I hope he doesn't think this is really what I look like when I'm nursing. At least I wear pants.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Embarrassing things to show kids when they're in high school
I hope he doesn't think this is really what I look like when I'm nursing. At least I wear pants.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
About my husband
I feel a little weird answering a "tag" because for me they're so reminiscent of all those chain e-mails that get so obnoxious. But when I get tagged to talk about my husband, how can I pass that up? (However, while the e-mails get on my nerves a little bit, it is fun to read people's responses to tags, and I often insert my own answers as I'm reading them. So if you love tags, or ever want to tag one of us, don't be put off!)
Here are some fun facts about my favorite man in the world, and some pictures if I can find some to match:
Where we met.
Paul and I met on July 24, 2004 when we went on a blind date set up by his sister Marianne. I was a Conference Assistant at Deseret Towers, and he was recently home from his mission. Our first "meeting" was on the threshold of the S-Hall office/Marianne's apartment.
Us in Marianne's aparment, but not on our blind date. That would have been awkward.
How long we dated before we got married.
As I said, we met at the end of July. We were married on May 28, 2005, making our courtship-prior-to-marriage ten months long (or short, however you want to look at it).
How long have we been married?
We will celebrate our fourth anniversary this year.
My favorite feature about him.
I assume this is about physical features, since the next one is about qualities. Well, I have always loved his dark hair. I also like that he's taller than me. That sounds lame, but it's true. I like that I can feel shorter and feminine standing next to him and his manly muscles. I like that his build is not too gigantic and not too soft and skinny, if that makes sense.
My favorite qualities about him/what I admire most about him. (I combined the two because I think they're the same thing.)
I love his excitement for things. I love his enthusiasm. A couple of years ago we went to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which I'd been to several times growing up, and Paul was so into it! It really made me take a second look at something that I was "used to" and say, "Hey, this really is pretty cool!"
I love his confidence in himself. Whereas I'm one who doubts my talents and good qualities until experience or other people affirm that they're true, Paul just knows, but not in a stuck-up sort of way. He knows that he's skilled with tools. He knows that he's good at music. He knows that he has talent with a camera. He knows that he's qualified to do his job. I think confidence like that is so empowering, and I wish I had more of it. Rather than feeling so-so about whether he can do something well, he just does it and learns from what happens.
This is the ottoman/chest that Paul made for us when we were living in Wyview.
I love that he's no stranger to serving others. If someone needs help, he never hesitates to offer his services if he's available. When people call me when he's not around, asking if Paul can help with something, I know that I can say yes for him without asking him first because I know that he would say yes if he were there. He's just that kind of person.
His nickname for me.
I'll share the less-embarrassing ones. Lovey is most common. Sweetheart, too. He calls me Dear most often when we're in public.
His favorite color.
Cougar blue!
His favorite food.
Paul is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. He loves a good burger, a good chocolate chip cookie, and a cold glass of milk. He's pretty easy to please, lucky for me. He's also a fan of good camping food, particularly Dutch oven cooking.
Speaking of his favorite foods, this is his favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe:
His favorite sport.
Need you ask? BYU football, of course! He'll watch almost any sport, but I think football is his favorite. In high school he was a swimming and lacrosse champ.
Who said "I love you" first?
He did. We were on a walk near BYU campus after dating for a couple of months. We ended up at the Marriott Center and were talking near the Victory Bell when he said it, and I said it, too.
When and where we had our first kiss.
It was Homecoming weekend in October 2004. I'm pretty sure it was Sunday because I think I had been expecting it all weekend and he finally did it on Sunday night. He was dropping me off at my apartment, and just before I went inside he smooched me! I really don't remember all the details since I was quite surprised. But I do remember this: Before he did it he said, "What would you say if I asked if I could kiss you?" And I said, "I would say no because I'd be too scared!" And then he kissed me anyway, which is why I was surprised and don't remember much about the following moments.
Another thing: One of the first things Marianne told me about Paul, before I had even met him, was that he had decided that he would only kiss the girl that he would want to marry. So you can imagine the significance of that kiss for me.
Favorite thing to do as a couple.
