New Years Resolutions...

One of our main resolutions is to post on our blog more, since our last post was on Halloween, so to catch up we made 5 posts today. So apologies to our many fans and readers out there.

Monica's Resolutions: Stop biting my nails (as it has been the same resolution for the past 16 or so years)

I get free drinks from work so I've been drinking at least a cup of hot chocolate a day. I'd like to cut back.

Bryan's Resolutions: Actually study for his tests this year.

Bryan "would like to sculpt his already decent shaped abs, into rock hard abs."

Merry Christmas, from Cindy Lou Who!

Bryan got me the bestest pajamas ever. So all Christmas, (even though I was hot) I got to strut around in these bad boys...

Sadly, Cindy Lou Who is not the best ping pong champion.

After Christmas we checked out Gator Jacks, because our friends said it's the best sandwich place and it has a really cool atmosphere!

It's hard to tell in the picture, but there's a gator behind Bryan

Nickel Arcade

While we were in Utah last month we went with our friends to the Nickel arcade.

We were trying to win as many tokens as possible to get this awesome fake mustache... But instead we got a slap bracelet. Mainly because of this injustice:

Rather than winning 1,000 tickets, we won 4. I felt like we went over 1$ on the price is right.

Also, I went into the bathroom, and I guess because this is a place for kids all the toilets were maybe 8 inches tall.

Bryan's hair

So while attending BYU-Idaho, Bryan has had to keep his hair short. So this semester while we weren't in class he decided to grow out his hair...

As soon as we got out of class in July, Bryan swore he wouldn't cut his hair until January (when we had school again) but his bangs started bugging him so he had his mom cut his hair... All that he asked was that she not cut like she did through all of his childhood, and not give him a bowl cut.

About half-way through his haircut I was dying. It turned out really great, I didn't get a picture of the final product but I sort of wish he kept it like this.

Then later... we went to visit our friends in Utah for the Jazz game. Long story short, I found my clip on hair extensions in my luggage from our wedding...

They went to good use that night while Bryan was playing games with DP.

I think they look better on him anyways

If you drive by Missoula..

So for Thanksgiving we went for a visit to Seattle, and we always stop at the Missoula Taco Bell...

I swear it's like a five star hotel compared to the others. But anyways, that's not the best part of our Thanksgiving...

We got to go see the gingerbread houses downtown..

This one is made of rice krispies.

We celebrated our 1 year anniversary at our favorite restaurant, the Cheesecake Factory. When we got home mom had the top of our wedding cake out on the table that she's frozen.

Surprisingly it still tasted good, and it was nice to feed each other without getting any cake in my hair this year...

Happy Halloween!

Every year, Bryan and 2 other friends at work dress as someone from work. This year Bryan was the workplace's cat.

They always have big Holiday work parties so Bryan brought home some candy and helped me to discover possibly my new favorite candy...

Fizzl skittles. As you may have guessed...They fizz, just try them, they're fun. I don't know if I could handle a whole bag though.

Turtle Heads

So Bryan has been the quarterback for this Flag Football team with friends.

Here's a highlight reel (we're the green shirts, and Bryan is typically wearing a sweatband).

I like it because I can catch everything I missed out on watching while I was talking with the other wives/ making necklaces out of the weeds and grass.

My favorite clips are the 2 yard gains.

Like a Rhinestone Cowboy

So this week we went horseback riding with our friends the Taylors and about 5 other couples. Bryan kept saying that you can't ride a horse without looking like a cowboy or they won't accept you as a rider. So we went to the D.I and got some gear, and the boys wouldn't buy any jeans that they didn't need help getting into...

I'm pretty sure I couldn't even fit in those jeans...

We thought we were all decked out until we saw what our friend Matt was wearing...

Bolo Tie and all.

I'm pretty sure the actual horseback guide was smirking at us considering they were just wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

The trail was really great, through trees and looking over the mountain. Pretty sweet. Also, something I never realized before was how much horses sweat. By the end of the ride my jeans were stuck to my legs

Oh and! We ended this date with square ice cream. A first for both Bryan and I.

