Is it just me, or is April always super busy?!

If we're going to be honest, April has always been a busy month for me. Between my birthday and Easter (usually), it was also the prime time to prepare for AP tests in high school and finals while I went to BYU. April of last year (2015) was probably the least busy April I've had in a long time since I was done with school and just had birthdays, Easter, and a baby to worry about.

This year? Busy. Super busy.

Firstly, Douglas graduated from BYU with his Masters degree in Information Systems Management! This meant that we had family in town, which meant that we had plenty of things to keep us busy all week, from lots of eating together to hiking the Y (but only partially because... 2 toddlers and a pre-schooler. Enough said.) to playing at kids gyms and taking walks up in Provo Canyon.

On top of that, we got a house. Thus, April was full of packing, and driving back and forth from apartment to house, and inspections, and appliance/tool shopping, and cleaning... so tiring.

Add Easter to that, as well my first prenatal visit, hosting my brother at our apartment for several days right before our big moving day, and having 5 birthdays (including mine) to celebrate among Doug's immediate family members alone... and it was a crazy month. There were occasional tears and lots of ice cream breaks and here we finally are at the end of the month!

We survived.

I'll have plenty of things to blog about in the next month, some obvious ones being this second pregnancy and about some of the ups and downs of home ownership. I'm also excited to get back to working on my photography (my camera's been put on the back burner for the past month or two) and picking my Trim Healthy Mama recipes back up again (I still need to post about that!)

So... here's to getting through this busy month! I love April, but goodness it's always kind of crazy!

All By Myself

If you just sang the title of this blog post Celine Dion-style, then you get brownie points.

Isn't she lovely, folks? And I'm totally going to go listen to that song right now... because... Celine.

For the very first time in our nearly 2.5 years of marriage - yep, you heard me folks, for the very first time since our wedding night - Doug and I are apart from each other. He has been off in California on a work conference (coming back tonight!) and I have been all alone! Is it strange that we've made it this far into our marriage without ever being away from each other? Not even for one night... I think it's a bit strange. We're not clingy people, we just haven't ever taken trips without each other. In any case, this was a whole new experience for me! (And I've been super nervous that baby girl will come early while he's gone, but that hasn't happened!) Despite missing Doug, here are the things I've taken advantage of during his absence:

1) I can eat ALL the junk food!!!!!!
Technically, I can eat junk food while Doug is with me, but him being gone is the perfect excuse to let myself binge a bit. I've been downing my favorite chip and dip combo, eating too much ice cream, made chocolate peanut butter fudge (it's already completely devoured), and even let myself go buy fries at Wendy's. I never randomly buy fries. So that's saying something.

2) I am more focused when I'm by myself.
I find it impossibly difficult to get things done when there are other people around me. If Doug is home, then dishes will go unwashed, laundry unfolded, projects unfinished, etc... unless I really force myself to get things done. Normally I have to make sure that I complete all of my to-do items during the day when he's at work or school. Having him gone for such a long period of time has given me plenty of opportunity to get into a "cleaning and organizing" groove.

3) I can stay up late and be as noisy as I want.
I am a bit of a night owl, while Doug likes to go to bed earlier (he gets up earlier, so that makes sense). Even if I wanted to go to bed at the same time as him, my preggo belly sometimes makes it difficult to fall asleep. Once he's in bed, my activities are limited. For the past several nights, I've been able to keep music running, have the television on, sing to myself, get things done, and go wherever I want in the apartment without worrying about waking someone up. I suppose that being able to make noise keeps me from feeling lonely.

4) Being apart helps me appreciate the time we have together.
This kind of speaks for itself. It's that whole "you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone" concept - only on a less-extreme scale because Doug isn't permanently gone. But having him so far away for a couple days reminds me of how blessed I am to have him. So very blessed. And I can't be thankful enough for that.

Doug, I'm excited to see you again tonight!

March fever or something

It's that time of year when the air feels fresh and the temperature is more bearable.
The sunsets are beautiful.
I feel like any day now there will be buds on the trees. The grass is already greener.
Fingers crossed that the snow is done with for the season. Spring officially starts in less than 2 weeks, after all.

Doug and I are considering the possibility of moving sooner than we expected. We'll still be in Provo, but just not in Wymount any more. It is strange to think that we've spent almost 2 whole years here already.

