Its the Holiday Season...

I love Christmas time! Everything about it just makes me so happy. I truly believe its the most wonderful time of the year!! The smell of pine and baked goodies, the sounds of carols and bells, the crowds shopping for gifts and treats, and the happy spirit that everyone has, it all is what makes me so happy.
We got a little four foot tree that I decorated, and we put up the other very few decorations we have. The Christmas music has been playing since mid- November and my sister even gave me the new Justin Bieber Christmas which is fantastic. N'Sync Christmas is also a childhood favorite to help bring in the season.

My sweet parents are flying us out to Arizona for the holiday and I am so excited! I can't wait to be there with Justin and the rest of my family to celebrate!
My job at the Orthodontic office is going great and I am learning new things everyday. I have made some not so fun mistakes along the way though. (Like knocking over a box on the the floor that was filled with hundreds of the colors that go on the braces. Then I had to sterilize them and sort them again.) Justin is studying like crazy because this 2nd Trimester is the toughest but he's doing well. He always has something cool to share that he has been learning.
It snowed here this week and stuck! I enjoyed watching it... but then I had to go out and drive in it. Lets just say that snow and ice on the streets are not my friend.

It's getting cold outside!

Life just gets busy sometimes. Sorry I'm not the best at blogging regularly but here are some things we've been up to lately.

I love my new jobs and I get to learn new things everyday! I'm in training and on my feet all day which I like so much more than sitting at a desk. Justin finished his first trimester at Palmer off really well and he is now into second tri. Only 8 more to go.... For Halloween we threw together some quick costumes for our ward's Trunk-or-Treat (a witch and a wizard). It was fun to see all our favorite little kids and babies dressed up too.

Justin got a gun for the house and took me out shooting with another couple last weekend. After that we went out to dinner and had some great food at Woodfire Grill. While we waited for our table we went up to the Skywalk in downtown Davenport. It has a really pretty view of the Mississippi at sunset.

Daylight saving kicked in so now its a little bit lighter out when we drive to school/work but it gets dark before 6pm which I don't really like. Its getting pretty cold out too! We all know how I feel about the cold so I'm not getting to excited for winter. We both got new calling since the last time I wrote. I am now an Activity Days leader and Justin is Weeblos leader. Since it's November and getting cold, I got out the handful of Christmas decorations we have and started listening to Christmas music. I just LOVE Christmas time! (and the new Justin Bieber Christmas album) 

We heard that Mitt Romney was coming to Davenport so Justin and I made sure to be there AND get a picture! Perfect for FHE! His speech was really impressive and he is super nice!

That's all for now!

21!

I love birthday's and this past week was full of them. I turned 21 on the 9th and my little sisters turned 15 and 17 on the 12th and 15th. I can hardly believe how old everyone is getting!

My trip home was amazing! Filled with more shopping than I've done in months combined  with delicious food that may have added a few lbs to my figure, I'd say it was a success. (Thank you mommy!) It was wonderful to see my family and spend a short weekend with them. I got to see my cute brother play football with his undefeated team too. I got my hair done by Tim who is amazing and was able to see one of my best friends from BYU. My birthday dinner was at Oreganos where we got cheesy bread, salad, wings, pasta, multiple types of pizza, and it wouldn't be complete without the original pizzookie! All was to share of course and it was so good.

Since we did some damage shopping over the weekend, and I found some things at home to bring back to Iowa my suitcase was twice as heavy going back. When I checked in at the airport it was five pounds over the limit. So I did what I had to do and pulled out all my new shoes (and some old) and stuffed them in my purse and the already filled bag I was carrying on! Shoes and heels where spilling out of my purse. On the upside, I got cold on the plane and there was an easily accessible pair of boots!

It was good to come back home to Justin who took me out to dinner the next weekend to Biaggi's. It was a first for us but it was also delicious. (look and that dessert!) Thanks Justin for letting me go play for a weekend and treating me to a great birthday dinner! He also got me an awesome waterbottle, the 20 minute insanity workout (which really is insane), and two of my favorite movies: Two Weeks Notice and A Knights Tale.

