Happy Valentine's 2013

Happy Valentine's Day! This holiday is one of my favorites. You get to go a little out of your way and give a little extra love to the people you love most - what could be better than that?

Remember how I spent $10 on Valentine's sprinkles from Wal-Mart on an impulse buy? Well, I had to use them. I also bought a box of foam stickers from Target on an impulse purchase (along with two new swimsuits...whoops.) that had to be used as well.

Bring the two together? Valentine's are born!

I have a killer sugar cookie recipe that I may or may not take to the grave with me. They come out soft and chewy and not-so-sweet, perfect for paring with the right frosting. I whipped these bad boys up last night and only used a fraction of my V-day sprinkles! There will be many more cookies with heart shaped sprinkles now.

It's a little known fact, but I'm a sucker for those big pink cookies. You know the ones I'm talking about. 800 calories of pink frosted goodness, washed down with a cold Dr. Pepper. THAT is true love.

I really love how these turned out. I had white cardstock and cellophane bags on hand, so I just added a little here and there to spice things up. And of course, the project wouldn't be complete without some mustache action.

I hope your day is filled with a little extra love!
XOXO

DIY Valentine's Decor

I love decorating for the holidays! I don't really know what it is that makes me stay up watching episode after episode of 30 Rock creating felt pillows and garlands, but I thrive on it. Give me some glitter and I'm a happy girl. 

So it's no surprise that I have already decked out my new place with decorations for the upcoming holiday of love - Valentine's Day. (A quick shout out to my new roommates, who have told me they love my decorations. I seriously hope they mean it, because this my friends, is nothing compared to what I am usually equipped with.)

I love the simplicity of red and pink! I am really thrilled with the way things turned out and love that I went more simple than I initially intended. And learning how to make those tissue paper pompom flowers really pays off over time. I enjoy this tutorial that I found on Pinterest the most.

I had a lot of leftover felt from my Halloween pillow project, so I put it to good use and made a new set of Valentine's pillows. Am I in love with them? Maybe. 

After the move, I had a lot of cardboard laying around. A normal person would have recycled it. But of course I felt ambitious and had to make my own cardboard LOVE letters. Store bought wouldn't do! (I seriously think I have a problem...) A quick wrapping in some natural twine and quite a bit of glitter later, I was satisfied. I love love these letters. I was tempted to do an alphabet to just have on hand, but even the crazy inside of me said "Stop".

Now I can't wait to get onto my second favorite part about holiday's - themed baking! On an impulse buy, I dropped $10 at Wal-Mart on heart shaped sprinkles, no joke. I also need to start thinking about Valentine's! That's next on my list, after some pink cupcakes of course.

Build Your Own Adventure Cake

January is the birthday month in my family. My birthday happens to fall on the 11th, and my cousin's on the 12th. Then exactly a week from our birthdays, my other cousin and aunt get to have theirs on the 18th and 19th. Needless to say, January is full of family, fun and lots and lots of CAKE.

Brady's birthday is also in January on the 28th, and I wanted to make sure I did something special for him this year. Last year, he turned 25 and I created a Mission: Impossible themed hunt for him to find his presents, including some pretty awesome spy videos and a bomb made from his favorite - Red Bull. Maybe I'll bring that back as a Valentine's reprise for him this year and share it with you. It's a real man-pleaser.

For his birthday this year, I ended up getting him a large canvas picture from our trip to Bryce Canyon last year to put in his room and a gift card to REI. He's been oogling a down jacket from there for a while and can't bring himself to spend on it, so I've been giving him small gift cards there for a while in the hopes that he'll use them for the coat. (Update on that, he did and he looks good!)

Even though I had put some obvious thought into both of those gifts, I still didn't feel like the gift felt like something I would normally give. I am all about crafting things and putting together original gifts for someone that can't be bought from just any store. I think it gives them a special touch and lets the other person know that you care about them. (That being said, I have given away plenty of last minute Wal-Mart specials, complete with the signature shopping bag wrapping paper, so no one's perfect.)

I decided to make him a birthday cake, but not just any birthday cake. See, my mountain man is just that - a mountain man. He is perfectly content to have hobbies that include words like "extreme" as part of their title. He loves rock climbing, avalanche hiking, mountain biking and pretty much anything else outdoors. I jumped on Pinterest to get some ideas of what kind of cake I'd want to make for him.

