Johnson & Johnson

Our Year in Photos

2011-12-31T13:51:00.001-08:00

I made this for my brother, Ammon, for Christmas. So ignore the Elder Rhodes bit. Overall I find it a good summary of our year... complete with lot's of photos of lil' one. WARNING: Approx 19 min long... you should have control to skip over more quickly, but there's still a lot!

Slideshow created with Smilebox

Under Pressure

2011-11-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

Well... hello there. Long time no see. Of course, ultimately for very good reasons. Buuuu.... uhhhuuuttt... I'm feeling this extreme amount of pressure to blog again. If only to record the beautiful things happening these days, or even the not so beautiful. In my defense I have started like a bajillion posts, including my delivery story and a day by day playback of the first two weeks of the lil' ones life. Because recording how many times she pooed is very important for posterity. You know it is.
Then yesterday she had her six month well child check with Dr. Grandpa. And I was in a panic that I haven't been recording every little thing possible. That all the little changes haven't been shared enough.
There are multiple reasons, one, being the computer I save all my pictures on has been ridiculous about connecting to the internet. And everybody knows you can't write a post after six months without including a picture bomb of the adorable daughter. Duh!
Two through five hundred include: having a baby, recovering from having a baby, feeding baby, getting mastitis twice, changing baby (times one million), not sleeping, cleaning baby puke, going back to work, find someone to watch baby, doing laundry, finding a spare moment to shower, etc.
To summarize: the first three months were HARD. Yes, all caps were appropriate in that sentence. She was colicky, had horrible reflux, breastfeeding was a nightmare, she would not sleep, and cried constantly. I only survived because I had so much help. Avery was wonderful. My mother a life saver, especially when I got mastitis the first time... which happened to be the second weekend home with her, and Avery and my dad were in Moab. Ugh. And Avery's mom, Lora, taking her so many Saturdays just so I could sleep.
I went back to work after six weeks... note to self: way too soon. Luckily, it was teaching only a day or two a week, but still with everything, it was too much for me.
Now don't get me wrong, she was beautiful and tiny and perfect. But I probably have PTSD from the 'newborn' stage.
Then magically she transformed. She decided to wean on her own, absolutely refused, so we switched to formula. Found the perfect one for sensitive tummies, added rice cereal to weigh it down, and poof.... colic and reflux cured. She stopped puking, stopped crying as much, started sleeping. *****HALLELUJAH***** Angels singing, light of heaven shining down. I suddenly had a happy and beautiful and tiny and perfect baby.
She started rolling, then never stopped, started laughing, started smiling, started playing on her own, started pushing herself up, started standing, started crawling, started pulling herself up. All in a matter of three months. Best three months of my life. I love how much fun she has become. We laugh and play and dance. She can still be super annoying, she is very high maintenance, way too independent for a six month old, and way too smart for my sanity. But now I can honestly say I enjoy being a mother.
It might have been a good thing I didn't write a post in those first few months. There would have been way too many murmurings about my mental health. The other day I finally had the thought about having another baby without dropping into the fetal position and sucking my thumb. Don't worry it still won't be for a while. A long, long while. It's interesting how badly I wanted to have a baby, how long I waited for her, how hard we tried, and then how difficult I've found every step. It's not necessarily sad, just interesting. Life is funny.
Things are lovely. I love her so much. She loves daddy more, but you can't always win. I changed jobs, which has turned out wonderfully. I love my job. I love my time with her. Teaching her things, or just watching her figure them out on her own. Which is what usually happens. I know every parent thinks this, but she's a freaking genius. It's insane. Her little serious face when she concentrates super hard cracks me up. How hard she laughs at the silly things Uncle Austin does, is my favorite. How she growls at daddy every time she sees him, because he taught her that, drives me nuts, but it's still adorable. She is my life. And I am totally okay with that.
There are still a few bad, but not nearly as much. Avery is almost done with school, but still has to work a lot on his Master's thesis and project. My work is great, though lately it's been hard to find childcare and I worry about leaving her. Our health has been good, but I'm still not 100% after the pregnancy. I swear my organs are still jacked up. Plus, the amount of Dr. Pepper I drink is unhealthy, and not helping the weight loss. Avery and I are great, doing well adjusting to being parents and partners. He is a great daddy. He comes home kissing Audrey all over, telling her how much he missed her, and how beautiful she is. And then I say "Uh, hello? I'm here too." :)
I can't wait until we can move out and have a place of our own. But will always be extremely grateful to my parents. I worry about my loved ones' health. There's been some concerns lately. Makes you realize how lucky you are sometimes. And makes you realize how fragile we all really are. I have full blown nightmares about Audrey; being hurt, in danger, or killed. Is that normal? I don't necessarily worry as much during the day, but when my thoughts wander at night....
Luckily, my monitor has a video function that I can switch on and look in on her without waking her. And if I turn up the sound enough, I can hear her snore. Unfortunately, she inherited that from me. Like right now, if you could see her, she's all curled up with her bum and in the air and talking in her sleep. Makes me teary, while smiling.
Oh, and PS she weighs a whopping 14 lbs which puts her in the 12% (good for her) and is 25 inches long (44%) and her head circumference in the 50%. We call her 'bobble head baby': big head, skinny body. But we also call her AdeyBug, Bugga, BabyGirl, and DriDri.
You can call her Audrey. My daughter.

Bumpin' Together

2011-04-08T16:52:00.001-07:00

What do two VERY pregnant girls do for funsies these days? Well, there's the pajama party we had last week. Complete with about $20 worth of Easter candy and Taco Bell. The best part... no pants. Ugh! I hate pants. Like the real kind you have to zip up and everything. So very tight. Also, sports bras. Yay! Usually, I don't leave the house in one for the general population's sake, but when I'm guaranteed to not see anyone I know... then I'm all over that. Hanna doesn't really count as someone I know, because, well she's in the same upper-half boat.
Some days it's just the park or a walk around the cemetery block. This is if we actually get out of the house instead of just texting/complaining all day about how large we feel. I say we... I mean me.
This week we decided to be productive girls and head up to Park City for a little shop 'til you drop outing. Which to be honest, I was expecting to have happen after the first store. I have zero energy lately. Negative zero. Vacuuming nearly killed me this week. I changed the sheets and almost passed out on the bed right then and there. When we parked and I recalled really how large the outlets were, I panicked a little bit.
But... it was so very fun! I survived! I spent way too much! But hey, what can you do when Carter's has a sale? Say no?!? Pshaw! They get me every time with those summer dresses. My cute little doll/baby has some outfits I'm envious of.
Then we hit a few other stores, even grown up ones, and walked around. The most amusing part of all was our reflections in the store windows. The combined girth of the bellies is officially ginormous! In DownEast we were testing out hair accessories (since that's really the only thing in that store I fit into) and I documented part of the swelling.

Can you say Buh-Elly? Cracks me up though. Do you like how I wore black because it's slimming? Hehehe... it does make it blend a bit better. Hmmm... maybe I need more black shirts.
All in all, a good day, the sun was shining, pretty clothes, talk of babies. Oh and this kid...

He makes me happy. Something about him... dunno. He's one of the coolest kids I know. Maybe it's the fact he remembers my name. Or how he gets the biggest toothy grin when he says, "Jenn!" Or that every time his mom mentions me he asks, "Dogs?" Because he loves my puppies, except when they lick him. I guess in reality he likes the idea of them more than their actual presence. But the coolest is that he remembers my furry babies names' when I show him a picture because he is sad that I didn't bring them with me to our shopping trip. "Apollo." and "Missy" never sounded so dang cute.
Hopefully, I'll like my own daughter as much. Hopefully, she'll be as entertaining and clever. Hopefully, she'll be cute and we can enjoy shopping trips together.

I CANNOT WAIT!!!
Speaking of baby girl... get out of there already!

My Body Is A Wonderland

2011-02-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

Maybe I should rethink that title...
Our bodies are amazing. No, seriously, think about it. Do you know what kind of crazy stuff we can do to them, and they just heal right back up? I've seen it. I love it. I am that weird girl who was always fascinated by the human body. It is just so cool. How the different mini and not so mini systems work together. How all the little parts fit together. We went to the Bodies exhibit in Las Vegas on our first anniversary, I was giddy. GIDDY! Who does that? ...Me...

So last night I was laying there, trying to sleep... again (aren't you glad I didn't blog this time?) and my daughter was squirming around every which way, making me slightly queasy. Fetal movement does that to me. I tell you, I don't love the sensation. Plus, it just keeps me awake!

I started thinking about what exactly was going on in there. This whole reproduction deal. Now I am not going to lie. Pregnancy used to gross me out. Having this living creature grow inside you. Reminds me too much of the Alien movies. You know, where the thing squirms around beneath the skin and then SPLACK... pops out and devours everyone in the room.
Whenever one of my friends was pregnant and the fetus would push an entire foot or hand through. AAAAHHHH!!!! Kill it!!!

Maybe not kill it, but creepy, no?
But last night... it was pure magic. The fact that my body could produce another body. Magic. Everything my daughter needs to grow and stretch started out with my body and then her's took off on it's own. She has eyelashes now! Awesome. Somehow my body has just formed this other living being. Even my organs have sacrificed their personal space to make room for the bubble that houses that being. My skin has stretched and expanded to beyond reasonable expectation. I have the stretch marks to prove it. Not so much on my stomach; as my hip, thighs, butt, and... yeah... ahem.

Speaking of... The fact that my body could produce something edible. Nasty! Another thing that used to creep me right out. Anything that comes OUT of the human body should not be ingested. I've worked in rest homes before.

But now the thought that my body will soon be able to nourish and feed my daughter even after she's out and independent (so to speak), is amazing. (On a side note: has anybody researched selling/donating breast milk? I'm curious.) The fact that a human body can not only form another human body but then continue to help it grow after it ejects, is just so cool. Pretty soon I will have that little girl to hold and snuggle. She just needs a bit more time to bake.

For one small moment I treasured the feeling of her poking my ribs on one side and distending my belly on the other. I reveled in the wonder of it all. My body is cool. And guess what... so is hers. How lucky are we? Poor males have no idea what they are missing.

Then she kicked me extra hard and I was annoyed again.

My Reward System

2011-02-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Since a few of you (I'm sorry) sat through that entire post known as Jenn's brainwaves (again... I'm sorry) I thought I would keep this one light and fluffy.

Treat?

So without further ado here are pictures of puppy... our new little girl Artemis.
And belly... our future little girl Audrey.

I really don't like going to bed alone. Last night, when Avery stayed up late to play his new map pack on Call of Duty, these two snuggled with me. I love furry body pillows.

This from the first week we got her. She's so tiny! Aww, they grow up so fast, don't they?

Why yes, that is a Star Wars shirt (little boy section Target).
You know how all the fancy blogs list where they got their clothes... you are welcome.

If you look really close you might be able to see her squirm.

Enjoy your warm, fuzzies!

