The Cutlers

The Surge & other schtuffs.

2011-12-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well, let's start this shiz out on a light note. Here is Addy May for Halloween:

We went to Boise and strolled down the historic streets. It was sooo fun! The leaves were gorgeous as we walked down the street looking at houses. Here are some of the things we saw:

Addy May loved our stroll.

Aaaaannnndddd the next day we (my mom and I) headed over to St. Luke's for her surgery. I was a wreck. Addy was happy as can be. :) Aren't these baby hospital gowns adorable?!

She was sooooo good! I wasn't allowed to feed her after midnight the night before, and she was pretty okay with that. I just love this little pumpkin.

The surgery went well!! All they had to do was make a little incision to clean out the socket, place the femur bone in the hip socket, and cast her up! She was so groggy afterwards and the breathing tube made her throat really scratchy. It was so sad and pathetic sounding. It nearly killed me. So we headed home towards Blackfoot, and the ride home wasn't too fun for her, but when we got home, she was almost back to her normal self! It took a few days for all the meds to wear off, and the past month has been tough as far as sleeping, but she is doing great! I am so grateful that my mom was able to come up here and be with me for this. I couldn't have done it without her. It also helps that she was in this exact position 23 years ago with me!

Addy May fell asleep after her xray a week later.

Sooo we spent much of November watching football with our family, the Lovelands. And lounging.

In mid-November, we went down to Salt Lake for an eye appointment for Matt. While we were there, we went down to Provo to see Elin play a rugby game. They won! And Addy May was so happy. This is her after the game:

Thanksgiving was awesome. All the Nate's got together for some serious games and food. Addy May was awake for most of the day and in the afternoon, she CRASHED. It was neat to watch Carlee play with her and rock her to sleep. I've got pictures of that somewhere. But I'm too lazy to get up and get my other camera. Maybe I'll update this post in the future. Don't bet on it.

And these are just some other cute pics:

All tuckered out. She was playing too hard.

Addy May & Mommy have matching toesies!

We head over to Boise this week for Addy's final surgery and cast. 6 more weeks people. I will soon be able to squish my baby's legs again!! Wish us luck!

Relief.

2011-09-27T15:22:00.001-06:00

Ready for the GREATEST NEWS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE? Well, I think you'll need a little background first. I have PFFD. That's an acronym basically describing my hips. My right femur bone didn't develop correctly and I am missing the neck and head on my femur bone. Without the head, I do not have a normal hip socket. Also, my right femur is shorter than the left. So if you've known me for a while, you know that I often make fun of my short leg and such. Well, I didn't think that this was genetic.

When Addy was born, I thought everything was perfect with her. The doctor came in the next day and told me that they noticed something wrong with her hip. My heart sank. I didn't want my perfect little girl to go through all that I did growing up, and even now. Well, they noticed that her left hip was out of socket. Exactly how I was when I was first born. We went to a specialist that gave her a harness to wear to keep the bone in the socket so the socket could develop correctly. She was diagnosed with hip dysplasia initially. There was still a chance that she could have PFFD too, as they can't really tell the anatomy of the hip until later (5-6 months when the bones start to develop). So for 5.5 months, I have been worried sick that she would have PFFD. We went to the doctor today, and he took an x-ray of her hips. He came back into the room and showed me the x-ray. Her femur bones are developing normally, and she in fact does not have PFFD, but only hip dysplasia. Our prayers were answered. Her condition is not severe, and a simple surgery and a cast for a few months will correct the problem, and then she'll be like any other kid. I bawled as I called Matt and my Mom to tell them the wonderful news. I know that most of you are thinking But she'll need surgery and she'll be in a cast for a few months?! Doesn't think break your heart? The answer is: no. This is such a small hiccup in the span of her life and ours too. She won't remember any of it, and she'll grow up with normal legs and everything will be fine. I think, really, the only people that can really understand why this is such good news are Matt, and my family. They know what I have been through and how hard it was for all of us to deal with. So the fact that Addy May will grow up normally is such a huge blessing.

Hanging out on the exam table, loving life. Her hair cracks me up.

I went to take this picture up close and she spit as soon as I snapped the picture. Notice the lovely spit mark on the camera. Nice. Also, it looks like her cheeks are lop-sided. Weird. They aren't. Hahaha The rest of the day, I didn't get much done. I hung out and played on the floor with this little person til Daddy got home. I couldn't help it.

HELLO McFLY!!

2011-07-27T22:55:00.002-06:00

Have you checked out my new blog???

http://www.lauracutler365.blogspot.com/

If not: do it.

Please.

It's more interesting than this neglected piece. PLUS there are a ton of pics of the Beeter Bubs.

Convinced yet?

http://www.lauracutler365.blogspot.com/

There's the link again.

My proj.

2011-07-03T23:32:00.003-06:00

I have started a fun, new way of documenting the day to day schtuff that goes on around here. I am going to attempt to do a 365 Project. I started a few days ago, and created a completely new blog for this situation. If you care to follow, click here. Enjoy.

P.S. I have a super dooper post about this past weekend in UT at the Stadium of Fire. That will come shortly*. Thanks for your patience.

* - Meaning anytime in the next month.

Family

2011-05-31T11:54:00.003-06:00

My little sister came up this weekend to surprise me for my birthday, and while we finally had a 4th person to take a good pic of the family, she graciously took a few for us on our front porch. THANKS NITCH! This was just after the third time we took her to church, and she did great! Not a peep all three hours! She was just saving up for later that night. When I say later I mean between 1 and 6 am. :) Enjoy.

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers.

2011-05-19T11:50:00.005-06:00

Well, here we are. Addy May is over a month old, and time has FLOWN by. I am excited to say that I've gotten into the swing of being a mommy. And I love it. Matt and I have been loving hanging out with our little person and seeing how she grows and changes every day. A lot of people have asked how I have been feeling and the answer is: great! I have recuperated from the painful first couple of weeks, but I'm feeling good now, and I'm slowly but surely losing the baby weight. Well, here's a photo documentation of what we've been up to. I'll add captions as necessary. :) Enjoy!

Addy May in Daddy's arms.

Looks like we went to church? Nope. We stayed home. I kinda milked that. But we've repented and now we're church-attending, God fearing folk again.

Addy May is helping Daddy play the piano. IN HER SLEEP!

She didn't quite enjoy her first bath, but she's warmed up to them. As sad as her face looks, it still cracks me up.

Addy May giving Daddy some loves on Easter. That is the special Easter dress Daddy picked out for her. Presh.

Our first day at church as a family. She did great in Sacrament and half of Sunday School. After I tanked her up, we peaced out. She's a great excuse. :)

Hanging out on Daddy's arm.

When we got home from church, we brought her in and when we lifted up the car seat cover this is what we saw. We laughed hysterically, and then fixed it. We went back out to the car to get our church materials, and when we came back in, it was like this again!! She's already a Star Trek junkie. We'll have to figure out something else to watch with her. ;)

Other things we've been up to:

We just got our entire garden planted with the help of Matt's buddy Gundy. We've got corn, peas, green beans, 3 types of potatoes (we're in Idaho after all), bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, 3 types of squash, carrots, onions, and beets. Whew. That's a lot. Hopefully we get something out of it.
Matt got a new position at work. He works swing shifts now. That means that one week, he goes to work at 2pm and comes home at about 12:45am. The next week he leaves the house at 5:45am and comes home at about 5pm. So far so good. We get lots done the mornings that he's home, and Addy May and I hang out the rest of the time.
We've moved our 6 new chicks out to the chicken coop because they are big enough. They won't end up laying eggs for another few months. Now we've got 10 chickens.
Matt is blessing this little pumpkin butt on Sunday, June 5th at 11 am in the Moreland 4th Ward for those of you that are interested in attending. Also, I made a little electronic birth announcement for Addison. It's a lot easier to send an email than get it all printed out and sent via USPS. Just sayin:

That's about it. Any questions?

Introducing...

2011-04-20T16:15:00.005-06:00

Little Addison May Cutler!

Our little pumpkin was born on April 15, 2011 at 6:27 pm. She was 6 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long. Everything went as easily as possible, and we couldn't be more happy that she is with us! :)

"What is this freaky place? It's all bright, and not womb-like!"

The night before...

2011-04-14T19:17:00.003-06:00

Here we are the night before D-Day! We're counting down the hours!! :)

The Project Update

2011-03-28T08:55:00.009-06:00

I've been so excited to post this. For the past month and a half, Matt and I have been working on a little room in our house to be Addy May's nursery. It's taken some time, and a LOT of frustration, but I'm very excited to report that it is FINISHED. So join me as I walk through the process:

These are pictures of the room before we bought the house. Notice the creepy mural on all the walls, and the terrible green carpet. Actually, there's so much stuff in here that you can't really see the carpet, but you will soon...

Aaaand, there's the carpet. I decided one day that I was going to just rip up the carpet, because I was sick of it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that underneath was the original wood floors, untreated and all... :)

Putting up the bead board after we painted the top half of the room.

All the bead board and trim is up. :)

Before Matt sanded the H out of the floors...

And this is during. :)

Floors all sanded, and the trim is painted.

Starting the staining...

All stained!

And this is the final product...

My awesome and hot friend Shannon made the frame in the middle. The background says "Addison May" over and over again. ADORABLE!

I've made this so that if you open and flip over the last 4 letters, it spells out Addison. In case we're feeling all sophisticated and what not. :)

I had a BLAST designing this room! My mom came up for a few days and helped me pick out (let's be honest, she picked them all out...) all the fabrics and such in the room. And since then, I've been workin my large belly off sewing up a storm. I've sewn the curtains, pillows, bumper, quilt, and even 3 different covers for the changing table pad. I don't know what I'm going to do with all my time now!!! Well, I do. Since I've got 3.5 weeks left, I should probably go into my "nesting" phase and start cleaning up a storm!!!!

Thanks for looking! Now we just need to wait til the little ball of wonder arrives!

HERE'S THE UPDATE...

I finished the crib skirt!!! So now it's all finished!! :) It's made of a stretchy kind of lace. It looks kind of antique...

I also made this little board that hangs for all her little hair doobers...

I can now just sit and hang out... When my work is finished!

Home Stretch

2011-03-27T21:59:00.006-06:00

36.5 weeks

Here we are ladies and gentlemen. The final 3.5 weeks. Down to the wire. Stoked. Is it just me, or have I gotten exponentially larger since the last post? Don't answer that. :)

So close yet so far away.

2011-03-08T18:32:00.005-07:00

Here we are at 34 weeks. I can't believe how fast/slow this is going. Ignore the squinty/no make up eyes. Woof.

Good news is, Matt and I are heading to Vegas tomorrow for a baby shower!!! Thank you wonderful Mom and sisters that are putting this on for me. AND, Matt has been working terribly hard on getting this baby's room all fixed up nice for Addy. Well, technically Mommy, right? I'll post before and after pics as soon as the though up paint is completed and everything is in place. Well anyways... I'm done. :)

Large and in Charge

2011-02-10T19:46:00.003-07:00

This would be at 30 weeks.

And feelin it. When I try to describe to Matt why it is so difficult to adjust in bed, I just tell him it's almost like having a bag of salt strapped to my body, and I've got to lug it around. He's being quite wonderful about it all. :)

Advice?

