New phones and other excitement

We got new phones yesterday. Kent's phone (The Blackberry Storm) came with three instruction manuals, four installation CD's, a charger plus international outlet adapters, headphones, a GPS unit, and the kitchen sink. My phone (LG something-or-other) came with a power cord. Just goes to show how our technology needs and know-how are vastly different. Kent was so excited when he opened it, and he played with that phone all the rest of the day. In fact, he's still playing with it. He just brought it over to me to show me how he can watch full episodes of Crusoe from NBC.com on his phone. Oh, and now he downloaded a new "app" called Mobile Banking. And I just barely figured out how to turn my phone on silent. I made another cake for my decorating class. This one looks a little better, and I'm sure it will taste a lot better than the last one when I finally get to bring it home next week. (sorry the picture is blurry!)

Also, we're going to celebrate the Superbowl. We are not football people, and in fact, we aren't even going to turn on the television. But Kent said that we need treats because he's "like a Jewish boy on Christmas," and he feels left out. So we're going to have nachos with cheese sauce and guacamole, wings, soda, and these crackers from the Pioneer Woman. Maybe we'll play a round of Monopoly while we eat. And cheer really loudly when we purchase a property. "YEAHOO! I got Baltic Avenue!!!"

Frigid

This morning it is -18 degrees outside. Oh my. Do I really have to go to school today?

"Honey, will you...?"

As part of my goal to give more this year, I've started paying attention to all the things that I ask (or even just expect) Kent to do for me. He is so sweet, and so patient. He'll do whatever I ask, and usually without even complaining. (usually.)


Kent will do the dishes for me, fold the laundry, make lunch or even dinner, humor me by making the bed at night just before we get in it (even though he thinks it's ridiculous), get me a glass of water whenever I even look thirsty, doesn't complain when all of my bathroom stuff takes over the tiny bathroom counter, opens the car door for me every time we get in it, and on and on! It would take me forever to list everything my sweet husband does for me.


And so I was thinking, how often do I try to do little acts of service for him in return? But more than that, how often do I just expect him to give to me, because I'm thinking more about myself than about him?


So I've been trying this week to stop myself anytime I start to ask him for something, and instead ask if I can do something for him. Instead of asking him if he'll get me a drink, I try to remember and ask if I can get him one.


Of course, I haven't been perfect at this, but it has opened my eyes just a little bit more and started to teach me to give more, and expect less.

A culinary experiment

I'm taking a class this semester. Entirely for fun. It's my way of taking advantage of being in college for the last semester and attending a class simply out of curiosity.

And it doesn't hurt that my homework assignments for this class include "make one batch of buttercream frosting" and "bake a cake and give it to someone." What fun! SO, when I sit down to do my homework each night, I get to choose between writing a report and cake decorating. Yeah, cake decorating wins.

So, here is my first attempt! I've got some things to work on, but it sure was exciting!

give

D&C 82:3 "For of him unto whom much is given much is required"


Following the example of Shannon, I have decided to come up with my own one little word for 2009. My word is GIVE.

I want to give more, and expect less.


From President Thomas S. Monson's talk Find Joy in the Journey:

"Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, 'The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.'

"Said the Lord in a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.” May we be found among those who give our thanks to our Heavenly Father. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

As a family, Kent and I have been very, very blessed. This year I want to focus on giving. I hope to give warmth, give love, give good food, give thanks, give friendship, give time, and ultimately, I hope to end this year knowing that I have learned how to give myself.

One Word. Or actually a list of them.

