my life in a shoebox.

so far this week has been fairly easy going. it's spring break starting tomorrow [thank the lord almighty] and even though i'm not going anywhere, a few days off school always finds a welcome place in my thoughts. fred also found out that he will be getting his job back with orem city at the beginning of april. he is so excited. i never knew someone could get so thrilled to throw asphalt, but he sure is. other than that, the weekly recap is pretty simple:

t.v. - loving survivor: heroes vs. villians and chopped [on the food network]
weather - awesome today :] hope it stays warm
apartment - very clean actually. i love when fred cleans :]
luck - i found eleven dollars outside the education building yesterday. ka-ching!
my car - clean on the outside and filthy on the inside. i have a moral obligation against cleaning/vacuuming it in the freezing weather.
on my ipod - swollen members, the john butler trio, priscilla ahn, and death cab for cutie
my blog - new layout. same me.
excitement - can't wait to see my mother dear on friday. love spending time with her. love catching chick flicks with her. love....her.
to do list - fill out my scholarship application for next year and do my math homework. yuck.
hmmm? - hoping i did well on my math test.

here's to warm weather over the next few days. i am so excited for a pretty relaxed week and weekend. be happy & believe in peace ♥

xoxo.
morgan.

Great Romances of The 20th Century: Quotes on L-O-V-E

I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for a good chick flick. There's just something about a movie that makes you believe in the way love should be. I guess we all know love isn't REALLY like that all the time, but it is a beautiful thought. So here. Eat your heart out.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy. It's going to be really hard and we're going to have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you....forever....you and me....everyday."
-Ryan Gosling as Noah in "The Notebook", 2004

"All I know is I want to stay here with you as long as I possibly can and I need you to tell me that I can."
-Channing Tatum as John in "Dear John", 2010

"Dear Holly,
I don't have much time. I don't mean literally, I mean you're out buying ice cream and you'll be home soon. But I have a feeling this is the last letter....because there is only one thing left to tell you. It isn't to go down memory lane or make you buy a lamp because you can take care of yourself without any help from me. It's to tell you how much you move me, how you changed me. You made me a man by loving me, Holly. And for that, I am eternally grateful... literally. If you can promise me anything, promise me that whenever you're sad, or unsure, or you lose complete faith, that you'll try to see yourself through my eyes. Thank you for the honor of being my wife. I'm a man with no regrets. How lucky am I? You made my life, Holly. But I'm just one chapter in yours. There'll be more. I promise. So here it comes, the big one. Don't be afraid to fall in love again. Watch out for that signal, when life as you know it ends. P.S. I will always love you."
-Gerard Butler as Gerry in "P.S. I Love You", 2007

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Okay so first of all, I obviously suck at this blogging thing---partly because my life is not that interesting and partly because I forget about my blog until see something about blogging on Facebook. Hence the reason I'm here now. Nevertheless, nothing exciting has happened recently in my life so if you are reading this, here is a list of randomness for your viewing pleasure. Now quiet, you.

So recently I rediscovered my love for several musicians and bands. It's funny how you can hear a song from three or four years ago and be affected by it in a whole new way. Here are my ten songs that made my week:
#1 "Empty Apartment" By Yell owcard
#2 "AM Radio" By Everclear
#3 "Float On" By Modest Mouse
#4 "Fallen" By Sarah McLachlan
#5 "Drops of Jupiter" By Train
#6 "White Houses" By Vanessa Carlton
#7 "Vienna" By Billy Joel
#8 "Sympathy" By Goo Goo Dolls
#9 "Hear You Me" By Jimmy Eat World
#10 "Follow You Down" By The Gin Blossoms

Here is a video for you to watch as well. It's from 2006 documenting "The Night Commute" sponsored by Invisible Children. I'm a huge supporter of this cause.

