some manner. physical, spiritual, emotional, educational, financial, etc... i love the beginning of a new year because it allows us an opportunity to start fresh. and that's something that i think is invaluable. everyone needs a fresh start sometimes.

as i look back on 2011, i see many experiences, both good and bad, that have taught me important life lessons. so instead of recapping my year, i thought i'd share [in no particular order] some of this year's lessons learned [some may be ~~superficial~~ less-deep but they're lessons learned just the same] as i look at the frequented blog themes of the year.

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when your favorite kids live in chicago you will fly there whenever possible, even if it means you spend money you probably shouldn't, you only spend 72 hours there and you don't go home for 10 months because you only have so many days off work and so much money for plane tickets.

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communication [a.k.a. talking] is imperative in all aspects of life. poor communication will cause problems, eventually. have conversations...even if they're awkward and uncomfortable...especially if they're uncomfortable. those ones will most likely be the most worthwhile ones and will teach you the most about yourself and the other person involved.

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justin bieber is actually a legitimately talented musician and performer. all you need to do is watch the movie "never say never" that chronicles his climb to success and you will become a believer. guaranteed.

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it's important to love what you do everyday. that being said, we all have periods of time in our lives when we are not quite where we want to be, but that should be all the more encouragement and motivation for us to get where we want to be. because there's not much better than being excited to get up everyday and do what you love [whatever it might be].

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although you shouldn't let your weight and image dictate your happiness, it's important to feel confident in your appearance. if that means lose 10 pounds, then lose them. if that means buying some new jeans that make your butt look good, buy them. trust me, it'll be worth it.

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the apple iphone has changed my life. seriously though. it is the best invention ever. enough said.

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everything in life happens in the lord's timing. and since everything in life happens in the lord's timing, we'd be smart to live our life to the fullest measure with the current blessings and opportunities we have as we wait for the future blessings and opportunities we have been promised. because they will come...in his timing.

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sometimes you will only want to eat cadbury eggs, cereal and carnation instant breakfasts. although this is not an ideal diet, a person can survive on such a diet for a few weeks. the human body is truly amazing.

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we all have weaknesses in life. and our weaknesses span a variety of subjects and will make their presence known at sometimes the most inopportune times. but having weaknesses does not make us a bad person or a failure, so long as we are consistently striving to make our weaknesses become strengths.

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2011 has been a great year full of many ups and downs. it has taught me the above lessons as well as countless others. may 2012 bring additional lessons, blessings opportunities and happiness!

love,
gillie

{ being domestic: artisan bread... }

2011-12-29T22:10:00.002-07:00

i'm learning to be domestic...one task at a time. a few months ago it was a glittery crafted decoration for my bathroom, a few weeks ago it was toffee for christmas goody plates, this week it was homemade artisan bread. i didn't do a how-to exactly for the toffee, but i thought i'd share with you my bread making "how-to" instructions. attempt at your own risk.

step 1: be a bread ~~addict~~ lover...look at this picture of the finished product and drool...ask your mother to teach you how to make artisan bread...or just continue reading this blog post.

step 2: combine 3 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast, 1 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1 5/8 cups lukewarm water and mix. dough will be WAY stickier than you think it should be. don't be fooled, you ~~probably~~ did it right. dump dough into a medium-sized bowl.

step 3: cover bowl tightly with saran wrap and get ready to use your elementary school math skills [tricky, i know. it's been a while since elementary school...]. calculate shape time for 18 hours after you finish mixing your dough then calculate bake time for 2 hours after shape time. once the times are calculated, you'll want to whip out your elementary school writing skills and use a marker to write the times on the saran wrap so you don't forget. because, let's be honest, a lot will happen in the next 18 hours and i ~~suspect~~ guarantee you will forget your times.

step 4: go about your business for the next 18 hours doing whatever it is you want. sleeping, showering, working out, working, taking grandma to get her hair done, playing scrabble, going for a drive, playing football, playing tennis, doing nothing. you know. whatever your little heart desires.

baker's note: your dough should be bubbly at the end of the 18 hours...like so...

step 5: once the 18 hours are up, sprinkle flour on a cutting board and dump dough (dough will still be fairly sticky...). fold dough over from each side to knead in remaining flour. [your hands will get really sticky, so remove ~~diamonds~~ anything from your hands that you don't want covered in dough]

step 6: cover dough with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. while dough is sitting, sprinkle cornmeal on a woven cotton towel [do not use a terrycloth towel because the dough will stick all over the place...].

step 7: transfer dough to center of the terrycloth towel and fold each end length-wise to close. be sure to leave room for the dough to rise. put towel on a solid surface in a warm area to let dough sit for 2 hours. carry out any of your favorite 2-hour past times. past time options are slightly more limited as 2 hours is not that long as 18 :)

step 8: about 45 minutes prior to shape time, preheat oven to 450 degrees. put dutch oven pan in the oven with the lid for 30 minutes before designated bake time [you have to use a dutch oven pan with a lid or the bread will not turn out right. if you don't have a dutch oven pan ~~ask for one~~ buy yourself one for christmas]. once the pan has been heating for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and take off lid. open the towel, scoop from underneath and dump bread into hot pan [bread will sort of deflate after dumping...~~panic~~ don't panic, this is normal]. replace lid and place pan in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

step 9: when 30 minutes is up, remove lid and let cook an additional 2 minutes to allow crust to brown. remove pan from oven, remove lid and immediately dump bread onto a terrycloth towel. allow to cool for 15-20 minutes and presto! homemade artisan bread.

my mother swears you cannot mess this recipe up. i've successfully made it once and i am in the middle of making it for the second time. and mothers are ~~almost~~ always right, right? well...we shall see.

i'd love to hear of your bread-making ~~failures~~ successes. happy baking!

{ what i love about right now... }

2011-12-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

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...baby cheeks and all things pink... i have spent countless hours the past few days holding my 2-month old niece, aubrey, and she is the most beautiful and sweetest baby i know [yes, i am biased]. i'll be honest, i have occasional days when i think i don't want to have children [don't panic...they're few and far between and they always revolve around other people's kids screaming in a public place...] but the past 3 days have made me want a baby girl [or boy] as soon as possible [dear [future] husband...hurry up, please...].

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...good food...the holidays seem to revolve around food...all kinds of food. and this christmas has been no exception. i have not been able to say no to anything [peppermint brownie cookies, lemon bars, dipped oreos, artisan bread, tamales, you get the picture...]. i know why people make new years resolutions to watch their weight...because during christmas it is just impossible to say no! on the up side though, i learned how to make artisan bread and will tell you about it soon [i'll leave this picture just to tease you...stay tuned!].

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...warm sunshine...new mexico sees the sun almost every day of the year and i never realized how wonderful that was until i moved to utah [almost 8 years ago] and the sun made scarce appearances throughout the winter [thank you sick inversion]. people talk about how christmas to them requires snow to be outside [white christmas], but christmas to me means the sun must be out, and the weather cool and crisp [light jacket only] just like today.

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...my grandparents...every kid should have memories of their grandparents house, and hopefully they are as good as mine. i was lucky enough to grow up in close proximity to my grandparents on both sides of my family. some of my favorite memories of my grandparents were dinners at their house. we didn't have a specific schedule as to when we'd go, but we often met other family members for dinner at grandma and grandpa's [and sunday swimming afterwards...don't judge]. and one thing you could always count on was grandma and grandpa taking care of everything while you were there. grandma made the food, grandpa did the dishes [you had to eat fast though...because as soon as grandpa started the dishes, no one's plate was safe...even with food on it!].

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...all things boy...girls are fun, but sometimes boys are more fun [or funner...is that a word?]. there's just something about boys that oozes fun. they don't ever sit still [unless they're playing angry birds on the handy iphone...] and they say the funniest things. devon is deathly afraid of the cat and bryson has developed a thing for justin bieber [thanks to uncle charlie getting the movie "never say never" from santa]. don't let their angelic faces fool you, they are bundles of energy, dirt, fun and trouble.

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...laughter and fun...my little [and taller] brother has been trying to prove his masculinity by growing facial hair [classic teenage boy move]. since he is only semi-successful in his endeavors [it's kinda patchy], santa brought him some accessories to help promote his masculinity. and since we're so mature, we couldn't resist a little photo fun. laughter really is the best medicine, so laugh on! [the second picture definitely made us late to church...oops!]

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...dressing to match...it's never planned and always funny. we expect to dress to match on casual friday [spirit day] but not on a day when we can wear whatever we want. i guess we shouldn't be surprised anymore though. it's happened before...click here, here, here AND here to reminisce. [disclaimer: the older the posts are, the heavier i am...yikes...]. we hope that our third wheel, lia, was wearing the same thing that day in florida...

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...family...due to varying schedules and living locations, a few weeks ago it was kinda looking like i would be the only one home during the week after christmas. but thanks to christmas miracles [which i completely believe in year round] everyone was home together for a couple of days. as we've gotten older it's become increasingly difficult for all of us to land in the same location for very long, so when it does, i am very happy.

{ dear [future] husband... }

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

i know, i know. you're probably wondering where i've been the last several months seeing as i've been pretty much radio silent where you're concerned lately. but i'm just returning the favor...because you've been rather radio silent as well...a.k.a. non-existent in my world...but anywho.

i was headed to bed last night and was randomly thinking about various little habits and quirks that i have. and some day [hopefully sooner than later] you will have to love me despite these little habits and quirks. and so, i thought i'd lay some of them out there to air right now, you know, so you can get used to the idea...

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i've learned recently that i always leave my glass of water in the same location when i'm done with it, and it's usually not in the sink. it is usually in the same square foot of the counter [so i am told] every time.
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when i go to bed at night, i always start sleeping on my left side. this only lasts maybe 15 minutes or so before i turn to my right side and then quickly fall asleep. i can't just start on my right side though...it'll never work.
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we cannot have toffee in our house, except at christmas time. and even then, it can only be like christmas eve and christmas day. because i just can't control myself when it's around. i love it way too much.
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if you are a youtube liker, i will more than likely not have seen any of the youtube videos you will ask me about. i'm not a youtube hater, i just will not sit and surf videos. i will, however, watch the ones you think are funny/worthwhile.
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i hate cleaning the bathtub. like hate hate it. it's the worst job. i will clean everything else in the bathroom if you promise to do the tub. do we have a deal?
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driving in snow gives me severe anxiety. yes, i realize i've lived in utah for 8 years and should be fully adjusted by now. but i still get severe anxiety. and so, you will do all snow driving, always and forever.
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over 3/4 of my wardrobe is stripes [i'm wearing them right now actually]. apparently i have a fetish. so if you could start keeping you eye out for fashionable striped items, it'll make any and all shopping trips in the future go just that much quicker [which i totally support].
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and there you have it. obviously there are more of these little habits and quirks, but i'll save those for once we're married. it'll be more fun that way.

love,
your [future] wife

{ what do you think of... }

2011-12-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

...when you see fog?

...strange things and the twilight series for me (and no, i haven't seen the movie yet...i think i'm the maybe the only girl in america who hasn't)...but i think i'm going to change my thoughts of fog to more of a magical, mystical theme instead of a strange and twilighty theme. that'd be much more romantic, right?

sunday morning, this is what i drove to church in. and i'm definitely thinking magical, mystical fog.

