a few weeks ago ricks and i got the chance to go see david sedaris. he was in town performing a book reading at the mondavi center on uc davis campus. ricks and i both really love david sedaris and have taken a collection of his short stories with us on vacation ever since our honeymoon. at the reading he read a few monologues and stories from his new book, "lets explore diabetes with owls." he is considered a humorist and so his stories are very funny but also give you pause to think about life and bigger issues. one of our favorite stories from his new book was about trying to one-up his depressed sister. very funny stuff. he also shared some very funny anecdotes from his personal diary that included many stories from his various book tour travels. on occasion, his humor strays toward potty humor... which we totally think is hilarious! haha!
here is a pg-13 joke that someone shared with him when he was on tour in SLC and that he shared with the audience in davis:
a man and a woman were on an elevator. after a moment of silence, the man confessed that he was on his way to donate sperm because he gets paid $50. the woman moaned, 'aw, i only get $5 for plasma!' a month later they found each other on the same elevator. the man said, 'are you back to give more plasma?' and the woman, with an obviously full mouth, shook her head and replied 'mm mm.
so... that is david sedaris!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
game night.
lately ricks and i have been hosting game nights every few sundays at our place. it has been a lot of fun to get to know our friends a little better and relax a bit on sundays. ricks has also started hosting LAN parties at our house once every few weeks or so. we love playing games and this has been a really fun way for us to play games with someone other than each other! depending on the size of the group we play group games, board games, or card games or video games at the LAN parties. i tend to like the more social games like "smurf" or "celebrity" while ricks like more of the thinking games like stone age and dominion. its been fun to play a bit of everything.
haircut.
since getting married, i had this idea that i really wanted to grow my hair out and have long luscious locks. well the longer my hair got, the less inclined i was to spend the time doing it in the mornings (read: drying long hair takes forever, especially when you have thick hair). most days i just tied it up in a top-knot and forgot about it. i have had a long history of not doing my hair - at one point in jr. high, my dad agreed to paid me $50 bucks if i would wear my hair down for 30 days in a row. well it was getting to the ridiculous point so a cut was in order.
when i went to get it cut, it told my sweet hair stylist that i was going blond! so we cut it and dyed it and then when i got home, i had a major identity crisis. i quickly learned that i just cannot handle being blond and so i scheduled another appt to color my hair back to brown. here is photo evidence of the 10 hours that i was a blond:
when i went to get it cut, it told my sweet hair stylist that i was going blond! so we cut it and dyed it and then when i got home, i had a major identity crisis. i quickly learned that i just cannot handle being blond and so i scheduled another appt to color my hair back to brown. here is photo evidence of the 10 hours that i was a blond:
Sunday, December 2, 2012
general life update.
ricks and i are both right in the midst of finals. however, mine are drawing to a close and ricks have only just begun. i will mostly be done with all of my work come wednesday with only a few last bits to wrap up before i am actually done and ricks will take his first final wednesday and the remaining on the following wednesday and thursday and then a take home final that he just has to finish before the 21st. friday we will be flying to utah for a glorious 3 week break. we are so entirely thrilled to go to utah and spend every day with family! we have lots and lots of fun fun plans including squishing 3 really cute triplets, seeing cyndi and jed after 2 long years of living a country apart, celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary, and spending time with all of our other family and friends that we miss every second that we are in davis.
we are both really happy here, though. i have been volunteering at the library helping with all sorts of odds and ends which has been a ton of fun. we have been cooking up a storm as well. we have been obsessing over homemade pretzels, homemade fries, and cookies and mousses of every variety. we also have been on a trader joes sweet binge for the last year and a half, but the holidays take it to a whole new level with the limited release of their peppermint joe joes and chocolate covered peppermint joe joes. we have been enjoying the new whole foods that opened up a whole 2 minute walk away. we havent purchase much there (expensive!!) but we sure have enjoyed 2 or 3 day nights perusing their amazing ingredient selection.
ricks and i resumed our netflix account and have become SNL junkies. we are both in love with bill hader. oh, and we recently redecorated and switched out our yellowstone by moran for a more graphic triptych of charley harper national park posters. we even made the frames that are holding them up! DIY champs! well, we would be if the frames didnt suck so much. the good movie drought abated when argo came out. we about died watching it, it was so good. ben affleck is such a good director. skyfall was fun. and we are really looking forward to seeing lincoln, djano unchained, and zero dark thirty. can you guess what our anniversary plans are going to be?
we are both really happy here, though. i have been volunteering at the library helping with all sorts of odds and ends which has been a ton of fun. we have been cooking up a storm as well. we have been obsessing over homemade pretzels, homemade fries, and cookies and mousses of every variety. we also have been on a trader joes sweet binge for the last year and a half, but the holidays take it to a whole new level with the limited release of their peppermint joe joes and chocolate covered peppermint joe joes. we have been enjoying the new whole foods that opened up a whole 2 minute walk away. we havent purchase much there (expensive!!) but we sure have enjoyed 2 or 3 day nights perusing their amazing ingredient selection.
ricks and i resumed our netflix account and have become SNL junkies. we are both in love with bill hader. oh, and we recently redecorated and switched out our yellowstone by moran for a more graphic triptych of charley harper national park posters. we even made the frames that are holding them up! DIY champs! well, we would be if the frames didnt suck so much. the good movie drought abated when argo came out. we about died watching it, it was so good. ben affleck is such a good director. skyfall was fun. and we are really looking forward to seeing lincoln, djano unchained, and zero dark thirty. can you guess what our anniversary plans are going to be?
the tree.
christmas time is officially here and the nativity, advent calendar, and christmas dishes are all a go! the christmas playlist has been created and plays 24/7 and white christmas has been watched. and the tree.... oh, the tree. this year ricks and i werent too excited to go buy a tree since we knew we would only be able to enjoy it for about 2 weeks before we head back to utah for the break. so.. instead, we went to my favorite ikea and purchased some fabric with a tree printed on it. i sewed an opening for the dowel to go through, screwed some eye hooks to either side of the dowel and hung it up on the curtain rod with some twine. we then hung some ornaments through the fabric and, wah lah! a beautiful, apartment space friendly tree! we seriously love it. when we first hung it up, we could not stop staring at it. we seriously just sat staring at it and talking about how awesome it was and how happy it made us. ah, christmas! we love you!
thanksgiving.
for thanksgiving this year we stuck around davis. we werent quite sure what we were going to do until the last minute but ended up having such a fun fun fun thanksgiving!! we ended up spending the day with the browns. we absolutely love the browns so it made for a really fun day. plus, since thanksgiving is a holiday focused on food, we were concerned about spending the day with good cooks. the browns are definitely good cooks. we split up responsibilities to ensure we covered all of our thanksgiving bases. i took over the pies (apple and pumpkin mousse), green beans, cranberries and ricks took on the turkey, gravy, and potatoes. gratefully the browns took on the rolls, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, chocolate pie, and green salad. we ate really well to say the least. afterward we chatted, played a fun (but lonnng game) of stone age, ate dessert, and kicked off the year with the first screening of elf!! and we are moving right on to christmas!!
Our feast!
A smoked turkey. Yum.
halloween.
ricks and i celebrated halloween early the saturday before with our good friends, the culbertsons. we went to the local corn maze which just so happened to be the LARGEST corn maze in the world. we were expecting to get way lost!! however, when we arrived, most of the maze had been ruined by storms. it ended up being a pretty simple maze due to all the damage, but it was still a lot of fun to be there with the culbertsons! afterward, we made caramel apples. we dipped our apples in caramel, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate! we had a ton of fun decorating them and drizzling the chocolate on in cool patterns. and... pictures:
Please excuse the blurriness!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
STARS
once a year, all of the ladies on my moms side of the family get together for a big event called STARS. (its an acronym for "sister time and retreat.") over the years it has evolved into one big sleepover. each of my moms sisters takes turns planning the event and this year my aunt nancy and her family, ashley, jessica, kallie, lindsie, and kelsie, were in charge and they arranged for us to stay at a cabin in fairview, ut. there are about 40 of us that attend and it is craziness in the best way possible.
its the same every year: we eat too many sweets, we play games (spoons, idiot, hand and foot), talk, talk, talk, stay up late, wake up early, eat, and then talk some more. this year we had the theme of hunger games and so we got to participate in some fun, non-deadly competition, like whistling the mockingjay song with 5 saltine crackers in your mouth. we put on silly makeup and arranged our hair into weird hairdos like we were at the capitol, too. we also got to go on a really beautiful hike. it was a blast and im always so grateful for such a fun and awesome family! im so glad i got to spend a lot of time with my mom, my sisters adriane and alicia, alicias cute babies, my sister-in-law paulina, and her sister romina, who also comes with us to STARS.
while in ut i was lucky enough to go flying with my sister adriane and to check out the fall leaves up spanish fork canyon, around strawberry, and down through provo canyon. it was such a beautiful day. i was so glad to see my grandmas, to be in town for a family dinner, to be able to spend precious time with my sweet parents and siblings, and to have a chance to really reconnect with family. and, as always, it is such a joy to come home to my sweet husband! i sure am a lucky girl to be surrounded by so many wonderful people in my life!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
a day in the city by the bay.
ricks and i wanted to do something fun for labor day- we wanted to go into the city! but... we didnt want to go into the city on labor day because we really didnt want to get stuck in traffic. ya with me? and so, instead of going on monday, we went friday! friday, what a good day! so, friday, after ricks' class ended at 11, we headed into san francisco. and man oh man! do we love san francisco! every time we go, we end up coming away loving it MORE!!! SF is one enchanting place.
