State of Mynd

It's Summer Time

2012-05-22T00:02:00.002-07:00

Summer is officially here! The semester is over, the grill has been lit, our little garden has started to grow, the drive-ins are in order, and we're going camping this weekend! I'm one happy girl :-D

Oz Korean BBQ

Jarrod finished up his semester and very happily passed the last math course he should ever have to take. We celebrated the end of the semester and bulking up for finals at Oz Korean BBQ. Om nom nom . . . SO yummy! Jarrod was hoping to take a class this summer, but all the ones he was interested in/needed were full before his registration date. Instead, he was fortunate enough to connect with a physical therapist from our church and is going to participate in some shadowing over the summer to help him get a better idea of which area he would like to specialize in. And as much as I want Jarrod to get through school quickly, I am really looking forward to being able to spend more time with him for a few months.

Three happy girls playing in the dirt

I have been keeping myself busy with projects at home, time with friends, and spending some time watching our friends Shannon and Ben's kids. Shannon needed some help with the girls to get caught up on some sewing for a wedding and in return she's going to lend me her awesome sewing skills and put together a t-shirt blanket that I have wanted someone to make for me forever. I'm SUPER excited about it! Going over to watch the girls also gave me a good excuse to take Kiirah for some longer walks and to shake up my usual Zumba and yoga workout (just wish it weren't so hot).


Happy to announce that Kiirah is FINALLY getting better on her leash

Last night we fired up our little grill and had some tasty marinaded meats and grilled veggies. Shhhh . . . don't tell . . . we're not allowed to have one. I swear we're responsible and have never burnt anything down . . . yet.

Last week we made our now annual trip to Squeeze Inn. Seriously, I don't understand how people can eat there on a regular basis. This time we were smart and decided to go halfsies on their burger with the KILLER cheese skirt. We were lucky and got seated into the old shack booth this time. For info about what exactly the Squeeze Inn is and to get an outside view of the shack booth, go check out my earlier blog HERE. I swear it looks like all we've been doing lately is eating. I promise we're not total ziggy piggies. I know, hard to make that claim as you look at the massive amounts of cheese in the picture below.

Tonight we're going to have a much needed date night at the drive-ins. Probably going to see Avengers and Wrath of the Titans. Yup, this girl likes "boy" movies . . . and for the record, I also like chick flicks. This weekend we'll be going camping up near Truckee with a bunch of our friends. Super excited! Hopefully we won't freeze up there. At least it will be a nice change from the hot heat! Camping blog to follow soon.

The Day My Future Began

2012-05-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, on this very day, I met my best friend and love of my life. It was a day like any other and I had no intention or desire to land myself in what quickly became a relationship, an engagement, a marriage, and an eternity of pure love. If you don't like sentimental mush and stories, you should just stop reading now.

Though it may sound like Mormon cliche to some, it was very surprising to me that I met my husband at church. It was most surprising because I was greatly struggling at the time with my own conflicted feelings towards the church and organized religion in general. I had tried to write off religion temporarily, but found that I was never able to get very far away from it. By choice, I ended up back in my singles ward from time to time. A couple weeks before I actually met Jarrod in person, I saw him at church during Sunday school. As is the case in many singles wards, the teacher was not prepared in the slightest and attempted to fill most of the class time by having everyone go around introducing themselves and saying a little about who they were. Instantly I felt annoyed and thought that coming had perhaps just been a waste of my time. When Jarrod stood up I was intrigued because I had no idea who he was and I knew most everyone in my ward. He went on to explain that he was moving out of the ward in a week or two because he would be getting kicked out of the dorms and that since he was leaving so soon, none of us would really have a chance to get to know him (was that a challenge?). Was there a light out of heaven that said he was the one? No. Was I overwhelmed with his good looks and charm? No. All I could think was "Did that guy just say he is getting kicked out of the dorms? He looks too old to be in the dorms! And is he wearing braces? What's this guy's story? I have to find out!" I then planned on speaking to him briefly after class, but he shot out of the room like a bat out of hell. To this day I have no idea how he moved that fast. I'm pretty sure he must have a teleportation device he isn't telling me about. Well, what a bummer. That was that, or so I thought.

Here's the church program from that day. I have a tendency to doodle. Check out that sweet dragon!

A week or two later I was back at church and wandered into the room for Sunday school. I saw a guy sitting on the edge of the middle row that looked a bit like what I had remembered Jarrod looking like from behind, but I couldn't be sure. It was do or die time. If I really was that curious I would have to go and see, knowing that I was risking going up to the wrong person. I knew it would be terribly rude to walk up and then if it wasn't him walk off, so I had to commit to sitting next to whoever was in that chair. I walked up, said hi, and asked if someone was sitting there. The guy looked up with a big smile and it was the same elusive braces wearing Jarrod that I had spotted before.

Instantly we hit it off, chatting about nonsense and poking fun at the person teaching the class and how terrible their drawings were. Yup, love out of making fun of people . . . that's how we roll. I still remember who was teaching that lesson to this day, but think I'll keep it to myself since we're still friends ;-) In our defense, it was really hard to pay attention to the lesson as it was boiling in the room with the AC broken. After some time passed, I made an origami peacock for Jarrod, and in turn he made me a paper crane. Yes, this is that VERY same crane. What I did not know was that while he was making the paper crane, he was also secretly writing his name and number on a small piece of paper. As the class ended, Jarrod reached over and with an incredibly shaky hand, gave me the piece of paper, and forcefully stammered out "I don't know if you're interested . . . but . . . here." I tried to respond, but he didn't hardly give me a chance before he nervously ran out the door. Those who know Jarrod can attest that he isn't really the type to get nervous. The only other time I have honestly seen him nervous was the night he asked me to marry him. Let's face it, I'm pretty intimidating people *sarcasm*.

Don't worry baby, I've got you covered. Only part of the number is showing so you won't get prank calls from everyone! Also, I have always found it fascinating and odd how Jarrod will mix lower and upper case letters when he writes out his name. Anyone who has studied handwriting care to interpret what this could mean?

That night we ran into each other again at a fireside and the flirting continued. I was still recovering from a long and terrible relationship that I had ended a couple months before and figured some harmless flirting could do me good. Later I came to learn that what I saw as harmless, Jarrod saw as serious potential. With it being Sunday and Jarrod moving out of Sacramento and back to the Fresno area only four days later, I didn't expect much to happen. Call it divine intervention, destiny, coincidence, or simply dumb luck, but the very next day I lost my job and my schedule became wide open. As Jarrod was finishing up his finals at the time, his schedule was fairly open as well. That week we initiated what I think will go down in history as the most intense and meaningful speed dating ever accomplished in the history of mankind. By the end of the week Jarrod had started to win me over, but I wasn't ready to commit to a relationship. I explained that I had somewhat recently ended a very long and painful relationship and just wanted some more time to myself first. Jarrod was not willing to accept that and explained that he wanted to come back over the summer to visit me, but wasn't willing to do such without an official commitment and relationship with me. I asked him what he would do if I said no. Jarrod said he would leave. As I tried to determine if he was bluffing and if I should call, Jarrod walked over to the door, started to gather his things, and put on his boots. At first all I could think was "Wow, he has some nerve!" and " Is he ridiculous, or genius?" Knowing that I had finally found the unique quirky combination guy I had been looking for was too much to risk losing. I said yes, and I'm so glad I did. By the end of the summer Jarrod moved back to Sacramento, where we continued to fall in love and get engaged, but that's . . . another story.

