i know, i'm pathetic

This week has been INSANE with three bio tests, some lovely photography sessions/editing GALORE, home beautification projects, Halloween festivities, and a grand family get together. So I never blogged. And I also never made plans for Halloween night! The horror. Stu and I don't know what we're doing yet, any ideas?

this is awesome.

free is my favorite word

Tomorrow you can get in FREE at the AZ science museum from 10am-5pm! It is the coolest place! I think normal admission is around $10-$15 so this is an awesome deal! click here for the details.

Equally awesome: BYU vs. TCU tomorrow night. Stu and I would be up in Utah getting ready for the game of our lives, but I am taking photos at a wedding reception tonight so we sold our tickets to someone else... sad, I know. But that doesn't mean we wont be watching/wearing our cougar blue all day! ESPN Game Day is going to be at Lavelle Edwards, BYU [16th] is playing TCU [8th] and we're hoping for a big upset! Gooooo Cougs!!!

Oh! and one of my very best friends Mandy Gibbons opened her mission call last night!!! We have been close friends since high school and I cried (happy tears) when she told me she put in her papers. I am so excited for her and know she will be such an amazing servant of the Lord. The wonderful people of Rosario, Argentina are soooo lucky to have this girl come January! I love you Mand!!!

hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

*REVISED... Stu and I won't be going to the science museum, our day just got too busy! (insert sad face)

where have you been all my life?

i've discovered a few new things lately, and i am obsessed.

hummus. particularly of the roasted red pepper variety. i had a veggie sandwich with hummus subbed in as my dressing last night [thank you wholegrain] and i can say it's one of the best things i've ever eaten. i know, bold.. but true.

i had a little spray paint party while stu was gone and i'm much closer to having our little apartment look more like a home. i love it! i bought a few frames and letters from the hobblobb and scored a mirror from goodwill for wayy cheap and painted them to match the rest of our decor! maybe i'll post a picture...

gahhh.. my sister talked me into reading the first and i couldn't put it down! same story with the second one. i hate that i have to wait for the next one! they were sooo good. kind of meant for a harry potter-age audience, but reeeeeeally good story. and clean too! read it!

mmm ling lings, you make a mean potsticker. stu and i could eat these all day. well, maybe not. but they are good.

i had to fill my nights with movies and tv shows while stu was gone and one of my young women told me about GLEE. ahh so amazing! i don't care too much for the storyline, sometimes the show is a little crude, but the music/shows are fantastic! must. have. soundtrack.

this is old news, but i reaaaally love pumpkin flavor. fall is my favorite because people put pumpkin in everything. mmmmm. thank goodness for VT companions who love you and bring you pumpkin cookies in the middle of the night. i think i'll go have one now.. or two.. 

trip recap

While Stu was on his man trip to Brasil, I was stuck here, *suffering. Alone. I had school and work and a million little crafty projects planned to keep me busy but I was seriously miserable. And I've made Stu promise that he is never to leave me again, especially on any trips to Brasil. Hellooo that was torture. First off, being without my best friend, husband, love of my life for 11 days was heinous. We could only talk (MAYBE) once a day. Secondly, I found out I really don't like sleeping by myself. Actually, I HATE it. And then to top it all off, Stu was in the most beautiful place ever, without me. RUDE. Luckily, the last 5 days were made much more bearable because (thanks to mine and stu's mom) I had a plane ticket to New York to visit my momma.

It was so fun! And definitely the distraction I needed. This is what I woke up to every morning...

See that Arizona? Other parts of the world have recognized that fall is here and that the weather and the leaves should be changing! Get with it. Seriously.

We stayed in a little town off the Hudson at my moms mother-in-laws house. As soon as I walked in, I was totally in love with the place. Texture, color, angles, patterns... I was surrounded by a modge podge of decades of iconic design.

is this chair not fantastic? Mr. Herman Miller, you are brilliant.

Stu, I've picked out our future home. It's on the greatest tree lined street, it has a front porch, it's yellow and has blue shutters. It's like someone pulled this house out of my dreams. Can I have it?
We spent two days in the city. It really is "electric" and so different than anywhere else. I always become so enraptured by the people, the sounds, the fashion, the architecture, the smells? Eh, not so much...
We went shopping and hit up Times Square. We went back at night (completely different vibe at night) and saw West Side Story, one that my mom had never seen before. I love Broadway!
We made sure to visit Korea Town (much more classy and clean than china town..) and got some REALLY good food and and a couple cute knock-off purses. ooh not to mention pinkberry, twice. mmmm.

The next day, we took a walk up 5th Avenue and window shoppped on our way to the MET. Although I love the NYC fashion, I could not even fathom the amount of money people throw down at SAKS or Berdorf. I'll stick to H&M thanks..

For all you gossip girl fans, I'm sure this scene is familiar.. My sister and I watched all of season one in one day when when we were sick a couple summers ago, and I'm still a little hooked on it. So of COURSE I had to pose on the MET steps. My only lament is that I forgot my headband, shucks.

The MET was incredible. But that's just kind of my thing. I really could have spent a week in there, no sweat. Plus they let you take pictures, so I was having a ball. I had been practicing some new techniques with my camera and I really like the end results.

