St George Fun

Sometimes you just need to get outta town! the inversion, the cold, the ickyness. A change of scenery and fresh air never hurt anyone. Thanks to our Aunt Alene and Uncle Brad, they kindly let us stay in their St George vacation home.

but before we left,I had to fit in some fun things!

Alta Moda Bridal celebrated 10 years being in business, and so naturally she threw a party for the industry peeps. I was so happy that I could take Larissa with me and show her the other side of the wedding business. It's always fun to dress up and put make up on. I look totally different when I do. please see example..

The bridal show is always so fun, high end designer gowns are a site to behold. lots of bling and lace this year for sure.

this redhead model is adorable, i tried to hook her up with Victor but he wasn't interested. but she's single and now i have a red head model in my back pocket for a future shoot hehe

Love this SIL of mine!! she's talented, strong, funny and a great mom. 

Also did a fun game night with my book club 

and me and sarah finally got to celebrate our december birthdays, but in February. we took a dorky craft class but it was really so fun, and we got to chat and just catch up one on one. we are always in a big group and don't really get to talk, and you thought i was busy, try to get in with this girl- she's booked out 6 weeks!

and a fun movie night with some friends. How to be single is a really funny movie, not what i thought it would be. there was a lot of baby and pregnancy stuff in it. appropriate cause 3 of the five girls here are preggers. 

right before we left,me and char spent a fantastic day with my BFF Hollie. and Charlotte LOVES her, let her hold her hand even. I mean, whoa.  We always laugh so much when we hang out, it's just the best type of friendship to have- loving, reliable, everlasting.

Poor chuck is taking after, or learning from, mom in the sweet tooth department. 

The drive down to st george was so nice. and it was so nice when we got there. 

i was bending down so i could get a better shot of her standing, but then she bent down with me..haha

and I took the family through snow canyon.  it's such a neat drive. and they have a whole trail paved so you can walk and not worry about sand getting in your shoes. but it was hot, so we would park, go out to a spot and take a picture then get back in the car and park at another spot for photos, haha. 

and then I annoyed wes by squeezing in a last minute photo shoot. its such a big event to prepare for and so it took some time away from family, but whatever, I let him to go mesquite. 

I can't wait for the final pictures. Mckenzi is such an amazing photographer and found this spot up in green valley that just had a magnificent view and landscape

the model is actually the niece of my old boss from when i lived in St George. but when i met her she was like 10, haha. so its amazing to see her all grown up. 

Weddings are fun this year! i have 3 I am helping with, this shoot, plus one more in the works, and some other wedding related things going on. And, i am  teaching a class the end of march to a group of hair and make up artists on how to build their experiences in the wedding industry through shoots such as this. I'm  a bit anxious about it, cause I don't know what the heck I am really going to talk about. I just need to figure it out. otherwise, i will just put a movie on and leave the class room for a bit. 

Wes has a work trip coming up to San Fran, I wish we could go but I don't think it's one I can go to. He's also been doing these MTG things a lot lately. not just playing but it's like a mini business he has going on. I've never seen him so focused! 

Charlotte is doing great! she is a handful everyday, but we are so lucky. she is such a good kid. so so good. she minds, listens, plays well, eats well, sleeps well. I hope this next one is just as good..but im sure that cause i want it to be that way, it won't happen. 

I was starting to feel weird about how Chuck would socialize to other kids. I've had bad experiences and good experiences. and then I would make excuses for her, or blame myself for not doing more, like getting her out. but i've realized that shes just fine, I take her out plenty, she interacts plenty and if other kids can't control their behavior, its not my childs fault. Parenting is such a continual learning experience. I don't think anyone can ever say they perfected it. And if you do, you may have some underlying narcissistic issues.

Pregnancy number 2 is also different. I am not taking belly pics, or documenting anything. I don't even know how far along i really am somedays. Though im starting to feel the flutters, which is nice..it makes it real on days i forget that i am even expecting. Cravings are different too. I went through a fried pickle moment, its currently carrot cake right now.

 I like being home though during this pregnancy. I like that I don't have the stress of an office environment, or cocky rude male counterparts to deal with. that stressed me out a lot when I had to go into work last pregnancy. I won't name names, but it wasn't my boss- so no worries there. 

being out of the work scene, now, makes me not ever want to get back into that type of environment, i'd rather spin my wheels trying to make things work with Muyly Miller Co then go back to that. Me and Wes have a big idea and its a matter of putting all the pieces and funding together, but it will be huge! and yes, I am still doing a cookbook, probably late fall is when you will see it printed. Still excited about it, but things are different now cause of when I'm due. 

Wow. so this ended up being a journal. I'll stop- until next time!

Geekin out for Warcraft..

