general conference weekend recap

someone said general conference weekend is like a holiday for mormons... and i completely agree haha. we wait six months to hear from our prophet and his apostles, and we are thrilled at the idea of spending an entire weekend on the couch in pajamas eating crepes and cinnamon rolls. definitely a holiday-like feel. we are always surrounded by great friends and family and there is always plenty of food. this past weekend was no different! 

scotty's parents ron and kim came up on friday night to spend the weekend with us! we started off with a movie - oz: the great & powerful. it was good. i mean, it wasn't the most amazing movie we've ever seen in our lives haha but it was entertaining. on saturday we lounged around watching conference and eating cereal.  between sessions scotty ran some errands while kim taught me how to make jam! what up! 

it was surprisingly suuuper easy but i'm glad kim was there to guide me. it tastes amazing. after that, we watched the afternoon session. around 5:00, kim and i sent our boys off to priesthood session and enjoyed a little g.n.o.

our night was filled with pedicures, shopping, and chilis -- my favorite things. 

on sunday we woke up and ate a huge delicious breakfast before ron and kim had to get back to vegas. we had so much fun with them. scotty and i watched the morning session and then got ready for more excitement. jen and tony scored four tickets to the afternoon session! woot woot! we hopped on trax and had a great time catching up and sharing stories with them. 

jen and i were cracking up because we both wore a maxi dress, cardigan, flat shoes, a neck accessory, our hair down, and the same michael kors watch. we're definitely on the same wave length or something. 

my two favorite talks from this weekend were elder holland's and elder clayton's. sooo good. i love how powerful elder holland is. i loved elder clayton's advice and perspective on marriage. i can't wait to listen to both of those talks again. i'm so thankful for the technology that allows me to watch and read their words! i hope you all enjoyed this beautiful general conference weekend, i know we did! 

mean girls on my mind

i am in the primary presidency in my ward. i love it. i adore the children and i'm sure it's way more fun than sitting in a room full of old ladies :) today i taught a lesson about the creation. it was going really well, which wasn't surprising because i spent a week preparing. i felt like i really knew my stuff. my words were smooth and i was really confident. everything was going just as planned.

i was talking through each of the 6 days of creation, and when i got to the third day something really weird happened. totally unexpected. i said, "on the third day, God created..." but in place of grass, herbs, and trees, all i could think about were dinosaurs and homosexuals.  i didn't know what was happening. i paused and waited for my brain to sort things out. on the third day... uh... uhhh... and i had to look down at my notes. it later occurred to me that my favorite movie of all time, mean girls, had brought this embarrassing mixup upon me. 

HA! i couldn't even believe it. my obsession with mean girls has gotten to the point where i don't even realize i'm quoting it anymore... it's just part of me. it's a way of life. it's the reason i only wear my hair in a ponytail once a week, and the reason i wear pink on wednesdays. i'm a woman possessed. i spend about 80% of my time talking about mean girls, and the other 20% of the time i'm praying someone else will bring it up. 

let's hope my next primary lesson doesn't have any correlation with mean girls. 

the saddest 30 seconds of my life

we dropped my brother off at the missionary training center on wednesday. prior to that, we had a great morning with a delicious lunch at zupas and fun times bonding with relatives. i struggled to grasp the reality of the situation - that those were, in fact, the last few moments i had with my brother for the next 24 months. it couldn't be true! my heart assumed that after lunch was over, we'd peruse the byu bookstore or get ice cream from the creamery like old times.

instead, we endured an awkward 2-minute car ride with tanner forcing back sniffles and tears, dad cracking jokes to redirect any thoughts of sadness, and mom giving her final last-minute advice. "follow the rules!" "be good!" and before we knew it, we were parked inside the mtc. 

suddenly it occurred to me that i was about to leave my brother on a curb, and drive away not seeing him for another two years. i choked. is he ready? did he memorize my email address? have i been a good sister? do i have any advice? i've never left the country for two years. i've never dedicated that amount of time to only serving the lord. i had one last chance for an interaction with him; whatever words came out of my mouth would be the last thing he heard from me! what could i possibly do or say to convey my feelings of love and pride to my sweet brother in a minute or less? 

 instead of giving him final motivating words or thought-provoking advice, i just cried. i hugged him and somehow managed to mumble "i'll miss you" and he replied with a "love you."

and then somehow, i was back in the van with my parents, scotty, and tanner. everything happened so quickly. mitchell was gone, and it felt like someone had blindfolded me and pushed me off a cliff. today, i am happier. i am happy mitchell is gone. i'm happy we have a forever family. and i'm happy we will get emails once a week and phone calls twice a year. i am so proud of my little brother! 

... but i will sure be happier when he's back.

