Wandering Eyes

This past Sunday was the Sunday right after Christmas, so our meeting up in Island Park was themed around the holiday and what Christ's life brought to us. So naturally, you'd expect Christmas hymns, etc.

The brother conducting the meeting welcomed us all to the meeting, and then announced that we would open by singing hymn number 210: "With Wandering Eye."

In case you were wondering, that is not the correct title of hymn 210. The correct title would have been "With Wondering Awe." I've never seen a congregation laugh for so long in a meeting.

Snowmobiling

So, I'm a big fat chicken and didn't especially want to go snowmobiling. I've only been once before and I ended up destroying my knee. This wasn't exactly encouraging for me to go again. Add on top of that the fact that I'm pregnant and a fall could hurt the baby. Also, my belly is growing, so the snow clothes they had for me didn't really fit well. (My snow pants had to stay unbuttoned and I had to lift the bottom of my coat above my hips before I could zip it up.) However, the family wanted to go to Big Springs which I already know to be pretty, and it was already determined by the amount of powdered snow that this would be a trail ride. Also, BJ and I would be riding on a two-seater (so that all of us could fit), meaning no jumps. I was convinced to go. Turns out, it was quite fun! (Ok, I knew it was fun from the last time I went, but one time that ended in disaster isn't really enough to convince my over-working brain that it will be fun again. I'm a little more convinced after this ride.) Again, we will tell the story in pictures.

To continue on showing you how deep the snow is, check us out at the beginning of the ride. That lump of snow behind us are the snowmobiles that haven't been uncovered (they had a tarp over them) and the snow we're standing in goes up to BJ's knees (just over mine).


We got to Big Springs, where the water is the same temperature all year long. Here I am feeding the ducks and the fish (though, you can't see the fish in the picture).

This is the John Sack Cabin across the spring. Isn't it so beautiful in the winter? If you look at the very bottom right of the picture, you'll see a water wheel next to the little cabin. So much fun!

This is all of us on the way back except BJ's dad, who is taking the picture. BJ drove on the way out, but I ended up with frozen toes, so he had me drive back. (There are hand and foot warmers in the driver's seat.)

Turns out that letting me drive was a very bad idea. Sorry Nick! We hope you'll be ok... eventually.

Look how much snow!

We've gotten a whole heck of a lot of snow up here the last few days, so we've been taking pictures to show you all. This first one is the view from the living room window (the only one not boarded up for the winter). I'm loving the icicles.

This truck was leaving Island Park. Look how much snow is sitting on top. Yes, it has snowed since then.

To the left we have BJ's dad's truck (well, it's borrowed, but that's what we drove up here.) To the right, see that white hump? Yeah, that's BJ's car. Yipes!

Lastly, remember the time lapse photo I promised? Well, it didn't turn out as good as I had hoped it would since we had to keep moving the camera. (Note to self: get a tri-pod.) So we picked a picture from the beginning, middle and end that seem to work well together, so hopefully you can see the progress of the snow growing on Christmas day. If not, ignore this.

Happy Christmas! aka Snowed In! Part 2

Christmas has been great so far. It has been snowing like crazy. Seriously, we've probably gotten over 2 feet of NEW SNOW since yesterday. What makes me laugh was that last night Teresa asked if we were going to have a white Christmas. We all kind of laughed, because we already had a lot of snow. Teresa clarified that she meant would it snow on Christmas, so Nick and Jessa decided find out for sure and pulled out the Magic 8 Ball on their iPods. The first try came up with one "Try again later" and one "For Sure" (or something similar). So they both tried again and both got "Yes, most definitely". We were convinced, and sure enough, it's true! We actually started taking pictures of the window every 30 minutes, to get a time lapse sort of thing. It's not perfect because the camera gets moved slightly, so I don't think it's gonna turn out as cool as I wanted, but we'll try to put together some sort of video on here for y'all when it's done. (Yes, Jess, you were our inspiration for this.)

Because we got so much new snow that's very powdery, snowmobiling has been mostly out of the question. BJ's dad and Nick went snowmobiling this morning and came back with the report that it was "almost fun". Instead we've spent the day opening gifts, playing games (I won at Settlers; it was nice to beat Jessa for a change), watching Serendipity, reading, and putting together a puzzle. It's been nice and relaxing. However, considering the amount of snow we got last night and today, we're grateful that we decided to change our plans and come up early, else we may not have come up at all... or at least not until a few days after Christmas.

We'll have more pictures to post later. (BJ got a camera for Christmas! Fantastic, since I forgot mine at home...) Just wanted to let you all know that we live and that we're having a great time watching the snow from our nice, warm cabin. Even if it does mean that we're completely snowed in. (BJ just measured that the snow is anywhere from 2-3 feet above the bottom of the windowsill (which, admittedly, includes the snow that has fallen off the roof.)) But, since we don't have to go anywhere for several more days, we're going to enjoy it while it lasts. And just hope that the forecast of snow every day until the day we leave won't completely bury us. :)

Snowed in!