Laaate Night

2011-01-26T01:16:00.000-08:00

Did you know that in linguistics, technically the term for how I worded that title is representational? You have my... ahem... Avery's Engl 1200 class to thank for that one. Yes, I am the kind of wife that takes entire online classes for her husband. No, I do not do it willingly, nor often. But as he likes to point out, I actually think these sort of things are fascinating and I'm so good at it. No one can ever say that boy does not know how to work me over. A few words and a good kiss, a good one, mind you. Not those little peck things that you give to other members of your family. But the way you only kiss your wife... and I'm buttah.
In case you couldn't tell, I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Strike that. I've been in bed, but not actually accomplishing any REM cycles. Something is up. And it's annoying! I love sleep. Sleep makes everything better. And now with so much free time... hahaha, oh wait not allowed to bust out laughing yet, I thought it would come so much more readily. No more having to drag myself to the office at all early hours. BOO! Which is nice. Instead I just lay there all... night... long. Having strange night/day dreams that just leave me feeling awkward. Like the one where I was apparently back on my mission with all my elders, but they were all married, and I was pregnant because even in my daze her kicking me all night was carrying through, and this kid I dated in high school showed up and started trying to convince me he would be a better father, even though I'm pretty sure the life he has led up until now (real life time) isn't what I would want for my children, and all I really wanted was my Avery, and a riisipirakka. Mmmm.... I miss riisipirakka. They are like this rice pastry thing that you put egg butter on. Egg butter is butter that has chunks of hard boiled egg in it. Sooo good. Hey there's that representational term again.
Linguistics are interesting. It's not just English. I'm all right with English. We've always had a good relationship. Even up until AP English in high school where we had to write these short stories all the time and one of them, I wrote about walking down the halls of high school and feeling good about yourself and my friends found it and made fun of me for a good three years. Or even until my English 2000 class in college where I despised my teacher and spent the entire semester working on one writing assignment, that I chose to do on the evils of modern healthcare. See, I figured out the solution years ago, what are all the politicians doing? And I would come home and call my boy...friend... I'm not sure what we ever were, and complain but he had no sympathy. Probably why we didn't last. My feelings require constant validation. Even if Avery doesn't really care, he knows enough to lie to me, and give a good ol' fashioned, "That sucks, babe."
But linguistics are interesting because it really has nothing to do with English. In fact his/my quiz has examples of Latin, Tagalog, Fijian, Finnish, and German on it. You can imagine I was very pleased to see Finnish. It is after all a very good example of how many cases one can cram into one teeny-tiny language nobody really speaks. But linguistics is more about words. I adore words. Who knows why. It's sort of odd really. But I'm fascinated by how words became what they have, and how they come together to make new words. Like 'jeggings' have you heard this word yet? Seriously, leggings and jeans. Fascinating. Not saying I really want to use it that much, hopefully it'll die soon, like the fashion trend, but still... awesome word. Do you know what the term is for making up new words out of old ones? I do. See why Avery made me take this course.
It's making me feel a bit overwhelmed though. What if I mess up? What if he gets a bad grade? It would be one thing if it were to be on my report card. Mine's full of the freshman year overload disaster known as the retake of Precalculus. The first time I think Avery's been truly embarrassed by me was when he saw my grade from that class. Sad. But perfect 4.0 Avery!?! What if I mess up his chances of graduating next spring? What if he won't be able to get the dream job he's been aiming for going on six years now? *STRESS*
On top of that there really is a lot going on with my job right now. Yes, I still have a job. I'm supposed to be writing and editing about four power points presentations this week, and two quizzes, and a review, and researching local dentists, and reviewing marketing material, and doing deliveries to offices to pimp my course, and a career fair at a high school. *STRESS*
Not sleeping is not helping... at all.
Unfortunately, I can only find so much time to shake off the aftereffects due to no sleep. Then the end of the week ends jam packed with the to-do list that I put off and I have to spend hours staring a computer screen to catch up.
And then I lay awake thinking... How am I supposed to do all this with a baby? What was I thinking? I can't have a baby right now! How on earth are we going to pay for this? How am I going to survive this? Why won't she stop moving?
See right now it's 2:47 AM and I'm slightly panicking. I'm also up late because I started reading this blog after it was mentioned in the salon.com article. Have you heard about this article? First I have to tell you how many times I've been laughing out loud in the dark while reading old posts and trying not to wake the puppy because of the author of the blog. A woman after my own heart. Anywho. But the article itself is by a self-proclaimed atheist, childless, 20 something women who adores Mormon Mommy Blogs. And now has brought out all these questions as to why they are so popular, what does it all mean, is it a massive marketing campaign generated by the church and so forth. I felt very deep after reading it and reflecting on it. I also felt very blessed for my life. I am lucky to have it all, so to speak. Even if having it all, is living in your parents basement while your husband finishes his 90th year of school, and you're too poor to even buy a crib, and you really don't know how to sew. Like all the Mormon Mommy Bloggers too. So I guess I'm not part of the in crowd.
But my good friend Hanna and I were commenting on the article. Do you know my friend Hanna? She's probably my bestest friend in the whole world and not just because she's one of the smartest people I know, or the only one who I think I could text about this article I read and she says... oh that, I read that last week. And have something intellectual to add to my already deep thoughts. My thoughts aren't really that deep but when I spend a fair amount time on a subject I can go on for a while. Like this post...
Hanna and me are sort of complete opposites. No, really, for a best friend you wouldn't believe that, but it's true. There was a time when we roomed together, while she was in college and I was working, that I wondered how on earth we became friends. But then we would talk about things on our way to country dancing and I realized she was my soul friend. Not soul mate. Because A) I don't believe in those. B) If I did, it would be my husband.
But we do like to joke that we married each other. My Avery could be Hanna, if he wore a wig and had a pair of vans. Those two think so much alike it's scary, especially when I'm complaining about him and she's on his side! Pshaw. But on the other hand, her man, is a little more the emotional, needy type like myself. That's not to be insulting in any way because her husband is very manly. He owns a woodworking shop. Like a carpenter! Very manly. But his thought processes are probably more similar to my own, than Hanna's or Avery's. So usually I can translate for her what he's thinking.
Also Hanna served a mission with me, not in Finland, but she left at the same time I did, more or less, so our attitudes on religion grew up about the same time. Which was very fun to share with someone.
Anyways that's Hanna and mine relationship. So you'll keep all that in mind as I say that we were commenting on the article and picking out some of our favorite comments "Mormons are nice people, but their religion is some weird cross between Scientology and Budhism." And then started discussing how the author herself seems drawn to the life probably because secretly it's what everyone woman is programmed to be drawn to in a way, no matter how much they fight it. And how we really are lucky to be able to be mothers. Then we started complaining about the various body parts that hurt today, because did I tell you we are literally due like a week apart?
Then I stayed up reading this blog; and identifying with this girl's journey from being unable to conceive to now having a beautiful son and living this life I can only dream of. And I realize I'm living it.
And I'm so very grateful. And no it's not staged. Some of it does suck like being in a tiny apartment, or your parent's basement. Some of it is letting go of your pride or impatience (Thanks, Christine =) )and trusting in the Lord, after doing all the hard work. Most of it really is unglamorous with late nights and lack of sleep. Most of it goes unnoticed or unappreciated. But it's my life, my journey, and for the gifts God has given me, I am able to fulfill a small measure of my creation. I am able to find joy. I weep to think of those who do not have this. Who deny themselves this, because they are too scared to think what it could mean or what they would have to change to attain it. I am angered by those who would seek to destroy it or belittle it somehow from the truly precious find that it is. I hope to pass on this knowledge and peace to my daughter, because Heaven knows how much more she will need it than I. Even now as she's kicking the crap out of me, my panic comes not from how will I survive, but how will she. I hope she will find the gift of being a women as beautiful and lovely as I have now only begun to enjoy, and to do so with her head lifted. Pronouncing to the world, this is how God made me, this is who I will be. A mother. Or a Mormon Mommy Blogger depending on your lingo.
And all the crazy, late night hormone inducing ramblings that accompany it. Because it is now 3:20 and it's obvious from the length and apparent lack of actual content, I need to go to bed.

My Nursery Aspirations

2011-01-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

The great nesting/purge has begun. Well it started last week; but after a long day of scrubbing, vacuuming, and dusting, it faded a bit. I am so tired. I grow exhausted after carrying a laundry basket. Ridiculous. So, unfortunately, my to-do list only grows exponentially longer as my energy level drops daily. Grumble... mumble. After quitting one of my jobs I had hoped to have more strength and time. Where do all the days go?!?
My job as an instructor has been me keeping busy, especially with the additional duties of office work and marketing. And luckily it's been better on my body, the actual assisting was very hard with the long hours standing, sitting, bending over patients. I miss it though. You do one thing for so long, and without it you sort of... lose your identity. I feel very much a mom. If not just old. Which is silly considering my actual age. Maybe it would help to have an actual baby around to faun over. I cannot wait!
I hit 24 weeks last week, 6 months! Yay! Only 3 more to go... well sort of. Since the little known slogan of 10 months is thrown around, it sounds better to say 9 months. If you were to tell all ladies everywhere it's more like 10... they might think twice. Double digits are just depressing. Much like my bathroom scale is these days. I feel as though time has slowed down. It might be contributed to my recent part-timeyness, or just the fact that I feel more uncomfortable everyday. And it's only going to get worse. Man, do I complain a lot.
It's sort of a let down after finding out what you're having. Now what do you have to look forward to? Get excited about just continuing the journey to whaledom? Lame. It's too far away to get too excited for an actual baby. A little newborn to snuggle and hold. Nope, not really realistic to me right now. Maybe I'm in denial. That would explain a lot. Though I have started my baby registration. Hehehe. The baby shower planning has begun. So looking at all the expensive items I have to have and all the very cute ones I want... is so very fun. Unless I count out the number of hours I have to work to just pay for a crib. Highway robbery!
I have found my inspiration for design...

What do you think? The room is already painted blue, thanks to my being absolutely certain it was a boy at first. But I still like it. Even for my little baby girl. I love all the bright colors in these, still feminine and youthful without being too... pink.
There is also these...

I love the more modern feel. But it might be a bit too pastel for my taste. Well, for what I have taste for a child's room. I do like white. Hmmm...
My crib I have picked out is white. I get to use my mother's rocking chair, that is a really pretty oak. And the floors were recently redone in bamboo. So we will have the more modern feel anyways. But I like the pizazz of not really having a theme but just brightness to it. I think I just want white or possibly pale pink sheets. I don't really think I want a crib set. I found these really great bumpers that are breathable, like a mesh, so baby doesn't smother herself. So not very cute, but I don't love a lot of characters or cutesy flowers. I am crocheting a baby blanket in bright red (thanks Hanna) that I think will be the pop I want for the bed without a comforter.
When I was younger my nickname was Jennybug. My mom would always get ladybug items to go along with that name. Since we decided on our daughter's name... Audrey... if you didn't hear... Ave wanted to know what her nickname would be. Even when we were considering boy names his question would always be, "And what would we actually call him? What would his nickname be?" Which to me is just pointless. What good is a name if you're just going to change it by pre-deciding a nickname. Why can't we just call each other by our actual name? Soap box kicked aside, I decided it would be fun to carry on the ladybug theme. To an extent. But Audrey can go by little A-D-bug... as in lady without the L. Eh eh? What do you think?
My dad already found a cute ladybug nightlight at Ikea he almost couldn't walk away from. Which would have to replace my lightsaber nightlight I already got... I thought it was a boy remember? So since then I've been trying to figure out what type of daughter I will have. Either a nerdy, odd girl like me who would love to have a lightsaber nightlight. Or a normal, little girl that would one day look back at her weird mother's taste in nightlights. Being a parent is scary. Will I ruin my child's life by forcing on her a nightlight. Ahhh!
How does everybody do it?
So much to think about... good thing I still have 3 months... or more. Grrr.

Hello there, nice to meet you.

2010-12-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

Today we had our big ultrasound visit. Ave was able to come, even though he usually has school. His classes aren't normally something he can miss either, but with the semester winding down he had a couple hours leeway. It would have worked out without him, but it would not have been quite the same to call him afterwards. My dad was also invited to meet us, considering he works in the same hospital, and is UBER excited to get to see his first grandbaby any chance he gets. Plus he's handy to have around if I have any questions.
We got to see a lot of lovely photos as they examined each one of the organs. Starting with the head, brain, heart, stomach, and so forth. Everything looked so perfect. Two kidneys, four ventricles, and 10 toes. Okay, we couldn't quite count the toes, but the little picture of just the tiny feet was adorable. Of course being the nerd I am, I was fascinated. I could spot the two brain hemispheres, I thought it cool to be able to see the aorta, and just watching my child moving around the whole time up on the screen was a beautiful, happy moment.
Everything looks really healthy and keeping at my 19 week mark, ever since my doctor bumped me back a week. My amniotic fluid apparently wasn't superb but nothing to worry about unless it gets lower. I'll have to research how I would be able to tell... hmmmm. All in all, nothing to add to my worries of becoming a mother.

