A is for Alexis & Alma...

I is for Inspirational...

2011-01-12T15:30:00.005-07:00

... Alma and I watched two inspiring movies last weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed them both:

Of the two, 127 Hours was by far the best. Don't get me wrong, Secretariat was a pretty amazing story too. But you just can't beat a man cutting his own arm off to save his life. Unbelievable. I'm not ashamed to admit I was crying right along with James Franco when he finally was free. Also, I think I might have some kind of a thing for Danny Boyle. About a year ago, I mentioned how much I like Slumdog Millionaire, the last movie he directed.

After watching Secretariat, I just had to look up the real footage from the Belmont Stakes that he ran. It's just as incredible as the movie.

F is for Furry Friend...

2011-01-05T23:44:00.004-07:00

... There's a small, man-made lake about a block from our apartment, and when it's not raining, I like to take walks around it. Lately, I've seen this little furry guy whenever I go:

I looked him up online, and I'm pretty sure he's a coypu. Apparently, they're not that great for the environment, but I really like watching out for him. He's kinda cute.

Additionally, there are a lot of Canadian geese at the lake right now, down for the winter, and I really, really want to catch one and eat it. But I think that might be illegal.

C is for Celebrate, and for Cataan...

2011-01-02T19:52:00.005-07:00

... Alma and I rang in the New Year playing this German gem with some friends until 3 in the morning.

In his usual meticulous way, Alma has found a way to fit all four variations of Settlers of Cataan into one box. We're finally figuring out how to play all four at once. Which makes for some long, though enjoyable, games.

Happy New Year to everyone! 2010 was a hard one for us, but it was still a good growth-inducing, spirit-stretching year.

Here's hoping that 2011 is the best year yet with many good things to come!

P is for Postponed...

2010-11-02T19:51:00.001-06:00

... Announcement postponed for one week due to technical difficulties.

F is for Facebook...

2010-10-30T01:31:00.002-06:00

...I just watched The Social Network. It was great - I recommend it.

I haven't used Facebook much in the past year, but the other day, I decided it could be a useful source of information if used correctly.

So to optimize its usefulness, I just deleted 2/3 of my "friends." It felt really good to do so, especially the ones that I didn't really know in the first place, that I have no interest in, and that I know I'll never speak to or hear from again.

But if you feel like you were mistakenly caught in the crossfire (which could've happened), let me know, and I'll rectify the mistake.

Also, stay tuned for big news on Monday...

B is for Bored...

2010-08-04T14:08:00.002-06:00

... As you can tell, Alma's been home alone and pretty bored for the past week. The result of said boredom is apparently an outpouring of creative genius.

Another result of his boredom is crankiness, so to remedy the situation I'm whisking him off to sunny Hawaii today. See you when we get back!

K is for Kanye West...

2010-08-04T13:52:00.004-06:00

I once heard, somewhere out there in the telestial world, that since the Savior died for our sins, it's a slap in His face if we do not repent, fast.

If that is true then Dave Ramsey has a welt on his left cheek because I have not been so gazelle intense.

Also, I do detest it when SYTYCD does their blurp on the dancers and their life. I don't care if their mother love them and cry on the show; it's getting depressing. Really? really... Show me a blurp if their mother hates them because I haven't seen a mother that hates their child, except in really depressing movies. It would be even more amazing to see if the dancer had an artificial leg because his leg was bitten off by a great white shark at Sea World. I don't care anymore about how their father wanted them to play football instead of dance or how they were born to dance. Just show me some dancing and Mia needs to do us a favor to shut her kaka mouth and flippy hands. I can't believe I miss Mary Murphy; I can't believe I watch SYTYCD.

K is for Kreatest Pick-up Line...

2010-08-02T15:45:00.002-06:00

Casanova wooed girls with his charming good looks...

Seal wooed Heidi with his wonderful "kiss from a rose" with a Batman cape draping his shoulders on top of a mountain so tall that it made Tower of Babel feel like a underground bomb shelter... (it's amazing they can understand each other...)

But (one thing I hate is to start a sentence with "but", but sometimes "but's" are necessary when you are having a stream of unconscious consciousness... when nothing makes sense) the greatest pick-up line has to be from Nephi when he went back to Jerusalem and knocked on Ishmael's door... "Ummm, I don't know how to say this... but... God sent me. I have come for your daughter..." (can I sing for you?)

But, in Nephi's defense, of all the things he had been asked to do, this probably had to be the hardest; to soften the heart of the future father-in-law, future mother-in-law, future wife, future sister-in-law, future brother-in-law, future horses, future goats, etc. Kill Laban, check, get brass plates, check, build a big ship, check, check, check, get married, huh?

But for some, like Casanova, it's probably a simple task, nothing but a chicken wing. But for a good LDS man like Nephi, it could be like pulling teeth that's been regularly flossed and brushed and mouth-washed with Listerine maximum strength... dirty mouth?

What if Nephi really didn't like Ishmael's daughter? What if Ishmael's daughter already had a boyfriend? And what were the chances Nephi's wife was righteous and Laman and Lemuel's wives were not so nice?

This was the starting point of my EQ lesson on Sunday.

It ended with one person walking out and few others looking at each other as if they just joined the Korean mob-slash-cult.

K is for Signs...

2010-07-30T15:36:00.004-06:00

Today I saw a boy in the hot sun holding a cardboard sign with the sentence: "Why lie I just wanna go to a rave."

At least this boy is honest, unlike many other sign holders, who just love to be dirty, looking.

The only problem I have with this young boy is that he seemed a little outdated. Raves are so 2000 and one and his penmanship sucked.

However, he did spell "wanna" correct: two n's and two a's; don't forget the w.

Side note, I can see this boy getting, buying, stealing a permanent marker for his sign (because he was well groomed and wearing a backpack; obviously a sign that he was not homeless, perhaps... just delinquent. "Uhhh, what's in your backpack?") but where do the homeless people get their markers from. I can't imagine them going to the store (not even a 99 cent store) and actually spending their precious money to buy a pen instead of food... or drugs. But then again, who is to say that all homeless people do drugs, not me. But maybe they do buy markers from staples; it's like an investment.

K is for Habits...

2010-07-28T14:24:00.006-06:00

I have no habits nor superstitions except sleeping on my right side, scrunching my nose during allergy season, sticking my pointer finger in Lexi's nose, scratching my head with my pinkies, etc, etc, etc...

I, especially, do not have a habit of tipping the homeless with some cha-ching.

Recently, however, I might have a change of heart, thought, and undies. I might...

I have been camping in a tent, no, two different tents, more than seven days, or a dragged out date with the mosquitoes.

When you camp, it's hard to keep yourself clean. The hardest part of camping is not the mosquitoes, the smoke, the overeating, nor the sleeping with the chain saw in the background, TIMMM-ber; I almost hit you that time. The hardest part is simply the feeling that you are not clean. Camping motto should be: Dirty mouth, snap into a slim jim.

It takes skills, yes, talent to stay and remain dirty. It's hard work. It sucks. I rather not, mostly.

Getting back to the homeless... man I saw recently. Most of the time, like always, I like to stare at the homeless, with my left eye, to see if they are really homeless or if they just hold signs to get free cha-cha-ching. (That's two coins.) I make my subjective biased judgment of how homeless a person is by how dirty the person is. (It's also interesting that you find more men homeless people holding signs than women. The women just hate dirty mouth so much they would rather find a job, a house, a garden, a husband, a life, in that particular order. That's why I don't get how Jessica Simpson hates brushing her dentals.)

It takes work and dedication to stay dirty and remain happy. Therefore, instead of paying these homeless people because of pure sympathy, you should pay them because it's just plain dirty work to stay dirty. So if you been camping, you can look at the homeless people and say: I understand, I empathize; and not give them any cha-ching, just some ching.

I gave the homeless man with his nice yellow bicycle (I own zero nice yellow bicycle) a empty smile and pure empathetic brain wave with my left eye.

Dirty mouth, stay dirty and thirsty my friends.

K is for Konversations...

2010-07-27T13:12:00.004-06:00

The beautiful mind of a special woman-man during a special times of the month and year with the overdose of tv, podcasts, facebook, water, blogs, stalking, and driving.

Lex: being single sucks a lot... but being married still sucks less... but still sucks...
Boy: por favor, explainada...
Lex: when you are single, you hold dear to, no, fiercely cling onto faith and trust with the tip of your jagged fingernails from the Vietnamese nail parlor ... but when you are married faith and trust has a lusty lustful affair with you know who and leaves you during the winter-y night in July; leaving you to wonder... land... who really is faith and trust.
Boy: huh? por favor, explainada mucho...
Lex: when you are single, you have explosions...
Boy: que? por... que?
Lex: when you are single, you have explosions of faith and trust...
Boy: que? qui?
Lex: when you are married, faith and trust decides to stop hoping and flying... airplanes; and only wants vain-ness: cameras.
Boy: hopping? I like cameras...
Lex: I only like headshots... of cacti... sometimes cactus.
Boy: boxing? bodyshots?
Lex: when you are married, you say mannn-go, not po-ta-toes; and it just cuts me down there... in my toes, not po-ta-toes; also the balls of my left feet.
Boy: por-que mango? left foot? bol?
Lex: comprend - ez - tu - you?
Boy: po-quito - mas... euh?
Lex: I have a confessional... I broke the windshield... wiper; the right one, by hitting faith and trust and I was broken but it wasn't my fault... it was a hot four weeks, not hillary-us weeks; it started to shake like a rattle snake... you knew me when you picked me up... but it wasn't my fault; it broke me; shattered; crumpled; crippled; crumpet.
Boy: are you panting? I think we have a mis-argument; misunderstanding... I just want to leave Arizona.

