{What I Wish I Could Change About My Life}

First off, I know that I haven't written in quite a long time. It's not that I haven't had things I have wanted to write about and express, but I have been quite busy lately! Now, I finally have a moment to sit back and relax, watch reruns of Sweet 16 and smell the 100 cupcakes that I made for a family party, while I write about something that I was talking to my husband about today.

What I Wish I Could Change About My Life? I will answer that question with one simple word.

NOTHING!

Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that my life is absolutely perfect and that nothing goes wrong. However, I'm at a point in my life where I am just SO HAPPY! I look back a few years ago in my life and I would have never guessed that I would be where I am today. I used to be so self-conscious, working random part time jobs, and not knowing what I would be doing with my life in the future. Now, I've been with my husband almost two years, married for over one year, and falling in love more and more every single day. I know that he's the most perfect man for me and he lets me know that I am the most perfect girl for him. (At 21, I feel weird calling myself a "woman" so I'll stick with "girl".) Every day with him is so full of laughs, inside jokes, people watching, long talks, snuggles, random dancing, and LOTS of kisses. I never thought I would marry someone SO perfect for me. And being married to him comes with so much confidence with myself. Yes, he does compliment me and tell me he loves me, but the confidence actually comes from the way he looks at me whether I look pretty or not, and the way he laughs at my jokes and how comfortable I am with myself. 

Besides being overly happy in my marriage, I couldn't have found a better career choice for me. I wanted to be in business and I went to ASU for business, but then realized it wasn't what I wanted to completely commit to. I always wanted to do something in the fashion field, but didn't picture myself as a designer. I also kind of wanted to do something in the medical field, but didn't picture myself as a nurse, dental hygienist, etc. So, when I started the job I do now, I realized I found the perfect fit for me! For those of you who don't know what I do, I am an optician at Reed Family Vision in Chandler, AZ. It is the PERFECT combination of fashion, medical, business, and science. I had been around opticians my whole entire life, but never really knew what they did and never expected myself to go into this field. I work full time and love what I do, so I wouldn't change anything about my career choice.

I can't picture being happier that I already am. And yes, there are things that I do want to add to my life, like buying a house, going on a big vacation, and having kids later in life, but for right now, I don't want my life to be any different. Mike and I are so happy and have been since our first date bowling on March 16, 2013. 

{Some of my Greatest Blessings}

Often times, we see the success of others, their happiness and their materials belongings and want what they have. We forget to notice the things that we have and all the blessings that we have received. Instead, we want more and choose not to be happy for what we already have been blessed with.

It’s sad.

It’s sad to think we go through life every day wanting someone else’s life. Why? Why can’t we be happy with our own lives and the way our lives are? Why can’t we ever just be happy for other people instead of wanting what they have?

I’ll tell you why. We are human. We are all the same. And whether we like it or not, someone is always going to have more than us and someone is always going to have less than us. Someone will always seem happier. You might always seem happier than someone else. And we all have points in our lives where we wish we had what others had and other wish they had what we had. But that’s life.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Mike and I had a discussion today about all the blessings that we have and some things that we are very grateful for.  The more we talked, the more I realized how blessed we are. We live great lives. And yes, sometimes I wish we had more, but Mike always reminds me of how blessed we are. So, I just wanted to share with you some of my greatest blessings.

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I am grateful for MY PARENTS. They are the people who raised me, supported me (and continue to do so), and provided for me. Oh, and love me of course. And I love them. I call and text my mom constantly and can always joke around with my dad. They paid for my wedding and gave me a loan to buy my first car. They have helped me a lot through my life and I am so very grateful for them.

MY SIBLINGS are some of the funniest people I have been around. I can’t imagine a life with siblings that don’t speak their minds and joke around constantly. I love that we can always be honest with each other and supportive of each other too. I am grateful to have siblings that I have such great memories with and I am excited for all of the great memories to come.

I am also very grateful for MIKE’S PARENTS. They have brought me in like one of their own children and have always treated me respect. They are amazing in-laws and I love that we have such a love for each other. They truly are my family. I learn a lot from them in every way. They are the type of people who are always helping other people out and giving more than they ever ask for.

 

MY FRIENDS are some of the best people that I know. They are people I can always count on. I can't believe how lucky I am to have such great friends in my life and people that I can always go to for everything. I am grateful for all of the fun times that they have brought into my life and the friendships they have given me. I'm a lucky girl to have all of them in my life.

