I love Christmas!

I haven't blogged in a while and I definitely haven't keep up with my 30 days of blogging challenge... Two more days of finals and I'll be back I promise. well.. maybe. But for now I just wanted to share this beautiful message with all of you :)

"It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

-How the Grinch Stole Christmas

May we all remember the true reason of Christmas this year. May we serve our friends, our neighbors and even those we may not like. May we remember those that need us most. Even if Santa can't make it to your house this year, Jesus Christ will always be there :)

Merry Christmas everyone! (in a weekish of course..)

Day 15 - Something I don't leave the house without.

Well there are a lot of things that I don't leave the house without.. my phone, my iPod, my keys, my clothes...

Those things are all boring though. One thing that I always try to do before I leave the house is pray and read my scriptures.

 I find that my day goes a lot better when I do. Even if I forget one of my other essentials :)

Day 14 - A TV show I'm currently addicted to.

This one is easy peasy.

This show is so funny. If you haven't watched it ever I recommend it. So I just wasted spent a lot of time watching clips trying to pick one out so you could experience the greatness but I couldn't pick just one and I have a lot to do so just take my advice and watch it :)

Day 13 - The meaning behind my blog name.

Well this is a toughy..

Don't look too deep into it. It pretty much just means what it says. I named it "Michael and Aleisha" because that's who it's about!! I am not creative in that aspect.. But I did make my picture in photoshop because I liked that picture and I thought the graffiti looked cool.. That's about all I got.

Sorry guys. Not a very exciting post for today.

Day 12: Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play.

This probably isn't the best indicator of my music choices because I hardly ever listen to my iPod AND when I got my iPod touch I had to downsize from 80 GB to 32 GB and share that with apps and whatnot so I really never did get around to putting too much music on. But I guess I did put most of my favs so here it goes.

1. Jump Then Fall - Taylor Swift (so far, so good)
2. We'll Bring the World His Truth - The RM soundtrack (not sure why that's on there... haha)
3. Let Him Heal Your Heart - From EFY but don't know the artist
4. Deeper Still - Jericho Road
5. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) - Glee Cast
6. Every Single Tear - Jericho Road
7. Help Me Remember - Rascal Flatts
8. Easy - Rascal Flatts
9. It's Not Supposed to Go Like That - Rascal Flatts (not sure what's going on here...)
10. Everything to Win - EFY

So let's just say that I would have probably skipped songs 2, 3, 4, 6, and 10 had I actually been listening (unless it was Sunday of course. or if I was in the mood for churchy songs) .. but oh well.

Welp, I must go study now.

Thanksgiving!

So I decided that if I'm going to post about boring things like what's in my makeup bag that I should reward anyone who read it with a much more exciting post with real stories about our lives and pictures too! So here it goes.

Monday:
-we went to Salt Lake at 8:30 for Michael's cousin's sealing in the SLC temple.
-to celebrate, we ate at Olive Garden after.
-then we hung out at gateway mall with said cousins for several hours until it was time for us to go to the airport.
-our flight left at 5:10, we had a short layover in Denver and we landed in San Antonio at 10:30. It was long 3 hour drive to the Morgan house. We arrived there at around 2 AM.
-after holding baby Morgan we went to bed.

I just got really bored while outlining our entire day so that will be the only day that I do that. The rest of the week was so awesome. It consisted of a lot of baby holding, feeding, and even changing a diaper for Uncle Mikey! (his very first one). We also went out to eat at the Train, a really good restaurant there in B-wood.

The girls went to get pedicures.

We went on a double date with Michelle and Clark and we went bowling. It was stinger night so you paid for 1 game and got to play for 2 hours as many games as you could fit in. We got in a little more than 3.5 games. Pretty good deal if you ask me. The boys played one game left handed and Clark still beat everyone. It was fun to hang out with them again.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious but I did miss my Momma's cooking. 

Making his pie in a cake pan :)

Morgan's first Thanksgiving dinner :) They convinced us that this milk was turkey flavored.

