He did the mash, He did the monster Mash

(Scene: Cary and I are eating some delicious lasagna for dinner)

Cary: Sooo tell me about your day

Carla: Oooh I went grocery shopping and got some sweet deals. I even got us two pumpkins! And guess how much they cost??

Cary: (like he already knows) 10 cents a pound

Carla: No! 5 cents a pound! They were only 50 cents each! That's like the best freakin' deal of my life!

Cary: Seriously? Best deal of your life? I mean if it were chocolate, maybe. I mean, it gets us what, an hour of entertainment, maybe! I could just sit in front of the tv for an hour... FOR FREE!

Carla: That's it! I'm taking back your pumpkin!

Said I'm so sick...

Cary had a sick day yesterday.

I picked him up early from school, took him home and tucked him in with way too many blankets (we may own a ridiculous amount of blankets... nevermind, you can never have too many blankets).

Then we spent the afternoon ridiculing house hunters on HGTV, laughing at Prince of Persia (and why movies shouldn't be based on video games), and enjoying some comfort food with halloween pumpkin sugar cookies to round out the evening.

I wish every day could be a sick day... minus the sick part of course.

On my knees I think clearer

Everyone seems to be very interested in my job situation... so allow me to fill you in.

As many of you know, I quit my job waiting tables in Germany (making absurd amounts for serving) to come home and win over Mr. Cary Tippets.

As you know, I accomplished my goal! And I decided to reward myself with a little time off from my typical 50-60 hour work weeks to plan a wedding.

Although, this was probably not the wisest decision... that is to leave only the daunting task of wedding planning on my plate without other distractions... it was enjoyable to have time to spend with Cary and friends, as well as ponder my next career move.

Well, the wedding came together, the honeymoon was bliss, and we came back to an empty apartment in provo the beginning of September.

Almost 6 weeks later... my apartment is not empty. I have two comfy couches, a sweet tv, a finished table, chairs that will get done some day, a kitchen that is all mine and decorations slowly going up on the walls. I also applied for countless jobs. I decided that the learning experiences as a server had been mostly exhausted, so it was time to set my hopes on other forms of employment.

Those other forms of employment weren't setting their sights on me, however. So after 3.5 weeks I decided to expand my search to include restaurant management. BOY, did the offers start pouring in. (At least I know where my strengths lie). I even got an offer pretty quickly for a well paying restaurant manager position. It seemed great, except as I was leaving the 7 hour orientation, I got that sinking feeling that can only be related to that feeling at the end of summer when you have to go back to high school. (I'm sorry if you loved high school, you are weird.)

Don't get me wrong, high school was a good experience for me. I played sports, participated in clubs, had lots of friends, and had great grades, but at the end of every summer a minor depression accompanied the wretched return of the cinder block prison. If you still don't understand me... go rent any movie with a teen in it.

Soooo, back to the details of my life, I decided to accept the offer stating I could start in a week (a.k.a. desperately hope for some other option to pop up in the next week).

AND it did! I got an offer as a physical therapy aide! I was so pumped. A job using my degree and something that might even give me insight to my education options down the road. I couldn't be more thrilled... til he told me the pay. Barely enough to cover the bills before taxes, and definitely not enough to glance past the ramen noodle aisle, I was deflated to say the least.

After weighing the pros and cons however, I decided new experience was the way to go. So I started the PT job and went back to the Mac Shack part time to make up the pay difference. Well, I didn't last very long. After a week and some crying because I never got to see Cary, I was spending 2 hours a day commuting, I felt unappreciated and overworked, the house hadn't been cleaned, the laundry hadn't been done and I was exhausted... not to mention I foresaw no time for friends in my near future, I quit.

The morning after I quit was glorious. I didn't have to rush out of bed at 5:30 to battle the traffic to work. I actually felt rested. I had time to make Cary lunch and kiss him goodbye. Despite praying before I quit, around 2 it sunk in that I'm the girl who quits a job in terrible economic times with no prospects in my future.

I'm silly, I know. I'm happy though, and that matters more to me. My family matters more. So (if you made it to the end of this post) please pray that I get a 2nd chance at finding a job, whether I deserve it or not. And if I can be so bold, let's pray that it pays enough to cover the bills and is closer to home :)

It's your birthday so I know

Cary is a QUARTER of a CENTURY.

I know, he's getting old! But don't worry, we did our best to have a great start as he begins the descent into his balding years... oh wait, he's already bald.... well, who cares then! Bring on 25!!!

A few pics from the day...

It was a chocolate birthday--mugs worthy of cary's addiction!

A tee to declare his true love.


Carolina Hoodie from mom and dad! We're brainwashing him for basketball season... and maybe before grad school apps are due too ;)

A BYU snuggie to cuddle up at the drive in movie later.


Ahhh he got me with the birthday kisses.

Sexy can I, just pardon my manners

So Cary and I are sitting at breakfast this morning (I made homemade Egg English Muffin Sandwiches... yummm... little pepperjack cheese, little tomato, so delicious... i digress), and he starts to quiz me in preperation for my job interview this morning.

