A little bit lazy today

and I'm loving it!

Note: my sweat pants, Best Friend's shirt, my uncombed/undried hair almost to mid-back. SO COMFY!!!

In other news: We are feeling much more healthy at our house. Still got some runny noses we're chasing and some pounding in our heads we are fighting off, but other than that we seem to be doing much better. *Phew* I am mostly grateful because we have a HUGE weekend coming up. Tonight I am working at the football game and Best Friend is going to a mission reunion. Tomorrow & Sunday are General Conference and we are excited to spend some time with our families.

Plus! We have our first Nutcracker rehearsal tomorrow! Woot woot! Can't wait to break out the dancin' shoes.

So, with all this craziness, I probably won't see you til Monday. Or October. Or both! Ha.

Have a great weekend.

And enjoy this awesome picture taken by me as I lay in the wet grass. Yup. Too bad the wind stopped blowing as soon as I got down there... so it goes.

Potato Soup

Yay! A recipe different from the beef/noodle ones I've been posting. I promise that's not all we eat. I'll get some good chicken ones up soon, too. As well as desserts! Keep checking back. They'll be here - one a week.... ... ... or so.

Potato Cheese Soup

Recipe from Mom Pearson



INGREDIENTS:

2 cups potatoes, diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 cup sliced carrots (optional)
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)
------>barely cover vegetables with water, and cook until tender -- do not drain
White sauce:
1 square butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup flour
1 can evaporated milk + enough water to = 4 cups
1/2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
Cook white sauce until think. Add to vegetables. Add:
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 Tbs bacon bits (optional)
Stir until cheese is melted.

(We added the peas and carrots but we didn't have the bacon bits. In case you wanted to replicate it.)

How did you like this one? We ate some Rhodes Rolls with it (bought at Wal-mart) and oh MAN it was good! Best Friend practically inhaled his (after saying he wasn't sure we should eat soup in September on a warm day). It was hilarious. And so so so so delicious.



Home sick today

And by "home sick" I don't mean missing Vernal.
Though it would be nice if my family would ever talk to me... sheesh.

Nope. By "home sick" I literally mean that I am at home. And sick.

But the part you don't get from that is that I am hating it royally. (Why royally? I'm not sure. It just came out that way. It doesn't make any sense. But that's ok. Because I'm sick.)

I don't know that I'll get anything done today that I wanted to: going to the bank, going to get a new drivers license, or going grocery shopping. I'm feeling very sad about all that. I was looking forward to a very productive Thursday. Though I guess the nice thing about staying home is that I'll do the dishes, make the bed, sleep a lot, and make cookies for Saturday night's family dinner. (oops. guess I shouldn't have told you I was sick while making cookies. oh well. more for me.) And I've already killed all my spider friends hanging out in little corners outside, so I should feel good about that right?

The worst part is that I honestly don't know what I'm sick with or why. Best Friend was a little bit sick earlier this week, but that was mostly congestion & a cold. I am definitely congested, but I am having funny stomach pains (no not cramps. i know what those are) and throwing up. It gets especially worse after eating ham and cheese sandwichs with miracle whip on wheat bread. I've been wondering if it's some sort of allergy, but I have been eating those three times a week for the last two months. Or maybe it's gone bad? But I just bought the stuff last week. I don't know. It's lame. And now I'm at home feeling like crap.

At least I don't have any classes today (until 4 pm) so I don't have to worry about that.

I hope none of YOU get sick, so I'm sending well-wishes your way. Along with some funny pictures for a good laugh:

not normally what I would share on my blog, but I almost died laughing and couldn't resist.

I hope no one is offended... Blame it on my illness... Thanks.

Picture of the Week!

Two again this week.

Which one do YOU like more?

Post your opinion in the comments below!

Hamburger Pepperoni Macaroni

Doesn't it just scream delicious-ness at you? It does to us. Oooh. It's just delightful. Oh, and if that is too much of a mouthful for you, you can call it (as husband does) Pizza Macaroni. Not as cool, but there you go.

P.S. Sorry about all the beef recipes. My next one is a soup. Promise. Also, sorry I skipped a week. This counts for it, though.

