women are so mean sometimes.

women. why are women so weird sometimes? why are we so degrading to ourselves? why do we put ourselves down so often? do we not realize that we are all SO beautiful in so many ways?! i don't get it. i am a complete victim of this horrendous act that women so often commit to themselves. i don't get how easy it is to see someone else's beauty.. and completely forget about how beautiful you are.
i hate it. i hate it when i do it to myself. i hate it when i see others do it. i hate it that i put steven through my self pity stages. i hate it when i am all "woe is me".. i hate it when i don't think i am pretty.

i know i am a unique woman who has been given sooo many talents to help others. i know that i have been given attributes and qualities that make me, me. i know that i a beautiful daughter of our Father in Heaven. i know that His children, you and me, are of the most significant importance. i know that He loves EVERYONE. seriously.. i'm not just saying that. our Father in Heaven loves every single one of us.

then why is it so.. so .. SO easy to find ways to find flaws within our bodies.. within ourselves?

i think it's satan. satan plays tricks on us. satan.. wasn't granted a body like you and me. so satan attacks us. he lurers us in in ways so specific to each individual. he tells us that we aren't good enough. he tells us that we don't need to treat our bodies with respect.. he tries to make us think that our bodies our useless, ugly, and nobody even notices us. satan uses propaganda within ourselves to let us think that we aren't as pretty as the girls on tv.

well.. let me tell you something. don't ever.. ever think that. i know it's easy.. i know i fall victim to it time and time again.. but i also know how to get right back up. recently i wasn't feeling the greatest.. i made it easy for me to put myself down.. and i am so disappointed in myself. i am so disappointed that i would put myself down so much. i feel hurt.. but it's weird because i am the name caller, i am the bully, i am the one who through words stronger than stones... at myself.

i am frustrated that i would be so disrespectful to my own body, my own image. i know that i am loved, so dearly loved by my most wonderful, amazing husband. .. and why.. why would i be so mean to stephanie? so mean to the girl that is blessed in so, so many ways?

i don't have all the answers.. nor do i have the solution to a problem that women face day in and day out.. but i do know that i hate it when i am mean to myself. i do know that i am so incredibly lucky to have such wonderful family and freinds in my life. i am so lucky that i look like me.. and no one else. i am so lucky to have a healthy body. i am so lucky to have a full head of healthy, long, curly hair. i am so lucky to have blue eyes that i can see the beautiful things in the world. i am so lucky to have healthy hands, feet and muscles. i am so lucky to have a healthy smile so i can bring happiness to other people. i am so lucky to have a brain that is functional (most of the time). i am so lucky to be a woman.. to hopefully have the chance and opportunity to carry our children and give birth to those many miracles we hope to have. i am so lucky. it's hard to say because we live in a world that promotes humbleness and meekness, which is good,... but, as a female, i think it is absolutely necessary to look in the mirror, look at yourself right in the eye and tell yourself that you are pretty... and you're not just pretty. you are gorgeous. you have soo, so much worth and soo, soo many people love you for who YOU are. be beautiful. .. and don't just think you're beautiful, know you're beautiful.

i, stephanie melancon, am pretty. i am a beautiful daughter of God. i am the gorgeous wife of Steven and i am so, so thankful to be loved by such a wonderful man. i am not perfect.. but i know that the Lord will make my weaknesses into strengths if i let Him.

i love couponing!

okay so i recently really got into couponing. i got inspired by the show extreme couponing.. also i like couponing because steven and i are young newlyweds on a tight budget and coupons help us out a lot. we've probably saved more that a hundred dollars in coupons in the last month. that's a lot!! today we recently saved 49% of our order at Albertson's grocery store. Our total was originally over $60 and we ended up paying 34ish dollars. This was due to coupons, our savings card, and promotions. It was pretty cool because the deal for the week at Albertson's is that they are rounding all coupons up to a $1. So we had a couple coupons that rounded up to a dollar which more than doubled the coupon! Pretty cool right? Using coupons is fun. I recommend it.. plus you save a lot of money... and it is a good way to build up food storage. We didn't really need anything at the store, but because of the good deals we went and used coupons and purchased the food at low prices instead of paying full price later. It's fun :) We aren't food hoarders by any means... we just try to be very resourceful with the money we have.. and make it go as far as we can.

