AN ARIZONA THANKSGIVING

So much to be thankful for. We had a really good time and are so grateful for family and friends we were able to spend time with.

This week will be such a good week! Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week. I get to spend the rest of the week at the DMV, selling furniture, getting rid of clothes, going to doctors appointments, going to the dentist, writing sister missionary friends, putting up the tree, going to the gym, attending a going away party thrown by D's awesome friends, and best of all Derek's birthday on Saturday! So excited!

Love,

me

It's finally here!

I can finally listen to Christmas music without people telling me I'm crazy! Woohoo!

I've decided Thanksgiving in Arizona is mostly cool...

except for that awkward moment when...

You're get asked if you're pregnant

You're dad talks about why he is grateful for each of his kids during the extended family thank-you-mony and when he gets to me he says...well, you all know Amanda, and she isn't the quietest person, we definitely know when she's around, but we're sure glad she found Derek. Derek's so great for Amanda. (Something to that effect. Ouch perhaps? He was being funny. And later said that I'm happy and funny. Saved himself. :p) I actually wasn't there. We had run off to another family party, but I got to hear about it after. Lovely.

You are told, "Oh you have horse hair like your mom." News to me!

I can take it. It makes for some good laughs, so it's ok. Overall it's been so great! I really love Arizona. So many memories here...Tomorrow is our last day. It's gone by WAY too fast. I have so much to be grateful for and love this time of year that reminds me of those many things in my life that keep me going day to day. I am especially grateful for Derek. I know you've heard that a million times :) He is so good to me. I hope you have all had a great Thanksgiving!

xoxo and many gobbles,

Mandy

Happy Sabbath Day

Good Morning!

Currently, Derek is running to the store to buy 4 large tomatoes to save our soup we are making for a big family dinner. He is always a meal saver. Last night as I pre-measured and chopped and cooked everything to be able to throw it all in today, Derek read Deception Point to me. It was a good night.

Nannying is keeping me busy. I put so much pressure on myself to be a super-nanny all the time by crafting, singing, dancing, playing never ending games and going on field trip after field trip, BUT one day last week I couldn't do it. I didn't have the energy. I couldn't keep trying to feed one baby a bottle right on schedule as the other runs through the house yelling, "Come on Mana! Watch! Hey! Watch!" and as he doesn't get as much attention as he would like, he tips basketball hoops over and throws wipes through the house to make me put the baby down to stop him. Well it didn't work. I ignored him, and eventually he came and sat by me with his "baby" and burped and changed his poops as I did the same with baby Aria. But after 2 minutes, it started up again...

So the super nanny amanda gave in, turned on the TV for the first time ever, and fed him as many organic cheddar bunnies as he wanted until I could finish with Aria.

It felt good to sit to feed the baby, and I'm sure Aria liked it too.

Zander turned 2! We went bowling and got lunch. He was a wild bowler running and sliding down the isle as the ball is practically rolling backwards it's going so slow.

Best day of nannying yet! Derek came over for the afternoon.

All who think Derek is a cute daddy say I!

I!

Hope you all have a relaxing Sunday.

We are going to a family party for sunday. I am making a yummy Italian sausage, tortellini, veggie soup, then will run to interpret a ward, then speedy drive to our family. We truly hardly have a chance to breathe, ever, but life is good to us and we are enjoying our busy lives. Hope you are too.

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for my sweet husband and his patience with me and my crazy schedule. He supports me in all that I am doing and never complains. He keeps me laughing and having fun. He makes me think about deep things. He makes me want to be a better person. He makes me feel beautiful. He supports my weaknesses. I love him dearly. I am also especially grateful for family as we are nearing leaving. Now that leaving is for real, family is seeming more and more important to me. I want to cherish the time that we have with them before that time becomes more and more rare.

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

xoxo

Hip Hip Hizzah!

Hey-o!

Amanda here. So you know that post a couple down about being frustrated about being late to everything etc? Well we made a schedule. We have been quite successful at following it, and it feels SOOO good! I have been much happier. I haven't been 2 minutes late to work, I've actually been a few minutes early. We've made it to the gym every night. I've eaten breakfast and gotten ready! It's totally awesome. There is a time for everything. Might seem a bit OCD, but it works.

Well I am currently supposed to be in bed reading, snuggling, trying to fall asleep, etc. Lights out is in 20 minutes. So we do get a little bit off. Apparently we both get quite distracted designing things. I just finished designing something for fun, and I just looked over and derek is designing something. Haha.

Sound like we have nothing going on in our lives and too much spare time? Well we don't. But we do, BECAUSE of our schedule! It's wicked guys. I highly recommend giving it a try.

I still need to upload pics from my phone to show you so many things that have been going on.

