Brain Explosion.

Tuesdays and Thursdays might be the death of me.

I didn't realize how easy/relaxing my job was until I started this research... Holy cow, my brain is exploding.

One more week.

Happy Thursday!

Indecisive.

For those that don't know... I am a very, very indecisive person.

One way I know that making decisions is a serious problem for me? Well, I was typing this blog post thinking I would say that I can't wait for the next few weeks to be over so that I can have a couple weeks off of school.

As soon as I typed the words, I immediately thought, "But you don't want to wish your whole life away!" and a battle between time off and wishing my life away ensued in my mind.

So in an effort to be more decisive, I think I'll choose not to wish my whole life away.

Maybe.

Or, maybe I'll just anticipate my break.

I can't decide.

Keep Your Head Up.

I love that I can be frank and sincere in my blog posts, so today when I am being extra-honest about my life, try not to judge me too harshly.

Let me admit that I am not perfect, just so we're clear (even though I know you already know that). But one thing that I do know (from personal experience, mostly) is that attitude matters.

I get so discouraged at the smallest things, and my negative attitude only pushes me further into anger and bitterness about my "failure". For example, BYU... I know I have said how much I love it and how great it is before, but don't confuse that with the level of difficulty. BYU is hard. Like sometimes, too hard. I have walked out of the testing center too many times wishing I had seen a better score on the screen. 

Yesterday was one of those days.

I went in to take my exam anticipating an easy A. I mean, last time I got a 97%, so this test should be no problem, right? Wrong. I walked out to go see my score and I see a 68% on the screen. 

Immediately my mind said, "Oh no. You just failed... Again. You are too dumb to be at BYU. You don't work hard enough. You don't understand the simplest things. What are you even doing here?"

And there goes that self-esteem that I've been building.

So I did the only thing that I knew would help me... I went to talk to my husband. Thank goodness for that man!! He encouraged me (like he always does) and calmed me down. He reassured me that I am doing a great job, and that next time will be better.

Okay, panic attack over.

Well, for now at least. My bad attitude came back when I couldn't understand my Statistics homework (it's getting rough in that class). And those bad feelings only kept progressing when I got home. I kept my mindset in a negative place and I just wanted a pity party. 

Another thing my husband is really good at is not letting me get my way when I refuse to think positively (again, thank goodness for that man).

So eventually, after a long evening of pouting, I realized that nothing would change unless I made the change. 

Don't let your little "failures" make you feel like you're worthless. You have the power to change the outcome of your circumstances.

Here's a little motivational song. Sorry for a tiny bit of the content, but the main theme of the song is what I'm getting at.

Happy Tuesday!

We're Home.

I took way too many pictures to post here, so if you would like to see the rest, go on Facebook!

So we had the best time on our little mini-vacation. Camping was great (much better than I expected!) and the lake was beautiful.

The first night, we just looked around the beautiful Yuba lake... Seriously, look at that water!!

We spent our first full day hiking at Capitol Reef National Park. In the rain. It was amazing!

Then our last day there, we got to sit at the lake and get tan! (And hubby got to skip rocks).

We made it home on Saturday and spent the rest of the weekend relaxing. And now, it's back to the regular old schedule. The good news is that I found some amazing fabric, and I have started to make super cute new pillows to go in our bedroom. More pictures to come.

Also, I found the perfect spray paint for our table... I told you all that I have a DIY addiction. We'll see when I get any time to start on that project.

Anyway, exciting things are happening around the Marsee household. More to come!

PS: This sherbet was the best. I know it looks gross, but just trust me on this one.

Technology Overload.

Interesting article here.

It's funny to think about how much time we actually spend using our technology. How much are we missing out on?

Good thing I get a looong weekend with my hubby at the lake. Time to take a break from all of the distractions. Happy Wednesday/Friday, friends!

PS: Happy (early) Pioneer Day! I am so grateful for the Saints who traveled so far. So grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and all the blessings it brings me.

Busy Day.

Started research today.

Super busy.

Here's a video that perfectly sums up my feelings about the English language.

Happy Tuesday-but-it-feels-like-Thursday!

Excitement.

Oh boy, today is a good one.

Let's start with the fact that we have no school on Thursday (or Friday). Boom. So excited. Hubby and I tried to plan a camping weekend, but of course, everything is booked. We'll see how those plans turn out.

I'm still deciding how to redo the table. No genius ideas quite yet..

Aaaaand for the big news of the day... I am now the research assistant for one of my professors! What's even better than that is what we are researching. It just-so-happens to be a study on Ball State students (that's where I used to go!) and their opinions of marriage over time. I am so excited for this opportunity.

I'll let you know how it all goes.

Happy Monday!

Tutorials and Updates.

There are so many awesome things I could write about today, but we will start with the ice cream cake. It turned out awesome! This recipe is definitely worth it.

Start out by wrapping your cake pan in saran wrap. This will make it easier to take out your layers of ice cream.

Fill up each of your pans with a flavor of ice cream. I did cookies and cream in one layer and chocolate in the other.

Then get a bowl and squirt in some chocolate sauce. Add in smashed up Oreos and mix until it becomes stuck together.

Then, put the mixture onto one layer of cake, and put an entire jar of hot fudge sauce onto the other layer. Put both into the freezer and then just put one on top of the other! I decided not to frost my ice cream cake (because it was for hubby's birthday and he doesn't like frosting), but you can be creative with your own decorations.

----------(long, dramatic pause)----------

This week has been overall pretty awesome! We got to celebrate hubby's 22nd birthday.