...when it's freezing cold outside and you find yourself alone with a (rarely) free sunday afternoon?

...homemade chicken noodle soup and christmas goody plates, of course. yep, that i made that soup and it was soooooo good and soooooo easy.

it's so fun to deliver little plates to people during the holidays. even though they're probably thinking "seriously, you brought me more sugary treats? i think i'm going to slip into a sugar coma any second now..." while they smile and say to your face "thank you, you're so nice!" no matter. it was a good deed for the day, and i had fun. and yes, my first toffee making attempt turned out to be a success!

...when you think of christmas shopping?

...procrastination and inconveniently finding more for myself than other people. this year was no exception really. i won't tell you what all i found for myself, or for others on my list, but i did find a new favorite store. my bank account hates me now...

...when you see this picture of baby aubrey?

...cutest baby girl ever?! good, me too!

{ lights at temple square... }

2011-12-15T20:41:00.001-07:00

when i flew back to utah from thanksgiving i was greeted by my parents and charlie at the airport. and let me just say, it's way better to fly home when you are greeted by people you love than when you have to get off the plane, get your bags and then shuttle to your car to drive home alone. i've done it both ways, a lot, and i much prefer be picked up :)

anywho...we swiftly took off to have dinner in downtown salt lake and then to see the christmas lights on temple square. it was a bit chilly (thought not as cold as my mother's apparel would suggest...haha), but we bundled up and had a great time.

and the evening was (of course) documented with our iphones and instagram.
enjoy!

you can't tell we're related...can you?

mom: "can someone zip me up please?"

hysterical laughter and a close call on peeing in our pants definitely followed...

our only group photo...took about 15 tries to get it perfect

(and by perfect i mean everyone's face mostly in it...)

so beautiful.

we had such a great night together. it's good to have good family.

{ the hidden "stash" }

2011-12-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

in case you didn't know, google hangout is pretty much the coolest thing ever because you can have multiple people video chat together for free. and since we cover a few states in my family, we often find ourselves "chatting" together on sunday evenings and we always have a good time filled with laughter.

but recently, we found another reason to love google hangout...and it provided us with endless laughter as we chatted a couple days ago.

can you spot the reason?

how many mustaches do YOU see??

i think my personal favorite photo is the last one.... :)

p.s. did you know that the world beard and moustache championships in 2007 had 6 sub-categories for moustaches? well they did. natural, mexican, dali, english, imperial and freestyle. and i only found that out because i had to google "moustache" to find out how to really spell it. i would've spelled it mustache, moustash, mustash(???). ok...so i really wouldn't have been able to spell it without google. luckily, it's not a word i find myself spelling very often :)

{ dear santa... }

2011-12-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

for christmas this year...

i want...

a 2012 toyota rav 4 in pearl white

(because my car is almost 13 years old and going on 135,000 miles...)

i need...

william sonoma calphalon contemporary nonstick 11-piece cookware set

(because i'm still using the same pans i got as a high school graduation gift. and single people cook too...sometimes...)

i'll wear...

ugg australia 'cardy' classic knit boots in gray or black
(because i live in utah and my feet are always f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g.)

vans 'authentic' women's sneaker in red
(because i just love them. that's all.)

i'll read...

"the new york regional mormon singles halloween dance" by elna baker

(because i'm pretty sure this book just might summarize my life completely...)

"spoken from the heart" by laura bush

(because i think she's classy.)

...and i'd really love for you to bring me...

a little something like this.

(i know. i know. but in all fairness you did it for the girl in miracle on 34th street. so why not me?)

i know, i know. i'm a dreamer. but what's life without dreams, right?
think about it.

love,
gillie

{ tis the season...christmas in byu blue... }

2011-12-09T15:28:00.001-07:00

i don't make any secret about the fact that i love my job. but this week it just about killed me. but, for the second time, i planned and executed christmas 2011...byu athletics style.

it wasn't without some anxiety, of course. an essential part of the gift had not arrived 4 days prior to party time, and i was starting to freak out. lucky for me, there is a god who hears prayers and i have fantastic friends (david, lisa, scotty, lindsey & rob) who spent a good portion of their saturday with me at the football stadium assembling root beer float gift baskets. 225 of them to be exact. i honestly didn't think i could hate anything more than wrapping the waffle makers from last year...but i'm pretty sure it has happened. 1800 glasses, 225 bottles of root beer, 225 jersey blankets, 225 ice cream certificates, 225 cellophane bags and 225 yards of ribbon took the cake this year.

the party this year went off without a hitch. delicious food, gingerbread houses, cookie decorating, games, presents, raffle give-aways (and of course root beer float kits!) made for a good time.

and this was me after a very long party day.

but, contrary to popular belief, christmas in athletics doesn't stop with the party. 12 days of christmas, poinsettias and kneaders gift baskets also made a very strong showing this year.

i've already got some ideas for next year's festivities...third time's a charm!

{ let's get real: anxious running... }

2011-12-05T10:42:00.001-07:00

...i was at work today at 7am...and it's still dark at 7am...in case you didn't know. the only bright side of that early kind of work arrival is the christmas tree lights are still sparkling.

...i forgot how much i love the jim brickman song "the gift".

...friday night i was filled with such high anxiety that i went to the gym and ran for 40 minutes straight. i can count the number of times that has happened in my life...oh wait...that's NEVER happened in my life.

...i had the time and desire to take a nap yesterday after church, so naturally my body refused to fall asleep. awesome.

...it's not very often that my parents backyard in new mexico has more snow than outside my office in utah...but that, my friends was the case this morning...

...i've been to walmart 87 times in the last couple weeks...ok, just 4, but that's more than enough. and in the 4 recent times i've been there i've seen a man buying 4 bottles of nyquil, a man buying an ax and a woman getting cash while wearing curlers in her hair because she just jaunted over from the salon for a sec. this is real life people...you just can't make this stuff up!

...tomorrow is the work christmas party...which is why i didn't wash or brush my hair today and wore fake glasses because my eyes looked ridiculously tired. party on!

{ a buddha welcome... }

2011-12-03T16:56:00.001-07:00

i bet you don't have a welcoming committee at your front door quite like i do...

actually i don't know that i'd call it a committee...but with a belly like that he most definitely qualifies as more than one person, right?!

thanks to a couple friends of mine with quite the senses of humor, i now have a golden buddha to greet me when i return home. and every time i do, i laugh to myself...because honestly, who has a golden buddha at their door?

oh right...i do.

i think he needs a name. and while i kinda think items such as a golden buddha have to earn their names...i'm open to suggestions. so...bring on the suggestions.

{ a windy city thanksgiving... }

2011-11-30T19:52:00.001-07:00

ah...finally...the post you've all been waiting for...

thanksgiving in the windy city!

the trip didn't start out with the best karma...an hour flight delay because of a "mechanical issue" was the first problem. i don't know about you, but boarding a flight after it's had a "mechanical issue" doesn't really top my list of fun things to do. but we had faith and boarded anyway. a few short hours (and one movie) later, we were beginning our descent through the clouds into the foggy chicago air surrounding the airport. as the wheels were about to touch the runway, the plane unexpectedly began to climb back into the air...quickly. i looked at the guy next to me with uncertainty and said, "i'm pretty sure we're supposed to be on the ground right now..." to which he quickly agreed.

my imagination quickly took over...the flight gear was defective...the runway was an ice rink...ok, maybe not the worst scenarios, but i was a bit concerned. turns out, the worst nearly happened in that as we were about to land, the pilot was informed by air traffic control that the airplane that was supposed to clear the runway prior to our landing had, in fact, not cleared the runway...and we were on a crash course for them.

yes....a pretty good reason for the unexpectedly quick ascension. the good news? our pilot rocked and kept us alive. moving on. my favorite family picked me up at the airport and we got the party started!

on wednesday, christie asked me to go to the store to pick up a few things for thanksgiving (and doughtnuts, of course) while she fed the baby and showered. i agreed and the boys and i were off! since i'm the fun aunt, i let the boys have their own carts at the store. fun, right? wrong. i didn't envision the ridiculous crowd all purchasing the missing ingredients for their thanksgiving feasts. so what should have been a 10 minute shopping trip turned into a 30 minute shopping trip. no biggie though, i'm the fun aunt!

thanksgiving was low-key. the boys played football in the morning and christie and i watched the parade. and when you're only cooking for 3 adults and 2 kids you can cook only the things you like and eat as early or as late as you want. easy as pie. and speaking of pie, i gave myself a third degree burn making chocolate pie. totally worth it though. best pie ever. although i will say it loses a little something after you've eaten like 8 pieces in 3 days...

since we ate early, we decided to trek to the city to see the christmas lights. we expected a big city display...but we were a bit disappointed. no matter, the city was basically empty so we took advantage and wandered a bit.

thursday night found christie feeding aubrey at about 11:30pm and me surfing the internet. christie suggested a black friday midnight macy's run just for fun...so baby went to bed and off we went! the conclusion? people are crazy. end of story.

and since i just can't seem to stay away from byu athletics, we went and cheered on the byu men's basketball team at the chicago invitational tournament. bryson was in heaven...pretty sure he's their #1 fan.

our down time was spent enjoying each other, taking cute pictures, having a dance party, taking cute pictures, decorating the christmas tree, taking cute pictures, holding baby aubrey, and taking cute pictures.

as with all wonderful vacations, they eventually come to an end and normal life must be resumed. we had a great time together and, as always, are counting down the days till we are back together...even if we don't know when that will be...yet :)

until next time!

{ my heart belongs... }

2011-11-24T20:30:00.001-07:00

...in chicago...for now anyways...until i can find another safe place to deposit it...(dear [future] husband)...

i mean, why wouldn't it? my nephews and niece are pretty much the cutest people to ever walk the planet. of course, that's what every aunt says i'm sure. but i'm not just saying it...it's a fact.

hope your thanksgiving was as happy as mine!

love,

gillie

{ let's get real: it's lookin' like christmas... }

2011-11-22T18:12:00.000-07:00

i've been feeling weirdly crafty again lately...watch out...i might attempt to make this...key word might...

i seem to go on these spending and saving sprees...and lately i'm definitely in a spending spree...bad news bears.
**
i started a twitter account. some days i love it, other days i hate it. #fickle #undecided
**
today i decorated for christmas at work. tis the season, deck the halls! i love christmas decorations :)

friday night was the first real snowfall of the season...and it was quite beautiful...

photo phone dump from the past week...via instagram...which i am obsessed with...

top row: fresh christmas greens, morning office sunshine, barnes & noble browsing

middle row: giant stuffed minnie mouses (why not?!), baby aubrey (love), byu basketball (won!)

bottom row: kneaders peppermint brownie, my favorite kids...t-minus 1 day till chicago!, snowy provo temple

to everyone who reads this blog and is married, please be grateful and count your lucky stars. tell your spouse how much you love and cherish them, because let me tell you...as free as it is...singlehood gets lonely.

**
i went to my bff lindsey's house saturday night to help her paint...and we ended up watching winnie the pooh with her daughter and chatting all night...oops!
**

i love the week of thanksgiving. there's a unique feeling in the air. family, food, shopping, football, fun...what's not to love?!

