A Day in the Life of a Simple Girl

My parents' second update from their mission in Nauvoo. They got lost, explored the area, and got to experience their first tornado warning.

Here is my parent's first email update about their mission in Nauvoo. They're having a great time and doing a lot of fun things.

Digital house hunting can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Following a few simple tips can make the process smooth and easy.

One of the benefits of Covid is the widespread ability for employees to work from home. This has opened up a world of possibilities. Literally. Many people are enjoying the option of working from anywhere they would like. If my job would allow me to work out of state, I would definitely look at moving to the UK. I loved my time there and would really enjoy going back long-term. If I were to go…

Online card games can help you take a break from life while having fun. You can stick with old favorites, or try something new!

Lately, with work and life being so stressful, I’ve been enjoying taking a break from the world by playing some online card games. I play video games with Tim sometimes, but I’m not a huge video game person. I prefer card and board games. It’s nice to play with groups of friends, but sometimes it’s nice to just chill by myself and play against an AI. One of the websites I like to play on is…

Spending the day in Washington for Will's baptism and quality time with the kids. It was a very long, but very fun, day.

Last weekend, we went up to Washington for Will’s baptism. It was such a special day, Tim getting to baptize and confirm his son and then spending the rest of the day hanging out with all the kids. Definitely a long day, but also a very fun day. Driving to Washington The baptism was at 10am, which meant we had to leave around 6am to get up there, find the church, change into our church clothes,…

75 Hard is a fitness challenge designed to help people make healthy lifestyle changes. This is my second attempt at the challenge.

Recently, I have started doing a fitness challenge that says it isn’t a fitness challenge called 75 Hard. It’s a unique challenge. Most of the fitness challenges I’ve done in the past have been 30-day challenges and they usually focus on one exercise or a just the exercise aspect. What I like about this challenge is that it’s lengthy and is focused on making lifestyle changes. It’s not just about…

It's been a bit since I've written an update. Here's a short blurb about how life has been going lately.

It has been a looooooooooooong time since I’ve written and I’m trying to get back into it. I’m aiming to do weekly life updates on Sunday and random other posts periodically. I also need to do a post about our wedding, how Tim and I met, how it is being a stepmom, and all the fun projects we’ve done. I will get those done. For today, I’m sticking with a rundown of how life is going and what…

Stress is something we all deal with every day. Here are some simple ways to reduce stress and live a more satisfying life.

The last year and a half have been rough. A pandemic, businesses shutting down, schools closing, families having to struggle with managing virtual school while also working from home, masks, product shortages, difficulty paying bills, restrictions being lifted only to be tightened a few weeks later, the drama over vaccines. It really has been a rough year and a half. Even as we tentatively start…

Buying a house long-distance can be daunting. Here are some tips to help you make the best of a unique situation if you can't be there in person.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re well aware that we’ve been stuck under the cloud of Covid-19 for the last year. Life was put on hold for months in the beginning with people too afraid to do much. Once it became clear that the initial pandemic pauses were going last longer than originally thought, people began to realize they could do most jobs at-home. This has spurred a desire to…

My Victim Impact Statement

Yesterday I had the opportunity to read my Victim Impact Statement to the court when Lonny Benson was sentenced after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting me. It was hard to do and really stressful, but I did it. Tim was able to stand up with me and I’m so thankful to have had his calming presence. He has been such a blessing through all of this. And now it’s all over. Well, the legal part. I…

I've always loved fun socks and have tons in my drawer. Recently, I bought some new socks and am so excited to share about them!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love socks. Like, I REALLY love socks. Especially fun socks. I actually have two drawers of socks and I just got a few more. 😬 These new socks, though, are pretty great. These are the coveted knee-high tube socks from Chrissy’s.

Chrissy’s socks come in a variety of colors and styles. The knee-high version comes in vintage tube socks, argyle, stripes, animal…

Debt can be intimidating, especially in the current climate. Here are steps you can take to create a budget and reduce your debt.

Here we are, on the last day of August, and the disruption to daily life from the pandemic is still going. Did you think we’d still be in this state six months after it all began? I certainly did not. I thought it would be 3 months, 4 months tops, and life would be back to normal. 6 months later, though, and there are still people without jobs. Some businesses have reopened, but on a much smaller…

CulinarySchools.org has a library of food and cooking-themed games ready to help kids learn more about food and the food industry. Here is my review of the games available on their site.

With so many places still shut down, parents are having to spend more and more time finding ways to keep their kids occupied while trying to get some work done. I’m sure it’s stressful for a lot of families to balance doing their own jobs from home, taking care of the home, making sure the kids are getting their homework done, making sure the kids are practicing things they’ve learned, helping…

Calculators.org has a library of math and logic games ready to help kids learn and improve their skills. Here is my review of the games available on their site.

By now, pretty much everyone has their kids at home and is having to take a crash course in homeschool of one form or another. I’m sure it’s stressful for a lot of families to balance doing their own jobs from home, taking care of the home, making sure the kids are getting their homework done, making sure the kids are practicing things they’ve learned, helping kids with homework, and keeping kids…

Life gets busy and time always seems to get away from me. Here's a little rundown of what happened in my life last year.

I can’t believe that in 2 days it will have been a year since I last wrote a blog on here. I’ve started a few, just haven’t finished any. Sometimes I didn’t really feel like writing and other times I just got super busy. Now that I’ve got some free time, I’ll catch you all up on how last year went.

JANUARY

January was a bit of a rough month. I worked on some training videos at work during…

The arraignment and how the day went for me.

I thought about writing this later, but figured if I don’t do it now, I won’t do it at all. So, here goes.

Today was Lonny’s arraignment for sexually assaulting me. Some might wonder why I put it that way. Well, because that’s what he did. That is his crime. For a while I used to just say he hurt me because it was easier and less confrontational, in a way. But it diminished the reality of…

My 2018 #MeToo Story, Update #1

It’s been a while since I last wrote, but that’s okay. I’m still struggling with depression and feeling like there’s too much on my plate, even though there really isn’t that much. But when you’re struggling with stuff like this, even little things can seem overwhelming. A lot of days I do okay and am just kinda ‘meh,’ but there are also days on either side of the spectrum. I have fantastic days…