It's the Final Countdown!

Heyoooooo

So last time I checked in, March had just begun! Ian started his new job, spring break was finally here, and I was frantically preppin for my senior recital. Let's go from there!

Senior Recital 

So wow! That happened, and it was insane. And super fun. You know you've grown a lot when you get to your senior recital and you don't have a single meltdown over the music (unlike my junior recital where I was literally forgetting entire songs from anxiety HA). Instead, I had a little freak out over my makeup, which I was not happy with at all but eventually put my vanity aside and kicked butt. I went out there, had fun singing some beautiful music, and then celebrated with my friends and family! I had an AMAZING turn out, I think the organ hall was almost full! So probably a solid 50 people showed up. Even my grandparents came out from Boise for the weekend, AND my dad came in from Utah. I felt pretty darn loved. Plus, the reception was beautiful thanks to my mom and mother in law. I had been planning every detail for months and it was even better than I had anticipated. A huge weight came off my shoulders that night and I could not be prouder of myself! Sure, there were some mistakes (I'm just going to forget that I even sang Willow Song for the sake of self-esteem and forgetting that crash and burn hahahaha) but overall it was about 90% where I wanted it to be, and I'll take that win. Anyway enjoy some peeectuureess.

The rest of the weekend was filled with general conference, Easter, and family. It was one of the best weekends ever!!


End of Semester

The rest of the semester was simply filled with me scrambling to learn my part in opera scenes that I had unwisely been putting off with my recital. Looking back, I should have and could have been more prepared, and I have learned from it. We had a super fun scene that was hilarious and chaotic, which made up for the fact that our scene didn't come together musically 100%, ever. haha and I mean that in the best way possible! I was told we were really funny, and that makes up for it. Oh well. It was a good experience regardless of a seamless performance, and everyone else in the show that night was phenomenal! I'm so lucky to know so many talented people.

I was also working with Anne on picking out the "fun" stuff, aka AUDITION ARIAS! FINALLY! I love concert and recital music, but let's be real, this is the music I've been waiting to dive into! And boy, have we!

Other than that, the rest of my semester was pretty laid back. Kind of anti-climactic leading into graduation, with hardly seeing anyone until the day of! Speaking of which...

GRADUATION Festivities!!

So back in February, I was notified that I had been nominated and selected to sing the National Anthem and alma mater at undergraduate commencement! Kind of a pretty big deal, considering this was for the entire undergraduate graduating class of 2018! It was held at Chase Field, where Ian said roughly 12,000 were in attendance?? INSANE. I have never performed for an audience that large, let alone in a venue this large either, LET ALONE BY MYSELF! It was a crazy day. I went to work, met Ian at a public park, drove to Chase Field and practically missed sound check because I hadn't received any email on what I was supposed to do that day (turns out the lady who was supposed to send it to me, forgot hahahahah /cries). I'm already a stress ball, so this kinda added to it. Fortunately the gal who was like "my person"/escort/buddy was super calm and really nice (her name was Melissa) I made it to sound check where I learned that singing in that large of a space with that many speakers can make even the most competent and confident musician feel like a total GOOB. Fortunately the sound guys were also SUPER nice and gave me inner ear monitors/pack, and I felt like a total pro. After sound check, we went up to the Audi Diamond Level and were fed dinner and I felt SO COOL. You don't understand. I was on Cloud Nine! I was referred to as "The Soloist" all night and I didn't mind one bit. +50 to ego, right there. Anywho, Melissa and I make our way to the field, and I got to hang out in the dugout with Sparky for a hot sec, and then go below the field as we wait to start the procession. I got to be on the stage on field for the whole ceremony! Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm prepared, though I was a little nervous and it's time for the National Anthem and I had to nudge Michael Crow to let me through and I'm freaking out because maybe I was accidentally super rude to the president of ASU and I couldn't hear anything because of my earbuds and I get to my spot just to realize when the brass choir started that my ear buds WERE NOT EVEN ON and had to sing the National Anthem with no monitor but fortunately the ear buds themselves blocked out the reverb and I was with the timing and wasn't off and it was fine but I still was internally freaking out.

PHEW. Sorry for the run-on but it had to be done.

I then remembered to turn my pack on for the Alma Mater, which was better but I made up the words because that's just how it goes. By that point, everyone was screaming so nobody even noticed. But me.

