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.

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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?