Having a Blast in Hawaii

As I said in this previous post, Matt and I have been trying really hard to enjoy our little island. 

Here is what we have been up to: 

 Checking out Chinaman's Hat

Stoping to get a picture of Kanehoe Bay 

Stopping at Sunset Beach on our way home to take a picture of the beautiful ocean. 

Going to our ward Salsa Party. Although we didn't get any pictures of the party. 

Here's to another great weekend! 

Working on Us

I have wanted to write this post for a while, but I kept putting it off because it is such an important topic  that I didn't want to mess it up. And then I realized, as with all my posts, nothing is perfect. It is more important for me to speak what's on my mind than be afraid to write it because it won't be perfect. 

Matt and I are constantly working on our marriage. Every single day we put in the effort to make sure our marriage stays alive.

"Marriage does not guarantee you are going to be together forever, it's only paper. It takes love, respect, trust, understanding, friendship, and faith in your relationship to make it last."- Unknown 

To do this, I often find inspiration through outside sources. I read blogs, I read books, I look at quotes on Pinterest, I listen to my parents, my church leaders, and pretty much anything and everything to help us with our relationship. 

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I want to share a secret with you- I am terrified of getting divorced. I know most people don't walk into a marriage thinking yeah I love this guy, but eh it would be okay if it didn't work out. 

But I feel like I am paranoid that one day I am going to wake up and think what the heck have I done and then just run away. 

Now that might be my slight anxiety talking, but it is a major concern in my life and because of it I chose to live hyper-viligant with my relationship with Matt. And I think that is okay. 

We work at this relationship every single day. And some days it is not pretty, and some it's the best thing ever. That is part of the work. Finding things for us that work. This is the purpose of the post- Helping others find something that works. 

So I wanted to share some of my inspiration on keeping my marriage alive and well. I am no expert; heck, I still consider Matt and I newlyweds, but I think any bit of advice can't hurt those feeling like they need a bit of something. 

Today I wanted to talk specifically about finding inspiration. I love finding things that make me want to be a better person, and the things I list below do exactly that!

1. Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman- Seriously one of the best books I have read when it comes to marriage. It's not too long and it gives great advice. If you are engaged or in a serious relationship, I encourage you to read it, and then of course talk to your loved one about it. 

2. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman- Uh, what can I say- I like Gary. This was not my favorite boot, but I do think it has a great message and has a lot of great points. I would also encourage reading this. {I will talk more in detail about this book at a later date.} 

3. Friday We're In Love- Ummm this blog changed my life. Well, maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but I love reading every post Camille writes. The purpose of Friday We're in Love is to document their Friday Night Dates. They strive to stay out of a 'business' like relationship with each other and really stay in love. And they do this through dating each other. This is something Matt and I are currently working on. We noticed that some days we would be in the same room all day and had barely spoken to each other. This really bothered us and we are trying to 'date' each other more often. 

4. A Blog About Love- written by Mara and Danny. The title says it all. I love Mara and Danny's story. I love their message, and I love their purpose for writing. This blog gives young couples, like Matt and I, and older more experienced couples plenty to think about in our own marriages and love. Every time I read this blog, I am inspired to be a better wife. 

Over the last two years, and through my research I have learned "Keeping love alive in our marriages is serious business."(Colman) This is the foundation of our lives, and we need to treat it as such. 

I am in no ways perfect, but I know that through hard work and constant active love towards Matt, we can get through any hard spot. 

I will try to post every so often about what Matt and I are doing to help our marriage of two years continue to grow. 

Until then, here's something to leave you with: 

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Love ya, 

Alex 

My Journaling Soul

The other day my father-in-law sent me this quote: “What is a diary as a rule? A document useful to the person who keeps it. Dull to the contemporary who reads it and invaluable to the student, centuries afterwards, who treasures it.” - Sir Walter Scott 

You guys know I love journaling, and documenting every part of our lives, but I wanted to get Matt more involved in the journaling process. So I did some research to find some manly ways to get Matt a journaling. I came across this great blog for all my manly readers out there, or more likely- the women to tell the men in their lives! The blog is called The Art of Manliness, and it is pretty awesome. The link sends you to to a post about man journaling, and gives many great suggestions on journaling. 

