My Birthday 10/12/12!!!

       Over the last few years, I have come across many individuals who don't like birthdays. They don't like getting older, they don't like celebrating, or maybe they just have never had a real birthday. For me, I enjoy every minute of my birthday. Sometimes, I enjoy the entire week of my birthday.  We all have our own ways of celebrating and mine happen to be a little extreme. My brother and I are exactly 8 years and 4 days apart. Growing up we always celebrated our birthdays together. Not many can say that they enjoy sharing their birthdays with another sibling. But for me, I was the youngest and I always got what I wanted. One year, my mother had told us that we were going to have one birthday cake for the both of us. Scott wanted a Batman cake, I wanted a barbie cake.  When the day of our party arrived and my mother brought out the barbie cake, Scott was not happy. Ever since then, Scott hates cake. I figure that my birthday is the one day out of the year that I get to celebrate me, and me alone. For that reason alone is why I love birthdays!
    This year was an awesome birthday as well. Since Scott's birthday is 4 days before mine we usually just celebrate it together with our parents and do our owns things on the actual birthday! This year we decided to go to the Brick Oven for the family dinner. It was amazing!!! I had never been there before and needless to say we will be going back. You can either choose between pizza or pasta. It is all you can eat. With the pasta it comes with all you can eat salad, soup, and bread. You can choose any type of pasta you want and they make it in front of you. And then you can put any sauce you want. It's amazing. My brother and sister in law got the pizza buffet. With that you also get all you can eat salad a soup. They have waiters come around to your table bringing slices of all sorts of pizza. It was so amazing. I think that might be where we go from now on for every birthday!
     Gabe knows how stressed out I have been the last few months, so for my present he gave me a spa day! It was amazing. The massage is just what i needed. I must have been really tense, because the therapists could not stop talking about how tight my back was and how many knots I had. She did an amazing job and if I had the money I could go every week. Since I have been on this diet, I have not had any junk food. I have been craving a hamburger like no other. So for lunch Gabe took me to get a hamburger. He is so sweet, massage and a hamburger what more can a girl ask for?  ha ha. Then we did a little shopping. I tried to find a new outfit. But I feel that I am at that awkward stage in my diet where the clothes I have now are way to big but the smaller size don't fit quite right. I guess eating that hamburger today did not help any. So of course the one thing that fits no matter how much weight you lose. SHOES!!!! I bought some really cute boots for the winter. Then for dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory, because that is the other thing that I have been craving is cheesecake. Dinner was delicious and the Dulce DE Leche cheesecake was AMAZING!!! It was a great birthday. I am so lucky to have a great husband who spoils me rotten, and wonderful family and friends who also spoil me. Can't wait to see what this next year brings!!!!

Good Times!

Well since I have not written anything in awhile I figured that I would fill you all in on the things that have happened this month. Nothing too exciting we just live a semi-normal life. But here we go.
Gabe started his new job in the beginning of August. He absolutely loves it. Gabe  also started school the end of August. I guess he loves that too. He only has one more semester after this one and then he will be done. YAY!!! I can't wait. Gabe's family is planning on coming out to visit us the end of December and New Years and then we are all taking a big trip to San Diego.  I can't wait, it will be the first time that we have been on actual vacation with Gabe's family together.  I love his mom and brother so much and we miss them so much that this will be an awesome thing. Since Gabe lost his job earlier this year we have not been able to really have a vacation since we went to Brazil in December. It defiantly is needed. As far as me, same old same old. Still working, paying the bills, that's about it. Although, I have had a breakthrough. The closer Gabe gets to finishing school and us planning our future the more we have talked about having children. I of course want to be a mother more than anything in the world. I figured that I needed to lose weight and really lose weight. A co-worker of mine and good friend did the Jillian Micheal's Body Revolution diet and got great results. I figured that I would too. It is so hard for me to stick to a diet without an exact meal plan because if it were left up to me to choose I would pick the junk over healthy food. This 90 day program gives you exercise plan and meal plan for the entire 90 days. It is fantastic. Gabe is not much of a dieter and was not to keen on the idea. I do not want any risks with having a baby. I do not want to put myself nor my child in danger because of something that I could have changed! So, Gabe and I started. It has been about two weeks and we are already seeing awesome results. The first week was more of a jump start week. We were really restricted on what we could eat. No carbs, no fruit, no caffeine!!! It was so hard for me. Gabe and I were both addicted to caffeine and suddenly not having it I went through so much caffeine withdrawal. I feel like I had a migraine the entire week. It was hard and I wanted to give-up but I knew that this is something that I had to do for me and my future children. Guess what? I am doing it! The first week of the diet I lost 11 pounds and Gabe lost 10. We have not weighed ourselves in this week but I am sure we have lost even more. Yesterday I put on my capri's and they nearly fell right off.  I feel good, I get a little discouraged at times because although I can feel the results I am not so sure that I can see them yet. Everyone has told me that it takes awhile to start to notice. But I feel so much healthier and the best part is I don't really crave sweets. I will have moments when I wish I could have a brownie or a little chocolate but when I think about the bigger picture it really is not worth it. Things are going great here and Gabe and I are happy!