2011-01-30T20:38:00.003-07:00

I have a quick questions to all my moms out there. We are considering the cloth diaper for our little one (not the dish towel and safety pin ones). I was wondering if any of you have ever tried cloth diapers, and perhaps I could get some advice? These diapers have come a long way from the dish towel days... They make them look just like disposables, and have inserts that you remove and flush for the numero doses. They are (in the long run) more affordable than disposables and are better for not only babies, but the planet. Soooooo, I'm not a tree hugging hemp wearing lover of nature necessarily, but when I hear that you can get all set up with these cloth diapers for about $700 and use them for multiple kids as opposed to spending $2000 PER CHILD on diapers, I thought What the hay? I'll look into this.

So... if you have used them, which brands do you recommend and what features are especially important?

Thanks mucho.

Love,

Matt, Laura and the tiny.

Two Five

2011-01-10T21:48:00.003-07:00

25 Weeks.

Holla! Feeling great, getting fat, and now she's really starting to move and groove. I love watching my belly move while I'm lying down. Can't wait to meet this little tiny!!! :)

BUMP

2010-12-12T21:48:00.003-07:00

Wanna see some bump pics? Haha I have been getting some requests. So here we are:

14 weeks

17 weeks

Matt is expecting as well. :) He really likes to be a part of the baby bump pic process.

21 weeks

Matt says he's fourteenteen weeks. Ha.

We're having us a...

2010-12-03T14:10:00.003-07:00

Sweet baby GIRL!!!! :)

Yes, I'm feeling great. Yes, I'm getting fatter. No, we haven't picked out a name yet. Yes, we are excited. Uh.... Any other questions? Oh. I'm due April 22. :)

Here are a couple pics of our tiny little presh.

I would have shown you the pic of how we know she's a she, but I think I'll keep her modest. :)

It's true...

2010-09-20T19:15:00.001-06:00

I don't really think this needs commentary... :)

Homage to an amazing summer.

2010-08-18T16:11:00.000-06:00

Laura is blogging again and it hasn't been 6 months!

Watch out.

Alright. Let's just go ahead and get down to the nitty gritty. This is what we have been up to this summer:

We went to Boise to visit Matt's dad, Kim and Nikki. We had so much fun hanging out, EATING, sight-seeing and FISHING!!! WOOO!!!

"Fish OOWNNNNN!"

Fishing at Arrowrock Reservoir

Doofus.

Little dude!

Wells Fargo Building

Boise is the city of trees.

Matt is related to Arnold Williams....

I took this picture, and then went down into the gift shop to see the EXACT photo that I took for $75. It's a good thing I'm going into photography. That would have just made me sick. Haha

I love that the streets here are separated by a median of trees.

Idaho's State Capitol

Sadly, the next 6 pictures are the only ones I got of our trip down to Vegas. Haha! We had a blast down there though... Hunter was home for a while, but while we were there, he officially left for Afghanistan. We had to say good bye to him for a while. That sucked.... But we did lots of other things too! Elin and Derek taught us how to long board, we had Yogurtland for the first time, had barbeques, saw the whole fam, visited grandparents, went to Jersey Boys, swam, bought bikes, etc. It was sooooooo fun to visit Vegas again and see my family!

After Vegas, we drove up to Duck Creek, Utah to stay at my parents' cabin for a few days... We did some hiking, quading, and hanging out. It was so nice up there and we had a freaking blast. The next few pics are of us hiking at Mammoth Caves. What a ton of fun.

Tiny hole to climb out.

Miniature 99 cent flashlight that we used to navigate the stinking caves!

We had to crawl through that LITTLE hole to get into the cave!

Neat ice shot...

We were standing on this piece of ice that had about a foot of nothing below it... Scary.

This was a pretty steep chuck of ice to climb up...

We got a little duuuurty.

Me new Merrells..... :( But they cleaned up nicely.

Neat ivy covered building in Salt Lake. Saw it while visiting Grandpa Ed on the way home from Vegas.

I always catch the first fish... But then it's my last.... Matt's dad came to Blackfoot for his mom's 90th birthday party... But it's not a trip to Blackfoot until you hit the Snake River. So we went a-fishin. And for my birthday, Matt's dad bought me a year long hunting-fishing combo license! That's what I'm talkin about!!! :) Oh, and I've used it too....

That was his spot. Don't go near it... Haha By the way, nice boots, Durell. Haha

The fishin man always catches the most... It's alright. He earned it.

Matt's dad came over again that summer for another weekend to help Matt fix up his pride and joy, and get "her" (why do guys refer to cars as female?) runnin. After 3 hours, they succeeded and then they took a victory spin up and down the highway. I hesitate to say that I've never seen Matt happier....

His long time buddy, Marcus also came over to lend a mechanic's hand.

Marcus is such a good friend.

"Now whatcha got here is a loose turbine rotator shaft. Whatcher gonna wanna do it get your circuit ratchet and make sure it's all topped off and bottomed out" What?

Matt and Marcus.

In May, Matt had a company party in Idaho Falls. We barbecued ate snow cones, laughed at little children and went to the zoo! Elin and I were in charge of face painting. We had a blast. These kids came up with the funniest things for us to paint on their faces. I was expecting flowers and spiders and butterflies... But the vert first kid to come up to me said, "Can I please have a porcupine?" SURE! :) It turned out pretty neat too.

Elin showing off her mad skills...

Keith uploaded this photo up to FB immediately.

Freaky zoo mascot.

How sweet are those colors??

Ha.

Peacock! He's the cock of the walk.

Have you ever touched a deer? I didn't think so. :) My parents came up to visit for a few days! We went to Mesa Falls, went hiking, ate at KFC, went to a community 4th of July party, were proud Americans, lit off illegal fireworks, etc. You know, the normal Warren business...Oh we also went to Yellowstone's Bear World! WOO!

Widdle baby goat!

What the H are we doing, you ask? Well, "The Hustle" came on, so naturally, we all had to jump out of the car in Idaho Falls and do it. My mom taught us. It was freaking awesome.

Do do do do do do do do do!

You can see that we bailed out of the car to catch this one.

Mesa Falls

Her name is Petunia. Sorry Elin, I just named her.

I've had a lot of time to hang out with the cousins. And believe me, I did. I love Matt's family, and I'm so glad that they have accepted me as one of their own! As for the picture... She is much taller than I. That is sad.

WOOOO! I love my girls!

My girls. After swimming down at the water hole. Yes, we actually have a water hole. Complete with rope swing, drunk idiots and all.

We drove down to Utah right through a lightening storm.... And then we were blessed with this little treasure.

We went fishing with the Gunderson's at Carrey lake in Carrey, Idaho. We must have cause close to 100 fish that day, but only kept the one's worth eating.... B-L-A-S-T. 'Nuff said.

We had a fish fry that night. Uh-mazing!

Matt caught a baby fish!!! :)

How tiny is this little dude!!!!!

I love fishing. Seriously.

Almost there...

Gundy and Matt, getting prep'd. To be destroyed by the only girl there.

Caleb's pumped.... about being able to pump. Haha

Can I just take a minute to tell you that Matt and I have the BEST family in the world? Susan, G, Jessica, Lindsay, Kaitlyn and Christian all came over for days on end and helped us get these walls scraped down to the latham plaster.... Then we primed them and then painted. They are troopers, and I definitely would not have been able to complete this project without them. I love them so much! :)

Jessica... Before the vinegar fumes overtook us all.

Almost finished!

Pulling 15 hour work days. Just on the house.....

At 7 Peaks for the Nate Family reunion. Obviously the sun got to our skin AND our minds. we had a blast.

I don't know what compels us to take pics like this, but we do, and we like them.

Me and my cousin, Brock! :)

How presh are they?

At the beginning of the summer, Matt came home from work and surprised me with 6 new little buddies! They are pretty huge now, and are about ready to start laying eggs!

Apple tree...

These are a couple of my beet plants... Do you see the little buddies ready for their close ups? I'm going to be honest, gardening has got to be one of the most satisfying activities around. You are actually growing FOOD!!! And then to watch it as it ripens and then pick it and eat it... I can't get over how excited I am about my garden...

I'm not sure if this is one of the sugar snap pea or lincoln pea plants, but it's growing right along!

The radishes before I killed them. And ate them. And enjoyed them. :)

These are my spoils after just a few weeks!

And that's about it for now. I'm still just straightening up, doing yard work, and working on finishing the basement before school starts next week.

Whew... Any questions? :)

HERE IT IS...

2010-07-29T15:55:00.000-06:00

Okay, this post will be mostly pics, and not so much gab. I would like to point out that this is in no way a complete tour, as our home is still a mess. We moved in literally 2 days ago, so you get the cool stuff. So far. I will also point out that this is a memoir to the reasons I bought this house.

Aaaaaaaand now we will commence the long awaited picture-fest of the new Cutler Casa. Enjoy. (The pics aren't in order. I'm too lazy to do that... Deal with it.)

Sorry Carrie, here's a shot from the front!

Fire pit. WOOT!

Original hard-wood floors. I'm in love.

Bathroom. It's actually bigger than is looks. Bead Board. YES.

Thanks again Momma Gili for the new bed spread!!!

The bedroom. Looks country, right?

Old, jacked up walls are the best.

Door to Matt's domain, aka shop. Don't mess with his space.

Bet you wish you had a box car on your property? It's not the shop, in case you were wondering...

This thing is seriously sweet.

Everyone's go-to favorite flowers. The daisy. :)

Can you spot one of our chickens hiding in the foliage? :) Hint: it's grey and looks like a rock.

Door to the garage. Is anyone else waiting for Emma Smith to walk out?

I love the established landscaping. There is some work to do here and there, but the perennials are awesome!

Random, but I also love the kitchen drawer handles.

Red. Kitchen. Door. Obsessed.

AND THIS IS IT. I love this house because it's 100 years old, and all the hardware stayed! I've always wanted a home that was old and had TONS of character and a story, but you can only find those back east nowadays. Well, my friends, I found it. Woot!

This is the view of the front walk from the front door.

Eastern Idaho Sunsets..... Mmmmm. From the front porch.

A couple more shots...

Lawn

And lawn...

And lawn. We've got big plans for this lawn though... 100 ft. slip n slide in the backyard, and in the front, volleyball net. Eh? And all of those shots are completely separate parts of the yard... Whew! 2 acres of AWESOME.

HUGE maple trees. They shade the house in the afternoon. Keeps the place COOL. And Stacie, I already told Matt that he's not allowed near these at night.... We know what happens...

So that, my friends, is the beginnings of something wonderful. We are absolutely thrilled at our find. There were a few criteria we were looking for in a house: land, in the country (so we could keep our chickens), on a quiet street, old house, shop, yada yada.... Point is, we got EVERYTHING we wanted, and so much more, and for such a great deal! We are definitely blessed, and we are reminded of that every time we turn on the water and feel that crazy awesome water pressure.

And..... The end. Any questions?

For KELLIE :)

2010-07-23T12:02:00.000-06:00

I'm not dead. Well, I feel dead after the past couple of days, but I can assure all of you, I'm well. :)

I've had a post in the draft section for quite some time, but I wanted to ensure the enjoyment of all readers by adding pictures as well, but I haven't gotten around to it. But I will......

Matt and I just bought another house, so we are working VERY HARD on getting it all fixed up and ready to move into next week. We've pulled 15 hour work days on that house for the past week. Luckily, Matt has pretty much the greatest family ever, and Susan, Jess, Lindsay, GENTRAL, Kaitlyn and Christian have been so gracious (and patient) in helping us get this house situated. Oh, and thanks Mark for sharing your wonderful wife with us. :)

I'll go ahead and post pics of the house soon too. Lemme just say.... It's freaking awesome. 100 year old farm house. Hence, the work. But it is going to be worth it. Three words... Skeleton key doorknobs.

