With Love ♥

Bonfire in the Winter

2012-02-14T07:16:00.000-05:00

We had a bonfire the other day with our friends. Where you ask? In the Blue Ridge Mountains! I live in such a beautiful place! My whole life I've heard songs serenading these mountains and the Shenandoah Valley, like the song Shenendoah (which is our school song btw), and now I get to experience the beauty myself. The moon was huge so we had tons of light, and it's been a warm winter so we were almost too hot once we got the fire going.
There's a Bear! Oh, it's just my Bear. Phew.

We went up to the Indian Rocks, and started a fire without a starter log. I kind of feel like I could survive the apocalypse with Bear and all of his resourcefulness skills.

We have a Alaskan friend that came with us, and building a fire was like tying his shoes. He said he found a dead tree on the way up to the rocks and asked us if we wanted him to go get it. It made me laugh.
Those are Rachel's TOMs and my NIKE's. We usually have our matching TOMS together. I'm so glad that I have her as a friend.

Haka

2012-02-13T01:46:00.000-05:00

This is Bear at our Institute Cultural Night. It was a bit frightening. He stuck his tongue out at the end, but I missed it.

Cute towel

2012-02-06T13:56:00.001-05:00

My mom just sent a surprise package to me, and this cute little towel was included in it. I love Valentines. And my cute mommy.

She also sent me fabric to finish up the baby quilt that I'm making for my niece and friend. I'm so happy!But I need to go focus on my paper for Historical Methods...analyzing three primary source documents on checmical warfare in World War I. Wish me luck!

P.S. We've been married for 8 months now! And I've never been happier!

Chicago, America

2012-02-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

Part of my Christmas present from my parents was going to Chicago a week before Christmas! We took Amtrax from Macomb to Chicago, and walked around the city all day. We pictures in front of The Bean. The weather was perfect! Sunny, no wind, and in the 50's.

We walked all the way down Michigan Ave to go to the Cheesecake Factory. I think that and Olive Garden are my favorite restaurants. Oh, and Wasabi's in Roanoke. I just like food a little but too much. We went to the American Girl store, the Hershey's and Ghiradelhi stores, lots of fun clothing stores, and of course Tiffany's! I hadn't been in one since we lived in Tokyo. But my favorite was the Anthropologie store. They had so many sales that they didn't have online! Because they were half off, we stocked up on THESE and THESE for the guys and girls in our lives that we needed to buy presents for. And my mom bought the cutest apron!
We also got to go with Laura and Constance Skog, who knew their way around the city. The whole time, we kept saying "Chicago, America" like Tevye and Lazar Wolf do at the end of The Fiddler on the Roof movie. It will always be a good memory to me. We didn't go to any shows or museums, but I still had a ton of fun! I slept the whole train ride there and back. The buildings were so beautiful! And once I got back to school, the first day of my American History class started with the Chicago World Fair. And it made it that much more real in my head.

On another note, there was a window display for A Christmas Story: The Musical!. Look at the leg lamp! Now, that would be an interesting show :)

I want to go back! Maybe this time with Bear - he was bummed that it was a girls day. He really wanted to go.

New Shoes

2012-01-29T11:21:00.002-05:00

Because I'm taking a jogging class this semester, and my running shoes were from cross country my sophomore year of high school, and were falling apart, so I bought these lovely Nike running shoes. They're so light and comfortable and I'm really starting to love running. This next week I run a total of 3.5 miles. I'm so much happier with my body! I just need to start eating a little better. If you're looking for running shoes, definitely get these ones!

Bear got me these sequin TOMS for Christmas. And I love them.

Baseball Cuff Bracelets

2012-01-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post about these cool baseball cuff bracelets that my friend Brandy made for the SVU baseball wives/girlfriends. Brandy is due to have a baby boy at the very beginning of March. These pictures are from her birthday party back in November.

It's a horrible picture of me, but we had fun singing karaoke. I'm glad that I have made friends through baseball. And I love my bracelet! She got the idea from Pinterest, and you can too by clicking HERE.

But ours look more 'baseball' and have our men's last names on them. Even though the first game in Savannah was cancelled, I'm still excited for baseball to start in February! You can visit Brandy's blog by clicking HERE.

Excited

2012-01-23T13:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry, these are old pictures from Thanksgiving break in South Carolina on Myrtle Beach. It was over 70 degrees that day and the sand was white...I was in heaven. The Price family are going to be staying on this same beach for Christmas 2012. I'm so excited! I'm also excited for baseball season and to move out of our current apartment! And to stop reading about the depressing Holocaust!

But I got a handsome husband ♥

Life is Beautiful

2012-01-18T15:15:00.000-05:00

So life is beautiful but crazy. But mostly beautiful. It's always hard for me to get into the swing of things. I tend to get overwhelmed and have melt-downs...which broke one of my resolutions. So I decided the smart thing to do is not set a goal to completely stop them, but to figure out why I melt down first and go from there. I expect too much out of myself and compare myself with other people to no end. I get into the same cycle over and over again. I push myself too far.

Which is when I need to step back and see how beautiful life really is. 2-3 days out of my week might be crazy busy, money might be tight right now, I may not love our living situation, I might be drowning in homework, and I might miss my family, BUT I still have 4-5 days of peace, I'm lucky to have a job, a hard-working husband, have the opportunity to go to an expensive school for free, I do have a place to live and we aren't starving on the streets, and I have a family alive and well that loves me. I have good friends that keep me happy.

Even though my phone broke this week, a new one came in the mail the next day, even though ice skating was too full in Roanoke we were able to go to Chik-fil-a etc etc. I for one don't believe in chanting "I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy" and forcing positive thoughts or a smile while still being bitter on the inside. Sometimes we need to be sad and let it out. But I think it helps to step back subjectively and say "hey, most of the troubles in my life are in my head" and start being happy from there.

I'm learning so much this semester because all of my classes are ones that I'm really interested in. Right now we're deciding if we want to do internships or go work in California again this summer, but I'm not going to stress about it. And I'm going to start taking more pictures. I promise.

Beginning of the Semester

2012-01-08T23:00:00.003-05:00

Baseball practice starts tomorrow for Bear. Which means team weight lifting at 5:50 am, which will wake me up...but on the upside, I'm so excited for the games! We're also both in an opera workshop, which is our only class together. Who knew that would ever end up happening? Opera? Really? haha

But my class work load seems manageable so far. I'm finally settling into my major. And I'm only working 10 hours a week, with no class on Fridays. I'll be busy all day Tuesday and Thursday, but I hope that I can make it to most of Bear's home games. And...the best part is church is at 1 pm. So I don't feel like counting down the days til the end of the semester (to be put out of my misery) like last semester.

Bear asked me to marry him a year ago today. Of course choosing to come to SVU was the first good choice, but I really am so happy that I said yes to him. We've been married for a little over 7 months now, and every day things get better. So far, we've been able to keep up reading our scriptures every day and praying together for the past few days, but let's see what happens once baseball starts.

It's also been a week since New Years Day. In a way, I don't know where the past week went, but at the same time, I thought, "I've only been working on my resolutions for a week?", and I understood why people give up on their resolutions so fast. But I think it's important to set hard goals. Not to over-burden yourself with them, but to have at least one long-term goal that really pushes you. At least for me, I love looking back on how far I've come, and to be able to say, "I fulfilled my dream" or "I feel like I can do anything now!" So, when I really realized that I've been working out 5-6x a week for a month and half, instead of just a week, I really felt good. Not all goals have to start at the new year. The good thing is, I don't feel over-burdened with my goals. So I think I can do it. You can too.

Emma

2012-01-07T00:30:00.003-05:00

I watched the 2009 version of Emma last year when Bear and I were still engaged. I know British dramas are not Bear's favorite (that's mostly what we watched all of Christmas break), and he only suffers through them for me, but I really do love them. I guess it's because I grew up on them. I just love British humor, and my current obsession is Downton Abbey!

So, although not all the British dramas I watch are super mushy Jane Austen movies, Emma really is my favorite (even though Downton Abbey is keeping me on my toes). I love the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version and didn't really like the 2009 version when I saw it a few months ago. But my dad gave it to my mom for Christmas, so I watched it again with her. And I like it a lot better now. Mostly because of this video:

It just makes me so happy. I don't romanticize and yearn about my own future love story any more now that I'm married, but I would like to say that I'm happy that I grew up on Jane Austen. It taught me to not settle for anybody and to marry your best friend. Now that I'm married, I can feel as happy as Emma does in the above video every day if I want. It's the best time of my life. It's so worth the yearning-ful wait of my teenage years. I don't compare my own love story to Twilight, Jane Austen, or any other silly fictional romance, because the best love story is your own. Because it's real, and you get to live it every day. I made Bear promise me today that we will keep falling in love with each other our whole lives and not turn into Mr. Elton's definition of an "old married man".

Now I get to buy all of my own Jane Austen movies ♥

THE END

Exercise

2012-01-03T11:37:00.000-05:00

So I have an adult body now with a slowing metabolism. I tried to workout during the summer, but I couldn't get a gym and the arid desert in California made it not fun to run in. Then I kept using the excuse of being too busy with school to work out. But like I said before, it's all about priorities. So I've been working out 5 to 6 times a week since the week before Thanksgiving. There's a free gym at school and I need to use it when I can! But since I've been at my parents' house, I've been using their Kinect fitness and Zumba. I love that it tells me that I'm not doing it right and so I get a much better work out. I've never worked out this hard in my life. And the fact that I did it through Christmastime is a big thing for me. So I really feel like I can continue the habit on into this new year. And I really do look like the bottom half of the picture when I do Zumba. I know so because Mia, Noah, and Grace all started laughing at me. :( But I can do it! Priorities!

We're leaving to go back to school tomorrow. It will be a nice, all-day-long drive. With Bustard Kitty. School starts Thursday. This break has been exactly what I needed. I got enough relaxing time with my family. It's been 3 weeks! Bring on school. I'm ready.

It was also my aunt Nancy's last chemo today. I'm really proud of her! You can read about her story HERE.

Temple Goal

2012-01-02T10:57:00.001-05:00

Every Christmas, our family gives a gift to Jesus by writing something we want to improve about ourselves. We put it in our stocking, and get to read it the next year. I found mine from a few years ago and it had to do with the Mutual theme for that year.

I couldn't think of what I wanted to do until I read Elder Russell M. Nelson's article in the December 2011 Ensign entitled The Peace and Joy of Knowing the Savior Lives. He states, "considering all that the Savior has done - and still does - for us, what can we do for Him? The greatest gift we could give to the at Christmas, or at any other time, is to keep ourselves unspotted from the world, worthy to attend His holy temple. And His gift to us will be the peace of knowing that we are prepared to meet Him, whenever that time comes." In Elder Patrick Kearon's article, Come Let Us Adore Him, he talks about Simeon and how his "righteous and faithful life enabled him to be present in the temple so he could testify of the Light when at last he found it" and that because of his worthiness "he was in the right place at the right time". Likewise, Anna "departed not from the temple" (Luke 2:37). He states that even if we haven't made it to the temple yet, we can still enjoy the blessings that flow into our lives when we worthily hold a temple recommend.

There were many articles about the Savior that I loved in that issue, and I want to keep going back over them. And in general, people can set goals to exercise, drink more water, save money etc etc, and I really do believe in setting goals and bettering ourselves. Sometimes I want to set the coolest or most resolutions to prove myself to somebody else. And I did set goals to not have as many anxiety attacks, show more appreciation for Bear, and learn new crafty skills. I said I wanted to be more careful with money and share my piano skills to help at church.

But after reading all of these articles, and after seeing everyone's goals and reminders to attend the temple every month, it has finally hit me that that should be my ultimate goal. Getting to the temple every month is super hard, especially where we are at school. But like my high school classmate's facebook status today:"It's all about priorities. If you want something bad enough, you WILL make it happen." And I've already been to the Nauvoo Temple twice during the break. It's my favorite. I can do it. That is my gift to Jesus.

Here's to the New Year

2012-01-01T18:57:00.002-05:00

I am going to start afresh with posting this year. When I was taking 21 credits, even updating once a week became impossible.

But I can report that we had a fun time dressing up as people from the 60's for Halloween (because I'm obsessed with The Help), enjoyed every last second of the 70 degree weather in South Carolina for Thanksgiving (and the amazing massage that I got from my sister in law Lora), survived finals and the craziness of December, and made it safely to Nauvoo for Christmas.

I honestly don't know how I could have made it through this semester without Bear. He earned enough money for us this summer so that I didn't have to work during school, and he helped me get through the times I wanted to rip out my hair. Even though it seems silly now, it really felt like I wasn't going to make it through those last 3 weeks of school between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Even though it wasn't planned until last minute, a bunch of events fell into place so that the two of us could pick Tashi up from the St. Louis airport and surprise my parents. So the whole family was together for my dad's birthday, Christmas, and New Years. Seriously everything we've done has been as a family and we've hardly left the house. Even going to my grandparents' house in Missouri was spending time as a family! We have just been catching up on reading, quilting, and playing Ticket to Ride. Tashi has started The Hunger Games finally. I finished the quilt top for my baby niece Pearl's quilt. And the Prices got our own Ticket to Ride! I'm quite content. But because I've been spending so much time with my family, and because that has been the main focus of this Christmas, I keep forgetting about all of my presents and that Christmas is actually over. This is definitely one of my favorite Christmases. I've been in Utah the past 3 Christmases (for good reasons of course), but it really felt nice to spend my WHOLE Christmas with just the Stouts in Nauvoo. I love Nauvoo.

I'm only taking 13 credits this semester. Which will be a nice change. I crammed my classes into Tuesdays and Thursdays so that only have one 1 hour class on Mondays and Wednesdays (at 4pm), with no class on Friday at all. I'll also be working again, but only 10 hours a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so that my weekends are still open. Bear won't be working, because baseball season will be starting and he'll be super busy with that. I'm excited to watch.

Right now I'm signed up for these classes:

Historical Methods
History of the Holocaust
Topics in American History (1890-1940)
Jogging
Piano Accompaniament

I can finally focus on history classes and music classes. And I get to go to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. for a field trip and I get to read The Great Gatsby for my American history class, which I've wanted to do for a long time! I'm so excited for this new year and semester! What about you?

Bonfires, Corn Mazes, and Hayrides

2011-10-25T23:51:00.000-04:00

Sometimes papers, tests, and projects almost push me overboard, but I'm doing well in school. It's been hard to stay on top of though. Luckily, I have a Bear to love me and keep me motivated. That is the most delicious pumpkin pie ice cream above in Lexington. It makes me very happy.

Bear pretends to hate the cat, but I keep finding them together. He's just such a fun kitty to hold and cuddle. He really is a dog.

We were lame and didn't go to the homecoming dance this year. We had planned a double date to go on a hayride and to a corn maze, and finally the dance, but Bear had a scrimmage with another school that day, the only one before the season and was going to take up the whole day. I was supposed to sing in the women's choir for the homecoming concert on Friday night, so it looked like we weren't going to be able to do anything fun that weekend.