Cary: Why should I hire you (indignantly)?

Carla: Because I want the job.

Cary: Everyone wants the job, the economy sucks.

Carla: No, I want "this job." Besides the interviewer isn't going to ask me everything with disdain and disgust.

Cary: You have to make me want you!

Carla: Oh, you want me ;)

Cary: sexual innuendos are not going to get you a job! I would refrain from using them in your job interview.

Carla: Thank you obi won...

Who cares if you disagree?

I've started a lot of posts, but they're lacking any creative/humorous flair. So here's my response to being tagged on Marisha's blog...

1. Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate?
Dark for sure, european style

2. What's your favorite color?
Clear. No probably blue... I'm predictable like that, but there's seriously very few blues that aren't pretty.

3. Do you have any creative hobbies?
I love doing creative projects. Sewing, making up recipes, decorating, crafts, etc. But I wouldn't say I do any of them enough to call them hobbies.

4. What was your favorite subject in school?
I loved wood working. I also loved AP Psychology... mostly because of my teacher. In college I enjoyed floral design and my film classes.

5. What is your favorite season and why?
Summer. I love how everyone comes out to play in the summer. I love the fresh fruits and veggies, and barbequing. I love the late nights, and that the sun stays out forever. I love the beach, the pool, camping and bike rides. I love how school ends, or even if it doesn't, everyone acts like they're not really in school. I love the clothes (hello rainbows!). I love the excuse to take vacations. I love the green lawns, the fresh flowers, and that everything just feels alive. I love the concerts and free events in parks.

I do however, hate mosquitos... the one terrible side effect of summer.

6. Who inspires you to sing like crazy when no one is around?
If we're talking about an actual person in my life... probably Jo.

If we're talking about an artist.... probably Celine Dion, or Mariah Carey... I mean their lyrics are ridiculous and of course I can't hit those notes, yet try I will!

7. What's your favorite dessert? Can you make it?
Apple Crisp or Key lime anything. Yes. Can some people make it better? Yes.

8. How did you learn to cook?
I believe it started with lemon bars when I was 7 years old. I mixed up the baking soda and baking powder. One explosion later, I was convinced cooking was fun and my mom decided unsupervised cooking wasn't so fun.

So, now I'm supposed to tag 8 other people... no pressure... I just don't want the chain blog demons coming after me ;) So how about Heather, Emily, Dee, Aubrey, Shelli, Becca, Mary, Liz, and Jessamyn

How did you know I needed you so badly

My husband has a serious chocolate addiction.

I thought I was supposed to be the one with the chocolate addiction?



While I have been lost in dreams of those savory and decadent melt in your mouth belgian truffles that I once enjoyed and still long for...






Cary's addiction is becoming $1 a day addiction.



(Ok, this isn't really a picture of Cary... but it could be)




Ok, ok $1/day chocolate addiction doesn't quite translate like a pack a day. So let me illustrate...



$1/day= 3 fudge brownies= 8 chocolate chip cookies= 2 candy bars= 1/2 bag of chocolate chips



You don't see why this is a problem? His munchies hit late at night which means I don't notice the chocolate chip supply dwindling! Soon I will go to make his favorite cookies and they will be nothing but butter and sugar *gasp* (actually I love sugar cookies), but then where will my husband go to feed his insatiable need???



!!!GASP!!! I will not be beat by you!

And your wretched waxy excuse for a dessert... Commence the secret stash of chocolate.

I'm thinkin bout us Where we gonna be

Sometimes the things said at dinner make me laugh.

A recent dinner prayer given by Cary: "Please help Carla to find a good job she'll like so she can support us... because we both know I don't make very much money."

Also, I admittedly like gossip (nobody's perfect, ok). Cary sometimes tries to inform me of gossip I do not already know, and is always suprised when it is old news. So tonight's dinner convo...

Carla: "So I wanna watch this video"
Cary: "Ooh, I heard that so and so said this and that in it."
Carla: (not even looking up) "You mean you read that on facebook."
Cary: (disappointed) "Oh... yeah"

ha ha ha

Somebody's knocking at your door

When I've had a bad day, Cary tries to make it better by holding me and singing "negro spiritual's."

Ha.

What more can He say

Thoughts 1.0 (idea stolen from mary)

1. As much as I do not love Provo, I occasionally have to count the blessings of living here. Today's example being a regional conference where I was privileged to hear the counsel of Julie Beck, General RS President, and two apostles of the Lord, President Packer and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

2. Sometimes (read: a lot lately, since I have no major distractions, occupations, projects in my life) I observe friends lives and get a little down on myself.

I surround myself with extremely talented, good-looking people (obviously, because friends rub off on us, so I for sure want the good rubbings). My friends include individuals who have sung with the mormon tabernacle choir, play collegiate sports, raise beautiful well behaved children, compete in marathons/triathlons, get masters degrees, buy houses, win beauty pageants, travel the world, play every instrument, and get prestigious internships.

