1/31/14

I love coming up with surprise dates. They are so fun, and it drives Travis crazy and he guesses a million things when I tell him about a surprise date that's in the works!

When I saw a monster truck tour on citydeals I knew we had to go, not too pricy and we had no plans yet! Perfect. 

This is how it went down. We got home around 4 and watched some parks and rec, Travis kept guessing (he had actually guessed right once the night before, but I'm a rock and wouldn't let him ruin a surprise ;)). I told him I'd let him know once we were in the car. I made him drive and was like okay wanna know? And he was like no!!!! Tell me where to go and ill keep guessing. So once we got to west valley he guessed it and was stoked! 

I loved his childlike joy! I got pretty into it too (definitely more than expected) we each picked monster trucks that we were rooting for. 

They also had some tricky motocrossers and off roading trucks! It was a fun date night with my baby! I love doing things that are out of the ordinary, groupon like sites are my best friend because of this! 

Oh, and his truck won :/

1/30/13

Yesterday was busy! got to school at 9:30 for my GIS class and worked on a few little projects before I did my 2 mile run of the day (trying to run 3X a week, kind of failing at this point) then I went home and prepared a crock pot dinner, recipe here! six sisters is a great resource for delicious, but not always healthy, recipes.

This was a really easy recipe. and it included a lot of vegetables: red and green bell peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and avocados. Plus it is huge so we will be eating it for breakfast for the next week!

I watched an amazingly sad documentary on netflix, called its a girl. The documentary discussed female infanticide in India and china. I couldn't believe some of the things that go on in these countries and their treatment of girls and women. The documentary made me extremely grateful that I was born in the United States. We definitely have our problems here, but they are no where near as devastating as these developing countries. I have so many opportunities as a person in general and as a woman in the US that I would likely never have had I been born in these areas of the world.

I hope at times when I get discouraged by the media, by my struggles in education, my career, or as future motherhood that my struggles were fought for by women of the past, and are still being fought for in other countries. 

After this I went to a mentor meeting for a program called OUTRAGE, which is an anti-tobacco youth group. We got the chance to learn about upcoming legislative issues and help the students gain some confidence for next week when we all go up to educate legislators on tobacco related bills. It was a boring meeting, but I am really excited to help introduce youth to the political process and how they can change things locally, because most people don't realize this, but locally you can have a huge influence on policy change as a constituent. 

Travis and I got in bed around 8:45 and were dissapointed in ourselves for being such old people. We watched some Parks and Rec to make us feel better! haha 

1/29/14

Some days you just really don't want to get out of bed..... That was me today. So I read blogs :) I'm lazy, whatever.

I've been obsessed with reading and finding blogs of women I grow to respect and enjoy reading about. I respect these women for their insights into life and their optimism. I have a couple of friends blogs who I read and am inspired by, check out Allyson and Madeline. 

My favorite blog to read is by Ashley and her life and business the shine project. I'm obsessed with her brilliant business model and totally wish I could work for her! For the mean time ill attend her events in Utah and buy threads merchandise when I can :) 

Also, I forgot to write about the other night when Travis got sick. He was throwing up (TMI?) and I started doing the dishes. He walks in and... this is how I know I have the best husband.... His biggest concern about being sick was that he couldn't do the dishes for me even though he had already cooked me dinner that night. Whhhaaatt?? Who is this man and how did I get him to pick me??? 

I need to talk about our dinner last night too. I've been watching this documentary on healthy eating and I went a little crazy with the vegetables last night because of it, luckily that's a good crazy. 

I made this disgusting looking smoothie that honestly tastes divine and is the healthiest thing ever. Here is what it contains: 

Pineapple

Mango

Banana

Blackberries 

Blueberries

Raspberries

Lime

Pomegranate juice

Kale

Parsley

Cilantro

Vanilla yogurt

Milk

Ice 

The rest of our dinner included slow cooker chicken with brown rice (decided I am never cooking white rice again, this stuff is delicious) and broccoli. We had red and yellow bell peppers with hummus and a red leaf lettuce salad with cucumbers and carrots. Delicious and super nutritious!! 

1/28/14

The last two days have been filled with work for me, and filled with school for Travis. I feel like I have barely seen him. Luckily I have been feeling accomplished with all the work I have gotten done.

Current projects:
-Work on proposal for a health app me and a team are developing for a major hospital association
-Work on analysis plan for my targeted evaluation of a tobacco policy program in SA and MH facilities
-Develop design templates for a health department report that I have been put in charge of
-Conduct systematic review of systemst thinking in health and draft paper for publication

-learn geographic information system mapping software

-increase knowledge and confidence in health statistics

I am feeling pretty good about my progress on all of these projects and am excited for the next couple of weeks!!!

