R.I.P Washington

Yesterday, the most horribly sad event took place........I had to put Idaho plates on the truck.

That's right, Chuck (my truck) is no longer a resident of Washington. He painfully wears the Red, White, and Blue "Scenic Idaho" plates.

No...I didn't cry, because I'm a man. But this sure didn't keep me from eating my feelings. After all, my relationship with the truck will never be the same. I only assume that's it's as embarrassing for him as it is for me. I feel like the mother that forced Cosby to wear those sweaters. Or the dog owner that groomed their poodle to look like the prized bonsai in an acupuncturist's office.

But never fear...I anticipate that this is only a temporary pain we plan to never live in Idaho after graduation. So Chuck, it's only a matter time my friend. Soon you will be free of these oppressive plates and things can go back to the way it was. But for now...please forgive me.





We are now accepting donations for the "Mend Chuck's Broken Heart" fund.
All forms of currency are gladly accepted.
Please, Don't let this Ranger be in Danger.
Thank you.

first day of school outfits...

I remember looking at my closet for days-pondering and pulling things out to see if they would be acceptable for the coveted title of "the first day of school outfit." as much as you tried not to care, you had to. this was your defining moment for the rest of the year. this outfit would show your friends, future friends, enemies and teachers who you were and what you were trying to state. 

now, i look back and think as ridiculous as that was in middle school-it still is true now. i woke up frantically realizing that today was the first day of school. i had not prepared at all! ah!  my favorite clothes were still in the wash and i hadn't ironed yet...thankfully david helped me pick out an outfit consisting of gray slacks, a white shirt and a black sweater. yes a sweater-it's FREEZING here in rexburg already and it's miserable. ugh-who needs fall clothes when all you need is a winter ones? 

but in all reality-you gotta look good. i'm thankful because in college you have like 2 first day's of school depending on your schedule-so i can still plan out for tomorrow :) lovely. but let's get on with the point of this blog...
If only I had my phone with me right now. I know, that right there is a shocker-but seriously-freshman are so funny. I remember being one, and I look back and realize that I wasn't THAT bad...for instance:

There is a boy sitting across from me right now in the Taylor. He has these old school obnoxious looking nike shoes with black and white checkered shoe laces-the are matching is FIRE TRUCK RED jean pants that currently go with his RED, black and white flannel shirt that is over another red shirt that the colors are a little off. It is coupled with wrist bands of i-night, and a live strong and a few blue and red and green rubber bands that seem to be cool. and then going along with his pucashell (sp) necklace that's cutting off the circulation in his neck-he has a fetching hair style that is spiked every which way but is too long to stand up straight. I mean really...first day of school outfit. you HAVE to look good-or at least think you do. I mean-this kid could have potential-he's not ugly or creepy looking, just has some major fashion no-no's going on. If only the "what not to wear" people were here-they could do this school wonders.

ok, i gotta cut this short-i gotta go to class and people watch a little more. :) 

Our recent adventures...part 1

Well, I know that I'm a failure at blogging so I thought I'd make up for it with some wedding photos!! 

The first couple are just some engagements that we love. All of the photos here are by Wendy G Photography :) 

So the rest are some wedding shots at the temple. I haven't been able to resize our bridals/groomals yet and so those will come shortly. It was a HOT and very sunny day-but still great!!! Here's us with our parents and grandparents. David's grandpa gailey sealed us and it was incredible! :) 

(nana and papa spader, g-ma and g-pa gailey, momma and papa gailey, us, momma and papa laubaugh and grandma laubaugh)

we were sealed in the Jordan River Temple :) 

Here are my bridesmaids! Audrey and Laura were david's sisters who are incredible and I just love them so much!!! and then also my sister jana and rochelle! :D 

The whole gang!! 

Here's our wedding party 

(mitch, toren, alex, john, david, me, jana, audrey, rochelle, and laura)  

The parents and us!! 

I have the best love/hate relationship with my shoes-I love them, but they hate my feet. :) 

haha-we can't help but just love this photo... 

there will be plenty more to come! I'm still working on some of the photos and getting them ready for the web. we're super excited and having a blast setting up our apartment and getting ready for school to start again. Nothing really new is going on, just living the american dream! haha

i've decided that david and i need a fun hobby to do together after work or on the weekends...suggestions?

