10 Things.

1. Reading The Help with Dave every night out loud. We've never read a book out loud with one another, but now I love it. It is a great way to connect at the end of the day, and sparks some good conversation.

2. Creating things. Pillows. Curtains. Quilt. Wreath. Pictures to come. I am loving my new sewing machine.

3. Job searching. Had many interviews, and many end the same..."You are overqualified." or "I think you'd get bored with this position." Seriously? I sit there and try to sell myself, all for them to turn around and tell me I probably wouldn't like the job. Come on. I just need a job. GIVE IT TO ME. Arrrgh. It will happen though.

4. Best friend Kari comes home in 1.5 days. Are you kidding me? I am so beyond excited to see that girl.

5. Conference weekend coming up, and so many fun people coming to stay. Sarah + Tyler (good friends), Clare + Steven (sister and fiance), Luke (brother), possibly Kari, Shannon (sister), Jared (cousin)...and probably others. Gonna be a hoot. Oh and conference will be amazing too. I'm SURE of it.

6. Tried out a Zumba class tonight. I looked 'a fool! Oh and it definitely helped when the Zumba instructor got all up in my face while shimmying and screaming at me "Shake it girl!!". Keep it up. Maybe it would help if I got pants that had tassels on the butt pockets like hers. Just a thought.

7. Been riding all around town on Dave's motorcycle, and loving it.

8. Not having an IPhone kinda makes me feel left out of the instagramming-craze. It's ok. I'll take some sweet pics with my point-and-shoot. Isn't that the real cool thing to do now?

9. There was a worker outside our window (one foot outside our window) chopping down a tree with a chainsaw yesterday. On a Sunday, for seven hours straight. Right during prime nap time! Oh the insanity.  

10. Finally getting better at the whole "cooking dinner thing." I used to not cook too often due to being in school and working - both of us wouldn't get home until 10 or 11 at night. So I came to the decision, since I am home for about 12 hours a day right now, that I could possibly maybe sorta squeeze in time to cook dinner. Ha, just kidding. But seriously, I have expanded my repetoire to about 10 things. Go me! When a meal turns out good, I parade around the house chanting my own made up theme song: "You did it, You cooked it, Ya Ya you cooked it!" And I don't feel ashamed. No ma'am.

+1. Speaking of cooking. I have perfected the art of baking cookies. And will admit that I made cookies more times last week then times I went to the gym. Gasp! But they were goood cookies.

Graduation : : Class of 2011

Ever have something you need to blog about and it's just hangin over your head and you feel like you can't write anything else until you write that one thing down? Yeah, well I have a ton of those things to write about: Graduation, two weeks in California, Dave's Central America adventure, etc. So even though I don't have all my pictures... here are my thoughts on graduating from Brigham Young University...(I just graduated a couple weeks ago in the August 2011 ceremony).

I actually wrote down my thoughts in my journal the week I was graduating, and I think I will share part of what I wrote, as it expresses my thoughts well.

"I think I am mostly excited to be done with this chapter of my life. I think I will always look back with fond memories of being a student at BYU. I'm sure one day I will miss it and reminise about the "good ole days." But for now, the overall feeling I have is just gratitude. College was definitely a time of growth for me. I made some great friends, learned to put myself out there and be social, how to fellowship, how to study hard and achieve my goals. I had some interesting experiences with dating throughout college that were both inspiring and crushing. I got to spend 4 1/2 months in Hawaii for school. I was able to be home at Saddleback (in California) when Dave got home from his mission. Got married! And now back at BYU. Definitely a life changing four years. ..and I wouldn't change a second of it. Not even the hard times. Those were the times that I grew the most."

College was definitely an interesting time. Out of my 4 years of college, I attended 3 different universities. Each one had unique memories, and I feel tied to each.

I started out freshman year at BYU...loved every second of it and made some really really great friends.

Sophmore year I relocated back to California due to some hard things I was going through at the time. It was a great decision that allowed me to be closer to family, and looking back now, it probably played a huge role in me being married to Dave now. I was able to be home in CA during the time that Dave came home from his mission, and being there gave us time to date and fall in love.

