HELP!!!

So last night was my first official Enrichment Committee meeting. For the Relief Society Birthday Party we are doing a Purse Party. They are lots of fun, we have had them in past wards. The meeting went well, and we gave out the assignments. I was put in charge of the invitations, a score sheet for what's in peoples purses, and the program. THE PROGRAM!! Is she kidding? How can I be in charge of the program! She never came out and said it, but when I explained what my last ward did, she said that was a wonderful idea and that I should see if I can find a similar talk. Does this mean I have to give it too? She never said I did. But what would I say to someone else, "hey, would you be willing to give this specific talk for us? Thanks." Who knows, maybe that would be better.

Anyway, I am here to plead for help. If you have ever done anything like this in any way, shape, or form, please share your knowledge. Let me know if you have seen those score sheets and where I might find one. If you remember ever reading anything about what the contents of your purse say about you (or could represent, especially in the Gospel sense), please, pass it on. I am desperate here people. Thanks for your time.

Happy Birthday Dad!

As my mom said, today is my dad's birthday. But I don't think she bothered to mention how old he is. So I will take the liberty to do that now. He is 49 toady! Yay! From today until April 14th my mom and dad are the same age. Revel in it mom. Then you go back to being older.

Anyway, my Dad has always been my biggest supporter. When I was in school he always encouraged me to take as many classes as I could and to experience as many different things as I had time for. And I am always glad I did. Even though it took me 4 years to graduate. Heck, he was paying for most of it, so, why not take a lot of classes? He came to all my Young Women's Daddy-Daughter functions and has seen me speak in church numerous times. He taught Mason and Jeff in the 11 year old Scouts and is always around for help with math and science homework.

Last year I had the opportunity to do a website for my dad and learned a ton about him that I didn't know. He has been published! Did you know this? I think that it all was essays and such that he wrote with his professor about ergonomics stuff, but still! Published! He gave me a list of all his accomplishments and it was like 10 pages long. I didn't realize all the things he has done with his life. Its amazing. It reminds me of an episode of Simpson's that was on the other night (bare with me). Home was comparing himself to Edison, and seeing that by his age, Edison had already invented like, over 200 things. And I think that my dad isn't even 50, and that list was long! Go Dad!

Also, my dad has had a ton of cool jobs. I think my favorite was when he got to take pictures for Sky West. I have seen some of the pictures he took, and he explained that he was hanging out the open door of a propeller plane to take pictures of the new Sky West liners in flight. Amazing. He also worked at the airport weather station sending weather balloons up and collecting the data. He was in the Navy and went on Ambulance runs with the EMT's. I wish I could think of some more...Mom, help me out. Right now his job as a Safety Consultant (of sorts) allows him to travel all over the US, and has previously been to such cool countries as Japan and Kuwait. Recently he and mom went to southern Texas for a one day conference my dad was presenting at. Lucky.

I love my dad and I am looking forward to many more years with him. Happy Birthday Dad!

What my name means

I just jumped on the band wagon. I like what this says and I agree with about 98% of it. What do you think?

What Lena Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Happy Anniversary Amy and Jason!

Today is Amy and Jason M's 3rd wedding anniversary.  In honor of the event, and cause I just realized I do not have any recent pictures of the two of them together, I used this picture of their wedding day.  This picture cracks me up!  Amy is laughing and you never see Jason do stuff like this.  If it were Nik, no one would realize why this was different than every other day.  But its funny to think of Jason removing the garter with his teeth.  Good times.  Happy Day guys!

Some stuff about Nik, on Valentines day

I thought, since this is the Day Of Love, that I would do a short post about the man I love. Here is some information about Nik, and my relationship with him. Enjoy!


What is his name?:
Nikolaus Charles English, a.k.a. Nik, August Christopher, Nikolibodini, Boy, Boy Wonder, etc...

How long have you been together?:
Met in January 2004, started dating in March, broke up in May, got back together in June, and have been together since!

How long did you date?:
2 and a half years!

How old is he?
27

Who eats more?:
Definitly him

Who is taller:
He is!

Who said "I love you" first?
He did, but reciprocated by me right after.

Who can sing better?
Him, I cant sing

Who is smarter?
Depends on the subject....

Who does the laundry?
me

Who pays the bills?
We split them. I pay the little ones, and he pays the big ones.

Who sleeps on the right side?
of the bed? Him.

Who mows the lawn?
No lawn to mow, but I fore see it being me...

Who cooks dinner?
If we "cook" its usually me, but he has the abilities...

Who drives?
usually him, but if its my car, sometimes me.

Who is more stubborn?
I say him, he says me

Who kissed who first?
He kissed me first, but I didn't have any problems with it

Who asked who out first?
He asked me

Who proposed?
He did

Who has more friends?
Probably him. I get together with my friends more regularly, but he knows more people.

