Devin & Nikki Choules

19.5 weeks

2011-10-23T20:14:00.000-06:00

Just a little update on the belly. We are at 19.5 weeks and feelin good! My migraines have lightened up a lot. I had to switch pillows and get a head, neck, and back massage to cure them. But they are FINALLY going away.

I crave pizza, cheese, milk, and cream of broccoli soup every day. Just thinking about those things makes me hungry. As you can tell, I eat like a champ! All day every day. I mainly like to eat because every time I do, I can feel the baby move. It's like he/she is celebrating that it gets food. It's my favorite part of the day. Devin got to feel the baby move yesterday. One big kick. We can't get the baby to do it again, but at least he knows that I am not just getting fat.. there is an actual baby in there.

Tomorrow we find out what we are having. I am so excited! Devin is convinced it's a girl. I have had a feeling since the 7th week that it's a boy. So I guess we shall see tomorrow!

Here is a picture of the belly. Yes, I look tired. I know.. don't look at me, look at the belly. :)

How do you...

2011-09-17T09:34:00.002-06:00

How do you shrink the header picture on your blog? FML.. Mine used to be small. Now, no matter what pic I put in there, it's TOO FREAKING BIG. If anyone has any suggestions, that would be awesome.

It's true!

2011-09-17T08:44:00.000-06:00

As most of you know from the FB (Facebook), Devin and I are expecting! Yep! I finally get to be a mommy! Just knowing that I get to be a mommy is more exciting to me then when I graduated from grad school. I have been waiting for this for a long time!

We are due March 15th! So, I still have 6 more months to go. I am officially in the second trimester. This is good news! Even though I really didn't have a hard first trimester, it is nice not to feel queasy every day. I also have way more energy. I only need to take one nap a day instead of four. The only complaint I have about the second trimester is the headaches. Headaches with pregnancy run in my family, so it's to be expected. Tylenol is my best friend these days!

We get to see the baby in 5 weeks. My OB wont do an ultrasound till the 20th week. I am kinda bummed about that. I can't wait to find out about what we are having. I have a feeling it's a boy. I have had that feeling since about the 7th week. Dev is convinced it's a girl. But I guess we will find out.

I will start to put up belly pictures this next week. I need to go get AA batteries so our camera will work. For now, just enjoy the pee stick pictures! HA HA. Sorry if you think it's gross... I think they are two of the most beautiful pictures ever!!

Be still my heart

2011-07-12T20:21:00.000-06:00

Look what West Elm made just for me.. Sigh. I want, I want, I need, I need. How can I get Devin to let me buy it?

An update

2011-07-10T17:42:00.000-06:00

Time has flown by this past little bit. Here's a recap of what has been going on at our house.

1. June 19, 2011- It's our third anniversary! Has it been three years already? I love my life with this boy. We are pretty blessed. In celebration of our nuptials, we went to dinner and just bummed around town. We were going to go to Vegas but decided to go in July because we have 4 free nights at a hotel there. Why spend $200 just to go on the actual date of your anniversary? We did take it easy, but I love just spending time with my Dev. He did give me a pearl and diamond necklace! Ok, not a real diamond necklace, but still so pretty.

2. We went up north a couple of times. The first was to see my fam and friends. It was a very fun weekend. I got to hang out with Megs, Luke, Corykins, Tyder, Chris, Andy, and Kate and Joe. So fun. We went to Joe Vera's (a Mexican diner in Provo) and then the boys played Halo while the girls went and saw a movie. Then we hung out with my family and I got to hold my new cousin, Isabella. She is so tiny.

3. The fourf of July (like Darla says on Little Rascals). We headed up to Logan and Idaho. That weekend is Logan's cruise-in festival. They have a fair (complete with funnel cake Megs), fireworks, and a parade. The parade is just old cars dragging main. It was fun. We spent two days with our good friends, Mike and Jess Watts. We were lucky enough that they let us crash at their house. Hank was excited to see his gf, Bella. They missed each other. Then, we went to Dev's parents house. We went to Twin Lakes for a campfire, and lots of food. Hanky learned that he truly is a water dog. He never came out of the lake. He loved it! It was good to see his family.

That's about it. And no, I did not bring my camera for any of it. I need to be better. I feel like posts with no pics are boring. I'll work on it.

The one with the oldness..

2011-06-05T21:39:00.004-06:00

Yep, I'm old. Saturday I turned 27. 27 does not feel any different than 26. Except for while doing my birthday shopping...I lost my cell phone and keys (while looking for my phone) in two different stores and I plucked 4 gray hairs on the left side of my head. I must admit, I cried when I found them. But they have been cursed and taken care of.

My birthday was really laid back which is exactly how I like it these days. Husb has finally learned that I like all of my presents right when I wake up. He has also learned that skirts from Anthropology are always appreciated! Then I laid by the pool and painted my toes, went to lunch with my dear friend Britt, and then went to Olive Garden with the husb. The husb also surprised me with a cupcake cake and neighbors singing after dinner. I am grateful for the friends we have down here!

Life for me is pretty laid back. I went part time at my work. Let me tell you folks that I was made for part time. Its really nice to work on my house and take care of the things that I have been putting off. Husb is really busy. He is doing a lot of work with people he meets at trade shows. Which means he does not come home till late at night. I miss him most nights, but he loves his job and is doing so well. We are planning a few trips this summer. We hope to do a lot of camping. I'll keep ya'all posted!

The one with the graduation (100th post!)

2011-05-15T14:34:00.003-06:00

Hi all! As many of you know I graduated last week. Yep, I am now Nicole Choules, Au.D. or Dr. Choules for short! 9 years of hard work finally came to an end and is paying off! Here are some pics from that wonderful day!

So what are we going to do now? Well, we decided to stay in San Jorge. I don't know if I can ever leave this place. I heart the weather, our house, and our neighbors and friends. I have adapted quite nicely to the San Jorge lifestyle. It's very laid back. I will be working as an independent contractor for Dixie Hearing and Balance center a few days a week. I have also contracted with a company called Innovasis in SLC to remotely monitor their neuromonitoring technicians a few times a month. Its exciting that I get to start my own business! Its small and not a whole lot of risk. Just what I was looking for! Dev is also out school. He is working for Cambridge Financial. He is doing really well down here!

We have BIG plans for the summer! We are going to finally finish our desk, revamp the entry way of our house, finish our headboard, and travel! We have a couple of fun vacays planned- Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon, Zions, plays at Tuachn, and hopefully Yellowstone. I cannot wait! We decided that each weekend we want to go somewhere and do something. Even if it is just something simple like camping. I am finally free so there is no more school Nikki! I get to be carefree and fun Nikki!

The one with the avoidance

2011-03-22T19:42:00.002-06:00

I'm an avoider. I avoid people, situations, to-do lists, laundry, objects, feelings, phone calls.. You name it, I probably avoid it. I am trying extremely hard to change this about me. And you know what is funny? I NEVER (ok maybe not never) used to be like this. I blame it on grad school. Grad school really changed my personality. I used to be loud, energetic, fun, straight-forward, stay-up all night, crazy, dance in front of a window, happy girl. Now I am quiet (this also could be because my husband is loud enough for the both of us and then some), lazy, go to bed early, lame, only dance by myself, avoider. Sigh. I miss 18 year old Nikki. Where did she go?

The one with the vote

2011-03-21T12:46:00.004-06:00

Ok ladies I am no longer being depressed and lazy. I am doing things with my life. Time to start crafting again and getting my house to where it should be! I bought these little beauties for my back yard. Only they are in sunshine yellow! YAY! But now I want to put an outdoor rug with it and some pillows. I need help picking out the fabric for the pillows. Please vote and tell me which one you love or let me know if there is an even cuter fabric out there! Here are the top contenders:

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Growth.

2011-03-10T20:38:00.002-07:00

I am happy to announce that I have given up watching 3 TV shows. Three!! It may not seem like much, but this is growth people. I am slowly going to give up most of my shows. There's just got to be more to life than going to work, coming home and sitting around watching TV! It's funny.. when I was in school I would have killed to have time to sit around, relax, watch TV and craft. Now, all I want to do is be busy. Oh the irony. But this is one small step for me in the right direction!

Happy Birthday!!

2011-03-01T23:02:00.002-07:00

Happy birthday to this handsome devil..

I love my Dev. Not one day is ever boring. Happy 27th birthday Love!

Lets Talk Sushi..

2011-02-01T12:31:00.003-07:00

Do you love sushi or hate it? I for one L-O-V-E it. I crave it. Come on peeps.. its one of the only foods you can sport eat and not gain 25 lbs from. Its healthy! Now, I'm not super adventurous with it, I admit there are a couple of rolls that are too spicy and some that are hard to gag down, but overall I am a HUGE fan. The best place to eat sushi is actually in Logan. It's called Happy Sushi. It's a small mom and pop diner. I love it. Dev got me addicted to it. He took me there on one of our first dates. When we lived in Lo we pretty much ate there once every two weeks. Since moving to San Jorge I have had some good sushi. One roll at Samurai 21 comes close to my favorite roll in Lo. It gets me through my sushi cravings until I can drive up to Lo and feast on my tempura shrimp, salmon, avocado, cucumber, lemon, and eel sauce roll (aka: goodness of love). But today I found one other place that has a pretty good substitute roll. The place is.... (drum roll please) Harmon's grocery store. What? I know, right? Harmons? Yes. They make rolls fresh daily and have a ton of choices! I just found it today and partook of a yummy salmon, avocado, cucumber and cream cheese roll. Yum. And, BONUS, they give you two rolls for $6.00. Bring on the sushi lunches people!

2011

2011-01-23T09:16:00.002-07:00

Yep.. a little late in posting everything. Are you surprised? Here's the skinny on Dev and I.

Christmas:
(PS... Our camera is still broke. I did take pics on my phone; however, they are in some secret file that I cannot get to. I have no idea how to access it!)

We went up north for Christmas. First stop: my parents. We went up a day before Christmas Eve to hang out and see peeps. I was able to see 2 out of the 3 loves of my life (aka: the Megan/Meagans). We had fun eating and laughing but we sure did miss our little Cotter. Christmas came and went. There was lots of food, family, and presents. Dev and I got a little spoiled this year. I ended up getting a Kindle (and Santa failed to bring the 2nd little item on my list, a baby, but hey..) and stripper heels, a costco membership, and gift cards galore. Dev got his coveted ipod sound system, shirts, gift cards, and cologne.

Our next stop was Dev's parents house. Dev got to talk to his brother Landon who is on a mission in Cali. This is his last Christmas away from home! Elder Choules comes home in March! It was fun to see all of Dev's fam. Being 7 hours away from them makes it kinda hard to see them on a regular basis. We played games and ate a lot!

New Years:

New years was quiet for us. All our friends down here were either still up north with their families or down here with their families. Apparently no one in San Jorge believes in New Year's parties. So Dev and I went to Mesquite to eat at their yummy seafood buffet. We ate and chatted for two hours. It was so fun. Then we came home, got in our jammies, and watched a movie. When midnight struck we had sparkling cider in fancy glasses. We made toasts, talked about the future, and our resolutions. Sounds kind of boring to most, but honestly, it was one of the best nights of my life. New Years is always special to us because it is the night we met. It has been three years since Dev and I met! How time flies.

Currently:

Dev is doing well in school. It finally hit him that he turns 27 this year, that I want to have a family and he wants to have a life without school so he is taking 16 credits to try and accelerate his academic career. He is a little overwhelmed, but I know he is going to do great! He is still working for Cambridge Financial. He LOVES his job. I have 3 1/2 months till I graduate. Phew! I am way excited to finally not be a student. I have spent 23 years of my life being a student. I am slowly working on my house, and making good friends down here. We are trying to stay down here after I graduate. San Jorge suits us well. Its laid back and warm. But you never know what is going to happen.

For the love..

