To Ombre Or Not...

Ever heard of Ombre? Me either. Not until Pinterest, of course.
Want to hear a funny story?

Over the past few months I have been getting major compliments on my hair because of this "ombre" look that I am pulling off. Little does everyone know....

My ombre, via LAZINESS. 

How did this happen? Well, I had dyed my whole head a solid golden brown November 2011.

It's kind of fun, huh? I really liked it, but once the roots came it, they came fast and so I touched up once and then said the next time I would go solid again. (PS-This hair style literally eliminated the "Where are you from? Mexico?" comments that I received often at BYU-I. Who do people think they are to ask me whatever the heck they want? I actually looked more Caucasian with this hair style. My goodness.)

Moving on...when I got in town to get, you know, married, I had to dye it. We dyed it a solid dark brown which of course looked black. It's a curse and a blessing. Sometimes I love my hair dark and other times I don't. So for the wedding, my hair looked fairly close to my natural hair color.

Only about 2 months later, it started fading, fast. It started out as nasty looking roots (hence wearing a pony-tail every.day.) and then faded into this ombre. The husband loves it, so it grew on me. It's only been the last few months, almost a year later, that I have been getting major compliments. Don't get me wrong, it's great. I am "in style" without having to dish the out big bucks to get it done but I feel conflicted on whether to keep it.

Ombre is in style, right?

Source: thebeautygirl.com via Carey on Pinterest

Source: greenweddingshoes.com via Anna on Pinterest

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Brooke on Pinterest

Source: coolspotters.com via Meg on Pinterest

So, now what? I need help.



Do I grow is out and then cut it off and get to my natural color? (This would take 2 years.) 


Keep it and color it once it looks really awkward.


Dye a solid brown.


Dye a solid deep red? (The husband doesn't love this idea.) 






TONS OF OPTIONS! See my hair board on Pinterest to see what I like and then help me.

Us, lately...

Here are some pictures from the last week! (If you follow me on instagram, this post may be boring.)

Nephi has been putting '"r's" on "lady" (his nickname for me) and "love", lately. It's pretty fun. Occasionally, Nephi gets super lovey dovey and it's really funny. Note: "If your a bird, I'm a bird." (We watched 'The Notebook' last week.)

Had my good friend J come over to help us make some fried chicken! (I've never made it before so I was clueless and scared of a grease fire). This is a pretzel chicken recipe I found on Pinterest! It turned out AMAZING! Dip it in sweet 'n sour or ketchup and you will be in heaven. I even had it the next day for lunch heated up and it was just as good. 

I started journaling again last week. I have major updating to do and it reminds me of the mission so much. I would get  behind like a week and then I would just type it all up when we were at the visitor center to catch up and then glue it in. I will be doing that on a few things.

Funny story: So I started my entry as you see above with "Hi...so it's been awhile...". After I finished, I turned the page and notice I had tried to write in it again last year and it said the EXACT same thing! And the date was 2/2/11. Crazy, right? Must be the month. 

Got a little crafty. I am not a major craft person because sometimes I think it looks more tacky than creative but I like how this turned out. I brought it to my office to hang up, and I still need to do that. It was way easy. Just painted the canvas cream, went to the gym, came back and cut out these petals out of fabric swatches that I used to find my wedding colors and glued them on. I like it so much that I want to make another when we move into our new place. 

Got an official office chair! Since I have been here at work I have been using a lame conference chair. I think it was the root of my back problems I have been having and then it got progressively worse with letting Nephi crack it and then getting those massages. I actually ended up going to the chiropractor on Friday and that helped so much. He said that my ribs had moved and that my left foot was crazy out of place. So he did a lot of cracking and even Nephi was cringing watching him. Ha! It felt sooo good and he taught Nephi how to adjust me at home. So this weekend I heated it and took ibuprofen and it helped so much. I literally have zero lower back pain and foot pain but my right upper ribs are still a little sore. It comes and goes but it's not sharp and I feel so much better. I am going in on Wednesday for a follow-up appointment and I am excited. I am so grateful for modern medicine. 

