Advice.

I need some advice. No matter what we do, we CANNOT keep our floors clean in our apartment. Well, the linoleum at least. About a month ago or so, we bought some of these...

And they BLOW!!

Seriously, they do nothing. They clean a little, but one cloth doesn't go very far. I love the Swiffer Sweepers, but the Swiffer WET cloths are not my friend. Our kitchen and entry way cannot stay clean no matter how hard we try. Yesterday, Josh got down to business and scrubbed the kitchen floor with bleach and water and it did wonders!! But obviously, this is not how we want to clean our floors every time.

So, that's where you come in! I want to know what mops and/or cleaners you use on your linoleum floors. Dirty floors are making me crazy!

Thanks for your help!!

So VERY Grateful!!

It finally happened! I got a job!! AH! I still can't believe it and it all happened so fast. I have been looking for a full-time job for 9 months now and have looked and applied even more since getting engaged and married. Call me crazy, but having insurance is pretty dang important! :) Josh and I have probably applied for 10 jobs or more a week since we got married, but hadn't had a single bite. But all thanks to Facebook, I have a new, full-time job!

It all started Tuesday of last week-the day after Labor day. After getting home from another day at The Garden, I put my Facebook status as, "Allison needs a new job ASAP." Within minutes, Ryan Ladle, a friend from junior high and high school(which by the way, I haven't seen or talked to him in years) sent me a message saying the company he works for was hiring a full-time receptionist/office assistant and asked if that would be something I would be interested in applying for. I immediately responded that I was and I was ready to take anything at this point. So I emailed him my resume and he said he would pass it along and put in a good word.

First thing the next morning, Wednesday, I got a phone call to schedule an interview for the next morning. I went to the interview more excited than nervous because I FINALLY had an actual interview after all this time. The interview went extremely well and I had a good feeling about it. The man who interviewed me said they had received over 140 resumes for this position and then had narrowed it down to around 20 for interviews and they would then narrow it down to 3 or 4 for second interviews. The weekend rolls around and I was getting worried because I hadn't heard from the company yet. But sure enough, first thing Monday morning I get a call to have an interview the next morning. This time my interview was with two other owners of the company. I felt really good about that interview as well, but then knowing it was down to me and 3 other people was making me nervous. They told me I would know by Thursday afternoon if I was chosen for the position and that I should give them a call if I hadn't heard from them by late Thursday afternoon.

Josh and I were both off on Thursday, so we got to spend the whole day together running errands. Every time my phone would ring, my heart would start pounding, but it was never a call about the job. Finally around 4, I decided to give them a call and am told that they had it down to 2 people and that I would know by Friday(yesterday). They didn't specify if I was one of those 2 people, so I wasn't sure what to think.

I also didn't have to work yesterday, so I had a voice lesson and then ran some errands. Around 2 in the afternoon, while shopping in Target, my phone rings and I knew by looking at the number that it was them. I answer and I am super nervous and a little excited. After some small talk, he offered me the position! I was floored! I really didn't think I was going to get the job. I gladly accepted and after we hung up, I began calling Josh, my parents, etc. At that point I couldn't even remember what I was going to buy at Target.

So, I start as a receptionist for Mazuma Capital this Monday!! I am so excited to have a full-time job and am grateful that I will have a solid income. As a server, you never know what you're going to make. Our biggest source of income is Josh's yardcare, but that will end as soon as it starts snowing, so I am grateful that my new job will be able to keep us financially stable. The pay isn't fantastic, but it is decent enough and they have told me that there will be opportunities for advancement with the company. I will also be able to work Saturday nights at The Garden for extra money, which will be nice.

I am so excited and so grateful for this new opportunity. You never know how Facebook can help you out! :)

That's What She Said!

Who's excited for the new season of The Office to start?? We sure are!!!

New Fall Tunes

Music is something I love, something I can't live without, something I am VERY passionate about!! And lucky for me, 3 of my favorite artists have new albums coming out this fall.

First: Michael Buble! His new album, Crazy Love, drops October 9th. His new single, "Haven't Met You Yet" just came out and if you haven't heard it, you should check it out. I have seen him in concert twice, and it was worth EVERY penny. And believe me, it cost a LOT of pennies! His voice is phenomenal and I can't get enough of it.

Second: David Archuleta! His Christmas album, Christmas From the Heart, comes out October 13th! Yes that is a month and a half before Christmas but I will definitely buy it on it's release date! I went to his concert in March and he is such a little stud with a BIG voice! That boy can sing like there's no tomorrow. He's adorable!

Third: My girl, Carrie Underwood has a new album, Play On, coming out November 3rd!!! I absolutely LOVE Carrie Underwood. She is absolutely GORGEOUS, her voice is AMAZING and she has great style! Seriously, what I would give to look and sing like her. She's hot. I went to her concert last November and she can belt with the best of them. Her new single is called "Cowboy Casanova" and it is as sassy and fun as ever. I just added it to our blog playlist, so check it out!


