AARON AND JOHANNA

Don't you wish your husband was __________?

2012-02-27T23:06:00.001-07:00

I post Aaron's work all of the time, but I'm not sure if that really counts as bragging, or just sharing. I think my time to brag is way overdue! Since Aaron's talents lay in the art world they're much easier to display and explain. There are many others of us out there who may not seem like they can do anything spectacular (yes, I put myself in that category) but we have intangible talents. That being said, I'll move on to the subject of this post...

Aaron is an artist. What kind of an artist? Well... he can draw, paint, design, photograph, film, play trumpet, and sing. Whew. And not only can he just do these things, he does each of them extraordinarily well. And when I think about things that are most important to me in life, I'm very very grateful that my husband has these particular talents.

When the time comes for us to start having kids, I know they will be some of the most photographed and recorded kids out there. Thanks to Aaron, these won't just be blurry snap shots or hours of boring footage, they will be beautiful and emotional pieces of art that we will cherish forever. I feel very lucky that I will always have these great works around to remind me of him and our life together.

When you think about it, Aaron is leaving bits and pieces of himself around for me and our future posterity. How cool is it going to be when our great grand kids can see videos, photos, and drawings that Aaron made? And hear him sing and play trumpet on stage for a whole bunch of fans? REALLY COOL!

My reflections upon a few particular works inspired this post...

This video shows Aaron's mind and the artistic way he views the world he loves.

Pounders in Black and White from Lance and Aaron on Vimeo.

This video shows Aaron's voice. And both of us question why we didn't just go get his hair cut ;)

And I heard this song on my iPod today and thought, MAN, who wouldn't want to invite us to their wedding? Aaron made this for his friend as a gift, from the perspective of a guest, and it's so sweet.

Tim and Laci's reception from my POV from Lance and Aaron on Vimeo.

There are times when I think, why can't he just have a normal job? Something predictable?And that brings me to the title of this post. We'll always wish that someone was or wasn't what they are. But why? What's the point? You need to love the good things about people. And I certainly love the good things about Aaron.

K, I'm done... for now :)

Lovey Dovey

2012-02-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of heart shaped stuff. There... I said it! I made two Valentine's desserts this year. I had to stagger them so we wouldn't be too overwhelmed ;)

First came the pink rice crispies

Then came red velvet whoopie pies with sweet cream cheese filling

I have to say that both desserts were a hit with me, and more importantly, Aaron too.

Aaron outdid himself and surprised me with flowers when I woke up. He said the roses are for romance and the daisies are for friendship. So sweet. Funny thing is that the roses died really quick but the daisies still look great... ;)

He also made me a delicious steak and baked potato dinner (not pictured).

Even though this holiday mostly exists for card, floral, and chocolate companies to make money it's still fun to celebrate with your loved ones!

We went to the beach together and had some fun with the GoPro and GoPole. Aaron put together a lovey dovey video that I can't get enough of. The song is by our friend Jake (Cubworld). He sang this song during our first dance at our wedding :)

bright pink and sparkle pedicure for Valentine's

And I can't forget to mention that this was my first Valentine's ever with the sun involved. It's crazy to see that my skin actually has color in February!

at our pool

Alooooha!

"Which of course means a whale's..."

2012-02-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Pardon the Anchorman quote, but that's always what comes to mind when I think about SAN DIEGO.

LDS San Diego Temple

We flew up to San Diego in January to see Aaron's friends/band members get married! And what a good looking couple they are. We enjoyed spending time with them on their special day by taking their wedding photos :)

One of my favorites

It was a perfect day for a wedding too

Some of the boys

Super cute backyard reception

Us!

And you better believe that we got some time in to get carne asada fries and stop by H&M for a little shopping!


Can't find this anywhere else... it's amazing

Oh, and our hotel was pretty cool too, right downtown. Thanks Ed & Rachel!

Experiences like these really make me appreciate my flight benefits. We probably wouldn't have been able to go to CA for a weekend with out it, or fly first class ;)

His and Hers

2012-02-12T13:17:00.002-07:00

Aaron's made a couple more videos with his GoPro. The two below outline some of our favorite activities. Mine: stand up paddle boarding. His: getting barreled.

Disclaimer: I was thoroughly enjoying myself despite the sun induced squinting ;)

Isn't my husband cute??
Disclaimer: I'm not in this one because it was filmed when I was at work.

Now if we could only do this every day...

Oahu Montage

2012-01-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

We were also able to steal away my past co-worker and friend Diana and her husband Steven for a week. They arrived on Christmas and stayed through New Years. Aaron happened to take some video during some of our activities and put together a video:

We went to a bunch of beaches and ate a lot of delicious Asian food and treats! (Having visitors is the best excuse to eat out)

I was also able to convince Diana & Steven that Rummikub really is an awesome game... we even got Aaron to play a couple times :)

On a side note, New Years was a little different this year. In my head it felt like the 4th of July... because it was warm, we were grilling outside, and everyone was shooting off fireworks. It was a fun and different way to bring in 2012. I'm excited to see what this year brings!

Lava Rocks and Lavender

2012-01-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I have been encouraging our friends and family to come visit us these past few months. And believe it or not, people have lives and can't just go on vacation on short notice. We did manage to steal a few people away. My mom told me that she wanted to come the second week of December, when I noticed that Aaron's birthday was during her trip I had a crazy idea -- should we surprise Aaron? We figured, why not!

So mom and I secretly planned her trip. From then on I had to call our other friends while I wasn't around Aaron and tell them not to come that week, haha. I told Aaron I was supposed to meet with a friend and went to the airport to pick up my mom (so sneaky). When I came back and Aaron saw us walking toward him his jaw literally dropped, and then he smiled and hugged my mom for a few minutes. To give you some background, Aaron's a huge family guy. And he hit it off with my entire family from the moment he first met them back in 2008. He had been asking when my mom would come visit (because he knew that she would want to), and I just told him...I don't know, I guess she's busy. I'm guessing not all wives have the luxury of surprising their husbands with a trip from their mom... and for that to be a happy thing... but it most certainly was for us!

Parents of airline employees have access to unlimited stand-by travel, so we figured we'd take advantage of it. Not only did we go around to different parts of Oahu that my mom hadn't been to yet, we also went to see the volcano on the big island of Hawaii, and we went to a lavender field in Maui.

Hanauma Bay - Oahu snorkel spot

In front of the Lava Tube on the Big Island

It was drizzling for half the time (not cold... just wet)

The Lavender field in Maui is up on a hill

Gorgeous views

We did a bunch of other stuff too. I signed up my mom and I for a Bellanca flight. When we got there I saw the CEO of Hawaiian Airlines... yeah... he was the pilot for the plane rides that day! It's a hobby of his. Ha! AND he let my mom fly the plane!!!!! All of the photo/video from that is on her camera, it's definitely something I'll never forget. We also got some pineapple ice cream at the Dole plantation and went to Pipeline beach right after the masters competition. We went out to a nice dinner for Aaron (and Adam's) birthday and made Christmas cookies. It was a very fun visit and it, like most good things, sadly came to an end. We're excited for Mom to come back, and for her to bring more family members with her!

