Sometimes life just punches you in the face.

Do you ever have one of those weeks that just feels like everything goes wrong? Well this is one of those weeks. And I am not just talking about losing your keys, flat tire, late for work, no sleep kind of week. Since Monday it has been a struggle but the worse news came last night when I found out my Mom had to go to the ER for severe chest pain. As of today, she is ok but still in the hospital to monitor her and to run tests. So please keep the Youngs family in your prayers because we could all use them. Thanks for the love.

Day of Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving world! I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving for a long time now. Who does not like Thanksgiving? If you don't, well then you should re-evaluate your likes and dislikes. This year will be a little different because I won't be with my own family. We are all going to in-laws and my parents went up to Idaho to my grandparents. Normally I would have gone with them, but now I have my own in-laws... weird huh? So this year we will be with Sam's family, which is totally fine because I love his family. And I have the best mother in law in the world so there is no awkwardness of her judging my pies or anything. It will be fun. I am bringing a pumpkin pie and an apple pie, so hopefully they turn out. Since it is Thanksgiving I think I will create my thankful list for the day. I will probably leave things off, but here is what is currently on my mind.
I am thankful for membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Lately I feel like maybe I don't give enough thanks for that, but I really am most grateful for this in my life. It is a gift that is indescribable. And I am positive that my life would be a lot harder without it.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who is my little miracle. Sam is so gentle and kind and my best friend. We are figuring out marriage but there is no one I would rather figure it out with than him. I am so blessed to have him with me through this journey of life.

I am grateful for parents who have taught me to use my brain, be a good person, be independent, and to love the world around me. My parents have given me some of the greatest gifts in my life.

I am grateful for a family that loves me and looks out for me. As the youngest I know that I am a little extra looked out for and I really appreciate that from them.

I am grateful for my little nieces and nephews who are so funny and beautiful and remind me that I am an old boring adult now and that sometimes I need to just lighten up and laugh.

I am grateful for so many great friends throughout my life that have led me in the right direction and have listened to me over-analyze my life over and over. I am grateful for all the fun we have had over the years and for being there for me through everything... you know who you are.

I am grateful for a job I actually like. I am grateful that I can get out of bed and  not dread the day ahead of me.

I am grateful for the beautiful world around me and that everyday I see something that amazes me.

I am grateful for my life and for always having what I need no matter how hard things seem to be. There is always food to eat, a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, an old corsica to drive, and someone there for me. I am thankful for my life.

So Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope that everyone takes a little time to think about how blessed we are to be on this earth.

I am also grateful that these just came out of my oven.... :)

Minestrone Soup

So lately it seems like I have not really loved the new recipes I have been trying. I keep finding delicious looking things in cookbooks and on pinterest but nothing is really what I was hoping it to be. But I found a delicious and super easy recipe for Minestrone soup when I was at my sister Rachel's. I don't remember the recipe exactly but here is how I have been making it:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. of sausage
1 can of diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can of beef broth
4 cups of water
2-3 carrots
2 celery stalks
1/4 C white or yellow onion
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TB parsley
1/2 TB basil
1 tsp garlic powder
A few dashes of chili powder
1 TB sugar

In a large pot combine the water, broth and tomatoes and cook on medium heat. Cook the sausage until brown and then drain. Cut up the carrots, celery, and onions. Combine the sausage, carrots, onions, celery, and the seasonings to the pot. Cook on medium heat for 20 min. Then add the following ingredients:

1 can kidney beans
1 can green beans
1 C elbow noodles (whole grain if you want to be healthy)

Cook uncovered on medium heat for 30 min. Then you are done!

I love this soup and even better Sam loves it. It takes a good hour to make but it is super easy. I love it because I usually have all of the ingredients already so I don't have to buy anything special at the store. It makes your whole house smell so good, and it is super hearty. The best of all (besides the sausage) it is really healthy with a lot of vegetables and beans. So next time it is cold and you just want some warm soup, I would recommend this one. Enjoy!

Getting Crafty

So ever since I started using pinterest I have been way into crafts. And when I say way into crafts I mean I have a punch of pins that I hope to do one day. I have actually done very few things. But I have a lot of hopes and dreams for making my little home cute and creative. Now that Christmas is just around the corner I have been wanting to make a new wreath for my door. Yesterday I started to come down with a little cold, so what better thing to do on a Saturday then get my craft on (it's better than cleaning right?). So here are two wreaths I have made for super cheap. If I can do it anyone can.

