Thoughts on a Thursday

-I have been feeling the itch to craft lately. I have all of these ideas in my mind of things I want to do, but I just never get around to it.

For example, I really want to make this cardigan.

In the picture it looks high quality, but then when I actually went into the store, I was actually surprised... I was not that impressed! In fact, on the black cardigan, the blacks didn't even match! And they wanted $34.99 for it??? And no, that wasn't the look they were going for. After seeing it, I am pretty confident that I can make it... and maybe possibly have it look better? I have a pink cardigan that I don't really care about that I think I am going to try to salvage. If it works out, I get a super cute, new (and free!) shirt. If it doesn't, then I can just officially throw it away instead of letting it rot in my closet...

-Next on my list is attempting to make these cute pelmet boxes as seen on Little Green Notebook

Adorable, right?

-Sometimes I get so excited to graduate, I just think of all of the things I am going to do once I am done. And then I remember that I still have the semester from hell to get through.

-It's November 19. Where on earth has this year gone? Christmas is right around the corner, and I am really excited.

-Don't be fooled by the rocks that I don't got... Last weekend, I dropped my ring off at the old jeweler for some maintenance. I have been ringless for almost a week now and I HATE it. I just feel so weird about it. When you have something on your finger for two years, and then it is just whisked away, it is a strange feeling. I have worn Jordan's ring a few times just to have something there, but I just want my ring back! Subconsciously, I will forget that I don't have it and then FREAK OUT for a few milliseconds because I am worried that I somehow lost my ring. It is my biggest fear. Hopefully I get it back this weekend.

-How's the cruise planning going? I hope you are all planning on making this happen. It will be so fun! And in case you are thinking that just because you are going on the cruise, you will be required to be attached to my hip, don't be fooled! I just think it would be fun to run in to a bunch of friends on ship. There are like 3,000 people aboard you know.

A Cruise-for-all.

Remember that one time when I blogged about really wanting to go on a cruise? And my vision was to invite all of my friends who in turn invite all of their friends and it just becomes one big, random party in the middle of the ocean?

Well friends, my dream has come true! My sweet Jordi set up a secret savings account and for the past few months, has been putting money in there every so often. He finally bought one and surprised me for my birthday! Although... I found out like 3 weeks before by a tragic accident.

So who wants to come? Anyone is invited! Great for anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, random gifts, just for the heck of it, etc.

Details:
-May 2-9 (Cinco de Mayo in Mexico. What could be better?)
-Mexican Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta)
-Around $350/person--that's cheap cheap cheap!
-Best time of your lives


Now, to all of you who are saying "We can't afford it...": Let me just remind you that Jordan and I are STUDENTS who work part-time and who also just paid $4000 two months ago in tuition. If you had asked me a few weeks ago if I could afford a cruise, I would have thought you were crazy!

So how did we do it?
We (aka Jordan) started by putting a specified amount of money from each paycheck into a secret bank account that we FORGOT about... it didn't go into our budget. Now just think of an amount, say $20-$30 each paycheck per person. Now, are you REALLY going to miss that $20? Most likely not (although I do realize that there are some people out there who really would miss that $20.)

And before each new paycheck, if you still have some extra money leftover that didn't go to bills, savings, etc, go ahead and slip another $20-$30 or whatever you please per person into that account and forgetaboutit--that's the important part, you just forget that money ever existed. I promise you, this works--I have been managing my money this way for years.

The cruise is in approximately six months. In six months, if you only put away $20 each paycheck, you would have about $240. Now that's not the full amount, but by May, your cruise will REALLY only cost you like $100 out of pocket. Who can say no to a $100 cruise?! Are y'all following me here? A key is to NOT think about paying $900 for a vacation, but to think of small amounts growing and growing into a large lump of money that you could use towards your cruise :)

Now, you would probably want to figure out some way to pay for the cruise now, or sometime in the near future, but you can make payments (interest free) over the next few months.

So seriously, who wants to come?

If baring my testimony about how you can afford the trip didn't work, maybe these photos can convince you:

Lunch on the beach

Formal dinners

Lots of Butt cheeks... just kidding. But look how much fun I am having. That could be you!

If you are STILL not convinced, take a trip back to the archives:
See? Fun.
and more fun.
and more fun.

You know you want to go. Make it happen.

Have I become a freezer meal wife?