Who is more sensitive?
hmmm...

Who has more siblings?
He does

Who wears the pants?
I like it when he wears pants. Especially tight jeans....

Hey Mika!

Friday night Nik and I were lucky enough to attend a freakin amazing concert. Brittish musician Mika played his very first acoustic show at In The Venue down town.

Given the circumstances it could have been a bummer of a night, but because SLC has some amazing fans and Mika was an amazing guy, it turned out to be one of the top 5 concerts I have been to in my life. And I was there with Nik, so that makes it even better.

The evening started with me rushing home from work and then Nik and I rushing down town. The tickets said "doors at 6:00, music at 7:00" and we got there right at seven. As we approached the club there was still a HUGE line that wound around the building. I was astonished. I thought, "there is no way that this whole line is for Mika, and it can't be there still be a line, the doors opened an hour ago."

We parked and found my two friends Annie and Ally in line and stood in the cold and waited for the line to move. As we were standing and shivering and talking we started to hear rumers that Mika's band was stuck in Wyoming behind the road closures. He was here, but no band, and no instruments. That is why the delay. After standing in the cold for an hour (Annie and Ally had been there since 5:00) they finally started seperating us in to Ticket and Non-Ticket holders. That is a good sign. And we were ticket holders.

We finally made it to the front of the line (which meant a good pat down for the boys and a quick wave through for the girls. I love being a girl.) and were ushered in the back door where our tickets were stubbed and stamped and then we were given a $10 refund per ticket. Awesome! The four of us made our way to the 21 and over cage so we could get good spots high up. And we did. We were sitting on the raining behind the railing on the balcony. But we had an amazing view. The stage was small, but it was covered in wing back chairs and string lights. It was very intriuging. It was about 8:15 when we finally made it in out of the cold, but Mika didn't come out till about 9:00. This part of the reason for the refund. Oh, and the band. The band was there too. When he finally came out the place just about crumbled from the vibrations of the crowd. After greeting us, Mika went on to explain about the weather conditions and that they didn't have any of their real equiptment. And that this would be their very first acoustic show. And that he was terrified that it would suck. At this point everyone started cheering because we all knew that there was little chance that this show could suck.

Of course he opened with "Grace Kelly" and it was amazing. He said numerous times that because they didn't have the equiptment they couldn't play all of their songs. But that meant the only ones they didn't play were Big Girls and Happy Ending. We were bummed about both of them. But the rest of the show was fantastic! When they played Love Today, I thought the balcony would collapse with all the energy! The whole place was shaking. And they led right in to Lollipop, which just kept the energy going. It was amazing. AMAZING! I loved it!

Even though they only played for 45 minutes, it was well worth the ticket price. Even before the refund. Mika said that because the show went so well, despite the set backs, that they were definitly coming back to Salt Lake. I hope he is right! LOVED IT!!!!

Oh, and Annie took some pictures, so as soon as I can get her to post them, I will do the same. Or you can check out her link on my blog to check up on them your self. Yay Mika!

Ernie Fish, We Hardly Knew Ye

Saturday night we received some sad news.  Noah's fish of 10 months had died.  Noah's mom and I were at a bachelorette party for a friend when Noah called to tell us.  He was so cute about explaining the situation.  He even had to tell me himself after he told Laurie.  I felt so bad for little Noah.  He loved Ernie from day one and was a devoted owner.  He fed Ernie every night before bed, and knew that he loved to have the light on.  Nik and I have been invited to accompany Noah tonight to see if we can find a suitable replacement for Ernie Fish.  

The picture above is from Noah's birthday last April where Nik and I gave Ernie to Noah.  We didn't name him though, that was all Noah.  I etched the name on the bottom of the bowel, but unfortunatly the bowl is no longer with us either.  Oh well.  

I am honored that Noah would want us to come with him when he finds a new friend.  We love you Noah!

Elections?

So tomorrow is the Utah Primary. And no, I don't mean a large group of uncontrollable tweens. I mean its time to decide who we want on the November ballott. Have you made up your mind? If so, good. If not, please don't vote. I know, everyone needs to do their civic duty, but I am much opposed to guessing cause you want to feel included. Please don't close your eyes and stab the ballot poker where ever it lands. Thats how Bush got elected. If you want to vote, read up on the candidates. Multiple news stations have information on the web sites, CNN is a good one. I won't mention who I am going to vote for tomorrow, I may change my mind by then. Thank you.

ps- don't vote for Hillary

Happy Birthday Uncle Pres, Engagement, Explaination

Uncle Pres!