2010-11-21T20:18:00.004-07:00

Check out this fabulous food blog that I just found! I heart it. The recipes are fantastic! I have already spent 3 hours pulling recipes off of it. Enjoy!

Dear Santa

2010-10-31T16:17:00.001-06:00

Dear Santa,

My list is pretty simple this year.. I have a blessed life and I don't need or want a lot, just two things:

1. A kindle
2. A baby

You may really have to use your magic to convince the husband on the second item, but together I think we could do it!

XOXO,

Nikki

New Motto

2010-10-26T12:53:00.002-06:00

Devin and I have been going through some trials. Nothing new or scary and certainly nothing that you all have not been through before. But we have just been faced with some decisions which have been weighing on us. I have been pondering about "the right choice" that we should make about some of these trials and questions we have. Today on my lunch break I was starting to gather some material for a talk I have to give on Sunday (and yes, this is the third or fourth time we have talked in 2 years) when I came across Elder Richard C. Edgley's October 2010 conference on faith. In this talk he talks about how to have faith is a choice and one that we all have to make. One sentence that he said really hit me and now has become my motto for life right now. He said, "Choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen and choose faith over pessimism." Now does choosing faith make trials and questions go away? No. But I pray that it will make things a little more clear, bearable, peaceful. How wonderful is that phrase? I am grateful for the tender mercies from my Father in Heaven.

Is it just me or....?

2010-09-10T12:51:00.002-06:00

Is it just me or does it seem like every time I get on facebook someone is announcing that they are pregnant? I can't wait for the day that I will be able to announce it. But until then.. *sigh*

By the by, Happy Friday!

What we have been up to..

2010-08-29T21:14:00.006-06:00

I cannot believe that the summer has just flown by! Where to begin??

Well, the first wonderful thing that happened was that Devin has been able to work with our neighbor doing heating and air conditioning! Since we moved down here, Dev has been been trying to continue his financial planning business down here. He has done some great things, but when you are in a commission based job and you move to a place where you really don't know anyone, building your business can be tough. Fortunately, my job pays for the bills, but we really needed a little more to build up savings and pay for unexpected bills, etc. Our neighbor across the way owns his own company. One Saturday Dev told him that if he needed any help to consider calling Devin. Well, a couple hours after Dev talked with him, our neighbor was at a job on a ladder and fell off the ladder. He hit his head and broke his arm. Needless to say, Devin has been blessed with work everyday! Really the Lord was looking out for us. Our neighbor later told us that he had spoken with the stake president a week before the accident. The stake president told him to hire some one and the Lord will bless them with work. Our neighbor was still a little hesitant to hire someone. When he fell off the latter, he took it as a sign. I am so grateful that the Lord knew what we needed and how to take care of us. It has been a major blessing in our lives!

Devin also started school. He started going to Dixie State and changed his major to accounting. He was a little nervous to start a new school and to go to class since he hit his head again and has had some memory problems. He has done really well! He really only has problems when his brain becomes stressed or overloaded. We are just taking it one day at a time.. Here he is on his first day of school. Isn't he cute?

Nothing has really changed for me. Work is starting to go well. I am doing a lot of everything by myself. I now can also do inter-operative monitoring for the spine surgeons by myself! I passed my training! The house is coming along. We finally picked a paint color for the bedroom and fabric for the downstairs curtains. Saint George is also becoming more like home. It has started cooling down so all of our neighbors are outside at night. It is our favorite thing to go out and get to know them. We have some really awesome neighbors! Now that it is cooler outside, we want to start going camping. Tonight we thought we would try putting Hank's camping gear on him, so he can get used to it. He HATED it! He would not move. Here are some picks of Dev trying to get him to move.

Hank has started to act like himself. When we moved down here, he really was confused and not very happy. But since we have settled, he is much happier. Here are some pics of him at his favorite spot in the house. It is the first landing of the stairs.

I can't wait for the next couple of weeks. We have some friends and family coming to visit us. I am so ready to see them! It has been too long. I also cannot wait for these next couple of months because I feel like life is progressing. You know those periods of time where you are stuck doing the same thing and the weather is the same and there is just nothing going on? That has been my life for the past couple of months. I feel like with the weather changing that it is bringing along new changes and good things. We will see how life goes!

Some things I am currently loving.

2010-08-01T16:02:00.009-06:00

As of late I have been obsessing over a couple of things. I thought I would share them with you.

1. Little kids bearing their testimonies. When Dev and I moved into our new house, we thought we would try the family ward here. We have been attending a married student ward since we got married. But we thought we would try this ward because all of our neighbors go to it and it would be nice to get to know everyone in the neighborhood. I was a little sketchy on it mainly because I have not been in a family ward since I was 17 years old (that's 9 years for all of those who are trying to figure it out..). And I have maybe once or twice gone to RS with women who are 80-ish. But come to find out, this ward is really nice! The main thing I love though are the little kids in this ward. Their testimonies are so simple and they just want to share them. I especially love when they end with, "in my name and Jesus Christ, Amen." My cup runnith over.

2. The Hunger Games. (Yes, I just went from spiritual to a sci-fi, futuristic, killing book. Deal with it.) I did not want to read this series. When I heard the main story line I didn't think I could handle it.. I mean kids, killing kids due to a stupid government tradition, come on man! So I put it off. I finally broke down about a month ago. It took me FOREVER to get through the first part of the book. I was about to return it when a main character named Peeta declares love for the other main character, Katniss. Stupid love stories that hook me! Then on top of that there is a little love triangle. Heaven knows that I am a noisy person ESPECIALLY when it comes to who loves who and then the dang author throws in a love triangle. And now I am obsessed. I am so mad that I have to wait 23 days till the next one comes out. And to be perfectly honest, I don't know who I want Katniss to end up with. They are great guys and one does not seem more suited for her than the other! You can fight me all you want with this, but it's not like Twilight where obviously she would end up with Edward. Both male characters are amazing. The end.

3. Urban Renewal consign and design store. So San Jeorge has a TON of antique stores. But the best one I have found is on main and 1st east and its called Urban Renewal. I will definitely post pictures of this store this week. They have cute antiques, clothes, linens, furniture, fabric, lighting, and design ideas. Some of the items are still expensive, but it is still so fun to look around.

4. The Lettered Cottage. If you have not checked out this blog, you need to. Enough said.

5. White pitchers and plates. My last obsession has sparked this obsession. I love how they look with flowers and numbers on them.

6. Tai Pan. Need I say more?

7. Deseret Industries. The one in San Jeorge ROCKS! This store has helped me accomplish so many craft projects for so cheap!

8. My new house. It is slowly coming along. I will probably be able to post pictures of the downstairs this week.

9. And last but not least, my boys. I heart them. Look how cute they are. (pay no attention to the bag of chips behind Hank. Dev was eating salsa. HA HA

Now that I am working..

2010-07-18T18:37:00.002-06:00

Now that I am working I am realizing that I was not made to work 40+ hours a week.

Now that I am working I am realizing that keeping my house clean is a HUGE undertaking.

Now that I am working I am realizing that some days I want to quit this profession and open up a classy, trendy, awesome cupcake bakery. (I hope one day that I could do this.)

Now that I am working I am realizing that there are SO MANY CLASSES that I should have taken in college. To name a few:

1. Cello classes
2. Gourmet cooking class
3. Ballet
4. Sewing
5. Yoga, Zumba, pilates, and strength training classes

Ok.. So I did take sewing classes and I try cooking new recipes all of the time. But I wish I would have done more than just Audiology. I know that taking more classes in graduate school was probably not possible, but a girl can dream. To rectify the situation I have emailed two possible Cello teachers and have located the cheapest place to rent a cello. Hopefully I can start lessons in August. I am also becoming a member of the Washington City rec center. They have so many exercising classes and brand new facilities! For right now those will have to do. Sewing classes and gourmet cooking classes will have to come later... All things in moderation, right?

Ode to Jimmy John's

2010-06-30T12:47:00.002-06:00

I have a new obsession.. #8 Billy Club at Jimmy Johns. I crave it like a fat kid craves a king snicker's bar dipped in peanut butter and ice cream. I think it reminds me a lot of a Blimpie's sandwich. It has mouthwatering roast beef, ham and provolone cheese. I could eat it for every meal! I heart it.

Oh.. by the by, we closed on our house! YAY! But the seller's Realtor will not let us have the keys until the loan funds. I hate him. So we will get the keys Friday, but I will be in clinic in Richfield on Friday then we will be in Orem all that weekend. So we will get the keys on Tuesday. Boo. But at least the end is in sight!

And I defended you!!!

2010-06-29T08:24:00.003-06:00

Seriously Justin?? I defended you! I told EVERYONE that you were a good guy and that it was just the guys in the house that were out to making you the bad guy. I cursed the people that compared you to Wes and Vienna. And then you go and do that. Bad form.

Crafting Overload

2010-06-25T16:50:00.002-06:00

Can I please just move into my house? I have SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many things that I would like to make for it AND I have $150 in gift cards to Tai Pan that are BURNING a hole in my purse. Please little underwriter, get everything ready so that I can FREAKING move in!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

2010-06-14T12:59:00.004-06:00

I just feel like screaming right now! But, I can't.. So I will blog. Life is just crazy right now. We are still not in our house because the builders are slow. They are supposed to be finished with everything today, but you never know. We probably will sign next week. I am SOOOO ready to be moved in and not living out of boxes. I am just now dealing with stupid underwriters and stupid builders. I don't ever want to build a house again! Ok.. so I am being a little dramatic. But seriously. We have gotten word that we will probably sign on our home by the 23rd. So the end is in sight!

Here's whats new with us. Devin broke his collar bone 2 weeks ago. Yep, his first weekend here and he flew over his handlebars, hit his head and broke his collar bone. Lovely. As many of you know about 3 years ago, Dev hit his head snowboarding and has been dealing with memory loss since then. This time is not as bad, but he still has a hard time remembering dates, times, things we have done, and problems he has already solved. Needless to say that school is going to be very interesting this fall.

My job is getting better all the time. I am really really loving the OR. I feel like Meridith Grey in my scrubs! I know, I am a nerd. But I have gotten to see some pretty cool surgeries. Like right now, I am in the OR watching a scoliosis case. They make an incision from the middle of the ribs to down around the opposite side of the bellybutton. I can see the patient's lungs breath in and out. It is way cool.

Things we love about St. George: We are finally settling down in this little town. Hank really loves the dog park and the canyon behind Dev's grandma's house. He love chasing the birds and has recently discovered rabbits. He has actually never gotten up close to a rabbit, but he will chase them forever. Dev and I have discovered some great restaurants, hikes, and some cheap stores. The weather is starting not even to be a problem for me.. Dev on the other hand quite frequently asks me if we moved to the sun. We do miss Cache Valley. We also really miss our friends. It has been interesting and good for us to rely solely on each other. We have had some visits from friends and family over the past couple of weeks. I love the fact that we are not too far away and that people want to visit us! I have plans for a great guest room in our new home. It has lovingly been named the Hotel Choules. I CANNOT wait to decorate it. So please, all of you, come visit us!

Playing Catch-up

2010-05-24T11:51:00.002-06:00

Well, we're here in St. George. I apologize for not updating, but we still don't have internet at our house! I have it at work, but it has been so hectic at work, that I rarely have time to be on here. So here is what's going on with us!

1. I started work last Monday. The first day was really rough. Coming into a new clinic and learning EVERYTHING is just over-whelming. Also trying to get feel-out the staff's personalities can take a while to do. But I am proud to say that after the first day, everything did get better. I think the best part of my week was going into the OR to monitor spine nerves for the spine surgeon we work with. It's so cool! I get to go into the OR about 1-2 times a week. I heart it. I look like a real doctor! HA HA HA. They are slowly letting me take over appointments here in the clinic. I am in charge of every pediatric case, 6 month hearing aid follow-ups (cleaning, ordering, troubleshooting and adjusting),and doing all veterans appointments. I get to do that by myself! I just can't believe that I finally get to do some things on my own. It's been 3 years coming! When I am not in charge, I do sit in on the other doctors appointments and assist them. Hopefully they will trust me a little more in the coming weeks and give more responsibility.

