First Year Anniversary: Our Love Story

Ian and Haley McHardy 
noun.
1.         The greatest couple in the history of ever.


One amazing, hard, rewarding, beautiful, busy year as flown by us. I really can't believe we've already hit our first milestone as a married couple. This is exciting stuff, guys! In honor of this momentous occasion, and just because it's my favorite story to tell, I will give you the gift of our love story.

So let's rewind to August of 2012. I had just graduated from Desert Ridge High School and was preparing to move out of the house into my own apartment in Tempe. Ian had just come home from serving a 2 year church mission in Dallas, TX. Almost exactly a week later, on August 9th, was the first rehearsal of the 12-13 season of Resonance Vocal Ensemble (a choir I had started to sing in the year before). For a few weeks until that day, my mom would casually say:
"You know, the McHardy's son Ian comes home from his mission in few weeks."
"He's so sweet and so cute"
"If he asks you on a date, you have to say yes" and so on.
This entire time I'm thinking "Yeah okay whatever mom I'm gonna marry my missionary jeez think what you want".
On Ian's side, his dad kept telling him about me:
"You know there's this girl at choir, she just graduated high school and she's really cute. You need to ask her out".
He's thinking "Yeah okay whatever dad".

Clearly, we are very opened minded people, ;)

So. The first choir rehearsal arrives. We usually do a little social before we jump into the music, since we take the summers off. I was at the food table (OF COURSE) getting some cake and next thing I know it, a young man is standing beside me talking with me about the cake; which happened to be just Velvet Cake, since the gal who made it did not use red food coloring or cocoa. We're just chatting up a storm, and it was actually refreshing since it was hard to find anyone up until that point to have an intelligent conversation with or at least not have to try so hard to keep a conversation going. After a few minutes, Lorri (the choir director AND Ian's mom) decides to get rehearsal started so we start to part ways to our seats where I say 'I'll talk to you later' and he responds, 'Oh yes, we will definitely be talking later'. *aw snap* According to Ian, he wasn't interested in his dad's dating suggestion until he saw me at rehearsal and thought "Okay! I'm sold".

Time goes on. I was in the middle of a summer fling when I met Ian so I wasn't immediately interested but by the time September hit, I was so ready for him to ask me out. After rehearsal on Sept 6th, he said to me "I want food. Do you want food? I want food". Um, okay? lol Of course I agreed and he took me to Dairy Queen, where he purposefully ordered me a large Blizzard when I said I only wanted a small, just so that it would take me longer to get through it so he could keep me longer. Sly fox.
It became a tradition every Thursday to get Dairy Queen after rehearsal.
Now about a week later we had a 9/11 memorial concert at Tempe Towne Lake and I had mentioned on Facebook a while back that I wanted to go see Les Mis at Gammage for my birthday. Guess who asked me to go to see Les Mes at Gammage for my birthday? This kid. When he asked my reaction was "SHUT UP YOU ARE NOT TAKING ME ARE YOU SERIOUS OKAY I GUESS I'LL GO". So it was a date. That Friday, the 14th, we were to go see a Broadway show .

Fast forward to that Friday. We both got dressed up, had a fancy dinner at Subway, walked around Gammage til the show started. We are seated (the best seats, 2nd level front row), the show starts and I have my hand resting on my knee closest to him, just waiting to be held, but with no avail. He is leaned forward, completely sucked into everything that is a professional performance of Les Miserable. Which was cute, but frustrating at the same time. The show is over (which was FABULOUS) and it's barely 10 PM. The night is still young! We head out to Tempe Marketplace where we chat some more at a picnic table for another hour, and Ian asks me if I've ever gone stargazing. I respond no, but I want to. What do we do? Go out to Bush Highway, sit on the back of his car, look at the stars and talk until 3 AM. No biggie. ;) He drops me off at my apartment and was *this* close to kissing me but leaves instead. I then get a text saying I forgot something. I run down to the parking lot and he's standing next to his car with my ticket. I retrieve it from him, give him a looooonnng hug, his forehead is now pressed against mine, my heart is about to beat right out of my chest.....and he turns back to his car and we say our good byes. The bait has been set.

