Just a quick hello...

How is everyone doing this Tuesday morning? What are you up to this week? I have decided I want to know more about my readers (aka my new friends). If you want to participate answer the following questions in the comment section...

1. Where are you from? Where do you live now?

2. What do you love most about yourself?

3. What are your dreams?

4. What is your favorite thing to do outside of work and blogging?

5. What's your favorite book? (I love reading, and need some good ones)

6. What is your favorite thing about the blog world?

7. If you could explain yourself in one sentence, what would it be?

Seven questions. Should be easy enough and fun, don't you think?

I hope you all participate. I can't wait to read all about you!

I am praying, are you?

I don't know if you are already praying for baby Bronson and family, but if you aren't you really should read this and start praying your guts out. I don't even know Matt and Sara (the parents), and I don't even have children yet, but my heart aches for them and my eyes tear up for them, and I am trying so hard to give them all my faith and prayers.

Please read (warning: you will cry), it will humble you, and help you to remember that the worldly things mean nothing, and those you love mean everything. It is good to always have this reality thrown at you, don't you think?

You all read and heard about sweet baby Gavin didn't you? I follow Natalie (Gavin's mom) on Twitter, and she updated us through the whole battle of her little boys short life. It was amazing to see how many people prayed for Gavin. It was amazing to see the strength and faith of Natalie, even after Gavin passed away just after 2 months of living. That little Gavin had a short life, but he had a HUGE calling for this earth and fulfilled it to his fullest. He brought thousands together through prayer, total strangers bonded for a little soul. Faith was restored to many, and my faith grew so much it was crazy. Natalie is a hero to me, and so was Gavin.

Also, my sweet friend Lindy, and her little boy Blake, also need your prayers. He has been and out of the emergency room many many times, and has what's called Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES). He has sever food allergies that makes him vomit uncontrollably and make his limp and not responsive. They can't tell what exactly he is allergic to, so they have to do trial and error, which is always scary. Please keep Blake in your prayers as well.

Isn't prayer the most amazing thing in the world? I literally wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have prayer in my life. Sometimes I find myself in a constant prayer throughout the day for random stuff. I feel like I have Heavenly Father on speed dial in my heart and brain. I am thankful for prayer. I am thankful knowing that prayers are answered. I am thankful to know and understand that they may not be answered in the way I want, but that they are always heard. I am thankful for in the Internet to help spread the word on those that need our prayers.

I am so very thankful.

And I am praying, praying hard for everyone that needs it (because we know there are millions who need them).

I miss Chris.

He has been in Brazil for the week,

but thank the heavens that he gets home this afternoon.

We are going to go hit up the town...

{aka hang with the mitchells and move furniture around}

Have a good weekend!

A day at the beach

The nice thing about not having a job yet is that I get to hang out with Julie and the twins everyday. Since I left my debit card in Laguna Beach last Friday at Pomodoro, we made a trip back to pick it up and then hit up the beach and hung out with the birds. The boys were in heaven. And I was in heaven cause it was February and we were on the beach and it wasn't too freezing.

{what did Julie do without me before I moved here? Both boys ran different directions. They are a handful. A darn cute handful! Julie is hoping I don't get a job.}

And can I just say that these boys love me. When they come pick me up everyday they give me the biggest smiles and giggles, and it makes my day! I love them lots and lots!

my week

1. Re-vamping my two new dressers (that I got for $100--can you say steal??). Sanding and painting (one is going to be deep purple, and one a light grey blue), and I'm really hoping they turn out.

2. Thrift shopping for more goods: bookshelves, frames, lamps, desk chair, and more and more storage items. Our place only has our clothes closet and one small coat closet. Storage is tight, so lots of dressers etc. is a must.

3. Getting a massage. My neck is soooo tight I could cry. My body is calling for some loving hands. I can.not.wait.

4. Cleaning out my car, and throw lots and lots and lots away. Chris has called me a semi hoarder. sad day.

5. And find a job...anyone in southern California have any suggestions or something to offer? I am getting bored and need something part time. Please and thank you!! :)

What are you doing this week?

Attention Southern California....

Want some pictures taken?

Here is my special for a 1 hour session for February and March:

$50 for 1 to 2 people

$75 for 3 or 4 people

$100 for 5 to 7 people

$150 for 8 or more

CD with copyright to all edited images: $50

*If you sign up and refer a friend, get CD for just $25!!!

Email me if you are interested:

staceysargent1{at}gmail{dot}com

To see more of my work, click HERE!

**All pictures will be taken in the Ladera Ranch or Mission Viejo area.

If you would like pictures outside of this area, there will be a $25 travel fee.

Apartment Living

As most of you know, when we moved to California, we moved in to teeny tiny apartment that we actually quite love. That being said, it is quite a change in some ways...

- The other morning, I could have sworn that a door shut in my apartment. Since I knew I was alone, it freaked me out. Good thing it took me about 2.5 head turns to scan the whole place and realize it was one of our neighbors and I was safe and still alone.

- The other night we started smelling the most amazing aroma filtering in our place. Our neighbors were making the best smelling dinner, and it got us salivating. I was ready to go searching for the exact place and ask if they wanted to share.

- We will randomly hear loud bangs and it makes me jump out of my skin. For some reason I am quite a paranoid person, so all these noises creep me out.

- We have a guy who's garage opens up across from ours and he scares the living daylights out of us. Pretty sure he could kill us with his stare. Whenever we walk past, he gives us the stare, and we get silent, our palms get sweaty, we start saying a little prayer . Eeek!

{yes, we had neighbors in our townhome in utah, but we never heard them like we do here.}

Yes, I am the new girl.

