Merry Christmas!

Well we finally made it, we're are officially in holiday mode, and am as excited as a little kid on Christmas eve...hey wait a second...and I know I am not the only person who feels this way, but

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

(This song is one of my new favorites-enjoy!)

how much longer...

until Christmas break? Brock is in the middle of finals and I am in the middle of...waiting for him to be done! Sometimes I quiz him, actually I think I could do pretty good on his finals...but unfortunately we discovered I can be a bit of a distraction when he is trying to study, I really do try my hardest not to bug him but oddly enough I just can't stay away...good thing we're married for all of eternity! Apparently my "important" questions..."what do you want to have for supper tomorrow?" "should I bake cookies or muffins?" "do you like my hair this way?" just aren't as pressing as the anatomy of the human body...who would have thought?!

2 factors contributed to our "study time" tonight-
#1. we just got a huge bag of "jelly bellys" from a white elephant gift exchange
#2. we bought a new camera

I took pictures of the jelly bellys, I took pictures of me (there's only two people in this house and one was studying) I took pictures of me eating the jelly bellys, only the good flavors of course, all others get a bite taken out of them and then the whole thing goes in the garbage...sometimes it's hard to distimguish between watermelon (yummy) and coffee (yucky)

and just in case you were wondering Brock has 3 more days and I have 6 and  half...

THEN IT'S PARTY TIME! 

(important disclosure)*I may look grumpy but I am so grateful I have a studious husband! Not to brag or anything...but he is doing AWESOME in his classes!

3 weeks and counting...

Just in case you didn't know...There is only 21 precious days until CHRISTMAS DAY!

The next few weeks are some of my favorite of the year, I love the Christmas pre-game- Caroling, sugar cookies, Christmas music, parties, Christmas specials on TV, tree decorating, snow, chocolate making...the list could go on and on and on...

life is good...and it's only getting better!

"What Matters Most"

We are getting really excited for Christmas! (I think the tree is going up this weekend!)
 It will be our first Christmas together, and so that means even more time with family and friends. I am so grateful for both our families, they are very supportive and I love them all so much! We all have so much fun, and I know the holidays are going to be great! It amazes me how the world changes around Christmas, everyone seems a little more caring and mindful of others. I think that is the main reason it is my favorite time of the year. 
I love this message from President Monson, it really is the true spirit of Christmas...
p.s. notice the new music??

old years resolutions?

Sooo, I was gazing at the calendar at work today and realized I have a mere 29 working days until my Christmas holidays! Not that I don't love my job, buuut there is NOTHING I love more than Christmas (okay, that could be taken the wrong way...I love my husband and our families, and many other things, the point is I really really love Christmas!)

Then I thought..."Wow! This year has gone by really fast, and I decided that while I still have some time in this fine year of '09, I would make a list of some things I/we want to get accomplished before the year is past and gone...

So we did just that!...and I am exicted!

Oh, you thought I would share the list? Well it's pretty long and some may get bored, fall asleep, and miss out on doing other productive things (actually you wouldn't fall asleep, most likely you would call me A.S.A.P. and ask if you could do everything with us, because
 it's going to be a great end to a great year!)

okay one little sneek peak...
#14. watch this movie!  

someday.

I hope I have


little boys


that look just like thier


Daddy!

October...already?

I woke up this moring. that was good. The sun was shining. Also good. A guy came and turned on our gas, we have heat and hot water again. Very very good.
I love the fall. I am 99.92% sure it is my favorite season. The smell, the colors and thanksgiving dinners..yes dinnerS...mmm! There is so many good things happening right now, everyday is great and I love it. If only I wasn't sick. This is not good. And preventing me from enjoying this season that I love so dearly to the fullest.

Dear Body/Organs:
Please, please, please start feeling  better. I promise I will take you for nice walks to look at the changing leaves on the trees. Feed you delicious home cooked stuffing and  if your really good pumpkin pie. Let's enjoy this wonderful time together.
Love, your best friend Amy (Brock too would greatly appreciate it)

To whom it may concern: I'm married!

