Christmas Ornaments

One of my favorite parts about decorating for Christmas is the ornaments.

Growing up, we always put our tree in front of the front window, so you could see it from the street. Although I now live in a small apartment, I still make sure to rearrange furniture so you can see the lit tree from the road.

When I was younger, I spent a great deal of time looking at the ornaments on the tree. I would turn off all of the lights in the living room (well, the one or two lamps we were allowed to have on - saving electricity was important, and I remember coming downstairs to dinner numerous times, only to have my dad send me back upstairs to make sure the lights were all off). There would only be the glow from the white tree lights, and I would stand, sit, and lie by the tree looking at the ornaments.

I remember the homemade cinnamon ornaments, cut out into shape of stars, with red ribbons tied through a hole on the top. I am 99% sure my mom still has those - they must last forever, because we used the same ones every year for as long as I can remember!

We had ornaments that went along with The Forgotten Carols, by Michael McLean. There was a wooden cradle, a bow, a star, and many other items that went along with the different songs.

I loved the two small wooden marionettes we had, a boy and girl, whose strings we would pull and their arms and legs would move.

I loved our simple, plain tin star on the top of the tree. I am still looking for a star that I love - I am a bit picky. I like the old fashioned looking stars, and keep my eye out when the stores start putting out their Christmas decorations. I haven't found it yet, but I know the perfect one is out there!

My mom made MANY fabric pine cones. I remember helping push the little needles into the Styrofoam eggs to keep the little pieces of fabric in place. My fingertips would start to hurt after a while, but I remember looking at all of the different Christmas prints and choosing what color ribbon to hang them with on the tree - usually white, red, green, or a grayish (cornflower?) blue.

I especially love the heavy pewter ornaments. My grandparents buy my parents an ornament every year, and it's always a nice pewter one. I love them!

I remember we had a delicate golden ornament of the Provo Temple, where mom and dad got married.

I had my 'Baby's First Christmas' ornament. It looks like a little rocking horse crib. Next time I am home I think I will need to raid the Christmas decorations and 'borrow' a few, and get my baby one! :) I always loved looking at that one, and it made me feel special to have my own ornament.

Of course, there were the homemade ornaments we kids made - mostly made out of paper or craft sticks. Hannah or Emma had their school picture on a paper snowflake, and I know SOMETHING was made out of yarn...

We also had a Santa Claus made from quilt batting material. (Or some kind of white stuffing). I think every year he got smaller and smaller, because I would find pieces of him on the floor, and little tufts of him in the Christmas décor container. I think the mice in the barn may have finished him off a few years back.

I have slowly accumulated my own ornaments over the last 6 years, and my tree is a bit of old and new. I love golds, reds, silvers, and darker greens. I have silver jingle bells, red and white striped candy canes, some pewter ones, homemade paper ornaments, some 'diamonds' for more twinkle, a few that Jon's mom gave me, which belonged to her sister who passed away (they are some of my favorites), and lots of different sizes of balls - some plain, some shiny, some with glitter, some with words like 'Merry Christmas', etc.

I always put up white lights still (NOT the LED ones) - I think because it's tradition, and I like the simplicity and the 'clean' look of all white lights. When Jon and I drive around to look at lights, he knows I don't like when houses are covered in random colors and designs, some blinking/not blinking, etc. I guess I just like a nice uniformed, balanced look!

Christmas is my favorite holiday/season. I love pretty much everything about it - being with family, celebrating the birth of Christ, the cold weather, the pretty lights and decorations, the traditions, the carols and hymns we sing, counting blessings, and the overall feeling of 'good will toward men'.

 I also love to see kids' faces when they talk about Santa Claus or see him. Our ward party was Saturday night, and I got to be Santa's helper and tell him the names of the children when they approached him. All of their eyes would light up when they came around the corner and saw him sitting there in the foyer!