2. Our town home is still not done. The walls have paint on them, lighting fixtures are in, tile in the bathrooms is laid, and we have grass and plants. We are just waiting on our cabinets. We choose white shaker cabinets and apparently they take a little more time to assemble. Once we get those, we should have our lament floor put in and then appliances. They have till June 1st to be done. I am hoping we will sign June 1st or 2nd. I am SO tired of living out of boxes!

3. Dev is still looking for a job. He is going to get a part time job out here while he builds up clientele with Allegis Financial. So, if you know any one in San Jorge (St. George) who needs life insurance, retirement, or learn how to structure their budget.. just let us know!

4. Our ward is AMAZING! It's just a tiny ward. But everyone is so nice. We feel very welcomed!

5. Life is good! We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for leading us here. He is so mindful of our lives. Even though some things are still up in there air and at times can be frustrating, we have no doubt that He is guiding us and blessing us.

I hope all of you are doing well. I miss each and everyone of you! (But I will say, I DO NOT miss the weather up North!)

Going Private

2010-05-18T12:36:00.001-06:00

So I have been getting a lot of random, weird comments from people in Japanese or Chinese and I don't want to run the risk of being hacked or getting a virus or what not. So I have decided to go private. If you want to read my awesome blog, will you please leave a comment with your email address?

Thanks Sweeties!

Good bye House

2010-05-11T10:52:00.006-06:00

As Devin and I pack up our lives here in Logan, I can't help but become a little nostalgic. I am really going to miss this apartment. Maybe not our crazy pot-smoking African-American neighbor or our just married and we still act like we are 12 years old neighbors (I do say it with kindness)... but I am going to miss this apt and our vegan, no bra wearing downstairs neighbors. It has been such a great place to live. This has truly been our first home. At the KD house we were surrounded by 20 girls and it never really felt like home. So this apartment was our first of just being us. It was the place of many disagreements, many make-ups, late night study sessions, cooking successes and mishaps, countless games of fetch with Hankey Pankey, card games with friends, movies with friends, and endless days of laughter. I am really going to miss this apartment. Here are some pics of our humble apartment. It may not look like much, but it will definitely always have a place in our hearts!

Our house

A better look at our side of the house..

The front room

Front room again

The dining table

Kitchen, bathroom and hall that goes to the back 2 bedrooms

The kitchen

New House

2010-04-27T12:46:00.009-06:00

Many of you have been patiently waiting to see pics of our new house. I am sorry it has taken me a bit... there is so much going on right now! I am being pulled in a MILLION different ways. So here they are. Beware, there are a lot of pictures! I have pics of the model home and then our home because our house is still being built! I am so excited. We got to pick out countertops, appliances, cabinets, hardwood floors, tile, and carpet! I can't wait to post pics when its all done!

The entry way

Laundry room

The downstairs half bath

Half bath mirror

Half bath sink. I heart it

Kitchen. Ours will look sooo much better! We picked the CUTEST colors!

Dining area

Living room

The stairs

The upstairs

The master bed room

Master

Master bath

Master sink/counter

Guest bath upstairs

Bedroom#2

Bedroom #3

Our house that's being built!

Laundry room

Entry way

Stairs and living room

The kitchen

Living room

The upstairs

The master

The little nook in the master!!

Master bath

Master toilet (left) and walk in closet (right)

Bedrooms #2 and #3

Pizza Hut, Pizza Hut...Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut...

2010-04-18T17:17:00.002-06:00

McDonalds, McDonalds... Kentucky Friend Chicken and Pizza Hut! Come on, you know you know the song and the actions! (and yes, this post does have something with that song) Over the past two days I have tried 2 new recipes. You must try at least one. And yes, they are fattening and so not good for your waistline. But they are totally worth it! Yesterday I made Lemon Mousse. So yummy and easy peasy! Then today for Sunday dinner I made The Pioneer Woman's fried chicken. It was my first attempt at fried chicken. I think it turned out good for my first attempt. The husb said it was good and that is all that matters. Below is the Lemon Mousse recipe. To get the fried chicken recipe you will have to go buy her book. I have told you to go and buy it before so I don't make me tell you again how awesome it is!

On another positive note, today was the last Sunday I will (hopefully) ever have to work! Good things are a happinin'! I hope your Sunday is a wonderful, warm, sunny, and happy day like mine is turning out to be!

Easy Lemon Mousse
From Cooking with Flavor
Prep time: 10 mins

1/2 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 C sugar, divided
1 1/2 C heavy cream
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tsp Pure Lemon Extract
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Lemon slices, berries (to mix or for garnish)

Beat cream cheese and 1/4 C of sugar in large bowl until smooth and creamy

Beat cream, remaining 1/4 C of sugar, pure lemon extract and pure vanilla extract in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Add 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture; stir until well blended. Gently stir in remaining whipped cream mixture. Cover.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Spoon into dessert dishes. Garnish with lemon slices or fresh berries.

The search is still on

2010-04-13T16:10:00.002-06:00

When Dev and I decided to move down to St. George, we decided that maybe we should look for a house. We found it silly to rent an apt for the same monthly payment (or more) as it would be to own our own home. Plus, the 1st time home buyers tax credit sweetened the deal even more! We decided to find a house around 100k because the payment would be low enough that if we did not stay past one year in St. George, then we could rent it out, sell it, or still make a payment and have a nice little vacay house. So last Sat we went down to look at some houses. And by some, I mean like 50. I think between looking on the internet and going and touring the houses, we have looked at EVERY house in the greater St. George area. No joke. We did make 3 offers on Sat. I really really really want one of the houses. And because I want the house so badly, we probably won't get it. It's just a cute little 3 bedroom house built in 1978 and needs some love. I heart it. We find out by tonight if we got the house, so keep your fingers crossed! If we don't get it, then we are not going to rush into anything and then take the summer to find one we really love. Wish us luck!

Moving.

2010-04-03T15:25:00.006-06:00

Guess my house will be filled with these for the next month... Because we are moving! To where? Oh just a warm little town called St. George. We will be moving in about 1 month. EEK! It's bitter sweet. I have lived in Logan for 5 years. At first I hated every minute of it. However, over time I have come to love this quaint, small town. I will deeply miss Happy Sushi, the Temple, the Willow Zoo, 1st dam, Suppose, the rodeos... It is where I met my hubby, and got married and met some of my bestest friends. But I am excited to try something new. Moving will be an exciting adventure!

This week has been very interesting. I have been looking for a 4th year CFY since about October. After months of being in limbo with jobs, this week I was offered 3. I know! I cannot believe it. I have to admit that after being rejected from different jobs or being offered non-paid positions, I was starting to doubt myself. I knew that the Lord was taking care of me, but it is the hardest lesson to learn to just do all you can do and then let the Lord guide you to what is right. I try, but I usually tend to murmur along the way. I tried very hard not to murmur this time. I did not succeed.. but I improved. That's what counts right? Well, even through my murmuring the Lord took care of me and helped me find a position that is right for me and my family. I am grateful for a loving, all-knowing Heavenly Father that is willing to put up with me and guide me to the place that our little family can blossom!

2010-03-23T16:13:00.002-06:00

How can I convince my husband that I need this...?

Isn't it beautyful? I heart it. It hangs on your wall and you can put photos, notes, or whatever tickles your fancy on it. The only thing is it that it costs about $48. GULP! So, I need a really good excuse to buy it. Any ideas? When I move I am totally revamping my whole house and I want this to be a part of the new decor. Yea, Devin does not know that either, but what does he expect when we move to a new house or an apt?

Just an update, I have been accepted at a hearing and balance center in St. George, UT. I still have 2 more interviews, one in SLC at the VA hospital and then one in San Antonio. So I don't know where Devin and I will end up, but if I had to guess it will probably be St. George. Hopefully I will know within a week! YAY!

So close, but no cigar. A life update.

2010-03-07T22:58:00.003-07:00

Story of my life... being so close to getting something, but in the end not getting what I wanted. However, more often than not, God does provide me with something way more amazing than what I wanted. Hopefully that is the case this time. Nope, I did not get the job in SLC. Was I upset? Um.. 5 hours of straight cleaning, 2 craft projects, and 3 huge cooking projects later helped ease the pain. But, there are some prospects on the horizon. I have two interviews next week. One is a job in SLC at Audiology Associates and the other is for a hearing aid place in Colorado Springs. I am not so sure on the Co. Springs place, but hey I don't think I can be too picky right now. Last Friday I had a preliminary interview with a wonderful site in San Antonio. They are supposed to get back with me by Wednesday to arrange a time for me to fly out there for a real interview. Devin is really wanting the San Antonio spot. he served his mish out there and loves the area. Plus, the more people I talk to who have lived there say it is so beautiful and so fun to live there. So we shall see what pans out.

I do have to say that if you have not bought The Pioneer Womans Cookbook, you need too. I heart it. I have made so many meals from it already! However, beware that she uses A LOT of butter, cream and whole milk. I have had to use some healthier alternatives or else I would have muffin top in EVERY pair of jeans. Dev wanted cinnamon rolls for his birthday. So I tried the PW's recipe. Divine. I was scared to try the recipe because dough and I have had a sketchy past. But I prevailed and the were delish. I have also made her chicken pot pie, egg in a hole, pot roast, and mac and cheese. Go out and buy it. It will change your life. If not, at least go to thepioneerwomancooks.com. Try her apple dumplings. You will never taste anything so heavenly.

Dev turned the big 26 this past week. Being the wonderful wife that I am, I totally forgot to pictorially document the splendid occasion. Mainly because I had the flu on his birthday, so I did not do much. Due to my illness and an Aggie basketball game, we celebrated the event with our friends last Friday (again, no pictures.. FML.) It was very fun! We went out for sushi and ice cream and then watched movies.

I defended my thesis about 2 weeks ago. I am so grateful that it is over. The last two things I have to do are take the Praxis (which happens this Sat) and find a freaking 4th year. I am trying to have faith and pray that Heavenly Father will guide me to the place that is best for us, our goals, and where we can build up our Father's kingdom.

2010-03-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

How I feel.

All I am asking is..

2010-02-26T13:03:00.002-07:00

As many of you know, I am almost done with my graduate degree. I have passed my comps and defended my thesis. I have two more remaining steps. 1- take the state praxis exam 2- find a 4th year. I am not nervous about taking the praxis. If I can pass comps, I think I can pass anything! HA HA. The one I am really concerned about is obtaining a 4th year position. For those of you who don't know what my 4th year is... it's like a doctor's residency year. I have done all the class work and most of my clinic work, I just need to work for a year in my field. I have been applying everywhere. Right now, with the economy, not a ton of people are hiring; especially in Utah. I am looking out of state, but I would really like to live here so Dev can finish school and keep his job. I have been offered 1 non-paid position and I am still considering it. But the job I really want is in SLC. I really would like to work there. There is so much opportunity to grow with this company. The thing is, is I am competing with a fellow student for this position. It's so hard because for 3 years, I have been helping my classmates succeed and they have done the same for me. And now, we are pitted against one another. The thing that bugs me the most is this guy has been going to this clinic a few days a week for a couple semesters (which we all have to do at different clinics) and so he has a great chance of getting it; however, he has said repeatedly that he does not want to stay at this clinic for his 4th year. The only reason he applied is because I think he feels like this is one of his last chances for employment. I applied to this position when we first heard about it. It has been one of my top 5 positions to go to for a while now. He didn't even want to apply! I just want to shout that from the top of my roof. HE DOESN'T EVEN WANT IT! I feel so bad saying that because he is a friend and I know he needs a job as much as I do. It is just so hard. It will be even more hard if he gets it, knowing he didn't even want to go there.