At church you often hear people recall that someone spoke on just the thing they needed to hear that week. I was fortunate to have this same experience yesterday. Sister Beck got up to speak and announced that she hadn't written a talk. She had instead just had different impressions of what to say. She then said "I feel that I need to tell you, you're doing better than you think you are."

I couldn't help but feel like she was saying that to me. I'm not one to say woe is me, because I'm acutely aware of the over abundance of blessings in my life. Especially, as of late, I often think to myself that I got it 100% right in the husband department, so everything else is just details.

Yet, I am often extremely critical of my own situation, and it was reassuring to have a servant of the Lord tell me that I'm doing alright. Ha, followed by "but, you can do better."

What a loving heavenly father, that he gives you a hug and tells you it's ok, but then gently shoves you to go out there and be the best you can be.

3. On the same note, a good friend shared this video with me




4. So... here I go. I have a long ambitious to-do list for today, and I'm applying to a job that would be a good place for me to start. Wish me luck!

Ooooh child, things are gonna get easier

Day 10 Update:

I'm still sick, BUT better because my voice is coming back and I can generally do normal tasks, and I'm not going to bed at 9 pm anymore.

However, my cough is still pretty horendous, it is brutally painful to yawn (gosh dangit, just writing the word yawn makes me yawn) and this just in.... several friends have strep throat.

Ugh. I guess this means I'm caving and going to the doctor to make sure that I don't end up with the long list of horrible diseases resulting from untreated strep throat (i.e. coronary heart disease, rheumatic fever, kidney failure, ear infections, sinusitis, mastoiditis, peritonsillar abscess- yeah, that's pus build up near the tonsils-sick!-and not in the you're ill meaning, in the that's about as disgusting a side effect i can think of kind of meaning)

Anyhow, at least this made me laugh, i'm glad other people appreciate the doc as much as me.

Hot and Fresh out the kitchen

Cereal (Life, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Cap'N Crunch) is on sale for $.98!!! I was so excited I bought ten boxes. Now I'll try to contain myself so it doesn't turn into the cereal sale of 2008, but I've waited almost 2 years for cereal to go this cheap again...

Who's got your money, money

In the event of Carla and Cary's untimely demise:

(A little background: we have been miserably sick for the last 6 days. Due to lack of proper health insurance we have resorted to the ever so helpful webmd to diagnose us. It has been determined that we are either suffering from West Nile viruse, bronchitis, or the common cold. In case, we are not just a bunch of babies who can't handle a sniffle, and the wretched mosquito's have infected us with their deadly disease... i decided it would put my mind at ease to draft a "not technically" legal will.)

So, we have decided that our belongings will be dispersed as so:

-Samsung 32" LCD TV- Carla's Parents
-Incredible comfy tan couches- Also carla's parents
-Cary's computer- Eldest nephew, Emerson
-Ice Cream Maker- Joanna Johnson, best friend and roommate
-Ipod touch- Kim, cause she'll know what to do with my sweet jams
-My one and only Knife- Art, he appreciates good knives
-My car- Dad, I know how much he loves the alarm
-Rice Cooker- Emily, because her not having a rice cooker is like the rest of the world not having a microwave
-Heather and Tim- My gnomes... I trust they will take care of them.
-Our sweet grill- Jeremy, he has a balcony
-Bookshelf and books- Jamie, because an english major can never have too many books, but can have too many books to stack in corners thus needing a bookshelf

To all my devoted blog readers, I don't really have much, but you are welcome to put in dibs for whatever you like. For Cary's family (i didn't forget them... they just already have nice tv's and such), we would like to disperse our monies among the nieces and nephews evenly. Unless, in the likely event that it is hardly worth going to the bank to split up the sum, we allow the parents to just take the children out for extremely large ice cream sundaes.

Saturday I'm running wild, and all the lights are changing red to green

*Disclaimer: I know this is a boring and long post, that's what happens when you have jam packed weeks without time to blog*

***While meagerly proofreading this blog, I realized how truly boring (sad, but I'm not about to rewrite it) it is. Feel free to skim through just for pictures***

Ok, I'm gonna start with the wedding. This is mostly for my memory sake (cause i know i won't write it all out in my journal).

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010 (WEDDING DAY)

I, of course had every intention of waking up getting ready, making sure the last of my crap was moved out of my apartment, packing for the honeymoon and heading off to the festivities... but what do you expect when you leave that much to do? Of course, I didn't get it done. So feeling a little frazzled, I asked Cary to come and give me a priesthood blessing. Yeah, yeah, you're not supposed to see the bride, who cares. It was a great experience for both of us, and I'd recommend it to anyone on your wedding day. It's extremely calming to be reassured of your choices hours before permanently changing your life.