OUR JOBS have been some of the biggest blessings in our lives. Mike and I have always been blessed with great jobs and have been able to make the money we need to survive and have fun as well. I am exceptionally grateful for my job because I work for my dad. However, I only work with him one day a week and see him about 1-2 hours of that day. But still, my dad has provided me with an outstanding job that I love going to every day and I am more than grateful to have an amazing opportunity to love what I do and get paid for it too.

If you know Mike and I, then you know that we love OUR CARS. We have been blessed to be able to drive two cars that we absolutely love. Mike got his fast sporty car, and I got my big truck. It took a while to be able to be fortunate enough to finally afford them, but after paying off our cars before, me driving around a little beat up truck with several things not working on it, and then going a week without a car after it broke down, we finally bought our new truck that we love. Fortunately, we haven’t had too many problems with any of our cars and we are SO very grateful for that blessing.

Surprisingly, Mike and I have rarely had any problems with OUR HEALTH. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about how lucky we are to be healthy. Health is taken for granted. You don’t really know how healthy you are until you aren’t anymore.

And lastly I am grateful for my HUSBAND. A husband who tries so hard to make me happy. A husband who gives me a big hug and kiss every single day when we come home from work. A husband who always lets me choose what to watch on TV. A husband who makes me laugh and giggle at all of his jokes. A husband who tells me how much he loves me. A husband who works overtime and gives me more than I need to spend. A husband who insisted on getting me a nice truck. A husband who always empties the trash, helps with the dishes, and cleans up when I’m gone. A husband who tells me I’m beautiful and looks at me with such a deep love in his eyes. A husband who makes my life easier. When I think of blessings, I think of him. And I’m so glad that I married the greatest blessing in my life.

{Be Nice To Your Husband}

I want to tell you all about an experience I just went through. I am a part of this group on Facebook that supports women and was made to share advice, recipes, tips and more. I loved this group at first and went on it often to see what I could learn from it. However, like the rest of the world I feel lately, a lot of the things being posted have become of a negative nature. Just the other day, I saw a post about a wife being mad at a husband and venting to this group about it. That made me very sad to read. So, then I read through the comments and all I seemed to find was other girls complaining about their husbands with her and talking about "I would kill him if he did this" or "I'd be so mad!" or talking about their relationships in a very selfish way. So, I decided to give my two cents. And boy, did I not get a good reaction. In no way was I being judgmental to any of the other wives, but I guess everyone took it that way. In my comment, I talked about how, as wives, we need to be more considerate of our husbands and think about their needs and wants. But I guess, caring about my husband and posting good things about him instead of venting bad things about him to everyone in the world makes me a "judgmental person". 

This post did the opposite to me of what it did to everyone else. While other wives talked about their husbands in a negative nature and acted like they are the queen of the relationship, I thought about how much I love my husband and how I want him to be happy and have everything he wants. 

I think men are given a lot less credit than they deserve. Men are often portrayed as either a "stupid jock" or "nerd" and women talk about how men's hobbies are a waste of time. If they play video games, it's a "waste of time". If they love working on cars, it's a "waste of time". If they love watching or playing sports, it's a "waste of time". If they love guns, it's a "waste of time". Frankly, I am sick of hearing it. However, if a guy says anything about our nails or hair appointments or shopping trips or watching America's Next Top Model, then they are an insensitive jerk. Enough with the feminist entitlement ladies. If we can love things, why can't men? Why can't they spend their free time playing video games or working out in the garage if they want, when we spend our free time watching reality shows and getting pampered? It's selfish and doesn't make sense. 

To have an awesome husband, you need to treat him like an awesome husband. Thank him for everything. Spoil him. Compliment him. I am a firm believer in the quote "Do unto others as you would have others do to you". Why would your "nerdy, video game addict husband" want to change your tire for you in the rain? Or why would your husband who is "always working on stupid cars" want to help you cook dinner? Wait for it.....they won't. Why would you ever expect your husband to do things for you if you mock the things he loves? I just don't understand this and I don't think I ever will. 

Now, I know what a lot of you might be thinking while reading this. "You're only 20 years old" or "You've only be married for 10 months" or "Stop acting like you have the perfect marriage"; I've heard it all. However, I have also heard numerous times that about how respectful I am towards my husband. Of course, we do joke and fight just like every other couple, however, I don't look at him and will NEVER look at him as just a "dumb guy" that should wait on me hand and foot and spend all his hard earned money on me. We are equal partners. We are husband and wife. 

