We're Free!

Do you hear that? We don't either. 'Cause they're GONE! All 6 or 9 or 10 of them (never did get a straight answer on how many there were). How 'bout one fat "OLE!" for a doggie-free last few months of law school living. Really, I think we're pretty tolerant people, but the three-ring circus of seriously around 10 dogs above us was just too much. I feel my blood pressure dropping already and can't wait for a perfectly silent Saturday night's sleep.

Sweet Sixteen

My darling niece Alison turns 16 this week! Ali is my very first niece and was born when I was just 15 years old. What's weirding me out about Alison being 16 (besides that she will be able to drive and date) is that I was her age when I met Grant and she was just a little one running around saying funny things. Grant and both somewhat still see her as a spunky redheaded toddler, and yet, here she is, a lovely, cute and funny young adult. Alison is wonderful to be around. She is accomplished and talented and will be playing "Giselle" from Enchanted at her choir's Valentine's concert at school (isn't she a perfect fit?). She loves to sing, is oozing with confidence, which is more than I could say when I was her age, and isn't afraid to try new things. She has already completed her Young Womanhood award for Young Women, and since I am working on mine, I know what a big deal that is and how much work it takes. I think she is amazing! Happy Birthday, Ali!

Chicken Crepes, Anyone?

At our wedding luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, we had the most heavenly chicken crepes/manicotti. I have dreamed of them ever since, and I decided I'm going to find a recipe and make them for Valentine's Day this year. Anyone have a recipe for either chicken crepes or manicotti (or just a really good chicken/cheese filling?). How about tips on making crepes, since I've never made them? Wish me luck. I REALLY want these to turn out well.

Foreigners in Rip City

Grant and I saw the Utah Jazz play the Portland Trailblazers at the Rose Garden (or is it the Rose Quarter? We're confused ...) last night. The tickets were my big surprise for Grant for Christmas this year. It was a blast and so much fun to see in person. By the end of the evening, however, we did learn that we are true-blue Jazz fans, though we tried to be very polite guests at the Blazers' home court. Thanks to the very funny young men sitting next to us in our nosebleed seats (literally the top row of the arena ... hey, we're law students after all), we also learned what "Rip City" means and why the fans started chanting for chalupas near the end of the game. The Jazz did pull out the win -- 106-95, which made us happy but left a lot of Portland fans pretty ticked at the refs. Needless to say, we tried to lay low but still had a great time cheering on our home team.

Our view from way up top ...

Told you we were literally on the back row!

Grant showing off his divided loyalties ...

A Few of My Favorite Things -- 2010 Edition

About a year ago I posted a random list of some of my favorite things at the time. I think it's time again to post some of my favorites, everything from designs to TV shows, and of course, food ...

Love this design touch.

My amazing and talented friend Laura, whose two "nakie" boys in this picture are some of Eliot's play date chums, makes and sells these awesome 42" wood letters. Where would you like one in your home? Check out her website for more information on these and her incredible photography. You can even enter to win a personalized letter in a giveaway on her personal blog, which I hesitate to tell you since I would love to win it myself ...

Fresh and tasty.

Last week I bought a bag full of grapefruits and literally ate one about every morning. They tasted SOOOOO good to me, so fresh and tart. Yum!

A first time for everything.

I normally hate legal tv dramas, which feels a bit unsupportive of me since my husband is going to be an attorney, but I just could never get into them ... until now. Grant has me hooked on this newish TNT series, Raising the Bar. All it took was a little Mark Paul Gosselaar, all grown up since his Zack Morris days and now playing a criminal defense attorney in New York City to pique my interests. I'm fascinated by the show and feel like it stretches my brain a bit to keep up with all the legalese. And I think Grant, along with the show's producers, may be slowly brainwashing me into believing that defense lawyers are saints and the prosecution is the enemy.

Revisiting an old favorite.

I have loved this cereal -- Oh!s -- for a long time, but don't buy them too often. I purchased them this past week in preparation for my play school lesson (I have the letter "O" next week), and might have dipped into them the same night I told Grant not to eat them because they were for my class. I poured myself a mug full, then another, then ... guess I'll be buying another box before class next week. If you haven't tried them, you need to; they are delish. At only $2 a box, they're worth a try.

