May 8, 2012

This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it. The humane society gave us some pain meds for Bailey to take while she's healing from her surgery. We're supposed to keep her from being active and prevent her from running around and jumping as much as possible for 10 days. I think the people at the humane society are all getting a good laugh... because these pain meds are more like caffeine pills. Bailey has been running laps around the house and jumping up onto all the furniture while she makes her laps almost non-stop. She has about 3 times as much energy as she normally does. So this "keeping her calm" thing is a joke. The best part is when I went to take this picture of Bailey's perscription container, the intention was to have Bailey sitting in the background... but she leaped up at the bottle right when I took the picture. I think she just wanted to demonstrate the caffeine effect for everyone. Haha. Well, we've decided to nix the pills and see if she'll come off her high a little bit.

May 7, 2012

:)

May 6, 2012

My nana made these for Eric and I. She made them for our whole family, but these ones are mine and Eric's. They're word birds. Just inspirational cute fuzzy little guys. :) Eric's says 'BELIEVE' and mine says 'LISTEN'. They live on our desk and give me a little lift from time to time.

May 5, 2012

This is at my cousin Nick's wedding reception. Let me tell ya, that was a party! Haha they had a live band and dancing... and one of my favorite parts of the whole evening was when my dad asked me to dance. We swing danced like there was no tomorrow and I LOVED it!! I was laughing so hard and we were twirling and trying out tricks and having the time of our lives. I'll never ever forget that as long as I live. It meant the world to me. My other favorite moment of the evening was dancing with my handsome honey! We hopped around 'slow dancing' to a fast song laughing at each other as we went. It was a really fun evening. Congratulations Nick and Katie!!

May 4, 2012

I had to take Bailey in to get spayed today. I've been dreading this day for months. I know it's like a freak accident one-in- a-thousand thing... but I can't help but be horrified by stories I've heard about dogs never waking up from the anesthesia. I would DIE if Bailey died. She's my BABY!!! So after many MANY reassurances I bit the bullet and dropped her off at the humane society. I watched the clock all day. I left her there at 8:00 in the morning and we couldn't pick her up until 4:00. Well, SHE SURVIVED!! Huge sigh of relief!! So the poor puppy has a bunch of stitches on her tummy and tonight she was still pretty drugged up. She couldn't walk around the house very well and she mostly just sat there and looked at Eric and I like "Is this real life???" Haha. We did kind of chuckle at her because she was acting weird. We stayed home with her that evening for our date night and watched movies. Bailey just laid there for the most part but every once in a while she would stand up, look around, and then lay right back down. Haha. Poor pup.

May 3, 2012

I was in the other room with my sisters when my mom called me in to see this. I walked in and burst out laughing. Bailey had been trying to lick the dirty silverware in the dishwasher so my mom pushed the drawer in and turned around to do something else. When she turned back around there was Bailey all but inside of the dishwasher, continuing to clean up the silverware. Such a helpful puppy. ;) My mom called me in just because she knew I'd want to take a picture. She knows me so well. ;)

May 2, 2012

I think I'll write a series of children's books about Bailey; this one's called 'Bailey and the Big Stick'. I think the 4-year-old neighbor boy brought this one over too. Haha. Bailey is obsessed with it, even though she can barely drag it around the yard. Lol

May 1, 2012

Eric likes creamy peanut butter. I like crunchy peanut butter. We're a household divided. Fortunately, Bailey ties us all together, because she'd inhale peanut butter in any form, any time.

April 30, 2012

Hammond Family birthday dinner! We went out to Mimi's. We arrived at 6:15ish and I don't think we left until 9:00. We had the time of our lives talking FOREVER about childhood memories, current goings-on, and just about everything else we could think of. It was wonderful. I loved spending that time with my family... oh and it was a very tasty dinner too. :)

April 29, 2012

On this lovely Sunday afternoon, Eric and Bailey and I went for a lovely walk up Bountiful Boulevard. The weather was PERFECT and I had the time of my life walking down the sidewalk with the love of my life and the cutest puppy in the world. I had been CRAVING some one on one Tia-Eric time and this was just what I needed. We talked about our lives, about the future, and laughed about some crazy things we didn't know about each other. We even had a nice little picnic along the way! I'll never forget this afternoon as long as I live. It meant THE WORLD to me to have the quality time with my honey.