It's all in the scooper. But why stop at square?

Zumba

This past week... I started a Zumba class

It's the best! I think most places it's 2 or 3 dollars a class (I will get it free because it's on campus) but it works your whole body and is fun, so it doesn't feel like working out as much.

Anyways, upon going with 3 friends, I am in line in front of a woman wearing black jeans, but she was keeping up, I gotta hand it to her. Mostly I was behind another woman...who was wearing only white shorts. I know she wasn't wearing underwear because once she started sweating I saw every dimple.... So hey, it's a workout and a show!

Christmas in September

Yesterday was Bryan's birthday. I wrapped his presents in Christmas wrap. You may ask, "But Monica, why not just buy birthday wrap? It's so cheap." ...Sigh. If I compromise on one holiday I'll have to compromise on them all. Not just birthday wrap... but weddings, baby showers, graduations... At first we just turned the wrapping paper inside out and used the white side for weddings and baby showers. But now Bryan suggests it to be our signature wrapping paper.

But his Birthday was fun. We helped his parents move after Bryan got off work and then went to dinner. It's so great that Olive Garden has a never ending pasta bowl to leave you over full and sleepy. When we got home and he opened his presents I thought his favorite gift would be ESPN magazine subscription... but clearly it was this:

His Justin Beiber shirt.

Bryan...sexiest sportsman of the year

This past week Bryan and the Taylors have been filming a short film about a Sport's fanatic. We went to the park to film and I'm a little worried that the people walking by really thought that Bryan dresses like this every day.

I'd like to do a little photo breakdown:

Slicked back hair

Black socks and loafers

Denim shorts and a belt... need I say more?

No under shirt.

I think maybe he's been taking his wardrobe tips from Devin

Five celebrities we could beat up

Bryan's List:

5. Jack Nicholson- For the sheer reason I have to watch him in the crowd every time the Jazz play the Lakers.

4. Matt Damon - He never looked all that tough to me. I would destroy Matt Damon! How do you like them apples?

3. George Lopez - Ahhh where to start. Just watch two minutes of his horrible stand up and you will see why I would fight this guy.

2. Nickelback - Okay, Okay, I know what you're thinking. There are four of them. Well i'm in luck 'cause i'm pretty sure I could round up enough guys that share my hatred for this awful band. Look at this picture! That guy with the long hair is just asking for a haymaker to the chin.

1. Kobe Bryant - Anyone who has talked to me for more than 5 minutes knows that I hate Kobe with every fiber of my soul. He beats my team every year, and every year I have to look at that stupid underbite. If I were to ever meet him in the octagon I would unleash a flurry of rage that started 16 years ago. Win or lose I would make sure he could never rape or play basketball again.

Monica's List:

I'm afraid my list isn't as substantial as Bryan's; I'm just going on who I could realistically beat up. Since I get to choose my opponents, I would go against these 5 celebrities in the ring:

5. Dakota Fanning- I feel pretty confident taking on anyone that wears size 0 jeans.

4. Justin Beiber- I think his weakness here is that he blow dries his hair forward so much that it'll block his vision of my right hook.

3. Dora the Explorer- She's so innocent she couldn't hurt a fly, and I just don't have that problem. Not to mention...she's a cartoon.

2. Clay Aiken- I had trouble choosing one picture because every face he makes just proves I could beat him up. He's wearing a turtleneck... Obviously not expecting what's to come.

1. Ke$ha- Just try singing a song without a track and I might respect you a bit more. When her music comes on, my blood boils. Stop telling people to take it off...please Kesha, keep it on.

Bear Lake

We went to Bear Lake this weekend with Bryan's family for a reunion, and it was pretty sweet. It was really good weather...almost too good since we have major sunburns. We got to go inner tubing on the boat and hot tubing at night. It was a really good break after school finals and all the other stress at hand.

I also thought this was the sweetest tire swing ever...