So, that's what I've been up to lately. I hope that suffices for now, Kellie. :) I'll get those pics up soon....

April 2010

2010-04-14T11:52:00.000-06:00

A few exciting things have happened in the last little while.

A few days ago, Matt and I went to his uncle's cattle ranch to help out for the day. We had our respective responsibilities: Matt- wrestle the calves into the shoot, Laura- once the calves are branded and tagged, give them shots.

It was such a fun day with Mark, Susan and the cousins. We got to ride horses, eat some freaking sweet chow, and learn that it's fun to work on a cattle ranch... For the day. :) We also finally got sunburned. We've been waiting for that.

Susan got some awesome pics of the events, so I'll be sure to load those once I get my hands on em.

Secondly, I've had an exciting 2 weeks, art-wise. A couple of weeks ago, I submitted 2 of my Black & White photos (from the B&W film photography class at UNLV) to an art magazine here at ISU, Black Rock & Sage. The magazine is comparable to The Vagus Nerve at UNLV. Well, I'd been turned down plenty of times regarding my artwork, so I was getting myself ready for rejection, again. Well, We got back from Utah for Easter and I had an email waiting in my inbox congratulating me for having my photo chosen to be published in the magazine! The magazine will be coming out soon, and when it does, I'll post a link to the online version of the issue.

AND THEN, if I wasn't excited enough already, some more good news cam my way. I also submitted a few of my paintings to the Undergraduate Exhibition Show that ISU puts on once a year. I went down to the gallery a few days later, where they posted all the works that would be featured in the show, and LO AND BEHOLD, Laura Cutler was on the list!!! If you have read my blog, you'll know that I had a post a few months ago that went over my life goals. Well, one of them was to get my art in a gallery. Well, check.

I called Matt AS SOON as I read that my work was accepted, and he was very excited for me. What a wonderful guy. He surprised mr by taking me to dinner and then to the opening of the show.

Proof that my shiz was here... In a gallery.

I was excited. But I was sure no one was watching when Matt snapped this pic...

Later that night, we went over to our friends' house. On the way to their house, we always see this house...

And Matt wanted me to add the caption, "How fast is your house?" or was it "My house is faster than yours..."

I don't remember...

9 a.m. class was cancelled...

2010-03-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't tell you of a better feeling than coming to school and seeing that the class that you hate the most is cancelled. Well, let's be honest, there are many better feelings, but for this exact moment, it's the best.

Well, I figured it was a good time to update you all on what's been happening in the life of the Cutlers since the last post. Again, there will be more photos than commentary... You're welcome.

We left off with Christmas and Matt's first day of work...

This is just a nice view of what Idaho sunsets look like when Matt gets home.

For Family Home Evening a few weeks ago, we took Grandma Cutler bowling. She is crazy. She is 90 years old and is as sharp as a Cutco. We had a blast with her that night, and went over to Rupe's for a couple of Root Beers afterwards.

Sorry for the lame blurriness of the photo. The lighting wasn't very good, and let's be honest, no one looks good with the flash on em.

Action shot!

Matt was such a good sport...

Matt=PB, Grandma Cutler=LC, Laura=TL

You got it. Grandma Cutler not only got a strike, but she beat Matt!!!! :)

Matt took me fishing on Saturday (The 6th of March). He knows that I LOVE fishing so he surprised me one morning and took me fishing! I really have only fished up on Cedar mountain in little lakes that are stocked... But this was different! It was sooo pretty and it was such a nice day! We didn't catch a dang thing, but it was still a lot of fun. Matt started to get restless and annoyed with the recluse fish, so he made fun out of when there was to push into the river. You can imagine the rest.

Cracked out lake. Pretty awesome looking.

Inspecting...

Close up of the cracks.

After fishing we drove around to look at stuff. Right next to the cracked out lake was this bed of munga munga. It looked weird right next to a winter wonderland... Matt got extra excited because this crap is his favorite color.

Every once in a while we will line the window sills with peanuts. We love to watch our little buddies come up to the window and take their prizes.

I thought it was neat that the little doobies come right up to the window and don't give a dang who is watching and how close they are.

I was trying to be inconspicuous when I first saw them, but them realized they didn't much care if you were close to them or not.

A few other things that we've been up to...

I don't think I posted that Matt and I got callings in our new ward. Well, we got called as Sunday School teachers for the 14-15 yr olds. They are such a blast!!!!!

We substituted for a class, spoke in church, got callings and spoke at a fireside for youth in the first 4 weeks of living here.

Matt's mom, Grandma Nate and I all attempted making tamales for the first time. Cindy (Matt's mom) made some AWESOME filling while I squished up the corn meal tamale mix stuff and Grandma Nate helped us spread the stuff on the corn husks, stuff em and fold em up. They were SOOOOO FREAKING GOOOOOD!!! We had a blast that night and I think we'll be doing it again very soon...

We went to Africa Night with Cindy and Steve. We had some awesome ethnic food (kind of like the food that you see in Indiana Jones when the plane crashed and he ends up in that village...), saw some neat dances and saw some sweet A clothes that they wear in Africa. We went to a little diner after that for some pie and we laughed hysterically for about 39 minutes about different FarmVille scenarios... Don't worry. You had to be there.

Matt is enjoying his job, and I'm loving being a house wife and going to school... Don't ask when I'll be done with school. The answer is never. Hahaha

The other night, Matt and I were getting ready for bed when he realized that we didn't make banana bread for his boss... Yeah, he needed to bribe his boss into letting him switch 2 days of his work schedule so that we can go down to New Harmony to hang out with my family for General Conference and Easter. So we jumped out of bed and spent the next hour of our lives making banana bread. We were tired the next morning, but Matt gave his boss the bread, and now we are ret to go to the ranch!!! :)

That's about it. Any questions? Oh, and no, Stacie, I haven't any pictures of the yellowed tree yet, but I can assure you that the tree is probably dying right now... :)

Can you guess what this is? I thought it was pretty sweet looking.

While I'm waiting for class to start...

2010-01-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you are anxious to receive some pics of the Cutlers as we have embarked on a new adventure in IDAHO.... Well, the time has finally arrived my friends. That's right. I have here for your viewing pleasure a plethora (nice word, visually) of pics ranging from (of course) Christmas in Vegas with the fam and friends, to Matt's first day of work and every random photo that I have in between. So, without further adieu, let the games begin. We'll start back at the beginning of December and work our way to the present.

I worked at the College of Engineering at UNLV before we moved and I got really close with my boss, Christine. She was kind enough to have the 'work family' (Matt, Me, Vik, Kush and Iani) over for dinner before graduation. We had a wonderful dinner and after, we went and did a few things that you just need to do if you're in Vegas

We went to the M Resort to see the largest Christmas tree in America!!

And then we went to the LAS VEGAS SIGN!! Classic.

SUCH A FUN NIGHT! Thanks again Christine!

Then in mid-December, we went to my parents' house to have Christmas. Matt, Hunter and myself were all not going to be there for the 25th, so we had a half Christmas a little early.

My dad got Matt a Glock. Yes, if you are wondering, he plays with it like he's a bad a.

I don't know why, but my mom seriously wanted a Snuggie for Christmas, so we got her one! She was thrilled. Like I said before, I don't know why.

Every year, Waddy has a special ceremony that goes on at the Wadsworth home. It's the setting up of the Waddyville. Waddyville is his Christmas town that he cherished and plays with all season long. I make fun of him for it a lot, so this year, I decided to do something kind, and I made him a sign to hang over Waddyville. AANNDD, I think he liked it.

We didn't want to leave Brittany out with all the Snuggie fun. Only this one isn't a Snuggie. No, it's worse. (Is that possible? Yes.) This, my friends, is the Hugglie. We re-named it the Fugglie. Same difference. :)

My niece. I took a few photos of her for Christmas, and there's really no other reason that I've posted them than for your own viewing pleasure. I just think that she is freaking CUTE!

Little Fartsack.

Gosh...

She going to make me want kids sooner than I really do. No kidding.

We were getting ready to move, and wanted to see just how much Matt is obsessed with cheese. This is all the cheese that we had in our fridge at one time. It's a sickness. I'm trying to get him to see a doctor. :)

What a hottie. Seriously. He's hot.

This is James Nott. He went back to school at 72 to try to get is Doctorate. He completed in 4 years, and finally graduated with a Ph.D. in Engineering at 76. He was an outstanding graduate for all of UNLV.

And here's another stud of UNLV. Now, I don't usually brag about anything, but I'm going to take a minute to brag about my husband. He was one of the 7 (out of 3,000 graduates) UNLV Outstanding Graduates. Not only was he that, but he was chosen to be the Outstanding Graduate for the entire Mechanical Engineering Department as well. Pretty neat eh? He has about a 2-3 minute segment in graduation where he stood up and all of his specs were read. Among some of them were the he served on the Rebel Pride Council and was in charge of Rebel Premier, he was a Senator for the Engineering College, and Senate President. He was also UNLV 2008 Homecoming Que... King. :) I'm pretty proud of his hard work.

As soon as we moved to Idaho, we went to see Avatar 3-D with our friends Matt and Cassie. This movie was seriously freaking sweet freaking sweet. Go see it. In 3-D. Now.

Let me preface the next couple of pictures with a story. On Christmas Eve, we went over to our cousins' house. The Lovelands. This is probably the coolest family that you'll find this side of the Mississippi. Well, we played some Mario Kart and opened some presents, and as we were about to leave, the topic of snow came up. I stated my sadness about not having a white Christmas. (I just moved 600 miles, and the one things I was excited about was having a white Christmas. But it hadn't snowed substantially in Idaho yet. Well, the Lovelands were all very kind to me, ensuring me that next year would definitely be white. Then we drove home and went to bed (watching It's a Wonderful Life, of course) We woke up the next morning around 8:30 or so to this....

We had only been in the house for a few days, and someone already TP'd us?? Wow. How low can you get. Well, that is what I felt until I opened the door. There was a sign on our door that read, "Wishing you a very Merry first white Christmas" The Lovelands woke up extra early and came to our house to make sure that we had a white Christmas.

Needless to say, we love them a whole lot. :)

And this is what out first Christmas in Idaho looked like. Matt wrapped the one on the right. Could you tell?

And finally, to round off the picture-fest, we have my punkin on his first day as a 'real boy'. I mean man. Haha This is on his first day of work. At 5:30 am, let me remind you.

We've had such a blast being with Matt's family up here in Blackfoot. We've had plenty of Pit games, and we've even gone to a Blackfoot High School basketball game, where Matt became the star of the student section by yelling things like "#42, you need to cut your hair!" and "Brokeback Mountain" :)

Well, anyways, I hope you're enjoyed this edition of 'It's about time I update my blog with things that have been going on around here' Stay tuned for the next episode entitled 'Probably not as interesting, and definitely not as many pictures'

Well, despite what the title of this post is, I didn't finish before class, but the post is here. Now bring on the comments.

Blackfoot.

2009-12-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

YYYEEEAAAUUUHHH!!! We have arrived. We are in Blackfoot at this exact moment. Well, we've been here for a few days.... But we are loving it! I know that I have no pictures up, but I will soon. Well, I will when there is something to take a picture of. Sadly, there is no snow yet... Don't worry, I'm upset as well. It's 12 degrees and there is no snow? Useless cold... Anyways, I just wanted to update this crap and tell everyone that was wondering if we got up here safely... We did! More updates to come.

