Breezy Days: May 2013

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May 30, 2013

Unexpected Kindness


It has been one CRAZY week. I have so many ridiculous stories to share with you! 
I'll start off with one of my happy ones :)

This past Saturday I decided to actually get dressed for the day to run some errands.
Amelia, my fellow sales wife, came with me to grab Ryan from his knocking area for him to deposit a work check. So we hop in my Jetta and make our way 25 minutes north to Norco where he was. We pick up Ryan, visit a Wells Fargo, then go back to drop off Ryan in his area. 

I turn onto the main road within the community Ryan and his team were at, when I start to notice that the wheel of my car kept on pulling to the left. I'm thinking "well that's really odd" and decide to pull into the next street to take a look at my tire. I hop out of the car to see my front left tire completely flat, and I just deflate right along with it. I am about to call AAA, when I hear a man's voice from an open garage nearby: 
"You ladies having some trouble?"

I can't see anyone but answer back that yes, our tire had popped and that we were going to call AAA. He tells us to not waste our miles and that he will send his son, Nick, out to fix it for us. When the son walked out, honestly he looked a little sketch. Ok, a lot sketch. He looked like a bro, all tatted up, piercings everywhere and smelled of smoke. If I had seen him randomly on the street, I would have been scared. But irregardless he walked right up to us, smiled wide and asked me to please open the trunk so he could grab the spare tire to get started on my car.


My tire was COMPLETELY bald on the inside edge of both front tires. Doesn't it look absolutely horrible?! I'm shocked that I even made it this long without both front tires exploding. After a near heart attack about my tire I walked into the garage to talk with the dad, Jim, and to check out the custom street bike he was working on. Gorgeous champagne and copper paint with cognac ostrich leather seats, a work of art to say the least! I asked him the generic question of what he had planned for this Memorial Day weekend and Jim releases a huge sigh when he quietly states that his girlfriend had recently passed away, 2 weeks ago. I was surprised that he was ok to talk about such a personal topic with a stranger, but I still responded with "I'm so sorry for your loss...that must be so difficult". 
Jim lit up and went on to explain that he made a choice to not mope around, but instead was determined to live life to the fullest every day and to not take one day for granted. This holiday weekend he would spend riding through God's finest up in Big Bear. As we came around to finishing our little heart to heart I mentioned that it is always nice to have family and friends around in times like this and he responded: 
"In the end, that's all we've got right?"

I look out to the curb to see that Nick had finished changing my tire and he directed us towards the closest America's Tires. He told us to come back right away if there was anything else wrong with the car. I had been thinking of making some baked goods for them as a "thanks" when Amelia has the brilliant idea to hit the grocery store and grab some drinks. 
Ok...you should all know by now that I'm LDS {mormon} and I have never touched a drop of alcohol in my life nor do I plan to. And this isn't a usual practice of mine but knowing that outside of our culture it's an offer of thanks to buy someone a drink, we walked around Ralph's asking what the "manliest beer" was...then settled on a 30-pack of Budweiser.

{Buying our first & only alcoholic beverage, and of course we had to document it}

We drove back around the corner to the house where we were stranded and walked back up to the garage with our "thanks" in hand. The dad's jaw dropped and he gave us huge hugs telling us that we were so sweet for bringing back drinks and that we didn't need to do that. He grabbed the son from inside and Nick was also full of hugs and smiles while expressing his thanks and disbelief. We wished them a Happy Memorial Day weekend and were on our way.

I can't even express to you how full my heart was when this was all happening. Knowing that if we had pulled on to any other street that we wouldn't have received the same kindness and service that we had.  It was a complete reminder that no matter what we look like, who we are, or where we are from...that we are all children of the same Heavenly Father. We are here on this Earth to look out for and take care of each other. I'm just grateful that I turned on to that specific street and had the opportunity to meet Nick & Jim :)

May 24, 2013

Friday's Letters

Dear internship, you are leaving me confused and a little lost. I'm trying to work at the intimacy blog but I don't even know what to write. I don't know much after only 2 years of marriage! Time for some more research I suppose. Dear husband, you are working so hard and I'm so insanely proud of you. I know that it's been a rough few days but I'm so grateful for your optimistic and positive outlook on everything. It honestly makes my days better knowing that I get to see your smiling face at the end of it. Dear blates {blogger+date}, ummm how rad are you? I got to hang out with Courtney today, and I was finally stoked to meet her after being online friends for what seems like AGES. Now I'm pumped for more blates this summer! Dear mom, I seriously have the best time with you. We are totally on the same page as far as sarcastic comments/jokes and you can make me laugh like no other. I love our mother/daughter dates, which now that I live close seem to happen a few times a week...AWESOMENESS. Dear california, don't feel left out. I love you too ;)
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May 20, 2013

