That Christmas Feeling

One of my favorite things about Christmas is that 'magic' feeling that is undeniable in any human being that has a heart. During finals, however, that magic feeling seems to disappear. Students stop showering and huddle in corners talking to themselves while eating their finger nails. Everything becomes self-centered and all service and generous thoughts are suppressed. Nobody notices Christmas lights or stars because they're looking at the ground as they cruise from test to test. So, what is the point of my writing this? I'm so happy that finals are done and that I came out of the funk before they were done that I want to share my happy, magic Christmas thoughts with the world.
Yesterday morning I was still in a funk about finals and had to go take one that I was dreading. By the time I finished my final the world was a better place. I got a 92% which means I'll get an A in that class and it kicked me out of the gruesome world of finals and into the wonderful world of Christmas. Paul had driven me to my final so I had to walk back to the apartment but it was so great! As I walked back I was able to take a leisurely stroll, look people in the eyes as I passed them and say 'hello,' enjoy the snow glistening and sparkling and laughing at all the silly snowmen, heard people whistling Christmas carols as they scraped off their car windows, and felt lighthearted and happy even though I still had another final to take today. Paul came home from work early and we got to hang out for hours just being lazy and enjoying each other's company. We then went to a Christmas dinner with some friends which was so fabulously scrumptious and beautiful that I couldn't get back into the finals funk even if I tried. Paul gave a wonderful thought on Christmas and how excited we are to have our first Christmas together even though it will be very simple. Christ's birth was a simple affair even though it was one of the most magnificent things to ever happen to this earth and for us, so, we are more than happy to have a simple Christmas.
I love, love, love Christmas and the kindness and happiness that it brings to people. Try to do something Christmasy and find people to serve and let that magic get to you. It's perfect. Merry Christmas!

Pictures

So, supposedly there has been a request for pictures. I don't know how true this statement is but since I'm trusting and gullible I will appease. I have decided to share some pictures from our Honeymoon because they make me really, really happy. We were too busy playing to take many pictures so there weren't lots for me to choose from, but I hope you enjoy the ones I selected.
Here are my sweet butt cheeks at the beach:

A beautiful sunset at Long Beach:

Mr. Mitchell staring down the waves:

Conferring with Mr. Toad:

Starting a secret club with Tigger:

It's actually my castle, I just let the world think it's Sleeping Beauty's:

One of our dinners at the Blue Bayou...yummmmmmmmmmmmm:

California Adventure wishes it was Disneyland, although we do love its roller coaster:

Since they had stopped making mickey groom ears the year before, Paul decided to play Rastafarian to my bride:

Lastly, the traditional Disneyland photo by the Mickey flowers and train station:


Well, I hoped you savored our delectable pictures and enjoyed basking in our awesomeness. We had such a good time and are happy to be sharing it with you.

Christmas

I love Christmas...bring it on.

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

I would like to list some things I am thankful about in regards to Mr. Mitchell our blog hater:
1. He is a worthy priesthood holder who can give me blessings when I need them.
2. He actively tries to do his hometeaching and fulfill his church calling.
3. He can make me laugh when I am positive that there is nothing funny in the world.
4. He can make me happy when I am positive that there is nothing in the world to be happy about.
5. He makes me dinner and then cleans everything up.
6. He gives me backrubs and headrubs and doesn't expect anything in return.
7. He gets up early and goes to work to provide for me.
8. He always kisses me goodbye and goodnight.
9. He tells me everyday that I'm beautiful.
10. He loves me.
I am very thankful for such a great husband.

Happy Halloween & Happy Fall!!

Happy Halloween!!!!...even to whoever is messing with me and pretending to be people from all over the world. I hope my tribute to the Animaniacs was inspiring for you. I will find you truly amazing if you can convince me you're viewing this blog from Djibouti.
Our first fall activity was to go to Vernal with some friends to make our own apple cider with a handy-dandy cider press. Most of us made the drive on motorcycles and then some came in a truck hauling our half ton of apples. We made cider, played with adorable piglets, made fun of a turkey with chest hair (not feathers, mind you, but chest hair), saw where a funky, gypsy mama makes her home, and slaughtered a goat.






Our next activity was a double date to Cornbelly's where we went through the corn maze, jumped on a "pillow" that may have permanently messed up our backs, shot pumpkins from pumpkin cannons, climbed through a monster, rode mechanical bulls, and made-out in firetrucks.