Well, like it says above, I am now a married woman! Still a little hard to believe, but it's wonderful! And, this is going to sound all mushy, but I serioulsy can't get over how

amazing my new husband is!

He- dropped me off at work, did the laundry, did the dishes, made the bed, picked me up from work, made me lunch, dropped me off back at work, went to school, picked me up again, ran errands with me (and did the heavy lifting), helped clean the kitchen, and now he is studying!- and thinks I am great because I made dinner... WOW-what a guy! I think I'm in love :)

This is most definitely the best decision I have EVER made!

It's so fun to live with your best friend...

A life long goal... not achieved

Well, it's not really new news...but I'M ENGAGED! It happened on July 19... what a great day :)

Plans are coming along great! I am so thankful I have such great family and friends who are sooo helpful!

My goal was to have my initials spell a word- I start with ALW ...It doesn't even change!!! But after weighing the options I decided

it was worth it!

...I love Brock Wilde!

new song!

So I did a little updating to my playlist...the newest addition "TODAY" by Joshua Radin. Love his voice, love this song!...so LISTEN TO IT!

Props to Amy! You're so awesome, really, you're da' bomb (too cheesey?..I don't care!...and just so you know, I am not thanking myself. I am privileged to share my namesake with some amazing people) ...I have a feeling you will be assisting me in some future endeavors also....so, thank-you in advance :)

Summer so far...

holidays, hot weather, long days, the lake, warm nights...

I could go on and on and on, but basically......I love summer!

here's some pictures of what I've been up to...

I'm going to take a nap...

Okay so sleep is important, I understand and believe that..but what about when you just can't fall asleep?...think Christmas eve...everynight. "I can't sleep...I'm too excited..." Just for kicks I googled "The Effects of Sleep Deprivation"and after reading a few articles I am surprised my brain is able to function enough to type this...
Here is just a few things I learned ..

- The temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex is associated with the processing of language, in sleep deprived subjects there is no activity within this region.
-Sleep deprived test subjects have difficulties thinking of imaginative words or ideas. Instead, they tend to choose repetitious words or clichéd phrases
-difficult time reacting well to unpredicted rapid changes
-The ability of the body to metabolize sugar declines, turning sugar into fat
-the body produces more stress hormones and other substances that would increase inflammation, which increases the risks of heart disease and stroke
-People that are sleep deprived often feel cranky because that would make the amygdala, the part of the brain that process emotional events, to go into overdrive and the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that regulates reasoning, to become deactivated and this would make a person feel less stable than usual
....and my personal favorite...
-One of the possible side effects of a continued lack of sleep is death!
...early to bed...early to rise :)

and I quote... "Life is so good."

12 good things for the 12th

1. The sun was out this morning :)
2. It's FRIDAY!
3. I got off of work early (not as early as I was supposed to though...a 40 minute filling appointment turned into an hour and a half extraction...sad for me, more sad for the patient)
4. I did laundry...mostly good for the smell.
5. I came out to Barnwell.
6. Ate my favorite snack. Mmmmm.
7. Went for a walk with my little sisters. [sidenote: one thing I love about Barnwell, okay two things...first you can basically walk the whole village in about an hour. Second while you are walking you are bound to run into at least 3 people who you can visit with for a minimum of 20 minutes]
8. Played with my cousins
9. Visited with my Grandma
10. Watched 'Toy Story'
11. Got a massage..(for about 5 minutes from my sister Paige...still, a massage is a massage)
12. I'm going to go to bed before midnight...call me a grandma if you want...I'm excited.

I love lake

Well, we had the first "lake day," it's official, summer is here! WaAhOoO!