It started out as a rock climbing cake, but quickly evolved into something different. I pulled bits and pieces from each of these cakes and ended up with my own generic adventure cake, which is why I am naming it the Build Your Own Adventure Cake.

For the cake, I doctored up a box cake mix and made three round layers. If you have round cake pans, your job is easy. Or if you are like me and have misplaced your round pans in the chaos of moving, just make a 9x13 and an 8x8 and fudge the assembly. (We're cool like that. )

When your cakes have baked, let them cool completely. If you don't, you'll end up with a mess that's hard to frost and crumbles during assembly. No fun. Take your round cakes (or makeshift round cakes from square and rectangle cakes) and stack two on top of each other for a two-layer cake. Be sure to put a nice filling between the layers. I was lazy and just used the same chocolate buttercream as the regular cake, but added some chocolate chips to the mix.

Next, take the remaining third round cake and cut it in half. Stack this half cake on the normal cake and be sure to put icing between the layers. This creates a nice platform for your waterfall.

Now for the fun part - the icing. I did a base layer of chocolate buttercream on the entire cake and then went back and added more for a more realistic "mountain" look (keeping in mind this is frosting, not actual mountain materials.) To add more color to the cake, I used some black icing I had on hand to swirl into the brown frosting. I just put it on the spatula I was using to swirl it around rather than mix it in with the buttercream. It stayed more defined and I liked the way it looked much better.

For the waterfall, I made a regular vanilla buttercream and split it into two bowls. I colored one a light blue and the other a grassy green. I took the blue and piped it onto the cake in what I hoped would resemble a waterfall, and it wasn't too shabby. For it's glittery sheen, I used some skills I picked up from Buddy on Cake Boss - piping gel. Hobby Lobby sells the glitter kind (Love!) and I put some on the back of a spoon and swirled it over the blue buttercream to get a realistic water-y look.

In the end, it kind of looks like a tube of Crest toothpaste, but whatever. It's cool toothpaste.

For the dirt next to the water, I just used brown sugar - plain and simple. Then it came time for my favorite part - decorating the cake. The trees are made from green candy melts. I just melted the chocolate according to the package and piped the trees onto some parchment paper. This part took a little practice but I ended up with a few trees to pick from so it worked out well. The rocks are actually chocolate rocks I purchased from Harmons, and they were my favorite part. I think it really added to the realistic look of the cake.


Finally, I bought a little toy set of cowboys and indians from Hobby Lobby just to get the bear, fox, and deer for the cake. Now I have a bunch of little toys that I'm not sure what to do with, but I just really needed those animals. I used the green frosting from earlier to pipe some grass where the animals stood and then on parts of the cake for good decorative measure.

All in all, I am in love with this cake! And when I drove it over to the boyfriends for the big reveal, he couldn't believe I had made it myself. So surprised, in fact, that he scooped me up and planted a big kiss on my face. Happy Birthday to me!

The best part about this cake is that it could be pretty versatile. I could have had a little rock climber scaling the back of the cake, or someone fishing in the river if they were big into fishing. It's really a Build Your Own Adventure Cake, depending on what your guy is into!

And the very best part? Not only is it adorably impressive, but it's incredibly delicious as well.

The Moving Process

So sometime last year, my roommate happened to get engaged. The bad news is, she also happened to own the condo I was living in.

You know what that means...

Yep, I've got to move.

Moving may just be one of the most dreaded things in my book. It's terrible. And it doesn't just happen in one phase, it happens in several.

First, you go through the inevitable "where am I going to live" phase. This can be easy if things are being defined for you, like if you and your friends are moving into a place together, or your friend has an extra room and you know you'd be the best roommates ever. However, this has never really been the case with my moves. Every time I've moved, it's been for a stupid reason, and it makes me hate moving even more. So when you find out you have to move, it's like the entire world stops. You spend hours at a time on KSL and Craigslist, looking through the same posts that you've already said no to a thousand times. Can't find anything? Wait an hour. Still can't find anything? Wait another hour, lower your standards and repeat.

