devotion

The last regular season football game for the Cougs is always against their rivals, Utah. This year, the game was at BYU so of course Stu and I had plans to go since the beginning of the season. So, after getting up at 4am on Black Friday and scoring some major deals with my cousin, Stu and I left on our 12 hour drive to P-town. (Stu is too good to me, he let me sleep most of the way)

We scored some great 45-yard line seats and gave the others to Tyler and Brittany so we could all sit together. SOOO cold, but so fun!

The whole DAY worth of driving (plus the 3 hours at the Hoover Dam) was definitely worth it! The game went into overtime, a total nail-biter, but BYU pulled through in the end and won it by three! Look at the crowd that rushed the field after the game, so sick.

I think we might have to get season tickets again next year... WE LOVE OUR COUGS!!!

grate(FULL)

This year, Thanksgiving was spent with Stu's family because mine went to California to be with my Grandma Laverne. I have to say, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And no, it's not just because of the food... I love Thanksgiving because it's all the love, family and togetherness of Christmas, without all the hype about gifts and spending money. And okay, maybe some part of it is due to the turkey/mashed potato/GRAVY/stuffing/cranberry goodness. Mmmmm. Oh and the rolls, can't forget the rolls.

Thinking about all the hard times that people are dealing with right now, I can't help but believe that we are blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

football, scrubs, and spray paint

Yes I know.. I am lame. I haven't gone this long without a post in quite a while! But really, these last few weeks have been so busy. I know I say that a lot, but I don't think I knew the meaning of the word until Stu and I went through these last weeks together! New job, new projects, more tests and assignments (thank you teachers for trying to make up for lost time and cramming everything in now), football games, and of course our ward callings. We didn't have much time to spare, and quite frankly- if we did have some downtime (rare), we chose to spend it snuggling or sleeping rather than blogging... here is a little bit of what's been going on lately:

Stu and I on Halloween.. (it really has been a while since I've posted)

I was a matador and he was a MVT Toro (chuckle, chuckle)

Stu's on a football team with a group of friends that all played together in high school. They are so good! He has games every Wednesday now and it's been fun to watch and get together with the wives! They've played together for a while so we're all good friends :) Stu caught two touchdowns his last game, what a stud! 

First day of work! Here I am in my scrubs... I actually LOVE wearing these! ah sooo comfy. I love my new job, I LOVE the girls I work with and I am learning so much! This has been such a blessing. 

Also, we started refinishing a dresser and night stand set we picked up from Craigslist. They are super cute, just need a little work, so we've been sanding and painting like crazy! Lucky for us, the sander that we borrowed broke within the first 5 minutes so we had so sand everything by hand. I'll post some pictures of the finished product!

In the meantime... Go HERE to see my most recent photo session! 

ps The Blind Side is the best movie, GO SEE IT. I think it's my new favorite movie, or at least my favorite this year. So good! 

oh the places you'll go

Tomorrow morning, I will be throwing on some of these:

to start training here:

for a new assisting position!!!

I am really SO excited! I have been looking for a job that is more similar to my career choice, basically since we moved down here to Mesa almost a year ago, and I finally found one. I feel like this is the perfect place for me too, Dr. Frost is really nice and the staff was super friendly! Thanks to Stu, I was persistent to the point of annoyance but I guess it paid off! (Thanks for the support and the extra push goonie, I love you!) This is going to be a great chance for me to learn more about the field, become more familiar with a dental office, and interact with patients and doctors. I am seriously so thrilled! Now I just have to figure out how not to look like a total blob in scrubs... wish me luck... 

discount is my other favorite word

Today, and today ONLY, Down East Basics is having a sale on ALL their merchandise (at least in the Arizona locations, Superstition and Chandler Mall) 50% off everything! You have to print off this "smart shopper" card from the abc15 website HERE, and just show it to them when you check out. Sooo easy! Their undershirts are my absolute fave, but they have other wayyy cute stuff that I'm sure will be a steal with this discount! Don't miss out!

no greater love

I woke up yesterday morning in a completely stressed-out state. The fact that President Milne was already off to one of his many meetings of the day, didn't really ease my situation. See, I realized what the date was (November 1, 2009) which meant it was fast sunday- which meant that we were already in November- which meant our YW Evening in Excellence was three days away- which meant that I was supposed to have made up invitations- and called to put an announcement in the ward bulletin- which (since I failed to do that) meant that I would have to be ready for church even earlier to try to get the announcement made anyway- which meant that I had to rush (on a stomach that had been entirely emptied of contents the night before due to some indian food)- which I knew meant that I would look not too super at church- which meant that my confidence would be in the low range- which just increased my nervous factor because I thought that it might have been my turn to teach the combined lesson that I wasn't ready for in the slightest- which upped the stress factor even more- which ultimately created a big hot mess of broken down Angie...

There were so many things that I had wanted this last week, so many things that I needed to do, so many things that I didn't get to, and a few things I just forgot. I felt like I was a total let-down in the wife/YW leader/student/friend/sister/member of the church department. Now let me say, I continually set (high) expectations for myself, and get very frustrated and feel like a complete failure if I don't measure up. This coupled with the fact that I seem to be surrounded by superwomen, makes me think I could be on anti-depressants if it weren't for Stu boy here. 

Everything turned out okay by the time we got to church, but I was still beating myself up over my little failures when the opening song started, "How Great Thou Art." My feelings of inadequacy seemed to melt away as I sang of my Savior and his immense power and incomprehensible love. This man who has power to create worlds, power to raise the dead, died for me. He suffered to make up for my shortcomings, to take away my sins and sad times. Sometimes it's hard to understand all that the atonement encompasses. And sometimes it's hard to let others carry your burdens when you stubbornly try to do things on your own. Like me. I just... I love my Savior. I know that he knows my hurts, he's felt my little failures, he's experienced my every pain, and He can help me get through it all if I let Him. Even my stupid little doldrum days, He can help me realize my true worth and give me peace. I know he loves me. He knows me. He understands me. And apparently He knows when to grant me a tender mercy in the form of a sweet friend (thank you Amanda).  

this is how i feel.