Oh and what I would give for this guy to release a new album soon. I have loved him since his MMC days. My goal when I was little was to be on that show. I love you, JT!! Make a new album soon, please!

Hawaiian Honeymoon

The day after the wedding, we headed for our honeymoon to Kauai, Hawaii. I absolutely LOVE Hawaii, especially the island of Kauai. By far the prettiest place I have ever been! Josh had never been to Hawaii, so I was excited to show him around. Hawaii has always been my dream location for my honeymoon and it was absolutely perfect! We will never be able to thank the Crawford family enough for letting us stay in their condo. It was absolutely beautiful and we had a blast!! Something funny and memorable about our honeymoon is that there was a hurricane warning while we were there. We had no idea until we went to sacrament meeting two days into our honeymoon. My good friend Tiare's sister lives over there and so after sacrament meeting, we went and said hi to her and she informed us that we were just in time for the hurricane!! Luckily, Kauai was the furthest island from the storm and it ended up downgrading into a tropical depression, which basically means lots and lots of rain. For a day and a half of our honeymoon, we had an almost constant downpour, but luckily we had our cute condo to cook food and watch movies in. We couldn't have had a better time in Hawaii and hopefully someday we will be able to go back!!

Here are some of our pictures! I already posted all of them on Facebook, but here are a few of our favorites for those of you who don't have Facebook. Enjoy!

Stopping by the Farmer's Market our first day

At Hanalei Bay. GORGEOUS!

At a scenic overlook-with our Lapperts ice cream of course

Josh found these boots in our condo and he was obsessed with them. He called them his "championship boots."


At Queen's Bath

A view from a hike we went on

Inside our condo. Gotta love my g's hanging out.

This can kind of give you an idea of the rain

Our last night. We ate at Duke's, which is probably my favorite restaurant EVER!

One last trip to the ocean....Until we meet again, Hawaii!!

Oh....I almost forgot to talk about what happened the day we got back from our honeymoon! We came home, napped after having a redeye flight, opened our gifts and then stopped by each of our parents' houses. We went to Josh's house last and his brothers said they had a "brother's gift" for him. (I still want to know where my "sister gift" from them is! JK) I began getting a little nervous, but not as nervous as I should have been. Then I see one of them come into the room and I can see through the Walmart bag that there was an xbox in it. I am COMPLETELY opposed to xbox, or any sort of wasteful thing of that sort(minus a Wii because that is something we could play together) and they know that. Sure enough my worst nightmare had come true - they bought him an xbox. I almost cried. That is NOT how I want to start my marriage. I know of so many guys and husbands who are obsessed with xbox and spend more time on the xbox than they do with their wife. Luckily, it hasn't been a major issue yet, and Josh is not obsessed with playing it all the time....at least not yet :)

Our Tropical Reception!

Here are some pictures from our reception! We had it at Cactus and Tropicals, which turned out absolutely beautiful! Especially since it was extremely windy and dusty the night of our reception, so we were all safe and sound inside, in a beautiful atmosphere! Be sure to scroll down after the pictures and I will tell you the iPod story! FINALLY!

Cutest little flower girl EVER!

Seeing my cake for the first time! It was PERFECT and SO CUTE!

Me, excited about something!

Ava checking out her little bouquet


Me and my cute Maid of Honor-My cousin Whitney


Josh and his boys!


Leaving in our car that was decorated SO cute!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for!!

The story of my missing iPod!!!

As all of you know, music is EXTREMELY important to me. I can't function without it. A few days before the wedding, I stayed up late one night putting together two wedding playlists on my iPod. The first playlist would serve as the background music during the reception and the second was our dancing playlist. I put a lot of thought and effort in deciding what song Josh and I would dance to, as well as other fun songs to play at the end of the reception. The song I decided on was "Love Me Tender," the David Archuleta version that plays on our blog. I am OBSESSED with this song. I love the words and I love the way he sings it. So perfect for my wedding.

Anyway, partway through the reception, I realize that the music had stopped playing. Obviously I couldn't leave the line, so as soon as I saw someone from my family nearby, I asked them to go check on the music and didn't really think much about it until the line was done and it was time to cut the cake. That's when I was told that my iPod was gone. I did my best to fight the tears, and we cut the cake, tossed the bouquet and garter and then I ran around asking the Cactus and Tropicals workers if they knew anything about my iPod. They said that as soon as they heard the music stop, they ran back into the audio room and it was no where to be found. Then came the tears. No bride should cry tears of sadness on her wedding day! Seriously! Luckily our videographer had the copy of the cd of songs I had made for our wedding video in his car and "Love Me Tender" was on it, so he quickly grabbed it and Josh and I were somewhat able to dance, but the cd kept cutting out. It was better than nothing, but I was so bummed my fun songs I had planned weren't going to work out. For example, I was going to have "Single Ladies" by Beyonce play when I was getting ready to toss the bouquet and then I had some fun songs I wanted to dance to with all or our friends. You know, a little Britney, JT, Black Eyed Peas, etc.

