thanksgiving and the beginning of the holidays

For Thanksgiving we went to Iowa and had a relaxing time with my family.  We ate lots of treats, went out to all my favorite restaurants as usual (does my vacation seem like it revolves entirely around food?), learned how to fold fancy napkins, went thrifting, saw Harry Potter, slept in late, did not do homework, were freezing, and most importantly spent time with family.  Shea was there, which was especially fun, considering this was the first time I had seen her in over two years.  I was happy to start the holiday season off with my family and am looking forward to spending the rest with Tanner's.  We are so lucky to both have such great families.

attempting to take a family photo via self-timer, turned out pretty cute

The only thing between me and Christmas break is two ten page papers, one four page paper, and five finals.  I can do it!! I think...

A Christmas Miracle

Our house is at least a century old and probably older.  We love it, but it definitely has its challenges...for instance how there are no closets, how there is no central heating or ac, how we don't have a dish washer or washing machine, how there is no shelving space, how most of the outlets only have two sockets instead of three, and oh yeah how those outlets seem to appear in random spots so you have millions of cords weaving around the entire house...but all of these seemingly inconveniences make me love this house so much more because they usually become puzzles to solve or creative projects.  Plus, a lot of the things I listed really aren't that big of a deal anyway.  The heating system seems to work pretty well so far, we haven't dealt with the ac issue yet, we do our laundry once a week at Tanner's parents, having to actually wash our dishes by hand has made us cleaner overall, and no closets or shelving space has made us actually sort through all of our random stuff, making our house more organized.  But the outlet problem never ceases to be an annoyance, especially in the kitchen and living room.  I feel like we have SO many extension cords and power strips.  We even have to plug the toaster oven into an extension cord across the kitchen to use it.

Last night we were setting up our Christmas tree and as you can now imagine, I was thinking about which extension cord and outlet we should use - or if we were going to have to buy another extension cord - just to plug in the Christmas tree lights.  That's when the miracle happened.  We moved the armoire we keep in the living room a little to the right to make room for the tree and voila! there was an outlet I've never seen before.  No need for an extension cord at all.  Picture evidence to follow.  

example A: toaster oven connected to two
socket extension cord.

example B: giant power strip connected to
hundreds of cords.

final product/a christmas miracle - no

extension cord needed!

tired&sleepy husband on a snowy sunday

Happy (early) Christmas season to all!

please alway parking here more better

I found this hilarious note as I was "cleaning" today and I meant to blog about this (shhhh) months ago.  For some reason I had left my car at Elizabeth's house overnight, which is only 5 or 6 blocks away from our apartment, and when I woke up the next morning, I realized what I did and had to practically run over to her house to make it to class in time.  When I saw someone had left a note on my car - which usually entails something nasty and rude - I felt annoyed, until I actually read it, after which I couldn't stop laughing.

I guess I did a bad parking job.

Vegas 2010

This past weekend we drove to Vegas for Gus's first birthday party, and I cannot believe it was only one year ago that we drove down on a Saturday morning for a very short 24-hour trip to meet him for the first time.  When did the years start going by so fast?  Maybe I'm getting old.  Anyway, it was an especially fun trip because we got to hang out with Johnny & Heather & Eliza, Vicky & John, Azy's mom - Allison, and of course Chris & Azy & Gus.  And of course, no trip to Vegas is complete without losing a little money to the roulette table and being hypnotized (i.e. attempted to be hypnotized) by a street hypnotist on the strip.  Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of those events, but I did document Gus's party, which was way more fun anyway.

Gus and his birthday cake that he was so nervous to touch

so fun to see Johnny&Heather

Birthday boy and his family

Eliza wearing her dress that she refused
to take off all weekend - so cute

Tanner and Gus

Gus and Eliza both distracted with something over my head

no birthday party is complete
without party hats

And not to steal Gus's thunder - but it is November 11th - which means a happy happy birthday to Vicky!  Check out her birthday post on Carly's blog here.

i am a chronic "loser" of things

Today was freezing and I think it is only going to get colder.  When it gets really cold, my hands and feet shrink, kind of like the wooden doors in the house I grew up in.

