Thursday afternoon

First of all, this picture is such a terrible sight. Why do I have to go to school when the sun is bright and beautiful? And that grass...I could lie in it ALL DAY.

Anyway, last Thursday was great. Here are a few more shots, of my amazing friend, Stacia. We were suitemates freshman year. Pretty bomb, if you ask me. Thursday we went to JDawgs and sat in the grass and I don't even know if I can begin to explain how fun it was to have this mini reunion. Point being: she's fantastic.

my new hobby

Photography. And surprisingly, not of myself!

Here are a few pictures I've taken recently.


First, this is my good friend, Amy. She's amazing. And super cool.


I took a walk yesterday. Here are some of the sights I saw: the sun from my balcony, a white fence (one day I can have one too), the byu smokestack, and my sweet shoes

Productivity

I figured since school starts in a couple days I should start being productive now.

Today I:

- Watched the Jonas Brothers on Good Morning America
- Read an article in Newsweek
- Worked out in the comfort of my home..who knew jumping jacks could be that hard...and I hope I didn't disturb my beneath neighbors...
- Bought a book I needed for a class only to realize that it was the wrong book...not so productive afterall...
- Took a shower
- Rode my bike to the bike shop to get its free tune-up
- Walked to school and got a tan (it's sunny today! FINALLY!)
- Went to the bookstore. Get this: I had to drop my backpack off at the front while someone watched it while I went looking for my book. I guess Provo isn't as safe as it should be afterall...
- Bought a new planner. It's bigger than a normal planner, but I just don't like to write very small so I thought I'd change it up a bit
- Bought a Fresca because I was dying of thirst. GET THIS: Caffeine makes you age faster. Did you know that? I've decided against caffeine from now on. I already lifeguarded in high school and did the damage there. And I like the sun. So sunscreen and uncaffeinated beverages here I come!

And it's only 1:30! I'm about to head to work and then party with Ry tonight. I think some frisbee action in the park is going to go down...

Anniversary!

First off, isn't Ryan just the cutest?! His interview went really well today and who knows, maybe he'll have a sweet new job soon! He finds out tomorrow and I figure it's a win win situation since his interview went so well. The only thing he lacks is a whole lot of experience, so who knows if in a few months, something else opens up!

Second, yesterday was our one year anniversary of dating. One year ago, I asked "So, when my sister comes to visit, how should I introduce you?" We had already kissed, but I didn't know what was going on in his mind, so I asked. Anyway, he knew what the answer should be but instead said "I don't know." What a boy. Oh well, we got married so something must've worked out.

So in celebration, we went to TUCANOS! Yum. Ryan had never been and got a great tip the other day at the hotel, so we used his tip cash and went for lunch. You know something's good when 9 hours later, you're still full. :)

Also, we rented Slumdog Millionaire from Redbox. We had heard some great things but just hadn't gotten around to watching it. And let me tell you, it was good. There's just something about a movie with depth and meaning. It makes up for all those times I watch Mean Girls...

Anyway, the day was a success and it was so much fun. Ryan works a lot these days, and with school coming next week, it's nice to just have a day to relax and hang out.

Oh! And today I went to Buy Low and spent a total of $2.15! We got a few red potatoes that were on sale, some bunches of cilantro, and a package of mushrooms. Man, I love when produce is cheap.

Ryan's first post

This is my first official post on "our" blog. I'm excited to enter the world of blogging. However, I am nervous as Emily is looking over my shoulder at everything I type. Things are going very well. Emily and I are enjoying our last few days of no school as classes start up on Monday. We're both taking six hours and working, so we should be very busy. Today I interviewed for the Front Desk Manager position that just opened up at the hotel. The interview went very well and I think I would be highly considered for the position if it were not for my lack of experience and desire to be a full time student this fall. All in all, I think I made a good impression for any other opportunities that present themselves.

Em and I are in the process of making a delicious gourmet meal: mac and cheese with hot dogs. The finest meat + the finest pasta = Deliciousness.

We are also looking over photos that we just received of the reception in Phoenix. They look pretty good, despite a few "transition faces." That's what I call faces in which the eyelids are only half closed and the mouth is in mid-sentence. It is fun to see the pictures, though. Emily looks so beautiful. It was fun to see so many old friends and family members.

I'm afraid it's dinner time. A tavola!

best phone call everrrr

UPDATE: I still have friends!

I got married a month and a half ago and I still have friends that aren't married. Very exciting. Actually, when I was walking home from donating plasma today (a 25 block walk..) and gave my GREAT friend Allison a call. We talked for almost TWO HOURS! (I know, pretty serious, right?) Anyway, it was great catching up and talking about my regular married life and her regular dating life. Sometimes it's still pretty surreal that I'm married. I mean my name changed, and I share an apartment with a boy, and have a marriage license.