I noticed.

heh.

I'll still considered it a success cuz they paid me $150.

Anywhere here's some more peeeectuuurresss.

 I almost forgot I did a pre-show interview so I'm now just waiting for Ellen to call me

It was definitely a 10/10 experience.

Then actual convocation came around 2 days later, but just for Herberger! It didn't feel real, but it felt very real at the same time. It's an odd experience! Part of me couldn't believe it was happening since I've been in school so long, I never thought I'd be finished! But the other part of me was like HECK YEAH I AM DONE AND I SO DESERVE THIS! Anyway, that ceremony wasn't nearly as exciting but I got to walk to it was worth it. My parents took me to lunch afterwards and we just hung out the rest of the day! Pretty good day.

HERE ARE MORE PHOTOS OF MY FACE

betcha didn't know I could float with no legs

So many wonderful experiences and opportunities, and even better people and relationships. /sigh They tell you it flies by, but you don't believe it till it does. 💗

Anyway.

Long story short, I did it.🌟

I think this is a new record...

HEYOOOOO this is a new record! It's been over 6 months since my last blog post. Wowza! Well much has happened since the beginning of August!! Let's dive in, shall we?

SCHOOL

Last semester was incredibly busy, trying, and amazing. I grew a lot over those few months, both as a human being and a singer. One of my highlights was being in the chorus for "The Bartered Bride"!! Honestly, I wasn't sure how much fun I was going to have at first but we hit the ground running and it was a fantastic run! I made SO many new friends and had an absolute blast!!

So many wonderful people all in one pic

My dance partner, Josh! SO glad we became friends! He made the show so much fun! He and I had a fun little "yodeling" bit during the circus scene. He learned the accordion just for the opera! I got to sing some high notes, so that's always a good time. haha


YOUNG WOMENS!

YW in Excellence

I really started to get my bearings in my calling over the last few months of the year. I've been in YWs for over a year now, and I can tell I have grown up a lot. We had a successful YW in Excellence, as well as New Beginnings (and when I say successful, I mean that we pulled it off without anything catching on fire LOL).

We helped with the ward Christmas party, had a Halloween party, had an etiquette dinner with the YM, have gone to the temple, and have gotten to know the girls  and I LOVE them SO! I love my calling! It's definitely hard and I'm being stretched, but it's a good kind of stretch. 

YW in Excellence

Ward Christmas Party Photo Booth

FAM BAM and FRIENDS!

I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by people who love me and support me just as much as I do them!! My mom and step-dad moved to Alabama tho in October, which kinda sucked a lot, but they've visited a lot since and they are coming down for my recital in a few weeks. ❤ One of my closest friends Taryn was Gilbert Days Rodeo queen and I got to go the rodeo for the first time since I was probably 12 and see her rock it as a real-life QWEEN!

she is too cool, guys 

We also do a lot of sangin' together, my friends and I. I kid you not, I'm drowning (in a good way) in talented people and I will never complain about it!

At the Gilbert Community Center singing for some crazy kids and their moms who are there for the free carbs

THE HUBS!

Ian and I celebrated our FOURTH anniversary in September! I would have loads of pictures BUT we didn't want to spend $20 on them because WE GOT TO SEE DOLPHINS for reeeaaalllsss It was magical!! Such beautiful and intelligent creatures! We got to get in the water, play with them and pet them. It was so cool. If we were rich I would have bought a whole album but alas, I am not. 

I have a hard time believing that we will hit the 5 year mark in 6 months! 6 months from today, to be exact! I don't feel old enough to celebrate that many years yet lol but here we are! Well, we will be. haha I love that human. He's the best one, in my opinion. 

Speaking of him, the Marine Corps Ball was great as per usual. We had some gorgeous pictures taken by Allie and had an overall good time. This was probably the most fun I've had at one yet!

 *swooooooons*

The rest of the year, including New Years and Christmas was wonderful as well. Since this year was technically my family's year to have us but they were in AL, we had Christmas Eve at Katie's house and then Christmas morning just the two of us at home. It was different, but a good kind of different. I made a yummy french toast bake that we ate after we exchanged gifts. It was a relaxing morning before heading down to Tucson to see Ian's extended family. My dad also came into town for a few days, which was fun! We shopped, went to the movies, and ate out (which all three things are such treats!). I love being able to have room for him to stay when he comes. Our New Years party was a hit, as always. We played games, enjoyed each other's company, and welcomed in what has been the best year yet!!

