You know you grew up in the 90s when

You know you grew up in the 90s when:

You can finish all the lyrics to this song "In west Philadelphia born and raised..."
You collected every beanie baby you could get your hands on
You had at least one tamagotchi, one gigapet, or one nano baby
Mash was your favorite game to waist time in a boring meeting
You seriously considered naming one of your kids Tapanga
You played pogs in the alleyway at school and everyone was jealous you had the best Slammer in town
You got super excited for Oregon Trail day in computer class
Goosebumps was your favorite series
You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy the green Ranger, were meant to be together
You remember watching The Magic School Bus, Wishbone, and Reading Rainbow on PBS
You remember when Yo-Yos became the most popular thing around
You stayed up playing Mortal Kombat late into the night, learning secret codes that would turn your fighter into a tiger
Internet took forever to connect and the dial up sound was so annoying
You've Got Mail was the best chick flick around
All your school supplies was "Lisa Frank"
You collected all the troll dolls with bright hair, then the troll dolls with jewels came out and you collected those to
Caller ID came out and we had to screen every call
Light up Sneakers and a Walkman were your go to accessories
Crimping your hair every morning was a must
You had a poster of N*SYNC in your locker, in your bedroom, everywhere and Backstreet boys could never compare to them
Windows 95 was the best program
Your mom got the first motorola cell phone and you thought she was so cool
...Furbies
You know what a warhead is
Your bathroom was full of scrunchies and the side pony tail was your favorite hair-do
You remember when your friend cut off your side pony for fun
BRATZ dolls came out
Plaid shirts were in and DJ Tanner was your role model.

It's funny how certain trends keep popping back up, we see 90s style coming in full circle these days and soon enough everyone will be back to crimping their hair.
XO
Caitlin

Why I disagree with the popular article "Marriage isn't for you"...

Yesterday I went into Deseret Book and saw this little thing on one of the shelves:

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I wanted to throw something at it. I get why this idea is so popular, even if I don't like it. Seth Smith (the Author) describes marriage as being for the one you love, being for your future children, etc. It's a good image to paint, a marriage that isn't for you, it reminds you that you are supposed to be selfless and thinking about others happiness above your own. But I have different feelings about it. 

In my awesome, fun, rockin' marriage, Zack and I have an equal amount of selfishness and selflessness. Let me explain.

When we go to a restaurant I usually order salmon (its my favorite) and Zack usually orders Steak. We have different personalities. I like steak but love salmon. Zack hates salmon and loves steak. This is how our marriage works. I realize that without him our partnership wouldn't work, without  him being level headed our marriage would constantly blow up in flames due to my short fuse. Without him things just wouldn't work. Without him I would never get to try those few bites of steak because I always order Salmon. 

Marrying Zack was the best thing I did for me so I think that Marriage is for you and its for the one you love. 

Zack has made me a better person, he has taught me to let go of things in my past, forgive and forget. He's taught me to remember that people aren't always judging me, or gossiping about me, they usually have better things to do. 

Zack has made me feel and be aware of how much God loves me, because Zack loves me no matter what I do. Even if I don't look cute, or I 'm super grumpy in the morning (which always happen). 

Zack was the one there to help me when I had a miscarriage

Zack is the one there to hold me tight when I have nightmares all night. 

Zack is the one working hard all day so I have a comfortable life.
Zack completes me.
I wouldn't have gotten married if I didn't benefit from the situation, and I feel that a lot of agree. I wouldn't have gotten married if I wasn't going to be happy. Zack gives that to me, complete happiness. 

Maybe I am just being selfish but I know Zack would write a list just like this for me. 

So you see, my marriage was as much for me as it was for Zack. Together we make it  a selfless relationship.
It's okay if you don't think you are ready for marriage, don't feel guilty about that. Marriage is a huge, life altering decision. My advice in that situation would be to think about what would life be like if your boyfriend or girlfriend wasn't there anymore. Would you be happy? Would you be longing for them to be with you? Other questions to ask: Will this person make me grow? Will this person love me unconditionally? Will I love this person unconditionally? Will this person work through problems or run away? All good things to think about when considering getting married.
 I think that Marriage is a two-way street. Each of you has to give 100% to your marriage. It's not for one person to give 100 and another to give 50 but both of you have to actively participate to make it work.
I probably never would have married if I didn't know that I would be happier in the end, or had some benefits in the future. I have had to put a lot of dreams on hold for the time being because I have a family now (it may just be Zack but it's still a family). So remember, Marriage IS for you and its for the one you love. Don't believe anything different.

XO 

Caitlin

P.S. If you don't agree with me on this that's okay, also if you think I am super selfish that's okay too. Maybe I am :)

LDS General Conference: The 411

The 411 on LDS General Conference

At this time of year many of your LDS (Mormon) friends are starting to get excited about General Conference coming up in October. I can always count on General Conference being the first weekend of October and the first weekend of April. It never changes. 