Anyhow, I then realized I had no hot water, so I had to scramble to take a shower at my old apartment, took a little too long on my make up and made it to the park kind of late. Both families stepped in and started setting up the park for the reception and I just let them do their thing. Cary's mom ordered Kneaders for a brunch before the wedding, but I had to go get myself beautified (because I lack skills to do it myself)... so no breakfast for Carla... sad :(

While I was getting my hair done, Cary went shopping for his last minute items (read: belt, etc). Hair also took a little longer than expected... but I got to the temple on time! It started to rain, right as we walked in, and then proceeeded to downpour while we were in the temple.



While you are in the temple waiting for the guests to file in, they leave the couple alone for about 10-15 minutes (perhaps for one last chance to bail?) Anyhow, it was fun to just sit and talk to Cary and tease him one last time about the consequences if he backed out on me. We watched the rain come down in buckets and I was tempted to sing Alanis Morrisette extremely loudly (I think Heavenly Father has a sense of humor). I didn't sing though (too many old people standing around judging you). We then went into the sealing room, and the sealer proceeded to give a 45 min schpeel (it may have been shorter but I'm pretty sure it was about that long.) Cary started to get really nervous (read: sweaty palms), but I was totally fine. The sealer talked about going to the temple, going to church, not putting off children, he quizzed us on temple stuff (which bugged Cary-but I answered and even corrected him when he was wrong).

When it finally came time to be sealed I looked at Cary and started crying.... how pathetic. And I don't mean cute little glistening tears in the corner of your eyes, I mean sobbing. I had to reassure everyone that they were happy tears.

Well, we said yes and then we were married.



The rain cleared up just as we were walking out and the weather turned out perfectly for pictures. It was cool enough for Cary to wear his suit in the middle of August, so I was pretty stoked. I was also extremely happy with how the wedding attire turned out! Families were in khaki and white with blue accents and the bridesmaids outfits turned out really cute. My flowers were pretty, minus no one told me hydragenas die remarkably fast (Note to self: For future events requiring flowers... DON'T PICK BLUE!)


The sisters


Art was being helpful, from cooking to videotaping

I haven't seen the professional photos yet, but hopefully they turned out well. I didn't get every shot I wanted, but the families (especially nephews) got really impatient, so I let it go.






Hugs with Jo


We discovered taking pictures is hard for boys, and natural for girls.


I inherited a niece and a lot of nephews!


The in-laws.

Then Cary and I stopped by Walmart for a couple items for the reception, before heading to Sammy's for a cupcake shake (I was ravenous at this point. Try I was hungry when I got to the temple-3 hours later and I'm really hungry). So we walk in, dress and suit, and proceed to wait 10 minutes to be acknowledged! At which point I don't really have another ten minutes to wait to be served. I still had to pack for the honeymoon (ha, didn't happen) and pick up serving dishes at Macaroni Grill.

The beginning of the reception was a bit frustrating. Probably because I didn't have everything planned as well as I should have. I had hoped to be more organized, but between the moving and family coming in, some things didn't get done. I also tried to put Emily in charge, and she did a great job, but coming into the picture 2 days before the wedding makes it hard to direct everyone.

Despite, a little bit of a rough start... it all came together. I loved the park. The decorations turned out well. It was a bit windy, so I couldn't open all the doors. The food came together. We had lots of friends and family come and stay for a while. It was a lot of fun. It was a very non-traditional wedding. Cary and I mostly just walked around and mingled (no line), we didn't get much time to eat (which probably didn't help my mood, sorry to those I snapped at) and that was all. We didn't end up having a cake or cutting the chocolate dipped key lime pie, or really any other wedding traditions, which made me a little bit sad because it would have helped give the party a little bit more structure, but overall for being the bride and wedding planner I'm happy with how it turned out (read: I'm really just happy it's over).


People kept giving us a hardtime for our innocent kisses, so I went for a good one ;)

The honeymoon was a blast! We ate, and ate, and ate some more. We left for Vegas friday morning (after going to our apartment so I could pack :). Now, let me quickly explain why we decided to drive to vegas:


Me, after eating lots

a) I hate flying (I'm not afraid of flying, I just find the restrictions, cramped quarters, and waiting extremely tedious)(interesting tidbit: mark wahlberg hates flying as well... he only flies if it will be more than a day long road trip)

2) Driving allows one to come and go as they please, stop where they want, have conversations without being overheard, eat food at non-exorbitant prices, adjust temperature and music, etc. etc.

Finally, I've always wanted to see a show in Vegas. When I told Cary this, mocking and teasing commenced, but I'm not talking about an infamous "vegas" show... I'm talking about Cirque du Soleil. I've never been and have always wanted to see Cirque du Soleil. So Cary planned the honeymoon and booked a show but wouldn't tell me which show.

As we are driving into Vegas, he asks if I want to know which show we are going to.... not being a patient person (particularly when it comes to wanting to know a secret) I say yes, and he tells me we are going to X-travaganza!