NOW! 2018!!

I've been in school for the past few months, frantically finishing learning my music/memorizing before my recital in 3 weeks! I was taking some online classes, which had me run ragged for the first 8 weeks of the semester, but thankfully those are over! I auditioned for grad school a few weekends back, and I nailed it!! I honestly have never walked out of an audition feeling to genuinely good about my performance before, and it was a good feeling. Cross your fingers ASU gives me money!😉 I also got a new job!! I work for a CPA/financial adviser in Mesa as an administrative assistant. I get paid to answer the phone, manage his schedule, and miscellaneous duties (especially during busy tax season!). It's a low stress job, which is a first for me haha, and my boss is super nice and very flexible with my schedule. I think I'll be sticking around for a while! I am learning so much about real-world stuff and so far this has been the best job I've ever had. Ian also started a new job this week working for a company that installs gates (all kinds!) and so far he likes it. Verizon was draining him of any motivation and drive left in him, and even though it was a little scary to have him quit without anything lined up, he's been much happier and that makes me happy. We've bonded a lot more since he's been happier and more relaxed---the person I married! 

Anyway, lots of good things in store for this McHardy clan. I can't wait for my recital, I can't wait to graduate, and I can't wait for the opportunities heading our way! Thanks for making it this far, lovelies!!! Till next time! 

End of Semester Catch Up

Hey guys! It's finally May, it's finally summer. That is so strange to me! The semester felt really long, yet it flew by. Basically up until spring break, time seemed to mosy on and take a relatively slow pace, but after spring break came and went, it's like I blinked and it was suddenly over! The latter half of the semester was filled to the brim with seemingly endless deadlines and performances, so naturally it whizzed by faster than its preceding half.

Surprise Party Shenanigans!
One of the first eventful things to happen post-break, was my incredibly successful secret scheme of throwing Ian a surprise birthday party! Ian isn't one to make a big deal of himself, let alone his birthday, and I felt that he should be made special on his special day. Considering how terrible I am at keeping something like this a secret, and Ian can read me so fast, it was a huge success! We had a good 20ish people show up, including friends from out of town. I lured him out by getting a birthday dinner at Serrano's (one of our favorite restaurants) and stopping at Walmart to get Moana to watch when we got home. My mom had picked up the groceries I had ordered for party refreshments and with the help of party goers, decorated our living room in time for when we arrived back at the house. Ian had no idea! I actually surprised him! And I think he felt very loved. #bestsneakywifeaward

School Shenanigans!
With Ian's party done, it became a mad dash of finishing assignments, memorizing music, and learning staging. My aesthetics (read: philosophy) was probably the hardest class I have ever taken in my education career and I somehow managed my time beautifully during the chaos of the last few weeks of the semester {which NEVER happens} and I think I did a bangup good job too. [I got an A, so I will definitely take it]. It was a split undergrad/grad class, and based on what my friend Tyler told me, if I was able to be successful in that class then I can definitely do grad school. *phew*

The rest of my classes were a breeze compared to that beastly aesthetics class, and I know I was able to keep up with everything. Music History was fine enough, though the TAs were tougher than the actual professor {my bet is that it's an ego thing but maybe that's just me /shrug}. My Jazz in America class was awesome, considering it's geared towards non-music majors, so I had zero problem acing that class. I did get to go to a really great jazz performance for my final report, and I actually came out of it really glad I took the class. I love it when that happens!

At The Nash in Phoenix 

Opera Scenes was downright the best class I had this semester. My scene consisted of all-star castmates and we had the most fun scene! We did the opening bit of Bernstein's Candide, and yours truly got to sing Cunegonde. Dream come true! Everyone was hysterical in their roles and as a whole sounded pretty darn good. Robert even said he really liked it, so you know we did a good job. Upon listening to someone's recording, I wish I had worked on my part with Anne in hindsight, just because I heard myself fall back into some bad habits that I had worked so hard to try and press out of my system and I think she could have cleaned up my high notes better than I did on my own. I wanted to surprise her, and though I did well, I am a little frustrated that I know I could have done better. C'est la vie! Now I know for the future. :) I wish I had taken some photos of us in costume because we all looked fabulous! The rest of the scenes were also so impressive, and there wasn't one weak scene in the whole program. It's seriously so incredible how many talented people are here, and we're not lying when we say we have the hottest MT program in the US. ;) I managed to end the semester with good grades, all As and one B. The B was in music history, and as mentioned before, the TAs were really hard so I will consider that a success.