Our next activity was a James Bond party where we were instructed to dress in our best. Paul busted out his tux from the wedding and looked dashing. I, on the other hand, busted out a dress I have owned since at least the tenth grade. Hot dang. I also could never make a spy face because people kept on making me laugh (*Paul*). Either that or I'm not sexy enough to be a spy.


Our last Halloween activity was carving pumpkins as we waited for trick-or-treaters. It was a rainy day so we couldn't see most of the costumes because of the raincoats, but the kids were adorable all the same. Paul, Mr. Perfectionist, did an awesome job with Darth Vader, and me, Miss Impatient, carved a goofy skull.



We were also lucky enough to receive Halloween packages from both of our moms. Paul's mom gave us little ghost and pumpkin bags and my mom gave us a Halloween tablecloth she made along with a 'suspense' movie.

Thus ends the October adventures of The Mitchells.

It's a Small World

People in Russia, Ukraine, China, and the UK look at this blog. Sweet.

Blog Failings

It has been almost a month since my last post and if I correctly understand the blogging world that means I fail. Sad. I will now try to make up for it.
Paul has been incredibly busy with school and work and me; I take up a lot of time and I am not ashamed. He has also been tearing through books like they are all going to be sucked up off of the earth in a few weeks. I don't think I'll try and have another book reading competition with him because he'll win and I'll look like a loser again...and that sucks; however, if we were to have a competition as to who has watched the most Gilmore Girls I would totally take that trophy home.
I have been slightly less busy because I still can't find a job. I am beginning to take it personally and feel quite undesirable/broken because I have applied at over 10 places (I have lost count at this point)and am still stuck. I might need therapy soon. Drat my ridiculous school schedule.
But, for reals, we are doing great and are looking forward to some fun Halloween activities.
P.S. I bought a "kilt" for a quarter at a theater yard sale and have a crazy hat/wig from Scotland that matches perfectly that I am going to make Paul wear for Halloween. Maybe I should let him know soon...

Awwww....

Mr. Mitchell smiles in his sleep when I kiss him on the cheek. How cute is that?!?

The Saga of the Couch

So, Mr. Mitchell and I have been patiently scouring the town for a couch. Used couches make me nervous if I don't know the previous owner because who knows what is on that couch. We checked Ikea and they were all ugly or overpriced. My sister offered us two armchairs she just has lying around and we considered taking them. (We thought it would be funny to become an old couple already with our separate recliners on opposite sides of the room.) Then, Mr. Mitchell had to go the RC Willey Outlet for work and found an as-is couch in really good shape that we could get an additional 20% off of. We took it! There was no way I could help Paul haul the couch up to our apartment so he called his friend and away they went. After patiently waiting in the apartment for some time I started to hear this odd clicking noise outside of the apartment. I opened the door to see what was going on and I found Mr. Mitchell kneeling by the railing wearing his 'I'm up to something' face. When I took a closer look I found him pulling on a ratchet strap.

I immediately saw what he was trying to do. He was going to try hauling the couch up over the railing using ratchet straps rather than carrying it up the stairs. I needed a visual confirmation so I tipped my head over the railing and saw this.


Yep. Our brand new couch was getting strapped in. I had this terrible image of our brand new couch being pulled up and then toppling out of its straps down onto the pavement and smashing into pieces. They claimed they were super strong and had the oomph to do it but I believe the terrified look on my face convinced them they needed to do otherwise. This then ensued.

My poor, super buff, super strong hubby was having a hard time getting this couch to our apartment. There was a long struggle between Team Mr. Mitchell & Bryan and the couch which included some casualties.

When the couch wouldn't fit through the door Mr. Mitchell had a mini-meltdown.

They even tried to pull the window out to squeeze the couch through there. However, through much perseverance, will-power, and sheer manliness they got the couch through the door and situated in the living room.
Mr. Mitchell and I now have a wonderful couch (that reclines on both ends so we can pretend to be an old couple if we want)that we can relax on but that Mr. Mitchell might secretly hold a grudge against forever.

