Laces, "Merry Friggin' Christmas..."

Things that make me SO excited!

#1.

My AMAZING husband thoughtfully surprised me
with two tickets to the NUTCRACKER BALLET!!!

What's even better, the tickets are not for me and a friend, they are for me and him! His fabulous plan is to get all dressed up (love that) and go to a nice fancy restaurant then out to the ballet. He said "We've never done anything like that.. I think it might be fun", he's an awesome sport and I can't wait for this Saturday. All I had to do was pass a round of finals, aint no thang :S It's grand to be married & I'm so grateful for a husband who loves me so much. That's not the reason that I love him back, but it sure does put a cherry on the cake :)

#2.
I made a new friend who is an amazing yard-saler. She let me come one day and I found some serious treasures! This silver platter $3

I was so excited I made breakfast in bed on it... toast, cereal, and applesauce... fancy us.

This lamp and it's matching tall sister. I saw their brother at Lowe's for $75, and I got the pair for $20!

And these raggedy ole pizza pans may seem like nothing but I'm almost done crafting them into a fun and useful treat stand! Pictures to come.
#3

We got Christmas put up~! I love the homey feeling it brings. (don't judge, it's itty bitty and all my mom's hand-me-down ornaments but this tree is ours and so it's perfect)

I even painted the topper last night to match my red and gold theme:

JK mom I love my ornaments, they're super sentimental.

And I love love LOVE these watchmen in my kitchen. Good thing we eat standing around the counter most days and never at the table, they would have to get the boot.
I tell ya, we're fancy :)

Oh and along with Christmas comes the neighbor's Christmas platters! YAY!!!

#4

I found this idea on one of the fun crafty blogs I've surfed. Just a few hand cut snowflakes with some clear scotch tape under my new lamp shades and wa-lah! So wintery!This is Laces helping me:#5

I am so excited to go home for the holidays! Garrett and I LOVE spending time with the families. Luckily we both adore all of our in-laws, it works out nicely. We are even getting used to the long drive, and Laces doesn't seem to mind it at all, she stays in the back and sleeps with her head along the center console so she's not left out: Or on my shoulder...We get to spend 24/7 together for a couple of weeks!! No school, no work, just family and lots of peppermint mmm. Ski slopes and Christmas here we come!

Love Our Troops this Christmas

Our school is doing this project and I encourage you to do it as well!

One military wife is working hard to get 40,000 Christmas Cards for all the men & women serving on the Operation Enduring Freedom & Iraqi Freedom. It's really easy, the instructions are on the blog link posted below but basically you:

1. Pull out old Christmas cards or make some new ones
2. Sign them, add a note or pic if you want
3. Put them in blank envelopes so the Chaplains can easily distribute them
4. Mail your package to the sweet wife in Oklahoma! Her address is in her blog

http://memorymania.blogspot.com/2009/11/cards-for-military.html

The cards need to be there by Nov 30.

How fun would this be to do with your kids or friends or suggest for a church group? I'm going to try to do some with my family over thanksgiving to express thanks for our Freedom.

Can it BE? I'm Twenty THREE!

Birthdays are fabulous, and mine is
the most fabulous because
1. It's mine :) and
2. It's Halloween! Everyone is joyous!

Garrett took me to Cafe Rio as our own
little date. A little piece of Heaven, a
little piece of home :)

This is who came to my party- my
vampire boyfriend.
His KISSES are TO DIE for!!!
We had the PA girls and their dates over
for a some pumpkin carving, apple-carmeling
and game playing. Super fun!Here's the crew, complete with the dog.
And I have to show off the pumpkins
They are SWEET!

Pirate skull & a stinky little monster:

Ghost:

Spider web & freaky frog

Look at the detail of this web!!

Thanks for stopping by-
bon voyage to this Halloween,
can't wait to have another next year!

I know what you're thinking...

I know. You're thinking this is GROSS. Me too.
But it's just one of those things ya know?

ps, TOTALLY not planned or encouraged!!

Things I love about Fall

The decorations.
Thanks to everyone who has ever chosen
a Halloween deco item as my Bday gift,
and thanks to my mom for awesome
hand-me-down decos, and
a special thanks to the Dollar Store
for always being there.

The brawny man.
He visits me every fall for a
short time.
It's a fabulous little tradition.

