the first of many posts...

I've realized that I feel much more accomplished when I write things down, not just on paper because I usually lose them, but in a safe and lose-free place, like blogger. haha jk, a few friends of mine gave me the idea of writing to my little one each week-and I HAVE been....I just can't find them. So, I thought it might be a good way to actually blog and keep up with life, and also not lose the little little letters for my little one! So in future posts, I'll have more of a letter, not just an update...but since it's been FOREVER again-it's more of an update mingled with some stories. Pictures will come soon :) 

These past few months have been a blur, and I love it. I couldn't be happier-well...I can be, I just have to wait till June :) But anyways, David is finishing up his second to last semester of school and I've been working at the bank still. Every day has been an adventure and David has been the best husband ever. He is so loving and makes sure that whether it's morning sickness or just achey feet he does his best to make it disappear. 

The first 13ish weeks of the pregnancy were literally hell. I was continually sick and was so sensitive to smell. I could hardly eat and was miserable and thought that the 9 months was going to be the longest I had ever experienced. 

Some of the more 'memorable' experiences were as follows: 

-Puking in front of Great Harvest which is located on the city's main street, then having to go inside and ask the guy at the counter for a cup of water so I didn't just leave bread chunks on the clean sidewalk. 

-I love to dip food, I love sauce and especially KETCHUP!!! It's my favorite dipping sauce of all time. So of course when I went to squirt some out I practically threw it out of the room. The look of Ketchup made me sick and vomit more than once. Saddest day of my life...but thankfully now I can have it again (in moderation) 

-Yelling at the drive through guy because he told me "they just closed" I'm sorry that I'm pregnant and have cravings for a blizzard at 11pm and the fact that I was 2 min late. I told him after I got my little blizzard that I would thank Heavenly Father for his kindness and I tipped him 2 dollas  :) I am now known as the 'crazy prego lady' there...awkward. 

Then it slowly started to go away, I was happy, didn't look as tired, and I could eat. I could actually eat food I LOVED!!!  Along with that I started to feel like I was actually pregnant, not just sick. It was wonderful. I learned how to jimmy-rig my pants so they would fit with a hair tie and at Thanksgiving I got my first maternity clothes. (best day ever) Can I just say, that maternity pants are the most comfortable things in the whole wide world? I mean really...they look like normal jeans or dress pants but have like a foot of stretchy goodness to go around my little belly. 

I'm currently 15 1/2 weeks and I have officially "popped" according to the doctor. I secretly love it because people timidly ask "so....are you pregnant?" and wait in suspense because they hope they asked the right question. But nothing beats last weeks experience...let me preface, I am working like normal and just walk across the room, this mom turns to her daughter and thinks she's being quiet when she says, "see, if you keep eating like you are, you're going to get a gut like she does" well...I turned around and said, "oh this gut is a baby, not just food" the mom looked like she was just slapped in the face. Priceless. 

Currently the little one is the size of david's favorite fruit, a naval orange. We still call it the 'plus 1' but are excited to give it a more suitable nickname once we find out what it is. It's also fun to call it an "it" because I've had multiple dreams of me somehow having an alien in my tummy and it emerges with some wrinkly hand and a screech. Not fun as a dream, but very humorous in the morning as david tries to act out my dream with a pillow and his own hand and sound effects. 

I am also LOVING peppermint, caramel and pecans. English toffee is also a favorite and I made that tonight...without a candy thermometer so HOPEFULLY it turns out :) I'm still waiting for it to harden :) 

Well...I must get going, I need to stretch and figure out everything for our Christmas trip! Wahoo!! 

Sick day...