Mother's Day

2012-05-16T01:01:00.001-07:00

Even though we do not have children of our own yet, Jarrod surprised me with Mother's Day gifts this year! Kiirah sort of counts . . . right? He got me some dark acrylic paints (almost all the ones I have now are very bright and I wanted more variety) and he also bought me a silly Batman party centerpiece (which looks pretty cool with all my other Batman stuff). Jarrod is such a thoughtful guy.

Often I struggle trying to figure out what to do for a Mother's Day card for my own Mom. I feel that store bought cards just don't express the love and appreciation that mothers crave and love like a homemade one does. That is not to say that I have never been guilty of a quick store bought card, but I do my best to avoid it.

Though traditions surrounding the celebration of mothers have been celebrated in many cultures tracing back to ancient festivals, it was only in 1908 that it was first celebrated and in 1914 it became recognized as a modern American holiday. Apparently the woman (Anna Jarvis) who petitioned for the holiday did such after losing her own mother. Much to the creator's disappointment, by the 1920s the holiday became commercialized (like everything else in this world sadly). Anna Jarvis has since been on a crusade to de-comercialize the holiday and stress how important it is that people take time to write their OWN sentiments to their mothers who have done SO much for them. I fully agree and was really pleased with how my card turned out. I thought back to when I was younger and would do crafts at home with my mom. I remembered making crayon shaving place-mats and simple acrostic poems. I decided to make my card to resemble my childhood and it was so much fun!

I forgot to take a picture of the front of the heart with the acrostic poem where I spelled out "MOTHER" and had an adjective for my mother starting with each letter of the word. Melted wax, glitter, and heartfelt sentiments was just what the doctor ordered. My Mom loved it and said she wasn't planning on throwing it away (so easy to do with store bought cards). What Mother's Day card and gifts ideas have you used in the past?

Oh Baby!

2012-05-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

Not only have I never thrown a co-ed baby shower, I have never even been to one, but that all changed on Saturday. The shower I put on for our friends Vanessa & Anthony went over great and was a lot of fun! I couldn't have done it without help, so I REALLY appreciate those who stepped in. There was a great turn out of at least 30 adults and a handful of kids.

I'll admit that sometimes I dread baby showers, not knowing if I will be forced to sniff melted chocolate bars in diapers, but then I realized I had nothing to worry about because I got to decide what we were going to do! We played a few simple games, had a lot of laughs, and ate some tasty food.

At the door I had a guess how many sugar babies are in the bottle type thing and also individual diapers with a note paper rubber banded to each one. All the guests wrote a note of encouragement to the mom and dad to be. This way when they are going through the first couple weeks with their new baby, each time they have to dive into another diaper, there is something positive to help them get through.

Sorry the picture is a little dark, but you can click on it to enlarge and read the instructions

Being unemployed, I tried to keep the shower thrifty but still nice. For centerpieces I attached "baby" balloons from the 99 cent store to cans of corn and green beans from my food storage and covered them with brown lunch sacks and curly ribbon sitting on top of pink paper napkins for some added color.

For one of the games we played a baby shower version of the popular old school pin the tail on the donkey party game with "Pin the Pacifier." I have to admit that I was pretty impressed with my baby drawing skills. It was no easy feat! Most people were able to get their pacifier on the board. Note the one that's dead on was a child without a blindfold . . . no one is THAT good ;-)

BEFORE

AFTER


Here's my themed first prize for the Pin the Pacifier game. I totally scored by finding this cute bag and I figured ring pops look a lot like pacifiers.

From talking with a few friends it seemed that the worst part of a baby shower to men is sitting around while countless presents are being opened. With that in mind, I had Jarrod set an alarm on his phone for random increments of time and each time it went off the guest whose present was being opened got to draw a number and win the associated silly prize. The most coveted prize of the night was a back scratcher.

Not only are Vanessa and Anthony about to start an adventure with their first child, Vanessa just finished medical school and they are about to move to Santa Ana to start her residency. We will really miss you guys, but wish you the best of luck!

Because I Love You

2012-04-21T18:31:00.002-07:00

After dating and two years of marriage this may sound crazy, but Jarrod has never bought me flowers . . . until today. Once he bought me a potted flowered plant, but that's as close as it ever got. Once or twice I asked him about it and he said he was just waiting for the right time. So many times I thought were the right time came and went, and eventually I gave up on the thought of seeing my husband walk through the door with a beautiful bouquet. Today I was having a really rough day coupled with a bad cold that I had gotten from Jarrod. He walked in the door and surprised me with these beautiful flowers! Jarrod was right, it was the exact right time. I think these flowers mean much more to me than they would have for Valentine's Days, Birthdays, etc. I love you Jarrod.

Day of Deals!

2012-04-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days that left me feeling accomplished, not because I checked a lot of things off my to-do list, but because I got a lot of bang for my buck! A lot of restaurants were giving discounts and free food to celebrate taxes being over.

First Jarrod and I hit up Panda Express for two free entrees of their new Shanghai Angus Steak. I thought the dish was just so so. My heart will always belong to their mushroom chicken (which of course I had too).

Next we dropped by Arby's for free curly friends and a couple cheap Jr.Shakes for dessert. Jarrod was sad because he couldn't seem to get his shake to come through the straw. He then tried another straw and another. By this point Jarrod resolved that his shake was simply too frozen and thick to work with a straw. My straw was fine and I had already finished my shake. I told him to use mine and that it was magical. He said that's just silly, it isn't the straw, it's my shake. He shrugged and took my straw and ta-da! That shake disappeared so fast ;-)

Then, before heading home, I had to return a bra. The other day one of the wires broke in half and stabbed me. It was pretty much terrible. The store was happy to replace it for a brand new bra, but they didn't have my size AND I found out they are discontinuing the bra I have loved for years :-( I found a different one that wasn't my usual style, but hey, it was free! Then I realized they were having a sale 2 for $40. The cashier said they would be happy to let me have the deal and get a second bra for the difference of what my broken bra would have cost. So I walked out with two new $40 bras for less than $9! Such a score :-D

Yup, I decided you needed to know what the bras look like ;-)

Anyone else cash in on some of the tax dray freebies?

Review: Silicone Egg Poachers

2012-04-12T16:42:00.001-07:00

I have seen various versions of these silicone egg poachers all over and my curiosity finally got the better of me. I picked up a set at Cost Plus World Market for 4 bucks. The most annoying thing was that they didn't come with directions of any kind, but I figured it was pretty straight forward. The smart thing to do would have been to Google directions, but instead I just decided to wing it.