Blessings

I wrote awhile ago about trials and how our life seemed to be on a rough road. It still has been for some time. I would myself discouraged, and unhappy on the things that Gabe and I did not have. I have learned a lesson the last few months. I learned that Gods time is not our time. I know that this trial of ours may have only been a few months. To us seemed like it dragged on forever. In April Gabe had lost his job. We were devestaed. It was a very difficult time for us. I had my job but we did not think we could make it on that alone. At times it was difficult to look at others and not be envious of what they had. It was hard to feel like we were doing everything that we were supposed to and still be so discouraged.
Lucky for us Gabe and I have great people in our lives to give us encouragement and advice. It was those people that made things a lot easier. A few days ago Gabe received a new job. We could not be happier. Although we felt like it was forever without one, to Heavenly Father it really was not. I cannot express how grateful I am for the many blessings that I have received throughout my life.  I have an amazing husband who I am so proud of. It's such a blessing to have such a great man by my side. He lifts me when I am down, he cries when I cry. He smiles when I smile. For the last few months I have focused on the things they I did not have rather than the things I do have. I have a husband who loves me unconditionally. I have family who are there whenever I need them. And I have friends who care about me. Looking back on the last few months as much discouragement and sadness that I thought was in my life there was ten times more happiness that I did not focus on. I think about those that have a much harder life than I do. I am not sure how they make it without family, friends, and a great spouse. Yeah the first year of marriage has been challenging, but I think it's made us stronger. I love Gabe more today then I ever have. I know that when Heavenly Father sends us another trial, I know that we can get through it. It may be hard, it may seem like forever, but in the end the blessings you receive after are far better than your can imagine.

A New Decade!!!

Guess what??? Gabe turned the big 30 today. To be honest, he was not all that excited. I have been hearing about this day since he turned 29. " In 365 days I will no longer be in my twenties!" In 180 days I will no longer be in my twenties!" In less then 12 hours I will no longer be in my twenties!" This is a common phrase that has been going around our house  for the last 365 days by yours truly, Gabe.  I am not sure if it was the fact that he was reaching a new decade, or the realization that he is getting older that he was unsure about. Never the less, I tried to make his birthday as pleasant as it could be.
   I had a family dinner for him on Saturday. We held it at Golden Corral in Layton. It turned out wonderful and everyone had a great time. Thank you to everyone that came!

                                         My cousins Tim, Michele, Becky, Dean, Trace, Jeron, Brea

                                                      My cute little niece Juliet!!!

                                          Aunt Barbara, Cousins Tami, Zach, Brynlee, Jaxon

                                                      My handsome brother Scottie!!!

                                My other cute niece Noel and awesome sister-in-law Brooke!

                                                        Cousin Tayler and Kassie
I also thought that it would be a cute idea to make a candy bar poster. I found this cute little saying and my friend Tiffany helped me.

Gabe is not a huge cake fan so every year for his birthday we just make cupcakes. Last year lemon meringue. This year red velvet pecan with cream cheese frosting!!!

Today, I took Gabe to Village Inn for Breakfast. Then we drove up to Park City where we went to the World Market, Red Banjo Pizza for lunch, and the outlet malls to do a little shopping. Then we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Ruby Tuesday followed by watching a movie. I think that Gabe enjoyed the day and I think the fear of turning 30 is finally over. I can now live in peace for the next nine years until a new decade begins!

P.S. Two years ago today Gabe and I became an official couple. Time sure does fly by!

