The Day AFTER Valentine's Day Adventures

Valentine's Day is on the 14th of February. Valentine's Day is fun, but not really something David and I are super into going all celebration over, so I got him a couple of cards, he got me a longer gym membership to the CrossFit gym we have been going to (which is the best gift ever because I'm totally obsessed and my Groupon ran out), I made lil' smokies in a blanket for dinner (which he loves) and we called it a successful V-Day.

Little did I know what was coming the very next day. *Warning, if you are prone to puking at adorable things, read no further.* Last night I was packing for a little trip I'm going on when David gives me a card. I was confused because he didn't give me a card for Valentine's Day and thought, is this a late V-Day card? I opened it and read this (hopefully David won't mind that I put part of his message to me here on the blog), "Can you believe it has been 10 years?!?" Now I was super confused because our anniversary is in September and we have only been married 6 years. I'll go on, "That's right," it said, "10 years ago today we saw each other for the 2nd time in our lives and met formally for the first time for our first date." Then he wrote more, but I won't share the rest on the blog...not that's dirty or anything. Moving on...

WHAAAATTTTT? Can you believe how amazing my husband is!? It gets better. First off, I didn't even remember what day our first date was on and hadn't thought about it at all. Secondly, how cute is that? On our first date I took David to a Laker's game. He remembered that it was a Laker's vs. Hawk's game and looked online to find the exact date, then planned this whole night around it. I was so surprised. After the card he told me we were going on an overnight staycation, but wouldn't tell me where. He had me pack up PJs and a tooth brush and bedding. That's it. He loved watching me be totally confused and skeptical as to what he was telling me I needed and what I thought I'd actually need. He just laughed at me. I like to be prepared and plan things out and a tooth brush and PJs didn't seem like very much for an overnighter.

After I grabbed my stuff we left our apartment and instead of heading to the car we headed upstairs. At our apartment there is a rooftop deck with grills, a jacuzzi and tables and chairs. There is also a suite up there separate from the other apartments that is vacant. He had contacted our property manger and set up a night in the rooftop suite for us! Such planning. Again, so surprised. Here is some pics of the suite on the roof.

The door inside.

Door opens to this living area.

Standing in the kitchen looking into the living area.

Kitchen.

Bathroom.

Stairs.

Loft/Bedroom area. Because the suite is vacant, there is no bed. David had brought our air mattress up earlier in the day and blown it up.

The suite has it's own balcony and grill. Great views.

In the kitchen, David had brought some treats up for us.

We got pizza and made hot chocolate and hung out. It was so nice.

It was the best surprise ever! Afterward, David said he doesn't understand how spouses lie to each other and/or cheat because he had such a hard time keeping everything a secret. He thought for sure I'd find him out somehow.

Isn't he the best ever?! Thank you David for the best surprise. I guess now instead of celebrating Valentine's Day, we will always celebrate the day after as our first date anniversary. Good thinking David, because all the Valentine's cards and candy are on sale that day too! Best ever.

Karmin Adventures

Remember back in the day when I shared this Karmin cover in this post? Well I guess Karmin is getting pretty big now! They performed on SNL last Saturday and were awesome. I can't wait for their album to drop in April. I think they are going to be HUGE!





Um, yeah. Fergie who?

Work Adventures

A few weeks ago when I was working a banquet a guy attending the banquet handed me this napkin.

To be fair, I don't wear my wedding ring when I work for 2 reasons. 1) It would get dis. gust. ing. because I'm up to my elbows in who knows whose leftover ketchup and 2) If I lost it (which would be very easy to do due to how many times I wash my hands because of said leftover ketchup) or the diamond fell out, it would be lost forever and I would die. So he didn't automatically know I was married.

