the most wonderful time of the year

The time has come for a Christmas update! We had such a good Christmas!

We started out our festivities a little earlier than is typical, on Tuesday. We decided to have our own little mini Christmas before we headed out to Denver. It was so much fun to be able to open presents together, just the two of us.

We started out for Denver at about 9:30 on Wednesday morning. No matter which way we took to get there the forecast showed snow so we opted for the flattest option - I-80. However, we did have a close call before we even got out of Utah. We had a cement barrier on one side and a logging truck on the other when our back tires lost traction and we started to spin. With some mad driving skills and no doubt some help from above, Hunter was able to pull out of it and get us there safely. Wednesday night we watched the new Karate Kid (one of Hunter's early opened Christmas presents) with his parents and then went to bed.

On Thursday, we made a quick stop at the mall and then spent the rest of the day with the Marican's (our friends from before who moved to Denver at the end of the summer). We went Ice Skating downtown, had some delicious frozen yogurt from Yogurtland (which is something we are seriously missing out on in Utah), had yummy dinner, and played Sequence. Every time we see them we are sad that we live so many miles away. Here are some pictures from our Ice Skating experience. We had a lot of good ones so I included pretty much all of them. 

Hunter showing off his mad skills...he was worried that he wouldn't be able to be successful since he hadn't ice skated since pre-mission. Needless to say, my very athletic husband ruled the rink.

Friday, Christmas Eve, was spent with the original Paddock's. We went down to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and explored the intriguing rock formations. Our evening was concluded with some amazing Thai food. Once we were back at the house, we played with the dogs and relaxed for the rest of the night before retiring to bed. 

Two of the three dogs - they look so calm and innocent in this picture. 

This one where they are escaping is a little more accurate.

Then came Christmas morning. It was such a good experience learning and participating in new Christmas traditions. We got a plethora of good presents from each other and Hunter's parents. My husband definitely spoiled me. We spend the rest of the day watching Big Bang Theory, which was one of the presents I got for Hunter, and playing Risk (Hunter won, of course).

Sunday we went to Sacrament meeting before driving home. I have been to Hunter's home ward before, but it was fun to be able to go and see the people Hunter grew up with that have moved to college and got married who were home for Christmas. Our drive home was much less eventful than our drive out, thankfully. Once we were home, we opened our stockings with just the two of us as a way to tie up our Christmas festivities.

After seeing the Marican's cute, decorated apartment, we decided it was time to finally decorate ours. Today, we went to Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Ikea to pick up the necessary things to make our apartment cute. We ended up buying a little bookcase to put in our cubby that holds our cable box and various accessories for our game boxes, a couple of pictures to hang up, and an awesome bookcase that we can finally arrange all our things on. My goal tonight is to make our home much more homey. Wish me luck!

I had to go out to the car because I left my purse and I came in to see my cute husband as part of the display at Ikea.

Merry Christmas to all (be it a couple days late) and to all a good night!

it's official

In my last post, I mentioned that we thought one of our fish was pregnant. Well, I can confirm today that she was. We did maintenance on our tank today and put in a vacation feeder (which they love by the way) so our fish will be fed this whole next week that we are spending in Denver. Because of this, we were paying extra close attention to the going ons in the tank. While looking around, I noticed this teeny-tiny little fish swimming around in the fake bushes. Here is a picture of it. The baby fish is the little orange spot over the black circle in the middle of the picture. It is sooooo small!

We are now the proud parents of baby fish!

facelift

We decided today to give our aquarium a facelift. We got new toys that make it much more colorful as well as give our fish more places to hide when they feel shy. We also added a few more fish - female guppies.

On a side note, we are pretty sure that one of our fish is pregnant. She is getting to be much fatter than any of the others and there is no way that she eats any more. Besides, we don't feed them enough for any of them to overindulge. This could be very interesting.

Christmas time is here

This last week we were able to decorate for our first Christmas together!