Life has been crazy, and although stealing intenet from the nearby clubhouse is a party, it's not always reliable. so needless to say, i have about 5 unfinished drafts with pictures of our new apartment and our lovely turtles, different traveling adventures, wedding shots and recption shots as well. life has been a continual party.

have no fear-i'll post those asap, it's just that right now i'm at work. all alone in my office waiting for my co-worker to come in, who is late as always...

oh well, back to the busy work until a student frantically comes in because he forgot to register for fall classes and now can't get into any of them.

p.s. I'm married!!!!! :) It was an incredible wedding and a perfect day-i'll blog more about it later and will post pictures when i can :)

Dressers and DI

So I have much to update, but there is no time! Currently I'm in glorious washington with the gailey family and we're going to have an open house for david and I tomorrow. David said that he called blogging about our flight over, but I can't help but comment about my DI experience from yesterday.

Over the past few days david and I have been looking for things to furnish our new apartment. at the time we were looking for a new dresser or something of the sort to put some extra clothes in-well...we love to fix things up and so of course david suggests that we go to the DI to find a dresser that we could fix up and use. well...i decided to venture out and check out what was going on at the DI-i get there and find this little dresser that would be a decent fit...I open up the first drawer and get this whiff of something RANK-it was one of the worst smells i've ever smelt-i won't go into details, but seriously it was in the top 3 worst smells i've ever experienced. So, instead of leaving it alone, I decide to see if the dresser is functional and open the rest of the drawers, the helpful DI worker comes over and asks if I need help, and right after I decline I open up the last drawer and get an even stronger whiff of the rancid odor and start to puke. Not just a little 'oh i just puked a little in my mouth,' but a 4 heave fill the dresser drawer with my lunch and breakfast puke. Not my finest moment, but it happened. The worker just came over and removed the drawer and took it in the back. That was all. I had vomit splattered across my face and shirt, a little in my hair and as I look up teary-eyed, I see this mexican in his mid twenties just gawking at me and then laughing and talking to his friend in spanish. I surprise him and reply back-and continued to remind him that I was fluent and understood everything crude thing he was saying. So after wiping my face clean with the towel on the rack-I went straight to walmart, gum in my mouth and all hand sanitizered up and bought a steralite container.

Thank you DI for another memorable experience.

Our new apartment!!!!

Well it's official, I HAVE MY OWN APARTMENT!!!! ( with david of course) haha so yesterday David and I got the keys to our first little one bedroom apartment, which in all actuality is much more spacious than we had thought in the first place. It feels so weird, it really does, I'm still expecting 4 other girls to walk in the door at any time and say, "Hey! I'm you're new roommate!" as the scream dagger sound effect plays in the background and all I can do is just cringe and endure yet another semester of drama and catty-ness. BUT NO!!!!!! Thank goodness, I will only have 1, yes 1 roommate ever again! (well until we have kids, but that's not for a while) but really-reality just hit this morning as I woke up and didn't have to wait for the shower.  :)

Let's rewind a second.....
Yesterday 10am...David and I go and pay/pick up the keys to our new apartment. Have a tour of everything and started making notes of everything that we needed/wanted to do to the place.

10:15am-Started unloading the 2 cars with all of our things. I attempted to help and carried in the small things so that David could carry the big things. :) Thank goodness he's strong or else I would've been dragging everything inside!

After  2 hours I had to get to work so David went and continued to pack and do his thing. Once 5 hit I was out of there and we picked up a small bite to eat since our fridge was barren and our motivation was lacking to go shopping. but, we then started unpacking once again and did as much as we could then watched some Robin Hood on the projector and then david went back to his place. I didn't feel bad for him just sleeping on mattress because since our bed isn't here yet, I tried sleeping on the love seat, then moved down to the floor for the night. haha

Today has been pretty much the same. Just more work, so there's less unpacking. I'm just waiting for the call to go back home and let the people who are bringing our bed in.

Other than unpacking I'm just finishing up laundry, and trying to pack and prepare for the weekend. It's been so crazy and hectic that I haven't been able to do anything for it-oh well!! things will work out in the end. ok, i'm back to work and done with this blog that has taken me almost an hour to write haha

-Pictures will come once we get things organized better!!-

Tonight David and I went and saw Inception-INCREDIBLE MOVIE!!!! We both just loved it! It made you think and had you in suspense the whole time. But tonight I wasn't just watching the movie-but I was observing people as well. :)

As we were in line I realized that there were a few first dates, and a few old timers and then the awkward couples that you can't help but stare at. You stand in line and suddenly the person behind you becomes your best friend and eventually tries to cut you in line so that they could get a ticket for sure. (BTW david and I got the LAST 2 tickets of the evening to the 9.15 showing of the movie WAHOO!!!! ) Take that boy who tried to cut us and bring his friends along!