Most people who know me, know I am not a big movie fan. There's something about being home and not leaving my house that's more appealing to me than a night out at the movies. Though I do love a good girls night at the movies (think Magic Mike, Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids- all so fun with my girlfriends) But there is one movie I am totally geeking out for, where anticipation is comparable to those who waited for Star Wars to come out. Don't take this comparison lightly, oh no.

Let me take you all the way back to 2009. There was this house Wes, Eric, and Justin lived in located in Midvale. I dubbed it the JEW house, which, now when I talk about it out loud in front of strangers, they look at me like 'what did you just say?' JEW short for Justin, Eric, and Wes. and it stuck! everyone called it that. They were only there for 6 months. but in that 6 months, mine and wes' relationship evolved.

I admit, I was one of those girls who made myself like and do things that the guy liked, to show support and be cool, or whatever. Though a lot of it was already laid out for me thanks to my previous boyfriend- such as the understanding of sports, being able to sit through a baseball game, following the stock market and watching romantic comedies such as Serendipity.

As one of my 'things to like to get him to like me more' moves, I learned to play World of Warcraft. I found out pretty fast, after he started playing, that our Friday nights were not being spent together, in fact I was hanging out with Justin and Ryan by myself at the Highlander many times. Wes didn't care. I mean, Wes - you have to know him to know that he didn't care his girlfriend was hanging out with his best friends. But you know, as much as I love Justin and Ryan, I couldn't have the same fun as I could with Wes. you know..'FUN'.

 2009 Selfie, I look like a baby

This was many of our nights- Football on one screen, gaming on the other

So one morning we woke up, at the JEW House ( yes- I was there, in the morning. shhh.) I made the brave request to ask Wes to teach me to play WoW.  My first experience was not pleasant. If you ever remember hearing that story of Wes coaching the Kappa Delta's in softball and making someone cry...it was like that for me. He is hard on people, man. He doesn't care if you haven't touched a computer mouse, or a baseball bat, he wants you to learn fast and not make mistakes within five minutes of a lesson.

So my first experience, super gamer noob that I was, was awful! He made me create a Tank and I got yelled at on the computer by strangers... a lot. Who starts their first gaming experience as a Tank..pfft!

Fast forward through the 6 months the boys were leaving the house. Eric and Amanda moved in together, Justin...I don't know what happened to Justin really. and Wes. He was homeless. He looked homeless too, he had this long shaggy hair thing going on. So, I asked the roommates at my Lehi residence. It was 4 girls and I asked if Wes could stay with all of us for a short term till he found something else.

Okay, so how do you think that went? an automatic No Way?!    Actually, my roomies adored Wes! When he came over, they loved to talk to him and he was really nice to them. So the loving ladies they were, they said of course! What made it better was we split the rent 5 ways haha. it was cheap living for a while I tell ya! And to top it off, Me and Wes shared a room. move fast much? probably. but it's not what you think. even the slightest. We shared this gigantic master bedroom that had its own bathroom, and we had a mini fridge in there as well. We never had to leave unless we needed to eat or heat up food. Let me tell you why this was awesome. World of Warcraft. I kid you not, for the 3 months we were in that room, you would find us playing WoW almost every night til 1 in the morning, even if we had to work. Weekends- a godsend, we could WoW all day! I remember we'd drive down the hill to JCW's and get gigantic shakes, fries and burgers, take them back into our room and eat and play for hours.

I was an awesome alliance night elf hunter. my DPS was tops in most instances and raids. I was kickin Horde ass left and right. My name was Pikamoo, I had a pet bear named Baloo and rode a gryffin! Seriously, it's what WoW dreams are made of. Wes had several races he played, a mage, shaman, a night elf. He was more of a gaming over achiever than I.

Basically a year of gaming. I kept getting better, I even remember doing raids with blake, ryan, landon. It just was too much fun, I won't ever forget. So THIS is why I am dying to see the movie, this game played a big role in my life with Wes. And I grew to really appreciate the game with its graphics, it's strategy, the races. It's hard to believe it, I know. But I was that person. Though I don't play, or have a desire to play again, I love this game in so many ways!  Thank you Blizzard Entertainment. Can't wait for the movie!

Miller Baby Dos Appointment, being 'AMA'

Well we didn't win the lottery. however, I don't have to show up for jury duty tomorrow, so that is a big YAY in my book.

Moms- Charlotte has had a cough for the last week. it comes on strong at night, even before she's in  bed. do we know what this is? We bought some homeopathic cough syrup cause apparently nothing is safe for kids under two, do you have any other suggestions?

During the day she is like this super healthy kid. so I took her to this play place the other day at South Town Mall. Have you seen this? I never even knew!

So I will be attending this place more often!