We leave for Utah on Thursday, and I am so excited to see Jon's family and spend Christmas with them! I am grateful we get along so well and couldn't ask to be part of a better, loving family. I will miss my family, but I am grateful I have 3 (soon to be 4) nieces and nephews who are only 3 hours away!

100 Things

Today I made my Bucket List. One hundred things to learn, to do, to go - I am sure the list will grow with time. I have done a couple of these, but there are many more to go!

100 Things:

1.  Fall in love and get married

2.  Buy a house

3.  Be debt-free

4.  Travel all around Italy

5.  Have a job I enjoy

6.  Be in my best shape at least once in my life

7.  Learn to play a challenging song on piano

8.  Be able to do a hand stand

9.  Go on a safari in Africa

10. Have a wardrobe I love

11. Have a baby

12. Write a children’s book

13. Index 500,000 names

14. Have a vegetable garden and a flower garden

15. Go to Portugal

16. Sleep in a haunted house

17. Go to Prince Edward Island – visit places from Anne of Green Gables

18. Learn how to dance (tango, salsa, etc.)

19. Take a cooking class

20. Road trip along Route 66

21. Learn to write calligraphy

22. Ride a camel or elephant

23. Ride in a gondola

24. Eat at an undersea restaurant

25. Learn a foreign language

26. See a Broadway play in NYC

27. Ride in a limousine

28. Make a difference in someone’s life

29. Hike the Appalachian Trail

30. Visit Gettysburg  

31. Visit all the church sites (SLC, Palmyra, Vermont, Ohio, Missouri)

32. Visit Washington DC

33. Learn 100 basic ASL signs

34. Go on a Pioneer Trek

35. Go to an opera

36. Go on a treasure hunt

37. Ride on a passenger train

38. Visit Williamsburg, VA

39. Learn to make pottery

40. Make a quilt

41. Have a small library of favorite books

42. Go one year with no TV/movies

43. Read all of the winning fiction books of the Pulitzer Prize

44. Become an early riser

45. Learn how to write better thank you notes

46. Write more letters

47. Create/fill in my family tree

48. Have a dog and cat

49. Have a big canopy bed

50. Have a home with a big porch

51. Learn how to give a good massage

52. Attend a Cirque du Soleil show

53. Go to a fondue restaurant

54. Have a huge 4^th of July party

55. Make my own pasta

56. Become a grandma

57. Go full vegan for a month

58. Visit a ghost town

59. Go to 50 different temples

60. Make a wish at the Trevi fountain in Rome

61. Attach a lock on a love bridge

62. Visit Greece

63. Make Christmas boxes for the missionaries

64. Create holiday/birthday traditions

65. Go apple picking

66. Go on a cruise

67. Become an‘urban explorer’

68. Let go of a floating lantern

69. Make fancy caramel apples

70. Visit Norway

71. Travel to Ireland

72. Tour a castle

73. Spend the day at a luxury spa

74. Write my memoir

75. Go to a George Strait concert

76. Learn more about the lives of my ancestors

77. Have my own star

78. Visit a chocolate factory

79. Make homemade gifts more often

80. Organize every room in the house

81. Have everything prepared for food storage and emergencies

82. Buy my favorite painting of Christ

83. Make my house a loving, peaceful, comfortable home

84. Be a peacemaker

85. Create/put together a cookbook of all my favorite recipes

86. Get to know my neighbors wherever I go

87. Climb to the top of a lighthouse and watch the sunrise/sunset

88. Watch the top ten movies of all time (need to look these up!)

89. Buy a painting by James Christensen

90. Learn to decorate a pretty cake/cupcakes

91. Learn different ways to do my hair and makeup

92. Go for a long bicycle ride/picnic in the country

93. Go to Hawaii

94. Have a hammock under a tree

95. Help a friend decorate/plan their wedding

96. Buy a nice camera

97. Go zip lining

98. Go on a rain forest canopy walk

99. Create a realistic budget and stick to it

100.        Learn how to administer first aid confidently

My Favorite Things

