So this is Christmas...

Alright, Christmas was yesterday and Leo & I had so much fun. We opened our presents to each other on Christmas Eve before we came up to Bountiful. Leo got me some really wonderful things. He is such a sweet man. Cody, my little brother, got me the cutest gift ever. He made some Marvel Super Hero puzzles for me. He knows how much I love puzzles!

Here's a pic of that!



After a day of opening presents, eating way too much, watching A Christmas Story 3 different times(I had never seen it), and never getting out of my pajamas, Leo, Mike (his little brother), and myself went sledding! We got tons and tons of snow! I had never gone sledding and it was so much fun!! I was soooo cold. I'm going to put a little video on here but it's pretty dark because it was 11 pm at night, so good luck! Mike goes first down the stairs and then I fly down on my snow tube!

Gingerbread Houses & Kitties!

Alright, so Christmas is in 3 days, but you really can't count the day of Christmas or Christmas eve so it's pretty much tomorrow!! It is an absolute blizzard outside, oh it's just beautiful, as long as it doesn't mess with the airlines this upcoming weekend, I am happy, because I am going to leave to go see my family in Texas on Saturday! I'm siked!

Anyway, last night, Leo & I went over to his sister, Gen's, for some serious gingerbread house-making. We had a lot of fun!



Me and leo had some pretty good house plans, but then the outside frosting got goopy & grayish and sort of turned into an adobe house.



It does have a lovely bay window on the front and some nice candy cane columns.



My snowman is sporting a sombrero, in case anyone is wondering what that is on the front yard.



Gen has two cats, Moose & Coco, and they had babies! The little kitties are three days old, I didn't want to leave them! Prepare for these pics, 'tis an upclose of my face but we had to get close because those kittens were so tiny!

Finally some snow!

Yay, we finally got some snow today. Let's be honest, i don't love snow in March & April but by December 13th, we should have some snow! Christmas is in 12 days! woo hoo!



This morning, our car got broken into. Well, it wasn't locked so basically, someone opened the doors. They took a couple target bags from the back that had some christmas presents in them, sadness, and my cd player which had my jason mraz cd (saddest loss ever). That was all, it wasn't a huge deal. My husband is hilarious too, I came into the house and told him someone had broken into Betsy (car) and he almost started to chuckle. He said, well we donated to the needy. What a goof. So, yes, don't leave stuff of value in your car or just lock it. Either will hopefully prevent what happened to us.

Blonde?

Alright, so today was a big day in the life of Whitney. I went from a brunette to a blonde. I have always had the same hair. Light Brown, shoulder-chin length, some layers. Basically, nothing exciting. But I've always been okay with that. My sister laughs at me because I'll tell her "I dyed my hair!" and then she asks, "Is it the exact same color?" and then I reply sheepishly, "Yes..." So anyway, it was time for a change. I decided to throw in some blonde. I made my friend Amy go with me for moral support and basically make sure I actually went through with it. So, we headed over to my friend, Hilary's, and since I was driving, we got lost. Hilary was so nice for dealing with all my nervousness. It took almost 4 hours to do the whole head. So many foils! When all was said and done, I looked like this (arrow down for pic)! I loved it at first glance and then, I went home and stared at myself and had some doubtful thoughts, like, ah! It doesn't look like me at all! But, the more I saw it, the more I was okay with it and the girls at my work were very supportive. Thanks guys!

A million foils!!



For some reason, one side looks lighter in this light, but I don't think it is.


Here's sort of a before and after. That second picture cracks me up. I have a serious "deer in headlights" look. Apparently, the color was a shocker.

I know to most of you, you'll be like, that's not a big change, especially because the pics don't really show it very well. But for me, it was a huge change! So yes, I am a blonde! The End.

'Ode To Christmas

This is a post devoted to the Christmas season and the top "however many I can think of" reasons of why it is my very favorite time of year.