Well, Josh and I left the reception and tried not to think about the iPod. I mean who in their right mind would steal the bride's iPod on her wedding day?? Another bummer about it was that we had a 7 hour flight the next day to Hawaii, so we had no iPod to help make the flight more bearable. About 3 days into our honeymoon, we get a call from Josh's mom saying that my iPod might get recovered. And here is what happened.

During the reception, Josh's 11 year old brother and one of his cousin's got bored and decided to wander around. They came across the audio room, got curious and went inside. They saw my little pink iPod and decided to play with it. They ended up unplugging it, somehow not realizing that when they did that, the music stopped and they started playing around with it.(When I got it back, it was on Kanye West....yeah, he was NOT on my wedding playlist) After a few minutes, they thought they heard a dog bark or something??? And they got scared and hurried and set the iPod down and ran out of the room. The iPod somehow fell deep into a box, and that is why it wasn't found the night of the reception. Anyway, Josh's little brother then left the reception early with his cousin, without his mother's knowledge, so he had no idea my iPod was gone until a few days after the wedding. Sandy was talking about it and he asked if it was a pink iPod and she said yes, and he proceeded to tell her the whole story. So the next day, she took him to Cactus and Tropicals and they searched the audio room and found it buried deep in a box.

So my iPod is back in my possession. I am so glad it is, but still get frustrated when I think about what a disaster the end of our reception was. I know worse things could have happened, but every girl wants their wedding day to be perfect. And, because my iPod was missing, my mom missed us cutting the cake and tossing the bouquet and garter because she was looking for my iPod. I feel so sad that she did! After all, she and my dad are the ones that paid for the wedding and I am their only daughter. If only his brother had stayed the whole reception, then it would have been solved right then and there. At least he did fess up about it though! But we are glad it is back and Josh is REALLY glad he doesn't have to buy me a new iPod! :)

August 6th, 2009

Well, I am FINALLY catching up with blogging!! Be prepared to experience blog post overload from me.

August 6th, 2009 was the best day of my life!! There are no words to describe how amazing that day was and how wonderful it is to be sealed to Josh. I was actually able to sleep for a few hours the night before the big day and I woke up, showered and went to my hair appointment. My good friend Shawna did my hair and I LOVED how it turned out! Seriously, it looked good! :) Then I hurried home, got dressed and spent a LONG time getting my makeup just perfect. Then it was off to the Salt Lake Temple.

It was so special having my mom there helping me put my temple clothes on. I know it is weird but exciting to have her only daughter be married. After that, Josh and I were able to go sit in the Celestial room and wait for our turn to be sealed. There is no better feeling than to sit in such a sacred place with your eternal companion. We were both so excited, but so nervous. When it was our turn, we had a few minutes to talk with our sealer, Don Gowans, who is a man from my home ward. He is such a stud! He has got to be the smartest man I know-especially about the gospel. Then it was time to finally enter the sealing room. I will NEVER forget that moment. It was one of the best and most over-whelming feelings I have ever felt. My eyes immediately filled with tears as soon as I saw all of our family and close friends there to share this big moment in our lives. My dear friend Kenneth Cope squeezed my hand as we walked in and for some reason that calmed me down a bit. We were so lucky to have such support that day.

The sealing was perfect and so amazing. I wish I could remember every single thing about it and every word that was said. Elder Gowans did such a good job of keeping it short and sweet, but not rushed at all. After the sealing, we were able to hug every person that had attended and that was So cool! I'm so glad so many of our close friends could be there. It was kind of an advantage being one of the last of my friends to get married so that more friends could be a part of our sealing. I am also so grateful my cute grandparents could be there. They are 89 years old and these past few years I have wondered if they would still be around when I got married. I have had a close relationship with them my whole life and I feel so blessed that they were in good enough health to be there on our wedding day.

Another highlight of the temple was walking out the temple doors with Josh and seeing even more friends and family waiting to greet us. I have never felt so much love! All my best girlfriends were there, as well as Josh's close friends. We also had several cousins and relatives there that hadn't been at the sealing. It was so fun seeing everyone and taking pictures with people that mean so much to us! Here are some pictures from the temple from my brother's camera. Sorry these are in a reverse order. :) I'm still learning how to blog!

My mom and dad and Ava

With Josh's family

Josh's fam

Me and Ava Anne


My family

I'm obsessed with my dress. And Josh.

I also LOVED my wedding shoes

It was a little windy that day

Love

LOVE my girls! I wish Heather was in this pic!

Walking up the stairs in a wedding dress is extremely difficult!

My extended family

Josh's extended family

Coming out of the temple