Mosiah 2:41

...I would desire that ye should consider on the 

blessed and happy state of those that

keep the commandments of God.  For behold, 

they are blessed in all things,

both temporal and spiritual; 

and if they hold out faithful to the end

they are received into heaven,

that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of 

never-ending happiness...

A new favorite.

How 'bout it?!

Any chance I could be a dog lady instead of a cat lady?

Pretty PLEASE?!

I can't get enough of these cute goldendoodles!  One day....

Images via Google

Stereotypes: Gym

Check out this video.... you won't be sorry.  I've seen almost all of these at the gym (and I'm sure I'd see the other if I actually went into the guys locker room), oh man.

8 Virtues for a Dominant Life

Look at this article!!

http://www.lds.org/liahona/2014/01/the-best-time-to-plant-a-tree?cid=HPWE010114311&im=true&lang=eng

It's perfect for the New Year, for resolutions to be better and it's just an overall feel good message!  One of my favorite quotes is:

"Even though we might fall short of our finish line, 

just continuing the journey will make us greater than we were before."

Aahh so great :]

Normally I would set aside a list of goals that I'd like to accomplish this year, but when I reflected on my poor success rate in the past and the fact I was having a hard time coming up with goals (other than play bingo at a retirement home), I decided to take a different approach this year.  Going along with my theme for 2014, I have come up with 8 virtues that I want to live by this year.  I am copying Benjamin Franklin a bit, but instead of keeping them for life, I'm going to work on them for a year and then make adjustments. [If you're interested, this guy gives a good explanation of Benji's 13 virtues] 

Hailey's 8 Virtues for a Dominant Life: 

1. Perspective - To avoid getting caught up in the irrational and unimportant by remembering to refocus on the bigger picture.
2. Humor - Live, Laugh, Love. Find the good in the world. 
3. Curiosity - Always progress, find new passions and continue learning. 
4. Sincerity - 100% in everything I say and do.
5. Honesty - To be realistic with myself and honest in my intentions. Separate between wants and needs.
6. Confidence - Unwavering belief in myself, others and God
7. Service - To focus on the needs of others and to ACT. 
8. Tenacity - To be strong spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally

I'm really excited to give this a try. I have a feeling this year is going to bring a lot of changes and I want one of those to be that I have changed into an outstanding human being.  

"You don't need to wait for permission to become the person you were designed to be."

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

#lawyerjokes

I received this email from a client who thought I might enjoy it.  Aaaahhh she knows me far too well. [Heads up, it's a little long, but soooo worth it!]

Part of rebuilding New Orleans caused residents often to be challenged with the task of tracing home titles back potentially hundredsof years. With a community rich with history stretching back over twocenturies, houses have been passed along through generations of family,sometimes making it quite difficult to establish ownership.Here's a great letter an attorney wrote to the FHA on behalf of a client:

A New Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for a client. He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated back to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down. After sending the information to the FHA, he received the following reply: 

(Actual reply from FHA): 

"Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's loan application, we note the request is supported by an Abstract of Title. While we compliment the ablemanner in which you have prepared and presented the application, we must point out you have only cleared title to the proposed collateral property back to 1803. Before final approval can be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to its origin."
 

Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows:

(Actual response):

"Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received. I note you wish to have title extended further than the 206 years covered by the present application. I was unaware any educated person in this country, particularly those working in the property area, would not know Louisiana was purchased by the United States from France in 1803, the year of origin identified in our application. For the edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France , which had acquired it by Right of Conquest from Spain. 

The land came into the possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the privilege of seeking a new route to India by the Spanish monarch, Queen Isabella. The good Queen Isabella, being a pious woman and almost as careful about titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to finance Columbus 's expedition. Now the Pope, as I'm sure you may know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ,the Son of God, and God, it is commonly accepted, created this world. 

Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume God also made the part of the world called Louisiana. God; therefore, would be the owner of origin and His origins date back to before the beginning of time, the world as we know it, and the FHA. I hope you find God's original claim to be satisfactory. Now, may we have our loan?"  The loan was immediately approved.

Boom. Roasted. Gotta love lawyer humor combined with stupid oversight.

Random Musings

I was going through my old draft blog posts and feeling grateful I didn't press publish on a lot of them.  Mostly they were heat of the moment posts which in these instances, were better left unsaid.  I had a rant on my pet peeve of mean and nasty comments on the Internet (still a pet peeve), a post titled "Look who's legit!" with nothing written..... and a list of things I would never buy at a yard sale (including but not limited to: a hot tub, used socks, deodorant and hats).  Like I said, good thing they were left as drafts. :]

Since I rarely post anymore, I wanted to do a weekly domination update, so here it goes!

•  Karlie had her babies!!  Two adorable baby girls that have stolen my heart. I feel such an overwhelming love for them.  I feel like I'm their Auntie and I plan to brain wash them to believe that!  It is so strange but ultimately so awesome to watch the first one of the group have babies.  My little friend is all grown up!  I couldn't be more excited for their little family and I'm glad I can watch the twins grow up for a little while before Kar & Jake leave for med school. 

• I have..... an online shopping addiction.  Most people have their little guilty pleasures or addictions (Diet Coke, Hershey Kisses, real-life kisses, crafting, thrifting, sleeping, Parks & Recreation, etc) and mine just happens to be online shopping. I'm so lucky to have found my addiction so early on in life! ;) I LOVE Jane.com right now, I get so many awesome things on there for such good prices! 
• I got a record in bowling recently! A whopping 76.  You read that right, 76.  I know... believe me, I know what you're thinking.  I am ashamed.  To make myself feel better I played Wii bowling the next night and got a 171.

• I went out on a limb and got new glasses.

• We've been rock climbing like crazy which means I'm getting muscles in places I didn't expect and that I get to see this handsome man and his awesome parents every week! 

• We went to the chalk festival which blew my mind!  These people are sooo talented!  I think it would be awesome to enter one year just to do it, I LOVE chalk. 

• I have made it my mission to introduce everyone to Waffle Love.  Hands down the best waffles I've EVER eaten.  They hooked me in and now I'm a stalker of their traveling waffle truck. 

• I started sewing my quilt and it is coming along sooooo great! It's been a lot of work, but I love doing it.  I think quilts might be my "thing" because they are usually just sewing straight lines, fairly easy and so stinkin' cute!  Pictures to come.... can't ruin the surprise! 
• I found "my spot."  Okay there are actually two of them, but one is for sitting and taking in how beautiful this wonderful State is and the other is a tucked away trail I found close to my house. I've always wanted a "spot" and now I've found two!  The other one I didn't get pictures of, but I will eventually! 

• PK has his farewell on Sunday and then leaves for London a week and a half after that.  I don't want him to go...we just got Jordan back!  I'm really going to miss that guy, but I'm so excited for him because I know he's going to dominate. 
• We had family pictures last weekend and they turned out soooo good! Man I love family. 
• I ride the train to and from work as often as I can.  I LOVE it.  It is not financially feasible, nor does it take less time than driving (it's actually more of a pain to get places outside of the station), but I feel so relaxed and wonderful when I ride the train.  All these years driving quite a distance to work I've developed a small case of road rage and I end up at work feeling frazzled. When I ride the train I get to work refreshed, happy to be around people and ready to get the day started.  I HIGHLY recommend it. 

Well, that's all for now, see you in another 4 months when I blog again! ;) 

Life is good.

Who's this Hailey character??

