Hobbies!

Since last year was wedding planning and this Winter didn't really offer up any hobbies that I really loved (unless you count shoveling snow...bring on the workout!) I have been itching to really get into something new. My recent hobbies are mostly fitness, smaller crafts, complaining about Winter, and cooking. But it's time for something new and bigger (and warm weather)!

 So I decided that since I have my own home now I am going to get into some gardening.

My sweet sis-in-law, Rachel, also wanted to give gardening a go so we decided to go for it! So far we have planted just about every veggie you can think of along with some herbs and flowers. It's only been a few days and the broccoli has sprouted :)

(I stole this picture from Rachel.)

We are so proud ha ha! A friend is giving us 3 raised garden beds because she no longer needs them. When it warms up more in the next couple of the months we will transfer them over. I love fresh veggies and herbs!

 At my house I am going to plant a perennial flower garden bed on the side of my house. I absolutely LOVE flowers so I am hoping that I actually have a green thumb! I also want to do some sort of cute flower bed or stone work on the sides of my front steps. Right now they are just dirt and it's very shaded so not much will grow there. I'm thinking of some sort of cool pebble designs and then having some potted flowers that I can put there and move to sunny spots when needed. 

That pretty much sums up what I have been dipping into lately. Kevin has been brewing away! He is ready to take his brewing to the next level. Once we get some things more established and do a bit more research our plan is to one day open up a brewery here in Ogden. SLC has plenty, and aside from Roosters and Ruby River, Ogden could use another one ;)

If you don't know by now, Griffins absolutely LOVE beer. No, not in the get-white-girl-wasted kind of way, or your typical Budweiser, Miller, Coors,etc. brews. Not that it's bad to like those, but they lack flavor to me. Although, I don't mind a Budweiser Lime or Corona w/lime on hot summer day! We enjoy good beer and love trying different styles when they come out. Kevin has really enjoyed brewing his own beer and is very good at it. Brewing is not easy and it takes research, patience, and a bit of chemistry to make a good batch.

Lately, he has been really trying to master making a stout that hasn't had this odd aftertaste. Just picture basically sucking on a tea bag. That too bitter taste! This has been happening because the minerals in the water throwing off the balance of the batch. I don't know all the proper terms, I'm learning still haha!

So this his kind of been his challenge to take on and solve. His other beer, a pale ale, he recently brewed is so good. It's probably my new favorite!!

Recently Kev built his own "Keezer"! We found a great deal for a chest freezer on ksl and he painted it and built the wood collar. He then put in taps and has his soda kegs (he uses them for the beer, much easier and convenient than bottling) hooked up the tap handles. Beer on tap! Now we just need to have a bbq with friends/family so people will come drink it. It's a lot of beer for just two people!

Here's a pic of the Keezer

This is the only pic I have so far available to put up. This is when he just barely got it finished. It looks so nice, and it also has some handles on the taps now.

I'm so proud of Kevin because when he gets ideas and plans, he does them! I lack motivation pretty much alllll the time. He motivates me to put my ideas into projects and goals. 

So there it is. Maybe one day you will be coming into our brewery to enjoy a nice cold beer :)

A little update...

I found my camera floating around in the abyss of my overly large purse. After looking through it I found that I actually took some pictures and have record that me and Kev actually do stuff ha ha. I'm still working on my goal of taking more pictures because I love looking at pictures and memories :) So although these pictures may be from over the past year (2012), I at least have them and the stories to go with them that will be going into our yearly book :)

 These pictures were from last February (2012). For fun one weekend, me and Lauren went to see the band Hot Chelle Rea in the Venue in SLC. It was pretty fun, and the band actually plays really well. I was impressed! Anytime I get to hang with this girl is always a blast! She is such an amazing cousin, friend, and so beautiful inside and out. Love her!

 

 Kev and I LOVE hikes. I always pretty much die most of the way through them, but I'm always willing to put myself through the torture to be able to 1. Spend time with my love. 2. See some sweet views! 3. Remind myself that it's these moments why I need to work on my cardio. 4. Remind myself why I hate cardio. 5. Forget cardio. F*** cardio. 6. Getting outside and soaking up the sun!

Small drive and hike at Causey

 Hike up on the bench above Harrison

 For Kevin's 25th Birthday I called up close friends and his siblings to meet up at Rooster's in Layton and have some dinner and beers. Thanks to everyone that was there, I know he loved it!

 

 

So. Not much, but now I have some events recorded down. Apparently I don't love any of my nieces and nephews and spaced taking any birthday pics. I also spaced all the bbq's, boating, camping, etc. Just know that we really do have lives.

 I decided to just go ahead and make/order a book that has our wedding and honeymoon vacation separate from this blog. It takes too much time to write a giant post of each of them. And yes, I'm that lazy.

I also am realizing that I'm not really sure why I am explaining myself right now, ha ha.

Encouragement

This morning I woke up at 6am and slowly and reluctantly crawled out of bed and went to the gym. Aside from it being -1314535 outside, it was so nice to be back in there lifting and sweating again :)

However, after 10 min on the stair master I could only think,"Am I back in shape yet????" 

