we are....MOVING!

YAY!!!! just in case some of you didn't know we are moving, we are moving May 1st to...CALIFORNIA!

hahah sike. I wish.(if that was the case I bet Ashley would pee her pants) Actually we are just moving to Orem. But even though we are still stuck in freaking Utah for a while more, Im super super super excited to move! Scott and I have been living in our 1 bedroom apartment here in Provo for more than a year now, and its so small we have totally run out of room! So May 1st we are moving into a 2 bedroom condo in Orem, and it is SO darling. It even has a pool and hot tub, so everyone is invited over for swimming.:) The complex is mostly young married families too, so we are going to be going to an actual family ward, which I am so excited about.

Its gonna be a long month as we get ready to move everything out of our house, but its for a great cause. I can't wait to redecorate and put up pictures!

It only took 6 months...

...to figure out that I am allergic to Paul Mitchell products!!!!

So the last 6 months I have been breaking out uncontrollably around my chin, jaw, chest, shoulders, back, and even my neck! I was SO confused to what was going on because naturally I have never been a really "zitty" person. I would occasionally get a zit on my face, but I dont think I ever had a single zit on my neck?

The other day, I was talking to Scott, discussing my complete confusion about what was going on with my skin, and that's when I realized it. Its my shampoo and conditioner. I have been using Paul Mitchell products since the day I started school, and it was about 6 months ago that I started noticing a change in my skin. I have a special body wash that I use to keep my skin disease at bay (a non-contagious skin disease where my hair follicle gets infected) and I know for a fact that that body soap works, I have been using it for 4 years, and at 10 dollars a bar...it better work. But I noticed the last couple months, my back always felt a little waxy, a little "dirty" even though I washed it every day.



I also noticed that everytime I washed my hair with PM products, it always left my hair feeling a little waxy as well, but I never put 2 and 2 together till I realized that it was was not washing all the way off since it's waxy, and since the waxiness was staying in my hair, it was getting in my pillow when I sleep, and then I smash my face and neck into my waxy pillow all night. AH HA! it all fits together! So once I had this little epiphany I text my good old friend Kendra (who is an incredible master cosmtologist) about this situtation, and she said %100 without a doubt im allergic to the shampoo and conditioner, and one of the main symptoms is cystic acne in all the places I described.

So I immediently went out and got some new shampoo. After much consideration and studying, and talking to professionals about what is best for my sensitve skin, I bought my new best friend Pureology. I have tried it before, and loved it, just never felt like I wanted to fork out the ridiculous cash for freaking shampoo. But to say the least, I have been very very impressed and happy with Pureology (I got the purple hydrating colour care one)and I am SOOOOOO glad I invested in this product. My hair is so soft, so clean, so shiny, and my skin actually feels and looks normal again.



Now this is not to say I don't like Paul Mitchell products, I think they are wonderful, worth the money, and most people do not have issues with them like I did, but for me, they just don't work well with my body. BOOOOOO. I love Paul Mitchell. I had 4 bottles in my shower that I can't use.


Anyone want them? Free to a good home lol

(I just realized this is a pointless post...but hey, sometimes I like to talk about pointless stuff!)

Recent Happenings

I think it has been a while since I actually update my blog about US and what WE are doing lol. Its not like you missed a lot. Life lately has been particularily uneventful, DID I JUST SAY UNEVENTFUL!?? sure did! Life the last month has been low key and I we are loving every minute of it. We needed a break after 2 months high stress.

As you may or may not know, during the fiasco with the miscarriage Scott lost his job. His company got closed down and everyone was booted outta there, including my Uncle Brandon who is was the manager. Scott went almost 3 weeks without a job. In the meantime, I was let go from my job 2 days after my miscarriage started. It was pretty insensitive but they laid me off since I was missing too much of my class for the doctors appointments and such and they wanted me in the classroom consistantly, not the subs. I was sent on my merry way with hugs and a 2 weeks severance check. As strange as it was, I was relieved and happy.

