WISHLIST wednesday: No. 28

today i wish for a new christmas cd.
i think i will buy one every december 1st for the rest of my life... starting tomorrow!
i am leaning towards The Lower Lights for this year.

any other suggestions?

the current debate

should we get a christmas tree?

cons: we are only hanging around here for three more weeks, we
don't have anything to put on it, and we are poor students.

pros: we found small real trees for $20 and... it's CHRISTMAS!

would you like to weigh in on the topic?
please do!

missing the will

currently i'm:
overwhelmed, without the will to do anything about it.

i am not ready to come back from a long weekend
off and tackle all of my big papers. just. not. ready.

i want to do all things christmas right now. i can hardly contain myself.
i want to decorate, shop for christmas presents, sip some hot chocolate, bake
delicious holiday treats, and listen to christmas music.... instead i'm
staring at a blank page on my computer attempting to at least get
started... on something - ANYTHING!

this isn't looking good... why does procrastination hit
when i only have three more weeks to push through?

ahhhhhh!

i have got to pull it together!

a douglas fir

today we cut down a christmas tree!
it was my first time ever. they don't have many tree farms in vegas. we walked along until we found the perfect douglas fir to claim as our own (well, for jeremy's parents). jeremy did a great job hauling it back to the car.

it's now lit, decorated, and looking beautiful!

i want to cut down my very own tree every year!

we took a drive to PA...

and we spent the evening at Longwood Gardens.

they had beautiful displays and christmas trees galore. it was very impressive.

we were especially inspired by the gingerbread men... we are making some tomorrow!

may the christmas season begin! oh hooray.

turkeys & trees

we had a lovely day today.

we arrived in baltimore early this morning and pumpkin pancakes
with homemade syrup were waiting for us. YUM! we watched the parade, knitted,
played some cards, fit in some naps, and took a nice walk along the gun powder
river. the weather was gorgeous! the turkey dinner was great... we ate way too
much - just as planned! j's mom made the cutest little turkeys and had one
at each place setting. we followed dinner with tons of pie i just couldn't
refuse. it was great. then we overloaded our thankful tree with leaves that
had things we are thankful for on them- it's a family tradition of mine.
the finished version is here.

hope you are spending the day with family &
friends and loving every minute!

give thanks!

in the spirit of thanksgiving, here are 100 things i am thankful for:

jeremy (my HOT husband), my fun parents, my little brothers, jeremy's family, cell phones, skype, traditions, airplanes, popcorn, knitting, colorful yarn, easy knitting patterns, hot chocolate, ice cream, temples, good friends, working out, neon workout clothes, my ipod, music, smiles, hugs, jeremy's kisses, love, laughter, Jesus Christ, prayer, my scriptures, my testimony, getting into grad school, jeremy getting into dental school, living in a fun place to explore, friendly's, cameras, fun new lenses, a new computer, tennis courts, the basketball season hasn't started, we don't have cable (and i LOVE it), good movies, my internship in Romania, the Romanian orphans, my blood clot, life, faith, modern medicine, my moccasins, my hair, nail polish, warm blankets, going to sleep, lazy sunday mornings, a clean house, touring Europe with my momma, my childhood, disneyland, huntington beach, s'mores, bright swimsuits, chinese food, pictures, memories, blogging, books, turkey, pumpkin pie - with LOADS of whipped cream, christmas music, the giving christmas spirit, mittens, scarves, warm coats, my bright yellow backpack, public transportation, rainy days (when i have no where to be), fireworks, sparklers, metallic anything, rubik's cubes, vacations, crunchy fall leaves, ducks, the color orange, our car, learning new things, meeting new people, peace, opportunities to serve others, warm cookies, fun socks, time, family, grandparents, children, weddings, our apartment, my bed, pillows, flowers, health, and YOU!

there is always something to be grateful for. have an enjoyable day!

painting soothes my soul

today i had the day off (YAY!), but jeremy still had school (BOO!). so i headed to the closest pottery painting place to thoroughly enjoy myself.

i had a grand old time with the owner - i was the only customer. she was calling me all sorts of names, kiddo, toots, honey. she was great! she had christmas music playing and we chatted about all sorts of things: how justin bieber butchered the christmas songs that morning on t.v. - the traditional versions are much better, how television now runs 24 hours a day, how sundays used to be a day of church and family, how kids don't ever play outside anymore, and on and on. it was such a funny and relaxing morning. i can't wait to get my piece back!!

i love to paint! it is so... just relaxing and therapeutic. glad i found the cute place!

