blogger shmogger.

It's true. I've abandoned this here writing space, and have done so without remorse. 

There are many reasons for this. Let me explain.

A: level of busy-ness. This had increased over the last few months, and I don't even mind. Lots of massages, lots of play dates with babies and their mamas, gym time (or mostly lengthy steam room and shower time), endless errands (really they never end), and LOTS of dog walks (or being towed by Hippo, rather).

TWO: when I have free time, there are many other things I'd rather be doing. IE starting a whole tv series from start to finish on Netflix (a show junkie's CRACK). Or tending to my yard & garden. This is also an addiction. It's amazing that I'm not cussing at our push broom by now, and even more surprising that I still catch myself PULLING it. ITS A PUSH BROOM. I KNOW THIS. Also, I get so much satisfaction out of watching the birds in the feeder, swinging in the hammock, and laying out in our retro loungers to soak up some sun. The large amount of outdoor space is proving to be worth the tiny amount of indoor space. A fair trade, indeed.

THIRD: In way of other time consuming addictions, anyone with a Pinterest and Instagram account also know that they are a very enjoyable place to hang out. We MUST scroll through ALL THE IMAGES!! They're beautiful, and countless, and so so addicting to look at. Furthermore, I find now that I carry a decent camera on my person at all times, I'd rather be snapping visuals of my life, than writing about it. Make sense?

WHOS COUNTING: Most importantly I've been all about LIVING my life lately. Not to say that those who blog, don't. But more reasonably to say that rather than comparing my life to others who write about theirs so well, I'm just really enjoying mine. It's been quite refreshing.

So that said, go enjoy your day. I'm done for now. And for a while, no doubt. 

Love,

Air

almost.

Contrary to previous anniversary, birthday, and Christmas surprises... boyfriend really pulled through this time for our 4 year wedding anniversary. The surprise? My dream. Absolute dream... to ride in a hot air balloon. Over the beautiful rolling -vineyard covered- hills of Napa no less. The catch? The wind. The dream come true was cancelled.

But we got THIS close. Literally. In the gondola and everything. At 7am.
So what did we do? Go to Six Flags instead of course.

Andrew felt the need to help. Or whatever.

Such a breathtaking drive.

Oh yeah, in classic Andrew fashion, when a pre-show host asks for everyone to "make some noise" he went above and beyond. No one went beyond hooting and waving. But Andrew... he of course decided to act like whatever the present may be, it was worth a million dollars. So naturally we were selected to enjoy the show from Hawaiian Airline's special leather sofa.

Woo.

 

And after a soaking log ride, beautiful big cats, fair swings, bat rays, roller coasters, & a funnel cake later... we lived happily ever after.

flowies.

You know.. I think Carnations get a bad wrap.. because they're cheap and common place. But if you ask me, I think they're prettier than roses (gasp!.. not surprising, I don't like roses), and they smell SO GOOD!

So 20 of them for $9 post-mothers day? Count me in.

Now my front room smells like niceness.

soul surfer.

*the real Bethany Hamilton, and actress AnnaSophia Robb

Going to go see the movie today. I'm excited. I've always found Bethany Hamilton's story to be inspirational and I'm excited to get to hear a little more about it.. and watch some awesome surfing.

Speaking of watching awesome surfing and Bethany.. once upon a time I went to Lowers (a surf break in San Clemente, CA) with an old boyfriend. I often tagged along to watch this young man shred, and on this trip in particular he paddled out with none other than Bethany herself. It was chilling and so amazing to watch her surf, 1 arm and all, in person.

I'll never forget it.

And just in case you were wondering, I like to keep a cage between myself and the sharks. I'm on the right, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

ink.

Let me preface by saying.. I will never have a tattoo. I have a grateful love for my body that is stronger than the love for beautiful artwork that can be placed on it. Alas, I also love my husband more than them.. he hates that I love them. Sorry, boyfriend.

I love tattoos. Did you know? OBSESSED. Good ones. If you ask me many of them are gotten for the wrong reasons, by the wrong artists, and are done without much though or quality.. leading to a crappy decision and hideous permanent ink. BUT there are beautiful pieces. Gems. I would have many in another life.

All of this has to do with the fact that a while back I found my dream tattoo. Found it. It's me. And I find myself daydreaming of it from time to time. It's not 'one of a kind', but it's me none the less. Placement, artwork, simplicity, sheer beauty that I can't imagine regretting so long as I would have lived (in this other lifetime of course).

