Friday, December 16, 2011

Christmas Survey

So I saw this on Heidi's blog and thought it was kind of fun (and a good way to kill this last half hour of work...) She shared about her and her husband...but I don't know I could answer half of these about Andy (sad, I know. I'll get working on that this year)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate in the morning and Egg Nog (or Nog Nog, as I call it) at night.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Honesty... I have no idea what my parents used to do. I think they did both. I think that if it was too big or awkward to wrap, then they would just leave it out.

3. Colored lights or White light on tree/house? I used to love colored light, but now I'm all about the white lights. And definitely not the icicle lights (I used to love those...can't stand them now!)

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope...but I should! :) Except I can get kisses from Andy anytime I want, so he would probably just annoyed if I made him stand underneath mistletoe.

5. When do you put up Christmas decorations? I would say that I usually wait at least until the first Saturday in December. I don't usually have a set date, but I wait until it is actually December, for sure!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Um... I guess it would be this really yummy ice cream/7-up drink that my aunt would always make for Christmas parties. I know that's not a dish, but I LOVE it!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I think that would be when my sister and I got a home-built Barbie doll house from my mom and dad. My dad built it and my mom decorated it. It was taller than me and we loved it!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I think that I just eventually figured it out. I was probably in 5th or 6th grade and I heard rumors and then just assumed they were true.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, but only if they are pajamas! I hate opening gifts on Christmas Eve, but it seems that as you get older and try to fit in all of the family parties...sometimes you just have to do it on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Well...it's different every year because I always change my mind on what I like. The first year I bought cheap decorations from the dollar store; the second year I bought some ornaments from Home Depot and I had to rush because Andy was being impatient; and this year... well we don't have a tree this year because I have all of these ideas of how I want to decorate it and it would cost a lot of money (or at least more than I want to spend right now), so we decided to just not do one. (Especially since we are getting our puppy, I just don't want to have to worry about him getting into it).

11. Snow! Love or Dread it? I love "snowing", but I don't love "snow".

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, I love it.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? One of my favorite gifts was my dollhouse that my mom and dad made, and also a baby cradle that my uncle made. I still have the cradle, I think.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Remembering our Savior and being with family. I also try to do some sort of service because that's what the Spirit of Christmas is all about, isn't it?

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Anything...nothing in particular, I guess.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We don't really have traditions anymore... I used to say it was going to Christmas Village in Ogden every year on Christmas Eve, but I just went there last weekend and it was too cold to be enjoyable.

17. What tops your tree? Go back to #10...this can change every year. I haven't found the perfect thing yet.

18. What do you prefer: giving or receiving? Definitely giving! I've always felt that way, even since I was little. I just love to see everyone's faces when the open up their presents from me. It just warms my little heart. :)

19. Candy canes: yuck or yum? Yum - only if they are like Starburst flavor, or something. Not a fan of the peppermint kind.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Hmm... I don't think I really have one I guess. I really like the church ones...they are always super touching.

21. Saddest Christmas song? Huh? Sad Christmas song? That's not possible... Oh wait, there is a country song that is sad... I think the little girl's mom dies or something in the end?

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Away in a Manger

23. Do you use an Advent Calendar? Nah...maybe one year if I can make a cute one and when we have kids.

24. Do you go to church on Christmas? Of course! It's the best sacrament meeting of the year!

25. I'm changing this question... I think the original is a stupid question to end this survey on. My question is: What is the true meaning of Christmas? I honestly could care less about Santa Clause and presents. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have presents and I would only focus on the Savior - His birth and His life. That's why Christmas originally started and I think it needs to go back to that, not the commercialization of Christmas. I guess I enjoy giving presents to others that mean something, but I hate that we feel obligated to spend hundreds of dollars on our family and friends that, for the most part, don't even "need" what we are giving them. I would love for Christmas to be all about the Savior, service and sentimental gifts. And honestly... I bet that the majority of people would agree with me once they took a step back and really thought about the true meaning of Christmas.

(p.s. The original question was What were your Christmas morning rules as a kid?" Good change, huh?) :) If anyone gets a chance to do this survey, I would love to read. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

So funny... does anyone notice anything funny in the picture of my starch (in the background)? I promise we DO NOT drink beer! Haha! Doesn't it totally look like a beer bottle? I promise, it's just ROOT BEER. Yummy!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I'm so weird...

