Hello December!

Thursday was pretty uneventful but there's a lot going on inside. I did a lot of thinking today. Some things in life are just hard. Anyways Dan was able to get off work at a normal time yaayy! We had Teriyaki Chicken (his Mom's recipe) for dinner which was delicious. A little bit later Dan came into the living room and said "15 minute intense work out. You in?" Haha okay! He made a list of 15 one minute tasks and holy cow, kicked my butt (in a good way). I may not have the best endurance or muscle strength right now but I worked hard and did my best. 1 minute of push ups doesn't seem that bad but when you're on minute 12 it feels impossible. It felt great though. I'm kind of really excited to actually have a gym again. Whether we get a membership somewhere or the Hart Gym, I just kind of miss it.

Then my brother got his birthday present early in the mail! Amazon told me it wasn't supposed to be there until Monday but it didn't matter to me because his birthday is on Sunday! He opened it and was really confused which was awesome. I got him this.

Yes that is a Shamwow. He was totally lost. He had explained to me a couple weeks ago how it would be cool to make a YouTube channel about buying the 'As Seen On TV' things and products like that to see if they actually work as they claim. So I proudly told him that this was his first contribution to that endeavor :) His reaction was priceless. Hysterical laughter. Remember what he gave me for my birthday?

These are Unicorn Stompeez and there's an air mechanism in them that makes the eyes pop up when you step. I thought the Shamwow was a pretty good match. And even if he doesn't want to film it and they are great you actually use too. I felt pretty clever and his reaction made it all worth it :)

Friday I woke up sore which is great. It makes me laugh cause it hurts but it's a good hurt. I found two boxes on my doorstep this afternoon! I'm sure the UPS man know my address for sure because of my mom!

All of the loot. My mom is great right?

The Lornament I got at last year's party which the lovely Richelle White made

Shadow Box. I love this!

Christmas Orange book with orange deliciousness :)

Candles, ornaments, towels, penguin kitchen utensils

Nativity and candy mmm

These are wreaths that I go on the back of the chairs. I'll post pictures once I get them up!

Table runner with matching place mats

I love it all! It makes our apartment look to Christmasy and festive. One of my favorite things during the holidays were helping my mom decorate for Christmas so it was great I can dress up my place! Looks like Dan will be working late but that's okay because I made a new friend.

I found him outside and had to bring him home but then put him back outside :)

Saturday we started out the day with some festive Christmas shopping! We discovered that the Target closest to us is a Super Target, like it has a lot of food and produce and stuff. It felt weird buying a green pepper from Target but we didn't have to go to more than one store so I was happy! We got pretty much all our Christmas shopping done woot! And what was even better is that we payed for it in Giftcards. Love that feeling. I got them all wrapped and cute :)

After shopping we came back, ate lunch and cleaned. Dan is taking another practice GMAT today. For all those who were wondering but didn't ask (I know there are some because I had a lot of people ask me) Dan did really well for his first time last time. He got a 630 and I think you can pretty much get into any college if your in the 700's? So he did great for his first time! Plus as we went over his results (this test gives you extra stats) we realized the biggest thing he could improve on is time management because he was missing the tail end questions of the section because he was running out of time. So he's retaking it again hoping to be more efficient and speedy! So proud of him.

I also got the confirmation email that my financial aid has been updated. The email I got before was a notification that it was coming and now it is there, in my school account for sure! Makes me so happy! We are so blessed that we don't have to pay for schooling. Dan has a full tuition scholarship (smarty pants!) and now I have my aid. I am so so grateful. We were also notified that our deposit was received so the apartment is officially OURS! Things are just falling into place and every night we are thanking our Heavenly Father for the abundance of blessings.

For dinner I made something extra delicious! Stuffed Chicken Shells

It's stuffing, chicken and onions in jumbo shell with a cream sauce on the top. I kind of did my own rendition on it. Instead of mayo (cause I think that sounds weird) I put sour cream. It turned out delicious! Dan and I were talking and Dan gave me the idea to put cream of chicken soup instead of sour cream and then pour the cream of chicken on top too. But really, it's stuffing chicken and onions.. how could you go wrong? I've found that Dan loves stuffing so this was a win with him :)

Saturday night we watched Hugo! It was a really pretty movie and even though I felt it was slow at some points I really enjoyed it! It was a different plot and the originality was refreshing and nice.

Sunday was wonderful as usual, especially because it's fast Sunday. I always feel closer to my Savoir on fast Sundays. As soon as we walked into the chapel we were asked to speak next Sunday in church. I was just thinking this morning about how long it's been since I've given a talk. It's been since my senior year of high school! I'm excited but also nervous. We're moving in like three weeks so it'll be our hello/goodbye talk.

I am so excited to move. Not because I don't like Bakersfield or something, it's because moving to me is fun and I like packing. I was talking to Dan about this today how I'm excited to move and I realized that most people don't feel this way. Moving is a pain to most people, including Dan. I don't know, I just love it (and yes, maybe that'll change with kids just like grocery shopping but let me enjoy it now okay!) I already love organizing and packing but I'm also excited to go through everything we have and get rid of a bunch of things. Because we were only going to be here for 4 months we didn't bring a whole lot and barely brought any of our wedding gifts. For kitchen things we are mostly using our college stuff which I am so excited to donate and use all our new stuff. Christmas this year will definitely be awesome because we get all our wedding gifts again :) I'm excited to move in and decorate, organize and use all our new stuff!

Haha woah I'm jumping ahead here! I do want to include that I'm very excited to spend the Christmas time with my family in Boise as well :) I miss them and it'll be so great to spend time with them! Seriously I cannot wait! My mom's food, my dad belting Christmas songs, games, fun and not to mention my first Christmas with Dan the man as my husband. I am so excited.

Today I made a Creamy Tortellini Soup

This actually turned out pretty tasty. I made it on fast Sunday so Dan would like it no matter what haha jk :) We both enjoyed however we concluded that we both enjoy thicker soups and this one was quite thin. So next time I will hold some liquid and add lots of cheese or something. Still good though!

Aaaaaannnnndddddd today is my favorite brother's birthday! Today Ryan is 23 years old and wiser too! Shout out to Ryan, love you!

Gratitude Journal
I am grateful for...
November 29 - My Husband. Even though I've said this before, I really do mean it today. I am so thankful for the man that he is and the way that he treats me. I'm so grateful for the respect that we have for each other and the communication we share. I'm so thankful that I can trust him unconditionally and how I always want to sit right next to him. He is a wonderful man and he's mine for eternity.

November 30 - Last day! I'm grateful for the realization of what's important in life. Although friends are important to have it's been made obvious to me which friends actually do care. It made be hard to cut ties with those who have proven they don't think our friendship is important but it's toxically disappointing when you try and they don't. Most important, the relationship I truly value is those of family. I know my family on both sides love and care for Dan and I. I'm grateful to realize that as friends come and go, family stays forever.