April 28, 2012

Eric and I have been having an extended Mission Impossible marathon. Somehow I got through all these years without ever having seen them. So Eric is righting that now. Haha. I REALLY like them all. They're great movies!! They're all so intense I think I've found myself gripping Eric's leg at some point in every movie thinking "hurry Ethan, HURRY" or "they're COMING!!" Talk about more than I can take!! Haha. Gotta love Tom Cruise. :)

April 27, 2012

Would you believe this? I went through my dear sister Macy's ENTIRE wedding day without taking a single picture. Yeah. Seriously. I took quite a bit of video footage, but no pictures. Hmph. What kind of photo journaler am I?? Well, I know that our photographer Kate took some cute pictures of Brad, Macy, Eric, and I together... so I'm just waiting to get those photos from her and I'll put them up. Sorry folks, not perfect at this! haha.
...I'd like to take this opportunity to let you know that I have however updated the other question mark pictures on my blog. So January 16th and April 5th now have 'real' pictures. Haha

April 26, 2012

For all the times I've pulled Eric's stick shift out of the driveway and then pulled it back in again, I think I should be proclaimed a proficient stick shift driver. Eric taught me how to drive a stick shift probably more than a year ago now... and we've practiced several times since then. I'm not all that great at it. Once I'm in first gear I'm home free. I have no problem switching gears. It's getting into first gear that trips me up. I don't know what about the concept is so difficult... but it's kept me from driving on public roads because I'm too scared I'll kill it in an intersection or something. But after all these times pulling Eric's car in and out of the driveway... I think I'm mustering up the courage to try again... sometime soon.

April 25, 2012

It's my birthday!!! I can't believe I'm 23. Weird. I still feel 18.... and pretty immature. lol. Well it's been a pretty amazing day! One of the best birthdays I've ever had. I got to work at 7:30 this morning and our manager brought in a cake and balloons for me. The cake said "Tia, you're really old" and the balloons included over the hill balloons, Disney princess balloons, and Winnie the Pooh balloons. Wow! that's a FotoFly birthday if I've ever heard of one!

That afternoon I had my first ever pedicure! Haha my mom took me any my sisters to get our toes done for Macy's wedding this Friday. It was really fun. Back massage, leg massage, and toe painting all in one! Very fun! 

In the evening Eric took me out to a FANCY dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I had never been there before and I was VERY impressed by the cheesecake as well as with the whole City Creek Mall. Eric also bought me an entire pan of Kneaders raspberry bread pudding for my birthday cake. YUM!! I really enjoyed my whole birthday, especially spending the evening with Eric. :)

April 24, 2012

I don't know how visible this is going to be... but if you feel so inclined I'm pretty sure it's legible if you click on it to view it full-size. This is my bucket list. I made it for an assignment in an entrepreneurship class I took in college. Some of the things on it are kind of silly, and some are things that are really important to me. Eric and I have checked several of them off together. In fact, right after I took the picture for this post Eric was reading my bucket list and said, "You already ARE fluent in another language!" He then explained the logic to me and proclaimed me to be fluent in Spanish. Check. Only 67 more to go!

April 23, 2012

One evening I was sitting out on the lawn with Bailey reading a book. The darling 4-year-old neighbor boy walked over and said "Umm, is it okay if Bailey has a stick?" I laughed and said, "Of course! That's very nice of you. Bailey LOVES sticks." He gave it to her and ran away. I heard him excitedly telling his brothers that Bailey's mom said she loves to play with sticks. The next morning I came outside to find a rather sizable pile of sticks stacked neatly on the lawn. What a cutie.