our honeymoon to myrtle beach.

steven and i went to myrtle beach on our honeymoon. we has such a great time! the weather was just perfect! we got there on sunday and they predicted hurricane irene to hit on that friday. we were so excited to see the weather before the hurricane.. and we really wanted to stay for the hurricane.. but we were already scheduled to leave on thursday rather than friday. bummer right? well.. it was probably safer that way. myrtle beach is like a combination of las vegas and disney world. it's pretty cool. there is probably like a hundred hotels along the beach strip. there are really, really nice ones and some not so nice ones. we stay in an inexpensive resort and were very happy. we played in the ocean, the very salty ocean, went to broadway at the beach multiple times, went to an aquarium and touched sting ray, ate at margaritaville, planet hollywood, hard rock cafe, and lots of other places. we had so, so much fun on our honeymoon. we loved it!

we went to yellowstone and didn't see any bears.

last weekend (sept. 9-10) steven and i went on a little camping trip with our friends jennifer and justin. we do a lot with jennifer and justin... they are pretty much our best friends here and they are pretty cool.. so it works. well on our camping trip we went to yellowstone and saw 673 geysers, 321 bison, 1 deer, and almost all of the united states according to license plates. okay maybe that was an exaggeration on the geysers.. but really we did see a lot. it was a lot of fun and i really like camping. we had received a dutch oven for a wedding present and also an inflatable mattress. we were excited to use both.. but we only got to use the dutch oven because apparently the charger to blow up the mattress needed to charger for 12 hours rather than the 12 minutes we had it attached to its power source. also we only had 1 sleeping bag! aren't we such good campers? haha!! well at least we had a tent and blankets and pillows and each other. i froze all night and was soooo incredibly uncomfortable because we slept on the ground with a sleeping bag as our mattress. it was a fun camping experience.. but i never want to sleep on the ground again! boy was i excited to return to our nice bed the next night! other than our lack of a mattress and heat in our tent, we had a great time cooking food over the fire. we made tin foil dinners and peach cobbler in our dutch oven. yum yum! yellowstone is really pretty.. we really liked it. there were a ton of people there too. we found pretty much every single us license plate except for like 4 or 5. it was pretty fun... also steven decided to cook an egg over the fire and it exploded. okay.. it kind of just cracked, but it was still cool.

our wedding!

well, many of you are probably wanting to see pictures of our wedding. our internet uploading speed is very slow... but here is a picture of steven and i just leaving the temple. our wedding ceremony was so beautiful and perfect. i loved it so much and i am so, so happy that i get to be with the love of my life, steven melancon, forever and ever! being married is pretty much really sweet. i love that we have our own home now. our own two bedroom apartment on the third floor. i love coming home to steven and greeting him when he returns. i love it! today i made apple cake (remember how we picked 26 pounds of apples?)... and the aroma of the baking cake greeted steven as he walked into the door... and i loved it! i love being a wife and being able to serve my husband in so many ways.. and i love it when steven does those special little things for me. the other day he cleaned up the living room (there were boxes everywhere because we were still unpacking) and did so much stuff around the apartment that i was soooo excited when i came home. i love my husband.. and in six days we've been married for a month! hooray!

We went apple picking!

