shedding light on...

i think i'm going to write another blog. one where i can write whatever i want. this blog was meant for ryan and my happenings, but recently there hasn't been much going on with us, but i have stuff to say...not that i have anything important to say. i just need an outlet. a journal so to speak since i stopped writing in one the moment ryan and i started dating. so for tidbits and musing from me you can go here.

ayex and minderella

As i previously mentioned, my dearest alix came to visit this last week! yes..it was a pleasure. We did all things charleston with some relaxation intermittently tossed in there. 

some good quotes i would like to document for memories sake are:

(at folly beach)

ryan: "i say we ditch this beach and let's all get matching tattoos to solidify this thing we call friendship."

(on our way to the airport)

alix: "my trip isn't quite over. i have yet to witness a really good ryan and mindy fight."

mindy: "just you wait a few minutes, i'll make ryan cry."

ryan: "i DO NOT cry."

I love this alix girl and don't know what i would possibly do without her. Thank you for coming to visit me, birdie!

(yes alix..i am using it.)

midnight update

wow. i've really been a slacker, haven't i? well. let me start off by saying it's all because of my new J O B. i got a job a few months back as a chiropractic assistant. my first day was back in june. i still can't believe it's been over three months since i started there. it was SUPER stressful at first because it wasn't at all what i signed up for. seeing old hairy men's butts wasn't exactly in the job description. but i'm getting the hang of it now. i get up at 7:30 every morning and don't get home until seven on most nights and all i feel like doing is curling up with a good book or watching my shows when i do arrive home. 

ryan and i haven't been doing a whole lot of blog worthy things. i suppose i could share a few job related stories, but i'm not sure what the legality stand point is on that. maybe if i just don't share the patient's names? all i know is i've met quite a few over sharers in the last three months. i don't know if it's the fact they we're in a doctors office and they feel its a safe place to unload or what, but there is never a dull moment. maybe i'll start a new post once a week where i share a good story. i shall call it story time. or something much cooler than that.

we started house hunting last month, but became instantly discouraged when we realized no was would loan us any money with ryan recently opening a business-a field in which he's never worked before. so that dream died quick. on to bigger and better things for the mean time. whatever they may be.

we've made a few boating trips when the weather's been pleasant. always a relaxing time. we still can't believe the summer has come and gone. it flew by way too swiftly.

recent highlight: it's shrimping season so we've had some fresh shrimp to cook up. making my life complete. the shrimp alone makes living in the south worthwhile.

and in one week my dear bffl alix will be joining me here on the east coast and i couldn't be more excited! it has been too long my friend. i'm counting down the days.

haunted

i just finished mockingjay and i think i will forever be haunted by the end of the hunger games. haunted. yup. it's the best word to use. i absolutely LOVED the first two books in the series. i thought more so than twilight until this book. i won't spoil anything for those of you who haven't read it yet. don't get me wrong, i enjoy my share of angst and unpredictable, but this was just...depressing. and i suppose that's what war is, but suzanne collins could have at least given us a little bit of closure after the first two.

i'm not not recommending the book because i feel it's still worth reading, but don't go into to it thinking it will end with triumph and rainbows.

praises for my ryan

so i realize it's been months and i promise i will update soon. i got a new job, so it's kind of taken up my energy and life, but i wanted to quickly write about how proud i am of my husband! as many of you know, ryan just opened up an on-site computer service franchise fast-teks. well my awesome husband just got his first review! 

"I was having a virus problem with my computer and started calling various numbers for help. FastTeks came to our rescue in less than an hour right in the convenience of my home. I was so impressed with how personable and knowledgeable Ryan was. He had my computer fixed and performing at top speed without the computer leaving my house. A discount was given for first time visit. He even stayed longer to help explain to me some questions that I had and loaded some programs on my computer to help protect it. Try them you will never call anyone else."

click here to read it in all it's legitimate glory...he got FIVE stars!

he makes me SO proud! go husband go!

overwhelmed

i just finished reading a book last night that i can't stop thinking about. i dreamt about it, i woke up reliving the scenes and it won't leave me alone. it's every writer's dream, really (to have a book that can have that sort of effect on a person).

the bronze horseman by Paullina Simons. she's a russian/american/brit. the book is an international bestseller and for good reason. 