So as you enter the theater you have the creepy couple sitting in the top left corner who are just staring into each others eyes and when they're not doing that they're making out. I mean really-it's bad when I think that there's some sort of background noise in the movie and I'm just not seeing it yet but then I hear a faint grunt besides me and realize that it's the continual lip smacking that's going on the whole time 1 seat away...i'm not a fan. So of course I awkwardly stare at you for a few moments trying to creep you out so you stop, but no, it continues on till the credits start. thank you awkward make out couple for making my movie viewing experience the best it's ever been.

in front of you there's the guy who's picking his nose because it must be a nervous habit he hasn't grown out of yet and not be able to help it because we all know that it's socially unacceptable and the way that he was going for it was a little more than obvious.

at the end you have the high school student who has to scream and yell about how great the movie is and then have him and his posse follow you down the stairs and out into the hallway still hooping and hollering because it just "blows your mind!!!"

then you have that couple that you can just tell it was a first date and they are just twitterpated. you can't help but smile and be happy for them, especially the girl because it's obvious that she's nervous and spent a good 2 hours getting ready for the date and it all paid off. she looks stunning and her date knows it and has his chest puffed up and is excited that it went well and wants to ask her out again.

there's the older couple who you see are still madly in love with each other and had a few hours to go to dinner and a movie without the 8 kids. holding hands and laughing like they were our age again. they look around and relive the memories, but are grateful for their experiences and lives at that moment.

and then there's people like david and me- just 2 kids looking for a night out, trying to escape the stresses of life and finals.

oh there is nothing better than dinner, a movie and people watching. :)

sleepless in rexburg...

oh how i love sleepless nights...there is nothing i haven't tried tonight from counting turtles to singing the snowman song that i learned in primary...i just can't fall asleep. As I started reading my scriptures (sadly most of the time that puts me to sleep in 5-10 min) I started to remember all of the things that i have been taught over the years. I am eternally grateful for all of the blessings that i have in my life now because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

mid last week marked my one year for being home off the mission and as I pondered about that I couldn't help but just smile and cry (because that's what i do now...cry haha) i have so many memories and people that i will never forget. i will be able to take what i've learned from them and build that upon my own foundation so that i can be strong for someone else.

i'm getting married in 9 days...single digits. i get to be with my best friend for the rest of eternity-how wonderful is that? there is no one else in this world who i trust and love more than David. I feel bad because i've been such an emotional wreck with school, work and attempting to plan a wedding/receptions. (thank goodness for great mothers who know exactly what needs to be done) i can't even begin to explain how grateful i am for david and his ability to make everything right again. he just makes the world all better.

we bought a love seat the other week, and a few days ago we bought our kitchen table and chairs which we will be recovering to match our decor. i started packing everything tonight and it started to hit me that i'm getting married. like i've known this for a long time but really...i'm packing up my stuff to go move into our new apartment. (i'll be living there and setting things up until we get married and then we'll move david in) but let's be honest here-I'M moving into OUR first apartment that we can decorate however we want, we won't have annoying roommates ever again, and it'll just be us...and toothless, trevor and abby the turtles. :)

oh how life changes so fast and things come so quickly-i love it, and am so excited for what is to come

Crucial Conversations

I need to post this book review for my class.....

Crucial Conversations has helped thousands of people have success in high stakes situations.  No more whimpering, no more whining.  From demanding bosses to mother-in-laws, this book gives tools and tips to truly handle conversations we would normally avoid.  There is a delicate balance between confidence and arrogance, meekness and spineless, it takes practice to get it just right.  But with Crucial Conversations as a guide, it will become easier to take communication and satisfaction to a whole new level.

In the beginning we learn that a crucial conversation is “A discussion between two or more people where (1) stakes are high, (2) opinions vary, and (3) emotions run strong. Throughout the book we were taught many concepts and ways that we can communicate our ideas in critical situations. Some of the many situations which these conversations could take place are: ending a relationship, critiquing a colleague’s work, asking a roommate to move out, giving an unfavorable performance review, and asking in-laws to quit interfering.  In any situation it is great to know how to better communicate to others.

One of the main points that I really enjoyed was how we need to start with the heart. We need to remember, “the only person you can directly control is yourself,” and focus on what you really want.  It continues to talk about how we need to look, we need to see others point of view, and to be aware of where the conversation is going.

It goes on about our personal decision-making, how we need to be aware of our actions, and about the way we react to a difference in opinion. In one section it has a personal survey to see how you react in various situations, I really enjoyed this section because it gave us as a reader and opportunity to see how  he/she personally reacted in different situations. It was really interesting to see how I personally react, and then how I should react in a conversation.