Then came the true question. The one we have been fighting with this kid for weeks to cooperate. First crossing it's legs, then bouncing around like my insides were a bouncy castle, then just having no insight yet. I became concerned when the ultrasound tech was struggling and telling my child to open it's legs. Not something a mother usually wants to hear, but in this case I agreed. His supervisor, the Radiologist I think, who had been helping/training him the whole time stepped in and started mashing around. I could tell when they would get right over the head because I could feel something really hard all of sudden, when usually I'm all squishy. Not that it's comfortable to have your bladder smashed, but it isn't as hard as a rock. With still no success and Avery starting to say evil things, like that we would be leaving today without knowing, I offered to get up and jump around a little bit. I poked at my belly and told my baby to cooperate. Do not be stubborn today of all days! I also said a teensy prayers. God understands a mother's concern, He does not mock. The radiologist still scanning mentioned maybe he will have me get up for a minute, when all of sudden he freezes a frame. My dad makes a comment I don't entirely understand (jargon) and the doctor starts typing.

After the first sentence I was spouting some exclamations such as: Holy crap!No way!What are we going to do? He had heard us the whole time; how I was for sure it was a boy, we kind of wanted a boy, and so forth. So to be honest I didn't quite believe him. Hence the added line. He was a very nice and funny man who gave us some great advice and opinions on girls.
Clearing out the ideas of swords and balls and bugs out my imagination, suddenly tutus and dance classes and shoes and hair bows came pouring in, and I got very excited. I could not stop grinning. I am not dissapointed in the least. Just in shock. I really did not think having a girl was in the cards for us. With my three brothers and Ave's four, testosterone was bound to win out. But NO!!!
My father is estatic, I was always a daddy's girl. Ave was a little nervous. Mostly because the dollar signs started flashing in his head when I started naming all the cute things I could buy for our daughter. He also still has it in his mind he can still be firm with a daughter. Pshaw! That man is going to melt like butter. It'll be good for him. I told him little girls are much more emotional and he is not allowed to make our's cry everyday. He's going to have to get in touch with his sensitive side. Hahahaha. It's going to be great.

My beautiful baby girl. I am so excited to get to know you.
Even if you do make me nervous.

A Thank You

2010-10-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Incident Management Man,

I forgot to ask your name. I'm sorry. You had reddish sort of hair and a scruffy face, and a nice smile. You already know that my tire blew out on I-15. You probably know better than anyone that that can be a little scary getting over to the emergency lane without losing control, and then trying to change a tire with cars zooming by at 60+ miles an hour. I was at least proud of myself that I knew how to change the tire, in theory. I had my jack out and my spare tire uncovered. Before you pulled up and found me, I had in fact attempted to loosen the lug nuts, but they were just too tight for my little biceps/my entire weight jumping on the wrench to come off. I had just finished calling my co-worker to come pick me up of the side of the freeway when you came to my rescue. You probably deal with alot of silly women who don't know how to change a tire, which I assume is why you asked me if I had a spare. I told you hurriedly I had everything I just couldn't get the tire off. Then you told me you would change it for me. I almost cried. You probably couldn't see my 3 month pregnant belly underneath my scrubs, you probably couldn't tell my blood pressure had risen exponentially in the past 15 minutes with the fear of being killed while kneeling next to my tire, you also probably couldn't tell that I had patients scheduled in 5 minutes, who in my line of work, do not wait. You just offered to help, as I'm sure you always do. You proceeded to jack up my car and take out my spare, then testing it you informed me you would go put a little more air in it. I had to hold my hands behind my back to keep me from hugging you. You removed the lug nuts with your handheld rotary, which made me feel like less of a wuss, if you still had to use a machine to loosen them, it wasn't just me. So thank you for that unspoken validation as well. With my spare tire safely back on and the rest of my car returned to solid ground you then offered one last piece of advice, use the shoulder to get my speed back up safely. I wasn't sure what was customary in these incidents, I briefly made a mental check if I had cash in my wallet to tip you with, just a couple ones, not enough. Is that even allowed? Would you take it? Most likely not, you seemed too professional. I thanked you as much as I could. But I want the world to know, okay, just my world, that you are my HERO! And to make it all the more dramatic, my unborn child's hero as well. Thank you!

My Emotions

2010-09-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

OK... firstly, I love you guys. Yes, you. All the support and loving vibes... Thank you! Of course I am so excited and so far so good. Thanks for the prayers and thoughts. =)
As most of you have experienced personally when you become pregnant, your emotions can become a little... eratic. Do you want to hear about mine?
As in just last week I was coming down the stairs... now the other side effect of pregnancy is the tenderness. As in the 'girls'. That's all I will explain, guys read this. So coming down the stairs and with every step ow, ow, ow, ow. By the end of the stairs I was crying... seriously tearing up. Ave was sitting on the couch as I walked over to him he looked up from his homework and asked, "Are you okay?" And I just start crying about how I hurt but it really isn't that big a deal, and I don't know why I'm crying but I am, and I'm sad and don't know why. Ave just watched with amusement and then told me to "Come here." I curled up next to him and after a minute all was back to normal. ???
Last night we had game night with some friends. Just to elaborate our game nights do not consist of board games. We have a gaming night. We end up with three x-boxes, two tvs, a projector, and lot's of Halo/Rainbow Six/Gears of War. Game night. We were there until late, but I was starting to get really tired. Luckily we had driven seperately so I went home with Ave saying he'd be coming after they beat this level on Halo Wars. I was so excited to see my bed and crashed. Other side effect... having to get up a few times a night. Not fun... nothing usually wakes me.
True story, I slept through a fire alarm, not safe, but sleeping has never been an issue for me, until now. So at 4:00 AM I roll over to get up and Avery is still not home! Pregnancy emotions=full blown panic. I text him, then call... several times. Then I call my girlfriend who's house we were at to see if they were all still there. But nobody answers. I get dressed and sit in bed trying to decide the best way to ask the hospital if they have received any car accident victims lately. I'm trying just to think of the possibilities, but they are all bad. If for some reason he decided to sleep over, he would have called right? Maybe I should just wait until morning to see if he comes home, but then he could be in the ditch all night and I would never forgive myself. If he was still playing he would answer his phone. I start tearing up. The longest 15 minutes of my life later, my friend texts me and says they are still trying to beat this level and he will be home right after. I start bawling, no kidding. Why? No clue. I get undressed and back in bed but can't fall back asleep. Ave texts 10 minutes later to tell me he is on his way home now. I've calmed down enough when he gets home that I just acknowledge him being alive as "Good to know." Ave apologizes for making me worry. And I comment a call could've avoided all the drama of me almost calling the hospitals and driving around looking for the car off a cliff. "Really, Jenn, really?" Ok, next time I'll wait a couple days before I start to wonder, hmmm, I haven't seen my husband maybe I should start worrying. He responds with I knew he playing, I knew where he was.
"Yeah, three hours ago! I had no idea you would still be there at this hour."
Okay, irrational, yes, do I realize this at the time, probably. Doesn't make it any less real!
He tells me good night and I ask for a hug. He then reassures me he's okay, everything's okay. Then I sleep. ???
In the morning light it's all ridiculous. What is my deal?
But I am not complaining... I could go crazy tomorrow and still be thrilled. We're going to have a baby!!!

My Apologies

2010-09-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

It seems an odd question but should one apologize for not blogging. After all blogging is usually more of a personal outlet than anything. Especially in this instance where this is not a money-making venture. But then again the only way I keep in touch with some people is by viewing their blogs, so along those lines of thought...
I am sorry. I am alive. I have been busy. But not that busy, it probably has more to do with not really having much to write about. How often do you post about work before it becomes boring? Once, twice, daily for months on end? =)
I did get a second job. I suppose that's news. I'm teaching at Practical Dental Assisting. Just on Saturdays, since Ave works and I just get bored. Plus I love teaching!
Other than that... Ave started school again. Boo! He started his graduate program so only two years left. Yay! He's been busy trying to finalize his master's project and I've just been trying to be supportive and pay his tuition. I'm a good sugar mama!
Hmmm... what else. Oh yeah. The whole sugar mama thing, it's now legit.
=) As in I am finally fricking pregnant!!!!!!
Ok... So I'm proud of myself for holding it in that long. Two whole paragraphs! Aren't you proud? I'm officially seven weeks so still really early, I should be waiting but after trying for so long and a couple early miscarriages... getting this far feels like a huge accomplishment. By announcing this I'm hoping it makes it more real, not jinxing it. So if for some reason I stop talking about the pregnancy, just assume I don't want to tell you why.
But let's think cheerful, happy, positive, baby sticking thoughts! Like I said this is the farthest we've ever gotten. My Dad has been taking me down every week for ultrasounds to ensure everything is coming along nicely. So far so good. It pays to have connections. I'm hoping to have a better picture to post soon. For the moment it's a large void with a squiggy spot in the middle... which is growing so fast!!! He said by next week the skeletal structure starts to form, which it makes it easier to differentiate baby tissue from mommy tissue. Wierd!
Now that I have news... I can start posting again. I know you're all on the edge of your chair.

My Other Homeland

2010-03-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

Final Count

Gold-0 Silver-1 Bronze-4

Is it treason if I was secretly hoping they could beat USA in hockey?

So my husband says to me...

2010-02-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

Last week I am telling him about how one of my co-workers got these beautiful flowers at work (no hints right, purely just sharing) and he says to me...
"You know you aren't getting those right?"
"Yes. I know"
Trust me I did know. Avery is very romantic at heart... I have proof in 18 months worth of love letters (which I never hold over his head) but... he is also quite the engineer. Very logical and calculated. Just because it is a want, does not mean it is a need. Flowers, a want, not a neeed. Shoes, a want, not a need. Affection, a want not a need.
Then, get this, he says, "I already got your present."
WHAT!!! Again see paragraph above to fully comprehend my flabbergast-ness.
"But I didn't get you anything," now I am at a loss, we usually do not do gifts.
"You don't need to. Valentines day is just for women."
"But...but... ummm..." racking my brain for anything he would want, "Oh I have an idea for your present."
"Okay, Jenn," no emotion.
"And it involves lace," as I smile and blush simultaneously (it is a gift.) Did I mention how much I like to dress up?
"Okay, Jenn." Deadpan. Could have fooled me about being a romantic.

Saturday night, Apollo (the dog) carries a little box in his mouth by the cute white bow (name that commercial.) As Avery carries roses in and sets them on the ottoman.
"Happy Valentines Day. I love you very much."

Then picks up the laptop he left on the couch and starts reading about alcohol content again (him and my dad have this 'project' to make fuel.)
Who cares?! I am grinning and find a beautiful pearl ring to match my pearl necklace Ave bought for his future wife on his mission in the Phillippines (I got that for my birthday a month before we got married.) This lady here in Lehi buys the same pearls from the same ladies in the Phillippines and sells them trying to help better their lives. It is a very sweet story. And now I have an adorable ring to match. Not only do I love my pearl collection, but also their back story and origins. And he got me another piece. How cute is that!
Mostly I could not believe he planned ahead. He thought about it! About what he wanted to get me. Found it, bought it, wrapped it. Wow! This is the kind of romance this boy is capable of. This is when he takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes. I do not mean to brag, but he is lovely. I definitely believe this statement with all my heart.

