Remember how I have a blog? Yeah... I forgot.

Also, remember that one time Tommy and I got engaged? 
Probably not, because I never even really blogged about it. 
But, it was awesome.

In the summer of 2012 is when Tommy and I fell in love and learned that we wanted to be together forever. From our first date on, I think it's safe to say that Tommy and I spent time with each other everyday (except for the few days he was out of town.)

On August 16th, we were planning on meeting up with Tommy's dad for dinner, who was in town for only a few hours. Before we drove down to meet him, I remember showing up at Tommy's place and I was so hot and sweaty, which for me is a recipe for a bad mood. Tommy's smart and I'm sure he knew this, so he suggested that we jump in the pool for a bit and then clean up and meet his dad for dinner. Such a good idea. So, we jumped in the pool.

We met his dad down at the famous Fish Market in the San Diego Harbor. Dinner was yummy of course, and the company was wonderful too. After dinner, Tommy took me over to Coronado Island. We got ice cream and found a nice spot to sit on the beach. We ate and talked. Tommy started to put a ring on my finger. "Wrong hand," I told him. He switched hands. He was asking if I would marry him. I wasn't sure whether to believe it, so I asked if he was serious. He was. And I said yes. And we laughed. And hugged. And hugged and laughed. For a good while.

That whole evening was so fun. I remember being so happy to be spending time with Tommy. Little did I know that he was going to propose and I'd get to spend the rest of time with him.

That night we kept our engagement to ourselves. It was our little secret. And it was fun. We had been planning on driving out to Mesa, AZ the next evening to meet up with my family for the weekend. We figured it would be more fun to show them the news than to call with the news. So, I spent the day on a high by myself while I waited for Tommy to pick me up so we could get on the road. Longest day of my life. I pretty much didn't talk to anyone for fear that my extreme happiness might kill them or something. We finally got to Mesa and my family finally noticed the ring and then our little secret was public news.

That was an extremely memorable time in my life. I know I'll never forget it. I know I'll always remember little things about it, like how Tommy kept saying he wanted to have an "enjoyful" day. That isn't even a word. He probably made it up out of nervousness when I thought he was just being silly. I'll always remember how happy I was. I'll always remember the best parts of that memory. But I won't remember every thing. I'm sure I've already forgotten some tiny, little things within that memory.

And sadly, I've most likely forgotten many fun and wonderful memories in between then and now, simply because I didn't take time to record them. I feel like each day there is some new connection, some fond memory, some silent blessing, and I'm missing out by not writing them down.

I guess I've been thinking about it so much lately because at this time a year ago so many special memories were forming. And I loved it. And I never want to forget.

This August 16th, Tommy and I went and visited our special spot on Coronado Island. The spot where we hugged and laughed and had such a happy time together. And it was wonderful all over again.

I've never been the best at keeping a journal or a record of my life, which is basically why I started blogging in the first place. I'm not too good at keeping a blog though either. But I really want to keep a record of my life. So many great things happen that I don't want to forget.

I recently got a journal called "One Line a Day" 

and have been writing in it every day since. 

Get one! (You can get it here!) 

It's amazing to see how there is some 

sort of keepsake to write down every day.

I love when my husband asks me out on a date. ♥ I get so excited. Spending time with him is one of my favorite things and it's always really fun to find something we both enjoy doing. Husband and I dream of gardening. We love it and although we live in a 900 square foot condo with a small balcony for a yard, our garden seems to be getting along wonderfully for us. Tommy is taking me to a garden party at our favorite local nursery tonight. I'm sure we will let our gardening imaginations run wild while we're there, but there isn't much more room on our balcony for all of our gardening daydreams to come true. We have done a pretty thorough job of packing in the plants. 

In our small space we are currently growing:

Green Onions

Garlic

Romaine Lettuce

Lemons

Radishes

Swiss Chard

Green Beans

Baby Spinach

Kale

Spotted Lettuce

Blackberries

Strawberries

Peaches

Blueberries

Rosemary

Basil

Daisies

Jasmine

Wildflowers

Ginger Flowers

If you think your space is too small to garden, reconsider. We've been able to fit all of these with square foot gardening beds and pots. Our balcony doesn't get a great deal of sun, which is obviously essential for gardening, so we've tried to stick with winter plants (mainly lettuces) that can survive with out all-day sunshine. 

