book review-the matchup

i like to read. really i do, but i rarely make time for it. as much as i love a good story, i will always choose something social over going to my room to read-100% extrovert. i am always excited for the opportunity to review a book because it means i have to force myself to read-something i actually really enjoy. 

when i heard the storyline of the matchup, i knew i wanted to read it. basically valerie and gage didn't care for each other as teenagers. fast forward to their adult years. they randomly run into each other in the grocery store late one stressful evening. you'll have to read to find out the rest. 

the book is based in the lds/mormon culture. there is quite a bit of religious talk   religion is a huge part of my daily life so that aspect of the book was very natural for me. the great thing about the setting is the book is very clean-no bad language or violence. there is definitely romance, but that is very clean as well. it's very refreshing. there's a definite element of cheesy, but i don't really mind that. 

if you're looking for a quick, clean page turner, the matchup is a good one. purchase from barnes and noble here
***i received a complimentary copy of the matchup from the publisher. 

blogging the bach 20.4

now is the point in the season when i start getting a little more excited about the show. i finally know who almost all the girls are, and i am starting to pick my faves. i read on twitter that jade and tanner got married over the weekend. i'm kind of excited someone from paradise actually worked out.

who's watching: celsey, amanda, and lacey

date 1: jojo you set my heart on fire

what i saw
olivia looks rough
not much of the date-did they just ride in the helicopter and then have dinner?

what i heard
weird, we're on the roof having drinks. what did you think was going to happen?--amanda
he's the worst kisser in america--cel
they've kissed a lot--cel
oh my gosh she's a stage 5--cel about olivia

what i thought
we all really like jojo. ben seems to really like her too.

date 2: amanda, jubilee, caila, amber, haley, emily, lauren b, leah, lauren h, jennifer, rachel, olivia 

what i saw
rachel in the cutest romper.
a few girls being very embarrassing
caila basically attacking ben
olivia's terrible outfit and farrah fawcett hair

what i heard
oh no i'm nervous
oh ya. a bunch of drunk tourists. i can't imagine a tougher audience--cel
ok. she was a cheerleader. this isn't a rally--amanda
if this doesn't say individual, i don't know what does--amanda about the riverdance
is she going to pop out of a cake like a literal hooker at a bachelorette party--amanda
that would be embarrassing. that would make me cry--amanda
um her butt's out so that's great--cel about caila
that's not what you call your future wife. that's what you call your mistress--cel
what i thought
that date was too long. i wanted to see more of the date with jojo

date 3:becca

what i saw
jojo helping becca get ready-i love when the girls are nice to each other
becca is beautiful. i have serious hair envy.

what i heard
why did i chop her so fast? i like her--lacey
i'm so excited for this--cel
guys they're so cute--amanda
i love her. she's just classy--cel
what i thought
i'm impressed ben addressed becca being a virgin, didn't make it weird, and actually respected her for it.
i really loved this date! i love becca.

date #4-twins

what i saw
twins dressing matchy matchy

what i heard
oh my gosh they have 4 weiner dogs crawling around. they legit gross me out--amanda
because you still live there you freak--cel
what kind of grown girl doesn't have a single decorative pillow on her bed?--cel

what i thought
are these girls grown up or still little girls?
i thought he would send them both home. 

cocktail party/rose ceremony

what i saw
rachel is really dressed up
olivia interrupting

what i heard 
her fake signs are the worst--cel about olivia reading into everything
i really do love becca's dress. if only it was 2 feet longer we could wear it--cel

what i thought
i really wish someone would interrupt olivia. ben is definitely annoyed with her.
dealing with the girls and their insecurity would be so annoying

who is still there-jojo, lauren b, becca, amanda, lauren h, jubilee, emily, caila, jennifer, leah, olivia

tear tally:6

word tally (i'm not very confident in my counting this week)

husband/wife-5

love-15

journey-2

connection-7

amazing-7

do you blog about the bach? linkup below. if you don't, tell me what you think so far.