Happy Birthday yesterday to my Great Uncle Pres. His family held a big party in his honor last night at their house and we were invited. I love visiting Uncle Pres. For as long as I can rember he has been part of every major event in my life. This is even better because I have never had a lot of family around to celebrate with me at these times, so having him there made it feel more like the rest of the family was represented. He even came to my SLCC graduation. And he wasn't even obliated! The party was great and his daughter Elaine read some stories she had gathered from friends and family about Uncle Pres throughout his life. It was great to hear the ones from his siblings, they have the best dirt. Thanks Uncle Pres for always being there for our family. You are an amazing man!

These are all the things Pres is famous for saying. My favorite is "First thing Monday Morning." I should start saying that more often.
Mom reading her stories about Uncle Pres. They were pretty funny. She mentioned at time when I was little and Uncle Pres was trying to get me to laugh and it had the opposite effect. It resulted in months of saying "Is that Uncle Pres over there?" To get me to stop crying. I guess it worked especially well at church. Well it doesn't work anymore! I love Uncle Pres! He is always telling us he is the "rich uncle" and even introduced himself to Nik that way. And if your not careful he will "cut you out of his will." I hope I have been good.
In this one is Jeff on the left, Mom's cousin ( I think) John and his wife JJ and Mom's cousin Elaine.
This is me and Nik with Uncle Pres and his wife Bobbi. They are a great couple.

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Last night we were all waiting with bated breath for the call from Emilee saying she was engaged. True to form, Jeanne knew ahead of time and called everyone to let them know. I think that Emilee was the only one in a 50 mile radius that did not know she was getting engaged last night. They were great and came to see Nik and I while making the rounds, so we got to see the ring and get a first-hand account of the events. Emilee was giddy with excitement, and we are so happy for her.

The lucky man I named Gearold. (Said like Gare-old) He has been a part of Emilee's life a for a little while now. And a part of the family a little while after that. We all fell in love with Gearold right away, but it was Emilee that took her sweet time. But we are all estatic for them both, and can't wait for our new brother-in-law!

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Now for the expalination. Most of you may not have noticed, but just incase you did, and questioning my mental health, I will point out that I have changed the sub-heading on my blog. It now reads, "We're the new face of failure, prettier and younger, but not any better off. Only proof of lonliness, at best." This is a line from a Fall Out Boy song that I love. I know that it sounds a little depressing, but I am not dwelling on that. I just love the poetry of it. It says that we are the same as those that came before us. We strive and suffer the same. Maybe for different reasons, but but it is a struggle none the less. All the new things we have in this world only mask the problems we have underneath. We may look 'prettier and younger' but we are most likely not any better than the next guy. I think that it should humble us to think that we are not "better" than our neighbor. They are struggling the same as we are. Sorry if this has depressed anyone. I just like the lyrics.

Shameless Plug

Last Saturday my friends and I got together for what has become a traditional Tea Party. But this one was different. My friend Christi is starting her own catering business and we were her guinee pigs! The pictures below are of some of the beautiful things she uses to create the atmosphere that is so important at these parties. We are not formal or anything, but it really does make a difference when the room is decorated with girlyness. Christi has acquired so many beautiful pieces to display her wares. And she does all the baking herself. She is amazing. The chocolate cupcakes she made last time were divine. I don't realy know what else to say about Chirsti's new business...except maybe the name, yeah, that would be good. It is called Tranquilitea Parties. Notice the play on words. She has a blog that I have linked at the bottom of my list, so feel free to check it out. She is looking for all the business she can get, and I believe that her contact information is on her blog. If not, and you are interested, let me know and I will hook you up. Since she is so new in the business, her pricing isn't set, so you would need to contact her about that too. Enjoy the photos!

Flowers for me!

Last night Nik needed to do some picture taking for his painting class and it involved roses. Which means...Lena gets roses! Two dozen to be exact! Thank you Costco. Nik asked me if I cared that he wasn't getting the flowers just for me, and I told him no. What do I care the reason, as long as it results in pretty, pretty flowers in my living room? And because of the number, I have two vases full. One is the pottery pitcher that Al gave me and the other is a cool vase I got at a yard sale...I think it was from Emilee actually. But she was selling it at a yard sale. So I wasn't lying.

I will post pictures later, I was just so excited to get flowers again, I had to share it with everyone! I will also post some of the pictures that Nik took for class. They are pretty good.

Be Strong

I just have to express my thoughts about our beloved past Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. President Hinckley was the only Prophet I knew. I remember my mom calling me upstairs when I was 11 years old and having me raise my hand to sustain him during Conference. At the time I wasn't really interested in Conference and didn't know what was going on. I asked mom what that was for and she said, "We just got a new Prophet and I thought you might want to be a part of it." Thanks mom. She easily could have raised her hand to the square by herself in the family room, but she shared the moment with me, and now I have a memory of an important day in history. I am sure I will sustain more Prophets in my lifetime, but I will always remember President Hinckley as the first.

So far I have not cried over this loss. I feel very saddened by it, but I am not in mourning. I know that he is happy. I know he is with his childhood sweetheart.