Last night we went to bed after hearing on the news that I-15 was closed, except for emergencies, (the freeway to get from Utah to Idaho), Highway 26 was closed (the road to get from the freeway to my house), as well as many, many, other roads. Certain cities put out proclamations detailing when your car was allowed to be on the road and when they would be out plowing, so get your car off the road. It was craziness. We completely understood though. Earlier in the day, we went over to Damian and Kim's for an hour or two and by the time we left, Damian had to shovel us out of their driveway, the drifts behind us had grown so high. We got to our road and were skeptical as to whether we could get through or not. (That end of our road is known to be one of the first road closures in this area.) So we detoured through Ririe and came back on the other end of our road and bucked drifts to get in.

This morning I was awakened by the phone ringing 3 times (each time separated by my mom's cell phone ringing). I finally called my dad's cell phone wondering where in the world they were. They were out taking pictures of the snow! Yay! Then the phone rang again. It was my dad's boss telling him to stay home from work because all the roads between here and there were closed. Wow. Mom and Dad came back from taking pictures, turns out the end of our road is most definitely blocked in. Let's show it in picture-form, shall we?

This view is from way down the road. You can see the blockade if you look closely.

The neighbor decided to pull out his Bobcat and try to dig it out. If you look closely (you may have to click on the picture and view it in another window, up close), you'll notice that instead of the bucket lifting up, his back wheels lifted up. Oops?

Let's pull out the trucks to help rescue the Bobcat! (Please notice the height of the drift as compared to the stop sign and other trucks.)

This is the typical drifting across our road... all the way down. It's basically a one-way street. Gotta love Idaho snow.

Hope everyone else is having a white Christmas... or at least dreaming of one. It's all about the adventure, my friends. :D (Just drive safely. I've already heard of too many people running off the side of the road or flipping their cars... strewing Christmas presents everywhere. I want no more such reports.) Also, be careful. There are reports of another storm (accompanied with a good Idaho wind) coming through on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Drive safely, my friends!

Plans? Who needs plans?

It's a good thing we are flexible. We've changed our plans so many times since we've gotten up here that we no longer know what we're doing. We've told almost everybody some different plan, so no one actually knows what's going on. Often ourselves included.

Difficulties:
- BJ and I are in charge of our traditional Christmas Eve dinner
- BJ's parents got delayed a day due to the storm yesterday.
- There's another storm coming through Christmas Eve afternoon/evening and staying through Christmas day.
- We woke up this morning to our road blocked on one end and the highway on the other end of our road was closed. The highway is now open, but it wouldn't take much to close all of the roads again.

So, the current plan (which is definitely subject to change) is to go with BJ's parents to Island Park today and stay there until they leave ... somewhere around the 29th. Then we'll come back to my parents' house for New Years, etc. And we'll do our Spain dinner for New Years instead of for Christmas.

[catches breath]

Let's just hope the road to Island Park stays open. Else, I suppose we'll have an even longer snowmobile ride to get in to the cabin.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

I'm glad we decided to come to Idaho on Thursday instead of Friday. Weather in Utah was so bad that several flights were delayed and the Church actually sent home all the employees early due to adverse weather. That's when we had planned on coming home. Instead, we've been happily camped out at my parent's house since Thursday night, braving the weather here and there to go out shopping. Luckily, for the most part, the weather here in Ririe has been great. Cold and windy, maybe, but no scary driving incidents.

We had planned on meeting BJ's parents in Idaho Falls this afternoon. Turns out that there is a blizzard in SLC, however, so they're not coming until tomorrow. This might be a good thing, though, cuz from what we've heard, the road to Island Park is one-way right now, due to all the snow. So now the question is, do we go to Island Park tomorrow, then come back to Ririe Wednesday, then back to Island Park Wednesday night? Or do we just stay in Ririe until Wednesday night and get less time with his family? (We're in charge of Christmas Eve dinner at my parent's house.)

Luckily, no matter what we do, we're surrounded by family. This is happy. We are quite fortunate when I compare us to the other weather horror stories I've heard over the last few days.

Happy Snowy, Windy, White Christmas!

Sometimes, I don't feel so old

I just found out that my dad has been alive for all but 6 prophets. I've only been alive for 5.

He really is "older than dirt".

Narrow Shoulders

I have many physical curses in my life. Today I am going to complain about one in particular.


Yes, my friends, I have been cursed with narrow shoulders. You wouldn't think this would be such a big deal, would you? But try finding shirts with any sort of a non-choking type neck that doesn't show off far more than I would like to. Or try to carry any type of bag on your shoulders. Temple bag, laptop case, purse, you name it. If it's carried on the shoulder, I hate it. Every morning as I walk into work with my purse and my laptop precariously perched on my shoulder, stopping at least once to pick them up off my elbow and return them to my shoulder, I remember how much inconvenience narrow shoulders really are. So next time you hate something about your body, remember it could be worse—at least your bags and shirts stay on your shoulders.

Heartbeat

Last time we heard the baby's heartbeat (about 3 weeks ago), I decided the sound was best described as a marathon runner running while breathing into a microphone.

Yesterday we went again and the sound had changed. BJ declared that it sounded like a dog barking through a radio.

I wonder what'll it be like next time...

Update on the baby. (S)he is now 3" long (about the size of a shrimp) and has fingerprints! (No more crimes for you, little baby.)

