{Santa Came:2010}

I hope everyone had a marvelous Christmas! We certainly had an amazing Christmas day. One whole day away from work for me, and the day I finally got to see Jared's excitement when he opened his presents.

It was a sweet sight to see the presents under (beside) our tree before we opened them. Jared went first...

Santa was very good to Jared this year. (S)he brought a 32' flat screen LCD TV for him, amongst other things including an iphone and some badly needed jeans. The look on his face was worth all the wait. (:

All the mess after opening the presents.

 And I got Inception among other movies, a cashmere blue scarf and my wedding band.

Somehow I didn't get pictures of our Christmas morning with my parents but it was wonderful. We watched Miracle on 34th Street and Its A Wonderful Life. Jer had to work Christmas evening, but I went to Christmas dinner at Breck and Jarom's with the Smiths. The dinner was delicious, and we had a great time visiting.

(Jarom being his normal self)

Overall it was a wonderful first Christmas with my sweetheart, and I can't wait for next Christmas!

Christmas Countdown: 363 days

.snowed in.

Woke up this past Tuesday, on my way to visit my home health patients and walked outside to find this....

I was like, "Oh yeah, my car can totally handle this."

False. So very false.

I woke up hubby to help me shovel the driveway so I could get out onto the street, only to get stuck in the street. Yes, I got stopped by the whole EIGHTEEN inches that dropped Tuesday morn.

And I thought plowing in Bountiful was slow. Let's just say it took the springvillians over 12 hours to plow one strip down our street...and they never came back to finish it up, so for like two days I had trouble getting in and out of our driveway so I finally shoveled a path all the way into the street....sad? yes.

Happy Holidays!

identity lost...

So, this weekend has been crazy. I worked a ton. Took a lot of stuff out of my backpack after semester was over, put some of it in my purse. Including my wallet. Took my wallet with me to work friday night. Not sure if it got home...

I think I had it Saturday morning....but I can't exactly remember since I worked 18 of the last 24 hours and my brain literally is mush....oh dear. I didn't find out it wasn't in my purse until I went to get a Dr. P on break today and had no way to pay for it.

Hubby and I have both ransaked the apt. looking for it today, I've called twice into work to see if I left it there, and I've also looked in every nook and cranny in my car...no luck.

I keep having the worst possible scenarios going through my mind, like what if...

1. I left it on top of my car when I scrapped the snow off friday night and left it on top of my car? Its possible seeing as I've been very scatterbrained since semester ended. And what if it dropped off in the street and someone stole everything important out of it?

2. Or I left it at a store...like Target, or Roberts arts and crafts? Would someone be nice enough to hand it in and the store just happens to be closed today so they couldn't get ahold of me to let me know where it is?

3. Or I'm just being an idiot and its somewhere in the concaves of my purse...I swear I've searched at least four times now. It's not there, I promise.

So basically that means my identity is temorarily lost, possibly stolen (I really hope not). Sometimes I REALLY wished things like my phone, keys, and wallet had gps attachments so I could locate them when needed. Here's to hoping and praying I find it soon!

{6 Months}

Absolutely crazy to think its been six months today since I married my amazing husband. 

Thank you for the journey honey, its been wonderful so far.
I can't wait for the rest of forever.

[I'll post more on our great anniversary day later]
 

pampering post finals

Don't you ever feel that you need to reward yourself after a tough day? Well, I had one of those days. Actually so far one of those weeks. The only thing that makes up for this week being finals is the Bing Crosby Christmas music on the radio and my new nails (:

I had a pretty long and rough day of studying+finals today and have been feeling pretty crappy all day long. My sweetie woke up every couple hours last night to check my temp. and see how I was doing...ahhhh. Aren't I lucky? I swear I haven't been sick this often consecutively in such a short period of time for years.

Anyways so after I finally got off campus after what felt like an eternity, Jer went with me to the nail salon so I could get some pampering done. And he let me listen to Christmas music in the car too. Nothing better then some time at the salon+your honey+happy music

The two together definitely did the job, I feel much better.

We will definitely both be very grateful when finals are over.

.Thanks to give.

I had a couple friends ask why we didn't blog about anything thanksgiving related. I felt I should explain. Jared and I both worked almost every single day Thanksgiving break, including Thanksgiving day. And then to top it off I got the flu the night before Thanksgiving and woke up around 5 am Thanksgiving morning really nauseous and spent the whole morning by the toilet. We didn't really have a typical American Thanksgiving, and I didn't think my being flu-ish was worthy of noting. 

