I'm An Adult

Rent. Car payments. Electricity bills. Insurance. Finding a job. There are a lot of stressful things about growing up.

But it's also everything you ever dreamed it could be. 

Let's review.

1. Getting whatever you want at the grocery store. WHY YES I DO WANT ALL THE  PUDDING CUPS.

How many boxes of cereal will I need this week?

Maybe I can't fit every flavor of Blue Bell in my basket...

2. You don't have to stay friends with people you don't like.

Let's be honest. Some people in this world are just not going to be friend material.

In school, there was no escape. But newsflash! You are no longer required to force friendships. I'm not saying this is an excuse to be cruel or unkind. Treat others how you would want to be treated, right? 

I just want some people to treat me with distance. 

3.  Clothes? Not mandatory. 

Me within 10 seconds of coming home:

Eight hours of work is a daily struggle

4. Cleaning is optional. 

Don't get me wrong. Cleanliness is important. But contrary to what my mother tried to convince me, the world will not implode if my bed isn't made in the morning. Or if my bed is made ever.

I'm pretty sure I've touched on this before, but general house keeping isn't so much my thing. 

5. You can spend money on anything you want.

24-hour age-defying magic shimmer luscious bronzer? Sounds like a keeper!

6. Cookie Dough. Go ahead. Lick the beaters. And then grab a spoon and eat the entire bowl because NO ONE WILL STOP YOU. 

That tub of Ben & Jerry's is lonely and so cold! Just give it a home. 

7. Homework who? Oh you want me to read something carefully?

8. Finally, you get to appreciate your parents. Real deal. The first time you realize that your parents are astronomically awesome and were right about everything and you were just a brat and you resolve to spend the rest of your life making it up to them?

Powerful moment right there.  Love you Mom & Dad! I hope my seamless GIF integration makes you proud.

Now I'm going to go get my snuggie and eat Girl Scout cookies dipped in peanut butter.

Eighteen

Today I completed the first of my 25 before 25 list!

18. DO SOMETHING DRASTIC WITH MY HAIR

When I saw "drastic" keep in mind:

1.  I usually only cut my hair once a year.
2.  When I say "cut" I mean trim. My hair hasn't been short since the 4th grade.
3.  I haven't had highlights since middle school.

So... my drastic is pretty tame. 

But BAM.

Here is BEFORE & AFTER:

So now I look like this:

 How am I going to act about this?

How am I coping on the inside?

Bring on the next 24!

25 before 25

It's 2014. And while my news feed is crowded with resolutions, I've got a more pressing deadline to think about. In 15 months I'm turning 25. A quarter of a century. A fourth of my life at least!

So before that day comes, I'm setting a bar. Twenty-five goals I want to hit before that clock hits midnight. Here we go!

1. Go to Canton, Texas (Largest Flea Market in Texas)
2. Go on a camping trip, sleep under the stars
3. Go to the Czech Republic with Breck
4. Visit one of the 7 Wonders
5. Learn how to film and edit a simple video
6. Surprise Breck, make his jaw drop
7. Perfect 5 different meals
8. Sew an outfit
9. Tip a waiter an outrageous amount
10. Watch the top 100 movies
11. Go on a road trip to somewhere new
12. Spend one full day in bed
13. Learn how to transition doodles to digital
14. Visit Kirstin in New York
15. Run a half marathon
16. Redesign my blog
17. Assemble 72 hour kits
18. Do something drastic with my hair
19. Read the Book of Mormon
20. Lose the last 10 pounds
21. Read 25 books
22. Ditch my phone for a week
23. Go to the temple 10 times
24. Buy a freaking dresser!
25. Document 1-24

Feel free to join in with your own list or if you can help me reach any of these...

Resolution Review

Can't make new resolutions without revisiting last years list! Verdict?

1. Did I follow the carb cycle? Sure, for about a month before I remembered how freaking amazing baked goods are. 

I also tried Paleo and quickly realized there is a good reason why the human race graduated from being cavemen.

2. Budgeting habits? Well... we still don't have a dresser. But I AM getting better at saving and budgeting! I'm going to say this is the one that I actually did alright on. 

3. Ten minutes a day for scriptures and journaling. Let's not talk about it... my mom reads this blog. 

4. Hmmm... random acts of kindness. I wanted to do twelve and I remember doing 2. Unless you count the time I ran down a homeless guy to give him a pizza and he said he didn't like pizza. The real question there is WHO DOESN'T LIKE PIZZA?

Everyone likes pizza. Jennifer Lawrence likes pizza,

TMNT likes pizza, 

Zac Efron loves the pizza,

even Stanley likes pizza and Stanley is a curmudgeon. 

My only theory is that perhaps the man was not homeless and was too nice to tell me. 

5.  Reading an educational book each month. Well, a quick look at my Bookshelf tab will show you I haven't strayed far from sci fi/fantasy. So I like magic, kill me.  If I ever come face to face with a dragon or a Chandrian,  I'll find myself very highly educated thank you very much. I have read about 30 books this year so maybe that evens it out. 

Better luck this year!

Happy Joy 6

1. Breck and I just got back from an Ellsworth family reunion! My parents rented a gorgeous farmhouse in Frederick, Maryland as a meeting place for the family! It was kind of perfect.

Six straight days of nieces, nephews, ping pong, delicious food, movies, and village wolves... what more can a girl ask for?

2. We got a new car! Ahhhh! After 6 straight months of pulling our hair out over car problems, my little Cougs went the way of the world. 

As much as having a car payment will suck, it is such a relief to not have to worry if my car is going to start every morning! So we are proud to introduce the newest member of our family:

Isn't he handsome?

3.  It was Christmas!!! Is there anything better that the look on someone's face when they're surprised with a gift?

4.  Last but not least... mad props to the man who's put up with my sick, snappy self for the past week and still treats me with all the tenderness and patience in the world. What a catch!

Cotton

So the man and I celebrated year two of marriage!

No biggie right? Marriage is a cinch when you're the best wife ever!

Reality:

So I have this theory that when we met, Breck decided to completely underwhelm me with his romantic vibe. Remember how he forgot about Valentine's Day our first year dating? (I haven't.)

That way he can steadily turn up the dial and keep me in a state of shock as he sweeps me off my feet over and over! Smart cookie that one. 

This year he upped the anti with homemade dinner ready and sizzling when I got home...

and perhaps the cutest gift and table setting I've ever seen (has he been on Pinterest or something?)

 This year, we kept a jar on our counter to stow away some of our favorite memories. Every time we thought of something that made us happy, we'd jot it down and add it to the pile. It was so fun to finally read them!

Happy Anniversary Breck!