Cupcakes

My fellow sales wife Amelia is pretty much the best chef of all time. She whips up dinners and desserts like it's second nature! Last week we made {ok, she mostly made} these delicious vanilla cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting...yummmm. We brought them to the sales team and the boys narfed them right up! We decided that not only does it show our {ok, her} awesome baking skills, but that it also means we can make as many sweets as we want this summer. We will only feel obligated to eat one or two cause the guys will finish the rest of them off! Thus, we don't have to worry about stuffing our faces with sweets when we don't feel like making real food and consequently worrying about looking like a cupcake on the beach. A win win my friends.

Weekend Update: Baby Showers+The Doctor

This past weekend I went with my mom to a baby shower for a girl, Kayla, that I grew up with {pictured above}. We totally showed up late, I didn't have my glasses on when reading the invite and thought it was 10-2 when it actually ended at noon...at we totally showed up at noon, oops. On the up side, it was nice to have the extra time to chat & narf all the extra goodies! It's just crazy to me that people my age are married as well as adding kids to the bunch. In LDS culture it's the norm to have kids pretty early on {within the first couple years of marriage}, and because of that I always get the "when are you having babies?!" question, it's about once or twice a week I swear. That's not in my plan for another couple years people! Gotta get my bum graduated then get Ryan graduated then I'll start thinking about that! 

After enjoying just looking at all the cute 'lil baby clothes/blankets my mom & I met up with Ryan/Dad/Jesse{youngest brother} for dinner then Jesse ditched us which made it a double date to Start Trek and Coldstone. That's my dad with me in the pic above aka The Doctor as we like to call him {he's a dentist}. Whenever we have a random question that we can't answer but really don't need the answer to, Ryan and I consult the Doctor and will be like "Hey, you're a doctor {meaning you're smart & should know lots of things}...what backpack is the best one to take on a Europe backpacking trip?" Then we get an hour long tutorial on the pros & cons of which backpack would be best for both men and women. I swear he is a walking encyclopedia/google, hence him becoming THE DOCTOR. Ohhh the power that comes with that name, he is pretty much the next Chuck Norris. By the way Star Trek was awesome and Coldstone is delicious. 
End of story. 

And also...
The winner of the Albion Fit Giveaway is...Ellen Casper!
You'll be getting an email from me soon.

NOW, it's end of story. Happy Monday :)

May 17, 2013

Things I'm Lovin'


+ feet pictures obviously, i think this is my 3rd or 4th one since being here {probably cause my feet only look presentable when I'm in CA & wear sandals all the time?}
+ the way I feel after a Jillian Michaels workout. i'm starting to feel those ab muscles! {currently on week 2}
+ re-inventing & appreciating my wardrobe
+ craving a new book to read then finding Ryan's Christmas present "Killing Kennedy" in his nightstand basket. bingo.
+ the faith I'm exercising as of late. as long as we work hard, things will work out.
+ the way my internship blog is slowly coming together & how awesome my internship supervisor is
+ hanging with my mom & craftin' up a storm {creating a new bulletin board at church}
+ my dad calling to check up on me: "just calling to harass you, you feeling harassed yet?...well, i'll let you get back to getting buff" {when he found out that he called in the middle of a workout}
+ this extremely flowy/large/soft olive blouse found at Platos & originally from Anthro
+ the warmth of the california sun on my skin {after months & months of the dreadful utah winter}
+ a shared fro-yo date planned for the husband & I tonight, hooray for dates on a budget!