Today I am sick, so I've been catching up on talks and I love it! Nothing can make you feel better than when you are able to read and be edified. So today, while I may feel physically miserable, I'm happy :)

Elder Hales, said in his talk, A Little Heaven on Earth: "As Latter-day Saints, however, we are to use our moral agency and utilize our opportunities for growth. Everyone has weaknesses. The adversary knows the Achilles’ heel of your loved ones, your friends, your roommates, your brothers and sisters, and your parents. Do you understand your Achilles’ heel? Do you know the situations you have to stay away from and what your weaknesses are? The secret of a happy marriage is to protect the Achilles’ heel and not take advantage of the weaknesses of those you know the best, love the most, and ultimately can hurt the most.

“Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings” (D&C 108:7). In other words, every day you are to help one another as you pray and speak in your exhortations and in your doings...

I ask you not to lean on your spouse as a crutch but to stand strong, strengthen each other, and ask for help as you pray together each night. I bear testimony that those moments in my life when I have been unhappy, depressed, or sad are when I have deviated, even to a minor degree, from the teachings of the Lord. That you might have true happiness and find the joy of a celestial marriage with a little heaven on earth is my prayer.

When you are choosing your companion, make sure that both of you have a desire for a celestial marriage relationship, a desire to have a companion for eternity, a desire to have a family for eternity, and a desire to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Celestial marriage is like climbing a mountain. You tie yourself to an eternal companion, and you start up the mountain. As children come along, you tie into them as well and continue your journey.

The secret of a happy marriage is to protect the Achilles’ heel and not take advantage of the weaknesses of those you know the best, love the most, and ultimately can hurt the most."

How true those words are! Recently I have noticed how much fo a strength David is for me and how I need to be better for him. Wether it be with supporting him in his school work, or encouraging his hobbies, I want to be better. I'm so excited to become better for him and so that we can strengthen our marriage for the future!!  :)

Ohio part 2!!

During the week we had the opportunity to go visit my cousin Hayley, her husband Keith and their cute family!! David and I brought our camera and couldn't help but take some photos of the kids! They are the greatest kids ever!! I seriously want our future kids to be just as fun as they are!! 

Reid is seriously the juiciest little guy ever! He loved to play with the ball and run around and go up and down the slide! He was so thoughtful and picked me a flower as well! He loved playing and had the best laugh ever!! He is going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up for sure!! 

Little Lindy is the best baby ever! I mean really-just look at her hair! She is going to have some killer locks one day! She has the cutest little button nose and was so great the whole time we were there!

Mallory is the oldest and the best big sister around! She loved playing with Reid and would take care of Lindy as well!! She was so much fun to play with and always had a big smile for the camera!! 

Of course, since we we so engulfed with the kids, we lacked to get any other photos of everyone else! haha-next time for sure! We had such a blast with Hayley and Keith and played a rousing game of 5 crowns! I swear, we are SO OBSESSED with that game! But it's so much fun and a great game that allows conversation! Overall, we had a blast with them and we are so excited to see them again soon! 

Ohio part 1

Here are some of my favorite highlights/photos from our trip to Ohio! 

Here's the whole Laubaugh family!! My Uncle Clint and his family came from Jersey with my grandma for the reunion! we had a blast and went to Cedar point the following monday! 

David and I with Grandma Laubaugh!! 

One of my favorite pictures of Alex and Grandma-seriously priceless! 

While at Cedar point, my main goal was to go to this funnel cake stand...OH MY GOSH-it was heaven on earth eating that thing-calories didn't count when it came to my hot fudge and whipped cream covered funnel cake-oh so good!!! 

David and me waiting in line for one of the roller coasters! we had an absolute blast! Being married rocks because you ALWAYS have a riding buddy! Wahoo!!

This is max...david's new bff. I was replaced about 1/2 way through the day with this little guy-they bonded over the Iron dragon which Max rode like 6 times that day! 

At the family reunion we had a slip-n-slide...now one would assume that it would be for the children, but I don't think any of them even touched it-it was all teenagers and adults who ran and dove onto this beast of a slide...whether it was a solo person (like mitch above) soaring through the air, or 8 guys doing some type of race down the slide, it provided much entertainment for the rest of us. 

