Messy Jessie

A Poem

2012-01-22T16:32:00.000-06:00

First comes love,

Then comes marriage,

Then comes the baby in the baby carriage.

Baby Polson ETA: July 13, 2012

Surgery

2012-01-19T10:12:00.000-06:00

On the 6th of January, James had a total hip replacement. We were so excited for this surgery because of the pain it would relieve for James. It's amazing how one surgery can fix a lifetime of pain and suffering.

The day of the surgery, James was in a lot of pain and could barely sit up on the side of the bed, but by the second day, he was up and walking around.

James at his sexiest.

Two weeks later, James is doing awesome. He's still on the walker, but is becoming very proficient at daily tasks. He can even help with the dishes (my personal favorite) and is a master of the stairs.

I can already see vast improvements in James's gait and his pain level is down. I'm so excited for his full recovery. There will be so much he can do and experience that he's never been able to do. According to the Surgeon, he will even be able to ride a horse. I'm sure we can at least get him on one, but riding one may be a different obstacle.

James still has a long road to recovery. He'll start physical therapy soon and in about three months, he should be in tip top shape. But for now, the biggest obstacle is the boredom (There's only so much on daytime TV). But he's battling through that with the help of Netflix and Call of Duty. So, if you're ever up to whooping some poor rehabilitating guy on Call of Duty, give him a call. I'm sure he's up for the challenge and would love the company.

General vs. a Helicopter

2011-12-30T12:17:00.000-06:00

James and General have a mutual animosity. Both of them like to bug the other. General's favorite method of tormenting James is to grab his pant leg and not let go, no matter what James does. General will even follow him upstairs all the while holding on to his pant leg with a death grip. General also likes to play "get the sock that James is trying to put on." Both of these games serve the purpose of frustrating James and giving me a good laugh.

Unfortunately for General, James got an upper hand on tormenting General. I present, General vs. the toy helicopter:

In the end, the helicopter won.

Christmas Presents for Ben & Brina

2011-12-25T13:26:00.011-06:00

This year James and I had Ben and Brina for Christmas. I asked Brina for a Christmas list and warned the girl that she was getting socks for Christmas if she didn't give me a list. Well, guess who didn't give me a list. Maybe she'll listen next time :)

Despite the picture, the socks are actually a really pretty purple rather than blue. The shell pattern was fun and easy too. And I have to admit, they're not too bad for my first (completed) pair of socks.

I also decided to make two of their other gifts. One was a picture of the Salt Lake Temple set on a mirror and a wall hanging of framed burlap that says "For this child I prayed . . ." which is from 1 Samuel 1:27.

It was fun to be crafty this Christmas and give Ben & Brina gifts from the heart, but I think I've used up all my craftiness for the next year.

Quick update

2011-12-19T14:23:00.000-06:00

I've realized that it's been forever since I posted anything and just want to give a quick update. James and I are just plugging along right now and looking forward to spending Christmas together. We'll get two whole days to be together, I can't wait!

After the holidays, James is scheduled for a total hip replacement on January 6. We're looking forward to his surgery and for the day he can walk without a limp. I'm also excited for it because the surgeon told me that he can ride a horse once it's healed. Of course, now I have to convince James that he can ride a horse, but I'll tackle one obstacle at a time.

That's about it for now, I've got some other posts queued, but most of them have to do with Christmas presents, so you'll just have to wait.

Finished

2011-08-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

Blessing dress for Baby Girl Nelson

When Nicole found out how much blessing dresses were, I offered to make her one for her expected Baby Girl. I used a soft Pima cotton that was super easy to work with and it only took me about two months to complete the project (I could do it a lot quicker if James would let me quit my job and stay home and knit all day). It was a fun project to work on and I'm happy to help Nicole make her adorable little one even more adorable.

A Week in Moab!

2011-07-28T19:00:00.000-05:00

James and I took a vacation to Moab to visit my parents. We had planned on spending most of the week on the mountain, fixing up the cabin, but due to unforeseen circumstances, our plans got changed. So instead of working all week, we ended up playing all week.

We went to Dead Horse Point

And went down the river to look at pictographs and dinosaur tracks.

We got to see Newspaper rock and visit Natural Bridges

We took a (long and hot) hike up to Morning Glory Bridge.

We got to play with Ben and Brina in Arches

And after all of that, we finally got to go to the mountain. We only spent one night, but boy was it great to be on the mountain.

Shakespeare on the Green

2011-07-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

One of the best things about living in Omaha is this city's commitment to the arts. We have a state of the art concert hall, an amazing theater, an art museum with great exhibits, and tons of free activities which encourage everyone to enjoy the arts. One of those free activities is Shakespeare on the Green.

Every year Shakespeare Omaha puts on two plays and opens them to the general public. This year they are performing Hamlet and A Midsummer's Night Dream. James and I both have a love for Hamlet, so we headed to Elmwood park to enjoy an evening with the Bard.

We packed a packed a picnic and enjoyed a nice dinner together before the play.

We took General, because we all know he needs a little more culture in his life. He was actually pretty good all night and only barked with another dog walked by or when people around the park started letting of firecrackers. I was proud that he was a good boy.

A view of the set before the play.

We enjoyed the play. It was pretty well done and James and I had fun pointing out times we believed they had edited the play (it only ran less than 2.5 hours). For the most part we just enjoyed being there. Hamlet is a perpetual favorite and it was fun to have a night out with my handsome husband.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T17:26:00.000-05:00

Four Easters ago

I saw a boy who looked lonely,

so I invited him to a big Easter Dinner.

He was the only boy who came

and was subsequently

subjected

to dating advice.

Girls in this ward

won't say

if you

ask them out.

Two weeks later

he asked me out.

I couln't say

no.

And I haven't been able to

say no to him since.

Happy Birthday James!

2011-02-03T20:52:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday the 1st, James turned

the everlasting 29. . .

Since the weather was bad,

we kept things pretty low key.

We had Orsi's Pizza

and

Cake Gallery birthday cake.

James got to blow out his candle

and eat his little

heart out.

All and all

he was a happy Birthday Boy.

(We'll see if the smile lasts until next year when he turns the ominous dun dun dun 30)

Utter Awe

2011-01-08T20:50:00.001-06:00

Like Father, Like Son

2011-01-06T20:38:00.000-06:00

Finished

2010-12-20T10:18:00.000-06:00

Summer Cardigan (finished in December). I used a Rowan Tweed and found the perfect daisy button. This piece was fairly easy to complete as the whole thing was done in stockinette, so I could take it anywhere and work on it. It was the piece that got put on the back burner A LOT, but I've finally finished it. Now, to find another take anywhere piece . . .

Over ambitious?

2010-11-03T09:50:00.001-05:00

Finished

2010-11-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

Aryn Gauntlets

This fingerless mittens only took me about a week to complete. I tried cables for the first time and this was a super easy project to learn on. Now, I'm excited to try my hand at more cables.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T18:30:00.001-05:00

This week, James and I got in the Halloween spirit by carving pumpkins.

James found the creepiest vampire he could and did an amazing job with his pumpkin.

This one was a combined effort and we had to keep making

jokes about taking down the capital.

And finally, who doesn't look at a pumpkin and think "How can I make this more sonic?"

Fugitive

2010-10-20T15:11:00.000-05:00

A little while ago, I was jogging on a warm summer morning and I spied two peacocks running down my street. In Moab, this is a usual sight as those darned things run wild down in the creek, but I live in Omaha and peacocks are NOT normal here. After some pondering, I decided they must have escaped from the zoo which is only about a mile and a half from my house. That got me thinking. . . . If the peacocks can become fugitives from the Henry Doorly Zoo

What else can escape?????

Lions and Tigers and Bears--Oh My. The thought of it is enough to stop me from going jogging. . .

Instruction diagram from Hell

2010-10-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

Priceless

2010-10-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

New workout pants $10.00

New shoes to get me motivated to exercise $85.00

New music to pass the time while exercising $7.99

Having James make me get up every morning to go jogging (and even halfheartedly offering to go with me) Priceless.

Finished

2010-10-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

Lillehammer Hat

This was my first attempt at using two colors in a pattern and I had a ton of fun doing it. I used 100% Brown Sheep wool, so it was easy to handle and fun to work with. This project only took me about a week and has got me very excited to try my hand at a more intricate Fair Isle pattern.

Evil League of Evil

2010-10-04T10:37:00.002-05:00

I never planned on becoming an evil genius, instead I kind of just stumbled across it. I always thought that I was on the side of good and that there wasn't a speck of evilness (let alone true evil genius) in me. But this weekend I discovered (to my bizarre liking) that I am indeed evil (Insert evil laugh here). And with my stunt this weekend, I'm a shoe in for the next member of the Evil League of Evil. I mean, it's so evil that my membership is practically cemented.

