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!