Brandon taking a dive off the slide! 

Also, while in ohio we went to downtown street market and took some pictures and got some fun things!! These were some of the bracelets that a girl was selling so she could go on a missions trip to Africa! 

Earlier on in the summer, Dad decided that they needed a 'pool' he then started calling it a yacuzzi because he would fill it up with warm water so that my mom would join in on the fun. while in Ohio dad and I took a few naps in the pool trying to soak up as much sun as possible. 

more to come!

one month later....

life has been wonderful these past few months! I couldn't be happier and I'm excited to see what else is in store! August was a CRAZY month for David and I-it started out with a (much needed) week in ohio! It was an absolute blast being with family and catching up with everyone! (more of that to come) then we've been able to both work full time and actually spend time with each other at night! I've been starting to craft and catch up on house projects that will soon be done! David and I have loved taking weekend trips to go on random adventures, trips to the lake, waterskiing with friends and just catching up on life itself!

David starts school again in a week and he is secretly excited, but I'm dreading it! It's the worst to come home and want to play and he has to do homework! What a bummer! So needless to say, we are playing as much as we can to make up for this upcoming semester!!

This past week was so much fun! On Monday we started our official training for 3 different 5k's this fall-I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in the spring and am still trying to rope david into doing that with me. So far a mile is pretty easy for us so we're going to see what we can to do push ourselves a little harder! Our goal is to run the first one for fun and get an idea of our times then the next 2 we will race for 'real!' I"m so excited because it's the first goal that we've been able to do together for a while-and it's also nice competition for us. David still thinks that he'll beat me, but we'll see.  haha :)

Tuesday we went waterskiing with David's coworker and her family-WHAT A PARTY!!! We went to the Ririe reservoir and it was so beautiful and there was hardly anyone on the lake! I was able to slalom ski and enjoy the PERFECT water!! David has also found a new love-wake skating! Next time he can he wants to try wake surfing-so that should be fun as well! Needless to say we had blast and are so grateful for our friends!!

Wednesday we just relaxed and continued training-and then on Thursday we went to Buffalo wild wings!! We have made it a tradition to go almost every tuesday-it's pretty sad that we have a close relationship to our waitress Kaity, and get concerned when she's not there on Tuesday nights...as always we had a blast with everyone!

Today was crazy for me since it was pay day, social security check day, and also the friday before a holiday weekend-the bank was CRAZY but I made it-David had the opportunity to photograph a wedding reception tonight and he had a ton of fun with that as well! We are LOVING doing different events and photo shoots and are excited to continue them!

This upcoming weekend should be interesting-and everything is still up in the air! I'll keep ya'll posted!! have a great night!!

Robbins Family Reunion!!

David and I had the opportunity to go to Utah last weekend to see a whole lotta family! It was a PARTY! David and I headed down to Salt Lake after I got of work on Friday night and met up with my mom, Aunt Linda her daughters Cami, and Kelsey and her husband Jacob, my other Aunt, Laurie and also Tuna! Side note-Tuna is Kelsey and Jacob's pet/stuffed monkey. David and Tuna became very close friends that weekend, and David decided that he needed a 'tuna' as well...because of this, we are on the lookout for a tuna ourselves...David needs another friend.

Well, back to the weekend-we met up with everyone and played a few games and caught up with each other's lives until 3 in the morning! It was so much fun and it was great to get updated on everything!

Saturday we went and had a BLAST with the family at the Reunion! It was up in the Park City canyons and was so beautiful! Here are some pictures from the reunion!

This pond was so beautiful and was FULL of huge fish! 

Jake thought that this little raft was a floating dock and when he got on it started to move!! We went on a little adventure with Tun and pushed ourselves around the lake-it was a blast! 

Here are some of the gang! it was great to see everyone and see lots of family! 

All over the land were BEAUTIFUL flowers! From lilacs to poppies-there were plenty of beautiful wild flowers! 