What's new in the life of BJ and Tianna

Many of you knows what this means.  Most of you are married.

Many of you have no idea.  Most of you are single.

We're pregnant!  We're due June 20, 2009, putting me at 13 weeks along as of tomorrow.  So for those of you wondering why I have been so sick and tired recently... now you know.  (For those of you who are clueless about pregnancy symptoms, those are two of them.)  I have an excuse!  I'm not actually sick and tired all the time for no reason!  Also, if I don't eat your food, please don't take it personally.

We were going to wait one more week until the first tri was over to tell the world (when the chance of a miscarriage decreases significantly), but I find myself hating keeping this a secret and telling more and more people over the past few days.  We figured we might as well tell everyone now, and let BJ's sister Teresa tell her friends.  (Which she has been dying to do for about the last 2 months or so.)

We will report back with the baby's gender in about 7 weeks (ish).  Until then, brace yourself for the funny stories we have been withholding from you for 13 weeks.  Now we are allowed to blog them.  :)

Wish List

If I could pick only one thing to put on my wish list this year, I would most definitely want a washer and dryer (in a set!) installed in my house. Like, seriously. This would make me ridiculously happy.

Funny Business

Jess, Travis, BJ and I came up to Idaho for Thanksgiving. Kyle instructed me to stop any funny business, but the car trip on the way up here turned out to be filled with giggles and laughter. There was nothing I could do!

Highlights:
- We were driving through Salt Lake to run an errand when I saw a sign for the Chinese Buffet advertising an American Thanksgiving dinner. Travis: "I would eat there so long as they sang "Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra."
- I saw a sign for Fort Lane, but misread it as Fart Lane. I found this funny, so I told Travis. His reply? "Well, it's a breezeway."
- We stopped to eat at an Arby's in a gas station. On the way out, we noticed some of the travel merchandise they carried in the gas station. You all know those pillows that you can put around your neck? Well, there was a Texas flag that Jess got a kick out of. (Seriously, Texas flag in Idaho?) And then there was a cow. Now, one of the funny parts of this cow is that on each of the two legs were three toes. Yes, that's right my friends, the cow had toes. And there were three of them.

Ok, I'm guessing that many of you don't know why this is appalling to the farm girl that I am. Cows do not have toes! They have hooves. Cloven hooves. Meaning that they're kosher in the Law of Moses. That means that there are two "toes". Not three. Weirdos. So Travis and I mocked the cow for awhile, then Jess decided that they weren't toes. They were fins. Yes, this was no ordinary cow. This was a Mercow.

Yes, the story goes on. We were in the car discussing mermaids and Trav was saying how the legend of mermaids came from sea cows. So I was coming up with stories about how this legend may have come to pass. So, this sailor comes home and is talking to his buddy about this beautiful sea cow that he saw out to sea. And his wife overheard and, being a jealous wife, assumed he was talking about another woman. "A sea cow! She's a heifer!" (Note: to those who don't know Jess and I (and previous roommates), heifer is a term of endearment, but in the rest of the world, it's not a very nice word to describe other women.) "And thus she became a woman." Jess: "That sounds scriptural." Travis: "I take from thy rib a heifer."



I suppose it's possible that all of these stories are funny to only those that were present. But I like to believe that other people can find us funny as well. (I'm sorry I failed, Kyle.)

Nothing Pudding

Grandma Lovell lived during the Depression. But despite their tight circumstances, Grandpa was a farmer and had farm hands... farm hands that had to be fed. So Grandma learned to be very creative in her frugality. (I'm sure that it didn't hurt that she lived in Idaho and potatoes are dirt cheap.) Not wanting to skip the very important course of dessert, she created a very basic pudding and called it Nothing Pudding.

I grew up with Nothing Pudding being as common a dish as Vanilla or Chocolate Pudding. It never crossed my mind that all other families were not also blessed with this amazing dish. (For the record, I had not heard the original story at this point.) I arrived at college and decided that I wanted to make Nothing Pudding. To my befuddlement, all of my roommates were confused by this announcement. To my amazement, none of them had ever even heard of Nothing Pudding. I called my mom with two purposes: to get the recipe and to ask her why I was a lone reed amongst my friends.

I got the recipe and the story. You already have the story, so now I'll give you the recipe.

Nothing Pudding
2 cups milk, divided
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat the eggs. Add 1/4 c. milk, sugar, and cornstarch. Beat into a paste. Add rest of milk and vanilla. Cook in microwave or double boiler until thick. For the microwave, cook 8-12 minutes on high, stirring every couple of minutes. Sorry, I can't give you a time for the double boiler...I've never done it; Jalin says it's longer than in the microwave. Just keep stirring until it's a good pudding consistency.

I suggest adding fruit (red ones like strawberries or raspberries are particularly good) upon serving, as it is a rather bland pudding. (Like unto vanilla.)

Whiiii!!!!

So just in case you were wondering, Tianna's awesome. On Saturday, she was out shopping and saw a Wii actually in the store at Target. We've been wanting to get one for a while with some money left over from wedding gift cards, but haven't been able to find them in stock. So when Tianna saw one there, she immediately grabbed it and brought it home.

