the proof is in the pudding

we have been on a real pudding kick around here lately.  the other night as we were enjoying some, za husband surprised me with a blob of pudding on my arm.

i was so close to flinging a giant spoonful of pudding at his face, but then i knew i'd be cleaning up a big mess if i started that so i didn't.

instead i dared him to eat devil's food pudding on his taco.

he totally did it and said hmm not bad.

and since i couldn't bear to not put a blob of pudding on him i finally retaliated in a very mild way.

it's no secret that we enjoy dessert around here. 

although sometimes dessert comes in other forms like...

this delicious sunset that we gobbled up.

or...

this perfect monsoon storm we devoured.

the penguin with magic powers

so as we were sitting around relaxing and talking after work we suddenly realized that exactly a year ago we got engaged.  today was such a busy day that it had slipped both of our minds until a few minutes ago.  every moment of 7/29/09 is still insanely vivid in my memory.  i remember every little detail, so i kindly replayed the whole thing for za husband since his memory isn't quite as fantastic as mine.  we laughed about our story.  although my memory isn't so great all the time because i can't remember if i've discussed our engagement on here before, so forgive me if this is a repeat. 
ours is not the traditional ultra mushy engagement story but i love it for what it is.  i'll certianly never forget that will proposed from a hospital bed.  i'll never forget all the things he said to me and how he insisted on calling my mom right away.  i won't forget the conversation he had with her and how we all felt so happy.  i won't forget that he was so close to throwing up from all of the medication and on the inside i was having a panic attack because i don't handle vomit very well but i tried to stay strong and be supportive.  i won't forget how i was so worried about him every time a machine beeped and i kept telling him to breath because i thought he was forgetting. 
i think it took about 3 days for the engagement reality to set in for me.  when will first asked me to marry him i told him he had way too many drugs in his system therefore he was too loaded to really ask me such a thing.  he insisted that wasn't the case but for about 3 days after him asking i kept checking to see if he still meant it or if it was just a drug induced crazy idea.  well obviously he meant it and i'm so happy he did.
the next day we went ring shopping since he wasn't prepared with a ring because this wasn't a planned moment for him at all.  when i asked him why he randomly popped the question this was his answer...."i just had an epiphany when i woke up from surgery."  while ring shopping i found this adorable necklace

i wanted it so bad but after seeing the price tag and knowing he had something more important to buy like an engagement ring i kind of let the penguin seem less important.  several months later i saw the penguin and i was still in love, luckily he remembered this when my birthday came up several months later and now i own this gem.  the penguin reminds me of ring shopping and being so happy about our engagement so it's definitely a special thing for me.  i actually wore the necklace today....obviously not planned since i forgot the significance of this date.  earlier today my friend bridget commented on how cute my penguin necklace is and i told her it has magic powers.  she asked what kind of powers and since she had just been saying how tired she was i told her if she kissed it, it would give her tons of energy plus a million dollars for good measure.  don't ask me how i come up with these kinds of things.  they just pop into my head.  i'm not quite sure she believed me but i'd like to continue believing that it's true.

i am so incredibly happy that a year ago za husband had such a wonderful epiphany.  we are the best team i can think of.  together we have magic powers just like the penguin.

except ours are magic powers of love.

thoughtful

who doesn't love a random present?  

i know i certainly do.

so you can imagine my excitement when my sister rita ( in this picture with my brother brandon)

brought me back a that little old fashioned iron from her recent vacation. 

she said she just thought of me for some reason when she saw it and i'm sure glad she did. 

me, being the curious type that i am, asked her if she brought back a present for anyone else.

she totally didn't. 

i was the only one because i'm extra special.  haha.

thanks rita!  i love it!

treasure map

since we don't have a giant flat screen tv to hang in the empty spot in our living room i painted a giant painting to go there.  after discussing ideas with za husband we opted for a treasure map....not just any treasure map, but a special one with certain significance in every way.

green pokey

so for maybe the second time in a year and a half we used the gps on my phone.  this time to navigate around flagstaff.

that thing is a miracle.  it helped us easily find every place we wanted to stop at.  before getting on the road to head home we decided ice cream was in order.  i typed in ice cream flagstaff az, and it pulled up all of the places that served the sweet stuff in a ten mile radius.  we opted for dairy queen. 

since i was an expert at reading off directions that this amazing thing told us all day, i figured this time would be just as simple as all the others.  wrong.  i think i was in my own little world and exhausted from a day of shopping because i sent us on a wild goose chase for about 15 minutes. 

the map looked a little something like this and our conversation went a little bit like this...