After Thanksgiving they blessed little Morgan and she looked so beautiful in her little white dress. That night we played Just Dance and set up Christmas decorations. It was lots of fun. The whole week we got to play lots of games and just relax and have a good time. 

The kids after Morgan's blessing.

Tomorrow... back to reality :( but only 9 more days left of school!! Woo hoo!

Day 11 - What's in my makeup bag?

So this last week was Thanksgiving and I'm using that as my excuse for missing several days of my blog challenge. Plus, today's topic is weird and I don't really know why it's a question that people would be interested in so it's not like I was dying to get on and write about it. Who cares what's in my makeup bag? I thought that the saying was something about knowing a lot about a girl by what's in her purse. Oh well..

So I actually recently (right before going to TX) dumped my makeup bag into my drawer and refilled it with what I needed for TX. So what's in there is now is my new Mary Kay makeup that I bought myself for my birthday with the birthday money from my mom and dad. It's my very first nice makeup. In fact, what I dumped out was all the crappy makeup that I've bought over the years that I never wear. So there you have it. Exciting huh?


Stay tuned for a much more exciting post :)

Day 10 - A photo of my favorite place to eat.

There are so many good restaurants but I think my most favorite is this place.

They have the best salad and breadsticks and all their meals are so tasty. We went there on Monday actually and it. was. delicious.

Day 9 - A photo of the last item you purchased.

Technically we didn't purchase this with our own money but we benefited from it's purchase so I'm counting it.

 

A cougar tail. 

Our friends and we (is that how you'd write that ?) have been planning on buying one of these all season and since we went to the last home game on Saturday, we took advantage of our last chance. It was worth it. 

Day 8 - A song to match my mood.

My mood is holidayish. I am so excited for the holiday season and seeing both my families. That is why I picked this song:

Also cuz it's stuck in my head because of the AMAs. And yes, I like JB. Deal with it :)

P.S. Tomorrow we're going to Texas for Thanksgiving to see this little one...

and the rest of our family and to eat yummy food and such. Can't wait! :)

Day 7 - My wedding.

My wedding was the best day of my life. For reals. I am so happy that I got to marry the love of my life in the temple and that we're coming up on 1 year (one more month!) I can't believe it..

I wrote about our wedding and honeymoon and other adventures here so I don't think I'm going to write it again but feel free to visit that post :) Here are some pictures that I love though!

Yay we're married at last!! :)

My handsome hubby

SO grateful that my whole family could be there to celebrate with me--except for 2 of my favorite people

These beauties :)

Love my new family :)

I really love this picture from my wedding. My brothers are awesome and I am so happy that they traveled to Utah in the cold to be with me on my special day. Love them :)

May we live happily ever after :)

Day 6 - A photo of an animal I'd love to keep as a pet.

I would want a monkey. Like Ross has in Friends. Then I could carry it on my shoulder and give it bananas and play "In the Jungle" for him.

And he's just so cute :) the monkey that is.

Day 5 - How important do I think education is?

Before I answer this question let me just say that I just got back from seeing the Breaking Dawn premiere. But not the midnight premiere. The 6:00 PM premiere. And let me tell you, that is the way to do it. I wasn't exhausted, and I was so happy when it got over and it was only 8 o'clock!

Anyways, to the blogging topic of the day. I obviously think that education is pretty important since I've decided to make it my life. When I originally started my elementary education major I did it because I like kids and I like teaching and I know it'd be something that I'd enjoy. But what I love about all my classes is that they are making me take on all these new perspectives on teaching and learning. I also get a lot of my views on education from my religion. I believe that God has given us a very special gift by giving us each the opportunity to gain knowledge. 

Some people take their education for granted. There are a lot of people in this country that want to go to school and can't because they can't afford it or they aren't allowed to because of the laws that are in place. They just want to learn. I think that everyone should be given an opportunity to have an education and that we should all strive to learn as much as we can. 

Education is important so that we can make a contribution to the world. There is no reason to go to school for 20 years and not do anything with it when you are done.