This little guy was so excited to go fishing!! 

All 5 of the siblings! L-R: Uncle John, Uncle Bick, Aunt Linda, Aunt Laurie and Mom (Robin)!!

so there were these random bull figures on the playground-Kelsey and Jake had to get a cute picture on it! They are the greatest and so much fun!! 

Cami, Kelsey and I! It was so much fun remembering some very fond memories from previous reunions here! It's amazing how much we remember after so long-and it seems like we've only been separated for a few weeks, not years! 

Later that night we got some dinner and cheesecake!!! SO GOOD!

I had the reese peanut butter one-it's SO GOOD!!!!! And calories don't count when it's cheesecake :) 

This is one of my new favorite games! Kelsey and Jake brought it! It's called Ticket to Ride (yes we were all singing the Beatles song ALL NIGHT) and it was so much fun!!! Can't wait to get it! 

On Sunday we went to church and then took a nap to rest up for the Grand America Buffet! OH MY HEAVENS! We all had our favorites and put a HURT on the place!!! Once again, calories didn't count :) 

no big deal-this was the normal size of the crab legs :) 

Mom had many plates dedicated to Dad, we felt bad he wasn't there, but we ate on his behalf :) 

some dessert! 

Tuna needed food too! He was so excited to eat!

Once again-the crab meat....SO GOOD!!!! 

This was mom's dessert plate...please note that she had 2 sushi rolls on it as well. haha, that girl!

more dessert....

Here's the whole gage! we had a blast and practically ROLLED out of there! 

All in all we had a great weekend filled with 5 crowns, Ticket to ride, lots of food and some great family!!! We can't wait to get together again!!! 

Harry Potter

Now some of you may not know this, but until recently-I have never been into Harry Potter. At first it was mere ignorance, and then I just was never interested. My life had been perfectly normal and great and I was fine without having it or it's book/movies in my life. Then David's mom came to town. Now, I thought that she had known that I wasn't a Harry Potter follower when we met/dated/were engaged and married, but little did I know-that was a secret David had hid all this time. Like waterskiing is to our family, Harry Potter is to David's.

It was a normal conversation that was going fine and then I opened my mouth about not reading any of the Harry Potter books but one. The look on Momma G's face was like I had punched her in the gut a few times and then laughed. She then looked at David and said, "did you KNOW this?!" David, goes "well, yea-I thought you knew....she's reading them now..." The conversation continued and it all came out. I did not like Harry Potter, and even after reading the first book, I wasn't hooked...but I was willing to watch the movies. While this wasn't the best answer to Momma G, it was sufficient enough for the time being, and all she said was, "don't let you're dad know, she'll be kicked out for sure."


 While this is how I see Harry and his buds now

 This is how I like to think of him. 

young, innocent and full of curiosity-love it. Also, I think he looks like my twin brother Mitch in this one. Same hair cut, almost the same glasses (mitch's were bigger and a little thicker, [thanks mom] )

Well, I am here to say that not only have I watched all of the movies-but I actually enjoyed them as well. I can't promise that I'll read the books, BUT, I can carry on a good conversation and pose some questions about the plot and it's characters. This past week was a Harry Potter overload in where every night we watched a Harry Potter movie-David was too kind and filled in all of the little details and answered ALL of my questions. We then rented part 1 of the Deathly hollows and on Saturday, we went to Part 2. OH MY GOSH-for not reading the books, I got pretty hooked and distraught about some of the twists in the last few movies. Needless to say, I hope that I will not get kicked out of the Gailey family and that my newfound adoration for Potter will been enough. hahaha-As long as we don't have to name our first born Harry or Hermione I'll be fine with whatever :)

A quick update!