Too much fun with #bathroomselfies

I am....a Mormon!
I want....to one day make it to Italy and/or Spain.
I have....the 3 best friends anyone could ask for. #kkahforever
I wish....I lived closer to a beach.
I hate....disappointing people and being disappointed. (expectations are the worst)
I fear....being alone.
I search....for new music and opportunities to meet new people.
I wonder....if I will ever be able to follow through with my new years resolutions.
I regret....always being a workaholic and going straight into my career instead of being a normal college student.
I ache....after going to the gym. duh.
I always....need an organized To Do list.
I usually....let my gas tank run on empty for a little too long.
I am not....good at lying. at all.
I am grateful....for my awesome brothers and their humor.
I dance....like a wanna be Jabbawockeez/drill team/80's dancer.
I sing....at the top of my lungs despite being tone deaf. #sorrynotsorry
I never....turn down ice cream.
I love....crazy bright colors, sarcasm & wit, obsessing over a word, movie, song, number, color, etc., clearance racks, goldendoodles, hashtags and being outside.
I like....looking back and realizing the blessing that brought me to where I'm at today.
I sometimes....hate social media.
I miss....having a summer vacation.  Not just a one week thing but the whole summer.
I cry....like any other woman with unpredictable hormones- in most movies/commercials.
I am not always....good at managing my time.
I admit....that I can be stubborn and too independent.
I lose....everything. (Although, I'd rather classify it as being an expert in misplacing things.)
I am confused....when people complain about something but have no intent to do anything about it.
I need....to quit worrying about EVERYTHING.
I should....floss.
I hope....to one day be a Martha Stewart mom/wife.
I....smile, laugh and live.

Found this from this lady and decided to join in!  Repost it on your blog with your own answers and give me a link so I can check it out!!

WHO ARE YOU?! 

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.... ;)

Sometimes I blog

Alright.... pretty much I never post anymore but.... oh well. :)

Some pretty big things have been happening around these parts.  Do you want a glimpse into my awesome life?! Sweet, I'd love to share!

This guy came home. 

It's been kind of a BIG DEAL.  If I said that we were ready for him at the airport with a huge poster and balloons and a million people to greet him then I'd be lying.  We ATTEMPTED to make that happen, but realized (20 minutes late) that we were in the wrong terminal.  It's a weird thing to think that Jordan would be coming in through the International terminal.... (face --> palm) Until we got there, Jordan's travel missionary buddy's family stayed with him and tried to act like it was totally fine that his family forgot about him.  Such sweet people.  To make matters worse, before he arrived, while we were waiting at the airport I started bawling my eyes out when two sister missionaries came home and were hugging their families.  Did I cry when I saw Jordan?  Nope. Apparently shock and mad rushing wipes the emotions right out of you!  I sure was excited to see him though. :) I LOVE having him home, our family is complete again!

We DID make a sign at least!

Jordan's first request after we finally left the airport (without one of his bags...stupid bag decided it wanted to go to LA instead), Jordan's first request was a Baconater from Wendy's.   After his arteries were sufficiently clogged we headed home and to get him set apart.

Since Jordan's been home it's just been a non-stop party (can't stop, won't stop).  We've:

• learned a lot more about Albania
• eaten out a ton to make sure Jordan remembers what good American food tastes like
• seen a bunch of family/friends at his homecoming
• even a surprise visit from Little Miss Syd!! woohoo! (Love you!)
• pulled out the old Nintendo 64 and played some Mario Tennis, Super Smash Bros, Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Party and Banjo Kazooie
• successfully recovered all of his mission pictures when we thought they were all wiped from his jump drives whew!
• successfully recovered his P90X video files that he was probably equally worried about losing with his pictures haha 
• celebrated Jordan and my dad's birthday
• and made a list of all the movies Jordan missed out on (we started him off with watching the last Bourne movie!)