Seriously... the things that make me happy are the strangest things! I just had to share a few of them, because it just makes me laugh. So I've been wanting a 3-separator laundry hamper for a while. But I never mentioned it to Andy because they can be pretty expensive and I always thought he would think it was pointless. So I just dreamed of buying one, one day... Well, one night after Andy picked me up from work, I got in the car and he says "So I've been thinking it would be nice to have one of these separator laundry hampers" Oh.my.gosh! I couldn't keep the smile off of my face! (Ask him - I'm dead serious!) So right then, we drove over to Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought one. And you know what? I LOVE IT! When we got home, Andy put it together, and I actually wanted to do laundry. Crazy, right? So #1... I am weird because I wanted to do laundry just because I had a cute 3-separator laundry hamper.
#2: PINK cleaning gloves!! I always made fun of people for wanting to use plastic gloves when doing the dishes and cleaning. I thought they just made things harder because you wouldn't be able to move your fingers or grip things... boy was I wrong! I used some gloves once while I cleaned my bro-in-law's bathroom (I know, pretty nice of me, right?), because I was not about to clean his toilet with my bare hands... not that it was unnaturally disgusting, just not my own bathroom. So anyway, I found out those gloves worked amazingly! My hands didn't smell like nasty cleaner and I didn't get the heebie jeebies (?) while cleaning. So I went and bought myself some, and no, not that ugly yellow-janitor color, but cute PINK ones. :) And you know what? After buying them, it made me want to clean the bathroom! Again, I know I'm a weirdo.
#3: After Christmas last year, I totally failed! We had a HUGE Christmas tree (not a fan...but in my defense, I didn't know it was that big when we bought it). So it was ginormous and after Christmas was over, there were a million pine needles EVERYWHERE!! So I thought "Oh, I'll just vacuum them all up". Bad idea! If you even think about doing that...DON'T DO IT! It clogged up my vacuum like no other and I wasn't even able to get all of the needles out of the carpet. So after it was clogged, I of course tried to clean it out - per the instructions, mind you - but it didn't work. The needles were stuck in the hose and it just started smelling so bad. Now I'm about to share a secret about my cleaning habits...yes, we just bought a new vacuum about a month ago - what does that tell you? That I still faithfully vacuumed every week with a smelly vacuum? No... it means that I tried to vacuum a few times throughout the year (literally, a few) and just couldn't stand the smell, let alone the fact that I knew nothing was getting picked up. All I was doing was stinking up the house and creating "vacuum lines" for the appearance of looking like a good house-keeper. Eventually we just couldn't take it, so we bought this beauty. Boy do I love it. And you know what? Yep, you guessed it. Having this wonderful new vacuum makes me want to vacuum more often! I get excited when I can get it out of it's little closet and actually clean my carpet. Very exciting stuff.
#4: Starch! Probably one of the best inventions when it comes to ironing! I love to iron now that I have found that starch is #1 - amazing...and #2 - so inexpensive. I always thought that we couldn't afford starch or something so I never even thought to buy it. But after living with Andy's parents for awhile, and his mom used starch, I see the benefits of it! It just makes your clothes so crisp and starchy. :) Funny story about this starch (Louise, you'll get a kick out of this, if you are reading), I was ironing one day and Andy was playing video games, with his headphones in. I started spraying away and he looks up and says "You're ironing, aren't you?" He totally knew that I was ironing just because he recognized the smell of starch that his mom used all throughout his life. So funny!
Okay, almost done. Just 2 more things that I find joy in and that make me be a better person. :) #5: L.O.V.E this new little lunch bag! I bought it at Michael's for $1.50 and I have made my money back on that investment by like, 10 times! Because you know what? I actually want to take my lunch to work so that I can use my new bag! So I actually make dinner and make sure there are leftovers, so that I can take it to work the next day. It's awesome. I just think it's so funny that just because something is cute (see Pink Gloves, above) it makes me want to do something that I don't normally like to do. Now, if only they could invent a pink treadmill or something like that...maybe it'll get me to go to the gym... :)
#6: And finally, this one doesn't quite apply because it doesn't necessarily make me want to do something that I don't normally do, but I had to share because I love these glasses! I got them from Macy's for guess how much? $10!!!! An entire set of 24 (8 of each size) GLASS (not plastic) cups! I love them. I used to hate drinking out of glass cups (remember, girls?) but these, I can totally drink out of. My favorite size is the one on the left, the smaller skinnier ones. It gives the perfect amount of any beverage (especially egg nog... yum yum!) As I was pulling them out of the box, putting them in the dishwasher, and then putting them away in the cupboard - you guessed it, there was a big ole' smile right across my whole face the entire time.
Well, there you have it, friends. 6 wonderful reasons why I am so weird... but in all honesty, you know you are all the EXACT SAME WAY! Aren't you?? :)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Go Aggies!