Eventually, you find a few places that look promising. But then comes the worst part: setting up a time to look at the room. This is terrible for many reasons. You have to actually call the person and hope it's not A) a scam, or B) a sex trafficking ring. Usually, you feel like it will be both. When you finally work through a million people's schedules, you have to actually go and see the place. You'll also want to take a friend to make sure that it's really not some sex trafficking scandal, so you'll have to find someone willing to suffer through dozens of crappy apartments and single bedrooms that are too small, too expensive, smelly, stuffy and full of roommates and property managers that you wouldn't sit next to on a bus, let alone share a living space with. Thankfully, Nicole is that friend. And boy, have we seen some crappy places.

So you've gotten through step one and step two without managing to get sold to a sex ring in India or suffer a mental breakdown. Yay! After you sign your soul away for the amount of time on the contract and front a whole lot of money, you've got the keys to your new place. But now what?

2013: New Year, New Things

Okay, so I know I"m a little late in the game as far as "New Year's Resolutions" go, but I did want to take a minute and lay out what I am working towards for 2013. I have a feeling about this year, and I know it's going to be crazy and yet amazing at the same time. I have my own little list of goals for this year (Hint hint, Brady...) but I want to share some of the big ones here with you.

1. Breathe
So many times in the past few years, I have been tangled up in one emergency situation or another. This means I have constantly been an emotional roller coaster, and I'm not even a big fan of roller coasters. I have emotional high's and low's and can never seem to find any middle ground. I either love it or I hate it. In 2013, I'm going to rant less, jump to conclusions less and focus on taking a step back when I need to. In short, i'm going to breathe more.

2. Create
This one is vague for a reason. There are SO many ideas in my little head about anything and everything. Businesses I want to start, things I want to do - my mind is literally going a thousand miles a minute each and every day. Coupled with my obsessive need to craft and bake, I feel like this year is the year to get things going. I'm going to bake more, craft more, and most of all SHARE more. This sad little blog has been neglected for so long that I bet you forgot I even had it, and that makes my heart ache. I love to create, to see something in my mind and then make it happen - and in 2013 you're going to see a LOT more of that, I promise!

3. Focus
2013 is the year where I strap on the blinders and get down to business (not to defeat the huns, sadly.) I am going to focus more on tasks that I am doing while I am doing them, and not let my mind wander to other things. This means focusing more on school, on work and on thoughts I am having. I am going to pick a few things to do and then do them, rather than just let all of my ideas spin around in my head, collecting dust. I am going to remember that I can't do everything, and I am going to focus on doing what I CAN do at 100%

I am excited for everything that this year is going to bring! I hope I'm not alone in having these three big goals - I know they may seem to be simple concepts, but sometimes you've gotta work on the basics before you get to the big stuff.

Keeping these goals in mind, you are going to start seeing a lot more of me, so be prepared! (Also, I don't know how to write a serious post without adding in a ton of movie references. I guess today was Disney.)

Welcome Christmas

Alright, it's been a while since my last post. (I feel like I say that every time. Oh well.) But! Do I have a treat for you!

We all know that I have an unhealthy obsession with Halloween, but don't think that means that Christmas gets forgotten. As we speak, I'm mentally designing the Christmas version of my Halloween felt pillows and deciding what kind of wreath to hang on the front door.

Meanwhile, I am doing the best I can to sneak in some Christmas before December officially hits without anyone getting upset. Ikea is selling the most darling Christmas decorations this year, including a cardboard tree that you know I snatched up and stuck in my office. My boss was kind enough to snap this photo of me mid-rant about how cute my happy little Christmas tree was. (Yes, I know I'm eight.)

Christmas music is also a staple during most of my activities - getting ready in the morning, studying, driving, working. In fact, Michael Buble is serenading me as I type, and he'll definitely be home for Christmas, if you know what I mean. 

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the abundance of hot chocolate. Nothing is better than showing up to work with cold little fingers and fixing a nice big cup of cocoa to warm you up. Likewise, I am a huge fan of snuggling up to a good movie with some delicious cocoa. Throw the boyfriend into the mix and it sounds like the best winter night I could imagine. 

After Thanksgiving dinner with Brady's family and my own, he decided to brave Wal-Mart for Black Friday. I, being the sane person that I am, told him that he took a one way trip to crazy town and that I would not be joining him. Instead, I did what I love to do most and snuggled up with some hot chocolate. 

Only problem? 