Pic from Thanksgiving in AZ 3 years ago

We're going to AZ for Thanksgiving and I'm SO excited! I have a sweet husband who is ready to face the never ending family parties and never leaving when we say we will.

And a little goodbye treat.

Lagoon in like 2004.

So many awkward but special things about this picture.

TV shows

Greetings!

Due to the subtle hint of Amanda's last post implying that it is my turn to do a blog post... Surprise! Here I am.

We are currently into 3 TV shows and favorite moment from recent episodes (if you haven't seen these shows recently, you might be a bit out of the loop):

Modern Family – "Whoa, where did Cam go?"

The Office – "Your mother's dead."

The Biggest Loser – "[You lost a lot of weight]"

So we have these three favorite TV shows. We watch them every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights on Hulu. However, there is still a void in our lives left from 24 and Prison Break. Any suggestions on filling this void? Please don't answer "Lost," we've tried like 4 times. Or what are some other shows that you guys like to watch? Or if there are other quotes from the above shows, please share!

Love you guys!

D

PS. Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

-Buddha

Making it happen...

Some of the most simple things are the most difficult.

For example:

Waking up when my alarm goes off

Getting out of bed in the morning

Writing letters to sister missionary friends

Etc.

Ya get the gist? It's really tough. I was saying the other day to Derek that I think the best way to make sure to be on time to things especially when we have kids is to get ready to go first, then relax. Then I thought, how in the world is that supposed to happen when we can't even do that kidless?! It's so hard!

We are always late. I hate it. This is a habit that is a must break.

Some other habits I'd like to break are snacking when bored, cracking knuckles and neck, chewing on the inside of my lip when I'm really focused, and signing everywhere I go. It seems so normal to me to fingerspell or sign everything I see, but when I imagine watching someone else do it, I'd think they have a serious problem! Tonight I realized it really is a bad habit when Derek told me that I do it in my sleep. Yikes. And the cracking of the bones deal, the temple is THE worst! I hate needing to crack so bad when it is silent, and when you do it, EVERYONE looks at you in disgust. It's so embarrassing.

Ok, I'm not sure how I got on this tangent, but what I'm trying to say is...we really need to learn to be on time to things, even if it's not that important we be there on time. I get so frustrated with myself when I don't start dinner till 8 PM, wait days to put away laundry, leave dishes overnight, and haven't been on time to church in over a year, etc. I feel so much better when I just get things done. So why when all these things make us feel so great, are they so hard?! Crazy thing it is.

I have many new pictures I need to upload, but here is one for now.

Here is half of Zander's Halloween costume. He was a dragon. It was darling. We went to the Witch fest at Gardner Village one day.

I'm dying to see Elf Fest. At least I think that's what it is.

Have any of you seen it yet?

Toodle Pip for now!

It's coming...

We seriously need to do a blogpost. I have attempted starting like 12 thousand times but get distracted doing something else every time.

And it's too late to do a real post.

So it'll have to wait.

Also, I think it's Derek's turn to post. Ahem.

Is anyone else out there listening to Christmas music?

I am. I love it. But just started getting scared that Christmas wouldn't be as exciting if I dragged it out so long. So I'm not listening as much.

Also, we started packing. CURAZY!

Shout out to my dear friend Jess who is leaving on a mission Wednesday. Love her.

Nighty night bloggers. Muah!

Thoughts on the big move

New York is coming up quick. A lot quicker than I imagined. A month and half until we are outta here. When we decided we were moving, it felt like we had "plenty of time". Now there can't be enough time. So much to do, so little time.

What I'm most excited about

Living in a big city

The diversity

The people

Riding the subways

Working in a big city

Exploring with Derek

Visitors

What I'm most nervous about

Living in a big city

The diversity

The people

Riding the subways

Working in a big city

Finding a job

Finding a place to live

Being able to pay for everything

We have no clue where we are going to live, how we're going to pay for it all, and what day to make our last day in Utah.

We've always dreamed of being truly out on our own. I don't think it will be much different than things are now because we really only hang out with each other and don't go elsewhere when we are bugging each other. So I think we've got a pretty good foundation there.

My biggest concern is getting a job.

Will I work in a fancy building like this?

Could I get hired on at 99 cent dreams?

Could I be a Central Park tour guide?

(No, this was not photoshopped. This is what you get when D takes a picture)

Could I clean the streets from Occupy Wall Street?

I guess only time will tell.

If ya'll have connections, I'd be more than happy to hear. Thanks so much for your love, support, and excitement for us and our big adventure to the NYC. It means the world.

xoxo,

Mandy

Are we really married?

Sometimes I still can't believe I'm married to Derek Walker.

This is a picture of us at his homecoming.

I'm surprised there aren't butterflies flying all over the place, cause I had em' bad.