{ the secret to happiness... }

2011-11-13T18:27:00.001-07:00

attention everybody!

i've figured out the secret to happiness. i know, i know. people have been searching forever and have come up short. but today, i figured it out.

it's baby laughter, of course.

it's the most amazing phenomenon. i think our heavenly father is a genius. who else would institute such an amazing and instant mood-changer? nobody, i tell ya.

if you don't believe me, give it a shot. find the nearest baby [in a non-creeper way, of course] and just be in their presence. that's enough to change you. but get them to smile, or better yet, laugh at you...and you're sunk. seriously, it's amazing.

today, at church, i got a long overdue taste of life's secret to happiness and it changed everything. in sacrament meeting i was tired. shocker, huh? [sunday exhaustion ]. and as i was sitting listening to the speakers my mind started to wander and i began to zone out [judge me].

enter baby laughter here.

meet darling little clara. the source of today's happiness and baby laughter. her older sister was keeping a close eye on her while her mom tended to one of her other sisters. and the moment her big sister took over, clara was smitten. and the laughter began. and then i was smitten. and then i was happy.

see? you can't even hear the laughter, but i bet you can imagine it. and i bet you are happier now.

mosiah 3:19
"...becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, paitent, full of love..."

happy laughing!
love,
gillie

{ what i love about right now... }

2011-11-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

the time of year is upon us that we often find ourselves quicker to serve others and expressing more frequent gratitude for the things we have in our lives. i recently read a blog post about being thankful, and what that really means. is it really just a once a year blog post or list we make before thanksgiving? is it really just a dinner table conversation as we enjoy turkey, stuffing, potatoes, rolls, green beans and pie? or is it a deep rooted happiness and frequent expression of gratitude for the things we have and love, as we live every day of our lives?

photo via [jennywheelerblog.com]

i hate to say that i think i am a once-a-year type person. i am inwardly grateful on a frequent basis, but i don't often express it outwardly. i am so blessed in every aspect of my life, and i want my gratitude for my blessings to be a part of who i am. every day, not just some days. i want to live my life to the fullest and take advantage of every opportunity i am given. i want to be the sort of person that a stranger looks at and takes notice that i am happy and i am living life and i am grateful for it.

and so, in an effort to do just that, i'm borrowing kelle hampton's idea of a new blog post theme entitled "what i love about right now..." to help me express the things that i love and am grateful for more often than once a year. starting right now.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

...i am loving my membership in the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. it is not just a sunday thing, it's an every-day thing. it has shaped my life and made me the girl that i am today. it has lead me to the temple to make sacred covenants with my heavenly father. it has guided me through uncertain times and lead me to joyous times. it has brought peace into my life...and it always will.

...i am loving the cold feel to the air because it means the season change is upon us. there's something magical about each season and the promise it brings. sunshine. vibrant colors. excitement. warmth. renewal. snow. new life. wonder. magic.

...i am loving my nephews and niece. they are the sweetest kids i've ever known and they make me smile. constantly. they make me anxious and excited for the day when i will have my own children to love and raise.

...i am loving my job and the people i work with. it truly is a second family. we love and care about one another and i look forward to spending my days with them.

...i am loving the heater in my car. that season change i referred to earlier makes for a chilly drive sometimes, but my car heater rocks.

...i am loving that mint m&ms are on sale. they bring happiness with them wherever they go.

...i am loving my family. most of them live far away, but i was lucky enough to have lunch with my brother yesterday, talk to my little sister on the phone today and skype with the parentals and the chicago peeps on sunday...and i just can't get enough. i don't know how i was so lucky, but i really hit the jackpot.

...i am loving that christmas is coming and twinkle lights will soon be everywhere. i swear they are magic.

{ let's get real: sunday exhaustion... }

2011-11-06T19:59:00.003-07:00

tis the season. halloween is over, let the christmas music begin! i officially loaded all christmas music onto my ipod today.

sunday's are exhausting. i am not complaining, because i'm very grateful for my calling as relief society president, it has taught me mucho. but still...sundays are exhausting.

i know that "falling back" the clocks is supposed to make us so much happier (think extra hour of sleep...), but let's face the facts. fact: last night i woke up every hour. fact: i was pretty much awake for good at 5:00am. fact: that extra hour did not seem to help me out, or even really exist this go around. fact: i'm grumpy about it.

unlike my siblings, i've never worried about the size of my nose. but in the picture above it's alarmingly large. i'm going to just pretend it's the angle of the picture and move on...

i just counted...and i have 14 close friends and/or family members who have had babies in the last couple months. and 5 who are due in the next couple of months. it's out of control.

yesterday i went to breakfast with my relief society presidency. we enjoyed magleby's french toast and caught up on life. these 3 women are my dear friends and i love them. it makes me happy that they are all finding happiness and success in their lives.

i recently bought a silver sequined beret hat, and i love it. you'll have to wait to see it though...i'm not breaking it out until the exact right moment.

i desperately want to go to new york city to see all things christmas in the city.

in exactly 16 days i will be in chicago holding baby aubrey. bring it on!

and with that, i'm going to bed. remember, falling back this year =grumpiness for me.

{ a "free" day...oh...and halloween... }

2011-10-31T19:28:00.004-06:00

i had a completely free saturday...so what did i do? went shopping, of course. what better way to spend a free saturday than at gateway mall in SLC?

well, very quickly, my "free" saturday turned into a very "expensive" saturday. i won't tell you how much i spent exactly, but i will say that everything i bought was 40% off. so...basically, i saved a LOT ;)

and as a result of this little shopping spree, i looked like this today.

(shirt: the loft, pants: gap, shoes: nine west (@ DSW), necklace: the loft)

and i guess since it's halloween i should address the holiday. it's not my favorite to be honest...and i have a hard time taking the general population seriously on a day when i have a crazy clown driving in front of me and a woman with a painted face, and a green wig with what looks like snakes coming out of it, driving behind me (i'm not sure what she was supposed to be...)

and so, as we set out to the halloween party tonight (we are making an effort...hopefully it ends better than last year's effort...) i am dressed as a byu athlete/coach. whichever works, and/or applies. hey. i had the stuff lying around.

oh, and of course...the 3 cutest kids ever on halloween...my nephews and niece :)

happy halloween!

(thank goodness it's almost over)

{ Aubrey Angelina Coombs... }

2011-10-27T23:24:00.001-06:00

today my sister christie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and named her Aubrey Angelina Coombs. Aubrey weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20.5 inches long, and she's perfect.

welcome to the world, sweet baby girl. i'll see you in a few weeks.

love,

[your favorite]

aunt gillie

{ chocolate chips, eyeliner and advice...}

2011-10-24T18:13:00.003-06:00

growing up my mother taught me that you should always have the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies in your cupboards...because you never know when you might find yourself in a cookie emergency. good advice i'd say, especially since over the years i've had many a day or night when i was in desperate need of chocolate chip cookies and driving to the store was not in the cards.

the only problem with this little bit of advice is that i often run out of room in my pantry....because every time i go to the store, i buy chocolate chips in many different varieties....regular semi-sweet, milk, mini, mini m&ms, butterscotch...you get the picture. it's become something of a conversation piece though when people open my pantry, because honestly, who has 7 (or 9...) bags of chocolate chips in their pantry? well except me that is...

and apparently my aptitude for buying chocolate chips has crossed over into another life department...makeup. specifically eyeliner. because, my friends, have you ever run out of eyeliner mid-way through your first eye in the morning? it's obnoxious...and borderline upsetting, because then you're faced with a difficult decision: remove all the eyeliner and just do without it for the day, or make a pit-stop at the store on your way to work, finish the makeup in the car and more than likely be late to work...

and so, in order to avoid such a difficult decision i have, as of late, found myself purchasing eyeliner at the store kinda like how i purchase chocolate chips. whenever the thought crosses my mind basically. because you never want to run out...and that's my makeup drawer is starting to look like this...oops!

moral of the story? chocolate chips and eyeliner are apparently the elixir's of life. who knew...

{ let's get real: talk, talk, talk... }

2011-10-19T12:18:00.001-06:00

i needed a picture for this blog post...so i just used my handy dandy iphone with its awesome instagram app to snap this little shot. yep, it's me just "working"...

baby aubrey angelina coombs is due to arrive in about a week and a half (hopefully). and i think i'm safe in saying our family couldn't be more excited for her arrival...especially her big brothers who talk about "baby sister" all the time :)

i love laughing. monday night i visited some friends and they just told stories for about an hour. and they were those gut-wrenching, pee-in-your-pants-funny stories. i love those. they're the best. i did not, however, pee in my pants...just to clarify.

jodie and i saw footloose last weekend and it made me want to dance. and i am not a dancer.

michelle branch has a new single called "sooner or later" and i'm a huge fan. i hope this means a new cd is on the horizon.

i got the strongest itch the other day to buy a flight to nyc just because. luckily for my bank account, i refrained. but it was hard. and i will most likely give into that itch very soon...stay tuned.

last night i had a long over-due conversation with a friend. and although it was nerve-wracking and i kinda wanted to throw up, i expressed many a things that needed to be said. apologies were made, the air was cleared and i feel so much better. i'm learning that honesty and talking are the key to everything.

i came across the following on pinterest and i just think it's good sound advice.

happy wednesday!

{ my (light) green thumb... }

2011-10-15T15:00:00.000-06:00

my mother is an amazing gardener. i'd venture to say she's got a phthalocyanine (really dark) green thumb because everything she plants, grows. and it grows well. she loves being outside and with plants, and is particularly obsessed with trees. in fact, i called her the other day and asked what she was doing and she replied, "just driving home with my 6 news trees in my car." a common occurrence for sure.

growing up i never was a big plant girl. i hate dirt under my fingernails (seriously...) and my plants always died...although i couldn't quite understand why. some (christie) might say it was due to lack of water, but there were no witnesses to confirm that suspicion, so i continue to deny it.

recently i have uncovered my (light) green thumb. i have a few house plants that i bought just for fun, mainly because i found a couple cool pots and thought i'd give it another try. i didn't have much hope that they'd last long, because, well, they usually don't. but, my friends, a miracle has occurred. my plants are flourishing! this morning i re-potted them (again) and they all sit on the porch, enjoy the morning sun and they grow. and they grow well. i think they're happy.

it's kinda weird how successfully growing plants can make you feel happy and accomplished and how you find yourself becoming attached to them...

