'tis the season

The Christmas holiday was sure busy!

First, I had a lot of goings on over at my other blog.

It was so crazy for the weeks around Christmas that I was actually a bit relieved when it was over. My mom's house was filled with my parents, me and John, my two brothers, their wives, the three grandboys, and my grandma, who frequently came over to visit everyone. There wasn't much time to prep for Christmas since the school year went all the way till the 21st. John and I got more jobs than I was expecting. I didn't think many teachers would take off the last week before Christmas. Boy, was I wrong! We worked every day but one. We'll be very excited to get that paycheck in the next few days!

To start it all off, I made a gingerbread... cube. There is a popular game that John loved, and I played through for a bit until it got too hard and John stopped telling me all the answers, called Portal. In the game is a cube that you carry around in a few of the puzzles called the Companion Cube. Anyway, it looks like this!

Next year I'm going to make a gingerbread TARDIS

We watched lots of Christmas movies including A Christmas Story, Scrooge (1970), Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, and so many others! Like Cars, which we watched because the little boys love it. I saw it so many times in those few days that Owen Wilson started narrating my dreams. 

For Christmas, John and I got new tires for our car (really exciting, huh?) and decided not to really exchange gifts with each other. But he broke that rule and got me something anyway. (Please allow me to brag). Way back in September or October, John and I strolled through the antique stores in town, and I fell in love with a gorgeous pearl ring. I'm not typically usually very fond of pearl jewelry, but this was different. The owner was so nice and pulled it out of the case for me so I could look at it, and when I slipped it on my finger, it fit perfectly. I have never, ever tried on a ring and had it just magically fit. My finger is a size 4.5, so there isn't any surprise why. But this one fit like it had been made for me! She told me it was 14K gold, and the ring was circa 1890. When she first got it, the original pearl had been very beat up and worn, so she found a pearl from the same era and had it set in the band. She told me that had shown it to many, many women, but she had never seen the ring fit anyone before. It was my own glass slipper. Unfortunately, we hadn't really been working yet, and I knew we couldn't afford it. So I put it back. And I heard my heart break.

Imagine my surprise when John took me in into our room on Christmas morning and handed me a large box. The first thing I said was, "Did you put Suki in the box so when I open it, she jumps out at my face?" He laughed and said, "No! Just open it!" So I did. And at the bottom of the large box was a small ring box. And in the ring box was my antique gold and pearl ring. I started crying so much, because this had been a really, really hard Christmas for me. It completely brightened my whole day! And I have worn my ring almost every day since. 

Then, I felt bad, because I didn't have a super special, secret gift for John. I did, however, have something wrapped for him. For the last few months, John and I have had this thing. I don't know what to call it. When school started back in September, my mom brought home all of the stuffed animals from her classroom to give them a good bath.  Included in the bunch was a hideous, gross, green Furby toy that I'm sure came in a McDonald's Happy Meal. She had decided to retire it without ceremony, so I stole it to play a prank on John. I hid it under the covers on his side of the bed so he'd see it when he got in that night and be scared by its creepy, murderous face. From then on, we have taken turns at hiding the Furby for each other to find. The best was when he hid it in my scripture case and I found it in the middle of Sacrament meeting at church. 

Anyway, so I had wrapped the stupid Furby in a box and put it under the tree for John to unwrap that morning. It seemed so funny to me at the time until I got the gorgeous pearl ring, and then he went for the Furby gift with an excited glint in his eye. Fortunately, he had a fantastic sense of humor and thought the wrapped Furby was hilarious. 

Later Christmas morning, John and I had a date to the movies to see Les Miserables. I know it wasn't very popular with many of my friends, but I really did love it. We pigged out on large popcorns and soda pops, which was a bad idea at a 2.5 hour long movie, and had a grand date. 

We spent lots of time playing games (the favorite this time was Wits and Wagers) and watching more Cars. It was busy, loud, and hectic, but we all had a great time.

thanksgiving

We had quite a whirlwind adventure for Thanksgiving. Not a week after getting back from Disneyland (luckily I had recovered from my flu by this time) we re-packed our bags and drove over to Utah. We stayed with John's cousin Kristi and her husband Kingston and baby Knox. It was so fun seeing them and loved their new house in Draper. We really wish we could go back and see them again soon.

