pumpkin carving

if you feel like carving a pumpkin,
but don't want to deal with the
messy guts and seeds,
i highly recommend this

simplicity

recently, i am way into simplicity. hence, the blog change. also feeding this crave for simplicity: i've been reading a lot of henry david thoreau. i really like the guy and i've always really liked his ideas. i'm not sure i want to go build my own shack and live by a pond by myself for months on end, but i do want to try to live simpler.

simplicity attempt #1: easy, good recipes. have i mentioned that i am slightly obsessed with cooking/baking? more baking. anyway, i love a good recipe. but a good, simple recipe? to die for! lately i've been making my own alfredo sauce from scratch and it's oh so simple, plus i make mine minus the usual fat content of restaurant sauces. voila. on a side note, if you have an easy, good recipe - leave a comment! i am all ears.

simplicity attempt #2: less clutter. i feel much less stress when there is no clutter. this is hard, but so worth it.

simplicity attempt #3: someday when nate has a real job, i will subscribe to real simple. love that magazine. thoreau would barf if i ever said this to him. he thinks simplicity is separating ourselves from the institutions of the world. i think, hey thoreau, i like magazines.

my brother chandler took this picture.
i love his photography. he has an eye for beauty.

since we're talking about california...

please vote YES on Prop 8!

hello golden state

it's been about two months since we've seen these guys but we miss them. lucky boy nate headed out to the sunny state to interview for some future careers and gets to see our surfing, prop 8 picketing, heart playing, fun friends. before he left, nate cooked us a yummm dinner. my anti-breakfast eating husband makes one fabulous meal (among others): breakfast burritos! plus, it's kind of nice for a change...sometimes i get home from school and think what's for dinner and who's cooking it...so, thanks to nate for a delish meal.

fallish

one of our favorite things about living in utah is the beautiful fall weather. walking down our street is breathtaking right now with leaves covering the ground and so many colors in the trees.

this weekend was gorgeous, so we took advantage of the weather and ventured into the mountains...

and made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies...

fallish

another glimpse of the mountain colors...

how to have a smashing birthday

ask your husband for a foot rub

ditch the morning exercise - get a ride to school!


smell beautiful roses

dine on exquisite french food with the mister

and have a little looksy here...

thank you for such a happy birthday!

nursery, thanksgiving, you know

a few weeks ago, we got called to be on the activities committee in our ward. yesterday we got another calling: nursery! yeah! this will either make me baby hungry or be a natural birth control. we will see... but, we're pretty excited to play with all four (4) of the nursery kids.

we also celebrated canadian thanksgiving today, because, why not? nate's cute sister jordan came to help us celebrate. notice my 69 cent baby pumpkin. i love love love it. finally, we have a sole halloween decoration!

another win

the byu homecoming game started out semi-cold...and got to freezing. we were champs though, and stayed until the bitter end.

real fans wear this hat

nate and his buddy ladon. we love sitting next to the lindes! this is nate's game face

our sweet view of the field. happy homecoming!
and...it is now snowing outside. really provo? you couldn't wait? the snow is a bit much.

free!

i am all about free. and i'm all about free handbags!

this site
is giving away free handbags.
i'm there.

oh memories

recently, we added a much needed item of technology to our life: an external hard drive. after losing many files this summer when my computer crashed, or maybe just after the complete meltdown i had when said event happened, we decided it was time to give in and back up our files. soooo, while transferring my life's documentation onto this little drive, i came across a few pictures that brought back some good memories...

once upon a time...

during my senior year in high school, i got way into campaigning. i even skipped school and went to a rally for washington state governor candidate dino rossi. and worked in his campaign office. the real deal.

i hopped in the car with belize and drove/rode to california like it was nothing. hello thunder mountain!

i spent all my summer money earned in highschool on a backpacking trip across europe with my childhood friend. i was eighteen and loving life, but not loving how heavy my backpack was in this picture.

i looooved wearing my older brother's hand-me-down clothing. weird? totally.
couldn't get enough of those adidas sweatshirts and soccer shorts. cue in tomboy phase.

i wore my grandmother's sequined, cobalt blue, 80's outfit to a school dance. and loved it.

and finally, once upon a time, i began falling in love with nate. this is that time.
it was spring, we did whatever we pleased, and the weather was fine.

it's not ours

yesterday nate announced that he feels like our blog is turning into "my" blog, though he has had a cameo appearance on this blog about, oh, a grand total of two times. and what did the dear husband write about when he blogged this summer? ding ding ding! nate's third love next to the lord and me: SPORTS.

i like sports, nate. but i also like to tell the world about other things. i also like to bare my soul at times or write whatever is on my mind since my beautiful journal sits empty on my bookshelf for lack of time to actually sit down, like i did in the 90's, and do some real journaling. on that note, i will make an earnest effort to keep the "our" in this blog.

here's what's going on today:

jessica (in this order): check the weather three times before school (just in case), school, cram food into mouth while simultaneously editing four paragraphs of almost incomprehensible english, school again, work, rave to students about studying abroad in paris, home, check email for 8th time, dawdle, think about how good conference was, school, blog about day when actually supposed to be creating a design proposal for print publishing class, missing husband.