Wanna know what it would be? Well, I'll show you. Controversial lust? most likely. Your taste? doubtful. But I absolutely adore it. All that said. Here she is. My dream piece of ink, gracefully wrapped around my forearm.

via

in. love.

Some of you only have a minimal idea of what my poor grandmother went through/is going through via my tweets & facebook. Well to clue you all in, here's a little bit of the situation..

**Warning: this is extremely graphic, disturbing, and possibly tear inducing.

My mother got a call. She was told that my grandma's neighbors were in their garage and saw my uncle Jared (who lives with her) walk outside of the house covered in blood. He got into his truck and proceeded to drive up and down the street multiple times. He parked, got out, and went up to the neighbors and told them, "my mom tried to beat me." The wife was sent into my grandma's house, while the husband stayed outside talking to Jared, who appeared to be high on drugs.

When the wife went in, she found my grandma hardly awake, covered in blood, and beaten until she was unrecognizable. She was rushed to the hospital by paramedics, and Jared was luckily detained immediately.

They found that my grandma had 2 breaks in the front of her face (from being beat with a chain wrapped around his fist) which caused her eye to be unsupported in it's socket, a chip in the back of her skull, 3 broken vertebrae, 4 broken ribs, a nearly chewed off finger, and her sternum was completely crushed (from being thrown around the room & from being pinned down and laid on). She is extremely luckily to not be paralyzed. I knew this was extremely bad, but it was really brought into perspective when my father sent me a photo. I would never share it with you because no one should have to see someone in that condition if they can help it.

She has since had her finger repaired (although we're still hoping the infection gets better so that they don't have to amputate at the knuckle), the cut on her face stitched, and the eye socket break repaired. The other surgeries will be done over the period of the next month, while waiting for the sternum to heal on its own.

Jared will be tried for Attempted First Degree Murder, and his bail was posted at $1million. Let's just hope that he ends up in jail for the rest of my grandmother's life, if not his own. Drugs are a slippery slope, and before you know it.. you could be on trial for murder. So if you or someone you know has even a mild drug problem.. get them help, immediately.

Aside from the injuries, she is dealing with a fair amount of post traumatic stress. Fearing that others in the hospital are Jared trying to attack her. Luckily this is less of a problem because she is now able to open her eyes and see who is around her. She is doing well after her first surgery, and the swelling has gone down significantly. So thank you very much for your prayers. She is doing well, but still has a very long road to recovery ahead of her.

The reason why I tell you all of this and share such personal and detailed information is because in soliciting your prayers, I feel it is helpful to know what it is you are praying for.

So please, continue to pray for my GG.
Thank you, all my family's love.

Bakers Twine.

I've got it wrapped around my right thumb.. To remind me not to text while driving. AAAH! I've been drive-text sober for 4 days now. It sucks. I'm having withdrawals. But I'm doing it. Andrew thinks I have a death wish, so I'm doing it for him. Ironically enough this photo is from the drivers seat, but I was parked, so there.


You should do it too, so I don't feel like the only bored commuter.
And yes, I'm aware that my thumb looks like it was smashed, or chopped off at the top. Gotta love my nubbs! No seriously, I love them... thanks, dad!

PS. The polish is Prince Charming, by Orly.

The Whale.

This is a true story. I was crying when I read it. Absolutely touching, inspiring, and beautiful in every way...

"... If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same."

-via Gina Rene's facebook

I hope your weekend is full of perspective and tender mercies, and encounters with inspiring animals (my dad already has, with pelicans).
PS. LDS friends, enjoy Conference! We get to feast on the word.. what a blessing!

House Arrest.

The ugliest, creepiest, and most horrifying creation on this earth has been keeping me under house arrest. It also has forced Birdie into minimal potty breaks, and myself into extremely minimal garden tending. I even went so far as to walk around our apartment to water our tomato plant from above our patio fence.

