Cows Go Moo

Our Wedding: pre-wedding

2012-01-24T12:21:00.001-07:00

We've just crossed the 5 month mark, and I can't believe I still haven't posted any wedding pictures or given any recap. This past 5 months have gone by so fast. We got married, went on a mini honeymoon, moved into our apartment, suffered for 2+ weeks with a flooded/being fixed apartment, started school, had some great work changes, and in general have been having loads of fun.

So, to start off, here is my brief (or maybe not so much) recap of the few days before our wedding:

The Monday before our Thursday wedding, I drove out to Colorado. Jantz had to work until Wednesday, so he couldn't fly in until Wednesday night, which was a total bummer. He was still working the 2 to 10 shift, so we really didn't get to talk much that week. That was really hard. I felt so disconnected from him and so wrapped up in wedding stuff. I just remember feeling kind of lost those days leading up to the wedding. I knew I wanted to get married, but I was so scared about all the unknowns - I mean, I'd never been married before, so as far as I was concerned, it was like completely different from "normal" life. good thing i was way wrong haha. Looking back, no one could have said or done anything that would have made sense to me. I think getting married and being married is just one of those things you have to live through in order to understand it. Like getting your first kiss or your first boyfriend or having kids. No one can ever reassure you or explain it to you; you just have to go through it and find out for yourself.

Anyway, I was in Colorado and spent the next few days shopping and getting things ready for the wedding. Jantz's mom helped me literally every step of the way. Best mother-in-law I could ever ask for. And sister-in-laws, for that matter. Ok, and in-laws in general. I married into such a great and loving family.

Wednesday night Jantz (finally) flew in. One of his groomsman picked him up from the airport. I think we saw each other for a few minutes before all the boys went off for a bachelor party. When they got home, it was pretty late and I was getting ready to head over to my parent's hotel to spend the night there. All I wanted to do was talk to him and kiss him and get excited for our big day. But of course his friends were still over so we had a rushed goodbye. I just remember thinking, it's already time? Everything was so crazy that it didn't seem all "fairytale" like (hopefully I'm not the only one who thought that...haha). I don't think it had really sunk in that I was getting married until the morning. I drove to the hotel, talked to my stepmom for a bit, and then went to bed like it was any other night. And I slept great. haha. Then I woke up, took a shower like it was no big deal, and drove to the house.

To get married.

the husband's birthday

2012-01-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

The husband's birthday is coming up fast. But am I worried about finding presents for him? Oh no, they are already bought and tucked away in our closet. It's being proud of the little things that really matters isn't it? While I did pretty good for Christmas, I'm super excited for his birthday. What did I get him for Christmas you ask? Well, I don't really remember now haha. I know I got him a football, because he has like every other sport ball except a football (and ironically he got another one with our sibling Christmas exchange, so, double score). And then I got him a comb - it seems silly, but he hasn't been able to find his since before we got married, so he's been using my girly pink comb for months, and I figured maybe he would like a manly black comb instead (I think he misses the pink one though because I've noticed he still uses mine sometimes...). Oh yeah and then I got him the new Drake CD. He really wanted it over Thanksgiving, but I wouldn't let him get it for some reason. So obviously I had to get it for him. I think he loved that present the most, haha - he listens to it all the time.

Since our Christmas budget was so small, I kind of went crazy with his birthday. I think I got him some really top notch presents (...I've been saying top notch recently and it weirds me out every time - who says that??? and yet here i am writing it haha). Plus he's getting himself some dream headphones (half off, mind you), so no matter what I know he'll be so happy on his big day. We've got some fun plans in the works, and I really can't wait!

just when you think...

2012-01-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

...that your thesis has made great progress, your advisor brings you back to reality.

This past week has been really rough, I'm not going to lie. After working on my thesis all last semester, I really thought that things were going well. Sure there were a lot of changes to make, but overall I felt pretty proud of myself. Until Thursday. I met with my advisor, who kindly told me that I had to rewrite everything. Yep, everything. And in only a few weeks if I had even a smidgen of a chance to graduate in April. Somehow I didn't have a complete meltdown in her office. I felt like what needed to be done was just impossible (and I think I still do). But, I wasn't going to just give up after all this time. So I sucked up all my anger/fear/sadness and began rewriting. And it has been really hard. and slow. I sent some progress to my advisor, again feeling proud of what I'd done. Total letdown - still not good enough. If you're thinking now is the time a meltdown happened, well you'd be right. I saved it all for Jantz Saturday night. And even though I'd been keeping it all in for days, and I wasn't acting normal, and even though it was well past 1:00 a.m., he talked me through it. He let me cry and complain, and then gave me some advice. And it was really helpful advice, not just the usual "you can do it" that everyone else offers. It was like he knew what I needed to hear beyond the fluffy stuff. And even though now that I've been working really hard and still feel like I'm going nowhere fast, I don't feel as hopeless, because I know it has to be done, and Jantz isn't going to let me give up (even if I want to - and trust me, I've begged).

The next few weeks (heck the next few months) are probably going to be the hardest I've experienced yet. But I can do it....right? Wish me lots of luck as I attempt the impossible task of completing my thesis :)

Christmas, Disneyland style

2012-01-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

Home again

2011-12-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Welp. We made it back safe and sound from our adventures in the land of Disney. We got home around 12:30am Tuesday morning, then slept in until 11:40! I think that's the latest we've ever slept in since we've been married. haha. but it was much needed sleep. As soon as we got up we (meaning Jantz) made us a delicious "Christmas morning" breakfast. We already did Christmas on Christmas, but we still had a few more to open at home. So we opened our presents. Jantz seemed pretty surprised/excited about what I got him (yay!). We spent the rest of the day just relaxing and unpacking, with a tasty dinner from In & Out. I say every vacation needs to be followed by a day off at home to recoup.

We took a bunch of videos and pictures, but mostly videos since the rest of the fam was taking lots of pictures. I'll have to figure out how to post some....

I'll be back soon with said videos and then I'll get right back on track with wedding pictures! maybe no one will ever see our wedding pictures but us. haha.

Christmas shopping for the husband

2011-12-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Welp, I did it. I bought my Christmas presents for Jantz. And I even half stuck with my original list...I must admit, I'm pretty excited. I think he's actually going to be surprised (pleasantly surprised I hope). Truth be told, we each already have half of our Christmas presents for each other. haha. We decided since we're going to Disneyland for Christmas this year, that we wanted to spend very little on each other and save the rest for the trip...ok plus we may have bought a new video camera for ourselves as a way early Christmas present (which we used during Thanksgiving and are soo excited to use over our trip!). We each sort of gave each other an idea of what we wanted/needed. I've wanted some flat boots for winter and some new black flats. And I knew Jantz wanted a certain video game (yes my husband plays video games. he thinks when I tell people this they'll think he's a child, but, um, I can't name you one guy I know who doesn't play video games occasionally. haha. or for that matter who isn't just a grown up child haha. i kid.). But then we went to Colorado and I found some darling flat boots AND black flats at a nice store, for basically nothing (thanks to my sister-in-law's discount. one more reason I love her). And then like a week later Jantz found that video game on sale, so he bought it. So, here we both had what we wanted, before Christmas, for less money than we had said we would spend...not so fun for present opening. So now we both have to use the rest of our allotted Christmas present money and surprise each other with new presents. I was worried at first, but I think I got some good ones (plus one for his birthday coming up!). As for Jantz buying for me, I don't think he's got anything yet (I win!), but he has yet to give me a "fail" present, so I have complete faith in him.

We're heading up to my parents house Wednesday night for a "slumber party" of sorts before we leave for the airport at the crack of dawn on Thursday for our adventures in the Disneyland. So in case I don't check in before then, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, filled with lots of relaxing, eating (especially eating), present opening & giving, and of course lots of love :)

it's Friday

2011-12-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

I don't really have much to say, but today is the last day of the semester, which means I only have one semester left. one. that's it. I'm so excited to be done and to move on to something else (hopefully a full-time job...).

Christmas is next week. I feel like it should still be December 1st, maybe the 2nd, NOT the week before Christmas! On Thursday Jantz and I will be off to California (with my side of the family). All twelve of us will be gallivanting through Disneyland for Christmas. I blame this whole trip on the one granddaughter in our family. I can't even imagine what vacations they'll take us on when there's two. or three grandchildren. haha, they'll probably just give money at that point. haha. anyway, we're real excited :)

Speaking of Christmas, I still have not bought Jantz any presents. Am I a horrible wife or what? In my defense, he hasn't bought any for me either. haha. I blame that on not wanting to go shopping without him...we like doing everything together ok? haha, ok not everything. I have been building up a list of things to get him for months (I'm a terrible present-buyer, remember?), but looking at it now, it just doesn't seem good enough. Nothing totally surprising and fun. So basically I think I'm back to square one....What do people buy their husbands these days?

Bridal shower, take 2

2011-12-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Funnily enough, as soon as I posted my blog on bridal showers, my mom sent me the pictures from my big one. I'll just give you a few pictures...My mom and amazing bestie Debbie threw me a huge bridal shower with a bunch of my friends, some of my aunts and cousins, and a bunch of Jantz's aunts and cousins that live in Utah (I was so surprised to see them walk in! it was seriously so sweet that they drove over an hour to come :)

We filled the gym, had delicious sandwiches and brownies, and the present opening began...

This is how many people came...just to get the idea

Jantz helped us get ready, like a good fiancé

My darling aunt and uncle and their 5 kids flew in from New Jersey to see us before the wedding.

They really are so adorable.

Some of Jantz's fam

Some of my fam

Somehow I agreed to let them tie all the ribbons in my hair...oh and wear those glasses...

Debbie wrote everything down :) she is such a doll for planning this thing

turning draft of thesis in...check :)

2011-12-10T16:56:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention that we went to a Christmas party for Jantz's work (which also happens to be my dad's work...but he was in Japan, so we missed him) on Wednesday. They had delicious food and gave away a lot of prizes. We got a really nice new blender, which we're excited for mostly just to make shakes, which is all we ever use our blender for. We drove up with one of Jantz's co-workers and his wife, with their darling new baby. They were tons of fun. So much fun, that we just got back from a lunch date with them to Chipotle. haha.

So, I turned in the first official draft of my thesis yesterday. And it felt really good, I'm not gonna lie. I ended up with more pages than I expected, and just as many images. Jantz took me out to PF Changs to celebrate :) it was probably the best PF Changs I've had a long time. so good.

Now I get to work on checking off the rest of my to-do list, which is pretty lengthy, but after next week, things will get a lot easier, and then it'll be off to Disneyland for Christmas :)

Tonight we're off to a Christmas party with some friends. It's gonna be real fancy, so we get to dress up - I'm definitely more excited for that than Jantz is. haha. I'm bringing some roasted potatoes...which are soon to be in the oven. I'm hoping to return with some great pictures.

Here's a sneak peak at a wedding picture...I've been trying to sift through them all:

thesis schmeesis

2011-12-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

The first draft of my thesis is due on Friday. So basically I've been spending every day for the past couple weeks frantically trying to finish up what I've got. I was so far ahead in the middle of the semester that I kind of slacked off, thinking getting all my pages together wouldn't be too bad. If you can guess, I was wrong. haha. It really hasn't been too bad, just really stressful, but it wouldn't be grad school if it wasn't stressful right? I'm just excited to get this all wrapped up so I can move on to defending my thesis and graduating :)

So, here's to seeing you again after Friday

bachelorette parties :)

2011-12-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that pictures were taken at both my lingerie and bachelorette party! (I'm sure my mom has some from the big bridal shower she threw for me, but I don't have those haha). So here are some pictures...just a little late:

Lingerie Party

hosted by these two lovely ladies,
ria and b (in that order), they're the best:

they blindfolded me and i had a certain amount of time to put on everything in the suitcase (i think the story went something like, what if the lights went out on our honeymoon and we had to get dressed really fast)...

everyone loved that all the clothes got tucked into the bikini bottom. scandalous.

nikki, me, debbie, daisy. friends since elementary school

Lish, Andrea, and Suzie were also there. And they all gave me amazing gifts. because, well, they all are amazing friends. they may have even made me try on some of their gifts...haha, it was a really good time, to say the least.

So here's a waaay late blog post thank you :)
from both me and jantz (haha)

Bachelorette Party

The night I got into Colorado (Monday before the wedding), my wonderful (then future) mother and sister in-laws and some CO friends threw me a bachelorette party. It was so very sweet of them to do so. First we went to Cheesecake Factory (can you tell yet how much we love it there? haha), and I opened gifts, which were great, by the way, all very thoughtful. Every gift I opened, bridal/lingerie/bachelorette, all of them, I felt more and more blessed to have such amazing/wonderful/special friends and family.

Okay, here's some of the pictures:

Oh yeah, and they made me wear that crown. it says bride-to-be and it lights up! I wore it all night :)

Larke gave me these hot heels.

I didn't know at the time, but jantz loves those plates and cups in the bag.

our delish cheesecake for desert. i think it was red velvet. it was so good.

