Hello

 

 

 

// The side effects of birth control vary from woman to woman. I am delighted to say that I have not experienced weight gain or dramatic mood swings. However every night at 11pm precisely I get nauseous feelings in my stomach. I read the pamphlet that came with the pills, apparently this is normal? I just remind myself that it could be worse.

 

// If I were to change one thing about myself it would be the color of my eyebrows. They are blonde, technically speaking. I take the liberty of coloring them in everyday. I choose to not be eyebrowless when I go to public places. It would be nice though if I didn't have to go through that process everyday though. On the other hand blonde hair is great in the sense I can go three months without shaving my legs and no one notices.

 

// I am going to Disneyland on my honeymoon. Can I get a HECK-to-the-yeahhh.

 

// So there was this weird moment today when I got on facebook and saw pictures of a girl I knew (pretty well, mind you) from high school in a wedding dress, standing next to a boy in a tux, outside of the temple. Oh you got married. I had absolutely no idea, until today... when I got on facebook... I would like to think that this is because I am simply out of the loop and not because I am too lame to be told things anymore. Thank goodness for social media. I would know nothing otherwise.

 

// Is it just me or does every girl from the class of 2011 either have a ring on their finger or a mission call in their hand? I mean come on people. Let's spread out our good news. Nothing exciting is going to be happening anymore because we are all deciding to do all exciting things at once!

 

 

This One's For You

Hey hot stuff.

 

 I don't know what I did to deserve a man like you but all I know is that I got the best. I'll admit when I first met ya I had no idea you were the one, but slowly as I fell in love I realized there just couldn't be anyone else.

 

I remember the first time I realized I loved you. It was when we were picking huckleberries, remember? And then that night we curled up in a blanket on your front lawn and looked at the stars and I told you. I told you I loved you and you said it back and I felt like the luckiest girl alive.

 

You're everything to me and I want to shower you with kisses for the rest of my life and longer too.

 

You're the best man I ever knew. You're sweet and kind and full of love. You forgive so freely and are a friend to everyone. I love that about you.

 

I cannot wait until December 29th when I get to kneel beside you and be sealed together forever. Here's to our life. It's going to be a wild, but very happy adventure.

 

Love, Me

On the Subject of Love: Kissing

Kissing a strange ritual in which two people decide to put their lips together.

Think back to your first kiss. Shuffling feet, nervous sweat, weak knees. Feelings of nervousness, uncertainty and excitement surely were present. And then it happened, your lips met anothers and you probably went home thinking that it really wasn't as scary as you thought it would be. Unless of course your braces interlocked, then it really was that bad.

The average person will spend about 20,000 minutes (or around two weeks) of their lives kissing.

Clearly there must be something about kissing we enjoy if we are so willing to spend that much time doing it.

"A passionate kiss acts like a drug, causing us to crave the other person thanks to a neurotransmitter called dopamine. This is the same substance involved in taking illegal substances such as cocaine, which is why the novelty of a new romance can feel so addictive. Dopamine is involved in sensations of reward, making us feel intense desire that can lead to feelings of euphoria, insomnia, and loss of appetite, and it is only one actor in the great chemical ballet happening in our bodies. And then there are physical changes. A kiss can cause our blood vessels to dilate, our pulse to quicken and cheeks to flush. Our pupils grow wide, which is likely one reason that so many of us are apt to close our eyes. In other words, the body's response mirrors many of the same symptoms frequently associated with falling in love."

taken from http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/14/opinion/kirshenbaum-science-kissing/index.html

 

 

So I suppose Ke$ha wasn't that far off. Your love, your love, your love is my drug.

 

But honestly not every kiss feels quite that heavenly. So who's responsible?

 

Your nose, that's who.

 

Your olfactory system plays a much bigger part in kissing and determining your committment afterward than you think.

 

While kissing women and men can smell pheremones in each other. While we may not be doing this in total conciousness, we instinctively are able to tell how compatible are DNA may be through this smelling process.

 

Putting bad breath aside, that may be why after a kiss you don't feel quite like you're flying sky high - your DNA just wasn't compatible.

 

How interesting.

 

Some classic kisses:

 

 



 

Kissing is truly a wonderful thing, and it has stress reducing effects, so no wonder society likes it so much.

 

For more on kissing:

 

My First Kiss Ever:

Part One: http://www.hannahelizabethabbott.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-first-kiss-part-1.html

Part Two: http://www.hannahelizabethabbott.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-first-kiss-part-2.html

My First Kiss With My Fiance':

 http://www.hannahelizabethabbott.blogspot.com/2012/10/kiss-me.html

 

 

Smitten

I did not even know they made mittens such as these. Mittens made for couples who really want to hold hands.

They are called smittens, and rightfully so.

Oh the things people come up with.

Really this type of thing just makes me laugh, like snuggies and pajama jeans.

I mean, really? It's kind of awesome.

Beauty is Pain

You guys, I am pretty much getting the best Christmas present there is.

and i'm not talking about my two front teeth

23 more days, people.

Apparently I find great joy and entertainment by taking pictures of myself attempting to create numbers with my fingers.

Did you know that in the medievel times women used to rub pee on their faces in an attempt to fade their freckles? Also people used to bleed themselves out to acheive paler skin. Will we women stop at NOTHING to achieve beauty?!