12 Reasons

Okay, so I'm a slacker....but we already knew this. This is extremely late so you'll have to forgive me, but I've been thinking of posting this for the last month or so ha ha. October 1st was Freddy and my one year anniversary. I know what you're thinking. We're cheesy. You're right. More than a celebration, it's kind of a landmark for us. It symbolizes how we've grown together and all the issues we've overcome in the last year. Basically, he's put up with me for 365 days and I wanted to recognize that :] so here's a post with 12 reasons as to why I love dating this boy.

#12: Humor. If you've ever seen us together, you can tell that we love to laugh. Fred has the best sense of humor and he is always able to crack me up, even when I'm upset, which is quite the feat. I love it that we are able to tease each other CONSTANTLY and end up in giggles.
Example - Me: Oh my heck Full House is on!
Freddy: Isn't that show from like the 80's or 90's?
Me: Yes and I love it!
Freddy: Oh yeah I used to love it too....and then my dad got a job.

#11: Intelligence. Fred is extremely smart and he remembers the most random facts. I love it that we are able to intelligently debate things :]
Example- We watch Cash Cab as often as possible and he usually beats me. He even knows what different types of sharks look like and what distinguishes them. Ahhh my dream boy :]

#10: Dedication. He recently stopped going to school so that he could work full time in order to help support us. He doesn't mind getting up early or doing the dirty work (such as cleaning the bathroom or taking out the trash which I REFUSE to do).
Example- In a matter of three days this week, he has worked close to 36 hours.

#9: Honesty. It took us a long time to get there, but we're pretty good at telling each other EVERYTHING now. He's pretty quick to share, even with things that I'm not sure I really wanted to know.
Example- The other night I was walking down the hall to put some laundry away and....
Freddy: Morgan stop.
Me: Ummm why?
Freddy: Just stop.
Me: Okay....
[about five minutes pass with me standing in the hallway]
Freddy: Okay I'm done.
Me: What are you talking about?
Freddy: There was the biggest spider I've ever seen in my life on the bathroom door.
Me: Sick!
Freddy: And it's the third one I've killed this week!

#8: Talented. Fred is such an awesome musician. I can't tell you how often I'm watching TV and I hear him messing around on his guitar in the other room....and how awesome it sounds.
Example: Ask him to sing "Our Song" By Taylor Swift for you :]

#7: Friendly. I can't tell you how easily this boy makes friends. It seems like everyone likes him, whether it's the clerk at the grocery store or one of our neighbor's kids that is playing outside.
Example: The family that we share our duplex with has a little boy that sits in the window and waits for Fred to come home from work so he can yell "Hi!!!!!" out the window.

#6: Romantic. He's always got little sweet ideas up his sleeve, whether it's sending me white lillies for no reason (my absolute favorite flower) or calling just to tell me he loves me.
Example: I have a whole folder full of notes that he leaves me, mostly just to say hello and I love you :]

#5: Stylish. Okay, so I admit it's a problem when he sometimes takes longer than I do to get ready to go out, but he always looks great :]
Example: If he doesn't like the way his hair looks after he does it, he puts a hat on.

#4: Helpful. He's one of the only guys I know that will fold laundry, cook, do the dishes, vacuum, and make the bed. I have to admit....I kinda like it :]
Example: Last night when I came home from work, he had nearly all the laundry done and he was unloading the dishwasher.

#3: Thoughtful. He's always doing things that I don't even ask him to, just because he knows it will make my day.
Example: At least once a week, he brings me dinner at work just because he wants to see me.

#2: Patience. He never gets upset with me. He is always so willing to listen to anything I have to say. Even when I start getting worked up and I can hear the crazy coming out of my mouth but find myself unable to stop it, he sits there and takes it. Bless his soul.
Example: I once got really upset that he bought a new pair of shoes without asking me and he took full blame for it, apologized, and made me dinner.

#1: For being my best friend. I have to say I'm extremely lucky to be in love with someone I get along with so well. We're so comfortable together and it's so easy to talk about anything with one another. I guess I just want Freddy to know how thankful I am for him being in my life, for being my best friend in the whole world, and for being the guy that I've always dreamed about.