2013 resolutions

happy new year! how did i ring in the new year? by blogging and pondering life's deepest questions! i keep having this reoccurring thought process questioning who i am. who am i? who is ashley marx? what is important to me? what do other people see in me? and i believe i can break down all of my qualities and characteristics into 5 main categories:

the spiritual ashley
ashley the wife
the social ashley
the academic ashley
the physical ashley

... and at any given time, i can only be two of those at once.
i rotate from being really social and hanging out with friends and being a good wife, to focusing only on church and school and putting all other relationships on the back burner. other weeks i am caught up on assignments and have straight a's, but i also gain 5+ lbs.  sometimes i am so good to my husband and i give him all of the attention he needs, but then i forget about praying or my church calling. it is so incredibly difficult to balance all five ashleys at once.

so this year, i am going to set goals that cater to all the ashleys,
hopefully bringing balance to my life.

spiritual: attend the temple at least twice a month, 
and read the book of mormon 
wife: do spontaneous things with my husband,
and follow these rules i found on pinterest
social: be more outgoing in the ward, 
and invite people over more often  
academic: straight A's next semester, 
and no ditching class
physical: NO CAFFINE in 2013, 
and exercise at least 3 times a week

i figured if i blogged about these goals, the publicity would pressure me into accomplishing them. so wish me luck as i strive to make 2013 a year of bettering myself and becoming the person i want to be.

it's time to kiss 2012 and my unbalanced ashley goodbye!

mitchell's farewell

i can't freaking believe my kid brother is leaving for his mission in 10 DAYS.
i think we're still just a tad bit in denial. however, the whole thing seemed so real today when mitch gave his farewell talk. he did an amazing job. seriously, i was so surprised. he sounded like a mature, confident missionary, and i was so proud.

that picture might be a little inappropriate for church,
but for the record i didn't take it haha!
doesn't he look good?

and please don't mind my chipmunk cheeks. 

i had the pleasure of getting wisdom teeth removed this weekend.

after sacrament meeting, we invited everyone over to our house for some mexican food to celebrate mitchell and his decision and his worthiness to go on a mission. 

it was so special to feel all of the love and support from his friends and family! it's crazy to think the next time i see him, we will be dropping him off at the MTC. i will miss him, but i am so excited for him to leave and to touch many people's lives. those mexicans are lucky people!

still thankful

i love holidays.
i mean, who doesn't? right?

one of the things i love about holidays is that they act as a reminder.  they all have a purpose (except halloween), and usually they remind me of what i should be doing year round. just because we dedicate july 4th to celebrate our country and our freedom doesn't mean that we can't express that love any other day! and i shouldn't wait until february 14th to shower my sweet husband with praise, kisses, and gifts. so over thanksgiving break, amidst stuffing my face and adoring my family members, i realized that i have so much to be grateful for. there are so many things i can't live without, but are never recognized.

so this is me, trying to strengthen a weaknesses. i'm sorry that i don't convey my gratitude as often as i should, but i'm making a resolution to outwardly and frequently express my thankfulness.

here are 20 things i am thankful for this week:
1. seat warmers
2. target
3. spending time with cousins in midway

4. fuzzy blankets
5. a husband who brings home cafe rio

6. the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints
7. pink finger nails
8. fun & caring professors
9. pretty sunsets

 10. this funny picture of oprah on instagram

11. 6 months of free xm radio
12. my job
13. hot chocolate
14. this insanely good looking family of mine

15. maxi dresses
16. a construction-free i15
17. pinterest recipes
18. this amazing album
(and lauren who lent it to me)

19. my iphone
20. peplum shirts

celebrating

our actual anniversary is tomorrow.
but with leap year and what not, it's really been 365 days.
plus, tomorrow is sunday. day of rest.
so we began all of the anniversary festivities today!

sidenote: i decided the first anniversary is borderline awkward. it sets the tone for the rest of your anniversaries. if you get each other presents, it would be weird to not get each other presents the next year. right? so we explicitly stated that we will not buy each other anniversary gifts, but instead have a fun day spending quality time together.

and just because i can't buy scotty a gift doesn't mean i can't decorate a little...

i hung "12 favorite memories from 12 months of marriage" all over the apartment. they are still hanging from the ceiling... so our place is feeling a little jungle-ish. but they turned out really cute! it's amazing what a few pieces of card stock can turn into. and scotty was a good husband and bought me the most beautiful assortment of flowers! 

i should also mention that he cleaned the entire apartment while i was out this morning. what a guy! later in the afternoon, we went to the salt lake temple and did sealings. click here. not only was it a great act of service, it was so fun to reminisce and re-live our own sealing that took place a year ago. it was so special to give other people the same blessing that we were celebrating - eternal marriage! i think we might have to make sealings on our anniversary a tradition.

the sealings were scotty's idea, and benihana for dinner was my idea.

we both contribute in this relationship. 

(speaking of contributing, shout out to mom & john for giving us some anniversary loving! if you know what i mean... $$$) 

dinner was a blast. 

benihana is not just dinner, it's an experience. 

i think i ate more food tonight than i have all week: 

sushi, soup, salad, fried rice, shrimp, grilled zucchini & onion

... and that was all BEFORE the main entree came. 

thank heck for to-go boxes.

and to make the night even sweeter, in honor of our anniversary they spoiled us with free ice cream and this ballin picture: 

it was quite the successful night! 

scotty makes me the happiest girl in the world;

i am so blessed to be married to such a great guy. 

here's to one year down! 

this is the place

in my completely biased opinion, the las vegas temple is the prettiest. definitely my favorite. it is beautiful! so adding a bride and a handsome groom to the scenery just makes everything as beautiful as it possibly could be. agreed?
if not, let me persuade you with pictures.

here are some faves taken at the temple: 

 

 

(... i couldn't help it)

i love that place.
i am so glad that scotty and i were worthy temple recommend holders, allowing us to be sealed for "time and all eternity." we couldn't have made it without our loving parents and supportive bishopric. being married in the temple is the biggest blessing in my life, i am thankful for the covenants and promises that we made inside of it, and for the adorable pictures that we took outside.