Then we went bowling. it really was such a good time. exactly what i needed.

So, there you go :) I guess this could start the recap of the wedding. can't wait.

adjusting to life after thanksgiving vacation

2011-11-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Jantz and I got back last night from a great vacation in Colorado. I'm not going to lie, neither of us wanted to come home. Getting to play with family all day and not having to worry about work or school was just too much fun. Especially when I was supposed to be finishing up my thesis.....yep, didn't do that. Instead we shopped, played games, and ate lots of good food. Definitely worth it :)

While we continue to recover and get over our sorrow of being back in the grind, I'll share this brief tidibt.

Since it has started getting cold, we've been making stops at Starbucks every so often to get their caramel apple cider. (and now I have to preface. you know when you go to a food place and you have to give a name (think ordering pizza, putting your name down at a restaurant, or telling the Starbucks man your name so he can nicely write it on your cup)? Well, you may be surprised to know that Jantz isn't the most convenient name for these such occasions. No one ever gets it right. So recently Jantz has been trying out some new names to use....so far it's pretty entertaining, mostly because he forgets what name he said by the time they actually call it. Ok, preface done). So one particular time, we went to Starbucks for their delicious caramel apple cider. Jantz gave the name Chad, and I gave the name Ali (because that's my name). This is what we walked away with:

Chad and Ally, happily ever after.

This story sounded better before I wrote it all out. haha.

birthday fun

2011-11-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from my birthday :) remember when I said that Jantz took me to Cheesecake Factory on Saturday? Well somehow we didn't take any pictures. But trust me, it was really good, and really busy, and really delicious.

Monday my mom took us to Macaroni Grill

(and of course she showed up with balloons; one of these years I won't be surprised haha):

Then Tuesday came around. I was sleeping when Jantz left for work, but he still made sure to say happy birthday. I worked on my presentation (that I gave Wednesday) all morning and then went to work for a bit, but ended up coming home early to finish up my paper.

Jantz thought I wasn't going to be home until after him, though, so he I kind of ruined his surprise, but not really. He walked in with a bouquet of these beautiful roses:

I really don't know what it is about flowers...they don't really do anything...but when Jantz gives me flowers, it's pretty much the sweetest thing ever.

Anyway, apparently he was going to bake me a cake and have it baking when I got home (he even bought everything to make one - including a huge bottle of sprinkles (my favorite!)). I only felt a little bit bad that I was already home, because it meant I got to watch him make it!

the end result was quite impressive. he even bought icing to decorate it. pretty good piping skills if you ask me:

Then my dad and stepmom took us out to dinner at PF Changs. It was so delish. and fun to just hang out and talk to the parents.

look how cute they are:

Here's me opening and showing off the presents Jantz got for me

(this one is the Lion King on Blu-Ray. I've wanted it since I found out we could buy it!):

I hope this doesn't make Jantz seem less manly, but he is amazing at shopping for me; he seriously buys me the cutest clothes...

blowing out the candles:

Jantz thought he could do a better job at blowing them out, so we did it again

(and he totally kicked my trash):

I think this is the most pictures I've put up in one post ever. haha

Newsflash

2011-11-15T13:44:00.001-07:00

We officially have ALL of our wedding pictures! And they are amazing, let me tell you. So amazing and so numerous that I couldn't even chose one to post on here. But I am so excited to look though them all over and over again, and eventually I'll choose some choice ones to put on here :) hopefully sooner rather than later. I have to give a big presentation to tomorrow, and once that is over, I will be really happy and totally consumed by reliving our great day.

Just for funsies, here's a bridal picture I quite like, if I let myself be vain enough to say so haha:

Tonight my parents are taking us out to dinner for my birthday. Yes, I turned the big 2-4 today. My mom took us out last night for a birthday dinner (at Macaroni Grill. yum), and Jantz took me to Cheesecake Factory on Saturday (one of our all-time faves). It's actually been a really great birthday this year. Made even better by my incredibly loving parents, in-laws, and of course, my sweetheart of a husband.

Carving

2011-11-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

Over Halloween weekend we carved us some pumpkins. It took a while, but it was a lot of fun! Here's some snapshots:

mine

Jantz's (1st prize for sure)

Instead of dressing up this year, we went to our friend's house and watched Coraline and ate lots of popcorn and candy.

It was a great Halloween.

flying by

2011-11-04T14:29:00.000-06:00

October literally seems like it went by in a day. I can't believe it's already the 4th of November! Time is going so fast. How is it already Friday??? (I mean, I love Fridays, so it's good exasperation)

I'm teaching my class about Baroque art today. It's my absolute fave, so of course I took way too long preparing for my lesson. Needless to say, I don't care if everyone falls asleep today, I'm going to have fun. haha. (in their defense, there is rarely any sleeping in class :)

Snow keeps threatening to fall out here, and I pray every day that it doesn't. Jantz on the other hand, is very excited for when it does.

More later on our pumpkin carving :)

Pretz

2011-10-23T00:51:00.002-06:00

Do you guys remember this episode from friends? Joey is such a keeper. (ps, my favorite part about the youtube video is that it looks like it's going to be in spanish, but then it's not)

I made pretzels last week for my German class (where we learn how to read German but not how to understand or speak it...good thing my teacher is an actual German with an excellent sense of humor). We were having a "German" food party for class and I decided to make homemade soft pretzels. I found a super easy recipe here. And when I mean easy, I mean I had never used yeast before or made real bread (ok ok, aside from working at a bakery for two years...but that was different!), and they turned out amazing both times I made the recipe.

They were pretty delish, and there weren't any left over. They were no mall pretzels, but they were pretty good.

Here's some more tidbits of our weekend/week:

Jantz's good friend came into town from Colorado, so we've been doing lots of fun guy things (aka watching sports, staying up late, and going out to eat). Jantz has been extra sweet and let me skip out on lunch to go shopping. I haven't been shopping by myself in a long time. I found some nice dress pants and a cute top. It's funny how even just one new piece of clothing can make a girl feel special.

My mom took me out for breakfast this morning. I love breakfast food. especially hash browns, and pancakes/waffles/french toast, and sausage and bacon. pretty much all of it. I love it. and when my mom gives us a bag of halloween goodies to take home, you just can't go wrong.

I had a huge breakthrough with my thesis this week. And by breakthrough I mean I found out some really great news. While talking with my advisor and going over my progress, she let me know that first, I was right on track, and second, that the length I had assumed my paper had to be was totally off. And hey guess what, I'm really close to being done, and I still have a couple of months before deadlines. Huge. weight. lifted. off my shoulders. I can't even tell you.

some wedding picture gems

2011-10-19T22:12:00.001-06:00

So, we got our pictures back from our Utah reception (a week after the wedding). I was SO excited!!! finally some pictures! Here's just a few gems I found:

just after jantz took my garter off...this was the second time, and i didn't realize how high i had it haha

i love jantz's face in this picture

my big fam, who graciously flew out to Utah. love them

my adorable friend and photographer, becca, from Rebecca Clary Photography

weekend recap

2011-10-10T15:47:00.000-06:00

The weekend was much needed. I have been getting more and more stressed as the weeks go on. Writing my thesis seriously might kill me. Thankfully through every breakdown Jantz is there to remind me that it will all be worth it and that it's almost over. It's really sweet...if only it got me more pages per week haha.

We skipped our Movie Saturday and opted instead for Back to the Future on our DVR. I think it was a choice well made. But last week we saw 50/50. loved it. and definitely got teary-eyed. (Joseph Gordon-Levitt has always been a fave since 10 Things I Hate About You)

It seems I've forgotten about about our camera recently, since it was Jantz who had to remind me that we should start taking pictures again (him? a boy? asking if we could take more pictures???). Honestly I had forgotten where the camera actually was...if only I had checked our dresser haha. So, I guess we've resolved to take more pictures. Which is definitely ok with me, especially because now you don't get to see the delicious dinner we made yesterday, which I will now have to describe :)

While grocery shopping last week, Jantz had the brilliant idea to make a roast for dinner on Sunday. And so we bought all the necessary props (meaning a roast and potatoes. i begged for carrots, but he refused), and Sunday morning before we had even eaten breakfast, he asked if we could put dinner in the crock pot. haha. Since neither of us had ever attempted making a roast in the crock pot before (all we had were memories of our mothers' delicious results), we pretty much winged it. Jantz was in charge of searing and seasoning the meat, while I cut up potatoes and garlic. After a good six or so hours, and only a tiny bit of worry that it would not be good, it turned out to be really good. Perfectly seasony and garlicy, and not dry at all; and the potatoes were so flavorful. Really guys, it was good, and I only brag because I have yet to actually be proud of something I made for dinner and couldn't wait for the leftovers. This may turn out to be our Sunday dinner tradition.

thesis progress=0 dinner-making skills=1 see, it all works out

little something

2011-09-30T11:33:00.000-06:00

I've been really antsy to post about our wedding, but it just won't be the same without pictures, so I'm trying my hardest to hold out until we get our pictures back :)

Not much to report this week...it was pretty filled with homework. I spent all day yesterday grading tests and prepping for my lesson. I gave a test last Friday (first time I'd ever written a whole test!), and gauging from the results, I think it was a success (we'll see what my students think about that...haha). I am so ready for the weekend, work cannot go by faster!

People keep asking me how married life is. And I always say that's it's great (kind of without thinking). But, you know, it really is great. the greatest, even. Jantz is the sweetest husband I could ask for. He's not one to make a huge production out of things (which I think is how most guys are, right?), but he does a million little things every day that make me realize just how lucky I am. Everyone says you should marry your best friend, and I certainly married mine :)

home sweet home

2011-09-26T10:41:00.000-06:00

Our apartment got all put back together last Monday, and since then we've got our living room and kitchen all organized and filled with furniture. I even spent a few hours on Sunday decorating! No pictures yet, but a few vases with flowers and other decor stuff. considering I've never really decorated a house in my life, I think I did a pretty good job. haha. Jantz hasn't complained yet, and he comes from a family of the most amazing home decorators I've ever seen.

Here's how it looks now (as for before shots, just picture no carpet, bottom of the walls torn up, and pretty much no furniture haha):

the husband and his job

2011-09-22T15:44:00.000-06:00

I just realized I never told you the good news about Jantz's work!

Since he got this job, he's been working 2 to 10 every day. Which meant we pretty much only saw each other after 10 on weekdays (since I usually have to be to school/work in the mornings). It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it certainly made it difficult to go do anything unless it was on a Saturday.
BUT
last week they gave him a new shift! He now works 8 to 4. Which means he usually gets home before I do, and we get to spend the whole evening together! Like Tuesday, we went grocery shopping and then went home and made dinner together. Never happened when he worked until ten. I seriously feel so blessed that he works earlier now. Even though I usually have to do homework when I get home (leaving Jantz to find something to do), I love the fact that he's home.

....obviously we're newlyweds haha. We're really excited about this new change and feel so lucky. hopefully now we don't get sick of each other haha.

dislike

2011-09-19T13:27:00.000-06:00

Last week left me feeling completely drained and defeated.

I failed at something. Not just "didn't do well", but literally failed. And it was something really important (like graduating or not graduating important). I've failed at lots of things, but never at art history. I don't really know what to think now... only that I remember why I have a sever love-hate relationship with grad school.

And (it doesn't need to be said, because it's always the case) I've been feeling totally lost in my classes - like, the dumbest one there. I guess I'm just not completely invested in school this semester...maybe it's due to the fact that I'm trying frantically to write my thesis; or maybe it's that I would rather watch a movie with the husband than think about school.

That really took the "happy" out of last week.

So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised when I came home after teaching my class on Friday to find Jantz all dressed up (in my favorite shirt of his) with surprise reservations to PF Changs (after a quick stop at a friend's birthday party). It was seriously exactly what I needed. It may have even been better than flowers (but don't tell him that haha).

Basically, this semester is proving to be the hardest. I just have to believe that somehow I'll make it through. If it wasn't for the class I'm teaching (I think I'm falling more in love with teaching by the week), I may not be able to make it through. It's nice knowing that what i want to end up doing is actually something I enjoy doing...it makes all this stress seem like it will be worth it when it's over.

Here's some more pictures of the wedding (that also happen to cheer me up). we've now passed the one month mark (woot). Jantz loves the picture of our rings:

flip flops

2011-09-12T15:32:00.000-06:00

anyone who knows me knows that i do not wear flip flops. to me they're like the most awkward shoe creation, on and off. i've never really owned a pair. ever. because i've never been able to stand them.

until recently.

now i keep seeing them and thinking, i really want a pair. they look so cute.

and of course this happens now that fall is starting and soon it will be too cold to wear such things...maybe that's why I want them, because I know I can't really have them.

so, flip flops, you almost won the fight this summer. maybe next summer?

some more pictures...and updates

2011-09-06T14:55:00.000-06:00

Gosh it's been a while...things have been super busy these past couple weeks. To name a few...

