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!

full day of fun plans!

Tomorrow after work is going to be a doozy. But the absolute best kind.

5pm: dinner at Chuck-A-Grandma with the fam. TYE and her two wonderful children just flew into town today--time for a celebrate at ol' Chuck.

6-7:30pm: attend Danielle's reception for her art show in the HFAC. I'm almost certain there will be delicious refreshments. I'm 100% sure there will be fantastic art to view. Come if you want either or both of those things.

8-10pm: Spanish Fork Rodeo! It happens every year, folks, as a part of their Fiesta Days. Boy howdy, I'm excited. Can't wait for the mutton bustin'! A whole bunch of people from my office are all going together. We're going to make quite the ruckuss.

Monte and I will probably go to bed around midnight, then wake up at 7:30am to drive to Idaho for the weekend. Hopefully we'll make it up to Boise on Saturday so I can try out their version of Seven Peaks!

pyromaniacs

Monte and I went camping together for the first time EVER a couple of weeks ago. I know, it seems weird that we just barely got around to going, especially considering that Monte and I both loved camping before we ever starting dating. Last summer we tried to go a few times but then ended up being too lazy. Also, it's annoying to have to borrow all of the equipment every single time. Thus, we decided to bite the bullet and buy all of the essentials: tent, tarp, cooler, hatchet, camp chairs, and a sandwich roaster, as a few examples.

Holy cow, we had fun. Here are some pictures of our adventures. Don't mind my greasy hair. And crazy face.

SURPRISE!

Let me just start out by showing some long overdue pictures of Monte's Cinco de Mayo mustache. It's pretty incredible:
Out to lunch at Los Carporales:I think it's funny that there are some of Monte's fellow kinsmen behind us...and they have mustaches all year round.

Now, for the grand surprise you've all been waiting for. I have been doing the BYU aerobics classes (SO fun) and have been getting headaches because my hair is so heavy and long. Thus, I decided to make a hair appointment with my favorite hair stylist, Amy. She really is awesome (in all aspects of life).

I thought I was just going to cut off about 5 inches to get rid of some of the weight (and split ends, of course). I came out looking like this:
(me a bit crazy-eyed, Amy with a fake smile)


So, what do you think? Oh, I was also able to barely donate 10 inches of hair. Who knew my hair was that long? I certainly didn't.

weepy

I have this bad habit of crying during almost every TV show or movie. Seriously. If there's just one tiny ounce of deep emotion portrayed on film I can't help but tearing up (side note: it drives me crazy that there are words that are spelled the same but that can be pronounced differently to mean totally different things, i.e. tearing, read, etc).

Tonight I watched the most recent episode of Glee (delightful use of my time) and totally almost starting bawling at the end when Rachel was singing "One" with that quadriplegic guy (sorry for sounding so insensitive, I just really can't remember his name). It could have been either because I felt so sorry for the paralyzed guy or because I already have an emotional connection with that song (especially the Mary J Blige version). Either way, I felt like an idiot.

Kind of like that time that my coworker was driving in her car and heard Miley's song "The Climb" and started crying. She was pretty embarrassed. And we still make fun of her.

Anyway, I am a wuss pants and cry about everything, whether happy or sad. Perhaps this is a good thing because it makes me feel like I still have a soul. Maybe I'm not as desensitized as I thought.

Girls Camp, here we come!

I have a new calling: Mia Maid advisor!
This means I will be attending Girls' Camp at MIA SHALOM! That's where I went to girls' camp growing up. Remember when I jumped in the lake? And got banned? And had to clean canoes? Totally worth it.
Here's a picture I found on Google Images of one of the A-frame cabins:
I'm not really sure who that cut-out man is--maybe their bishop? Kind of creepy.
But, yes, we really do decorate our cabins according to the year's theme. I don't know what our theme is for this year, but I'm super excited.

Unfortunately, I'll only be able to go for part of the week because I don't have any vacation hours yet at my job. Poopy, but at least I still get to go for a bit.

I'll have to find my old pictures from camp and post some, yes?

I am now the sole occupant of a spacious office with two giant windows

It's true. I got the Office Manager job at Chrysalis. It is a dream come true. I get to work with my good friends, I get a huge office to myself, I get a pretty large raise (SO happy), I'll get full benefits for me and Monte in a few months, and they'll work with me in finishing up my classes for graduation. I just love working in that office. It's so great that I can joke around with my boss and be friends with everyone, no matter if they're "above" me or not.

Hopefully I'll look this professional some day, with lots of practice:
However, I will NEVER part my hair in the middle. Eww.