1. Celebrating the birth of our Savior. We should all be very grateful for His birth.

2. Christmas movies. Just to name a few favorite: Miracle on 34th street, Santa Clause, Elf, and Grinch.

3. Christmas music. I think I love Christmas music so much because almost every single song is uplifting in some way. They're all happy, well, except maybe "I'll have a blue Christmas" but anyway. Personal favorites include: The Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting), Let it snow, Drummer Boy, Celebrate me home (which I finally found out is by Kenny Loggins and I didn't know who that was, so when I Googled him, it ruined it just a little bit because his voice is so lovely and his face is not as lovely) The First Noel, Oh Holy Night, and What Christmas Means to me.
4. Christmas food. I probably have a cup of hot chocolate every day. 'Tis not an exaageration. I usually have it with cinnamon toast which isn't necessarily Christmasey but I still like it. Candy canes are great too. What else is Christmas food? Hmm... I guess anything else that brings yuletide joy?

5. Christmas activities. For example, looking at Christmas lights, which can I just say... my family in Texas really liked to go driving around and look at the Christmas lights. I have been looking for a good Christmas lights neighborhood in my town and come on people, your lights are not impressing me. My standards are high and this town needs to up its game. Gingerbread house making is a fun activity. Christmas caroling is enjoyed by some people. Deocrating the Christmas tree is way fun. Wrapping presents is in this category too.

6. Christmas shopping. Man, I just love Christmas shopping. The anticipation if they will actually like something is wonderful. Plus, not going to lie, I really enjoy receiving gifts too. Sorry, but its true. When someone actually listens to my subtle hints of what I want (I want a CoComotion hubby), it is so awesome.

7. Family. I am really blessed because I have an amazing family. It has been really hard not living near them but thank goodness for Christmas because I always get to see them during this season. It's the thing that keeps me going. I just think the holidays, and for that matter all the time, would be much harder without being close to your parents and siblings. You know what else? I was blessed with awesome in-laws too. They have sincerely welcomed me and I have a great time whenever we see them.

So there is my 'Ode to Christmas. What a great time of year, full of jubileee and what not.

P.S. When I read my post to my husband, he looked at me and said: (exact words) "Waaay too Christmasey." He is not feeling the cheer.

Tagalicious

So, Ive been tagged. I didn't even know what that meant, thank goodness Pam explained it to me!

8 Favorite Tv Shows: Scrubs... Friends... Dancing with the Stars... So you think you can dance (next summer better be better than the last one)... Clean House... Wizards of Waverly Place... Kings of Queens... Seinfield

8 Favorite Restaurants: Olive Garden (surprise surprise)... Cafe Rio... Burger Supreme (tis a restaurant in my eyes, said with a soft smile and a little bit of drool)... Applebees... Ottavios... Red Lobster... Panda Express... Mimis Cafe

8 Things I did Today: worked... homework... ate a candy cane... 3 loads of laundry (oh yeah)... took out the trash... did half of the dishes (im on a roll)... laughed with my husband... wrapped a couple presents :)

8 Things I'm looking forward to: gingerbread house making with the in-laws... finishing this semester... visiting my family in Tejas... a really good snowfall... the day when I get a new car... going to sleep tonight (very tired)... the time when I can cook a great dinner... having kids

8 Things I love about winter: the fact that I ride the bus, so I don't have to scrape my windows... coats... scarves... boots (all about the accessories)... hot chocolate... Christmas lights... it's acceptable to be pale (that sounds creepy, but tisn't meant to)... cute fuzzy socks

8 Things on my Wishlist: a puppy... a new phone... good grades... graduation to come sooner... my family to live closer... to have all healthy children... Edward (jk or not jk...you decide for yourself)... to be on What Not to Wear, without the whole embrassing part at the beginning, I just want $5000 to shop with in New York

Yay for first tag! I don't know if I'm ready to tag anyone else, let's just start with this.