this trip we ate lunch at the cheeseboard collective in berkeley. they make one type of pizza at the cheeseboard everyday. the customer's only option is to choose whether they want to buy a slice, 1/2 a pizza, or a whole pizza. we chose to buy a half of their roasted potato pizza. this pizza was so good. it had roasted potatoes, chilis, onions, feta, mozzarella, cilantro, lime, and olive oil on it. yuuum!
next stop: the ca academy of sciences. so... this place was pretty awesome. essentially, its an aquarium with a few other features. we saw tons of really unique creatures. we saw a leafy seadragon seahorse, manta rays and sting rays, small sharks, jellyfishes, pig-nosed turtles, an albino alligator named claude, cheetah-print eels (at least they looked that way to me), piranhas, and much more. it was way cool. we also experienced an earthquake simulation which was fun until i thought about how damaging those shakes can be. boo, earthquakes.
last but certainly not least: dessert at bi-rite creamery. now i have been wanting to do this for a while but for some reason (probably a good reason), we keep ending up back at ghiradelli square. this trip, i was insistent that we try bi-rite. and, you guys, bi-rite was a good choice. im boldly proclaiming that it was the best ice cream that i have ever had. ever. ricks agrees. i had good ole chocolate with a little honey lavender on the side. delish. other fun flavors include the regulars, strawberry balsamic, olive oil, and basil. im mad at myself for not getting the strawberry balsamic and basil but i didnt see it until after i ordered. next time.
it was such a fun day and i always cant wait to go back. i love you, sf!
this trip we ate lunch at the cheeseboard collective in berkeley. they make one type of pizza at the cheeseboard everyday. the customer's only option is to choose whether they want to buy a slice, 1/2 a pizza, or a whole pizza. we chose to buy a half of their roasted potato pizza. this pizza was so good. it had roasted potatoes, chilis, onions, feta, mozzarella, cilantro, lime, and olive oil on it. yuuum!
next stop: the ca academy of sciences. so... this place was pretty awesome. essentially, its an aquarium with a few other features. we saw tons of really unique creatures. we saw a leafy seadragon seahorse, manta rays and sting rays, small sharks, jellyfishes, pig-nosed turtles, an albino alligator named claude, cheetah-print eels (at least they looked that way to me), piranhas, and much more. it was way cool. we also experienced an earthquake simulation which was fun until i thought about how damaging those shakes can be. boo, earthquakes.
last but certainly not least: dessert at bi-rite creamery. now i have been wanting to do this for a while but for some reason (probably a good reason), we keep ending up back at ghiradelli square. this trip, i was insistent that we try bi-rite. and, you guys, bi-rite was a good choice. im boldly proclaiming that it was the best ice cream that i have ever had. ever. ricks agrees. i had good ole chocolate with a little honey lavender on the side. delish. other fun flavors include the regulars, strawberry balsamic, olive oil, and basil. im mad at myself for not getting the strawberry balsamic and basil but i didnt see it until after i ordered. next time.
it was such a fun day and i always cant wait to go back. i love you, sf!
detroit!
as a requirement before starting my MLIS program, i had to go to detroit and attend orientation in person. i was less than thrilled that i had to go in person, but go i did. i left and traveled pretty much all day on thursday the 23rd and arrived in detroit late that night. on friday i attended the orientation and met some of my classmates and professors.
between attending orientation classes, i spent my day rushing around campus trying to find a store where i could purchase a charger for my iphone because someone forgot theirs at home! i saw most of campus that way while carrying around the 2 bags i brought plus my laptop and the bag they gave me at orientation.it was pretty tiring and, honestly, it kind of put me in a bad mood! by the end of orientation i still hadnt found a charger and i had only enough battery power to call a cab to get back to the airport before my phone died.
in the airport i purchased a book called "book of mormon girl." during my first flight to denver, i consumed that book whole. it was really good and i recommend it for an interesting perspective on mormonism. i finished that book right before landing in denver and then quickly ran to make my connecting flight. during my flight to sacramento, i had nothing to do. i had just finished the book i purchased, my phone was dead, i had already finished the other book i brought and, worst of all, there was no skymall magazine to entertain me! i may have gone a little nutty during that flight with nothing to do... meanwhile, next to me, there was a man who paid to have tv streaming on his little tv, was playing a game on his ipad, and was listening to music on his phone.
the day was stressful and frustrating (because of my first world problems) but the orientation put on by wayne state was very nice and i am glad i got to go. i have to admit, i was pretty nervous to stay in detroit by myself. ive traveled alone before and that wasnt the issue. the issue was that detroit has a reputation for not being the safest place in the world. although i didnt actually get to see much of the city, what i did see was very lovely and the people i met seemed awesome. now on to classes!
between attending orientation classes, i spent my day rushing around campus trying to find a store where i could purchase a charger for my iphone because someone forgot theirs at home! i saw most of campus that way while carrying around the 2 bags i brought plus my laptop and the bag they gave me at orientation.it was pretty tiring and, honestly, it kind of put me in a bad mood! by the end of orientation i still hadnt found a charger and i had only enough battery power to call a cab to get back to the airport before my phone died.
in the airport i purchased a book called "book of mormon girl." during my first flight to denver, i consumed that book whole. it was really good and i recommend it for an interesting perspective on mormonism. i finished that book right before landing in denver and then quickly ran to make my connecting flight. during my flight to sacramento, i had nothing to do. i had just finished the book i purchased, my phone was dead, i had already finished the other book i brought and, worst of all, there was no skymall magazine to entertain me! i may have gone a little nutty during that flight with nothing to do... meanwhile, next to me, there was a man who paid to have tv streaming on his little tv, was playing a game on his ipad, and was listening to music on his phone.
the day was stressful and frustrating (because of my first world problems) but the orientation put on by wayne state was very nice and i am glad i got to go. i have to admit, i was pretty nervous to stay in detroit by myself. ive traveled alone before and that wasnt the issue. the issue was that detroit has a reputation for not being the safest place in the world. although i didnt actually get to see much of the city, what i did see was very lovely and the people i met seemed awesome. now on to classes!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
sequoia national park.
ricks and i decided that for summer break part ii - the part between the internship ending and school starting - we would head to sequoia national park. the drive along 99 was dotted with fast food joints and wineries, we listened to the last several weeks' worth of "wait, wait, dont tell me" and snacked on summer sausage and cheese. it was pretty dreamy.
we pulled into the park right as the sun went down. despite the fact that it was dark and we couldnt see much of the park driving in, i could still see some the giant trees that loomed at us roadside. and that is when i started freaking out. in a good way.
these sequoia trees are the biggest trees in the world and every time we went around a bend and saw one, i would hyperventilate just slightly.
we got to our campsite and ate brats and banana boats and set up our teensy tent and then tried to fall asleep to our camp neighbors' fiesta music that played until about 1 or 2am.
the next morning we set out first thing to check out general sherman, the biggest tree in the world, and guys, he did not disappoint. and.... i took pictures!!!
heres a few of gen. sherman and the other trees along congress trail. im not joking when i say i was freaking out with every tree i saw. i was so excited that i could not stop saying things like "seriously!!" and "oh my gosh" and "NO WAY!"
sequoia park was one of my more favorite things that we have done in CA. im extremely glad we went and im excited to go back someday.
we pulled into the park right as the sun went down. despite the fact that it was dark and we couldnt see much of the park driving in, i could still see some the giant trees that loomed at us roadside. and that is when i started freaking out. in a good way.
these sequoia trees are the biggest trees in the world and every time we went around a bend and saw one, i would hyperventilate just slightly.
we got to our campsite and ate brats and banana boats and set up our teensy tent and then tried to fall asleep to our camp neighbors' fiesta music that played until about 1 or 2am.
the next morning we set out first thing to check out general sherman, the biggest tree in the world, and guys, he did not disappoint. and.... i took pictures!!!
heres a few of gen. sherman and the other trees along congress trail. im not joking when i say i was freaking out with every tree i saw. i was so excited that i could not stop saying things like "seriously!!" and "oh my gosh" and "NO WAY!"
gen. sherman.
holy cow.
tree hugger.
ricks entering the senate.
awkward pose in the senate.
the high sierras.
husband and wifey at the top of moro rock.
thats a momma bear. with 2 babies, not pictured. we found her and then left. scary/cool.
utah - august 2012.
i went to utah again this month to hang out with my mom and sisters. we had such a fun time. we did a little shopping and went to the salt lake and park city home shows and my mom and i browsed appliances. we ate lots of good food and held lots of cute babies. it was a really good time.
i know that some of those things probably sound a little weird... like going to 2 home shows? and browsing appliances? what? but... we love checking out house stuff and my mom and dad are looking into building a new home so we had a lot of fun checking out what is new and trendy in new homes, even if nothing comes of it.
and, since im on such a picture taking kick, here are some from this most recent trip:
i know that some of those things probably sound a little weird... like going to 2 home shows? and browsing appliances? what? but... we love checking out house stuff and my mom and dad are looking into building a new home so we had a lot of fun checking out what is new and trendy in new homes, even if nothing comes of it.
and, since im on such a picture taking kick, here are some from this most recent trip:
stefan and paulina.
a cute mom with a cute son.
adriane being her architect-self in the home that was decorated our favorite.
triplets to-go.
grandma being grandma.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
back to school!
ive been accepted to wayne state's master of library and information science graduate program. the program starts about 3 weeks from now and will be 100% online. i am so excited to have this opportunity to gain more education, i am excited that i will be gaining practical training for a real job, i am excited that my one-day job will revolve around books and information resources, and i am excited that my kids will know that i made education a priority in my life.
this will be a great start to a new school year for both ricks and i. its also pretty exciting that by starting my program immediately, i should be on track to graduate at the same time as ricks from our respective graduate studies.
its funny, i had never heard of wayne state university before starting the application process for my mlis, but wayne state is actually 1 of the 30 largest universities in the united states. based out of detroit, their libary system (which consists of 6 separate libraries) has the 68th largest collection in the united states and is ranked as one of the best libraries by the association for research libraries.
i am so blessed to have this opportunity to progress and i cant wait to start!
this will be a great start to a new school year for both ricks and i. its also pretty exciting that by starting my program immediately, i should be on track to graduate at the same time as ricks from our respective graduate studies.
its funny, i had never heard of wayne state university before starting the application process for my mlis, but wayne state is actually 1 of the 30 largest universities in the united states. based out of detroit, their libary system (which consists of 6 separate libraries) has the 68th largest collection in the united states and is ranked as one of the best libraries by the association for research libraries.
i am so blessed to have this opportunity to progress and i cant wait to start!