It's the thought that counts.

My Craftyness

2010-02-13T19:51:00.001-08:00

Check out this little gem (teehee, get it?) that I made tonight for my Valentine's outfit tomorrow. Now I just need to put together the skirt, top, shoes, and whatever else a Lover's Day outfit needs... for church... don't be dirty.

All you need is some tulle, rhinestones, and hot glue. Going here helps too.

Happy Day o' Love everyone!

My Bailout

2010-02-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

Lookie what the government gave me. Okay technically they only gave me a portion of the money they have been borrowing over the entire 2009 calendar year.

Semantics.

Peek-a-boo, I see you.

This reminds me far too much of those damn stickers on cd cases.

In all its shiny glory. AHHHHHH... (choir of angels singing.)
Side note: this was meant to be my Christmas present originally, but Avery thought a few other things were more important (read that with a snide little voice) like car registration and university tuition. BOO!

I feel like a new mother. I am so proud, and cannot stop staring and caressing it. That is how new moms feel right? Plus, just so you also realize how all important this moment is for me, I was an i-pod virgin. This is actually my first ever MP3 player!!! Yes, you may officially welcome me to the year 2010. And for even more sympathy votes, I never had a walkman either, parents did not think I needed one. Do I need to say it is a touch? Is that apparent to apple-savy peeps? Well it is. I think that makes it even better. My first app... the lightsaber... who could have guessed? Only anyone who knows me. Should I name him? Yeah, I think he should be a male. He is far too shiek and slim to be a curvy female. Something with an I... Isaiah... naw...Ignacius... Iggy for short... hmmm... that might be it.

And just so you know it is not just for me... someone else has been tickling Iggy all night.

Awww... Male bonding time.

My Supurrr

2010-02-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

How did everyone enjoy the game? Anybody lose money gambling? What an upset!

Honestly I can say I was impartial. Manning is cute and nicer than that cheater Brady (who I know is not the QB for the Saints, so no comments correcting me, I was merely pointing out he sucks). But I was also slightly annoyed by the whole people-are-still-suffering-from-the-disaster-that-was-five-years-ago-and-since-we-have-been-through-so-much-we-totally-deserve-to-win. Does that mean I am a jerk? Probably, or maybe I just never heard we had changed the name to the Pity Bowl... bwahaha. Avery does not laugh at my jokes either, do not feel bad. Although he usually just stares followed by a, "You think you are so funny." Returned by a, "I am funny." With all the usual dripping mess of sarcasm.

My favorite part is the spread. I am required by law for every family gathering to make deviled eggs. Seriously I have been sent home before because I forgot. My mom rounded it off with teeny-weenies, 7 layer bean dip, chili with homemade true to life southern cornbread, and shrimp (which she did not make, but placed so nicely in a bowl surrounded by a bigger bowl with ice, plus I like shrimp so I had to mention it.) My uncle and aunt brought bucket loads of homemade cookies, brownies, and cheescake... mmmmmm. Probably the most memorable commercials were the ones that said 'See you tomorrow' with the Golds Gym logo.

No, wait! I also liked the commercial with all the guys just staring at the camera going over the list of everything they do... "I will shave. I will wash out the sink after shaving. I will put the toilet seat down. I will carry your lip balm.... etc. And because I do all this I get to drive the kind of car I want to drive." Probably does not hurt that almost everything they were saying I nag Avery about, especially the washing out the sink after shaving bit, all those little black stubs on my freshly cleansed sink drives me to violence. The commercial was for a Dodge Charger... pshaw... no guy I know would choose that as their dream car, but kudos to their marketing team for making me giggle.

Yes, Avery I said kudos... I am witty.

Oh, and the 'punch buggy' for volkswagon. Classic game and Stevie Wonder! HILARIOUS!

What was your favorite?

Do you ever find...

2010-02-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

That you escape to another world/life through movies, books, or games. I feel I have an extremely active imagination, more so than the majority. Not something I am necessarily proud or embarrassed of, just stating it as a fact. I think that makes these escapes more real for me. For instance it takes me days to get over a particularly emotional movie. I become so engrossed in the characters, I almost am the character. Not always a pleasant side effect, "Avery, why did you leave me for 10 years after stabbing your own heart, just to become captain of the flying dutchman!?" There is the other side as well and sometimes when life is difficult... I find it peaceful.

Not saying my life is particularly challenging, more so than others, someone always has it worse. Still... little things can add up. That was not the point of this post. Merely I was wanting to mention a few of the most recent.

First I got to go with girlfriends to see this tonight... Happy Birthday Celina!

Cute. A lot of slapstick comedy, but a happy little predictable chick flick.
Left me in a better mood, after working a full monday.

And just in case the whole nerdiness issue was still an... umm... issue.
This has been the newest...

Saving the galaxy gives me a huge self esteem boost when I am feeling low.

So here's to whatever gets you away from it all some days.

My Quest for Truth

2010-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

I am one of those people that need constant reminders. No matter how many amazing experiences I might have had; after awhile I will forget about them and start to wondering again. For instance my relationship with hubby. Challenging, and sometime I forget how great it can really be. Which is why I guess I am grateful for scrapbooking, journaling, and now blogging. I often go back and read our letters we wrote to each other during my 18 month trip. They remind why this man is perfect for me.

Now take my relationship with Christ, and the church. I suppose the lay person would suppose it easy for me considering the previously mentioned Church mission, but like I said... I forget. I forget those feelings I have received so many times, that tell me what I believe to be true. I need reminding, and I am pretty sure my Heavenly Father knows this.

I enjoy reading and even I guess you can say 'investigating' other religions. I am curious, plus I enjoy seeking truths. I like understanding what they believe and why. I will always remember the quote by President Hinckley on how other churches have the truth, "But let's see if we can't add to it." It makes me smile. So with that being said... I still have alot of questions that I cannot always find answers to. If you wanted to hear my testimony on how I know that being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only way I know I will find those answers eventually, I will give it to you. Oh wait... But still questions, comments, concerns that I would like addressed one day. So I seek. There are those times when so much information can cause you to become troubled. There are so many different opinions, and truths, just how is one supposed to know.

All of this was building up until yesterday. Like a good girl I went to church, mostly because I feel the responsibility for the 15 child class we teach. Which I can see is another way of God helping me out, He knows that is what it takes to get me there. And then once I am there... Whammo! I am sitting in sacrament, and there again... that feeling. I was not even pondering about it or asking. But all of a sudden... peace. I was doing the right thing, I was in the right place, I believe in the right truths.

I might be still seeking my answers for awhile yet but that is what makes this life so exciting. Further growth. Unfortunately sometimes I need a bit of a backtracking... stupid me. Luckily I have someone looking out for me who understands my needs and desires. And for that I am eternally grateful.

Now if He can just help me with my new years resolution.

My Contagiousness

2010-01-17T20:43:00.000-08:00

My past couple weeks have been spent working and becoming gradually more and more sick. I suppose being in people's mouths all day exposes me to more germs than the average gal, because I seem to get sick alot. I guess it is my indicator I have been working too much lately. =) I will be sure to inform my boss first thing in the morning.

Anyways, I felt the need to post in order to publicly apologize to my friends for my lameness. I miss them and need girl time... soon... after I heal... oh, and it will have to wait until the next time I have a day off... which I think is next week. BOO!

On the plus side all these hours are helping us to pay for yet another car repair bill. And a $2,900 tuition bill for Avery school's... for one bloody semester. *Note to self, it is worth it, it is worth it.*

I did venture out with my family for dinner, to finally celebrate my bigger/younger brother's 22nd birthday, which was two weeks ago. Punk cannot make time for his family anymore. He has made the decision to re-enlist in the marine corps, maybe. If you know him at all, you know that might change a good 2,3, 45 times.

Well, after reading blogs and facebook to feel social again I am off to bed.

Cheers.

Post Script:
Whilst 'resting' this past weekend as my fantastically generous husband taught our 15 children sized primary by himself, I started this little diddy that my brother got for Christmas. Better than the first one by far and causing me to ask Ave what his definition of addicted is.

My Coping Mechanism

2010-01-09T21:52:00.000-08:00

I bought a new video game. I will not tell you about the one I am anxiously waiting for at the end of this month. Nor will I go into detail about the one I was addicted to over Christmas break. This will not, repeat, will not turn into a gaming blog. I need to remind myself you know. But I do not think that I need to remind you that I am a nerd.

So back to the game...

I will not say I am addicted, because I had the older one and not too much has changed between the two to be terribly interesting. But I will say I stayed up laaaaattte last night playing. And my character had four baby girls all within a few days. So nah-nanny-boo-boo to fate... I showed you didn't I? Ugh, yeah!!

PS I will say I can never be a hermit. I love being around people too much and having my friends close to me. They fill my life with love. Thank you for your well wishes. I am sorry for making it such a pity fest.

My Emotional Day

2010-01-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

Have you ever bawled hysterically? Like where you cannot stop crying? And your face is all twisted up? And you hope to goodness no one walks in while you are on the bathroom floor with this horrible face? And your mascara is literally painting your cheeks? And your choking on your own snot because you cannot breathe normally while you are bawling? And you keep trying to stop and suck it up, but everytime you take a deep breath and look in the mirror it starts again? And then when you go upstairs finally and manage to start to breathe, your husband looks at you and asks, "Are you having a emotional day?" And it starts all over again? And he holds you in his arms and says how sorry he is and he did not know and how it will all work out and it will happen? And he rubs the same spot on your arm till it goes tingly while you soak his t-shirt with even more tears? And then he asks you 20 minutes later if you feel better and you say, "No..." the same time the waterworks start all over again? And the whole time you are trying to calm down and keep quiet because your parents and little brother are at the dinner table literally four feet away and you do NOT want them asking, "What is the matter?" "Are you okay?" Or telling you "Oh, you are just being crazy/silly/emotional." "It will happen." Even though the whole time you do feel crazy/silly/emotional for letting all of this get so out of hand. And do you probably deep down you know it will happen and everything will work out? But in your head you are thinking it has already been eight months and if it was supposed to happen it would have by now. And you have you somehow convinced yourself that biology does not work for you and obviously you will have to find other means, like E-bay? And while you were at Target buying shaving cream and other items you did not feel like buying ever again and trying not to cry before you got home were staring at a family, justifying stealing, and wondering how long it would take for them to notice? And have you spent the past three days peeing on sticks and looking at names and starting to get excited? And do you think you are a complete idiot for getting your hopes up and you should absolutely know better because obviously you are the one person in the world where something that is supposed to be natural is blatantly un-? And then do the tears start trickling down your cheeks again as you are typing this even though it has now been hours and you are feeling calmer but obviously not as much as you originally thought because here it goes again? And you have a now pounding headache which no amount of aleve will subside? And now again you feel like an idiot for being so crazy/silly/emotional and know all your friends will be unbelievably kind, but you do not want the sympathy? You just felt like venting. And hope that one day you can look back with fondness at this trial in your life?

And did all of this happen because you started your period today?

My True Love Gave To Me

2010-01-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

I wanted to wait until I went back to work, today, before I blogged about Christmas. I had this wierd idea if I posted it, that would mean it was really over. We really enjoyed the break; me lot's of time off work and Ave lot's of time away from school. The whole time we just relaxed. Avery did alot of his favorite things; shooting, reloading, looking at guns at cabelas. I ended up playing a video game for 70 hours straight. Yes, yes... I am a nerd.

Anywho, Christmas morning starts with a knock on our bedroom door that 'it is time'. The youngest at the Rhodes' is now 14, so we all slept in until 9 AM. My grandparents made the long trek across the street to watch the unwrapping. I could see why one would want to watch, but I could not help but think it would be more fun with a little-little one... alas, Santa did not leave one in my stocking. Spencer even showed up on time to join in. The whole family together! Rare...