The hardest thing though about this whole process is having faith in my Heavenly Father that he knows what is best and where I need to be and that there is a place for me. It is so hard just to remember that when at times I feel worthless. I try to remember that "With God, all things are possible". And maybe that is the lesson I am learning right now. I don't have doubt in Him, but more doubt within myself. At times I feel like shouting, "Where do you want me already?". I have especially felt like this because for others in my class, it seems as though they applied to like one place and got the job. Which, is probably not true, but feels true. My life has been like that many times. Take getting married.. I was the last person to get married. It seemed like my friends went out on one date, found the right guy and within a year was married (again, seemed.. probably not true).

I am trying to stay positive. I really do know that my Father will guide me and take me to some place amazing. Even more amazing than I can imagine (which is what he did with getting married). And I know that my problems are probably so small in comparison to many other people's problems.... I do have one request (if you feel like it). We are fasting on Sunday (and pleading with the Lord) that I will get the position. If you feel like that is something you want to do, please join us. Or please say a prayer for me. I am sorry for my ranting, but I really needed to get it off of my chest. I will keep you updated.

Any Ideas?

2010-02-25T13:08:00.002-07:00

It's Dev's birthday this coming Monday. I feel like I need to do something special for the kid because he has been sick for a month and he broke his nose.. oh! And because birthday should be celebrated like it was a national holiday. But I have no idea what to get him. The little bugger won't tell me anything! He also will not tell me where he wants to go eat with his friends. So, I am asking if any of you have any ideas! Let me know please!

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

2010-02-14T18:42:00.003-07:00

This recipe turned out so well! The biscuits tasted just like the ones you get at Red Lobster! YOU NEED TO TRY THEM! Even Devin (who is not a dairy lover like I am) loved them. Score!

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix
¾ cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder (I used Garlic Salt and it worked fine)
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Bush on Top:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder ( Again, I used Garlic Salt and skipped the pinch of salt)
pinch salt

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

Recipe courtesy of Todd Wilbur, "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2," Plume Books.

It's Decided.

2010-02-12T17:50:00.002-07:00

The Valentine's Day menu has been chosen! Drum roll please...JK. It's not really anything special. It just sounds good!

Mashed Red potatoes (with cream cheese, just like Cotter makes!) dyed pink.
Butter and garlic salmon
Asparagus
Red lobster cheddar biscuits

The dessert has not been chosen yet. I am still thinking about that strawberry mousse, but cheesecake sounds good too. BRING ON V-DAY baby!

Valentines

2010-02-11T11:42:00.005-07:00

I am trying to come up with a menu for V-day. I don't know what to make. We are in church in the morning so it has be to pretty much cooked by the time we come back. All I can find is this wonderful Strawberry Mousse that looks so wonderfully scrumptious. http://annies-eats.com/2010/02/11/strawberry-mousse/ But a girl cannot live by Mousse alone. Any ideas?

Getting Organized!

2010-02-01T12:06:00.002-07:00

I am not an organized person. I was not blessed with that talent. I fake being organized by cleaning my house and putting all my school papers in binders, but truly I am not organized. I blame my ADD tendencies. I can never quite finish a project so I have a million projects going on at once and they are all over my house. It is my dream to learn how to be organized. It is one of my resolutions this year. For the past couple of weeks I have been assessing my major problem areas and looking up several websites on how others organize their crap. (Yes, I had to research it. I blame that on my graduate school tendencies) So I thought if I created a schedule (Yes, I get overwhelmed and have to take one little thing at a time or else this will not get done!) and kept writing about it on my blog, then hopefully it will be easier to stick to my schedule and hopefully get ideas from all ya all and encouragement. For this month I have scheduled:

Week 1 (Jan 31st- Feb 6):
Print off groceries lists and place them in my kitchen where I will write on them.
Organize my pantry with date stickers and a list of all the products I have and need.
Buy a whiteboard calendar and coordinate schedules.

Week 2 (Feb 7th- Feb 13th):
Organize my dresser drawer
Create shelving for office
Create pin push board for office

Week 3 (Feb 14th- Feb 20th):
Organize books- Sell old text books, and put the rest in storage boxes
Organize file folders

Week 4 (Feb 21st- Feb 27th):
Organize desk

Hopefully I can do it! I'll keep you posted!

Crafts!

2010-01-29T17:16:00.004-07:00

So here are some crafts that I have been working on. I promised myself that I would only do one craft a month. Yeah, I don't know why I lie to myself.

I am loving modge podge!

So I got this inspiration from Living with Lindsey (http://www.livingwithlindsay.com/2009/11/librarians-please-avert-your-eyes.html). One word to the wise, if you make this get a small Styrofoam wreath. As you can see I did not and it turned out HUGE!

This is about as "Valentiney" as my decorations are going to get. I think it turned out cute!

Crocheting

2010-01-16T16:26:00.003-07:00

Yep, I found a new hobby! Crocheting. I am just starting out, and I don't know if it is here to stay, but I heart it. How am I learning? Welp.. YOU TUBE. HA HA. Judge me all you want. If I am struggling I have two ladies who teach lessons here in the valley that can teach me. But how cool would it be to learn off of the computer? Very is the correct answer. So, here are my two projects that I have to do. They are the reason why I started doing this in the first place!

Guilty Pleasures..

2010-01-07T22:27:00.011-07:00

Ok girls, here is my top ten guilty pleasures. But guess what? If you read it, you have to post yours!

10. TV Shows- I almost have 1 (or 2,3,4,5) for each night of the week. Yes I know it is sad. Yes I judge myself.

Sunday- Desperate Housewives
Monday- The Bachelor, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Castle
Tuesday- Teen Mom, 90210, Better of Ted, Scrubs
Wednesday- The Middle, Cougar Town, Modern Family, America's Next Top Model, Glee
Thursday- Grey's, Private Practice, Parks and Recreation, The Office
Friday- Jersey Shore

9. My pillow and pillowcase- I have discussed this before. If you don't know my love for my pillow, then you don't know me.

8. Fabric stores- Yes, Kendall.. I stole this picture from you. But I LOVE IT!

7. Book stores- Be still my heart.

6. Sushi- Never used to like it, but now I CRAVE it! I once almost considered not having children because I could not eat sushi while pregnant...

5. Glee- Need I say how much I love to sing with them?

4. Doing crafts- I think that is just a given

3. Blog stalking- We all do it!

2. Cake batter ice cream from Cold Stone- BEST EVER!

1. Anthropology, J.Crew, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn, Forever 21... should we just call this one shopping?

Coasters

2010-01-04T14:17:00.003-07:00

I made these super cute and EASY coasters for friends this holiday season. (Liz and PS, I am sorry I am a slacker and that you have not received your yet.. so SURPRISE!) My mom made these at her ward's Super Saturday activity. I thought they were so cute I just had to do them. So here is a tutorial on how to do them. (Sorry, no step by step pics.)

What you will need:
* Tiles (I did 4 per set. I got mine at Lowe's for 38 cents per tile)
* Stamps (I did alphabet stamps for the first letter in the person's last name. But you can use any stamp you want)
* Ink pad (distressed or normal ink in any color)
* Sharpie markers (if you want to color in the stamps)
* Rust-oleum crystal clear enamel spray (make SURE it is crystal clear)
* Slider pads
* Mahogany wood stain (optional)

Step 1: Take your stamp and measure where you would like it. I like mine in the center, my mom did a couple with boarders all along the side.

Step 2: Press ink on ink pad, making sure you get a good, equal amount all along the stamp.

Step 3: Place stamp on tile and press evenly along the stamp. Pull stamp off.

Step 4: Let stamp dry. Now, because it is on tile, the ink will NEVER fully dry until you put on the enamel. I let mine dry for a day.

Step 5:Take a paint brush, dip in stain and place stain on edges of the tile. Wipe off immediately with a rag. I did this to mine to give the tile an "older feel". This made the alphabet stamps I was using even more of a vintage feel too.

In addition to Step 5 (Optional): Use sharpie markers to color in stamps. My mom did snowmen on her tiles and colored in the scarves and snowflakes. It was way cute! I just kept mine all black.

Step 6: Spray crystal clear enamel spray evenly over the tiles. It takes about a day to dry.

Step 7: Place sticky slider pads on the back of the tiles to prevent the tile from scratching coffee tables or what not.

See, I told you it was easy! And pretty cheap too. Enjoy!

Yes PLEASE!

2010-01-02T14:37:00.001-07:00

Look how AMAZING these are! Welly warmers! Yes please! I need to goes make these RIGHT now! http://sabbespot.blogspot.com/2010/01/tutorial-welly-warmers.html

Christmas decorations

2009-12-28T19:06:00.005-07:00

This was a lame attempt at dressing up my apothecary jar. Next year it will be better, but I still like how sparkly the balls are!

I told you I remade this! I just did not (or could not) put a bow on it. I really like how the balls pop against the green door.

I never thought I would have such a wonderful nativity set! But my mother-in-law heard me talking about it and gave it to me and Dev for Christmas this year. Isn't it beautyful? I am having a hard time taking it down!

I made these on a whim. I was at Hob Lob (a moment of silence for the awesomeness of that store)and saw the plain letters and thought, "I can just modge podge them!" Keep in mind that I had never modge podged in my life, but that did not stop me!

Up close

I still need to take a picture of my wreath that is on my front door. It is just way to cold right now to go take a pic of it! I don't have very many Christmas decorations, but I figure if I add a couple each year, then in 10 years I will have enough!

Christmas 09!

2009-12-28T19:00:00.005-07:00

Devin and I had our 2nd Christmas together! We went down to my parent's house Christmas Eve and morning (we also went to my aunt's house for some yummy Swiss breakfast!!) and then went to his parents house that afternoon and night. Here are some pics of Christmas morning. Apparently we forgot our camera the rest of the day!

Hank helps with the laundry

2009-12-28T18:46:00.004-07:00

Hank helped us with the laundry yesterday and this is how his dad repaid him.

I hate you guys..

I REALLY, REALLY Hate you guys.

A little secret

2009-12-27T14:08:00.002-07:00

I have been thinking about telling all of you a little secret that I have not told anyone, with the exception of my hubby whom I told a couple of weeks ago. I think about this secret a lot, but especially around the Christmas season. Ok, here it goes. If I could dream BIG and be anything in this world I would totally be an opera singer or sing on Broadway! I mean, how AMAZING would it be to win a Tony Award for best Broadway actress or sing to packed houses in Wicked, Phantom, or Les Mis? Weird.. I know. And how does that tie into Christmas you ask? Well, Christmas songs bring out the opera/Broadway singer in me. I LOVE to sing them especially "O Holy Night" and "Angels we have Heard on High"! Come on! I know you have at least thought of belting it out when you are listening to Mo Tab or Josh Grobin sing them. I do! Dev caught me singing it when I thought I was all by myself and that is when my secret had to come out. And now when we sing them in church he jabs me in the side and tells me to sing louder. Hey! I am not ashamed. I know there are songs in your life that bring this dream out in you. I think this is also why I LOVE Glee. My sister gave me both discs for Christmas and it is all I can do from singing each song at the top of my lungs! Well there you have it. That is one of my biggest secrets in this world. Now, if you will excuse me I must go sing "Defying Gravity" with Kristen Chenoweth. She cannot do it without me!

LOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT!

2009-12-16T16:16:00.001-07:00

Go check out this blog. http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com Go now. Stop what you are doing for at least three hours and just browse and then let me know of all the things you are going to make! I HEART IT!

In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.

2009-12-15T16:28:00.002-07:00

FML! Where is my camera? For the love of Hank I cannot find it anywhere. I am truly perplexed on where it is. And I am so bummed because I have so many cute Christmas things to show you all: my first married Christmas tree, my joy sign, my wreaths... ACCCKKKKK! On top of that my window lights will not work. This is the second set that I have had to get from Lowes. Looks like I will not be purchasing them from Lowes again. Well anyways.. here is a picture of inspiration from another blog. Yes, I replicated it. Yes, it is hanging in my living room but you may never get to see it. Stupid lost camera!

