a little late, but still thankful!

I guess I missed the memo from Instagram that said I needed to post a cutesy picture with my significant other on Thanksgiving and tell everyone how thankful I am for them. So, like everything else in my life, here I am!...two days too late. But that's only because I was having way too much fun stuffing my face with food and spending time with my family and um, stuffing my face with food. 

Now I know I said you wouldn't see anymore thankful posts from me this month, but I feel like it's kind of necessary, because somehow I got skipped at the Gourley table when everyone was going around saying two things they were thankful for. Maybe being "skipped" wasn't by chance, though. You see, I'm socially inept when it comes to casual conversation and tend to yell things out like, "SEX!" while everyone's gathered around the dinner table. Well played Gourley gang, well played. 

Anyway, since I never got to tell my Gourley family on Thanksgiving, I just wanted to let them know that I am so thankful for all of them! Since the very beginning, I've been welcomed in with open arms and treated like one of their own! I love that everyone acts excited when we come over + interested in what's going on in our lives. Thank you for always pretending to be interested in my school schedule and Chris' work stories--it does not go unnoticed! Oh, and I'm thankful that Mama Gourley always has a supply of dirty diet. DP on-hand + is genuinely concerned that I didn't get enough to eat even after I've devoured 3 plates of food. 

Obviously I couldn't do a thankful post and not mention my own family. I know not everyone can say they are best friends with their family, and I definitely know not everyone can say that their only friends are their family, either ;) I'm so glad I have a family that eats 4 servings of anything like I do + makes dirty jokes while playing Settlers of Catan (Does anybody got wood?!) + shows affection by making fun of you. I love my people.

Last but not least, I'm thankful for Chris--the constant in my life. The constant teasing, tickling, sweatpants-wearing, and smiling that's become part of my life. I'm thankful he agreed to put up with me for eternity, because I don't think many others would have been up to the challenge. You're my person, Chris! Even if you don't understand the significance of that phrase.

To sum this (corny post) all up, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the things I'm most thankful for in my life aren't things.

Life is good.

Sorry, mom.

Dear mom,

I did something crazy last night, and I feel like I need to come clean about it. I'm not sure what caused me to do this crazy thing, but I have some theories...

Maybe it was pre-setting FM 103.1 on my radio after getting home from Disneyland.
Maybe it was waking up to snow yesterday morning.
Maybe it was my impulse purchase of candy cane kisses (and my impulsive act of eating half a bag in one sitting).
Maybe it was not skipping over Justin Bieber's Christmas album when my ipod was on shuffle.
Maybe it was Pinterest blowing up my feed with things like, "50 stocking stuffers for men" and pretty pictures of neatly packaged gifts (we know why that was suggested for me-my wrapping is the pits).

All of these are probable, but the direct cause remains unknown. But yes, it's true--I put up my Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving.

As I was putting up my tree last night, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty, because ever since I can remember, you have always put yours up the day after Thanksgiving. You never directly told me it's a rule to put them up after Thanksgiving, but it was just kind of implied, you know? Kind of like how it's a rule to go to the movies and get popcorn or watch Dirty Dancing whenever it's on TV even if you've seen it a thousand times--you just do it.

So I hope your mom-heart will forgive me for being unfaithful to this unspoken rule of yours, because my garland is out, my JB Christmas album is on repeat (no shame!), my bowl of candy cane kisses is half empty (not half full! no optimism when candy cane kisses are being reduced!), and my tree is up and beaming! And thank you for noticing the two different sizes of lights on the tree, because Pinterest told me it makes it look better. What Pinterest didn't tell me is that hanging lights on a Christmas tree is a freaking B, and that you need to buy two boxes to wrap the entire thing, or else you'll have to take your one strand of lights and just zig-zag it back and forth in the front and hope that no one ever looks at the back of your tree...

WOW. That felt good to get off my chest(..nuts roasting on an open fire...).

Even though I've broken the Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving rule, I promise I won't break the other rule you have: Christmas decorations come down December 26th.

...at least I'm pretty sure I promise?

