Sunday Thoughts: Do you know your spouse's Love Language?

So in Relief Society today we were talking about service and I really liked some comments that were given. We were talking about serving our spouses and how their ways of giving and receiving service could be different from ours and we need to know those so we can better serve each other.

I'm not a huge advocate of the 5 Love Languages or anything, but I really think it is important to know which ways you show love and know how your spouse shows love. I just figured Chris was the same as me, but we went through them after church so we could know how we can better serve and know how to love each other. Here are the Love Languages from 5lovelanguages.com:

1) Words of Affirmation
Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

2) Quality Time
In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

3) Receiving Gifts
Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

4) Acts of Service
Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

5) Physical Touch
This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

I am definitely the words of affirmation (I love the reinforcement of doing good things or knowing that I am loved) and also the acts of service. Chris has quality time and physical touch of just holding hands and knowing that I am there. So yeah, I encourage you that have spouses to learn each other's love languages to see how you can better serve them.

Homestyle hair tips

I found this on yahoo today and liked it:

1) Find a shampoo that lathers less.
Sudsy doesn’t necessarily mean clean—sometimes, it means the opposite. Shampoos that lather too much are often overloaded with moisturizing products, which can leave build-up in your hair, making it look and feel dirtier quicker. So opt for a sulfate-free formula. Related: How to Rehab Your Limp Locks and Split Ends

2) Give your locks a burst of cold.
Before you hop out of the shower, turn the cold water on for a second and quickly rinse it through your strands. It helps seal the cuticle, adding a sleek finish to your locks.

3) Play hot-and-cold as you dry.
When using a round brush to dry your hair in sections, start from the roots and dry all the way to the ends, letting the brush linger at the tips of your strands. Let your hair cool off like this on its own for five seconds, then repeat on another section. Alternating between heat and cool-down time helps set your style, and your bombshell blowout will have more body.

4) Do an at-home glaze between color appointments.
Glazes fill holes and rough spots in your hair cuticles, helping smooth your locks and put moisture back into your hair. This keeps your color shiny and bright so it lasts longer and look better. Plus, you can snag an at-home kit from your local drugstore.

5) Use rollers for high-volume. For lift, blow out your locks until they’re dry. Then, section off the hair on top of your head—between your temples and all the way back to the crown of your hair. Divide that section into three smaller sections vertically (as if you were making a mohawk), and wrap each in a 2-inch velcro hair roller. Let your hair sit like this for 30 minutes, and then unwrap your strands, lightly comb them out, and spray for hold.

6) Drop the towel.
Keeping wet strands wrapped in a towel for a half-hour as you do your make-up will just cause frizz! The roughness of the cotton forces your hair cuticles open, making them more likely to go every-which-way. Instead, squeeze out excess water as soon as you’re out of the shower, then let your hair air-dry for five or ten minutes before blowdrying.

7) Apply products 10 minutes before you style. Whether you’re curling, straightening, or whatevering, applying product 10 minutes in advance helps it fully absorb into your strands so you get all of its benefits and more bang for your buck.

8) Wrap—don’t clamp—your hair for quick curls.
When using a curling iron, you don’t need to fasten your locks to the barrel. Wrap sections around the iron and hold in place for about 10 seconds to score the same soft, sexy curls.

9) Use spray bottles as your new lazy-day BFF.
If you wake up and your locks are totally flat or grungy from the day before, just spray the top layer of your hair until damp, and then use a big barrel roundbrush (2 inches or more) to blow your locks dry. You’ll score high volume on that top layer, and since it’s freshly blown out, you’ll create the illusion of all-over smooth

10) Use dry shampoo a different way. Instead of waiting until your locks need an dirt-fighting pick-me-up, apply a dab of dry shampoo to your roots immediately after you wash and dry them. Though your hair’s already clean, the barrier will stave off the debris and oil your strands will collect throughout the day before it hits. Bonus: It also gives you killer volume

The sun will come out tomorrow

The sun will come out, tomorrow

Bet your bottom that tomorrow, there'll be sun

Just thinking about, tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow,

Til there's none.

When im stuck with the day, thats grey, and lonely,

I just stick out my chin and grin and say,

Ohhhhhhh. The sun will come out, tomorrow

So you gotta hang on til tomorrow,

Come what may,

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I luv ya, tomorrow

You're always a day

Being an Ironman

So we went to St. George and while we were there there was the Ironman Triathlon and boy it so crazy to see.

So what is the Ironman Race?