We went and saw "The Vow" this week! It was really good. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have cried as much if I wasn't married. Being married made it hurt so much more but we both liked it. I even went again with some friends on Saturday and her husband admitted that he liked it! So ladies, you can convince your men because 2 tough guys I know said they liked it ;). 

Friends! We have been hanging out with different friends on the weekends. Last Sunday we had 2 couples come over to play games and I dipped some stuff in chocolate. It turned out so good! The pineapple and marshmallows were my favorite.

Can I just say that good friends are hard to find? I have had such a hard time since we have been married finding good girlfriends. You know, the one's that you can just call randomly and go do stuff,  shop, organize your house with, or vent to when you are upset. My best friend in AZ is all of those things AND MORE! I really miss my Emily! But I need to find an Emily in Idaho and it's not working. Oh well. Maybe one day. 

Yuuuum. This was the last piece of bread I ate before I gave it up. (No, I didn't give it up for lent. I gave it up for my hips.) So I have been off bread for a week! Nephi has been SO helpful! Even on Saturday I had the worst temptations: bagels at a breakfast, lunch at Great Harvest, and hamburgers for dinner. It was pretty deadly, but I resisted and I didn't feel jipped. So far, so good! 

This is my usual weekend treat and I gave it up this weekend. It was hard, but I am making progress. 

Other than all of this, we have been searching for a place to live in Idaho Falls. I work in Idaho Falls and it's about a 30 minute commute and it's killer on me and our wallets. I feel SICK when I have to fill up the tank. So basically I get sick almost 2 times a week. Blah. And gas is over $3 now. I know Obama is working reeeallly hard to lower those prices. NOT.

Anyway, Nephi mentioned as soon as I got the job that he wanted to move to Idaho Falls. I was kind of shocked but it's actually going to be better for us. Come July, Nephi will be done with school until January and then he will only have two semesters left. He can set his classes to later in the day, have an easier time finding someone to commute with, AND rent and groceries are cheaper in Idaho Falls. We hope by October to have a new car that will be more gas efficient and then we will be spending a lot less in gas when he commutes. I am sad to leave our ward and just Rexburg in general but in the end, we are going to save SO much money!

And no, we are not going to buy. I feel we are too young...and transient. Mostly transient.

Valentines Day 2012

Valentines definitely didn't turn out the way we thought it would. Let's just say, next year will be better. But, the day ended really well and that is what matters. 

After work, Nephi and I got couples massages. The girl who I usually see worked on Nephi and I had the other girl. At the time, the extra pressure I asked for seemed nice but then I am suffering from it now. I am pretty sure I am not suppose to be this sore? We left there and Nephi was feeling blissful and I felt like I had just had an intense workout and she gave me heart-burn! It wasn't the best experience and I was honestly worried. 

So today I emailed the girl to ask her if this was normal (the usual girl I go to, not the girl who worked on me) and she was said if I wasn't use to the pressure that can happen. And then she said it could be because I'm pregnant!?! Um...pretty sure that is not why. Ugh. I am bugged. Honestly, I thought she would have me come in for free and work on me for a little bit but, nope. She hardly acted like she cared. I care so much about customer service and I am kind of tempted to not go back. But of course, I am still in the heat of the moment so I won't make any decisions, yet. 

Before we went home, we thought we would stop and get some cheesy bread from Dominos because I have been wanting to try it and hey, it's v-day. We deserve it, right? However, what we thought would be a quick 10 minutes turned into 20 and I was really bugged. But it tasted pretty good so we weren't completely dissatisfied. We had it as an appetizer as we made a late dinner together. 

Like I mentioned, we had a rough start to the day so I was very surprise and happy to see the set up below when I walked in. 

Nice work Phee-Phi...