What I learned is that they are fun, work well, still need oil or something to prevent sticking, and you need to put the lid on your pot of boiling water during cooking. I have no idea why I didn't think of the lid until the end. I sat there watching as the egg cooked, but the top just wouldn't cook and I started to worry that my egg was going to cook fully through and loose it's delicious runny yoke. The only thing I would change about the design is to have a flatter bottom so you could put them more easily on toast or whatever. Lessons learned and I look forward to successfully using them next time!

Hippity Hoppity Easter Time Is Here!

2012-04-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

I even impressed myself with my awesome bunny toes!

The Easter Bunny came to visit the Browne home this year. Despite my name change, the Easter Bunny was able to remember how I like to celebrate . . . he came to visit us on Saturday with yummy goodies so we could focus on Christ on actual Easter Sunday. What a thoughtful bunny! By accident we learned that Kiirah has a love for bunny peeps.

As always, the house was decorated for the holiday. My favorite new addition this year is the cloth bunny with a basket and eggs that we placed on the door. They finally replaced our broken front door, but they painted the inside an ugly grey. I was very happy to put something colorful on it! Here are some of our many decorations . . .

Aside from eating jelly beans, Peeps, and Reece's eggs, Jarrod and I took part in one of our favorite Easter events . . . Peep jousting! Basically you each pick a bird peep and place a toothpick inside. Next, you place them on a paper towel or plate and set them inside the microwave. You let them cook until one of them stabs the other with the toothpick. If your Peep gets stabbed first, you lose. Tell me that doesn't sound ridiculous and fun! My Peep not only got stabbed, but it toppled over in utter defeat :-( Later on we watched the old school claymation Here Comes Peter Cottontail, which is SUPER random by the way.

On Sunday we attended church and enjoyed a nice dinner of ham, garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes, cranberry juice, and a delicious salad with almonds, fresh strawberries, and gorgonzola cheese. I totally forgot to make the deviled eggs and was really bummed, but I decided we would just have to make some later this week. And for dessert we had white chocolate Magnum bars . . . soooo yummy! What did you do this year?

Disney Vacation

2012-04-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who hate Disneyland and those who love it . . . we are the latter! Jarrod and I have been planning this trip to Disneyland for a long time coming. Jarrod only gets 2 weeks off during the year and they cannot be connected to any holidays. We really wanted to make his vacation time count, so we planned it during Jarrod's spring break so we could leave town. We were celebrating our 2nd year anniversary from January, Jarrod's birthday from the week before, and one last vacation as what many refer to as a "babymoon."

While driving to LA, way back in Stockton I got a very strong prompting (a voice in my head) to tell Jarrod to slow down and I didn't have a clue why. As soon as we did I was overwhelmed by emotion and started to cry. I thought how odd that was and was super annoyed that I was crying for NO apparent reason. I suddenly then felt another impression that by listening and slowing down that we were avoiding something terrible. Then along the grapevine we came upon a really bad accident. We generally always travel in the far left lane. No, I can't say with certainty that this semi was going to land on us, but I wouldn't bet money that it wasn't either. Whether you believe in God and promptings of the spirit or not, I know what I felt was something beyond me and I am grateful for it!

Once we got to the park with hit the rides hard! We spent the majority of the first day in Disneyland, second day in California Adventure, and then split the third day with our favorite attractions from both parks. I was really happy to run into a friend, Katie Brown, on our first day there. Katie and I sang in chorus together for many years back home in Paradise and she is now working in Fantasy Land. Though we were bummed that Cars Land won't be open until June 15th, we were able to see the new Little Mermaid ride and CA water light show that were under construction when we were there last during our honeymoon.

The animatronics used in the Little Mermaid ride were really impressive. The only thing not enjoyable about the ride was realizing at the end that there was no water on the ride . . . so no comforting reason why our seat was REALLY wet. For my sanity I am just going to assume it was water.

For the most part we packed snacks and sandwiches into Jarrod's backpack to save money in the park. We did have a couple meals and favorite snacks in the park though. I recommend hitting up the Lucky Fortune Cookery in CA Adventure and getting their spicy korean beef rice bowl if you want some real food that is under $10. And for anyone who is a HUGE ice cream lover like Jarrod, you should really get some of their GIANT soft served! I couldn't finish mine, but had a happy hubby willing to help me out.

Except for maybe when I was a little kid, I have never spent my time at the parks watching the shows. By day three our feet were pretty dead and we decided to take a break by going to the Aladdin show in CA Adventure. Totally worth it! It was much better than any of the other shows I vaguely remember. Granted, I may be biased since Aladdin was my all time favorite Disney movie as a kid. The guy who plays the genie really makes the show and I've heard that he changes up his jokes all the time with current events and skillful improv.

Though this vacation was all about the two of us having a fun romantic time, we each managed to get offers from Disney characters. At the Monsters Inc ride, the slug lady with the terrible voice said to Jarrod "Young man in the third row, you're very attractive . . . I will definitely be seeing you in your closet tonight!" It was pretty funny. I am not sure if they have someone doing the voice making comments or if they just have various recorded things they play based on the demographics of each car of riders. Then later, during a parade, the genie from Aladdin came up and gave me a high five and then tried to pull me up off the ground into the parade with him. I shook my head pointing to Jarrod and he blew me a kiss and ran off. I think I made out better than Jarrod with slug lady ;-)

The hotel where we stayed was a STEAL of a deal, but there weren't enough parking spaces! If you weren't home early you had to go park a couple hotels down the road. It may not seem like much, but after being on your feet from 8am to midnight you are done and ready for bed. At the very end of the lot there was an extra small corner spot where they had stored a mattress, box spring, and a bunch of orange cones. We rearranged the mattress and box spring and squeezed into the spot. Jarrod noticed how close the car was next to us and he didn't want them to hit us, so he used the orange cones to line our car. The next day we left everything how we had set it up, and each night we came home and no one had parked in it due to all the stuff and cones. We had reserved parking and it was awesome!

This trip we got some retro looking magnets for a souvenir. The Matterhorn one mocks me though, since it was closed for renovation this trip. We also picked up these skulls that light up and making a chomping motion. A picture wouldn't do it justice, but they look REALLY cool in the dark and are going to be awesome for decorations at Halloween. What is your favorite souvenir you have ever gotten at Disneyland? I think my favorite will always be the caricature picture we had done on our honeymoon in the style of beauty and the beast.

Our only regret was that we were not able to see a couple friends in the LA area while we were in town. There was lots of fun, silliness, and memories made!

All American Birthday

2012-04-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

Due to all the fun we've been having I have gotten a bit behind on my blogging. Almost two weeks ago we celebrated Jarrod's 26th birthday! Yup, I'm the older one, but I've been told that since we are so close in age I am not considered a cougar, but am a puma . . . whatever that means. Since we knew we would be going to Disneyland the next week we kept it fairly simple this year with just the two of us. I got Jarrod the Captain America movie on Blu Ray and painted him a cute little Captain America painting. For those of you that didn't know already, Jarrod is BIG Captain America fan. He also has a flock of Captain America stuff coming in the mail including a tie, cufflinks, and a belt buckle. I can't judge though, I have my own obsession with Batman.

