Oh Larry

Michael works with this weird old guy, Larry.

Larry lives alone,

he looks and smells like he's smoked too much and chewed WAY too much,

and I think Larry is a little bit of a perv.

I think that Michael has an old soul, and seems to always get along with the older crowd . . . much, much older crowd.

So when Michael started working the job he's at now, Larry latched onto him immediately.

Recently he's been sending Michael home with movies,

movies that he shouldn't really be sending Michael home with.

I don't like them.

First of all because Michael feels obligated to watch them,

and second of all because they have all been bloody and violent,

and third of all, most important of all, because there are ALWAYS naked ladies in them,

and I HATE watching them for that reason there.

I can deal with the weird, stupid story lines,

or the ridiculous amounts of gore and heads being chopped off,

but not the nudity, nuh uh, don't like it.

So, I said to Michael, "I think you're friend Larry is kind of a pervert, and you're not allowed to bring movies home from him anymore."

and Michael says, "No he's not. Oh, by the way, we should invite Larry over for dinner some night."

HAHA, nuh uh....

it was a nice thought though.

Family Dollar

Hey all!

If you shop at Walmart, Smiths, Albertsons, any of those places for your toilet paper, cleaning supplies, general non-refridgerated foods, STOP IT!!

Michael and I started getting certain things at Family Dollar, and it's saved us SO much money!

We buy nice Charman Ultra toilet paper for two dollars when it's five at Walmart! Even their milk is cheaper and it tastes the exact same!

We'd rather have money in our pockets than be embarrassed about admitting to our Family Dollar love. It's smart and it's cheap (:

It's Cause I'm Brown . . . Huh?

I work at The Home Depot, as ya'll may know.

we're very . . . aware of each other's ethnicity.

when i say we, i mean the cashiers that all know each other pretty well.

we work with an asian,

a few mexicans,

me,

polynesian,

indian (as in middle eastern . . . not native american),

a german,

and a 'jew'... he's not really he just wants to fit in.

we think its funny to give each other a hard time, but things get real awkward when customers say things, because they're being serious and their comments are a little more over the top than ours.

my asian friend, asian joe, is constantly getting slammed by customers.

he's from california, born there, raised there, and only recently moved to utah about 4 or 5 years ago. he's dad is white and his mom is from china.

he's been asked, "is joe you're american name?"

people refer to him as, "you know, that little china man? he's the one that helped me."

there have been customers that pull their eyes back to mimic his 'asian' eyes.

it's ridiculous.

now i guess it's my turn...?

within two days i've had two comments about how brown people get accused for stealing, and i should know how that feels. of course, they were brown themselves... but i have a feeling this is only the beginning.

Fishy fishy on my hook...

we went on the boat ( by 'we' i mean michael, myself, twit one and two, and the parentals) labor day before i had work. michael was in desperate need for some fishing so he was very excited when my mom invited us to go. within the first, oh i'd say five minutes of getting all our poles out, we caught two fish. total we kept 3 of them, mom and dad took some and we took some.

i figured i'd better think up a way to cook the fish at that point.

michael does this thing where he doesn't take a lunch to work on purpose, or makes me feel bad cause he has to take ramen noodles (which i have to do every day i go to work), so then i end up making something and taking it to him. he did that yesterday.

so, i looked in my fridge to see what i could find, and here is what i came up with.

** i didn't measure anything out. i eyed it all, and just thought of how much he was going to want to eat. so ya'll just measure it to taste (:

Real Easy Fish Tacos

Your shopping list:

*Cabbage

*Salsa (we like pace)

*Sour Cream

*Soy Sauce

*Red Pepper Flakes

*Vegetable Oil

* Small Tortillas De Maiz Blanco (which means white corn tortillas)

*Fish (we used fresh rainbow trout, but we also like to eat Tilapia fish)

Here is what you do:

Mix soy sauce, pepper flakes, and vegetable oil in a skillet...all to taste! Go easy on the pepper flakes, a little goes a long ways! Heat liquids and place small pieces of fish in skillet. Fry until cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile, mix some salsa and sour cream together in a bowl, and tear up your cabbage into small chunks.