Ave and I had set a $20 limit for each other, lame I know, but we have a massive tuition bill due in 23 days. So Mr. Johnson brings up this big beautifully wrapped box.

Oh, sorry did I say beautifully wrapped, I meant interestingly. You must know that this is the man who taught me how to properly tie a bow. His mother(s) taught him wrapping skills, I know they did. So why the 'unique' packaging... who knows...he said he wanted draw my attention, you got it babe. The whole time I am thinking of the little mini puny remote control car that is waiting in the corner for him and I am panicking.

"Avery did you break the limit?"
"No," He smiles.
"That is for me?"
"Yes."
"And it did not cost more than $20?"
"No." Why is he still smiling? Can he not see how obviously not amusing this is?!
"What is it?"
"You will find out soon."

Grrr... My mind is reviewing possiblities for such a size box. A cricut? Why would he get me a cricut, they are like $300, is he crazy? Will I make him take it back? No, he would not think to buy that for me anyway. What else could it be?

After much paper tearing, I am able to get to the large box. I start to unwrap and see... the automatic trash can my parents just bought at Costco. Grandpa sees it from across the room.
"What you got there? Oh, a trash can, that's interesting."
You have no idea grandpa. Okay... a few thoughts flick through my mind...He obviously scavenged the box. Still what could fit inside this. Is he just being funny? Is it ridiculously small? What would he get me that is ridiculously small? What would he get me anyway? I thought I had him pegged, but now I have no idea what he could have come up with... You would be surprised how fast my brain works.

Then I open the automatic trash can box and the aroma hits me full on. OH!

Are they not loverly?
Tee hee...

And that's not all folks. He then drags out a full length mirror... cheap one from wal-mart, I made sure we did not break the limit here...so I won't have to stand on the tub anymore to make sure my shoes look good with my top. Awww...look who pays attention!

The rest of the day was a success. To the Rhodes parents the entire Star Trek series... original to the Trekkies who wish to pout, and remastered so in yo' face. The bros received Star Wars related gifts, I had a theme going and kept it once I realized it... like first season of clone wars and a cook book called Wookie Cookies: and other Star Wars related recipes. I like the title. Say it aloud. Wookie Cookies. You will like it too. The family got Beatles rock band... rocks... and I got a video game called Dragon Age which then took up the rest of my life until I beat it. Avery also received an airbrushing kit which he wants to first practice on my four-wheeling helmet. I am going to make him paint flowers and not the skull he wants, it is my helmet after all.

Ave's step mom made me a cute ruffly apron, we got new down pillows, and Ave's grandmother put together a binder of geneology, complete with photos and stories. Best gift of the night! All the aunts and uncles wanted to look through it.

Moving on to New Year's Eve, which originally was supposed to be eventful, with friend and family parties in spades. Then last minute I fell ill, and ended up falling asleep on the couch until like 10 PM. Boo! I like socializing and forcing Ave to. At midnight I was alone watching Ryan Seacrest count down with a post stroke Dick Clark (which always makes me sad...Why is he still on tv? To make me cry?) Avery was outside with the father and sibling lighting fireworks. I pouted that I did not get my new years kiss. I have 23 years to make up here!! Okay, maybe I should only count since dating age... point is I still enjoy the tradition.

To all who are within the click of my post, my new years resolution is to:

CONCEIVE.

and yes, I mean in that way... do not censor me.

Our family goal is entitled: Project Clean House, which excites me.

And I would still also like to fulfill my 2009 resolution of kicking the caffeine habit... boo! Who can give up Dr Pepper? I cannot fathom how it is done. The few times were forced ie: MTC and tonsilectomy.

For all my friends and family I wish you much success and happiness in the new decade. May we live long and prosper.

Our Year

2009-12-24T22:51:00.000-08:00

I made this as a Christmas present for parents. Unless you want to click through 100+ pictures of us... do not watch it. I had to save it somewhere to get it to burn... do not ask, stupid computer programs make me irate on Christmas.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My Desire

2009-12-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

I usually do not like to do this. But being bored this evening while Avery watches football I found this.
The Salt Lake City Temple (where we were married) in letterpress.

Have I told you how I secretly adore letterpress. How I desperately want to learn how. Oh, and how I also have this secret obsession with Type. Words, letters, the bits and pieces of writing and stories.

It is too beautiful for words. I want it, I need it. Avery says I cannot have it. He is the logical one. So why do I feel like crying? Someone else buy it for their home so I can come stare. Found here.

My Bloody Mess

2009-11-29T15:46:00.000-08:00

During sacrament meeting (yes, I do pay attention) I turn to Ave and say, "Look. Look at my veins. They are blue. See inside me, it is blue. But when it comes out and I show it to you, it is red. Then it is red Avery."
He sort of looked at me funny.
"See Avery. I have blue blood on the inside, but then I bleed red. Get it?!" Wide eyes at this moment help to transmit my meaning telepathically.
"So you are saying deep down you are a BYU fan, but you will be a Utah fan for me."
Sarcastically shake my head, "No, Avery I am a Utah fan all the way."

Which to choose, which to choose?

To both sides... nice battle.

Avery is right. For BYU having their highest scoring QB and RB they sure did not put up much of a fight. And for Utah having a newbie team, they held up there own. Plus, I think the ref's were idiots. Was it there first time ever? 'The play has been confirmed.' What is that?!

He sure did not appreciate my joke after the game. I was drinking a V8 fusion (good stuff) it went down the wrong tube and I started coughing. Ave first questioned if I was dying, then asked what happened.

"I choked Avery. Kind of like how Utah did tonight."

My Gratitude

2009-11-26T18:20:00.001-08:00

My parents do not do the whole go-around-the-table-saying-one-thing-you-are-grateful-for thing. I will have to wait and see if I employ some sort of the tradition with our own chiildren. Considering it is Thanksgiving I feel I must give thanks in some form to my Maker. As holier than thou it is of me to blog about it... I just really like writing.
After being sick all day today... it always seems to be on a holiday... I will start out by saying I am grateful for good health. It is amazing how you take it for granted until one day you do not have it. I am grateful for my husband. Our relationship has definitely been a growing experience, but no matter what my husband loves me. I cannot take that fact for granted. To be loved. And the opportunity to love. It teaches me. I love my Avery with all my heart.
I am grateful for family and friends. I seem to have collected friends from different times in my life and each adds a new dimension to my growth. I can turn to my friends at any time for anything.
I love good food and flavors. A good book, movie, and music puts a smile on my face. Dancing, even in the kitchen for the puppy dogs, brings joy to my heart no matter what.
The gospel of Jesus Christ fulfills what I know in my soul and lightens my burdens. My Savior brings hope to my weaknesses.
All in all, life is good. I am grateful for the experience of it, even when it is hard. Even the challenges we are experiencing now, I am thankful for. As much as I wish more than anything I could be pregnant right now; growing, planning, and glowing, I am not. And from that I am learning empathy and appreciation for the miracle that is life. One day, hopefully sooner rather than later, when that little double line appears, I will remember with fondness the time I had to prepare. And I will be grateful to be a mother.

My Cosmetic Work

2009-11-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

I have recently made some big changes in my appearance. Can you tell? Here is the after...

Can you tell? Do you see it? No, it is not the haircut. I have been better about sticking to one style at a time. No!!! Jeez, how do you see that?!

I will give you a hint. Here is the before.

Bwahaha! Suckers! I had braces for 21 months and some of you had no idea. You see how sneaky I am, in that I never load photos where you can really tell. Mwahaha!
Enough of that, but do they not look fantastic. I am thrilled and can safely say, now that I am past that point, it was worth it. Most of you are probably akin to my husband, in the fact you did not think I needed braces in the first place. I can only contribute it to the 'curse of what I do for a living' (that would be a good zombie movie). I knew I could fix my smile. I knew it needed fixing. Who wants to come get braces when their assistant's teeth are not perfect. Now they are!!! Plus sides, my smile has widened and my TMJ related headaches are a thing of the past. It was not all just for vain, cosmetic reasons here folks. Lookie at the real, real before.

Can you not see the drastic improvement? Okay, maybe not, but I can, and that is all that matters. Now to just work on my other half. I know he is already ridiculously good looking, but I could make some slight improvements.

My Viral Outbreak

2009-11-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

This past weekend at our house we had an episode with the H1N1 virus. It sure made for a fun holiday, let me tell you. Of course my dad would bring it home first, stupid sick patients (KIDDING). It went through every member of the family and all healed quickly, except for one. Austin started acting kind of funny. Apparently the high fever affected his brain more than the rest of us. He started experiencing swelling, which caused some strange symptoms. He would stagger through the house, mumbling to himself. He started ignoring his personal hygiene (started...hehehe). Probably the most noticeable was his sudden request for raw meat for dinner. RAW! He just gobbled it straight from the fridge, bloody raw meat. He loved it! Started mumbling 'Flesh' all the time. Good thing I am work during the day because I would not want to be around him all day. Then Saturday, the rest of us had gone out to lunch to celebrate our new found health, again. We came home to a strange sight.

We at first concerned for Austin's safety. Especially, when after we walked through the house he was no where to be found. Then the neighbor's came over, they were all asking if we had seen their dog... cat... child etc. What in the world was going on? Where was Austin? Later that night we found him hiding in the yard chewing on a chicken. He looked just awful!

We posted signs throughout the yard "Beware of Zombies" but all night could hear the screams of small children. Apparently, they were not old enough to read yet. Finally we came up with a plan. Dad had been working on a cure all week and decided it was time. We cornered him in the yard, sprayed him down with the hose to subdue, while father sprang with the injection. Austin howled but soon fell asleep. We were able to carry him inside, shower him off, and soon he could be found munching on Snickers bars. Far better than flesh. He has been doing much better, thank you. Looks like he will be back to his old self in no time. Thank for your concerns!

p.s. We deeply apologize to our neighbors for any inconveniences/dismemberments Austin's illness may have caused.

My Own Rules

2009-10-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today I opened a lovely cardboard box from Amazon. It contained my newest book purchase.

(POST EDIT: Sorry no, not an announcement. I am not pregnant. I wish. But no, I realize I worded it oddly. Which made it seem like I was. That has been edited. Sorry! Keep praying though!)
I like the title. It suits our circumstances, not yet having children. Yes, I realize there is the possibility our future child will be a girl, but I have my doubts. I bought it to keep on hand for WHEN we do conceive as maybe a present for Avery (first father's day?) but I ended up looking through it first. Oops...

*Anyone else love the smell of a new book? Or the way the pages crack as you break in the binding for the first time? I love a new book! Call me strange, I am sure I am.*

It is written from a father to a son, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is simple pages of one liner lessons such as "When in doubt wear a tie... Learn how to dance... Talk to your mother. She is cooler than you think...Write down your goals twice a year." And other such lovely snippets. Just classics. I also enjoy the mustard yellow cover, and in my mind's eye picture it on the shelf in our non-existent nursery.

It caused me to relfect on some of my own rules for my life, or at least one's I would like to incorporate. Dance in the kitchen...Only buy clothes that fit well. Not necessarily the latest style...Learn how to save. I am in the midst of compiling a list. Any suggestions?

Coming next in the cardboard box of wonders...

the previous purchase reminded me of the review I once read for this, and thought they would make a good pair. The subtitle is '20 things my son needs to know.' I must be on a new kick.

What life lessons do you wish to pass to your children?

My Date Night

2009-10-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

My date night usually consists of a few of my favorite things...
*take out yellow curry*

*the latest crappy redbox movie* this time it was 'Year One' Do not recommend.