Tonight at work, I kept noticing that my wedding ring was sliding around, but I didn't think much about it until I realized it wasn't there at all.  I had just dropped off a check to a table of three (high maintenance) girls and when I felt for it as is my habit, there was nothing there.  Of course I could not remember the last time I had noticed it on my finger, all I knew was that I definitely wore it to work.  At first I was pretty optimistic about finding it - especially with the help of the other waitresses - but after digging through all of the disgusting trashes (seriously disgusting...wet wipes, used napkins, slurped on edamame, old stinky fish....) and sorting through the linen bag with still no luck, I started to feel panicky and on the edge of tears.  Now, I'm the first to say that a ring is just a ring, but it really has come to mean a lot to me and I felt sad thinking I would never have the original ring Tanner asked me to marry him with.

The restaurant was all swept and there was still no sign of my ring.  I knew it had to be in the restaurant somewhere, but I started to think I had missed it in the trash and the thought even crossed my mind that one of the girls from my table had to have taken it, even if by accident (silly me).  Finally, my last table - a party of eight - left and as I was bussing their table, I started to stack the little soy dishes onto the kids meal bento box and guess what I find sitting among the crispy wonton chips?  Yes - in the kids meal, there it was!  I was really surprised the kid - who was probably 8-10 years old - didn't see it mixed in with his food and I'm really glad he didn't accidentally eat it.  But seriously, I don't understand how no one saw it.

In case you didn't know, I lose things all the time.  Mostly my keys and an occasional article of clothing, but I am pretty used to losing my stuff and Tanner is pretty used to me texting him in the morning freaking out about not being able to find my stuff.  Well, the other day I was on my way to school and I was looking for my debit card to bring with me to campus so I could buy myself lunch.  I was nervous because when I looked in my wallet, my license was gone too, which caused me extra stress knowing I would need it to get to Iowa in a couple of weeks.  So I came home from school early because I develop ulcers over things like this and I was texting Tanner about it the whole time.  I felt like I looked everywhere - every pair of pants that I own, every jacket, every purse, in the couches, and I couldn't find it.  Tanner walked in the door a little while later while I am still searching and he lifts up the mail sitting in the little basket we keep next to the front door and my license and debit card are of course plain in sight.  He threw them on the floor laughing and I ran into the kitchen covering my face because really, I felt sheepish! (sheepish is my new favorite word, right tanner?)

Well that's about as exciting as it gets on a Monday for me and Tanner.  I guess the moral of these stories is don't have me watch anything important for you - except you Elizabeth - I promise I take great care of your clothes!

fall is here!

You never know for sure with Utah, but I think it is has finally decided to be fall.  I took this picture from our cute little apartment roof and if you look close, you can see it is starting to snow in the mountains.  One of my favorite things about living in Utah is when it is snowing in the mountains, but not in the valley.  I love how the mountains look when the clouds are covering the summits and how they look all snowcapped afterward.  It's not something you get to see everyday, or ever, in Iowa.  Now the only thing I want to do is drink hot chocolate, sit on my couch with a blanket, and read a book.  I guess studying for my finance test sort of fulfills that dream, right?

Danielle.

This lovely lady entered the MTC to serve an lds mission a few weeks ago and she just made her way to Florida for "the real thing" yesterday.  We sure miss her but we know she is going to be an amazing missionary that will impact the lives of everyone she meets only for the better.  If you want to keep up with how she is doing, go here to read letters, leave her a message, or look at the latest pictures from her mission.  

no more braces!

I have been braces free for nearly a month and it's almost like the previous 9 months were a dream. And I have to say, I enjoy having perfectly straight teeth more than I thought I would.  Thanks to Danielle, I now have pictures documenting every moment of the whole process.  I went from 14 years old to...well, 17 or 18, in less than an hour!  Maybe someday I'll be in my twenties.

Before - who wouldn't want these off?

