Feeling a little blue....

Ya what can I say...I feel like crap today. I think a combination of feeling a little under the weather, staying up way to late last night which equals me having the hardest time waking up this morning (despite the ever cute attempts by my extraordinary husband!), and the fact that it's Monday (which I mean always just bites) I feel really blue today. I truly have no reason to complain about anything in my life. I am blessed with an AMAZING husband that loves me more then I could ever express in words, family and friends that make my life complete, a job that is wonderful to me and makes me so grateful to come to work everyday, an apartment that is ideal for me and Matt right now, yet I still feel so yuck!

I get frustrated when things happen so easily for one person when I struggle so hard. I think if I had the opportunity to really walk in that other person’s shoes I would find that it's not that black and white. I am sure they too have their struggles, things they are tempted with, things that make them want to pull their hair out, things that drive them crazy. We just don't see that, we see them perfectly happy, content, as if they never struggle with a thing. I know it’s not true but it is sure hard sometimes to believe it. All I see is their perfect life and I wonder why things can't be easier. I wonder why my husband has had to deal with diabetes his whole life when I see it frustrate him so much that it makes me want to cry. I wonder why I can’t soar through classes with ease, why it takes so much effort for me to get through one homework assignment when others breeze through it. I wonder why people just can’t be more considerate to other people. The utter lack of consideration in this world leaves me dumbfounded.

Way to common I think to myself if I just had this or that I would be happy. If I could just finished school and get a career I would be happy. If I could just get a home I would be happy. If I could just get the ideal car or new clothes or this or that I would be happy. The thing is that if I am always waiting for something else to make me happy I will never be happy. I know this is a concept that I struggle with the most. Just being content with what I have (which is truly a lot) is hard for me.

It’s always a humbling experience to really truly count your blessings. Whenever I get feeling frustrated or upset or just plain lousy the hymn “Count Your Blessings” always makes me realize I have so much. Even if this is your hundredth time reading this hymn I ask you take a minute or two and really ponder the words. Really let them sink in…

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed,When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,Count your many blessings, name them one by one,And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your blessings, see what God hath done!Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your many blessings, see what God hath done!

When you look at others with their lands and gold,Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buyYour reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your blessings, see what God hath done!Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your many blessings, see what God hath done!

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your blessings, see what God hath done!Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your many blessings, see what God hath done!

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,Do not be disheartened, God is over all;Count your many blessings, angels will attend,Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your blessings, see what God hath done!Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your many blessings, see what God hath done!

Just recently my relief society had enrichment night and our theme was “Count Your Blessings”. As a group of women we all sung the words to this hymn and I can tell you it really moved me. The beauty of these ladies voices combined with the reverence of the night was really touching. It got me to really pay attention to the words I was singing and the hymn has a whole new level of importance to me. I know I am truly blessed. I know that if I really count my blessings, name them one by one, I will see that the little things in my life that make me discouraged are really but small things that make no matter.

Just in the course of writing this I feel so much better. I know that things that frustrated me earlier today were pretty dumb and pretty small compared to the grand scheme of things. I think we all have our "I hate life days" but I am grateful to know that they don't have to stay that way for long.

Good times!

On Sunday my sister Chelsie and her hubby Wes and my little brother Austin went up to Salt Lake (well technically Sandy) to have lunch with my Aunt Cathy and her hubby Larry and two kids Riley and Scott. It was SO good catching up! I haven't seen Cathy in WAY too long! I went up north this summer for a cultural day for my humanities class and hung out with Cathy the whole day but since then I haven't seen her and so it was really nice! Austin just recently bought a new camera and took a couple photos...

After lunch we headed over to IKEA and I bought a mirror and some plants. Kind of an odd combination but I really wanted a long, tall, skinny mirror to put in my bathroom (so I can see the back of my head when I am doing my hair...the girls know what I am talking about) and then I have this plant that was actually from my grandpa's funeral that died (a little depressing I would say) so I got some brand new ivy to put in it's place. I think it looks really nice and calming now.

So yesterday I wasn't feeling so hot so I took the day off from work and it was actually pretty nice because Matt had the day off so we were able to just bum around. Later on in the day we decided to do a little family Christmas shopping and guess what...we only have like 3 more presents we need to buy and we are DONE! We have never been this quick and getting our shopping done but for some reason we knew exactly what to get everyone (helps that I have time at work to ponder about such things) and everything worked out pretty well. I also came up with a couple more ideas for Matt and have the money to get them I just need to find some time to buy them when Matt is working...this should be interesting. I also started my painting some of the planets for my astronomy painting (Uranus and Neptune to be exact). I am pretty pleased with how they turned out. Once I get it all done I will take a pic of it and you can all let me know what you think!

Well today Matt is going to an interview at Wells Fargo in Pleasant Grove (that's the city I work in) so I am pretty excited. I really hope he gets the job! It would pretty much make my day but I don't want to jinx anything so I will just leave it at that. Send your good vibes his way!

You know that crazy big holiday and a much needed update...

