Alex & Jane

Danielle for the win!

2012-02-10T13:52:00.014-08:00

My sister-in-law Danielle is in the final round of an online sewing and design competition online called Project Run and Play...and now it's down to the final vote!

She's up against competition that has bajillions of blog followers, but I think her work is seriously miles ahead. Help her get the win and go vote!

In case you need any more impetus, here is a rundown of all 6 of her entries. Each piece is creative and colorful, playful, simple but detailed where it counts, and soft and wearable. And they all fit perfectly!

Oh, and did I mention that the pattern drafting, layer piecing, wood blocked chevron fabric, quilting, ombre fabric, and embroidery was all HAND DONE?! She's amazing.

Vote vote vote! (voting ends Sunday night)

Visions of sugarplums

2012-01-09T23:41:00.006-08:00

I mentioned that we enjoyed some sweet treats over the holidays, but "some" doesn't really do it justice.

I made spritz and jam Christmas cookies
Ken (Alex's dad) received a huge gift basket of chocolates and cookies from a client
Melody made frosted sugar cookies
Marial made candies and Danish dessert
The Longs got doorbell-ditched cookies
Kristi made Christmas morning orange rolls
Our stockings were stuffed entirely with candy (Which came first, Alex's sweet tooth or his Christmas stocking?)
Grandma Long gave us chocolate oranges

We were on a dangerous sugar high. By the time I opened a 3.5 lb. "XXL" bag of peanut M&M's at the Christmas day gift exchange, I actually felt like I might throw up.

And to top it off, we came home from Christmas not only with beautiful gifts but an entire grocery bag filled with more candy.

I'm thinking we should just hide it away and call it the start of our food storage.

If a natural disaster strikes and you're desperately in need of chocolate, you know where to find us.

2012

2012-01-05T22:53:00.003-08:00

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T21:49:00.007-08:00

Making my mom's cookies

Spritzing

Success! (though her jam thumbprints are MUCH prettier)

Decorating our apt.

Christmas Eve at Grandma Katy's

The usual

Christmas morning sunrise

Opening gifts

Merry Christmas!

Other notables:

Seeing the Polar Express in IMAX Christmas Eve morning
Admiring the Long/Roberts Christmas trees
Singing Christmas songs at Grandma Katy's
Watching Rudolph with Alex after everyone else had gone to bed
Calling Ryan at 6:00 a.m. for his "Merry Christmas" wake up
Talking to Evan, who is across the world on his mission in R éunion
Eating Kristi's Christmas morning orange rolls
Enjoying bright lights, sweet treats, and Christmas wishes

Favorite Christmas Movies

2011-12-24T15:10:00.004-08:00

Alex:

Jane:

This year we've watched most of our favorites,
plus a few more (Elf, Home Alone and The Polar Express).

What are your favorite Christmas movies?

Evidence

2011-12-20T22:49:00.005-08:00

Told you it was a big mashed potato pot!

(But I might have had some difficulty getting out...)

Happy Birthday Oliver!

2011-12-20T21:50:00.004-08:00

Grandpa loves Ollie

Auntie Katie loves Ollie

Uncle "Doug" loves Ollie
Uncle Alex loves Ollie

Auntie Jane loves Ollie

Grandma Coco loves Ollie

Auntie LeAnn loves Ollie

Yep...we all love Ollie.
And who wouldn't?!

I miss our little nephew and can't believe he's a whole year old!

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T22:07:00.006-08:00

Nutcrackin' Up

2011-12-19T00:39:00.006-08:00

We went to see the Nutcracker in Seattle over Thanksgiving weekend, at my request. I'm so glad everyone else got on board because I've always wanted to go together.

Before the show started, we took some photos with the props in the lobby.

Sibling love on the photo-op set

My parents with the very toothy (and overplucked eyebrowy) NutcrackerKatie with Herr Drosselmeir, who appears to be wearing a dance belt.

Mom cozying up to the mouse king and possibly picking his nose.
Can I please get an explanation on what is happening here?

Posing with the enemy, who looks intoxicated. Or just incredibly ticked off.

I LOVE Pacific Northwest Ballet's version of the Nutcracker, which is famous for its sets and costumes designed by Maurice Sendak. I have only seen two other versions of the ballet (SLC and Portland) and while Portland wins for most glittery snow in the snowflake dance (one of the most mesmerizing things I've ever seen...I still daydream about it), PNB's sets and staging add so much to the story that it is definitely my favorite.

Also see this interview with the dancer who played the peacock this year!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-18T22:03:00.008-08:00

Highlights from my favorite day of the year:

Mashing potatoes in the GIANT pot my mom bought this year. It may not look enormous here, but I could actually SIT in it.

End result.
Heaven.

Daisy's working on that palate and branched out to cranberry sauce this year.

A table shot enhanced by a certain someone's hand in the photo.
Her response: "I wanted to be in the picture!!"
Guess who!

Pictionary showdown: the competition mocked (a.k.a. were jealous of) our turkey hats...

...but who's laughing now?? Turkey trophy!

The annual Thanksgiving photo op.

*Not pictured:
The rolls return: much rejoicing
Mom the gimp: knee bands McGee
Post-dinner freak show: feats of strength

I really love Thanksgiving. And these people.

Ankle fixed!

2011-12-18T21:37:00.005-08:00

I had a follow-up visit last week to check on my ankle, and got the go-ahead to ditch my crutches and get back to normal life (except no aerobics for at least a month--ha).

I am so relieved that the crutch phase lasted only 2 weeks. I don't think I could have handled any longer (nor could Alex....he can tell you how much fun I was to be around). I have a new appreciation for walking, and for transporting objects by myself without help.

No more of this.

His & Hers Birthdays

2011-12-03T18:09:00.010-08:00

Here we are with our birthday desserts on our extremely low-key birthdays.

I feel pretty lame (colloquial definition) admitting that since being in Oregon we've gotten lax about our birthdays.

This year, all I wanted for my birthday was for Alex to make me dinner, eat my favorite dessert, and watch When Harry Met Sally.*

Truth is, it was pretty nice.

But I think it's time to get back to our younger ways when our birthdays had more pizazz. I mean, we are still in our twenties! There will be plenty of opportunities for lazy birthdays as we age. And I'm more of a party girl at heart.

I will note that Alex continues to make me crepes for breakfast on my birthday and buys me really thoughtful gifts.

What do you do to celebrate your birthday?

*My favorite romantic comedy.

Ankle sprained

2011-11-28T19:29:00.015-08:00

Remember that time when I injured myself while working out? I did it again today, but this time it was more severe--and in front of a whole class of people (my nightmare).

For the past few months I've been going to a class at the gym that combines step aerobics and strength training. It's fun, it's energizing, and despite the connotation of "aerobics," there are absolutely no high-cut turquoise leotards involved.

Every once in a while, we have a man down incident: a girl trips, comes crashing down under a pile of dismantled step and risers, and I think, "Whew, glad that wasn't me. Embarrassing!"

Today I took my turn. While finishing off an around-the-corner knee kick, I heard a loud crackling noise (that would be my joints/tendons) and shrieked as my full body weight came down on a left foot that twisted at just the right moment to feel like I'd landed on a Slinky. I hit the floor--and I don't mean that in a good way.

In writhing pain, I scooted to the edge of the room. I couldn't think about how pathetic I looked; I was too busy dealing with HOW MUCH A SPRAINED ANKLE HURTS.

My sporty sister reassures me that I'm not a wimp, but that in her experience, a really bad ankle sprain hurts as much or more than tearing her ACL did.

In any case, I'm back at home now, and I gotta say, sitting on the couch chained to a sack of ice gets really boring after a few hours.

Other problem: how am I going to work off that Thanksgiving food now?!

(The most embarrassing part was when the gym made me fill out an accident report.)

Happy Birthday Jane!

2011-11-22T21:31:00.004-08:00

Today is Jane's birthday. I think she's so cool and I love her.

A picture from when we were dating

Birthday Boy

2011-11-14T20:43:00.007-08:00

It's a special boy's birthday today...

26!!!

Leave him a birthday wish!

Day 3: Paris

2011-11-08T17:15:00.014-08:00

Our first day in Paris was exhausting. Jane and I both had blisters by the end of it. We slept in the next morning but we gave it our all once we got going.

We spent most of the day at the Musée d'Orsay. This is the museum I was most excited to see in Paris and it did not disappoint. I'll just go over a few of our favorite things we saw there:

Jane loves Manet's Berthe Morisot au bouquet de violettes

This Manet, L'evasion de Rochefort, was one of my favorites. I love the colors in the dark sea.

When I saw Renoir's Bal du Moulin de la Galette, it gave me goosebumps.
It just seemed crazy that the actual painting was right there in front of me.

Another of Jane's favorites is Cézanne's The Blue Vase.

We ate lunch during tea time at the beautiful museum café, which is decorated with ornate woodwork and high ceilings. Jane and I shared a little sandwich, salad, hot chocolate and orange tea cake.

The one photo from our second day in Paris.

We stayed at the museum until it closed. Afterwards, the courtyard outside had the usual cadre of street performers. This group included a guy rollerskating backwards on one foot, maneuvering in between plastic cups. From there, Jane and I went over to the Latin Quarter. We found a little crepe stand that Jane had eaten at on study abroad. I had a ham and cheese crepe, which became my favorite meal in Paris. We then walked over to the Jardin de Luxembourg, sat down and ate our dinner while the sun set.

On the way home we went to Monoprix (French Target) to get some food for breakfast. I love foreign grocery stores. The yogurt aisle is massive. There's all kinds of cured meats. People remove individual cans of soda out of six packs. It's hard to find a cracker or biscuit that isn't sweet. Most importantly, the French embrace the hazelnut: the single greatest nut that can be paired with chocolate.

We bought some yogurt, apricot breakfast cookies, a summer sausage, a ginger spread with a texture like peanut butter (this is something we need in the states), some Kinder Bueno bars, and a few other things on Jane's list.

Every night coming home we experienced a variety of weird smells as we closed in on our apartment. Curry from the weird Indian place near our house (every night I would try to convince Jane to eat there). Urine from the abandoned mattress on the sidewalk. Cigarette smoke from pretty much everywhere.

After dropping off our food, we went out again to catch the last boat tour of the night on the Seine. This was great fun. The boat has these giant lights that illuminate pretty much everything along the river. You get to see all of the old bridges up close but I think my favorite part of it was just seeing all the young people hanging out along the river. They were listening to music, dancing, or just sitting with their feet over the stone channel that shapes and guides the Seine (this seemed bizarre to me at first, in all of Paris I never saw the shore of the Seine). There was even a group of people doing some kind of ballroom dancing out past the Arab museum! People always talk about a city feeling "alive." This idea had always seemed like a romanticized notion of city life from pseudo bohemians but after being in Paris I can totally understand what people mean. The boat ride literally illuminated this idea for me.

Video: We spent most of the day in the Orsay (where videos/photos aren't allowed) and that evening, Jane was focused mostly on taking (now gone) photos, so we don't have as much video from this day. But here are a few snippets.

Days 1-2: Paris

2011-11-07T23:48:00.010-08:00

Confession: I put off posting about our trip because every time I started, it made me too sad thinking of all our lost photos. I know, I need to get over it. I'm still heartsick, but finally ready to recap.

THE DAY CAME. On September 11, we woke up early in the Longs' guest bedroom. Alex had slept a good 6 hours, and I'd of course barely hit 2--too excited to sleep, thinking of little last-minute things to check. I put on my travel outfit, and Ken dropped us off at the airport at 6:30. We checked in--we were among only a few in the terminal for the first hour. Alex read a French book. I ate breakfast and put on red lipstick for kicks (because I was going to Paris! and I was also bored) and we waited. Then we boarded our flight to Philadelphia.

I don't remember much about the flight, other than being more giddy than tired. After 6 hours and a brief layover, we boarded our international flight. When the pilot came on the speaker and made his departure announcements in both English and French, I knew it was for real: We were on our way.

Going, going, gone: We slept as much as we could to catch up to Paris time

I secretly slipped a scarf into Alex's eyemask to defend against the hacking and coughing of nearby passengers.

When it was finally nighttime and the cabin turned dark, I rustled, trying to sleep. But I was too excited. Other passengers watched movies. I put on fuzzy socks, took a Tylenol PM and hoped for the best. I got in a few hours of erratic sleep interrupted with trips to the bathroom (I'm really scared of the violent flushing noise in airplane bathrooms, by the way) and the odd timing of the meal service cart chugging down the aisles. After a long night in the air, we woke up to beautiful Monday morning clouds and an impending descent.

I love international airports. I love the hubbub, mixture of languages, and getting my passport stamped. We talked to a student from Argentina on his way to Spain to do research, and got our first dose of real French when we bought our metro passes to the city center.

Before we could set off exploring in Paris, we had to attend to business: checking into our apartment, which proved more difficult than I'd anticipated. Despite bringing directions, we got mixed up on the wrong street and had a 45-minute adventure trying to untangle the incorrect route we'd taken.

Along the way, I worried we were getting what we paid for in the fabulous deal we got on the apartment. The area (in the 10th arrondissement) felt much more sketchy and dirty than other areas of Paris I'd seen. While trekking around the grungy neighborhood with our luggage, I worried that Alex was underwhelmed by how much I'd been talking Paris up, so I repeatedly told him, "This isn't what most of Paris looks like, I swear!"

Finally we located our place and checked in with the owner, Davy. After introducing himself, his first words were, "So, are you ready to climb up the six flights of stairs?"

Six flights up (the apartment itself was great), a shower and a change of clothes later, and we were ready to go explore--jet-lag be damned. For our first day, I planned a grand tour of some of the highlights of Paris, just to get oriented and so Alex could get a taste of what else we'd see more in detail later.

We...