But the boys surprised us and planned a bonfire up at Panther Falls for us. I love surprises!
And we got to go to the hayride and corn mazelast weekend, as you can tell from the pictures below. The weather was perfect on both Saturdays, so it really worked out. I even got some sun at Bear's scrimmage (which I happened to not take pictures of him playing).

I got an A on my Intro to Music History midterm. I worked hard on that baby so I'm proud of myself. I thought I knew music, but it's teaching me so much. I'm learning to pull words out of my head for papers or presentations easier now.

I have also learned recently to make sure you bought a zucchini instead of a cucumber, and then after you find out it's a cucumber...don't try and bake with it! Bear wouldn't even eat it, and that's saying something...the adventures of a beginner cook.
I am in love with Virginia in the Fall. I wouldn't give it up for anything. The view above is from our hayride. Love, love. And we're also a few days past the half-way mark of the semester. I feel like a weeny because I don't have a legitimate job or play any sports, but my schedule is really wearing me down this semester. So I'm very grateful and looking forward to my easy next semester. And I'm getting so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas to be with family again.

Last weekend was what I really needed. I was able to catch up on sleep and go have fun on a double date with Rachel and Zach. The date was so much fun! We went to the hayride and corn maze like I said before, but it ended up being more for little kids. We still had fun of course. I put more pictures up on Facebook. Then we went to sushi in Lexington, went back to our apartment to watch "Darkness Falls" (which ended up being very stupid), play Ligretto, and drink homemade pumpkin white hot chocolate. I hadn't laughed like that in a long time.

The picture above is our super awkward perching or "owling" picture. We also took these pictures at a park right by the sushi restaurant while we were waiting for it to open.
Bear turned 23 on Sunday. I bought him some Nike id running shoes with his name on them in school colors. And a baseball bracelet, and a baseball sign for the house (so maybe that was more for me). i made a German chocolate cake, and listened to him complain about how old he is. I love him so much and I hope we have 77 more years together!There was a bomb threat Sunday night, but we were off campus and unaffected by the lock-down. 2 people got arrested, but we don't know who they are. All the buildings on campus had to be searched between 1 and 4 am. Poor students had to be evacuated out of their dorms. The school handled it really well though. Class went on normally on Monday (I think to teach everyone a lesson that pranks don't get people out of class). Even though I got sleep, I was hoping for no class too, but that's SVU for you. The stinky thing was it was right before some important accreditation people were coming to tour the school to see if we've been doing well. Hopefully they'll notice how well the problem was taken care of. And although students mumbled and grumbled about it, I'm glad everyone's safe.

Sorry I always talk about homework. But my next goal is to survive a book report on a book on Socialism that I'm behind on, and a 8-10 page paper on Mozart's 41st symphony. I can do it.

Wool Coat

2011-10-17T08:40:00.004-04:00

Bear bought this pink wool coat for me! I'm so excited for it to come in the mail. It's so dressy and feminine. I'm happy that I'll have a coat that I can wear to church. I can take the bow tie off if I want to to. And I'm not one of those people that gets mad if you happen to like the same style as me, so if you want one too, click HERE.

It was hard to choose from all of the different colors, but in the end I decided I wanted a happy color one instead of your typical black or grey wool coat. It just makes me happy looking at it!

This one is watermelon red, and then there's gray, light pink, red, black, beige, and camel.

Happy, happy.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-13T17:39:00.000-04:00

Life has been crazy busy, but has also been very good to us. I've had 3 tests, 2 presentations and a major paper since I last updated, which I thought were going to be the end of me. Tutoring has been coming along. I make $60 a month. And it's just about as much as I can handle right now.

General Conference was just what I needed. I got my answers and it really helped me through these crazy school weeks. We passed our first cleaning checks too (which were a nightmare!), which is something that makes us very happy. I've also started making dinner every night. I get the ideas from Pinterest.com. Some days I'm too stressed out and Bear says, "let's just have leftovers." Those words are just what I need to hear (even though there's usually no leftovers). But I'm pretty proud of myself knowing that I'm budgeting, eating healthy, and making good food for me and Bear. I'll be sure to post some of the good things I've gotten from that lovely site.

One of my presentations was in my Political Philosophy class. I was super nervous and asked Bear to give me a blessing. It's an upper division class, and I had to be prepared for the questions and debating comments my classmates would throw at me at the end of the class. I felt like I did a horrible job, but I got 44/45. So prayers and preparation do work. And somehow I've been able to stay on top of my homework. It's kind of a miracle.

I went to my first drive-in movie last weekend. It was my second time seeing The Help, but Bear hasn't seen it yet. I cried even harder this time. There was something so fun about sitting in the back of our truck bundled up in blankets in the fall night weather that made me really happy about life at that moment.
The leaves are starting to change outside. There's this one particular tree that I can see from our living room window that is absolutely breathtaking. Tuesday was a day off from school for going to the DC Temple. I really wanted to go, but we had just recently been and it's 3 hours one way. I felt so guilty, but I felt like I just needed to focus on me and Bear and to take a breather after our crazy two weeks. One of the things on our Fall bucket list was to go to a pumpkin patch, and I found this one about an hour away from us in Monroe, VA. The whole drive was gorgeous. We drove along the Jame River in the Blue Ridge Mountains with all the colorful trees. Virginia is so beautiful. This little old man owned this pumpkin patch in the middle of nowhere. We were pretty much the only ones there. We picked out unique gourds, along with a white pumpkin and a pink one! Pink I tell you! It's actually more of a salmon color, but I claim it as pink. The little old man with the Appalachian Virginian accent said he'd never seen one like it before. Usually that kind has little brown knobs all over it. But this one was acne free! I'm quite happy. Decorating them has made me quite happy too.

We are very happy. I hope you are too. We're going on a hay ride and to a corn maze this Saturday. I'm really excited!

Birthday Week

2011-09-25T21:23:00.002-04:00

The picture above is on our drive last Saturday to the DC Temple. The fog was super pretty.

I gave blood on Tuesday. It was my third time trying, and my second successful time. I gave in September of last year and tried in November, but had a really traumatic experience and had to wait awhile, and I'm glad it worked out. All this time I thought O positive was the universal blood type donor, but found out that day it was O negative. I don't feel as special now. We also got our refund checks from school. That definitely makes a girl happy. We went to Lee-hi's that night to get our blood sugar up again from giving blood.

^ These are our friends Josh and Rachel. They're both from North Carolina.
My birthday was on Wednesday! I'm officially 20. For awhile now I've been excited to get out of my teenage years, but now I feel kind of old. I kind of had a melt down on my birthday because it was such a busy day. Bear kept telling me to forget that it was my birthday, because we were going to celebrate on Saturday. But I love birthdays. So it was hard for me, but I got through the day and we went to Lee-hi's again that night :) My birthday was also my first day of tutoring. I tutor a few freshman football players. It's fun for me because I love history and it helps me review for my Western Civ II class at the same time.

Thursday was my second day of tutoring and I didn't feel as stupid. I went to a very good piano concert that was a student's senior recital that day too. After the concert and a meeting about being a music minor, it just reminded me why I'm not crazy enough to be a music major.

^ This is our silly kitty. I promise we're not animal abusers, but this just shows how he lets us do whatever. He's kind of a dog. And we love him. He doesn't play fetch yet, but he waits for us to come home, he wants to eat human food all day, and lets us totally handle him without freaking out. And we figured out he looks just like Tom from Tom and Jerry. Look it up. The're even gray and white in the same places.

On Friday, I got a duvet for a bed so that we don't have to fight over all my little blankets I've had since I was a little girl all night. And an iron too! Now I can quilt and iron Bear's dress shirts. On Friday night, we got invited to go to Roanoke by Andrew and Brandy, and we went to Red Lobster. It was my first time because I don't like seafood. So I ordered the shrimp linguine alfredo without shrimp haha. I loved the biscuits and I have to admit the coconut shrimp Bear got was pretty good. And then we went and watched Moneyball. Bear and Andrew loved it of course because they're on the SVU baseball team. But it had beena long week for me and I totally fell asleep during the movie. I've never done that during a movie at the movie theater before. I liked the concept though. It was a good date night!

We went to Roanoke again on Saturday because we had been planning it for while. Bear let me go on a shopping spree. We got Bear all new baseball gear too because he really needed it. And we planned to go to Wasabi's, my favorite Japanese restaurant, here was a carnival of some sort downtown and we couldn't really get to it. So we went to Red Robin's - another first for me. We got this fun onion ring tower hee hee. After we got home, I had a small birthday bbq on the Maury River with our friends. The water was the perfect temperature. And this is where I discovered that I don't like brats. I get to choose the meat next time.

^ I took this picture on our Sunday walk today. I've decided that I like green mountains way more than the Rockies. I love Virginia.

Here's to another crazy week!

DC Temple

2011-09-19T21:21:00.001-04:00

My poor blog suffers. But not that I'm back in school, it goes to the bottom of my to-do list or my grades die. And I keep realizing that I'm not taking pictures at all. I just keep going going going everyday doing the bare necessities. Yes, I have to plan time to read, quilt, or any such lesiurely activity. I'm not saying I'm busier than everyone else, but I'm back to having to write every tiny thing into my schedule so that I can remember it.

I'm happy because I have visiting teachers again. By again, I mean after 2 years. I've been visiting teaching since my 18th birthday (minus this summer in Cali), but have only been visited once. It's quite nice. Especially when she brings pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. (But it's not okay when my cat is trying to get into them as we're visiting. Oh, kitty).

That poor cat is having an identity crisis. He doesn't respond to his name, he gallops like a horse, but totally acts like a dog, and has bunny paws. He doesn't act like a cat at all. And he gets to lonely because he's an indoor kitty now and we're so busy :(

I'm a tutor! I don't know why I'm so excited, but I just am. It's for a general ed class called America and the Englightenment (history). I had to get recommended by my teacher from last year. And I thought I didn't do that good in that class. I only work 2 hours a week, but I do get paid. Now it makes me feel a little more independent.We'll see how it goes!

This past weekend was Stake Temple Day, so I got to go do a session in the DC Temple for the first time! I did baptisms there last year. It's huge! I lost Bear in the temple because I've only been in the Nauvoo temple with him which is tiny, and when I went to another huge temple (Los Angeles), I was by myself. I was almost in tears. It ends up he had a clothing mishap that took him a while. But I can't explain how happy he was when he walked in the door and sat next to me. I know it sounds sappy, but it was a moment of realization of how sad I'd be if we lost each other forever. But I know that will never happen, because we've been through the temple together :)

It gave me a peace that I really needed. It gave me a good perspectve f the future.

After the temple, we went to Bear's brother Nate and his wife Izzy's house. They live in DC too on a military base and it was good to spend time with them. Yet again, I meant to take pictures, but failed. Bear and Nate had an intense 10 minute session of wrestling where they were both panting and sweating. Silly boys.

Then we drove home and met Rachel at Waffle House. I know it's as disgusting place, but we love it.

I got to substitute for the piano in Primary on Sunday. And we had John and Trisha over for dinner.

It got really cold this weekend. When I wanted Fall, I didn't mean winter.

But I love all I'm learning. College is good. And Bear is good.

My birthday is in 2 days! I won't be a teenager any more!

Curried Honey Mustard Chicken

2011-09-14T21:27:00.000-04:00

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon-style prepared mustard
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Directions

In a medium bowl combine the melted butter/margarine, honey, mustard, curry powder and cayenne powder. Mix well. Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish and pour honey/mustard mixture over chicken. Cover and place in refrigerator. Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Remove dish from refrigerator and bake, covered, in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove cover and bake about 10 minutes more, or until done and juices run clear (baking time will depend a little on how thick your chicken breasts are).

You don't have to use that much butter, and the cooking times are too short so be aware!

Labor Day Week

2011-09-11T17:11:00.000-04:00

Another college-ful weeks has gone by.

For Labor Day, Bear had to be in the city parade to represent the school through the baseball team. I went and watched him. And he didn't even notice me. Baha. Anyways, can you tell how pretty it is here just by the picture above? I keep meaning to take pictures of how gorgeous the Blue Ridge mountains are, but I keep forgetting my camera. There will be pictures soon, I promise. We went out to a Chinese place that supposedly had Japanese food, but...not really. It just reminded me why I hate Chinese food so much. And I feel like the only person on the planet who feels so. We watched Insidious that night. And I was scared out of my pants. Bear thought it was a stupid plot. But I kept seeing the demon and the old lady all night.

It's nice to be in a family ward again. And to actually feel like we're not just visiting. To have lots of little kids in the ward, and lots of young, friendly married couples too...I feel better. The Relief Society presidency came to see me along with the Ward Mission Leader. This ward is on top of things. There was a fun Relief Society activity of getting to know each other. It was definitely a good idea. Now I get to take organ lessons from someone in the ward too! Oh, and another exciting thing: I get to be part of the Women's Society at the school because I'm married now! I feel quite big.

I'm settling into my major more. I was afraid that I would graduate in December 2013, but I just went to the Registrar and found out I'm right on track to graduate April 2013! 3 years instead of 3 1/2 or 4! So just 2 more years of school, and I don't even have to take summer classes! I'm quite excited. Taking 19 credits this semester paid off after all (even if most of the classes were just ones I wanted to take, and didn't have anything to do with my major). I just need to take 2-3 upper division History classes for the next 3 semesters, take a science class I was supposed to take as a Freshman, and take 2 more exercise classes, and 2 easy Music classes for my minor. I got to change advisors and everything. It feels so official now.

We got invited over to some one's house for dinner from the ward this week. I had a lot of fun. Like I said, we have a friendly ward. I love it.

I'm not drowning in homework, mostly because I'm not working and my weekends are free. It gives me the chance to recuperate. I feel bad, because I feel like I should be making dinner every night, but that doesn't happen with all my classes and homework. But I'm working hard to cook on the weekends. And it makes me happy. I feel like I can actually cook now. I will post another good recipe for Curried Honey Mustard Chicken soon.

Me and Bear went to the opening night of SVU's The Wizard of Oz. They didn't change the script at all, but kept spoofing themselves. It was very clever and audiencewas laughing and having fun. The best part was, there were only 8 or 9 actors in the whole show. They were some crazy costume changes. It was definitely worth seeing. We have a talented theater program here.

I've started to workout a little this weekend, and my body is happy, even from that little bit. The world just needs to be rid of soda so that I'm not tempted. But I haven't had it in awhile, and I'm quite proud of myself. And I just realized that I've used the word "quite" too many times in this post.