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weekend happs

my weekend started a little early this weekend. i took friday off work-mostly to help a friend for a couple of hours in the morning. i watched my friend's little babe while she presented at a blog conference. i didn't attend the conference, but i did go see a few friends there.

after hanging out with friends for a little bit, i ran a few errands including getting my oil changed in my car. why is that one of the worst tasks? it doesn't even take that long, but i kind of hate doing it.

part of my efforts to be still includes being home a little more. i love to make plans on the weekends, and i love to have fun. after a busy week, i decided to stay home on friday night. i got caught up on some things i needed to do, and i was happy i stayed home.

saturday morning started out with a run. the plan was somewhere between 8 and 12 miles. i haven't gotten in many miles lately so i knew there was pretty much no way i could do 12. my little group planned for 8, and i pushed us a little more. we ended with about 9.5, but since i was so close i made myself get 10. it was hard, and i was tired, but i needed it. i needed to push myself.

sage and i had a fun afternoon/evening. we did a little target shopping, ate dinner at goodwood bbq, and went to an amazing spiritually uplifting night. several lds/mormon bloggers and influencers shared their testimony through word and music. i left very inspired.

i woke up to a winter wonderland on sunday morning. i know the east coast is getting slammed, but nothing shuts down for snow here. we still have to go about our days. i went to church and spent the rest of the day at the hospital waiting for my friend to have a baby. it was one of the most amazing experiences-full post coming.

how was your weekend? any exciting happs?

a piñata gender reveal

i started making gender reveal cakes several years ago. it's a lot of fun especially when i am the only one that knows the gender of the baby. it gets a little tricky because people want the gender reveal to happen pretty quickly after the ultrasound. the turnaround time is pretty quick.

cakes are fun, but it's fun to do something different sometimes. lisa wanted to do a fun gender reveal party with her family, but she wanted to keep it pretty simple. instead of a cake, she decided on a piñata.

i filled the piñata with candy and circles. the kids had fun taking turns trying to break it. 

it's a BOY! big sister ava is excited for a brother.

what would you do...with 1 hour of free time

i'm excited for a new year of the what would you do linkup. kimberly is having a new little babe and decided to take a break for a while. i'm holding out hope she'll be back to blogging,but if not go check out her etsy shop and die at the cuteness. i have some new hosts, and i'm really excited to welcome emilie, sharlee, erin, suzanna, and tayler to the linkup.

this month we want to know WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with 1 hour of free time?

this question is a little tricky for me because technically i have a lot of my own time. besides the hours i am obligated to be at work (and even that is flexible), i am completely in charge of my own schedule. even though most of my time is my own, i rarely feel like i have free time. i keep myself pretty booked, and that's the way i like it.

in theory i would read a book or do a craft or color or sew something or clean up my pinterest, but in reality if i had an hour of free time i would probably spend it catching up with a friend. as much as i love all of those other things, i LOVE talking to people the most.

we want to know WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with 1 hour of free time. we're not big on rules so grab a button, link up your posts, and hop around.

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blogging the bach 20.3

i've been reading all over the internets that people are surprised ben kept lace. i'm not. she's the resident crazy and therefore has to stick around for a few weeks for the drama factor. my guess is we have 2-3 more weeks of her.

we planned to fill out our brackets before the rose ceremony last week, but by the time that came we just wanted to finish watching. so we filled them out tonight during dinner. we've all managed to avoid spoilers so far, and i'm excited to see how everyone does in the end. we ate dinner, chatted for a while, and then attempted the brackets. we can't remember half of who anyone is so this should be pretty entertaining.

