GO BYU!

Mike and I had such a fun time this Saturday. We took a break from school and went to the BYU Basketball game. This was another first for us. I didn't think I would have as much fun as I did, but it was so much fun. I think I am addicted to live sports :). Although I can't stand people booing the other team, I have to say that towards the end I got into rooting for BYU and screaming for them to WIN! It was such a good game. Although BYU lost, they scored 81 points and with .6 seconds to go New Mexico won by two. The game was close the entire time which made it that more intense. I am excited to go to more games in the future—definitely better than watching on TV.

GO COUGARS!!!! We hope they win the championships.

New DTUT Line: Mod Hair Accessories

I was finally able to have a few free minutes to put up pictures of my new line: Mod Hair Accessories. You can check them out on my business blog: http://www.dtut-cuffs.blogspot.com/. All of the information is there regarding cost, shipping, etc. Pictures are posted under the blog posting. Hope you enjoy! I have loved making them and wearing them! Here is a sneak peak:

The Greatest Day Ever! Mike's Favorites!

Amanda decided to surprise me with an early Valentines Day gift. It was actually a special day--that's right a WHOLE day, devoted to ME! I felt so special! Amanda woke me up around 7 a.m. on Friday and handed me a hand crafted envelope with a red painted heart and a number 1 on it. I rubbed my eyes and sat up a little bit as I opened the envelope. Inside the envelope it said I was to receive a full body massage. What a treat! I Then received an amazing full body massage! Ahhh it felt so good!
We then got ready and Amanda handed me another hand crafted envelope with a red painted heart and a number 2 on it. Inside the envelope it said we were going to one of my favorite breakfast places, Blue Plate Diner. YUM! We drove into Salt Lake and had breakfast. I got chicken fried steak, eggs and hashbrowns and Amanda got a Spinach and Avocado omelet. Then came card number 3. Inside the envelope it said we were going to one of my favorite places to shop, Nordstrom Rack. We went and picked out a really cool white button up shirt. It's always fun to get new clothes! I was feeling so SPOILED and the day wasn't even half way over! Card number 4 said we were going to get one of my favorite treats--CHOCOLATES. Amanda was so thoughtful when she came up with this day! I told her a few months back how much I loved the chocolates from Cummings Candy in Salt Lake and she remembered and took me there. We got a box full of carmel-nut chocolates, (my favorite) and a chocolate strawberry. The day could have ended here and I would have been totally pleased but NOPE...the cards keep coming! Card number 5 said it was time for something sexy--one of my favorite fantasies! I can't go into any detail on this part of the day...let's just say it was AMAZING! :) We then took a nap. After our nap I got to open card number 6. Inside the card it said we were going to get one of my favorite treats--frozen Yogurt. YUM! We went to Hello Yogurt and got some yummy yogurt piled high with toppings! We took a short break for a doctors appointment Amanda had to go to and then it was time for card number 7. Time for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants--RIB CITY! We went and enjoyed a FABULOUS dinner--the best ribs in the world! By the end of dinner I was feeling like a KING! I was so satisfied! It had been the best day of my life. I was wondering if there were going to be anymore cards...I mean I definitely didn't need anything else..I had been spoiled ROTTEN...but I wondered... And out came the final card, another hand crafted card with a painted heart and then it said & 8 meaning this was the final card. I opened it up and it said we were going to see Valentines Day the movie...another one of my favorite things to do. We went and saw Valentines Day and it turned out to be really good. I would recommend it to all the romantic comedy lovers out there.

So it turned out to be the BEST day of my life! I loved every minute of the day! Amanda put so much time and effort into planning and executing the day--Thanks Babe!! You are the BEST! We have some pictures that you can check out! It was so fun! I will always remember this special day. I can't say enough about how special it really was! I feel so spoiled!

On Sunday we went into Salt Lake and stayed over night at the Peery Hotel. It's a really cool little hotel right in the middle of Downtown SLC. We took a carriage ride through the city and then enjoyed a tasty dinner at Macaroni Grill. It was a very romantic evening. We got to share some great quality time together. Thanks Amanda for being so fun and wonderful. Monday we went to breakfast at Einsteins and then went home and hung out together and enjoyed our last day before school started again. That night we ordered pizza and watched The Bachelor. So much fun! It was the best 4 day weekend EVER!

