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.