No matter your space size, geographical location, amount of time, or other circumstances, I encourage you to garden. It's such a pleasure to sink your fingertips into the earth. It's even more of a pleasure to eat what you have planted, cared for, grown, and harvested with your own two hands. I believe there is something both humble and Godly in cultivating the earth. I guess gardens are humble recreations of His artistic masterpiece. Mine and my sweetheart's sure is small, but I think it's lovely and suits us fine.

Now, go get a foam cup and a bean seed and get sprouting! 

“The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.”

- Abraham Lincoln

If you don't believe me, believe Abe. He's honest.

I've been away.

I've been in heaven.

This pretty much sums up what I've been doing.

So yeah... There are some new things going on.

I got a new home. Bye-bye Rexburg. Hello San Diego.

I got a new name. Life's Rad in Carlsbad is now the golden burrow. Just because.

And a new last name. Just because.

It's now a new year. Well hello 2013. And welcome.

Oh yeah, and I got a new husband! His name is Tommy and you can read all about our special day right here on the "our day" page.

A few things.

1) I'm still alive. Since I know SOOoo many people are concerned about that.

2) This girl crush of mine has decided to grace us with another album! And thanks to an impulse iTunes purchase, I've already been enjoying the fruits of her labors. Thank you, Brandi Carlile, for rocking so much.

3) My kid sister, Tibi, just graduated from HS last weekend. Congratulations to her! And it will be so fun to spend some more time with her! (We'll be invading Rexburg and showing that place what's up come fall. :)

4) Come one! Come all! To the best shave ice hut in the entire wewld! (You see, that's supposed to be an accent.) Truly. Amazing.

5) I've been called: sweetheart, darling, dear, princess and baby girl more today than possibly ever. All by total strangers. That was just nice. Aaaannd... somebody left me a 5 dollar tip today. And it wasn't even a guy trying to hit on me. Just a girl that was feeling generous. Booya Monday. I win this time.

      Well, there went February and March. It's amazing how much of my life I allow to go by without recording a single second of it. It's sad is what it is. Because it's been a great two months and now what do I have to show for it? Well, I will soon have the privilege of belting out this song again... That's something I guess. But it's been another great semester at BYU-Idaho. And aside from a most likely lower cumulative grade point average I've also got a few other things to show for it. For instance, the 40 pounds I've gained. Okay, just kidding. But it sure feels like it. I bought a pack of hotdogs thinking that it was a good/inexpensive idea to finish out my last days of the semester/to try and welcome summer to show up anytime it fancies. Looking back, I realize that I have some cubes of Crisco in the cupboard, maybe I could have just helped myself to those. On the brighter side, I have a few new found loves to take with me as well. One of them is corn tortillas. I used to have a disliking for them, but this semester I have just fallen in love with them. They are cheaper, they keep longer, they taste more authentic, and they are better for me; it's just a win win win situation. Love em. Another new found love is my new favorite flavor of ice cream. Breyer's Butter Pecan. So. Good. As for an old found love, the good ole' county fair is coming up and that means time with my family. It's fun to put on my country girl and get down to my roots once a year. Soon this little lady will be tippin' her hat to this semester and sippin' on sarsaparilla!

So, I'm eating a delicious Machaca Burrito at Ramirez tonight and when I go to take another bite, by the end of the bite I have burrito (eggs, meat, cheese, grilled vegetables, etc...) spread across my face: onion and cheese on my upper cheek, egg in my hair, lime juice in my eyeball (yes, it was stinging)... Smooth. Really smooth. "Yeah, don't mind me everybody... I'm just over here being disgusting..." I don't know why my burrito had a fit, but I'm sure it was a lovely sight for all of the fellow customers trying to enjoy their food. The place was packed too, so that was great. At least on the way out some guys ran up to me and ranted and raved about my pants and then went on to tell me I looked like Angelina Jolie. I tried to smile and say thank you without showing my teeth, since I was sure I had food all up in them. I know, I lead such a glamorous life with onion breath, peppers in my teeth and eggs in my hair. But thanks to those little fellas who just made my night.

Look what I found on campus the other day.

Kinder Bueno Bars.
One of my favorite things in this realm.

Seriously, BYU-idaho?!

Stop being so awesome.

          Also, do you know that feeling of being just scared enough to laugh? Not scared enough to cry or even wimper, but just to laugh. Like.. "Hehe, shh!! We can't get caught by Santa Claus." or "Hehe, shh!! What if they catch us?" while toilet papering.. (not that I've ever done that.) I'm not sure if those examples are the best, but you should know what I mean. Well, I have Ancraophobia. I am unusually terrified of wind. Weird? Yeah, I know. But I am. When I walked home from campus today it was a bit gusty, giving me pushes every now and then, but just enough to make me giggle all the way home. So, happy Windsday.