That being said, I've been asked out a handful of times by patrons who come into my work, but this was the first napkin ask out I've gotten in awhile. The poor guy had nothing going for him in this situation. First off, I'm married. Second, I don't drink. And third, you asked me out with a napkin via a 5th grade method. Three strikes. Yikes. What I did do was immediately take a picture of the napkin with my phone and send it to David and asked him which box I should check. David thought it was sad, and funny.

When the guy came back up to the bar to reclaim his napkin and discover my answer, I told him thanks, but I'm married. He was very apologetic. Sorry guy. :(

CrossFit Adventures

This video gives you a pretty good idea of what CrossFit is. This is what David and I have been doing for the last month. It's nuts. And yes, I lift barbells full of weights like the girls in this video and have done most of the exercises they show. I'm just not nearly as strong as them...yet. It's super awesome to be sore every. single. day. But my body is way different than it was a month ago. I've got to admit, I'm starting to get hooked.

Survivor Adventures

Hello all!

David's and my workout at Fit2Fight tonight was in honor of Michael Murphy. One of the Navy Seals lost in in the killing of Seal Team 10, written about in one of the best books ever that everyone should read, Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutrell (the lone survivor of the attack), and soon to be major motion picture that I can't wait for (especially because Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights is going to be in it).

Apparently the guy in charge at Fit2Fight was friends with and/or knew all the Seals that died in that attack and today we did what he said was Michael Murphy's favorite workout. It was ridiculous to say the least. Here it is:

1 mile run

100 pull ups

200 push ups

300 squats

1 mile run

All with a 15 lb vest on (20 lbs for boys)

David and I did the whole thing. Granted, I had to take the vest off for MOST of the push ups and squats and ALL of the pull ups, and use a huge rubber band to hoist me up so I could actually do said pull ups, and it took me almost 2 hours to get through, but still, I did it all. I thought about Michael Murphy the whole time too. That is the only way I got through it. So so so hard. This is what I get for going on an all you can eat 7 night cruise. Running with a 15 lb vest on REALLY made me not want to gain anymore weight. If anything can get you to stop gaining weight it's that. Try it. You'll see. It sucks.

Besides working myself out to death, I recently bought some maxi (opposite of mini) skirts. FINALLY! I've been waiting for the maxi skirts to go on sale at Express and it finally happened! Yea! Go get them. Such a good deal. Love this blue one.

Finally, long black skirts! I bought these two.

Lately it's been ridiculously warm here. Like 59 degrees! It's nuts I tell you. I've been able to run outside...in January...in Omaha! LOVE it.

Other Goals and Such Adventures

One of my other goals for 2012 is to learn to play the piano.

I had a few years of lessons when I was around 7 and 8 years old, but hated it, of course, as most kids do. Now I totally regret not learning the piano, of course, as most adults do. I have wanted to learn for awhile and this year I decided to start taking lessons again. Luckily my 1st counsellor, Dani (shown on the right in the picture below), plays and teaches piano (check out her blog because she is also an amazing photographer!). Perfect! I've already had two lessons and am learning the notes. My goal is to at least be able to play the hymns in the simplified hymn book. I have a long way to go, but am learning fast. I can play a really simple version of Jingle Bells already!

Onto the current events! On Wednesday the YW made headbands and hair accessories. They love this activity. We have some creative girls.

The girls and their wears.

The 2 hair clips I made. Super easy and fun.

Last night David and I saw The Iron Lady.

David had been wanting to see this movie for awhile. It is all about Margaret Thatcher (the first female prime minister of Britain). The movie was very good. Not everyone's cup of tea (British humor intended), but very well done. Meryl Streep plays an uncanny Margaret. Seriously, she is so good.

