Let it snow!!...seriously.

It's snowing!!!

...FINALLY!

Snow angel.

Potty break?

...oh, guess not. Haha.

Mmm, yummy snow.

And I couldn't be more thrilled!

Bring on the winter wonderland!!

"Today's Tom Sawye"

We officially have a new member of our family!!

His name is Sawyer and yes it was inspired from the TV series Lost. He's an Australian Shepherd-mix. At this point we don't know what he's mixed with but the vet said as he gets older his traits should be more prominent. So for now, like a baby, he's just full of that puppy breath and cuteness!

See what I mean?!

We pretty much love him!

It's been really interesting having him so far. I now understand why people say getting a dog is a good step to prepare for a baby. That being said...I have NO IDEA how I'm ever going to be able to handle a baby. Haha. The first few days Matt and I both seriously doubted whether we were ready to have a dog, even though before we both really wanted one. But we decided we'd keep him for at least a week and then decide if we were ready for the challenge. I'm so glad we did =) Because once we got to know him and he got to know us...we couldn't have gotten luckier!

10 Reasons why Sawyer is awesome!

1. He's incredibly SMART!! You know how some dogs have that glazed-blank look on their face? Well Sawyer does this little head tilt that shows he's really thinking and taking in what's going on around him. You can see the wheels turning in his head. I mean he already know's "sit." And not to bite. Also, he almost has "stay" and "come" down.

2. He's potty trained! How awesome is that?! He has a litter box that he goes poop and pee in...well, that is, he goes pee in it when we get him there in time. Let it suffice, both Matt and I have been peed on! Haha. He's never gone poop anywhere but his little box but for some reason, I don't know if it's his tiny legs and the fact he doesn't lift his leg or squat like normal dogs, but it makes it very difficult to read when he needs to go...but even still we're getting it down. We know he eliminates about every 30 minutes. Talk about tiny bladder.

But that brings me to #3...

3. He knows he's only allowed on the tile in the kitchen and in the bathrooms. Yeah! To prevent any tinkle mistakes on the carpet we keep him on the tile (a lot easier to clean up.) But he knows if we're in the kitchen and walk into the living room (which is carpet) he stops right where the tile meets the carpet. And if he ever starts to get tempted we just have to say his name and he goes hopping back. Haha. And yes, I mean HOPPING.

4. He HOPS!! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. He hops just about as much as he runs.

5. He goes crazy when he gets treats. It's like caffeine or a drug to him! It use to make training difficult but we've got it down now and use all his energy for good.

6. He dances. He's so mild and sweet, I can totally bounce and swing him around and move his paws in these funny dance moves and he let's me =) In fact, sometimes I swear he's the one bouncing to the beats.

7. He has a thing for skunks. His first night with us we put a stuffed animal (the skunk from Bambi) in his pen. It was the only thing that comforted him and he snuggled with it that whole night. A few days later I found him humping it's guts out...for an hour!!

8. He's super tough. This puppy is BARELY 4.1 pounds and he's fearless. He's jumped from a 4 foot platform onto the hard tile and didn't even make a noise. I think I was more scared than he was.

9. He has speckled paws that I've fallen absolutely in love with!

10. He RARELY barks. I'm pretty sure I've only heard him bark once and that was when I was getting ready one morning. He saw his reflection in the trash can and when he pounced at it, and his reflection pounced back, it surprised him and he started barking at it. Haha. It was cute.

Isn't he a doll?? We heart him.

Apartment Life 2

And the pictures continue...

Entrance to Hallway and bedrooms.

Master Bedroom.

Other view of bedroom with our closets and master bath on the right.

After the his/her closets the master bathroom.

The hallway outside the master bedroom.

In the hallway on the left...laundry place.

Guest bathroom.

Guest bedroom.

Matt's office..and him busy at work.

And that's it! You've officially had the Orem-Bartlett residence tour. Our little sanctuary =)

Ninja's and Stuff

It's one of those nights. I'm laying in bed, next to a sleeping husband, and my brain is going 500 miles an hour. Not in a stressed or over whelmed kind of way. But more of a - is that more of a summer or fall outfit? And - detailed plans, so detailed I'm sure I'm making some of the stuff up, for Matt's birthday and my sisters Christmas present...which then makes me think, if what I'm imagining doesn't exist then why don't I invent it? And then I start thinking about how and what I would need to do to invent it...which is in itself made up because I don't know the first thing about inventing anything!

And you get the picture...