After opening presents and watching the movie we went to get takeout from our favorite sushi spot. You know you have a problem when you order for two includes three sets of chopsticks! A good time was had by all! Stay tuned for an upcoming blog about our Disney vacation :-D

A Bunch O' Malarkey

2012-03-18T19:02:00.002-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day one and all! I hope you all had a fabulous time and sported plenty of green! I was sporting my Irish roots in green all the way down to my toes :-p Jarrod I ran a few errands to start the day off. In the afternoon there were already plenty of people that had clearly started to celebrate. A herd of men walked by us wafting a ridiculous stench of alcohol and a very "off" woman came up to me asking if she was holding 1% milk because she couldn't figure it out. We then went around the corner to our local recycling place "Two Sisters." Yup, top that for being GREEN on St. Patty's ;-) The odd thing was that there were no sisters to be seen. Instead there were two black men dressed up ghetto fabulously listening to Kenny G. Yes, I said Kenny G. It was such an odd thing to come across.

After errands it was back home to set up for a get together we were having with friends. There were festive decorations all over the house. We played games, watched Darby O'Gill and the Little People, and had a green food potluck of snacks. First off, if you have never seen Darby O'Gill you really should. It's an old Disney film where Sean Connery plays his first major role . . . and he sings! For eats we had green deviled eggs, spinach dip, pistachio layered pudding, green jello with marshmallows, chocolate coins, root beer, and avocado shake shots.

The Browne family thinks dressing green is not just for kids and we made sure no one was going to pinch us! Jarrod grew out his side burns extra long and thick to give him a nice leprechaun look. I have to say that he rocked it pretty well with his green hat.

What did you all do to celebrate this year? Hang with family and friends, drink green beer, kiss someone Irish?

Here's a fun idea for those with kids to make leprechaun traps! My sister did some with her kids this year and it was a big hit.

Kiirah Puppy is 2!!!

2012-03-01T02:18:00.000-08:00

Yup, we know she's a dog, but our pup Kiirah is part of the family and currently she is the closest thing we have to a kid. We're pretty convinced she believes she is more than "just a dog" too. They say that a dog officially goes from "puppy" to "dog" at the age of 2, but she'll always be a puppy to us. I even call old dogs puppy. Though we do not actually know when Kiirah's birthday is, we know it is somewhere around this time and decided to make it March 1st when we first got her. I honestly think I would lose my mind without having her around since Jarrod is usually gone to school or his graveyard shift. She's a lover and a fighter. I don't think Kiirah has met a person who hasn't fallen in love with her yet (except for people that just hate animals . . . you can't do anything about those people).

*Come on, come on . . . I said cheese, now let me go EAT this already!*

Kiirah is such a well behaved puppy for the most part . . . I mean, come on, she poses for pictures! Does your dog do that? She puts up with us so well and has been childproofed for all kinds of mischief and thwompings that will surely come down the road. Being on a budget, we kept things simple this year and got her one of her favorite dog bones and a new rope. She was pretty pissed off at me when I threw out the old one (seriously, you should have seen the look she gave me . . . and one time she successfully retrieved it from the trash can). It was going to shreds and smelled terrible. Good bye smelly rope and hello patriotic freshness! Here's to many more happy years :-D

Pride & Prejudice

2012-02-26T23:29:00.002-08:00

For many years I have avoided watching the Kiera Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice because I was worried it would tarnish and not live up to my love of the story. Recently I came across a copy in a store for a few bucks and decided I would just have to see for myself. I know many women who raved about her movie version, but I was hesitant to trust it because most of them had not watched the original BBC television series or read Jane Austin's actual novel. I grew up watching the BBC version since I was a child, listened to the book on tape on road trips, and read the book. I absolutely love the BBC version and despite its 5 hour length, I can't get enough of it!

The first half of the movie I wasn't feeling it and was disappointed and kept noticing all the details that were missing from the BBC version. Granted, you can't cover everything and even the BBC version leaves out much from the original novel. I will say that the Knightley version is great for when you want a quick fix version. Then, the second half picked up for me. I appreciated that when Mr. Darcy starts to warm up, in this version he truly does warm up. He seems much more relatable and less robotic. When Colin Firth played Mr. Darcy in the BBC version, he still was an extremely stiff character. I appreciate that despite showing more affection in the Knightley version they did not allow the film to become too Hollywood-ized by having the characters display affection that would not have been appropriate for that time period. Thought I appreciated the difference of the Knightley Mr. Darcy, I did not appreciate what Keira Knightley herself brought to the character of Elizabeth. I feel she lacked the true gumption and witty confident humor at the level I have always viewed her character as having.

As for other casting and character differences, I appreciated that the Knightley version showed Mrs. Bennet as not completely flighty. She took a more stern defense in why she is constantly focused on getting her daughter's married. She stresses how difficult five daughters would be and why it was important for that time period. I think I also liked the casting of Jane in the Knightley version better.

In the end, I enjoyed both versions, but I stand by BBC as the better screen version. What do all of you think?

Holiday Weekend

2012-02-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how AWESOME it was to have so much time with Jarrod due to the presidential holiday weekend. His campus was closed both Friday and Monday. First there was house work (a clean house makes me happy) and then there was play! We played Lego Harry Potter on the Wii and went to the drive-ins for our usual triple dose!

Generally I get easily scared from scary movies, so I decided we should watch it between two romantic movies. This Means War was a funny film that easily put me into a false sense of security before the next movie. The Woman in Black wasn't terribly scary, but it made me plenty nervous, even when I knew exactly what was going to happen. I do like that it wasn't heavy on gore and the ghost looked more cool than icky or dumb like so many other films. I think they could have done more with it, but I am glad I saw it. Radcliffe was a bit hard for me in this role, not because he has been cast as Harry Potter forever, but because he has such a young face. I had trouble taking him seriously as an adult with job pressure and a son. I also was mad that he didn't just yell at the ghost "What the crap do you want lady?! Leave me alone!" I totally would have :-) The Vow is based on a true story, which always makes it better. It's a happy/sad kinda movie and it really makes you appreciate the here and now. All of the movies are worth seeing, at least on Red Box.

Kiirah enjoyed the good life this weekend too. We had a nice dish that got badly tarnished from a party. When I remembered we got it from the Dollar Tree I decided it wasn't worth the effort to clean more properly and to serve Kiirah some fancy food that she won with her photo contest on it. Seriously, I swear the food is people food despite the packaging! It smelled just like vegetable beef soup in the can. Kiirah took well to the pampering . . . not at all shocking.

XOXOXO

2012-02-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

While many women crave obscene sparkling heart jewelry and piles of gifts, my man knows me better. This year Jarrod gave me a Batman t-shirt . . . and I couldn't be happier! I got Jarrod a cute set of "Be Mine" & "I'm Yours" conversation heart cufflinks. That's right, my man accessorizes with style!

That night we got dressed up and had a group dinner date with friends at Woody's. I had a tasty seared ahi salad . . . and some stolen bites of Jarrod's yummy bleu cheese burger.

There was a large group of the cutest old women having dinner together. The oldest looking woman had a rockin' hat that she made herself out of a box top and a balloon weight. I was totally jealous! She saw me eying her hat and I told her how fantastic it was. She laughed and then told me "When you have gray hair you can be silly like me!" I told her I absolutely would and that I would wear a cool hat like hers.

