Guess What?

Kelly is HERE!

That is all.

It deserves a post all to itself.

Coziness

I bought a new sweatshirt today and I love how soft and fuzzy it is on the inside.  It's awesome.  With how cold it is, I've found the need for sweatshirts greatly increased, I own a number, and I've stolen a couple from Bruce as well.  Anything to stay cozy!

Dream Weaving

I keep having a series of dreams where I wind up being stabbed.

It's less than fun.

There are always varying circumstances, I generally cannot see who my attacker is, I'm stabbed with various items; swords, knives, and other sharp objects, and I am unable to effectively call out for help (generally because I am not loud enough to alert anyone).

I normally have these dreams a couple times a month, but I've had the dreams (nightmares, really) 5 times in the last week, which is a bit disturbing.

Your sparest of spare rooms

I finally got my spare room slightly more organized.  My spare room has been a sore spot since I moved in, and while it is still not how I'd like it, it does look a bit better...albeit a bit bare.

Someday I'd like to get a bed for it so that when I have people visit they don't have to sleep on a cold air mattress, but that probably won't happen for a little while since the spare room is pretty low on the totem pole.

Onward and upward

Well, I officially have Christmas put away, and I have to say, my apartment looks a little sad.  Oh well.

Anything you can do...

So I got a Target gift card for Christmas yesterday (how crazy is it that Christmas was just yesterday?), so Bruce and I went and picked up a couple bookcases that I've been wanting for my spare bedroom...to house all my crafting crap...which is kind of all over the place in no real semblance of order.

I've been putting together pre-fabricated furniture for years, for myself and for those I live with who do not feel up to the task.  This began in 2007 when I moved to Salt Lake, and has continued to this day.  I know how to put these things together in my sleep, and I usually put them together mindlessly while I listen to music or watch something on Netflix.

Bruce, however, was kind enough to put them together for me.  It took me a while to fully pass the reigns over to him, and we joked about me being a back-seat furniture builder, but by the second bookcase, I was able to let it go.  I didn't think it would be this difficult to learn to let people help me.  I'm not really used to allowing people help me with things that I've been doing for myself for years, and that I am perfectly capable of doing on my own, but as I apparently need to keep reminding myself, being able to do things for myself is not the point.  Bruce knows I can do things for myself, but he still wants to help me, make things easier for me, and feel needed.

Tonight was a small step in getting over myself.

Christmas Goodness

Okay, I totally missed posting yesterday.  I honestly didn't have time to last night.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Yesterday, Bruce came over after I was done with work, and we went to lunch/dinner at ChickFilA.  I hadn't ever eaten at ChickFilA before, but I have had their lemonade before.  The spicy chicken sandwich that I got was appropriately spicy and adequately filled my hunger need.  Afterward, we went back to my place and watched parts of "The Dark Knight Rises" while we baked chocolate chip cookies.  After our baking exploits, we met up with Jimmy and Sarah to go look at Christmas lights.  We went to one house that coordinated their lights to music for a Christmas light show, which turned out to be about 2 blocks from my house once we actually found it.  From there, we went back to Bruce's place and watched "A Muppet Christmas Carol", or rather Jimmy and Sarah watched it and Bruce and I fell asleep.

It happens...

Fast forwarding to today, Bruce and I went to his parents' house for Christmas Day.  His sister flew in from Alaska and arrived in the early-ish afternoon.  His family is great, I love how down to earth, funny, kind, generous, and accepting they are, so it was great to be able to spend the day with them.

As far as Christmas gifts go, I got my years supply of shampoo from my parents along with a generous Target gift card, a lifetime supply of Sharpies from my older brother and his wife, printer ink from my baby brother, a game from Bruce's parents, a handy turban towel from Bruce's grandma, and....the piece de resistance...Bruce got me copies of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD.  I mean, the original...no digitally remastered, enhanced, "crap-added-to-it-because-it-sounded-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time" versions, the originals.  Yeah, that's right, I have the best boyfriend ever.  Of course, he'd still be the best even if he hadn't gotten me them, but it only adds to his many perfections.  Yay for nerdiness!