No hot chocolate mix. 

It was the worst feeling. Not even one little packet! Swiss Miss was nowhere to be found! The roommates didn't even have hot chocolate (at least none that I could find). I almost gave up. But then I remembered - hot chocolate mix didn't always exist. My mother used to make hot cocoa for us on the stovetop, using real cocoa instead of the storebought packets. If she could do it, so could I, right? 

DIY: Halloween Felt Pillows

It's no secret that Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. Yes, it even surpasses Christmas in my book! Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the true meaning of Christmas, and I do love it as much as the next person, but I foster this unhealthy addiction to Halloween decorations. 

So it's also no surprise that my apartment is already pretty decked out in a rather spooky fashion. This of course has been facilitated with my roommates being 100% cool with my (almost) hostile take-over in decorating our entire living room with bats, pumpkins, and glitter as far as the eye can see. 

1. Purple glitter pumpkin from Wal-Mart | 2. Baby pumpkins & candlesticks

3. Bats (I used a black posterboard: $0.97) | 4. Ghost light garland from Wal-Mart

However, I wasn't satisfied. My roommates contributed to the decorations with some very cool pumpkins, garlands, candy dishes and other Halloween swag, but I wanted more. I wanted you to get hit in the face with that fall scent of Spiced Cinnamon Apple when you walked through my door. I wanted you to practically squeal with girlish excitement at the state of my apartment, which you thought rivaled the October edition of Martha Stewart Living. 

I wanted to be a Halloween goddess. 

It was this that spawned the creation of my Halloween throw pillows. I love pillows. My bed is full of them and it's my personal philosophy that a couch is not complete without a throw pillow. I love resting my head on them while I watch Honey Boo Boo, using them as a tray for my burrito that gets too warm in the microwave and would otherwise burn my legs - you know, the usual tasks of a throw pillow. I knew that my pillows would have to be both functional and cute. 

Behold: my new Halloween Felt Pillows.

I'm so happy with the way they turned out! I always get skeptical right int he middle of any project, and these guys proved me wrong so I'm thrilled. Ready to learn how to make them? Well you're about to find out.

Driving Instructions

I initially wanted to title this post "Things I've Learned About Driving in the Past Month and Why I'm a Better Driver than You", but I thought it sounded pretentious.

By no means am I claiming to be the best driver. I don't even claim to be better than you. But I DO know that I am a better driver than some people that are out there, and somehow, I end up interacting a lot more with these peabrains than the somewhat decent drivers on the road.

You might be saying to yourself "This sounds like one of those angry rant-type blog posts." Which, it may be. But you're going to read it anyway because that's what people on the internet do.

So why this post? There had to be something that prompted it. Well, you're right again. Let me tell you about the morning I had today.

Remembering Today

"These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of America's resolve."

-President George W. Bush

I still remember exactly what I was doing eleven years ago today. I'm sure that most of us do.

Waking up, it seemed like a regular Tuesday. I rushed off to fourth grade to arrive early and see my favorite teacher, Mr. Z. I remember asking him if there was anything I could help him do, and he had me organize multiplication sheets at my desk.

I sat in the back, somewhat closer to the classroom door than most of the other children. Our classroom door was open, and Miss Rossiter's classroom door was too, allowing me to see into her 5th grade classroom. Her television was on and showed the news, which looked startling - even from the distance that I was at.

As I focused on the screen trying to make sense of the images that were flashing before my eyes, the camera angles switched rapidly to the plane making its way across the sky and towards a tall building.

I watched in horror as the plane soared magnificently into the building and burst into a vibrant display of flames, smoke and wreckage. I knew there had to be people on the plane. People in the building. In the pit of my stomach, it felt wrong. My brain tried to rationalize what I had just witnessed. It had to be an accident. A terrible, terrible accident.

I remember looking to Mr. Z for some sort of explanation as to what was happening, as my other classmates did, but he seemed as horrified and dumbstruck as we were. We spent the rest of the day processing the information that we would later discover: the planes were hijacked by terrorists and crashed determinedly into the World Trade Centers in New York City. This was no accident.

Being only nine years old at the time, it didn't make much sense. We had learned about history and wars that occurred in America, but had never experienced anything like that first hand. War and terrorism were things that we only read about in books, or watched on the television occurring in other countries. Things like this in America were things of the past. Eleven years ago, I learned that I was wrong.