Took the metro to Châtelet and walked over to Hôtel de Ville, the site of the Paris city administration. It's also one of my favorite places. When I went to Paris for study abroad, it was the first thing I saw when I ascended the stairs out of the metro in the city.
Walked up to Rue St. Merri in the Marais and bought lunch at Le Gay Choc. This is a little bakery right on the corner near the LDS church in Paris. It has fabulous pastries and sandwiches, as well as naughty little treats for the more...anatomically-molded-chocolate-inclined, shall we say. We ordered baguette sandwiches and a pain au chocolat. After placing our order, we realized that the shop doesn't accept cards, so we hopped over a few streets over to an ATM before taking our food to go. The people behind the counter were so kind and gracious. (Parisians aren't as rude as people like to say, but these ones were especially smiley.)
Took our lunch and walked over to the to the Ile de la Cité, sat down on a bench outside Notre Dame de Paris, people watched and ate. I had a poulet et crudites baguette. Still thinking about it.
Took a leisurely stroll along the river on the right bank, from Hôtel de Ville up to the Louvre in sunny but breezy, absolutely beautiful weather.
Crossed over to the Louvre courtyard and stopped to admire the grandiosity.
Walked up the Rue de Rivoli to the Place Vendôme, and stopped to admire the decadence and beauty of the people and glamorous shops.
Found the Longchamp store, where I picked out my long-awaited purse from the wall of bags that are folded, snapped up neatly and hanging grouped by color. I chose black, medium.
Walked along the Champs Elysées, took a short rest in the shade and people watched some more. We then made our way up to the Arc de Triomphe, and popped into FNAC to buy our museum passes.
Visited Ladurée for macarons, and ate the perfect pastel delicacies right then and there on a bench just outside.

The one photo we have from our first day in Paris.

After we took a break at the apartment (and I changed my shoes), we went back out for the evening.

We headed to the Marais for dinner. My favorite falafel place was already closed, so we went to L'As du Falafel, and ordered falafel and an Orangina. Despite its popularity in travel books, I still maintain that L'As is nowhere as good as Chez Hanna. It was, however, a good warm up for when we'd go back and get the real deal.
Got dessert at Amorino (a study abroad group favorite), where they sculpt your gelato into the shape of a flower on top of your cone.
Took the metro to the Eiffel Tower, because I believe you can't truly feel like you're in Paris until you've seen it. By this point it was dark, and we came upon it just as it had started sparkling. We lingered underneath the twinkling lights.
Sat on the grass at the Champ de Mars, listened to the sounds of young people out for late-night wine and picnics, and then took the metro back home for a good night's sleep.

This is a re-run photo from my last trip. Make do, right?

Bonus: Video material! Jet-lagged faces, shaky footage, grammar mistakes (see below) and more!

Oops:
1) Champ de Mars should be pronounced with an audible "s" sound on the end
2) It's le pliage
xo

Happy Bluth Halloween

2011-11-02T21:27:00.005-07:00

From your friends at the banana stand,
George Michael
and
banana

Coming soon

2011-10-26T23:36:00.004-07:00

As of today, we've officially been home from our trip for an entire month...and clearly have yet to post photos and a recap. Pretty pathetic, I know. But take this as assurance that we have posts in the works and travel stories to tell. Coming soon--promise!

Up at night in Rome

2011-09-21T17:12:00.014-07:00

We're staying in a studio apartment near Campo de' Fiori here in Rome. It's a great location, but the noise from the street outside is so loud at night it keeps me up (hence why I'm blogging and dinking around on Pinterest to try to help me get sleepy again).

When my mom and I were in Rome a few years ago, we also found the street outside our hotel to be surprisingly loud. This begs the question: are Roman streets especially noisy? Are the walls just thin here? I can't figure it out. (About thirty minutes ago I heard some girls talking to an Italian-speaking guy about using Ritalin. Now someone is whistling. And a woman is yelling out "Alessandro!!!")

Today's sneak peak update (note that I'm saving the major stuff for later) concerns Alex and his resemblance to Roman sculpture. Even though Alex is mostly Danish and English, I always think something about his face looks like it belongs on a Greek or Roman statue.

Yesterday at the Vatican museum I searched all the statues in the sculpture gallery to find the one that most resembled him.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner (it's actually a woman). Do you see any similarities? I see the nose, curvy lips and chin, though not so much the head shape.

Tomorrow we're off to Tuscany! We're on the last leg of our trip and are ready for some Renaissance art, hill towns and a slower pace.

P.S. Gelato flavor count so far:

Stracciatella
Tiramisu
Hazelnut
Profiterole
Lemon
Peach
Pear
Ginger
Cream with cherries (Can't remember the real name) *Update: Amarena
Pistachio
Frutti di bosco
Bacio

Do us a favor and don't think too hard about how much gelato that means we've consumed.

Roma Update

2011-09-20T09:35:00.017-07:00

After our week in Paris, we're in Roma now!

I wanted to post more photos in Paris (like I said, I promised my mom a few updates), but we ran into two major bumps: 1) I brought the wrong electricity converter so I couldn't charge my computer, and 2) our camera got stolen and we lost most of our Paris pictures (ugghhhh). I later realized that I actually could use my computer without a converter. I'm still mad about our camera getting stolen, and the fact that I COULD have saved the photos beforehand but didn't know it.

Anyway, Paris was lovely, and I wish we had more than a few blurry and grainy photos from our dinky old point and shoot to prove it (and I'm sad we won't have our nice camera in Italy either), but I'm happy we got to be there nonetheless. More updates later. For now, let me just say that we are loooving the gelato here in Roma and today we found not only yet another delicious gelato shop, but the Italian equivalent of the McDo dipped cone:

DIPPED GELATO!

Yeaaaah baby (dad trademark).

Deux Photos

2011-09-13T13:05:00.004-07:00

I promised my mom a few photos during our trip. We're at our apt. to change and rest for a minute and then are going back out, so here are two to start (Arc de Triomphe and lunch at the Musee d'Orsay). xo!

Trip Countdown: 1 Day

2011-09-10T20:24:00.007-07:00

I've been leaving notes like this for myself at work for the past few weeks...

...and now finally it's down to 1 day! Yahoo!

Alex got home from his internship last night. It's so good to have him home. And now we're off in the morning! Thanks for indulging me this week in my anticipatory excitement.

xo

Trip Coundown: 2 days

2011-09-09T19:32:00.020-07:00

(Disclaimer: This post is mainly for my mom and may not be entertaining to anyone else...)

My mom and I love reading up on a certain blogger's pre-vacation packing posts. I've been laying out my clothes for our trip over the past week to avoid packing stress, so I took some similar photos to amuse my mom (my outfits are not nearly as put-together or fashionable, but it's still in good fun).

On the plane: I'm going for the all black Parisian look, a.k.a. disguised pajamas (leggings and a comfy t-shirt) with boots. Accessories: eye mask, blow-up pillow, scarf, water, book, wet wipes, Ibuprofen PM (note: will not actually take this many sleeping pills--only for visual effect).

Walking around Paris: Stripes & jeans. I actually bought a pair of Keds, which I haven't worn since 1st grade. Most important accessory: BAGUETTE! (Oh, and my real-deal Louis Vuitton coin purse because I'm sooo fancy and loooove to brand name drop. Ahem.)

Husband edition: Note who will be doing the heavy lifting...Alex has already signed up to carry our camera, water, guidebooks, and snacks.

Poolside Tuscany: Swimsuit. GELATO! (Okay, this is actually sorbet, but you get the idea...)

Total packing: 2 pairs jeans. 1 pair shorts. 1 skirt. 5 shirts. 2 dresses. 1 sweater. 1 blazer. 2 pairs shoes. 1 pair boots. 1 pair sandals. 1 tube red lipstick.

Also taking my favorite coat...that I got in Paris, and am wearing in all the pictures my mom and I took when we traveled in Italy after study abroad. Maybe it's lame to do a repeat, but hey--if Kate Middleton can do it, I can do it.

Trip Coundown: 3 days

2011-09-08T02:10:00.020-07:00

Nutella et banane crepes
Falafel on the Rue des Rosiers (NOT at the famous L'as du Falafel, but the most left shop on the corner--name unknown, but I swear by it)
Dark chocolate avec noisettes
Suédois sandwich at shop near the BHV
Amorino
Pain au chocolat
Boursin figue et noix cheese
Pastries at Le Gay Choc (I'll direct you to a photo on my friend Rachel's blog. The Gay Choc website is too scandalous...)
Laduree
Sandwiches at Lina's (It may be a chain, but even Gwyneth recommends it!)
Tabouli

...these are a few of my favorite things. To eat. In Paris.

Forget the fancy restaurants: I'm dying to eat all of the touristy, student-budget-friendly food that I love.

Bring on the pastel-colored macarons, baguette sandwiches, buttery croissants and exotic cheese. This time around I even wised up and lost a few pounds to make room.

(And then there's the food in Italy...)

Trip Countdown: 4 days

2011-09-08T01:11:00.017-07:00

This was meant to post Wednesday night.

It still feels like a dream that I ever went to Paris. I've daydreamed about going back on a daily basis for the past five years (no joke) since study abroad. So knowing that in less that four days we'll be here...

...is surreal. It's cause for tears of joy. It's like Christmas!

Double Dip

2011-09-05T01:08:00.028-07:00

You can tell how bad a day I'm having by how much I swear under my breath while driving. Last week it was getting into the double digits.

Tired, cranky, and stressed, on Thursday I'd had it and needed something to take the edge off, so on my way home from work I hit the drive through for some vanilla soft serve coated in a chocolate shell, a.k.a. a dipped cone from McDo (the discreet French way of saying "McDonalds"). It's drippy, it's corn syrupy, and there's surely better ice cream to be had, but a dipped cone always hits the spot.

After I paid my $0.85 with debit (what, I didn't have change with me), I pulled up to the pick-up window, and a chipper kid dressed in a yellow polo and visor popped out the window with a dipped cone in each hand.

"I accidentally made two! Would you like them both?"

A few thoughts came to mind:
1) Wipe that grin off your face kid, you're kidding me right? (no, he wasn't)
2) Hot dang
3) Did I have the skills to maneuver the steering wheel with my knee while double-fisting two dipped cones AND avoid the cone melting drippage all the way home? My heart was saying "yes" but my mind was saying "your nice leather seats."

"Don't worry, I'll put one of them in a cup for you."
He read my mind.
And so I obliged.
"I knew I could convince you!"
Yeah, cause that was a hard sell.

But seriously, that kid's my new hero.

And yes, I ate both.

Home Alone

2011-09-02T09:50:00.013-07:00

I've been overextending myself at home lately. Along with watching marathons of The Millionaire Matchmaker, packing to avoid this (#1), and making myself a quesadilla every night for dinner, I really outdid myself learning some new dance movies the other night.

Two hours of getting my inner Beyoncé on later...

...and I'm still feeling the whiplash. Dang it, Beyoncé, you make those head snaps look so easy.

(In case you can't tell, that brown haze is my ponytail in motion.)

Trip Countdown!

2011-08-24T18:17:00.014-07:00

Just doing some light reading to prepare

Our trip is less than three weeks away!

I probably don't need to point it out, but I am SO excited. When we get back from this trip, I will desperately need to find something else to put 98% of my thoughts and energy towards (I guess having Alex home might be a good start).

Really though, I spend most of my spare time and brain power daydreaming about Paris, Rome and Tuscany, reading travel books and blogs, listening to podcasts, planning out walks in Paris and trying to determine how to fit in everything we want to see (plus time for long meals and wandering). Every day on my lunch break at work I sit outside at a table in the sun and study French grammar.

The anticipation has been one of the best parts of the summer. It's definitely getting me through these last weeks until Alex comes home.

P.S. Alex has the Rome books.

Culinary Adventures

2011-08-18T22:57:00.013-07:00

I love food. I really do. I love all food and I could not care less whether that food is perceived as high class or low class. While Jane was visiting me, we went out to dinner in San Francisco at Belden Place to celebrate our anniversary. The food at this place was excellent. We had bruschetta, a fancy salad and a gnocchi pasta dish with gorgonzola sauce. For dessert we split tiramisu.

After all that fine dining, to keep myself humble and remind myself that (heaven forbid) living on food stamps wouldn't be that bad, I went to 7-11 and bought some Ho Hos. (Twinkies cannot hold a candle to Ho Hos, by the way.)

Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite as good as the tiramisu.

*Note: Jane skipped out on the Hostess after-dessert course. She doesn't know what she's missing.

Weekend Getaway

2011-08-08T23:32:00.008-07:00

I just got back from a weekend visiting in Alex in Livermore. We had such a great time! In 3 days we packed in enough outings to make up for the past month of being apart: we explored downtown Livermore, visited San Francisco, ate good food out (and lots of it), spent a day by the pool, planned more of our Europe trip, and went to the movies. It felt like a mini vacation and reminded me that life is so much more fun with Alex's company on a daily basis.

Reading up on Roma

Workin' on that farmer's tan

Alex is coming up to visit next weekend for his brother's missionary farewell, and then 3 weeks later he moves back home! I don't mean to wish away the summer, but I can't wait to have him back.

My Summer Job

2011-08-03T19:41:00.005-07:00

Jane and I mentioned that we're apart for the summer, which is a huge bummer. Thankfully my job is really neat. This summer I'm working for Lawrence Livermore National Lab. I do numerical simulations of photon transport (how light moves and transfers energy). Here's a hiring video they put out if you're curious about what kind of stuff they do at the lab. The music is kind of cheesy but I like the video.

Here's a few highlights from work so far (these are really nerdy, by the way):

-Presentation room with a sign on the wall that says "Unclassified Discussions Only"
-The lab provides these communal beach cruiser bikes, each with a basket and bell, for everyone to ride around the facility
-Seeing giant 500 lbs crystals used to focus high powered lasers
-Seeing a super low density foam that was almost transparent
-Listening to a presentation by a guy whose job it is to investigate blowing up asteroids with nuclear weapons
-Running programs on 64 processors at once
-Hearing people seriously talk about fusion power plants within this decade

It's been a great summer so far! I'm also really excited because my work from this summer will be presented at the International Conference on Transport Theory. I can't be there so my mentor is going to present for me but I'm still honored to be part of the world of academic esoterica.

Ollie Fix

2011-07-27T12:36:00.005-07:00

I miss having Alex around, but recently got some good snuggles from little Ollie-man.

As did Ryan
And Mom
And Katie

He's so sweet and happy! We couldn't get enough.

Looks like Trav & Danielle are 2 for 2 on producing the most lovable kiddos. Keep up the good work!

Sappy Post

2011-06-15T23:01:00.010-07:00

This summer I'm working in Livermore, California and Jane is working and going to school in Corvallis and Eugene. Jane is holding down the fort at our old place (shown in a previous post) and I'm living in a big empty house. We decided to make our blog private for the summer so Jane won't have any extra reasons to be scared while alone at night (you know, just in case). Thanks for reading!