So this past week, I have been thinking a lot about my next semester. And how bad it is going to be, really. I know that I ALWAYS say that I am going to be busy, but this time, I mean it.

Schedule:

20 hours+ working

20 hours internship

2-3 hours cleaning my office

capstone course (only 3 credits, but the professors say it feels more like 6)

elective course

religion class

Now, many of you may be thinking that this doesn't seem like very much. But let me just give you the breakdown of what exactly I will have to do to accomplish this. The ONLY way I can get enough hours at work and my internship is if I come in from 7-6 MWF without a lunch break. And then work 4-5 hours on T/Th, and then head straight to class until 7 PM.

Whenever I think about this, my lungs start to constrict and I feel myself gasping for air (actually, quite literally).

Now one thing I won't do, is give up good homecooked meals. But getting home at 7 PM after being at work or school all day? YEAH RIGHT.

Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea that maybe I can start cooking a few extra meals on Saturday and Sunday to freeze/refrigerate for the upcoming week. Am I crazy to want to spend my days off doing that? Probably.

So here's my dilemma: I have NEVER tried to do freezer meals before. Do I just put everything together and then instead of cooking it, put it in the freezer? Or do I just cook it and then freeze it and warm it up when I am ready? Does anyone have any experience with this or have any good recipes that are quick, easy and taste delicious after being in the freezer?

If so, please share.

The Things I Do For Love...

A few weeks ago, we learned that ESPN's College GameDay was coming to Provo. So naturally, on Friday night, we attempted to go to bed early because the next morning, we were waking up at 6 AM! Truly, I don't even remember the last time I was awake at that hour.

sleepy?

We headed down to the stadium, where there were already a load of people there (some camping out for days). We waited in this huge long line until about 8 and then we were finally let into the gated off section.

And then we got to stand crammed in with all of the other fans.

Activities included:
-Standing next to some guy with an extremely large booger hanging out of his nose
-Holding up my "Heaps for Heisman" sign every time the camera came close to me
-Standing in one place for 2 hours
-Getting face paint on my favorite coat from some little rugrat that was trying to get to the front

I find it ironic that the logo on this GameDay bus is, "Let's Do More with Saturday." Typically, I don't think of sitting on the couch all day watching this show is the most productive thing that you could be doing. Clearly, ESPN and I are on different pages...

Afterwards, we took a nice long nap. Even though I was laying in bed for three hours, I swear I didn't fall asleep. Although I must have because there is no way I could just lay there for three hours.

That night, we went to the game and froze our tails off. But let's not talk about the that...

...except, I will mention, I HATE when people bring their babies to games. Especially night games. When it is like 40 degrees. And I am freezing while wearing two long sleeved shirts, a jacket, a coat, two pairs of pants, socks and gloves. And the babies don't have gloves and are in little sweater onesies. If you can afford season tickets to the football games, you can afford a babysitter.

Booze, white trash and good times=UNLV-BYU game

A few weeks ago, we made the trek down the Las Vegas for the UNLV-BYU game. We of course stayed with Jordan's sister and had a fun time with their kiddos. I can't believe how big they are getting. They are all REAL kids now! Kids that know their ABCs, kids who play baseball, kids who know how to work iPhones, etc.

It was fun to go to Jack's baseball game. Kids baseball is actually quite entertaining. There are about 20 kids on the team and they all stand there in ready position waiting for the ball. And once it comes anywhere near them, they all run towards the ball in hopes to get it. So cute.

Jack in ready position

Jordan and Coleman.
Coleman and Lincoln chillin
Jack post game. As you can see from his pants, he was into sliding to get to the ball.

Congratulations Megan, you were the only one who looks normal in this pic. The rest of us look like we were taken over my some sort of Alien.

And finally, the UNLV game. This is the only picture that we have from the game, but luckily, there are still stories to tell.

#1: see those kids behind us in the picture? The freshman with no shirts with their boxer/briefs hanging out of their pants? Well about 5 minutes into the game (or maybe 2-3 touchdowns in), they started taunting some UNLV fans. Not just any UNLV fans, GANGSTER UNLV fans. The UNLV fans comeback was just putting up their middle finger. So classy. Well soon it turned to the UNLV gangster fans threatening them. The BYU freshman (supposedly thinking we were still in Provo) taunted them back anyway. Soon enough, one of the BAND members comes over to the kids and was like, "Hey, I get that you are just having fun, but you do realize, those guys will KILL YOU, right?" The looks on the freshman faces was PRICELESS. They soon turned as white as ghosts with their eyes focused on the field for the rest of the game and they barely made a peep (lucky for us because I was getting sick of them trying to get everyone to sing the fight song every few minutes). Lucky for them, UNLV was getting spanked and the gangsters decided to leave early. Hilarious.