Sorry to let you down mom. I tried so hard to stay strong! I really did. But I'm also kind of not sorry, because my house smells like a pine tree and the glowing Christmas lights give me tingles! The same kind of tingles that I get from watching Ellen--the tingles that bring tears to my eyes!

I'm not sure if I'll break this rule every year, but I just hope you understand where I'm coming from this year, and that I'll still be allowed to come over and eat all of your Christmas treats from the neighbors + steal dad's BYU truffles he gets from work every year and tries to hide in his nightstand.

For Posterity's Sake

These photos are proof that Chris and I are capable of taking a good picture together. And by "good picture," I mean I didn't have to nag Chris to take it with me + it wasn't taken on my phone. So three cheers for Chris who was such a good sport about taking family pictures and wearing what I told him to AND putting gel in his hair. Background: Chris HATES putting gel in his hair. He will do anything to avoid it because it "makes his forehead sticky."  

Feel free to scroll through these and think that we don't wear sweats or leggings on a daily basis. Is it sad that my outfits are actually planned around leggings? Anyway, onwards! To sweat pants/legging-free pictures of us! 

Behold:

While we're on the subject of things we're capable of, I would like you to know that we're capable of having a fridge full of soda, but no butter or milk or cheese (the essentials). In our defense, cranberry sprite zero with a spoonful of limeade is amazing--thanks, Mama Sanderson for converting us! It's becoming an essential in the Gourley household. 

We're also capable of keeping all of our whites in the dryer and coming down every single morning to get fresh underwear, because folding them and taking them upstairs would be too inconvenient (human logic).

Basically, we're capable of winning at life right now... is it Thanksgiving break yet?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Disneyland Edition

The Good:

• I made it to California! I had to put on my big girl pants and rode a plane by myself to meet my family there. Because this is a safe space, I think it's safe to say that I wet those big girl pants on the plane ride--I should not be allowed to ride on a plane by myself! I went from crying at take-off/planning my own funeral to crying about how beautiful the LA lights were as we were landing and everything else in between! It was an emotional plane ride to say the least... BUT the important thing is I made it!
• Two words: DOLE WHIP. I would go back to Disneyland for that reason alone.
• Dash going on The Tower of Terror and being rewarded with a sucker and a dollar bill for not crying.
• The World of Color! I think there was more water coming out of my eyes than in the actual show... I couldn't handle it! Lights, water, songs from Frozen, and Christmas music--the ingredients for a hysterically sobbing Shayli! 
• The corn dogs. Totally worth the 20 minute wait.
• Me and Shelbs not having to wait in line for any rides.
• Sulley gettin' all spiffed up for me and Shelbs.
• Watching my nieces and nephews during the Christmas parade. 
• The Genie's one-liners in Aladdin. 
• The Christmas music playing in the park. I'm not really one to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but I couldn't help but love it in Disneyland! There's just something so magical about it there!
• Shelby and her Ghirardelli's chocolate ice cream.
• The fireworks above the princess castle. Proof that Disneyland doesn't half-ass a n y t h i n g. 
• My dad forgetting where they take the picture on California Screamin'.
• Cars Land + getting fast passes for the Radiator Springs ride. 
• Watching my nieces and nephews eyes light up as they experienced Disneyland for the first time.

The Bad:

• Chris not being there :( 
• Rapunzel's eyes not being the right color.
• The Chinese food at California Adventure (according to Mitch).
• Koree and Griffin being sick.
• Not getting to meet Anna or Elsa.
• Dash not being tall enough for California Screamin' or Indiana Jones.
• My water bottle leaking through my bag on Space Mountain.
• The Bug's Life ride (again, according to Mitch).
• My family not being able to make a decision to save their lives ;)
• Driving in a huge circle trying to find Slater's 50/50
• That I only got two days in Disneyland.

The Ugly:

• The combo of see-through leggings and thongs-a popular look at Disneyland.
• Me crying at anything and everything at Disneyland. I saw Elsa!...There's Christmas music playing!...The sky is blue!
• Going from California weather to below freezing weather in Utah.
• Our pedophillic 15-passenger van.  

TWO!

Two much fun

 Two fast

Two many laughs

Two silly

Two in love

TWO YEARS!