Life has been wonderfully crazy these past few weeks! David finished out his semester strong and got great grades (that's my man!) and I am still working full-time at the bank, and doing freelance on the side! Since David's been done, he's working full time at the school and is loving it! It has been so nice for both of us to just come home and relax and play! I never realized how much of a downer homework was for our social life! haha

We have loved going to different farmer markets, and going on random adventures to go take pictures and just stroll around! We recently have taken up bike rides-LOVE THEM!!!! They are so much fun and relaxing and a great way to enjoy a summer night.

Almost every weekend we've either gone on some trip or have been out of town/ridiculously busy-I swear life is more hectic on the weekends than it is on the weekdays!

One weekend we helped our friends move, another we went down to Utah to send Jana off to the MTC, David's mom and brother were in town for a weekend, David and I went back down to Utah for a family reunion and now it's our anniversary weekend AND the start of SHARK WEEK!!!!! What a party!!!

This upcoming week David and I will be getting ready to head to OHIOOOO!!!! We have another family reunion and then  play with the family-we are SO EXCITED!

I'll do my best to keep everything updated!

updates!!!

I know, I know....seriously I'm the worst blogger ever but I've been so busy! My little sister just went into the MTC and now I"m managing her blog as well! (www.sisterlaubaugh.blogspot.com) seriously come check her out see all her journeys from the MTC to Berlin, Germany!

As of late David has been obsessing over his school work (good and bad) and he has been so busy! I'm grateful that he is so dedicated to his work, but I miss my husband! Thankfully he has a 7 week break coming up so we can just relax, work and have fun! Yay!

Work's been good-busy, but good. I've recently started doing more design work and freelance for friends and individuals who need help! It's been way fun! I'll be starting to do more photography and hopefully selling it online in a few weeks or so! I'm loving having all of these projects and hopefully I'll have more soon!!! I'm really excited to start sewing up again and making some covers and decorations for the home!

Toothless is great-he bit me today-not my favorite but this is what happened....I've decided that while Toothless is a boy, he would look really really cute with glitter nails. His nails are seriously so long and they would look SO GOOD in a gold glitter-it would look great with his shell AND it's non toxic-so I was playing with him and checking out his nails and when I pulled out his arm a little bit, he bit me!!!! and it was hard! i'm thinking it's just the fact that he didn't want gold sparkles-so i'm going to try painting them blue tomorrow :)

Well...let's see, today I got my nails done b/c let's be honest here-I had one of the worst days ever. Now no one wants to read my griping and complaints so I'll skip all that and just trust that it was bad. Like, worse than breaking your heel as you fall on ice and not having a spare pair of shoes on hand. (yes that happened to me this winter)

Other than that-i'm just so tuckered out right now so i'm going to go to bed tomorrow and pray that i have the motivation to go to work tomorrow. haha.

Caramelized pineapple french toast :)

Friends! Here is a taste of one of the many recipes on my other blog! www.mandygailey.blogspot.com! come check it out! 

On Sunday David wasn't feeling too hot, so I decided to make a combination of his favorite foods: pineapple and french toast. I went searching in our pantry for some different things, and voila! I came up with a scrumptious variation of french toast that we will continue to make for years to come! 

Caramelized Pineapple French Toast

French toast batter

4 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

3 Tb milk

1 tsp honey

Mix all of them together and refrigerate until you are ready to dip and fry! You can use any kind of bread, we used a 9 grain honey oat that worked great! 

Caramel topping

2 cups fresh pineapple 

3 Tb honey

2 Tb white sugar

4 Tb brown sugar

2 Tb butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tb cream (or half and half) 

On the stove top add the butter, honey and pineapple and let it get warm. Once it starts bubbling, add the sugars, vanilla and cream-stir constantly and don't let it burn. It will boil and turn a light brown and smell delicious!!! Turn down the heat and let it simmer-it will get really gooey and when your french toast is ready-just add it to the top!! It is a wonderful-citrus and caramely twist to a classic breakfast meal. Enjoy! 

