Temple day

One year ago today I went through the temple for the first time. The Manti temple, to be exact. It was an experience I will always treasure in my heart and never forget. I will always feel a little differently about that temple because it's MY temple. It's where I married my sweetheart and our forever family started. I love attending the temple and the peace that I feel within those walls.

This coming friday Preston and I will celebrate our one year anniversary. One whole year! I can't believe how fast that year went by. It has definitely been the happiest year of my life. I love that boy with all my heart. But I won't go into that right now....just wait til friday. Thats when all of the gushiness comes out.

The memories I have remembered from this day last year have been so sweet. I am so grateful for my testimony of temples and to have the gospel in my life.

Happy Sunday friends!

...............................................................................................
Spiritual Exercise:
Read: The Holy Temple - a Beacon to the World by President Thomas S. Monson
Alma 14&15
.............................
Physical Exercise:
-nap :)

Refocusing

. Warner Lake . June 2008 . 

Why is it that the grass is always greener on the other side? Something that I really struggle with is the comparisons I make between myself and everybody else. It is so easy to get caught up in what you think other people's lives are like based on what you see on the surface.

 I get so caught up with that in the blogging world. Everybody appears to be good at something. Whether it be they are an amazing crafter, an incredible mother, a motivational speaker, a skilled writer, an awesome photographer, a good wife, or having the ability to dress cute and pose so naturally in front of the camera. Every blog has something that focuses on that individual's strengths and strong points in life. 

When I started my blog, I had barely been married a month and was simply excited to start a blog about my new little family, consisting of Preston & I. That was it. I just wanted to be able to document all of the things we do and use it as a sort of family journal. But then I got caught up in the blogging world and found myself wishing my blog was more than it was. I love to sew and sometimes I would get on kicks where I thought my blog would become a place where I would showcase my crafts. So I did the apron post and even did a giveaway in hopes of getting people interested in my aprons. My one and only giveaway. Sometimes I would post about yummy recipes that I have tried or great books I have read. But I kept getting discouraged that my blog wasn't good enough. That my little family of two just wasn't interesting enough. That no one really cared to hear what I had to say. But you know what? I don't care anymore. Instead of blogging for everyone else, I'm going back to what my original goal was for this blog. To document my family's life. The good and the bad. If I don't have a billion followers, so what! I have 32 and I am so grateful for those that find my little blog interesting. I blog for me and I am going to do it my way. That doesn't mean I won't throw in a random craft project or recipe. It just means I am going to do this my way and go with the flow. I'm sure I will still be envious of the other blogs out there and I will always have feelings of inadequacy. But I am going to try my hardest to push those feelings out of my life. I'm starting over and refocusing on what is most important: my family. And who knows, I might even discover what I really am good at. :) 

A few inspiring words:

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you." -Dr. Seuss

"If you can't get a compliment any other way, pay yourself one." 

-Mark Twain

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -Albert Einstein

"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are." -Malcom Forbes

"Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly." -Robert H. Schuller

"Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality." -Les Brown

"Your thoughts build your life." -The Buddah

.....................................................................................................................................................................

Spiritual Exercise:

Read: Finding Joy Through Loving Service by Elder M. Russell Ballard

-Alma 12 & 13

...................................

Physical Exercise:

-Run 2 miles without stopping!! 

-Strength training

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE my husband??

Senior Prom King. And no, we were not dating at this point in our lives. I was what he liked to call his "little sister". 

In case you haven't heard it before, I LOVE my husband!!! He is honestly the best! Not only is he one of the happiest, most positive people there is, he is constantly making me feel like I am the only person in this whole wide world. Never, ever do I question whether or not I am his number one. I swear he thinks about me more than he ever stops to think about himself. Seriously though, this guy is a keeper.

Even when I am having those silly "girl hormonal days" he is always there to be my shoulder to cry on and be my listening ear even if what I am saying makes absolute NO sense. Days when I feel ugly, he makes me feel beautiful. When I feel like I have done or said something stupid, he changes my attitude and makes me feel smart again. Oh, how I love him.

Yesterday I went out and "knocked doors" with him. He has done it non-stop for a couple of months now and I wanted to know what it would be like. It's not easy, I'll tell you that much! It was at least 100 degrees out yesterday and who knows what that blasted humidity was! I got home and literally had to peel my lovely under clothing off of my sticky, sweaty body. So gross. I don't think I have ever sweat that much in my whole life. And yet, Mr. Husband does that every . single . day. (Except Sunday, of course) Total stud. And I would love to tell you that every door we knocked people were just begging us to give them a security system. But no. Some weren't even interested in what we had to say, if you can imagine that! lol They were mean, sassy, arrogant - you name it! Some were nice, and those ones we definitely appreciated. 