We see each other again the next night and then on Tuesday night, where we find ourselves back out on Bush Highway, looking at the stars. Here is where he starts to inch closer to me, our faces growing nearer, until our noses are touching and we hardly speaking louder than a whisper. Finally, I simply cannot take this game anymore. I don't play games. Involuntarily, I say "screw this" and I kiss him. What a wonderful kiss that was. What a wonderful last first kiss. It goes pretty quick from there. We started to date officially later that week on birthday, said our "I love you's" 2 weeks later. Here's the kicker. Ian had sworn into the Marine Corps in October and was leaving for 3 months in December. 3. whole. stinking. lonely. months. But we got through it. I may or may not have had a countdown on my phone.

 I had started my new job at State Farm by the time he was 2/3 of the way done so it went by kind of quicker when I started to work. Finally, his boot camp graduation was here and my parents drove me to San Diego to attend his graduation and take him home for his 10 day boot leave. What a good day. :)

The first Sunday he's home, his family planned an open house for people who wanted to see him. I thought that was perfectly acceptable and normal idea. What fun! Everybody is over at his parent's house, a total of maybe about 60 ish people are there; both my sister and his sister in law Allora have their cameras taking pictures. Me? I'm thinking about how nice it is they brought their cameras so people could take a picture with Ian in his dress blues. After a bit, Taylor, Ian's best friend, shouts "SPEECH!". Everyone agrees, so he starts to talk about what he learned at boot camp and his experiences. I'm sitting off to the side of him, with his little cousin Mailani sitting in my lap. I'm thinking this entire time, WOW he is so good at public speaking he's so eloquent blah blah blah and finally Mailani goes somewhere, and next thing I know it, after his beautiful little speech he's on one knee in front of me, in front of friend and family, asking me to be his forever. I think you all know what my answer was. ;)

It was a wonderful week to follow, my sister took our engagements (WWII themed) that turned out simply beautiful!

it was great, except for the part where Ian had to leave me for another 6 months to finish up his MOS school. That was the hardest goodbye ever. We had our last date until he came home in late August. It was the longest summer of my entire life. It was good that he wasn't there physically during our engagement because I don't know if we would have been able to wait that long, if you know what I mean. lol but I was able to get wedding planning done and all Ian needed to worry about was showing up. I had been planning his arrival for Saturday August 24th. I even took part of my shift off of work so I could pick him up from the airport. THIS TURD knowing what an impulsive planner I am showed up at my doorstep 3 days early! haha As bad as it was, I had my schedule set and he messed it up. ;) I got over it quickly. 2 weeks later, on September 7th 2013, we were sealed in the Mesa AZ temple for time and all eternity, and let me tell you what a perfect day that was.

 Happy anniversary, love. Here's to many more.


     

Modge Podge Thoughts and Procrastination

So I have been home from school for about the past 3 hours, and though I know that I need to have the rest of the apartment packed for moving day on Friday morning, I can't seem to get myself to finish the last two rooms. Seriously, it would take a total of an hour or two and I'd be done. Instead I shall share my ambitions and dreams of decorating this house!

So, when you first walk in, you have the front-sitting-area-living room. My thinks I will go with vintage garden/nature/ lively colors here especially since I already have cute birdie wall hangings to start it off with. For example:

Imagine this, but a brighter blue, and matching sofa and arm chair.

And you can get the sense of the room with the following:

I think you get the idea.

And then to tie into the family room that's just through an entry way, nature influence and same colors, just richer colors (honeysuckle vs sunshine yellow, forest green vs grass green, etc):

Also THIS COUCH. Its wonderful.

And then the kitchen also using the richer colors. Tuscan feel to match the nice serving plates we got from the wedding:

The last part (since the loft isn't really something I will take the time to really decorate--future kids' play area), is the bedroom! We can afford to upgrade to a king size bed so there'll be a different color scheme for our room than it is now, making the guest room our current color scheme (purples and grays).

I AM SO EXCITED.

