This afternoon, Ryan and I were cleaning up the house a bit and discussing some scheduling issues we've had and Zoe wanted a snack. She kept asking over and over and I told her to sit on the couch and I'd be out in a few minutes to get her something to snack on.

Ryan and I finished cleaning and talking a few minutes later and we came out to the family room to find this little sleeping beauty. She had put herself to bed on the floor.

She slept like that for a good hour. Zoe hardly EVER falls asleep anywhere but her bed or in the car. I was shocked she just laid down and fell asleep. She must have been really tired.

I've got a couple layouts to share.

is my mantra this week.

This week has definitely been tougher than the past 2.

I have to remind myself, we're still adjusting. Over and over. Lots of changes.

We will get into a routine. We will make new friends. We will get used to our new budget. We will eventually love all the time we get to spend together. We will be blessed for doing what it right. We will love to living walking distance to church and the temple. I will become a good cook again. We will still see our old friends and family.

I'm spending a lot of time on reciting this list above, in my head.

Flipping our world upside-down has been like lifting a rock will lived under for so long and it's exposing every one of my weaknesses. I'm sure that's one of the reasons we're here, but having them exposed all at once, is so overwhelming.

It's been a struggle to not find self-doubt around every corner.

When I call my Mom on a hard day, she quotes my late grandmother, "You come from from pioneer stock!"
 A helpful reminder that I can persevere and be made better for it.


Just in the short time I've been writing this post, I think I've found a new mantra, "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." Yep, there is it. I love blogging, it's so therapeutic. Between blogging and scrapping, I think that covers a good portion of what real therapy would.

Speaking of scrapping, a few more layouts to share.

 This first one is my favorite of the bunch.
If you've spent any time with Zoe you might know that she has a great fake cry. Very believable and sometimes even tears. However, you can spot the fake cry instantaneously when she immediately stops and says," I'm done crying, I'm a happy girl now!" with a smile and a devious look in her eye.




Well it is almost Friday. Ryan has his first big test tonight, so we'll probably end up back at Arctic Circle tonight.

XOXO,
Holly & Co.

PS. Part II of the project I am working on was a success, D.I. had exactly what I needed. Just a few more finishing touches and I'll be ready to share :)

We got some good news early this morning, Ryan's brother's visa went through and he was on a plane today to Mexico to start his mission there. He had been sent to the South Salt Lake mission while he was waiting for his visa. Ryan got to talk to him briefly this afternoon, he ws excited and I'm sure relieved to get out of Salt Lake and onto warmer climates.

We were lucky today, we saw the sun today for the first time in over a week. It was nice to see it peeking through the clouds, although, I'm pretty sure we'll see snow tomorrow. I'm hoping there will be some this weekend. I found a really great sledding hill up on campus today, and I'm wanting to try it out. Zoe hasn't ever been sledding, but I'm pretty sure she'll love it.


I finally got started on a little project that I've had in my head for several weeks. It's not completed yet, but here is phase 1.

Our new hometown is about 5 square miles, give or take a couple gas stations and storage facilities. For the most part, I'm enjoying our new small town. But occassionally, things get interesting.

You have to double click on the picture below, and forcus on the door. If you look closely the figure in the door looks like a man, and not just any man, it's the Golly Green Giant. He hasn't moved since I first drove by him, almost 2 weeks ago. This must be his home during the winter.

So mischievous....and such a ham...

We're definitely getting a little bit of cabin fever around here. It snowed about 6-8 inches last night, topping the 18 inches already on the ground.

The bright side of being stuck in the house is, you get a lot done.
 I actually have started cooking again, and not just baking but actually cooking.
Last night I made beef and snow peas a la The Pioneer Woman.

It was good, not my favorite meal ever, but good. It probably would've been better with the sherry, but I used other things to make it appropriate.
Other things on the menu in the next week, beef stew, chicken tortilla soup, oven baked chicken, and homemade meatballs.

Sorry for the iPhone photos, I left my camera charger at my parents.

Hopefully we'll get to explore some more of town this weekend and stave off some of this cabin fever.

TGIF!

XOXO,
Holly & Co.

PS. Happy Happy Birthday to our dear friend, Preston. Wish we were there to celebrate with you! Hope you have a great day!

This gingham strip your see here is actually fabric tape with a sticky back that I won on a blog contest months ago. I've wanted to use it, but never really found a good use for it. Until this layout :)

The little tab on the left side actually pulls out and there's some hidden journaling about our gingerbread house building activity.

Verdict: We can do this! We survived.

Zoe went to her new school this morning. It was a rough start, but when I picked her up at lunchtime, she was all smiles.

Ryan enjoyed his classes. He came home at almost 3, quickly remembered he had another class and headed back to school

I'm working in our family room, with the printer on the floor, since my "office" isn't set up yet.

Yes, we can do this.

Last night we went to the Willis' house. They were so sweet and invited us over for dinner. We had delicious spaghetti and cheese bread (seriously it was AMAZING cheese bread). Yeah, Aly just had a baby 2 weeks ago, and she's already hosting dinner guests...superwoman.

We stayed way past Zoe's bedtime catching up, but it was so nice to see familiar faces. I had a mini breakdown yesterday. It all just hit me, like a wave. But I'm doing much better now.

We spent yesterday afternoon playing dress-ups and legos.