C is for Cookbook...

2010-06-13T22:04:00.003-06:00

... I just wanted to share publicly my love for this cookbook:
This book has become my cooking bible. I use it all the time. It not only has 100% foolproof, delicious recipes, it also has long explanations of why each recipe uses certain ingredients and techniques. It explains the methods the test kitchen used to get each step of the recipe, and give very clear, precise instructions that, if followed, lead to perfect dishes every time. It's like going to a cooking class for every recipe.

It has over 1000 recipes, and ranges from appetizers to grilling to baking to desserts. If I want to make a certain dish, I always turn to this book first. I highly recommend it to any home cook, and for those of you with a Costco card, it's only $20, which is a steal for such a large cookbook.

Just thought I'd share this goodness with all of you. You're welcome!

S is for Sports...

2010-06-12T14:46:00.002-06:00

... In high school, I severely disliked watching sporting events. Now, for whatever reason, I love it! And this month is a great one for sports-watching.

The Lakers (Alma's fave team) are playing the in the NBA Finals in a repeat of 2008 with the Celtics, and the World Cup just started and will last for the entire month! Even better, USA & Mexico tied their first games, and South Korea won! (Isn't it great that our house is so multicultural?)

We were about to cancel our cable service, but have decided to wait until these awesome games are done.

In other sports news, can you believe the turmoil in college football conferences? Here's hoping the Mountain West becomes a BCS conference!

N is for Nails...

2010-05-16T22:53:00.002-06:00

... My darling sister-in-law Ji-hye came to keep me company over the weekend while Alma's in Hawaii. We had an excellent time!

Saturday night we had the fantastic idea to get a pedicure. Halfway through the pedicure, the Vietnamese woman doing my feet looked at my nails and said (please read in an Asian accent):

"Oh your hands are no good. You want manicure?"

I politely declined, but she was insistent.

"Only ten dollars more for manicure. Already paying $25. Only $35 for both. Cheap!"

How could I say no to that marketing ploy? I looked over at Ji-hye and said, "Why not?"

I'm a total sucker. But my hands and feet sure do look nice!

A is for Alone...

2010-05-16T20:18:00.003-06:00

... Alma is in Hawaii right now without me. Lame. Exceedingly.

Really, he went home to take his brother Sung-do through the temple (yay!), and to attend his brother Mosiah's seminary and high school graduation. So he has some pretty good reasons for leaving me home alone while he basks in the tropical sun on the beach in Hawaii.

But that doesn't mean I have to be happy about. Darn the fact that I have a job!

B is for Bunco...

2010-04-24T19:40:00.003-06:00

... I went to my very first Bunco Night on Tuesday. I now feel completely inducted into Mormon Housewifedom. I'd never played it before and always wondered what all the hype was about. Now that I've played, I still don't know why it's such a craze among Mormon women. Just between you and me, I think it's really just an excuse to get out of the house and away from husbands and children for a night.

That said, however, I of course couldn't reject the offer to become an official member of their bunco group -it's an elite club of only 12 women - and you can only join when another woman drops out. I went as a substitute, but fortunately for me, a woman there announced that she was moving and I jumped on the opportunity to become a permanent fixture of their bunco group.

As a devout, faithful Mormon woman, how could I turn that down?

T is for Temporary...

2010-04-05T19:05:00.003-06:00

... Sometimes, in life, living from day to day, I lose sight of the big picture. During those times, it helps to remember that certain things are temporary and others are not. It helps get me refocused.

Things that are temporary:
My job
Law School
Being poor
Student loan debts
Not being able to visit family and friends
Rainy days

Things that are forever:
Marriage
Family
The Church
Friends

H is for Hazardous...

2010-03-29T20:14:00.002-06:00

... I've found that sometimes the kitchen can be a hazardous place.

Soon after Alma and I were married, we were having dinner with his mom. I guess she was checking my hands out, because she started asking me what all the scars on them were from. I explained that most of them were from cuts and burns I had gotten while cooking. She then said, perfectly sincere, in her wonderful, thick accent, "Alma tells me you're a good cook, but I don't know how you can be a good cook if you're always hurting yourself!"

Needless to say, I currently have four cuts, in all stages of healing, and two pretty raw burns on my right hand alone. I also have a very large, interesting scar forming on my wrist from a hot oil spill a month ago.

Contrary to my mother-in-law's belief, I'm of the opinion that if you don't have the battle scars to prove it, you must not be trying that hard in the kitchen!

S is for Spring...

2010-03-24T20:15:00.003-06:00

... It's spring in Salem, Oregon! Which means:

Alma's on spring break - and he's in a wonderful mood all the time!
The trees are in full blossom and the flowers are in bloom!
Daylight savings time switched, so it's light when I come home from work!
I can run outside again!
First year of law school is almost over!
My winter weight should start to come off soon ... hopefully!
The Salem Farmer's Market will start back up soon!
It's not raining quite as much as it did during the winter!
I'm blogging again! Yay!

Wow, that was a lot of exclamation points. I just really like spring!

T is for Turkey...

2009-11-25T13:48:00.002-07:00

... Happy Thanksgiving!

The wireless internet we were bootlegging at our apartment disappeared, so I haven't had real internet access for a while - thus the blog silence.

I hope everyone has a fantabulous turkey day. Wish me luck with roasting my first turkey. I bought the smallest turkey I could find - 10 lbs. This dinner will be good practice for when I have family over for Thanksgiving (next year, hint, hint).

Cheers!

T is for Tickle...

2009-11-10T22:24:00.002-07:00

... I feel a little tickle in the back of my throat tonight, and my ears are inching. I sure hope I'm not coming down with something! Mostly because Alma can't really afford to get sick right now since finals are right around the corner. And I happen to be medically uninsured at the moment, so let's hope this is just a passing fancy!

Y is for Yankees ...

2009-11-10T22:22:00.002-07:00

... I don't normally cheer for the Yankees, but I sure am glad they won the World Series and got the games over with. I was tired of my favorite TV shows being replaced by baseball games, and SYTYCD judges kicking the wrong people off.

N is for Netflix...

2009-11-04T20:01:00.002-07:00

... Alma and I just got Netflix, and we love it! Way better than Redbox. I never have to go to the store to get the movies - they just come right to my mailbox! And they always have the new releases I want - they're never out. They have a huge selection - tons of old classics I want to see. And no late fees. Awesome. You should all try it. Seriously. Just thought I'd let you know. :)

S is for Story ...

2009-11-01T20:46:00.002-07:00

... So I've been waiting to tell you all this story until I felt the appropriate amount of time had gone past. I don't know if it has, but this is too hilarious to hold in any longer.

So the first Sunday that I was here in church in Keizer, we had a Sunday School lesson about the principal of eternal marriage. Unfortunately, the teacher brought up plural marriage. A discussion ensued about whether there would be plural marriage in heaven. At this point, an older woman in our ward piped up.

She said that when she was investigating the gospel, polygamy was one of the hardest things for her to get over and understand. But after she went to the Temple, her eyes were opened and she understood why it was necessary. This is what she said:

"I realized that of course we needed to have plural marriage in the celestial kingdom because we're suppose to have unlimited progression. If we didn't have polygamy, men would become limited in their progression. Because women only have a certain number of eggs and possible children they can have, and men are unlimited in how many children (i.e. sperm) they can have, if a man was only with one woman forever, he would be limited."

Crazy, right! Guys, she really said eggs in sunday school. The teacher just kind of moved on when she was done talking. Alma wasn't paying attention, and he couldn't believe it when I told him afterward. I've heard a lot of reasoning on why we had/will have plural marriage, but this one is new to me.

Disclaimer: For those of you who aren't LDS, this definitely is not doctrine and is not something that the Church teaches. Just FYI.

C is for Callings ...

2009-11-01T20:41:00.003-07:00

... I've decided to continue blogging because my mom told me so. Some things never change. :) Also, Whitney pointed out that when I get pregnant, I'm gonna need the blog to show everyone pictures of my tummy and eventually the baby. Also a good point.

Alma and I got callings today in church. We were set-apart and everything. The callings are ... (drum roll please):

Mia Maid Adviser (Alexis)
Elders Quorum Presidency 2nd Counselor (Alma)

Awesome, right? I'm excited to be working with the young women. Except that they seem to think that I'm their age. Seriously - the Laurel president asked if I was a visiting young woman today. They could not believe that I'm 23. I didn't think I looked THAT young.

Alma's a little stressed about having more time commitments, but other than that, he's happy too.

M is for Maybe...

2009-10-27T20:36:00.002-06:00

... Maybe I haven't posted on my blog in almost a month.
Maybe I don't feel like there's anything of interest to post.
Maybe I've lost all interest in spending more time than necessary on the internet.
Maybe I just can't seem to find the energy to do so.
Maybe it's because I'm lazy.
Maybe it's because there are other, more worthwhile things to be doing.
Maybe it's because I've been writing in my journal more and so don't feel the need to blog about the same thing.
Maybe I've lost whatever small audience of readers I had at one time.
Maybe it's time to call it quits to the blog.

What do you think?

E is for Employed...