I am excited for the new Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I know he was very close to President Hinckley, and will be very intune with the Spirit as well as what Hickley would have wanted for such a "peculiar people."

He will never be forgotten.

U23D

Oh. My. Gosh. That show was amazing! Ok, start from the begining. Four or five days ago I won tickets on 107.9 The Mixfor the U2 in 3D show at Jordon Commons. I had no idea what this was at the time, but thought, "hey, Nik likes U2 and the last few 3D shows I have seen have been half way decent, so what the heck." I actually got through twice while calling. Once as caller 6 and then again as number 10, so I won! Yay! Well, the show was last night at 9:15 so Nik had to get out of class early. Luckily Mr. McKay is awesome and lets Nik do what he wants.

We got there early and redeemed our pass for actual tickets. Before the show started the morning DJ (Jay Parker, who has hooked me up with quite a few fun things through out the years) handed out some prizes. I got a tee shirt because I won on the radio, and Nik got a CD cause they still had prizes left over and he aske for one. Lucky Nik. He got the Pat Monahan album, and is letting me listen to it. For those of you who don't know, Pat Monahan is the lead singer of Train, and is doing some solo stuff. I like it.




We all got to wear Bono glasses to complete the experience. When the show started, I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out that it was a U2 concert filmed live in 3D. So cool! The arial shot of the drummer was my favorite, but the bass player does some cool stuff with the 3D. They had a HUGE tower of screens that would show different images like a posterized version of Bono or this funny stick figure guy walking on a tredmill. It was pretty cool. The whole show was about an hour and fourty-five minutes. And worth every minute. And this is saying something because I am really not a huge U2 fan, and I was amazed too.


(ps-I think this is an awful picture, but here it is anyway.)

I encourage everyone to go see U23D at the IMAX Theater at Jordon Commons. They said it will run though mid February.

Quick post

This will be fast, I promise.

I found out the other day that I will not be staying at the Main branch here at Granite Credit Union. I will be moving to the Taylorsville branch at the end of January(ish). This branch is conveniently located at 4700S. and about 3100 W. This is even more conveniently located right around the corner from my parents house! This means many lunch hours with my mom. And dad if he is home. I am excited for this move because I have been missing my mom lately! And she just got to take this great trip to Texas, so it was even harder to have her gone for a week!

So I am excited to be so much closer to her so she can entertain me like she used to!

Icicle's, Rocking out with Noah, New Frog and New Couch Cover

Ok, if this works out I will have covered all the stuff I wanted to blog about.  Here it goes.

First here are some pictures of the icicles around my building here at Spring Hollow.  I originally took pictures of these pictures because I thought they were really cool looking.  After a revelation though, I grew to hate them.  A few weeks back I started to notice the carpet my side of the bed  (the one by the outside wall) was very cold.  A little while later I noticed that it was also wet.  Wet and cold.  Great.  When I finally reported it the repair guy said it was probably water backing up into my room from the drain pipe that was frozen solid with ice(the first picture).  He took his blow torch out and cleared off the icicles and gave me a heater and a fan to run so the carpet would dry out.  Amazingly enough...IT WORKED!!!  My carpet is all dry.  I was sad to see the ice go, but I was more glad to have my problem fixed.

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Saturday Nik and I enlarged our family again.  We added little Harvey to our frog tank.

Nik got to name this one and he chose Harvey because this one has brown spots on his back, so Nik said he looked like Two Face (from Batman). Here are a couple pictures of Harvey's entrance to his new home.

Harvey is the smallest of the frogs and he is right up front in the picture above.

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Another addition we made on Saturday was a new couch cover! It is what Emilee got us for Christmas (in the form of a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond...stay away from that Beyond section...). Unfortunately when we got to BB&B they did not have any covers that we liked. Ok, I take that back, we liked a bunch of them, but we didn't LOVE any of them. We decided that we would go to Target and search there before we settled for something from BB&B. After much searching for the Slip Cover section, we finally found someone to direct us. We looked long and hard before finding the best one. It is sage green and I love it. It is actually the same material and layout as the last one but with one very important difference...the seat cushions are in their own cover. That means that the whole cover is not screwed up every time you sit down. I am very anal about my couch cover always falling off. This new idea of having the cushions in their own cover is making my life much less stressful. The best part about this find is that it was on clearance for $22. That is amazing in the world of couch covers. And now we can use our Bed Bath gift card for something extremely useless. It will be lots of fun!