However, although we worked on Thanksgiving+both of us being sick (Jer had a nasty cold) we got to celebrate Turkey day with my parents the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had our fill of turkey, stuffing, croissants, cranberry sauce, and homemade pie. 

And even though we didn't have a normal Thanksgiving, we certainly were still very grateful for many things in our lives including...

1. new jobs for both of us

2. sleeping in past ten

3. a couple of date nights

4. a warm home and cozy bed

5. pizza and skookies

6. each other :)

P.S. my getting the flu AFTER getting my flu shot just goes to show that they don't always work when you need them too.  

P.P.S. sorry if you were grossed out by this post. (:

P.P.P.S. don't be shy about posting on how this grossed you out. It will be something to amuse me as I start studying tomorrow for my ever looming finals ):

{Christmas Decorations}

Since I've been married, Tai Pan has become one of my favorite stores to get decorations from. This holiday has not been any exception to that. I had to stop by after Thanksgiving because our apt. just looked so bare, and they had so many great unique decorations. Although we don't have a full size tree this year I still think it turned out very festive.
Take a peak...

Isn't that table runner SO cute?! I love its personality.

Our tree is my old American Girl Doll Christmas tree. It made no sense to go buy another smaller tree, so I finally put it to good use after being boxed away for almost ten years. We simply have NO WHERE to put a full size tree sadly.

Who doesn't love some holiday jingle? I grew up with real sleigh bells on our front door that my Grandma gave to my dad, so it just isn't the holiday season without some bells (:

And lastly, my beautiful wreath that I made myself! I'm quite proud of it, because it turned out A LOT better then I thought it would. I'm loving all the Christmas music on 24/7 until the 25th, its the only thing I listen to anymore! Happy holidays!

Christmas Girls Party 2010

I seriously have been looking forward to this party for MONTHS! I had so much fun at my last one, and I felt like I made tons of friends. I put a lot of thought and effort into what my white elephant gift was going to be. I wanted it to be something cute, and useful. So after some serious deliberation, I came up with this...

adorable cookie jar filled with cute christmas themed cookie cutters with recipes attached. I thought it was super cute and practical for someone who loves to cook. I was really glad that Betty got it, because she collects snowmen and bakes a lot, so it was perfect for her.

I got Shalena's gift, which I love! Its the perfect decoration for my entry table. Thank you Shalena!

 Aren't they SO cute?! I tried to make it look like they were holding hands...I'm not sure if it worked. 

Anyways, it was overall an awesome girl's night out. We felt like rock stars even though Breck is seven months prego. Doesn't she look awesome though? For some reason I don't have any pictures of Sherrie. Probably because she was so busy fighting for her present.

The group photo, but we weren't posed yet. Oh well. These are just half of the awesome women that go to this girls party. Can't wait for the first saturday in June!

P.S. Aunty Blynn, thank you for being a great sport about us taking your present every time. Hope you weren't too pissed off. Love you. (:

.Inspirational.

A couple weeks ago I went to my second ever concert with one of my bff's Sasha. 

We went to see Sara Bareilles, and she was AMAZING!

She performed all of her popular songs, plus my favorites, including 'King of Anything', 'Bottle It Up', and 'Love Song'. Even though we had to wait FOREVER for her to perform, it was well worth it. The concert hall was sooo crowded, shoulder to shoulder and back to front. No elbow room. Which reminded me every minute we were there why I don't like concerts. Although I love seeing my favorite musicians in person, I get slightly claustrophobic. Anyone else have that issue?

However we were close to the front so the view was still great.

The girl behind me was singing off-tune (cough, cough)

Isn't she such a fun performer?! Sash and I were talking afterwards about how down to earth, fun, and spunky she was. Definitely made for an awesome concert!

And although I hadn't bought her new CD yet, I totally want it for Christmas. It's called Kaleidoscope hearts...and its rather inspirational. (:

{The first five perfect months of the rest of my life}

Just a shout out to all those who were unawares.

It has been five months since Jer's and my big day here...

I cannot believe it has gone so fast. But then again, time flies when you're eternally married to your other half :)

P.S. for those who were speculating if our first five months really have been perfect, they have. Not perfect in that everything has its absolute order, or that we never squabble like children, or fight over who does the dishes: perfect in that we're the happiest we have ever been. Yes, being newlyweds is HARD. But it is so so worth it. It's a lot of work, but that's what love is truly about. Its about working to help each other, and sacrificing for each other.

Something we have both been learning a lot of late, is that life is messy. We don't have perfect schedules, or consistent patterns of who cleans or cooks, but we do savor every bit of time we have together, and we try to appreciate and recognize each service we do for each other. 