It's hard for me to believe that it's almost Christmas! I mean come on where has the time gone? Well ok it's not even December yet but store's have already started bringing in their holiday decorations and it's actually pretty fun! I feel that by November you have every right to get excited for the Christmas (but any earlier is just plain criminal)! Not to mention we had a nice little snow storm over here on Wednesday that really made you want to sing, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" (picture my mom with a huge grin on her face right about now). I am pretty stoked about the whole thing.

This will be Matt and my fourth Christmas together, our third one married. It's crazy to think we've spent so many Christmas's together but of course it wouldn't feel like Christmas without my hubby! I have about 15 presents for Matt already (via ordering online while at work, it's the best!) though I still have a couple I want to get (most of them are pretty small and I still need to get him that "wow" present) I am pretty happy that most of my Matt shopping is out of the way. We've already been thinking about what we want to get family members and that makes things about a hundred times easier.

The only sad thing about the Christmas season this year is once again we wont be able to go out to California to visit with Matt's family. We are still keeping our fingers crossed we can find Matt a better job before Christmas but I highly doubt we will be able to go out to California this year. It's a huge bummer for us, we miss seeing his family and spending time with them. We've only been up to see them once on Christmas (well the day after) since we've been married and we definitely want to make it a habit to go up there every (if not every other) Christmas. Our DeGriselles family is truly a special one (in more ways then one...just kidding!!) and we always look forward to seeing them!!

Well enough of this Christmas stuff! Really not too much is new in our neck of the woods. I am working away at Synergy and pretty much loving it. I have been pretty much given an amazing job with awesome perks, wonderful people that make going to work pretty stinkin awesome, and a supervisor who is hands down one of the greatest guys I know...what could be better?! Well we just recently (as in last month) moved into a brand new building and besides the occasional odor of farm lands (which we hope dies down come this winter) it's super nice.

I am also about half-way through my Astronomy class and I love it! I mean yes I don't love the homework, studying, quizzes, and tests, but the information is really interesting and my teacher is so funny and smart and seems like a pretty cool chick you could just hang out with. Right now I am getting an A in the class and hope to keep it up (despite the last couple of chapters we've read that have been more about physics then astronomy and are driving me crazy)! I also started a new painting for the class (you're thinking it's not an art class, what are you talking about a new painting?) but we have these final projects due at the end of the semester and basically what she wants us to do is express something to do with astronomy using our own talents. I am doing a painting of the solar system with my own painting vibe. I hope it turns out good!

Matt is still working as an Assistant Manager at Wally-World. It's not that he doesn't like his job it's the stupid politics and hypercriticalness (is that a word?) of the higher management. Thus we are still on the job hunt to find something better (even if that means finding two part-time jobs...whatever works we are game for!!) every day we are checking online for new job postings and what not. It's not the funnest thing finding a job and dealing with a crappy one in the meantime but we are very grateful we have a roof over our heads and food to fill our belly's, and know that "this too shall pass".

Besides work and school we've been busy with our calling as the Ward Librarians and it's been fun! I love getting to know new members of our ward with this calling and making new friends. Just the other day a lady I had seen every week at Relief Society came into the library during Sunday School and just started chit-chatting with me. I couldn't remember her name (*blush*) so after we talked I looked her up in the ward directory (luckily it had pictures) and found out her name is Tanya. It was really cool cause she just came and talked with me for about 10 minutes about this and that. It was nice to get to know someone new in my ward.

Well like I said not too much is new, just keeping busy and working hard! Things are going well and we both are pretty dang happy! How are things in your neck of the woods?

History has been made...and I like it!

Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States of America with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Natasha

Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech...

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organised, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

I was Tagged!

Sorry it took me so long to post this Erin...better late then never right?!

8 TV shows I like to watch...
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. The Office
3. CSI: Las Vegas
4. Samantha Who?
5. Brothers & Sisters
6. Private Practice
7. Pushing Daises
8. 30 Rock

8 Things I did Yesterday...
1. Cooked yummy breakfast burritos with sausage, yum!
2. Changed flat tire
3. Went to church and killed it in the library (that's right!)
4. Found ride home from church because it was pouring! (Thanks Jennie!)
5. Started laundry
6. Heated leftovers for lunch (delicious leftovers!)
7. Had dinner with Matt
8. Watched TV all day because it was my one day off and loved it!

8 Restaurants I love to eat at...
1. Rubio's
2. Los Hermanos
3. Gandolfo's
4. Red Robin
5. Rumbi Island
6. Cafe Rio
7. Olive Garden
8. In N Out

8 Things I am Looking Forward to
1. Thursday (Matt has the day off)
2. Thanksgiving!
3. Christmas!
4. Finding Matt a new job
5. Visiting with Matt's family (soon I hope!)
6. 3-year Anniversary!
7. Tax returns and bonuses
8. Vacations!

8 things on my wish list...
1. Fly out to California to visit Matt's family
2. Go to Disneyland
3. Cruise
4. Get in shape
5. Get done with school
6. Find Matt a new job
7. New House
8. A little family of our own!

8 People I tag
*Anyone who has a little free time and wants to!