Take the gorgeous metal detailing/overall design of this bed

And make it this color and add the storage underneath of this one

 And that's the bed we are getting at the amazing American Furniture Warehouse off of Power and 202 San Tan. Seriously. The best place to buy furniture because it's all wholesale pricing. Yeah, this bed we're getting is less expensive than the mattress at around $690. It's the best place ever.

Then our bedding and room will be teal and burnt orange. Not the in your face versions of the colors, just a tad more subdued, like so:

Mainly the teal color with accents of the orange, as well as grey and white

Any whom. This is definitely something that will happen over the course of the semester because there is no way I can put this together all at once while I'm going to school. But it will be an exciting adventure nonetheless. :)

Good night lovelies.

Belated Birthday Bonanza

Hello all, I haven't posted since last week so I figured I could gab about my ordinary weekend that also happened to be my birthday weekend.
I turned the big 2-0, no longer teenager milestone, second decade of life, the 20th anniversary of the blessed day I graced the Earth with my presence, on Friday the 20th. HA I turned 20 on the 20th. Awesome.
ANYWHOM, I wasn't really anticipating much, since for crying out loud, I just got back from a week long cruise where I did nothing but get waited on hand and foot. So the day started out waking up relatively early at 7 am to go to the DMV for my name change and our address change. By the time we got there around 8:30, the line was literally out the door, so we decided, EH we'll hit up Bed Bath and Beyond first. That trip was an interesting one in itself because of EVERYTHING that we received as gifts (which were all so amazing by the way, we are super grateful), we did not receive any of the basics. i.e. towels, dishes, silverware. We had been living off of 2 of plates, bowls, glasses, and cutlery . Meaning I did dishes every. single. meal. That got old pretty fast. Long story short, we have dishes and silverware! YAY! The towels are yet to be bought, but Target will be getting a visit from us shortly.
So that trip happened.
Then we went back to the DMV, waited for 20 minutes to find out that we didn't have all the documents we needed like our marriage certificate. Definitely a duh-moment but it definitely set me off since the lady at the Social Security office never said anything about bringing that with me, she said the receipt would be fine. UGH. Some people. So we went back home to get what we needed, and poor Ian had to listen to me vent but he's so good to me and listened and helped me calm down, since it really wasn't that big of a deal. (What did I do to deserve such a great guy? Beats me). We finally got back to the DMV, waited in line, and got our tasks done pretty quickly. We were out in little over an hour. :D I was pretty happy about that, and also that my picture was update and that my license now has McHardy on it. That put me in a good mood, so we went to Burlington to get me a cute outfit for later that night. ;) YES BIRTHDAY LINGERIE. Deal with it. We did get him a nice new Trump tie though too. It looks pretty studly. We got home probably close to 2, and man was I tired! I get up at 4:20 AM Mon-Thurs, I deserved a nap. So I did just that.
Hehehe. How exciting, on my birthday as well as my day off, I go to the DMV and sleep. Awesome right? It did get more exciting, I promise.
Woke up around 4. I decided we should go out to dinner at least for this occasion, and Texas Roadhouse was the place to be. After overindulging in my carnivorous habits, we grabbed some $5 movies at Walmart, went home, and watched a movie called "The Island". Ian's pick. It had Ewan McGregor in it and Scarlett Johansson, so how bad could it really? It was very intriguing to be honest! I don't want to spoil it, so I won't go into detail, but I definitely recommend it.
Then Saturday rolled around and I just worked literally all day. I won't bore you with my 8 hours of insurance-filled adventures. I was able to make it to the dinner portion of Choir Retreat though. My tummy was happy by the end of the night!
Then Sunday came about, and I love Sundays. Church and relaxation. So much relaxation, I slept in till 10. HA. Cause our ward don't start till noon. Suckahs! Our new family ward is the bomb though. I had a really good first impression. We came on a week where there was a youth spiritual number and combined RS/Priesthood. srsly tho the youth is about 70 total, easy. At least that. Ian's very excited about that. He's really good with the youth. He was a Priest adviser before he went to his Marine Corps training.
Everyone is really nice; people came and introduced themselves to us, since obviously they didn't recognize us. It's a pretty established ward in a very established stake. We stood out. We also stood out because Ian has a powerhouse voice that carries over the congregation. :) I'm getting used to it, but I love to hear him sing. Makes my heart go pitter-patter. But yeah! Major success. Then that night, Ian's parents were considerate enough to make cake and get me a gift, so we went over there for dinner and a little birthday party. So sweet. UGH I just love them.
So yeah. That was my birthday weekend. Eventful, but not in your face. I liked it. A lot.
But yeah. I'll finish up with peectures of my put-away dishes (because I'm a noob who gets excited about that), as well as the lovely cake my sister Ashley made. :D