...Until I realized we both don't have jobs. YIKES! No need to worry friends, we both got new ones! We both found new jobs within 2 weeks! Scott started working for a company called Progexion (they help people connect with lawyers to rebuild their credit) and I got a job a tanning salon....again. Ok ok its not my first pick in jobs, BUT they offered me a pretty sweet deal. They want me to become the Assistant Manager of the store in American Fork. So far the money has been sweeeet. And once I train for assistant manager, Im projected to make about $2,500 dollars a month, through commission and bonuses. (dont worry my tancer concience friends, Im not trying to die over something foolish, I just do the spray ones).

Anyway Scott has still been finishing up the school year and working, and I am working 40 hours a week, with 1 day off every 10 days. I had to take a leave of absence from school cause I just don't have time to do both right now. :( But I know all my hard work will pay off.

So we are pretty busy, and I love it. Because this time it actually feels organized and normal. Plus all the work and such has made us concentrate on other things, not giving us time to reflect on all the bad stuff tha has recently happened. So YAY for us.

So the only recent thing we have gone out and done was going to PF Changs in Salt Lake City with Scott's brothers and sisters. That was really fun cause it was just the married couples who were older and I had a great time talking to all the girls, Katie, Laurie, Jenn, and Gena. I love his family :)not to mention PF Changs is freaking good no matter the company.





*currently our camera is off at the geek squad lab getting repaired since it was hanging to life by a thread and being held together with rubber bands. It been gone for 3 weeks and it wont be back for at least another week, so lets all hope for our camera to be happy and healthy once it returns, I need to start taking pictures again :(

Caper video!

The Caper video is finally out! The original one got deleted off youtube cause of some music violation, so this time the music is not as good, but its ok cause I love the video anyway!!! :)

I loved this experience and I had the time of my life. I mad great friends and learned so much.

p.s. if you pause it at 3:00 on the video you can see me right in the middle of the screen. Im small but I have my arms folded and then I start clapping. Hey Im basically famous! Jk

Enjoy!

Don't Laugh at Me

I love this song, this morning I was listening to it on the ipod as I was getting ready and it made me tear up (mind you I had just done my make-up and I didnt want it everywhere so I held it back) lol But that took me back to middle school QUICK. In middle school I was the target of some pretty harsh bullying. I was not pretty, I was not popular. In fact, I was skinny and lanky with no figure, I was covered with freckles, and I had braces on my mangled teeth. I was sight to behold. Anyway I was teased mericlessly by girls AND boys. I remember that one girl grabbed my hair and said "was your hair cut by a nun!?" and a certain boy told me that "I looked like I fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down." In fact, in 7th grade the kid I had the biggest crush on grabbed my bag from me on the bus on Valentines Day, and said "lets see how many valentines Morgan got!" he poured it out exposing my one valentine I got during the day...from my teacher, and everyone laughed at me. I would cry myself to sleep in middle school, I would wish I was someone else.

Things changed dramtically for me during the summer between 8th grade and high school. I got my braces off, started wearing real make-up, grew boobs, and got on the cheerleading team, and then life was a little easier. But the pain of how I was treated has always stuck with me. So I might have been a little awkward and weird, so I might have been a little un-cute. But did I deserve that? I submit that NO ONE does.

This song makes you think the next time you just judge that bum on the corner, or look at a person weird just cause they look different or have a disability. God loves all his children, no matter their challenges in life.

It will be mine, ohhh yes, it will be mine.

I found my future home. I. WILL. OWN. THIS. HOME. if it is the last thing I do. I love everything about it. It is in Draper...BOOO which means its in Utah (not where I wanna live forever) but im sure that if Im dripping in dollars, I could have a replica made in Colorado or Texas. With the exact same decor mind you. (actually the decor is the most important part.)