Tonight Jon is at a Boy Scout camp out for church, so I decided to have my own 'spa night' at home. I took a nice long bubble bath, did a clay facial, and gave myself a manicure. I was also listening to Christmas music by the Cambridge Singers (which makes me feel quite homesick, but is probably one of my favorite Christmas albums - along with Andy Williams. When I was growing up I put a little fake Christmas tree in my room every December, pinned up twinkle lights all around my bedroom walls, and replayed the Andy Williams Christmas CD over and over and over again. I loved it!) So I started to think of all of my favorite things, and here are some of my lists (and in no particular order, I don't think I have a TOP favorite of anything, it's too hard to choose):

Favorite Movies:
- It's a Wonderful Life
- White Christmas
- Life is Beautiful
- Gone with the Wind
- State Fair
- Mary Poppins
- Leap Year
- Persuasion
- North and South
- Indiana Jones series
- Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea
- Pride and Prejudice
- Return to Me
- Jane Eyre (2006)
- An Affair to Remember
- Letters to Juliet
- The Sound of Music
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Growing up, we girls would reenact the dances and songs from this movie - and still quote it sometimes:

Adam: Smells good enough to eat.
Milly: Tastes good too, so they tell me.
Adam: Got any ketchup handy?
Milly: My stew can stand on its own feet.

Haha, those lines have been said to each other at least 100 times. Mostly around dinner time...

Favorite Books:
- The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
- Fifteen (Beverly Cleary)
- The Unbroken (Laura Hillenbrand - I read that a movie based on this book is coming out next year. I can't imagine how it will do it justice, by I am still looking forward to seeing it!)
- A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
- Harry Potter series (JK Rowling)
- the Narnia series (CS Lewis - mom read these to us growing up)
- The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)
- The Work and the Glory series (Gerald Lund)
- Heckedy Peg (children's book by Audrey Wood)
- various church/relationship books

Favorite Colors:
- grey
- blues
- black
- light yellow
- creams and whites

Favorite Music:
- The Cambridge Singers
- Harry Connick Jr.
- Taylor Swift
- Adele
- Nina Simone (I love how low she sings - and since I have a low voice, I can sing along with her most of the time! When I first heard her, I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman!)
- George Strait
- Sting
- Diana Krall
- Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- Maroon 5
- Frank Sinatra
- Madeleine Peyroux
- Il Divo (especially at Christmas)
- Coldplay
- the ladies, like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston
- Katherine Jenkins
- Marty Robbins
- soundtracks from Evita, Nashville, Dear John, Pride and Prejudice (2005 movie soundtrack), Phantom of the Opera, etc.

Favorite Quotes:
"Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." (President Uchtdorf)
"She understood who she was and whose she was." (Elaine S Dalton)
"There should be no yelling in the home unless there is a fire." (President McKay)
"I am still determined to be cheerful and to be happy in whatever situation I may be, for I have also learnt from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions and not upon our circumstances." (Martha Washington)
"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." (Walt Disney)
"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." (Karen von Blixen Finecke)
"If you live to be 100, I hope to live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you." (Winnie the Pooh)
"The greatest thing a father can do for his daughter is to love her mother." (Elaine S Dalton)
"He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." (Emily Bronte)

Seasons/Holidays:
- every crisp, cool fall day
- Christmas
- 4th of July
- Valentine's Day

Favorite Foods/Desserts/Drinks:
- mom's homemade bread and rhubarb jam
- Chicken Bryan from Carrabbas
- Mint Pomegranate Lemonade (also from Carrabbas)
- No Bake cookies
- popcorn
- Honeycrisp apples
- oranges/clementines
- saltwater taffy (from Goldenrod in Maine)
- stuffed shells
- sweet and sour chicken
- zucchini and squash
- soup (lots of different kinds...)
- pasta dishes
- watermelon
- fresh peas from the garden
- bruschetta
- fruit crisps and pies (with vanilla ice cream, of course)