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Last but not least is to spot light a budding talent. Nik and I brought Rock Band (surprised?) over to Lou and Ten's so Kersten could see its coolness. Lou was nice enough to let us play while she was feeding the baby, who we found out is not a big fan of Nirvana, Ok Go, or Red Hot Chili Peppers. Too bad. Kersten loved playing, but I think the star of the show was Noah as he rocked out on the drums. I don't think he missed a note (of course the drums were not plugged in, but he was doing awesome hitting the colors in the right order and playing with the sticks the right way). He was upset when we told him we were done and needed to put it away. I think his parents could have a budding musician on their hands! I am going to try and post a short video I took (with my sweet new camera) so you can all see how cool Noah is!

A post for Lou

Hey, Lou!  Nik and I are watching Music and Lyrics and we just figured out the real reason you named your new daughter Sofia.  Because it is Drew Barrymore's characters name in the show!!!  All that talk about it being a family name...that was just to get Kersten to agree to it, wasn't it?  You are a sneaky one Lou, real sneaky.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008 everyone! I have so many things to blog about, I guess I should start at the beginning. I have tons more pictures than I have posted, but I think these give a good idea of what the evening was like.

Nik and I really wanted to have friends over for a party, but our place is so small that it never would have worked out. My parents were wonderful and offered to let us have our party at their house. I am so glad they did! We only had three friends over, but with the rest of the family it ended up being a full house anyway! Mom and Dad had put out quite a spread so you know we didn't go hungry.

Lisa also brought her New Years tradition of Lil Smokey's, which were a big hit!

Of course, Nik can't go anywhere where more than two people will be with out pulling out Rock Band. That was also a big hit. This is Lisa on drums, Jake on guitar and Nik on vocals. They played for about 2 hours occasionally switching band members. I even jumped in on vocals a couple of times. My little brother Jeff is a wiz on the drums and helped out a couple times as well. While the jam session was going on my mom and I were playing Boggle. I am not quite sure why I keep subjecting myself to this. My mom is one of the best Boggle players ever...right next to my Grandma. I love playing, but I always get my rear end handed to me when I play mom. Seth came over in the middle of the blood bath and challenged a couple of our words. It was pretty funny watching Seth look up the words on his phone on Google.com.

This is how Dad spent the night. Relaxing. I think. He wouldn't participate in much, but he did observe everything. He was a big help with Boggle though.

After the count down and the ball drop and the kissing, we went out side for some fireworks. Mom must have been stashing them cause there were way to many of them to have been left over. It was a ton of fun! We all got a couple of sparklers and Seth and Jeff lit the magic whips. They were loud.

This is Jake and Lisa, two of the friends that came over. We love them.

Dad played short order cook by fixing everyone custom eggs while we watched the movie Murder By Death. I love that movie. I want to own it very badly. People started going home after they finished their eggs. It was a good night.

This is how Nik and I finished the night. All tuckered out.

Christmas and What-Not

***Caution! Pictures are not necessarily organized.***

Christmas at our house was pretty laid back. We woke up early, well, early for Nik and opened presents and ate breakfast. Nik got me a Nintendo DS with the game Big Brain Academy. Awesome game. He also got me the new Fall Out Boy CD, which I love. I got him a bunch of little things. A blue base ball T shirt from Old Navy, a U of U hoodie, (probably the hit of the bunch) new shoes for work, red plaid slippers, some uncirculated Presidential Dollar coins (they are in a vault tube and everything. If you do not know what they new Dollar coins look like click on the title link), and some stocking stuffer toys. *Cause he did't get many toys for Christmas, we agreed to let him buy Rock Band the next day.* We took our time getting ready, knowing that it would be the last time it would be chaos as soon as we stepped outside.



First we went to my parents house to see the haul over there. The boys were spoiled as usual, but I can't say much because mom and dad got us a new digital camera. Which I love! It is possibly the bestest camera in the whole wide world. We got the parentals a new board game called "Urban Myth", we have never played it before, but it looks like fun. I am hoping to play it tonight at the Shindig.



After a couple hours at the Dumas household we trecked to the Thelin watering hole. All the kids were meeting at Al and Jeanne's at 2:00 for food, gifts and fun. We were all spoiled by each other and our hosts. Nik and I got a gift card from Emilee's family along with a very accurate depiction of Nik and I sitting on our red couch. This was sculpted out of clay by Em and her kids. It is really awesome! We gave Audrey and Danny "The Simpson's Movie", Kara a Barbie doll and a Snow White puzzle, and Christopher some cool blocks that connect easily. He is only one and a half.



Al made all the kids (and me) these amazing keepsake boxes for pictures. Mine was filled with pictures my parents picked out of me growing up. Some of them are really cute! The rest of the boxes will receive installments of "The Photo of the Month Club" from Al and Jeanne. They are great photographers and I look forward to seeing the pictures. We also got these great pottery pitchers done by a friend of theirs. Lou made this comment too, but its true that even though they were handed out at random, everyone seemed to think that theirs fit them the best. Mine was the skinniest. More straight up and down. I love it. It also missing the artist stamp, cause, you know, I can't be branded :)

After the festivities winded down, we went to visit Talina and David at her parents house for a few minutes before they headed back to Provo. It was good to talk to them. I am hoping they make it to the shindig tonight too.