I know you're intrigued and can't possibly believe that I am now a certifiable evil genius. What could I have possibly done so villainous? Well take a gander at these little babies. . .

YES those are Nutella filled sweet rolls (Insert another evil laugh, slightly more evil than the last). I started out thinking that cinnamon rolls would be perfect for conference weekend when the evil inside of me took over and I came up with the idea for Nutella sweet rolls. And it was done. I became evil. No, not just evil, but evil enough to be rank and file with the Evil League of Evil. Oh and they are delectably malevolent. These little guys are criminally wicked. Mere mortals don't stand a chance against the iniquity that these (innocent looking) sweet rolls possess. And therein lies the genius. Nobody would think that simple sweet rolls of could wield such great power. And for every person that succumbs to this evil indulgence, my evil genius grows. So, come on over and try one----I dare you (Insert finale of all evil laughs).

Finished

2010-09-05T10:21:00.005-05:00

Bulky Baby Pullover for my favorite nephew. Won't he just look so handsome?

This piece only took 20-25 hours to complete and was so much fun that I had a hard time putting it down. the patter was very simple and I only altered it to add the stripes instead of a solid sweater.

I used a 100% cotton yarn by Classic Elite Yarns. I think James liked the yarn more than me because it was so super soft.

Alaskan Cruise (Seattle)

2010-09-03T11:25:00.003-05:00

We disembarked from the ship early Saturday morning. James and I didn't have a flight until Sunday, so we just bummed around Seattle for the day.

We had a ton of fun going to through the Science Fiction Museum. I thought it would be boring, but we ended up spending quite a lot of time there.

The one disappointment was that there was only one reference to Dr. Who. The longest running science fiction television show and only one small reference? I mean, they had a whole Ninja Turtle

and more Star Trek stuff then you can shake a stick at

But not one miniature TARDIS, Dalek, or Cyberman? Disgusting.

We also went to see the music museum. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, but this art piece was interesting.

We also went to the Seattle Science Center, which we didn't know what a kid's museum, but we had fun there anyway.

We also took a trip up the Space Needle

We then made our way to Pike's Market

From Alaska ise

We did see the fish throwers, but didn't get a picture of it. And we were amazed at how many flower stands there were. Half of the market was full of fresh cut flowers.

And since we missed the Dr at the Science Fiction museum, we were both excited to find him at the market.

Have I mentioned my little crush on David Tennant?

And to make James's day, we had to find the legendary gum wall.

And of all randomness, this woman was just walking through the market in her wedding dress. No photographers or other wedding party members. It was just like she decided to run and add a couple of flowers to her bouquet before heading to the church.

Finally, we retired to our hotel room and enjoyed this great view of the sound.

We had to be up by 4:30 am to catch our flight home on Sunday. There was only one hiccup in the flight home. Somehow, I got bumped and didn't have a seat on the flight from Phoenix to Omaha. They even boarded the flight and I had to say goodbye to James (bawling my eyes out). At the last second, someone volunteered to stay behind and I got to go home with my hubby.

All in all, this was a great vacation. I loved Alaska and here it is a month later, and I'm still dreaming about it and wishing we could go back. Of course, I just lost the weight I gained on the ship, so going back by cruise ship may not be such a good idea. But we had a great time and the best part was that I was able to spend a full week with my hubby by my side. That was the best part, never being separated from such a handsome man.

Alaskan Cuise (Thursday and Friday)

2010-09-02T11:25:00.002-05:00

We spent most of Thursday at sea and pulled into port about 4:30 pm. We stopped in Prince Rupert, Canada. Truth be told, it was almost a wasted port. One person on the ship commented that we stopped there just so the company could say that they had a foreign port. We didn't do any excursions because we had already done so many and there really weren't any interesting ones offered. The town of Prince Rupert was boring. It had a rinky dink museum (with a $12 admission), and a couple of stores. The map showed a mall, but that turned out to be a hardware store and two or three clothing stores. James and I busied ourselves by finding an Internet cafe and checking out facebook. We did find one interesting totem pole.

And as you can see from this picture of the one big street in downtown, there wasn't much else.

Friday was an "at sea" day. So we just relaxed and enjoyed some down time. James did want to document a few things about the ship such as

The Grand Atrium

And

The plethora of hand sanitizers on board

And

The elevators he never got to use because I insisted we take the stairs.

And

The super cheesy artwork in the stairways

And of course

The pug magnet we used to remind us which door was ours.

Alaskan Cruise (Wednesday)

2010-09-01T11:34:00.000-05:00

Wednesday brought us to Skagway, Alaska. James and I had opted to take a hike with a local touring company.

The hike advertised a train ride and a hike, but it turned out the train ride was only about twenty minutes. We loved the hike. It was so nice to get off the beaten path and away from all the kitschy tourist traps and into a bit of the "wilderness." Most people don't know that Southern Alaska is a temperate rain forest (rain forest and Alaska usually don't bring up the same images), but they get so much moisture that plants grow really well and really dense. The dominate tree is the Sitka pine.

We had a really good time on the hike. The trail was fairly well groomed and pretty easy, so we made it about 2.5 miles in the couple of hours we had to hike. There were a few reasons we stopped, like to drink from a natural spring.

Or to look at the river we were hiking near.

We only saw one bird on the hike. The valley we were in is blocked at one end by a glacier, so animals can only get in the way we did or by coming over the mountains. As a result, there aren't too many in the area.

*See the guy holding his head? He wasn't paying attention to where he was walking and ran smack into the tree just behind us. It had recently fallen during a wind storm and had plenty of clearance for most people and was easy to see along the trail, but he somehow missed it and hit it so hard that it knocked him flat on his back. That was probably the most funny thing we saw on the trip.

While on our hike, the guides had us try various berries that were growing. We ate blueberries and another that was high in protein, but didn't taste so good. What we DIDN'T eat are these red bane berries. Evidently, eat two of these suckers and you're dead. I made sure to check James' pockets before we left to make sure he didn't grab a couple to slip in my salad later in the trip.

After the hike, the train came and picked us up and took us back to Skagway.

We had a few extra hours in Skagway, so we ate lunch (amazing fish and chips) and did the touristy thing.

Including finding the Sarah Palin store.

We got back on board the ship at 4:30 and just relaxed the rest of the evening. We took in the sunset.

And stayed up for the chocoholic bar. Arguably, that was the best food we had on the ship :)

Yes, that is a "life sized" chocolate Yoda.

Alaskan Cruise (Tuesday Glaciers)

2010-08-31T11:32:00.001-05:00

After we got done whale watching, James and I went out to the Mendenhall Glacier. There is a great little visitors center there that explained a lot about the glacier. Learning about the beautiful things you see is always a great way to appreciate them a little more.

Notice the green water. There is so much fine silt in the water that it changes to that eerie green.

Close up of a recently calved part of the glacier. The deep blue comes from the compacted ice. It's so dense that there is no air left in ice crystals and therefore reflects a different color than most ice.

Glacial ice. Notice how fractured the crystals look.

Striations left in the rock from the glacier.

Salmon spawning had just begun when we got to Alaska, so in Juneau, we could actually see salmon in the creeks. I wanted to go fishing sooooo badly.

We had to board the ship in the early afternoon so we could sail up the Tracy Arm to see the Sawyer Glacier. The Tracy Arm is about a mile wide and "S" curves all the way to the glacier. It seemed crazy to take the ship down such a narrow arm, but the scenery was so magnificent that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When we started down the Tracy Arm, James and I found a nice place on an upper deck to pull up a lounge-chair and relax the whole trip. I took my knitting up and thought I'd just enjoy the day relaxing and taking it all in. That totally didn't work. Within an hour every person on the ship had gathered to our spot. So we gave up on the relaxing, found a place near the railing, and enjoyed the scenery while packed like sardines.

Again, notice how green the silt even makes the ocean.

The captain got on his loud speaker and informed us that because the weather was so great, he was able to get closer to the glacier than he's ever been in the five years he's been sailing with Norwegian. He then proceeded to turn the whole ship around on a dime. I don't think the center of the ship moved more than 10 feet as he pivoted the ship in a tight circle.

The rest of our day was spent sailing out of the Tracy Arm and then hitting the open sea on our way to Skagway.

Alaskan Cruise (Tuesday)

2010-08-30T14:52:00.000-05:00

Tuesday morning we woke up in Juneau and headed off the ship for a day of whale watching. Along the way, we saw a ton of bald eagles.

Our whale watching trip was the first of the day, so the guides didn't exactly know where the whales were hiding, so we ended up just boating around a bit looking at the scenery and other wildlife for a while.

We found harbor seals sunning themselves on an island.

We also saw sea lions warming themselves on a buoy. The one in the water kept trying to jump up on the buoy with the others and failed for about 15 minutes straight.

Finally we found a group of humpback wales.

They never fully came out of the water, but we did get some good shots of their "blow."

And some awesome pictures of their flukes.