For all of my fellow Aggies out there... click this link - http://www.ksl.com/?sid=18025052&nid=858&title=occupy-the-spectrum-1200-aggie-students-camp-out-for-byu-game.
Are you Jealous or What? I know I am... I would love to be camping out there waiting for the madness to begin! So freakin' awesome!!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Cruisin Time

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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

General Conference

Due to our cruise, Andy and I weren't able to watch much of conference. We caught a few talks from the Saturday sessions, but missed all of the Sunday sessions. I've listened to a few talks on my phone as I get ready in the morning and I'm so grateful for the technology that makes it so easy to listen to conference. It really is a blessing. On my lunch break today, I walked down to a little sandwich shop and listened to a wonderful conference talk. It was from Elder Neil. L. Andersen with the title "Children". I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I don't think I really expected it to be about the decision to start raising a family...

Andy and I have been married for 3 wonderful years, and it's been a little difficult for me that we haven't made that decision to have children yet. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am so glad that we didn't start popping out babies right away, because I personally needed to figure out how to be a wife before I could be a mother. I am grateful for my time with my husband. We've learned so much together and I wouldn't change it for the world. But lately, I've been so baby hungry...but it feels different than "hunger" this time. I guess I just feel that it's time to go for it. Unfortunately, Andy and I have felt that our circumstances are not perfect for having a baby right now. He's just getting into his career and not making a ton of money, not enough money for me to stay home with the baby, that is. And that's what I want to do... I don't want to have to go back to work after 3 months... I don't want my baby to grow up in childcare...I don't want, don't want, don't want... There's an endless list of reasons why now is not a great time. But is it really only what I want? No... it's what Andy, HEAVENLY FATHER, and I want. I forget that little part sometimes... HEAVENLY FATHER. This talk just really opened my eyes that the Lord wants us to "Be fruitful and replenish the earth". I mean, obviously I've known that for a long time, but it just kind of stood out to me that it's a commandment, that the Lord has asked us to do it and we need to obey. We can't keep putting things on hold for when WE think it's "perfect" timing.

Andy and I have had this discussion before where - yes, we know we need to have kids, but we also need to be smart about it. But something Elder Andersen said in his talk really hit me:

    "President Thomas S. Monson said: “If you are concerned about providing financially for a wife and family, may I assure you that there is no shame in a couple having to scrimp and save. It is generally during these challenging times that you will grow closer together as you learn to sacrifice and to make difficult decisions.”

Andy and I have always said that we want to start a family, but still live how we are living now - we don't worry about money that much. If I want a new dress or Andy wants a new video game... we go buy it! Yes, it's amazing not to stress about money and be able to buy whatever we want. But what is more important? Following the Lord's commandment to raise a family or have a new pair of shoes? Andy and I have never really been in a place where we have really had to sacrifice, and not necessarily just money, but also our time together. We have always had as much time together as we wanted (sorry, I'm really not trying to brag at all about this, just trying to write thoughts down). We've just been so blessed and now - I just wonder if it's time for us to TRULY make a sacrifice...

Now, please don't take this the wrong way and think I'm making a Pregnancy announcement (not even!) or announcing that we are Trying... because another thing that Elder Andersen said was:

"...realizing the decision of how many children to have and when to have them is between a husband and wife and the Lord. We should not judge one another on this matter."

I just really wanted to write my thoughts down about this wonderful conference talk. Like I said, it just really spoke to me and made me realize that Andy and I need to sit down and really talk about the decision, not just amongst ourselves, but also with Our Heavenly Father. I don't think we've done that...

Anyway, here is the link to the talk...it's really special and I think everyone should read or listen to it (even if you already have made that decision to start your family) http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/children?lang=eng

p.s. I will post about the cruise later this week (with pictures. Yay!). :)

Friday, September 30, 2011

I L.O.V.E. Pinterest

Just an FYI - if anyone has not heard of Pinterest...you need to CHECK.IT.OUT. I freakin' love it. There are so many good ideas and it's not just crafts! You can find recipes, hair tutorials, clothes, LDS stuff...and so much more! Follow this link, sign up, and start pinning! http://pinterest.com/

(And you HAVE to put the "Pin It" button on your bookmarks bar! L-O-V-E it!)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Spiritual Wake-up Call

So it seems lately that people, namely Linds and Jan, have had these overwhelming reminders of the Lord and his love for each of us; and of the things that really matter most in this life. I had an experience that I want to share, mainly for journal keeping purposes (because I am horrible at actually writing in my journal...) and if I don't write it down, then I don't always remember how I felt.