We got to watch him beast it up at his soccer game... Highest point-scorer on the team for that game!

And today, he got asked to be a TA (teacher's assistant) for the fall. He is so excited! So proud of my husband.

Tonight, we get to celebrate! 

And for your viewing pleasure, here's my favorite little girl. She's so cute!!

More to come Monday. Happy weekend!

My Apologies.

So remember how I said I'd post that tutorial today? Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow.

I know, I know. I'm like the worst blogger ever.

Just feelin' a little stressed the past couple days. It'll pass. Thank goodness for my hubby who always reminds me that it will all work out. Give me a couple recuperation days here, folks.

Much appreciated.

Good thing tomorrow is Friday! Looking forward to the weekend.

PS: Hubby's birthday was awesome. We had a great dinner, got to talk to family, and the ice cream cake turned out really well! I promise I'll do better tomorrow.

Birthday Boy.

Today is hubby's 22nd birthday. Let me just say that I am so grateful to have him in my life. The past year has been incredible, and I am looking forward to so many more memories with him by my side.

Right now, I am just waiting to go home so we can celebrate! The table is all set up with presents, there's a homemade ice cream cake in the freezer (quick tutorial on that tomorrow, when I know that it turned out alright), and we're going to the buffet for dinner. So excited.

He always makes me smile. Thanks for being you, babe!

New Table.

Big (ish) news today!

We bought a dining room table. And it is huge. It is a six-seater with two beautiful captain's chairs. And it is heavy. I am in love with it!

The best part?

$50.

I'm going to refinish it. Tutorial on that to come!

Lifestyle Changes.

Hi friends,

I am so sorry I forgot to post on Friday.

Anyway, I am entering a new phase. It's called torture.

Long story short, I came up with the brilliant idea that I would go on a juice fast. We bought lots and lots of fruits and veggies. I was so excited.

That has all changed in the last five minutes.

As I look down into my brand new, cute little cup with cold, mushy vegetables in it, all I can think is, "I can't do this."

Why?

Trust me, it looks the same as it smells. And the taste.... Less than appetizing. Let me just say that I much prefer solid foods than mush in a cup.

Other than that, I am great! The hubs and I got to go to a baseball game this weekend. Here are our favorite pictures...

Adorable, right?

Happy Monday, everyone!

I'll Be Brief.

Be kind in every situation. Love like the Savior.

Happy Thursday!

Do What You Love.

Can I just take a minute to tell you how much I am loving school right now? Seriously, I didn't think I'd ever say that, but it's true.

My major is becoming more and more awesome every single day. For those that don't know, I am studying Family Life here at BYU. I started school with a Journalism Education major, switched to English Education, and now I've finally settled on Family Life. I was really bummed out when the journalism thing didn't work out, but I knew immediately that it wasn't for me, and I was able to switch to English Education. I seriously loved it. I loved learning how to be an effective teacher and talking about the development process of adolescents.

But when I transferred to BYU, the English major just was not going to work out. It would add another two years onto my program, and that wouldn't even include the teaching certification.

Um, no thank you.

So I found Family Life. And it is amazing. I get to learn about families and why they are the way they are (and I now know that my family has a method to its madness). I get to talk about how children grow and learn. I get to see what impacts their development and how to help them be successful. I love it.

What exactly do you do with a degree in Family Life? Well, I am glad you asked. There are actually a lot of options. But I have no idea what I am going to do.

My point here is to say do what you love. Sure, it is scary to make the decision to do something that might not work out exactly the way you planned it. But it is so worth it to have an education that is what you want it to be.

I am not sure what my next step is after graduation (one more year). But I do know that I have options. And regardless of what I choose to do, I know that this was the right choice. So glad I have such a supportive husband. He truly helps me to be the best person that I can be and I am incredibly grateful for that.

Be passionate about something. Pursue your dreams. Don't give up on yourself.

4th of July Festivities!

We had so much fun this weekend. We went to an Orem Owlz (AAA Baseball) game, climbed the Y (it's a mountain), and watched some fireworks. Oh, and relaxed way more than necessary, but it was amazing.

I just want to apologize for my picture quality in advance.

Baseball game and fireworks!

Pre-Hike.

He's practically a model.

Climbing....

And a blurry picture from the top!

I hope you all had an awesome 4th of July weekend! Happy Tuesday, friends.

PS: My doctor's appointment yesterday? Results came back just fine! No thyroid issues for this girl.

Appointments.

Today, I went to take my tests and did really well on both of them! I am super pumped about it. BYU is making me work hard, but it's awesome. Only one year left.

In other news, I went to the doctor's office today. Still waiting on some blood work results, but we'll see how it went.

Happy Monday, friends!

Three-Day Weekend.

I am so glad today is coming close to an end. Because three-day weekends are my favorite. And so are fireworks.

Pictures to come on Monday!

Happy Thursday, friends! Enjoy your 4th of July!

Tender Mercies.

Let me just say...

I am grateful for my job.
I am grateful for BYU.
I am grateful for my husband.
I am grateful for our new apartment.

I have been swamped with homework this week, which is why I love BYU. I am actually using my brain and trying my hardest to get good grades. I have been able to get 80% of my homework done at work today (YAY!). My husband has eased my nerves about taking Statistics when I think it's all gibberish. And our apartment allows me to sleep in for 10 extra minutes.

I am grateful.

Happy Wednesday! (But it feels like Thursday because we have Friday off!!)

Atonement.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is so beautiful and so simple. He died for us, so that we can return to live with Heavenly Father. Take time out of your day to really appreciate that.