It's red-velvet, my favorite! 

Yay dishes and glasses!!!

And the silverware...we're not total cavemen.

Here Goes Nothin...First Post EVER!

OKAY. So. I am joining the blog band wagon here, and I have NO idea what I am doing, so bear with me.

Disclaimers:
1) I am fully aware that for the first part of my blogging career, I will most likely be talking to myself. And I am okay with that. I do that in the car anyway, so it's already kind of a thing.
2) If I am fortunate enough to start having readers, please start following so I can follow you back. Yay networking!
3) I think I am absolutely hilarious. If you don't think so, then I apologize in advance for the puns, stupid jokes, and more than occasional innuendos (I'm a theatre kid, it's in my blood).
4) If I do post something with a strong opinion (which I don't think will happen often) and you happen to disagree, either be tactful or don't comment at all, otherwise I will delete it. I am extremely non-confrontational, and I'd like to keep everything cordial at all times.

ALL RIGHT. I think that is it. So here we go. I'll start with a mini-bio on myself to get the ball rolling.

My name is Haley Jane Taylor McHardy. Jane isn't my middle name legally, I have just been called that all my life, but Haley McHardy is my name. I graduated from Desert Ridge High School in 2012. I was a hardcore theatre kid and also band kid as well. I used to be 1st chair French Horn in the top band through HS, but I quit senior year. I miss it now. The horn, not high school. UGH you could not pay me enough to go back to that hellish place. I did a semester at ASU for theatre but after auditioning into the Acting BA program, I realized how much I did not want to continue in that field, so I withdrew from the Spring semester and have been trying to figure what the heck I am going to go to school for since. I am determined to go back in January though, gosh dang it! Any whom, I turn 20 in 2 days. HOLLERRR. I am young LDS woman who is married to the most considerate, handsome, hard-working, quirky, lovable, patient, and strong man you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. His name is Ian Joseph McHardy and I am pretty sure I fall more in love with him every day. We were married 11 days ago on 9/7/13 in the Mesa Arizona Temple and we just got home from our Alaskan Cruise that my parents set us on. We live in a wee apartment out in East Mesa and are loving the area. I work at State Farm Insurance as a Customer Care Center Sales Representative. Meaning, I can complete a variety of policy transactions and give you quotes on most private passenger vehicles, motorcycles, and renters insurance. Hit me up. ;) It's a fabulous job that pays very well and I am very fortunate to have, especially being half of a newlywed couple. I work early mornings during the week and a full day Saturdays. Saturdays aren't my favorite, but hey, it's money. Haha I sing in a fabulous group called Resonance Vocal Ensemble, coming up on 3 years now. That's actually where I met my husband; his mother directs the choir and he joined when he came home from his mission in Dallas Texas last August. Ian was actually my dear friend Hope Douglass' missionary before she got married to Mark Douglass, who is best friends with my brother in law Alex McHardy, who is married to Hope's best friend Allora McHardy. SMALL WORLD. The whole circle-situation-everyone-tied-together thing cracks me up. I love it really, Hope and Allie have been so nice to me and I love them to death. In fact, I love my friends and family SO much and I am very blessed to have wonderful in-laws as well. They have also been so very good to me, and I couldn't ask for anything better. Other than that, I am sure I'll be documenting more of my soul in the posts to come.
But hey. That wasn't so bad! First blog post? Check. :)

Here! Enjoy this picture of a cat stuck in a jar.