2009-10-04T12:43:00.004-06:00

... To mine and Alma's surprise, I was offered a job Friday, which I accepted. I start work on Monday morning. I'll be working at the Law Office of Eden Rose Brown. It's Monday through Thursday, 8-5 (awesome!).

The only down side is that I'll now have to be at work at about the same time I have been waking up for the past month. I already miss my days of sloth and indulgence!

M is for McDonald's...

2009-10-04T12:33:00.005-06:00

... Friday night, Alma suggested we go on a date. I was excited to go out to dinner and then to a movie, since we haven't really gone out since law school started. But by the time dinner rolled around, we were both feeling a little tired.

We ended up going to McDonald's and renting from Redbox. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. Who can really hate diet coke, fries, and a big mac - the quintessential American fast food? And, most importantly, it made the hubby happy.

Sometimes, Mickey D's to go and a $1 movie can make for a perfect Friday night date.

L is for List ...

2009-09-27T21:25:00.002-06:00

... In an effort to get more done during this week, I'm making a To-Do List, and I'm making it public. Hopefully, I'll feel more accountable this way.

Apply for more jobs.
Sand and stain side table.
Spray paint frame and finish framing print.
Clean my bathrooms.
Vacuum.
Go to the Temple.
Study for the GRE daily.
Go running at least three times.
Do 30 Day Shred daily.
Work on wedding thank you cards.
Don't watch TV during the day.
Get materials to do DIY headboard.
Write for at least 30 minutes every day.
Bake a peach pie.

The last one is the one I'm most looking forward to.

Good luck with your To-Do Lists this week!

E is for Exercise...

2009-09-22T13:19:00.003-06:00

... This morning, after Alma left for school, instead of going back to bed or watching TV, I decided to go running. Three miles later, I was feeling so good, I took a shot at this:

30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser. (After a few of my girlfriends suggested it on their blogs, I decided to give it a try.) It's only a 20 minute workout, but by the end, I was feeling the burn.

And guess what? I have so much more energy and motivation to go out and seize the day now. Isn't it amazing what a little shot of endorphins will do for you?

U is for Upset...

2009-09-19T19:56:00.002-06:00

... Today's BYU football game against Florida State was very disappointing. I guess today's upset is what we all get for being completely swept up in the hype over BYU football.

Oh well. I didn't think BYU would go undefeated when the season started, and now I know they won't. Hopefully everyone can go back to having realistic expectations about the team and we can be proud of them for having a winning season overall.

And hey, there's always next year!

C is for Correspondence...

2009-09-18T14:24:00.004-06:00

... Dear Salem,
I think that I could grow to like you. It seems like you have lots of hidden gems that a little exploring would reveal. I like the look of your "historic downtown." Alma's too busy with law school. But I think that maybe you and I could be friends. If only I had a girlfriend to explore you with.

... Dear Whitney,
I finally have time to play, and we're in different states! I wish you were here to explore Salem with me. I think we could have some fun around town together. Maybe you should start checking on flights to come see me?

... Dear Jeannie,
Watching So You Think You Can Dance just isn't the same without you and Jared making comments while we watch. I miss Wednesday TV nights together. But I miss you and Jace even more.

... Dear University Communications,
I miss working with you. I even miss staff meeting. That sentence only should tell you the depth of my feelings.

... Dear Business I interviewed with,
Though I'm not terribly excited about the position I interviewed for, I'd probably still accept if you offered it to me, simply out of sheer boredom. I'll be expecting your phone call on Monday.

... Dear Lazy,
Go away. You're not wanted here. It's too hard to get anything done with you hanging around.

... Dear Willamette Law,
I hope you're worth losing my husband for at least a year, if not three. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, but don't forget to hold up your side of the bargain.

And Finally...

... Dear Amy and Shawn,
Thanks for all the kindness and friendship you've sent our way. It's definitely received with gratitude, and has made the transition a lot easier. And you have adorable children. I just can't get enough of them.

U is for Update...

2009-09-14T12:45:00.004-06:00

... Oh hello, there, little blog. I've missed you. Sorry to have neglected you for an entire month. It's just that there's been a lot going on lately.

After two weeks in Salem, I think I'm gonna be okay. The first week was full of tears and homesickness, and the second week I lacked energy to do anything, but today I am feeling motivated and optimistic. The apartment is finally unpacked and settled, and I've found a few friends and have some possible job options, so things are on the up and up.

And, Alma loves law school, so that makes everything worth it.

That's all for now, but I won't neglect you for another month before I post again. Promise.

S is for Salem...

2009-08-14T11:54:00.004-06:00

... Alma and I are headed to Salem this weekend to check things out and to drop Alma off at law school. He'll be staying up there and starting orientation on the 19th, and I'll come back to Provo and finish things up at work.

We think we've found an apartment to rent. We even filled out an application. Which is a little scary considering the fact that we've never seen it in person. We're just taking a chance and hoping it will work out. It seems that this whole thing is one big gamble. I try not to think about the fact that in two weeks I'll be living in a city and a state I've never been to before. I'm sure it will be fine. I mean, it looks pretty enough, right?

So good luck to us. I guess that's all I'm trying to say.

F is for Family...

2009-07-29T11:46:00.004-06:00

... We're headin' to Idaho this afternoon for a long weekend Don Tubbs family reunion.

Because of my multiple family situation, we attend a great many family reunions throughout the summer. But this one, with just my sisters, brothers, spouses, parents, and a whole lot of grandchildren running around like crazed hooligans is my favorite one of the year.

We're looking forward to a weekend of boating and wakeboarding, tie-dying, rodeo-ing, breaking pinatas, playing Wizard & family bingo, showing off at our talent show, and good food!

A big ol' thanks to Jeannie for all the effort she's put into planning it this year and to Mom for being willing to host everyone at the house.

And for good measure, some pics of just a part of the fam from last year's reunion:

E is for Enough..

2009-07-27T16:14:00.002-06:00

... After being placed yet again on the BYU law school waiting list, Alma and I have decided enough is enough.

Enough waiting around on BYU. We're officially heading to Salem, Oregon, where Alma will be attending Willamette University's School of Law.

Alma's leaving the 16th of August, and I'll be around until the 28th.

Get your fill of the Jeans, folks, cause this show is hittin' the road.

M is for Moved...

2009-07-27T16:08:00.003-06:00

... That's right. Moved. Past tense.

To where you ask? Into a storage unit. For the time being anyway.

A ginormous thank you to Jared and Jeannie for all their help. We literally could not have done it without you. Also, thanks for letting us shack up with you for a couple of weeks.

We'll be sleeping around for the next few weeks, so if anyone has an open bed their willing to share, send us a memo.

C is for Cleaning...

2009-07-25T22:54:00.002-06:00

... Cleaning is rewarding at first. Watching something embarrassingly dirty transform to spotlessly clean all due to the work of your own hands has its mental and emotional rewards. It's especially fun when your husband (who rarely cleans the house) works with you side by side. And in this world of computers and offices and sitting down all day and getting paid for it, I sometimes forget the joy that comes from working with your own hands and the sweat of your brow.

But after too many hours of cleaning one tiny apartment, cleaning becomes a pain in the you-know-what.

Goodbye security deposit. I just realized you're not worth it anymore.

B is for Boxes...

2009-07-22T14:37:00.002-06:00

... My living room is currently cluttered with cardboard: heavy taped-up boxes, half-packed boxes, and flat broken-down boxes.

We're in the midst of packing and moving to who knows where (literally - as of the 28th of July, we're officially homeless). It sure ain't fun, but at least it means we're leaving our tiny, suffocatingly hot, 3rd-floor apartment for something (hopefully!) bigger, cooler, and closer to the ground.

Just as a side note: Our books alone filled six or seven boxes. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised since we were both English majors, but I am.

P is for Phoenix...

2009-07-21T14:49:00.004-06:00

... Wicked was wonderful, and Phoenix was HOT! It's a pity it wasn't the middle of the winter.

Having never really listened to the music from Wicked or read the story, Friday night's performance was one big, spectacular surprise for me. It's definitely as good as everyone says it is. I love the story and the way it ends. My favorites songs were Popular (of course), I'm Not That Girl, Defying Gravity, and For Good. I'm not ashamed to admit I was on the verge of tears at the end.

That being said, however, it didn't top Les Miserables as my number one musical.

The rest of the trip was perfect, except for the long car ride home. Thanks Andy, Alysa, and everyone else for the great time!

W is for Wicked ...

2009-07-16T14:20:00.004-06:00

... That's right ladies and gents. I'm gonna see it.

My mom, sisters and I are taking a girls weekend and heading to sunny Phoenix to see the show! I can't wait. Hopefully it will be as good as everyone says it is!

A special thanks to all the husbands in the family for being good sports about it.

P is for Pregnant...

2009-07-15T15:51:00.004-06:00

... No, not me, but that would be exciting.

Just wanted to give a shout out to my big sis Jeannie and wish her congratulations and best of luck. She's pregnant with a healthy, beautiful (I'm assuming, anyway) little girl. We're so happy for you! Can't wait to get a female version of this little guy:

Also, congrats to my bestey Whitney on the upcoming birth (any day now) of their first! I'm so excited to meet the little guy. I am, after all, his godmother. That's a pretty big deal.

P is Pancakes ...