But more importantly, I think that people should always strive to continue learning. Reading is a great way to do that. Don't let your education end when you get a degree. Be excited about learning and help your children be excited about it as well.

Learning rocks :)

Day 4 - My favorite photograph of my best friend.

This picture wins hands down.

hahahahaha. makes me laugh every time. This was right after his accident and everything about this picture is so great. First off being that he's riding an old man cart in the store. 2nd, the way he's looking up at the shelves. 3rd, his outfit, a winter coat and shorts. Every thing about this is amazing and hilarious. 

Day 3 - My first date.

(I'm going to start changing the titles to my instead of your since it is about me after all :))

So here is what I remember about my first date. It was my 16th birthday and my date was 2 hours late picking me up. My parents had planned a "while you were out" as my present in which they redid our TV room and made it look super awesome so that I would like having friends over. Since my date was late and I wasn't "out" I got confined to my room and not allowed to look out or come out. I remember being quite upset so I don't even remember what I actually did when my date got there. But I think we just went to dairy queen and then came home since the room was almost done.

My first date with Michael is a cause of much discord in our marriage. Not the date itself but what classified as our first date. If you ask me what our first date then I'll tell you the truth, that we went to a BYU hockey game with his sister and her husband. If you ask Mike he might say ice skating, or even more absurd, golf. Let me classify those two events for you so you can agree that they were not first date material.

Golfing: So Chandra and I took a golf class and we had to go golfing a certain number of times during the semester. Spencer decided that he wanted to see more of Chandra so he asked her to go golfing with him. Chandra, scared of dating Spencer, asked him if I could come too and if he would invite his friend Mike (my Mike's roommate at the time). Mike J decided that Mike M would probably rather go with me so he did. Spencer paid for Chandra since it was supposed to be a date for them so Mike felt obligated and paid for me too. Doesn't count as a date in my eyes..

Ice skating: so Michael got invited to go ice skating with a couple that had recently got engaged. He just happened to be telling me about it and asked if I wanted to go. My initial thoughts: "finally he's asking me on a date!" That was until he turned to everyone else and asked if anyone else wanted to come. It just so happened that the other people who wanted to come were Chandra and Spencer who were actually kind of dating so it was an engaged couple, them and us. Mike ended up paying for me because I didn't have cash. Again, doesn't count as a date.

As you can see, both of these circumstances we just ended up being us two and another couple with him paying for me. Take that for what you will but the first date he actually asked me on and wanted to be with me on was the hockey game.

Day 2 - Your Favorite Movie.

Picking this one wasn't as hard as picking my favorite song. I've had to pick a favorite movie before and since this is the one that I always tell people I'll stick to it. Plus, it is a really good movie and I've seen it a lot few times. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry. What else could you ask for in a movie!?

If only I had time to watch it right now... boo. 

Day 1 - Your favorite song.

I've always hated the questions like this that make you pick your favorite song (or favorite movie... tomorrow. ugh). It's just so hard when you like music as much as me to pick a song that is your favorite. It is always changing. In general, I love music that relates to my life. I love lyrics. My favorite type of music is currently country. Call me crazy but I love it. I told my husband that I really like country because most of the songs just make you feel good (sometimes country is known for depressing songs about losing everything but those songs are usually too twangy for me, and therefore I really don't like that kind). I love love love Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Zac Brown Band, David Nail, Miranda Lambert, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum.. others too but those are the big ones.

As you can see I'm trying to stall... I guess I'll get down to it. I would say that today my current favorite song is... well, I've listened to several songs now trying to figure out my favorite and it's so hard. Can I do my favorite artist instead? No... Well since I can't pick a favorite song with my favorite lyrics and favorite music and favorite artist all wrapped into one I am going to pick the one that brings me the best memory.

If I Run by The Harters.

This is the song that Michael and I danced to at our wedding. I really love it. And the lyrics are beautiful. Does it need more explanation than that?

Well, cross your fingers that I can keep this up. Now I must decide what my favorite movie is before tomorrow. TTFN!