For the past few months I haven't been feeling the Spirit very strongly (if at all). It seems that the more I would try to do what was right, the more guilty I felt for not being "good enough". I didn't pray enough, read scriptures enough...I didn't bare my testimony...I didn't know if I really had a testimony to bare... all of these thoughts just kept pounding deeper and deeper into my head. And the more I tried to pray or to read a spiritual thought to remind me of our Savior's love, the harder my heart became to the feelings of the Spirit. I was at the point where I didn't want to read or hear spiritual thoughts because it made me feel so bad about myself. I would think "Why don't I think that? Why don't I feel that way? I must not have a testimony because I don't have the same strength as other do". It was very DEPRESSING! And of course, I just kept this all inside and let it eat away at me; it's a curse and a blessing that I'm able to hide my feelings so well and pretend that everything is okay...

So for one of our activities for YW, we were planning on kick-starting the Personal Progress program again. The New Era was full of articles and ideas of how to start and stay motivated. Now another confession... I never finished my Personal Progress - how in the world am I supposed to set an example to these young women, when I didn't even do what I am asking them to do (there's one more ding at my spiritual self-esteem). So when our YW President asked me to plan on saying something to the girls that night, I just thought "Sure, I can fake my way through this one, no problem". Little did I know, that my Savior had something else in store for me. 

On the road we take to church, there is a Baptist (?) church building with a marquee out front. It often has little messages on it and I always read them, but rarely do they ever mean much to me. On the Sunday before this particular YW activity, I had read it and thought it was nice, but again it didn't settle in as deeply as it did on my way to the activity. The saying said (and I believe it's a scripture, possibly) "To Reject Christ is to Harden your Heart".

It had finally sunk in that I was hardening my heart toward my Savior. I didn't want to hear other peoples testimonies...I didn't want to see the faith in other's because it made me feel bad for my lack of faith, so I just tried to tune it all out... Boy, am I glad that the Lord loves me and puts things in my path to remind me of his love and that he wants me to be HAPPY. 

So I was able to wake up and soften my heart. I realized that the Lord has us do these small and simple things, that all add up to one great, big thing. The reason for this, is so that we don't get overwhelmed! If we are looking at the big picture, we will never be able to make it! It's too hard. We need to step back and take it one piece at a time. I was able to relate this story to the YW to show them how Personal Progress helps them achieve this goal. They need to take each requirement one at a time in order to succeed. I couldn't believe it... I had actually felt the Spirit whisper to me how I was supposed to help these girls! I was like all of those other ladies that I look up to so much, who receive answers to their prayers...who have the faith to know that their Heavenly Father loves them and will help them...I am just like them! (I guess I just needed a little reminder...)

So I'm sorry for such a long post, but I guess I just really wanted to share my story and hope that I might be able to help someone else that might have these same thoughts. I love and hate having to go through these experiences...but honestly, I wouldn't change it for the world. Because now, I will ALWAYS REMEMBER! I will always remember that my Savior loves me, that he died for me, and that he knows exactly how i feel and what I need in order to return to Him. I know that even if I'm not perfect, I can do little things to help me reach perfection one day. I'm so grateful for this gospel and  for all of those people that help me each day to be better. 

Friday, August 26, 2011

Mary Kay

Well everyone... I have joined the ranks of Mary Kay! I love Mary Kay products and have finally decided that I have the guts to be a consultant. :) I want to introduce everyone I know to Mary Kay products, because they literally are the best out there. I have been using Mary Kay for 4 years now (off and on, due to money) and there are certain products that I would never go anywhere else for (i.e. the eye primer and eye shadows). I am excited to start using all of their products again!
The reason I wanted to start selling was to make extra money to put aside for all of our trips to Utah (and now Arizona) to see friends and family. The money adds up for plane tickets and I never want to miss out on anything important just because "it's too expensive". So we'll see how it goes! You all know that I am not a pushy person, I like people to do whatever they want and feel comfortable. So that's how I'm going to treat my Mary Kay business. I've been to the parties where you feel pressured into buying something or to become a Consultant...that's not going to be me. If you don't ever want to do a party, that's totally fine! You can order your product online and never even talk to me. You can text or email...really the choice is yours! I'm just excited to share Mary Kay products.
So if you need a gift for a loved one (seriously, best sugar scrubs, ever!) or need some pampering for yourself, just look at my website or contact me and I'll hook you up! Love you guys...thanks for your support. http://www.marykay.com/kellie.tolton

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I'm an Auntie again!