Cheesy Bread, Beef Brisket (SOOO good! I sampled it at Sam's Club the other day and I had to get it! It was expensive but it's a huge pack and will feed us a few more meals. We just stuck it in the oven for 10 minutes and it was delicious!), chocolate dip for the strawberries (We didn't end up dipping because we got some from our couples massage. Looks like we will have to use it this weekend!), and of course potatoes for mashing and some asparagus to justify the meal. It ended up being so good!

Nephi got pretty crafty. 

Those chocolates are goooone. 

The evening turned out great! Last year I was sick on Valentines Day so I guess it is a curse that something bad will happen every year, but who knows. It turned out alright and I am so grateful for my sweet, sweet, Valentine. 

PS- I try not to vent on the blog too much on the blog but I just wanted to state my opinion on this statement: 

"Don't let Valentine's Day be an excuse to not show the ones you love how much you love them and appreciate them the other 364 days a year...." 

Sorry if I offend anyone, but I hate when people say that. It's like people are trying to guilt you out for celebrating your love with others??? Who cares. Unless you hate on every holiday (which almost all were created to essentially generate revenue) then don't hate on Valentines. Whether you have a 'lover' or not, don't spoil it for those who like it. State your opinion, but don't be so self-righteous about it! (Was that hypocritical? Ha. Oh well. I had to vent a little.)

Okay--I'm done. I think. 

A Good Weekend & A New Fast

We had a good weekend relaxing and spent some good quality time as planned. On Sunday we had Nephi's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin over for dinner and had a blast! We love them and the only reason I don't say she is my Aunt is because we are like best friends. I hang out with her a lot and I love it! She is the sweetest. Nephi has such a great family.

I made this for dinner and it turned out really good. Next time I would put half the amount of milk and no butter on top. It would cut the calories a little and it wouldn't be as soggy. Oh, and I also made these and they were delicious! We were in heaven. I was craving something lemony and I saw it on Pinterest so of course I caved! They taste even better than they look and they were way easy to make.

Why we are discussing food, I am on a fast. Well, not the kind of fast you would think--a different kind. Last night, Nephi told me I wasn't allowed to listen to talk radio--aka, Glen Beck, this week.

Why am I being restricted? 

Well, last week I barely slept and kept Nephi awake past midnight a few nights talking [passionately] about politics. I also told Nephi we needed to go out and buy 72 hour kits at like midnight AND I had a dream that I got killed by a terrorist that flew a plane into a harbor. Hmmm....

Moral of the story...I need to eliminate excess stress.

                                                                                 Source: simplystacie.net via Mallory on Pinterest

Here's to my "talk-radio-fast".

The month of love...

Last night Nephi and I were talking about our Valentines plans. Of course I planned it all-too-naturally and he was blind-sided. I swear I wasn't trying to take it over but I just had the offer and I couldn't resist!

So, what are we doing?

Couples Massages

I found this lady in Rexburg who does massages for only $20! I have been to her twice and she is great. It's not like life-changing but it is just what I need to get those knots out and work on my lower back. (The hour commute and sitting at a desk all day is doing no good for my back.) When I asked Nephi if he wanted to do it he was way excited and she offered to even do it on Valentines Day! So that is what we will be doing next Tuesday. *PS-She has 2 more spots available if any of you in Rexburg are interested. 


As far as dinner afterward, I didn't want to get caught up in the rush from all the couples in Rexburg at the fancy restaurant so we are going to make a dinner at home. (Not a spelling error--there is one semi-fancy restaurant here. It's called, Applebees. Have you ever heard of it?) So that is one reason I want to stay home but another reason is because when I was at Sam's Club the other day I sampled this amazing meat they had for sale. GOURMET! It was some sort of prime rib...I don't know but ever since Christmas Eve with my brother-in-laws family, I love meat. I am really excited to feed Phee-Phi some meat and potatoes--his fav.

