This Crazy little thing called Life

   Summer used to be this wonderful magical time when anything could happen. We were out of school for three glorious months and all we really had to worry about was what to play and who to play it with. Summer seemed to stretch on forever, filled with pool parties and swimming lessons, sleepovers and movie nights, picnics and games. There was an abundance of watermelon, lemonade and popsicles. We got to stay up late and sleep in. And for my family there was always the family summer vacation. Everywhere from amusement parks like Lagoon and Knott's Berry Farm to camping trips.    I remember looking forward to summer every year and not caring if it was 118 outside. But once I got out of school and got a job, summer kind of lost it's magic. So here are a few things I like to do to make summer still feel a little special.     Scented Candles        I love candles. And I get most of mine at Walmart. My favorite summer scent is Mainstays S...

      I've been wanting to do this post for weeks now, but life seems to have a knack for getting in the way. I recently had my two weeks of summer vacation from my previous job, the first of which I spent cleaning my house, and the second I spent traveling with Justin and my parents. And last week I started my new job at Opportunity Village. And I LOVE it!       Any way. This trick came from one time when we were at Justin's aunt's house. She pulled out a perfectly straight grocery bag to use for something and Justin's dad asked her if she ironed her bags to get them so straight and smooth. In response, she pulled out a bucket of perfectly folded triangles that were her grocery bags! So I decided to try to reverse engineer it when I got home and see if I could figure it out. And it turns out it's super easy!       I was able to take my stash of grocery bags and turn them from this: To this: And here's how!     ...

      Why does July always seem so crazy around here? We didn't do much for Independence Day. My family went to my grandparent's house in Utah, but I had to work both Monday and Wednesday, so we didn't get to go. We did do a few fireworks and sparklers here, and watched some fireworks going off in all directions from the sidewalk in front of our house.       I didn't post last week because Justin and I took a little road trip with his family. We went up to Cedar City for his cousin's mission farewell. She's going to Germany. We stayed with one of his aunts, which is always a blast. Unfortunately I was pretty tired all weekend. But it was still fun.       Saturday we went to a car show, which was kind of fun. I enjoyed walking around with Justin.       We both got a little sunburned, though. Sunday, after hearing Justin's cousin speak at church, we had a luncheon at another of his aunt's houses. We had fun hanging out and c...

      Hey all! This week has been a rather slow and easy one, especially compared to last week! We've been enjoying our shades and working on getting a few more boxed unpacked and some things organized. Justin had a couple of job interviews recently, just for a promotion where he works and one for a very similar program with another company, but both of them turned him down because they chose someone with more experience. But he can probably try again next year. In the mean time he's still enjoying what he does.       I'm still trying to make the most of my mornings. Still getting up at 5 to go for a walk. By the time I get dressed and leave the house, after praying with Justin, it's already quarter after, and I still like to be home when he leaves for work, so I'm only getting about 15 minutes worth of walking in, but it seems to be making a difference. I've been doing it for less than a month, but I'm already starting to see some definition in my calves....

       This has been one busy week! The Hubby temporarily changed shifts this week to cover someone else, so instead of having to leave at 5:30 every morning he's been leaving at 6:30. Which means that since I still get up at 5 to go for a walk, he was able to join me this week! That also means that I was able to walk a little longer since I didn't have to try to be home to see him off. My week at work was a little out of the ordinary too. My boss asked me to retake the Montessori philosophy training. Which basically means that I spent 8 hours a day for four days sitting in a camp chair (rather than wooden one designed for little children) and listening to another teacher talk about a bunch of stuff that I already know and have extensive notes on. We're talking a 3 inch 3 ring binder full of notes and articles on the topic.       In other news, my parents ended up coming over for dinner two days in a row. Which was great, except that I didn't get much...