Secret Santa

My group of friends did a Secret Santa for each other rather than attempting to buy/make presents for everyone since there are quite a few of us and that can get pretty pricey pretty quickly.

We did our exchange tonight.  It was fun to see everyone, at least one person has been missing from some even or another for a while, and technically one of us was missing tonight too...there goes the whole "togetherness" thing...oh well.

Anyway, my dear friend Erin drew my name for the exchange, and she did brilliantly!  I got Silpat baking mats that I have seriously been coveting for a long time....I know we're not supposed to covet...and now I no longer have to!  She also copied down some of her favorite recipes for me onto some pretty recipe cards and I am excited to try them soon!  I am now in possession of Johnson Family Secrets... Muahaha!

Lunch Date

I got to see Heidi and Rumel today!

I received a text message this afternoon from Heidi asking if I'd eaten lunch yet or not, which made me remember that they're in town for Christmas!  They picked me up and we went to lunch at Cafe Rio.  It was so good to see them!  And I am so terribly excited that they'll be moving to Idaho Falls in 3 weeks or so.  It has been a long time since we've lived close enough to each other to see one another more than once a year or so, so I am quite jazzed.

Unfiltered

I didn't go to my ward today.

I went to Bruce's parents' ward instead.  They had their Christmas program, and Bruce's dad was singing in the choir, so we attended there with the rest of his family (minus his sister who is out of the state for a couple more days).  Afterward, we all went back to his parents' house and ate pancakes, eggs, and bacon, all of which were super tasty.

After leaving there, Bruce and I watched a couple Christmas movies at his place.  Any excuse to cuddle up with him is a good one in my book.

I came home and ate some dinner before heading to a friend's house for a game night.  It was fun, though my social filter was definitely off...which is always a bit touch-and-go.  Oh well, que sera sera.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the ugliest of them all?

Tonight was the Ugly Sweater Soiree that some of my friends put on.  We had lots of food, a white elephant gift exchange (Bruce got a Disney snowglobe and I got a miniature deck of cards), as well as an ugly sweater contest.  There were seriously some U-G-L-Y sweaters.  The winner got a pair of reindeer antlers decked out in fake Christmas lights.

I might have won...

And nothing compliments an ugly sweater like a crazy face!

Feeling Blissful

Date night with Bruce.

I seriously love that man.

We went to dinner at Costa Vida before heading to the movie theater to watch "Desolation of Smaug"...again.  Yeah, we kinda like it.

When we were leaving the theater we noticed something fluffy and white falling from the sky, much of which had already accumulated on the ground and the cars in the parking lot.  That's right, someone went and threw cotton balls all over the place!  Just kidding...it was snowing.  And snowing pretty fiercely at that, by the time we got to the car (which wasn't that far from the door) we both had a nice covering of snow on our coats (or rather, MY coat and Bruce's light sweatshirt...I would die without a coat, but apparently that's just me).

So we have snow.  Quite a bit of snow.  It will definitely be a white Christmas, which should be fun.  I may need to make a snowman out of some of this... I haven't made one since 2007 when my roommates and I went out at 3:00am and built one in front of the neighboring apartment complex.  Yay for crazy times with roommates.

Schleep

You ever have those days where you are so tired you kind of just pass out?

Yeah, that might have happened to me this evening.

Yays & Nays of Today

Nays

I woke up with a bloody nose.  Luckily I caught it before it made a mess of everything.

I can no longer deny that I am sick.

My apartment is freezing cold.

My electric bill is astronomical.

I need to go grocery shopping at some point...I'm down to my last yogurt.

Yays

I did an hour on the elliptical this morning and think it helped clear my lungs a bit.

I did a chocolate face mask as well, probably the best way to use chocolate in my book.

