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Some pictures from our canyon drive on Saturday.

The roads were better this time, so we could adventure more. The road to Squaw Peak and our camping spot were still shut off though, but we found a different road to explore. There were tons of cute cabins hidden in the trees by the road. I want to stay in one so badly! I thought we were going deeper and deeper into the forest, but then we popped out at Aspen Grove, haha. So, I guess they weren't "hidden-in-the-wood-cabins", but they were still so cute.

Watching all the people skiing down the slopes made us want to start snowboarding (skiing, for Jake) so badly! We decided next year we are going to get passes to Sundance. I'm excited! It's seriously so close to where we live, it would almost be stupid not to. Plus, I feel like snow sports are something I'll miss when/if we move out of Utah. Snowboarding is pretty much the only sporty thing I'm "into" and I feel like I could enjoy a lot. I'm excited for next winter! If any of you snowboard/ski... you're welcome to join me! I'll be out of school, which means UTTER BOREDOM. So, it will be nice to have something to do.

Here are my nails for this week! I really like them, except they have been chipping! The purple is from Dollar General. It's weird, because I would have thought it would take a million coats to look opaque, but it goes on quite nicely! But, it does chip. It's only Wednesday and four of my nails have chipped! Oh well. 

What nail polish brands have you found that hold up really well? Like, that go weeks without chipping? I'm in need of some good brand names.

And lastly, the giant donut Jake and I made at 10:30 pm. It wasn't the absolute best, but it sure was cute! 

Jake is so funny. I'll always ask him if he likes the recipe and wants me to keep it, or try some other recipes instead. (I don't want to have a plethora of mediocre recipes! Only delicious ones!) I didn't like this donut very much, and he agreed that we should try some more recipes. However, every day I come home there is a little bit of the donut gone. The night we made it there was about 3/4 left. The next day a couple bites were gone. And... a couple more the next day, a few more the next day, etc. I saw it last night and there are like three bites left! Haha! I guess even though it's not very good, it's addicting? Haha. 

Two of my books for school haven't come yet, which means I'm forever behind on my reading! It's easily going to be like a straight 6 hours of reading when they get here. Eh, what can you do, right? Anyways, I'm off to school! Have a good Wednesday!

XOXO

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I took these photos a week after I touched up my blue (or should I say green?). I used Punky Color this time, and left it in while I watched The East (which is an amazing movie, by the way). For whatever reason, it still looks a little green in these pictures. Who knows, maybe it still looks green in real life. I was going to dye the whole thing black... but then I decided that wouldn't help my hair be any healthier! So, I am going to keep the blue until I either get in trouble for it or get a job. 

Probably the only down side is not being able to take steaming hot showers anymore, but it's a sacrifice I'm glad to make! Plus, I guess I technically can, I just can't rinse my hair in steaming hot water.

So, hopefully at least one of those pictures captures it's true (?) color. 

In other news, my classes start at 11 or 12 every day, and at first I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, because I usually like to be done with school earlier in the day and then do whatever. BUT. I have been loving it! I still wake up before 8 (I woke up at 6 this morning... what?) and then it's like I have the whole morning to just slowly get ready and relax. It's amazing! I feel like it changes the mood to my entire day! Feeling calm and not rushed has really made the days seem more peaceful and less chaotic.

One of our family new year's resolutions was to go on one date a week, no matter how small. 

I think it's important to spend time together away from the television and apartment. When you're married it's easy to get wrapped up in school and work and church and whatever else, and then claim spending time together as something electronically centered. But, I think it's important to do things together that encourage interaction and that are new and exciting! I also think it's important to continue to grow as a couple, as well as on our own. 

This week we went to Chick-Fil-A and had a car picnic. Jake had never been, so we decided to see if it was worth all the hype it receives. It was so weird though... because we went on opening night and it was so packed! They had people outside directing traffic! I would understand this is if there weren't any Chick-Fil-As in Utah, but there is one in the BYU Cougareat, which is like five blocks east! There's one in American Fork, too. I guess it's understandable if the customers were all older-non-college-humans, but Provo is predominantly college kids... So, it was a little strange.

I've only been there one other time, and I remember not liking the Chick-Fil-A sauce, but I tried it again this time and I'm obsessed! I've been craving it sooooo bad ever since we went! 

We were going to drive up to our favorite look out spot and "picnic", but it snowed pretty bad! We figured getting up those steep hills would probably not be the smartest move, so we just parked and ate. I asked Jake if the chicken was worth all the hype it gets, and he said he felt like it was just normal... haha so probably not.

Such a perfectly shaped snowman!

Also, the last pictures of my nails wasn't very good. So, here's a better one. These have been my favorite nails so far.

And lastly, Jake's cute smile since he has a canker sore. It's my favorite! It's usually more crooked than this, but it's still so cute! 

Have a good weekend! I'll be hitting up some serious reading! I've made a resolution to do all the reading for all of my classes... which is what you're obviously supposed to do anyways, haha. But, it sure is a lot! Especially with six classes! But hey, it's good knowledge. For example, 43% of people believe that people bring their mental illnesses upon themselves. To me that seems ridiculous! But, to each their own, I guess.