*And a few fuzzy faces to cuddle with*

*and Avery* but his fuzzy face would not let me take a picture of him last night

p.s. He was laughing (laughing!) at me while I was taking pictures...
"What are you doing? Why are you taking a picture of the movie case? Are you making fun, are you making fun of our date night?"
"I'm not making fun. I'm documenting," I was trying to explain to the man.
"Awww... It is so cute, look at our date night. You want to remember when we were poor, ate take out, and rented a movie every weekend. Awww... look at our poor college days in the scrapbook!" he was laughing the whole sentence.

I wish you all a great date night!

My close encounter of the moose kind

2009-10-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Alright I know, this is a lot of posts but I have been jerry rigging blogspot to post my pictures (still having issues) and I have all these backed up posts I wanted to put pictures up for. Last one, I promise.
Ave had an elk tag this year. For a spike, which I am proud to say I now know what the heck that is. He literally went five separate days, hiked hundreds of miles (maybe tens of miles), and never got a damn thing. He was mad. Poor Avery. I was mad because he spent a lot of money on game bags, ammo, camo gear, and the like for this dumb hunt. Which, I was never quite clear why he felt he had to go in the first place. What would we do with an elk?! We do not even own a freezer. We live with my parents!! But he had to be a man, I guess.
So after the first weekend was a bummer he wanted to go back the following monday. He was skipping school to go hunting. Ask me how I felt about that? And he did not have anyone to go with, so he was going to go alone. I was not about to let that happen, so I went with. ON MY DAY OFF. Yes, I am crazy at times, as his uncle Kent so kindly pointed out while handing me an orange vest. I dragged my butt out of bed at 4:00 AM and hiked in the snow... yes snow... for five hours!! It sucked. I do not see the appeal in hunting... at all. We heard some bugles, that was freaky and cool at the same time. But never saw anything. Granted the scenery was beautiful and it was good exercise. But when he went again the next weekend, he went alone. I just resigned myself into deciding whether I would cremate his body or not when he died. Luckily, I did not have to go through with it, he lived. But never got anything. He is very sad. Do not mention it to him.
"There's always next year," he's says.
"Not if I have anything to do with it," I say.
Oh, and did I say we did not see anything on 'our' hunt. I lied.

We saw a family of him. This is the daddy, and there was a mommy, and a baby. And I was peeing my pants. Avery was throwing snowballs at them. Remember how I have said he is a genius, apparently it comes and goes. He got all excited because all of sudden there were tracks. Big tracks, not the deer tracks we had been seeing all morning. So he whispers, "Those are elk." Which by the way why do we have to whisper? Are the elk that hard of hearing? Anyways, nope not an elk because not ten feet in front of us is a moose. It made some wierd noise, like a whine and then wandered down the trail to the... oh look... two other moose, and one has huge stabbing antlers!!! Moose have antlers right? Is that what they are called. I am not joking when I say they were standing on the trail right in front of us while I am clinging to a tree because Avery just said that they cannot go around them quickly so it is the safest place to be. I have heard stories of scary moose chases, including my bestie Hanna who had one chase her into the girls bathroom at girls camp and try to tear down the stalls. I am re-telling this story to Ave (he has heard it before, whenever someone mentions a moose attack, what can I say I have no stories of my own, I live through others, until now) and picturing this moose wildly swinging meanwhile Ave hands me the rifle and walks closer... yes, there goes the genius again. Trying to shoo them off the trail so we can walk by. He throws rock and snowballs at the moose(s) *I know the plural of moose is in fact moose but I want you to picture three of them staring back at Avery trying to hit them with a snowball, If they were not so ornery looking I would think they would just be thinking, "Oh how fun! I want to play too!" Eventually, they climb up the hill and watch as we walk by. The whole time I keep checking my tail because I am picturing Mr. Moose getting pissed and taking off at me while I am not looking. "Watch this Moose Jr. This is how you kill a human when they are not looking." They don't. We were safe. YAY! Avery went by himself, and did not die, and did not see anymore moose. Next year he needs a moose tag.

My modern day cattle drive

2009-10-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention what we saw on the way down to moab. In spanish fork canyon...

Can you believe it?! There were hundreds of 'em!! And about ten real life cowboys, on the highway. Giddy up.

My UEA weekend

2009-10-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Ave had the weekend off; playtime! We have our system. On school breaks ie: UEA and spring break, we get to go on an "Avery vacation". Which usually revolves around four-wheelers. Then for our big gifts ie: Christmas, Anniversary; we take a "Jenn vacation". So this past weekend, Moab. I love moab, good memories, good fun. My family and I used to go a couple times a year to bike or four-wheel. It's been awhile, since my birthday last year that we have been. It was about time. We hit some good trails, rested up, ate some good food, and had WAY too much family time. Living with my family full time definitely does not cause me to want to spend vacation time with them. But hey when we can stay in the RV for free... and rides my parent's four-wheelers for free... and eat yummy food for free... we'll get over it.
It was fun... check it out.

And yes the dog does ride on the four wheeler. He loves it. Sometimes he runs beside us, but usually he just rides in the back.

My Life's Frustrations

2009-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Blogspot has not liked me lately. I have tried to post and attach photos three seperate times. Will not work. It is annoying. Not really anything special going on, just life. But I like being able to muse on my blog. And whine. Now is some more whining. Stick with me here.
The baby thing has not been going so well. I will just say that. And that we are pretty sure I had an early miscarriage last month. So that is always disappointing and slightly sad. Though I told a few of my friends that in a way I was happy about it, because it means I am ABLE to get pregnant. Being in the medical field I know the stats and I am way more willing to have my body make the decision. I would rather have a happy and healthy baby. Not saying I am not getting to the point where I just want a baby. I have to remind myself to relax and not to stress. Going on six months... it is hard not to stress about something you want so badly. I need to remind myself it happens on Heavenly Father's time, He is looking out for me. It will all work out.
In other news Ave is back in to the swing of school. Which I will say the late night studying and homework does not help the baby process. He received an invite to the Golden Key Honor Society. Which means he is in the top 15% of his class. YAY! My husband is a freaking genius. He has also been trying to hunt. He got an elk spike tag and keeps going to a few spots but has not got one yet. I actually went with him up American Fork Canyon the other day. In the snow... On a five hour hike... And then did not see anything. Hunting is lame. I do not see the appeal.
My work is great. I really love it. And for the first time in awhile we are fully staffed. Which of course makes my work load even better. And I am really excited my doctor is opening a satellite office in Park City starting in November. He will do really well up there, and we get to go shopping after work. Good all around!
The being at the parent's house thing is going well... yeah, well. It is frustrating. And I am REALLY bummed not to be able to decorate for halloweeen. I keep seeing all these great ideas online, that I just have to save. Boo! But it still has been the best decision, I do not know how we would have survived. Once again reminds me He is looking out for us.
Everything will work out.
Thanks for listening to me whine. I can recommend some good cheese if wanted.

My Best Friend's Pedicure

2009-09-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you are painting your toes... you finish... you want to keep painting... but don't have a baby to paint? Look at your ginormous, fuzzy dog sitting next to you on the couch and go at it.

My Motto

2009-08-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

"Knowing is half the battle."

If you remember this as fondly as I do, you'll enjoy it.

My Seventh Month of the Year

2009-08-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Having received some complaints (Okay, only one. Thanks for caring Audra.) I dragged out my camera cords and downloaded some photos. Being as far behind as I am I will summarize July...

We went to the Stadium of Fire thanks to Ammon being a stage manager, and Dad for letting Glenn Beck chill in his RV (or his Trailer, as we movie people call it.) Awesome show! Great emcee! Not a fan of the Jo Bros but the screaming and crying preteens were entertaining.

Hilarious little girl dancing the entire time.We were on the field like 6 rows back, so we had alot of ash rain down on our heads. Good thing no one there had PTSD.

Then I had baby shower(s).

My cute friend Shelby expecting her first, a girl. And my former co-worker/friend Melissa expecting another girl, her first as well. I did happen to win a $50 gift card prize at this shower. Yay me!

My brother Austin turned 14 years old. Wierd!

We didn't have any birthday candles, so he to blow out a couple real candles and a lighter.He scored a DS-i and a slip 'n' slide which he proceeded to break the next day but not before him, the dogs, and I got some fun out of it. (Word of warning, any females out there beware the slip 'n' slide and diving full onto your bosom. Painful! Luckily this one came with an inflatable boogie board, made it fun again for me.)

Avery and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner (mmm Carrabas) and later went up and spent the weekend at his familiy cabin four wheeling, eating smores, and watching Dexter season two. I know it sounds lame, it kind of was considering, but we're broke as joke, so we had to make our own fun. What went from a San Diego anniversary went to Las Vegas again, went to St. George again, went to Anniversary Inn for a night, went to up the cabin (for free) for a night. Yay for free! At least there wasn't any internet to distract us.Obligatory wedding photo to prove in fact we did get married.

We did get to go see Kenny Chesney in concert. We had the nosebleed seats and the sun baked us till it went down, but 'when the sun goes down' we had a blast.I think Ave's favorite was someone down below gave Kenny C. a University of Utah hat that he switched from his cowboy hat into when he came a did his encore. Like 10 songs!! All not his, different bands from U2 to the Eagles, all sorts of fun, like one big party. Great night!

It's been busy, Ave's been working to save for school. Expensive! I've been working to pay our bills. It's nice getting him around more when school is out but I think it's about time to go back. I want to feel better about getting another year out of the way. We are all settled (for the most part) the our basement bedroom and it's working out as well as can be expected. Every month we are anxiously awaiting seeing this...instead of the opposite, which we have been seeing. Boo! Waiting sucks. But I feel a sense of relief in the no longer 'waiting to try'. At least at this point it 's out of my hands. Anybody got any extra prayers lying around, one can come our way. August will be a good month I can tell.

My transition period

2009-06-29T17:32:00.001-07:00

Moving in with your parents sucks. Really, no matter how you look at it, it's never a positive thing. You feel almost like a failure, can't make it on your own. Even though that's not why we're moving in... it sort of feels that way. No we didn't have a massive financial crisis, it's just best for now. Still make you feel sad. Especially when you tell people, "Oh, that's nice." We left our little one bedroom apartment of two years, to a one bedroom basement suite to call ours. Not much. Trust me I know it's for the best. I'm very grateful to my family for all their hard work renovating our little suite. Still packing all my kitchen stuff that I won't see for years, sucks. I'll admit I cried to see my little dishes disappear. I like my stuff.
Enough whining. I am terribly excited, as is my husband. We get to move on with our lives, as in start a family. YAY!!!!!!! =) Biggest grin ever on my face. My parents are amazing for giving us our space and volunteering their future time. It's the only way it could work out and we wanted to do it. As much as it sucked. I like my stuff.
Considering I haven't bloggged it... it still happened. Avery had his 26th birthday and I had my 25th. That makes me feel old. I'm not exactly a spring chicken anymore. It's amusing to watch expressions from people's reactions from when I used to say 21-23, "Oh you're still very young you have time!" To now 25, "Oh, honey. It's probably a good idea to start thinking of a baby." What?

Do you want to see what I did for my birthday?

No I didn't get drunk. But I did get to go to Vegas with some good friends. We went to Wolfgang Puck's for dinner, Bellagio fountains shopping at HM, chick flicks, and sugar. MMMM.... Way fun! Kiitos ystavat! Makes a girl feel young to be a girl. 25... I am officially in the middle and officially on my way to growing up.

My sweet tooth

2009-06-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

Saw this online today. I must find these!!!!!