Danielle as the cute assitant

I think this is my "oh my gosh, they're off!" face

tah-dah! the final product

a tuesday evening

This week is one of those really busy weeks in school and I have so much I could be doing, but all I can think about is how I only have 5 more days of braces.  I should probably make a paper chain countdown or something.

our new home

We recently moved back to Provo into the cutest place in town.  I love it.  It has beautiful hardwood floors, high vaulted ceilings, and a lot of personality.  It is an older place, so it has been a challenge figuring out where to store things (like clothes that usually go in closets, for instance) and how to keep things organized, but we have definitely enjoyed the project...and the only room that still needs some work is the little room with blue walls, which right now, is kind of a junk room.  Enjoy.

tumblr

i am going to try out tumblr for a little bit.  i want to update more and i think i might like it better than blogspot.  if not, i'll come back here eventually, or maybe i'll end up using both.  who knows!  but if you want to "follow" me go here.

RIP "the rey" (my car)

I was driving to Park City Tuesday with my music turned up almost as loud as it could go (first bad idea) when I noticed my 1990 Toyota Corolla was having some trouble getting up the hills.  I started to get a little worried when I was flooring it and it was barely going 50 mph and I became very worried when the speedometer started dropping below 40, so worried that I turned my music completely off.  And then I heard this funny noise and I had a feeling my car was not going to make it up the hill, so I pulled over and it died on the shoulder of Highway 40 right next to Jordanelle Reservoir, which by the way is not the same thing as Deer Creek.  I'm sure that's why the tow truck (and Danielle) had such a hard time finding me.

My car apparently ran out of oil which caused the engine to cease, which basically means no more car.  And the best part about it is that I can't even tell you how many times my dad has told me to check the oil, but I promise that despite his frequent reminders, checking my oil never even crossed my mind.  After waiting an hour on the side of the highway, I guarantee I will probably be so paranoid I won't be needing any reminders.

Well, it's time to move on, but it was a good car.  Rest in peace "The Rey."

our new baby

We made our first big purchase and we're loving it.  We decided to buy a 27'' iMac desktop with our tax return mainly because we figure Tanner needs it for school/work/internship/the future/etc.  But I'm not going to lie, it makes looking at my blog a lot more fun, too.  Apparently I'm behind on the times because when we were getting everything out of the box and setting it up, I asked, "Wait, where is the actual computer part?"  Tanner informed me that the screen IS the computer.  This is so futuristic.  

a midwest summer

It is officially summer break for a good 2 months for me and officially a mini summer break for Tanner for another couple of weeks.  It is so nice for us both of us to have a break from our chaotic schedules at the same time...and what better way to spend (part of) our break than take a vacation to Iowa?  I mean, isn't Iowa the obvious choice for anyone's summer vacation? That's what I always thought anyway.  Well let me tell you, in case you don't believe me, it is hard to beat a midwest summer, and even harder to beat a vacation that involves spending time with family that you haven't seen in six months.

We had so much fun in Iowa.  We went to the new pool everyday, went on bike rides, watched storms roll in every night, witnessed my basement flood (again), almost witnessed the river overflow and flood the town, visited my little sister at her first real job at Tropical Sno, marveled at how tall my little brother is (and how deep his voice is), ate at almost all of my favorite restaurants (and ate home-cooked meals from my mom), went to my cousin's lemonade stand, and watched Glee every night until 2AM.  Overall, I would say the whole thing was refreshing.

Refreshing to be away from school, refreshing to be away from work, and refreshing to be in a place where most people really don't care about the superficial things of life.  I think that is why Iowa is so great to me - when you're there, you don't feel any pressure to be something you're not.  Some might say Iowa is just three years behind, but I think it has somehow preserved a mentality that has been lost by many, one that focuses on the simple things of life.

I didn't take a ton of pictures while I was there for some reason but here are a few we took the morning we left.

(hunter had already gone to scout camp and shea is in italy)

love. by the way, we have almost been married for one whole year! can you believe it? I expect all of you to be planning your next vacation to Iowa, just make sure it's in the summer.  Hope to see you soon, Iowa!

long time waiting

It has been a month since I last posted - I know you were all checking everyday, right? - and I meant to post this May 25...I think.