Of course, we immediately had to have an initiation party. I had actually bought Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii a number of months ago (I'm weird, I know), so we were all prepared for a massive five-person four-at-a-time Wii Initiation Party. And let me tell you what, I enjoyed it. My professors were even so nice as to postpone my homework due dates for me, so I was able to play. We also made our own Miis, as well as one for Brother Brigham. (The beard just screamed Brigham. We couldn't resist.)

What this means, though, is that I now own a Gamecube which I don't need since the Wii will play Gamecube games.

We figured we'd list the Gamecube on Craigslist or something, but if any of our readers would like to buy it off of us, we'll give you a good deal. They're going for roughly $30 + shipping on eBay, so we'll give it to you for $25 and no shipping. (At least, assuming you're close enough that we might actually see you to give it to you.) And you don't even have to worry about being outbid; this is a first-come-first-served event only.

I should point out that the it won't come with any controllers, as we still use those with our Wii. You can get used controllers in good condition, though, for not too expensive. That's how we got ours. Anyway, if you're interested, send us an e-mail. We'll talk.

And if you'd like to play, let us know. It's always more fun with friends.

ramblings and Idaho

Kim reminded me last weekend that I don't blog very often.  Oops!  And then I got thinking about it, and my last several posts haven't even said anything, really.  Blah.  Sorry everyone.

But really, what am I supposed to talk about?

I could give you an update on my plants, I s'pose (Alfred REALLY needs to be repotted, Doloris still isn't hanging, and I planted parsley and basil!  They're tiny, but doing well), but I don't think anyone actually cares.

Hmm... let's look through recent photos and see what we can find, shall we?

Oooh!  So, last weekend BJ and I went to Idaho.  My parents bought a new MacBook!  Huzzay!  But... they didn't know how to use it.  So to relieve some stress and frustration, we decided to take a weekend trip to teach them the basics and set things up.  Good thing we did, too.  Turns out that it has some malfunctioning hardware and randomly freezes up.  I'm glad BJ was there to figure out it was the hardware, and not to leave my parents to wondering what they were doing wrong.  (Also, they're in SLC today and took the laptop in and switched it out for a brand new laptop.  I'm so proud of them.  ;) )

Anyway, on the way up to Idaho, our odometer read:

Well... we thought it was pretty cool.

Also while up there, I helped Mom get all of her billion jars of canning put away.  And in exchange I was given a box stuffed to the brim with canned food.  Mmmm.  Home grown, home bottled food.  I'm stoked.  Also, Damian and Kim helped us get a good start on food storage.  (Bishop Fish, you would be so proud of our food storage!)  Now if only we can get a kitchen with a pantry so I don't have to go downstairs into a locked cellar filled with spiderwebs to get at my food...  Someday...

And then, of course, there were my adorable niece and nephews.  Awww...  Lexi told me I was her favorite aunt ever (eat your hearts out, other aunts), and she helped us rhyme about a billion words.  (Though, she doesn't quite understand that you can't just add "d" to the end of a word to make it rhyme.  "What rhymes with snow?"  "Snowed!"  Ummm...)  Parker loved playing with BJ.  (So did Lexi, for that matter.)  There were several games of catch and cuddling up on the couch.  And then there was Taegen.  Poor guy... it was time to get his fist molded in plaster.  None of the other grandkids have had a problem with it, but man, Taegen cried and cried and cried.  When it was done, it looked something like this (except this was pulled off the Internet and is not Taegen's fist):

And then I tried to help peel the mold off one of them (there are two, grandma gets one and mom gets one), and I broke off a finger.  I was quite devastated.  So I gave up and went down and curled up next to BJ.  Mom later broke off the tip of a finger, so I felt a little bit better.  She thinks they'll redo it.  Poor Taegen.

And... I think that's enough babbling for this post. 

Ooohh... but there's one more picture!  But not of the weekend.  On Tuesday I decided to go to work at 8 (shocking, I know) and saw Timp through the clouds.  It was so cloudy that you could only see the tip floating over the clouds and it was so pretty.  I thought of Jess, so I took a picture so she could enjoy it, too.  It was taken from the car, so it's not the greatest ever, but... whatever.  Jess, this is for you:

Yeah... definitely not as cool as in real life...

No ways!

Yesterday I saw gas for $1.97.  (The Maverick on the corner of 700 E. and 300 N. in Provo, if anyone is interested in taking advantage of this awesome deal.)

I was way excited.  Like, seriously.  Under $2?!  Awesome.

I always assumed I'd be pretty even in these...

I feel loved when...

The Five Love Languages

My Primary Love Language is Quality Time

My Detailed Results:
Quality Time:	8
Acts of Service:	7
Words of Affirmation:	6
Physical Touch:	5
Receiving Gifts:	4

About this quiz

Unhappiness in relationships is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages.  It can be helpful to know what language you speak and what language those around you speak.