I really don't think there is anything worse than being the new girl (we just moved into a new ward) and having to introduce yourself one million times.

now don't think I hate people being friendly, because friendly people are the best. But I hate the awkward, lame girl I have become. Let me give you some fun examples from church yesterday:

1. A cute girl asked which part of Utah we moved from (answer: Highland/Alpine area) and I said, "Sandy...oh wait...(turning to chris)...where are we from..(long pause cause chris can't talk because he is flabbergasted from my answer)...oh yeah, the Highland/Alpine area."

2. The lovely girl sitting behind us in gospel doctrine class tapped my on the shoulder and said, "Hi, I am Summer."

And I replied, "Hi, I am summer." (I said it EXACTLY same as she did. I pretty much just mimicked her - her tone of voice and all. I felt like I was having an out of body experience and it took me a second to "wake up" and realize what the crap I just did) {thinking to myself: what in the heavens? your freaking name is NOT summer, and you are a freaking idiot}

"Oh my gosh, sorry, my name is Stacey."

Okay for real??!!! What is wrong with me? I was telling my sister, Julie, about what happened and she said that I have changed. I used to be really good at talking to people, I used to be able to make friends easily, and I used to be sooo not awkward and a mumbler.

I guess there is always next Sunday, right? Hopefully I haven't shot my chances on making friends. There are for sure at least two girls that are over me.

*an awkward picture for an awkward girl!

yes, im still talking about utah

things i am loving about Orange County:

1. being able to wear any of my clothes any of the time (minus this week)

2. being able to take out my bike all year long

3. dinner nights with pj and julie every night

4. hanging with the twins every single day

5. that chris gets home from work at 1pm and we can eat lunch together, take afternoon naps, go shopping, etc etc. this is truly a serious blessing!!

things i am missing about utah:

1. of course my family

2. our home and garage

3. our favorite places to eat

4. pizzeria 712 (it gets it's own number)

5. cheaper gas and groceries

i miss this little squish!

and all my nieces and nephews for that matter.

our new home

we are here in southern California

and have moved into our apartment.

we gave and sold lots of our stuff,

but we still have wayyyy too much stuff for this place.

{it was  little smaller than we remembered!}

we are learning to call California home,

but i must admit I am super homesick...

I miss you family!!!!

The trip was a painful one.

Chris drove the u-haul and I drove our car,

so I sang, talked, and tried to entertain myself for 10 hours.

Here are a few snap shots from our trip...

{driving the u-haul}

{yes i did snap this while driving. and this is what i drove behind the whole way...everything we own}

we don't have internet yet (im on my sister's computer), so posting will be sporadic, but I will be back soon. muah!!

Buy our Jeep!! ****NEW PRICE!!!****

We are selling our Jeep Grand Cherokee for just $3,200 *OBO*

(The Blue Book on this is $4,700)

Read more about it HERE!

Lots of things for SALE!! ***ALL SOLD!!***

1. Gorgeous Dining table for $150 OBO! It has a glass top and 4 matching chairs!

More info HERE! **SOLD**

2. Plaid, Comfy Chair with matching ottoman for $65.oo OBO!!
So so comfortable and great for reading books!
More info HERE!
***SOLD***

3. 32" Panasonic TV for $75.00 OBO! Great working condition and comes with remote!

More info HERE! **SOLD!!**

4. Canon SD900 Powershot Camera for $90 OBO! Great condition!

More info HERE!

***SOLD***

5. Dark Brown Ikea Dresser for only $25! One panel has come off, but can easily be fixed!

More info HERE!

***SOLD***

Email me if you are interested in anything!

Staceysargent1{at}gmail{dot}com

**P.S. I promise this blog will stop being a classified very soon!!**

PRICE REDUCED!! ***RENTED!!!***

We have reduced the rent on our townhome!

The price is now $1350 which INCLUDES the HOA

{indoor & outdoor tennis courts, 3 swimming pools, work-out facility, etc}

and we are still offering:

FREE RENT UNTIL MARCH 2010!!!

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Contact me to get this amazing deal:

staceysargent1{at}gmail{dot}com

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Info here and here!!!

goals

i think when you are struggling it is good to make goals for yourself. it helps you to push along and start something new and gives you confidence. so today is a good day to write out my goals for 2010:

1. my biggest goal for the year is... the second i wake up, get out of bed and immediately get ready for the day. as someone who is prone to anxiety and depression, this is a huge one. it helps to start my day and get me going.
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2. chris and i have set an amount of money we would like to save every year. so our goal is to do that and start building our savings account. I think nothing is more important than savings.

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3. when chris is home, try not to spend as much time on the internet.

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4. get back to only eating out once a week. not only do you save lots of money (goal no. 2), but it also helps get rid of the jiggles in the booty area.

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5. watch less TV and do more stuff outdoors (the weather will help this out a lot) and get to know our new home.

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6. hang up my clothes the second i take them off. why this one is so hard for me i will never know. pretty sure chris will appreciate this one too.

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7. print more of our pictures and frame them. sad to say we only have one, yes one, of us printed. craziness!

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8. watch more episodes of 'the office'. enough said. (please ignore number 5)

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9. be better at texting back, calling back, commenting back, emailing back, and stop using the ignore button so much on my phone. this is a serious serious struggle of mine, and one I'm going to work really hard on. (i apologize to those who have fallen victim to one of these)

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10. write one of my blessings down each day in my journal....oh and journal more.

There you have it... 10 goals for the year 2010. and ones that i think i can actually do!!!

giddy up!

photo by nicole christensen.