s---ok...follow this road for 2.1 miles and turn left on this road.

w---what is next. 

s---umm according to the map this flashing blue dot is saying we are a little off track.  turn around.

w---(turns around) ok well which road do i need to turn on.

s---i'm not sure.  the directions aren't so clear.  hold on.

s---nevermind we are back on track according to the blue dot.  keep going. 

w---(looking at me like he's a little confused) which street do i need to turn on. 

s---wait we are off track again.  maybe you should pull over and take a look at this. 

w---(pulls over and looks at the phone)

s---we need to be where this green pokey is.  see it.

w--- green pokey???.....oh i love you.  you are funny.

w---(starts driving again) 

s---(looking at the phone with a puzzled expression)

w---according to your phone it should be right here on this corner.  they must have closed down or something. 

s and w----(completely bummed)

after another minute of driving and choosing a different place to get ice cream it suddenly makes sense. 

s---wait a minute.  green means go.  red means stop.  i was wrong, we aren't supposed to be at the green pokey.  we should be at the red pokey. 

w---(laughing) oh love bug.

we finally got on track and enjoyed a delicious treat from dairy queen. 

this magic tool didn't fail us all day.  for some reason i got the green and red pokeys mixed up on this last stop.  don't judge me.....i was tired.

oh and while on this trip i may have discovered and purchased the cutest shirt on the planet...

my owl obsession is out of control....or if you ask my 5 year old cousin mia...."skye is infected with owls"  

she sometimes gets the word infected and obsessed mixed up which is so cute.

as will said yesterday when i found this shirt...."owl be damned."

i cracked up.   

one more thing.....just because i can't seem to end this post i'm going to add a preview picture of some art i've been working on.  i should be mean and not show this on here and make brandi wait to see it but i can't wait.  i still have a couple tiny things to finish on it.  this is for my lovely friend brandi.  she went with a scottie dog theme for their nursery.  she is going to wait to see if this baby is a boy or a girl.  i think she just wanted to torture me and the billion other people who are curious to know about this bundle of joy.  at least the wait will be over soon.  i tried to go as gender neutral as possible. enjoy....

 

whichever way the wind blows us

we decided it was time to get out of town this weekend so off to flagstaff we went.

it was great that the entire trip was just left to what sounded good at the moment.  no big plans just spontaneous fun. 

first stop...the deer farm.  i had been before but za husband hadn't.  we enjoyed it even if the deer tried to maul us for the cups of food we were carrying.  my dress almost got eaten by the deer several times.  i had slobber/food marks on my dress for the rest of the day but no biggie.  finally after the deer exposed me to the world a few times will decided it was a good idea that i walk right in front of him so he could protect me from them.

 

sometimes goats like to have conversations like this.

will wanted to pet this peacock but i wouldn't allow it.  i could just see the peacock getting all violent on us.

i think pigs are so cute. 

toasting our cups of deer food.

this mini horse totally had a crush on za husband. 

i think my dress was being chewed on in this picture.

after the deer farm we made a few stops in flagstaff like michaels....the one planned place of the day.

i was in desperate need of some art supplies.

here's proof that we spent a pretty penny at that place. 

i kept getting nervous knowing as i threw each thing in the cart the balance was increasing but za husband being the amazing guy he is kept reassuring me that these items were necessities and i should get whatever i want or need.

that was a really fun shopping experience.

i drove most of the way home so will could enjoy his ice cream and have a break. 

usually he drives whenever we go anywhere and i'm playing with my phone or taking a billion pictures.  he thought it was pretty neat to be in charge of the camera and he snapped pictures most of the way home.  here is the proof....

yes, i wear glasses on ocassion.  probably should wear them more often but i'm a rebel so i usually just have them on when we see a movie or if i'm driving long distance.

 

the moon was coming up big, bright, and beautiful as we left flagstaff.

we had such a magical day together.  i can't wait to go on another adventure.  we were wondering why we don't do these sorts of things more often, so maybe it can be part of our routine from now on.

coming up next is a story about why i shouldn't be in charge of using the gps on my phone.

pot o' gold

you think you know what is at the end of a rainbow right?  a pot of gold.  well i have news for you.....
it's more like a pot o' dumpsters according to what i saw this evening.

i couldn't resist capturing this shot as we were going on a date tonight.

not to sound like a downer, but today was a dumpster kind of day.

i'm so glad i have a wonderful mom and husband because they make things less dumpstery.

i love how instead of having a nervous breakdown in a bad situation, like i do, za husband makes up a silly song about it and sings his creations as we are driving around.  we laugh.  when you are faced with a challenge it's way better to just laugh about it right?