It's fantastic, thanks for asking

I think 3 of the 4 guys I had been seeing (online dating) before Bruce and I started dating are getting a bit lonely during the holiday season.  I keep getting variations of these messages:

"Happy Thanksgiving! Hope life and your new relationship are treating you as well as you deserve!  How is that going for you??...?"

"Hey!  Happy Holidays!  How's the relationship going??"

I had actually deleted some of their numbers, so it took some sleuthing to actually figure out who these were from.

Hopefully their holiday loneliness will pass soon enough.

Lava Hot Springs

This past weekend, Bruce and I went to Lava Hot Springs with a few friends.  I had never been to the hot springs, but have heard about them before and was naturally intrigued, so I was glad of the opportunity to experience them first-hand.

We got there around 7:30 or so, changed into our suits, and ventured out into the frigid night air.  Seriously...freezing outside.  Okay, not literally, but it was really really cold.  But having it be cold outside was actually really nice once we got into the water, which was really hot.

There were something like 4 different pools, each with varying temperatures ranging from "Boiling your skin off" to "Nice, normal hot tub temperature".  We started out in the second hottest pool.  Well, rather, we girls started in that pool, and the boys found us after a bit, since they went to the hottest pool first.

We jumped around pools for a bit, then some of us decided to venture into the town in search of ice cream, because really, why wouldn't you go eat ice cream when it's frigid out?  It actually was an awesome idea when we were roasting in the pools.  Luckily, the ice cream parlor was still open...kind of, so we were able to get water and treats before heading back to the group and going to Jared's for pizza and a movie.

The movie was...weird.  Have you ever watched "The Fountain"?  It's weird.  And not just because I was sleeping through most of it either.  Pretty sure it's just bizarre.  Some people left after the movie to head back to Idaho Falls, but the rest of us were staying over for the night, so more movies followed.  "Gatsby" and some documentary about a sushi restaurant in Japan.  "Gatsby" seemed interesting, I'll have to actually watch the whole thing one of these days.  Though my favorite moment was when the phone rang on screen, and Bruce sat bolt upright and started frantically searching for the phone.  Priceless!  Sorry Bruce, but it was funny.

I decided to head to my sleeping bag somewhere around 4:30am or so, and pretty much fell right to sleep.  Until about 7:00 or 7:30 anyway and then I was wide awake, albeit a bit tired.  Jared made us pancakes for breakfast, and shortly thereafter, Bruce and I headed out for the day.

We stopped in Pocatello and went bowling and played some pool at the ISU campus.  It was a lot of fun, and true to form, my bowling game was atrocious.  I was, however, pretty decent (lucky) at pool.  We've played a couple times now, and I actually really enjoy it, even if I have virtually no clue what I'm doing.

All in all, it was a fun weekend.  Some of us want to go to Lava again, and are thinking of going near the end of January, so that will be something to look forward to, though without the overnight antics.  I value my sleep too much.

Gift Giving

I did the bulk of my Christmas shopping today.

Shopping and wrapping.

Can I tell you how weird it is to figure out the logistics of Christmas gift-giving more than a month before the actual holiday?  I am staying in Idaho over Christmas, so my gifts will be delivered to their recipients over Thanksgiving.  The person that this is proving to be the most complicated for is Kelly.  This is our first Christmas apart in 5 years, and it's been a challenge to figure out how this will all work this year.  We typically do stockings and gifts for each other, and figuring into the mix the fact that I can normally see her immediate needs and wants, and buy last-minute gifts, it's weird having the disconnect and having to get it all figured out by next week.  Granted it won't all be like it's been in the past, far more casual and less involved, but Christmas socks and ornaments are a tradition and must be continued!

I also need to figure out what to get the little brother...or rather, he needs to figure out what he wants and get back to me.

Remember that one time...

I have a weird memory.

I can remember small, insignificant details about some things, movie lines, song lyrics, old locker combinations, phone numbers, faces, addresses...you get the idea.  But at the same time, I cannot remember A LOT of things that have happened in my life, conversations I've had, I leave keys in the door lock, people's names and occupations, why I walked into a certain room, what I did last Tuesday...