Monday, July 16, 2012
the 4th of july and tahoe.
we spent our fourth of july in davis. we knew that it would be focused on food and so we started our preparations at the grocery store- meat, watermelon, and fixings for apple pie. we went swimming at the arroyo community pool with the culbertsons and then went to their place for a bbq afterward with some other friends. we ate really well and had a fun time.
tahoe was a blast. it took ricks and i all of two hours to get there which was super nice. we stayed with my parents, my grandma, and my sister, adriane in a condo on the beach. the week was filled with lounging on the beach, boating, swimming, and eating well. we bbq-d almost every night -- steak, hamburgers, flank steak, and pizza, too. ate tons of yummy snacks: hi chews, cats cookies, cookie butter, etc. we had a couple of sub-par eating-out adventures as well: lanzas was particularly memorable because of how bad it was.
we mini-golfed. we played a bunch of games with cousins. spot it became a quick favorite. when we played hand and foot, my cousin, kelsie and i won that game hands down! there was a little pranking, a little midnight-swimming au natural as punishment for losing a game. i watched ricks wake-board and then tube so violently that the tube popped, which i think ricks was secretly grateful for ; )
we watched a boat sink and then watched as the coast guard pumped the water out of it and towed it away. we tried really hard to read books without getting distracted. we kayaked, paddle-boated, and built sandcastles. we wore ourselves out relaxing. tahoe is always memorable. we love spending time with all my cousins and soaking up the rays in tahoe.
we cant wait for next year!
tahoe was a blast. it took ricks and i all of two hours to get there which was super nice. we stayed with my parents, my grandma, and my sister, adriane in a condo on the beach. the week was filled with lounging on the beach, boating, swimming, and eating well. we bbq-d almost every night -- steak, hamburgers, flank steak, and pizza, too. ate tons of yummy snacks: hi chews, cats cookies, cookie butter, etc. we had a couple of sub-par eating-out adventures as well: lanzas was particularly memorable because of how bad it was.
we mini-golfed. we played a bunch of games with cousins. spot it became a quick favorite. when we played hand and foot, my cousin, kelsie and i won that game hands down! there was a little pranking, a little midnight-swimming au natural as punishment for losing a game. i watched ricks wake-board and then tube so violently that the tube popped, which i think ricks was secretly grateful for ; )
we watched a boat sink and then watched as the coast guard pumped the water out of it and towed it away. we tried really hard to read books without getting distracted. we kayaked, paddle-boated, and built sandcastles. we wore ourselves out relaxing. tahoe is always memorable. we love spending time with all my cousins and soaking up the rays in tahoe.
we cant wait for next year!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
the super fun times of june 2012.
the most exciting thing that ricks and i have done since the last post is visit the moma in sf. ricks and i are both art fans, specifically modern art. so, it should come as no surprise that one of our goal destinations was the moma. it may, in fact, be surprising that it has taken us this long to get there.
we went last saturday. we made the mistake of going during pride weekend. it was soooo crowded getting into the city. once we finally got in, we hightailed it to the museum so we could have a good visit before being shooed out at closing time.
they had some really fun pieces at the museum. i adored their landscape section which included a couple of o'keeffes. it was also incredibly fun to see a kahlo and rivera in person. the mondrians, braques, and picassos were exciting. ricks drooled over the klees and albers, and we both were hypnotized by the singular rothko.
we are both die-hard rothko fans and this was the first time either of us had seen one in person. it was a totally moving experience. there may have been a few stray tears involved. no biggie.
just imagine ricks and i on that bench.
after the moma, it was time for tom collichio's 'wichcraft WHICH WAS CLOSED. biggest disappointment ever. so instead we got burgers, fries, shakes and pickles at super duper. everything was super duper. especially the house-made pickles. big win.
this month ive also made the big decision as to what i should be doing with my life. ive detailed my flirtations with an mba here; ive also explored paralegal training, a masters in interior design, a masters in graphic design, and my parents have played with the idea that i get a jd. Each were shot down for one reason or another and i have finally decided to apply to a couple of schools offering MLIS degrees. MLIS stands for masters of library and information science. essentially, its a program to become a librarian. im excited at the prospect of this degree- what it means for me as far as my schooling and my career and im excited about what it symbolizes. the programs that im looking into are exclusively online which would meet my need to stay in davis or follow ricks wherever internships or, eventually, jobs are. the degree would be a good compliment to my humanities ba and the career could adapt to my role of mother, one day. plus, i like books. a lot. and libraries are pretty awesome because they house books. so, all in all, its a good fit. so, thus begins the application process, which holds several unknowns in itself.
ricks is loving his new calling as gospel doctrine teacher. he is loving working at friends of the river. i am enduring hollister : ) and i am loving knitting; now all i need is a cat to go with my homemade cookies over here.
so, there is the catch all update. coming up next: the 4th of july and tahoe.
we went last saturday. we made the mistake of going during pride weekend. it was soooo crowded getting into the city. once we finally got in, we hightailed it to the museum so we could have a good visit before being shooed out at closing time.
they had some really fun pieces at the museum. i adored their landscape section which included a couple of o'keeffes. it was also incredibly fun to see a kahlo and rivera in person. the mondrians, braques, and picassos were exciting. ricks drooled over the klees and albers, and we both were hypnotized by the singular rothko.
we are both die-hard rothko fans and this was the first time either of us had seen one in person. it was a totally moving experience. there may have been a few stray tears involved. no biggie.
just imagine ricks and i on that bench.
after the moma, it was time for tom collichio's 'wichcraft WHICH WAS CLOSED. biggest disappointment ever. so instead we got burgers, fries, shakes and pickles at super duper. everything was super duper. especially the house-made pickles. big win.
this month ive also made the big decision as to what i should be doing with my life. ive detailed my flirtations with an mba here; ive also explored paralegal training, a masters in interior design, a masters in graphic design, and my parents have played with the idea that i get a jd. Each were shot down for one reason or another and i have finally decided to apply to a couple of schools offering MLIS degrees. MLIS stands for masters of library and information science. essentially, its a program to become a librarian. im excited at the prospect of this degree- what it means for me as far as my schooling and my career and im excited about what it symbolizes. the programs that im looking into are exclusively online which would meet my need to stay in davis or follow ricks wherever internships or, eventually, jobs are. the degree would be a good compliment to my humanities ba and the career could adapt to my role of mother, one day. plus, i like books. a lot. and libraries are pretty awesome because they house books. so, all in all, its a good fit. so, thus begins the application process, which holds several unknowns in itself.
ricks is loving his new calling as gospel doctrine teacher. he is loving working at friends of the river. i am enduring hollister : ) and i am loving knitting; now all i need is a cat to go with my homemade cookies over here.
so, there is the catch all update. coming up next: the 4th of july and tahoe.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
ethan, elli, and amelias blessing day.
the triplets blessings fell on a weekend when it was possible for us to be there. so, we packed up and flew out of sacramento and immediately hit the ground running in utah. there are lots of good, new-to-us places to eat here in CA but there are lots of good, we-already-love-them-and-miss-them places to eat in UT. so, of course, the first thing we did was grab lunch at one of our favorite places, the red iguana. we ate lunch with my mom. she and ricks both got mole and i got a delicious fajita stuffed with steak, red onions, and pineapple. yum. we followed up with shakes from taco amigo, a personal favorite. another yummy dinner was spent at a new japanese-thai restaurant. i pigged out on a seafood tempura platter, gyoza, and mango sticky rice. so very good, even if the service was sub-par.
the rest of the trip was filled with baby holding, baby feeding, bbq-ing, dog petting, and movie watching. most of our time was spent at alicias house, she is, after all, the one with the babies, the dog, and the theater room. the babies are all really adorable. ethan is a super chill baby- except when he is hungry. elli is the sweet one. and amelia is the feisty one. it was fun to finally be able to see and hold them. the blessing day was really nice. dan gave some beautiful blessings and the babies were so cute and good throughout church. alicia had planned a nice gathering for afterward. everyone pitched in and it turned out lovely. it was such a quick trip and we wish we had more time to see everyone that we wanted to and spend more time with those we did get to see.
i also did take one picture-- here are the triplets loaded up to go to church. so cute.
the rest of the trip was filled with baby holding, baby feeding, bbq-ing, dog petting, and movie watching. most of our time was spent at alicias house, she is, after all, the one with the babies, the dog, and the theater room. the babies are all really adorable. ethan is a super chill baby- except when he is hungry. elli is the sweet one. and amelia is the feisty one. it was fun to finally be able to see and hold them. the blessing day was really nice. dan gave some beautiful blessings and the babies were so cute and good throughout church. alicia had planned a nice gathering for afterward. everyone pitched in and it turned out lovely. it was such a quick trip and we wish we had more time to see everyone that we wanted to and spend more time with those we did get to see.
i also did take one picture-- here are the triplets loaded up to go to church. so cute.
summer break and santa cruz.
the two weeks that ricks had off between the end of finals and the start of his internship was spent doing a lot of lounging. he was so relieved to not have any pressure to do anything that we indeed did a whole lot of nothing. it was so nice. he played a lot of video games- diablo, to be exact- and i read my way through the whole millennium trilogy. as a side note, that series was so good that the book that im reading now seems super lame in comparison. i also decided to take up knitting and im about 2/3rds of the way done with my first blanket.
we also went to santa cruz for an overnight camping trip. i found a camping site a stairway away from the beach. we didnt have anything planned except cooking over the fire and going to the beach. so, we cooked over the fire like champs and then spent the rest of our time huddled on the beach. i was working my way through the girl who played with fire and spent my time wrapped up in a towel on the beach reading while ricks used the ocean as a kayak treadmill. it was chilly but really pretty and very fun. we didnt stay long but it was just the perfect little adventure before we set off for utah...
we also went to santa cruz for an overnight camping trip. i found a camping site a stairway away from the beach. we didnt have anything planned except cooking over the fire and going to the beach. so, we cooked over the fire like champs and then spent the rest of our time huddled on the beach. i was working my way through the girl who played with fire and spent my time wrapped up in a towel on the beach reading while ricks used the ocean as a kayak treadmill. it was chilly but really pretty and very fun. we didnt stay long but it was just the perfect little adventure before we set off for utah...