Christmas with Charlie and Kaytee was held a couple days early at the Flurer residence and involved much spoiling. We all got Pj's as usual and the girls got the Willow Tree Nativity Shepherds. They are so beautiful. I hope I have a place to put them out next year. Nik got some tools and a calendar. It was a crazy fun time. Oh, and Gerald brought the best BBQ sandwiches I have had in a long time. And some great sweets from Schmidt's Cottage. Great place.

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Nik and I both had to work the rest of the week, so it was back to the grind stone pretty quickly. Friday night Nik and I went on a search for a new frog, but the efforts were fruitless. No new frog yet. That same night we had a few friends over to play some games. Of course Nik wanted to show off Rock Band so we played a couple songs then got to the Mutant killing. We have a long standing tradition of playing these X-men games with Jake and Lisa when Jake is in town. We play other times, too, but we make it a point to play with Jake. This time it was Jake, Lisa and Brock that came. Brock is a new comer to our house and to the games. It was interesting to play with someone new. We missed Fat Jeron though.




We got together again on Sunday, this time at the Slade's. There was a bigger group of us this time, so we played Werewolves. If any of you have played the game Moffia, it is very similar. It is so much fun. I think Nik and I might get it for ourselves soon. You have to have at least 8 people to play though, so that might be a issue. To me the game feels kind of like a Murder Mystery, and you all know how I feel about those! We had a blast last night and were there WAY too late. Probably not a good idea since we have to stay up late again tonight. At least we don't have to work tomorrow morning.

New addition!

I know this is old news by now, but I just had to brag about my beautiful new niece, Sofia Caroline. She was born Friday morning and was a healthy 7 lbs 11.5 oz. and 21 inches long. She is possibly the most beautiful baby in the whole world. Nik and I were just dying to see her all day on Friday and had to wait till after 6 o'clock when we both got off work. Luckily we were able to sneak in and hold her for a few minutes each amongst the mob of visitors. This baby is definitely loved. We were teasing Kersten at the hospital that this must not be his child, it was just too cute, but then Lou pointed out that that would entail infidelity on her part, and we couldn't sully her good name, so we took it back. Great job Ten!

I love this baby so much already, I can't even imagine what her parents are feeling. I feel so blessed to be a part of this child's life, right from the beginning. I was going to post more pictures I took at the hospital, but Blogger is fighting me, so I just got the two. I am sure more pictures will be posted soon. If anyone is anxious for more Sofie action, check out the links to Amy, and Lou on the right hand side of my blog.

Congratulations Laurie and Kersten!

My attempt at Christmas treats

Ok, it's time for another update.  I mentioned earlier about Mom and I making Christmas cookies, but I have made some treats of my own in the last few days.  Mom gave me the idea, and even let me sample a finished one.  I don't know what to call them...maybe Pecan Toppers.  Yeah, that sounds good for now.  So, to make these Pecan Toppers, (oh, mom got the recipe from her mom, and I think Grandma got it from Aunt Tammy, before that, I don't know) you take the square waffle pretzels, lay them out on a foil covered cookie sheet, place the little square bite sized Dove Bars on each pretzel, then a pecan half on each of the chocolates.  Heat the oven to about 250 degrees and put in your pan.  Make sure you watch them so they don't get all liquidy, but they do need to be nice and soft.  When you can smoosh the pecan into the chocolate just a little, they are done.  Take them out and let them cool.  When they are solid again you can move them to another location, like a zip top bag or a Tupperware-esque container.  I made these candies to give to my neighbors and visiting teaching ladies.  The ones I visit.  Only I made them a little different.  I used Rollo's instead of Dove Bars.  Its the caramel addiction, it gets me every time.

The first batch turned out great!  The melted just right and look spectacular!  So much so that I decided I would make another one.  This one didn't work out quite as well.  The oven was just as hot as it was last time, they were set up the same as last time, but for some reason, they would not melt right.  When I checked on them at the time they should have been done and checked one to make sure, the chocolate just cracked and the carmel spilled out.  Bummer.  So I put them back in.  A few minutes later I go back to check again, with the same results.  Double bummer!  Frustrated, I turn the heat up by a miniscule amount (just enough to make myself feel like I had done some thing) and return the pan.  Now, maybe what follows could have been prevented if I had been keeping a closer eye on the candy.  Maybe not.  While I am sitting with Nik watching TV I suddenly realize that I smell something a little burn-y coming from the kitchen.  Shoot!  I race to the oven and grab my pan out (safely of course) only to find that I am too late.  Every one has melted to the point of pecans sliding off and caramel oozing all over the pan.  I am crestfallen.  I just ruined all these candies!  I let them cool on the pan and later that night I pulled one off to try.  Surprisingly, not bad.  I can taste a slightly "dark" essence in the caramel, but other than that, no harm done.  They do not look pretty, but hey, beauty is only skin deep.  

