Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that Jed is my best friend.

I am thankful that Jed always tries to do what he knows is right.

I am thankful that Jed cares about other people's feelings and treats people well.

I am thankful that Jed is working so hard towards a college degree in order to provide well for our family.


I am thankful that Jed is so easy-going.

I am thankful that Jed served a full-time mission for our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in Chile.

I am thankful that Jed likes to let loose and play as often as we can (ie. video games, frisbee, silly costumes, etc).


I am thankful that Jed compliments me often and makes me feel better about myself when I'm sad.

I am thankful that Jed loves his mom so much and does everything he can to make her happy.

I am thankful that Jed has a strong work ethic.

I am thankful that Jed and I are able to go to the temple together.


I am thankful that Jed has amazing blue eyes.

I am thankful that Jed scrapes my car windows for me every morning before I go to work.

I am thankful that Jed likes to travel and explore new things.


I am thankful that Jed takes care of me, when I'm sick and when I'm not.

I am thankful that Jed is a dedicated partner.

I am thankful that Jed is willing to work to make our relationship stronger.


I am thankful that Jed has a strong testimony in the Gospel.

I am thankful that Jed treats me like a princess and would do anything in his power to make sure that I'm happy.

I am thankful that Jed looks for the good in all people.

I am thankful that Jed is musically inclined.


I am thankful that Jed has good health.

I am thankful that Jed always looks on the bright side of things and tries to get me to do the same.

I am thankful that Jed is sensitive and super thoughtful.

I am thankful that Jed loves his family.


I am thankful that Jed doesn't really mind where we settle down and will move wherever I want to (granted we have a good job and a good feeling about it).

I am thankful that Jed gives incredible massages.

I am thankful that Jed gets along really well with my family.


I am thankful that Jed is selfless and often puts others before himself.

I am thankful that Jed is goal-oriented and tried really hard to achieve what he sets out to.

I am thankful that Jed is a worthy Priesthood holder and righteously presides over our family.

I am thankful that Jed likes to camp and be outdoors.


I am thankful that Jed is intelligent and capable.

I am thankful that Jed is bilingual and can speak Spanish very well.

I am thankful that Jed is not a complainer.

I am thankful that Jed loves fish and has a cool aquarium.


I am thankful that Jed is willing to be the "dish-doer" in the house.

I am thankful that Jed motivates me to be a better person.

I am thankful that Jed is a quick learner.

I am thankful that Jed "gets me" and understands what I'm all about.


I am thankful that Jed is responsible (he has never called in sick to work when he wasn't sick).

I am thankful that Jed is a calming presence in our home.

I am thankful that Jed loves to work out and helps me get to the gym more often than I would go by myself.


I am thankful that Jed looks at me like I'm the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, no matter how awful I think I look.

I am thankful that Jed knows how to fix almost anything - he's very good at working with his hands.

I am thankful that Jed has a good sense of humor.

I am thankful that Jed is easy on the eyes.


I am thankful that Jed is my eternal companion and I am so excited that I get to spend forever with him. Every girl deserves to be as lucky as I am and to have such an amazing man in her life.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Ok so this week has been T-U-F-F TUFF! I had two tests to study for, two big papers due, I had to practice I song I've never heard of in order to sing a solo on Friday night in front of a bunch of people, and I've had a ton of errands that had to get done by today. Not to mention I'm still working full time and going to school, so I'm "stuck" places for long periods of time. I'm not making excuses, I'm just...giving reasons? Deep down I know I'm just trying to justify it to myself because I haven't worked out at all since last Thursday...pitiful, I know. :( So needless to say, my weight is not where I would have liked it to be. It's 248.0 with a BMI of 39.86 - Yikes!

I made a new friend on this weight-loss site I belong to, sparkpeople.com. (If you join, put allsweetali down as your reference. :) ) We're going to start going to the gym together and hopefully she will be the extra motivation I need to excel.

My First Ever Give Away

Lucky you! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me, Ali! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

The Best Job in the World

Hey go vote for JEFF for the best job in the world:
http://www.islandreefjob.com/applicants/watch/SYCH-JyBfHc

I went to high school with this guy and he would be so good at this job!

Free Jack in the Box Curly Fries Today

Click HERE and go get yourself a free medium order of seasoned curly fries at Jack in the Box. No purchase necessary, but it's today only! Enjoy! :D

Got this from Laurel...

Bold whatever you have done.