Best of all, one came within about 50 yards of our boat. It was crazy to see that huge animal so close.

All in all, we saw six or seven different humpbacks in the couple of hours we were whale watching.I've always thought that only weird people went whale watching. It was never anything that appealed to me, but after seeing them in the ocean, I fell in love with it and would absolutely go again.

Alaskan Cruise (Monday)

2010-08-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

Monday morning we disembarked in Ketchikan, Alaska. James and I had signed up to take the Misty Fjords sightseeing trip. Once more, I have to say, it was amazing.

As we were leaving Ketchikan, we saw a pod of Orca Whales. Evidently, Orcas had been absent from Ketchikan for several weeks due to a red tide, so the guides were all really excited to see the whales and the tourists were just plain excited to see whales period.

The fjords themselves were magnificent. Being a desert dweller and now a Midwesterner, I've never seen how a glacier can carve a landscape. These fjords rise out of the ocean to 2,000 feet and plunge another 1,000 under the water.

The major landmark in the Misty Fjords is New Eddystone Rock. Somehow this basalt formation escaped being worn down by the glaciers.

It was also during this trip that we discovered our camera was only taking what pictures it wanted to and was saving some pictures like this:

Sadly, we don't have all the pictures we took in the first three days of the cruise. We think we had a bum SD card. Luckily, we had a spare on the ship.

We were able to walk around Ketchikan for a couple of hours before we boarded this ship. Alas, no pictures turned out from the town. Not even the one of the Sam McGee Store. It's a shame.

Once we got back to the ship, we ate dinner (of course) and just relaxed while watching the sunset.

Can you tell that these clouds were my favorite scenery in the trip?

Alaska Cruise (Sunday)

2010-08-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

After staying up way too late on Saturday, trying to catch the stars, James and I got up about 5:30 in order to see the inside passage. The views were spectacular. Everywhere we looked, there was a new breathtaking scene. We didn't know it yet, but that turned out to be the theme of our trip. So much beauty that we could hardly take it all in.

One funny note about taking our morning pictures, James is the one that kept getting cold and wanting to run inside to warm up. Usually, I'm the one super sensitive to cold, but I was loving it.

By about 9:00 am, we were exhausted again and took a nap in our tiny stateroom.

Since this was an at sea day, we spent the rest of the day, lazing about, reading, eating, and just enjoying relaxing on the ocean.

Alaska Cruise (Saturday)

2010-08-18T10:49:00.005-05:00

I'm finally getting around to blogging about the vacation we took from July 24th through the 31st. I think it's been a bit daunting to try and start. There's just so much to write about. We had an amazing time cruising up to Alaska and enjoying the amazing scenery that the inside passage and southern Alaska. Over the next few days, I'll get the whole thing up.

We boarded the ship in Seattle on the 24th and immediately did what EVERYONE else did and found food. Looking at people (us probably included) you'd think this was the only meal they'd get on board. Everyone's plates were just so full.

After we ate, attended the mandatory emergency briefing, and were allowed into our staterooms, we unpacked and then set about the ship taking photos and getting a lay of the land. Most of the following pictures came from just outside Seattle.

Last look at Mt. Rainier from the back of the ship.

We watched the sunset and tried to stay up to watch all the stars come up, but we'd been up so long that by 10:30, we were completely tuckered out and turned in for the night.

Otter Pops

2010-07-21T14:11:00.000-05:00

I call them otter pops, he calls them fruit icees. Whatever name they go by, they are my handsome hubby's favorite summertime treat.

Cucumber Takeover

2010-07-19T13:52:00.002-05:00

When I planted cucumbers, I didn't think they'd do as well as they have. They've even strangled one poor tomato plant.

We've picked twice and have so many cucumbers that we can't possibly eat them all. So this weekend I decided to put up some pickles (I'll let you know how they turned out when we open the first jar).

I found a recipe in the Holyoak Family Cookbook from Aunt Veda that didn't look like too much work (wrong). The first task was to find dill, so General and I headed down to the farmer's market to score some fresh dill. We went straight to the herb stand and he was OUT. How does the herb man run out of dill? He promised me some next week. Too bad I'll be on a boat next week and making pickles will be the farthest thing from my mind. So General and I search (and searched) asking every stand if they had dill. They were all sold out. I finally found a flower woman that gave me her leftovers (how sweet is that) and then at another flower stand I stood and watched as the boquet lady gave an old woman three big bunches and patiently waited my turn to get some. After about 15 minutes of waiting, she got to me and denied me the dill. She needed it for flower bouquets (really???). I even offered to pay two dollars a bunch (double what the old lady spent), but no go. Sigh. So General and I left, I was bumed and he was just hot and tired. As luck would have it, on the way out, we found one stand with three bunches of dill. I bought him out (for five dollars, score) and then spent the afternoon picking, cutting, and soaking cucumbers.

And now, as I look at my pretty jars of pickles, I find it hard to even have the desire to eat my yummy homemade pickles. Of course, I may just change my mind in a few months, when I forget how much work they were to make.

Enjoying the Farmer's Market

2010-07-17T23:44:00.003-05:00

How does General enjoy the Farmer's Market?

By finding every scrap of shade possible of course.

Finished

2010-07-16T11:55:00.003-05:00

Heatwave Top

This piece was measured in tears not hours. It wasn't a particularly difficult piece,the lace itself was easy.BUTthe pattern was 10 pages longand required a bit too much knitting sense and aptitudefor a new knitter.

*The yarn used was a delectable Peruvian cotton and was so fun to touch that it made the terrible pattern more bearable.

M.C. Escher come to life?

2010-07-09T11:55:00.002-05:00

Today I discovered (the hard way) the pain
and heartache
that comes from knitting in the round
and the consequences for twisting the work
before joining it together.
Sigh
Now it's time to tear it all out and start again.
Hopefully this time without the M.C. Escher effect.

I do love a rainy afternoon

2010-06-16T14:50:00.002-05:00

How much better would my
rainy afternoon
be if I was
cuddled up on the couch
with my handsome hubby just enjoying
the thunder?

Garden update

2010-06-09T12:35:00.003-05:00

James and I got our garden put in about a month ago and took really good care of it for about two weeks, then painting the living room consumed our lives and our poor garden got neglected. Luckily most of it survived the neglect (somehow James's sunflowers disappeared) and after we tore out a forest's worth of very young saplings, our garden looks presentable.

This year we planted one row of zucchini and yellow squash, one cantaloupe plant, one watermelon, Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, one row of cucumbers, a row of bush green beans, and three different peppers. They are all doing really well and it's just starting to get hot enough here to warrant buds on the tomato and pepper plants. I can't wait until our garden is producing all sorts of yummy veggies.
My boss, Sam, makes sure we have plenty of grass clippings to help keep the weeds down. I think James is happiest when we get to put down the grass clippings because that means the real back breaking work is done (well, at least it is for the most part).

Ain't he a cutie??

Components of the perfect walk

2010-05-25T09:45:00.003-05:00

Hydrant sniffing

Antagonize the neighbors

A good whiff of garbage

Give a squirrel a good chase

Have a great roll in the clover

And of course a long nap when you get home.

Crayon Box Jacket

2010-05-11T09:48:00.004-05:00

I started knitting when Nicole was on bed rest because I wanted something to do when I went over to visit and we'd just sit for hours. I taught myself the basics and proceeded to make a hat, scarf, and washcloth. Then I kind of forgot about knitting for a while and got distracted with getting married and starting a life with James. But in the last few months, things have slowed down a bit and I decided that I wanted to get really good at knitting. So I signed up for a class at my local yarn store and proceeded to make a Crayon Box Jacket. It's a bolero jacket made with thousands of feet of yarn and many many different kinds of yarn. It was so much fun to make even though it took 75 + hours to complete (Okay about the time I had one and a half rows of squares left, I was ready to be done, but I persevered and completed the jacket). I don't think I've every completed any kind of handiwork in my life and am proud to have finished this jacket.

Front of the jacket

Back of the jacket

Close up of the metered squares

Now I'm on to making lacy hats, a heatwave sweater, and a cardigan. Wish me luck!

Hamlet

2010-04-30T11:30:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday night, I made James endure watching all three hours of Hamlet. Great Performances on PBS was showcasing Hamlet staring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart and since we only have about six working channels, I decided to watch it (Oh and I totally LOVE David Tennant). I was expecting a good performance, but I thought this version of Hamlet was superb. I've seen the Mel Gibson Hamlet (uugg), and the Kenneth Branagh version (tolerable), but this version was so emotional and well done. It's by far my favorite. The acting was amazing and David Tennant brought so much wit and energy to the part that I was just memorized. They did do it in mostly modern dress, but it just fit this performance so well, that it wasn't distracting at all.

One of the best things about this production, other than David Tennant of course, is the use of the cameras. Some shots switch back and forth between a security camera and the main camera. This added effect gives and eerie feeling to may scenes and adds so much dimension.

