Long time comin'

You may have noticed this fancy button that popped up on the right-hand side of my blog around May 1. Maybe you didn't because I haven't posted since then, so you probably haven't been to my blog. Either way, please notice the fancy button on the right hand side of my blog. That one that says: "I'm doing the Whole30" or something like that.

It's on there because BouBou and I are DONE with a clean-eating challenge called, you guessed it, The Whole30. For 30 days, starting May 1, we ate 100% clean. That means no added sugar, no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no soy, no nightshades, for 30 days.

I was skeptical at first. But, my weight had plateaued (I was still getting smaller, but just swapped fat for muscle), we got back from our Easter jaunt feeling like fatties, and we knew it was time to get back to the basics of clean eating.

In the past months, I've lost nine pounds, and I'm two sizes smaller than I was at the beginning. In January, when I started Crossfit and The Zone, I was a snug size 12 and had been for years. Sometimes a 14. Now I'm a tight and toned 10, and at some stores I'm wearing an 8. I still can't believe it. I've never been an 8, and I haven't been a 10 since I think 8th grade or freshman year of high school. My ultimate goal is a 6. Why 6? I don't know. It sounds good. None of my clothes fit anymore. My dresses hang like drapes off of me, I constantly tug at my pants (luckily I scored a pair of bearable pants at Old Navy for $9 a few weeks back. They were tight when I got them. Now they are loose), my shirts sag, and even my undies are having a hard time staying put. I am a new woman. What's more, BouBou is a new man. We loved the Whole30 challenge, and I highly recommend it.

Last night ended our challenge, so to celebrate our hard work, we ate some BlueBell ice cream and cupcakes from Crave. WORST DECISION EVER. I will treat myself from now on by NOT eating those things. Both of us have such horrible sugar hangovers today. I have learned my lesson that sugar is a drug I do not want in my body.

I love the Paleo diet. I feel healthy, strong, my body is morphing into this lean and toned machine in a matter of weeks, and I am vibrant, full of life. My acne is totally gone. I can complete physical tasks I never could before. I'm faster and stronger at CrossFit. This diet is helping me reach goals I've literally had since junior high, but have never had the knowledge, tools, or discipline to obtain. Truly it has been an answer to lifelong prayer.

Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants clearly states that grains are to be "the staff of life," and a few people have asked me how I can justify eating Paleo. A less than common definition of "staff" is "something that serves as a staple or support." The Word of Wisdom outlines daily living and nutrition that will also keep us free from disease, give us energy, and bless us with the assurance of keeping divine commandments. Most Americans consume dirty grains, the kind that are bleached, processed and milled to death until they become blood-spiking toxins that give no nutritional benefit and will leave eaters craving more. The kind of grains I believe are "the staff of life" are clean, untouched and quality. When I have reached my fat loss goals, I plan on incorporating these staples back into my diet.

I just finished reading thist book, which is EXCELLENT by the way, and no we are not expecting. Now I really want to read this book. I am so fascinated by this topic of nutrition and optimal physical performance right now.

As I've commented to my one true love Jeff/BouBou, my entire life I've felt physically inadequate and incapable of athleticism and finesse. Because of CrossFit and clean eating, I've discovered the remarkable creation my body is, and how much more spiritually alive I feel when I'm taking care of my personal temple.

I never thought I could feel such a strong testimony of this topic, but I do!

Mom, Dad and Robert came into town this weekend to drive the Rat back to Utah. Did I mention Jeff and I got a new car back in March? A Ford Fiesta hatchback. I absolutely love it and I'm so glad to drive a car from this decade (the Rat is a 2000 model; so is my old Echo). I wish I had pictures of them being here this weekend, because we had a great time!! They flew in Friday. Dad and Robert left Saturday for Utah, and Mom and I drove up to Tyler to be with Becky and the kids for the weekend. It was fun. I love playing with my sweet nephew Trevor and I wish I could take him home with me. He is a love.

I drove back Sunday night so Jeff and I could hit the beach yesterday with our friends, the Brabazons, who are stealing their sweet daughters away from us to move to Washington state. I am used to beaches like this:



or this:



But what we got was this:



50 feet of washed-up seaweed, no open sand. I've never been so disappointed in my life. The highlight of the day was when BouBou got up on a surfboard and rode it in probably 40 feet. That was pretty cool. Otherwise, I will not be wasting my time with Texas beaches anymore. It's going to take lots of scrubbing to get the sea salt off the Fiesta too.

Houston just keeps giving and giving!

Back in the saddle

As I've posted before, Bou Bou and I follow a diet called "Paleo," which in a nutshell means we eat anything that was around 20,000 years ago and not much more. No grains, no dairy, NO SUGAR. We've never felt better. Sometimes we blur the lines a little by treating ourselves to a milkshake or Chick Fil-A, but we don't tow the line too much, especially when it comes to eating sugar. (This is the best article I've seen recently on the nasty effects of sugar on the body).

Until this weekend. We drove up to Tyler, TX to see my sister and her family, who arrived there Thursday for the summer sales season. We got there Friday night, already having eaten. My sister texted on our way up, asking if we'd join them for dessert that night. Sure, we thought. Why not. We went to an amazing frozen custard place and shared a concrete. Not too bad. More sugar than I'm used to at this point, but not so overwhelming I felt sick.

Ravenous the next morning, I woke up to a pantry and fridge full of grains and sugar-laden food. Powdered donuts, baked chips, bread, bagels, candy, cookies, you name it. Then light yogurt (aspartame has similar effects on insulin level that sugar does, so it's still bad), Crystal Light, diet soda, hot dogs (mechanically separated chicken, pork and beef in one saturated fat laden cylinder), cheese, cream cheese in the fridge. Eggos, ice cream and chicken nuggets in the freezer, plus a tub of pre-cooked brisket slathered in sugary BBQ sauce for Easter dinner. The only thing edible in the entire fridge were the eggs. You're probably thinking, "But this is what's in my fridge too!" And it used to be in my fridge too (except for the hot dogs).

Let me cut to the chase. After a weekend of eating the processed, pre-cooked, heat from frozen junk most Americans call food, Jeff and I were physically ill. The 4-hr drive back to Houston last night was absolutely miserable. I felt fatigued, nauseated, we had headaches, we were close to vomiting, we wanted to die.

There's real food and then there's fake food. Real food is found on the perimeter of the grocery store. It either used to eat something or came from something that used to eat something (eggs), or it grew in the ground. It has no additives, nothing bromenated, no partially hydrogenated oils, no trans fats. It definitely has NO CORN SYRUP AND NO SUGAR.

Jeff and I eat small portions of meat or eggs at each meal. Coupled with that are fresh vegetables. We eat one serving of fruit with breakfast usually. We add a few nuts and seeds or good oils to each meal. Upon finding out what we eat, a few people have commented to me, "Wow, your food bill must be insane buying all that meat and fresh produce." But it's not. I buy meat on sale. I buy in-season produce. Once I splurged and bought grass-fed ground beef (I plan on doing this more--the nutritional benefits are worth the price). I do mostly buy no hormone/steroid/organic chicken, but I'd rather buy full free range (not the pasturized free range imposter though!) There are ways to eat healthy and stay in budget.

My moral: If you often feel tired and achy, lack energy, crave sweets, if your energy levels crash, you can't lose weight/you gain weight, nothing cures your acne, (and the list goes on and on), you probably need to remove some foods from your diet. Going Paleo is the best thing Jeff and I have done for our bodies EVER. Jeff is at a weight he hasn't been at since junior high, I believe. I'm at a weight I last saw freshman year of high school. We are also lean! Jeff is so close to his goal of a six pack, and my hip rolls are finally small bumps instead of giant hills. Give it a try for one week and feel the difference! I promise you will not be let down!

Rumbly in the tumbly

Health insurance. A heated topic among many Americans. After my experience yesterday, I have some clue why.

My most "generous" employer (I should add "selectively") provides me health and dental insurance with no detriment to my wage. How nice! I do not have vision coverage, which for my four eyes, means I fork over a few hundred dollars a year in optometry visits and new contact lenses. I haven't had new glasses frames for probably five years; no new lenses for three. My glasses see my face for an hour before bed, if they're lucky, so I'm not as concerned with these, but I do need them.

Since being back from Costa Rica, I've suffered from "bowel issues." (They say the water is safe to drink there!!) Jeff hasn't developed any troubles, so I'm not sure what I ate or drank that spawned this fun. He thought I should see a doctor as soon as we returned to the States. I would have, but I'd never used my health insurance, so I was wary of the cost of seeing a doctor, especially since we spent a wad in CR.