Meryl as Margaret:

Margaret herself:

Surprisingly, this movie was very emotional for me. The way it was done was very touching and made me really think about the life of a woman. Every old lady you see has a story. A whole life of experiences that most people will never know or understand. All we usually see as youth is an old person who is out of touch with what is going on in the world today, when in actuality that old person understands more about the world than youth will for years to come. The elderly are, in most cases, written off as spent and of no use, doomed to live out the remainder of their years in a "home" or with family who undervalues them and doesn't know how to relate with them. The irony of that is, who better to relate to you and understand you than someone who has lived through most things one can live through in a lifetime? What we don't realize or think of is the amazing life that has been lived. Years of invaluable experience and knowledge that are hidden behind wrinkles and thinning hair. Thousands of untold emotions, feelings, experiences, thoughts, and stories.

As I get older (and I am by no means old), age is something I think about more and more. Aging is something that has been twisted in our society to mean something bad. If you are old you are somehow ugly, of no use, and senile. The reality is that with age comes wisdom, knowledge, acceptance, patience, calm, and endurance. How are these bad things? Now I'm not saying that getting old isn't without it's pitfalls. My mother would be the first to tell you that having your body fall apart on you is no fun. I've had other older folk express to me the strangeness of passing by a mirror and not recognizing that old person reflected back as themselves, but that is why the aged require the youthful and the youthful require the aged. We need each other. Youth needs the wisdom that can be passed down to them from decades of living. Age needs strong legs and hearts that are willing to listen and help with work that is still required.

Both of David's grandmothers are alive and in their 90's. I love talking to them. They have both lived and are still living extraordinary lives. I have grandparents that are alive today and some that passed before I ever knew them. I have loved getting to know the ones I have had the chance to and can't wait to get to know and hear the stories of the others in the next life. I guess this is all way journaling and genealogy is so important, right? So we can learn from each other.

Anyway! Random tangent over. The Iron Lady was a good movie. The end.

Physical and Spiritual Goals Adventures

I guess it's about time to blog.

Now that we are almost at the end of January I can finally blog about goals and/or New Year's resolutions! Really though, I made some goals for myself for this new year of 2012, but wanted to get a little ways into doing them before I announced them to the world on my blog (or the 4 people who read this). Here they are and how I'm fairing so far.

Let's start with physical goals.

Needless to say, I went a little overboard on the eating the last few months of the year. Can you say Thanksgiving, a cruise AND Christmas all in a row? Wow. It was bad. David and I both had to shape up. Luckily Groupon always obliges us by having an awesome workout deal available around the new year. If you'll remember last year we got the Warrior Training Groupon. This year we got the Groupon for a place called Fit 2 Fight. I got 4 weeks. David got 8 weeks. This was the picture on Groupon for this place. I later met this girl. She is really buff.

Remember how I threw up the first day I did Warrior Training? Yeah, this is worse. Way worse. I didn't throw up the first day, but after the first workout I literally could not walk. David had to support me so I could get back into our apartment. Seriously. It sucked. But was good. Fit 2 Fight uses the CrossFit method which is apparently all about strength training. Our first workout was called the 20/40/60. We had to do 20 kettle bell throws (lifting the kettle bell from the ground to above your head and back down in a throwing motion), 40 overhead chest presses with a bar with about 45 or 55 lbs on it (I'm not sure and I didn't ask), and 60 squats all in a row. 3 times. I seriously almost cried. I didn't think I could get through it, but I did.

Not only are the workouts crazy there, but the whole affair takes place in a dark warehouse downtown with spray paint all over the walls and a HUGE American flag hanging from the unfinished I-beam ceiling. It is seriously straight out of a movie. When David and I walked in the first day, we were scared. Scared at what we were about to go through. Inside was a bunch of HUGE guys (and a few HUGE girls) all with tattoos, grunting and throwing HUGE weights around and yelling things like, "Lift it you lazy sack of crap!" and the like. It seems that most of the members were or are in some sort of military branch or are professional body builders or are collegiate athletes of some sort. It's nuts. I wish I had the courage to take my camera there and snap a few pics for you all. But I'm too scared to even ask. Once I attended a class I didn't sign up for online beforehand and the guy in charge made me do 50 burpees before we started our workout which was all squats with max weight on the bar.