Valentines Day Weekend

Valentines 2010 - photo slideshow

Laser Your Neighbor

So Yesterday Amanda and I got the chance to spend most of the day together. We went to the gym. We came home and got ready. We went on some errands. All the while we were having fun and stimulating conversation about things Amanda has been learning in her Psychology class. We were really enjoying one another's company.
After our errands we decided to go grab some dinner at Goodwood BBQ. It's right by the University Mall and we always drive by it so we figured we would try it out. Since finding the most amazing ribs in the world via Rib City, we have been trying to find ribs that match or are better. We both got baby back ribs. I got a full rack and when they brought it out I realized it could have fed us both. The portion was huge! I got the potato salad for my side and it was super delicious--probably the best potato salad I have ever had. YUM! Anyway, the ribs were really good...BUT not as good as Rib City's. I don't know if we'll ever be able to find better...
We came home and watched "Love Happens". We liked it. Wasn't the greatest movie ever but it was entertaining and enjoyable.
One of our errands was to get Nika some food and while we were in Pet Smart we picked up a laser toy for her. It's a little red mouse with a red laser that shoots out of it's mouth. It's just like a laser pointer but in the shape of a mouse. Nika liked it but I think Amanda and I liked it more. We took it back to 8th grade and were pointing it up our noses, in our eyes and all over the house being silly. I got the idea to point it out our window and to my surprise it shot all the way across the street! Wow! We were super impressed! Who would have thought a cat laser would shoot 200 feet across the street. We noticed that our neighbors across the street had some lights on in their upstairs bedrooms and so we thought it would be funny to point it into their window. You should have seen us. We shut off all our lights and cracked our patio door open and were on the floor sending our beam of red laser into their room onto their wall. It was hilarious! We felt so sneaky and mischievous. Two little girls came to the window and were trying to find out where the red beam was coming from. We rolled away from the opening of the door and whispered to each other, "Do you think they can see us?" haha... It was so funny! Then the girls would leave and we would shine the laser in their window and move it around on their wall until they came back to the window. We were laughing and whispering back and forth what we would tell people if they asked us about it at church the next day--or what we would tell the police if they came knocking on our door! Amanda-"Our neighbors are going to think we are creeps if they find out!" Mike- "They can't see us". Amanda-"They totally can! If someone at church asks us about it we'll just tell them our cat was outside and we were playing with her and it must have shot into their window." It was so funny! We decided to see how far it could shoot and we shot it at least 500 feet down the street into another neighbors window. They turned off their lights almost right after we shot the laser into their window--we thought for sure we were busted!
So for a night we acted like teenagers and created some mischief in our neighborhood. I decided I wanted to buy a higher powered laser and so I went on EBAY and bought a green laser for $8.88. Can't wait till it comes! On the shipping description it said, "ship so fast".....the seller was from Hong Kong. Anyhow that was our saturday night. We were going to build a fort in the living room--but decided that we would do it next week. Until our next adventure!

Hallelujah

Ever since I watched the Hope for Haiti Relief I fell in love with the rendition of this song. Chris Botti's rendition has always been my favorite but this moves to #1!

Your Making My Dreams Come True

Mike reminded me today, which made me smile, of one of our favorite parts of the movie 500 Days of Summer. Check it out! I love it! Every time I hear this song now I smile! This is right after he hooked up with the girl of his dreams. So funny because it totally depicts reality—when you fall in love you just want to stroll down the street with a high school band and DANCE! :) Love, what a wonderful thing!

Oh, you might want to pause our music so you get the full affect :)

Addictions

Things Mike and I have been addicted to lately:

Shark Tank—holy friz we are going to be on that show one day, we are racking our brains!

Rib City—I think we have eaten there about 6 times

Watching Movies—I think we can go down in history as the top movie viewers, we LOVE Red Box. Seriously after studying my brains out all day, everyday, there is NOTHING I love better than relaxing with my babe and a good flick on the weekend.

Skinny Cow sandwich ice cream—only 140 cal each! and so yummy!

Snuggling and talking before we go to bed.

More TV favs: American Idol, The Bachelor, Modern Family, The Office, and Deal or No Deal (another show we want to go on).

Taebo (well we were doing it for weeks in a row TOGETHER, but that recently died down) :).

Nika is addicted to her feather toy and HAS to have it with her whenever she follows us up stairs to bed.

Frozen Yogurt—holy friz, can you get enough? Froyo, Hello Yogurt, Red Mango, Alpine Junction. . . I think Utah was once noted as consuming the most ice cream out of any state.

Speaking of ice cream, I LOVE twist cones—McDonalds or JCW's YUM!

I have been addicted to carmel apples lately—such a good dessert!

Lately I have been addicted to Ellen, I watch her while I work out at the gym, she cracks me up.

Fondue at home. There is this yummy swiss cheese you can get at the store and it is so good with "everything" french bread—YUM!

I have, for some strange reason, also been addicted to celery with ranch dressing—YUM!

Lately I have been addicted to making all my snazzy, stinkin cute hair accessories!

And because Mike is coming home in minutes—I am going to be addicted to MIKE!!

Are all addictions bad??? :)

Nika

Two weeks ago Nika got her claws out. It was sad to see her roaming around the house for four days in these little yellow booties. I felt bad having to take them out but she was scratching up our $4000 leather couch pretty bad and it was time. It was crazy trying to take them off of her, she was in so much pain, and they were pretty bloody. Little trooper; she got through it and is fully recovered.