Blessings From Mr. Mitchell

I was teasing Paul last night about how popular this blog is amongst his friends and family and how he should be sooooooooooo happy. To my surprise, instead of arguing against blogs or calling this blog a pack of lies (which it's not, by the way), he blessed it. He really did! He said, "Well, honestly, if it keeps people updated and they enjoy reading it and it gives you something to do, I guess it's a good thing." Can you believe it? This blog has officially been blessed. Don't get too far ahead of yourselves, though. He still hates blogs.

Unofficial Competition

So, I randomly decided that Paul and I had a competition over the summer. He just found out about it five minutes ago. Sadly, for me, he won. I wanted to find out who had read more books over the summer. Here are our lists:

Sabrina
At Home in Mitford
Do Hard Things
Jungle Book & other short stories
Rainbow Valley
Torn Thread
I Have Lived a Thousand Years
Alvor
The Glory of the City of Enoch
The Cater Street Hangman

Paul
Crossroads of Twilight
Arctic Drift
The Mad Trapper of Rat River
Hate Mail From Cheerleaders
The Excavation
Stone of Tears
Temple of the Winds
Flood Tide
Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Gates of Fire
Shadow Rising
Fires of Heaven
Lord of Chaos
A Crown of Swords
Path of Daggers
Winter's Heart

As you can see, I didn't stand a chance in my own, last-minute, unofficial contest.

Paul and I went on our honeymoon to Southern California. We went to the beach, spent a couple of days at Disneyland and a day at Six Flags. We had a great time and wish coming back to reality could have waited a little bit longer. We moved into our new apartment in Utah on Wednesday and jumped right into classes which had started on Monday. The apartment is kind of a mess but we're working on getting it organized and homey. Unfortunately, we have no couch. I guess that gives us something to work towards.

My Apologies, Mr. Mitchell

Paul never said he wanted a motorcycle cake topper on our cake. He was talking about tacky people doing tacky things and said, "What if we put a motorcycle on top of our cake?" And I said, "I don't want anything on top of our cake." That was the conversation. Paul is not a red neck.

Ta Da! We're Back!

More like "I'm back!" since Paul doesn't want anything to do with this blog. That's besides the point. I will now continue to tell everyone all sorts of things about Paul and myself.
WE GOT MARRIED!!! On May 14, 2010 we were married in the Portland, Oregon LDS temple.

We were blessed with the only rain free weekend so far that spring. People kept on telling us how lucky we were because up until our wedding the weather had been dreary. The very next day we drove to Boise for a beautiful reception where, once again, we had absolutely perfect weather. The very next day my nephew Gavin was blessed in church (we just couldn't get away from our families) so we went to that and then we finally loaded up the cars with our haul and drove to Lakeview where Paul went back to work the very next day.
Paul has been working with BLM fighting forest fires and has spent two weeks in Alaska this summer. Most of his time has actually been spent cutting wood so Paul now refers to himself as a logger man. He has been major injury free which makes both of us very happy.

I was able to get a job collecting urine for drug testing. Yep. I make people pee in a cup and then I pour it into vials and mail it to the lab. My very first day this guy came out with his cup completely full so when I poured it into the vial it ended up going all over the floor. Gross and embarrassing.
We live in a teeny, tiny house that is just perfect for two. We have a gravel driveway that leads to an archway smothered in roses with a bell hanging from the top. After going under the arch you walk down a little path that is in between beautiful bushes and flowers and trees (and weeds, unfortunately, since I'm not very on top of that)and then you get to our front door that has a beautiful rose bush on one side and ivy on the other. When you get in the house you almost fall onto our bed since our bedroom and living room are the same room and is rather small. It is wonderfully cozy though and we do have a washer and dryer in the little store room. The downside is all the spiders. Lots and lots of spiders that like to share our bed and crawl across my toes.
Paul and I are happy being newlyweds and are excited for our honeymoon to Disneyland at the end of August.

Licenses and Weather

So, I drove up to Oregon last night because Paul is to cheap to come to me. Just kidding. I had to go up to Oregon so that we can get our marriage license and so I could start moving some stuff into our teeny tiny house. Like really teeny tiny. When you open the front door you almost trip over our bed. But it's super cozy and just the right size for two. When I woke up this morning there was a blizzard outside. Yep. A blizzard in May. Hopefully that's not indicative of the weather this weekend. Despite the nasty weather Paul and I went to get our marriage license. We're really doing this. And we're starting to freak out. Wish us luck.