Yay! Dave and Shell had their little baby BOY yesterday! I'm so excited for them and their family of 7 now! Holy smokes... It sounds like such a big number and then I think about it... I grew up in a family of 7! Here are a few pictures of the new little guy (not sure of the name yet, haha!)
(Beautiful Shelly after just giving birth!!!)
(Sweet family of 7! I love them!)
(Such a big boy... 7 lbs. 6 oz. 20 inches long *I think I remembered that right*)

Monday, August 22, 2011

New Post - July

Okay so I finally finished an old post that I was writing last month and it didn't change the date to today. So if you want to read, then go to July and it's "Update & Meg's wedding".

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

I miss this...

I miss Utah State... I miss this beautiful campus, I miss the mountains, I miss the small town college feel of Logan... :( I just remember the fun college days with me and my girls at Old Farm. We had so much fun...and did some crazy stuff! Haha! It's crazy to think that it's already been 4 years since we were all (well, minus 1) together at school! And now look where we are... 3 out of 4 are married, 2 out of 4 have moved away from their families in Utah and are living on their own outside of the bubble, 1 has a baby on the way... sometimes growing up scares me! And at other times, it excites me and I can't wait to see what the future holds. I love my life with the most amazing, understanding, patient man that I know. He is my everything (oh.my.gosh - Kellie, do not cry at work...) We will be celebrating our 3 year anniversary in one week and I can't believe how far we've come. We've grown so much - as a couple and as individuals. I remember that when we lived in Utah, I was terrified to do anything on my own! I always had to have either my girls or Andy with me. And now... I can drive downtown Seattle, go to the bathroom, eat lunch by myself, etc. and HAVE FUN - all without panicking!! This move has been hard - I miss my family and friends every. single. day - but it's been so good for us as a FAMILY!

Now that I have so much free time at work, you will see more and more of these random posts; but at least you are hearing from me! :)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

This makes me HAPPY!!

So I am working on pictures and new post, but in the meantime I wanted to share this little gem. It makes me so HaPpY!! Isn't it so freaking cute? When I have a house with a porch one day, this will be on it! Yay!
Here's the link - http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2011/07/old-door-privacy-screen.html

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Update & Meg's Wedding

Well I've been at my new job for just over a month now. It's been really great. Everyone is very nice and always introduce themselves. There are at least 160 people here at the office so I don't know everyone (yet...), but due to the fact that I have a giant candy bowl sitting right in front of my desk, I think I will get to know just about everyone. :) I'll take some pictures and post them soon. (Oh, and I get my own business cards too! Amazing!) I'm very excited for that. So on my last day at Mechatronics the girls put together a cute little basket with all of my favorite stuff. It was so sweet. So I said my goodbyes and ran out the door so that Andy and I could make our flight to Utah - really didn't have to rush that much, we had plenty of time - but the flight was good, nice and fast. My sweet brother Rich came and picked us up (which I was so glad he did, because I felt like that was the only time we really got to spend with him!) He gave us a quick update on his "dating life" and I'm so happy for him. He's so cute and so happy! We got up the next morning and Mom and I went out to Meg's house to start setting up for the wedding. It was so fun to spend that time with Mom and Meg, I can't remember the last time we were together - laughing, crying and having fun. It was pretty crazy, getting everything all ready. The weather was so hot and I was loving the sun. So finally we got the outside all set up and then had to rush to get all pretty. It was fun being able to get Meg in her dress and veil. She looked so pretty!!! We had to squeeze that little baby inside nice and tight. Haha! We were running a little behind, so all the men and guests were waiting for us. I wasn't there for the rehearsal dinner and I have never had to walk down an aisle before, so I was a little nervous, but it was really easy. It was kind of cool to be able to stand next to my sissy and get to see her and Josh's sweet faces. They are so in love and it made me cry! I love them. The ceremony was really neat and I really like Josh's pastor, who married them. Right after the ceremony and after we got all of the tables and food set up...it starting blowing really hard and started raining like CRAZY! I couldn't believe it. The weather was perfect all day until the reception. So we picked up everything and put it back in the house and just waited for people to come. As they came, so many just said a quick hello to Meg and Josh and then left because the house just wasn't set up (or big enough) to have people sit and chat. It was too bad, but I just kept looking at Meg and she couldn't keep the smile off of her face! She was just so happy, she didn't even care that it was pouring outside. The weather eventually cleared up and we were able to sit and chat with Whit and Janny. It was so good to see them, but I really missed my Linds. It was so weird coming to Utah and not being able to see ALL of my girls. We eventually had to say goodbye and get home. I love seeing all of our family (and actually getting to see my extended family this time too!) It was so fun to see the kids and watching Andy play with them made me so happy! He's so cute. I love those little kids so much, it's crazy to see them growing up so fast. Little Jadee will be baptized next year!! So crazy. I sometimes wish we were able to visit for Christmas because I will have 3 new little babies to see (Linds, Meg, and Shelly) But I am so excited to go on our cruise and I wouldn't trade that for anything! I don't have any pictures to post because I can't find my dang camera cord...I'll keep looking and hopefully I can get some pictures up soon.