Our apartment flooded (thank goodness we have two floors, we've been able to hide upstairs most of the time). We're going on a week and a half and it's in the process of being fixed, but so far the downstairs is pretty much unusable, meaning the living room (and our beautiful new couch and tv stand) and the kitchen (which equals lots of going out to eat). It's been really stressful and a huge pain, but we're trying to just take it all in tow and be excited for our new walls and carpet.

I started school and taught my first class (all by myself). I won't lie, it was scary. but really fun too. I just hope I can keep up with it... as for taking classes, I only have two this semester (and then two thesis classes next semester and then i'm all done. whoa), so I'm looking forward to a lighter load than last year. but I'm also setting a goal of one page a day (during the work week) towards my thesis. That way when December comes around, I'll have it all written out, and I'll just need to edit and revise. Our deadlines for thesis defending are like in January...meaning I need have it done by the end of this semester. yikes is all I have to say about that.

On a much happier note, Jantz found out some (possible) great news about work, all of which will hopefully pan out. It would make both of our lives a lot better :)

Here are a couple more pictures (once again by Jessica) from the wedding. Mostly set up stuff and then my dad walking me down the aisle. towards a teary-eyed future husband. precious.

and then we were married

2011-08-25T12:36:00.001-06:00

It's been one full week since Jantz and I became husband and wife.

And it's been the best week of my life (and I'm not just saying that haha)

We have been so busy trying to put our apartment together (love that we can finally call a place "home"!), Jantz working nights, taking care of random bills, and cleaning up all the messes I make (I can't deny it, sometimes when I try to clean I end up with a bigger mess than I started with), me trying to study for a comprehensive exam that I have to take tomorrow morning, and trying to get all of my preparation work done for the class I'm teaching that starts next friday (which i'm super excited for!...that is if I can get everything put together in time...).

So until things clear up a little bit, here are a few pictures from our wonderful day :) Our photographer, Jessica, was just amazing! Absolutely loved her! She was so sweet and captured so many great moments (like during the ceremony when I didn't know what to do with my right hand, so it looks like i'm picking a wedgie. you just can't pose that haha). but really, she was a doll and did an incredibly wonderful job. I'll post some more in the next few days :)

and here's hoping for just as beautiful a reception in Utah this Saturday as there was last Thursday in Colorado.

a lost post

2011-08-12T16:22:00.000-06:00

I was just glancing through drafts that i've never posted. and i came upon this. i honestly thought i posted it....but clearly i didn't. I wrote it in December of 2010 (the middle-ish i believe). And, it kind of fits in perfectly with the wedding coming up. It's hard to believe I wrote this so long ago, because i still feel the same way, only way more :)

about one year ago jantz and i were sitting in my car talking. and he decided on this moment to tell me he loved me. when he got up the courage to tell me he loved me. i cannot tell you how excited i was to say it back. it was a scary feeling i thought i recognized, but this time it was different. it was so much better. and the year that has followed has only made manifest over and over again how very special and amazing love is. and how very special and amazing he is. he has, time and time again, exceeded my expectations. he had to work extra hard to get me on the same page he was; i was sure he was just like every other guy.

i'm so grateful for his love. he truly is my very best friend. i swear he knows me better than i do. he's so observant. really, he remembers everything. i'm grateful for his ability not to judge people at face value. he really does have an amazing perspective on life. he knows what's important and he knows when to make a big deal of something and when to just let things go. we're both still learning. every day i think. but we always have each others back.

people can talk all they want, but i just can't deny how much better my life has been since he has been a part of it. I've learned so much about myself, and about what life is really about. of course i've made lots of mistakes, but it has only worked to make me better. we've definitely had our share of hurdles, but honestly, it has only made us grow closer, not farther like i think a lot of people would prefer.

on to the important things, like how he got me addicted to lifesaver mints (the green bag) and raised my affinity for reeses. oh and how i now own sweatpants (he helped me pick out my first pair). and of course the ever-growing love of new places to eat, like on the border and taco bell (just because he loves mexican food and looks like a mexican does not mean that he is one....although sometimes i wonder).
all the hours on the phone and all the money put into being able to see each other. it's all priceless to me. I know i can't live off of love, but i certainly can't live without it.

looking back to this day so long ago, after going through so much, it's fun to reminisce about the time when we were so innocent - we had no idea what life was going to bring us. we were just two kids who became friends and then wanted more. we didn't know what saying "i love you" would amount to a year later. all the hard things we would go through. all the fun times we would have. how much our love would grow through it all. the changes and moves that would be made so that we could be together. we just didn't know. i don't know where i'm going with this.... all i can say is that i love him so much more than i did (or even thought possible) in December of 2009. and i even love him more than i did when i wrote this, last December.

so busy this is all i have

2011-08-10T16:39:00.000-06:00

Who knew the week before your wedding would pass by in a blur and leave you so busy you barely have time to go to work?

I seriously cannot believe it's already Wednesday! What happened to Monday and Tuesday?

So far, I've packed up all my things and moved (most of ) them into our new place. Our beloved new place that didn't fall through! It's going to take some getting used to, not having granite countertops and an elevator to take me up and down to underground parking (not to mention the lack of bugs in my room). But this new place will work too.

Tonight is my lingerie party (hosted by two of my amazing bridesmaids and roomies). I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited :)

Oh, and I found out last week that I'll be teaching a class in the fall! Which is both terrifying and so wonderful. I just hope I can find time to prepare before school starts!

two weeks

2011-08-05T16:25:00.001-06:00

two weeks

from this moment

I will be a married woman

hiding away in the colorado mountains

with my brand new husband

Things have been extra rough these past couple weeks, and I feel like I've been extra sentimental. While everything is certainly whipping past me at lightning speed, it is slowly (but surely) making its way through my mind. like it's trying to remind me to remember and cherish these moments. these last few weeks of being just Ali.

Some days I feel like my whole world is going to change once we're married (change freaks me out sometimes). and that's a pretty scary thought. But it isn't really (going to change, that is). Because I will still be me. And Jantz will still be Jantz. And we'll still love each other just as much (if not more). We'll just be "Jantz and Ali" from now on. and we'll live in our own house. with our own things. and we'll still go have fun every weekend.

I've wanted to be Jantz's wife for so long, and I can't wait for these two weeks to pass so that it can finally happen.

Song of the Week: Terrible Things by Mayday Parade.

This song is so touching. And this band is one of our all time favorites.

We're seeing them in concert on our honeymoon :)

and one more year has passed

2011-08-03T18:03:00.000-06:00

Monday Jantz and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary.

That's right people. TWO years. whoa.

Thankfully we remembered on Saturday so we were able to go celebrate at our favorite anniversary place, Cheesecake Factory (which also happened to be National Cheesecake Day, meaning half off cheesecake, so, score us).

For some reason we've decided to get wedding presents for each other (even though we don't really know why this tradition exists or what the presents are supposed to be. I already bought Jantz's, which is record present buying time for me). And since our dating anniversary corresponds pretty well with our wedding day, we decided we would just do the wedding present thing a few days before the wedding.

So Monday rolled around and we exchanged brief "Happy Anniversary's" in the morning, but otherwise I was so busy all day. Luckily I ended up close to a Chipotle around 9ish, so I got Jantz's favorite burrito (and got it completely right, which is quite the feat). Chipotle is a 30 minute drive from us, so the fact that I was close to one meant I had to get him a burrito.

And that was his unintentional anniversary present. haha. I put it on the table so he would see it first thing (pretty romantic I know).

But that boy, he's the sweetest. He showed up with a rose and symphony bar (you know, the amazingly delicious one with toffee and almonds). It completely made my heart melt.

So, to my future husband: thank you for the past two years - they've been the best of my life - and I can't wait for the many many more, thank you for every single thing you do to make me smile every day, thank you for all of your sweet gestures (especially when i'm grumpy), and thank you for choosing me to be your wife. I love you.

invites and banisters

2011-07-29T16:12:00.001-06:00

last weekend was spent writing, folding, stamping, and sending invitations. It was extremely fun and exciting, as you can see:

(PS, what do you think about this headband? I've wanted to be a bow-wearing kind of girl for quite some time now,

but I'm still unsure that I can really pull it off)

Really though, I was pretty excited for this part - busy work is like my passion. Ok i wouldn't say "passion", but I am definitely all for it. Anyway, so far we've done about 520ish. And we wrote out every single address (ok except for like 75), which really wasn't that bad. I actually like the personal touch.

I would post them up here, but they fold and so it's kind of awkward looking at the front and back not folded...but trust me, they're awesome. Jantz's dad designed and printed them. He may be the most creative person I know (except for Jantz, of course :)

And THEN, a few nights later, we were walking to my apartment and Jantz casually tossed his keys up, thinking they would go over a big banister and come back down. He was wrong. they did not come back down. We ran upstairs and this is what we found:

And so, being the tough girl that i am, hopped over the railing to grab them - I wasn't even phased by the 20 foot drop or the fact that there was nothing stopping me from falling. I tell you - if this is any indication of how I would act when saving a person (not just a pair of keys), you will definitely want me to be the one saving your life. haha, ok now i'm getting carried away.

If you're wondering why Jantz didn't get them, it's only because I hopped over first. And it's probably a good thing, because getting back over the railing was not the most pain-free experience...

On a completely separate note, I'm getting my hair done today...which means any suggestions you give me (which I am asking for) will not be useful. I'm going to do some sort of coloring - probably just some blondish highlights (not hooker blonde, just normal romantic wedding blonde, if that exists). But what are thoughts on changing your hair color before the wedding? I don't want to look like a different person, but I do want to look my best (obviously).

Anyone have any fun weekend plans? We're going shopping for a couch, and finishing up some dreaded wedding planning (right when i think we're done, a million other things come up!).

Hawaii

2011-07-27T16:14:00.001-06:00

So, ever since we've started planning this amazing wedding of ours, my dad continues to give us an offer:

forget all the silly planning and just go to Hawaii. get married, have a great honeymoon, and leave the stressful planning be.

And I must say, the more I hear it, the more appeal it has (although the little girl in me just has to have the big production).

but wouldn't it be nice? to forgo all that stress? all the worry about what kind of fabric to buy and what kind of food everyone will like? and just escape to a beautiful place, have a quite ceremony on the beach, and celebrate the love of two people?

So Hawaii: here's to wishing we were there in a month (and probably always wishing we had chosen you). but we have family and friends we want to share our day with.

don't fret, we'll be there soon enough (maybe even next Christmas)

our (real) place to call home (again)

2011-07-26T13:21:00.000-06:00

Well, things worked out with our apartment situation (somewhat magically).

As promised, Jantz got right on it, making appointments to look at a few different places. By some miracle, he found some apartments right across the street from the one we lost that were available.

Same layout.
Cheaper rent.
Better management.
AND new paint and carpets.

We were pretty much immediately sold on it. So it all worked out :) and we still get our dream apartment (and it's even better than the other one!) Here's our new place:

revision

2011-07-21T14:45:00.001-06:00

So, we lost the apartment.

our perfect dream apartment (well, as perfect and dreamy as any soon-to-be-married poor college couple can hope for).

so now we're homeless.

and stressing to the max (even though jantz has insisted that he take care of this and that i am not to worry about it. i can't help it!)

but of course there will be another apartment. there has to be. one that we love. and then that one will become our perfect apartment. and I'll be able to (again) tell you all about it.

that will happen right? in the next two weeks?

I sure hope so.

we have an appointment to look at one tomorrow. it won't be the same, but we're gonna try to keep an open mind.

....on a completely different and happy note (because I'm trying to focus on the happy things), we're getting our invitations tomorrow! Jantz's dad made them and trust me, they are gorgeous.

and last night, (previously mentioned bestie) Debbie helped me put together favors. while watching Gilmore Girls. it was much needed.

AND, lastly, I just looked at the calendar (we're not big on counting days so I had to check. haha) and in exactly four weeks we'll be married. and frankly, as long as that happens, I could care less where we live.

friendlies and flowers

2011-07-18T16:46:00.001-06:00

a few thoughts on a couple weeks ago,

I got to hang out with a bestie from high school, Debbie, and her adorable baby on Wednesday. I wish I had had my camera, because that child is way too cute. It was so nice catching up and spending some quality time with a girl. it's sad that I've almost forgotten what that is like (but i guess that's what happens when you're trying to plan a wedding, work, and do an internship....and it doesn't help that spending all my time with Jantz is my most favorite thing to do haha). Anyway, girls are awesome. And I need to be way better about setting aside time to see my friends.

After a rough night and day, Jantz arrived at my apartment after work with flowers and a candy bar. It was the most perfect thing he could have done (most perfect works right? ha). It was the sweetest. Just another reason why I can't wait to spend my life with him. No he's not perfect (and neither am I), but when it really matters, he knows just how to help me feel like everything will work out.

a place to call home

2011-07-14T15:03:00.000-06:00

We signed a lease on an apartment! Remember the apartment we went to look at last week? Well we totally loved it. It fit perfectly into our budget and it was bigger than what we were expecting to find.

