The original Home Alone

Things I do when Josh is away on business trips....

1. Watch You've Got Mail.
2. Eat junk food and drink dr pepper.
3. Play Taylor Swift really loud while taking a shower.
4. Write in my journal.
5. Watch trashy girl tv ( reality tv) in bed.
6. Wrap Christmas presents from Santa.

It may all sound fun, but by the end of the night all I want is my fella. Life is good when he's in it. Even if he does hate trashy girl tv and insists the neighbors don't want to hear my T-Swift mix.

Cold camping

We recently went camping for a weekend adventure. I was pretty excited for a campfire, s'mores, and tent dwelling. In my mind I would be an amazing camper who gathered wood and made a gourmet meal over a fire I made myself. In reality, I have a really amazing husband who works his bootay off to build me a fire alone because I'm wearing two jackets and am frozen to a chair. It was so cold. There were times where I didn't know if I would be able to endure sleeping on the freezing ground all night. When I complained (I did frequently) Josh would remind me of the great pioneers who endured way more than I have ever been asked to. Camping turned into a gratitude affair. I'm thankful for my bed, covers, Starbucks hot chocolate, our apartment, heaters, and jackets!

That one time I was so scared, I was HAPPY

Yesterday, I planned a fun shopping day with my cousin and her cute little boy. I knew I had nothing else going on because Josh was on a business trip. We shopped and shopped and looked and looked. Christmas was everywhere. I love Christmas. While we were walking around the mall, Josh called me and texted me frequently. I thought, "Wow he must really be missing me this trip." At our last stop, Hobby Lobby, Josh texted me "Are you home yet??" "Almost done?" "Amanda??" My thoughts..this boy lost all of his patience in Mississippi.

We were finally done and I arrived back at our apartment. I opened our front door and noticed candles everywhere. "OH NO! I left all of these candles romantically burning while I was gone!...Wait, No I didn't!" Second thought, "A murderer is trying to seduce me!" I stood in the door way for a good two minutes contemplating what to do with my romantic murderer. Then I heard a ring. It was Josh's phone. WHAT?? So I walked into the house and turned the corner to find my handsome husband holding a sign that said "I'm your BIG surprise! Are you Surprised? I love you!" He is the best surprise I have ever received. We sat down to eat dinner that he had prepared. A simple tuna sandwich and salad. It was absolutely perfect. 

Josh attempted to record the entire thing, but couldn't due to the fact that his phone rang in the middle of it. Good attempt though. haha I'm glad my romantic murderer turned out to be my romantic husband. 

xoxo, 

Amanda M.

A Lovely Love Story Part 3

Where did we leave off...

Oh yes, one unexpected, lovely first date. Since Josh and I lived three hours away, we had to plan plan plan in order to see one another. Our second "date"...well I spent the weekend at his house. I met all 6 brothers and sisters and one mom and dad. Looking back it's kind of interesting how Josh and I just fell into a relationship with one another. Although we considered each other boyfriend and girlfriend, we were more like best friends who held hands.

We went on too many adventures to name. We fished. We traveled Arkansas. We called the Boardwalk home. We loved Texas. We watched endless amounts of movies. We found a baby pig, named it, and kept it. We racked up our phone bills. But mostly we just laughed a lot.

From the beginning, I knew Josh would shortly be leaving on a mission. I tried not to get attached, but who was I kidding.

The mission papers were sent in. We waited for an envelope to arrive. The mail was checked every single day. One weekend while I was visiting, one of the girls came running into the house screaming, "It's here it's here!" I felt excitement. I felt sadness. I felt every emotion that a person could possibly feel.

The envelope was opened....."Elder Miller, you are here by called to serve.."

A Lovely Love Story Part 2

So Halloween was yeserday. I'm over it. I have never been much of a Halloween person. Since Josh was out of town, I spent Halloween eating Mickey mouse place and bake cookies and watching Modern Family. But anyway...want to hear Part two of a Lovely Love Story?! Here ya go...


So when we left off Josh and I were talking on the phone like lovey teenagers. Well those phone calls led into "Will you go on a date with me? To a Hockey Game?" You guys, I almost said no. I was so nervous and somehow that made me determined to hate our date.

The day of the Hockey game came around. Since Josh and I lived a distance away from one another, we met in a town halfway between both of our homes. I spent so much time getting ready and decided on a black short sleeved turtle neck, jeans, and a red jacket. (haha) Josh picked me up and we headed to a near by park. I'm pretty sure I didn't talk to him for the first half of our date and sat in my seat with my feet squeezed to my chest. We ran into some missionaries who were in a bike accident. Josh gave them first aid and I pretended that I didn't care. After the park we went to the Hockey game. This was the first time I had been to a Hockey game and had no idea what to expect. Surprisingly I loved the ice, team fights, and screaming. I refused to let Josh take any pictures of me. I refused to put my feet on the ground the entire night. I was the best date ever....obviously. A puck flew straight at my face and slammed into the glass. I screamed! Josh laughed. Our team won and we cheered.

After the hockey game we decided ice cream was in order. I told Josh to pick where we would go. I was pretty surprised when we pulled into the Walmart parking lot and Josh got out of the car. I had no idea what we were doing. But I skipped into Walmart with him anyway. Yes, I said skipped. (haha) We ran to the ice cream isle and Josh instructed me to surprise him with my favorite flavor. I picked out cake batter, but somehow I knew he would hate it. I asked if he liked cake batter, he answered, "anything but that!" So I went with a brownie/vanilla Ben and Jerrys. Before leaving walmart we were also smart enough to buy spoons. We ate our ice cream in the car while talking about childhood memories.

It came time to drop me off for the night at my Aunt's house in town. We hugged two times and then I ran in the house. I told my mom and aunt that he was "just alright." I told them I was tired and went up to the guest bedroom. I ran up to the guest room just in time to get a phone call from Josh. We talked for his entire ride home. He needed help staying awake...of course.