Speaking of Doug, today is his birthday. Halfway to 50... not bad, not bad. As his mother said, "one quarter of a century down, three more to go!" When you say it that way, it seems like a lot - but not a lot at the same time. In any case, we're preppin' our bellies for some Tucanos goodness on Tuesday for a belated birthday lunch.

Meanwhile... Scott and I are getting ready to kick butt in our competition on Thursday! As far as I know, it's my very last DanceSport competition, so I hope to make it count for something. We're feeling confident about getting to finals. Hopefully. Top 3 would be nice. Gah, I'm nervous already!

In other news, I'm missing tap.
And how cool are my West Coast Swingin' team members?!

I've started to teach Doug some basic Samba concepts, along with the routine that they learn in the bronze-level class at BYU. We've reached a dance move called bota-fogos. They're pretty tough when you're just starting dance. He's doing pretty good for a beginner! I love him for indulging me and learning how to dance. He even knows bronze-level social cha-cha and foxtrot :) What a guy.

Speaking of dance, if any of you in Utah want to come see the BYU Ballroom Dance Company in concert this April, buy tickets from me! I'm required to sell them. You don't want to miss all the awesome dance routines, especially the national award-winning ones from our tour team!

"Halfsies" and Giving In

When I say "halfsies" I am referring to my half-anniversary. The 1.5 year mark of our marriage was yesterday, and so we celebrated by going to Cafe Rio for dinner tonight. This is the third year in a row that we have gone to Cafe Rio on the day before Thanksgiving. The first time we went was for our very first date, so it has become a tradition to go on the day before Thanksgiving every year... and it conveniently falls around the same time as our half anniversary, so it's a chance for double celebration.

I love that ginger-headed boy.

In other news:

I gave in today.

I stopped by Michaels with the intention of purchasing materials to make my own Advent Calendar Christmas Tree. (I'm very proud of myself! I'll share a post about it soon!) Anyways, I spent a good chunk of time strolling around the Christmas aisles, and the Christmas music they were playing in the store got stuck in my head. I am the type of stubborn person who waits until after Thanksgiving to put up my decorations and listen to Christmas music, but when I came home after shopping and started putting my advent calendar together, I just couldn't help myself! Christmas is too alluring! So I gave up (Thanksgiving is tomorrow anyways!) and turned on my Christmas music, made some hot apple cider to tide me over until we went to Cafe Rio, and started crafting.

And it was wonderful.

My Christmas decorations are going up ASAP. And I'm excited for Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws house tomorrow, where I'll get to see my cute little nephew. Oooooh, I am loving having a break from school and finally allowing myself to get into the holiday season! LOVING it!!!!!!

Oh, and my youngest sister's birthday was today, and she loves it when I mention her on this blog, so... here's a shout-out to you, Jenna! Happy Birthday!

Fall Farmers Market

Doug and I checked off an item on our fall date list today and walked over to a little farmers market that takes place each fall in the parking lot of the BYU football stadium. It's not a big farmers market, but it has all the things that farmers markets should have: apples and other fall fruits, homemade bread, pumpkins, kettle corn, samples of fresh honey, homemade products such as jewelry and pillowcases, and street singers.

We did not stay long, but I did sample some pretty tasty salsa.

Someday I'll find it in my heart to use my camera more. Or to use a camera period. Right now, my phone is seeing more action than my little point-and-shoot is.

Our walk consisted of windy weather, Wendy's (I'm addicted to Frostys, okay?!), admiring the mountains that have turned into colorful towers of orange and red foliage, and walking home with each of us carrying a gallon of freezing cold Creamery milk in our hands. We go through milk faster than you can say "moo" and hey, it was around 50 degrees outside! Our hands didn't appreciate the cold milk like we do in the summer when it's sweltering hot.

My Halloween decorations are out and there is already snow on the highest mountain peaks. Don't you dare snow yet, Utah! Fall just started! Doug and I are looking forward to a scenic Provo Canyon drive this weekend, especially now that the fall leaves are finally in full color.

On my "to-buy" list for this weekend: canned pumpkin and eggs so I can get some pumpkin cookies rollin' out of my oven and into my belly. Mmmmmm, I can taste them already!