Recently the church leaders (including a board of women) decided on creating a general world wide meeting for all women ages 8 and up. This meeting will be held this month Saturday, September 27 at 6:00 pm. It will be broadcast live on lds.org, and on BYUTV. I recommend you sit down and watch some of it. The talks are intended to inspire and uplift women throughout the world, whether you are LDS or not. I always love the talks about faith, sisterhood, integrity, virtue, endurance, and hope. Sometimes in life we just need some of that inspiration. And right now, with the way the world is, I definitely think we need that inspiration. 

This is one of my favorite quotes from the meeting:

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Now onto the rest of General Conference. It will be held on Saturday and Sunday October 4 and 5. With general sessions being each day at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Again it will be broadcast live and if you are wondering exactly where it will be at click HERE for more information. 

What is General Conference:

General conference happens twice a year, and has been happening twice a year since 1867.

All the leaders of the LDS faith get together at the tabernacle on temple square and give us messages to help us in this day and age. The prophets and apostles pick their own topics (they aren't assigned) and submit their talk 3 weeks prior to general conference. Sometimes conference has a theme, or you may notice that a lot of talks are about a certain subject such as family history, or forgiveness, or family. I think it is interesting that the prophets and apostles really pick their talks out before hand, through prayerful fasting and consideration. They are really focusing on the needs of the people, what we need to hear to uplift our spirits and give us a rejuvenation for our souls. 

I just love conference and I really hope you will sit down and watch at least one talk. 

I love getting direction in my life. Sometimes they warn us of things to come, but mostly they give us advice and council on how to gain true happiness in this life. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes from past talks that have come through general conference:

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XO

Caitlin

Would an Idiot do that....

Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking, I know terrible thing right. Well I have been offered a job, a really good job, not particularly in my field but the people at the company love me (I have worked for them before), I would be able to get a raise and they are offering the same benefits I have now. I have been trying to decide if changing jobs would be the right thing to do.
While trying to decide I have been contemplating a lot about what God wants me to do. I don't know but whenever a big decision comes my away He is usually one of the first I consider when I think about how a decision will affect the future.
Today I got the feeling that I should go ahead and take the job offer. After I made that decision I have been extremely happy all day, I just feel its the right choice to make and I will eventually be telling my coworkers tomorrow about the change.
For now some more funny office quotes, because well they make me laugh:

(Best Day EVER when the Office used Harry Potter)

I love The Office. Until next time. 

XO

Caitlin

Summer Reads

I love to read you guys. Reading is probably one of my favorite things and I am so grateful to my mom for instilling this passion into me. I always remember her reading, sometimes in the kitchen in between cooking different food for dinner, sitting on the blue stool consumed by a good book. She read to us before we went to bed and I am grateful I inherited this same passion and love for reading.

Summer is the best time for reading, I love sitting by the pool with a good book, or in a tent while camping. One of my favorite memories is as a teenager I brought up an anthology book of Jane Austen works and read Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park all in one week. Reading helped get me through my depression, when it was really bad and to this day I know that I can always count on a good book to help me through tough times. 

A few books I have read this summer and have thoroughly enjoyed:

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A sweet love story about a girl and a boy who spend a day in New York together. All they have is that one day, and its neat to watch the story unfold of their friendship and love. This was a book that relaxed me at the end of the day.

For those of you who love murder mysteries:

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I love the main character in this series, Sadie Hoffmiller. She is a little nosy as a neighbor and a little too neat and perfect, the story was captivating and Kilpack through in curve balls when I least expected them. A great read if you like to work through the story to find out who did it. 

For those of you who love regency era novels:

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Loved this novel, very similar to Jane Eyre, but more on the lighter happier side. It left me smiling and wanting more. Luckily for me there was another book that came out this year by the same author:

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A fascinating story much like Mansfield Park, in my opinion, except again on the lighter side and easier to read. I loved everything about this book, especially the talk of birds and landscapes, it painted pretty pictures in my head for me. 

And because I was on a kick of reading works written by mainly LDS authors, I had to read Austenland:

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A wonderful take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, it really puts the romantic twist on an innocent adventure taken by a girl overly obsessed with Mr. Darcy. A good read for any Jane Austen fan. And for those of you who like this book and have already read it, make sure to check out:

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A great companion to Austenland but with completely new characters. 

And for a great comedic laugh which everyone needs once in a while:

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A hilarious book showcasing how strange American culture has really become. 

For my Y.A. readers and to keep up with the current trends:

The Selection Series

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These books are based on a mix between Divergent and The Bachelor. A great read for all those teenage girls out there and any teachers who want to know what the hype was all about. It took me about 3 hours tops to read all the books and I would bet a movie is on its way. 

There you have it, my summer reading list. 

XO

Caitlin