Valentine's Day

Exactly one month ago it was Valentine's Day. I am just now going to post about it. I hope that's okay with you, because I'm not going to stop this post just because of petty complaints.

I made cinnamon rolls from scratch for the first time ever. Here are some pictures of the messy occasion:
Just some of the dishes that needed to be washed

The little buns rising in the warm oven

The icing I made (I didn't have cream cheese so I added sour cream instead--pretty good!). Pretend it's dripping down instead of to the left.

And this is why I made them. So I could cheesily ask Monte to go to a Valentine's dance with me. Just like in high school. I can't really draw dump trucks this well--I traced it. Pretend the buns are inside of the dump truck.
Maybe sometime this week I'll have time to post a picture of how Monte responded to me. Hopefully all of you will aspire to be as cool as me and Monte from now on.

Important Information

In case anyone was dying to know, Monte has to work this Saturday (MY BIRTHDAY) from 9-5. So. It is the obligation of all of my friends to entertain me during that time. Let your imaginations run wild. Who knows what kind of havoc we could wreak (sp?).Side Note: I love them.

BIG decision

I have about 15 minutes until my bus comes so I thought I'd let all (3) of my readers know what's going on right now. As many of you already know, Monte wants to go to med school. I totally support him in that desire because he really does love the medical field. When he thought he was going to be a clinical psychologist for the rest of his life he just wasn't excited about life. Now that he's back on the medical track he is so excited about EVERYthing. It's great.

Anyways, medical school is pretty darn expensive. Like, I've heard it's typical to come out of residency with like $250,000 worth of debt. That's the cost of a house, my friends. And we'll probably already have a house payment by then. Pretty stressful, but I know people get out of it, especially since doctors tend to make a lot of money.

To avoid huge amounts of debt Monte has been looking into joining the Air Force. They pay for school, help you choose medical schools, and are basically awesome about you getting an education. The downside is that Monte would have to go to Officer's Training next summer back east for a WHOLE MONTH. Now, as you people probably know, I have a hard time even if Monte has to work til midnight. Going to sleep without him is the worst thing ever. SO, if he were to join the military and have to be gone for huge amounts of time like that I've decided that I would just take a long trip (not the whole month, of course) with my family/friends to distract myself from the fact that he's gone. Hopefully....that would help missing him.

Another downside is that Monte would have to work for the Air Force for 4-6 years after residency. That's a long time. BUT at least he would have a secure job and gain lots of experience. During that time the Air Force could send us to live pretty much anywhere (as far as I know). Shaylee and Shawn were stationed in the craphole of New Mexico (Alamogordo) when they were in the Air Force. But then, we could be sent to Europe. I've heard of a lot of people who are stationed in Germany and Italy.

While it's kind of downside that we'd have to live where they told us to, it would be a GREAT opportunity to share the gospel. Which is scary. Because I am not the best at it. But I think that I would be fine and have a good time with all of the other wives on base.

So. What do you guys think? Is it worth it? We're not sure. We've been praying about it and we're going to the temple tonight. Hopefully we are receptive to the spirit, but we'd love advice from all of you, as well.

Angus, Thongs, and PERFECT Snogging

It has arrived, ladies. The movie about some of our favorite books on the planet. Yeah, they changed the name a bit, but not a TON else. Here are my pros and cons after watching it:

CONS:
- it's not a book, it's a movie
- they combined the first two books into this first movie and skipped a lot of my favorite parts (like the part when Georgia's grandpa farts in public)
- Georgia (or any of the characters, for that matter) didn't act like I imagined she would
- it was even sadder to actually SEE Dave the Laugh's heart get broken
- when doing the "pencil test" on screen, they put the pencil vertically between the basoomas. That is clearly not how it was performed in the book (should have been horizontal, underneath)
- The movie focused on the big things that happened in the book (like when Georgia's actually doing something) instead of her hilarious ramblings when she's just sitting in her room, cutting out some of the most hilarious material they could have worked with.
- Libby wasn't really funny at all in the movie

PROS:
- it was set in England, with English actors/actresses
- they got a pretty decent cat to play Angus
- Dave the Laugh was a cutie
- in fact, I thought he was cuter than The Sex God (Robbie)
- it was a good laugh

Anyways, I know not all of you have read these hilarious books, but you should give them a try if you have some extra time and would like to laugh at the insane ramblings of a 14 year old.

If any of you fellow fans of the books see the movie, let me know what you think of it. I'd even be willing to watch it again if it meant watching it with you. It's in the Redbox.