Christmas Time

My house is not only looking festive on the inside but on the outside too. We got like 7 inches of snow yesterday and it's been COLD! I've almost finished all the shopping and wrapping but I had one more craft to finish tonight. I'm making these cute little flower earrings for all my young women babies. By make I mean glueing earring backs onto these flowers I bought on etsy. I'm so crafty.

Good Eaters

We had these 2 brothers over for dinner on Sunday and it was lively. We got them some new Santa hats and some Pepsi and they were more than thrilled. We sung almost every Christmas song in the hymn book and calling the radio station to request more 60s music. Classic.
We really are blessed to know these two brothers though. They are the sweetest, nicest, funniest people ever. Terry can talk sports with Dylan (we are talking memorized stats back to 1970) and jimmy is always telling me I'm a good eater:) we can't wait to have them over again on the 3rd Sunday in January. (they like to plan ahead and they get booked FAST!)

We had a snow day today

And it was awesome. UNM was cancelled and work was delayed for me then dismissed early.
Days like this bring lots of napping, cuddling, studying (for Dyls), the gym, panda express, and freezing our buns off. It's like 8 degrees outside but it feels like -3. That's cold for New Mexico people.
We don't like to use our heater because we are cheap so we use lots of blankets and even resort to beanies while indoors.
We can't wait for our vacation in a few weeks.

Snow Time

My Saturday morning run was quite chilly since it SNOWED! It snows in Albuquerque but usually not this early in December. I know what you guys are thinking, me running again? It's nothing intense but I am working out with an online personal trainer/nutritionist and I'm seeing some great results. I'll post more later.

But our Saturday was super cold and cuddly. I love those days. We went on the most gorgeous walk in the mountains sine we live like 5 minutes away. It was breathtaking. Barkley loved her life and so did Dyls. (He loves running around on the rocks acting like he's 5). The hike came to an end when Barkley jumped right into a cactus! It was bad but being the good mom that I am, I nursed her back to health within 2 minutes of the needle encounter.
Our day was finished with a trip to the groomers for Barkley and a trip to the temple for us.

The first pic is my view on my morning run. We have this great little path behind our house. The others are of our walk in the mountains.

Oh and you are probably wondering what's up with my blogging activity. I got an iPhone and it has blogger and a sweet camera on it. Plus instagram is life changing for photos.
And it's true, if you don't have an iPhone... Well you don't have an iPhone. Yeah I'm one of those people.

Terrible Twos

Barkley has decided it’s time to start acting like a two year old, literally. They say that babies are at their worst during their “terrible twos”, and I think that hits Barkley spot on right now. Our once angelic dog has turned into a little demon overnight. In the past week, she has gone to the bathroom in the house not once, but two times! In the entire time we’ve had her (almost 2 years), she’s gone to the bathroom in the house only a few times, so this is not like her at all. She has learned to tip over the trash can and eat whatever she can find inside of it this week, which is so fun to clean up. And, she thinks that Christmas ornaments are chew toys. Our normally well behaved dog is on probation right now, and if she keeps it up, we’re going to put her little bottom in the kennel when we leave the house. I mean it.

Other than that, we’re going on a little vacation in just a few short weeks. Think sandy beaches, lots of sun, and some well needed relaxation before things in our life get crazy (school for Dylan next year and a possibility of children in the near future. No, this is not a subtle announcement, we’re just thinking on it. We’ve kept Barkley alive for almost 2 years, so we might try a kid out sometime). Dylan has his UNM interview in a few weeks also, so keep your fingers crossed that one.

Other than that, we’re just getting geared up for the holidays. We had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and no, I did not take any pictures.

Don't judge me

The boyf is out of town again at an interview in Arizona. He was supposed to come home today, but because of a snowstorm, he has to wait until tomorrow (since when did it snow in AZ??). Anywho, I hate being alone, even for 1 night (it's going to suck when Dylan is studying all the time for med school, I'll probably hate my life or move back in with my parents). So, what do I do when I'm depressed? I go to Paradise Bakery, buy a big bowl of Baked Potato Soup, and not 1, but 2 cookies (because they are buy one get one free, duh). I ate them both, and I don't feel bad about it. I'll regret it tomorrow when my pants don't fit, but at least for the night I feel ok sleeping alone.