Hamburger Pepperoni Macaroni

Recipe from Rhi Reynolds

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb hamburger

1 can of pizza sauce

1 can of tomato sauce

elbow macaroni

pepperoni

mozzarella cheese

minced onion

PREPARATION:

Cook noodles

Brown hamburger and onion

Mix all ingredients together (except cheese)

Put in a baking pan (we use an 8X8)

Top w/ mozzarella

Put in the oven at 350 til bubbly and cheese is melted (about 20 minutes)

As always, let us know if you try it and like it!

Nerd Alert!

It's true. I'm a nerd. And if you haven't figured that out yet... well... maybe you should read some more. Ha.

But really. My math and music classes lately have been reminding me just how nerdy I am. It's ridiculous. Mostly because it's reminding me of some very interesting situations I was in as a wee child in elementary school. It's entertaining for my brain - and moderately embarrassing, too. So of course, I had to share it with the world through blogger. I mean, it's only natural, right?

As a child, I grew up thinking I was smarter than everyone else. Or at least, I was trying to be smarter than everyone else. This was brought about by the fact that I never had any homework and school was very very easy for me. All the time. Until 9th grade, anyway, when I got my first A- and it devastated my soul. I even did make-up work and the teacher gave me an A-. I would have hated him, but I couldn't cuz he was in my ward. I just sulked for a long long time.

During school I remember vividly that I was always sitting quietly - doing my work and getting ahead of my chatty and question-asking classmates. I never asked questions. I never studied. I aced all my tests and got perfect scores on my homework. I felt good about myself all the time, without really realizing it. I just knew I wanted to be best in the class. Sadly, I usually ended up third. There was one girl in my classes that I could never quite catch. We either got the same score, or she got one more than me. It was terrible. My goal in life was to have higher scores than her, be faster at doing my work than her, and read higher-level reading books than her. Pathetic, right? But it kept me motivated. To a point, at least.

I never was outwardly rude or bossy or snotty or smart-alecky. I was the nerd that sits quietly in the back with a few weird friends that gets all the answers right and sometimes gets to grade others' papers as a reward for doing so well. (that was my favorite - and how I knew I wanted to be a teacher: I enjoyed grading papers. scary.) I was very shy, very quiet, and very smart. I simplified fractions for fun. Seriously. And alphabetized all the family movies (for fun) over the weekend. Double seriously.

Anyway. I tell you all this because I feel like my Math and Music classes are ridiculously easy right now. I'm still learning a lot, but I also skip ahead of my group during work time because I understand it and feel they are making it too complicated. So I jump ahead. At the beginning of the semester, I was more outgoing and was (trying) to make friends. Now it's back to the way it was in elementary school: I sit quiety and get ahead on my coursework so I don't have any homework that night. It's kind of scary. But I'm doing well. I know that for a fact. It's just weird to have so many deja vu moments of similar things we learned in elementary school and how I aced it then. So why wouldn't I ace it now?

The plus side is that college has been kicking my butt lately, so it's nice to have a couple of "easy" classes where I actually undertand what is going on. Hopefully they stay easy. Though I doubt it.

Rant of the nerd is finished.

Signing out.
Me.

Elbbarcs - the game of nonsense words

The other night, husband and I went to our friends' house to eat ice cream and play games. The night started out super fun with me holding one of their twin girls and her starting to scream cuz she didn't like me. Awesome. not.

BUT. we persevered and made it to the fun part of the night (after the babies were in bed - not that they aren't fun, but I felt like a mean person after making one so upset when she realized I wasn't her mommy. life is hard). We started by eating ice cream. They provided the yummy cream of ice-ness and we provided the yummy toppings. It was a delectable and awesome bit of dessert after a long day.

Whilst eating our yummy ice cream, we played Qwirkle - our favorite game. Husband and I were totally prepared to dominate until Emily came out of nowhere and threw some new (and perfectly legal) moves at us that we had never seen or thought of before. Lame! But happy for her. She kicked our trashes. Husband was second, and I came in third. It was a great round and I learned some awesome new tricks to use on husband next time we play.