It was awesome! I had so many favorite sections. It was probably okay that Stu wasn't on this trip with me, I'm not sure he would have lasted past the first hour. We had planned to go to the Gugenheim Museum in Central Park after, but we were at our first stop too long.. Next time..

Hi mom!

We rested our legs for a bit in Central Park, I never realized just how BIG it is! We only had time to see a tiny section of it, but it was gorgeous.

My mom and I spent the last two days at her mother-in-laws house in a town about 40 mins out of the city. We went out for donuts (mmmm pumpkin) and went to a tag sale (which is just like a yard sale only bigger and with way better stuff) and I wished I had brought a bigger suitcase. Then we went to a garden within view of the Hudson, that was almost completely empty and I wished I could have stayed there all day. Umm hi, so gorgeous.

The city was fun, but I think that was my favorite day. Just relaxing and taking in all of natures goodness.
The next day it was HOME for me! Stu was already back in AZ and I was eager to see him again. This was a shot of us leaving the house, can you say amazing? I am so glad I got to go and be with my mom in such a fun place! Thanks a million momma and Joann! I love you both :)

To see more pictures, go here.

And to see the rest of the pictures from Nate and Amy's shoot, go here!

*I think I was a tad bit dramatic in the first bit of this post... But really, it was horrible. Never again Stu, never again...

having so much fun

I am loving all the time I am getting behind the camera lately! Thank you to all those that are referring me to friends and family! Here are a few shoots that I have finished editing...

Mika and Jarom plus baby Evan

These guys are the cutest. I had the joy of taking these photos on a weekend trip in Provo. Mika and Jarom are the best parents and love their little boy so much! See for yourself, click HERE. Such an adorable little guy.

Becca and Caleb

These two got married this last Friday and I had the opportunity to take their pictures the week before! I was really nervous because I had never taken such important photos before, but I think they turned out great! Probably because they were so much in love... This shoot left me itching to put my wedding dress on again. Click HERE to see more.

I'm not quite done with these yet, but here's a sneak peek for Nate and Amy!

Amy and Nate's baby boy Rigden is joining us in just 8 more weeks! His parents couldn't be more excited! K seriously, isn't Amy the cutest little pregnant lady you ever saw?! Loved taking shots of her belly :)

what do you think? let me know! i love your comments!

he's home!!!

Last night Stu met me at the gate as I got off my plane. I can't even write how amazing it was to see him and hold him (and kiss him). I'm sure I made quite the scene running out and jumping at my long lost husband. I'll spare you all the mushy details, long story short- it feels SO GOOD to have him home. You can bet I made him promise never to leave me again! We've decided that we're not doing anymore vacations without each other, it's the worst!

I will leave you with one image before I start doing the lonnng posts about our trips...

bahahahaa. Stu and his brothers didn't shave during the whole trip. I took this picture after he shaved half of it off this morning.. "grizzly adams did have a beard!" sexy huh?

...

On a more serious note, a dear bloggy friend Alexa is facing an enormous trial right now. Her husband is in the hospital right now, and although I don't have many details, I know that their family could use your prayers. Please keep them in your thoughts. Thanks so much.

i'd send a postcard to you dear, cause i wish you were here

Since Stu gets to be here:
my loving mama and mother-in-law helped me get a plane ticket here:

So just after a fun weekend of shopping, shows, and some quality mama time- I'll finally get to see my Stuart again!

one million seconds

Stu and I said goodbyes this morning at the airport, he was headed to Brasil with his dad and brothers for an 11-day "man trip". Both he and his brother Tanner served their missions there and they have been planning this trip back for quite some time. Stu loves Brasil, LOVES it. He loves the people, the culture, the language, the food... He's been singing the national anthem for the past couple weeks, non-stop. When they bought the tickets [months ago] I cringed at the idea that my Stu would be leaving me for such a long time, but it was kind of one of those things where I tried to pretend it wasn't going to happen. I mean, October seemed like forever away, it was easy not to think about it. But daily it creeped closer. This last week, I felt myself getting a bit cranky every time the trip came up, my little "let's-pretend-Stu-really-isn't-leaving" game wasn't working anymore. And today I had to come to terms with it as I rode away from the airport without him sitting right next to me. I felt so lame as little tears started to flood my eyes, the same reaction I had when I left for girls camp over the summer.

Is this boy that much a part of me that I can't be away from him for a week and a half without bawling like a baby? Yes.

Did I cry when he called me from his stopover in Atlanta [a mere 7 hours after I had seen him last] because I was so happy to hear his voice, because I missed him already? Yes.

Am I desperately excited for 6pm tomorrow when I can finally Skype him? Yes. Gotta love the world wide web.

Stu and I were doing some time conversions a few days ago, like, "one thousand seconds is 16.6667 minutes." I'm not sure why it started. I plugged in 1,000,000 into my calculator and converted that into minutes: 16,666. Then to hours: 277. Then days: 11.5 days. Which ironically enough is the exact amount of time that will lapse before I see my Stu again in the flesh.

Counting down the seconds...