Last night Steven and I and our friends Jennifer and Justin went to an apple orchard on BYU-Idaho's campus. It was really fun and really pretty. A storm was rolling in so the colors were just beautiful. There were so many different types of apples and so many different trees! Probably more than 100. I think all of the apples were crossbred or something. We just kind of picked whatever we thought looked good.. and we ended up picking 26 pounds of apples! Our friends picked 28 pounds... that's a grand total of 54 pounds of apples! Holy moly! But guess what, our 26 pounds of apples only cost us $13 because the apples were only 50 cents a pound. Good deal right? Well later that night we, along with Jennifer and Justin, made and canned 20 pounds of apples into applesauce... and it is scrumptious!

something that you could never get tired of doing.

day 29 something that you could never get tired of doing.

looking into his eyes.

your favorite music.

day 28 your favorite music.

hmm..

this is a toughy.

i'm a country girl.. but i also really like to bust a groove to top forty... and also i like to sway my hips to some good latin tunes. ... and also i like chill, emo-like, music... and also i really like fun crazy music... and somtimes.. i even like to listen to musical music.

hmm.. .. i choose to not decide on a favorite.. but enjoy them all! :)

a picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?

day 27 a picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then?

this is a picture of my friend jennifer and i. we went to extravadance (a dance showcase) and then we went back to jennifer's apartment and made fajitas.. and probably watched pushing daisies.

hmm.. how have i changed?

well... i think that i have learned and grown a lot within the past year. i'm not going to formulate a list.. but i know that stephanie from march 2011 is the same, but looking for new things to learn everyday... and within that quest it's easy to transform into the person the Lord wants and needs you to be.

a photo of somewhere you've been too.

day 26 a photo of somewhere you've been too.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON!!

last april 2010 i went to visit one of my best friends, jennifer, in seattle, washington! i had such a great time!!! i loved it! her family is so nice and welcoming... also they make delicious food. jennifer and i traveled the pacific northwest within like 10 days. on this particular day we went to downtown seattle and visited the ever famous pike place. .. as you can tell i thought the raw fish was ... well.. not appealing. jennifer is standing by this delicious donut shop. they make mini donuts that are just SOOO good.. and little!

thanks for the wonderful vacation jennifer!! i loved it! i'm so happy we are friends :)

what's in your purse?

day 25 what's in your purse?

well.. if you know me.. you know that i don't REALLY like carrying a purse. i mean.. i will do it.. but usually if i am just running to the store.. or somewhere quick i will just grab my wallet.

my purse usually contains the following items:

my wallet

food (i get hungry)

gum (sometimes i don't like the way my breath smells)

car keys (that is unless i am driving my car of course)

check book (some stores don't like my check card)

did i mention food?

a photo of something that means a lot to you.

day 24 a photo of something that means a lot to you.

this is my grandma taylor... she is one of my most favorite people ever. she will always be a hero in my eyes for all the people she helped and served through her life. my grandma always found a way to brighten the lives of those she came in contact with.. even in her final days. she was such an brilliant woman. her little, frail 4'8" body held the the strongest, mightiest attitude and a self confidence nothing could shatter. she taught me so many principles and life lessons that would make an impact on my life forever. she always had such high expectations for us... for me.. and it would always break my heart to let her down. i think about her daily and sometimes still wish i could call her up.. just so i can talk to my best friend again. ..to hear her voice scream stephy! to listen to her counsel and tell her about my day.

she, sharon claire taylor, my grandmother, mentor, and best friend.. means the world to me... and i look forward for the day i can run into her arms and give her just the biggest hug.

15 facts about you.

1. i get really scared, really easily.

2. i worked as a lifeguard for two summers.

3. i am a licensed zumba instructor.

4. i have one brother, three boy cousins, and i am the only granddaughter for all of my grandparents.

5. i was a member of student council all four years of high school.

6. i wrote for the school newspaper in high school and that has in turn made me notice grammar mistakes really easily.

7. my family co-owns a fireworks corporation and a consignment store.

8. i am a bargain shopper.. and i love getting a good deal and i am not a fan of paying full price for things... especially clothes.

9. i have a ridiculous crush on a guy named steven.

10. sometimes i wish i could be real life friends with cam from modern family.

11. one time i was on a college intramural swim team.

12. i think my roommate nicole is one of the funniest people ever.

13. i lived in the same house my entire life until i was practically 21 years old... then my family moved.