Maybe we shouldn't show the world where we live, but oh well (I just won't tell you which side is ours. haha). It doesn't look like much, but the inside is the best part - it actually has two levels!

Now comes the task of pretending I know how to decorate. Despite my (not so much) vast knowledge of art history, actually making things look pleasing is not one of my strong points. Thankfully it is Jantz's, so you better believe I'm going to rope him into helping decorate our new place (just like I roped him into marrying me ;) .....ok so maybe that one was his idea...)

We're getting ready for a busy day tomorrow. First we get to pick up Jantz's bonus check from work (woot woot) and then we'll be off to see Harry Potter (so excited) and THEN we're going to spend the day at Lagoon for Jantz's work (which will be super fun). then perhaps a stop in Layton at our fave pizza place (you know, the one that was so rudely closed on the 4th?) so we can finally get our fix.

cuz baby, you're a firework

2011-07-12T14:57:00.001-06:00

Here are some of those special pictures I tried taking of fireworks from the Stadium of Fire over 4th of July weekend...

Every year for the 4th of July, both Jantz and I have always had plans (apart and together) with either family or friends, but this year, we had no such plans.

So we made our own special day. It started off, naturally, with Jantz playing some FIFA (while I did some wedding registering haha. ok I played one game)

After he won every game, we took off for Layton. One of our favorite pizza places is up there, it's called Ligori's. It is seriously the best pizza. So delicious. I was so excited for it.

So of course it was closed (who didn't think to check if it was open on the 4th? yeah...both of us). We were really bummed, but instead of letting our drive go to waste, we found a really good chinese place. In case you haven't noticed, we're pretty serious about our food.

Then we went to a Bee's game in Salt Lake. It was really fun. Good game. Good snacks. And a really awesome fireworks show at the end. And we were so close to them (sometimes being the farthest away from home plate can have its advantages). It really turned out to be a great day :)

reminiscing

2011-07-07T17:46:00.001-06:00

I've been looking through a bunch of old pictures and I've realized two things:

1. I seriously miss Europe. I miss the places. I miss the art. I especially miss all the friends I made. I really want to print out all of my absolute favorite pictures from Europe and put them in a frame. Good idea? I think yes. (perhaps this would fit better as a goal post-wedding?)

2. I seriously miss family trips. We took a big family trip to Mesa Verde a couple years ago. It was the first big trip with all of us as adults (except darling niece Izzy,

she gets to stay a child forever). And it was so much fun. I'm praying real hard for another trip sometime soon.

the big CO

2011-07-06T15:15:00.001-06:00

Our week in Colorado was so much fun. Here is a "documentary" in pictures :

The beginning of our drive

our treats and drinks

our stop for gas (Jantz makes funny faces)

(he also does a grand job of cleaning the windshield)

(bear with little rock poops. too random not to take a picture)

at Parker Days parade

(Jantz with his buddy Kevin. We had just gone to the doctor that morning, so the bandaid is protecting his poor biopsied noggin)

(the old ladies in the parade and Jantz's adorable nephew on the right)

We went to one of our favorite places, Guadalajara

(I caught this gem while Jantz was taking pictures on his iPhone

- you know, the app that morphs your face. so priceless)

the main event, Larke's graduation!

(these were some of the boards she had to make, it was very impressive :) she worked so hard to graduate and it was so great being able to see all her hard work)

graduation day Rockies game

(us with his brother Rhett)

so...on our way home Monday morning we ran into a snow storm in the mountains (SNOW, in the middle of JUNE! and not just a little sprinkling...it was like February up there!). we were pretty much speechless (of all days!). the roads were so icy and wet - there was major slipping and hydroplaning. so we pulled off into Silverthorne, informed our bosses that there was no way we were going to make it into work (who needs money anyway?), and hung out there for the day until things cleared up a bit. It was quite the detour, but it turned out to be really fun.

(here we are eating at the Pizza Hut. I knew I would forget what happened here, but I said something and this was the face I got. haha. my future husband everyone)

We did so much that I didn't take pictures of, but those were some pretty good highlights. We love being in Colorado, especially with Jantz's family. They were so great and so much fun! Hopefully we'll be able to make the trek out there again soon (you know, after the whole getting married there week in August :)

4 day week woot!

2011-07-05T14:45:00.001-06:00

How was your 4th of July weekend?

Ours was pretty great :)

I tried taking pictures of fireworks. It was NOT easy. or successful. haha.

This week is already going slow - I want a weekend again! We're going to look at an apartment tomorrow that we're really excited about! so good thoughts that we'll like it as much as we want to :)

Things for the wedding just keep falling into place and getting done....which means minimal stress right now (at a time when I thought I would be going crazy with plans)...is this normal? It feels not normal.

cold

2011-07-01T10:41:00.000-06:00

so, i wore shorts to work today for the first time this year (see, we're not usually allowed to wear shorts at work, only during spring and summer term). usually it's pretty chilly inside so i'm just fine wearing pants since i'm cold about 70% of the time anyway. but today is sunny and it seemed like a good idea for shorts.

so here i am at work. in my shorts. and i am cold.

thankfully i brought a jacket in (hoping i wouldn't have to use it - who likes to be the one wearing a jacket in the middle of summer?), so that's been keeping me warm.

that's all i wanted to say. I'm cold. (well, that and i got up on time again this morning, yay :) so excited for a warm three day weekend!

Morning :)

2011-06-30T16:13:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to drop in a little update that

YES

I did wake up when my alarm went off this morning (ok I may have let one snooze go off...but that's better than the usual who knows how many).

Even though I am little more tired today, it sure felt good to get to work when I planned to (our building has been oddly shaky all day).

Here's to another good morning tomorrow :)

And here's a little "song of the week": Dierks Bentley, Come a Little Closer. I still love his voice. and his name.

maybe next time I'll talk about CO....

2011-06-29T18:06:00.002-06:00

I keep postponing writing another post until I can upload all of my pictures from Colorado and write all about that....but that keeps not happening. obviously haha.

So, until that happens....I will tell you all what has been going on. It's short, trust me.

-I taught an Art History 111 class last night as a sub for one of my friends in the program. Let me tell you, I was so nervous, but afterwards I was so excited to teach my own class this year (whenever that will be...). Talking about art always makes me excited (just ask Jantz who had to listen as I did a quick run through of the lesson).

-I've been terrible at getting up in the morning. Like, really bad. I LOVE sleeping. Love it. And when my alarm goes off, I literally think of every excuse to NOT get up (and I'm reallllllllllllly good at excuses). And sleeping in means I get into work late, and that means less hours, which equals less money, which is no good. So, I'm making a goal for the rest of the week to wake up when my alarm goes off. Think good waking up thoughts for me ok? haha

-Wedding planning is coming along. we found a great photographer for Colorado and I'm so excited to have her photograph our wedding! Jantz is finding us a cute little place to call home. Overall, I'm not feeling super stressed.

-I'm going looking for fabric after work today.....to tie around chairs and around trees. I'm thinking Joanns, but anyone else know of a good, cheap place to shop for fabric/ribbon?

That's pretty much what's been going on. Jantz and I are excited to see the new Transformers this weekend. And we bought tickets for Harry Potter (wow how nerdy do we sound?). My next post will have pictures. it has to.

school

2011-06-22T16:32:00.000-06:00

today was the first day this summer that i thought,

i miss being in school. i'm excited for fall to start.

thankfully that only lasted for about 2 seconds.

Let me be clear that I definitely do not want school to start again because I am so ready to be done. for it to be next summer. So I can have a masters, and find a great job. and so that Jantz and I can move to a different state and start another fun adventure.

Here's to no more silly thoughts about school starting....at least not until the end of August :)

a week of no blog reading equals so many new posts i can't even count

2011-06-21T17:31:00.000-06:00

....so basically this week will be spent catching up on all i've missed :)

Vacation

2011-06-12T11:51:00.000-06:00

Friday morning Jantz and I made the 8 hour long drive to Colorado for his sister's graduation (from fashion school - if it wasn't for her I'd probably still be wearing baggy pants and t-shirts). And we're staying for 10 days! We are so excited for some nice time off to relax and hang out with his family. I've even been taking pictures! we'll see how long that lasts....haha.

Here's some fun things we've already done...

We went to Parker Days (which includes a parade and a fair that goes all day with booths and rides and everything) and hung out with Jantz's friends most of the day.

Jantz (finally) bought an iPhone (he's been talking about it for like a year!) and he's so excited about it. and as he should be. he works hard and he totally deserved it. (and we already worked it into our budget - yeah, we've become those people - so we didn't even have to stress about money).

We went to a really good (and spunky) skin doctor because Jantz has had a red spot on his forehead for way too long and we need to figure out how to get rid of it! They ended up having to do a biopsy and he was such a trooper. His mom and I tried to watch but it was rough. He got two stitches in his forehead. Everyone keeps making fun of him, but I think he looks cute and I still love him :)

Jantz keeps talking to me in a Russian accent telling me to go shower......so I better go

licorice

2011-06-07T15:48:00.004-06:00

If you're thinking of buying me some licorice (or jelly beans), you will instantly be my favorite if you make sure it's black. Honestly, it is the only way to go. I only know a few people who will even touch black licorice, one being my father, who I actually blame for much of my food taste, at least when it comes to candy (anyone had horehound? yeah, we love it). A few years ago the parents didn't purchase Easter candy until way too late, which meant a lot of weird candy that no one else wanted. You would think I would be very disappointed, as I love robin eggs (which we had none of). But a lot of the candy no one wanted was black jelly beans. So.....pretty much one of my favorite Easters ever.

moral of the story is: black licorice is the best

wedding updates

2011-06-06T15:25:00.001-06:00

So, we've been engaged for three weeks. It's seems so much longer. and yet so much shorter. haha

We finally set a wedding date: August 18th (yes, of this year & yes a Thursday).

Now, I've always wanted to be engaged for at least 6 months. but when it came down to it, it was either next April or this August (no winter weddings for me, and definitely no wedding planning during grad school!). So, three months it was. haha. I have no idea if I can get everything done by then, but knowing that we'll finally be married is all I can really think about. We're beyond excited!

Jantz has been the biggest help (which isn't surprising, but I still like to brag about him :). I was starting to stress out about getting everything done (enter: me trying to do everything on my own with no help because i can do it best). I never realized how much of a control freak I am until now. So I've been trying to correct this and trust other people to help out (and who better to trust than my trusty fiance?). Jantz swooped in and now has full control over some pretty important parts (ie, finding us a place to live). I must admit, it feels pretty great letting things go :)

On to other details...

We're getting married in Colorado in Jantz's parents' backyard (which is going to be beautiful, by the way) with the reception there as well. Then we're jetting off to a cabin in the mountains for our honeymoon. The next Saturday we're having an open house in Utah (the day after my big Comprehensive Art History Exam. fun).

So, things are slowly getting done...

Like, I bought my dress (which I am so in love with) and it is in the process of alterations. I have tons of pictures I want to share, but on the off chance that Jantz actually looks at this blog, I'll hold off :)

We picked up my ring on Friday. It is so much more amazing than I pictured it. I seriously can't stop looking at it (it's getting a bit pathetic...). Here are some pictures:

Yep, I love it

Movie Saturday

2011-05-27T09:01:00.000-06:00

As soon as Jantz moved here he initiated Movie Saturday, where we go to a movie every Saturday morning. We've tried a few times to go at night, but we're cheapies (cheapos?) and always back out.
I must admit, at first I was skeptical, but now I look forward to it every weekend. Even though it means that I can't sleep in as long as I want to...

Which leads me to last weekend. We couldn't decide on what movie to see (I wanted to see Something Borrowed, he wanted to see Fast Five), so we ended up with Pirates (somehow it made sense at the time). But we made it to the theater just a few minutes too late to see the first showing (as in, a few minutes after the previews, so really we were like 15 minutes late haha), so we had to settle for the next showing. You see, we go to the first showing on Saturdays, no exceptions (1-it's 25 cents cheaper and 2-that's just how we role). So we were both a bit iffy about the whole thing. And we had to reason to be.

The movie was packed. I know it was opening weekend, but we're used to early morning movies, when there's like, 10 of us in the theater. Needless to say, all the noise was just weird. But the movie was good.

Then we walked around the mall a bit, then went home and....I have no idea what we did. probably sat around and watched tv or something.

But then, we went to the driving range. That's right people, golfing. And it was really fun. Jantz is really good (well, he's got distance down, not so much the whole shooting straight thing haha...but don't tell him i told you). I was surprised how much I fun we had. Definitely something that will happen again.

And I was seriously planning on taking pictures the whole weekend because I've been so bad about taking pictures of us, but also I forgot....maybe this weekend...maybe :)

Diet Coke catastrophe

2011-05-23T12:57:00.000-06:00

Oh Friday night.