May 14, 2013

Albion Fit Giveaway! {CLOSED}

Albion Fit is a company based in Utah who specializes in creating women's fitness and swimwear as well as workout clothing. They combine some of the most important elements in workout or leisure-wear such as: comfort, function, and a flattering cut for the woman physique. I was sent this Go Long Crew by Albion Fit to review and honestly love it! The material is thin, soft, moveable, and has some pretty awesome thumb holes. I tend to like my workout gear a little on the looser side so this was perfect and definitely not clingy. They have a bazillion color options for this workout top and I choose the "pool" color, doesn't that sound so serene? They also have available: ballet pink, fuchsia, jade, grape, rust, and heather gray. 
Enter to win a Go Long Crew top of your own in any color you choose, make sure to do so soon because the giveaway ends this Saturday the 18th.
Albion Fit is so awesome to not only offer a giveaway for all my readers, but to also supply you with a reader discount code in order to receive $15 off an order of $50 or more! {Use by 5/18/13}
Code: breezydays15
I hope you win! ;)



May 11, 2013

Desperate Sales Wives of OC East

One of the others wives on the team, Amelia {my new bff}, has now dubbed us the Desperate Housewives of OC East {that's the name of the sales team our husbands are on, OC East that is, not the desperate sales wives haha}. We are not desperate by any means, except for maybe a little attention from the husbys? Right when they get home at 8:30 at night they are all ours! No more killing bugs!

Our husbands are gone from 8 in the the morning to 8 at night Monday through Friday, then on Saturdays they are gone from 8 to 4. Then when they do get home all they talk about is customers, knocking doors, and killing bugs. Which means that us wives gotta stick together. If only for our sanity!
We coupon together, grocery shop, work out, run errands, get eyebrows waxed, debate dying her hair or my eyebrows, make lunch/dinner, stuff our faces with smores bars, hit the pool/jacuzzi together, do laundry, watch Vampire Diaries on Netflix,  and more and more and more....honestly the list could go on for days. 

We stick it out for these 4 months out of the year so we can take it easy and focus on school from September to April. It works for us as long as we are in school, once we graduate who knows where the crap we'll be and what we'll be doing?? Until then, here's to the Desperate Sales Wives saga!

May 10, 2013

Embarrassing Moment(s)

Challenge Day 10: "Most embarrassing moment(s). Spill."

Oh my gosh, where in the world do I even start? My whole life is a series of embarrassing moments!!
How about when I had to pee on the side of the 91 freeway because there was a car accident that kept us in gridlock traffic for hours? Oh, and I was with my boyfriends family {from high school}, we were driving back home after they picked up their pet kitten from the the cat store. They were all chillin', with the new cat, in the car while I took care of business behind a bush. That's class right there.

Or when Ryan first EVER met my family and they all couldn't help but make Mexican jokes the entire weekend? {They were just nervous & obviously had some horrific word vomit and when they are told to not bring something up...they inevitably do}. My dad decided to tell a joke on the way home from church, in trying to bond with Ryan, he said: "Why hasn't Mexico won any Olympic medals?"....."Cause everyone who can run, jump, or swim is already across the border!" Ya, total cringe-worthy moment...Ryan thankfully took it graciously but my mom on the other hand, did not. She had a total hissy-cow fit once she heard what my dad said. We still joke about it!

Finally, how about when Ryan asked me to draw the United States last year and I realized that I only know the west coast? I know absolutely NO geography. Ryan was laughing for HOURS. "Crap" is apparently the stuff I don't need to know cause I've never been and probably will never go? Haha!
Enjoy & happy Friday! :)


May 8, 2013

Piece(s) of Advice

"Day 8: A piece of advice for others. Anything at all."
Can I have a bazillion pieces of advice?? 
Since it's my blog, I shall allow it. 

Here's my all-inclusive advice list:
+ say thank you when someone opens the door for you, and hold the door open for others
+ smile & nod your head when a stranger looks your way
+ don't be a doormat for the sake of peace, stand up for what you believe is right
+ learn to communicate in a healthy way with others
+ after eating sweets all day, don't...I repeat DON'T chill in the jacuzzi later that night. you'll get such a horrible stomachache that lasts all the next day. it's not worth it!
+ when you "fail" in reaching towards your goal, pick yourself back up again and keep working at it
+ endure to the end! even though the end seems so far away, keep working towards your goal! the time will pass anyways, so why not constantly improve yourself? 
+ get to know your in-laws before you get married, so you know what situation you're stepping in to!
+ when you need help, ask for it. don't allow yourself to suffer in silence
+ when you're stressed out; a shower, some food, and a little rest can do wonders
+ take care of yourself! put good food in your body, exercise it, and treat it right
+ to make sure your lips don't chap with lipstick on...first exfoliate your lips then put your face moisturizer on them. voila! lipstick doesn't move all day and your lips don't chap up
+ read read read! books let you step into another world or reality, even if it's just for a little bit
+ be grateful for the little things. the sun, family, bright nail polish, the beach, etc 