Finally, yesterday, after 2.5 weeks of unpredictable intestinal fistfights, I decided it was time to pay The Man and get some antibiotics. I had no clue what my co-pay was, or even if I had a co-pay. I saw a PA for 15 minutes, long enough for her to diagnose me with what I'd diagnosed myself with, thanks to mayoclinic, and send in a scrip for some bug killers, and send me back up to reception to pay.

My heart raced. How much will this visit be? $25? $50? $100? No. It couldn't be over $100, I thought.

I was shocked when I was charged $117.34. All out of pocket. Insurance paid nothing.

This is how the real world is? This is why the little man wants Obamacare? This is why so many other countries have socialized medicine? This is why I want to find a new job? This is why insurance companies are evil? This is why I will procrastinate seeing a doctor, even in a matter of life or death? Because the partners at the company I work for make hundreds of thousands of dollars each per year, and I make about 4.6 percent of what they make? What if BouBou and I accidentally get pregnant? Literally, we couldn't afford our baby!!!!

It makes me sick. Many of you are probably worse off. I feel cheated. I don't think I'm alone in this either!!!

Everything happens to me.

Why is it that every time one is preparing to leave on a trip, the world collides?! This has been one crazy week.

Tuesday night I had a work dinner to attend. At 6 pm, I went out to my car (I was luckily already at home) and tried to turn it on. No go. Tried it again. No go. Lights were going on normally, the engine just wouldn't turn over. I knew it wasn't the starter--our mobile mechanic, Big John, installed a new one in your fall (Houston's endless summer). The Saturn did this once before because of corrosion on the battery cables. I ruined a perfectly good boar bristle hairbrush dusting off the battery system, and still, no go. By this point I knew the car wasn't going to start through anything I did to coerce it, so naturally, I said a prayer. Suddenly my kind French neighbor, who also loves working on cars, appeared out of thin air, and asked me to start it again, which I did. No sooner had a turned the key that he started yelling in his accent so thick you think he's still speaking French, "SMOKE!!!! FIRE!!!!!" Smoke was billowing out from under the hood of the Saturn aka the Rat, on some wires right behind the engine block. He ran upstairs to grab water from his apartment while I uselessly tried blowing out the flame (it wasn't a birthday candle; I probably made it worse; what was I thinking?!)

Jeff and I have been wanting to bag the Rat since we married. That thing is 11 years old! It''s seen me through thick and thin and got me moved to Texas in one piece, not to mention the thousands of miles my sister and her husband put on it in the six years they had it. Yes, it was time to purchasae.

We've been saving a healthy down payment, waiting for the right time, or until the Rat finally succumbed to the poison that is Saturns. In preparation we test drove a few small cars, but the one that stood out was the Ford Fiesta. It used to be in the States, then it was only in Europe the past decade or so, and Ford just brought it back this year. It is a NEAT little car. Gets excellent mileage, cool features inside (I can stream music via Bluetooth from my iPhone and of course have a hands-free system built in to the car). I am really digging it. I was surprised to see that it is a highly rated little vehicle, and even beats out the Honda Fit! I've never been into Fords, but so far, so good!

So after the car got rocked this week, Friday morning rolled around. Jeff and I got up for Crossfit at 4:25, like we always do MWF, and trekked the 15 minutes drive to CrossFitWestHouston (CFWH). Unfortunately our instructor had an alarm malfunction!! Happens to the best of us, but I was REALLY looking forward to the WOD.

Came home and turned on NPR only to hear that Sendai, Japan, where my brother Michael is serving an LDS mission, was bludgeoned by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that's obliterated the entire coastal region of Sendai. It was a LOOOONNNNGGGGGG day of waiting, patiently waiting, scouring news web sites, searching for reports of how many dead, where was hit worst. We heard bits and pieces throughout the day, but it wasn't until 11:45 pm or so that an Area Authority of the LDS church in Sendai called my parents, saying he had spoken to Michael personally and knew he was well. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I would say this is the biggest personal scare I've ever had in my life. Michael means the world to me as far as siblings go. He and I have always really understood each other, without having to say much to get there, and I would miss him so badly.

At the same time, I have a knowledge that I would see MIchael again should he have been fatally wounded in this crisis. Through the Plan of Salvation (or Plan of Happiness), I know why I am here on earth, where I go after, and what happens next. I know it because I feel this strong feeling in my heart every time I study it, or read about it in the Book of Mormon and the Bible, or read the words of the prophet Thomas S. Monson. That feeling is the Holy Spirit of God, or the Holy Ghost, confirming truth for me. It is the best feeling (see verses 22-23) in the world, not only to feel the Holy Ghost confirm truth, but also to know our Heavenly Father loves us enough to teach us these truths Himself, through the Holy Ghost.

Now that Michael is well, I'm realizing just how many people in Sendai are not so lucky. The photos are awful. I don't know how you'd even begin to clean up the mess that tsunami left. There will be much work to do.

In 5.5 hours, Jeff and I will be on a plane to Costa Rica!! I am so grateful to know MIchael is okay, BEFORE we leave.

Life is good!!! Pura vida!!

Five more days, then I'm running away

Exactly five days from this moment, my sweet Bou Bou and I will be boarding a flight to Mexico City, then on to Costa Rica!!! I cannot wait!! I have spent the past few months poring over the Interwebs, trying to find the best places to stay and see and go. Our trip is narrowed down to places I'm sure we will love! The first half of our trip, we are staying in rural Costa Rica. I am especially excited about this portion of the trip. We live in the heart of Houston, Texas, which if you didn't know is the fourth largest city in the U.S. and the largest city in the state of Texas. Each day we battle traffic along the dreaded Westheimer Road, an eight-lane mini highway not far from our home. I believe I have mentioned it before. If not, just know it is the most stressful road I've ever driven on, and unfortunately, everything we need is off this road. Blech.

Needless to say, I wanted to forgo the resort-style vacation and head into uncharted territory. These rural locations in Costa Rica are sure to be relaxing, and beautiful!

Hanging bridges in Las Heliconas Rainforest


Rio Celeste River and Waterfall


We will see many exotic animals, like monkeys, sloths, toucans, and many bugs and birds the US will never see. But the highlight of our trip will surely be the Monteverde Extremo Canopy zipline tour. The video below is a little long; I recommend skipping to the 6-minute mark to see the "Superman" portion of the tour. Or, if you want a real treat, watch the whole thing so you can listen to the funny things the German guy who made the video says. For example: "I didn't bought a hike!" and "I can't feel my legs back! And my bones!!"

Costa Rica Monteverde Extremo Canopy 2010 HD from philipp runk on Vimeo.

After this fun-filled first few days, we will travel down to Manuel Antonio, which is supposed to have some of the best beaches in the country. MA is also much busier than the places we will have previously stayed, so it will be interesting to be in a more tourist-driven area.

Our last day we will fly to Mexico City and tour Teotihuacan! I can't wait for that!!!

Other than these fun activities, the thing I'm most excited for is the FOOD!! Costa Rican food looks delicious. Lots of black beans and rice, meat, plantains, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Yum!

Pura vida!

To Brandon Davies

Whatever you've done, we don't care. Just beg for absolution and get back on the court. Link to KSL article

The worst night of my life.

Not really the worst night of my life, but it was the worst I can remember for a really long time.

Each year the Houston Rodeo comes to town. Ever since I was a kid, I've always glamorized rodeos, probably because I've never been to one. I'd watch the bull and bronco riding on TV, the calf roping, the clowns getting manhandled by the bulls, the riders flying off and miraculously not dying...I couldn't get enough of it. I loved barrel racing too, because it was milder, gentler, and the horses weren't mean!

I'd always surmised those broncos were a special breed of horse that was really angry all the time, and flailed about when provoked by a rider. Same with the bulls. When I got older I realized the broncos and bulls weren't bucking just because they wanted the riders off their backs. The real reason made me uncomfortable--it sounded so painful--so I stopped watching. But secretly I still love the rodeo, or the idea of it.

So this past weekend, Jeff and I ventured to the rodeo, not for an actual rodeo, but for the World BBQ Championship that kicks off the Houston Rodeo each year.

Mmmmm. Ribs.



We were so excited. All day Saturday I ate minimally in anticipation of the BBQ feast, greater than any Thanksgiving dinner, more delicious than ambrosia itself. BBQ is the best way to cook meat. I couldn't wait to binge on succulent sausages and breathtaking brisket and palate-puckering pulled pork. Oh man, I am hungry now! And I was hungry then. Ravishing even.

Our friends, Jorge and Danielle, had our tickets, so we decided we'd meet up with them once we got to the BBQ. BAD IDEA.