2009-07-02T12:54:00.004-06:00

... Recently, I have been craving pancakes. It's probably because some of the food blogs I read featured pancakes recently. And then last night's episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay featured blueberry pancakes. Yum. But this morning, on Oh Joy!, I saw this:
Bacon, Chocolate Chips, Maple Syrup and Pancake?!?! The ultimate in salty and sweet delight.

One package of the mix is $12. Do you think it's worth it? Alma doesn't eat pancakes, so I would have the whole thing to myself. Mmmhhhhh...

Oh, and PS - Shea and Noelle, thanks for your sweet comments on the last post!

U is for Unknown...

2009-06-30T10:04:00.002-06:00

... There seem to be a lot of unknowns in my life right now.

I don't know where we're going to be living in a month.
I don't know what city we're going to be living in in two months.
I don't know where I'll be working in two months.
I don't know where Alma will be going to law school in a month and a half.

There's not much I can do about these unknowns.

I'm trying not to be too stressed about this.

B is for Broken...

2009-06-19T12:27:00.003-06:00

... I broke our television today. It no longer turns on.

Really, it's no great loss - except now we have no way to watch SYTYCD.

The TV was already partially broken. No remote control, which was a huge problem when I felt too lazy to get off the couch. The down channel button was broken, so changing the channel meant possibly going through all 65 channels, especially if you go to fast and accidentally click past the one you want. And the DVD player connection was broken, so we couldn't watch any movies on it.

Like I said, it's no great loss, but it was the only thing we had to watch our favorite shows on.

At first I was excited cause I thought I finally had the perfect excuse to get the HD TV I've been coveting at Costco. But thanks to recent (certain sport equipment) expenses, we don't have much extra cash laying around.

I guess what I'm getting at is ... Anyone happen to have a TV they want to get rid of?

H is for Hundred ...

2009-06-17T17:01:00.002-06:00

... This is my 100th blog post! Exciting. It took me a little longer than expected to get to it because I've been so blog-lazy lately.

... I just realized I have over 200 recipes in my cook-this list on my computer. And that's not counting cookbooks. I'll probably never get them all crossed off, but it's always good to have a lot of choices to choose from!

Just thought you should know those two things. Hope your week is going swimmingly!

G is for Golf...

2009-06-16T14:12:00.002-06:00

... I've lost my husband to golf. Literally. He comes home from work, then heads to the range for a couple of hours almost every night.

Last night he said: I'm so happy the NBA finals are over so I have more time to golf.

When Alma picks anything over watching the Lakers in the FINALS, you know it's a big deal.

He also said: I can't believe I can love anything as much as golf. I think I like it better than basketball and football.

I hope I'm not included in that "anything." But it may be a possibility.

Unfortunately, I also seemed to have lost his half of our monthly paycheck. Oh that's right, it's not lost. It's sitting in my living room, in the form of a brand new golf bag full of shiny new golf clubs and a pair of golf shoes and gloves.

Geez, golf is an expensive game. I've lost my husband's time and his money!

S is for SYTYCD...

2009-06-04T12:23:00.002-06:00

... So You Think You Can Dance has started in earnest, but unfortunately I haven't been able to watch as many episodes as I want largely due to the NBA conference finals monopolizing my television screen.

I did, however, watch last night's episode, and I learned some bad news and some good news.

First, the bad news. They seem to be kicking off all the good dancers. Don't bother getting attached to anyone, because chances are, they probably won't make it. Remember Natalie, Katee's BFF from last year? I was really rooting for her, and she somehow got cut.

But don't worry, just because I'm a little miffed right now doesn't mean I won't be watching and loving SYTYCD this year. I'm sure there will be a few dancers I'll grow to love this season just like last year.

Which leads to the good news. Fox is having a FALL SEASON of SYTYCD this year! Yippee! I guess they got the clue that the whole world loves SYTYCD. This is great news. Now I'll have a full two-seasons worth of SYTYCD and I won't have to wait an entire year to see it again. And maybe Natalie will audition again and get the credit she deserves this time.

The world really is a beautiful place.

*Note: Alma is not as excited about this news as I am. But he'll be in law school, so it won't really matter as he won't be spending much time in front of the television screen.

6 is for Six Months...

2009-05-20T16:59:00.003-06:00

... As of 2:30 p.m. today, Alma and I have been married for exactly six months. I can hardly believe it myself. I guess time flies when you're in love. (c'mon, I'm allowed one cheesy one-liner!)

The good news is, I can honestly say that we're happier and more in love now than we were six months ago. Let's hope that trend continues.

R is for Running...

2009-05-19T16:25:00.003-06:00

... Last summer around this time, I was in such awesome shape. I was running marathon distances. And enjoying it!

This year, sadly, I am nowhere close to that. The other day I ran about 3 miles, and it was hard. What a lazy bum I've turned into! I can't decide if it's the weather that has prevented me running thus far, or the fact that I'm married now and I never want to do things without Alma by my side. And I don't like running alone. Alma doesn't enjoy running, which leaves me in the aforementioned predicament. It also probably has something to do with the fact that since getting engaged in August, I essentially quit exercising in any way. Which worked out for me pre-marriage (I lost 12 pounds) but hasn't worked out for me post-marriage (I gained 12 pounds).

The long and short of this is, I've got to start running again and get back in shape. Swimsuit season is practically upon us!

Tonight I'm attempting four miles. Wish me luck!

S is for Staycation...

2009-05-18T09:53:00.003-06:00

... Due in part to the fact that we are trying to save money and in part to the chance that we may be leaving Utah soon, Alma and I are learning to be tourists in our own state this summer. We've already been to Zion National Park, and we have another camping trip planned to Arches and Moab in a few weeks with some friends. Here are some other places we'd like to go:

Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake
The BYU Bean Museum (in 5+ years at BYU, I've never been)
Capitol Reef National Park
Lavender Days Festival in Mona
Alpine Slide in Park City
Lake Powell
River Raft the Green River
Lagoon
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands National Park

I don't know if we'll make it to all of them, but at least we'll have a fun summer trying!

L is for Lakers ...

2009-05-15T10:16:00.005-06:00

... So, thanks to my darling husband and the fact that it's currently the NBA playoffs, I've been watching quite a lot of basketball lately. Or, more specifically, I've been watching this team:

I dunno, maybe I just have no clue what makes a great team, but coming from a completely objective perspective (unlike Alma and all of his friends), I'm just not that impressed. Sure, sometimes they are awesome and their fearless leader Kobe Bryant deserves all the praise and fame he can get.

But mostly, when it counts, they just can't seem to get the job done.

T is for TV...

2009-05-13T15:11:00.003-06:00

... It seems all of my daily television shows are ending right about now. House, Fringe, American Idol, Lost, The Office, 30 Rock...

I sure will miss them, but maybe now I'll be able to get more things done at night - like getting my exercise in, attending enrichment, doing the dishes. TV has made me oh-so-lazy.

The bright side of things is, my NUMBER ONE TOP FAVORITEST IN THE WHOLE WORLD tv show is starting next week:

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!!!

And that will take up at least two nights of the week.

M is for Mom...

2009-05-08T15:52:00.003-06:00

... Last week my mom came to Women's Conference and she stayed with us at our apartment. I loved having her around all the time for a couple of days. It made me realize how much I love and enjoy my mom.

It seems the older I get, the more I appreciate my mom and the way she raised me. I'm sure everyone feels the same about their mothers. Isn't it wonderful that after we get through those spoiled, bratty teenage years we have the opportunity to really get to know our moms as people, as equals, and as friends?

Happy Mother's day to all the mothers out there and to my mom especially. Thanks for all your love, support, guidance, and friendship.

C is for Cards...

2009-05-07T15:36:00.004-06:00

... Guys, believe it or not, I just spent $20 on Mother's Day cards! A whopping $20! On cards! What?!?!

I could not find a single card under $3, and most were over $4! When you have three grandmothers, a mom and a mother-in-law, that can add up pretty quickly.

All I can say is the greeting card business is seriously running some kind of sweet racket. They've made a business out of commercializing holidays. How much more evil can you get than to turn once innocent and special days meant to be spent with family counting your blessings into a money-making scheme by card-creating corporations?

(For my mom or grandma that may be reading this - I totally don't mind paying for or sending you a mother's day card. I'm just saying that Hallmark is out to get us all.)

W is for Willamette...

2009-05-06T14:24:00.004-06:00

... Just wanted to give a big thank you to Willamette University College of Law. Alma received an acceptance letter along with a partial scholarship offer from them on Monday!

Willamette is a small, private liberal arts university in Salem, Oregon. It's the oldest university in the West. It wasn't exactly our first choice, but the more I learn about the school the more I think it might be a good fit for us. For more info about it, visit here.

We're still waiting to hear back from some schools, so nothing is set in stone, but I just thought I'd share the exciting news!

Z is for Zions ...

2009-05-05T15:39:00.004-06:00

... About a week ago we went camping for the weekend at Zion National Park down in southern Utah. Although I had it on good information that the weather would be just lovely, unfortunately, it got quite chilly both afternoons we were there. I may be exaggerating, but I think we almost froze to death on Saturday night. Other than that, everything went wonderfully.

We hiked up Angel's Landing while we there, and although I occasionally felt like my heart was in my throat because of how high we were and how narrow the cliff was, the view at the top was definitely worth the hike up. And as we were hiking along the Emerald Pools trail, we came across four or five deer grazing next to the path. I think that's the closest I've ever been to a deer.

The park is gorgeous this time of year with everything in bloom, and it was great to "get away from it all." In fact, I think the experience may have convinced Alma that camping ain't half bad, even if you can't shower every day.