We tried to go to the football game Saturday, but Bear slept too long. So we just went to downtown Lexington to go to the Museum of Military Memorabilia. It's run by a little old lady whose British husband opened it. Her husband has passed away, but he served in WWII, and there were some very old things, including from the Revolutionary War. I love little old ladies that love history. Because that's exactly what I'm going to be like when I grow up. And I learned something new. Japanese families wrote prayers on a big piece of fabric, and the soldier would fold it up inside his uniform. When the soldier died, he was supposed to be wrapped in the flag (although it didn't really happen all the time). And there was an actual one at the museum. I'm a history nut. Gah. It was mostly British military items, but also lots of American, and some Asian and other European stuffs too.

Oh, and having Andrew and Brandy S. over for dinner and having a Ligretto/Ticket to Ride game with them completed my week. I hope yours was fun too.

This is Our Favorite Right Now

2011-09-09T08:43:00.002-04:00

Thai Coconut Chicken

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 10 min
4 servings

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp grated lime peel
1 tsp grated gingerroot
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 fresh serrano chilies or 1 jalapeno chili, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro
1 can (about 14 oz) coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 c. sugar snap pea pods
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium tomato, shopped (3/4 cup)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
Hot cooked jasmine rice, if desired
1. In nonstick wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add chicken; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add lime peel, gingerroot, garlic, chilies and cilantro; stir-fry 1 minute.

2. Pour coconut milk over chicken. Stir in brown sugar, salt, soy sauce, pea pods and bell pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in tomato.

3. Spoon into shallow serving bowls; top with basil. Serve with rice.

I made it without the peas and gingerroot and it was still delicious. I also squeezed the juice from the lime into it. You'll be happy if you make it :)

Back to College

2011-09-04T21:50:00.001-04:00

I've been dying to blog, but it's been another crazy week. Bustard survived the drive to Virginia. He seemed to be over-heating and wouldn't east, drink, or go to the bathroom the whole way there. And he was breathing hard. So I was a little bit worried, but he seems fine now. started getting sick the Sunday that we drove to Virginia. It was never anything major, just a little throat thing, but it was enough to not make the trip fun or my first week of school for that matter.

And we've finally moved in to our apartment! It took me a whole week because of classes, but it feels good. We have enough storage space which is nice. Our bathroom is a little sketchy and our kitchen is super skinny, and there's built in dressers in the living room instead of the bedroom, but all in all, the rent is cheap, and it came furnished.

I'm not taking an exercise, math, or science class this semester so that takes a huge stress off of me. (Not that I hate to exercise, it's just stressful as a class to me). I haven't been overloaded in homework so far. This is probably partly because I decided not to work this semester. Maybe next semester. We'll see. Bear's working in the cafeteria early in the morning when no one else wants to work, and then he gets it out of the way and his nights are off. He's not working next semester because of baseball, and so I might work...but I want to go to his games...and the money is nice but we can live without it...decisions, decisions.

I'm just happy to have my own kitchen and to use all my wedding gifts. I wrote down all my gifts, but I guess I was making stuff up in my head all summer, because I thought I was given things that clearly don't exist now that I've unpacked, and I've been pleasantly surprised with things I had forgotten about. I just made the BEST Thai coconut chicken for dinner tonight. I had plans to make dinner every night once I got to college. The reality of that is...I really only have time on Sunday. So my tummy is finally happy!

I like all my classes and teachers! I just love Southern Virginia University in general. My heart belongs to it. It will always be dear to me because it's where I met Bear, and had so many unexplainably happy experiences.

I'm taking:

Health and Wellness
Introduction to Music History
Marriage and Family
New Testament (for Institute)
Western Civilization 2
Political Philosophy
Bella Voce (Womens' Choir)
Group Voice
Information Literacy (once a week)

I get to take Group Voice and Marriage and Family with Bear. What's funny, is we both signed up for that Marriage and Family class without talking to each other about it before hand. We were definitely meant to be :)

So, I'll post that delicious recipe next time. The pictures are from the school dance on Friday. It's was 90's themed. We hit up Goodwill of course. I swear my pink Levi's came up to my chest. Bear's pants were straight up purple and awesome.

So it was a crazy but good week. I'm glad to be settled. And we love our kitty because he's super silly, but doesn't scratch things, go to the bathroom in weird places, meow, or shed. He just makes us laugh. And Bear won't admit it, but I know he loves Bustard very much.

Longest Road Trip Ever

2011-08-27T17:10:00.002-04:00

I haven't been blogging because we're on our long trip from California to Virginia - which I wouldn't recommend to anybody unless there is no other option. There have been a few adventures:

The truck seats don't recline and there's no AC so we melt into the leather seats.
I officially hate the desert, especially between California and St. George, UT.
The GPS is my new best friend
Right after we walked into my grandma's house in Fillmore to stay the first night, she got a call from my aunt saying she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Nancy is only 35 years old, with 4 kids, ages 8 months-11 years old. She was still nursing the baby. It was not the news my grandma wanted to hear because two years in a row, her husband and daughter-in-law were diagnosed with cancer on her birthday. My grandma is a breast cancer survivor too. It was good that me, Tash, and Bear were there with her.

5. I got to spend time with Tashi and take her college shopping for BYU.

6. I got to see both of my great grandmas Verna Challis and Geneal Smith (ages 87 and 90) while in Utah. I love them!

7. I got to stay at John and Traci (my aunt and uncle)'s house in Grantsville. Traci did my hair as my wedding gift.

8. We get on the road and start having a sputtering engine. The oil was empty and we accidentally overfilled it, which made it still sputter of course. We had to keep stopping. But we finally fixed the problem and finally got to Amber's house late Wednesday night. It was good to meet her new husband and catch up because I wasn't able to go to her wedding.

9. We finally made it alive to Nauvoo and I was finally in my momma's and the babies' arms.

10. I keep thinking that Tashi's going to come home from work or school. But then I remember she's at BYU and I get sad on the inside.

11. I'm getting to eat my favorite foods and play Ticket to Ride to my heart;s content. I love my mommy.

12. Our Bustard kitty is so big now and I can't wait to take him back to Virginia with us.

13. I'm sad that I missed my grandma and grandpa Stout because of our truck troubles.

We take off early tomorrow morning (Sunday) because class starts Monday. Crazy life.

New Truck

2011-08-20T13:10:00.000-04:00

We are now the proud owners of a white '92 Mazda short bed truck. It's still manual and doesn't have AC, but it's a lot cooler all ready and it will be much easier to pack for the long drive back to Virginia. Plus it has a new engine. But we miss "My Boy Tercel". Even though I had such a love-hate relationship with him. I get so attached to people and things though. Bear is having seperation anxiety because Tercel was his first car and got him through a lot. We might even trade this truck after we get to Virginia. But for now, we have to bond with this guy. I mean, we ~~have~~ get to spend 44 hours of quality time with him. I just feel out of place because it's not a girl car at all. We leave early Monday morning for Utah!

DIY Capes

2011-08-19T18:05:00.000-04:00

Supplies:

2 yards of fabric per capem one yard of each color;
1 package of extra wide, double fold bias tape (1 package will make 2 capes);
Sewing machine and thread;
Chalk or fabric marker;
String, yarn, or thread
Scissors

Directions:

Fold each piece of fabric in half. To mark the curved cutting lines, tie one end of a string to a fabric marker or chalk. Hold the other end of the string to the top corner of the fabric at the fold. Pull string taut, and draw the curve of the cape. Do this at the neck line and at the hemline. Cut along the chalk lines. Repeat for other fabric.
Unfold the fabrics and pin right sides together. Using the sewing machine, sew around the outside edges and bottom of the cape, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Clip on seam allowance at the corners. Do not sew the neckline.

Reach in through the neckline and turn the cape right side out. Iron cape at this point to make edges crisp.
Cut the length of bias tape in half, creating two pieces of the 54" bias tape. Mark the middle of the bias tape and the middle of the neckline. Match the center marks and pin the bias tape around the neckline, leaving equal room on both sides for the ties. Sew the bias tape from one end to the other closing the

Please don't judge my outfit. Or the fact that the cape and mask don't fit me. Now go make some capes of your own for a little boy's superhero birthday party. Or for your own personal enjoyment.

The Help

2011-08-18T18:05:00.000-04:00

The Help was such a good movie. I had to hold back tears. All I can say is go watch it. It's more of a girl movie, but it will touch your heart. The movie is about Skeeter Phelan, a recent college grad and aspiring writer in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who breaks all the rules by collaborating with Aibileen and Minny, two African American maids, on a book about their relationships with their white employers. You'll like it if you like The Secret Life of Bees or To Kill a Mocking Bird. I didn't quite feel closure at the ending, but I guess that's how real life is.

I really want to read the book now. I wanted to read it before the movie, but you know how that goes.

On a happy unrelated side note, my sewing machine is working again. Did I take it into a repair shop? No. I self-reliant-ly fixed it myself. I was threading the bobbin wrong. I was doing it like my mom's. Silly bobbin.

A Few Things

2011-08-17T17:45:00.001-04:00

A few things:

1. My time in California is coming to a close. We're not excited about the drive, but we are SO excited to be back in Virginia. It calls to me. I've decided that I can learn to live anywhere, but there's something about the green Blue Ridge Mountains and the plantations from 1700's all over. I feel at home there.
2. You know that song by Ingrid Michaelson called Far Far Away? Well I can see my life happening like the lyrics:

I will live my life as a lobsterman's wife

on an island in the blue bay.

He will take care of me,

he will smell like the sea,

And close to my heart he'll always stay.

I will bear three girls

all with strawberry curls,

little Ella and Nelly and Faye.

While I'm combing their hair,

I will catch his warm stare

On our island in the blue bay.

3. I'm addicted to Pinterest.

4. I'm a pro at sewing super hero capes now. I just hate my sewing machine that I have to fix.
5. I'm slowly showing Bear classic movies that I grew up with. That does not mean I'm only showing him Pride and Prejudice. Tonight I'm showing him My Fair Lady. We'll see how that goes.

Homesick

2011-08-16T10:15:00.001-04:00

I'm homesick. I want to be here right now.

I don't know if I can wait another week.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

2011-08-15T17:05:00.001-04:00

I keep reading long books with lots of information that are slow and I have to force myself to read them, but I always end up learning so much in the end and I'm glad that I did. My latest read is Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. It was mentioned a lot in the book "Fascinating Womanhood", which I posted about HERE. Kate recommended it to me also.

All I can say, is it helped me a lot. I know that I'm still a little tiny baby newlywed with lots to learn still, and I haven't gone through all the hard stuff that comes along with marriage. But I'd rather read it now and try to apply it instead of waiting til it's too late.

I enjoyed this book because it looks into both genders, instead of just what women should do like in Fascinating Womanhood. It's written by a man, and he isn't blaming women for everything. Of course I didn't feel like everything he talked about applied to our relationship, but there was a lot of stuff that helped me, like how I need to leave Bear alone sometimes to be himself (men are like rubber bands) and that I'm not crazy for having my ups and downs, needing to talk about everything and just have a venting session every once in a while (women are like waves). It helped Bear to know that when I'm venting, I'm not blaming him, and that I feel much better when I just talk.

The other good thing was learning to ask Bear directly. "Would you take out the trash?" vs. "The kitchen stinks." Men and women each have their silly things, but like the author states at the end:

"Next time you are frustrated with the opposite sex, remember men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Even if you don't remember anything else from this book, remembering that we are supposed to be different will help you to be more loving. By gradually releasing your judgments and blame and persistently asking for what you want, you can create the loving relationships you want, need, and deserve."

I'm grateful I had a good marriage example from my parents and both sets of grandparents. Same with Bear's parents. I'm excited for all the fun years ahead. I am very in love.

*Life Update*

I'm supposed to give a sacrament meeting talk based on Elder Scott's talk, "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage" next Sunday, which will be out last in California. Secretly, I feel like a preschooler lecturing to college students how to do their physics homework. So I'm quite a bit nervous.

Also, I though I had appendicitis earlier this week, because I had pain on my right side. Bear's had his taken out and had a traumatic experience, and was really worried. We finally decided to go to the doctor, who didn't help us at all. The next step was the ER because we needed a CT scan to figure out whatever it was. We're trying to figure out our medical insurance mess, and the pain was dull, not sharp, so we decided to wait it out, I got a blessing that the pain would go away, and it did. I'm fine now. I think it was an ovarian cyst. The doctor did give me a pelvic exam though and said everything looked fine. So I'm back to normal after the scare.

An Apple a Day

2011-08-13T14:20:00.000-04:00

I got this recipe from the new book I got called What's New, Cupcake? by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. It's everywhere. I bought mine at the lovely Target. My favorite. This recipe is only for 8 cupcakes, so you might need to get more stuff if you're making 1 or 2 dozen. I only made a dozen, but 3 didn't work out...anyways, I had enough stuff for 12. I bought the red paper liners at Joanne's, but I know you can get them at Michael's too. You can also use yellow cake mix, and substitute apple juice for the water needed in the cake mix. I however, did not do that. My own notes will be in italics from now on.

Recipe

8 Vanilla cupcakes baked in red paper liners
1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
Red paste food coloring (Wilton)
8 mini plain or chocolate-covered doughnuts
4 chocolate chews (Tootsie Rolls)
6 green fruit chews (Jolly Rancher, Tootsie Fruit Rolls)
1 cup red decorating sugar (Cake Mate)
3 black candy-coated chocolate-covered sunflower seeds (Sunny Seed Drops)

1. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the vanilla frosting into a small ziplock bag, press out the excess air, and seal (only if you're going to make a bite mark in one of the apples). Tint the remaining frosting red with the food coloring (I couldn't get it all the way to red without messing up the consistency too much, so it was half way between pink and red and it still looked fine). Cut 1/2 inch from the bottom of each mini doughnut with a serrated knofe and discard the bottom piece (or eat it :) )Spread some red frosting on the cupcakes and place the mini doughnut piece, cut side down, on top (see the picture above. Place the cupcakes in the freezer for 10 minutes, or until slightly frozen (it makes them easier to decorate later).

2. For the stems, cut the chocolate chews in half lengthwise on the diagonal and shape each half into a stem (or be lazy like me and don't cut them). For the leaves, roll out the green fruit chews to a 1/8 inch thickness, and then cut into twelve 3/4-by-1 1/2-inch leaf shapes. Make a crease down the center of each leaf with the back of a paring knife and pinch one end (I didn't do this step either haha).

3. Place the red decorating sugar in a medium shallow bowl. Working on 1 cupcake at a time, spread some of the red frosting on the top and sides of the doughnut and cupcake to fill in the gaps and lightly coat, making the doughnut top look like the top of an apple. Roll the frosted cupcake in the remaining red sugar to coat. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

4. To create a bite mark, carefully remove a 1 1/2-inch diameter divot in the side of 2 sugar-coated doughnut, using the tines of a fork or a paring knife. Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting and pipe a thin layer if frosting to cover the exposed area inside the divot. Spread lightly with the back of a small spoon to smooth. Arrange the sunflower seed in the vanilla frosting as the apple seeds, pointed ends toward the center (I didn't do the bite mark). Insert the chocolate chew stems with the green fruit chew leaves at the top of the apple cupcakes. Arrange the cupcakes in a basket.