After Qwirkle, we had a little bit of time for a second game and what husband and I shall forever refer to as "Elbbarcs" was created. Not because of us, though. Oh no. It was Emily's idea and she gets all the credit. We loved it. Ok, admittedly we were a little skeptical at first, but man oh man! It was ridiculously good fun.

"Elbbarcs" is a new version of "Scrabble". Now, maybe it was fun because we were tired, but I really think it was fun because it was awesome. Seriously. The Rules? Simple. Create the most non-sensical word you can (can be based off a 'hill-billy' word) and come up with a somewhat plausible definition for it. Get it? Good. Now prepare to experience some of the most fascinating new words that have (sadly enough) become part of husband's and my vocab that we now and forever more will speak to each other:

doned - "I doned it"
troyote - coyotes from troy
growlux - the newest and bestest brand of lawn fertilizer
daganen - it's not straight across the street, it's 'daganen'
sturgio - what they are calling the high-rank officers in the new regime
growluxir - the upgrade of 'growlux'
schapett - the most expensive brand of form-fitting pants
jomums - no one says "yo mama" any more, they say "jomums"

And I'm sure I've forgotten a few. We were laughing the entire time. It was fantastic and husband and I cannot WAIT to try it again. It was a great way to play the game really fast because a player could frequently use all their tiles at one time. It also meant a lot of points. I think our highest score was somewhere in the 600s - without even trying! Crazy, right?

So! If you ever want to play Qwirkle or Elbbarcs, or any other super ridiculously fun game, give us a holler. We love games. Love them. Board or card or whatever. Share the love.

Thanks Emily & Dale for a great night! Can't wait to play again.

wife & husband: A-Z

wife

Age: 21

Bedsize: Queen 

Chores that you hate: sweeping or doing other people's dishes (husband's excluded) 

Dogs: love them, but allergic

Essential start to your day: breakfast

Favorite color: green

Gold or Silver: silver

Height: 5'7"

Instruments you play: piano, flute, piccolo, guitar (sorta), voice 

Job title: concessions worker

Kids: none

Live: Provo, UT

Mother’s Name: Karilynne 

Nicknames: Shelly, Nutshell, Shelly-belly

Overnight hospital stays: none

Pet peeves: not having an internet connection, pointless homework assignments, and bad/dumb drivers

Quote from a movie or tv show:  (Smee in 'Hook'): I've just had an apostrophe..
Right or Lefty: righty-handed

Siblings: 3 sisters & 2 brothers

Time you wake up: depends on what I'm doing that day
Underwear: I used to have dozens in all colors now I just wear white :)

Vegetable you hate: pinto beans

What makes you run late: waking up late, husband...

X-Rays You’ve Had: teeth and knee

Yummy food you make: chocolate chip cookies or red enchiladas or brownies or salisbury steak or lots of really really yummy foods all the time. let's face it - all or at least most of all food is yummy.

Zoo Animal: elephant

husband

Age: 23

Bedsize: Queen 

Chores that you hate: cleaning the bathroom

Dogs: never had one, they bark a lot.

Essential start to your day: say "I Love You"

Favorite color: Green

Gold or Silver: Silver

Height: 5'11 and 3/4

Instruments you play: piano, guitar, voice

Job title: Records Courier

Kids: none

Live: ecstatically.  Provo, UT

Mother’s Name: Ellen

Nicknames: Dan, Danny Boy, Jacks

Overnight hospital stays: none

Pet peeves: picking under your fingernails

Quote from a movie or tv show: "With great power comes great responsibility."

Right or Lefty: Righty

Siblings: 5 sisters and 5 brothers

Time you wake up: after Nashelle 

Underwear: pure white and awesome

Vegetable you hate: eggplant

What makes you run late: everything

X-Rays You’ve Had: shoulder, teeth, chest/lungs

Yummy food you make: Teriyaki Chicken, Hamburgers, other stuff.

Zoo Animal: Tiger


Super fun, right? Post a link to yours in the comments below. I can't wait to read them!

What do you think...

about our new blog?