Summer Shenanigans!
I have some good plans for this summer, which include not working. BLESS. As fun as the kids are most of the time at VIK, working for VIK is not for the faint of heart and I was tired of being treated poorly and then blamed for circumstances out of my control, as well as a lack of organization and respect from people above me. One of my bosses straight up through me under the bus on multiple occasions because of mistakes she made and that was the last straw for me. I got the email about working summer camp, and I just ignored it. I don't know if I'm brave enough to just email them and tell them to take me off payroll (there are people who "stay" on payroll so they don't have to reapply every summer) but I haven't gotten there yet. Maybe she'll just assume I'm done because I won't ever come back? Is that bad?

We also held a very successful Bollywood night (and ironically on Cinco de Mayo ha) with my dear friends Taryn and John, and their significant others Jared and Kylie. We made curry and naan, watched "Om Shanti Om" and had a jolly time. It's been decided we shall do this more often because too much fun was had. Also those people are some of my favorite people so that's always a plus. 

I had been asked/hired to sing the "Pie Jesu" in Faure's Requiem (If you've never heard it, please go take a listen. It's truly some really beautiful music! Nothing fancy, but very pretty nonetheless) with a full choir and orchestra in Chandler/Sun Lakes. I was super excited for it because it was my first paid gig, and it was going to be really good. I had gone to a rehearsal on a Friday (5/5) and it went really well and was looking forward to the performance the following Friday. WELL that weekend is when things went towards a different...direction. Sunday was fast Sunday, so naturally I didn't have anything to eat all day by the time I got to my in-law's house for dinner. They had saved me some food (we get out of church later than they do) and I went to town. My stomach kinda started to hurt when I finished eating and my tummy felt a little tight. It was a little uncomfortable, but I just thought maybe I had eaten too fast or something. I felt it for the rest of the evening but it wasn't bad enough to warrant leaving early. We get home and go to bed and I complained to Ian that my tummy really was feeling really weird, but I was hopeful I would sleep it off. I was very wrong. I got a very poor night's rest, tossing and turning! I would lay still because moving made my stomach hurt, but then I needed to change position again and it would make me super nauseous and it was just a never ending cycle of discomfort. We woke up the next morning, around 7 and my stomach was feeling super weird and not good! I was getting a little nervous because it was something I had never experienced before. It was like I had done a really intense ab workout and my stomach was super sore from it. There was the tiniest pinch on my lower right side, which made me think appendicitis, but upon texting my sisters I initially didn't "pass" the criteria like hopping on one foot, or hurting after releasing pressure, etc. I thought maybe my digestive system was backed up so I went downstairs and started sipping on some apple juice to get things flowing. To my surprise that kick started my colon I guess, and I did my business. But it made it worse! I was starting to really not feel good. I hollered up to Ian to call our primary doctor to schedule an appointment (we had just taken Ian to the ER for his gallbladder and I didn't want to make that expense if my problem ended up being digestive). The earliest we could get in was 3pm that afternoon. I made my way upstairs and my pain started to really increase. I was in tears by the time we were off the phone making the appointment and within 5 minutes of that phone call, we decided to just go to the ER. We waited in the ER waiting room for about 45 minutes {read: 2 million hours} before I was seen, and by the time they got to me, my pain was at a solid 8/10. I felt absolutely dreadful, extremely nauseous, and straight up miserable. My ER nurse gave me some morphine and something for the nausea and the staff were pretty quick on all the registration/housekeeping. My time gets foggy at this point, but I think within the hour they had a urine sample, blood samples, all that good stuff and I was taken to get a CT*

              *Tangent: Getting a CT was kind of a cool experience actually! Uneventful, but the fluid they put in to see all your junk made it feel like you whizzed your pants. haha

