March 7th

Today I went to a baby shower (the one I made bows for yesterday). It's always nice to hang out with a bunch of women and be able to talk for as long as we want without our husbands constantly asking when we'll be done. :) After the baby shower Justin and I headed to Home Depot to look at different options for fencing. I'm so excited to have a real backyard this spring!

March 6th

Koryn has over 50 pairs of hairbows and I'm pretty sure she doesn't need anymore, but I thought I would try my hand at making some boutique bows. They turned out so cute! I ended up making a few pairs for some of our friends as well. I'm excited that I figured out how to make them!

March 5th

Every spring I have HORRIBLE allergies. Sometimes to the point of looking like I have pink eye. No fun! Today I went to my doctor and got my prescription for allergy medicine for this year. I'm so excited! I know it doesn't sound very fun, but these medicines make it appear that I have no allergies at all. I love them!

March 4th

Today I took Koryn in for her 4 month appointment. Koryn is doing well and she's now in the 95th percentile for height and 75th for weight. Who would have thought I'd ever have such a big kid? Today after the doctor's appointment I went to the store and bought Koryn some rice cereal. I'm so excited to start her on solid foods!

March 3rd

Today I spent some time designing the invitations for an upcoming Relief Society Enrichment activity. I wasn't able to attend the planning meeting so I was volunteered to make the invitations. At first I wasn't too excited because I thought it was going to be time consuming and annoying since I can be a perfectionist. However, it wasn't that bad!

March 2nd

I don't know if today is more about what I did for myself as much as what I didn't do. It snowed about 4 inches last night. I thought that it would rarely snow in Charlotte, but this is the 3rd in about 2 months! Crazy! So today I decided to not go outside. I think the snow is beautiful, but I HATE the cold. That's one reason I was happy to move from Utah! So for myself today I am staying inside where it's warm.

March 1st

Today Justin had meetings for church, so the wives hung out while the guys were at the meeting. I love getting together with friends. We had a yummy meal and enjoyed talking and playing with the kids. It was nice and relaxing, which is never a bad idea! I made apple dumplings (thanks for the recipe Eva!) and they were so good!

February 28th

Today was rainy, cold, and miserable, but Justin and I headed out to the mall to pick up a few things. Afterwards we went out to eat at Sonic Drive-In. I love this place! I wish we had once closer to our house. I got my usual meal of extra long chili cheese coney, tots and a vanilla root beer. It's the best thing ever there!

February 27th

Today was the consignment sale! I love going to these things. This is the second one I've gone to, but I love the good deals! Today I got Koryn a playmat, tons of books, toys, a booster seat for our table (hoping to start rice cereal this week), some bowls, and a couple of swimsuits. I only spent $55 for all that stuff which is amazing!

February 26th

As most people know by now Circuit City is closing. We have one at our local mall and I decided to to and check it out today. There's pretty much nothing left! (No surprise there!) I was able to find an add on pack for our Spore game and a computer game based on the show "The Office" which all together only cost $15. Not bad!

February 25th

Today I spent time playing around on a computer scrapbooking program I got for Christmas. It's a fun program and I can't wait to learn more about it! I've started making Koryn an Gospel ABC book on it and I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out! It's taking a lot longer than I expected, but that's ok.

February 24th

Today was such nice weather! I took Koryn out for a walk around the neighborhood. I love going on walks! I had some flyers to distribute for a local consignment sale so I passed those out while on my walk. It was so nice to be outside and get some fresh air!

February 23rd

I love having DVR, but sometimes I think it's a little dangerous. I spent all my time today catching up on things I recorded while we were on vacation. I probably could have gotten a lot of stuff done today, but it was nice to just sit and watch TV. What did I ever do without DVR?

February 22nd

Today was spent relaxing. Why is it that you always need a vacation after a vacation? Today I rested (ie: napped) and got a lot of the unpacking done. It's not finished, but good enough. Off to rest some more!

February 21st

Today we are going home! I'm looking forward to being at my own house again, but I'm really going to miss everybody out here in Oregon. I wish we lived closer to family so that we could see them more often. Now were off to spending 6 hours on the plane. What fun!

