So, because of our trip to the farm, I haven’t been able to keep up with In Touch and needless to say, I have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things with work and life here.  I guess a little bit of the problem is a small dose of homesickness but mostly I think it is the work thing.  Just one of those phases.  But on Wednesday I got a real excuse to feel this way.  I was walking out to my car and slipped on the ice that was between my driver’s side door and another car.  I looked ridiculous I am sure and tried my hardest to not fall but it happened anyway.  I wasn’t worried about it; I figured the arm I caught myself with would be sore and I have free chiropractic anyway so how bad could it be.  Well, I woke up yesterday with horrible pain in my neck.  I can barely drive because I can’t turn my neck to the right very well and it is a constant pain I have never experienced before.  I really am not writing for sympathy, even though I have a lack of that from my hubby, I mostly just want to express what I am learning from this experience.  I have a great deal of respect right now for people with chronic health problems or just health problems in general.  I can’t even take this, what a horrible pregnant person I will be.  No, seriously, I don’t feel like doing anything at all; work, fun, go out, eat (that is very rare) or anything.  I am grateful to get to learn from this though.  I am getting good treatment but it will take time I know and lots of Ibuprofen.   But props to all of you who deal with this so amazingly.  I hope to learn from your example.

We woke up this morning to a beautiful and refreshing winter wonderland!  I was so excited I have had this song stuck in my head all day.  Here’s a pic from our balcony.   It looked so pretty with all the rooftops.  (Sorry for the poor quality!)

This is from the neighborhood cat.  I thought this was so cute!

I am also pumped today because we are leaving tomorrow for the Farm.  I can’t wait.  The best thing is that my hubby is excited to go too.  It means so much to me when he says that.  Not sure if it is just the vacation he is excited about but I like to think its more than that (but its probably not the in-laws! haha just kidding)  Still, I am sure that he will miss his family, their good food, and going to the cabin.  But we both look forward to spending Christmas in the Bay Area and seeing everyone!

So, I have always realized that Ry and I watch alot of TV. His mom says he has been addicted since he was little but I know that I have always watched alot as well. Except for when I was in college and never had time or a TV. But now have pretty relaxed lives; no kids, regular jobs, and no school or other responsibilities. This week, however, it hit me really hard that we watch about 20 hours of TV in a 5 day work week! Mind you, that is excluding commercials b/c we have a tivo and fast forward through them. That is another part time job! I might as well work somewhere for 20 hrs a week and make more money than waste my time watching TV. True, we try to watch some beneficial programs and there are others that are our favorites, but still 3.5 hours a day after work is a little excessive or alot! So, with this in perspective I am going to try and use my time more wisely. Like last night I cleaned the house. Then we don’t have to this weekend. But on these notes I just have to express to you my excitement for:

The 4th Season of Project Runway!! We watched the first episode last night and its going to be a crazy season. Of course the first episode they had to kick off the nice, pretty, normal woman and keep the strange, dramatic, “I stitch clothes while they are on people’s bodies” woman. Ratings make shows so wrong! There are some very successful designers already this season so we might actually see some really great stuff coming down the runway. Now, the show is dramatic and features people from all walks of life. But it comes on Wednesdays at 11:00. Record it and then you see just the good stuff: the clothes! Here’s one that is kind of neat. This episode, the designers chose from $50k worth of fabric and made whatever they wanted.

Show #2 of the week:

The War; a documentary about World War II by Ken Burns. If you liked the Civil War doc he did, just wait until you see this one. The music is not as good to me, but we have actual video footage from WWII and it is amazing what all they recorded. Warning: this doc does show images that may be hard to watch. Its been showing on PBS, Wednesdays at 9 but it might be over now. But if you spouse is a history buff it would be an awesome gift. I know I have seen them at Cosco.

It can be very hard to watch at times, especially the footage of the death camps. But what I kept thinking was, “How could anyone, like a recent political leader, think that this did not actually happen?” LOOK AT THE PICTURES Ahmadinejad! It also made me so grateful to live in this amazing country where I feel so safe. I am not saying something like that will never happen but it is much more unlikely here and in my lifetime. This doc is a great source of info. I understand the war alot better and just what was going on. Its also great if you need a good cry!

Well, its finally turning to winter here in Boise, Id and it is making me want to go into hibernation.  I don’t feel like doing anything that requires physical exertion.  What I do feel like doing, however, is eating and the food of choice?  What could be better than chocolate as the holiday approaches.  I just want to know; is anyone else feeling this way?  Any suggestions of how to overcome such temptations?  I feel like this guy…

Happy hibernating to everyone this cold, holiday season!

Its so funny how life works and how our moods change everyday. For example, last week, I wasn’t in the best of moods. You could tell I am sure from on of my entries. It seems about one week a month I feel that way. I guess that is typical for a woman…anyway, I woke up this morning feeling so excited about life! I love that feeling! I look forward to life and the experiences that await. I don’t mind going to work and having a two hour break and then really really look forward to going home to see my wonderful hubby. I know it is a blessing to feel like this and I just wanted to share my up-beatness with everyone.

I also had a great birthday this weekend. Nothing real exciting but ya know, thats what happens once you are married and 22. But we went to a nice dinner and I got a present (a new coat I have been eying) and the rest of the weekend we took it really easy. I was craving Chocolate Chip cookies and decided to make those for our treat. We used a new recipe from someone in our ward (its really good; I will post it later) and they turned out perfectly. Here is a pic:

Some of you know that this summer I worked for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. I wanted to post some pics of what I did there.