Rewind: Halloween in Waikiki

2012-01-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

I posted this video multiple times. But that's just because every one will enjoy it! ...and my husband spent 3 sleepless nights to create it. We went out for two nights (Saturday before Halloween and the actual Halloween night on Monday). Aaron had two of buddies come out and shoot video too, so he went through 3 times the footage! I love the fast paced video with all of the crazy costumes. Check it out:

It was suuuuuper packed on Halloween! See if you can spot the completely naked man (with cardboard and tape over his... yeah)

Aaron didn't dress up b/c he was filming... lame excuse. Here are my two outfits (make-up by my husband!)

Dia de los Muertos Skull + Cool sequin jacket

"Cat" with simple makeup

Ears/Tail were added...not pictured.

Our First Christmas Card

2012-01-02T02:34:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I have now celebrated...4 Christmases together. Aaron came to my parent's house in Maryland for Christmas for the past 3 years. Even though we were married last Christmas we didn't have time to make a Christmas card. This year, especially with our big move, I thought it'd be fun to print one out. Plus Aaron and I were long overdue for another photo together... we don't have too many since the wedding. Anyway, hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2012!

Japan - the details.

2011-12-23T01:34:00.004-07:00

Most of you reading this have probably already seen the many photos Aaron and I uploaded to Facebook, so I'll go ahead and use this post for what's it's meant for - the details.

It just so happened that I had off Thanksgiving day and the day after. I knew I was up to a 4 day weekend so I went ahead and took off the Monday too. That gave me 5 whole days to make a trip. Aaron has been wanting to go back to Japan for years. He served as a missionary there from '01-'03 and hadn't been back. Since Hawaiian flies to Japan we figured we should go! Why wait? One of Aaron's friends lives in Tokyo, so we gave him a call to see if we'd be able to hang out. He told us that he was already planning on taking off of work that week, so it'd be a perfect time to visit! We were sooo excited. (I later found out that his birthday was during that week).

I became obsessed with checking the flight loads. There's an online system that tells me how many open seats there are on every Hawaiian flight. Employees fly standby, so your chances of getting on the flight (for free) depend on whether or not there are open seats. I could also view the standby list, which showed me where I fell according to priority (employees board first by seniority, then family, then buddy passes of active employees, then retired employees/buddy passes). Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday there weren't too many people traveling to Japan. Aaron and I got on the flight, and sat next to each other (which isn't always the case when you fly standby - since you're last to board the plane). Hawaiian is one of the few airlines that still gives you pillows and blankets (and not just for international travel).

We got to Japan at night. Aaron's friend Tim picked us up in his cool race car. We got in the opposite side of the car and went down the opposite side of the street (like most of the world). The next morning we went out determined to tour Tokyo for all it's worth. It wasn't really cold... but colder than Hawaii (high 50s). We got to the train station and Aaron bought me a drink from the vending machine (which are on every corner). He handed me the can and I almost dropped it - it was hot! Not super hot, but it was very warm on cold hands, especially when you aren't expecting it. I'm telling you... warm hot chocolate cans from vending machines would do awesome in DC and NYC... why are they just in Japan??? I have no idea. But I freaking loved it!! And, to top it off, Japanese phones can be scanned at vending machines to purchase stuff. Pretty cool.

The train was an experience of its own. There are lots of little ads everywhere, mostly of girls with dyed light brown hair, fake light brown contacts, and fake upper and lower lashes holding the product near their face - either smiling or winking. It was pretty funny. The rings that are attached to the ceiling on the train are quite small - they're good for Japanese hands but really wouldn't work too well in America.

We got off the train and went straight to Asakusa - a Japanese temple. We walked by the street vendors admiring the different types of nick-knacks and snacks. We came upon the incense and the shrines. Really cool to see in person in the heart of Tokyo.

We walked around Tokyo and I noticed that some cars, mostly taxis, had their side view mirrors of their cars on the hoods of the car! So funky looking. We went to the imperial palace and saw some cool gardens. There were some gorgeous lime and lemon colored leaves on the trees. We even saw some dignitaries arrive at the palace in a horse and carriage - now that's not something you see every day.

We ate an amazing birthday dinner with Tim and his family (wife+3 kids). We had Shabu Shabu - thinly sliced meat cooked on the table in hot broth. The pot was split into 2 sections, one for the broth and one was a miso flavor for vegetables. We also got odon noodles to cook. We had an all-you-can-eat special and loved every bite!!!!!!! Seriously can't get that taste/quality anywhere else. The booth was really cool too, it was private and the table was set into the floor w/space for your legs. The kids loved feeding the fish that were swimming under the clear floor near the entrance. It was a super cool place that we'd definitely go back to.

Now this is getting really long... so I'm going to start listing off some other stuff we did/I noticed.

There are french bakeries in Japan, which seems odd. But the pastries are more Japanese than French.. but there's definitely the influence.
Most homes have heated toilet seats- awesome if you live in a cold place. Also, they have two different types of flushes depending on... well you know.
Tim and his family have a Honda "Odyssey," however they should have a completely different name for it because it's not an American Honda Odyssey at all! Its like a sedan in size, but it looks super sporty. The back seats can fold down into a trunk - its really cool b/c you can have the extra seats or space when you want it. The cars in Japan are totally different from the ones in America.
When you pay for something you put your money/card into a small dish. You don't hand it directly to the cashier. And when they hand you something it is always with two hands, and of course they bow.
FYI Tim and his wife Hikari both speak English. Tim is actually from Australia and Hikari is from Japan. Their kids are ages 7?, 4?, and 2? (I think). The oldest one could speak a little bit of English, and understood the fact that I didn't know Japanese. The younger two, forget it! They were talking up a storm to me in Japanese, and I just smiled and nodded. Haha. Despite the language barrier the kids and I got along great. You can play with kids without speaking :) The funny thing was, that since I didn't understand what they were saying, somehow I though they were saying intelligent things. But when the others translated for me I figured out that I wasn't missing too much by not understanding since it was just jibber jabber anyway. Hah. The English words the little ones would say - me, no, bye, and good morning!
We went to an onsen - pretty much a public Japanese bath. A place with a bunch of different types of hot tubs and a space to shower and everything. It was a memorable cultural experience... I'll leave it at that.

We went to the best ramen noodle house in Japan (well technically it's rated the #2 one in all of Japan). It was freaking awesome! Made from scratch with so much flavor. Seriously it tasted nothing like the ramen noodles you by for 20 cents here. Soooo good. Definitely going back there.