The view from the top of Angel's Landing

Resting next to the upper Emerald Pool

B is for Blogggggg....

2009-05-05T12:39:00.003-06:00

... It seems that I've lost all energy to blog recently. Maybe it's because nothing eventful is happening in my life right now, or maybe it's because my blog has been looking oh-so-blah, but for whatever reason, I've been pretty lazy about keeping on my blog. I really have no excuse, as I have plenty of extra time at work to blog as much as I want.

I'm gonna try to do better. I can't promise an interesting/amusing/funny blog post every day, but I will try to be more consistent. And they won't all be about food. Promise.

I've also spruced up the blog a bit, even though it's still not quite where I want it to be. If ya'll have any suggestions, they would be appreciated.

T is for Thai ...

2009-04-27T15:49:00.002-06:00

... A post on our wonderful Zions camping trip is forthcoming, but in the meantime, here are a couple recipes I promised my sister I would post a week ago.

One advantage of living on a budget and not being able to go out to eat whenever I want is that if I want some delicious ethnic foods, I have to make them myself. This is quickly expanding my cooking repertoire. A lot of dishes that I thought would be quite complicated are actually quite simple, as long as you have the necessary, sometimes hard to find, ingredients. But after a few trips to the local Asian market or other specialty food stores, you'll be ready to go!

I've also noticed that if I go out to eat to an ethnic restaurant, I crave that type of food for at least the next week, but usually much longer. We recently went out for Thai food, and I've been wanting a heaping plate of Pad Thai noodles with a side of curry ever since. After searching various Asian food blogs, I came up with some recipes that I thought I could handle.

They were both delicious, easy, and took less than 30 minutes to make! Definitely give these a try if you're a fan of Thai food. You'll be impressed at how good a cook you are.

Pad Thai
Serves 4-6
adapted from Chez Pim
(her long explanation of how to make Pad Thai was extremely helpful. I've paired the recipe down, but if you need further instruction, look at her site)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup tamarind pulp
1/2 cup palm sugar (you can substitute white or brown sugar, but use 1/3 cup instead)
2-4 tsp. chili powder (depending on how spicy you want the sauce)

1 lb. Rice Noodles - Fresh if possible, but dried will work too

The measurements for the ingredients below are pretty fluid, depending on how much you want of each in each serving of Pad Thai

Chicken, cut into thin, bite-size pieces
Shrimp - optional
Green ends of one bunch of green onions, cut in 1-inch slices
Peanuts, chopped finely or crushed
Eggs
Beansprouts
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
Cilantro
Lime
Vegetable or Canola oil

Directions:

First, it is important that you only cook Pad Thai in serving sizes. Do not try to cook the whole pound of noodles at once, or it will get gummy and you'll end up with a sloppy mess. Follow the directions below, and you won't go wrong.

Soak rice noodles in warm water until al dente. Do not soak them to the point that they're soft.

In a small saucepan over low heat, mix together tamarind, sugar and fish sauce. When sugar is melted and sauce is heated through, add chili powder by teaspoons, tasting frequently, until desired level of spiciness is reached. Set sauce aside.

Heat wok or large frying pan until very hot. Add 3-4 tablespoons of oil and let heat.
Add chicken and stir fry until halfway done, about 1-2 minutes if chicken is sliced thinly. Then add 1-2 tablespoons of sauce and 1-2 garlic cloves. Let cook for a minute longer.
Add 1-2 cups of loosely packed noodles, depending on how large you want your portions to be. Add 1/4 cup of sauce.
Stir noodles, sauce and chicken together quickly, keeping everything moving, until noodles are soft. Break up noodles if they stick together. You can add more oil if the noodles continue to stick together, but I didn't find it necessary.
Push the noodles to the side, and crack an egg in the middle of the pan. Let sit for 10-15 seconds, then push noodles on top of egg and mix everything together until egg is cooked through.
Add shrimp, peanuts and beansprouts. Continue stirring until shrimp are pink, another 1-2 minutes. You can add more sauce at this point if you think it looks to dry, but, again, I didn't need to.
Throw in the green onion ends and the cilantro. Turn off heat, stir a few more times.
Plate the finished Pad Thai, squeeze a quarter of a lime over the top, and serve.
Rinse and wipe out pan, and start over!

Thai Red Curry
Adapted from Rasa Malaysian

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths and parboiled
2-3 kaffir lime leaves, cut into fine thin strips, or 1-2 tsp. of lime zest
2 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1/4 cup palm sugar, or 3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water

Directions:

Heat up a wok or deep fryin pan with the cooking oil.
Saute the red curry paste until aromatic.
Add the chicken into the pot and stir well with the curry paste.
Add coconut milk, water, green beans, kaffir lime leaves, and bring the curry to boil.
Add fish sauce, palm sugar, and stir-continuously until sugar is melted.
Dish out and serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

C is for Camping ..

2009-04-22T16:39:00.002-06:00

... Alma and I are going camping this weekend at Zion National Park. This is the first time either of us have been camping on our own. Hopefully we'll survive it and it will become a wonderful, fond memory.

We seem to have all the essentials - tent, lantern, dutch oven and cast-iron frying pan, air mattress, coolers. This is the first time trying out the new tent, so hopefully we'll be able to figure out how to put it up!

We definitely don't want to end up lost, starving, or without shelter, so for those of you who are more experienced campers, or who have been to Zion's, is there any advice, tips, or words of warning you can offer us?

B is for Bread...

2009-04-16T10:14:00.000-06:00

... I've been baking quite a bit of bread lately. Alma loves it, and I enjoy making it. And I think it's cheaper than buying bread from the grocery store. The thing about making bread is that it's time intensive. It doesn't take a lot of work, it just takes a lot of time to rise. I usually make it on Saturday or Sunday when I have plenty of time and stuff to do around the house while the dough rises.

I find that a lot of people have baking bread fears, but truthfully, it's quite simple. Just mix, knead, and let rise. That's it. A few tips on making great bread can be found here. They're really very helpful. Also, if you don't have a bread machine or a KitchenAid, never fear. I don't have either. I just mix my bread dough with a wooden spoon. Also, don't be afraid of kneading. You can't really do it wrong.

I've tried a couple different recipes - maple white bread, which was yummy, especially served warm with sour cream and brown sugar on top (I know it sounds weird, but it was soooo good), and light wheat bread, but I think that I like the old-fashioned, nothing-special, bread recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook the best. Plus, it makes two loaves from the recipe, while the other ones only make one.

I know I've definitely been slacking on posting recipes, but I haven't been slacking on the cooking. Below are some links to recipes I've made lately that are particularly enjoyable.

Soft Pretzels
Pasta Alla Carbonara
Almost Summer Rice Noodle Salad
Icebox Cake
Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Sausage

White Bread
From Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Makes 2 loaves

5 ¾ to 6 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 package, or 2 ¼ teaspoons, active dry yeast
2 ¼ cups milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons suga
1 tablespoon butter, margarine, or shortening
1 ½ teaspoons salt

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 ½ cups of flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and salt just until warm and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in lightly greased bowl (I just spray mine with Pam), turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45-60 minutes).

3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two bread pans.

4. Shape dough halves into loaves by patting or rolling. To shape by putting, gently pat and pinch, tucking edges underneath. To shape by rolling, on a lightly floured surface roll each dough half into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Roll up each rectangle, starting from a short side. Seal seams with your fingertips.

5. Place shaped dough halves in prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (30-40 minutes).

6. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Immediately remove bread from pans. Cool on wire racks.

S is for Snow. Again...

2009-04-15T14:00:00.002-06:00

... Don't worry, it's just snowing again here in Provo, Utah. It's April 15th, and it's snowing heavily.

This is why, even though Alma wants to go to BYU's law school, I wouldn't be heartbroken if we ended up going somewhere else. Only if it were somewhere warmer, that is.

F is for Foodie...

2009-04-15T13:00:00.006-06:00

... Some people, when they're bored or can't sleep, look at clothes online and make a wish list of all the beautiful clothes they'd buy if they could.

When I'm bored, I look at food blogs, cooking equipment, and cookbooks and dream about having a gourmet kitchen and being able to buy and make whatever I want.

I could easily spend over $3000 on Amazon right now. Just give me fifteen minutes and it'd be gone.

These are only a few of the cookbooks I'm coveting at the moment. If you have the extra cash, go out and buy one. I'm sure you won't regret it.

Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics
The New Best Recipe
Joy of Cooking

F is for the Farm...

2009-04-14T10:33:00.015-06:00

... I hope everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable Easter weekend. We spent ours in Malad with the rest of my sisters and their many children. Just to give you a little taste of my home and our weekend, here are some images from the farm. Enjoy!

*For more on our Easter weekend, click here.

J is for Ji-Hye...

2009-04-14T10:22:00.006-06:00

... This is Ji-Hye, my lovely, wonderful sister-in-law. As you can probably guess from the picture, she graduated from BYU-Idaho with a bachelors in psychology on Friday. She'll be heading to Gonzaga University this fall to get her masters in community counseling.

The first time I met Ji-Hye, I was scared spitless, for multiple reasons, but mostly because she's Alma's only sister and the first member of the family I met. But fortunately for me, Ji-Hye is one of the friendliest, kindest girls I know. I don't know what I would do without her and the much needed sanity she brings to the Jean family.

