WISHLIST wednesday: No. 41

lately i have been dreaming of cozy sweaters.
like these:

i love them.  all from gap.
i thought i would bring wishlist wednesdays back... 
christmas is coming!!  8 weeks!

gettin' festive

check out this fancy cheeseball i made for last night's bash:

it was crazy delicious! especially with pretzels.

yum. pinterest always pulls through.

ben and jerry

 tonight we ignored sandy and went to a halloween party.

(we have been getting lots of rain and wind... but luckily we still have electricity.)

our costumes:

 see the resemblance?

 it kind of worked.  just missing another pair of huge glasses.

and i don't have a beard... but i have more hair, does that count?!
i love a costume that only takes 5 minutes to put together and only costs $1 - for the name tags.

Who's Sandy?

So Sandy is on her way.  

You know... the big hurricane that is supposedly about to pound us. 

Jeremy has been following the storm almost always... while I have been pretty much ignoring all the hoopla.  I think I'm just reminded of Irene's threat of doom over a year ago which turned out to be a little bit of wind and some rain.  To me, Sandy was something that was going to complicate my commute to my internship and school and I was annoyed, until...  I got a text from my supervisor saying tomorrow's a half-day! Woot Woot! Suddenly, I am rooting for this storm with gusto. I plan to start a knitting project with my new found free time.  Oh yeah!  Hopefully, it isn't too scary... we did buy a case of water, maybe we should gather the flashlights.

The Witch City

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in Salem, Massachusetts.

It was the Saturday before Halloween and it was NUTS!  There were people EVERYWHERE!

and most were in full costume.  It was fun to be part of the craziness... 

but next time I think we will go towards the beginning of October.

We visited the Salem Witch Memorial... it's crazy to think the witch trials actually happened. We also wandered the cemeteries.  I love Love LOVE the old cemeteries in New England.  I want my headstone to look like these:

Seriously, I love them.

I love New England in the fall.

5 years

there have been exactly 5 years of kissing 

for me and the hot husband TODAY. 

i'm sure you are excited for the photo we took to document the special day.

this fun all started back in 2007.

we were sitting in the warm car eating ice cream in the parking lot of an 

ice cream shop when jeremy finally made his move.  i'm so glad he did!

we will of course be getting ice cream tonight... after some studying gets done.

midterm papers

something about them makes it absolutely necessary for me to be drinking hot chocolate while i try to crank these papers out. maybe it's the distraction of making the hot chocolate.  who knows... but it sure is delicious.  i went with mint hot chocolate tonight and it was heavenly.  

i have realized that i have TONS of hot chocolate... like enough for YEARS. it's the only thing we have enough of to count towards our food storage. so please, if you are needing something that will make your little heart smile, stop on by.  i would love a break from writing to fix you a cup and chat with a friend.

p.s. only one more paper to go.

the button of my belly

the button of my belly is in distress!

isn't that hilarious??  i think so.

well, turns out i have an umbilical hernia, aka herniated belly button or belly button hernia.  it all started from that one time at the lake when i was tubing.  when the rain rolled in, i went to change out of my wet swimming suit and there was the weirdest thing going on with my stomach.  it looked like a whopper (the malt ball, not the burger) was sitting on my abs right below my belly button.  i was totally freaked out and quickly pushed it back in and tried to forget about it, which means it was all i could think about.

ever since that weird day, i have had recurring belly button issues.  sometimes i can feel my stomach get tight and i can feel the whopper climbing back to the surface, so i have to push it in again and it feels really weird.  after this was happening for a good three months, i finally went to a doctor about it and turns out... i need surgery.  he felt my stomach for all of two seconds and said, "You have a belly button hernia.  I can fix that."  nice. sounds great, doc!  i was sooo relieved that it had a name.

the surgery is scheduled for the monday right after thanksgiving.  so i end up getting at least a full week off of classes and my internship.  (fun stuff!)  my momma is even going to extend her stay to take care of me. (did you know my family is coming here for thanksgiving?!?!!  only 32 more days... i'm crazy excited! i think a paper chain countdown will be constructed this weekend.) i imagine us breaking out the christmas music & decorations and baking delicious treats, or maybe my mom will be doing those things while i lay on the couch.  there will at least be lots of chatting, chick-flicks, and knitting to our hearts' content. 