So as I was laying next to Matt, who does this weird thing when he's in a deep sleep. He smacks his mouth. Like when you eat something sticky and delicious?...yeah, like that. When we were first married it scared me because I had no idea what it was but when I realized it was him, I can't help but chuckle whenever I hear it. It's like a suckling baby or something =)

But actually...instead of suckling baby, Matt is more of a suckling war veteran. Not in the sense that he went to war or has seen horrifying things, but in the sense that if you wake him when he's in a deep sleep he reacts like he's being attacked, tortured, electrocuted...any of these work. Haha. I think it must be a Bartlett thing because according to my step mother-in-law and sister-in-law, both of their husbands do the same thing.

I don't know how to describe it other than, in the split second between me saying, "Matt, are you awake?" and touching his arm, his eyes pop open and his entire body jumps a good foot off the bed. He then whips his head around in every direction as if ninjas were doing leaps and cartwheels over his head. It's really startling because, well...last I checked, there aren't any ninjas hiding in our bedroom.

Apartment Life

Well, I've had some requests to post a video or pictures of Matt and I's new apartment and I've finally gotten on top of it.

Here are the Dwellings of the Hubs and I =)

Our Sanctuary.

This is our entry hallway.

Hallway table.

At the end of the hallway on the left, the kitchen!

Close-up of kitchen...and Santa treats jar =)

From the kitchen, the living room.

Christmas tree.

The couch view.

Christmas stockings and Nativity display! Guess who's stocking is who's? =)

Reading nook.

Balcony to the left of the living room (also connected with master bedroom.)

View from living room to kitchen.

Gingerbread man and woman's house.

And I guess blogger wont let me add any more photos to one post. Stay tuned for Apartment Life 2.

Christmas Is Coming and Matt Is Getting Fat!

Christmas is officially 18 days away!!!

But who's counting??

I've only been waiting for this time of year ALL year =)

Things have been busy as usual and as I promised I'm here to catch up and unload the happy and bad of recent events. I've debated with myself, again, about how much to share but because I am the sassy...some might say obnoxious and immature...person I am =)

I'm not going to hold back. ...names will be named.

I'm going to start with the bad because if I don't then it will be on my mind all night, verses ending with the happy, uplifting things then I can focus on those.

The Bad: My sweet, loving and precious sister has an eye for dirt bags. I think it's her giving and loving nature that makes her so appealing to these men because...obviously, people like my sister are the most easy to take advantage. And although she's been with Jose for way too long, after recent events we had a glimpse of hope. She made the brave decision to leave him. This was a huge step because she could finally have some space and time to really think and more importantly HEAL - mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Some very much needed thinking and healing. Time for her to be alone, in a healthy and nurturing environment instead of what she's been exposed to since she's been with him. Unfortunately, to me and my families dismay (at least some of us) she's back with him as of this past Friday.

Now, some of you may be thinking I'm not just obnoxious and immature, but RUDE and INAPPROPRIATE...all I have to say to those of you, what about this situation isn't rude or inappropriate? I refuse to turn my back to it and pretend it's not happening ANY LONGER!! This is me making my stand. Saying it's not right. And I don't like it. If it makes you feel better, think of this as my way of "informing" since apparently that's not bad. Information is power, so all I'm doing is empowering.

Ok. Now onto happier things!

MY BIRTHDAY!

On November 29th I turned 23 and it was pretty much perfection. And not just because Matt gave me a week long birthday full of spoiling, presents and lovin'. But because we did my absolute favorite thing...Christmas Tree Hunting!!

So we cheated a little and didn't actually cut it down ourselves but instead went to Fredrico's Christmas tree Farm and picked one out. But I must say, Fredrico's trees were Beautiful! There were tons of eligible tree's begging us to take them home, decorate and love them but I think it's safe to say we picked the most beautiful tree of all time!

It doesn't look that big but believe-you-me...as soon as we got to our apartment and tried to get it into the elevator (which is a service elevator and can comfortably fit a king size bed) we were laughing so hard! It must have looked so funny because this old couple came out of their apartment and saw us and literally stood and watched us. By the time Matt and I finally realized we had an audience the old man was giggling and said we reminded him of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. And who doesn't love that Christmas classic!

..so we took it as a compliment.

Once we got it inside our apartment. We got busy taking out all the Christmas decorations and started tackling putting the lights on the tree...which was SO much more difficult that it sounds!

After making 2 Walmart trips and 9 strands of lights and only being 2/3rds done with the tree...we had to decide whether we wanted Christmas or Christmas lights.

Haha. J.K.

Finally after 11 strands of lights (each strand was 87 feet!) and about 2 days of dedicated tree wrapping our tree was finished!! And boy was it worth it!

Fun story, just as I put the star on top I noticed a small spider drop RIGHT BY MY HAND. Being the baby I am when it comes to spiders I screamed bloody murder and Matt came running to my rescue. Our conversation follows:

Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!

Matt: *confused and panicked* What?! What?!?!

Me: SPIDERRRRR!!!

Matt: Where??