Ha ha ha, obviously I know this is a fake show, but it would have been pretty fun had it been a real show and Cary didn't know and I could have been embarassed for him. Anyhow, we ended up seeing "O" by Cirque du Soleil. It's a water show, and the stage is a pool that continually moves making the stage anywhere from flat to just a wading pool to 20 feet deep. The show was visually stunning. There was so much to watch, it was hard to pick what you focused on. It was seriously one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. I was blown away by the theatrics, acrobatics, and general athleticism. Seeing the show totally made the drive worth it and I highly recommend it! Reward yourself with a Cirque du Soleil and I swear you won't regret it.



In Vegas, we also watched a couple of the fountain shows in front of the Bellagio, ate some great food, and of course played some of the slot machines. We won 50 cent, but got so bored we decided to call it quits. I'm glad I don't have to worry about Cary gambling away our future one day!

We continued on to sunny San Diego saturday. We stayed at the Bristol hotel. It was awesome. They upgraded us to a Suite (very nice of them), and it was a perfect location (right on 1st and C street, between the trolley and buses and 3 blocks from all the downtown happenings).

We ate at Asti, a cute little Italian restaurant where we sat on the patio enjoying our mango mahi mahi and rigatoni with filet mignon (I don't remember the exact name). Both were mouth-wateringly delicious.

Sunday, we decided to tackle the zoo. We actually ran into another couple from Utah on their honeymoon. They told us how they tried to get to church and were headed to see the mormon sites in San Diego (Cary and I didn't even know there are mormon sites in S.D.), anyhow, they were cool I suppose, but I decided I probably wouldn't be friends with them and I'm extremely judgemental.

Anyhow, we grabbed breakfast at Cafe 222. It was on Food Network's "Best thing I ever ate." So of course I got the best thing, which was Banana and Peanut Butter stuffed French toast, and let me tell you it was pretty close to one of the best things I've ever eaten. (Chicago's Bongo Room still stands supreme) But this breakfast definitely satisfied the taste buds. Just walking into the restaurant was a joyride for the senses. Cary got the mexican omelet, which was also worthy of a second visit. Anyhow, enough about food (for now).

The zoo was sweet. It's HUGE. Cary was so excited about every animal exhibit. I, on the other hand, hate most animals (read: I can skip right over fish and birds for sure) and mostly enjoy the lions, tigers, and bears, or pretty much if it comes out of Africa it's cool.


Cary breaking the rules and eating on the sky tram.


This is how he measures up to a polar bear.


Cool masks, eh?


Watch out for the lions! Sick.


He made me try on a hat.

Well we got hungry so we headed back to the hotel and then to Pizzeria Luigi (a place Cary found on Diners, Drive In's and Dives). It was a dive, but the pizza was a perfect blend of flavors and the crust was thin, but satisfying and just the perfect cross between crisp and soft.

It was sunday, (bus only comes every half hour), so we walked back, and got some sweet views of the city.

Monday: I figured SeaWorld would be less crowded, so we headed there. We got on the wrong bus, and had to cross a california highway, and forgot our towels, and other mishaps, but DON'T WORRY... we made it. For all of you who have never made it to SeaWorld... I'm sorry for you. It's a lot of fun, and yes Shamu is as cool as every 4 year old makes him out to be. Although, the shows have gotten a lot cheesier and everything is a little more geared towards children (I'm told this was because of the animals attacking trainers a year or two back). Cary's favorite part was riding the roller coaster with me. I, admittedly, am a total wimp when it comes to roller coasters. I'll ride them, but I get too scared to lift my hands in the air, and I have a look of sheer terror followed by closed eyes and panic at the top of every major drop.


Still having fun :)


Shamu!


Dolphins!

We decided to go for a burger monday, and headed to Crazee Burger, where we ate ostrich and kangaroo burgers. Mmmm they were melt in your mouth delicious. The meats were so tender and juicy. The ostrich was more fall apart tender, the kangaroo was slightly more game-y but had a rich flavor that was more distinct. So good.


Mmmmm.

Tuesday we headed off to Wild Animal Park (or San Diego Safari Park). I'm glad we saved this for tuesday, because apparently they feed the lions a whole leg on tuesdays! This park was freakin' awesome! If it hadn't been 110 degrees, it would have been one of my favorite destinations. The lion ate the leg right in front of me (which terrified me at first, but was actually pretty cool), the giraffes mingled with the buffalo, the baby rhino was adorable, oh and the elephants were really cool! You ride a tram around the park so you can see the animals up close and it felt like jurassic park... minus the raptors.


On the wild animal carousel.


Right before the lion lunged for the leg of meat.


I forget her name, but she just had a baby


I think I'll be a turtle in the next life.

If you're headed to S.D. in the next year, you should definitely hit up the Wild Animal Park-they're going to start racing the cheetahs in a year!


The elephants were a lot of fun to watch.


One view from the safari ride.

It was so blazing hot after two or three hours we headed to the beach. Coronado Island was raved about, so that's where we went. It was pretty nice for a California beach (I'm an NC snob, our beaches are hard to beat). Cary was hilarious. He's such a beach newbie. He was so excited to get in (even though it was still bitterly cold) and then he would have stayed all night building sandcastles and animal sculptures, but I promised we'd rent a beach house next summer in NC and he'd get the full experience.