And pictures of course.

Something interesting to blog about.

2009-12-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

That's right my friends. I have found something relatively interesting to blog about.

I would like to share with everyone why it is wonderful to be married to an engineer.

When we were first married, Matt got a job a Long Building Technologies. When he was there, he ran across a bunch of office supplies that were getting ready to be thrown out. I stress the "getting ready to" so that you don't think that he's a dumpster diver. I mean, the guy's HECKA resourceful, but come one. Give him a little credit. So anyways... He saw that there was a paper shredder in there, and though to himself... I'm going to fix that. So he took that broken shredder home. He sat and the kitchen table with a cap full of vegetable oil, and maybe an hour later, he was shredding some of our old documents. Yeah, he was pretty proud of that.

Next, when my great-grandmother died, she gave me her old OLD piano. This thing is from the mid 20's probably at the latest. So one night, at around 11 or so, Matt decided to start playing the piano. It wasn't some dainty David Lanz shiz or anything. This was like Phantom of the opera (DOOOOOOM DOM DOM DOM DOM DOOOM) status. So I told him to use the soft pedal cause we have 3 neighbors connected to our townhouse. And 2 of them are old. And I didn't want to deal with the broom stick against the wall episode. He told me that it didn't work. I was like, "well crap" and that was the end of that. But he insisted on pulling the piano out from against the wall, taking off the back of it and tinkering with it. In a matter of minutes, he fixed the soft pedal, and it still works like a charm. Amazing. He didn't think it was a big deal. Whatever.

THEN, yesterday afternoon, we got home from church and our house was freezing. He felt the air vent and realized that it was blowing out cold air. Obviously he wasn't having any of that, so he went into our tiny closet, pulled out his tools and went to town on the furnace. I was in the kitchen making dinner, so I couldn't tell what he was doing. He started to pull out all kinds of crap and laid it on the living room floor. I wasn't about to get into the infamous conversation that starts with, "What the hell are you doing?" So I let him continue. I wasn't about to lose faith yet. Well, he was working away, and at one point I heard the vacuum turn on... Hmmmm. Well, a few minutes later he told me to stand under the vent and check to see if there was any warm air coming out of it. He flipped the switch and voila! Heat.

He's going to save us a lot of money one day. Maybe he already has.

I love him. :)

Other than that, most of you know that Matt and I are moving to Blackfoot, Idaho in 2 weeks. We're doing as little as possible to get ready for that. Hahaha. I don't mean that we are terribly lazy. I just mean that the company that he is going to be working for is paying for people to come into our house and pack our shiz up. Yep. I don't have to wrap even a single dish. Hallelujah.

So besides that, work, finals, Young Women/Young Men and getting ready for Christmas, we have nothing to do.

2009-09-29T09:49:00.001-06:00

I have no children, therefore, I haven't anything really that sweet or funny or cute to blog about. So here's another little blurb from the mind of my own.

I have had an epiphany. It was actually not an epiphany at all. Just realizing that I needed to take the advice that I have been hearing my entire life.

GOALS.

I believe that it is important to set goals. Whether you are a newlywed that is going to school, or a full time mommy, or a seasoned woman, it is important to our well-being to set goals and feel accomplished. Here are a few goals that I have set:

Finish Personal Progress as a leader.
Get my art into a gallery before I die.

Get an ART Degree.
Run a half marathon (a full blown marathon is really a little much. Especially for my tiny leg. The key is something that is within reach! :))

Go to the gym at least 2 times a week.

Use more coupons at the store.
Find a family name that I can take to the Temple.

Finish the blanket that I started before I was married.

Finally get the water storage the Bishop has been telling us to get
DO MY VISITING TEACHING before the last two days of the month.

My list can go on and on, but what I think is important is to feel accomplished. It will definitely boost our self esteem, and become better examples.

Be Thou and Example of the Believers

This is an amazing talk that touches on goal setting.

Anyways, that's what is on the mind today. I'm excited to get together with the sweet young women tonight and help them work on goals that they have set. :)

2009-09-22T10:31:00.001-06:00

I haven't got anything fun to write about today. I don't mind if most of you will now close your browser and get on with life. I am just at work with a lot of time, and have a lot of things on my mind.

For all of you friends out there, here's the scoop on my and Matt's life. Bullet style (with expansion, when necessary)

We are both in school and are working for the University. Matt teaches a couple of calculus corses and I do a lot of the design work (invitations, banners, flyers, websites) for the College of Engineering.
We LOVE our callings. Matt is the Deacon's Advisor and I am the 2nd Counselor in the YW Presidency. We love working with the youth! It's very rewarding seeing their testimonies grow at such a young age.
We are still house hunting. Less than three months. Then I will be freezing my lop-sided A off. But, alas, we are still very excited to start a new adventure together. And I'm excited to have a garden and a clothes line. :)
UUhhh... I (Laura) am currently in the process of applying and transferring to ISU (Idaho State University) and I absolutely HATE the process. It's the transcripts. That's the downer. I went to 3 Colleges here in Las Vegas. I know, stupid. But when you gotta pay some bills, you have to find the schedule that fits with your STUPID work schedule. So anyways. Now I've gotta get the transcripts. Egh.

So those are the larger bullet points in our life... Hopefully I will be better and taking pictures, cataloging the fun moments of life, and sharing them with you all. Because our lives are SOOOO exciting... :)

P.S. I still have the Washington D.C. trip blog pending :) Thank you for your patience.

July-August

2009-09-07T20:02:00.000-06:00

Once again, I am sure there is a whole ton of schtuff we’ve been up to that I need to blog about, that I have yet to....

So this one will be a catch up post. (With Pictures... I know that’s the reason you’re looking at this blog right now anyways...)

So where to start.

Matt returned back from his boys weekend with my brothers, and I survived. :) He had a great time, although I don’t think I have any pictures for y’all.

June and July passed us by fairly quickly. We both have jobs. Matt is doing research work at the University and I am working in the dean’s office of the college of engineering at the University. I do a lot of design work and office work. Because I have been in front of a computer most of the day for the past few months, I have come to become obsessed with FARMVILLE of facebook.

My brother in law introduced me to this game, and if you’re not quite sure what it is, I hesitantly recommend you to check it out, for fear of you falling into the same obsessive excitement that I have. ANYWAYS... It has been awesome because Matt and I have been able to go to work everyday, and come home everyday together. He even comes over to the college of engineering for lunch everyday.

At the beginning of August, Matt and I finally started to sleep upstairs again. :) For those of you who have no idea why we wouldn’t be sleeping upstairs, here’s the quick scoop. Our air conditioning system in our house is lame. We have tiled floors downstairs and carpeted floors upstairs. Thus, in Vegas, HOT upstairs, COOLER (I hesitate to say cold) downstairs. The sensor for the AC is downstairs, where it stays generally cool. Well, the AC thinks it is cool everywhere in the house, so it will shut off often, even though it’s still 100° F upstairs. During the HOT summer months, unless we had the AC set to 60° F, we can’t bear the heat. So we have been camping out downstairs for the summer. Since school is starting up again, we don’t want to have the mess and clutter we have downstairs from sleeping there. So we turn on a lot of fans, and sleep with no covers. We hope it’s going to start cooling down.

We also went hiking this past month. The day started out with Matt taking me into Boulder City where we had breakfast at the cutest, most fun diner called the Coffee Cup. It was featured on the Food Network’s, “Guy’s Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives”. I haven’t seen the episode, but I thought that was a fun little factoid. After breakfast, we walked down the street for a little antique shopping. From there, we headed to Lake Mead, because the gentleman that owned the diner recommended that we take the “Abandoned Railroad Hike”, near the lake. We tinkered around in the visitor’s center, and then got a map, and started out on the hike. It was really hot, but we had a good time reading all about the building of the dam, and whatnot. We went through 5 old tunnels that the train would pass through to get to the dam to deliver aggregate and all that good dam-building schtuff.

After 4 miles of hiking, we got back to the truck, and went over to the dam, to check out the bridge (I had never seen it). It was really neat, although I don’t think I’m going to want to drive over it once it’s finished. A little high and skinny if you ask me.

So that’s really what we’ve been up to lately. The next post is pretty substantial. :)

Alone........ :(

2009-06-12T19:53:00.000-06:00

So Matt, my brother Robert, and Brother in Law, Waddy all left town this afternoon for a "boys weekend" in California. This is only the second time that we've been apart at night since we've been married. I know that I should be out all night long partying it up with my girls, but I've got two midterms and quizzes next week. One of the quizzes is over a book that I have yet to read. That, along with preparing my lesson for Sunday will prove to keep me pretty busy, and keep my mind off the fact that my man is gone... :( I'm a big baby. I know. I don't mind if you think it, either.

I'm about to freak out.

2009-06-09T12:41:00.000-06:00

For the past 4 days, my upper left eyelid has been twitching non-stop. I have had an eye twitch before, but none that have lasted THIS long... Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?? And what can I do about it?? And please DO NOT tell me it's stress, or anything like that. For those that know me know that I have NOTHING to stress about... No kids, no debt, no nothin...

Update... :)

2009-06-08T12:28:00.000-06:00

So like always, it's been quite sometime since I've blogged... But I've an excuse this time!! We have been busy. Seriously though... Matt took me to Disneyland for my birthday!! :) Happiest freaking place EVER! And I won't tell about all the fun stories, cause the reason people even check blogs is to see pictures.. (Guilty) So... Here they are, with minimal commentary...

This was the best that we could do... There was no one around to take it for us...

So we rode some super sweet, too slow, Matt going the wrong way on the track and screwing everyone up as well as pissing every parent off bumper cars... :)

I'm pretty upset that I was the only idiot on the whole freaking raft that got smashed by this tidal wave of water, while the Canadians across from me laughed at me and tried to make light of a terrible situation. I wanted to recklessly unbuckle my safety strap and punch them in their freaking tourist faces..................

And we are stuffing our faces with the famous chowder and gumbo in the bread bowls. Which were the bomb. BUT there were only 8 tables that sat 4, snuggly, in the vicinity, so I pretty much had to beat off any little families, and mothers with strollers to get us a seat. It got pretty crazy.

The calm before the storm... I don't know why we decided to do this one again. Although, THIS time, and dare I say fortunately, a precious little Asian family in the raft with us got the brunt of the impact. But I had no sympathy for them. I was there, YESTERSDAY.

And we rode some freaking sweet freaking sweet Tower of Terror, when I'm convinced Matt shat himself cause he didn't know what to expect. And obviously, I wouldn't warn him of anything...

Double fisting it... Fatty turkey leg and chimichanga. I don't regret that for a minute.

Matt wanted to be a part of the turkey leg festivities...

And here's Matt buying us our first, ceremonial churro of the vacation...

And again we plaved the "Laura is the only one that's allowed to get wet on these freaking rides that we are stupid enough to ride AT NIGHT, IN THE DARK, WHEN IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!!!

We got on the tea cups, knowing very well that we would regret it immediately. Also, we told ourselves that we wouldn't spin the wheel, which failed as well. But we got the best color. So I guess all in all it made that venture worth it. Kind of....

And we finally stuffed our faces again...

And finally, Matt met his all time childhood hero and personal mentor... The M-Mizzle.

Going Private...