I joked with Paul that I was going to say "watch TV." But thankfully that's not really our favorite thing to do as a couple. We used to really like playing games together, but that has become really hard now that we have little kids who want to "participate." I guess I could say one of our favorite things to do is just talk. When it's hard to get out and do other sorts of "couple" things, we can at least just talk about stuff that's going on.
Our kids.
We have two little boys. Benjamin is 2. Rhett is 7 months old. We love them both to death. My favorite "dad" thing about him is that he is such a proud father. He loves to tell people the boys' latest developmental feats, and could go on for hours about the potential for this or that that he sees in each of them. I know that our kids will never be without a supportive dad who will be cheering for them no matter what.
His hidden talent.
I really can't think of anything hidden. He has a lot of talents that not everyone knows about but many people have seen. None of the ones I'm thinking of involve strange body talents, but when I asked Paul what his hidden talents are, he said, "I can burp on command."
His age.
He is 25 years old.
His favorite music.
He doesn't really have a favorite. He's fairly well-rounded when it comes to music. The things he doesn't like to listen to include country, rap, and heavy metal music.
His favorite pastimes.
ESPN. Dutch oven cooking. Riding his mountain bike. Camping. Constructing things with his power tools. In no particular order. I think.
Will he read this?
Oh yes. He's been dying for me to write it for a week!
I love you, Lovey!
Here are some fun facts about my favorite man in the world, and some pictures if I can find some to match:
Where we met.
Paul and I met on July 24, 2004 when we went on a blind date set up by his sister Marianne. I was a Conference Assistant at Deseret Towers, and he was recently home from his mission. Our first "meeting" was on the threshold of the S-Hall office/Marianne's apartment.
Us in Marianne's aparment, but not on our blind date. That would have been awkward.How long we dated before we got married.
As I said, we met at the end of July. We were married on May 28, 2005, making our courtship-prior-to-marriage ten months long (or short, however you want to look at it).
How long have we been married?We will celebrate our fourth anniversary this year.
My favorite feature about him.
I assume this is about physical features, since the next one is about qualities. Well, I have always loved his dark hair. I also like that he's taller than me. That sounds lame, but it's true. I like that I can feel shorter and feminine standing next to him and his manly muscles. I like that his build is not too gigantic and not too soft and skinny, if that makes sense.
My favorite qualities about him/what I admire most about him. (I combined the two because I think they're the same thing.)
I love his excitement for things. I love his enthusiasm. A couple of years ago we went to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which I'd been to several times growing up, and Paul was so into it! It really made me take a second look at something that I was "used to" and say, "Hey, this really is pretty cool!"
I love his confidence in himself. Whereas I'm one who doubts my talents and good qualities until experience or other people affirm that they're true, Paul just knows, but not in a stuck-up sort of way. He knows that he's skilled with tools. He knows that he's good at music. He knows that he has talent with a camera. He knows that he's qualified to do his job. I think confidence like that is so empowering, and I wish I had more of it. Rather than feeling so-so about whether he can do something well, he just does it and learns from what happens.
This is the ottoman/chest that Paul made for us when we were living in Wyview.His nickname for me.
I'll share the less-embarrassing ones. Lovey is most common. Sweetheart, too. He calls me Dear most often when we're in public.
His favorite color.
Cougar blue!
His favorite food.
Paul is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. He loves a good burger, a good chocolate chip cookie, and a cold glass of milk. He's pretty easy to please, lucky for me. He's also a fan of good camping food, particularly Dutch oven cooking.
Speaking of his favorite foods, this is his favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
Cream butter and sugars. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add salt, baking soda, and flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for about 9 minutes.
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
Cream butter and sugars. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add salt, baking soda, and flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for about 9 minutes.
His favorite sport.
Need you ask? BYU football, of course! He'll watch almost any sport, but I think football is his favorite. In high school he was a swimming and lacrosse champ.
Who said "I love you" first?
He did. We were on a walk near BYU campus after dating for a couple of months. We ended up at the Marriott Center and were talking near the Victory Bell when he said it, and I said it, too.
When and where we had our first kiss.