man... surgery is going to be awesome.

a fight, a funny man, and an earthquake

yesterday was an interesting day.

a fight
i witnessed a fight on the T (well at the station, not on the train).  like start to finish, i saw it all.  it was crazy.  and so dumb.  a group of teenagers was walking right in front of me at the same time another group of teenagers were walking the other direction.  one of the guys says, "they are all blue." (he was talking about the new advertisements for surface that recently hit the T).  anyways, one guy from the other group found that insulting (???) turns around and starts yelling at the kid and cussing at him. so the two groups approach each other and are in each others faces, yelling calling names... you know, being real mean.  so shoves start to happen and then two of the kids start throwing punches.  (and what are we all doing at this point while we wait for the train??.... just watching.) so the kid that said, "they are all blue" is backed into this wall getting punched in the face and trying to flail at this other kid.  eventually they get tired and end up hugging each other - you know, like boxers do in the ring.  then one of the girl says you guys are just hugging break it up.  and they do.  and then a policeman comes and everyone scatters... except for the kid that said "they are all blue" who now has a bloody face.  he is still there and the policeman asks him what happened and he says, "i fell down." and then my train came.

a funny man
while hopping on the train, some older guy with a baseball hat and a silvery goatee says to me, "i'm glad nobody got seriously hurt." and i respond "well not physically at least, but maybe just their egos."  he continues to follow me and sit right next to me (no buffer seat here) on the train and as he sits down says, "don't worry, i'm not trying to pick you up."  i said oh that's ok, you can talk to me.  and apparently that meant that i wanted him to keep talking to me.  we chatted about this and that and next thing i know he is calling me and exceptionally beautiful woman and saying that i probably don't need to worry about buying my own $12 martinis. and then we got to his stop.

an earthquake
later that night at my internship the building started shaking, we are on the top floor.  i suddenly silenced my co-workers... and asked if that was normal.  they said no, and didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest, but i was intrigued.  i found out later that there was an earthquake in maine.  BAM! i felt my first earthquake. how cool!  i have always wanted to experience one.  too bad it was rather uneventful... or maybe that is ideal.

yesterday was an interesting day.

my parents...

are here for the week:

photo emailed to me by my momma today

and i am experiencing a big case of the jealousies.

(as i sit here and distract myself from my midterms)

especially after my mom showed off her fancy crepe on instagram.

luuucky!

reminds me of our fun times in the cool city a little while ago. (ok, it's been 4 years).
talk about an awesome girls trip!  me and my mom backpacking through europe for two weeks.

we had banana nutella crepes for dinner outside the musee d'orsay.  HEAVEN!

(here, here, and here)

enjoy every second you two!

time to petition

today i got an email from simmons college telling me i needed to fill out a petition to graduate!

can you believe it??! crazy!

time is flying! we are almost half way through the semester and i still feel like we just started.  before you know it i am going to be out looking for a job as a bona fide professional (what?  me!? at least i won't have any homework... YAY!!!).  and boy am i terrified.  i was recently expressing my terror to my supervisor.  "i feel so unprepared!" i lamented.  what she said helped me put it all in perspective, "school is designed for you to learn enough of the basics to begin your work as a social worker. you don't have to know everything."  phew!  that's good.  maybe i can do this.

i forgot to mention...

my mom recently pointed out that i forgot to mention
a new church calling for jeremy and i. we no longer work with
 the little cherubs, which we are so sad about.
we are going to miss them!

but we have been called to serve in the....

spanish branch.

no, i'm not kidding.
 

aka

la rama en espanol

do i know spanish?  NO! am i terrified?  YES!

