hello again.

alright alright alright.

so, a few people have been pretty vocal about my lack of postings lately (9 months?) and i confess it quite surprised me. i had no idea that people even read this thing? other than my dear, sweet mom (hi mom!) that is. and sometimes my hubby, who said that he reads it because he likes to know what i say about him on the internets (hi hubby!). it took me a bit to make the decision to revive it even still, on account of school eating my life away again in a week (sigh) and this summer being stupidly busy (i almost spelled busty...don't look too far into that) and basically, i really want to re-read harry potter for the second time this year instead of anything else (can't wait until october! pottermore!!!). but then i realized within myself: all these people saying i should post are probably just in cahoots with my conscience because this is pretty much the only way i journal anymore (i know, for shame!) and i really really really think that i should probably really be doing that all the time since i'm like a newlywed, and how often do you get to have the kinds of adventures/learning experiences i'm having anyway? plus, i really liked reading my mom's journal from when she and my dad were all lovey dovey and such (hi mom!). if she didn't know that i did that...well she does now! (this is fun) :)

so here's a snapshot of our lives over the past 9 months in 60 seconds (or longer if you're a slow reader, but don't worry...i don't judge ;)

*christmas was indeed awesome! i don't actually remember tons about it excepting that shay got a shotgun. i remember that because that thing sounds like death and looks like death and it scared me.

*we celebrated one year of being marriaged on january 22nd! yay for us! we bopped around town and went snowboarding, and i tasted the wonderfulness that is texas roadhouse for the first time.

*spring semester of school was a beast but i killed it anyway! shay and i took our first and probably last class together (humanities through the arts). i took a lot of notes and shay made a lot of jokes. we probably only passed because we're just an awesome team like that.

*summer started off with a bang when shay got a new job (whoooo!) and we decided we no longer liked our living establishment (no snakes for me this year!). so we looked around, and found the super de duper cutest apartment (pics coming later...after i get out of my creative funk and decorate). we also visited the red rocks in moab and went river rafting, and shay chased lizards while i tookereasy. then we bought bikes and discovered that it is still the funnest thing ever to ride down the middle of the street with your friends.

*my birthday was pretty cool, shay spoiled me bunches and we had a grand old time. then the fourth of july this year was pretty much my favorite ever. except that one time when i was really little and my dad let me help him light the fireworks for the first time (kay not really little, but really littler than i am now).

*shay's parents came to stay with us for a couple weeks and we had all sorts of fun together like park city where i went on the zip line and it FREAKED me out because i'm totally scared of heights but shay was all channeling aladdin and was like "do you trust me" and i'm like "yep" so then we zoomed over the ground at crazyfastmiles/hour and i was like "that was awesome" and shay was like "i told you" and i was like "whatever i'll race you back to the top sucker" and then we hugged and it was fun.

*we sold my little black prizm (tear!) to a kid going to college and bought a black honda del sol instead (oooooo!). i love this little car but shay loves it more. he's pretty much over the moon about it. that's okay though, because i think it's pretty dang sweet too! only sometimes when we're driving people want to race us all the time (hahaaaa...that made only just enough sense). but my little black prizm will forever be the capsule to so many memories during the craziest time of my life, and was a much better first car than i gave it credit for.

*my littlest sister moved away to logan for school, two amazing friends had babies (cutest little offspring ever!), i took a cake decorating class with kami (hi kami!) and i'm pretty much a master by now, we went camping for the first time and i also went to a spa for the first time (but definitely not last time!) and many more things have happened reminding me that life just continues to move forward at a blinding pace, and i love it more every day.

that's all she wrote for now folks! until next time, in the words of my ever wise and profound canadian: don't do drugs.

You know, deck them halls and all that stuff?

Christmas time is HERE.


That is nuts! Nuts, I tell you!!!

Chestnuts roooasting on an open firrrre... (Imagine Nat King Cole's voice, please. Instead of yours. Or mine.)

(Seriously, it makes for a much nicer reading experience.)

(Promise!)