So not healthy at all, but very yummy. Just do you know, Hostess mini doughnuts are not big enough. You need a medium size. And Bear bought me crumbly doughnuts, which made them fall apart when I was cutting and frosting them. That's why 3 didn't work out. So make sure you get smooth, moist ones! I got sick of them falling apart, and put the whole doughnut on some of them, but then that made the frosting less smooth in between the cupcake and doughnut. Anyways, enjoy!

More on Sweeteners

2011-08-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

So I have a couple of things to point out. Somebody made a comment that they couldn't hear the videos because of the background music on my blog. The music is at the very bottom of my sidebar. You can change the song, pause it, whatever you want to do. I hope that helps.

I would also like to say that I am amused that diabetic people drink diet soda, when Aspartame is what causes diabetes in the first place. It also goes by "NutraSweet" and "Sucralose", just so you're aware. Just stay away from "sugar free" or "calorie free" stuff. That's my motto anyways. You can usually find Aspartame in it when it says such things.

On the other hand, look for Stevia (Truvia), Lo Han, and Xylitol. Especially if you're diabetic or hypoglycemic. I got a lot of information from this site. Click HERE. Even though plain old sugar is a lot of calories, it doesn't destroy your body or make you sick. Anything chemically made is no good. If you're too lazy to look at the site, I will sum it up.

Yes

Stevia/Truvia

Lo Han

Xylitol

Refined, granulated sugar

Honey (even if it's raw and organic)

Blackstrap molasses

Agave

Aspartame

America's addiction to sugar has created an epidemic of health and immune problems including candida, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, adrenal fatigue, diabetes, and obesity.

Now, I'm not saying put Stevia in all your baking etc., just be aware and make your own decisions. Get sugars from fruits! I need to do better too.

I'll post pictures of my dress later today.

Aspartame

2011-08-10T18:45:00.000-04:00

So remember how I said I was going to do some research on Aspartame? This is what I found. You decide for yourself. 3 videos aren't really enough, so go do your own research too. I did a couple on high fructose corn syrup also. Enjoy. The last one is my favorite.

Saturday Night Live - Corn Syrup Commercial - Video - NBC.com

Oreo cupcakes

2011-08-09T10:00:00.002-04:00

Ingredients
2‑1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2teaspoon salt
1‑2/3 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened (I now cube mine for quicker softening!)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 egg whites
1 cup crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, plus additional for garnish

Directions

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in large bowl. Stir in sugar. Add milk, butter and vanilla; beat with electric mixer at low speed 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Add egg whites; beat 2 minutes. Gently stir in 1 cup crushed cookies.Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups (I like to use an ice cream scoop), filling two-thirds full. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes and cool completely before icing.Frost cupcakes (recipe below); garnish with additional crushed cookies.

YMC’s Favorite Icing Recipe

Ingredients
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup shortening (or 1 cup butter for buttercream)
3-4 tablespoons water or milk
1 teaspoon clear imitation vanilla extract (or almond, according to your preference)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine sugar, shortening, water and vanilla. Beat on low speed to combine, then beat on medium speed for a full five minutes. It will take that long to resemble icing, don’t worry!

I got this recipe from Young Married Chic's blog. I'm starting to like cupcakes more and more. It keeps your portion reasonable, people don't fight about how big their piece is, and even if a few cupcakes are eaten, the rest still look good, as opposed to when you cut into a cake and the rest of the cake looks ugly. I guess I'm just trying to justify them. There's a ward cupcake activity on Thursday and so I've practiced with different cupcakes a couple of times. Because I have this habit of thinking I'm better at something than I really am and have the result be crappy because I didn't practice beforehand. So it started with Chocolate cake mix and store bought chocolate frosting last week. And then I found the above recipe and had to try it! I love that it is all from scratch. No weird preservatives. And my cupcakes turned out so I'm quite happy. I'm not gonna lie, I feel accomplished. Because I used double stuff Oreos, they were harder to crush up for the batter and so I wasn't wanting to crush them to sprinkle on top, so I ended up just putting the whole cookie on top. Which is WAY better, right? Please try them. They're SO good. If I do say so myself. Try them and report back to me!

No Texting During the Movie

2011-08-08T19:50:00.000-04:00

So, I really wanted to see Thor and it came out in the dollar movie theater. We finally went one night to the late showing. I liked it, Bear thought it was cheesy. But I'd rather have it be a little bit cheesy with an overused theme and plot than something dark and disgusting that's supposed to be so shocking it "moves" you. Anyways, this dollar theater is kind of ghetto. Especially at the late showing. But hey, I'd rather pay $5 for the both of us than $18, right?

Well...Bear left his phone in the cup holder and went right back for it, but it was gone. He went back to the theater 2 more times after that and asked them to call my number if they found anything. We texted asking them to give it back. We threatened that it had GPS tracking (yeah, we lied).

It made sick to my stomach. I had bad dreams all night about the nasty things the thiefs were doing with his phone. I was also afraid it had important bank information or something on it. Bear has a bad habit of leaving things behind, but has always been lucky in getting it right back. I was hugging my purse to me the whole time and even checked the floor as we left, but not the cup holder.

The good news is, he did have some insurance on his phone, so we get the same new phone for half the price it should be. It should be here Tuesday. So the moral of the story is, if you're going to go to a ghetto theater, don't let your phone leave your body. Or else that $5 movie ends up being $50. Baha

And now I can't find my camera. Gah.

Eat the Right Thing

2011-08-06T09:45:00.002-04:00

So, I was talking to Bear the other day about eating. About how there's a happy medium in everything. I believe in reading food labels to check for calories, fats, sugars, and sodium and for weird ingredients like MSG, high fructose corn syrup, or aspertame. But I'm also not a health nut either.

And so I was talking to Bear about how I don't like to drink diet soda because of the kind of sugar that's used. It actually raises your appetite and is a toxin used in rat poison, so our body rejects it and that's why it doesn't register as a calorie, but it's still a toxin. And I told him I explained what I was talking about to someone who drank diet soda all the time a couple of years ago. And in response they said, "we're all going to die some day, one way or another."

I went on to vent to Bear about how much that offended me. I took all that time to warn them about the dangers of diet soda, and that's the thanks I get in return? And I think that's the worst philosophy in life - "it doesn't matter what I put in my body" (eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die!)

And THEN I also talked about the people who are so organic and health foody that you invite them over and they won't eat any of your food or have that awkward moment of "you cooked my food in what oil? That's strictly against my personal food code." Now, I'm not talking about people with legitimate food allergies.

But as we were talking about this, we were going into In and Out for lunch. Which we hadn't been to in a little while, but because of a weird happening, we ended up going there for dinner too. Let me warn you...don't ever do this to your body. Okay, maybe Bear and men in general can get away with it. But let's just say that happened on Monday, I was in pain Tuesday, finally resorted to buying this for the first time in my life:

And then enjoying the effects on Thursday. Sorry to get graphic, but it is what it is. And then it hit me. How hypocritical I was being. Maybe I'm not drinking diet soda, but I've had plenty of regular soda, lots of fast food and chips...and even after flushing myself out, I still weighed the most I ever have in my life yesterday. So I really have no room to talk. And then I realized, I don't know that much about aspertame or sucralose - meaning I haven't done my own research but only relied on what I've heard other people say. So I'm just as bad as the rest of them.

I think it's time for me to go run now.

Save Yourself

2011-08-03T12:20:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I wish I could make a book about all the things Bear says without thinking. He's learning, but sometimes I have to wait for him to catch himself. I can't remember all of them, but here's one example:

Me: Do you think I'm cute? (jokingly)

Bear: If I didn't think you're cute, who would?

Me: ..........

Bear: I mean....if anybody should think you're cute, it should be me.

There you go. At least he saved himself a little. And of course he makes up for it with the times of "you look pretty when you sleep" and such. Men. Bahaha.

Blue and White

2011-08-02T10:00:00.002-04:00

I bought the above towels from Target. I'm in love. I can't wait to use them. I guess it's because of the way my mom decorated, but I love the Japanese blue and whiteness.

And I got this ^ to go along with the towels. I didn't get the full white pineapple bathroom set from BB&B like I wanted on my registry, but luckily they're white so they'll match this soap dispenser and the towels.

I'm saving up to buy this koi bathmat ^. It's from Anthropologie.com and it actually a lot longer than it looks (55"L). I LOVE IT.

I'm not going to buy a shower curtain until we get to school and I can actually look at our bathroom. The problem is, I like white frilly ones, but then I think there will be too much white in the bathroom. So then I think I should get a blue one. But it's boring. We'll see.

I love these kitchen towels. Of course they're from Target again. I'm not too happy with Bed Bath and Beyond. They have nice appliances and stuff, but their kitchen towels and decorations are ugly (in my opinion).

And another one from Target...this dinnerware set. But I can't have my whole house be blue and white! Gah I need to be a little more creative.

Water For Elephants

2011-07-29T17:00:00.002-04:00

This was a book that I couldn't put down. I read it in 3 days or so. It was very vivid and exciting. There were a lot of dirty parts that I thought were unnecessary and that I had to skip over,but it has a surprise happy ending. And I like happy endings. I recommend it.

I can't wait for the movie to come out on DVD. I'm loving all my reading time.

But I'm frustrated with my dress. At least I don't have a deadline I have to meet for it, but I'm afraid it will look cheap and handmade (like it is). I will post pictures after I get the facing and interfacing to work out. Gah. I want my mom's sewing skills.

Even if you're not a circus person, you'll love it. If you don't like animal mistreatment...maybe this book isn't for you.

First Night Alone

2011-07-28T20:20:00.001-04:00

I'm sure a few of you have seen this already, but I think it's super cute. It's an old picture of newlywed Elder and Sister Uchtdorf. It makes me happy.

Marriage in general makes me happy. This is me and Bear's first night away from each other. He's staying over for work. I was having my own little pity party about it this morning. (Just ask my mom. I'm known for whining and pity parties.) But then I got a slap in the face with a text from me Bear a little while later telling me that the fiance of one of his co-workers just had a still birth baby at 7.5 months. She was due in September. I've never gone through a miscarriage, let alone the normal pregnancy/delivery process. But my heart instantly hurt for her. I've only met her once, but I instantly wanted to do something for her. But I didn't want to make things worse. I felt her pain in a small degree. I had just been praying for an opportunity to help somebody too.

It put things into perspective for me. ("Right. Perspective." as Hermione says.) Yes, I miss Bear. But he'll come back soon.

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught wives that they should treat their husbands "with mildness and affection. When a man is borne down with trouble, when he is perplexed with care and difficulty, if he can meet a smile instead of an argument or a murmur - if he can meet with mildness, it will calm down his soul and soothe his feelings."

I'm trying to apply the above quote in my life. I really am happy being married. I love him. I hope that I don't sound like I'm trying to cover up an insecurity or prove that I have a better marriage than you. It's just that the best love story is your own, you know?

By the way, I know successful blogs are about a specific topic (antiques, photography, autism, entrepreneurs, thrift, just to name a few that I read). But I can't help myself. I can't stick to one topic. It's too boring for me. Hopefully it's not too all over the place for you.

Now go be happy for me.

Apartment

2011-07-27T09:35:00.002-04:00

We got an apartment in the old Beev! It was a long search, but it's good to know we have somewhere to go now. It's just a small, upstairs, one-bedroom apartment. But it's furnished, affordable, and close to campus.

You want to know the best part? We get to keep Bustard :) :) :) I'm so happy. And seriously lucky.

Like I said, come on over. Come stay with us. Come party. We love the people.

And Sew It Begins

2011-07-26T12:00:00.000-04:00

Remember the post I did a while ago? Click HERE. Well, I finally ordered some fabric. And I didn't get the $20/yd brocade from eBay. Instead, I went with this very very dark purple brocade from fashionfabrics.com. Much more affordable. They had some brocades at Joanne's the other day but they were mostly Chinese dress fabrics. Which I didn't want. So I was very pleased with the fabric when it came in the mail.

It took me forever to cut out because I was being super careful. And I had just enough fabric. I'm so happy because the dress pattern is exactly for my size, and all the pieces were already cut out. I'm having a fun time guessing who used this pattern and for which dress, and what fabric they used...was it for a dance? Or just for fun? Are they still alive? Haha jk. The pattern's not that old. But my favorite part is that the pattern and instructions smell like an old book. That's seriously one of my favorite smells. Kindles kill off that smell :( Anyways, let's see if I can figure out my sewing machine, because it's different from my mom's and I haven't really used it for a big project like this. I'm no sewing queen, so a lot of this is an adventure to me. I will keep the dress progress updated.

Millionaire Next Door

2011-07-25T10:25:00.000-04:00

My dad gave me this book as a wedding gift, along with another financial book that I have yet to read. As you can see, I read quite a few books before it. And it was actually quite a short book and very interesting, but I had to force myself to read it. It is full of statistics and charts, which I know they needed to prove their point, but I guess I'm too stupid and just want the stories. And everything Stanley and Danko were saying should be obvious, but I guess we need it spelled out to us plainly.

I did take notes though!

Be frugal, frugal, frugal
Make a budget (know exactly how much you spend each month and year on everything)
Get a financial advisor
Get and accountant
Invest 30% of your money
Be a PAW (prodigious accumulator of wealth), now an UAW (under accumulator of wealth)
You aren't what you drive
Don't hand out money to adult kids
Whatever your income, always live below your means
Teach your children to fish (be independent)
Teach your children to be courageous
If your goal is to become financially secure, you'll likely attain it...but if your motive is to make money to spend money on the good life,...you're never gonna make it.
Money should never change one's values...making money is only a report card. It's a way to tell how you're doing.

So I'm going to set up a budget and try to use as many coupons as I can. Because we need to save up for future bebbes ♥

I read another good blog post book review about this book. You can read it be clicking HERE.

And I found this blog post very interesting. Click HERE.

It's so tempting to keep up with the Jones' today, but I'm going to resist the temptation.

It's Time for Dodger Baseball!

2011-07-23T18:15:00.000-04:00

It was Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium so I went with the Fredrickson's. Bear had to work :(

I feel like such a baseball traitor because I like the Cubs and Giants. My first baseball game was at Wrigley Field, for my senior trip. You can read about it HERE. The Dodgers lost to the Cubs then. And they lost to the Nationals this time. Too bad they've gone bankrupt too.

But baseball is just fun to watch. It's very American. I have to admit I kept reading my book. Oops.

It makes me excited for SVU baseball to start again!

Bear said he couldn't look at me when I was wearing the shirt the Fredrickson's let me borrow.

I love this guy and I'm sad that he couldn't come with me. I've had a fun weekend. And we're finalizing our apartment. Things are coming together for school and I'm excited.