A Fresh Breath of Sanity

2009-12-01T17:29:00.002-07:00

Do you have a favorite store? I mean, a store that when you walk into it, you feel as if the world is peaceful & stress-free? It is as if this store was put here just for you to enjoy and bask in its tranquility and beauty? I have two such stores; Boarders and Anthropologie. I heart these stores. Just by walking in I can feel my burdens lift off of my shoulders. I love their smell, their quiet atmospheres, their pretty things that call out my name.

Let's start with Boarders. I love the smell of books. I always have. I can't describe it. Books smell different than just regular paper. I love knowing that I can stay in there for hours and be transported into thousands of different worlds. It is so hard for me to just choose one world to be transported into.

Then there is Anthro. Be still my heart. I walk into that store and the world seems right. I wish I had endless amounts of money to decorate my house with all of the wonderful, modern-vintage, and beautiful things they have in that store. One day my friends, one day. And then there is their clothes. I love how feminine and graceful they all look. I love the bold prints and vibrant colors. Just talking about it makes me sigh and day dream.

I realized these feelings today. I walked into Boardes and hated that I had to just by the APA writing manual. What a waste of a trip. So ladies, what are your favorite stores?

What I have planned for my 5 week Christmas vacation!

2009-11-29T17:18:00.003-07:00

As of Wednesday I will be on Christmas vacation! YAY! I want to shout it from the rooftops! So what am I going to do for 5 weeks you ask?? Well...
* Work
* Finish my thesis
* Craft (make Christmas presents)
* Donate time at the Cache Valley Soup Kitchen
* Organize my storage room
* Do an early spring cleaning of my house (I am going to organize and chuck stuff I do not need!!!!!)
* Study for Comps (maybe this should be at the top of my list)
* Spend more time with Dev and Hank!

I CANNOT WAIT!

Yep! Found another one!

2009-11-17T10:14:00.003-07:00

So I stumbled on this WONDERFUL and AMAZING craft blog today! Shh.. don't judge I found it during class. Can you say senioritis? If you have a couple hours today "check check check it out"! http://diaryofacraftaholic.blogspot.com This is what I plan on doing for craft week this week. Isn't it beautyful?

Family Pictures

2009-11-05T17:34:00.007-07:00

Family pictures are here. My dear friend, Megan was gracious enough to take our pics last weekend. There are some fun ones!

It's CRAFT night!!

2009-11-05T16:10:00.005-07:00

I am so excited! Every Thursday I try to do crafts. It's about the only night that I get to do them. So tonight my friend Liz and I are making these:

I got red, green, and champagne ornaments at the Dollar Tree. Hopefully it turns out just as cute!

My current sewing project is this pillow:

My leaves are mainly green, navy, yellow, and orange. I am just in the beginning stages right now. When I get it done I will post a pic of all the pillows I have made!

A Hanky Panky Post

2009-11-05T15:57:00.007-07:00

We have some new pics of Hanky! He is getting so big. He is almost 7 months old and weighs 70 lbs. He is the biggest boy! I know you all think I am crazy, but I just love him!

Hank's first snow!! He LOVES it! He likes that he can run around and make it fly up. He ran around our yard for about 30 mins making the snow fly.

His dad abuses him.

Yes, he still sleeps like this. So weird.

His mom abuses him too.

Spinning out of control

2009-11-01T22:15:00.002-07:00

Have you ever had those moments where everything in your life is upside down? Nothing fits. Nothing is working out. And you feel as if there is nothing you can do. You are helpless. Nothing you do is right. Nothing you say is taken correctly. And all you can do is cry and try to console yourself with TV shows and cookies. I have felt like that for months. Out of control. I can't connect with anyone. I cannot be consoled. I feel utterly alone. And it is probably my fault that I have no real connection with anyone right now. I have friends who over a year ago were mad at me for reasons and now it feels like we are just pretending to be friends. I have friends who no matter how much I ask to help them won't let me in. I have friends who I don't know if I can call them friends because we have never had a real conversation. We have been enemies from the start and I don't even know why. I have friends at school who are so busy with school things and being friends with each other that I feel as if I am imposing on them. I have friends that because they have moved away we have lost touch and I cannot bring myself to pick up a stupid phone. And then there is my dear sweet husband who no matter how hard I try I always say the wrong thing and hurt him. I struggle with having a real conversation with my family. It feels like I don't know what is going on in their lives and it is just easier to be oblivious than to make an effort. And I get so mad because I feel justified that I tried to be to be a friend. I offered to help. I struck up a conversation. I made you muffins. So I feel like I am the victim and can be mad, when that is not even the truth. And I don't want to feel that way anymore. I am tired of being alone. I am tired having no real connection with anyone. I am tired of not being included. I have never been like this in my whole life. I have always had lots of friends and a few very good, no best friends. I have always tried to be a good friend. I feel as if I have alienated everyone from my life. I have done this because of many reasons: it's easier to be by yourself, school, laziness, pride... To those of you in my life.. I am sorry. Please let me back in. I want to be your friend. I will try harder. There is nothing more I can say but please.

A day for blogging

2009-11-01T16:10:00.002-07:00

Hi Y'all! I should be cleaning my dirty house but my hubby is asleep right now and I wouldn't want him to miss all the cleaning fun.. so, I decided to blog! I have many posts that need to go up. Here is the first one. It is a recipe that you MUST try. No if's and's or buts about it. You must try it! Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. Just typing the name makes me salivate! ;) I blog stalk (come on, we all do it...no judgments people) this blog, http://annies-eats.com. This lady is so talented! Anyways, I tried her recipe except I changed the filling (see bottom for my filling) Please try it and enjoy! Don't worry, there will be more posts today!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Yield: 24 muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs

1 ¼ cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

For the streusel topping:

½ cup sugar

¼ cup and 1 tsp. flour

4 tbsp. butter, cubed

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until smooth. Form into a log on plastic wrap or foil, making sure that the diameter is small enough to fit into the well of a muffin pan. Wrap the log up tightly and freeze until slightly hardened, 1-2 hours.

To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin puree. Mix until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.

To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two muffin pans with paper liners. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well halfway with batter. Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer and slice into 24 equal slices. Place a slice in each muffin well. Divide the remaining muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.

My filling-

1 Pkg of cream cheese
3 Tbs of brown sugar (measure, then put in a measuring cup)
Fill the rest of the measuring cup with white sugar
1 Tsp of vanilla

Pet Peeves

2009-10-25T15:18:00.003-06:00

* When I just put on mascara and I sneeze and mascara goes all over my face

* Leaving the water running when brushing your teeth or washing your face

* I clean my house and within hours it is a mess again

* When someone stops the microwave and does not reset the clock to the time

* Liars

* When people get mad at me for no reason

* Mean people

* When I am ringing some one up at the cash register and they are on their phone

* Not having enough time to do the things I want to do

* Laundry

* Inconsiderate people (especially drivers)

A Few Recipes

2009-09-26T14:42:00.005-06:00

This week I tried a couple new recipes that I just thought I would share with all ya' all!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This first one is from my friend, Megan Mansfield. Last Tuesday she brought this to class for her lunch. The aroma made me salivate, so I knew I had to get the recipe and make it. I love this recipe because it is SUPER easy, most of the ingredients you use to your liking and it is cooked in a crock pot so you can make it in the morning and let it cook all day!

Chicken stalk (1 box)
1 can of diced tomatoes (you can find the can that has cilantro and lime but I added my own cilantro and lime)
1 can of black beans (drained)
1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 can of tomato sauce
Corn (How much is up to you)
Onion (How much is up to you)
Taco Seasoning (to taste, I used half of the packet)
Cilantro (How much is up to you)
Coconut milk (optional)
Chili powder (optional)
Limes (One juiced for the soup, the others cut into quarters)
Chicken (I used rotisserie chicken from Smith's or you can use boiled)
Tortilla chips (garnish)
Sour cream (garnish)
Avocado (garnish)

Note- I bought the chicken stock and beans in low sodium because there is a lot of salt in this recipe!

Start from the top of the ingredient list and put all ingredients in the crock pot. Megan puts her chicken in right before she serves it because it is already cooked. I put the chicken in with everything and let it simmer. I cooked mine in about 2 hours on high. Pour soup into bowls and garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado, and a lime wedge. ENJOY!

The next recipe is an Applesauce Cake. Ok, ok... so I blog stalk this wonderful woman's craft blog (LollyChops.com) and this was on it! I also garnished the cake with homemade whipped cream, but cream cheese frosting would be SINFULLY TASTY!

Applesauce Cake
From the Kitchen of Hattie Jane

1C. Butter
2 C. Sugar
2 1/2 C. Applesauce
4t. Baking Soda
4C. All Purpose Flour
1t. Each cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
1/2 t. Ground ginger
1 C. Chopped Raisins
1C. Chopped nuts (we like almonds or pecans, but nuts are optional)
One pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add remaining ingredients in any order and mix until well blended.

Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 1 hour or until a tooth pick comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Devour with fresh whipped cream.

Awkward Family Photos

2009-09-09T19:25:00.002-06:00

I found a GEM of a website today! Below is a little taste of it! ENJOY! www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

Ultimate Housewife

2009-09-08T09:56:00.005-06:00

Something has happened to me in the past year... I have turned into a 1950's housewife. Ok, so maybe just my mentality has fully turned into a 50's housewife. All I want to do is bake wonderful meals, decorate, and sew cute things. Think of Bree Hodge and you will truly understand what I mean. I blame a real life Bree Hodge for this mentality...Marilyn Watts. I love her. Every time you go to her house it is perfectly clean and decorated nicely, she is ready to serve you a home cooked meal, she sews, she is always dressed perfectly adorned with pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, and a pearl ring. Now granted she is older and has had years to perfect being the ultimate housewife... I guess what inspires me most about her is her attitude towards it. It seems like nothing gives her more joy, more pride, and a sense of accomplishment than having a clean home, serving you when you are in her home, and looking her best. I know envy is a sin, but I envy her ability to do all these things. I am doing my best to get there. I know it will take time, but I am honestly trying to take steps in getting there! How? Well, I try to make a new meal every week and keep a recipe diary in my kitchen of how the meal went, tips for making the meal and the recipes I used. I am also taking a sewing class once a week. I love my class! I get to pick a project that I want to work on and the teacher helps me make my project! I am also making a real conscious effort on keeping my house clean. As my friend Megan Evans says, "Your house is your calling card." The more I though about it, it is! Every time I have walked into a house I pick out cute things that person has done to make the house more comfy or homey and thing I would have done differently.

To help me document my progress, growth, accomplishments, mishaps, and to get ideas from all ya all I have decided to do a new blog that I can post recipes, pics of projects, etc. I will let you know when it is all up and going!

Um.. WOW.

2009-08-28T16:58:00.002-06:00

Um all I have to say is WOW. Me likey!

I am not a gardener..

2009-08-28T12:10:00.003-06:00

So remember my post about 2 months ago where I naively claimed that I was a gardener because we planted radishes and peas? Well... I am here to tell you my friends that plants and I do not mix. First of all my peas, that were so pretty and tall, got drenched in the rainfall and died (they started growing mold and yucky crap). Then yesterday our landlord hired a guy to come and mow our lawn. So I moved all of Hanks toys and the radishes onto the cement. Well stupid me, I forgot to move the radishes back out of Hanks reach. Lets just say that I woke up to dirt and radishes all over the yard. Ugh. So that was my vain attempt to be a gardener. I tried and I failed. Hopefully next spring we can plant a real garden (away from Hank's reach), try again, and hopefully prevail.

On a more positive note, my good buddy Tyler finished my shelf for the kitchen and my coat rack!!! We just have to antique them, hang them, and decorate! As soon as they are done I will post pics!