This morning I fell off the bed

This morning I realized that I am not the only bed hog. David is. How did I come up with that conclusion you might ask? well....long story short-David and I are down in Salt lake visiting with family and currently sharing a full size bed. Now, at home, David and I have a king sized bed and usually David stays in his one spot and I just roam around the bed the whole night. (i'm what you call an active sleeper) well...this morning I woke up mid fall...yes, I fell out of be this morning-David had moved from is spot into the middle and left me ehhhhh a foot of sleeping space, and with me being such an active sleeper, that is just not enough room. I know you might be telling yourself, "wow-mandy's a pretty demanding sleeper" and yes my friend, you are right. I know that I roam in my sleep and that I take up most of the bed, but today-it has changed. David can't make fun of me anymore, and he can't complain that he's lucky he's big or else I would've pushed him off the bed months ago. He moves too. and pushed ME off the bed early this morning. While this may not be the biggest victory in the whole world, I am pretty excited to tell him that he's not the only active sleeper. And that he does move in his sleep-maybe only a few inches, but boy do those inches count. haha

Also, if you happen to read my blog, please remember that I am trying to keep up with a 2nd blog (i know, i can hardly update this one) that has recipes, crafts, funny happenings of the week, etc. It's a party. it's www.mandygailey.blogspot.com enjoy! 

reasons why I love ikea

1. the 'as is' section. I have always just kind of passed by it but today David and I ventured into it's depths. It was glorious. While a small section, it holds some wonderful treasures...such as the .99 bottle that we will be using as a soap dispenser, the pillow that I HAD TO HAVE, but then decided to keep to our budget and put it down. BLESSINGS FROM ABOVE it was there!!!!! and for about 1/3 of the price. Nothing was wrong, I'm assuming that it was just returned because the person was blind and didn't see it's beauty-so I now have it.

2. the awkward run-ins. I ran into 3 random friends from back in the day (like freshman year of college)

3. I can't help but decide that our future home is going to look like all of the different ikea displays-including the outrageous light fixtures.

4. when your husband turns to you and says, "if we hold off on this trip, we can plan and figure out what we really want to do for the apartment and get everything next time." true love.

so with that, I have now begun the search of the different color palettes we will be using for our bedroom, the spare, the kitchen and also the living room. While we may not be doing all of the rooms, I can dream and I can at least be prepared for when that day comes. haha-maybe one day. :)

Summer Time Fun!

Today was an absolute blast! David and I have been SO BUSY with work, school, homework and everything in between. Finally, we were able to relax and clean and have fun with some friends. We were able to sleep in till 10! It was great-and then we did a deep clean of the apartment and then went out with our wonderful friends Julie and Morgan to the park.

Now, Porter park is the 'hippest' place in Rexburg in the summer...and because of that, today was filled with lots of people watching. Here are some of our favorites:

-Tandem bike with 2 guys on it-they seemed to be having a great first date. awkward.

-The crazy biker guy who was making his rounds to all of the other girls riding bikes. THIS guy was on a roll. I seriously think we saw him hit on about 5 different girls in about an hour-he would just ride circles around the park like a hawk and spot his prey and literally dive in for the hunt. He made our afternoon.

-The two girls who thought they were tanning, but were actually burning. I saw these two ladies  apply lots of baby oil and just lay out in their booty shorts and tank top that was rolled up when they got up they were a crisp lobster red and had some hardcore tan lines.

-The family reunion...FHE family reunion-it looked pretty awkward, especially with the neon green shirts

-The little boy who could have only been a little over a year old walking this dog-it was the cutest thing ever!!! The dog was about 2 times larger than he was and they just walked around the park sniffing and picking up everything. The little guy was quite the ladies man as well-it was so cute.

After the park we went and got snow cones and as always they never let us down. We then went home and had a great dinner of chicken and asparagus and then just cuddled and caught up on the Bachelorette. Oh how I love lazy Saturdays.

growing pains

This week I have had to grow, and stretch myself in a few new ways. I will be honest and say that while I know that I'm not perfect, I think I'm a pretty good person and have developed into who I need to be. While, I still feel that way, the Lord has helped me in a few different situations this week that I am continually progressing and that I'm never 'perfect' the way I am.

