Wishes

I lost my dad almost six years ago. I was fifteen. He was absolutely my best friend. It was terrible. But... it was a long time ago. There are still those days basically everyday when I really miss him. There is something I want to tell him, something I wish he was apart of. There are birthdays he's missed, dance competitions, graduations, weddings, and so many conversations. Today was an insignificant day but I wanted him to be here so bad. I wanted him to meet the husband and tell him he better not kill his daughter on the motorcycle. Wherever he is right now, I really do hope they know how lucky they are to have him around. I hope they take advantage of his humor and listen to his laugh. He had the best laugh; a contagious laugh. Let him tell all of his stories and accept his hugs. He gave the best hugs. He always wished for sons but he got a daughter and he was the best father a daughter could ask for. He learned to braid AND curl hair, never missed a dance concert and taught his daughter how to golf. I hope those around him now appreciate his generosity and let him curl their hair.

Good Night Moon

Right now I am laying in bed looking over at the husband sleeping next to me. Confession: I am ninety nine percent positive that this is the first time in our marriage that he has fallen asleep before I have. I'm usually out like a rock by 10:30 but for some reason tonight that just isn't happening and, I'm actually enjoying it. I love seeing the serenity that finds the husband's face as he sleeps, seeing the stress and worry of the day fade away for a few hours. Wow, I really love this man. He takes on the weight of the world everyday and carries it with strength. I think he's really been feeling it this week with finals, work, my near death experience (I'll tell what I think is actually a funny story later), rehearsals, and of course the demands of a crazy wife. I'm grateful that he can have peace right now and that I can witness it.  

Boston

Always proud to be an American. What a week for Boston. Still sending prayers their way.

To Elaborate on Yesterday

I had an awesome opportunity yesterday to do a photoshoot with the oh so talented Ethan Watts. It kind of came out of no where but it was such a blast! A freezing cold blast running barefoot through a park but a blast none the less. I absolutely love doing shoots with wild hair and/or makeup. Here are a couple of shots that he got. So excited to work with him again.

I'm pretty sure Tyra Banks would be proud of that smeyes. But no, in all actuality I'm pretty sure I was the most awkward person poor Ethan has ever worked with.  Don't be fooled, being a dancer doesn't make you graceful in situations outside of dance.
 
You all need to check out the rest of his work, the stuff with legit models. He does fashion, weddings, basically anything you need. Use him. Abuse him. 

(link on his name)

Haha... I Pretend to Model

So this happen tonight. More details to come later but for now I'm going to go cuddle with the husband. And... by that I mean sit and watch him and the best friend play Call of Duty.

True Beauty

Have you seen this? I really hope you have but if not take three minutes and watch it now. Ladies and Men both. Ladies watch it for yourself, men watch it for the women in your life. 

I cried when I watched this. I ugly cried when I watched this. No cute single streams down my face, nope there were ugly snotty sobs where my face turned red and the vein on my forehead started to protrude. But whatever that's just how I cry. This really spoke true to me. Everyone has insecurities but there is true beauty in all of us. Please see it in yourself and see it in others. 

*update*
I just read an article that called this video staged and racist. I completely understand that everyone has their own opinion and there are some that think that all this is is a marketing ploy by Dove to make money. You're probably right, a large goal of Dove is to make money but that doesn't mean we can learn a valuable lesson from this video. That we all can and should see more beauty within ourselves despite size, age or race. And who cares if one man in the video said the woman he was describing had beautiful blue eyes. It's true; she did. He never said that she had beautiful blue eyes rather than dull ugly brown ones. He simply called her beautiful. Can we look and focus on the positive affect this video is having on so many rather than trying to find the negative in it?  Let this video be inspiring and let it help woman all over the world.

Thoughts of Today

Yesterday was a day that weighed heavy on the hearts of people all across America. The bombing at the Boston Marathon has rocked the worlds of so many people and families country wide. The newest count being released is that there are three fatalities, including an eight year old child and at least one hundred and forty one injuries. My little community here in Provo experienced a tragedy of their own when a fourteen year old girl went missing on her way to school.