The first day we were there, we went straight to BYU to visit some of John's friends, and had lunch in the MOA cafe. Since we were there, we had to sit in on a Men's Chorus rehearsal. I loved being there again, but it just made me emotional and made John sad. And we got to see Sister Rosalind Hall! I cannot tell you how much we love and adore that woman. I'm not sure there is a more beautiful, talented, and kind-hearted woman in this world. (Can you tell I'm a big fan?)

After that, we did what was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We went and visited with Amanda, went to dinner with her, Victoria, and Victoria's fiance to all you can eat sushi, which ended up being really good. After dinner we completed our years long tradition and saw Breaking Dawn Part II at midnight. I can't say it was a great movie by itself, but compared to the others, it was pretty fantastic. I really enjoyed the ending.

The next day was spent with our family, after seeing Amber, who drove up to Draper to visit very briefly. We saw Beth's apartment and met her roommates, then went to Jacob's and visited, met up with Hilary, and we treated them all to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. The night ended at Hilary's house in Alpine watching The Artist and White Christmas. We had to have some culture after the previous night. I loved being with my siblings-in-law. I really feel close to them and really miss them a lot.

The last day we were there we met with a few more of John's friends at a Thai place in Orem, stopped by to see some of our friends Drew and Julie, and Curtis and Jessie and their new baby (I wish we had had more time with them) and then raced back to Kristi's to get ready and see the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. I'm not the hugest James Bond fan, so when I say that I wanted to read my book through only half of it, it was pretty successful.

Well, that ended our Provo trip, and I was tired enough to be ready to go home! But instead, we made the 5 hour drive to Boise to visit with John's parents. It was nice to relax downstairs and have the whole floor to ourselves! We don't have that much space to ourselves nowadays, so it was a great change.

John was sick for the first few days we were there, so Starla and I went to the temple to do a session by ourselves and I got to see the newly remodeled temple. It is absolutely gorgeous. It's my favorite temple inside that I have ever seen, and I am jealous of their bride's room! The only way I can describe it is "Rivendell." I can't wait to go back with John so see can see it. After the temple trip, we had a quick girl's day that was really fun. We went to the mall and found some boots, got lunch, and picked out a pound of See's Candy.

Beth and Jake got there not long after, and the whole family was together again. It was fun to see them, watch movies, and of course, have a huge Thanksgiving dinner. We ate at a friend's house and had a great time eating and visiting.

The next morning we did some Black Friday shopping. We didn't go all crazy and get to the store at 4 AM. We just went to Best Buy around noon and actually found everything on our list that we wanted! I was so excited and didn't think I would have such luck. That afternoon we went up to the cabin and had a great time. I spent most of it reading by the fire. I loved being back at the cabin. It's where John and I spent part of our honeymoon, so I have a special fondness for it.

Finally, we drove back home to Nevada. It was quite the month for us! I will say that it was really fun not having to work for three weeks, and I feel that it was worth it being able to take a great vacation. Now we just have to work and work to save our money for the grad school applications and (hopefully) lots of interview trips John will be taking the next few months.

disneyland

I've been lacking when it comes to blogging lately. But I'll do some updates from the last few months since John has reminded me a few times. However, I have been keeping up at my other blog, and just posted some hopefully happy news.

About a month ago, John, my mom, and I went to Disneyland for three days. It was fabulous! We got hopper passes and were able to go to both parks. The first two days we were there, Tom Hanks was filming his new movie with Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks. It's about Disney's struggle to retain the rights to make Mary Poppins into a film. It was really neat being able to see all of the extras on their way to the set dressed up in 50s outfits. However, Fantasyland was closed for a whole day, so that was a bummer. Mostly because all of the children had to swarm other areas of the park instead of sticking around Fantasyland. But we just spent most of the day in California Adventure, so it worked out.