So, can all you ladies reading this do me a huge favor? Think hard before you post something negative about your husband. Think about the good things about him before you post something little that annoyed you. Think about how your husband would feel if he saw something negative about him that was publicly posted.

Men, I'm on your side this time. Mike, I'm on your side EVERY time.

{Why I Now Love Things That Used To Annoy Me About My Spouse}

Like any other girl my age just about, I am on social media A LOT. My top two are Instagram and Facebook. Over the past year or so, I have noticed a big difference is status updates from girls my age. We have gotten older and a lot of girls have gotten married. Posts that used to be about parties and loving their boyfriends have now gone to what annoys them about their husbands and complaining about them and blah blah blah. I see in on Facebook and a lot in real life as well. These women talk about how their husbands don’t buy them anything, don’t compliment them enough, don’t help enough, don’t do anything, and do this wrong and that wrong. They talk about how they always clean the kitchen and do the laundry, but fail to mention that their husbands work 8 hour days to support them. They talk about how their husbands never buy them flowers or jewelry, but also don’t mention that they haven’t gotten their husband a new watch or video game in who knows how long. I also see this with some husbands as well. They talk about how their wife is such a brat and sometimes they don’t like being home with them, but when was the last time they took their wife on a date or watched America’s Next Top Model with them. Relationships go both ways folks. Sometimes, other girls will ask me what annoys me about my husband and I honestly can’t really answer anything.

Michael treats me like a complete princess. That is one thing I love about him. He does so much for me and I notice even the little things. Like yesterday for instance, while we were at our niece’s volleyball game, I stood up to go get his jacket out of the car because I was cold. Instead, he got up and told me to stay and that he would go get it. Then, after the game when we went to Rubio’s, we were sharing on side of a booth. I asked him if he could get out of the booth real fast so I could get out and go get some salsa. Instead, he said he would just go get it for me. It’s little things like that that really are HUGE to me. And I try to thank him for every little and big thing that he does for me.  I try to look more for his good qualities instead of any flaws. We laugh, make fun of each other and of course, we still fight, but our fights are over in about 5 minutes. Honestly, one reason that I think he treats me so amazingly is because I love the crap out of him and I want everyone to know it. If you start talking bad about your husband to your husband and the public, why would that make him want to change or do things for you? 

It won’t.

So, without further ado, these are a few of the things that used to kind of annoy me, but I got over them and now love these little things about my husband.

1.  That toothpaste cap

Oh my goodness. So, I have a little bit of OCD and it used to drive me absolutely CRAZY when I would see the toothpaste cap left off of the toothpaste. I didn’t understand why it was so hard to take two seconds to just screw the cap back on. Now, I look back and wonder why I got so agitated all the time. It’s just a toothpaste cap. Whenever I see the toothpaste cap off, I think “well, at least he brushed his teeth!” and who doesn’t love those fresh brushed teeth.

2.  Video Games

I have never been a video game player and I never really understood them that well. I get bored of them after like 5 minutes and whenever ANYONE played them, I got kind of annoyed because I didn’t get the point. And Mike doesn’t even play them that often. Like once a week maybe. Now I don’t mind at all when he plays them. Why? Because I used to work nights and so he only played some nights because he worked days. Now, if he ever plays, it’s still at night and I am there now, because I work days, and I love it because it’s a reminder that I get to be home with him so it doesn’t matter what we are doing. All that matters is that I get to spend the night with my husband.

3.  Gym

I used to dislike him going to the gym when we were dating or sometimes even when we were married because sometimes it would mess up our schedule, sometimes I wouldn’t want to go, or it meant he would be spending time away from me. I realized now that that is so stupid. I now love that he goes to the gym! I love that he also has managed to get me to love going to the gym and I am starting to feel a lot better about myself. And I love that he goes to the gym because what girl doesn’t want her man to have a nice body.

4.  Obsession with Guns

Well, I mean it’s not a big obsession, but he really likes guns. It used to kind of annoy me whenever we would go gun shopping or he would be at home cleaning his guns, because once again, I just want his attention. However, now I really like and appreciate his knowledge of guns. He has taught me how to load and work with every single gun we own and it makes me feel safe knowing that his experience with guns.

5.  Talk about ex’s

Cue rolling my eyes here. I hated any time any ex’s name got brought up. What girl doesn’t? And I wouldn’t say that I actually “love” when their names get brought up, but now it serves as more of a reminder that I am his wife and he chose ME to marry. Ex’s are ex’s for a reason and I don’t really think it’s bad when they get brought up, as long as your aren’t still in love with them.