I'm renting a room in a house in Tracy, California. The house is being sold in October so the realtor decided to rent it out in the meantime. I got the master bedroom. This is the first time I've lived in a place with "his and hers" sinks and now I have no "hers" to share it with. I miss you sweetheart!

Bachelor-ish food

My master bedroom
(IMPORTANT NOTE: Jane wants me to let everyone know that
she did not pick that bedspread--it was left to me by the landlord.)

"His and Hers" sinks. Jane would love to put her feet all up in these sinks

I'll try not to make the blog too sappy this summer.

Update

2011-06-08T23:03:00.003-07:00

Hello friends! We're going to make our blog private for a little while. If you would still like to read our infrequent posts (and we hope you do), go ahead and leave your e-mail address in the comments or send it to Jane at janefwilson (at) yahoo.com, and we'll get you on the list.

Thanks!

Her Royal Highness Mom The Birthday Girl's Royal Wedding B-day Bash

2011-05-02T19:19:00.028-07:00

My mom has been anticipating the royal wedding (aka the "Superbowl for women" as I heard it called) for months. Like the rest of the news media, we've been speculating on who would design the dress, which traditions would be upheld, and how the event would go down. The wedding just so happened to fall on my mom's "other" birthday...so naturally we went up for a visit and a party. It was a big deal.

In preparation of the all-night extravaganza, my mom created 20-page booklets (11x17) filled with information about the royal family, past royal weddings and a contest to predict the wedding details. She decorated the house with paper wedding bells and a painting of Westminster Abbey.

Looks like 4/6 of us didn't get the memo to pose like a snooty aristocrat. Oops.

The boys were good sports long enough to fill out their bets (no, Alex, Kate Middleton did NOT wear ruby earrings and a sapphire necklace, sheesh) and pose for a photo. Then they left us ladies to our own devices...just in time for the party to really get going. Around midnight, my aunts LeAnn and Sarah showed up (best surprise!) wearing fur coats, lace gloves, and pajamas and bearing tea cups, crumpets, official wedding cake from a British bakery, and tiaras.

Of course we wanted to celebrate in style, so we wore sashes and makeshift fascinators with our pajamas, and I even got out my wedding veil in commemoration of the grand affair.

Wearing borrowed tiaras from the Cox family crown jewels. (All Cox aunts own their own tiara)

Trying to look regal and demure like a royal bride

We filled out our bets and eagerly awaited the start of the coverage at 1:00 am.

Well, some of us did. Others just circled all the possible choices and then got distracted by the princely arrival. He's a little young for you, Auntie, but a girl can dream!

As the guests began to trickle into Westminster Abbey, my mom opened her Royal Wedding-themed gifts, including TWO replicas (one homemade) of the famous Princess Diana/Kate Middleton engagement ring, a commemoration mini plate, and commemoration Will and Kate (I mean Catherine) paper dolls.

Cracking up over the jewelry. Some serious snorting was going on here.

Royal-worthy bling
Loving the wedding paraphernalia

We stayed up through the coverage of the entire event, and had so many good laughs and moments of excitement, such as when we first saw the Queen's ensemble ("YELLOW!!!!"), and the first glimpse of the bride's dress as she got into the car to drive over to Westminster Abbey. There was much erratic jumping around on my part and shrieking "LONG SLEEVES! LACE!!!" and "HAIR HALF UP AND HALF DOWN!!!!!" from Mom and Aunt Sarah's end. I think we woke up Alex. I don't know if any of the other viewers the world over were as excited to see lace both on the bodice AND skirt. (It tipped the scales to me winning the contest.)

It was a beautiful wedding, fabulous party, and a most fun night.

Posing as the bride and royal attendees with the Royal Heartthrob, the Duke of Cambridge

Only after the ceremony was over, the sun was beginning to come up and the bride and groom kissed not once but TWICE on the balcony at Buckingham Palace did we finally call it a night. Er, morning. In the words of Aunt LeAnn, "Oh Dearies, we had SO MUCH FUN!"

Leftover fruitcake the next day. Mmmmmm, currant overload.

Indeed we did! Now that the buzz has worn off, I would be most appreciative if Prince Harry (or Beatrice or Eugenie) would get married sometime soon so we can do it all again.

P.S. I think the hat trend/fascinator look needs to make its way across the pond ASAP. I'm all in!

Happy Birthday Avery!

2011-04-20T21:50:00.016-07:00

This post is dedicated to our niece Avery, the cutest little girl there ever was. I know that last statement was pretty bold but I've prepared some evidence to help back up that claim.

But first, a little background:

I've been trying to learn how to write programs in Action Script (the language of Adobe Flash) lately, which has been really fun. It's a neat language that's really powerful when it comes to multimedia. I spent spring break reading a manual on Action Script and I was anxious to try it out. I thought this sound board would be a fun way to practice some of the things I've learned. It doesn't have any animation yet but I hope to add some. It could also use a loading screen. You can turn Flash applications directly into iPhone apps, which I intend to do eventually just to see how it works.

Enough of that. Now allow me to present Quotable Avery Beta!

You can click on the thumbnails to play sound clips and also drag the tiles to a different location. These are a few of our favorite quotes of our darling little niece.

I hope you enjoy it!

And if you find any bugs, post them in the comments (that's why it's a beta).

Note: Photos and all sound clips (as well as adorable child) belong to Danielle!

Bike like a middle-schooler

2011-04-19T00:08:00.031-07:00

People in Corvallis are into biking. Like, bike to work and to the store with your cloth grocery bag into biking. We're not full-blown environmentalists, but we started to feel like we were missing out on the fun, so this weekend we got into the Oregonian spirit.

Now, by way of bikes, we only have at our disposal bikes that we got in 6th-8th grade. While I haven't grown much since 8th grade, Alex is at least ten years past due for a bike upgrade. Yet we decided there is no shame in riding a bike that is meant for a middle-schooler and that our antiquated Huffys need not stop us from taking on the Corvallis "don't drive when you can bike" mindset (at least when the mood strikes). We took a leisurely 45-min bike ride to "downtown" Corvallis to the opening day of the spring farmer's market. The earth-friendly people were out and about at the market and the local farmers showcased their goods. We rode back through the tree-lined trails and sped through puddles when it started to sprinkle rain.

I really do like earth-friendly people (hi Katie), and I'm liking this new Saturday afternoon bike riding thing...except for the serious numbbutt afterwards from my uncomfortable seat. Man, that hurt. Peace, love and sustainable farming aside, environmentally conscious bike riders must be tough.

Upcoming posts:

-Alex's Top Secret Classified Internship (until we tell you what it is)

-Europe Trip Plans A Go

-Happy Birthday Mom: We'll even get up at 4am to watch the Royal Wedding with you

*Updated note: Our bikes aren't actually Huffys, just in case you felt sorry for us.

Best/laziest salad

2011-04-04T20:04:00.008-07:00

This is my new favorite salad combination. I know it makes me sound really boring and girly to share a salad tip, but I'm a big fan of this salad and thought you might be too. Let me sell it to you: It takes zero effort to make, gives you a serving of greens and some protein and iron, annnd (big winner) doesn't need cheese or croutons to make it edible--ha. (These are major vices for me. When I was 3 or 4 I had an orange-themed birthday dinner so we could have Cheetos and cheese pizza. And as a child of 7 or 8 I would sneak entire boxes of croutons from the kitchen cupboard when my mom wasn't looking and eat them in my room. I was too little and gangly to see any serious damage, but the addiction started young. Secret's out.)

Anyway, I've been eating this salad for weeks on end and am still not sick of it. I'm always telling my mom and sister about random things I like to make so I figured I might as well share from time to time on the blog.

Ingredients:
Spinach
Kidney beans
Shredded carrot
Sunflower seeds
Sliced turkey breast (the turkey sort of makes it)
Balsamic vinaigrette (Trader Joe's is my favorite store-bought vinaigrette)

Tip: If you are a Trader Joe's shopper, get their $1.99 bag of spinach, $1.49 bag of shredded carrots, $2.99 pack of nitrate/nitrite-free turkey, and aforementioned $1.99 balsamic vinaigrette. No making your own vinaigrette allowed...this is about being lazy. Okay, you can make your own vinaigrette. Just don't tell me about it. I kid, I kid.

Now get on this salad...or sell me on YOUR favorite one. I probably need some variety in my diet.

Better late than never?

2011-03-23T22:33:00.020-07:00

I'm finally back with the afters to that really, really strung out "to be continued." Here's hoping this isn't entirely anticlimactic after the nearly 2 month wait...

Back to where we were: the living room.

Buffet before. Kind of an eyesore but so much potential:

After!:

(Did I mention that we got this for $75?!?)

Coffee table before:

After:

I don't have a great after photo of our TV stand thingy, but it went gray, too:

TERRIBLE photo, happy room:

(Part of why I put this post off was because I couldn't take a decent/non-yellowy photo of this room to save my life. I finally just stopped trying.)

In between the sanding and painting (which also included patio chairs, desk chairs, and lamp bases) and making lampshades, my mom and I combed just about every local thrift store and amassed quite a stash of accessories--I needed something to fill all those buffet drawers, after all. Here are some of the goods:

Wooden tray $2.99 (painted) / Silver creamer & sugar bowl $8 /Glass owl $1.99 / Silver cup $1.99

Mirrored tray $2.99 / Mirror $5 (painted) / Green dish $4 / Leather box $5
(Bird dish & green knobs: World Market)

There's nothing quite like the hunt.

I owe it to my mom to show her the rest of our rooms. Just don't hold me to any specific time frame.
xo

Cookie Time

2011-03-09T23:06:00.017-08:00

I've been looking forward to March for MONTHS for this reason alone. I marked it on my calendar. Factored cookies into the food budget. Searched the Girl Scout website under "FIND COOKIES."

Girl Scout cookie stands are sparse here, so when we stopped by the grocery store at 9:30 on Saturday night for a weekend treat and Alex spotted a Girl Scout and her mom manning their post on the last weary legs of their shift (I assume it was past the girl's bed time), I darted over to the table. "You, don't go anywhere! We'll be right back with cash!" Alex wanted ice cream, too, so we grabbed some of the Samoas flavored good stuff (duh), and then, naturally, 3 boxes of cookies from the little lady. Mom Scout gave us change from her fanny pack, the boxes exchanged hands, and we've been in cookie bliss ever since.

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure calories don't count when they're for charity.

Tonight Alex asked, "Doesn't Dairy Queen have Girl Scout Blizzards this time of year?" I believe we'll be finding out soon.

Oscar Gown Favorites

2011-02-28T19:09:00.015-08:00

Okay ladies...it's that time again! I get serious pleasure out of the fashion coverage of the Academy Awards, so of couuuurse I had to make like last year and take it to the blog. From here on out I think it's going to be a tradition.

So, onto the gowns. Ruffly flowery lacy shimmery beaded madness! Yay! I think these are my top five favorites. I was really drawn to the soft, girly dresses this year, but what especially won me over about these five was how well-suited they seemed to the women wearing them. In no particular order, other than color palette gradient, which I got pretty excited about while creating that image collage...

1. I adore this dress is on Hailee Steinfeld. She looks so young and sweet--just as she should. I love that she didn't try to dress older than she is.

2. Cate Blanchett looks so statuesque and yet feminine in this dress. I can't think of anyone else who could pull this dress off the way she does--it is perfect on her. I love the unusual circle effect on the bodice and the surprising mix of color that somehow really works.

3. Mila Kunis! Ooh la la! This just might be my favorite dress overall. It's soft and romantic, but not too safe (I think it's skin-baring in a sexy, subtle way, which I like better than a big slit up the leg or a ridiculously plunging neckline). I loved her emerald green Golden Globes dress and the red Alexander McQueen dress she wore to the SAG awards, and I was so curious to see what she would wear last night. I didn't expect this soft color, but it looks so pretty with her coloring. I love that she went from deep green to a bold red print to soft, lacy lavender.

4. My reaction to Natalie Portman? "Ahhhh." The color and drape of the dress over her baby bump were both so flattering. I like that she kept her look simple and elegant--the dress complemented her and didn't distract from how radiant and happy she looked.

5. This was my favorite of Anne Hathaway's looks. I honestly didn't love some of her other choices--sorry, Rachel Zoe, but that last turtlenecked black monstrosity? Yikes. I know this is also probably the most predictable of her dresses, but I guess I just like old-Hollywood style glamour, and I think she does it really well.

Other notes: I thought Michelle Williams looked beautiful in her Chanel dress (go sleeves), despite the commentary I heard that it read like a pilled sweater on TV...which, yeah, is kind of true. Halle Berry's gown was pretty but for some reason it didn't seem very well suited to her. I couldn't stand Gwyneth's slinky silver number (the dropped waist looked so awkward), and I thought Reese Witherspoon's choice was kind of bland, but I've also never really loved black and white together.

What are your top picks? Let's discuss.

Quarter-Century Crisis

2011-02-20T16:40:00.009-08:00

Alex and I both turned 25 a few months ago. Admittedly, it sort of freaked me out. I know age is just a number, and obviously we're still babies in the world, but it was the first time I actually felt...well...kind of old. In the months since I turned 25 I've started doing some really weird things I've never done before. Responsible things. It's like an adult started inhabiting my body. See for yourself:

1. I signed up for real, legitimate health insurance. The kind that even comes with dental coverage. (Alex was already covered through school.)

2. I began using anti-aging products. I now have a daily regime of SPF moisturizer, a retinoid, and night cream. It's never too soon to be paranoid about wrinkles, right? (Please note the symbolic clock in the background of this photo...ha ha.)

3. I started taking my prenatal vitamins. Disclaimer: Don't get any wild ideas about us procreating soon. Since technically I'm at "child-bearing age" I figured I should at least get some folic acid in my system for good measure. I've had these vitamins for a long time--I'm pretty sure they're past expiration date, actually--but at least I'm remembering to take them regularly now. Don't worry, I'll get some new ones when I finish this bottle.

4. I opened a new joint savings account and started researching IRAs. Yes, you heard me right, I am actually willingly considering putting (a very small amount of) money aside towards retirement. I blame this partially on my job. All that financial literacy is starting to seep into my personal life.

Don't be fooled, though: I'm really not high falootin' mature or anything now. I work part-time at an internship, regularly watch Fashion Police* on the E! channel and eat cookie dough for an afternoon snack.** Pretty sure I'm not going to be a full-blown grownup anytime soon.