I got to see Bruce last night, and I get to see him a bit more later in the week.  I'm gonna love it when he's on break.

Christmas is a week away. Craaazy!

I won a $25 Amazon Gift Card from work yesterday for possessing an insane knowledge of Christmas trivia

I'll be making an epic Ugly Christmas Sweater for a party I'm going to on Saturday.  It'll be hideous.

I finished making the last items for a Secret Santa gift for one of my friends yesterday, which means I am DONE with Christmas gift making/buying.

Clementine oranges are basically the best thing ever...and I love them.

I forgot I purchased some shoes online a while back and was pleasantly surprised when I (finally) checked the mail and they were here!  It was like Christmas came early.

J-I-N-G-L-E Bells

I finished my Christmas craft today.  It was seriously annoying.  Well, it wasn't annoying so much as the spray paint that I used was annoying.  The sides that don't have the pretty paper are covered in glittery gold spray paint, and I had a dud can that didn't work properly and proceeded to leak all over the place for 2 days...so obnoxious.  Anyway, I think it turned out nicely and I am glad to be done with it.

On another note, I think I'm catching something.  Or rather, I caught something and it is furiously attempting to make itself known.  Overall I feel fine, but I have a cough and my glands are a bit swollen.  I knew it was asking too much that I remain healthy for this long.  I am actually really really surprised that I hadn't caught anything up until this point, especially since Bruce was sick a while ago, and I'm normally sick at least once or twice during Autumn.

Oh well, as long as it doesn't completely wipe me out and turn me into a disgusting mass of mucus, I'll be okay

Can't trust that day...

It seems like there is a serious case of the Mondays going around.

I keep seeing all my friends posting things on Facebook today about frustrations, breakdowns, fights, disappointments, accidents, ailments, and sadness today.

Hopefully things turn around for everyone as the week progresses.

My day has actually been pretty decent, so I'm hoping that continues too.

On the bench

I was about to head to bed early, then I realized I didn't post today.  So I'll make it snappy.

I am looking forward to a month where I do not conduct Relief Society.  I have been conducting Relief Society basically non-stop for the last 3 months due to the presidency change and people being out of town.  Thankfully, I get a reprieve next month. Yay!  I really just don't like talking in front of people.  I get flustered and generally forget to say something I should have, or I say slightly inappropriate things (which in RS is not always appreciated), or I stumble over my words and sound like a bumbling fool.

But anyway, I am greatly looking forward to being benched for a while.

Thief

Today was a cooking/baking day.  I made an assortment of items for some various ward goings-on that are coming up.  I made Pecan Pie truffles (which I'm very much on the fence about...on the fence but leaning toward dislike, personally), Pealing Bell cookies, Pfeffernuss, Almond Joy truffles (which I don't like with the almonds I have...so I turned them into Mounds truffles).

I basically spent the whole day baking, and didn't actually eat any real food until just now.  I made homemade biscuits and gravy.  I turned ground turkey into "sausage", to make the country gravy.  It turned out pretty well and I'll likely make it again.

Somewhere in the middle of the day, I purchased an elliptical machine as well.  I've been meaning to buy one for the past year and a half or so, so I am glad that I was finally able to do so thanks to a sale that was going on, and a friend with a big enough vehicle to transport the sucker.

Tonight was also my ward Christmas party of sorts.  We did a White Elephant gift exchange...which was pretty long winded in execution.  The gift I opened was a hat with a plastic fish attached to it, so basically, it was gift exchange GOLD!  Unfortunately, Bruce stole it from me right after I opened it and I wasn't able to get it back, but he had it stolen from him pretty quickly as well.

One of the funniest gifts was a legit walker, which I actually stole from someone at the very end, however, true to form, Bruce stole it from me right after I got it and he was the one who got to keep it at the end.  Great things are in store for that walker, so I can forgive the fact that he kept stealing my stuff from me.  Though what he gave me in exchange was a "Buns of Steel" VHS, which may or may not have remained at the church rather than coming home with me.