Traffic kept us captive for an hour. Finally we pulled in to the old Astroworld lot. "How much?" Jeff asked. "Twenty dollars," the lady said. I gasped. "Twenty dollars? What does that even go toward?" I asked. Twenty dollars to park on some grass? NUTS! Without even making eye contact, the lady said, "Oh it goes for scholarships for the kids and things like that." Psh. Scholarship my lands, keep padding your pockets Reliant Stadium. You suck.

We prodded along with the rest of the cattle, maneuvering a rocky road, over the highway, to the stadium. And then we waited. Jorge and Danielle were stuck in traffic too. We waited, and waited, and waited. The old Primary song, "Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked" kept running through my mind. Except they words for me were "waited and waited and waited and waited," etc. I was going ballistic. The people watching was prime, but the whole poseur one-night-only cowboy look lost its humor pretty quickly. As did watching all the skimpily dressed girls, many of whom would've been wise to cover up. Funny how public events give certain classes of people cause for, uh, "dressing up." Or out. You know what I mean.

We waited for over an hour. If you've ever had to be with me when I haven't eaten in a long time, I'm sorry. I get really grumpy and really mad, and I hate everything and everyone. I was in this mode when we got to Reliant. You can imagine how saintly my Jeff was that night to put up with me.

Jorge and Danielle finally got into the BBQ, unfortunately on the other side of it. They maneuvered their way over to the gate where Jeff and I were waiting. Finally, I thought. Sweet BBQ is mine!! But not so fast: Jorge said, "We are leaving." What?! "Someone stole my wallet," he said. So off they went.

Jeff and I decided to walk around and start finding some BBQ. Only, all the BBQ was inside these booths, protected by policemen. What was the deal? Our tickets online said we were getting a BBQ plate with this, so where is ours? After wandering around in a starvation-induced stupor for ten minutes, we finally asked a policeman what the deal was. "Oh, these booths are all private parties. You have to have a pass to get in." He didn't know how to get a pass, and by this point, we didn't care. EVERYONE in there was drunk. Everyone was loud, obnoxious, inebriated, I probably stepped in vomit ten times. It was awful. Trying to be positive, Jeff suggested we go to the carnival. On a normal night, I would have been all over that--I'd been admired the gigantic ferris wheel on the horizon all night--but not this night. I have never wanted to get out of a place so badly.

"What's going to make this better for you, my love," my sweet Jeff asked. There was only one place that could ever do me right at a time like this, and he knew it.

On the way to our magical place, we played the only music healing enough to soothe the weary soul and stomach at a time like this: Third Eye Blind's self-titled album. We pulled into the parking lot, blasting "Narcolepsy," competing against the volume with our own singing. Two teenagers were in the car next to us. They thought we were nuts. They have no clue about the '90s.

I ate delicious chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel that night, Jeff had fried shrimp and even splurged with some mac and cheese. Food has never tasted so good. A night has never turned around so quickly, or so well. I love my Jeffy.

And I hate the Houston Rodeo.

This just in

I love my husband.

Gifs by Oriza - Nice gifs, poems scraps

my top ten

Things currently driving my passion:

1. Costa Rica---only two more weeks, my passport FINALLY came, not looking forward to wearing synthetics and ugly sandals for a week
2. CrossFit---I finally have a bum that's not so flat-as-a-pancake, and my body is always sore, BUT I'm also in probably the best shape of my life.
3. The Zone/Paleo---wellness is 80% nutrition and that is definitely true!
4. chocolate cinnamon bears (not Zone/Paleo approved)---Cade is a saint for sending us a bag (actually two--USPS lost the first one and they wonder why they're going bankrupt), I may enlist you for monthly shipments
5. Wee Musicians---mid-century prints, so adorable, I saw an overpriced trio of them at The Guild Shop (Houston's BEST thrift/consignment shop) and haven't stopped dreaming of them after passing them up
6. bettering myself--weight loss (17 pounds so far! I am fitting in clothes I haven't fit in for a while, dropped a pant size and shirt size)
7. purging--not the eating disorder kind of purge, just the kind where I rid my life of unproductive things. Namely surfing the Internet. It's so fun, but I still have sewing projects to start/finish and the www is not helping much.
8. how I want to parent--Jeff and I are both getting baby hungry, which I think is a good thing. Something not exactly good are all the kids we've been around lately who have MAJOR behavioral issues, that seem to be perpetuated by their parents. We are pretty sure this one kid at church is going to turn into a serial killer. He made the strangest comments when we subbed his class in Primary a few weeks ago. We are talking a lot about how we want to raise our kids: handle good and bad behavior, discipline, teach, etc. Luckily we agree on most everything.
9. cooking a whole chicken -- this one is kind of weird. I cooked a whole chicken for the first time last night. Reaching into the cavity and pulling out the giblets was pretty disgusting. Worse though was rinsing the chicken and patting it dry. It felt like a baby. I was traumatized at first, but I'd do it again and again for the price. $4.75 for a 5-lb. chicken that fed us, the sister missionaries, is giving me lunch today, and Jeff and I enough meat for our salads tonight. $4.75 gets us about four chicken breasts, if I can find it on sale.
10. Gardening -- we started a garden share with a family in our congregation. The wife is an agronomist. She's been growing organic for five years or more. Can't wait for our harvest. We are learning a lot about Houston's growing seasons. There are two: Spring and Fall. Spring season you plant in February and harvest in April. The garden can't survive the hot, sticky summers and all the mold and fungus the season brings. Plant again in August, harvest in October, often through the winter. Jeff and I are scheming on how to turn our small patio into an urban garden paradise. Perhaps tiered grow boxes. I'm not sure...all I know is we need to plant soon! Like last weekend!

What spring projects do you have planned?

Killer squirrel

I have been wondering lately why I don't really like Houston.

Houston is very big. Not big in the there's-something-cool-around-every-corner big, like New York, or the Bay Area, or European cities. Just big. Strip mall big. Every day I drive by thousands of strip malls, seedy shops where immodest clothes are proudly displayed, fast food joints and greasy Chinese takeout places and lots of beat up cars that badly need body work done. Drivers are either really dumb or really aggressive. I am constantly worried about our apartment being broken into, or Jeff getting jumped at work (he works in the ghetto), or Jeff getting in a car crash, or blowing a tire on the crazy pot holes all over Houston's roads. Every day I dread the summer. If you have never been to Houston in the summer, you are lucky. It is disgusting. The weather here is already getting disgusting. Humid, warm, sticky, and the a/c in the Rat stopped working. In summer there is little respite from the weather. The pool helps, and cold showers, but otherwise you live in a steam room.

It is a noisy city. Noisy with traffic, filth, ugly music. But also birds songs I hadn't previously heard, and kids sometimes, and the NPR affiliate is really good, except for during pledge times when I can't stand it anymore. I mean we donate to KUHF but they never stop begging for money.

I was thinking about all the places I've lived that I've loved. Which is everywhere. And places I've visited that I've loved. Of course Europe--London and Paris, San Francisco and most of the Bay Area, I really love Utah and the idea of Utah. I love Colorado. I love most of California.

But like our friend Lars said last night, "It's all about the people, right?"

Sure, Lars.

What brought all this on was realizing that none of my favorite memories have anything to do with being in Houston. Some of my favorite memories occurred here, but they could have occurred anywhere. I feel nostalgic for other cities and towns because of the memories I made there, that could only be made there.

Also, my office window overlooks the roof of some administration building for the University of St. Thomas here in Houston. It's an old house that's been converted into office space. Squirrels are constantly playing the roof; you can frequently find me procrastinating by watching these crazy rodents. They are nuts. It's like WWF wrestling up here.

I mention it because I just looked over at the roof, and a squirrel slithered out from between the roof tiles and wooden frame. It was really creepy. Considering the vivid dreams I'm having lately, I will probably dream about a killer squirrel tonight. Oh great.

Happy Hallmark Day

Hey everybody. Happy Valentine's Day.

Valentine for Perfect Strangers from House of Bath on Vimeo.

What is and isn't

I remember how I felt the day I discovered my dad had a jumprope.

Mine was pink, with glitter stuck in the plastic rope. I think it had pompoms coming out of the handles; they made a swishing sound like waves when I turned them in my hands. I liked to jumprope a lot. We jumproped a lot at school, but we had to use actual pieces of rope, which weren't nearly as fun as my rope at home. They didn't make the same tap tap on the ground like mine did, like tap shoes. Plus the ropes were all in varying lengths, and I seemed to always get stuck with one that was too short. I was good at crossovers.

I liked double-dutch. I wanted to be like the girls I saw on "Sesame Street." They were really good at double-dutch, so good they went to competitions. They wore cool beads in their hair. My mom said girls like me didn't wear those kinds of beads in their hair. I didn't know why.

Jumproping was a game to me. It was for fun. Only little girls jumproped, like how only girls play hopscotch. That's just how it was.