From that day forward, I looked at America differently. We didn't just have people fight for our freedoms, we have people continually fighting for our freedoms. Freedom isn't a trophy you can obtain and let sit in a trophy case for eternity. It's a constant battle. Our grandfathers and great grandfathers fought for our country in the past, but today it is our fathers, our husbands, our brothers, cousins and sons, our mothers, our wives, our sisters and daughters that fight to keep America the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of my great-grandpa Glen, who was a World War II veteran. He witnessed Pearl Harbor first hand, was there for Iwo Jima, Hiroshima and the end of the war. He lived to be 94 years old and at his funeral, his casket was draped with the American flag to honor his service to our country. As part of his funeral, the US Military sent a post to perform military rites at the grave site. Two men carefully removed the flag and folded it into a triangle and presented this to my great grandmother. As he presented the flag, he spoke saying "The United States of America extends their thanks to this great man for defending his nation". After this, a 21 gun salute to my great grandfather rang through the air, and silence fell as the bugle played.

I wouldn't be able to describe how I felt in words - the mix of spiritual emotion and patriotism that filled my heart. Accurately, at least. But I will never forget that feeling.

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. Sans barbeques, parades, and the red white and blue attire, it's always been about something bigger - the celebration of America. The idea of being free to make our own decisions, to raise our families in a safe place, to grow and expand to unlimited heights, to achieve whatever it is that we desire.

September 11th is a reminder of many of the same things, but also serves as another reminder. It reminds us of the price of our freedoms; what some had to pay for us to celebrate the liberties we know and love. Great grandpa Glen said it wisely when he said "There are no winners in war". There is always loss. September 11th was a great loss for many families and friends, and for America. It will stand as a constant reminder of the price of our freedoms and how blessed we truly are to live in a country where not only do we have the ability to create our own freedoms, but to fight for them as well. It serves as a reminder that the nation is a nation united - we are all one and the same. We are Americans.

Remember September 11th.

Remember America.

Gearing up for Fall.

Sigh...

It's over.

Summer is dead and gone. Well, in the actual passing of the seasons I guess summer is still existent. But for me and 2012, summer was just a passing fancy.

School starting is always a funny thing for me. There are several pre-school rituals that I partake in that help me to feel as prepared as possible for the upcoming school year. Some things are planned, others occur without me really having a say in how or when they go down, but nevertheless, they happen just the same.

For example, before school starts I try to go on one last trip or have one last hurrah doing absolutely whatever I want without any nagging fear of a missed assignment or guilt for blatantly ignoring whatever I have on my plate at the time. Usually, this involves stuffing my face with mass quantities of my favorite foods along with some shameless self indulgence of A Very Potter Musical, Dance Moms, or America's Next Top Model marathons. This year, it was a little different.

While I didn't get to sit around in my sweats enjoying Abby Lee Miller scream at Chloe, I did get to eat my weight in carnival food, which is almost as good. Brady's family takes us to Lagoon every year and it's always a great time for everyone. The boyfriend and I drove up with his parents in the morning and spent the day riding Wicked, Colossus and other Lagoon attractions. (And hey, Jensen Astle - I don't like Colossus, but I rode everything else. #hashtagthat )

By far, one of the best parts of the day were the massive amounts of caffeine, sugar, and fried goodness I was able to consume. By myself, I was able to eat a cheeseburger, french fries, soft serve ice cream, Mint Chocolate Dippin' Dots, a churro, and the larger halves of three 32-oz Coca Colas. How did I feel?

F A N T A S T I C.

And that's the truth. I will probably not be able to fit into any sort of dance costumes however for this upcoming school year, so I guess I should just begin my life as a fatty and start hoarding porcelain dolls and fast food containers. Does anyone have any cats?

