Our HOME!

Cedar Hills Home - photo slideshow

I'm HOME!

And without further ado, I bring to you....Mr. Mike Moncur!

Thank you, thank you very much, you're too kind...please take your seats. Well, I made it home! So we set off on Monday morning around 9 am and about 4 hours into the journey, my brother Taylor had the bright idea to drive straight through to Utah. That meant a 22 to 23 hour drive with little to NO sleep. I won't go into too much detail about the trip because it was long and boring and I felt half sick the whole time...partly because I was so excited and anxious to get home that my mind and body couldn't relax and then partly because I slept about 2 hours the whole trip. I kept Nika drugged up on cat tranquilizers but near the end the drugs were wearing off and she kept meowing like a FREAK SHOW and there was nothing I could do about it.

Driving up to our house I noticed the beautiful mountains. The sun was just coming up and rays of light were bursting over the mountain ridge! Utah is a beautiful place. I was on the phone with Amanda as I pulled up to the house. Amanda was driving to school and I was pulling in the driveway. I noticed we had a beautiful wreath on our front door which Amanda had made...it was so cool! I parked in the driveway and on the wall of the garage in multi colored paper was a big "welcome home" sign. I walked in the house and it smelled like heaven. I walked up the stairs and noticed some new decorations Amanda had put up, it looked so great! Ahhhh, it's so nice to have a home! The whole house was spotless! So clean I didn't want to move...I felt like tip toeing through the house. I finally got to see our bed room with all the new sheets and decor. It looked amazing. I was in awe at how amazing Amanda had made the house look. Oh and on the kitchen table was a box wrapped in wrapping paper with a little card on top. Amanda congratulated me on finishing the summer and got me a present!! YAY! I ripped it open and found 3 really cool shirts, a button up shirt and 4 scarves! I felt so spoiled! I can't wait to wear it all!

I was so tired and felt disgusting and sick to my stomach and at the same time I was so excited and so anxious to see Amanda. I tried to sleep but couldn't. So I unloaded the car and got everything unpacked and put away. I again tried to lay down and sleep but couldn't...I was too excited to see Amanda and couldn't stop my mind from racing. I took a shower and got ready and then got a text from Amanda saying she was on her way home from school!!! I was so excited and a little nervous...I was pacing back and forth in the kitchen waiting. Then I heard the garage door go up and in she came!! She ran up the stairs and I was there waiting. We embraced and I picked her up and twirled her around...it felt so good to finally see her, touch her, be near her!!

It's great to be home with my sweet, amazing, beautiful wife. I love our life together. Our home is exactly that..."our home". It is so nice to have a home, filled with all of "your" stuff. It's so nice to have and be with "your" family. I can't describe how blessed I feel to have such a wonderful little family. Amanda, Me and our little snow leapord Nika! :)

Amanda and I got to spend the day together yesterday because Amanda worked her butt off and got all of her homework done so we could have a day together. It was so nice! We thoroughly enjoyed it! We're looking forward to an amazing future and hopefully we'll never have to be apart for that long again!

can you say: EXCITED?

I finished my last day of selling in Indianapolis today! I finished strong selling 8 accounts this week! I have to give a shout out to the Wifey for helping me push until the very end! I couldn't have done it without her. We worked together and came up with some fun incentives that motivated me on a daily basis. I'm so grateful for her! Love you Babes!

I just packed everything up, (threw everything in plastic garbage bags) and now I'm sitting on my bed, stomach filled with butterflies, anticipating the long journey home! I can't tell you HOW EXCITED I am to get home to my BEAUTIFUL wife and our little home. I'm so grateful to have a home. So grateful for the opportunity we had to live in Charlotte and Indianapolis; two very different but nice places. I can't wait to be in the presence of Amanda! AHHH!! I could scream I am so excited! She is my best friend! I couldn't have imagined having a better wife. She is the BOMB.COM, a stellar companion, the love of my life, the Queen of my dream, the princess of popcorn, the best thing that ever happened to me!! AMANDA NOEL!! So excited to see her!