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Where is your significant other? Phone
3. What is your hair? Shorter
4. Your mother? Loving
5. Your father? Faithful
6. Your favorite thing? Ocean
7. Your dream last night? Australia
8. Your favorite drink? Ovaltine
9. Your dream/goal? Mommy
10. The room you're in? Dining
11. Your fear? Aloneness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Moving
13. Where were you last night? Driving
14. What you're not? Perfect
15. Muffins? Banana
16. One of your wish list items? SLR
17. Where did you grow up? Logan
18. The last thing you did? Homework
19. What are you wearing? Orange
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pet? Nonexistant
22. Your computer? Noisy
23. Your life? Happy
24. Your mood? Content
25. Missing someone? Siblings
26. Your car? Dirty
27. Something you're not wearing? Socks
28. Favorite Store? Anthropologie
29. Your summer? Texas
30. Your favorite color? Green
31. When is the last time you laughed? Dinner
32. Last time you cried? Bedtime
33. Grateful for? Music
34. What did you have for dinner? Lasagna
35. What is your posture? Cross-legged

50 Things

Kent had an assignment for one of his classes to make a list of "50 things to do before I die." I was having so much fun helping him think of things for his list that I made my own.

I'm pretty sure I won't complete everything on this list, but it's fun to think about. Some of these are silly, some are serious, but they are all part of the
50 Things I want to do before I die:

1. See my children married in the Temple
2. Build our own home
3. Grow a flower garden
4. Learn to paint
5. Take a dance class with Kent
6. See the Tour de France
7. Go to Cancun
8. See the Northern Lights
9. Swim with dolphins
10. Eat New York pizza
11. Go to a Josh Groban concert
12. Ride in a gondola in Venice
13. Go in a hot air balloon
14. Take a cruise
15. Do the Church History Tour
16. Try sushi
17. Ride a camel
18. Eat fish and chips in England
19. Publish a novel
20. Shower in a waterfall
21. Stay in an overwater bungalow in Tahiti
22. Go to Jerusalem
23. Catch a firefly
24. Raft the Grand Canyon
25. Help build a house for charity
26. Try escargot
27. Freeze my own corn
28. Decorate our home and be happy with it
29. Visit the Neuwanschtein Castle
30. Stay in a quaint village in the Swiss Alps
31. Experience weightlessness
32. Play chess in Central Park
33. See New England in the fall
34. Watch a buffalo stampede
35. Use a biodegradeable fuel source
36. Ride a galloping horse
37. Make a real patchwork quilt
38. Learn to play the violin
39. Watch a butterfly hatch
40. Stay a night in the Disney Castle
41. Go to a drive in movie
42. Get an SLR camera and learn how to use it
43. Stay in a yurt
44. Take in a needy family and help them get back on their feet
45. Find an ancestor to do temple work for
46. Make a wedding cake
47. Go on a zipline course
48. Take our children camping at Tony Grove
49. Attend an olympic event
50. Travel with our family at least once a year

What is something that would be on your list? (Kent is still trying to finish his list; he'd love to hear some of your ideas).

Christmas 2008

Here are those pictures I promised. Sorry it has taken me so long. School started in a whirlwind; we had come back here thinking classes started on Thursday, but they actually started Wednesday, and I've been a day behind ever since.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Ahhh...

Christmas break was so relaxing, so peaceful, and so refreshing that I really didn't spend much time on the computer at all. Which means I didn't blog. Which means I am now behind about three weeks.

So, our break in a nutshell:

• Our anniversary vacation was incredible. We ate great food, played hard, saw the sights, and tried to avoid death at Brennekes beach while boogie boarding.
• We were back in Utah on Christmas Eve, and we spent the next few days at my parents' house. Christmas day was absolutely perfect. We got some fun presents, which I will blog about when I unpack and take pictures.
• Then, because we certainly hadn't traveled enough yet, we drove to California to spend New Years with Kent's parents and brothers. I'm so glad we got to see them all. On the way home, we stayed one night with Sam and Heidi and then another night with Kent's grandpa. We also got to see my Grandma and Grandpa Wood along the way. All those stops made for a VERY long drive, but it was totally worth it.
• Now, we're back in Rexburg. And by back I mean we're so back that we slid on the ice trying to get in the driveway and almost got stuck in a snowbank. We braved the crowds at our one and only grocery store, and we have been huddled under as many blankets as we could find for the entire day because our apartment was SO cold when we got here. Oh boy. Twelve more weeks. Twelve more weeks.

Okay, I need to go get some more hot chocolate and find some way to get the feeling back into my toes. We turned the oven on earlier today just so we could stand in front of it and warm up. I'll post pictures and stuff soon. I promise.