Dirty Little Secret

I don't like to wash my hair, well at least not every day. I like to go as long as possible without washing, but this can be a problem sometimes. I like to workout and get crazy sometimes, so my hair gets naaaaasty. I had a friend at work tell me about this miracle product called dry shampoo. I was skeptical, so I decided I'd give it a shot, but I'd buy the cheap brand that she was buying. I bought it, and I'm sold. You just spray this bad stuff in your hair and then comb it out a few minutes later. It eats up all the oil in your hair (and maybe my hair too, I'm not sure if it's bad for you yet). I'm in love.

This was probably the biggest surprise to Dylan when we got married, that I don't wash my hair everyday. I stepped out of the shower one time with a shower cap on and he freaked that my hair was still dry after my shower. He still loves me, he just thinks I'm gross.

***Hair Sylist friends, is this bad for my hair? I have to know****

Husbandless

I know you are not supposed to announce things like this on the internet, but I’m not really one for all the CSI, murder shows, so I’m still skeptical. My husband has been gone since Saturday, and don’t worry he is coming back. He’s at an interview in Miami right now for a school down there. Though Miami might seem like a luxurious destination for the next 4 years, I’m still not buying it (I even could’ve gone on the trip, but because of work stuff I decided to stay back). As crazy as it sounds, I’m ok with staying in New Mexico, but we’ll see where everything takes us over the next few months. We should know where we will be ending up in February-ish, so for the next few months, our lives are “To Be Continued….” in the schooling/living arena for next year.

When husband’s go out of town, it’s the perfect opportunity for the wife to do WHATEVER she wants. “When the cat is away, the mice will play”. You know the saying. And, no, I didn’t do anything crazy while D-man was gone, but I did some good old-fashion cleaning of the house…. Including throwing away lots of Dylan’s clothes that I no longer approve of). I even did a few things around the house that I probably would need to get prior approval if Dyl was here. I spray painted some picture frames white to lighten up our bedroom a little bit. It looks AMAZING. And I bought some super cute Halloween stuff for the house.

Other than that, it’s been super lonely without the husband around. The 6 hours was great. I dropped Dyl off at the airport, ran errands with my mom, went out to dinner with my friend Katy and her adooooooorable baby (the kind of baby that makes you want to have kids even though you don’t really like newborns), went to Target, and even posted some stuff on EBay I’ve been meaning to sell for months. Sounds like a great night, right? Well it was, up until I finished some cleaning and had no one to cuddle and watch a movie with. Barkley is useless when it comes to cuddling (she’s super temperamental and only lets you sit next to her if she’s in the mood), and she kept doing this creepy thing where she stood looking down the hallway like someone was there (after watching the Paranormal Activity previews on TV too many times, I got really scared and locked us in my bedroom for the rest of the night). I thought it would be a great little at home vacay with the Mr. gone, but it has actually been a big sob story (don’t feel bad for me, he comes back tomorrow). I guess it just makes me realize how much I love my husband, and even though we get in silly fights and stuff, there is no one else I’d rather spend my time with. (ok, enough mushy gushy).

***Disclaimer: If you are a robber thinking about breaking into my house while my boo is away, I have a super mean pitbull that will kill you****

Bon Qui Qui Burger King

And, for your viewing pleasure, I can’t get enough of this video. I die every time I watch it.

Best day of my life

Well besides my wedding day, I guess. My mom is the BEST. She took me and my sisters to Las Vegas in July for a super quick weekend so that I could fulfill my dream of seeing Celine Dion in concert. My sister Cristina moved at the beginning of August to Texas because she is getting her PhD in Accounting at Texas Tech (can you say nerd?), so this was our last chance to have an all girls' weekend for a loooong time. Any of my Vegas peeps, don't be offended. I was there for only 36 hours and it was kind of dedicated to only family time. My mom is a super crazy and she woke up at 3:30 AM the day we left. We were on the road by 4AM and we were in Vegas by noon since we gained an hour. We shopped, ate (obviously, look at my picture. I need to lose some weight stat), had a blast on the strip, and even gambled a little bit (my sweet 80 year old grandpa always gives us $20 to gamble with when we go to Vegas. I never win, so the moral of the story is for any of my YW that read my blog is that gambling is bad....very bad).