Take the Quiz!
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For Twilight lovers

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Fourth of four

Kristy tagged me awhile ago, and I just now remembered while on my laptop that hosts most of my pictures. Rules are something about blogging the fourth picture in your fourth picture folder. Mine is quite boring. It's a picture of the airport while I was going to France on the first ever SLC -> Paris direct flight. Seriously, of all the cool pictures, this is what I get? [sigh]

Albuquerque

Day 1
BJ and I boarded a plane at 3:40 to fly down to Albuquerque, NM. BJ has some cousins down there that he lived with when he did his internship at Honeywell a few years ago. They've been bugging him to come down again for quite some time now, and he'd never been to the International Balloon Fiesta. So this year, we decided to go.

We flew with Southwest. They were the only one that we could find a direct flight both ways at the times we wanted with a decent price. (Well, as decent as you can get with the stock market dropping like a two-ton ball from a rooftop, anyway.) The thing with Southwest, however, is that they have open seating. As there was exactly one person that boarded the plane after us, we didn't get what you would call ideal seating. We didn't get to sit together, although, we did get somewhat close. We were both on the aisle, on opposite sides of the aisle, about 2 rows apart. Whenever I wanted his attention, I would just lean forward and say, "BJ!" and he'd turn and talk to me. Not exactly my ideal flight. But whatever. It was only an hour and a half. Also, turbulence was... very much present. BJ said it didn't last very long, but to the girl who gets motion sick easily, it lasted for ages.

We finally made it safe and sound to Albuquerque where BJ's cousin, Brian picked us up in his Jeep and took us to our weekend home. Meet Brian, in his hippie, Roman toga. We're thinking the pillow is his very weak sword.



Brian entertained us for a few hours while we waited for his other friends, Jillanne (which sounds remarkably like Jalin and confused the heck out of me several times this weekend.) and her husband, Jan (pronounced John. He's Asian. I'm not sure if that's the reasoning behind his unique spelling, but it sounds good. Also known as Jan-down-the-hall, because Brian knew several Johns during his college days.)

Finally, it was time to blow up the air mattress for BJ and I and go to bed. (If anyone is feeling generous, BJ and I would accept a queen sized air mattress that blows up by pulling out a box that is actually a motor. It's quite awesome.)

Day 2
By 6:15 we were up and out of the house. We headed down to Honeywell (where BJ worked for his internship a few summers ago, and where Brian works now.) where their ward was having a ward party. (See, Kessa, ward parties could be worse. Your ward has never had one at 6:15 am.) A guy in their ward owns a restaurant called Blake's Lottaburger that serves breakfast burritos. So we all gathered in the parking lot and they brought out the burritos, donuts, and hot chocolate. They were actually really quite good.

Then we waited for the balloons to rise up into the air.

And waited.

And waited.

But the wind was too high, and the balloons got canceled. This is the sky where there should have been balloons (at least the sky was really pretty!):


We returned to the house where Jillanne took a nap and the rest of us watched Numb3rs. Then Brian took Jillanne and Jan out for a ride in his truck (this thing is a monster, trust me.) while BJ did homework and I took a nap. (I was exhausted and didn't trust my ability to not get carsick this trip. This proved a damper to many plans.)

Later Brian took us out to show off his true love, Eleanor. This is no typically girl. Oh no. This is a robot that Brian has built over the years.
Lest you think that Eleanor is some remote control car, let's continue with the pictures. This first one is Brian sitting on her and driving her around the driveway. (He kind of looks like a midget, huh? :D) And yes, that is a Playstation controller that he's driving with. Nerds... the lot of them. ;)
And here is BJ running after Eleanor. I think he may be practicing for walking a dog someday. (We must have a cat first. These are my conditions.)
Later we taught Jillanne and Jan how to play Ticket to Ride while Brian went down and programmed. (He's not much of a gamer, which I find quite tragic.)

I'm starting to find the rest of this day and Sunday blending together in my head...

Day 2 or 3
There was a game of Clue. (Mitch won. Though for some reason, I thought he was Eric for the entire game. No idea why.) There was some downloading of games on BJ's iPod touch. (I maybe had too much fun popping bubble wrap.) There was building of Legos.

Day 3
Hoping to see balloons, BJ and I got up at 7. I was wide awake and was quite bouncy. BJ has never seen me like this in the morning (I'm not what you would call a morning person) and was quite shocked at me. Alas, canceled again. Jillanne and Jan went to Brian's singles ward because Brian was teaching EQ. BJ and I went to the family ward, because BJ was hoping to see people he knew when he lived down there. Church was fantastic. We had an awesome object lesson about judging ourselves and others based on some pictures of apple trees. I really, really liked it, but shan't get into details here.

After church we made Cafe Rio salads for lunch. BJ was in heaven. (Aunt Barbara, if you read this, he says he's quite happy for having it for cousin's dinner again. There will be no complaints from him.) Then Jillanne and Jan took off for home.

There was visiting and relaxing and some nerd talk between Brian and BJ until Brian's friend, Sarah came over. She wanted to meet BJ, we wanted to meet her, so it all worked out well. Turns out we could have been great friends (She likes to ask questions; I like to talk) but she could only stay for an hour... just long enough to spill all of her secrets for Mitch (much to Brian's dismay). I liked her, though. She definitely gets my nod of approval. (For what? I have no idea. But she's definitely approved.)