So I put them on the bottom of the bags I have given out.  This allows me to give out way more than if I had scrapped that pan.  Plus, I can just eat any left overs.  That is the best part.  

Ok, I have to go to Tithing Settlement now.  

New Job!

Hello all!  I just wanted to share my good news with everyone!  Today I got a new job!  I had an interview with Granite Credit Union this afternoon and by the end of the interview I was offered the job.  Now, I know this sounds a lot like the last time I got a new job, but I am hoping this is different.  

I heard about the job through Mason's girlfriend Ashlee, but I don't know if I will work at the same branch as her.  The pay isn't as high as I would like, but it is a good start.  The best part is that the benefits kick in much sooner than the last job.  And I get all those great bank holidays!  I was thinking when I got out that Noah must have prayed for me too.  He has some pretty strong prayers.  Thank you to everyone who helped me keep busy during my down time and prayed for me to get another job.  I am really glad to be employed.  

Christmas Cookies!

Yesterday I was able to do something that I haven't done in years.  Make Christmas cookies with my mom!  When I was little, it seemed like mom made these traditional cookies every year, but their production has slowed in the past years.  

The day started with talking ourselves in to actually making the cookies.  It's always easier to say you want to make cookies than to actually start to do it.  But we did, and started with the Almond Lace Wafers.  These are made by melting butter (lots of it) in a sauce pan with sugar, almonds and a tiny bit of milk, cream and flour.  When this is a syrup you spoon it on to very greased cookie sheets and bake for 8 minutes.  Remove and let cool till you can lift the edges with our ripping, turn out on some paper towels and VERY carefully roll up on the handle of a wooden spoon.  They are still very hot at this point.  if you cook them too long (which we did at first) or if you let them cool too long (which we did) or not long enough (which we did) they will crack and shatter.  At that point the only thing you can do is eat the pieces.  Oh well!

In between batches of ALW we mixed up a double batch of sugar cookie dough.  This is the same recipe we have always used, and surprisingly, it is the one from the Cookie Press book.  Don't mess with a classic.  We decided to put these through the press, as opposed to chilling and rolling them out (may not have been easier in the long run).  We used the Christmasy designs and did many variations on them.  I brought mint-chocolate Kisses and mini chocolate chips which we used on the Wreaths and Trees (respectively).  The wreaths look like Thumb Print cookies.  Its pretty cool.  

We stopped at two types of cookies for the day, the sugar cookies took most of the day!  Mom says she wants to make Mexican Wedding Cakes too, but that will be later.  I was sent home with a tupperware of the finished product.  I considered giving them out to my neighbors, but I think I will just eat them myself!  I really wish we had pictures of us making them, and since I don't have my camera yet, I don't have any pictures of the finished ones either.  Oh well.  They taste amazing, so that will have to be enough.  

Thanks mom for letting me help you make cookies this year!  It was so much fun!

Merry Christmas!

I've Been Christmas Tagged!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
It is always more fun to open wrapped gifts, plus, I LOVE to wrap them, so I go for paper!

2. Real tree or artificial?
We had a real tree for a long time when I was little, but eventually got into the fake stuff, and we inherited a fake tree, so thats what we use now.

3. When do you put up the tree?
When ever we get around to it.  This year it was the first week in December.

4. When do you take the tree down?
When ever we get around to it.  

5. Do you like eggnog?
Not at all.  I even tried some Eggnog ice cream to see if maybe I had grown out of my distaste for it...nope.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Well, I don't remember the big gifts, my mom says i had to have a Popples when I was little, and I still love that Popples, so that was probably my favorite as a small child.  When I was in high school mom and dad gave me some Mall gift certificates and I bough a sweet-awesome winter coat. That I still wear.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, as of last year, I have two. I was given my first one last Christmas from my Step-mother-in-law, a Willow Tree one with a cool metal stable and star.  Shortly after Christmas last year Jeanne gave me her Chile Nativity and that is the one we put up this year.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
This year it is Nik, but normally he is easy to buy for.  And he got my present weeks ago, and everyone says it is so cool, I am nervous for the little things I got for him!

