guess what?

i get memorial day off.

yes. the answer is YES.

extra long weekend, say hello to stephanie.

SO, i totally saw les mis last night at capitol theater with my parents and nick.

it was spectacular. i was crying, laughing, aching, hating, and loving everything about it.

the prologue started with the live orchestra, and my heart started racing.

i know almost all the songs word for word, and i love it.

{image via google}

sadly, eponine could have been a little better. she could have been more emotional, more feminine, and had a stronger voice. i wanted to ache for her more than anything, but i just couldn't. of course i cried when she died, but who doesn't?

val jean was super, super good. i've never been so into his character before. his version of "bring him home" was interesting; more va-voom than falsetto, which is great, but not what i was expecting.

marius reminded me of the jonas brother on the 25th anniversary production of Les Mis, but he had a much better voice. i loved LOVEd the "heart full of love" scene, it was very "romeo-esque" as he serenaded her as she stood fondly watching him from her balcony. and the kiss: absolutely beautiful.

cosette slipped up on the "heart full of love reprise" and the poor soul stretched as hard as she could to hit that high C, but was barely under pitch. but as usual, sweet little cosette performed her part just as she should.

the thernardiers were SO FUNNY, i didn't have that undying hate for them like i usually do.

they were absolutely hilarious. "master of the house" was the best i've ever seen.

surprinsingly, my favorite singer, although not my favorite character, was javier. man, what a voice!!

fantine was beautiful and sob-worthy as always. i've never seen anyone die so well. and from start to end of her part i just felt so bad for her. during the "lovely ladies" scene, i hated everyone who wasn't fantine for what they were doing to her. ugh!

now about the set. it's an off-broadway production, so obviously it was more than exceptional. the moving set pieces were so cool. they were huge and surprisingly intricate. they were triangle shaped, so there were 3 different sides that could face the audience. needless to say, we were never bored visually. and the barricade was AWESOME.

they used an electronic backdrop which changed with each scene. so in the tavern, there were boxes and windows and more of a "warehouse" feel, a london street scene during the barricade and street scenes, etc. my favorite part was the sewer scene. the backdrop "moved" so it looked like val jean was carrying marius through long stretches of sewer pipes. i can't really explain it, but it was exceptional.

when javier jumped off the bridge, he jumped into the air and we saw him fall from an "aerial view" as he dramatically descended into the black depths.

my favorite scenes are the 2 right before intermission and the finale. I love how musically powerful they are with the entire cast involved.

"to love another person is to see the face of god."

simply put, it was incredible.

although summer's just begun, i can already feel it slipping away.

it's nearly june, and i've done nothing.

school starts august 22nd and it seems like it's right around the corner.

on the other hand, who has heard of kenny loggins?

the song, return to pooh corner?

it's part of me.

let's share:

It's hard to explain how a few precious things

Seem to follow throughout all our lives

After all's said and done I was watching my son

Sleeping there with my bear by his side

So I tucked him in, I kissed him and as I was going

I swear that the old bear whispered "Boy welcome home"

Believe me if you can

I've finally come

Back to the House at Pooh Corner by one

What do you know

There's so much to be done

Count all the bees in the hive

Chase all the clouds from the sky

I just really like this song.

i want to be a kid again, some days.

and i desperately need to get my hair done.

i promised myself i'd never bleach it blonde again because it just destroys my hair

so i want to get it darker.

we'll see :)

sometimes, the in-laws come over

i forgot.

so sunday after church both nick and i frantically ran around the apartment trying to make it as clean as we could.

somehow we managed, and his parents brought us a coffee table that his mom so lovingly painted and his dad sanded for us

it matches perfectly, and now we don't have an obnoxious 2'x3' electric blue lego box in the middle of our floor. pity.

saturday was super awesome

nick took me shopping, i got some new lipgloss, shoes, shirts, skirt, and a dress.

awesome, right? simply the awesomest.

then we made sugar cookies and frosted them with colored frosting

of course i have pictures.

they are so strikingly good. i can't wait to have 23 more when i get home tonight!

then we had dinner at a friend's house, played games, and right as we were headed over to watch a movie at the park, we were notified that there were fireworks that night.

so we picked a prime spot on the grass, bundled up in our blankets and couch cushions, and watched the firework spectacular.

seriously a great night.

and partially unplanned.

i keep trying to convince myself that it's not okay to have a puppy right now, and especially when i'm in school, because i'll never be able to see it.

i'll leave at 7:30 in the morning and won't be back til almost 10 at night.

that is no home for a puppy.

but oh, how i want one.