May 7, 2013

What I'm Afraid Of


I finally gave in and am doing the "Blog Every Day in May" challenge...but let's be real. I'll probably only end up doing it on days when I'm not working on my internship or soaking up sun by the pool. I tried keeping up with the Outfit Of the Day Every Day May and totally failed yesterday when I wore sweats all day. Oops!! Anywho, today is Day 7 of the blogging challenge and we are supposed to write about what we are most afraid of.

Plain and simple, I'm afraid of losing someone close to me.
It's miserable having those nightmares where someone close to me dies in a car accident/surgery/shooting. I wake up breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, and reaching for Ryan to make sure he is alright. Then for the phone to double check that there are no phone messages filled with horrible news. I have not lost anyone close to me as of yet, and I'm afraid that I have it "too good to be true". A little pessimistic, huh?? I'll admit that I'm a little neurotic, but could you blame me? I would like to keep my family close to me and will do so for as long as humanly possible. And thank the stars that I believe that families are forever or else my anxiety would definitely be getting the best of me! :)


May 4, 2013

Let Me Fix My Hurr

I am finally making it a point to figure out how to do different things with my hair other than my lazy ponytail or the always-favorite messy top knot/ballerina bun. Seeing as how I'm an "adult" and need to look semi-presentable most days of the week, I gotta shake some things up. I used Robyn's fishtail tutorial the other day and was so excited with how it turned out! Very boho chic :) Today I used Ashley's french braid turned into a messy bun tutorial that I found on Pinterest {shocker, how did we ever live without Pinterest before?} and my hurr looks AWESOME if I do say so myself. Here are some other hair-do's that I'm looking forward to trying out: piecy pony, different ways to wear your bangs, and a rolled up-do
Happy weekend!

May 2, 2013

The Start of Summer

These are some pictures from our first weekend here; pedicures with my mom, salmon Sunday dinner with the fam, and decorating our new 'lil place with some clearance stuff from Target. Woot woot!

Ryan is co-managing a pest control team here in So-Cal which means long hours {8:30am-8pm} all day everyday {except for Sunday}, but it also means that all his hard work will pay off majorly at the end of the summer. 
I'm especially excited for this summer because our last summer of doing sales in Portland, OR was absolutely the most miserable thing ever {I'll have to save that story for another post}. Lots of gloomy days, hard to sell doors, illnesses, and family drama served for a less than savory summer! This summer is already shaping up to be a wayyy better time and I couldn't be more stoked. Even more so cause it's been almost 3 years since I've spent a summer in California. I already got some pool time planned for tomorrow, I'm going to my brother's basketball team car wash this Saturday, and I start my internship next week {which I'll also have to explain in another post!}...aka life is good :) 
By the way, is anyone else participating in Harley & Jane's "Outfit of the Day Everyday In May" Insta-challenge? Check it out here for more information, it's super fun!

May 1, 2013

Positive Thinking


Even after a year and a half or so of blogging I still get all sketched out if anyone is watching me take outfit pictures...yes that includes the mailman in the background, a little kid whizzing by every five seconds on his bike, and the Indian dude to the side of me {not pictured} yelling angrily in another language at someone on the phone {I felt sorry for whoever that was, I'm sure that he definitely ruined their day}.

It's been a rough start here in California. Between having to fight tooth and nail to get internet installed and working, living on a dime {actually a penny}, having to get our fridge replaced because the last one didn't work and it spoiled all of our food, and realizing we forgot to pack important things {such as: trash bags, dishwashing soap, toothbrushes and the like}, you could say it's been an emotion-filled past couple of days.
You know what though? I'm reallly making an effort to stay positive and optimistic. After all, we have been looking forward to moving here for the past few months and I can't let a few hiccups ruin that! Especially since I've got my friends and family close by, the sun is out & warming my skin, Ryan and I have great jobs/internship opportunities that we are excited about, a paycheck is only a 'lil ways away, plus I'm happy & Ryan's happy...and that's all that really matters, right? :)