Stair master:1 Me:0. Maybe next time.

One of the great things I love about the gym isn't just to relieve stress and "get away" for some me time, but to actually spend time in prayer. It's my time where I am by myself and think about how God is using me, where he wants me, and what I can do to be a greater servant for Him, my husband, family/friends, church, and others. Sometimes it's incredibly great and I feel so thankful for the blessings I have been given and that I know what He wants from me on certain days. Then other days I'm feeling overwhelmed and wondering what the heck He wants of me, 1 in 8 billion people, to do and if He really needs me?

So, this morning I decided to read in the book of Acts since that is where we are studying in church. Two verses stood out the most to me and I know God wanted me to register these. 

The first one is Acts 3:25-26

"You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness."

This verse is a great reminder. We are the generation from Abraham and his sons. What a gift and blessing to know that Jesus came and lived the perfect life and died for US. That God made this covenant so long ago, knowing we were in this promise and in His plan. There are times where I feel so small and maybe even forgotten at times, but to know that I, 1 out of billions of people, am loved unconditionally and that He has and never will forget me. Same goes for you who is reading this post. I know some of you Christians reading this can feel rested, reminded, and reassured knowing that we have the free gift of the Holy Spirit because we believe and follow this promise that was followed through. And I would encourage anyone who is searching or wondering about who God is to follow through on those questions you may have. Do some research and lots and lots of prayer. Prayer is so powerful. 

The next verse is Acts 4:29-31

"And now Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

This was great for me because it shows the apostles asking God for boldness. So many times I think I should have it together by now and be able to witness to people confidently. When the time comes around where I have the opportunity to share the Gospel; I am confident in what I believe and am saying, but nervous about if I am explaining it correctly for them to understand. I also get so nervous about how they will react.  But what made this verse realistic to me was that the apostles were being real. I can only imagine witnessing back then. There was such harsh punishments that happened and also facing the authority and speaking for their actions. Boldness would definitely be the thing to ask for! Especially for the new believers. If I lived back then and had just got saved and had to go out and spread the Word I probably would be pretty flippin scared. So this verse encouraged me that I need to also ask for boldness. To help me be confident when witnessing. Simple as that. I love learning how God used the apostles to be an example for us and that we should learn from their actions that God called them to do. And as far as how people react, you just can't control that. All that is in God's hands.

Hope this encouraged anyone reading this and that you find it helpful like I did.

:)

Happy Flippin New Year!

I feel like it's been months since I have posted anything. 

Oh wait.

It has been.

Well my new year resolution is to blog more! Ha...no it's not. But! I do want to make an effort to update once a month because I really do want to be able to go back and read our whole fantabulous crazy odd life years down the road. And for our children to be able to see the proof that their parents are totally awesome.

;)

All the Holidays were great and fun and full of craziness and mayhem like they always are. Sometimes I felt like this:

Happy as a clam. Enjoying the holiday spirit and seeing family and friends, and putting up our first Christmas tree as a married couple. Aww tender...I know! I'm a super genius and didn't take pictures. Go me! I absolutely LOVE picking out Christmas trees, decorating, all the parties, and of course Christmas music :) I love all the treats, food, and beverages I can stuff my little face with and giving gifts to friends and family.....and receiving them. Haha! You know you do too...admit it.

Ok moving on. Then other times I felt like thiiis:

 

Like I was going to lose my shit. First off, Christmas shopping. I'm not talking about shopping for our loved ones. I'm talking about other shoppers. They are coo-coo for cocoa puffs. Also, people who drive like they skipped drivers ed and decided to take it up on Riverdale road everyday of December. Anyone else agree? 

All in all it was a great Christmas! We hung out with family on both Christmas Eve and Christmas and we were so spoiled. I absolutely love all my family and friends and there is something about Christmas that makes life so fun and yep...I'm about to say it... magical. Most of all I love Christmas because of the meaning of it. Jesus our Savior! That Jesus...He's such a great guy. I help watch kids on Sunday at church and was scheduled to serve the Sunday before Christmas. It was so fun to teach the kids about Jesus and do crafts with them. It's the best to see their little eyes light up and get so excited to tell you about Him. I have been absolutely blessed this past year with so many events and opportunities and people in my life. I thank God for everything He has put in my life, and especially of the TIMING of everything. His timing and plan is perfect. 

New Years Eve was pretty fun hanging out with friends and playing board games. Kev and I were sick with this stupid PLAGUE that is going around, so on New Year's Day he slept and I watched Netflix pretty muuuuuuuuch all day, and like the whole first week of this month. Now we are back to work and normal life again. Well....I'm not sure how normal we are. Who really is?

So after all the Holidays I guess I kinda felt like this after: 

Yep.

I hope you all had amazingly fun Holidays and that 2013 will treat you well! 

Oh.

My resolution(s) this year: 1. Take more pictures. Sheesh I am a slacker.

2. Clean eating/working out. Yea. Reeeeaaaal original! But I haven't been in 2 months and I miss it.

3. And maybe stop being a hermit.....the snow doesn't help though.