February 19th

Today was a busy day! We first took some family photos with Justin's dad. He's an amazing photographer and I can't wait to get copies. They turned out so good! After family pictures we headed off to the mall and we got Koryn's ears pierced! They are soooo cute! Justin wasn't too sure about the idea, but I think he'll get used to them and love them! After the adventure at the mall we went to Wallery's (an amazing pizza place) and had dinner with our friend (from BYU) Kera and her husband William. It was so good to see her again and I can't wait to see their baby boy!

February 19th

Today we watched the movie "Fireproof" with Justin's dad. This is an amazing movie! I highly recommend it to everyone!

February 18th

Today I went with Eva (Justin's Stepmom) to visit our cousins. She watches them after school and today I went with her. It was fun to spend time with them! They had seen Koryn briefly, but today was the first time they got to really spend time with her. I also love putting together furniture and so I was able to help Justin's dad put together a piece of furniture. It's like one big puzzle and I love it!

February 17th

Today was so much fun! In Salem, Oregon there's a Waterfront Park that has a carousel. I love going here and we visited it last time we were in Oregon. We thought it would be fun to take Koryn here for her first carousel ride. We chose a horse that didn't move and took turns holding her. We rode twice so that we could each have a turn. It was so much fun and she loved it! I think she had the most fun watching the horses in front of her move. She couldn't take her eyes off of them. Justin's dad took lots of cute pictures and I can't wait to get copies!

February 16th

Today we saw even more family! Today we saw Justin's aunt on his dad's side. Sorry for all the confusion with the family! His aunt and two counsins came over to his dad's house today. Those two boys are full of energy! It was so nice to see them again! We spent more time hanging out, eating, and showing off Koryn. I love vacation!

February 15th

We are now in Oregon for the next week. In a way I think it's going to be hard to do specific things for myself, but we'll see how it goes. Isn't being on vacation enough? We'll see how this next week goes. Today was the first full day and we spent the day visiting Justin's Mom and her side of the family. It was fun to get together for dinner and hang out all day. We just sat around, ate, talked, and played Guitar Hero. Everybody loved seeing Koryn, and I loved showing her off!

February 14th

With today being Valentine's Day and leaving on vacation later this afternoon, Justin was so sweet and took me out for breakfast! I originally chose IHOP, but once we got there it was almost a 30 minute wait and I didn't have time for that because I still had some last minute packing to do. We ended up going to Hardee's, which is fast food and not quite as nice as IHOP, but it was sooo good!

February 13th

I've been wanting to make a blanket for Koryn and I finally got around to it! I'll have to post pictures once I take one. It's made of 4 different fabrics. All the fabrics are different textures and it's all pink and white. I sewed loops of different pink and white ribbons around the outside for Koryn to play with and hold. I've seen these different places and decided to try making my own. It's not perfect and seeing some of the mistakes bugs me, but it's not too bad for somebody that doesn't sew!

February 12th

Today I was able to play computer games! We got the game Spore and I love playing it! I think I ended up wasting too much time playing it because I got nothing done today. Oh well, it was fun!

February 11th

Today I took Koryn to visit all my co-workers where I used to teach. It was so nice to see them all again! I also love being able to show off my little girl! No matter what anybody says, I have THE cutest baby! haha! (I think every mom says that!) I miss some of the people I worked with, but I do NOT miss working. It's so much fun to stay home and play with my munchkin and not have to deal with all the stress and politics of the school system. Well, at least not until Koryn is in school. Until then I'll enjoy life without the school system.

February 10th

I love the show "Big Bang Theory!" It's about the friendship of 4 nerdy scientists and their interactions with thier attractive female neighbor. It's so funny! I record in on my DVR and watch it on Tuesdays so that I can skip all the commercials. Gotta love DVR! Anyways, today I postponed cleaning my kitchen (although I wish I could have not done it at all!) to watch the show. I still got my work done that I needed to, but it was nice to put it off for a little bit and watch a show that I love!