{ unleashing my inner martha stewart... }

2011-10-10T21:43:00.000-06:00

i am not crafty. at all. in fact, craft stores give me a bit of anxiety. they're overwhelming, confusing, chaotic and stressful. and yes, i realize this problem is setting me up to be a terrible mother...but whatever. i'll manage.

i remember one day a year or so ago, i was standing in an aisle at michaels and i was lost. so i did what any reasonable adult person lost in michaels would do. i called my sister. the conversation went something like this:

me: christie, help. i'm in michaels and i don't know where to go. i just wish you lived here so you could've come to this blasted store for me.
christie (laughing): what are you looking for?
me: thin craft wire...because i accidentally bought frames with two hooks on each side which makes it impossible to hang pictures straight. and i just want to put a wire on there to eliminate the crooked problem.

christie then proceeded to direct me to the correct aisle in michaels where i could find such an item. and, thank goodness, i survived the entire experience. but it was a really close call.

well, today i got the strangest inkling. i wanted to make something. something crafty. i'm pretty sure it's because on saturday i bought a new shower curtain and towels, so i needed new artwork for my bathroom that matched. today at lunch i went to tjmax (another unthinkable for me...but that's another story for another day) and tai pan trading to see if i could find anything. epic fail.

and so, i decided to make my own artwork. which is something my sister christie does often, but i'm fairly confident i have never done in my adult life. until today that is...

and so, without further ado...my homemade craft. a glittery framed monogram. you're welcome to imitate if you want. i'd be flattered :)

step 1: while deciding what letter you're going to make, go to the sweet tooth fairy and buy double chocolate fudge cakebites to get you through the crafting process. once the cakebites have been purchased print the desired letter in a font of your choice on regular cardstock and cut it out.

step 2: take 3 deep breaths before walking into a craft store (for the first of 2 visits during the course of the evening...) to purchase glitter, 1 piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper and spray glue.

step 3: follow instructions on spray glue can, evenly spray the letter and then cover the letter with glitter. dump excess glitter and let dry. you should probably complete this step in a shoebox lid outside...because generally speaking, glitter gets everywhere if you're not careful ( and it's of the devil according to my father...)

step 4: use spray glue on the back of the letter and then carefully place glittered letter into the center of your piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper and gently press down so it sticks everywhere and let dry.

step 5: take 3 more deep breaths before walking into a craft store (for the 2nd time in the evening) to purchase a frame (because you can't NOT finish the project tonight. it's mandatory. and you of course do not have a 12x12 frame lying around your house...) and put the glittery letter in the frame and hang.

step 6: blog about your successful craft project. then go to bed. because this has been stressful! just call me martha stewart...and please leave me a comment. i need praise.

{ he will give me success... }

2011-10-09T22:47:00.000-06:00

(photo found here)

life's hard, isn't it? i mean, am i the only person who sometimes sits alone in my house and wonders what on earth i'm supposed to be doing in my life? or if am i doing any of the right things? or if i am doing what my heavenly father wants me to do? or if i'm doing enough? and does my life really have to be so frustrating and hard so often? do i really have to be alone...still...?

interestingly enough, just when i feel the weight of the world bearing down on me and i feel like i may lose my cool at any moment (in the form of an emotional breakdown, naturally)...my heavenly father pulls through with some much needed guidance and inspiration.

Alma 26: 27

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

tonight, this scripture was an answer to my prayer. now i know what to do. go amongst my brethren (and sisters), serve them, be patient and...then...thank heavens...

...he will give me success...

{ let's get real: boot season... }

2011-10-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

**
today is the first boot day of the season. i'm happy about it now, but check back with me in february when we're on day 93 of boot season. i'll probably have a different opinion on the matter.

the thing i love about pinterest is that when you look at one of your boards, you see all the things you love for some reason or other. and it instantly improves your mood. no matter what.
**
sometimes i am already thinking about lunch at 8:15 in the morning. is that a problem?
**
i actually did my hair today. first time of the week, really.
**
these clouds have been bringing us rain/snow pretty much all day. and it's colddddddddd.

**
i took half a sick day on monday because my nose had turned into a faucet and my eyes were on fire. was the nose/faucet detail too much? so sorry.
**
i ate a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch yesterday and i felt 8 years old again. i just needed some tomato soup and fish sticks with ranch dressing to complete the 8 year old meal.
**
i've decided i really don't much care for adelle and john mayer. sorry if that offends you.
**
t-minus 2 months until my work christmas party. let the insanity begin.

{ orange twinkle lights... }

2011-10-04T14:37:00.001-06:00

last night the weather became blustery and a storm blew in. and as darkness settled in, the rain started to fall. and in my opinion, there's not much better in this world than the smell of rain.

the only thing better than the smell of rain on its own, is sitting outside on your porch surrounded by orange twinkle lights with a blanket to keep warm and your scriptures to keep your mind busy whilst smelling the rain.

and that, my friends, is exactly how i spent last evening. and it was rather glorious.

{ a taste of country living... }

2011-10-02T22:44:00.000-06:00

i think it's fairly safe to say we all have images in our head of what certain types of living would be like. city living, country living, middle of nowhere living, college living, suburb living...you get the picture. sometimes the images in our head are totally off base and other times they are spot on. think in your mind what you'd picture country/middle of nowhere living to be like. do you have an image? are you sure? ok, good.
the image you're probably seeing in your head is probably something like the picture above, and what i experienced tonight. i have an aunt and uncle who live in genola, utah. yep, genola. most people have never heard of it, but it actually does exist. look it up. it's just west of payson...behind west mountain to be exact. and it's a classic country/middle of nowhere living experience. in fact, up until recently, the second you drove around west mountain, you lost cell service and all contact with the outside world.

growing up, my family would always come up to utah to visit my cousins in genola. it was one of our favorite places to come because we had ridiculous amounts of fun. sliding down the dirt hill, feeding the horses across the street, picking corn and berries and whatever else we could find in the garden, going to countless cousins' football and baseball games and of course...night games. night games were the best. genola is a unique place and one which is hard to explain really. in fact, whenever we take a new person to genola, we really just say they're in for a treat. and leave it at that.

tonight in the country, we picked corn from the corn field and pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. the corn is delicious and the pumpkins are super awesome. they're those perfect pumpkins that you search through large bins for at wal-mart...or if you're like me, target...except they are real, authentic, pumpkin-patch pumpkins.

it was the perfect way to spend a relaxing sunday evening. even if i am paying for it now with the awesome mosquito bites and ridiculous allergies. totally worth it.

(all photos taken with my iPhone.)

{ busy is in the eyes of the beholder... }

2011-10-01T23:05:00.001-06:00

i'm pretty sure i didn't do much today...because i didn't even put makeup on. and if i don't get makeup on throughout the course of the day, i must've not done much. but in case you're interested, here's what i did (or didn't?) do today...

(for the record, this picture was NOT taken today...)

8:31am: wake up...anyone who knows me, knows this is SLEEPING IN for me. last night was a late night after witnessing byu's amazing come from behind victory over utah state, again from the front row...it was awesome!
8:32am: contemplate going right back to sleep because i was just exhausted.
8:35am: bathroom. enough said.
8:40am: back in bed, laptop in hand, espn college gameday switched on.
8:45am: check email, facebook, log into skype, pinterest, local news, espn, byucougars.com (pretty sure in that exact order...)
9:15am: christie, cody, bryson and devon call me on skype. it's becoming something of a saturday morning tradition. they call me when i'm still in bed and look fantastic.
9:50am: finish skyping, make my bed, put on clothes (sweats, don't get too excited), brush my teeth and get a bowl of cereal (multi-grain cheerios to be exact)
10:00am: watch first session of general conference
10:15am: receive a text from my dad with a picture of the cinnamon rolls AND breakfast burrito they purchased at the balloon fiesta this morning.
10:20am: refocus my attention on general conference because i was contemplating how to get myself to albuquerque next weekend for the balloon fiesta. (looks like it's gonna have to wait till next year, bummer)
12:00pm: go to jiffy lube to to register my car because i conveniently neglected to remember that it expired september 30...and i'm kinda OCD when it comes to complying with the law (most of the time...).
12:45pm: depart jiffy lube $160 poorer because the blessed state of utah makes you do safety and emissions every stinkin' year on top of the already ridiculous registration cost. but moving on...
1:00pm: pick up macaroni and cheese for lunch at noodles & company
1:15pm: call my grandparents on my way home for a chat
1:35pm: get home, rotate laundry, eat macaroni and cheese while chatting with the grandparents and flip channels to check out the football games (i'm good at multi-tasking...clearly)
1:55pm: finish talking to the grandparents and call my parents for a quick chat
2:00pm: watch second session of general conference
3:30pm: do everything in my power to stay awake till the end of conference at 4:00...
4:05pm: wake up. i guess everything in my power did not keep me from falling asleep. oops. good thing they print and rebroadcast the conference talks...
4:15pm: chat with jodie
4:30pm: call aunt char for a chat
5:30pm: google "hangout" video chat with christie, bryson, devon, mom and lauren (the men...a.k.a. my dad and cody...were at the priesthood session of general conference)
7:30pm: finish google "hanging out" and eat a few halloween oreos from the freezer since bryson talking about them made me want them...luckily i fell for target's marketing trap a couple weeks ago of placing the halloween oreos immediately inside the door so as to lure shoppers into buying them for no reason other than they're the first thing they saw in the store.
7:45pm: get in the shower
8:15pm: get out of the shower (don't judge that my shower was 30 minutes long. i have allergies and my eyes are feeling crazy swollen. oh, and i didn't have to be anywhere. so i took. my. time.)
8:42pm: walk to the mailbox
9:00pm: turn on the tv to check for a movie and/or good football game
9:01pm: find neither of the things i was looking for, so i settle for the alabama/florida football game (in which florida is getting creamed) and start this blog post.
9:30pm: pause on blog post. chat with friends and catch up on the week's happenings
10:30pm: resume blog post
11:00pm: blog post published
11:15pm: bed

maybe i had a busy day afterall? maybe i shouldn't judge a day by the time of day i take a shower and/or by the fact that i didn't put makeup on today...

{ sometimes... }

2011-09-27T10:40:00.001-06:00

...i score front row tickets to the football game and become famous on ESPN for 10 seconds.

...i just don't want to work. i want to sit and look out my office window and watch people walk by attending to their busy days and lives. wouldn't you?

...i just wish i were the frizzy/curly haired little girl i used to be who didn't have a care in the world...

...people have to move on in their lives and even though you are thrilled for them because you love them, you are heartbroken they are leaving.

...i just want somebody to love me. "like that can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kinda stuff..." (i'll give you $5 if you can name that movie...)

{ moving on... }

2011-09-18T19:51:00.003-06:00

for anyone who watched the byu vs. utah football game last night, we'll just suffice it to say that it was rough for my byu cougars. but the beautiful thing about life is that despite the poor performance last night, the sun still came up today and it was a beautiful day. and even though sometimes things don't go the way we plan, we keep moving forward anyway.

i love my friends. i love byu. i love my job. i love football. go cougars!

{ we change... }

2011-09-14T08:04:00.000-06:00

sometimes i look at myself in the mirror and feel like i'm the exact same person i was a few years ago. i mean, i have the same smile and the same crazy curly hair, so i must be the same all around, right? wrong.

on my recent trip to chicago, bryson and i took a picture that is eerily similar to one we took about 2 years ago. almost the same pose and everything. and, well, i'll let you take a look for yourself and draw your own conclusions as to whether we've changed or not...

(top photo taken in 2009, bottom in 2011)

thankfully, i am not the person i was a few years ago. i've changed mucho. and i'd like to think it's for the better. it's not that i wasn't great back then, but i believe the years have improved me in many ways. i'm stronger, more confident, happier and more content with life. and i think it shows in the above pictures. maybe i'm the only one who sees it, but it's there.

and of course i still have many goals that i've yet to achieve, but that's what the future is for :)

{ dear mosquitos... }

2011-09-13T08:39:00.006-06:00

i hate your stinkin' guts. you make me vomit. you're the scuuuummm between my toes.
love,
alfalfa.

yep, that pretty much sums up my feelings towards mosquitos these days. and spiders for that matter. one reason to anticipate summer's end is that those nasty little creatures will disappear and my skin can go back to being normal and non-swollen. and perhaps i can go outside knowing i won't come back in with several new additions to my body...itchy, red, swollen additions.

sick.