30 Day Blog Challenge

Blogging is hard for me. Of course I want to remember everything that goes on in life but its hard when your life is as busy as mine is. As soon as school started life got crazy. I want to give myself an excuse to start blogging more often even when life is busy. So the 30-day blog challenge begins (thanks to Jessica :))

Day 1 — Your favorite song.
Day 2 — Your favorite movie.
Day 3 – Your first date.
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend.
Day 5 – How important do you think education is?
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet.
Day 7 –Your wedding.
Day 8 – A song to match your mood.
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased.
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat.
Day 11 – What's in your makeup bag?
Day 12 – Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 13 – The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 14 – A TV show you're currently addicted to.
Day 15 – Something you don't leave the house without.
Day 16 – Something you crave for a lot
Day 17 – How you hope your future will be like.
Day 18 – 5 things that irritate ME about the opposite/same sex.
Day 19 – Something you’re proud of in the past few days

Day 20 – Your favorite poem, book, and fictional character.
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy.
Day 22 – Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 23 – A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you.
Day 25 – Who are you? What makes you different from everyone else
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you've been and a picture of somewhere you want to go.
Day 27 – What kind of person attracts you.
Day 28 – In this past month, what have you learned?
Day 29 – Something you could never get tired of doing.
Day 30 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the past 30 days

Cultural Diorama

I was assigned to create a cultural diorama of 3 things that I think represent me culturally and have shaped my life and one of the ways to share it is via blog post so... here it is!

Believer, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Washingtonian:

number one:

More than anything else my family has shaped me. I wouldn't be who I am today without their love and wisdom. That is why I chose these photos of my family to represent me culturally. Growing up with 3 brothers has made me different than I would have been had my siblings been different. I was a tomboy growing up and I never really showed interest in "girly things." Each member in my family has shaped my personality and sense of humor in some way. As I grow and mature, my family becomes more diverse. When my oldest brother got married and had three kids, he added to the complexity of my family experience. Having nieces and a nephew created in me a new kind of love that I had never felt before. When I first held my niece, Avalee, in my arms, I knew I was going to love being an aunt. The time we spend together as a family during holidays or the other rare occasions that we are all home at once has become so much more special with the addition of Ryan's little family. My other older brother Tristan is now engaged and I look forward to how fun it's going to be to have his wife as a sister-in-law. Getting married added a whole new dimension to my family because I had the opportunity to join another great family from whom I've learned so much. Each member of my family is a part of me and I can't imagine life without them. 

number two:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is what I've built my life on. All my beliefs, hopes, and dreams come from the teachings of the church. The church has a distinct culture that sets its members apart from others who do not follow its standards. I love what the gospel brings to my life. It allows me to have truth in my life; it brings me joy; it fosters a sense of hope in me; it creates love in my heart; it gives me a purpose. Everything I do and everything I will do in the future is anchored in the teachings of the gospel. One thing that I feel very fortunate to have is the knowledge of God's plan for us in this life and in the life hereafter. I would feel very inadequate if I didn't have the truth that God loves each of us and has a plan for us. The way I dress, how I talk, what I do each day, what I watch, read and listen to, are all based on the standards that I learned from growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

number three:

I never realized how much I loved my home state until I moved out here to Utah for school. When I go back to visit Washington I feel so refreshed. As you can see from these pictures that I chose, Washington is breath-taking. One thing that I learned from growing up in Washington is environment awareness. I remember having to do many projects where we evaluated how environmentally friendly our houses were. We learned a lot about recycling, turning off lights, using less water, driving less and other environmentally safe practices. One thing that has been really hard to adapt to since moving to Utah is the lack of recycling here. None of the places I've lived in since coming here have had weekly recycling pick up which means that any paper, cardboard, plastic or other recyclable materials go into the trash. What I've learned from this experience is that growing up in Washington has shaped my life practices and beliefs an expectations from the community I'm living in. I lived in Washington for 18 years so it is the schema that I compare all my new experiences to. I've found that I like to say where I'm from and show that part of me.

