It's the Holiday Season...

I had such grand plans of what I would do on the blog for this special time of year... and so far, it hasn't (obviously) happened! But oh well.. Y'all are in a forgiving mood... right?


And I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know that we had a good break in Star Valley with Zane's family- great food, great fun, and we met with success on Black Friday shopping might I add! It was fantastic. But as good as the visit was, it felt good to come home to our apartment... and start decorating for Christmas! So far we just have a few decorations on our walls, but we're getting our tree this Saturday! I'll post pictures once it's all done :)

Other than that, there hasn't really been anything exciting as of late. Zane is almost done with the semester- finals are next week! Phew! OH! I just thought of some news... we have callings in our ward. About a month and a half ago, the ward we were in was dissolved and we were reassigned to a different ward. To put it mildly, it's been a kinda tough transition. We had just started to really feel at home in our other ward, then, BAM! New ward. Anyways, Zane has been called as a ward missionary, and I have been called as the Primary Chorister. Which is something I think I'd enjoy, IF there weren't 55 junior AND senior primary children all meeting together at once! It's pure chaos sometimes... and might I add, especially difficult to keep little children focused while I'm talking to the older kids, and extremely difficult to keep the senior primary satisfied when I'm talking to the younger children... SO, if any of you have wonderful suggestions for how to manage/teach children ranging in ages from 4 to 11, PLEASE share your insights and knowledge with me! It won't go unappreciated.

Well, that's if for now folks! I'm so grateful for this special time of year. And of course, for all of you! chao!

Down even more!

So just a quick post today.. I'm down 11.2 lbs!! And Zane is down 15 lbs! :) This diet has gotten a little old sometimes, but I'm glad to know it's working! I can finally fit into a pair of jeans that I ordered online last year but couldn't fit into! YAY!

Another Temple!

General Conference was amazing. I loved it all. There were so many wonderful talks and musical numbers. But one of the most exciting moments was when President Monson spoke on Saturday morning and announced several more temples.. Including one in Star Valley! If you didn't have a chance to watch, here's the link of the announcement :)
http://lds.org/general-conference/watch/2011/10?lang=eng&vid=1194709741001&cid=8

It's Fall!

So with the weather getting chillier outside and with October Conference starting today, I wanted a fall wreath. But all the ones I've seen at WalMart (the only place in town to shop) were too expensive for how they looked- in other words, I didn't want to spend $20 on a some-what pretty (but generic looking) wreath or $10 on a cheap looking wreath. So what does that mean? Make my own :) I bought all the supplies at the Dollar Tree... and I think I spent about $8....

Before

After

Sorry I don't have pics of the steps I took to get to the final product, but I thought about it too late. So, Happy Fall and enjoy Conference today! I'm so excited to sit inside my cozy apartment with a pumpkin pie scented candle lit, a hearty veggie soup to eat, and the Lord's servants to listen to :) Hope y'all enjoy it too where ever you are!

Wait, did I read that right?

I recently got an email from my mother-in-law that had been forwarded from other people countless times. However, I thought it was funny, so I want to share- they're all typos that were found in non-LDS church bulletins. You might have to read some of them a couple times to catch the typo, but others are pretty obvious ;)

- The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
- Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
- Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you. 
- Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
- For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
- Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
- A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow..
- Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
- At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.
- Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
- The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
- This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
- Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM . All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the BS is done.
- Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM . Please use the back door.
- Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
- The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours.

Haha, I hope y'all enjoyed!- I thought they were pretty entertaining :) If you've seen any others (or thought of some clever ones) that you think are funny, please feel free to share them in a comment!

On a slightly different note, I also got an email from my mom that had been forwarded many times as well.. Anyways, I thought it would be worth sharing. Apparently this a sign that was recently put up in Alabama...

Happy Thursday!

First of all, Happy Birthday to my wonderful dad! I hope it's a great day!

Now to update y'all on the past week...

We bought a hutch a couple weeks ago and it needed a little bit of work. But after going back and forth on what color to paint it, we decided to do a fresh coat of white. The pictures probably won't do it justice (or show the fresh paint) but oh well. We added trim to the front of the shelves, as well as half round and crown molding to the top, then after painting, we added new brushed nickel hardware.

Before

After

Tuesday was Zane's birthday and I made him a Cowboy cake- go Pokes! It was a vanilla cake with buttercream frosting and a strawberry filling. And of course, we had a few Star Valley friends over to help us eat it! :)

Then on Saturday, as any serious football fans would know, it was the Wyoming/Nebraska game. The size of Laramie literally doubled in size over the weekend. There were 32,000 fans at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Zane went some from friends- We sold my ticket to a friend of Zane's so he could take his girlfriend. I was content to not face the crowds, so I had no problem staying home to watch on tv... But Zane was good and did take some pics at the game :)

Well that's all for the updates for now- I better go get ready for work! Happy Thursday y'all- have a great day!

We're Not Perfect.. So Don't Judge.

In an effort to be accountable to others, here's an update on our diet...So far,  Zane and I have been doing pretty good on our diet.... until today. In fact, we were even doing pretty good today until about 7pm. And that's when a insatiable desire for chocolate chip cookies took over. We went back and forth and back and forth on whether or not to give in and make them. And sure enough, after a little more than a half hour, we gave in. I know, we're weak! But rest assured, we've learned our lesson, because after not having sugar for the past 2 weeks, I feel sick from the cookies I ate tonight! Needless to say, we won't be doing this again. It looks like tomorrow will have to include an extra hard work out to make up for our "indiscretion" today...