After she left we ate a bit of dinner, then settled down to watch The Spiderwick Chronicles. I loved it. It was intense enough that I kept clinging to BJ and jumping at all of the right moments, but light-hearted enough that it was definitely a kid's movie. Let's say it's a kid's movie that adults can enjoy. (But don't expect it to be super-intense.) But, I'm quite sure that people such as Ryan and Will wouldn't enjoy it. Now I definitely want to read the books, though.

Bedtime.

Day 4
Another early-rising day. Aunt Elizabeth took us to the airport where we got all checked in and everything without incident. However, we were also way early, so we sat around in the airport for awhile. I fell asleep. At some point in the airport, I got really sick. I was super nauseous and light-headed. This was not good. I clearly remembered the turbulance from the trip in. That's probably why I slept.

We checked in too late and still didn't get a seat together. Enter Emotional Tianna that was so upset by this, and because I was sick, that I cried for probably the first 5 minutes of sitting in the plane. But don't worry, folks. I bucked up, and didn't even get sick on the flight. Mostly I just tried to sleep. Then I dropped BJ off on campus and came home and slept for about 2 or 3 hours. Beautiful nap.

Overall, it was a great trip. Sure, we missed the balloons, which was sad, but we really enjoyed the company. I felt really at home there. Like, really. I felt totally comfortable just sitting down to their computer and using it, or taking Aunt Elizabeth's pen during Sunday School to write. Now, for those of you who remember me having to work up the guts to ask Grandma for a piece of cheese or Aunt Grace if I could play her Nintendo, this is a huge step up for me. BJ really enjoyed his time with Brian and Mitch. I think he misses being nerdy with Brian and teasing Mitch. Albuquerque was a second home to him while he lived there. It was good for him to get to go back.

Thanks everyone down there for hosting us and putting up with us all weekend. We loved it and will have to come back again to actually see balloons!

Sleeptalking

So... for many years, I've been teased about my sleep talking. Funny thing is, BJ has never heard me sleep talk. So, to my amazement, the first instance of sleep talking in our marriage was not by me, but by BJ.

This morning the alarm went off at 7 am. BJ, having only slept for 5 hours, was sound asleep and didn't budge. I wake up immediately to alarms, so every second an alarm clock goes off drives me nuts. After a very long 3 seconds, I pushed BJ's shoulder. (I'd have to crawl over BJ to do it myself.) He got up,turned off the alarm, and as he was crawling back into bed said, "Squishes." I was quite confused, so, sure I misunderstood, I asked, "What?" He didn't respond. Just crawled back in bed and fell asleep.

Well, BJ often comes back to bed after the alarm goes off, just for a few minutes to cuddle before he gets up. (Really, I think he does it to make sure I wake up.) This morning he just fell asleep... didn't even cuddle. Funny thing is, I didn't even think about it. I just expected him to get up again in about 3-5 minutes. So I dozed in and out of sleep for awhile, and finally decided that maybe I should look at the clock. It was 7:23. BJ has class at 8 on Tuesdays and I was supposed to pick Jess up for work at 8.

"BJ, it's 7:20." (this time he woke up to answer.)
[groan] "I wish I could figure out why my alarm sometimes doesn't go off."
"Umm... it did."
"I wish I could figure out why my alarm isn't across the room."

So then I related the story of the Squishes, and he was appropriately appalled by his actions. He then got up and grabbed one of our reading pillows (that are approximately 1 billion pounds each) and dropped it on me, yelling "Squishes!"

Now, just the word "Squishes" sends us into a fit of giggles.

Dinners!

So, a few weeks ago I decided to be a "good wife" and actually cook dinner. And not just cook dinner, but plan out a week's menu, go grocery shopping for all of the dinners. Also, I love to cook, so I wanted to make new and exciting things. Last week I made two really fun meals.

The first one was Mozarella Stuffed Peppers and Linguini with Red Sauce. (If you want recipes, you'll have to ask.) This one thrilled me lots. Mostly because of BJ's reaction towards it. His family does a Rating System for food... a scale from 1-10 (the higher the number the better). He rated this as an 8.5. Not really knowing what a good rating was, I asked him if there was anything in this world he'd rate as a 10. He pondered for awhile and answered, "Maybe that chicken scallopini at Johnny Carinos?" Then I asked him what Cafe Rio would rate. (For those that don't know BJ well, Cafe Rio is his all-time favorite restaurant. If I would let him, he would eat there 4 times a week, if not more. He is crazy for it.) He pondered then answered, "8.5 or 9, depending on my mood." At this, I was floored. Could these stuffed peppers really have ranked on the same level as Cafe Rio?! I pressed the point, making sure he understood what he just said, and he stood by it, always with the disclaimer, "Depending on my mood." Whoa. These peppers must have been good!

Next meal was inspired by Lindsay. Honey Chicken Wings. (Recipe on Lindsay's blog. Though, doing it again, I would put the chicken in first, then pour the sauce over it.) They actually turned out really good. I was going to do the oven baked potato wedges like she suggested, but by the time I got home, it smelled so good, and I was starving, so I did without. I also was going to have canteloupe, but when I pulled it out, it was moldy. Gross. Note to self, eat canteloupe as soon as you buy it, not 3-4 days later. So instead I steamed some frozen vegetables. It was a very yummy meal. (I forgot BJ's rating on this one. 7, maybe? Whatever it was, it was agreed that this could be made again.)

