Mountains! Snow! Christmas Break!

...is heaven! Today I went to the gym, ran errands, and cleaned my house IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. It's seriously amazing what I can get done in the middle of the day when I don't have a full time job! Haha. Our christmas break ends on Tuesday (and we got out on the 22nd, don't even get me started). I am already dreading having to go back to teaching. I love my kiddos and my job, but this whole not-working thing is seriously amazing. And I can already feel that the break was not long enough!

Our Christmas was pretty low-key, but it was a great day spent with my in-laws. I tried really hard to focus on the "reason for the season" this year, so gifts were not over-the-top, but I was impressed with what I got T-Money with our budget. I am so grateful that I was able to sing in church on Christmas Sunday and to participate in so many fun, festive Christmas activities over the month of December so that I could focus on our Savior and his birth. I promised myself that is something that I would do and I stuck to it. The whole Christmas season seemed so much better! This whole week I have been catching up with my life: working out twice a day, cleaning, and running errands. It hasn't been super exciting, but it has been productive and slow-paced, which is so nice for a change. T has had to work all week so it's pretty much been me and Saylor, my sidekick, doing things. And I've loved it!!!

I have been up in the canyons hiking in the snow a few times this week to change my workouts around (so that I'm not always just as the gym! ha). Plus, watching Saylor run in the snow might be the cutest thing in the world. If you don't have a dog, you don't understand. I caught some absolutely gorgeous photos while on some of my hikes. It is freeeeezing up in the canyons, but I stayed bundled up and tried to enjoy the outdoors. I will show you those amazing sites and photos below. As always, please do not take without permission. 

Over the break, I:
-read three books. Man alive, am I nerd, or what?
-deep cleaned my house (like doors, baseboards, everything).
-Did about 7 loads of laundry. Yikes.
-hiked in the canyons multiple times. So gorgeous!
-went to the gym. A lot.
-slept. A lot.
-saw movies (my fav) and watched Netflix (also my fav).
-ran a gazillion errands.
-drank a lot of sodalicious (guilty).
-saw grandparents and cousins and family members all over Utah.
-Took down Christmas decor (and cried while doing it. Always makes me sad).
-Went to a New Years Eve Casino night.
-Caught up with friends.
-cuddled with Saylor. A lot.

If you follow me on Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter, you may have already known these things, but it's fine. Whatever. (@sierrasview for all).

Without further ado, here is WINTER IN NORTHERN UTAH. AS THE YOUTH WOULD SAY, "I JUST CAN'T EVEN." Also, just take a moment and look at that stinkin' adorable dog. I'm obsessed with her. I think we all knew that though. Note: these were all taken on different days, hence the different lighting.

DO YOU SEE THE PEOPLE?! Gah! 

The lighting on this day was ~perfect. 

Love the edit on this one, too. 

And the Saylor photo shoot starts NOW...

Mom. Stop. 

Had to edit this one a little different. Love the look of this. 

look at my cute house in the snow!!!! I'm obsessed. 

Utah. You are cold, but, MAN you're beautiful.
Wish all the teachers luck as they endeavor back to school this week. Gahhhhhhhh.

Acceptance.

Well, it's almost the end of June, which breaks my little teacher heart. 

I have been the worst at blogging, which breaks my little writing heart. Sorry, guys. (Cause I know you are all incredibly distraught. When, really, its just my mom who reads this blog). 

I have been spending A LOT of time with my dog, which I'm not sure if I feel pathetic or awesome because of this fact. Probably a little bit of both, to be honest. 

Here's the thing. T Money has been gone since the end of April selling pest control (Hey, don't hate. It's good money). Which is good for our family for $$$$, but it sucks for my emotional state. It's freaking lonely and hard to not have your significant other around. I don't have any children (except Saylor) or anyone to hang out with (except Saylor). See, people like to make fun of me because I love my dog like my child right now. And I used to get so upset by that, but I have officially accepted it. 

You're right, I DON'T have children. For reasons that only matter to T and me, thank you very much. (Side note: it's nobody else's business when we decide to have children...come on, Utah!). But because of that, my house is so quiet. And Saylor and I have become best friends over the past two months. I am so grateful to have her because it's nice just to hear another set of footprints and other noises in my home. She is always up for any type of activity (hiking, walking, doing yard work, playing outside, cuddling on the couch--see other reasons why you need a dog HERE). 

