Wow!

Geez! I'm probably the laziest blogger in the world! It's not my fault though ;-) A lot has happened since my last post... I'm MARRIED now, the fall semester has started, and that means my life has completely disappeared! It's my last semester at BSU and it's definitely bitter-sweet. I love it here and have had an amazing time and I will miss it! I LOVE school and I love learning, so I guess that means I'll have to put my Kindle to better use at home after this December :-)

As far as marriage goes... it's pretty much the same as it's always been! Haha, not much has changed, other than the fact that I have better insurance now ;-) I'm still on the fence about changing my name. It's something I struggle with to this day, and initially, I wasn't sure why. But after careful consideration, I've finally figured it out: my last name is the last physical connection I have with Daniel. I will always have my tokens he left behind (like all of his baseball trophies, which I store in my closet, next to my other precious possessions), but it's the last thing I have to show OTHERS that I was related to him. I'm so proud of my brother, and I want people to know for the rest of my life that I was related to him. So if I'm no longer a Likins, how is that possible? Ugh, it's all kind of a mess. Currently though, the fate of my "Likins" butt is still unknown!

I've been traveling a lot lately as well, which has been amazing and given me the breaks I've needed throughout this stressful semester. But I am absolutely not done!!! I'm planning to go back to Vegas in December with some girlfriends (hopefully). I've needed more and more time alone over these past few months and I know most of it is related to school. When it ends, I'm hopeful these urges to just get up and leave subside a bit! I'm also looking into going on a cruise in February or March, but we'll see!

New Diet!

For the last 5 days I have been on a new diet: no sugar, no carbs allowed. Typically I don't like those kind of diets... you know, the ones that completely eliminate and entire macromolecule from your system?! So, in exchange for going against my morals, I'm letting myself have coffee creamer (which is jam-packed with carbs AND sugar). Let's face it, I need coffee to keep me sane anyways... not to mention it's a miracle for headaches. Anywho, this diet has so far been really awesome: I have been eating nothing but vegetables and chicken pretty much! Because holy crap, carbs are in EVERYTHING. I mean, realistically I knew that, but when I really had to start checking for them, I was surprised. Another part of this diet I'm doing includes getting a FULL nights sleep. Before, I was only getting 2 to 3 hours of sleep, then going to school/work, and then coming home to take another 2 to 3 hour "nap." That's been my routine for so long I wasn't sure I'd be able to swap it! But with the help of an OTC sleep aide (mainly doxylamine succinate), it's been a breeze and for the past 4 nights, I've actually gotten 7 hours of sleep!!! So between all the food and sleep habit changes, I feel better than I have in... well, a really long time :-)

Perspectives

Steve and I were having “one of those weeks” this week. Both of us were stressed beyond belief and stretched waaaay too thin. It was only Wednesday and we were already exhausted! The stress and anxiety was making Steve physically sick. But just when we thought we’d reached the end of our ropes, we received a text: “grandpa is in the hospital.” Isn’t it amazing how just five tiny little words, who alone are so insignificant, can come together to create such a powerful, overwhelming statement?! Steve’s Grandpa B was admitted Thursday night to Meridian in serious condition. I’m SO happy to report to that he is doing much better, and hopefully he will be discharged soon! As weird as it is to say, I think Grandpa B getting sick was exactly what we “needed” this week (not that we wanted him sick at all!!!). Steve and I had completely lost track of what we try so hard to always do: be thankful each and every day for what we have! We appreciate everything God has given us and we let little, stressful things almost ruin that! Grandpa B (with Grandma B at their 50 year anniversary celebration above) reminded us that life is short! We should be (and are) happy for every little blessing we are given, from the clean clothes on our backs to the comfy bed we get to sleep in. I mean seriously, I get to go to sleep every night and wake up each morning with my soul mate, my one and only true love! If that's isn't a blessing straight from Heaven I don't know what is! This morning both of us woke up completely turned around, attitudes in check. We both feel 100% better, thanks to the fact that Grandpa is making a swift recovery and things at Steve's work have markedly improved. The stress has completely resolved and thank goodness we are both back to our usual selves! I hate it when either one of us gets into a negative mood, so when we BOTH were stressed out and negative I was in such a funk! Woo! Glad that’s over... Bring on the weekend!

Yay!

A couple of weeks ago one of my best friends, Megan, and I went to the Grove Hotel (where my wedding reception will be) and got to meet Randy Fenoli!!! I have loved "Say Yes to the Dress" since it first premiered! I showed him a picture of my wedding dress and he went bananas :-) He loved it and reassured me that it was perfect for my body type. It was nice to get such great feedback from a pro! :-) He is such a sweetheart, although, you know what they say about the camera adding on 10 pounds? That definitely applies to Randy! In person, he can't weigh more than 90 pounds... he's so tiny!

Memories

My best friend Sara came over last night and we had our weekly "bestie night," which typically consist of drinking LOTS of Soft Red and watching our favorites on the tube, I.e., TBL and Roseanne. After the night ended, I got to thinking about my brother, Daniel, who passed away two and a half years ago. It still sounds SO weird to say that! I think of him every day and miss him like crazy. He was the most amazing, patient person I've ever known! I'm pretty sure he kept me from killing my little sister a time or two... It saddens me so much to know that no one else really got to enjoy him except my family, as he was so sick all the time and in and out of hospitals. My family and I have gotten much better over the years and I think we are *finally* to the point where we can talk about him without everybody bawling, which is a really nice place to be. On a side note, I've had people ask me why I have "an old granny" quilt background... and I think I was so drawn to it because it represents all that life is! It's lots of weeding and trimming down and formatting and adding and experimenting and trying things on. But through all that you discover what makes you who you are! The quilt background was also important to me because it's one of my Mom's favorite hobbies, and she pretty much rocks my world.