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Sunday, October 26, 2008

another homecoming week

josh and i have had yet another busy week.  last weekend we made a random trip down to murray to see the families.  it's always nice that we can hit both families in one trip.  very convenient.  we were able to hit up the mall and get some necessities (pumpkin cheesecake from the cheesecake factory and a new shirt for me) and of course i was able to have laura do my nails.  we were also able to go to dinner with jon and aubree which was fun because i think it has been almost a year since we've actually hung out with them without a huge group of people.  as usual, we didn't leave murray until after midnight which made for a very long drive home and a lack of planning as far as alarm setting goes for church the next morning.  that can't happen again.

this week was homecoming week at usu.  in past years i've been in charge of some of the festivities- street painting, t-shirt designing, float making, parade walking.  this year i had no responsibilities but felt the need to support my classmates.  so late monday night all of us audiology students (and spouses) met in front of our building to participate in a fav usu tradition- street painting.  basically every club gets a spot to paint on the street and it's a contest of some sort to see which club comes up with the best design.  we pretty much came up with the design when we got there, so it wasn't the most creative,  but it's always fun to hang out with your classmates when studying is not involved. our club's name is nafda (national association of future doctors of audiology) and basically we painted a huge version of the nafda logo (i'm still confused as to why the logo is what it is) and painted our names all around it.  it's always interesting to see throughout the following weeks what parts of the paint get worn away by traffic and which parts stay.  sometimes we have paint that has lasted a year and we just paint over it again.  anyway, our club is pretty sweet and we're planning some cool stuff.  we're going on a humanitarian mission in may to either the dominican republic or mexico to do hearing tests on children and fit them with hearing aids.  i'm excited because it's my first humanitarian mission.  josh is getting excited to go as well to help out.  we're trying to raise money for our trip by selling custom made ear plugs.  people who need shooters plugs, swimmers plugs, ipod plugs, musician plugs, sleeping plugs... you name it... if it plugs your ear, we can make it for you.  if anyone's interested, let me know.  we get to sell them at a discounted price and get to keep a chunk of the profits to put toward our trip so it's for a good cause and it's cheaper for you!.  it's a good idea for christmas presents too.  i hear the musician plugs are pretty sweet and usually cost around $200 but we can get them for $100.  just throwing it out there.



 tues night i hosted my jewelry/clothes party. it was definitely a success!  thanks to layla and sierra for all the fun stuff they brought and thanks also to all the girls that showed up.  we all had fun shopping for cute jewelry, hats, and sunglasses plus much more.  the party ended up being such a success that i've decided to do another one for those who weren't able to come, and those who came but asked for more!  we're going to do it during december so it'll be a great place to get some christmas presents.  just a reminder- there was juicy couture and tiffany's jewelry  (necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc), chanel sunglasses, ed hardy and christian audigier shirts and hats, juicy couture tracksuits, other cute fashion jewelry, hats, and more.  hopefully those of you interested in coming to my next party will be able to make it!

sat was the big usu homecoming parade and football game.  josh had to work that day but i was able to walk in the parade with my classmates as we handed out candy and fliers with info about our hearing clinic.  it's so funny how ghetto that parade can be, but how many people love it and show up for it.  we had a fun time and it's good to get the word out to everyone to get their hearing checked!!!  after the parade was the big game.  as most of you know, usu has a dreadful football team so i wasn't interested in going to the game (esp since josh was working).  however, i turned the game on in the last 5 mins and realized that usu wasn't playing as poorly as they usually do and actually took the lead by one with less than a min left in the game.  everyone was going nuts with the thought that we might actually win a game!  and our homecoming game at that!  but, alas, it was too good to be true and fresno state managed to run the ball down to the 58 yard line and had the chance to kick a field goal at that length with 2 seconds left... and made it.  talk about a heart breaker.  i thought the entire usu coaching staff was going to fall to their knees and sob.  it was pretty sad.  oh well, maybe next year (i'm sure...)

that pretty much sums up the week.  we've got a few halloween activities planned for this week so hopefully i'll remember to snap a few pictures. i have to work on halloween which is lame.  i don't even have costumes for me and josh because i figure what's the point?  especially since i told josh i really really really wanted to be a ghostbuster and have him be slimer and he said there was no way on earth he'd ever be caught dead as slimer.  it pretty much crushed my dreams and i haven't thought of anything else creative for the two of us to be.  