Thanks to Andrews dad who did the surgery and even ran a free x-ray for us to check on a condition we were concerned about. He is so nice!!

Mike has been in California over the weekend. He went down with Jay to try and get some pre-season sales. It is amazing how in just a few days you can start missing the love of your life; realizing how empty life would be without them. I am so thankful for his hard work and dedication in supporting our little family (yes Nika included) :). Thankfully he misses me or I am afraid he would never come back, he loves California so much! Who knows maybe we will opt to move there this fall instead of Washington :). If it wasn't so darn expensive we probably would!!!!

UpDATE

It is hard when you are both in school full time to keep up with a blog. To be honest there isn't much going on in our lives other than school. Mike is enrolled in two classes: a math class, and a U.S. Government and Politics class. I am enrolled in Swedish (ugh), my Senior Course which is Bible as Literature, an Evolutionary Psychology class, and an American Lit class. Although school is a serious pain in my butt, I love learning new things. I am thrilled to have this be my last semester! The only thing that terrifies me is thinking about I am going to do with my life once this chapter is closed.

I have so many things I want to do: work in politics (as a speech writer), write for a magazine, travel and help those in less fortunate circumstances, keep up with my DTUT business and make it actually flourish, write a book (which I actually might envelop myself in this summer), and keep learning :). WHO KNOWS!! Turning 30 this year makes me reflect on a new decade of my life and all of the things I want to start taking an ACTIVE approach in accomplishing. I know, I know, I have already accomplished and experienced much in my life to date, but there is so much more to do, see, explore, and be apart of! It is an exciting adventure!

Speaking of my DTUT business, I am in the process of adding a new line of hair accessories. They are so stinkin cute! I am using a combination of fabrics and ribbons, but the main line is going to be a vintage look. Mike and I were browsing through the shops at Thanksgiving Point, and I just happened to be wearing one and I had people coming up to me and complimenting me on it, asking me where I bought it, etc. One of the employees gave me a business card and told me to bring them into the store to show the buyers because she thought they would be interested in selling them! Kind of exciting! I obviously don't have an incredible amount of time right now, so we shall see. I will post them soon on DTUT, maybe a few here, and if any of you want one just let me know :).

That's it for now. Oh new favorite movie we rented and watched last night: 500 days of Summer!! There are, of course like all movies, some iffy parts, BUT all in all I LOVE IT!!! It is kind of like my other favorite: Elizabethtown in that it's a little quirky but so funny and so adorable and so REAL!! And it has become my new favorite soundtrack. Check some of the tunes out listed on my playlist. Love you all!!

Last Week

Last week of RELAXATION! I can't believe I start my last semester tomorrow! Crazy! I am happy to report I did great last semester—pulled 2 A's and 2'A-'s!!! I don't know how I did it but it truly was a satisfying moment for me! It was one of the hardest semesters and not only did I make it through, I learned so many profound things!

This week was perfect—eventful yet relaxing. We had Mikes family over to play games and eat dinner at our home on Tuesday, which was a blast! On Wednesday Mike and I went to lunch and then I finally used my spa certificate he gave me LAST Christmas, and went and got a facial and a massage; both were amazing! I needed that pampering session after getting through this crazy semester. The massage was so good that I booked Mike with my masseuse the next day, which he loved!

New Years Eve we went out to dinner and went to the movie Invictus, which truly has to be one of my all time favorites; so incredibly inspiring!! Then we watched the ball drop in my favorite city in the world—NYC!!!

Dave, my bro, came into town to go boarding this weekend and Mike was fortunate to go with him. I was happy they could spend some one on one time and get to know each other since we don't get to see Dave that much. They both have such similar personalities so it was easy for them to hit it off. They had a blast boarding together; Mike taught him how to do a 360 and he nearly landed it! Then when they were finished, Dave came down and we met up with Donovan and Mindi and had dinner at one of our favorite places to eat: RIB CITY! YUM! Seriously the best ribs!!! It was so much fun being together and catching up with everyone.

We came back to our place after dinner and I was able to share with Dave some of the things I learned over the semester and to have some good conversations about some deep questions I had been having since. I am so grateful for him and his listening ear, his comments, his advice, and for being someone I can relate too. I honestly feel like out of everyone in my family we are the most alike just with the way we think about things. It was nice, as well, to have someone that knows what I am going through me tell me to be proud of and embrace my accomplishments, especially when it comes to working so hard towards attaining my degree, and to be confident in my intellectual abilities. Although he did mention, after listening to all of my deep inquisitiveness, that he can see how I don't relate to 95% of girls and don't really relate on the same level as most of the LDS "community," he encouraged me to be confident in who I am and the way I am. "You are very unique, not a lot of a people think the way you do," he said, and he encouraged me to find a venue where I could interact with people that I can talk to on a deeper more philosophical level. I know there is a part of me that needs that kind of fulfillment in my life and I wish I had taken more opportunities to get involved with programs at BYU that offered such venues.