A (not-so)Unexpected Journey

I requested work off for yesterday sometime back in November, and I had been looking forward to that day with much anticipation for months.  Back when Bruce and I first started dating, conversation turned to our mutual love and appreciation for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", so naturally, we made a plan to go see "The Desolation of Smaug" when it came out...yesterday.

I'm not going to lie, I've been counting down to that day more than I've been counting down to Christmas.  So when the day arrived, I was pretty stoked.  Except for the fact that I woke up around 4:00am and could not for the life of me manage to fall back into blissful slumber, so it made for a tired morning.  But I digress...

Bruce, his brother Jimmy, and Jimmy's gal pal Sarah (no, those aren't their real names either...) and I met up around 9:00 to start our adventure down to Utah where we would see the movie in IMAX later that afternoon.  The drive was good, the weather was very cooperative which was nice, and we talked and listened to Christmas tunes as we went.

We stopped for lunch at the Burger Bar in Roy, it was pretty tasty, and their fries were really good.  I definitely approve.  After lunch, we went to the Layton Hills mall and just killed time before the movie.  Pretty sure my favorite store was the Love Sac store, they've come out with some new and better stuff since the last time I looked at them.

After the mall we went to the theater and met up with Kelly.  It was super good to see her!  Especially after the rough week she'd had, I wish I could have talked to her a bit more, but sitting in a dark movie theater isn't terribly conducive for conversation.

The movie was awesome!  I loved it!  Except for the spiders, but I suppose that was a necessary evil....EVIL!  I want to watch it again, and I wish I didn't have to wait so long to see the next installment, but alas, I do.  I highly recommend that you watch it.  You can thank me later.

After the movie, Bruce, Jimmy, Sarah and I drove down to Temple Square and looked at the lights for a bit before we headed back home.  All in all, a very successful day and a fun trip.  And it's just a bonus that we all survived.

On Hold

Due to the fact that I am exhausted, I shall recap my day for y'all tomorrow...but this notice still counts as a post for today.  Just sayin'

Elf Shoes

Tonight was our Relief Society activity.  We went to City of Refuge which is a men's shelter here in Idaho Falls.  We put together Christmas packages for the guys and then organized their pantry area a bit.  All in all it was a good activity, even if it was poorly attended.

Afterward we got together as a presidency and put together gifts for the Relief Society sisters.  We made them these little Oreo elf shoes.

They turned out pretty well, and I only burned myself on the hot glue gun once...though I just hit the spot where I burned myself and it stings a bit at the moment, which isn't all too pleasant.  We had fun working together and chatting as we put them together, so it was all worth it.

Christmas Time is Here

I started making a Christmas craft today.  Some block letters cut out to spell the word "Jingle".  It's pretty cute, but I need to get some new paint before I can properly finish it.

I also watched "Elf" with Bruce tonight.  I have been aching to watch that flick for a while now, so I am glad that tonight was the night for it!

The Funnies

One of my very favorite things about my relationship with Bruce is that while we are both mature adults, we can both be incredibly silly and have fun together, we don't have to be serious all the time...or even most of the time for that matter.  He is constantly making me laugh and I find myself smiling when I recall some of the funny things he has said or done.

I love how happy, silly, ridiculous, and hilarious we are.

Chicken Pot Pie

I made a Chicken Pot Pie today, and was sad because I wasn't sure I would remember what exactly I put in it, so I wouldn't be able to replicate it.

BUT... I think I was actually able to recall everything.  Though I will say that I have a habit of not measuring my herbs and spices when I cook, so really, everything is based on how you want it to taste.