And - as one final, random thought for the night - I ran into a friend of mine yesterday who was getting ready to enter the Missionary Training Center... and this is what she was wearing. It made my heart happy. Tardis blue and everything! Hooray for nerds! (And it has pockets. POCKETS!)

20 Fall Dates

The weather was cold enough yesterday that I had to turn on the heater, and there was even a light dusting of snow on the highest mountaintops. I take this as a sign that fall is officially here! Now the trees need to hurry up and turn colors. Some of them have started, but not enough of them!

While I'm waiting for the leaves to start lookin' like fall leaves should, here are a list of things my hubby and I want to do together this season as the days get crisper and the season swings into full motion.

We hope to be able to get to most of these before the snow sets in (which hopefully won't be until November).

• Go to a pumpkin patch. I haven't been to one of these in ages, and it's always fun to pick out your own pumpkin!
• Carve pumpkins. We still haven't carved pumpkins together. What a shame.
• Make bucket-loads of pumpkin foods. We're talking bread, cookies, soups, donuts... yes, donuts! Keep those foods coming, baby! Okay now, no more pumpkin dates on this list, 3 is enough.
• Make a leaf pile and play in it. We had a spontaneous leaf war last autumn and it was so fun. Playing in leaves brings out my inner child and makes me feel super young again.
• Go on a scenic drive. There's nothing like a winding road, fall foliage, and some fun tunes playing in the background.
• Do a nearby hike or for a walk through a pretty part of town. We live right by a canyon that has some simple hiking trails, and if we drive North about 15 minutes there are some even better ones (Stewart Falls!)
• Visit an apple orchard. I don't know if there are any good apple orchards in the Provo area, but it's something I would love to do.
• Go on a "thermos picnic". For this one, all you need is several thermoses, your favorite soup, some nice, hot apple cider, and some warm blankets. Go sit in a scenic area and enjoy the fall weather.
• Go through a corn maze. The thing about me and corn mazes is that I cannot go through one without a flashlight in hand so I can sit there going "lumos" and "nox" as I pretend I'm in the 3rd task of the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. Nerdy much? Ever since Katie Church and I did this years ago, it's been my go-to corn maze attitude.
• Make a graham cracker haunted house. You can make graham cracker gingerbread houses, so why not haunted houses? I think it's a super cute idea.
• Have a bonfire... or at least a miniature bonfire. In other words, a campfire. The great thing about living next to mountains is that there are plenty of little fire pits to go find. We'll make a party out of it. S'mores, anyone? And more hot apple cider, of course!
• "Boo" a family. Have you guys heard of this Halloween tradition? You print out an outline of a ghost and drop it off on someone's doorstep along with some treats. They have to put the ghost on their door so that others know that they've been "boo'd" and then they have to go "boo" a family... and it goes on and on until you see ghosts on doors all over the place. How fun!
• Go to a farmers market.  We have one right down the street from us, it would take less than 10 minutes to walk there. They have some great stuff over there, from what I hear.
• Have a fall photo shoot. We're still up in the air about how to go about doing this one. I want legit "professional" pictures because we haven't had a photo shoot since we got married, but Doug doesn't want to pay for it. Does anyone in the Provo area know of a good photographer with very reasonable pricing???
• Watch a sunset. This could go hand-in-hand with the thermos picnic date.
• Go stargazing. Last year, we drove up into Provo Canyon and cuddled up in a bunch of blankets out on a big open stretch of grass and gazed up at the stars. We did that the year before too... only we weren't dating yet, there were other people with us, and we weren't exactly cuddling, just lying side-by-side. Third time's a charm! Tradition!
• Have a spa night. Complete with massages, face masks, etc. It's gonna be good.
• Make a blanket fort and watch a movie. This could be particularly fun once it gets close to Halloween - you can put on your favorite scary movie (Haunting in Connecticut, anyone?) or a Halloween classic like Ghostbusters or Hocus Pocus! Turn the lights off, start feeling claustrophobic in your little blanket fort, and let yourself get scared!
• Go dancing. Sure, this is not exactly an "autumn-themed date" but it's something we want to do this fall. I'm really involved with ballroom and Doug is not, and so I've taught him some basics. We want to keep going!
• Visit a Haunted House. Classic, you guys. Classic. They just tend to be rather pricey... but I want to go to the Haunted Forrest in American Fork. I went there a couple years ago and enjoyed it, but we'll see if we actually end up doing this. As long as we go to that corn maze, then I'm okay with missing the haunted house!