I am so grateful for Dave. He truly means so much to me. He is the reason why I decided to pursue an education. I remember when I went to his graduation, seeing him stand there on that BYU platform and being overcome with pride and emotion for being the first graduate in our family. I remember saying to myself at that moment, "that will be me one day, no matter what I have to do, I will get my degree." I used to keep his graduation picture on my mirror my first few years of college to inspire me to keep working even though half the time I wanted to give up and felt so defeated. And even though it has taken me 10 years to do it, being set back by so many obstacles, stupid decisions, pain, defeat, trial, and hard work, I will accomplish that goal in 4 months! Dave said something so important to me, he said that no one can take that feeling away from me—standing there in my cap and gown knowing I worked so hard to get something that 90% of the population in the world either never has the opportunity of achieving or can't make it through it, is something to be proud of and embrace. I love my bro! I love my family so much! They have been such an amazing support in my life!

Oh I chopped my hair on Saturday! Thanks Tracy! I love love love it! It is the shortest it has ever been but it is just want I wanted—super sleek, kind of wild, and sexy!

Oh and one more thing: MIke got called to the nursery with me!!! :) So now we really have the perfect form of birth control! :) HAHA

Christmas Week

Christmas 2009 - photo slideshow

Christmas Week

It has been such an enjoyable break for Mike and I. We have spent so much time just relaxing, getting projects done, and spending quality time together and with family.

Break down of the week's events:

Monday— we seriously did nothing, just relaxed, oh and I was super sick.

Tuesday—I was feeling better and wanted to get out and do something active so we first went to my favorite places to eat: Einstein Bagels for breakfast, and then went and played arcades and miniature golf.

Wed—we went tubing with Mikes family which was so much fun. We sandwiched on top of each other and made some pretty good trains with everyone :). I ended up banging my elbow on the ice pretty hard when I sandwiched on top of Mike on our last run, and it swelled up pretty good and now it is black, blue, and yellow, and hurts every time I hit it on something :).

Thursday, Christmas Eve—we went over to Mikes families house and had a wonderful breakfast, socialized, tied fleece blankets for the homeless and took them to the shelter, and then Mike and I helped Jeff pick out a really cute gift for his girlfriend :). We came home and made chili and cornbread and opened our Christmas pjs, watched National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and laughed our heads off.

Friday, Christmas Day—we had a lazy, wonderful morning. We made crepes for breakfast, opened our stockings and our gifts. Mike got me three really cool pairs of jeans, a super cute shirt with different languages on it, two necklaces I wanted, some black boots, two long sleeve thermals, a sweater, mac makeup brushes, and coupons for a full body massage and other things. I got him two pairs of boots, socks, gloves, a v-neck t-shirt, a hat, and chocolates. Nika freaked out about her stocking. We got her tuna—her fav, which she chowed— and these two toys that she went crazy over; it really was the cutest, funniest thing to see how much fun she had with them. We then headed up to SLC to have lunch at aunt Jills with all the cousins/extended family. We then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and going to the movie Sherlock Holmes, which was actually pretty good.

Saturday—we were so pooped out from all the festivities so we just relaxed, spent the morning working out and having a spa day. We set up the office for foot baths, the bedroom for massages and the living room for working out/stretching. It was so much fun! Then we went and exchanged some of the gifts we got each other, and went out for ice cream at JCW's and came home and watched a movie.

Sunday, OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY!!! It was such a wonderful anniversary spent together doing intimate things—reading letters we had each written to each other (Mike's made me cry), making a huge fondue meal with cheese and bread, broth with steak, chicken and veges, and yummy chocolate fondue with nilla wafers, strawberries and bananas. We also enjoyed the top piece of our wedding cake which was actually really yummy a year later. We took a nice nap after church, and enjoyed other intimate moments together :). Oh and Mike got me the most gorgeous pink roses I have ever seen! Thanks babe! I love you so much!!! And look forward to spending many more anniversaries with you!!

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas time again! Can you believe it? We just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We wish we could spend time with everyone! It seems hard to keep in touch--with everyone living here and there, so we decided to make a video with hopes of allowing everyone to catch a glimpse into our life. Some parts of the video are sequels to segments of our wedding video and the Christmas Jingle at the end is mainly for Amanda's family, so if it doesn't make sense, don't worry about it.

We have decided to send out a video every year at Christmas time...making it a Moncur tradition. The video will document our life over the past year with pictures, video clips and some skits. We hope it makes you laugh! We love you all!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

P.S. If you didn't get a video and would like one just let us know.