February 9th

Today was crazy! I took my car to the dealership to get an oil change. I hate going there because their service department is horrible! The front desk lady is rude and really mean. I only went because I had a coupon. The craziness started with my coupon. I had a coupon for a $24.99 oil and filter change and she kept insisting that the coupon was for 24.99 off of a $70 oil change and she couldn’t understand why I would be willing to pay $45 for an oil change when I could get the basic one for $37. I told her that I’m not paying $37 when I have a coupon for a $25 oil change. After going back and forth a few times she read the coupon again and realized that I was right and the coupon was for $25 oil change and not a $25 discount. Oh boy. Then, long story short, I ordered a part for my car a year ago (it was still under warranty) and it still hasn't come in. What could take a year!? I've called and always been told that the part is not in. When I asked them about it the lady said she would look into it. They had a record of me ordering the part, but not of me calling so according to them I’ve done nothing for the last year. She came to me a little later and said that I'm going to have to pay for it because my car isn't under warranty anymore (warranty expired last month!). Well duh! However, I ordered the part while my car was under warranty and gave them plenty of time to complete the work before the warranty expired. I can be a very argumentative person when I know that I'm right. However, I also try to be nice and considerate towards people. I love to argue when I know I’m right, and today I decided that I was going to fight my point. I argued with her for a while and then I asked to speak to the manager. He also tried to put the blame on me since they have no record of me calling. I told them it’s their fault they don’t keep records and that I shouldn’t have to pay for my car. He asked me to give him a week to look into in it and then gave me my oil change for free. I hope he doesn’t think that this oil change is going to make me stop fighting my point, because it’s not! I plan on fighting this until I get it taken care of. I know it’s not a big deal because if I pay for the part and repair it’d be under $150, but that’s a lot of money and if they had done what they were supposed to it would have been free! What happened to the customer always being right?

February 8th

Today I picked up my house. It was a disaster, well kinda. We are going to Oregon next weekend, so I have a lot of things to get done. Today it all started with picking up everything. I sure do love a clean house!

February 7th

I got a new laptop today!!! I've been saving for a little while (tax refunds help a lot!) and we finally got it! We only had a desktop that is going to die any day now and it is annoying to use on a daily basis. I love my new laptop though! It's amazing!

February 6th

Today was a very frustrating day. Koryn would not sleep at all! I think I got maybe an hour nap from her. Since she wasn't sleeping, she was very grumpy and fussy. I was going crazy trying to get her to fall asleep and stay asleep! Justin called on his way home and asked how my afternoon went. I told him how stressful and frustrating it was and he offered to go out to eat instead of me having to cook. I decided that the thing I was going to do for myself was to let him take me out to eat. I usually try to not eat out in order to save money, but today I needed it. I love that Justin can see what I need, even when I can't.

February 5th

Today is my mom's birthday. She's 29...again! haha! I love you mom! Today I took time to just chat on the phone and talk about all sorts of stuff. It's so nice being able to talk to her and get advice. She always knows what to say. She had to cut the conversation short and told me she would call back, but I haven't heard from her yet. I'm gonna call her right now!

February 4th

Growing up my Grandma would send us homemade suckers every Christmas. They were the best things ever! She no longer makes them and the recipe has been passed down to me. I used to make them frequently, but I haven't made them in a long time. Today I pulled out all my candy making stuff and I made suckers! They are cotton candy flavored and sooooo good! Maybe not as good as my Grandma's, but they'll have to do.

February 3rd

I just made THE best chocolate chip cookies ever! I love chocolate chip cookies, but I rarely have homemade ones. Today I made some for us and some for Justin to take with him to Young Men's tonight. They turned out soooo good! However, eating the cookie dough will always be better than the cookies!

February 2nd

Today I went to the dentist and spent some time in Uptown Charlotte. Usually I don't like going to the dentist, but I have no cavities and really clean teeth! After we went to the dentist we walked around Uptown and went to visit Justin's office. It was such a nice day outside and I loved going for a walk with Justin and Koryn.