Oh and Nika wanted to say....meow...what was that??? Oh.......that she can't wait to see her mommy! :)

School—schmeul

Another LONG day of studying—13 hours (that's about my average per day). You think I would be smart, but I am not. Learning is a journey; a seriously hard journey. There is so much knowledge out there; thinking about it is overwhelming—exciting, but overwhelming.

I seriously feel as though I am going to have a mental breakdown, all I can think about is how signifiers, signify the sign which determines the signified; the celts invaded England only to be invaded by the Romans, which the Anglo Saxons then divided and conquered, only to be later conquered by the Danish invasion; Beowulf, Chaucer, Mystery Play, Morality Plays, Mysticism; how to calculate the interest earned when I am semi-annually compounding, quarterly compounding, finding the annuity, subtracting the assets from the liabilities so I can determine net worth; finding the critical theories of Marxism, Feminism, Psychoanalytical, New Historicism in literature; and arguing how Dickens bildungsroman is the perfect model to discover self-deceptions and identity in his protagonist—Pip. All the while I am trying to remember what Pips actual name is, the young boy he views as "pale and strange;" what simple interest installment loan actually means; who Henry the VII was, Henry the II, James the I, Edward the III (is there an Edward the III, I don't even know); how to say "my cat is independent" in Swedish; all the while living with turrets of the neck (I just invented that—I pulled my neck out).

How am I doing it?

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty." ~ Henry Ford

I don't want to grow old.

"Be smart. You are all in school. Do not waste your time. This is a time of great opportunity that you will never have again as long as you live. Make the most of it right now. It is wonderfully challenging. It is hard, it is tough, isn’t it? But what a wonderful thing to go and learn of all the accumulated knowledge of all the centuries of time. Go on to college or whatever school, vocational school, whatever your choice is, but take advantage of every opportunity that you have because the Lord has laid upon you a mandate through revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith concerning not only spiritual learning but secular learning. Yours is the responsibility, and you can’t afford to waste your time. There is so much to learn. Be smart. Give it the very best that you have." - Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet and 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I am trying to live Gods law.

My sister sent me these—puts it all in perspective I guess— "AHAH, SIGH" I'm going to bed.

name that movie???

"I want you to get swept away,
I want you to levitate,
I want you to sing with rapture,
And dance like a Dervish..

Be deliriously happy, or at least leave yourself open to be.
Love is passion, obsession, something you can't live without.

Fall head over heels, find someone you can love like crazy and who will love you back.
How do you find him? You forget your head and listen to your heart. There is no sense in living your life without this.
To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well, you haven't lived a life at all,
But you have to try, because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived.....

Stay open, who knows, lightening could strike!

5 days-knockin em down!

A cute little email from Amanda. This was right before we got our engagement photos done! Such a fun time.


Just sitting here waiting for my next class to begin, thinking about my most amazing, handsome finance that I adore and love so much and miss the kisses of on my face.....WOW THAT WAS A LONG SENTANCE! I love you so much baby. I can't stop thinking about you....I have "mike syndrome." I want to be with you all the time, see you everyday. It HAS become harder being engaged--I just want to be around you more and more and more :). I can't wait to see you tomorrow. What the CRAP are we going to wear??? I am thinking the same thing I wore in NY--jeans, boots, and a longsleeved sweater....I don't know, do you think we should do more than one outfit? That is on the agenda for tonight--going through my closet as well as doing homework :).

I miss you!!!!! XOXOXOXO

Thank you for all your help with the wedding plans!

6 days!

6 days! I'm so excited!!
Remember this night? We watched Elizabeth Town! You made me dinner for the first time. We drove up the canyon in the mustang. I remember I didn't want to go home! It was so hard to leave. I still didn't know the area around your house very well and so you drove me out to the main street; when I got there I had to give you one more kiss, so I jumped out of the car and ran over to you and gave you a kiss! Man, I hated leaving you and going home to an empty house! I'm so glad we get to spend the nights together, days together, years together, FOREVER together! I'm so glad we're married! I LOVE YOU!



you are wonderful, you never cease to surprise me--thank you for getting out of the car to kiss me goodnight---sooooo freakin amazing and sweet! :) made me giddy inside (yep still have the butterflies---NOT passed that stage :)! I LOVE being with you! And I can use that word in in that context :). I can't wait till Friday.....I'm soooooooooo happy you liked the movie----soooo happy cause it's one of my favs :). I'm soooooo happy that I could just spend quality time with you today, close to you like that. I love feeling your arms around me, your breath on my neck, the way you tangle your hands in my hair when you kiss me; your smell, the taste of your kiss; how comfortable and "at home" I feel in your presence....the more time I spend with you the more I feel this way.

