I guess I should start acting like an adult now...

(the new dress that Monte bought me for graduation)

(Monte gave me this flower lei--I loved it!)

(yep, that's right--my dad has keys to the football stadium)

(at the Geography graduate luncheon a couple hours before the ceremony)


As you can tell from the pictures above, I decided to walk after all. I'm glad I did. It felt momentous. And I got a flower lei out of it--totally worth it.

Thanks to all of you who helped me get to this point: mom and dad for letting me live at their house when I ran out of rent money (and for raising me, of course); friends/roommates for listening to me complain about classes; everyone for helping me brainstorm the "perfect" major for me; and everyone else who made a difference to me during my college career.

I'm kind of sad to not be in college anymore. I hope I don't just turn in to a lazy bum. I could see myself doing that. Perhaps I'll volunteer at the temple, or something. Or hang out with all of you more! Or both.

Now I don't have an excuse about not exercising--before it was always "I'm too busy to exercise," but now I really DO have time, so everyone ask me how that's going for me and hopefully you'll all guilt me into doing it.

more thoughts

While we're on the subject of Harry Potter, here are a few more tidbits:

- my 6 year old niece is reading #7 right now.

- sometimes I want to get this-- it's as close as I can get to being a witch for reals

- I love this movie

Nymphadora Tonks

Remember a few months ago when I looked exactly like Harry Potter? If not, here's a reminder:
WELL, my hair has grown out quite a bit (it's almost shoulder length) so I can't dress up as Harry for the next movie. I wanted to be Madam Hooch and get cat contacts and everything, but then I wouldn't be able to see unless I wore my glasses (and then I wouldn't look like her). SOOOO, I have decided to dress up as Tonks (seen here with Mad Eye):
Does anyone have a black womanly/goth trench coat I can borrow?

My Graduation Plans

I have decided not to walk. Here's why:
- caps and gowns are expensive, worthless, and hideous
- I am in one of the largest colleges on campus so my convocation will last 2.5-3 hours
- said convocation will be in the Marriott Center, which means anyone in the audience would be too far away from me to even see me as I tromp across the stage
- I don't like walking across a stage and getting my picture taken in from of thousands of people
- it was stressing me out way too much when I was planning on walking, so now I just decided not to

I WILL, however:
- gladly accept graduation gifts (mostly kidding)
- be taking pictures of myself in a cap/gown for posterity
- be happy when my parents take me to Tucanos for my graduation dinner
- be going on a graduation trip this summer! Shaylee and Tye, get super excited to see me and Monte!

Our New(ish) Car!

(I pruned that tree on the right...my mom said that's really what it's supposed to look like, but it just looks weird to me. Maecy, please come prune the rest of her trees as I am a weakling and cannot do it myself)

Monte and I finally bought a car of our own back in November. When we got married, I thought the Mena's just gave us their old Camry, but apparently we are just borrowing it (we still have it). They'd like us to give it back this summer so their other sons can use it.

SO, Monte and I decided to get this beauty. It's a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. And I love it. Plus, it's super nice to have 2 cars right now since Monte and I have opposite crazy schedules.It is a very spoiled car--we baby it and keep it in the garage a lot.

this is disgusting

Litter boxes are gross enough, but this? It's just wrong.

Cleaning up poop wouldn't be that bad because you'd just scoop it up and throw it away (like you have to when dogs poop on the lawn).

HOWEVER, cleaning up the pee sounds very messy. It can hold 2 GALLONS of pee! Can you imagine if you accidentally dumped it out on your carpet, or on yourself, or on your laptop? Imagine the possibilities.

How often do you think that replacement mats (the "grass" part) should be replaced?

To learn more about this disgusting contraption, go HERE.

baby shoes

I promise I am not pregnant and am not even thinking about getting pregnant. BUT, if I were thinking about having babies I would want to buy these shoes:

All of these are available to purchase online, currently. They're also all ridiculously expensive for such tiny things.