Tonight I may have left my purse at someone's house.

So obnoxious.

It's a freaking wonderland

I've been anticipating snowfall for the past couple weeks, but each day, the fluffy white stuff has eluded Iona.  But this morning the sunlight seemed to shine a little brighter, and when I looked outside, this is what I saw.

Time to enter "Winter Mode".

Sometimes I wish I was a napper

This week has felt a little off.

I spent the first 3 days of the week in Utah, staying with Kelly, who is recovering from gallbladder surgery...poor gal...but she's a champ!  And I had a work meeting as well, which was basically a waste of time, but c'est la vie.  It was fun to see people in person, and get paid to essentially chat...and since I recently got a raise, I can't complain.

Today was busy with work, school, and church meetings.  Tomorrow will be work, school, and time with Bruce (if he's feeling better...the poor guy has caught something and isn't feeling well). On Friday I'm going to the Temple with some friends after work, and Saturday will consist of school work and meeting Bruce's familia.

This week isn't really much more busy than normal, but it's making me tired just thinking about it.  Then again, I could be tired because I never see the sun, so I could be Vitamin D deficient.  That's the theory of my coworker anyway.

Then again, I could be tired because I've been up since 5:45am.

We'll go with that one.

Feast your eyes!

Went bowling tonight with Bruce.

I am not a very good bowler.

I average in the 80's when I bowl, and being true to form, I bowled an 87 or so on our first game.

And then, something magical happened... I'm not sure what it was exactly, but it must have been something magical, that's the only way something this amazing could happen...  I broke 100.

Not only did I break 100, I got a 153.

Yep, I'm bragging on myself.  And yes, I posted this on Facebook too.

That's how astounded I am.

Frigidity

Holy Frijoles!

I came home two hours ago from being out with a friend, and I cannot shake the shivers.  I am frickin' freezing!  It started snowing today...I know it was silly of me to hope that winter would stay at arms length for a while longer, but it has reared it's head, and I won't be able to get away from it.

Oh well...I suppose it means that I can officially wrap up in my electric blanket, wear slippers, sit in front of my heaters, and drink hot chocolate.  Not that I haven't been doing all those for a while now, but now it's not weird.  VALIDATION!

TV Shows

I've had people recommend various TV shows for me to watch over the last few years, and never really got around to watching them, largely because I either wasn't interested, they weren't available on Netflix (my source for TV shows), or there was a bit too much hype surrounding them for me to truly want to delve into the beast.

I have recently attempted to watch a few of these shows, but cannot get more than about an episode in before I realize that I cannot watch them, no matter how interesting the base premise may be.

There is just way too much sex, violence, and language in all of them.  And I cannot do it.  I can't sit there and watch a show that has everyone dropping the F-bomb every 5 seconds, I also don't need to see gratuitous sex scenes, or blood and guts everywhere.

I am actually pretty appalled that these shows are allowed to air.  Things have certainly changed a lot over the years in regard to what is readily available on television.

I think I'll stick to my light & fluffy shows.

It'll make me feel better.

Things to do

I tend to get a little restless and feel the need to do something creative during the fall season, but after I do one thing, I always go looking for something else to work on because my tasks/crafts never seem to occupy enough of my time to make it worth it.  I think I need to invest in a puzzle or something.  Not to say that I don't have enough other things occupying my time, I am merely referring to when I have free time and am feeling antsy and crafty-ish.

Anyway, here are a couple of the things I've done this week.  The wreath and the stool were done today.

Apple Butter:

An Autumn Wreath:

 





A stool for Kelly's new kitchen:

I made a "Think Tall" for our kitchen probably 4 years ago, when it became apparent that we were both too short to reach the top cabinets of our own free will.  I personally like this new one better, and I hope it works for Kelly in her new place.



I also made and worked on a few other things, but since they're Christmas gifts for some of the people that read this thing, I shan't post what they are.

Anyway, I still want another project and am open to suggestions.