I have added links as proof of some of them. -Jed

1. Started your own blog.

2. Slept under the stars.

3. Played in a band.

4. Visited Hawaii.

5. Watched a meteor shower.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

7. Been to Disneyland. (WORLD)

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis.

10. Sang a solo.

11. Bungee jumped.

12. Visited Paris.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (Guitar)

15. Adopted a child.

16. Had food poisoning.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

18. Grown your own vegetables.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.

20. Slept on an overnight train.

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Hitch hiked.

23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick. (I even went to school the same day after a surgery in 4th grade)

24. Built a snow fort.

25. Held a lamb.

26. Gone skinny dipping.

27. Run a marathon.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.

29. Seen a total eclipse.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.

31. Hit a home run.

32. Been on a cruise.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Seen an Amish community. (Visiting Ali's Parents...haha. But no really, visiting her parents)

36. Learned a new language.

37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied. (When I was 16)

38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.

39. Gone rock climbing.

40. Seen Michelangelo's David.

41. Sung karaoke. (Of course.. I had asian roomates)

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.

44. Visited Africa.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance.

47. Had your portrait painted.

48. Gone deep sea fishing. (well chesapeake bay... close enough)

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.

52. Kissed in the rain.

53. Played in the mud.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater.

55. Been in a movie. (It is kinda pixelated but when you see the camera flash the first time and it says "Sierra Young is a movie star" you can see my face. I was an extra!)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China.

57. Started a business. (Kool-aid stand)

58. Taken a martial arts class.

59. Visited Russia.

60. Served in a soup kitchen.

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.

62. Gone whale watching.

63. Gotten flowers for no reason.

64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.

65. Gone sky diving.

66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp. (Only if the Holocaust museum counts. It was pretty realistic)

67. Bounced a check.

68. Flown in a helicopter.

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.

71. Eaten caviar.

72. Pieced a quilt.

73. Stood in Times Square.

74. Toured the Everglades.

75. Been fired from a job.

76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.

77. Broken a bone.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.

80. Published a book.

81. Been to the Vatican.

82. Bought a brand new car.

83. Walked in Jerusalem.

84. Had your picture in the paper.

85. Read the entire Bible.

86. Visited the White House.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.

88. Had Chicken pox.

89. Saved someone's life.

90. Sat on a jury.

91. Met someone famous.

92. Joined a book club.

93. Lost a loved one.

94. Had a baby.

95. Seen the Alamo in person.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake. (More like waded. You have to walk out very far to swim)

97. Been involved in a lawsuit.

98. Owned a cell phone.

99. Been stung by a bee.

100. Read an entire book in one day.

Monday Memoirs

You know the saying "When it rains, it pours"? Well this weekend it poured, but in a good way - with things to do and friends to hang out with.

On Friday, we were going to either go to a HumorU show or a dollar movie. But then the Burkes told us that they had rented RockBand2 and invited us over to play. I can't remember the last time we played Rock Band (even though we own it). I'm pretty sure we hadn't played since before we got married. I am not a huge Rock Band fan - I am not very coordinated and can't play the drums or guitar very well. And unless I'm singing, watching the notes move down on the screen hurts my eyes really bad and I can only do it for about two songs max. BUT this time I played drums and guitar and hardly sang and I didn't get bored or tired of playing! It was a really fun night!

Saturday was a go-go-go day. I woke up and went to SLC to practice a song that my aunts and I are singing at my grandpa's 75th birthday party on Friday. (We're singing "Danny Boy". I'd never heard it before and I have to sing soprano II even though I'm a soprano I and I can't pick out the notes to save my life. It's been 5 years since I sight-read anything. Blah.) After practice, I went over to my friend Cornnut's house for a yummy lunch date. It was really good to talk to her and catch up on what's going on in her life. She's been through a lot and has quite a bit of experience. I like talking to her and getting her opinion on things.

I got back to the bubble just in time to go play frisbee with the hubby and some friends. Jed loves it; I get bored of it quickly - probably because I'm not very good.
It started raining and the girls were done playing, so we went home, grabbed our swimsuits, and headed to the Legacy Center in Lehi. Swimming in Utah in February is best when it's indoors... That place was pretty fun - Jed had a great time sitting under the giant bucket, waiting for it to fill up and dump the water. I wish I had a waterproof camera because he was wearing these goofy goggles most of the time and it was hilarious. Wanna know what wasn't hilarious? I forgot to bring a change of clothes...
Jed and I had Thai food for the first time on Saturday; we went to Thai Village. It was alright, but I don't think we'll be going back there unless we're with people who really want to go (Sorry, McDaniels). My dish wasn't amazing and the flavor of Jed's, while it was good, got old/boring after a few bites (it was kind of bland). Not to mention the fact that our waiter was awful - he didn't show up until ten minutes after we had been seated, he only brought out half of the drinks with our appetizer, and we didn't see him again after that. :\
We played Cranium with Justin/Amanda, Jamie/Lindsey, and Nathan. It was really fun and the girls won, of course. :)