Although the big "hoopla" of Valentine's Day is supposed to take place when you are older and have a date, I think it many ways it was more fun as a kid. I totally miss going to school and exchanging silly Valentine's with everyone. I vote that next year a bunch of us mail Valentine's to each other! Who's with me? What did you all do for Valentine's Day this year?

Perfection Through Grace

2012-02-10T02:28:00.000-08:00

While many attribute Utah's higher than average usage of anti-depressants to the pressures placed on members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to strive for perfection, alternate theories by researchers do exist. My personal take is that there is something to that theory, but it's not the full story. Are Mormons, especially Mormon women more stressed out? I think the majority of LDS women are in fact too hard on themselves; I, however, am not one of those women. That is not to say that I don't have off days or have never felt like I would never be good enough. I just don't stress out about being perfect. I am a firm believer in ALL things in moderation. I believe when I was younger I was more concerned with following up with my Mormon mental check-list. Overtime I have come to understand myself, my faith, and my God much more. In all honesty, perfection doesn't sound pleasant to me. I don't feel like it's a good fit. I am fortunate to know a few people that are as perfect as you can meet here on Earth and I have the utmost admiration for them, but I do not envy them. Some say that we will be placed in the afterlife according to where we will be most comfortable. If you believe that and take comfort in that idea, it is very easy to allow yourself to slip into a lazy mindset of "well then why do anything . . . I am comfortable with this right here . . . the easy road is comfortable." It's a balance act. I have found that if I do not constantly strive in life and set goals I become unhappy and lost. This is not to say that you have to set goals the height of Everest, but you should have a wide variety of bumps, hills, and a few moderate sized mountains to climb.

The following is a talk given by Brad Wilcox, a member of my Church and professor at BYU. I really appreciate how he explains the concept of grace. As I read, I found much in his talk to be relaltable to who I was during certain times in my life from high school into college. Too many of us focus on how we fall short of the long list of do's and do not's we are taught. Too often we find ourselves easily creating a daunting list that leaves us feeling emotionally bruised and unwilling to keep trying. This talk also addresses the confusion that many feel towards the relationship in the LDS faith of both grace and works. As Wilcox states, Mormons are not attempting to earn heaven through works, we are learning and preparing for it. I share this for those who may not understand grace, those who may want to give up, and those who need direction in how to stop putting themselves unnecessarily down for being how God made them: human.

Brad Wilcox

Christ’s Grace Is Sufficient to Cover Us

A BYU student once came to me and asked if we could talk. I said, “Of course. How can I help you?”

She said, “I just don’t get grace.”

I responded, “What is it that you don’t understand?”

She said, “I know I need to do my best and then Jesus does the rest, but I can’t even do my best.”

She then went on to tell me all the things she should be doing because she’s a Mormon that she wasn’t doing.

She continued, “I know that I have to do my part and then Jesus makes up the difference and fills the gap that stands between my part and perfection. But who fills the gap that stands between where I am now and my part?”

She then went on to tell me all the things that she shouldn’t be doing because she’s a Mormon, but she was doing them anyway.

Finally I said, “Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.”

Seeing that she was still confused, I took a piece of paper and drew two dots—one at the top representing God and one at the bottom representing us. I then said, “Go ahead. Draw the line. How much is our part? How much is Christ’s part?”

She went right to the center of the page and began to draw a line. Then, considering what we had been speaking about, she went to the bottom of the page and drew a line just above the bottom dot.

I said, “Wrong.”

She said, “I knew it was higher. I should have just drawn it, because I knew it.”

I said, “No. The truth is, there is no line. Jesus filled the whole space. He paid our debt in full. He didn’t pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished.”

She said, “Right! Like I don’t have to do anything?”

“Oh no,” I said, “you have plenty to do, but it is not to fill that gap. We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God’s presence. What is left to be determined by our obedience is what kind of body we plan on being resurrected with and how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and how long we plan to stay there.”

Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate perfection or a punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took that punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection (see Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us reach that goal. He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements (see 3 Nephi 28:35).

“So what’s the difference?” the girl asked. “Whether our efforts are required by justice or by Jesus, they are still required.”

“True,” I said, “but they are required for a different purpose. Fulfilling Christ’s requirements is like paying a mortgage instead of rent or like making deposits in a savings account instead of paying off debt. You still have to hand it over every month, but it is for a totally different reason.”

Christ’s Grace Is Sufficient to Transform Us

Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. How many know what I am talking about? Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice.

If the child sees Mom’s requirement of practice as being too overbearing (“Gosh, Mom, why do I need to practice? None of the other kids have to practice! I’m just going to be a professional baseball player anyway!”), perhaps it is because he doesn’t yet see with mom’s eyes. He doesn’t see how much better his life could be if he would choose to live on a higher plane.

In the same way, because Jesus has paid justice, He can now turn to us and say, “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19), “Keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If we see His requirements as being way too much to ask (“Gosh! None of the other Christians have to pay tithing! None of the other Christians have to go on missions, serve in callings, and do temple work!”), maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The great Mediator asks for our repentance not because we must ‘repay’ him in exchange for his paying our debt to justice, but because repentance initiates a developmental process that, with the Savior’s help, leads us along the path to a saintly character” (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 149; emphasis in original).

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, referring to President Spencer W. Kimball’s explanation, “The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change” (The Lord’s Way [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1991], 223; emphasis in original). Let’s put that in terms of our analogy: The child must practice the piano, but this practice has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change.

I have born-again Christian friends who say to me, “You Mormons are trying to earn your way to heaven.”

I say, “No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it (see D&C 78:7). We are practicing for it.”

They ask me, “Have you been saved by grace?”

I answer, “Yes. Absolutely, totally, completely, thankfully—yes!”

Then I ask them a question that perhaps they have not fully considered: “Have you been changed by grace?” They are so excited about being saved that maybe they are not thinking enough about what comes next. They are so happy the debt is paid that they may not have considered why the debt existed in the first place. Latter-day Saints know not only what Jesus has saved us from but also what He has saved us for. As my friend Brett Sanders puts it, “A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ’s life.” As my friend Omar Canals puts it, “While many Christians view Christ’s suffering as only a huge favor He did for us, Latter-day Saints also recognize it as a huge investment He made in us.” As Moroni puts it, grace isn’t just about being saved. It is also about becoming like the Savior (see Moroni 7:48).

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10). The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed (see Romans 8). Scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God (see Alma 40:26), but, brothers and sisters, no unchanged thing will even want to.

I know a young man who just got out of prison—again. Each time two roads diverge in a yellow wood, he takes the wrong one—every time. When he was a teenager dealing with every bad habit a teenage boy can have, I said to his father, “We need to get him to EFY.” I have worked with that program since 1985. I know the good it can do.

His dad said, “I can’t afford that.”

I said, “I can’t afford it either, but you put some in, and I’ll put some in, and then we’ll go to my mom, because she is a real softy.”