I couldn't talk without saying something dumb, choking on my own spit, or mumbling all my words. All I could do was laugh (it's a nervous habit).

We sat and looked at scrapbooks finding pictures of us when we were younger. It was so good. I get butterflies just thinking about it.

For those who don't know it, I should post our story sometime. You know how people don't believe in "the one"? Well I think they're all wrong. I'm sure we could all be happy with others, but nothing could be as right as this.

Supersizin' it up

We watched THIS

while eating THIS.

We were totally crackin' ourselves up.

We recommend it completely, just because it's fun and funny.

Warning: you may dry heave a time or two throughout.

You know those things...

There are some things in life that bring back such fresh, such strong emotions and memories.

Some of these things are good, some bad.

These things can be smells, songs, people, places, etc.

For the most part, I love these things.

Yesterday, I didn't like those things. It seems that even though it's over and done, it really gets me worked up. Why is that, and how can I get past it? I want to figure it out.

The other night we raked our tails off. That statement would probably be literal if we had tails.

Needless to say, 27 bags of leaves later, our backs were achin'.

Things brings me to my next topic.

MANAGING

I think I speak for both of us when I say we wouldn't take back the experience we have had, but that we wouldn't do it again....maybe unless it were some killer deal.

Our favorite/un-favorite memories:

Waking up to flooding on our one year anniversary.

Being woken up in the middle of the night multiple times...usually for flooding.

Being woken up at 5 AM and told to unclog someones toilet...(uh, how about do it yourself?)

Being woken up by a drunk guy who just got out of prison and was looking for his son.

Hundreds of lockouts.

Many broken into cars.

The 70 year old owner with a toupee and gold chains hitting on me. Barf.

The doorbell always ringing at the most inconvenient times (getting in or out of the shower, going to the bathroom, etc.)

The Winner: Finding a 22 year old tenant dead in his apartment while Derek was out of town.

Which brings me to our next topic... date night!

I'm sure we'll get scolded, but scold me, not Derek. It's my doing. I can't wait for Christmas.

We sipped caramel hot chocolate, painted an ornament representing UTA Trax to remember SLC living, while listening to Christmas music! Mmmmmm, i love it. I think it's allowed if there is snow on the ground and it's below freezing outside!

Last thing I promise. I just want you to know you're ALWAYS invited for dinner. Why? Because we love you. Why else? Because I have a SERIOUS problem. I cook for a family of twelve, for a family of two. Also, if this picture makes you sick to your stomach, it shouldn't. It looks gross and fatty in this picture, but it was actually quite healthy and delicious! Healthier than normal lasagna that is.

Pesto, spinach, chicken lasagna.

This may be the last time for a while that we make this. It costs half of our monthly salary. Not really. But it cost us like 15 bucks to make! Yikes. But it was a yummy 15 bucks.

Happy Sabbath! We're off to visit some favorite cousins. :)

The Culture of Relaxation, etc.

Greetings from Derek

I hope everyone is doing great. Today has been a monumental day for mankind. My sweet Amanda is learning how to relax. We haven't had a down day for a long long time. So today we decided to do nothing. Amanda woke up at 9:52 this morning! Holy cow dude! We watched a couple episodes of Superhumans, A Life in a Day (highly recommended), The Office, and a documentary on the Rainman. It has been great.


Recently I have been fascinated with the concept of culture. How it affects everything we do. How it makes so many things that we do feel natural. Are these things really natural or is it merely an illusion that culture casts upon us?

Here are some quotes for you all to ponder. They inspire me greatly.

Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
- Mark Twain

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
- Confucius

To go against the dominant thinking of your friends,
of most of the people you see every day,
is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.
- Theodore H. White

And all these quotes lead to this one. The moral of the story is...

This above all, to thine own self be true.
- William Shakespeare

I encourage everyone (if you want) to ponder who you truly are. Do you think how you do because that's REALLY who you are? Or do you think like that because that's how culture tells you to? Same with your actions. Of course our culture can shape who we are, but it doesn't have to shape ALL of who we are. I don't know about you, but I like thinking about these things. You may not notice much at first, but keep thinking about it, you'll learn some things about yourself... and your culture.

Love
Derek

Wild Hearts

So inspirational. This used to be my favorite movie. Our love has been rekindled. If you have never seen "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken", it's a must. That says a lot coming from me. I'm not crazy about many movies. I wouldn't call it a chick flick. It's very inspiring and makes me feel like I never wanna quit. I feel I can do anything.

"You are a human being and there are limitations. You can't run away from it. You can't hide from it and you can't change it. It simply is."

"I found my destiny. Not in far off places but within myself."

Did that convince you? Jk. But she is my hero. I LOVE that girl.

Have you seen this movie?

We had a SPOOKY Halloween dinner and movie last night. Pictures to come of our night.

xoxo - Mandy