Life has been good

As I've been here in Oregon enjoying a rather different holiday than usual, I can't help but think how blessed I have been and continue to be in my life. I have always been given what I needed even when I didn't know that's what I was missing. Life continues to simply be grand and I'm sure it will only get better. I thought I'd share some of the little seen pictures as I blog from the home computer. Some are cute but mostly they're just hilarious.
I loved those silky star pajamas. This Christmas was also the year I got the hand held cotton candy maker. mmmmm...cotton candy
Please notice how ill fitting all of our jeans are. Women's fashion has come a long way since then.
FINE! I totally did ruin this picture.
So we went to Boston in 2001 when PT Cruisers were new and SO cool. Of course we had to get a picture with Kendall and me standing through the sunroof.
Delphine! Remember how she could never get our drinks right? And where is Kendall in this picture? Check out my sweet corn rows. hahahah.

I hope you enjoyed the little flashback. Happy Thanksgiving!

Airport Adventures

The great blizzard of 2010 got me stuck in the Salt Lake airport last night for about 5 hours. I got to the airport and the snow had not started falling. Around 5:30pm the storm unleashed its furry. I have never seen snow like I did last night. The wind was blowing and the snow was falling and you could hardly see out the window because everything was white. Needless to say my flight got delayed, and delayed again, and then delayed a third time. I really didn't mind so much. I had a nice chair to sit in, a book to read and my flight wasn't canceled like so many of the other ones. Because I didn't really want to lose my fancy chair, I sat down almost the whole time. It gave me a lot of time to observe the different people in the airport. This is what I've noticed.

There are three types of people that react to a flight delay
1. The ones that get angry/frustrated at the people working in the airport. (which I don't understand because it's not like the airport employees can control an airplane)
2. The ones that instantly become super friendly with the airport employees in hopes that it will increase their chances of getting on a flight (but seriously? does that help anyone?)
3. The people that patiently sit around and catch little snippets and updates from people around them. (the majority of people) I fall into this catagory

Everyone has a laptop. Was it like this even a few years ago?

Most of the men with laptops were playing computer games or watching a movie.

Quite a few women with laptops were catching up on their online shopping.

There are some people that would just prefer to stand up and wait for the plane.

The airport food of choice is definitely Burger King.

Most of the single travelers had headphones in/on the whole time we sat there.

The airport gets sort of cold when you sit around forever.

Eventually our flight got out of there. I escaped the winter wonderland and made it safely to Reno, NV and then all the way to Portland, OR. I waited outside in the cold, breathing in the deliciously cold and clean air of the Northwest. It's great to be home.

Best Thing Ever = Harry Potter 7

Before:

After:



That's right...I just got back from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premiere and it blew my mind. Like seriously, all the best action and forward moving plot of movie 5 combined with the cute/funny little snippets of movie 6. July cannot come fast enough.

Perspective

School is hard. Especially when you're in a class called statistics. It's a little bit discouraging when you spend all day studying, think your doing great, take the exam, and then don't do so hot. aye aye aye.

On the bright side, tomorrow is Thursday (the start of my weekend for those of you that don't read this blog all too often) and Alyssa and I get to go to the midnight Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 movie. I can't wait to be a part of history.

I go home for thanksgiving one week from today.

I've finally convinced Alyssa that it's okay to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. It's just an extension of the holiday season!

I go home for Christmas one month from today!

It doesn't really matter what grade I get in statistics as long as it's above a C because I already got into the BYU Nursing program!

This weekend I...

Slept in until 10am without even making myself sleep.
Studied for like 45 minutes before I figured out that I really have no motivation to memorize all the chemistry involved in glycolysis, krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation
Discovered that I really love to do things while laying in bed. There is just no feeling like being warm in your bed, laying down, and knowing that you're getting stuff done. Especially if it's real cold in your apartment.
Made cookies for Dad's birthday.
Ate a J-dawg with some of my favorite people.
"Killed it" in Beauty more than twice. Stupid stop signs.
Started listening to Bon Iver and couldn't stop.
Attended a baby shower for Kendall and enjoyed some great food. That baby is coming so soon!
Spilled body spray all over my hands. They still smell like white gardenias.
Realized that the semester is nearly finished! Really only one week of class, then Thanksgiving break, and then two weeks of school and finals. And then I'm a nursing student. AH!
Remembered that I have a Christmas tree pin to wear as soon as Thanksgiving is over.
Started sewing Christmas decorations
Watched Thoroughly Modern Millie with Alyssa and totally loved it. I think it helped that people kept telling us how awful it was before we watched it.
Chatted with Amanda at least three times
Cleaned off the mountain of junk from my desk.
Sang in sacrament with my FHE group.
Realized that it's going to be a long, cold winter in my top corner bedroom.

If you love something, you should probably name it

It's probably not news to most of you that I was the victim of bike theft this summer. I walked out to church one Sunday morning and this is all that remained of my mode of transportation.
I am convinced that the reason said bike was stolen was because I never named it.

Naming a car is a tricky thing. You've got to pick the right name to fit the car's personality (you cannot name a black Escalade "Rainbow") while keeping it original (a white car named Snowball, are you for serious?). For example, a few years ago Kendall and I dubbed the Honda Odyssey mini-van Rocky (short for rocket ship) because a.) it's a beast like the great Rocky Balboa and b.) it sounds like the ship may just take off while you drive it.
The second example, and one very close to my heart, is Cher the 1995 Dodge Spirit. Now, Cher was my girl all through the last two years of high school. Kendall and I wanted to pick a name that was classy (she had an automatic seat belt!) but still a little bit trashy (there were a few cigarette burns on the upholstery). Cher just seemed to fit perfectly.
In order to keep all current and future modes of transportation safe from damage and theft, they have been named. The beautiful bike that Aunt Cheri was kind enough to lend me has been named Firenze after the centaur in Harry Potter that is old, wise, and kind to Harry in the forbidden forest. (And yes, I am comparing myself to Harry Potter and Provo is the forbidden forest, deal with it) And in anticipation of what is to come, I've named the Black Jetta Beauty because a.) having a car to use is a beautiful thing and b.) it's short for Black Beauty, like the mighty stallion, because I hear it has a pretty powerful engine. Oh, and the car is actually black.

In memory of my long lost (unnamed) bike, I've purchased a necklace with a bedazzled bike. I'm glad it could teach me to name the things that are important before they are gone forever. And thank goodness it was only a bike!

Something died on my face

I think I'm discovering that I'm an awful writer. I mean, give me a topic and I can bust out an A+ quality five paragraph essay in no time but ask me to write something creative and more likely than not you'll be disappointed. That being said I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for my Halloween holiday. The quick sum up: I went to my roommates house in Alpine for a party with her family and some friends on Utah Halloween (aka Saturday night 10/30). I decided to be a dad for Halloween a) because I'm a little bit lazy and b) I'm sort of obsessed with mustaches right now.






Alyssa and I are really great at being awkward with other people which makes things pretty hilarious. And just in case you're wondering, I am indeed dying for another occasion to wear my dad mustache.