Riding Boots

The title of my blog is called the little things in life, ya know? It's true, it is the little things in life that make me oh so happy. For example, I have been loving the riding boots this season but I am very specific about what I wanted. I wanted a flat boot, so I would actually wear it more, and I really didn't want tons of flaps and buckles on it because I'm not a flappy buckly kind of gal. Okay, so when my dad and sister were here, I found some at Kohls that I loved but they didn't have my size. Short story version- I found my size at another Kohls. Yay, I was so happy! My husband thinks I'm way too girly about this, but oh how I love them :)

So here are a few pics of my boots, because I know this is the most important thing you wanted to see. Yeah, I asked my husband to take a picture of my boots and then I posed, and apparently it was really amusing to see his wife posing like a 13 year old, so then I got really embarrassed and ran around looking for support. Maybe you had to be there. 'Twas funny.

Thanksgiving!

Alright, So I have a complex on blog posts without pictures, because I feel like they must have pictures. But, I'm trying to get over that because I'm not good at keeping my camera with me enough to take pictures.

I hope everyone's thanksgiving was good! Mine was fun. Leo and I went to Boise, which is where his grandparents live, and yes, we went up Wednesday night. We didn't get there 'til like 1 am but 'tis alright. Then, Thursday we spent the day with his family and had ourselves a gay old time. I really enjoy his family, his grandparents are pretty much hilarious. That night we hung out with some cousins and siblings and watched Hancock (mixed feelings about it....loved Charlize Theron and Will Smith, but not so sure about the story...) On Friday, we booked it home to get me back for work.

Black Friday weekend was just dandy at work, not as crazy as expected. The company gives us money for lunch on Black Friday and so we thought pizzas were the way to go. Apparently though, 20 girls don't need 16 pizzas because we could not finish these pizzas for the life of us. Don't you worry, I took home one whole pizza the first night and then another 1 & 1/2 pizzas the second night. Sure they've been sitting out for 2 days...but for me, I would eat pizza off the floor. Tis my favorite food.

I have a bit of a cold, which ok, I have odd opinions about this. I never get sick, like never. And so, I kind of enjoy it when I do. I just have a sore throat and runny nose but I almost exaagerate my sick face just because its such a rare occasion. Not to necessarily get sympathy but mostly just to pretend like I'm a normal person that usually gets sick every winter. Weird? its possible.

My Christmas Tree!

This past weekend, my dad and my sister, Jessica, came to visit me and it was so fun! I really love my family a lot. I can't wait 'til Christmas when I can see the rest of my family. I put up my Christmas tree and stockings while they were here and it puts me in such a good mood. Here are some pics of it:



We also saw Twilight and oh wow. Definitely worth it. I guess I should finish the rest of the books. I'll have more pics from my fun weekend soon!

Christmas

So, I'm pretty dang excited for Christmas. This is nothing new though, I've always been a little bit obsessed. At the beginning of November, I changed half of my presets to "only Christmas music" radio stations. Tonight, I wrapped almost all of the presents I've bought for people. Yes, I am almost completely done with my Christmas shopping. Sadly though, I'm a really bad wrapper so the presents are not so pretty. Eh, no matter. I think probably my very favorite part is the way the mall gets at Christmas. Everyone's bustling around and the mall has all of their Christmas decorations up. It's so wonderful. Oh! another favorite part is that almost every day you can find a great Christmas movie on some channel on tv.

My sister and dad are coming to visit this weekend, it's going to be so much fun! I really love that they come to visit me. I hope we have some fun things to do.

Cruise!!

Alright, so we just got back from our cruise and it was fabulous! I'll give ya a quick run-down of our week, I'll try not to bore you.

Monday- flew to Los Angeles, took a serious journey to Long beach including a shuttle, two metro-lines, and a bus.... (my stress level was high and you can hear it on our videos), at around 5 pm, we finally got on the ship and it was awesome! then we set up in our room and the eating fest began, anyone who knows me knows that i, of course, made time to watch a movie in the room, it was baby mama, i couldn't help it.