i was thinking one of these:



a small yorkie. i have wanted one of these for so long. resist. i dare you.

a maltese. my parents have 2 of them, and they're so adorable & don't shed.

teacup pomeranian. i saw a really old lady with the teenist baby pom i've ever seen, and i wanted it. so bad.

anyways, i might get nick a wii for his birthday,

aka we might get a wii for nick's birthday.

it's up for debate, and we could change our mind in the next 2 weeks, but hey.

wii.

nick also got me lotion and perfume at victoria's secret.

the noir tease i've been wanting for months finally made it to my hands and onto my body.

i smell like a goddess.

we also might see the new pirates here in the next few days. i still can't decide if it looks good enough to spend time and money on.

we're looking at renting/buying a house somewhere up here in the big city {big city? puh leeease.} and i like the prospect.

his best friend would live in our basement. with his xbox. should i allow that into my house? i might just never see my husband again.

or moving back to cedar city.

i think no on the latter, although it would be an adventure.

we like it here in almost happy valley.

correction: we love it here.

man, i smell good.

Nick said....

"i listened to taylor swift all day. She puts me in a good mood even when it's rainy. oh the lullabies of being a teenage girl. I can relate to that."

god's way of saying "it's okay to eat chocolate chip cookies daily."

last night i was so excited to try out one of my mom's favorite recipes: butterscotch rolls.

you take rhode's rolls, put them in a bundt pan, cover them with brown sugar and butterscotch pudding packets, then let them raise overnight and cook them in the mornings.

they're super delicious, and relatively fool proof.

i must be a fool, obviously, i'm a failure at all things homemade.

i woke up this morning to a large pile of raised dough on our stove.

i started to cry and nick punched them all back into the bundt pan. then we put it in the oven.

i thought things would be ok.

false.

the rolls devilishly stretched back to the size they were and the entire top of my concoction was charred to a nice, black crisp.

i was so mad i wanted to throw it off our patio.

but nick laughed and ate it, ignoring its unmistakably inedible appearance.

it still tasted good, despite the fact that each roll not being small sized were, instead, extra large sized, bigger than dinner rolls even.

i don't know how my mom does it.

i know i can make chocolate chip cookies successfully.

so that's what we're going to eat, for the rest. of. our. lives.

i'm so thankful for nick and his optimistic personality.

there would be a lot of burned/over raised/dry/undercooked food and pans laying on the street outside of our apartment if it weren't for him.

and that is the last time i try to work with rhode's rolls.

transition

so i think the hardest thing about blogging now that i'm married is the fact that somehow my subconscious refuses to transition to the "married" status.

i don't want to blog about what i made for dinner, or how my job is going, or mine and nick's problems at home. grown up things.

i don't even have kids yet.

i feel like i don't have anything worthwhile to blog about, so i'm continuing to blog about things that i used to when i wasn't married.

does that make sense?

hardly.

but it's not really working.

i'll get it someday.

things will also work better when i find myself blogging at home on the couch in the comfort of our fluffy blanket.

however, we're not getting internet until nick get's a job. that's the deal.

i still feel like i'm in a transition stage at home.

we're still newly married, still trying to get along with each other in the same apartment, and learning to sleep in the same bed.

don't take that the wrong way!

it's difficult to share thebed with someone else, no matter how much you love them.

he chooses to sleep in the middle of the bed sometimes, which forces me to sleep on the very edge of the bed like a large primate hanging from a tree.

not that i mind. i wake up in the morning, he's gone, and i get the whole bed to myself.

usually he's sitting in the front room watching tv or playing a game on his ipod.

then i sleepily stretch, wander in a zombie-like trance over to the couch, curl up in a blanket next to him and wake up the rest of the way. it's quite fun.

the other day nick told the elder's quorum president that maybe i didn't feel welcome in the ward.

so now i'm being fellowshipped by the relief society. haha i can't help but laugh!

me, not feel welcome? i just don't know anyone, and I really don't mind.

i love the relief society. i love the church. but i'm fine.

i spend the most of my day hanging out at the house, making and eating food and hanging out with nick, which i love doing. sometimes we go on bike rides. some times we complain about the groggy weather and wander hopelessly around our apartment in despair.

then i go to work for the rest of the night, come home, eat food, watch the office and scrubs, and go to sleep.

that's my day!

nowhere in there does it say, "go on a walk with the relief society at 8 am."

i am very content with my life as it is.

i have to admit though, i am going to make a conscious effort to wake up before 10 from now on. probably 8. 8 sounds great.

