October

I LOVE October! Fall doesn't seem to last long enough here so I cherish everyday and the oncoming season of scarves, boots, the leaves changing colors, pumpkin flavored everything, and the crisp autumn air!

 

As if October isn't good enough, it's my church's Semiannual General Conference, where church leaders (a modern day prophet and apostles) speak and give such uplifting messages. Needless to say, I love all things October! Here are some well put together quotes that were some of my favorite excerpts from some of the talks given at General Conference:

The beginning of October my friend Kasie was a doll and hooked me up with two tickets to a private concert by Imagine Dragons put on by Vivint. Although I had already seen them perform once this year, a second opportunity to hear the Night Visions tour and have much closer seats than my last attendance was amazing!! Kasie had other tickets so I invited Sandi to be my date. 

It was great as always, even if the crowd acted like they were too cool to sing along at first, by the time Radioactive was performed they loosened up! I relished every moment, singing and dancing along, and just feeling carefree. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the night. Thanks for being my date Sandi and for the tickets Kasie!

 

It's not everyday I get to see my family, as they live 1300 miles away. So when Kassidy (my oldest, younger sister) came into town to tend our niece and nephews for the weekend, it was a special treat. Our sister and brother-in-law went on a quick weekend getaway so we got to spend some time together and with the little ones.

On one particular day, we were attempting to get the Kaden (4), Leighton (2), and Cohen (11 months) dressed to go on a hike and we were feeling a little overwhelmed. They are SO well-behaved but they are still children. It can be overwhelming when you and your sister have just finished a long week of full-time school and work and they aren't exactly listening to you, haha. Kass and I looked at each other and I said, "How does Tasha do this by herself?" We gained a lot of respect for our sister and mom realizing they do/did this kind of thing all the time. Kass and I agreed we were happy being single and that just getting ourselves ready on time was hard enough haha.

Once we got the kids dressed we met up with their Uncle Devin and took them around Bridal Veil Falls for a hike, that really just turned into a walk. We had a blast enjoying the brisk weather, gorgeous trail, and the ever changing leaves that day. And oh we must have been a funny sight to see as we tried our best to strap the ever pleasant and content Cohen into one of those strap-on baby carriers/holders. The poor guy was such a good sport and I suppose you just had to be there to see how ridiculous we looked trying to get him strapped in just right, haha.

During Kassidy's visit I got to put little Miss Leighton to sleep for her naps and bedtime, which was such a special treat because usually her Dad puts her to bed. Since she is my only niece and clings to me despite her shy demeanor, she is a girl after my heart! I love her so!

We certainly had a great time with these kiddos we love so much. We had a fun time dancing around the house and and once they went to sleep we were able to hang out and chat like sisters do.

Of course, since it was October I tried to do as many Halloweenie activities as possible. My employer sponsored a night at Cornbelly's which I attended with a date. We went through the corn maze, played some games, and I went on my first hay ride! Also that month I went on a double date with some friends to a haunted house and we upgraded to the "hands-on" experience which meant the actors could grab you. Miranda and I were talked into it and quickly regretted it. One of my favorite memories of the haunted house were when the vampires ran at Miranda and she screamed so hard, buried her face in Ian's chest so deep, that the actors actually laughed and left her alone. The most hilarious event to watch was probably when we were lead into an shaking elevator and the lights were flickering on and off. I had kept my cool up until this point but after the scary actor came at my face and backed away, I screamed bloody murder after a five second delay. My knees went weak and I thought I was going to pass out from being so frightened. The boys thought that was pretty funny, haha.

I made some great new friends in September, who I spent a lot time with in October. Here are some pictures from when we carved pumpkins together (pic credit to Miranda M.):

My work family is always amazing! I work with the best people so having a staff retreat complete with a tasty lunch and pedicures was nothing to complain about. I especially enjoyed the cactus pear lemonade. Yum! Of course we trained afterwards but here are some pictures of our fun activities:

  

I made it up the canyon for a few bike rides (aka on the back of a bike of course) in October which are one of my favorite pastimes. My last ride up the canyon turned into a spontaneous and beautiful hike up Bridal Veil Falls. I've always seen people hiking up the falls but never tried it myself and I'm so glad my "guide" convinced me to do so. Here are some pictures from that day:

 

 

As for the end of the month, on Halloween I dressed up as a pirate at school and work and had a fun time being festive. Here are some pictures from school and work. I certainly get spoiled from the wonderful Realtors of our Association. As far as the night believe it or not, I went to my first dance party in years, haha. I had a good time since I was with good company and hope you all had a fun Halloween as well :)

(Not the best lighting but it's the only picture I have of us girls on Halloween)

Thanks for sharing in my fun times in October with me. Hope you all had a great month as well!

Love,

Calissa

Girlfriends & September

In September, I was reminded what a positive impact women have on each other and on one particular day, as I was struggling to remember my own worth, I listened to a beautiful talk that emphasized womanhood. It's a great talk, that was actually addressed to the men in the church I belong to, called The Sanctity of Womanhood. I recommend this talk to both males and females as it gently reminds males how to treat women and the unique characteristics of womanhood.

One of the quotes I enjoyed that helped remind me of my worth was the following, "Woman is God's supreme creation. Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after that waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was women created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good." The talk went on to say, "Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so..."

The talk goes on a bit more to say, "Satan has unleashed a seductive campaign to undermine the sanctity of womanhood, to deceive the daughters of God and divert them from their divine destiny. He knows women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving power that binds together the human family."