The new and improved Nikki version 1.3

2009-08-12T15:25:00.003-06:00

This summer was supposed to be just me and my laptop.. we were to have a splendid affair writing my thesis. I was going to be almost done by August. Then summer came. Instead of having a love affair with my computer I went to Costa Rica, St. George, camping, rodeos, hung out with family and friends, learned how to bake 2 types of bread, tried different recipes for dinner, decorated my apt., and watched almost every single episode of Desperate Housewives (don't judge.. I love me some DH!). August has now arrived. My thesis is NO WHERE where it needs to be. I should be crying hysterically and frantically sifting through articles and writing my lit review, however I regret to inform you that I am procrastinating. Currently I have honey wheat bread in the oven and I am doing laundry. Why do I procrastinate? I have come to conclude that 9 years in school is just TOO DANG LONG and I am burnt out!

On a more positive note (and the basis of the title of this blog), I have decided that I need to harvest more talents. I feel a drive to learn more homemaking skills than I ever thought I would want to learn. For those of you who know me, I do NOT sew. I hate it. I am NO GOOD at it. But in the past 3 weeks a drive to be more well rounded has come upon me and I have signed up for a sewing class. I know, I know. So my dear friends, for Christmas expect things that can be sewed!! ;) I have also had a drive to get into shape. At the beginning of summer I thought I would dabble in running and try to run a half marathon. (Please feel free to burst into laughter.. I do!) Instead I realized that 6:00 or 7:00 am is just way to early and sleep became more important. I do walk a couple times a week I just cannot convince myself that running is worth the effort. So, in an attempt to get into shape without the help of running, I have decided to take a dance class! YAY! Going to get back to my roots! So there you have it.. making bread + sewing + exercising/ not writing my thesis= Nikki version 1.3

Hank

2009-08-05T18:52:00.004-06:00

This may be a weird post to some, but I have been wanting to blog about my puppy (Hank.. Hankimus Prime.. Hank the Tank.. Hankey Pankey) for sometime. We have had him now for a little over 5 weeks. It is amazing to me in that short of time how much he has grown. He is SO BIG! And to think when we first got him, we thought he was huge. I was not too sure about getting him at first. I thought I wanted a small dog and one that could be in the house. How glad I am that Dev changed my mind! Hank is such a floppy, cuddley, loving, smart, and funny puppy. It is still amazing to me how I could love him so fast! Which is not even 1 millionth of what I imagine that it will be like when I have children (which is the main reason why we got a puppy in the first place. I needed to have an outlet for my baby hunger!!!) My favorite time with Hank is in the morning. When we come see him in the morning it is like he has not seen us in years! He wags and shakes every part of his body, give me a hug and immediately rolls his whole body over onto mine and waits for a belly scratch. He does it every morning! It cracks me up! He also likes to sleep on his back which is really weird. Hank is also very smart! He knows how to sit, shake, lay-down, roll over and stay (although the last three his is not 100% consistent yet). We are working on come and heel right now. Those two have been a little harder for him. Hank is getting to the stage where he is not so sleepy all of the time. He now only takes 8 or 9 naps a day instead of 15 to 20! HA HA! He has all of this puppy energy! When he gets hyper, he runs around us in circles, wrestles with dad, and plays tug of war! He also LOVES to go for walks! We walk him at night. He has gotten to the point of staying right by us that we rarely keep him on the leash. Hank.. I love ya buddy! Even though you do dig out my Peony bush and eat it.. I am so happy you are in our lives! What a wonderful puppy you are! And best of all, you are preparing us a little for kids!

"All I need is every chance, a second thought, a second glance to prove I got whatever it takes! It's a piece of cake!"

2009-07-26T21:01:00.006-06:00

That title is for my besties... Megan E., Meagan G., and Ps. It is "Stand out" from A Goofy Movie. It takes me back to a simpler time. Even though I love my life now, I miss living with my friends. I miss dancing in front of a huge window and scaring missionaries. I miss dancing to Dashboard in Beto's parking lot. I miss getting sno cones every night and running around with the gang. I miss long talks with my besties till all hours of the night. I miss grocery shopping with them and watching them hit their head on the self check out station cameras. I miss boating with them. Now don't get me wrong. I love my hubby and our life, but being single and 20.. I had no care in the world. I played hard and loved it! That's all of my flash back. I won't bore you anymore. I just love old songs that take me back to that time!

Wow. July has gone by really fast! Our July started out wonderful! We got a golden retriever named Hank. He is so fun! We bought him because I can't get pregnant for another year and I just needed something to help me through the baby hunger. He has done a pretty good job of that so far! He is getting so big, so fast. Last week he learned what the game "fetch" was, how to swim, and what doggy treats he likes best. He sits now 98% of the time we tell him to... stays about the same percentage, and shakes and lays every now and again. He is so smart! We just love him!

On July 6th we moved into our new apt! YAY! It is so nice having our own space! We got a 2 bedroom, one bath apt with a HUGE (well, huge for us) kitchen and a nice living room! When I am finished with everything I will post pics. I just have to paint a few things, make curtains and finish the office! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

July also brought some trials. Dev hurt his back at work July 10th-ish. He has not worked for almost 20 days. The doctor thinks that he hurt the ligaments near the lumbosacral joint. He goes to physical therapy this week to help his back relieve some pressure. Hopefully it will work and he can go back to work again! However, Devin did pass his insurance test and will be training with Beneficial Financial to become a financial planner! We are really excited about this. He will be able to do life insurance, annuities, stocks, etc. It is what he is going to school for, so it is nice for him to get some experience in the field!

That is pretty much our July. It has been so nice to relax this summer, play with family and friends and not worry about school. School starts in 30 days. I am kind of bummed, however, I only have this year left of classes. Then I get to move on and actually work in my field! YAY!

A new way of thinking

2009-06-30T10:48:00.004-06:00

So I was chatting with two friends a couple of weeks ago about blogging. I have always blogged when I have pictures or if there was a special event that happened in me and Dev's life. However, when I was chatting with these friends it dawned on me that I can actually use my blog as a journal and I can just write how I am feeling, or write about whatever I want even if I have no pictures! I know, novel idea right? So this is my first attempt at this. I am sitting at my off campus site right now.. I am so bored and a little irritated. I just found out that I did not have to be here till one because the doctor is not going to be here all day and I only have one patient today. Thank you for telling me! And it's not like I can just drive to Logan to go do stuff. It's very annoying. I also was in such a rush to get out of my house this morning that I forgot all of my thesis stuff. So I cannot even work on my thesis! This would be a perfect time. Well, I guess I can find some more articles for my lit review. Joy.

On the up side of my life, Dev and I move in 6 days! I CANNOT WAIT! I cannot wait to make our apartment really ours, with decorations and to use our wedding presents. It's like Christmas in July! It makes me so happy just to think about it. I really just want to be in there, get everything up! I am really annoyed that I don't know the dimensions of some of the walls and windows. If I did I could be working on sewing curtains, making wreaths, and making my wall decor. Sigh... But I guess I still have enough projects until then. I still have to paint our headboard, paint our end tables and pack the rest of our crap. I don't understand how Devin and I have so much stuff! I swear when I was single that moving was really easy. I did not have a lot of stuff. Then when we got married we combined stuff and then added piles and piles of stuff! Where did it all come from? One thing I do love about moving though is that I get to chuck all of the stuff that we do not use! YAY!

Well, that I think that is enough for my first non-picture attempt at blogging. Not going to lie, it feels a little strange, yet refreshing! ;)

I'm a gardner!!

2009-06-21T00:36:00.006-06:00

So over the past couple of weeks I have felt the need to be more prepared in life and more self-sufficient. I told Dev that I wanted to start a garden. The only problem is we have zero room to plant a garden. So we decided that we could pick a few plants and grow a couple of veggies in some pots. We decided on radishes (his pick) and peas (my pick). I also decided that I wanted lavender and a white peony bush. Here are pics of us trying to be gardeners! (Oh and then after we planted these, Dev informed me that we could do a real garden at our rental house that we own! So I will get to have a real garden after all!)

Its only been a week and the radishes are coming up!

Pics of our Anniversary

2009-06-21T00:22:00.004-06:00

Ok.. I am not going to bore you all with everything that Dev and I did on our anniversary, but here are the pics if you care to look!

The top of our wedding cake. I am sure it tasted AMAZING a year ago. Now it tasted like it had been frozen for a year.

Dev's gift

Yay! I got my favorite flowers! White Peonys

We went to the Logan Summerfest. They had stilts you could try. Dev mastered it in no time.

And this was my attempt.

They had clocks there that you could buy. Hilarious!

Eating at The Beehive Grill.

1 year already??

2009-06-19T08:05:00.012-06:00

A year ago was the most amazing day of my life thus far. A year ago I was anxious to know what was going to happen, amazed that MY day had finally come, and so elated that I could barely contain myself. A year ago I was sitting in a chair in a bathroom laughing with my friend Tone while she did my hair and I did my make up. A year ago I ran upstairs, had my bffs, "The Megan/Meagan's" help me put on fake boobs, zip up my dress, put on shoes and jewelry while trying not to cry. A year ago I met my fiance downstairs while he held my bouquet, smiled and said, "You look amazing...". A year ago I had the privilege of going to the Logan Temple and feeling the peace, comfort, and excitement as I met my wonderful mother and grandmother in the temple. We talked about life as my mother helped me get ready for my special day. I still remember my grandma look at me and say, "Well.. I hope you love him because you are going to be with him for a very, very long time!" HA HA! A year ago I walked with my fiance through the halls of the temple, holding hands and talking about our life.. crying with him when he realized that certain members of our families could not witness this special day. A year ago I walked hand-in-hand through the sealing doors and seeing most of the people I love in one room all smiling at me, knowing that I was making the best decision of my life. A year ago, I cried as I listened to the sealer give us instructions, comfort, and blessings... A year ago I said, "Yes", not "I do" to an eternal life with "my traveling partner". A year ago I walked through the temple doors to more family and friends to start my wonderful life with my new husband.

And what a wonderful life it has been so far!! Oh sure we have had our ups and downs! Like learning to live with chin hairs in the sink, two opinions on EVERYTHING, different tastes in music, movies, food, and well, just two different personalities! But I would not trade all of the fights, love, laughs, hugs, kisses, and smiles for anything in the world! How truly blessed I am for this life I have. I thank my Heavenly Father for all that He has done for me and giving me my husband and the wonderful life we have. He truly knows exactly what we need in this life; even though we may not think it is, or may not agree with His timing. I love my Heavenly Father. I love my wonderful family and friends for all of the love, support, and memories they have provided! I also love my AMAZING, WONDERFUL, PAIN-IN-THE-REAR (sometimes) husband for this wonderful year and life we have made! I cannot wait to see what the next gazillion years has to offer! Whatever it is, I know it will be wonderful, hard, fun, and very interesting with a "traveling partner" like you! I love you babe!

Concerts

2009-06-16T21:55:00.010-06:00

This summer has already been a blast! I love not having school! I actually get to do things that I want to do! That includes concerts! The first concert of the summer was Taking Back Sunday. I went with my BFF Megan. We had a blast!

Anberlin

Taking Back Sunday

"Heeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy"

Megan's air guitar solo

My air guitar solo

The next concert I went to was with my hubby. We went to X96's Big @$$ Show. Dev wanted to go because Unwritten Law was going to play. Dev has been waiting for years to go see them. We had 2nd row seats! It was way awesome!

My cowboy!

Sporting the ear protection!

Unwritten Law

Devin dancing/singing/spazzing out to Unwritten Law

My Birthday

2009-06-16T21:40:00.003-06:00

Oh the dreaded 25... a quarter of a century old! I NEVER EVER thought I would hit 25. You know when you were a kid and you look at the missionaries that are leaving or coming home and you think they are so old and that it will be YEARS till you get that old? Well, I am now older than that. WOW!