Speaking of Mr. Cole, he's got a leading role in many of my most prominent childhood Christmas memories. During the week of transition between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my mom would start playing his songs in the mornings and evenings while we went about our business. Vince Guaraldi, Andy Williams, Manheim Steamroller, and other classics also serenaded us as we eased ourselves into the final part of each year. Yes indeed, I grew up on the good stuff. :)

We're creatures of habit, my family and I. We find our groove, and we just...keep on grooving. The same decorations lit up our house every year. We always had a fresh tree, with the same red and gold balls. We watched the same holiday movies - Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Frosty the Snowman. We always got to open one gift from under the tree, one pair of new pajamas, and a new book on Christmas Eve.

And on Christmas morning, Julie was always usually the first one to pop out of bed and look at what everyone got.

And you know what? We loved it. We loved our traditions, from the three wise men searching for the babe across our entertainment center, to the handwritten "thank you for the cookies" card from Santa on Christmas morning.

And you know what else?

I miss all of that.

So on account of being terribly pathetic and whining about how I'm all "married" and stuff this year -

Fact: Married people simply cannot go about their little houses quoting random lines from Linus and Charlie Brown when their partners-in-marriage have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. It gets a lot embarrassing in not a lot of time, when there's just the two of you.

- I decided to just be super duper ooper mooper Christmassy and get all that whining crap right out of my system.

Because how are you supposed to go around being all holly and jolly and joyful and whatever with whining crap in your system, I ask you?

(You're not.)

(And for the record, I adore beyond words the fact that I am married. I'm just, you know, whining.)

I submit the following as evidence of my change o'heart:

It's a gingerbread train!!!! Yay!!!! In like, a cute little woodland setting!

The engine, with a festive wreath. And a nice big headlight to guide the way through the snowy nights! :)

The coal and lumber cars, with pretty convincing coal and lumber.

My snowman! Amidst the rocks and trees and bushes.

The caboose, with the stash of gold ready to be dropped off at the bank in the next town.

This adventure was incredibly entertaining! I had no idea it would be so much fun. Maybe coming up with your own traditions isn't that bad after all? :)

I still fully plan on quoting Charlie Brown. I mean, how can you not?

This is my message to you-u-u.

This song has been getting me through this week. And last week. And will probably do so for the next three weeks.

Sigh.


Sometimes maybe it's a good idea to push pause and remember that in the end, the good guys really do win. Semesters end, projects get either get finished or thrown out, the house gets clean, and things keep flowing.

Or as Robert Frost said:
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

And I guess the rain does give you an excuse to gaze in awe at rainbows, after all. :)

Who needs a dog when you have this?

5 things I adore about him.

And by "him," I mean this handsome devil:

WARNING! 

I am about to get extremely cheesy, corny, lovey-dovey, etc etc etc. 

I'm pretty sure it's my legal and lawful right as a newlywed. 

Pretty sure.

5. Sometimes he says funnyslashcuteslashridiculous things to me in his sleep. A couple weeks ago, he rolled over and said, "Babe, don't do drugs."

...okay honey, I promise! Cross my heart. :)

Then a few months ago, he sang part of this song to me as I was crawling into bed. Specifically the line that says, "...you don't have to come and confess...we gon' find you..."

I had to crawl right back out of bed and unleash my laughter in the bathroom before I was able to compose myself enough to attempt going to bed again. He still doesn't believe that it happened. 

4. When Shay is tired, silly things just take running leaps out of his mouth. Once I asked him to tell me a story when we were going to sleep. He was pooped that night, but obliged my sincere, if somewhat childlike, request:

"Once upon a time there was a fiery red dragon that lived far away. He was very fiery and very red. He breathed fire all the time. He flew all over the place. And he breathed fire and was red. Then one day he flew and was breathing fire and the fire got too hot and burned him right up.

Amen."

EL-OH-EL I tell you. 

3. Last week I made a quiche for dinner. The relationship between my tummy and the quiche is one of pure love, so you can bet your jellyfish I was stoked for it to be done. As I was about to bake the magic pie of swirling egg and cheese goodness, my hand got overly excited and tipped it all into my open oven. I stood looking at the tragic scene of my culinary dreams crushed for a moment, wondering whether to cry or to laugh or to do both and produce a sound not unlike the air being let out of a tire all at once (this is, in fact, what happened), when my handsome Canadian in shining armor came running to the rescue. He blockaded me out of the kitchen, took me to the lovesac, and held me for a moment until he was sure that I wasn't actually going into shock. Then he asked me what I wanted for dinner, went and picked it up, and came back to help me clean up the scrambled egg mess. All the while assuring me that he wasn't upset at all and that he was sure it would have been a wonderful quiche.