Came back from CT, and hung out for a little while longer and my drugs were starting to wear off. They were really quick with the results and I was informed I had acute appendicitis and would have to have emergency surgery! By that point I didn't really care how they got it out, nor was I nervous about having surgery (I've never have had one before this), it just needed to come out so I could stop feeling miserable so they brought me up to the OR floor, (upon arrival, I vomited because without the morphine and nausea drugs my pain/nausea was def a 9-9.5/10 so it's good to know I wasn't exaggerating any digestive pain I guess). They put one of those little caps on me, I met my surgeon and anesthesiologist (who was like the nicest person) and then he put something in my IV, and I was out. I vaguely remember opening my eyes and seeing the OR light and them putting on the gas mask and then the next thing I know, I'm in my hospital room! I stayed overnight, and was home around 2pm Tuesday. It was crazy and kind of a whirlwind, and I kind of have a hard time believing it actually happened. haha It was an adventure, that's for sure. I was in the ER by 9, seen by about 10, and in surgery by about 1. It kinda went 0-100 real quick haha

I was still pretty drugged up at this point haha 

Recovery has been interesting because I don't know what to expect from something like this, but it's been fairly straightforward. They did the procedure laparoscopically, so fortunately I haven't had to deal with any nasty draining/stitches/etc. Just some small incisions down my lower belly. If anything, it's been more annoying not to be able to use my core muscles! You forget how much you use them by just...existing. haha Oh and for laparoscopic surgeries they pump you full of carbon dioxide so the surgeon can see clearly, so I was bloated AND couldn't use my abs for like 5 days, so I now I have a pretty good idea of what I'll look like when I am like 5 months pregnant, whenever that will be. xD I started to feel like myself on Saturday, and I've been feeling much better every day. Ready for the steri-strips to come off, but I'm not allowed to touch them till they fall out on their own. Boo. And even though I feel almost perfectly fine now, I can't lift anything above 15 pounds for another 6 weeks, and I don't know how long till I can workout. I was planning on totally getting in shape this summer, but now I'm set back 6 weeks! rawr.

In other news, I was cast in this fall's LOT production of "The Bartered Bride"! I have a few featured chorus roles, like a waitress and a bride, and my personal favorite, Heidi the Yodeling girl!

I have no idea what that entails, if I get to yodel or not, or whatever but that is my character's name and basically means I get to have a lot of fun with it. Or I'll make it fun. Or both. Either way, it's a win. There shall be lots of stage time, and lots of folk dancing! Normally I'm nervous about choreo, but with my background in swing and country dance, I think I can actually offer something really nice this time around! Huzzah!

In the mean time, I have an opera workshop with Jeff Stevens and Jen Nagy to fill up my time, as well as some lessons with Anne to get a headstart on my recital. Because OHYEAH I'm delaying graduation till May just to make my life a little bit easier, and to have more fun.

I also have girls camp to do, but that is being planned by my camp directors for the most part, so not much for me to do there....so yeah. That's been my life in a nutshell since March.

Till next time, my lovelies!

Decemburrrr

Hey y'all. It's been a while up in here so let's get to it!

Last time I checked, we had done the anniversary post...yes! That is correct. Well, let's do a month play-by-play!

Rest of September:

After our anniversary, was my birthday! Since I'm in school it's not like we can do anything super crazy, but we went to Serrano's for dinner, which was delicious. Did we do anything after that? Gosh I don't remember. I'm becoming a party pooper for my birthdays. I don't like spending that much time over it.

October:

Because I'm *that* exciting, it was a crazy blur. 17 credits worth of classes will do that to you. Well, the first of the month was general conference, which was obviously wonderful. I spent my time between sessions decorating, which was super cute.

The next weekend after that, my brother-in-law Max got married to his childhood sweetheart! It was the sweetest thing. They've known each other since they were like 7 or something like that. Bri is the sweetest and it was a beautiful day!