Ammon's Graduation

2009-05-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to offer a congrats to the newest Lehi High School graduate. Congrat Ammon! Welcome to the real world. For family who wishes to know, his plans are to work and take a few online classes in preparation for mission next spring. I really cannot wait to see where he goes... crossing my fingers for Finland. =)

Also a congrats for my cute SIL Chelsey, who graduated from Timpview High School. We hurried and ran to her walk ceremony as well right after Ammon's. But I left my camera with the parents to take the cute photos of Ammon. This is her trying on her prom dress my cute cousin/sister/friend Heidi was kind enough to lend her. Congrats Chelsey! Good luck at Snow!!

Luvs to you both!

A chance to use my new zoom

2009-04-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

I come home today to this...

Aves smacked his head on the side of the RV. He and my dad were in the midst of trying to decide if it needed stitches. It did. Awesome!! I'll get my camera.

I've got bunches more, but people might have a weak stomach. I love my macro settings though! and my husband, poor baby.

My Early Birthday

2009-04-25T17:15:00.001-07:00

Can you guess? I'm thrilled!!! I've been wanting a new one... I'm proud, I researched the crap out of this for a good deal. I don't think I'm quite ready for a big fancy SLR yet, but I wanted a good zoom (10X YAY!!) and decent megapixels (8) I love it! It's just what I want a this stage of photo taking... but it has all the little manual settings I can play with. And takes some beautiful shots.

I did happen to notice after going to Best Buy for a bigger memory card... that my model is now obsolete. Boo! Oh well, it's only an additional 2 megapixels for $100 more... who wants the latest and greatest all the time anyways...

THANK YOU!!!
My parents asked if we wanted the gun Ave's been wanting or the camera I've been wanting for our birthdays' (since they are a month apart) Ave was gracious enough to suggest my camera.

Baby Monster

2009-03-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

MMM... nam.. nam! So for those of you who may care to know but have yet to figure out. I am baby hungry. I have been wanting to get pregnant very, very badly for several months now. But we seriously just can't afford it. Stupid husband going to stupid school. We are trying to find a way, so for anyone who tries to tell me there is always a way and that we are being selfish. Believe it or not, I have hear that. Stupid people with there stupid wrong opinions. I managed to procure a self-insurance plan since I don't have any through work, and student insurance is ridiculous. But my maternity deductible is $6500!!!! Jeez, that's like 1/4 of our yearly income. Boo! I'm trying to be good and not do it medicaid style, I don't like mooching, but it might come to some sort of secondary help from them. And then the other big sacrifice is we are moving in with my parents in two months. If you know my parents, or me, you know this is really serious for me. I debated over this for literally over a year. Is it worth it? How BAD do I want a baby? Finally I decided, badly enough to give up my own space, my own food (you underestimate your own grocery habits until you live with someone else), my own decorations, my own cleanliness (a big deal at my parents), and having my husband to myself. It still will be very hard. Especially since it will probably be for at least 2 years. Stupid school again. I still have to work to put Ave through because his stupid difficult program just doesn't let him work more than 15 hours a week. Which is partly why we are moving, we are hoping if it came to it we could live just on his income.... ridiculously poor. So then I will hopefully only work a few days a week, which still is a few too many, but I have to get over that. THIS is the plan. The plan is in place. The plan WILL work. We have been doing construction on my folks' basement for the last couple months. Which means that as soon as we see it through, we can start trying!!!! =) I cannot wait. I cry at baby booties. I heard a newborn cry out in Costco the other day and started bawling. I swear my womb physically aches. Is that possible? I feel like one of the ladies who has been trying and having trouble or had a miscarriage and you have to walk on eggshells in case they fall apart emotionally. I am that woman. And my biggest fear is that after all this.... it will take forever. I will really be a mess then. For all my friends, I am sorry. I am pretty sure I am not pleasant at this time to be around. And we've been so busy trying to hurry and get this built that I haven't seen anyone in forever. And I love my friend dates. =( But hopefully after all this I'll have a rolly little Johnson to show off. YAY!!!!!
P.S. My husband is the best. He's been working his butt off at school and then coming home to do construction all night and weekend. He makes fun because there are those days when I come home from primary or work and say,"Never mind! I never want kids" and then I'll see some cute little baby and go "Ohhh... I want one so bad." What can I say I'm a girl, I'm emotional and tempermental. sp?
Kiss your babies for me.

Spring Break!

2009-03-21T16:17:00.001-07:00

Girls gone wild?! I think not... this spring break for Ave has been pretty mild. He pretty much has worked all week and we haven't gone anywhere fun. I think we're feeling the penny pinching just like everyone else. We did get to go four-wheeling today out past five mile, which is always fun. So that in itself is an adventure. I had thursday and friday off of work (ouch for the paycheck, yay for relaxing) so thursday we pretty much just chilled, took a long walk, and did nothing. It's nice, but I get bored easily. I did bust out my easter decorations, all three of them. =) He goes back to school on monday... boo! but only a couple months left until summer. Ave doesn't go during the summer, he works, so that'll make me feel better. Having more time and money coming in. We are planning our birthday's/anniversay trip, we go on a vacation instead buying gifts every year. We are thinking Vegas again, it's getting away somewhere entertaining and fairly in-expensive compared to say... Californi or hawaii (ahhh.... hawaii... one day, one day)
Hopefully everyone else enjoys their spring weather!

Hubby Quiz

2009-03-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

I found this quiz whilst stalking and though it would be fun since I haven't seen my husband alot the last couple weeks. Stupid school! So here we go I answer these questions and then see how I do.
1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Top Gear; Dog Whisperer, or anything on the WAR channel, or some sport
Sports
2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? italian
italian
3. What's one food he doesn't like? lasagna
lasagna
4. You go out to eat and have a drink. His drink would be? Coke
coke
5. Where did he go to high school? American Fork
american fork
6. What size shoe does he wear? 7
8-8.5
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? cars and not the model kind
cars
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? umm... he makes tuna alot. but he eats everything on a sandwich
steak or roast beef...maybe tuna
9. What would he eat every day if he could? stuffing
steak
10. What is his favorite cereal? cookie crisp
cookie crisp
11. What would he never wear? turtle necks
hawaiin shirt
12. What is his favorite sports team? University of Utah does that count?
u of u, real.... dunno
13. Who did he vote for? McCain because it was the lesser of two evils
McCain
14. Who is his best friend? Scottie
Scottie
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? cry for really no reason
eat cereal while driving
16. What is his Heritage? scandinavian
danish, english, iclandic, norwegian
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? no idea. chocolate
chocolate, cookies ice cream cake
18. Did he play sports in high school? He wrestled and was on soccer team, still plays soccer
wrestling and soccer
19. What could he spend hours doing? watching tv, riding four wheelers, playing xbox, tinkering with machines... I'm curious to see which one he says first.. hmmm
play video games, surf the web
20. What is one thing you appreciate about him? he is the best man I know, as in good, tries hard, does everything to his fullest
being a man; not a woosy boy, gentleman, could protect

I'm calling it at 100%.... I pretty much had him down with all of them. It was hard to get the answers from him, which I counted on from the beginning as well. hahaha. But I was right, and he knows it.
Cheers!

My name is Jennifer...

2009-03-05T20:01:00.000-08:00

and I am a shopaholic. And yes I really do speak Finnish fluently.

I went and saw this tonight with some girlfriends, and thought it was cute. I really laughed so hard just because I indentified in more ways than one with the character. The poor girl grew up with a mother who dressed her in whatever.... yep. Her parents bought an RV... yep. She froze her credit card... yep. So I have to indentify the problem. Then maybe I can consider fixing it... maybe. Just so you know, the guy in the movie really is a Finn. And I went with my friends I served with, so we were laughing hysterically during the finnish while everyone in the theater was silent. Sometimes it's really awesome to know an obscure language.

"Why do all your excuses have to do with Finland?'

"Because nobody checks on Finland."

Need a chick flick... see it... or 'he's not that into you' also hilarious but a bit racy.

Image Tag

2009-02-22T15:23:00.000-08:00

I saw this tag and thought it was clever. You google certain things on images and pick your favorite from the first three pages.

First Name (i guess her name is Jennifer too. It was better than all the seductive photos of Jennifer Aniston or Lopez)

Middle Name Last NameFavorite ColorAge

Favorite FoodGrandma's NameWhere you grew up (first 10 years)

Second 14 yearsFavorite Place (i love anywhere warm and sunny... but I have to give my shout out to Finland)

Pet you have owned

What you are doing right now besides blogging (watching original star trek movies.. all 11 to prepare for the new one coming out... I am not a nerd)

First jobPast Love
Place you want to visitDegree (my are actually all just tech certificates but...)

Dental AssistantCNA

Aerobic InstructorThings you still want to learn HobbiesBad Habits (being needy and stressed.... two in one photo)

New month already?!

2009-02-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

So apparently my January was lame since I didn't post. That's not to say I haven't been checking blogs... daily.... I just didn't feel there was anything too exciting. In all reality though I went out with friends, I helped my husband with school, I started my first ever card club, I went to a four day conference in Scottsdale and enjoyed the sun, my husband did cute things, I was sick, found out what one friend is having (a boy and she's stealing my name) another friend had her boy, desperately want to drop my birth control, started paying $200 a month for health insurance, was flat broke, wrote my tithing check anyway, received random $1500 grant for Ave being a genius (thank you again God), coveted new lines through pictures of CHA, found out my friend actually went to CHA and again coveted (I know it's wrong), saw "He's just not that into you"
and cried at random parts, reading a relationship book titled "How to improve your marriage without talking about it" and not talking about it, was forced into taking a pregnancy test because my co-workers say I'm overly ornery these days (negative, but considering I haven't come off birth control...), renovating my parent's basement so we can move this summer, replaced my car windshield, loved my job and my boss, torn between career dreams, Ave took me to dinner, sold my dad's gun in a parking lot at night (I felt like a drug dealer), had interesting religious conversations with boss, added want to learn how to sew to my list, and the random daily activities that make me, me and this life mine.
All in all... it is eventful... it is good. And I am continuing to try.
Still haven't: gotten to the gym, quit caffeine for more than four days, made my lunch more, organized my storage closet, done my taxes, re-certified as an aerobics trainer, scrapped, gotten all christmas present's delivered, finished my friends quilt for her now 8 month old boy, or told my husband enough how great he is and stop asking him to do so much.
But that list could go on forever.
Until something life changing occurs... post you later.

New Years Updates

2009-01-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

I have yet to get to my parents with my camera in hand to download photos. Really, nothing too exciting just family and good friends. It was really nice to have Avery around alot during his school break and me not working alot either. I got my husband back!!! =) We enjoyed Christmas Eve with his mom and extended family, extended doesn't quite describe the amount of people. Then Christmas morning Ave woke me up and then left to go shovel snow. We weren't supposed to get anything for each other this year. But I cheated. So I was slightly upset that he just up and ran out, we were doing Christmas at my parents. I walked the three houses down in my pj's and asked if he noticed anything from Santa at home. He kind of smiled and said we weren't supposed to get each other anything, but did I want him to come back for a minute and have our morning. He's learning quickly. He opened his three t-shirts (big sarcastic YAY) and our family gift from Santa, a snow tube for behind the four wheeler. All the while he kept saying what a brat I was because he felt bad he hadn't gotten anything for me. I just kept smiling and saying no biggie I didn't care at all. I just wanted him to have something from me. He's been working so hard so that we can have a good future, and he never gets anything new. Where as me the shopper.... hehehe. Then we walked back over to my parents and started getting breakfast ready. He asked if I noticed something on the mantle, I looked up, and there were a dozen beautiful roses. Christmas Roses!!! and the cutest letter (private) and an Avery time coupon with unlimited uses. I just kept grinning and smelling the roses and saying, "You said you hadn't gotten me anything!" It was a great Christmas! The best part is he told me later when he was in line the day before the lady behind him commented, "That's a great gift." He replied, "Yeah, my wife said we weren't supposed to get each other gifts this year. But I assume that means they just have to be really, really cheap." She just laughed, "You're a smart man." He is isn't he?
After Christmas with Rhodes' we headed over to Ave's dads for the afternoon. The rest of the day was eating and playing the new toys.
I was excited to receive an invitation for New Years Eve to a party. Very rare for us to go out anywhere except to my parents house. Celina had a birthday party planned for her husband Trevor. It was great to hang out and be with a bunch of my friends. Afterwords I kept commenting to Ave how much I like being around my friends, especially since all their husbands are cool and all the guys can get along and hang out with no akwardness. And how it seems like we all have the same values and priorities in our lives. It's just cool to see after all this time how we are almost all in the same place in our lives. It's so fun to talk about things going on and seeing how much we've all grown and yet we can still laugh with each other.
On the drive over an Ace of Base song came on the radio and I couldn't help but getting hysterical. Exactly six years ago, those same friends and I were jumping on a bed, busting out Ace of Base all night, singing at the top of our lungs and ringing in the new year. Oh how we've matured... hahaha... not really. We still spent the night jumping up and down and singing at the top of out lungs... but Rock Band is totally legit.
I've thought about resolutions but those never seem to work for me... so I've decided on a quest. To be all little bit better at a little bit of everything. Thank you President Hinckley.