Tuesday- woke up whenever, took a cute boat to Catalina island, oh my gosh, it was beautiful! we went snorkeling, which was not my favorite, i tried to be brave... it didn't go so well. then we did some shopping and headed back to the boat. we watched a dancing/singing show and ate a lot. then, we watched indiana jones... in the room.

Wednesday- slept in, then got off the boat and headed into ensanada. ensanada, Mexico was not the tropical paradise i was hoping for. but it was very fun! we rented a golf cart and drove around everywhere. went to the beach and mango mango for lunch, then went back on the ship. watched a magician and a comedian, they were pretty funny and then we watched iron man...in the room.

thursday- this was considered the "fun day at sea" and the ship was a-rocking and a-rolling (even stevens reference), it was pretty chilly, so i tried to lay out but it didnt happen so well, we did watch speedracer (totally loved it by the way) in the room and then we went to an awesome singing/dancing show

friday- debarked (disembarked? deembarked?) at about 8:30 am and then took that same journey back to los angeles and jumped on our flight at 1 pm and now we're back in utah!

i was so proud of us, because we rocked at taking pictures and videos... i didn't always want the videos, and when we watched them afterwards, i sound like such a mean person. so advice to everyone, no matter how you are feeling, if you are on camera, pretend you're happy all the time.

Halloween '08

Hello there, so, I don't really like Halloween at all. I'm not a fan of being scared for fun. So, usually I just pretend like the holiday doesn't even exist. At the mall I work at, they have trick or treating on Halloween and last year, I worked it too and I didn't dress up at all but this year, the girls that were going to work it decided we should probably dress up. So we did! and okay, it was pretty fun. Here are some pictures from it!


I have some issues with trick-or-treaters. Can't stand the teenagers with pillow cases, they especially didn't like our store because we handed out stickers. and can't stand the parents that trick or treat with newborns. Like they're literally holding the one month old baby in the arm and a bag in the other and saying trick or treat....cause that baby can eat all the candy their getting...whatever.

1 week 'til cruise!! : )

Preschool

So, I've been working in the BYU preschool for the past 2 months and it has been absolutely hilarious. We had a dress-up area that has clothes and costumes, and then there's a wooden stage that they can "stomp" it out on. Me and the other teachers, Adrienne and Alyssa, played some dress up and looked seriously fierce! Check it out! (The tutu makes me look pregnant, but 'tis only an illusion)

Countdown going on for my cruise! November 10th : )

Update

Okay, so I'm finally writing again. Everybody has blogs so I guess I should join the club.

Back in school again. Applied for the ECE program (finally!!) and in a couple of weeks, I'll find out if I got in....fingers crossed.

It's been a busy week, I had a couple papers and two project things. But after today, they will be done! One of the projects was for the BYU preschool that I'm working in right now. Oh my word, it's so dang fun. it's kind of hard because its Tues, Thurs, Fri from 12-4, so its an awkward schedule for my other job and stuff but it ends at the end of October, so yeah.

So, my favorite thing to talk about lately is the cruise me and Leo are going to go on in November...I think he's sick of hearing about it, apparently waking up to me saying, guess what- we get to go Mexico! isn't that exciting after awhile. but yeah. So, I'm off to the preschool.

first post

so, this is my first blog... my sister just got one and hers was really cute so I thought I'd make one. Guaranteed though, in about a week, I'll probably give up on blogging because I'm really good at starting things, but not so great at the finishing.

Me and Leenard went to the gym again tonight. I'm actually motivated this time with exercising and trying to be healthy. I've been strong for almost 3 weeks, hopefully it will last. Again, I'm really great at starting things, but ya know.

I should be studying for a test I have to take in the next few days, but I'm not super worried about it. So far, I've taken two tests this semester and both have gone well. Sometimes, I think it would so nice to not have to work and I could just go to school. But I know if I did that, that I wouldn't do much better in school. Whenever I have more free time, I don't get more done, I just sit around more, so I guess it's good that I'm busy all the time.

Today is my one day off from work and I was so proud of myself, I got all my errands run. I only had like 3, but I actually got the car, so that made it even better.