Me: AAAAAAAH!! KILL IT!!!!!

Matt: Where? I don't see it?

Me: THERE!!! KILL IT!!!!

During all of this, my Mom sits calmly on the couch...not sure exactly what she's doing...Haha.

Matt: *Hands me a paper towel to crush it* I still don't see it...

I was hyperventilating by this point because my attempt at squishing it failed and as I slowly opened the paper towel the spider crawled out and towards my hand.

Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!! *Throws paper towel on the ground towards Matt and climbs higher up the ladder*

Matt: *still confused* Is it dead??

Me: *Pointing at the carpet at what appears to be a little black dot* NO! It's alive!! KILL IT!!

Finally Matt smashed it with his finger. After this we had our first "spider discussion." I think I almost gave him a heart attack and we now have a Spider Plan. Haha.

But even though our tree had a spider, I still love it! It's beautiful to the eyes.

And...

This is the wonderful beginning of our first Christmas being married!! My only complaint...Where has all the snow gone?? Come on, Orem! Don't let me down!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

The Scary.

Well friends,

Thanksgiving has come and gone and here I find myself a year older, a little fatter and completely loving life. So much has happened in so little time! Let's see where shall I start? The good, the bad or the scary?...the scary? Ok the scary it is!

Well, do you remember back in Elementary school, Middle school (even a few times in High School) they'd do those practice fire alarms? The bell starts ringing, it's loud and ugly and you can't help but feel scared and panicked - even though you know it's just a practice - and your teacher is telling you "Ok. Don't panic. Leave your back pack and all your stuff here...we need to form a line and meet outside." Then as soon as your outside they tell you the importance of a fire escape plan for home as well. I remember going home, kind of traumatized, thinking "What if my house caught on fire?!?!" and I'd start making a plan and a list to make sure my family was safe and I'd have all my treasures.

I was not prepared.

It was just another regular day for Matt and I, probably the week before Thanksgiving. My mom, sister and my nephews decided to come over at the last minute and we were right in the middle of making Macaroni and Cheese when that same blaring wail filled the apartment. At first we all froze, looking at each other confused, then this robotic woman's voice came onto the speakers (the same speakers Matt and I have looked at several times and wondered what they were for) and said, "The fire alarm has been activated. Please evacuate the building." And repeated it over and over.

After some debate about what to do, it had never happened before, Matt and I decided to investigate the building to see what we could see. In the hallway everything seemed normal. A few others had come out into the hall to see what was going on, all confused as the robotic voice echoed off the bricks walls. When suddenly the biggest and loudest ventilators I'd ever seen started sucking all the air out of the building. At that moment my heart stopped and I knew...this is not a drill!!

We ran back into our apartment and told everyone to stop what they were doing, grab their coat and shoes...we needed to leave! A few of my nephews started to cry, which just made the already chaotic situation even more scary. But as I herd everyone to the door I flashed back to those elementary days where we practiced the drill and I thought, "What about my treasures?!?"

There's an entrance to our building, kind of like a lobby, but more like one of those separator rooms. Like when you walk into the bank and have to go through those double doors?...yeah, that but much bigger. As everyone sat in that "lobby" area anxiously, nervously waiting to see flames or smoke or for someone to jump out and say, "HA! You got punked!" the fire alarms and sirens got louder and louder and it wasn't long before firemen were running up the stairs and into the building.

I thought back to when I was standing in my apartment, thinking of my treasures, as scared as I was to lose everything Matt and I had worked so hard for...an apartment full of memories and goals...I knew there wasn't anything but what was in my arms that wasn't replaceable. The ONLY thing I hesitated about grabbing were the scriptures on my nightstand. My scriptures. So even though more police and firetrucks were showing up, and my imagination was going wild thinking of our apartment going up flames...I was ok with it because I knew I had everything right there I ever needed. My Matthew and my family =)

Ok, but seriously...if it hadn't ended up being a false alarm, it would have SUCKED.

Yeah, eventually the firemen came back down and even though they wouldn't let us go into our apartment yet, it was clear there was no fire. So thank you whoever you are that pulled the fire alarm. For a lesson of remembering my priorities and that worldly possessions are just as important as you make them.

Over Load

Have you ever had SO much going on in your life that you feel like you need to sit down and write but when you do...nothing comes? It's like your mind is this filing cabinet that's so full of papers, reminders and THINGS that when you go to organize it you have to stare at it for 15 minutes before coming up with a plan of attack. My mind is that filing cabinet. So full of recent events that when I go to write...I need my plan of attack.

First, let me get some frustration off my chest...