2009-04-20T11:34:00.000-06:00

Hey guys in a few days, I'm going to be making my blog private to those I personally know, and that are still interested in reading my blog. If you want to still read up on what Matt and I are up to, please post a comment to this post with your email address, or shoot me an email (cutler678@gmail.com)... I appreciate it guys... I know this is kinda inconvenient, but it's getting scary out there, and I'd rather our lives be a little more protected, and still allow our awesome friends to know what's going on in our lives.

Thanks!

Seriously, so blessed...

2009-03-25T17:17:00.000-06:00

The lovely Stacie Morris in my ward told me about this blog.

www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com

HILARIOUS. It pokes fun at the Mormon culture, that flourishes in UTAH.

If you want to read it, you should start at the beginning. You will not be disappointed.

What might be in store for the Cutlers!

2009-03-23T17:05:00.000-06:00

Well, a few weeks ago Matt went to a career fair at UNLV to check out some possible employers when he graduates. (December 2009). He found a company called Bettis Lab. It's a nuclear engineering lab in none other than the FABULOUS IDAHO! He picked up some information from them and also left his resume. They were pretty impressed and he had to fill out at LEAST 30 pages of questions about his life. It's a security clearance thing. Well, he had to do this, and then they could officially offer him a job. Well, it took about a week and a half (Matt thought it would take them months) and he got a call this morning while we were eating our very nutritious breakfast. It was Bettis Lab calling him to OFFICIALLY offer him a job for when he would graduate. We are so excited that come December, we might be moving up to BLACKFOOT, IDAHO, home of the Eastern Idaho State Fair!

I was totally sold on this idea when Matt brought home the BOOK of papers he had to fill out. He told me that they will fly him up there to check out the lab and see what there is to see up there. If he accepts the job offer, they will fly Matt and I up there for a week to look at houses. When that's all said and done, they are going to pay for professional movers to pack up all my crap, and MOVE it up to Idaho!! Now that's what I'm talking about. I hate moving. EGH.....

So now we've spent the last hour (before class) looking for houses in Blackfoot. We found some potential winners. One that's 5 bedrooms on 1.75 acres with an ORCHARD! I'm totally sold. We'll see how stuff goes...

I really just can't wait to get out of Vegas. I mean look at this waterfall!!! It's called Mesa Falls, and when Matt took me up to Idaho for the first time, he brought me here. It's like an hour outside of Blackfoot. I'd say it's a much better view than Lake Mead. Take a look at all that moss......

Valentine's Dizzay.

2009-02-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well, since I know all about everyone else's V-Days, I thought I'd share with you all mine. It actually started the day before. I went to get my car smogged then to the DMV so I could finally get my car registered under my name. That was delightful. I waited only about 10 minutes in the "Wait her to get a number so you can wait some more" line. Then I waited about a half hour to be seen. Most of the DMV employees that I have come in contact with have just been in bad moods. I don't think any of them like their jobs. But the sweet little foreign lady I got was so nice. She laid out all of the license plates so I could PICK ONE! ;) None of them were really of any significance, so I just picked a random one. I did however, thank her for letting me pick. And she says, ina delightfully cute accent, "It's no problem. You smile for me, and it don't cost me a thing". Oh I loved her.

Then I went to the mall to get Matt's V-Day gift...... ;) And stopped in JCPenny to see if they had any good purses on sale, and they did! I bought an awesome cerulean- blue with a hint of green purse. It's kind of aqua-y but more blue and it's BRIGHT!!! Anyways, that was my Valentine's gift to myself. So that's awesome.

So I get home later that night, and Matt says I have to go upstairs for a while while he sets something up down stairs, for the next day (V-Day). So he's doing whatever downstairs while I'm reading upstairs. He finally comes upstairs and wraps his bathrobe around my head and face. I don't know why he didn't just use a shirt, but I guess it got the job done. He led me downstairs and sat me on a chair. He took the bathrobe off of my head and I was sitting right by the piano. I though I knew what would be coming next because one year ago that day (Feb 13) he proposed to me by singing and playing the song that he wrote for me. So I sat down and immediately started to tear up beacuse I could see how nervous he was. Now, remember that Matt is now the loudest singer so when he sang to me that night I couldn't hear all of the words, but this time I did. The song was sooooo personal and beautiful and meaningful to me that I was having a hard time composing myself the whole time. But then he took my wedding ring from me (and he took his off too, to make it more realistic I guess) and proposed to me all over again. I was crying again, of course. Then he lifted me out of the chair and said, "Now, this isn't quite right". He wrapped the bathrobe around my head again and he scooted me back a little bit until my legs were hitting something that felt a lot like a double papasan chair. He sat me down and it was!!! He had this chair hidden in our house for 2 days, and I didn't know it. He still won't tell me where it was he had it, stinker. But we sat there on that chair for a while. Now the story behind that chair is this...

We wanted a cool papasan chair to match our tropical theme in our living room. The Cunninghams in our ward told us there were some at Pier 1, so we went over there about 2 months ago to check it out. Well, there was a DOUBLE PAPASAN there and it was the shiz. It was kind of expensive so we decided to think about it. For two months, I would make little comments about how I wish we had that chair. I figured that we just would never get it so I dropped it, but then he surprised me with it!!! He is the BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD!!

Then the next day we slept in, hung out, went to the Temple, visited my new little niece, and went grocery shopping (our favorite thing in the whole worl.d Fresh N Easy is our favorite place to be). We went home and took a nap on our neat-o chair. Then we went to Cugino's (Our unofficial first date) for dinner and then went to the UNLV vs Colorado State game where WE WON!!!!

Anyways, that was my awesome first V-Day with an incredible husband... ;)

Charging...

2009-01-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in the UNLV library, waiting for class to start. I want my iPod to charge as much as it can so I can listen to Simon & Garfunkel of the Beatles as I am drawing... So I might get off and running, but then come to a complete stop, mid thought, much like my last entry did because I have to race across campus to draw. ;) So I had a photography assignment this weekend. We were to come to the library and find two books of photographers that we like. We have to talk about how interesting their work is and how we are going to incorporate their style into our work... Well, I found that the photography section is on the fifth floor of the Library, so my limpy butt took the elevator. And no, I don't feel bad. Elevators were partly made for tards like me. So I found the section and realized that photography to some is just porn. The books are really old and don't have covers with pictures on them, so naturally, you have to flip open the book and see the work that that photographer does. Well, apparently homosexuality is the hot topic for photographers. I was mortified when 4 SHELVES were filled with this crap. I don't know why people think that's art. I think it's gross. Even if it were heterosexual porn, it is just obscene and offensive. But I managed to find the nature and food photography section. It was sooooo fun after that. But anyways, I thought since my iPod is still charging, and I had a few minutes before class, I would rant about the sucky "artists" in the world now. I love art, and am so excited that it's my major, but I don't understand why it's an excuse for some to destroy morality. Egh.

On a lighter note, school is going to be long and awesome today, and I'm going to finish it off by working my butt off at the gym.

School Days... School Days...

2009-01-19T14:58:00.001-07:00

Well, I haven't blogged since Christmas, but I'm sure you are all tired of reading Christmas blogs, so I will just say Christmas was the BOMB. It was wonderful to be with family and take a break from life for a while. After the BIG DAY, we went up to the house my parents have in New Harmony, Utah. We played in the snow, built stuff with legos, spent and ENTIRE DAY (I kid you not) down in the basement, playing Mario 64. By the way, Matt beat the game a few days later, and is still recovering from it.

So we got back and had a whole 2 weeks of no work and no school. So what do we do? We take advantage of it. We stayed up til at least 3 AM each night(/morning?) And never saw the light of day before 10:30 AM. Needless to say, we felt like absolute bums after that. So we quit.

School has started. It's my first time back in over a year. But my classes are AWESOME. I am majoring in Graphic Design. So I have all art classes. They are so fun. It's really not like school at all. I get to take pictures, develop them on my own, draw, paint, draw some more, sculpt, draw, bend things out of metal, and NEVER READ A BOOK!!! Not that I don't like to read.... I am really a reading fanatic. But textbooks? No one learned anything from one of those.......

Just 42 more days!!!

2008-11-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

I know everyone ALWAYS feels this way, but where the H did the year go? Really, it's been about 86 seconds since last Christmas. But I'm not complaining. So siree. I LOVE Christmas. But I think this year is going to be extra special because now I have my own little tiny family. A.K.A. Matt & I. We will still be w/ the fam most of the time, but we get to start our own traditions for this Holiday Season.

We have already purchased our first Christmas decoration. We were in Albertsons one night looking for Cinnamon Syrup so I could jack the Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider recipe. Well, we had no luck finding it, but we did, however find a 3-foot tall Mickey Mouse dressed as Santa for 29.99 and bought that mother then. It's pretty sweet, and he is now residing royally on a side table in our front room.

We have a plan for our first Christmas tree. We are going to buy a tiny, sucky, Charlie Brown tree this year, and decorate it all up with random things that could be ornaments, but probably shouldn't be ornaments. But then right after Christmas, we will go find a nice artificial (it sucks to say fake, but everyone knows that it's what artificial means... :( ) tree with lights already built in. And then that will be our family Christmas tree for then until it falls apart.

We are so excited for the Christmas season. Not only do we get to celebrate the humble yet miraculous birth of our Savior, but we get to:

-bundle up in sweaters and beanies and scarves,

-drink hot chocolate,

-cuddle,

-find that PERFECT gift for someone you know,

-make fun of houses with really sucky lights on em,

-count the number of houses with lights on em when you are going from point A to point B,

-see your breath at night,

-go to the mall and not shop, but people watch,

-watch the already awesome, but a little more awesome cooking shows,

-be around lots of family,

-not go to school/work for at least a week,

-still after all these years not be able to go to sleep on Christmas Eve,

-and other Christmas-like activities.

So I dare any of you to try to tell me that there is a holiday better than this one. I triple-dog-dare you! ;)

Flopping...

2008-10-30T14:13:00.000-06:00

Matt had a huge test yesterday, so when he got home from school, we just flopped (my family's work for just sitting around). Our friends Rick and Heather brought us back a pomegranate from his family's house. We got two bowls and the pomegranate and headed upstairs. We spent a whole hour peeling the thing and watching Criminal Minds. I love ppeeling pomegranates!! It's almost as satisfying as scraping popcorn off the ceiling, pulling feathers out of a feather pillow (Heather), or peeling glue off of my hand in elementary school. Plus, we found out that these mothers grow really well in Vegas, so Matt and I are looking into planting one in our front yard...

King Cutler. Does that make me Queen??

2008-10-30T13:44:00.000-06:00

Well, life's been pretty normal lately. I'm working and Matt is going to school. Yadda yadda yadda... But a few big things have happened since...

A couple weeks ago was Matt's Homecoming week at UNLV. He was involved with a lot of activities, and was even nominated Homecoming King! He had to go through a lot to continue in the process. First, the club he is apart of nominates him. Then the committee checks his GPA and all that jazz, and once he is past that, he has an interview and also makes a banner to promote himself for Homecoming King. From those that complete the interview and banner, they are awarded points and the top 5 boys and top 5 girls advance to court. Then, the school votes. For a whole day, student get online and vote for who they want to win. At halftime during the football game, the winners are announced. Matt knew he wasn't going to win, but he did think a guy named Marco was going to. He had a lot of support from his frat brothers, and had a pretty good chance. Well, I guess at UNLV, they announce the runners up, which I think is a huge insult. That's saying, "Hey! You ALMOST won!!!" a.k.a. HUGE kick in the face. Well, the runner up for King was Marco! Then I really started to get nervous! Then they announced, "The 2008 UNLV Homecoming King is Matthew Cutler!!!" I couldn't believe it! Well, I guess I could, cause my husband is a freaking hottie with a body... ;) Everyone at UNLV knows and loves him, and he's pretty dang involved. He was shocked. And the other LDS girl on court, Ilse Zuniga won as well!!! It was such a fun night, and Matt rocked that crown and gay scepter like no one's bid-ness. And then we went home and went to sleep, cause that's how married couples roll. ;)

Matt and Ilse with Chelsea Milko. Matt is such a tard.