Chicken Pot Pie
   

·             ⅓ cup butter

·         ½ onion, chopped

·         ⅓ cup flour

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         ¼ teaspoon pepper

·         1¾ c chicken broth

·         ½ cup milk

·         5 chicken tenders, shredded

·         2 cups vegetables, thawed

·         1 teaspoon sage

·         ½ teaspoon rosemary

·         1 box Pillsbury pie crust

D    Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pie crust for a double crust pie according to package directions. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add broth and milk and stir. Cook until sauce thickens and begins to bubble. Add vegetables and chicken to sauce. Pour into prepared crust and cover with top crust, cut slits in top of crust to vent.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover the edges with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent burning. Let sit about 5 minutes before serving to set the filling.

Calligraphy

I think calligraphy is pretty.

I saw something written in calligraphy this evening, and had the thought, "Wow, I should take a calligraphy course or something, that would be fun to learn".

And then I remembered that I actually DID take a brief calligraphy course about 14 years ago.

Not sure how I forgot that.

Actually, scratch that, it doesn't surprise me at all that it slipped my mind, let's be honest.

Raindrops on Roses

Ah, Christmas time... there is no other time like it.  This time of year was my favorite until I hit my angsty teenage years, when a distinctly annoying pall was cast upon it, but luckily it regained popularity when I entered my twenties.

Here are some of my favorite things about this time of year:

Christmas trees- Growing up, we'd go to the Christmas tree farm in mid-December where we'd pick out and cut down our tree.
Hot Chocolate
Snow- We didn't often get snow on Christmas when I was growing up, so we were always ecstatic when we would get a light dusting anytime around the end of December.  Now, I prefer to view it from the warmth of my living room.
Sledding- Snoqualmie Pass always got a fair amount of snow, so we used to go sledding as a ward on the huge hills out in the middle of nowhere, it was always exhilarating.
Eggnog
Christmas carols
Christmas parties
Ornaments
Christmas lights- I love seeing the lights on houses and trees.  We used to go to this area in Issaquah that would decorate a huge area with tons of lights, trains, nutcrackers, giant wooden pieces making up Santa's workshop, etc...
Snuggling
Listening to Christmas music
Baking Christmas cookies- Every time I listen to "A Carpenter Christmas: Christmas Portrait", I think of when my sister used to come home from college and make Christmas cookies while listening to this CD.
Wrapping presents
Santa Claus- Yep, he's real.
Decorating
Christmas movies:
                          Elf
                          Muppet Christmas Carol
                          White Christmas
                          It's a Wonderful Life
                          Christmas in Connecticut
                          Home Alone
                          The Santa Clause
                          Cheesy Made for TV Christmas movies
                          Miracle on 34th Street
                          The Holiday
                          Holiday Inn
                          Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
                          While You Were Sleeping
                          Die Hard
                          The Shop Around the Corner
                          It Happened on 5th Avenue
Celebrating Christ's birth
The joyful/peaceful feeling
Picking out gifts for loved ones
Online shopping- It seriously makes things so much easier
Being crafty

Saturday in the park

My Saturday started out with a bridal shower for a gal in my ward.  It was fun to see her and the reactions to some of the gifts that she got.  Some of them were pretty funny.

---------------------------

That evening was my friend Paul's surprise birthday party.  We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, where he was a good sport (kind of) and put up with sitting on the birthday saddle while the whole restaurant gave him a hearty "Yee-haw!"

When we went back to Caryn's house afterward, he opened his gift, which was a pair of batman footie pajamas...which he actually put on.  Did I mention that these footie pajamas have a hood that has Batman's mask on it?  And that it also has a cape?  Yeah... it was epic.

We skyped with Erin so that we could show her, which was fun.  I seriously miss that girl, and I'm so glad she comes home in 2 weeks!  Yay!

Brown Paper Packages

I am very impressed with my wrapping job on Bruce's Christmas gift, it's amazing what adding ribbon will do to the face value of an item.

I think it's pretty, and it's my first venture into making bows, so I'm glad it turned out!

Posting

So, it's my goal to write in this here blog every day for the whole month of December.  I'm sure that some of you may have noticed that I've posted every day so far...because you're intelligent and observant individuals.