I like the blue much better than the red and think that overall the text is much easier to read.

HOWEVER. I want your feedback. Do you like this one? Or the old one? Or neither is an option, too. Ha.

Post a comment and tell me what you think. Please? Ok. Thanks. Bye.

some updating type stuff

I keep having brilliant moments during the day when I think: "Oh yeah! That would be awesome to blog about!" So I get on my computer and subsequently forget everything I was going to say. Brilliant. That's me.

Best news ever (or at least recently) : husband and I get to be in a show together! It's been so so long since I've been on a stage and performed. I'm going crazy because of it. It really keeps me up at night. And I know that husband has had a hard time not being in BYU Men's Chorus this semester. Poor guy. But we have found an outlet for all our creative-ness. That's right! We're going to be in a show! We are going to be dancing partners in the Nutcracker. Woot! I've never been in the Nutcracker before. It's going to be a new experience and I'm thrilled. Rehearsals start next week. Yay hooray.

Second best news ever : we finally got our marriage license and so my name is now officially changed. Yup. I'm Nashelle Jackson now. Woot woot. It's changed on the church records, my social security card, and BYU. All I'm missing is my drivers license. But that's because they are dumb and I don't have all the 'information' I need. Blah. Whatever.

Oh! My super awesome missionary brother has un-grounded me! He had grounded me for getting married while he was in Japan, but apparently the un-grounding time has come. In the last couple weeks I have gotten three letters from him. It's so exciting! Surprisingly enough, however, I learned today that he actually un-grounded me back in JULY. Yeah. I got a letter that was written in July but not posted until just recently. He said something along the lines of I was un-grounded, but I wasn't priviledged to know that information until after my wedding. What the crap?! So he sent me the letter now instead of clear back then. What a turd, right?

Oh. And then on the last line he says (and I quote), "P.S. I got your wedding announcement. Nashelle... seriously... what were you thinking? Those pink shoes totally don't go with your picture." I gasped. And laughed. And decided I'm going to punch him in the gut when he gets home. Hmpf. Take that.

This is the picture from our wedding announcement my brother was referring to. What a stinker.

Also, random - does anyone know of a good and well-priced (aka cheap) hair cutting place in Provo or the surrounding areas? I looking for a good spot. I love my mom, but she is kind of far away and I need a solution for my poor hair pronto. Let me know! Thanks.

Happy Wednesday. Best wishes for your Thursday.

picture of the week

is it ridiculous that I had a super hard time picking a picture this week? that either means I'm doing something very right or very wrong. it also means that you get TWO pictures. mwahaha.

Number one: taken on University Ave - do you see the mountains? cuz I sure don't. They disappeared! Cool.

Number two: taken while on a walk late at night (ok, it was 8 pm. don't judge) Best Friend especially loved the light on the wall.

life update

I promise to keep this brief.

UPDATES:
--no more weekly photos of us. i know you're all terribly disappointed. so for all of you - i will do monthly photos of us. it will be a grand ol' post. look for it at the end of september. it will be fun.

--we are going to be in the Nutcracker! Best Friend and i will be dance partners and party parents for the show. i am so so excited to dance AND perform with Best Friend. it will be a new and awesome adventure.

--i have a class that is a technology only class. we don't even meet with the instructor unless we need extra help. we just do our homework on our own and figure everything else out. it is SO frustrating. i don't enjoy it. but, i have to do it to graduate and so if really random posts pop up about this or that technological thing (including videos and google sites and whatnot) just bear with me. it's a great excuse to blog when i don't have a lot of time.

--another promotion through my job. that's three in one week. i'm grateful. super grateful. but stressed out because it means lots of work and responsibility (of course that's what a promotion is). we will see how it goes. concessions is hard work. trust me. it's not as easy as it looks. especially when it comes to customer service. some people are just rude. don't be rude.

--brother #1 has been on his mission for EIGHT MONTHS! but he has finally started writing me again. thank goodness. i love getting letters from him. he's the greatest.

So there you go. Brief update. A good time. And lots more to come.
Yay!