Well, that's what we've got so far. There's more where that came from I'm sure, but 20 is enough for now and it will keep us busy for the next month!

Rainy days are here to stay. I get to wear my boots and sweaters. Next week my favorite month will start and I will finally feel justified in putting up my Halloween decorations. I am so very happy! I love you, autumn!

One Year

"To love another person is to see the face of God"

While everyone was off having picnics and barbecues and going swimming, Doug and I were celebrating our first anniversary. It was a wonderful weekend, and I really needed the break from Provo and school. It was hard to come back to classes today. Especially after the VIP treatment we got at the hotel we stayed at. They gave us "welcome cookies". Yep, you read that correctly. Freshly-baked welcome cookies!

Park City is a beautiful place to get away to during May. Rolling green hills, temperatures in the high 60s/low 70s, and the cutest Main Street you could imagine.

And I basically died when I saw this painted piano mural. It just sits outside with a sign on it that says "Play me". I love these piano mural projects. I've only ever seen them in pictures, so I was excited when Doug pointed this one out.

We went over to the Olympic Park where they did the ski jump competitions during the Olympics in 2002. We got to ride the chair lifts up to the top and then take a huge zipline down to the bottom.

For the Extreme Zipline, you start at the very top of the K120 jump and go all the way down to the parking lot at the bottom. It's one of the steepest ziplines in the world, and you can reach up to 50 mph. (Want to know a secret? It's not as adrenaline-pumping as I thought it would be. My stomach didn't even drop at all! What's the point of going on an extreme zipline if you don't get those adrenaline rushes?!)

Well, I can check that off my bucket list.

Park City was beautiful. Our anniversary was wonderful and relaxing. Now I'm back in the real world, and there's only 3 weeks until the last day of spring term. Opening night for A Wrinkle in Time is on Tuesday.

I can do it!

Douglas, I love you so much! This first year has been awesome, and I look forward to the years to come. How did I ever get so lucky? Marrying you was the best decision ever. Thanks for loving and supporting me!

I May or May Not

Sometimes, life gets rough. For me... for you... for all of us. I have rough days/weeks, just like everybody else. And this may or may not have been one of those weeks. And it's not over yet.

I may or may not have gone for 42 hours straight with no sleep on Tuesday/Wednesday.

I may or may not be sick right now.

I may or may not have sat on my bum and helped with nothing at rehearsal tonight because I'm sick and tired.

I may or may not be changing my major.

I may or may not be tired of taking 11 classes at once.

I may or may not have lost my voice. And I'm in charge of music at Seussical callbacks tomorrow.

I may or may not have gotten angry at Provo for snowing earlier this week.

I may or may not have a super busy weekend ahead of me.

But ya know what? I'm still SO blessed. So very, very blessed. There could be far worse things that I have to deal with in my life, and I am fortunate to be where I'm at and who I am. Besides... I have so much to look forward to! Only two days of classes left. Just one oral report and one written final left to take. I can sleep in on Wednesday for the first time in forever. Doug and I are going to Tucanos that same day. My father-in-law is coming to visit us in just a couple weeks. Seussical is going to be so fun to work on.

I saw this list on facebook. And I basically agree with every single thing on it:

I should always strive to think positively, count my blessings, and find things to look forward to. Doing that can brighten the days where I want to collapse and do nothing. I know I will be okay! And that is such a great thing to know.

Plus... I have such a great husband. Picking me up from campus even though it only takes 15 minutes to walk, giving up his time just so he can be at home with me while I'm sitting and stressing over homework or projects, smiling the biggest smiles I've ever seen when he finally sees me again after a long school day, making me food and doing dishes, telling me I'm beautiful when I do not feel pretty at all... yep. He's a keeper. I'm so glad I'm with him forever.

We Got Elegance

Every now and then
we have an elegant date night...

such as dinner and a ball.

We put on our fancy clothes.

We eat at Olive Garden

and I actually finish the whole meal.

We take pictures in front of a green screen.

And some normal pictures after that.

Okay.
Maybe just one normal picture.