April 22, 2012

We celebrated my birthday today over at the Merrills. Mom made me a cookie cake!! (Remember? Chocolate chip cookies are my FAVORITE!) We had a lovely Italian dinner, also my favorite, and mom gave me some nice new flip flops, slippers, and a cookbook splatter protecter holder thing. :)

April 21, 2012

Eating ice cream in our pajamas... at midnight. So much for being healthy. Haha. This is the LIFE!! :P

April 20, 2012

"OOOOVALTINE???" If you heard that and can't help but hear Young Frankenstein in your head, welcome to my mind. Haha. Eric seldomly requests anything from the grocery store... so when he does, I'm sure to get it. He piped up and asked for some Ovaltine, his favorite, which we are now both addicted to. Best chocolate milk ever. I've never met someone that loves chocolate milk as much as Eric does.

April 19, 2012

The brilliant solution for Bailey the gate-jumping escape artist. Take that monkey dog!

April 18, 2012

After a solid NINE months, I FINALLY got a haircut. I didn't realize what a difference it makes until I had it cut. And now it looks so much nicer and cleaner and less scragely... I don't know if that's even a word. But I like it. All one length, getting rid of the layers. Bada bing!

April 17, 2012

Remember this poor little guy? Once upon a time it was a stuffed football. Bailey has diminished it to a pathetic little rag. The funny part it, even with no stuffing and no squeaker, it is STILL her favorite toy. She still whips it around and carries it around the house... and I don't have the heart to throw it away. Haha

April 16, 2012

I hardly ever paint my nails because the nail polish only lasts about a day and a half before it starts to look aweful. But I do like to have my toes painted in the summer... and summer is a comin!! This season we'll start off with.... purple!

April 15, 2012

One of the most amusing things I've ever seen is watching Bailey play with a waterbottle. She pounces on it, which sends it flying across the room, and then she chases after it and pounces on it again. She tries to bite at it, but her mouth isn't quite big enough to get a good grip around the middle, which makes it extra entertaining. She would play with it for hours but we have to take it away from her after she starts putting holes in it so that she doesn't cut her gums up. Eric would like to add that this is a Mountain Dew bottle and that makes it even funnier. Do the Dew Bailey.

April 14, 2012

Today is our 6 month-iversary! I can't believe Eric and I have been married for 6 months already. The time has flown. Man, life couldn't be better! We are so happy and we are better friends than ever. Living with my best friend and sharing my life with him is the greatest thing in the world! I love spending time with Eric, going on dates with him, staying up late talking, cooking together, saving together, and living together as self-proclaimed "poor people". Granted, it's not always easy; we've had misunderstandings and hurt feelings on occasion, but I'm so grateful to have a best friend that is so easy to talk to and to work side by side with. We've always been able to stop and talk about things and make things right with each other before it ever escalates into a fight. That's because Eric is the best. I know the Lord helps us immensely, but I think between the two of us it's like 90% Eric's awesomeness and 10% my attempt at awesomeness that makes up this unbeatable team. I have the most incredible husband in the world.
I decided today's picture would be my Irish Claddagh ring. I've had it for years and years, and I really love the symbolism and the heritage because I'm part Irish. The heart symbolizes love, the hands mean friendship, and the crown stands for loyalty. The heart is worn facing inward on your finger if your heart is taken. (You might have noticed, my heart happens to be taken. Haha) I didn't turn the ring around until Eric and I were married, and I'll never turn it out again. Eric has my heart today and always. 6 months going on eternity with my bestest bud!!!

April 13, 2012

I promised these ladies I wouldn't put these pictures on Facebook, which I haven't, and I won't. But since I'm kind of pushing it a little by putting this picture on my blog, these girls will remain anonymous; partly for their protection... but mostly for my protection from them. ;) Haha. Tonight I threw Macy a spa party/bridal shower, and it was a blast!! We had so much fun together as girls and it was pretty relaxing as well. This was the first time I've ever put cucumbers on my eyes. Haha. Great party. Macy has some fabulous friends. :)

April 12, 2012

Rainy day today. I think 9 times out of 10 I would take a rainy day over a sunny one. I love the rain, I love the look of rainclouds, and I LOVE thunder and lightning storms. I have a border-line creepy love for power outages too. Sigh. Glad I got that out of my system. To me the rain is beautiful and kind of... therapeutic or something. I love it.