There aren't many movies that get me this excited and I highly recomend watching this version of Hamlet when you have an extra three hours to spare. It is worth the time (oooh, I just checked and it is available on netflix, so you have no excuse).

Happy Anniversary to us

2010-03-30T19:00:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, James and I celebrated our first anniversary. Okay, so we actually celebrated all weekend long. It was the perfect weekend.

James got rid of the dog for the weekend so that we'd have no worries all weekend and started our weekend long date by taking me to dinner on Friday. We went to a nice steakhouse, (what can I say, the boy knows me). We got dressed up and got to eat yummy steak and lobster. James even bought me dessert. Dinner itself took a good two hours, so it was nice to sit and talk and look at my good lookin' man.

James also surprised me with a gorgeous diamond necklace, flowers, and chocolate dipped fruit. In his words, he "hit all the bases, diamonds, dinner, flowers, and chocolate." He was pretty impressed with himself. And I have to admit that I was impressed too. Although, he did tell me I may not get all four again--I'll be lucky to get two in the future. :)

James put a lot of thought into my gifts. He made sure the flowers came from the same place that he got the flowers when we got engaged. He researched the restaurant and paid attention to a million other details. I just have to smile every time I think of how effort he put into our anniversary.

For our actual anniversary, we didn't do much. We just went to breakfast at our favorite breakfast restaurant, Amato's and then went to walk around the mall and watch a movie. It was so much fun just to spend time with my husband and not care about real life. When Monday rolled around it was so hard to let James go to work and not be right by his side.

This last year has been amazing and it was topped off with the perfect weekend spent with my husband. I love you James.

You know it's love when . . .

2010-03-22T09:36:00.002-05:00

He scrapes your windows on a cold Nebraska morning.

". . . under God. . . "

2010-03-16T14:42:00.005-05:00

I've noticed that I've been really lawyerey in my blogging lately. I don't know why my profession has been at the forefront of my blogging and I apologize for all of you that sigh when I start talking about the law, but there are just some things too interesting not to write about.

Following this link will take you to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion which finds the "Pledge of Allegiance" to be constitutional. The 9th Circuit can have some pretty screwy rulings, but I actually agree with them on this one.

For those of you that don't want to read the whole 193 page opinion, here's a brief synopsis of the ruling:

We hold that the Pledge of Allegiance does not violate the
Establishment Clause because Congress’ ostensible and predominant
purpose was to inspire patriotism and that the context
of the Pledge—its wording as a whole, the preamble to
the statute, and this nation’s history—demonstrate that it is a
predominantly patriotic exercise. For these reasons, the phrase
“one Nation under God” does not turn this patriotic exercise
into a religious activity.

I would love to go into a long discussion on this, but I spent all my free time reading the opinion so I don't have the time to go through it all right now. Anyway, this is a well written opinion and well worth the time it takes to read it.

PS-If this goes before the Supreme Court it could change, but I actually think the arguments hold water.

Is he a dog or a cat?

2010-03-11T09:28:00.003-06:00

A few days ago, General noticed I had placed a basket of yarn in the living room. It immediately became his mortal enemy. He paced for a good hour and a half just barking and growling at the threat which I had placed in HIS living room. He would even flinch if so much as moved the basket.

I guess General must have won the battle with the yarn basket because he now thinks it is his personal toy box. Last night he kept trying to grab a ball of purple yarn, so I wasn't too surprised (still upset, but not surprised) when I came downstairs this morning to find this scene.

By the way, in this last picture, General is trying to "kill" the yarn. He seems to think that he has to vigorously shake everything he puts in his mouth. It can be quite comical.

The Word Game

2010-03-10T13:41:00.002-06:00

When I think back on my law school experience, I don't think I actually wanted to be a lawyer until after I graduated law school and even now there are those days when I wonder what I was thinking.

While in law school there were defiantly days, weeks, and maybe even a whole semester where the only reason I stayed in school was because I knew I owed so much in student loans that I had to graduate just to survive in the real world. But now, I'm working in a job I love (most days) and wouldn't give up my law school experience for anything.

As I was browsing the Volokh Conspiracy this afternoon, I ran across this video of the comedian Demetri Martin speaking about his two years of law school. It's quite funny. I hope you enjoy.

PS-When I link my blog to facebook, the video links don't always work. Just click on "Go to original post" and you'll be able to watch the video.

Ten things NOT to say when meeting with your attorney

2010-02-26T14:01:00.003-06:00

1. “Can you pretend not to know about my boat/car/horse/money?”
2. “My last attorney was an incompetent idiot that really screwed me over.”
3. “Um, a, would you like to go get drinks sometime?”
4. “Sorry this is an important call.”
5. “You never told me I have to make my mortgage payment.”
6. “Can I just forge his signature?”
7. “CALL ME SATURDAY!!”
8. “Do you have facebook?”
9. “I need this done right now.”

And my personal favorite . . .

10. “Sorry, [my daughter] has a fever and a cough so the babysitter canceled.”

Things I'll just never understand

2010-02-18T03:39:00.000-06:00

1. How Kevin Costner has ever been billed as an actor.

2. Blow up lawn ornaments--because gnomes aren't tacky enough.

3. Runza. People (My husband) actually eat that stuff.

4. Office politics. Can't we all just do our work?

5. Created or Saved.

6. I can gain 5 pounds in one day, but take two weeks to get it off.

7. Where Human Rights Watch gets its legitimacy.

8. The minute I got married, facebook started to bombard me with healthy pregnancy/child rearing adds. As if a newlywed doesn't get it enough from real people, facebook has to get in the "you must have a child right now" mix.

9. The inability to never get out of high school. See #4.

10. American Idol beat both the Olympics and Lost this week.

Oh what fun it is to have . . . bedding that fits.

2010-02-17T09:37:00.001-06:00

James and I have been fighting since the day Nebraska turned cold. Now, we don't argue (much) and have a pretty good marriage in the daytime, but the minute we'd go to bed the fighting would begin. There would be tugging and pulling and yes, even a little crying.

You see-- we sleep on a full bed, but since neither of us actually had full sized blankets, we just threw on all the twin sized blankets that we could find. Well, a few weeks ago, we decided we had had enough. We both had the day off and decided it was time to do some bedding shopping. Luckily we went in January when you can get bedding at amazing deals. We were so happy with the prices that we got matching drapery too.

It took a lot of shopping around, but we finally decided on this brown and green combo. Manly, yet cute. We were so happy to shed the bed of the twin sized blankets and finally put on bedding that fit. I tell you what, we've never slept so warm and there hasn't been a fight since.

chocolate straw

2010-02-17T08:35:00.000-06:00

I am NOT saying he's easily entertained, but give him a plain glass of milk and a chocolate straw . . .

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-01-05T21:39:00.004-06:00

My birthday was on Monday and boy oh boy did James out do himself on the birthday stuff. I came home to find . . .

Yes, a piano. Okay, it's an electronic keyboard, but I love it nonetheless. I was not supposed to get a piano for my birthday. James had the day off and decided to go to Costco. He knows I've been coveting this keyboard for months and he went to look at it. Costco was turning over its stock for the new season and only had one keyboard left. It was the display model and was marked down $200.00. James knew that was a deal that he couldn't pass up and called me to make sure we have enough in the checking account. He bought it and brought it home and had it set up by the time I got off work. I'm still so excited to be able to have a piano in the house and have begun practicing again. I can't really play all that well, but hopefully it will come back a little and I'll be able to at least pick through the hymn book or play some primary songs.

James also took me out to dinner for my birthday and to Lowes. Romantic right? Okay, it was my idea. We want to put crown molding up in the front room and we needed an idea of how expensive it may be. We also looked at paint colors so that maybe, just maybe we can get rid of the horrendous blue and awful red in the living room and kitchen.

All in all, I had a great birthday and do need to thank my wonderful husband for surprising and spoiling me this year.

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-18T10:09:00.002-06:00

James and I are really getting into the Christmas Spirit this year. He went out and got a real tree for me and even tried to get it as "Charlie Brown" as possible. For some reason you can't find a good sparse tree in this area, but he did his best (Oh and we won't mention that it has more tops than a Hanukkah Festival and that there's no way it will ever stand up straight because at least he tried). We've been making candies and banana bread for the neighbors and playing so many Christmas songs it should be illegal. We've also been having a ton of fun buying and hiding presents from each other. Okay, he's not so good at hiding them (ahem, the unwrapped ones may or may not be in the coat closet but I won't peek), but I don't think he's found my stash yet (heh heh heh).

I am absolutely loving this Christmas Season. It's great to spend time with my husband and bring the spirit of Christmas into our home. Who knew the holiday season could be so wonderful?

Aftermath of a Blizzard

2009-12-09T10:09:00.007-06:00

Last night we had a blizzard. I've survived two of them now and this time, I was smart enough not to go outside or try to drive ANYWHERE. When we woke up this morning, here's what we found.