So the day I discovered my dad had a jumprope, I realized everything I knew was wrong.

Now I want to jumprope like this guy.

A little off the top

My new love: shortbread cookies with a spot of jam. I grew up imagining they'd be disgusting, like Fig Newtons or those raisin bars that would induce irreversible car sickness on family road trips. Now I can't believe I've been missing out on those my entire life. Kind of like sweet potatoes and yams. I didn't try those until maybe three years ago. Who knew they tasted like candy, given enough butter and sugar. Well, anything does.

Friday marks a turning point for me: I am quitting two days of piano teaching per week and Friday is my last day. I am excited. I have been wanting this day to come for many weeks.

Jeff and I both have two weeks off for Christmas, so we will not be in Houston. Dallas, Austin, I wish New Orleans.

Houston is 76 degrees today.

Christmas is in ten days?! I am not done shopping.

Ten days 'til Christmas means 17 days 'til Paleo. January 1, 2011 Jeff and I will stop consuming certain foods, anything not included in this little ditty.

Meats and veggies,
Nuts and seeds,
Some fruit,
Little starch,
NO SUGAR!

It's part of our quest to attain the bodies and level of fitness we've always yearned for. Also an active fight against hyperinsulinism, and therefore obesity, cancer, diabetes, alzheimer's, and general sickness. We are excited and not-so-excited to give up chocolate milk, our Monday night IceDream cones at Chic Fil-A, bread, cheese, etc., but we will be glad we did once we conquer our addiction to sugar.

I love that man of mine.

It's true: wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas.

Well well, how have you been olde blog?

Mr. Ward and I have been having such a nice time lately. Vowing to take more photos of our newlywedded blissful selves, trying to develop good habits like reading important books and eating healthy food, and working really long hours. We leave at 7 am and we're back around 6 or 7 or 7:30 pm depending on the night. We watch Wheel of Fortune while I/he cook/s if we are lucky enough to be home, we surf the Internet, and we get ready for bed and talk for a long time across our pillows. That is my favorite time. I know when he says "Goodnight" he really means "I am going to sleep now," but I just can't help myself. I want to keep talking. He is so snuggly like a bear cub.

We went home to California for Thanksgiving. I wish I had taken pictures (hence the vow). I gave Kimba, my dad's beloved Australian cattle dog and my third sister, a hot dog costume I found on 90% off clearance at Target for $1.29. She looked so cute! No, she didn't like wearing it. Maybe it made her feel too much like my mom's mini dachshund.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. Jeff's friend Jordan and his wife Christina came over to my parents. Christina made a lovely chocolate cream pie that Kimba couldn't keep her tongue out of no matter where we put the pie. Mom's turkey came out moist and golden. My stuffing with mushrooms and chestnuts and fennel and La Brea foccacia bread and SAUSAGE and whatever else was excellent (Mom knows how to pick 'em recipes). Our dear friend Ernestine's sweet potato casserole was nothing short of divine, three cubes of butter later. After a summer in Cairo, my jet-setting brother Robert apparently now only drinks Perrier water, which he sipped languidly across the table from me all night, while I tried to keep from laughing. After we watched "The Muppet Christmas Carol" as we always used to do. My favorite Muppet movie, tied with "Muppet Treasure Island."

Yes, it was a delicious feast and I was thankful for it. And mostly thankful for my family who could be there.

As is Ruefenacht tradition, we spent our Friday at the International Auto Show, hosted annually by the Moscone Center smack in downtown San Francisco. The funnest part was the Range Rover 4-wheeling course, set up right within view of the MOMA and other essential SF landmarks. It was so neat! I rode while Katie drove. Mom and Dad were in the Rover in front of us; Jeff closed in the rear. We had a great time! If I hadn't watched all the other people driving on that course, I seriously would not have known how bumpy the course really was--Range Rovers are THAT amazing!

I had a stark realization while I was home--my birthplace--and I championed a yearlong lack of self-discovery. It started as I cleaned out my desk, looking for my expired passport as Jeff and I are going to Costa Rica in March and I need to renew it. My desk is a time capsule of my life. I sifted through old choir mementos, gifts from long gone friends, photos of past loves and friends, poems, unlabeled cassette tape mixes, thrift store finds, all sorts of objects and memories. I'll spare you the drama that happened next when my sister found me sorting through things she thought to be hers (they weren't), and conclude with the results of a psychologically telling conversation she and I had after she had calmed down. I have been home from St. Louis for a year. In that space I've felt disinterested with aspects of myself and my life from before I left. I didn't care as much about thrifting, vinyl, good literature, even music. I realized that I was somewhat depressed, or even repressed, by myself and what I thought I should be.

I'm so glad that surfaced. I feel passion again, for those things that really made me happy before.

I finally bought my dream vintage receiver last week, a Sansui 8080. Pictures and video/sound forthcoming, as soon as we get our new speakers (for Christmas I hope!)

Check out Jeff's blog for photos of where we honeymooned. Mar Vista Cottages--we hope to return to you soon.

I will leave you with Christmas pictures of the grandest "old money" neighborhood in Houston: River Oaks. (Thank you Hipstamatic).

What a nice life I have

I've been a wife for two months. Congrats to me! When I was younger I used to think being married would be so difficult. Being with someone all the time, the same person, seeing them every day, kissing them all the time...

I gotta tell ya, I WAS SO WRONG!

I mean LOOK AT THIS GUY!!!



Being married has been the best decision I ever made. Jeff is my best friend. We laugh so hard at the stupidest things, like this diabetes commercial we keep seeing on TV. Why is it so funny?! I really couldn't tell you why. We have the best time all the time.

Marriage has great mutual benefits, like the power of nagging. I don't mean bad nagging, I mean the nagging your spouse directs at those unsightly habits you have, things that didn't matter when you were single but they do now that you have to live with someone. Nothing gross though. For me, my unsightly habit was drinking too much Diet Coke. I mean probably three or four cans a day. Really, that is gross. It's how I was raised, but still no excuse. Jeff kept nagging me about it: It's bad for you, you need to stop, too much caffeine, blah blah blah. I didn't want to listen.

Long story short, his nagging paid off. In the past (I think) three weeks, I've had only one can of Diet Coke. I am so happy for myself! If you have spent any amount of time with me, you know that I used to have to drink Diet Coke every day, at least once, or I'd go bonkers. And even sometimes when I had one Coke, I'd be crazy until I had another. Jeff was right in saying I had a problem. I really did.

We have this mobile mechanic we use called Big John. He is pretty awesome, and he fixes up the Rat pretty well for a decent price. I was ripped off by a mechanic early on in Houston, so Big John is basically part of the family now. We almost had him over for dinner one night after he had finished installing a new starter on the Rat. Anyway Jeff has this thing he does where we'll be kissing in the kitchen as couples do right when they get home from work, and mid-kiss he'll look up and say, "Oh hey, Big John." It is the strangest thing. Now Big John is always around. One night Jeff was telling me some story, and I wasn't listening and he knew it. So he started rambling on and on and on about this that and the other, for probably three minutes, and the next thing I knew he was saying, "And that's how Big John ended up in our closet."

What?!

I about died laughing. I still am now.

I am having the time of my life.

Suddenly I'm acquiring a bunch of new hobbies, like reading Martha Stewart's magazines and picking out a bunch of crafty projects to try out when I finally wake up from my dream world in which I like crafts. Someday I will be a good housewife and homemaker.

My favorite thing lately is cooking. Dinner last night was an epic fail, but we've had some great successes too. The pot roast I made Sunday melted in our mouths; the ratatouille I made last week has left me wanting more every day since; I've made cookies and a cupcake cake and a chicken/spinach/pasta thingy and, well, that's about it. But I'm working on this whole wife thing.

We are going to Costa Rica in March! It will be my first time abroad since 1999 when I went to England and France.

I am singing more these days, since I'm teaching voice lessons, and I am finally realizing how much I miss singing regularly with a group or as a soloist. I need to get on that.

I also feel like I have nothing to write about. I mean read this post! It is full of junk. Sorry. The end.

Love is Our Answer

Church Responds to HRC Petition

[Insert generic motivational lingo here].

I apologize for my lack of posts. Marriage has made me very busy! But not as busy as work.

As you know I teach music lessons every weekday afternoon/evening. It is going well. I also work full time starting this past Monday at this place with this guy Monday to Friday. My days start very early and end very late and I'm ready to go to bed at a time most old people are eating dinner. Too bad I never get to because I'M STILL WORKING!

Last week my most adoringly lively piano student, who I call Chimmy because her name is long and African and flaunts combinations of consonants this Westerner has never seen, could not play this one dynamic marking. It was an arched line over a phrase of six notes, commonly referred to as a "slur." "What is this line called, Chimmy," I asked. "Do you remember from last week?" She thought, and thought, then she whipped her braids around and thought some more, and finally she said, "It's called a SLUT!!!"