If you have a special man in your life they should at least attempt to read this. 

Anyway, I found a few journals that I thought were pretty cool. Some are great for the guy in your life, and some are probably just for women. I can't help it! I do a search on the internet to find stuff for Matt and, I always end up finding stuff that inspires me as well. 

The Book of Myself: A Do It-Yourself Autobiography

I think this would be great for the men. The book is so structured; it makes documenting your life easy. It's a good place to start it you want to get back into the journaling game. You can find this on Amazon for under $15. 

Poppin's Soft Cover Notebook with Gold Foil Initial 

I love these notebooks! These would be perfect as a his and hers type notebook. {I hoping to find these in our Easter baskets this year!} They come in white, black, and red.

Project Life 

Okay and for the ladies! I am so so so excited to share what I found today while reading one of the many blogs I follow! I found this journal/photo album/ scrapbook called Project Life. 

This product is made by Becky Higgins and looks awesome. I cannot wait to buy the starter kit! Basically, you pick your pattern of paper, some page protectors, a three ring binder and you are good to go. Scrapbooking and journaling have never been so easy. You can do snap shots of your week, month, day- whatever! And the finished products look so great! 

 I am thinking Matt and I will start one on our next big adventure. Seriously, how cool and easy does this look. They have all sorts of patterns and you can use it for anything: wedding, pregnancy, baby's first year, a yearly family update, etc. Get on board people! 

{image from the Product Life website.} 

What do you think about journaling? Do you think it's necessary? 

I know I do! 

Kids Say the Darndest Things

This week my mom called me to share a funny thing Jud did on his 'Man Date' with Barry. 

It was a typical Jud funny story, and I knew it needed to be documented. 

Friday night, Jud and Barry had a father son date out to dinner. Barry took Jud to The Varsity, a local fast food joint that Mom hates.

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The Varsity is one of those places that everyone in Georgia knows about. If you have visited Georgia and you never went to The Varsity, you missed out. And if you are planning to go to Georgia, the Atlanta location needs to be on your list of things you must visit.

Anyway, The Varsity has a location near our home and Jud and Barry often go there to get some hot dogs and fries.

One of the most famous things about The Varsity is their saying: "What'll ya have?"

And they say it really fast and they say it over and over- like this: What'll ya have what'll ya have what'll ya have?

And you go and order.

So Jud and Barry got to the restaurant and Barry said "Jud, wait right here and think about what you want to eat."

Then Barry turned around to take a call or do something and all of a sudden he heard:

"What'll ya have? What'll ya have? What'll ya have?" in a really loud voice that sounded a lot like Jud.

 Barry turned back around and there was Jud, at the counter with one of the Varsity hats on (see picture below), yelling "What'll ya have."

Oh that kid makes me laugh!

But the story gets better.

After they ordered their food and sat down Jud asked "So what language are they speaking?"

Barry: Who

Jud: The workers at the counter

Barry: Jud, that's English

Jud: Really?

Barry: Yeah Jud, it's English just with an accent.

Hahaha! So all this time Jud thought the people at the counter yelling "What'll ya have, What'll ya have, What'll ya have" were speaking a different language.

Gotta love that kid! 

Some Spring Inspiration

It's officially March, and Spring is not far off. It is hard for me to remember that most of the mainland is still in end of their Winter season because it  is 79 and sunny here on Oahu. 

While Spring is not my favorite season, I have seen a few really cute craft/ gift ideas I am loving and I wanted to share. 

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Happy March Y'all! 

Happy March

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Friday Flashback #41

When I was younger (around 3-5th grade) I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

I loved it so much that I was some what obsessed with the show and all things vampire related. 

I once told my mom when I turned 18 I was going to legally change my name to Buffy Fahey. 

And I was sure this would happen. 

But this isn't the worse of the obsession... I also kept a bunch of wooden stakes in a shoe box under my bed. (If I remember correctly, I stole these from different yards around my neighborhood.) 

Anyway, from time to time I would grab the stakes from under my bed and go outside and pretend I was killing vampires. It was awesome. 

On a side note, I also mailed in a letter to get a picture of Sarah Michelle Gellar to sign. When I got the signed picture back, I framed it and put it on my wall. 

What can I say: I was a strange kid.