When finals week was over, I headed to SLC to spend a couple of days with my sister Kira before going to Logandale. I had car trouble all the way down. It was all great timing since I was driving down during the hottest part of the day with no air conditioning, not to mention I was on a time schedule. By the time I got to Kira's (well, around the corner and down the street because my car wouldn't quite make it) I was so frustrated, sweaty and upset that all I wanted was a shower, a drink of water and a good cry. Luckily, Kira came and saved the day. She took me to a Fleet Foxes concert! It was amazing! My favorite band at my new favorite venue. It was at the Red Butte Gardens Amphitheater. The weather was perfect, the surroundings were beautiful and the sound was amazing. Easily one of the best, if not THE best, concert I've ever been to. We snacked on Cracker Jacks, relaxed in the cool grass and rocked out with the hippies a bit. Great concert. Thanks Kira!

This is the Red Butte.

This picture was actually from the Ben Folds concert, but you get the idea.

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues." thomas s. monson

i am so grateful. i am so blessed. there are some things that i am indescribably grateful for. words could never explain. here are just a few.

today i went to the temple. all i can say, is that there is no place i would rather be. i'm grateful for the temple.

i'm grateful for this. my heart. my heart is a dear friend of mine. it's through this heart, that my Father in heaven created, that i'm able to feel. it's this heart that the holy ghost touches, so that i can feel of God's love and know of His power. i love feeling the spirit. it's through this heart that i'm able to do that. my heart. i'm grateful for my heart.

i'm a student at byuidaho. i am learning new things every day. i'm gaining experience. i have the opportunity to feed my brain, open my mind and gain knowledge. i'm a student at byuidaho. i'm able to feel the spirit on my university campus. i'm grateful for the opportunity to learn in a spiritual environment.

words could never describe how grateful i am for my Savior. He saves me everyday. i love Him. i could never be anything without Him. i'm grateful for my Savior's love and grace.

i love God's creation. everything. everything about this natural earth is beautiful. i'm grateful for the beauty of the earth and the brightness it brings into my life.

i'll never be able to say how much i love these two people and how grateful i am for them. they are selfless. they are caring. they are loving. they are hard working. they are tenderhearted. they are forgiving. they are faithful. they are what i hope to be someday. i love and am grateful for the love of my parents, and the love they have for each other.

i love the beauty of innocence. i'm reminded of childhood innocence and purity when i'm surrounded by my niece and nephews. they are so perfect. if only i could be like them. i love their bright eyes and their optimism. i'm grateful for the example of children.

i love trying and experiencing new things. i'm so glad that i am able to make choices for myself and have personal experiences. i'm grateful for adventure.

friends are precious. true and close friends are rare. i've been able to make friends that will always have a special place in my heart. i'm grateful for friendship.

i've been lucky enough to grow up with 5 siblings. we are all friends and we are a close family. i love my siblings so much. i'm grateful for sisterly and brotherly affection.

And now! I will post about BYUI. My first day of school - can I say fish out of water? I cannot stress this phrase enough. I felt this every way possible. I'm in this ridiculously tiny town, absolutely dumped with snow. It suddenly appears to be 1850. I'm in school and have no idea what I'm doing. I felt like I literally looked like a fish out of water. Picture a guppy fish from the Pacific Ocean. This fish loves having fun and loves the sun and salt water. Now picture this guppy wearing snow boots and a backpack, walking around a snowy, University campus. A fish! Keep in mind it's a fish. That was me on the first day of school. But! By the second day of school that little fish owned the place.

I seriously love school. I love my classes. I love learning. I'm so lucky to be here.

I lucked out with awesome roommates. Seriously. I'll introduce them later.

My classes are... Math, Book of Mormon, Art, American Foundations, French and Fashion Merchandising. I stay really busy with all of them.

I love school.

I don't necessarily love Rexburg. I miss the desert. I miss the coast. I miss the warmth. I don't hate it here, but I would prefer to live elsewhere. I just remind myself that this is temporary and that someday I'll miss it.

Love school. Don't love Idaho. Glad to be here. :)

Catch up! Some things have happened. Like this ->

Sister Gutierrez left us. We are smiling in the picture,

but we were sad.

Stephanie and Juan got married!

They looked amazing and I was so happy

to be able to go to Carlsbad and be a part of

their wedding weekend! Love these guys.