I hate this thing so much. It's scary, it's smart, did I mention ugly?, and HUGE. The tunneled web is almost as gross as the thing itself. I call it the mother spider. And it's life must end. The last few nights we've seen it crawl out of it's nasty home and sit out for hunting. Creepiest looking thing of my life. Andrew has already made 2 attempts at killing it, with no luck. It's made it into that terrible corner both times, and NOW we've only pissed it off. I know it knows. And it is definitely angry. I swear it watches me if I let Birdie out because recently I've seen it's legs moving around (I have chills and a very fast heart rate going right now as I tell you this). And it's re-enforced it's fortress and I think it knows what's about to happen. I am now worried it's plotting to attack Turdling, and I can't sleep at night. I stay up for hours paranoid that it's children are the reasons I feel an 'itch' or a 'tickle' on my leg/body, and I feel sorry Andrew has to deal with my reactions, although I think I could scream and he'd continue sleep talking.

I'm not overreacting. No. I know I'm not because in the month and a half that we've been here, I have seen and killed more spiders then I've ever seen in my LIFE. I KID YOU NOT. We have found many 'mini-mothers' in the house and frankly I'm about to lose it. I worry that Bird is going to get bit in the night in her cage on the floor. And I now make my bed in the most anal way possible to make SURE I don't tuck any in comfortably. I have reason, considering I've found 2 on my made bed, and 3 on the lovesac. I SIT AND SLEEP IN THESE PLACES!

For the first time in my life I actually understand summer sales, and those turd friends of mine who wheel and deal and sell pest control. I've never seen a need, nor found their cause worthy, but that's only because my sweet sweet landlord has always had our home sprayed in the spring, and we've lived spider free for our entire marriage. Have I thanked you for that, Mindy? THANK YOU! Also, the only pest we dealt with growing up was always an insane amount of ants due to the fact that our house was built on their 'hill'.

Anyway, tonight when Andrew gets home it's WAR. We will not stop until I know this thing is dead and gone. I can't do this anymore. I would rather swim with sharks then live with these terrors around my home --oh wait, I've already done the first... happily.

Operation END MOTHER SPIDER starts now. With our spade, spray (I'm going to purchase in MINUTES), jar, shoes, whatever it takes.

it's going down.
or so help me..

It's Official..

{photo via flickr}

My amazingly talented Andrew was offered an internship at Microsoft!

AND WE TOOK IT!
He flew out for an interview this week, and they couldn't wait a day to tell him they want him back. (:

..and we're SO EXCITED!!

That means the xbox 360's going to become our new best friend.
And it also means we'll be gone from Provo again all summer (May till August).
And it ALSO means we're going to have an AMAZING adventure!
Wheew.. time to take a quick breather, and then start packing, t-minus 4 weeks!

..Seattle, here we come!

PS. Can I just tell you how excited I'll be to be near an ocean again!? Oh my gosh. Do you see all that water up there!? I know it's not a surfer's best friend, but it's within DRIVING DISTANCE. Good ol' SALTY WATER! Oh and not to mention, a trip to Forks anyone?

Now, we get to find housing out there. Seattle friends & family.. keep your eyes peeled!

Oh and if anyone has Seattle in's and out's they wanna share, we want to hear all of it. We've stepped into the unknown and would love your two cents of what to do, where to be, all the goods and so forth.

WEEEEE!
(can you tell I'm a little giddy?)

PS. Boyfriend, you're a stud. I've been telling you that hard work would pay off. (:

Party Boys

So you might be aware of the fact that I can't STAND Miley Cyrus. Gasp! If this is news to your ears, and you love her.. I'm sorry for you. Just kidding. I still like you. (:
However, this video...

um, HILARIOUS.
Enjoy.

ACCEPTED!

That's right baby...

YOURS TRULY will be attending LDSBC for their Interior Design program!!

WOOHOOOOOO! (:
I'm so excited!
...and I'm already registered for next semester's classes. (:

YESSSSSS!
Can you tell I'm elated!?

Tonight..

..is THE NIGHT!!

I think I might pee my pants in anticipation. Luckily I only have to wait till 8:45 to go and see it. See what? Are you kidding!? Oh you know....

NEW MOON!
AHH! It's going to be soooooo goood. I just KNOW it! (:


How'd I swindle an 8:45 showing, you ask? Well, people in Utah go CRAZY for cult films, and my friend's sister rented a theater. (: Why we get to see it early, I have no idea.. but I'm not complaining!

We'll chat about it tomorrow I'm sure..
Have fun trying to burn the day away until then!