In a separate skillet heat 1/4 of a cup of vegetable oil. When hot, begin placing corn tortillas into the oil, one by one. Once the first side is crispy, flip tortilla over and shape into a taco, continue to fry both sides of your taco shaped tortilla.

Remove fish from heat when done. Smoother bottom of taco shells with salsa mixture, put fish inside next, and top with cabbage.

** we like to pat our tortillas dry with a paper towel, they are pretty greasy once you remove them from the skillet.

they were pretty tasty, hope ya'll enjoy!

Who Knew

the extent of my cooking in high school was...maybe a sandwich, if i wasn't feeling TOO lazy.

college wan't any better. I lived on cereal, ramen noodles, and canned chili. It wasn't because i didn't have any money to go grocery shopping (ok, sometimes i didn't), it was because i was just too dang lazy to make anything!

NOW though, i LOVE to cook. i love making things and hearing michael say that he loves it, and that he's 'impressed'. he always says that (:

i love that when he takes homemade lunches to work, the guys are always trying to steal bites.

i love the satisfaction i get when i myself taste it and I'M impressed too!

so, I'm going to start sharing our favorite recipes with all of you. some of them i've found, some i've just thrown together what we have in the fridge and kept my fingers crossed, and some i've found but changed them to my own liking. so here is my first one, michael and i really enjoyed this meal earlier this week.

** keep in mind there are only two of us, so these recipes are ONLY made for two unless otherwise specified.

Pepper Garlic Shrimp with Chinese Noodles

Lets start with the shrimp...

Your shopping list:

*Vegetable Oil - 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon

*Water- 1/2 cup

*Shredded Cabbage- 2 cups

*Minced Garlic- 2 Tablespoons

*Large, Peeled, Deveined Shrimp- 16 count

*Crushed Red Pepper Flakes- 1 Tablespoon (more or less depending on your taste)

*Sliced Onion/ White- 1/4 cup

*Soy Sauce- 2 Tablespoons

Here is what you do:

Heat your vegetable oil in a skillet, high heat. Add your cabbage and only 1 tablespoon of water. Stir-fry for about a minute until cabbage is soft. Remove cabbage from the skillet and place on a serving platter and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in same skillet, high heat. Put garlic and the shrimp in the skillet and stir until your garlic is lightly browned and the shrimp start to turn pink. Add the pepper flakes, onion slices, soy sauce, and remaining water to the skillet. Stir-fry your mixture for about a minute to two minutes and then pour mixture over cabbage.

I like to set my shrimp and cabbage in the oven while I'm working on my noodles to keep them warm.

Shopping List for Noodles:

*Package of Ramen Noodles Oriental- just one!

*Egg- just one!

*Vegetable Oil

*Carrot- half of a large one, peeled and cut into little slices

*Green Peas/Frozen ones work- 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons

*Red Bell Pepper- 2-3 Tablespoons sliced, depending on how much you like your red peppers

*Sesame Oil- 2 teaspoons

*Soy Sauce

Here is what you do:

Boil your ramen noodles until soft. DO NOT add flavor packet, set it aside, cause we're using it later! After noodles are soft, drain them and set them aside.

Heat enough vegetable oil in a small skillet (i like to use the same skillet as the shrimp to spread the flavor around) to thinly cover the bottom. Scramble the egg in a small bowl and then add to skillet. When egg is cooked completely, set it aside in your small bowl.

In same skillet, heat same amount of vegetable oil, medium heat. Add carrots, peas, and bell peppers to skillet and heat until all vegetables are soft, and cooked all the way through. When finished cooking vegetables, place in same bowl as your cooked egg.