Seven Peaks with the Tonks

Just before Labor Day, BJ and I went swimming at Seven Peaks with Michael and Stacie.  (Stacie became my best friend around 5th grade.  I'm so happy she lives in Utah, now!  Though, she still lives way too far north... [pout])  Anyway, we had ridiculous fun, documented here for your viewing pleasure.

This is Michael swinging from a rope into a pool.

Then he just kind of dropped. Nice splash, though!

And here is BJ, flinging himself from the rope.

Stacie and I, loving our time together again, as we watch our silly husbands showing off for us. (We're sure that's what they were doing.)

And now for the best part... and what Stacie has been waiting anxiously for for the last month.  (Sorry to keep you waiting, Stace!)  Videos!  So, this "slide" we called the Halfpipe.  (Maybe that's the real name?  I dunno.)  It's really tall and I hear it's quite a thrill to ride down.  I believe it, too, after watching many, many people do it whilst we waited for the boys to make the long and arduous climb to the top.

So, first we have BJ.  Sadly, I was not on top of things and missed the initial fall.  Why is this so sad?  Because that is when he screamed.  The rest is boring, but we'll put it on anyway.

The second is Michael, the reason for this whole post.  Wow.  Oh wow.  Make sure your volume is up for this one.  He screams in terror through most of the video.  Loves it!  Also, about halfway through, if you listen closely, you can hear a lady who was behind us ask, "Do you know him?"  And here I thought me capturing it all on my camera was a dead giveaway...  Then at the end, as he gets off his tube, she tells (asks?) him, "You're a new man now, aren't ya?  My favorite part, though?  (Aside from the screaming, of course)  His hand on his face as he slowly comes to a stop.

A poem

Nightmares, nightmares, go away
or I will kill you dead!

Revised from a poem by Jessica who revised it from the classic, "Rain, rain, go away."

Giving blood

So my year finally ended and I was able to give blood! Huzzay! BJ has the most ridiculously large veins, so I decided they were made to give blood. Thus, Saturday I made him go with me. (He's a good sport.) Turns out that his ginormous veins aren't really all that better for giving blood. Or perhaps it was just a fluke? Anyway, by the end, the guy taking his blood had to stay there and hold the needle still, else the blood would stop flowing. By that afternoon he had a giant bubble full of blood on his elbow. (He was warned it'd look like a gigantic blood blister that he couldn't pop.) Well, the blister finally went down, but now he has this giant bruise on his elbow. We tried to get a good picture of it, but this was the best we could get. So now you can see the comparison of his wounded elbow compared to mine. See? You can't even see the hole from the needle on mine. (At least not in the picture. You can see it in real life.)

But seriously. Isn't that bruise huge?

One step at a time

In an attempt to legalize my music, I've been going through my iTunes and categorizing music by Mine and Not Mine. (I have collected my fair share of roommates' music throughout the years.) Tonight I started deleting music that wasn't mine and that I didn't care enough about to actually purchase. This was rather difficult. Although I don't like them enough to buy them, they are songs I still liked enough to listen to. But... I did it. Here are the stats:

Deleted songs: 1,034
Songs I want to buy (so I didn't delete): 721
Songs I own: 781

So I've still got a ways to go, but I think I made a really good start today. Perhaps now they'll all fit on my iPod again. Now it's a matter of talking myself into purchasing music that I already have on my computer. It's just harder, y'know? I'm putting out money but getting nothing in return except peace of mind. But I'm convinced that it'll be worth it. I look forward to the day that I can say that all of my music legally belongs to me.

Wedding Photos Available! (For a limited time!)

It's now been nearly three months since our wedding, so I suppose it's time to actually share photos with people. Tianna's brother Travis took hundreds of great pictures for us, so distributing them has been somewhat of a challenge.

But never fear! Challenges are meant to be conquered! We figured most of you wouldn't want or need a DVD of our pictures, so we found a better solution. We've posted all of the photos online, so you can browse them at your leisure and download all the photos you'd like. These are all the full-size images, direct from Travis, so you can take them to be printed if you really like us that much. Or, if you're one of those special few who love us so much that you want every last one of them, talk to us and we'll figure things out.

We're not posting the link to the pictures here, since we'd rather not be featured on Google Images, but if you want access, just e-mail me (bjhomer@gmail.com) and I'll send you the link. The photos will only be available for a couple weeks, (since I want the space back eventually,) so act now! Call in the next 10 minutes for your free... oh wait. Nevermind.

It's easy! We promise!

A final farewell

Well, we did it. We sold my car. I never thought I'd say this... but I miss her. She raised quite a fuss after I bought her from Damian (apparently she liked him... go figure). She and I did not get along. Then, after we decided to sell her and I stopped driving her, I realized how much I really did like her. Now, whether it was the car I liked, or the fact that I could plug my iPod directly into the radio, we'll never know. I did like how fast the A/C turned on, though... Anyway, point is, she is sold. And life is happy. (Yay! No more car payments!)