Overall, the book was great, it was very enlightening and I learned so much. I would recommend the book to anyone. Every person will take part in a crucial conversation sometime in our lives.  In this cat-and-mouse game of getting our point across, to succeed we need to have a plan.  Crucial Conversations gives the roadmap, and now it’s time to take the road less argued by.

Man Pants and Flap Jacks

To Whom it may Concern...and well, everybody else,

I feel it necesary to divulge that I have put my "man pants" on, and have done so to fulfill my responsibilty of helping the world understand better our comings and goings. Yes fans, this is indeed David and not Mandy writing this post. And no, I was not coerced, trapped, or forced into this. Nor was I given a dollar by my little sister to write this post, as was the agreement to start my twitter account. I am writing of my own free will, and do so with a great feeling of excitement.

But enough gilding the lillies, let's get right to the meat and potatoes of why I'm really here.

When most see a bald middle aged man wearing an apron, worn out sketchers, and working the graveyard shift at an all-american diner, they think to themselves "wow...I would probably never associate with this guy in any circumstances where he wasn't bringing me pancakes." But I stand before you a changed man. My whole perseption on this has been altered.

Never before on a late night food run have I had such a fantastic server. Generally when the cravings hit I end up with a waitress that doesn't live by a traditional code of hygene. They also tend to be more concerned with Edward Cullen's pasty bod than with refilling my Dr. Pepper (Yes, I am slurping annoyingly to get your attention vampire lover). I was astounded today however to experience a Betty Boop doll balancing on a nose, a Christopher Reeves joke, and buiscuits with gravy all at the same time.

So here is my salute (actions included) to you Dean. You've done the Ol' Red, White, and Bluberry pancakes proud. You are no failure. You are only in a sticky situation because your work involves copious amounts of syrup. I'm on your side, and know that I'll be right back whenever I need a laugh, and a small stack of flap jacks.

the way people walk...

So i've come to realize that my favorite pastime is people watching. earlier today david and i were in the car and this girl on her bike comes weaving towards us. she is obviously in her own little world and adjusting her ear buds-suddenly she started mouthing the words and dancing-must have been the chorus to her favorite song because as she closed her eyes to belt that high note she almost crashed into us...and yes, we were still in the car.

since then i've been noticing people much more today-especially the way they walk. you have those guys who saunter around with their chests puffed up and and slightly waddling because well you know, their muscles are just too big for them to walk normal.

you have the girls who are wanting to impress some guy by wearing high heels, but because they have weak ankles can't walk straight or steady so they stumble and are constantly holding onto something or 'taking a break' to check their phone to stabilize themselves.( for instance the girl who just walked by in a pair of 4 inch platinum silver pumps in a flowy black and purple dress. hunched forward because she's trying to balance her backpack and then also staggering along like a broken robot because she's already got blisters from wearing them this morning)

then there are the guys who are too cool for school-they slouch and have this scowl on their faces-but accessorize with their big sunglasses, skinny jeans, wide rim baseball cap and flip flops or toms-just so they can make a statement. these gentlemen then join the girls who feel that they need to express their feelings by starving themselves and wearing too much makeup-they add weight to themselves by adding layers of clothes and call themselves an art major. dont' worry, that makes everything ok then.

there are those students who have a bounce in their step and just look happy to be around, you enjoy seeing them at school and then you see the posers who try too hard and leap around and you instantly want to punch them in the face for acting stupid and giving the campus a bad name.

you have those students who walk with a purpose-they are my favorite. they have their heads down and arms moving from side to side for some extra propellege-their backpacks are tight to their back and about 2 1/2 ft off their back, giving them a nice hunch look as they speed through a crowd of people.


well i'm done now.


em and go to class.

I feel that it's already been an exhausting week and i'm just tired. there is so much to do and so little time-and here i am writing in a blog instead of homework. you would think i would wise up and edit my webpages and do some designs, but sometimes you just need a break for sanity. 

1. I suddenly remembered that i need wedding jewelry-i have my hair thingy and that's going good-it's a little vintage looking, but then what else? necklace, earrings, bracelet(s)? and then there's my hair-i figured out how i want it to look, but then i don't know how to do it-so who knows...i'll figure things out, i always do. 

2.people make me mad-i don't see why people need to be rude to get their point across. like today at work this boy was just RUDE to me-he just talked to me like i was some insignificant imbecile that was there to just tell him that he will graduate-and when he can't-he gets upset and pretends that it's my fault. gay. 

2.1 also, i hate it when people suck up to me. please don't be fake and pretend that we're friends, there is no point. 

