Day 23 - Pictures of your favorite books

 

Here are just a small few of my favorite books. I have way too many to choose an absolute favorite. These aren't necessarily my top 4, they are just ones I that I really enjoy and was also able to find pictures of on limited amount of time. As you probably noticed, all of my favorites are "church books". While I can appreciate other books and enjoy many different genres, I have found that the majority of my books come from Seagull Book or Deseret Book. I have quite the library of books too! I think one time I counted how many books I owned and it was over 150...and that was back when I was in high school. What can I say, I love to read!

Just a bit behind....

So obviously I haven't done a post in several days. Honestly, I have no excuse. I sat down at my computer many times determined to do a post, but I found myself doing other things instead. Anyways, I am going to cheat and skip a few. Maybe when I get bored in the next few days I will go back and catch up on the days that I am skipping. But for now, we will just pretend it is day 22.

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Sleep!! I am jealous of this guy. No matter how tired I was, I don't think I could ever fall asleep in that position. I just might be the pickiest sleeper I know. I have the hardest time getting to sleep and staying asleep. Fortunately, I am usually blessed with not needing a ton of sleep to function. I got through college on relatively little sleep. And that worked for me...then. Now, I just wish I could sleep better and longer. This desire mostly comes from wanting the days to pass faster, and if I could sleep all day, then wallah, it would be one day closer to getting this little guy out. But no, my body seems to reject sleep, even when I feel really tired. Then again, maybe it will make me more prepared to wake up with a baby during the night.

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

I have always been really insecure with my body, weight, and the way I look. I haven't felt good about my body since....well I'm not sure I've ever really felt good about it. I have memories as early as the 3rd grade of me wishing I was skinnier. This picture is super unflattering, but I'll let myself slide just a little due to the fact that it was taken when I was 36 weeks pregnant. It's been really hard for me watching the number on the scale go up and up every appointment. I know you have to gain weight when your pregnant, and it's helped having a little bit of an excuse, but I also know that I am not going to be one of those lucky girls that is back into her normal jeans the week after. I read somewhere that most people don't really gain any weight the last few weeks. I've been going on walks every day, and eating normal, so I figured the scale would at least stay the same, if not go down. How the heck did I gain 5 pounds in six days? That's just depressing! I'm hoping some of it is just water weight...or something that will go away quickly. Once this baby is out, I'm no longer going to have an excuse and I will have a lot of work to do. Fabulous.

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

I think it goes without saying that this little guy has probably had the biggest impact on my life in the past few months. He has had an effect on pretty much everything I do. I pushed graduation ahead a little bit so we could have him. I decided not to continue my education or change jobs. We got a bigger apartment. We have been slowly buying all the essential baby items we need. I am not as reckless as I usually am. I can't go more than a few minutes without thinking about him. He has definitely already changed my life.

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

There are many people who have inspired me throughout my life, but I felt that this person deserves a special shout-out. This is one of my closest friends, Kim Newman. I thought this was a fitting picture...she is, afterall,...SUPER KIM! I met Kim my freshman year of college when we were roommates. While we were good friends then, we became much better friends in the following years. She has helped me through many rough times. I have probably had some of my deepest and most meaningful conversations with Kim. I've told her things that I haven't told anyone else. She is one of those friends that I would think to call if I was stranded in the middle of no where, and she is one of those friends that would not hesitate to come get me. She is very intelligent, driven, and she can succeed in whatever she tries. It is nice having her as a friend because she is constantly pushing me to do better. I worked harder in school in an attempt to beat her GPA. I would read my scriptures more and be better at going to church because I knew that Kim did. Anything Kim can do, I can do better, right?? Or not...she has a lot of qualities that I really admire and hope to have myself someday.

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

I have always LOVED traveling and one of my biggest dreams in life is to go to Germany....and the rest of Europe. I have always been fascinated with it and really want to see everything. I would love to just go over to Europe with a small bag full of stuff, and just wander for a few months. Finding random places to stay, and just not making plans, but living day-to-day. 

I have also always really wanted to try surfing. This seems like a much more attainable goal, so I really think that I will be able to get this crossed off my list before I die. Hopefully.