In your same skillet combine 2 Tablespoons of sesame oil with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fry your noodles in the oils for 3 to 5 minutes, make sure you turn them regularly so they don't burn! After 5 minutes, add soy sauce (to your taste), seasoning packed from ramen, and if you desire, more sesame oil. Mix noodles and sauces together until noodles are completely coated. Add your vegetables and egg and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

I like to serve my noodles and shrimp all on the same platter, the flavors together are divine (:

I never knew how much I was going to like cooking, but having someone who appreciates it makes it worth all the time and effort, especially when it turns out delicious! (:

happy cooking!

The Help

For those of you who haven't seen this movie [The Help] I suggest you go and see it, right away! . . . Go, what are you still reading this for!
Yes, the movie is just what it sounds like, it's about the help, the maids, the housekeepers and child raisers, the slaves.

My mom says it was a really good book, so if you're more of a reader, than maybe that would be better for you, BUT she did also so that the movie was a perfect match up to the book.

Without giving too much away, it's about these women,

Who serve these women,

And finally decide they are fed up and that their story needs to be told, and their stories are definitely tear jerkers.

I have to admit that I feel a little sting of awkwardness when I watch movies about the slaves. In a room full of white people, how do you not feel awkward? I'm feeling upset, and a lot of hatred, but I always wondered what the white people feel.

Obviously I'm not anywhere near full black, but that little bit in me is enough that I would have been a slave in the day.

It's great though to think of the people that went through hell like that so that I can go to public school with white kids, so that I can ride in the front of the bus, so that I am treated as a human being and not an animal.

So, thank you every African American that stood up for who they were and weren't ashamed of it.

School Shopping

We went school shopping for Michael today after he got home from school...

$300 dollars worth of welding gear.

I told him he better get a nice job so that all his gear is worth it!

He was SO excited, it was like a little kid at Christmas!

I actually can't wait for Christmas now... if he was so excited about his welding stuff, he's going to be very excited about the Transformer toys I'm planning on getting him, he's IN LOVE with transformers. Every time we go to Walmart I'm dragging him out of the toy section, telling him, "Maybe Santa will get you Transformer toys for Christmas,"

School Days

Michael starts school tomorrow morning. His first class is at 8, so lucky me, I get to play Mom and wake up nice and early to make him a nice breakfast (:

I feel like I'm sending a child off to school.

We stopped by Walmart today to buy him some supplies, (and a movie cause he likes to act like he is so picked on because he has to go to school in the morning) and some things to make him his YAY-school-is-here-breakfast.

While we were walking to our car after getting his student ID, I asked him, "Why did you decide to go back to school?"

Michael graduated in 2009 from Delta High and has never been to college, until now.

I didn't think his decision to go back to school had anything to do with me. When we were

very first dating (like a week into it!) he told me he wanted to go back to school, because it seemed like a good idea. So I just figured he was finally tired of bumming around Delta, Utah and wanted to get out and make something of his life.

BUT, I was wrong.

I'm not sure if his answer was cute, or insulting.

Michael: "I'm going back to school because of you."

Me: "Why? I never told you that you should go back to school."

Michael: "I know, but when I first met you, I thought 'If I want to keep this girl, I better go back to school', so here I am."

Me: "Yes, but why did you think that?"

Michael: "Because you looked really high maintenance, so I figured I'd need a good job to support all the things you were going to want."

See? very cute and sweet... but I wasn't sure how to take the high maintenance part.

So I asked him, "Am I as high maintenance as you thought I was going to be?"

Michael: "Oh yeah."

Little Mili

We're in Delta for the weekend.

The entire face of one of Michael's teeth chipped off, so his dentist said he would crown it for free...there is the benefit of living in Delta. It's a super small town, and the town dentist is Michael's best friend's dad.

It's our engagement present (:

We've been trying to visit as many people as possible while we're here since we're not down this way very much anymore.

So of course we ended up at Michael's older brother's house, Manolo.

Manolo lives with his girlfriend Sonnit and their kid Malisha.

Malisha is the definition of Latina spit fire.

Manolo is full mexican, so I'm sure that's where she gets it.