All the girls were wearing tights/leggings under shorts. That was the fashion thing. Along with bows, lots of bows...

After you buy something they will tape your bag shut so nothing falls out.

If you are feeling sick in Japan you wear a hospital mask in public. Period.

I discovered Japanglish! It's what happens when you translate Japanese literally into English. And it's pretty hilarious. (i.e. Honey Wedding)

We got purikura! It's a high tech photobooth that can fit a lot of people, it prints a bunch of images you can exchange with friends. And I guess the people there go kinda crazy and add tons of stamps and stuff to the images before they get them printed. There was this weird setting that enlarged our eyes and smoothed our skin. It was fun to do w/everyone :)

You know, we did more stuff, but this was the stuff that stuck out most in my mind. We had 4 whole days there. We are so grateful for Tim & Hikari's generous hospitality. It was an awesome trip. And we're already planning on going back!

P.S. For bragging rights I just have to say that we got to sit in first class on our way back and we paid a total of $86 for two round trip tickets to Japan ;)

Private Airplane Ride - 1920s model!

2011-11-13T21:54:00.001-07:00

Working for Hawaiian Airlines has its perks. Besides free travel, employees can sign up for a free hour long flight on the plane that started Hawaiian Airlines. It was called Inter-Island Airways at the time, and they flew a 1920s Bellanca plane. It's fully restored and flies weekly.

It was just me, Aaron, and the pilot. Aaron sat in the back to balance out the weight. The engine had a little pump that you had to push to prime the engine before it would start!

We were only going about 100 mph

Did you know you can't drive around the entire island of Oahu? Kaena point is the reason why. Not many people get to see this view:

Kaena Point

Honestly we were a little scared when the plane ride began... the plane is so small! But after a few minutes we got used to it and just marveled at the gorgeous views.

That's all for now. Aloha!!

We Made It!

2011-09-21T22:39:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the week and a half long delay... but we made it to Hawaii! You might have seen some of these updates on my Facebook, but here's a little summary of what we've done so far...

We left Salt Lake on September 11th, which felt weird. And ironically the security didn't make Aaron take his external hard drives out of his backpack like they usually do.

We made it to Honolulu around 5:30 pm, Aaron's mom and sister picked us up from the airport. We went to his sister's house and her husband made the whole group (11 adults) some yummy alfredo pasta. We took the picture below after:

From left to right: Ammon (youngest Eskaran - 16), Jerrol (married Diane), Diane (Aaron's younger sister), Dad (aka Kawika), Mom (aka Terry), Jessie Ahuna (David's fiance), David (Aaron's younger brother), Kristen (married Adam), Baby Noah, Adam (Aaron's twin), Me, Aaron, Ava!

The next day we were off to pick up our car! We then came to our new apartment to get the keys. Then... off to the beach! We went to Aaron's beloved Pounders:

We played in the ocean (Diane, Adam, and Ammon too). It was fun :)

On Tuesday we got the new title/registration/plates for the car, followed by some shopping for household items.

Wednesday was my first day at work!!

Today actually marked my first completed work at Hawaiian Airlines. I'm really starting to understand the position now (account executive over the sky miles partners). I'm really happy and excited about it!

Pretty much every night we've done something with someone in the family. We have a lot of catching up to do! I'll have to get a little better about taking more interesting photos...

Our household items that we shipped should arrive next week! Yay! We're almost moved in :)

Last Sale Item...

2011-09-04T23:06:00.008-06:00

Weber "little smokey" grill (from Crate&Barrel)
$25

Honolulu Address!

2011-09-02T11:24:00.000-06:00

Yay!!! I'm so excited that we have a place to live in Hawaii. Things are starting to come together... movers are coming next week, our car will be in Honolulu by the time we get there, we have a place to live, and our big stuff will show up a week or two later.

Rewind: 1 Year Wedding Anniversary

2011-08-30T13:28:00.000-06:00

Aaron and I celebrated our first year of marriage on August 13th. Time is such a funny thing... sometimes you count the seconds and other times you feel like you missed an entire year! I know the first year of marriage can be very difficult for some couples, but I am happy to report that ours wasn't! I'm not one to be too lovey dovey with my writing, but I have to say that I'm very blessed to have Aaron as my husband, he is hardworking, sweet, and supportive.

It was fun to have our anniversary on a Saturday - we got to spend the whole day together. The highlight was going to Ruth's Chris steak house for dinner in Salt Lake. Here are some pictures from my phone:

They surprised us with red rose petals and an anniversary sign .

Newlyweds (can we still say that after a year?)

My steak! mmmmmmm
Aaron agrees: This was the best steak he's ever had.

Really good mashed potatoes... a must!

Chocolate writing just warms my heart, haha.

And in typical Johanna fashion, our entire meal was about 1/2 off due to a coupon I snagged from travelzoo :)

Moving to Hawaii: details.

2011-08-25T13:30:00.000-06:00

Moving is a very bittersweet concept to Aaron and I. We have some great friends in Utah who will be greatly missed (understatement!).

Let me give you curious folks some background on how this decision came to fruition.

A few months ago I was talking to Aaron about how we'd live in Hawaii sometime in the future. I told him that I wouldn't want to live in Hawaii and never see my family because it'd be too expensive for either party to pay for travel every year. I have to work for an airline, I thought. That led me to hawaiianairlines.com, I figured their corporate office was in Honolulu, Hawaii, and I was right! I started looking at job openings and thought I saw some I might be qualified for.

I started filling out an application on their website, but realized that this huge company (4000+) probably wouldn't pay much attention to a random girl living in Utah who may not be the most qualified applicant. I needed an in!!

I searched "Hawaiian Airlines" on Linkedin - seriously, if you don't use this website you should - and found that one of Aaron's friends is friends w/a guy who now works for Hawaiian. I got introduced via Linkedin! This guy was gracious enough to pass my resume around to people in the marketing department. One of his friends graciously called me and told me about a position she thought I'd be good in. She passed my resume to her boss.

I did a couple of phone interviews in June w/Hawaiian. I was super excited! But I didn't hear back from them in July, so I figured they had filled the position. I called and left a few messages asking for an update with no response. A few days later my future boss calls me and asks if I can fill out some answers to a quiz, that basically asks how I would handle certain situations at work. I sent my answers in the next day, and then had another phone interview with my boss' boss.

The next thing I knew they wanted to FLY ME TO HAWAII for an on-site interview!!!!! That kicked things up a few notches. I was so excited to have a free flight to Hawaii for the weekend. I read a 400 page book about interviewing and slept about 3 hours before having 4 different interviews within 24 hours of leaving Salt Lake. I had a verbal offer that day and a written one on Monday morning. I accepted it on Tuesday and I'll start work on September 14th!!! I'll be working as an account executive over Hawaiian Airlines' partners for their skymiles rewards program - which I could have an entire post about.

