Weekend Happs-High/Low

The weekend was a complete mix of really good and a little less good. My plans for Friday evening got re-scheduled which gave me time to get a few projects done at work. I knew I would be there a little later but planned to leave at a decent time. 

I got a lot done and was happy with my progress. One of the projects was glueing some small pieces of toys together. They are part of a bigger project that really needed to get started. I finished and they are so cute. I stood on the table to take a picture and ended up falling (taking a flying leap) off the table. It was bad and funny at the same time. Since I’m not a limber child anymore it didn’t feel that great, but it could have been much worse. I’m pretty sure it knocked the wind out of me, but I made myself get up pretty quickly. I applied a very generous amount of Doterra Deep Blue and woke up not nearly as sore as I was afraid I would be.

After flying off the table on Friday I was a little afraid I might not be able to run Saturday morning, but luckily I woke up feeling mostly ok. We changed the course a little, but we did my favorite run to Liberty park. Instead of running straight to the park, we ran towards downtown first. We made a little detour to Gilgal park. It is a small park of old stone sculptures. I have never been there and it was really cool to see. We ended up at the park and ran around a bit before getting a ride back to our cars. It was the perfect running weather and such a fun run.

I met Mandi in the afternoon for lunch and wedding dress shopping. She had no idea what she wanted or didn’t want. She looked beautiful in everything. She has been engaged for about a month but seeing her in a wedding dress made it more real. She is going to be such a beautiful bride. I loved sharing that magical experience with her.

After dress shopping I met Tiffany, Sage, and Michelle to celebrate Michelle’s birthday. We had so much fun laughing and talking all the night long. It look a while for our food to get there. We kept ourselves entertained while we waited. Towards the end of dinner, a lady at the table behind us asked Tiffany about her hair. We chatted with them briefly and asked them to take our picture. The server insisted on them being in our picture which made it pretty funny. We took a few more pictures and ended up in Michelle’s car talking for another hour. Time with these girls is always a good time. I left with a very full heart and a burned out headlight.

It was too late to do anything about my headlight on Saturday night since everything was closed. Driving with a burned out headlight doesn’t seem safe so I went to autozone to get it taken care of. The nice lady that helped me purchase the light also installed it for me without me even asking. It made my day that she was so nice. 

I ended up getting food poisoning Sunday afternoon. I wasn’t feeling well for most of the day, but then all of a sudden I was pretty sick. I was supposed to go to a dinner/Easter egg hunt at Alicia and Adam’s, but I obviously didn’t make it to that. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in bed. It was not a pleasant rest of the day. Mela suggested activated charcoal, and that seemed to really help. 

Even with the lows of the weekend, it was such a great weekend. Saturday was definitely my favorite. How was your weekend? Any exciting happs?

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Recent Happs

March has been a pretty good month-a good mix of fun and down time. 

Mandi and I went up to Ogden to visit Jessi. We called Jen and convinced her to come over too. Jessi made yummy vegan food and we had lots of fun chatting and laughing until way too late. 

We went to the outlets for a little shopping and all ended up with new bags. I was supposed to get a new purse for my birthday so we’ll just call this a belated birthday gift:)

LeAnn’s mom planned a surprise party for her birthday. It’s fun to see the running friends outside of running. 

After several months of paying to get my nose waxed, I decided it made more sense to buy the supplies and do it myself. We were pretty scared, but that didn’t last long. After the initial fear, we became a little obsessed. 

Sharon hosted a breakfast last weekend to celebrate Judy’s birthday. She was surprised and we had a great time catching up with everyone. 

Beauty Time Tuesday-new products

Now that the bachelor is over, I can get back to talk about beauty on Tuesdays. 

Green color corrrector-my cheeks have been a little rosy lately so I bought the cheapest drugstore brand to drive to offset that. I honestly don’t know if it’s making a difference or not. 

Essie mod squad-my Barbie pink polish was hoppy so I replaced with this color. I love it!

Scrunchies-I can’t believe I bought these, but they really are great for putting my hair up while I sleep. 

Catwalk curls rock-love

L’Oréal self tanning wipes-I was scared to use these, but I finally did. They work really well. My left arm got a little streaky, but other than that they’re a good option for a little color. 

After paying to get my nose waxed several times, I bit the bullet and bought my own stuff. The first time was a little scary until I actually did it. It was so easy and didn’t hurt. This is one of my better recent purchases. 

I got a small sample of Fenty foundation to try and I’m really liking it. I don’t need to buy any right now, but when I do I will probably buy it. 

What else should I try?

Endure to the End

I have heard the phrase endure to the end basically my entire life. What does that even mean? The word in endure has a little bit of negativity associated with it. It makes me think I am barely surviving. There are moments when we all feel that way, but no one wants to spend their whole life barely making it. This article sponsored by the Mormon Channel answers that question along with tips to do more than barely make it.

What Does It Really Mean to Endure It to The End?

When His disciples asked Him about the future, Jesus often told them parables or referred to the fact that the future was in God’s hands and not something they should worry about. In the book of Matthew, though, He does provide some information for them. He tells them “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:13).

One message from that chapter is that things aren’t always perfect in this world, but God does have a plan and He wants you to endure to the end. That doesn’t mean silently putting up with problems that seem insurmountable or unacceptable. To endure to the end doesn’t mean simply tolerating life until it’s over – it means facing trials with patience, faith, and even joy, when possible. With Jesus, you can find hope and positivity even in times that may otherwise feel joyless.

Henry B. Eyring provides three helpful suggestions you can use to approach life and endure it, no matter what happens.