The first is a Fall wreath that I was inspired to do by my sister in law Debi, who makes super cute things. I used a combination of her wreaths and a few different ideas i saw on pinterest.

Supplies: Burlap (left over from our wedding), a straw wreath form, a few scraps of fall colored fabrics, and some hot glue.

I kept the plastic on the straw wreath because you don't even see it. Basically just buy the cheapest wreath form you can find. Then I cut about 8-10 strips of burlap that were about two feet long. As I wound the burlap around the wreath I glued the burlap to the back of the wreath. I did about two layers because I didn't want any of the straw or plastic to show through. Once I had a good layering of burlap I sewed little yo-yos to look like flowers. If you want to know what those are then go here for an awesome tutorial. You could also do rolled fabric flowers but I like the yo-yos. Once I was done I just glued them onto the wreath and glued a little button on the middle of each yo-yo. Here is the finished product.

 

This wreath probably cost me about $10 and took about two hours to make. It is simply but I like simple.

The next wreath is for Christmas. I found some grapevine wreaths at Target for $2.50 each and have been waiting to make this wreath since the beginning of October.
Supplies: Grapevine wreath, fake berries on wire, and green spray paint.

First I spray painted the wreath green. You could just leave it brown but I wanted to make sure it looked like a Christmas wreath so I wanted the whole red and green look. Then I bought some Christmas berries that were on sale for 50% off at Michael's. I cut the bottom wire stem of each branch off before I wrapped ii on the wreath.

I pushed the end of the berry stem into the wreath. You could maybe use glue, but I didn't think it was necessary as long as you stuck the stem in far enough. Then you just form the berries to the shape of the wreath. I used the cut off stems to help secure the rest of the berry branch. I just wound it around a part of the stem and stuck the ends into the wreath. Then you just repeat the process until the wreath is covered. I ended up using 3 berry branches.

This is the finished product. Again it is just simple but definitely says Christmas.

 

The Christmas wreath cost me about $10.50 and I have left over berries and spray paint. I like these wreaths because they are cute and crafty but they are also a little more modern. Sometimes it is nice to skip the glitter and giant plaid bows of the 90's. Happy Saturday everyone.

Nothing like a little Niece time

Somehow today I ended up with most of my nieces at my tiny apartment. So what better thing to do than decorating Christmas cookies? You know, a week before Thanksgiving. It's always a party at Aunt Kayla's.

Is anyone else extremely excited for Thanksgiving? Because I am. Maybe it's just because I get 3 days off of work. Yes 3 days. I can not wait. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Winter Wonderland

Can you believe how much it has snowed in Utah this weekend? Wow! I am just glad it is the weekend and hopefully tomorrow morning we won't have to drive in it. Last night we got onto the freeway and immediately saw two cars slide off the road and into each other because of black ice. It was scary! Thanks to Sam being smart we avoided it, but we were pretty close to piling up right along with those other cars. So be careful driving! Anyways... Sam and I have had a great weekend and pretty much have just tried to relax and stay warm. Friday night we just rented the move Two Weeks Notice (don't you just love that movie?) and got a little Costa Vida for dinner. The perfect relaxing Friday night.

Saturday we tried to get up early and get the day going. Sam had to help clean the church with the young men in our ward and I went grocery shopping. I have decided that I can't go grocery shopping in the middle of the day on Saturday. It gives me anxiety because there are so many people. Does anyone else feel that way? I like to take my time roaming the isles without screaming kids and people running into me. Later that day we attended the funeral of my sister in law Debi's Grandma. She was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago and passed away earlier this week. It was so sweet to see how loved this women was. She was so sweet and such a kind and considerate woman. You could tell how loved each of her children and grandchildren felt by her. Later that night we babysat for my sister Rebekah. We watched the movie The Lorax with her kids. It was actually fun. You can tell that Sam and I are truly becoming an old married couple because by 10:30 we had fallen asleep on their couch. I think it is impossible for me to stay up late anymore.

Now it is Sunday, and what better way to wake up to some serious snow fall than hot bacon and fresh baked banana bread?