Signing out.
me.

reasons I love my husband

(these are only some of the reasons I love my husband because there are MANY reasons why I love him.just so you know.)

--he lets me get back in bed with him 2-3 times in the morning when I'm still tired.
--he makes dinner when I'm too tired or lazy.
--and he enjoys it (making dinner, I mean).
--he lets me practice my photography on him.
--he watches old movies with me.
--he lets me cuddle up to him when I'm cold.
--he makes me laugh.
--he lets me cry.
--he remembers little details from when we were dating.
--he tells me he remembers those little details and I get crazy awesome goosebumps.
--he doesn't make fun of me for stressing out about my homework.
--he makes the BEST ice cream cones ever.
--he lets me win at Qwirkle. sometimes.
--he carries me to bed when I fall asleep doing homework on the couch.
--he gives incredible back and foot massages.
--he finishes my thoughts and I finish him. it's grossly romantic.

mmm. i love me my husband. :)

i'm a sloucher

and it gets a great big frowny face.

I can't believe it! All the dance classes I've taken, all the times I've corrected my brothers, and I've been caught slouching!


I'm distraught.

What? You don't believe me? Here is the unfortunate proof:

GAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! I could cry. I am SO disappointed. I'm so seriously. This is not ok.

Effective Immediately: NO SLOUCHING TOLERANCE. This has got to end.

Super random. I know. Seems to be the theme of the month. Oh well.

:)

Signing out.
Me.

My cousin is Justin Beiber

My cousin is your typical teenage boy. He just turned 16, lives in Lehi, plays sports of all kinds, and picks on his younger siblings mercilessly.

What I didn't know however, was that my cousin is a genius and a super-fast thinker.

 

How did I learn about this wisdom? Check it out - I was on facebook one day, and saw a status update from him. (I swear to Buddha this is copy-pasted straight from facebook. I in no way altered it. Promise.) This is what he said:

"So I was at the mall today and 2 little 7 year old girls came up to me and said "you look like justin bieber" then i told them that of course i did because I AM justin bieber. Ha lets just say my hand is still tired from signing all their stuff.(: "

... ... ... ... what the genius, right?!

Oh my goodness, I couldn't stop laughing. Those two little girls are going to be so devastated when they find out. I feel kind of bad for them.

...kind of...

Randomly Random

A. I feel like I've been posting a LOT lately. At least, a lot more than normal. Weird? Kinda. Good? Yes. At least for me. I hope no one has stopped reading my blog because of how much I post. That would be sad. But it's been an interesting week for me and so I have desired to blog more than my usual. *shrug*

B. This post has no "real" value. Well, it does....in a way. Uhm...now it's awkward. Anyway. I say that because I have nothing really to say. I just have a lot of things on my mind and that I've found that I'm going to blog about today. Yay for you. ...so...enjoy? Yes. Enjoy.

So without any further ado, here is my random post of random-ness that is completely random. and...awesome...of course.


1. I love seeing old friends! Yesterday in the computer, a friend of mine from Snow sat down next to me and said hello. She just got back a few weeks ago from serving an LDS Mission in Boston, MA. Super cool, right? Anyway, it was super great to see her since I haven't in a while and to catch up. It basically made my day.

2. I have received, not one, but two job promotions in the last, not one, but two days. Woah! I have a *sort of*  job working for BYU Concessions. I know. Ridiculously un-glamorous. And also really stressful. At least in the moment. I call it a sort of job because I am still looking for employment elsewhere. Concessions pays great, but it's definitely not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. For now, it will help to pay the bills and it's a great excuse to at least be in the stadium for the football games, though, admittedly, I won't be able to watch. However, I have gone from lowly food-distributor to cashier (my second day on the job in April), from cashier to money-handler (received training yesterday), and now from money-handler to Stand Leader (training later this afternoon). Be impressed. I know, I know. Ridiculous, right? But apparently that's how they roll. I suppose it works out for me - double pay raise and more hours, but it's also a LOT more stress. Not so happy-making.