Friday, July 1, 2011

New Job!!!

Well, some of you know already, but I have a NEW JOB! Yay! I've been looking around for quite a while because I just wasn't enjoying what I was doing and the commute was killing me...yeah yeah, it was only 30 minutes. But to drive 30 minutes to a job you don't like and a company you don't really respect...made it seem like 3 hours! :) So after a few rejections, I decided to stop looking. And after a month, this company calls me out of the blue. They are called MulvannyG2, an architectural design company that is based out of Bellevue (10 minutes from my house!!). They had an opening available for Administrative Assistant/Receptionist. I figured I might as well go for an interview because Architecture seems interesting. So I show up and the office is literally, the prettiest office I've ever set foot in! I love it. The interview went great and a week later they offered me the job (I got an offer letter and everything!) So I accepted, obviously, and I start on July 11th. I am seriously so excited because not only will I be closer to home, but I will be working for the #1 Top Rated Company to work for - no lie, look it up! :) I feel so blessed and am very grateful to have finally found a job that will make me happy. And there's a BONUS...I get to work downtown with Andy so we will be able to meet up for "lunch". JK... haha! I will miss some of the people that I worked with though, especially my friend Michele, who if it wasn't for her, I would have quit a year ago, even without a new job. She made that job bearable and she has become a great friend! But we will make sure to still get together...fo sho! Right, Michele? :)
And next week I am so excited because it's my big sister's wedding! I am so happy for her! She deserves this so much and I love that she is marrying someone that loves her so much, respects her, and who I know will take care of her (and the little one) the rest of their lives. Andy and I are so excited to spend some time with her and the rest of the fam, even though it'll be for like 36 hours...Unfortunately, we had already planned and paid for our cruise in October, so we were out of time-off for work (don't get me wrong, sooooo excited for our cruise!), but I just wish I could be there to help with everything before the big day. But at least we'll be there and we honestly couldn't be happier! Love you Meg - see you in 7 days!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Beginning of Summer

**WARNING - VERY LONG POST**

Well, it's been pretty crappy weather up here lately...not quite summer yet. I'm getting pretty tired of it...I can't wait for the sun and heat!! Our pool at our apartment just opened yesterday so I am looking forward to the nice days when I can swim or lay out and get rid of my pasty white skin! To start off this post, I will show you a picture of a cute little craft that I made for my best friend's baby girl. I have never really sewn a blanket before by myself so I thought I would try it out. It was actually really easy, except that the fabric was kind of stretchy so it's definitely not perfect. My favorite is the little hand-held blanky with little taggies on it. I made it from the left over scraps of the blanket material and IT.IS.SO.CUTE! I love it. I almost wanted to keep it for myself because I liked it so much, but I decided I would have no use for it. I hope her little one likes it!
Then a few weeks ago, my other best friend, her husband, brother, and his wife all came to visit Andy and I! I honestly can't explain how happy I was to have a visitor. We've been waiting for so long...haha! And the fact that they stayed for less than 24 hours just cracks me up! They must have really wanted to see us. They drove from Utah through the night and got to our place around 4:30-ish. We slept for a few extra hours then we were up and about touring Seattle. It was really fun being a "tour-guide" showing off my city. We went to Pike Place Market, rode a ferry to Bainbridge, played at the Seattle Center (saw the Space Needle and played in the International Fountain), visited the Fremont Troll, got lost driving around because of all the construction and detours and then they all left to drive down to San Francisco. Here are some pictures of the gum wall (yes, G.U.M, chewed gum!). It's a wall that is covered with gum on one side and "art" on the other. Yes, of course we added our own gum to it! I had actually never been down there so it was really fun for me, too.