It really was the perfect day... :)

(De)motivation

Kind of funny...kind of mean (well, maybe mostly funny)

a good day

One of the beautiful things about working at a dental office is the random vacation time. The Dentist I work for took this whole week off...(can I get a "woot woot"?) The past few days have been nice...8 hours of sleep, laundry, long runs, reading, and all those little things that I never seem to find time to do. My aunt and uncle are also gone on a holiday for the week, so my family is babysitting thier kids. Everyone had stuff going on today, therefore, it was my turn to watch the kiddies...
The older two are in school, so it was Kade, Reese, my sister Abby and I hanging out. It was so fun! All three of them are so cute and so funny...and so well-behaved..no fights and no tears...just lots of playing (one of the games was who could give me the best hug..Kade's idea..I love that little guy!). Breakfast was 'Eggos' and chocolate milk...then we had some craft time, and a few sword fights. Soup and grilled cheese for lunch, followed up by a solid hour of dress-up time...then I got talked into baking cookies... VERY messy, but I think with kids the level of fun is often equivalent to the size of the mess, so it was great!

For Brooke and Mama Jo Jo

Soooo, first off, Brooke graduated. Yikes! It's hard to believe she will be moving out and moving on to bigger and better things. I think she is ready though, well, maybe except for the fact "Kraft Dinner" is still her specialty. She is smart, hardworking, dedicated, caring, adventerous and funny..actually, she's down right hilarious! Over the past few years we have become such great friends, and even though she still likes to call me Amy lou"ser", I think she is the best (18 year old..don't want to upset the others) sister anyone could ask for!

CONGRATS BROOKE! LOVE YA!

(As for Mom...well Mother's day has come and gone, and I figured my time would be better spent with her that day then writting about how awesome she is...)
My mom is amazing. I know everyone feels the same way...which I think in and of itself is amazing. How do mom's do all they do? How do they know what we are thinking and feeling, and know just what to say? My mom is the most selfless peron I know, she has and will do anything for anyone in need, and I know I don't even know half of the sacrifices she has made for me, but for the ones I do know- Thank-you. Mom I know I can count on you and your love and support in everything I do. And as I get older I realize that yes- we are verrry much alike. People say I look like you, act like you, talk like you, and laugh like you, and I say those are the best compliments I could ever recieve. You are everything that I am trying to be and hope to become. Thank-you for teaching me and loving me and listening to me. You are the greatest!

one saturday morning?

41/56- that's my current score of hours slept vs. hours I planned on sleeping this week. When I went to sleep last night I didn't set the alarm...and I still woke up at 7. Darn biological clock. All my room mates were still sleeping, it felt like when I was little and I would wake up SUPER early get a HUGE bowl of cereal (mmm) and watch cartoons...so I decided I would do just that. Except apparently there are no good cartoons anymore...when did that happen? I was actually sad...and then I started thinking about everything that has changed from when I was little...okay, there's A LOT of things that are different...here's just a few I thought of...
*Saturday morning cartoons...good ones!
*lunches packed by my mom (she would always write a little note on the napkin)
*bathtime
*primary
*recess
*secrect clubs with my friends
*bedtime stories
*lemonade stands
*playing dress-up (okay, okay, I still do this with Abby)
*no bills...haha!

...I guess instead of missing all of this stuff, I could just start doing it again..I am sure my boss would love the idea of recess and maybe Alyssa would read to me before I go to bed! And it's nice enough- I'm going to set up a lemonade stand right now!!

( a little blast from the past...I think I am about 7 here)

"A goal not written is simply a wish..."

I am SO EXCITED for SUMMER!!! I'm not gonna lie, I haven't missed exams, and trying to figure out where to live and work for the summer...it's been nice. And since I know when all my holidays are and I am not in a panic to make money to get me through the next year I have had fun brainstorming about things I want to do...