Our First Kiss

Who's been impatiently awaiting this story? No one? Well, that's alright. I'm going to tell it anyway.
Paul and I had gone shopping for groceries and, as usual, we weren't done enjoying each others' company when we were finished. We drove and drove and just talked and talked. There was a lot to talk about what with all the crazy drama in our apartments and just getting to know each other. Eventually we landed in the parking lot by the Provo River Trailhead . While we were talking Paul started playing Moon River on his ipod and then pulled me out of the car. It was freezing cold outside and it was very early morning (as in past midnight...we don't go grocery shopping at 6am) on St. Patrick's Day. I was slightly confused at first as to why he pulled me out of the toasty truck to stand in this cold while he blared Moon River out the window. Then he started dancing with me and then...can you guess? That's right. He kissed me! I was slightly nervous but really wanted him to kiss me so I'm glad he did.
Paul was nervous, too. He was shaking...or it could have just been that he was cold. I'm going to go ahead and say that he was nervous.

Pictures of Me and Paul

I'm making a scrapbook of me and Paul for guests to sign at our receptions. I realized that he and I don't have very many pictures of just us. Either it's one of us taking a picture of the other person or it's us with a group of people. However, I somehow managed to find 40 of us from our three years of friendship and will now share some here. Look at how cute I am!

The Much Anticipated Our First Date Part 2!!!!

So, PJ Prom was approaching and I had nothing to wear. I own about 20 pairs of pajamas, but still, I had nothing to wear. The big day arrived and I finally decided to take a trip to the mall to get new pajama pants. I knew what pajamas Paul would be wearing because he's obsessed with them so I thought I would try to get something that matched. I never even got close. However, in American Eagle I found a cute pair of girly pajamas with teeny tiny useless pockets and everything. They were perfect. My roommate did my hair in enormous curls and I pinned it up a bit to try and keep it somewhat tamed and then I sat and waited....and waited...and waited...and waited...and finally I texted Paul and asked him why he hadn't come to pick me up yet. He told me that I was supposed to go over to his apartment since he was making dinner. Psh. Fine. So I walked the 20 steps over to his apartment and the date began. He made me a delicious dinner of salad and steak and then we drove over to the building for the dance. We arrived a little bit early and decided it was better to be fashionably late so, Paul drove over to fill the truck up with gas. I thought he was just using his time wisely, which he was, but for a more specific purpose than I realized. We then went back to the dance which was now hopping and had endless amounts of cream puffs. We danced and had a good time. Here are some pictures of his stellar fire pajamas and my cute ones.




(Everyone can just admit it...I'm way cuter than Paul.) Anyway, we had a good time with our friends and just dancing in our pj's and eating lots of cream puffs. After the dance he said he had a surprise for me (which will now explain the impromptu decision to fill his truck up with gas). He drove us up to the Sundance Resort, pulled out some blankets, and then pulled out a star chart. It was such a cute surprise! Nothing fancy yet absolutely perfect. We spent quite a bit of time looking for constellations and stars and during our astronomical hunt, we even saw a shooting star. Paul told me to make a wish and I did. I found out later that Paul wished that he could kiss me and it wouldn't be weird for me. :) How cute is that? I wished that things could get better in my apartment and that the drama could disappear. Paul's wish came true faster than mine, but that shooting star did us both some good. All in all, it was a perfect first date.

Our First Date Part 1

So, after our first visit to 210 we became frequent visitors. We eventually got to the point where we would knock on the door once and then just let ourselves in. If the door was ever locked we took personal offense and went back to 208 and sulked. We liked to lounge on their giant lovesack, snuggle with Jeff the body pillow, and play Guitar Hero. There were quite a few of us in my apartment that were developing crushes on Paul and I had no idea. We would all just hang out together all of the time and it was great fun. One night the girls in my apartment decided to plan an apartment group date and most of them were taking boys from 210. I wasn't going because I was waiting for a call from another boy whom I had recently shut down with the, "I don't want to date but we can be friends" line. I was waiting to see if he was going to follow through on his friendship end of the deal. Paul hadn't been asked (bizarre...really...girls are chickens when they like boys) and so he popped over to our apartment to talk and hang out while people were getting ready for their dates and I sat on the couch and sulked. (I know, I know, why was I sulking after I did the turning down? Well, I'm a girl...duh.) I sat there secretly hoping that Paul would ask me to go out with the group that night, but he didn't. (I bet you thought that was going to be our first date. He he he he, you were wrong.) I later learned from my roommate that he had been thinking the same thing.