It was Homecoming weekend in October 2004. I'm pretty sure it was Sunday because I think I had been expecting it all weekend and he finally did it on Sunday night. He was dropping me off at my apartment, and just before I went inside he smooched me! I really don't remember all the details since I was quite surprised. But I do remember this: Before he did it he said, "What would you say if I asked if I could kiss you?" And I said, "I would say no because I'd be too scared!" And then he kissed me anyway, which is why I was surprised and don't remember much about the following moments.
Another thing: One of the first things Marianne told me about Paul, before I had even met him, was that he had decided that he would only kiss the girl that he would want to marry. So you can imagine the significance of that kiss for me.
Favorite thing to do as a couple.
I joked with Paul that I was going to say "watch TV." But thankfully that's not really our favorite thing to do as a couple. We used to really like playing games together, but that has become really hard now that we have little kids who want to "participate." I guess I could say one of our favorite things to do is just talk. When it's hard to get out and do other sorts of "couple" things, we can at least just talk about stuff that's going on.
Our kids.
We have two little boys. Benjamin is 2. Rhett is 7 months old. We love them both to death. My favorite "dad" thing about him is that he is such a proud father. He loves to tell people the boys' latest developmental feats, and could go on for hours about the potential for this or that that he sees in each of them. I know that our kids will never be without a supportive dad who will be cheering for them no matter what.
His hidden talent.
I really can't think of anything hidden. He has a lot of talents that not everyone knows about but many people have seen. None of the ones I'm thinking of involve strange body talents, but when I asked Paul what his hidden talents are, he said, "I can burp on command."
His age.
He is 25 years old.
His favorite music.
He doesn't really have a favorite. He's fairly well-rounded when it comes to music. The things he doesn't like to listen to include country, rap, and heavy metal music.
His favorite pastimes.
ESPN. Dutch oven cooking. Riding his mountain bike. Camping. Constructing things with his power tools. In no particular order. I think.
Will he read this?
Oh yes. He's been dying for me to write it for a week!
I love you, Lovey!
Christmas
I've been a real slacker in the blogging department. I wish this was more interesting and creative than just a recap of the holiday... but it's not. We didn't take as many pictures as we should have to document the festivities, so these will have to do.
Of course we didn't take many pictures on Christmas Eve, when a lot of the fun stuff happened. If we had, you would have been able to see the pine-and-berry garlands we strung up, the gingerbread cookies we made with our nieces, and the tasty Palestine dinner we ate on our living room floor. (Can you use the word tasty in a sentence that involves valu-brand fish sticks? We definitely learned our lesson about those!) The Palestine Dinner is a Christmas Eve tradition from Paul's family that includes foods that were probably eaten during the Savior's time: fish, olives, grape juice, unleavened bread (or, in our case, tortillas), etc.
Although all of our picture-worthy gingerbread cookies have long since been eaten, you can still have the recipe. It's the only one my family ever uses, and you can just file it away for next year, if you want.
We watched The Nativity Story, which we love. When I watched it for the first time last year at Paul's parents' house I was barely pregnant and it was very emotional for me. But even this year, although it wasn't so emotional, I was still struck by the thoughtful, if artistically embellished, depiction of that sacred story.
And here's where we did take pictures. With kids in bed we wrapped up last-minute gifts and helped Santa fill everyone's snow boots with goodies.
Christmas morning dawned with fresh white powder on the ground, and delighted squeals were heard as our nieces KristiAnne and EmmaLee saw their boots filled to the brim with treats and toys. Poor Benjamin's little boy heart was almost broken when the girls raced out for fear that they would take the precious matchbox cars Santa had left for him.
The babies chilled out on the floor while everyone else opened gifts.
Benjamin was delighted by a new set of toy kitchen pans and an apron with a Cougar "Y" on it that's just his size. Legos from Grandma Key were also a big hit.
And many giggles were heard as this awesome gift from us to Jason and Katie filled our living room:
The final gift was the doll that Paul made for me this year. It is a tradition that he has carried on from his dad, and something that we both look forward to each Christmas.
I love this doll. Paul calls it his "most abstract doll yet." I think that it's perfect for where we are living right now: It's made out of wood and pine cones from our backyard, and is carefully draped in shimmering strands of hot glue that remind me of the icy winter that we just had. I wish the picture did it justice, but it really is a creative piece of work!
