The Charm of Portland

Portland is very quirky, and I love it. It makes for interesting dates and adventurous nights! Last night was no exception.

Taylor surprised me with a movie date at a theater with some Portland charm. We waited in line outside where a girl with purple hair complimented my shoes and proceeded to scream at every car that drove by. But hey, I'll take the compliment!

 We finally got to the ticket booth and asked for two tickets to The Great Gatsby (1 buck!). The lady promptly asked us for our IDs. At first I thought that maybe she had misunderstood us. As far as I knew, The Great Gatsby is only PG13. She seemed to interpret our quizzical looks and explained that it was 21 and over 'cause it was booze night. Lemme tell ya, there's nothing better than watching a movie with a whole bunch of buzzed adults. Everything  was funny.

Oh gosh I love my man, and I love this town. 

I'm a Southern Girl...Oh Wait, I'm not.

Why wasn't I born in the South? My mom lives in Oklahoma, isn't that enough for me to be considered a Southern Girl? No? Well...I love rodeos, and cowboy boots, and NASCAR, and I say "ain't" all the time, and I can easily slip into an accent, is that enough?

Of course, anyone actually from the South would call me a "poser" or something of the like. They might even say that I'm trying much too hard. But I can't help it! The title Southern Bell sounds so desirable, and my family is pretty hickish. No, really!...only a step away from becoming like the family in Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration.

Taylor and I might go to Texas one day, and maybe we'll even stay there and I can be that southern bell!

 Now that I have left Utah and experienced living away just a tiny lil' bit, I feel different. Like a different Nikole. This summer hasn't been all butterflies and ice cream, it's been hard. But it has been such an awesome adventure, and it isn't even over yet! We have learned so much, and now I feel a little more empowered to just go do it. Whatever it is.

So, let's move to Texas, or live in a 200 sqft apartment, or stay in Mexico for a year, or learn a new skill, or anything. We can do it!

I guess it's weird for me to feel like we could do anything in the whole world just because we've survived a hard month, but whatever. I'll take it.

Sweet Potato Fries

Do you ever feel overwhelmed and exhausted and stressed and just bad? A long while ago, Taylor and I went out to dinner, and at the time, he felt like that. After he had voiced his concerns, I thought for a minute about what to say. He looked so defeated and down, like he had to climb the biggest mountain in the world. So, I took a couple of sweet potato fries and put them in the corner of my plate, and I said,

"I think you're just looking at a small part of it. Like you're just looking at these two sweet potato fries, and your forgetting about the steak and the bread and the huge mound of other fries."

I don't think he really got what I was saying, so I explained further,

"Sometimes everything seems so bad. We have so much to do in short amount time and everything seems to be piling up, but it's because we're focusing on a little part of our lives, the sweet potato fries. Sure, we have to do things, and yes, we've made mistakes, but we're practically kids with a whole life ahead of us! It's not going to stay this way forever, we still have so much to look forward to and to enjoy. Not only that, but we have a lot to be happy about right now if you take a step back and look at the big picture! We have steak, bread, and fries still!"

I'm not saying that I'm an all-knowing..er..knower, but I do think that there's some truth in that. Lately, I've been allowing myself to just focus on the couple of sweet potato fries and not enjoy all the good that's going on.

So, I'd like to say that I'm grateful for all the love and hope that so many people give me. I'm grateful for sweet angels like Ali who give me a shout-out just when I thought that blogging wasn't worth it. I'm grateful for my husband who keeps growing with me and is patient with me. I'm grateful for my family (his side and mine) who support us and want to see us be successful. I'm thankful for my testimony, for my knowledge, and for my blessings.

The world is crazy, but it's still wonderful.

My Fair Wedding: Part 13

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,

Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, 

Part 7, Part 8, A Hard Decision, Part 9

Part 10, Part 11, Part 12

My Aunt gave me a lot of good wedding advice. Most of her advice was on how to save money or prevent needlessly spending money, but the one thing she said you should never skimp on is Photography. 

I already wrote a post on how wonderful my photographer was (found here) but here's some photos that I haven't shared yet!

Update!

I haven't really kept up on the life part of my lifestyle blog. Or the style part. Or the blog part. Here's a quick update.

I'm not pregnant.

I'm not in France.

I'm not having parties on airplanes.

And I'm not kicking Taylor off those airplanes into the mud thousands of feet below.

However, those were all dreams I had.

