all about me

photo credit bonnie

welcome to all the newcomers! i'm so happy you're here, and i hope you'll stick around. it's been a while since i've done an introduction post, and it's definitely time. let's talk basics name: aubrey zaruba from: born in utah, raised mostly in north carolina currently living: utah job: child development specialist (i always say i am a working girl dreaming about someday being a stay at home something although i really love my job a lot) hobbies: running (mostly marathon running), crafting, cooking, watching the bachelor/ette, spending time with friends and family, tennis, biking, getting a tan
here's a little more from my about me page

I LOVE shopping, but I also really love good deals. I rarely pay full price for anything.

Cardigans and scarves are my signature items.

I like to read, but I basically never do it.

Even though I love it, I really love talking to people so that almost always wins over going to my room to read.

Love basically all kinds of music.

My crack addiction is Diet Coke. I for sure drink too much of it.

Glitter is the best! Everything is better with a little bling.

and some other stuff...

I love social networking of all kinds. My nails are always painted, and I never leave the house without makeup. I love colorful things and usually put random colors together to make an outfit. I always always wear earrings (mostly studs lately), and I love jewelry.

your turn. tell me a little more about you.

wear it wednesday...san fran for the day

after spending christmas day cooped up in the house, all the kids and all the adults really needed to get out. we went to san francisco for the day (or more like the afternoon after spending over an hour trying to park).

old navy dress|target cardi|forever 21 leggings|urban outfitters scarf|famous footwear boots|h&m bag|michael kors watch|alex and ani bracelets|mall kiosk sunnies the weather was ok but a little iffy. it was chilly walking in the shade. i didn't pack anything extremely warm so i did my best with what i had.
we walked around pier 39, took some pictures, watched the sea lions, ate lunch, and had some donuts. it was a pretty great day, and the kids did really well.

blogging the bach...19.1

another season of the bachelor started last night. i don't watch tv really ever, but i am obsessed with the bachelor. come back every tuesday for my weekly bach caps. i don't usually post straight recaps.   i love all the bach posts and commentary so make sure to link up if you post. i'm looking for co-hosts so comment or email me if you're interested.  one final thing before we get started on week 1. spoilers are no fun. please don't post them.

the show was 3 freaking hours. i love the bach, but that's a lot of tv. it easily could have been condensed to 2.
intro to chris, his family, and his farm wife photo shoot (how awkward but when you're the bachelor i guess you have to get used to it. i am doing a little better now, but fashion photo shoots for this blog make me feel all kinds of awkward) new shirtless bachelor??? sean and catherine update on life bachelor babies- "on the radar" we get a recap of his bach experience-good plug for his book-preorder to hear all the bach scoop marcus and lacey still engaged-can't say i care a whole lot about them andy and josh ready to taste all the food and drink all the wine to prep for the wedding. i'm still hoping the wedding is on tv. my prediction is we might have an announcement after des and chris get married. niki recap break up with juan pabs--i'm pretty happy we don't have to hear about/from him on a regular basis anymore we see a few intro videos and hear some classic bach lines britt "it's hard to be single in LA" "i'm a very touchy person" jillian "i suppose some guys are intimidated by me" "finding love is a competition" amanda answer to why she's still single (embarassed monkey emoji) whitney "every day i am reminded of something i'm missing" "i think you just said corn is your favorite food-to her dog" mackenzie "i already have a special man in my life" alissa "smoking is prohibited unless you're smoking hot:
the hours and hours of limo entrances start 
first impressions+commentary i watched tonight with celsey, her husband shawn (who fakes to hate it), her sister in law amanda and friend alexis and our friend melissa. the best part of watching with a group is all the comments. we'll def hear more from them in the next few weeks.
britt waitress=can move to iowa "that's the longest, most awkward hug ever" she might be a little cray
whitney why the yellow shoes? and the voice???
kelsey "ya she's annoying"--amanda
megan first girl to say amazing
ashley i what is she wearing? so happy it's him
trina you look amazing
reagan i sell human tissue=unemployed
tara sport fishing enthusiast=unemployed "she could definitely throw bails of hay"--cel not my style, but he's definitely going to remember her
amber teddy bear
niki totally missed her because i was too distracted by tara's lurking
amanda not letting him see you is probs really dumb when he's trying to remember 29 other girls
jillian crossfit-i did crossfit and loved it, but no one wants to hear about it all the time or ever.
mackenzie poor girl, bless her heart
ashley s too much botox/who wants a penny in their shoe?
kaitlyn plow the bleep bleep bleep (not impressed) "she's going to be a handful"--amanda
samantha kind of distracted by the craziness of all the girls surprise as seeing more girls. has anyone seen this show before?
michelle juelia becca came in so fast we have no idea what's going on
tandra of course the utah girl comes in on a motorcycle and has a weird name
alissa
jordan whiskey-as if there isn't enough alcohol
nicole pig nose-you want to be remembered as the pig
britney "is that your stripper name or your real name?"--amanda
carly "where's simon?"--cel because her singing was hideous
tracy seems like a good, wholesome girl. she can teach school in iowa
bo kimberly kara jade too fast to even have an impression