then i'll eat a healthy breakfast while reading my scriptures, go running/biking, come home, take a shower, get ready for the day, play the ukulele for awhile, make something tastey, hang out with nick, and go to work.

that sounds ideal.

then i'll be super woman.

maybe i'll start making crafts?

headbands, necklaces, rings.

i can be crafty sometimes.

i get paid this week

also, i get to see les mis with my mom and sister in a week and a day.

i am so dang excited i could pee

then, maybe, i could clean my closet.

i'm a dream come true

i have officially learned how to play "you and i" on the ukulele. oh, and sing it as well.
and i have to admit, i'm not too shabby.
nick has wanted me to learn stuff on the uke for a long time now.
i'm a dream come true.
currently working on "over the rainbow" "hey soul sister" and more,  
i just might have found a new passion.

the random pot of nothing.

friday night after work, nick and i headed over to go midnight climbing at momentum. these are my glorious purple climbing shoes. i feel so lovely wearing them. 

and then, my dear friend mccall {who got a job at primary with me! throw your hands in the air. woo!} was doing a project for her brother by having all these people write inspirational quotes on their hands, take a picture of it, and send it to her so she could give them to her brother. so that's what we did. 

all we had was his iphone, so that's all we could use. 

i want a puppy really bad.

summer is HERE! nick and i went on a bike ride to murray park, and it was so great. I can't wait to go again!

also, yesterday we went grocery shopping. now we have food we can make/eat at our apartment :) and we love costco. but who doesn't?

last week was employee appreciation week, so i got a very cool gym duffel with the intermountain logo on it. yay for new climbing bags!

also, almond butter is disgusting. just to warn you. never to have the displeasure of ingesting it. 

me and nick are going on a no-sugar diet..... as soon as we eat all the chocolate in the house and stop making cookies all the time... then we will go on that diet. i already blew that one today. we went to tiff's missionary's older brother's homecoming {yep, that just happened} and i ate a giant chocolate cream puff, 3 butterscotch rice krispie treats, and a chocolate chip cookie. oh, and some shredded beef. i am DANG healthy, okay? 

today i saw a family of ducks crossing the road near the on/off ramp to i15. i cried because i was afraid they would get killed, but then nick said he saw a police man stopping traffic so they could pass. i still cried.

i've been so emotional lately. either i'm pms'ing or i'm pregnant. it's one or the other people, but either way i have an excuse to eat lots of chocolate and cry more than necessary. 

i'm getting my hair done this week!! triple yay! and, nick's letting me get some new lipgloss. so stoked. then, maybe, i will paint my nails. 

i want a puppy. did i mention that i want a puppy? let nick know so he can get me one for my birthday. 

tulip festival & mother's day

this past weekend nick and i made our way over to the final day of the tulip festival at thanksgiving point.
the tulips were absolutely stunning
but my favorite part was taking nick through it all.
he'd never been to thanksgiving point!
he loves gardening, so i figured he'd like this somewhat.
we had a fantastic time to say the least
and the weather was the best i've seen in a long time
i'm kinda bummed that i didn't take my camera with me.
oh well!

that night, we also played around at Murray park. 
as we were sitting on the banks of the river, or stream, or irrigation, we saw a mommy duck and her babies
we kept hoping that they'd come real close to us, and they did!

aww look at the duckies :) how many duckies can YOU find?
we were trying extra hard to be completely silent. we knew that if we even breathed the wrong way we'd be maliciously and mercilessly attacked with no warning.

sunday nick let me sleep in, so we only went to sacrament meeting in what i figured was as close to a sweatshirt i could wear at church.
we made the best sugar cookies i've ever tasted in my life, and had dinner at my parent's house.
my mom's the best cook in the world.
i'm sorry, but for reals. she is.
then we watched the office and AFV, and went home.
my mom gave us chocolates for our tasting fancy on the way out the door. she never ceases to amaze me! i love her, and i'm so grateful for her.

SO, YESTERDAY, it was my dad's birthday. and I completely forgot!!
i'm the worst daughter ever!!
i need to figure out some way to make it up to him. i need suggestions!

yesterday was also my first staff meeting. we ate brownie bites, gummy bears and cookies while watching despicable me. best staff meeting ever!

and, today, i attended orientation at the U. 
i hate the U already. I am still a loyal Y fan, and i'm afraid no one can sway me otherwise. 
tomorrow i can start registering for classes.
my fafsa hasn't gone through yet, although i did it almost 2 months ago. 
scholarships? pfff. 

anyhow, i'm going to make it an effort to take a picture and post it every day. it's summer, we're going to be doing some awesome things, without a doubt. 
so happy summer everyone!