Celine Dion was AMAZING!! I can't even explain how much fun it was. It was just my mom and I that went to the concert, and it was kind of emotional for me. I cried, yeah I did. The lady next to me was from Quebec, and she had saved up for years to go to Vegas and see Celine. She was crying a little bit, so I did too. I was just so happy. I was totally bonding with the lady next to me, until she kept looking in her binonculars and telling me how gorgeous Celine looked up close. Hello? Let me use them! I never asked, but I'm still mad at her for not sharing.

Loved every minute of this trip with my mom and sisters. It's crazy to think that I lived away from home for 5 years while I was in school. It's so nice to be back and get to do fun stuff like this with my fam.

Guess who's back?

Per request of multiple individuals (I didn’t even think people read my blog, but I guess you do), this is my first blog post in almost 2 months. Whoops. I guess I just forget to take pictures and that sort of stuff. Which, I did. AND we only have a fancy schmancy camera now because both of our normal ones are broken, and it’s kind of weird to bust out a big camera to take a snapshot at a restaurant. My phone camera sucks, and Dylan busted his phone (which is touchscreen now and doesn’t work at all. Literally cracked every little part of the screen and now it looks like a spider web is on it permanently) when we went to Cliff’s (Amusement park in Albuquerque). So, I may be a loser when it comes to blogging, but I’ll work on it.

So, first and foremost, an update of what’s going on in our lives. Dylan is applying to Medical Schools right now (and still considering Podiatry). We were banking on UNM for the past 2 years, but some stupid advisor at UNM steered Dylan wrong, and he wouldn’t be able to graduate until after summer school this year. UNM Med school starts in July, so that won’t work because he HAS to be finished with all classes before the start date of Med School. We are torn right now between deferring another year (I do NOT want to do that) while Dylan could just work and then start UNM in Fall of 2013. It seems like too far off to me, and though I’d love to stay here, I just am not sure we are willing to wait another year. We’re still seeing what can happen on that end, plus he has to get in to UNM to even go down that road. So, more than likely we are moving in the next year. There are some pretty cool options, Tennessee, Arizona, Miami, NEW YORK CITY, and even lovely Iowa. We’ll see where this adventure takes us, but no matter what, I know we’ll be fine. I’m not happy about moving, well unless we move to NYC, then I’ll be one happy girl J

Other than that, I’m still working and Dylan is at school. The new job is fantastic. Love my life, can’t even describe it. I go home every day for lunch to eat and play with Barkley, it only takes me 5 minutes to get to and from work, and I get every other Friday off. It is the most amazing thing ever to have so many 3 day weekends. I can’t even describe how nice it is. Part of my job is event planning for the technologists that I work with (Party Planning to the max), so last week I got to go to Santa Fe to look at hotels. For work. Really? It's amazing. We’ve been doing a lot of studying for the MCAT lately, which leads to me painting rooms and buying things we don’t need. (pictures of the paint job will be up shortly).

For now, these next pictures will have to hold you over. One Sunday afternoon when Dylan and I were coming home from church, we noticed a bird was just sitting in our front yard on top of a bunch of pine needles (which we get letters from our HOA to clean up ALL the time). The bird would not move, she was just sitting there. So, I threw a rock at her. She flew away super fast, and then we saw that she was sitting on 2 little baby birds. She didn’t even make a nest. We are so lazy at yard work, that she just used the pine needles that were laying around to make her little home. So, we had a little mama bird with her babies living in our yard for a week or so. They never got big enough to fly away because our stupid neighbors called Animal Control to come pick them up. It may not have been the most sanitary thing for us to be out there playing with the birds all the time, but it was our yard, so they had no business turning us in. Either they turned us in, or they stole the birds to make soup (not to be offensive, but they are Korean).

My girls

I'm in Young Women's, and I know, most people say how wonderful and fun and amazing it is. But, it is. It is truly the best calling I could've ever been asked to do. I'm the Second Counselor in the YW Presidency (I know most people who read my blog know about the church, but just in case). That means I get to be with all of the Beehive girls who are 12 and 13 years old. It's crazy, like really crazy. Especially since there are 16 girls who are that age, and they all come to church. Like I said, it's crazy. It's so crazy that they had to get me a second advisor to act as "crowd control" when the troops get out of line (which is all the time).