Saturday, April 28, 2012
good eats.
ricks and i have been acting very southern these past couple of weeks. and by that i mean our eating habits have been very southern. we have grilled 4 times in the past two weeks and 3 of those times we actually smoked our meat low and slow. tonight we are smoking some pork ribs over mesquite wood chips. on my end of things, ive made us a strawberry-rhubarb pie, some skillet corn bread, and tonight im making home-made coleslaw. yum.
Monday, April 23, 2012
reading.
one of my new years resolutions was to read more frequently. i made a list of books that i had been wanting to read and started at the top. here is a summary of my progress thus far:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Cold Mountain
The Road
The Fight Club
Girl in Translation
The Bell Jar
Atonement
My Name is Asher Lev
The Life of Pi
Mere Christianity
Team of Rivals
1984
It Sucked and then I Cried
Never Let Me Go
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me and Other Concerns
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Eve and the Choice Made in Eden
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Millennium Trilogy
-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
-The Girl Who Played with Fire
-The Girl Who kicked the Hornet’s nest
The Lovely Bones
The Sisters Brothers
My Sister’s Keeper
Unorthodox
Santaland Diaries
Ceremony
The Happiness Project
Gilead
after ending college, actually, more specifically, after leaving BYU, i realized that i never read anymore. at BYU, i was reading all of the time for classes and then, once that stopped, my reading stopped. so it took me a while to get back into it but, around october or november of last year, i started reading again! for fun! i started with the color purple and then read really quickly through the poisonwood bible, the help, bossypants, and the history of love. i felt like my old self again. i was the kid who stayed up late at nights, not because i was sneaking out to be with friends, but because i was up reading. if you have any good book recommendations, feel free to share! im blowing through them!
My Name is Asher Lev
The Life of Pi
Mere Christianity
Team of Rivals
1984
It Sucked and then I Cried
Never Let Me Go
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me and Other Concerns
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Eve and the Choice Made in Eden
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Millennium Trilogy
-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
-The Girl Who Played with Fire
-The Girl Who kicked the Hornet’s nest
The Lovely Bones
The Sisters Brothers
My Sister’s Keeper
Unorthodox
Santaland Diaries
Ceremony
The Happiness Project
Gilead
after ending college, actually, more specifically, after leaving BYU, i realized that i never read anymore. at BYU, i was reading all of the time for classes and then, once that stopped, my reading stopped. so it took me a while to get back into it but, around october or november of last year, i started reading again! for fun! i started with the color purple and then read really quickly through the poisonwood bible, the help, bossypants, and the history of love. i felt like my old self again. i was the kid who stayed up late at nights, not because i was sneaking out to be with friends, but because i was up reading. if you have any good book recommendations, feel free to share! im blowing through them!
almost summer.
things are quiet around here. ricks is splitting his time between studying for finals and fighting allergies. class ends this week for him. and finals will go until may 16th. we are taking suggestions for what we should do during the time between his last final and when his internship starts (our summer break : ). we know that we will be spending one of the two weekends in utah for the triplets blessings. and, as for the other weekend, its a toss up between finding a warm beach so i can soak up the sun and read and so that ricks can surf with his kayak or finding a campsite in the redwoods. maybe well do both! in other news: i broke my toe. after stubbing it on a door. quite a stupid injury. also, the weather has gone from warm and pleasant to hot hot hot and its only going to get hotter... im already melting. its going to be quite the summer! and that about sums it up. like i said, its quiet around here.
Monday, March 26, 2012
spring break.
ricks and i just returned to davis from our spring break in utah this last saturday. here is the recap: i left march 8 bright and early (4 am to be exact) to catch my flight out of sacramento. ricks was to follow a week later when his spring break actually started. the first week i was in utah, my time was spent doing various things with my mom to help my sister. my sister, alicia, had just given birth to her triplets and was laid up in the hospital recovering from a c-section. the triplets came much earlier than expected. in fact their arrival was so unexpected that alicia had 2 baby showers planned for the weekend that she was in the hospital. my mom and i were sent as ambassadors to her ward shower. we brought along a computer and skyped her in from the hospital to visit with her friends and neighbors. the following evening, my sisters and i had planned a family shower for alicia. the shower went on as planned and again, we skyped alicia in from the hospital. it ended up working out really well.
so, the first 2 nights i was in utah, i went to a couple of baby showers! i had previously created a registry for my sister on myregistry.com and, once the showers had taken place, it became my mom and my responsibility to return extra items in exchange for necessaries. we ran around all week, registry held firmly in hand, gathering any as yet unpurchased essentials. it was fun spending time with my mom but i think im ok if i never see another target, kohls, or walmart again. anyway, we could what we wanted to done and alicia's house is not totally outfitted for the kiddos to come home from the nicu.
speaking of the babes, only parents and grandparents are allowed up into the nicu and so i still havent been up to see them- although i do have tons of pictures courtesy of my mom. they are teensy tinsy little babes -each around 3 pounds at birth and very slowly packing on the weight. i think at the latest weigh-in, the big boy was 3.12 pounds. there are 2 girls and 1 boy: ethan, elli, and amelia. im excited to be their aunt and to get to know them.
throughout that first week, not a whole lot happened besides working a couple of shifts at the provo hollister, getting a new phone, and helping my sister out. by friday, i was very excited for ricks to come. my mom and i picked up ricks late friday and then we all went home to crash.
on saturday we had ricks' family over for a swimming party. it was fun to quickly catch up with the davis family. and by quickly, i mean quick- all the little kiddos were pretty worn out after swimming for an hour and then, after a short dinner, everyone went home. so, with more of an evening leftover after the party than anticipated, ricks and i watched moneyball. sunday was church and family dinner. my mom (who gives gifts for any and every occassion) gave us our easter presents because we were all at home. the boys got a light up toy - because all boys need to act like they are 5 every once in a while- and the girls got some awesome charm bracelets. and, of course, sunday wouldnt be complete without a visit to my grandma wilson's home.
this particular week, my family was planning on going on a trip together. we had discussed potential locations but nothing ever really came together and so instead we decided to just hang out in utah. now, looking back, it was definitely a good thing we were all in utah because of the triplets' arrival. so, in lieu of a real vacation, we opted to have a staycation.
monday i had made plans to have birthday lunch with ricks mom and sisters. we went to buca di beppos and ate well. that afternoon my mom and my sisters went and got manicures while enjoying sees chocolates. that night we went to Big Fish to watch a movie in the theater. we chose Dr No and ate Buffalo Wild Wings and pizza. it was really a lot of fun-one of our more favorite activites of the week. tuesday we went with my mom to check out the crate and barrel in salt lake, buy some kitchen things, and eat lunch at cheesecake factory. YUM! that night, ricks went to salt to be with his dad and i started feeling pretty yucky. wednesday we got massages and then spent the afternoon with mindy and elsie riding bikes and making hummus. it was really fun to spend enough time with elsie and to see her come out of her shell a little bit. she is such a cutie. we left mindys to see wes, danae, and robert. we were going to go bowling but the lanes were so busy that we chose to go back to the snows home and just have a chill evening enjoying each others company and some good food. ricks and i are really grateful for friends as wonderful as wes and danae. i had felt pretty terrible all day and really didnt get much sleep that week either and so by the time we left the snows, i was ready to get home. i went to sleep with a pretty bad fever and woke up radiating heat. i felt poor enough that i missed out on an opportunity to go flying with my dad. ricks still went and im extremely jealous because they flew to jackson hole, over the tetons and around yellowstone. and i just laid in bed feeling gross. as the day wore on i started feeling a little better and even went to get some food with alicia and my mom only to come home to lay on the couch a little more. the upside of all this was that i got to watch an episode of frozen planet on the discovery channel which totally blew my mind. it was really cool.
thursday night, we went to the culinary school at uvu for dinner. having dinner there was one of the more fun dinners that ive ever had. theres a lot of food, so you get to try a little (or a lot) of everything and most everything is made pretty well. i really loved the chicken tikka masala and the potato dumplings with spicy chipotle chutney.
friday was our last day in ut and everyone wanted to do one last thing with us. we went bowling with kim and ksenia, visited mindy who gave us a really sweet care package for the drive home, said hi to neal and family briefly and then saw ricks' parents and tami and family. that night we had dinner at pat's bbq. it was pretty funny to watch us eat. youd think we were starving the way we wolfed down the food, but man, was it good! the last item on the agenda was to bring my sister-in-law some dinner at her new job while simultaneously checking out slc's new city creek shopping center. we visited paulina at tumi and then walked around. it was crazy crowded at the mall but, admittedly, the mall was pretty cool. im glad i got to see and i think it will be fun to go shopping there in the future.