14. i usually take my socks off in my bed right before i fall asleep.

15. i love taking naps while laying in the sunshine.

a letter to someone who has hurt you recently.

day 22 a letter to someone who has hurt you recently.

dear britanee walton,

please stop hitting me and punching me. you are giving me bruises.

love,

stephanie

a photo of something that makes you happy.

day 21 a photo of something that makes you happy.

the meaning behind your blog name.

day 20 the meaning behind your blog name.

well..

my name is stephanie...

and my blog is about my life..

... according to me.

it's kind of self explanatory. lol..

another picture of yourself.

day 19 another picture of yourself.

this is nicole and myself... sometimes things get a little scary in our apartment.

something you crave a lot.

day 18 something you crave a lot.

this is steven (and his nephew). he is from south carolina and he is really cute and he is really nice and he makes me smile and laugh and i like it when we hold hands.

i might have a crush on him.

a photo of you and your family.

day 17 a photo of you and your family.

one of my most favorite-est days ever.

(yes i know that isn't grammatically correct)

your celebrity crush.

day 16 your celebrity crush.

ryan reynolds... enough said.

something you don't leave the house without.

day 15 something you don't leave the house without.

a smile.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” - Leo F. Buscaglia

a TV show you're currently addicted to .

day 14 a TV show you're currently addicted to.

modern family.

seriously... it's my favorite show right now.

your favorite musician(s) and why?

day 13 your favorite musician(s) and why?

michael buble ... what a cutie.. i love his voice.. and his style of music. it's just really.. attractive and very easy to listen to.

natasha bedingfield ... i love her music. it has such a great message to it.

what girl doesn't like taylor swift? pretty sure i listen to her music on a weekly.. if not daily basis.

i have a lot of other musicians that i really like.. it's always so hard to choose favorites!

a photograph of the town you live in.

day 12 a photograph of the town you live in.

i am from a town called vermillion, sd. i have lived there all my life..

(minus the college part) and i actually really like this little south dakotan town.

it has a little over 10,000 people..

but also the university of south dakota is located in vermillion

... so the students make the population grow a little bit.

vermillion is located right next to the missouri river. . a kind of gross river. i can't believe i actually swam in there!
also, lewis and clarke found spirit mound near vermillion!!

a picture of historic downtown vermizzie.

a picture of old maine.. which is located on usd's campus.

what's in your makeup bag?

day 11 what's in your makeup bag?

well.. i am just going to tell you about my favorite eye shadow... which happens to be victoria secret. i just love the color, the look, and the last. it's not that expensive either.. if i were you.. i would totally check it out. i love it!

a photo of your favorite place to eat.

day 10 a photo of your favorite place to eat.

yes, this is our porch at my house in south dakota... and yes this is my favorite place to eat. i love eating with my family. they just crack me up so much. they're a riot. i miss eating with them... because i absolutely love it.

what are my home cooked favorite meals you ask?

my dad's freshly made hamburgers on a hot summer day.

my mom's enchiladas and her yummy fajitas

fresh blt's mmmm...so good

my dad's homemade pizza

eating as a family is so important... and fun!

ps. of course i had to post a picture of our beautiful backyard. i think we have one of the prettiest backyards in the state of south dakota. what do you think? also.. if you look and see the mountains in the distance.. that's nebraska!

a photo of something you last purchased.

day 9 a photo of something you last purchased.

well this isn't a photo that i took... but this is my last purchase... to make what you ask? chocolate chip cookies of course! what else.

and just because.. i will give you the recipe we use:

Absolutely the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rated: Submitted By: NICOLEFAUSTHUNT Photo By: TAYLORBUNCH Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 20 Minutes Servings: 24

"This is a secret family recipe for chocolate chip cookies! Everyone who tries them begs for more. Enjoy!!"

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter flavored shortening 3/4 cup white sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons Mexican vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2.	In a large bowl, cream together the butter flavored shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla .Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until light brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.