I hope you made it home safe.......I still wish you could have stayed FOREVER....at least till we left to NY :).

Sweetest of dreams.

Love,

manda

And this was my email to you when I got home that night:

Freak! Where do I start? Today was my favorite day! I loved every second I got to spend with you today! I loved when I saw you for the first time in JoAnn's in the back corner. I loved to see you dressed casually with your hair up. You looked amazing, and I sincerely mean that. I love it when you dress that way and do your hair that way! Beautiful!
Being able to see and go in your house was awesome. Your house looks great. I love your style and the way you are able to express yourself through the decorations and furnishings! It was really fun for me to see.
I loved our nap that wasn't a nap at all. More kissing and cuddling than resting. I loved to watch you make dinner and was really impressed with how fast you came up with everything. It was really attractive. I felt so comfortable with you. And the food was great. Everything tasted wonderful! I could go on and tell you how I loved this and loved that, but I won't. I loved the whole dinner experience!
Our drive up the canyon was beautiful and the scenery was breathtaking! Especially coming back down and seeing the sun reflect off of the mountain. AMAZING! Just being with you and feeling the cool breeze and smelling the crisp fall air won't be forgotten.
The movie was GREAT! I really did like it. I loved the story line, the quirkiness and humor, the romance. I am a nerd that way....I like chick flicks...and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
I did not want to leave you! I wanted to just stay with you all night. But logic sometimes overrides desire. So I had to leave. The whole drive home I had butterflies. I could NOT get you out of my mind...nor did I want to. I felt and feel now...weak, touched, vulnerable, loving, peaceful, chemistry, connection....I feel like I'm breaking and my heart is melting. Which is a good thing. I'm falling for you like a ton of bricks falling off of the Empire state building. When I'm around you everything is alright, and I forget all my worries. Your kisses are like candy and they linger on my lips. I miss you! Your smell is on my shirt and I keep smelling it and it makes me miss you even more. Tomorrow will go by sooo SLOW! I know it....because when I'm not with you time goes so slow and then when I am with you it goes too fast.
For some reason....today I felt closer and more connected to you than any other day. It was a perfect day and to spend casual time with you, real time with you was awesome. I LOVED IT! I will go to sleep thinking of you. Your smell is with me, I'm sleeping in THE SHIRT with your smell on it. I MISS YOU! I WANT YOU! I NEED YOU! :)
Thank you Amanda for spending time with me today. I am truly grateful for you and for our relationship. THANKS!
Have a great day at school. I'll be thinking of you!!

ONE WEEK!

Holy Freak am I excited! Some days have been long and some have flown by. For the most part however this past month has gone by pretty fast. Amanda and I have both been really busy with school and work, making the time go quickly. It's been an amazing blessing being away from each other. Although it's been hard, we have grown so close these past weeks. Facing challenging times with school and work we have had to be there for each other to support, uplift and motivate. I can't express how grateful I am to have Amanda. She has been such a strength and such an example to me. Every day I look forward to our morning scriptures and prayer and at night I look forward to the conversations we get to have and the chance we have to pray together once again. It's the greatest blessing in the world to be married! I am so excited about our future and the many wonderful things we have to look forward to; from lounging around the house together to being sealed in the Temple. We have such a bright future ahead of us. I have never felt more fulfilled or satisfied with my life. I miss you baby! We are on the official countdown now! 7 days to go!