Love,
Air

**edited for review: Holy, wow! Well done. Go and see it. I can't wait to take Andrew. I hated the book, and loved the movie. LOVE IT. Bravo Summit Ent & director Chris Weitz. Enough said.

Food Storage..

photo via Flickr

Or I guess you could call this.. "not going to the grocery store and eating what it was that you were PLANNING on storing." You following me? No? Okay, so here's what happened..
Our Bishop challenged our ward during our emergency preparedness month, to NOT go to the grocery store this week, and to live off of what we have.. as if there were a natural disaster at our doorstep THIS very instant! No eating out, no filling the fridge, and so on. The only thing we can do if we don't meet our needs, is call within the ward to depend on them. The good news.. we'll be able to make due!
The bad news, I do my weekly grocery shopping on MONDAY! So we were already thinning out in the fridge (hence the naked fridge example photo). At least nothing will go to waste I guess.. Also, Andrew is usually at school from 9am-9pm on any given day.. and he usually eats at least twice a day at the Cougar Eat.. so he's trying his best to pack what little we have. However, most things would need to be cooked, and he doesn't really have that option at school. So we're kind of in a pickle there. We DO however understand that if in fact there were REALLY an emergency, he wouldn't be in school, and could therefore eat at home during the day, so we're being a little flexible in that regard.
So now we are now at day 3 (or 4 if you count Sunday as day 1), and things are going just fine, minus the fact that what we were originally storing for a REAL emergency, is DEPLETING for a fake one! Now I know Bishop means well, and he's even shared that we will receive blessings for such a challenge, but now I'll have to spend more than twice as much on food NEXT week! Blah.. Let's just say at least I'm grateful that we have LOTS of toilet paper, and that my sister in law gave us a yam. We'll make it through, don't you fret.. but most of our canned goods are disappearing, and when the real emergency STRIKES.. well, hopefully we'll have it back to it's sad little amount (yes, it wasn't much to begin with).

Sigh, thanks Bishop.. seriously, I mean it. We're taking it seriously, and we hope it pays off in the end!

Pay-LESS

Hey guys, so I thought I'd let you in on a lil' treat.
Oprah, the generous woman that she is, has given EVERYONE the chance to purchase as much as they would like from Payless, with 50% off! Guys, that's huge, especially because Payless is ALREADY having a Breast Cancer awareness sale, so shoes are already cheap! Oh, heavens.. I took advantage yesterday.. and got 4 pairs of shoes (2 for me, 2 for my man, both cuties shown above were part of my purchase), (: 2 pairs of socks.. all for $45! BOOM BABY! You can score too. Just go here and print the coupon, OR just text Oprahshow to 242424 and the coupon will be sent to your phone. Now go get your shop on, because today's the last day, and they have some CUTE SHOES RIGHT NOW (that's the important part)! (:

Have fun, and I wanna know about what you roll out with! (:

Swell Dame

Am I the only one who would completely change EVERYTHING about their wedding if given the chance? (minus the man I married, of course!) It's not that my taste has 'changed', which in a sense I guess it has, it's just that at the time I didn't KNOW any better and now looking back I want it completely different! Don't get me wrong, I'm more than grateful for the beautiful wedding I was so blessed to have, I just know so much more about weddings and color schemes and what not now, more so than I did then. Oh, brides.. we're so silly. Not to mention CRAZY emotions were ripping through the place, making decisions for us. Anyway, as weird as this may sound to YOU, I would have done my hair differently (one of the MANY things).. and I would have liked to wear something in it that reflects my passion for the ocean.. ie, a starfish, sand dollar, seashells, what have you. Tastefully done of course. Andrew and I are really into blues, greens, creams, and white (lots of white).. and it would have represented US much better as a couple that day. Am I weird? ..don't answer that. Regardless, I would have made it look classy.

{via Etsy}

Colors, the dress, invitations, the bridal party getup.. what have you.. the whole lot.
What would you change?

**Girls who have yet to marry: A word to the wise... REALLY THINK IT THROUGH! There are lots of decisions and unless you genuinely don't care, choose wisely, you might regret it later! LIKE US! Haha.

Google Give!!

Attention, EVERYONE!
Remember that one time I told you about Andrew's idea he submitted to the Google project 10 to the 100? Google Give?? Well, turns out he got an email from Google saying part of his idea was used and is in the top 16 ideas to vote for!! THIS IS HUGE, FRIENDS! Please, please stop by HERE to vote..

