busy, busy

We've been pretty busy around here. Dave's birthday is tomorrow so I braved the snowy roads and drove to Idaho Falls to get his present. I got to visit my sister and do a little shopping. Tomorrow Dave finishes finals and we drive down to Logan for a wedding. My other sis is taking us out to dinner for Dave's birthday and then she'll watch Ana while we are at the wedding Saturday morning. Still to do this Christmas season:

*Redecorate my Christmas tree. I undecorated the top for my sharing time this last Sunday, and Ana has slowly undecorated the bottom boughs. But since I don't have any other pressing things to do tonight, I'll try to make it look pretty again.


*Get buttons for our stockings. Every year we sew on a new button. I made them last year. Its kinda fun.


*Finish Christmas shopping. We still need most of Ana's stuff, our parents, and my brother and Dave's brother. And I need a couple more things for Dave. Yes, we're slow.


*Finish (start?) a blanket for a friend who is due any day with their first baby.

*Goodie plates for neighbors and friends. Maybe I'll be sending new year cards instead of Christmas.


Whew, where is December going?

I saw this today

Some of you might have seen this already



Erin said this is "wrong". I think it's pretty funny. What do you think?

First Snow!!!

If its gonna be cold, it might as well be snowy. I really like the snow. And today was our first reall snowfall. It snowed all night and all morning, so this morning I took Ana out in it for the first time. She had a hard time maneuvering herself. I'm not sure if it was from the snow or all her clothes. Here she is! (The pictures turned out really dark. I think our camera is dying.)

Our Town

So, I created something. I could do pretty much anything I wanted for my final project in my theatre appreciation class; I chose to make a poster for the play "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder. The set in that play basically consists of a few old chairs, two tables, and a couple of ladders. It's very simple. That's why I wanted to make this poster simple. I made it to be 11x17 inches, the regulation size if you want to hang anything on campus here. Now that I look at it again, I would kind of like to see the main "Our Town" text block moved up just a little bit. Oh well, I am done and I am sure it will be good enough.

Here it is:

Let me know what you think of it (Looks like you will have to click on it to get a good look). Of course it's nothing professional but I am pretty proud of it. I actually took that picture of the chair today.

If you are interested in seeing the play, you can get it on DVD. The version we saw was from 2003 starring Paul Newman. Bro. Hansen says it's a great version.

Dear Erin (or "I am a sweater")

So Erin and I took this random quiz somewhere about what crappy Christmas gift you would be. With a title like that you are just setting yourself up for disappointment. Who wants to be a crappy gift of any kind? Well, I actually didn't end up being disappointed. I can't believe I am actually posting these. Sometimes we take these quizzes for a good time but I can't really explain why I have such an aversion to posting results. Here it is:

You Are a Christmas Sweater!

Over the top, colorful, and totally flashy. You're not afraid to be a little tacky.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

I am a sweater. It mostly had nice things to say about me. Pretty good for a crappy gift right?*

Anyway, Erin was mortified when her results came back. She is a fruitcake. Although I am sure some of her family has been trying to tell her for a while, she took it differently this time. I felt bad for her when I saw her reaction so Erin, this part of my post is dedicated to you:

• -Fruitcakes have been around since ancient Rome. Not only does each individual fruitcake last an incredibly long time, the entire race of fruitcakes has proven it has what it takes to stick around. Fruitcake has been around longer than Ceaser Salad and was probably in existence even before Ceaser himself. That counts for something right?
• -In Egypt fruitcake was considered to be a necessary food for the afterlife. Whatever that means.
• -In 18th century England fruitcake was restricted to certain holidays and weddings because it was too sweet. Sweet, see that's a good one.

There you go Erin. I hope that helps you feel a little better about yourself. I got all these unquestionable facts from die hard fruitcake fan's websites and wikipedia. So, you know you can't question their validity.

*I am only calling a sweater a crappy gift because of the name of the quiz. Honestly, who doesn't have at least one sweater that they like? I have more than one. I guess the crappy part of this gift is that it is specifically a "Christmas Sweater" and you are getting it ON CHRISTMAS. I can't say that I actually own a Christmas sweater...

Crappy Christmas Present

You Are a Fruitcake!