{ let's get real: blah, blah, blah... }

2011-09-08T08:26:00.007-06:00

**
i learned how to french braid my bangs, thanks to christie. i feel like i've finally caught up with the trends of the day. a few years late maybe...but better late than never!
**
i have gotten 3 monster bug/spider/mosquito/snake(??) bites on my right foot in the last week. and as usual, they've all swollen up so i can hardly get shoes on that aren't sandals. what is it about me, bugs and apparently my right foot?
**
yesterday i painted my toenails before i left for work...even though i was running a bit late. can you blame me? i had to wear sandals with my dress and my toenails were completely naked. yes, i am that vain.
**
everyday at like 2:00pm the voicemail indicator lights up on my phone at work even when there is no voicemail. it drives me crazy.

**
football season is in full swing and i am happy again. byu vs. texas this weekend...go cougars!
**
i hate when people you think you can depend on fail you. it's kind of devastating. on the other hand, i love it when people surprise and/or confirm to you with how great they really are. it's kind of refreshing.
**
today i went with unwashed/unbrushed hair to make up for yesterday's work lateness due to toenail painting.
**
happy thursday!

{ 72 hours in chicago... }

2011-09-01T20:08:00.009-06:00

...was not quite enough. it was definitely better than nothing, but no matter how long i am there, it's never enough and the airport drop-off always stinks.

but, in the 72 hours i was there, we enjoyed doughnuts, the park, laughing, doughnuts, hop-scotch, walks, doughnuts, naps, bryson sharing his bed with me, a tour of marianos (the most awesome grocery store ever), chick-fil-a, navy pier, sprinkles cupcakes, church, board games (bryson is a tad bit competitive...), mini-golf (bryson and i scored REALLY high...i think devon definitely won), delicious bbq food and best of all we were just together.

i felt like this was a low-key trip...but i look at that list and i'm exhausted! i guess we made the most of our time together :) until next time...aka november (thanksgiving, christie's birthday and meeting bryson and devon's new baby sister!).

{ thursday at the lake... }

2011-08-31T10:07:00.012-06:00

long work-filled summer? check. ridiculously hot weather? check. friends with a boat? check. thursday afternoon off? check. awesome camera to capture the action? check. delicious freshly picked peaches and peanut m&ms to eat on the boat? check. 3 daredevil boys to entertain you for hours? check. 450 pictures taken? check. staying on the lake until dark? check. BBQ on the beach after dark? check. getting off the lake at 9:45pm? check. home after midnight? check. exhaustion at work the next day? check, check.

it was a great day.

{ sugarland...round 2... }

2011-08-22T09:12:00.006-06:00

as much as we all hate to admit it, summer is winding to a close. it seems unbelievable because i'm fairly sure that summer didn't really get started in utah until mid-june...but whatever.

i'm thinking maybe i should branch out in my concert attendance...because this was round 2 for me on sugarland (and i've seen carrie underwood 3 times...oops!). but why mess with a good thing, right? and when you know sugarland is going to rock your world at their concert, you don't hesitate when your friends suggest purchasing tickets to celebrate the close of summer.

and so here we are. getting ready to enjoy the fantastic talent of sara bareillas followed by sugarland. on a beautiful saturday evening. i really am so lucky...my life is awesome.

oh, and we may or may not have listened to every sugarland song we could find on the radio on our way home...cause that's just how we roll :)

{ first things first... }

2011-08-18T16:35:00.009-06:00

my apologies. i don't know what's wrong with me. i just can't seem to blog lately. oops. i've been thinking a lot today. one of those mind racing days (and nights for that matter...didn't sleep well last night).

but anyways, i was sitting here thinking about the past week or so, and i've had a few interesting "FIRSTS" so i thought i'd share.

(this cliff jumping picture was taken BY me...not OF me...)

FIRST: i went cliff jumping on saturday. i know, right? me? i don't do stuff like that. but this time, i did. in my jeans. it was a tad scary but really fun. i'd totally do it again...minus the jeans...

FIRST: i went home for lunch today with the specific purpose to shave my legs. i know, weird. but i didn't have time to do it this morning (because i just didn't) and i have to wear a skirt tonight. shaved legs were necessary.

FIRST: i ate lunch at el azteca in provo. a small hole-in-the-wall mexican restaurant by campus and it reminded me of home. padillas to be specific. hole-in-the-wall authentic mexican food. yum!

FIRST: i rode a motorcycle in a skirt. not my idea really, and definitely not planned. but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get free lunch at above said delicious mexican restaurant :)

FIRST: i went camping and managed to only pee in the woods once the whole time. i know. that takes talent.

FIRST: i bought a plane ticket to chicago two weeks before i was to use it. i'm usually much more planned than that. i'm off next friday to see this darling boy, his big brother and his mom and dad for a few days!

{ did ya miss me? }

2011-08-08T15:47:00.016-06:00

dear friends,
i've been neglecting this blog for almost 2 weeks, which is very unlike me. but in my defense, i've been a bit busy/tired/overwhelmed/emotional/blogged out. but i might be making a comeback....maybe. and so, to briefly catch up, here's a quick brain dump courtesy of yours truly.

**
I was getting a pedicure on Saturday and a girl getting her nails done was asked "do you want your nails longer, or shorter?" to which the girl replied, "i don't know...what's in right now?" and at that very moment, i kinda judged. i thought, "who cares what's in?! it's fingernail length...do whatever YOU want!" for the love.
**
I worked something like a million hours last week and slept something like 20 hours last week. Hence the Saturday pedicure.
**
i'm kinda dumbfounded that it's already august 8. how did this happen?!
**
while playing tennis friday night under the lights i both swallowed a bug and got one stuck in my eye. lovely. i'm pretty sure that's why i lost.... :)
**
i forgot what a tire balance and rotation will do for your car. it's amazing.
**
i learned a lot as relief society president last week. and i'm so grateful to work with people who have the same beliefs as me and can give advice in difficult situations.
**
i'm going to have a niece in approximately 2.5 months. yay!
**
my mom and charlie came to visit for about 10 days at the end of july. and while i wasn't crazy about sharing a bed with my mom for 10 days...i loved having them here.
**
this week is lia's last week at work. she's going to have a baby girl on friday (if not before...) and i can't even talk about it. our trio is being split. and i'm absolutely heartbroken.
**

{ elder chavez... }

2011-07-21T21:10:00.005-06:00

my little brother, and favorite guy in the world, has received his mission call. he will serve for two years as a missionary for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints in the dominican republic santo domingo west mission beginning november 30, 2011.

and i couldn't be more excited for him...even though i cried today. get used to it...it's gonna happen.

{ a complete blank... }

2011-07-19T08:57:00.006-06:00

i've run into another blogging blank. so i'm just going to say two things...or maybe four...

thing one: the best is yet to come. i believe that 100%. my life is wonderful, but i believe it will only get better.

thing two: i killed a spider in my office yesterday. a big gray one. crawling across my desk. sick.

thing three: i'm addicted to pinterest. i didn't get it at first, and now i'm kind of obsessed.

thing four: my little brother will be receiving his mission call extremely soon (like hopefully this week). and whenever i really think about it, i cry. a lot. and although it breaks my heart to have him leave for 2 years, i know that he will be providing an invaluable service to people somewhere in the world...and that is bringing them the gospel of jesus christ. and it will change lives. including mine.

{ let's get real: pin it }

2011-07-12T20:38:00.004-06:00

**
jodie, lindsey, christy and i bought tickets to the sugarland/sara bareillas concert in august. and we are so excited.
**
lia came to my house to make cinnamon rolls tonight...and while they were cooking she started me a pinterest account. i can see much time wasted in my future. thanks a lot, lia.
**
i hate my bangs these days. they just look bad.
**
speaking of pinterest, i can already see that i have issues with it. i can't commit to "pinning" anything. i feel like it's so permanent...what if i find something else i like better?
**
you know those experiences in life that have you thinking, "how in the world did i get here?" yeah. i had one of those last wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday and sunday. interesting...
**
yes, i know the point of pinterest is to pin anything and everything...thanks for telling me...
**
i bought a new ring on saturday at american eagle. and i'm kind of obsessed. it's awesome.
**
i just realized that pinterest is just a super awesome version of the dream books we used to put together as little girls. christie was much better at it than me. cutting out anything and everything from magazines that she loved and/or wanted at some point in life and putting it in a book. now you can just do it digitally. awesome.
**
i'm reading the biography of president thomas s. monson "to the rescue" and it is fantastic. i recommend it to anyone and everyone.
**
i've only pinned 9 things so far...one of them is the book nook above. maybe i'm not good at this game, but isn't that awesome?!
**

{ a juggling act... }

2011-07-06T21:41:00.004-06:00

is your life ever so busy you feel like you are involved in a juggling act all day long and you come home exhausted? cause lately that's exactly how i feel. out of control busy. i feel like i never stop running around, especially at work. i thought christmas was busy, but i'm pretty sure this june/july has got christmas beat.

who knew so many people would leave their jobs at the same time and we'd be forced to post like a million jobs to review applications for, interview, and hire all within like 3 weeks of each other? i sure didn't. i seem to remember when i got my job that they said i'd be doing all human resources for athletics under the direction of my boss. and i remember thinking, well, how hard can that be? surely nobody ever leaves the byu athletic department...right? wrong. and who knew that like a million people would apply for each job? well, i guess i should've seen that one coming. i mean it is byu athletics afterall...

and speaking of juggling, i'm learning how to juggle. for reals. and of course by learning i mean trying to teach myself. a friend was over the other night and we began to attempt juggling the plastic fruit that sits on my dining room table. and we actually got semi-decent. i mean, i could toss each lime in the air and catch it successfully in the juggling motion. now to figure out how to keep throwing them in the juggling motion and catching them...just a small detail........

{ dear [future] husband... }

2011-07-02T17:41:00.015-06:00

...sorry, it's been a while...i've been really busy lately. this week at work just about killed me. i haven't been as early to work and stayed as late as i did this week (every. single. day.) since the christmas chaos of 2010.

and wouldn't you know, that at the conclusion of this insane week, i was set up on a blind date for friday night...which was pretty much the last thing in the world i wanted to do. but i was trying to be a good sport and give it a shot, so i went. of course i wasn't expecting much from the evening (cause let's be honest, blind dates are iffy at best...), but a little part of me was hoping i just might get lucky enough to spend the evening with you. apparently luck wasn't in the cards for me last night, because you were definitely not the guy who knocked on my door and took me to la jolla groves for dinner. he was nice, and we had a nice time. but it was definitely a one time thing. oh well. it's all good...the food was delicious :)

then today jodie and i got a weird inkling and decided to buy planter boxes for our balcony. and of course we went during the absolute hottest part of the day to pick out the flowers. and we just about melted. and of course we didn't think about the hooks fitting on the balcony railing...so they're not hanging quite yet...but the point is, we did it! and they look beautiful. now if we can just keep them alive...i'll keep you posted on that one.

love,
gillie

p.s. where the heck are you? you're killing me...

{ football independence day! }

2011-07-01T11:08:00.006-06:00

it's july 1. do you know what that means? byu football has officially gone independent and joined the west coast conference in all other sports. you know what else that means? we had a party at work, and lisa, lia and i took pictures together. shocking, i know. i love my job!

happy friday and 3-day weekend!

