Birthdays.

It was a weekend of birthdays. On Saturday we celebrated my niece Fatima's 7th birthday as well as my sister-in-law Stephanie's 30th birthday. It was good times, indeed.

Fatima's little friends are hilarious. They played musical chairs, hot potato, and pin the tail on the donkey. Tears were shed, words were shared, and the competition was heavy among these tiny little children. They had a good time, and it was definitely entertaining to observe them. I kept wondering if I was that way when I was her age...Probably.
Fatima is such a fun and cute little girl. I feel very lucky to have her as part of my family. She is so full of energy and laughter, and is always capable of brightening someone's day...Yet on the other hand, she has the uncanny ability to drive one absolutely crazy...That's what makes her one unique and extremely lovable little child.Steph's birthday was a little bit different than Fatima's. No children games were played, but drinks were prevalent, words were shared, and laughter was never-ending. Unfortunately...and I blame the Mai Tai's, no photos were taken to capture the event, but it was such an amazing time spent with good family and friends.
I have truly the most fun, accepting, and loving in-laws. They're the best, and I'm so grateful that I have been welcomed unconditionally into their lives. Steph is such a fun and amazing girl! I absolutely love her to death! I was definitely so happy to be able to share with her this special day.Happy birthday to Fatima and Stephanie! We love you both so much!
Cheers to starting a brand new year...One year older...And wiser too.
Happy Birthday...
To You!

Tom.

You always know how to make me feel better on those bluesy days. Thank you.


Probably one of the many favorite songs of mine by the Artist of the Century...Mr. Tom Petty

Futsal?

When I played-this was simply called Indoor Soccer...But times have changed and so have the rules.
Last night I went to my niece's futsal game. My niece plays for the 13 and under AA HC Storm soccer team and in the off-season they play indoor ball to stay in shape. Last night they played a bunch of random girls, ages 14-17, from a group home for troubled youth. These girls were just a tid-bit rough on these little 11 and 12 year old girls, but Cora's team hung in there and played hard.

I was impressed with these tough and tiny little girls.
Cora played forward for the majority of the game and scored the first point in the first 30 seconds of the game. Unfortunately, I didn't get the score on video, but she did an amazing job at forward and had a lot of good shots on goal.
She also played a little bit of goalie, and again..I did not have my camcorder out for all her amazing saves. She had 4 great saves and didn't let a single point in...That's pretty impressive, considering these much larger girls were rushing her like a bunch of mad women while she was at goal.

Cora laid one of the big girls out though...I only wish I would've gotten it on film. I was oh-so proud. Lol.
It was a fun game. Cora's team didn't win, but they played hard and kept their heads up.

Here are some clips from her game. Don't mind me. I'm a yeller....

What can I say...She's like a sister to me.

Go Cora!

Good Times.

This past Friday night we went out with family and a few close friends to 'The Spot' in Salt Lake City to celebrate Blake's freedom from Provo College.

It has been such a long time since we have been able to let loose and enjoy ourselves, so we naturally took full advantage.
We had so much fun socializing...while, of course, enjoying the occasional drink with each other.

We were also lucky enough to claim a pool table for the entire evening...Our friend John, who doesn't allow photos, joined us and just so happens to be extremely good at pool for some random reason.
Alas...victory was mine for one game...It was a sloppy victory, but...I'll take it!

The night was fun and eventually resulted in us closing down the bar...
What a success!

OH-Glorious.

It was such an amazing day!

Blake and I went up to Sundance to go snowboarding...We left early so that we could spend the entire day! Once we were parked and in the process of getting our gear on, I asked Blake, "Can you hand me my coat?"...Dreaded pause... I did not have my coat.
Blast! I had assumed Blake grabbed it for me, and he likewise (a logical assumption on his part, I mean...it is my coat).
So...we ended up driving back home to pick up my beloved coat. I love my coat! I felt so terrible for leaving it behind!
Anyways....Luckily the drive from Sundance to our home is a little less than an hour, so we were able to get home and get my coat. Although, it was around 10:30 when we arrived, so we decided to just wait until 12:30 to get on the mountain. We just couldn't justify paying for a full day of boarding and only getting one extra hour in...Either way, once we got back on the mountain we had such an amazing time!!Today was such a beautiful day to go boarding! I'm so happy we went!
The sun was shining all day, with just a hint of overcast...The temps were perfect on the mountain. Just cold enough to keep the snow from turning to slush.
The snow was the best I've experience yet (I hate boarding on icy snow, because I'm still new to this and therefore still learning....All I can say is, it is not fun to fall on icy snow!!!)...I was able to get so much practicing done on the soft pillowy powder... I spent the entire day practicing carves down the mountain, with Blake giving me tips and encouragement along the way...I didn't even fall that much!! My very first run down was near perfection! I stayed dry! Can you believe it?
Blake was also able to have lots of fun doing fun little jumps and tricks and whatnot...Things I'll probably never be able to do. I love watching him board...He absolutely loves boarding, and he has a desire to be a part time snowboard instructor...I think he would make an amazing instructor...I've learned so much from him, and in just two years of going probably a maximum of 10 times-I can now comfortably carve down the mountain, keep the pace with him, and I'm proud to say that I'm even starting to experiment with going fakey (on occasion)...
Sundance is a beautiful resort. It was our first time going up there and we absolutely loved it. I don't know why we hadn't tried it out before...It's so close to us! It was the perfect day!

