I didn’t take hardly any photos on Thanksgiving! That’s how crazy it is with a baby and how much fun we were having! We got to spend time with both of our families which was awesome. Graham got spoiled rotten and we ate delicious food. Graham is obsessed with eating and was just in heaven trying all the different treats and sides. No turkey for him, yet!
Graham also got to help bake the pies before Thanksgiving which was so cute and fun!
I have to be honest. I have been avoiding you.
I’ve been avoiding you because I have a guest post to get working on, and I have ZERO ideas. I told myself I wouldn’t post on my blog, until that blog post was done.
Welp.
Still not done.
But so much to catch up on, and I couldn’t stay away.
So here’s a little game of catch up:
Work is busy. Randy’s work is busy. Randy’s school is busy. My side businesses are busy. Church is busy.
We get to see Courtney and Tommy regularly which is a blast – weekly dinner/treat get-togethers is too much fun.
I got to go to lunch with my mom for her birthday at Eva’s Boulangerie. It was wonderful, my mom is amazing.
Friday we went to Happy Sumo (thanks gift card) and then my sister and her friend came over to hang out!
Last Saturday we spent the whole day cleaning cleaning cleaning. I reorganized, cleaned, and bought a couple things to spice up our house.
If you didn’t catch my snap story, here’s this lil look. Not quite perfect yet, but I’m loving it!
Then we went to Kaysville for a sneak peek of birthday fun with my mom, and then bowling/mini golf with our friends.
Sunday was teaching, visiting teaching, home teaching, and to Provo for a birthday party.
And then this week was a blast with Saint Patrick’s Day and some trips to the temple and a sweet surprise just because (I accepted all the roses). And hugely exciting – we booked our tickets to Boston for the summer and started getting details on our Disneyland trip in June.
While the Jordan River temple is getting renovated, we get to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple – HOLY GORGEOUS.
He’s so sweet to me.
SO EXCITED TO GO TO BOSTON
We are busy and in love and trying to figure it all out. Not every day is perfect; most of them are fairly stressful. But it’s a wonderful life, and we’re so lucky.
Sorry for the past few days friends – I got a little spooked when I went onto my statistics and found some of my top referring sites were pornography (what the?!?!)
I found out it’s just a spam bot – that nobody was reading my blog from a porn site and my site wasn’t affiliated with them in any way. Just shut down to only private for a few days until I could get it all figured out. And now it’s all figured out and all is well!
We got WEDDING PICTURES! Expect a full, detailed post (or two. or three.) about that wonderful day just 2 months ago.
Let’s catch up a little:
24th of July was awesome! We got to watch the parade, hang out with family, and go to Lagoon! And YES we rode Cannibal – TWICE in fact! It was so much fun to be with family and have such a good time.
I love Pioneer Day because it gives me the chance to really think about my pioneer ancestors, and appreciate all they did to get me where I am today. Some people don’t understand or think it’s that important, but really it’s one of the most important parts of history, in my opinion. I will forever be so thankful for what those brave men and women did, so that I can be where I am. It made me reminisce on my Pioneer Trek experience from Young Women’s. We went up to Wyoming to actually walk the path that those pioneers did. It truly was so remarkable to walk where they walked, to see what they saw. It made me that much more grateful for my faith and those who worked so hard to make sure I could believe whatever I wanted.
First of all, let me quell all your fears.
I loved college. I think people should get as much education as possible. I’m even considering going BACK to college (eeesh). So I’m all for it.
But there are a few things that are a little left out of the college experience that I wish I had known before heading off into the big, scary world.
So hopefully my college friends can read this and be aware of what’s to come!
1. College did not prepare me for the day-in, day-out of real life. Sure, you have to go to class and work, but those classes changed. Often. There were breaks in my schedule that I got to go home and relax, I didn’t have to get up and get “ready” for the day every single day, I could wear a sweatshirt some days if I wanted. But out in the real world, I have to go to work whether I want to or not. There are no breaks longer than my lunch break, and even that is usually taken at my desk because I have so much to do. It’s a routine that I’ve been on for longer than anything. And it taking some getting used to.