We finally got the kid to EFY, but how long do you think he lasted? Not even a day. By the end of the first day he called his mother and said, “Get me out of here!” Heaven will not be heaven for those who have not chosen to be heavenly.

In the past I had a picture in my mind of what the final judgment would be like, and it went something like this: Jesus standing there with a clipboard and Brad standing on the other side of the room nervously looking at Jesus.

Jesus checks His clipboard and says, “Oh, shoot, Brad. You missed it by two points.”

Brad begs Jesus, “Please, check the essay question one more time! There have to be two points you can squeeze out of that essay.” That’s how I always saw it.

But the older I get, and the more I understand this wonderful plan of redemption, the more I realize that in the final judgment it will not be the unrepentant sinner begging Jesus, “Let me stay.” No, he will probably be saying, “Get me out of here!” Knowing Christ’s character, I believe that if anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it would probably be Jesus begging the unrepentant sinner, “Please, choose to stay. Please, use my Atonement—not just to be cleansed but to be changed so that you want to stay.”

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there. If Christ did not require faith and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Think of your friends and family members who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They don’t want to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin. If Jesus did not require covenants and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be no way to change. We would be left forever with only willpower, with no access to His power. If Jesus did not require endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those changes over time. They would forever be surface and cosmetic rather than sinking inside us and becoming part of us—part of who we are. Put simply, if Jesus didn’t require practice, then we would never become pianists.

Christ’s Grace Is Sufficient to Help Us

“But Brother Wilcox, don’t you realize how hard it is to practice? I’m just not very good at the piano. I hit a lot of wrong notes. It takes me forever to get it right.” Now wait. Isn’t that all part of the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in the context of learning heaven?

Too many are giving up on the Church because they are tired of constantly feeling like they are falling short. They have tried in the past, but they always feel like they are just not good enough. They don’t understand grace.

There are young women who know they are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves them, and they love Him. Then they graduate from high school, and the values they memorized are put to the test. They slip up. They let things go too far, and suddenly they think it is all over. These young women don’t understand grace.

There are young men who grow up their whole lives singing, “I hope they call me on a mission,” and then they do actually grow a foot or two and flake out completely. They get their Eagles, graduate from high school, and go away to college. Then suddenly these young men find out how easy it is to not be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, or reverent. They mess up. They say, “I’ll never do it again,” and then they do it. They say, “I’ll never do it again,” and then they do it. They say, “This is stupid. I will never do it again.” And then they do it. The guilt is almost unbearable. They don’t dare talk to a bishop. Instead, they hide. They say, “I can’t do this Mormon thing. I’ve tried, and the expectations are just way too high.” So they quit. These young men don’t understand grace.

I know returned missionaries who come home and slip back into bad habits they thought were over. They break promises made before God, angels, and witnesses, and they are convinced there is no hope for them now. They say, “Well, I’ve blown it. There is no use in even trying any more.” Seriously? These young people have spent entire missions teaching people about Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and now they think there is no hope for them? These returned missionaries don’t understand grace.

I know young married couples who find out after the sealing ceremony is over that marriage requires adjustments. The pressures of life mount, and stress starts taking its toll financially, spiritually, and even sexually. Mistakes are made. Walls go up. And pretty soon these husbands and wives are talking with divorce lawyers rather than talking with each other. These couples don’t understand grace.

In all of these cases there should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13).

One young man wrote me the following e-mail: “I know God has all power, and I know He will help me if I’m worthy, but I’m just never worthy enough to ask for His help. I want Christ’s grace, but I always find myself stuck in the same self-defeating and impossible position: no work, no grace.”

I wrote him back and testified with all my heart that Christ is not waiting at the finish line once we have done “all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). He is with us every step of the way.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen has written, “The Savior’s gift of grace to us is not necessarily limited in time to ‘after’ all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during and after the time when we expend our own efforts” (The Broken Heart [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 155). So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch (see Hebrews 12:2).

In twelve days we celebrate Pioneer Day. The first company of Saints entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Their journey was difficult and challenging; still, they sang:

Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;

But with joy wend your way.

Though hard to you this journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day.

[“Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Hymns, 2002, no. 30]

“Grace shall be as your day”—what an interesting phrase. We have all sung it hundreds of times, but have we stopped to consider what it means? “Grace shall be as your day”: grace shall be like a day. As dark as night may become, we can always count on the sun coming up. As dark as our trials, sins, and mistakes may appear, we can always have confidence in the grace of Jesus Christ. Do we earn a sunrise? No. Do we have to be worthy of a chance to begin again? No. We just have to accept these blessings and take advantage of them. As sure as each brand-new day, grace—the enabling power of Jesus Christ—is constant. Faithful pioneers knew they were not alone. The task ahead of them was never as great as the power behind them.

Conclusion

The grace of Christ is sufficient—sufficient to cover our debt, sufficient to transform us, and sufficient to help us as long as that transformation process takes. The Book of Mormon teaches us to rely solely on “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8). As we do, we do not discover—as some Christians believe—that Christ requires nothing of us. Rather, we discover the reason He requires so much and the strength to do all He asks (see Philippians 4:13). Grace is not the absence of God’s high expectations. Grace is the presence of God’s power (see Luke 1:37).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said the following:

Now may I speak . . . to those buffeted by false insecurity, who, though laboring devotedly in the Kingdom, have recurring feelings of falling forever short. . . .

. . . This feeling of inadequacy is . . . normal. There is no way the Church can honestly describe where we must yet go and what we must yet do without creating a sense of immense distance. . . .

. . . This is a gospel of grand expectations, but God’s grace is sufficient for each of us. [CR, October 1976, 14, 16; “Notwithstanding My Weakness,” Ensign, November 1976, 12, 14]

With Elder Maxwell, I testify that God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus’ grace is sufficient. It is enough. It is all we need. Oh, young people, don’t quit. Keep trying. Don’t look for escapes and excuses. Look for the Lord and His perfect strength. Don’t search for someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. Seek Christ, and, as you do, I promise you will feel the enabling power we call His amazing grace. I leave this testimony and all of my love—for I do love you. As God is my witness, I love the youth of this church. I believe in you. I’m pulling for you. And I’m not the only one. Parents are pulling for you, leaders are pulling for you, and prophets are pulling for you. And Jesus is pulling with you. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

And for those LDS women who still insist on measuring their perfection and worthiness via a check-list, I refer you to one of my favorite poems:

Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
You could do what I do
If you only knew how.

I study the scriptures one hour each day;
I bake,
I upholster,
I scrub,
and I pray.

I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.

I help in their classrooms!
I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice!
I cut all their hair!

I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.

I play the piano!
I bless with my talents!
My toilets all sparkle!
My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! Never late!)

I'm taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all:
I track my bad habits ~til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed!
My toenails are polished!
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.

I do genealogy faithfully, too.
It's easy to do all the things that I do!

I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!

I read to my children!
I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.

I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;
My visiting teaching is done the first day!
(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It's the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters)

I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each lost lamb on my Primary roll.

I can home-grown produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all:
I write in my journal!
I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write thank yous to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
My kids get straight A's!
And their bedrooms are clean!

I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.

I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car's tires!
I fix the sink's leak!

