Peach Days, Chocolate, and Home Depot

I keep having these grand plans to write like two or three blog posts a week so that I can just write about one week at a time, but then it doesn't end up happening and I have TWO whole weekends to write about!

(I know, you are probably thinking, "Why does this matter?" Sigh, it just does. I think I have a fear of forgetting things. I take millions of pictures. I post them on Facebook, Instagram, I back them up on Google drive AND on an external hard drive. I have a study journal, a regular journal, and my blog. This blog is the easiest way to combine all of that into one...so, there you go. That's why I have to write about my last two weeks.)

Two weekends ago, we drove up to Brigham City to stay with my family and to go to Peach Days. This blog post has been a draft for two weeks titled "Peach Days". Ryan and I were going to put Rose to bed at my aunt's house and then go to the Peach Days carnival on our first date in months. And because she was already asleep there would be no rush to go back because no one needed to watch her or calm her down and she didn't need to eat. I had visions of romantic pictures by the Ferris Wheel and eating cotton candy and just having a wonderful time. (We went on one of our first dates to Peach Days about two years ago, and I was hoping it would be terribly romantic and nostalgic.)

This is from our first time at Peach Days... These are my cousins with us...they were our chaperones... They followed us around the entire time and made gagging sounds every time we kissed or held hands. 

Our date night did not end up exactly how I pictured it. First off, we spent $20 on 20 tickets. We were so excited to go on all of the rides, until we were in line for our first one. Then we both kind of nervously laughed about how much fun it would be, but thinking in our minds, "Are we too old for this? Because that doesn't actually look very fun..." The ride we went on made me feel kind of like I was that fish in the bag of water that Darla shook up in Finding Nemo. With the addition of ridiculously loud music and strobe lights. So, after that we thought we would just stick to the carnival games. Which only took cash and we didn't want to pay for those since we had already paid for our tickets. So, we wandered around getting bumped into by the throngs of people who came from who knows where (Brigham City is NOT a big town!). We smelled more alcohol and smoke than we have encountered since we served our missions in Washington. And at one point someone nearby threw something away that smelled VERY STRONGLY like egg salad... (?!?! Who brings egg salad to a carnival???) We gave our tickets to someone else and took off, sad that we have gotten too old to enjoy carnival rides and worried that we may not like roller coasters as much as we used to either...)

I only got one picture at Peach Days this year... and it's not a very good one, because Ryan had a headache and wasn't very cooperative. (Shocker, I know... Ryan is always so willing to get his picture taken... ;) haha)

This blog post is important, because hopefully next time we are in Brigham City around Peach Days we will remember to just bring cash for the games and only go in the morning before all the annoying high school students and beer come out.

Other than Peach Days being a bit of a bummer, we had a great weekend.

On to the next item of business...Chocolate.

Krista, my friend, texted me a few weeks ago to tell me that National Chocolate Day was on Thursday, September 13th, and asked if I'd like to make/eat chocolate cake with her that day. Nobody in their right mind would ever turn down an invitation like that, so OF COURSE I said I would love to. We made the most beautiful chocolate cake I have ever laid my eyes (or mouth) on and had tons of fun. Rose was a little bored by the time we were done and was mad at me for making chocolate cake for myself when it is obviously my job to feed her/pay attention to her/meet her every want and desire first and foremost. But little does she know, that I am sacrificing myself for her, by eating this chocolate cake, I am making sure she gets the proper nutrients that she needs as my offspring. (The women in my family thrive off chocolate, and for now she'll just have to live vicariously through me.)

This is a funny picture I got of her while we were making the cake. She was bored. 

I took the most professional pictures of the cake I possibly could, because a beautiful cake deserves the time taken to capture how beautiful it is. Here they are:

I ate my half of the cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day. And realized that I would be a much happier person if I made myself a chocolate cake every week unfortunately, that involves making a cake every week and I just don't think Rose will allow me to do that.

Okay, last few things I have to share:

• On Thursday night, after the cake, I went to a Relief Society Garden Party that was "Decade's" themed. I'm on the committee, so I had to dress up. I forgot about it until that morning though, so I had to figure out something that wouldn't look completely awful. I decided it would be easiest to ask my mom how she dressed in high school, so it would be more authentic. I couldn't quite manage it because it's difficult to give uncooperative, thin, flat hair a perm without getting a perm, but I was determined, so I did my best.