THANKS FOR BEING A PHOTO TROOPER
BRAWNY MAN!


The food. Garrett found a
"homemade punkin pie"
recipe - yeah home made with a REAL
out-of-the-pumpkin-patch pumpkin!

Plus what's better than a man who cooks?

DELISH to both!!

The weather... and the colors, well AZ just has
green (see the trees & lawns behind me)
But it's been great riding to school!
Garrett even joined me the other day, then
of course took off for a "real" ride
after I was dropped off to class :)

something unique to AZ... neighbors get
WAY I mean WAAAAAAAY into
decorating their houses! Check out all the
blowups, pumpkins, little dressed up animals
and whatever else. This is just one of MANY

And even our pup loves fall. She rings her
doggy door bell until we open the door, and
then she plops down, sticks her head out,
and falls fast asleep.
So she appears in every post... what?
I love my dog :)
Who couldn't love this face?!

This is for my mom.

This is in response to my mom's request for more updates.
If I could update in one honest sentence I'd say:
"Garrett and I are still so much in love and leaning on
each other more every day because life in AZ has been
our most difficult experience so far, but it's good."

PA school is stressful, frustrating, tear-inducing
and worth it all in one.
I'm struggling, it's true, but I'm getting
through and doing well.
I had a test the other day that covered 3 lectures,
so the night before I was reviewing and put in 7 hours..
I didn't even get through 3/4 of the material!
.. and I have 9 classes! It's just a lot but
THANK GOODNESS for good friends who help
me through and keep me laughing, and
everyone knows I would have given up
long ago without my #1 SUPPORT SYSTEM- Garrett
What a gem.

When I died my hair recently I was delusional
with the thought that it was brown. My friends had
me take a picture with them just so I would
snap out of it and realize.. I'm still blonde :)

I got a new bike to ride to school, and we put some
awesome huge baskets on the back for my school junk.
I feel like I'm in a time warp when I ride it
and I like it. Isn't it pretty? Garrett got an early
Christmas present from his awesome
Grandma - a bike of his own - and now we can ride
our bikes together with Laces too - it's
great for the whole family!

A few weekends ago we had a giant
thunder storm and the lightning was like a
strobe light show in our back yard!
We sat in the backyard for a bit
just talking and catching up.
We deemed it a perfect date.

This is how Laces experiences thunder storms.
She hides in the corner :(

So all my friends at PA school are FANTASTIC cooks.
We share recipes on our blog
"brains and bon bons" - the link is in my list :)
They introduced me to spaghetti squash
as a substitute for rice or noodles
so I bought my own delightful little squash
way back at the beginning of August.. and unfortunately
didn't try to cook it until mid-October!
Oops it started sprouting! Can we say
JACK AND THE BEAN STALK! AAH!

So we threw a little party to make home-made pizzas and
practice our Head Exams on eachother's husbands
(what a party huh?) and luckily Jeanna and Sara came
to my rescue and showed me how to make
good spaghetti squash.
And on that note - IT IS DELICIOUS. Garrett and I
like it with a dash of Picatta sauce (add some chicken)
or just a bit of butter. Yum.




and the pizza - making, head-examining party was a blast!
Thanks to the boys for being up for 5 different strange girls
looking in their ears and up their noses!


It'll be over sooner than we all think :)

SUMMER BREAK!... sortof... does 3 weeks count?

So after my first quarter I got a 3 week break. SWEET.
Here's a bit about what the hubby and I were up to!

Lunch at Pita Jungle with my PA girlfriends.
Hummus was never so yummy.
Best dish: Greek Pizza with chicken and Pesto

Up to St. George for a weekend. Dinner at Fairway Grill w some BFFs!
Best dish: French Dip with wedged french fries

A too-short hour with my BFF Megs. Lunch at Jimmy Johns
(who doesn't love socializing at restaurants?)
Best dish: Turkey Tom and Kettle Salt n Vinegar Chips

THEN THE MESSERLYS CAME TO TOWN!!

Truly we are both lucky to love our in-laws.
Garrett's brother Jaxson just came back to his beloved U.S. from teaching English in Japan, so we welcomed him with balloons, chocolate cake, and a mini ninja set.

Of course we also participated in the most American-ish past time ever:
went to A PRO BASEBALL GAME!