Before we left, Bryan said that he wants to buy the house. It's probably because it has 48 beds and 2 stoves. It'd be pretty sweet to just sleep in a different bed every night.

The best cookies in the world..

I hope I don't overdose on these cookies... because I've already made them twice, and they've been gone within 2 days every time. And they make at least 32 cookies. Totally disgusting that we could eat them, I know. We gave some to friends, don't worry. Our pals the Peterson's told us they were good so I found the recipe on this site:

http://kickoffthoseheelsncook.blogspot.com

We also made this site's orange chicken (amazing) and general tso's. You should check into it for dinner ideas.

Try them!!!:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter, soft
1/2 cup Margarine, soft
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar, lightly packed
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
2 3/4 cups Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Caramels squares or Rolos
4 oz Vanilla Candy Coating (you will find this in the baking isle of the grocery store next to the chocolate chips. they are white cubes, also known as almond bark)

Directions:
1. Cream the butter, margarine, and sugars till fluffy

2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla

3. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, and then add to the remaining ingredients

4. Preheat the oven to 345

5. Wrap about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough around the caramel. Roll it into a ball in your hands. Place the balls on a parchment covered cookie sheet

6. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes

7. Let the cookies cool on the parchment paper for a minute

8. Melt the candy coating by following the directions on the back of the packaging. Pour the melted candy in a sandwich bag and clip the corner

9. Drizzle the candy over the cookies

10. Place the cookies on a cooling rack and allow them to cool

(from kickoffthoseheelsncook.blogspot.com)

39 packets of hot sauce...

I was cleaning out our cupboard today.. and I knew we had a lot of hot sauce, but I hadn't realized it was so much...

I promise we don't go to Taco Bell that often, but when we do go we make sure to grab a few extras for when we make burritos at home.

Bryan also has to ask for "a healthy grip of hot sauce" every time we go through the drive-thru (or a healthy grip of ketchup, depending on the place).

I'm pretty sure if other people saved them like we do they'd acquire the same amount. At least I hope that it's normal.

A little realization about my man

Being "full" doesn't mean anything.

We're at a friend's barbecue tonight and Bryan's finishing pasta salad, says "I'm full" and then two seconds later I grab a cookie he's like "oh grab me one too."

Four minutes after this he sees a friend eating something we both missed at the table.

So he eats that too.

Ha, maybe my definition of full is just different, or he's got an extremely quick metabolism.

Domino's vs. Pizza Hut

So normally we get Domino's but yesterday since Pizza Hut has the ten $ pasta deal we decided to order their pasta medley.

So I get to the restaurant to pick up my order and it's obvious that the cashier doesn't have my order. He's sweating bullets and asks

"could it be under another name?"

I give him my maiden name.. No luck

"Uhhh, what's your phone number?"

...No luck

"what did you order?"

..no luck

"Well did you call Domino's?"

I say "why would I call Dominos?"

"Ma'mm... you're in Domino's"

...I guess I went on auto-pilot and not only drove to the wrong restaurant but stood there with 6 other people staring at me waiting for their order.

SMART

Cry baby

I'm one of those people that when I cry says "I promise I never cry." I've concocted a list of times when Bryan and I cry.

Monica cries:

When school and work are too stressful.

When I'm too tired and cranky.

During Grey's Anatomy.

When I read psych articles about massacres.

When I see people getting engaged.

For no reason.

During church testimonies.

That one part during "My Girl"... "he can't see without his glasses!"

Bryan cries:

For the movie Up!

..and comes close during the Super Bowl.

Bryan's cat obsession...

Bryan isn't what I would call a cat person, so I had no clue what I was getting into.

He looks up sports highlights everyday online, so sometimes there are these cat videos posted on the side of the webpage. I'd say he watches 2 cat videos a week.

Example:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=cat+video&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701&fr2=tab-web&vid=0001910104822

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/8e0c36a228/cats-on-a-treadmill-from-that-happened?rel=player

It's funnier to watch him watching it, he's so giddy.

