Liebster Award

Hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day! I wish I could say ours was super exciting and we did fun things like hiking, boating, or anything else everyone in Utah did ;) But we kept it simple and stuck to Chris fixing our leaky kitchen sink, playing some tennis, stopping at our beloved Swig, and having a little BBQ with our friends. Glamorous, no?

Anyway, onto more exciting things! Like the fact that there are people that I'm not related to that read my blog! And by people, I really mean my cute friend, Sheree, who was the one who nominated me for this Liebster Award (Liebster--not Lobster, which is unfortunately how I read it every single time and then I start thinking of Ross and Rachel and how they're each other's "lobsters"). Basically it's just a little award circulating the blogging world that's a great way to get to know more about bloggers and find new blogs to follow.

The Rules:

+Provide a link back to the blogger who nominated you

+Post 11 facts about you

+Answer 11 random questions set by the blogger who nominated you

+Nominate 5 bloggers with under 200 followers for the award

+Write 11 questions for them to answer

+Let the nominees know that you have nominated them

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11 Facts:

1. I wish I was blonde. Not Ombre-blonde or highlights-blonde. Just blonde. 

2. Me and Chris met on a blind date (thanks, Lisa!).

3. I am a crier. An ugly crier, too. Like, Kim-Kardashian-crying-ugly. It doesn't matter if I'm happy, sad, mad, excited, or afraid--I'm crying.

4. I have a huge crush on Ron Weasley. 

5. The only person I like to share food with is Chris, but I'm a huge can I have one bite?-er.

6. Speaking of food... that's my love language.

7. Tangled > Frozen.

8. I'm terrified of heights, but I consider sky diving at least once a day, and then my body reminds me that's crazy and that could kill me. Cue: mini panic attack.

9. My best friend is my sister, Shelby.

10. Sometimes, I really wish I was alive during the 50's so I could be "50's housewife". I think I'd be awesome at it. Also, I support traditional gender roles--sue me.

11.  I love anything in the chocolate/peanut butter family. Reese's eggs have my heart (and clogged arteries).

And now, the questions:

1. Favorite childhood memory?

That's tough... I would have to say basically any memory I have with my cousin, JJ. We were always doing weird things like making barbie houses out of video tapes and dish towels or getting chased by dogs on our walks around the neighborhood :)

2. What is your hobby?

Does eating count? For as much as I eat I'd like to think it counts. I also love to run! 

3.When did you start blogging and what is your most popular post?

I started blogging when every other girl in Utah does... after I got married of course! You can read my most popular post here. 

4. Favorite junk food?

Anything and everything. Chocolate, chips, cookies, soda (did you really think I could make it through a whole post without mentioning Dirty DP?!) you name it, I eat it. Then I ask you if you're gonna finish that.

5. Favorite healthy food?

Vegetables! I love veggies--except for green beans. Those are just wrong. I would take a plate of veggies over a plate of fruit any day.

6. Where is the most amazing place you've ever been?

That's tough to say after just going on a Caribbean cruise. Ah! If I had to choose I would have to say Cancun. It was just like the definition of paradise + hello! There's pina coladas there!

7. How would your describe you style?

I would describe it as "my sister wore it first". I basically just copy everything she wears, but when I'm not copying her, I'm usually looking butch-tastic in basketball shorts and old sports T-shirts. 

8. What are your current favorite TV shows?

How I Met Your Mother, The Vampire Diaries, and basically anything on the Food Network.

9. Do you watch Youtube videos, and if so, what are your favorite channels?

If I'm on Youtube, that means I'm watching makeup tutorials by my girl crush Jaclyn Hill! Usually while I'm looking all butch-tastic too, so I'm a little too convincing calling her my girl crush.

10. What's your best advice for people looking to grow their blogs?

Ha! I'm still learning. I'm not even sure how much I'm trying to "grow my blog" since it's a blog-eat-blog world out there... but my advice would be to just be yourself and don't focus on the numbers. There's more to life than those numbers, I promise.

11. What is the most rewarding part of blogging? 

For me it's the praise and comments on all my thoughts. I love when people tell me they read my blog and love it. Plus, it's nice to just have somewhere to put all your thoughts and be able to look back on them.

Now I nominate:

Ali 

Carlee

Breann

Melanie

Jenessa

My Sister Wife

I would just like all of you to know that I'm not the jealous type. Okay, that was a lie. If you know me, I am completely the jealous type. Especially when it comes to easily tussled hair, thigh gaps, vacations, and those blessed individuals who sing well, but if there's one sure thing to ignite my jealousy, it's Chris spending time with someone else. Yes, it's just as awful as it sounds, but it's the truth. I LOVE TOO MUCH--sue me.

My jealousy of "Chris time" has slightly improved, though. I'd like to thank all of my sister wives for that. If you don't know what I mean, I'm referring to all the things I have had to learn to share Chris with--Clash of Clans, NBA playoffs, and Turkey Hunting. There is one sister wife I haven't mentioned though, and that's probably because she's the one I forget about until it's too late because she only shows up for a couple months out of the year. I've developed a love-hate relationship with her. Mostly hate. Here's why:

-She is very demanding. Chris has had to be with her every single day this week.

-She makes Chris late for dinner.

-She's all Chris talks about lately.

-She returns Chris all sweaty and dirty.

-She stresses Chris out sometimes.

-She keeps giving Chris more jobs to do.

-Sometimes Chris isn't enough for her, and she needs another guy there (usually Chris' friend Scott) to satisfy her.

-She interrupts our Fridates.

-She never comes to my house.