February 1st

Super Bowl!!! Today we had a Super Bowl party! I'm disappointed the Cardinals didn't win. Not because I'm a Cardinal fan, but because I'm against the Steelers. I was also disappointed in the commercials this year. Every year I look forward to watching the commercials, but they were lame this year. There were 1 or 2 good ones, but overall not so much. I still had a blast having friends over and eating lots of food!

January 31st

Today I made truffles! It's a new recipe that I've been wanting to try for a while now. They were pretty easy to make and they taste pretty good. I wish the center was more of a liquid consistency, but I think that would be pretty hard to make. I love to try new recipes (especially desserts and ESPECIALLY anything with chocolate) and I think this one was a success!

January 30th

Justin recently bought a new computer game and unfortunately our 6 year old computer can't play it. Who would have thought a 6 year old computer would be outdated? haha! Anyways, we ordered a new video card to update the computer and it came today. I spent some time taking apart our computer, cleaning it out and attempting to install the new card. However, the card didn't fit. I love computers and I wish I knew a lot more than how to run programs and plug stuff in, but maybe someday I'll have time to learn more. Even though the video card didn't fit, I still had fun attempting to fix our computer!

January 29th

I love number puzzles, as I've said before. Today during Koryn's nap I got on the computer and played all sorts of number puzzle games. I'm not sure how to describe them, but they're called pic-a-pix, fill-a-pix, link-a-pix and lots more. Each one is done differently and you use the number clues to make pictures. I love these puzzles and they're so addicting! If you want to try them out you can go to www.conceptispuzzles.com but don't say I didn't warn you about how addictive they are!

January 28th

So the craft project I went shopping for over a week ago is finally complete! I spent some, ok a lot, of time making a bow organizer for Koryn. I love it!

Here's a full length picture of it. Think she has enough bows?


Here's a close up of the hanger.


Lastly, here's a close up of the bow.


I'm pretty proud of myself for making this! It took a little while because my perfectionist side kept coming out while I was wrapping the hanger, but eventually I let go of it being perfect and I think it turned out pretty well!

January 27th

Today I had no plans and I wasn't leaving the house, so I sat around in pj's all day. Yes that's being lazy, but everybody needs a lazy day once in a while. Pj's a so comfortable and I was more than happy to sit around and be comfortable and lazy!

January 26th

Today was a busy day. I started cleaning the house from all the company that was here. Like I said in my last post, it's nice having family here. However, it's also nice to have a clean house again too!

January 25th

Today's was pretty easy. All of our family has left and so we finally have the house to ourselves again. Today I just enjoyed going to church and relaxing in my nice quite house. Not that I don't like having family and visitors here, but it's also nice to have peace and quiet sometimes.

January 24th

This one was a hard one for me to do. I let my husband do the laundry! I usually only let him do things he can't mess up like towels. Today though, he did all my laundry too! I helped him a little by telling him what can be put in the drier and what has to hang dry, but for the most part he did it by himself. This was a hard one for me to let him takeover, but it was soooo nice not having to do the laundry!

January 23rd

Today we went to the nicest and most expensive mall in Charlotte. Why did we do this? Certainly not because we can afford to shop there, but to window shop! I love window shopping and looking and all the nice things. It may sound crazy but it's so much fun! We went to Pottery Barn kids and I already have an idea for my next craft project. I be I can make it for a lot cheaper then they sell it for! haha!

January 22nd

Since Justin's mom's in town, we decided to let her babysit Koryn and we would go on a date. We've lived in our house for 8 months now and we've never explored a park and nature preserve that's less than 5 minutes away from our house. Today we decided to go exploring! It was so much fun! We visited the nature center and then went on a mile walk on one of the trails. The trail led us to a pond and it was completely frozen over. We stayed here for a few minutes and threw rocks onto the pond. It made the coolest sound! It was so nice to be able to spend some time with Justin today!

January 21st

I love doing crafts and have come up with a new project. Koryn has a bazillion (ok not really, but it seems like it!) bows. I have come up with an idea to store all the bows so I can actually see them and use them! Today I got to go shopping for all the materials. I love craft stores!