Morning of May 24th

Morning of May 25

The beginning of "summer" was full of strange weather.  Thankfully I was in school.  Now it is hot just in time for me to be able to lounge at the pool all day.

pizza pizza pizza

My favorite cooking blog is Smitten Kitchen and there are a million things I want to try.  Lately, I've been looking at this recipe for lemony goat cheese pizza with zucchini and yellow squash.  Alex and Erica came over to watch the final episode of LOST before the season finale (there is NO way they are going to answer all of my questions, by the way), and I thought it was the perfect occasion for homemade pizza, and of course strawberry soda.  While my pizza didn't turn out as pretty as smittenkitchen's, it tasted really good.

Tah-dah! 

I also made a really make-shift pizza with tomato-basil sauce, eggplant, zucchini, and tomato.  

Speaking of pizza, Tanner and I are officially done with Pizza Factory!!!  Tanner had two interviews in one day - one for a new restaurant and one for a small design firm - and he got both and accepted the design job.  Now he is an official designer and between school, work, and his internship, literally works on his computer 24/7.  But it is definitely better than serving.

hunter/huntoad

Happy 14th Birthday, Hunter!

why'd ya bald him?

train tracks and trains

Why don't you like Francisco?

Cats

wet leaves

throwing up inside a pumpkin

"normal" and "i don't know"

bike rides

pokemon

hamsters

Mom: one of my favorite memories of hunter is the Halloween that he threw up in his pumpkin!  i also remember when he was little spending a lot of time playing with trains, reading books about trains and him being so happy whenever we got stopped by trains in town.  i love him more than the most.  

Dad: i remember lots of things about hunter...-i remember hunter learning how to ride a bike in about one day, like the day before an activity involving bike riding at the church.

-i remember when Hunter and I got in a bike wreck on 13th and grand last summer at night.

-i remember getting caught in a hail storm with hunter and madison up on the rock slide while crab walking down the rocks.

Shea: my favorite memory of hunter is that he always insists on being the one who "loves me more." in fact, it is impossible to get off the phone with him, as soon as i say "i love you," - he replies, "i love you more." now how is an older sister supposed to take to that challenge? he has been saying it since he could talk, it is his signature "sign-off", and it couldn't be more endearing. so hunter, let me tell you - you might be a year older, but i have years and years of life experience on you, and this time - i will be the last to say it, "I LOVE YOU MORE." love, shea. 

Brighton: i have always felt like a second mother to hunter, i really love him so much.  i remember when he was probably just two or three years old and he got a mini basketball hoop for christmas and he couldn't make a basket by himself, so for hours i would lift him up from under his arms so he could throw the ball directly through the hoop.  i also love how hunter is grossed out by things so easily. when he was little, he had such a hard time walking from the house to the car during the fall because the wet leaves made him gag.  i love how he used to wake me up in the morning by kissing me on the forehead and laying in bed with me. lastly, i love how hunter is one of the nicest/sweetest people i have ever met.  he is so considerate of other people's feelings and always wants to do what will make other people feel happy.  you're my favorite brother - and yes we do have another brother in china.

Tanner: hunter has the best facebook status updates ever. Im so glad i got to share a bunk bed with him and i had a mini fridge full of Dr Pepper! thanks little brother

Madison: He is always willing to get me food and drinks when I am too lazy to leave the kitchen. The sweetest little brother anyone could have!

Shannon: my favorite thing huntoad ever said was that he thought that you had to put your hand on your heart when the flag passes at a parade because, if you don't, the military guys with guns will shoot you!  hilarious!  I LOVE hunter; i love his hair, i love his personality, i love everything about him. 

Sean: i loved hunter's hamster stage; he was definitely the best hamster.

Sadie: i do NOT like it that hunter is a centimeter taller than me.

Lee: he's really really funny, and not even on purpose!

Josie: i like playing "around the house" with hunter because he really likes to play that game, the other games - he gets tired of playing.

Mia: i really hope he has a happy birthday.

Cade: my favorite thing about hunter is that I get to be his friend.

Sarah: thanks for always letting me win in mario kart.

Jeremy: my favorite thing about hunter is, "i don't know," and "okay."

Berrett: my favorite thing about hunter is that he loves his mom so much. he's also always really friendly to kids who are younger than him (like lila and adam). finally, i love it that he calls tina and me "mom and dad" when he comes to our house.

Tina: i love that he doesn't mind if i hug him and that he stopped saying he's taller than i am. 