Phew.

*I know she's crass, but I think Joan Rivers is HILARIOUS. Maybe the fact that I relate to a 60-year-old woman's humor says I'm aging faster than I realize.

**Okay, I only did that, like, once. Or twice. I'm too vain to do that all the time.

...but not too vain to share these. From my birthday:

Woo hooo! Twenty-fiiive!

P.S. I still haven't forgotten about the "after" post for our apartment makeover, I promise. I'm working on it.

My Valentine

2011-02-17T22:50:00.006-08:00

Juuuust in case you're curious as to how our V-day broke down on the Romatrix (ha), I thought I'd report that Alex got me flowers, I made him a sentimental mix CD, and we both made each other a card with a love note inside. We stuck with the frugal/romantic side of the spectrum. That's our Valentine's Day style.

I also made him dinner, a fancy dessert, and we watched shows on the couch and had a love song dance party. No need to go out on Valentine's Day when you can have your own party at home...and in your pajamas.

I love that guy.

The "Romatrix"

2011-02-11T15:32:00.012-08:00

My co-worker and I have been working on a fun Valentine's Day infographic this week--called the "Romatrix"--to put up on the brass blog. I wrote the content and she designed it, and it's up now! Go check it out here!

Making Valentines

2011-02-11T01:44:00.008-08:00

My Thursday evening was dedicated to making a special Valentine for my favorite little 2 year old, sweet Avery bug. Our living room looks like a pink glitter paper bomb went off and there are heart skeletons everywhere--this picture is just scratching the surface. I love making a huge mess when the mess is pink and red with hearts all over.

(and when it is for this little sweetheart)

Photo Editing Outtakes

2011-02-09T23:55:00.006-08:00

While uploading some photos tonight for a new blog post, I got distracted with the editing features on Photobucket...more specifically, the new movie promotion and Valentine's day features. I couldn't resist trying them out and am laughing too hard at the results not to share. Apologies to Alex.

I don't know how I managed before without this stamp feature. They've really got that realistic look down. Can't wait to embellish the rest of our photos!

I've been looking all over for some customized fine art for our apartment. Perfect!

And my personal favorite: Who knew Alex could look so good in a dress?

Apartment Projects Teaser

2011-02-02T22:46:00.009-08:00

Last summer my mom, knowing that Alex and I were moving soon, offered to help us find some things to furnish our new place. She set out looking for furniture and decor items that we could makeover together, and ended up amassing a nice collection of options for us to choose from, entirely made up of thrift store finds. She has a great eye for finding hidden treasures and for spotting potential in seemingly ugly duckling pieces of furniture, and was so generous to spend time every week scouting out the goods. Eventually we spent an entire week together sanding, priming, and painting.

I meant to share photos of our DIY success months ago...oops. I still wanted to post this, though, because it was SO much fun and I love how all our stuff turned out!

Let's start with the living room.

My mom's first find was this pair of ginger jar lamps at St. Vincent's for $6 each:

She next found this coffee table with a great shape but a scratched and ugly finish for $15:

When I went up to visit with Katie for a weekend, we scored this dresser with an attached mirror. It was originally marked at $150, but we got it for $75 on the half-off day sale by being some of the first people in line when the store opened at 8am. We're pretty serious about our thrifting.

Then my mom found this cute but scratched table thingy (for lack of a better description)...for a whopping $5:

They might not look like much at this point, but I think they cleaned up nicely...

...to be continued. I'll post the makeovers next when I have more time! I figured the suspense would make it more exciting... ha ha.

Here's a sneak peak:

Avery Jane

2011-01-10T00:03:00.005-08:00

I am seriously missing this sweet and spunky little bug today.
A week to play with her when we went to visit was not enough!

2010 Resolution Report

2011-01-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about my goals for 2011. It takes me a few days to test the waters of the new year before I commit to a resolution, and I'm still reviewing how 2010 went.

Last year I kept things simple with one major goal: by the end of 2010, I wanted to have exercised an average of 4 times per week, for 30-60 minutes each workout, depending on the type of workout and intensity. I've always tried to keep up with exercise (despite being kind of wimpy), but last year, I wanted to focus on being especially consistent. 4 seemed like a number that was reasonable with my schedule but would still push me.

I like being able to gauge where I'm at by measurable results, and there's something reassuring about seeing progression towards a goal by having it written down and quantified.

For the first six months, I met my goal with perfect accuracy: 25 weeks into the year I had worked out exactly 100 times. My numbers started to really wane in the fall, though. We moved, I no longer had a gym (I am a gym person--I make excuses if I don't have a place to go or a class to attend) and was in kind of a weird place in life, trying to figure out a job, a new place to live and struggling to stay positive. There were a few weeks where I only got in one workout, but I kept going--at least one was better than none, right?

Yesterday I tallied up all of my numbers for the year. I knew I hadn't made it to 4, but I wasn't sure exactly where I'd be. The last time I'd taken a count, I thought I was somewhere around 3.4. My average was...drumroll please...

3.23

(Cue disappointing sliding scale ploop sound). So, that's only an 80% success rate towards my goal, or a B- grade. Bummer.

Regardless, I worked out a total of 168 times in 2010, which I'm still proud of. I think the main success is that I was at least consistent with regular workouts, I discovered a few new forms of exercise that I like, and, well...I think the highly quoted motivational quote "Reach for the stars--even if you don't make it you'll get to the moon" or whatever still applies here: my health is much better off with what I did achieve than if I hadn't made the goal at all. I'm okay with the moon for now.

I know some people hesitate to make goals because they don't want to feel guilty if they don't achieve them, but I'm a big believer that at least progressing towards something is valuable, even if you don't quite make it all the way. Or maybe I'm just good at rationalizing my way out of feeling bad when I fail...wha ha ha.

Bonus material: I made this pie chart to see a breakdown of the types of workouts I did most. Nerdy, I know. I can't help it.

The ice skating number makes me laugh, but I did take an ice skating class for a semester (and each week we skated for 2 hours!). "Cardio" here meant any combination of jogging/biking/elliptical or other cardio exercise. "Other" included dance, hiking, and golf.

Maybe now I'll go back and see how I averaged for my other unofficial goal of getting 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day...only kidding. Well, I did keep track--most of the time...

Anyway, time for me to think of a new goal or two for this year. What are yours?

Holly Jolly Christmas

2010-12-27T22:54:00.010-08:00

Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning. 6:45 am.

Christmas day dancing.

This Christmas was so merry. I adore my family and our traditions.

Highlights:

My mom's spritz Christmas cookies.
Christmas story program and singing at Grandpa's on Christmas Eve.
Uncle Bill and Uncle Rico slow dancing to "Santa Baby."
Rowdy game of dice.
Watching "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" as a family before going to bed on Christmas Eve.
Waking up at 6am Christmas morning because we are all still five years old inside.
Ryan "cowabunga"-ing us.*
FREAKING out when I realized I forgot to leave cookies for Santa (the first time ever in 25 years! So sad!) and then putting them out anyway before opening gifts.
Christmas breakfast.
Meeting cousin Errin's baby, Porter.
Dance offs (where 11-year-old Daisy kicked my tush to "Toxic"), Rockband and prime rib at Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mat's on Christmas night.

Right now we are in Utah for skiing and visiting our brand new, sweet baby nephew, who was born last week. We got to meet him yesterday and spent all day today taking turns snuggling and being mesmerized by him (interspersed with rounds of playing "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" and "I bet you can't catch me!" with Avery). Baby boy (no name yet) is BEAUTIFUL and Avery is more adorable and talkative than ever.

I have more photos and updates to share, but will have to get to them later. Tomorrow is a ski day and I need some rest!

In the meantime, I've been using my old flickr account to upload new photos. I just uploaded some pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and will add some Utah trip photos later. Click here to see them. (You're welcome, Aunt LeAnn! I know you'll appreciate it.)

*Cowabunga: v. to jump with full force onto siblings while shouting "Cowabunga!!!" while they are still lying under the covers in bed and just waking up (especially on Christmas morning).

December

2010-12-08T20:37:00.012-08:00

If you're shocked that it's December already, you're in good company. Our Christmas tree is the only thing constantly reminding me that the holiday season is in full swing. (Well, that and the Trader Joe's egg nog cookies tempting me from the kitchen...)

Alex is taking finals this week and will finish his first semester of graduate school on Friday. In a twist of irony, just as he's finishing up and getting ready to have a nice break, I start my first day at a new job tomorrow!

The job is actually a six month internship. I'll be working on an editorial team for a magazine. The job is in town, paid, 30 hours a week (not too overwhelming but enough to keep me busy), and if all my plans turn out as I hope, I'll finish up the internship in time to start graduate school in the summer or fall. I'm really excited to do some writing and learn about how a magazine is put together!

The past few months have been kind of weird for me: transitions, job searching, graduate school applications, and not feeling very productive or useful. I think the clouds are lifting, though, and life is starting to feel more settled. In addition to the job, I have a new calling at church and a book club to join. We're slowly getting to know more people, and it's is starting to feel more like home.

GRE Curse

2010-11-10T00:09:00.024-08:00

I'm starting to wonder if I'm cursed when it comes to taking the GRE. Let me explain--with cheesy captions, no less.

Successful GRE Test-Taking Failed Attempt #1: Foiled by a Flat

In summer '09 I signed up to take the GRE while we were in California for the summer. I diligently studied my prep books just about every afternoon...while poolside. It was the life.

My test time was scheduled early in the morning one Monday. I wasn't familiar with the location, so I'd planned to leave early. When I stepped out into the oceanside fog to go off to standardized test-taking, intelligence-validating (or so I thought) bliss, I saw it: our car had a flat tire. Not just a slightly-deflated, sad-looking tire, but a busted-popped flat tire where the tire is also bald and there's no use even trying to put a penny in the grooves because you'd just see Lincoln's entire face smiling back at you, mocking you for not realizing that your car was completely out of alignment and good luck getting to your important test now.

It was 6:30 am, and I wasn't really equipped to start hiking up the car and slinging around spare tires. (Ok, I don't even really know how to change a tire.) I'm also someone who hates to bother people, especially at inconvenient times like before sunrise. In a nervous panic with few other viable options, I called my friend Lyndee, who graciously came and drove me, despite the fact that the test was 25 minutes away and despite the fact that she was sleeping when I called her. I made it in time for the test, but was seriously flustered when I got there. I won't blame my mediocre score completely on the situation but...okay, yeah, let's just leave it at that.

(Thank you also to Regan for picking me up when I was done.)

Successful GRE Test-Taking Failed Attempt #2: Namely, it gets worse

This fall, I signed up to retake the test, confident that I could improve my score with better circumstances and more studying. I prepared more thoroughly this time. I made flashcards and memorized all 500 vocabulary words in my Kaplan practice book, took scored practice tests online, and practiced math with Alex. I felt ready. My test date was scheduled for this past Saturday.

We drove up to stay with the Long's on Friday night so Saturday morning the trip to Portland wouldn't be so tedious. At 11:30pm I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I stopped at the Long's computer to print off my test information. When I read this in the confirmation email, I realized I'd done something bad:

Identification requirements are strictly enforced. If you arrive at the test center without the required ID, you will not be admitted and you will forfeit your test fee. The name given when you scheduled to test must match the name on the ID that you will present at the test center. Your ID must contain your name, signature, and a recent, recognizable photograph.

I had registered for the test as Jane Long, thinking nothing of it. Only on my driver's license (my only form of acceptable ID) I'm still Jane Wilson.

Let me point out overtly why the stakes, at that point, were high. Besides feeling stupid, besides the fact that I didn't really want to be out $160 because I'd registered with the wrong last name, and besides the fact that doggonit I was ready to take the test, I figured this was probably the last time I could take the GRE and have the scores reported to all my programs on time. Missing the test=Having to take it later=Most test dates are filled up at least several weeks out=Not making the application deadlines=Epic Life Goal Failure.

So, I did what any responsible person would do: panic. I ran downstairs and interrupted a conversation between Alex and his Mom on something like important life lessons to breathlessly sputter: "GRE. NAME REGISTRATION. DUMB. HELP. BAAAHHH!" We went up to the computer, where I pointed more or less to the screen, tried not to be too melodramatic and so just went with a nice uplifting thought like, "I want to crawl in a hole right now and not come out for two months."

(Not intended as a reference to the Chilean mining incident.)

*Sidenote: The melodrama was not helped by the fact that earlier in the week I found out I'd hijacked all the Longs' mail by accident. When I forwarded our mail from Alex's parents house to our new apartment, I accidentally put the wrong apartment number, which does not exist at the complex, mind you, and then the post office started forwarding, unbeknownst to any of us, ALL mail to our place, including my in-laws' bills and packages they'd ordered online. I've still yet to track everything down because, like I said, the address I wrote doesn't even exist so it appears the mail is lost in some return-to-sender limbo. Being the purveyor of a mindless mistake resulting in a disproportionate amount of hassle is probably one of the things that frustrates me most in life, right up there with not being able to find my keys.

Anyway, Alex and I devised a plan that maybe we could go to the DMV in the early morning for me to get a new Oregon license with my name change and if all went well we'd still have plenty of time to get to my test at noon.

My only hang-up with this idea was that I'd already been to the DMV twice in the past few weeks trying to get said Oregon license and both times I'd come up short with some random document I didn't realize I needed to have, so I had already lost all faith in ~~humanity~~ I mean my ability to read directions on the DMV website.

I also didn't have the following documents with me: proof of Oregon address, marriage license, proof of existence (no, really, they require it) and proof that I wouldn't break down at the DMV and cry/lament the American bureaucracy if the person behind the desk didn't just let me get a new license already!

Alex insisted that I get some sleep for the test and that he would drive back to Corvallis (1.25 hours each way) to get the paperwork and that I stop using big vocabulary words to describe my ineptitude. Two energy drinks and three hours later, Alex made it back at approximately 3:30 am while I was dreaming of words and their definitions scrolling across a blank screen.

We got up at 7:30am, waited in line at the DMV, and when my number was called (6, my lucky number!) I handed my paperwork to a lady with big hair and bad teeth and hoped I'd soon be taking a bluescreen photo highlighting my unmadeup and puffy face. It turned out I couldn't get my license...because our marriage certificate wasn't the right copy and I didn't have my birth certificate.