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

time to party


ok girlies (and this means all of you reading this, especially the girlies from my ward)... you're all invited to a clothing/jewelry/accessories party i'm hosting!  my friend layla is into cute, fashionable jewelry and clothes and while she was living in NY this past summer she made some great connections with some vendors back there and brought a ton of stuff back here to utah to sell at house parties!!  how awesome is that?!  she has designer stuff like ed hardy, christian audigier, juicy couture, chanel, and tiffanys at super low prices (like 50-75% off retail price).  also, she has fashion jewelry, hats, sunglasses, etc for low prices too!!  the party is tues, october 21st (one week from today) at my place and it's openhouse style from 7-9 pm.  if you're interested in coming, leave a message, call or text me.  i can give you my address (i just don't want to be posting it on here... you never know what kind of crazy stalkers i have).   i promise to make some halloween treats (and for those of you who know me, know that is quite a challenge due to my lack of love for baking) and i promise they'll taste yummy.  even if you're not sure you'd want to buy anything, you should definitely stop by and check it out and hang out with the girlies.  invite friends to come with you- the more girls the merrier!  let me know if you have any questions and i hope to see many of you there!

my little punkin

so it has been yet another crazy busy week... sometimes it's hard for josh and i to find time to do anything fun together.  so this week when i got inspired to do a little halloween decorating, i decided to include him in the adventure.  i've always wanted one of those cute front porches with the straw and everything during the fall...and now i have a porch so i was excited to spruce it up harvest style.  after school one night i roped josh into going on a search with me for straw bales.  we found some for sale out in hyde park but they were huge and we only had josh's little car.  we decided to go for it anyway and packed 2 of them into his trunk and backseat.  his car was a complete mess, but i kept telling him it would be totally worth the cleanup and expense.  he just rolled his eyes. on the way back from picking up the straw bales, we found a pumpkin patch on the side of the road.  i made josh stop immediately because a) my porch needed plenty of pumpkins and b) i had never picked out my own pumpkin at a pumpkin patch.  i always get mine at the grocery store.  josh has been to plenty of pumpkin patches but i was running around and skipping through the vines having a hay-day.  we found some great pumpkins, deposited our money in the lock box, and went on our way.  i was so surprised at how trusting people are with letting people take their straw and pumpkins.  at the straw house, there was a tupperware chillin by their front porch that said "straw" on the lid.  you could have easily just taken the straw and walked away, or you could have even taken the entire tupperware and made money off of it.  pretty trusting people.  good thing josh and i are honest. 






the finished product

so katrina inspired me to make a cute halloween wreath. it's not as good as hers (though i tried to copy hers the best i could... hers is fabulous) but it still has some fixing to do.  maybe next year.  
as i mentioned before, it was josh's birthday on friday.  we had a great day.  he got off early and i had no school that day.  we went to cafe sabor for lunch and stuffed our faces with chips, smoothies, and fried ice cream.  yum.  then we headed to ogden to meet up with a bunch of our friends for dinner and a haunted hallow.  it was fabulous to have so many make the trek up to ogden and it really did make josh feel special to see everyone on his birthday.... there were 20 of us and josh told me later he didn't think he even had 20 friends. we ate at texas roadhouse (which was a fabulous choice on josh's part) and i loved that they made him sit on a saddle to wish him happy birthday.  the more we can do to embarrass the ones we love, the better.  the  haunted hallow was great too... there were a few parts where we were walking around in pitch black and it was a great scare.  of course, during this part josh let go of my hand to try to scare me.  i ended up grabbing onto lindsey's hand and josh mills' shirt instead.  as we continued walking through the darkness, cameron (lindsey's hubby behind her) grabbed the top of my head.  it scared me so much that i dropped to the ground and ended up clinging to josh mills' butt.  sorry about that (emily & josh)... i couldn't help myself, i was a little too freaked out.  josh wasn't too thrilled about me grabbing someone else's tushy, but i explained to him it was all his fault for letting go of me.  he agreed and we all had a good laugh from it.  we really do have the best friends ever and are so grateful for all the love and support they have shown us through the years.  we are sad we can't see them as often as we'd like, but we sure do like to play and have fun when we are together.  










