Vacation Envy

So I got married! ....I guess I'll post about the wedding and all of that a little later.

The past month has been crazy. I got married, went to Hawaii, moved out to Boston, and have a job like a grown up. (Seriously, I go to bed at 11 and wake up at 7 - its crazy).

Hawaii in the summertime is magical. I had forgotten how great it was til I got to go this summer. Ever since I got back, I have been checking expedia on a tri-weekly basis dreaming some super cheap, super rad vacation package to Maui would appear. It hasn't. But in case I forgot just how great Hawaii is, all of my instagram friends have been reminding me all August long. It has seriously been torturous how many people have been there in the past 2 weeks.

Needless to say, I have been having a little vacation envy. But then, I got to thinking... I just moved to a city that millions of people vacation to every year, so it's kind of like every day is a vacation. I mean, really, how often do you get to go here:

to one of the oldest and most historic baseball fields in the country?


or how about this view:

the water is what I see when I walk out my front door and the city view is from my roof top. Pinch me!


or you know, we (Mike) could just travel up the coast to get fresh lobster for lunch:

sidenote: I've been watching a ridiculous amount of Dawson's Creek to pass the time while Mike is working and had many a freak outs on this trip imagining Dawson and Joey hitting this watertown. Embarrassing? yeah.

Or we could satisfy our Mexican food cravings at a place around the corner from this place:

I guess what I am trying to say is, I'm loving it out here. Every day is a little adventure with a new place to explore.

And, just in case I still have a little vacation envy, I am leaving for Florida tomorrow :)

Patience is my least favorite virtue

I've been a very patient girl these past three and a half months. On Easter (april 7th), my fiancé moved to Boston while I stayed out west. While I shed my fair share of tears in the beginning, I stayed positive and grateful for this awesome opportunity. I only got to see him 3 times since he moved and the amount of time I spent with him could easily be counted in just hours - but it was ok because he was going to arrive at Long Beach on July 18th at 8:18 to marry me and all would be PERFECT. Well, when it's less than 48hrs until your wedding and your fiancé is stuck in an airport across the country where it's hailing golf balls and lightning is striking and his plane is indefinitely delayed because the plane he was supposed to take was rerouted to Maine and youve been counting down the days to this very day for months, you start to bawl your eyes out in Target. And you know that looking like a fool is completely justified. Well ladies and gents, after a few hours of delays, Mike is on a plane thanks to a Jet Blue miracle, and I will be at Long Beach airport at 10:56 pm. You know, the possibility of not having a groom at your wedding (ok, I'm being dramatic, but just let this one slide) really puts this whole wedding business into perspective. I'm not having a wedding, I am marrying Mike -forever. At the end of the day, that is all I want. I just want Mike. I just want to be with him forever. Lucky for me, I get to see him in 5 hrs 37 mins and I get to marry him in 43 hrs 38 mins. Then he's never leaving my side again, except after our honeymoon when he goes back Boston 4 days before me and his business trip 3 weeks later, but that's just child's play after our long distance engagement!

Catch up [not ketchup - that stuff is gross]

So I have to admit, when I got on my computer to blog, I kind of forgot how to do it. Given that this is such an exciting time, I really want to document it - hence, my recurrence back on the blog - so I have a little catching up to do.

I guess it's just a little noteworthy to mention that both me and my fiance are college grads!

Mike couldn't make it back from Boston for my graduation but I stayed up in Utah for his. So for posterity's sake, I put my robe back on and we pranced about (that may be a generous verb choice - we were both super embarrassed to be standing on the corner of Bulldog Ave. so we smiled as pretty as we could for 15 seconds and were out of there) our college campuses and took some pictures together.

On about just as exciting of a note, I got an iPad for graduation. I thought that I would have no use for that thing since I already have a computer, but I am obsessed. My poor little computer has gotten the complete shaft, which is probably why I haven't blogged.









I moved away from Utah for good. Let's be honest, Utah is so easy (and fun) to poke fun of, it just gives us a lot of good material, but I will be the first to admit that I absolutely love that state. I loved my time there and am so sad it has ended. You'd better believe I will be brainwashing my children into going to BYU. It was the best time of my life.

Although, this new view I have is pretty awesome. So is unemployment.

My life currently consists of wedding planning, lunch dates with the mama, the gym, TV shows, skype dates.. and that's pretty much it. Life is awesome.

I've also had lots more fun things on the schedule this summer like bridal showers and a trip to New York and Boston, I'll catch up on those soon.

For now, I am going to soak in my last hour as a 21 year old. Night, friends!

Paper chains.

Mike moved to Boston on Easter so we will be living on different coasts until we get married. With all of my new found spare time that was previously taken up by a fiance, I made a paper chain to countdown the days until we get married.

This countdown helps me play a trick on myself: we only have 9 more full days together before we get married! In all reality, we really don't get married for another 84 days but it's a sneaky little way to make me feel like we will be getting married soon even though we'll be apart basically our entire engagement. 

Another thing that makes being apart easier is that Mike is doing awesome things. Example A:

That's Mike right under Mitt's arm (where my bobby pin is pointing) at Mitt's speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday. This picture was on the front page of Politico Wednesday morning. 

You can watch the speech here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgGAGreAhzQ&feature=player_embedded

Although I miss him terribly, I don't want to be unhappy for the next three months so I've just been keeping busy and staying positive. But, friends, Mike is at the Boston Logan Airport about to board a plane headed straight for Utah-- all smiles around these parts! 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I know I will :) 

Cost-Benefit Analysis.

I am hesitant to write this blog post because I don't want to reveal my tricks. However, since I have already graduated (wait. what?), I figure I should do the noble thing and share my secrets to BYU parking.