it was really really good to see family and to relax a bit and help a bit, too. i love my family a lot and its hard living away from them but it just makes it that much sweeter to come home and be with them.
saturday we prepped the subaru for the drive home and quickly stopped by my grandma worthingtons to pick up some famous strawberry jam. we then drove pretty solidly from 830am pacific time to 630pm with only a couple of stops for gas. its good to be home. we taught our primary classes and made some rolls to go with the jam and now its back to life as usual.
so, the first 2 nights i was in utah, i went to a couple of baby showers! i had previously created a registry for my sister on myregistry.com and, once the showers had taken place, it became my mom and my responsibility to return extra items in exchange for necessaries. we ran around all week, registry held firmly in hand, gathering any as yet unpurchased essentials. it was fun spending time with my mom but i think im ok if i never see another target, kohls, or walmart again. anyway, we could what we wanted to done and alicia's house is not totally outfitted for the kiddos to come home from the nicu.
speaking of the babes, only parents and grandparents are allowed up into the nicu and so i still havent been up to see them- although i do have tons of pictures courtesy of my mom. they are teensy tinsy little babes -each around 3 pounds at birth and very slowly packing on the weight. i think at the latest weigh-in, the big boy was 3.12 pounds. there are 2 girls and 1 boy: ethan, elli, and amelia. im excited to be their aunt and to get to know them.
throughout that first week, not a whole lot happened besides working a couple of shifts at the provo hollister, getting a new phone, and helping my sister out. by friday, i was very excited for ricks to come. my mom and i picked up ricks late friday and then we all went home to crash.
on saturday we had ricks' family over for a swimming party. it was fun to quickly catch up with the davis family. and by quickly, i mean quick- all the little kiddos were pretty worn out after swimming for an hour and then, after a short dinner, everyone went home. so, with more of an evening leftover after the party than anticipated, ricks and i watched moneyball. sunday was church and family dinner. my mom (who gives gifts for any and every occassion) gave us our easter presents because we were all at home. the boys got a light up toy - because all boys need to act like they are 5 every once in a while- and the girls got some awesome charm bracelets. and, of course, sunday wouldnt be complete without a visit to my grandma wilson's home.
this particular week, my family was planning on going on a trip together. we had discussed potential locations but nothing ever really came together and so instead we decided to just hang out in utah. now, looking back, it was definitely a good thing we were all in utah because of the triplets' arrival. so, in lieu of a real vacation, we opted to have a staycation.
monday i had made plans to have birthday lunch with ricks mom and sisters. we went to buca di beppos and ate well. that afternoon my mom and my sisters went and got manicures while enjoying sees chocolates. that night we went to Big Fish to watch a movie in the theater. we chose Dr No and ate Buffalo Wild Wings and pizza. it was really a lot of fun-one of our more favorite activites of the week. tuesday we went with my mom to check out the crate and barrel in salt lake, buy some kitchen things, and eat lunch at cheesecake factory. YUM! that night, ricks went to salt to be with his dad and i started feeling pretty yucky. wednesday we got massages and then spent the afternoon with mindy and elsie riding bikes and making hummus. it was really fun to spend enough time with elsie and to see her come out of her shell a little bit. she is such a cutie. we left mindys to see wes, danae, and robert. we were going to go bowling but the lanes were so busy that we chose to go back to the snows home and just have a chill evening enjoying each others company and some good food. ricks and i are really grateful for friends as wonderful as wes and danae. i had felt pretty terrible all day and really didnt get much sleep that week either and so by the time we left the snows, i was ready to get home. i went to sleep with a pretty bad fever and woke up radiating heat. i felt poor enough that i missed out on an opportunity to go flying with my dad. ricks still went and im extremely jealous because they flew to jackson hole, over the tetons and around yellowstone. and i just laid in bed feeling gross. as the day wore on i started feeling a little better and even went to get some food with alicia and my mom only to come home to lay on the couch a little more. the upside of all this was that i got to watch an episode of frozen planet on the discovery channel which totally blew my mind. it was really cool.
thursday night, we went to the culinary school at uvu for dinner. having dinner there was one of the more fun dinners that ive ever had. theres a lot of food, so you get to try a little (or a lot) of everything and most everything is made pretty well. i really loved the chicken tikka masala and the potato dumplings with spicy chipotle chutney.
friday was our last day in ut and everyone wanted to do one last thing with us. we went bowling with kim and ksenia, visited mindy who gave us a really sweet care package for the drive home, said hi to neal and family briefly and then saw ricks' parents and tami and family. that night we had dinner at pat's bbq. it was pretty funny to watch us eat. youd think we were starving the way we wolfed down the food, but man, was it good! the last item on the agenda was to bring my sister-in-law some dinner at her new job while simultaneously checking out slc's new city creek shopping center. we visited paulina at tumi and then walked around. it was crazy crowded at the mall but, admittedly, the mall was pretty cool. im glad i got to see and i think it will be fun to go shopping there in the future.
it was really really good to see family and to relax a bit and help a bit, too. i love my family a lot and its hard living away from them but it just makes it that much sweeter to come home and be with them.
saturday we prepped the subaru for the drive home and quickly stopped by my grandma worthingtons to pick up some famous strawberry jam. we then drove pretty solidly from 830am pacific time to 630pm with only a couple of stops for gas. its good to be home. we taught our primary classes and made some rolls to go with the jam and now its back to life as usual.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
friend of the river.
ricks is the newest friend of the river! this summer ricks will be interning at a non-profit in sacramento called Friends of the River. the group is californias statewide river conservation organization. and yes, i did just steal that from their website. i cant think of a better way for my river boy to be spending his summer than to be working to preserve rivers - although i think that he cares more about preserving kayakers rights to rivers than actually preserving rivers... just kidding!
happy birthday ethan, elli, and amelia!
SO MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT. my goodness.
well lets do this thing in chronological order shall we?
first was vday and my bday. for valentines, ricks made steak and gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce and i made creme brulee. we exchanged some simple gifts: flowers, smores, and clay for me, snackies and an "i love you more than ___ loves ____" white board for the boy. then we watched the west wing. super romantic.
for my birthday we ate at plutos and went bowling. one of the girls on our bowling team had her birthday the same day so we ate cupcakes. by the way our team is currently ranked 5 out 12. we are the bomb.com. for my birthday, ricks made his first ever cake, from scratch, no less and with buttercream frosting! it was verrrry yummy. and then ricks went out of town that weekend for jrcls conference which he really enjoyed. i just partied in my pjs. it was awesome.
school school school.
weekend: this time it was yosemite. we left on friday with bobbiejane and dave in tow and headed south. we had 18 inch twizzlers and mountain dew to keep us happy on the drive as well as a little chipotle for dinner. we got to yosemite and immediately headed out to check out the stars sans light pollution. it was amazing!!!! that night we stayed in a cute little cabin that was so nice and warm and then woke up the next morning ready to hike to the top of upper yosemite falls. i dont even know what to say about the hike. first of all, it was beautiful. the falls were gorgeous and the weather was perfect (60s, no snow, no crowd.) but man, did that hike kill, but... at the same time, it really wasnt that bad. i dunno. i guess some parts were super hard and others were fine? it was fun either way and im way glad we did it because the view was gorgeous.
after the hike we wanted to catch horse tail falls on fire. there are a couple of weeks during the last part of february when the sun hits the falls just right so that the water looks like flames. it didnt really seem like the park was that crowded but i guess everyone that was in yosemite parked to see the fire waterfall because dang, was it crazy along the road in front of el cap. we waited and waited and not much happened to the waterfall but then we learned that the phenomenon isnt really visible to the naked eye. to really see it, you need to take a picture. so we took pictures and in the pics it looked a bit more fiery but still wasnt much. so we left beautiful yosemite without any super awesome fire watefall pics. we are so glad we went to yosemite and even gladder we went with the culbertsons. they definitely made the trip fun.
school, school, school.
weekend: this time around, it was san francisco. ricks had no school on friday and i didnt have any work and so we lounged around like it was going out of style. on saturday we woke up, had a slow morning, and then headed into the city. our goal was to scope out the mission district.
we landed on valencia street and wandered around from shop to shop. favorites included an absolutely killer video rental store with films arranged by director, genre, and subgenre. loved it. we also really enjoyed an italian shop with countless varieties of peppers and olives and a great pasta selection. we also found a mid-cen modern furniture shop. i wanted to move in then and there. everything was beautiful!
dinner was delfina. we had a prosciutto and arugula pizza and an olive sampler appetizer. YUM. we are definitely planning on going back. it was so very good. we were glad that we had a late lunch though because somehow we still had to wait to be seated at 3 in the afternoon. i cant imagine what it would be like at noon or 7. next door to delfina is tartine bakery on one side and birite creamery on the other. that day we chose tartine so that we could get it to go. you see, we werent exactly hungry after gorging ourselves at the pizza shop... tartine was already sold out of the pain au chocolate unfortunately and so instead we purchased bread pudding, a lemon tart, and a coconut tart. the coconut tart had a puff pastry shell with a layer of chocolate on the bottom. way yummy. the lemon tart was too tart for me but the bread pudding was to-die for. super good. i cant wait to go back and to try something more chocolatey!
we had a little time to kill before picking my parents up from the aiport and so we decided to drive to half moon bay. the drive to the bay was enchanting. all along the way was christmas tree farms. it was so fun to see all the christmas trees at various stages in their life. the bay was beautiful. we got there in time to watch the sunset. ricks and i felt pretty cliche but enjoyed the moment as we held hands and walked up and down the beach with all the beautiful "cliffs."