We had rented a couple of movies that we watched on Sunday - The Secret Life of Bees and The Rocker. Bees was so good and I sobbed (as I mentioned before). Rocker, not so much. We weren't expecting it to be good, so we weren't too disappointed. I just wish I had that 102 minutes back...

The Secret Life of Bees

Jed and I watched this movie today and LOVED it. Grab a box of tissues if you're going to watch it. (I teared up within the first five minutes.)

Ping Pong

My dear husband loves to play ping pong and is pretty good at it. When I saw that BYU was holding a ping pong tournament, I had to sign him up. The tournament starts at 7:00pm on Wednesday, February 11 in the Wilkinson Center Terrace on BYU campus. Please come support him if you're in the area and have some time. He would love to see some familiar faces in the crowd!

I Don't Get It

Our friend, Emily, recently won a fabulous make-over from the blog Seriously, So Blessed. (That's not the part I don't get - she is an amazing woman and totally deserved the make-over!) I had heard of this blog many times because apparently it's a big-wig in the Utah Mormon blog circle. It's this blog written by four Mormon girls about how silly Mormon/Utah culture is and they frequently poke fun at the social norms associated with such. That's not the part I don't get either - who hasn't made fun of this? It's so easy... Anyways, I've visited the site a few times when I've seen people mention it (i.e. when Emily was a finalist in this great make-over contest) and aside from the fact that Emily won their contest and was positively affected by the blog and it meant a lot to her, I DON'T get it!

I do not understand the fascination with this blog. It's not funny to me. The girls who contribute to it sound like a bunch of high school (no, middle school) airheads - their grammar is horrible, they can't spell to save their lives, and their posts are always written in ALL sorts of FONTS!! It's ridiculous! And hard to read! Did I mention that they throw exclamation points on the end of almost every sentence?!?! It's a mess. These paragraphs, copied and pasted from the blog, illustrate my point (colors added for emphasis, and I ran out of patience finding all of the errors...):
"LOL! Turns out the historic celebration wasn't a suprise for ME--which is ok bc I can't go on cruise's this preggie--it was more Brock stuff. LOL! Thought all of that election stuff wrapped up like Halloween or something? WIERD it was still going on like months and months later but cool I guess, Brock's a total babe and seriously I love black people. My old roommate was friends with one that had the most darling hair. As far as poli-tickle stuff goes, yawwwwwn.

Bragging is so lame, so I won't, but I'd be taking my blessing's for granite if me and feti didn't publicly say GOOD JOB ON GETTING STRAIGHT A's AGAIN JJWT!! Thanx for helping me outrank the other wives. This calls for a banner made w/ help from my Cricut! :) Love you babe!

Anyways, can I seriously just share my sadness for a sec???? This girl in my ward brings her kids to {pitypout-cringe} DAYCARE which just makes my heart hurt for there whole fam and all the wrong choices her kids are prolly about to make bc of her. :( Not to judge but I just fill so sad for them and could NEVER do that to my feti."

So I just thought I'd throw that out there... I'd love feedback, in either direction.

Emily, you look fantastic by the way! :D


***UPDATE: This blog is managed by one lady and apparently she's "playing dumb" on purpose. Still don't get it. In fact, I get it even less now that I know this...***

Thankful Thursday

This week I am so thankful for my car. And even though it's got a busted headlight from that hit and run in December and it needs a good cleaning, it runs well and there are no problems with it. My good friend Amanda, not so lucky. This is her car:

She got hit last week and this was the aftermath. Luckily it wasn't her fault, so she doesn't have to pay for it, but the car was totalled. The good news is that she gets a new car! :) The bad news is that she pretty much has to put her life on pause while she deals with this junk.

Good luck finding a new car, Amanda! I'm sorry this happened to you. :(

Wednesday Weigh-In

Well like I said before, this weekend was not a smart weekend for me. We stuffed ourselves at Tucanos for a birthday get-together and then went out to dinner at Little Italy for our six-month anniversary. And then, last night, we went out to Macaroni Grill for an old roommate's birthday (luckily we split a meal). So when I saw this shot of me from behind on a friend's blog, I was not surprised...