I'm glad we don't practice such things anymore. I like modern cosmetics. I also like googling the history of makeup. It really is quite fascinating.

Tara and I blew a circuit today. Each of us had plugged in a straightener while simultaneously blow drying our hair. That has never happened to me before. It was a grand experience, but I was grateful when Brooklyn walked down to the fuse box and flipped the bathroom switch so we could continue our beauty routines.

I am a human being who enjoys taking my own sweet time while getting ready. I take long showers. I take a long time to do my makeup and I take even longer to do my hair. On average I get ready in an hour to and hour and a half. That's a long time, but it is also the time of day that I find most satisfying. I like getting ready.

Also I like pink and I am currently wearing about 5 different shades of it. Good thing I am not wearing pink pants as well. That might be overwhelming. I believe several car accidents were avoided today by me not walking around the streets in head to toe pink. You can thank me later, citizens of Rexburg.

Clearly, I am a girl, in case that was ever in question.

A Letter To Me

12/4/2012

Dear Hannah. You are marrying Nathan Wayne Hartshorn in a mere 25 days. Do you know how fast that is going to fly?! Then you will get to sleep in the same bed as him and kiss him all you want. Then you will get to go to the grocery store together and bake cookies together and go on walks and even wash your clothes in the same washer. You must promise yourself today that down the road when all the kids are screaming and crying and there are bills to pay and he's going bald and you've got wrinkles on your face, you must remember to smile and kiss him on the cheek and tell him how dear he is to you. Never lose sight of the tall, handsome, blue eyed boy you fell in love with. Never forget the time he bought you chocolates and one of those spill proof plastic cups you love. Never forget the time he cried when you were dancing at that park in AF because he felt so lucky and happy to have you. Never forget the times when you shed your own tears of love and joy for him, because that man loves you. And you love him. And he may not be perfect and you certainly aren't either. But his heart is full of love and he works hard and is kind and willing to try his best. Make love often. Kiss him on the lips when gets home from work and scratch his head because you like the way he looks like a puppy dog when you do. Leave him notes and words of encouragement. Clean his car. Pray for him. He loves you dang it! And you love him. Don't ever forget that. You two are forever. Forgive and forget. Don't sweat the little things. You both deserve to be happy and madly in love the rest of the eternities so don't stop working at it.

Sincerely,

Yourself

The Truth About Happily Ever After

marriage is work.

Like anything else in life, you actually have to work at being married. In fact you probably have to work more at that than anything else.

I was reading a book yesterday about marriage and relationships, it mentioned the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce. I already knew that, but what startled me is that half of the 50% that stay together report being unhappy about their marriage.

Well that's pathetic.

So only 50% of married people are actually satisfied about being married?

I can guarantee you that 99% of those people are completely happy with their marriages on day one, none of them intended to divorce, none of them fathomed the fact that one day they might become unhappy.

So what the heck changed?

Forgive my frankness on a subject that I have limited knowledge on, but I believe that the vast majority, if not all of divorces are the product of selfishness on the part of one or both parties. Granted, I respect and believe that there are indeed legitimate cases for divorce, one of which would be abuse in any shape or form. I also respect the fact that it is not always both parties fault, often times there are innocent victims. I definitely want to be sensitive towards that, however I believe that there is always at least one person who was selfish who is to blame.

Also I believe that the reason that the 50% of unhappily married people are unhappy also is a result of selfishness on one or both ends.

Life is not perfect, and there will inevitably be challenges, trials, and unexpected turns that can cause misery and sadness. That is normal and expected. In life you can plan on having times where you aren't feeling your best or you are feeling sad. However, prolonged and voluntary unhappiness is selfish.

Why do I say that?

Well by choosing to be unhappy you are automatically disqualifing yourself from doing the good in this world that God intended you to do and also you are dragging a bunch of others down with your own negativity.

Happiness is a choice.

What makes this statement particularly challenging in a marriage relationship is that it has two parties, and both of those parties have their own agency. So just because you choose to be happy doesn't necessarily mean your partner will. This is rough, and sad, but also something you have to understand before entering a marriage - you can never guarantee what the other person will choose to do. What you can do is to get to know the person and their character as much as possible before entering a marriage, and if you judge their character to be good the best you can do is hope and pray that they will remain faithful, true and use their agency for right and support them to the best of your abilities, and what is even more important is that you make sure YOU are doing YOUR best. When one person in a relationship can see that the other person is doing their best, they will more than likely be inspired to do the same. You reap what you sow. Most of the time.

Nathan's branch president told us that if each of us give 100% to our relationship, then on the days when one person can only give 50%, or even 0%, there will still be 100% there to buoy up the relationship. These are wise words. Always be giving your all.

Although I do believe God intended all of us to be happy and receive joy in the marriage relationship, he did know that we aren't perfect, so our marriage relationships won't be either, but we as human beings can be doing a whole heck of a lot better than we currently are.

Really people, more than 25% of the marriages in this world can be happy and successful and lasting. We can do better than that.

By choosing to be happy, giving our all, and being our best, forgiving freely, and most importantly by giving to each other and loving each other with a little more tenderness. We'd all have much better and more fulfilling relationships if we did.

 

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."

- Thomas S. Monson