our mattress is in the living room again...

... except this time it's not because life sucks (read about that here) + we have a cat to join us on it this year (although Chris might consider the fact that we still have a cat a little sucky)!

Life is actually bueno bueno right now. I mean, Christmas break is sooooo close + Sodalicious has a peppermint chocolate cookie + there's a new package on my doorstep on what feels like every other day with Christmas goodies (slowly accepting the fact that I am in charge of my own Christmas presents from Chris) + I discovered Bath and Body Works Coconut Mint Drop shower gel -perfection!

I think the only things that might be putting a damper on life right now are that I have to wait two more weeks for another episode of This Is Us + Leah Remini's Scientology: The Aftermath is over. Like, what am I supposed to watch on my mattress that's in the living room?!

But in all seriousness, I am so so SO grateful that there is a mattress in my living room and it's NOT because life sucks right now. Last year at this time I was so sad + discouraged + just felt so... low? Not to say that this year hasn't been difficult or sad, but last year I just felt so hopeless and so miserable. I'm so grateful to be out of what I like to call the funkhole of 2016! Chris is grateful, too. I think that was one of the hardest parts about being so miserable... it totally effected (affected? I hate that I don't teach English sometimes) Chris.

But here we are now! Funkhole-free! Anxiously awaiting to see what 2018 will bring... definitely hoping it will end with us on a mattress in our living room because life has been good. 

...and I'm really hoping Lupin is still on our mattress in 2018.




p.s. Go get the peppermint chocolate cookie from Sodalicious already!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, peeps.

Our day was filled with all the things that matter in life: The Savior, family, and food (of course). Oh, and me trying to bribe Chris to wear a freaking Santa hat with me, which as you can see, didn't really work out despite my best attempts at bribing Chris with a back massage to an entire episode of Modern Family (bah humbug, Chris!). 

I hope you had a Merry Christmas, and Chris hopes you had a Santa-hat-free Christmas!

Love, 

The Gourleys

If We Did Christmas Cards...

Our Christmas card would probably look something like this and give you the illusion that we never wear sweatpants for date night and that we are just SO candid (We always look directly into each other's eyes and smile while on a sled duh)! Then you'd flip the card over and read about our humble brag accomplishments and update you on our lives as DINK's (double income no kids) and there'd probably be a lot of references to Swig and stressful days that come from being "grown-ups" and other important things, like Chris upgrading to a smartphone in the year of 2015...

Then I'd probably stop mid-sentence and just reference you to my blog, since everything I just described is pretty much what A Tidbit of Love is all about, right!? I guess what I'm trying to say is, consider this blog your year-long Christmas card. I know, I know... you're welcome.

In all seriousness though, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Love,
The Gourley's

It's beginning to look a lot like. . .

These pictures pretty much sum up what my Thanksgiving break looked like--CHRISTMAS!!! Or if we're being completely honest, candy cane Kisses, because that's what was in my view (and mouth) for most of the break. 

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I feel like I can finally come clean and tell you guys something I've been hiding for a while now... I've been listening to Christmas music ever since I got back from Disneyland--there! I said it! Phew! That feels so good to get off my chest. But you guys, Christmas!!!

Even though I've been listening to Christmas music pretty much all month long, I didn't really feel the Christmas feels (you know the ones!) until this weekend. Maybe it was the Christmas playlist I made that contains a good amount of Justin Bieber & Celine Dion (love me some Canadians!)? Maybe it was when I got my craft on and made a tomato cage Christmas tree? Or maybe, just maybe, it was when I ate peppermint stick ice cream per Jenessa's recommendation (she just gets me)? Whatever the reason, I am officially in Christmas spirit mode!! Eat all the peppermint! See all the twinkly lights! Do all the things!! Anybody else feel the same way? .... Just me? Alrighty then. 

Seriously, though. I've got the Christmas butterflies! Like the ones you used to get trying to fall asleep on Christmas eve, which is making it that much harder to go back to work tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I love my students and my job, but I have found my heart sinking at the thought of going back tomorrow. Can't I just stay home and rock out to Justin Bieber's Christmas album and shove my face with candy cane kisses forever?! (said the health teacher) At least I can take comfort in knowing that there's only 3 weeks until Christmas break, though (#teacherperks). Don't worry, I am already planning to hang lights, and make my slaves  students make snowflakes for my classroom. You can take the girl out of the Christmas spirit, but you can't take the Christmas spirit out of the girl... er something like that? Maybe it's time to put the candy cane kisses away...