Yesterday was a hard day for the country. That's all there is to say. And it's days like yesterday that all I want to do is go to bed so I can wake up to a new day that isn't full of heartache and pain. But as much as this would make me feel better in the moment when I wake up the next morning, the events of the previous day will still have happened and sadness will still be looming. So it's days like yesterday that I do the only thing I know will bring me comfort, I kiss my husband and kneel down to pray to my father in heaven. I pray for those who are in mourning and I pray for my family and friends. I cry and thank him for the great fortune I have to have such amazing people around me and I pray for comfort to come to those who are hurting. I pray that they will overcome the hardships they are facing and will find strength within themselves and within the people around them. It's the only thing that I know to do. And you know what? I can promise that it really does help. "Sometimes the Lord calms the storm, and sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms the child." John H. Groberg

So I'm going to give you the same challenge I've seen all over social media. Pray for the people in Boston and for their families. Pray for anyone in the world who is having a bad day or is experiencing heartbreak. If you don't pray, do whatever you do. Send them positive thoughts or good karma. But don't just do it for them, do it for yourself.





I just read that the girl in Provo has been found after being missing for over 24 hours. There aren't many details but I would venture to say that no matter the reason whether she was taken or ran away, many prayers have just been answered.

Happy Four Months!

Well friends we've made it! A whole four months of being married, wwwhhat? AND an entire year together, I know I know that doesn't seem like long at all to be together but trust me it seems like a good amount of time. And it seems like it's been so much longer (in a good way of course) we've got our routine down and figured out a lot about each other. 

In four months here is what I have learned about the husband, about marriage, and about life:

• The husband only pretends to like vegetables, if I don't put them on his plate he conveniently doesn't get any.
• The husband is AWESOME at vacuuming, it has seriously done wonders for my OCD. 
• I am and will always be the spider killer
• The husband hates to argue and will do anything to make me laugh so we can stop arguing (which usually just makes me more mad)
• Birth control makes me an emotional wreck and at times a total B, I'm sure the husband is missing the girl he first met who was all but void of emotion.
• The one thing I remember being said at my sealing is completely true, if you always put each other first you will be happy. The husband always wants me to be happy and I feel the same way about him, but it doesn't always work that we're both going to be happy. But when we're thinking of each other rather than ourselves it always end up working out. 
• The fastest way to get the husband out of a funk is to start scratching his back.
• It's really hard to get out of bed when you know you won't see your favorite person again until you get back into bed that night.
• The husband uses Sonic drinks and onion rings as bribes and a way to get me out of my B.C. fits (I've caught on).
• The husband HATES it when I crack my knuckles.
• The husband is the best at taking bobby pins out of my hair after a show, he also loves pulling off my fake eyelashes... weirdo.
• The husband and I both have this weird thing for mustard. We seriously love it and have 8 different types of mustard in our fridge right now. 
• Marriage is really hard but completely worth it.
• Men suck at rinsing out the sink and it's better to just accept it rather than fight it.
• But most of all I've learned that finding the person you're meant to be with is the best thing that could ever happen, it makes life so much more fun.

So I asked the husband when he first knew he really wanted to date me. See, we were dance partners first and had no intention of ever dating one another. And he told me it was after practice one day, I had been somewhat involved with another boy and told him I was leaving to go and finally end it with this boy. He told me to text him afterwards so he would know I was ok (it was pretty late and he wanted to make sure I made it home, best partner ever award). The conversation wasn't exactly pleasant and I text the husband afterwards to tell him I was back in my apartment. He asked if I was ok. I wasn't. He asked if I wanted to talk, and that night we ended up getting slurpees and running through the sprinklers at two o'clock in the morning. That's when he knew. I think I knew when he kissed me out of no where a few days later. I guess I have to be hit in the face with something literally to realize it's what I want.

So we thought, what would be better than commemorating a year by recreating that night (minus the "breakup")? But of course we live in Utah and it snowed last night. Frozen drinks and running in water outside... not going to happen. So sadly our perfect blog worthy anniversary plans were sabotaged but I think I'll make it up to him with an AWESOME dinner and a clean house and... That should almost make up for the weather here.  

Living Young and Wild and Free

20. That is how old I was on my wedding day. Sound like I was really trying to live it up huh? Settled down by 20, it's most college kids dream I know. But to most in the community where I live this isn't all that weird. By the time I was married so were a lot of the girls in my graduating class and a bunch of girls in the class below me. To the outside world, this is crazy. How could I be experienced enough or mature enough to ever know what I wanted at that age? Was I really ready to take on the responsibility of marriage at that age? What if what I wanted when I was twenty is different that what I'll want when I'm twenty six (the average age that women get married in the United States)? I'll give you the answers to that quiz, 1. I probably wasn't 2. Nope 3. They might but the husband and I will grow together and by that point we will still be exactly what each other wants you just wait and see.