As we are newlyweds, we had to go and buy all new decorations. We hit up various shops such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Hobby Lobby. We hit the jackpot at Hobby Lobby where we bought everything for our tree. Afterwards, we went and bought a real tree. It just so happens to be the perfect height and shape. Then we came home and the decorating commenced. It was so much fun!

Of course we had to take pictures of the finished product. Unfortunately, because it was only the two of us we weren't able to get a picture of both of us by our tree so these individual pictures will have to do. They do a nice job of showcasing our excitement.

We also got stockings that we hung over the fireplace with care. Now, a few days later, our tree has presents under it. Our apartment smells and looks Christmasy :) 

Merry Christmas!

top 5 features

I promise not every post from here on out will be about the iphone, but you will have to suffer through at least this one more. As someone converting from a pretty basic phone to my first smartphone ever, I feel I have reason to be wowed.

I would like to share my top 5 favorite things about my new phone:

1.  Facetime. This cool gadget makes talking on the phone with my husband so much better. Not only do I get to hear his voice, I get to see his face too. Double awesome.

2.  It's like I have a computer in my pocket. Need a recipe for dinner? Check. Need to know directions? Check. You get the picture.

3.  Words with friends. I have never been a big scrabble player, but I was pretty much instantly addicted to this app.

4.  The camera. No more taking pictures of myself and having to guess if I got everything. Don't worry, it's got a camera lense on both sides so I can take it from whatever side of the phone I want.

5.  No fake calling people because there is no way to unlock it without actually using my finger. Hunter will appreciate this one more than anyone else I think.

Well, that's it for now. Needless to say, we are very happy with our early Christmas presents.

new phones

We are now proud owners of iPhone 4's.

This picture was taken by Hunter's as mine was syncing with my computer. 

If you need our new numbers, either comment on this post or send us an email or facebook message.

potential marrow match

In my line of work, we deal with sick people on a regular basis. At the end of last year, there were two patients that had various forms of leukemia or lymphoma. They were really sick and neither of their blood work looked conducive to survival much longer. We didn't get any samples on either of them for a few months and didn't think much about it.

Then at the beginning of this year, both of them started coming back to get their blood checked post marrow transplant. The difference was night and day - not only in their blood work, but also in their health. They both got a second chance at life and were so much better off than they had been a few months previously.

That got me thinking. What if maybe I could help someone, give them that second chance? After a few weeks of contemplation on the matter, I decided to join the National Bone Marrow Registry. I decided it was worth the small amount of inconvenience it would cause me to donate if I could make that much of a difference in someone's life. The odds of being a match for someone not related to you is slim, so I figured after I sent in my cheek swab, I wouldn't hear anything from them besides the monthly email.

Today, however, I got this email:

Dear Tiffany,

When you joined the National Marrow Donor Program's Be The Match Registry^® on 02/11/2010 you did so knowing that one day you may help save a life.

You appeared as a possible marrow match for a patient considering a transplant. The patient's doctor is trying to determine treatment options as quickly as possible. Although the patient's search is in the early stages, you could be the donor this patient is searching for.

Please contact me to discuss your interest, medical history, and any questions you have.

We need to hear from you as soon as possible - even if you're no longer interested in donating marrow.

I called the National Marrow Donor Program and they explained in depth the process and what I might have to do. Since it is still in preliminary stages, I might not even be the best match for the patient, but I am high on the list. They said I will know if I will be considered further as a donor within the next 3 weeks.

Maybe I will be able to help someone afterall.

i am thankful

For Thanksgiving this year, Hunter and I were able to go spend the whole weekend with my family. We went to Parowan Wednesday night after I got off work and drove home on snowy roads last night. It was so much fun!

Thursday, obviously, was Thanksgiving and we mostly ate a lot of food. It was fun to have Hunter with my family and experiencing Thanksgiving Heidenreich style for the first time. We ate some amazing turkey, and don't forget about the pies. True Heidenreich style is to eat a lot of pie. In fact, I think my mom had to make 3 extra pies throughout the weekend because we kept eating so much.

