{ Things That Make Me Happy }

Hello blog, my old friend. Sorry I’ve been neglecting you for the past few weeks. I had good intentions, but life is busy. This post alone has taken me 2 ½ weeks to finish. Too bad you can’t write yourself. Wouldn’t that be nice.

I figured the best way to catch up would be through another edition of “Things That Make Me Happy!”

After my miscarriage in late December, I may have needed a little more cheering up than usual. Luckily, I got a lot of cheering up. Lots of things made me happy, which is why this post is so long.

1. Jonathan

This shouldn’t surprise you. No one makes me happier than Jonathan. When I cried, he held me, stroked my hair, and cried with me. And then he made a joke that made me smile and realize that everything would be just fine. And it is. He also brought me nice surprises, like flowers and…

2. Our Pet Birds

One day Jonathan surprised me by brining home our first pets – two finches. They were adorable. We named then Atticus (give yourself a gold star if you know that reference) and Annie. But then they died. Hmm. So he got me two more birds – zebra finches this time. They are silly, hyper, squeaky little birds, but we love them!

3. Psych

For years now, friends had been asking us if we watched this show. Of course we didn’t. I think someone told me once that it was like Monk, and if we liked Monk, we would like Psych. We don’t really like Monk. But Psych is way better. We watched all four seasons on Netflix, and half of season 5 on tv. We are hooked. It is our favorite show… ever. Now, when I fill out an information sheet about me that asks for my favorite tv show, I know exactly what to put down. It is clever, interesting, smart, and hilarious. I have never laughed so hard at a tv show. If you have not seen Psych, you are missing out. It is the best show on television.

(Side note for those of you who do watch Psych: In one episode with a rather intense plot (pretty sure it’s the season 4 finale – Mr. Yin presents), Gus tries to diffuse the situation by taking out a small airplane and saying “hey everyone, look how big I am next to this plane!” After I went through the miscarriage, I was sad and upset and scared. But Jonathan pulled out that line… and I laughed and smiled, and nothing could have fixed the situation better.)

4. BYU Basketball

You all know I love BYU Basketball (especially if you’re my facebook friend). I love having two games to look forward to each week. Win or lose, I just love being a fan. This is the greatest season of BYU Basketball since I’ve been born (okay, 1988 might have been a good year too, but I was too young to remember), and I am enjoying every second.

Jonathan and I are looking forward to going to Las Vegas for the MWC tournament (and the warm weather) in March!

5. Law School Grades

A couple of weeks ago my grades from fall semester came out. Last semester was the busiest semester of school so far (although I think this semester might actually turn out to be even busier). I had a full load of classes, completed my substantial writing requirement (30+ page paper), served on the Family Law Board, fulfilled my assignment as an associate editor on the Education Law Journal, and worked for BYU’s General Legal Counsel. And I got spectacular grades, including a 4.0 in my Public Education Law class (I believe only 1 person gets the 4.0, and the scale goes down from there) and a 3.8 in my Higher Education Law class. I ended with a 3.6 GPA and made the Dean’s List. I know I did not do it on my own – I definitely had some divine help. But getting great grades at a school with so many smart, talented classmates reassures me that I belong here. And that makes me happy.

6. Working Out

I love working out, and working out hard. When I was expecting, I couldn’t really do that. But now that I’m not, I am taking full advantage of being able to push my body. I have ran faster, harder, and longer than I ever have. Before a few weeks ago, I had run more than a mile straight…. never. Now, I run at least 4 miles every time I go to the gym. I am proud of myself for finally overcoming the mental block of thinking I could only run 1 mile without a break. How silly of me. Sometimes it’s difficult, and it hurts, and it’s tiring. But it feels great afterwards. And pretty soon, I'll be able to fit nicely into this.

7. Serving as Young Women’s President

There are so many things I love about serving in Young Womens. Most of all, it’s interacting with the girls I preside over. They are fun, kind, beautiful, smart, thoughtful, and good. They have such unique personalities, yet they get along very well. I love teaching them and planning activities with and for them. I love seeing them during the week for mutual. I love seeing them grow and learn and make good choices. I love hearing about their successes and what makes them happy. I just love them! Recently, our ward participated in stake road shows. Although the stake wanted us to combine with another ward since we’re smaller, the youth decided they wanted to do it on their own. I was so proud of the way that each girl got involved and how they worked together and with the young men to pull off a great show. (Of course, it helped to have some awesome road show directors who really won over the youth!) I am still working on uploading the video of their best performance, so look out for that!

8. Listening to Mae

Mae is my favorite artist of all time. There is not even a close second. Mae’s music is beautiful, complex, and moving. I feel like I relate better to their music than anyone else’s. I can’t help but be happy when I listen. You know what’s the best? Randomly hearing a Mae song on the radio. It hardly ever happens, but when it does? Instant mood changer.

9. Planning Our Trip to France

Yes, we are doing it. No more talking about it saying “Someday we’ll go.” We are going. In May. Of this year. We already bought our airline tickets. Our plan is to spend 3 or 4 days in Paris before renting a car and driving through the Loire Valley all the way to the southern coast (Marseille), and then taking a train back to Paris to fly home. I cannot wait to take Jonathan to places I went while we were engaged, and to explore new places with him. We are excited to go on this adventure together! As they say in Up, “Adventure is out there!” And we are going to find it.

10. New Piano Music

Sometimes when we go to the mall, Jonathan lets me pick out some new piano music, because he loves me. Last time we were there, I found a book of music by The Gabe Dixon Band. They are another piano rock band that I love (see Mae, Jack’s Mannequin/Something Corporate, Ben Folds Five – consequently, some of my favorite piano music comes from these bands). If you are a piano player, you know that those kinds of bands have the best sheet music because it sounds the same way you are used to hearing it on the album. I love being able to play some of my favorite songs on my own piano.

11. This Flier

A friend of mine was in charge of advertising for our 2L Halfway Party. (Yes, I am officially more than halfway done with law school!) So she created a few versions of fliers to hand out to all of the 2Ls. One of the versions used the picture of me and some of the BYU Basketball team. Mostly, it just makes me laugh. And remember how awesome the day was that I became BFFs with the basketball team (at least, that’s what our kids will think). J

12. Winning a Giveaway

Every once in a while I enter a giveaway over at my friend Lauren’s blog. The other day I found out that I won something! An 11 x 14 print from The Yellow House. I selected this print:

Now I just need a nice frame and somewhere to hang it. Here’s a little known fact about me: I love poppies.

13. American Idol

I wasn't planning on watching this season, particularly because the judges changed. But one day while I was working on some stuff for school, I decided to give it a shot anyway. You know what? I think it is better than ever. I must say, I think Steven Tyler (no relation…I think) is hilarious. And watching just makes me happy, so it makes the list.

14. Our Tax Return

This one makes the list because it is pretty much paying for our entire trip to France. Our return was a lot bigger than we anticipated (thank you, law school), and we cannot wait to spend it. Thank you, federal government!

15. Weekends

The weekend is when I get to spend the most time with Jonathan. I love Jonathan, a whole lot. So weekends = favorite.

Happy Friday everyone!