It was a great birthday!

jobs, travels, and birthdays

The last three jobs I've had I've only lasted three months each. Is that bad? I'm going to go with no. One was a summer job, one was a semester job and my last one was a starter job. Now that doesn't sound so bad! I was lucky enough to find a pretty good job out here in Iowa fairly quickly. I was a receptionist that had a few other responsibilities but nothing to crazy. I learned some good stuff about insurance but most of the time I felt like I was wasting away. I decided to keep looking and found an orthodontic office that was hiring. I worked for an orthodontist as a senior in high school and loved it. So I went over and met the doctor and staff and got a tour of their amazing office. It is seriously so cool. By the time I left I desperately wanted the job. I kept going back and then I got the job!! I will start in two weeks and I can't wait. I'll be in both the front office and back office. Hopefully they'll train me to be an assistant too!

Also, my 21st birthday is in two weeks! Whooo hooo! I love birthdays. My mommy was so kind and decided to fly me back to AZ for my birthday weekend. I'll be at the pool, getting my hair done, shopping and going to my favorite restaurant. It'll be great. I'm so excited to see my family and I get to see my cute little brother play football. It'll be an awesome weekend except that I'll be away from my sweetie for the first time since we've been married. I will miss you my hubby but I'm so excited for this much needed getaway.

I love my crazy family!

we get by just fine here on minimum wage

I love married life and my hubby who does such sweet things for me. We were really lucky to have had so many things given to us before moving out here. Things like couches, a bed, a desk, dresser, kitchen table, a sound system, good pots and pans, awesome gift cards, and lots of other things. They have helped us so much. We have been blessed so that we haven't had to buy too many things to get our home in order.

Justin and I feel really strongly about staying out of as much debt as possible and living within our means. I have a full time job out here and was lucky to have found it so quickly. We use the student loans for tuition, books, and anything else school related. The rest of our expenses come from my paycheck. Its not always the easiest but we think its what is best for us. If I was unable to work or if we had kids it would be a different story and we would be glad to take advantage of programs to help provide for and feed our family. But I'm glad to be able to work and let Justin focus on school and his goal of becoming a great Chiropractor.

Clean Clothes

Upon moving to Iowa and finding a place to live for the next three years I had a few requirements. One was a washer and dryer. (In our next home I'm adding a dishwasher to the list...) I love things to be clean. Especially my clothes, sheets, towels, ect. I had done my laundry at a laundermat while at school and I dreded doing my laundry because something always went wrong. I just wanted to wash my clothes from the comfort of  my own house! So we were going to rent some from our landlords but decided it would be cheaper over three years to just buy some. When I got my job here at a quite little office I mentioned to my boss that we were looking for a washer/dryer and he said he knew a way to get a great deal on a fancy new red pair. Justin and I did some research and decided to take him up on that generous offer.

So now I have this awesome washer and dryer to do my laundry whenever I like. All I have to worry about is avoiding the scary spiders that live in our basement. Speaking of spiders... there are tons here and I have a small case of arachnophobia. Its not a very good combo. Anyway, they spin webs on our back door so that I can't come inside until Justin kills them and tears down the web. But they always come back and are there to scare me the next night. Its awful but hopefully I'm getting better with tolerating them. Maybe.

Go Cougs!

When I'm at work sometimes there isn't much to do so I have a lot of time to think. I think about what I'm going to make for dinner, the things I forgot to get at the grocery store, how I wished I worked out more, how its getting colder here, what Justin is doing at school and what I would be doing if I were at school. I think about what I should major in when I eventually (hopefully) go back. I never really figured it out while I was at BYU but I think I was on the right track. I was studying Exercise and Wellness, which Justin sometimes thinks is a fake major, but I really liked it. I think I figured out what it is that I would like to go back for and that is Dietetics. I love learning about nutrition and the effects what we eat takes on our body. I would love to work out diets for people, especially kids, who have certain conditions or allergies. I could work with pediatritions or in even in Justin's clinic one day. Who knows, but I think that sounds good.

I hope I can finish a degree when Justin and I move to Utah for a couple years. There really is something special and truly inspired about the BYU campus. I just love it. 

So what it comes down to is... I miss BYU. A lot. Particularly during this season of football. The campus is beautiful, the people are full of spirit and enthusiam, you're getting into the swing of your classes and it isn't too cold to play outside with your friends til the late hours of the night. Even when it starts to get too cold to go out, you can always stay up all night laughing and baking delicious things with your roomies. (I miss you Haleigh and Amanda!)