My birthday was pretty chill. Dev bought me running pants! I have been looking for running pants FOREVER! I am so excited! I also got an ice cream maker, a red jacket, a Forever 21 gift card, and a Tai Pan gift card!!! Lets just say the presents really made turning 25 more bearable!! My hubby and friends also surprised me for dinner at Happy Sushi! It was a great way to end the night! Thank you to all my friends for being there! You are great! I also want to thank my hubby for throwing a wonderful party! You are amazing!

First Camp out of Summer!

2009-05-28T09:00:00.005-06:00

I love to go camping! Not for extended periods of time, but two to three days is great! Sunday we went with our good friends Mike and Jess Watts to City of Rocks, ID. I had never heard of the that place... but it is a really cool place to go camp. It is near Almo (pronounced like Elmo, not Alamo like my husband calls it), ID which is only 2 hours north of Logan. We choose to go there so the boys could rock climb. When we got there, we looked for a camp spot which seemed like FOREVER! Everything was full because of the holiday weekend. We finally found a cool camp spot. Now this spot may not seem like camping to you, but for a city girl... oh, it's camping! ;) We did have a restroom near by and running water to clean our dishes... but other than that it was camping! When we first got there, we set up our tents and the boys built a fire. Dinner, roasting marshmallows and Laffy Taffy's came next so did the cold wind. We thought it would just pour on us, but the weather gods were nice and it only sprinkled in the middle of the night. The next morning the boys got up and cooked breakfast, but it took Jess and I a good hour or two to actually wake up, get dressed, and then get out of the tents. We cleaned up after breakfast and then headed into the park so the boys could rock climb. Jess would have done it too, but she had surgery on her foot and was in a foot boot. ;( So Jess and I slept, ate, took care of Bella (the Watt's cute dog), talked and just hung out while the boys climbed. The rocks there were so cool! It reminded me of Lake Powell, except the rocks are granite. After the boys climbed for a couple of hours, we decided it was time to head back. It was a great Memorial Weekend! I am glad we got to spend it with the Watts!

A much needed update!

2009-05-15T00:42:00.006-06:00

Oh how time flies! So here is an update on us since I last wrote. April was a very boring month. Why? Well because all I did was homework, projects, presentations, and finals. I guess it all paid off though because out of my 6 classes I got 2 A-'s and 4 A's!! YAY! That is a 3.88 GPA, in grad school! I am so glad that semester is over! It was the hardes semester of my life! Dev also did great with his classes! He passed all of them! YAY!

On May 2nd, Dev and I went with my family to go see Wicked. It was FABULOUS! Dev had never seen it before so I was way excited to go with him. I tried to get pics from that day, but my camera ran out of batteries. Sad day.

Then on May 4th, I flew to Costa Rica for an 8 day humanitarian mission with my fellow AuD students. Costa Rica was AMAZING! Everyone needs to venture there some day. Its not too hot, but the humidity was awful. I didn't care though because it was not the fridged north and I had no homework. Here are some of my favorite pics of the trip.

Jurassic Park was filmed in Costa Rica. I HAD to get a picture of this random dino just chillin off the side of road.

I had to put this on here to prove that I actually worked and that this trip was not just fun and games.

This is our group...

I loved this little girl. We played in the hospital for a long time!

Screenings... we screened over 1100 kids down there.

So this is a picture of a cashew. The green part is the cashew. They break it off, roast it and then shell it. The yellow part is made into different sauces and alcohols. This is why cashews are so expensive!

It's just georgeous!

All of the girls!

This is a HUGE bamboo tree. Little did I know that posionous snakes live in there..

Me and Liz..

These people are my family. I see them more than Devin. The best part is we are now 3rd years!

Irazú Volcano near San Jose

More proof that we did work.

Ok, so this is me getting ready to go zip lining for the first time EVER. We have a whole disc of pics of all of us doing this. When I get those pics I will post them. They are classic! Pretty much I screamed the whole time! It was way fun though!

So that is what we have been up too for the past couple of months. What are we doing this summer? Well, Dev and I dont work on Mondays, so we are trying to go hiking and camping every Monday! I am way excited. I am also feeling VERY domestic so I am learning how to make bread, jam, sew curtains and pillows (I know! Don't die of shock), refinish our headboard and desk, and make different crafts for decorations around our new apartment. Yep, Dev and I are moving out of the KD house! HALLELUJAH!!! Praise the heavens above. I can't wait to make it all cute! We are moving July 6th. So I will keep you posted!

Fireproof

2009-03-29T21:02:00.004-06:00

Ok... so I am a bit of a nerd for writing this post, but I just had to! So Friday night Dev and I watched a movie with our friends Mike and Jess. This movie was so cheesy and had really bad acting but I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!! I heart cheesy movies! This movie is like a seminary video meets every cheesy Mormon movie out there! And the director is not LDS. The movie is called Fireproof. If you have not seen it, you SHOULD! Fireproof is a Christian movie starring Kirk Cameron from "Growing Pains"! Love him! Anyways.... Kirk is a firefighter whose marriage is going down the drain. Right as he is going to file for divorce his dad gives him a book called "The Love Dare". In this book it gives dares for everyday for 40 days. These dares teach him about God and what it truly means to love his wife. It is such a feel good movie! Afterwards I just wanted to read my scriptures and be the best wife EVER! I loved the movie so much I had to go buy the book they used. I know, I know... I am a sucker! HA HA!

Mazatlan

2009-03-18T09:48:00.012-06:00

We had so much fun in Mazatlan! I was a little worried going down to Mexico because of all of the violence, but honestly I felt safer there than in NYC! Mazatlan is so beautiful! It was really warm with very nice beaches. I needed all of the relaxation! For the most part we laid on the beach and boogie boarded, and ate but a few days into the trip we decided to ride horses on the beach, and try parasailing! I was so scared to go parasailing, but it turned out to be one of the best expirences of my life! I am really glad that I tried it! Another highlight for Devin was when he bought an old man ring. You know how old men love huge rings that look like a superbowl ring? Yeah, well apparently I am married to a 75 year old man because Dev LOVES those types of rings. And somehow, he can actually pull it off! I think I have a picture the ring and then you can really see what I am talking about! I am so sad that we are back now. Devin is trying to talk me into moving down there and one day, we probably will! Everything is so cheap down there AND you get to live your swim suit ALL day EVERYDAY! I loved my time in Mexico! I am so glad that our friends Mandy and Landon came with us! They are way fun and such a great couple! We laughed every day! It was so great to share the vacay with them! The only bad thing that happened was the day after we got back I was so sick. I was throwing up from both ends (sorry, I know that is gross), had a fever, was achy and was so dehidrated! I thought it was the flu but Dev wanted to make sure it was not a parasite so we went to the hospital last night. They hooked me up to an IV gave me some meds and ran a whole bunch of tests on me. They ruled out the flu...great. So we are waiting on the results from the parasite test. I also have something attacking my liver and an infection. So I am on antibiotics and waiting on another test about my liver. So life is fun! Here are some pics of the trip. I won't bore you with all of them!

Me and Dev right when we arrived at our hotel

A little love on the beach

Our beach

Landon and Devin getting ready to go boogie boarding

Mandy and I trying on the local hats

Me getting ready to boogie board

It was so much fun!

The boys playing in the mud

Going on a city tour

I was so scared!

After you are up there, it is so peaceful. You cannot hear anything and you can see for miles!

Dev's turn!

Getting ready to go out!

Happy Birthday Devin!!!!

2009-03-01T01:33:00.003-07:00

These are just a few of my favorite pictures of my hubby... I didn't think I would ever do a birthday post, but here I am at 1:40 AM writing one! In honor of my hubby turning a quarter of a century old today here are 25 things that I LOVE about him!

1. He makes me laugh. He does these dances around the apartment that just crack me up!
2. He is determined. Once he sets his mind to something, he does it!
3. He has the cutest apple bottom EVER!
4. He is very loving.
5. He believes in the church and honors his priesthood. (hmmm... maybe that should be first.
6. He can fix anything.
7. He has an amazing smile.
8. He is a great hubby and one day will be a great daddy!
9. He will do anything for his friends and family.
10. He knows how to dress! I rarely have to pick out an outfit!
11. He can cook!
12. He can sew!!!!!
13. He is loyal. I mean, he lives with 20 girls and only has eyes for me...
14. He is just "yittle".
15. He has a mullet.
16. He grew up on a farm and some days the farm boy in him is hard to hide!
17. He has so many business ideas and one day I know that he will turn one of them into a career!
18. He has amazing hugs. When I have a bad day, his hug just makes me feel a MILLION times better!
19. He is very smart.
20. He is great with kids! You should see him with his 13 nieces and nephews.
21. He is very passionate in everything he does.
22. He can now quote lines from "Friends".... ha ha ha
23. He is a very hard and dedicated worker.
24. He is thoughtful. The other day he bought me a way cute coat because he knew I would love it!
25. He loves me!!!!

I am the luckiest woman alive. Devin is the most kind and sweetest husband. This past 14 months of him being in my life has been amazing. I cannot wait to see what the rest of our lives are like!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 going once, going twice....

2009-02-03T13:09:00.002-07:00

So this is the 4th cold I have had in about 3 months! Seriously?? I hardly get sick and now I am on my 4th cold! It's good to finally know why though... So for about 6 months I have felt really really run down. I just thought it was stress that was causing me to be so tired. But I noticed about a month ago that I would go to school or work for 2 or 3 hours and have to come home and take a nap. Not normal! So I went to the doctor to be tested for lots of stuff. Turns out that I have epstein bar virus, which most everyone has, however, mine is going all crazy! The doctor thought I would have mono because my epstein bar test came back so high, but the mono test came back negative. So because of this wonderful virus, my body can not fight off things like colds. My doctor told me to sleep when I want to sleep and to slow things down. I laughed at her! 18 credits, 4 clinics, 2 labs, 1 off-campus site, and 1 home visit can't be slowed down! Oh well, maybe life can slow down this summer! Any bets on how many more colds I can get?? I am guessing at least 2! HA HA HA!!!
Enough complaining... I hope you all are doing well! I am sure your lives are just as hectic!!! I love you all!

So lucky!

2009-01-28T17:26:00.002-07:00

Ok... I feel like I need to preface this before I say anything. I am not bragging or anything, I am just VERY excited and VERY blessed!

I just found out that I get to leave this country twice within 2 months of each other! YAY!!!!!! For spring break Devin and I decided to use our vacation points we have with Worldmark and go to Mazatlan Mexico! We are going with our friends Mandy and Landon!! So now I am running everyday and not eating so I can be cute in a swimsuit!

Then in May my audiology department is going to Costa Rica on a humanitarian trip!!! YAYAYAYAYAAAAAAAA!!!! I am way excited! I am also a little sad because this year Devin can't go with me and we will be separated for 8 days! That is will be the longest we have been apart!

I am just very lucky that I have these opportunities! I am so grateful for my blessings!

3 trash bags, and a gazillion boxes later...

2009-01-19T15:39:00.002-07:00

Spring Cleaning!!! I know it is a bit early to do... but I could not take it anymore! Dev and I spent about 4 hours today organizing, throwing things away, and cleaning to make our humble home a little bit more homey!!! I love it! Dev of course hated it, but it makes me feel so good inside! That's all.

Happy New Year!!!!!

2009-01-01T10:31:00.005-07:00

This marks the one year anniversary of when Devin and I met! I am so happy now that I can say I have known him for one year! Oh heavens! Yes, I have been married to the man for 6 months and I have now known him for one year. Don't judge! Even though I would judge myself... ha ha :)

We went to his old house to hang out with his old roomies. Here are the pics from that night!

Starting the new year off right! Sorry about Devin's hand... I have no explanation except for that is just Devin.

Celebrating

Breck and I

The boys burning "money"

Chugging down "champagne"

Then we had a dance party and the boys decided to all sport tank tops. Who knows why.

I hope all of your guys' new year was as fun as ours! Happy New Years!