{ memory lane: the earrings... }

2011-06-30T07:52:00.009-06:00

when i was a little girl i was obsessed with earrings. particularly the ones pictured above that belonged to my mother. there was just something super awesome about them. maybe it was the length (the longer the better, i thought) or maybe it was the colors (because let's be honest, the blue, orange and gold look awesome!). i really couldn't say. but i do know that i loved them.

since i wasn't allowed to have pierced ears until i was 10 (a rule compliments of my dad), i would coerce my mother into wearing those earrings since i couldn't. and when i say coerce, i mean there was much convincing involved. mainly because my mother hated these earrings. they were heavy, long, dangly and they "bugged" as she would say. but since my mother is the best, she would (on occasion) humor my girlish requests and wear said earrings.

she'd always tell me that one day i could just have them and then i'd see why she never wanted to wear them. and so, now they are mine. and although i don't wear them every day (like i wanted her to...) i love them just as much now as i did as a little girl.

and one day, someone asked me where i got them because they were so cool...and i said, "oh, they're antiques."

{ the good things about today... }

2011-06-27T22:37:00.004-06:00

...were that i woke up early and read my scriptures before work, i loved my outfit (thank you H&M) and had a great (unwashed/unbrushed) hair day. and they're the only things that semi-saved the day. because quite frankly, nothing else good happened today. it was downhill from there. and so i am going to bed. good night.

{ last second change... }

2011-06-23T10:29:00.006-06:00

this morning i was wearing a pink shirt as i got ready for work. last second before walking out the door, i decided i didn't really want to wear the pink shirt, i wanted to wear the blue one instead. so i changed.
and it's a good thing i did...otherwise lisa and i wouldn't be matching today. and we wouldn't want to ruin a trend, cause yesterday we were matching in black and white skirt/dress combos (no picture though...dang). today it's blue and white. tomorrow...is yet to be determined :)

i swear, we really don't plan these things. they just happen. a lot.

{ dear rodeo creeper... }

2011-06-18T07:33:00.001-06:00

i don't quite know how to start this little note...except to say that it was weird to meet you last night. i can honestly tell you that i felt a little strange...no...uncomfortable...no...freaked out...when you grabbed my thigh (like we'd been dating for months) and started asking me questions, when we'd never seen each other or met before. and can i give you a piece of advice? if you're going to grab a girl's thigh, the first question you should ask is her name...not where she's from...and you should probably follow it up with something other than an implication that she's addicted to dr. pepper because she's drinking one with her hamburger and chips at the rodeo. it was kind of insulting.

oh, and i should probably tell you that it was smart of you to not ask for my number. because to tell you the truth, somewhere during the course of the evening, i quickly memorized a guy's number in my phone so it could be rattled off to you in an instant should you ask for mine. because let's face it...that would've been funny...and let's also face it...had i not memorized said guy's number, i probably would've panicked and given you my real number (had you asked...) and that would've done neither of us any favors. trust me.

and so, like i said...it was weird to meet you last night.
all the best,
gillian

{ in chicago...we might've... }

2011-06-16T18:25:00.012-06:00

...participated in the memorial day bike parade and breakfast...

...met christie's good friend linda...

...melted on a boat tour downtown...

...gone to the city and eaten at Giordano's Pizza...

...gone to Six Flags...and almost peed our pants on roller coasters...

...celebrated charlie's 19th birthday with a dinosaur cake :)...

...and waited patiently to eat that dinosaur birthday cake...

...we might've gone to Historic Nauvoo, Illinois...

...and taken familiy pictures...in ridiculous humidity...

...and ridden on a horse drawn wagon in our movie star sunglasses...

...and gone to the Nauvoo temple...

...we might've rode the paddleboats at Independence Grove...

...and had the best vacation ever...

yep, in chicago...we definitely might've done all those things...

{ a hot mess... }

2011-06-13T18:39:00.004-06:00

this weekend i cleaned my house from top to bottom. i'm even talking about the oven people. watch out. it hasn't been cleaned in almost a year. sick i know. but i was on a roll. i did like 13 loads of laundry (no, i don't have that many clothes, i just washed rugs, towels, more towels, sheets, and laundry...ok, 13 is an exaggeration...) and even vacuumed the stairs. is that how you spell vacuum? i can never remember if it's two "c"s or two "u"s....or two of each. oh well. who really cares. i cleaned my bathroom (even the tub, which is my absolute least favorite thing in the world to clean) and even re-potted my plants in the midst of my cleaning tornado (miracles happen...the plants are still alive!).

i think my life must be a hot mess...because i usually clean when that's the case. and based on all the cleaning i did...definitely a hot mess.

oh, and, the above picture was supposed to be taken of mine and charlie's faces...so...clearly...it is also a hot mess.

{ i bought a new hat... }

2011-06-11T18:54:00.001-06:00

and i kinda love it...

{ chaos & a blue spot... }

2011-06-09T17:07:00.006-06:00

so, apparently when you leave town for 9 days, your life will take off at a ridiculous, nonstop pace when you return. i wish someone would've told me...cause i wouldn't have returned.

really though. i'm pretty sure from the minute my flight landed sunday night, i have not stopped. except for like 2 hours tuesday night when i ate some ice cream and laughed with friends. and due to the not stopping thing, i have gone to bed way too late for my own good, which has resulted in waking up late and barely making it to work on time. oops. good thing i can get ready in 30 minutes...shower, hair and makeup included. yep, i'm that good.

oh, and there's a random blue spot on my white capris. it looks like fabric softener or laundry detergent. aren't those things supposed to clean your clothes, not stain them??? cause that's how i understood it...

{ let's get real: chicago style... }

2011-05-30T14:07:00.005-06:00

**
i straightened my hair this morning and it curled 15 minutes later...
**
bryson took this picture with my phone saturday while we were supposed to be "resting". oops!

**
i already blew the bank shopping (notice the H&M bag in the above picture...), and i've only been here 3 days...
**
we went on a chicago river & lake michigan boat tour today. in 90 degree weather and 1000% humidity. holy hotttttt....

**
i found my boyfriend today. riding in a jaguar. only problem is...i'm pretty sure his girlfriend was driving the jaguar. and it wasn't me. dangit.

**
the rest of the family rolls into town tonight!!
**
i took a 2 hour nap yesterday. which i pretty much NEVER do.
**
yesterday there was an epic downpour and thunderstorm while we were at church.
**
i really shouldn't ever live in chicago. my hair is seriously out of control.
**
my nephews really are the cutest ever.

**
happy memorial day!!!

{ a numbered week... }

2011-05-23T09:50:00.010-06:00

**
0 "free" nights this week before i leave town...
**
2 hours till lunch...and i didn't eat breakfast this morning, so i'm starving...

**
3 "to-do" lists to complete before friday...work, church & personal...
**
3.5 hours spent at paradise bakery on saturday with 2 of my best friends, lindsey and christy, catching up on EVERYTHING.
**
9 days of vacation headed my way...
**
$150 dollars spent last week to change my flight for said 9 days of vacation...
**
48 days in a row we've had rain in provo...
**
103 hours till i'm chicago-bound!
**
150% likelihood that the actual days in a row we've had rain has not been 48. but it sure feels like it...
**

{ oh, baby baby... }

2011-05-18T22:45:00.005-06:00

today lisa and i put our party planning and domestic cooking skills to good use as we threw a baby shower for lia at work. she is expecting a baby girl in august and except for the fact that she will not be working with us after baby girl barlow arrives, we are thrilled for her! babies are so wonderful and i can't wait to meet lia's baby girl. i'm sure she'll be beautiful (how could she not be with a mom like lia...) and is a very lucky girl to have such wonderful parents.

necessities for a good baby shower...2 kinds of trifle, fruit and chocolate (made by lisa), lemon blackberry tarts (made by yours truly...), kneaders bakery sandwiches and of course diet coke...lia's favorite.

we had a great time visiting with our co-workers and enjoying some delicious treats. you really can't go wrong with women and food, can you?!

the dynamic trio :)

{ memory lane... }

2011-05-17T22:43:00.003-06:00

my mother is an amazing gardener (a skill i did not inherit...because i'm pretty sure i just killed my houseplant. but moving on...). growing up we always had a beautiful yard and all credit is due to her...since we know us kids tried our hardest to occupy ourselves with things other than saturday morning yardwork.

the typical excuses/distractions were as follows:

christie: shopping with aunt char

me: playing the piano
lauren & charlie: tanning...

i'm pretty sure my excuse was the most legit, but the others were surprisingly effective. especially shopping with char. christie had it figured out. and apparently charlie and lauren's method is in full swing these days as well...every time i call home, mom is working in the yard and lauren and charlie are tanning. interesting.

but i digress...

one of the things i love best about my mother's yard is the fresh mint that grows behind the garage. there is something extraordinary about the smell of fresh mint. tonight i had some in my house for some tarts i made for lia's baby shower (pictures to come...). and for a moment, it took me back home. and i loved it.

i highly recommend you go to the store (or into your garden...mom...) and buy some right now. then just rub your hands through it and breathe in. it will lift your mood immediately.

{ porch sitter... }

2011-05-16T14:59:00.002-06:00

is there anything better than sitting on the porch in the summer evenings? i'm pretty sure not.

here's my porch view these days. beautiful green mountains. perfection.

the only bad thing about my view...is the pesky wasp that always shows up when i'm outside reading. i swear he knows i hate him and that i will swell up like a balloon if he stings me. i think he's made it his personal challenge to get me.

little does he know, he picked the wrong girl...

{ the terriblely cute twos... }

2011-05-12T20:52:00.000-06:00

hard to imagine that cute face as being a "terrible two" right? well, you better believe it. today is little devon's 2nd birthday and he's cuter than ever!

while i'm sure the title "terrible two" fits this boy on occasion (i've seen it in action), i can't get enough of his cute smile, broken sentences and the way he says "watch gee" over and over while we're on skype and he wants my undivided attention to show me something great.

just as with his older brother, i can't imagine what our family was like before he came along. it's so much more fun now :)

happy birthday devs!!!

{ hike the Y... }

2011-05-11T20:56:00.000-06:00

i know what you're thinking. is she really posting about her job...again?! yes, indeed. i am. and you know deep down you're glad that i am :)

one thing that i've learned about my job is that we don't like to do things how most people/offices/organizations would do them. we like to think above and beyond or outside the box. so when it comes time to do a department meeting, we just cannot do sitting in a room and being talked at (at least not on a regular basis).

we do events and call them meetings. but i'm not complaining, because today's "meeting" consisted of hiking Y Mountain and having lunch afterward.

the only problem with today was the insistent rain and clouds that would not go away. but we're hardcore...so we went up the mountain anyway. and my curly/crazy bangs in this picture are proof that the rain came down. (curly hair is awesome in the rain)
our trio was one member short today...lisa's little brother reported to the MTC today to serve a full-time 2 year LDS mission in California, so we definitely missed her. just imagine she's standing next to me :)

{ cinco de mayo... }

2011-05-05T21:46:00.004-06:00

what's a girl to do on cinco de mayo in provo, utah when the sun is shining? go to a baseball game of course. it is, after all, america's favorite pastime...and i do live in america. so i guess the shoe fits. even though baseball is by far not my favorite sport, there is something pleasant about sitting outside in the sunshine with friends and people watching (as long as there's a net between you and the field).

because let's face it. classy (or not so classy) people are everywhere.

