Day 20-Nicknames

This is silly... Most of these names have long departed...


Meglegs
Beeker
Meggideath
Frick... or was I Frack... I do not remember
Rinker
Sporty
Sheppy


Recently:
Migo


This was a rather boring post....

Up Next... another Boring post....
Day 21-Picture of yourself

Day 19-Something you miss

My Family/Friends and Traditions in OK

I'm sad that I never get to see this little girl....
And that I have missed so much of her first two and a half years.



Sad I only get to see these people two or three times per YEAR.



Sad I can't just run errands, grab drinks, do CDB's or eat mexican with these girls....




And that I only see this girl once every four years...



Sad I haven't been to one of these since 2006...


Hopefully one day we will be able to spend more time with all of the above :)

Day 18-Something you regret

That I flew all the way to Oklahoma and spent my Papa's funeral at my parent's house puking in the bathroom. Still don't know whether it was food poisoning, a 24 hour flu or dehydration.... Either way, I would have really liked to have been at the funeral.

I really enjoyed getting to know him later in life and wish I would have spent more time with him before he moved to Florida.



Love you Papa! Rest in Peace. Happy to know you're with the Savior.

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

If you know me, then you know that I am OBSESSED with holidays!! I just ADORE everything about them! AND... my three favorite holidays of the year are Christmas, Thanksgiving and Fourth of July!


I am SOOOOOO looking forward to the holidays this year. Last year we spent Thanksgiving in Vegas with our good friend Jess.





She organized a beer pong tourny and The Beer Brigade (AKA J & I) took first!





Whewhoo!! Unfortunately with my job situation and 11 paid days off for 18 months (I have two PTO days left until June 20th), we couldn't make the trip this year :( No defending our win ..... sad.



SO instead..... Two of J's sisters are blending their holiday meals this year so LUCKILY we are getting to eat with them and their families. I'm making J's mom's recipe ... HEAVENLY PUMPKIN PIE! It's completely hit or miss so let's hope this year's turns out as well as last year's did. I am also making my Mom's HELLO DOLLY SQUARES (which I have never made) and her SPINACH SOUFFLE (one of my fave foods in the ever!).

Also, J has a Thanksgiving tradition that we will be partaking in with our good friends Ryan and Jessie on Thanksgiving night. Every year, J watches the Big Lebowski and drinks White Russians. I got lucky that this is his only holiday tradition because I am kind of set on my Christmas tradition with my fam :)


SO... then comes DECEMBER!! And well, let's face it.... this is my FAVORITE time of year! F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E time of year!! Like to the point I got REALLY excited when everyone put up their trees and lights on November 1st :) We're having our Utah Christmas with Friends party the week before we leave for OK. With these wonderful folks....





Very Excited!


We're flyin in on the 21st, have our Shepherd Fam Christmas (Dad's side of family with aunt/uncle/cousins/etc) on the 22nd (which also happens to be at my fave restaurant in the EVER!), Girls Christmas Dinner on the 23rd, Christmas Eve tradition with fam and G-pa on 24th, then all the Christmas FESTIVITIES on 25th.... then fly home on the 26th. Sucks at how busy it always is.... wish we could stay for like 10 days.... Maybe when we're rich we'll get to ;)


Shepherd kids at Christmas 2008







Last year's girls dinner :)





So here's to looking forward to the next 5 weeks :) CHEERS!

Day 16-Dream house

The idea of a Dream House is difficult for me. I have so many different styles that I LOVE! But if I put them all in one house, people would think I am crazy.

I think right now, my dream house would have a fenced yard, several mature trees, a dishwasher, lots of storage/closets, 2 1/2 baths, three bedrooms and a bigger kitchen. AND..... a HUGE front porch :) I'm a southern girl at heart... I need a large front porch!

When we bought our house, we bought it with the intention of only living in it for just over three years. We also wanted an old house that we could put a lot of blood and sweat into... and we found it. Our house was built in 1923, the basement was added in 1932 so it has short ceilings which makes things with renovating pretty challenging. This is the newspaper clipping we found in the woodwork when we ripped out the stairs.



Also, since it is such an old house, they only built it with one closet. That's right folks... ONE closet in the ENTIRE house. Not only that, but the closet is over where they built the stairwell so it is a HALF closet. The picture makes it look like it has drawers... but those are just wood beams.



Frightening, isn't it. Anyways, I think my future dream home would just be a bigger, more modern version of what we have now :)

Here are the different styles and "themes" I love!! I tried to find the best photos I could to represent what is in my head :) It's so hard to forgo all of them and try to pick just one!

MODERN:
Simple. Minimalist. Sharp.

via

COUNTRY:
Warm. Inviting. Sophisticated.

via

And of course my country porch!

via

Old-World:
Elegant. Historic. Rich.

via

via

with a claw-foot tub of course ....

Hopefully one day :)

Day 15-Bible verse

My Favorite:

Day 14-A picture you love

Jenny... she moved to England and I miss her. I never get to see her because she always comes home to Oklahoma over Thanksgiving and J&I always go over Christmas. We are supposed to be visiting her in April but my current job situation has made saving difficult. This photo is from the day Joel and I moved to Vegas. Her and Matt happened to be vacationing in Vegas and we all got to hang out for the night. I love it because this is one of four photos where we were laughing our butts off! I miss her.... A LOT.