Really though, I work with the most amazing girls. When I first got into YW over a year ago, I was overwhelmed with thinking about how I could teach them what they needed to know and how I could help them. Through this past year, I have realized that they don't really need me that much; but I need them. I have learned so much from these girls, which sounds silly since they are half my age. But they are so smart, and so strong, and they deal with way bigger issues than I have to. I look up to them, and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for this amazing opportunity I've been given.

Ok, enough with the sappy stuff though. I got to go to Girl's Camp for a night at the beginning of June to hang out and have fun. It was great. The girls are so fun, and of course, I made them take some pics with me.

Top 3 Best Things about my new Job

1. Every other Friday off
2. FREE tampons in the bathroom
3. Every other Friday off

I've been a little busy lately with all these Fridays off (lots of little baby road trips), so I haven't had time to blog. Just know that life is gooood and I'll be blogging about my road trippin life soon.

Girls' Night Out

Lesly and I..... love this lady. She is so funny.

Chels, Mee, Katy, and Me

I went on a girls' date last week with the other leaders from Young Women's. While I was away for the night, Dylan went on a man date with one of the other husbands (oh, how cute).

The ladies spent the night eating dinner at a popular Mexican restaurant, El Pinto. The food is so-so, but the atmosphere is a-may-zing!! It is this cute, old, Spanish hacienda type building (kind of like where I had my wedding reception).

These women are some of the most amazing ladies I've ever know. I love each of them so much, and I'm so lucky to get to work with them.

It's weird getting older and being in a ward for a while. We like have real friends who are actual adults....it's weird. It's been so fun being in a ward for longer than a year. We finally feel like we actually fit in and are the regulars at church now (not just the newbies).

My week of Unemployment

Don't be fooled by the title of this post, the previous post is still legit. I do have a new job, I just have this entire week off before my adult life starts again.

I will say, I don't know how stay-at-home moms do it. I don't even have kids, and I have found things to occupy my time everyday this week. I took Barkley to get her annual immunizations today, just like any good mom, and I could barely handle getting her in the car and into the vet. How do moms do it with children? I do not know, but props to all you out there.

My week so far has been filled with cleaning (lots of cleaning), gardening, hanging out with Barkley in the backyard while eating a bowl of cherries, pedicures with my mom, going to the vet, getting my hair did, nap time, redoing a dresser, and making breakfast, lunch and dinner (all at home, that is a record). It's only been 2 days, and I still have a million things on my To-Do list, but it sure feels good to actually get some stuff done around the house.

So, this one is to unemployment, just for a week. I think that my wallet will be much happier when I go back to work. (Does anyone else notice how much more money you spend when you are off work doing craft projects around the house? geesh.)

Another chapter closed

Friday was my last day at Hewlett Packard. I hadn't publically posted that on the blog yet, because I wanted to wait until my 2 weeks was up. I got a new job at Sandia Labs that I am SUPER excited about. I will be working approximately 4 minutes from home (compared to my previous 45 minute commute to and from my previous job), working in the same building as my dad and sister (can you say free lunch multiple times per week??), and doing something I will really enjoy (more business/marketing). Needless to say, I'm excited. I've been looking for a new job for months now, and with the economy we are in, it seemed almost impossible. I can't explain how blessed I've been in my whole job search. I've had multiple interviews at other companies, but nothing else seemed like it was right. I didn't want to leave one job for another job that I'd hate in a few months. So, I waited. I was patient, way more patient than I ever thought I could be, and then this job just kind of happened.

I put my 2 weeks in at HP, and couldn't wait for my last day there. Once you are checked out of a job, it's really hard to go to work. But, on Friday, I almost didn't want my last day to end there. HP was my first professional job after college. It was the job that allowed Dylan and I to make real adult purchases like fun vacations, lots of clothes, and even a car. It was the job that made my resume more than just a "recent college grad". I have met some of my closest friends there, and if you work in an office, you understand just how close you can be to the people you work with. One in particular, my BFF Amanda (AKA Manders Martin-ez). Amanda and I started on the same day, and we have been together every minute at work since. Amanda and I are complete opposites. I'm married, Mormon, vanilla (Mander's nickname for people of the Caucasian classification). Amanda has a healthy dating life, Catholic, and Mocha.