Andrew's input is included under the idea titled:

Create real-time natural crisis tracking system

Please, go and vote!
Not only would this mean the world to my husband and I, it would help the WORLD!!

We love you.. and appreciate your support.
Thanks, and wish him luck! (:

Again, here's the link to vote.

Microsoft "Courier" Tablet

I hope this is real, it'll be amazing!
Andrew would kill for one!
Ok, not really. Geez that expression is quite intense..
How about, he would LOVE love love to own one!

Help.

{photo via Flickr}

Yes, I'm enlisting you. Why? Because I'm terribly indecisive and am currently at a cross roads. Okay, let me give you the skinny..

So here I am, not working (I usually work), and totally hitting ROCK BOTTOM with finding a job. Massage openings? Not a one. Oh you want to maybe even be a server at one of the 4billion restaurants in Provo/Orem? Wrong. Possibly even work retail again? Yeah right, check back with us in a month, maybe then. Ahh! See, there's this thing called a bad economy.. and if you don't have a job, your odds of getting one right now are like a zillion to one. Even if your resume & massaging skills KICK BUTT!
Yeah, so anyway.. here I am minding my own business in our new BYU married student ward, when BAM! "Arica, [this is my brain speaking].. you really should consider school. I mean think about it, you're ITCHING to know the in's n' outs of home design, it's been a passion of yours since you were like... oh not even kidding, 14 [yes, had plans freshman year that I totally bailed on], and doing some awesome religion & english courses could be totally good for your health" AH! This hit me like a ton of bricks. Seriously... I passed a note to Andrew telling him what I was feeling, and he seriously almost passed out. He couldn't believe it. See, I had sworn off Universityness.. that's why I bailed on interior design. I refused to take another worthless history & math class (that's how I feel about them, sorry history & math buffs). Ugh, but now my feelings are telling me to get over that stupidness. I don't know.. it's overwhelming, and I have no idea how I would even START into that sort of thing! I'd have to do online courses, or night school.. not to mention lots of bobbing and weaving & trying to get connections up the WAZOO to get into such a place like BYU. I sweat just thinking about all the hard work it would take to even GET IN. But then I have a husband who says.. oh don't worry, I'll get you in, that's not the hard part. YA RIGHT! This isn't surprising though however, coming from the boy who got a full ride to get a fine art degree all on his own as a freshman. Literally, he talked to people, wrote letters and BAM, scholarship awarded ..and then bailed because he HATES fine art. So yes, he can wheel & deal.. no doubt about it. Oh, and trust me, I'm no dummie.. I know how hard BYU courses are.. my husband is an expert at being stumped and stressed, not to mention I've heard multiple times how difficult the major is. But if I went for it, I wouldn't wuss out, it's such a love of mine that I couldn't back out. I'd take the hard with the fun. I just don't know... I just feel like I need to be learning, which is odd (I never thought I'd have the urge, minus the next option)..

So here's what is also a possibility..
I've been craving to do Aesthetic school. Yeah, may seem silly, not that cool to do with your time.. and my friends it is SOO expensive like over $10,000 expensive.. but I would LOVE to learn more about the body and how to better it! It would fill the gaps of massage so smoothly & not to mention it keeps me in an atmosphere that I love, and in less than a YEARS time! Not to mention I LOVE hands on education, seriously LOVE IT. But people, that kind of money.. wheeeeew. That's a lot of money. More than BYU money. More than swindling to get into BYU money...
I just don't know..

Both are good, no. great options. I just don't know if I can hack it! Especially while I'm not even working!! Andrew votes BYU, even says he'll do my math homework, but I don't know.. it scares me going into a world full of 18 year olds that are killer smarter than me. Me, who should technically already have GRADUATED, pressing her luck at trying to even get in. Blah. I just don't know what to do.. I just know I need to do SOMETHING! Help.. anybody... everybody.. I need to be LEARNING and doing what I love!

Ideas? Thoughts?
Please & thanks.

Window, or Balcony?

..or BOTH!?!

Is this crazy or what?
This should officially be put in every second story there ever is.


{via AT}

**After much thought & consideration.. it is decided that this is definitely more aesthetically pleasing than safe & thought out.. so we can just look and be in awe instead of actually having one.**