3. i love people watching. it is seriously one of my favorite things to do. here in rexburg there are plenty of opportunities to see some spectacular-i don't see how knee high chuck taylor shoes over a pair of loose jeans. sometimes it just makes my day. you can't help but just smile when you see an awkward outfit or an outrageous orange shirt with kittens on it. 

4. i love color. design. and photography-this semester i have found nature and the outdoors to be my place of refuge and serenity. i love just laying out and feeling the sun on my face and just relaxing. i love being able to clear my mind and just forget about all the stress and life. it's the best. 

overall i love life. it's stressful and at times but i love it none the less. 

-

this is for you laura

I was chastised by my wonderful sister Laura how I haven't updated in 6 weeks...so here is my pitiful excuse of an update. :)

1. i'm still engaged and alsmot done with all of the wedding plans
2. i got some wonderful high heels for the wedding-they are 4 inch heels with an open toe, and an ankle strap. they are plum purple and just amazing.
3. invites are finally out and with that our engagements went great :) wendy did an incredible job and we had seriously so much fun with her.
3.5. along with the invites and shoes, david and i picked out our flowers and i'm soooo super excited about them!!! i'm having irises, some kind of lilly (REALLY DARK PURPLE), some green flowers that are tiny and look kind of like roses, some white tulips, and then some other purple flowers-needless to say, i am excited and just love my new friend mark who is doing them for me. :)
4. I have a turtle named toothless-I think i blogged about him earlier, but he's still the best turtle-child ever!!
5. On a more recent note we went down to salt lake and went to lagoon with some of the gailey clan-it was just a delight to spend a care-free day and enjoy the people that i was with. :)
6. a few weeks previously we went down to SL to celebrate Grandpa and Grandma's 65th wedding anniversary. it was filled with lots of gailey's and creamy's. what more could you ask for?
7. Momma g came into town with John-and they are always crowd pleasers-we had a blast at costco and texas road house, ying yang and it was just nice to have family dinner :)
8. i am still working with academic advising and that's been a blast. recently i've had the opportunity to tell multiple students that because their lack of caring and planning that they will not be graduating this semester...and sometimes the next. I think it's incredible how some students just don't care and then suddenly they think that since they've been here for 5 years and have taken classes that they deserve a deploma. especially when they have 75 unused credits in their transcript and only 50 going towards their degree. i love my job :)
9. the semester is coming to an end and i'm working my hardest to keep my head above water. it's been the hardest semester of my life. classes are hard, work has been long, and planning a wedding just added to everything. don't get me wrong, it's been a blast-but so much work and so much stress-i'm ready to just be married and live day to day.

i'll add pictures later and share some perspective when i'm in more of a blogging mood.
laura-i'll do better-expect another update tomorrow. or i owe you a snowcone that doesn't taste like tanning.

toothless, smores and weddings!

so i am officially the worst blogger ever...school has been insane along with work and panning a wedding!!! i'll do better-or i'll try to :)


here's a quick glance of the past month or so!!!




-had a lovely week break in between semesters which included turtle sitting and a road trip up to washington.

after a nice but wayyyy to quick stay-we headed back home and start school/work once again. David got a really great job and was quickly promoted which has been so nice! he is now works form 8-5 and will be able to continue the same job for his internship this upcoming fall. we are so incredibly blessed for this amazing opportunity. 

along with david getting a job, i did as well. m-f i work in the academic advising center for the business and communications college and then on saturday's i work 2 sessions of a conference for B&C students-it's been great having a job, but it's a whole new experience juggling school and work-it has brought a whole new meaning of prioritizing and planning. :) 

well along with weddings we were able to attend the wedding of our dear friends Casey and Michael Murphy-LOVE THEM they are just the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for and were so excited to go to their sealing and later reception! i lost the fight for the bouquet to a girl with an intense box-out but david did us proud and got the garter...not to mention that he was the only one over the age of 12 fighting for it. i think the tallest one reached mid waist...oh how i'm so proud of my little fighter!! 

david's friend jeff came into town and we had a blast with him and his sister as well-they did this trick with making your face do weird things to get a funny picture...i failed, but david and jeffy did a great job. once again, that's my man-doing us proud!! 

so david and i have started to go on adventures and mini road trips to get out of rexburg. since the weather has been snowy off and on still we've been taking advantage of any sunny day hotter than 55* haha. these are some pics of our trip out to the falls...please notice david's perfect capture of my big foot impression 

 

we've been trying to take advantage of the weather and since david's house has a fire pit we decided to make some smores. while here at school david and i have made some great friends, and one of the best couples is my cousin morgan and his fiance julie!! they are the greatest and so much fun to hang out with! we're in a continuous competition of Blokus and 5 crowns. david and morgan even have a 'band' and play guitar and sing together while julie and i just bask in their talent and cheer them on. 