Michael and I were sitting on the couch and Malisha decided to join us. Michael started bothering her(like usual) and blowing in her face. She couldn't quite figure out

how he was doing that (she's only 2 1/2) so she kept trying to plug the hole in his lips where the air was coming out of. Finally, fed up with him being annoying, she slapped him right on the mouth and said, "Stop it Michael, I don't like that!"

She's a doll, and knows just how to handle her men.

I hope my girl will be like her... especially if she's going to be stuck with an annoying dad like Michael

Here We Come SLCC

On July 1st, Michael and I will be moving into our nook.

We can not wait!

We were going to wait till the end of July, but we're getting too antsy.

So we're rushing to get things put together.

I just made a 'Master Grocery List' today, and it goes on, and on and on and on...lots of silly things I thought I'd never have to buy...

wooden spoons,

toilet cleaner,

a toilet scrubber,

nutmeg...

I'm living with my grandma right now since I was kicked out of my room by Twit #1. She's a big girl now and needs her own room.

Grandma Shanna had an extra room (king sized bed all to myself!) so I took it. I love living with grandma... but I'd love living with my sweetie better.

It's hard not having any friends. I have more friends in Delta than I have up here now.

Not only do I have no friends up here, but my best friend is 2 hours away, and I'm definitely ready to be with him everyday!

Teeny Tiny

You may think this is weird...but it was very frustrating for me.

I've had the worst stomach ache all last night and all today.

I get the sudden feelings of needing to throw up.

So I was taking my Nutrition test today and was about ten questions from the end when...

I got that feeling, and it came on strong.

I could feel my temperature go up, and that bad feeling of not being able to hold it down anymore.

So I hurried and finished, and ran to the bathroom...

and was very upset when I couldn't get into the stall..

I could not fit in the stall! It was much MUCH too small. I had to step inside, on the side of the toilet, and still had to squeeze the door shut. I couldn't help but think, how do girls even slightly bigger than I fit in those dang things!?

I don't know who designed these stalls, but whoever it was must have been a midget or an extremely skinny person.

Its like when you go shopping and all thats left on the shelf are size zero and double zero jeans...no one wears a size zero! Let alone a double zero!

Anyhow... I was just annoyed so I thought I'd share

(:

Meet the Winters...and Hunters...And Murdochs

Basically, I wanna know what you all think of Michael...

Now that you know he's real and I'm not just making up a fake boyfriend.

He really enjoyed the day...so he said.

He said my family was very nice, and lots of fun.

A fun, happy, close family is something he doesn't really have, so I was excited that he could spend Easter sunday with my fun, fairly happy, close family.

Thanks to all of you that offered us furniture...we're really going to need it haha so THANK YOU!

and Happy Easter(:

Try Try Again

As a lot of you may know I WAS a Snow College Cheerleader last year.

I tried out, and was on the team up until the week before our first football game. Thats when my coach decided 1. she "didn't like my personality" 2. I "wasn't coachable" and 3. she didn't like my "religious standpoint". Sound like a bunch of bull crap? Well it was.

So this year I'm going to try again...but not at Snow, at Salt Lake Community College.

Michael and I are planning on going to SLCC and cheerleading is very important to me, so I decided I might as well try out for my second college team, in hopes of making it and STAYING on the team.

I could not be more nervous. Try outs are this Friday and Saturday... and it's been a long time since I've tumbled!

Hopefully I don't fall on my face, wish me luck y'all, cause I'm gonna need it!

I love I hate...

I Hate:

When it's absolutely clear that a girl is wearing hair extensions.

When I finally decide to walk to class and water leaks through my boots five minutes into my walk.

When I'm trying to do my homework like a good student and my one obnoxious roommate won't stop yelling and screaming...and playing that dang guitar.

When I don't see Michael for more than a few days.

When I can't do something that I once could.

When people talk behind my back and can't just say it to my face.

Seeing people I knew in high school.

Not having any money.

I love:

When I get voicemails from my baby sister.

When my phone rings and I see that it's Michael.

When the weather starts to warm up.

The thought of finally getting out of ephraim.

The confidence cheerleading gives me.

Going home to my parents.

When I take a test and just knowing that I did really well.