I know the first year is a big deal, but I think year two of marriage is so underrated! I feel like after year one you finally know how to live with each other + not fight about the dumb little things that you did in the first year (you all should be happy to know that Chris and I have not fought about syrup this year!). Yes, year two is bueno bueno.

When I first saw that our anniversary was on a Sunday this year, I was a little bummed, because what the heck do you do on a Sunday to celebrate your anniversary? But we ended up celebrating our anniversary basically all weekend, so now I'm convinced that Sundays are the best day to have an anniversary! On Friday we celebrated by going to Outback and eating way too many cheese fries (which I now know how many calories are in because of my portion control lesson I taught earlier this week :( #healthteacherprobs), and then we went and soaked in my parent's hot tub. Oh, and did I mention we were in bed by 8:00 that night? That's what two years of marriage looks like, folks. Pure bliss.

On Saturday we decided to get up early and go to Park City (because heaven forbid we miss our rec-league pickle ball game that afternoon!). That's where we spent our honeymoon, so it's kind of just become a  fun little tradition to go there each year. Before we went up to PC, we thought it would be fun to see if there were any restaurants up there that were featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, because we're obsessed with the Food Network and thought it would be fun to have lunch somewhere different than our usual Cafe Rio or Chubby's. We saw that Silver Star Cafe had been featured on the show, so we decided to try it. But when we pulled up on Saturday, they were closed! Boo. Luckily, the other restaurant featured on DDD was only 3 minutes away, so we ended up eating lunch at Sammy's Bistro, and oh my goodness it did not disappoint. I could sing praises to the Chivito Club Sandwich! My heart skips a beat just thinking about it.

We also tried to take our two year anniversary pic there, which required bringing in our picture from our first year anniversary, and then awkwardly asking our waitress to come outside and take a picture of us. Behold:

 All that awkwardness for nothing. To anyone wanting to do a picture like this for your anniversary, I suggest taking  the glass out and NOT having a glossy finish on the photo--it'll make the picture taking process a lot easier, which means your husband won't throw a fit when you ask him to take the picture 20 more times ;) Thank goodness for in-laws willing to take pictures!

The rest of our anniversary weekend consisted of mooching free meals off of Mama and Papa Gourley, hanging out with friends and family, and lots of snuggling/avoiding any productivity. In other words, it was the perfect weekend.

I'm sure I will say this every year, but I can't believe how the time has just flown by! It really seems like just yesterday we were walking out of the temple hand-in-hand ready to take on the world as Mr. and Mrs. Gourley. Well, if we're being honest, I wasn't technically Mrs. Gourley until about 4 months after we got married, because changing your name is such a beast, but that's besides the point. We've grown so much in just these past two years, and I can't wait to see what the rest of eternity holds for us! I love celebrating our love.... Here's to many more November 9th's!

I love you, Chris! And I love our love.

Still got it.

In pseudo defense of this car selfie: I got hit on today. Well, almost hit on. But almost getting hit on means you've obviously still got 'it' going on, and people that have 'it' going on take car selfies...right?!   

You may be asking yourself, "How does one almost get hit on?" Well, let me tell you!

After an extremely long, boring hour and a half of class, I started walking to my car. As I was walking, I saw this guy in a two-sizes-too-small maroon shirt pop up from the staircase, and two seconds later, he was walking right towards me. Here's how the conversation went:

Too-tight-of-shirt boy: "Hey.... do you know where the Talmage building is by chance?"
Me: "Umm... the Talmage? I don't kn-"
Too-tight-of-shirt boy: *interrupts me mid-sentence* "Oh never mind you're married. I was just trying to hit on you" and walks away.

Ummm....Did that really just happen? 

I couldn't help but feel torn on the situation. On one hand, I was flattered. You know the How I Met Your Mother episode where Robin wears her engagement ring and she basically becomes invisible? Sometimes I feel like that--nobody looks/talks to you when you are married, so it was nice to know that I've "still got it" while wearing leggings and sportin' 4th day curls, I guess. But on the other hand, I couldn't help but be a little offended. Why didn't tight shirt boy just play it cool and keep pretending like he was looking for the Talmage building instead of rudely interrupting me and treating me with no kind of respect once he found out I was married? Even just a little apology would have been nice...