Over the past year and a half, I have spent more time with Amanda during the week than I've spent with my own husband. I knew it was going to be hard leaving, but as we stood at her desk on my last few minutes in the building, I never imagined myself crying. Yes, crying, like a little baby. Amanda and I stood there, in the middle of a building with 1,200 workers, hugging and crying. It was a bittersweet moment as I closed this chapter in my life. I have loved the people I've met in this job, and though I've decided another path will be better career-wise for me, I am glad to have had the experience I had there. Not to be sappy, but everything we go through changes us in some way.

I am excited to start my new chapter, but sad to be leaving all the good friends and memories I have made. If you watch The Office, you kind of get what it's like to work where I work. It's crazy, super stereotypical, boring, borderline HR issues non-stop, and more entertaining than the actual show itself.

I have the next week off work before I start my new job, so I will be relaxing, cleaning, and of course shopping. Love my life :)

Food Poison

Not literally, but Dylan and I have a big problem when it comes to food. It is impossible for us to eat at home. I go to the store, buy groceries, and then we eat out. We are so lame. I don't think we've gone an entire week of not eating out the entire time we've lived in Albuquerque. I love the grocery store, and especially COSTCO!!! I could name at least 10 things I love about Costco off the top of my head, yet I buy the food and then don't' eat it. We throw away a lot of groceries too, which makes me realize even more that we have a serious problem. We're wasters.

So, this is my pledge. In May (give me the rest of the week to ween ourselves) we will try to eat at home for 5 days in a row, M-F of every week. I'm not going to like it, but my wallet and belt will thank me for it.

Night with Nat (and Russ and Dylan)

The highlight of the month of April lasted for only 12 hours. I got to have Natalie and her brother Russ stay at our house when they were driving through Albuquerque. I'm so glad the Albuquerque is in the middle of 2 major highways, then people HAVE to stay at my house.

We started the night off with Dions pizza, of course. Then finished the night off with some Dunkin Donuts. It was the perfect night.

Natalie loved Barkley, so I hope she comes back to visit soon. It is so fun to catch up with old friends, and it's the best when it feels like you didn't even miss a beat. Natters is one of my dearest friends, and I love haging out with her. We started our love (or more like hate) for running together, love weight watchers, and love any and everything with desserts. I wish I lived closer to my BFF's, but then I probably would never want to hang out with my husband (no hard feelings Dylster).

The Lewis family is seriously one of the best families. I'm so lucky to have been an Eastsida with them (inside joke). And, I get to see more of the Lewis family in a few weeks when Russ and Camille drive through. I love having a guest bedroom.... hint hint (anyone, please come visit).

You've had a birthday, shout Ruff Ruff

It was Barkley's 2nd Birthday a few weeks ago. She's getting so big. We can't believe she is already 2 years old. She's hardly a toddler anymore. She's almost an adult dog which we can feed adult dog food too (there are all kinds of dog foods, it's ridiculous).

For her birthday we got her a birthday cake from this adorable dog bakery called 3 Dog Bakery. I got a groupon (holla) to spend $15 there for only $7. (love groupon). We got her a birthday cake, an eclair, and a cupcake. She was in doggy heaven. We had a little birthday party with her friend Sadie.

I'm the Baby, gotta love ME!!

(For Katie, this is our little townhome. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, way too much space for spoiled newlyweds)

Aren’t parents the best? Seriously. My parents live up to this reputation at all times, and so do their parents. This weekend was wonderful. We went to lunch at this super tasty burger joint, 5 Star Burgers, complementary of my Grandpa Lew, to find some wonderful news. Remember my dilemma below? Well, my parents are going to take over my sister’s house for her for the next few years until she is done with her PhD and let Dylan and I continue to live there for super cheap. Can you even believe these words are for real? My parents spoil me too much. We get to stay in the same house, with the same ward, and pay the same amount in rent J We are so lucky. Seriously. I was really stressing about finding a new place to live, and it’s amazing how things just always work out. We’ve been really lucky to be back in New Mexico close to our families. We love it here, and we love our families (yes, I’m cheesy). Now that we have the living situation figured out, I just need a job closer to home to save on gas money. That will be our new dilemma, any suggestions?

