Pillows!

Emma came over with the kiddos this afternoon and delivered the REST OF THE PILLOWS!! YEAH! I am very excited. I love them. I think I maybe helped (or hindered) her with doing about 2% of the cutting and sewing. I don't think I'm "cut out" (haha) to make straight lines or sew 2 pieces of fabric together.

HERE ARE THE PILLOWS and some updated pictures. Emma fixed the lamp shade for me, also... :)

I still need to fix the bookshelf so it's more "aesthetically pleasing".

Makeover

Emma and I went shopping all day yesterday for fabrics and ideas for the "new" front room. Emma has a great eye and she is so creative and helped me out sooo much.

There are more pillows to come...

Front Room BEFORE:

Front Room AFTER:

My Sister...

...from another mister.

Elza Ruth Hartung is an amazing girl. (Woman just sounds too old to describe Elz!) She's so fun, energetic, and positive. Patient (she teaches 4 year olds!), hard working (who else can go to school full time and have about 100 part time jobs?), smart, beautiful, popular, kind, gentle, and sensitive. She's an amazing teacher and example to those around her. She's a great runner and can go for miles and miles. I know she is a wonderful granddaughter, daughter, and sister by the way she talks to them on the phone and leaves nice comments on Facebook :) She makes awesome cakes for celebrations and is always willing to lend a listening ear. Elza makes the best out of negative situations. She's fashionable and shares her cute clothes with me all of the time.

Ever since Elza was eleven years old, she would come visit New Hampshire every summer for a few weeks. We'd go to the beach and lay out, swim in the ocean until we were numb, and buy salt water taffy. She'd help weed the garden and mow the lawn and do all of the house chores with us. We dressed up and make music videos. She went on the Pioneer Trek with my stake one summer, helping pull heavy handcarts for 2 days (our picture was in the newspaper for that one, modeling our pioneer skirts and bonnets!)

I visited her in Hawaii last year and spent a week-long adventure going snorkeling, touring BYU-Hawaii, swimming with sea turtles, walking around the temple, going for long bus rides, tanning, eating good food, and looking at fun shops. Thanks for sharing your bed with me and introducing me to many experiences and adventures on a new island!

I think most of these pictures sum up Elza pretty well...

I think Hannah, Emma and I would all agree that Elza is pretty much our sister! I love you Elz!

My Knight

Or, Jonathan Knight:

For Valentine's Day, Jon wrote down a lot of attributes/reasons why he loves me. So I think I should share some of the reasons I love him!

- very complimentary

- appreciative

- great with kids

- athletic

- outgoing

- spiritual

- a scriptorian (Seriously, I can ask him any question about a scripture and he'll know the verse or where to find more information, etc. I think he should work for the CES).

- kind to parents and siblings

- good listener

- hard worker

- great student

- honest

- doesn't judge (Whenever I complain about someone, he always says that maybe they had a bad day or are going through a hard time. And then he suggests I do something nice for them. Sometimes I hate it, haha)

- funny; makes me laugh a lot

- great hugger

- energetic

- clean; also helps me clean/cook

- safe driver

- a great friend (to me and others)

- drives a long way to come see me

- plans dates for us

- appreciates the outdoors and nature

- handsome

- best hand-holder

- very supportive

- enjoys sports

- likes to go for walks with me

- always texts or calls me to say good night

- willing to help me babysit and loves kids

- asks me how my day was, every day

- stops by my desk at work to see how I'm doing

These are just some of the reasons why I love Jon. He's my best friend and I always love being around him. He makes me smile and I love him more and more every day. :)

"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale."

2/22

Marian is 2. I am 22. I think I should be looking better than I am...

Why do I always wake up looking extra tired/oily/etc on Christmas morning? Every. Single. Year. Next Christmas I am getting beautified before the camera starts snapping...

Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. I love it when I'm single and I love it when I'm in a relationship.

This year, Jon and I celebrated by going to sushi at The Happy Sumo, walking around the Provo Beach Resort, looking at different stores in the Riverwoods, and going to see a movie.

First off, Provo Beach Resort is amazing. We didn't do any of the activities (they are a bit pricey), but I really enjoyed just walking around. There are so many things available and all seem fun: surfing (really - they have boogie boards and surf boards and water and everything inside), croquet, bowling, a ropes course, simulated golf, a carousel for kids, arcade games, a playground, and a lot more. It all seemed so fun, I felt like I was walking on the boardwalk next to a beach. The atmosphere was great!

To celebrate the day, I got Jon some candy (of course), a grab bag from Mr. E's (football cards), and two tickets to the last home game for BYU basketball. I'm sure that was his favorite.

Jon bought me pretty flowers (he was very proud of himself - he hand picked each one at the floral shop and made the bouquet! And no roses, because I love daisies best), candles (he wrote a very nice letter to go with the candles and the candy), and some chocolates. But the best gift was all of the cut out hearts he made and each one has a quality that he loved about me. I want to share the list with you (not to toot my own horn, but to show you how sweet he is!):

-good with children

-great planner

-fun playmate

-comforting voice (side note: I don't think he's heard my screech yet...)

-soft skin

-good listener

-beautiful blue eyes

-spontaneous giver

-excellent kisser

-gorgeous hair

-punctual

-classy dresser

-tasteful decorator

-inspiring piano player

-faith in God

-polite and well-mannered

-radiant smile

-knowledgeable historian

-patient (especially with my repetitive phrases)

-refreshing smell

-wonderful cook

-adventurous dreamer

-real hugger

Isn't that so nice of him? He printed out each thought and glued them onto individual hearts. That's just one of the many reasons why I love him! He took the time and effort and put a lot of thought into each Valentine.

He couldn't give me a real smile!

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

I've been reading this book today at work. (Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man)

My favorite quote so far:

"Act like a diamond, believe you are a diamond, demand to be treated like a diamond and stop allowing men (others) to treat you like cubic zirconium!"

I Have a Dream...

Actually, this is real!

-Round trip flight to Hawaii

-Car rental

-7 nights in a hotel

All for $1200-$1400 per person.

I've decided that when I get engaged/married, I'm going to elope and go on an amazing honeymoon instead.

Or at least just have a dinner with close family and friends after the wedding instead of a big reception.

Can you just imagine?

Some people have a hard time relaxing. I am definitely not one of those people. Life should be enjoyed! I love relaxing. Ok, I'm lazy. But who wants to go go go all of the time? I think it's crazy when people forward their work phones to their cell phones. I say,when you leave work, you leave work. Who wants to be 'on call' all of the time?

That's my dream. A nice, warm vacation on a beach. Swim, lay out, swim again, read a good book, listen to music on the iPod, eat great food, walk around and see the sites and awesome views, wear flip flops, bury my toes in the sand, and the list goes on an on... A piece of heaven on earth.