This next line is the part that hit home to me the most and maybe to many of you as well-"He would focus their interests solely on their physical attributes and rob them of their exalting roles.." Wow! Is this so true or what?! As a woman it's easy to get carried away or have my sole focus on my outward appearance. Although it is good to be fit and care for ourselves, when it detracts from remembering our self-worth or consumes us, it robs of our worth. God sees our value and any negative thoughts we have are from the adversary, so just dismiss them! As simple as that may sound, I've started doing that and it has helped immensely. So the next time you are getting ready and you think to yourself, "I wish I was thinner" or "my hair isn't pretty compared to so and so" just dismiss it! I promise if you start to train your mind to not dwell on those thoughts you'll realize how much Satan was working on you before to make you feel that you are of little worth. God would never want us to think constant, negative thoughts about ourselves. So sure, sometimes you'll have a bad hair day or gain some weight around the holidays, but don't let it get to you so bad where it consumes your happiness or robs you of your worth!

I'm about to get off my soapbox, but just bear with me and laugh and some of these images below. My thought is this, never underestimate the power of womanhood or your value as a woman! I read a study recently that said married men live longer than single men, yet women who marry have the same life expectancy as those who don't. However, women with strong female social ties live longer than those without them. How interesting to think that having girlfriends creates longevity in women? It doesn't surprise me though, as my best memories are with girlfriends, sisters, and mother.

I'm so grateful to have three especially important females in my life that bring me happiness, support, and love. My mother, and long time friend Sandi and new friend Kasie. These women bring me such happiness and love as they listen to me, support, and encourage me all the time! I came across this funny post on Facebook that showed why it's great to live with your best friend. Here were some of my favorites and maybe you'll laugh at them too, haha.

 

Isn't this the truth? So thankful for those times!

 

Does anyone remember this episode? I do and I'm rolling on

 the floor laughing each time I see this one haha.

 

Kasie & I know this one all too well haha

Whether it's going to the bedroom next door and asking Sandi or snapchatting 

Kasie, they will always tell me if it's a yes or a no outfit, haha

Oh these two are sooo true!

How great is it to have a girlfriend that genuinely loves you, cares about your day, wants to hear all the details of your life, and will honestly tell you if your outfit looks stupid?! It's priceless! During September I created a lot of fun memories with my two best girlfriends-Sandi and Kasie. 

On Labor Day Sandi and I went on a little hike at Bridal Veil falls, which is always so gorgeous! Then we laid out by the pool, which was was the last day before it closed for the season :(  Afterwards we decided to decorate for Halloween and got some decorations from the store and from my storage unit. By the end of the evening we had the most beautiful, somewhat gaudy, perfectly feminine wreath. Tres chiche!

 

A few days later we went to a BYU football game together. Although it was chilly, we had a good time but both agreed that one football game sufficed our fill for the season, haha.

 

The next morning I ran the Color Me Rad 5k, my first 5k ever, with Kasie. Those who grew up with me might be surprised, considering I was a runner all through my teenage years, but a debilitating tailbone injury kept me from running for nearly three years. When I signed up for the race I wasn't certain if my tailbone would crack during the race or not, but considering the shape I've gotten into this year, I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm so glad I decided to run the Color Me Rad because it was a blast! The starting line had fun music playing, pre chalk throwing, and such a fun energy! I'm glad I ran it with Kasie, who is no stranger to 5k's, because I had way too many jitters and energy to pace myself.  Once we started, Kasie kindly reminded me that I was going a little to fast to keep a steady pace, haha. Here are some pictures of us before the race:

 

 

If I had to describe the race in one word it would be liberating! Running a 5k was one of the things on my list that I wanted to do this year to regain my "identity" and once again do things I love. The ability to run again without my tailbone cracking was a sweet and tender mercy! I'm so thankful that my body has healed enough for me to run again because running and fitness have practically always been the center of my universe and one of my greatest sources of happiness. And let's be honest- the endorphins aren't bad either ;) haha. 

Throughout the race they had checkpoints were color was thrown on us and it was so fun! Although it made it hard to breathe at times we soon learned to cover our mouths as we ran through the checkpoints. Kasie had some friends from work we spotted at the starting line so we ran with them off and on throughout the race. By the time we approached the finish line, I was sure we still had more to run and probably could've kept running because I was SO happy. As we reached the finish line I felt like a newly refreshed version of my old self. How liberating!! Here are pictures of Kasie and I after the race:

Our "we just rocked that race" faces!

Dancing and throwing chalk by the stage post-race

I'm so glad Kasie and I got to run this together and for her encouragement and efforts to soothe my fears prior to the race. What a blast!

Here are some funny photos before sushi of yours truly, the "glam girls" haha:

 

After dinner  that night we headed to Sundance to ride the chair lifts under the moonlight. It was my first time so I was really excited to see Sundance at night. We went with our good friend, Logan aka "Loges", from our ward and all snuggled up together to keep warm. It was soo pretty under the moonlight. Although we talked most of the time we had a few moments where we were quiet and a few minutes while we listened to some Ed Sheeran to go with the moonlight mood haha.

We also went country dancing together for the first time in nearly five years in September! Holy cow, it had been way too long. We always have such a blast dancing together and it brought back so many good memories.

 Also that week, Sandi had a fashion show at her school in which she participated. I'm so glad she invited me and that I got to see her work. The makeup and hair was great, by far the best! Great work love!

  Loges and I also checked out Chalk the Block in September while shopping together one Saturday evening. Local artists of sorts created a masterpiece within a parking stall at the Riverwoods shopping area and the public walked around and admired the work. Here were some of my favorites:

I hope you enjoyed a few excerpts from my life in September. I'm so grateful for the wonderful women in my life, those mentioned and those not mentioned. I'm so lucky to know so many great people. I hope you all had a great fall!

Love,

Calissa