But for reals, I totally thought I was insane when I would sit and think about it pre-wedding. Was I really going to be that girl? The classic Provo story, get married right out of high school, start a perfect family with the perfect little RM and live happily ever after in the confines of Happy Valley. Haha... no. Not that I ever judged or thought anything was wrong with getting married young and living this life, I just knew it wasn't for me. Had you told me when I was 18 that I would be married right now I would have told you exactly what I thought and it wouldn't have been very nice (I didn't have much of a filter back then, or now for that matter) But then you find the perfect person and you can't think of a worse idea than waiting to spend forever with them. Wow, before you know it I'll be sporting my hair in a VOLUMIZED "A" line complete with bumpit and and five different colors of highlights in the front and start carrying around a giant bejeweled alligator skin purse. I've got to stop drinking the caffeine free coke around this place, it's worse than koolaid. 

But the husband and I have managed to keep some of our cool. Let's turn the subject a little bit to how in my family we are the wild children. At least that's what my grandma tells us. The husband has one brother who is 9 years younger than him and I am an only child, so when it comes to immediate family we are somewhat lacking in quantity never quality. But I have a plethora of cousins who all live within 10 minutes of us so we just claim them as ours. Of the seven of us, four are married.

                      

Out of the four of us... THREE are pregnant. Due June, July and August. I'll give you one guess as to who isn't pregnant. Did you guess the tall Asian? Well then you are correct! Gold Star! They are all going to have the cutest babies ever so why try and compete? Rob and Shelley already have the most adorable daughter. So while the rest of them are moving forward, expanding their families and adding responsibility to their lives, buying cribs and diapers the husband and I are expanding in our own way. So when people ask us when we are going to start a family here is what I want them to know.
Meet MJ our bearded dragon. MJ stands for Mushu Johnson. His name goes back into his deep Asian roots (as we all saw in the last post)and his dancing family aka. Michael Johnson. Can I list all the reasons MJ is the best addition to our family?
1. He is adorable. I mean look at that face and those little toes.
2. No diapers
3. The husband feeds him
4. He is confined to that space in the house.
5. From time to time he dances against the glass for us. Pure entertainment.
So take it from us. A Bearded Dragon is the best child a newly wed could ask for. 

 

  Now meet the husband's motorcycle. It doesn't have a name yet but I'm sure it will in the near future. Here is what I know about it. It's a Honda Shadow 750. And it's fun to ride on except when it's raining and 30 degrees outside. Then it's not so fun. We even have hardcore leather jackets we wear when we ride it. See we are totally the wild children... Lizards AND motorcycles, what are our families going to do with us? Actually I think the husband's father is as excited about the motorcycle as he is. Now they can ride their bikes together. Their version of father/son bonding. Awesome.

I think that these two things are just about as much responsibility that the two of us can handle at the moment. If we can keep the lizard alive for a few years we'll try our hand at child rearing. And it don't think you can put a car seat on the back of the bike so we'll have to get our fill of that first. So my answer to all those who are asking the question is: Not your business. But for those of you who I like my answer is, after we've practiced on MJ and all the adorable nieces and nephews we'll soon have, traveled the world together with our team, enjoyed the motorcycle and gotten released from nursery (best birth control ever). For now we're loving our freedom.

And for my random comment of the day having nothing to do with this post. Want to know what I'm going to miss most about Spring? Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. They are seriously the best things in the world. The chocolate to peanut butter ratio in those things is a thousand times better than that of a normal peanut butter cup. My heart hurts a little bit right now that I can't go to the store and buy one until next year.

Mulan

So no judging for the lack of posts... It's been a crazy semester. And there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel, at least there was until the husband and I woke up to snow outside. But seriously there are so many great stories and thoughts to share so be prepared for a great influx of posts. Let's start with this deep though provoking post.

Why I am EXACTLY like Mulan. Really guys, the similarities are creepy.

She's Asian but sometimes she looks like she could be related to the Hawaiians from Lilo and Stitch.

I'm Asian and can I tell you how many times I've gotten asked if I'm Polynesian and the kid next to me just told me I look like a combo of these two, point proven...

 

She has a dragon.

I have a dragon.

 

She must "bring honor to her family".

My mom told me the exact same thing the other day and I almost died laughing... pretty sure she felt dishonored.

She has an awesome grandma.

Let's be real my grandma is the best.

She has a lucky cricket.

I feed my dragon cricket.

She married a hot Chinese man.

I married a hot German man, it's basically the same thing, both have angry sounding languages and chronic angry face.

 

 

It's pretty obvious that our friends over at Disney based this movie off of yours truly. Even if I was like six when the movie came out... I'm convinced, aren't you?

And even when he has his angry face... he is still so hot!