Later that year, we got engaged. And I spent the last half of my Junior year with Dave at BYU Hawaii. Yes...it was a dream. Being able to go to school, surf, hike to a waterfall, and watch a Hawaiian sunset with my fiance all in the same day was simply amazing.

Then senior year, and being married, took us back to BYU Provo, where we had our first memories together as husband and wife. Graduating from BYU Provo makes me feel like my college life has come full-circle. This is where I started, and this is where I get to end.

I feel really grateful that I got to be educated at two BYU locations. Getting to go to a non-church school in California, and contrasting that with BYU, really helped me appreciate the gospel and the way it changes peoples lives.

Dave and I took a philosophy class together at Saddleback (CA), where our beliefs were questioned every single day and where an answer of faith was considered an "argument killer." Even short hour-long classes were given breaks so that the jittery students could have their smoke. Let's just say it was an interesting time. Though sometimes it was rough, going to this school really helped me have a more open mind, yet also allowed me to speak up for what I believe in - because at a completely liberal school, believe me...the topic of being mormon came up just about everyday. Contrast that to BYU, where answers are sometimes expected to incorporate faith with logic. And where an honor code allows students to be taught in an environment free of drugs, cursing, and harassment for church beliefs. Just walking on the BYU campus had a completely different feel. It is at BYU where I felt more inspired and uplifted than almost anywhere else, it is so conducive to individual learning and thought.

California, Hawaii, Provo - each taught me in different ways. Out of all my classes, exams, papers and lectures...the biggest lesson I learned was a spiritual one. Sometimes our lives are directed in ways that we don't expect, or that seem hard at the time, but looking back at these four years, I can say that all of the unexpected turns and pitstops are well worth it. They are what allowed me to be where I am now - married to my love and graduated from a school I am proud of. GO COUGS!

Shout out to my parents for getting me through college: supporting, encouraging, and loving me through it all. And shout out to Dave for putting up with my senioritis. We did it!

you remind me of home

Dave is home from his two week excursion to El Salvador. He had a thrilling time complete with epic surf everyday, good visits with the people he served, and even a classic run in with a machete-waving crazy man. I think I'll have him tell the story of his adventures on here rather than me. So soon to come...Dave in the blogosphere.

After picking up my main squeeze at LAX, we hit the town and went on a fun date. We went to Laguna Beach. Dave used to work at the Thalia Surf Shop right in Laguna, a city we used to frequent a lot back in the dating days. He would ride his motorcycle to work each day, and sometimes I would get to tag along. We have so many good memories in that town, it was so fun to be back...made me crush on Dave all over again. We got into Laguna at the perfect time of day, the sun was setting and we walked along the boardwalk and over to the classic "family-picture-taking-rock-spot" over to the right...anyone who has been to Laguna knows what I'm talking about. And as usual, there were families posing away. So of course, we had our own little photo-op. Later we hit up BJ's Pizzeria for some yummy pizza and pizzookies. Pizzookies can do no wrong in my book. 

We bought tickets to see Crazy, Stupid Love at the old time Laguna theatre.

Tangent - We used to go to this theatre to watch surf movie premiers back in the day. The last time I was there was when Dave and I were dating, we went to  see The Present,  a surf film by Thomas Campbell. Ray Barbee, one of our fav. instrumental artists, was also there and we got to chat it up with him. We also saw John and Jill Facer, Jill was still prego with Dane at the time. Now all this time later, Dave and I are married, and John and Jill just had their second baby. Crazy how time flies!

Anyways, so while waiting for the movie to start we got to window shop and stroll along the beach. There is a restaurant up the hill that has live bands play. The band there that night did some covers of some of our favorite songs..one including Trouble by Coldplay. We danced and sang and and crushed like teenagers all over again. So much fun. Overall, that night was a great reunion with my dear. And a great reminder of all of the wonderful reasons I am so lucky to be married to such a hunk.

As much fun as California can be, I am so glad to be home in our little house back in Provo with Dave. Let the good times roll.