who's watching:celsey, lacy, amanda, alicia, megan

date #1-lauren b the sky's the limit

what i saw
the most awkward kiss ever

what i heard
you're kidding-they're going on a helicopter--cel
why is he obsessed with convertibles?--cel
it wasn't because of ben. it's because it wasn't scary--amanda
collective ugh when he went in for the kiss
why do they have to fly over and brag?--amanda
i think they're nose twins--cel
i thought she was going to be a cute crier. she definitely is not--alicia about caila
in the biblical sense--megan when ben says he wants lauren to get to know him

what i thought
ben really likes lauren b
does anyone else think a private concert would be awkward?

date #2-amanda, haley, jennifer, shushana, leah, amber, lauren h, olivia, jami, rachel, lace, emily love is the goal

what i saw
have these girls even seen the game of soccer?

what i heard
he sounds like he's reading a script--cel
what are the other sports that you know so much about?--megan about olivia
i'm not good at soccer and i feel like i could kick all of their ___--amanda
they should have them play like women's rugby or something and hunger games it out for ben--megan
you couldn't come up with some job title-dog lover, general human being, something--megan
you're coming home to cry to all the girls that didn't get a date--alicia

what i thought
i can't believe amber got the rose. i didn't think he would keep her this week.

date #3-jubilee love is in the air

what i saw
ben comes and jubilee is acting so weird.

what i heard
grab his chest hair. it will keep you in the helicopter--cel
she clearly isn't classy enough for caviar--megan
i don't get why they always have to be in a swimsuits.are they doing body checks?--megan

what i thought
he obviously had to give her the rose. she's not my fave, but i think she's sticking around for a while.

cocktail party/rose ceremony
what i saw
girls laying around like lazies and acting like crazies.
what i heard
it's not like she's doing anything bad--megan
they should edit over whatever the girls are saying with the words i'm jealous--megan
i'm going to massage her now. her heart hurts so that's the part i'm going to focus on the most--cel
these are some really classy gals--amanda
can we just wipe the slate and get all new girls because i hate them all--megan
lace looks like she should be the doped up wife of a governor--megan
she would rather quit than get kicked off--lacy about lace
ew really-stepford wife--megan about lauren h
what i thought
i don't know why everyone is so mad at jubilee. i don't love her, but i don't blame her for taking time with him.
olivia is so obsessed. clearly getting the last rose of the night didn't phase her.

tear tally-12

word tally

husband/wife-did i miss this? i didn't hear this once

love-14

journey-none

connection-4

amazing-5

who's left-lauren b, amber, jubilee, lauren h, amanda, becca, haley, emily, rachel, caila, jojo, jennifer, leah, olivia

final four pick-becca, joelle, lauren b, leah
who are your faves?

do you blog about the bach? link up with us below.

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weekend happs...pretending to be a dance mom

this weekend was full of a lot of fun-dance fun. my friend michelle coaches the layton high school drill team. i've been to dance competitions before, but this was the first time i was so dedicated to the team.

i love dance! i grew up dancing my whole life until college. i even took a couple of dance classes in college before giving it up for good. i love watching dance, and it brings me back to my dancing days.

i went up to bountiful on friday night for dinner with laurann and stefanie and to spend the night at laurann's house. michelle and the other coach jessica came over after solos. we talked about the fun sleepover we were going to have, but really we all just wanted to go to bed.

this competition was a little crazy. there were a lot of big school competing, and there really wasn't room for everyone in the gym. the real dance mom got to the school at 2:45am to wait in line to get in the door. they brought tents and heaters and sleeping bags. this is serious business.

i got up at 4:00am to workout, hurry and get ready, and get to the school by 6:00am. luckily the dance moms let us be pretend dance moms and get in line with them. the doors opened, and we got really good seats.

it was a really long, fun day. we watched a lot of dances. i missed their lyrical performance last time. i was so excited to see it and their character. it was a fun filled day supporting michelle and the team. they did really well. we didn't stay for the awards, but they placed in every category. i felt like a proud dance mom.

after the competition, sage, laurann and i grabbed some dinner and headed home. we were all completely exhausted from the day.