Disclaimer: These tips have been tested through trial and error. Strategies were eliminated when a Parking Ticket was received.

I am not sure how many parking tickets I have received over the past 4 years but it is probably in the ball park of 18. If you receive 6 tickets in one year, you get a letter telling you that you are a ticket away from being banned for parking or driving on BYU's campus FOR LIFE. A little dramatic? I'd say so. You think they'd enjoy the extra money we give them. I've never received one of these letters but I've made it pretty close.

Each day, before I go to class, I run through a cost-benefit analysis: weighing the possibility of a parking ticket v. the perks of not having to walk up the awful hills our school sits on. Driving to school wins every time.
          *If you know that I live a 5 minute walk away from campus, don't judge.

Unless you start classes at 7 am, stalk students on the way back to their cars, or Gemini is in your house that  day, you probably aren't going to get a spot in a Y lot. So here are some tips to still park on campus while avoiding a ticket:

• The Taylor Building (Across 9th East from the Law School, kitty-corner from the Creamery) is full of A(faculty) and G(graduate students) spots with some Y(student) spots. The Y spots are usually taken but there are always A or G spots. This is my major's building and I have "illegally" parked here for 2 years and NEVER (really, never. not once!) received a ticket. 
• Beware: it is far from the main campus. So far that not even the parking police bother to patrol it.
• If you are looking to chance a closer A lot, try the lower parking lot across the street from J-dawgs. I have received a ticket here a few times but it is much more rare than other lots.
• One of my favorite tricks is milking the 30 minute spots. They check them regularly so try not to spend more than 30 minutes on campus but if you're just running in to drop something off, use them!
• The Wilk parking lot, Visitor lot/Law School lot, Widstoe lot, my favorite: the Crabtree Lot
• I have also heard stories of people parking at the RB 15 minute stalls for hours without receiving a ticket. I never tested this one.
• Another favorite trick: If you have a class that starts at 3:30, park in a Widstoe or Visitor/Law School 30 minute spot because they become free game at 4:00.
• Learn when each lot opens up for free parking. This way, you can always safely drive to campus.
• Most of you should know this, but just in case you don't, I will tell you: during Spring and Summer, undergraduate students can park in G lots as well. 
• As a rule of thumb, stay away from the JKB. The parking police office is in the JKB so they patrol it quite often. Sometimes you can get away with this for an hour, but, more often than not, you will receive a parking ticket for parking there. 
• If you see the Parking Police patrolling the parking lot, run to your car - as fast as you can. Trust me, out running them has been done. And there is no sweeter victory.

Last but not least, if you do get a parking ticket, pay it online within the first 7 days and the price drops from $20 to $10. 

Don't sweat it, practically every other college campus has parking fees. Just look at your parking tickets as your parking fee and enjoy that thrill that comes from out-smarting the Parking Police. 

Man, I'll miss this place.

the final finals.

Seeing as these are my final finals (at least at BYU.. grad school could definitely be in the cards fall 2013) I had to go about business as usual-- i.e. procrastination. Examples of this procrastination are as follows:

I bought these pretty little flowers to keep things happy around these parts despite the mass amounts of studying.

I made this cake because sugar consumption must triple during finals week. 

Side note: this sugar consumption also includes fake sugar because we all know my diet coke consumption quadruples during finals. 

I recently came up with the genius idea of filling a camel back full of diet coke to take with me on campus. Haven't tried it out yet.

My roommates and I built a sweet fort that we've been hanging out in all day everyday. We have three mattresses in this baby and tonight is night 4 of girl-party-sleepover under the fort. 

Also, during finals I try to think about anything I possibly can that doesn't have to do with school, like this penny. When I first saw it I thought it was some weird Utah/Mormon penny trying to sneak a little CTR reminder into our mint. Then I realized it's a national penny. Why? I like all things Abe Lincoln so much better. 

Although finals aren't the best time of the semester, they do mean summer is near! For me, that means graduation and a kind of really big event later in the season. 

And, hey, even if my finals don't go as well as I'd hope. The lady I bought my diet coke from today told me I was so smart because I paid for my 99 cent drink with $1.04 to get rid of some pennies and get a nickel back. She told me she'd never seen anyone do that before. 

If nothing else, my college education has given me the math skills to get rid of pennies. 

(that was probably 3rd grade but shhh.)

Emotional.

I have been an emotional mess lately. For good reason, but still, it is getting a little ridiculous; I'm most always on the verge of tears.
       1. My fiance moved to Boston Easter Sunday-night.
       2. My sister left Provo the next morning.
       3. I am graduating from BYU in a week.
        Even this made me cry:

Yes, using the second to last trash bag of this roll made me cry. In my defense, this roll of trash bags has some sentiment, but still, its significance is only minor at best. Go ahead: laugh. I'll be laughing with you. 

As I've been reflecting on what seems to be a horrible week, I realized that although these things are hard (finishing off a trash bag roll -- where's a girl to go from there?!), they are each wrought with hidden blessings.

        1. I have a fiance.

      2. This fiance, Mike, will actually have me. 

              **If you know anything about our relationship, you know that this is somewhat of a 

                  miracle itself. 

      3. Mike has a really great opportunity that has taken him to Boston.

      4. I get to go out to Boston in May! (second time in 3 months - party!)

      5. I was able to hang out with my baby-girl, my little sister Carly, for a week.

      6. We got to gross her out at my Bridal shower.

      7. I was able to get a college education.

      8. I had so many great experiences and made such incredible friends at BYU that it's hard to 

           leave.

So amidst the tears, I am still feeling quite blessed. Thanks to you all who have helped make Provo my home the past four years. Love to you all!