I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.

I make sure I rotate our two-years' supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!
These things are not hard;
It's good if you do them;
You can if you try! Just set goals and pursue them!
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!

It's easy! she said. . .

and then, she dropped down dead.

Love Is In The Air

2012-02-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

It's February and that can only mean one thing . . . love is in the air! As always, I enjoyed decorating our place up to match the festive holiday.

So far I have spent the month being sick, but I couldn't let that slow me down. Jarrod and I were part of the bridal party for our friends Jenifer and Anthony's wedding on Saturday. Despite having to carry a box of tissues everywhere with me during the rehearsal, by wedding time I was able to get through the ring ceremony without the sniffles (thanks to A LOT of cold meds). I look forward to seeing how all the pictures turn out. Here is one after we finished decorating their car :-D

One Year Older & Wiser Too . . .

2012-01-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone. Sadly, there is nothing terribly exciting about turning 26. Despite the lack of traditional milestones left, I plan to thoroughly enjoy the rest of my 20s! Friday night a bunch of friends came over to spend my birthday with me. We had the most rambunctious game of Apples to Apples I think I have ever seen . . . and that's saying something! Lots of games and laughs and . . . cake balls. I decided to make up a cake ball bar and it was a huge hit. There were four types of cake: yellow, chocolate, carrot, and strawberry. The cake was coupled with four types of frosting: vanilla, cream cheese, pecan coconut, and chocolate. Mixing and matching your own bite-size cakes had everyone raving by the end of the night. Definitely will be a birthday repeat! Thanks so much to everyone who came in spite of the crazy rain and wind. I was having so much fun at the party that I forgot to take pictures while everyone was there . . . one day I'll be on top of that :-)

One of the coolest gifts I got this year was a necklace that my very own talented and handsome Jarrod made for me!

I completed my birthday celebrations the next night at Arigato, one of our favorite sushi restaurants. They even sang and gave me ice cream. Here's to many more years to come!

2 Years Down, But Who's Counting?

2012-01-09T00:39:00.000-08:00

Today, Jarrod and I are celebrating two years of marriage! Sadly, two years seems like quite an accomplishment these days. I am not sure if it has felt like more or less time than that, but it has been great. I truly am married to my best friend and I NEVER get sick of hanging out with him. Is that normal? It seems with most couples I know, they are always dying to have their own night out alone. I want to bring Jarrod along on girls' night ;-) I am so grateful for Jarrod in my life and know that I would be truly lost without him.

This year we spread out our celebrating on multiple days and kept it simple. We went to the drive-ins for a hard core three movie marathon. We saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie, War Horse, and the latest Mission Impossible movie. They were all really fun and cost less than $10 for the two of us! Later on, we hit up Costa Vida for a couple of delicious smothered sweet pork burritos and scored on an amazing deal for a $36 brand new Sony Blu-ray player. Aside from that, I got Jarrod a Captain America fleece blanket and he got me a 7 pack of square canvases. I am really excited to start some new paintings. The second year anniversary gift is traditionally something cotton. Though neither of our gifts were exactly cotton, they were cotton-ish ;-) And to finish up our celebrating, we are planning to attend the temple later this week where we were married.

I look forward to all of the adventures we will share in the years to come! I love you Jarrod.

Wish We Were Friends . . .

2012-01-05T00:24:00.000-08:00

We all have friends we will never forget, some old friends and ex-lovers we wish we could forget, and then there are those people that we wish we could be friends with. This is meant as nothing more than a whimsical post and it is anything but an all-inclusive list. Here are some of the people (currently living) that I wish I were friends with and why:

Cast of Big Bang Theory -
I can't seem to get enough of this show and I just wish I could hang out with all of them on a regular basis. The geek in me loves them! I think my education, witty retorts, and mad Nintendo skills would help me fit in perfectly. Over time Sheldon would probably get on my nerves though.

Stephen Colbert -

I think it would be fun to sit around noshing on sushi while arguing about both deep and nonsensical things all night with Colbert. He would be the kind of friend you could make fun of other people with without feeling all that bad. He is also the type of friend that you would want to take a long road trip with, filled with many bizarre photos to document the journey.

Bill Gates -

Sure, I'll admit that there could be some ulterior monetary motives in this one, but who wouldn't want to be connected with this guy? Imagine how awesome the parties are that he throws? Also, you would be one of the first to know about and see a lot of cool gadgets, not to mention getting the hookup on the actual products.

Thomas S. Monson -

For those who may not know, he is the current Prophet for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I would love to be able to sit down and have open and honest conversations about life, society, and religion with him. I doubt I would ever run out of things I would like to talk about with him. Though I believe many questions I have would be better answered, I'm afraid this would only lead to an even longer list of new questions :-)

Cast of Iron Chef America -

Having friends that can make me the most amazing food in the world? Yes please! Not only could they make amazing food for me, they could also teach me a lot of cool techniques and new dishes. My stomach is growling just thinking about it.

Who would be on your friend wish list and why?

Ringing in 2012

2012-01-01T23:45:00.000-08:00

I always feel a little depressed when each year ends. Perhaps it just always feels so anti climactic to simply count down from 10, yell, and kiss someone. I am very excited to see what next year holds, but I am also sad to see this one go. A lot happened this year: I started blogging, we moved in next to an aggressive grow house, my car and our home got shot up with a paintball gun, we sold Jarrod's car, I finished grad school, we both lost some weight, I had my gallbladder removed, and Kiirah was dubbed the cutest dog in all the land. I don't want to make any concrete predictions for 2012, but I am certain that it will be a grand adventure!

Jarrod and I started off our New Year's Eve with an epic dumpster diving score. No, we don't actually climb into dumpsters, but so often people put things to the side of them or just on top that are really nice and sometimes new. You would all be shocked at how much quality stuff we have gotten for free as a result. Someone in our complex was moving to a smaller place and couldn't keep all his stuff. As a result, we now own a fairly nice entertainment center and 29" tube TV. Usually these are items we would pass up, but we happened to need a new tube TV. Some old games like Nintendo's Duck Hunt require a tube TV, so we like to have one around. We had been using a 19" one that I bought for myself in 8th grade with some savings. It's AMAZING how long it lasted, but in recent months the corners have started to fade and the sound randomly will cut out and you have to walk up and smack it on the side. Even though its monetary cost was free, it took a lot of muscle for us to move them both up stairs to our room. Seriously, I thought the entertainment center was going to kill me. Now all we need to do is find a Blu Ray or DVD player to replace our DVD/VHS combo that is currently taking in its last breaths.


Before

After

We were fortunate enough to be given a free turkey for the holidays. Since we went to Jarrod's parents' for Christmas we decided to keep it frozen until New Year's. As happy as I was for the food, I was a bit nervous because I had never cooked a turkey before in my life. There's a first time for everything though, right?! My farmhand man took care of the icky part and I did the rest. Everything was surprisingly easy and it turned out really good and moist. I made up some sides to go along with it and we had a really nice meal with plenty of left overs. The can of cranberries' packaging was confusing and entertaining (see below).