6.  Always getting dressed up to go anywhere

This one used to absolutely drive me crazy. We would be chilling at home in sweats and suddenly want to go get Jack in the Box or a Redbox movie. So, I would be like “let’s go” and grab the keys and put on my flip flops. Mike, on the other hand, would change out of his gym shorts, put on jeans, try on at least 3 new wrinkle-free shirts, put on socks and Vans, and go do his hair, which would take quite a bit of time. I never understood why he had to look good to just go through a fast food drive thru or to run into Wal Mart for 5 minutes. He explained it to me well one day though. He always want to look presentable because you never know what could happen while you are out. When he was single, he wanted to always look good because he never knew where he would meet a girl. Now, he doesn’t get ready to go looking for girls, but he still likes feeling good about himself and looking presentable when he goes out. And it doesn’t bother me anymore because there has not been a single moment where we have gone out anywhere and I have been embarrassed by what he was wearing or wished he didn’t look so sloppy. He always looks nice and I really appreciate that. You will never ever catch him anywhere just wearing gym shorts or sweatpants, unless he is at the gym. I, on the other hand, am a completely different story. My wardrope consists of yoga pants and comfy shirts. But I love that my husband compliments me a ton when I get ready, so it makes me want to look good for him and the public as well.

So, wives and husbands, boyfriends and girlfriends, stop nit picking at everything little flaw your significant other has and start loving the little things that make them unique. I promise you that the minute you do this, you will find a million more reasons to love the person you are with and you will feel a lot more love as well. 

{Why Reality Turned Out Better Than My Dreams}

Everyone has dreams. I've had tons of dreams ever since I was a little girl. When I was young, I dreamed of being a famous singer and I would sing at every opportunity I could. As I got older, I had dreams of being an awesome volleyball player and getting an academic scholarship to ASU. I had dreams of moving out at 18 with friends, graduating college, becoming a successful business woman, and never even thought of getting married young; it wasn't even an option for me.

Instead, I gave up singing, made the volleyball team but barely played, dropped out of college, never moved out with friends, didn't get my business degree, and got married. The complete opposite of what I planned my life out to be. But honestly, it’s not as bad as it seems. It actually is better than what I could have ever hoped for.

In high school, I played two years on JV and one year on Varsity volleyball. And by played, I mean participated in practices and only played against the easier teams. But I was okay with that. I loved my volleyball team and all those girls deserved all the playing time they got. I tried my best, had lots of fun, and rooted my team on instead of sitting on the bench in a sour mood. Volleyball season was the best part of the school year.

Throughout my years in school, especially high school, I got almost all A’s, and I tried to enroll in as many honors courses as I could. I had a full schedule for years and studied as much as I could. And I did end up getting an academic scholarship to ASU. It was a pretty good scholarship too. But after a year and a half of going to school, I decided I didn't want to anymore and dropped out. Some people look at me in complete disbelief when I tell them this. But you know what? College isn't for everyone. And although I worked really hard to get to where I was in school, I decided on a different path. I now work full time at an optometry office and I absolutely love it. I want to go back and finish my degree sometime, but for now, it’s not for me. I still look at myself as that successful business woman though.

Getting married young is something that a lot of people look at as a life ruiner. Even I did in a sense. I didn't want to be “tied down” young and have that much responsibility. I wanted to go out with my friends and not worry about dumb boys. And then as probably everyone knows, I got married at 19.

Best. Decision. Ever.

I don’t have to worry about dumb boys, because I married the best man I have ever met. He takes care of a lot of our responsibilities and takes a huge weight off of my shoulders. Getting married didn't ruin my life, but made it better.  I still go out with my friends and I don’t feel like me being married has changed our relationships. And hey, I got to move out with my best friend and ever since I met Michael, I have been singing a lot again.

So while it seems that, in a way, none of my dreams came true, they actually all did in some sense. I mean, I still have more dreams, like having a family and a few dogs, owning a blue 4 door Toyota Tacoma with black rims, and going to the Bahamas, so far reality turned out better than my dreams. But how could it not? I have the best husband, family and friends a girl could DREAM of!

{To My Husband}

To my amazing, self-less husband:

I don't think there is anything I could possibly love more than you. 

I look at you every single day and wonder how I got so lucky. I wonder how I was able to find a man who cared so much about the people around him and tried so hard to make people happy. I look at you and thank God for the huge blessing he put in my life. I look at you and smile every single day and can't wait to spend the rest of my life and eternity with you. 