how was your weekend? any exciting happs? do you ever feel like you're pretending to be someone?

christmas break in cali

i talked about the christmas day part of my christmas break in california but not the rest of the trip. the whole trip was pretty relaxing-just the way i like it. i spent a lot of time playing with the kids. it was perfect.

we dressed up kenzie in her new clothes and took pics

we tested sugar cookies and various opinions

we made homemade cafe rio salad

karlee made donuts in the microwave

we painted nails

and jumped on the trampoline that got fixed for christmas

and rang in the new year with a fancy dinner

i stayed most of the break this year. it was really fun to be around family and away from the monotony of every day life. i can't wait to go back again soon.

shopping secrets...windshield cover

i like to shop, but i do not like to spend a lot of money on any one thing. i find some really amazing things sometimes, and i want you all to know about them. 

i live in utah. it snows here-sometimes a little (like last year), and sometimes it snows a lot (like this year). i really hate it a lot, but it's part of living here. we've had more snow this year than i can remember anytime recently.

when i got back from christmas break, there was so much snow especially on my car. i had to dig my car out of the igloo it was buried in. it was not fun, and i broke my snow scraper. i went to target to buy a new scraper. i didn't find what i was looking for, but i found something even better-a windshield cover. target

this thing is amazing! i put it on my windshield every single night, and i never have to scrape. it saves me so much time and anger in the mornings. it has been really cold here (like 12 degrees cold) early in the morning, and this completely keeps the frost and ice off my windshield. if you park your car outside and you live somewhere cold, you NEED this!

blogging the bach 20.2

after last week i'm pretty excited for this season. there are several girls i really like, and i can't wait to see what happens.

who's watching:celsey, amanda, alicia, megan

date #1- let's learn how to love-jackie, lb, lauren h, becca, amber, mandy, jojo, jubilee, jennifer, lace

what i saw
lots of crop tops
becca really is the prettiest
lace is losing her mind 

what i heard
i don't like that girl. i think she's ugly--amanda
we should count converse and crop tops--megan
i can't think if anything more fun than high school, oh wait--cel
all of them need to go to the principal for dress code violations--cel

what i thought
lace is way too jealous for this show
i'm glad he took jojo away so lace couldn't come interrupt again.i really like her.

date #2-join me for a day of surprises-caila

what i saw
date in a hot tub-in a store
ben needs a wax job

what i heard
you know what's the worst thing in the world? long hair in a convertible--cel
because life isn't a fairytale. welcome to the real world--cel

what i thought
i don't know why caila keeps saying this date is amazing. we're all bored.

date #3-are we a perfect match?-emily, shushana, sam, olivia, haley, amanda

what i saw
olivia looks so much better all done up
does anyone else think amanda looks like jenna from ben f's season?

what i heard
he looks like the biggest dweeb i've ever seen
have we not determined are there dates not the worst?--megan
i hate this date. i am so uncomfortbale--cel
she looks like she is going to murder someone--amanda about one of the twins
i'm so confused by your outfit choice--megan about ben
she is wearing a doily--cel

what i thought
this date is terrible. celsey is hiding.
i really thought i was going to like olivia, but this date is changing my mind

cocktail party/rose ceremony
what i saw
a few pretty dresses and a few less pretty
ben is trying to be cute
what i heard
it's going to be lace against olivia. i can't wait to watch them self destruct against each other--megan
the most thoughtful thing someone has ever done for you is make your daughters barrett?--cel
i didn't get to talk to everybody because i was busy doing arts and crafts and other weird things--cel
it's not racist. it's just true--megan after saying something racist
her boss said she needs to come back--alicia about lb
what i thought
i still have no idea who have these girls are. we were planning to fill out our brackets tonight, but we decided to wake one more week.

tear tally-6

word tally

husband/wife-3

love-10

journey-

connection-1

amazing-3

who's left-olivia, caila, jubilee, amanda, jojo, lauren b, , leah, , becca, rachel, lace, jennifer, emily, jamie, lauren h, shushanah, hailey, amber

i'm definitely changing my mind about who i like. i will have predictions for sure next week.