{ brain dump... }

2011-05-03T09:14:00.010-06:00

**
i need a vacation. for reals. chicago in 3 weeks cannot come soon enough!
**
i have decided to take a facebook break. because it really is a significant waste of time.
**
yesterday was sunny, today is cloudy. shocker.
**
sunday was a whirlwind day. our ward boundaries got realigned and it was the first sunday with all our new people...and since i'm the relief society president now...my life was (is) CRAZY.
**
i miss the boys pictured above so much it almost hurts.
**
lauren and charlie both moved home...about a week and a half ago...and i miss them.
**
pretty much everyone i know is having a baby soon. really. it's getting out of hand.
**
even though sunday was an absolute whirlwind, i managed to avoid a breakdown at the close of the day. yay!
**
i sure wish i knew where my future husband is. he's killing me.
**
i was definitely up at 3am on friday to watch the royal wedding. and i've looked at pretty much every picture of it since. something about it is simply fascinating.
**
reese's mini peanut butter cups are the best. perfectly proportioned chocolate & peanut butter. go buy some. you won't regret it.
**

{ winter, winter, winter... }

2011-04-29T18:09:00.004-06:00

i swear it's almost may. you wouldn't know it in utah though. it's snowing outside...again.

oh, and today i picked a date for my work christmas party. already. december 6. feels like we've skipped summer and gone straight to winter all over again.

bah humbug.

{ listen to the music... }

2011-04-27T10:03:00.008-06:00

does anybody ever feel like they have a theme song to their life? you know, that one song that you could listen to over and over again and never get sick of it? the song of course changes to accommodate the different circumstances of your life, and sometimes the song has nothing to do at all with your life directly, but the principle remains the same. for some reason it feeds your soul.

i love music for that very reason. it feeds my soul. it can take away cares, troubles, worries and stresses. it can bring happiness, joy, laughter and delight.

my theme song has changed a lot as of late, and actually i would even venture to say that i have several theme songs that address different aspects of my life and several songs that i love that have nothing to do with my life directly, i just love them.

my current favorite song is "tonight" by sugarland. it falls into the "doesn't relate to my life at all" category, but i love it just the same. maybe it's just because it's a great "sing loud in the car alone" song? it's very hard to say. of course carrie underwood holds a special place in my heart, always, and this song is no absolutely exception. to round off the current favorites with an uneven 3, i'll leave you with a cheery number "i do" by colbie caillat simply because it's happy.

what is your life theme song or "totally unrelated to life" favorite song?

{ it's the weekend... }

2011-04-22T17:51:00.003-06:00

...thank goodness.

this has been one of the longest, busiest, most stressful/emotional weeks i've experienced in a while. and so i'm bidding it farewell with a picture of me and my new birthday scarf from lisa.

happy weekend to you.

{ lessons learned... }

2011-04-20T12:51:00.013-06:00

life is full of lessons. happy lessons. sad lessons. hard lessons. easy lessons. i'm sure you understand. lately, i feel like i've been on a crash course for lessons, all kinds. and i have learned a lot. so i thought i'd share my wisdom with you all. aren't i the best?! :)

**
5 Guys Burgers & Fries will make your tummy hurt...almost for sure...even if it is your birthday...but sometimes it is absolutely worth it.
**
5 hours of sleep is just not enough. i don't care who you are. you will crash. eventually.
**
it's hard to help people improve their lives if they aren't willing to make a change.
**
laughter really is the best medicine.
**
it's always best to be up front and honest with people. especially about how you're feeling. even if it's hard...in the long run, it's always better.
**
it's good to have a birthday...you don't have to buy yourself lunch that week :)
**
communication is key in any relationship. whether it's work, church, personal, or otherwise. bad communication will cause major problems. always.
**
cupcakes are of the devil. seriously though.
**
you shouldn't wear capris in utah in april. even if they are cute new ones that are a much smaller size than you've worn for the last 10 years of your life. because it is cold in utah in april. i may or may not have learned this lesson today...
**
trail mix should really only contain m&m's, almonds, cashews and a very few raisins and peanuts. inevitably people pick out the almonds, cashews and m&m's and leave the other two...
**

{ words of wisdom... }

2011-04-19T10:48:00.003-06:00

"Someday everything will all make perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason."

good idea, huh? i think i'll give it a try...

{ twenty six... }

2011-04-18T11:43:00.006-06:00

yesterday was my birthday. i turned twenty-six. and thanks for many wonderful family and friends it was a very happy birthday!

i'd be lying if i said twenty-six didn't feel slightly weird. i mean i'm not in my early-twenties anymore, and i'm not technically in my mid-twenties anymore. i'm getting into my late-twenties. weird.

twenty-five was a dream-filled year for me. really and truly. last year i had hoped it would be a great one, and it did not disappoint. it's gonna take some great things to beat it.

but, since i'm very lucky, i think great things will continue to come. i just have a feeling. and i hope that next year i will look back on twenty-six and be blown away at how much better it was than twenty-five.

and so, here's to hoping and wishing on my birthday...may twenty-six be filled with greatness!

oh, and my sister hacked into my blog and put up the two posts below...isn't she nice?!

Oops, silly me

2011-04-18T06:01:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday GILLIE!

One year older and you really do look more beautiful than ever before! We think you are one of the most talented, witty, sweet, caring, and diligent women (you are 26 now) we know and we miss you and your beautiful smile like crazy. Happy Day Gie! Hope you had a wonderful day and more importantly we hope you have a wonderful 27th year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GILLIE!

2011-04-17T14:37:00.001-06:00

One year older and looking great!

{ i'm just a girl... }

2011-04-11T16:41:00.010-06:00

**
...and sometimes i over-analyze things.
**
...and sometimes i wish i lived in california (or anywhere really...) where the spring weather is nice.
**
...and sometimes i think too much.
**
...and sometimes i get anxious and my tummy hurts and i don't want to eat anything but cadbury eggs.
**
...and sometimes i wish i could turn my brain off at night so i could sleep.
**
...and sometimes i wake up with a headache...but the sun is shining...and i get my tax return...and then i feel blah in the afternoon...and i go home to an empty house...and feel totally overwhelmed with life...and then have funfetti cake with my friends...
**
and sometimes i wish i were still the same 3-year-old, frizzy haired little girl in the above picture reading books with my dad...it was so much easier then.
**

...but most days...i'm just a girl.

{ the world may never know... }

2011-04-06T21:34:00.015-06:00

have you ever thought of things the world may never know? well, i have. and tonight, here's what i came up with...

**
...how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop...obviously...
**
...if boys read blogs...
**
...the exact number of days you can go before cutting your bangs. it's an exact number...one day they're fine, the next you can't see a thing...
**
...why you can proofread an email like a thousand times and not find a single error...and the exact second you hit "send", you spot the error. and there's no turning back.
**
...the reason we drive on parkways and park on driveways...
**
...how boys always have a ladder in their garage...always...
**
...what is up with utah's weather...hot...cold...hot...cold...
**
...how i got lucky enough to find a roundtrip plane ticket to chicago in may for only $280. it's fate i guess...

{ today's truths... }

2011-04-04T11:57:00.015-06:00

**
i need summer weather...desperately.
**
general conference was great this weekend.
**
i have a box of truffles in my office from my sister lauren...and i may or may not have taken one bite out of a few of them and put them back in the box.
**
my arm is turning purple thanks to a dumb health screening this morning where blood samples were necessary.
**
my hair needs to be cut. blah.
**
the parentals are coming on saturday. and i'm excited.
**
i am actually getting a pretty good tax return this year. shocking since i didn't get married or have a baby last year. i guess somebody up above loves me :)
**
i turn 26 in two weeks. and i don't know quite how i feel about it.
**
it snowed saturday night. see my first point above.
**
i still love my iphone.
**
the dumb smoke detector in my dining room beeped throughout the night last night. and it's in the ultimate highest part of the ceiling, so i couldn't get to it to take out the battery. i felt like phoebe from friends.
**
today is my mother's birthday....happy birthday rosie! love you!!!
**

{ the fool of april... }

2011-04-01T10:39:00.008-06:00

it's april fool's day. not generally my favorite day, because i am one of the most gullible people on the planet, and i'm also the worst liar on the planet. air-go i'm not good at playing jokes because i give it away and i hate having jokes played on me because i always fall for them. always.

last night we had a scholarship dinner at the marriott center and came away with like a thousand (slight exaggeration) helium filled balloons. we had two options as we cleaned up last night. release the balloons into the atmosphere or somehow transport them back to the office to use for fun and games. we chose the latter. and this is how we got them back to the office (see photo below...). we almost lost lia's arm in the process (holding balloons out the window while driving...even 5 mph...is incredibly stressful on your muscles...seriously though...), and i almost peed my pants due to hysterical laughter. but we made it.

and today we played a harmless prank on tom holmoe, our athletic director and boss. for april fools. because it's fun. we took all thousand balloons and stuffed them in his car. and when i say stuffed...i mean stuffed.

and of course lia fashioned us a little sign so he'd know who the thoughtful gift was from...and we even included a push pin to help him get into his car this afternoon :)

aren't we the best assistants ever?!

{ gillian with a "g"... }

2011-03-30T09:39:00.005-06:00

i realize this is out of the ordinary in america, but my name is gillian and it's spelled with a "g".

over the course of my life, i've gotten used to correcting people on the pronunciation of my name, as well as giving a courtesy laugh when people come up with "original" nicknames...like gilligan...haha...when really i want to say, "you're not very original, i heard that in the 7th grade. nice try though."

it's with a "g" because my mom didn't want me to be called jill. and by and large, that has worked beautifully for me in my life. generally people don't call me jill, which i appreciate, because i really don't like that nickname. at all.

and although i wouldn't trade my name for anything, especially the spelling, it can be kind of annoying when people spell it wrong. especially when you spell it for them. and then you don't get email confirmations and important things at work because they spelled it wrong. after you just spelled it for them.

learn to listen people...i'm just sayin'...

this lack of listening can on occasion work to my advantage though...remember my brush with the law??

{ fairytales... }

2011-03-27T22:38:00.014-06:00

have you seen the movie "enchanted"? don't be embarassed to admit it, we're all friends here. it's a classic really. there's nothing quite like watching dr. mcdreamy pretend to be prince charming while amy adams makes dresses out of his drapes and sings her way through central park. seriously though...

well, associated with that movie is a song recorded by my all time favorite, carrie underwood. and of course you can't buy just the single, you have to purchase the entire movie soundtrack...but that's a whole other issue. i heard the song last night (possibly as the movie credits were rolling...) and i loved it. again. it goes like this.

storybook endings, fairytales coming true.
deep down inside we wanna believe they still do.
and a secret is taught, it's our favorite part of the story
let's just admit we all want to make it too

ever ever after
if we just don't get in our own way
ever ever after
it may only be a wish away

starting your fashion, wear your heart on your sleeve
sometimes you reach what's real just by making believe
unafraid, unashamed there is joy to be claimed in this world
you even might wind up being glad to be you

ever ever after
though the world will tell you it's not smart
ever ever after
the world can be yours if you let your heart
believe in ever after

no wonder your heart feels its flying
your head feels its spinning
each happy ending's a brand new beginning
let yourself be enchanted, you just might break through

to ever ever after
forever could even start today
ever ever after
maybe it's just one wish away
your ever ever after
ever ever ever after

and so tonight, i just want to say that i believe fairytales exist. i believe happily ever after exists. i believe in magic and dreams. i believe we are meant to have our lives filled with endless joy. i believe we will not be given anything we can't handle. and i believe that we can all have our very own happily ever after.

the end.