One of our last runs we did from the very top of the resort and ventured to the bottom...Check out this view. Fabulous!I can't wait to go again! We're planning on attempting to get back up there on Saturday and for sure heading up to Brighton soon for some cheap night boarding! I love that we're finally taking advantage of this wonderful snow! Next year we'll have to start earlier...Maybe invest in some season passes even...Hmm.

Snow.

We're finally taking advantage of it and couldn't be more excited.
Blake and I have this entire weekend off together. That hasn't happened in...who knows how long? I haven't had a weekend off since before Thanksgiving and Blake rarely gets weekends off, so this is kind of a big deal for us!
We have excitement planned for the entire weekend...
Friday we're going to be celebrating Blake's graduation with friends and family in Salt Lake City...Then, Saturday we're heading up to go snowboarding all day! I love being at the resorts...I love playing in the snow and spending time at the sports bars...It makes for such a chill and enjoyable day! I cannot believe we haven't made it up to go board once this year...This is mainly caused by our schedules absolutely sucking these last few months....Well, not anymore...
Here we go!
What to do on Sunday?...Probably sleep.
I simply can't wait for this weekend! Glorious!

Sleepy...

I would say I'm a good sport about things, and I'm perfectly okay with laughing at myself...

If anyone knows me at all, they know that I can sleep absolutely anywhere and in any which way. I blame this on the fact that I am usually past the point of pure exhaustion before I finally go to sleep....

Blake... Being the loving husband he is, has collected a few pictures and a video of my sleeping adventures...I know his plan is to someday use them for the purpose of blackmail, so I decided to beat him to the punch and get a good laugh at myself for my freakish ways...

Now, I wouldn't call myself the most attractive sleeper in the world, but oh well...What do ya do?...

Yes...That's me sleeping on the edge of a cliff on top of Angels Landing at Zion...Probably not the smartest idea in the world...But it was the only place with shade!

I am amazingly capable of sleeping without spilling my wonderful wine.

And yes...I sleep in my boots and don't use my pillows correctly...


And here's a funny little video, courtesy of Blake...I believe that the ottoman slipped out from under my legs...Although I'm not entirely sure...Don't remember a thing.

.

Blaaake's gotta new face.

Check it out...

Blake's graduation present!!!

Congrats on becoming a Registered Nurse babe!!!

GO BLAKE!!!

WOOT, WOOT, WOOT!!!

Albums.

I cannot get enough of. In no particular order.

My favorite albums.


Tom Petty- "Wildflowers" and "Echo" and of course...."Anthology"

Rilo Kiley-"Under the Blacklight" and all other things Rilo Kiley or...

Ahhh....Jenny Lewis. You're amazing.

Kate Nash-"Made of Bricks" and Lily Allen- "It's Not Me, It's You." Perfect for when I am feeling clevery feisty.

Speaking of feisty....Feist- "The Reminder".....Amazing

And...
Vampire Weekend- "Contra!!!".....Rocks my world

Classic. The Beatles.

Santigold- "Santogold" and Bens Fold- "Way To Normal"....Amazingly entertaining.

And....Two of the best soundtracks ever.

The end.

I Love Him.

The other day. Not too long ago...Maybe a few months or something like that, but I thought of it today....Blake and I were joking around like normal. I offhandedly said, "I Love You." To which Blake, in his smart ass little way of doing things, asked, "Well. Why?" I then said..."Geeze. I don't know. Good question." And we moved on.

I lied.