 it's about a young russian girl and a red army solder who fall in love during WWII in russia. i didn't know much about russia during that time period, but it truly was an eye opener. it's an 810 page novel so there is much more involved than that, but i don't want to give away any spoilers. 

it's apart of a three book series, this being the first book. sadly, you can only find the books on amazon. and the third one isn't even available in america until february 2011, but it will be worth the wait. i just know it. i bought the second book as soon as i finished the first one. and will let you know my thoughts when i finish it!

if you thought noah and allie or jack and rose had a true and passionate love story then you haven't met tatiana and alexander. seriously.

so if you can handle reading about war, starvation, desperation, impossible love and  loss...just do it.  i need someone to talk about it with me.

gosh just thinking about it makes me want to cry! i've never cried so hard while reading a book in my life. (in good and bad ways)

before reading this i was not warned, but i shall warn you. there is a bit a language and quite a few passionate love scenes. i normally wouldn't even recommend the book, but the story is so compelling it's one that had to be told. and the book really wouldn't be the same without them. (not the language...i could do without that.)

sunshine state

last week ryan and i went down to tampa for some fast-teks training! one and a half days of A LOT of information. helpful information. but A LOT nonetheless. ryan is now in a pre-launch phase. in the next month he'll start hiring techs and doing A LOT of advertising and marketing. we've already gots some leads with businesses in summerville that want to work with ryan so that great news! he just has to get up and running.

 we only stay for a day longer after that, but it was one good day! we went to a beach called st. pete's which was gorgeous. the bluest clear water i've ever seen. and then we went to a place called sea critters which was recommended to us by the guy who trained us and man, am i glad we took him up on his offer! everything was delicious from the ciabata bread and caribbean butter to the lobster pasta. too die for! you find yourself in tampa? we recommend it!

since when did i start liking history?

i really don't know. i never cared in high school. i guess living in south carolina makes me feel apart of it. this past weekend we did some exploring of ryan's home town. he and his bff tom came across this park a few weeks ago. ryan couldn't believe he'd lived there his whole life and never knew this place existed down the street. it was fort dorchester..used during the revolutionary war. we plan on going back frequently because it was gorgeous!

i am not my body

after watching this mormon message i feel very humbled and a bit ashamed for complaining as much as i do. it helped me realize the most important things in life. i've officially been put in my place. thank you for inspiring me stephanie.

and then there was the time...

that i got an eye infection that last for like a freaking month and i got an allergic reaction to the medication and turned into will smith in hitch.

then proceeded to get a stye. yeah...took a month to be able to wear make-up and contacts. best month of my life.

riverdogs..what. what.

a couple weeks ago ryan's family got some sweet box seat tickets from a family friend to the charleston riverdogs game. minor league baseball. i always forget how much i love going to baseball games. some of the best past times in SD were padre games at qualcomm stadium.
bonus: we won.

and i also proceeded to get hit on by some college frat boy while ryan was in the bathroom.
frat boy: "you waitin' for your friends?"
me: "my husband."
frat boy: "oh..yeah..i'm just waitin' for my two girlfriends..you'd think they'd be quicker in there."
me: nodding awkwardly
guy: "so..what do you do? where'd you go to school?"
buddy..i'm waiting for my husband. did you not catch that part?
finally ryan came.
of course, i was flattered.

oh, no. it was coming up again. word vomit.

okay. i feel a rant coming on. i just can't keep it inside anymore. it's like word vomit.(mean girls..you can google it) SO my friends, overt you eyes if you feels like this could be awkward or painful or negative or uncomfortable or upsetting...or all of the above.

you have been warned.

we'll start with an easy one...

number 1: last minute people. the inconsiderates, so to speak. you know the type. the ones who walk all over you because you're too nice to say no. so they never think or plan ahead until the last minute to ask a favor of you. and they have no problem asking you because they know you'll do it. they don't worry because that's the kind of person you are. that's just how you were raised. so you get taken advantage of over and over again. well. right here, right now, i say no. it stops now.

number 2: when people ask questions or make comments about anything pertaining to pregnancy. if you're pregnant, when you are going to get pregnant, if you can get pregnant. whatever the question...word to the wise..it's never polite to ask these questions.

i'm not sure why it's such a sore spot..maybe its the fact that i know many people who have difficulty getting pregnant or maybe its the fact that everyone and their mom is getting pregnant right now. or maybe its the fact that ryan and i aren't so the incessant questioning is repetitive and frustrating. so for all of you who may be wondering, "it's been almost three years..where's the baby ryan and mindy?" i'm sure grandma would like to know too, but she doesn't ask. maybe it'll be another three years. i promise..when it happens..you'll know.

number 3:  i thought i had a third, but i suppose it's just these two...for today.

i've said my piece. thank you.

