day 475

can i just say something? there is nothing like being 29 weeks pregnant and having to go pee. it is a state of emergency. finding a bathroom before i start to waddle is like finding buried treasure- pure joy! now that we have that out of the way...

HAPPY DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING!!!

wow, i love thanksgiving. not just because of the mashed potatoes and the killer pumpkin bread (if you want the world's most UH-MAZE-ING recipe, ask me. it'll change your life. no, really. it will. i guarantee it), but because everything just feels so warm and fuzzy. literally and figuratively. my mother-in-law's dining room is basically a replica of martha stewart's house (LOVE it!). my father-in-law makes mandarin smoothies (speaking of which- who here is beyond excited for mandarin season? uh, i am!). people hang out and sleep in their snuggies while pretending to watch the boring macy's day parade (admit it- it's totally boring, but it's tradition). i could go on, but you get the point. 

since we're on the thanksgiving topic, i would like to express my gratitude for my friends. i have the world's most awesome friends. i do. i'm sure everyone says that, but sometimes i think i was blessed with extra-special friends. 

for example, i have one friend who sent me a facial in a box. a facial in a box!! how cool is that? another friend has been holding on to a birthday card for 2 years just with the purpose of being sent to me, and it arrived the other day and i loved it. i have another friend who called me on my birthday from a hospital in germany even though she had just given birth less than 48 hours before. i could go on, but then you might get jealous and start asking for their phone numbers and i just wouldn't feel comfortable giving out that information...

when life stinks and things just don't seem to be going your way (and i'm the queen who feels like life is never going her way), it is so nice to have amazing friends (and family!) to remind you of what really matters in life. oh no, is this post turning into a generic hallmark card? yikes. i better stop while i'm ahead...

day 466

good morning world.

i don't want to jinx myself or anything, but pregnancy life has been pretty good lately. minus the sleepless nights, i've been feeling quite... happy! i don't know if it's the hormones or the occasional rain we've been getting, but something has me in a good mood. that's not to say that i've been like the human version of eeyore, but i don't look at my second trimester as the most pleasant time in my life. i'm sure you could tell just based on my day 435 entry. blake probably thinks i'm going crazy cos now all i do is sing at the top of my lungs random songs from "willie wonka and the chocolate factory." sometimes i even dance. 

anyway...

my mum came up with a great idea. we are starting a gratitude journal. or notebook, whatever you want to call it. i thought it was a splendid idea. carry it in your purse and whenever you experience a moment of gratitude or think of something you're grateful for, you jot it down. i think someone mentioned it at church because we're getting closer to thanksgiving, but i want to make this a year-round thing. there are so many things to be grateful for and i think we often get stuck on the same four things: family/friends, health, free country, gospel. 

today, i am grateful for the following: 

1. the heater in my house.

2. chocolate chip cookies

3. living close to my mum

4. my computer

i know, you're probably thinking, "really, courtney? your computer? cookies? how juvenile..." say what you will, but i am so grateful for all these things! they are awesome! this is the part where you think, "yeah, she's right. i sure love cookies." now go dust off that notebook that's been sitting on your nightstand and convert it to a gratitude journal. it'll change the way you look at life, i promise. 

happy monday!

p.s. go read this book

day 460

oh, so many thoughts rumbling around in my head. so many. let's begin, shall we?

1. i've always wanted to eat healthy, but for the longest time, healthy meant eating food that tasted nasty. well, lately i've been trying to find more recipes that are healthy AND taste good. thank you internet, barnes & noble, and the library (and my AMAZING chef friends!) for helping me find some treasures. 

my latest obsession is courtesy of my wonderful mum. she's been telling me the wonders of kale for the longest time and only recently have i taken her advice and finally tried incorporating kale into my diet. 

all i can say is, "why haven't i tried this sooner?!" 

kale-yogurt-banana-berry-OJ smoothie= healthy happiness in a cup. tastes great, easy to make, and gives you tons of nutrients.

love it. 

2. now i must confess something. as i write this, i am eating oreos. nice, huh? here i am professing the greatness of this healthy kale smoothie while eating cookies smothered in lard. the reason i decided to confess, however, is because these oreos aren't as good as they usually are. don't get me wrong. their black and white goodness mixed with ice cold skim milk tastes amazing... until i've eaten a few and the lard mixes with the kale. this makes me think of the scripture mastery scripture matthew 6:24 ("no man can serve two masters")... i suppose i will have to find a new sugary love that isn't quite so yin to my yang smoothie...

3. our landlords don't believe in pest control. i never realized how great pest control is until i moved here. bugs don't normally bother me, but when there is a plethora of them, it starts to get old. 

one of the perks of marrying a man who served his mission in brazil is the built in fly swatter. the man can catch a fly like buster posey can catch a baseball (i.e. he's awesome). only lately he's been passing the garbage can and instead bringing the flies to a spider hanging in our hallway. each day the spider gets bigger and each day i wonder when it is either a) going to burst from too much food, or b) give birth to 2000 baby spiders which will then extend my bug problem. i love you sweetie, but let's find a new pet. sea monkeys? turtle? a goldfish named george?

4. being pregnant is... great. it is. really. i swear. 

okay, i'm half lying. but only HALF. i love getting a front row space at the grocery store that says "for expectant mothers." i love having someone else tie my shoes. i love getting massages more frequently. i LOVE LOVE LOVE feeling my baby move. i love that the kids i sub for are nicer to me cos i'm pregnant. 

do you believe me yet? 

now for the whining...

i am not a fan of the insomnia. i am NOT a fan of feeling twice my size (it makes EVERYTHING i do twice as difficult). i am not a fan of peeing every 30 seconds. did i mention i am not a fan of being twice my size? seriously, that is probably the hardest part. i'm used to being a pretty slender person who can jump and leap and run and hop and do all sorts of things dr. seuss encourages, but now... i feel like i do a 5-point turn every time i get out of bed or off the couch. 

that being said, i would do it all over again and would gladly welcome any other pregnancy-related malady (thank you blake) just to see the face of my gorgeous and amazing son. and yes, i already know he's gorgeous. in case you don't believe me, see here.

p.s. 91 more days. holla!

5. those who know me well know that i am a lady of lists. oooh, i like the sound of that. i can almost here anne of green gables say it as she floats down the river...

anyway, i love making lists and goals. the problem is that i often have too many goals and instead of tackling them one at a time, i get overwhelmed, discouraged, and give up before i even start. 

take scripture reading, for example. i've been meaning to get back into scripture reading for the past... i dunno, 10 years? something like that. but i always want to do it perfectly. read for 30 minutes a day. nay, STUDY for 30 minutes a day. search. ponder. pray. cross reference with my institute manual. compare with the most recent general conference talks. 

do you see where i'm going? it's easy to see why i give up with such high expectations.

so, i changed my strategy. i found this article that said if you do something for 21 days, the habit will stick. 

so, my goal became to read the scriptures every day. no certain amount. no specific book. no specific time. just read. really? that easy? yes, courtney. that easy. 

what do you know- it seems to be working. i figure everything in life is taken in steps. my first step: read everyday. my next step? i don't know yet. probably read for 15 minutes. after that? we shall see. 

6. winco foods makes me laugh. specifically the store in elk grove. when people are hungry, they just grab something from the aisle, start eating, and the return it when they're done.

("oops. i thought this was a golden delicious.")

("crap. it's frozen. put it back.")

(PBJ anyone?)

(everybody's favourite snack: milk and cereal)

(i love the sign: "no sampling please")

that's all for today. tune in tomorrow for more thoughts. well, tomorrow is unlikely since i only update this every month or so, but it's on my list...   :)