For instance...I'm learning how to become patient with not only myself, but also others. At work yesterday I had an interesting gentleman (when I say interesting I mean an overweight hick from 'off the grid' Idaho, who has 3 brown filed-down teeth which you see when he snarls but not when he speaks, patched facial hair that is a good 4 inches long, and a choppy mullet that would make any 80's lover jealous...not to mention the extra 300 pounds of extra loving and the coke bottle glasses that made his eyes look extra beady and bloodshot.) scream at me for a bit, and then make his point by complaining that my candy jar wasn't filled with good enough candy. (please note the whole office gets their candy from the same closet which is filled with 5 different types of candy, and at the time, I had all 5 choices.)

Today I almost peed my pants because this beast of a woman looked like she was going to stab me with the pen in her hand when I told her some unfortunate news about her account. Now you may say, Mandy...what do you mean by beast? I mean exactly what you're thinking-she was a BEAST of a woman...and any grown man would be proud of her facial hair, especially her side burns....now...back to my growing pains. So-in both of these instances, I have had to not only compose myself, but also have the patience to help them and make them feel like they were the most important thing at that moment. When I wanted to go puke from whatever stench I was smelling at that moment, I had to stand there and smile, breathe through my mouth and try to focus on whatever sent was left from my minty lipgloss. It's hard, but I'm doing it.

ok, sidenote, there is an advertisement for a 1.6 horsepower blender for sale-freak gina, I believe that motor is more powerful than my neighbors car engine.

ok...back to my pains...so I've also realized that I love to eat. I love the taste, texture, feeling and everything about eating. I love cooking for people (even if it's just David and me) and having the satisfaction that I've created something that they could enjoy and be satisfied from. I love going out with friends and having a meal and laughing and sharing stories and memories. I love the feeling of comfort that warm chocolate chip cookies give you when you've had a bad day and your husband surprises you with a few because he knows that they will make you feel a little better. Anyways...you get my point, I love food.

Well, David and I have started a diet and it's very strict, and horrible, and keeps me from eating my feelings. We've declined outings and treats at work, social events have been put on hold and it's just rough. When we would go out for a treat, we now go for sugar free juice. I'm learning that my emotions don't have to control my eating habits. That I can have fun without food being the center of attention (while it still helps) and that we can literally cut our spending in half by just buying the foods that we're going to eat that week and not wasting groceries by going out to eat. It's hard, very hard. I've learned that I can have self control, and that every day when I see the scale's number go a little lower, that I am that much closer to my goal.

Overall, I've learned that I am continually put in situations where I can easily fall back into a natural way, to give into a desire, or comfort that I've grown to love. Over the past few weeks, I've learned that I am stronger and that I can change, that I can conquer habits and even fears that I've had for years. Oh the lessons we learn in life.

Chelsea and Kendall's engagements

Oh my gosh, Chelsea and Kendall were such a party to shoot! They were so much fun and are the coolest couple ever! We ended up going out twice because our first session was full of rain and wind...lots of wind. Soooo....needless to say we had to do another one! They are both so photogenic and were naturals. 

Thanks guys for being so great!

A much needed update!

Friends and family-it has been too long! I have been adding a few things to my other food blog (mandygailey.blogspot.com) but anyways-life has been great, and has had many many changes!

Top 10 things from the past 2 months...or so.

1. I graduated!! Wahoo!! I officially graduated from college and it feels great. While I do miss the breaks throughout the day and seeing tons of friends all the time, I am enjoying work. (I will explain later)

2. My family came out to see us! It was an absolute party to see my family and have fun-We tried to show my parents what Idaho was really about (good food and scenery) and took them to a few great local spots! Overall, it was great to have them here and we have missed them so!

