Update!

Cody and I are selling our house! And no, you didn't just time-travel back to 2008 when we were selling our first home.. Oh man, I'm trying very heard not to get my hopes up. But we've had two showings this week (3 total showings in all) and we've only had our house listed for 3 weeks!

Why are we selling? Going along with our goals for 2012, we want to start living more within our means. And we both believe that means getting rid of excess room (four bedrooms and an unfinished basement with no kids? yeah...) and getting rid of debt! We only have a little left to pay off on my car, and then if we can get a house with $400 less on the monthly mortgage, it would help make the way for me to not have to work full-time. My parents are of the opinion that Cody should just get a second job to supplement any missing income, but I don't want to open THAT can of worms..

We would like to stay in Spanish Fork, but we are considering moving further north if we can get something we like in the same price range. The only thing keeping us in Spanish Fork is family, and since we both have cars, visiting them wouldn't be a big deal. Cody's job at Stampin' Up is going so well, we just want to try to make the commute shorter for him if we can. We wouldn't move up there if it's more expensive though, that's for sure.

I am also switching jobs! I was offered a warehouse position at a skincare company on main street in Spanish Fork, so I have put my two-weeks notices in and I start the new job on Feb 20th. I was hoping to find an office job, but I do enjoy warehouse/shipping work a lot more and I am excited about that. It's full-time with full benefits and the company seems to be doing very well. I just can't handle working two part-time jobs anymore; it's stressful! I've loved working for Nu Skin so very much, I'm really sad I couldn't make it work. Part of me wishes we had tried to sell the house sooner, sold it, and gotten into a cheaper house so we could've afforded me working just part-time. But, no sense in looking back, right?! I'm moving forward and I'm very excited for this new job!

Jeremy is getting married tomorrow! I'm hoping to have some photos to share after this weekend, it should be great! It's been too long since I last posted, so I'm very sorry if everyone is shocked. I don't think I even mentioned that he ended up coming home from the MTC a week after he went in. I don't know all of the details (none of my business, of course), but it appears that he didn't feel worthy to be out there and when he was finally honest with himself, he admitted he didn't really want to go in the first place. I am very proud of him and I think he was brave to confront those feelings and come home. I can't imagine how hard those two years would have been had he just kept those feelings inside. I am sad that he felt it was important enough to keep those feelings hidden all through getting ready for his mission. I just don't remember ever being that concerned about pleasing my parents and family, but I have no idea what it must have been like for him.

He and Mackenzie figured out they wanted to get married shortly after that and tomorrow is the big day! I've taken some time to get to know her better and even though she is very young, she is very sweet and I know that she and Jeremy are very good together! Understandably (but very frustrating), my parents have been pretty negative about the whole arrangement. They would've liked for Jeremy to fix things and go back on his mission, and then when we had ruled that out, they wanted them to prepare to marry in the temple. I would've loved that too, but once a couple decides they want to get married, I believe they should do it! Since they are not currently worthy to be sealed in the temple (it would probably be a year before they could), I think the best thing is to get married and then get sealed later. I'm sure it's going to be hard for them to stay focused on that goal, but I think they can do it!

ANYWAY I'm very excited about the wedding tomorrow! They've been pretty casual about the whole thing, so I'm hoping that will translate into them enjoying the day and not stressing! I took Kenzie to get our nails done last Saturday (since I'm going to be a brides maid and one of their colors is black, black tips for me!!!) and it was good to have some time to talk. She and I haven't talked about anything really deep, but I do feel like we're getting there. I really hope to get closer to her because I'm so close to Jeremy! I really have so much hope for them to prove everyone (i.e. their parents, her dad isn't too happy about it either) wrong and be so happy and perfect for each other! Their anniversary will be exactly one week before ours and that means our 6th anniversary is NEXT SATURDAY!! I can't believe it...

Well, that's all for now.. I will hopefully update again soon with a house selling or something else exciting

Tchussy!!

how well do I know Cody, you ask?! hmmm

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Right now, it's a toss-up between American Pickers, Parking Wars, or White Collar. He watches all of these on Netflix, so he can watch them all day long if he wants!

2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? RANCH, of course!

3. What's one food he doesn't like? One? HA! Seafood.

4. You go out to eat, what does he order to drink? Coca Cola Classic or Mountain Dew.

5. Where did he go to high school? Spanish Fork High, same as me!

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10!

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Right now, he is obsessed with antique clocks. But he's also working on a coin collection, all thanks to his Grandpa passion for the same. 

