Friday, December 30, 2011

Book Nerd is at it again

Alright, this week's book spotlight doesn't cover just one book. But an entire author. I love Shannon Hale. She is such a talented writer and completely sucks you into her wonderful stories. The Goose Girl is the first book I read of hers and I fell in love. She turned The Goose Girl into a series, known as the Bayern Series, and while the other books in the series are entertaining, The Goose Girl still remains my favorite of her books. She also wrote these other books (featured below) that are amazing as well. If you are looking for a good fantasy story to read that makes you feel like a kid again, then this is the author for you!

Cheesy is How we Do it

In case you didn't get one, this was our Christmas card this year. Merry Christmas!

Our First Christmas

Justin and I had an amazing first Christmas together. It was so nice to have someone to spend Christmas with and we were able to spend time with lots of family this year. On Christmas Eve Eve we went to Grandma and Grandpa Olsen's for dinner and games. Christmas Eve we went to Aunt Louise and Uncle Harold's house for the extended Palmer family party. After the party we went over to Justin's parents house and played games with his parents, Stephanie, Leslie, Tyler and Tyler. Christmas Eve Justin and I were able to spend the night in our own apartment, which was kind of nice Christmas morning. Justin and I exchanged gifts, drove to his parents to exchange more gifts and have a fabulous omelet breakfast, and then headed to Preston to see the extended Wright family and exchange even more gifts and eat even more yummy delicious food. We got insanely spoiled this year! We are so lucky to have so many loving family members around and are truly blessed for all the good things that have happened to us this year. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas as well and have a very happy new year!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Forgotten

I love marriage. I really do. But this month has been kind of a hard one for me. Not because of Justin, he has been great, really. But just because of .... me. I've never been married before, so I guess I didn't really know what to expect. I expected the occasional fight and the less than perfect days. I did NOT expect to be so happy or feel so loved and so safe. I didn't expect to have a sudden sureness that this is the way God wants me to live, that this is His plan for His children, and that marriage is a very, very sacred thing.

But mostly I didn't expect the loneliness. Marriage can be really, really lonely. And I was definitely not expecting that.

As most of you know Justin works graveyards, which means he works all night and sleeps all day. He wakes up around five or six in the pm and so we get to spend our nights together. That's great. But while he is sleeping, I find myself extremely bored and extremely lonely. I know I need to find a full time job, it would help a lot, but in the meantime I'm not really sure what to do with my time. The worst part about it is I feel completely forgotten. None of my friends have called me to hang out with them. In fact I haven't even seen them since October. It's weird how I am closer and talk to my best friend who lives in Canada more than I do to my friends who live in the same city as me, probably less than two minutes away. I know they are busy with their lives, and friendship goes both ways, but am I really expected to initiate everything? I guess they are no longer interested in hanging out with an old married lady like me.

Everyone says that this change is good, that it's the way that it's supposed to be. Losing contact with you friends is SUPPOSED to happen after you are married. Shiz monkey. I don't like it. I know I am just having a hard time with this change because for the past five years I have been extremely spoiled in my social life. I always had roommates and friends around 24/7 and there was always something to do, someone to be with. It's a hard adjustment for me. I miss being around people. I miss my friends. I love Justin more than anything, and I love every minute we get to spend together. In my perfect world he could quit his job and we could spend every minute of every day together. But of course it's not a perfect world and we can't spend all of our time together so here I sit, whining about my life, when really it's not so bad, I just need a hobby. Or a puppy. ;)

Book of the Week


There are some books that I read over and over just for fun because I like the story and am entertained. Then there are books that I read over and over again because of the important message it contains, or because I learn something new every time I read it, or simply because I need a book to remind me of what I have. This week's book is one of those books. This week I re-read "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. This book is about a futuristic community who have decided to switch to "sameness". Everything is the same, and every part of their lives is assigned to them: such as their job, their spouse, even their children. This book may be short, but it really makes me stop and think about how lucky I am to live in this country and being able to make my own decisions, make my own mistakes, and do pretty much whatever I want with my life. Read it. I promise you won't regret it. It's a really good book to read in the month of December.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Some Wedding Pictures...



































This is just a very few of the MANY pictures we got that day. If you would like to see all of them check them out on my facebook.

Book of the Week



This week's book was inspired by Thomas S. Monson in the 1'st Presidencies Christmas Devotional tonight. Most people know the story, but I bet very few have actually read the book. The book I am talking about is "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. This book is amazing. Not only for the story, but for the spirit it brings to it's reader. The story has so much more detail than you have ever heard, I promise that you will not be reading the same old story that you have heard since you were a kid. Charles Dickens is one of my favorite authors, and this book is just chock full of inspirational quotes. If you are feeling like you're missing out on the Christmas spirit this year, then this is the book for you! It's a pretty short read so even if your not big on reading you're sure to love it.

The Divine Calling of Motherhood

It's late. I need to be in bed right now, but the pull to write is stronger than the pull of my night time meds, so .... here I am. T...