My new tattoo

Today was a dream come true. We got to drive a mini-van to church filled with red headed children while their mom stayed home to take care of the youngest with a broken leg. Which meant we got to sit next to these kids during church services. If the parents would let us, we would just adopt these kids and call it a day! Apparently the kids were being so good Cony got a little bored and decided to draw me a new tattoo. I thought he was just using the top of the pen to trace the lines, so you can imagine my surprise when I took off my panty-hose.

My lunch bag.

I consider myself very fortunate to have a husband who understands that I work a lot and I need his help in the morning getting out the door. One way he helps me is by making my lunch. It's great. Some days I have no fork or spoon, the other I'll only have a bell pepper on green lettuce with a lemon to squeeze on it and some days there's so much food packed carefully in my bag, I don't know how I can possibly eat 1/3 of it. He doesn't put love notes in my bag but sometimes I'll find random items hidden. Which makes me laugh and I can't help but think that's so much better than a love note.

heat to AC back to heat

We didn't announce that we were taking a trip to Georgia because it was a short trip and we didn't have time to see everyone. I promise to take the time in the summer to spend quality time with all of you. We headed to the dirty south for Cony's dads retirement party. We had the most wonderful time even if my throat swelled up the second I got off the plane from all the pollen. Highlights of the trip:

*Emily's 27th Birthday
*Mellow Mushroom
*nieces & nephews!
*parents *siblings or in-laws
*Robek's FIT shake. Yum.
*Stone Mountain
*Stone Mountain Evergreen Hotel-recommend a stay
*breakfast spread at hotel with family
*swimming!!!
*seeing the sun & getting a little pink
*hot tub at midnight
*retirement party
*grilling outside
*chillin' at the family RV
*Baby Myers
*Shulman girls!
*Sarah
*the Other Megan
*Pedersons
*Lawson- thank you for the ride!
*getting eyebrows did
*electrolysis
*friends who take care of our Gracie
*flying back in a lightning storm. (do NOT recommend)

Cony's sister and her man..

We love to do our "shake our booty" dance.

Baby Myers loves me.




View from hotel room.

Favorite design element in hotel.

Love the Azaleas. But hated the allergies.

Family Time

Last Friday after Cony picked me up from work, we went for our first walk as a family with Gracie Lou. She behaved like a pro without the leash and we couldn't be more proud. Please don't think I haven't noticed our blog turning into the adventures of Gracie instead of our adventures in New England. We can't help it.





The walk just tuckered her out. Have we mentioned how loudly she snores??

color, hearts & organization = happiness

I love color (and thankfully so does Cony!). Products showcased with a variety of color makes my heart skip a beat. I think this is why it's so hard for me to decorate my own house. There are too many wonderful options to choose from. I've always loved drawing hearts. When I doodle that's what you'll see all over my paper. Hearts and my name. I've always considered myself organized. However, lately I've recognized I am not as organized as I would like to be. If I'm organized at all. I'm telling you, we love our little apartment- the loft style and all- but it's hard to live in for various reasons. Mostly because we have one room that is the Office, Living Room, Kitchen, Dining Room, Craft Room and Pet Room. Which makes getting organized an unbeatable task. It's particularly a pain when Cony has homework to do and I can't watch TV while working on a project.

If you love all 3 of these together, hold on to your pants because I found the perfect planner.

I had seen this planner on tinyprints.com but they didn't show any photos of the inside, but the second I saw it on iHeartorganizing I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. If you want to order anything from Erin Condren, let me know because I have a 10% off code.

I would use my iphone but it's a pain to use as a planner because it looks like this...

My effort to bring Spring into our home.

Gracie Lou is already 29 pounds and is learning all sorts of things. We feel really lucky to have such a sweet dog.

(notice the foreground and the background. Cony was so proud of his picture taking abilities)

We also feel blessed to have friends that let us come do laundry at their place and don't make us take out the trash! Jerry, you're amazing!

Rummikub

For Christmas we received Rummikub as a gift. Neither one of us particularly like board games, but we love this game! Most evenings consist of us listening to the MoTab (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) and playing Rummikub. No joke. Tonight we had a third player and we have reason to believe she loves it just as much as we do.

At the End of Everyday

I'm not gonna lie, the last few days (possibly weeks) have been emotional. I've been trying to avoid recognizing that I'm homesick and fed up with the cold. But it's true and I feel there is no way that I can survive 4 more years here. In my effort to find solace and peace in my soul, I came across this:

"God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers & fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray & He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe."

-Elder Jeffry R. Holland

My aching heart isn't just because it's cold outside and snowing and I miss Georgia like the desert misses water, it's because I have so many hopes and dreams that I get overwhelmed by feeling I need to pick just one and that I'm good enough for that one. I'm also feeling I don't belong here and have no one to relate to. But I'm better than this, I'm capable of so much more than to just feel sorry for myself. A few things I like to do that bring me out of the depths of despair are 1.) serving someone- anyone and 2.) writing down all my blessings.

I'm thankful for...

my body.
my sight.
my hearing.
my sense of smell & taste.
running water.
indoor plumbing.
Gracie Lou.
the hubs- who keeps me from being lonely.
a job.
a car.
10 toes.
10 fingers.
friends who accept me for me.
nieces.
nephews.
in-laws.
brothers.
sisters.
parents.
forgiveness.
repentance.
Jesus Christ Atonement.
Heavenly Father's love for ME and YOU.
family.
struggles.
trials.
laughter.
hugs.
kisses.
intimacy.
electricity.
shoes.
internet & computers.
America.
my ability to read.
easy access to food.
creativity.
uplifting music.
Rumikub.
a bed.
love.
understanding.
compassion.

OR the snow.