Oh, and on that note, I've been SERIOUSLY considering doing a post about all of this gay marriage stuff that has been going down in Utah, but I'm so afraid that it will offend people. Then on the other hand, it's like, why shouldn't I talk about things I want to talk about just because other people can't handle different opinions? Idk. I'll probably end up doing it, because that's how I roll.

XOXO

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a happy list: 9

my nails this week

beautiful french films

 when our bed is a burrito

jake cleaning the apartment

cheesy high school / college soap operas

the way jake smiles when he has a canker sore

when you first look out the window and realize it's snowing

our feature in utah valley bride (pages 40-41... so embarrassing!)

when you can hear what other people are listening to with their headphones

the compliments i've received from total strangers while having colored hair

XOXO

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I tried my hand at levitation photography, but failed. So, here are these. 

I'm glad my friends have beautiful little sisters who volunteer to adventure on icy canyon roads with me even though they don't know me.

Also, school is in session and I am taking 17 credits, which might make you shake your head and think "WHEN WILL SHE LEARN", but actually it's fine because 2 of those credits are for an online course and I did not make the mistake of taking a religion class again, and also all of my classes are psychology classes, and that means I will love them and smile the whole time the teacher is talking and then go home and regurgitate everything I heard because it's just that EXCITING.

But, I will be gone from here for many moons.

Or just until I get free time to shoot meaningful photos and not just stupid things like I have been until EMILY LET ME PHOTOGRAPH HER.

She is a beautiful woman and also a really cool human being. Look at that dread. Look at that hair. She went to Europe too. So. There's that, also.

Anyways, keep things nice.

XOXO

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P.S. I don't know if any of you humans entered that giveaway thing, but click here to see the winners.

a happy list: 8

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extra credit

lazy saturdays

lora zombie's art

colorful cupcakes

trying new restaurants

mint chocolate chip cookies

taking warm clothes out of the dryer

salt, rosemary, garlic, and parmesan fries

when newborn babies have socks on their hands

walking inside from the cold and having my glasses fog up

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also, this is a print i was thinking of putting on etsy... but i'm not sure if anyone would buy it. also, i don't really know much about prints. but, i think it would be fun to get into it!

XOXO

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Here are some photos from Christmas. As always, I didn't take pictures of the majority of things we did, but that's alright. On Christmas Eve, after Jake got off work we headed off to our Christmas festivities! We had a gourmet dinner at Jake's parents house and a little Christmas message. Then, we headed to my mom's house for some Christmas Eve games and present opening.  

This is my sister's golden retriever puppy! He's so cute.

Also, my hair has faded to green and I really like it! I'm actually currently in the process of adding some deep blue tones. I'm excited!

The above photo was taken on Christmas morning with some awesome magnifying camera filters Jake got me! We just kicked it on Christmas day and played some Super Nintendo, watched Prisoners (which was really good!) and ate Panda Express. I had a birthday meal to IHOP (like how do you even spell that? capitalized... not capitalized... acronym...), but they wouldn't let me use it because it was Christmas, so we decided we would rather have McDonald's. We tried to place our order to an automated message and then figured out McDonald's was probably closed, so we went to Panda Express instead!

I wanted to drive up the canyon after dinner, but it was already getting dark. We went to our favorite lookout point and watched the sunset. We haven't been there since our dating days, so it was fun going back and spending some one-on-one time. Venus was shining bright like always!

Thursday, we went over to Jake's parents house after Jake got off work. We opened presents and then headed to dinner. I experimented some more with my macro filters and decided I really do love them. I'm excited for spring when there are flowers and insects to photograph.

We went to Anchorman 2 after dinner... which was ok. I'm not sure if those type of movies are really my sense of humor, but I do like Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. I really liked I Love You Man, so really anything that has Paul Rudd in it after watching that is pretty entertaining. And, Will Ferrell is forever Elf in my head.

Overall, it's been a very busy Christmas break!

Saturday we went to dinner and then to my sister's house for a pizza and game night.

Sunday, my sister and her family came over, and my mom too.

Tuesday, we went to my mom's house for a New Year's Eve party! We started with dinner and games there, and then we ran over to one of Jake's friends houses and said hello to them for a while. Then, we headed back to my mom's house to watch a movie and ring in the new year.

Wednesday, I went to lunch with two of my friends from dental assisting. Afterwards, Jake picked me up and we headed to his parents house, and then to his grandparents house for dinner and games! We got home last night and promptly fell asleep during the middle of our X-Files episode haha.

Today, I am eating donuts alone and watching One Tree Hill. Pretty pathetic! I can't wait for school to start again and for everything to go back to normal. The break has been nice, but I like the routine of school and the challenge it provides. Also, I feel like it's easier for me and Jake to actually date when school is in session, which is weird, because I would have thought we would go on more dates during the break, but nope! Haha. Any tips for how to still date while being in school, working, and having both your families living close? It seems like there's never any time after everything is said and done! Whenever I talk about time I always feel like such an old lady haha.


Anyways, I hope everyone had a great break and holiday season!

XOXO
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