UPDATE

ONE WEEK TILL MY BABE GETS HOME! I am doing a little dance right now. We are down to wire—after four weeks of being away, I am so stoked! We may not be updating the blog for a while after that, fyi, we will be way to busy catching up (if you know what I mean) :) HAHA! YEAH SUCKA!

takin it back

an e mail I wrote to Amanda after our first kiss:

Thank you so much for being with me tonight! I loved every minute of it! From Deal or No Deal to Kissing on the bench waiting hopelessly for the fountain to turn on. I felt so comfortable with you. I truly love being around you and in all seriousness want you to know that. Thank you. I miss you every second that is passing by me.....yep missing you.....and yep still missing you....and as I lay my head down to sleep I will still be missing you. I'm going to replay our kisses in my head as I fall asleep. You are so beautiful, your hair, your legs, your lips, your smile, your eyes, your everything is BEAUTIFUL....and I have way more than a crush on you...thank you for EVERYTHING! Hope that you got home safe and that you sleep like a baby!


and then Amanda's reply:

I love being with you. Thank you for being so incredible and writing me things I needed to hear, and for being able to come home to an email from you....it made the missing you less hard (if that is even possible).....I'm in trouble....and it scares me.....:) I've never truly felt that comfortable with someone before and I am so thankful for who you are and all the AMAZING qualities you possess. AND without sounding too crass :), YOU are so freaking YUMMY! :) You're style--unbelievably amazing---I am not even going to go there with my thoughts about you---out of respect :) but yum and thank you! I love your arms....I love your chest....I love your stomach (even with all the food in it).....I love that I feel safe in your arms.......I'm addicted to your mouth--yep A-D-D-I-C-T-E-D to your mouth....and I KNOW, I KNOW that I will most likely be embaressed that I shared this with you, by tomorrow...but hey, truth comes out when you are tired right????:)

I am drunk with joy, and no, it's not due to the beer in the cheese fondue :)

Night sweetest thing in my life!

memory lane

This is how we fell in love. It started slowly as we adored each other, as we sent new songs to one another, as we validated one another and as we laughed together. One of the things I fell in love with was how Amanda would share with me little thoughts, quotes or ideas she would have. You'll see an example in her e mail. Amanda still shares with me her deep and sometimes philosophical thoughts and ideas and I fall in love all over again! I love you Baby!


me:

I was wondering, because i was counting all the songs and I was one or two short of 16 and I was like.....where the HECK is the other song? I couldn't have lost track of it that fast!! So thanks for clarifying....that relieves the thought and worry of a lost song. Few!
I'll tell you what wouldn't bother me at all....you duplicating that kiss you sent to me. You can duplicate that as many times as you want. :) In person would be the best time to duplicate it. :)
Okay, I'm getting back to work. Oh....you should have heard the thunder and seen the lighting last night at about 2 am. It was CRAZY! It sounded like someone took a giant whip and SNAPPED it outside my window! It was so loud! and then the sky and my room would completely light up as lightning shot through the sky. It was nuts! AND then there was what sounded like golf balls hitting my window! I assume it was hail, but it could have been BIG FOOT throwing things at my window.....I'm still uncertain. It's a toss up....BIG FOOT or hail. I'm leaning towards Big Foot...it's more realistic. Plus there was an immensely oversized handprint on my window....hmmmm? Oh well.
TTYL

amanda:

what can I say, I knew I could convince you of THE big foot man......

I put more kisses up for YOU on Planet (I could never tire of "duplicating those"). :)

Hope your day is amazing, better than my evening last night and morning was FOR SURE :) I had such a disturbing phone call, thus my comment to you about being grateful for being who you are--seriously REFRESHING :) HAHA.

I have to share with you, before I end this email, an awesome quote I read in my myth/legend/folklore book.....it was a commentary, after the stories, about the relation between meditation and the ability to transform ourselves into a more spiritual person--tapping into the person inside of us-the person that casts off selfishness and looks to the betterment of others.......Quote:

“it is the Savior or the Buddah---Christ--- in these religions who is able to do the impossible, by putting aside his potential for worldly power in exchange for the joys of the spirit. It represents the ‘release of…souls of men from the snare of illusion,’ and that the ‘place of the dance, the center of the universe, is within the heart.” Leeming, Mythology, the Voyage of the Hero

I thought it was brilliant---relating to us all needing to cast off the natural man and embrace the true potential within! :)

I wrote this to Amanda when I was in Kansas City and all I could think about was her!!


