Some Goals

I was going to make a list of 24 things to do before I turn 24 this year, but I couldn't come up with that many doable things.

Maybe because it's 10:00 at night you know. I really need to start going to bed earlier probably.

1. I decided to start easy. Watch every episode left of Once Upon a Time. Because it's awesome. :)

2.Post on this here blog more often. Like once a week. It's been getting neglected and I know I need to keep myself updated on any happenings.

3. In the same train of thought, I need to take more picture of James and me. I've gotten lax about pulling my camera out for us, but we have hardly any pictures from the year and a half that we have been married. Which is just sad.

4.Start doing p90x again. I enjoyed it the first time I did it, and saw pretty good results. So I think it's time to start again. This might kill me, by the way. Please bring brownies to my funeral if it does. :)

5. Pack good lunches. I am TERRIBLE at packing healthy, delicious lunches that I actually want to eat. So I'm going to scour Pinterest and come up with better ideas than crackers, Cinnamon Apple Straws, and fruit cups.

6. Less screen time. More interactions with real people. I think it's really important to cultivate personal relationships, be it with a spouse or family or friends. I find that if my phone, tv, or computer are handy, it's easy to get caught up in my various screens. I want to make a concerted effort to put them down and enjoy my life.

7. Improve my photography. I would absolutely LOVE to be able to make photography my stay at home business slash income. To do this, I need to improve my skills, market my business, and obtain and please clients. Easy peasy. Just kidding.

8. Our office space is atrocious. Boxes everywhere. I can't do much about the boxes, but I can take all the Goodwill bags to Goodwill, organize the desk and desk space, etc.

9. Drink more water. I'm really bad about dehydrating my body during the day. I need to start taking a water bottle to work and actually drinking out of it! I'm pretty good about drinking just water or milk, and only every now and then a soda or juice. I'm just guilty of making my water into Crystal Light constantly. Time to break that habit.

10. Be a schoolteacher again. I miss teaching, so much.

11. Take the two tests I need to to stay Texas licensed.

12. Simple, but important. I want to remember to be happy. :)

13. I want to write in my journal more often. Last time I wrote was right after our wedding! Yikes, it's been a long time. I love going back and reading old journal entries, so I made a goal to write once a week. That's reasonable.

14. Eat more fruit. I'm pretty good at eating veggies. Time to start eating more fruit. Because it's delicious and nutritious. :)

15. A secret goal. (and no, Mom, I'm not pregnant :))

16. I'm learning, but at the moment I am nowhere near proficient at the organ. I'd love to learn to play really, really well.

17. Learn to sew. I would love to be able to make simple things like curtains, simple quilts, etc. I need to learn to use a machine. Mom, wanna teach me how to do it??

And that's it! Quite a list, but I think they are all pretty doable for now.

And now I feel very productive, even though I'll I've done is write this blog post. Haven't actually accomplished anything, but I feel like I have. :)

What Do I Make?

This. This is what I make.

A difference.

My Dear Friend Lisa. Frank, that is.

Today, at Walmart, (which, by the way, is a terrible start to a story), I grabbed a binder to hold all my random recipes. I grabbed this binder:

Or something like it anyway. Mine's pink. But it's sparkly, and that's really all that matters in this world. Except, I was very, very, disappointed. Want to know why?? Because they did not sell binders with things like this on them:

Oh, Lisa Frank! I miss  you! I had a LF Trapper Keeper, folders, pencils, erasers, stickers, a diary, and probably more. It was the one trend that my mom indulged me on. :) And I kind of wanted a Lisa Frank binder for my recipes! Even though I'm almost 23 and all grown up now. Supposedly. I still wanted Lisa Frank in my life. I mean, who couldn't use a bit of this colorful, animally goodness?

In Which I Make a Fool of Myself on the Corner of Main and Center Streets in Pleasant Grove

Otherwise known as: The Incident of the Yellow Jacket in my Car

I have a very distinct fear of being stuck by a bee. Or really, anything with a stinger, I'm not picky. So you can imagine my dismay at finding a yellow jacket in my car today. The story goes as follows:


Hooray, school's out! I can go home! I thought. I walked out of Greenwood, through the front doors, past a few children whose parents had forgotten to pick them up on time, and into my car. I sat down, buckled my seat belt, and turned on the AC full blast (it's 80 degrees today!).

All of a sudden, I heard a buzzing noise behind my head. Thinking it was just a fly, I turned my head. Nope, not a fly. YELLOW JACKET on my rear windowsill!! Aaaaahhhhh I screamed inside my head. I let out a little squeal and immediately rolled down my window and jumped out of my car. I ran around to open all 4 doors (so the jacket would have to get out) and realized they were locked. Crap. I unlocked the doors, opened them all, and saw the yellow jacket fly out of the passenger door.

Or so I thought.

I hopped back in the car, turned it off, closed all the windows, and listened closely. No buzzing. Phew, I survived, I thought. What a funny story to tell my mother tonight.

I got home without incident, locked my door, and went inside. I started working on some school stuff. My sister in law, Jen, called me asking if I could pick up some things for her from a little print shop here in PG. Since she works in Santaquin, she wouldn't be able to pick it up before they closed.

I got in my car, turned up the radio, sang along to Lee Brice (love that song!) and reached Pro Digital Photos in no time at all. Picked up Jen's envelopes, waited FOREVER for a break in traffic to back out of the parking spot, and left ProDigital. All of a sudden, there it is. Right in my face!!!

you guessed it.  It was that stinking yellow jacket again. It kept flying around my face and my car. By this point, I was at the stop sign at the intersection of Center Street and Main Street in PG. Right in the middle of town. Of course. I hurriedly turned right, pulled over, and literally leaped out of my car.

Same problem with doors being locked. I unlocked the doors, opened the driver and passenger doors. Then I proceeded to plead with the yellow jacket. Out loud. Keep in mind, I'm in the middle of a busy intersection in PG. "Please get out of my car! Please, please!" I finally just decided to shoo it out, so I grabbed a napkin and started shooing.

Well, the darn thing came flying right at me, so, naturally, I screamed and ducked. It flew out of my car, so I slammed the door and started running back to the driver's side. As I was running, I just knew that it was following above my head, so I ran while ducking back to my seat. Slammed my door and took a deep breath. It was gone. Finally.

How I Feel Right Now:

I mean, seriously.


I am DONE with this place!!! Pretty pretty please!