The Weekend: According to My iPhone

Monday's are hard which is why I'd like to just reminisce on our perfect weekend...

I had Friday off work so we kicked off the weekend with some golfing.  Braedon had been begging me to go for a while and I finally gave in....it's safe to say I could use a few lessons.  Maybe next time I'll just drive the cart and bask in the sunlight? (Don't think Braedon will allow it but it's worth a try). I'd actually really love to be a great golfer someday...

My Dad gave us some words of wisdom after we golfed.  He said, "It's not about how you play, it's about how you look".  So here's my thought... if Braedon wants me to make golfing with him a regular activity, I should at least indulge in a legitimate golf outfit right??

Friday night we spent the evening at my mom's while my musically talented siblings + Braedon put together a nice song to perform at my Grandpa's brother's funeral.  I tell ya I really missed the boat on the whole musical thing.  I was on Caden duty while they practiced and didn't mind one bit! 

After they finished practicing the boys played a little Fifa and then we saw the new Spiderman movie with my parents!  We ate ourselves sick with popcorn and treats.  It's all about the treats. 

^^ Look at that focus ^^

My cousin Morgan and I decided recently that we'd like to learn how to sew.  You know, to be domestic and all.  So, Saturday afternoon was spent getting a basic sewing lesson from my amazing sewer of a Grandma, and then Morgan chopped my hair off!  My Grandpa Nate kept telling us to post a picture of my hair in foils on instagram and title it, "New Hair-Do". Yes, my grandparents use instagram.  

^^ "New Hair-Do" ^^

^^ Hit up my cousin for a hair/eyelash appointment! She rocks ^^

Saturday night we went to this amazing Mexican restaurant called Taqueria 27- we'll definitely be visiting again soon.  Bonus- it's in walking distance from our apartment.  They served us the most amazing guacamole w/ warm chips and our tacos were delectable.  I love Holladay.  

After church Sunday we had dinner with the Aiken clan, went on a Sunday drive, and watched a few episodes of Prison Break. It was the perfect weekend- I'm already looking forward to the next!

California Getaway

A couple weeks ago Braedon did a good thing.  He told me I should go to Cali to visit my sister and her cute kids, and on the plus side get out of freezing cold Utah.  I convinced my sister Sara to join us too, and we made it a party. It was perfect timing because my parents were going to visit my aunt and uncle who are serving a mission in Coronado.  It was the perfect amount of time and just almost enough sun to hold me over until spring break. 

Some highlights of the trip.... 

...starting a good book...

...drawing kitty faces on my niece Lexi...

...being silly at dinner...

...spoiling Lex and Colton with trips to the gas station for treats...

...snuggling on the couch...

...visiting the beach...

...tail running outside in a tank and not freezing...

..painting our nails in the hot tub...

...wanting to cry during a spinning class with my sister...

...whale watching...

...a little shopping, a lot of ice cream..

...laying out in the (sort of) warm sun...

I already can't wait to go back.  Lexi told me I have to bring Braedon next time though.  She kept wanting to FaceTime him while I was there and I think she might have just a little teensy tiny crush.  Its ok Lex, I have a crush on Braedon too!

After we took this picture Lex decided she needed kitty ears too, so we had to add that to the mix ;)

We got to celebrate Missy and Colton's birthdays, and ate lots of dessert.  Sorry for the blurry pictures, we were singing happy birthday and there was lots of laughing!

We even saw a whale!  Woo! Woo!

I'm so grateful Braedon sent me to go party with my fam, even though he couldn't come.  The boy just works too darn hard and can't miss a day of school.  I'm so grateful for him and his dedication.  When he sets his mind to something, he gets it done!  I saw this when we were dating and he started his very own window washing business pane and simple, which I later found out was a way for him to save some moo-lah for my engagement ring.  As we speak he's hunkered down in the office studying/ solving world problems through a little evil class called physics 2.

Love you sweetie.   

I have lots to catch up on this here thing called my blog.  Be excited for a sappy Valentines Day post, and all the wonderful things we've been up to lately.  

Weekly Planning

This post is so very "married" of me.  

At the beginning of each school semester Braedon and I usually ask for a priesthood blessing. You can read about what a priesthood blessing is here. Last semester we got council through a blessing from Braedon's dad for us to start planning together and having family "meetings".  