Day 13-Goals

Goals... I have always had kind of weird thinking about Goals. I make them very vague so that I don't disappoint myself. I know, I know... that is the exact opposite of how goals are supposed to be. Here are some goals... or a few things on my bucket list :)

• Write a Children's book and get it published with good distribution
  
• Embrace Yoga and regain the body I had in gymnastics
• Have at least one child and be the BEST mom/wife in the world :)
• Become fluent in Spanish
• Travel to the pyramids, the Louvre, London, Italy, Hawaii, Scotland, etc.
• Live in another country for at least three months
  
• Make money doing something I LOVE :)
• Get over my fear of lakes and learn how to water ski
  

Day 12-What you believe

This is a tough one for some reason. I think because my beliefs are always changing and evolving. That is something that I have really taken pride in since moving out of my little bubble. I enjoy that I am always learning, shifting, changing and growing in all sorts of directions. I think I am going to try and sum up a few of my core beliefs:

God is Good and sometimes Faith is all we have. - Life has been such a roller coaster and I think it's true that sometimes the best gifts in life are unanswered prayers. I have prayed for so many silly things over the years and was devastated when things turned out the opposite way of my desires... but as the years go by I have discovered that those unanswered prayers have been the greatest blessings because it brought me to where I am today. (Not to say that I don't still pray my little heart out, because I do)... Thank you Lord. God is Good. :)


Everyone has a story - This has been a struggle to grasp for me but I feel like I am finally learning to curb my other emotions and more than anything try to understand. I have always worked to try and be as nice to everyone as I would want them to be to me. However, like every other human, sometimes I can be quick to judge. But the truth is, EVERYONE has a story. Every person reacts to others on a predetermined set of actions, beliefs, preconceptions, etc. We all got to be where we are today by going through our own crap in life and many of our actions and reactions are just learned behavior from our own life path. For example, the waiter for dinner could be a total jerk and in a bad mood, etc. But maybe that's because he just got laid off and is working a crappy job to try and pay his family's bills. So the minute your nice and he realizes you understand and aren't going to take it out on his tip, he lightens up and brings you extra breadsticks or whatever. Get what I mean. That was a bad example maybe. But when I feel like someone is being intentionally cross with me or inappropriate, I work on being nice to them in whatever place they are at for that moment. It's amazing how that can turn a "rough" situation into a pleasant one in a split second. It's still a work in progress, but at least I am trying :)


Communication Solves Everything - This is probably the biggest thing I have learned since getting married. My husband is the biggest communicator and has really worked on me getting out of my non-communicative bubble. He always says this to me and my gosh, it is SO true. It's surprising how many people curb open communication on a daily basis. It seems like we all have this little filter on... don't get too personal, don't be vulnerable, don't put yourself out there, don't say anything that might come across offensive....etc, etc, etc. You'll be surprised how refreshing honesty can be in most situations when it's easier to go on auto-pilot. And the truth is, most people like to talk about themselves. So what's weird about getting personal? Try it, I think you'll be surprised. :)


Enthusiasm is crucial - the last core belief I will go into also happens to be one of my favorite quotes.

" Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. "
-Samuel Ullman

I don't think I could have summed it up any better! You must choose joy in life. It really is a choice and sometimes you have to work at it... (or at least I know I do!). Our lives aren't all glitz and glamor, sometimes you have to be enthusiastic about the little day-to-day things. Otherwise, what are you waiting for? In the words of Fight Club, "This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time."


Maybe if I feel the spark, I'll write about some of my other beliefs.... this was actually one of my favorite posts to write I think :)

Day 11-Favorite tv shows

Two of my favorite shows have ended.... and I cried at both endings.




Thanks to HBO and ABC for these amazing shows and all the hours I spent loving every episode :)


My current FAVORITE show is.....



Airs Sunday evenings on Showtime. If you have not yet seen Dexter, you should go to Netflix and watch the first season RIGHT NOW. So good :)

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

Terribly scared of these! Bad enough that I had to Google search "cartoon snake" to make sure no actual photos came up. And I still had anxiety the whole time I was scrolling through the images, afraid a real picture might sneak in there. Lame I know.

Day 9-A picture of your friends

Been friends with these girls for 12-14 years. Wish we all lived near each other. I miss them.
Part of the Utah fam (minus some other faves) :) They keep me sane.

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

Hmmm... I have mostly only traveled to various places in Mexico, St. Thomas, and the Caymans. I am going to choose my most recent traveled place.... Riviera Maya in Mexico.




Joel and I stayed at a fantastic resort in the Riviera Maya. It was a short drive to Playa Del Carmen but secluded/less touristy, the way we liked it. It was an all-inclusive Palace Resort that was also ADULT ONLY! Our room came stocked with a full bar a hot tub/jacuzzi and a hammock on the balcony not to mention several pools to choose from. :) I highly recommend it for other couples! The only thing I was disappointed about was the lack of good snorkeling locations nearby.

