What if...

Growing up, my mom hated the "what if..." game. For example: "Mom, what if the sky was green and the grass was blue?" type of questions. Really, who cares? But we all do it. We all ask, either ourselves or other people, "what if" questions all the time. Now that I am old enough, almost 26, I look back on my life and ask a lot of "what if" questions. First let me clarify, I love my life. I really can't complain, besides the few near death experiences, I have it pretty good. I was born into a wonderful family, I grew up in great neighborhoods, had a few amazing friends, went on a LDS mission, and married the greatest, most perfect person for me! I am really quite happy with the outcome of my life and can't wait for the future! But I often times wonder, "what if..."

What if I wasn't born with a congenital heart disease? (Which would have changed the course of my life all together!)

What if, when i was ten years old, my family stayed in Orange County rather than moving to Brentwood?

What if I had stayed in Brentwood for high school?

What if I had got accepted to BYU Provo, rather than BYU-Idaho?

What if I had gone to BYU-I in the fall rather than the summer?

What if I had just done my generals at BYU-I instead of a bunch of classes that really didn't matter?

What if I had stayed in college rather than going home to work?

What if I hadn't served a mission and just stayed in CA?

What if my parents didn't adopt four of the most adorable kids ever?

What if I had stayed the last six months on my mission?

What if I didn't go up to Provo and live at the Enclave? (This would have affected Tahnee, My cousin, Kasey, Josh and Tyler's life completely).

What if I didn't pursue Josh?

There are several more, but these seem to stand out the most to me. Some of these things were big decisions I had to make for myself, others, were totally out of my control. Isn't life so interesting? I am sure I could answer all of these "what if" questions, but I am so grateful that I do have my heart problem, that I did go to BYU-I, and most of all that I did move into the Enclave and marry the man of my dreams!

Have you ever thought of where your life would be now if different paths were taken?

Last Week's Menu

This last week has been very enjoyable. I have not had to cook at all! My family came into town last Wednesday, and that happens to be my busiest day of the week, so I picked up a pizza on the way home. Here is what our dinner menu has consisted of lately:

Wednesday 2/16- Little Caesars


Thursday 2/17- Mom's "Fat" Tacos

Friday 2/18- Olive Garden

Saturday 2/19- Zupas


Sunday 2/20- Lisa's copy-cat Cafe Rio salads


Monday 2/21- In-N-Out

Tuesday 2/22- California Pizza Kitchen

Okay, so some of it may not be the healthiest, whatever, you only live once! It will be interesting to see what we eat tonight, since it is Wednesday again! Ugh! I am going to try and get the motivation to cook tonight. I kind of miss it...but at the same time, I have been eating some great food! And just to clarify, Josh and I usually eat out only ONCE a week (date night)!

Thank you to all who have contributed to mine and Josh's menu this past week...we are very appreciative of you :)

First Married Valentine's Day

Yesterday, Josh and I spent our first married Valentine's day together. It was perfect. I left work a little early to get some errands run, shop a little with Tahnee, and clean the house a little before Josh got home. Finally he got home (it seemed like forever) and we lounged around and then exchanged cards and gifts. That boy never disappoints. He surprised me with this little beauty...


He is kind of difficult to buy for and never wants anything, so I got him an iTunes gift card so he can start buying games for his phone. He certainly didn't waste any time purchasing NBA Jam! Then, he told me that he was taking me to Chef's Table for dinner! I have always wanted to go there since I have moved to Provo, but never had any reason too. Our reservations weren't til 8:00 pm. Once we got there, it was a mad house, but our food was delicious! I got the Filet Mignon and Josh got the Pork Tenderloin. We also both got flavored lemonade, which was probably the best I ever had! Then we got a piece of red velvet cake to go (we will be eating that tonight). I was so full when I got home...to the point of being uncomfortable. But it was well worth it. We forgot to take a picture at the restaurant, but did once we got home (I will post later). It was the perfect Valentine's day ever. I am such a lucky girl to be married to Josh. I fall in love with him more each day!

Real Life "Parenthood" Episode

I couldn't find my computer yesterday, or else I would have posted this then. For my Nutrition class, we have to do a ten hour community project, somehow relating to food. I decided to do my ten hours at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo. What is that, you ask? "The mission of the Food & Care Coalition is to alleviate hunger and diminish the plights of poverty for those who enter our doors. Our primary objectives include finding suitable housing, teaching financial accountability, facilitating an elevation in personal morals and values, and helping each patron achieve their full potential." So yesterday, I became like Haddy, and was able to serve the people in my community. "The Food & Care Coalition serves nutritionally well balanced meals 7 days a week to Utah County's homeless, mentally ill and learning disabled, fixed income families, and families affected by tragedy." To serve the food, there were five of us in an assembly line, each of us put something different on their tray...bread, casserole (which looked really good), salad, fruit salad, and I was the last with a big chocolate cake (looked like the ones from Costco). It was so funny because instead of slicing the cake, they flipped it upside down, handed me an ice cream scooper and I scooped it on to the tray! At first I thought it was a little weird, but I realize they do it because it is so much faster! And I gave the people big scoops...hey, I love chocolate cake, I would want a big scoop :) Then there were three people serving the trays to the people, while the rest of the volunteers/staff were cleaning or helping us get food we ran out of. It was a very humbly experience for me. First of all, I love serving, especially the people in my own community. I mean, who doesn't like to serve? It makes us all feel so much better and so much more appreciative of what we have been blessed with. I thought about people like Alex ("Parenthood" character), whose family grew up going to soup kitchens and shelters. Everyone was so nice and a lot of the clients came up to us after and thanked us. There was not one moment where I thought about myself, but kept thinking about all the individuals and families receiving meals. What is their story? Why are they here? Where are they from? I wanted to just sit down with all of them and find out everything about them. After dinner was over and everyone had left, we all cleaned up and then I left. As I drove home, I saw some of the people that were fed. It broke my heart knowing that they probably didn't have a place to go or the fact that they had to be out in the freezing cold. I felt very blessed.

The facility must be new. It was a beautiful building, very clean and organized. I talked to a few people, before leaving, about doing an internship. While talking to them, I learned that they are opening a shelter in second floor of this building with 36 rooms! I would love to do something like this. Wherever Josh and I end up, I would love to open an orphanage. I wonder how complicated it would be to do that? Anyway...I am scheduled to go back in March, I wish it was sooner. Hopefully next time Josh can go with me.

I would like encourage all of you to find a shelter or soup kitchen of some sort and volunteer. I was only there two hours...that's nothing! I want to continue going even after my ten hours are up.

Super Bowl Sunday

This past weekend, Josh and I celebrated the Super Bowl by having some friends over and making these...

I was a little too excited about them. But didn't they turn out adorable? Now Annie wants to open a cake shop with me. I think I need a little more practice, non-glitter icing, and a little more creativity!

Thou Shalt Not Covet

Oh but I am! Two skirts on the Anthro website...


I have never bought anything from this store, not because I have never found anything, I just can't justify spending $78-88 on one article of clothing! So I got an idea...make it myself!!! I text my cousin Kary, who is very crafty, to see if she would help me out. I am more than excited. Hopefully it turns out amazing!! Also, I want to go to the DI on my way home and see if I can pick up anything that could use a little altering and turned into a masterpiece haha. There are a couple benefits to making your own clothes...first, no one else has it; second, no sizes; and third, it costs a lot less (and you can use scraps on something else)! I have already told Josh I want a sewing machine for my birthday. I don't need anything fancy shmancy, just something to get the job done without me hand stitching it :) Keep posted to see how everything turns out!