{ el primer ano... }

2011-03-25T09:45:00.003-06:00

i like anniversaries. they make me feel like i've accomplished something. whether it is just surviving the past year, or if it is thriving in the past year. they are something to be celebrated.

today i am celebrating that the past year has been one of the best. i started my job one year ago today. and it has been a fairly glorious year. of course there was a huge learning curve and of course i messed things up...a lot. but, i wouldn't change it for the world.

i feel like in a small way my job saved me. it made me me again. and i think i had misplaced a lot of me for a while. i guess that's what happens in survival mode? i don't know. but i'm back. and i'm happy. really, really happy :)

oh, and in case you don't know spanish...the header to this post says "the first year" AND in case you didn't know...i'm rockin' unwashed/unbrushed hair (again) in this picture, which i took this morning. don't judge, it was kind of a late night...

{ houston, i have a problem... }

2011-03-23T14:17:00.015-06:00

i used to always think that it would be the greatest thing ever if all my clothes were too big because i had lost weight. because what's better than buying a new wardrobe because your current one is too big? not much.

well, it has happened. i've lost weight...like almost 25 pounds...and my clothes are too big. like the kind of big where i can take my pants off without unbuttoning them and they slide right off with minimal effort. or the kind of big where my entire shoe/foot is invisible because my pants sit so low on my waist that the leg drags a few inches on the floor. or the kind of big that my co-workers are suggesting i purchase new pants because, quite frankly, it looks like i'm wearing a bag of material with no shape to it. awesome.

and so the one thing that i thought would be the greatest thing ever, is now a problem. because the fact of the matter is, that clothes are expensive. and buying all (well...not ALL...) new ones is extremely expensive.

and so, i have one pair of pants and 3 shirts that i just purchased this weekend (at gap friends & family 30%) that fit. so if you see me wearing repeat outfits every 3 days...or the same pair of pants every day...don't judge.

{ questions of today... }

2011-03-21T17:50:00.005-06:00

**
is it weird to anyone else that on the day you wake up super (uncharacteristically) late and don't have time to wash (and don't bother to brush) your hair, that everyone compliments it?
**
why is it that when you are beyond exhausted, it takes an hour (if not more) to fall asleep at night?
**
why when you can't seem to stomach any other food (for various reasons), can you still manage to eat cadbury hard-shelled chocolate eggs? you know the ones i'm talking about...
**
and if my hair looks so much better unwashed/unbrushed, why do i bother to do it most days?
**
why in utah was it snowing this morning and now it's sunny and beautiful (if perhaps still a bit chilly)? it's confusing.
**
why do i remember buying shaving cream on saturday and now it's nowhere to be found? i might've left it at the store...or it could be rolling around in my trunk...i should really go look...
**

ok, cause i was just wondering...

{ one of the best... }

2011-03-19T21:22:00.004-06:00

you know those people in your life who are just the best? and you would do anything for them cause you know they would for you? i have one of those. her name is jodie. and she's the best.

jodie and i randomly met each other a year and a half ago through a craigs list post because she needed a roommate and i needed a place to live. we've endured some hard times in each other's lives and have seen each other at our best and at our worst. and yet, we are still friends. pretty great friends.

i tell jodie everything. EVERYTHING. she is a saint as she sits and listens to me talk about the same things over and over again usually a boy...or work...but sometimes i branch out on my topics of discussion :)

she's one of the funniest people and smiles all the time. quite literally. watching american idol with her is a riot mainly because every time steven tyler is put on camera she breaks into hysterical laughter over what he is wearing. every. single. time. the minute a march madness game finishes she grabs her yellow highlighter and marks her bracket, which for some reason, i find so funny. she teaches school and loves her students more than anything.

like i said, sometimes you find those people in your life who are the best. and jodie is definitely one of those :)

{ "just like jimmer..." }

2011-03-17T17:45:00.004-06:00

last friday night bryson watched jimmer score 52 points while playing new mexico in the mountain west conference tournament. and that night he decided he wanted to be "just like jimmer." he wanted a jersey that was "white with a 3 on the front and a 3 on the back and a 2 on the front and a 2 on the back and black stripes on the sides." so christie called and asked if i could purchase a "jimmer" jersey at the byu bookstore and put it in the mail, because nothing else would do.

bryson got his "jimmer" jersey in the mail today and did a little photo shoot. don't you think he looks just like jimmer?

click on photo to enlarge :)

{ tangled... }

2011-03-16T08:44:00.008-06:00

**
did you know that 55 degrees feels like heaven after a freezing winter? cause it does.
**
did you know that i went on another motorcycle ride yesterday? cause i did.
**
did you know that i was a much better, not so nervous passenger the second time around? cause i was.
**
did you know that the morning after a motorcycle ride your hair is super duper tangled? cause it is.
**
did you know that the picture above was taken with an iphone on said motorcycle ride? cause it was.
**

{ let it begin... }

2011-03-14T21:00:00.002-06:00

in case you need me in the afternoons...i can be found overlooking the field above and "supervising" spring football camp :) it started today and i love it!

{ dear bryson... }

2011-03-12T13:41:00.006-07:00

it seems like just yesterday you were born. i remember the night perfectly. the excitement in our family was at an all-time high as we sat in the waiting room at the hospital anxiously waiting for your arrival. we were all lucky enough to be at the hospital in new mexico and it was one of the best nights ever. we ate pizza for dinner and checked on your mom and dad as the hours went by. as time seemed to crawl by, your uncle charlie and gramps kept us entertained with bathroom stories and lots of laughter (i'll show you the video some day...even today it makes me die of laughter). finally around 12:40pm on march 12, 2007 you were born and our family would never be the same. i know i'm not alone when i say that i can't imagine what our family was ever like before you were around. you're the best nephew i could ever ask for and i love you more than anything and miss you like crazy every day. i hope you have a wonderful 4th birthday and i'm coming to chicago to visit you soon (hopefully in may).

happy happy birthday bryson!!

love,
aunt gillie

p.s. your jimmer jersey is in the mail :)

{ oops... }

2011-03-11T17:41:00.005-07:00

today when i got home from work my plant looked a little sad and wilty. after a healthy swig of water and 30 minutes recovery time, it looked much happier. i guess water is kinda important...

{ byu football banquet... }

2011-03-10T15:32:00.005-07:00

you know those things in life that you never think you'll get to do? it seems as if i have been experiencing many of those in the past year, and they almost all involve my job.

last night i was privileged to be invited to the byu football banquet. again, a night of free food with my favorite co-workers? it's a no brainer really. lauren was my lovely date, we got a picture with Coach Mendenhall, and we all had a really good Wednesday evening!

{ dear rain... }

2011-03-07T16:31:00.007-07:00

normally i find myself wishing you would go away so we could see the sun, because let's face it, i love the sun. but today i am enjoying you...a lot actually. maybe it's because when you're around it means it's not snowing...which then means it's a bit warmer? or perhaps its because i get to wear my cute rain boots? i don't know. i can't believe you're still around really though, since you've been hanging around outside for the last 5 hours...and it doesn't look like you're going away anytime soon.

i am glad you stayed away for the weekend however, because it allowed me to have a really fun one...hiking the "Y" friday night and experiencing my first motorcycle ride on saturday. and although i was a bit nervous (one might say extremely nervous...) on the motorcycle, it was really fun :)

happy monday!
love,
gillie

{ a brush with the law... }

2011-03-06T18:40:00.005-07:00

friday night i was telling a friend that i have always been fairly "straight laced." i'm usually not one to bend the rules or push the limits. i just prefer to stay away from trouble and danger.

well...until saturday that is...

saturday i had a "brush with the law..." my work partners in crime (literally), lia and lisa and i were working at an event saturday morning to honor legendary basketball coach stan watts. the event was held at the stadium. when we were finished we were getting ready to go get something to eat and we decided to stop real quick for a picture on the field (it was lia's idea...i'm all about blame here...)

we walked onto the field, snapped a few photos and then heard a distant voice yell, "hey!" we turned around to see a police officer standing at the field entrance yelling that we needed to get off the field. since we're extremely compliant individuals, we walked toward him and apologized. the rest of the conversation went something like this...

officer: you're not allowed on the field, it's trespassing.
lisa: we're sorry, we work for the athletic department and were working the event in the blue zone and just wanted a quick picture.
officer: yes, but it's trespassing, didn't you see the sign?
lia: well, we're actually the AD's assistants...
officer: well, it's still trespassing, it's a rule from the athletic department.
lia: yeah, we know, we work for the athletic department, we're the AD's assistants...
officer: yeah, i know, but it's trespassing for anyone. i'm gonna have to get your names.
us: ok, we're really sorry.
officer: can i get your names?

the three of us proceed to give him our names and ID numbers (where lisa clarified that we're not students...just in case he missed that the 10 times we said it...). i was even so kind as to spell my name for him, because let's face it, people just don't spell it right...ever.

and so we were left off with a warning and he took each of our names. lisa johnson, lia barlow and jullian chavez (that's how he spelled it, after he asked if there was only one "n" at the end of gillian...really? how many "n"s would you put on??? and is it my fault he didn't listen to me when i spelled it out?! nope, and you can bet your bottom dollar i didn't correct him!)

as we left we got a good laugh out of the whole event. lia even sent tom (the athletic director) a quick text that went something like this..."if you get a police report that your assistant and her homegirls were trespassing on the football field don't fire us, ok?"

haha, good times :)

oh, and we're hoping our story will make it into the school newspapers "police beat". i'll let you know how that turns out!

{ let's get real... }

2011-03-01T08:23:00.005-07:00

**
today is a pulled back kinda hair day...but it kinda looks cute...
**
i signed up for a photography class that starts in march. and i'm really excited about it.
**
last night i dreamt about jimmer fredette...more specifically about videos of jimmer fredette on youtube...raps, songs, video reels, etc...wow...needless to say, it wasn't a real great night's sleep.
**
i realized i've never actually put a picture of my office on my blog. so (in case you care...) here you go.
**
the sun is shining today. and i love the sun.
**
last night i managed to go to and leave FHE without eating a single krispy kreme doughnut...which means i successfully avoided a severe stomach ache for the rest of the night...
**
i need more vacation days. i've got too many places to go/things i want to do and not enough days to do them.
**
you know those times when you start crying /sobbing for no real apparent reason? yeah, i had one of those on sunday...in the middle of church...it was awesome.
**
i can't believe it's already march 1st.
**
i bought new jeans saturday night...in a smaller size...happy day...
**

{ in case you haven't heard... }

2011-02-27T17:24:00.004-07:00

the byu cougars are killin' it this year. the men's basketball team is ranked in the top ten (perhaps top 5 when tomorrow's rankings come out???) and are making a good case for themselves in the upcoming NCAA tournament. somehow i lucked out and got sweet tickets to the home games and i've had a wide variety of guests accompany me to the games, including the two pictured below...lauren and charlie :) we've only got 2 more home games until the MWC tournament and then...bring on the March Madness!