Bison parade

So Ricky is currently with us in Idaho checking out the campus during his Spring Break. We took him to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful and the paint pots.

Bryan and I had been here when we were younger, but Ricky was 1 the last time we went. On our drive over herds of Bison were just having a party in the middle of the road.

They walked slowly, I nearly had enough time to name them all. My favorite was creepy eyed Wallie. He stood right by my passenger window close enough to pet him.

Ten reasons we hate Lady Gaga

10. We can't listen to the radio for more than 10 minutes without them talking about her, or without hearing one of her songs.

9. She thinks she's groundbreaking in everything she does. She needs to take a piece of the humble pie.

8. The way she calls herself "Lady Gaga". It's hard to miss when she says her name in nearly every song. What ever happened to 1st person speech?

7. Because of the lyric "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick." I'm pretty sure this lyric is self explanatory

6. For the sheer fact that her clothes are so tight and small I know what she would like naked more than my own body.

5. She dances in blood.

4. The way that she can wear weird clothes and call it fashion. People need to treat her like a child and just ignore her acting out. She was on MTV's Boiling Points once and used to be normal, so this weird behavior and clothes is just for fame.

How many Kermits did she have to kill for this outfit?

3. Her shoes. Looks like she kills Armadillos too.

2. I never see her wearing any pants.

1. When Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake grab their own crotch it's a dance move. When she does it I feel like she's giving me herpes.

Sigh, at last, I can take a breath

So I took my last final today! Grades are in and I got offered a job in men's suits at JCPenney's. I was apprehensive about working there since it's a half hour drive and gas is expensive, but I'll actually be making 3 dollars more per hour than most jobs around campus, which still isn't very much but ha I'm very glad.

Tomorrow we're headed to Seattle to visit the family and friends. A 12 hour drive ahead full of the license plate game and the second Eragon book. I suspect Devin will have 10 stupid youtube videos to cram down our eye sockets, one of which will be about George Forman, or he'll just keep replaying the same Bruce Springsteen album, but that's why we miss home.

I'm excited to show Bryan around town, I'd like to take him to some good restaurants and the EMP and probably the Locks. I'm thinking he hasn't really experienced Seattle without seeing the homeless people that play the buckets as drums or play the accordion with no teeth, I don't know why those always have to go hand in hand.

I got a job interview for tomorrow

JcPenny's gave me a call today. It was my very first job I had while I was in High School and 16 years old, so I really feel that as I'm in college I'm digressing, but hey, it's work. I think although I got sick of it before, it'll be good for me now since I have a lot better attitude about work and will laugh things off when the bosses are being sour.

If I get the job this means two things:

1. Bryan and I will be seeing less of each other

2. I will be filling this void with Cafe Rio, because it is across the street from JcPenny.

The only hesitation I have of nailing the job is that they're most likely to hire someone immediately and we're scheduled to visit home in Seattle in 2 weeks, and that's a lot to ask the company for time off right away. So hey, we'll see.

Twenties minutes in line...

Today Bryan and I went to Wal-mart to take his sister shopping. We grabbed one cord to buy for his printer, and we all went to the check out lines. His sister Crystal got in a lane on the left with 3 people in it with only a few items, while Bryan and I got into a line behind an older man, who was also being checked out by an older man. Normally we'd avoid such a situation but the guy was ringing up his last item. And then the guy decides to pay with a traveler's check. So the cashier has to get his ID, and the old guy fumbles around for that, and then the cashier is looking at the man's ID, and they start talking like a couple of girls that they're almost the same age, and though they've aged their minds still feel like they're 25. Then finally the cashier is going to run his check through the machine, and it doesn't come back out, so he's like taking the whole thing apart and Bryan and I just decide to move over to the lane that his sister already got through a long while ago with only one person to ring up. Then as he goes to pay, this guy pays with cash, and Bryan and I are like "sweet, it's not a traveler's check." Sweet it wasn't. The woman is staring like a deer in headlights at the man's money, getting sweaty and anxious. She pushes what looks like every button on the register and calls over to the other register "uh, do you need a calculator?" Rather than answer yes or no the other person is like "well what's the problem?" She says "I just need a calculator" so meanwhile I get my phone out into the calculator program and I start to hand it to the woman, but she's basically in shut-down mode and just stares at the phone (not understanding that it also can be used as a calculator) so then one of the managers comes over to help her. Meanwhile, the old man's line we used to be at realized that the check he was trying to scan fell on the floor all along, and more people are cruising through his line.