Thank heaven the walls of the piano studio are PAPER THIN and I'm sure everyone else in that place heard her yell that word at the top of her lungs.

Children also notice the strangest things in people. Like Monday, my student said, "Mrs. Ward, your teeth...are...very...(I could tell she couldn't quite find the right words)...very...SHINY."

Wow. They have been called fangs before, but never has anyone commented on my pearlies' gleam. Thank you, young lady.

Also, today was my first day participating in Crossfit, a kick-yo-trash workout regime that has my legs feeling like they went through a meat grinder. BooBoo has been going for two months, and DAAAANG he's lookin' fiiiiine. As the most out-of-shape person there, I'd say I did all right. I just hope I can keep up next time if my shredded-beef legs are repaired.

You know, this is one of the many reasons I LOVE being married so much. For my whole life, I have struggled with overeating, being overweight, and poor body image. I've been surrounded by people with eating disorders and barraged (as we all are) with images of waifer-thin models and movie stars wearing clothes you can't wear if you're a 6.

But being married gives me new motivation. Jeff and I are doing this together, for each other. For good health. I want easy pregnancies and healthy babies. He wants to wear slim jeans and skinny ties (don't you Boo?). We don't want heart disease. We want to say, "Yes kids, let's play WiiTennis for Family Home Evening tonight" and not feel sore the next day. I want to beat my genetically predisposed thunder thighs into a pulp and tell those weird, misshapen body parts, "So long, farewell! See you NEVER!"

So let me hear three cheers to feeling fabulous and having no more muffin top!

It takes two to make a pair.

The big news is that:

JEFF AND I GOT MARRIED!~!~!~!~!~!

So far marriage is really great. Really fun. Really happy. Jeff makes me happy and better and peaceful.

Our apartment looks a lot like this right now,



so tonight for our Family Home Evening we are cleaning the house! Putting away the tons of cool stuff we got. Thank you everyone you are FABULOUS!! Yay Crate and Barrel! I love you. And you too Target!

I would like to praise Heavenly Father for a moment for creating a man like Jeff. He is so good to me and to everyone around him. He works hard and loves other people. He is a true man of God and I am so blessed to have him!

Here's to marriage!



Also, thanks to the incredible MegRuth Photography for all our awesome photos. We couldn't be happier and we've received so many compliments on your photos! Mwah to Megan!

All you single ladies!

This is what I feel like 99 percent of the time.



Yes, dangit! Like a sweaty vampire!

No really, it is so hot here. No deodorant works. Your best anti-perspirant is a/c, if it's working. I spend fifteen to twenty minutes blow-drying my hair into a beautiful, sleek, straight softness, free of frizz, my layers swinging bashfully as I shake my luscious mane...

...Then I step outside the door, walk thirty feet to my car, and by the time I'm there my hair is limp, it's frizzing worse than Miss Frizzle, funky curls I never knew I had have eaten my blow-dry skillz alive, my bangs look like they haven't been washed all summer, my cowlick is rejoicing in its similarity to a quail feather, and even though I've just showered I smell like I haven't.

Houston, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!!!

And to think, I saw a magazine at Macy's the other day that quoted native Beyonce as loving Houston summers! HA!

Speaking of Beyonce, there is this little four-year-old whippersnapper I've taught piano to a few times. She started talking about boyfriends. I said I have a fiance. She said, "Oh I LOVE Beyonce. 'All you single ladies! All you single ladies!'" WHAT THE WHAT?! I can't wait until my kids are four. Then she got the wiggles really bad, so we danced to Jackson 5 for literally ten seconds so she could "get the wiggles out." Every time I've taught her since, she begs me to let her "get the wiggles out." Geez louise, it's like training a puppy.

Before everything goes right it goes really really wrong.

Yes, it's been almost three weeks since I wrote anything, and yes, I know my wedding is 2.42 weeks away. Phew it's a lot to take in! Lemme tell you why.

I found out last week that my beautiful ivory taffeta wedding gown with a ruffled Queen Anne collar, which was supposed to be here July 31st, is apparently being made in China (who knew we outsourced wedding dresses?) and it won't be shipped until August 20!! To make matters worse, the employees at the shop I bought it from have seemingly absolved themselves and the shop from any responsibility for its lateness. Granted, they can't make those dexterous Chinese hands sew any faster, but I'm pretty sure I bought my dress from them, not Pei Li in Shanghai. I'm just praying my cold black heart out that it will actually get here before the wedding.

Sunday night I was crawling into bed when I get an urgent message from my friend Kristen saying that the girl I was subletting from neglected to inform ANYONE other than herself that she was arriving in Houston that night and "sure hoped I was out of her apartment." Which led to Kristen arriving at said apartment at 11 pm, helping me scoop all my junk into my suitcases, which I still haven't sorted through, and getting me out in time for the most irresponsible and inconsiderate 25-year-old in the world to arrive home for her beauty sleep. I promise I'm not as bitter as I sound.

Today Jeff and I got the set of Wusthof knives we were pining for off our Crate and Barrel registry. Mmmm. Thank you thank you thank you present senders We LoVe YoU aNd So WiLl OuR StOmAcHs WhEn We StArT cOoKiN!!!!

I have been temping at an oil and gas consulting firm. It is pretty sweet. The office manager is way rad; we are basically the same person born seven years apart but I am Mormon and she is not so there are some obvious differences right there but we work it out somehow. RUN ONS!!! "The firm" takes us out to lunch every once in awhile at this great sandwich shop. My favorite is the "Green Gobbler," which consists of a seeded wheat bread, provolone cheese, turkey, apple butter, sprouts, and apple slices. MMM MMM GOOD!!! It is so delicious.

Lately I have had lots of stomachaches. Every day it seems I feel a grumbly down in the tumbly and it just won't quit. It is not nerves. No, I am sure it's not. I just cannot put my finger on why this is. Except that I am on a strict plant-based diet these days, and there's even less tolerance than normal for anything like dairy or grains but ESPECIALLY NO JUNK FOOD!!! Drives me nuts. Anyone have a good natural remedy for an upset stomach?

Even though lots has been going on, and going wrong if you want to look at it that way, I am still very excited to marry my sweet Boo Boo Jeff Ward. That is what I care about most, fancy dress or not.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

34 days is not a long time to wait

I am still so unhappy with this layout but I don't have time to fix it tonight. I'm going to bed.

We got back from Dallas this morning. I am happy to report my father-in-law would have me on his handcart team if we were ever pioneers. Not that we will be, but I think that's a flattering thing.

Texas is still very hot.

I begin temping at some oil and gas company tomorrow. Office work. Nothing major. But I'm grateful for the extra bucks.

Wedding invites came and they look amazing. As does our picture.



I realize it's not for everyone, this style, but I have always loved shooting into the sun and the consequential dreamy effect.

Howdy doody

I just messed around with the layout and I don't like it at all. I will fix it soon, I promise.

Jeffy Boo and I just returned from a great trip to Austin! We checked out UT, where Jeff is considering applying to for grad school. They have a great Masters of Education program. Here's rooting for Jeff!

We went to the State Capitol, drove around a bunch, ate some great food, and overall loved it. I especially loved the ribs at The Salt Lick, apparently, as this photo was one of only two I took the entire trip.



I also took this picture of Jeff as we scaled the rotunda of the State Capitol.



Today we left Austin early and went to Schlitterbahn, the LARGEST WATERPARK IN THE WORLD!!!! We were having a good time until someone stole our sunscreen, and we had to wait in line for two hours for a broken ride that lasted only 45 seconds. Theme parks were not made for adults. What sane person would pay $45 to stand in line over and over again only for a 60-second-or-less thrill? It's worse than the DMV!! Well, this sane person did today, but I doubt I will again anytime soon.

Jeff and I have been all over Texas lately. Tomorrow we're driving up to Dallas for his friend's wedding. As we traverse this great state's terrain, my appreciation and understanding deepens as to why Texans are so notoriously devoted to their state. It is beautiful. Definitively humid, but beautiful. Come down for a visit anytime y'all.

A day of mourning

RIP Little Boy Bowl

45 days

We drove from Texas to Utah. The Suburban had some complications. We put a new battery in it and it was fine. We love Colorado Springs. (I have never fallen in love with a place at the sight. New York took two weeks. Utah took four years. St. Louis my love was for people. Colorado Springs instantly felt like home).

Everything is the same in Utah. It was comforting, but it wasn't home.