the most important part of this whole blog are the following photos...david decided that with mothers day coming up i shouldn't feel left out. since we don't have any children, or a dog, he decided to help me prepare for motherhood in a different way. HE GOT ME A TURTLE!!!!! wahoo!!!!! i've always wanted one and finally he came! david totally surprised me and it's been the best! i turtle sat laura's turtles over the week break and it was a easy-we had exercise and bath time and fed them plenty...and the love has now moved on to my own turtle! since i'm obsessed with the movie, 'how to train a dragon' i named him toothless :) he's the best turtle ever and so active! he's an underwater turtle and is so active with swimming up and down every day. he loves to dig and burrow in his blue rocks and he also likes climbing on his play skull that david got to decorate his tank. 

along with toothless-how to train a dragon is such an incredible movie and has quickly won first place in my heart. david surprised me earlier this week with a date night to get sushi dragon roll followed by how to train your dragon-he knows me too well :) 

 

i just about died because i accidentally x-ed out of the blog but thank you draft saving!! phew! 

in rexburg, there are 3 buses-2 taco buses, and one glorious japanese bus which will soon move locations to the hogi yogi down by the hart-well...it's seriously the best food ever-i was craving meat and so david surprised me with this 5 dollar box of goodness...i ate till i felt like i was going to puke then put the rest of the food in 4 Tupperware containers...4 OF THEM!!! there was SO MUCH FOOD but it was so good...i had the left overs for the following breakfast, lunch and dinner-talk about getting your money's worth!! i mentioned to david that we could save so much money by just buying these every week...it's like 3 days worth of food for 10 dollars for the both of us. 

also, in the summer there's a small farmer's market between taco bell and the catholic chapel-it's divine...we got some roasted corn with chili on it and mmmm perfect for a nice summer's evening! needless to say, we'll be back for more corn and fudge!!! along with david and i, laura and our friend andy came with us-it's always a party with andy...and he too is a frequent competitor in our 5 crown games. 

well i know that there is so much more-but i'm finally getting tired! david and i ended up taking an unexpected nap from 5-7:30 on the couch today. much needed, but because of it i am not tired AT ALL. i hate not being able to sleep because tomorrow's going to be rough! 

this weekend david and i are getting our engagements done by his fantastic cousin wendy! we're so excited and know it's going to be so great!!! also, we're staying with his grandparents and they are always a party-we're going to try and introduce 5 crowns to them to see if we can get them addicted as well. nothing brings families together like card games! :D david's just excited to have a rematch of the price is right on the Wii with grandpa gailey. 

just an average day...

so i didn't want to fail on the second day of my promise to blog each day this week. haha. um, today has been so incredibly busy! i didn't have my english class so i got to sleep in and take my time getting ready until i realized that i still had unfinished homework for the afternoon...so of course i looked haggard the rest of the day b/c i had to finish the paper. but, all is well, i wore my new green shirt which i love so much and it was nice enough outside today that all i had to wear was a hoodie!!! wahoo!!! i'm so grateful for the beautiful weather lately.  school is INSANE right now. i have so many projects and things due these last few weeks. all of my teachers have decided that their class is the most important and that they need to cram in EVERYTHING they can at the last moment. They have shortened the length of the semester, but have lengthened the class period, so technically we're getting everything crammed into us in a shorter amount of time. there are rumors that the school will be going back to the previous schedule because the grade point average has gone down, and students are falling behind in their studies. so hm, we'll see. oh well. 

after class today i had a group project and i did some homework in the library for a little bit, then i made dinner for david and i, and then the inevitable happened, i passed artic circle and saw their sign for corn dog bites...i've had the munchies and ahhhh i couldn't resist! i caved in and got some with a drink...totally worth it! little known fact, i LOVE corndogs...if it's on the menu, i'll probably get one...or 2. :) they're just too good to pass up. after that i ended up doing homework at david's work for a little bit and kept him company since he's the only one at the office. it was actually really nice because i had NO distractions whatsoever...he was busy with all of his stuff and i was in my little corner doing my work. got so much done, and i fineshed early so i worked on some things for my portfolio! wahoo!  :) 

later on i got a lovely call from my favorite sister jana, and we chit chatted for a good while and i'm excited to continue our conversation tomorrow! she's the best and so in tune with the spirit. i'm jealous at the level of maturity she is at right now. she also informed me that i have a handkerchief and nightlight waiting at her apartment that grandma wanted to give me. since my back was hurt this weekend i couldn't go down and see her unfortunately, but i sent my love through the siblings :) 

well i am off to bed! 