Animals:
- elephants
- giraffes
- zebras
- tigers
- Otis and Bo

Favorite Things to Do:
- playing games (word games, board games, dominoes, etc)
- cooking/baking
- going for walks
- going for long drives and seeing new places
- playing piano
- reading
- being with family and friends
- going to museums/concerts
- pinning on Pinterest
- 'spa' nights at home
- Indexing on familysearch.org

Favorite Places to Go (Someday):
- Portugal (Jon has always wanted to visit since his mission, so that would be fun to do together)
- Italy (all over!)
- Norway
- Prince Edward Island
- on a safari in Africa

Favorite Flowers/Trees:
- small white daisies (I always like when they are wrapped in brown paper - I think it's so romantic...)
- peonies
- sunflowers
- lilacs
- hydrangeas
- dahlias
- Weeping Willows
- Birch trees
- Maple trees
- Christmas trees :)
- Cherry blossoms

I realized while typing this that I have SO many favorite things, and I know I am missing many, also. I am so blessed!

Dream a Little Dream of Me

This may be a bit of a sappy post, but I met Jon for the first time 3 years ago today, and I feel that today deserves a special post about LOVE.

I love Jon with my whole heart, and I am very grateful and I thank my lucky stars that I have him in my life. Jon possesses so many good qualities that I always wanted in a husband.
 He is a hard worker and does his very best to make me happy. He is always willing to go with me to the store, the library, or to run random errands. If I need copies for Primary he takes me to the church in the middle of the week so I can use the library. He readily obliges me whenever I want to go for drive and explore new places, even on a whim.
One of my favorite qualities of his is that he is always excited to see me. It doesn't matter if we have been apart only a few hours or a week, he greets me with a big kiss and a hug. Whenever I walk in the door after being out, he will stop whatever he is doing and 'run' over to me and give me a kiss. Every morning when we wake up he leans over and gives me a big hug and says good morning. He is the most complimentary person I know.  I don't have the highest self esteem, but he makes sure to constantly tell me how beautiful I am every day, and usually multiple times. He compliments everyone around him, too. I love that so much about him.
He helps me out in the kitchen, and doesn't mind doing the dishes at all. He is eager to please me and and to make me happy. Jon is so easy to talk to, and he listens to me when I am happy or sad, angry or complaining, or if I am just rambling along about nothing important. He supports me and all of my off-the-wall ideas. He will let me watch/finish a show on HGTV, even when there is a sports game on that I know he would much rather watch. And he does all of this without complaining.
I am pretty sure Jon hates spiders just as much as I do, but he still kills all of them for me. That is definitely true love...
I am grateful Jon is not stingy with money. We are on a budget, but I am so grateful that he doesn't mind going out and doing activities like mini golf or getting ice cream cones and going to a matinee. We have a lot of fun together, whatever we do, whether staying home and playing board games and having popcorn, or going to a museum and just walking around downtown.
Jon makes me laugh, and can usually always succeed in making me smile, even when I am feeling down.
Jon reads his scriptures/Ensign every morning, and writes in his journal at least a couple of times a week. He is a good example to me, and makes me want to be a better journal writer.
He is outgoing and is good at sports. I think we balance each other well - his love of sports and being outdoors, and I love the arts and am more of an introvert.
I know Jon will be a wonderful dad by the way he treats all of his nieces and nephews. He loves playing with the kids and misses them all so much. He is a great uncle and I know they all love him, too. I can't wait to have our own family someday.
Jon doesn't lie ever. He CAN'T lie. I think it is impossible for him, even if it's a little white lie. I love that about him. Sometimes I tease him about it, but it is a perfect quality to have. Sometimes he will try to lie to me about something small, and he can't help but smile a little bit and then he just loses it and starts laughing!
Jon tries his hardest at everything he does - especially with work and church. Although I know his job and his church calling can be tough a lot of times, he still fulfills all of his duties to the best of his ability. He can be too hard on himself and think he's not doing enough, but I know he does the best he can and he does a great job.