You taste like nothing else in this world. And get ready, you're about to get tossed!

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

Sure, Dave was a Christmas Sweater who is flashy and cool, and what am I? Fruitcake. I'm a little depressed over these results.

Things I am loving this pregnancy

*Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls
*Target brand "Wildberry" fruit leather that my friend introduced me to and then gave me a whole bunch of them.
*When Dave gets up with Ana and lets me sleep a little longer.
*Pretty bland foods - Steak and potatoes, chicken and rice, turkey sandwiches
*Apples, (but I can't just bite into them. I have to cut off chunks with a knife) and grapes
*Potato Chips
*Ana's nap time (aka my naptime)
*Eggs - I eat one every morning and sometimes I hard boil one in the afternoon too.

Things I don't like that I liked when pregnant with Ana:

*Pretzels
*carrots and ranch dressing
*mexican food

I've also been craving Italian food for a couple days now, but I have yet to eat any

I feel so different this time than I did with Ana, it makes me think we are having a boy. But I really can't imagine having a boy. I'm so used to girl stuff. We'll find out in a few months I guess.

Feelin Good

Wow. I have survived the worst part of this semester. I am so glad I am almost done with this week. I'll spare the details but it was pretty crazy the last few days.

I really like playing with Ana, it is a great way for me to stop thinking about stressors. I have a great time, Ana has a great time, and Erin can get things done easier. It is a win win win situation. Plus, I am having a great time and in no way do I have to feel guilty for playing with her instead of doing something dumb like homework. She is one of the best stress relievers I have (minus the occasional diarrea blowout and taco soup incident). When my schedule eased up today I sat down with Ana in our front room and she helped me wrap a couple of Erin's Christmas presents. Ana really likes the tape. We need to buy more.

We got our Christmas tree up on Sunday. It looks good. Maybe I will post a picture. Our stockings are now hanging on the wall, Erin made them and they are pretty much the coolest stockings ever. Off and on you can hear James Taylor Christmas songs playing and there is a general atmosphere of feeling good in our apartment as I sit here eating some ranch doritos and typing with Ana on my lap.

One last thing...

I would like you all to see this picture:

I won a bag of these at our family Christmas party a couple weeks ago. They are candy cane Hershey's Kisses. And they are wonderful. Apart from enjoying them plain they are also great dropped into a cup of hot chocolate and allowed (forced I guess) to melt. Mmmm...

Goings on

Its been a while since I posted. So, here's what's been going on.

*Erin: Sunday was a crazy day! I had sharing time to prepare, then church, then the Christmas Devo and then tithing settlement. I was so tired by the end of the day. Yesterday I was sicker than a dog. I threw up probably about 10 times and couldn't get off the couch. My mom and came up from Pocatello and did my dishes, emptied my bathroom trash, mopped my floor and made me something to eat. I even kept it down for about an hour or so. I went to bed at 9:00 pm. I'm feeling much better today, just so tired....

*Dave: He has been working like a dog. He had a huge test yesterday and was studying all day for it. I even made him go up on campus instead of staying home so that he wouldn't try to take care of Ana instead of studying. He did pretty well, so it was worth it. Now he has a paper to write and projects to finish before finals week next week. Good luck, Dave!

*Ana: Has been waking up early the last few days and won't go back to sleep. Then she's tired a few hours later and so is napping before noon. Then she won't nap in the afternoon. She's not eating very well either. I think her little incisors are giving her trouble. Also about her: she likes to play the drums - or rather, she likes to beat her hands on whatever and say "bff, ksh" like she was playing the drums. She's very aware of music whenever it is on. She dances and even sings. Only 6 more weeks until she's in nursery! She talks a lot, and loves to talk on the phone. She never stops moving and is so much fun to play with. Here she is sitting on my shoulder. (I cropped myself out because I look like I'm on death's doorstep.)

Noelco

I decided to use a festive video to reveal the answer to the most recent mystery photo. Let me give you a hint, the picture isn't a shoe shiner or blood pressure meter.




In case you are still unsure due to the wide variety of products offered by Norelco here is the original, full size mystery picture.

So, was that a pretty good one? Too hard? Well, not for Will and Wendy...