New Year's Day

My mom told me that looking at family pictures does more to put you in a good mood than chocolate or alcohol. New Year's Day was my birthday, the perfect day to try to be in a good mood. It makes perfect sense, therefore, that my family and I decided to go take pictures. We went to Discovery Park and a few other places. Look closely and you'll spot my favorite gloves. Tom makes fun of me for them all the time, but I know they secretly make him love me.

It was a cold but relaxing day. I love my family.

Here is a picture of some grapes outside our house. I think it's cool how they froze in the snow.

I also should mention that Tom is an excellent gift-giver. He knew what I wanted even when I didn't. It was nice to have a birthday present separate from Christmas. For Christmas he got me a popcorn-maker (also known as a microwave), and for my birthday he got me a new sports bra, which I had been needing for quite a while. I'm sure that wasn't very easy for him to shop for. :)

Happy Holidays!

This may not be the Holy Family, but it's our holy family.

So this whole entire last week was spent up in Idaho, basking in the glory of my family that were there. It was good times indeed. The trip up was fantastic, though doing a whole 6-hour stretch in a car does a number on the legs. We spent a lot of our time feasting on some of the best food I've had in years, nay even my life. Just look at this glory of meat and spices!

It really doesn't get any better than that for you meat-lovers out there. Trust me. Christmas presents were good. Lovetta got me a sweet Argyle sweater and some hair clippers. I got her a new popcorn-maker (read: microwave). My sister, Tania, bequeathed us a cooking legacy in the form of an America's Test Kitchen cook book and an electronic copy of my Grandma's cook book. Happiness! I drank a ridiculous amount of egg nog (nog-o'clock, whut?) and played my brains out some games of Nerts. Ahh such good times!

Joy of Cooking, eat your heart out.

I gotta say that holiday times are the best times. Food. Family. Fun. I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday break from whatever it is you're doing. Also, I hope that coming home from the holidays doesn't greet you with a bulldozer in front of your house (like it did for us!).

You'll shoot your eye out!

So, Lovetta and I just got done hosting the Papercuts Book Club at our place for the annual Christmas party. We shared a few Christmas picture books and watched A Christmas Story (as everyone should this time of year). How is that book club oriented, you ask? Well, it was based on a book! Any excuse to watch a funny movie...

Christmas time has always been an interesting time for me. Watching that movie has only really made me realize how much this time of year has evolved for me as I've gotten older. When I was a kid, I remember totally going through the same kinds of things that Ralphie did (drooling over particular presents and whatnot). That's kind of what the holiday seems to mean when you're a kid: an opportunity to get new toys. Oh yeah, and there's that baby Jesus thing, too.

The older I got, the more my focus seemed to swap. Holidays (birthdays included) stopped really being about presents. When I was on my mission, it was nice to get things for special occasions, but it never quite meant as much to me as knowing that loved ones remembered me. I could have cared less about what it was that I got. The things I wanted were less tangible.

Now, I see holidays more as time to spend around people I love. This makes it difficult for others. Some have asked me what I want for Christmas this year. Honestly, I still don't really know. What I'm most looking forward to is heading up to Idaho this year and spending time with some of my family. Moving out here to Utah kind of gave me a slight separation disorder and I crave being around them. Beyond seeing them, everything else is a bonus.

I'm trying to turn my attention now to the only things I can hopefully make last over the years. Memories. My childhood memories are splotchy at best (ask Lovetta how well I remember some of the Primary songs). I don't remember too many Christmas gifts from yonder days. But the memories I have now of spending time with family are what I seem to find more and more precious.

I just hope that everyone has the opportunity to really focus on what I think are the most important parts of Christmas. Service. Love. The birth of the Son of God. Family. Here's wishing you a fantastic holiday, free from stress and full of joy.

New Camera, New Opportunities

We bought a new camera! (Nikon D3000) We planned to get one when we got our tax return, but we found a good Christmas deal and decided not to wait. Now we just have to figure out how to use it perfectly. :) Here's a picture of our camera, taken by our computer. Here are some pictures of us picking out a Christmas tree with my family.Here is one of my experiments with my new control of depth of field.Now that we've spent money on a nice camera, we are determined to continue this wonderful emerging habit of documenting our lives through photography. Christmas time is full of opportunity.

Holiday Hubub

Somewhat of an inside joke. Click the picture if you want to see.

Vacation weeks have a tendency to always be jam packed full of things to do. Usually, by the time your vacation is over, you're left wondering where the time went and when will you get a chance to relax. Not so with this last week.

On Wednesday, we took a trip down to Kanab with Lovetta's family to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. The trip was easy going and quite relaxing. We left early enough in the day that there was actually time to stretch our legs and do some chatting with the extended family before going off to bed. In fact, there seemed to be a lot of time on our hands this trip. I read half of a 700-page book during the whole 3-day trip! We browsed some of the local shops, enjoyed some really good food, and ended up avoiding the Black Friday sales while we were down there.

On our way back up, we made a side-trip to Zion National Park to meet up with Lovetta's aunt. This was the first time I'd ever been to Zion's and also the first time I'd ever met any of Lovetta's father's family. Can I just say right now that I'm so glad that I married into her family? You often hear the horror stories about in-laws, but I find her family to be quite fantastic and very agreeable. They're all such nice people! The park was great too, of course! We took quite a few pictures, but none of them have managed their way to one of our computers yet. Absolutely beautiful to see some of the falls and rock formations out there. I'd love to go back someday and see some of the other things I missed.

We rounded out the weekend by making some matchbox mangers at Lovetta's parents' house on Sunday. And when I say "we" I really mean "Lovetta, her sister, and her mother". I took some pictures, but alas, those might have to wait for another day. They're really cute! "What is a matchbox manger?" you say. Well, let me tell you! While we were in Kanab perusing their gift shops, we came across these little matchbox-looking things. They were decorated with chilis, churches, and other strange whatnots. On the inside, however, there was a little manger scene made out of clay with a Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. We all thought that these little boxes were perfect for gifts but that the outer design choice was a little lacking in some circumstances. So, we bought some small matchboxes and painted them with angels, shepards, and wise men on the outside. Then we took some modeling clay and mimicked little manger scenes for the inside of the boxes. Lovetta's turned out wonderfully and I'll have to post a picture of it so you can understand what I mean by it.

Anyway, that's a little update on our lives for the last week. I hope your holiday week found you well and rested!

Should it Blend?

I need some advice. I thought I knew what I wanted for Christmas, but now I'm wondering: is it really worth it?
Imagine this: I'm walking innocently through our local Costco, not really planning on buying anything else, but enjoying the samples. I stopped in front of the Blendtec display, hoping for a taste of smoothie. Only, this time I listened to the presenter. Those blenders are pretty awesome. I watched that blender turn bananas with the peel and strawberries with the stems and seeds into smooth, delicious smoothies. I saw that blender turn raw carrots, onion, pepper, and tomato into a creamy hot soup. Yum! Wow! So easy! I want it!
They are about $400. After the presentation, I knew I wanted it. It wasn't until later I started to doubt. Sigh. I probably wouldn't believe it worked if it only cost $20. I love soup, and I love smoothies, and I think it would be great to be able to make my own baby food (when the time comes, that is), but is it really worth that much money for a blender? Would I really get my money's worth out of it? I have a blender that I rarely use; but, I rarely use it because it's a pain to clean and it doesn't crush the ice. The Blendtec is easy to clean and can crush just about anything. And it comes with its own recipe book.
It's funny how now that I'm the one making the money it's hard to ask for expensive things. Even if it counts as both a Christmas and a birthday present. Watch the video (or, if you're super brave, the live presentation) and let me know what you think.