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? That's hard! Right now, we've really been enjoying canned chicken with mayo and cheese, then "made" on our sandwich maker and it's like a grilled cheese with chicken! SO YUMMY..

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? I have a list because he's actually answered this out loud! Canned cranberry sauce (without the seeds), pickled beets (from the can, sliced), reece's peanut butter cups, and pickled eggs.. I may be missing something, but he loves these items!

10. What is his favorite cereal? He's not a big cereal-eater, but he really likes honey-nut cheerios.

11. What would he never wear? Skinny jeans! lol

12. What is his favorite sports team? He's not really into sports, but I think he tries to support Utah Jazz when he can. His dad loves Jazz Basketball :)

13. Who did he vote for? Obama, but he's not a big supporter these days..

14. Who is his best friend(s)? Jason Boogert and Kyle Weatherspoon!

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? I get mad at him when he tickles me!

16. What is his heritage? I believe he's British and German.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? OH! Rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting! He loves it so much. A little like Funfetti, but the chips are WAY better with rainbow chip.

18. Did he play sports in high school? No. But funny story: He and his friends were on the heftier side in high school and one day they were sitting the gym on the bleachers just talking. The football coach walked up to them and said, "There's my new defensive line! Wanna try out?" And they just said, "meh" HAHA I love that story. 

19. What could he spend hours doing? Going through coins looking for rare or valuable ones, playing the right board games, playing certain computer games, or playing with animals (other people's dogs or cats)

20. What is one unique talent he has? He just absorbs information. Mostly things he's interested in, of course. But he's just amazing with learning! When he was 16 and wanted his own car, he got started with VW's and quickly learned they were high-maintenance. What did he do? He learned how to fix everything on them! He can look at one and tell you the year, engine, transmission, and whether the engine has been messed with at all. And he's like that with everything he learns; he just dives RIGHT in. I love it!

How well do you know YOUR Lover?

Come on 2012!!

Cody and I had a great discussion tonight about what our goals are for the new year! Here are a few highlights:

Cody

-Get more active riding bike more often, eating better
-Pay off piano. Yes, we bought a brand new piano last year .. *sigh* If we pay it off before November, there's no interest!
-Pay off our white car especially after having the engine re-built, what a mess!
Sell the house whatever equity we might make on the sale of this might help with paying off our debt

Felicia

-Get rid of those pesky 10-15 lbs! I've been pretty discouraged for 2011, so NO MORE! This goal is more than reasonable!
-I want to read a ton of books, so I'm hoping the Kindle Fire I got from NuSkin for Christmas will help with that. I want to at least read The Hobbit before the movie comes out this December.
-I just want to be a better me! I've had a lot of ups and downs with doing the essentials in the gospel last year, so I plan to get on track with that this year. Being in Young Women's should help me, for sure!

Basically, our goals are more financially and physically centered, but I believe we can accomplish them! And if everything goes well financially, we're hoping to try out this baby-making game that everyone ELSE has been doing recently! Yet another reason why I want to try to get rid of those extra pounds! We both think we've waited long enough and we need to get our priorities in order!


GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I'm obsessed...

I've officially declared myself obsessed with Harry Potter... I'm almost done with the Work and the Glory series, so even though I've been craving to read HP again, I resisted so I can finish without distraction. Instead, my little brother downloaded the HP audio books .. Fast-forward a month later and I haven't listened to any music thanks to these being on my zune! Also, I'm just starting Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.... ANYWAY! I've been meaning to record my favorite Dumbledore quotes {not in any particular order} for a while now, so here we go! {And if you're really nice, I'll even include more of my favorites from other characters!}

1. "It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
2. "It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!"
3. "We are only as strong as we are united; as weak as we are divided."
4. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."
5. "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."
6. "Ah, music...a magic beyond all we do here!"
7. "In dreams we enter a world that's entirely our own."
8. "Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it."
9. "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."
10. "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above all, those who live without love."
11. "It is our choices, Harry, that show us who we truly are, far more than our abilities."
12. "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
13. "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry. But why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
14. "It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."
15. "The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."
16. "Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."
17. "It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated."
18. "Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right."
19. "We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on."
20. "The consequences of our actions are so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed."
21. "You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself plainly when you have need of him."
22. "Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike."
23. "Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young."
24. "People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right."
25. "Welcome! Welcome to the new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you.."
26. "I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being - forgive me - rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger."


"Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world." {Hermoine Granger}
"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." {Sirius Black}
"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." {Sirius Black}
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." {Luna Lovegood}
"What a beautiful place to be with friends. Dobby is happy to be with his friend...Harry Potter." {Dobby}
"We do not need magic to change the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better." {J.K. Rowling}
"Achievable goals are the first step to self-improvement." {J.K. Rowling}
"Bad news, Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She, er, got a bit shirty with me. Told me I'd got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first. Honestly, the way she was yelling at me... you'd think I'd said something terrible?" {Oliver Wood}

Well, that's that! If you have any other quotes you love, please do share! This post took me way too long and I'm sure I left out many many more jewels! I've revealed my obsession to Cody, so I'm hoping he will keep that in mind as the holiday season approaches....

UPROAR

1. Escape the Fate
2. Bullet for My Valentine
3. Seether
4. Three Days Grace
Set list:
The Good Life
Break
Pain
I Hate Everything About You
Home
Lose Yourself {Eminem cover?} {3:42 is when he starts..}
Never Too Late
Riot
Animal
5. Avenged Sevenfold
Set list:
Nightmare
Chapter Four
Welcome to the Family
Almost Easy
Seize the Day
Afterlife
M.I.A.
God Hates Us
Little Piece of Heaven {definitely NOT work/family-friendly}
Bat Country
Unholy Confessions

Oh my goodness... I know I've praised Avenged Sevenfold before, but this concert was unbelievable! First, the other bands were really great! I was impressed with Bullet and Seether; both were very good live. Three Days Grace was not as good live as I would've hoped, but I still enjoyed their show very much. He was very entertaining {with a fun schizo episode at the end of Animal} and he apparently really loved performing for us. I sang to every song and it was a great set list for them!

But Avenged... Absolutely amazing! Avenged came with UPROAR last year (which I attended, duh), so M. Shadows thought it would be dumb to play the same list of songs. I would've been ok with that because I loved it last year, but I do see his point. They played a great mix of older and newer stuff! They also played two songs I'd never seen them perform (M.I.A. and Little Piece of Heaven) and they were AWESOME! Jeremy was flipping out because his favorite guitar solo is on M.I.A.! And it's just a beautiful song. Little Piece of Heaven is a very impressive song, but it's definitely not for the faint of heart!

My feet hurt, I got to bed really late, and there were guys smoking pot behind us... But it was so great! I actually got up and did my workout, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic about today. What a great night! I had a lot of fun with Jeremy and his girlfriend Mackenzie. It's comforting to know that Cody and I aren't the only silly couple out there. LOL

Update?!

On the Book of Mormon challenge, it's going to take me longer than 100 days, but I've been doing it a few days a week at least, plus reading two or three days worth on Sundays. I love being able to catch up on Sundays!

As for other things, I tried out this workout today and I think it went pretty well. The 20 minute cardio was a little tough for me because I usually allow more than 20 minutes to do my run. I had to hustle! Other than that, the rest was pretty doable, except for the last one.. I had to get a tutorial on youtube on how to do it! haha Anyway, here it is: {provided by See Beauty over on tumblr}

{I realize that today is NOT in fact Monday, but I plan on doing this on Saturday, so there. I'm going to be super sore tomorrow, but luckily there's another to do then so I don't just veg hehe}

100 day challenge..

Now, I don't know if I'm going to end up documenting this challenge on this blog, but I know that would be cool. I want to read the Book of Mormon in 100 days! I've been reading through The Work and the Glory series and it's been pretty enjoyable. But what has stuck with me the most is the characters involved and their quests to know the church is true through reading the scriptures.

I've been fortunate enough to have come to this knowledge by other means. I have a very strong testimony of the power of prayer and of the Atonement. I have read the Book of Mormon before, but I've never been very consistent. And even though I have a strong testimony of prayer, I've failed to keep up with those as well. What I would like is to get back to the basics of my testimony. The basics of the church I love so very much.

I would be lying if I didn't say that my being called to be a Beehive Adviser didn't have something to do with this. I would love to have a positive experience to share with my girls. BUT I have been wanting to do this for quite some time and I think now is a perfect time. I've been getting into routine ruts this year and I think getting back to the basics would be a big help. We had a lesson in Sunday School today and he talked about how keeping up with your scripture study and prayers will always be the best first step to bettering your life. And I believe it!

This challenge I've found will not only help me read it in 100 days, but it will prompt me to ponder the things I'm reading. I've had a few testimony-building experiences with the scriptures, but I've never read it to know it's true. I've never read the scriptures and then prayed to gain a witness. And I know every person is different, but why not try?! I think I owe Joseph Smith that courtesy, at the very least. So wish me luck!!

{I will try to document my progress on here, so if I forget, remind me!}