I have always been very fond of itty bitty shoes. AND adult women's shoes, but that's for another post.

why this weekend will be a doozy AND some things that are funny about monte

Monte and I are dreading this Sunday- we have to give talks in sacrament meeting. Our topic is "Treasures in Heaven." My first reaction was "what the crap does that even mean?" I'm glad that some other people have had the same reaction when I told them what my topic was. I believe it's referring to the fact that you can't take worldly "treasures" or possession with you when you die- you need to have eternal perspective and focus on the things that really matter: your testimony of the gospel, your temple covenants, your family, etc. Nothing we do in this life really matters if we don't lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Does anyone have any awesome ideas for my talk?

I don't get all lovey-dovey on here very often, but Monte has been hilarious lately and I want to show you some ridiculous pictures of him. He takes naps a LOT. One time he decided to just doze off on the floor with his head popping out of a room:He sleeps on the couch a lot. His mouth is pretty much always open this wide when he lays on his back. 'Tis funny:
This was on Christmas day at Maecy's house in Ogden. He's pretty good at making mischievous faces because he's always into mischief.
Creepy, eh? Yeah, but he's still my most favorite person in the world. Perhaps I'll show some decent-looking pictures of him some other time. Maybe.

Here are some pictures to tide you over:

I guess some people really DO read my blog. I had no idea.

In case you didn't hear already, I finally got to go on my Mexican cruise that I paid for two years ago (that the Swine Flu foiled). This time the Mena's paid and I went...without Monte. That was the sad part, but it was still really fun and I got to fully relax for a full week. And go to some awesome beaches. And get hit on by a lot of Mexican men.

This is proof that I tried to eat fish and like it (that's tilapia). It was gross. I just can't like fish, no matter how hard I try.

Jlene and I got to know each other very well. We were roommates for a whole week! She's really nice and patient.
This is the only time I ever went swimming in the pool on the ship. This was after a long day of walking around Puerto Vallarta and riding the crazy city bus.
This is just a couple of minutes after the above picture was taken. See Walmart in the background? It's taking over the world.
This is Monte's youngest brother, Danny, with some random military men that are everywhere in Mexico (at least the coastal places I went to). That's our ship in the background.
The beach on Stone Island (in Mazatlan). I look insane.
My favorite port BY FAR was Cabo San Lucas. We went on a glass-bottom boat tour to a couple of beaches, saw some pretty, colorful fish, and went past this famous arch. Later that day Danny and Sam (Monte's brothers) went parasailing, which I think I want to do someday.
This is a wound that I got in Cabo whilst climbing upon some rock on the beach. It reminded me of Debbie's Hawaii beach wound, but way less severe.

klutz

I start the last semester I'll ever attend at BYU on Wednesday!

In other news, last night I was in bed, all the lights were off, Monte was drifting off to sleep, etc. I went to grab a tissue on my dresser (because of a slight cold I'm suffering from) and, bumbling around in the dark, knocked the massive Maglight off. It landed on my foot. I started crying because it hurt so bad. I don't remember the last time I cried over physical pain.
I think it was the size just slightly bigger than the one shown in the picture above (retrieved from Google images, of course). My two outside toes on my left foot are still very bruised.

Perhaps I should put a lamp on my side of the bed...

das auto

Monte and I (and Hayley, that wonderful woman) went car shopping from about 10:45 til 4:45 yesterday (we took about an hour break for lunch). MY HEAVENS, it was stressful, but very fun and informative. We were mostly at the Auto Mall in Sandy (off 10600).

After much test driving and looking at prices/miles/options/colors/everything else, we decided that we want a Hyundai Sonata (2006-2009 version). Hyundais are getting great reviews lately and I've always been particularly attracted to the Sonata (although it can look a bit old-personish compared to other vehicles). We would want it in Steel Grey, Dark Red, Blue, or BLACK (my favorite). Here are some pictures (I just got them off of Google Images):
The other car that we were seriously considering (which took us by surprise) was the 2007 Saturn Aura. I had never heard or read anything about it, but here's what it looks like. It got pretty good reviews (I couldn't find anything online that was really bad about it at all).We were looking at a black one, in particular (it's the only one we saw all day).
This vehicle was made after the GM takeover of Saturn, so it has GM backing it up (however reliable THAT is). We just worry that since Saturn is basically gone to the world that it would be hard to find parts to repair it later (the salesman assured us that GM would have all of the parts we would ever need, but I don't trust salesmen).