Davis: my favorite thing about hunter is...the fact that sometimes, it seems like he likes cats more than people. oh, and he introduced me to "red baron" frozen pizzas. those are good. 

Gran: i have many memories, but two memories of hunter when he was quite little come to mind.  the first was when for a few months when he was a toddler, he would stand across the room with his arm raised up (completely telegraphing his planned "punch") as he approached his mom ready to hit her.  she never let him, of course.....and he turned out to be such a peaceful, polite boy.  the other was one night after sunday dinner at our house it was raining and I gave hunter (probably around age 3) a quart size baggie to wear to keep the rain off his head.  after that he asked for a baggie each week - even though it wasn't raining.  this went on for a few months.

a few years ago hunter arrived at the cabin with his entire duffle bag filled with stuffed pokemon characters (his addiction at the time.)  we were amused because there was an inspection notice in the piece of luggage and we enjoyed imagining the reaction of the airport employee. 

and i forgot to remember the elaborate and imaginitive game hunter and his cousins played for a few summers at the cabin - Pet Daycare!  it involved  many stuffed animals, the upstairs closet, and lots of props.

Papa: i have always been impressed with the level of commitment hunters shows with most every thing he does.  when hunter was a bout two and-a-half years oldis father got him a basketball hoop and ball, once the little kid stated shooting baskets it was nearly impossible to get him to quit.  he shot baskets and he shot baskets until he could score two points every time he put then ball up.  it would go on for very long periods of time.

last night after gran i and i took hunter out to shop for his birthday and to dinner at panera's, hunter invited me into his room last to show me the new shelves he and his dad are building above his top bunk.  the shelves were dark blue and really neat.  the fun "uniquely hunter" part was that there were (is) dark blue tape outlines on two, yet to be built shelves on two other walls.  the tape was laid out exactly, measured and everything, as he wants the shelves to be.  john will have a hard time not being reminded of the work that yet has to be done.

Happy Birthday, Hunter!  I hope you know how much you are loved, because you are, and I hope you have the best day ever.

It's getting warmer

Because everyone needs a pink drink in the summer.

As soon as it started getting warm, I started wanting strawberry soda.  I don't know why, but to me, pink drink = summer time.

Ganache-like Truffles

I didn't know truffles were so easy to make.

3/4 C. Whipping Cream

2 Tbs Butter

8 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate (chopped)

Chop the chocolate (or blend it like I did), boil the whipping cream, pour over the chocolate and let stand about 5 minutes, whisk till smooth, let cool till it hardens, and then scoop and roll into balls, dip in cocoa powder and let cool again.  

They do get a little bit messy though, I wish I had a picture of Erica's hands afterward.

Pink is the New Blue

I usually get a light blue color for my braces in hopes of detracting attention from my teeth.  But then I decided that I can't hide all the metal in my mouth anyway- so I went a little crazy with my braces for spring and am enjoying pink rubberbands.

p.s. you can't tell from the picture, but they really are pink.

Thanks, Dr. C!

as of late

 

First, I hate blogspot.  It will not let me arrange pictures how I want.

Second, in list format, here are a few things we've been doing:

*We went to see Bear Hands, Mayor Hawthorne, and Passion Pit last night and had fun dancing

*I interviewed Bear Hands for inyourspeakers

*It is starting to look like spring again...cross your fingers

*I have approximately 3 pages of writing left in the semester and then finals

*Tanner started his spring term at school

Third, the most exciting news....I got a new bike!  I was surprised this morning when the UPS guy was at my door with a HUGE box.  I was even more confused when he said that box was addressed to Tanner. Well, Tanner surprised me and bought me a much-need bike for the spring and a summer - a cute mint green beach crusier to be exact.  The only problem is, the fork is a little bent, so we have to wait for a replacement part to be able to put it all together and ride it.  Regardless, it was the greatest surprise ever, so, thank you Tanner, you're the best.

inyourspeakers and more

I just recently started writing news pieces for a developing music website www.inyourspeakers.com.  So... check it out and you'll see some things I'm writing for them.  Pretty cool, and thanks to Erika for helping me out.