I am so grateful that I was working at Provo College that day when Jon walked in. I am grateful he took a chance on me and came back the next day and asked me out. (Our first date was 3 years ago tomorrow - to Jamba Juice! We may need to recreate that tomorrow...)

We have known each other for three years now; only eternity to go! I can't wait to spend it with my best friend.

Hungry for Change

Jon and I cancelled our monthly Netflix account a few weeks ago, so we're trying to watch as many movies/shows that interest us we can before the end of the month. Last week, I watched the following:

Vegucated

Forks Over Knives

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

Hungry for Change

 

Food Matters

 Obviously, there is a theme here. After watching these five documentaries, I feel like I really need/needed a change in my eating and the way I look at food. I should probably back up a little. A few weeks ago, I created a Word document that has 5 columns per page. Each column reads: Day 1: Day 2: Day 3:, etc, all the way up to Day 365:. I have been tracking my weight every morning now for the past 17 days, and I have 2 clear glasses on the shelf above the scale - one empty glass, and one overflowing with 100 marbles. With each pound I lose, I add a marble to the empty glass. So far I have been able to move 5 marbles over to the that glass. I hope to lose 100 pounds in one year, but I would be happy to stay on track and lose 10 pounds per month. (I would be happy to lose ANY amount of pounds...) Five pounds doesn't mean much to me, because I have been 'up and down' within those same five pounds for the past two years...So I am not getting too excited about the five marbles, yet.

Anyway, I told Jon all about the shows I watched, what I want to change in my/our diet (since I do the cooking). He seems on board, but only time will really tell how we both do. I have messed up and 'started over' so many times that I don't want to psych myself out or get overexcited.

I think some of the biggest 'wake-up' calls I had watching the shows were these:
- those poor animals. Watching 'Vegucated' really woke me up and it showed how a lot of animals - chickens, cows, and pigs mostly - are raised and treated before slaughter. I am now totally turned off towards meat and dairy products. I haven't had any milk or eggs or meat for a week now. Although for some reason, I don't feel too bad eating a little cheese. My thinking is flawed, I know.
- I only know what two ingredients are on a diet soda's nutrition label, and I don't recognize a lot of ingredients on MANY labels
- I don't eat nearly enough vegetables or fruits or grains
- Sugar is pretty much in everything, and A LOT more than I thought
- You can reverse a lot of your bodily ailments/diseases when you adopt a healthy diet

So Jon and I went to the grocery store and loaded up on healthy foods - zucchini, squash, tomatoes, black beans, chickpeas, lentils, apples, salad greens, peaches, grapes, peppers, blueberries, almonds, pistachios, sunflower seeds, onions, oats, etc. A lot of GOOD stuff.

I've grown up eating animals, and I like chicken and beef and steak and eggs and pork and bacon and ham and yogurt, etc. But I feel so willing to give the whole idea of grains/veggies/fruits a try! I feel like I just had an awakening or something.

I am so grateful for Pinterest, where I can find HUNDREDS of excellent recipes and ideas. I still 'pin' desserts, though. They just look so darn good! I don't think I will/can limit sweets, but I will be more aware of what I am eating and how much.

I found a website called budgetbytes.com that has a lot of good, inexpensive recipes I can use. I made this Honey Sunflower Bread yesterday from that website:

Instead of making grilled cheese, I have been making grilled

peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

 

 Overnight steel cut outs with blueberries

 

 This is my new favorite vegetable dish. It was so good!

I got it from the same website as the bread.

 

 Salad with pecans, blueberries, peaches, feta, and some craisins.

I am doing my best to also recognize when I am hungry/full. That is one of my biggest challenges. I just like to eat! And when Jon eats, even if I am not hungry, I will still eat more with him. So I need to be careful with that...