those beans and rice didn't miss her...

well it's getting late, and i told myself that i was going to blog every day this week...sooooo here it goes-just for today, we get the top few highlights :D 
1. david made me breakfast...again, he is too good to be true and he knows how much i LOVE having eggs in the morning, he'll call and say, i'm coming to get you, or be over here in 5 min and so i rush and think he has to be at school early, but no, he has bacon, eggs and homemade pico de gillo made and ready to eat for our breakfast! it's been a great tradition and it's been getting me to eat breakfast! haha it's a first! 
2. our dear friends jackie and josh got engaged tonight! it was a great surprise and present for jackie's 20th bday! it was great to see them so excited and just glowing! yay for them!!! 
     -for jackie's bday, we sang her an original rendition of happy birthday :) we did a remix, and david beat-boxed, i did a little off beat singing and we shook it and pop-lock-and-dropped it like no other! haha it was great and we're hoping to take our show on the road :) 
3. well, david had to go to the dentist today, a while back he got a filling put in and then this past friday it fell out!! it was crazy! so he's been in so much pain for the past few days but was such a trooper and hung in there until his appointment this morning at 10:30, we get there and his dentist is THE MAN!!!! His name is Doctor Ron, and is so incredible! he comes in and is talking to us and then he asked some questions, and our missions came up, and then Dr. Ron served in Texas, and then in Mexico as a mission president! it was incredible to hear his stories and he told me a few tricks to keep my spanish up! he gave me a free copy of this magazine and it's already great!!! i LOVE reading spanish and i'm doing my best to still stay fresh with it! needless to say, david had a great time b/c his teeth are now fixed, and i made a new friend! 
4. david was just on a roll today and scored big points when he said that instead of making dinner tonight we were going to go out to dinner! we went to bajios and i found out his trick! haha, well usually my eyes are bigger than my stomach, and so i'll get something regular size and lately david's been getting something smaller...i was like david, what is up with your puny enchilada tonight? and he was like, oh i just wanted this...and then later when i begged him to finish my meal he commented "and you wonder why i get small meals..." suddenly it dawned on me, i ALWAYS have him finish my food...so instead of being disgustingly full, he just get's something small and finishes mine! haha he's so smart! we finished our night out with a little shopping where david got this BEAUTIFUL tan jacket by Crew, for like 15 dollars! there was a HUGE sale, and it went from 130ish to 15!!!! BOOOYYAAAAHHHH!!!!!! we snagged that one up real fast! and then after that we went grocery shopping where i noticed all of the easter things! i'm so excited to color eggs!!! :D 
well i must be getting to bed!!! i have a HUGE day tomorrow!!! 

heart shaped pb&j's, coco puffs, and homemade salsa!!

well this weekend has been quite an eventful and productive one! david and i decided that we needed to be grown-ups and get jobs. david has successfully found 2, he is currently only working the one, and will be starting his second once school gets out in april! I was just chit chatting with a dear friend on campus and she happens to be the dean of students for the business and communication college here at school-well, she hooked me up with a sweet job and i started this past saturday! She is the best and i totally owe her a loaf of great harvest bread!! 
so, i started bright and early saturday morning. i reported at 8 am-but i got a call from david at 7:15 asking me to stop by before i headed off to my "first day of work." so i get to his place and he had made me breakfast so i would have enough energy and packed me a snack! he is too good to me! i got a little container of my favorite cereal mix, and then a pb&j that was cut in the shape of a heart-haha oh how i love him! he is always doing the sweetest things, and thinks of everything! so i off i went with a happy heart and stomach to work! i will be a facilitator for this organization called "vision conference" honestly it's like leadership and team building experience retreats that businesses take their employers-we don't do the whole trust fall, but we do teach the importance of why their here at school as students and teach them about the resources here on campus. it's really great, and it's a wonderful way to introduce students to the school and get them going on the right direction. the 1 1/2 hour session is mandatory for all business and communication students, but is open to everyone. well currently, we just took it from a 3 hour session down to a 1 1/2 session, and are trying to organize everything down to the basics and do a whole ad campaign for it. we'll be making a video, power point presentation and will be helping out with the actual training sessions! it's the best job ever-it'll be busy for sure these next couple of weeks, but it's going to the best organization ever! i'm so excited to really get into things and help out :) 