3. I am posting recipes on my other blog. Every Friday. Sort of like my Wednesday pictures of the week on this blog. You should check them out. Just go here to get the links to all the recipes. Ok, fine. To both of the recipes. but next week, there will be a THIRD. So there. 

4. See this picture?

Yup. That's a deer. On BYU campus. Right behind the Smith Fieldhouse. I saw it while stopping to take a super cool picture of some beautiful flowers (will be shown later) and so took some pictures. I talked to the deer while taking pictures, too. She glared at me. I calmed her down. We parted friends. And safe. That's important. *sigh* I love living by the mountains.

5. And see this picture?

Bikes. On the bike rack. Right before I saw my deer friend. ha. do you get it? Pretty awesome, right?

6. And have I mentioned lately how much I just love Best Friend? Oh... I have? Well, I'm gonna mention it again:

I LOVE YOU BEST FRIEND!

Ok. That's enough. I'm done. Over and out. 
Later dudes.

Red Enchiladas

This is husband's FAVORITE. He told me so. It must be true. And I'm sure it's not a coincidence that this was the first meal that I ever made for him. Nope. It's just fate. Trust me, you're going to want to try this one!

Red Enchiladas

Recipe from Mom Pearson

INGREDIENTS:

about 16 corn torillas

vegetable oil
1 lb hamburger

1 can red enchilada sauce

1 onion, diced

1 can olives

lots and lots of cheese :)

PREPARATION:
pour vegetable oil into a pan about 1/4 in. deep (enough to cover a tortilla)
fry the tortillas until they are crunchy, but not stiff
cook the hamburger
**now it gets tricky. are you ready?!**
pour a little red sauce onto a plate (enough to cover a tortilla)
dip one side of the tortilla onto the plate, covering it with sauce
put hamburger, onions, olives, and cheese onto the tortilla
roll it up (that's why you don't want the tortilla too cooked) and place in 8X8 pan
continue this process with all of the tortillas, or until the pan is full
cover the enchiladas with the remaining red sauce, ingredients (usually we have extra olives) and cheese
bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes

ENJOY!!!

This makes enough for 4-6 people, depending on how much you love it and want to share. HA! We love this meal with any fruit and veggie combo. We also usually drink milk with it instead of water because it gets hot and spicy - which is what we love about it.

Did you try it? Did you like it? Post a comment and let us know!

(There are pictures below as a step-by-step guide just in case you get confused.)

Corn tortillas:

Put in oil:

Firm, but still floppy:

Lots of yummy tortillas:

Oh! And PS. Don't ever despair if you make too many or if they are too crunchy.

Just put some onion salt on them and proceed to die of heavenly joyfulness.

seriously. (fried corn tortillas + onion salt)eating them = love.

and that is a math equation I both understand AND enjoy. the end.

Pour red enchilada sauce on a plate.

yes. this picture is sideways. oops.

What the green?! We added green chiles this time because we had some extra.

It was yum. But optional. It's just as good without them.

Smother with the remaining sauce once the pan is full of enchiladas.

Top with leftover ingredients (hamburger, olives, onions, whatever) and LOTS of cheese:

 Bake and Enjoy:

Cultural Diorama

***This is a project for one of my classes at school. How cool, right? Class gives me an excuse to blog. Ha!***

Cultural Diorama

ELED 351

Label: White female, from a fast-growing (due to oil) north-eastern Utah town

Artifact 1: Picture of my husband and me at the Manti, UT temple where we were married

The church has always been the center-point of my life. My family has always been very strong in the church and it was never a question of whether or not we were going each Sunday but how much we would get out of it. I love the purpose that I feel from being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have always felt encouraged to do my best and felt the love of my leaders. I love the opportunities that come to serve while in the church and the friends that I have made. Mostly, though, I love Eternal Families. I am grateful that I came from one, and that I was able to add my husband to mine and join his. It is such a miracle to me that we get to be together forever and I can't imagine anything in life that I want more. Because of that desire, I will do anything God asks of me to meet that goal and have my family be with me forever.