That little experience taught me a lot about the man that I married. He is a fighter and he won't give up, no way no how. He is determined to provide for our little family of two and I cannot even express how much I appreciate him for that.

Oh and while browsing through old photos, I somehow had these ones of my sweet hubby in his younger years.

SO FRUSTRATED!

Ugh. I seriously give up. I really really REALLY want a cute blog. (And yes, I am leaving my blog plain white for now until I figure it out) I know, there are plenty of free ones you can grab off of the internet but I want one that looks more professional. But most importantly, I want to be able to design it myself. Problem is, I have NO clue how to do it. Does anyone out in the blogosphere have any tips for my very flustered self?? What kind of special programs do I need? And if it's gonna cost me an arm and a leg for the program, any ideas of inexpensive design websites?? If so, email me at sydneybishoff@gmail.com. You would be my hero! Meanwhile, I will be drooling over all of the adorably cute blogs out there. Please help! :D

**4th of July**

I had big plans for this 4th of July, and I mean big ones. I had made one of my trusty lists of all of the things I wanted to make and do for the fourth and was overjoyed when my new friend Haley shared these same desires. Haley is awesome, by the way. If we are lucky she will be starting a blog of her own very soon. She has tons of good stuff to share.

Well, she and I may not have been the very best planners/preparers/time managers for this big shindig we were wanting to do. But we were oblivious to that very important bit of information until it was too late to do anything about it. We took a good three hours shopping around, finding absolutely everything we thought we needed, stopped into Qdoba (best quesadilla I've ever had) and got our lunch to stay, and finally decided to head back to our apartments at like 3:30 in the afternoon. 

We thought we had it all under control. We'd start on our baking, get ourselves all dolled up for the big event and have plenty of time to spare to set everything up before the husbands & co-workers got home from work around 8:30ish. Right?? Wrong. Husbands get off work early, cake pops haven't been dipped, massive rainstorm rolls in and ruins our plans of having the party poolside, not enough raspberries to top all of the cupcakes, and the list goes on and on. 

But after all was said and done, it was a great party. It may not have been everything we were hoping or imagining it would be, but it was fun. Makes me realize that not everything needs to go just exactly how I want it to be. Sometimes when you just go with the flow and don't stress out too much, you end up with the best results. Yeah our cake pops weren't as good as Bakerella's, but they were so dang tasty! The strawberries may not have been dipped to perfection, but they had character. And looking back now, its not the stress that stands out the most in my mind, it really is the feelings that were felt that day and the fun that we all had together. 

My Birthday

Another year has gone by and I find myself wondering how I ever got to be 22 years old. I remember when I was younger feeling so sad each time the day of my birthday ended because it seemed like an eternity to have to wait a whole more year before we could celebrate it again. But now they come and go like nothin'! I swear, the older you get, the quicker the years go. Makes me sad to think how fast they will be flying by in another 22 years from now!

This birthday was a special one though. It was my first one as a married woman! woo woo! And my cute hubby did an excellent job making it all sorts of special for me.

                Dress: Gift from Emily, Downeast Outfitters. Lens: Gift from the hubby!! :D Card of my favorite flower: mis padres. :)

We woke up extra early just so we could spend time together before he had to go into work. I ripped open some gifts that my awesome parents and younger sister had sent me, ate a delectable breakfast of my choice (pancakes) made by the hubs, and then headed off to a park I have been dying to go to.

Freedom Park

Preston shootin' the breeze with someone, as usual. He is always taking advantage of any opportunity to practice his spanish. :)

I was mostly just dying to go to the beautiful little neighborhood that the park was located in. Its in an area of Charlotte called "Dilworth" and the park is called Freedom Park. The neighborhoods over there are the cutest! Seriously. They are the ones that you drive down and imagine to yourself what it would feel like to actually live there. Super cute!

 Sportin' my new outfit from my momma! 

We took a stroll around the park (sounds so sophisticated to say it like that), and then  stopped into the cutest frozen yogurt shop called Menchies.

 Cookies & Cream Yogurt + Cookie Dough Bits = pure awesomeness. 

I am obsessed with frozen yogurt and luckily there are so many different places to get it that I never have to go too far to find it. haha. I'm not sure if it is the yummy yogurt I like most or the cute atmosphere of the place. Either way it makes me happy! :D After that we had to go back to being "grown-ups" and go to work for the rest of the day. Luckily though, Preston got to get off work early and we went to downtown Charlotte to find a cute little burger joint. I love burgers so I am always on the lookout to find a bigger and better burger. After that we headed back to our apartment complex to have cake and ice cream.

 My favorite flowers sent to me from my family. Thanks guys!! That was such a nice little surprise! 

One of my cute friends, Haley, offered to make me a cake. So sweet! We had cake and ice cream with everyone in the office and it really was a blast! Thank you to everyone who made my day so special!!!