Absence of Parents & Presence of Pirates :]

Currently, my parents (and the Jensens) are in the Carribean on a cruise. Frederick's parents just returned from their vacation to France. So is the life of two poor college students....always getting stuck at home in Utah while the 'rents are off playing :] ha ha. Anyway, while both sets of parents were away, Fred and I spent some time with his younger sister, Abbie. She was staying in Orem with his grandma so we took an afternoon/evening to take her out. We started the adventure at Jump On It, which is essentially a large warehouse filled with trampolines and bouncy things.

Realization #1: We only needed to pay to jump for one hour. It was plenty of time.
Realization #2: I'm very VERY out of shape.
Realization #3: Fred is such a big kid :]

Sidenote: Jump On It is in Lindon, approximately 10 minutes from Orem. It took us about 30 minutes to get there due to a combination of Fred's bad sense of direction and rush hour traffic on I-15.

Nevertheless, we all had a great time. I forgot how much I love trampolines :] ha ha. After that, we called up Nick and he met us at Pirate Island. It's kind of like a new-age Chuckie Cheese. However, I never got to go to Chuckie Cheese when I was little so it was a new experience for me as well (I guess once your parents take your older sisters there it kind of ruins it for the baby of the family). It was actually a really cool restaurant and the food was decent too. The inside looks like the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland and everyone was all dressed up like pirates. They also had an arcade so we spent a little time playing skee-ball and Deal or No Deal.

Realization #1: You're never to old to get excited about winning tickets.
Realization #2: You spend much more on those flimsy pieces of paper than they are probably worth.
Realization #3: Boys will never NEVER get to old to enjoy a video game.
Realization #4: Fred is an awful dancer :]

Here's some pictures to outline the evening for you :] thanks for reading!

My Life Update

I noticed today I hadn't written for a while so I thought I'd update everyone on what's going on in my always-exciting life. I started school again on the 26th of August and I'm actually really enjoying my classes so far. I am taking:
*Elementary Astronomy - way cool, we have class in the planetarium :]
*Genetics - surprisingly interesting
*Exceptional Students - a required education class dealing with special education
*Development of the Adolescent Student - another education class
*Intro to Comparitive Politics - my teacher used to be a US Embassador!

I'm actually very excited about getting my degree in History. I am going to get to take lots of awesome classes. I have also started reading a new book entitled "Impulse" by Ellen Hopkins. She is one of my favorite authors. She writes in verse so it's a very easy yet intense read. I also wanted to brag about my family for a minute if everyone is okay with that :] my mom and my two older sisters recently finished a half marathon in San Diego, CA. It was thirteen miles and they all finished in less than three hours. I have to say I am extremely proud of them, especially my mom. She is such an inspiration. She has always been quick to demonstrate that you can do anything you put your mind to and I definitely attribute my ambition/determination to her. Other than that, Fred and I are still living in Provo. He is still working for Orem City doing street labor....poor boy. He gets so sunburned every day! He is hoping to get back into school next spring. I'll try to do a better job of keeping everyone updated on my life. Thanks for reading!

Call Me Cake Boss!

If you know my mom, you'd wonder where I got my love for cooking and baking (no offense mom). Growing up, we didn't do much baking and cooking was something done only when absolutely necessary. My mom was always on the go and slaving away in the kitchen was never her idea of a good time. I started to become interested in baking when I was about twelve. The result: a HUGE red food coloring stain on the kitchen carpet, a few ruined cookie sheets, and even fewer decent results. I've always loved finding new recipes to try and putting my own twist on them. When I moved away from home, I was determined to become a good cook. I didn't want to be one of those college students that constantly ate fast food and junk. I've recently been doing a lot of experimenting with new recipes and decided to try my hand at cake fondant. I found a pretty simple recipe and gave it a whirl. I didn't have very high hopes seeing as how I've never been so great at cakes, but the result actually wasn't too bad. Here's some pictures:

I used two 8" round white cakes.

Here's the pink fondant I used for decorating.

Here's the finished product.

I have to admit I was a little impressed with myself :] you may call me Cake Boss if you like ha ha....or not ;]