It is flawless. What do you think?

grocery store

The Trip To The Grocery Store That Changed My Life

Thirteen years ago on a cold January afternoon, a trip to the grocery store changed my life.
The pressure of juggling the schedules of four teenagers was pressing in on my last nerve. Truth be told, something was always pressing on my last nerve. That day I still needed to grocery shop and do a mountain of laundry.
I left the kids at home and headed to the grocery store.
Inside the store, I pushed the cart up and down the isles trying not to mow down the huge display of spam. Who eats spam any more? How old is that stuff anyway? My mind was racing with nonsense when my buggy nearly hit the back of his heel.
I gasped and the gray haired man turned around.
“Hello, neighbor” he grinned.
Standing there, in a dark blue suit, crisp white shirt and a shinny red tie my neighbor Robert, looked completely put together.
“And how are you this fine day Robin?” He sounded surprisingly chipper for a man who’d just six months before lost his wife of thirty years.
“I’m okay Robert, how are you doing?” My voice dripped with pity. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you” he said looking down and stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. “ It was hard at the end. She put up a fight though.”
Suddenly, he looked right into my eyes. “It’ll probably sound terrible to you, but I’m kind of excited about starting over.”
Pregnant pause. What the heck do I say to that?
“Well, that’s good.” I stumbled. “So is there anyone in particular?”
“No, no, no. Not at all. I just know what I’m looking for this time. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but it would be someone exactly opposite of Sheila.”
Dear Father in heaven, could this GET any more awkward?
“I mean, I loved her” he added quickly, “but she and I had a rocky thirty years. She was, I guess you’d say, a little difficult.”
He forced a laugh. “She’d say the same about me. Anyway, next time, I want less drama. More peace. And more laughing.”
Time stopped. My chest felt heavy. I couldn’t breathe. This was a God Thing…
We said our good byes. I felt so sad. For Sheila and Robert.
But I also felt sad for my husband, Mike and for me.
The lights in the store were too bright. I looked at my feet. The floor was too shiny.
That’s how Mike would feel if I died tomorrow…
It was true and I knew it.
Uptight. That was me. Life as a rule overwhelmed me. Some days I went from drama to drama.
Finally getting to my car, shivering, I put my head in my hands and wept. Slowly the heater started to warm the cold air around me as I heard a clear message from God’s heart to mine.
If I die before Mike, I don’t want him to look for someone opposite of me. Like Sheila, I needed, less drama. More laughter. More peace.
That very day I came home and wrote down what I wanted Mike to say about me when I was gone…this is it…
*She loved God
*She loved me and the kids
*We always knew she was praying for us
*She made our house a home. Peaceful and safe.
*She supported me and encouraged me constantly.
*She was my best friend.
*******************************
I have come to believe that each one of us, whether we acknowledge it or not, are living every day, the legacy we will one day leave. That list, I made so long ago, has become my standard for living that legacy.
How do you want people to remember you?
Love to you Friends as we live our legacy~one day at a time.
-all things heart and home



This hit me hard, I saw this on a friends blog and it made me realize that I have a lot to change in my life. I complain. A lot. I try not to. Actually that is a lie. I don't. If life isn't going my way, I complain. There is not enough joy, not enough laughter. I need to start focusing on the things that will make me a happier, better person, instead of dwelling on the things that make me angry or annoyed. Im not where I want to be in life, I think everyone could say that. This story is really humbling to me.

You find out who your friends are...

This last month while everything has been going on, I have had a lot of time to think about friends and what they mean to me. Why do we need friends? Why do I need friends?

I think back through all my life and consider the friends I have had. Am I still friends with most of them? Not really. I am still best friends with one of my best friends from High School, but for most everyone else, those "friends" you will have for life, be BFF'S forever with, they just aren't your real friends anymore. Now facebook has made "friendships" a lot more of a loose term. I hate that they call it friendships. I am not friends with the random girl from my biology class sophomore year that sat across the table from me and we exchanged words maybe a few times, and she randomly found me on facebook through other mutual high school friends. You know exactly the kind I'm talking about. The kid you met at some friends' birthday party 3 years ago, you don't remember his name, but somehow you become friends on facebook, and in fact you don't even remember how or when you became friends on there in the first place. You never talk to each other, but you each know a lot more about each other than you ever wanted through facebook posts and pictures, you really should delete them, but it's almost rude? Yup, we all got em!