Here's something I just found...it looks so fun!! 2 hour zip line ride..speeds of 50mph, or MORE..100 ft above the ground!! So guess what I decided...yep, I'm going to do it! Let me know if you want to come...or more like..when you want to go! Walk in the treetops looks fun too, and the hiking and biking..okay, I want to do everything!
check it out...
Whitefish Mountain Resort at Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana - Summer Season '09

planes, trains and automobiles

Well, it's already been a couple weeks since I posted something...but it's been a busy couple weeks!! Last weekend was I think one of the most fun weekends EVER! It was packed with adventures, and they were somewhat spontaneous, which made it even better! Edmonton friends came down and the weather was soo nice! Our activites included rockclimbing, frisbee, dance parties (well..mostly one that last about 24 hours) wedding parties, sketchy security gaurds :) more parties, car troubles, kayaking, and of course baking!! Laura stayed at my house all weekend (+ a day..I kidnapped her..really she wanted to stay though), so it was fun to be roomies again!!



As for the last week..I have been in LAS VEGAS!! I was there to do a course for work, and learned a lot..I know it sounds cheesey but I am a big fan of continuing education, it makes work a lot more fulfilling. Plus I love the office I work at so a week vaca with them is great! We went and saw the 'Phantom of the Opera'..it was AMAZING! ( http://www.phantomlasvegas.com/) My mom took me to it in Edmonton when I was 5 because I was obsessed with "singing like Christine"...so I was eager to see it again, and it was just as good as I remembered. I will be truthful though, this time I was a little more interested in Raoul :) Basically whenever I hear the song "All I Ask of You" my heart melts...too bad he's not real...oh well, I thought the same thing about Aladdin when I was younger, and I got over that..sort of.

My flight left Vegas at 6:00am today and took me to LA, where I was then sent to Vancouver...where I waited 3 hours to get back to Calgary..a bit ridiculous, I know, but I was just so happy to be back home! ...the southern Alberta pace is more my style!

Hmm, should I start this again??

Well well well, it's been a good 6 months since I posted something on here. I didn't think it had been that long...A friend emailed me and "kindly" reminded me that she likes to know what I am up to...(you know you could just call me! She really really likes blogs. I would say addicted. buuut she wouldn't like that, so I won't even mention the word!)

A LOT has been going on..and I guess I have just been to busy to think about coming on here..(hmm, what does that say about life now??)

Lethbridge has been going great! It is really amazing to me actually. I know I am supposed to be here..it's a good feeling.
I have been thinking about a lot of things over the past month or so...it is really wierd to just be working. I never really planned to be in the career I am in, or in the city I am in, or really any situation I am in...go figure..haha! But I can see how it is all working out for the best.
This past weekend was so fun! I have so many things to be grateful for!! I have such awesome friends and room mates! Seriously...I really couldn't ask for better! Last weekend I went up to Edmonton with some Lethbridge friends, so it was like the best of both worlds! (this may sound cheesey, but I don't care) I know that I can count on my friends to be there whenever I need them...and I rely on that a lot. There have been a lot of late, or I guess early, phone calls recently and without fail there is always someone on the other end of the line. I really appreciate it. They can always get me laughing..sometimes all it takes is one word, ie. "haard" (eh laura?..haha!)


Today I spent the whole day with my familia. This morning and afternoon with my Dad's side and then this evening with my Mom's side. I am so glad that I am so close to all my cousins and aunts and uncles. We have so much fun together! They are crazy! But's it's okay, because I am too, so we get along great! :) It was really nice to be able to visit with my Grandma. She is so wise and I always feel so excited and hopeful about life when I talk with her...she has been through a lot, and I am glad I have been able to learn from her..she always says she feels like she is still in her 20's...and as time moves by so quickly, I am beginning to realize that she may be telling the truth! There really is not enough time to not be progressing, in every aspect in life...not to get overwhelmed, but just making each day better then the one before. I heard a quote once, someone was asked "how is your day going?" and the person replied, "it's my best day so far!" I love that! How great would it be if you could say that, everyday was your best so far!

Why not?