After Jantz got off work he picked me up and we went to get some Panda Express for dinner (brilliant idea on his part). Then we decided it would probably be a good idea to get some drinks, so we stopped at our favorite gas station (is it weird that we have one? apparently their Mountain Dew is amazing - and who am i to dispute that? i can barely tell a difference between Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi - although I DO know there is a difference, but i love both...anyway....). We got our drinks and looked across the way to the Walgreens Redbox and decided that we definitely needed to check for Harry Potter because I haven't seen it and I have been desperate to.

Now the story gets good. We were on our way home when Jantz had to break for a stoplight. It wasn't even a hard break, but I guess it was sudden enough that my Diet Coke sprang from it's cup holder and exploded all over the front of the car. On the dashboard. On the seat. On the floor. On the bag of food. On my precious leather bag from Florence. Even inside my shoes. It was everywhere. We were both so shocked we didn't even know what to do. I think we looked at each other, laughed for a second, and then freaked out.

As you can guess, the next hour was spent scrubbing Diet Coke out of the car. We got it all out (thankfully!) and even cleaned up my purse (which I was most grateful for). Jantz insisted that we get me another drink (because he just loves me like that). After we finally got home, we set our food out, put in the movie, and had a very pleasant night. Harry Potter is amazing (in case you didn't already know that) and I can't wait for the final movie.

The moral of the story is: don't trust your cup holders

Now that it's been a week....Guess What?!

2011-05-19T22:01:00.000-06:00

we're engaged! ! !

The story: Jantz was leaving to Colorado for the weekend (as in last weekend) so we wanted to do something fun on Friday before he left Saturday morning. He "casually" came up with the idea to go to Thanksgiving Point and walk around the gardens up there and then go to PF Changs afterward. Nothing too out of the ordinary. I didn't see anything fishy about the plans. So, we both got off work early. (enter sneaky Jantz, which is rare - that boy tells me everything. Turns out he made up that he had to go in early because they were changing the carpets, when in fact he just told his boss he was going to propose. AND he talked to my dad last week, which must have been pretty terrifying (I am his little girl, after all)).

When we both got to my apartment, we were starving! We sat at the table and tried to figure out what to do - eat here and then go to the gardens and then PF Changs, or go there first. While we were talking, Jantz kept staring off into space and not paying attention.

Finally, he said, "I can't take it anymore" and got down on one knee. I was so confused on what was going on. When I realized he was actually on one knee I was sure he was joking. I started tearing up anyway (and simultaneously thinking, he's gonna see that i'm crying and admit it was a joke). but it was no joke, my friends. He said some sweet words and asked if I would marry him. I immediately said yes and he put a ring on my finger. The cutest part was that, in the midst of it all, he ended up down on both knees. In the moment, in was precious. The runner up cutest part was after, when he told me he could do it over again if it wasn't good enough (he knew that I wanted a really great proposal). And I did want something meaningful and great, and you know what? it was simple, beautiful, and just the two of us in a place we spend most of our time together. It wasn't at all how he planned it, and it was so surreal when it happened, but I loved every second of it.

After all the hugs and kisses and tears of joy and pictures and calling of parents, we then went to eat (and boy did we eat) at PF Changs. Then we met up with my extremely excited roommates and played some baseball at the park. It was a day that was totally us and totally fun.

He got me a fake ring so that we could go ring shopping after we were engaged (which is exactly what I wanted :). We're hopefully going to get a real one soon!

We're so incredibly happy and excited for our future together!

So there's my big news :) Thanks for reading our quick story, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Whoa

2011-05-17T16:31:00.002-06:00

I have SO much to post on.

things just keep getting in the way.

but I promise soon a lot of wonderfully good news!

My Wonderful Grandmas

2011-05-06T15:51:00.000-06:00

Two of my grandmas passed away last weekend, both pretty suddenly. They were amazing women and they will really be missed.

My dad's mom passed away Saturday afternoon after a few of the kids and grandkids were able to say goodbye. It was a really sad but touching day. (she was an opera singer most of her life - she was in Cats for while. i loved listening to her sing.)

My step mom's mom then passed away Sunday morning. That was a big shock. We were all still recovering from Saturday. (christmas at her house was the best. A Christmas Story all day, so much candy and good food)

Needless to say, it was a very emotional weekend. I have dear memories of both of them and I'm very sad that they're gone, but at the same time I'm glad they're no longer in pain.

ps, aren't both of them gorgeous?

Bloch

2011-04-26T15:25:00.000-06:00

Carl Bloch, The Daughter of Jairus, 1863

In case any of you live in Utah and love art, the BYU Museum of Art has an amazing exhibition going called Carl Bloch: The Master's Hand. And when I say amazing, that doesn't even begin to describe it. They were able to get some really great altar paintings from Denmark and Sweden. In case you don't know who this Carl Bloch character is, he lived during the 19th century in Denmark and painted many religious pieces as well as some secular ones (which I really love). You might think you've never seen his works, but you'll be surprised :) Here's the museum's site, but other great places to see some of his work are here, or here, or here, or here (this one is my favorite because you get to see the works in their actual locations and it's all 3D!).

It's been going since November and it ends on May 7th (you have to have a free ticket, but I heard they were all out and now you can go on stand by). I just couldn't not say anything, because I loved it. And, as I've said before, there is just nothing like seeing paintings in real life. You can just go and sit in front of the altarpieces or get up close and see the beautiful brushstrokes.

left handed toons

2011-04-25T17:22:00.000-06:00

So, I used to get on this site (lefthandedtoons.com) almost every day. And then I totally forgot about it (I blame facebook, because it used to be a box on my profile page. and then one day it was gone. forever). But today I remembered it. And I found this gem:

Just a little something to get through the Mondays :)

life is good

2011-04-18T21:25:00.000-06:00

Brancusi, The Kiss, 1916

in one of my art history classes a few years ago

my teacher put this up as his first slide.

i didn't think of it much then, but it has grown on me.

he used it as a way to explain the intimacy of life - and of art.

you don't usually kiss someone with your eyes open.

it's too special to do with just anyone.

because being that close, it's like they're looking into your soul.

sometimes i feel like getting up close to a work of art

is like being able to see into its soul - and vice versa.

that's why art is so special,

because it can reach into your soul and make you feel something.

I don't really have much to say, but I wanted to blog anyway. I like having a photo of some sort for every post, and since i'm terrible at taking pictures, i think i'll post art instead :)

I'm [ ] this close to finishing my big paper that I have to give a presentation on tomorrow. I'm so excited to be finished (not because I hated writing it, but because I liked writing it) I'm having a hard time focusing enough to proof-read and prepare a PowerPoint. Thus, blogging.

I made Jantz a sandwich when I got home from work and then brought it over to his work so we could eat dinner together. and because he never brings dinner food with him to work, so he eats a granola bar or mcdonalds. not acceptable in my book. He showed me around where he works and all the little rooms he does stuff in. it was cute. My dad used to work in that same building so it was weird walking around without him haha. I'm so proud of Jantz and all the hard work he does. He works crappy hours and his job stresses him out sometimes. But he sticks with it. I know how miserable it can be to work full time at a job you don't care for (as I'm sure we all do). At least it won't be that way forever :) he's such a trooper.

I've been so grateful this past week for all the things I have. As I've mentioned before, sometimes I get real stressed about money. But you know, it always works out. no matter what. I keep waiting for a time when it doesn't and I'm stuck with no money and no help. But so far, it just keeps working out. I found out I got some scholarship money to help me this next year in school, which was a total surprise. then tax filing came around and my gracious mother is letting me get some of the money I would have gotten if she hadn't claimed me (what a saint, let me tell you). and then today I found out about a raise at work that will help out big time (who knew having a degree would be so beneficial?). I'm definitely not rolling in money (not by a long shot), but at least now I can save more money, start paying off loans and stop worrying so much about paying for school. I'm just really grateful that, even when other parts of life aren't perfect (because, when are they ever??), there is something that I can feel sure about.

ok so not such a short blog haha. but.....life is good. things are good. i'm happy :) even more so because the semester is almost over!

papers and more papers

2011-04-15T16:27:00.001-06:00

how precious is this sketch by Rembrandt of his first wife Saskia?

I can not believe it is Friday already. I have been switching off grading papers that will be given back at the final from 8-10 (yes PM) tomorrow and writing my own paper that is due on tuesday. Needless to say I can't wait to be done with papers. And I can't wait for thursday, when I get to turn in a big project and an outline of my thesis. Then I will be all done with school until August :)

For a little break last night I made chicken enchiladas with green chile sauce. Sometimes I'm sheepish about cooking because I don't want it to turn out bad. But, I did it anyway. And it was fun. Almost as fun as baking. And I think it turned out pretty good. And apparently Jantz did too because he had seconds. I should have taken a picture because when it came out of the oven it looked amazing. Now it just looks half eaten...

Summer is just around the corner and I'm so excited!

P.S. I had this funny conversation scribbled on a paper (from probably last summer) in my drawer and randomly found it today:

A: "if you're not scared off by now...well i don't know, you could still get scared off..."
J: "no....unless you send me an alpaca"

I guess here's to no alpacas in our future. haha.

thinking about art

2011-04-11T20:16:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking about art lately (surprise surprise) and about the amazing effects it can have on a persons life. Which got me thinking about art that has really left a mark on me. There have been quite a few, maybe more than I can think of. But one place for sure completely changed my life. Not in a "i changed the way i do things now" kind of change; more of a "the feelings i felt there left me in an awe that i will never forget" kind of change. Seeing art like that is something you will never forget. It changes you somehow.

The place is the Galleria Borghese. There are several Bernini statues in there, and I promise that you will never look at his works the same after you've seen them in person. There is literally no comparison between a photograph and real life (kind of like hearing about going on a rollercoaster and then actually riding one. i kid not.).

Apollo and Daphne is set in a little room where light shines through onto the statue, and it literally glows. The light shines through the leaves. And the textures. they are incredible. the smooth skin against the rough wood and the leaves. And then theirs the drama. the drama itself makes it breathtaking. We sat in that room for so long, just looking at it. I think about that day a lot. I don't think I could make it through life without art. it's one of those loves of your life that will never leave you and that makes life that much more worth living.

If you ever get the chance to make it to Rome, don't miss this place. I can't wait to go back.

just for fun here's three of us waiting to go inside

dear robin eggs

2011-04-06T20:15:00.001-06:00

i love you because you are so delicious to eat

but

i hate you because you make me sick when i eat too many of you (which is always)

someday, in our own house...

2011-04-02T22:55:00.000-06:00

...our freezer will always be stalked with

for me. caramel is a must (but sometimes fudge is good too)

for jantz. the banana flavor of course

and....just for good measure, i'm gonna say that these will probably be next to them

don't worry, we'll be sure our fridge is full of salad and chicken and good things like that :)

another friday post

2011-04-01T23:18:00.001-06:00

Jantz is visiting home in CO for the weekend. Before he left I thought, sweet, time to do some major finishing of projects. and all the hills watching that i want (yeah....sort of have a slight addiction to the show that has ended and is thus no longer applicable to life. but i still find the first seasons way too entertaining). So, I was set when i dropped him off at the airport yesterday afternoon (making me soo late for class. oops).

But then I woke up this morning and remembered that Jantz is no longer in this state. and even though I don't usually see him until 10:00 every night, just the fact that he wasn't in the city made me really nervous. sad/desperate-nervous. and pathetic-feeling. I went over a year of seeing him maybe once a month....then he's here for two and a half (yes i'm counting) months, leaves for one weekend, and i am completely lost in how to go about my day.

pathetic, party of one.

but also maybe, crazy in love, party of one (or two if jantz gets to tag along) (you can cue gagging now ;)

in other news, i have amazing roommates who let me tag along as they picked up some goldfish (count: 55). and i got to buy some more robin eggs (which i LOVE. but whoppers not so much. however, malt shakes are my favorite). getting out of the house with the girls always helps :)

in even more other news, I'm doing an internship at the museum at BYU over the summer. I get to work on a Warhol/Murakami exhibition. I'm no contemporary connoisseur, but it's going to be freaking awesome. look forward to more talk on this over the summer, because i am so going to be talking about it.

and now i'm sitting on the couch reading article after article (and book after book...you get the picture) so i can write a "magnificent" paper on widowhood in Paris in the 18th century, in relation to this painting by David (that's Daaaveed, as in hot, and weed). when i saw it in the Louvre i cried

p.s. do any of you watch csi:ny? one more thing i am totally obsessed with. just a quick comment on Mac's round sunglasses.

i think he looks like a creepy mad scientist when he wears them. he is way too cool for such glasses, even if he does have some of the cheesiest lines.

p.p.s. biannual fondue night is happening tomorrow night and I. can. not. WAIT. be jealous.

dear blog,

2011-03-22T20:42:00.000-06:00

I miss you lots.

I promise as soon as school is over and summer begins I will write so much more. but the next four weeks are going to be madness. technically the madness started yesterday. and let me tell you blog, it was not good news. I had a big presentation that I thought I was totally ready for. and then I woke up yesterday morning and thought, I am so not ready. But by then it was way too late. I did the best I could, put on my "confident" face, and got the job done. Usually I do better than I expect (so not bragging here), and feel all good inside. It's a completely different feeling when it goes the other way around. I wasn't very proud of myself. at all. It was my favorite project of the semester and I was really excited about it - I thought I had it down.