WOAH!

We are excited to live around Aaron's family, enjoy the most beautiful scenery we could ever imagine, FLY FOR FREE/CHEAP, and most of all -- go to the beach!

(and spend time with this little monster)

We're sad to leave our friends and family members. We have siblings, study abroad friends, college friends, mission friends, friends from back home, coworkers, band members, and just cool people who we love here in Utah. We will miss them dearly and encourage all of them to visit!! (And stay tuned for good-bye party details).

Choreographed Song and Dance at Liz's Wedding

2011-07-24T23:09:00.000-06:00

Liz's friends surprised her big time at her reception! Though she's trying to hide it, Liz was definitely shedding some tears from feeling all this love. It makes me smile just to watch it. Enjoy!

Batter Blaster

2011-07-24T09:42:00.003-06:00

It was Liz's 20th bday yesterday so we went to hang out with her and Steve yesterday! It was good to see them (for the first time since their wedding since they just got back from their honeymoon!)

Since we were in Salt Lake we went to Whole Foods and picked up some yummy food. I actually saw this product on my friend's sister's blog and showed it to Aaron the other day. We saw it in the store and he really wanted to try it. See our experience below:

It was a fun activity. Though I have to say, the home-made pancakes we usually make are still 100 times better! :)

An English "High Tea" themed Bridal Shower

2011-07-10T20:37:00.000-06:00

I helped my mom and our friend Trisha put together Liz's fourth bridal shower. (I threw the first one with her friends in Utah, the Dent girls threw one in UT, some of Steve's friends threw a couple's shower in UT, and we had one in Maryland!!) Talk about a loved bride!

3 Tea cup sets

Liz and her best friends from High School

Mom and Trisha went to a special tea shop and bought the dry flavors and made tea bags :)

the sandwiches were so simple and surprisingly delicious! (egg salad, cucumber, water cress, and tuna)

3 sisters!

HOMEMADE amazing wedding themed chocolate strawberries by Trisha!!


Liz in her hat of ribbons after opening gifts :)

Photos not included: delicious homemade English trifle by Mom, homemade scones w/jams and clotted cream by Trisha, lemon tea cookies by Mom, cream cheese stuffed strawberries by Trisha

Larry is Married!!!!!

2011-07-06T11:50:00.003-06:00

Some of us thought this day would never come. My older brother Larry has been dating Megan for 8 years! This was a very exciting wedding because they were just so excited to be married.

Our family has loved Megan forever, and I was BEYOND excited when Larry asked me to ask Megan what her ring size was last year. They got engaged just a month before I got married in 2010. Megan was one of my bridesmaids because I anticipated that she'd be in the family sooner or later. I told Megan I was looking at bridesmaids gifts and wanted to know her ring size. I thought I totally gave it away but she said that she thought that was characteristic of me.

We love Larry and Megan so much and Aaron and I were glad that we could help them get some nice photos at their wedding in Cape May, NJ on June 24, 2011.

And that's why I had a fun weekend :)

2011-06-09T13:26:00.000-06:00

If you live in Utah I highly recommend purchasing the Pass of All Passes. There is one for Salt Lake and one for Utah county. Right now you can get the pass for $49.95 from city deals. If you haven't heard of city deals before you have to check it out. (Click and sign up! Then login and search for the pass) Unlike groupon/living social they have tons of deals everyday, and they stay on sale until they sell out. They have restaurants/spas/activities/etc on there. I guarantee you'll find something you'd like to save on.

But enough of that... on to my weekend!

It was finally warm enough to go to the pool on Saturday! The pass includes unlimited access to Seven Peaks Water Park. It's probably about a 10 minute walk from our house. Me, my ipod, the sun, and the wave pool had a great time! Aaron came and joined me too. After that we got lunch and got ready to go out. The pass also includes access to Trafalga (both the Lehi and Orem location). We went to the one in Lehi and did the go-carts. I totally crushed Aaron! Of course I was in a one-seater and he was in a two-seater, so he would argue I had an unfair advantage... Then we did the rock climbing wall. Yet again I kicked Aaron's butt! (Yeah I can be pretty competitive). I haven't done rock climbing since middle school probably, it was really fun and my forearms were super tight after! Next up - putt putt! And the cool thing was Aaron and I both go hole-in-ones! So I guess that one was a tie. Trafalga also has laser tag and batting cages that we will have to check out soon. To end the evening we used a coupon/deal I had for dinner.

We had a fun filled day and paid barely nothing. I like days like that. (We didn't remember to take any pictures though)

(P.S. The pass also includes tickets to all Owlz Baseball and Flash Basketball home games for the year, so I'm sure we'll go to one sometime)

On Sundays we teach 5 year olds at church. They're really cute. This past Sunday the lesson was short and it was really easy since only 3 kids showed up. After church Aaron and I took a drive to the Uinta mountains, about 1.5 hours away. We drove through canyons and saw gorgeous lakes/rivers and landscaping in general. We love enjoying the beauty of the earth together. And we have to admit, Utah can be gorgeous! Aaron got a few amazing shots, enjoy:

Breaking NEWS!!

2011-05-18T22:37:00.000-06:00

Ok, in my last post I told everyone about how to get free money/stuff. This post is about a little known shopping secret! I learned this thanks to my little sister Liz, who recently started working at Journey's Kids (a shoe store).

The secret:
A girl's shoe size 6 is a women's shoe size 8-9!

This might leave you feeling like, ok.... and? But really, I'm letting you in on a big thing here. Girl's shoes are waaaaay cheaper than women's!!

For example, normal women's leather Sperry topsider shoes cost $75. The ones at Journey's Kids in a girl's size 6 was $55 - and they fit me! Would I like to save $20 for the same exact shoe? Heck yes.

To go even further, regular Journey's had a white canvas Sperry w/sequin on it for $75, but the same shoe was only $35 at Journey's Kids! Would I like to save a whooping $40?!? I think you know the answer.

Since my sister got me an amazing discount I got both the Sperry shoes, plus a pair of girl's size 6 summer sandals.

In summary:
Everyone knows someone who can save a bunch of money on shoes by shopping at kid's shoe stores.

Most women are a size 9 or below, and even if you're a guy reading this - you know a girl who would benefit from this knowledge. And you know what makes this news even better? There are really cute shoes in kids stores!!

Free Money.

2011-05-17T22:31:00.001-06:00

Really.

I signed up for swag bucks about a month ago. You can download their search bar and you can win swag bucks for searching with it. You can also earn swag bucks by participating in the daily poll questions, checking out some surveys, and buying groupons through their website. Basically, you do stuff you already do through swag bucks and you make a little money on the side. It's not a lot, but hey, it's free.

