Living and Loving with Lacey

This year was a BIG birthday year for me. The dreaded 30! I turned this back in March and still, I may be in denial. Heck, I still think I'm only 22. Insert T. Swift's song here . Even though I don't think I ever had an evening like Taylor described in her song, because I've had kids throughout my entire 20's... I'm sure I can pretend! Or maybe just the dancing like I'm 22 😂😁😝 Anyway, I had a dear friend recently make a goal to lose 30 pounds by the time she was 30, and she did it! I'm so incredibly proud of her and her amazing progress, she's always been a beauty but now she feels beautiful (after two kids, that is incredible for her!). Anyway, it made me think of the things I wish I would've known by the time I turned 30 this year. Most of them (luckily) I had learned -some the hard way, see previous post on love life . If you are over the age of 30, feel free to either keep reading or go back to other posts or enjoying knowing all that yo

There is a need. A huge need in our rural communities. One that I didn't even know existed until I quit my job with the university (4-H) and started subbing. Our local schools need substitute teachers. I am sure many other areas are in dire need of these individuals as well. I have been asked so many times, "How do you like subbing?" And my answer is always, "I LOVE it!" Here are 10 reasons why I do. No stress- okay, maybe not "No stress" but let's be real here, we as subs go into a classroom that already has a routine down and we are merely mortals. There are always a few wonderfully honest students in the classroom that will help you along if you have questions on basic routines of the classroom.  The staff are always happy to see you. Like really. No lie. I think the fact that they know another willing victim volunteer is taking the time to come and help at their school, they are happy to see you.  The teachers are so helpful! They u

Senior Photo Circa '07 So... confession time. Shoot, it's not really a confession, since I have not lied to you before. But still, let's have a real talk. Before the rings and white dress and before all of our family and friends, the Big Love and I said our vows, I dated. A lot. Like not in a bad way, but I LOVED dating. {Better grab some popcorn, as this is quite the long love story} High School was SO much fun with great friends! I grew up in a wonderful valley. It's small and filled with the best people. Yes, I am 100% bias but I'm okay with that. Within this valley is a large population of LDS people. For those that are not familiar with the Latter-Day Saint religion there are standards that are set within the religion to help youth navigate the fun and exciting world of dating. One of the standards set is that youth will not engage in dating until they are 16 years of age. I had a really strong group of friends when I was in school that all followe