This makes it all worth it....

Now, there are days when I say that I want a new job. And, that's fair. In the adult world, I can't think of anyone who actually would rather go to work than sleep in and play all day. (If that is you, then you are a sick sick person). But, there are some days that make waking up at the ungodly hour of 5 AM, driving 45 minutes to and from work, putting 400 miles a week on my brand new car, and all the other blah, blah, blahs of having a job actually worth it. Friday was one of those days. Take a look at the picture above. That's me with my brand new camera that I got for FREE from work. That's right FREE. A very expensive camera for free. I don't know anything about SLR cameras or mega pixels or anything really, but I have a way sweet camera now for when we do decide to have kids (that is not a hint at ALL!!!). It's a Nikon 3100 (I got to choose between the D500 and this one, but all the reviews said this one was better with video stuff and higher mega pixel. Again, I have no idea what these things really do). Love my life, and lots of pictures to follow.

Our Dilemma

If you don't want to hear me complain/rant, then you should stop reading this now.

Here's our situation: We LOOOVE our house that we live in. It was such a wonderful upgrade from an apartment, and quite honestly, I don't think I could ever move back into a little apartment where you can hear your neighbors do everything. And, I don't want to. We've been so spolied in this house, and even more spoiled because we're renting from family. Basically, we pay the same for rent as we would for an apartment. (and some of the apartments I've looked at, we pay less!!!). It's honestly the best sitauation. We pay apartment-like rent for a house... and did I mention how nice it is to park in a garage?

But now, we must come to a decision. My sister is moving to Texas in the fall to get her PhD, so we can't rent from her anymore. She's selling her house, and we are not in a place to buy right now (we have no idea where we will be in the next year, so we don't want to buy now and then have to rent/sell in a year). I do not want to move out of the area we are living in, but I also don't want to rent an apartment in the area. So, we're stuck. Do we buy? Do we rent an overpiced house that makes you sick thinking about writing your rent check? Do we rent a little creepy apartment in a super ghetto area (not that our house is in a better area, but it's way diferent in a house than an apartment complex). We have found some houses to rent that are for a decent price, but we'd have to move, and that seriously depresses me. It's not that I love the area so much, we've just really gotten used to it. Dylan's family claims the West side, my parents have the East Side, and this was our own little area. The main reason is we love our ward so much, and don't want to start all over in a new one. So, for now, we're homeless (well atleast in the near future).

If anyone wants us to live with them, just let me know. We are great roomates, and we'll even go halfers on the rent with you.

Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh you guys

If any of you have seen the musical Legally Blonde, you get the title. I saw Legally Blonde last weekend with my mom. She has season tickets to Popejoy (UNM’s theatre) and my sisters and I each get to pick a play we want to see with her every year. We all got to see Wicked, which was AMAZING, but Legally Blonde was right up my ally, so I chose that one for the Mom/Daughter date of the year. I LOOOOOOOVED it. I can’t even tell you how entertained I was. Maybe because I’m blonde, maybe because I love chick-flick stories. I was loving my life the whole time.

And, I’m going to say it, I even liked it more than Wicked. ( I can hear a huge GASP that so many of you are letting out). But it’s true. I guess I’m a true air-head, or maybe I’m legally blonde too.

I've come to the conclusion....

That blog-stalking is bad for your health.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good blog-stalking session where I can click and creep into other people's lives. BUT- it can really bring out the envious factor in one's life. I get jealous looking at all my friends that have had babies and are already soooo skinny, way skinnier than me and I haven't carried a fetus in my belly. Then I look at all my friends who have husbands that are done with school and working and all the nice fun things they have and get to do. I would never think of these things or have doubts in myself if I didn't read these blogs.

So, people, please post more of the bad things in your life. Thanks :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Ok, so I flaked out on the whole 14 days of loooove thing, but I got busy/forgot.