ANYway, that's what we came up with. We'll probably end up getting a Sonata within the next few weeks, we just want to find the best deal (obviously). And we really need a second car. Any comments or suggestions?

No matter how long I live, these will always be hilarious to me

8 Qs--I been tagged!

Stephanie tagged me to answer the following questions:
1. What's one thing you're really glad happened in the past week?
I got good scores on my first midterms in both of my classes! Quite the accomplishment since I didn't really have time to study...those are my favorite kinds of tests--I'm bad at studying.

2. What are you favorite things to wear?My new dress from Shade (like the one above, but a bright pinkish/orangish color). It was $12. It's super comfortable because it feels like a really long T-shirt. It's also super cute (I think--my coworkers and family agree). I would post of picture of it if I had one.

3. Where do you want to be in 5 years?
Monte and I should write down a 5-year plan like Tim and Dani did! Off the top of my head, though, it would be nice if Monte was starting residency, I had a kid, stayed at home, and worked part time. It would be ideal if I could also complete my MLS degree by that time.

4. What's your most relaxing pastime?Playing Words With Friends on my iPod. I know it sounds lame, but it's the way I relax at night time. If you have an iPod touch or iPhone you should get the FREE app and start a game with me (spixters).

5. Have you read any good books lately that you wish to share?Beatrice and Virgil. It's by the same author as Life of Pi (Yann Martel) which is also phenomenal. Mostly I just want someone to read B&J so I can talk to them about it--I'm still kind of confused, but it was good.

6. What's one of your favorite dinners to make?I don't really like to cook anymore because I don't have time, but I like to make Barbecups because smashing those canned biscuits into muffin tins is a joy. I feel like a kid again.

7. Where do you wish you were right now (time or place) or why are you happy where you're at?
I wish I were in April 2011. Graduated and on my way to the Caribbean for my graduation present (a cruise). I find myself wishing the next 6 months would speed up so I can just be done already! I need to try to enjoy everyday. It's hard.

8. When are you going to call me next?
When I have time....so probably in December. ;) Hopefully sooner, though, Steph.

I'm gettin' married in da mornin'

Just kidding. I'm already married. To Monte. He's awesome.

Anyways. We moved in to my parents' basement last week. I think it was probably the most stressful week of my life. Here's why:
1. The new receptionist I hired started on Monday and then quit on Tuesday. Had to start interviewing again.
2. Midterms. Bleh.
3. Moving. More moving than I've ever experienced before (FURNITURE!).

Everything is mostly back to normal now. I am almost decided on who to hire as the new receptionist, one midterm down and one more to go on Friday, and everything is moved into my parent's (my back is still killing me, however).

Now I just have to find time to organize all of our belongings and create a semblance of order again. Please pray that I can receive some motivation to do so!

Here's a question for all of you busy people (so, pretty much everyone who read this blog):
How do you find time to exercise? I get home around 6:30 or 7 every night, do homework, eat dinner, etc. It doesn't even occur to me most of the time that exercising is an option. It just doesn't seem to fit into my schedule. I ran in the mornings for a while, but now I have to be to work by 8am and that's too early to run, shower, and get ready. BUT I really need to exercise. Please advise.

Real Soccer Game

For one of Monte's birthday presents I gave him tickets to a Real Salt Lake soccer game! We went on September 18th and had a pretty good time (despite the intense heat). Here are some pictures.

Mia Shalom

Here are some pictures from girls' camp (about a month ago). I only slept over for one night, but it was nice to up there again. It was beautiful!