We loved the new Star Tours ride! Now, the adventure that you go on changes every time you ride. There are multiple places where you can fly, and the computer picks two every time you go on the ride. There is also a part where the ride picks a Rebel Spy by taking a picture of someone in the ride with you. John got picked to be the Rebel Spy once, and our mission was to race through and get him to the rebel base safely and avoid the Empire. It's also 3D now, but I could have done without that just fine. I'm not the biggest fan of 3D.

Overall, the trip was fantastic. The only damper was when I got the flu at lunchtime on our last day and threw up in the bathroom (I made it to a toilet. It's possibly my biggest accomplishment of my life) by the King Trident's Carousel in California Adventure. We still stayed a few more hours because I would have felt incredibly guilty cutting the trip short for the others, so I almost threw up again outside of the Tiki Room. Luckily, I didn't have to force a poor employee to clean it up. We did leave a little early, but it really was as much as I could take.

home improvement

A few weeks ago, my parents put in new floors in the house. There used to be some pretty gross, cracked, pink tile throughout the kitchen, dining room, and laundry room. We also had carpet down the hall to the bedrooms and in high traffic areas between the living room and kitchen. So, because of that, the carpet was pretty nasty. But now, we have gorgeous, new tile floors!

Yes, it really is tile. It's imported from Italy, and is all variated and uneven to look like real wood. 

substituting

There's an update on the other blog about our recent heartache.

John and I have been doing a lot of substitute teaching over the last month. He definitely enjoys subbing at the high school more than teaching the younger kids. I get intimidated when teaching the older kids. I relate to them well and enjoy being around them, but get really nervous when I have to teach the material. It's usually stuff I don't know but have to pretend to know. As soon as I stumble or say something stupid or wrong, I start to lose them and the rest of the class period starts leaving my control. But, I discovered that kids of all ages love stickers, so those usually put me back in their favor. Thank goodness for the dollar store and their amazing supply of cheap stickers. And, throwing in a meme reference to the high schoolers never goes amiss, either.

But, we usually get calls for the elementary school. I haven't taught the older elementary kids yet, but did teach preschool and kindergarten. Those classes are more like wrangling cats than actually teaching, but it's still fun. And very tiring!

John and I are looking forward to taking a day off and going up to Reno for an evening together. We'll stay at one of the casinos, get a dinner buffet, and maybe go see a movie. It'll be great to have a long date night together! We haven't had one for so long because we haven't had income since I left The Journey. It's so nice and comforting to see paychecks being deposited into my account again!

We have also started looking into dates for Disneyland. We're thinking end of October or beginning of November. I can't wait!

new bed

Our old bedspread that we got for a wedding gift was so well-loved that it had almost fell apart by the time we got to Nevada. I love looking around on Pinterest, and a while ago, I found a bed that I loved. And now that I needed a new one, I was able to attempt something similar.

The Pinterest bed. I love the coral color, and the grey/tan bedspread. I love the texture on the bedspread.

And here is mine. I love linen! And this is a light beige, damask linen bedspread. I accented with coral/salmon sheets, which are a little brighter than I wanted, but these were the only coral I could find. The color looks even brighter in the picture. It's more muted and orange in person. I even looked online. I hope the color will fade a bit as I wash it. We ordered the bed skirt online because they didn't have Queen size in the store. It's a plain linen skirt the same shade as the darker beige on the bedspread. It will look much better without the blue box spring peeking out the sides.

I was really surprised to find an accent pillow to match. I couldn't find any coral decorations period. And Bed, Bath and Beyond had this one in the clearance section! It goes perfectly with the rest of the bed. 

Amazingly, John didn't mind me decorating in pink. He's the best husband ever! 

update and cats

The latest is up on my other blog if you care to read it. 

John and I dropped off Suki to the vet this morning to be declawed. She has to stay overnight after the surgery, so we'll miss having her sleeping in our room tonight. But it's good her claws are going. She does not like other cats or small children, and she uses her claws on them. So I'm sure Momo and my nephews will be much happier. 

