this week

i love the sound of: good music. i am not one who loves christmas carols (i know, how un-christmas), but any time i put in some good tunes, i can just relax, get stuff done and forget about all the stuff i have to do.
i love the sight of: sunshine. especially this time of year where we don't get a whole lot, when the sweet rays peak through the clouds, it perks me up instantly and makes the next five days of pure rain dueable in oregon.
i love the touch of: my soft blanket as i curl up to watch tv at the end of a long day
i love the taste of: christmas chocolates and candies: fondant balls, peanut butter balls, mint, vanilla and almond flavored chocolates, caramels, sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, rolo cookies, toffee, pies, you name it I love it.
i love the smell of: pottery barn pomegranite diffuser. this stuff is heavenly and can fill a house with the sweet arouma.

let the countdown begin

since i am so excited for our adventure to the other side of the world, i fugured i would blog my countdown. we are down to only 16 days untill we leave. thats crazy. it has been a long time coming. heres a preview of the land we are headed to.

thanksgiving day

so even though all of our plans originally fell through, this turned out to be a really good day. thanks to the parkers for letting us share this day with them (and only 1 days notice). we had a great time with them and their three adorable kids. and after an arousing game of grapes vs. raisins (the 5th wards turkey bowl of elders vs. young men) the huge turkey dinner never tasted so good.

lil' jace and baby jerum

christmas came early

so i know the tradition is to put the christmas tree up the day after thanksgiving, but justin and i couldnt resist around the 4th of november. thats right, almost two months before the actual holiday. we have this fake tree that we inherited from my mother, so we thought, why not? so sunday afternoon we put it up. what we didnt realize is that we had absolutely no decorations for it. it was just a dull fake tree. the next day, justin went out to the dollar store and picked up some great ornaments. when i got home from work that night, we had a beautifully decorated tree. i wish i could take some credit for it because it looks so good, but it was all him.

season finale

ok, so most of you know i am a sucker for reality tv. years ago my mom and i got hooked on this show called the bachelor. if you have yet to see this great show, its about a guy who gets to date these 25 women all in hopes that he picks them in the end. usually in the last finale the bachelor proposes or gives a promise to try this in the real world to one lucky lady who had endured all the past rose ceremonies. well last night was "the most shocking rose ceremony yet" (they seem to say that every season). brad womack (aka the bachelor) decided not to pick either of the girls!!! unheard of!!! both of them went away crying! so tonight is the "after the final rose" when everyone comes back and confronts brad, so it is sure to be some drama.

Turkey Day!!

oh how i love this day, let me count the ways

5. spending time with those you love
4. its a day set aside to remember all the things we forget to be thankful for through out the year. a day to reflect on all the blessings we have been given and give thanks for it all.
3. a paid day of no work. what a concept, get paid and not even go in. i love it
2. all the turkey bowls football games- the grapes vs raisins (you know what i mean 5th ward) is a favorite on this day held at monroe middle school at 9:00 am. and finally...
1. a feast of absolute deliciousness. the turkey, gravy stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and so much more. a combination so good it leaves you in a trance afterward thinking about how good it was.

just what i needed

I got this quote the other day in relief society and it really hit me hard. The teacher started off the meeting saying she put 10 quotes into this box and she was confident that we would all get the one we needed. As i sat smug in the back thinking "how do you know what i need to hear right now, i dont even know who you are," the box got passed to me. This is the quote that came out.

"Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. Your character will grow; your faith will increase. There is a relationship between those two: the greateryour faith, the stronger your character; and increased character enhances your ability to exercise even greater faith." -Elder Richard G Scott, Using the Supernal gift of prayer, Ensign, May 2007.

It really touched me because of all the struggles we have had these past few months. With everything that has been going on, justins job, my job, our new ward, ect. we have had a really hard time staying optimistic. I realized that even though no one here may know what I need, God uses them to answers my prayers. This womans lesson, although I have no idea who she is, was what I needed to hear. I needed to know that this was one of those things I needed to be greatful for instead of letting it drag us down. It taught me to be patient, have faith and it will all work out in the end.

this week

i love the smell of: fresh caramel cooking
i love the tatse of: halloween candy... yummy!
i love the feel of: pumpkin guts as we carve a face into it.
i love the sound of: *ring ring* "go home, we are all done at work!"
i love the sight of: the trees changing colors and their leaves falling to the ground.

OREGON vs. USC

so this last weekend justin and i along with our friends attended the university of oregon football game. it was so much fun to be there when our Ducks pulled off a 24- 17 WIN against the USC Trojans. it was such a blast being part of all the hoopla and watching as all the fans rushed the field after the victory.