This was one of my favorites. I made this corset for the last show of the season, Measure for Measure, by Shakespeare. This was for Mistress Overdone (you can imagine what her profession was) and she was really over the top. It was really fun to build.

This is by far my favorite thing I have every made. It was on stage for less than 5 minutes but it made an impact. It was for the show Arsenic and Old Lace, a very fun show about two old ladies that think they help old men by giving them arsenic. Pretty funny if you haven’t seen it. I will post more stuff about costume design eventually. Thanks for indulging me!

So, I love my job, but everyday I get a two hour lunch break.  At first I thought that would be great and sometimes it is but the majority of the time I have nothing to do and it drives me insane!  And for some reason this week it has been adding to my not very good attitude I have been bottling up inside or letting lose on my hubby.  “sigh” Poor hubby.  No really, this week I have the blahs and I am not sure why.  It has something to do with my birthday I think eventhough it makes me angry to think that way.  Maybe it is because I will not get the delicious chocolate, awesome, amazing icing, cake that my mom always makes.  I requested it for Thanksgiving though.  But, as you can see, I haven’t been keeping up with my grateful list and I see what it has done to me.  Just so you all know, I am on a quest, but I feel like Mrs. Don Quixote because it is like an impossible dream that I am striving for; to be satisfied with everything I have.  I know it is like the worst possible thing I could ever think or do or say but I promise I am aware of the problem and wish there was a simple little magic pill you could take that always reminded me that have everything I ever want and more.  Ok, sorry, anyways, I am done feeling sorry for myself.  I have absolutely no reason to do so.  Hope your day is good!  Love you all!

I just have to record the experience I had this weekend. It was the first weekend of the month which means the Sunday that is set aside for fasting and testimony meetings. We had two very good reasons to fast; the first was a ward fast for a boy in our ward and the second was a request from my sis-in-law. Having these two very meaningful purposes really helped me stick to my fast and concentrate more than usual. It was also the longest I have ever fasted; not that is should be that way but it was. We started after biking on Saturday. I got a headache that night probably from not drinking enough water and still had it the next morning when I woke up. But Excedrin helped me with that and I was able to concentrate on preparing my lesson. But I kept telling myself; “Wow I am really weak, I can’t teach like this” and blah blah. But I made it through and really had a great experience at church. I wasn’t anzy in Sacrament meeting; I didn’t have any energy. I was able to just listen to the beautiful testimonies of others and enjoy being there. My lesson went well; it was the most relaxed I have ever felt. It was great to experience the unity of the ward as we broke our fast together then ate amazing potato soup! Yum! Anyways, the point is that this experience, little as it was, really strengthened my testimony of fasting and knowing that our spirit is stronger than our physical bodies. I have faith that Heavenly Father will help those we fasted for however that may be.

P.S. My boss asked me today what the most important thing my church has taught me is, or what have I learned in my church that has helped me in my life the most. I thought about it for a bit and then shared my testimony of our Savior with him. To know that we are not alone in this life and that we can do anything with His help gives me so much strength. Not to mention the relief I have from knowing that my sins are answered for. So, if someone asked you the same question, what would you say?

We went mountain biking on Saturday and it was quite a challenge. But I finally have pics that I can post and I am excited for you all to see us. This ride took us about 2 hours and I walked up part of the way. It is really steep and I am still new at this. We had a great time though. I had my first fall and hurt my new bike a bit but Ry was able to fix it and so we could keep riding.

Ry loves getting his pic taken. Can you tell? Haha! This is before we started. It was a gorgeous day and the landscape was awesome.

Sorry bad pic; but this is from the bottom.

And this is from the top! Boise is a beautiful place. We have plenty of room if anyone wants to come visit. The place we climbed to is called Tablerock. They have a big cross up there that is lit up every night. Ha, we think its funny.

So, obviously nothing much has been going on this week. We went mountain biking a couple of days ago on a new trail. It was awesome but of course I forgot my camera again! But my bike is sweet and I don’t do wheelies anymore going up hill. We are going again tomorrow so I should get pics then.

Tonight we are going to pick up some snowboarding gear at the annual ginormous ski-swap they have here. Boise has one ski resort called Bogus Basin; not the best skiing but its super close. They have a discount for recent move-ins to the area so we thought we better take advantage of the opportunity. I have only snowboarded once and by the end of the day I was crying. Hopefully with a season pass I can gain some skills. Ry is of course good at everything anyway (I’m not bitter promise!). I am sure he will be able to help me out.

So, did anyone catch the Office last night?! HILARIOUS! This is our favorite show; thankfully that we have Tivo so we can pass the inappropriate parts but really we love it. Pam and Jim are so adorable! FYI skip the movie License to Wed. I deem that film a big waste of time. Instead, choose Surf’s Up at the Redbox ($1 rentals at McDonald’s-AWESOME). This animated feature was surprisingly very entertaining. Probably one of my favorites b/c of the documentary style of it. And is equally entertaining for adults and children.

Oh, and I am totally hyped because we are heading to Arkansas in 2.5 weeks for a Thanksgiving feast! I can’t wait!!