I do love Valentine's Day though, and it sucks that it is on a Monday this year. The last thing I want to do after a long day at work is get all sexy and romantic. Dylan and I celebrated over the weekend, though I had no idea what was coming. I got home from work on Friday and Dylan told me to pack my bags. I had NO idea where or what we were doing. We drove about 30 miles East of Albuquerque to this cute little hippy town called Madrid. (pronounced by locals Maaa-drid). It's always been a dream of mine to stay at a Bed and Breakfast in a little town, and this was such a sweet surprise. I have to give my husband some credit sometimes because he can be quite romantic.

So we spent our weekend walking around a cute little artist town and eating cheap bar food (yes, their only restaurant is a Tavern). But it was so wonderful and so fun.

I did not take any pictures, and I promise I have something coming in the mail that will help with this problem of no pictures.

On Sunday I LOOOOVED

Cuddling with my little dog Barkley. We had Regional Conference on Sunday, so we were home for a good part of the afternoon. This of course meant lots of napping and cuddling with little Barks.

Dogs are the best of friends, all the time. Barkley wags her tail SO hard whenever we come home, and it's so nice after a long day at work to come home to that little pooch that is excited to see me (the husband is also good).

I'm way ghetto and like to take pictures with my camera phone of pictures on my desk at work.... I'm getting a new camera in the next week (it's in the mail), and believe me there will be a post about that one!

On Saturday I LOOOVED....

Diet Pepsi. Especially when I'm really fancy and put a bendy straw in it. It's the best.

On FRIDAY I LOOOOOVED.....

My New Car. It's so wonderful. As silly as it sounds, this is the best purchase I have made as an adult. This is our first "BIG" purchase as a married couple (since we rent our house it's not really a purchase), and it feels good to be able to make grown up decisions.

This car has all the works, heated leather seats, sunroof, dual heat controls, etc, etc, etc. It's been especially great having all wheel drive in the crazy weather we've been having in NM. We bought this car in November, but that was when I didn't blog.

It's pretty great having a real job these days... though I won't admit that when I wake up at 5am.

I looooooove

Baking. I love baking cookies, cakes, brownies, anything with sugar. I'm still learning a lot about baking, like making your own recipes does NOT always work. Baking is a great way to relieve stress and get my mind off things. And I love sugar and butter, especially mixed together. I wish I was more like Sara Lee, but I'm a work in progress.

Today I LOOOOOVE....

Snow Days. This is a view from my house last night, and you better believe this all turned to ice overnight with the freezing temperatures. Holla. What does that mean to me? Oh just that I got to leave work yesterday at noon, and today I get to "work from home". This means basically that I get to watch movies all day while I work. Don't doubt that I am still in my PJ's, haven't brushed my teeth, and I'm cuddled in between Dylan and Barkley.

As much as I love summer, please keep the snow coming. I'm hoping for another icy day tomorrow :)

The Month of LOOOOOVE

Well, in honor of Valentine's Day in just a few short weeks, I've decided to take one thing a day to tell you all about that I just LOOOOOVE (with lots of extra O's). Not all of them will be super mushy, but of course, a few will be about my husband, love, marriage, etc.

Love #1.... I just LOOOOOVE my husband. It's way fun being married to my best friend. I know when some of you met him, you probably thought he was so not my type, but really, he is. Dylan is a lot more calm than I am, so he mellows me out. He is always willing to let me be the center of attention, but he is surprisingly super funny. He is always making me laugh by saying funny stuff during prayers or texts and stuff. He makes me feel good about myself and tells me I'm pretty and skinny all the time (even if he's lying, it helps the self esteem). It's been fun being roommates with a boy, and especially the boy I'll spend forever with. I love being married to Dylster... he's pretty great.

Happy Valentine's Day Month guys.... if you LOOOOVE stuff too, then you should tell everyone about it.

If you love Gina....

Then you'll vote for her dog little baby Shooter. My mom, Gina, put her dog in this contest, and she needs some help. The winner of the contest gets their dogs picture posted on lottery tickets. Seeing that most of my friends are LDS, you are probably thinking you don't support the lottery, and that's ok. But, you don't have to buy any tickets or anything, so you're not really supporting any sort of gambling.

If you could, please, find it in your heart to help my dear, sweet mother. She's obsessed with this dog, really, and I know this would make her super happy.