Yes, sprinkler jobs are the worst kind of sister wife. But I can't hate her too much since she makes Chris happy (most of the time) and helps pay the bills (and by bills I really mean our Disneyland savings fund). Plus, I can see where's she's coming from with wanting to be with Chris all the time.... Chris is the best and hardest working husband ever, so I'll cut her some slack.......this year.

The good news is that sprinkler job's turn is almost up. Then I'll be able to go back to just focusing on my hate-hate relationship with Clash of Clans...

Are you convinced yet that I would make the greatest sister wife ever?!

a tribute to my mama

Since my blog is the only form of social media that my mom looks at (or really knows how to look at), I thought I would write a little tribute to her, ya know, since she wouldn't get to see an Instagram picture of us at my wedding and the caption being something along the lines of, "I don't know what I would do without my mom. She is the most selfless person I know, she is always there for me..." blah blah blah. Plus, blog shout-outs count as Mother's Day presents, right? ;)

In all seriousness though, I have so much love for my mom. I think everyone needs a Jelynn Sanderson in their lives! The older I get (especially now that I'm married), the more I realize how much I have taken her for granted. All those years of home-cooked meals, folded laundry, trips to the dentist that were always followed by Purple Turtle or Taco Amigo, letting me lay in her bed when I was sick, and just her constant friendship and support in general! Keep in mind, this was all happening while she was working full time, too.

Even today there are times I find myself taking her for granted. Hey mom, what's for dinner tonight? Could I come and borrow some apricot jam? (which always results in me leaving her storage room with two grocery bags full of food and cleaning supplies), and Oh, that's a cute shirt! Can I borrow it? You'd think after asking her all of these things 947+ times she'd finally crack and say, "No Shayli! Grow up and do things by yourself already!" but she doesn't. She just smiles and replies in the affirmative enthusiastically. This just goes to show that motherhood is a lifelong job, and not just until your kids grow up and move away.

Mom, you are my best friend. I know a lot of people use the expression "I don't know what I'd do without you," but when it comes to you, I know exactly what I would do without you--I would curl up in the fetal position and cry in a corner everyday of my life. Thank you  for teaching me that rainy days are for baking cinnamon rolls and that it's okay to have just fries for lunch and that Doris Day movies are the best and popcorn is mandatory at the movies and that you can never have too much butter/sour cream/cream cheese/anything that really isn't good for you. You make me so excited to become a mom someday! I only hope that I wear motherhood as beautifully and as effortlessly as you have. I love you, mom.

Happy Mother's Day!



p.s. it's time to start taking more pictures together.

Stop and Smell the Flowers

My Fridate was spent with my sister-in-law, Haley, tonight instead of Chris (he was out huntin' turkeys), and I'm so glad she decided to come to The Tulip Festival with me! Not only because she brought my cute niece, but she also agreed to drive through the crazy traffic! Winning. Plus, I just love being with Haley. She's just an easy person to talk to, you know? 

Anyway, tonight as we were walking around the gardens, I just kept thinking, Life is good. It's amazing that the most simple things can also be some of the most enjoyable things. As I was watching my niece, Evie, stopping to smell the flowers, I couldn't help but think about how I need to do that, but not as literally. I just want to enjoy the little things in life, and not just do things so I can take a picture and post it on Instagram or blog about it (which I'm very guilty of), but really just enjoy those moments, you know? I think it's time for me to put my phone down, and take a little more time to stop and smell those flowers I've been overlooking.

currently

making// excuses for putting off my reading for class. Um, hi! It's only the second day of class--wish me luck this semester.

cooking// lots and lots of meals that have rice... gotta love that end of the month grind. Chris hasn't been complaining, though. I swear that kid could live on fried rice.

drinking// a lot less dirty DP and a lot more water these days. Ouch! I hurt my arm patting myself on the back for that one.

reading// Divergent. Yes, I'm hoppin' on that bandwagon! But I refuse to see the movie until I've read the book.

listening to// my overplayed, two years-old, beaten-to-death running playlist. Any suggestions for good running songs?!

wanting// any and every product I see Jaclyn Hill using! Girl crush.

looking// for cute, casual, sun dresses! If I click a dress on Pinterest that has no link one more time I'mma lose it.

playing// TENNIS! This is one of my favorite things about warm weather--Chris playing tennis with me! Actually, it's more like me hitting the ball and Chris playing fetch because I'm not very good yet.

wishing// that me and Emma Stone were best friends. Please tell me you saw her lip sync battle with Jimmy Fallon?!

missing// Harry Potter. It's about that time of year to re-read them all again... :)

enjoying// marathon training with my brother. Long runs are so much better when you have someone to talk to.

looking forward to// the Tulip Festival tomorrow + the 80 degree weather this weekend.

liking// my new running shoes! + the fact that my body is no longer shrieking in pain after I run. Who knew I would love Asics so much?

excited about// camping, hiking, and all the other fun adventures that come from being married to Chris during the summer time.

needing// to decide what to do with my hair... should I stay dark or add some highlights for the summer?! (what a rough life I live...)

smelling// the flowers every morning that I run. It makes my allergies worth it + masques the smell of dog poo I try so hard not to step in.

wearing// my turquoise earrings every.single.day. They don't even match my outfits.That's how obsessed I am.

noticing// the zits coming in on my chin. I'm glad they're there to keep me humble, I was just having way too many good hair days in a row.

thinking// that I should really stop putting off reading for my class now.

feeling// like a room without a roof! (you're welcome for getting that song stuck in your head) fun fact: I've cried every single time I've sang that song by myself past month. It's part of what I like to call, "Shayli's April Showers"



p.s. this prompt was stolen from the lovely, Kelli at KGilby