So, I have accepted that Saylor is my best friend right now. And that's okay. Dogs understand you. They are loyal to their owners. I am an incredibly loyal person and sometimes I feel let down from friends or the people around me because they aren't as loyal as me, which is okay. With Saylor, she is always willing to listen and play and cuddle and hike. What else could you want? Plus, she is crazy smart and is an emotional therapy dog (she loves babies and kids, too!) so, she's pretty much the best. 

I love my t-shirt from Taylor at The Daily Tay. She sells these t shirts for dog charities and I think it's simply the best. It is so comfy!!! You can buy yours on her etsy shop. 

In other news, we found Saylor's twin but 20 pounds heavier (and a golden doodle instead of a mini aussie doodle). This is my friend's dog, Opie, and he is Saylor in a bigger, male version. They played so well together. I love them. 

I was joking with my friend that I'm going to do a monthly update of my dog, like they do with babies. Just put a sign in front of her "22 months old....loves sticks, playing with kids, and eating grass." Hahahahahahah. I'm not really, guys. But I have to admit, that would be kind of funny. No? Okay. 

Do you have a dog?
What breed? 
What do you love about your dog? 

On Dealing with January...

January is hard. 

I always start the month with a large amount of pizzazz. I love the snow and coziness and the changes of season. Yay! January! It's so cozy and fun! By the end of January, I'm over it. I am craving some warmth. I do love winter. I love the change in the seasons. I think the snow is beautiful. I try not to let the snow stop me from being up the mountains and being outside. But something about January just makes me want to not teach or work, lay in bed and watch Netflix. Which is great...except, I, like, can't do that, and have to be an adult. Ugh. 

This January I have tried to change my outlook. I love the beautiful scenery. I have tried to embrace the snow and allow myself to slow down and just enjoy life. Let's ignore the fact that I have had about seven migraines since the beginning of January, and I am about ready to chop my head off due to these stupid things. My headaches are always worse in the winter. I think that it's correlated with the weather and the pressure. But I know my migraines are connected to my hormones, so it's maybe just a combination of it all. My seasonal affective disorder may be affecting this hormones and then the compilation of the pressure and cold...I bet it's all of it. That's my science talk. Either way, these migraines are going to be the death of me. 

Even with all of that, I am learning to deal with January. I am learning to love it, or, well, accept it for it's beauty. Here is my January via Instagram and past posts. 

A winter walk with my favorite humans and animals. 

Talked about my why I Braintype everyone, especially my students. 

I think #saylorthepup likes the snow... 

When you've had a rough week....and your husband brings you a note and flowers. Yes.  Sometimes marriage is hard and sometimes things like this make it okay. 

Can you tell I am dreaming of summer? I want this swimsuit so bad. But it's $100 and I just can't justify that. Someone give me sunshine and this swimsuit. 

I wrote a book review on this amazing book. It has, as dramatic as it sounds, altered my view of eating and my body. 

Sometimes January makes all of your crap come out. And this quote is so perfectly true it's insane. 

I am still (trying) to do my health plan. It has been difficult. But I am down 14 pounds. So yay! And my outfit choices are even better in January. 

I love my fellow teachers and faculty. I have spent a lot of January at my school. Shocking. My students have about did me in this month and I am ready for Spring Break. Hahaha. 

A lot of snuggles with Saylor happened....

I fell in love with the Utah mountains. Again. 

See!!!!

Again. Sigh. 

More snow. It sure is pretty, i'll give it that. 

Joined a book club and read this book. I fell in love with it. Oh, and my Sodalicious. Of course. 

This is what heaven feels like. 

Literally my every day outfit after school in January.... killing it with birkenstocks, wool socks, leggings, sweaters, scarfs, and messy buns. 

Typical face in January. 

Talked about how being a grown up sucks. Ha. 

Craft night with friends and fellow teachers. Or, more, me coloring and the other ladies doing crafts. I hate crafts. 

Reconnected with old friends from Oregon!! 

Trying to wear decent outfits at school...

And spending even more time in my classroom...

A lot of hilarious Bachelor girls nights... 

And a LOT of girl chats after school. 

I took this photo with my PHONE and updated you all on life with snow. 

I didn't make New Years Resolutions. but i did make some of my own things to work on. My mantra for the year. 

I don't know why this picture kills me so much, but it does.  hahahaha. 

Yep. Talked about how blogging in the winter time is so different. 

I recapped Lessons I learned in 2015. 

Drank a lot of tea to help with my migraines. Continued in Be Better Movement. 

Tried to compliment others and write sticky notes to my students.

Well, it's February. Here comes nothing, guys. 

Do you like January? What do you like about it?