Luckily, today is James's day off and he tried to dig me out so that I could get to work. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there was too much snow and we couldn't get the Mini out of our parking space. So here I am, working or blogging or whatever from home today.

The last chapter to our morning is what a pansy this little guy is

General would only go outside long enough to do his business and in the course of that the silly dog kept running up to the door and whining to be let in. I thought he'd had a grand old time being outside and running through the snow (yesterday, he played in the eight inches we got), but today, he would have none of it. I do have a pansy little house dog. Here is the one picture I could get of him outside while James shoveled our walk and the neighbor's walk.

Miracle??

2009-12-01T05:39:00.000-06:00

Only something short of a miracle could help me take this:

And turn it into this:

I don't know what came over me, but I decided that I needed to make a dress for my brother's wedding. Now this wouldn't be weird for some people, but my sewing machine and I aren't really friends. In fact, I haven't sewn a dress since the fourth grade. But I decided I needed to try my hand at it again. I picked up a pattern that I thought looked pretty easy and some fabric and got started.

It took a lot of frustration, a couple of nights after work, and a few calls to people who really know how to sew (Thanks to my mother, mother in law, and Aunt Marion) to complete the dress, but I actually did it.

I'm really happy that I was able to complete the dress and may even do it again, but it may wait awhile.

The cutest boy around

2009-11-30T05:14:00.000-06:00

Who can argue that there is a cuter baby around??

Who carved my pumpkins?

2009-11-04T14:41:00.003-06:00

They say homegrown is always better. I suppose that's what squirrels think too. Or at least that's what the evidence points to. BOTH my pumpkins (Or at least that seems to be the general consensus) got eaten by squirrels. It happens in the daytime, so it can't be raccoons or skunks, but I've come home and one by one my pumpkins are torn apart. The first one got the whole top tore off and now this one has those two small holes and a whole lot of mess.

The really amusing thing about my pumpkins is that they weren't carved, so it was harder for the little furry to eat the good stuff AND not one of my neighbor's pumpkins have been eaten. Neighbors on both sides have pumpkins in tact as do the neighbors across the street. The little furry bugger seems to prefer my homegrown pumpkin over the big store bought ones. Go figure.

The demise of a stuffed animal

2009-11-03T06:40:00.002-06:00

Step One.
Buy a cute stuffed animal.

Step two.

Present said stuffed animal to your dog.

Step three.

Chewing and tearing ensues.

Step four.

Pitty the poor stuffed animal and question why you paid $5.00 for it in the first place when it only takes 30 minutes to eat.

Mystery veggies

2009-11-02T08:27:00.000-06:00

When James pulled up our garden, he found these two orby things. They look like pumpkins, they may even act like pumpkins. The problem is . . . we didn't plant pumpkins. We planted crook neck squash and zucchini. These don't look like any crook neck or zucchini that I've ever seen. We have a theory that some pumpkin seeds got mixed into our zucchini seeds, but if that can happen, then you'd better watch out. You may end up with cabbage in your lettuce patch or peas in your green beans. Of course, this is just a theory and we're open to suggestions on to exactly what these are and where they may have come from. Oh, one more tidbit. Our garden is brand new this year, nothing but grass has been planted there. Any answers to our mystery?

Trick or Pug

2009-10-31T18:11:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween

2009-10-30T12:59:00.003-05:00

This year I feel like we've been celebrating Halloween all year. Haven't we been seeing zombie banks, SEUI thugs dressed up as normal townhallers, and feel like the economy is a trick looking for a treat? We're all scared that the taxman's appetite can't hold a candle to Audrey II's lust for blood and have nightmares of being axed at work. Not to mention that the clowns in congress are scarier than IT and that Hillary Clinton may or may not be a "shape shifting reptillian."

In light of our real life horrors nothing touted on October 31st can be really scary, (except maybe a 13 year old immitating Miley Cyrus) and enjoy yourselves this Halloween.

Happiness

2009-10-02T11:49:00.000-05:00

I know my husband loves me because . . .

2009-10-01T11:12:00.001-05:00

he lets me shave his head to help alleviate a VERY stressful day.

Happy Six Months

2009-09-30T13:03:00.000-05:00

Sunday marked the six month anniversary for James and I and he got me this wonderful bouquet of six red roses and my favorite, daises. I know six months isn't a big anniversary, but if these last six months are any indicator, then spending Eternity with my sweet husband won't be near enough time.

Things I'll just never understand

2009-09-28T11:06:00.000-05:00

1. The allure of Dan Brown books. Yes, I've read them all, but I only read the Lost Symbol to see if he kept to the exact same template that he used for the other four books. By the way, he did with minor modifications, but by page 10, I new where the "treasure" was buried, by page 50 I knew who the real good guy was, and by page 100 I knew who the person working against the protagonist was.

2. Liberals

3.Jon and Kate

4. Subatomic physics

5. Entitlement attitudes. Seriously, when did work become a 4 letter word?

6. How Silvio Berlusconi is still in office.

7. Huskermania

8. All the words to "I Want You" by Savage Garden. You remember the "chica cherry cola" song.

9. Glenn Beck

10. Why Arrested Development was ever canceled.

Ahhh, the healing power of Hymns

2009-09-25T13:42:00.004-05:00

This morning I was stressed.

Not the normal stressed, I'm always the normal stressed, but I was worried about the balance in one bank account (We use that one to pay only two things and I foolishly hadn't left quite enough for our car payment) so I was rushing around town trying to find the one location in Lincoln so I could deposit some extra money. I was upset about some misinformation that one of my clients had received and was trying to figure out how best to rectify that situation. I was also worrying about my afternoon and how I was going to fit in all of my clients and get everything accomplished. I was so stressed about everything that my head hurt and my chest was tight.

As I was driving, I tried to call my sister to chat. Talking to family almost always helps with the de-stressing, but she was about to take a nap with her little one, so we didn't talk long. I turned on the radio, but my station was super staticky. I decided to switch over to listening to the iPod. James had left it on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The minute I heard the soothing sounds of the holy hymns, my soul relaxed. My headache went away and my whole body just calmed. Things would be okay and I just needed relax and face each problem as they come. All those answers from a few strains of "I need thee every hour." How blessed we are to have the healing power of hymns.

Grapes

2009-09-16T15:50:00.000-05:00

My Uncle Mike stole grapes. He came right up to my father's vine and took them without even asking. He even recruited my husband in his dirty deed. Neither of them mentioned that the grapes had been filched. The only reason my family knew that he had taken them was that his wife, Chris, was silly enough to thank us for giving them the grapes.

Okay, so Mike didn't really steal the grapes, he just took them without asking, knowing full well that was absolutely acceptable. That's the beauty of my family. If we need something, someone is always there to give it. Whether it's a service such as coming over at midnight to "take care" of a raccoon that my father can't get (by the way, evidently crutches, a gun, a flashlight, and a raccoon aren't the best combination) or if it's needing grapes so your wife has something to serve guests, our family is always there for one another. We help each other build cabins, gather cows, feed animals, pull out stuck vehicles, and a host of other services. It's always done with no expectation of compensation, no expectation of reward--just the knowledge that someone (literally) helped his brother.

As far as families go, I think I've got the best and that only gets cemented every time I see one of my uncles help another. The service and love that is offered in my family cannot be beat.

2009 Family Reunion

2009-09-15T13:54:00.000-05:00

This year my immediate family was in charge of the family reunion. It was so much work, but in the end I think everyone had a good time. Being in charge & having a ton of things do didn't leave me with much time to take pictures, but here are a few I did get.

Everyone mulling around chatting,

because isn't that really what a reunion is

all about?

The boys cooking
err, burning the food?

and some one's kid just rocking that

piece of watermelon

Every year at the reunion we have an auction to raise money for the family. This year we gave the kids pretend money and let them "bid" on toys and candy and trinkets before the real auction got underway. This was a smashing success. The kids loved being able to buy things and it gave them something to do while the adults did the big auction.

This year I had a lot of fun at the auction and was able to help out the family a lot. I say this because I got caught trying to bid up an item--a quilt my mother had made with pictures of my great-grandparents and their children. I was trying to get the price just a little higher and had bit it up to $170.00. Someone else bid $180.00 and my father told me to bid again and he'd give me the extra $10.00. I took it up to $190.00 and the person I was bidding against stopped bidding. I was going to just let her have it for $200.00 but got caught with my $190.00 bid. Opps. Luckily it is a beautiful quilt and my father really wanted it, so I left it with him and am able to feel good about helping the family.

I love our family reunions. It's so great to go home every year to see those that we love the most. I hope it's a tradition that will continue for a very long time, and if I have anything to do with it, it will.