(no picture of what i painted. sorry! it is TOP SECRET! it's a christmas present. hooray for christmas!!!)

WISHLIST wednesday: No. 27

today i wish for boot socks.

or i guess just tall, thick socks. i love this warm and cozy look.

i'm impressed.

the little brothers pulled through!

i got this little buddy in the mail today.
thanks sam and rye!

the very worst

yesterday i experienced the very worst thing in the world.

it was terrible.

i hopped in the shower washed my hair, put conditioner in my hair, and i was about to shave my legs, but... the water was getting colder. i kept turning it warmer - the warmest it would go -and it got colder and colder. so i decided to just deal with the hairy legs for another day and finished rinsing my hair in the cold cold water. by the end of the shower i was so frustrated (and freezing) i was sobbing... uncontrollably and muttering how i HATE cold showers.

jeremy came in to see what was wrong and i just cried and cried, saying, "i'm so cold! i'm just so cold!" i retreated back to the bed, still crying, and curled up underneath the comforter to try to bring back some warmth to my poor soul. jeremy came in to check on me and asked if i was feeling better. i told him "kind of" and that cold showers are the very worst things in the world! holding back a laugh he said he wasn't so sure. but i made certain he understood... they are the VERY worst things in the world.

needless to say, he made sure i got the first shower this morning and it was nice and HOT!

i think the whole thing reminded him of this incident.

a winter float

a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream in hot chocolate

delicious! also awesome with peppermint ice cream.

tonight

is yoga night.

i love thursday nights. the weekend is almost here and i get to yoga.

yoga is a deceptive activity. it sounds easier than running or other aerobic activities, so it's easier to start it, but before i'm even ten minutes in, i am quickly reminded of how hard it is.

so right now... i love yoga. the answer may change when i am in the middle of the workout tonight, but right now i love it.

any suggestions for great yoga videos? i would love to get more into it.
currently doing this one.

WISHLIST wednesday: No. 26

today i wish for a Boston Red Sox shirt.

since i'm a true fan these days. can't wait to go to some games this summer!

we LOVE presents

last night i sent this to both of my little brothers:

ummm.... quick thing.

if you plan on getting a christmas present from me, i better get a birthday present from you.
just cuz i'm in boston, doesn't mean you don't have to get me anything...

much love!

i understand it was a little hectic for everyone in september: parents just moved, sam just got back from his mission, both of the boys were adjusting to college life, we were in boston, blah, blah, blah... but come on! my birthday comes around only once a year and it is very important to me. so today i texted both of them and asked if they had any thoughts on my birthday present - mostly to see if they were taking me seriously. these were the replies i received seconds later...

from riley: "its a done deal. don't even fret."

from sam: "its already taken care of! its on its way to Boston :)"

WOW! they pulled that together pretty quick. in less than 24 hours. so if you want something from somebody... just tell them you won't get them a christmas present. it worked for me! but maybe presents are just really important to my family. haha!

knitting a cowl

while shopping a couple weekends ago, amber and i spotted this:

we loved it, but didn't love the $44 price tag...
so we studied it and decided we could just make it instead.

and IT WORKED!




here's the finished product:


i used 10 mm knitting needles, and this yarn. i cast on 86 (although i might cast on less in the future to make it smaller) and just knit 2, purl 2 over and over. i did 5.5 inches of each color, then i twisted it once and sewed the ends together. then i tacked the edges to the center (one on top, the other on the bottom) at the seam to create more shape - does that make sense?! and BAM! mission accomplished. it only took a few hours and the yarn cost about $5! and i still have half a skein left of each color. LOVE IT! this may be my go to Christmas present this year... if i can manage to find the time to knit to my heart's content!

a day off

today we found ourselves in need of a small adventure.
i guess the east coast actually celebrates veteran's day and jeremy and i both had
the day off of school... so with the veterans in our hearts we were off.

we drove north past trees that were exploding with color and landed in Rockport, MA.
The Proposal was filmed here, so we had to check out the cute little place.



it was BEAUTIFUL!


we wandered in and out of the cute shops while we took in the incredible views.


i love row boats... i dream of having one. i think i told jeremy that like 5 times today.

after a while, we were starving and chilled so we ducked into the Red Skiff for lunch.

the hot chocolate was AMAZING and the sandwiches were huge.
we are still stuffed from lunch. i just love local places.

then we meandered home on windy roads along the coast. i love it here!