link up your bach posts below

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weekday happs

we all love the weekend right?!? and spend half of the week (or maybe more) counting down to the weekend. i love the weekend too, but i also love the week. i do a lot of fun things during the week, and sometimes they don't get documented. instead of just posting weekend happs, i need to be better about posting weekday happs.

when i lived a lot closer to celsey we started monday night tradish(dinner and bachelor). sadly we don't live by each other anymore, but the tradition continues and has expanded to include her sisters in law and sometimes friends. we take turns making dinner. when it's on, we watch the bachelor/ette. when it's not we chat or do crafts. it's the best way to start the week and takes the dread out of monday. 

as part of my goal to be still, i want to be home a little more/make a few less plans. i tend to be gone a lot which is always fun, but it makes it hard to focus on the things i want to focus on. i'm really going to try to set aside one night a week to be home after work.

on the other nights I often make plans with friends. one of my favorite things is spending time with family and friends. last week I met amberly for dinner and a major catch up sesh. i'm pretty sure we could have stayed all the night long. 

if i'm being honest, i don't really prefer being home. i like to have plans, but it does make life a little crazy sometimes. do you like to stay home during the week or plan lots of things or somewhere in the middle?

beauty time...samples and things

the bachelor is back so that means beauty time tuesday has been relocated-to Friday at least for this week.

i LOVE beauty products! i LOVE trying new things, but i don't always LOVE spending a ton of money on full size products only to discover i don't really like it. i LOVE samples which is why i also LOVE influenster. they send boxes of sample-or sometimes full size- things in the mail to try out. it's like christmas every time one of those packages shows up.

botanics face cream

right before christmas (but close enough to christmas to be taking pics in front of a tree), the spice voxbox came. i got to try out all of these cool products. i LOVE it!

botanics organic hydrating day cream

foot petals

sinful nail polish

good health veggie straws

soapbox shampoo&conditioner

yogi tea

not your mother's styline mouse

if we're being totally honest i still haven't tried the sinful polish or the shampoo. the holidays/being a brand snob got in my way. I'm loving everything else. 

the kids loved the veggie straws and maybe are a huge ziploc bag in one sitting. 

do you LOVE trying out new products? comment with your email if you want an invite. 

christmas in cali

i spent the holidays in california-best decision ever. we all know i hate winter. living in utah=lots of winter. winter is off to a pretty snowy start so i was more than happy to leave the snow. 

christmas with kids is the best! the kids were so excited from the minute i got there. they make it so much more magical and fun. i'll be back next week with a full trip recap.

chelsea and i did some last minute shopping on christmas eve which is only part of the reason for a simple dinner. growing up we never had a really fancy dinner on christmas eve. the past few years we have sandwiches and chips and some sort of dip. the kids like it, and it's not a lot of work.

after dinner we drove around and looked at christmas lights. it's one of my favorite christmas traditions.

the kids made some cookies for santa.

i'm really big on tradition. one of our traditions is opening one present on christmas eve. it is always pajamas. i love the tradition! i'm pretty sure my mom wants to stop it, but i won't let her.

we acted out the nativity. kenzie was baby Jesus but is a little too mobile for it.

christmas morning was the best. the kids were so excited and had a really fun time opening gifts. we facetimed the rest of the family a few times so they didn't feel so far away. the kids had fun playing with their toys.

the rest of the day was really low key. we played with all the toys and relaxed. i finally decided to work out in the late afternoon, and there happened to be a hallmark movie on. we had a nice but not too fancy dinner.

after dinner we took some pictures of the kids with christmas lights. i did some experimenting and lots of research. we were mostly trying to get kenzie, and i love how hers turned out.

christmas was great. i loved being with family especially the kids. i'm really sad it's over. how was your christmas?