Food Storage

2009-09-14T08:32:00.001-05:00

James & I decided it was time to heed the prophet's counsel and get a year's worth of food. By the first of August we could finally afford to purchase a ton (okay, not that much, but it felt like it when we had to carry it downstairs) of food. We're so excited to have some food storage. It may not be much & it may be a bit bland, but we can survive, if necessary, on our supply.

Now fast forward to Labor Day weekend. My extended family did a service for my Great Aunt Veda. She has been canning and storing food her whole life and had a plethora of bottles, boxes & bags full of food storage. Unfortunately most of it was thirty to sixty years old and absolutely inedible. Our family cleaned out her storage room for her. We hauled bottles, boxes, & bags full of food storage up the stairs and onto a trailer to be hauled away. This wasn't easy for Aunt Veda to watch. We kept reassuring her that it was okay to throw away the food, growing up with the mantra of "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" had taught her never to throw out anything. But she had done as the prophets have asked. She built up her food storage and was blessed never to have to use it.

Aunt Veda has taught me many things over the years, but this experience with her helped enforce the need for obedience. We need to follow the prophet. We need a years supply of food. Just in case. But in following that command, we pray that the blessing from gathering a food storage is never to have to use it.

Coming home

2009-09-11T16:05:00.003-05:00

This last weekend was my family reunion (more to come on that). For many many reasons the family reunion was needed this year and it was very hard to come back to Omaha. Among those reasons is this:

The ONE thing I love about Monday hearings

2009-08-24T15:33:00.003-05:00

I know my life shouldn't revolve around food,

but the one thing that makes hearing days tolerable is that

every single Monday is

Oso Nacho day.

The corn chips,

two kinds of cheese,

grilled pork,

lettuce,

chipotle sour cream,

pico de gallo,

green sauce covered

nachos

make my hearing days

(which consist of me sitting in a stuffy

room at the federal building ALL DAY LONG)

absolutely delightful.

Delphinium

2009-08-19T08:38:00.000-05:00

Delphinium. Larkspur. My father was flabbergasted that I wanted to plant such a noxious weed in my front yard.

"They kill cows, you know."

"I know Dad, but I live in the city."

"It's a weed."

"It is, but it's a pretty weed."

"I thought I taught you better than to plan noxious weeds."

"You did, but these. . . they remind me of home."

That's all it took for my father to consent to my planting larkspur in my front yard. I'm so glad I did. I can look at my small patch of dirt and every time be reminded of home. Be reminded of going to the mountain and of the smells of rich, black mountain dirt, smoke from the wood stove, and wet grass. I'm reminded of endless summers spent with my family working and exploring. Eating and laughing. Building cabins and playing rummy cube. And family. Cousins, siblings, Aunts and Uncles. One little flower in my small front yard conjures up so many familiar memories. One little flower, in the middle of the city, instantly transports me to my beloved mountain. I think that in itself is well worth the planting of a few noxious weeds.

Taxes. . .As unavoidable as death

2009-08-17T15:38:00.003-05:00

**Warning**
Another rant is about proceed from my brain
to my fingertips and onto the screen.
Reader beware.

"And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain."
Mosiah 3:11

I came across that passage in the Book of Mormon awhile ago and have been thinking about it for quite some time. Mosiah chapter 11 introduces us to King Noah and his wicked priests. They taught all sorts of falsities, distorted the word of God, and led the people to do all sorts of abominations. This wicked King and his ~~cabinet~~ priests lived off the backs of the hardworking citizens of the ~~country~~ kingdom. The taxes to support this wicked king and his cronies were burdensome to the people. The king built all sorts of ~~social programs~~ lavish buildings and hacked away at ~~the constitution~~ his father’s righteous teachings.

What’s had me thinking about this is my paycheck stubs. The quoted passage describes one fifth as a burdensome tax and describes the government that took that much in taxes as wicked. One fifth. Twenty cents on the dollar. One twentieth. That number has set me musing. When I do the math on my paycheck stub, I find that I’m being taxed at almost 40%. That number comes even after I deduct my 401(k) from the withholdings. 40%. 40 cents on the dollar. Two fifths. Four tenths. Almost half of my paycheck is being withheld for taxes. Now I know, I’ll get a refund in the spring (or at least I’d better), but James and I have no deductions to speak of (last year I qualified for a $12.00 deduction for interest paid to student loans, wooo whoo). We don’t have a mortgage, kids, or medical expenses, so all the big deductions are, well-unavailable. We’re going to be taxed out the nose, but lets say I do get a refund. Based on last year’s taxes, I will still be paying approximately 30% to local and federal governments. That number makes me sick and frankly, it makes me wish our government were at least as righteous as that of King Noah's.

Painless?!?

2009-08-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

For the last few years I've had a plantar wart. Ewww, gross (how dare someone admit that on a public blog). I've tried all the over the counter remedies and they just pissed the wart off, so it fought back and got bigger, not to mention the fact that they painful as all get out. I tried putting fresh garlic on it. I even tried the duct tape remedy. All duct tape did was to make my big toe look really funny and keep the wart from splitting and being painful. It did not make the wart better.

I finally decided it was time to do something about my wart. I'm sick of finding excuses not to have a girls' day at the spa complete with pedicures. I hate walking around with a big silver toe or choosing closed toe shoes over sandals. So, armed with good insurance, I made an appointment with a local dermatologist.

The dermatologist was took a look at the wart and decided that because of the size and location, I probably didn't want to freeze, cut, or burn it off. Rather we would take it off chemically. I was all sorts of excited for the chemical solution. I had expected to have a huge blister and pain and no shoes for a week, but, as the doctor explained, the chemical removal is PAINLESS. I'm a huge fan of painless and love to disprove the "no pain, no gain" theory. The doctor wrote a prescription for me and I almost skipped (pain free) from his office. What a wonderful day--I could get rid of a wart and suffer no painful side effects. Or so I thought.

My euphoria over the pain free removal lasted as long as it took to get to the Target pharmacy. I gave the pharmacist my prescription and did a little shopping while they filled it. As I was shopping I began to look at the sandals and think how wonderful it will be once I get to wear them wart and pain free. Aaahh, the daydreams.

My daydreams were interrupted when I went to pick up the prescription. The girl that gave it to me said something to the effect of "humm, this prescription is normally five ninety six, but with your insurance it's only one thirty seven." Great! I love insurance that pays for most of a prescription and I only have to pay $1.37 for it. HA was I wrong. The girl behind the counter scanned in the prescription and lo and behold $137.00 shone in bright green numbers.

Standing there in the check out line, I had a mini heart attack. All my dreams of open toed shoes and pedicures almost shattered. For $137.00 I could almost wear duct tape for the rest of my life. But no--maybe I'm too vain. Or maybe I'm too stubborn to say "never mind" I don't need that prescription. Or maybe for a second, I just didn't care about the cost. I numbly handed over my debit card and paid $137.00 for 24 little packets of Aldara.

My drive home was riddled with questions. Should I take it back? Should I tell the doctor to just burn it off and be done with it? Should I succumb to a life time of duct tape and/or garlic? No, I decided I'd use the prescription and hope it worked quickly enough that I didn't need a refill. I also learned a lesson. Something may not require physical pain, but it can be far from painless.

I found it--the egg scene

2009-08-03T09:19:00.000-05:00

You really have to watch this. Mormon or not, it will make you laugh.

Props to Ryan Reeder

2009-07-31T20:56:00.002-05:00

James and I were surfing through You Tube tonight--pretty much doing nothing but watching pug videos, laughing at "Charlie bit me" and "David after the dentist." I decided that I needed to show James a scene from "The Work and the Story," you know the one--the only good one--where the final scene from the Book of Mormon is enacted with eggs. Great scene.

I couldn't find the scene I was looking for, but I did find Ryan Reeder's You Tube channel. At first I just had to laugh at it. Knowing Ryan, somehow, made it seem absurd and comical. But as we looked closer and listened to his messages, I have to say, it's very touching. Ryan has recorded himself reading the entire Book of Mormon and has recorded his testimony. It takes a lot of dedication to sit down and read the entire book and a lot more devotion to post it to You Tube for the whole world to see. He's taken the challenge to use new media to spread the gospel and I'm wholly impressed by his efforts.

http://www.youtube.com/user/thrond

Playing with the puppy

2009-07-23T11:27:00.001-05:00

On second thought,

I’m not really sure who’s playing with whom.

Peek-a-boo

2009-07-22T11:19:00.002-05:00

Don't Buy Stuff You CANNOT Afford

2009-07-09T16:25:00.003-05:00

The following is a clip from Saturday Night Live. I saw it last night in a documentary (I.O.USA, very good movie everyone should watch it) and then today my boss sent me a link to the clip. I figured that getting it twice in 24 hours was an omen that I should post it.

Enjoy.

He's a Yankee Doodle Dandy . . .

2009-07-08T10:03:00.002-05:00

Carter enjoyed his first 4th of July in style.