Anyway, the challenge for me is to come up with (or remember) noteworthy, or at least mildly entertaining tidbits to write about.  And I should note that I consider anything posted before 2:00am to count as a post from the previous day...if I haven't gone to sleep and woken up, then the next day hasn't started yet.

Fact.

Substitutions

Normally when people run out of ingredients that they need for the recipes they want to make, they go to the store and buy them.

Me?

I've been making substitutions with various things I do have around the kitchen, with mild success.

I made some delicious blueberry muffins yesterday and had to substitute the milk and lemon zest for other things, and I actually really like how they turned out...quite delightful.

And today I decided to make coconut curry, but realized I didn't have enough curry powder on hand, so I basically ended up creating an entirely new recipe, that I'm not sure I'll be able to replicate, and it turned out nicely, or it was at least edible and not completely revolting, which is always a good thing.

The only bad thing is, I'm running out of some of the basic essentials.  Bruce remarked the other day that my fridge looks like a single guy lives here.

Ah, well.  I really just don't like grocery shopping.

A little darkness and a little light

I woke up this morning, looked over at my clock, and immediately noticed that the orange glow it usually emits was distinctly absent.  The faint glow that typically bathes my office was also missing.  It could only mean one thing.

The power was out.

After the power remained out for another hour and a half or so, I determined that I needed to take affirmative action and locate someone with electricity...and heat...and a shower that wouldn't freeze me to death.

After a few text messages with various friends, I discovered that the power was out from Rexburg to Shelley...which is a huge chunk of Southeast Idaho.  Fortunately, the power outage only affected those who use Rocky Mountain Power.  Unfortunately, the majority of people use Rocky Mountain Power.  I was however, able to find a kind, generous friend who still had power on the other side of town, and she was willing to let me come to her house; shower, get warm, and use the internet for a bit.

Once I returned home, I discovered that my power had returned.  Yay!  Bruce's electricity however, was still off.  So he came over to take advantage of my heat and internet access...and to see my adorable face, of course.

...................................

This evening was Bruce's ward Christmas dinner and service auction.  It was a fun time.  I got to talk with some fun new people, saw people from my old ward, and chat with some people I haven't seen in months.

There is a guy in Bruce's ward that does auction calling, he was entertaining, and kept inserting little witticisms here and there.  It was fun to see how high some of the items sold for, his ward members are very generous, and they raised a considerable amount of money to be used to provide Christmas for 4 families in the area who would otherwise go without.

All in all, it was a fun evening.

Let it snow!

One of the joys of living in an apartment that is not really a complex, and whose grounds aren't exactly maintained regularly, is that I get to shovel my own snow...something I haven't done since I lived at home, which has frankly been a good while.

I got the privilege today, alas, most of it was pure ice.  Luckily, it came up for me pretty quickly.  Makes me glad I bought that snow shovel last time it snowed!

All the pretty lights

Bruce and I put up my Christmas tree on Saturday.

I normally put ribbon or beads, or some sort of garland on my Christmas trees, but discovered that I fail to possess the necessary accoutrement for such decorating.  Even still, I think the tree turned out to be quite pretty.

My people are doing well

My dear friend Heidi and her husband Rumel are moving to Idaho Falls sometime around January, and my other darling friend Amy and her husband Sam, as well as their two adorable children have moved from Washington state back to Utah...ever so much closer!

I also had a lovely chat with my old roommate Christine today, which made me very happy, it's been far too long!  She and her husband are having fun experiencing the joys of parenthood.

My sister-in-law Rebecca told us on Thursday that she is pregnant with kiddo #4, which is awesome!  I had actually said a few weeks ago that I wanted one of my siblings to have another baby soon, maybe I'm omniscient...

My sister and her family will be moving back to the United States soon, most likely very early next year if everything works out as it should.

I'm so glad that things are working out so well for the people that I love, it makes me happy.