9. Easiest person to buy for?
My mom is pretty easy to buy for.  I can always think of stuff to get Mom.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?
I do neither.  I love receiving the cards, so I guess Mail.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
Muppets Christmas Carol, hands down.  I also enjoy The Year Without a Santa Clause ( "They call me Snow Miser, whatever I touch, turs to snow in clutch.  I'm to much!  Da Da Da-Dum!)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
When ever I find something good.  I try not to do it too early though, cause what if they get it for themselves before christmas!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Um...I cant remember.  I have been told I have received recycled gifts before, but usually its from my girl friends, and I asked for them.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
I am really looking forward to mom Almond Lace Wafers this year.  She hasnt made them in a long time, and they are to die for!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
I really like clear on the tree with lots of colorful ornaments, but I like the colored ones on the windows.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
I love the Christmas Hymns, and it never seems like we get to sing them all.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home?
I really like to travel, but only to St. George, which is filled with family.  I like staying home with Nik now, but the day before and the day of are filled with running around the valley to visit all the family here.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph, Olive.  I love how people think they are all original when they mention Olive.  

20. Angel on the treetop or a star?
Mom had an angel, we have a santa hat.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
We get to open Grandma's on christmas eve, but everything else is Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
I HATE being cold.  And it can't be helped.

23. What I love most about Christmas?

Being with my husband no matter what we have going on outside the house.

Giving Thanks a Month Late

For those of you who don't know already, I lost my job last Friday. Merry Christmas.  Well, I am on the fence about what to do now.  Get a temp job over Christmas because everyone is hiring, or do I hold out for something that might be a little more permanent.  Decisions.  

This time at home, reflecting on the finances has made me realize how much we already have.  Now, not having a job is going to make the monthly payments a little tight, but it could be so much worse.  

For example, we both have coats, hats scarves and gloves to get us through the cold.  

The light in the kitchen burned out yesterday, and we had light bulbs in the pantry.

I amy not like cooking, but we actually have the makings for quite a few good meals.  Even if it is spaghetti a few nights a week.

We have plenty of blankets so we can turn the heat down. Save a bit of money on the bills.

I have great parents who are willing to let me do my laundry over at their house a couple times a week.  And feed us all the time.  Lots of food coming from my parents.

There are lots more things, but those are a few of the ones I have been thinking about recently. Oh, and I am very grateful that Nik got that raise a couple months ago, so at least we know we can survive off his income if we have to.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us out so far, and to those who have prayed for us!

Fasion A-B-C's

I stole this from Lou's blog, and I hope someone steals it from me!

A: What accessories do you wear everyday? Wedding ring and CTR ring I got at 16, a Nightmare watch my brother gave me (almost everyday) and usually my pearls, to Nik's dispair.

B: What is your beauty routine? Face wash, day solution, moisturiser (the TimeWise set from Mary Kay, my salvation), straighten hair, goop hair, makeup  in the car.

C: What was the last item of clothing (for yourself) that you purchased? I got a couple new shirts from Down East Clothing, at Seagull Book.  I love them!

D: Do you use a dresser, closet, or both? Both, I guess.  Most of my clothes are in the closet, and I keep my unmentionables in a dresser drawer.

E: What type of earrings are in your ears right now? small diamond ones I got for my high school graduation.

F: What type of figure do you have? Relatively short, skinny, but well proportioned. 

G: Do you wear glasses? Only at night.

H: What type of handbag do you carry? Its a messenger bag that has the Muppet Show logo, Nik gave it to me.

I: What is your ideal of style? alternative trendy

J: What jewelry are you wearing right now? afforementioned rings, pearls and earings

K: Do you wear knee-hi stockings? I dont wear stockings

L: Do you *have* to wear matching lingerie? underware yes, lingerie, no.

M: Do you wear makeup? Every day.  If I dont have time to the whole shebang, I just put on mascara. 

N: Do you wear nightgowns? Nope. I wear an oversized Utes sweatshirt and my favorite pajama pants.

O: What outerwear do you put on when going out on a typical winters day? My coat, scarf, little gloves.

P: What is your favorite perfume?Little Black Dress from Avon.  You cant get it anymore. :(

Q: Is your motto "quality over quantity" when it comes to clothing and accessories? Um, yes? I only buy both if they are on sale, so sometimes its quality, and sometimes its quantity

R: Do you wear rain boots? No, but I would love too

S: Do you wear socks or slippers when your feet get cold? I like slippers, I have a great pair that Vivian gave me years ago that I have just about worn out.

T: Do you have a set of travel luggage? We use Nik's mission stuff, and it works just fine!

U: What is your daily uniform? Jeans and a tee shirt.  If I can find a shirt that is cuter than the standard Shade, I will wear that, but its usually a shade.

V: If you are married, did you wear a veil with your wedding dress? Yes, I considered not wearing one, and truthfully, probably the only reason I wore one was because we found it cheap at D.I.

W: Do you wear a watch? Everyday. If I remember!

X: What item of clothing always makes you feel eXtremely beautiful? Not a lot right now. As long as my pants are not falling down and my shirt covers my whole belly

Y: What is your favorite type of yarn? The soft kind.

Z: Do you prefer zippers or buttons? Zippers on jeans, buttons on Blazers,