January 20th

Today it snowed in Charlotte! We got 2-3 inches. I know that's not a lot, but it's still fun! We got all bundled up and headed outside with Koryn to take some pictures. We built a little snow man too! In some ways I miss the snow in Utah because it's so pretty, but I definitely do not miss driving in it or the cold!

January 19th

Today we went to Best Buy to look around. I love that store! While we were there Justin and I played a little Rock Band 2, but more importantly I looked at laptops! I really want to buy a new laptop. I used to have one when I was teaching and it was so nice to have, so now I've decided to save up for one. Today I started looking at Best Buy and also researching what I want in a laptop and how much it's going to cost. It'll be a while before I get one, but it'll come soon enough.

January 18th

Today was Koryn's blessing day. She was adorable in her blessing dress! One of my favorite things to do is to take pictures. I'm not very good at it and I wish I could take some classes to become better, but it's still lots of fun! After church today I set up a little area for Koryn and just enjoyed taking pictures of my little girl dressed in white. I think I got a couple of good shots, and unfortunately she wasn't wanting to smile during the photoshoot. It's all good though. Seeing her in her blessing dress I couldn't help but think about how fast she's going to grow up and in 20 years or so when she's getting married I'm going to think back to her first white dress (her blessing dress) and wonder where all the time has gone. For now though, I'll just enjoy my little girl and all the time I have to spend with her!

January 17th

Since all the family is in town today we went to one of the malls close by (there's like 4 or 5 really close to us!) and walked around for a while. While we were there we went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. This place has the best chocolate in the world! I didn't buy any chocolate (Thanks mom!), but I did eat some! Even though it wasn't the most healthy thing to eat, I didn't worry about it and I just enjoyed some of the best chocolate ever!

January 16th

Today I finished cleaning my ENTIRE house! Yea! I cleaned everything and I finished unpacking all the boxes (except for a few that will stay in storage). It's amazing how much bigger the house looks now that all the boxes are gone and it's all clean! Clean houses are so relaxing. I love it! My parents also came into town today, so I got to spend some time with them. I'm so excited they came to visit!

January 15th

It's still been crazy getting the house ready for family this weekend. My usual routine while feeding Koryn is to watch TV, so today I watched 30 minutes extra of TV while I wasn't feeding her. I've found a new show called "I Want That!" that I love watching. It a show all about fun and cool things (usually pretty expensive) that you would love to own, hence the name. It's a fun show to watch if you ever get the chance!

January 14th

Today I slept in! It was fantastic! I've been pretty busy getting the house ready for my parents and Justin's mom to come this weekend. It was so nice to get a little extra sleep. Now if only Koryn would let me sleep until 9 AM everyday!

January 13th

Today was crazy! Koryn didn't want to sleep and so she was fussy all day. Sadly, this seems to be happening frequently. What made today crazy though is that I had to go grocery shopping with a tired screaming baby! At the end of the trip I was not only relieved and happy to be done, but proud of myself for ignoring all the stares of the people around me that I rewarded myself with a candy bar! Quick sidenote about all the people staring at me. That all had kids with them so you know they've been in my position before AND one of them had a 6 or 7 year old with a pacifier. I normally don't judge, but seriously!?

January 12th

I find it funny that I feel so much responsibility to writing on this blog. I know it's part of my goal, but everyday I find myself thinking, "What am I going to do for myself today, because I have to write something on the blog." Maybe it's just me being weird, but I feel so responsible to putting it here, even if nobody reads it.

Anyways, today was a very tiring and frustrating day! Koryn refused to sleep all day! So what did I do for myself when completely frustrated? I ate whatever I wanted! I decided that for today I wasn't going to watch how much junk food I ate or make sure I ate a balanced lunch. I ate whatever I felt like. (Good thing I don't want to lose weight!) It was kinda liberating not have to monitor my food intake all day! Unfortunately, now I'm realizing how much junk I ate today. I just won't think about that :)

January 11th

After a busy (and a little stressful) week, today was a pretty relaxing day. Why? Because I did one of the best things for myself. I told myself I wasn't going to stress out over all the housework that needs to be done. That doesn't mean I didn't do anything (I didn't do a ton either :) ), but I just didn't stress out over it. It's quite relaxing when you don't allow things to stress you out. I think I might try to make this a habit! Well, the no stress thing, not the unproductive thing.