But, it's not the end of the world (I hope) and I don't have to impress everyone all the time (even though I'd like to). I still have one more big presentation next week and then a paper (and presentation) in four weeks. Let's just say I'm going to try my hardest to be as prepared as possible for both.

At the end of the day, I still love what I'm doing and all that I'm learning; reading for class has now become a pleasant pastime (I can hardly believe it myself). I wish I could tell you all of the cool new things (like learning about Derrida and then seeing it get mentioned in a movie - totally knew what they were talking about), and all of the really weird things (like that some feminists believe lesbianism is the way to go because it means you're not a "woman" - to each her own*), that we get to talk about. just know that everything I'm learning is freaking awesome.

Alright, I better go. lots to do. I hope all is well :)

*totally not slamming lesbians OR feminism. I personally think feminism is

fascinating and I have oh so many opinions about the importance of women

and how to achieve an equality in society. so basically, feminism represent.

a break from reading

2011-03-14T21:50:00.000-06:00

I'm still missing Europe.

And free time.

It's that time in the semester when project due dates are in reach. Which means my mind is going a million miles a minute, redoing and reorganizing presentations and papers. It's going to be a really fast month, I can tell. But that means that things are finally going to get finished, which I'm very excited for. Summer is beginning more and more to look like the biggest relief (even with an internship and another class...).

Along the ride for all the busy-ness these past two weeks has been a cold. I think I'm finally out of the worst of it. I was on Dayquil and Nyquil pretty much nonstop all last week. I forgot the feeling of being sick and laying on the couch all day. It made me really want a vacation. A spring break would be really nice about now haha. silly BYU.

Thankfully it hasn't been all tissues and homework. Jantz took me out to P.F. Chang's on Friday. It's one of our favorites. and for good reason :) Speaking of, does anyone know of a good mexican or take-out chinese place in orem (or anywhere close)? We have yet to find any keepers.

Ok, I have to go watch The Bachelor now.

Oh Rome, how I miss you

2011-03-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

I've been really missing Italy this week. Especially this place:

The Parthenon

If you ever want your breath taken away, come to the Pantheon. On the outside it doesn't look like much, but once you step inside you won't want to leave. The amazing colored marble alone will suck you, but the dome is what will get you in the end. The way the light trickles in through the hole in the roof, casting a beautiful ray on everything it touches. It will literally take your breath away. It took mine away the moment I walked through the door. I was mesmerized. I couldn't stop looking up. The coffered dome looked like a painting. It was an amazing experience, to say the least. I did not want to leave.

making brownies on a friday night

2011-02-25T23:13:00.000-07:00

WOW has it really be two weeks since my last post?!? I have so much catch up to do. I still have written nothing about Valentine's Day (which was pretty perfect). Last weekend Jantz and I went to Apollo burger and got burgers, fries, AND onion rings. all with fry sauce of course. best. decision. ever. it was so good. We watched the All-Star game last weekend too. I may have enjoyed it.

We're watching the Nuggets vs Trail Blazers game right now (oh and I made brownies :). I'm almost ashamed that I now know so much about sports these days. But, today I found out that one of the guys Denver got in their trade of Carmelo is Italian. Yeah, I just got way more interested in this game. haha.

Not too many exciting things happen during the week since Jantz works til 10 and I do homework all night.

Here's the flowers Jantz got me for Valentine's Day:

Happy Weekend

2011-02-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

I got a lot of homework done today, I just wanted to let everyone know that.

And I watched the History channel for a good two hours today...while doing homework. I felt like I was being extremely studious. Studying art history while watching something about art history. win win.

I also bought some brie cheese and a baguette because I've been having major Europe and Paris breakfast withdrawals. The cheese did not compare (and neither did the baguette really) but it was delicious anyways. As good as I can get with a limited selection and no moneys. (ps, i never liked baguettes until Paris. i like my bread soft, not hard. but by the end of the trip i couldn't get enough (we even smuggled it from our hotel breakfast for a snack later). Paris is also where i fell in love with brie - seriously amazing. there's nothing else like a baguette with french cheese.)

What are your plans for the weekend? Any big Valentine dates? Or is everyone waiting until Monday? We've got some fun plans for the weekend that include a group party and a date just the two of us, both of which I'm very excited for - we're dressing up and everything. As roommates we all bought new dresses, and they look great. Pray that we remember to take pictures!

Have a great weekend :)

Hello February

2011-02-05T12:18:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to stop in and say a quick hello. Jantz and I are heading off to Sandy to have some Chipotle for lunch. Then hopefully some shopping for a cute dress and then lots of homework (oh the joys).

I made clam chowder this week (another meal, check). And I think it turned out pretty delicious....this coming from someone who can't actually eat clam chowder, haha. But I was told it was good, and it smelled good, so I'm going to count it as a success.

The most exciting part of the week would have to be that I've been getting body work done from my amazing friend Jessica. Basically she re-structures my body so that it looks how it's supposed to look (aka, correcting my bad posture and making my shoulders even. stuff like that). I'm not going to lie, it's the most pain i've experienced in long time (maybe ever). But i can already tell a difference, so it's all worth it. She also does massages that feel amazing, so if you want one, you should get one from her :)

Oh AND, B and I bought light bulbs last night for our bathroom. We've been living with one light for way too long now, always fearing that it would go out while we were in the shower. But now all three work and we can actually see our faces.

I hope you're all having a great weekend! Hopefully I'll be back soon with some pictures

remember when pam and jim first got together? that was so cute

2011-01-28T19:34:00.001-07:00

(I've been watching a lot of old Office episodes lately. The second and third seasons will always be my favorite)

Wow I have been terrible at blogging....my only excuse is that life has been so busy.

I have been doing homework almost non-stop. But I feel like the more I get done, the more I have to do (shouldn't it be the opposite?!). Even though it seems to never end, I'm pretty excited about all of my projects for this semester. Another annotated bibliography (much akin to last semesters but with more sources); a paper for my Women in France class, which will be about images of the holy family in France and how they differentiate between roles of motherhood and fatherhood (still working on a for sure idea with this one); and then a project for my Gender class, which I'm most excited for because I basically get to do mass research on my thesis. I have pages and pages of lists of books and articles that I need to find and read...which is daunting. But still exciting :)

Jantz has been here for two weeks. He's all settled and getting used to his new job. We've been having so much fun. Here's a few pictures of life this month...

New Years -

awkward picture....we didn't get a good one

My first homemade meal in who knows how long -

yeah, it took Jantz moving here to make me realize that

I don't really know how to cook anything (other than boxed pasta and cereal).

hopefully it will only get better from here. any suggestions of meals to cook that are fast and delicious?

Jantz's birthday! (I always want to write Jantz', you know, like James'. but it just doesn't sound right...)

his birthday cake i made from scratch. not to brag, but it was amazing :)

naturally, i had to smear frosting all over his face. it's tradition!

I got him a visor beenie, the movie Batman Begins (he loves The Dark Knight), and a brown Rockies hat (he had been talking about it for months, but I told him it was too expensive, which of course means that I got it for him :) I think I may be breaking my life-long streak of "bad present-buying".

During his break at work he said he was hungry for a chalupa, in & out, and a red baron pizza. Since it was his birthday I made sure he got all of it. So after he got off work we went around to in & out, taco bell, target, and the gas station for drinks. And yes, he ate each thing (with a little help from me of course).

Wow, this has gotten lengthy. Before I go, here's a ridiculous video from the party. They bought mentos and diet coke and Derek had a "good idea"...

Oh AND i got my hair colored and cut today. I love it :)

is it really Saturday already?

2011-01-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Because that means it's the day that Jantz is moving here!!!!

So there's my big news. I hope none of you were disappointed. If you were.....well.....maybe next time ;)

He had an interview over New Years and we were really really hoping he would get it. It just seemed too perfect not to happen. After a week of being SO nervous, he got the call that they wanted to hire him.

That was Monday. They want him to start Wednesday (as in this coming Wednesday). He decided to move out here Saturday (which is today, hooray!), which gave him 5 days to pick up and move to Utah. from Colorado. to figure out how to get out here, where to live, etc etc. As excited as we were, it was stressful trying to put it all together over such a short period of time. It just seemed so surreal. Despite all the stress, things somehow all fell into place. He found a place to live, a car to drive, a way to get out here (and good weather the whole way!).

So....he's currently driving out to Utah. right now. whoa. I get to see him tonight. and every night.

Yep, I finally get to be a girlfriend who gets to see her boyfriend every day. I'll actually be able to say "I'll see you tomorrow". I feel so lucky. Which sounds silly, because that's how it should always be. But really, I feel like I'm getting the biggest blessing (on top of many others over the past couple months).

Even though I would never wish a year and a half of long distance on anyone (really people, it's not easy), I don't think I would take it any of it back. There are things you can learn about another person only by being long distance. We have learned so much about each other from talking so much. And now I get to find out all of the wonderful things that come from being in the same place with my very best friend who (whom?) I love to death.

In the words of a girl in my ward, it's going to be "epic awesome" (Jessica that was for you)

I'm going to try and be a good blogger even with Jantz around, so cross your fingers and forgive me if I'm a slacker for a bit. I promise I'll catch up!

i thought today was thursday pretty much all day...

2011-01-11T23:34:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here, in the midst of homework, when i thought, i wonder how my blog is doing....and then i realized that i have been pretty terrible at writing anything since school started and the new year happened. So many things have happened since then!

-Jantz and i finally got to have a new years kiss together (tmi?). the night also included a late night run to del taco, if that makes it better haha

-school started. and boy did it start! i can't believe a whole week has already passed. I have been busy since day one, which means that everything i was hoping to do last week (including grocery shopping, seeing friends, doing laundry, etc etc) got pushed to this week, and so far no progress on the personal to do list, but i'm working on it, promise.

-i realized i'm really bad at actually recording the happenings of my life on this blog, which makes me really sad and I want to do better in that area. and i mean, this is a blog about my life right? so from now on hopefully you'll actually be able to know how i'm really doing and feeling and all of the "fun" things i do everyday. it's riveting stuff.

-i fell in even more in love with my roommates (in a, "you are the most wonderful friends and roommates" kind of way). for real everyone, they are amazing and i love them to death.

-AND some very exciting stuff has been happening this week, but you'll have to wait for a full recap on that in the next couple days. it's big news people, and i'm so ecstatic about it!

alright, i must be off to read for my 9am class tomorrow (who starts a 2 1/2 hour class at 9?! it's madness i tell you)

and, in case any of you aren't feeling appreciated today, just know that I appreciate you :) thanks for reading my silly blog. if i was cool enough or popular enough to have giveaways, i would give each of you a big candy bar. so instead here's a big candy bar in the shape of a thank you. i think you're all great :)
(ria and b, i would definitely give you two each because i know you are starving ;)

want another video? this ones for the holidays

2010-12-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty jealous of everyone in this eating area. (and now that i know how to put in videos, i might have to do it more often...)

And a late Merry Christmas and early Happy New Years! I hope everyone had so much fun and ate a ton of delicious food (I definitely did!).

Christmas with the family was so much fun. I have missed them so very much (especially my darling niece, she's the cutest. and i'm not even kidding, so adorable). We were all poor this year so presents were minimal and very creative, which actually was a lot of fun. It really is the thought and effort that makes the holidays special. We ate so many delicious home-cooked meals, mostly just hung out and relaxed. Exactly what I needed. Thanks fam for the presents and love :) and thanks roomies for the cute presents (you're basically my family too)

To top it all off, after the stress and frustration (remember the not-fun money issues?) somehow everything has sorted itself out in the past week. It's kind of funny how it was all taken away (enter: frantic ali), and then all given back again a short time later (enter: very happy and grateful ali). All I can say is, what a relief. And holy cow do I feel blessed. So grateful that things work out when I least expect it.

There's pretty slim chances I'll be posting again until after the new year since I've be traipsing around town with that silly boyfriend of mine. We got to do Christmas all over again because we weren't together for the real thing. He got me some really cute presents. He knows how to shop :) And I think he liked what I got him.

I'll be back next week, probably droning on about how hard school is. haha, but hopefully with some fun stories and pictures.

On a completely unrelated note...I need a haircut. bad.

Thought of You

2010-12-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share.

This video was made by two faculty members, one in animation and one in dance, at BYU. Amazing is all I have to say. love the music. love the animation.

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

non mi piace snow

2010-12-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

(or "i don't like snow", in case your Italian skills are rusty ;) also, "snow doesn't please me" if you're being literal)

It snowed all day yesterday. and I was hoping for just rain today......but oh no. It snowed all night, leaving A LOT of freaking snow everywhere. Oh, and it's snowing right now. It may never stop.

I guess that wouldn't be so bad, only because it would mean Ria, B, and i (and Derek too) could finally make a sweet-awesome igloo/tunnel on our balcony. but that is the only good thing that can come from this snow business.