In a month's time I've redeemed $20 to amazon.com. They have lots of different giftcards you can redeem, and they all cost a different number of swag bucks. You might as well check it out. Here are the 2 things I'm getting for free:

yay for cool free stuff!

I did it! I threw a bridal shower all by myself.

2011-04-30T18:34:00.000-06:00

for my darling younger sister Liz of course! I was too busy getting all the food ready to take pictures of it. But I will say that the chocolate covered strawberries went fast! Here are some pictures I did manage to capture:

You can't see it, but there is a veil on the crown :)

me and lizliz

we had a toilet paper wedding dress design competition

and of course she got some hot lingerie!

9 of the last 13 weekends

2011-04-30T18:12:00.000-06:00

have been devoted to The Vibrant Sound and Cubworld. These are the two bands Aaron plays in.

For 9 of the last 13 weekends Aaron has been in:

St George

Las Vegas

Austin

Logan

Rexburg

These shows require overnight travel (mostly because they have out-of-town shows booked on Friday and Saturday night) so I've been looking for new things to do on the weekends. So far I:

sleep in

go to the gym

go shopping

watch movies on netflix instant

watch tv shoes on hulu

play lots of solitaire

Any other ideas of fun things to do for one? (And by fun that does not mean cleaning, getting another job, etc) Maybe someone else's husband is gone a lot of the time too?

Some stuff you probably don't know

2011-04-17T12:52:00.000-06:00

and probably don't care about... but I felt like outlining my "perfect day." It's fun to dream sometimes, right?

My day would begin without an alarm clock (this is important).

I'd open the curtain to marvel at gorgeous green mountains and stunning blue ocean.

Next I'd have a breakfast buffet with fresh organic fruit/juice/crepes/pancakes/waffles/french toast/fried prosciutto overlooking my favorite landscape with my friends and family.

I'd then get ready to walk to a tennis court where I'd play for an hour or so with someone at my skill level, the weather would be sunny and 65.

After that I'd get together picnic/bbq food and walk down to the beach. My friends and family would be there, the weather would warm up to about 80 and we'd eat/paddle board/lay out and play a little beach volley ball.

After that I would go to the spa w/the girls. We would get massages, facials, pedicures, and manicures while watching the sunset over the ocean.

I would then go home and get all dressed up for a fancy dinner out.

After dinner we'd all go to a show - something like Wicked, Cirque Du Soleil, etc.

For a late night dessert we'd have authentic Italian gelato.

Just thinking about this makes me so happy! It's not too unrealistic is it?

Watch this!! It BLEW MY MIND! So Cool!!

2011-04-13T14:07:00.001-06:00

Aaron knows this guy, Devin, who gets to travel and create these amazing videos. If you have time check out his other stuff. I love every single one... especially the ones he filmed in Hawaii...

Better Late Than Never

2011-03-29T20:51:00.004-06:00

I was admiring my Christmas present from Aaron today, and realized that I never posted a picture of it. So, here it is:

(You can click the photos twice to see them large)

I've wanted a pearl ring for years, but hadn't found the exact one I was looking for. I wanted a gold band, white pearl, and a "sunbeam" kind of pattern coming out from it. I was in a jewelry store at the outlets to look at engagement rings with my sister when I saw this beauty. I loved it and took a picture of it. It was pretty expensive so when I showed it to Aaron I thought there was no chance I would get it. He really surprised me with his willingness to indulge me in my jewelry quest! I love it! And I'm sure my future daughter will appreciate it too :)

More on the Cleanse.

2011-03-19T13:38:00.000-06:00

I realized that there are a lot of things to talk about in regards to The Master Cleanse! Haha. And I wanted to let everyone know that there is a great book that anyone who is interested in actually doing the cleanse should read. It's called The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs. You can find it at Whole Foods (or online). In the book it gives the following reasons as to why one should do the cleanse:

To dissolve and eliminate toxins and congestion that have formed in any part of the body
To cleanse the kidneys and the digestive system
To purify the glands and cells throughout the entire body
To eliminate all unusable waste and hardened material in the joints and muscles
To relieve pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries, and blood vessels
To build a healthy blood stream
To keep youth and elasticity regardless of our years

It says that people who do this three or four times a year does wonders, and keeps the body in normal and healthy conditions. Good-bye high blood pressure, ulcers, arthritis, obesity, etc.

Here is the actual recipe for anyone interested:

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed organic lemon juice (lime juice can also be used)
2 Tbsp genuine maple syrup grade B (not maple flavored sugar syrup)
1/10 Tsp cayenne pepper (the liquid form isn't as hot as the powder. this can be adjusted for taste)
10 oz cold or medium hot spring or purified water (I preferred it cold)

I forgot to mention a couple things in my last post. One of the huge personal reasons I decided to do the cleanse as well was due to the fact that neither Aaron or I have heath insurance through our jobs. Unlike Hawaii, Utah has no laws requiring employers to offer health insurance to full time workers. We both work for young companies who don't have/don't want to spend the money to offer us such a benefit. That whole situation is a different topic... but my point is, I want to do everything I can to make sure I am healthy. It would be so expensive and stupid for me to be treated for something I have control over! (Now I just hope I don't get hurt! haha)

Also, I forgot to mention that one of the weirdest side effects was having your tongue feel weird!! In the book I mentioned it explains that we eat a lot of mucus-forming foods. The excess mucus actually provides a breeding ground for germs! Anyway, when we only drink citrus and water it gets rid of most of the mucus we have, including the lining we have on our tongues- so the tongue feels really rough. You may also notice the color of your tongue to go kind of white, don't worry, it will go back to pink after you're done.

Someone asked me, do you think it worked? And then I realized, I totally forgot to include that in my last post. I told her that I could tell it was working during the cleanse. At the beginning I would pee only a couple times a day, like I normally do. But as time passed I had to pee more and more often. I realized that my body was able to get the nutrients I needed from the mix more quickly, and get rid of what it didn't need more quickly as well. I could see that my digestive system was working better. Also, people on the cleanse will commonly see their skin clear up a little bit. And I have to say, I didn't break out with anything new on the cleanse. You will also feel alert. You will feel good. Which sounds crazy because it seems like you should feel horrible with out food... but you won't!

I also forgot to mention the real challenge of this cleanse. It is the smell, sight, and thought of food! If you do decide to do the cleanse, don't be afraid to simply smell food that you would like to eat to try and appease yourself. In and odd way it will satisfy you. Just temporarily tell yourself you're allergic to it and just can't have it (this works for me since I've been doing that my whole life when I've seen cats/dogs). Food will look good, and you know that it tastes good, but if you take a step back and think, am I really hungry right now? The answer will be NO! (And if it's yes, drink some of your mix and you'll be good)

An unforeseen benefit of the cleanse is all the free time you will have! This really surprised me. Think about all the time you take to think about what you're going to eat, shop for it, prepare it, eat it, and clean it all up. Now take all of that time out of your life! If you have a big project that you've been wanting to do but haven't found the time to do, here is your opportunity!