Thank you James and Julie for giving Charlita a new home!

Waiting for the perfect moment

I promised Tianna a number of months ago that if we got a blog together, I'd write in it. Avid readers will have noticed that I haven't done so well. In fact, that's probably why we have no avid readers. But now, I'm here. For a while, my excuse has been that the blog wasn't "ready." It was just black text on a white background, as I hadn't gotten around to stylizing it yet. But now it's all pretty and such. (Really, if you're reading this through Google Reader, you should look at the background. I spent at least two hours playing with it.)

In truth, though, I have a tendency to do this. To put things off until the "right" moment, as if somehow magically things will change without my own action. It rarely happens. My grandfather was fond of saying that "Things that don't change tend to remain the same," and I think it's wise advice.

So this is me. Changing. Expect to see me around more from now on.

Lessons from the 3 Nephites

BJ and I were talking about the three Nephites today when, in typical BJ fashion, he exclaimed excitedly, "But, like, Tianna! They're real!" We talked for a long time about the logistics of the three Nephites being real. We speculated about if they own a house somewhere, or perhaps they live in a cave in a desert that only transfigured/translated/etc. people can go. (I pointed out that if only people who are transfigured/translated/etc. people can go there, it'd probably be a little nicer than a cave in a desert.) We speculated about logistics like if they pay taxes or have an SSN. What if they didn't live in the US? When do they say their birthday is? 12 BC? Do they have an equivalent of an Obliviate charm?

Once the obligatory speculation session winded down a bit, we started into actual spiritual and doctrinal discussion. Not that everything we discussed is official Church doctrine, but it was at least discussed with a serious air, with the Spirit joining our discussion. After a while of discussing what they might be doing and how John the Beloved was also on the earth doing the same thing, BJ very humbly asked, "Could I do that? Like, if I wanted to stay on earth with them, could I?"

I thought this was a remarkably insightful question. Could we, like those four faithful men of old, choose to stay on the earth and serve and bring others to Christ instead of dying? There are many story lines based around the things people will do in order to keep from dying. This sounds very much like that. The Angel of Death is at your door and as he's pulling you through you shout, "Wait! No! I don't want to die! I'll make you a deal. If I can stay on earth, I will serve and bring people to Christ for the rest of my life!" Lame. Serving others is not a bargaining tool; it is not something you do as a last ditch effort to save yourself. The three Nephites and John were not looking for a way to escape death, rather they looked upon death as an end to their service, which was a fate worse than death. The thought of not being to able to serve their brethren and share the gospel of Christ was too much for them, so they begged to stay.

The question then is, are we living that way now? Are we striving to share the gospel and serve our fellowmen? When we die, if we ask to stay and serve, God will know the intents of our hearts. If we're asking in order to postpone death, we're asking for the wrong reasons. Rather, God would look at our entire lifestyle to see if spreading the gospel and serving others is something we are already doing.

BJ and I both agreed that it's that lifestyle we should be striving for... not because we want to ask God if we can stay on the earth forever, but because that is the kind of people we both want to become. Sounds simple enough, right? But to be very honest, sharing the gospel is a very scary thing for me. It's not something I've had a lot of opportunity to do. I've lived in Mormonville, Idaho or Utah my entire life. When I've lived in other countries, they're countries that I have solemnly agreed not to share the gospel in. I simply have never been given an easy opportunity to speak openly about the gospel to non-members; I don't know many non-members. Having no experience in this area, I am far from my comfort zone. When BJ suggested that we pray for missionary experiences daily, I actually shuddered. Don't get me wrong; I want to share the gospel and bring others to Christ... but can't I do it just as I am currently doing it? Can't I just be an example and share my testimony in Church? Can't I have gospel discussions when the topic is laid at my feet? Must I really actively search out opportunities? The thought is truly frightening to me. (Part of me doesn't want to write this because it means that I am openly admitting one of my weaknesses to the world, but I feel that the only way I can grow is to be honest with myself and with the world; it doesn't do anyone any good if I pretend to be someone I am not.)

There is one key point that I never give enough credit. I truly believe that God can do anything. I do not, however, have enough faith in myself. The point I forget? That God has the power to help me do anything that He wants me to do. Thus, instead of praying for missionary experiences daily, I am going to start praying for the courage to accept missionary experiences. I am going to pray to become willing to seek out those opportunities. I don't have to have the faith and courage of John the Beloved right now. But I do need to take a step in that direction. These are my baby steps. Thankfully, God looketh upon the heart.

One last thing on this already-too-long post. While in Jerusalem, my friend, Rebecca, commented to me that if missionary work is bringing souls to Christ, then any time we do anything to bring someone, member or not, closer to Christ, we have been missionaries. If posting this blog serves only as an outlet to focus my thoughts to bring myself closer to Christ, I have succeeded in my goal today.

A new beginning

Well, hello everyone! BJ and I decided it would be a good idea to start a blog together. Since my blog is already heavily weighed down in my stuff, and I'm sure people have already sworn it off due to never being able to finish a post, we thought we'd get a fresh start with something that is purely us. Also, he promised me that he would actually blog if we had a blog. So check in on us randomly to see what is happening in the lives of BJ and Tianna.