I took the bus today to escape having to drive myself on the terrifying roads. Now if only the good city of Orem would shovel their sidewalks so i wouldn't have to stomp through a foot of snow to get to the bus stop. enter: moon boots, which made the stomping somewhat entertaining.

I wrapped Christmas presents last night. I feel like I should apologize for the wrapping, and not just to those who receive gifts from me, but to anyone who values good wrapping. You see, I didn't have wrapping paper, and because of previously mentioned snow, there was no way i was going to go buy some. So i used what i had: pink tissue paper and a ton of bubble wrap. I'm not a very good wrapper anyway (not for the lack of much instruction by the parents), so this proved to be pretty exciting and I'm looking forward to watching people unwrap them.

If only the gifts inside made up for that, but i'm pretty terrible at buying gifts for people. I should also be apologizing to anyone who has ever received a present from me. No, your present doesn't mean i hate you, i just didn't know what to get you that adequately shows you how much you really mean to me (which is a lot). I'm trying to get better at this, promise :)

I forgot how much there is to do when school isn't taking up every crevice of my life. I reorganized my room, fixed up my closet and my desk, went through a bunch of old papers, did laundry, used super glue (yeah...that was a big mess), finally changed up this old blog (better? worse? did you even notice? fess up), and wrapped presents :)

Life is going to be so nice for the next two weeks. Christmas couldn't have come at a better time. I was seriously beginning to forget what the real world was like. I've been so consumed with school and doing well and working harder than ever and trying to please my teachers and worrying about money and time and on and on. My mind literally has not been able to breathe and think about things (kind of like being in a tornado for 4 months, and then finally being flung out. and you think, oh yeah, that's what it's like to be still. grad school=tornado); which I've sadly only realized was the case now that school has been out (but, better late than never i suppose). I'm not stressing or thinking about anything related to these things for the next two weeks. I'm just relaxing and remembering how great life is, and how much i love my roommates (and how much i miss hanging out with them), and how excited i am to be with my family for Christmas and with Jantz for New Years :)

grateful

2010-12-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

welp, my first semester of grad school is officially over. I turned in my last project today (a 21 page paper, 30 with pictures and bibliography. my other projects included a museum exhibition critique and 30+ page annotated bibliography. oh and paper grading :) .

i am 1/4 of the way done. whoa.

so yes i want to celebrate. and yes i definitely want to get all those piles of books (along with anything resembling school) out of my room, so i can have two weeks of forgetting i even started grad school (because really, who does that?!). and yes i want to go home and lay on the couch and do absolutely nothing. and yes i want to be happy and smile all the while.

but, instead i sit here, so frustrated i want to bop people on the head (ok maybe not, but that would be funny right?). i'm rarely a big money-stresser, but when i am, i am in a big way and it's not a pretty sight. and it doesn't help when decisions are involved (we're not very good friends either).

But details aren't the important part, this post titled grateful for a reason. and that reason is named jantz (aka the best boyfriend ever). he's the one who is always on the receiving end of my disgruntled-ness. he hears every bad thing i have to say about anything and anyone (which isn't a lot, promise). and he most especially is always the one who has to put up with my bad moods when any of these things occur. he's a good sport, to say the least. and today is no exception.

i'm grateful for his kind words. his assurance that everything is going to work out, not just because he can say it, but because he knows it's the truth. i'm so grateful for the unconditional love he somehow has for me. no matter how angry or sad i am, somehow he always calms me down. and he deserves a big thank you, for reminding me to smile, and to be grateful when i really don't want to :)

alright

2010-12-07T09:02:00.003-07:00

first of all, remember when i started going through my Europe trip with pictures, but then i only got through Greece (the first place we went)??? yeah, i'm pretty ashamed. maybe i'll finally get around to do it after finals. mostly i just want to relive all the amazing places i went. i miss traveling around to museums everyday.

secondly, i may have bought a new bed yesterday. i've wanted a new one since i got home from europe. i finally saved enough to buy a really nice one for a really good price (really). after way too many years of sleeping on a twin, i think i deserved the upgrade to a queen. even if it does take up twice as much space. haha. i might just have to post pictures.

but really, SO excited.

and lastly, seriously people, i need to change up my blog. even i don't want to look at it anymore. no more posts until i start! (any ideas for a new title?)

Song-of-the-Week (almost forgot you existed): If I Die Young by The Band Perry. really like this song. the end.

Just a bit more dwelling on being one year older

2010-12-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

I must admit I can't believe how fast time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I turned 21, which is when I think life became really exciting (well, exciting/scary/terrible/amazing). Really though, life has only gotten better, even if that has included many failures and wanting to give up on numerous occasions, the good definitely out-ways the bad.

I like that my birthday comes close to Thanksgiving because it gives me extra time to think of all that I'm grateful for. (when i was younger I hated having a fall birthday because it meant i could never go to Seven-Peaks for a party). I really am so grateful for my life right now. School is rough and takes up a lot of my time and energy, but it really is fulfilling. I have the best friends i could ever ask for, including the best roommates Ria and B (we live in the perfect apartment because you are the perfect roommates) and a boyfriend who makes me laugh every single day and who has kept me happier than i ever thought possible.

My year of 22 has been so full. Lots of changes and new things. I finished projects I never thought I could get through, I somehow made it to graduation (still weird to have a diploma), and I even went to Europe (seriously changed my life). Basically, 22 treated me very well and I can't wait to see how 23 turns out.

Is everyone ready for Christmas? for once I am haha

Thanksgiving in Jersey

2010-11-29T20:59:00.001-07:00

Here are a few select pictures from the super fun Thanksgiving in
New Jersey with my mom's side of the family :)

making the big dinner :) i stuck with pies, as usual.

after waiting in line for an hour and a half, we finally made it into Carlo's Bakery.

It was crazy packed, but so worth it.

spending a night in new york city.

(being on the subway really made me miss europe...)

a personal fave. opening christmas presents while unaware of pictures being taken.

birthday cake

2010-11-18T13:09:00.011-07:00

I turned the big 2-3 on Monday...but, I think I've been telling people I'm 23 for at least a month now. I normally don't approve of broadcasting an age that you are not, but I legitimately thought I was 23. And then my birthday came and I thought, oh yeah, I've been 22 this whole time. hmm. And funnily enough (yes funnily is a word), now that I'm actually 23, I keep forgetting. So, there you go.

Sunday I went out to my dad's. He cooked a huge pizza in his new smoker. I didn't even know that was possible. but it was delicious. We had turtle pie (seriously good) for dessert and i barely blew out the candles - every year my dad gets me trick candles (probably thinking i will have forgotten the past years, which, oddly enough, i usually do), and this time only a couple worked, but instead of lighting back up, they sparked, which caused for some good family laughs. then I got some cute cards from my sister and parents. It was a totally unexpected thing, but it made my birthday that much sweeter.

Then, after saying goodnight to Jantz around 11, I got a call at midnight wishing me my first happy birthday :) I'm still impressed he woke himself up to call me (that boy loves his sleep). he must like me or something...

Monday was one of the most stressful days of the semester (remember my hour-long presentation?). I got up early and prepared all morning (my 9:00 class was canceled) for class at 11. Then I went first (yes, very very first out of everyone) so it was nervous times 10. But of course I played it off totally cool and breezed through the hour (and actually went over a few minutes. yeah, how did that happen??).

After 2 1/2 hours of class, I met with a student who was in desperate need of help with her research paper, which happened to be due that day by 5pm (did I mention my morning was also full of answering frantic emails from what felt like the whole class about said research paper?). After an hour with such a sweet girl who was trying her hardest, I had to rush to work for a meeting. After a few meetings, I was finally able to leave campus.

I took the bus (oh the bus, that's a whole post in itself) to the mall, where I briskly walked to Texas Roadhouse (their opening day was on my birthday! Pretty sure they knew my love for them), where my awesome friends and my mom were waiting. I got to sit and breathe for a few minutes before we were seated and the feasting began. Dinner was soo good. I'm so glad I got to spend some time with all of them, just us, eating and talking and laughing, it was just what i needed after such a long day. And yes, I did have to sit on the saddle thing (in a skirt no less) while everyone made lots of noise. Pictures were taken (of the whole night actually), but i don't have any of them, probably for the best ;)

The party continued at my apartment where a bunch of friends were waiting (thank you everyone for coming!). We played games, ate candy and cake, and hung around and had lots of fun. The cake was soo good (Maria did a wonderful job). There was quite a bit cake-smearing-on-faces (I was so caught of guard, and maria got it all over my face, and in my eye. but i made sure to get her (and bethany) back. birthday tradition, check). which was made extra evident today when i found chocolate cake frosting on my cardigan....guess i failed on the "pretending i'm not wearing the same thing twice" gig, but a cardigan is totally allowed to be worn more than once. just maybe not this time. ha.

I was so exhausted by the end of the day, but I'm so grateful for all of my many friends and family who have been so loving and caring. I don't know if I deserved all the festivities, but thank you all so very much :)

Oh AND, my amazing dad helped me get a new laptop which came in the mail yesterday. I hope it can fill the shoes of my old lappy. I'll be getting used to it over my Thanksgiving in New Jersey (woot!), and hopefully making some changes on this old blog of mine (which I've been trying to do for ages, but never get around to).

ok bye!

updating my blog is totally the same as studying...

2010-11-13T16:03:00.002-07:00

Homework has taken over this weekend. I have to give an hour-long presentation on Monday, which is both frightening and exciting. I just want to get it over with, but I think it will be fun to talk about all that I've researched. I'm tracking the scholarship done on Guido Reni, and if you guys don't think that's fascinating, I don't know what will convince you. haha.

Oh and my laptop died on Tuesday. It was pretty devastating. Thankfully (seriously thankfully) all my information survived. But being without a laptop (or moneys) in the midst of grad school is not so good. Good thing my birthday is on Monday...pretty sure I know what my present is going to be.

Last weekend with Jantz was so much fun. We didn't do anything too extravagant, except for a birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory :) we mostly hung out, watched movies, played random games like War (i've always been really fast at this game, but that boy beats me 90% of the time), chess (my first official game. yeah, he creamed me), and checkers (which I also lost) - my ability to strategize has greatly decreased since high school. And for probably the first time, I didn't take any pictures. for shame.

So I have nothing to spice up this post with......except maybe for one of my many baby pictures that my mom posted on facebook....i think this is a pretty precious one of my dad and i

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

PS. if anyone knows of any job openings in the Utah county area, please let me know! :)

PPS. in the Jewish Bride painting (from my last post), i know it looks like that man is groping the woman, but it was actually a gesture of love and respect. So, it's really a precious couple :)

paintings i'd like to own someday...part 1?

2010-11-02T10:29:00.000-06:00

I'm constantly seeing paintings that I fall in love with. But most of them aren't necessarily "hang in your house someday" paintings, they're more like, "stay in the church and come visit often" paintings. So leaving out some that I really love, here's a few that I would pretty much die to see in my house someday. You know, if the museums just decided to let me have them...

Rembrandt's The Jewish Bride

the impasto on this painting is incredible.

it's what makes it a painting in every sense of the word.

nothing can compare to seeing this painting in person. seriously. nothing.

Rembrandt's Supper at Emmaus 1629

Caravaggio's Fruit Basket

Vermeer's View of Delft

i also have to say that nothing can compare to seeing this in person.

it has a luminosity that no one can describe.

it's literally like the painting is lighting up the whole room.

What do all of you decorate your houses with? Art? Pictures? Paint? If my house could be like a 19th century Salon, that would be really cool.

it's what day??

2010-10-26T11:19:00.001-06:00

it's October 26th. didn't October just start?? the weeks are seriously flying by. but what can i say, time flies when you're busy studying. Is it scary that I've actually sort of enjoyed going to class and doing my homework? because it sort of scares me....I believe this week I even told someone grad school was fun (maybe even twice?!). yeah, whoa.

I'm not gonna lie, it's no walk in the park. I feel like i'm constantly doing homework. reading, writing, study study study. I miss out on a lot of fun, which makes me sad sometimes, but it's pretty much mandatory that I do homework every night, no exceptions (well except for Sundays, that's my "no homework allowed" day. I have to stay sane somehow!).

On a completely different note, I have taken no pictures for a couple weeks, tisk tisk. But, i have been looking at lots of art :) I'm probably going to be writing my thesis on this painting by Guido Reni:

St Joseph with the Infant Jesus, 1635

I actually wrote a little post about this painting (and others) a while ago. Funny how a few months later I found myself writing my senior thesis on it. And now....I may just continue that into my master's thesis. either way, this image will always hold a special place in my heart.

On another completely different note, I get to see the boyfriend next week, yay :)
(yes, he is back)

GNO

2010-10-20T12:51:00.001-06:00

"Girls Night Out" for those not properly associated with The Office :)
(not to be confused with GAI, "Guys Afternoon In")

A few of my wonderful past roommates and I got together for a long overdue dinner. I was the "matriarch" of the apartment in our 9 months together a few years back. Seeing how far we've all gotten makes me feel like such a proud mother (...in a "we're still basically the same age but also not" sort of way). They are each doing such amazing things and I feel so lucky to call them friends.

