5.30.2012

that's my jam!

im notorious for labeling every song that comes on the radio as "my jam."
scotty loves it.

... okay, maybe it's slightly annoying.
but there are just so many good songs out there that i love and appreciate!

right now, i have three favorite favorite favorite current jams.
i had to hurry and write this post because they will probably change in a few days.
hahaha seriously.
and yes, these ARE in a particular order.

jam #3
"glad you came" by the wanted.
can i share my favorite few lines? oh my gosh i love them.
"now i'll take you by the hand,
hand you another drink,
drink it if you can,
can you spend a little time,
time is slipping away,
away from us so stay,
stay with me i can make,
make you glad you came."

... see what they did there? im obsessed. i guess it sounds dumb reading it, so you just have to listen to it here. i love the lyrics. they're real cute. and it is such a fun, weird, upbeat song. it makes me want to dance. 

jam #2
"lights" by ellie goulding
so good. so techno. so fun to sing. so catchy. her voice is so soft and so high. i know the whole song consists of about six words, but i love it. however, the music video makes me depressed because the whole three minutes and forty seconds consist of her flipping her hair around. you cant do that with a dike spike like mine. 

and last but DEFINITELY not least,
jam #1
"payphone" by maroon 5.
loooooooooooooove it! i love maroon 5. always have, always will. we had a big office debate a few weeks ago regarding the question, "who is the greatest band of the 21st century?" it seriously went on for days. we polled customers, we tried to persuade each other in heated debates, but no matter what anyone says i will never say coldplay deserves the title. because they don't. obviously, it should go to the most entertaining, versatile, likeable, band: maroon 5. an added bonus in their trip to success is adam levine's face. anyway, the song is great. a combination of reality, romance, remorse, and even a little rap. who could ask for anything more? aside from the weird anime music video and the f-word, i'm in love. repeat. repeat. repeat. oh my gosh it is so good. 
just listen. please. 
... so much better than coldplay. 

5.25.2012

a better place.

the last time i talked to my grandma was the 17th, a little over week ago. 
unusual for us, the conversation only lasted a little over four minutes. 
i used to call her sometimes on my 40-minute commute and we would talk the entire time. 
at the end of our phone call, i was fighting back the tears in my eyes and the knots in my stomach. 
she sounded exhausted. drained. spent. empty. i hate to admit she sounded lifeless. 
"well... i just wanted to make sure you were doing okay, grandma. i love you!" 
"i love you too. bye." 
"bye!" 
i pulled over on the i-15 to cry. and cry. 
somehow, i knew that would be the last time i talked to her. 
even though she has been battling pancreatic cancer for the last 26 months, i just didn't feel ready for her passing. how is one supposed to prepare for this? i mean, it wasn't a surprise. in fact, it's incredible that she lived with the cancer for as long as she did! click here for a post in the early stages. 
she is so sweet. i am so thankful that i got to see her just a few months ago at our wedding. it meant the world to me that she was able to make it. look at her cute smile. 
i'm thankful for the lessons she taught me, the love that she showed me, and the example that she set for me. 
there are so many things that i never want to forget about her.
-her hope and positive outlook on life- even in the worst circumstances
-she had so much faith. she always told me, "if this is what the lord wants, then it's what the lord wants."
-her blue eyeshadow
-in any given story, you would hear her say the phrase, "so i says to the guy..." ha!
-she was the most thoughtful person i have ever known. i think she has sent me 6 or 7 cards within the past year. wedding, thanksgiving, christmas, birthday, just because, easter, finals. regardless of the occasion, i received a thoughtful card always signed "love, gram b"
-my dear husband's name never stuck with her. "smitty" slipped out of her mouth more than a few times :)
-she sealed my grandpa and his first wife together in the temple. she is so selfless! click here for more on temple work.
-i will always laugh when i think of her usage of periods. she had quite the obsession. every......... email........ was just like...... this.............. love her.
-i'm almost positive she taught me the song "who put the cookies in the cookie jar" when i was a child.

i will miss her. but i am so happy for her to be freed from pain and back with grandpa. 
i know she is in a better place.

5.20.2012

PIC with NICk and emily

haha... PIC with NICk and emily. see what i did there?
PICNIC!

we have had the pleasure of hosting nick and emily- our CRUISE friends!- for the past three days. click here to see the blog post about our cruise. scotty and i adore them. who would have thought that this couple we randomly found on our honeymoon would turn out to be some of our dearest friends? they live in st george, so we don't get to see them all the time. we still text, facebook, and facetime with each other... but sometimes that's just not enough.

we seriously had the most relaxing day ever. it was a perfect post-wedding day for both couples.

what could be more fun than a picnic in the park with $25 worth of taco bell? 

we learned that our friends have a weird obsession with mild & fire sauce. 
... like a packet-on-each-bite kind of obsession. 
the boys played catch and the girls watched while overusing their pinterest apps and sharing stories. 


 we took a couples nap. i love my husband so much. 
if this doesn't sound perfect to you, let me add one more thing: 
baby ducks. 

perfect, perfect day. 

