New Years Resolution

 A teacher of mine whose blog i follow has a idea for New Years' Resolutions that I find so promising and so I have decided to try it this year.
Basically, instead of goals- she chooses one word for the year. She then uses that word to motivatae herself throughout the year to become a better person. Some people, through her comments, take that word and then make it more specific for each month. It's a lot less "burdensome" than a goal, but it has many little goals within it.

I thought about this for a little, and have decided my word will be "MOTIVATE". I want to motivate myself to be a better person: in spiritual, physical, and emotional ways. I want to motivate my husband to finish school and strive with me to be a better person. I want to motivate my empoyees to love the work they do and help them to see what potential and growth there is in their lives, both in and out of the company. I want to motivate my friends and family to seek more truth in their personal lives and help them realize that there are always ways to improve.

What is your "Word for the Year"?

Our New Years' Letter <3 for you to enjoy!

Well, Here we are! A year has come and gone and so many wonderful things have happened.

We started the year off in our little basement apartment. It was crazy there but it was great to be so close to school. I was working part time at Ancestry.Com and Matthew was at Orange Soda.

I graduated in April from BYU! It feels so great to FINALLY be finished with school. Contrary to what many people thought, I don’t really miss it. I would like to take a few classes again one day but purely on a recreational basis. I’ll take classes like pottery or interior design.  Matthew is still busy with his independent classes and has just a few left. He’s looking forward to finishing as well!

Around graduation, we decided it was time to get out of Provo. Orem really has a whole different culture from Provo- even though it’s only a few miles away. We loved our apartment- a two story townhouse. It was wonderful to have light coming through the windows, 2 bedrooms, and a washer and dryer. We were called into the Spanish ward at church as language missionaries. It was so wonderful! Even though I didn’t know much Spanish, it was amazing to feel the love of the brothers and sisters in that ward.  Matthew enjoyed being able to use his Spanish again.  I was still at Ancestry. Com but became a full time employee.  Matthew was also put onto a new team at Orange Soda, where he was able to make bigger sales.

Then things became a little crazy! In August, we went out to California for Spencer (Matt’s brother) and Morgan’s wedding. We went out the whole week before to be able to enjoy the beautiful California air and family time.  I was also promoted to team lead for the daytime shifts around this time. In September, a position opened for Supervisor in our DC remote location. Matthew and I decided it would be a wonderful opportunity and so I applied for it.  I found out I got the job on September 30. We got out of our contract at our apartment and started packing. We came out for a house hunting trip and some training for 2 weeks in October.  We used the other 2 weeks to sell some of our furniture and get everything organized. We drove across the country and stopped to visit some close friends along the way. Home cooked food and a normal schedule felt amazing after our couple crazy weeks! I started work on November 2. Talk about Fast Paced!

We sure do miss our family out in California but we love it here. We found a great place to live and our new ward is amazing! We were able to go up to Pennsylvania for a short trip at Thanksgiving and will go to North Carolina for Christmas.

We truly have been so blessed this year. So many wonderful things have happened, things we couldn’t have even imagined.  We are excited for a new year in a new place with new adventures. Hope your Christmas was FANTASTIC <3 and Happy New Year!

Long Break

Merry Christmas Eve! and- Merry Christmas. and Happy New Year!
Matthew and I will be busy the next few days snapping a ton of photos, opening gifts, eating yummmy food, and just having fun together. Saturday we leave for NC to spend a week with my mom's fam for the holidays. I'm super excited because it's going to be awesome.  So- i know you'll miss me but you'll get some great pictures and stories when I return <3

dear snow:

Dear record breaking snow:

You have given us almost 2 ft of white, hurt your eyes to look at in the sun, snow. it's beautiful except near the roads- then it's yucky. But I wanted to thank you- even though I'm not usually a fan of your outpourings. I needed this break, where I was able to lay in my robe and watch movies and tv for 2 straight days. i slept about 12 hours a night and got up and relaxed more. I had a snow day today- something i haven't enjoyed for about 5 years now. I was able to get some more christmas shopping done, clean up the house, and relax even more. So- even though I don't want you to come again for a very long time, thank you for coming now.
:) love, DeAnna

Snow- check out post under this. it comes first

The little indent is the top of the car! It was covered! It wasn't done snowing but at lest we got off what had fallen until 4 pm!

more cleaning off the car!

up past my knees!

This is what we woke up to this morning. I focused it on our car since it's white and hard to see. The whole front is covered and theres another couple of inches!!
Looks like we're in again today! <3 have a good one :)

Snow- 09

When we left Utah- we really thought we were leaving all of this behind, instead it decided to follow us here. This is what we woke up to yesterday morning.

We decided that we needed to go clean off the car so that we didn't have a foot of ice on our car in the morning- even though we aren't going anywhere! haha This is before:

This is us cleaning off the car.
There was so much snow!!

Christmas

Oh Christmas time:
i love Christmas time. it's so wonderful- busy and exciting. On Friday, Sabs and I organized our team Christmas party. We made a scavenger hunt in DC- which seemed to be super fun! We all had lunch at an Irish pub and then got hot cocoa/coffee at Starbucks and then went back to the office to play Win, Lose, or Draw + Gestures. It was so fun! We had a dessert potluck. It was just a great day.

Tomorrow, the SVP of Operations, is coming to our DC office. Sabs and I are going to take him to dinner tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to meet him. Plus, it makes me feel super important to be able to do something life that! yay!

other than work- things are going fantastic! matthew and i are busy getting ready for christmas. we love our new place and our decorations. we're getting ready for our christmas vacation to NC! it's going to be superr fun!
well- life is busy but it's fantastic- just the way it should be <3

Our Life

Life is good. This Thanksgiving we were able to go home to Pennsylvania to be with my family. It was so awesome! i loved being able to see everyone and do the things I use to always do. We ate far to much pizza and played racko and uno and hide and seek a gazillion times. we were able to go back to my old ward and visit with the people i use to see each week. it was wonderful. in fact- it was something i really needed.... I'm amazed at how much love i could have for people i dont even talk to that often.
We decorated our cute home and I love having Christmas decorations... and have finally posted picturess!! enjoy! <3
go to our facebook page to see the video of our house.. :)

what you've been waiting forr..

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry


(see rock band off to the right! ;) )

nativity under tree

christmas tree which we just love.

cute.

what you've been waiting forr

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry


fishies- i know it's blurry but there's 5 big ones:)

our kitchen/breakfast bar

stove and cute picture i made for matt

all of our awesome appliances

what you've been waiting forr..

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry


the love seat/ ottoman

the 7 ft. couch.

"computer" area

dining room area

what you've been waiting for..

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry

our sweet tv. :)

bookshelf #2

we loooove games!

what you've been waiting for..

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry

near the entryway

i loooove our new bookshelves!

what you've been waiting for...

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry


bookshelf in room

half bath with more storage :)

closet! walk in <3

my side ( it's prob a 70/30 or 60/40 split. haha)

what you've been waiting for..

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry

bathroom. i love this shower curtain. so colorful!

sorry for the glare- some of my favorite pics

our bedroom <3

corner of bedroom

what you've been waiting for...

sorry for the picture quality. we're making do with our current one til christmas! (we're getting a new one!) and these come in mutiple posts- it's not letting me add more than a couple. sorry

guest room craft area

my art <3

food storage/ pantry