That led into fall break, which was a nice little break till the semester came down hard. I was mainly focusing on getting all my music learned for my recital, as well as working at rehearsals for the student lab production of Cendrillon {Cinderella} at school. Not to mention auditions for Mozart's The Magic Flute were coming up, and apparently it was custom to have the callback material learned before callbacks to show you're prepared and serious! Just add that to the list of music I had to have learned and memorized, sheesh! {By the way, I totaled up how many songs I had to have learned and memorized over the whole semester and it came out to 14. No wonder I couldn't retain anything by the last week of classes} Nevertheless, I did my best to learn the Papagena duet (since Papagena was my first, albeit very bold choice in a role that I preferred). Also, because I am not that wise of a person at times, I didn't take some advice that I had received to learn the 1st Spirit's callback material as well, and lo and behold, I got a call back for 1st Spirit in addition to Papagena. I had to learn 13 pages of music in one day! God Bless Hope Douglass, for she saved me that day. I mustered through the callback, though I definitely could have handled myself better. I take myself way too seriously at times. My Papagena callback went well, though I couldn't remember the words at some points and the music stand my audition partner and I were sharing was further away from me and I couldn't make out the words! Oops. I thought overall it wasn't bad, but I didn't think Papagena was realistic since I was competing against two grad students and another senior. A very long 3 days came and went, and Taryn texted me at like midnight telling me to check my email and LOOK WHAT I FOUND:

I could hardly believe it! I was half asleep and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me! Fortunately enough people auditioned where they could double cast the principals, so here I am on the docket! I am so excited to be part of this production, and to have a fun role! 

In the excitement of auditions and callbacks, which were held on 10/30 and 10/31, we did not celebrate Halloween this year. Which is cray, but honestly with these results, I didn't mind one bit. 

November:

The first weekend was the Marine Corps Ball. This time around was so much fun! Especially since I'm starting to remember people and we had an awesome group at our table. It was held at a Double Tree Hilton way up in North Scottsdale, and it was huge! Wayyy bigger than the last few years, which was awesome because we were so smooshed the last few times. The food, as always, was to die for. I even tried the salmon on my plate and it was actually really good! The dessert was so fancy.

This was like a chocolate mousse with a crunchy crust on the bottom. Noms.

This was a key lime cheesecake! So good!

THEN, literally the next day was the dress rehearsal for Cendrillon, and the following day the actual performance! Talk about a busy weekend! Cendrillon was a such a fun experience and was perfect as my first opera. I was La Fee (fairy grandmother) and I hammed it up, per usual. I made so many new friends and got to know people I met before way better. It makes me sad that I don't get more time here to hang out with these special people!

 These hooligans.

THEN my life went in to hyper-recital mode. All but one of my eleven songs were new this semester and I was working as I hard as I could to get it ready by November 23rd. GUH. But I made it to that evening with relatively no problems, except a minor meltdown about parking (I know, I'm such a loser haha). The recital started and I did it! It was actually super fun, and I was super relaxed, even when I had to make up a few words in my French songs. I DID IT! We had yummy sweetbreads courtesy of my in-laws and all in all it was a good night. And I couldn't have done it without my amazing accompanist Hope. She rocks my socks. And I REALLY could not have done it without my amazing voice teacher Anne Kopta:

 She is amazing and has helped me grow so much over the past year! I just love her.

 Also, I felt pretty that night sooooo shameless selfie time.

And my poster, that I designed myself with the help of Google.

My recital was the day before Thanksgiving, so I got a nice long break to relax after surviving the majority of the semester! We had Thanksgiving with my family and some extended family at my parents' new house and the community clubhouse. Yummy food and good company. The following week was the last week of classes, meaning wrapping up my finals (because my instructors were awesome like that and I only had to show up to one final during finals week!) and attending dress rehearsals for the Holiday Gala concert at ASU Gammage. I will never get used to singing on Gammage stage. It is so much fun. And the concert was a major success! Even after all the craziness, I managed to come out on top!

Straight A's, baby!

In other news, I bought this beautiful wooden table off of Facebook! It needs to have a major overhaul in sanding and repainting, but it will be nice to finally have a kitchen table again!

I have been majorly enjoying staying up late and sleeping in to an ungodly and unhealthy hour, all while systematically deep cleaning my house. Well, now I am because I have been helping my sister Ashley pack and clean her house in preparation of their move to Alabama. At first I wasn't too keen on her leaving, but I know that is where she and her family are needed right now. It was kinda hard to say goodbye, but I plan on visiting her this summer! 

Also, in another crazy turn of events, I joined Mary Kay! If you don't already have a consultant, come to me! There are reasons why I decided to join, which are valid and I feel like this will be good for me. And I'm excited to make extra money while I'm at it.