My own Menu board

I have been wanting a menu board lately so today I decided to make one! I LOVE it. Here are some pictures.

I made this out of ribbon. Very cute if I do say so myself.

All filled out :)

Now two of my FAVORITE things in my house are hanging next to each other in the kitchen :)

Hopefully this will help me to cook yummy meals more often. I decided while I was shopping for this that I love craft stores. They are awesome and always inspire crafty ideas in my head. Plus, there are some amazing cute scrapbooking materials out there. It made me want to do a scrapbook but then I remembered that I'd be horribly bad at scrapbooking. Maybe someday...

Camping!

Mike has been reeeeally wanting to go camping all summer. We got a tent and a lantern for our wedding and then we bought a sleeping bag for me at Costco. I still feel so unprepared for camping though because there is a lot of stuff we don't have but I think I am just used to camping with my mom who has everything. So anyways, this weekend Michael has 3 performances so he has been rehearsing all week. On Monday he was in Salt Lake until about 10:30 so I had this waiting for him when he got home :)

I had to use candles because we didn't have a flashlight.

Welcome home :)

S'mores time!

It was a short camping trip because it was a lot later than I thought he would get home and he didn't want to sleep in the tent so that he could get some sleep before work. Maybe someday we can have a real camping trip :)

So Thankful

Today I am just very thankful for God's hands in our lives. I am so grateful for miracles that still happen on the earth today. I am so grateful for the temple and the fact that I will get to be with Michael forever. I'm grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the strong support group and great faith of all the members. I'm grateful for the joy that the gospel brings and also the hope, the comfort, and the peace. I'm grateful for the truth that guides me each day and helps me make tough decisions. I'm grateful for all the knowledge I have, especially the knowledge I have of Christ. I know that He lives and that He loves us enough to die for each of us in hopes that we will all be able to return to live with Him again. He loves us enough to give us a prophet so that we will know what we need to do to get back to heaven. He loves us enough to know what we need at each minute in our lives, whether it seems good or bad. Christ is always mindful of us. I am grateful for the knowledge that trials in our lives are given to teach us and help us grow stronger.

Today at church I relearned a very valuable lesson. Miracles do happen. Fasting and prayers can save someone's life. God loves His children. We all have a purpose in this life.One of them is to be part of a family and families are very important. I love my family so much and am so blessed to have them in my life. I am especially grateful to be married to a very loving and amazing man. I am very grateful for my life.

This video is a great reminder to me and to all of us to "slow down a little, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most." I hope you can take a few minutes to watch it :)

Summer is finally here!

We have finally had some summery adventures. We got to go to my home in Washington last week and I have lots of pictures to post. But while you wait feast your eyes on this.

This dance is amazing. If you want a little background on the story of the dance, the boy (Marko) was recently stood up at the alter and his best friend (Melanie) comes to comfort him and then he realizes he is in love with her. A.maz.ing.

Well.. TTFN!

Seis Meses

I believe it is time for a little reflection. In the past 6 months:
I decided to change my major.
Michael got hit by a truck.

Then he had surgery on his knee.

We both completed 2 semesters of school.
Michael got a job.
But most importantly, we got married.

Today, we have been married for 6 months. It has been a crazy 6 months and not the typical first 6 months of marriage but oh well. At least I got to go through it with this handsome fella.

Yep. I'm pretty lucky. 

I wouldn't mind going back to this though...

That would be nice.. oh well.

In 6 days we get to go to my home in the Pacific Northwest! 

1 week from today this hawt couple will be getting married in the Seattle Temple and we will be there

And I'm really excited because originally we were going for just 4 days but we extended so now we're staying 8 days! (Oh yeah, because I dropped my summer classes and Mike is only taking 1 class now.. hello summer :)) 

I am especially excited to see these beauties. I can't wait to squeeze them into the biggest hugs they've ever gotten.

One more thing. Michael's twin sister and her husband found out on Monday that they are having a little girl! Yahoo! I'm excited for them.