Friday I experience my first black friday shopping. We went to St. George, went to the temple, and then the shopping commenced. It was somewhat difficult considering the fact that Hunter and I were shopping for each other and didn't want the other to see what we were buying. Basically we would drive to a store then split up and not see each other until we were back in the car ready for the next store. My mom came with us so she was able to mediate and take the keys to each of us when we were ready to stash our goods in the car.

Saturday was a lazy day, but we definitely enjoyed the relaxation. We played a lot of Mario Party and bowling on the Wii, as well as Sequence and Phase 10.

Sunday was church, dinner and the drive home. We had so much fun and are so grateful for great family that we were able to spend our first Thanksgiving with.

a whole lotta hype

Last night was supposed to be the biggest snowstorm/blizzard we have seen in Utah for a long time. People started panicking and so many places closed early. Almost every clinic in the hospital shut down between 3 and 4 pm. Even the Instacare closed at 5. People left early from work and prepared for hibernation from the storm. I expected some grand showing of snow, and was even excited for such.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

We got way more snow over the weekend. Yes, it is cold, but last time I checked that is what happens during winter. Come on people, we live in UTAH. We should be used to the fact that it snows and sometimes we have to drive on crappy roads. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, but this storm ended up being nothing but a whole lot of hype.

T-10 hours

and Hunter and I will be on our way to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1! Due to our work schedules and tickets selling out far quicker than either of us expected, we didn't make it to opening night, but I am still just as excited about it today.

Besides the fact that we both love the awesomeness that is Harry Potter, it holds a unique place in the early Tiffany/Hunter history right along with House and snowboarding. Last summer when the sixth movie came out, it was Hunter that I saw it with. At the time I was very happy just as Tiffany and he just as Hunter. I arrived at the theater first and bought two tickets to ensure that we would both get seats which led to him owing me a movie. His repayment of such was a crucial part in us starting to date at the beginning of this year. Who knew that by the time the next Harry Potter movie came out we would be very happily married? Certainly neither of us.

For nostalgia's sake, we opted to see this movie in the same theater as we did the last one. Here's a shout out to Harry Potter and being married to your best friend!

1,817...

...is the number of pictures that were on my camera. The pictures begin the week we got married - which means there are LOTS of wedding pictures. There were also honeymoon pictures, Denver reception pictures, and Ultimate frisbee pictures. After trying to load them onto my computer about 3 times and failing, uploading in groups, and finally succeeding here is a random sampling of a few of my favorites.

At the Draper Temple after my Endowment Session

Parowan Reception

Brittani made awesome faces like this one in almost every picture that included her.

The beautiful-ness that is Kauai

Eating dinner at some fancy restaurant with our virgin drinks.

Even though I didn't get a picture of the amazing layout that he scored on, here is a pretty good picture show casing Hunter's mad frisbee skills.

sleep adventures

When I got home from work the other day, Hunter told me about what happened when he came to bed the night before. I had been asleep for at least a couple hours, and anyone that knows me knows that I am a deep sleeper.

Apparently when he tried to cuddle with me I started swatting things out of my face.

Hunter: What are you doing?

Tiff:  Getting the fish out of my face.

Hunter: What?

Tiff: The fish, they are in my face.

Hunter: You realize you don't make any sense, right?

Tiff: Stop making fun of me. I'm getting the fish out of my face.

Tiff: Don't mock me.

I sleep talk. Now Hunter has experienced that first hand. I only wish I could hear myself sometimes.

something's fishy

We are the owners of 15 little fish!

We bought the aquarium on Wednesday, set it up, and let the ecosystem start forming. Today I went and bought the fish. They are cute, tropical, colorful fish. I probably spent half an hour just watching them swim around once I put them in the aquarium, and when I fed them that was an adventure in and of itself. haha.

This promises to be a fun experience :)

where to begin

I don't even know where to start on this update.

How about a few more engagement pictures? We were supposed to get this round of pictures taken when we got our first round of pictures taken, but due to complicated circumstances, we weren't able to. Even though I was weary to dress up and get my picture taken again, I'm glad we did because these pictures turned out really well.