when the sun shines or when the moon illuminates the black night....I think of you..
when i feel the wind on my face.... I think of you.
when i read something inspiring or uplifting....I think of you.
when i put a Bass Pro hat on....I think of you.
when i get a text or a phone call....I think of you.
when music plays....I think of you.
when i open my window and hear the chirp of a cricket....I think of you.
when i wake up in the morning and when i go to sleep at night....I think of you.
when i do NOTHING AT ALL....I think of you.

so i guess you could say--you are on my mind....which i dont mind.
the smile on my face doesn't mind
the butterflies in my stomach don't mind
I don't mind

In response to the text you sent me saying you were thinking about me. So i figured I would let you know that SOMETIMES....I think of you too. :)

Then Amanda responded:

so remember the question, "whens the last time you cried?" It officially changed to this morning.......(and it was a GOOD cry)...if I had more than five minutes to get to class and fix the mascara on my face I would write you more. I want to write more of a response to such an amazing email, and I will. In the mean time THANK YOU for being vulnerable.

ps and I don't care what "they" say (about not being able to miss someone you haven't met)...... I miss you incredibly!

An e mail from my babes the night before we went to NYC! I could hardly sleep either! I was proposing in ONE day! I hadn't been able to sleep ALL week at that! We were both so excited and had such an amazing weekend getaway! Such fond memories... :) LOVE YOU BABY!


I LOVE YOU--even in the wee hours of the morning...what is it now like 2am????......For some strange reason I woke up twice, once just an hour after I had fallen into a very deep sleep--I literally thought, at 11pm it was 5:30 and that it was time to wake up to come get ready and see you, to GO to NY with you!!! And then I gazed at my glaring phone light and it only read "11 p.m."--totally bewildered me.....in a state of TEMPORARY frustration (cause who can stay frustrated for long when a few hours from now a plane would depart to the most incredible city and I would be on it WITH the most incredible MAN EVER????!!!!! FYI YOU are that man :).......Into ANOTHER deep sleep I fell, waking up feeling so refreshed and energized, ready to go..."surely my body is on target this time," I thought...but AGAIN to my surprise, the clock on the phone read "2a.m." "I wonder if Mike's experiencing the SAME phenomena?" I wondered. "Probably not......"


I decided to try some more nasty vinegar/honey concoctions to help my aching throat before attempting to sleep ONCE again.....and I decided to check my mail..."You have mail," it read....and lo and behold my baby didn't disappoint....THANK YOU for making my 2 a.m. awakening a delight...I love reading your words and I DO LOVE YOU SO MUCH....I find it hard, as the days progress, to be without you in my life-permanently!!!!

NYC here we come....5 1/2 hours in counting....THRILLED, ESTATIC....COULDN'T be a MORE anticipated trip.....I can't wait to spend three days and two nights with you....spoiled to be in your presence THAT many hours :) I love you baby....you are my life, you are my family, you are THE man I want to be with
F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!!!

XOXO

love,

duh-your babe!!! :)

remember when!

This is an e mail Amanda sent me when we were just getting to know each other, right after we had talked on the phone for the fist time. It's fun to go back and read some of these emails because they bring the sweetest feelings to the surface and remind me of how wonderfully our relationship started. And it looks like Amanda got what she wanted! :) ( a cat )

K, you want to know the most precious thing that happened this morning? WELL, I'm going to tell you anyway....I was on a walk up the canyon, and the cutest cat EVER (well almost ever--my cat Tom, at home, is pretty darn wonderful :), (the cat was siamese btw--cream body, dark gray tail, and the most precious gray mask around his face with the bluest of blue eyes)---ANYWAY, BACK TO THE STORY :)--so he saw me walking and wanted to get my attention so he ran out into the middle of the sidewalk and flipped over on his back and started rolling around, looking up at me all playful like "please stop and give me some love." So OF COURSE my heart melted and I stopped for a while to pet the precious thing. He was so happy! It was so cute-- he was moving around me, trying to find my hands to get the most out of his short amount of attention time from a total stranger. I started to leave and I looked behind me and YEP he was following me, running after me. I was worried he was going to follow me all the way up the canyon, but he was a good boy and knew his limits--stopped right at the end of his street.....It was the most precious moment, and totally made my morning:)......... I want a cat!


