Good Things to Come

Jayson showed me this video and I just couldn't resist posting it. It just made me feel too good.

Jones

Let me tell you a little something about Jones Soda.




I love it.
I love everything about it.

Why?

Oh, I'm so glad you asked. Let me bullet point all of the reasons for you.

• The bright colors.


• The wonderful, random pictures they print on their labels.


• The fact that they get those random pictures from a selection of pictures that random people post on their website.


• The fortunes or fun sayings under the bottle cap


• The fact that they tast like candy in liquid form


• The colorful bubbles that swim up to the top when you open the cap...

Mostly though, I love it, because in a really weird way it sort of defines me. It's a part of me. When I lose sight of my me-ness, if you will, I just have to remember that I am that girl who loves Jones Soda, in a really quirky sort of way, and I am back in touch with said me-ness.

Do you have something like that? Do you have a weird little thing that you love, that is just so completely you? I'm trying to find something to compare it to, but I just can't seem to think of anything.

It all started way back in high school...probably sophomore year. I had one look at those picture labels and I had to have one. I bought one. The taste was blissful, and I was hooked. When I realized that they had fortunes under the caps there was really no turning back.

Can I confess something to you? I always let the picture pick the flavor I get. It's actually a really ridiculous process. I look through every bottle on the shelf and pick the one with my favorite pictures. Once I went to the store specifically to get a bottle and I couldn't find one with a satisfactory picture, so I left and went to a different store.

Needless to say, I've become a little obsessed. However, my obsession died down a little bit. It wasn't until this past Wednesday that I realized I probably hadn't had one in a good year or so. You see, I was at the store, buying groceries, when I ran into a lady in my ward. She was buying her kids all sorts of fun goodies for St. Patrick's Day (the next day), and low and behold...she had a Green Apple Jones Soda in her cart, which just so happens to be my favorite flavor (although, Watermelon is a close second). I figured that since the next day was a holiday, and it happens to be one of the very few green sodas, I just HAD to get one. I didn't let the picture choose the flavor this time, because it had to be a green apple one, but I did choose my favorite photo of all of the green apple ones. It was a picture of a really cool arch in Moab.
I saved the soda until the next day at lunch. I twisted the cap off and read the following fortune:
"There is new hope for projects you had almost given up on."
You have no idea how much this meant to me. It left me beaming all day long. It was comforting in a lot of ways, particularly because we've been waiting what feels like a century to hear back on a house that we put an offer on in DECEMBER. Yes, it REALLY has been that long. It's a short sale, so it was expected to take a long time, but I had truly begun to give up on it. I had also been having one of those "I can't accomplish anything" weeks. You know, the ones where you feel like there is no possible way you will ever be able to keep up on keeping your apartment/house clean, there's no way any of the millions of projects you have will ever get done, so you just waste time not doing any of those things?
Anyway, that soda cap changed everything.


Jones soda, I always knew I loved you.

Bulbs.

Apparently I'm on a blogging kick as of late.

I love early spring bulb flowers. You know, like tulips and daffodils.

Well, yesterday, on the Salt Lake Temple grounds I saw some purple flowers, which looked pretty bulbish to me, and it made me incredibly happy. In fact, I'm pretty positive I jumped up and clicked my heals together.

It's not even really the fact that these are bulbs that makes me love them so much. It's realy just that they are the first sign of spring for me. As many of you know, I haven't always been very fond of sping. However, I've still never been able to help but feel happy when the weather turns warm and my precious bulb flowers make their first appearance.

These flowers have, for many years, given me one of the most precious of gifts: HOPE.

They just seem to smile up at me and say, "No matter how hard, long, or cold your winter has been, spring is REALLY coming, and everything is going to be ok."


That is one of my favorite feelings in the entire world.
I believe that Heavenly Father definately knew what he was doing when he gave us flowers.

Vacation Fever?

Got it.
What better way to cure vacation fever than with more vacation...right?
That's what I was thinking.
So, two weeks after we returned from California I headed off to Vegas for the first Kim family girl's trip!

It all started because my mother in law and two of my sisters in law (Maria and Karissa) decided to run a 10k in Vegas. So, they decided they might as well make a girl's weekend out of it. Why not?!
And so the journey began....

The ever famous car pictures.
The race was super cool. It was a Mardi Gras race! I saw one girl wearing a tutu (with running pants under of course). I vowed that I would race next and wear one. Above is my mother in law (Allyson), Maria, and Karissa wearing the masks they bought at the race. So cool.

Here are the runners after the race. They did amazing! Is it not so cool that my mother in law ran a 10k?

Here we are, the non runners. From right to left, Me, Alona, and Kara. Alona is pregnant and has an excute to not be running. (yay for a new nephew!) I am just pathetic and need to work out more. Hey, Marni and Vienna, remember when we used to run like five miles a day? I remember that too. I really need to start running again! This is in a new casino called the Cosmopolitan. SO. AWESOME. Do you see that behind me? Why, yes, that is an ENTIRE bar inside of a chandelier. When we get rich Jayson and I are totally putting our room in a chandelier. I was seriously in awe at this place.

Do you what this is?! It's like, the biggest chocolate fountain...EVER! I have been in the Bellagio a few times, but never ever have I seen this! Plus, it's right next to a crepe cafe type of thing. Let me tell you, the crepes are delicious. Oh my.

All around the crepe shop there were also all of these incredible cakes. Yes, that is a Belle cake.

While we were there it also happened to be Chinese New year!
Can you tell which ones were born into the Kim family and which ones are in laws? I'll give you ten points if you can.

Well, there you have it, some of the highlights of our trip!

The Perks

One of the greatest perks of Jayson's career is that we get to be there for really awesome things like this.....



I hope no one watching this was incredibly attached to the old West Jordan Sugar Factory.

If so, I'm sorry. It's gone now.

BAM.

Exactly One Month.....

from this very day...

I get to see this lovely face:

I AM SO EXCITED!!!
It feels like WAY longer than a year and a half since the last time I saw my Sue!

My Valentine

spent hours making this treasure for me as a Valentine's Suprise!

Some of you may know how much I LOVE slideshows and why this made me super super happy!
Yup, Jayson is the coolest.