I love my amazingly wonderfully handsome husband who makes me smile, laugh, and feel beautiful each day.

{Anchoring me back down}

I am in LOVE with Mindy Gledhill, and her latest CD Anchor. I seriously want it, (hint hint Jer) for Christmas. All of her songs are so relaxing, and reminiscent of childlike life and sweet memories from long ago.

Take a moment to watch this...I promise you won't be disappointed.



Go to youtube to watch more of her videos. They just have such a sweet tone and message to each one. It makes me want to dance. And after all, "Dance is the hidden language of the soul."

-Martha Graham

p.s. this is for a giveaway on Blue Cricket whose site I love! www.bluecricketdesign.net I don't normally do these, but its a very good incentive this time.

.Changing of the leaves.

So I have had this craft sitting in my closet for about two or three weeks. I made one for my madre for her BIRTHDAY, which is today. Happy Birthday Mom! You are the greatest mom ever!

I got the idea from Blue Cricket Design. I absolutely loved the colors, and the fact that it was leaves (very seasonal) which, I thought was super creative and original. You don't see many people with leaves on their shirts so I thought it'd be something that would draw attention.

What do you think? I wasn't so sure myself but its actually starting to grow on me.

My brother-in-law actually thought that these shirts I've been making are quality and cute enough to make and sell myself. I'm not so sure how many people would actually want these. I just love making them myself cause they're personal and much cheaper then buying a monotone million-duplicate shirt from a department store. Any suggestions/feedback/thoughts/ideas? I dunno. I wouldn't really be able to do mass numbers of shirts though so that's why I'm hesitant to even start on such a project...I dunno.

P.S. here is my mother's b-day present

Isn't my husband the cutest?! He's such a doll for modeling it for the camera. (:

Who knew?!

This weekend was a lot of fun, even though it wasn't long enough. Jer and I went to his really good friend Sergay's wedding on Saturday, which was very sweet for us. We long weddings because it reminds us of our own special day.

Look at that beautiful Bride. Doesn't she just look so happy? Reminds me of how I felt on our day. (:

Exchanging rings. Super happy!

And cutting the cake. Super yummy!

Afterwards we went out with Poppa Todd (Jer's dad), and Breck, Jarom, and Isis to....dun dun dun....Tepanyaki! It was our first time and we were definitely amazed and impressed. Not just by the show. 

P.s. if you go, get the noodles. Ah soooo good!!!!!! I kept stealing Jer's and he was getting slightly defensive cause I couldn't stop eating them!

Our chef was so good! He was CONSTANTLY in motion. That job would be so tiring! But so delicious!

Seriously, it was a hit! I loved our experience there. Its hard to get me to go to new places because I'm SUCH a creature of habit. I barely ever go try new restaurants or foods. Neither does Jer. We basically just stick with Cafe Rio and Costa Video and our Spicy Thai restaurant. Its a huge sign to me that we need to break out of our shells and try new places. Any SUGGESTIONS!? I'm all for some great comments  or ideas that are good and totally worth it. Who knew trying new things would be so much fun?!

{Happy BOO to you too}

Sorry guys, this past week was not the best for blogging. So I'm FINALLY writing about our Halloween fun!

We went pumpkin browsing last Saturday at this cute produce market west of the freeway on Geneva Rd. in Provo with Jackson and Brianne. Of course it started down-pouring the moment we got there, so it was a short lived trip.

 And Jer even made me carry the huge-ginormous-extremely heavy pumpkin all by myself in the rain...

(Jackson being his normal joking self)

Speaking of Brianne and Jackson, they announced some VERY exciting and secretive news at their Halloween party this weekend...see if you can figure it out....

Haha not that hard right?

But of course we all did double takes...

We are so excited for these two and their new journey in their marriage and lives of having a BABY! So, now that we've recovered from our shock, does anybody else have any exciting/surprising news they'd love to share instead of trying to shock us? lol it was very cute in the way the planned telling their family, and their costumes by far won in the 'best overall' category.

Fooood

So when I have weeks like this past one, my body begins to hate me. And when my body begins to hate me, I begin to hate everything. When I get too busy to even eat, its like I become the walking dead. But somehow I push myself through the stress, then when its finally over the bill arrives and I just am not nice. My husband, plus many others, experienced my hypoglycemic event this week. All I can say now that I have caught up on my sleep, and eaten enough calories to make me happy is, I'm truly sorry. Bless your big hearts for being able to laugh it off and realize that when I don't get enough to eat, I am not myself. I promise to try harder to eat more consistently...even if that means frequent pop-tarts, oranges, and bagels.