and we start this sunday!  can you believe it?
  good thing jeremy at least knows spanish or we would be in
 some real trouble.  he will have to translate for me, so i can
have some sense of what is going on. i purchased ok, my mom
 purchased a computer program at costco for me to use, so we
will see if that lends any help in my quest to learn some spanish.
 if you have any tips... let me know.  i'm finding it to be
difficult since most of my free time is spent reading and writing
papers for school.  hopefully i will pick up something... or
 else it will feel like i am going to church
 in a foreign country. aahhh!

i have managed to master one phrase so far:

perdon, no entiendo.

it means:

sorry, i don't understand.

i think it will keep me going for a while.

wish me luck!

spiritual notes from the weekend

warning: there's a bunch

pledge allegiance to the Gospel of Christ, not the media, politics, etc
Know it! Live it! Love it!
the Holy Ghost knows and loves me and teaches truth of all things
pay attention to my heart
in trials, pray for my heart to change
look forward with hope, not back with despair
love deepy, love eternally
i'm a member of Christ's restored church
do i wear a badge of busy? stop glorifying busy
cherish those i love by spending time with them
God knows things about me I don't know about me
discipleship is the path to our best selves
we determine our happiness, not external circumstances
happiness is available all of the time
we cannot take for granted one single day
place my marriage as my highest priority
our daily acts of service can transform the world
do you believe in this book? YES, SERGEANT INSTRUCTOR!
come unto Christ, and offer your whole soul
would you sell your soul for a nickel?
with self-justification of petty sins, satan can steal our souls
we are to separate ourselves from our sins - big and small
God is mindful of each of us and will never forsake us
my testimony is my greatest possession, my soul's greatest treasure
we must renovate ourselves to become a place for God to dwell
treasure, protect, and strengthen my faith
whatever I do, don't step away from God during my trials
the Lord's way is higher than the world's way
trials need not be spiritually fatal
we have a responsibility to protect children
marriage is not a mere contract, it is an eternal covenant
God cares deeply for my happiness
we all need the atonement to escape darkness
first observe, then serve
what is essential is invisible to the eye
take time to be still
when everything seems to fail, Christ will not fail me
"I need disciples forever."
labor and serve loyally
the more we act on inspiration, the more errands will be entrusted to us
our prayers are always answered
do not feel afraid or inadequate in serving God
become a more Christian Christian
Christ spent his days serving others
do the things that have eternal consequence
spiritual growth doesn't come all at once
take one step closer to the Savior
with God's help nothing is impossible
if we need help, ask for it in prayer
the future is as bright as my faith
do i work for worldly treasures or heavenly treasures?
discipleship is all about doing and becoming
what do I think about during the sacrament?
take the sacrament with great thought
a testimony is not sufficient to provide spiritual strength, need conversion of my whole soul
conversion is constant devotion to God
set aside cherished weapons of rebellion
take messages into my heart and life
be of good cheer! the Lord loves us and is mindful of us

wasn't general conference the BEST!?

falling

 

we went on a morning stroll to see the leaves.

some have changed, but there are a lot that haven't yet.  

which means.... it will just get even more beautiful!

 

check out this great quote we found on a bench: 

the next two days

the next two days will be wonderful.

conference weekend is here and it is the very best.

i love the revelations that come, the testimonies that are shared,
the peace that enters my heart, and the motivation, encouragement, and
love that i feel when i listen to inspired church leaders.  

what an incredible blessing!

you can be a part of it, too. go here.

 

lately

lately our friday nights have been filled with:

the new office episode

air-popped popcorn

 the new project runway episode

ben and jerry's ice cream

and psych re-runs

i guess we just need a whole lot of vegging out

after a week of school.  we're exhausted!

we are planners

my momma and i... we are planners.

we have vacations planned for years out sometimes.  so today, while we
 were chatting on the phone, we booked flights for my spring break. it's never
too early to nail those puppies down.  i can't believe this will be my last spring break ever! 

 so where am i going for a whole week in March? i am going to hang

 out with my parents of course!  they are the bomb.com and 

we will have so much fun! jeremy has a different week off for spring break 

than i do, so hopefully he has tests to study for that week while i'm gone.

 i promise to leave you lots of love notes, sweet boy!

on a different note... 

 i had two bites of salad today.  and it wasn't terrible.