I also helped the Bradster consume his Snowie, but he likes those on the heavy syrup side where I prefer most of the ice, so my lips didn't get quite as lovely as his did. But with lips like that, I couldn't help myself when he agreed to sneak off to the ferris wheel for a little while. It's an impressive sight to see at night, but to be completely honest I think what made it an amazing night was the person I got to share it with.









































He is seriously the greatest. And I"m glad that Lagoon ended up being my last hurrah before school begins tomorrow. Other rituals that occur are the night before paining of my nails (and as I type this, they are drying up swell) and spa routine, and the obsessive writing of schedules in my day planner that will be soon forgotten in about two weeks. Routines I can't control are the unsightly stress breakouts that I always hope won't occur but actually do, and the slow sinking feeling that comes with realizing I will never have a moment to breathe until December and that kind of freaks me out. This is slowly followed by a crippling, sleepless night where I imagine the worst-case scenario of virtually everything in my life and I usually end up relationship-less, family-less, homeless, and one of those people you see on the front of a magazine asking how they ended up falling so low. Every year, I try to tell myself to suck it up and ignore that dream but it loves to come back and haunt me like that low-fat sour cream you left in your fridge and keep forgetting to throw out.

I'm ready for it, but not ready for it. I just want to be able to have a professional career, great bank account, have some semblance of a social life and stay caught up on my favorite shows. Too much to ask?

Probably.

One Year Ago

It's strange to me how quickly time passes in some instances, yet so slowly in others.

For example, when you are waiting for good news or the work day to end, or maybe even a bathroom on a road trip, time seems to drip one grain of sand at a time into the hourglass. You might even start to wonder if the clock has stopped altogether or going backwards even.

When you're dating someone, though, sometimes the time just flies.


I can't believe that it's been one year since this post. And this post. And this one.

Last summer, I did a lot of amazing things. One year ago today I went on my first date with Brady. I still remember that night like it was only a few short months ago.

He asked me for my number with a jar of salsa. At work, we would instant message back and forth, sitting just a few cubicles away. As I was on a call one day, I turned around to see him standing there, awkwardly clutching a large mason jar full of salsa in both hands. He looked at me for a few moments, and then went back to his desk without saying a word. Shortly after, I saw his instant message window flash on my screen. He asked me if he could trade the salsa for something. He said he wanted to trade the salsa for my number, so he could take me on a date.

It was so adorably cheesy that I couldn't say no.

Our first date was scheduled for Friday, June 4th. I nervously anticipated it all week. We had a company outing the day before and I knew I was going to ask Brady if we could drive together so I could scout him out pre-date outside of work. I still remember how natural it felt to say "Brady & I" as we discussed driving arrangements. I remember getting into his pristine Mazda 3, not knowing about the Jimmy that was probably parked down at the station and that the Mazda would soon be leaving us for another owner. I remember how his sideburns were just a little too long and had started to blend with his reddish stubble; his sunglasses interrupting their lines. I would later find out that he needed a haircut but never got time to go before our date. I didn't mind. We laughed and joked with ease, tossing jabs back and forth in the car about everything. He played Big John for us to listen to on the way up and made fun of me for everything under the sun, and swore that I would be driving us home.

At our outing, we raced go-karts and I embarrassed myself in a round of miniature golf. We sat next to each other and ate pizza and laughed more and more. In the arcade, he gave me all of his hard earned tickets so that I could buy a blue yo-yo, and he won sparklers for having a "sparkling personality". At the end of the day, he took me back to Jenna's house where I was living at the time and told me he would see me tomorrow.

Friday came and I was a ball of nervous energy. The work day couldn't pass by quickly enough, but the clock was doing that thing again where it tries to go backwards instead of hurrying ahead to a better time. The date was at seven, but I got off work at six, leaving me one measly hour to travel and primp. Jenna rushed me home, I scrambled into the shower and prayed for my hair to look decent by the time he showed up at my door. I remember making Jenna straighten the back of my hair because I was so overwhelmed about getting ready in time that I was just making matters worse where my Hermionie-ish mane was concerned. As I put the finishing touches on my ensemble, which consisted of a striped shirt and jeans, I heard a knock on the door.