In other news...Tanner is on his break from school and I'm busy busy busy writing term papers due next week. But, summer is so soon (despite the snow and freezing temperatures today) and I can't wait.  Here's what I'm going to do this summer:

cook everything with every summer vegetable
have bbqs with friends
go to our complex pool everyday
sleep in
read lots of books
drink coke with crushed ice
explore utah county's hiking
roadtrip to california
go to havasupai
drink pink smoothies with whipped cream
roadtrip to all southern utah sites
and maybe the grand canyon

MMM....summer.

the end of winter semester is near...

I was supposed to finish two books tonight, I have a presentation in class tomorrow, and three research papers due in the next two weeks.  Tonight was going to be the night I at least got started on everything...instead I have creamy cauliflower soup, flourless chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate mint cream frosting, and a banana pudding trifle.  What happened???

for the sake of updating

I'm reading a science fiction book for one of my classes - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin - and I have to write a research paper for it really soon.  The problem is I really don't like this book at all.  But as I was reading it tonight, I came across one little gem among all the talk about shifgrethor on the planet Gethen in the city Karhide whose people are androgynous.

"It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

happy late bday to me

Thanks to Elizabeth, my birthday extended into March.  I had a huge package waiting in the mail for me and when I opened it, there was a big, purple, tear-dropped-shaped piñata inside.  Can you think of anything better to arrive in the mail than a homemade piñata?  I didn't think so.  Anyway, Tanner filmed it and so if you would like to watch a slightly embarrassing home video, click here. 

i love when moms visit

 My mom came to visit this weekend and we all vacationed in Highland at the Capua's.  I called her that morning excited because I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt at 9 in the morning, unfortunately, the snow followed her from home and we had one of the biggest snow storms of the year that night.  Despite colder temperatures...we had fun doing our two favorite things: eating and shopping!  We even got to see Alice in Wonderland, and she introduced me to my new addiction - Doodle Jump.  So here are a few pictures...

me and my mom.

me and tanner while i attempt to hide my braces.

me and danielle - queen of lasagna.

me and tanner again.

The only really horrible thing about the weekend is having to say goodbye.  It is the worst - always.  So, please visit again, soon!

a day to celebrate

As of March 5, Tanner and I have officially known each other for  one whole year.  As of yesterday, we have known each other for more than one year, and as of today, I think we can start telling people we've known each other for well over a year, don't you think?  I am one lucky girl.

Hello March

It was a beautiful day today - and warm.  About 50 degrees.

It was sunny, I wore cropped leggings, blue flats, and tanner's red sweatshirt, and I walked to school 

and I wasn't even cold.

I had hawaiian pizza for lunch and I sat on a bench outside with Erica.

I worked on my Twilight research paper 

(yes, that's right, I just put research paper and Twilight into one sentence.)

And I worked at my new job serving expensive sushi.

Now I am waiting for Tanner to get home from school and...

for my mom to get here on Thursday.  I can't wait.

Thank you for being you, March...and please don't send me any surprise snow storms.

Am I turning into a homemaker or what?

First off...Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Birthday to Chris a week ago, and Happy Birthday to Carly and Rocco today!  Did I miss anyone?

Now onto the cupcake.  Last night I was looking for delicious cupcake recipes and stumbled onto this blog, and I found the most amazing cupcake I have ever seen in my life and I knew that this was the ultimate cupcake.  Note: I am pretty much copying the above blog, but in my opinion, these are definitely blog-worthy.

First, I made a rich chocolate cake (cheating with a box) and I successfully made strawberry italian meringue buttercream for the first time.  I tried to make this frosting a few months ago and it turned out like soup, so I was happy this one turned out.

This is about when Danielle showed up.

Then I melted baker's chocolate, and after the frosting had set in the refrigerator, we dipped them like cones.

They dried with a matte finish - p.s. all of the prettiest ones were already gone by the time I took this picture.

Cut in half.  The frosting is seriously the most amazing part.

A happy Tanner enjoying one for breakfast.

I had to blog about these because I'm very surprised/happy/impressed with myself that they turned out, aren't they cute?  They are delicious too if you can manage how rich they are...so thank you to A Cup Full of Cake!