Friday, October 10, 2008

happy birthday to my favorite boy

today is josh's birthday and sadly enough, he's at work while i'm sitting at home enjoying my day off.  but he's getting off early and we have some fun things plan for the day.  he's so lame and hates opening presents and refused to let me wrap up any of his gifts.  how could anyone hate surprises as much as he does?  i just don't get it.  anyway, his birthday was a more practical one this year (unlike last years which was a trip to costa rica)... he got lots of clothes- pants, shirts, sweatshirts, and a nice coat he can wear at work.  i'm getting this boy ready for his first logan winter and i would really like it if he survived the bitter cold.  
josh is fabulous and i don't know what i would do without him.  he has been my best friend for over 8 years and i couldn't imagine spending eternity with anyone other than him.  he gets me and he puts up with me, which i'm sure can be hard to do sometimes.  he has been my steady support while making big decisions about school and work, and has been willing to move just to be with me as i do the things that i love. i admire him so much for his constant strength and optimism. i call him my "trooper" because he has been through so much this past year physically and mentally but he has had such a great attitude and is determined to get over this whole cancer deal.  i have been so amazed at the way he has handled the situation and it makes me love and appreciate him so much more everyday.   have been strengthened so much by him mentally and spiritually and i feel that now, after every trial we have been put through (and i know there are plenty more to come), i truly understand the importance of eternal marriage in our lives.
happy birthday to my homeboy!  xoxo

pick a purse

so jessica showed this website for free purse give-a-ways... i'm always up for winning a free purse.  so go check it out if you love purses and handbags as much as i do.  :)

www.handbagplanet.com


Saturday, October 4, 2008

smorgeshborg of tags

i have been tagged by quite a few people lately so i just combined a few of them...

I am: a wife, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a doctoral student, a waitress, an optimist
I think: about my school work all the time
I know: that families are forever
I want: a house and a puppy to go along with it
I wish: i could travel all over the world
I hate: when people chew with their mouths open
I miss: my family and friends in murray
I fear: cancer
I feel: bad josh has to work today and i'm sitting in my bed, in my pj's, eating cereal, and watching conference
I hear: the rain outside
I smell: the rain outside
I crave: smoothies, all the time!
I search: the internet constantly for cute clothes, new styles, celeb gossip
I wonder: where we will be living in 5 years
I regret: not spending more time hanging out with my little sisters when we were growing up
I love: to do crafts and flower arrangements
I care: about my family and friends
I always: have my cell phone with me
I am not: a fan of doing dishes, josh has to do them after i cook him dinner
I believe: in the gospel
I dance: to embarass josh
I sing: rarely, not even in the shower
I don’t always: wear my seatbelt... it's terrible and i really need to work on that
I write: my journal on my blog.  my other journal has been neglected lately.
I win: nothing... never... ever
I lose: my mind when i study too long
I never: stop telling josh how much i want to go to greece
I listen: to the radio every morning when i'm getting ready
I can usually be found: at school or studying
I am scared: of ocean animals... have you seen those giant squid, sharks, and freak fish?!
I need: a vacation!
I am happy about: my life... i really am blessed

*8 TV shows that I love to watch....

1. the hills

2. gossip girl

3. beverly hills 90210 (the original one)

4. jon & kate + 8

5. grey's anatomy

6. the oc

7. the bachelorette/bachelor

8. tabitha's salon takeover

*8 Places that I love to eat......

1. cheesecake factory

2. cafe sabor

3. olive garden

4. our parent's houses

5. cafe rio

6. aristo's

7. texas roadhouse

8. fairs/carnivals

*8 things that happened this past week.....

1. studied... a lot

2.worked

3. bought some cute rainboots

4. shopped for josh's birthday presents

5. blogged

6. bbq'd with my fabulous friends

7. watched usu lose yet another football game

8. tutored my sister with her math over the phone

*8 Places I have traveled to...

1. Costa Rica

2. Juneau, Alaska

3. Puerto Rico

4. New York

5. Florida

6. Eastern & Western sides of Mexico

7. Tennessee

8. St Thomas (US Virgin Islands)


*8 things that I look am looking forward to...

1. finally graduating from school

2. josh graduating from school

3. christmas!

4. buying a house

5. being a mom

6. traveling to greece

7. getting a new car

8. being estabished

*8 things I love about Fall....

1. cute sweaters

2. changing leaves

3. drives through the canyons

4. Halloween decorations

5. hot chocolate while snuggling up watching a movie

6. Halloween treats

7. Thanksgiving dinner

8. pumpkin carving


*8 things I can't live without....

1. josh

2. our families

3. the gospel

4. my phone

5. my computer

6. my day planner

7. my fabulous friends

8. my amazingly comfortable bed

*i tag anyone who wants to kill some time, or anyone who hasn't done a tag lately!*

Sunday, September 28, 2008

so much to do...