Matt with Ari, his campaign manager for that week. ;)

Free Handbags... SO CUTE!!!

2008-10-03T16:21:00.000-06:00

Hey guys, Handbag Planet is having a promotional contest on October 15, which is their opening date. They are giving away one handbag every hour for the full 24 hours!!! Check out the website, and register to win one:

www.handbagplanet.com

My Husband is the BOMB

2008-09-26T18:02:00.000-06:00

This post won't be big, but I just want to let everyone know that it is so nice to be able to have a husband that loves me and that cares. I know Heavenly Father cares so much about me, cause He showed me that this little goof ball tard from Idaho, would be exactly what I need.

Since everyone else is doing it, I might as well...

2008-09-25T16:13:00.000-06:00

I know that since season premiers are all over the place this month, I just want to give a shout out to my favorite show. The Office. Boom, done. I don't care how trendy this show is, it is the FUNNIEST show on the face of this beautiful earth. Let's take a look at Laura's favorite moments of the past seasons:

-When Michael took Jan and the other business man to Chili's and ordered an "Awesome Blossom, exrta awesome"

-When Michael burned his foot on the George Foreman grill, "I like to wake up to the smell of cooking bacon, sue me!"

- In the same episode when Michael invited the handicapped (couldn't move legs) man into the office for a seminar and asked him, "How long does it take for you to brush your teeth in the morning?" and the handicapped man replies sarcastically, "I don't know, about 30 seconds." and Michael then looks at the employees and says, sadly, "That's 3 times as long as it takes me..."

- When Dwight was bouncing on the work-out ball at his desk, and Jim gets up very non-chalantly and pops it with a pair of scissors.

- Michael is an idiot: "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information."

- When Jim printed out Dwight's security name badge incorrectly: "Jim, my middle name is Kirk, not FART." And made the name badge 30 times too big.

-When Jim came to work dresses as Dwight, and then when Dwight came to work dresses as Jim. "Identity theft is a crime Jim!! MICHAEL!!!!!!!!"

- The episode that went over all the pranks that Jim has pullen on Dwight. My personal favorites is the nickels in the phone receiver. If you do not know this prank, you should watch it again.

- "What smells like up dog?"

- So, Mr. Scott, would you say that you have been directly under Ms. Levinson the entire time?", "That's what she said", "What was that?", "THATS--WHAT--SHE--SAID"

These are just a few of the funniset moments in my life. Cherish them.

New Calling!!

2008-09-25T16:09:00.000-06:00

Well, Matt and I are in the Tropicana Ward in the Paradise Stake. There aren't many members in that ward, so naturally, we have more than one calling. Matt and I both teach the 12-13 year old Sunday School class. We love it. It's fun, but trying at times. Let's face it. They are 12 and 13, and don't give a crap about anything but the opposite sex and video games. It's hard to get through to them at times, but when they answer a question seriously, it's very gratifying. We love that class. We are both involved in the Young Men/Young Women programs as well. He is the Teachers' Quorum advisor and I am the Beehive class Advisor. I love this calling as well because I get to go to GIRLS CAMP!!! It's pretty much my home away from home. I love going up there and getting dirty for a week. I'm at work currently preparing a lesson for Sunday for the Young Women. I get to teach about Marriage Standards. Nice. It's all fresh in my mind, so this should be pretty good.

Since then...

2008-09-19T14:57:00.000-06:00

Well, Matt and I moved into out new house and our friend Melanie has a friend Kristen who was moving, and didn't need the couches she had, and was planning on giving them away. She thought of us and we were able to pick them up!! They are great, too!! We also hung crap up so it actually looks like a home! We hae had friends over for games, and dinners, and all that other host-like stuff. It's so fun to have your own place and decorate it how you want, clean it how you want and walk around in whatever you want. HAHA, kidding... kind of. Well, also since the HM, we have gone to the cabin my parents have in Duck Creek. Matt and I were able to have a lot of time to ourselves and we went quading for a while. We went to a place called Strawberry Point, and saw one of the most increadible views known to man. We also went to Panaca, Nevada for Pioneer day at the end of July. My brother in law is from there, and it was soooo neat! Matt won a potato sack race, and got a dollar in quarters, which we so childishly spent on snow cones. We also went to Idaho for the Eastern Idaho State Fair where I won third place in an arm wrestling championship. I was the only girl in my weight class, so they had to bump me up to the next weight class, with the big burly biker chicks from Idaho. But I won third and got a plaque and a really cool shirt. We watch bull riding, and ate all the fair food we could get our hands on. It was a freaking fun weekend. Since all that, we've just been working and going to school and all that other schtuff.

HONEYMOOOOON!

2008-08-22T15:54:00.000-06:00

So, we headed out with reception food in hand and a bag of "GOODIES"from Markus and Shylo. ;) We went over to Green Valley Ranch and checked in. We had a great time there, and the hotel room was beautiful and we had an awesome view of the pools below. We slept in the next morning and when down to the concierge's desk and they looked up an LDS church that started at 1. They map-quested directions and then we were off to church, and Matt was excited because he was fulfilling his Priesthood duties! So was I because we were going to a church far enough away from our family and friends, so we wouldn't see any one that we knew. We were just trying to avoid any awkward glances that said, "Hey, I know what you did last night..." So we showed up to a ward in Anthem and sat in the back. Then our friends Brandi & Seth popped out of no where. We talked with them for a while, and were grateful it was them and no one else. We had an awesome time talkin with them. After church, we went home and finished packing our stuff. At 10 pm that night, our friend Brittany, and one of my bridesmaids brought us to the airport. I still had no idea where were going at this point. Matt has kept this a secret for a long time, without budging!!! I was very impressed. So we got to the place where we check in, and the airline name was Mexicana. So there was clue one. I finally got my ticket, and it said "Mexico City". I was confused, but Matt assured me that it was just a stop... Whew. I slept on the way to Mexico City, and when we stepped off the plain into the airport I wanted to die. I was soooooooo cold. I thought Mexico was hot and miserable and humid! Anyways, we had a layover for about an hour, which was just enough time to go through customs and get lost and then get to the right terminal. Wow. So then, our next ticket says Cancun.... Interesting... But Matt let me know that it was just another stop. I was confused. I would have been JUST FINE with Cancun. But we got on the plane again, then got off the plane again... And we had to get off the plane and right onto the tarmac. Once I stepped out, WHOOSH, my curly hair was flat and I was sweating in about 3 seconds. So we went and got the baggage and made it through customs again, we were off, we took a car to our resort... It was about an hour to our resort and the ride there was pretty interesting. Taking in the surroundings as I looked out the window, on one side of the highway were these extravagant entrances to the resorts along the beach. I mean these things were huge, and probably unnecessarily large. Fountains and all this other stuff. They were cool and all, but whoa. The almost are trying to top the Strip. And on the other side of the road, there is nothing but run down shacks, in which people live, and litter and weeds. It is so weird to see that. Two different worlds on the different sides of the road. But anyways, we get to the resort and it is absolutely beautiful! It's HUGE and there are people there waiting on us hand and foot to assist us in any way. As soon as we got there, there was a lady there with drinks for us, and they already had our bags, and checked in and we were on our way. We got to our room and sat down for only a minute and then we went out to explore. Okay, I know this is boring, and sounds like a freaking journal entry, so I am going to finish up this honeymoon story that happened a million years ago so I can get on with the rest of my life. SHEESH!!!
So the resort was amazing (& ALL INCLUSIVE, which meant FOOD, whenever we wanted!!!) The beach was beautiful and all that jazz. We booked a few tours to go on around the Mayan ruins there in the Yucatan Peninsula. We went to Coba, the largest Mayan ruin on the peninsula, we went to Tulum, which is an incredible ruin on the coast. We also visited Xel-Ha, which is kind of like a Mexican Wet N Wild. There are many places there to snorkel, cliff jump, tube, scuba, and all that other fun water shite (the ''E'' is there on purpose). We went canoeing, rappelling, swimming in fresh water caves (cenotes), zip lining, hiking through the jungle, and so much other cool stuff. Then one day we went to the town Playa del Carmen where we did our souvenir shopping, layed out on the beach, walked for an hour in the pouring rain (on purpose), visited the local Wal-mart, and saw the other sites of the city. Another day, we hung out at the resort and layed on the beach there, snorkeled again, and ate all the free (kind of) crap that we wanted. I ate sooo much guacamole, and then we decided to go to dinner. I ate one bite of my filet mignon, and I threw up. I swear. I got one step into the bathroom, and threw up on the wall. I felt bad cause there was a cute little Mexican girl that just got done cleaning the bathroom, and she had to go off and clean it again. It really was sad. Anyways, the honeymoon was INCREDIBLE, and we had the vacation of a lifetime. I am sick of writing about it now, and I'm not going to go back and make it cute and colorful cause I am just sick and tired of this post already. If you would like to know more about my honeymoon, feel free to ask me. HAHAHA Maybe I will even put some pitcures in this post after a while.

The Reception

2008-07-07T16:11:00.000-06:00

When I got to the church, I changed back in to my dress, and made my way to the cultural hall where my family was. I walked in, and didn't know where I was. Kristine Peart was the decorator, and transformed the place, and it was absolutely GORGEOUS!!! It was exactly what I wanted. The colors were very vibrant, and there were gerber daisies EVERYWHERE!!! Well, everyone in the Wedding Party was supposed to arrive at the Church at 5pm that evening. The reception started at 6, and we needed time to take more pictures of family and what not. Well, Matt's family didn't arrive until anout ten til 6 because his brother in law was sick. So we made do with the time we had, and took some pictures of the fam. Then people started trickling in. Slowly at first, but then by 6:20, the place was packed, and no one was leaving!!! Haha Apparently our Wedding Reception was the place to be that night, cause there were SOOOOO MANY PEOPLE! We had a great time standing in the line to greet our family and friends that came to see us. Then, when my feet felt like I was walking on coals, we dissolved the line, and went out and had some fun. We cut the cake, and I thought all was safe after about 3 bites, and then Matt looked as thought he was going to go in for the kill with the stupid shove in the face act. So, instead of giving him the satisfaction, I beat him to the punch, and he had cake up his nose. Hahaha. Then he got it all over my forehead. I knew that his sight was a little sketchy, but my forehead?? Wow. Then there was the boquet toss. I got all my girls lined up behind me, and tossed that mother like there was no tomorrow (I had to be careful of the drop ceiling of course), and my friend JJ was the one that caught it (A little update on her, the weekend after my wedding, JJ got engaged!!! I guess it really does work!) Then the garter um... thing? Matt told me previous that he didn't want to take it off with his teeth, and I was just fine and dandy with that. Until he knelt down... He was seriously just going to take it off with his hands?! Heck no. I grabbed his head, and shoved it under my dress. I don't think anyone (including myself) was expecting this... But FREAK! It was FUNNY! The I had the dances with my MEN (Daddy and Matthew Blaine). Then we peaced the freak out! It was so fun! His best man, Markus Oler from Idaho, and his wife made us a little care package for the night. We had a lot of fun looking at the stuff in the bag, and confessing our confusion for a lot of the items. So that was it. We were officially on our honeymoon!