We ate (a lot), talked (even more), and had a whole bunch of fun.

2010-10-13T15:23:00.000-06:00

I'm not quite sure how to put in to words all that has happened this week.
Everything has changed. I feel like literally everything is up in the air.
Every day has been a roller coaster of emotions.
But, I'm beginning (only barely) to see a faint light at the end of the dark tunnel.
I don't really know how to talk about it yet, so I'll hold off until things settle a bit.

mish mish

2010-10-06T21:57:00.001-06:00

The time has come. I have been both dreading and anticipating its arrival.

My most favorite person in the world, who just so happens to be my boyfriend and best friend (and future husband ;) is leaving for two whole years. to Columbus, Ohio. to serve as a missionary. that means no more phone calls. no more visits. only letters. for the both of us who love and obsess over talking to each other at every possible moment, these two years are going to be quite the experience. But I know that they are going to go. and hopefully it will be more happy than sad. we're going to get through this separated by more than 1700 miles, but we'll be connected through our love and letters. I can't believe this day has finally come. I'm so excited to go through this new adventure with him. I'm so incredibly proud of him for taking such a faith-filled step. all for the benefit of our future and happiness (which i can't wait for).

so please bear with me for the next two years as I mush and gush about how much i miss him and what a wonderful job he is doing.

just look at these sweet awesome sweatshirts he made for us :)

my week away

2010-09-26T22:21:00.000-06:00

My week with Jantz was the best. but pretty much every week with him is the greatest week ever. I only got pictures of the last half while we were in Colorado.

I made oreo truffles.

jantz even helped, and his turned out the best

(i've accepted that, even though i LOVE baking, and i'd like to think it's my specialty, that boy can cook, end of story)

i may have gotten some on his face

(and he didn't even retaliate. wtf right? haha. he'll get me back, don't worry)

driving to the Rockies game. i like watching him drive.

we got sweet awesome seats (5 rows back from 3rd plate).

Ubaldo was pitching, our fave!

sometimes he makes special faces in pictures

and sometimes i do.

on sunday after his amazing talk in church.

(ps, i bought him that tie in florence)

him and his sister were making these faces the whole trip!

our last day we went to lunch at On the Border (and got our meal for free, woot).

my favorite picture of us.

loved the trip.

love him :)

pedro

2010-09-24T12:26:00.000-06:00

There is a guy at my work that looks exactly like how Pedro will look in ten years.

seriously.

I'm not sure if i should think it's weird or awesome.

probably both.

pre-post

2010-09-21T11:55:00.000-06:00

I had a blog full of pictures all ready to post about my week out of town (which was the BEST), but then by some awesome happening, i erased all the pictures. poopy i know. so until i upload them all again, i'll give you this picture that jantz and his artistic skills created (well, i took the picture, he just awesome-ified it)

i think we're pretty awesome

(in case you couldn't tell)

cows?

2010-09-17T11:38:00.000-06:00

i'm sure you're all well aware of the very large picture of a cow on my blog :) i've thought about it for a while and i think maybe i should replace it with something a little less, "in your face".

I don't really know why there is a cow there in the first place, other than i used to really like cows (also for reasons unknown) and somehow it just stuck. I've been trying to think of how the cow (and my title) really makes any sense at all. And I think I've come up with a pretty "sense" making reason.

Cows go moo. there are millions of cows in the world. they all look the same. they all eat the same thing. they all make the same noise. kind of like humans you think? i'm just one in all those millions who's trying to be heard. I'm just "mooing", if you will (that sounds real special haha).

convinced? i won't be offended if you're not. i feel like i've changed the name and look of my blog so many times that i need to just stick to one. Any suggestions on a new title? A new image? if you've got a good one i might just take the plunge and redo things even more :)

one week of school = one week of vacation. sounds about right

2010-09-03T12:54:00.002-06:00

This week has seriously flown by. Holy cow. I've had a few breakdowns this week, but after many talks and much complaining to the amazing people in my life (aka mom, boyfriend, roomies), I finally feel a little bit better about things. I think maybe, just maybe, I can make it. Grad school may take me to the edge of insanity, but when I'm done it will be so worth it (at least I hope so....haha)

On another note, I'm super excited that it's Friday. I get to pick Jantz and his fam up from the airport tonight and then spend the whole week with them. They leave on Thursday, but, I get to fly back with them and spend next weekend out there! yay!

I would pretty much be ok if the weekend never ended. so pray that this week goes by super slow for me :)

Song-of-the-Week: The Only Exception by Paramore. All you need is one person to change all your ideas and rules about love.

P.S. Impromptu Painting-of-the-Week:

death of the virgin by Caravaggio

such a spectacular painting. i stood in front of it for so long. just marveling at its beauty.

it's SO different in person (so go see it :). and love it.

schoolio

2010-08-30T15:23:00.000-06:00

the dreaded/anticipated grad school has finally arrived.

and i'm surprisingly super excited

the question is, whether i'm really going to commit myself to the hard work, sleepless nights, endless research, and really create something that i'm proud of.

no more coasting

no more going with the flow

no more mediocrity

only dedication, quality, going the extra mile

and most of all, excitement about all of it.

i have to admit, i'm scared to succeed. terrified even. i'm way too ok with just "doing my best" and being ok with whatever results come out of it. because if i don't put my all into something, then i know i can't expect amazing results. i've always hated this about myself.

so grad school can not longer be just a means to an end. it is now a challenge. to myself. to make expectations high, and do all i can to achieve them. which means believing in myself like i never have before.

but i can do it right? it is possible?

way back when

2010-08-25T10:42:00.000-06:00

I was looking through some of my old posts today

and I decided to go all the way back to the beginning.

July 15th, 2005.

WHOA

that's 5 years ago people.

i don't even know if i could pick 5-years-ago me out of a crowd.

(ok that's a little extreme)

but really. i was just a little girl then.

i knew nothing about life.

nothing about who i was.
nothing about love (especially about love).

nothing about the journey i was about to embark on.

i was so innocent and naive.

you may be tempted to go find my first post and read it,
but for my sake, don't do it :)

but, looking back isn't for nothing.

i can see how far i've come. how much i've learned. how much i've experienced.

and you know what?

it makes me excited for all that i have yet to learn.

and it also gives me something to look back on and laugh. a lot.

muffins muffins

2010-08-20T19:24:00.000-06:00

After much lusting, I finally made "Muffins that Taste like Donuts" (enticing name i know). They were pretty delicious, they barely lasted the weekend.

and, i documented the whole experience :)

my dinner whilst making muffins. college student? i think so

the ingredients

my AMAzing kitchen aid

mixing it all together

some suga

all ready for the oven

almost done

after a dip in some melted butter and cinnamon-sugar, they look like this

and then they were eaten all gone :)

a pet peeve

2010-08-18T13:41:00.000-06:00

when someone is writing on a whiteboard and,

instead of using the provided eraser,

they for some unknown reason

erase with their finger/hand/any part of their body.

Does this bother anyone else?
I mean, the eraser is there for a reason.
Do you know how many hand oils you leave on the whiteboard?
Not to mention all the dry-erase marker residue that is left on your hand? (and sometimes people forget and touch their face, leaving marker all over their face.)
It could all just so easily be avoided if they would just use the eraser.

Ok I'm done ranting for the day :)

Do you guys have weird pet peeves?

a little jungle book

2010-08-16T17:20:00.000-06:00

i should preface this by explaining that sometimes when there's a break in conversation

i'll randomly sing or hum
"...I will go and fetch the water..." from the Jungle Book
but only that line. because those are the only words i remember.
because sometimes awkward singing is better than silence.

so...Jantz sent me this cute text the other morning:

"I will go and fetch the water :)"

It doesn't seem like much, but it made me molto happy (look, some italian skills shining through).
it just goes to show how lucky i am to have a guy who not only loves me despite some odd behavior,
but he knows just what will make me smile.
and it pretty much made my day.

a funny

2010-08-10T15:21:00.001-06:00

How is your week going?

Mine is going exactly as it usually does on a Tuesday, which is almost as bad as a Monday (we are only sometimes friends), only a little better.

But actually..............today has been really good so far (other than work is going super slow). I've been letting the little things get to me recently (good little things=the BEST and very ok. bad little things = the WORST),

but today i'm all about the big picture.

Now I can't wait to go home,

talk to the boyfriend about happy things,

eat some dinner and chocolate,

and hopefully watch How I Met Your Mother with my awesome roommates.

Oh and bask in the fact that I am done with homework and school for three weeks.

AND, you should all read this because i think it's funny, and also so true.

Song-O-the-Week: She's in Love with the Boy by Trisha Yearwood. I hadn't heard this song in so long until it randomly popped into my head last week. So naturally I had to remind you all about it.

one year

2010-08-06T16:33:00.002-06:00

Sunday marked one year of being with this guy:

(is it creepy that i love to watch him sleep? it just makes my heart melt a little bit.)

he's pretty much the most amazing person i've ever met.

and he makes me smile every single day.
he constantly amazes me,
be it with how hard he works
or how many times a day he lets me know how much he cares.

we've stuck together through so many obstacles,
and you know what?
not once has he ever lost sight of the future.
of our future.
he gives me such good perspective on life.

i don't know where i would be
without his love and encouragement.
i can't wait for many more years
of celebrating love and happiness with
my very best friend.

love you tons and tons

Birthday Girl

2010-08-05T14:54:00.002-06:00

Today is my amazing
froommate's
(friend + roommate. that's right derek, i have stolen your word)

BIRTHDAY!!!

She really is freaking amazing. I'm oh so lucky to have her as a roomie.

just look at how cute she is.
she's just as sweet as she looks, even when i make a mess in the kitchen :)

us at my surprise birthday last year.
only a really great friend would befriend your mom
to participate in a surprise party.

she loves food, just like me

oh and she's gorgeous

Ria, I hope this day is full of fun and happiness.
I love you to pieces!

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y

my first official meal in who knows how long

2010-08-02T14:20:00.000-06:00

This is a little late, but last Sunday I made dinner. A real dinner. Like with pots and pans and spices.

unfortunately i thought of taking pictures only after everything was all cleaned up and put away. and let me tell you, if you had seen the kitchen right after everything was done, you would have been appalled. I made quite a mess (i haven't cooked in a long time alright? i'm not accustomed to all the multitasking yet). Don't worry, it didn't get this bad, only pretty close...despite the appearance of the stove, the food looked delish (if i do say so myself). The chicken looked the best. with the spices and browning from the pan. very nice. and the pasta, well, was pasta from a box, but it tasted good, so, whatevs. i was pretty proud of myself

before i began my cooking adventure i delved into more familiar territory, baking (i heart baking). I made oreo truffles. which, truth be told, is not baking, because nothing goes in the oven. but boy were they delicious. and now i can't wait to go home to eat one :)

(not mine, but close enough :)

Next time I'm taking pictures for sure.

i like

2010-07-28T13:18:00.001-06:00

i kind of love this buckle ring.
the end.

what've you been doing?

2010-07-25T18:45:00.000-06:00

I feel like I've been majorly slacking on my dear blog. SO much has been going on and I haven't really written about any of it. Don't worry, I'm in the midst of repenting. So here's a short recap of my current events...I went to EUROPE!!!! (ok i know that wasn't a secret, but i'm still in shock that it actually happened. best. decision. ever.)

(this is what my desk looks like when i do homework)

I started a French Reading summer class. boo. it hasn't been too difficult, mostly just takes up a boatload of my time. i don't know how i'm going to survive grad school this fall...

I also started back at work in the lovely CTL. As much as i love it here, it's been rough sitting at a desk all day. I get so restless and uncomfortable from being in the same position for hours. But at least i'm not getting up at the crack of dawn to run around all day (wow working in a bakery sounds a lot like being a mom haha). And I can't wait to be a TA again in the fall!

I moved in with two coolest roommates ever! We've had so much fun already. I pretty much love them to death! We live in a freaking nice apartment with lots of room and a huge balcony. love. it.
And best of all I got to see my wonderfully amazing boyfriend for two whole weeks!!! We got to spend every waking moment together. I even "helped" him make the best steak dinner ever. soo delish. he will definitely be doing the cooking in our house... We got all dressed up and went to Cheesecake Factory (this became tradition months ago). We even got two cheesecakes after our delicious spicy cashew chicken. because he loves food (almost) as much as i do. so good. oh and i loved not having to drive (he still opens the door for me every time, so precious). Saying goodbye to him made me so sad. I miss him soo much, but i'm ever so grateful that we have phones that allow us to talk all day :) i love that boy to death.

So that's my story :) what've you all been doing???

Song-o-the-Week: One Time by Justin Bieber. It was only a matter of time before he made an appearance on my blog. don't worry i'm not a creeper, i just like music. This is a cool acoustic version.