Day 7-Favorite Movies

I don't know if I can actually list my fav movies... seems like they are always changing. So instead I am listing ones with some of my favorite quotes. :)


The Notebook:


So it's not going to be easy. It's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at this every day. But I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, every day.

The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That's what I hope to give you forever.

It was real wasn't it? You and me. Such a long time ago we were just a couple of kids. We really loved each other didn't we?

I am no one special. Just a common man with common thoughts. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who ever lived. I've loved another with all my heart and soul and for me that has always been enough.


Meet Joe Black:




And what I dream of is a man who will discover her, and that she will discover a man who will love her, who is worthy of her, who is of this world, this time and has the grace, compassion, and fortitude to walk beside her as she makes her way through this beautiful thing called life.

There's not an ounce of excitement, not a... whisper of a thrill. And this relationship has all the passion of a pair of titmice. I want you to get swept away out there. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture and dance like a dervish. Be deliriously happy, or at least leave yourself open to be. I know it's a cornball thing. But love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. I say, fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy and who will love you the same way back. How do you find him? Well, you forget your head, and you listen to your heart. And I'm not hearing any heart.'Cause the truth is there's no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well, you haven't lived a life at all. But you have to try, 'cause if you haven't tried, you haven't lived. Stay open. Who knows? Lightning could strike.



Forgetting Sarah Marshall:




Just watch the movie as a whole. Too many quotes to list :)




Tombstone:



Yes, it's true. You are a good woman. Then again, you may be the Antichrist.

You gonna do somethin' or just stand there and bleed?

He's down by the creek, walkin' on water.



Almost Famous:



Look at this: an entire generation of Cinderellas and there's no glass slipper.

I didn't invent the rainy day, man. I just own the best umbrella.

When and where does this "real world" occur?

William:I have to go home
(Penny waves her hand)
Penny: You are home

I always tell the girls, never take it seriously, if ya never take it seriously, ya never get hurt, ya never get hurt, ya always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Yall know I am addicted to taking photos of EVERYTHING ... so here are a few faves :) I could seriously choose over 100 photos so I will do my best to only have a couple... haha!


This photo is from our Annual Girls Christmas Celebration that my high school friends do every year. This was 2007 and the first Christmas home since I moved to Utah. I feel like this picture says so much about the night and I can't help but laugh at it.


Donnie... oh Donnie. My friends and I became regulars at a local bar near our home town... and we met Donnie. He became one of the crew. He sat with us every night and participated in our conversations. He even joined us on the dance floor a few times. Donnie would always tell us we were his pseudo-daughters since he rarely got to see his own. We were always doing spontaneous random things and I think this picture represents that for me. If I remember correctly, this was the night that Donnie told us he was moving to be closer to his daughter. I wonder how he is doing now.


REESE! My adorable niece! I only get to see her twice a year but she talks to me on the phone sometimes. She is just the cutest, SMARTEST little two year old you will ever meet! My sis took this photo last year when she was at the pumpkin patch. It's been one of my faves ever since!


I had to add this photo because I think it sums up our wedding/relationship in a lot of ways. We were just so excited to be married and the photographer caught this candid moment as we exited the ceremony.


I LOVE this photo. I got teary-eyed the first time I saw it and it always makes me smile. I love that it was a candid photo and that it basically sums up my dad and I's relationship. I think I will always be a daddy's girl and I love how happy we both look.


My home away from home! I love this photo because these people are my home away from home (minus a few amazing people). J and I go to as many Real Salt Lake soccer games as possible. They won the MLS Cup last year so they have been a pretty big deal in Utah. I think more than anything it helps me not be too depressed about not getting to attend OU games for the past four year.


The Pack Family! I don't think it's even possible to love them more than I already do! :)

Day 5-Your siblings

My Sis. I don't know what to say about her. I don't think it's possible to sum her up in only a few sentences. She is amazing. Growing up, we were complete opposites. Probably still are in a lot of ways.



She was outgoing. I was shy.
She was confident. I was insecure.
She was always baking yummy goodies. I could only cook an egg.
She was tan and beautiful. I was albino and awkward.
She didn't play sports but could out do any guy on football statistics. I was a competitive gymnast and didn't understand football until half way through my sophomore year of cheer.
She listens to Sports Radio instead of music and even gave me an iPod she knew she would never use. I am a music fanatic and am ALWAYS looking for new songs/artists.




We definitely had our ups and downs with our relationship but the older I get, the more I cherish her and her friendship. She has always supported me no matter what and did a lot of standing up for me at various times in my life. I know she has always been my biggest fan and the first person to defend me if I have been done wrong by someone.




I love her a ton and continually hope I can follow her amazing example in life.

Day 4-Your parents

My parents... are WONDERFUL! I was very blessed when God placed me with them as a baby! They have worked tirelessly to instill values, love and faith in my sister and I. We don't always see eye to eye but they love me regardless and have always been there no matter what! I know I can always count on them in life for anything that comes my way.



I love them and cherish them more than anything! Just hope they know how much I love them :)