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

I could not imagine my life without Lance. He is so good to me, and I know there are far too many times where I don't show him how much I appreciate all he does.

The weather was so warm yesterday, we had to spend most of the day outside. Lance wanted to go slack-lining. We hadn't been since last summer/fall, but he did so good! I was very impressed how good he was after such a long break. I read and took pictures while he had his fun with his friend Tom.

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

 I do not have a single favorite artist or band. If I could only listen to one person/group for the rest of my life, I honestly do not know who I would pick. It would be a very difficult decision. So is just a small sample of some of the artists I like. It doesn't necessarily mean that these are my top three however.

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

I love my husband!!! This is actually the first picture I have of Lance. It was taken on our first date on my phone. I remember sending this picture to my sister and asking her what she thought.

2. I love our little Will. This picture was taken at 20 weeks, when he was still super small. I can only imagine what he looks like now. Luckily, I will only have to wait a few more weeks to find out!

3. I absolutely love roller coasters and theme parks. My favorite one that I've gone to is Six Flags, Magic Mountain in California. I would choose a vacation to Six Flags over many others. I'm not sure what my deal is, but I think I'm obsessed. Even thinking about it gets me all riled up and excited.

4. I love music! I think I have a fairly good amount of variety in the music I prefer. I definitely get into my moods where I'll listen to one type, or group, for a bit, but overall I think I listen to a good variety. My favorites range from musicals, such as Wicked and Phantom of the Opera, to pop, rock, alternative, etc. I have not learned how to appreciate oldies yet. I don't like the Beatles, Beach Boys, or many of the old classics. Sorry, just don't care for them. Another major turn off, is swearing. If the lyrics aren't clean, I wont be listening to it.

I love a lot of other things also, but we will leave it at that.

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

I hate tomatoes. I hate them on a sandwich, I hate them plain, I hate tomato soup, I hate salsa that has large chunks of tomatoes, or spaghetti sauce with tomato chunks. Get the picture?

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with

This is a picture of me and my friend Ashli Barfuss. She is one of those people that I do the most random things with. This picture was back in 2009, when we had an awesome summer together in Logan before I got married. We would drive around Logan, looking for good trees to climb. We found this tree next to a church up by Utah State. We have climbed it several times since. We had to have at least one snow cone a week, and the radio always seemed to play the same music every time we had one. It was either "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus, or the "ba ba" (sheep) song that we would make fun of. We also found a fun spot of the canal to float down, and had many great memories doing that. I think we spent that entire summer talking in weird accents. If there was a moment we would talk normal, it seemed weird. We tend to be random, obnoxious, and are willing to do almost anything to have a good time.

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

My mom is probably the least selfish person I know. She has never hesitated to put her family first, even though it often requires her to sacrifice a lot. She has always been there for me, helping in whatever way possible. If I have a question about cooking, or anything, she is the first one I call. I couldn't imagine a better mother. Thanks mom, I love you.

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

My most treasured item would have to be:

My portable hard drive. It has 2 things that would be nearly impossible to replace. Number one, it has all of my pictures from about high school and later. And secondly, it has all of my music. Those two things make this item one of the first things I would grab if there was a fire. Most other things can be replaced, but my pictures cannot.

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

Again, can't choose just one person I would want to trade places with.

I think it would be very interesting to trade places with Lance for a day. I often wonder what is going on inside his head and would it would be interesting to see how he thinks. It would also be interesting to view the world from a male perspective.

My second pick would be Jennifer Lopez. This is probably highly influenced by the fact that I just watched American Idol about 5 minutes ago, but oh well. I think it would be fun to see what life is like being famous and living that kind of lifestyle. I honestly don't think I would want to be a celebrity or someone famous always, but I would like to experience it for a day.

And finally, I wouldn't mind trading bodies with this girl for a day. I think her name is Christine Arron, and I really don't know who she is besides the fact that she is an olympic runner. I have never been very good at running, so I think I would enjoy a day where I was actually in decent shape.

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory

I have so many good memories, I definitely couldn't just choose one. So I decided to upload a collection of pictures that remind me of good times throughout my life. I had to scan most of these pictures in, so they may not be the best quality.