According to my Wii Fit, I'm at 245.2 now. With a BMI of 39.4.
(When I started on Jan 18, I was at 251.3 with a BMI of 40.39
That's -6.1lbs. and -.99 BMI in 2.5 weeks!!) :D

Random Survey

What is bothering you right now? All the school stuff I have to do. Blah.

What does your last received text message say? "Hey I love you"

When was the last time you were truly, completely happy with your life? Today

What are you doing tonight? School, dinner, gym

What was the last voicemail you received about? It was my aunt asking me if I would sing for my grandpa's 75th birthday.

Have you ever read an entire book in one day? Yeah, when I was a kid and liked to read.

Do you look at the keyboard when you type? Occasionally

Do you think your last ex deserves to die? No, I think his life is messed up enough.

Last night, did you go to sleep smiling? I'm too relaxed to smile while I drift off...

Did you have a good day yesterday? Not really, until I had lunch with some of my girls.

Do you still talk to the person you fell hardest for? I'm married to him.

What is your current mood? Moodless.

What are you looking forward to in the next three months? Picking out baby names, finishing another semester of school, hopefully finishing my cooking class, fitting into smaller clothes, becoming healthier, a few vacations, and painting our house? (I was just kidding about the baby names...)

How's your heart lately? Happy

Will this weekend be a good one? Sure. Weekends are always good.

Who hugged you last? Jed

What is your relationship status? Married

Look behind you, what do you see? The Big-D Man.

Any summer plans for 2009? Oh, there will be plans. We're thinking maybe San Fran or Yellowstone. :)

How's your life lately? Good.

Whose bed did you sleep in last night? Mine, and Jed's.

Do you miss anyone? Always.

Is there one place you'd like to visit? Europe. Specifically Italy, Germany, Ireland, and France.

Have you held hands with anyone today? Not yet.

Ever been swimming in a lake or river? Both.

Is there anyone you wish was still in your life? Nana.

What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? Said prayers and kissed Jed.

Do you give out second chances easily? Depends on the situation.

What woke you up today? My alarm.

Your ex shows up randomly at your house what do you say? How did you find me?

This time last year, can you remember who you liked? Jed :)

Two days from now this time, where will you be? Same place. My desk at work.

Have you ever thought you were going to marry someone? Yup. And then I did.

Who was the first person you talked to today? Jed.

How late did you stay up last night and why? A little before midnight. We were watching a movie.

When was the last time you did something you knew was wrong? I don't remember.

Have you ever been nice to someone who treated you like crap? Yup.

Are you anything like you were at this point last year? I think so. But I'm a whole lot different now, too.

When was the last time you felt like your heart was actually breaking? Markus.

Who are your favorite people to talk to when you’re down? Jed and Mom.

Does the person you like, like you back? LOVES me back.

When was the last time you talked with the opposite sex on the phone? Who? Few minutes ago; subcontractor looking for jobs to bid.

Are you friends with someone who lies about the stupidest stuff ever? (Can I just interject that this is such a middle-school survey...?) Define friends...I'm acquainted with people like that.

Pick a word that starts with the first letter of your first name: Allegory

What's something that always gives you the chills? Wet cotton moving against itself.

How was the past week for you? Good.

Whats your favorite color? Blue

What are you listening to? Yellow by Coldplay (Pandora radio)

What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? Celery

If the year only consisted of one season which would you choose? Autumn

If somebody liked you right now, what do you think is a cool way to tell you? Have dinner made by the time I get home from work...hint, hint. ;)

Could you go out in public looking like you do now? I hope so...I'm at work.

What's one thing you want more than anything in your life? Stability and Jed.

What was on your mind most today? All the schoolwork I let pile up...

Last person you gave something to? I gave candy to Kevin.

Do you like winter time? No thanks.

Do you believe that if you want someone bad enough you'll get them? Got em.

What's your favorite fruit? Cantaloupe

Can you honestly say that things are running smoothly for you? Yup.

If you could move somewhere else, would you? In a heartbeat. Well, if it was back to Texas.

Do you know anyone named Taylor? Yup.

Are you friends with someone who is older than you? Yes.

In the past week have you felt stupid? Nah.

Do people ever mistake you for being a different race? Nope, I'm white.

Do your nails ALWAYS have to be painted? Just my toenails. I rarely paint my fingernails.

