Home Sweet Home

Wellllllllllll the secret is out.  I'm not very good at keeping exciting secrets anyways. Friends, you've been warned  I have a new nickname around my family, "Hailey Homeowner."  BOOYAH!!!!

Taken with my embarrassingly organized binder of documents for closing.
They hadn't seen something like this in over 30 years.
All thanks to my mom for giving me the obsessively organized gene :)

Once upon a new years resolution, I made a list of things I hoped to accomplish in the year 2013.  This month I put a big check mark next to #5: Buy my own place.   :]  That's right, I signed my life away for the next 30 years for the most adorable little condo and I could NOT be more happy about it.  I was worried about the forewarned "buyer's remorse" but so far I have had none of that.  I was able to walk away with a steal of a deal, thanks to Sean at Summit Realty and Maralee at 1st Home Mortgage.  These people were so great to me and so helpful!  This lovely pad o' mine has given me purpose, something to work on, take care of and progress with.

To celebrate this awesome milestone in my life I held a proper ribbon cutting ceremony with some of my besties for the first time I entered my Home Sweet Home as its owner. That's what normal people do right....?   It was pretty much the greatest welcome home I've ever received and I couldn't have done it without my friends! (Shoutout to you Kar, Jake, Kay and Joe - Anisa and Bronzson were there via video recording and were missed terribly)

First project: PAINTING.  My mom and I are taking on the massive job to paint the whole place and we just finished with the baseboards.  I'm excited about some killer before and after pictures but until then my evenings have been consumed by taping off baseboards, ceilings, doors, outlets, myself, carpet, people and anything else that needs a good covering.  I'm so lucky to have such a fantastic mom who is an expert in this area and willing to help me out.  We make a pretty good team, she and I.  (Is that grammatically correct?)

See, having a house is teaching me relationship lessons! Bonus! haha

I am HAPPY.  Life is GOOD.  I love EVERYONE I've been able to surround myself with lately.... and I love SUMMER.  Times like these make me look back and be grateful for all I've had to go through to get to this point.  So why not be happy for where I'm at now and what is ahead?!

P.S. Isn't it pretty awesome that this quote session began and ended with the Hinckleys?  They are so great!

PK Fire

On Sunday I had the opportunity to sit in on Parker's patriarchal blessing.  It has been a LONG time since I received mine and so it was really good to remember how special these blessings are. Sometimes I get caught up feeling as if I'm alone in this world, alone in my decisions, alone in my hopes and desires.  Yes, I do have family and friends to share things with, but they don't have a crystal ball either.  darn it!  I don't like not knowing what the future will hold for me and so it causes me a lot of stress and anxiety to venture out into the unknown.  Well this weekend I remembered that I do have a map for my journey through this earthly life.  I do have insight into my strengths and weaknesses.  I do have promises of blessings upon following the commandments and I do have specific responsibilities or duties to accomplish while here.   All of these things and more are found in my patriarchal blessing. It's pretty amazing to me that I received my blessing when I was 15, and it is STILL accurate and pertinent to my life today.  Also, despite whatever I'm going through at the time (good or bad) something new (but relevant) always seems to come to light when I read it.  Reading my patriarchal blessing helps me keep perspective and realize my potential and worth.

Listening to Parker's was such a blessing for me because it just reiterated a few things that I already knew about him:

• He's such a good kid, guy, man with SUCH a bright future ahead of him
• He's genuinely nice and sweet with a great sense of humor
• He will definitely be making a big impact on the world #watchout    
• AND I'm grateful to have him as my brother

As if there aren't enough awesome things about Parker, it's his birthday on Sunday!!  CELEBRATE!!  If you didn't know already, PK is kind of a big deal.  Love him. :)


Happy Friday!

A Quote a Day.... Keeps the Snow Away... (Hopefully)

I love the sun.  I've recently discovered that I'm one of those people who is significantly happier when the sun is shining.  When it snowed on my way to work yesterday I didn't even mind because an hour later it was bright and sunny again!  (oh Utah....)

Well here are a few quotes that have saved me throughout this crazy work week.  All via Pinterest.

AND then some of these....

So we started our SF outdoor soccer Women's league a few weeks ago and it has felt so good to be playing outside!  Actually, physically it felt terrible because I am SO out of shape (see quote above re: turtles and peanut butter), but it was good to get out and play.  I mean I even got sun burnt last week! HALLELUJAH!   Ah man I love me some summer.  P.S. Danica, our team name "Keepin' it REAL" will always make me think of you.  We thought of you when Kay and I picked it!

Okay, I'm obsessed.  I LOVE Yogurtland.  Plus it's yogurt so it's so much healthier than ice cream! Yes, I happily live in a state of denial, why do you ask? See those strawberries and kiwis?  #Instahealthpoints. Never mind the fact that the cheesecake bites are overpowering the strawberries.... ;)