Keepin' it simple

As I was preparing my lesson for church on Sunday I came across this quote in this months Ensign and it keeps on crossing my mind. I just can't seem to get it out!

"If I were the devil, I don't think I could get Latter-day Saints with any of the big sins. I think I would just keep them busy"

That is profound. I am good. Nick is good. We do good stuff. We even teach Scarlett good things. But are we doing anything great? I don't know. I have this nagging feeling that I could do more, if I just slowed down. My days are busy. Sometimes I am so busy I don't have time to serve others, read my scriptures, or even think about about one gospel oriented topic. Sheesh that sounds terrible but it is true. I need to slow down and make time for the simple yet great things! Like... sit behind the door and just listen to Scarlett as she talks to herself while playing. She says ball, kitty, thank you, more, and shakes her head no. She has an angelic voice. One day she won't be so small and if I keep on being so busy I am going to miss it!

(she learned to climb...yikes)

(My friend gave this too me before I even knew I was having a girl. She loves to help put in the dishes)

Day of Love

We celebrated on Saturday, seeing I work on Mondays and get home late. We went to dinner, Nick picked the restaurant and would not tell me where he was taking me. He did warn me with "you are going to see the place and hate it, but don't worry you will love it when we leave". Never a good introduction to a meal. Who knew Vegas had a China town? I've Lived here all my life and never knew. I mean I saw the sign "China Town" at the exit when driving on the I-15 but just thought it was a casino or something. Well we have one! It is about 3 blocks of nothing but Chinese food places and everything is in chinese. It made finding the restaurant slightly difficult. It was called Honey Pig and was a Korean diner. I by Korean I mean K-O-R-E-A-N. No forks, just chopsticks, only white people there, everyone was speaking Korean (well I think is was), and only one waiter spoke english. I felt like I crossed a portal when I opened the door. It was way uncomfortable. We stood out to say the least. Nick had heard of the place through work and so he knew what to order. He promised it was going to be good and it was, even though I had to smell and nibble everything before I put it in my mouth. I got some weird glances. It was way good! I tasted flavors I have never tasted and the whole experience was really fun. I don't know if it was the most romantic place but I will never forget it. That is why I love Nick, he makes me do things I would normally not do. Going to a freaky part of down town and eating at a place where they serve grilled beef tongue would no be something I would normally do. Love you Nick!

"Dinner is served"... on a personal grilling plate with all sorts of "weird" and non useful extras. See the brown sauce stuff in the middle of the picture? I tried everything but that because it looked and kind of smelled like... (use your imagination). I loved the beef brisket when dipped in an oil/salt/pepper mixture. It was gooooood.

Oh he also got me flowers...

Oh and he also fathered this little stink. Who would not take a nap and we did a photo shoot on the stairs instead.

(notice her hand pushing me away, everything time I kiss her)

Before, After and Middle

I mentioned that January makes me want to craft, well apparently February makes me want to revamp the house. We painted our table nook ( a lot of work!) and then I made curtains. It sounds simple but it was a three week project. I love it and it makes our home feel so much homier.

(before...with our first choice of fabric for the curtains)

(Middle)

(END!!)

(My mom who, lets be honest, made the curtains. Learning to sew will be next month)

Busy doing nothin'

I seem to be quite busy these days yet we have been doing really nothing. Does that make sense? The days are just filled with errands and finishing projects but on a whole life is just passing by. I started a new job at the end of December. I was working for my dad but decided it might be time to get a "real" job. My friend from nursing school told me of an opening at her place of work, I applied and got the job. I was super excited and even better is that I love it. I work just two days a week at Meadows Women's Center. It is a huge office that does everything from high risk pregnancies to skin care. I work specifically with the high risk pregnancies running the fetal assessment lab. There I do monitoring, ultrasounds, medications, IV's, and other cool stuff. Every women in our office that is termed "high risk" receives monitoring for contractions and baby's heart rate and an ultrasound to check fluid 2x a week. And that's what I do. I get really close with the women seeing that we chat for 30-40 minutes every week. I love hearing that they had a safe and healthy baby and knowing I played a part. I really do feel I picked the best career. So that has been keeping me busy on Monday and Thursdays.

The other days of the week I have been wondering around my house realizing I am sick of all my house decor. We have lived here for 4 years and I have stared at every wall, piece of furniture, and picture a 1,000 times. So... it has been a month of projects. I just finished painting my living room and this week I am attempting to make curtains. I will tell you what, decorating is tiring and I semi hate it. I feel like everything I buy I return and then buy again and then return. Sheesh. This week is it, no more projects for a long time. I need some time to catch up on my reading list!

(she followed me up the latter. She thought it was hilarious that the tape stuck to her.)

Scarlett is a dream. I wish I could bottle up this age and open it up again when she is a cranky 15 year old. She copies everything I do. I have had a cough this week and she now covers up her mouth and coughs when I do, except her cough is like a growl. She is always smiling and babbling to me, thinking I can understand. She sits in her car seat and just "talks" away to me. It is the sweetest little voice you ever heard. This morning she looked at me and said "Hi, Jill." Melt my heart. Her favorite thing in the world is her pink blanket. Luckily it is small because I take that thing everywhere. She holds it in her left hand and then sucks her fingers on the right. I wish she did not have to grow up.

(Give her the blanky and in go the fingers...it's a beautiful thing)

(She always grabs her blanky before coming out of her crib. She franticly digs for it under all her other bizillion blankets)