Congratulations Ji-Hye! We're so proud of you and we love you!

S is for Sandals...

2009-04-08T10:13:00.005-06:00

... These JCrew sandals have been sitting in my closet for about a month, taunting me. They set me back $49.50, plus tax. Which, in my opinion, is too much to spend for a pair of flip-flops, however cute and gold they may be.

I never intended to buy them. But the sales lady was so friendly, and she raved about how cute they looked with my outfit, and I was afraid to say no. So I bought them, fully intending to return them the next day.

I haven't gotten back to the store yet. And every morning, they whisper to me, "Wear us. We would be adorable with that outfit you've got on. You need a new pair of leather flip-flops. We'd last forever. We're totally with 50 bucks."

So far, I've held strong. But they've almost convinced me. I get weaker daily. Can I get a little help out there?

Speaking of taunting, this ad keeps popping up everywhere on the internet, and I'm starting to really want that dress. Wouldn't it look cute with those sandals?

S is for Style...

2009-04-06T17:22:00.004-06:00

... Once, I was a pretty stylish dresser (or so I like to think). I went shopping more than once a month, and spent more than I should on clothes. I did my research, I watched for the latest trends, and I adapted my style accordingly.

Then I got engaged. And then I got married. My fashion has been going downhill ever since.

It's not because I don't care anymore. I still do my research. I still check out the trends. It's just that you have to update your wardrobe to stay fashionably current. And right now, there are more important things to spend my hard-earned pennies on.

Or at least that's what Alma tells me.

But I just thought ya'll should know that someday, I'll be stylish again. It'll probably be three or four years down the road, but it'll happen.

At least, that's what I tell myself.

W is for Waiting ...

2009-04-06T17:13:00.003-06:00

... We're waiting for some important letters right now.

Everyday after work I check the mailbox. Everyday, my hopes are raised.
Everyday, my mailbox is empty. Everyday, my hopes are dashed.

Waiting is a hard thing to do.

G is for Gourmet...

2009-03-31T12:59:00.002-06:00

... Five reasons why a husband may not always enjoy gourmet cooking:

1. It often results in more dishes to wash.
2. It takes longer, which means he eats later.
3. It costs more money for the ingredients.
4. Sometimes it's delicious, and sometimes it's ... interesting.
5. Sometimes, all a man really wants is meat and potatoes.

S is for Saturday ...

2009-03-30T17:20:00.002-06:00

... You know you're a married woman when your Saturday consists of cleaning and reorganizing the house, grocery shopping, baking, and doing laundry while watching an old movie. And you love it.

A is for Anniversary ...

2009-03-23T12:29:00.004-06:00

... I know, I know, how can we have an anniversary if we've only been married for three months? Well, as of March 20th, Alma and I have been together for exactly one year, and that's worth celebrating.

If you had told me one year ago that I would be married to Alma Jean, I would have told you that you were smoking some sweet dope. Funny how life has a way of surprising you.

We've had our share of ups and downs over the past year. Ups definitely being the day we got married, the day Alma proposed, the day we said "I love you," and the entire two weeks of our honeymoon. Downs being our first fight, our first fight after we got married, and having no money cause we spent it all on the wedding and honeymoon. But it's all been totally worth it.

When I got home from Atlanta and was once again in the arms of my husband, I had the pleasant realization that I was indeed married to my very best friend in the world.

What an exciting, suprising, and funny life it is! I can only wonder what surprises our next year together has in store.

K is for sKetches

2009-03-23T00:59:00.007-06:00

I've been meaning to finish this sketch for a while, a long while (so sorry Jeannie and Jared... and Jace I guess) but now that I'm almost done, I don't know if I like the dark background. Hmmm, I guess now it's kind of too late...

Lexi on Sunday night, really bored, needing some attention...

Lexi: Umm, can you cuddle with me, please?
Me: I have to make an attempt to finish the sketching... sorry. Just pretend, imagine I'm cuddled up next to you. I promise it's just as good.

You can see Lexi getting progressively more and more angry...

The Angry face...

Lexi running, actually walking away... either way I want my shoes back.

S is for Spring...

2009-03-20T07:05:00.002-06:00

... It's officially the first day of spring today and, at least here in Atlanta, the weather is gorgeous. Mid-70's. I hear it's snowing in New York, though. Too bad for them. I hope the weather in Utah is somewhere in between. Actually, I hope it's closer to Atlanta's temps than New York's.

It's funny how just when you think winter will never end, spring arrives, and you're left wondering why you ever thought it was so bad. Every spring I think, Oh yeah, winter's not that bad. I don't mind Utah winters so much.

Isn't nice that we have the winters in our lives to remind us to be grateful for the springs?

F is for Flying...

2009-03-19T18:34:00.002-06:00

... As you may have guessed from my previous post, I'm traveling this week. I'm in Atlanta for a media relations conference.

To get here, I flew through the air. Incredibly. I sat in a chair in the sky. And every five minutes I shouted, "Oh my gosh! Wow! I'm flying!"

R is for Room Service..

2009-03-18T21:11:00.002-06:00

... There have been a few mile markers in my life that have made me feel like I was a finally an adult. One of those is room service.

Every time I order room service at a hotel, I think to myself, "This is it. I have finally arrived at adulthood."

It never gets old. There's just something wonderful about making one phone call and 30 minutes later having hot food arrive outside your room. I don't know why I enjoy it so much, but I do. It's what I look forward to at the end of a long day of travel.

T is for Television...

2009-03-17T16:33:00.002-06:00

... Alma and I watch far too much television. We have a show for almost every night of the week.

On Sundays, we watch Kings.
On Mondays, we watch House. And 24. And sometimes Castle. (whew, Mondays are busy nights!)
On Tuesdays, we watch American Idol.
On Wednesdays, we watch Lost.
On Thursdays, we watch The Office and 30 Rock.

On Fridays and Saturdays, we usually watch movies. You know, you gotta have a break from all that TV watching!

Sometimes I think there's got to be a better way for two relatively intelligent, fun people to spend their time together. And then I snuggle up next to Alma on the couch and watch some more.

P is for Procrastination...

2009-03-16T14:00:00.002-06:00

... I had a paper due today.

I told myself all last week that I would work on it. When Friday came, I promised myself I would dedicate my weekend to starting, and finishing, it.

I had no time to do it Friday night, or Saturday. More important things came up (see previous post). So I planned to do it Sunday afternoon.

I did everything but my paper. I did the laundry. I cleaned the bedroom. I reorganized. I cooked dinner. I did the dishes. (Some of them, anyway. Alma did most of them.) I baked bread. I made cookies. I watched TV. I read scriptures. At the end of the night, I told myself I'd have plenty of time to do it at work.

Today, I've been dedicated at work. There's no distracting me from my important responsibilities. Why did I ever think I'd have time to write a paper today?

But sometimes, procrastination pays off. I just went to class, and my teacher's extended the deadline until Friday.

W is for Wonderful...

2009-03-16T13:51:00.003-06:00

... Ingredients for a wonderful weekend:

Snowboarding and shopping
Appetizers with a favorite girlfriend
Sleeping in late and cuddling with your husband
Picnic at the park and feeding the ducks with family
Dinner with two best friends and their spouses
Inspirational messages delivered by an apostle
Birthday party
Lazy Sunday afternoon

K is for ducK whisperer

2009-03-15T22:34:00.010-06:00

Jace fed the ducKs...

then he chased them...

he chased this particular ducK for five minutes...
the poor ducK did not know how to fly away...

*Just to clarify. Alma posted this, not Alexis, even though it says posted by Alexis below. I follow the "A is for ..." rule, Alma does not, as you can see.

K is for Konfessions

2009-03-15T15:59:00.011-06:00

Dearest food,

I'm sorry, it's not you, it's me. I think we need a break. It's been good, I mean great 25, 26 years but we really need a break, maybe forever. I'm sorry... well sort of. Goodbye my once lover...

I loved food since I was very little, (ed being the key tense here) like since I was 7lbs and minutes old; so it's been a long time. I loved food before I got married. (ed being the key tense again) You might be thinking to yourself, "Hmmm, maybe he is talking about his weight gain." [OCD Sharing Time: All recently married couple gain weight. All Asian people eat rice. All Asian people eat only half serving per day, unless your name is Kobayashi, "the all you can eat hot dog" or a sumo wrestler.] However, you would be sadly mistaken, kind of. Yes, I did gain some weight but I don't think it has anything to do with the amount of food digested, but probably the lack of exercise. I'm putting my money on the dusty gym pass. Anywho, I have parted ways with food all together because I hate doing the dishes. Let me share an equation: food + my belly = me happy. Simple right? [OCD Sharing Time: All Asians are great at math. That's why I was an English major. Suck eggs stereotypes!] Here's another equation: wife + cooking + dishes + dishes + four different spatulas + ten pans + food = my belly ache + phalanges ache + body ache. Yes, it's an exaggeration but not by much. Wait, I forgot two sets, not two measuring cups, two sets of measuring cups. Oh wait, I forgot three tasting spoons, and the dirty wall for checking pasta consistency. I feel like it's Hell's Kitchen every night, except my Gordon Ramsey or whatever his name is, is much better looking, however maybe I would rather have him and his ever-so-emotional cooks, because they would have less dishes, or maybe they would have a designated dish washer, much like designated hitters in baseball, sometimes I feel like a designated dish breaker. [OCD Sharing Time: All Asians love baseball, because they are too feeble to play football. All Asians love Chinese food and love doing dishes.]