April 11, 2012

My newest passion is a station I made on Pandora that plays mostly cello and piano pieces. It's classical and a little contemporary at the same time. I love it because it's relaxing and soft. There's so much noise around me all day every day. I love this music as a break from screaming photographers, loud music, and busy busy busy life. Ahhh. Peace at last. :)

April 10, 2012

This is kind of a before and after shot. You have to see the picture I posted of Bailey in the laundry basket back in February when she was barely poking out the top... and then compare it to this one. She now takes up the entire basket, and still loves sitting in the warm clothes just as much. Haha

April 9, 2012

Eric and I are working on booking a late honeymoon/1st anniversary cruise for this October. We went to St. George for a little honeymoon when we got married so that we could save up to go on a "real" honeymoon later. Originally we had planned to go on this cruise in June, but now Eric is going to take classes so we're moving it to October. We're sooooo excited and we've been saving our guts out for 6 months and counting. We have regular savings and travel savings so that we can go on vacations together. Traveling is something that both Eric and I love the very most. So we're both pretty eager and pretty great about saving up to go on adventures. We're just waiting for the ok from both of our bosses, and then we're booking this 12-night cruise to EUROPE!! I'm finally going to Italy! I've always wanted to go to Italy more than anywhere else in the world. I can't even tell you how excited I am!   

April 8, 2012

Eric and I cooking Easter dinner! Okay so I know I've mentioned how much I love cooking, but I don't know if I've mentioned how much MORE I love cooking with Eric! He is quite the chef you know and we make quite the chef team. :) It's hard to tell in this picture, but Eric can't cook at my parents' house without wearing what has become "his" trusty zebra rainbow apron. It takes a real man to wear a zebra rainbow apron, that's for sure. ;)

April 7, 2012

Hammond Family Easter Party! The Easter Bunny came while all of us kids went to pick up Kneaders. We got home and what a suprise we found! There were easter eggs everywhere and as is his tradition, the Easter Bunny left us clever rhyming clues as a treasure hunt to find our Easter baskets. We had a lot of fun figuring out the most clever riddles yet, and running around the house collecting eggs! I love this tradition!

April 6, 2012

Today I pulled out my DSLR camera and I was playing around with it in the backyard. That night Eric showed me how smart he is... cuz he can work a fancy DSLR too. Haha this is is picture... which I am putting up pretty reluctantly. He told me that he has counted how many pictures each of us are in on this blog, and that I've put up way more pictures of him than I have of me. (well duh, he IS the handsome one after all!) This is his revenge.

April 5, 2012

Eric has been reading the Hunger Games series. Haha! I've been trying to get him to read the books for over a year now... and now that the first movie came out he decided he is interested in the books after all. So he reads them at work during his night shifts. I think he finished all 3 books in a little over a week. He likes 'em. ;)

April 4, 2012

Tonight for our date night Eric and I dyed Easter eggs. They turned out pretty cute!

April 3, 2012

Bailey and I had a nice time playing outside today! We went for a long walk around the neighborhood and thoroughly enjoyed the warm spring weather. Then we played around in the yard for a while. This top picture makes me laugh because it looks so cute and playful... when really Bailey is just reaching to the furthest extent of her chain because I'm just out of her reach. Haha. She's a funny pup!

April 2, 2012

After 6 months, Eric and I decided again that our grocery budget is too low and it's not reasonable. Haha sure we've been saving all this money every month, but we always have an empty fridge by the third week in the month and we've been widdling away at the food in what was once a well-stocked pantry. So, we raised the grocery limit. And now our pantry is restocked, our tummies are happier, and we're still saving plenty of money each month. Yay for food all month-round!! ;)

April 1, 2012

Happy General Conference! We woke up and all had Sunday breakfast together before the morning session of conference started. It was a wonderful day with family and conference was great!