We returned to Houston last night. Bittersweet. In Utah you're thirsty all the time because it's so dry. In Houston you're thirsty all the time because you sweat so much. Takes 20 minutes and a thousand stoplights to drive the 5.8 miles to Jeff's. This city is the anomaly of Texas. The rest of this state is pretty great, from what I've seen. But this city is draining. There is no respite from the heat, not outdoors anyway. Not even in the late hours of the night when most places have cooled to a reasonable temperature. The a/c never gets a break.

Weddings cost too much money. Or should I say, classy weddings cost too much money.

Please, if I have not yet asked for your address, e-mail it to me.

Hopes and dreams

Sometimes I think Heavenly Father must really love me for one reason:

When I move to a notoriously, sweltering hot place, He makes it less hot.

My two summers in St. Louis were some of the coolest on record. No major heat waves. Less humidity. I found them overall mild, aside from a few nasty days.

Houston started out so hot I thought I was going to die. Jeff was on the verge of sending me back to Utah, I was such a pain. But the past week has been rainy and cooler. Today it is 75 degrees and raining. It's my favorite weather. I think I would do okay in Seattle or Portland.

Houston has been a blast so far. Tomorrow marks three weeks and I can't believe it. I am teaching piano lessons (subbing and picking up my own schedule at the end of the month). I am looking for jobs, though not as hard as I should. I would really like to start my own business, but I haven't gotten too far. I am planning the wedding and almost done finally.

Jeff is studying for the GRE. I think I would really like a day job, but being able to watch The Price is Right if I want to is very nice. Even though I rarely watch it.

Jeff and I watch Wheel of Fortune, or just "Wheel" as we call it, as often as we remember. We are getting really good. I would like to go on that show and win a trip to Peru for Jeff and also $35,000 cash. It really is anyone's game. I am learning to be a smart letter guesser. When I do go on Wheel I "whanna wheen," as Nacho says.

It rains a lot here. And it floods a lot too. It rains so hard you can't see when you're driving. My wipers don't wipe fast enough.

A bright golden haze on the meadow.

I keep telling myself to go to bed, but I won't.

I haven't even washed my face yet.

It is a very great feeling when the person you are marrying makes you better than you are. The tag-team is a nice asset. Suddenly we are funnier, friendlier, happier, more fun to be with, cuter, smilier, and more contagiously irresistible. Maybe just to each other, but that's good enough for me.

Houston is a nice city. There are lots of neat shops and antique shops, though I haven't been to any yet. I live right down the street from Rushmore Academy, AKA St. John's School. I have a 52" TV which has been great for watching HD "Frasier" re-runs. Wedding plans are coming along nicely.

Also, Jeff and I will be in Utah in mid-July, and because I didn't see you (Ashley, Regan, Carl, etc.) right before I left, I insist we rendezvous.

I was informed a few days ago that a man I taught in Waterloo Branch was baptized today. This is a very blessed thing because his wife and family wanted him baptized very badly. I am so very happy for them. He and his wife have the greatest kids in the whole world!!

Michael goes to the MTC on Wednesday. This is a joyous thing for me. I was somewhere the other day, actually I think I was just sitting by the pool, and the thought of Michael wearing his glasses and his slim fit white shirts and his double-vented suits all around rural Japan hit me like a vision of the Tree of Life. And I saw his big, glowing, sincere smile and I felt the love those sweet Japanese brothers and sisters will feel emanating from him. They will love him so much for being the nicest, most polite and considerate American boy they have ever met. They will love him because he carries the Spirit of God with him. They will know he is so very special.

Anyway, I think I'm ready for bed now.

Everyday I waited for you.

These guys won't win any prizes for originality, but I sure like this song.



I am tired of updating resumes and things. I feel like I just did this yesterday. Oh wait I did. I mean, I feel like I've been doing this for awhile now. Probably because I did it a few months ago only to be hired at Wells Fargo, and now I am doing it again. Oh well.

I really like cooking dinner for Jeff. I only did it last night for the first time, and even then he did half (or did his Fasta Pasta?), but I like cooking for him nonetheless.

Also, Chick Fil-A has really amazing soft serve. Yum-may.

This is it!

As of Friday, June 18, about 9 pm, I officially started living in Houston.

Thursday morning I woke up ready to rumble, only to have a dead battery in the Rat. Panicked that my ten-year-old was going to throw a tantrum that day, I took him to the shop to have him looked over. Blessedly, the shop I go to is just a few blocks from Kneaders, so I enjoyed me a plate of french toast before heading back. Nothing was wrong with the Rat (of course) so I took off about 11 am. GOODBYE PROVO!!!!!, I yelled somewhat maniacally at the top of my lungs until the Y was no longer visible.

Utah is a beautiful state. All the way to Moab, to Monticello, I regretted not having spent more Saturdays traveling to all the amazing natural wonders and historical sites in Utah. It is a great place.

I drove and drove all day, lamenting the safety corridor in Farmington and hitting Albuquerque about 8 and getting to my over night destination of Tucumcari about 9:45. This sleepy little town boasts one element of notoriety--it's perched on Historic Route 66--so it features lots of kitschy motels and diners. I LOVED it. Perfect for a one-night stop. I stayed at the Motel Safari. Cheap, clean, extremely comfortable.

Friday I drove and drove through Texas. All day it was Texas. I'll spare you details, as the only one I care about was reaching Houston. We ate Chinese takeout and celebrated that "Whoa, we actually did it!" and then realized what "Whoa. We actually did it" means. So far it has meant lots of laughing, permanent smiles, sweet hugs and soft kisses, and joy. Always joy.

So anyway, I live in Houston now. I don't have a job. It's really hot. But all I really need is that man of mine, so I couldn't be happier.

John's window while you work

I am a useless packer. One of those types that can't/won't pack unless someone else is there. I just find too many distractions. Like the nice weather outside. Like the chickens my landlords have. Like blogging and the Internet. Maybe that's why the dwarfs whistled while they worked. Maybe it helped them maintain focus. When I was little I thought they sang: "John's window while you work...oowee oo oo oo oo ooooooo." I was wrong.

Anyway, Mo came down this weekend to help me with my yard sale and pack up my stuff. We almost finished everything! Now I just have what's left in my room, which by comparison, isn't much. The yard sale was a nominal success. I fell short of my sales goal by $85; my big things like my bed, TV and kitchen table set just wouldn't go. Prices are negotiable!

Thursday is my last day of work. I can't wait. I can't wait to be with Jeff.

I guess I should go pack now.

NO TURNING BACK

Official announcement! Two weeks until Houston! I'm leaving Utah June 17 and driving like a madwoman to reach the man I love by the night of the 18th. Then, FLOAT TRIP ON THE 19TH!!!!

YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will miss Utah. I will miss many things. Unfortunately many of these things center around food, which means I am going to be doing lots of eating in the next two weeks.
I will miss:
JCW
Cafe Rio (pork tostada)
Stan's (grilled cheese and fries)
El Mexiquense (tacos al pastor--thanks Tim, for telling me about the BEST TACO EVER!)
Grandma Sycamore's white bread
WinCo
Jack Sprat sprouted wheat bread
Blue Bunny
Taylor Maid Beauty Supply
Hobble Creek Canyon
The Mountains
everyone I love
The Olsons
Trevor
temples everywhere
Hires Big H
The Pie (especially the cheese pull-a-part)

I gave notice to WF today.
I am packing up my vinyl after I pen this and shipping it off tomorrow.

If you're in Utah, I would probably really like to see you before I move. Please call me if you'd like to see me too. Keep in mind that I'll be in California from the 11th to the 16th, so let's try to see each other before then. If not, we'll still be friends.

Also, my crazy pregnant roommate cooked pig's feet tonight and she kept offering me some. It smelled so disgusting and it looked even worse. Pigs feet with hominy and beans. Some things just weren't meant to be consumed.

Hungry likes the wolves

It's a full moon tonight. Normally on a night like tonight, I'd be worried about wolves. Werewolves! I've been thinking about wolves a lot lately because of an article I read in National Geographic a few days ago.

Perhaps minutely worse than being surrounded by a pack of werewolves is being surrounded by THREE PREGNANT WOMEN!! Yes, I am surrounded.

My sister announced yesterday she is pregnant! Just shy of three months. Mr. TrevTrev will have a playmate (hopefully female) come Christmas 2010. Becky carries her babies high in her belly, which means her pregnant body's shape resembles a fat little kid. Think Chancho in Nacho Libro.



My landlord/friend Alison is upstairs, and pregnant. I sometimes wake up to her pregnant lady yoga DVD. Other than that and hearing her talk about how fat she is (lie), she's a pretty average pregnant gal.

My crazy circumstantial roommate is eight months pregnant, and easily is going through the weirdest pregnancy I've ever been exposed to. Sometime, when I'm more removed and not wounded by it, I will tell you all about it. Poor little soul.