Last night Travis and I celebrated one month of being married! Dinner was wonderful at station 22! 

Mmmmhhmmmmmmm

Then we came home watched some parks and rec (we are obsessed) and drank a little bubbly (sparkling cider as some call it)! 

Motivation Monday

Cuz who doesn't need a little extra motivation on Mondays? I know I sure do!

If you know me you know I am a huge supporter of positive body image, this  TED talk was incredible! you should watch it and then follow up to see what this little girl did to do something about the difficult body image culture we live in today in the US.

12/26/14

Today was a lovely Sunday! It started with me waking up and asking Travis what he wanted for breakfast (he makes breakfast for me all the time so I thought it should be my turn) he said, "chocolate chip pancakes." And I said okay baby, he looked so happy, and exclaimed,"you know how to do that?!" I giggled and replied that I did.

We watched pitch perfect cuz travis really wanted to see it again. We then got ready for the day and went to church. Relief society was really good, we discussed Jeffry R. Hollands talk titled like a broken vessel. Look it up, it's good! 

Then we went to Travis parents for dinner, which was delicious as always, and we got to play with our nieces who are adorable. The big excitement was Travis' late Christmas laser pointer. Janelle was chasing it around like a little cat. Haha 

I then went to hang out with my mom and Kate's to watch the bachelor wedding :) all in all, it's been a good day! 

1/24/13

Tonight was the lady antebellum concert. It was incredible.... To be expected! They were even better than 2 years ago when I went!

The trip started with a little dinner at olive garden, yum. Then led to using our new frontrunner passes, adventure! 

Travis was just as excited as I was... 

Then we met up with some of my salt lake friends who just happened to be there as well! Love and miss them, salt lake feels so far away even tho I'm there 2 days a week for work. 

 their openers were jana kramer who i liked a few songs from, and kip moore who i only enjoyed one song from. Lady A played all of their hits and some new songs. My favorite song of the night was, "we owned the night" because Travis got so into it, it's the only song he really likes from lady A. It was basically the last song, so we left on a good note! 

Laughs

Things to remember

Right now we have some things that we say all the time, here they are.

I'm stuck inside my body! 

(While caressing the others face) you love chips.... (Ashlyn inspired) 

Awkward (mostly me) 

Naw mean? 

Hiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee

That's not funny (inspired by this video)

That sounds made up

Ill sell my body for drugs!

That's all I can think of right now! We are on frontrunner on the way to a lady antebellum concert :D 

This happens to me all the time, it's magic

This is the truth people..... I experienced it last night. Scalding hot one second and then I had to re microwave because it turned ice cold. I finally found the happy medium on the second try!

If that isn't funny enough for you, enjoy this video:

1/22/14

Today was exciting! I got to ride frontrunner with my new pass. I felt so cool tapping on and off like all of the grownups who also got passes from their work. plus its FREE! I am so much more likely to go up to salt lake for stuff now that it is free. It's probly going to take off $50 a month for gas at least! LOVE MY JOB!

Today I was working hard putting together a proposal for some services the health department will hopefully (fingers crossed) pay for for my project. So I was working hard, I really was, and I almost forgot that I had a huge meeting that I was in charge of, and had sat up. I don't know what it was but magically at 12:40 I remembered, 20 minutes before the meeting. Divine intervention.

The meeting went great and im so surprised by how slowly they expect the report to get done. It didn't seem like it would be that much work. One of the guys doesn't think we will be able to get it done until September. My goal is to get it done by the end of  June. So I have 5 months.... why are these timelines in government so ridiculous??? A report should not take 6 months to complete, much less more than that. GEEZ la WEEZ.

I felt really confident in the meeting, even was cracking some jokes, and felt like I connected with the 5 other people in the meeting, which was cool because I haven't felt that way before really at my job. I always feel so small and inexperienced in meetings with anyone more than my two supervisors.

I have noticed that people at my work sometimes walk on pins and needles around each other. I don't ever want to do that. I also hate the way the department is set up. I think that really is my biggest problem with my job. cubicleville squashes creativity and discourages human interaction. If I ever get into a position of power I am going to prove to people that an open layout actually improves performance (there is plenty of evidence in successful companies that it does, I wont even have to experiment, I'll just show people examples) and makes people happier. We arent even supposed to talk in the halls of the cubicles? stupid? yes very.