2. College did not prepare me for the sometimes tedious, monotony of a job. I LOVE my job. But I have to be honest, I’m doing a lot of very similar things, for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, every week but 2 during the year. Now you may tell me, hey I did that at my summer job, or I did that with classes and homework. It’s not the same. Not even close. Because summer starts and ends, classes change, long Christmas break comes, finals week breaks up the monotony. It is taking some time to get used to not just doing my job, but doing it every single minute of the day.
3. College did not prepare me for getting to bed on time. That’s pretty obvious, right? But seriously. In college I stayed up way too late a lot of nights, and would just come home and nap later. If I do that now, I’m dead. I need at least 6 hours or I am worthless the next day, but I still have to go to work and struggle to stay away and get things done.
4. College did not prepare me for being away from home all day. In college I had breaks, came home during the day, etc. But now, once I’m out the door for work, it’s see ya later until 6 or 6:30 PM. Every, single day. Some people do that for a semester, or for a few days during the week that are the “long days” but that’s reality now. It’s been a funny adjustment remembering that if I want to eat at work, I have to bring snacks and food, and if I forget my phone, it’s tough luck.
5. College did not prepare me for always networking and moving up. College prepared me for networking to an extent. I made friends and contact that have and will be important. But at my job, I feel like maintaining every, single relationship and making it a good one is not only important to have a fun time at the office, but could be crucial for my future at the company. It’s a very interesting change in my perspective about how I react, and respond to everyone and everything.
Let’s again go back to the fact that I learned SO much in college and I loved every second of it. For me it was the absolute best choice, and I highly recommend it. Just be prepared that when push comes to shove, you might not be as prepared as you think for that first job in the real world. I wish I had known that, it would’ve made these past few months SO much easier.
We’re home. The Lows are back. It’s so weird to say that!
I have SO much to post, I’m going to get started right now and post like ten things in a row. Judge me.
Let me just say, that I’m ridiculously in love and have absolutely never been happier.
Coming up: First look, bridals, preparing for the temple, feelings before and after I got married, honeymooners, and more!
I know, I know. I haven’t blogged in so long that it’s becoming a sin. A travesty. I’m ashamed of myself. BUT here I am, ready to play catch-up during my lunch break! Randy isn’t here:( So you won’t be getting any of him today, but I expect he’ll be around again soon enough!
Between working 40-50 hours a week, planning a wedding, spending time with Randy, trying to wrap up my senior documentary, apartment hunting, and trying to see friends before I’m married a no fun, it’s been a little busy!
So here’s the small catch-up I can give you right now, stay tuned some posts purely dedicated to Randy and I’s first look photo shoot, the rest of our bridal shoot, my thoughts about going to the temple for the first time, and things I’ve learned since becoming a working girl that I didn’t learn in college!
For now, here’s what’s been up:
Don’t mind the construction on here for the next few weeks….we’re just getting read to unveil…
Randy and I are SO excited to be doing a blog together! We thought about waiting until we’re officially married, but it’ll just be so fun to blog about these few weeks before the wedding, together!
Watch out for Randy in bold and Maddy in normal font!
New URL: http://www.hereisthelowdown.com
Don’t worry, http://www.averagedayofaginger.blogspot.com will still get you here!
So again, don’t mind the mess for a few weeks while I reconstruct! If you have questions, suggestions, comments, or advice please let me know!
Happy Monday everyone!
I remember walking into my new dorm for the first time, 3 years ago. I remember being a nervous freshman, going to orientation, meeting new people.
I remember long phone calls with my dad to figure out html and php. I remember finding favorite places to eat and shop. I remember rooftop concerts and weekend parties. I remember camping and cabin trips. I remember late late late night trips to IHOP and Denny’s and In and Out. 
I remember so many nights of thinking, “I need to remember how this feels. Right now.” I remember countless football and basketball and baseball games. I remember cheering until I lost my voice and wearing blue to represent my school. 
I remember having so much love and support from my family, friends, roommates, and Randy Low. I remember walking around campus, and realizing this wasn’t just BYU, this was home. This is home.
The waves of nostalgia keep hitting me friends! The next month of my life is going to be pure sap, so I’ll apologize in advance!
This weekend was also full of nostalgia, as wonderful Bishop Scoma and his counselors got released. Bishop Scoma was my bishop last year, and he’s one incredible man. It was wonderful to hear him and his wife, along with the Halls, speak. These people and this ward had such a big impact on my life, and I feel so lucky to have known them all.
Here Is The Low Down 