The good thing about this place is that it's actually working. David and I have been watching what we eat a lot more and going to Fit 2 Fight and are getting back to not looking like a pair of puffy, soft, roasted marshmallows. I haven't lost much weight, but I am stronger and my body is changing and that is what counts. Plus I feel better about myself. At last nights workout ONE of the things we had to do was do as many consecutive squats as we could (that was after a bunch of snatch lifts, pull ups and push ups). I did 420 squats. 420 PEOPLE! I literally did squats for a half an hour. There is NO WAY I could have done that 2 weeks ago. I could only do 1 pull up and 10 push ups, but I can pop a squat baby!

Well, I've gone on long enough about all that. Seriously, so. many. squats.

Let's move onto other goals, like spiritual goals.

Lately I've been having a hard time reading my scriptures everyday and going to the temple (at least once a month) so I decided to really concentrate on those by trying to keep a schedule. It has been awhile since I had to keep a schedule, but I've been doing pretty good. Every day when I get up I say a prayer then read my scriptures (anywhere from a chapter to 3 chapters, just whatever I feel like reading) before I do anything else. Another goal that went hand in hand with this one was getting up earlier in the morning. That goal needs a bit more work.

As far as the temple goes, David and I went in December and January and have dates scheduled for going at least once a month on the calendar for this year. So far, so good.

One other spiritual goal I have for the year is to finish the Young Women Personal Progress Program again. The program has changed a bit from when I did it as a teenager and leaders and well as women in the ward can do the program and get the jewelry. I already started this when I read the Book of Mormon with one of my YW to pass off the value project for virtue last October so I'm on my way. Luckily my 1st counsellor is totally on board with me on this and is getting hers too. If you are not aware, here is the new stuff you get for finishing:

Well, first, this is the old necklace. What I got when I finished the Personal Progress program as a teen.

The new necklace comes in silver or gold and has the a laurel wreath, a rose and a beehive on it (symbolizing the Laurel, Mia Maid and Beehive classes) as well as the temple and a ruby which symbolizes the value of virtue (Proverbs 31:10).

The bee charm is not required but for those girls who go the extra mile and read the Book of Mormon for a second time and do 40 hours of service more than what is required. I'm totally getting the bee.

As you pass off each value you get a bejeweled ribbon of that value's color that goes into a bookmark with the YW torch symbol on it.

I want it all!

This post is already a million years long so I'll stop now. I have a few other goals to mention, but I'll do those in the next post. More goals to come!

Pay My Telephone Bills Adventures

Why, oh why must there always be SO many bills to pay? And this is just for the 2nd half of the month. Sometimes I hate being a grown up.

Chalk Art Adventures

Sometimes at work when things are slow I do the chalkboard artwork for behind the bar. Yesterday I finished this one.

This is probably the third or fourth board I've done for them, but I didn't get a picture of the others. I think they ordered some more chalkboards though so I'll probably be doing more. I like the olde timey sign feel to this one.

PS-Thanks to Jen over at Tatertotsandjello for posting my Pinterest artwork and sourcing it on her blog. That little saying I did is everywhere! It's fun to see where it ends up.

Christmas Projects Adventures

I've been pretending I don't have a blog lately! Sorry about the absence. It's always hard for me to get back into the swing of things after Christmas and New Years.

Speaking of Christmas, I can finally post some of the projects I was working on for Christmas. Remember when David and I went to Israel back in March of 2011 and I brought back all this sand and water?

Well, this is what I did with the sand and small shells that came from the shores of the sea of Galilee.

I designed this and stuck it in the window of the box.

I ordered the boxes from Nashville Wraps online (it took me forever to find this, the perfect box) and the glass balls somewhere online too that I can't remember. They are a little nicer than the ones you can buy at the craft store because the glass is a little thicker. I super glued the tops on so the ball wouldn't fall off under the weight of the sand or come out of the small holes at the top.