To Blake:

Of course I know why I love you. Are you kidding me? There's so many things about you I absolutely love: You warm up my car for me on cold mornings and on occasion scrape, if needed. This usually occurs on days where you could and, I suspect, would rather sleep in, but instead you are up getting my car warm. I never have to get into a cold car.
You always clean the bathroom. I appreciate this, because I refuse to ever touch the bathroom with any type of cleaning product. You know this stems from me getting stuck cleaning the freaking bathrooms every Sunday at Old Navy, and you don't ever bother asking me to clean the bathroom. I love that about you.

You're pretty much brilliant. You teach me new things everyday, even if it is about something I really don't care to know. Either way, its really impressive to me that you know so much about so many different and sometimes very random things.
You're pretty freaking funny. You constantly make me "lawl," even if it is over something completely random that only we would get. You're entertaining and I love to be entertained.

You're very nice to me and never say mean words. You're genuinely just a nice human being, I've decided. You're nice to everyone, even if they don't deserve for you to be nice to them. You're a nurse, and I love that about you. I know that being a nurse is difficult, and not everyone deserves your care. But nonetheless, you care for them to the best of your ability, and that makes you a very amazing person. To all of you reading this..Have you thanked a nurse today?(;

You make me coffee in the morning. Usually while warming up my car, and while you could be sleeping, but...you choose to alleviate my crankiness. You know that I am not a morning girl.

You like ketchup on your macaroni and cheese. I love this, because when I ask someone for ketchup with my mac and cheese, that means I won't be the only one getting that, "are you freaking kidding me," look I commonly get. You'll be getting that look too, right by my side.
I love that you love your family, and I as well, love your family. I love that you love my family...I just love that you love family, because family is number one!

You are open and accepting to all people. You don't pass judgment on others, and you are willing to hear a different point of view from your own. You may not agree with someone, but you always respect them.
You're honest. You don't lie to me. Although I have a sneaky suspicion you may have attempted to lie to me in the past, I know you have never succeeded, because you are simply an honest person.

I find you very attractive, and that is a perk I love and appreciate.
I love that you never boss me around. I love that you never nag at me or watch over me like I am a child. Instead, you let me be an adult and my own individual, and you are always there to back me up.

So, those are all some things that I love ABOUT you...But I guess I still need to sum it all up in a nutshell and tell ya why I love ya babe....

...I love you simply because you are an amazing and genuine individual. You have a selfless and honest heart; constantly putting needs of others around you above your own. You are a kind, patient, and warmhearted person. You are the total package, and I'm so happy to have you in my life.

Cheesy enough for you ( ;

Love you much-o,

Jess

New Year. New Decade.

Welcome 2010.

We're a little late starting this, but if you know Blake and I at all, you know we are never on time. We are fashionably late people. That's just how we roll. So, Blake and I finally put together a simple list of goals we want to accomplish this year.
Here goes. We will:
1-Knock out half of our total debt. This obviously will not include our amazing student loans that we just love way too much to get rid of.
2-Purchase a home.
3-Start exercising together again.
4-Go on a fabulous cruise-where we can eat, drink, gamble, and be merry.
5-Be more healthy together.

I am clearly a resolution fan. I believe in setting goals with deadlines. Compare it to writing a paper. If you never have a deadline, will you ever turn it in? Anyways...over lunch today, I asked Blake if he had any personal resolutions he wanted to accomplish this year. Just for himself. His response was...."My resolution is to stay away from a resolution." He makes me giggle. To him, resolutions are created simply to be broken....Well. I have created a personal list of my own resolutions, and I plan on proving him wrong and showing him that resolutions are not made to be broken-by checking off each and every one. Should be fun.

What I want to do this year:
1-Run a half marathon
2-Run, run, and run some more. I love running. I just never make the time for it.
3-Read 'War and Peace' by Tolstoy. I hear this book is absolutely life-changing.
4-Transition back into going to school full time and making it my number one priority.
5-Reach my savings goal for our trip to Dublin in 2011.
6-Save more money from each and every paycheck. Follow my budget and I should be fine.
7-Be ready to start a LSAT prep course by January 2011.
8-Learn to breathe. Relax more and take the time to simply enjoy.
9-Live a more healthy lifestyle.
10-Pay off and say good bye to my Kohl's Charge and the baggage it has brought me.

Sounds reasonable enough....I'm ready to begin marking them off, one by one.
Welcome 2010. What will you bring me?