But in 2009 we don't just watch the game. We:

-Take pictures on our phone or update the score on Twitter

Or we:

-Demolish some video game villian or read a great new novel

We also:

-Bug the boys down the row for a photo

and my personal favorite is we:

Spending 15 minutes taking
and re-taking pictures of ourselves. Just can't get that smile right!
Is it worthy for the photo album? I think yes. Frame? Maybe!

Then at the end of the game, after the players played and we "actively watched", we were rewarded with a big firework show. The best I've yet seen! Good job Diamond-backs.

WEEK 3 BROUGHT THE POOLE PARENTS!

We went in matching outfits to the temple (really didn't plan that)

Gave the parents a tour of my school,
Thanks for all your encouragement and support Mom and Dad!
Sorry you didn't get to enjoy the real 120 degree heat of AZ,
don't you feel ripped off with the 98 degree weather you got?


What vacation is complete without a good restaurant??
Rosa's Mexican Grill, I think it's the best kept secret in Mesa
Best dish: fish tacos (Garrett says) and the sweet salsa YUM!

In the end this summer break was WONDERFUL.
Everyone left happy and the kid got a ball.
*isn't he darling?*

To our parents: Garrett and I love you so much, we miss you
like crazy and truly enjoy the moments we have together~
We can't wait to be with you again, don't forget to pencil another trip to AZ in your planner!!

Predictable Puppy??

I PREDICT...

...that if you move a puppy to ARIZONA in JUNE
... then she will look like this most of the day:

...that if your puppy finds a cute pair of shoes she is going to LOVE them so bad
...that she'd keep them in her bed.
I guess fashion sense isn't something you teach.

...that if you try to take a cute picture of your puppy and husband,
...your puppy will pull away and make the most crazed face ever.

...that if your puppy gets attacked by a stupid pit bull, who runs at her from
20 feet away with NO AGGREVATION or reason

... then the pit bull will always win. Who owns those menacing dogs anyways?!

...that if there is peanut butter in the air
...then the tongue of no return will come out to haunt you!
Thus the nickname "Peanut Butter MONSTER"

...that if there is any furniture resembling a den or cave
...then your puppy will call it home and sleep there every afternoon

...that if Garrett leaves to go golfing
...then you will have a moaning, whining, sulking puppy on the end of the bed

...that when Garrett comes home from golfing
...you will have one happy girl!

...that if you leave your puppy alone in the backyard
...then she will find the left-over insulation and decorate the lawn with it. Twice.
Note the second pile above her head under the tree? She is not wasteful, she got every piece.

All in all we love our puppy so much! Don't worry though, someday when
I'm done with PA school we'll have kids and we won't
continue to be the nutties who are obsessed with their animal.

Free Time...

Just a couple of pictures to show you what we do in our free time... it's not very often but we LOVE IT!!!

Now a P.A. student

Last night the University held a little ceremony to give us our white coats. It's a humbling thing to think I will someday (SOON!) have the responsibility of taking care of people in a very serious way as a Physician's Assistant. I am grateful for the opportunity and excited to get through school! I'm already past the halfway mark of my first quarter! Only 5 more quarters to go!! Thanks to everyone who has helped me get here, I'll be grateful again when I get through!!

Garrett is so supportive. I couldn't do this without him!

My girlies from PA school! Jeanna, Sara, Abbie, Natalie and me

Garrett's Sr. Year of Baseball at Southern Utah University

All the Sr.s from 2009

Garrett's cute face on Texas Tech's jumbo-tron

This was a HOME RUN!!! GOOD JOB BABE!! His swing is PERFECT.

Catching - he's a stud

The night we picked up Laces. She became the baseball puppy, and our little good luck charm.

New Beginnings in Sunny Arizona

So Garrett and I have moved to the land of the SUN! Here's a blurb of updates:

-We've been married 2 and 1/2 years!!! THE BEST 2 and 1/2 years of our life so far. I love you so much Garrett.

-Garrett was the stud catcher for SUU's baseball team (see how cute in his catcher gear?)

-Graduated from SUU with our Bach degrees this spring

-Bought a labrador puppy - she's so smart and fun!

-Moved to Arizona so I could start Physician Assistant school. It's kickin my tail feathers!

-Found a HOUSE to rent! We love it! Laces loves the backyard!

-Recommitted to updating my blog.. at least once a year :)