Here is a picture of Andy and I on the ferry, it was CRAZY windy! But I absolutely love the wind, so I didn't mind.
Thanks guys for making the trip to come visit us! Next, we had a fun little trip down to California. Andy and his boss had a conference in Huntington Beach and his boss's wife and I tagged along. Boy, am I glad we did. It was SO nice to get away from the rain and enjoy some sun. We stayed at the Hyatt - holy crap, it was nice. See our room and view here:
*Oops, sorry. Just realized I only have pictures of the room on my phone.. But you can tell how sweet our room would be just by our amazing view, right?* Anyway, so we flew into Long Beach Airport...smallest airport ever! We like to call it the IBA, Itty Bitty Airport. (Maybe that's really just an inside joke...haha!) So after we got there, we explored the ginormous resort/hotel. They had their own spa area where you could sit in a steam room or sauna and it was so relaxing just looking at it. Seriously, check out the hotel link here http://www.hyattregencyhuntingtonbeach.com/. Monique and I had to keep reminding ourselves that the boys were there for business, because we were getting a little upset when they kept working instead of wanting to go to the beach. But eventually we walked to the beach (right across the street from the hotel) and then walked to the pier where we ate at Ruby's (apparently really famous...and so delicious!!)
This is on the bridge we cross over from our hotel to the beach.
This is where we look so fat after eating Ruby's. Ruby's is at the end of the pier over the ocean. Pretty freakin' sweet!
And this is the huge pier. Andy kept saying how huge it was... I haven't really been on many piers so I thought this was normal...
So after all of the walking we were pretty tired (Monique is 7 months pregnant, I might add) so we just came back to the hotel and rested. We bought some firewood to go to the beach and make a fire, but we were all just too tired. So then the next day, Andy and Neil (his boss) went to the conference and all of their meeting, not before they let Monique and I mooch breakfast...and lunch...and dinner. Ha! We only paid for 2 meals while we were there - pretty awesome. One night for dinner the company that was doing the conference rented out the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. So we got to eat pretty yummy food and look at all of the weird sea animals. They said there was a place where you could pet sting rays, but we couldn't find it and then had to leave real quick. To prove we were there, here is a sea horse. Yay!
There was tons of sun, but it was also really windy, so it was a little bit cold to swim in the pool or go down to the beach. We attempted, but didn't last long. On the last day of the conference, Neil and Andy had free tickets to go to Disneyland. Neil and Monique stayed at the hotel because she wouldn't have been able to ride any of the rides anyway so I took Neil's ticket and Andy and I had a cute little half-day date to Disneyland. It was a lot of fun, but we knew it would busy so we picked out our favorite rides that we had to ride and ran to them to make sure we could hit them all in 4 hours (because the park closes at 8 during the off-season...I know, bummer). So we rode Space Mountain, It's a small world, Indiana Jones, Big Thunder Mountain, the Toy Story one... I think that's about it. I definitely love Indiana Jones, but I wish it lasted longer. Oh, side note about the Indiana Jones ride... I lost my camera in the seat!! Oh, it was so scary. I had it in my butt pocket and as we were walking out of the ride I noticed it wasn't there. I was so worried because the ride is so bumpy that I thought if it fell out that I would never see it again and it was gone forever...as I walked back to the ride I was almost crying because Andy had JUST bought me that camera for my birthday! But luckily, they found it in the seat of the jeep! Aww, I was so relieved. So anyway, here a few pictures from Disney:
So after Disney was over, we headed back to the hotel and hung out with Monique and Neil for a little bit and then just fell asleep. The whole trip was seriously so relaxing. Most of the time, Monique and I just laid around talking (side note - she is seriously so sweet, I really like her. I'm glad that I get along with the boss's wife so hopefully we can go on more "business" trips together). We had planned on staying an extra day after the conference just to have one full day together with the boys doing tourist-y stuff. So the last day (Friday) we rented beach cruiser bikes and rode down the beach to downtown Huntington and ate at IHOP. We walked around the little stores and bought some t-shirts and what not. Then we rode down the beach some more. After that we swam at the pool for a little bit and then went down to the beach. It was such a nice day that I had to get in the ocean. So we played around a little bit, me holding on to Andy the whole time so that I didn't get swept away. The waves are huge down there! The water really wasn't that bad either. I love being in the ocean and having the waves crash over my head. The boys (do you like that I keep calling them boy? It's very fitting actually!) wanted to go out further and said I was too small, so they kicked me out of the ocean! I was a little sad, but I didn't like being out there without Andy to hold on to. So Monique and I just laid out some more and soaked up the sun. After all of that, we had to go home; we headed out the IBA and flew home to rainy Seattle. It was a very much needed vacation (our first real vacation since the honeymoon!) I love California. I still say that I could live there because I love the beach and the ocean and the sun...but Andy just likes to visit. Which is okay, because it keeps it special. Wow, sorry this is such a long post (and not very well written) but I was just so excited to actually have something to write about. For those of you who lasted... thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Random Acts of Kindness