Things have happened and are going to happen from here on out. Things are not exactly going to go our way for the rest of our lives. But I know one thing for sure. I have a man who is by my side and holds me when I cry and you have a woman who will love you unconditionally and be your #1 fan no matter what. 

You make being your wife the easiest thing in the world. You jump up and start making dinner for me almost every night. You suggest randomly that you want take me to a movie, out to eat or to other activities. You help with laundry and dishes without ever being asked. You carry things for me, open my door, and always let me steal bites of your food. You kiss me goodbye every morning when you leave when I'm barely awake and give me a big hug whenever I get home from work. You compliment me constantly and never complain when I go shopping. You notice when I change my hair or even when I get a new shirt. 

Every day, you show me that you love me. And yes I hear several "I love you"s every day too, but I love that you go out of your way to show me and make me feel special. 

If love is looking at someone and just knowing that no matter what happens you will always have them and they are all you need, then I promise to always love you. 

Every day. 

{Why I Love My Little Apartment}

Last weekend, Mike and I moved. And moving is not fun. On top of just the whole entire physical move, I was starting to get really sad about where we were moving too. We were moving out of a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, with a garage, backyard, big kitchen, and more, into a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment on the second floor that is about half the size of our house we were renting. This meant no garage to store things in, we would be walking up and down the stairs constantly, and we just didn't have as much room as we used to. So, as you can imagine, it was hard downsizing. However, now that we have been living at our apartment for a week, it's home and I love it there! And here are some of the reasons that I love my little apartment:

1. Less room means Michael and I get to be a lot closer all the time. We are pretty much always by each other in the apartment and I don't have to yell across the house to tell him something when he is in the other room.

2. Less space=less space to clean and take care of. Now we don't have to worry about taking care of the yard, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, etc (which we rarely even had time for working full time and having things going on every night). I don't have spare bedrooms and bathrooms I have to clean. I don't have a garage I have to clean and organize. The only rooms I have to clean are the living room, kitchen, our bedroom, the bathroom, and my closet (which is pretty much the size of a room).

3. Speaking of my closet...MY CLOSET! It's absolutely huge. The master closet in the house was a pretty good size but I had to keep some of my clothes elsewhere and I was always stepping on my shoes on the ground because I had no where else to put them. The closet in my apartment is probably my favorite thing about our apartment. I'm seriously when I say it's huge. We even have room to put a dresser and big shoe rack in there. I finally have all my clothes and shoes in one place, along with Mike's clothes and shoes, as well as a section for food storage and just extra storage. My closet rocks.

4. Neighbors. Our old neighborhood was a housing development and I rarely saw my neighbors. In the 6 months we lived there, Mike and I probably talked to the neighbors on the right twice and never even saw the neighbors on our left. People would always just pull in and out of their garage and we wouldn't actually ever see them. Now, I am constantly walking by neighbors saying hello on our way to the car or pool. It's pretty nice seeing the people who live around you.

5. Living in our apartment complex means we get access to all of our amenities! In the house, we just had...well, the house. In our apartment, we get 2 pools, a spa, a tennis court, a small golfing green, a sand volleyball court, a gym, and more. It's nice to have those little extras.

6. Mike and I get to finally be our own persons. Mike and I attend the LDS church, and for my entire life, I have never been able to kind of "be my own person" and "have my own identity". This has absolutely nothing to do with the church though. When I lived with my parents, I was "Kirk and Jenny's daughter". When I went to the Singles' Ward with my brother, I was "Cody's sister". Even when Mike and I got married, we were "the brother and sister in law" of his sister and brother. Now, we are actually our own family and that's how people know us. We will be "Mike and Dani Gabriella" and no "so-and-so's family member" will be included after that. It's kinda nice :)

7. We pay less for electricity. Enough said.

8. We live next to two of our best friends. Enough said, again.

9. We have all the space we need. Don't get me wrong, living in that house was nice, however, I am glad that we have our own little space now and it's all the space we need. We don't need to live in a big house. All we need is each other. And I would rather live in a small apartment any day and get to spend all my time being next to Michael, than living in a big house and have all of these nice belongings. Mike said the cutest, cheesiest thing to me the other day-he said, "I don't care where we live, as long as I get to live with you." But hey, that's exactly how we feel about each other. Our time to have our own, big house will come, but that's not what we need right now. We will work for it, save for it, and enjoy it later. And I think that will be the best part about it; that we are the ones who made our own dream house a reality. But for now, our apartment is home.