I made this beautiful loaf yesterday. I seriously love the recipe. I will have to post it later. But for now I better get ready for church. I find it funny that even though I have 1:00 pm church, I still manage to be late and I am always tired. I hope you are enjoying the snow, but stay safe and warm:)

And then it was quiet

Today is the first day in a long time that I have not had to listen to large machinery, jackhammers, drilling, large trucks and strange men's voices outside of my apartment. For the last month and a half the outside of our apartment complex has been a construction zone. We thought something was up when a large pile of dirt appeared and they cut down all the trees. What is weird is that our landlord never once told us what the heck was going on. Our neighbor told us we had to move the stuff from our front porch before they tore our all the old concrete. So step by step all the sidewalks and porches were taken out and new concrete was poured. The worst part was when they were jackhammering right outside my door. I seriously thought my walls were going to fall down. They just barely finished the concrete yesterday. Now there is just a huge field of dirt where the grass used to be. But it was actually quiet today! I wonder if they will put grass in before it snows? If they don't it will just be an awesome mud pit all winter long. Why they didn't do this during the summer, I have no idea. Here is what it has looked like out our window for a while.

This is what things looked like for about a month.

And this is how we had to get into our apartment when they poured the concrete. It was secretly kind of fun.

 Now all the concrete is in and the machines are quiet. I wonder what it will look like in the end? I am just glad it's almost over.

Weekend Update/Happy Election Day!

This past weekend was one of extremes. I started the weekend by leaving work early because I got a terrible migraine. Sam and I just spent the night at home and watched a movie to relax.

However, Saturday was seriously one of the best days I have had in a long time. I tend to have some issues with feeling good most of the time. I always seem to have a lot of back pain, neck pain, and I get head aches all the time. But Saturday was different. I seriously woke up at about 7:30 am and could not go back to bed. It was like I just sat up and was like Bam! I am awake! So what did I decide to do? Well I decided to get up and head to the killer power tone class at the rec center. I am still feeling the effects of that class... But at the time I felt great. I came home and whipped up an awesome breakfast for me and my still sleeping husband. After that I went on a little cleaning spree and swept and mopped all my floors, did the dishes, dusted, and cleaned the bathroom. I barely made it on time to my appointment for a long needed haircut. After styling my fresh cut hair (isn't that the best?) Sam and I decided to get the oil changed in our cars. So we dropped them off and walked to costco to eat lunch. When we went back to pay, the guy gave us $10 off on Sam's car. Then as Sam went to Great Harvest to get our free loaf of delicious bread with a coupon we had, I opened the mail box only to find a free $10 card to Kohls. Is there anything better than free stuff? After that I was off to a wonderful massage that Sam gave me as a gift a long time ago. It was Heaven! If I were rich that would seriously be the first thing I would spend money on. We then picked up the most delicious ice cream that I had read about on Torrie's blog. The Sea Salt Caramel Truffle private selection brand at Smith's. Oh man that was so good! And the perfect way to end the night. Can you think of a more perfect day?

Unfortunately Sunday was not the same. I had a terrible headache all day long. Also I have a super hard time with having 1:00 pm church. I can't wait for the new year when we move to 9 am. By the time we got to church I felt terrible and super nauseous. But the best part of the whole weekend? Was that I didn't have to work Monday. Having Monday off is the best. So that is why my weekend update is happening on a Tuesday.

Speaking of Tuesday, have you voted yet? It is the first Tuesday of November and it's an election year! If you haven't already noticed... It is super exciting to me. And honestly I don't really care too much who wins, it is just an exciting process to watch unfold. So even though I am sick of all the Mia Love and Jim Matheson commercials, I am still excited about the election. So if you haven't already voted, then do it! I just did! Here is the proof.

I feel like I should write some big thing about why voting is a good thing, but I think this post is long enough. So I will just say this, don't be lazy, go vote.

Oh and here are some pictures from Halloween, which was a great day as usual.

 
I don't actually have a picture of our sweet costumes on my camera. But we dressed as Mario and Luigi, and it was hilarious to answer the door and talk to trick or treaters in a terrible Italian accent. The kids loved it.

But Halloween is over now, and I am not going to lie, I am way excited for Christmas. When you find eggnog and peppermint ice cream in the grocery store isles, you know what time it is :)

I couldn't resist :)