Then we were figuring out our plans for this weekend and Nephi just wants to stay home and relax. I joked that he was grounding me to the house and I wasn't allowed to play with anyone but I am actually really excited for a relaxing weekend. I plan on working out, cleaning, organizing, downloading and editing photos, creating a marketing plan for my dad's company, and watching movies.

And since it is February, I thought I would share a few songs throughout the month that remind me of Nephi...

This is one of our songs from our wedding. It is a gem. I love it and I could listen to it over and over again and never get sick of it!




(I would have posted the official video but it wouldn't let me embed it so I found one that would. The actual music video is weird.)

Our Utah Trip

We went to Utah this weekend and it was amazing! We went for one of my best friends baby showers and it was totally worth seeing her and her baby bump! She is the cutest pregnant girl I know and made me want a baby really bad. It was the nursery...

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures at the shower! Bummer. Well, here are some other pics from the trip!

This is Nephi extremely bugged at Utah drivers. I really can't blame him but I was laughing the whole time because this kid never gets mad and he was really upset. 

This is a Pina Colada slurpee. We were in heaven. Diet? What diet?

And breaking the diet continues...

We got to visit one of my good friends from high school, Kelsey Bang! Well, it's Kelsey Harris now. We went to Yogurtland with her and her sweet hubby and had a blast chatting. We loved it and wished we lived closer to them so we could hang out with them! Check out her cute Etsy Shop, she is SO talented!

We also got to visit Sam and her hubby! This is a picture of Nephi doing magic with their nephew.

And of course, we got to see and stay with this cute family.

We would move to Provo just to be able to hang out with them more often. We LOVE them!



It was a nice little trip besides my horrible allergies. I think I am allergic to everything--maybe even the husband. I sneezed so much and even one night couldn't sleep because of a sinus headache and I could hardly breathe! Nephi was so sweet and tried to take care of me and looked up natural solutions because I forgot my medicine and found out the krill oil helps with asthma. Who would have thought? Good thing my company seriously has the best krill oil around and I had a bottle on me. I took two of them and fell straight to sleep. Nephi said he noticed a dramatic difference in my breathing! It was crazy. So, for all you mommy's who have children with Asthma, the trick is krill oil. And especially for all you adults out there with asthma and other issues (high blood pressure, heart problems, inflammation, etc.), try it. It was so cool!

Anyway, when we got back, we went to Trista and Dave's for the Super Bowl party and had a blast! I love Nephi's extended family. They are seriously the most fun-loving people and I really feel blessed to have them so close. It really helps me cope with being away from my family.

We are blessed!

Good News & Good Husbands

Two things: Good News & Good Husbands.



1. Good News.

This baby finally came in the mail. "What, What!" -Liz Lemon

It may seems strange to think that I was stressing about it so much but I was. It's scary walking in graduation and wondering if your diploma will really come in the mail. Grades weren't the issue--it was the credits. Looking of my transcripts, I graduated with 123 credits (you need 120 minimum) and a 3.4 GPA. I have yet to meet someone (although there are probably many) graduating with so minimum of credits like me so it made me extra nervous. It makes sense though...My first semester was Fall 2006 and I went to 4 semesters before my mission and got back in 2010 and did 4 more semesters after.

Anyway, I was happy to have it and totally squealed by myself when I saw it on the counter when I got home from work.


2. Good Husbands.

At work we are going through some changes (which is normal) but made me a little nervous and I have been talking about it with Nephi. So just a few minutes ago we were chatting on gmail and I told him something that happened at work and this is what he said:

 Guymon:  Yea, you will be fine pretty lady. Just focus more on what you know you're good at, which is  A LOT and they are very lucky to have you working for them.

 Guymon:  I'm heading to chemistry. Love you lady. Have a great day. Lemme know what I can do to help you with anything. love you.

It just made me feel abnormally good and comforted. Just one of those moments where I was so grateful for him and felt like I needed to record it.


So life is good. Just working, trying to work out, and getting Nephi through his classes. Another test this week that we will need some prayers. But we are happy and healthy.