He stood there in a shirt I've seen him wear countless times over this year, and jeans I hardly see him wear now. I remember thinking how I had never seen him wear jeans before, and I liked how he came in and waited for me like a gentleman. We walked out to the car and he opened the door for me, and continued to for the rest of the evening. We went up to Salt Lake to see a Motocross  race. He kept asking if it was a lame date, but I was honestly excited. He lied to me and kept telling me he had entered me in to a drag racing competition and that I was going to have to sign all sorts of paperwork once we got there. That was a lie. At the race, we stood around and talked about everything under the sun, from his accident to my dancing to families and friends and everything in between. Conversation flowed between us so naturally and I was so intrigued by him. We sat on the bleachers watching racers jump off dirt mounds and I brushed his leg with my hand. It did the trick. He held my hand as I wore his jacket and we kept talking throughout the race. I can honestly say that I didn't pay very much attention to the bikes, which he may have been counting on but I didn't mind. As we left the park, he asked Rita, his trusty navigation to take us to eat dinner. We pulled up at  The Cheesecake Factory and continued to talk, this time over delicious pasta dishes. I remember us talking about our past relationships and the church, and our families, too. I was amazed at how easily we interacted together. It felt like we fit. He ordered a slice of Oreo cheesecake to go and we set out to take me home.

I will spare you the rest of the details of the evening, but I will tell you that the conclusion of that date brought the conclusion of one of the most memorable, magical, enchanting nights of my life. I remember walking up the stairs quietly as to not wake anyone, and laying on the couch with a smile plastered to my face that could put Gilderoy Lockhart to shame. It was the beginning of something amazing, I just knew it.

One year later, we're still going strong. Brady is incredible in every way to me. I love how he treats me like a princess and takes care of me throughout everything. He is kind, patient, funny, loveable, and a strong example to me in so many aspects. I owe a lot of who I have become to him. He has helped to shape me to be a stronger, better person. Having him out on the road often has been a trial for us, but it is one that we can face together. We can do hard things. I am amazed everyday that I get to call him mine.

I can't believe that one year has flown by so quickly.

Here's to hoping that this year is as incredible as the last.

Something New

Well chickadees, it has been done!

I have been thinking about how to revamp this blog for a long time, and this is the "final" product.
(Reasons for the " " ? I just know me and how I do things and that I will forever be adding/removing things on this blog, hence it will never be FINAL)

Breaking it down a bit, you will see my Instagram photos at the top, and I will be changing these out each week to show what's going on currently in my life. I've also added a Weekly Inspiration section on the right which shows a quote or image that inspires me.

Another new addition is the lovely link buttons to my Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts (Love!) so you can stalk me even more than you would probably like to. You can also contact me through email as well.

I am very excited for this blog's new beginning! Writing is something that I really do love to do - I promise! (Sometimes it just gets hard when that's ALL I do all day at work!)

Stay tuned for more...

Major Overhaul 2.0

Just letting you all know:

A HUGE makeover is in order for this sweet puppy.

Mamma's bout to get serious up in here, that's for sure.



Major things in the works include daily posts (I know, right?), a new layout, new pages, and a little bit more of what Melissa is maybe about.

Hope you're ready for it, cause I don't even think I am.

Stay tuned.

Catching Up.

Firstly,

I'm sorry.

For the lack of posts over the last..... four months. I will admit that I was in denial about it having been that long since my last post. "I'll do it tomorrow!" I kept telling myself. But, we all know how that works with me- tomorrow turns into three weeks later and I have done NOTHING. I happened to be checking a friends blog she had recently updated and saw my name on her blog roll stating "four months ago..." as my last post date.

My jaw dropped.

I am making a resolution! From today, November 22, 2011, I will be making the utmost effort to post daily. There is so much AWESOME stuff going on in my life that I tend to forget about because I don't write it down. My daily journal has been neglected as well, so that's another thing I need to make an effort with. But never fear, I will make a colossally awesome return to the blog-world, starting here.

You might ask yourself,

"What have you been doing if you haven't been blogging for three months?"

Well, the easy and honest answer to that would be: School started up and I have been lost among mountains of homework, dance and disgusting financial aid stipulations, I am working two jobs and saving all of my pennies, spending time with my boyfriend and best friends, and SLEEPING.

BUT.

You didn't want the honest answer. And to be honest, I didn't want to give it to you. I would rather have you think I have been so busy fighting crime and protecting the city one rogue citizen at a time that I simply didn't have time to blog.

So instead of boring you with the truth, or lying to you, here is what I have been doing for the past three months. In photo form.


I have been busy:

Boating with The Skipper

Tending Leonardo

Being a brunette, then having more fun as a blonde, then returning to being a brunette...

Attending the First Annual "Buns & Huns" event

Baking                                              Baking                                             Baking...

Becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Enjoying quality family time

 Crafting it up.

Geeking out.

 Breaking rules.

Being the best photographer's assistant I can be.

 Moonlighting as Jessie in my spare time with my partner in crime, Woody.

Having a blast with Foreigner, Night Ranger and JOURNEY.

Trying to get back into the ballroom swing of things.  

AND THIS:

When My Words Aren't Enough.

I will always have song lyrics to turn to.

Sometimes, it's uncanny how well certain songs mesh with life events.

Who knew, right?

Please Forgive me if I seem forward,
But I've never been in front of anything like you,
It's the last place I ever thought I'd be when I woke up this morning,
Is it true that you are always this breathtaking?,
And you're smart and you're willing,
And my god this is killing me,

Tell me all the things you never said,
We can lie here and talk for hours in my bed,
I don't have anything to hide,
I don't have anything everything is not for certain,
I don't have anything to hide,
I don't have anything everything is not for certain,

You started to see right through me,
And I'm loving every minute of it,
It's like I'm born again every time I breathe in so,
If you're curious my favorite color's blue,
And I like to sing in the shower,
If you like I'll sing to you,

Tell me all the things you never said,
We can lie here and talk for hours in my bed,
I don't have anything to hide,
I don't have anything everything is not for certain,
I don't have anything to hide,
I don't have anything everything is not for certain,

Tell me all of your hopes,
All of your dreams,
I want you to take me there (take me there),
Tell me all of your hopes,
All of your dreams,
I want to take you there (take you there),
Tell me everything,
Every breath,
I want you to know I'll be there (know I'll be there),
There's just one more thing,
One request,
I want you to take me with you,

Take me with you,
I will never let you down,
I will love you now and forever (now and forever)


--Take Me With You: Secondhand Serenade

First Time.

Tonight, I did something I never thought I would do.

I rode a motorcycle for the first time.

Although to be fair, I am pretty sure he sweet talked me with snow cones and french fries first.

I've been feeling a little weird today. Weirder than usual, if you can actually believe that. I debated whether or not I should even leave my room this morning. But I did, and that is how we ended up with this beautiful story.

We drove to Wal-Mart to pick up my 'brain bucket' so my insides weren't tempted to spill on my outsides in the event of a wreck. A very sweet old man told me I was 

"Lookin' good!"

And I smiled.

Brady seemed to know something was up as we headed to the station. I don't know how to explain it, but today I have been in one of the strangest moods. I can't put my finger on what it is, but I feel...... off. And he knew.

After strapping me into my stylish new headgear, we were ready to go. Actually, HE was ready to go. I had to re-tie my scarf so I wouldn't lose it on our little adventure. I'm pretty sure I told him I wasn't nervous as I climbed onto the back of the motorcycle. I'm also pretty sure that was a lie.

Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before? 

If so, you may understand the feeling of the warm wind against your face in the summer evening, caressing your cheeks like whispers. You understand the tears streaming from my eyes into my helmet, creating the illusion of my weeping, which was the complete opposite of how I felt. My mind was free to wander as need be, and surprisingly enough this was exactly what I needed. It was an amazingly freeing and wonderfully beautiful experience. The exhilaration I felt, flying through the canyon with one hand holding tight to my helmet, the other wrapped snugly around Brady cannot be accurately described in words. In short, it was simply lovely.

To complete the evening, we decided to head back down the canyon to grab a few things for a night of marshmallow roasting. Oh, and Brady could not resist purchasing a few of those wooden snakes...

nerd.

We returned to the canyon, this time accompanied by Mr. Allred, and I informed him that I would waste him in a roasting competition. Which I did, thank you very much.

(Daddy didn't teach me how to toast the perfect marshmallow for nothing, you know. 

Boys dig girls who can make a good mallow.)

And then we left the park, ourselves a little more marshmallow-y than before.

It was a beautiful night.

And just what I needed.

I'm so glad I decided to get out of bed this morning.

Summer Style

I can easily say that Heather and Jensen made my night last night.

Jackie, Baby Gurl and I tore it up at the good ol' Provo Towne Center, bringing back memories of past summers. Taco Bell, too many pictures, and out of control last minute adventures that always left us laughing.

I have missed this.

There will be more nights like this to come.