I'd seen these ornaments before many times. They are a favorite for Young Women leaders to do with their girls because they involve Christ and are usually cheap to make (using any sand and balls that usually come from the craft store). I was excited to make them because I was able to use actual sand and shells from the sea of Galilee! I think they are pretty cool because of that.

The water David and I gathered from the Jordan River I treated with a little bleach and divided into these small vials (I knew that year I spent working in the HydroGeoChem lab at BYU collecting and distilling water samples would pay off!) I ordered the vials from a science supply site online and wax sealed the caps to avoid evaporation.

Then I designed these labels and put them in more boxes I ordered off of Nashville Wraps. I gave them to all my nieces and nephews (I only have one nephew above the age of 8 and I told him he could do whatever he wanted with the water) and I have plenty of vials left over for my future kids and any other future nieces or nephews.

One of the other projects I did was this 20"x20" oil painting I did for one of my sister's in law. All my sister in laws and mother in law on David's side have a watercolor I did of their fave flower. On my side they now all have an oil painting I did of a flower.

I have a hard time taking good pictures of paintings with my camera. In this pic the colors are truer to the actual painting, but there is a glare.

Anyway, I finished the painting just before Christmas and I couldn't send it out wet so I sent a picture of it to my sis with a note. I still have it at my house. Don't worry Paige, it is drying nicely and will be yours soon!

Those are most of my Christmas projects. I miss Christmas already!

Christmas and New Year Traditions Adventures

So sad the holidays are over. Hope yours was as fun filled as mine. David and I stayed in Omaha with his family this year so you know what that means...TRADITIONS! Here is an overview in pictures.

David and I decided to start a new tradition this year. That of ordering a 3 gallon tin of Garrett's Popcorn from Chicago. You may remember that on our recent trip there we fell madly in love with it.

The Friday before Christmas we decorated cookies. Tradition!

Christmas Eve eve sleeping by the tree. Tradition!

Not a tradition, but fun non-the-less was the Christmas eve bowl David and Michael played in with my co-workers. Everyone loved the Thanksgiving turkey bowl, they decided to do it again. Luckily it has been unseasonably warm here this winter. And by unseasonably warm I mean above zero.

Later, Santa came by the house. Tradition!

Christmas eve dinner of steak eaten by candle light. Tradition!

Christmas eve and new PJs. Tradition!

The reading and acting out of the Christmas story. Tradition!

The eggnog toast out of Santa mugs before bed. MY Tradition!

All the "kids" sleeping in the same room on Christmas eve. Tradition!

Waiting to go downstairs in age order on Christmas morning. Tradition!

This year Santa brought everyone hats!

and a marshmallow Yoda head. Yum!

Christmas morning breakfast, candy cane bread. Tradition!

This year going to church was amid the festivities. We all went to mine and David's branch because we both had to sing and narrate in the Christmas program. I sang O Holy Night with David and another duet with a girl in my branch.

After church.

Finally, Rachel doled out the presents from under the tree. Tradition!

This year I got David a sport coat as per his incessant complaining on our cruise that he didn't own one. Doesn't he look smart!

David surprised me with this little jewel. I guess a jeweler nearby was going out of business and everything was half off. I'll take it! I like emeralds.

Christmas dinner Ham. Tradition!

Besides the necklace from David, this was another one of my favorite gifts. Those who know me will agree, these onion goggles were the PERFECT gift for me. Thanks Santa!

Most of the time between Christmas and New Years was filled with being at Tom and Beccy's house with the whole family. So I'll skip to...

midnight on New Year's Eve!

Outside banging pots and pans and lighting off fireworks at midnight. Tradition!

And last, but certainly not least, singing Auld Lang Syne at the piano with Beccy playing and everyone singing like George Bailey. Tradition!

This is really a great picture. It really captures the George Bailey of it all. It's really ridiculous.

Here's to 2012! May it be a good year! Thanks to Beccy and Tom for putting up with all of us all week!