You just have to go to this webiste:

http://contest.kob.com/engine/Votes.aspx?PageType=VOTING&contestid=24573#SubmissionDisplay

Click Register Now in the right hand corner. Then, register. Be sure to click the box at the bottom that says you don't want to receive e-mails about the lottery. You don't have to put your address or phone, just your name and make up a birthday. Heck, even make up a name, they just need a valid e-mail.

Then, you have to confirm in your e-mail that it really is you, then you can vote.

Go back to the page, and search for "Shooter". Then VOTE!!

My mom would really appreciate it. And it would probably score me some brownie points for future shopping trip sponsored by Gina.

Our fun weekend

On Friday night, Dylan and I spend a night apart. He did some guy stuff playing video games and whatnot, and I went to see WICKED with my mom and sisters. It was A-MAZ-ING! Perfect, so cute, loved it.

Then on Saturday, I made myself proud. I made some recipes from this website:
http://www.skinnytaste.com/
Holler out to all my WW peeps. This site is amazing. It has so many low point recipes that will change your life. I made a few recipes on Saturday afternoon and froze them. Yeah, I am that much of a responsible adult.

Then at night we went out with some friends to a Best Lee's (this Chinese restaurant that I thought was called Bestie's for the whole night), and went to see this movie:


Despite what other people had told me, I LOVED it. It was a little sad, but I loved all the music. I downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes as soon as we got home. Yeah, I'm a loser.

I'm still working on taking pictures more often, but look at me... I blogged 3 times in 1 week. More from me later :)

We had an Anniversay....

Oh yeah, we've been married for 2 years. On January 17. We didn't take any pictures, we didn't even do anything crazy. We celebrated early because on our actual anniversary I had already made plans to go to a friend's house for dinner, not because I didn't want to celebrate, but I just forgot. I guess that's what happens when life is busy and you've been married for 2 years. Plus, we celebrate everyday. I think I go on more dates than Jon Mayer. For real, Dylan treats me good, not just on our anniversary, but all the time.

Oh yeah, but I did get flowers. No pictures, but I did get them.

All in all, we're still happy to be married. We love being with each other, and our cute little dog Barkley. She makes us think that one day we will have kids and keep them alive:)

Happy 2 years Dyl-dog.... he doesn't read the blog, but I'm not allowed to call him that.

La Republica Dominicana

As promised, though these are a few weeks late, here are some pictures of our AMAZING vacation to the Domincan Republic. We went to Punta Cana, and no I don't know where that is geographically speaking. We had so much fun relaxing, eating, and drinking lots of pina coladas con no alcohol :) It was a well deserved vacation, and we can't wait to start planning our next trip.... which will probably be flying to various schools for med school interviews (yes, the decision has been made, and Dylan is taking the MCAT)

To see all of our pictures, stalk me on facebook, but here is a few of our faves:

Just loving our lives on the beach... and yes I wore bikinis. Don't judge me. I didn't eat carbs for a month and had to make it worth my while.
The resort had the most AMAZING restaurants. If you ate at the buffet it was so-so, actually pretty crappy. But, at night you were able to make reservations at any of the fancier restaruants (if you got there before they filled up) that had some pretty bomb food. Here we are a a Domincan style Tucanos.

Outside of the most amazing Italian food I've ever eaten. Go figure, we go to the DR for Italian food.

We went to this way funny Sea World type place, and they would only let you hold the monkeys or animals if you wanted them to take a picture with their camera. This was so they could charge you $15 for the pictures. Well, one of the shady DR guys called us behind a building and said if we tipped him he'd let us take pictures with our own cameras. So, we gave him $2 and he let us snap away.

The man put sunflower seeds on my head to make the birds come to me.. They cracked the seeds on my head and kinda hurt by scalp.

At the Denver Airport there is this art display of these way creepy statues made out of paper. apparently the lady who made it had a family member with heart disease or something. Well, she put beating hearts in all of these little creepy statues, and when I touched this old guys head, I FREAKED!!!

Just Dylan high-fiving a cracked out little girl.

All in all, we loved our lives the whole week. I almost cried on the plane ride home because it was so perfect. Best thing for our marriage, and for our sanity. ( Not that we have marital problems, but it was just sooooo fun). I highly recommend a trip to the DR, well worth every penny.