BAAAAAAAH.

I swear they didn't mention the birth certificate on the website.

Long story short/semi-happy ending: I got a new test date this week (huge relief) but I'll have to drive up to Seattle to take it. (Which isn't too bad, especially since my brother Ryan will be in town.)

The only other positive thing I can think of is that the fiasco bought me extra time to study more vocabulary words. Last Saturday while at Borders, Alex found me huddled in the corner of the test prep aisle, scribbling notes on a piece of paper. He eyed me suspiciously, and with good reason: I was covertly copying down vocabulary words I didn't know from the other brand of test prep books. I think I've covered all my bases now.

Hoping (and praying) third time's a charm.

P.S. Note to potential employers who may somehow unfortunately come across this blog: I promise I'll try my best not to make stupid mistakes at work, I will never use the phrase "doggonit" in a professional setting, and I assure you I'm really not a dishonest person who regularly copies information from bookstores.

A Happy Halloween (Because I'm Holding a Thermal Detonator)

2010-11-01T23:20:00.019-07:00

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Halloween is one of Jane's favorite holidays, and this year marked the fourth Halloween we've spent together. Jane has yet to wane in her enthusiasm for dressing up. This year it was my turn to pick our costumes (having already fulfilled Jane's long-time goal of being low-budget cardboard robots). As it drew nearer to Halloween, I tried to tell Jane that the idea I'd been brewing (since last Christmas) was a bit ridiculous and impractical, but she was determined to follow through. With a herculean effort from Jane and a lesser Greek demigod effort from me the costumes came out great (and make me laugh every time I look at the pictures).

Han Solo in Carbonite and Princess Leia as Boushh

In case your Star Wars memory is failing you, this is in Return of the Jedi when Leia infiltrates Jabba the Hutt's palace posing as the bounty hunter Boushh to rescue Han Solo who's frozen in carbonite (phew!).

Here's the source material for comparison:

And here's a taste of the work in progress:

(Harrison Ford was not available to do a paper mache hand casting session.)

I'm so lucky to have a wife that will humor me and dress up as an obscure Star Wars reference for Halloween. Don't worry Jane, I won't push my luck.

A Few Alternatives to The Monster Mash

2010-10-30T14:43:00.017-07:00

Everyone loves Halloween but many of the parties often resort to playing one of the most overplayed seasonal songs ever recorded: The Monster Mash. You can get away with playing The Monster Mash once as a novelty but what are you going to play after that?

Here are five other songs you could play at a Halloween party besides The Monster Mash:

1) Tunnel of Love-The Groovie Ghoulies

This is a classic from my high school days. The Groovie Ghoulies have a bunch of great monster themed songs--this is one of my favorites. You might also enjoy Graveyard Girlfriend.

Accompanying Costume: Member of the Ramones (undead or otherwise)

2) halfsharkaligatorhalfman-Dr. Octagon

A perennial rap favorite but especially great on Halloween. It sounds like he sampled one of those cheesy spooky sounds records from the 50's. The lyrics are basically stream of consciousness while walking through a haunted house or watching Star Trek.

Accompanying Costume: Mad scientist of course! (or maybe a mad doctor with a PhD in one of the more sinister liberal arts)

3) Backwoods Altar-Tobacco

This song has some great creepy synths. It's perfect to set the mood while guests arrive or for that mellow dance groove at the end of the night.

Accompanying Costume: Pick you favorite unholy creature of the night!

4) Lullaby-The Cure

I used to put this album on to try to help me fall asleep and it works great up until this song: then I start to get all tense and think about spiders. I love the violins.

Accompanying Costume: Spiderman is the obvious choice, but goth 80's teenager works well too.

5) Werewolves of London-Warren Zevon

The greatest Halloween song ever written. Jane and I were making our costumes the first year we were married and I stated to sing this song.

"What is that?"

"You haven't heard Werewolves of London? Put down that duct tape, we're listening to it right now."

Accompanying Costume: Werewolf--the goofy variety or Twilight brand if that's your cup of tea.

Happy Halloween!

Our New Home: Part 1

2010-10-30T00:39:00.011-07:00

For whatever reason, I like designating things to be part of a listed series on our blog, so I now present yet another, this time dedicated to our new home in Corvallis, Oregon.

Here are some photos of Avery Park, a beautiful, sprawling park in town with tall trees, a rose garden, and a historic train (and bearing the same name as our niece!). We're still exploring Corvallis but this is already one of our favorite places. The trees were the most brilliant shades of warm gold today.

I persuaded Alex to pose while throwing leaves in the air. This photo CRACKS me up.

Here's an even better close-up of his face. Alex probably hates it but I love it. Hilarious!

Happy Fall!

No Strings Attached

2010-10-26T22:46:00.007-07:00

As before mentioned, today I left Jane some spending money. This is the note I left with it:

Giving someone else cash in this day and age feels a bit odd, like you're somehow involved in a nefarious scheme. I imagine the secretary for an organized crime ring ordering 200 of these standard envelopes where ill-gotten money can be easily categorized before it is shipped off.

This was my way of telling Jane that the money could really be used for whatever she wanted. Even a yoga mat.

Spend or Save?

2010-10-26T21:33:00.007-07:00

Today Alex went to the bank and brought me back a small gift of "no strings attached" cash to do whatever I want with. Money from your own joint bank account isn't really a gift, but this was different: he had recently found two $50 savings bonds he got in 7th grade for being a "scholar athlete" from the little league football organization. You could liken it to finding cash in your coat pocket, except that never happens to us. As a thoughtful gesture, Alex gave me half the money, saying to think of it as a present from his 1997-era self to me now. How sweet. Thank you, football-playing, excellent grades-achieving 12-year-old Alex.

To give you a better sense of said 12-year-old Alex, picture this story Alex recently told me: "When I was 12 I used to listen to my Fastball CD while lifting 10 pounds weights in my bedroom. I'd tell myself, "Just make it through one more song so you can get buff!' " Heartwarming, isn't it?

To give you a better idea of me at that age, if given spending money back then, my 12-year-old self would have bought an Abercrombie t-shirt (back when they were less than $50) or a Titanic poster with such cash. Charming.

Anyway, the point of all of this is to ask the following highly important, pressing question: Even if it is just a small, trivial amount, do you ever feel a sense of responsibility towards money from certain sources or people or occasions, as if it is "special" money that needs to be spent in a special way?

I know, money is money, but Alex chose not to deposit this into our bank account to be used towards utilities and getting our oil changed because it's not everyday you get paid for childhood athletic and scholastic achievement.

Maybe I'm making a bigger existential dilemma about it than necessary, but I feel like I shouldn't let 12-year-old Alex down and spend this cash on something boring like a curtain rod or new socks. I mean, he earned this money by running laps while wearing shoulder pads over his young shoulders, likely being pummeled by older, more burly middle-schoolers, and still managing to get his algebra homework done. The life of a young scholar athlete is hard work, obviously.

But what qualifies as money as being used in a "special" way? I could put the money into my Future Paris Trip Fund, which will probably cover a packet of peanuts and my carry-on bag's space in the aircraft, or towards my equally important Future Paris Trip Longchamp Purse Purchase Fund. Both funds are low on resources. Is the only respectable solution to put the whopping $50 into our Future Children College Fund and insure that 25 years from now, after inflation is accounted for, one child will at least be able to buy a new college backpack? Is that the best way to honor Alex's middle school successes?

Oh yeah, we don't have a future children college fund yet, by the way.

Finally, is it disrespectful to middle school-aged, weight-lifting, Fastball-listening Alex if I use his hard-earned money on girly things like new Anthropologie bowls or a yoga mat? Maybe I should use the money to take us out to dinner to celebrate the fact that Alex, twelve years later, is kind of buff.

I suppose this is why 24-year-old Alex specifically labeled this money as "no strings attached" when he gave it to me.

What do you do with "special" money?

Radiation whatnot

2010-10-24T22:59:00.010-07:00

Well, we did it...after two months of being in-limbo (not the Inception kind), we finally moved to Corvallis. Last week I unpacked boxes for what seemed like hours on end and did the drive-around-town-getting-random things we need shindig, but we're finally settled in, just in time for me to start really looking for a job.

The good news about moving to Oregon is that we're closer to our parents, my sister Katie and her husband Randy. The bad news is that Travis, Danielle, Avery, baby-boy-to-be, and Alex's brother Evan are all still in Utah. "You win some, you lose some" seems an unfortunately fitting description here.

I like the Oregon morning fog but miss the Utah desert sun. Being back in the northwest is a nice familiar feeling but one I'm still readjusting to. It keeps raining! I grew up loving the rain, but haven't been around it much in the past six years. I feel like I'm being reunited with an old friend and don't know if I should give it an enthusiastic hug or just a perfunctory handshake.

More posts this week about our new town and some projects my Mom and I did for our new apartment. In the meantime, here's Alex in front of his building at school. I would normally be wary of posting a photo with an identifying address like this online, but if you're a potential stalker, let me just deter you now and let you know that you'll never get into this building without security clearance. They don't let us normal people in, just physics nerds. Something about radiation exposure liability. Wait, did I just lump stalkers in the normal category?

Anyway, I won't be visiting Alex's office on campus anytime soon, and I cross my fingers daily that he's not currently undergoing genetic mutations that will give him cancer or superpowers.

Though superpowers wouldn't be too bad.

Grade 17

2010-09-27T23:43:00.002-07:00

We've been really bad about posting lately, but I thought today was worthy of an update: Alex started his first day of graduate school, or what I like to call "Grade 17."

Since we're still staying with Alex's parents (for a few more weeks) we took a photo outside the front door a la middle school.

Here's a close-up of Alex with one of his new textbooks. Looks like just a little light reading, don't you think?

In other news, we're moving to Corvallis on October 15th. It was more difficult to find an apartment than we had anticipated, so unfortunately Alex must commute for the first three weeks of school, but being with his family is great otherwise. I'm currently working on my own grad school applications and am on the lookout for a job.

We'll try to update more regularly--more to come later!

Anniversary # 2

2010-08-17T10:58:00.004-07:00

We made it to Oregon.

Also, yesterday was our 2 year anniversary! We were so tired from Sunday's long drive and getting in late and from the previous week of sleep deprivation that this is what we did on our anniversary:

-Went to Costco with Alex's mom
-Took a nap that ended up lasting most of the afternoon
-At 6pm realized it was our anniversary
-At midnight debated going to get ice cream to celebrate
-Were too tired and fell asleep

Really exciting! ha ha.

We technically celebrated early two weeks ago in California, knowing that the real day would likely be a bust. Good foresight on our part.

Anyway, happy anniversary to my sweet Alex. There's no one else I'd rather eat Costco samples and snooze away an anniversary with.

A Few of My Canned Jokes

2010-08-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

(Note: This post contains no news about our life and no goofy pictures of us)

Jane and I have been up late quite a few nights lately: she has finals and I'm trying to pack and clean the house in preparation of our move. As the night drives on, one usually becomes more prone to laughter at what would normally be considered inane. This gives me a chance to try to make Jane laugh with the slew of jokes and concepts I bring out whenever opportunity permits. So, tonight I bring you a few of my canned jokes.

1) "How to Deal"
The Joke: Whenever a difficult situation arises I like to tell Jane "you'll be all right, you've seen How To Deal."

Why I Think This Is Funny: For those unfamiliar, How to Deal is a romantic comedy starring Mandy Moore from about ten years ago. This is funny to me because it sounds like a self-help video with an unfinished title and the idea that a movie starring Mandy Moore could teach someone how to cope with life strikes me as hilarious. I picture two adult men leaving the theater and saying to each other "wow, next time I have to finish a project at work I'll remember the life skills Mandy taught me tonight." The title itself begs to be mocked: how to deal with what? Skin tags? Lice? That annoying co-worker who constantly talks about their cats?

In all honesty I've never seen the movie--but Jane has--and she told me quite simply it did not teach her how to deal.

2) "Banana Republic is my favorite non-democratic department store"

The Joke: Whenever we pass Banana Republic in the mall, or when the store is mentioned in casual conversation I quote the line typed above.

Why I Think This Is Funny: Ever since I learned that the United States is not a democracy, but a republic, thanks to the archaic electoral college (oh yes, I'm using a personal blog to vent political opinions, I'm so generation Y!) I've looked down on Banana Republic. Yes, I like the clothes-- they're affordable and classy, but couldn't they give their constituents a little more power to determine their government? My pretentious joke is what they get for naming their department store after a pejorative term for a puppet government with an unstable economy.

3) "Candy for Breakfast?"

The Joke: Whenever someone says "candy" the conversation may be ripe for line mentioned above.

Why I Think This Is Funny: Yes, I'm re-purposing the slogan for Reeses Puffs cereal, but it's only because the clever line is so indelibly imbued in my memory from the excellent original commercial. I love this line because it embodies aberration from the nonchalant: two kids wake up from a late night sleepover, their eyes dreary and stomachs empty. The kid hosting has a surprise planned: when his guest asks what's for breakfast he will catch him completely off guard with some unexpected news. "Reeses," he says, with a solemn look poorly plastered over a wry smile. The guest, still sleepy, takes a second to register this earth-shattering news, in soliloquy: "Reses, did he say Reeses? But that could only mean... no, it couldn't be, could it? Yes! I'd better ask to make sure." Then aloud: "Candy for breakfast?" The other kid responds, with a confirmation but also a note to placate concerned parents, "Not candy, Reeses Puffs cereal." And just like that, breakfast was changed forever.

Packing, or a chance for Alex to lament how much "crap" I own

2010-08-11T21:48:00.001-07:00

Okay, he's not that bad.

We're packing up our place this week and are making good progress. I don't mind packing when it is an excuse to take a break from writing final papers, and Alex sees it as a good opportunity to convince me to toss out half my school notebooks and old clothes. He likes to quote his former mission president's proverb on moving: "Moving is life's enema."

Packing up all the annoying odds and ends.

Posing with our progress. I just got back from a work out...another "break" from finals.

Also, yes, that is a Christmas tree stand, and of course we are keeping it. Alex may not appreciate the fact that I have a whole box of holiday decor, including Easter baskets and Christmas ornaments, but tough.

Please note that all the boxes we've collected around town for packing are either alcohol boxes from the liquor store (not pictured) or toilet paper boxes from Smith's.