The Day.

2008-07-07T15:55:00.000-06:00

I woke up with Heather, my sister, at about 5 am. Hair takes a freaking long time to do! So we were doing my hair, and I was wide awake!!! So we all started to get ready, and it was almost time to go! I wasn't really that nervous, just excited. We hopped in the car and drove to the Temple. Surprisingly, I didn't forget anything! We got to the Temple, and they brought my parents and I into a room where they check to make sure you have everything (Marriage License, etc.). We were supposed to arrive at the Temple by 7:45 am. And what happened? Matt was late. By 7 minutes. I was calm as heck, cause I am used to this... ;) But he was late because he forgot almost everything!! I thought it was precious. He was sitting in the chair next to me in the little Temple office, and he looked so dazed. I don't think he knew what was about to hit him. We got then went into the dressing rooms, and then waited to go into the sealing rooms. The ceremony was beautiful. I was bawling, and Matt still didn't know what was going on. It was wonderful to see all our family and loved ones (especially Matt's who all traveled from Idaho). Then, when we were officially, Mr. & Mrs. Cutler, we got dressed in our social attire (Wedding dress & Suit) and walked out the Temple doors to see our families and friends all there waiting for us. Luckily, we had already taken all the Temple photos 2 weeks earlier, when the weather wasn't 278930 degrees. So we took a few with the families and friends and what not, and then left the Temple. We had all our family meet us at a Mediterranean Grill called The Olive. It's our favorite restaurant, and we have had many special occasions there. So we had a whole half of the place reserved for our party, and everyone LOVED the food! Then we followed our family back to our house so we could give anyone who hadn't seen it yet a tour... We have no furniture downstairs still, so everyone stood around, and that lasted about 10 minutes. So then they all left... And then we were home alone ;)

The night before...

2008-07-07T15:22:00.000-06:00

Most girls would be sitting at home, lying in bed, unable to sleep because she is too dang excited for the next day. Well, my story is a little more interesting... My best friend, Amber got me a massage for the day before so I'd be all relaxed and limber. ;) So at about 6pm I went and had a hour and a half massage. It was freaking incredible. I had never had a professional massage, so this was a good time. Then, Matt's family (some were staying at our new home for the weekend) wanted to play Catch Phrase (the best family or friend game in the world. Seriously, go out and get it now. It's $26.49 at Target) so I had to bring my game over to our new house. I already knew that my sisters had an interesting night planned for me when I got home, and I knew that they were waiting for me, so I wanted to make the stop quick. I dropped the game off, and was relieved to get out of there so quickly, not that I don't love his family, but I was excited to get home and spend some time with my sisters. So as I was driving home, I was side swiped by this really old dude in a Ford Focus. We pulled into a parking lot, and he got out with his cane, and swore that he was in his lane, but he really wasn't... I wasn't in the mood for this. He was really apologetic, and I couldn't be angry with him. I have a soft spot in my heart for old folks. He was precious, and let me know that he was in Las Vegas for a confrence for magicians. Lovely, eh? Well, that crap was settled, and then I headed home. When I got there, my sisters were waiting there for me with pizza and bread sticks from Little Caesars. I LOVE that shiz. When that was all said and done, my sister, Heather, pulled out a cute bag that said "BRIDE" on it, and started going through it's contents. I was blushing for most of it, and laughed as hard as I could when she pulled out a CD entitled "Love Making Mix" Hahaha she explained why each of the tracks was on the CD and we laughed for what seemed like hours. Since two of my sisters are married, we had some interesting talked about my brothers. Nothing graphic or inappropriate, but hilarious, nonetheless. So then we all got ready for bed, and had a little slumber party. We watched Clueless and the Brady Bunch Movie. Unexpectedly, I didn't have a very hard time falling asleep. I think it was the massage...

So let's take this slow...

2008-07-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

I am not going to blog the Wedding Day, the Reception, the Honeymoon, and moving in to our new house, and all that Jazz in one foul swoop... So I'll take it slowly. I hate getting all behind like this, because it's like getting behind in your journal writing. You miss a month, and then it takes you a month just to write about what happened in that month that you miss, and by that time, you have even more to write about, and it's a huge mess. I hate it. So forgive me if the MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF MY LIFE is a little abbreviated, I will come back and edit this blog to add more, but I hate sitting at a computer for more thatn like 20 minutes at a time... SO it might take a while, plus I don't have a lot of the pictures yet, so I will wait til I have them all on CD to add any. Whew. I am already done... Hahaha

Waiting much???

2008-06-30T17:42:00.000-06:00

Well, I know that it's been forever since I have blogged anything for a LOOONG time. I still have to update all of you on the Wedding, the Honeymoon, the getting the house put together, and all that other good stuff!! I'm sorry it's been a while. We don't have internet at the house, and I don't have much time to blog at work, so it's hard to find time to play around anymore. I'll work on it, and I'll maybe even go to the school when Matt is being his big bad Senate President self at his meetings. Or maybe I will just sit at home and watch Oprah, and crochet. Hm... That's a thought.

Closing in...

2008-05-02T15:29:00.001-06:00

There are a few things that I've been doing/thinking about lately. First off, I went to Pei Wei yesterday with my co-workers. If you've been there, you know that by the soft drinks, they have a basket FULL of fortune cookies that you may take as you please. I LOADED up on those mothers. So I sat down and while I was waiting for my food, I opened a fortune cookie, and read the fortune inside. Of all the things it could've said, it said, "ALMOST THERE". Heck YEAH! I got all stoked and then opened a few more, but didn't actually eat the cookies, cause who does that?? So that was a pretty tight. In case those of you reading this hasn't read any of my other blogs, or don't know me or my current situation, I am getting married in 36 days, and it feels like it's been forever since I've gotten engaged. So the fact that I'm ALMOST THERE makes me pretty excited. So that's the first order of business.

SECONDLY, the house stuff is all underway. Our lender got all of the information that he need from us, and we are going to CLOSE ON OUR FIRST HOUSE next Wednesday! Until then, I'll be looking at appliances such as ovens and refrigerators.

I finally figured out how to put songs on our profile. It's kind of a hodge podge of songs that Matt and I like. "Stealing Cinderella" is a song that my dad has told me time and time again reminds him of my and Matt's situation. He thinks that Matt is "ridin in and stealing Cinderella". As sad as I know that me leaving the nest makes my dad, he helps me to feel better by telling me that he wants to dance with me at our wedding to this song. I thought that it was really sweet of him to come up with this idea himself. My dad is big buff "I'll kill you if you touch my daughter" kind of guy, but when it comes to his little girls, he is a big softie. "Beautiful Girl" is always a song that Matt and I have liked. It came on during our first date while we were eating at "The Olive" (The BEST Mediterranean food in the world). So when we hear it, it reminds us of our first date. "The Luckiest" is a song about how we feel. Not just about our relationship, but about many things: the Gospel, our education, our jobs, our sense of humor, and our families. "I've Just Seen A Face" is from the greatest movie of ALL time. Across the Universe is incredible. SO go out and rent it. Please. Plus, Jim Sturgess is a total stud. "Let it Be" is also another Beatles song that Matt and I both love. "Collide" is a song that Matt plays on the guitar and sings for me, and it's probably a contender for one of the first reason's that I fell in love with him. So that's the story of the songs on our blog as of TODAY.

I am currently writing this blog because I am putting off studying for my Anatomy & Physiology final exam tomorrow. I am getting out of this class about 2 weeks early, but I am still putting off studying like an idiot, cause it's the end of the semester, but I'm pretty much burnt out. After I dumb my brain down for a little while typing out this blog, I'll get back to studying.

Matt's at UNLV studying away as usual. Most of you might think that this blog is for both me AND Matt, but you don't really hear much from Matt, or about what he's doing. Well, if I wrote about him studying and going to class, and teaching his classes everyday, you would all get pretty freaking bored. That's all that he really does lately, so I won't bother to tell you any more about that...

A little more on the new CASA

2008-04-28T21:36:00.000-06:00

So I got some better pictures of the Cutlers future casa. Here are a few for you to feast your eyes on. Once all the remodeling is done, we will add more before and afters. So, let's get on with the show...

Pretty much the living space. Pretty good size. About 17' x 17'

A little more of the living room.

The HORRENDOUS oven that WILL be gone.

And here's the front yard!!

Hellooooooo terrible popcorn ceiling. Don't worry, that's the first order of business...

This is where the LINENS will go.

Our BEDROOM!!

Yeah, the MINT GREEN is soooooo gone.

I fell in love with this stairway.

The Results are IN! And the winner is.....

2008-04-28T20:49:00.000-06:00

MATT CUTLER!!! A few weeks ago, my man was elected Senate President of UNLV. Pretty dang exciting. I'm still not really sure what his job description is, but what I do know is, I get a mortgage payment out of it every month, sometimes we get to go to AWESOME shows like BLUE MAN GROUP, for free, might I add, he has to go to a meeting every week, and that' really all I know. So, from what I can tell, I am benefiting from this little endeavor of his. It might get a little more hairy as the weeks pass, but for now, it's a pretty good deal.

So the night that we found out, we went to Raising Cane's for dinner with Ronnie and Shannon. That place is the BOMB, and you should go there if you even have the chance. So that was also the night that we found out that our friend Ronnie, really was going to pop the question to his girlfriend, Shannon, and that it was going to happen soon. So that's pretty exciting. Since I am the first one out of my friends to get married and Matt is pretty much best friends with UNLV and his BOOKS, it's pretty relieving that we will have another married couple to hang out with. They should be getting married at the end of June.

So now, Matt is not only studying his BRAINS out, he's going to meetings with the new executive board of UNLV, and interviewing people to be representatives, and yadda yadda yadda... So I get Matt about 13 minutes out of the week. But the semester is almost over and then I'll have him a little more... THANK GOODNESS!!!

So that's the scoop on Matt's election thus far. We've got his inauguration and dinner to go to in a few nights, so he gets to get all 007'd out. I'm stoked. He's a STUD in a suit. Also, since you have read this far about his election, you might ust be interested in reading the article that the REBEL YELL wrote about this Stud Muffin:

http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article.php?ID=11869

Enjoy!

Almost there...

2008-04-28T13:37:00.000-06:00

We are now 40 days away from the BIG DAY!!! We've come a long way in wedding preparations. We FINALLY found a place to live!! It's near UNLV, but is in a cute little neighborhood. It's 2 bedroom, 2 bath and a little over 1,200 square feet, and there really isn't much we need to do to it. Just get a new oven, get new countertops, new vanities in the bathrooms, paint a little, and scrape the POPCORN off the ceiling. Matt, the strapping young man he is, used to build houses in Idaho when he was younger, so he'll be able to do most of the work, thank goodness. Save a few dollars that we don't have. ;) The previous owners are also leaving their furniture for us!! There is an AWESOME oak table, an armioure, desk, dingle-berry lamp, king sized bed, and other odds and ends. I guess we won't be at D.I. as long as we thought...

Our announcements came in and we have almost finished addressing them. We are waiting on a few more addresses, but they should be in the mail by next week! That's been the big project lately, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!! My dress, and the bride's maids dresses have come in, and the altering is miminal, thank HEAVEN!

All we are really waiting on is the approval from our lendor, telling us that they are going to give us $ging-wah$ to buy this house!!!

