Holy updates Batman!

So oh my heck, I haven't written in a minute! Let's get these updates rolling!!!

OK so when I last left you lovely readers of mine, I had informed you that I was coping with my new diagnosis of Myofascial Pain Syndrome(for sake of typing, I'll use MPS).  This journey has been really quite scary to be honest. I didn't know how badly I would react to the medication that was prescribed to me. I am already  on a high dosage of 300 mg 3 times a day of Gabapentin. This medication makes me feel like I am in a haze all day long, which makes it incredibly difficult sometimes to focus on work, school, and life in general! It makes it really hard to even notice if the pain is actually subsiding, which is the whole point I am taking the darn medication. So here is to hoping that some kind of tolerance will be built up to the effects of this medication so I can begin to move forward in my journey of living with MPS. 

Moving on!

Phil and I got to do an awesome photography session in early November. HUGE shout out to FotoFly in Draper. I could not believe how much I fell in love with these. Here are a few of my favorites!

Phil and I were lucky enough to spend the weekend before Thanksgiving in sunny Gilbert, Arizona with my mom's side of the family. This was something I had been looking forward to for nearly 6 months because I would be with my family for my birthday for the first time in 5 years, and not to mention there was the baptism of my awesome cousin Gunner and baby blessing of my newest Cousin Lucy!

This is the adorable Lucy! she was a whopping 5 weeks old! I couldn't get over how freaking sweet she was with her smiles and little squirms! Ahhh!!! Talk about ramping up my baby hungry feels!

This is Andrew! He is Lucy's big brother and we didn't get to know each other very much from him being young but we got to have quite a bit of fun with each other! 

I wish I could post every picture of my cousins, but alas, when you have like 25... yeah, it probably won't happen. So I was happy with what I got. 

The B-E-A-UUUUUTIFUL Gilbert Temple. I was able to do a session the day after my birthday, which also happens to be my late grandfather's birthday. I had always had felt a closeness with him from the fact that we shared our birthdays so close to each other, and lets face it, we partied the right way, with Pumpkin pie! 

Going to the temple that morning put me in such a special spirit for the rest of the day because Gunner was being baptized that night and Lucy was going to be blessed too! It was really neat that they would be able to share those special dates with Grandpa's birthday. 

I wish I had photos to post from the baptism, but I'll confess... I was a blubbering mess. There is just something special I felt there that day, that I couldn't contain myself. Granted, it wasn't just me being a waterfall of emotions. I saw that the rest of my family was choked up quite a bit. There was the sweetest, strongest spirit in that room as Gunner was Baptized and Lucy was blessed, and I felt so close to not just my grandfather, but my mom and dad because in my heart, I knew they were there. Even now talking about this experience makes me misty-eyed because it was the first time in who knows how long that I felt such a closeness to my parents and rest of my family. 

ok enough with the sappy stuff!

Thanksgiving was simple, nothing crazy happened. Ate Turkey, stuffing, and all the fixins. 

CHRISTMAS!!!!

We got to spend time with Phil's side of the family and got to go see some movies and got some pretty neat gifts. But again, very quiet and relaxed. 

So Now that we are in January, I know everyone was doing resolutions and such. One major one Phil and I wanted NEEDED to do, was clean/organize our bedroom. You would think that the most intimate room in your house would be kept in ship shape? NOPE. 

This was our cluttered, disorganized, unromantic master bedroom. 

Gross. 

The biggest change that needed to be made was our bed, closet, and organization of clothes. 

So we got a new bedspread, cleaned out about 4 garbage bags of clothes, and organized our dresser. now we have a much more clean, open and intimate bedroom. I am SOOO Happy with the changes. 

The next thing that happened in January that was incredibly exciting was.....

I officially graduated with my Associates. 

I know, I've been going to school for FOREVER... and while it seems insignificant to some, this is a huge step for me after all the mishaps, trials, and time off over the last almost 3 years. This means that my bachelors is now within my grasp (3 full-time Semesters).  Something my godmother told me that teared me up, was that my parents would be proud, regardless if it was my Associates or my Bachelors. I knew how important my education was to my parents, and that has been a driving force behind getting it done. I hope to finish my sociology degree in the next 3 semesters and be done!

So, that's what going on in the Betteridge world! My other resolution is going to be to do at least some kind of weekly post, and it'll probably be filled with more pictures of Boomer and FOOD! I have found my passion for cooking and I (and Phil) are reaping the benefits of my cooking more than I ever have before! 

So Stay tuned for more! 

Until then, Peace!