I am in Oregon with Taylor's family trying to stay healthy and having fun! We're dealing with regular ol' newlywed stuff, and it's all good. I'm surprised how much I miss my family back in Utah! This is the first time I've been away, like really away from them, and I really miss the family parties, and game nights, and buggin' my grandma after church, and how she always says she hates my shoes when they make me so much taller than her, oh gosh I love them all! It's been really nice to have Taylor's family around to help me out. They're so awesome. And look! My sister-in-law gave me a new do'!

Plus, we get to go do stuff with his family! Like movies, and dinner, and hanging out, and driving around, haha it's so great to be able to spend so much time with such lovely people. Family is awesome. And I love that I have some more family members to love!

Basically, we are doing awesome. I love Oregon and I love my husband. :) I'm counting my many blessings. I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer so far!

I Told the Witch Doctor I Was in Love With You!

I saw a witch doctor today. Okay, not really. But I saw a very interesting lady! She used some sort of technique and technology to find out the inconsistencies within my body. Boy howdy, I sure did learn a lot! Without me saying anything, she knew that I have the occasional (or more than occasional?) Diet Coke. I have so much crap in my body! ...pardon my language. She figured out a lot of other stuff too, but I won't get into all that.

You guys, I'm ready to take control! I've been jogging a few times a week and eating pretty healthy, but I'm stepping up my game! The thing is, who wants to die younger than they need to, feel bogged down and ugly, and get sick all the time? Not me!

If you wanna win the health battle, then the first step is to stop making it a battle! Taking out the bad, putting in the good, moving around, and making these life-style changes is the only way to become and stay healthy, fit, and well! Here's some of the tricks I've learned.

-Cut the Crap-
That sounds pretty harsh, huh? But it's important! If you're serious about getting healthy, then stop making excuses to eat and drink things that are toxic to your body. I think that moderation of stuff is okay, but we gotta be careful, y'all. And no, one intense workout every once in a while doesn't count as staying active. If we justify ourselves out of living a healthy lifestyle, then guess what happens? Nothing. We stay unhealthy gross and not happy.

-Eat Your Darn Breakfast-
A good sized, protein packed breakfast can really help you boost your metabolism, curb your appetite, and stay energized all day long!

-Move Your Body-
Make sure you try your best. If you do the Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred and sit out the harder parts or the parts where you "don't have the equipment," then you'll get a I-don't-have-the-equipment body. Get what I'm saying? GO for it! If you're gonna workout, then workout! Give it your all! This is something I struggle with.

I'm still a newb when it comes to living healthy, but I'm really doing it! It needs to be done! Who wants to do it with me?

Our Next Adventure

      Taylor and I sure do love our adventures! We adventured from Utah to Portland, then adventured from Portland to Southern California, then adventured back from Southern California to Portland! All the while we have been working and figuring stuff out. Our next adventure? School. Taylor's first year of college! And that's a story for ya. One that I'm gonna tell.

Taylor R. March 21:
I'm in! I have officially been accepted into Utah State University! I know it may not seem like a big deal, but to me and those that love me, it is. Even if I graduated 6 years ago with no schooling after high school, I'm doing something. And I'm moving forward. So here we go! Gotta start somewhere! Doesn't matter too much about where I start, only where I go. And I am going places!

Taylor spent his entire senior year of high school as a 16-year-old kid. He graduated days after his 17th birthday. He had barely been old enough to date and now he was expected to go off on his own to college? He thought about school, but decided to work and help his family. As he worked, he grew. He struggled. Life wasn't easy for him. He faced ridicule, pride, empty Christmases and a growing feeling that he was going nowhere. This, of course, was not true. And even 6 years after graduating, he's only 22. He's so young. But people didn't help. Friends, even family, seemed to believe he was never going to get anywhere. This person. This person has been up against heartache after heartache, trial after trial. He has stayed strong in his beliefs, valiant in the Gospel, kind to others. He has easily forgiven those that "knew", and some that still believe, he would be a failure. He forgives, forgets, and continues to try.

And now he's here. He's in. We only have 2 months left of this adventure until he starts the one he has wanted to start for half a decade! He works hard every day! He leaves early and stays out til 10 or so..working and working. He doesn't give up. He never does!

I couldn't be more proud! I certainly couldn't be more lucky.

I give you Taylor Q. Rios. The kindest man in the world. The greatest driver. The best husband. The cutest man. The hardest worker. The 23-year-old freshman. And the guy that happens to have the proudest wife in the world.

I dare you to tell me he's a failure.

...I'll probably kill you.