A Little Bit of Christmas...

Yahoo for Christmas! Our house is all decked out and we are starting the shopping. Yes, just starting and wishing we had been more prepared and done with shopping. Any good ideas for what to get parents? They always seem so tricky!

1 YEAR!

It has been 1 YEAR since Clay and I hopped onboard with Clay's family and decided to cut out all processed food from our diet. How has it been? I have loved it! I would never go back! At first it was tough, we didn't realize how much of our food was really processed. Even though I thought I ate pretty healthy, I came to realize I was putting a lot of things into my body that wasn't really good for it. Over the year we have become more educated on our food system and the way America has been trained to buy and eat food. We have been a little grossed out and have been educated a ton on food and our bodies! (One of our fav. books is In Defense of Food)

Things we changed:

• Unbleached Flour and Natural Organic Unbleached flour in all our cooking.
• No brand name things that have lots of extra ingredients and preservatives
• Less meat
• Rice Milk
• Everything made from scratch
• Lots of homemade snacks
• A new love for Costco, bulk bin grocery stores, and whole foods.

Things I have noticed that have changed:

• I feel better
• The grocery bill is way down (suprising I know!)
• My weight does not fluctuate the 5-8 lbs it used to.

And don't worry, we aren't perfect at all, we still occasionally go out to eat and enjoy dessert that for sure isn't good for you. But we changed a lot of things and have loved the changes...I am constantly looking for new recipes and ways of doing things, Anyone have any good foodie suggestions?

Remember the warm days?

A little while ago, for Clays birthday...okay a long while ago... we went golfing up at the Wasatch Golf Course. It was so beautiful!!! Then, because we weren't in a rush, we drove through the mountains from Midway to Brighton. We stopped to take a hike and enjoy the mountains. We really need to get out and enjoy nature way more than we do!!!

I love remembering the warm summer days on a cold and rainy day like today... is it bad that i am already anticipating the spring?

A really great day...

I just had to let out what a great day I am having today! (Since Clay is in Brazil I don't have anyone to tell the silly little things too, so I am telling the good old blog.) So, a great day... and nothing extraordinary happened! 1. I let myself sleep in... till 8:30. It was so nice!

2. I ate breakfast while watching the Today Show to catch a glimpse of Mandy, my sister in law. After a little she finally came on with Amanda Pete, reading a book to a bunch of kids. Cool!

3. I went to the dentist, and to my relief and great suprise...after 2 years of not being to the dentist... NO CAVITIES! Wahoo!

4. I went and hit the consigment stores in Salt Lake and the little table I have been wanting for the last few visits was still there! I finially just caved in and bought it:)

5. I visited the Design Center in Salt Lake to pick up some fabric samples and they were soooo sweet! I felt like a million bucks when I left with my wallpaper books and fabric swatches.

6. I talked to a great friend on the phone!

7. I ate lunch at a small and quaint thai restaurant on broadway and 350 W. I ate outside on the patio while reading the paper, it was nice.

8. Clay comes home tonight!

Touchpoint Conference and wondering about the Perfect Balance...

This past Thursday and Friday Jana and I were able to attend the Touchpoint Conference put on by Start up Princess. It is a conference for women in business that offers workshops and networking. We were lucky enough to be finalists in the video competition (Thanks to Clay:)

I loved attending the conference and meeting some really amazing women. There were so many people that had accomplished so many great things in business. The experience left me with with a lot of ambition and also a lot to think about. I loved being inspired and feeling like, "I can do this! We can make Opal Never Shouts succeed!" It also made me realize that I need to figure out where I want to end up. I don't really think that I want to be a huge success in business. I don't want the stress of it all, I don't want to commit the time that it takes and I don't want to sacrifice maybe as much as you have to. The last year, working at a design company, I really had my eyes opened to what I do not want to become. I saw priorities completely skewed and it was a huge lesson on what is important in life.

I want to be my definition of successful. I want to make Opal Never Shouts part of my life, not my entire life. I hope that it can grow big enough to give us a lot of fun projects, that I can continue to pursue my passion for design, and make a little money to travel.

Anyway, I absolutely loved attending Touchpoint and am excited to keep pushing our little design company. We made a few connections that will hopefully lead to a few new projects:)

This message hit the spot this morning as this week I have been reflecting on the spirit. I have been trying to spend more time in silence, driving to work with the radio off being able to think. Clay and I spent time up the canyon this weekend and we reflected on how amazing the mountains are for reflection and pondering. I hope to be able to spend more time feeling the spirit and give more opportunities to the Lord to direct my life. Gotta love these little mormon messages!

New House, New Job, New City, New Ward...

Wow, I hope that this isn't the trend for the rest of my life. It seems that the last three years I have completely changed my life every year. Each Spring/Summer I move to a new city, start a new job, move into a new place, establish myself in a new ward and all the other fun stuff that comes with starting over. This year it is Salt Lake City. We just moved to 5300 S. and 1300 E. into an apartment complex called Cobble Creek.

Moving was crazy and now I am left with piles of boxes that are having a hard time fitting into a one bedroom apartment. Cobble Creek seems nice - our neighbors may be drug dealers and our other neighbors smokestacks, but who doesn't love the crisp smell of cigerettes on the patio:) It is a gated community and as we were driving in the other night Clay stated, "O good, now we can gate all the scary people in so they can't get out." I thought it was funny.

We are currently renting out our house in Logan which made us decide to rent until we gain more of our bearings. Thinking of the future and wanting to design and build a little house - we decided to find a really affordable place - which lead us to Cobble Creek. We like the area and the apartment is pretty nice and roomy for the rent. And... we have a pool and tennis court!!! (With great intentions of using them often:)

Along with starting Opal Never Shouts, I took a job at "Fresh Air" as a phone answerer and mail person. "A job a monkey can do" stated my new boss. This sure makes a college graduate who has worked in their feild for two years feel really good about themself. But, a part time job to help with the travel and house fund is a good thing...

Despite all the crazy changes - we are excited to be down in Salt Lake. Excited for a little warmer winter, to see our friends who mostly live down here, the fun restaurants and shows downtown and a new adventure in life!

Clay is loving his new job with Fight the New Drug. He is keeping busy and making lots of contacts to push the campaign forward.

So here we are Salt Lake! Ready for the journey and aclimating to the changes. Bring on the monkey job!!!

I love this Chest!

I have been working on a post for the blog talking about Clay's Grandma's chest that she refinished and I am falling in love with it even more!!!! Ok, back to the post, I have to have it done by tomorrow! Check it out http://opalnevershouts.com