after half moon bay, it was time to see my mom and dad. my parents spent a couple of weeks in thailand and on their way home to utah, they had an overnight layover in san francisco. once we met them at the hotel, it was quickly decided that dinner was needed. we headed to the broadway grill and ordered meat all around! a couple of steaks, steak frites, and one meatloaf. my parents told us as much as they could about their trip before we headed to bed. the next morning we woke up bright and early so we could see as much of sf as possible before their flight. first, we of course went to mamas for breakfast. i tried the buttermilk pancakes. so very yummy and delicious but i think next time ill get my favorite chocolate and cinnamon french toast. i sure love anything with chocolate. after breakfast we found lombard street and took the 2 second drive down the winding road. the road was a lot smaller than what i had imagined but it was cute. the best part was the view of the rock at the bottom. most of the day was spent exploring the presidio. we stopped at a few really fabulous viewpoints, one of which included a naked guy enjoying the freezing ocean water. i guess you havent really seen sf until youve seen a naked person in sf. so... done and done! moving on. my favorite place that we stopped at was baker beach. it was a different view of the bridge than i was used to and it was also really fun to watch the psycho dogs running around. ricks was the designated driver all weekend (city driving = scary for lex). there were a couple of parking mishaps and i may have uttered a naughty word. i was pretty embarrassed that it popped out, especially in front of my parents! oops. but, as my dad said, it was nothing more than an archaic form of french. haha.
finally, it was time to say goodbye to my mom and dad. we dropped them off at the oakland airport and then drove back to davis. i promptly fell asleep in the car. i was worn out from a fun weekend.
last but certainly not least: today my sister gave birth to 3 beautiful babies! i am thrilled to go home this thursday to see the sweeties. i am so happy for my sister and her husband. they are going to be the cutest parents in the whole world. these are happy times for their family.
maybe someday i will load pics from my camera. but its not likely.
well lets do this thing in chronological order shall we?
first was vday and my bday. for valentines, ricks made steak and gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce and i made creme brulee. we exchanged some simple gifts: flowers, smores, and clay for me, snackies and an "i love you more than ___ loves ____" white board for the boy. then we watched the west wing. super romantic.
for my birthday we ate at plutos and went bowling. one of the girls on our bowling team had her birthday the same day so we ate cupcakes. by the way our team is currently ranked 5 out 12. we are the bomb.com. for my birthday, ricks made his first ever cake, from scratch, no less and with buttercream frosting! it was verrrry yummy. and then ricks went out of town that weekend for jrcls conference which he really enjoyed. i just partied in my pjs. it was awesome.
school school school.
weekend: this time it was yosemite. we left on friday with bobbiejane and dave in tow and headed south. we had 18 inch twizzlers and mountain dew to keep us happy on the drive as well as a little chipotle for dinner. we got to yosemite and immediately headed out to check out the stars sans light pollution. it was amazing!!!! that night we stayed in a cute little cabin that was so nice and warm and then woke up the next morning ready to hike to the top of upper yosemite falls. i dont even know what to say about the hike. first of all, it was beautiful. the falls were gorgeous and the weather was perfect (60s, no snow, no crowd.) but man, did that hike kill, but... at the same time, it really wasnt that bad. i dunno. i guess some parts were super hard and others were fine? it was fun either way and im way glad we did it because the view was gorgeous.
after the hike we wanted to catch horse tail falls on fire. there are a couple of weeks during the last part of february when the sun hits the falls just right so that the water looks like flames. it didnt really seem like the park was that crowded but i guess everyone that was in yosemite parked to see the fire waterfall because dang, was it crazy along the road in front of el cap. we waited and waited and not much happened to the waterfall but then we learned that the phenomenon isnt really visible to the naked eye. to really see it, you need to take a picture. so we took pictures and in the pics it looked a bit more fiery but still wasnt much. so we left beautiful yosemite without any super awesome fire watefall pics. we are so glad we went to yosemite and even gladder we went with the culbertsons. they definitely made the trip fun.
school, school, school.
weekend: this time around, it was san francisco. ricks had no school on friday and i didnt have any work and so we lounged around like it was going out of style. on saturday we woke up, had a slow morning, and then headed into the city. our goal was to scope out the mission district.
we landed on valencia street and wandered around from shop to shop. favorites included an absolutely killer video rental store with films arranged by director, genre, and subgenre. loved it. we also really enjoyed an italian shop with countless varieties of peppers and olives and a great pasta selection. we also found a mid-cen modern furniture shop. i wanted to move in then and there. everything was beautiful!
dinner was delfina. we had a prosciutto and arugula pizza and an olive sampler appetizer. YUM. we are definitely planning on going back. it was so very good. we were glad that we had a late lunch though because somehow we still had to wait to be seated at 3 in the afternoon. i cant imagine what it would be like at noon or 7. next door to delfina is tartine bakery on one side and birite creamery on the other. that day we chose tartine so that we could get it to go. you see, we werent exactly hungry after gorging ourselves at the pizza shop... tartine was already sold out of the pain au chocolate unfortunately and so instead we purchased bread pudding, a lemon tart, and a coconut tart. the coconut tart had a puff pastry shell with a layer of chocolate on the bottom. way yummy. the lemon tart was too tart for me but the bread pudding was to-die for. super good. i cant wait to go back and to try something more chocolatey!
we had a little time to kill before picking my parents up from the aiport and so we decided to drive to half moon bay. the drive to the bay was enchanting. all along the way was christmas tree farms. it was so fun to see all the christmas trees at various stages in their life. the bay was beautiful. we got there in time to watch the sunset. ricks and i felt pretty cliche but enjoyed the moment as we held hands and walked up and down the beach with all the beautiful "cliffs."
after half moon bay, it was time to see my mom and dad. my parents spent a couple of weeks in thailand and on their way home to utah, they had an overnight layover in san francisco. once we met them at the hotel, it was quickly decided that dinner was needed. we headed to the broadway grill and ordered meat all around! a couple of steaks, steak frites, and one meatloaf. my parents told us as much as they could about their trip before we headed to bed. the next morning we woke up bright and early so we could see as much of sf as possible before their flight. first, we of course went to mamas for breakfast. i tried the buttermilk pancakes. so very yummy and delicious but i think next time ill get my favorite chocolate and cinnamon french toast. i sure love anything with chocolate. after breakfast we found lombard street and took the 2 second drive down the winding road. the road was a lot smaller than what i had imagined but it was cute. the best part was the view of the rock at the bottom. most of the day was spent exploring the presidio. we stopped at a few really fabulous viewpoints, one of which included a naked guy enjoying the freezing ocean water. i guess you havent really seen sf until youve seen a naked person in sf. so... done and done! moving on. my favorite place that we stopped at was baker beach. it was a different view of the bridge than i was used to and it was also really fun to watch the psycho dogs running around. ricks was the designated driver all weekend (city driving = scary for lex). there were a couple of parking mishaps and i may have uttered a naughty word. i was pretty embarrassed that it popped out, especially in front of my parents! oops. but, as my dad said, it was nothing more than an archaic form of french. haha.
finally, it was time to say goodbye to my mom and dad. we dropped them off at the oakland airport and then drove back to davis. i promptly fell asleep in the car. i was worn out from a fun weekend.
last but certainly not least: today my sister gave birth to 3 beautiful babies! i am thrilled to go home this thursday to see the sweeties. i am so happy for my sister and her husband. they are going to be the cutest parents in the whole world. these are happy times for their family.
maybe someday i will load pics from my camera. but its not likely.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
school, february, and the future.
i am pleased to declare that i am all done with my education at byu! i have finished my last independent study course, paid my 15 dollar graduation application fee, and now im just waiting for april to roll around so i can be deemed officially graduated, with diploma and all. (im actually still waiting to take my final exam for my last class, but the fact that its slow being shipped isnt my fault and i consider myself as good as done with or without having taken the final).and so, now that ive worked my butt off to finish my coursework, especially this past month, i feel like i have no real direction as to how i should spend my days. there is a lot i want to get done, of course. my to-do list is long. mostly, i want to figure out how to make fondant so i can make cool looking cakes and to sew some cute lion, tiger, and bear onesies for alicia's triplets. but, the long list has many bullet points filled with more important to-dos than cakes and onesies. most importantly, i need to work on finding a full-time job. you see, im bored. i need something to do and as an extension of that - we need money to live. at hollister, i can potentially get managerial training, but who knows if that will pan out or not, and, if not, i need to find something else.
when im not job hunting, i plan to work on gmat practice questions. i am hoping to enroll in a gmat prep class sometime soon. my plan is to take the gmat sometime before june so i can apply for a spring mba program. after some thought, i decided that an mba could be a really good option for me. a career in business is not my dream but the education could help me in whatever it is i eventually choose to do with my life - including mothering - and, if needs be, an mba is a quick ticket to a job- at least according to forbes' list of the most employable degrees. whatever it is, its not a bad idea. and without any babes in the picture, why wouldnt i? sure, its not interior design or anything close but i actually like working in a business environment and i really like the idea of a degree leading to a job. my under grad in humanities was fun and i truly learned a lot but at least business would be practical vocational training. and im into that. granted, getting an mba isnt a sure thing but its a good direction to be headed in.
other happenings: ricks and i are officially a part of a bowling league. the past two weeks that weve gone, ive beat ricks' score by one pin. im hoping that i stay consistent tonight! also of note, i tried to made v-day decorations and kind-of failed. i saw some really cute ideas on pinterest that i tried to copy. one was of some letters clothespinned to some string as a garland. i cut out the letters to the words: "i love you" and pinned them up on the string garland. but, i think i need to find something stronger to hold up garland than scotch tape because it just kept falling down. i was tired of trying to get it to stay so i just threw it away. i made another garland, too. this one i hung up with push pins so at least its staying. its a chain of hearts cut out of paper (another pinterest find). its really cute but somewhat gothic. you see, the only paper i had was black and so all the hearts are black, too.