March 31, 2012

Girls Night! It's conference weekend so we sent the boys to Priesthood meeting and went out to dinner and a movie together! Tonight's movie was Mirror Mirror, a funny rendition of Snow White with Julia Roberts as a fabulous wicked queen. It was so fun to spend time with my mom and my sisters!

March 30, 2012

Lately I've been a little obsessed with this game on my I-touch called Draw Something. You log in through Facebook and you pick from a list of 3 things to attempt to draw for a friend. The friend has to guess what it is from a scrambled up list of letters and then draws something back for you to guess. And you get points! It's been pretty entertaining... although I think it will be a short-lived obsession. Lol.

March 29, 2012

Since Eric works nights now, Bailey has graduated from her kennel and she sleeps with me when Eric is gone. So I still have someone to cuddle with, and it keeps me from getting lonely. :) It's nice to have our landlord and his family upstairs too so that I feel safer when I'm home alone at night. Good thing I have Bailey to protect me!

March 28, 2012

Well, Eric has finished watching all of the Psych episodes, so he's moved on to a new Netflix TV show. This one is 'Saved by the Bell'.... does anyone remember that show? It was popular in the 80's. I guess Eric's older brother Michael watched it back in the day. Why he's deciding to watch them again now? I don't know. But it's pretty funny to watch the hairdos and clothing styles. It's also interesting to see how different this show is from TV now. The high school kids are all respectful to their parents and their teachers, none of the teenages are pregnant or sleeping with each other. No one does drugs or gets drunk. What a sad difference 30 years has made. It's good to have a nice wholesome TV show! :)

March 27, 2012

Eric would like everyone to see and appreciate his manly beard before he shaves it off for Macy's wedding in a few weeks. :) He pulls it off pretty nicely eh? I think after working at the Garden for so many years where they don't allow beards, then serving a mission, then going back to the Garden for a few more years he's just reveling in finally being allowed to grow a beard. He looks dang handsome either way. :)

March 26, 2012

Bailey LOVES to stick her head out the window when we ride in the car. One time I was driving to pick Eric up from the hospital and she kept pushing her nose against the window and looking at me like, 'Come on mom, please???' I laughed and rolled down the window a little. It was kind of chilly. But she got all excited so I rolled it down the rest of the way. For the rest of the ride to the hospital she hung out the window shivering... but she was having so much fun she wouldn't put her head back inside. Haha.

March 25, 2012

It's 2:51pm. Eric has been working night shifts for a few days now. He leaves the house at 6:15pm and gets home at 8:00 in the morning. Then he goes to bed and I try really hard to be quiet and to keep Bailey quiet so that he can sleep. I don't know how he does it. If he had to be completely nocturnal it would be one thing, but he only works 3 shifts of 12 hours per week, so 3 nights a week he's awake all night and then 4 nights a week he's supposed to sleep at night. If I tried to do that my body would totally freak out and my immune system would quit on me. Well good thing Eric is Superman and he's capable of all kinds of feats like that.

March 24, 2012

I have had Jack Johnson's banana pancake song stuck in my head for DAYS!! Unfortunately we were out of bananas, but I did make us some pancakes for breakfast this morning. :)

March 23, 2012

Happy Birthday Eric!! 24 today! Sadly, Eric had to work all day on his birthday, so I picked him up at from the hospital at 8:00 in the evening and when he got home we had a fancy dinner together. I also made him boston creme pie, which turned out pretty good! The sweet girls that live upstairs helped me hang crepe paper and balloons and it turned out to be a lovely little party for 2! I gave Eric a ClearPlay DVD player for his birthday (and for my birthday haha). We're pretty excited about it because now we can watch edited movies! The choices are limitless! :) So grateful to have such an incredible husband. Happy birthday my love!