Christmas

So, this Christmas was a great one! Branden and I spent Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day at my uncle's house here in Provo. Not only was it the first Christmas that Branden and I spent together, but it was my first White Christmas. I do recall having some snow in Asheville one year, but it was nothing like this. We've had snow here for a while, and like everyone being battered by snow storms, there was already snow covering the ground. Then Christmas eve it started snowing, and continued on through Christmas day.
Not only was the snow a great gift, but so were the presents. I really enjoyed picking out the gifts for my cousins. That was neat. I started picking them out one-by-one, and by the end I was all worried about everyone not liking what they got. All in all though, I think Branden and I did a pretty good job picking everything out. Thanks to everyone who sent me stuff from home! It was great. Some of my favorites are probably my apron, the black fuzzy slippers, the plant, the dvd, and the white snow boots. Those things make winter much more bearable. Branden got Elk sausage, a nice winter coat, and a book by Hugh Nibly. That was the only present that I was able to surprise him with, because he was with me when we found the coat that Grandma and I gave to him.


My favorite thing though (aside from being with family) was probably the baking. Christmas eve I made Branden's mom's apple pie, a chocolate chess pie, and my grandma's carrot cake. The cake wasn't quite as pretty as I usually make them, but I hope the flavor was still there. The apple pie was a pretty big hit. It made me happy, because I just learned how to make those over Thanksgiving, and I've never been one for apple pie, but I like it. I keep getting the crust better every time. Then Christmas Day I went back home and made the pecan pie that I ran out of time to make Christmas eve. I've decided that I just don't like the taste of pecan pie. Maybe I can find a way to tweak the recipe so that I like it in the future. HOWEVER, the best dessert of all, was the pound cake that Aunt Lisa made from my granda's recipe. That was good.

Thanksgiving

Ok, so everyone's been asking me about how Thanksgiving was. I'll admit, it was pretty awesome. Branden and I got to spend almost a whole week in the home he grew up in. We started out with just a low key night when we got in, but everything went really fast after that. I don't even remember what we did on Wednesday, but Thursday for Thanksgiving, we went to Branden's aunt's house. It was neat. They're a really nice family, and I felt pretty comfortable considering that I was completely surrounded by people I didn't know. It was a fun day, and I ate way too much! After we ate, we went to join another family for a second dessert. I completely overate! --But I did get to try Branden's mom's pie. I can't wait to try to bake one myself.

Friday was an awesome day! We went to Palmyra to see all of the church history sites and to do baptisms at the temple. Although it was amazing to actually see where the whole thing started, I already believed in it. And for me, for some reason, seeing it didn't really make a huge difference (perhaps it's because I was freezing). I can't wait to go back one day when it's warmer and I can actually spend some time there.


We also saw the Smith farm, and the two houses that the family lived in. I was so amazed by the story of the women who decided that they wouldn't murmur when they were forced to move out of their beautiful home (that Alvin was building when he passed away) and back into the tiny log cabin. I really don't think I'd be able to do that if someone practically stole my home from me. I'd probably bet bitter for quite a while, but that just shows what amazing people raised Joseph.

After that, we went for food at McDonalds, and then went to check out the site of the printing of the Book of Mormon. It's such a miracle that the Book of Mormon was even printed. And it's neat the way the Church has built an exhibit that incorporates teh building. After all that we went to see the Hill Cummorah before we changed to go to the temple. It's more like a small mountain than a hill. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting anything more than a little mound. It was really neat, and really cold! We went inside the visitor's center to watch a video and then change for the temple.

It was such a perfect way to end the day. After feeling such gratitude for having the gospel in my life, it was great to be able to share that with spirits waiting to be baptized.

Christmas Wishlist

So, I've gotten a few questions about what I want for Christmas. Since I keep forgetting, I figure that I can include information here. If you plan on getting me something from here, check the comments for this post. If no one else has commented on that item, just leave a comment listing what you plan on getting. I won't look at them, but that way I won't get 10 flirty aprons. :-)

Laptop Power Cord- mine doesn't work anymore. My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 600m. I'm pretty sure this is the right power cord. I'm going to check on it when I get home. They have them even cheaper at other websites, but I've included the link to the Dell site.


Flirty Apron


Scrapbook Organizer - Something I can keep my markers, stamps, paper, card stock, photos, scissors, etc. in.

Paper Cutter - I really like the one Aunt Lisa has. I need it to be long enough so that I can cut full scrapbook pages.

I Dream of Jeannie - Season 4 - you can get these anywhere. The last time I did comparison shopping, Amazon had the best prices.


I Dream of Jeannie - Season 5


Corningware 1.5Q round French White casserole dish - I already have both the plastic and the glass tops for this. Someone borrowed mine last year and never gave it back. I can't find it online, but I have seen it often at grocery stores. I specifically remember seeing it at Smith's.


Jeans - Midnight Rinse, size 4 Long, from the website below, or from your local express store.

Classic Entertainment

So, for those of you who don't know, I'm currently on a classic TV kick: Bewitched, the Wonder Years, My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch. But -- my top favorite has got to be I Dream of Jeannie. The other show that I've gotten hooked on with my roommates is What I Like About You. I basically want to be (a less insane version of) Val.

I was just wasting time tonight, when I did a search of I Dream of Jeannie, and found out that a motion picture remake is scheduled for 2010. Seeing as how they don't even have a cast posted on imdb.com yet, I'm assuming that it's not going to happen that soon. Early picks for the actress to play Jeannie included Lindsay Lohan, but that was over 5 years ago that that was announced, and the girl's got a black mark all over her now.

After trying to figure out who would be a good Jeannie, I think I finally have it... Jennie Garth. If only I could ge the producers to see that, and to stick Jennie in a time machine to take off the few years since her What I Like About You days. But then again... she is only 36, and Barbara Eden was 30 at the time she started playing Jeannie. My other pick of course would be myself. Haha. Wouldn't that be fun? If only I acted...

Volvo Ocean Race Game

So, for anyone who likes sailing, you should absolutely sign up for the Volvo Ocean Race Game. It's a race around the world, and something you just get to fiddle with every day. It's pretty neat, and the winner gets a car. Though, at this moment, your odds aren't very good, because there are over 70,000 players (and they first started celebrating when they reached 1,000). BUT when you start if it's not on an official starting day, they plop you right down in the bottom 20%, and I've noticed that if you know a little about sailing you seem to have a bit of an advantage. It's really fun. I think I might even make it a sailing club contest.
My boat is the red one in the center. The gray boat at the top is Matt's. If you join, make sure to add me as a friend. My boat name is Lady Picasso. I just looked at the schedule, and it seems like I'm going to be doing this until June.

Go Play!

Why Blog?

So, I don't know why, but for the past few weeks I've been very tempted to start a blog. So, I guess I'll start one. This way I can post stuff so that family and friends can keep up with what's going on in my life. I'm using a page layout created by