Maybe I really will get a perm. ;)

Last thing:

Over the weekend, Ryan and I had some time to just relax and do whatever we wanted (as long as it was mostly free), so we went to the farmers market. I think I need a new farmer's market buddy because Ryan always walks super fast past the first half of the booths which have all the things I want to look at and the samples (he won't eat the samples because he says it will just make him hungry, but I LOVE samples.) and then stops at the stuff at the end and wants to buy things we don't need like MORE giraffes ("But THIS one is from Africa, Kinsey!"). This time on the way there we decided that whoever saw the most yellow cars would get cotton candy. (He was teasing me because he was way ahead of me and he knows that cotton candy is one of my weaknesses, and I would be devastated if we got cotton candy for him and not for me.) Jokes on him though, because the cotton candy booth was probably at one of the many other festivals going on in Utah this weekend. :)
We ended up not buying anything because we are poor and went to Home Depot to find our "true color." (This comedian jokes about not being black, but "chocolate indulgence". It's a funny video and a fun idea.) We found out that I am not "White" but actually "Paper Heart." Ryan is not "Tan" but actually "Artist's Copper." Lucky for me "Paper Heart" was just slightly closer to my skin color than "Pumpkin Essence" because who wants to be described as "Pumpkin-y"???

Then, miracle of all miracles! Home Depot had FREE cotton candy and hot dogs. That's a food miracle if I ever saw one! (I love cotton candy!) Ryan just shakes his head at me, but he loves me and puts up with me despite my quirks and love of free things. I am so lucky. :)

So, there you go. That's our last two weeks. And don't forget (this goes for me too) to keep noticing your simple joys. Have a great weekend!

Simple Joys

Yes, Rose is eating her cardigan in this picture. She likes chewing on her blanket but I guess her cardigan was just easier to get to at the moment. 

Lately, I've been trying REALLY hard to study my scriptures every day, and not just to read them every day, but to really study them, to pray before, to take notes, to write whatever comes to mind down, to think about what I read, to pay attention to what comes to mind, to talk about what I read, etc. One reason I'm putting so much emphasis on this is because lately I haven't felt as close to God as I did as a missionary. I was trying to figure out how to make Him a priority in my life again and one thing that came to mind was that I need to pay attention to tender mercies.

Here's my thought process:

The scriptures say to love God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. > How do I love God with every part of me? > It's easier to love someone who loves  you. > How do I know that God loves me? > By the small things that show up and feel like they are just for me, the tender mercies from a loving Heavenly Father. > Tender mercies feel like they tie into simple joys (which is what I'll write about next.)

So, anyways, I've been working on this for a few weeks now, and it's not easy, but I've been making progress. Something that helped me today was this blog post about simple pleasures. These simple pleasures are the little joys in life that bring a smile to your face and warm your heart. Some of the examples were: the smell of snow, a room with a view, baby belly laughs, etc.

After reading that, I wanted to make a list of simple joys for me.

• When the sun sets just perfectly to turn the sky and the mountains a hazy pink.
• When Rose wakes up in the morning and gives me a sleepy smile, OR when I'm watching her sleep and she smiles a little dream smile.
• When Ryan rolls over in the morning to cuddle with me instead of getting an extra 10 minutes of comfortable sleep. 
• When I have a conversation with a friend that I don't replay in my head for the next week thinking about all the dumb things I said.
• When the sink is empty.
• When there is leftover dessert that I can eat for breakfast.
• When my shampoo and conditioner run out at the exact same time (this hasn't happened yet, but I am hoping that one day it will, and I'm sure it will be glorious and joyful when it does happen.)
• When Rose falls asleep in my arms and I have time to just let her stay there for a while.
• When a book ends exactly the way I was hoping it would.
• When I find a super duper cheesy dad joke to share with Ryan and he laughs because he thinks it's so dumb but then tells me how much he loves me despite my poor taste in jokes. 
• When I go to drink out of my water bottle and there is still water left in it.
• The days when I have a chance to call and talk to my mom for as long as I want. 
• When a baby curls their teensy hands around your finger.
• When you come up with the perfect gift to give to someone you care about.
• Getting a real letter in the mail instead of the regular credit card offers.
• When your favorite snack is on sale at the store for a great deal. (Last week, peanut butter cap'n crunch was on sale for 99 cents a box. I got four boxes.)
• When Ryan get home from work earlier than I thought he would. 
• Using candles instead of light bulbs.
• When Ryan offers to let me choose a romantic comedy for us to watch at night.
• When I actually know what movie quote Ryan is quoting for once. 
• When you actually finish everything on your to do list in a day and have time to sit and relax.
• Those times that Pandora plays songs that you actually want to listen to.
• When we go on long car drives and talk the whole way without running out of something to talk about or being distracted.
• When Ryan grabs me a snack in the gas station because he knows how much I love eating, even though gas station snacks are way overpriced.

Wow! That went on way longer than I thought. There are so many things to be happy about! I could go on forever, but I won't because that would be a ridiculously long blog post. However, I would definitely recommend sitting down and writing a list of the simple joys that you recognize in your life! 

Also, if you have any other good ideas for how to love the Lord with ALL your heart, might, mind, and strength, please share. 

And, thanks for bearing with me and reading my whole list. I hope it helped you to feel a little more joy and a little more loved, as it did for me.