Weird pictures are just too much fun.

Throw in chocolate-covered strawberries

Robert from Vocal Point (and his fiancee) sitting by you

creme puffs

attempting to talk in snooty British accents

and dancing until your feet and back are in pain...

that about sums it up.

"We got elegance.
If you ain't got elegance,
You can never ever carry it off!"

Thoughts at the Halfway Mark

There is nothing quite like marrying your best friend.

Yesterday - Nov. 26th - was the half-year mark of our marriage.

Even though I have not been married too long yet, there are plenty of things I have learned about how to make a marriage wonderful, even once you get past the "newly-wed stage" and reality starts to set in.

Let me share a thing or two:

1. Go on dates. Even once you're married, date nights are still a must.

2. Say "I love you" multiple times each day.

3. Communicate. Tell each other about your dreams, desires, fears, or things that are bothering you.

4. Let go of your pride and be willing to say you're sorry, or to show forgiveness.

5. Make new traditions... they are so fun to look forward to!

6. Work at your marriage every day.

Make sacrifices. Take action. Be selfless.

Your best friend deserves all the love you can give, and you deserve to get that love in return.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband.

I love him with all my heart!

And do you know what the greatest part is?

Our love for each other grows every day. And it's wonderful.

Dates and Christmas Trees

I remember the first date that my husband and I went on very clearly. It was the day before Thanksgiving. He took me to lunch at Cafe Rio. It was my first time, and I loved it. We prepared a turkey for a potluck... and when I say that, I mean taking all the innards out and brushing it with oil and all that jazz. Fortunately for him, I wasn't grossed out by it. Then I taught him some ballroom dancing, which was probably my favorite part of the whole date.

We decided it would be fun to re-create our first date this year.
(Well... all except the turkey.)

So, on the day before Thanksgiving, we found ourselves eating Chicken Taco Salads at Cafe Rio.

Even though the turkey was a no-go, we still danced the night away! Cha-Cha can be quite a workout, let me tell ya!

Our half-year wedding anniversary is in two days. I cannot believe that we're already at the half-year mark. Time flies.

~ ~ ~

On another note, we bought our very first Christmas tree yesterday!
Yes, it's fake.
Yes, we hand-strung all of the lights.
Plus, it's as tall as my husband. Six feet, exactly. Not too shabby!
I love having touches of Christmas in our home!

We have a ton of construction paper calling our names and some poinsettia flowers to buy, but it already feels like Christmas, even without the flowers, snowflakes, and chain garlands.

There's a Nativity sitting on our side table, the smell of a Peppermint Mocha candle, Josh Groban & Michael Buble Christmas CDs at full volume, and lots of eggnog!!

More Christmas-decor posts to come. For sure.
Don't you just love the holidays?!

Supporting each other

Support is a crucial part of marriage. I have come to understand that more and more during the past (nearly) 4 months of my married life.

Doug shows me a lot of support (especially this weekend as I tried new activities). He encourages me and does not let me back down from a challenge when he knows I am capable of conquering it. When my emotions get scrambled and irrational, he keeps a firm hold on the situation and points me in the right direction.

Doug is one of my anchors.
The other anchor is, of course, the Lord.

Doug has been very sick this whole evening.
Flu bug to the extreme.
Worse than I've ever had it in my life, I'm pretty sure.


It is hard to see your hubby in pain and to not be able to do much for him other than rub his back and bring him water. I wanted to take his pain away. I wanted to remove the sickness from him so that he could sleep peacefully tonight and regain his strength.

I just didn't know how.
The only sick person I've ever cared for is myself.

My anchor all of a sudden lost its weight. Doug was now the one who needed support. Later in the evening, when the sickness was at it's peak, he asked me to find someone to give him a priesthood blessing. I literally had to force myself to walk out the door to find someone (we still don't have home teachers, otherwise I would have called them). I have trouble taking initiative when it comes to asking other people for help, and my husband was not in a state where he could encourage me to be strong and take the initiative. I had to do it myself, out of love and the desire to support him.

I don't like feeling vulnerable.
I feel uncomfortable letting others see me in a vulnerable state.
Letting them know I need help.
I don't like it.

It's amazing what love can drive you to do.
It was listening to his agony that drove me out the door.