So, I recently heard on the radio about this lady who dedicates service to her mom called "Mom's Six Days". She will do random things, one of them has been to pay for someone's groceries in the line behind her. I have always thought how sweet that is and how I would love to be "brave" enough to do that for someone. Well, I would never have believed it would happen to me! Mine wasn't as great as someone buying my groceries, but they bought my McDonald's! :) I got up to the window all ready to pay and the guy said that the lady in front of me took care of it. I couldn't believe it and he had to keep reassuring me that it was taken care of. I sat there and said "how do I say Thank You?" I felt like getting out of my car and running up to her window and saying thank you, or following her out of the drive through waiting to pull up along side her, or something...but I just sat there with a big smile on my face hoping she would look in her rear-view mirror and see how happy I was and as she pulled away I waved... I won't ever know if she saw me and that makes me feel ungrateful. So I want to say THANK YOU Silver Toyota Highlander lady. You made my day! Not only did I get my 1 million calorie meal, but I got it for free! Thank you! :) Now, what can I do to pass the kindness on...?

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Finally!

Well, since I'm so good at making my goals...not! I've finally decided to just sit down and post something. All of my pictures are now on the computer, so really I have no excuse. I had to put up some pictures from Christmas because I was so proud of our cute little apartment (and by that, I really mean just our stockings!)


I thought that I would try to make our stockings, but when I saw these knit ones and they were on sale...couldn't pass it up! I love them! Here are a few pictures from our Utah Christmas...



Way cute picture of me and Linds at the lights... :) I forced all of the friends to get together and meet at Temple Square because I HAD to see the lights, but it was just a great time...really...haha! Anyway, here are some pictures of the dresses I made for my nieces. There are 2 of the pink ones for the twins (but I didn't find it necessary to take a picture of both) :) They were fun to make on my new sewing machine.So I think that about sums up Christmas time. Then came my birthday and Andy's (pictures are on facebook if you wanna see). Andy surprised me with a new camera and his family all pitched in and bought me my very own KitchenAid. I am in love with it! And my mom and sister gave me a bunch of fun fabric and stuff. It was a really really great day and I was too spoiled. Even though Andy didn't take me country swing dancing...but I'll get him there eventually. Andy turned 25 this year so I decided he needed to have a surprise party. So I worked out all the plans and had his family meet us at this indoor go-kart racing place. He had NO idea! It was so much fun! The go-karts were so fast (not when I was driving...cuz I'm a wuss...), but we all had a really good time. One of my best friends, Janny-bananny, got married last week and so we went back to Utah for that. The girls and I got together for her Bachelorette party and went bowling. Unfortunately, my camera was dead so I didn't get any pictures (you would all want to see them...trust me!). Then we went back to Whit's house and did the waxing, facials, painting toe nails thing and had a sleepover. It was so much fun to be with my girls again. It made it really hard to come back home. Andy and I made a trip up to Logan and visited Utah State. I do love it there, but could probably never live there again...it's so small. Haha! Jan's wedding was the next day and it was really really nice! I loved being in the sealing room with them and hearing all the blessings they will be receiving. It was such a good reminder of the day Andy and I were married, because I seriously don't remember much from our sealing. I teared up a little and for some that shocked Linds and Andy...I don't know why! I was just so touched and loved to see my Janny become a married woman. After a crazy long day of wedding stuff, we finally got home and got to relax and hang out with the fam the next day. It was amazing how the timing all worked out because my brother Dan, who is over in the middle East right now, was home at the same time as us for his R&R. I was so glad we got to see him, even just for a day. And now we're back home in rainy Bellevue (literally pouring right now!). I have had a hard time for some reason coming back home after this trip. Maybe it's because it was so short... But we're back to work and our church callings (speaking of...I've got some stuff to do for Girls Camp...) and we're looking forward to soccer season starting up on Tuesday; I'm especially excited for baseball season to start, can't wait to watch those Mariners play! Well, that about sums up the last 4 months or so. Oh wait, I forgot to mention that Andy and I are planning on going on a Mexican cruise later this year and I seriously can't wait! I'm so excited to just have a vacation to ourselves. Yay!



Sunday, February 6, 2011

I suck...

Wow, I haven't been on here forever (well, technically I have been on here to look around and realize how lazy I am to not change anything or write a new post). I have a bunch of pictures from Christmas and birthdays that I want to put up here, but I think I'm going to have to spread it out so I don't have on ginormous post! :) So I promise, I will have new stuff up here soon (that's mostly a promise to myself because I don't even know who follows this regularly to notice that I never post...haha!) This week...expect good things to come... :)