Tagged...

My friend Sarah's little girl (the most darling 16 month old, Madison) tagged me and the list actually was pretty fun to go through. Enjoy:

A- Attached or single: attached, anyone who's seen Mitch and I together knows I can't get enough of him.

B- Best Friend: Mitch (duh), Lauren, Miriam, Sarah W., Anna, Courtney...

C- Cake or Pie: definitely cake, preferrably chocolate.

D- Day of choice: Saturday- no work and Mitch get's to take a break from his homework.

E- Essential Item: chapstick! I have hiding places all over our apartment for it just so I never run out or have to go too far to find some. It's sad.

F- Favorite Color: green, usually olive-ish.

G- Gummy Bears or Worms: neither, they hurt my teeth.

H- Hometown: Olathe, Kansas. Although I've been in Provo for a few years now and Mitch and I definitely call it home.

Indulgence(s): ice cream. I could be stuffed and still make room for ice cream, always.

J- January or July: July, I love the heat.

K- Kids? not yet, although I'm starting to feel the mommy inside me really coming out lately, every time I see a pregnant woman or a baby I just wish it was me.

L: Life is Incomplete Without: my family, Mitch, the Dokos', the Peterson's, the Kehr's, I couldn't live without any of them.

M- Marriage Date: 06-09-06

N- Number of Siblings: 3 (an older sister and two younger brothers).

O- Oranges or Apples: oranges, except I hate peeling them.

P- Phobias or Fears: spiders, I'm a wuss.

Q- Quote(s): "Hot fudge sundaaaeeeeee....."

R- Reason To Smile: I've never been happier in my life.

S- Season: fall, I love cardigan weather and seeing the leaves change.

T- Tag Three: Lauren, Melody, Liz ... I mean, if you want.

U- Unknown Fact About Me: I've never had stitches, I know that's sort of dumb but I'm proud of it.

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I'm a big meat eater! Steak, pork, chicken... I love it all.

W- Worst Habit: lately I'm super forgetful, it doesn't matter what it is, if I don't write it down, it's like it never happened.

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: my toe was x-rayed once, it was broken.

Y- Your Favorite Food: baked potatoes.

Z- Zodiac: I'm definitely a Leo.

My favorite face...

There are a million reasons why I love Mitch, but one of my favorites is his face.
Mitch makes the funniest, most random faces I have ever seen. No matter what
the occasion, he is always ready for a goofy grin, blank stare, or whatever else
comes to his mind. The best part is, these aren't faces that just come out when
we're taking pictures, this is every day. I couldn't live without it! Mitch knows
me so well and always knows how to make me laugh. Even when I don't feel like
it, he can always cheer me up and make me smile, even if its with one of these
goofy faces.

A short stay with the Peterson's...

Last week Mitch and I were able to get a ride with a friend up to Everett for the last few days of the week and spend a little time with the family. We had a terrific time and as always it was hard to leave. I'm especially glad that we were able to see Russ one last time before he leaves for Guatemala. For the short time we we're there we did tons of stuff but unfortunately I forgot to take out my camera (luckily Ann did so hopefully I'll be able to post some of those soon), we went to Whidbey Island, the Seattle Aquarium, had a tri-birthday bbq for Uncle Dave, Russ and I, play the Wii (a lot!) and just spent time together and visiting grandma and grandpa.
On the way home Mitch and I were also able to stop off at the Seattle Temple (our first trip back since our wedding day). It was Sunday so we weren't able to go in but it was great just walking around and seeing the beautiful flowers and being so thankful we found eachother and we're able to be married in such an amazing place!

Visiting Kansas...and great friends!

Although Amelia was the main excitement at home, I also was really happy to see a couple of my childhood friends. Now these aren't just your average live down the street and hang out after school sometimes friends, these are honestly some of the two greatest friends I've ever had in my life! I have known Anna and Courtney since elementary school and we've been through a lot together. I'm glad that even after so long and such distances between us, we've all managed to stay in touch and continue our friendships. I've laughed my hardest when I've been with the two of them and hopefully someday we'll all live close enough again that we go back to the old times.

Absolutely Adorable Amelia...

As you can see, Amelia's probably the most adorable little girl that has ever lived! I'm not kidding. She is so precious. Her eyelashes are about an inch long and she has the cutest little mouth and her hair is just unreal. Visiting Kansas was amazing and I'm happy to say that I spent most of my time with her. You can tell that she has a great life because she is just happy as can be. She's giggled a couple times for Natalie and she gave me a lot of great smiles. I can't wait until Christmas to see her again. I know by then she'll have changed so much, I'm so glad I got to see her now.

My Crafty Side...