Momo ran away not long after we got here. He was gone for a few days, and didn't come when we called for him. But, one morning at 6 AM, he was sitting at the back door ready to come inside. He had hurt his leg, and it must have taken him a while to hobble back home. We think it's just a sprain because it's looking better pretty fast. He's next up at the vet when his leg heals enough. He won't be a real man anymore, and his front claws will also be going. Poor thing will have hurt paws for a while, first with the sprain, then with the surgery. 

moving

We're gone! No longer in Provo. We've been in Nevada for a little over a week now. It's so nice! I love being around my family. I also love the people here, and the beautiful green valley and mountains. I didn't know how much I missed it.

I learned a few things while moving. 

• It takes a really long time to pack art well. You would think only 8-10 items wouldn't take that long to pack. But it took Starla and I about an hour to pack our art really well so it would be padded and protected.
• The advice "pack big things in small boxes and small things in big boxes" is terrible. Putting lots of small things in a big box will still make the big box really heavy. I put just a few big things together in a big box. That made it much lighter.
• Even if you pack everything that you can a few days in advance, it still leaves a 15 hour day for you on moving day.
• Moving is very expensive. It was about $1,000 to move to a neighboring state. 
• Cats are more afraid of the truck when they are inside and it's not moving than when they are inside while it's driving. 
• Even on grades that aren't very steep, the truck can only go about 25 MPH. 
• We couldn't have finished everything in time without the help of John's mom, Starla, his brother, Jacob, and our friend, Hilary. Thank you all so much!

Hilary, Craig, me, and John

We spent 13 hours in that truck the next day.

movie villains

I watched The Shawshank Redemption with John this evening for the first time. We saw it sitting in the $5 bin at WalMart, so it came home with us. I really enjoyed it, but held onto a deep hatred of the Warden, and started making a mental list of the most evil villains in films. At first I tried to assign an order, but it got really hard to rank who was more evil. The last on the list is definitely, unquestionably my number one, but the rest are all pretty equal to each other.

Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)- The mistreatment and unprofessional punishments she inflicted upon the patients was heart-wrenching.

Iago (Othello)- Scheming home-wrecker. Watching his plan fall into place is so depressing.

Warden Samuel Norton (The Shawshank Redemption)- What a cowardly, selfish man. I was unhappy with his easy out he took at the end.

Bob Ewell (To Kill a Mockingbird)- Can I assign the description white trash to him? Drunk, lying, abusive white trash?

Percy Wetmore (The Green Mile)- He just made me so angry and upset! Just an evil, small man.  He got what was coming to him.

Captain Vidal (Pan's Labyrinth)- Cold-blooded abuser and murderer.

Heath Ledger's Joker (The Dark Knight)- The psychological torture he put the people through made my whole heart hurt, and really upset me.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)- Creepy, psychotic serial killer. Although, he was a bit fascinating to watch.

"Buffalo Bill" (The Silence of the Lambs)- Another creepy, psychotic serial killer, but not fascinating to watch. Just depressing and horrifying.

Amon Goeth (Schindler's List)- He made me outright sob multiple times during the movie because of his actions against the Jews in the concentration camps, and I hadn't been affected by any villain like that before or since.

I'm know there are plenty of other villains who deserve to be listed here. Who would be added to your list?

lists

8 TV Shows I love to watch:

1. White Collar
2. Suits
3. Project Runway
4. Parks and Recreation
5. Community
6. Downton Abbey
7. Sherlock
8. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Bombay House
2. Thai Mango
3. Wild Ginger
4. Happy Sumo
5. Terra Mia
6. Cafe Rio
7. Texas Roadhouse
8. Rancheritos

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

1. I watched The Dark Knight with friends
2. I slept in
3. I was treated to dinner by Amanda
4. I made oatmeal cookies
5. I went on a hunt for BYU's maple bar doughnuts
6. I forgot that EFY has invaded campus, and had to run for my life while searching for my precious doughnuts
7. I went to Costco
8. I wrote a post on my other blog

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. The Dark Knight Rises early showing tonight
2. Eating at Thai Mango before the movie
3. Visiting my family next week 
4. Shopping!
5. Getting far, far away from Provo
6. Having an income
7. Going to Disneyland in October
8. Halloween

8 Things On My WishList:

1. Sherlock on DVD
2. Community seasons one and three 
3. The IT Crowd complete series
4. New black flats
5. A job for John
6. More maple bars
7. Seeing the llamas again
8. More rain