Artifact 2: Picture of our families

Even since being married, there have been very few days when I didn't talk to one or both of my parents - even if it was only through a text. My family is the most important thing to me in the world. We have had some awesome shared experiences that have brought us so close together and we love spending time with each other. We have many traditions that I want to continue in my own home including making cookies on Sunday, waking up super early on Christmas, having music playing all the time, and making a point to always be laughing together.

Artifact 3: My camera

My camera goes with me everywhere lately and is definitely a part of my daily activities. I get to practice my photography skills on my husband every morning (and he practices on me), as well as random things that grab my attention during the day. I like to stop as I'm walking to my car after school and take pictures of the flowers on the path, or a cool shadow on a building. If I'm out running errands, I like to stop at various locations and take pictures there, too. My favorite subjects are: people, temples, and flowers. Photography has become a way for me to relax and to practice gaining perspective on the world around me.

Those Awesome Little Things

You know what I'm talking about.

Like yesterday, when I woke up in a super-grouchy mood for no good reason? And then two awesome little things happened. Are you ready? They are so happy-making.

NUMERO UNO: I don't know spanish. Calling Daniel three times to try to coordinate a special between-class meeting spot for the two of us, not reaching him, turning around to go to class and having him walk up right behind me. Which is not a regular occurance on our huge campus. Just so you know. I would have squealed but for the evil monster Grouchy on my back, and instead just felt said monster loosen his hold. Yay!

NUMBER TWO: see? told ya. embarrassing really. Walking into my Stats class - thoroughly dreading it - realizing the only seats were in the BACK of the room and making my way up the aisle and seeing in one of the seats one of my favorite people from high school! I asked to sit by him, he said "of course!" and I asked what in the world he was doing in my Stats class. (He is much smarter than me.) He was there for some job thing. After class though, we walked together for a little bit since we were going the same way and got to catch up. He got married about two weeks after we did, also in the Manti temple, and in the same room! What a funny coin-ki-dink, huh? (that's code for 'coincidence' when it's really not a coincidence.) After talking to him and both of us expressing our love of our spouses and our happiness that is abounding is our marriages, I remembered how blessed I truly am and monster Grouchy disappeared.

So I called Daniel and told him I loved him and that even though there are occasional stressful times being married, is it always a fantastical time being married - especially to him. I love being with just one person that I love more than anything all the time. It's the bomb-diggity. It was great to see my friend and catch up (and some awesome double-dates will be forth-coming for sure), but I was more grateful that his enthusiasm for life and marriage helped me get rid of the grouchiness and remind me how much I love my Best Friend.

YAY! don't you just love those awesome little things that aren't so little?!

I sure do.

Picture of the Week

Ok. So I'm really wanting to do more of this photography stuff (hence the pictures of myself and Best Friend taken every school day as well as the new-found devotion to carrying my camera around with me everywhere that I go and trying not to take it out too often).

So, I'm going to start a Picture of the Week. This will be any picture - person or landscape - that I have taken during the last week that I think is good enough to share with all of you. I'm actually really excited. I will probably do this post on Wednesdays. I think it's a good middle-of-the-week post, yeah? Great. Me too.

Here is one from last week that I love:

taken at the Provo, UT temple. Canon PowerShot SX100

Feel free to comment and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism, though, people. Ok? Thanks.

***I'm always looking for ways to improve. If you want to *cough cough* be a model or know of some great locations that I should check out, you should definitely let me know! Or if you have a fancy camera you are getting rid of - I would LOVE a nice manual-mode-included camera. Mine is amazing, don't get me wrong, but I would love to learn and experiment. Just a thought to put out into that lovely universe.***

Alright. Picture of the week. Done and done.

Signing out.

Me.

what is a weekend?

a time to relax? really?! no way. I don't believe it.

... ... what is relax?

Ok. Just kidding. I know what relax means. And I know what a weekend is. Of course I do.

Mine just seem to be disappearing a lot faster than normal. And I'm kinda bummed about it.

This weekend was totally ridiculous. We definitely did not get any down time. HOWEVER, we did manage to enjoy ourselves. So that's gotta count for something.

Saturday morning we went to the temple, and after Daniel mowed the lawn while I ran errands hectically. Literally. Ran. It was embarassing. But I was in a hurry.