One of my amazing visiting teachers recently introduced me to the new world of crafts and homemade items. Although I don't plan on crocheting or doing needle point any time soon, this week I created a few fun crafty items: magnets and a magnet picture board. Now I know it doesn't sound that cool but you have to understand that I'm rarely able to make anything look cute on my own so this is a big feat. I would almost always rather buy something then worry about putting it together on my own but this was not only simple but way fun too!
I bought the picture board just as plain wood and then picked out a nice chocolate brown (Van Dyke brown to be specific) and painted it. I even went so far as to sand the corners down to give it a rustic look(see right).
Then I cut the metal backing (isn't it so cute with the diagonal checkers) and put it in. The next thing I bought was a bag of clear gem stones and a few sheets of cool patterned paper. After cutting out the holes (with a big hole bunch-courtesy of the before mentioned VT) I lamenated them with sticky paper and then stuck them to the gems, superglued magnets to the back and voila, personalized magnets.
We haven't yet found a place to hang my newly designed home decor but I'm so proud of it that I don't mind the fact that it just sits on the floor in the front room for all to see (and by all I basically just mean Mitch and myself). It was super easy, and now I can proudly hang things on my fridge without worry :o)
If this inspires you to dabble in a few crafts yourself then you will want to know that Roberts gives you 40% off one item of your choice every time you go in. Which means I bought all of this for just over $10. Not bad, huh?

You May Now Kiss the Bride...

My brother Jonathan is now a husband! Crazy. He and Kimberly were married on Thursday, July 26th and I'm sad to say I was the only family member not attending. Somehow, even though the day wasn't quite the same without me, they were able to enjoy :o)

Kimberly was the most beautiful bride and Jonathan didn't look so bad himself. With his new military style buz cut (given to him by Kimberly herself the night before) Jonathan looked a very handsome man. I am really excited for them both and I know that Jonathan will be a fantastic husband. Any girl that gets to marry him is pretty darn lucky! I have to say he got pretty lucky himself too. Kimberly's absolutly wonderful, smart, beautiful, kind, etc. and I don't think he could have made a bettter choice.

Now there off in St. Louis enjoying their first few days as a married couple. We are all so excited to see them start their new life together. I can't wait to come home and meet the new Mrs. Dokos.

My Tribute...

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a strange obsession with David Bowie. After watching Labyrinth (which I definitely own on DVD) with a good friend I decided this blog could not go on any longer without a couple shots of my favorite celebrity. I think my enchantmentwith this strange man came because I watched Labyrinth numerous times as a child but either way here's my small tribute to the greatest singer, songwriter, actor, etc.

What you may not know about this controversial character:

-Born David Robert Jones, "he chose "Bowie" for his stage name, after the Alamo hero Jim Bowie and his famous Bowie knife."

-He is not only a musician but does visual art as well. He's had works shown in art exhibitions throughout London and even appeared in Modern Painters magazine. Some of them are a little freaky, but nonetheless.

-Although Bowie is known for varied experimentation, he has been married twice and is still with his second wife, supermodel, Iman Abdulmajid since 1992. They even have a daughter.

-He declined the British honour, Commander of the British Empire in 2000, as well as knighthood in 2003.

-When Labyrinth originally came out in 1986 it was a flop, grossing less than half of the movies original making budget. Since then it has become a cult class gaining "so much popularity over the years that there was even a recent action figure of Jareth, The Goblin King that came to stores in May of 2007 is selling very well in America.

-He could have a career of acting alone. Besides Broadway, he has had many movie appearances and roles. He most recently portrayed Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (yep, that's Bowie-see below right).

I could go on and on but, as most of you will appreciate, I won't. I would just like to recommend my absolute favorite Bowie song, As the World Falls Down, from the Labyrinth sound track. I could listen to it all day.

If your like me and just can't get enough of this talented man check out David Bowie's official website or Bowie Wonderworld. And remember, I'm basically half kidding about this entire post.

Crazy Yard Ornaments

The following pictures are some of the crazy things that, for whatever reason, people decide to decorate their yard with.

I've never been a big fan of garden ornaments in the first place, but I can handle a little gnome or a flamingo, but these are just

too much!

These specific adornments are courtesy of my mother-in-law, who sadly, found these embellishing the yard of her childhood home. Aren't they a beaut?

My Happy Surprise Day!

How cutie is this: last Monday night I came home from kickboxing and Mitch (in the hour I was gone) had rushed to the mall and picked me out two presents for my "happy surprise day." What is Surprise Day might you ask. That's a good question and my best definition would be, a day Mitch made up to be the most adorable husband ever and just make me happy! I walked in the door after getting home and he jumped up, gave me the biggest hug and then walked me over to the kitchen table where two gift bags were waiting. He got me the cutest new black shoes and an oil burner that I had had my eye on from the Body Shop. Now, what makes this so absolutely adorable is the fact that it was totally out of the blue, I hadn't even been having a bad day or anything like that. It was totally random and so sweet. Let me just say, I have the most amazing husband. He is constantly doing the nicest and most thoughtful things, even when it's not my "surprise day."