Oh ya and I laughed OUT LOUD a few times when I thought about you and running the other day--"I'm a machine, I'm a machine!" HAHA its makes me laugh right now! :)

Hope your day is amazing!

Manda

p.s. I do like your voice! :) It's very cute....AND.....AND I am going to wear my hat today!:)

Two weeks

I can't believe we've made it two weeks! Half way there! I am so excited to see you!!! Being away is getting old! I love being in our home, but it is empty without you! Thank goodness I have so much to do, constantly busy—keeps my mind off missing you. I am grateful for all your hard work and dedication in being the provider of our family right now. I know it's hard being away, but I also know that we have grown tremendously and have learned so many new things that have made our marriage stronger. I admire you in so many ways; thanks for teaching me every day, for sharing your talents with me, for spoiling me and treating me like "your princess," and for being the kind of man I am proud to be married to.

LOVE YOU BABES!

NEW BLOG

I started a new blog; check it out if you feel so "inspired" :). I won't explain about it here, you will have to go there to check it out. It is something I am very passionate and excited about, and I hope you all can contribute at some point :).

http://aspiretoinspire1.blogspot.com/

my day today

I drove out to my area with my dad and Taylor today. I sold the second person I talked to, his name was Gale and he was 88 years old. Gales wife died 4 months ago, they had been married for 53 years. He told the same story twice about how he tripped off the step at the Justice Building-(I don't know what the Justice Building is but he assumed I knew) He told me they tried to give him $250 for the damages. He ended up getting $700 but he said if the insurance company would have seen his face right after the fall they would have given him more. Gale moved to Indiana and worked as a chiropractor. He soon found out that in Indiana you have to have a certain license from a Medical school which he didn't have. They threatened to put him in Jail if he didn't stop his practice. He stopped, got a night job at the Post Office and worked to get the license he needed. It took Gale 7 years to get the license but eventually he got it. Once he got his license he opened up shop and worked as a chiropractor and also continued to work nights at the post office. He worked both jobs for 30 years. Gale loves to golf and even at the ripe old age of 88 he still hits the course 2 times a week with the "Old Timers". You have to be over 65 to play with the "Old Timers". Gale is also in an 8 piece band-he plays the saxaphone. He took me out to his red Nissan and had me sit in the passenger seat as he played a CD of his band playing live at the Indianapolis City Market. It was big band and quite good. Before I got in the car he was in the drivers seat and through the window he showed me his white and blue hat through the window. With a sly smile on his face he pushed the hat closer to the window-it said "mine is longer than yours" and the bill on the hat is about a foot long. I laughed and got in the car. :) Funny guy. Everyone has a story-everyone around the world has a unique and personal life experience. I was thinking today of all the billions of people in the world and how I only know a tiny percent of people on the earth. We go in and out of grocery stores, pass people in hall ways and on the street and don't even know anything about them. I'm grateful for the job that I have and the opportunity I have to take a peek into peoples lives. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to get to know some of God's children some of my brothers and sisters, even if it is for only a brief moment.

After I left Gales house I knocked on a few more doors and it felt like all the motivation was just sucked out of me. I couldn't get my mind off of Amanda. I missed her so bad and wanted to go home to be with her. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to be around her, talk to her in person, feel her comforting presence. I love my wife so much. We have grown so close and I feel such an amazing love for her. It really sucks to be away from each other. I am so happy with our relationship. I am so excited to share the rest of our lives together. We have so much to look forward to. I can't express the feelings I have for her. I can't express the gratitude I feel in my heart. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for sending me an angel. She is my angel. I cherish her and the relationship we share. She is so strong. She just started school and has some really hard classes. Her schedule is insane this semester and it's going to be really tough. I am so proud of her for sticking it out and getting her degree. She has two more semesters to go and will graduate in April!! We are so excited! If you are reading this, please say a little prayer for Amanda...she is working so hard and has so much homework every day. I don't know how she does it. She is so diligent and focused it truly inspires me. You can do it babe! I love you! I can't wait to get home!