So our cashier tells the manager she accidentally entered the wrong cash amount, and she is trying to figure out how much change she really needs to give him (rather than just doing simple math) and they figure out they he needs 10$ and 14 cents back. Really, in that 7 minutes of panicking and looking for a calculator doing that mental math would just take too long.

Meanwhile these are the people that are getting jobs in Rexburg, while all of us with near college degrees are competing for Taco Bell.

So we finally get out of Wal-mart and I turn to Bryan and I'm like "can you believe that?" and Bryan's like "psssh, I know! That lady had a mustache"

Not just St. Patrick's Day

Today marks the anniversary of our first kiss

These annoyingly bright pants that I originally bought for my ninja turtle costume on Halloween have now become my st patty day go-to. I remember wearing them on our 5th date and Bryan being worried and embarrassed when his friends would meet me that they'd only be able to remember my green pants. But that night after dropping me at my door step, these pants must have been enchanted for the sparks to go flying. Bryan says I kissed him while he was taking out my trash, but that's cuz I could tell by his look he wanted to kiss me. That's why he's really the one to make the first move.

We visited Utah...

Last weekend Bryan and I drove down to Utah for his buddies wedding in the Salt Lake temple., we actually had to leave on a Thursday night after work and school, so I packed us sack dinners so we never had to stop. We're really nerdy right now, I've been reading Eragon aloud to Bryan when we travel so once it got dark in the car, I rummaged through the car to find one of those wind-up powered flashlights. So with every page you'd also hear the "eeeeee" of the flashlight.

Our trip to the temple was good, long, cold, you know the way all weddings seem. There was a luncheon held at Olive Garden a few hours later so we actually went to the ginormous Church Office Building to visit Bryan's grandma that is currently on her mission in Temple Square. Bryan and I would die if we had to do her job even for an hour a day and were heavily paid. She works in a little cubicle and for the past 3 months she gets up at 5 AM, walks over to the building from her apartment, and she goes on the computer to check the Polish people's records and compares them to the ones the Church has. Basically she just has to look at every name and see if all the accent marks line up. You can see why she'd get so excited if she found a mistake after 8 hours of that a day. It's perfect for her though because she seems happy.

Now... onto Saturday..

Best Restaurant Ever, aka THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY. We've made it a ritual to stop when we visit Utah. One: because all of the restaurants in Rexburg are really boring, if you could even call our taco bus a restaurant. Two: Because these avacado egg roll appetizers are the closest thing to ambrosia I've ever eaten. I'm pretty sure it's only 2 or 3 egg rolls cut up, but you can party in every bite. We actually got a knock off recipe to try and make at home, but when we went to the store we realized that all the ingredients would cost nearly 40 dollars so we just put that stuff back.

I guess the only thing that confuses me is why cilantro has to appear on every plate for someone to call it fancy.

A lotta lovin'

We figured we'd post what we did for Valentines after seeing everyone else do the same.

We switched things up a bit and Bryan made dinner, tortellini ( I love the green ones). So I made dessert with our fondue set we got from Val and Garrett. The art of fondue didn't come naturally to us, the chocolate was pretty much burnt on the bottom as soon as the flame started... So we ended up skipping the chocolate and going for the pineapple and strawberries. Now we won't get scurvy!!!

We also exchanged gifts. Bryan surprised me with a pedicure and a set of tans (I complain about being pale in the winter, I space the tanning out so I don't look like Snookie from Jersey Shore) and I surprised him in an Austin Collie jersey from the Colts. He's worn it twice already.