birthday boy

My hubby just celebrated his 22nd birthday. 

Here's 22 things you may not know about him:

1. He only had his braces on for 6 months

2. He is a twin

3. He is a huge Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars nerd. :)

4. He is half Hispanic

5. He is very hit and miss when it comes to his bowling skills.

6. He taught himself how to play guitar. One time, he was in a band that opened for Mae

     

7. He doesn't need glasses or contacts

8. He has lived in California, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, and now Utah

9. He longboards and snowboards like a boss

10. He is a busser at Brick Oven

11. He snores when he sleeps on his back 

12. He is a smoothie-making master

13. He loves playing board games, especially Chess and Monopoly

14. He loves Calvin and Hobbes, Zits, and The Far Side comic books

15. He loves going on nature walks

16. He started writing a fantasy book when he was 9.  It was never completed. 

17. He can quote almost every episode of Spongebob

18. He was home-schooled most of his life

19. He has over 75 first cousins, many of which have been and are his best friends

    

20. He comes from a family of 9 

21. He can make anyone laugh. 

22. Everything about him is exactly what I need in a husband! He may not be perfect, but he's perfect for me.

For his birthday, we spent the evening winning tickets at Nickel City and eating crepes.

Oh. And we most definitely spent a good couple hours watching Parks and Rec (I got him season 2 for his birthday).

operation smile

I'd like to say I came up with the title for this blog post all on my own-That I'm writing about a deep thought I had on smiling more or something along those lines. But that's not exactly what happened. Instead, what happened is that I came across a very inspiring organization, which is sometimes just as cool. It is called Operation Smile.

Operation Smile is the largest volunteer-based surgical cleft organization in the word. If you get a chance, visit their website and find out what exactly it is that they do and in turn, what you can do. (You'll also get to see Tony Hawk as an old man!) wink, wink

Anyone can make a difference for a child-just like other people did for Diana

Watch the following video and hopefully you'll feel inspired like I was.

Wasn't that great? And guess what! It is very easy to donate. Just hop on the website, click the "donate" tab and fill out your card information like you would if you were online shopping. Come on ladies, if we can take the time to buy girly stuff online, then we can take the time to help someone out, right?
So do it!

Oh and another thing. I recently found out that Campus Book Rental donates a portion of each textbook rented to Operation Smile. So it's a win-win if you're really tight on money during school.
Here's what Campus Book Rental is all about:

I think one of the best things about Campus Book Rental (besides donating to Operation Smile) is that if you need to drop your class for any reason, or don't need the book any more, you can return the book back within 30 days for a full refund-no questions asked! I don't know about you, but I feel so much better knowing I'm not stuck with a book.

Anyway. Thank you for reading this blog post. I really hope you will take a chance to learn more about Operation Smile and donate if you can! I donated 10 dollars and I know by itself, it's not enough to pay for surgery, but if all those who are reading this post donate 10 dollars, then (if my math is correct) {I usually get about 25 views per post} that is just enough to pay for surgery. So let's do it ladies! (And gentlemen) let's make a difference in someone's life!

yesterday

Today was the first day of school which means yesterday was the last day of Christmas break. Yesterday was a great day. When yesterday was all said and done, I felt very content with how it was filled. To begin, it was the first sunday in a year that I didn't feel guilty for sleeping in (yay for 11:00 church), then i went to church and made a couple new friends, then back home where I began the task of making homemade bread. Before yesterday, I had tried making homemade bread probably 7 or 8 times. And I kid you not... all 7 or 8 of those times ended in disaster. Sometimes I would curse the heavens above asking why I couldn't make homemade bread. BUT THEN, yesterday, I found this recipe. And I did it... I, Leah Ruth Lott, made a successful batch of delicious homemade bread! I even ground up my own wheat to do it. {Ammon's mom gave me a wheat grinder} So there you have it folks, if you struggle making homemade bread like I did, you should try out this recipe!

Here's me grinding some wheat

Tuh-Duh!!

While making bread, I also made terryaki chicken for dinner. Then Ammon and I had FHE for the first time since being married (It is our goal to have it every week this year), then Nephi came over and we played lots of game (I finally won Monopoly), and then Ammon made us a cookies and cream milkshake for dessert. I can't think of a better way of spending my last day of Christmas break. And today wasn't too bad either. So far, I am really liking 2013. :)

new years resolution(s)

A lot of people have been posting their new year's resolutions--- a lot of which are really inspiring and creatively displayed. As I'm sitting here, trying to think of what mine are, I really only have one:

I want to read my scriptures every single day without fail. My younger brother made me a calendar for Christmas and I've decided to use it to mark every day I read my scriptures. I'm hoping that for the first time in my life, I can go a year without missing a single day and subsequently making it a life-long habit.

If I succeed, I think good things will come to pass in my life.{Such as growing closer to my Heavenly Father, becoming more knowledgeable about past prophets, and receiving peace during internal conflicts}

P.S. Of course I have other goals such as eating healthier, exercising more, being a wife that's easy to love, and loving people in general more. However, I know myself and I know there are just simply going to be days that I miss. {haha}

harry potter movie marathon!

Check out what I got for Christmas:

That's one more thing crossed off on the marriage bucket list
{it took us only 4 days}

I love, love, love the following song. Listen to it. Love it with me. And thank me later.

new year's eve

My new year's eve went a little something like this:

a little bit of this:

and this:

and definitely this:

 a lot of this:

but it's okay because I made a whopping amount of this:

then I got home just in time to see this:

then this:

and finally this:

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

2012 highlights

2012 highlights

i officially transferred to UVU. i dyed my hair 4 or 5 times.

i went to the dinosaur museum.

i got ENGAGED!
i hiked battle creek falls.

my testimony of the atonement grew stronger than ever. 

i survived getting an IUD. i planned a wedding.
i sang karaoke. i made new friends at school.
i got MARRIED! i hiked angel's landing.
i went horseback riding. i said goodbye to 2 cars and ammon's truck.
i read the hunger games and john grisham for the first time.
i took 2nd place in a chili cook-off.
i attended my first Christiansen family reunion. (and loved every second of it.)
i hiked to the summit of mt. Timpanogos. i was sore for 3 days straight.
i fell even more in love with my husband.
i bought a bus pass. i went rollerskating. i turned 22.
ammon got me my very own longboard.
i scored 123 in bowling. i started the elementary education program.
i tried zumba for the first time. i taught myself how to design my blog. i made a movie.
i learned how to do a sock bun.
i made a new friend (brianna). i fell in love with teaching all over again.
i became a team lead server at brick oven.
i survived my first semester of the elementary education program.
i saw the hobbit. i rode the frontrunner.
i stayed the night in salt lake city.
i tried ski-boards for the first time (and now i want my own pair). i survived the "end of the world"
i finished a harry potter movie marathon. (now i just need to run a real marathon.)

2012 was good to me. and i'll bet 2013 is going to be even better as i grow closer to my husband, graduate, and maybe even plan for a new family addition. :) only God knows exactly what's in store for me. i just hope i have the faith and courage to withstand any hardships that may come.