LASTLY, if you do the cleanse you must ease off of it. The book recommends drinking orange juice and having vegetable soup after your cleanse. Then go on to eat fruits and vegetables. Then introduce your starches, and lastly, meats. If you eat a hamburger after not having food for 10 days... you'll feel sick to say the least!

I haven't eaten in 10 days.

2011-03-18T15:13:00.004-06:00

Really? Yes. From March 8-17th I didn't eat any food. I did the Master Cleanse, a.k.a the lemonade diet (which has been around since 1940).

Why? Remember my post about eating healthily? Well, I was serious. In one of the documentaries I watched, one of the ladies said that we need to get all of the chemicals/toxins (bad stuff) from our prepackaged and chemically treated foods out of our bodies to maximize the benefits of healthy organic and raw food... That makes sense, right? And, I'm not gonna lie, after eating out almost daily with Diane and David I was feeling full of unhealthy food, and really wanted to have my body "start over."

How did you find out about it? I asked my older sister Melissa (who works at Whole Foods in Charlottesville, VA) what she knew about cleanses. There are many ways you can go about cleaning your body. One way is to just start eating healthily. Choose organic foods. Choose to eat raw foods. It's a good place to start, but you can take it further. My parents did a natural/herbal pill cleanse. You simply take natural supplements that promote health of different organs. These options sound great, but I wanted to take it even further. And that's where the Master Cleanse comes in.

What do you do exactly? You drink 6-12 glasses of "lemonade" a day for at least 10, and no more than 40, days. You also need to take some sort of natural laxative, (gross sounding, I know), to get everything out of your body.

Just Lemonade? It's not regular lemonade. You make it by juicing organic lemons, adding organic grade B maple syrup (straight from the tree), and organic cayenne pepper.

Did it taste good? Not particularly. I found that I liked a little more lemon juice and a little less cayenne than the recipe called for.

Were you hungry? Surprisingly, No. And that's because lemons are one of the most nutrient rich foods out there (measured with the number of vitamins and minerals you get out of them). Grade B maple syrup is darker and more nutrient rich than grade A, and it surprisingly has a lot of vitamins and minerals too. Pairing these two ingredients is effective. Your body receives all the nutrients it needs, so you are not hungry. Of course, you must be mentally prepared to do this cleanse/diet.

Did you lose weight? Yes. People who are overweight/obese lose weight drastically on this cleanse. People who are underweight won't really lose anything. Your body is just barely getting what it needs, so your weight will move toward the ideal weight for your body. I don't have a scale, and I didn't take any measurements of my waist, hips, etc. I wish I did though. Aaron and I are guessing I lost somewhere between 5-10 pounds. Not a lot, but it puts me back to my high school weight I think. It's funny how a few pounds have crept onto me throughout the last few years.

What was the hardest part? On the first day it was really hard for me to drink enough of the lemonade mixture, I put more cayenne in than I really cared for. During the next few days it was hard watching everyone else eat except me, but I was doing this willfully, and just kept thinking about getting healthier. On the last couple of days I was really sick of the lemonade taste, it was hard only having one taste for so long. So on the last day I started drinking some orange juice as well (to prevent dehydration).

Any tips? Yes. (1) Make sure you don't refrigerate your lemons, it kills some of the nutrients you want to drink. (2) Make enough of the mixture to last you for the whole day. The last thing you want to do is go somewhere with out the mix! If I ever started to feel a little hungry I'd drink the lemonade and immediately feel better. It would have been much harder if I didn't always have it by me. (3) Keep your mind on the goal, your body can handle much more than 10 days, you can do it. You just have to make sure you really want to.

How do you feel? I feel great! And I felt great on the cleanse too. No headaches, nausea, or fatigue. I played tennis twice during my cleanse (though I didn't do as well as usual the second time I played, on day 8). Seeing my stomach and love handle area shrink also made me feel wonderful - just an added bonus to getting the inside of my body cleaner.

In celebration of my completed cleanse I had Aaron take a few pics of me, and I edited them all by myself! Haha. Enjoy :)

Old News

2011-03-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

Aaron's sister Diane and brother David came to visit us for about 10 days or so in February. We were really happy to have them with us. It was especially cool b/c it was David's first time to Utah, and his first time seeing snow! Luckily for them it snowed a few times while they were here, and we went snowboarding 3 times :)

I say this is old news because I uploaded a bunch of pics to facebook a couple weeks ago. Here's a short summary of the things we did with them:

Drove through Provo Canyon/Park City
Visited Temple Square in SLC
Ate at Vinto - one of Aaron's favorite Italian restaurants
Went shopping
Ate at Cafe Rio - Mexican cuisine (good burritos/salads)
Went to a BYU basketball game and saw THE JIMMER
Diane and David went and did indoor skydiving!
Ate at Koi - Japanese cuisine
IChat with Adam, Kristin, Ava and Noah
Diane and Dave did a tour of BYU
Ate at Tucanos - Brazilian buffet
Went to Utah Lake and saw ice floating everywhere
Ate at Diegos - Mexican cuisine (with good nachos)
Saw Tron in 3d
Ate at Gurus - "American" cuisine
Went to Church
Ate some of Dave's famous homemade ribs!!!
Went to see Y mountain
Ate at Gloria's Little Italy
Went to IKEA
Snowboarding at Sundance
Snowboarding at Sundance
Snowboarding at Sundance - this time Liz and Steve came and skied with Diane

We also managed to get a few photos of the four of us:

Now if only they'd come back! Hawaii is so far...

7 months ago (minus 2 days)

2011-03-11T19:24:00.000-07:00


I became his.

and he became mine!!!

A Boost of Happiness

2011-03-04T19:29:00.002-07:00

In a world of frustrations, this is simply refreshing.

Who's Aaron??

2011-02-13T00:52:00.001-07:00

I love Aaron. I love the few precious photos I have of him when he was little. As a twin, Aaron is often pictured with Adam. Can you tell who is who?

(Photo 1)

(Photo 2)

On a side note, the other two kids in the second picture - Diane and David - will be visiting Aaron and I next week!!!!!!! We're really excited to see them again, and show them what Utah has to offer :)

For your viewing pleasure...

2011-02-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

Phewww. I feel better now.

2011-01-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

I have an announcement to make:

I've been accepted into the Masters of Business Administration program at Brigham Young University. I will begin my studies in the Fall of 2012 and finish in the Spring of 2014.

Now I can just focus on work!

Title With No Exclamation Point

2011-01-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that my last... four posts... had an exclamation point in the title. I guess I only feel the need to blog about happy and exciting things in our life! haha.