to pass the time while doing mind-numbing household activites (ie folding the laundry) ive been watching Downton Abbey. id heard a lot about it online but id also heard a lot about mad men online and i had tried watching mad men and ended up hating it (except for the costume design - that was to-die for). anyway, id heard about downton online, too but didnt really care to watch it after the failure that was mad men. but, after my favorite news source, jezebel started mentioning downton and when my sis-in-law recommended it, i decided to give it a go. ive now finished season one and just started season two. im not obsessed with the show or even really that into it but i do enjoy it. me being obsessed with a show would be me with 30 rock. liz lemon is me. she is my altar ego. everything she does is what i wish i could do. after she mentioned that she warmed her jeans in the oven before putting them on, i started doing that, too. just kidding, i didnt. but i wish i did that. its such a genius idea. anyway, downton abbey is more of the "oh, that is very entertaining, how nice. i will watch more of this entertainment." (i have to admit though, after the turkish scandal, i ran into the other room to tell ricks all about it. i thought the idea of that guy dying in marys bed was the absolute funniest outcome imaginable in that kind of a situation and totally unexpected in a tv show.)
february is sure to fly by quickly. we have plans nearly every weekend: last weekend us and another couple took a 28 mile bike ride. it was very fun. i definitely need to build muscle in my legs. this weekend ricks' sister was going to be in town but now that she isnt coming im hoping to surprise ricks with a date! dont tell! the next week its valentines and my birthday and that weekend ricks will be in palo alto for a jrcls conference. the following weekend, we have reserved a cabin in yosemite and are hoping to catch the elusive fire waterfall... wish us luck! the first weekend in march my parents have an overnight layover in san francisco so we will go into the city to see them and then spring break will follow soon after. meanwhile, ricks is working on finding a good summer internship. he has quite a few feelers out there currently and already at least one or two really solid options. im really grateful that ricks' first semester went so well. itll be good for ricks to get some hands on experience and were especially excited to see where we end up this summer. wherever we end up going, if ricks is there and they have a good grocery store, then im sure itll be fun.
when im not job hunting, i plan to work on gmat practice questions. i am hoping to enroll in a gmat prep class sometime soon. my plan is to take the gmat sometime before june so i can apply for a spring mba program. after some thought, i decided that an mba could be a really good option for me. a career in business is not my dream but the education could help me in whatever it is i eventually choose to do with my life - including mothering - and, if needs be, an mba is a quick ticket to a job- at least according to forbes' list of the most employable degrees. whatever it is, its not a bad idea. and without any babes in the picture, why wouldnt i? sure, its not interior design or anything close but i actually like working in a business environment and i really like the idea of a degree leading to a job. my under grad in humanities was fun and i truly learned a lot but at least business would be practical vocational training. and im into that. granted, getting an mba isnt a sure thing but its a good direction to be headed in.
other happenings: ricks and i are officially a part of a bowling league. the past two weeks that weve gone, ive beat ricks' score by one pin. im hoping that i stay consistent tonight! also of note, i tried to made v-day decorations and kind-of failed. i saw some really cute ideas on pinterest that i tried to copy. one was of some letters clothespinned to some string as a garland. i cut out the letters to the words: "i love you" and pinned them up on the string garland. but, i think i need to find something stronger to hold up garland than scotch tape because it just kept falling down. i was tired of trying to get it to stay so i just threw it away. i made another garland, too. this one i hung up with push pins so at least its staying. its a chain of hearts cut out of paper (another pinterest find). its really cute but somewhat gothic. you see, the only paper i had was black and so all the hearts are black, too.
to pass the time while doing mind-numbing household activites (ie folding the laundry) ive been watching Downton Abbey. id heard a lot about it online but id also heard a lot about mad men online and i had tried watching mad men and ended up hating it (except for the costume design - that was to-die for). anyway, id heard about downton online, too but didnt really care to watch it after the failure that was mad men. but, after my favorite news source, jezebel started mentioning downton and when my sis-in-law recommended it, i decided to give it a go. ive now finished season one and just started season two. im not obsessed with the show or even really that into it but i do enjoy it. me being obsessed with a show would be me with 30 rock. liz lemon is me. she is my altar ego. everything she does is what i wish i could do. after she mentioned that she warmed her jeans in the oven before putting them on, i started doing that, too. just kidding, i didnt. but i wish i did that. its such a genius idea. anyway, downton abbey is more of the "oh, that is very entertaining, how nice. i will watch more of this entertainment." (i have to admit though, after the turkish scandal, i ran into the other room to tell ricks all about it. i thought the idea of that guy dying in marys bed was the absolute funniest outcome imaginable in that kind of a situation and totally unexpected in a tv show.)
february is sure to fly by quickly. we have plans nearly every weekend: last weekend us and another couple took a 28 mile bike ride. it was very fun. i definitely need to build muscle in my legs. this weekend ricks' sister was going to be in town but now that she isnt coming im hoping to surprise ricks with a date! dont tell! the next week its valentines and my birthday and that weekend ricks will be in palo alto for a jrcls conference. the following weekend, we have reserved a cabin in yosemite and are hoping to catch the elusive fire waterfall... wish us luck! the first weekend in march my parents have an overnight layover in san francisco so we will go into the city to see them and then spring break will follow soon after. meanwhile, ricks is working on finding a good summer internship. he has quite a few feelers out there currently and already at least one or two really solid options. im really grateful that ricks' first semester went so well. itll be good for ricks to get some hands on experience and were especially excited to see where we end up this summer. wherever we end up going, if ricks is there and they have a good grocery store, then im sure itll be fun.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
christmas!
this blog needs an update. so, the really devastating news is that not a single photo was taken over Christmas break. nope, not one. Realizing this during christmastime didn't faze me because I was too busy having fun. However, post-Christmas, it's a little sad. It was, after all, our first official Christmas together as man and wifey. Hence the new years resolution: take more pics!!! we really are quite pathetic. The only time we take pictures is when we've made some food item that we feel is particularly good. Actually, we did take one picture over the break, it was of flowers. The flowers ricks gave me on our anniversary. The picture is nice and all, but also lame because we aren't in it. Boo.
So, the break: ricks killed his finals, according to me. According to him, he feels really confident but he just doesn't know how everyone else did. And, since the grades are curved, who knows! In my mind, that means that those finals were slayed by my hubs. After the finals died a harsh death, ricks and I drove to emeryville. We had a couple more presents to pick up and emeryville had a lush store. So, emeryville it was. Traffic was stupid but we survived and even treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at ikea afterward. (of note, the emeryville ikea does not carry pearl sugar. Fail.) that night we stayed at a parksleepfly econolodge in Oakland. It was cheaper by more than half to park there and stay the night than it was to park our car at the airport. In the morning we made it to our gate with about 15 min to spare. Other passengers didn't fare so well. I would say too bad for them but... We waited for them. So, too bad for us. Our flight was about 20/30 min late going.
Utah: Utah was warm!! About the same weather as CA, actually. Ricks' mom and dad picked us up and took us to breakfast at market street grill. It was delicious as always even though the waitress had to be reminded to bring out the strawberries and cream that accompanied my "waffles with strawberry and cream."
Ricks and I had made all our plans prior to getting to Ut. With all our plans arranged, any leftover time was dubbed kick-it time. And kick it we did. It was so relaxing to stay with my parents for two weeks although we each got a bit sick. While there, we ate/made sooooooo much food it was silly, my mom and I online shopped for hours in behalf of my sster's triplets that ate arriving this spring, I learned how to use a cricut and made a million baby shower invites using one, we had friends over, we had family over, and Ricks played countless hours of video games. We seriously had a blast.
The structured time was devoted towards family and a couple of close friends. Christmas eve was with the davises. We ate well and had a really lovely program. There were talents involved and an appearance by elvis. We slipped away back to the wilsons to spend the night and Christmas day. On Christmas we gorged ourselves on delicious things and then unwrapped way too many gifts. My mom loved loved loved the digital frame we got her. We gave my dad a ham radio how-to book. And Alicia and dan got lemon and pb cheesecakes respectively in addition to baby safety stuff. Ricks gave me several tarantino movies, white Christmas, socks, earrings, and tina fey's bossypants, I gave him comp cords, a mouse pad, a UC Davis sweatshirt, and a movie gift card. Other favorite gifts include a vita mix, some new artwork, gift cards, and some fun games, amongst other things. We are so blessed and are mostly just grateful we got to spend Christmas with family!
We ate lucky 13 burgers with the snows, pizzeria 712 pizza with the mendenhalls, and bruges' . waffles with the connollys. we were fed yummy lemon shrimp pasta by the snows, ate at marleys gourmet sliders with my fam which was a surprise favorite, drank some fresh limes, ate at tin angel and gourmandise for our anniversary, and also were fed ham, pulled pork, tomatillo casserole, and tons of sweets. We saw the descendants, we bought a zoo, tin tin, and Sherlock Holmes, in order of favorite to least.
We swam 3 times. Once at Murray city with ricks' siblings, once with the Arringtons, and once with the snows. We had a really fun time playing games with ricks' siblings. we played the name game- ricks and I were on fire during the name game- and we played "whats yours like?" as well. We also played a lot of ticket to ride and carcassone with my family. We had a monster movie night with my grandma wilson where we watched ghostbusters and ate pulled pork and cole slaw. It was extremely fun. New years eve was spent with my family. We ate well, played games, and almost watched all of xmen first class before falling asleep. We were at least awake to ring in the new year. On new years day we went to neal and kerrie's and saw the family and had fun chatting. Kerrie made some killer tortilla soup that ricks and i want to repeat. Little sophia sure became my friend this break. She is so cute. On their Christmas card, Sophia is quoted as saying that after a bag of chocolate chips spilled, she used her mouth to clean them up. sounds just like me!