I've been thinking about what I consider to be the worst parts about packing:

-The last-night-in-the-apartment shuffle. I hate the "Don't pack my toothbrush because I will need it in the morning" business, or how even if you've already cleaned the whole apartment, you know you'll still have to take a shower in the morning and use the bathroom again.

-Packing hangers. Do I just throw them all out and buy new ones? Normal people probably do this; I know that a pack of hangers is only a mere $2 or so, but it seems stupid to re-buy a bunch of hangers when you already have plenty. I always pack hangers in garbage bags (because a box full of hangers just seems silly) and the hooks get all tangled over each other and it stresses me out.

-Having to throw out a fridge's worth of condiments, knowing you will just have to buy them all AGAIN a week later. Hate that. (I may hoard hangers but I am not such a miser to actually lug condiments in a cooler across the country. Come to think of it, that might be more financially beneficial than the hangers...hmm...)

The bonuses of packing:

-Reading the newspaper while using it to pack up breakables. I grabbed a huge stash of the New York Times from the recycling bin on campus and got caught up on the news as I wrapped up everything glass in our kitchen...now that's multitasking.

-Finding hilarious mementos. Alex came across some old notebooks I used to write quotes and stories in from our freshman year of college. I almost cried laughing as he read the elaborate lists of self-improvement goals I wrote.

-Getting rid of stuff and getting cash in the process. Thanks to Plato's Closet, I now have $38.50 of cold hard cash in my wallet and all I had to give them were some old clothes purchased in approximately 2006 that I haven't worn in years. Not a bad deal.

Okay, that's it. I think I'm stalling. Time to get back to my illuminating look at Kafka's use of Christian and Jewish symbolism in The Trial...guhhh...

P.S. I am officially in half stressed out/half deliriously tired giggly mode. I have two big papers and three finals to finish, and we're attending a wedding reception, moving a zillion boxes and making a thirteen hour drive all in the next three days...wish me (us) luck!

Life Update

2010-07-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

I know there's been a lot of libelous rumors floating around on TMZ and Entertainment Tonight so I think it's time to set the record straight. By way of official announcement, I will be attending Oregon State University in the fall.

Proudly hanging in our apartment

Yes, that means we'll be returning to the state that nurtured me through my teenage years. I love Oregon. Jane and I both are excited to move there. Jane's going to be looking for a job and applying to grad school. I'm going to be studying what I love: nuclear engineering. I hope to be doing research in computer simulation while working towards a Masters degree. After that I plan on applying to the PhD program.

But nobody cares about education! More importantly we'll be able to catch the tail end of blackberry season, I'll be there in the fall to prune the Long family orchard, we'll get to visit the beautiful yet incredibly boring Oregon coast and we can attend the concerts of obscure Portland bands with my pops. But all these things are merely incidental; I'll be happy as long as I'm with Jane.

4th of July 2010

2010-07-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some belated photos from our four-day 4th of July weekend. We stayed in Provo and enjoyed the great weather and truly elaborate amount of local festivities with friends and siblings.

Our only major wishes were to go swimming and watch fireworks, but we did so much more...

Best corn on the cob I've ever had at the Provo Freedom Festival!

Colonial Days

Alex passed his citizenship test at the Ellis Island re-enactment.

Sunday dinner on the lawn with our brothers (please note my patriotic casualwear)

Sadly Evan and Ryan aren't in focus, but that beautiful parking garage in the background is...

More patriotic attire donned by a house on Center Street and me.

Grand parade! Hundreds of people camped out to snag prime parade-watching spots.
The parade came down our street so we had front row seats from our lawn.
Veterans (and a Walmart shout-out?)

Not pictured:
Swimming all Saturday afternoon at the outdoor pool in Lindon
Classic American-fare pre-fireworks show picnic with Ryan (hello potato salad and fried chicken--thank you, America)
Watching fireworks with Ryan, Trav, Danielle and Avery

BBQ at the Ahlstrom's

It turns out Provo isn't a bad place to be on the 4th of July--or rather July 1st-July4th. This town really knows how to pack in four continuous days of patriotic celebration. We were exhausted by the end, but had a great time.

P.S. I believe credit for that brilliant photo of the boy on his dad's shoulders goes to our friend Kevin:

P.P.S. Happy Birthday, Katie!

Summer Update

2010-07-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, since we took a nearly month-long blogging break, I suppose now is as good a time as ever for an update.

Lately we've been eating lots of frozen yogurt, sleeping with the ceiling fan on, hitting up the dollar theater on the weekend (we've seen some real doozies as of late but it's all in good fun) and enjoying the summer heat.

Alex is working as a research assistant at BYU for the summer. He reads literature on crazy chemical compounds and compiles information for a database. He works hard and never complains about being inside at a desk all day long.

I'm finishing up my remaining three classes of the summer. Did I ever mention that last fall I decided to go into English teaching? That's right--back to my childhood plans after changing career paths too many times to count. Unfortunately I made this decision after graduating college, so I've been back to school taking English classes to add to what I took my first time through. By August I'll have a second BA in English. While I'm on the topic: My next planned move is to apply to master's programs. I'm looking into programs in straight English and in secondary English teaching. Sometimes I feel iffy about teaching high school but other times I think corralling a bunch of pubescent kids into reading The Great Gatsby and doing creative response projects sounds fun. (Am I crazy?) I especially like the idea of having a career with a cyclical time frame and a break in the summer. You might say I'm over seeking after prestige.

Anyway, I blame my recent lack of blogging on the fact that I was busy writing for my creative writing class the past month and a half and couldn't really muster up writing anything else. I finished 40 pages of writing last week for my portfolio and was honestly quite proud of myself--it gave me an adrenaline rush to turn in work that I'd wrangled into something that felt decent. Now I'm into my last three classes and am buried under a reading list of over 3,000 pages for the next 7 weeks. I'm planning on doing the majority of that reading outside on a lawn chair with a paper-umbrella-clad drink--life is hard. Just kidding about the paper umbrella. We don't own any of those.

We are solidifying our plans for the fall and should have an official update soon; I'll leave that to Alex. I'm so proud of that boy lately!

Well, that's the run-down. We're enjoying our summer but seriously wishing we had a beach nearby like last year!

Our First Trip to the ER

2010-06-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Jane and I felt the need to renew our faith in modern institutional medicine by taking a short trip to the emergency room this weekend.

Jane felt a severe migraine coming on as soon as I got home from work on Friday. She is so funny when she's in pain and her usual foresight quickly transforms into a myopic view of immediate discomfort.

"Get me food."

"What kind of food?"

"Just food! Quickly!"

Her condition worsened and after throwing most of the medicine cabinet at the headache (four Excedrin among other things) we decided it was best to go to the emergency room and get some heavy-duty medicinal relief. As we started driving towards the hospital at around midnight, Jane had to throw up. The only receptacle available was a Nordstrom's bag, which was quickly appropriated to hold french fries and stomach acid.

The people at the hospital were wonderful, although the nurse who put an IV in Jane had a little trouble hitting a vein: Jane described this process as "more painful than the headache itself." Eventually, a headache panacea was fed into Jane's body, which included something to "knock her out" as the doctor put it. This led to the best part of the night. As the drugs did their work Jane became more delirious and started to say all kinds of sweet things. She thanked me for taking her to the hospital, told me that our next trip to the ER would involve a child, and talked about how happy she is. I knew she was under the influence of strong medication but that still made all the drama worth it.

And now a song:

Moab

2010-06-01T02:19:00.002-07:00

This weekend we went on a camping trip to Moab with some friends (just overnight). Alex and I hadn't been camping together before and were excited to finally put the gear we got for our wedding to good use.

Our campsite was gorgeous; we got everything set up just as the sun was setting on Friday night.

We cooked dinner over a campfire and stayed up late until the flames died down. Alex and I stargazed through our tent's mesh top while drifting to sleep in our sleeping bags.

Saturday morning we went biking at Slickrock and I miraculously did okay despite not having ridden a bike in years, let alone on mountainous rock. We cooked breakfast on our camping stove and then finished off the day with a hike at Arches National Park.

Everything we did was SO fun. I learned that I'm more of a camping girl than I thought! Who knew? (Or maybe I just do well on short trips when I don't have to go more than a day without a shower...)

Thanks again to the Ahlstroms and Evansons for inviting us along!

Very Important Birthday

2010-05-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Auntie LeAnn!!!

Some of the things I love about you:

-Your vibrant smile
-Your refrigerator full of nail polish (at least before you married Uncle Rico)
-The bald eagle earrings you wear on the 4th of July
-The memory of seeing you after Alex and I had just been married and how excited you were for us
-The memory of you chasing Uncle Mat around the house at the lake trying to give him a wedgie
(that one's from my childhood)
-The fact that you brought Uncle Rico into the family
-You are sentimental and thoughtful
-You are the most faithful blog reader a niece could ask for
-You pull off the tiara better than any of the other Aunties in the family (sorry other Aunties)
-You have wild energy and are LOUD at family functions
-You have a huge heart

I (we) love you!

Our Mothers

2010-05-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

We tried calling our moms today but couldn't get in touch with either of them. I guess it is a busy day, so this will have to do for now: Happy Mother's Day to our beautiful mothers!

We love you and are grateful for everything you've done for us.

Will you call us back now?

P.S. We have wonderful aunts and grandmas, and are thinking of them today, too. Mother's day isn't just about literal mothers, but all women who love and nurture.

Dinner tonight

2010-05-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

One of the things I've learned about myself in the past year is that I really love to cook. I especially love it on Sunday afternoons like today when the sun is shining through our windows and Alex is reading on the couch. I like chopping vegetables, keeping a watchful eye over a steaming pot, adjusting seasonings, and arranging everything when done. I think being in the kitchen is one of my "happy places."

I have a lot to learn about cooking, though. I'm definitely still in the learning-techniques-and-recipe-following stage, and I expect to be here for a long time. I'm not great at making up my own concoctions, but I dream of one day being a terrific cook.

One secret cooking quirk you'd have to be in our house or our neighbor to know: I currently insist on listening to Elton John on full volume while I cook. I'm not sure how it started (I was never even much of an Elton John fan) but I've found that tending a sizzling wok is infinitely more enjoyable while listening to "Rocket Man." As a total novice, I think Elton John is the best piece of cooking advice I have to offer.

From my inbox

2010-05-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

I rarely even look at spam mail, but I had to open this one: "Order a Ph.D"

I must commend them for at least acknowledging that this so-called Ph.D is "non-accredited."

So, what do you think...should I suggest this to Alex? haa ha.

Pop Culturally-Aware Baby

2010-05-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know the whole Conan-NBC-Leno debacle is old news, but I just uploaded this video from my camera and I think it is really funny.

Our niece Avery just turned two; this video is from a few months ago. We were up at her house late and I was in an annoying phase of asking her everyone's names. (She calls Ryan "Doug!" and Alex "Aleek!" So adorable).

I can't decide what is cuter: the fact that she assumes any late-show host is Conan (go Conan) or that she hasn't quite yet learned to distinguish between a gangly red head and a husky guy with a big chin. You'll get there, Avery, don't you worry.

On second thought, maybe she's even smarter than we think and is already demonstrating a sharp sense of irony...

Conflict Management

2010-05-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned on here a few months ago, I took some college classes again this spring. The story goes that I decided a while back to pursue secondary ed teaching--by a while back, I mean the end of last summer. It was kind of a rough decision for me, but I'm okay now. I'm finishing a second degree in English right now and am planning to apply in the fall to master's programs. I have my eye on a program in-state that offers an M.Ed and initial certification together for English teaching. Please, universe, let this work out. (I'm doing my part...I think.)

So, anyway, I'm back in school--at least for a few more months. Today I got my grades for this past semester. I was thrilled about the straight A's down the line (woo hoo)...but then got to one particular class. My jaw dropped when I saw the grade: C+?!?! I couldn't help but think it was a mistake. Here are the scenarios playing out in my mind for what might have happened:

-My professor lost one of my major papers
-She entered in the wrong grade
-She thought she would play a cruel joke on me
-She seriously hated my work

I'm hoping it isn't the latter.

The catch is that I don't actually know what grades I got on the four papers I turned in or how I did on the written final exam. I do know that I only missed class once, I did the readings, participated, turned in everything that was due, and put in a good effort. My teacher never once turned back an assignment to us all semester; on the day of the final she still didn't have our papers ready, and said we should give her our addresses so she could eventually mail our papers back to us.

I'm not trying to be pretentious and assume I deserve a better grade, but it is beyond frustrating to find out after the semester is over that your work wasn't up to your teacher's standards (assuming this grade isn't a fluke). I'm kicking myself for not getting a more solid explanation from my teacher on how I was doing in the class. She often told the class not to focus on our grades but to just keep doing good work. Perhaps this didn't turn out so well.

All day today I have been really upset about this, to the point that I feel a migraine coming on. I emailed the teacher already and will follow-up if I don't hear back from her. I feel like she at least owes me an explanation for my grade, or a checking over her books to make sure she didn't calculate something wrong. The bummer is that aside from her lack of feedback, I genuinely liked this teacher: she had interesting lectures, facilitated great class discussion, and I felt like we were on good terms. I think I'm upset about this situation because, aside from the fact that I do take grades seriously, I'm afraid a conflict will ensue.

Oddly enough, for most of my life, I haven't been afraid of conflict. I was never shy about speaking my mind to my parents growing up (okay, so compared to Katie I was a yeller) or timid about standing up to authority. Sophomore year of college I even spoke my mind to my Bishop when he critiqued my then-career plans (seems they've changed a dozen times since) as being a poor choice for meshing with motherhood. (That guy was really old and really old-school. I swear not all LDS Bishops are like that. I think he meant well, may have even been sorta right, but got a brief--yet respectful--feminist tirade anyway.)

I'm a lot more timid about conflict lately, though. A recent conflict didn't go over so well (apologies again to Thanksgiving '09). Also, Alex really dislikes conflict. Maybe that's rubbing off on me.

The other day at the gym, as I was minding my own business and channel surfing to find some program that would distract me from the fact that I'd be exercising, a girl ran up to me and asked me to change the TV back to what she'd been watching. I won't go into the extremely trivial details, but basically I was not at fault, in my opinion, of purposefully turning off her show--she was in the farthest back corner of the gym, a section with its own row of TVs, and I had shown proper gym etiquette of checking to make sure I wasn't shorting anyone in the nearby vicinity. I felt like she was unnecessarily rude about the situation, and it bothered me. I stood my ground for a minute and explained that she could turn her own set of TVs to the station, but when she pressed me on the issue I just gave up and let her have her way. I didn't want to be rude back or cause a scene.