Getting homework done early!

Shopping!!

The feeling eating healthy gives me.

Nook

Michael and I took a trip to Taylorsville yesterday to look at the school we'll be attending next year, Salt Lake Community College, and to search for apartments.

I've been searching for 'THE' apartment for quite a while. We're just a small little couple so we don't need a whole bunch of room. We're also going to be very busy so we needed something that was going to be as inexpensive as possible since the both of us might not be able to work full time. It's his first year in college plus he's trying out for the baseball team, and if he makes it, he'll be busy! I'll HOPEFULLY be on the cheerleading team up there (tryouts are next weekend...EEK) and that I'm sure will keep me busy enough. We also wanted our apartment to be somewhere very close to the school to cut back on gas money, and in a good neighborhood... somewhere not too scary!

I had a list of about 10 places, which boiled down to about 6, yesterday I was at 4, and then I narrowed it down to 2. We google mapped everything out and were ready for our adventure! The first place on our list was a place called Callaway Apartments. Its the biggest apartment complex in Utah, and was so perfect for us!

We had two 1 bed 1 bath apartments to choose from.

One was 418 square feet, and about $560 a month with all utilities and our parking permit. It was small...but what would we need a bunch of room for?

The other was 564 square feet and more than $600 a month...

So we're thinking about doing the smaller one.

We're super excited!!

It's just a little nook, but it'll work for us!

So,

If anyone is getting rid of a couch, coffee table, kitchen table or chairs...any furniture really, hit me up! cause we would love to have it!! (:

Finally... It's Over

Today has been one of the worst days.

I am so happy that it's over!

I've been stressed about money ( I stress more than the average person should),

I've been stressed about Michael's crazy mother,

I've been stressed about his crazy sister-in-law and his brother,

I've been stressing about where I'm going to live this summer (thank goodness my parents are absolutely amazing and are willing to put up with me for a few months)

... It's just been a big stress fest!

I finally got on the phone tonight with Michael and apologized to him for hanging up on him earlier while I was uncontrollably sobbing. He's such a sweetie, he wouldn't even let me apologize, told me that I had every right to be upset and stressed.

When I got off the phone with him, I decided to treat myself for being able to last through this ridiculously long, crappy day.

So this is what I did,

I checked a movie off of my "Need to buy these movies" list and got my favorite treat while I was at it...

I love checking movies off of my list, and it doesn't happen very often.

As of recently my list got longer... unfortunately.

After a weekend break, I came back to my apartment to find two giant polynesian guys in my apartment in the dark. They had broken in (or some idiot forgot to lock the door...wasn't me I was the first one to leave that weekend!) and when I kicked them out and called the police, I failed to notice they had stolen about five of my DVDs. I didn't realize I was missing any until about a month later...

I hate people that steal.

Anyways... my night is ending okay.

Sittin back with my fix of Eli and some Flamin' Hot Cheetos!

Oh the BOLDNESS

The apartment that I live in is connected to a whole chain of other apartments... obviously, thats what an apartment is. But my room is rear facing, so it's facing about 20 other windows.

It's really annoying because there is a small ally way between my apartment complex and the other complex and people are constantly chasing each other through it, or just passing by...in a noisy way.

Tonight I was planning on going to bed early. I don't get really good sleep during the week and I thought I would catch up on some sleep.

That didn't work out so well.

I've been in bed since about eight, and around ten I was woken up by loud screams.

Not such a good way to be woken up.

I peeked through my blinds to see three girls yelling across the ally to a few other girls in the apartment right next to me.

I was pissed.

I was just going to blow it off and go back to bed...but it just kept going...and going...and going...

So I finally flung my window open and told those girls off,

it's been a long time since I've told someone off,

it was kind of relieving(:

I loving being forward, and not afraid to tell someone how I feel and where to put it.

Thanks to whoever I got that from..cause my mom is definitely not like that!

Finally tamed the beast

As y'all know I have the worst yet best hair.

It's much too frizzy, but I love that it's curly.

