gratitude.

The other day in my Mind/Body/Spirit class we talked about gratitude.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Great, here comes another thankful list for November. Scroll down..." Stop scrolling! Come back! This post isn't going to be a huge list of things I'm grateful for! Promise. But if it was, would you really just keep scrolling? Why don't you like meeeeee!?

Anyway...gratitude! My teacher talked about how being grateful improves our health. She told us about an experiment that found that people who thought about what they were grateful for had boosts in their immune system, and those who actually voiced their gratitude had 2x more of a boost in their immune system. How cray cray is that?! I loved that we got to learn about the physical benefits that come from gratitude rather than just the spiritual benefits, ya know?

That lecture also made me realize how much I suffer from an ungrateful heart. I suffer from what I like to call the comparesies. I am constantly comparing myself to others, whether it be on social media, at school, church, or good heck, even with random strangers at the grocery store! I compare, feel bad for myself, start wanting things I can't/don't have, and then just get irritated or sad when I don't get them. I see now how not being grateful literally effects my health! Even if I do get something, it's not long before I find something else to want. It's a vicious cycle. I've realized that comparesies also makes me constantly look towards the future, instead of  just enjoying the present moment and being happy with all of the things I'm blessed with every single day.

So for this holiday season, I want to make it a goal to keep a gratitude journal and just write down some things that I'm grateful for every day. Don't worry, I won't bore you with my list on here, which I'm sure will consist mostly of food and other things like eyebrows. And hopefully this will help me narrow down my Christmas list for Chris ;) But really, I know I need to be more  grateful for what I have, and what better time to start than this week with Thanksgiving coming up?! I know, I know... so cliche. But it's a start, right?!

Also, I know I said I wasn't going to make a list of things I'm grateful for, but I never said I wouldn't say ONE thing I'm grateful for. Loophole! So I'd just like to say that I'm grateful for Swig in Provo. Oh Swig, what would I do without your Dirty Diet Dr. Pepper's?! Actually, I do know. I'd fall asleep easier, be on time to class, and save money, but that's besides the point. You can't put a price on happiness, especially the happiness that comes from a DDD and a sugar cookie.  It's the little things ;)

Here's to being more grateful and boosting immune systems this holiday season!

Date Nights!

I don't know about the rest of you married folk, but Chris and I have found that our "date nights" have turned into sitting on the couch playing on our phones and taking a break to periodically look up at the show we're supposed to be watching. Romantic, right?! Wrong! Which is why we decided that for our family night activity tonight we were going to sit and jot down fun date night ideas together.

Now I know there are a lot of lists on Pinterest for date night ideas, but have you read some of them? Some of the ideas just make me cringe and get awkward tingles. One list suggested "Have a rapping contest together," or "draw each other with your eyes closed." Yeah, umm hi! Who really does that?

Anyway, Chris and I decided to put our heads together and list things that WE would actually want to do. I'm so excited! So without further adieu, here is our list of date nights!

-Go ice skating and get hot chocolate

-Go to the Living Planet Aquarium

-Temple night + dinner

-Su Casa (it's a Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake that Chris LOVES) + a Jazz game

-Laser tag at Trafalga

-Build a fort and watch a Redbox

-Water Gardens movie + Sonic hot chocolate (Sonic keeps telling me to go try one of their 6 premium hot chocolates)

-Go see the lights at Temple Square

-Riverwoods Christmas lights + Caramel Apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

-Sledding

-Go to a BYU Basketball game

-Applebee’s bingo night and 1/2 priced appetizers

-Movie + Massages

-Game night! Cards or Strip...yahtzee? Err something...

-Build Gingerbread Houses

-Thanksgiving Point for Ice Cream and Turkey lookin’

-Bake something together and drop it off at a friend's house (be nice to us!)

-Decorate mugs together with Sharpies

-Video game night (Chris is way too excited about this one)

-Babysit for someone (again, be nice to us! hehe)

-Find a deal on Groupon and do something

-Food Crawl (drinks (most likely Dirty Diet Dr. Peppers from Swig), entrée, and dessert from all different places)-I'm so excited for this one!

-Bowling

-Nickel City 

-Write down New Year’s Resolutions together

-Plan our 5 year anniversary vacation

-Go shooting

-Window shop at Home Depot (this is nothing new for us)

-Go GeoCashing! Because I've never done it.

By the way, we are aware of the fact that most of our dates consist of getting some type of food. The couple that weighs together stays together?

They say the first year is the hardest...

Chris and I celebrated one year of marriage this past weekend! Our anniversary was on Saturday, but we both took Friday off from work and decided to make a weekend of it. We started our anniversary off with some Cheesecake Factory and holy shiz... it was SO GOOD. Like, make-Chris-order-drinks-appetizers-AND-dessert good (that just goes to show how much Chris loves me... he hates spending money). After waddling out of Cheesecake Factory, we drove up to Park City to stay in a hotel that Chris got a deal on off of KSL. To say that Chris was disappointed with the hotel when we got there would be an understatement haha. As soon as we walked into the hotel, Chris looked at me with a frowny face and started making whiny puppy noises. Apparently pictures on the internet are really deceiving... bless Chris' heart. But we still had fun! We shopped at the outlets, enjoyed the hot tub with a bunch of pregnant mamas and their little kids, and had a late DTR (Del Taco Run). The next day we came home so we could watch the BYU game--the price you pay being married to a Gourley ;) Chris made it up to me by taking me to see Gravity, which ended up being a pretty good show. All in all, our one year anniversary was a success! 

It's crazy that it has already been a year... where did the time go? It seemed like just yesterday we were walking out of the temple into a complete blizzard! But at the same, it feels like we have been sleeping in the same bed for years. They say the first year is the hardest, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's hard, just... different? Adjusting to having someone next to you in the bed, juggling two families, taking on a new role as husband/wife, and finally getting the courage to poo and fart in front of your loved one--different! Not hard. Well, I guess one hard part is the dumb fights you have that you would never have dreamed of fighting over when you were dating. Truth: Me and Chris fought over syrup once. Freaking syrup! s y r u p haha. So embarrassing. We're slowly getting better at choosing our battles, though. Slowly. Even though marriage has been quite an adjustment, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Marriage has brought on so many occasions where I sit and ask myself, "How in the world did we get married?! We are so different!" It's really easy for me to focus on how we shouldn't work, instead of thinking about why we do work. If someone were to ask me why me and Chris "work" I'd reply with something like this: Because we both would rather be in sweatpants. And we love onions and cilantro--the more the better. And we tell each other when we look cute. And we love the snooze button. And 90% of our conversations are in our weird nasally voices. And we don't feel bad for swindling Cafe Rio by ordering a tostada with a soft shell and making it a cheaper salad. And he doesn't get mad when I steal his shirts and socks. And we wait for each other to watch important shows like The Walking Dead and Pawn Stars. And despite how much he hates pictures, he still takes them with me. And I bring him smarties from the grocery store. And we don't say anything when one of us is reaching for the treats after a long hard day of "eating good." And he let's me pluck his eyebrows because he knows it makes me happy. And I scratch his back even when I'm about to fall asleep. And because we just really like spending time together.

I'm not really sure how to end a post like this, so I'll just end it with another picture of me and Chris that my sister Shelby took for us (thanks, Shelbs!) because I love them so much.

Here's to many more November 9ths!