I have certain people in my life that...oh, how do I say this? I wish weren't. Unfortunately for me, these certain people are in my life and I can't do anything about it. Usually if there's someone you don't like you can at least get rid of them (as terrible as that sounds), alas...I cannot. So to these certain people. I DO NOT like you. I actually despise you. If I could...I would love to expose and show your true colors to the world because although you might have some deceived, not me.

Ok. Now that I've got that out of my system. *Sighs* I try to not let people or things get to me but sometimes it's too much. And believe me if I could only say what these people did...but instead I'll just blow my steam and not let it get to me.

Besides all the frustrating things (retarded would actually be more accurate) people are doing, life is still grand! My goal to have the best fall has been successful so far. Matt and I have put up our Christmas lights outside on our balcony and every time we turn them on it sends a tingle down my spine. Something that must have been instilled in me since I was a little girl...Christmas means magic. I can't wait to start wrapping presents and putting them under the Christmas tree. I can't wait to start baking Christmas cookies and go Christmas caroling. I can't wait to see all the beautiful Christmas lights decorating temple square! Basically, we're just loving all the excitement this time of year brings.

Speaking of this time of year, I'm definitely getting that end of semester itch. You know that itch that you can almost scratch but you know you have just ONE MORE paper to write...just one more test. This semester is so close to being done and I couldn't be more thrilled because next semester is going to be a lot of fun! (If I ever get moved from the wait list that is.) Oh how I love the registering system UVU has...NOT. Regardless, the classes I am registered for will still be really good. I just have one more thing to do! And that is call University of Washington about their nursing program. It was ranked the #1 Nursing graduate school in the US so it's my first choice. Matt and I are going to plan a trip out there so I can meet with them and check out Seattle, see how we like the area. I am so excited! I've heard only amazing things about Seattle. Matt is a little worried about the rainy weather (he comes from California and can't get enough sun) but it's only a few years for school so he's excited for me too =)

Also my "new" hair style is almost complete!! Yeah, I know! I mentioned getting it done Oct 29th and here it is Nov 14th...the thing is my hair was so dark before it's going to take a few dyes for it to be the shade I want so there's a hint. It's really not anything crazy, just different and new! I'm really excited. AND! I feel so lucky because my favorite hair stylist who is seriously SO amazing when it comes to my hair has quit, she just had a baby, but will still be doing my hair from her home! My own personal hair stylist...can't get better than that! But my hair should be complete the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

As for up coming events! Matt's family will be coming in for Thanksgiving! I'm so excited!! It's always a lot of fun to have the Bartlett's together. It usually consists of the men talking business, telling jokes, and crazy stories about past years while the women do the usual...shopping, girl talk, movies, eating, etc. Haha. It's fun! And then the Monday after Thanksgiving is my birthday. I'll be turning 23...which is totally weird and insane. 23 sounds so old to me but I guess from this point on it always will. Haha. I doubt there's a chance 24 will feel much younger than 23 and that 25 will seem younger than 24...I'm officially being welcomed into adulthood...or so my age keeps trying to tell me =)

I will be forever young.

Forever free.

Forever me.

Life is exciting! Always keeps me guessing and on my toes. Until the next time I need to clean out my "filing cabinet."

Glenna May - Out.

Black Friday

Awe, November 1st...

It's peaceful at the beginning of a new month isn't it? This morning I woke up with a nice kiss from my hunky hubby, looked outside and saw the beautiful leaves and the sun shining. I felt peace...

And then suddenly....wait...

PANIC.

A gut wrenching feeling telling me I'd forgotten something very important.

I tried to push the feeling away as I put some laundry away and tidied up a little. But from the corner of my eye, my laptop kept catching my attention...calling to me. At first I thought, blogger? Nah. I pushed it from my mind again. But sure enough a few minutes later, my laptop called to me again. Still confused I thought, facebook? Please!

Finally, after I distracted myself from the feeling as long as I could I went to my laptop.

At first I browsed the Internet haphazardly, trying to think what on Earth was this panic feeling I had...something I needed to do on the internet...something important. When finally, it hit me.

REGISTRATION FOR 2011 SPRING SEMESTER!!!

The Black Friday for students.

Aaaaah. My blood pressure spiked as I quickly fumbled to the UVU website. It was almost 11:00AM, how could I have forgotten?!?! People would have stayed up past midnight last night JUST to register as soon as possible...and me? Asleep in my bed. Well, I had to go fast to make up for lost time.

Imagining all the others who made the same mistake I did, running to their laptops...signing up for the same classes I was, taking my seat...

But what? What's happening? Sure enough the website starts lagging, affirmation of my worst fear. UVU students going crazy trying to add classes as fast as possible...it was only a matter of time before it hit overload. Finally, after a frozen page for 10 minutes I sigh from defeat and sadly close out of the web browser.

I was in shock.

What just happened?

*Sighs* Next time UVU...next time.