I guess this post is just a really long way of saying-- I love this time of year!! I think the person who put it best was my cute niece, Gracie when she said, "This is a special time of year." 

Now raise your hand if you're ready for the Christmas season! 

Christmas Highlights

It's so weird to even be talking about Christmas now that there isn't a single trace of Christmas left in my house as of 10 o' clock this morning, but I thought I should at least document some of the highlights from this year.

(from left to right)

+ On Sunday we celebrated Christmas with the Gourley's. My favorite part about celebrating there is watching Tom G give out the presents to everyone. You'd never take Tom G as the acting type, but he totally nails it every year when he yells, "Oh, Martha! We forgot some presents!!" It's seriously the best. Also, how cute are the batman pajama's all the boys got from grandma and grandpa?!

+ We were crazy enough to haul our king-sized mattress downstairs on Christmas eve so we could sleep by the Christmas tree. This idea was so cute and Christmassy on paper, but definitely not so cute and Christmassy hauling it down the stairs. I'm guessing Santa didn't hear me cursing under my breath while doing so, because I still woke up to presents!

+ Since Chris is a muddblood to Orem, he had never seen Sebastian's Christmas lights. So on Christmas eve, I had him drive past the amazingness. I think Chris was more interested in the neighborhood's average income, but he still enjoyed it!

+ I love Christmas eve at my parent's for two reasons: 1) the crazy amounts of finger food 2) my mom's gifts for the grandkids. I seriously don't know how she does it, but she manages to out-do herself every single year, including this year with the cutest little sleeping bags for all the kids! Also, can you see why I have her wrap my presents? She is the cutest!

+ My dad got Nerf guns for all the boys this year--the gift that just keeps on giving (...welts).

+ That last picture was taken before going to sleep on our mattress in the living room. I want you to take note of how happy and excited we look, that's because I thought we were going to fall asleep with the Christmas tree lights on (Chris put the kabosh on that reaaal quick), and we both didn't know our furnace was going to wake us up every single hour of the night. We're thinking it'll be easier to just bring the tree up to our room next year.

Obviously there were a lot more highlights to our holiday this week, but I was terrible at documenting. If I could go back, I would have been sure to capture Tom G sitting on the whoopee cushion and popping it, my mom tearing up at her Christmas present from all of us kids, and Chris' face when he opened up his gun safe from me!

Basically, we had an amazing Christmas this year (besides my fantasy of sleeping by the tree being squashed by our furnace). I hope you all did, too!

Oh, Christmas tree.

I have such a special place in my heart for our Christmas tree.

She doesn't look like much, but that's only because she's not that much. What do you expect from a tree that's from Wal-Mart, though? We bought her our first Christmas together. Basically, I begged Chris to use some of the gift cards that we got from our wedding to buy her. Luckily, Chris complied.

The reason I have such a special place for her in my heart is because she has brought so much comfort to me over the past 3 years--especially during the first couple of months me and Chris were married. We only had one car at that time, so Chris drove it up to Salt Lake every day, which meant that I was basically trapped in our house from 3:30 to 8:30 every day by myself. I would get so sad/lonely/convince myself some crazy, psycho killer was going to break into our house and murder me, but as soon as I turned on the Christmas tree, I became calm and happy. Me and Tree got really close that first December together. It became our routine for me to walk in from school, close all the blinds, grab a huge bowl of Chex mix, and shamelessly watch 3 or 4...or 5 episodes of Law and Order: SVU (not one of my finest moments).

Even today my tree is still there to comfort me when I get home. She's there to watch me dance around the house while listening to Christmas music, cry while watching the Ellen Show (or really any show for that matter), and even watch me attempt to sit down and do homework (or cry while studying for finals). She sees me at my best and my worst.

Even though she's losing some of her fake pine needles, only has like 10 bulbs total on her, and doesn't even have a star on top, I think she's one of the best looking trees out there--because she is ours! Kind of the same way people with ugly children feel (just kidding!). Every year she gets a new ornament from Tom G and Martha, and gets even prettier. She loves it. I do, too.

I'm already getting a little sad thinking about squishing her back into her box and putting her on the shelf for another year, but it's always worth it to pull her out the next year and feel like I'm being greeted by an old friend.



p.s. I don't always write sappy posts, but when I do, it's about my Christmas tree.