I'm so happy to have one of my best friends back.  He's such a stud! If any of you 19-20 year old ladies are single and looking to mingle, let me know and I'll hook you up.  (Oh wait,  you all went on missions....) ;)

Murder Mystery Dinner

Two weekends ago Anisa and Bronzson came down specifically to visit me!  Aren't they so nice?!  ...... Alright, maybe they came down for other reasons (like celebrating Anisa's birthday) but I don't want to get caught up in semantics.  :]

To celebrate, Bronzson got together and organized a murder mystery and the rest of us put on an awesome dinner!  The whole night was a HUGE success and everyone did a fantastic job at making that happen.

So, let me introduce you to the guests of the evening:

Enrique Suave Graves:
Elizabeth's Handyman/Grounds keeper,
all around ladies man

Kathryn Lawless:
Town Librarian, best friend of Elizabeth (the deceased)

Dr. Chelsea Barren:
Elizabeth's next door neighbor, celebrity Psychiatrist
and author of murder mystery novels

Michael Nightshade:
Real Estate Agent here to buy Elizabeth's house
 and secretly Kathryn's nephew

Norman D'Adly:
Vicki's husband but also Elizabeth's previous lover

Vicki D'Adly:
Elizabeth's sister, visiting with husband (Norman) 

Moderator/brains of the whole operation!

Whoever wrote this script did a FANTASTIC job, and props to Bronzson for finding it!  Each person had quite the dirty secrets they had been hiding and interestingly intertwined relationships with one another that had us questioning every single person as the potential killer.  When it was time to guess 'who done it', Anisa and Kaylyn correctly guessed the murderer!  The rest of us.... were close!  And we all got cake so it worked out in the end.

4 points for Kay who came up with a birthday candle just in time

I am obsessed with these murder mystery dinners now and I'm trying to find a reason to do another one as soon as possible.  It was sooo much fun! Who's up to joining in on the next one?!

P.S. I love you guys, best. friends. ever.
P.P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT TO ANISA!
P.P.P.S. Karlie and Jake gave THE best present.  Can't top that. :]

Hunting

I'm on the hunt.  The hunt for the best Cafe Rio burrito out there!  Ever since I discovered the beauty of these burritos I've decided to face the fact that I am definitely obsessed with them.

"I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!"
Photo courtesy of Cafe Rio. 

Burrito Numero Uno*: Pork with Mild Sauce (El Paso Tomatillo) and Pinto Beans
Review: Super good!  Although after awhile I realized that I didn't love how sweet the pork is... for me it just didn't flow with the spicy sauce flavor. 

Burrito Numero Dos: Grilled Chicken with Medium Sauce (Sante Fe Green Chile) and Pinto Beans
Review: The chicken was so good, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the Medium sauce. It was less spicy than the Mild and didn't really fit for me.  Thanks for the tip though Holly!

Burrito Numero Tres:  Shredded Beef with Mild Sauce (El Paso Tomatillo) and Pinto Beans on a WHEAT tortilla
Review: This was soooo good!  I even loved the wheat tortilla!  (Which makes it healthy so now I can eat it as many times a week as I want right...? Cue mom's eye rolling.... haha) 

Next up:  Shredded Beef with Hot Sauce (Red Chile) and Black Beans.  I'm a little nervous about the hot sauce, but I figure I'll take my brother with me and if it burns a hole through my stomach I'll have Parker finish the rest.  He's a crazy person when it comes to hot sauce.  I also wonder if they would do half black beans and half pinto beans for me.... I love them both!  Anyone else have a favorite burrito combination for me to try?  I'd love to drain my savings account trying to figure out the BEST burrito, who's with me?! ;)

Yup, that's right, I just shared a whole blog post with you about Cafe Rio burritos.  Sorry, unfortunately you'll never get the time it took to read this back, but I may have helped you decide what you want for dinner? You'll forgive me when you take a big bite of a juicy, saucy, delicious burrito.  Promise.

*Spanish class paying off!  Booyah! ;)

All My Single Ladies!