What a cutie!!

Caution: Sexy picture

2009-06-26T08:22:00.001-05:00

I had a really hard time deciding what to title this blog entry. My first thought (and favorite title) was "Female Porn" but decided that was probably a bit risque in case a random bishop or co-worker were to view my blog. My next thought was "Dishes." Too boring, need I say more? Finally I decided on something that was mildly inappropriate, but still toned down.
Because really. . . what's more sexy than a man doing dishes?

More freedom

2009-06-25T02:33:00.000-05:00

We're cautiously letting General have more freedom. Usually when we leave the house, General has to be down in the basement. We've got a nice area fenced off with toys and blankets, water and food, but it is a chore to get him in the basement. He hates the basement and will do anything to avoid getting caught when he knows that's where we want him. We've tried to make it a better place by only feeding him down there, but even the wont of food for my food crazy dog isn't enough of an allure for him to voluntarily go downstairs.

We started to allow him to stay upstairs when we're gone for short periods of time. Twice he's been left alone with full freedom to wander (and possibly chew) and (so far) he's been a good boy. He hasn't torn apart my knitting. He hasn't chewed a shoe. We even (accidentally) left the bathroom door open and he didn't touch the garbage. He can be such a good boy (when he wants to be).

We've also been allowing him the freedom to roam a little. We don't put him on a leash when we're headed for the car. He loves car rides and will ignore anyone or anything if the car door is open and he thinks he gets to go for a car ride.

Finally, I've been allowing him to stay off the leash and wander a bit when I'm down working at the garden. He gets chained up as soon as he takes too long to come back or wanders too far, but usually he's good at staying right in the yard. He did scare me the other day when I called and called for him and he didn't come back. I ran around the block and couldn't find him. I looked in his favorite places and couldn't find him. On the verge of tears, I went back to the garden. Someone started to whistle at me and when I turned, a construction worker was holding my dog. General went over to talk to them and decided that they were much more interesting then our yard, so he just ignored me. I ran over to get him and needless to say, he was chained to the fence the rest of the afternoon. Silly dog. He has his freedoms, but he'll soon learn that they can be limited.

I love to see the temple

2009-06-24T10:11:00.002-05:00

Last night, James and I were called and set apart as temple workers. We're so excited to be able to serve in the temple. We'll be working in the baptistery which means James gets to be in charge of the groups that come in and I get to be in charge of lots of laundry. But laundry in the temple has got to be better than laundry at home, right?

It will be tough to serve in the temple and do our Sunbeam calling and work and do everything else that life requires, but the sacrifice will be well worth it. The only big hindrance that we may foresee is James having to give up his overtime. But we're hoping he can work with supervisors to get the necessary time off. If he doesn't I'm sure some door will open up.

Despite the challenges that working in the temple may present, we're so excited to be able to serve in the Winter Quarters Temple and hope you all come by and visit us :)

Greatest show on dirt

2009-06-13T11:38:00.003-05:00

Last night marked the official start of the College World Series (CWS) and I came as close to watching a baseball game as I will EVER come. I am absolutely not a baseball fan. I'd much rather watch paint dry than sit through an inning. But seeing as I live about a mile and a half from the stadium, I let my old roommate talk me into walking to the stadium and attending the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony consists of a bunch of Omaha big wigs giving speeches and an introduction of all 8 teams that "survived the road to Omaha." That was a big theme. Surviving. I didn't know that the road to Omaha was that dangerous. When I took the road to Omaha, it was pretty easy and uneventful, but evidently these teams went through some kind of peril and were the last surviving of their kind.

After we watched these surviving young men walk across the field, the real reason I came began. The fireworks show. The fireworks for the CWS are the best ever. I've heard that the one fireworks show costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and I love it. It's the only reason I support the CWS. Other than the fireworks show, I hate that they had to pick Omaha for the CWS. I mostly hate it because the traffic around my house is horrific. I don't dare venture close to my exit from the freeway. To take the 13th street exit, traffic is backed up for miles and miles. Then once people get off the freeway, they begin congesting the neighborhoods looking for a free place to park. It gets super annoying when my 15 min drive home takes over an hour.

Despite all that I hate about the CWS, last nights fireworks made it worth it. So, in the next two weeks, if I'm talking to you on the phone and complaining that I'm in standstill traffic, just remind me that I saw the fireworks.

Confession

2009-06-10T11:24:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make and it's time I come out and admit it. I've been a closet NPR and PRI (yes, there is a difference) fan for about two years. I was so ashamed for so long to listen to such a *gasp* liberal station. And there are some things that I get too frustrated to listen to (usually just "On-Point"), but the bulk of the programing is so insightful I just can't help myself. I have to listen.

My week's just not complete without "This American Life" or "A Prairie Home Companion." I get so interested in the stories they tell. How can you be bored with the likes of Ira Glass being broadcast through the radio? Oh and the news, the glorious news. Where else does one hear news stories about the trial of the one surviving gunman from the Mumbi attacks? I'm a news junky and there is no website or other radio station with more real news.

There you have it. I am an addict. I listen to my local NPR station. I listen in the morning. I listen in the evenings. I even listen all day Saturday. I'd listen at work if I could. And like all addicts, I feel a need to get other addicted. Knowing that it can become an addiction, please be careful, but try out your local public radio station. Start on a Saturday with "Car Talk" or "Whattda you know." Work your way up to "Market Place" or "Morning Edition." From there, the world, err radio, is your oyster. Go explore the world that is public radio. There's so much to discover and one day, you may have a confession also.

Snooze

2009-06-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

You know it's going to be a bad day when you don't even remember turning off the alarm clock rather than hitting the snooze.

Why I love to vacuum

2009-06-06T17:10:00.003-05:00

If you chance to meet a frown

2009-06-05T14:15:00.002-05:00

This picture used to scare the begeebies out of me when I was a kid.

This Sunday, James and I get to induce nightmares in a new generation Sunbeams with the scary smiley frowney face man.

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

2009-05-26T08:42:00.004-05:00

ON SUNDAY, James and I were sustained to be the ward's Sunbeam teachers. We were a little shocked when we were asked to do it. Having just moved into the ward, we had hoped for some time in Relief Society and Elders Quorum to get to know people a little, but the Lord had different plans for us. Instead of sitting in Relief Society or enjoying the Sunday School lesson, we get to teach the three year olds.

I was really dismayed when we got the calling. I was hoping to become the ward food storage specialist or work in the family history library--Both things I need to be doing, but have been lacking. After we got the call, I realize the kind of callings I wanted were a little selfish. I wanted to something that I should be doing already and just wanted to be pushed into it or given more time to do it. But that's not always the way the church works. We can't tell the Lord how we want to learn and grow, rather he tells us. So I may not get to learn the intricacies of the canning system here, but rather I get to learn how to make a grumpy 3 year old participate in a lesson or learn how to wrangle a group of them without duct tape (the Sunbeam class has 12 kids). This will be a growing experience for James and I, and unexpected growing experience, but a growing experience nonetheless.

"Fairsies"

2009-05-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

"We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

I usually try to stay rather apolitical in my blogging, but the above quote from Barack Obama has really been bothering me. As I explain why this bothers me I will try to keep it from becoming a rant, but give no guarantees.

As a first year law student, one of the first lessons that was embedded into my way of thinking was that of "fairsies." "Fairsies" is basically the concept that when applying the rule of law, a judge or jury can't rule based on what the fair outcome would be. Tugging of the heart strings should have no influence on the decision. All decisions must be made according to the law as it is written and interpreted and as according to the precedent set forth by prior cases. If the judiciary judges every case according to the fair outcome then the laws would be inefficient and there would be no way to set a legal standard because what's fair in one case may be completely inequitable in another. If a Fairsies or Equal Justice standard were set, case law would be nothing but a hodgepodge of cases that nobody would be able to interpret. Because of that courts have reject the Equal Justice argument. Justice John Marshall Harlan said it best in rejecting the perversion of "Equal Justice" in his powerful dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson:

"Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The
humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes
no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as
guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved. "

"All citizens are equal before the law." What a beautiful concept. No one citizen is judged to be more important or in a higher standing because of any issue, race, age, or case. All are equal. Even the "judge's oath," codified at 28 U.S.C. § 453 states that all are equal and the judge cannot be partial to any one party.

"I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice
without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and
that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties
incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United
States. So help me God."

So, in light of all this, what part does empathy play in a judges decision making? I'm hard pressed to find where this is a necessary quality. Sure, I don't a cold, unfeeling, person sitting on the bench. A judge must have a heart, but it can't be a factor in legal decisions.

(Beware this next part will be more of a rant)

When Obama gave this little tidbit of a quote, I have to wonder if he even looked at who is on the court. Sure there's nobody that was a single teenage mom, but look at the rest of his list. Poor, African-American, gay, disabled, old. None of the current members of the U.S. Supreme Court (USSC) are openly gay, but his other necessary qualities are well covered.