USU B-ball game with Devin

2009-01-01T10:04:00.010-07:00

This may be a random post to some of you, but I wanted to show everyone what I "deal" with at a USU boys basketball game. My cutey hubby goes to the Spectrum 4 or 5 hours in advance and waits till they open the doors. Then, he runs down and gets front row seats. It is nice to sit so close to the game... but if he doesn't sit on the front row, he gets a little upset. ;)So here are the pics from the game, I will explain as we go on!

Us before the game...

Clapping for the players

This is his favorite song they play. We don't know the real name of the song. He calls it the "hi ho" song.

He and all his buddies get into it.

Excited faces!

Big Blue gets into it too!

And then Big Blue stands infront of Devin.. This does not bode well with Devin.

We all thought that USU would win! Then UW shot a 3 pointer with 2 seconds to go. They tied the game and went into over time. This is Devin's reaction!

We finally won the game. I did not get Dev's reaction to that because it was way intense in overtime. This is his calm reaction...

I will give him this, Devin has made basketball games a lot more exciting for me! Unless USU loses. Then I hate it because he gets grumpy.

Our First Christmas!

2008-12-30T21:20:00.004-07:00

This year was a little different trying to combine two families, but I think we did a pretty good job! Christmas eve we went to Idaho to spend time with Devin's family. His dad, "grumpy" as the grandkids call him was "Santa" and we each had to sit on his lap. We were going to go down to my parent's house on Christmas day to open presents, however there was a huge snow storm.. so we decided to drive down Christmas eve night. We opened our gifts from Santa in our bedroom in my parents house and then more presents with my family! It was a great day! Here are some pics... noticed Devin's "excited face"!!!!

Midway

2008-12-17T13:10:00.004-07:00

Devin surprised me this weekend and wisked me away to Midway! We went to celebrate the fact that we both survived the semester and that we have been married for 6 months! YAY! On this vacation, we realized something. We are the worst vacationers EVER! All we do is eat(we ate our weight in junk food) and sleep and drive around. Be that as it may, it is so fun to just be a bum with my BFF. We did go snorkling in the hot pot creater at The Homestead.. here are the only two pics we took this whole weekend!

2008-12-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

Sad day!

2008-12-17T11:54:00.003-07:00

Luke

Luke and his mom, Kim, Charlotte and her mom, Natalie, Lauri, and Reagan and her mom at the pumpkin patch!

Charlotte!

Me, Charlotte, Natalie, Reagan, Luke, and Kim

Today was the last day of me teaching my 3 kids in toddler group. I thought I would be happy because I didn't have to spend countless hours planning lessons, buying supplies, and being creative and crafty. But I am so sad that it is over! These three kids are the cutest! They are so fun to be around and if ever I was sad or stressed they had a way of making me feel better. They all are so brave and have overcome so much in their short lives. They have been such a blessing in my life. I am so grateful and honored that I had the privilage to get to know them and their wonderful families. Thank you guys for letting me be apart of your lives!

YAY for Christmas!

2008-12-13T10:43:00.003-07:00

We were going to do a Christmas card this year, and we still may, but if not... Merry Christmas! We love you guys! (The bottom picture is the one you would have probably gotten anyways!) ha ha ha ha.

I got chewed out this week because I don't blog enough. Maybe that can be one of my new year's resolutions! Along with getting a 4.0 instead of a 3.95... stupid A-!

Anyways, this week has been great for Devin and I. There are a couple of reasons. #1- All the girls moved out for the break!!!!!!!!!!!! (I cannot tell you how awesome it is to have the whole house to ourselves!! I cannot help but think that this is how it should be always!) #2- Devin got a B+ in one class and we are waiting on his other class but we are hoping for a B! #3- The Christmas season is in full swing! This is the first time in a long time that it has felt like Christmas to me. Maybe its because its really fun to play Santa and get gifts for Devin! Or it could be that I woke up to about 7 inches of snow. Or it could be that Devin and I are really trying to focus on Christ this Christmas. Or maybe its because I can be fun again because I don't have school!!!! Whatever it is... I feel alive! I laugh more, I am more in love with my cute hubby... there is just a different feeling in the air! I love it!

7 Things

2008-11-23T23:30:00.002-07:00

7 Things I can do!

1. I can justify spending money on clothes! Especially coats!
2. I can cook (when I want to).
3. I can drive stick.
4. I can decorate.
5. I can stand on my toes- barefoot.
6. I can multi-task.
7. I can pretty much relate anything to "Friends".

7 Things I cannot do!

1. Play the cello (I am taking lessons this fall though!)
2. Paint
3. Memorize and repeat back numbers!
4. Live without Devin.
5. Watch gruesome movies
6. Sew
7. Be in my house alone without some type of noise going (like Friends in the background)

7 Things that attracted me to Devin

1. His smile....
2. His personality
3. His kiss
4. His big brown eyes
5. His big heart
6. How I did not have to dress him
7. How he is just "yittle" and comes cuddle with me

7 Celebrity Admirations

1. Rob Patterson (newly acquired, but I must say he is one tasty dish!)
2. Gerard Butler (he can sing to me in the Scottish accent all he wants!)
3. Gwen Stefani (her style)
4. Jennifer Aniston (all time fave Friend)
5. Steven Tyler (most disagree with me, but he is quite attractive in his old age)
6. Amy Adams (she is just so sweet and cute)
7. Audry Hepburn (classic look, classic style, class voice, classic beauty!)

7 Favorite foods

1. Crab.. I know I am allergic to it, but soooo worth the pain!
2. Artichokes!
3. Peas
4. Cheese burgers... my comfort food!
5. Cheesecake.. carrot cake- cheese cake from the Cheesecake factory is a little piece of heaven on a plate!
6. Pasta.. another comfort food
7. Oreos dipped in peanut butter dipped in milk! Sounds gross, but until you try it you have not lived! I crave this when I am stressed!

I tag Tara, Tone, Amy, and Kendall!

Being Thankful

2008-11-23T23:17:00.002-07:00

So in light of the Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to name 5 things that I am thankful for...

#1) I am thankful for my husband. He is wonderful, fun, and very kind. He is such a hard worker and a great provider! And..he loves me unconditionally! I am so lucky!

#2) I am thankful for my family. They are so supportive of everything I do and love me no matter what! I love them!

#3) I am thankful for the great opportunity to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am grateful for my Savior and His love for me and everything He blesses me with.

#4) I am thankful for my friends! I have the bestest friends EVER! I love each and everyone of them for things that they have done for me and continue to do for me!

#5) I am thankful for all of my blessings! I have a great opportunity to learn and to work and to have a roof over my head.

What are you thankful for? I tag Meg, Meag, PS, Tone, Amy, Tara, and Kendall!

Blessed

2008-10-26T22:33:00.000-06:00

As I read everyone's blogs... I find myself somewhat envying bits and pieces of everyone's lives. Babies, graduating, moving to amazing cities, visiting amazing cities, new kitchens, new houses... I get a little depressed as I wonder when my life was going to be AMAZING!! As I wondered this, I looked over at my wonderful, amazingly handsome, strong, loving husband and realized that my life is amazing and that I am truly blessed. I am blessed that I found someone who loves me with everything he has and tries his best to be there in every way for me. Then I looked around at my small apartment and realized that I am blessed to have a roof over my head and for the safety it brings. Finally I thought about my life. Someday I will be graduated, but for now I am learning. The ability I have to learn is a blessing. I live in Logan, not very glamorous.. but it is safe and beautiful! And those amazing cities... I will get there one day with my "traveling partner". But for now I can be thankful for everything and everyone that Heavenly Father has put in my life! I am truly blessed!

It's the little things that add to your character!

2008-10-20T16:22:00.000-06:00

I have been tagged twice, so do I have to come up with 12 quirks???!!!?

Quirk #1: I have this obsession with my pillow... I love the smell of it (lavender and vanilla pillow mist from Bath and Body), the feel of it (the softest cotton), the antique lace (I love to pull it apart and rub it), the way it props my head perfectly up while sleeping, and the way it makes me feel!!! I know this is weird, but I love my pillow. I crave it when I am tired, sad, or stressed. Some days I pick my pillow over Devin! :) I wish I could describe to you the way it makes me feel. It soothes me deep down all over my insides. I can be really angry and then I rub my pillow and all my feelings go away and it is just me and my pillow in this perfect world where there is no evil.

Quirk #2: All of my credit cards are in alphabetical order! Trust me... it helps when you are in a hurry!

Quirk #3: Everything has to be evenly spaced. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Clothes and shoes in my closet, things on the dresser, decorations on the walls, and even lines or paragraphs on a paper.

Quirk #4: I have an obsession with Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn clothing; especially coats. I have 13 jackets/ coats! If I see one in the store, I have to buy it! I cannot walk away from it. I love the big buttons, the 3/4 sleeves, the collars, the fun colors, the patterns, adding broaches and scarves to them!! Just describing them puts me in a fabulous mood! I cannot explain the surge of power they give me. I feel girly and flirty and very mysterious! Add a coat with a great pair of stilettos and there is nothing I cannot conquer!

Quirk #5: I cannot spell for the life of me. I have never been good at it. In the second grade, I lost in the first round of a spelling bee because I could not spell the word "of". I spelled it "ov". But who cares! That is why they invented spell checker.

Quirk #6: Secretly, I think my laugh is really annoying. It's loud, I snort, and I do this really weird "hee hee" thing that gets worse when people make fun of my laugh.

I tag Kelsey, Tone, Tara and Jess!

Sorority Life

2008-10-08T16:12:00.000-06:00

So I have decided that the reason why Devin and I got the job as mom and dad of the Kappa Delta sorority was because God wanted to teach us a very important lesson...birth control! Ok, so it is not that bad. But I am realizing that girls are more lazy, more messy, and love to break the rules more than any creature on this green earth! I love these girls dearly, but good heavens! How hard is it to put away a dish? Or fold your laundry? Or follow the rules? For example... about 4 weeks ago, Devin and I had a surprise visitor at 3 am. His name is Fred (name changed to protect the guilty). Fred is one of the girl's boy toys (No, not boyfriend... boy toy... ephasis on TOY). Now normally I would not have a problem with Fred. However, this time he was naked, drunk and in my apartment and it was 3 am. Do you see the multiple problems with this little scenario? All of my experiences here have taught me that it is really, really, really ok not to have children for a while and once I do... they better not be lazy and rebelious or date someone lazy and rebelious!!

Here We Are!!!

2008-09-25T17:24:00.000-06:00

I felt a little left out because my three besties, the Megan/Meagan's all have blogs! So, I decided that it was time that Devin and I have a blog! For my first blog, I think we better introduce ourselves and tell you how we met!

Devin and I had a whirl-wind romance. We met New Year's Eve 2007 at a mutual friend's party. That night we talked and hung out and by the end of the night, Devin had my phone number! The next day we went out on our first date. After our first date, I went home for a couple days and the whole time I was home, he text me. I never thought that it would go anywhere, a fling at best. But when I got back up to Lo, we had a date that very night, and the next night, and the next night, and then a couple weeks into it we both knew that we would be together for every night for the rest of our lives!
We were engaged February 16, 2008, just six weeks after we had met. I was a little mad because I never wanted to be a typical girl from Utah county and get engaged so fast! But how could I resist that smile and his kisses? ;)
We were married on June 19th, 2008. The best day of my entire life! I married my best friend and soul mate! We now reside in Logan. We are the parents of 24 girls... how did that happen? Devin talked me into becoming the mom and dad for the Kappa Deltas! It has been a fun ride, with minimal bumps. As much as I love these girls, I do look forward to the day when I have a house of my own. But until we are out of school, that dream is put on hold.
I am currently a 2nd year grad student studying to be a doctor of Audiology. Yay for being a doctor! Only 2 1/2 years left! Devin is going back to school and is studying business. He has a couple more years left. School keeps us pretty busy! Devin is also working for the ICEE company while going to school. We are so lucky this job fell into his lap! As days go by, we will keep you posted!