We had our Bishop's interview last weekend. He started the interview with, "So, you guys finally decided that you couldn't stand to be without each other, eh?" Our bishop is one of the funniest guys we know. If you have seen Office Space (I wouldn't recommend it unless it's edited on TBS), the boss is just like our Bishop. He talks kinda slow, but boy, he's got a GREAT sense of humor.

As for the HONEYMOON, that's still a huge mystery. Matt wanted to do it all himself, so he's got it booked and all, but the only thing is, I don't know where we are going. And I won't know until we are at the airport, ready to get on the plane... All I know is that I had to get a passport (which came in in two weeks!!), I have to pack a swim suit, and it's in South America. That's fine with me. He's soooo good at surprising me. I can't wait!

Everything else is pretty much donzo. I'm meeting with the flower lady later to finalize that stuff. Matt is going to buy a new suit soon so we can go the the bridal portraits done. I've never seen anyone make a bigger fuss about talking some FREAKING pictures. He's all, "I don't want to see you in your dress before June 7th." Well too bad, kiddo. I don't want to stand outside the Temple in June in the HOT sun taking pictures. I'd rather get it done before then.

Wedding preparations

2008-03-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

So now that I'm engaged and the initial shock has subsided, it's time to PLAN A WEDDING!!! I have had so much fun so far! I have been engaged only for about 3 weeks, but have almost everything done! Here's the list of stuff checked off: Date (06/07/08), Place for wedding (Las Vegas LDS Temple), Place for reception (Tropicana LDS Chapel), Wedding Dress, Temple Dress, Bride's Maids Dresses, his ring, people to do cake, flowers (Gerber Daisies), food, decorating. I've made lots of appointments, and have searched through millions of magazines! I do love it though.
I am, however, still searching for a photographer that knows all about Mormon weddings.

The aftermath.

2008-03-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

So he finally asked me. We talked for a little bit, kissed, hugged, and then finally made our way out to my car. As we were leaving, he said, "There is just one thing." I asked what he was talking about, and he said, "You can't tell your dad, because I didn't have time to ask him." Regardless of how intimidating fathers are (my dad happens to be the most intimidating of them all), it is a huge NO NO to not ask the father's permission. I started to freak out, and told him that either he has to go to my house now and ask my dad, or I have to give him the ring back. He went on with his story for another minute or two, and then finally told me that he had asked my father the day before. I about lost my mind on him. I am NOT gullible, except for when it comes to him!!! I was ticked, but not because I knew now that I was definitely going to marry the man of my dreams!!! We went back to my house at about 10:30, to anxious and very excited parents. We talked with them for a while, and them I reluctantly took him home and kissed him goodnight. I had work the next day, but didn't know how I would sleep!!

Getting pretty anxious... And then BAM!!!

2008-03-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I knew that Matt and I were meant for each other, but since I'm the girl, I couldn't do anything about it... He would drop little hints that he was going to finally pop the question, but never did. My co-workers had me convinced that he was going to ask me to marry him! We even went to a ring store in the mall so he could get my exact ring size!! So I was convinced it would happen soon. Well, the weeks went by, and I thought everyday, This could be the day! And, it wasn't. Matt has always been about being random, and full of surprises, and so when Valentine's Day rolled around, I knew he wouldn't do it then. I worked all day on the 14th, so he said that he wanted to get together the night before, and give me my gift then, so that I could "enjoy it on Valentine's Day" I agreed, and didn't think another thing of it. So the night of the 13th came around, and I picked him up, and was so anxious to give him his gift that I pretty much threw it in his face when he got in my truck. I got him the top of the line basketball shoes that were all fancy with straps and pumps and what not. The last pair of new basketball shoes he got were when he was in high school... (He is now 25, so do the math...) Yeah, he desperately needed them. I thought I was the best girlfriend at the time, and that I would be scoring some major brownie points for this one... Well, we went to dinner with our friend, Brittany Warnock, and then went to the LDS Institute to play games. It was getting pretty late, and everyone was starting to leave the institute. He pulled me into the Relief Society room (where we first talked, and he asked me to hang out for the first time) and he sat down at the piano. He started to play one of my favorite songs that he wrote, but this time, there were words! He sang about the relationship that we have had so far, and how he wanted to continue it! I started to cry as the song was very personal and beautiful. When the song was over, he sat me down at a chair and told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands (which is common with him). As I was sitting, wondering what he possibly could do for me that Valentine's Day, he was rooting around in this backpack. He finally zipped it up, and I heard him shuffle around. I finally felt his cold, shaking hand touch and turn over my left hand, and my mind went NUTS! I thought, OH MY GOODNESS, THIS IS IT!!! I felt a ring on my finger, and as he slipped it on, He said, "You can open your eyes now!" I forgot that I was squeezing my eyes shut, and I opened them to hear, "Laura Lee, will you marry me?"

Our life as a couple...

2008-03-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

So we started dating, and we were having so much fun! We were going on dates and getting to know each other a lot better! His family came down from Idaho to participate in UNLV's Family Weekend. We all went to dinner, a football game and then had dinner at my house that Sunday. I met his dad, sister, Ashley and her fiance, Nate. We all got along great and were having a lot of fun. Because Matt is the genius that he is, he was spending a lot of time at UNLV, studying and since he is a Senator there, was putting together events and what-not. But we spent as much time as we could together. I went up to Idaho to visit with him and his family over Christmas and New Years. I met some of his childhood friends and watched some of the home movies that all teenage boys make. I saw another side of the man of my dreams, but it was hilarious! We took longs drives (my favorite), went snowboarding, met his grandparents and had a blast. We were in love, and at the peak of our relationship... Or so we thought...

Idaho is a Magical Place...

2008-02-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

After we became friends again, we both decided that it would be nice to visit Idaho before school started up again. He thought I was kidding when I told him to book the flights. I was dead serious, and 2 weeks later, we were flying to Idaho. As we met with his family and friends, I realized that I really wanted to marry a guy like this. We were lying outside (we camped out in his backyard) in the middle of the night, and he leaned over and said that he couldn't do it anymore. I asked him what he was talking about, and he said that he couldn't just be my friend anymore. I agreed, and so our relationship began.

2 Months of Death...

2008-02-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

Matt and I were best friends, and he had just broken up with the girl from Idaho, and I was still emotionally tied to the missionary. I asked him to go with my family to our ranch in Utah for Easter. He came with us, and during the trip, I was getting the vibe that he wanted to be more than friends, but I wasn't ready for that... We talked about it, and I told him that I wasn't ready to date exclusively. Matt was polite about it, and life went on like normal. He threw a birthday party for me that May, which I thought was extremely sweet because I hadn't had a birthday party since I was 12. We had a great time that night.
Then all of a sudden, Matt wouldn't talk to me, and wouldn't answer my phone calls. I was really confused. I had NO idea why he wouldn't talk to me. I tried a million times to call him and talk to him in church, but he would ignore me. This went on for a few weeks, and I just ended up giving up, but if I saw him at a church activity, I would say hello and try to start conversation, but he would fina way to get out of it. I went on about my life as normal. I met new people, and had some good times, but I missed my best friend.
After two months of Matt ignoring me, I decided that one Sunday that I was going to get to the bottom of it. I cornered him after church while he was playing the piano. I walked up to him and made small talk, and mentioned that my family missed him. He told me that he was late for a meeting, and I let him go. One of his roommates finally told me the reason Matt didn't want to talk to me anymore. He said, "He is whipped, and doesn't know what to do." This finally made sense to me, but I didn't realize before that he really liked me that much. Then he said, "I think you too should date." I was starting to like the idea of Matt and I, because by this time, I had gotten over my missionary. I was invited to game night that at his apartment, and after all his friends left, one of his roommates suggested that Matt walk me out ot my car. He surpriningly accepted and we walked outside. We spent the next 2 and a half hours talking. We talked about out friendship and how we both missed it. After much crying and hugging, we were back at square one: best friends again...

Where it all started...

2008-02-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Technically, the very first time we met was at church on February 25, 2007. I bore my testimony and mentioned that I had one leg shorter than the other because I have no hip socket on one side. He cornered me in Sunday School, and told me that he, too, had a hip problem and that one of his legs was shorter than the other!! He told me that his name was Matt, but throughout class, people were calling him Cutler. The hole time I heard "Color" and was very confused, and asked myself a few times, "What kind of hippie parents would name their kid Color?"
To start our real story... I had just sent off a missionary and he had a girlfriend. I met him a few days after my missionary left, and Matt wanted to help me get out, have fun and meet people. He was in the Relief Society room at the UNLV LDS Institute. I was in the rec room, and I heard someone playing the piano in the next room. I asked my friends if they knew who was playing the piano, and added that I was a sucker for a guy that can play. They told me that his name was Matt, and asked if I wanted to meet him. I suddenly got shy and reserved and declined. They dragged me into the room, where I saw a strapping and studly young man tickling the ivory. We talked for a little while about my recent break-up (with the guy I sent on a mission). I told him that it was hard, and that I needed to get out and have fun. He drew directions to his frat-pad, and asked if I wanted to go to the UNLV basketball game that night. I had to go, because he was a cutie, and it would help me get my mind off the missionary.
I went to his apartment that night, and he and I walked the 1/2 mile or so to the Thomas & Mack. During our walk, we talked about everything from cheese, to forklifts. I soon realized that this guy was really down to earth, and I really, REALLY liked talking to him. We had a great time at the game, and he even invited me to the game the next night! We went to the game, but I forgot to wear REBEL RED. So, we had to walk back to his apartment so he could find me the right color shirt. We talked again about cheese, and found out that he pretty much loves the stuff more than life itself. After the game, he took me to Cugino's Italian Deli, where he told me that it was really refreshing to meet someone like me, because he was having a hard time knowing if his girlfriend was the right one for him. He said that he didn't have much to talk with her about, and he couldn't have fun just being with her, they had to be doing something. He said it was nice to meet me, because he knows that there are girls out there that he really can talk to. I thought that this was a sweet comment, but didn't think anything could of would come of it. He walked me to my car, and as I drove away, I looked back in my rear-view mirror, and said out loud to myself, "What a great guy".
From that point on, we were almost inseperable, and became quick best friends.

The Cutlers

The Surge & other schtuffs.

Relief.

HELLO McFLY!!

My proj.

Family

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers.

Introducing...

The night before...

The Project **Update**

Home Stretch

So close yet so far away.

Large and in Charge

Advice?

Two Five

BUMP

We're having us a...

It's true...

Homage to an amazing summer.

HERE IT IS...

For KELLIE :)

April 2010

9 a.m. class was cancelled...

While I'm waiting for class to start...

Blackfoot.

Something interesting to blog about.

July-August

Alone........ :(

I'm about to freak out.

Update... :)

Going Private...

Seriously, so blessed...

What might be in store for the Cutlers!

Valentine's Dizzay.

Charging...

School Days... School Days...

Just 42 more days!!!

Flopping...

King Cutler. Does that make me Queen??

Free Handbags... SO CUTE!!!

My Husband is the BOMB

Since everyone else is doing it, I might as well...

New Calling!!

Since then...

HONEYMOOOOON!

The Reception

The Day.

The night before...

So let's take this slow...

Waiting much???

Closing in...

A little more on the new CASA

The Results are IN! And the winner is.....

Almost there...

Wedding preparations

The aftermath.

Getting pretty anxious... And then BAM!!!

Our life as a couple...

Idaho is a Magical Place...

2 Months of Death...

Where it all started...

The Project Update