Eventhough we don't have TV at our place, our friends have been kind enough to let us watch the football games at their homes. I can't pretend to know too much of what goes on all the time but I just enjoy the game (and food) and sport my BYU attire. It will do for now!

the Mexican in me

Sometimes I crave Mexican food, because out here in Iowa its hard to find a place to get good Mexican food like there is in Arizona or even Utah. It's one thing I really miss being out here. But Justin and I had heard about this place called Azteca so we decided to try it last night. Turns out that its amazing! I was so happy from the moment we walked in because it had the colors, the smells and the smiling faces that you would expect to find in a good Mexican restaurant. Then we sat down and were given warm chips and hot salsa. By this time I thought I'd left the little state of Iowa and was back home! I got a quesadilla supreme and Justin got the carne asada taco and both were delilcious! So needless to say, we loved everything and we'll be going back regularly.

I can't even tell you how happy that little place made me and my tummy!

our little home.

I feel so blessed to have this little place. It fits us perfectly and is in a pretty good location. There is some decorating to be done but, for our first place together, I love it! Our backyard is Duck Creek and it has an awesome bike/walking path (you can kind of see it in the picture). I sometimes tell myself I'm going to be a runner so I like that feature.  

married life

So marriage is pretty cool. Look what my sweet husband got for me while I was at work.

He's a cutie.

He has also cleaned the house a few times for me too! I love little surprises and Justin does a good job with those. 

We have been married for three and a half months now. It feels like we've been together so long but at the same time it is still so new. I love it and wouldn't change it! Since we got married I have definitely learned a lot about myself and how to live with someone else there all the time. It's been an adventure but it's been a good one.

Here's what our typical day looks like: Around 7:20am I drop Justin off at school and then I head to work. There I play the part of a receptionist and wait untill the clock says 4:55pm when I finally can go pick up my hubby. We head home and think of what we can create for a delicious dinner. We might watch something like "So You Think You Can Dance" and I talk about how much I just need to go dancing. Sometimes we make a treat by blending milk, blueberries, and a little sugar together. It sounds weird but its actually quite tasty. Justin studies and I help quiz him, then its time to sleep so we can get up the next day and leave on time. We don't seem to be very exciting but we are having fun making our life together out here in Iowa!

Nauvoo, IL

We've been there three times since moving out here to Iowa. Most recently we went on the 6th of August with our ward to the Temple. This time we had a few different special experiances. I love taking the two hour drive down there. I didn't think I'd like it out here all that much, but I have to admit the rolling grren hills, corn fields, and the drive along the river are really pretty.

Historic Nauvoo itself is a sight to see. There are a bunch of old shops, cafe's, historical sites, and of course the Temple.

Isn't it beautiful?

After a wonderful session we went across the street to this awesome little shop for some lunch. It was so delicious and I can't think of the name but its on the corner just across the street. I got a turkey-cranberry-apple sandwich and Justin got a turkey bacon club. They were both great and I can't wait for the next time we go to get another one!

I drove the four hour round trip this time so Justin could study for one of his five upcoming tests. We decided to stop a little over half way at a small frozen yogurt shop and then got back on the road. As we were driving along I noticed a cop drive by us on the other side of the road. So I checked my speed and made sure I was only going about five over, naturally. Then about five minutes later I look in my rearview mirror and guess who's there? The policeman. I didn't know what to do and not thinking asked "What do I do? Should I pull over?" Justin laughing at me answered, "yes, of course you should pull over." The policeman was nice and right off the bat said it was a warning but the reson he noticed us is that we dont have a license place on the front of our car. In Iowa its required to put plates on the front and back. He also said I was going a little fast (oops). So you could say that scared me a little and the rest of the way home I definitely went the speed limit! So we have to figure out how to get a plate on the damaged front and I'm always on the lookout for those sneaky men.

And So It Begins...

I'm jumping into the blogging world! Feel free to give tips on how to improve!

Since Justin and I got married and moved out to Iowa in a wirlwind of a month, I thought a blog would be a good way of showing what we're up to in our life out in corn country. We love it out here so far and have had a lot of fun setting up our life and home together. So with this I will try to keep you posted and give you a little taste of what we're up to!