Well, not to disappoint, but Aaron and I are excited and happy about more things. I recently watched the documentary Food Inc. on the watch instantly section of Netflix after hearing about it from one of Aaron's coworker's wife at his work Christmas party that was held a couple weeks ago (what an impressive run-on sentence that was...). Anyway, it is an amazing documentary, it shows how the food system effects so many other spheres of life. I don't even know where to begin... here is a short synopsis from Fandango:

"The USDA and FDA are supposed to protect the public, so why is it that both government regulatory agencies have been complicit in allowing corporations to put profit ahead of consumer health, the American farmer, worker safety, and even the environment? As chicken breasts get bigger and tomatoes are genetically engineered not to go bad, 73,000 Americans fall ill from powerful new strains of E. coli every year, obesity levels are skyrocketing, and adult diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Perhaps if the general public knew how corporations use exploited laws and subsidies to create powerful monopolies, the outrage would be enough to make us think more carefully about the food we put into our bodies."

As the quote above suggests, Americans are intentionally in the dark when it comes to how their food is processed. Companies have fought so hard to prevent us from seeing and understanding the current food processing system! WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY!

America is a great country, and I'm grateful that we have access to plenty of food. But.. things have gone too far. Many of the big players in the FDA, USDA, and even a Supreme Court Justice has close ties to the food industry... ulterior motives? I think so.

The food system we have in place also effects immigration. The big meat packing companies encourage workers to come from Mexico to work in their plants. They treat the workers just like the animals - they are disposable, they won't fight back, they can't. They even have agreements with immigrations services to come and arrest 15 or so illegal immigrants everyday - not enough to impede production. The government is going after the people who have been slaughtering our cheap meat, not the companies who have actively recruited them.

We also watched the documentary King Corn. We've all heard about high fructose corn syrup, and how its a substitute sweetener for sugar that is not very good for you. Well, corn has been disguised as many different types of acid that is in almost all of the food we eat. Why? Well, the government pays farmers to produce corn. We have so, so, so, so much corn in the USA with basically no nutritional value. They have found other uses for it... it doesn't make our food healthy... it makes it CHEAP. We also feed corn to chicken and cows. This cheap feed fattens up our meat. It saves the "growers" money on feed and shortens the time it takes for the animal to reach the size needed for slaughter. Chickens and cows aren't meant to eat corn, and if we didn't slaughter them for meat, they would die from their diet anyway. The fat content in our meat is significantly higher from corn fed animals than naturally raised animals.

I honestly can go on and on and on .... my mind is racing with all of the new things I have learned this past week. I feel like I need to organize my ideas a little better, before I can convincingly explain my position on these issues.

I feel no desire to become a vegetarian. It's not just that the animals are treated poorly, it's that the food we get from them isn't even healthy! Technology is a great thing, and it has improved our lives greatly in many ways. But, when it comes to food, it needs to be as natural as possible. We should eat food as it was intended to be eaten. The processed cheap crap we have access to, i.e. fast food, does not help keep our bodies healthy.We all have one body during this life. Why don't we care about preventing obesity and diabetes?

The average American only spends about 17% of his/her income on food - and that includes going out to eat. Aaron and I have decided that we rather spend a little more money on food, and get the organic stuff. We have realized that keeping our bodies as healthy as possible is much more important to us than getting new clothes, electronics, furniture, etc! What good will all of our stuff do if we're sick? For the first time ever, our life expectancies in America and less than our parent's. Chances are, if you are younger than 30 years old you've never had grass fed meat! We eat sugar, fat, and salt. It's cheap, easy, and tasty. But it's not worth killing yourself over.

I know this seems kind of extreme, but of all the issues to care about, isn't this the most intimate? Each one of us is responsible for feeding ourselves and our families, we have to decide which food products we will support every time we go to the grocery store.

The beautiful thing is that the entire food industry is based on one thing- consumer demand. Right now, most of us demand cheap food. So we get low quality, cheap food. Instead, we should start to demand healthy food. Real food. America is smart, we will come up with efficient ways of producing high quality, organic, healthy food.

Aaron and I are going to buy the $3 dozen of eggs and $5 gallon of milk. Yeah, it's a little more expensive to get the organics... but it's not really that much. We're also really excited to go to the Farmer's Market once it reopens. We found out that the one in Provo is open from May-October, every Saturday. Locally grown, organic food really is the best possible thing you can eat!

I really want to do more research on all of the subjects touched upon in the documentary Food, Inc. I would love to write a Masters Thesis on it. Maybe if business school doesn't work out I'll get my master's in Sociology and research and write about this stuff :)

I urge you all to make a goal to become healthy today!! And watch that movie.... ;)

Time for a change!

2011-01-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, The Holidays!

2011-01-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

This year Aaron and I decorated our place with a little Christmas tree. It's the first one either of us has decorated since moving out of our parent's homes. It warmed my heart to see it all lit up in the evenings.

We were very happy to travel home to Maryland for Christmas and New Years. We got to spend time with my parents and all of my siblings. We even got to help Steve with his proposal to Liz two days before Christmas. My brother Larry is getting married to wonderful Megan in June, and Liz is going to marry Steve in July! We really enjoyed relaxing at home, and enjoying one another's company.

Aaron made this short little video of some of us making "gingerbread" houses with graham crackers. I feel so fortunate that I never have to worry about whether our lives are sufficiently documented... Aaron always does a great job with his photos, and he is really excited to explore the world of film with his new camera.

2010 was really a spectacular year for us. We got engaged, I went to Ireland with my Mom and sister, we got married, our families spent time together, we stayed in Hawaii for a month, we moved in together, etc, etc. We truly have been blessed. We hope that everyone has been able to sit and reflect on how wonderful all of our lives really are - we have hard times, but all in all, life is good!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

2010-12-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

As most of you probably know, Aaron turned 29 last Friday. This year I was particularly excited for December 10th to come. I had found the perfect present! I bought it online, had it shipped to Liz, picked it up while Aaron was at band practice, and hid it in our room. Aaron and I went to work and met up for lunch. Behold the gift:

The Droid X.

Let me explain... ever since I've known Aaron he has had crappy, old, hand-me-down, cell phones. He has mentioned here and there that he'd like a smart phone. But, instead of significantly increasing our phone bill, he decided that he rather put that money toward photography gear. He was NOT expecting to get a phone. And I must admit, there were two huge reasons why I made the decision. 1) I was on the phone with Verizon due to a customer service question when the representative told me about this new plan, where we can both have smart phones, and pay the same amount we were paying already! So, upgrading Aaron's phone wouldn't increase our monthly payment-- AMAZING! 2) Verizon was having a BOGO (Buy One Get One) sale on their phones! So... I got the Droid X too :)

We celebrated with some Magleby's chocolate cake, and I tried to forget about the $10 Happy Birthday singing balloon I bought that got stuck in the car door when I was bringing it to Aaron at work and flew away into the sky. (True Story)

After work we met up with some of Aaron's good friends and had dinner at Vinto. It's a simple Italian restaurant in Salt Lake that Aaron loves. Super modern decor, and really good, authentic Italian food.