*sighs and walks away*

takes money to make money

how true that is. ryan and i just took out our first loan. scary. everyone's exciting first though must be..is it a home loan? sadly..no. it is a small business loan. we've gotta make the money first to get the house. but we're still very excited! after months of deliberation about what business ryan was going to get into he finally made his decision.

drum roll please.....

it's an on-site computer service and repair franchise.
after being debt free our entire lives..we're finally joining the real world. wish us luck!

the brains of the family

(this was taken about two and a half years ago, but you get the idear)

this is autzen. he's five years old and soaks up knowledge like you wouldn't believe. he reads at fifth grade level-but don't quote me on that. typically every sunday at the dinner table we are informed about an animal and any fact you want to know about it. 

yesterday while chattin' in the kitchen with lindsay and ryan and my mother-in-law, auzten says something along the lines of..

"hey grandma, did you know the cheetah is the fastest running cat?"

grandma: "really?"

ryan: "what about the fastest bird?"

auzten saying matter-a-factly: "a falcon."

ryan: "how about the fastest running bird?"

without missing a beat auzten says: "an ostrich."

i busted up laughing with amazement. this kid never ceases to surprise me. i thought he'd flounder a little bit..but it was as if on que..like someone said GO! and if he doesn't know the answer he will tell you, "you know...i don't know". and then go home and search through his books or go online to find the answer and then remember to inform you of his findings when he sees you next. this kid is the smartest five year old i know. he's smarter than me anyway. :)

bookaholic

over the last few weeks i've been doing A LOT of reading. and i'm here to blog about two series that i can't seem to get off my mind. 

#1 the hunger games

#2 the mortal instruments

i eat, sleep and dream the hunger games. it's the last thing i think of before i go to bed, i wake up several times in the night knowing i've been dreaming about it and it's the first thing on my mind when i wake up in the morning. it's like twilight all over again. haha..oh gosh. but its almost better. (dare i say it IS better?) i've even gotten ryan hooked on it(no, he won't read it himself, but her wants ME to read it to him every night before bed). the third one doesn't come out til august and i'm on the edge of my set waiting for it. it's just so good. it's controversial, romantic, action packed, heart-wrenching, riveting and any other cheesy/cliche word. READ it. i know you'll love it.

the other series is the mortal instruments. if i had seen it in a book store(from the cover alone)i wouldn't have picked it up, but ryan's aunt pam offered up a few books for our million hour trek to utah last week and among the books she let me borrow was the first book in this series. now..i may enjoy twilight, but i wouldn't say i'm a major fantasy book fan. but i thought well i enjoy myself some harry potter and narnia and lord of the rings films...so why not give this a try. from the first chapter i was pretty much hooked. as a disclaimer-it's totally fantasy with warlocks and werewolves and vampires and demons..you name it. but the love story completely gets in your mind. it was stated perfectly by stephenie meyer who said, 

"dear edward and jacob, i adore you both, but i'm spending the weekend with jace. sorry! love, stephenie."

the main heartthrob alone is reason to read the books. i finished the first book in two days. the next thing i knew i was in barnes and noble (while on the drive to utah) buying the next book. then on the way home i found myself in walmart buying the third book. i'm a complete sucker for series. i HAVE to know what happens. there's one more book left but it doesn't come out until march 2011..bummer yo. all i'm sayin is even if you're not a scifi/fantasy fan..this series is still worth while. 

both of these series are going to be made into movies which makes me so excited. i can't wait!

*stepping off bookworm soapbox*

happy birthday to me?