I'm going to Houston tomorrow to see my Jeffy!

The woes of online life

I have what some may feel is an archaic sense of custom and etiquette with certain things. Prominent in my mind lately is the looming task of collecting invitees and addresses for the wedding.

The modern protocol for young 20-somethings undergoing this process is to send out a Facebook group invite, where you post your address on the group wall and you'd darn well better if you want an invitation because that's the only way you're going to be contacted about it. No personal telephone call, no e-mail, no text, no personal message. Probably because the extent of your contact has been on Facebook (which to me means we're not really good friends anyway, unless you live in a foreign state or country).

Tell me if you think I'm being a drudge, but I just can't get on board with this. I've denied myself six wedding invites in the past three months simply because I refuse to add my name to a generic list. I feel like my present is being invited more than I am. One time I received a group invite to the wedding of a girl I'd only interviewed for the Daily Universe. Granted she and I were in the same social circle, but I doubt she knows who I am anymore. I was stunned to get that group invite, which is probably the instance that turned me off to the whole group thing in the first place. I think that's really the kicker, is that often these group invites come from people I'm not close to, and in reality, I wouldn't invite them to my wedding, so why are they inviting me?

On Thursday I lazed around fighting a 102 degree fever all day. Now I feel almost completely better! Thank you Regan for tending to the sick and needy, and thank you Amoxicillin! You are a miracle worker, even if you taste disgusting.

I am excited to marry my Jeffy :) This time next week I'll be visiting Jeff in Texas!

Why does Monday always come back so fast?

I wonder why we as humans are so fascinated by how other humans live their lives. Why do we post intricacies of our lives on the internet for all to see? (Why do I write this blog?) Why do kids from my high school, whom I was never really friends with, add me as a friend on Facebook? Why, in my ward's Relief Society, do we have a "Good News Minute"? Why do you read my blog (if you don't know me personally)? If you haven't made an effort to talk to me in six months or more, and we have no potential need to stay in touch career/networking-wise, why should I keep your phone number? Your friendship on Facebook?

As previously mentioned, I'm currently purging from my life many of my earthly possessions in preparation for My Big Move to be with my One True Love, my Jeffy. My measurement of an item's worth is this: Have I used or worn this item since I've been home from my mission? If yes, I keep it. If no, I will attempt to sell or donate it. It is working well so far. And I guess what I'm wondering is if I can use the same philosophy with my many Facebook "friends." Or my profile in general. I haven't used my Myspace profile since I've been back. I didn't use my Facebook for 18 months. Obviously I don't need it.

I saw "Babies" yesterday. It is not for the faint of heart. Mainly because the film exhibits breasts in their primary function so graphically I'm rethinking my desire to bear children. Though PG, there is A LOT of nudity. It's in context, but altogether it's excessive. (Or perhaps I'm just a prude). The film follows four babies in various parts of the world. You will see all but one mother in the nude. Of course you will see every child in the nude, and you will see one child discover his nether regions. The little Mongolian baby boy won my heart the most.

I should have retired to bed 47 minutes ago.

Friday, I'm in love

I have no shame. I go to movies by myself on Friday nights and I don't feel bad about it. I saw Robin Hood tonight and I liked it. I have always been a sucker for knights in shining armor though. And Russell Crowe.

I try not to feel sorry for myself, but I'll be honest that tonight I do, pathetically enough. Just a little bit. Because the movie got out 45 minutes ago and I've come home, eaten a PB&J and I'm debating between watching a movie here at home, going to get birthday cake ice cream, or going to the gym. Really I mean and/or because by 11 pm tonight I will probably have accomplished all three in random order. But if I go to the gym it means I'll see my hairstylist who always wonders why he sees a girl like me at the gym Friday nights (as if he's the only person with no friends, or few). And if I get ice cream first then I'll have to bring it home before I go to the gym. But if I go to the gym, then to get ice cream, I'll have to go to Smith's in my workout clothes, and that is just too much for me.

But I have no shame :)

Texas, oh Texas. Wherefore art thou Texas?

What is it about a full time job that makes my brain too numb to do anything articulate? Until 11 pm, apparently, when I've recovered.

Many changes are afoot. Yes, I'm talking about getting married to my beloved Jeffypoo. There are many, many things that must happen between now and then. Like moving to Houston, which is going to be much sooner than we'd originally anticipated. One would think that I, after having been so transient the past six years of my collegiate life, would feel nothing but confidence in moving to Houston.

I am happy, scared, overjoyed, sad, excited, insane all at one time. I am currently ridding myself of many material things, ranging from clothes to bicycles, an antique steamer trunk to a very comfortable bed. If I possess something you would like, please consult me and I may give it to you. No you may not have my ceramic bald-eagle-in-mid-flight statue.

I have always been able to sing songs about going home to California. Joni Mitchell's ode to my great state hits a chord. Phantom Planet's is cliche, but it'll do. Tony Bennett croons my lost heart's anthem. What ballads are there about fair Texas?

Des Moines. What's Des Moines?

I would first like to say that being engaged, even long distance, is really great and I highly recommend it when you get the chance.

I am on day three of my Wells Fargo-funded training trip to Des Moines, Iowa. I have the difficult choice tonight of either accompanying the more raucous of the group to see one of our classmates fight in a scheduled bar fight (think Robert Downey, Jr. style in Sherlock Holmes but with girls in bikinis nearby), or to accompany the conservative girls (another Mormon, a Muslim and a recent divorcee) and the one femme male to the mall. Hmmm. Tough choice but I think I know what I should do.

Aside from all the enlightening sales skills I'm being indoctrinated with, I'm experiencing a bit of culture shock. Not for the area itself but for the popular pastimes among my WFF peers. Like drinking. Swearing every other word. Gossiping. Talking trash about other people, particularly one of our more loud-mouthed classmates. And this is all normal outside of Utah. Is it? Or are these people excited to be away from home and still in the "Don't tell mom" phase? I, at an old 24, am particularly glad my perpetual adolescence ended long ago, or really never began.

The word is out around here that my coworker and I are Mormon. We've had many questions, mainly about the Word of Wisdom. Answering inquiries on alcohol and tea is easy. But really now, what do you tell people when they ask why we don't drink coffee? With people on my mission, "Because the Lord said so, seek your own answer," was often good enough for coffee and tea. It doesn't work when you're talking to coffee-guzzling twenty-somethings who want concrete facts. I need to figure this out. Today my new Philadelphian friend Bobby asked me, "So since you're Mormon, you don't use machines, right?" Our table of six had a great laugh about that. How frequently we are still confused with our Amish brethren. And Mennonites. But we are among good company in that regard.

I miss the mountains.

Just thought you should know...

Jeff and I got engaged yesterday at my most favorite place in San Francisco, the Sutro Bath ruins. It was a gorgeously windy day. No fog. Just sun and lots and lots of wind.



We don't know much about marriage, but we're excited to find out. Our date is set for September 4 at the LDS Oakland Temple. We will be married not just for time, until we die, but for all eternity. If you are not familiar with LDS temples and the concept of eternal families, please watch this short video.



I would like to write a short ode to my Jeffy, who went so far as to have a friend of his in SF leave cheesecake and blankets on a rock down on Ocean Beach, below the Sutro Bath ruins, for us to enjoy immediately post-engagement. It was so sweet and unexpected. Sorry ladies that this tender, sensitive, selfless manly man is off the market!

History: We've shared a unique and loving friendship over the 6.5 years we've been friends. Jeff and I met freshman year in our freshman ward. We were in the same FHE group. We immediately became close friends. Our friendship continued to deepen as he served as a missionary for the LDS church in Uruguay. He later commented that I wrote him more than anyone outside his family. Of course, we had no romantic inclinations toward each other at this point. When he returned we continued our friendship. I don't remember at which point we decided this, but we made a pact long ago that if we weren't married by the time we were 30, we'd marry one another. Then I went on a mission and he wrote me, again with no intentions of romance ever. When I returned in November, we began talking again. He invited me to visit him in Houston. I did. And that's all she wrote.

:) :( :-/

I just wanted to confess that I didn't go to the gym today :(

Because I failed to get out of bed when my alarm went off at 6 am to propel me to the gym :(

Because tonight I saw Megan and then other Megan who I haven't seen in three years :)

Second Megan and I ate Five Guys and it was cold :(

Then I came home and I was sad because Jeff went to bed and I didn't get to talk to him :(

And I decided I didn't want to go to the gym after all. But I feel really guilty and now that it's almost 10:30 pm I wish I had gone I should have gone :(

My allergies are really bad and I have a killer sore throat and I am achy all over :(

I know it's allergies and not the flu :)

I am going to go to bed now :)

We're on a road to nowhere

I'm still wondering why not more people were at the Retribution Gospel Choir show at Kilby Court last night. Maybe Low isn't a cool band among the newest hipsters, so they didn't know that one of indies most influential musicians was in town. Maybe Subpop isn't deemed "with it" in 2010. I hope it was just finals.