5.15.2012

everything's changing

i love life right now.
the whole period between high school graduation and college graduation is just a big ball of excitement. i'm soaking up every adventure! everything is so new and constantly changing. people transfer schools, peers switch majors, friends move to other states. there are babies and weddings and missions and i just love keeping up with everyone's lives!

exhibit a: katherine dew
i freaking love this girl. my ex roommate, my fellow horse-hater, my ice cream eating buddy, and my multi-talented friend. we survived freshman year of college, and a car accident together. 
she caught the bouquet at my wedding and now she's getting married on saturday! 
go freaking figure. 
she and brandon will be such a cute happy married couple! they are so perfect together. i can't wait to go to my first sealing in the temple! (first sealing in the temple after mine, of course)   


exhibit b: jen ballard
speaking of weddings, june 9th is the date of jen's. jen and i have been great friends ever since that magical day during third year of girls camp. we have so much fun together! jen holds a special place in my heart being the only BHS-native friend that i care to see at byu. she is always there for me when i am in a hate-provo mood and we are so good at making each other laugh. (do you even know how to drive an automatic?!) (you're kind of a disgusting skank.) (boo you whore.) 
we've done EFY, probably over 100 farm basket trips, late-night sonic runs (or mid-day, morning, or happy hour), road trips, ditching classes senior year of high school, prom, homecoming, long nights in the library, movie quoting, dress shopping, lingerie shopping, and oh so much more. i love her! 
she & tony are so freaking cute together. they are so in love and so hilarious! we love hanging out with them. only a few more weeks! 


exhibit c: lauren harris
lauren and i don't have the same lengthy history as the rest, but i love her just as much! we have gotten so close over the past few months working together in the student employment office. she is so brilliant and optimistic, her happiness just radiates from her precious little face. see? 
she is on STUDY ABROAD right now! how cool is that?! she is having the time of her life in london, but also traveling to different places in europe. last week she was in PARIS! i am so happy and excited for her, but at the same time my heart is ripped into shreds because she left me. we can't even take a decent picture together because we laugh the whole time. 
 i miss her but i am so glad she is having fun! if you want to drool over her amazing life/adventures as i do, check out her blog here


exhibit d: audrey heaton
no need to remember the first name, because in a few short days she will only be referred to as "sister heaton"!!! (or something weird in chinese that i have no idea how to spell or say) 
 audrey and i met freshman year at byu. our similarities included watching spongebob, quoting spongebob, and impersonating spongebob characters. however, we have since matured from that stage and are becoming model citizens of the world! i had the privilege of being with her when she opened her mission call- so fun! 
 i only get to see her one more time before she's off!
exhibit e: kami lords
saved the craziest news for last. how is it that one of my best best BEST friends growing up is now cultivating a small fetus in her perfect little body!? WHAT? 
this is kami lords, my friends. and she is pregnant. 
how did we go from being these weird little creeps...

to mature and married women? 
ha! who am i kidding? kami and i won't be mature for a long time.
we'll probably be 70 years old and still talking in borat voices to each other. 
we've been through so much together. so many ups and downs since the time i bought a same shirt that she had because i wanted to be popular like her in the 7th grade! (ignore the run on.) summers at the beach together, seeing plays together, making the weird kissy face together, 
all. the. time. 
and even fake laughing so we can have a "cute candid shot" together. HA! 
 from runsdays to baker brothers, family home evenings and ditching student council, we always have the best times together. i love my kami and i can't believe she's pregnant! i'm still in shock from excitement! AH! you know you're getting old when your friends start having babies on purpose

overall: 
basically, all i'm trying to say here is that i love my friends. all of them. and i am so excited that we are old and we have the ability to do fun things like have babies or get married or go on study abroad or go preach the gospel abroad. this is such a fun time! here's to more adventures!

5.13.2012

half a year

well oh my heck.
can you believe we've been married for OVER SIX MONTHS now?!
scotty and i are both astonished.
and accomplished.
and still so infatuated with each other.

i mean, six months. that's a big deal!
it's like half a year!
182 days!

part of me is shocked that we've been married that long, and the other part is shocked that it's been six months and not six years.

friday was busy busy. we both had work, and then we went to the temple with my beautiful roommate katherine who is getting married this week! ahh! so our celebrations were extended to saturday.

i made some personal pizzas for lunch.

then we cleaned all day because we have visitors coming this week!
and for dinner we revisited a place that holds a special memory in our hearts.
after scotty proposed, we drove to the nearest taco bell in complete bliss and celebration.

six month anniversary?
what could be more appropriate that a night of taco bell takeout?


the cute boy spoiled me with flowers
 oh and oooonnnnee other thing...
looks like i need to step up my game for our 7 month. 
i love my husband and words cannot express my happiness with being married to him! 
6 months down, 10948395725823048239047290389480192392 to go.

fun friday

what are you supposed to do when half of your office leaves the country and the other half spends a whole day at an HR retreat?

the three of us remaining joked about coming in our pajamas, throwing a party or even just shutting down the office.

our integrity kicked in and we decided not to shut down the office.
instead we declared FUN FRIDAY upon the whole building!
what is fun friday, you ask?

it's where you eat cake for breakfast

have 2 pizzas delivered for lunch
 and even hunt down ronald mcdonald.
i love my office and all of the people who are a part of it!
but right now we are lacking.
the student employment family is incomplete.
lauren, jared, and caleb: COME BACK TO US!

5.09.2012

FIRST TIMER!

i've never been a fan of the "maxi dress." 
really.
i used to laugh at those who wore them. 

i always felt like the requirements for wearing a maxi dress are either to have the most banging body of all time 
 or to have a baby growing in your womb. 

however, with every rule there is an exception. 
if neither of those describe you, you can just buy a really loose one that drowns your figure entirely. 

viola. 
*disclaimer: all of these pictures were found on pinterest haha*
the fourth rule i assumed of the maxi dress is that the fabric is either a single solid color, or the ugliest pattern possible. like a puke-in-my-mouth kind of ugly. 
see what i mean? and since i have lived my life thus far not having a banging body, nor a baby in my womb, nor desiring to drown myself in an ugly-oversized dress, i have opted to not wear the maxi dress. ever. EVER.

it's funny how people change and opinions change. 

all it took was one glance at this maxi dress on nordstrom.com (that i felt broke all of the rules) and i transformed into a maxi-dress believer. 
(and after i accomplished my goal of cooking dinner five nights in a row, 
who wouldn't think i deserve a reward?!) 
what do you think?