One of my favorite things was going to will and grace's sealing. I love love love love going to sealings and will and grace's was especially special. First, because we love them to death and second, it was the same day of the week and time as our sealing although off by a day. (we were married wednesday the 29th of december at 11 am and they were married Wednesday the 28th of december at 11 am). We haven't stopped listening to the mix that will made in honor of his wedding. It is so happy! It was also fun to see some other friends at the luncheon.
We spent our anniversary in slc. We had agreed that we wouldn't exchange gifts, however, ricks did get me flowers-lilies to be exact. He must know me really well because that simple act made me the happiest woman alive. He also put together a care package for our night away. It included rainbow cookies, wenseleydale cranberry cheese, and crackers! What a guy!!!! I seriously married up. I could go on and on about how awesome ricks is. I don't know where I'd start but the harder part would be where to stop. He is truly, 100% perfect for me. No one gets me the way he does or makes me nearly as happy as he does. We make sense together. We are the same person except he is smarter, more fun, better at nearly everything, sweeter, and so incredibly thoughtful and caring. he has such a good heart and he's funny. He's blunt, brave, and optimistic. I like to tease him that he is impatient, which he is about most things, but, when it comes to me, he is the most long suffering guy around. He knows how to love better than anyone i know- i feel looked after and taken care of but respected and needed, as well. I love seeing his face when I go to sleep and when I wake up. There's nothing I love more than seeing his mischievous smile or seeing his excitement over a recipe or video game! I love the moments when nothing is being said and I feel the tangible comfort and trust between the two of us. We aren't perfect but being with ricks and understanding how we interact makes me feel like I'm doing something right. There is nothing like the complete peace that I feel around ricks. He is my contentment and my joy. This past year has been the most blissful, wonderful, happy year of my life. I can't even imagine life getting better, it has been so good. I look forward to being his lady for the rest of forever. I totally scored!
Christmas was simply wonderful. It was divine seeing family although we only saw stefan and paulina briefly because they spent their holiday in india. Lame. Jk. Its actually really cool. Ricks and i pretended we were with them yesterday as we watched gordon ramsays great escape. But now that were back in ca, we miss everyone again. I'm back at the grindstone with independent study. My goal is to finish all my coursework by the end of January so I can hit the job market hard and heavy in feb. Ricks is back to school as well although you'd never guess it with the amount of video gaming that's been going on. Besides taking more pictures, our goal is to adapt a more healthy lifestyle this year. We have America's test kitchen's healthy cookbook which has helped us make a good start. I'm trying to bake less and man, it's hard. I really really like baking. I told myself that I had to wait til the weekend to bake. So.... We had chocolate chip cookies, churros, mexican hot chocolate, and Brazilian lemonade this weekend. I couldn't hold back.
Moral of the story: life is good. We have the best family everrrrrrrr. And ricks and I are in love. The end.
ps sis-in-law mindy took a pic. she just emailed it to me. perfect timing to go with this post. me and sophia:
So, the break: ricks killed his finals, according to me. According to him, he feels really confident but he just doesn't know how everyone else did. And, since the grades are curved, who knows! In my mind, that means that those finals were slayed by my hubs. After the finals died a harsh death, ricks and I drove to emeryville. We had a couple more presents to pick up and emeryville had a lush store. So, emeryville it was. Traffic was stupid but we survived and even treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at ikea afterward. (of note, the emeryville ikea does not carry pearl sugar. Fail.) that night we stayed at a parksleepfly econolodge in Oakland. It was cheaper by more than half to park there and stay the night than it was to park our car at the airport. In the morning we made it to our gate with about 15 min to spare. Other passengers didn't fare so well. I would say too bad for them but... We waited for them. So, too bad for us. Our flight was about 20/30 min late going.
Utah: Utah was warm!! About the same weather as CA, actually. Ricks' mom and dad picked us up and took us to breakfast at market street grill. It was delicious as always even though the waitress had to be reminded to bring out the strawberries and cream that accompanied my "waffles with strawberry and cream."
Ricks and I had made all our plans prior to getting to Ut. With all our plans arranged, any leftover time was dubbed kick-it time. And kick it we did. It was so relaxing to stay with my parents for two weeks although we each got a bit sick. While there, we ate/made sooooooo much food it was silly, my mom and I online shopped for hours in behalf of my sster's triplets that ate arriving this spring, I learned how to use a cricut and made a million baby shower invites using one, we had friends over, we had family over, and Ricks played countless hours of video games. We seriously had a blast.
The structured time was devoted towards family and a couple of close friends. Christmas eve was with the davises. We ate well and had a really lovely program. There were talents involved and an appearance by elvis. We slipped away back to the wilsons to spend the night and Christmas day. On Christmas we gorged ourselves on delicious things and then unwrapped way too many gifts. My mom loved loved loved the digital frame we got her. We gave my dad a ham radio how-to book. And Alicia and dan got lemon and pb cheesecakes respectively in addition to baby safety stuff. Ricks gave me several tarantino movies, white Christmas, socks, earrings, and tina fey's bossypants, I gave him comp cords, a mouse pad, a UC Davis sweatshirt, and a movie gift card. Other favorite gifts include a vita mix, some new artwork, gift cards, and some fun games, amongst other things. We are so blessed and are mostly just grateful we got to spend Christmas with family!
We ate lucky 13 burgers with the snows, pizzeria 712 pizza with the mendenhalls, and bruges' . waffles with the connollys. we were fed yummy lemon shrimp pasta by the snows, ate at marleys gourmet sliders with my fam which was a surprise favorite, drank some fresh limes, ate at tin angel and gourmandise for our anniversary, and also were fed ham, pulled pork, tomatillo casserole, and tons of sweets. We saw the descendants, we bought a zoo, tin tin, and Sherlock Holmes, in order of favorite to least.
We swam 3 times. Once at Murray city with ricks' siblings, once with the Arringtons, and once with the snows. We had a really fun time playing games with ricks' siblings. we played the name game- ricks and I were on fire during the name game- and we played "whats yours like?" as well. We also played a lot of ticket to ride and carcassone with my family. We had a monster movie night with my grandma wilson where we watched ghostbusters and ate pulled pork and cole slaw. It was extremely fun. New years eve was spent with my family. We ate well, played games, and almost watched all of xmen first class before falling asleep. We were at least awake to ring in the new year. On new years day we went to neal and kerrie's and saw the family and had fun chatting. Kerrie made some killer tortilla soup that ricks and i want to repeat. Little sophia sure became my friend this break. She is so cute. On their Christmas card, Sophia is quoted as saying that after a bag of chocolate chips spilled, she used her mouth to clean them up. sounds just like me!
One of my favorite things was going to will and grace's sealing. I love love love love going to sealings and will and grace's was especially special. First, because we love them to death and second, it was the same day of the week and time as our sealing although off by a day. (we were married wednesday the 29th of december at 11 am and they were married Wednesday the 28th of december at 11 am). We haven't stopped listening to the mix that will made in honor of his wedding. It is so happy! It was also fun to see some other friends at the luncheon.
We spent our anniversary in slc. We had agreed that we wouldn't exchange gifts, however, ricks did get me flowers-lilies to be exact. He must know me really well because that simple act made me the happiest woman alive. He also put together a care package for our night away. It included rainbow cookies, wenseleydale cranberry cheese, and crackers! What a guy!!!! I seriously married up. I could go on and on about how awesome ricks is. I don't know where I'd start but the harder part would be where to stop. He is truly, 100% perfect for me. No one gets me the way he does or makes me nearly as happy as he does. We make sense together. We are the same person except he is smarter, more fun, better at nearly everything, sweeter, and so incredibly thoughtful and caring. he has such a good heart and he's funny. He's blunt, brave, and optimistic. I like to tease him that he is impatient, which he is about most things, but, when it comes to me, he is the most long suffering guy around. He knows how to love better than anyone i know- i feel looked after and taken care of but respected and needed, as well. I love seeing his face when I go to sleep and when I wake up. There's nothing I love more than seeing his mischievous smile or seeing his excitement over a recipe or video game! I love the moments when nothing is being said and I feel the tangible comfort and trust between the two of us. We aren't perfect but being with ricks and understanding how we interact makes me feel like I'm doing something right. There is nothing like the complete peace that I feel around ricks. He is my contentment and my joy. This past year has been the most blissful, wonderful, happy year of my life. I can't even imagine life getting better, it has been so good. I look forward to being his lady for the rest of forever. I totally scored!
Christmas was simply wonderful. It was divine seeing family although we only saw stefan and paulina briefly because they spent their holiday in india. Lame. Jk. Its actually really cool. Ricks and i pretended we were with them yesterday as we watched gordon ramsays great escape. But now that were back in ca, we miss everyone again. I'm back at the grindstone with independent study. My goal is to finish all my coursework by the end of January so I can hit the job market hard and heavy in feb. Ricks is back to school as well although you'd never guess it with the amount of video gaming that's been going on. Besides taking more pictures, our goal is to adapt a more healthy lifestyle this year. We have America's test kitchen's healthy cookbook which has helped us make a good start. I'm trying to bake less and man, it's hard. I really really like baking. I told myself that I had to wait til the weekend to bake. So.... We had chocolate chip cookies, churros, mexican hot chocolate, and Brazilian lemonade this weekend. I couldn't hold back.
Moral of the story: life is good. We have the best family everrrrrrrr. And ricks and I are in love. The end.
ps sis-in-law mindy took a pic. she just emailed it to me. perfect timing to go with this post. me and sophia:
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