Cary playing in the sand.


Cary giving me dirty looks for taking pictures of him in his swimsuit.

Anyhow, we headed home on Wednesday, flew out to Colorado on Thursday, had our open house on Friday (it turned out beautifully... much less stressful than the reception), and hung out with family all weekend. Monday we wrapped up the trip with a Ray LaMontagne and David Gray concert (two of Cary's favorites).


Posing for Mama T.


I made sure to get one of the little eclairs at the open house... still chewing.

Now, it's back to the grind. Cary's in school. I miss hanging out with him all day, but I'm getting organized and hopefully I will land a job soon!

All the lights are changing green to red

SAN DIEGO: The land of much desert and not so much dessert...

Cary and I just got back from all our travels, and now I have a trashed apartment, no food, and no job (aka a lot to tackle). So what do I do... update you on my honeymoon of course!

First let me address the major letdown that was San Diego's dessert scene.

-Our first night in S.D. we ate at a delicious Italian restaurant recommended by the hotel. The food was ridiculously expensive, but we didn't care since it was equally fantastic. That is, until we get our dessert. Rather full I decided to just have a chocolate gelato. So it comes out and it's 1.5 scoops (read: tiny) and then when we get the bill it was $10!!! Seriously! You have got to be kidding me (read: ruined experience)

-Ghirardelli: This is usually a bankable dessert stop in the few major cities forunate enough to claim it's presence, but our sundae was subpar (probably because we were breaking the sabbath and eating out on sunday)

-Extraordinary desserts: Let me just say with a name like this, expectations are high. Carla's review: more a feast for the eyes than the mouth. There were a lot of cakes, fancy european desserts, homemade ice cream, and nasty cookies. We had two pieces of cake, and while it was good, for $10 a slice you expect it to be mouth watering, something different, something worth returning to S.D. for, yet it mostly reminded me of my favorite Cheesecake Factory desserts and left me wishing we could have gone to The Cheesecake Factory.



-Heavenly Cupcake: Seriously! It was featured on GMA and left soooo much to be desired. Their cupcakes are dry and unimaginative. For a truly fulfilling cupcake hit up Provo's own The sweet tooth fairy, they are the most amazing cupcakes to ever grace my tastebuds!






Ok, but honestly, the honeymoon was a blast. Such a fun vacation... and I'll post all about it after I clean the house some :)

It's like rain on your wedding day

Another fitting title "It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap..."

I got married on thursday! And yes it rained, or poured... or you could say a mini hurricane (a gift from my blessed home state of North Carolina perhaps). But it quit raining just in time to come out and take pictures. It was probably a perfect 70 degrees with a slight breeze, so I hope the pictures turned out well.

Anyhow, we're on our honeymoon in San Diego (yes, go ahead and judge me for blogging while on my honeymoon... but cary is sound asleep and I'm wide awake, soooo.... might as well write for a minute). The honeymoon has been so much fun! We went and saw Cirque du soleil's "O." IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I mean breath-taking, awe-inspiring, astounding, visually overwhelming, and everything else. We've also packed in the zoo, some slots in vegas (don't worry we both got too bored too finish out our dollar each and pretty much walked away), seaworld , wild animal park, and the beach. Pics to come.

It still doesn't feel like I'm married, just on a well deserved vacation.... Maybe it'll hit when we get home. Cary's friends all say it's day 5 when you get annoyed with eachother. Well, day 6 and we're still laughing pretty hard... I guess we'll just take this all one day at a time.

Funny quotes so far:
Vegas guy on the street: "Do you cry yourself to sleep at night because your facebook photo sucks??? Come take a picture with my snake."

Cary is all up in Carla's face, so she responds: (with a lot of attitude) "It's a king size bed dude! You don't have to be right next to me."


Ok, now I can't seem to remember the rest... we've had a couple really hard laughs, but pics to come :)

Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby

Cary and I continue to handle the stress of wedding planning quite effectively with arguments about future pet ownership now escalating to arguments over posterity :)



Allow me to illustrate...



Cary: I read a study online that said that girls who do not grow up with a pet dog are going to be promiscious.

Carla: That's retarded. I didn't have a dog, and I'm not promiscious.

Cary: You're a rare exception. Do you really want to risk our daughters being promiscious?

Carla: Yes, actually, I would love it if our daughters were promiscious!

Cary: That's it, we're not having children!

Carla: Fine, we're still not getting a dog.



(while eating burritos for lunch)

Cary: (burrito juice is dripping down his arms) I wish you had paper towels. You environmentalists are messy people without paper towels.

Carla: Actually, you could argue we're cleaner, because you just had to wash your hands and then dry them off as opposed to just rubbing bacteria around on a dry paper towel, maybe if you could wrap your burrito right you wouldn't be so messy.

Cary: I wrap my burrito right! I just had too much stuff in there.