P.S. we went pumpkin patch picking...pictures to come soon (:

.date night with my parents.

My sweet parents came down today after they found out I'd be alone this weekend again. We headed over to the MOA (museum of art) at BYU so that we could see Tissot's art exhibit "The Life of Christ". It was wonderful. Every single piece of art in the exhibit was made with watercolor, and they were sooo detailed. So amazing!

 (Note the hair change? yes MUCH darker with a tint of red. Thaa-ank you Lauren!)

 My wonderfully amazing parents, I owe them so much!

Then I talked my parents into driving through Provo Canyon to Heber to see the beautiful falls colors, and to go to Granny's for their so delicious milk shakes.

(See the closing date on the sign? Yeah, you should definitely go before then! Much better then Pace's dairy ann in B-town)

Afterwards they took me back to Springville, and then headed home because my father has to teach priesthood tomorrow. But that left me alone at home barely after six. So I went and borrowed some movies from Jackson and Brianne, and headed home to spend my time. Well I've already watched two, have given myself a manicure with my new nail polish from Sephora,

and have eaten a butt load of chocolate. Any suggestions as to what to do to entertain myself? I've even cleaned the apartment! And I'm soooooo bored without Jer here...not exactly how I imagined our four month anniversary, but all in all it was a good day. Thanks mom and dad for the day/night out!

{couch+pillows}

For this past month I've had fabric sitting in our storage closet with my sewing machine, waiting to be made into pillows for our new couch. Of course only 'new' because no one besides us has sat on it since we got it over a month ago. Someone should come fix that (hint hint).

Doesn't that look so comfy and inviting? See, you should come visit. (:

And see these stellar pillows? yeah, made by yours truly!

See those beauties? Instead of paying 20$ per generic pillow (from what I found in stores) I decided I'd rather have personalized pillows that were the colors I wanted for the kitchen. Sure it was some work, but overall I'm very pleased with the outcome! And I love them that much more that I created them with my own hands.

I'm definitely molly mormon now!

But a video a Professor showed in my freshman year makes me feel a lot better about all my DIY projects...

Take a moment and watch it.

P.S. today I changed my hair color. Super seriously love love love it. Pictures to come soon!

.hunting season.

For the next two weekends Jer is gone hunting these....

(elk if you didn't know)

So that leaves me with plenty of this....

So to stay occupied I will finally be able to finish all these projects. FINALLY. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished products. Until then I will be at home making things for our apartment missing my husband. I really dislike this whole concept of leaving the wife behind while the husband goes out for man time....oh well.

.Proofred.

Thanks to Sarah over at Proofred, we have a new header! I LOVE it and couldn't have asked for anything better.

I actually knew Sarah in high school, and now follow her cute family on the Excell blog. She has started up this new blog to help other bloggers find their own writing style, as well as to guide them to write in a grammatically correct way.

She also is making headers for those who would like a more personalized feel for their blog. She did mine this weekend, and after a few drafts it is a success! You can find her Proofred blog at the link below.

http://proofred.blogspot.com/

Who has the time anymore...?

You know how, like oh, a month ago I made that shirt (well decorated it)? And I had supplies for another one? Yeah...I barely did that today.

That....

Became this...

Minus the zebra fabric. I'm afraid it was a bit too much for me. But seriously, who has spare time that wants to do my DIY projects for me? I suppose that's why a lot of people don't like DIY projects: NO TIME. Between work, school, and homework I barely have time to breathe! Is anybody else feeling this way? I am certainly looking forward to Thanksgiving break even though its a month away.

Speaking of Zebra fabric though, I don't think I have ever in my whole life seen more animal print clad ladies then I did at Capitol Theater Saturday night (slightly hypocritical seeing as I wore my cheetah cardigan-not on purpose though).

 
My parents took me to the second-to-last showing of the Lion King, which was AMAZING! The costumes were just mind boggling, and the singing/music was so entertaining! 

I really wish Jer had come to sing along to the Disney songs. You see, my wonderful well meaning husband tricked me into thinking he was going to be out of town this weekend, so that he could surprise me by not being out of town. Well, my loving, well meaning parents didn't want to leave me sitting alone on a Saturday night, so they bought me a ticket to Lion King RIGHT before Jer surprised me by not being out of town. But by that time, the ticket had already been bought, and the show was (according to the box office) sold out. So my sweet husband didn't come, which is unfortunate because I think he really would have loved it!


Anyways, overall a good and productive weekend that my husband didn't go away for, which is always a plus! Now back to the crazy work/school/homework/not enough time in the day week. Why does it have to be Monday? WHY?!