I am not perfect.

 

Sometimes I wonder how my life would be different if I had made different choices or not met certain people...or avoided certain pitfalls. Everyone wishes they could take some things back. I'm not exempt from that. Sometimes I wish I could undo some choices. But then I realize that the consequences of these decisions- both good & bad, have shaped me to be the person I am today. I'm trying to get better at loving myself. It's something that I work on daily. I am trying to see myself as the child of God that I am. I have to shut out that voice that tells me that I'm not enough. The easiest way for me to do that is when I have an unkind thought about myself, I tell myself that it's not true.

I am trying to be kinder to myself & those around me. I'm trying to broaden my horizons by learning new skills. I am trying to get out of my comfort zone in little ways each day. I am grateful that each day is a new day, a new chance to try to be a little better. I am grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ that allows me to change. I am grateful for this time of year where the world celebrates the spirit of Christmas, which is the spirit of Christ. I am grateful to have the perfect example of my Savior and Redeemer. I am grateful to know about His humble life. That shows me that its okay to not have a "life in the fast lane" that I sometimes wish I had. I am grateful for the surety & peace that the gospel of Jesus Christ provides. I am grateful for the infinite love of my loving Heavenly Father & Savior, Jesus Christ. I am grateful to know the truth. I am grateful to know that I have divine nature & that I am the daughter of a King. I am grateful for the endless opportunities that I have to serve others. As I was reminded in church today, that when we serve others, it's like we are serving our Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ. Charity really is the pure love of Christ. I love our Savior & I love this gospel with everything that I am.

 I know with every fiber of my being that Thomas S. Monson is a modern-day prophet of God. I know that he is the mouthpiece of God & receives revelation for our day & age. I know that God will not allow a true prophet to lead the church astray. I know that President Monson & the apostles of the church speak only truth. I know that if we follow the commandments as best as we can that we will be happy. But not only happy, we will receive a fullness of joy. I am so blessed to have been raised in this church. I am grateful for the simple truths that I learned as a child & even more grateful as I learn the other principles that build on them.

As Christmas gets closer & closer, I have taken more time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas- the birth of our Savior. I know that He is the reason for the season. I am so grateful for Him. I encourage you all to watch this Mormon Message "Share the Gift" . It truly encompasses the message of Christ.

I love you all & so appreciate you for keeping up with me & my life. I am truly blessed.

 

XOXO,

 

PS What do you think of my new signature?

I'm trying this new thing.

I'm trying not to let my fears get in the way of me living my life. It's something I'v struggled with for a while now. A lot of times, I'm afraid to do try something new because I'm afraid of being judged. But I've decided that that gets old real quick. If I want to try something new, I'm going to try it. I'm working on shaping this bold, outwardly new version of myself. So here are the little ways I've started to be bold this past week.

I've always wanted soft, beachy waves, but for some reason my curls always came out looking Shirley Temple-ish. And then I found this pic on pinterest & it all made sense! I was ribbon curling my hair around my curling iron! I decided to vary the way I wrapped my hair around the iron (combining the methods in the first & middle pics) & also use it like a wand-without using the clamp...and lo and behold...

 ...this happened! Soft textured waves! Talk about love...

I started mixing gold & silver jewelry...because, why not? 

And there you have it. I am trying new things. And you know what? I'm liking them too.

Weekend Recap:

 On Friday, I went to Biba's for our annual Staff Christmas luncheon. (Bubs was sick, so I went solo & brought him home food)

 I had my usual. The beet salad, lasagna & vanilla gelato with raspberry sauce.

 ...and extra sauce of course.

We were a small group this time around because no one brought their plus ones. But we still had fun.

When Gigi (one of our usual servers) came over with my take-home doggie bag for Bubs, I convinced her to also send me home with some bread. As usual, she didn't disappoint with that & extra bread. Needless to say, my Sassy Little Bubs loved it. He's a sucker for bread. That might be part of why I married him.

 On Saturday, Bubs & I ran a ridiculous amount of errands. We ate In N Out, then went to the bank, grocery shopping, etc. & then we were so pooped that we went home & took a fat nap.

 Then we rewarded ourselves for all our hard work by seeing Big Hero 6. Can I just say it was so cute?! We laughed so hard & I could not handle the cuteness that is Baymax (the robot that looks like the marshmallow puff man).

 I love this sassy man. He humors me with my 50 billion pictures I have to take so I can show you guys what we're up to.

 After the movie, we went home & ate some of the oreos Bubs bought (to use to make an oreo cheesecake) because we can.


On Sunday, we went to church & I could not get enough of my Nursery kids! You guys, these kids are the future!

 Then we went to my parents' house for din din. Bubs got roped into helping Mr. CHiPy hang Christmas lights. Teehee.

 Me & Big Boy were sent to the store to buy more pasta sauce. (Shhh! Don't tell!)

You guys! Safeway has pasta sauce with alcohol in it! Who came up with this?

 We bought bread too...& icecream...& candy...

 We decided that we need to make Hot Cockles a Christmas tradition of ours.

 Did I mention that Bubs hates being in pictures? So when he's in them, he's rarely still. It's amazing that I manage to catch good pictures of him at all.

We came home to this on our porch! I'm still not sure who left it, but I do know it was so good!

On Tuesday, we celebrated Dr. Syl's bday wannabe 23rd birthday. (He's got kids my age)

Did I mention that he's french Canadian? He's saying "Happy birthday to me!"

 When he walked in, we were wearing his face because we're creepy like that. (Just for the record, all of this was my idea) He thought it was hilarious. Because it was.

On Wednesday at work, it was our holiday sweater party. I wore this classy little number...courtesy of my boss who has owned this since the 80s when it was considered cute.

This week's Thankful Thursday topic: The power of prayer. 

I am grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father that hears me. He's always here. Sometimes I have to remind myself that He's still here, even when I feel alone. Even when I don't feel like I deserve His love, He's here. He hears me. Always. How awesome is that?

Weekly Obsessions:

I just started Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I love that I have 5 more seasons to look forward to. Also: after seeing this episode, I had my own dance party. Alone. In my house. Just me & Pandora. Silly? Yeah, but I feel like thats the only way I can get out my need to dance without throwing down $15+ to do the same thing in a crowd.

I've been listening to Christmas music nonstop & for the first time ever, I'm not even a little bit sick of it. Thank goodness for Pandora!

Random:

I am this dog. Glasses & nonstop pictures & all.

Quotes that I'm trying to live by:

I am a perpetual "to do list" maker. I have a hard time remembering things & often have too much to do, so I make lists. Lots of lists. I have lists for grocery shopping, potential craft supplies to buy, lists for this week, lists of things to do when I'm bored. Too often, I find myself racing from one moment to the next or counting down until the end of the workday, the weekend, next summer is here, etc. Before I can finish my current task, I'm already thinking ahead to the next thing to check off my list. This is a hard habit to break, but I'm trying to be more present & enjoy the moment I'm in.

I challenge you all to take more time out of your day to breathe & appreciate the little things!
Happy almost-weekend!