Lexi: What do you want for dinner? (thinking: How many spatulas can I use tonight? hmm...)
Me: Oh I ate a late lunch, like ten minutes ago. (It's 5pm.)
Lexi: Why did you do that? (thinking: Idiot!)
Me: Oh, I love food so much and I was hungry, so hungry. (thinking: I hate dishes. Total Cooking Time = 1- 1.5 hr; Total Washing Time [Dishwasher Included] = 30-45 mins... 7 times a week. Again thinking: I hate dishes. I'm sorry dinner, you have to go.)

But, I'm too weak. I only break up to make up. Maybe I got it all wrong. I just need to figure out how I can eat delish food without the all the dishes, 1 hour worth. [OCD Sharing Time: All girls like to cook. All boys have to eat and then do the dishes; I just prefer not to. I just remembered why I ate out so much.]

Here is a picture I need to share...

PS... If you merely say or hint that you want a puppy/baby, you are liar and not ready to be a parent... unless you are ready to steal a baby or maybe part ways with one or more of your body parts, like phalanges or limbs. Until you are ready to make those kind of sacrifices, you should keep your comments to yourself-ves. (I used YOU as an universal YOU, not thinking of anyone in particular.)

I is for Idol...

2009-03-12T17:03:00.003-06:00

... This year, as with every year before, I swore off American Idol before the season started.

"Why won't they just let the show die?" I asked. It's obvious America is no longer interested in another made-for-tv mediocre singer. Eight seasons is seven seasons too many, I said.

When I heard they were bringing on another a judge, I was slightly tempted. And then I reminded myself that I was so over American Idol.

The singers are never that great, I said, and the wrong person always gets kicked off too soon (think Chris Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Johns). What's the point of watching? Besides, American Idol is totally second-rate compared to So You Think You Can Dance.

But sometimes, a show is a phenomenon because it really is that good.

And I am loving American Idol this season.

C is for Choir...

2009-03-11T15:01:00.003-06:00

... Alma and I got a special calling last Sunday.

As it was explained to us by the bishopric member, our married student ward has a high turnover. And there are a lot of members, but not so many callings. So there are some callings in our ward one doesn't normally find in a family ward.

Like ours: Ward Choir Members. Just think of us like this:

And yes, we were even sustained and set apart for it.

We'll now be attending church for four hours every Sunday. Yay.

V is for Vote...

2009-03-10T13:30:00.003-06:00

... Do you want to see your favorite newlywed couple on the cover of this magazine?

(The pic's a bit fuzzy, it the Utah Bride and Groom Magazine.)

If so, here's what you need to do:

1. Go to the magazine's photo contest website.

2. Find this picture (#1072) of me and Alma:

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and enter your name, email address, and our picture's number (1072). Click enter.

4. (Optional) Repeat with as many different email addresses as you have.

If we get the most votes, not only will we be on the cover of the magazine (yay!) but we'll also get a free canvas print from our photographer, Brody Dezember (double yay!).

Thanks for your help everyone!

S is for Snowboarding...

2009-03-09T16:46:00.003-06:00

... Alma and I went snowboarding on Saturday. It's one of the few activities we both enjoy doing. At least, that's what Alma thought.

I may have been a bit dishonest about my actual feelings toward snowboarding while we were dating. I may have gone snowboarding a few times last year with Alma and never complained once. I may have said that I really enjoy snowboarding. I may have actually gone so far as to buy snowboarding equipment.

Taking all that into consideration, it may have come as a bit of a shock to Alma on Saturday when, mid-way through our first run down the mountain, after falling for like the kajillionth time, I starting crying and yelling about how much I hate snowboarding and that I never want to go again.

Eventually I did make it down the mountain, and surprisingly, I even went down a few more times. But needless to say, that's probably the last time Alma and I will go snowboarding together.

Anyone in the market for some almost brand-new snowboarding equipment?

M is for March...

2009-03-06T15:01:00.003-07:00

... March has definitely come in like a lion.

After a week of relatively warm (60 degrees) and sunny days at the end of February, March has brought with it wind, rain, clouds, and snow. Miserable.

(There is a teeny, tiny, unselfish part of me that is slightly happy for the snow, because it means that Alma will have fresh powder on the mountain when he goes snowboarding. But that part of me is getting drowned out by the loud, selfish, complaining part.)

Here's hoping that March will go out like a lamb, but you never can know with this crazy Utah weather!

W is for Wednesday...

2009-03-04T14:52:00.003-07:00

... Wednesday is our favorite day of the week. Some reasons why Wednesday is so great:

At the end of the day, you're closer to Friday than Monday.

Lost is on.

We get to see Jared, Jeannie, and Jace.

Alma plays basketball.

I get to spend some girl-time with my sister.

... We always go to my sister's house to watch Lost, but this week they're out of town.

We're a little lost (haha, no pun intended) without our Wednesday routine. We miss you guys. Come home soon.

B is for the Bachelor ...

2009-03-03T16:40:00.004-07:00

... I don't know if all ya'll watch ABC's show The Bachelor, but last night's show was craaaazy.

I was at the gym last night, and because there was nothing better on the TV's, I watched the last two episodes of The Bachelor. Or maybe I should say the last episode, and then the follow-up to the last episode episode. I haven't seen any of this season, but last night's episodes sucked me right in. Too bad it's over with now. Or is it? Apparently, you never know with The Bachelor.

As I'm sure everyone knows, the last episode is the one where the bachelor picks one of two girls to propose to. So he dumped one, and proposed to the other, and they were so happy and cute together. I got a little emotional myself thinking of how happy Alma and I were when we got engaged. It was heartwarming. Exactly the kind of emotional response ABC wants you to have to the show.

AND THEN, not thirty seconds after the end of that episode, when you still have warm-fuzzy feelings, the "After the Final Rose" episode comes on. And guess what?

The bachelor has changed his mind. He made a mistake. He's actually in love with the other girl - you know, the one he dumped. He then proceeds to dump his current fiancee, and then ask the other girl for a second chance. By the end of the show, he's repeating all the things he said to the first girl when he proposed to her, except this time it's to the one he dumped in the last episode. How ridiculous is that? It was like a slap in the face to all of us who we're feeling so happy during the previous episode.

Reality shows are crazy, ya'll. They should be called: "A Distorted Reflection of Reality" shows. They sure make for some entertaining shows, though.

I is for Indian ...

2009-03-03T16:11:00.004-07:00

... Sunday night, Alma and I had an Indian food night in.

I've recently developed quite the addiction to Indian food. I don't know why, but I love it. I think the blend of spices in Indian food is delicious. Unfortunately, Indian restaurants in Provo aren't the cheapest thing around, and since we're trying to save our pennies right now, we don't go out much. Which means that I've had a serious unfulfilled craving for some chicken tikka masala.

So I've been trying my hand at making some Indian food. I've made chicken tikka masala, naan bread, red kidney bean curry, indian spiced cauliflower and potatoes, raita, and homemade hummus. Most of it was delish, but the tikka masala was a bit too spicy for me, and I am still jonesing for the restaurant kind. Alma liked it a lot though. I think next time, I'll halve the amount of red pepper called for in the chicken marinade. The kidney bean curry was my favorite. Alma, of course, thought it would be better with meat.

Below are links to the recipes I used. They were a lot easier than I thought they would be. Give them a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Indian Spiced Cauliflower & Potatoes and Raita
Red Kidney Bean Curry
Chicken Tikka Masala
Naan Bread
Hummus

R is for Rejected...

2009-03-02T15:14:00.003-07:00

... Sometimes in life, you get rejected.

Rejection hurts and it can derail you from your future plans.

But, as the trite saying goes, for every door that closes, another door opens.

Here's to new doors opening and the adventures that await beyond them.

A is for APX...

2009-03-02T15:02:00.004-07:00

... For anyone who has driven on the Utah County side of I-15, you'll have noticed some particularly obnoxious billboards of preppily-dressed/groomed young adults with the saying "I am APX." I've always detested those signs.

I've recently had a change of heart. Turns out, Alma and I are APX too.

That's right folks. Starting today, Alma will be providing "Security for the ones you love." That is, of course, if you're willing to buy the security systems he'll be peddling over the phone.

PS - A big thanks to Kaulana and Nicole for their help with this. We'll forever be in your debt.

C is for Cleaning ...

2009-02-23T15:10:00.004-07:00

... I dreaded the weekends growing up. Not because I loved school so much I never wanted to leave, but because every Saturday was cleaning day at my house. I hated cleaning! I always tried to get the easiest jobs and then did them as quickly as possible. I have to admit, I did a pretty half-baked job most of the time. Sorry Momma.

I was always afraid of having my own house, because I just knew I would never clean it. With no one to boss me around and force me to clean, my house would spiral into a filthy, messy den of iniquity. (Okay, maybe not the iniquity part, but definitely the filthy messy.)

But this Saturday (Saturdays have turned into my cleaning day too. I guess old habits die hard, or maybe I just don't have time to clean any other day of the week?) as I was rocking out to my favorite girly tunes and toothbrush scrubbing my kitchen sink, in my old scrubs with my hair pulled up in a handkerchief (literally), I came to the startling realization that I was actually enjoying myself.

What? Enjoy housecleaning? What had changed? Nothing, really. Except for the fact that I was cleaning my house, my home, and that made all the difference. What a difference a sense of ownership makes!