I felt a bit lost as I went around to a couple neighbors, searching for someone to administer the blessing. I was not surprised when the tears started flowing as I knocked on one young mother's door and found that her husband was not home to help, as I had hoped he would be.
It must have been quite a sight for my next-door neighbors to open their door and see me... twisting a paper towel in my hands, eyes puffy and red, lungs trying desperately to keep my breathing even.
It was humbling (and hard) for me to ask for help from people when I was in such an emotional and tear-stained state.

I fear feeling vulnerable.

The evening has been draining, but I've been pushing through it because I knew I needed to support my husband when he needed me. He is now tucked away in bed, and I hope that the worst is over (and that I won't start showing symptoms myself... it's going to be a long night). I am glad that I can find the strength to support him, even when I feel emotionally and mentally weak. I just have to remember that Doug is not the only anchor in my life. At times like these, it is comforting to know that I can get down on my knees and turn to my other Anchor. The Lord will always be there for both of us, no matter how weak we feel.

The time I was part of a live studio audience

You guys.

My upcoming semester is gonna be jam-packed.

Please don't let me fall of the edge of the blogging world!

Just saying.

But I still have 2 weeks of summer left, so I'll enjoy it.

Meanwhile...

Doug and I got to be a part of a live studio audience!

My college has a legit Broadcasting Studio.

So, our campus comedy team has taken advantage of it.

They are in the process of finishing filming for their new TV show Studio C.

Doug and I got to sit and watch the filming process on Saturday night.

So. Funny.

There was more than one instance in which I had tears in my eyes.

No cameras or video recorders were allowed...

But I managed to snap a couple pictures before the recording began!

Oh...

Did I mention that I got to be an extra in a skit for one of the episodes?

True story.

I'm gonna be on TV!

You can read about it in this post.

A trip down to Salem

Doug and I decided to spend our Wednesday evening watching a movie.
In Salem.
In a random park.
What would prompt Doug and I to drive 30 minutes down to Salem to just to see a movie?
Well...
The movie was Rio. And we both like that movie, but have only seen it once.
So I spent the 30 minute car ride taking weird pictures and singing along to Call Me Maybe.

On the open road! With my frizzy bangs!

 This makes my nostrils look like different sizes... but they're not! I swear!

 The hubs

 The park

 All ready to go!

And then we did not even stay very long. Lots of bugs, too many people talking, not a good view... so we're just gonna rent the movie or something and watch it in the comfort of our home.

Cute story: This was one of the first movies Doug and I watched together.

It was about a week after I officially met him. We were at a get-together activity thingy, and they showed Rio as an outdoor movie. Doug was sitting at the back of the crowd by himself (loner!!!!) so I had him come sit next to me. Cute. Just plain cute. Awww, that seemed like just yesterday...

In the end, we just got frosty's at Wendy's. Yum.

Tons of driving, not much of a movie, chocolate soft serve, and hubby bonding time... pretty much sums it up!

1 month... and a sweet shoppe!

Happy 1 month of marriage to us!
Long story short, I cannot believe it has already been a month.

So, blog-wise, let's celebrate by doing another wedding details post!
For this post... I want to focus on the refreshments at the reception.

We had a Sweet Shoppe!

And, as the sign says, everything was home-baked by me, Grandma, Mom, and a few others!

The fabric pennants along the top of the tent was such a cute idea!

Just a small sample of stuff we had.
And you don't see it here, but we also had ice cream that we were handing out
by the dish load. I had some sugar-happy guests, that's for sure!

AND we couldn't leave out the sparkling lemonade! Whether it was sparkling or not,

lemonade basically became the staple drink of all my wedding activities.

And here's the cute little cake!
We didn't need anything too big. I mean... you saw all the sweets in that tent, right?!

Shove it in!!! (Kidding... we were very nice to each other.)

I'll cover all other aspects of the reception in another post. Truth be told, I'm still waiting on a bucket-load of pictures from my Dad... so I'm just making do with what I have right now.

Douglas: This past month has been the best of my life. Thank you for understanding me so well, for being so patient, for loving me unconditionally, and for all the countless times you make me laugh. I'm so glad I get to spend so much time and make so many great memories with my best friend. I love you SO MUCH!

Here's to a happy first month... and here's to many more to come!