 Almost all my Christmas shopping is done, I just need to order Ian's gift and I'll be set. I'm also trying to muster the motivation to clean our room and bathroom but...I don't have any excuses. Thanks for reading, my lovelies! 

Obligatory Anniversary Post: The Triple Threat

{Sorry for that horrendous title. I really couldn't think of anything more clever.}

OMGoodness 3 years ago at this exact moment we were on a cruise in Alaska, frozen and so in love. Honestly, where did the time go?? LOOK AT US LITTLE BABES.

It's hard to believe a whole 3 years have come and gone! When we went out to dinner this weekend to celebrate Ian said that it feels like we've just always been married and it's so normal now. It's so true! I hardly remember what it was like to be single. Well obviously I do, but let's be honest that was just high school for me and that doesn't count. haha it's clear that we are NOT newlyweds anymore and just kind of living life. Anywho, let's get on to the celebration!

We had a Cheesecake Factory gift card that we've been holding onto and this was the perfect occasion to use it! After I got home from school on Friday, I changed into nicer clothes and we went straight to the restaurant. Fortunately the wait was only 10 minutes because I was starving!

{he insists on making this wide-eyed face anytime I take a picture pfft}

 Ian got a gargantuan Caesar salad--I'm talking a 10 inch plate and it was full. I got this lemon-garlic shrimp and pasta and it was amazing. The shrimp were these huge ocean shrimp and it was the perfect portion size. It was off the "skinnylicious" menu, so it was a more moderate serving than a normal entree. I will definitely have to remember that for the future because I hate getting overstuffed. We finished dinner just in time to walk over to the dollar theatre next to the restaurant and we saw Now You See Me 2. Which was amazing because magic. But really the plot and how it was executed was truly fantastic. It was also hilarious which is an added bonus. After the movie we went back to the Cheesecake Factory to get some cheesecake. You can't NOT get cheesecake when you go. It's un-American. Overall it was a super fun night. I love spending time with my designated human. 

This year I got him a gift that would make a great addition to his office space downstairs. He's been slowly but surely transferring things down there from the upstairs guest bedroom next to ours and I thought he needed something fun to hang up in there. I found this Etsy shop that does fancy blueprints of all sorts of things, INCLUDING different Star Trek ships!

The ones circled are the ones I ordered! (not in that size though, but 8x11 versions) They haven't come in the mail yet, but I showed Ian and he's pretty excited about it. My gift on the other hand, I may or may not have been purchased 3 months ago because I really wanted and I told him I wouldn't use it till after our anniversary. I have been wanting a pearl ring since I was like 16. My mom has always had one and I just love how they look. They are so elegant and go with everything. I went into  Kay's with my friend Kelly and I found this ring and I fell in love. The salesman was giving me a deal, so it was way less expensive than what you're probably thinking. {it's also the first anniversary gift from Ian so it makes up for that}. Anyway, Ian gave me the OK to get it since I reaaallllyy wanted it and I said it would count for my anniversary gift. Here's the beauty that I am finally going to wear today!

I love love love it. So pretteh. 

In other news, the semester is going swimmingly. I have more homework than I'm used to because you know, 17 credits will do that. BUT I have friends that have finally transferred there too so I'm not totally alone. I have gotten to know some more people better which is nice, but it's also really nice to have people I'm closer to as well (SHOUT OUT TO TARYN AND TAYLOR). I'm not nearly as stressed out about my recital, now that I have almost all of my music picked out and it's getting learned. I think I need another song or two and I will be golden. {Mark your calendars for November 23, at 7:30 pm in the 5th floor recital hall! There will be cupcakes}. I must say that not working and just focusing on school has made me stress level go waayyyy down. I have so much more time and I don't feel like I'm drowning, even though I have a lot to do for school. I sleep in till 6:30 every day, I have time to prepare a healthy lunch and I still manage to cook dinner maybe twice a week (which is huge for me). AND I have time to binge watch America's Next Top Model without sacrificing practice time or homework time. ;) Overall I think I will enjoy school a lot more now without feeling like I don't have enough hours in the day. 

Major shout out to Ian who is still working full time and now doing online school full time at ASU too. He's a stud who works so dang hard and I am so proud of that nugget. He is such a blessing, and he is mine forever. I love how he loves me without hesitation and is my rock and my biggest fan. Happy anniversary lover boy.