Finally, who could pass up a good romp through the snow on Christmas Day? Paul and Jason (his brother, by the way) erected this "Matterhorn" of sorts with a tunnel through the bottom.
And that's (basically) it! I'll try to be better next time about documenting the details more carefully and punctually.
Of course we didn't take many pictures on Christmas Eve, when a lot of the fun stuff happened. If we had, you would have been able to see the pine-and-berry garlands we strung up, the gingerbread cookies we made with our nieces, and the tasty Palestine dinner we ate on our living room floor. (Can you use the word tasty in a sentence that involves valu-brand fish sticks? We definitely learned our lesson about those!) The Palestine Dinner is a Christmas Eve tradition from Paul's family that includes foods that were probably eaten during the Savior's time: fish, olives, grape juice, unleavened bread (or, in our case, tortillas), etc.
Although all of our picture-worthy gingerbread cookies have long since been eaten, you can still have the recipe. It's the only one my family ever uses, and you can just file it away for next year, if you want.
Gingerbread Cookies
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sift flour, baking soda, salt and spices onto waxed paper. Beat vegetable shortening with sugar until fluffy in a large bowl; beat in molasses, egg, and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time, blending well after each addition, to make a soft dough. Wrap dough in foil and chill 4 hours, or overnight. Roll out dough, one quarter at a time, to a 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured pastry board.Cut with 3" cookie cutters. Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) 8 minutes, or until cookies are firm but not too dark. Remove to wire rack with spatula, cool.
I ignore the sifting part and just stir all the dry stuff together. I also found, thanks to my mom, that using powdered sugar instead of flour when you roll out the cookies works great!
And here's where we did take pictures. With kids in bed we wrapped up last-minute gifts and helped Santa fill everyone's snow boots with goodies.
Christmas morning dawned with fresh white powder on the ground, and delighted squeals were heard as our nieces KristiAnne and EmmaLee saw their boots filled to the brim with treats and toys. Poor Benjamin's little boy heart was almost broken when the girls raced out for fear that they would take the precious matchbox cars Santa had left for him.
The babies chilled out on the floor while everyone else opened gifts.
Benjamin was delighted by a new set of toy kitchen pans and an apron with a Cougar "Y" on it that's just his size. Legos from Grandma Key were also a big hit.
And many giggles were heard as this awesome gift from us to Jason and Katie filled our living room:
The final gift was the doll that Paul made for me this year. It is a tradition that he has carried on from his dad, and something that we both look forward to each Christmas.
I love this doll. Paul calls it his "most abstract doll yet." I think that it's perfect for where we are living right now: It's made out of wood and pine cones from our backyard, and is carefully draped in shimmering strands of hot glue that remind me of the icy winter that we just had. I wish the picture did it justice, but it really is a creative piece of work!
Finally, who could pass up a good romp through the snow on Christmas Day? Paul and Jason (his brother, by the way) erected this "Matterhorn" of sorts with a tunnel through the bottom.
And that's (basically) it! I'll try to be better next time about documenting the details more carefully and punctually.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Discovery
Last week was one of discovery for our boys.
Benjamin discovered rainbows.
(It was reflecting off of one of his toys.)Rhett discovered a friend in the mirror.
Benjamin discovered how fun it is to take self-portraits in front on the mirror...
(Look at those new molars!)
He also learned that Jell-O tastes like juice and is worth every last drop.
Finally (for now), Rhett learned to crawl!
(This was yesterday morning.)
I should probably go vacuum my floor...
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies
I was craving cookies with cranberries in them after I bought a big bag of Craisins from Costco the other day. So I took my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie recipe (from an old Encyclopedia Brown book I bought when I was a kid), made a couple of substitutions, and came up with these. We liked them so much I made them twice in a week.
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
2 t. vanilla
2 eggs
grated peel of 1 orange
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 1/3 + 1/2 c. flour
3 c. uncooked oats
1 1/2 c. dried cranberries
Cream together butter and sugars. Stir in vanilla, eggs, orange peel, baking soda, and salt. Add flour and oats; stir in cranberries. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until slightly brown. Remove to cooling racks.
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