Whitney Searle

I'm thankful for social media this week! I know it can be a blessing and a curse and it just depends on how we use it, but I'm thankful for the positive influence it is. I've been out of the country for the past week so it was really nice to be able to stay in contact with my family back home since we didn't have service most of the time! It was fun to be able to see what was going on back home and to be able to share pictures of our trip.

I've never really been one to watch the news but recently I've been reading through KSL quite a bit. It's crazy to hear about all the things that are happening here in Utah county. I heard about a massive turkey e coli break out and I'm kind of paranoid now for Thanksgiving this week haha. The news can be a huge blessing to know what's going on but sometimes it's hard to hear of all the evil in the world.

I'm guilty of following lots of Utah "instamom-bloggers". I don't know what it is but there's something kind of addicting about watching other people through social media as creepy as that sounds. I've never actually met Hailey Devine or Rachel Parcell but I know where they bought their outfit they wore to  church today and what their kids dressed up as for Halloween. It's kind of ridiculous how much we care about other people's lives and how much we compare ourselves to them. I know it doesn't make me feel better about myself watching them so I don't know why I do it. My sister-in-law was a nanny for a famous blogger/instamom in Utah County and she got to see first hand how much of a show they put on to make their lives seem perfect on social media. Her house gets messy, her kids cry, she doesn't get dressed up fancy everyday, but by looking at her instagram feed, you'd think she had it all put together and that she literally lives the

I honestly had never really listened to podcasts before until the past month or so but I have fallen HARD for them. We live in Eagle Mountain and I work in Lehi but I have class 4 days a week in Provo so I spend a lot of time in my car. I didn't realize how much time I spent listening to music before until I started listening to podcasts that are actually teaching me something. I feel like I'm spending my time so much better as I listen to them. My husband and I love listening to Dave Ramsey and it inspires us to keep living on a budget and to keep saving for a house so I love hearing his podcasts where people call in and have paid off their houses and they are like 30 years old. Sorry, rant over haha. But Dave Ramsey podcasts are great! Share any podcast recommendations you have below!! :)

I'm not a big TV junkie but a friend at work told me I HAD to watch a series called "Atypical" on Netflix. My husband and I "binge-watched" the first two seasons this past week. HOLY COW. It's a great show. Some parts are hard to watch but it's SO REAL. It's about a teenage boy with autism and how his family deals with life with him. They are all going through hard things too and the parents' relationship is crumbling, but it's showing what it's like to live with someone with Autism and what life is like from their point of view. I 10/10 recommend it. I love TV shows that show real life things. If you are looking for an awesome show, Atypical is for you!

I served my mission in the Rome Italy Mission and one of the coolest things about being home is being able to listen to Italian music and understand it. I loved Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban's Italian songs before my mission but knowing what it's saying is awesome. There's a new song I've been listening to recently that I love! It's called "Poesia senza veli" by Ultimo. It's a cute song that's really catchy. I've noticed that the more Italian music I listen to, the easier it gets to understand. I learn new words and ways to phrase things besides just "missionary lingo".