I know the situation is ridiculously trivial, but I couldn't stand the tension that built up inside of me--the tension of wanting to lash back at someone, and yet wanting to take the higher ground and maintain some dignity. When the stupid minute-long scenario was over, I went downstairs to the bathroom and had a cry. It was odd--crying just to release tension and stress.

(May I just say that adding to my irritation was the fact that she bolted over, practically out of breath, as if she was about to miss the freaking moon landing or the last play of the World Series. No no, people, she was watching a Sarah Palin interview. Whatever your political leanings, can I please get a collective, "Good grief"? Thanks.)

I guess I've become more wary of conflict, and yet I don't want to resort to being a doormat either. I really hope this teacher gets back to me, because I don't want this to turn into a stalking-her-down, calling-her-at-home, reporting-to-the-department type of a situation. An "Oops, my mistake" would be welcome news, too.

P.S. Writing this out was cathartic. I think my blood pressure is back to normal now.

UPDATE: My professor emailed me back and was somehow missing two of my papers, which I just sent back to her. Hallelujah! Now let's just pretend this whole thing never happened. Wait, am I becoming passive-aggressive?!

Edith's Room

2010-05-03T13:27:00.001-07:00

As an addendum to my desk photo, here's a close-up of the drawing on my bulletin board.

Alex has the worst track record of falling asleep during sacrament meeting at church. I try to think up tricks to help him stay awake, like writing notes to him, whispering funny remarks in his ear, or having him draw me pictures. I'm getting good practice already for when we have squirming children at church; the only difference is that Alex doesn't get to eat dry cheerios. (If only I could bring him a sippy cup full of an energy drink...)

One week I told Alex to draw me a picture of how he would decorate our future imaginary daughter's bedroom for when she is about ten years old. This is what he came up with:

In case the drawing isn't quite legible, here are some highlights:
-Bedspread and toy chest with planets and stars on them
-Kiss and Sonic Youth band posters (There's no way I'm letting Gene Simmons in our future 10-year-old daughter's bedroom, just for the record)
-Niels Bohr portrait on the wall (a physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1922)
-Banner of hearts running around the ceiling
-And my personal favorite, a poster of a girl riding a unicorn, except Alex didn't quite budget the space right so her head extends off the poster. Awesome.

I think this drawing sums up three important things:
1. Why I love Alex
2. Why our children are doomed to nerd-dom
3. Why all little girls need mothers

Finally, yes, we do think the name Edith is cute. It's on the someday-baby name list. Emphasis on the someday.

Around the house: pt. 4

2010-05-02T23:40:00.001-07:00

This weekend we had planned to take a road trip to Montana, where Alex served his mission. When we checked the weather report and read that it was 40 degrees and snowing up there, we decided to stay home and postpone the trip for later.

We ended up having a lot of free time, and got to talking about our summer plans--specifically our hobbies. Alex suggested I get a new desk/sewing table, so we went out looking and ended up with this little ditty for $20 from IKEA and a $3 corkboard from DI (which I plan on painting a new color).

I am so excited to have a little corner of the apartment all to myself! Alex took over our other desk space so I don't know why we didn't think of this sooner. My days of uncomfortable studying on the couch are OVER!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-04-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

I was looking back through old photos today and cracked up when I found this--I don't even remember seeing it before.

We were having the time of our lives on a water taxi in Venice, Italy.

It's that time of year again...my mom's birthday!

Mom, I love spending time with you, whether in big adventures or just hanging out talking at home. I hope to visit you in Paris someday when you live there for a month, get your help decorating our future home, and learn from your wisdom on being a good mom when the time comes.

I am proud of you for being so close to finishing school...and that you have just started accessorizing again! ha ha.

Happy birthday!! I love you!

x o x o,

Jane

P.S. I think you look so cute in this picture!

Signs of Summer

2010-04-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

We had our first picnic of 2010 yesterday at the park with Kevin and Bree.
The weather was so nice that we stayed all afternoon enjoying the sun,
swings, frisbee, and handstands in the grass.

We also got our first sunburned faces.

Bring on summer!!!

Note: ignore the tree growing out of Alex's legs in that last shot...errr...haha.

The Graduate

2010-04-25T17:09:00.001-07:00

Alex graduated this Friday!
He now holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

We had a great time celebrating graduation. Our families came into town, there were congratulations offered, gifts given, and even a few tears shed--by our dads, of all people. (Get them together and the waterworks start! So funny and sweet.)

Congrats again, Alex! I'm so proud of you for all your hard work.

Now on to his next move: grad school
Stay tuned for the Ph.D. graduation in...oh...about 4-5 years. Yikes!

Weekend Update

2010-04-18T21:36:00.001-07:00

This weekend Alex took me to a bakery in Orem. It spans two floors of a darling old house and we ate vanilla cake in a cute room on the top floor. I love treats, old houses, and surprises.

I'm really excited about this coming week. We're going to two weddings (Melissa and Sadie Hansen!), have family coming into town, Alex graduates and Avery turns two! Yay!

Now I just need to finish three papers first. Ugh.

P.S. I just realized that our outfits match in this photo. Not planned, I swear. Also, Alex's head is really not this much bigger than mine in real life.

Ski Season

2010-04-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

I'm happy that the long winter is over and spring is finally here...except for one small detail: it means the end of ski season! Boo hoo.

This year we finally bought ski passes and loved going snowboarding on the weekends. I am now convinced that the perfect winter date is a drive up the canyon + good runs + Cafe Rio in our ski clothes on the way home + watching a movie in pajamas after a warm shower.

(I'm including this photo because I think the fog makes it look like a glamour shot, ha ha)

See you next winter...

Fail

2010-04-11T23:11:00.001-07:00

I've failed at nearly everything I've touched this weekend, but I'm laughing about it right now nonetheless. For example:

-I've come down with every physical impediment known to man (okay, total exaggeration, I just have a cold, cramps and my whole body is sore). I normally take good care of myself but pretty much all I've eaten the past two days is cereal and tortilla chips with really subpar salsa. Somehow I managed to eat almost an entire container of said salsa all the while thinking, "Wow, this isn't good at all."

-Yesterday Alex gave me a swimming lesson because he said I looked like I was drowning and grasping for shore while swimming laps at the pool. What can I say...I appreciate his honesty. Now I can keep my head down, but I can't swim more than half a lap without getting water up my nose and choking on it. (Also, sometimes I use a kickboard...next thing you know I will be doing water aerobics with sand-filled plastic milk jugs!)

-Alex has been trying to get me to watch Spinal Tap with him this weekend, but we have to do it in increments because I fall asleep. The first night I made it through a whopping 18 minutes. The next night I succeeded in 20 more; at this rate it might take me a week to finish. The worst part is that poor Alex spent a considerable amount of effort each night getting everything set up so we could watch it in our bedroom...at my request.

-I have a hefty load of writing to do and one particular paper that is killlling me. I have 12 pages of another paper to finish tomorrow. Some days I can sit down to write a paper and the words just flow onto the page with little effort. Today is NOT one of those days.

Wellllll, now that I've portrayed myself as an inept geriatric infirm, I should probably get back to my paper.

P.S. Alex just brought me a cookie and milk. Good thing I'm rounding out my diet.

P.P.S. Okay, okay, we had salmon and salad for dinner. No need to worry, mom.

I would like to thank the Academy...

2010-04-09T12:25:00.001-07:00

I'll be honest, now and then I kind of miss being involved in theater. I was in a lot of plays back in the day, but haven't done anything since I graduated high school, when acting stopped being "cute" if you lack any solid talent. All I really had going for me was my jangly limbs, face capable of animated facial expressions, and lack of inhibition. Oh, and of course my love of "the theeaaaatahhh." I can fully admit that had the time of my life being on the stage back in my younger years, though, and sometimes wish I could find a community theater looking for twentysomethings who secretly want to burst into song and long-winded monologues. Have I said too much?

Ahem. Anyway. For a Shakespeare class I'm taking this semester we were required to perform a portion of a play for our class and a panel of "judges." I got pretty into it. I bought a $6 granny bathrobe at DI and spent an hour or so of haphazard freehand sewing to make myself a snazzy costume. I even did some Stanislavsky-esque character work (only kidding).

We weren't all in costume at this point. 'Tis a pity. I kind of look like Robin Hood.

Did you need a close-up of my beard? I thought so...

Our group "won" the contest so our professor gave us these awesome trophies, which cracks me up. I love it. Note: I'm pretty sure the only reason we won was because our group didn't forget half our lines.

This is proudly being displayed on our bookshelf right now. Obviously.

I guess I shouldn't give up hope that I'll never again grace the stage. Alex is also a card-carrying thespian, so maybe we will end up like this in 30 years:

Easter Weekend

2010-04-07T23:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend Alex was out of town again for a student conference. I survived thanks to a dinner date with my brother Ryan, a girl's night with Meg and a trip to Salt Lake for General Conference with Bree and Kevin. Thank you to good friends for keeping me company!

Also, an apology to Ryan for accidentally spitting water all over the table while laughing at dinner. So unladylike, I know. The waiter: "Is she okay?" Ryan: "She's fine. But I'm kind of embarrassed right now." I can't help it, Ryan cracks me up. Actually I think in that moment I was cracking myself up, which is even worse.

Anyway, I woke up to snow on Easter morning! I can't recall ever experiencing a white Easter, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Here are some photos from Temple Square after the snow had melted. (Thank you Kevin for taking photos.) General conference was inspiring as always, and particularly special this year since it fell on Easter weekend.

I listened to the last session at home while cooking our Easter meal. Alex made it home just in time for dinner.

And don't forget my favorite Easter pastime: dying eggs.

By this point I was clearly a bit haggard from all the cooking and egg dying...
but that's what I call the sign of a good holiday.

P.S. Contrary to what these photos might suggest, Ryan does NOT use any form of spray tan! ha ha. His orange tint is due to wonky lighting + flash. My bad. Just wanted to defend his honor.

Intellectual Decompression

2010-03-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs to blow off some steam at the end of the day, even if it's with something mind-numbing like reality television. Last night I tried to make Jane laugh by playing a ridiculous movie that Netflix had available for streaming. Jane had just finished reading the memoirs of Frederick Douglass, a weighty tale about slavery and the condition of those who practice it. I thought she might like to decompress and watch the execution of one of worst movie concepts of all time: a dog playing basketball.

That's right, I'm talking about the movie Air Bud, more specifically Air Bud: Golden Receiver. I can see a dog that plays basketball (or football in this case) getting 5 minutes of airtime on the Ellen Degeneres show, but a full length movie? Wow. Jane spurned my advances, instead trying to discuss the psychological ruin of slave holders. I persisted, explaining that not only were we about to experience the tale of a dog playing football but we'd also see that same dog reunite a broken family or teach a young pre-teen boy to believe in himself. Jane won out and we didn't end up watching it. She owes me since I watched Airborne with her--another cheesey 90's movie she vehemently defends.

As a side note, Air Bud contains one of my favorite lines of all time: "Ain't no rules says a dog can't play basketball!" shouted by the referee to an opposing coach who was complaining about the dog's domination of his team. I love this line. I imagine a referee scouring the league rules only to find under Section 2: Article 7 that "Horses are expressly forbidden on or within 100 feet of the court" but no explicit mention of dogs. At that point did the referee lower his head in shame, pondering the sordid state of basketball? On that note, I wonder if the writers of this movie pitched the movie idea with the pun "basketball is going to the dogs" in tow, or if this pun came after a late night coffee-fueled brainstorming session. Alas! If only I could pull back the curtain! Maybe we'll have to put it on the Netflix queue to see if it has director/writer commentary.

What do you do to zone out when you come home at the end of the day?

New Look

2010-03-23T19:13:00.001-07:00

I just want to note that our new header comes from a photo of our silhouette painting by our friend Melissa. I did some old-school editing in Microsoft Paint (resourceful? or behind the times? you decide) and the makeover was complete.

I'm loving the new change. Hope you like it too.

It's Official

2010-03-11T23:59:00.000-08:00

Alex is going to graduate school!

Making this decision was more difficult than we thought it would be. A few weeks ago, Alex got a great job offer with the company he flew back east to interview with. He has been interested in this job for quite a while, so it was exciting to get an offer. I was mostly excited at the prospect of moving to upstate New York, which would mean being within hours of Montreal, Boston, and New York City, closer to Europe (cheaper flights), and living in a completely new place. I'm not in any rush to grow up and make big purchases, but I must admit that even I started daydreaming about one day living in this house (or something like it) in the area and about what our life would be like on the east coast.

(Yes, I'm including a photo of said house to remind me of the nice daydreams I had,
assuming that in five years I will look back and laugh)

Then Alex got an acceptance to BYU's PhD program in chemical engineering. It isn't our first choice to stay in Utah (I desperately want a change of scenery), but the program offers great funding (full tuition covered + a stipend) and it seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. We're still waiting to hear back from other schools, but knowing that he has at least one option was enough to sway Alex's decision. Today he turned down the job offer, so it's official: grad school.

I think it was weird for him to turn down the job, because it was his first choice of the jobs he interviewed for, and not taking it meant closing a door that was also a great opportunity. It is strange to become an adult and be presented with weighty decisions that could drastically influence the course of your life. Sometimes I feel like we are too young and inexperienced in the world to know how to make these big decisions, but I suppose we have to grow up and move forward anyway.

I'm still a little sad that we aren't moving to the east coast, even though I feel good about what we've chosen. Today I told Alex, "Maybe once you have a PhD you can apply again to work in a more advanced position with that company...and maybe that house will still be on the market..."

P.S. I realize it is dumb that the only photo in this post is of a random house. Please imagine a cheesy photo of Alex holding a grad school acceptance letter. Thanks.

P.P.S. While making this decision we made some pro and con lists, mostly on napkins at Cafe Rio. I think the most compelling "pro" for the job was that he would get to be exposed to "classified" information. My favorite "pros" for the PhD? Calling him "the future Dr. Long" and the fact that he will get to wear one of those Harry Potter crazy robe things when he graduates.

Girl talk

2010-03-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Question: What were your favorite gowns at the Oscars tonight?