With this next pregnancy, I have just been really tired. and dealing with a lot of mild headaches. but everything else is good. I haven't had to many cravings, like pickles or anything, though with regards to pickles, I have to mention two of my best girlfriends this year gave me pickles on two separate visits, I swear, great minds think alike. I couldn't stop laughing! They are both just so fun and super thoughtful- thanks Tyce and Paige, sisters from another mister!

Last week was my first Dr appt with the OB on Miller Baby Dos. I took chuck with me, cause she's easy. She basically sat in her stroller like this the whole time....up until the 'exam' and decided to teach herself to climb out of her stroller. Then she just stood there, all proud with a big smile on her face. 

I was helpless and naked, and the dr was just taking the gloves off and the MA was laughing.  it was quite the scene. 

So, a little bit advice for anyone wanting to get pregnant at 35 or older. One, you get labeled as AMA at 35 in your medical chart (adult of mature age) so that's awesome. Then you get this big talk on risks. to yourself and your baby. Ugh, it wasn't as celebratory as when I was pregnant with Charlotte. I know its no secret that I have been overweight for a couple years now. And now its playing a big part in my risk of getting gestational diabetes. I have to start an exercise program of walking everyday fro 30-60 min a day. I know to some it doesn't sound like a big deal. but I haven't worked out in probably 3 years, I am a one car family so getting to the gym is a little more challenging, and I have a toddler who has decided her nap times can be anytime. So, me the planner that I am, I'm having a hard time figuring out when to fit in this extra bit of activity while its freezing cold outside. The Dr told me I should only gain about 10-12 lbs with this pregnancy cause I have already gained my muyly weight (and then some) I am completely mortified and every time i go eat anything I feel like I'm adding to my problem. So annoying. 

And one other thing, ( and this is really meant to be informative ) when I took myself off my anti depressants, I knew there was a risk of falling back into depression cause I just went cold turkey on the medicine. With winter, I know seasonal blues are a thing, but with being pregnant I  need to really pay attention to myself and my thoughts and actions. If I fall into depression again, it also puts a lot of risk on the pregnancy. Though, I find myself getting a grasp on my thoughts and emotions, I'm better at getting myself out and about if i feel anything funky. I refuse to go back on any antidepressant, though they say it's safe in pregnancy, cause I just don't want to do that. They are also suggesting a do a full genetic test, luckily they don't do it the amniocentesis way anymore, its just a blood test. We are deciding if we really want to do that, or just go with the flow on this. 

So as you can tell, my first appointment was not super pleasant. I mean, I know the Dr is just doing his job and has to let me know of certain things. It just felt like a buzz kill. Luckily my appt after was lunch with my BFF and her son at China Chef. 

I'm sure my friends in daybreak and herriman area know of this little restaurant, but if not, its off 12600 south and 4000 West. It has fish tank with giant fish in it, where you kinda feel bad for the fish cause they have such a small space to swim in, and with every opening of their mouths- its like they/re screaming "help us!" but that's something for ASPCA to handle. Charlotte loved the whole thing.

Recently I was on The Place, talking about wedding trends and my wedding planning class coming up. This was the funniest segment I have ever been on. and by funny, I mean I was an awkward mess, so unaware of the camera,  and I caught myself doing something goofy every second. Usually I am behind a table and showing off still objects, This time I brought a crew with me and I had to stand a lot while other people were talking. 

Such a goofball. So I probably won't do a segment like that ever again. Though it was fun. My friends that came on were amazing, I am glad I could bring them on with me! Thanks Emily, Ariel, Natalie, and Janay!

 I hope this post isn't seemingly a bit self deprecating and sort of narcissistic, I promise I'm not trying to be both or do both. I always feel like there is someone out there who reads it and gets more information out of it that they can use or pass along. I feel like experiences should be shared if you feel like they will help or encourage others.  I've recently started noticing the difference in this and a real narcissist, someone who always happens to turn a situation or a story about them self, even when its not, do you know people like that? It like hit me in the eyeball and I was able to see it clearly. I've been just trying to be more aware of my actions and words since then, and the thought popped up while I was typing. 

I would say though, back in my early Wes days- that gray time when we weren't sure if we were dating, ummm circa 2009? I had a very narcissist outlook and thought the world revolved around me. it was intense, I mean, selfies were being taken before it was termed. I look back on that time , and even though its a phase of self discovery, I am so embarrassed now. We all have those moments in time though right?

I was thinking of starting a preschool co-op in September through the mother goose curriculum, I've been asking around and some are interested. Charlotte will be 2 and a half by that time. Please let me know if you would like to be one of the moms involved. here is the link for the course and the cost per child. But if we can get a few moms together, we can rotate the kids to each home and we can get a turn at teaching and our kids can have fun playing with one another. http://www.mothergoosetime.com/about-the-curriculum/ message me, call or text me and maybe we can get something planned!