I think they should really add an "acquaintance" button to facebook instead lol. So what is a friend, if it's not you sisters', friends', cousin who went to the same church as you? I'm still trying to figuring it out.

Being married and having friends is SUCH a different world than friends as a single person or friends in high school. Or at least it should be. There are those couple friends you hang out with with your spouse, your individual friends which you introduced to your spouse, and now you are all friends, and your individual friends that you hang out with or go out to the lunch with while your husband is at work. Friendships while married takes on a totally different dynamic, but what those friends do for you mentally, and emotionally should all be the same. I think a friend, a true friend, is someone who is there for you unconditionally. Someone who has you at the heart of their concerns, and when they ask you, "what can I do for you?" or "how are you doing?" they mean it. They genuinely mean it and want a genuine answer. A real friend is someone who will drop anything to be by your side if you need it, someone who selflessly serves the other person because they care, not because they want to show off, or not because its just an obligation to be nice.

My best friend Ashley is one of the greatest people I have ever met. She is GORGEOUS. She is fun, she is kind, she is driven, and most of all, she is genuine. When Ashley asks me how I'm doing, I know she is asking because she wants to know, and she wants me to answer with a real answer, not just the standard "GOOD!" (because, you gotta admit it, everyone says they are good sometimes just as a reflex response, even when life might be a hell hole.) Ashley and I have always had a great friendship. The years we have been best of friends, we had changed a lot, but the one thing that has never changed is that real love and concern. That's what we need in life. Too often these days, friendships get lazy. Are we not lazy and lax about our friendships on facebook? Things like that have given us the opportunity to finagle our way out traditional friendship, in which you invest time in THE PERSON, not into "oh well I read their status, saw their pictures, read their blog. Looks like all is well. I did my job as a friend."

We did not. Did we call them? Did we actually check into past the surface of "good"? If we just investigate a little further past the good, we might find out that "good" is more like "crappy" and they have just been waiting for us to pry a little further, so they can open up to someone who cares, and relieve some of that stress. We need to step it up. I need to step it up. I have realized that I am guilty of this too, I have not been doing my job as a friend. I have not been there as much as I should be for friends, friends I truly love. I have been busy, lazy, and impatient. If I want good friends, I need to be a good friend in return. So do you. You can't expect everyone to just love you. If you don't try, if you don't put forth the effort, all of your "kindness" and nice personality is being wasted. You need to put in action, I need to put in action.

So ask yourself, What kind of friends do you want? What kind of friend do you want to be? What kind of friend are you NOW?
Everyones true colors come out eventually. You find out who your friends are, and so will they. :)

Happy Sweet 16 Lauren!

Today is my little sister Lauren's birthday. 16th birthday to be exact! It crazy how time flies, to me I feel like she is still 10. :)I'm very excited for Lauren's birthday today because she is actually here today. When Lauren was born, she stopped breathing within 2 hours of her being home. She was rushed to the hospital where she died on the way, she was resuscitated and spent the next 10 days in the ICU. I remember going to see her in the hospital. We were allowed to hold her but we had to wear a gown and a cap. She was hooked up to all these wires, monitors, and had little patches over her eyes so she couldn't see. It was the most heartbreaking things. But after 6 months Lauren was healthy again. Then when Lauren was 3 or so her fingernails started turning black and falling off, there was some concern that she might have cancer. I remember how scared my parents where and I remember my parents preparing us for the worst. Luckily she didn't have cancer, and since had been blessing out family with her presence for 16 years. We are so happy to have Lauren in our lives.

Here are some reasons why Lauren is awesome:

1. She is so funny
2. She is a great singer
3. She has so many friends and so many people love her
4. She is obviously adorable
5. She is always excited and entertaining
6. She always is herself and doesn't try to change for anyone
7. She is a good girl and has good morals
8. She is compassionate and always tries to make you feel better
9. She is easy to talk to
10. She is 16 and can finally date! ...(weird)