R is for Red Velvet...

2009-02-23T14:57:00.003-07:00

... This week I had to provide the refreshments for our office's February birthday party. I made this. People go crazy for a good red velvet cake. Something about the red color just seems to make it taste so much better. Despite the color, it really was delicious. Instead of using the cream cheese frosting between the layers of the cake, I used raspberry jam, and then put raspberries on the top of the cake for decoration. I wish I had taken a picture of it cause it turned out really pretty.

Smitten Kitchen is my absolute favorite food blog. I highly recommend you start reading it if you're into cooking at all. Her descriptions will make your mouth water, and the pictures are fantastic. She describes the cake better than I could, but I will just make one addendum to her recipe. Make sure you sift the powdered sugar for the frosting, or it will taste grainy. Sometimes I skip the sifting if I'm feeling lazy, but you don't want to do that with this recipe. Also, the cake was seriously easy to make and tasted great. Give it a try even if you don't like cooking from scratch.

E is for the Economy ...

2009-02-19T09:49:00.001-07:00

... So the economy seems to be in a spot of trouble these days. You know what I'm talking about. Second great depression. Japanese-style 10-year recession. Dow Jones at lowest in 6 years. Government stimulus plan, rescue plan, bail-out plan, no-idea-what-to-do plan. Everyone's losing their jobs, their houses, their retirement, even the shirt off their back. All this talk makes for a real big downer.

I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring the economic woes of our nation, seeing as how I have this cush job and all, but recently the economy has reared it's ugly head and shown me that despite my best efforts to pretend that nothing's wrong, the economy can affect even my little ol' average life.

The economy hit us personally this week, in a big way. Let's just say one of us is on the job hunt again, in a nearly jobless market. Fun, right?

What I'm trying to say is, the economy is lame. The funny part is, no one even knows for sure what the "economy" actually is.

T is for Tamales ...

2009-02-18T15:03:00.008-07:00

... Monday I had the great pleasure of making tamales with my mom and my sisters.

For those of you who don't know, my mom is from Mexico, which I like to think makes me quasi-Mexican. I may not actually have any Mexican blood in me, but I have learned to make some pretty great Mexican food over the years. Tamales are one of those.

Tamales aren't hard to make, but they are time-intensive and a lot of work. It goes by faster when you're doing it with others, so if you're going to make these, I'd recommend having a tamale party, and rolling them assembly line style. That's how we did it.

We loosely followed this recipe, improvising a bit on the flavoring of the meat and the amount of chicken broth in the masa.

Here's some directions and tips that might be helpful.

First, make the meat. We had one pork roast and one beef roast, so we just combined the two meats. But you can keep them seperate if you want. We crockpotted them over night, then shredded and seasoned them the next day. The more tender the meat is, the bettter. We like ours to be a little spicier than the recipe, so we added some chile enchilda sauce and extra chile powder. It turned out perfect.

While the meat is cooking, soak the corn husks in water, then pat them dry. Then mix up the masa. You want it to be spreadable, so don't make it too dry. We added about a cup more broth than the recipe called for in order to get it to the consistency we wanted.

Spread the masa on the corn husk with your fingers so that it's about 1/8 inch thick, and about 1/2 inch away from each side, and two inches away from the top and bottom.

Then put the meat down the middle of the masa. The higher the ratio of meat to masa, the better, but make sure you can still roll it without any problems.

Then take one side of the corn husk, fold it in half over the other, fold up the bottom of the corn husk into the roll, and finish rolling. (Did that make sense at all?)

After you've rolled the tamale, tie the open end closed with a long, thin piece of corn husk. A double knot will do the trick.

Then steam them and enjoy! The recipe link gives directions for steaming, but we had to almost triple the steaming time it called for. Don't get discouraged if your tamales aren't done after an hour, it took us almost three! The tamales are done when the masa is firm and stays together when the tamale is unrolled. Eat some fresh - that's when they're the very best!

You can freeze tamales cooked or uncooked. If cooked, just pop them in the microwave for a minute or so. If uncooked, let thaw, the steam as normal.

Home made tamales are delicious, so I hope you'll take the challenge and try making these. They are so much better than most you'll find in stores and even restaurants.

V is for Valentine's...

2009-02-17T10:05:00.002-07:00

... I've had lots of Valentine's days in my life. But I have to admit this Valentine's Day was the best.

I didn't go to a fancy restaurant. I didn't get any gifts or candy.

I spent it in Malad, Idaho, probably the least romantic place in the world. I spent it with my parents, my siblings and their spouses. We had a homemade dinner, and we had to clean up the dishes afterward. Kids were running all over the house, interrupting the meal and the conversation. And after dinner, we played a game that resulted in the women yelling at the men and vice versa.

Despite the fact that it was not your typical Valentine's Day, and definitely not what I had requested of Alma previously, it was the best Valentine's Day ever.

Why? Because I spent it with my family, the people I love most. And, above all, I shared it with my husband, the person I love most in the entire world.

And that trumps any amount of fancy restaurants, flowers, and gifts.

P is for Pizza...

2009-02-13T10:19:00.003-07:00

... Last night, Alma and I went here for a little pre-Valentine's Valentine's dinner. We love it. It's our favorite restaurant. We probably went there every other week while we were dating. So many big relationship decisions were made there over a delicious slice of wood-fired pizza.

We haven't been going as much since we got engaged - we had to tighten up the belt a little - but the staff still recognizes us and remembers our names when we go.

If you live in the Provo area and you're looking for somewhere to eat that's new, fresh, and delicious, go to Pizzeria 712. You won't regret it. The food is divine, the ambiance is sophisticated yet comfortable, and the staff is friendly and professional. And the prices aren't too steep, either. Go during the week or count on a long wait for a table on the weekends, but the wait will be worth it. If it's really busy, ask to sit at the bar and then chat with the chefs.

P is for Photography...

2009-02-12T16:15:00.003-07:00

... I just stumbled upon this wonderful news photography blog, The Big Picture. The photos are stunning. Anyone who likes news or photography should definitely check it out.

Just thought I'd share my latest discovery with ya'll.

L is for Language...

2009-02-12T14:37:00.004-07:00

... Hello readers of my blog. I'm writing specifically to you today, for I have a question that I need your help with.

Do you think it is the same to read a book with lots of swearing and to watch a movie with lots of swearing?

See, I'm in this book club. Our current book has some swearing, specifically the F-word. It's not on every page, but it does show up a couple times in every chapter. Definitely more than any PG-13 movie would swear.

I've never stopped reading a book because of language, but I won't watch most rated-R movies because of the language in them. I just hate hearing those words over and over again. But it has never bothered me as much to read those words.

It has occurred to me that my position might be slightly hypocritical. What do you think? Is the damage the same, regardless of whether you hear or read the word?

And if it is, does that mean we should avoid reading books with a lot of swearing in them? That rules out quite a few great works of literature. Hemingway, Steinbeck, Salinger, and O'Connor to name a few.

What is your opinion? How do you handle books/movies with a lot of swearing?

G is for Grumpy...

2009-02-11T12:52:00.008-07:00

... Don't mess with me today. I am in a bad mood. And since, as Bill Watterson* once said, "Nothing helps a bad mood like spreading it around," I'm going to tell you all about it.

I woke up late. Usually, I just don't shower when that happens, but after a night of tossing and turning and dreaming about spiders*, my hair was out of control and could only be tamed by a shower - thus making me even later.

The clothes I planned on wearing looked terrible and made me look lumpy, so I was forced to change several times, setting the clock back even more.

I had no time to do my make-up, so I've been at work all day looking like death warmed over.

I yelled at my laptop and at my husband. The laptop took it lying down, the husband didn't.

I yelled at the car in front of me on my way to work, and then yelled at a lady at work. She'd made the same mistake three times, but she probably didn't deserve to be yelled at.

Then I yelled at my favorite co-worker Rebecca for telling me my reasons for being in a bad mood were lame.

All this yelling at people makes me feel guilty, which makes me in an even worse mood.

I didn't get my homework done in time (I know, I know, that one's my own fault), so I was completely unprepared for class, which made me even crankier.

It's snowing, again.

The only good thing that has happened today is my co-worker Michael gave me a sandwich from Carl's Jr. in exchange for all the candy he eats from off my desk. Thanks Michael. You're like the one bright ray of sun on a miserably cold and cloudy day like today.

So like I said, don't mess with me today. Chances are, I'll probably yell at you too.

*Bill Watterson is the author of Calvin & Hobbes

*I saw a spider on my bed Monday night. It ran off before I could kill it, so I've been having nightmares of spiders biting me for the past two nights. It's keeping both me and Alma from getting any kind of good sleep.

J is for Jace...

2009-02-10T13:20:00.009-07:00

This is my nephew Jace:

He came to visit us the other day. This is how he showed up:
As a turtle/kung-fu/superhero/dragon-killer warrior.
Alma and I had lots of fun with him.
He helped me make dinner:
Then we ate dinner together, on the floor, because we still don't have a table.
Jace thought it was fun to eat on the floor. I didn't. Just ask Alma. He listens to me complain about not having a table pretty much every day.
Then we did the laundry, which Jace thought was great fun. He was mesmerized by the coin machine and loved pushing the laundry cart around the laundry room.
After helping me so much, Jace was tired out, so he and Alma watched Cars on the computer until his parents came to get him.
Thanks for coming to visit us, Jace. We sure had fun, and we hope you'll come again soon!