standouts britt-number 1 video, first out of limo, first 1 on 1 time, pretty sure she'll be around tara-seems like the crazy one already kaitlyn-"prob shouldn't have your first 2 sentences be about your hoohah"--amanda ashley s-way too much botox and is kind of a creep tracy-definite potential
what i heard "botox needs to tone it down"--cel "i wish i was a polygamist right now"--chris "is she trying to be crazy?"--shawn about botox girl
remaining girls britt kaitlyn jade samantha ashley i tandra niki kelsey megan alissa amber juelia becca trina mackenzie tracy girl in the blue dress jillian whitney carly ashley
the previews look super crazy. i was a little worried about this season being a tiny bit boring, but i'm pretty sure i don't have anything to worry.
we all know the famous bach words so i like to keep to a tally. we heard a lot already in week 1 farm/farmer...11 journey...4 love...15 amazing...10 future wife....9
what were your thoughts on week 1? who's your fave so far? i'll pick my final 4 by week 3.

An InLinkz Link-up

christmas in northern california

today is my first day back at work after a glorious holiday break. the holidays are by now most 100% over, and i'm a little sad. most people have probably blogged all about all the holidays and are ready to move on. since i spent last week looking back, i have a bit of catch up to do. before we get to that, the bachelor starts tonight. yay! just like past seasons, i will be blogging the bach on tuesdays. i would love to have you join me. link up your posts and email/comment if you're interested in co-hosting.

ever since my sister started having kids, i go wherever she is for christmas. i love the holiday no matter what, but it's much more magical with kids. i flew to northern california on my birthday and spent a week there. we kind of stick to the same traditions year after year which i love. on christmas eve, we usually have a pretty casual dinner-sandwiches, chips and dip, vegetables. 

after dinner we drive around and look at christmas lights. 

growing up we always read the christmas story from the bible, but we never acted it out.  the past couple of years, the kids act it out as their dad reads. it is one of my favorite things. my little nephew karson didn't want to be joseph because he wanted to ride on the donkey (my brother in law).

we each open one presents-pajamas. my mom keeps trying to stop the tradition since we are all grown, but i won't allow it. i like tradition!

we make sure to leave out milk and cookies for santa

the kids were so excited this year. i was afraid we might be up at 5:00, but they actually did pretty well. they are the only grandkids on our side so they are definitely spoiled.

 we always start with stockings first.

  it was so fun watching their excitement with all the gifts.

we talked to ashley and our parents on facetime while opening gifts and extended the gift opening for a couple of hours.

christmas breakfast includes scrambled eggs, sausage, flaky biscuits, and oranges. we talked to the family again and played with the kids and their toys. because we don't have any other family around, the day is very relaxing. later in the evening we have ham, baked potatoes, and rolls for dinner. i loved spending christmas in california. the kids were so excited and fun to be around. how did you spend your christmas? PS-i know some people are still blogging their word for 2015. make sure to check out the link up.

churchy...i'm trying to be like Jesus

some posts don't really need any commentary from me. this is one of those. happy sunday!

FOCUS on ...fitness

yesterday i talked about my word for 2015 FOCUS each month this year i want to FOCUS on something specific. in january, i will  FOCUS on FITNESS i love to work out. i always have. somehow, fitness wasn't as much of a priority last year as it should have been. i'm really excited for this month. in order to have success with goals, i think it's really important to have small, measurable goals as well as rewards for accomplishment.
my smaller goals to FOCUS on FITNESS  1. exercise 6 days a week 2. lift weights at least 2x/week 3. 100 situps daily
i started on my fitness goals a little early, and i'm happy to say i've done well so far. my reward for continuing to meet my goals is to start the orange theory when it opens.
what are your january goals? i'll be over at a little too jolley talking about goals tomorrow. check it out here.

2015 word of the year

i like choosing a word as my theme for the year. i've been thinking about my word for 2015 for a few months. one of my problems with the past year is i often felt like i was all over the place. i want this year to be different. i want to be more purposeful with my time.  my word for 2015 is

i plan to focus on one thing each month and set smaller goals to meet the bigger goal. i thought about picking my goals for the whole year, but i decided to do it a few months at a time. if something becomes a priority, i can always change. for the first part of the year i plan to focus on january-fitness february-love march-blog i'm looking forward to 2015. did you pick a word? link up your word of the year post below.

An InLinkz Link-up