Swim: 2.4 miles

Bike: 112 miles

Run: 26 miles

We watched the race in St. George and here are some things I learned:

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  There are cut off times for all of the sections


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  It starts at 7am goes till midnight


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  The main cost is $600 or $1200 for the Ironman Foundation


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  They have Ironman in many parts of the world


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  There are different age groups to compete in


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  You have food like powerbars along the way, water, wet cloths and porta-potties

Stamping initials in a silver necklace

I made this necklace with our initials stamped into the metal.

I bought a kit from Amazon and there are so many different sizes and different fonts. I found this one at Hobby Lobby and it was complete silver.

Here is how to make the stamped tag.

1) place your metal tag on a rock hard surface like concrete. Make sure that if it is on concrete you put some kind of paper behind it or the concrete will create imprints on the back.

Having even a wood surface didn't put the letters through well.

2) put the stamp in the correct spot on the metal. If you are spelling something make sure you start with the middle letter or symbol.

3) Use a hammer to pound the letter in. Make sure that the letter NEVER moves, even a little will cause the letters to look off.

It's hard to determine how many hits you need to hit with the hammer. I know some letters you need to hit it less (like 'I' and 'T') but some metals and thicker or thinner and it is hard to determine.

St. George

Beautiful St. George

We weren't there for that long but we went up Snow Canyon and went on some hikes. It was so nice to have it hot, it got up in the 90s

This is the Pioneer Trail. I looked it up online and apparently these really are from Pioneers and they are made from axle grease. The earliest one I saw was 1881

We went shopping. We found some great things for Chris' work.

We watched the Ironman which was so cool. These men and women were crazy biking, swimming, and running. Good food too.

We went to the St. George Temple one of the days. It is so pretty I love the temple

We're back

We're back from St. George and while we were there it was good to go the the St. George temple. It reminds me of when we were there last year. I can't believe this year has gone by so fast, I loved going to the temple too to remind us of our marriage. 8 months!

The ways I'm like my mom

We just had the cutest primary kids sing for Mothers Day. I'm so grateful for my mom, one thing that I was thinking about today was the characteristics I have from her.

~ first of all we look a lot alike, I have gotten that since I was young.
~ always having encouraging words. My mom knows the right things to say and always is so inspiring.
~ a love of crafts and being artistic... Definitely did not get that from my father. Well maybe a little, my dad graduated in mechanical engineering and my mom did graphic design so interior design is my creative side and business is trying to find more practical solutions in processes.
~ putting the Lord first. My mom always taught us to place our foundation on the Savior and everything will be alright.
~ love of trying new things. During my BYU years my mom thought it was awesome to do my one "blow of class" a semester. She taught me to just not do the bear minimum but life is continuous learning.
~ think ahead and have goals. My mom was a big goal maker, now living away from them I have learned for myself how important goals are and how we do become better by pushing ourselves to be better.
~ to look out for "the underdog". My mom taught me that everyone needs a friend and it takes just one person to stand up for someone to make a difference. I have and will stand up for ppl and am not afraid to do so especially when ppl are being made fun of and when its morality right.
~ being a leader. My mom taught me that there are too many followers in this world and not enough leaders. We can be that example and light to ppl. We can be that lighthouse unto the through and.god examples.
~ being a good people reader. My mom always gets ppl and has a deeper understanding. If ppl were ever unkind, rude, whatever... She would always read deeper into the situation and help me know maybe that person had a hard day, or maybe that their family oas having some hard times so they might be more put offish, or maunder that someones insecurities wee making them be more self centered. I don't know if those made sense but she taught me more about ppl.
~ not caring what others think and to love who you are.

Happy Mothers Day! Thanks for all that you have taught me. I'm like you in so many ways

The definition of a ghetto car

The definition of a ghetto car:

A car that you can't take in the car wash because the sunroof leaks.
A car whose radio won't work so you have to blast music from your Ipod.
A car whose AC doesn't work so you need to roll down the windows, but two are not working.
A car whose door panel is in the backseat because the window wouldn't work and it had to be fixed.
A car whose driver's door handle is off and you need to open the door by pulling a wire, or just go through the passenger side.
A car whose side mirror is crooked and you need to manually adjust.
A car whose been scraped on the backside and crunched on the front side and hasn't been fixed because the damages are more than the car is even worth.
A car whose ceiling sags (from the water from the sunroof).
On the other hand, a car whose door handle is off on that driver's side and you need to pull the metal bar at the right angle and the right strength to open it.

All of these things together equal= "THE PUDDLE JUMPER" (aka the name for my car).

Ok I could go on and on but this is the state of my car right now. I actually find it humorous because it seriously is not in the best shape but know what... it gets me from place to place. As much as I want a new car right now I think its such a good idea to save now and get something nicer later. I'm glad that we have that ability to wait.