2. The other day we celebrated our nine month anniversary of being marriaged. Shay surprised me with two dozen beautiful pink roses, and every morning before we leave for our daily tasks, he says to me something like, "Aren't your roses so pretty? Did you see them today? I think they're so pretty. I'm glad I got them for you." To which I say, "Yep, they're the prettiest roses anyone ever got." And I smile really big and tell the butterflies going nuts in my tummy to quiet down already!

1. Tonight we watched that movie with Nicholas Cage called "Knowing." Speaking of knowing, I should have known better than to watch it, as I have heard from some very reliable sources that it's a total waste of time. Well, I'm a big wuss, and that movie made me cry my little eyes out. It was weird, it was sad, it was scary, it made me think about the world ending and all sorts of terribly depressing things like that. Do you know what that husband of mine did? He gave me a great big hug, and asked me if I wanted to read some scriptures to help me feel better. Then he reassured me that everything was, in fact, going to be just fine, and reminded me that he was going to be there to hold my hand no matter what. "Do you know why?" he asked me. "Why?" I sniffled. "Because I promised you I would. No matter what."

And aren't I just the luckiest girl ever? :)

Because...

...oh sorry, I thought you asked why fall is my favoritest season ever. :)

Second star to the right, straight on 'til morning.

I really like being growed up.

I happen to quite enjoy driving a car. Staying up late. Kissing my husband. Wearing makeup that isn't pretend and doesn't have the options of blue, purple, and hot pink for eye shadow. Not worrying about who I'll play with at recess. Watching a movie, and THEN doing the dishes. Eating half a bag of Hershey's kisses just because I want to. And yes, I knew I'd feel sick. So what?

But sometimes...just sometimes, I miss the happy meal toys at McDonalds. Not getting motion sicknessy by swinging on a swing. Being fascinated by the time it takes a potato bug to cross the sidewalk. Having time to be fascinated by watching a potato bug cross the sidewalk. Reading a book I actually want to read. Watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating cereal that has marshmallows in it, without worrying about what it's going to do to my appetite for the rest of the day. 

I miss calling up my friends on a land line phone and asking them to "play." Thinking that call waiting and caller ID were soooo awesome. Having sleepovers and dress up parties. Shows on TGIF. Singing the opening songs to Pinky and the Brain and Fresh Prince. Playing Oregon Trail during free Fridays in computer class. Getting scared while reading Goosebumps. Taking a Beauty and the Beast lunch box to school. Totally crushing on Nick Carter from Back Street Boys and Jonathan Taylor Thomas from Home Improvement. Listening to the radio all day long just to hear that new song I loved, and recording it on my TAPE player so that later I could listen to it on my walkman. Being totally determined to find Waldo no matter where he was hiding. Squeeze its. Treasure trolls. Pogs and virtual pets. Playing MASH to find out if I really was going to marry my crush and have 8 kids, even if we did drive a shopping cart and live in a shack. 

And wishing for the days when I got to go to college, get married, have a job, have a car, have a credit card that wasn't actually my mom's old calling card...calling card!

I am feeling nostalgic. Could you tell? I blame Julie. Last night, she and I pulled out our old Sega Genesis. It was pure magic. We even had to blow on the game at one point to get it to work! I was in heaven.

It makes me wonder what I'll think 5, 10, 15 years from now. Will I feel the same way? Will I feel sorrow for all the time that I wanted to pass, so that I could get somewhere else? Or will I feel content that I enjoyed it as much as I could have, and didn't waste a moment by wishing for what wasn't only to miss the wonderful things that were? 

I always want to be that little girl, with bright eyes and bouncy steps, thinking that everyone in the world has a smile for me. Looking forward to the little things in life because they ended up being the biggest things after all. 

And never ceasing to be amazed at just how beautiful life really, truly is.