I had an "old fashioned Christmas" with

Grandma and Grandpa's ward in Carlsbad.

I wished everybody a Merry Christmas

and bid the beautiful sun farewell.

Spent Christmas in Logandale with the family.

Said goodbye to these wonderful sisters.

I was able to spend quite a bit of time with them.

I love these girls and I was sad to leave them.

Sister Gonzales and Sister Drussell

I missed October. Where the heck did it go? It's gone! Happy late Birthday to... Melanie, Sharrid, Marc, Mitch, Paula, Lexie, Connie and Gregg! Because I most likely missed it! I don't know where I've been! Well, actually I've been at Wally's working. That's most of what I remember about the last few weeks. I did manage to have some fun though.

I feel like BYUidaho is finally creeping up on me. I can't wait, but I have to admit, I am getting just a bit nervous. Butterflies spaz out in my stomach when I start to think of it, when before they were dancing at the thought. I'm still very grateful and excited to go! Just.. a little nervous.

I'm stoked about the holidays. I'm one of the crazies. One of those crazy people whose world just seems to revolve around the holiday season. One of the people who has been welcoming the season with Christmas music since a week or two before Halloween. I love the glow of the lights, the smell of the pine, the magic in the air and the holiday cheer. I know everybody loves Christmas, but I hope you know the kind of people I'm talking about. Two people come to mind when I think of "Christmas crazies". My missed roommate Natalie is one of them. It was so nice rooming with her. She was basically flawless and the fact that she was completely obsessed with the holiday season (especially Christmas) made me feel like I wasn't the only crazy out there. The other person that comes to mind is my dear friend Greg. I love both of these people. And I think they will always be in my heart when the season rolls in. My fellow "Christmas giddies :)".

Mom, Dad, Tibi, Landon and I were able to go to Randon (my cousin) and Kylee's Wedding Reception in Ivans. It was adorable to say the least. And they are an adorable couple. I was lucky enough to have a dance with Dad, eat a doughnut and sip on hot cocoa, see cousins, laugh with Tibi and Landon and admire the general splendor.

The premier of "CONAN" was on tonight. Oh, how I've missed him. I'm so glad he is back. :)

I'm a huge fan of Google, but I think that their Blogger is a pathetic excuse for a program. Whoever designed it should be fired or should work for Yahoo.

Some things.

I'm in Logandale for the time being and I recently got a job at Wally's. Yes, you read that right. Wally's. I actually really like it so far, (even though we have to wear the ugggliest shirts ever). It will only be for the next few months and I'm really lucky and grateful to have a job! It's less than five minutes away, so that's a really nice feature as well. :)

I'm back in the good ole' Logandale Singles Branch. This place is something else, but it's good to be back for the next bit. I got my old calling back (teaching Relief Society), which I love. And I just love President Leavitt. It's nice to be here.

Other than my business life at Wally's, I've been spending all of my time cleaning out/fixing up my mother's scrapbook/sewing/hobby room. I really wish I would have taken a before picture. If you haven't seen it, it looked a lot like this... only it had some really hideous wallpaper as well. Or.. have you ever seen the television show called Hoarders? Enough said. It's still a long work in progress, but I think it will be worth the time. I'll be sure to post some before (sort of) and after pictures.

I'm so excited for General Conference. What a lovely weekend.

It's official. I applied to BYUi on September 2nd, and on September 7th I was notified that I have been accepted! Here I come BYUi!

Hello. I've been around. I've been in Portland. I've been in Provo. I've been in Logandale. I've been to the Cabin. I went and worked in Portland for two weeks. It rained a lot. I went to visit family and friends in Utah. Tibi and I went swimming all week with cousins while we were there. It was really fun. I went to the MOA and the french bakery in Provo with Nicole and Yosh. We also went to SLC to listen to Floyd and Von sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. That was really great. In Logandale I had fun with people in the ward and went to activities. Mostly went swimming everyday because it was too hot to do anything else. I went night fishing on the lake also. That was really enjoyable. Now I'm back in good old Carlsbad... Tender Mercies. :)

Kira and I freezing and wet in Portland, the land of weirdos.
In other news, I am trying to learn the guitar. Trying.

Tibi and I explored Temple Square together.

Floyd and Von belting it with THE Choir.

Taryn it up, K RAD, Willy the Kid and Saucy Aussie showing the ward how it's done!