If I had the money and a reason (i.e. a little girl) ...

I would pick up this darling Ralph Lauren Easter outfit I've been admiring at Kohl's. It's so sweet and crisp and classic. I wish I could buy one for each of my nieces and all of my friends expecting baby girls, and maybe one for me for the girl I had better have someday.

Lovely

I had the opportunity to host our Relief Society book group this month, and the book I chose to read and discuss with the ladies was this lovely little book by Charles Dickens, The Life of Our Lord. It really is just that -- lovely. It's not a typical Dickens novel (and I love Dickens); it was actually never intended to be published. He wrote it for his children, because, as he says in the first line of the book, "I am very anxious that you should know something about the History of Jesus Christ." And so begins this atypically casual retelling of the Book of Luke from a gifted-writer father to his children. It's a short read, about 120 pages, very smooth and easy, and could be read with children (a few spots to leave out perhaps, like the death of Judas ... surprisingly gory considering Dickens did such a nice job throughout the rest of the book of softening some of the harsher New Testament stories and terminology). As I researched the book online, I found some exquisite illustrated versions out there -- my favorite were the ones with the etchings/lithograph illustrations and scroll work around each individual page -- what a precious book to have in your library!

Before I tucked this one back in its place on my shelf, I thought I would share a couple favorite passages. One was brought up in our discussion last night, and as my friend re-read it, I was touched again by the simple tenderness of Dickens' several "asides" in the story of the Savior. This was one of the sweetest examples:

"Jesus Christ chose twelve poor men to be His companions. These are called the Apostles or Disciples, and He chose them from among poor men, in order that the poor might know -- always after that, in all the years to come -- that Heaven was made for them as well as for the rich, and that God makes no difference between those who wear good clothes and those who go barefoot and in rags. The most miserable, the most ugly, deformed, wretched creatures that live, will be bright Angels in Heaven if they are good here on earth. Never forget this, when you are grown up. Never be proud or unkind, my dears, to any poor man, woman, or child. If they are bad, think that they would have been better if they had had kind friends, and good homes, and had been better taught. So, always try to make them better by kind persuading words; and always try to teach them and relieve them if you can. And when people speak ill of the poor and miserable, think how Jesus Christ went among them, and taught them, and thought them worthy of His care. And always pity them yourselves, and think as well of them as you can."

The book ends with Dickens' "definition" of Christianity. Say what you will about Dickens' personal religious beliefs and whether or not he truly understood the Divinity of the Savior and His role as our Redeemer, but I think he's pretty spot on when it comes to Christianity and being Christlike. This paragraph seemed like the perfect ending to such a charming, good and pure book:

"Remember! -- It is Christianity TO DO GOOD always -- even to those who do evil to us. It is Christianity to love our neighbors as ourself, and to do to all men as we would have them do to us. It is Christianity to be gentle, merciful, and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts, and never make a boast of them, or of our prayers or of our love of God, but always to show that we love Him by humbly trying to do right in everything. If we do this, wand remember the life and lessons of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and try to act up to them, we may confidently hope that God will forgive us our sins and mistakes, and enable us to live and die in peace."

I'm grateful for the dear friend who gave me this book as a Christmas gift years ago and grateful I finally took the opportunity to read it. It was even more meaningful to discuss it with some great women in my ward. I recommend it simply because it's lovely and plain. The gentle reminders of Christianity and the simple retelling of Christ's life made it such a nice first-read of the new year, hopefully to be followed by more lovely and uplifting literature. Leave me your recommendations if you've read something lovely recently.

You Know Me Well ...