3. David's dad came to America!!! We were able to go down to Salt Lake for a day and visit with him and Grandpa and Grandma Gailey-it was nice to enjoy a wonderful afternoon and evening catching up and enjoying everyones company. Oh how we love them so!

4. I got a job! I am now working at the Bank of Commerce and it's fun-and always keeps me on my toes.

5. David and I started a diet a few days ago and it's going great! It's seriously SO HARD, but we haven't cheated once (thank goodness for sugar free snow cones!) and David has lost 13 pounds, and I've lost 8 so far. We are hoping to keep on going strong and lose even more!!

6. David is LOVING this semester (his favorite so far) he is really excelling in all of his classes and all of his coworkers love him. Of course he's the favorite, and every time I go into his work they just go on and on about how much they love him and how he's the greatest guy ever.

7. I've been shooting some engagements and other photography and that's been so much fun! They have been wonderful and such great experience!

8. Football, Football, Football!!! Wahoo!! David is helping coach one of the two teams I'm on right now-it has been so much fun and a great experience for the both of us! It's been a great season and out of all of the games and both of my teams, we've only lost 1 game!! David is a great coach and really is able to bring a whole new light to the game for us!

9. Toothless is loving life-he is bigger than ever and has a blast swimming in his tank.

10. ughhh....seriously, I never thought we were so boring, I can't think of anything else-oh well-

have a great night!

NEW BLOG!!!

Friends and family-I have a new blog. It's mandygailey.blogspot.com I'm trying to add fun recipes, crafts, easy meals, some photography and different things like that because David said that I needed a hobby. Since I am officially graduated, I don't have homework, and since David still does-he gets crabby when I complain about him not playing with me. Hence the need of a hobby...so please feel free to check it out!

Mandy :)

This is my husband....

I know that David may hate me after he reads this, but seriously, this is one of the few photos that can make me laugh instantly. I can't help but just adore David and be thankful for all that he has done for me. Throughout the day, even from waking up in the morning to when we fall asleep at night-he is just the greatest and helps me oh so much.

Just today, there is a list of a bazillion reasons why I'm grateful for him...

1. Waking me up gently every morning with a song-he has found out that I react best to a little jig, rather than a jolting alarm.
2. Since I've been super stressed with school I don't sleep well, and because of that I'm very groggy in the morning...today he picked me up in my blanket cocoon and carried me to the bathroom so I wouldn't get cold. ( I know all of you are saying, oh my gosh Mandy, that's pitiful. But really-would any of you like to leave your blankets and walk on cold floors in the morning? I don't think so)
3. David brought me my slim fast this morning already shook up and chilled in the fridge.
4. He went and warmed up the car so we could get in a toasty vehicle instead of shivering on our way to class.
5. I'm at work and get a google chat of "I love you!" -this always makes my day.
6. David surprised me with a doughnut and a visit because I commented that I missed him via chat.
7. David got done with work early and walked me to class so I could have some company.

So that's everything that he's done for me TODAY-he is ALWAYS thinking of me and surprising me with little gifts and outings-he is the greatest and today I am extra grateful for the best husband ever.

Yesterday I had a rough day b/c I had to wear heels all day and I got home and David told me to sit down and he instantly started rubbing my feet for like 30 minutes! He is just the greatest and just is so thoughtful.

All in all, I love my husband and I am way too spoiled. He is the greatest and I love him so much!

Some home additions :)

Yay!!! Finally we are putting up some finishing touches on our apartment. Our newest addition is our painting from Bali, a vase from The Flower Patch, and some branches to add some zest. We are LOVING it, and so is Toothless. haha

These are some cookies I made the other night-forgive me for the paper napkin background but the counter was horrific. But anyways...these were DELICIOUS!!! Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies filled with oreos? mmm-instant hit, and I have been asked to make them again! It is a modified chocolate chip cookie dough and I'm still perfecting it. Once I have it done, I'll post the recipe.