As I got older, I learned to appreciate my curly hair a whole lot more, I hardly ever straighten it anymore.

You were right mom!

However, it's hard to keep my hair from frizzing up like a big cotton ball.

My mom suggested going and getting a Brazilian Blowout... it's a hair treatment that restores the keratin in your hair and straightens out your curl, so when your hair air dries it goes from the picture on the left to the picture on the right...

pretty cool huh?! I had an appointment to go and get it done last weekend (its super expensive, but Capelli had a good deal going on for $99) but due to a power outage I wasn't able to get it done. I was going to make another appointment, but I discovered something that is seeming to work wonders, and its costing me a whole lot less!

At Walmart I found Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy shampoo, conditioner, and anti-breakage serum. It has made my hair so much smoother, and much more under control! Not only do I use those, but a product by Wild Harvest Hair called Surf Head(Sea Salt) has been helping out a lot also.

My hair went from doing this when I blow dried it...

To looking like this...

My hair doesn't have any residue on it, it's not greasy, it isn't dry and frizzy, but it's very soft and a whole lot flatter than usual!

It's still got really good curl,

it's just a little more contained(:

My mane is finally tamed!!

Hurry!

I'm getting really excited about all this marriage stuff.

So you all know, I DO NOT have a ring on my finger, I am NOT engaged ... yet(:

But I'm a girl, so I've already started planning stuff... lots of stuff!

I want everything to be perfect, and I want everything to be planned so that when the date comes, there is no rushing and stressing!

I want to share some of my plans with you!

Just SOME.

Obviously the dress is a big deal, am I right? I really want it to be elegant, very princess like.

Here's what I found... I am absolutely in love with this dress...too bad its a bit expensive

This is just one on my list...

I also fell in love with the idea of my bride's maids wearing cowboy boots and cute sun dresses.

cute right!

I'm very into twinkle lights, and I came across the most adorable idea! I'm sure my extremely talented mother will be able to help me create these...

Anyways...this is a little sneak peak of what I'm thinking... hopefully I get a rock on my hand sometime soon so I can officially start planning stuff! (:

I'm very excited to be a wife to my cute little boyfriend. I've never been a big fan of getting married and I've never really considered it, but Michael makes me very excited to be married. I know a lot of people think I'm 'too young' and I need to 'experience life', but what better way to experience life than with my best friend?

Monster-In-Law

I spent last weekend and the better part of this week with Michael.

I've met his mom several times, and since the beginning she's made me more nervous than I've ever been around someones mom.

She's a little Mexican spit fire and hardly speaks English, making communication super difficult.

She's not only intimidating looking, but the language barrier doesn't help, and I have the feeling that she doesn't like me much.

Here's why.

Michael has an older brother named Farrell Jr.

He's the 'good boy' of the family, the golden child, mommy and daddy's favorite,

and he recently started dating a little Mexican girl.

Michael's mom, Rosa, has maybe talked directly to me about three times in the five to eight times I've seen her and spent time around her.

Rosa, Michael's dad Farrell Sr., his little sister Jackie, and his little brother Jason drove to Richfield just to go meet Farrell Jr's new girlfriend this week. When they got back, Rosa bragged up how much she loved Farrell's girlfriend, and how she was able to talk to her (duh! they both speak Spanish!), and how cute and little she was, and how she wished that all of her boys would date Mexican girls.

Whoa... that was a harsh one. Not only was I sitting there, Michael's not Mexican girlfriend, but Michael's sister-in-law was also there... who is also not Mexican.

The next day she came over again, and wasn't too happy to see me.

Rosa: Geez, are you guys married or what?

Michael: Not yet, we're working on it.

Rosa: Oh gosh, I hope not.

This is about the time that everyone in the room gasps,

and Rosa pretends like nothing has happened.

Michael pulled her aside to talk to her and tell her she needed to be a little nicer to me, and get use to me being around a lot more. Rosa did NOT like that. She told him that I better learn to speak Spanish and that I needed to try and talk to her more...

The monster-in-law has already begun :/