Why was I in such a hurry? Because I had been asked by my sister to help her out with her fashion show. She is on the Allyse Bridal Fashion Team and they had a fashion show on Saturday that she was supposed to bring 10 girls to. Well, some of the girls she asked to come dropped out last minute, so she asked me to come. I was flattered, even though I reminded her I should NOT have been her last resort. Hmpf.

So after my errands, I showered and got all pretty-fied and we booked it over to University Mall. It was LOTS of fun. We got to pick our dresses and walk down the runway to awesome music. Two of my sisters did (the third being only 10 and therefore WAY too young) the show and it was great to watch them strut their stuff on the runway.

thanks for the awesome pics daniel! esp mine - don't you love the flash he caught? super cool.

of course, my sisters' pics are awesome too... ... ... i didn't forget them.

It was great to see my sisters and my mom and have a few minutes to catch up. PLUS! Mom brought us some wedding pics that I *accidently* sent to Vernal. Oops. But we have them now! Hooray! And my house will finally be decorated. :)

Anyway, after the show, we gulped down some Burger King for dinner while watching the end of the first half of the BYU/Texas game (so so promising...) and then went to Stake Conference. After that we went to Smith's - and saw the WHOLE STAKE there. It was ridiculous. But we needed food.

Food is a necessity you know. And it was groceries - not just chocolate. So it was legitimate.

*phew* A whole day of crazy later, we enjoyed a busy but very spiritually fulfilling Sunday concluded with a fanTAStic CES Fireside by Elder Oaks. Wowzers. We loved it.

and then... ... ... ... school started again this morning.

Good thing I like my 8 am class or I would have been in really big trouble.

wait... What?! ... I missed the weekend

...like for seriously! My weekend disappeared. More like disapparated (which is what I tried to write instead of 'disappeared' cuz I'm just that awesome.)

but holy moly this weekend went super fast and was super busy. (super great though) 

***and please  never use that many supers in a statement again, nashelle, k thanks.***

Saturday started off with a lovely breakfast of pancakes and a lovelier trip to the Provo temple.

Calm...quiet...good time with Best Friend...relaxing...

but we no sooner walked out of the temple when the madness occured.

I had less than two hours until I needed to be showered and done-up for a fashion show.

In the meantime, I had to get some most important errands done.

and I was ridiculously stressed out.

So Best Friend mowed the lawn while I ran errands and tried not to cry from frustration and exhaustion.

(I'm not sure why I wanted to cry, but I sure almost did.)

Relief finally came when my hair had been blow-dried and straightened and my make-up all done and I

was ready to head over to the fashion show. *phew*

The fashion show was really fun - Sister #1 is on Allyse's Bridal Fashion Team and she was supposed to get a certain number of girls to do the show with her. Lucky me got to be one of the girls she asked.
(mostly cuz the other girls dropped out, but that's ok, too.)

We got to pick out a prom dress - anyone of our choice - and model it on the runway.

What a blast! And my dress is gorgeous - yes? 

(insert picture after I steal Best Friend's camera. oops.)
--camera successfully commandeered. pictures now please.--

It was great and fun to watch two of my sisters be model-esque. Plus seeing my family is always 

a grand old time, so that was a bonus. :)

After the fashion show, we ran our tushes over to Burger King with an awesome gift card and bought some dinner for our growling bellies. Delicious. Plus, we got to watch the end of the first half of 

the BYU/Texas game - when we were actually winning. But we were at stake conference

for the second half. Thank goodness, I don't think I could have taken the disappointment in person.

They put up a good fight though.

We went late-Saturday-night grocery shopping at our local Smith's and let me just warn you:

don't go to Smith's late on Saturday night.

It is really really crowded.

But we needed food. So it was worth it. Or will be when Best Friend

gets something yum for dinner later this week and tells me what

a stupendous cook I am. Yup. Stupendous.

See?! All that in one day. But it was a fun time. I just now wish I would have had a couple

extra hours of relaxtion-i-za-tion. That's all.

What did you do for the weekend?

Signing out.

Me.