Marriage article, 1/21/14

If you are thinking about getting married, married, or ever want to get married in the future I think you should read this article. I loved it. Being a newlywed I don't have a ton of experience, but I definitely identified with what the author said.

Probably my favorite quote from the article, "I’m intensely certain that nothing in life has ever made me more angry, frustrated or annoyed than my wife. Inevitably, just when I think I've given all I can possibly give, she somehow finds a way to ask for more. The worst part of it all is that her demands aren't unreasonable."

I know how this guys feels already, I am a very selfish person. I get annoyed, and frustrated, and snappy. But I know that is mostly on me. The more I decide to be happy and love my husband the happier I actually am and the less I focus on myself and getting annoyed. 

I also liked a quote from the end that was less comical and more optimistic, "The point is that marriage has a higher goal than to make two people happy or even whole. Yes, the investment we make into our marriage pays dividends for us. But, concluded by Medina and his colleagues, the same investment also has significant implications for our family, our community and eventually our culture."

Cool right? haha Marriage already has brought me so much happiness, can't wait to see what the rest of it brings :) 

Also speaking of marriage, Travis did the funniest thing ever. I couldn't stop laughing for like 45 minutes. We were talking about potential church callings we could get, and I told him he could be young mens president. He looked me in the eye and was like, well you actually have to be married to get that calling. and I gave him this look like, what? seriously? then he got a weird look and downshifted and was like, yeah some wards do that, you have to be married. I gave him a stronger look and said, honey.... we are married. then I busted up laughing. My husband forgot we were married. haha a whole month of marriage and he totally forgot. SO FUNNY. he felt so dumb and was like wow. I need a minute, what just happened?!?! hahahhahaa

Mlk weekend

We totally forgot this was a 3 day weekend until like Thursday!

On Saturday we went to the temple and then Travis hung out with his family while I ran errands and babysat for two cute little girls! I met back up with him for his second soccer game of the night. He scored like 7 goals, proud! 

Sunday we went to church and there was an awesome lesson in relief society. We went to my parents house to watch the Seahawks kick some 49er butt (it was a happy day at our house) a bunch of my cousins were over too. Here are some gems from the night 

Yeah. we are a little bit creepy ;) haha

On Monday we deep cleaned our apartment, went bowling with my family, and watched the movie, "the Truman show." It was a fun, relaxing holiday.

Also, I'd like to point out that my husband is the best. He made amazing breakfasts 3 days in a row (smoothies, waffles, and eggs in bread) yum! 

1/17/14

Yesterday was a fun date night! We went to Travis' intramural basketball game, and I got the splendid duty of team scorekeeper. It was kind of fun! I definitely paid more attention to the game. It was an incredibly close game the entire time, and in the end they lost, but it was very exciting!!!

Then we went home and Travis changed and we went to applebees for dinner, life's gonna be hard when we run out of wedding gift cards ;) we also took back a couple of things and got more stuff we needed from bed bath and beyond and Target. There are so may little things you forget about needing!

After we had decided we needed to break out our board games since we got a bunch for the wedding and haven't used them yet. Travis hadn't played monopoly in a long time so we played that. I was killing him and he had to mortgage like 10 properties but he managed to get one good monopoly and bet everything on that. Like 3 or 4 times he spent all his money on houses or hotels, and it payed off cuz I landed on them every time I got around the board. Lucky him. As much as i didn't like to lose, it was really fun :)

Funny Friday 1/17

It's been difficult for Travis to sleep lately with me pushing him and elbowing him in my sleep, he thought this was pretty accurate:

I've been sleeping great!

1/16/14

Today I got to school early and ran a mile and a half! then I went to class and to a Dr.'s appointment. I worked on some work stuff and got to see my friend Macie :) it was so fun to catch up with her!

Then we got to take on my little brother Trevor for the rest of the day. We got him some BB's for the airsoft gun we gave him at Christmas. My parents still haven't gotten them for him, so he hasn't had the chance to use it. Unfortunately the battery died and it took us 45 minutes to find the charger and we really needed to get home to cook dinner.

Travis cooked tonight and made delicious from scratch chicken strips. Trev loved them. I Also beat him at jenga. SUCKKKAAA. We took Trev to Travis' soccer game, and they lost but it was still fun! I'm excited for the weekend, still not sure what we are doing for the holiday but i'm sure we will figure it out!

1/15/13

One of the many perks of getting married is getting everything you could possibly need for the kitchen. We have been on a cooking spree! And I mean we, me and Travis split up cooking responsibilities throughout the week :) here are some of our recent creations:

Travis

Me

Travis 

Me

Impressive right?? We are trying to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, we are doing pretty well, but I want to do better, and try some new things. We'll see how that plays out! 