1. Pray

Satan wants you to feel hopeless and defeated; he wants you to live without joy or hope, because that makes it more likely you’ll turn from God. God wants us to overcome that hopelessness (D&C 10:5), and prayer is one way to do so. Prayer is also the way you can communicate regularly with God to better understand how you should live your life.

Here are some ways you can rely on God through prayer in times of sadness or loneliness.

• Talk to Him as you would a friend; you don’t have to specifically ask for anything, and simply sharing your burden can help you feel better.
• Make it a point to thank God for something real and unique every day; praising and showing gratitude reminds you of the joy that still exists in life.
• Pray for those who have caused you harm; praying can help you forgive, and forgiveness removes the burden of anger and helps you experience more joy.
  
  
  
  

2. Keep the commandments

Keeping God’s commandments is a way for you to demonstrate your love for God and others (John 14:15). It also helps ensure you follow God’s will in your life, and remaining within God’s plan is one of the best ways to endure to the end. In Philippians, Paul writes that he can “do all things through Christ which strengtheneth” him (Phil. 4:13), and that verse is true for you too. But that’s only true if you’re acting with Jesus.

3. Serve the Lord

It’s common when facing struggle, stress, or sadness to dwell on those things. That can lead to depression, anxiety, and lack of joy. One way to keep yourself from dwelling on negative things and to actively endure whatever you might face is to serve the Lord. For many people, that means serving others. Some things you might do to serve God and others include:

• Volunteering in the Church
• Volunteering in the community
• Making it a point to call or visit friends or sick community/church members
• Donating items or money to charities close to your heart
• Simply talking to others about your struggles and your hope in God
  
  
  

God wants you to be happy and provides a way for you to endure every challenge. Whatever you are called to face, you can endure it — and endure it well. By praying, keeping the commandments, and serving the Lord, you endure challenges hour-by-hour and day-by-day until your time on the earth is finished and God says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21, 23).

Beauty Time Thursday-February empties

I didn’t use up many things in February but the things I did use are some of my faves. 

Big Sexy Hair hairspray-love

Bath and Body Works lotion and body cream-love 

Intuition razors-must have

L’Oréal teint idole 24 hour foundation-love

Becca primer-love

Lipsense bougainvillea gloss-LOVE-my fave gloss

Clinique chubby lash and lash lengething-love

blogging the bach 22.8

who's watching: the regular monday night crew minus Amanda who had to work late. Shawn and Rem watched for a few minutes and then left.

Lauren and Becca both meet the family. We were pretty distracted with kids and husbands and whatever else. The bottom line is everyone said they think Becca is a better fit.

Lauren and Arie go to Machu Picchu. They talk about how lucky they are to be there and be with each other. There is a whole lot of love talk and Lauren is sure Arie is picking her. Arie is also pretty sure of that...until the next day.

Becca and Arie have their date and Arie says he is thinking about Lauren-not a good sign. As the date goes on Arie gets more into it and remembers he loves Becca too. She makes him a scrapbook and we're really not sure what he thinks. He doesn't seem totally into it but then tells her his usual I love this. He kisses her against the wall and says good night.

Arie still seems conflicted as he meets with Neil Lane. Chris Harrison reminds us this is the most dramatic and unexpected ending. I didn't purposely read spoilers, but I did hear and then read them. Even if I didn't read them I got an alert on my watch from People News with the spoiler. 

Arie says goodbye to Lauren even though he still loves her. He loves Becca too and proposes to her. Maybe it's because I know what is coming, but he didn't seem as serious about the proposal or as excited as Becca. It doesn't seem like a good sign.

Becca shows up in LA for a happy couple weekend only to find out Arie changed his mind. We spend the next 45 minutes hiding our faces as they show us the unedited version of Arie changing his mind. She asks him to leave multiple times. It seems like he is sticking around waiting for her to say it's ok. It's clearly not ok, and she isn't going to say it is.

The show ends with Becca watching it play back. We are mad really mad.

recent happs

Something about winter makes me want to hibernate and stay inside. Even though winter has been very mild this year, I still want to hibernate. I also laid low during the olympics and tried to watch as much as possible. Now that the olympics are over and we’re getting closer to spring, I’m getting back to a busier social calendar. 

I went to dinner with Dana, Julia, and Kelci. We’ve been trying to get together for months, and we had the best time reminiscing and catching up. 

The sky has been absolutely amazing lately and my obsession continues. 

Monday night tradition of dinner and Bachelor watching continues. Violet is kind of obsessed with baby Watson and thinks he is her baby. She is pretty cute with him/must be watched carefully. 

I kept things pretty simple for Valentine’s Day. I found these cute buckets at the dollar store and filled them with Hershey hugs and kisses. I got some fun treats from friends and neighbors and had a fun day. 

I still spend my Saturday mornings running with generation gap. It is always a good time with good memories. 

Winter is late this year and has hit a few times with a vengeance. We need the snow so I’m trying to be happy about it. It is beautiful. 

It was my turn to host bookclub. We met at The Chocolate. We talked about the book long enough to know that none of us read it and spent the rest of the night talking about all kinds of other things. We could have stayed all night and then some. 

Pure Barre is looking to change ownership. In the meantime some people are teaching their last classes with hope to continue teaching. April taught a Saturday class. It was packed, full of energy, and so much fun. 

My #anastrong bracelet chain broke a few weeks ago. I was able to fix it, but Bip and Bop offered to replace it for me. I got it back last week, and I’m happy to have it back. Their customer service is amazing, and I highly recommend them. 

Mandi and I went to visit Jessi last week. We called Jen on a whim and she came over. Jessi made vegan cheese sauce with savory steel cut oats, mushrooms and broccoli. It was delicious and such a fun night. We stayed later than planned and could have stayed for many more hours. It filled my heart to spend time with friends I don’t often get to see in person.