Though I don't necessarily remember this, eating chocolate cake batter has to be one of my favorite memories. Been addicted to it since I was young.

Maybe I was happy to be dressed up...I'm not sure.

Going the the lake is definitely in my top 5 things of favorite things to do. And the water-weenie is such a fun part of that tradition. And check out that tan!!!

 One of my favorite family vacations was when we went to Hawaii. We went to three different islands. We got to ride in this small 22 passenger plane. It was awesome.

 Another picture of my sister and I at the beach in Hawaii. I am determined that one day Lance and I will make it back there.

I believe this was right outside of one of our hotel rooms in Hawaii. My sister and I were definitely spoiled being the two youngest and having all the others grown up. We got to go on several really cool vacations in which they were left behind.

Soccer played such a major role in my life growing up.

This is a picture of my competitive team during the first few years. Our coach at this point was Jeff Robinson, but he was later replaced by Dennis Burrows. This picture was taken after we won 1st place at a tournament.

I believe this picture was taken while at a soccer tournament in Colorado. We were so lucky to be able to travel as a team and experience new things and new places. We also played in tournaments in Las Vegas, California, Texas, Georgia, and a few other random places. Some of my very best friends were made while playing for Sparta.

This is a picture of one of my best friends from middle school. On our 4th year hike, we got to hike King's Peak, which is the tallest mountain in Utah. This picture was taken as we were hiking up to the peak. Whitney and I hiked most of this mountain alone. As we got close to the top of the peak, a storm was starting to come in. I looked over at Whitney to find her with her hair sticking out in every direction. The lightening was so close, we could feel the electricity. We hurried and found shelter under a rock overhanging and waited the storm out. It ended up lightening, raining, and eventually snowing.

That's a picture of me resting on the mountain side of King's Peak. Awesome hat, right? This hike is one of my absolutely best memories. It was such a good experience and I learned a lot about myself, plus it was a blast.

This is a picture of me, Cindy, my niece Danielle, and my cousin Bridget. We got to go visit her while she was living in Florida. We had such a good time!

This is a picture of me and my step-sister Ashle' during our cruise to Mexico.

This is a picture from the Sweethearts dance during high school. High school was so fun for me and I made so many good friends.

 College definitely contained some memorable times. I could post thousands pictures of college alone, but decided to spare you all. This picture was taken during Spring Break. Me, Brittany, Derek, and Ashle' drove to Nashville, TN. Derrick and I took turns doing 4 hour shifts driving, and we drove 26 hours straight, only stopping for gas, pictures, and bathroom breaks.

This is at a really fun park in Nashville.

 And of course my recent favorite memories are of Lance and I. This picture was taken just a few days after we were engaged.

Have to include our wedding day in this! One of the best days ever.

Day 04 - A picture of your favorite night

Now this one is a hard one for me. Part of the problem is choosing a favorite night, and part of the problem is that I don't have any pictures from those nights. Lance and I have done a lot of fun things, but most of my favorite moments are when we are just talking late at night. I have a tendency to talk until Lance can't stand it anymore. Unfortunately for him, sometimes this can take up to a few hours. We've had the most interesting, unusual, and just plain weird conversations. For example, the other night we were talking about dogs and I mentioned we could get a "wolf-dog". I said we would go get a baby wolf and teach it to be a dog. Haha. Lance didn't like the idea. So I had to convince him it would be ok, since I was raised by wolves. He thought it was rude that I was referring to my parents as wolves. So I had to save myself, and say it was before I was born. So we got on this ridiculous conversation about how I shared the womb with wolves and came out howling....etc. You get the idea. These random topics happen a lot and can be quite amusing. Since I don't have any pictures that go along with that, I have decided to just post a few random pictures of us since we got married.

Day 3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Lost is the best tv series I have watched, hands down. There is so much about this show that interests me. It is definitely a must see. Things do get very interesting in the middle, and I know a lot of viewers lost faith and didn't keep up with the series. However, I enjoyed it until the very last episode. While it wasn't my ideal choice for them to end the show like they did, I'm not sure they had too many options...Best characters, best story, best script = best show.

My favorite character is definitely Sawyer. No contest.