Justice Clarence Thomas is African American and grew up very poor. He was raised by a grandfather (after his father abandoned the family) who worked very hard to keep the family just above the poverty line. He even mentions that he was so poor that his student loans were not paid off by the time he became a Justice on the USSC. As for the disabled and old qualities, I think most every justice we've ever had hits the old quality. And I don't think John Paul Stevens is going to do a jig anytime soon, let alone get up the stairs by himself.

All this is to demonstrate (partially) that people (the President) need to look at the court. It's made up of an eclectic group of well educated and politically diverse people. They come from all different socioeconomic backgrounds, but those backgrounds should not determine the decisions that they hand down. The Constitution is the only determining factor. Now, the Justices may disagree on how to interpret the Constitution, but at least they are to interpret the Constitution based on what the document says, not by the way their heart beats or bleeds.

PS-Thanks to Townhall.com for the political cartoon.

Why I hate Mondays

2009-05-11T14:05:00.003-05:00

I believe Mondays are bad because they remind me that I have to spend more time here

then I get to spend with him

My new favorite funny

2009-05-09T16:34:00.002-05:00

I recently stumbled up on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog and it cracks me up every time I watch it. Here's the trailer:

This was written and produced (from the genius mind of Joss Wedon) during the writer's strike last year. The whole thing is only 45 minutes long, but on Hulu it's broken into 15 minute segments. If you can find the DVD, I hear the director's commentary is great. The commentary is a musical itself. I highly suggest watching the show. When you do, be prepared to actually laugh.

As more of a teaser, here's the laundry day song. Enjoy!

More pictures

2009-05-06T13:58:00.003-05:00

Nicole just sent me some more pictures of Carter. We're so excited about him that we figure everyone is as enamored with him as our family is . . .

Carter Craig Nelson

2009-05-06T10:32:00.002-05:00

Little Carter Craig Nelson was born on Sunday at 7:34 pm weighing 5 lbs 9.4 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches. He's healthy as a horse and both he and Nicole are doing fine.

We're so excited to have this little bundle join our family!

Gardening time

2009-05-03T20:54:00.002-05:00

FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS my boss, Sam, has been telling me that I need a garden.When I protest that I don't have a place to put a garden as I've lived in apartments and now a townhouse, Sam always reminds me that there is a yard at the office. I've always had a reason not to put in a garden. My main reason was that I had nobody to help me tend it. Well, this year I can't use that as an excuse. My wonderful husband has "volunteered" to spend his days off weeding and watering and making sure our garden grows big. So I told Sam that this year we would have a garden at the office.

On Saturday, my Father-in-Law cut a garden for James and I. I'm so glad that he was willing to haul his rototiller over and spend two hours of his Saturday working so we can plant a garden.

I'm so excited to be able to plant the garden in the next few weeks and I'm even more excited to be able to harvest and eat the yummy tomatoes, squash, green beans, Swiss chard, peppers, and onions that we'll cultivate.

I looked out the window and what did I see

2009-04-22T10:48:00.000-05:00

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING to a cacophony of birds. They were chattering away-encouraging from my slumber so I could experience the miracle of spring in Nebraska.

In past years I have lamented that I was too busy to notice the coming of Spring. My head was stuck in books, and tests, and the little mundane things of life. For years on end, I missed the unfurling of little leaves or the flowers waking each morning. My only indication that spring had arrived was the annual ritual of stuffiness and subsequent antihistamine administration. I never noticed the earth growing again until the doldrums of summer when it was starting to wither under the harsh Utah sun.

Since graduating, I have made a concentrated effort to notice and enjoy springtime. There is so much to enjoy about it from the warming days to the cool crisp nights. It is a time to wake up and enjoy a life in the outdoors. To smell the new earth and the growing grass. To feel the sunlight on your back. And to simply smile at the gifts our Heavenly Father has given us, for in the springtime, they are plentiful and very easy to spot, if we just look.

One of the things I love about living in Nebraska is that it goes from winter brown to green overnight. Here mother nature does not slowly wake from her winter slumber, stretching her green thumb lazily as she yawns into spring. Rather between sundown and sunrise, she races about the state shaking awake all the flora into a vibrant spring.

James and I went to bed with a bare and lifeless tree outside out window, only to wake to white blossoms open in their full glory. The grass was green and even the neighbors daffodils had sprung to life. In the snap of a finger, the earth is alive again. The miracle of spring has happened again.

Finally some wedding pics

2009-04-15T12:59:00.000-05:00

On March 27, 2009 I married my best friend in the Manti Temple. To date, it has been the most wonderful day of my life.

We were excited about how many people came to our wedding. It was so nice to have so many family members and friends come to witness out sealing.

My family really are wonderful people. They did most of the work for the reception and Ben even wrapped his cast in my wedding colors to add a little of his own flair.

I know these shots are cheesy, but it was such a good picture of my ring that I couldn't resist publishing it.

As we all know, red is my favorite spice.

Our wedding day went off without any problems and James and I thank everyone who came and everyone who helped make our day absolutely wonderful.

Proud to be a Nebraskan

2009-04-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I just titled a post like this, but James showed me this cute clip that I just had to share.

Now that I'm a Nebraskan (by marriage), I figure I ought to let everyone know what accomplishments this state has.

Enjoy.

Bridals

2009-03-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

Saturday I finally got bridals taken. My friend, Kara, took me out to her parent's farm and we snapped pictures for about 4 hours. So many of them turned out great. I'd love to post them all, but James has a habit of checking my blog and we all know that the groom can't see the dress before the wedding. So, one pic will have to suffice until after the wedding.

Kara and I had a great time just trying every pose we could think of and using a variety of jewelry and backgrounds. We shot at the farm, at an abandoned theater, and downtown Fremont, Nebraska. Kara has a great eye and took some amazing pictures. I am so glad that she sacrificed her whole Saturday to help me out. The weather was perfect and even the wind cooperated. Things couldn't have turned out better!

We did have one adventure. When we were done with pictures in Fremont, I needed to get out of the dress. The only halfway safe and clean place we could find was a Runza. So we pulled up and I hiked across the parking lot and into Runza wearing a wedding dress. We did get some funny looks when we went into the restaurant, but didn't really care much. We beelined it to the restrooms and proceeded to strip layer by layer out of the wedding dress. After changing into more normal and acceptable Saturday attire, we headed out of the restaurant, taking care not to look anyone in the eyes.

All in all we took almost 200 pictures, 65 of which look great. I can't wait to get copies of all of them and post more photos of my fantastic dress. In the mean time--James, eat your heart out.

Higher Ground

2009-03-16T15:05:00.000-05:00

This month's CES fireside was given by Elder Hales and I encourage everyone to listen to it at least once. He spoke about staying on the higher ground and I was very impressed by the talk and recomend listening to it even if you're not a "young single adult." It's well worth the time.

http://lds.org/broadcast/ces/0,7341,538-1-61-1621,00.html

In the Jail house now

2009-03-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

General came to us kennel trained. It has been a huge blessing. Every night around ten, we take him out to potty and then he willingly goes in his kennel. He usually goes in, turns around once, and falls asleep (as is evident by his incessant snoring). Sometimes he does just lay there and watch us, but he never whines once he's put down for the night.

Saturday night, General fell asleep on the floor while James and I watched a movie. We woke him up and took him outside. I think he was a still a little groggy when we put him down for the night. Instead of just passing out again, he sat in his kennel looking like the little jailbird you see above. He typically moves when we come toward his kennel, but that night, he just laid there, resting his head on the bars. We couldn't help but take pictures. After quite a while, General stood up, turned around, and fell fast asleep. But I just had to show off my cute little groggy jailbird.

I heart Troy!

2009-03-11T10:06:00.000-05:00

Don't worry, I haven't become some creepy 28 year old fanatic for the High School Musical juggernaut. Rather I'm the number one fan of Troy the (self proclaimed) hair god and owner of Fringes in the Old Market.

I've been solely dedicated to having him as my hairstylist for going on three years now and have never been disappointed with his work. I've even had occasions where I walk in and say "Troy I'm sick of my hair. I want it this long--the rest is up to you." And then his pulls out his scissors and combs and in an Edward Scissorhandsesque motion, a beautiful masterpiece is created out of my once lifeless hair.

I've even begun to trust Troy with coloring my hair a little. Give it something different. In September 2007 he put in strawberry blond highlights that looked amazing. They were so natural looking that when they grew out, nobody was the wiser. I decided for the wedding we needed to duplicate those highlights but with a little more red. Troy, the magical genius that he is, pulled it off.

This time the highlights are a little more red than I had anticipated. Now I've got more of a coppery tone in my hair, but I love it. Once again, Troy has turned my dull hair into something worthy of more than just a ponytail. I so heart Troy.