1/14/13

Today has been a great and busy day. I got to sleep in today because I had to come up to salt lake after class so Travis and I drove separately. He kissed me goodbye and I slept a bit longer! I got up and ready for the day then headed off to class a bit late.

After class I headed up to salt lake for a work meeting. The meeting has been awesome. We got to hear from a lady from tobacco free kids and a representative from the Utah legislative sponsoring a bill to raise the age of buying cigarettes in Utah to 21. It's a cool idea, and I hope it passes this session. 

I also found out during the meeting from a fellow intern that they are offering uta passes for part time employees now :D so after the meeting I raced back to work to get mine and here it is: 

 I am stoked about this. Free rides anywhere I want, who needs a car!!! Now we have this pass and a discount pass for Travis if we ever wanna go to salt lake together without a car. We are gonna hit that up next weekend for the lady antebellum concert! 

After work i got home and made some fettuccine alfreado with zucchini and red peppers for my honey and Adrienne. Adrienne and I then watched the first episode of the bachelor (tradition). It was rediculous and we loved it!!! So much drama! 

1/12/14

This week has been busy with school starting and moving in and getting back in the groove with work. I am really excited for this semester. I have just one class, GIS (Geographic Information Systems). I will also be working about 40 hours per week between my two jobs. It'll be busy but Travis is going to be super busy with his full class load and 15 hours of work. I think it will be good to have us both really busy so we don't bring the other down. haha

I love falling asleep and waking up to my sweetheart everyday. It is seriously my favorite thing about marriage. It just makes me giddy. I also love having a place for just us, our own home. I love planning together, making lunches together, and cleaning together. I guess that's probly a good sign, right?

We have our moments, and I get annoyed with him or my feelings hurt sometimes, and im sure he does with me too, but I love him to pieces!!!!

Some things I have learned about Travis this week:

1. He is super clean (BONUS)
2. He sings and whistles everything (its kind of hilarious)
3. He does whatever I ask of him with a smile

I think we will start guitar lessons this week :)

How did I get this lucky??? Look at that face

Our little home 1/11/13

I surprisingly have taken a lot of pride in our new little apartment, and so has Travis. I especially have loved decorating it. There is a ton of wall space in this apartment, which I haven't quite finished with yet (waiting on 2 more canvas 16x20 pictures and a wall hanging coat rack)

We had a housewarming party with some of our closest friends, the guest list was small because the apartment is TINY, but it was a lot of fun! We had J-dawgs and wedding cake (costco chocolate cake, really the only way to go). We talked and laughed and had a great time. Unfortunately I am a nerd and totally forgot to take pictures so I only got one of me and Travis!

Here are some pictures of the basically finished product. I love our home!!!

Moving in

We started moving into our new apartment Saturday Night after we flew in from San Diego and opened the rest of our presents with both of our parents! We are so blessed to have so many generous people in our lives. We were able to buy everything we could possibly need or want for our apartment for the next couple of years. I even got my very own kitchen aid :D (the only appliance I have ever really wanted) It's so pretty!

 

 Moving in took a lot longer than I thought it would! We were up late for about 4 nights just organizing and running errands. We are almost completely done now though! Just nee d a couple of more little things, like ordering some more canvas pictures, and maybe a little table for our living room.

I am a pro at KSL these days. I got a coffee table, 2 chairs, a nightstand and a leather ottoman for $115! pictures coming soon! 

We've had the chance to make yummy meals, desserts and have a lot of fun already in our new apartment! I love living with my incredible husband. He is so helpful and thoughtful. He helps me make lunches, he cleans, he shovels our driveway and is even cooking tonight. My life has gotten so much better since I got married :)

We are also having a housewarming party this weekend with our closest friends which will be so fun!

Honeymoon

We were very lucky that my in-laws were able and willing to send us on a wonderful honeymoon! We spent two nights at the Hotel Monaco in Salt Lake, then weflew to San Diego California to stay at the Leowis in Coronado Bay.

This song pretty much describes our weekend in San Diego

It was so beautiful in San diego in the 70's most of the week. I loved being with my new husband and just having so much time together, away from the normal distractions of life.

We went to the pool, the beach, Disneyland, did some California shopping, and went to the movies. We also ate a lot of really good food!!!  My favorite being Pick up stix!

Here are some pictures from the trip:

I have more on my camera I will  have to upload later.

Can't believe I have been married for 2 weeks now. It feels like this has been forever, and everyday flies by because life together is so much fun!!!