to break a habit

you need a reason. a good reason if you mean to break a habit for good. and last week i found my reason after years and years of searching for one that would be good enough.

anyone who knows anything about me knows that i have a mild addiction obsession with diet coke. and since i've been married i've cut back on my intake quite a bit, but cutting back quite a bit doesn't mean much when your usual intake is like 5 cans of diet coke a day. over the last few months i've gone through stages of 1 a day max, though they never really lasted long. but like i said, i recently found my reason to really give it up {almost completely} for good.

so my reason is that last week i rode my bike to campus as per usual and by the time i parked and locked up my bike i could barely breathe. i sat down in my class and my heart was pounding like crazy. and i just thought, wow. i need water immediately or i'm gonna die. and that night i went to the grocery store knowing full well that in addition to the items on my list we were out of diet coke. but the incredible thing is that i walked out of that store without my 20 can box and surprisingly, a bit of a kick in my step.

i haven't missed the caffeine much {though i did have a splitting headache on monday when the temperature got up to like 90 degrees here- because it snows right up until it decides to be a million degrees here in utah} but i have REALLY missed the taste. i like drinking a diet coke with my dinner and i miss it.

so i've made some reasonable rules:
1. no diet coke in the house EVER.
2. no diet coke with breakfast or lunch.
3. stick to one refill MAX when we go out to dinner.

diet coke is now my splurge, not my everyday necessity. be proud of me.

love,
mrs. dtf

some big news

well, i've been holding on to this bit of information for over a month now. but i'm pleased to announce that i will be teaching 5th grade next year! byu has two options to finish off the elementary education program: student teaching or an internship. the student teaching is one semester long and basically consists of observing/helping in a teacher's classroom and then taking over for a few weeks. the internship is a full-time, full year teaching job. it has a few small requirements along the way and makes half salary plus benefits, but beyond that it is exactly what the pros do. and i will be doing it!

i am one part terrified and one part excited beyond compare. wish me luck!

love,
mrs. dtf

p.s. i'm trying to come up with a list of books for read alouds, so please tell me if there are any 5th grade-ish level books that you love!

oh yeah, and i instagram now

i actually got an iphone sometime around october. so here's a little bit of what that has looked like over the last eight-ish months. enjoy. p.s. i take a lot of selfies. it makes me feel connected to my tweenage self.

love,
mrs. dtf

a quick trip...

to london. yes, i was lucky enough to go to london last week and, let me tell you, it was fabulous. our plane to the u.k. left on thursday and our plane back to the states was the following monday. and the three days in between there was fast-paced and crazy and something i'll never forget. it looked a little something like this.

did i mention how nice it is to be back in the blog world? i missed you all.

love,

mrs. dtf

so i'm back

sometimes something you love becomes something you like becomes something you avoid at all costs. this past semester was a particularly busy one for me and as it went along blogging made its way through the aforementioned stages. which was sad. but unavoidable. i left to go work in the schools at 7 a.m. each day, went to work tutoring at the ranch straight after, got home around 8:30 p.m. and still dinner to eat, homework to do, and lessons to plan. and on top of that i was preparing for my internship interview. and it was all overwhelming and i despised every second i spent blogging so i just didn't anymore. but the semester is over and my load has lightened and i've been feeling the blog itch as of late. so i'm coming back and i hope to post around 3x/week. i've got plenty to share from the last six months and i hope to share the craziness to come as it happens. thanks for tolerating my very extended and almost permanent absence and here's to hoping it never happens again!

love,
mrs. dtf

i left my heart in san francisco

every visit home to the san francisco bay area makes me love that place just a little bit more. this trip was no exception and after a completely insane amount of time i have finally poorly edited some pictures to show you why!

my trip started in my hometown where i got to spend some time with my side of the family before mr. dtf and his fam joined me {he had one more week left at his internship}. i got to spend a lot of time with my parents and sisters during the week, but my favorite day was one spent with my momma. we went to lunch at la boulange where i had a truly fabulous open-faced steak sandwich and the best coconut macarons ever and then i got a mani/pedi which was extra amazing.

once mr. dtf and his family came to town we went into the city. we stayed at ghiradelli square {the hotel was amazinggggg}, visited alcatraz, rode segways {which i was totally against at first, i mean, embarrassing, right? BUT, was one of the most fun experiences of my life}, ate out in chinatown, and even spent a night being all fancy at a french restaurant and seeing les miserables. i felt pretty darn lucky {p.s. thanks in-laws! love you guys!}.

oh yeah, and uh, i may or may not have had another hot date with my underdeveloped twin at my absolute favorite restaurant, p.f. changs. so yeah, life back home is good. rill good. and by the way, how awesome is it that i can find PERFECTLY matching outfits with my sister who is EIGHT years younger than me?!? i mean really. we are the coolest.

in other news, i am REALLY excited for the weekend to begin! i am going to a restaurant re-opening tonight, biking to a pumpkin patch tomorrow {weather permitting}, and then having a little date night with my hubby tomorrow night. lucky me. i hope you're weekend is as full of fun things to do as mine! and if it's not, change it! make fun plans and be young and wild and free because i said so.

love,

mrs. dtf

just letting you all know

1. i didn't die.
2. i have a little something up my sleeve. a.k.a. i actually might post some pictures from my trip to san francisco at some point in the foreseeable future.
3. i miss you.

love,
mrs. dtf