 As i'm sure i have previously stated..one of the biggest reasons why ryan and i decided to move to SC was to get a break from SNOW. we were tired of being cold, tired of removing it from our cars, tired of driving in it, just TIRED of it. but lo and behold..february 12th came around(my 23rd birthday) and snow started to fall. SNOW..icy cold wet SNOW. and sadly, i had to work on my birthday and didn't get off until 7..but ryan tried to perk up my day by telling me he had a surprise for us that night..(what? surprise?) that perked my ears right up. he then proceeded to tell me i needed to dress nicely because of where we were going(another surprise..ryan doesn't do fancy schmancy). he said we had a reservation so i needed to hurry home after work. WELL. i was all excited..maybe it was SNOWING, but i had a nice dinner coming up to look forward to. i had my mom and sister helping me figure out what to wear and thoughts racing trying to figure out where we were going to go! 

so 6:30 rolled around and i was able to get off work early!(BONUS) then i walked outside and my car was covered in SNOW. (still baffles me that we got snow). i had no snow scrapper so i brushed it off with my sleeve as any utahn would have done. i drove home carefully, but slowly i started to feel like going out was going to be a bad idea. Because south carolina doesn't get snow..having snow plows isn't necessary. so the roads were covered in snow and NO body knows how to drive in it. i felt like quite the expert, but not having snow plows-whether you know how to drive in it or not-isn't helpful.

I got home and ryan was dressed in his black slacks with a pale pink button down(lookin' all hot and stuff) and jointly we decided to reschedule our reservations. i finally figured out where he was talking me and there was no way we'd make it back safely. 

so we opted to head just down the road to logan's steakhouse(basically texas roadhouse) and afterward we thought we go to a movie. after dinner we walked out side and it looked like REXBURG. there was atleast four inches of snow on the ground(and the roads). we again decided to take a raincheck on a movie because again..there was no way we'd make it home safely if we went to a movie and tried driving home at 11 at night with NO snowplows. 

NEEDLESS TO SAY..the SNOW put more than a DAMPER on my day.

 the next day we woke up to no POWER. there was no getting ready. there was no warmth. there was no making a delicious breakfast. SO we did what every other south carolinian did and played in the snow/build a snow man. (granted, i didn't touch the snow once..i WATCHED.)

ryan got me flowers for my birthday/valentine's day. this card was my favorite part.

the dog who won't even go outside to pee when it's raining..played in the snow...no one will ever understand him.

snow on palm trees...you don't see THAT everyday.

he turned from a british soldier..to a ganster..to an old man..to hitler by the end of it all. he was huge..alteast eight feet tall. and eventually collapsed on my sister in law jenny when she tried taking a picture with him(surprisingly even got a cut on the face from it)..oh how i wish i had been there to witness it..haha

my birthday get up from mi madre. (i can always use another dress!)

stringrays

ryan's parents got us some hockey ticket for last friday night. i'm not a big sports fan but this brought on good fun. the charleston stingrays is a minor league team? i think? we went with kim and lindsay and tom and ryan's BFF tom. it was a night of hilarious sloshed people dancing(video below) and aggressive fights. the stingrays won 8-5 which was awesome, but the people watching is really what made the night so much fun. i don't remember the last time i laughed so hard.

(i apologize its sideways)

HaPPpY BiRthDAy Ry Ry

it was ryan's BiRThDay on the 14th..yay 27! sadly i had to work all day(did i mention i'm nannying now? i'm a nanny). so ryan ate chic-fil-a(of course) for lunch and we went to wild wings for dinner(ryan loves his hot wings). he ordered 25, but let me down by only eating 13..
we celebrated with his family that saturday by going to a really cool place called yokoso and then indulged in funfetti cake(another ryan favorite).

love you babe

hey baby let's go to vegas!

during my adventures in utah, holly and jeremy went to vegas and i decided to join! we road tripped it with las vegas tunes, delectable snacks, and high school musical..haha. good times.

we induldged in a place called yogurt land(so good), stayed at the trump hotel, enjoyed some H&M, walked the strip, walked the mall at caesars palace, ate some IN-N-OUT, and relaxed.

i will never drive down the strip again without some sort of vegas-oriented song. some songs we listened to were, (but not limited to): "viva las vegas", "pokerface", "waking up in vegas" and "let's go to vegas". it completely heightened the experience.