Eventually November came with my birthday, which he helped make fun by helping set up my surprise birthday party, and then December with Christmas, with our big family (210 and 208) Christmas, and then January came, he took another girl out on a date to the Masquerade, and then February came, and we had another big family party for Valentine's Day. Then...came the beginning of our apartment drama. (I promise this story leads to our first date.)

Paul asked me out for a walk which was not unusual. We often walked along the river trail and talked about whatever the heck we felt like. It was nice to be able to open up to someone so easily. Eventually it got too cold for walking but we weren't done talking so we decided to go for a drive. I went into my apartment to get some hot chocolate and one of my roommates that was crushing on Paul wanted to know where I was off to. I told her I was going for a drive with Paul and I got a weird vibe from her but didn't think anything of it at the time. Paul and I went on a drive and we talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and then he said,
"Do you know why I want to hang out with you all the time?"
"Cuz we're friends! Tee hee hee!"
"No. It's because I like you."
"...oooohh."
"But I can't ask you out because it would cause bad feelings in your apartment."
"Really?"
"Yeah, ----- likes me and I don't want to hurt her."
"Oh."
And then he took me back to my apartment where I was confronted by my roommates who said,
"How long have you been secretly dating Paul?"
"I just barely found out that he likes me!"
"You haven't been dating?"
"No. In fact, he said he won't ask me out."
"Oh. Ok."

Not too much longer after this event Paul texted me and asked me to meet him on campus so he could share his lunch with me. I don't say no to free food unless I think someone spit in it, so, I boogied on over to where he was. When I met up with him he had a fortune cookie for me from Panda Express. I thanked him and we talked for a bit and then went our separate ways. As I walked to my car I opened up my fortune cookie and started to unfold my fortune and thought, "Holy crap. This is the longest fortune I have ever seen." Then I started to read it and this is what it said:
I know I said I couldn't ask you on a date, or rather shouldn't ask. Instead I decided to ask you on two, hoping that I'm not to late on one of them. First - come to the PJ thing with me, it sounds fun and even if it isn't we could still make it fun. The other is just a normal date, whenever you want. I know your schedule is really busy, so you name the time and I'll make it work.
(That's what it said word for word. I know because I still have it.) (More parentheses...the 'PJ thing' that he was referring to was a little party called "Pajama Prom.") Paul had been super crafty and had put his own little 'fortune' into that fortune cookie and hot glued it shut in the original Panda Express wrapper. I was so excited that he had asked me out on a date but also terrified of how my roommates would feel. I called my sister and told her the whole situation and about how I wasn't sure whether or not I should say yes. She said,
"Sabrina. Do you want to go with him?"
"Yes."
"Then go."
So I said yes.

To be continued...

Paul versus Me

Paul wanted to register at Home Depot. I said no. We registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Paul wanted to put a motorcycle cake topper on our cake. I said no. We argued about elegant versus stuffy.

... ... ...I still have no idea if there's going to be a motorcycle on top of our cake.

ATTENTION ALL CREEPERS:

So, I'm sitting in my IPT class when my lovely neighbor shows me an enlarged picture of me that I'm feeling pretty certain she shouldn't have. I asked her where she got that picture and she told me she got it off of my blog. ... ... ...I did this blog as an April Fool's joke for Paul and only broadcasted it on Paul's facebook. None of my 'facebook' friends or 'real' friends (except my roomie) should be aware of the blog. Now that I was even more puzzled, I asked her where on earth she found the blog. She showed me that it showed up on the "Top Sites" of the internet browser of the laptop she had checked out from the McKay Lab.


(This is me puzzled...see why it's uncomfortable for me to be puzzled?)

Now a word from my lovely neighbor: Along with Sabrina, I am very puzzled as to how this blog showed up publicly on McKay MacBook laptop #1's Top Sites on Safari. So, creeper, whoever you are, just now you have been caught!! We know you're watching....and we don't like it. AT ALL.

All I'm really trying to say is: Hello to whichever one of Paul's friends is actually reading this blog! Hope it's not too disappointing and now that I know it is on public display I will try to make it more worth your while.