Simple Joys

I feel as though I am the most random person in the world. When I get an idea in my head I continue to think about it and think about it some more. For those that don't know this, I used to play the violin. I started playing in the fifth grade. When in the fifth grade it was a requirement that we all had to play the violin for music class. All the students learned a few songs and we played in a concert. At the time I did not think much about it and honestly it seemed worthless. I am sure that a group of ninety fifth graders that had only a few months experience of playing the violin did not sound very good. But we all did and once the concert was over so was my career of playing the violin. Or so I thought. Well when I entered middle school most of my good friends were in orchestra and I wanted to be too. Of course I had some experience in playing the violin so I thought I would give it a shot. I rented a violin from school and joined the orchestra. I thought it was fantastic. I practiced everyday, learned how to read music, and was involved in school. As the years went on I continued to play and watched several other kids in Orchestra advance a lot faster than I  did. I did not care I was having fun doing it.
    I would find that when I was sad, depressed, and or angry I would lock myself in my room, pull out my violin and practice. If I was sad I would play something slow and depressing. If I was angry I would play something fast and loud. I guess I never realized that playing the violin was my way of expressing my feelings. When I finally hit high school I realized that I had not progressed as much as I would have liked on the violin. So my mother got me into private lessons. I had a wonderful teacher who was very patient and understanding. If I were her I probably would have given up on me way before I even started. But she taught me how to be a better player. She encouraged me to get over my shyness and to play in front of people. I felt like I was doing really well. In high school we had an advanced orchestra and an intermediate orchestra. I was never good enough to get into the advanced orchestra and I was always stuck in intermediate. Finally in my senior year of high school I dropped out of orchestra. I was discouraged that I had worked so hard and never made it to advanced. I continued to do lessons and mostly just played for myself. When I moved down SLC to go school I had to quit lessons and I put my violin away. In the five years that I have lived here in SLC I think that I have only taken out my violin twice. Gabe and I have been together 2 years and he has never even seen it little lone heard me play.
     For the last few months I have randomly been thinking about my old dusty violin and wondering if I should start it up again. So today I did it. I got it out! The hair on my bow was coming out, the violin was dusty and it was badly out of tune. I quickly tuned it and got out the hymn book. I started to play I know that my Redeemer lives. I was still able to read the notes and remember where to place my fingers. I am sure I sounded like I was in the fifth grade again.  I am pretty sure that Gabe wanted to cover his ears and run away, and I am pretty sure that if I had played any longer than I had that the neighbors would have called the police. But when playing all the feelings of peace and comfort came back. I suddenly realized why I played the violin in the first place. It was the one thing that I was good at. It was the one thing that I could turn too when I needed to get away from what I was feeling. It was the one way that I could express how I felt. It is amazing to me how much music can affect your life. I may have never been the best violin player in the world, I may never be. I realized today that I did play the violin for me. Who knows I may pick it up again, or I may just save it for one of my children. But was a nice reminder that when life seems too hard and or difficult that music is what helps me get through it.

1 year!!!!!

We officially made it through our one year of marriage. Gabe and I celebrated our anniversary yesterday.  It is amazing to me how much time flies. It seems that we only just began dating and that we have not even begun to discuss marriage. It was such an amazing day! Gabe was so sweet and made breakfast for me french toast and turkey bacon. We did have to go get the oil changed in the car. That was not the best part of the day but it had to be done. After the oil, we went to the gateway! Decided to have lunch there and wait for the movie to start. After the movie we came home and got ready for dinner. Gabe had made reservations at the Melting Pot. We had never been there before was not sure to expect. It was fabulous! For those of you that have never been there The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant. We had the four course meal for the both of us. First we had cheese fondue, we chose to have Swiss cheese that they made right in front of us, then we had a salad, then came the meat fondue. They brought out raw  pieces of sirloin, steak, chicken, shrimp, pork. We placed the meat in the broth and cooked it ourselves. It was awesome! Then on came dessert, we had Turtle chocolate. Milk chocolate pecans, and Carmel, flambe in front of us. To dip in the chocolate we had strawberries, brownies, cheesecake, bananas, rice krispy treats, red velvet cake, and marshmallow's dipped in graham crackers and Oreo. Needless to say we were absolutely stuffed. It was amazing. We had a wonderful day and I am very grateful that I was able to share it with Gabe. Reflecting back on this last year, it was really hard but we made it. It made me realize that we can go through anything if we do it together and I am very lucky that Gabe is such an amazing person that puts up with me. I cannot wait to see what year two holds for us.

Diet

Alright folks here we go again!!!! I went to the doctor the other day for my yearly checkup. They took my temperature, oxygen level, and then the moment that I dread... The SCALE!!!! I know at the beginning of this year I wrote how I was going to do this diet and lose a thousand pounds and how I was determined and it was actually going to happen. I failed, I failed miserably. I was doing really well I had lost ten pounds and felt so good about myself. Then life happened and somehow that got in the middle of things. So here I am standing on that terrible scale watching for that  horrible number. With no surprise I had gained my ten pounds back. I was not happy. Well sitting in the patient  room waiting for the doctor to come in I noticed a little sign on the wall that read  "Ask me how U can get healthier." So when the doctor came in I did. She proceeded to tell me that there were many resources available to those that needed that extra little push. That is what I need. I need that little extra push. I feel like I can do it, I want to do it, but I need that something extra. There is a nutritionist that works at the clinic one day a week. She sits down with you once a month and makes a diet and exercise plan just for you. And the best part about it is it's free. You don't even have to pay a dime.
        So it is official, I am going to start this diet tomorrow. I feel like I have the determination, will power, and now I have that little bit of extra help. I know that I have  promised myself this many times. But I have to do this for me. This is the one thing that I can control in my life. This is the one thing that I think will make me feel better about myself. Let the dieting begin!!!