Waterparks and Blankets

2011-07-21T15:00:00.005-04:00

Bear's team got surprised by getting a half-day off to go to Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags. The company was going to pay for all the guys, and then me and Brandy were going to have to pay for ourselves. But it ends up it was cheaper to buy 10 group tickets, so me and Brandy were free too :)

I hadn't been to a big water park like that in a long time. We went on a Wednesday, so it wasn't very crowded at all and the weather was perfect. The guys wanted to go on really scary slides but I just went on a couple. They still filled me full of fright. They were pitch black. Which is not okay, because I'm terrified of the dark. And they weren't the tube kind. I couldn't tell where I was going, had no control over the super-speed, didn't know what the end of the slide looked like...technically, I thought I was going to die. Let's just say I was praying my little heart out. And I lived.

Surviving in a wave pool without a tube is quite the workout too. And I got a little more sun kissed. So I'm happy. I looked up the reviews for the park online before you went. There were so many negative and whiny comments! I had fun at the park. Yes, everything there was overpriced, but we just worked around it. Seriously, some of the things people were complaining about...sometimes it's embarrassing for me to be American. I hate whiny Americans. Why don't you go live in a third world country for a week and then come back to me and complain, huh? We don't always get what we want. I'm not saying Japanese people or any other peoples are saints either, but gosh. Sorry, it really does make me angry. Why can't people find joy in the simple things? Like that you're actually in a fun water park in the first place? I guess I whine about whiny people a lot. And I'm a whiner too. But I really am trying to work on it.

On another happy note, I have a problem with people stealing the blankets from me all night. Before it's my sister, now it's Bear. Being cold in the night wakes me up, and Bear weighs so much more than me and is too strong to pull the blankets from, so I always have to wake him up for them. Because I'm not sleeping cold. Nuh-uh. Well, I woke up that Wednesday with all the blankets. I finally was the blanket queen! But that meant that Bear had been cold all night. I asked him why he didn't steal them or wake me up. I would've understood! But he said I looked so peaceful while I was sleeping. :)

Oh, and it's 2 months from today will be my birthday!!!! I'm still like a little kid when it comes to birthdays

I Miss You

2011-07-19T17:30:00.000-04:00

I don't have much to say. Except me and Bear's financial aid is finally done for school (and between my Marriott scholarship and Pell Grant, I don't have to pay any tuition. In fact, the school owes me money). And I'm not going to have to pay for the expensive dorms or expensive food plan. Blegh. So right now we're narrowing down our choices for an apartment. You are more than welcome to come stay with us by the way. It might be a one bedroom place and kind of squishy, but we like people. Come visit beautiful Virginia with us.

And I really really miss people. I had a meltdown on Sunday about it. I'm such a people person and I get so attached. So please be in my life.

♫ Where are you now?

Cause I´m thinking of you
You showed me how
How to live like I do
If it wasn´t for you

I would never be who I am ♫

- Where Are You Now by Honor Society

I'm glad that I have a Bear to keep me happy.

Deathly Hallows

2011-07-16T12:23:00.005-04:00

So I know everyone's going overboard with Harry Potter statuses, but this is my opinion. I know for a lot of people it "felt like their childhood had ended" or they grew up with the books. For me, I loved HP when I was 10 and 11 and waited for my own Hogwarts letter. But I wasn't devastated when it didn't come. It was all just fun for me. I still remember when my parents surprised me and Tash and took us to the first one in Odaiba, Japan. I'll never forget that moment of pure happiness.

To be honest, the movies weren't my fav until the last 2. I could watch those over and over again. The actors grew up, the characters grew up, the graphics were better, and the ending is just so emotional. Now, I'm not an HP nut, and I had to have people explain a few things to me that I couldn't remember, but it was really fun to make these cheap tshirts on our own. A gay guy even complimented Bear's shirt that I made. Baha

I was excited because this was the first time I had been to a midnight showing of anything. Ever. And to our surprise, when we got there, our tickets were actually a double feature for both parts of the Deathly Hallows, starting at 9, so instead of waiting in line and clawing for some seats, saving those seats for hours, we got to watch both parts together and all went smoothly. It was nice to see both together.

The 3D didn't make it that much more exciting, but the glasses were fun. I couldn't stop crying during the whole Snape part at the end (the whole snake thing was a little gross though) and when all Harry's dead loved ones were surrounding him to strengthen him. Okay, I'm starting to sound like a nutty fan. I'll just say the ending gets me and now I just want to see it again. Can I just say that I was more excited that Bellatrix died than Voldemort? Anyways, I liked it. It's not about the magic or fantasy for me. It's about the emotion. Which Bear will probably never understand. But at least it's a book series that we both can finally relate on. Now I just want to know how rich J.K. Rowling is. Mischief Managed!

I love him

2011-07-13T21:35:00.003-04:00

Reasons why I'm grateful for Bear this week:

He took me to Olive Garden (my favorite)
He loved me better when I woke up from a horrible dream
He offered to buy me a plane ticket home when I missed my family
He tried to let me win at Wii
He's going to go see the last Harry Potter with me.

So, I love him.

To the Rescue

2011-07-12T17:05:00.003-04:00

Lately, I can't stop reading. It's probably because I can't really read at school. I always take mountains of books with me, and don't get through a single one. Maybe it's because I was spending so much time with Bear...I don't know. Anyways, I just keep going onto the next book.

As you can see, I just finished To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson. It all started back at school in October. I saw it at the school library (one of the ups of going to a small school: you have a chance at things you wouldn't at a big school). They must have just put it in the New Arrivals section, because I snatched it. But of course I couldn't read it fast enough at school. I kept renewing it and renewing it, read some of it during Thanksgiving break, but felt bad that I was hogging it and returned it. But then I missed it and kept trying to borrow it but it was continuously checked out. Of course. Then I read a little while I was in Utah for Christmas from my grandma's library. I thought about buying the kindle version, but it was too expensive, and I love the feeling of a real book in my hands.

Finally, I bought it at a Deseret Book on our honeymoon in Las Vegas. I know it's a book that I will want to keep on my bookshelf forever. I didn't really care for the writing style, but of course I love Pres. Monson no matter what. The book was so uplifting and I think I can say that it's changed my life forever. There are so many good quotes from all of the Brethren. I definitely recommend it. He really does reach out to "the one". I had a personal experience with it. You can read about that in the post below this one.

"What will the legacy of President Thomas S. Monson be? Observers have a tendency to set the starting point at the beginning of a man's presidency of the Church. But his legacy goes all the way back to when he began following the Spirit and heeding promptings, when he began reaching out with the power of the Spirit, one-on-one, to anyone and everyone, especially the forgotten. His legacy will be Christlike living." p. 528

The countless stories of him on his way to help someone, and helping a few unexpected people along the way, is just one example of him listening to the Spirit. I had a few favorites, but they're long and I just want you to read it. So go ahead. Now.

The President Monson Story

2011-07-12T17:00:00.001-04:00

I thought that I had posted this story on my blog, but I can't find it anywhere, so I post it again. This is from October 2009. Almost 2 years ago. Oh my gosh.

And this story starts a couple of months before the happening when David Archuleta came. I had it narrowed it down to 2 people, either David or the prophet. I was pretty sure it was David in my head, but I kept feeling like I was going to meet the prophet. I was so excited, and when it was David, I was still excited, but a little disappointed. I guessed that I was just really excited and that wasn't the spirit that I felt.

Well, on Friday, I was having a bad day. Nothing had really gone wrong. It was just one of the those days that I felt ugly, stupid, etc etc. I was mad that I was feeling that way and wanted to flip it around, but couldn't. I was way overwhelmed with school, college classes, lots of homework, early morning seminary, early-bird chorus, my job, college and scholarship applications, chores, and musical practice. Forget about a social life, I didn't have 5 minutes to myself. I was about to explode. We got out early that day, and on the way home, I said a prayer telling Heavenly Father that I felt like I was doing everything that I was supposed to, but I couldn't take it anymore, and to have a reminder of why I'm doing what I'm doing. I felt better after the prayer.

Well, I always wanted to meet Pres. Hinckley, and was so sad when he died and I couldn't let him go. And living in Nauvoo, I've gained a super strong testimony of Joseph Smith. But I've had a hard time accepting President Monson. Which doesn't make sense, because I never saw or heard Joseph Smith, and President Monson is giving is instruction for today. I've been gaining a gradual testimony of him, but nothing kaboom like I had with Joseph Smith.

So after school, I had to get an ecclesiastical endorsement signed by my bishop for SVU. It definitely didn't need to be that day though. I called him, thinking I could just drop it off at his house, and have him bring it to church on Sunday. But he said he wasn't home. He was at the building north of the temple. And he said he would fill it out right then. I thought that was weird, because that was the new Temple Accomadation center, that was under construction. Me and my dad went on the way to the post office. It wasn't even close to the deadline, but I had this feeling like I needed to hurry and get it signed. We could've even gone to the post office first, but we didn't.

We pull up, and the building is 99% finished. I can see a lot of older, important looking people inside the building through the windows. And they could see me. Just walking up to the door, I felt like it was a VIP party I hadn't been invited to. There weren't door knobs. But I figured that since they saw me, they'd open the door. Nope. I knocked, and an older guy in a suit stuck his head out. He seriously gave a look like "she's not on the list". He opened the door a little more, and my Bishop saw me and said I could come in. He had a security earphone. Everyone was staring at me (because I was the only person under 50 probably). I saw a lady staring at me that looked really familiar. I knew she wasn't from Nauvoo, but that I had seen her recently. Then it hit me. It was Ann M. Dibb who talked in conference - Pres. Monson's daugter! But I still wouldn't believe that Pres. Monson was there. My Bishop said, "you came just at the right time!" I was really confused. He said, "can you see who's in the room on the left?" All I could see was the temple president dressed in white talking to someone. There was a mirror on the wall that showed the top of the mystery guy's head. It looked like Pres' Monson's head, but I still didn't want to get excited. My Bishop was interviewing me and filling out my paper like nothing weird was going on. But I had nothing to do and just felt really out of place. Right at the end of the interview, the temple president came out of the room, and a tall man followed him.

It was President Monson.

He was so tall and erect and confident looking. He was smiling, and looked right at me in that room full of people. He started the conversation, and told me I had a beautiful smile and that I needed to watch out for young men. The second he walked into the room, the spirit came like a tsunami and it was like, HE'S THE PROPHET!

I didn't get to shake his hand or take a picture with him, but it was enough. He went down and visited the flatts (they were closed down for the afternoon). I told all my friends, and they got to shake his hand at the visitor's center or get a look at him. I couldn't believe it had happened. That definitely wasn't the answer to my prayer I thought I would get. He flew home the next morning.

So
1. my prayer was answered
2. I got the testimony of him that I had been waiting for
3. the feeling from 3 months ago was the Spirit, and came true
4. he acknowldged me and gave me a compliment on my insecure teenager day
5. just that tiny bit of advice he gave me, and his presence was the proof and reminder that I needed

My bishop could've said he was busy, or I could've called a couple of hours later. So many things could've happened. But it wasn't a coincidence.

Monday Night

2011-07-11T19:40:00.004-04:00

Today I made chicken spaghetti. It is one of my family's favorites. This time I made it with cream of chicken instead of mushroom for the first time because Brandon doesn't like mushrooms, but I think I like the mushroom taste better. Make sure you cut up the chicken pretty small. Unless you like it big. It's not complicated and quite delicious.

2~3 chicken breasts (halves), cooked and diced
1 can cream of mushroom (or cream of chicken)
1 can chicken broth
1 8 oz block cream cheese
1/4 C. shredded Parmesan cheese

Combine and bring to simmer.

I also gave the Family Home Evenging lesson. It was about courage, and at the very end I realized Marek (4) didn't know what I meant and I had to tell him it was the same thing as being brave. Fail on my part. Bah.

I have this problem where after I post a post, I find other information later on it that I wish I could've added or other thoughts come to my mind. So about Fascinating Womanhood, it's a long and deep read that you can't breeze through (if you do, you won't get anything out of it). I know that a lot of people have to reread a few times. And about the last post about respecting parents, I don't want to get all emotional and use the overdone "I have the best parents in the whole world!", but I really do love and respect my parents. I had a few complaints as a teenager, but now I can see I would've handled the situation the same if I had been the parent. They make me happy and give me meaningful advice. So there. You better be reading this before or after family home evening. Just saying.

Two Cents

2011-07-10T19:30:00.004-04:00

This weekend was nice and relaxing. I've been able to spend a lot of time with Bear. I think we should be crowned king and queen dork. I'm loving all my reading time. We're trying to figure out our financial aid and where we're going to be living back at SVU. It will be here before I know it. And I'm secretly excited for this next semester. I'll be taking 19 credits plus Institute (which does kind of sounds like suicide), but I'm excited to read more, learn more, and study more. And I won't put off homework this time. That's my goal. Now that I'm married to Bear, hopefully we'll spend our time together more wisely instead of watching lots of TV. Baha. We'll see.

We had another "heated" discussion in Relief Society today (I don't want this blog to be all about church, but it always gets me thinking) about how we're supposed to honor our parents, but a lot of people complained that their parents weren't good parents and that it's hard to respect them now. But somebody made the good point that you're responsible for you.

I respect the people that rise above their situation and don't let their environment control them. I watched a online news video clip (that I can't find anymore) recently, where a gay man was being interviewed about a "anti-gay program" his parents put him in. I'm not going to go into whether gay is "good or not" and whether that was a good parenting move, or whether the program president was a good man, or if these programs are a good idea in the first place. But I'm sure his parents were trying their best and wanted the best for their son, whether they went about it the right way or not. Another man who had been in the same program had committed suicide recently, and the man being interviewed blamed the program for making him homeless, depressed, and addicted to drugs. He also said it took his family away from him, when he had just barely said that he chose to cut himself off from his family. The news seemed to be a little more on his side. But...I lost all respect for him right there. Not because he was gay.

I can't judge the level of depression people feel and I can't judge a circumstance that I've never been in. But I can't respect people who blame their horrible lives on their horrible background and sad life experiences. If anything, it should have made him a stronger person. I would have liked to see a news story about somebody who overcame their trials, not someone who wallowed in them and blamed other people for everything!

Also, I don't agree with Casey Anthony's verdict. But yet again, I'm not her, her family, the judge, or the jury. I didn't see it happen, I wasn't in the court room. But I would like to say that I'm happy to live in a country where we have a right for a fair trial, even some people get away sometimes. I think that's much better than no right to trial and going straight to jail because a tyrannical government said so. I hope that right lasts.

Well that's my two cents. I gave a scare to people accidentally on facebook with one of my statuses. But we are not pregnant. Just so that is cleared up. The final Harry Potter is this weeeeeeeeekkkkkkk ~ ~ ~

Fascinating Womanhood

2011-07-07T20:00:00.003-04:00

I just finished reading Fascinating Womanhood by Helen Andelin. I got the inspiration to read it from Heather Ive's blog post, which you can read by clicking HERE.