January 10th

Today I put off getting the house ready for my parents and my mother-in-law (sorry guys! It'll get done, promise!) to attend a celebration party for our friend Joe. It was fun getting together with friends, eating lots of great food (thanks Joy!), talking and watching football (even though the game stunk).

January 9th

Why is it that you have to be in the right mood to do organization projects but at the same time they can be fun? I was in and organizing mood today so I decided that I was going to tackle my scrapbook room. I know this doesn't sound like doing something for myself, but when I'm in an organizing mood it's so much fun! (I know, I'm weird) I made a lot of progress and I'm very happy with how it looks!

January 8th

Most people know that I love puzzles and that includes Sudoku! Today I got out my Brain Age 2 game for my Nintendo DS and played a bunch of Sudoku games! It was nice to see that my brain hasn't gone to mush since I had Koryn and stopped teaching. :)

January 7th

Today I went to my ward's play group. Even though Koryn is too young to really do anything, it was a nice time for me to socialize with other women. I also signed up for Webinars (online seminars) that show me how to use a new scrapbooking computer program that my mom gave me for Christmas. The first class is tonight and I'm so excited!

January 6th

Today I went and bought myself Wii Fit. I've been wanting this for a while and I finally found one! Now that I stay at home, I've noticed that my activity level has drastically dropped. This is my attempt to keep myself active and in shape! I know it's nothing big, but it's a place to start!

January 5th

Today I took Koryn and went for a walk around the neighborhood. It was warm enough to go out without a jacket! It was just a short walk, but it was so nice to be outside. Also, I got to meet some neighbors while I was out. I see people out and about, but I'm usually driving so I don't stop to say hi, but since I was walking it worked out well! So far (the whole 5 days!) this goal is going well! Justin even comes home and checks to make sure that I've done something for myself every day. One of the first questions he asks me when he comes home from work is "What did you do for yourself today?" I love having his support!

January 4th

Today I took a nap and I was able to sleep for a whole hour before waking up to my little girl. I know an hour doesn't seem like much, but when you've got an infant an hour feels like eternity! It was so nice to get a little sleep!

January 3rd

Today was great! This morning I took a little extra time cuddling with my little girl. I loved it! I also went with the hubby and walked around the mall. We didn't spend any money, spent time together, and got exercise! I guess I did two things for myself today. The more I think about my goal for the year, the more excited I get! I'm really looking forward to completing my goal and being able to look back at the end of the year and see how far I've come.

It's still early in the year if anybody wants to join me and start spoiling themselves :) Does anybody want to join? Let me know if you do and we'll journey together!

The Beginning

This blog is related to my New Year's Resolution. I usually don't make resolutions because I'm horrible at keeping them, but I'm going to try this year.

I'm a firm believer in the thought that you can't take care of others until you take care of yourself. Koryn is now two months old, which is crazy, and I've noticed that I don't take care of myself the same way I did before she came. It's not that I don't care about myself, but I put her needs first and as a result I don't spend much time on myself. So my goal this next year, is to do one thing for myself everyday. It doesn't have to be anything big, but it does have to be something that I want to do and something that makes me happy. My hope is that through this journey I'll be able to become a better mother by making myself happy. I would like to do something different everyday, but I don't know if I can come up with 365 different things to do. If you have any suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments!

Day 1 - To start of the year I decided to take a little extra time getting ready and enjoy my warm shower while my husband took care of the baby. I didn't worry about if she was screaming or try to hurry so I could get back to her. I just enjoyed my hot shower and followed it up with my favorite lotion.

Day 2 (today) - Today I'm taking the time to make this blog. I love being creative on the computer and I'm creating this blog as an accountability method. Even if nobody reads this I feel responsible for updating the blog everyday on what I've done for myself.

Well, that's the year so far. Here's to a great 2009!