Do you have your baby picture in your room? Actually I do. Four generation picture on my nightstand.

What did you do today? Woke up and came to work. Blogged, facebooked, emailed, IM'ed.

What happened at 4AM this morning? Nothing...? I was asleep.

Were you happy when you woke up today? As happy as you can be when you're headed to work...

Last thing received in the mail? My new AmEx.

Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machines? Yeah.

Do you have any career ideas yet? Mom.

Did you wake up in the middle of the night last night? Nope.

At this time yesterday, what were you doing? Same thing - working.

Who was the last person of the opposite sex you had a conversation with? Kevin.

Little Recession, Not Great Depression

This is an article by Mary Hunt from www.debtproofliving.com. I thought it was very optimistic and hopeful. Enjoy. :)

Five Ways to Escape the Doom and Gloom

Has the current state of the economy planted a dark cloud over your head that follows you wherever you go? Some experts, as reported recently in the U.K.'s Daily Mail, suggest an unlikely remedy: throw a tantrum. They say that screaming and shouting expels negative energy caused by stress and that an all-out tantrum will make you feel better.

With all due respect to the experts, I'd like to suggest five, more reasonable ways to chase away the dark clouds:

1. Take charge of your thoughts. I don't care what the subject matter is, if you immerse yourself in it every day by watching it on cable news, reading about it in the newspaper and talking about it with everyone, you will begin to think about it all the time. If it's a negative subject, your demeanor will change as will your attitude. These days, the media is having a field day with what's going on in Washington, D.C. and on Wall Street. You don't have to be a willing recipient. Choose your thoughts by carefully monitoring what you put into your mind.

2. Launch into austerity. What would you do right now if you got notice that your job will be eliminated in six months? You'd start saving like crazy, eliminating unnecessary spending and you'd dust off your resume. Do that right now. Start living as if that is going to happen. Funnel the money you don't spend into an all-important emergency fund.

3. Pay off debt. Now, more than ever, you need to rid yourself of your high-interest credit-card debt. Sure, the rules for credit grantors will change (in 2010), but until then they can still up your interest rate and change the terms and conditions of your credit card account on a whim. Come up with a realistic plan to become debt-free and your spirits will soar. So will your credit score.

4. Keep a balanced perspective. Memorize a few statistics and then emblazon them on your frontal lobe: 1) During the Great Depression the jobless rate jumped to 25 percent. We have yet to reach 7 percent today. 2) Bank failures, not hedge funds or risky investment, wiped out the life savings of millions of people. To date, not one person has lost a nickel in an FDIC-insured bank account. 3) Some 44 percent of all mortgages were delinquent by 1934, compared to about 4 percent today.

5. Love the job you're in. Instead of worrying about losing your job, redirect that energy into becoming the last employee your boss would let go. Concern yourself with the needs of the company. Dig in and do more than is expected. Be the first to arrive and the last to leave. Instead of feeling entitled to every drop of benefit you can wring out of the system, find new ways you can contribute to make your workplace an oasis of joy and optimism. Become a giver instead of a taker and just see if that doesn't change everything!

Monday Memoirs

On Saturday, we went and stuffed ourselves at Tucanos with Amanda and Adam. That place is SO good. And apparently it's like half-off for their lunch buffet. Good to know. :)
After lunch, we all went back to our house and played Wii all afternoon! It was fun to have other people to play with besides just ourselves. Well stretching your stomach and playing the Wii all day make you tired, so Jed and I took a nap before we went grocery shopping at this new, cheap grocery store right down the street from us. It's called Buy Low Market. We like the fact that we don't have to drive super far for cheap groceries anymore. Woo!

Did I mention that Saturday was our six month anniversary? Well, it was. To celebrate, Jed took me out to this adorable little Italian place I've been wanting to go to called Gloria's Little Italy. It was a little pricey (about $13 per person) but the portions were large enough for two meals' worth. And the food was phenomenal! Both dinners we got were incredible. They even had live performances - a harpist and an Italian a capella singer. And then we got a scoop of cookies & cream gelato. Perfection. :D

After church on Sunday, we made 'breakfast dinner' together and soaked up the time we had with each other. I also grated a block of cheese we got at Costco - 26+ cups of cheese for $10! And then I made 7-layer dip for the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl was intense and really fun to watch! I'm glad the Steelers won because that's who I chose to root for this year. :) The commercials were so lame and not even worth watching. None of them stood out to me. Very disappointing.

And that's what we did this weekend. Riveting, isn't it? ;)