The description of the book reads:
"A guide to a happy marriage. Teaches women how to awaken their husband's devoted love and tenderness. Gives insight into understanding men, their needs and feelings and what's important to them. Teaches the true meaning of femininity and how it differs from masculinity. Provides a role model for women to pattern from, the ideal woman from a man's point of view, the kind men adore. A classic best seller that has sold over two million copies. It has helped millions of women find true happiness in marriage and can do the same for you."

I know that this book makes some people absolutely livid. It is a feminist's worst nightmare. Now I don't agree with 100% of the book. And I feel like this book is more for people with a struggling marriage, but I know that me and Bear are a little more happy and I think it has very good advice. And I don't agree with people who told me to not read the book. If something is crude, profane, violent, or disgusting, I would let them stop me. But why not read a self-help book that's clean and full of information and then decide for yourself to follow it or throw the book against the wall?

I like that the book encourages me to be feminine. And Bear agrees with me on this one. There's a feminine strength that women have, but it's different than men, and that's okay. As a teenager I felt really insecure because I was short, not athletically inclined, and a little more girly than most of my friends. Boys would comment on it in a negative way which ran me down and I looked at the athletic girls and I felt like they had the boyfriends, popularity, and confidence. Now I realize there's nothing wrong with those girls if it makes them happy, and the boys' negative comments were just like them hitting me in first grade. That was what boys did, but they didn't mean to make me feel worthless or to be mean. Boys will be boys. I didn't need to base my self worth on other people. Girls, be happy with yourselves.

So does this mean I'm going to wear flowery dresses, an apron, pearls, and stay in my kitchen baking cookies all day? No. But it means I'm going to be happy that I'm a woman, that I'm married, and I'm going to do the best I can to make Bear and my future kids happy.

I recommend this book. Or The Fascinating Girl for single or dating girls. I have not read that one, but I heard it's good too. Now, I hate recommending self help books to people...because I hate it when people give them to me. ("You want me to change, huh? Well just because you gave me this darned book, I'm not going to read it.") i understand. It can feel a little offensive. But look into if you're interested. I suggest looking for any book on google shopping on the cheapest site you can find. That's my favorite right now. It's better than Amazon. Because I don't mind used books, but you might.

I love marriage so far. And I'm going to keep working at it.

A lot of people have told me on Facebook lately that they read my blog and enjoy it. It means a lot to me. Because I don't feel like I'm a good writer. i have a hard time expressing myself effectively through writing, or speaking for that matter either. It's my journal. I should have a written one all to myself, but I don't want to remember negative feelings. So thank you to all my readers again.

4th of July

2011-07-05T22:13:00.006-04:00

So I made these 4th of July sugar cookies from Martha Stewart. I ran out of gel though and so I couldn't make all the cookies the same design. I know it's late for the 4th of July, but if you want, the recipe is in the post below this. You could do it for Halloween or Christmas or any color just for fun.

17 minutes was too little, 19 minutes was a little too much for mine. Be careful.

And I made my mom's green tomato salsa which I absolutely love. There's a Mexican grocery store nearby with super super cheap produce so it wasn't that expensive to make. So I used green tomatillos instead of unripe tomatoes but it worked out fine. And because I wasn't canning it, I cut the recipe in half. Make sure you have a huge pot, because it does boil down, but all the cut up vegetables take up a lot of room. I wish I had read the comments on the recipe at the bottom of the page...or asked my mom for more advice. Because you definitely need to cut the salt in half (or quarter it if you're halving the recipe), and not as much vinegar. So it was way too salty for me. I added sugar which helped a little, but it was too salty for some people. Lots of people said it was fine. But I wasn't satisfied. Oh well. I know for next time. Don't make my mistake. If you want the recipe, click HERE.

Bear started the day off with playing baseball with Andrew. It was the first time he got to play ball since nationals, in the middle of May. He did have to work half the day, but did get 2 sales. I didn't think anyone would be interested on the 4th. Life is full of surprises.

We went to a BBQ at a ward member's house. They have an adopted little girl and boy and they reminded me a lot of my own family. Two white blonde kids close in age and two firecracker brown kids :) We finished the day off with city fireworks. At the end of the day, my body was exhausted but I couldn't turn my brain off and had to talk poor Bear's ear off. I hope you all had a good holiday with friends, family, and food. Sometimes bbq's and lots of food don't feel like celebrating a holiday to me. I need to come up with my own traditions for my future family (no I'm not hinting anything).

Oh, and it was our one month anniversary. Just saying ♥

Cookies

2011-07-05T19:00:00.002-04:00

Put on a show with a display of these patriotic cookies.

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Coarse salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

FOR DECORATING THE COOKIES
- Red, White, and Blue Royal Icing

Directions

Make the cookies: Sift flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a large bowl.

Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, then vanilla. Refrigerate dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out cookies using a 1 3/4-, 2 1/4-, 2 3/4-, or 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, rerolling scraps once. Transfer to a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake until edges just start to brown, 17 to 19 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Decorate the cookies: Pipe an outline of white icing around edge of 1 cookie, leaving a 1/4-inch border, then "flood" with more white icing to cover.

Immediately pipe a red or blue dot in the center of cookie. Then pipe concentric rings of colors around the center dot (using the same color as the dot, or alternating colors).

Immediately drag a toothpick through the colors to create bursts, starting from the center dot and working toward the edge, then alternate dragging inward and outward as you work around the cookie. (Or drag around the cookie in 1 direction or curve the lines for a pinwheel effect.) Let dry. Repeat with remaining cookies and icings.

Testimony

2011-07-03T16:32:00.009-04:00

^ This is one of my favorite wedding pictures

I taught the lesson in Sunday School today. Gah. I survived, but wish I would've done better. I was pinched on time, and got through the lesson on time, but then I wonder if I rushed through it too fast. And I'm always worried that I didn't help people feel the Spirit or didn't make an important point that someone needed to hear. It was on the Atonement, which is obviously a very deep topic that I don't feel qualified to teach, especially to adults. Because I don't really feel like an adult yet. But I secretly like teaching or speaking at church, because at least it's a learning experience for me. That sounds really selfish now that I've said it. But there you have it. Bear had some suggestions for me of course :)

Today was also testimony meeting and me and Bear started to realize most of the people weren't really bearing their testimony. I didn't want to be judgmental at all, but in my old ward in Nauvoo, a member of the Bishopric read this quote every month before the testimonies from Dallin H. Oaks:

"A testimony of the gospel is a personal witness borne to our souls by the Holy Ghost that certain facts of eternal significance are true and that we know them to be true. Such facts include the nature of the Godhead and our relationship to its three members, the effectiveness of the Atonement, and the reality of the Restoration.

A testimony of the gospel is not a travelogue, a health log, or an expression of love for family members. It is not a sermon. President Kimball taught that the moment we begin preaching to others, our testimony is ended."

You can read the rest of the talk by clicking HERE.

It didn't make our testimony meetings perfect of course, but it taught me a good lesson. Before I always felt like I needed a story or flowery wording to bear my testimony. I couldn't think of one, so I wouldn't go up to the pulpit. Now, I know that I just have to state simple principles and truths that I know to be true. No fluff added. It makes me happy. A new member of the church bore his simple testimony today. And that made me happy too. I hope it grows.

*******************************

On a funnier note, me and Bear are starting to realize the different families we were raised in. We have very different views on discipline. He was basically raised in a boy family, #3 of 5 boys. I was raised in a girl family. I've heard so many people say that they'd rather take raising a rambunctious boy over an emotional girl any day. I'm the opposite. I am one, and know how to handle one. I feel like I was made to be the mother of a bunch of daughters. But just watch and see. I'll end up with a bunch of boys as a learning experience.

And my new debit card is a MasterCard. I didn't realize it would automatically go to that. I just assumed that our account was Visa. When I talked to Bear about it, we kind of got in an argument about which was better: Visa or MasterCard. But when we tried to prove our arguments, we realized that the only reason was those were the ones our families had. We both remember seeing our dads pay with a Visa (in my case) or MasterCard (in his case). I even looked it up just now...there really is no difference between the two. Ah, marriage and realizing the silly things we hold on to.

Los Angeles Temple

2011-07-02T16:44:00.005-04:00

I went to the Los Angeles Temple with the Relief Society sisters in my new ward on Thursday morning. It was the first time I'd been to this temple and it was a wonderful experience. It's huge and gorgeous! Definitely before "mini temples". It was kind of weird not having Bear there but it was a great opportunity to go. I want to make a goal of going to the temple once a month, which will be tricky because Bear works so much and then we're pretty far from the Washington D.C. Temple at school too. But I'm determined. I miss my teenage days of hopping on the train on a random night to go to the Tokyo Temple, or walking down the street to the Nauvoo Temple. The temple is a lovely grand place. We should all go. Because it makes people happy. I'm happy that I'm sealed to my family forever. It's a good feeling, especially now as my grandpa passed away recently. It's a learning experience every time I go. Why is that we take them for granted when they're right next to us? Temples. Temples. Temples. I love them.

The paragraph above has no structure because the temple makes a million emotions and thoughts run through my head. To sum it up, it was worth getting married in the temple. In my grandma's dress. (We've almost been married for a month! Gah)

Jane Eyre

2011-07-01T19:00:00.001-04:00

I just finished reading Jane Eyre for the second time. The first time I read it was when I was 15. Even though it was after I watched the movie, I still had a really hard time understanding it. This time was much easier and I fell in love with it all over again. I wasn't able to watch the new movie when it came out in theaters, so I'm anxiously awaiting August. I couldn't stand the 1930's version and I couldn't even finish it, but I've seen two other versions. The problem is the movie is never good enough because the plot isn't the best part, it's the writing and dialogue. The ending gets me every time. The whole book is so beautiful and simply enchanting.

You may like this book if…you crave a strong female literary lead, you enjoy against-all-odds love stories, you like unexpected plot points, you enjoy the classic governess novel, you are familiar with competing models of Christianity, you like contemplating nature versus nurture, you are intrigued by mystic story elements, you enjoy witnessing a plain Jane’s romance

You may not like this book if… you had a horrible childhood and do not care to rehash these memories, you do not appreciate the author’s portrayal of the mentally ill as a shameful burden, you have a hard time falling head-over-heels for the arrogant and strange Rochester, you are deathly afraid of ghosts or fire Haha

It's a classic. You just have to read it. And it's not like Jane Austen or as dark and depressing as Wuthering Heights.

Anybody else got book recommendations for me?

Why I love So Cal

2011-06-29T20:15:00.001-04:00

^ A mini gondola river between houses!!!

I'm loving the beach, pool, sun, sand, exciting-ness of it all. I also have to love the sue-happy people, 9.75% sales tax, $4 gas, extreme heat, and sunburns. Luckily I'm not the one usually driving, the company reimburses gas, I try to buy things online as much as possible, and I have a Bear to rub aloe vera on me when I'm bedridden and sick from a sunburn :) Happy summer, everyone!

Sabbath Day

2011-06-26T17:45:00.001-04:00

I love Bear. He always keeps things surprising-ful. One of his co-workers is coming back to church, but said that he didn't have any church clothes. So Bear gave him a suit. Bear has 2 suits. And he wasn't going to say anything about it but I noticed. Now, it was an older, not as nice suit that used to be his dad's. I'm very proud of him.

And Bear gave a talk in sacrament today. He forgot until he woke up. And I was asked to substitute for Sunday School next week. I love giving talks so I said yes. But then I realized that a lesson is very different from a talk. I'm afraid there won't be very many people because it will be a holiday weekend and so less comments. I'll be okay though.

I learn so much at church each week. Today I was really inspired to fulfill my callings and honor the Sabbath Day. There was a long debate in Relief Society today about what it okay to do on the Sabbath. There were so many different opinions but it the end it came down to it's what you feel is right. I also found a quote this past week from Mark E. Petersen: "Our observance of the Sabbath is an idication of the depth of our conversion..." Wow. I don't know about you, but that really inspires me.

Kansas Twister

2011-06-25T14:10:00.004-04:00

In my spare time, I've finally been able to get to my Texas Twister quilt. I just finished my first block which is the red one in the picture above.

^ Here's the cover of the pattern. Someday it will look like that. But I think I'm going to use orange instead of blue. Or both. And I'm thinking about making one little pinwheel backwards, just to spice things up and make it unique. Because I've been using scraps, a lot of the blocks have

I'm almost done with a yellow, lavender, aqua, and orange ones too. I'm doing it all by hand and it's very time consuming, but there's something very satisfying in having sore hands and fingers at the end of the day because of something you made. I like colorful quilts. I don' know if I could make a quilt with only two colors.

Kate's step-mother-in-law who isn't Mormon came to visit and saw me quilting and asked if it was something Mormons had to do once they got married. Hahahahahaha That one made me laugh.

If you want this pattern, it's from Aunt Grace's Scrapbag 1930 by Judie Rothermel. There's a way to do it with a sewing machine, but I'd rather not pull out my sewing machine, and I'd need long strips of fabric for that, not little scarppies. So if you have questions, just let me know and I will help you on your way. It's such a cute pattern and I want to share it with everybody! The sewing machine tutorial is HERE from Why Not Sew?.

Vintage Dress Pattern

2011-06-24T13:50:00.004-04:00

So I bought this super dee duper cute 1958 vintage dress pattern off of etsy.com. I'm planning on making View 2 but with the bow. The pattern came in the mail, but now the hard part is finding the right fabric. Secretly, all of this scares me because I've neer made something like this. Of course I quilt, and have made pajama pants and pillow cases and stuff, but dresses are a whole different story. And findng the right fabric...gah. And everybody sells quilting fabric (cotton), but it's getting harder and harder to find high quality fabric for clothing.

So far my favorite is this cream and gold brocade from eBay. But it's $20 a yard...sigh. I think it looks vintagey too. I might have to save for this fabric. Or find something cheaper. Anybody got suggestions? I would love to find the fabric soon.

Oh and I'm a size 14. Why'd they change dress sizes? It just makes it depressing when you're using a vintage pattern. But hey, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14. Weight and dress sizes are so weird.

All Grown Up

2011-06-23T14:35:00.002-04:00

Poor Bear. During his first week of work he was exhausted and would basically sleep his afternoon work break away. By Sunday, he was so fatigued, he wasn't functioning at church and he told me he had never been that tired - except after the first week of his mission.

Bear doesn't mind the sun and heat. This is the perfect temperature for him. But all the walking and the sun do wear you down eventually. He's been working so hard. But he's made his quota for the month, and he's doing very well for it being his first 2 weeks of his first summer working for Dewey. I'm proud of him. Even though he gets frustrated with himself.

Well I officially joined bank accounts with Bear, and got my own debit card. They automatically made me one with the same design as his - the SF Giants. Oh well. It could be worse. Obviously we didn't need to consolidate, but at this point 2 bank accounts sounds to complicated for me.