Carla: No, see you're supposed to wrap it like a baby--all tight like so.

Cary: I will not allow you to wrap our babies! I don't want you wrapping them to give away as presents or to sell, or to smoke or any other kind of wrapping.

Carla: Oh yeah, my babies are gonna be cute, maybe I will wrap them and sell them on the black market.

Cary: They'll call you the Black Market Mama... BMMmmmmm. I won't allow it. We're not having children.

Carla: Whatever, I do most the work... I'll decide what to do with my kids.

Cary: Good luck having kids on your own BMMmmmmmm.

I want a simple explanation for what I'm feeling inside

I underestimated the stress of planning a wedding.



As far as planning a wedding goes, nothing goes as planned. And, although these things aren't a big deal, when compounded with the all the emotions you're feeling... they tend to result in meltdowns of various degrees.



So for memories sake (and perhaps to either allow you to reminisce the events leading up to your big day, or mentally prepare for your future big day), here's some of my more exciting meltdowns.



1. Dress Shopping- Allow me to explain that although I am a size 2, this does not necessarily make for happy dress hunting. The average wedding dress shop stocks dresses for girls who are a size 6 and about 6 feet tall (not really, but obviously this allows enough fabric in case they are, and hemming is only a minor fee ;) if they aren't). I went to about 8 bridal stores before my breakdown over the fact that every dress made me look like a hobbit just waiting for the foot hair to grow in! So before you decide to hate on the little girl... check her feet, she might have to go schedule a waxing appointment before anyone will take her engagement seriously.



2. Ties- Cary has a large family, with lots of boys. This means we need about 24 ties for our wedding. At the typical $10-$15 a tie, this makes for quite a chunk out of the wedding budget! Well, determined to make ends meet... I search high and low to find a NY wholesale tie retailer and order some ties! For only $3 each! (Sorry they're a little on the short side, dad). Fantastic, right? Well, if they hadn't come in the WRONG color. So far all the wedding merchandise was carolina blue (if you don't automatically have a visual of this color, I'm not sure about the status of our friendship). The ties are in a cobalt/pool/wannabe turquoise blue. After a week of fretting and being less than pleasant, I decide that I can't find ties anywhere else (oh and the company's return policy is not actually a return policy) and I now reel to rearrange everything around this color.



3. His ring- Cary and I were at a bridal fair looking at rings when he finds one he likes. It costs around $200. Cary decides that the price is ridiculous and they sell men's rings for $50 online, so we should just order one. Sounds good to me. So we get him sized, go online and find almost the exact ring and order it. Well, the ring has come and.... it doesn't fit. Sucks to size it, but I figure at least it wasn't too expensive. Until, I'm told you can't size a titanium ring... (I probably should have known this before hand, but sadly, I did not). So now, with the wedding a week away, I have a ring that is too big for my fiance's finger and a return policy that will take two weeks to get me a new ring.



4. Money- Not only is planning a wedding stressful because our society has countless shows demonstrating the amazing things you can do with $250,000, and you don't have that, but it's a bit emotionally/financially stressful to write out $600 checks on a regular basis. Trying to make your imagination fit within your budget is difficult and extremely time consuming. It takes lots of searching online, shopping, coupon clipping and then I've resorted to crafting (which would probably be fun if I wasn't making 15 of the same thing). To illustrate the stress, let me share one of my scarier moments (and yeah, Cary still wants to marry me ;)

After a long saturday of wedding stuff, we headed home. I'm tired and just feeling overwhelmed, so Cary suggests we stop at 7-Eleven and get a mountain dew for me. I state that I don't want to spend the money and I'll just go home and drink water cause it's free. He insists on getting me a soda... it's only $1.50! Finally, annoyed I pull in and say you can go get yourself a drink, but I don't want one. So he goes in and after 5 minutes comes out with a soda and a chocolate milk. When he gets in the car, I say "I didn't want a soda." He says, good cause I'm gonna drink it. I respond, "Since when do you drink Mt. dew... you're a Dr. Pepper guy." "Since now" he says. Then not even trying to hide my annoyance I ask how much did you pay for that? He says $1.60 (and it's a 20 oz. bottle). And then I just lose it. Seriously! "Cary, the fountain drinks are only a dollar, you get twice the amount of soda, and it tastes better!" Probably realizing that I'm right, he says "well, it's not for you anyhow." He opens the soda, takes a swig and then makes a face, followed by "This really isn't good." Me: "Duh, you got a diet." Cary: "Seriously! Aghhh. That's it, I'm throwing it away." Me: "You're not throwing it away, you just wasted $1.60... I'll drink it."

Ha ha, I'm ridiculous... but at least, so are our arguments. It makes it so much easier to laugh and move on 5 minutes later. Hmmm, and now I want a Mt. Dew...

The itsy bitsy spider... wait, wait, wait hold up

Itsy bitsy my foot!

(I'm going to refrain from posting pictures on this post, due to the nasty related picture two posts ago)

Let me tell you a story.