Unfortunately I don't have a man to sing me KC & Jojo this Valentines Day - Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby..... - so Holli and I are going Beyonce style (her old style I guess, since now she's married) this year!  I write about this to let all my single ladies know that they are more than welcome to join us to watch the new movie Safe Haven this Thursday evening.  In addition to watching the epitome of a chick flick, we will probably also fill our time creating dialogue for all those first daters (like in the movie Date Night) and maybe even make a Coldstone run afterwards.  Who's with me!

Plus I'll be doorbell ditching some Valentines gifts to randoms that night to keep my tradition alive.  This year I really had a struggle trying to figure out what to get.  I planned on making some delicious sugar cookies but then my mom mentioned awhile back that she wouldn't eat anything homemade that some random person dropped off on her doorstep for fear of contamination.  Although this was after we received two sketchy looking cupcakes on our doorstep.... understandable.  Also one time when I thought about dropping off a plate of homemade cookies to a police officer in my neighborhood for letting me off a ticket my mom said that even if he knew who they were from he probably wouldn't be able to eat them and would end up throwing them away.  Sad.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the need to be realistic about potential poisons or the unsanitary kitchens that the homemade goods could have come from, but it's still a little sad that I feel like we can't drop off homemade cookies anymore without the motives being questioned.  Even with this secret Valentines tradition I have, this year I wondered, what if I give some person a Valentine and they think it's from their boyfriend/girlfriend.  When they thank their bf/gf for getting them a Valentine... then find out that their significant other did NOT in fact get them a gift..... that could cause a problem for both of them.  Jealousy could creep in and then one thinks that the other has been cheating.  Oh man it could be more problems than it's worth!

So I almost stopped this tradition and gave up.  Almost.

Then I thought of the reason I started this weird tradition in the first place.  I thought of a person who maybe really needs to know that someone out there is thinking about them.  Maybe there is someone out there that just needs a little chocolate (because don't we all?!) and a nice note.  So I bought two big heart shaped boxes of chocolates and I'm going to try to write non-creepy notes to go with them.

I plan on praying a ton to know who's car I can leave them on that will cause the least amount of problems.
Any suggestions on where to drop them?? :)

All Time Favorite

Speaking of awesome videos, this happens to be my ALL TIME favorite music video.  I am obsessed with this song, and the music video is equally as great.  WATCH IT. :)



This song always makes me want to play the drums and dance like a crazy person.

Pep Talk

Found this lovely from this magnificent lady!  WATCH IT!


I swear this kid belongs in the Little Rascals. So there you go, come on people!  Let's dance! :)

Happy Weekend.

Slacker

Sheesh, a day late yet again..... my bad. This past week has been awesome!  I'm grateful for the following things that Dominated my week and can't wait for next week!

Best Birthday Card I read this week.... :)

Helping Habitat for Humanity!

Perfect.

BYU Mens Volleyball game

Coasting into the gas station with ZERO miles remaining!

Counting down until this guy comes home! 

 Jordan comes home from his mission in less than 2 months!  I cannot wait!! Just under 8 weeks left!
P.S. Mens Volleyball is now my new favorite sport to watch.  WOW they are so good!  Plus, ridiculously tall and a lot of them were certainly good looking!  Now I just need to figure out where their after parties are at....
P.P.S Habitat for Humanity is such an awesome organization!! Check it out and go volunteer!
P.P.P.S instaawesome is happening over here @haystack04, care to join me?

Snowmen

If we ever get snow in this great state, this is what I want to do. :)



Courtesy of Pinterest from musingmainiac.com

Also I think that I am going to start collecting snowmen for my future house (that I won't have for another million years...).  My mom collects Santas and I've seen other people collect nativity scenes, ornaments or ugly sweaters, but my "thing" for Christmas decorations is going to be Snowmen.  (That sentence sounds terrible, but I could not figure out the correct grammar for the life of me...) I mean look at this little guy I picked up at Rod Works last weekend. He's adorable!!

Hi, my name is Fred.

And maybe I'd like to name each one? Who knows?!

I love the Christmas season. :)