(One of) My Best Friend's Wedding

I love love love when my friends get married. Especially since I get to go in the temple and be there for the most special part of the day. Dyls is so nice and let me go to one of my BFF Rachel’swedding at the end of December. I got to go all by myself so I got to spend lots of girl time with some of my fave people. It’s crazy how much time has passes since I’ve seen these little gems:

But is seems like nothing has skipped a beat (I missed taking a pic with R.Sharp…don’t know what we were thinking). I just loved spending time with my friends, lots of laughing, lots of Café Rio, lots of gossiping, and lots of sexy pep talks for the bride to be. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, but a different kind of fun.

After being at weddings, I realize how much I love my husband. Not to get too mushy, but marriage is really the best. I have a partner in everything, someone super handsome to look forward to going home to, a best friend with me at all times, and the funniest other half I could’ve ever asked for. Rachel’s wedding was so sweet, the sealing was wonderful and yet so simple. That’s one of the things I love about eternal marriage so much, that is exactly what it is- ETERNAL MARRIAGE. It’s not some big fancy ceremony, it’s just 2 people getting together forever. I love it.

Rachel was the most gorgeous bride. I hadn’t seen her in almost 2 ½ years!! Our friendship was the same as always, and I am so glad I got to be a part of her special day. I’ll be back in Utah in just a few short months for a quick trip to other Rachel’s wedding, so if you didn’t catch me this time, see you in March!

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.