It was an odd crowd. A few neo-hippies/hipsters. The avid, activist SLC cyclists. The girl who looked like she just stepped out of Forks, Washington (or wished she had). The too-eager couple, whose male counterpart met band leader Alan Sparhawk while serving his mission in Duluth and hadn't heard of Low until then and has overbearingly idolized Sparhawk and family since then. There was the other boy there who was alone, also wearing a chambray shirt, cuffed dark denim jeans. Basically he was wearing what I was wearing, only definitively masculine. And of course the older couple, the wife who didn't look like she'd been out of the house recently enough to realize that wearing cropped cargo pants with heels just isn't done anymore. But you know, she rocked the mom look nonetheless.

And as I sat alone on my red-bench-for-one, I thought, "What are these people thinking about me based on how I'm dressed? On how I'm sitting? On the fact I came alone?"

I cleaned my whole house today, territories I use at least, and I'm loving it. After about week three of living here, I realized (and Jeff help me realize) that my efforts in cleaning were unappreciated and abused. So I stopped. I've been wearing slippers around my house and setting NOTHING on any countertop since. But now everything is disinfected and glistening.

I started washing my face with olive oil last night. Extra virgin. Ladies and gentlemen, you must try it! My skin feels so supple, my skin tone more even, redness diminished. Oh, the wonders of nature!

I am making a goal this very beautiful spring moment to blog more and also spruce up my blog! I used to write a lot about interesting things and now I'm so boring. The lending industry has made me boring.

I got to watch Trevor for a few hours today. We had the best time! We bought "Where the Wild Things Are," and he's understandably obsessed with it. We ate lunch at the Cougareat. As we walked out, Trevor stomped and waddled and hollered: "I'M A ROBOT I'M A ROBOT!!!" at the top of his lungs until we were out of earshot of anyone else and he'd had his fill of being cute. Of course everyone who saw him was cracking up. He looked so cute today, dressed in a kelly green polo, plaid shorts and orange crocs. The kid is a dream. As we crossed the street outside the Wilk, a lady actually yelled from her car window as she passed: "He is SOOOO cute!!" Boy, he just soaked it up all day, until the cashier at the BYU Bookstore scared him so badly with her oo's and ah's that Trevor made me carry him for ten minutes until he wasn't scared anymore.

I want a baby. Someday.

Lastly, my current favorite song is "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads. 1. Because it's a good summer song. 2. Because I feel like I'm on the beach with Fred and Ben Savage, having just climbed out from under a bum's lawnchair, i.e. portal to the monster underworld.

Betterment

I've been taking great strides to better my health and my life lately. For example, I acquired a membership to a local gym. I've cut most fats out of my diet. I'm down to 1-2 cans of Diet Coke per day, and I juxtapose that with 3-4 L of water.

My current dilemma comes from the idea of a colon cleanse. I've had friends do various high-fiber cleanses over the years, and they swear by them. With almost too-good-to-be-true results, and a $100+ price tag, I think anyone would be skeptical of such miraculous results. Do I try said cleanse? Are colon cleanses needed anyway? Surely Heavenly Father designed our bodies so immaculately that they'd cleanse themselves.

Guess I won't know 'til I try it.

I went to Dallas last weekend. It was really nice. I met Jeff's family. They are really nice.

Life is nice.

It's not the most politically correct, but...

It's when I hear songs like this that I lust after being born 80 years ago.

Daniel Day Lewis and the Thieves

I had three different dreams last night. One involved me and Daniel Day Lewis hanging out and eating British food: fish and chips, shepherd's pie, lots of other meats and sausages and artery-clogging eats. The next involved me and Daniel Day Lewis going to Chuck A Rama (I must have been really hungry when I went to bed), where we kept eating and eating and eating. And close to this one buffet bar sat a table of jocks, who guffawed at this oddly dressed slightly older man and his radiant companion. Then at one point, I couldn't find Daniel anywhere. I searched the entire restaurant and finally found him sitting with a table of 19-year-old, Zoobie-ish girls. They were having a great time and I felt left out. The third consisted of an impeccably dressed Daniel Day Lewis and this other man who I can mostly readily compare to a quiet version of "Booger" from "Better Off Dead", giving a washboard and saxophone concert. Daniel Day Lewis sang some songs. It was an amazing show from what I remember. Maybe he should take to the life of a troubadour. I will go with him.

Bagging of the bird

I just wanna say thanks from the bottom of my heart to Tess and Adam, for finding this gem of a song. Find the "Bird Dogs Forever" theme song at the bottom of the screen.

My sister and I went to the DanceSport championships tonight. I haven't much to say other than I definitely know what I DON'T want my wedding dress to look like. Or any dress I ever wear, for that matter. What? Beadazzle my entire wardrobe? No, no, thank you. I'll pass.

I like wearing dresses.

Do you ever have those weeks when it's just better for you to not see anyone and stay inside or be alone? I am trying my hardest to stop this week that I speak of at tonight so I can continue my life the way I prefer it. Happy. Patient. Giving. Loving toward others. But you know I guess I can't be that way all the time.

I heard back from Teach For America. I am waitlisted, and I won't hear any further until April 19. The lengthy e-mail basically said, "We had a lot of applicants. We really like you. There aren't as many spots to fill this year. Just hang on because we're finding you a spot. We just don't have one for you...yet." Of course, Jeff is extremely optimistic as to what this means, and he would know because he's in TFA, and he said all the waitlisted kids got in last year. How dearly I appreciate him for this perspective. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't battling a smidge of hopelessness right now. (How pathetic. I really am anything but).

The ambiguity of the future that I've felt since I've been home has been alleviated significantly by starting a job. By applying for opportunities like TFA. By dating Jeff. By playing in a semi-defunct band with my best friends. By attending the temple weekly. I find that many things, no matter how important or insignificant, give me little reasons to be. Or not to be. That isn't my question.

Maybe I am just emotional because I'm tired and probably PMSing and that's the only reason why I'm feeling this way, because basically I have a major identity crisis once a month around this time. Ugh.

Yeah really, I just read over this blog post, and it's completely ridiculous. I can't believe I wrote it. It's all a lie except the part about PMSing. What is it about hormones that distorts reality so much?

I have an incredible life. I live in a great place, with a good job. I'm blessed in myriad ways.

Paul said it best: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." I especially love these verses up until despair. I think that describes each day of mortality, as long as we love one another and do all that good stuff we know is right. There will be much uncertainty and much exploration, but we can be guided in what we do. Just keep going and everything falls in its place. Everything has its place and everything in its place, as Brother Wonka used to say.

I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Sweetheart.

P.S. Megan Stay, I've been thinking lately that I miss you a lot and I am going to come to Las Vegas to see you real soon.

Takes me back back.

My homegirls from Waterloo Branch made up their own version to Tik Tok. I love it! I love them!

wake up in the morning feeling like p diddy.
grab my scriptures im out the door im gonna hit seminary.
before i leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of crest.
cause when i leave for the day i aint comin back.

scripture mastery on our mind, mind.
movies all the time, time.
no texting on our phones, phones.
im talking lessons at the dossetts.
pullin in the driveway.
were not gonna be late today.

CHORUS:
dont stop make it last.
seminarys such a blast.
tonight hit the hay.
no more stayin up late.
tick tock 6 o'clock.
but the party dont stop, no.
WO WO WAH OWHH. WO WO WAH OWHH.
(repeat)


those who are lazy they get no biscuit n' gravy.
but if we get there on time, we would be totally fine.
&& now alarms are goin off at nearly 4 in the morning.
our friends think were crazy, but their life is just boring.

im talkin bagels on friday- day.
p diddy dont get paid paid.
it's okay cause he like it that way, way.

now now we goin until six thirty.
or maybe we be late, late.
cause school starts at eight, eight.
school it starts at eight.

CHORUS.

spirit, you build me up.
dont break me down.
my heart it pounds.
yeah, you help me.

im on my knees.
you got me now.
i got that feel.
yeah you got me.

spirit you build me up.
dont break me down.
my heart it pounds.
yeah you help me.

im kneelin down.
put your head down.
put your head down.

now the party dont start til the mormons walk in.

CHORUS.

Today I find out about TFA!! Today I will listen to "Today" by the Smashing Pumpkins on repeat! Today is going to be a good day.

Well, today meaning tomorrow. Because it's still Sunday for 20 more minutes.