And..I cut Bear's hair for the first time. I didn't have any men's hair cutting shears, but he just needed a little trim. I'd never done anything like that before, but I watched a Youtube video and went to work. It turned out fine. (The picture above is before the trim). Luckily, he has curl to his hair, so even if my trimming is a little off, you totally can't tell.

And finally...I officially changed my last name. The social security office is right down the street and was surprisingly painless. It was free, I got to keep my old social security number (which I didn't know beforehand), and all I needed was my driver's license and wedding license. I didn't even need to wait for my parents to send me my birth certificate. And then we were stressed out, because we had been keeping the marriage license safe, but when we pulled it out the day of, we realized the temple took the certified one and we only had the one from the temple. The guy didn't say anything about it. Considering everything else in getting married and settling down is so expensive and stressful...it was nice I kept my middle name instead of my maiden name. Gah I'm crying about it right now. I'm so happy to be a Price now, but at the same time it's hard to let go of my name. I hate being conflicted.

But I officially kind of feel like an adult now.

Room

2011-06-22T20:00:00.005-04:00

^ I bought those pillowcases for me and Bear for Valentine's Day. They can finally be together now. You can buy more lovey dovey pillowcases, mugs, tshirts, and drinking glasses at Bold Loft.

Me and Bear are staying at the Fredrickson's in Lancaster. At first we were trying to find an apartment in the area, but all of them were at least 6 month leases. So we petitioned the bishops in the area and the Fredrickson's answered their bishop's request first. In a previous post I said we'd be living in their basement. I can tell you now that is not true. There are no basements in California. So we're living in the only bedroom on the main floor; all the rest are upstairs. Our bedroom is very lovely and my camera isn't doing it justice.

Kate re-paints and refinishes wood furniture and is a photographer. I'm jealous, because I would love to fix up antique furniture. I love her decorating and it is inspiring me. They even gave us the little TV which was in their room, which is very nice of them. The room is very "springy" and refreshing. Under the window is Bear's planning whiteboard. I'm going to learn her coupon-ing skills too.

So I only really have to keep our room and bathroom tidy and I'm not cooking any meals (I am helping, but I'm not planning the menu and shopping)...so I sometimes feel like a failure housewife, but I do enjoy the company and the skills I'm learning from Kate and her two cute kids. Kate's younger sister Kacy is staying at their house too, so it's nice to have another girl close to my age. I'm very grateful to them for letting me invade their space.
Here is Kate's blog. Click HERE.

Dr. Pepper

2011-06-22T00:07:00.004-04:00

Dear Dr. Pepper, I'm saying bye to you for at least a week. I know I can. I'm not addicted enough to go buy it all the time, but when it's around the Fredrickon's house in large amounts, I can't help myself. You make me want to eat unhealthily all day and I want the body I had right before my wedding. Yes, in 2 weeks you've already started to affect me. Leave me in peace and let me lose the bloating, weight, and jiggly-ness. Here's my motivation:

Soda is useless

Weight gain and obesity

Diabetes

Weakened bones (osteoperosis)

Cavities and teeth erosion

Kidney damage

Increased blood pressure

Likely to acuse heartburn

Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factor

Harmful effects on liver

Impaired digestive system

Dehydration

High caffeine content

SUGAR

Possible cell damage ability

There are so many healthy alternatives

Win

2011-06-21T13:00:00.000-04:00

Do you want to hear an awesome story? I found this shirt on anthropologie.com . And I really liked the white, lacey, crochetyness of it. But it was $98. So...I did some more research...

And found this similar tank top from delias.com. But it was $39.50 and they were out of my size.
So...I did some MORE research...

And found this on etsy.com for $5. That's right. And you want to hear the best part? It's vintage. I'm happy. Steal. Win.

It's amazing that a few minutes saved me almost $100. I'm obsessed with deals, sales, coupons, and vintage and used items right now.

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-21T09:50:00.002-04:00

I would just like to tell my dad how much I love him. I wasn't able to spend Father's Day with him. I even forgot to send him a card.

But me and Tashi did go in on buying him a white iPhone 4.

I'm jealous. Well, maybe not because paying for a data plan doens't sound like too much fun right now haha

But anways, it felt nice to buy him something that he actually wanted (and I didn't buy him TOMS! I am a little original). It's just sad that I onlt called him, because it's the first Father's Day I didn't spend with him. I wanted to Skype with him but then we realized our hand-me-down ghetto laptop doesn't have a webcam or microphone. Poo.

At least I was able to call him, but like my dad said, a long time ago a Father's Day call was a big deal, but now I call my family a few times a week anyways. I love him and miss him. He gave me lots of good financial and marital advice before I got married and I plan to apply it. He's helped many businessmen become very successful with his advice. I know he loves me and my mom. I'm thankful my parents are still married and that they set a good example of a happy marriage for me.

I hope I can become as "love-birdy" as them someday. I hope I can make my kids as happy as he made me one day. He's a good, hard-working dad, like Bear. I'm proud to talk about him. I'm proud to call him my father.

Love you, daddy schmoopsie!

If you want to see a blog post back from March 2007 about my dad with some cute pictures and "Why a Daughter Needs a Dad", click HERE
And if you want to go to his blog, click HERE

2011-06-21T00:31:00.002-04:00

I bought Gracie these pink sparkle TOMS for her birthday. So now eberyone in my family has a pair of TOMS except my dad and Bear. But quite frankly, I think they're kinf of un-manly. I need to find some dress shoes for Bear. Anybody have suggestions?

I love TOMS!!!!!!!! The ivory glitter TOMS are back in stock. Those are the ones I originally wanted. It's so tempting...but fixing Tercel was a little more expensive than we thought. Ah, newlywed finances. I love it.

Does anybody else own TOMS? Which are your favorite?

Sunday Goodness

2011-06-20T17:47:00.002-04:00

My past two Sundays in Lancaster have been very good. I've learned a lot and I really enjoy my new ward. That's one of the things I love about the church. No matter where you go, all the members arebgetting the same lessons and meetings with the same principles being taught. It's such a comfort. But one of the wonderful things about moving around so much (even though I hate it), is you get different comments from all the different places and it keeps things fresh. I learn a lot more that way I think.

One lady commented on how she thinks How the Savior has helped her during the week during the bread, and thinking about how she's going to include him in her life during the next week during the water. I'm going to start doing that.

Another thought was from Matt. 20:26-28. It reminded me of learning to be a Leader-Servant at SVU. "And whosoever will be your chief among you, let him be your minister." I love the school I go to. What a good way to look at leadership. Lead like the Savior.

And I love Sundays because me and Bear read the Ensign to each other. And because it's the one day of the week that I have him all to myself. His work schedule is quite rigorous.

When we learned about talents in Relief Society, it made me want to pursue my dream of learning to make vintage dresses (clothes in general too), cake decorating, and making hand stamoed jewelry. I can't wait to start!

Give me more inspirational thoughts in the comments!

Belated Wedding Speech

2011-06-19T23:14:00.000-04:00

Bear's brother Scott that couldn't make it to the wedding sent this speech to us to be read at the reception but it didn't work out:

"As you all know I am a man of few words....(wait for
it).............................................................
................................ok I know that got a few laughs..... If not,
...there must have been a wry comment or two.... Anywhoo,

I wanted to express my deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep,
deep, deep, regret for not making it to this certainly lovely wedding. I am
beyond honored that I was asked to be your best man barrett, it really meant
a lot to me. As far as Brothers, Best Friends, and great men go, there are
none better. That's why I'm so sad that I can't be there in person to show
off my fabulous tux which is certainly better than anyone elses in the
wedding party.....

I am not a man beyond arrogance, selfishness, ignorance and forgetfulness.
Part of the reason why I admire you so much Bear, because you don't exhibit
those things, well perhaps a little forgetfulness but that's neither here
nor there. You are a better man than I and that's why I love being around
you. You've somehow turned your older brother who used to change your
diapers into a middle aged groupie.

Part of the reason we share such a close bond is because of our love of the
celestial game of baseball. It really is a microcosm of just about any life
lesson you can learn, or even life itself. The struggle of competition, the
actual aesthetics of the game, all combine together to make a ballplayer
feel like everything is right in the universe when we're on the field, even
when we lose the game. We play for victory every time we step out on the
field but understand that we will individually fail more often than we
succeed. Yet victory can be achieved in many other activities, other sports
or games, but baseball... ahhh baseball is different. It's much more about
actually playing the game, enjoying the friendships made by the bonding of
your teammates in between the lines and in the dugout. And I certainly never
enjoyed playing the game more than when I was privileged enough to actually
have you as a teammate for parts of two seasons and last year for the entire
summer.
It's not just because you have a rocket arm, a sharp eye and a quick bat
that you will be successful in the game of baseball, but because you possess
Christlike abilities that make you the person who can perform at the highest
level.

A great baseball player must possess several redeeming qualities that
usually make that player a better person as well as a better player:

1. Toughness of the mind~ the ability to press forward through the
refining fire of failure and never give up
2. Confidence~ he knows he's done it before, so he can do it again on the
very next pitch.
3. Loyalty~ he's there for his family, so he's there for his teammates in
a pinch and more importantly, he's rooting for the others on his team to do
well, even if he doesn't get the credit for it.
4. Courage~ it's much more than not being afraid. It's having the
proactivity to seek out the big moment and do the right thing, whether to
win the game or help those in need.
5. Love~ He must love the game and others so that it becomes a part of
who he is.

Barrett I know you possess all of these and certainly these are things
praiseworthy and of good report and Christ is proud of those attributes in
you. Because of the person you are, I know that Alexa is at least as
wonderful a person if not more than you. Because that's the kind of babe you
would attract. (wink) Alexa by all accounts I've heard that you are a
magical person and I'm anxious to get to know you and we'll need to meet up
sometime before the summer is over.

I'm so proud of you. I'm a very nostalgic person and like to live in the
past so it makes me miss the days we used to play stickball with broomsticks
and homemade tin foil balls in the yard as kids. I'll never forget your
first homer when I took you down to Gattini Field in Hayward and you knocked
it over the 200 foot fence when you were 11 years old. I'm also grateful for
all the pitches you made to me when I wanted extra batting practice, I
apologize for abusing you and saying "Just one more...ok just one more....ok
really just one more this time..... Ok last one for sure for sure this
time..... And that time I bribed you with a cheap fastfood burger in
exchange for you going into the muddy creek to retrieve that ball I hit at
Stenzel Field.

As Baseball has brought us closer together I know it will keep us close
forever, and when we're old and gray and can only remember what it felt like
to run, dive, throw, catch and hear that special click when we've caught one
just right and you know it's going to go a long way, the day will come when
one of us will die, and begin playing in that other world. If it's my turn
to go first, I'll make sure I appear in a vision to let you know before it's
your turn to join me that you're catching the next day and we need a guy.
It'll be the same game, I promise......minus the chewing tobacco.

God bless you Barrett and Alexa,

No matter how you look at it, we'll be playing together again soon."

Huck's Harbor

2011-06-17T14:10:00.001-04:00

Me and Bear took the bebbes swimming at Huck's Harbor in Fun City. We took Sarah along with us too. I love the lazy river there. But now I'm in Calirfonia where everyday is sunny and hot, unlike Illinois where you have to find the perfect day to go swimming. Gracie was being so funny with the tubes. Look at the way she's straddling that double tube. Swimming is one of the best parts of summer. And the cute bebbes of course.

Bear says he looks like a chubby bunny in this picture. Whatever.

The Babies

2011-06-17T13:55:00.000-04:00

I miss my bebbes.

This is the day my grandma took us out to eat at Ziggie's Pizza in Nauvoo, a few days before my wedding.

I have too many pictures of this bebbe eating.

His signature smile. I want to kiss their hair and squish them til they scream. I wish I didn't miss people and things so much :(

So Cal

2011-06-15T20:41:00.005-04:00

So I decided it's probably about to time to talk about California.

I feel really blessed in my situation. We had a one week road trip honeymoon from Nauvoo to So Cal. The driving wasn't so fun, especially in "My boy Tercel". Tercel is Bear's little '92 used-to-be-green-now-it's-faded-to-turquoise Toyota Tercel. It has no air conditioning, which I somehow didn't know beforehand and I've never really experienced before either. It was horrible whether there was humidity or not. But we had no car trouble and it was running great thanks to my dad's wedding gift of fixing up Tercel before we left.

We got to visit lots of people in Utah that weren't able to make it to our wedding. That was fun but surprisingly exhausting. The place we stayed at in Salt Lake was really sketchy. I took Bear shopping at the Gateway and bought him some basketball shoes and good walking/running shoes at Foot Locker, lots of cargo shorts for work from American Eagle, and a black Louisville slugger.

I still need to learn to drive Tercel because he's manual. And really old. He doesn't have too many miles on him though. He should be good for awhile.

We stayed on the Strip in Vegas. It was a place that had been renovated and wasn't as sketchy as the places around it, but it was in a sketchy part of town. I was afraid of getting an STD just from laying on our bed covers. We were lame and didn't see any shows are ride the stratosphere or go to the temple or anything. We went to a nice breakfast buffet and to Olive Garden with one of Bear's mission buddies who had just gotten engaged...and watched TV for the rest of the day. We were wasted.

Let me just say the Mojave desert is really ugly. And not fun to drive through with no AC. But we arrived in Lancaster late afternoon on Saturday. The Fredrickson's are very very nice and gave us homemade sushi for our first night there. I thought that was a very good sign. And there's so many nice places to eat here in Lancaster. I like how they eat on the West Coast much better. So we've already been to church in our new ward and Bear started work on Monday morning.

It's the kind of job that's good for him because he's a very hard worker and very driven. He's really good at following directions and he doesn't get his feelings hurt easily. I'll just have to buoy up his self esteem when sales aren't going as good as he'd like. He's gone from 8:30-1:30 and then gets a 2 hour break and then doesn't come back til 9 at night. He has to walk a few miles a day in the heat. Luckily heat doesn't effect him and the new shoes help his feet.

Our room is really nice and I will post pictures soon, when my camera cord gets here. Bear has to make 20 sales a month, but he only has to get 10 this month because it's a half month. I feel a little weird because I've either been in school or working or both and now I just get to relax all day. It's nice but hard to adjust to. Bear's been very good to me and besides the bladder infection (that healed up quickly) and random spurts of "adjustment" crying, I'm very happy.

Come visit us if you're going to Disney Land.

Memorial Day

2011-06-14T01:30:00.001-04:00

Oh dear. I don't want to bore you all to tears with more talk of frozen custard. But to me, there is no limit to expressing love for this stuff.

On Memorial Day we went to Sunsey By the Mississippi for Family Home Evening. They had added a lot of new funny skits this year and the whole family enjoyed it.

My mom's cousin and his family were in town visiting Old Nauvoo. We had them over for Sunday dinner the day before but ran into them unexpectedly at the show. So we all tottered over to Annie's.