Later that night we went to a New Year's party at our friends Cathi and Jake's house. It was a lot of fun with talking, food, and games. After the countdown we were making toasts. Jarrod then toasted to having kids and right as I was about to drink, he added . . . 5 kids! At that point I took the contents of my drink and poured them into his glass :-p There is a Browne family curse that the second son of 5 sons will have 5 sons. I don't plan on having 5 of anything and I certainly wasn't going to tempt fate any further with a swig of Martinelli's!

I made some cake balls for the party that turned out delicious! Instead of using boring frosting or fudge I had a stroke of culinary genius and created a white chocolate eggnog coating for the cake balls. They were a big hit and will definitely be a repeat.

I leave you all with one of my favorite poem/songs "Ring Out, Wild Bells." The music is by Crawford Gates and the text is originated from an 1850 poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson. If you are unfamiliar with it, I highly recommend hearing what the traditional hymn sounds like HERE (make sure you have "words and music" selected on the left hand column before hitting play). It doesn't sound anything like modern music, but I love the eerie, yet beautiful harmonies within it. I love singing the alto part to this song. Sadly, you cannot hear it very well in that particular recording. This song always reminds me of sitting around, singing four-part harmony with my family at the holidays.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, the flying cloud, the frosty light.

The year is dying in the night; ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old; ring in the new. Ring, happy bells, across the snow.

The year is going; let him go. Ring out the false; ring in the true.

Ring in the valiant men and free, the larger heart, the kindlier hand.

Ring out the darkness of the land; ring in the Christ that is to be.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went and now the year is almost over! I feel like time is flying and I can't slow it down. Before you know it, we will be celebrating our 2nd year anniversary and then my birthday! This year we went to the Browne's for Christmas. We had everyone there except for Judd, who is on a mission currently in the Dominican Republic. We had a good time catching up, playing Wii, and eating tasty food. Christmas didn't feel quite the same since it fell on a Sunday this year. Getting dressed up and going to Church instead of opening presents in your pajamas throws everything off.

Is the face because Jacob is mooning Joseph? ;-)

Piggy & Bunny Nachos

Vienna and Kiirah had a good time running around and playing together. It was good to see that our child-proof conditioning we tried to raise Kiirah with is working. She put up with most anything Vienna wanted to do.

We got a lot of nice gifts. Kiirah even got some new toys and treats. I got a cool silly sock monkey hat, a new soft scarf, a cranberry bath and body basket set, a Church book, some Christmas towels and hot pads, and a pretty necklace featuring a pearl. Jarrod got a Scene It Wii game, a new movie (Just Visiting) for our collection, two ties, much needed socks, an MP3 sports sleeve, and a nice warm locally made winter hat. As group gifts Jarrod and I got a homemade yogurt machine, a backwards clock (numbered backwards and it runs backwards), a homemade plaque about how to fortify the home, a $40 Amazon.com gift card, a first aid for dogs book, a ceramic knife, and we each got a preserved coin from Jarrod's Great Grandfather's collection. This year we went in on a gift for ourselves and have been enjoying our Wii system, which means we finally have the complete Nintendo console family!

Santa is tasty!

Though this was my second Christmas spent with the Browne's, it was my first official Christmas with them AS a Browne. Many of our family holiday traditions are the same in how we go around opening presents and that we read the Biblical version of Christ's birth and The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. What traditions does your family have? I hope that you all had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday. What was your favorite gift that you gave or received this year?

Late Night Fun

2011-12-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

Jarrod and I love being night owls. Usually we are up late in our somewhat "warm" house watching movies, playing video games, or hanging out with friends, but recently we've taken our late nights on the road. The other night we took Kiirah to her favorite dog park and played chase and glow in the dark Frisbee. BIG hit! It was SO cold though.


Kiirah, AKA: The Flash

This last Friday night we stayed up all night into Saturday morning to catch the lunar eclipse since Jarrod doesn't get home from work until almost 2:30 AM. Luckily we live on the outskirts of Sacramento near a lot of farm land, so we were able to find ourselves a nice dark field in the middle of no where. We were all bundled up in the car with the puppy for awesome front row seats. We also made a stop at the 24 hour Mexican place Aldalberto's for some delicious late night food.

Carne Asada Fries = The Bomb

The eclipse was beautiful to watch and right before the moon fully went out there was the most amazing and bright shooting star I have ever seen that went right across the moon! It was also kinda funny because right before we were talking about if anything cool happens when we can't see the moon and that's when all the aliens ride around in front of the moon sticking their tongues out at us. Apparently once ship, disguised as a shooting star, jumped the gun ;-)

Wish I had a really nice camera for shots like this

By the time the sun was almost peaking up over the hills we were beat and decided it was time to go to bed. I don't think we actually got out of bed until like 4pm.

Me tired? Never! The night is young and so am I!

Kiirah is Pet-Tastic!

2011-12-13T21:52:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, our cute pup Kiirah won a recent contest put on by the grocery store Savemart. Out off all the "Pet-Tastic" photos entered from California and Nevada, Kiirah was nominated as the cutest of them all! Everyone thinks that their child or pet is the most adorable, but we can actually back up our biased claim. We used my favorite picture I took of Kiirah soon after we first got her.

We expected the prize to be nothing more than a few dog treats and maybe a bag of dog food, but it was so much more! Today they called us to come pick up our tote of goodies. Inside we found two bags of dog food, 4 fancy wet dog foods, 2 bags of treats, 4 dog bones, and $200 in gift cards for us to spend at the store! With me having recently lost my job, Kiirah is certainly pulling her weight to make up for lost grocery money.

Kiirah was so excited when we brought the bag in. She instantly could smell that the things inside were dog things and she shoved her entire head inside. Luckily we managed to get her to sit still for a few pictures. I am so glad I entered Kiirah into the contest. A big thanks to those of you who helped vote for her win!

Donut Hole Machine!

2011-12-13T00:21:00.000-08:00

That's right . . . we have . . . in our possession . . . a donut hole machine of awesomeness! Jarrod's parents gave this to us last Christmas and we just now are finally trying it out. I know, right now many of you are probably yelling at your computer screens that you would have used it THAT day and how we should be ashamed. What's really cool about this little cooker is that you can make all kinds of cool stuff with it. I decided that donut holes seemed too obvious, so we decided to make Funfetti cake balls!

As with most everything you bake, the first batch is always a little funny. They weren't exactly ball shaped, but you couldn't tell once we put frosting on top and they tasted delicious! Some in the second batch had a little too much batter and ended up spilling out a bit and looking like Saturn. I wish we had some white chocolate to melt down and coat on them. I think I will make some for the New Years party we're going to.

Jarrod looking happy to accept a cake ball and continue to avoid studying for his finals

Other things I want to try out in our machine: brownies, muffins, pancakes, and cinnamon buns. Anyone else have some good ideas? There is also a little injector that came with it, which means I can do even more cool stuff! I think that we have to bust this out for our next game/movie night party for the snack. I think this thing would be super cool for a kid birthday party too. You could make up a bunch of different kinds of cake batter and then let kids pick the flavor/flavors they want, then you cook them up, and once cool they can decorate them however they want. This present was such a cool score!