If you know that I LOVE my Utah Jazz. My dad used to take each of us girls to a game with him from time to time while we were growing up, and if we were really lucky, we got to accompany him to the box seats he'd get from work friends ... now that was the life! I surprised Grant this Christmas with tickets to the Trailblazers vs. Jazz game in Portland at the end of this month, and he literally teared up with excitement. The Jazz's amazing last-second win the other night against none other than the Cleveland Cavs has us pretty revved up to go watch the Jazz play in person from our nosebleed seats at the Rose Garden in a little over a week. If you haven't seen this already, you need to know that the player who sinks the buzzer-beating, game-winning shot for the Jazz is their newly acquired ROOKIE Sundiata Gaines, who they picked up from D-league team in Idaho. This clip has everyone in Utah, and the whole country for that matter, buzzing, and for good reason -- pretty amazing! Even hard-head Charles Barkley gave Gaines props for this career-changing shot. In the words of Hotrod Hundley, "gotta love it, baby!"

Hang On, Resolutions, I'm Coming

I was horrified when I looked at the calendar the other day.

It's the middle of January already, and the resolutions I was so excited about have been piling up in the corner while I've been putting out all kinds of unexpected fires during our first mayhem-filled week home. No, not any literal fires, though our smoke alarms did go off twice in the middle of the night (note to self: in humid places, the use of a humidifier can set off your smoke alarm), and frankly, I wouldn't have been surprised if a fire had been added to the list of items to deal with this past week. It was that kind of week.

Bad event #1: Lost my driver's license (yes, for those of you who are aware, the very one I was trying so desperately to renew in Utah when I found out that doing so would be impossible thanks to the new legislation effective Jan. 1 ... believe me, you don't want to hear my rant) along with a copy of Eliot's birth certificate (yes, with his Social Security number in plain view), I think in the plane or at the airport on our flight back. Lesson learned: put your IDs where they belong as soon as you're through security.

Solution: I now have in hand a temporary Oregon driver's license, with the permanent one due in the mail sometime next week, after taking and passing a written test and handing over $65.00 for a card I will "surrender" to the Utah DMV in just four months (again, you don't want to hear my rant), and I now know how to put Eliot's SSN on an identity fraud alert watch with one of the major credit bureaus. Add that to my to-do list for next week.

Bad event #2: Electric bill for the month of December. Okay, folks, we were GONE for all but 5 days of the billing period. Please explain to me how my bill is double what it was in November, when we were gone, our fridge was emptied and unplugged, we took no showers, did no laundry, and had our heaters turned down to just above freezing. Well, according to the customer service agent at PGE that I pleaded my case with, it's all very probable, and no, their rates have not gone up (I think she told me that five times in the course of our conversation). I can't say that the agent was rude or unfriendly, but she might as well have told me, "too bad, so sad." This one's gonna hurt the bank account.

Solution: We will be paying every cent of our December bill, along with every other disgruntled PGE customer who's bill doubled or tripled in December because of freezing temps. Oh, but the good news is that there is a local group that assists low-income families with their utility bills, and I can get an appointment with them ... in March.

Bad event #3: Apartment flooded. Good news is that the dozen or so chihuahuas above us that have been serenading us into the wee hours of the morning with their doggy mariachi for the last few months will be vacating their apartment in the next few weeks. Bad news is that their owner managed to flood her apartment and consequently ours this past week. Picture light fixtures looking like goldfish bowls, me frantically trying to clean up the downpour while not getting electrocuted (the water was coming through the light fixtures for the most part), while confused little Eliot looks on and says, "Mama, it's raining in here!"

Solution: The mess is cleaned up (oh, but I still need to empty the remaining water from my fish bowl, I mean hall light fixture), and the 20-year-old maintenance guy, whose efforts to survey the damage to the ceiling and electrical consisted of standing in my doorway and looking at the wet outlines of the sheet rock in my ceiling, did reassure me that they can "paint over the stains." So comforting.

Bad event #4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ... well, still ongoing. Eliot isn't sleeping at night. Instead, he's screaming, or howling like a dog, as my neighbor described it, and waking up 10-12 times an hour. He does have a minor cold, but I think he's just having a hard time adjusting to being taken away from his Christmas wonderland at Grandma's. With one quick plane ride we took him away from his beloved grandparents, adoring aunts, best friend Poppy the dog, and all of the attention and praise a little boy could want. Now it's back to business as usual with boring old Mom, and sure enough, it's a little lonely around here. I understand all of that, I do, and I'm not insensitive to that as a mother. But Eliot, could we please address these issues after a good-night's sleep?