so, for sat i participated in the session, and then we discussed what we were going to change and how we could make things better-at about noon we headed back home and david was all ready to go shopping! for his job he needed to get a few more button up shirts and so we headed off to IF and went shopping, he got some shirts, i got some shirts for work as well, and i got my ring cleaned-that was so great! it sparkles even more now! wahoo!! 
after shopping for a bit, we headed off to my massage appointment. my back and neck had been KILLING me lately and i was just fed up with it and so i booked an apt with this lady named emma who came highly recommended to give me a massage. she ran it out of her home and she was just the cutest little thing! i wish i had gotten my picture with her, her certificates lined the walls with different awards and some pictures from some of her clients and their children-david was so patient and waited and read some magazines and chit chatted with us while i got my massage-well emma was too good to be true, she really helped me out and told me all about her horses and different animals, and how she became a massage therapist and elaborated on what i could do to stay healthy-she was so nice. well, she ended up working on me for 2 hours!!! and she only charged me for 1!!!! i about died when she handed me the bill, she said that we were a breath of fresh air, and was excited to see us again if i needed more work. 
well...david and i had to head back to the mall really quick to pick up a last item for a friend then headed home. after that we stopped by and said hello to my friend tyler and his girlfriend summer since  they were only here for the weekend and then we went and watched a movie with his sister. 
today i took my mom's advice and laid low-i skipped church and slept in till about 12:30, took a nice hot bath and then wore my pj's all day!!! david made me lunch after he got off work (again he is too good to be true and has just catered to my every need and then some since my back's been bad) and we did some homework. well my old mission companion paige came into town for a little bit and so she visited us as well, we had a great time catching up and reminiscing of old times on the mission! it was so funny and i think david was surprised at some of the stories! after a wonderful time with paige, we did some dinner and then david had to go to his audition with his a' cappella group-they did great and i'm going to go see them perform this thurday! david does their beat-boxing and his is absolutely incredible!! he is so talented and people are always in awe at what he can do! i had him try to teach me a little, but let's be honest, i could only get a simple "phef" out and it's taken me like a month to do that! haha little by little, i just tell him that i'm going to surprise him one day and start beat boxing a love rap for our anniversary. 
so after that we headed off to his sister laura's place and watched some burn notice and ate some homemade salsa with some chips!!! it was a great and very relaxing day! i felt so lazy, but i don't care! now, i'm not tired b/c i slept in so much, but i have to get up early so i have to try to get to bed now :/ ugh, i have to go print off a picture for my copywriting class, we did a magazine ad for a company called DBot5-they're pretty sweet and modern with an edge, it was fun doing the ad, i hope we get a good grade on it!! well, i'm off to bed-and hopefully i'll get more than the recent 2 hours i've been getting! i realized that i slept more last night than i had this whole week combined! that's SAD!!! ugh, stupid back! i just hope that i'll be able to stop that trend this week :) 

a picture is worth a thousand words

so i couldn't help myself, i started looking through some photos and it brought back so many memories! so much fun :)  the first one is of my graduation from high school-sometimes it seems like yesterday, but then i realize that it was 5 years ago...crazy. 

Here are some of my favorite shots of bella doing some of her favorite activities. the first being pulling alex on my longboard. bella loved to go on walks, and alex was still learning how to control himself on the longboard, so it was only natural to see if bella could pull him along down the street...i think they made it a few feet then alex had to start pushing with his feet again. :) nice try alex.

now we have bella after her favorite past time: digging. she has this amazing ability to dig a hole about 2 feet deep before you even realize that she's missing and has hidden in the ivy searching for little voles. best part of the day was right after her bath when she would literally RACE around the house trying to dry herself, and then run right back outside and get dirty again. oh that dog. we also have here here with her favorite toy, a frisbee. if there is anyway to get into this girls heart, is through snacks and a good frisbee :) 

here we have bella matching dad on christmas eve. they go on walks twice a day, and dad wanted to match bella during the winter. he also didn't want her to get cold on their walks. :) 

 here she is cuddling with alex and me for a movie, one of her other favorite past times. she has always been ready for a good cuddle and movie. 

now we have our favorite little cousin mallory-she has always been known to cheer up anyone with her beautiful smile, and is always ready for a party. here we have her at her first birthday party, and also a lazy day on the lake :) 

finally, we just have some random ones, from my domestic homemade christmas presents to jana and my mom-it was the thought that count, not the fact that the scarfs were a failure :) let's be honest here, if i remember right they were almost too stiff to wrap around their necks, and they were also quite itchy hahaha. another pic from alex's and my day filled with finger painting and air soft guns, and also a nice reminder of how alex used to be small :) haha kind of. and finally a reminder of what really counts in life. The Ohio State Buckeyes :)
oh how i miss the good ol' days