Um Gracie's face is hilarious. Actually all 3 of them.

3 generations. Each generation gets cuter. Haha totally kidding.

MMMMMMMMmmmmm she knows what's good for her.

Dancing

2011-06-13T16:30:00.001-04:00

This is the day after I went through the temple :) After a family lunch at my favorite place to eat closeby (The Ivy in Ft Madison), me and Bear went around Nauvoo to see some sites.

The little Sister Missionary made us take dancing pictures in the old cultural hall. As Bear said later, "you just can't say no to them." It's true.

Frozen Custard

2011-06-13T16:00:00.001-04:00

There are so many posts I was in the middle of and never finished because of wedding craziness. So I will start with Annie's Frozen Custard. I will eventually get to talking about married life, now that we're settled into California, but I left my camera cord at home and my mom has to send it to me today anyways. So back to old drafted posts...

The day after Bear got to Nauvoo we took him to Annie's Frozen Custard. I miss it right now. But I'm going to try and look on the bright side about all the good California food I'm going to get to experience.

I usually get vanilla with Helen's famous homemade raspberry sauce, but sometimes I like to have a change and get a chocolate malt or cream soda float. The picture above is my cream soda float.

I miss my Tash too.
If you're ever in Nauvoo, it's something you don't want to pass up. Between all the family and friends that came to the wedding (and needing them to experience pure joy from frozen custard), and need of a stress relief, I was at Annie's almost every night the week before my wedding.

Scorpion

2011-06-01T18:43:00.003-04:00

So me and Bear went and bought suckers after visiting the old Nauvoo sites. I got an old-fashioned lemon one. But Bear had to get one with a real scorpion in it. I had to take a picture. And he actually ate the scorpion. That's all I have to say.

Kitties

2011-06-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

This is Bear and one of our kittens watching TV at our house. They like each other. The orphan runt kitty and Bear like each other but I don't have a picture of them together. Bear took him on one of our nightly family walks in Mia's baby doll sling. I love him ♥ And the kitty too. But I like Bears more than kitties. Me and Bear have decided to take Bustard to school with us this Fall. He should be more stable by then and it's just not feasible to take a kitten to California with us. But I do love kitties. Bear does too. He just won't admit it.

I've Got Emotions Dripping Out My Pores

2011-05-28T00:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, I wish I could blog everyday, but there is no way with the craziness in my life right now.

I've got emotions dripping out my pores and I thought I would let you knowwww

This should be the most important time in my life and I should be writing down every little thing but everything is just a blur. There is never enough time in the day but the days go by slowly at the same time. Some days I just want to live with my family forever, some days I just want to be in California with Bear.

I'm super emotional and on edge lately. Which doesn't make sense because I really have nothing to stress about. The planning is done, and things are going smoothly thus far. I told myself I wouldn't be a crazy bride but I'm still fiesty. Not about wedding details, just about the huge change in my life in general.

I went through the temple today. Um I definitely need to go back soon. I can't remember all of it but I felt happy and I felt the Spirit so strongly which the temple workers told me was more important. Grandma and Gloria were there. And of course Bear was too. My cousin Jordan will be going through the Nauvoo temple next Friday also, and I'll get to be there for that too. Yay.

Me and Bear are on our own phone plan now.Yikes. I feel grown up. Things are starting to sink in.

We're planning on living with a couple with two young kids recommended by a bishop from a ward in Lancaster. They are willing to let us live in their basement and eat their food for $300 a month, and the company's going to be covering $500 a month for rent. So we'll get to eat with them and go to FHE with them so things won't be so lonely or hard right at the beginning. I want to turn around and help a newlywed couple like that someday.

I haven't been taking many pictures but I'm getting my bridals done at 10 am on Monday. Yay.

Well Tash just got back from a two-day High School band trip to Chicago so I must go talk to her.

Something blue

2011-05-12T10:43:00.001-04:00

My mom, Tash, and me went shopping yesterday for my bridal shower and Tashi's graduation party. And we bought me some wedding shoes. My mom says they're so 80's she can't believe it, but she likes them. They have a really low heel and are blue and pink, my wedding colors. And they're kind of vintagey like my dress. And now they can be my something blue ♥

Mothers Day

2011-05-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

This is the card I got my mom for Mothers Day. It says "It must have taken a lot of patience to raise me" (I know it did. I was a stinker)

And then the inside says "or a lot of anti-anxiety pills" because out family is full of anxious people. Haha

I got my mom some Natural Canvas Toms, along with a pink and yellow roses and carnations bouquet from ProFlowers.

I love my mom. Our relationship got a lot stronger after I left for college. Our personalities are very similar enough to butt heads and different enough to disagree on stuff too. But I know I was a horrible teenager and I'm starting to realize how much she really was trying to be a good mom. I couldn't ask for better. I know Heavenly Father knew that was right for me. I hope you all had a wonderful Mothers Day too. I can't wait to be a mom some day too.

G'ma and G'pa's House

2011-05-11T01:40:00.002-04:00

We went to my G'ma and G'pa Stout's house in Missouri for Mothers Day.
For G'ma's present, we took flowers from our own garden and planted them in front of their new house.

^ That's my cute Mama working hard

Their house is surrounded by green hills like this. It's really pretty.

It was really nice to spend time with my grandparents because I hadn't seen them in a year and I had never been to their new house. My parents really wanted me to get out there because they thought I never will once I'm married. G'ma made us nice dinners and we got to eat her heavenly hash :) And we all watched Tangled! It never gets old. My dad even admitted to liking the movie.

Their branch was interesting. We found a tick in Mia's hair during Sacrament Meeting (I guess ticks are really bad in Missouri), and it ends up the bishop always carries around a scoop for ticks. Only in Missouri. That's all I have to say.

I'll get to see my grandparents again soon at my bridal shower and for Tashi's seminary graduation and Baccalaureate, and then at my wedding :)

Beauty and the Beast

2011-05-07T21:00:00.000-04:00

I finally got to see the Rodenberg family after 8 months. Brady was Lumiere in Quincy High School's production of Beauty and the Beast. He was seriously the best part of the show - especially his French accent. I'm proud of him and I missed them all. We're all growing up...

Veil

2011-05-05T23:35:00.005-04:00

We ordered my veil today and went and talked to Robert Saint about flowers. I'm getting things worked out with a local wedding photographer too. It is a beautiful ivory lace mantilla veil. The size is 36" long and is a elbow length. It features a 4" beautifully embroidered Alencon lace edge. This veil is made of soft bridal illusion material that allows the veil to drape beautifully. A metal comb is attached to the veil for easy positioning. We bought it off of etsy - my new best friend.

We had a long debate about whether to get a matte bircage veil, to mix in a little modern-ness with the dress, but the mantilla looks a lot like the one my grandma had and I think is more elegant and will match the lace on the dress more. We'll have to see. I'm so excited!

More Easter Pics

2011-05-04T01:30:00.003-04:00

Look at the glitter eggs!

Yes, I'm marrying him :)

Easterness

2011-05-04T01:07:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to post some Easter pictures. Rachel and Haylea were opposites and wore very Easter-y colors, but I dressed very Mexicana, according to my mom.

We colored eggs (with glitter!) And made Resurrection Rolls. We couldn't find the Pillsbury dough that Rachel bought, so we made the dough from scratch. They were delicious, even though the picture doesn't look like it.

The weather was perfect. I just needed my family and a good Easter dinner. We took pictures at the park by Bear's house and were very silly.

I miss my Bear. I love him. I miss my girls too. But I know I'll see them all again soon.

Life is crazy. I hope you had a happy Easter.

Rivering

2011-05-02T18:46:00.001-04:00

I am home. And I'm loving it. But I'm sad that Illinois weather os 3 weeks behind Virginia weather. Because it was 80 degrees the whole week before I left. I went swimming almost everyday. Here are pictures of some of our rivering.

Why is the Mississippi so polluted? I would love to do some wading right about now without my skin melting off.

Finals

2011-04-27T12:40:00.001-04:00

So I haven't been updating because I've been doing some of this ^

Yes, it's finals week. But the best part is I only had exams on Monday and Tuesday. I'M DONE! Now I get to sleep in, exercise, and go to work if I really want to. No more homework or papers for 4 months! I just want to sleep now. Whenever I go through a semester of college I feel like I can do anything! My GPA should be high enough to keep my scholarship for next year! It's unreal that I'm leaving on Saturday. And the internal struggle of wanting to be home already with my family and not wanting to leave Bear for 3 weeks is never-ending.

I'm officially finished with my first full year of college! Only 2 more to go! Is it weird that I'm excited for next year already? I love that my summer is 4 months instead of 3 like in high school. Now to pack and spend lots of time with Bear. I love him.

Accessory Swap

2011-04-25T22:17:00.005-04:00

Join in!

Easter

2011-04-24T15:46:00.005-04:00

I hope you have a hoppy day. My day has been filled with lovely warm weather, surrounded by a green Virginian spring, good talks on the Resurrection, and getting released from my calling. Resurrection rolls, egg coloring, and other good Eastery goodness to follow tonight.

FOR YOUR EASTER SUNDAY

More Wedding Goodness

2011-04-22T20:55:00.001-04:00

More things that I like. I love that guest book.

And I love these little cake toppers that you can customize to look like you. I probably won't get them, but I like them anyway. People tell me it's my Japanese side showing through.

I love these vintage lacey veils.

Short pearl neckalce. I'm old-fashioned I guess.

I like this guest book too, but it's less Japanese-y.

Something blue.

Is there anything you like?

Spotlight

2011-04-22T20:40:00.003-04:00

I've decided that I'm going to start spotlighting the blogs that I read and like everyday.

Today's special person is Mary Smith ♥

She is a good family friend that we have known since both of our families lived in Japan. She's actually more of my mom's friend, but I still love reading her blog. She's a very good writer and I love her creativity and all of her children's names. She teaches natural childbirth classes and is expecting her 6th baby - a boy. She's the one who taught me to "dress my truth". Her posts always cheer up my day because they're so funny and well-written. Her words are way better than pictures. Please go read it. And comment on her loveliness.

Love, Lexi

Martha Stewart Wedding Inspiration

2011-04-21T14:45:00.004-04:00

Dear Martha Stewart, I want all of the below for my wedding for free.
Thank you, Lexi

Flower girl wands

I WANT THIS BOUQUET!

This is my favorite. If only I was getting married in the spring!!!!

Love the drink colors

Cherry blossom cookies!

Sakura mochi!

Um...yum.

Edible Cherry Blossoms! How cool is that?

I love the giant pom pom flowers!

Invitations

2011-04-20T10:25:00.005-04:00

These should be coming your way soon. I am in love with them. Bear stuffs them and I address them. That isn't m wording, (it's just the example), I just didn't want people to creep on me. I used the picture that's on my sidebar. Just remember the big day is June 4th, Saturday ♥ Email me with questions

You want to know the sad thing? I misspelled Bear's middle name on the invitations. Not the printing company, me. But I blame him because I had my parents re-check the wording a million times and then I asked Bear if he wanted to check it before I sent it in...he said no. They were expensive and we're running out of time so I'm not sending them back for my mistake. The only problem is it's his mom's maiden name...so we carefully had to fix all the ones for that side of the family. But I still love him.

If you don't get an invitation in the mail, don't feel bad. You should be invited on Facebook. If not, yell at me. I have just lived too many places and know too many wondeful people to send them too. You are loved whether you get one or not. We are turning into a technological world after all haha.

I love him.

Why I love Virginia

2011-04-19T19:09:00.003-04:00

These are just 3 pictures from campus. There's bajillions of these trees everywhere. Aren't you jealous? I forgot to get pictures of the dogwood and other pink trees.

I could live in Virginia the rest of my life :)

Baseball Day

2011-04-19T18:55:00.005-04:00

My TOMS are here. And I feel like a princess because they're sparkly.

^ (Me and Laura Sowell's feet)

I went to a baseball game yesterday. It was very nice weather and it was really nice to sit on the grass.
Our boys won of course. 18-6. 3 home-runs in the first inning and one of them was a grand slam. They're at 27 wins, 5 losses. I'm sad that I can't go watch them at nationals.

I'm so proud of them, especially #9. And we got to go to Chipotle afterwards. I was quite happy.

I love all the baseball wives/girlfriends. We're becoming good friends. I'm glad that Bear is passionate about something. I love going to the games. Baseball is actually fun to watch for me. And I got my ride home all set up. Even though I'm running on no sleep, I'm happy. Being engaged can be frustrating, but so happy at the same time. He's good to me. I love life. I love him.

Life is good

2011-04-17T23:55:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I miss my grandpa. But I'm proud of him. He was a good example and worked hard until the end. I'm really sad that I couldn't be there for the funeral. But my family recorded it and I'll get to listen to it soon.

The following pictures make me happy. I keep hearing even from church members how hard marriage is. I'm not naive enough to think I will be in utter bliss for the rest of my life. But can we be a little more positive here? I'm not worried. I'm hopeful and I know that married life will have to be something that I work at, but I know it will be very fulfilling and worth it.

I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father gave us emotions so that we could feel joy, even if it's not all the time.

Mia's birthday was on Friday. She's 10. Noah turned 7 today. I'm freaking out. They got their TOMS on time. Phew. Mine should be here tomorrow. I'm so exited!!! Oh and our cat had kittens at home today.

So yes, I have so much homework I think I'm going to die and I'm not getting enough sleep and I hate how much time wedding invitations are taking up, but life is so happy and good right now. The baseball team is at 26-5. They just beat a team that beat them earlier in the season. I'm happy all-around.

Aren't my grandparents the cutest? This picture would've been a year after they got married. I want to be cute like them.

Wedding Dress

2011-04-14T23:55:00.003-04:00

Isn't my grandma cute? These are pictures back from 1968. I'm wearing my grandma's dress for my wedding. My mom wore her grandma's too, so so I guess I made a tradition.

I love the train. The only problem is I haven't tried it on yet. It's at home with my mom. The lace has yellowed a bit, but the temple approved it so I should be good to go. And me and my grandma are pretty much the same size and it fits Tashi. I'm not too worried.

And I'm not wearing because my family wanted me too or because of a family tradition. But it definitely saves a lot of hassle.

And now that my grandpa just passed away, it means so much more. Things are speeding up and I'm getting so excited! I can't wait to try on the dress!

With Love ♥

Bonfire in the Winter

Haka

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Chicago, America

New Shoes

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Life is Beautiful

Beginning of the Semester

Emma

Exercise

Temple Goal

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Bonfires, Corn Mazes, and Hayrides

Wool Coat

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DC Temple

Curried Honey Mustard Chicken

Directions

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This is Our Favorite Right Now

Back to College

Longest Road Trip Ever

New Truck

DIY Capes

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Homesick

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

An Apple a Day

More on Sweeteners

Aspartame

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No Texting During the Movie

Eat the Right Thing

Save Yourself

Blue and White

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