#2 You might notice that we were in quite close proximity to the band. At first I hated it. They're loud. They play a song every 5 seconds. I just wanted to enjoy the game. As mentioned before, the game became pretty uninteresting as BYU stole a large lead in the third quarter. Come fourth quarter, the 2nd string players were in, the UNLV fans had pretty much all cleared out (which was fine... they were all drunk and I would have preferred to not be driving along them on the road) and I was just kind of bored. But lucky for me, I had the band to keep my entertained! At the beginning of the game, whenever they would do something good, they would play a little segment of their fight song and the band would jump up and down. When they weren't doing so hot, one by one, that fight song got a little less peppy. Except one guy. Even until the last drive, he was still just jumping up and down like there was no tomorrow. I was secretly hoping that UNLV would keep getting first downs so I could watch him jump up and down. Maybe being in the band, he doesn't understand football? Who knows. I didn't care because I had that little bit of entertainment to make it through to the end.

But really, I am convinced UNLV fans are the most white trash people on the face of the planet.

And I'm sticking to that.

Also...

Flash Forward

Did anyone catch the premiere of this show? If so, what are your thoughts?

It's so much like LOST, it makes me want to cry.

Tears of joy of course, since the real LOST is ending this year.

Let's just say, I know where I will be each Thursday night.

A Little Update

I don't really have anything "real" and exciting to blog about, but here's a little bit of what has been going on in our lives:

Now...

...I am going to school this semester full time. I also work at my same job 25 hours a week. Needless to say, I am BUSY!

...Jordan quit Wells Fargo because they just couldn't work with his school schedule, so he has back at the good ol RedX... I am perfectly happy with that since it means more money, no more working on Saturday, etc. He is also going to school full time

...We are both majoring in Public Relations

Soon...

...I will be GRADUATING in April. So close, yet so far away. Let's just say, I am counting down the days. I just have a few more credits left and I will be DONE. However, I have a lot ahead of me. I have my internship next semester (20 hours), working part time (20 hours), capstone class, and two other classes... and I thought my hair was falling out already...

...Jordan will hopefully be graduating next December. This might be wishful thinking, but I am planning on it.

We hope...

... that we save enough of our pennies to go and visit these guys down unda!

... to be done with school forever!

...to keep our house clean for more than 4 hours at a time (messes: 99% me, 1% Jordan)

...to finally finish decorating our house (and finally putting pictures up on the old blog)

...that my hair will keep growing and growing and growing and that my constant hair envy will be cured :)

...that somehow we can afford the time and money to go on another cruise because they are dirt cheap right now. Like $219-for-a-7-day-cruise cheap. I actually often dream of organizing a giant cruise vacation where my family and closest friends all come... and their closest friends, etc. Wouldn't that be fun? Just one big party...

who's in?

Please enlarge this photo and tell me what the heck is wrong with my my ankle? It looks like it isn't even connected to my body.
Other than that, you totally want to go on a cruise, huh?

Hmmm, I wonder who planned this date...

Last Friday, Jordan told me we were going on a double date with some of our friends, Aubrey and Hunter. He said that he was waiting to hear back from his friend's wife about what were going to do on the date. The next thing I know, we are meeting them for a nice round of golf. Riiiiiiggghhhht, girls always plan golf dates.

Nice try Jordan.


This didn't even come 24 hours after we were just talking about how going to a movie and dinner is too expensive of a date and really not that worth it. Pretty sure golf fits into that same category.


Although I was reluctant, I must say, the golf course was pretty beautiful. I suppose it is ok to go on a golf date every once in awhile just to enjoy the scenery. As long as I can drive the cart.

Pretty nice huh?

Look REALLY close and you might be able to see the baby deer (Jordan took this pic). We saw probably 30 deer--not an exaggeration. But from the pictures, you can see we were pretty much on the mountain...

Can't wait to plan our next date! Shopping? Amusement park? Pedicures? Grocery shopping? The possibilities are endless...