nate (in this order): press snooze button more than 3 times, stagger out of bed squinting and blinking, school, meetings, school, delicious leftover baby shower costco food somewhere in between, school, group meeting, call to the wife, schmoozing business dinner in hopes of landing a good job in this rotten economy, missing wife.

okay fine. i added "missing wife." let's hope he does!

lots going on

we've had a great weekend! my parents were in town for some meetings and for conference, which always means fun! my dad got tickets for all of my family to go to the saturday morning session of general conference, but two of the tickets were separate from the rest. nate and i lucked out - we got these tickets...that just so happened to be six rows from the front! the guy next to me leaned over and said, "this is closer than sacrament meeting!" yes, it was awesome.

while the boys were at priesthood, my mom and i threw a baby shower for my beautiful sister-in-law, akasha. we're excited for little aspen marie to be born! in fact, it's really hard to walk past baby clothes...we just want to buy them! i think my vice is baby shoes. i mean, really, how cute are baby shoes?

classic steve story (my dad):

my mom: "look at this cute bear we got for akasha's baby! it matches her bedding"
my dad: "but it doesn't have eyes"
my mom: (rolling her eyes) "just pick two dots!"

akasha's mom is an amazing cake maker. she made a pink masterpiece

we all guessed how big around akasha is...and were all pretty off...

with costco, any party is possible.

it's always fun to see family, especially my aunt and cousins from california.

and last but not least, the other great news of the weekend...

BYU WON.

ga-REEN

i'm a seattle girl.
i come from a green state--at least my half of the state.
i come from tree hugging, granola eating, outdoor loving, recycling people.
in fact, we've nicknamed my dad "the recycle nazi" because at our house,
there are 4 categories of trash and we are expected--no, required to know exactly what waste management allows in each trash category.
he has even been known to go through the trash and pull out recyclable or food waste items to put them in their proper place.
for the sake of the earth. for the sake of "green."
don't get me wrong--i love this about my dad.
i feel bad throwing recyclable items away in my little provo apartment, but alas, there is no recycling available.

i may or may not be becoming an energy nazi. but, i feel okay about this.
besides saving energy by turning off lights and unplugging unused cords, i am saving $money$.
which is a good thing, considering our electricity bill comes out of our pocket.

anyway, my friend from study abroad, marissa, has started a blog...
http://www.its-easy-being-green.blogspot.com

i am not a ridiculous green fanatic. i do love the earth, but i also love splurging sometimes.
and yeah, i'd like to try to do my part.
the thing i love about this blog...
because have you ever searched for "green" websites and blogs? there are hundreds, maybe thousands
...is the fact that she is a student providing doable, helpful suggestions
to live a little greener and give back to mother nature just a little more.
not asking you, like many sources, to donate
an arm, a leg, and your first born child
to save a tree and maybe a fish.
the point is, i like her philosophy: we can all do a little more.
i like her blog too.
you should check it out.

cold season

whenever i have a spare moment at school, i like to read the news online, specifically health news. on CNN today, there was an article listing the secrets of women who never get sick.

let me first preface this with the fact that nate rarely gets sick, and even if he is, he refuses to admit it. his two mottos in life (that I am constantly hearing) are 1. keep your expectations low, that way you'll always be happy...and 2. just tell yourself the opposite. for instance, when we walk home in 0 degree weather, nate tells me, "Just pretend the street lamps are the sun and you won't be so cold." what? yeah right. i am dying here. on that note, here is the 7th reason why some women don't get sick...

7. Stay positive

At the first sign of sickness, Jenny Spring, 29, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, practices another tactic linked to good health: "I tell myself that I refuse to be sick."

Is she crazy to think that works? Not at all. In one study, participants who had heightened activity in a region of the brain associated with a positive attitude produced greater amounts of flu antibodies. Another study showed that people with sunny dispositions churned out more antibodies in response to vaccinations.

Researchers aren't clear on the connection, but they do know "the brain communicates with the immune system, and vice versa," says Anna L. Marsland, PhD, director of the Behavioral Immunology Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh. And a growing number of psychologists stress that focusing on wellness, as opposed to illness, can have good results.

Make positive thinking work for you: If you don't always think positively, experts say, you can at least learn to be less negative. Don't dwell on your symptoms when you do get sick, and try not to assume the worst (like telling yourself, "I always get sick this time of year" or "This cold blows the whole week"). Practice focusing on your strengths and how you feel when you use them. Slowly, you'll recognize that these feelings are more rewarding than negative feelings.

"You probably can't change your personality," Marsland says, "but you can change your behavior." Odds are, you'll join the ranks of the perennially healthy.

alright nate - you win! i will be more positive next time i am hurling stomach acid or using up a whole roll of toilet paper for my runny, allergy nose. other secrets of not getting sick include: getting a massage monthly, washing your hands multiple times a day, eating more garlic, and taking brief cold showers. i think i could really go for that monthly massage...