Solution: Benadryl, earplugs, white noise machine ... I haven't decided what my course of action will be, I just know I've got to get a good night's sleep soon or this zombie's gonna lose it. And no, I really don't believe in drugging my child (though I know plenty of people who do, and after the nightmare of a week we've had, I'm starting to understand why ...). In the mean time, my nightly prayer is, "Please let tonight be the night when Eliot sleeps again." Poor guy. Poor anyone within a two-mile radius of us. Chihuahuas included (see, I do have a heart).

So, between phone calls to PGE, the Social Security Administration, major credit bureaus, etc.; cramming alongside my 15-year-old niece for a driver's license exam, bailing buckets of water from my laundry room (okay, it's a closet, who am I kidding), and lathering on concealer so I don't look like the Bride of Frankenstein all day from the dark circles under my eyes, I haven't given my resolutions too much attention as of yet. Getting up early to exercise and watching my diet have given way to turning off the alarm completely and caving to usual habits of nervous/emotional eating. Working on my Personal Progress for Young Women has been replaced with considering it progress that Eliot only watched two or three (I'm not really sure, to be honest) hours of TV that day while I ignored him on the phone sorting out all these problems. The organizing I've wanted to get done and the leisure reading I've promised myself I'd make time for were replaced with getting my required documents in order and studying my DMV manual. Shall I continue to list my excuses/reasons for not starting off the new year with a bang?

RESolution: I promise to be less whiny in my next post. But yes, I do feel better now. And I will feel better tomorrow morning when last week is officially over and I can finally get down to keeping resolutions instead of finding solutions to unexpected catastrophes.

Oy, yoy, yoy.

Some "Copy Editor" ...

I'm not going to quit my day job just yet. I was just glancing over my "Holidays" post and noticed that I mentioned we got to sample "friend turkey" for our Christmas dinner. I'm sure if you read it, you knew what I meant, but just to reassure everyone, no friends were harmed in the preparing of our Christmas feast, for which we ate fried turkey (and I still say it's the best "KFC" I've ever tasted). And yes, I really was the copy editor of the Ricks College newspaper and would like to someday be a professional copy editor ... obviously I need to brush up between now and then.

Yikers.

As Requested

So I finally got around to making a playlist of the songs suggested by ... you! Thanks to those who contributed their faves to my new tunes -- it's a fun, fresh mix of songs, some I've heard before and loved, and others that you introduced me to. So have a listen and enjoy.

Didn't see my original post soliciting your requests? Leave me a comment with some of your all-time faves or click here to add songs directly to my playlist. (Or if you've already commented but have a new favorite since, by all means, let me know!) As before, my only request is to keep it clean -- no songs with swearing or suggestive lyrics, please.

Holiday Highlights

We've been so wrapped up in holiday fun that we haven't had time to blog it all. We didn't get pictures of all the great moments, but here are some of the highlights. This year we had a "pre-Christmas" in Salem before we flew out to Utah, we made cookies for Santa, shared a Christmas Eve program with the McEuen family and Christmas morning and dinner (including our first taste of fried turkey ... not bad!) at the Dickinsons. We also ...

... saw some great light displays, including the lighting of the "Star Trees" at Willamette, a fantastic light display in Salem, and the lights on Temple Square in Salt Lake City,

... reunited with loved ones and made fast friends again!

... trimmed two trees -- our own, and Grandma & Grandpa's,

... let Eliot have his first cousin sleepover, where he decorated his own gingerbread house, of which he was so proud and declared "I decorate it!" every time he saw it (oh, and we now know that he LOVES gumdrops!),

... celebrated a belated anniversary getaway to Salt Lake City, which included dinner and lights on Temple Square, a Christmas concert of one of our favorite local artists, a stay at the fabulous Little America hotel, and a temple session in the new Draper temple,

... received just the right gifts from each other,

generous family members, and good ol' Saint Nick,

... played plenty of games, including Triamanos on New Year's Eve,

"B.S." on New Year's Day, and "Camera Wars" on Christmas Day,

... got some stylin' new duds, including Eliot and his cousin Cole's

slick jackets from Grandma and Grandpa Dickinson,

... and sledded the first day of 2010 away!