There's really no good excuse as to why I don't have photos of all of these things... I obviously have a camera on my phone (8 mega pixels now too). I need to remember to do better at documenting things like that! But anyway, I had a blast celebrating the 29th year of my wonderful husband's life :)

Our Wedding Book Has Arrived!

2010-12-05T15:23:00.001-07:00

I filmed this little video of Jo presenting our book. Enjoy :)

Food.

2010-11-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

It's weird when you think about it. You need it to survive. But most of us need it to be happy. We eat for pleasure, not for hunger. I happened to come across this website with some cool tips. I definitely plan to consciously incorporate more grapefruit and apple into my diet. I've always loved eggs and bacon in the morning, and now I have a good reason to make time for it. And you know I love full fat cheese!!! :)

I can't wait to finish my application for grad school, that way I can hopefully find more time for the gym. I went back last night for the first time in weeks! My ankle is healed (as good as it's going to get) and I really don't feel sick anymore. But alas, there will always be reasons not to go to the gym...

A side note: Today is my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!

Packages

2010-11-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love getting packages in the mail?!

Aaron I are were so excited to get our canvas print in the mail today. It's 2 feet by 3 feet. AND to top it off it arrived on our 3 month wedding anniversary! (I know I technically shouldn't use the word anniversary since I'm not talking about years... but it gets my point across in the most concise wording possible...)

Of course I think I'd be happy with most any canvas print, but Aaron is much more particular. He looked over the print very carefully and was quite impressed with it's quality. Yay! The photo is from our reception in Hawaii, by Marina Miller. And we ordered it through a groupon I bought from Canvas on Demand. (If any of you keep up with me on facebook you know that I'm completely obsessed with groupon... but it's so worth it!)

(Click the photo to see the detail)

We hung it right above our bed :)

In other news, Aaron also received a very special package yesterday. A new lens for his camera! This lens focuses like a microscope, it's crazy. Check out some of his recent work with this lens.

30 Questions - For Caitlin ;)

2010-11-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

30 Questions

I was tagged! So if you're bored and feel like reading... here we go:

1. When is your "marriage" anniversary? "Engagement" anniverary?
August 13, 2010. March 28, 2009.

2. Where/how did you meet your spouse for the first time?
Our mutual friend, Kaanoi, invited both of us to hike The Stairway to Heaven in Hawaii. Aaron picked me and my friend Laura up from BYUH in his car. I sat in the front seat, and that's when and how I met him!

3. How long have you known your spouse:
3 years and almost 3 months.

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged?
3 years.

5. Do you have any children:
No.

6. Do you have any house pets:
No.

7. What are some of your favorite activities to do together:
We love to go the beach. We also like taking pictures and being outside. We love good food too.

8. Do you have a favorite vacation spot:
I think Hawaii will always be our ideal "vacation spot." We also want to go to Japan and New Zealand in the near future.

9. Where was your first date?
We went to see Stardust at Provo Towne Center with Roman. Haha!!

10. When did you first kiss?
Our second date. I think.

11. Who said I Love you First?
I did. It had been a few months and I couldn't hold it in anymore!

12. Did you get married in a church?
No, we got married in the Washington D.C. Temple.

13. Do you get flowers often?
No. I think I've gotten flowers once, on my 21st birthday. But that's ok, he is very sweet in other ways.

14. Where did you go on your honeymoon:
Princeville, Kauai.

15. How long did you know each other before you started dating?
A couple months.

16. What do you call each other most of the time?
Honey, Baby, Babe, Lulu, Aarie, Joey.

17.Where do you each work or go to school?
I graduated from BYU and Aaron graduated from BYUH. I'm looking to get an MBA (Master's in Business Administration) and Aaron is looking to get an MFA (Master's in Fine Arts). Right now I work for Direct Assistance Corp, a company that provides financial benefits to employers, and Aaron is self employed doing professional photography and graphic design.

18. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Hmm... I guess not being able to buy everything we want. But seriously, not many people can do that anyway!

19. Did you go to the same school?
No.

20. Are you from the same home town?
No. I'm from Middletown, Maryland and Aaron is from Laie/Kahuku, Hawaii.

21. Who is smarter?
..... It depends on what you mean. Aaron is very intelligent and seeks out information on topics he is interested in. I am a good student; I study hard and do well.

22. Who is more sensitive?
I am. I think most girls are. But Aaron is pretty open with his feelings too (now that we've been together for 3 years).

23.Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Probably 5 Guys, Diego's, Bombay House, Tucano's, and Yapona. We try our best not to eat out too often.

24. What attracted you about him/her first?
For some reason Aaron's voice caught my attention, he seemed really nice and cool, and I just wanted to know more about him. Plus he was a cute Hawaiian ;)

25. Who is more social?
Hmm.... maybe Aaron, which is surprising.

26. Who is the neat-freak?
Again, I might say Aaron, which again is surprising!

28. Who hogs the bed?
Aaron! Lately he likes to sleep in the middle.

29. Who wakes up earlier?
I do. But it's still not that early.

30. What are HIS favorite things and HER favorite things?
Aaron: Surfing, Photography, Drawing, Painting, Snowboarding, Traveling, Japanese food.
Johanna: Traveling, Vacations, Shopping, Beaches, Spas, Tennis, Working Out, Babysitting, Italian food.

I'm going to tag..... Kristen E., Chelsea F., Michelle S., Sarah S., and anyone else who is bored. ;)

My smile today

2010-11-05T13:37:00.000-06:00

Some things that are making me happy today:

I improved my GMAT practice test score last night.
I don't feel really sick anymore.
It's Friday!
I'm going to play tennis after work with Gill today.
It's still nice enough to play tennis.
I'm going to watch Modern Family with Aaron tonight.
I'm going to finish making our wedding album online tonight.
I'm hopefully going to hang out with Liz tomorrow.
The canvas I ordered should be printed and shipped out soon.

And the icing on the cake:

10. Last night Aaron woke me up and he said, "Here," holding his fingers together, "Open your hand." I confusingly asked, "What?" He then said, "Here's your magic bracelet." Of course I started laughing like crazy, and asked him what he was dreaming about. He didn't respond and went back to sleep, when I persisted to try and talk to him he started getting mad. This morning he didn't even remember any of it! I found out this morning that the Superman Comic he was reading last night had a part in it where a guy got a special bracelet that gave him powers like Superman, or something like that... so apparently Aaron was dreaming about the comic he read last night at 2 am doing laundry. Haha, isn't he cute? I can't help but smile and laugh when I think about it.