Hyvää Joulua

2008-12-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

That is my official Merry Christmas in Finnish. I was so planning on being on top of things and mailing out Christmas Cards but... that didn't happen. Plus, I do sort of figure there isn't much to write about. We don't have children to report on, it's us two. Our lives pretty much just consist of work and school. I am very proud of Avery for him excelling once again at his studies and getting us one year closer to graduating. Only three more to go!!! =) Next year holds more adventures for the tww of us, and our love grows more and more every day. I thank my Heavenly Father for a man like him as my partner. He makes me stronger, better, and smarter. I love our little life together and being able to have our "poor little college student" phase. Gotta love Kraft macaroni and cheese. Hope all of your Christmas' are filled with love for your family and more importantly our Savior whose birth we celebrate. I know my Redeemer lives and loves us.
Merry Christmas.
Love, Avery and Jenn Johnson

Worst Date...s

2008-11-25T16:09:00.000-08:00

So I think Em meant me Jenn by tagging me. Even so I have some stories to tell. Why is it there are so many crazies out there?! There was my good friend that I took to a dance because my best friends were dating his best friends so I mentioned it might be fun just to all go together. But we were just friends! I had no interest, and had told him. So the whole night he kept trying to hold my hand, and would not leave me alone. Then I go to drop him off and he kisses me. Like sticks his tongue down my throat. I had no idea what to do, I just hurried and left without saying anything, leaving him on the porch. I started bawling, by the time I got home I was histerical. My parents were sitting on the couch and my dad asked what was wrong, all I could sob was, "HE KISSED ME!!! And I didn't want him to!" And my dad, the over-protective, 'I'm cleaning my shotgun' to any boyfriend dad LAUGHED!!! The worst was I had told my friends and the guy found out and asked me one day, "Did you really cry when I kissed you?" Poor guy, but yes, to make matters worse my friends continued to encourage the crush, even though I repeatedly made it clear I was not going to entertain the thought. And one day they locked me in the car with him, alone, where he ambushed me with a song he had written for me, about how much he liked.. loved me.. too bad I was not interested. Poor kid, but still how awful!!!
That's pretty much the worse, but one time this kid in college asked me on a date. Turns out he had a girlfriend, who was ugly, and he had set me up with his wierdo friend. The whole night was so awkward, and when he went to take me home, his friend (the kid I had a crush on) and his girlfriend had written JUST MARRIED on the back windshield and made us take a picture in front of it... KILL ME!!! Never saw him again!
I could give some more... but for another day.
I tag Audra, Celina, Cea, and Hanna... even though I can probably guess hers.

Social Butterfly

2008-11-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has known me for a little bit, knows that I really enjoy being around people.

Doesn't matter if I fit in or even participate, there's just something about being where the action is. Plus I really HATE being alone. So with being so terribly bored the last few weekends and feeling stuck without Ave, I planned our whole weekend around visiting friends. Now I usually see my friends frequently, I do lunch with someone every week. I have to. It's my lifeline. But then when Ave comes home it's rare we go do something or see his friends. So friday we went to the Bond movie with his best friend. Then Saturday we went with my best friends from high school Celina and Shelby. We had a game night and it was a blast.

Shelby and her husband Vaughn.

Celina and her husband Trevor.

Avery and Celina's daughter, Ari. They have fun together!

Celina's little boy, Kason. Isn't he adorable.

After we left I was telling Ave how nice it was to be out with friends. Some weekends just sitting at home with a pizza and a movie is what the doctor ordered. But there are those times where I need to be around people, and friends, and children, and other girls! =) The next day we had sunday dinner with Hanna and Cody! Thanks again Hanna, the potatoes were delicious.

So here's to friends! Thanks to all of mine for always adding something to my life. I wouldn't be the same without each one of you. And to my husband who might be a little bit quieter and less likely to want to go out, but will go with me, because he loves me! And it doesn't hurt that he likes all my friend's hubby's.

Bond... Avery Bond?

2008-11-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

Last night we went and saw the new Bond movie with Ave's best friend and his girlfriend. It was really good by the way. I love Daniel Craig as 007, he does such a good job. We were talking about it afterward. I like to joke that Ave kinda looks like Daniel Craig. And after this movie we were noticing some personality similarities. I married James Bond!!! Hahaha, only it's the closed off, showing no emotion, just getting the job done, taking the hits and keep on running Bond who's my companion. What's fun about these past two movies is you can see how he really is affected by the woman in his life. He does have emotions, he just does a really good job at controlling them. It makes a way more of a believable character and scarily similar to my own hubby. Every once in a while he'll show me that chink. =) Oh, and he's just as, if not more gorgeous. Sorry ladies! All mine.

By the way... if anyone is looking for a more formal review, a good friend of mine is a movie critic. Check him out at any time, he's the only one I usually listen to.

http://www.lukehickman.blogspot.com/

He just reviewed Quantum of Solace.

Weekend... week

2008-11-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

We kind of had a lame Halloween. We didn't have any parties to go to, no trick or treaters come to our little basement door, and Ave didn't want to dress up. I did for work on Thursday. That was fun. But Halloween, we just ended up sitting at home watching a zombie movie. Semi halloweeny but not really. I had told Aves a few days before that I can't wait until we have kids because then we can do things like carve pumpkins and go out. He told me I could do that now, but I would be alone. BOO! =) I did make pumpkin bread trying to be festive and channel the goodies. Still it was fun just the two of us. One day I'll miss these times, but it is fun to have a house full of giggles and ghouls. I can't wait.
This week has just been normal life. Work all day and school until the wee hours of the night. I have been proud, I'm keeping up my goal of going to the gym. But often I just spend the night at the gym or watching t.v. while Ave is in the kitchen doing homework. Borring! Hopefully one day he'll graduate and I'll get my husband back.

Power of Choice

2008-10-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend a banquet in honor of Glenn Beck. He received the first ever pioneer in leadership award from the BYU Management Society. My dad got tickets through his secretary, it was quite elite. For those of you who don't know Glenn Beck is a talk show host. He also, until recently had a show on CNN, but now is signed with Fox News. I enjoy his take on current events and his refreshing opinions. He is very conservative and is a convert to the LDS church. His show has been one of the fasting growing in the nation and he's in the running for being the second biggest, tied with Sean Hannity.

He spoke on the Power of Choice. Mostly he spoke about upcoming trials; economical, financial, political, etc. And how one person's voice matters. That we shouldn't just sit back and allow what's going to happen, happen without our say. He talked about how it is going to be hard, and who do you trust these days. When it seems like no one shares your views, not politicians, the media, or any one with the authority to make a difference. How do we just sit back and watch all of our values and beliefs being belittled and trampled by our leaders. But he brought the point of what it says on our dollar bill. In God we trust. That God is the only who can fix our economy, nation, our people. That we have to trust in Him. That even though it's going to get harder, it will make us better for it. We still will be happy, we will focus on what really matters. I'm not doing all of what he said justice, but it was very inspiring. It reminded me exactly of what the apostles were trying to convey to us this past conference. It's going to suck, but it will be alright. Trust in the Lord.

You should check Glenn Beck out sometime, his books are fun to read. http://www.glennbeck.com/

I have hope that someone out there, who speaks with politicians, leaders, and media moguls... has his head on straight.

Sorry it's fuzzy, apparently my dad doesn't know how to use a flash.

Ave thought he was funny...

My Dad, my mom's eye, and lil' bros Ammon & Austin... making a face.

Wow, apparently no one knows how to use a flash... That's Glenn Beck... kind of.

Nevertheless, it was entertaining. Best quote of the night...

"I find myself constantly being pissed of by lazy people."

ATV - ing

2008-10-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

Ave had last week off because of UEA. Which was lovely. The only time he relaxes is when he's not in school. He went down to the Little Sahara Sand Dunes with my parents and little brothers to go four wheeling. Which I have to tell you is in the top five things of Ave's Loves. He took the camera down but didn't take any pictures. I had to work but drove down friday night and stayed saturday to play for a bit. My aunt Kathy and her family were there as well. That was nice to see them, it's been a while. Sometimes I feel sequestered living in a little apartment away from all the action. I took a few pictures when we were out riding.

My parents have two golden retrievers, Savannah and Apollo. Since we only live three houses away we're over there quite a bit and we've basically claimed Apollo as our dog. We are the only ones who usually take him out for a walk or play with him. Oh and he adores Avery! Any time Ave leaves he'll just stare out the window looking longingly after him. He is also the cuddliest dog. He'll just lay his head next to me while we watch tv and not even move. He's only about 1 1/2 years old so still a baby but Ave's trained him well, he's a great dog. Ave even got him to ride on the back of his tiny four wheeler without jumping off. We drove clear out into the dunes, over and around and he just layed his head on Ave's lap.

Last year when we took him out he was a puppy, when he would take off down the sand dunes it was hilarious. Usually he couldn't stop in time, it wasn't so amusing this time.

We took Savannah out as well but she was being naughty so the boys and I buried her. =)

I took off after a day, and spent the night watching chick flicks... hehehe. Much better.

But now we're back to school and work and normal routines.

Halloween

2008-10-13T18:11:00.001-07:00

Page Pets & MySpace Layouts

Halloween Decor

2008-10-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

Since our little apartment can't hold visitors I'm unable to show off my creative side. I used to even decorate my apartment in provo, and was dubbed Martha by my roommates. I still have some of that but I collected a few new things the last couple years since I can have free reign.

The pumpkin to the far right is one of Avery's creations. BTW they always make the cutest holiday decor... I can't sneak anybody anything. =)

These are some new additions... this used to be Avery... but he played XBOX too long without paying attention to me.. hehehe

I just like the black cat... plus the halloween lights reflect of it so nicely. But you can't see that.

Come again soon!

Designing

2008-10-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

So after a lunch with my extendo family today I decided it would be worth it to finally figure out all this blog stuff and update my page. I'm trying this for now.. until I get sick of it.
Drama in our lives: A) Ave's car is in the shop because some kid hit his car while it was parked outside of his dad's last saturday. All the conference talks about not letting things get to you.. those were for me.
B) My car has to go in the shop to start working on the thousands of dollars worth of things going out on it. BOO!!
C) We don't have the $ for all this... but I do know it'll all work out.

Pioneer Day

2008-07-24T12:35:00.001-07:00

Luckily Ave has pioneer ancestors so I CAN enjoy this holiday... Mine only go as far back as my grandparents on both sides... but you know!
Enjoy the fireworks!!

The Beginning

2008-04-30T21:25:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure who will actually ever see this but... seems like a fun thing to start.