 Hippocrates said "Let thy food be they medicine and they medicine be thy food." It is amazing how many people were able to stop taking a lot of their medicine and pills after changing their diets. I know that not everyone can quit taking pills, but a lot of health problems can be reversed. It's just amazing to me!

Anyway, wish me luck!

Isn't It About Time?

 

When Jon and I first landed at the airport, mom pretended not be excited.

 

But she really was happy to see us! Haha!

Pennsylvania was full of fun and relaxation and good food and hanging out with family.
I am so happy we were able to see all of the kids. The Siebach boys and Shauna and Courtney (who is pretty much family) were only able to stay for a couple of days, but I am grateful  I was able to see all of those cute boys! I miss them so much. They are growing up way too fast!
Jon was able to stay for only a week, but I stayed for an extra week. I missed Jon, but I loved being able to spend more time with my side of the family!

Here are some mixed pictures of what we did for those two weeks, in no particular order: (Jon took a lot more photos on his phone, which I don't have right now. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the twins!! I know for sure Jon has some, at least...)

 

 

Dad with Olivia 

The girls were pretending to be 'mermaids'

out on the rock in the middle of the creek. 

 

 

 JB enjoying a snack (I can't believe there are no

soft letters surrounding him!) That boy

loves anything to do with letters!

 

Chris, Abbie, Carter, and Hamilton on the old railroad bridge.

They loved throwing rocks into the creek below.

 

Jon and some of the older nieces and nephews going for a walk down the trail.

(It used to be a railroad, but PA did a 'Rails to Trails' program.) So we were able

to enjoy going for a few walks along the trails and the old railroad bridges.

 

Olivia was a doll pretty much the whole time!

 

The oldest cousin, Chris, holdest the youngest, Olivia

 

We had a blast playing Mexican Train (and eating lots of snack and

drinking lots of soda! I paid for that later that night...I was so sick! But it's vacation, right?)

Unfortunately, I never won a game... Next time I

won't be sitting next to dad, haha!

 

Ellie enjoying her ice cream at Frosty Freeze!

 

Carter and Marian playing on the see-saw 

 

It may seem odd, but I LOVE these buttered, poppyseed rolls dipped/soaked

in hot chocolate for breakfast. We only do it in Pennsylvania with

my grandma and grandpa, but it's a delicious tradition!

Dad built up a couple of fires while we were there. We roasted hot dogs and

marshmallows a few nights. It was nice to sit around with the adults and talk late

into the night after the kids went to bed.

The stars and moon out there looked amazing. The fields were also glowing

with all of the fireflies. I didn't quite enjoy all of the bats flying

above us, though. At least they didn't come too close...

But next year I am bringing some personal spider spray

for those nasty, pesky daddy long-legs! I get shivers just thinking about them

crawling up my leg!

A bald eagle family lives on the property. This one is just a baby,

but it sure still looked big! It just sat there for a long time,

'talking' to it's parents, who we heard but couldn't see.



 

Last but definitely not least, mom made some homemade bread

which we topped with her homemade rhubarb jam.

I think this bread and jam combo is part of my top five favorite foods list.

She made it on our second to last day there, so just in time!

We also enjoyed going to a small 'zoo' with deer, black bears, goats, chickens, turtles, a zebra, some wolves, and some other odd animals. Emma, Hannah, Mom and I sung in church on the second Sunday we were there. We had a fireworks show in the backyard - I am grateful Jon was there to be in charge of lighting them up. Shauna was keeping an eye on him to make sure he ran away from them fast enough! We mostly stayed at the farm, but that's the way I like it - there isn't any cell phone service out there, so it was kind of nice to be 'away' from texts and phone calls and other responsibilities... :)
I hopefully will get some more pictures off of Jon's phone soon - I know he has more from our trips to Utah and to Pennsylvania.
I am grateful we were able to visit both of our families. Jon and I have both been blessed with wonderful families and friends and we miss everyone so much!