Point being: my life is exciting. and so is Allison's. Yay for married life. And dating life. And all life!

Our weekend

1. Why was it cold enough this afternoon to wear a coat outside? It was warm and sunny in the morning and then all of a sudden there was this winter draft and drizzle for a couple of hours! What's going on here?

2. I love Farmer's Markets. We went to Provo's this morning. It's on 5thW and 1stS. Check it out. It was like a little cultural arts/veggies fair this morning with everything from belgium waffles and hungarian food to beaded necklaces little girl's tutus. And of course some veggies. I really wanted to buy a plant of basil so we can have our own fresh herbs, but they need full sunlight and due to the massive tree invading our balcony, we don't get very much sunlight at all. But our neighbors do, so we'll see what we can do...

3. Last night was our date night and we went to an Alfred Hitchcock night at BYU's Varsity Theatre. We saw both To Catch a Theif and North by Northwest with some great movie popcorn, for 3 buck a ticket. Not bad for 4 bags of popcorn and 4 1/2 hours of movie watching! There was a little sleuthing contest during intermission, and I made Ryan go on stage, but he missed the second question. Who knew Cary Grant was married a billion times?? Then the finalists had to act out To Catch A Theif and the girl I wanted to win didn't. The girl who won only won cause her date yelled the loudest. And they didn't even stay for the next movie. Lame.

p.s. I don't like when people talk during movies. And make loud comments making fun of it.
Just cause it's at the varsity theater don't mean you can talk all you want to impress your date..

4. I made a killer meal yesterday. Check it out on my new food blog "Eating with the Mangums"
Love, Emily

the JOY of budgeting

Rant of the day: Being a grown-up can be not so fun

So Ryan and I made our budget yesterday. And factoring in some savings, we went a little over at first. Made some adjustments, and then broke even. It's frustrating because we've been pretty great with our money, and not spending hardly any of it, but we know we need to budget and really know where all of our money goes. Also, there are so many things that you pay only once in a while, but they're BIG purchases, like health insurance and textbooks. Thank goodness I only have to pay for textbooks two more times before I graduate!

Also, I love food blogs. So much. It's a downfall of mine. I could food-blog surf all day, unfortunately. Sometimes it's great. I find recipes that Ryan and I can afford or where have most of the ingredients.

Then I find recipes that look good with names like:

Double Mozzarella Turkey Burgers with an Artichoke Remoulade and Crispy Pancetta

What's up with that?

But really, it's kinda difficult trying to find a balance in all the recipes to find things that fit our budget, and that are fun and experimental as well. The other day we had mac and cheese with hot dogs. It was like I was a kid again and man, it was good. Even though I know what's in the hot dogs, I eat them nonetheless.

Maybe I'm just not that good of a food-planner. I tried to plan some meals with what we got at the grocery store today so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully there will be some great green chili chicken meals and chinese dishes coming soon.

I started a food blog recently. Well, I made the blog, but there are no recipes posted yet. I'll keep you informed to see if this new-found food blog hobby of mine will stick. :)

Moving... and Planting!

1. We've been moving into the actual Wymount apartment that we'll *hopefully* be living in for the next 2 years (I don't want to move and have to lug everything down the stairs..we're on the third floor). We're officially moved in but the apartment doesn't look very home-y yet. We have a dining table and chairs but we haven't set them up with. And we still have to get the tv from Ryan's old apt. and set up the tv stand. Assembly party anyone? (I'll make treats, I promise!)

2. We officially have an apartment of our own!!! Even if it doesn't look home-y yet, we have a sweet new couch and bed that are both super comfy--what could be better??

3. We're the proud, adoptive parents of two, count 'em two, flower beds on Center St. Verry official, right? I volunteered with the Parks and Rec kids a year ago, got on their mailing list, signed up for a couple flower beds and then went and planted them the DAY AFTER we got back into town after our honeymoon. I know, I'm a terrible wife for making Ryan get up early on a Sat. morning, but I'm a sucker for flowers...and I really wanted to see my new official name :)

For your visual enjoyment:

After we had planted everything and actually looked awake

The flower-less flower bed

Ryan and the cute flower bed

Me and the flower bed...looking semi-awkward I might add...

Our sweet sign! Totally legit!!

Oh, and to top that off, we got to eat a ginormous breakfast provided by one of the BYU student wards. They had a service project day that day and lured everyone with breakfast. It was catered and there were amazing breakfast burritos. I had one, Ry had two, and we both got as much OJ as we could fill our bellies with. Delish.