Of course, the rest of the walk back to my car was fueled with questions racing through my mind. Should I be flattered or offended? I guess that means I still kind of got it going on? Too-tight-of-shirt boy, does that really ever work for you? No wonder you are still single. What were you going to do if I was single and told you where the Talmage building was at? How did you even have time to consider hitting on me? You literally saw me for two seconds! Not shallow at all, bro. Also, a word of advice: Don't try to hit on a girl after you just climbed 3 flights of stairs--you sound all breath-y, like breathier than Elena Gilbert speaking to a Salvatore.

And perhaps the most piercing question.... Where is the Talmage building?!

So to all my single lady friends, here's a little bit of unsolicited advice (forgive us married people! we just can't help but give relationship advice, just like we can't help but be in bed by 9 o' clock--it's a disease!): Don't settle for boys who wear maroon shirts that are two sizes too small for them, okay? Just don't.

Welcome, November!

Hello blog world! I've missed you so much. *virtual hug*

If I had to describe the past week in one word, it would be.... well, it wouldn't be a very nice word. I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with kitty. Last week was just the pits. I'm pretty sure I failed a test that I studied my buns off for, I didn't have time to do any kind of exercise, annnnnd I was on my period, which of course makes any scenario 13x worse (like the fact that I couldn't spike the volleyball over the net in my team sport fundamentals class made me cry). I think this was the first week this semester that I really have felt the 17 credit load I've been taking--I don't recommend it to anyone. 

But enough feeling sorry for myself! Because it's November! Which is all about being thankful! And I already have a lot to be thankful for this month, so I'm going to get it all out of the way in one post instead of clogging your Facebook feed every single day this month with posts that start with, "Day __ : I'm thankful for... " because I'm pretty sure you'd get tired of reading that I'm thankful for Dr. Pepper and sweatpants and Chris.

Ahem, anyway...

I'm thankful for:

• My cute niece, Morgan, asking me to speak at her baptism! It was nice being reminded of how awesome the Holy Ghost is. I also loved watching her be the example as the first Gourley grandchild to be baptized. My heart melted seeing all of her cousins gather around the font and watch her go under the water-so precious!

• The fact that I got 10 hours of sleep last night. Bless you, daylight savings! 

• Whit giving me The Fault In Our Stars movie for my birthday! + Chris agreeing to watch it with me, even if there was a lot of head shaking and eye rolling on his part. 

• Our anniversary coming up this month! How the heck have we been married for almost 2 years?! Seems like just yesterday we were sneakily making out in his parents' basement ;)

• The cold weather! Even if it has robbed me of any motivation I may have had to catch up on homework and fold laundry. I've been so giddy roaming through my house wearing a big fat hoodie and chunky socks! 

• Chris' new job! I love having him home an hour earlier +  knowing he won't have to clean up homeless man poo off the sidewalk at this job.

• The three rolls of toilet paper I stole from my parents for obvious reasons. Sorry, mom! IOU: 3 rolls of nice, thick, name-brand toilet paper! I wish I would have realized what a luxury that was before getting married...

• Target. Again, for obvious reasons. But I'm especially thankful because when I went to pick up this scarf, the cashier gave me some $3 off coupons because the guy in the back getting my order took forever. 

• Chris for agreeing to take this picture of me even when we were already 10 minutes late to church today. If you want to see something awkward, just watch me ask Chris to take a picture of me. But look at my scarf! Isn't it so fall and pinteresty?! It had to be documented I tell you! Had to!

• Anyone who actually read this sad post. I will say though, blogging is like exercising--so fun and rewarding the more often you do it, but not so pretty trying to get back into it after a week and a half of not doing it. And I have done neither of those things for the past week and half so...hopefully this is the only thankful post you'll be seeing this month.

I'm sure there's a lot more I'll be thankful for during this month, but we'll just leave it at that for now. I'm so excited for November! It's probably one of my favorite months of the year! Let's pray it's better than my last week of October was.

p.s. I'm thankful for people who wear things two days in a row, because I know they aren't judging me for wearing that striped dress twice this weekend. I'm sure they're the same people who don't wash their bras very much, either. You guys are my kind of people.