some other fun stuff that i forgot to talk about

When we told people here that we were in Utah for Christmas, most asked if we did anything fun like skiing or snowboarding. And the answer is no. No, because we're poor, and no, because the snow in Utah wasn't very good anyway. But I was ok with that. We went to Utah to chill with friends and family, and it was awesome to just spend time with our favorite people.

One night, we went to do karaoke with some friends, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. It was so much fun. This was my set list:

solo: Fernando by Abba, one of my favorites for karaoke because it's silly. 

trio with Tawnya and Kimmy: Leader of the Pack.

duet with my husband: Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better, from Annie Get Your Gun. This was probably my favorite one of the night. I love being competitive with the husband.

duet with Tawnya: Total Eclipse of the Heart: a karaoke must. 

And the highlight of the night was my husband's surprise solo for me of "Some Enchanted Evening." Remember this scene from "My Best Friend's Wedding"? It was kind of like that. It was adorable and I was smitten with it.

it looks like they're singing to each other. ha.

We also got to see Jarrick and Michelle at The Pie Pizzeria. I loved seeing them. 

 My cute sister and her cute friends came with us too.

 And not pictured is when we made din din with Kelsy and her husband and played games. That was super fun. But I got a picture with her later.

I need to be better about pictures, because I also saw my besties from high school and also Victor's bestie and his wife, but alas, no photos. Don't be crushed. 

What a great vacation it was. I miss it. 

little pick-me-ups: d.c. edition

Today one of the security guards at the National Archives totally made my day.

He said to me, "whenever you come here, this place is a nicer and happier place."

When I said, "thank you so much,  have a good day!," he said back, "well you have a better one."


How incredibly nice!!!

Honestly, I go through most days not really thinking of the strangers around me. When I get around crowds, I usually resort to assuming that people have no common sense. And a lot of times, I'm right, but I should still be nice, like my security guard friend.

So add that to my resolutions list: make a greater effort to be more friendly and outgoing to strangers. Try to be their little pick-me-up.

d.c. from my phone

I've been spending a lot more time in the archives lately doing research for ancestry.com. It's been fun exploring the city a bit by myself. And I also enjoy making new friends, like the security guards at the archives. They recognize me now. That makes me feel special. 

These are a lot of other pics I've taken with my phone. That one at the bottom? Yeah, that's a guy's bum. 

 I really am liking this place. It would be nice to live in D.C. proper, instead of the janky place we are at now. But surprisingly, this town is growing on me too.

i'm the pathetic friday featured bride

so THIS is how i will be remembered by the bridal shop i bought my wedding dress from. so be it.

and for the record, i still would have ordered my dress from china (maybe just not the company that i did)...i know plenty of people who it worked out for: my sister being the main one. i knew it was a risk--luckily it only set me my dad back a couple hundred dollars.

i still plan on selling that fated dress on ksl or something. OR, it could be my most dramatic re-fashion yet!!

hmm....stay tuned.

happy birthday to my mom

she's the best mom ever, seriously. i'm so lucky to have a mom who is smart, witty, wise, level-headed, adventurous, loving, and cool. basically, all my life i've basically tried to copy all she's done.

i'm still not even close catching up to how many countries she has been to.

i trust her to pick out my clothes for me, which shows how stylish and with it she is.

her opinion is the one i ask for first, and the one that i actually listen to (she might not agree, but it's true)

she was the one to introduce me to most of my favorite things, like the movie Sabrina, Dillards, and lots of good books.

basically, i'm really happy she's my mom. i hope she has a great birthday

good news bad news

the good news is that the snow is falling, and it looks lovely from my warm apartment.
the bad news is that my husband is working all night long, so i'm watching the snow fall by myself.

the good news is there is finally something better to replace the kardashians on sunday nights.

LOVE

the bad news is i have to wait six more days until it's on again. i really wish i had something of quality to watch tonight while my husband is gone...i might end up being a sucker and watching the bachelor. why??

the good news is i have something to cheer me up tonight, and it even comes with a plastic spoon to support my laziness.

the bad news is there are A LOT of calories in these three ounces of happiness. why??

Land That I Love

In order to save $500 on flights, we flew in and out of Las Vegas for Christmas break. We drove up with my sister Camille and then flew back down at the end of our vakay. I loved the short flight that basically followed the I-15 from SLC into Las Vegas. The views were awesome. I usually don't take airplane window photos, but I couldn't resist. I just love this area of the country so much.