Silent Partner Make-A-Million!
And trying not to get eaten alive by mosquitoes.
(photos courtesy of my mobile phone and saucy aussie)

Well, I haven't recorded anything since Thanksgiving basically. So, here I am posting way too many pictures. Here is what I have done... (in backwards order)

Went to Carlsbad

Went to Provo

Tried to Snowboard

Went to Salt Lake City

Went to Mexico

Tried Blue Bell Ice Cream

Relaxed in Texas

Worked in Texas

Turned 22 and had a really fun Birthday party

Spent Christmas in Logandale

Wished everybody Merry Christmas

Tried to make some jewelry

Spent Thanksgiving in St. George with my family

Well... There went three months with no record of my life. Oops.. I missed blogging some things, but it's not the easiest thing to do when you have no computer and no time. I'll be back in the blogging world soon hopefully. Not that anybody really cares, but I care about keeping a journal and I just don't do it often enough. If you DO care, here is what is going on... (not much)

Oui, oui, I still work at the French Bakery/Cafe.

My cheer classes are over and I've decided that if I do anything like that again it will have to be at a high school level to be enjoyable.

My golf game is SLOWLY improving.

I love and am always eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I'm almost 22 years old and what have I accomplished you ask? Hmm... I'll get back to you on that.

I got STUNG!
by a STINGRAY! (one of these suckers!)

Ouch? Yes! It hurt. Here is the story...
I went to buccaneer (south Oceanside) beach to go boogie with some peeps (Zac, Adam, Will, Heather) from the ward. This was on Thursday July 30th. We ran out with our boards and had some fun in the water. I caught some white wash for a bit and then we went out a little farther to actually try and catch some waves. I haven't done that for a LONG time and it was tiring! Heather (cousin) and I got tired pretty fast so we decided to head in for a while. I rode some waves in and started walking up to the beach. As I was walking up to the beach I stepped on what felt like an arm. "Ew", was my first thought. "Did I just step on an arm? A small slippery arm? A child? Drowned? Ew." Keep in mind all of those thoughts went through my head in a nano-second. Instantly after I stepped on the slippery arm, something stabbed me in the front of my ankle. "OW! What the heck was that?! Maybe when I stepped on whatever it was, it flipped up and hit me... No way! That was WAY to forceful of a poke to be accidental.. Oh, I can't walk.. I'm limping." I call out to Heather to take my board for me as I keep walking up the beach. She takes it, notices I'm limping and tells me that I'm bleeding. I look down to confirm. Bleeding, yes, but I'm more concerned that it's getting harder to walk. I felt like my ankle was swelling. The feeling of venom. Painful swelling. I got to the beach and leaned on the rocks. Heather went and told the lifeguard and came back to help me to him. I told him what happened and he tells me that I've been stung by a stingray. Told me they hurt pretty bad. Started asking me all sorts of questions.. Where are you from? Are you allergic to bees? Do you have any allergies? How do you feel? I'm answering as best I can. Starting to feel light headed. I tell him. He has me sit down and wraps my ankle. Feel like I might throw up. I tell him. He says it's okay. Feeling REALLY light headed. My head is getting really heavy. I can barely hold it up. He continues to ask me questions. At this point he is just trying to keep me conscious. Taking my pulse. Still asking questions. I can see the feet of the people I came with surrounding me. I feel dumb and a little worried that I look ugly. He continues to be a dove while we wait for other lifeguards to show up. When they get there I start to feel better. The light-headedness slowly goes away and the heavy head as well. My ankle is still in pain though. They put a hot pack on it. That helped SO much. Dulled the pain. They tell me I need to go home immediately and get my ankle in nearly scalding hot water. So Zac (friend) drives up onto the beach with his Cherokee (I know he felt cool) and carries me to his car. They took to to his Gma's house and carried me to the tub.. Tears were streaming down my face by this time. The hot water pack was luke. We sat there for a while, but everybody still wanted to swim, so we went to Marc's condo. They swam and I sat in the hot tub. That's my stingray adventure! It hurt for the next few days and I got more than enough attention from those guys the rest of the weekend. The wound just looked like a nail hole. I don't know if it will scar. Next time I go to the beach I'll be sure to do the stingray shuffle!!! Good thing I'm not afraid of things in the ocean.. at least I wasn't before! I might be a little timid for a while. Here are some pictures of the adventure...

Heather, Gimp, Adam

Laughing it off. (Probably trying not to cry :)


Photos courtesy of Zac's waterproof camera.
(I'm glad he didn't get any of me when I was sitting down with the lifeguard. According to Will I was "green".)