My mom says that we embody the Taylor Swift Love Story personna very well in these pictures. haha. Kinda fun :)

Next, we can move on to wedding day events. After stressing about it for months, everything went so smoothly. I am sure that is due in large part to all the help that was offered from family and friends. It was beautiful, everything about the whole day. 

And some pictures from the Salt Lake Reception:

This is just a sampling of the wedding photos. In fear of picture overload, I will let you see the rest on facebook. Everyone was so amazing and helpful-family, friends, bridesmaids, photographer-thank you everyone for helping to make the best day of my life so wonderful!

And so married life begins! We went to Kauai on our Honeymoon which was perfect. Hawaii is beautiful - the water is clear, the temperature is perfect. We had so much fun! 

This last week we have been really settling in to our apartment. It has been such a fun experience setting things up together and making our house livable. While living with a boy is definitely an adjustment, I wouldn't change it for the world. What is really weird now is adjusting to real life again. Neither of us had to work much the first week back from our honeymoon, this week however; is different. It is weird to be home alone while Hunter is at work - not exactly something I am used to. haha. Also, I seem to have soooo much time now. While we were engaged it seemed like every minute of every day was planned and now I just hang out and do things at my leisure. Definitely not something I am used to. 

Hopefully one side effect of all this free time of mine will be more blogging! Also, I have internet access inside my apartment now which should also help.  Anyway, until next time (cross your fingers that it isn't December before I update again).

busy!!!!

Who knew that as a bride to be life would be so busy? I certainly didn't.

Life is busy, but very very good. I think that between the two of us, we have every single day planned until the 18th of September. The wedding planning is moving right along, as it well should be since tomorrow marks exactly one month from the big day.

Since the announcements are going out soon, here is a quick snip-it of what some of the pictures look like. 

I might be slightly biased, but I think that they turned out really well.

Anyway, quick as this update may be, I will hopefully be posting again soon!

love is in the air

First off, I'm engaged!!!!!

Here is how it all went down:

I was in Europe from May 9th-23rd. This apparently gave Hunter plenty of time to get everything organized and all together. I had absolutely no idea what he was planning. I got home on sunday and spent a little time with him and my dad. The whole time thinking that he is still freaking out about talking to my dad. They both played the part really well. haha.

On Monday, I had to work from 5-3:30 and Hunter supposedly had a meeting that lasted until 6. My plan for the day was to go home, go running with my roommate, then meet up with Hunter and go to Cafe Rio (I was going through serious Mexican food withdrawals - apparently they don't have any in Englad, Ireland, or Scotland). My roommate and I go for our run in Memory Grove - this is a normal thing for us so nothing too out of the ordinary. About halfway through the run, she says that her toe (that had been injured in Europe at some point) was hurting so she needed to walk. I pass this off as completely normal behavior. Not long after that, I come around a corner and see a guy walking up the grove in a shirt and tie. I take note, think that it is kind of strange, and continue on my run as normal. As I get closer, I realize that this guy is Hunter. He comes up to me and gives me a big hug. At this point, I still have no idea what is about to go down. I just figure he got out of his meeting early and figured I was running at Memory Grove and decided to come meet me. Then Cherie comes around the corner and takes a camera from Hunter. Then I start to piece it together. He then proceeds to tell me he loves me, gets down on one knee, and asks me to marry him :) 

Of course I said yes!

This is by far my favorite picture of the set. We just look so happy :) Which, of course, we are!

Afterwards, we walk down the rest of the grove to his car. He proceeds to tell me that Cafe Rio will be postponed until tomorrow and that I need to go home and shower and change into nice clothes so he can take me to dinner. Dinner was from The Roof, which is a much more fitting restaurant for having just gotten engaged!

That is our story! We are happy and in love :) More details and a date will follow, we are taking a little time to revel in the fact that we are engaged before diving head first into planning. Life is good!