Ever since then we have been doing planning sessions on Sunday night of every new week.  It has strengthened our marriage, kept us on the same page, and helped us establish goals that we couldn't accomplish on our own!  I really love our planning sessions and we feel like it definitely brings us closer.  I feel like a total mom whipping out our calendar and making notes but hey, I'm not ashamed!

We pattern our planning sessions after preach my gospel with a few modifications.  You can see what preach my gospel suggests here.

We use an app called CareZone (I know, I know) and we love it. You should get it. It has a calendar, a section for "to-do's", notes, medications, you name it. Plus it links to both of our phones so if either of us makes a change we'll get an alert.  Sometimes Braedon will write something cute in the middle of the week like, "7:00 Thursday: Dancing with Stef in the kitchen" and I'll get an alert that "Braedon has made a change to the calendar".  

Here is how we do our planning...

1. Start with a prayer together: this helps us get in the right mindset and have an effective session

2. Pull up the calendar (on CareZone) and map out what you have going on that week.  We include work, school, date night, and whatever else is set in stone that we can link a day and time to.

3. Set goals for the week/ semester or however else you'd like to do it.  One of our goals this semester is less stress, more fun.  We've tried to incorporate some tasks on our "to-do" list (which will come next) that will hopefully help us fulfill these goals!  

Yes our bedtime is now 10-10:30.  Again, this is such a married post.  

4. Set your "to-do" list.  This is probably one of my favorite features because you can check it off during the week when it's done and it'll send an alert to Braedon that I "finished" the task!  One of our "to-do's" this week included making each other a playlist of new songs we both haven't heard before. We're hoping this is a good start to "less stress, more fun".  

5. Companionship Inventory.  This is such a "mission" thing, but I actually really like it and it's helped us become a stronger team and push each other to be our best. 

 Basically it goes like this; first we talk about what the other person did really well the previous week, and the things we really appreciated.  This part is easy!  Next, we talk about what improvements the other person could make for the coming week.  At first, I was so uncomfortable doing this!  Who am I to tell Braedon what he needs to improve on??  It's kind of evolved into suggestions for accomplishing goals, minimizing stress, etc. You could think of it as a very non-threatening way to address any issues you might have. 

For example, Braedon has a new business venture that he's wanting to start so I gave him suggestions on how to get it flowing.  Braedon knew I was stressed last week and gave me suggestions that he knew would help me to overcome it this week.  These are things we do during the week but for some reason at this time it feels more meaningful and sincere because the focus is just on the other person.  

6. End with a prayer.  

Prayer is probably the most important thing for us to have a successful planning session.  It sets the tone, and gets us on the same page.  I honestly look forward to this little time together each week! No matter how "married" it may seem. Hopefully some of these ideas can be helpful for you too and if you made it though this post without falling asleep I applaud you!  

Happy New Year // Goodbye 2013

We rang in the new year with cafe rio and lots of fun games at the Murdock's.  My mother in law throws an awesome party complete with prizes, delicious treats, and of course Martinelli's!  We eat ourselves sick, get competitive, and wear silly new year's attire.  

One tradition I absolutely love that started when I married Braedon is participating in our annual "predictions".  We predict things about each family member at our traditional Asian Star dinner on Christmas Eve.  The predictions range from school to work, funny to somewhat outrageous.  It's fun to laugh and inspire one another for the new year.  We close the book, and no one reads it until next year when we read the last years predictions and reminisce on what really happened.  Interesting fact: Braedon's parents both predicted the right month we would get married two years ago and we weren't even engaged yet!  

Braedon and I have started doing our own personal predictions on New Years Day, and we also set our goals together in a special journal he got us for our first Christmas.  This year we went to Tsunami and stayed at the restaurant for close to two hours laughing about our predictions from last year and creating our dreams for this next year. 

 

Playing Bunco!  (I won most "losses", and took home a darling U of U shirt and milk duds)

Playing Telestrations...

Happy New Year!  I've decided to kick off this year right I'm going to attempt to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days.  If you'd like to join with me here is a little print out to help you keep on track!  

Wish me luck and have a Happy New Year!