So, my room has a spider infestation. Let me explain how I came to this knowledge.

Shortly after moving back from Germany, I was reading my scriptures when a spider fell from seemingly out of nowhere to land on my scriptures and cause a mild heart attack (oh yeah, I have arachnophobia (which is also interesting that "no phobia" is in the name arachnophobia... i digress)). Anyhow, after jumping clear to the ceiling and running out of my room screaming, my life saver (Jo) comes to the rescue and kills the spider.

Well, of course I couldn't just hop right back into bed... thus a horrible night's sleep ensues on my wretched BYU issued plaid couches.

After having had a full day to recover from my trauma, I determine that I can indeed sleep in my bed and proceed to read my scriptures before going to bed, when..... imagine the jaws sound right now.... another spider falls onto my scriptures! Now, having my doubts about scripture study, I call Cary, and being the perfect match for me that he is, he comes and takes everything out of my room, pulls apart my bed and vacuums up about 6 more spiders.

Eew.

So, I wish that was the end of my story, but no...

Now, about every two weeks or so I have a dream about a spider, only to wake up and make Cary search my room again to find more spiders.

Of course, last night after Cary had gone to bed... my creepy crawly tormenters came out to play. So what do I do?

What any sane person would do! Break into cary's apartment and sleep on his cuddlebag as far away from the spiders as I can get! Sorry to break your honor code housing rules BYU, how about you get managament to spray for spiders?!?!?

Your very tired friend,
Carla

**Thank goodness I'm moving in a week**

Summer days driftin' away, to uh-oh those summer nights

So, a few of you (if that) may have noticed my sharp decline in blogging over the last two months. Since I don't do much other than plan my wedding (which you should come to), I have major writer's block.

However, it's not like my life is a total yawn... so here's a couple of the fun things I've been up to...

-Mona Rope Swings: this has been on my bucket list for at least two summers, and it was a lot of fun! it's just a lake about 30 mins away with rope swings tied to tall trees.

-World's Largest Water balloon fight! So much fun!






-Scrabble sundays. My new hobby is playing the computer at scrabble to unwind. It's a little sad, but I love it. My high score is 360 pts. Beat that!

-Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me.... kids movies are seriously awesome this summer.




-Taste of the Valley. For only ten bucks, 24 provo restaurants set up booths and let you come sample some the food they offer and give you coupons. It was delicious and ridiculously filling, I think it was about 3 hours before I could move again.

-30 Day Shred with Jillian Michaels. I work out a lot to relieve stress, feel somewhat productive, and to help Cary train for his triathlon. Now I'm doing THE DIRTY DASH, so I seriously gotta be in shape. It's my favorite workout dvd, and it's only $10. Check it out.

-Speaking of THE DIRTY DASH, here's the map. So that's my upcoming excitement! It's gonna be awesome. If you live in Utah, you should most definitely sign up and participate.

Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight

I had horrible dreams last night...

I wish I could blame it on my dinner, but no, I made some delicious pork fajitas (I'm so domestic, seriously ;)

Anyhow, dream numero uno (this is just a quick recap): I'm talking to my sister Emily about her new diet. Emily has had several different food allergies for the past 5 or 6 years including gluten, chocolate, milk, soy, and then recently was struggling with sugar in the diet. Needless to say, this limits ones options for nutritional consumption... so, she consulted with a holistic doctor, who suggested it might be a parasite. Well, in my dream she said that she found out it wasn't a parasite causing her digestive discomfort-that is was a SPIDER!

On comes the nightmare... ugh, how did a spider get in her, and keep living, and cause all these issues for 6 years. So aside from being truly freaked out, I also felt my fear of spiders had been validated (smirk to all of you who make fun of me for being scared of spiders).

Dream 2: I dreamt that I was so busy still trying to pull everything together and get my hair done on my wedding day that I pretty much missed my wedding. I was a little over an hour late, and Cary had left and the temple peeps said I lost my time slot and there was nothing they could do for me. Cary was upset with me for standing him up and wouldn't return my phone calls. So there I am just crying and crying, because I do want to marry Cary (I just also wanted my hair to look good)... and after a while then I'm bawling because what a colossal waste of time and money putting the wedding and honeymoon together all for nothing.

My dad's advice in the dream. Move on and go back to school, ha, he's so practical, even in my dreams.

However, I, of course, was trying to remedy the situation and thought, well I can hurry and call provo temple, they'll have an open slot for a sealing, and then when the provo temple was completely booked I knew it was a dream.

I mean, who gets married in the Provo temple? (I don't think anyone who reads this blog has been married in the Provo temple, but if you were... don't take that personally)

So, here is the beautiful temple that I need to be at by noon on Thursday, August 19th. Help me out and shoot me a text to make sure I don't miss my big day!

Ice Ice Baby

Imagine you're engaged to a guy who, everytime you're ready to go, says "would you stop... ... collaborate and listen, ice is back with a brand new edition..."

Yeah, you wish you had my life. I know.