i haven't posted for a while and figured it was about time to highlight some of the things we have been doing these past few weeks.  last weekend, my sister, laura, and our friend kevin (from alaska) came up to visit.  we didn't have a whole lot planned because we mostly wanted to be able to just hang out with them because we rarely ever get to see them.  we were able to fit in some good buffalo wings, pizzookies, chinese food, a toga party, some texas hold 'em, and kevin's favorite... carl's jr... all into 2 1/2 days.  saturday ended up being a great day for me because i got my hair done that morning and then that afternoon while the boys went shopping to best buy and other techy stores, laura did my nails and my toenails.  her acrylic nails are fantastic and she also does great pedicures (this is my little business plug for her if anyone is interested).  anyway, i felt like a new woman after laura was done working her magic on my nails.  it's actually really nice to have a little sister who will come to my house, let me watch tv, and also lets me lay down while doing my nails.  you don't get that good of service in those asian nail salons.  




this weekend, we had some fun events going on in murray so we decided to make a trip down on saturday.  it all started with a yummy lunch at rumbi's with josh's family.  we then split from them and headed to my house for a bit where we were spoiled with gifts of clothes and peaches.  fabulous!  then it was onto the mall to do a little bit of birthday shopping for josh.  remind me never again to take him shopping with me.  even if whatever we're buying is for him.  it's just not worth the hassle.  anyway, i got a craving a few days before for the fabulous pumpkin cheesecake at cheesecake factory so we headed over there only to be disappointed by the news that pumpkin cheesecake doesn't come out until october.  it was september 27th.  lame.  i guess i'll just have to go back.  (another plug- cheesecake factory's pumpkin cheesecake is the best around.  i would know.  trust me).  it was good to see some of my friends i worked with though.  i've missed them.

after our mall experience we headed over to murray park to get some hankins family pictures taken.  kristi did a fabulous job of coordinating the boys' outfits with the outfit i was wearing.  leave it to a mom to be able to pull that off.  can i just say that she has an amazing amount of patience to deal with those 3 boys of hers?  every shot we were taking they would stick their tongues out, punch each other, make googly- eyed faces... you name it.  it wasn't anything like my family taking pictures where all of us girls are trying our best to look as cute as possible.  thank goodness she has another girl in the family to help her out against all that testosterone.  




after picture time it was crabfest time.  josh's neighbor sanford throws this event every year for all those who enjoy crab.  basically he buys a ridiculous amount of king crab and invites a bunch of people over to eat it.  sounds awesome, right?  well, josh was in heaven.  it's basically "all-you-can-eat" crab and that's what josh did. he and kristi were downing it at an unbelievable rate.  i was amazed.  i like crab, but honestly, it takes way too much work to get the meat out of the legs... and i wasn't so thrilled about the idea of being covered in crab meat pieces and butter (unlike josh, he had it all over his face, hands, shirt, pants... i was wondering where a bib was...).  basically i ate one leg of crab and called it quits.  josh pretty much ate my portion, dave's, nate's, and spencer's... as well as his own.  that boy loves his crab!

josh's plate (after one tray... they went through about 4)
my plate

following crabfest was another party we were excited to attend.  taylor and jen price are moving to china and tyler and sarah howland were kind enough to throw them a little going away party.  it was great to get together with everyone, especially people i haven't seen in years!  i feel like i'm fairly up-to-date with people's lives via blogs, but to actually see them in person is even more fabulous.  it was great hanging out with everyone and we were so happy we could finally come down for a party at tyler's dad's house  :)  (that house is amazing, fyi, and has the pool/slide that any kid would dream of).  we had to leave earlier than most everyone else due to the 1 1/2 hour drive ahead of us, but it was worth it.  maybe if we throw a party up here in logan, everyone will come up here.... maybe....


today has been a great sunday.  church was awesome as usual and i'm really starting to get to know the members in our ward better and i'm loving it!  we had a linger longer after church which was fabulous because a) the food was great b) i was starving and c) that meant one less meal to cook at home!  after church i was able to finish the corsages and boutonnieres that i had been working on on friday.  remember the bouquet i made earlier?  well, i finished the rest of it and everything is all good to go for this girl's wedding on the 10th.  (yet another plug- anyone want a flower arrangement/bouquet/boutonniere/corsage... you let me know... i can do artificial or real flowers, however i can't get fresh flowers wholesale so it's not much cheaper for me to do those... yet...)




other than all that, life has been same old.  school is going well for me and i'm really enjoying it.  i'm learning so much in my classes and i finally am starting to feel like i'm in a field that i'll be able to work in forever.  i just finished one of my hardest classes- a neuro pathologies class... it was a lot of work but i feel like i learned a ton and have gotten a lot out of it.  josh is still working on rv's and will start up school again in january.  we're getting so excited for all the dr's appts and his treatment to be over with so he can have the energy and the time to get back into school again.  if anyone is interested, the leaves are starting to change in sardine canyon and they are amazing!  if anyone has some spare time to make the drive up to see the beautiful colors, let us know!!  that pretty much sums it all up!