Looking back at 2012

I can't believe another year has passed! It's flown by!

We've had another busy year. Here are some of the things that happened:

- After being unemployed for 5 months Mike got a job at Discover in March doing customer service for Credit Card. Definitely not his ideal job and the least he's ever gotten paid after college, but it was a job and we needed the money. I got a $300 bonus for referring him. Score!
-Mike got to go to Goblin Valley in March with a buddy of his from Woodbadge. They took a scout troop and had a good time.
In March we also went to Oregon for March Madness. I was dreading it (like always) but this time was actually really fun. We went on a lot of hikes and to a lot of places in Portland. And Mike got his basketball fix. 
-In May I got a new position as a Policy and Procedure Analyst. I have really enjoyed the new position and the higher pay. I also really like the people I work with.
-In April Mike was contacted by Fidelity for an interview! He had applied way back in February.. and he applied twice after his first application was denied.
-July Mike quit Discover and started at Fidelity. He started studying pretty hard for his Series 7 and 63 tests.
-I went to school through the summer. I was lucky enough to get a tuition waiver! I took 15 credits! It was tough. I made the Dean's List for my 3.62 GPA. My mom came to my ceremony when I got my little pin.
-Also in July Mike got to go to the Grand Teton Adventure camp with the scouts. He had a blast mountain biking, whitewater rafting and canoeing, and he even did a crazy obstacle course way high up in the air. I was jealous. He also got to visit Jackson Hole, one of my long time vacation destinations. I was very jealous.
- In August I got drawn for tickets to President Monson's birthday Celebration! I got four tickets so my mom and dad drove down here, we had a delicious dinner and went to the birthday extravaganza. It was so fun! The music was beautiful. I'm so glad we got to go.
-On the 21st of August Mike and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary! It's been the best 3 years of my life!
-In October I got to see a band I like in concert with some friends. The lead singer came into the crowd during some songs and I got to sing in the microphone on one of my favorite songs.
-On October 17 Mike passed his Series 7 exam with an 86%! He killed it! He then passed his Series 63 on October 26 with a 72%! He passed both with flying colors and got a raise for it. Whoo hoo!
-We visited some 4 year colleges in November. I'm still not sure where I want to go.
-In November it was my birthday. Mike spoiled me (see blog post about birthdays)
-We celebrated Mike's birthday in December - number 29!
-Mike's brother, Dave, came to town for Christmas. We hit up some good restaurants and the Brigham City Temple with him.
-My parents and siblings went to San Diego for Christmas. It was my first Christmas away from my family. It was a good Christmas, and I got to Facetime with them. :) I love technology.
-Mike got me a Canon 60D and two lenses with it. He definitely spoiled me. He got the O Jerusalem painting from me. I was sure I beat him in the present category this year, but I was wrong.

Old Death Whisper

A few weeks ago Mike and I went to a bar. Crazy, right? We drank soda. We went to go see my uncle's band, Old Death Whisper. We had a good time! The music was great! We both really enjoyed the band's sound. I even had a song dedicated to me! I hope Old Death Whisper will come back to SLC soon so we can go see them again. It was a lot of fun, and the music was a perfect mix of Old Western, dirty Bar Tunes, Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murpheys, and Picking up the Steam.

My Birthday. Number 23. Mike's Birthday. Number 29.

First of all, I'd like to say.. I made it! I made it through the semester. I got a 3.69 GPA. Not too bad considering I had some tough classes.

A few weeks ago, I had my birthday. It was awesome! Mike definitely spoiled me. My birthday was on Sunday, so he actually spoiled me on Saturday. First, he had bought me a leather coat that I really wanted, a few weeks prior. And he got me a video game. It is on the PS3, but it's a bunch of old Sega games. It's pretty sweet. My mother in law got me a pineapple corer slicer thing, which I have been wanting one of those for a long time. Mike and I love to eat pineapple in the summer. On my birthday Saturday we went out to the mall. Mike took me to Zupas for lunch! I love Zupas. They had some special German Sausage Soup or something, so I had that and it was delicious. After that Mike took me to Bath and Body Works and let me stock up on lotions! I got a lot of different flavors and I can't wait to use them all! And then we went and saw the third Batman movie. Since it was my birthday I got a coupon for a free small popcorn, but I paid like 50 cents to upgrade to a laaarge. Large and in charge, baby! And I might have also got a free drink, but I can't remember. After the movie, Mike was going to take me to Tucanos for my birthday dinner. But.. I wasn't feeling well :( I think the movie popcorn with the fatty butter all over it made me sick. So we stayed in and watched a movie.

Later that month Mike took me to Tucanos for my birthday dinner. I think on the 29th. It was super delicious. I had more lemonades than I ever thought I could fit into myself. My favorite was the guava lemonade. And I really liked the bacon wrapped filet. And the grilled pineapple. We used my birthday coupon to eat there (if you can't tell, I'm big on birthday coupons) and they sang happy birthday to me in Portuguese. How nice.

On my actual birthday - Sunday - we went up to my parent's house. My mom was nice enough to make me a birthday dinner! I didn't have to cook on my birthday! Or even have to clean up! My mom was a trooper. She made me a ham (and she had never even cooked ham before) and she made homemade rolls and party potatoes. It was an amazing dinner. She should go work at Tucanos with her cooking skills.

Remember when I was talking about Zupas? Well they also serve sandwiches at Zupas. They serve panini sandwiches! So good. My family got me a panini maker for my birthday. Mike and I have made panini sandwiches, which have turned out pretty good!

For Mike's birthday he got to play an indoor soccer game. His game was at 11 PM, so it was a little late. We also went to Pei Wei for dinner. The food there was pretty good. I would say it's above Panda, but below PF Chang's. For Mike's birthday he got a dozen fancy fancy cupcakes, season 6 and 7 of The Office Blu Ray, the Indiana Jones trilogy Blu Ray, Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu Ray and a Manchester United jersey. He also got a deep fryer from my parents and I made him brownies and a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting with crushed peppermint on top. Yum.

Here are the yummy cupcakes. They were divine. I think my favorite was the chocolate peanut butter.

And that is all. Next year will be Mike's big 3-0. Should be pretty fun!