I've already exhausted the discussion with some friends, my mom, my mother-in-law, and Alex. If there's one girly thing I like, though, it's the Oscar pre-show and the subsequent gown re-cap that comes in the days ahead...so I can't end the discussion yet!

Here's my take: I was a liiiiitle bored by the dresses this year, though I might change my mind when I see more photos. I thought Meryl Streep looked fantastic as always, Kate Winslet was gorgeous in her metallic grey color but the ensemble was overall kind of dull, Charlize Theron's rose buds...enough said, Penelope Cruz's dress was beautiful but doesn't compare to her past gowns, I can't make up my mind about Diane Kruger's Chanel, though I liked the feathery black roses, Rachel McAdams' dress looked a little dishwatery on TV but looks better in photos online...there were some pretty dresses but overall nothing really wowed me.

I'm also not sure how I feel about the more daring gowns: J.Lo, Sarah Jessica Parker...just something a bit off with each of those. Or in the case of J.Lo, a lot off. I thought that dress looked like styrofoam! I want so badly to like Zoe Saldana's dress I feel like the bottom was just a bit of crepe paper overload. I still think she looked amazing, though.

Anyway, I'm still trying to decide but I think some of my favorite dresses were:

Miley Cyrus--even if the top didn't fit quite right and she was slouching

Kristen Stewart--I liked the pleating and I love dark navy, but admittedly she looked a little plain and I think she needed more jewelry (Do I sound too negative? And is it sad that my two favorites so far were worn by teenagers?)

Maggie Gyllenhaal--cool print, simple, not trying too hard

What did you think??

Around the house: pt. 3

2010-03-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

I've collected little pieces of jewelry from some of my travels.
I keep them in this dish Alex gave me for my birthday.

+ Cameo ring from jewelry shop in Venice

+ Charm from flea market in southern France

+ Elephant necklace from California
(okay, so it's just from a j.crew outlet in CA...
I consider it a souvenir nonetheless!)

So far the dish is pretty empty. I think this means I need to go on more travels.

Around the house: pt. 2

2010-02-23T18:34:00.001-08:00

I don't have much variety in pants. I'm a jeans girl. I hope when I grow up
I don't have to switch to wearing more respectable casual-wear pants. Like khakis. Nooooo!

I also don't exactly have a closet right now.

My clothes are stacked in plastic boxes in the living room and our

ironing board has become a makeshift shelf.

Oh tiny student apartments...

(Not that there's anything wrong with wearing khakis)

Around the house: pt. 1

2010-02-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

I like seeing what objects people keep in their homes. When I go into someone else's house, I'm kind of a snoop by nature, but I try not to be. I just like seeing the papers people keep on their refrigerators, what sits on their bookshelves, and the dishes they use. Everything in a home seems to have a story behind it.

Our current apartment isn't anything fancy, but I like that we're surrounded by things that feel like us at this point in our life, even if this means textbooks, clothes we're getting tired of wearing, and furniture bought at thrift stores.

In honor of this, I'm trying to take some photos of our place and the things that exist in our life right now. I know that things don't really matter, but the stories behind them do.

I think it is a fun project...join in if you want!

+ New books (Christmas gifts from mom & dad and Ryan)

+ Alex's favorite thriftstore chair

+ pillow I bought for our apt. the

first day we were in California last summer

Dad

2010-02-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to my Dad! I'm happy that another day is here just for him.

About the photo: My dad is the best at making everything better when I'm having a bad day. He always has a trick up his sleeve, like knowing just when to take me shopping downtown to get my mind off my troubles.

There is nothing like walking around looking at holiday shop windows and trying on new boots with my dad while he smiles and says "Those look great on you!" I can't think of many things that make me feel more safe and like the world is good again than a date out with my dad.

I love you dad, and I hope you've had a happy birthday!

Sweet heart

2010-02-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

I love my Valentine.

The L word (no, not referring to the TV series on Showtime)

2010-02-11T15:51:00.001-08:00

We had a Family Home Evening lesson this week (sadly, we haven't had one of those in a long time), and I asked Alex, "So...what kind of things could I work on to be a better wife?" I was expecting him to say something along the lines of, "Be more patient" or "Don't use fifteen utensils to cook one meal." He had a slightly different answer in mind, though, and an idea for how he could help me with it. He immediately set to work making this:

He said I could work on not saying the word "like" so much.

WHAAAAT?!

I was a little offended at first, I'll be honest. It's not the first time I've been criticized for this. I've tried before to stop, I really have. I just can't shake it. Somehow at about the age of 13 my frontal lobe decided to take up Valspeak and I haven't since recovered.

To be kind, Alex added "+ Alex's vices" to the jar. His vice is mild swearing. He likes to claim that "hells and damns" aren't really swearing. I say they are cool ONLY if used to enhance a really good joke.

Alex set out pennies that each represent one dollar of our weekly allowances. When we commit our vice, we forfeit a penny. Somehow I ended up agreeing to this plan. In the course of two days Alex has lost two pennies. Sucker.

I did lose one, but not for saying THE word. I lost on a bet. We were out and heard the song "Cat's in the Cradle" come on:

"Who sings this again?" -Alex

"I think Cat Stevens." -Jane

"No, it isn't him."

"No, I think it is."

"Yusuf Islam?"

"Yep."

We bet on one of our pennies. I was really sure I was right. When we got home we pulled up Wikipedia and read this:

"Cat's in the Cradle" is widely mistakenly credited to artist Cat Stevens, in part due to a mistitled MP3 version of the song widely circulated on the internet. The style and vocals sound akin to a Cat Stevens song, and the song and the singer both contain the word 'Cat'.

Well, at least that last bit made for a good laugh. Probably worth losing 1/10th of my measly allowance over.

Anyway, if I seem strained when talking to you lately, it's because I'm focusing on not saying...you know...the L word.

Saturday mornings

2010-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

I make the breakfast.

He does the dishes.

Star Wars: My take

2010-01-28T12:29:00.001-08:00

Like Alex said, we watched Star Wars over Christmas break. I had to keep reminding him that I did grow up in America with a television in my house, so it wasn't like I was totally clueless as to the premise of the films.

Random photo: because we have been short on photos lately. Yes, this is Alex

with the only piece of Star Wars memorabilia we have in the house.

Note: We do not own a Sega system of any kind. Why does he own this game? No idea.

So, here's my take on the experience. Yes, I fell asleep a few times. Yes, Alex spouted off trivia about every 5 seconds. What he didn't mention was that I constantly asked him what I considered to be important questions, but which were probably annoying to someone indoctrinated in all things Star Wars:

"Is Yoda in this one?" ("Yes")

"When does he say 'LUKE I AM YOUR FAAAAAAATHER!!'??" ("I'm not telling")

"What happened to Obi Wan?" ("You were asleep in that part")

"So, is his mom Natalie Portman?" ("No, his mom was Padme")

"So....was Carrie Fisher considered to be really hot back then?" ("I have no idea")

etc.

Here are some of my first-timer Star Wars obervations:
-I HATE the Chewbacca noise. Even when Alex does it. Especially when Alex does it. Sorry, Alex.

-Jabba the Hut was seriously slobbery and nasty (that's our maternity costume idea...just kidding)
-Come on people, the Ewoks?!
-A New Hope: kinda boring.
-The Empire Strikes Back: totally awesome.
-Return of the Jedi: like I said, the ewoks? It was like a build-a-bear treehouse extravaganza.

I was surprised that the ending to the films was a surprise to me. When the seventh Harry Potter book came out, I refused to go on the internet until I had finished it so I wouldn't accidentally find out the ending...and yet in 24 years of my life I somehow never heard a spoiler about the end of Star Wars. Weird.

And finally, a short list of things that make me more culturally aware since I have seen Star Wars:
-I now understand why every 12-year-old boy had a crush on Princess Leia at one point or another. (gold bikini, duh)
-I now think Harrison Ford is a bad-A not just for his role in the Fugitive.

-I now know that "Do or do not, there is no try" is from Star Wars. (I honestly just thought it was a nice anonymous inspirational quote.)

-I now tell Alex that it looks like we are going into HYPERSPACE when we drive through a snow storm.

The end. No more Star Wars talk, I promise. Until Halloween. (I think you'll be surprised.)

A Christmas Devoid of Nerf Herders (Scruffy Looking or Otherwise)

2010-01-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

I wanted to write a short note about one of the Christmas presents Jane gave to me this year. It's not something you can hold in your hand--no, this is the special kind of intangible gift between husband and wife...

She watched the original* Star Wars trilogy with me.

Like most suburban white males I grew up watching Star Wars and dreaming of galaxies far, far away. I grew up with romanticized views of technology, science and space. These views eventually led me into a technical major in college. I felt it was only natural that my wife should see what had influenced me so profoundly.

So after Christmas we tried to watch A New Hope but Jane only made it about a quarter of the way through before falling asleep (I forgot how slow the beginning of that movie is). We tried again at her house and made it through all three (Jane still missed the Mos Eisley cantina through the garbage chute scene but that's ok).

I was delighted by how well Jane liked Star Wars! Even with my constant pausing to discuss the influence of certain scenes on pop culture! Even though I imitated the wookie call each time Chewbacca came on screen!

Jane wanted to fill in the rest of the story by watching the prequels but I put my foot down--I will not stand by and allow her view of Star Wars to be tainted. I told her she can read the plot synopses on Wikipedia. It's bad enough that George Lucas tampered with the original recordings.

Now we can both laugh when I say "It's a trap!" or " but I was going to go to Toshi Station and pick up some power converters!" or "Never tell me the odds." We also planned out the next three years of Halloween costumes and one maternity costume alternate if circumstances demand. What a Merry Christmas.

*We watched the special editions, which I do not technically consider the original Star Wars trilogy.

DID YOU KNOW?

2010-01-24T22:59:00.000-08:00

To those of you who are of my generation: did you love watching Bill Nye videos in junior high? Remember when he would say "DID YOU KNOW?" then tell you something random and finish it off with an emphatic "NOW YOU KNOW!" ?

Honestly, there is no real reason for this post--except that it is late and I can't sleep. The mister is out of town, put up in a fancy hotel for a job interview, and I feel pretty sad with him being gone. I think this coincides with the fact that I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close over the weekend. My crying over a fictitious letter written by Stephen Hawking to a fictitious 8-year-old-boy--oh, and the theme of loss--somehow blurred into crying about how I feel lonely when Alex is gone.

(I know, I'm a baby. I also know that that book came out a long time ago and all the cool kids have already read it, but I'm okay with being late in the game. It was a good book.)

Back to Bill Nye. To distract me from the quietness around here, I now present my own version of "DID YOU KNOW?" à la things that we normally don't write about. Admittedly, learning random facts about us is probably highly uninteresting, whereas watching kids in lab coats do science experiments and make music videos is highly exciting. But nonetheless:

DID YOU KNOW?

1. I've been suffering a recurring dream that has been going on for months. It happened again this weekend. In the dream, I am trying to get to the airport to board a flight to Paris (!), but somehow something gets in the way and I can't get there. Each time it is slightly different. Sometimes I make it to the airport but can't get to the terminal. This time I was late and trying to pack my bags and everything was as if in slow motion. There were hundreds of things I kept needing to add to my luggage. I always wake up tense and panicked and really disappointed about the Paris thing.

This dream probably speaks volumes about me and my chronic childhood tardiness. Analyze away.

2. I am terrified of Pee Wee Herman--in that way that some people are terrified of clowns. Like, I will probably break down crying if you ever play a prank on me and make me watch him.

We watched the last episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien online this weekend. It was all fun and games until Pee Wee Herman came onto the scene. Alex had to fast forward through his appearance while I closed my eyes. Why, Conan, WHY? Does anyone else find Pee Wee (why am I acting like that is an acceptable first name) equally creepy?

3. We recently had a little issue in our apartment with sugar ants. I hate even talking about it. After a piece of cookie dough dropped under a cupboard without us knowing, we had some little visitors. When I first found a swarm of them, I panicked and all I could think of was to vacuum them up. Then I stood there not knowing what to do with the vacuum. We emptied them outside in the snow.

I soon started developing a better game plan, borderlining on fanaticism. I cleaned the kitchen carefully so as not to leave behind any crumbs. I wiped the floors down with vinegar to destroy any scent trails, and sprinkled cinnamon and pepper flakes all around the perimeter of the kitchen. Ants apparently hate this. I was desperate and yet attempting to be "non-toxic"--a nice idea, but not very effective.

When nothing worked, I gave up and went to a hardware store, picked up a $4 can with a giant ant graphic on the front, and brought it home. Nevermind that one of the ingredients was benzenesomething or other (which I'm pretty sure equals carcinogen), nevermind that I had a headache immediately upon spraying it in the kitchen, had to open all our windows and leave the house for several hours, and then suffered a change in my chemical makeup where I could only think of eating Wendy's for the next four days (wait, maybe that wasn't related). What I'm trying to say is that the chemical warfare killed those little pests. I feel kind of bad about it, but take comfort in no longer having to proclaim "I'm going to get you" while wielding the Swiffer on the poor unsuspecting creatures.

NOW YOU KNOW...

P.S. Okay Alex, you can come home now.

P.P.S. BILL! BILL! BILL!

We're alive...and stuff

2010-01-21T23:11:00.001-08:00

Gosh, I guess when you go weeks without posting something it feels kind of weird to start up again without some explanation. Not that we're that great about keeping this up regularly, but we try. We don't really have an explanation for our recent lack of effort. Sorry Mom. (I suppose I still owe you the New Year's Eve photo...)

A little update of sorts: going into this new year is exciting for us. Alex is in his last semester of undergrad, is sending off graduate school applications and is flying across the country soon for a job interview. I am anxious and excited to see where we will end up as this year progresses.

As for me...well, I'm re-working my life goals after recently abandoning my former career plans. I'll likely elaborate about it later. I'm in school again right now and will be done in August with...um...another bachelor's degree. Random, I know. I feel really good about what I'm doing, though. Hopefully with my two BA's in hand (admittedly kind of silly and superfluous) I'll finally be off to grad school with Alex.

Anyway, I realize this post basically sounds like a dumb Christmas letter!

More later...

(That's how I end all my journal entries. That and "Love, Jane" in weird swirly handwriting. I never learned real cursive.)

2010

2010-01-05T01:04:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!