The Year of 2011

I can hardly believe that another year is over and how much has happened. If anything, this year has taught me that the Lord is really in charge of my life. It is fun to look back and see how everything has progressed this year.

I quit my first job. After a year and a half of doing IT Audit for KPMG, I gave my two weeks notice the last week of January in pursuit of a new opportunity.

I got a new job with a healthcare software consulting company. At the end of February, I started my new job as a support analyst for Huron Healthcare. It was a little rough in the the beginning, but things are better now.

I moved to Portland, Oregon. I honestly never imagined myself living in Oregon with all the tree huggers. But despite the weirdness, I have learned to really love Oregon. Of course, the rain hasn't returned yet.

I traveled to Chicago and Nashville. To feed my appetite for traveling, I got to visit Chicago and Nashville with work. I stayed a few extra days in both places to see the sites. Chicago was pretty amazing because I got to be with longtime friends and eat pizza!

I paid off my car. It is so nice not having any debt or interest over my head!

I attended the temple at least twice a month. The temple has become one of the greatest blessings in my life. Moving from Oregon, I actually live closer to the temple than I did in Utah, but I miss having so many to choose between.

I got a new sister. Landon married Shelley in August in the Mount Timp Temple.

I have updated my style to include skinny jeans and boots. I didn't really see it coming, but with my fear of the rain, I was determined to stay dry. So far it has worked out well. It has also been one of the driest falls and I am completely fine with it.

I started dating Bryce. There are some good guys out there!

Even though this has been one of the most challenging years of my life, it has also been very blessed. In some ways, it is easier to see the Lord's hand when things are hard and confusing, but I have grown and learned a lot. I am so grateful for my testimony and the Gospel. I wouldn't be able to survive without it.

Merry Christmas Vacation

This post is way over due! Christmas was good, but was a little different. First, Hyrum and I were the the only kids home so the house was just too quiet for the holidays. Second, the weather was sunny and pretty warm and I didn't mind one bit. On Christmas Eve, we all went down to Grandma's, which has become somewhat of a tradition having yummy soups, opening presents, and acting out the nativity. Of course, my favorite part is seeing the family!

Christmas morning, Hyrum and I actually woke up too early that we were told to wait. Usually the parents are waiting for us to wake up, but this year we beat them! We opened presents and Santa was very good to me and got me a Cricut! Let the crafting begin!

 We then had church which was a special Christmas program with lots of music and good talks. I especially enjoyed the talk that mentioned Tim Tebow because I think everything is understood better with a football analogy! We then came home and had an amazing ham dinner. It wasn't our traditional sweet'n'sour chicken buffet, but dinner was still yummy! Then for the rest of the day, I played with the Cricut.

Monday was very exciting because Bryce came! It was fun to have him meet the family and explore the property. I am pretty sure he was a little scared when I took him on the four wheeler, but he survived even though we ran out of gas. We then had a fun family party at my Aunt's house. We finished the night off with some hot tubing and thankfully the clouds cleared out so I could see the stars!

Tuesday, Bryce and I went and visited his cousin who lives in Santa Rosa. It was funny because she actually worked for KPMG in Salt Lake a few years before I did so we went through the people we both knew. After, I then took Bryce around town showing him different things.

Then on Wednesday, Mom and I went shopping and visited Great Grandma Adair. I was so glad we were able to see her because she passed away the next day. From the time I can remember, she always told me she would live until she was 100 and she did!

On Thursday, I went down to Concord to visit Bryce. I was pretty nervous about driving down there and meeting the family. And don't even worry, I totally went the wrong way on one of the freeways and then had to navigate my way through Vallejo.

So then I ended up staying until Saturday. It was funny because one of his cousins, Laura, is actually one of my friends from BYU. Both being from the Bay Area, we gave each other sweet ghetto names, L-Dawg and B-Dawg. Anyways, it was a good time and small world.

When I got home Saturday, I was pretty tired, but ringing in the New Year was especially exciting this year because Mason Dale Cook was born! At 12:01AM our time. He is a cutie and love him already. 

Ward Christmas Party

So my ward had a fancy Christmas party this year and I decided I wanted to do a cocktail type dress. I went shopping and found a black dress at H&M. It was sleeveless with a keyhole back so I had some work to do. I went to Nordstrom and asked a girl there to help me make the dress into an outfit. She helped me pick out the jewelry and the lace tights. Then I really needed a cardigan. She ran over to the dress department and found the perfect one except they didn't have one in black. So they found one in the Salem store so I drove down there to get it. I then found the red heels at Nordstrom Rack, which were so perfect and comfortable! So it was quite the effort for the outfit, but so fun to dress up.

 Aubrey and I so excited to celebrate Christmas!

Simply having a wonderful Christmas time!

Aubrey told us we had to dance the first slow song together. She then snapped a picture of us on the floor.

Christmas Cheer

With Christmas only a week away, it was time to enjoy the Portland sites of the season. Peacock Lane was the starting place with a street of houses all decked out with lights.

Apparently, it is quite the tradition and the houses were rather unique, which is quite fitting in terms of keeping Portland weird.

 This house was done pretty well, especially with the little figures on the lawn.

Despite the abominable snowman about to attack us, Bryce and I smile for a picture.

After Peacock Lane, it was time to see downtown Portland lights. Why hello Rudolph! I love that the Portland sign even gets into the Christmas spirit!

In Pioneer Square, the city put up this awesome Christmas tree. I just love all the lights!

Well done Portland!

Sweet Roses

Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses!

My First Craigslist Adventure

So last night, I was still working at midnight finishing some testing before a change went live the next morning. It was pretty intense so after finishing, I decided to jump on craigslist to help calm me down before heading to bed. I have been wanting some new furniture. So I found exactly what I was looking for....tan microfiber couch and loveseat. It said it was nice and came from a non smoking/pet free home. So I decided to email them to see if it was still available.

The next morning, I got an email back saying they were still available and I could come look at them. Also, they made note that my email was sent pretty late. So I called and arranged to see the couch and loveseat during my lunch break. I was a little worried about going because you hear about those crazy craigslist stories, but the guy seemed really nice on the phone. I also told my coworker if he didn't see me after lunch to get worried.

Well, I show up at the house and it is nice and in a good neighbor. Then a nice older guy opens the door and invites me in. He was very nice and showed me the couch and loveseat that were in the garage. I asked a few questions and looked them over. I also brought my measuring tape and got the dimensions. He then left me alone for a little bit. I decided I liked them and would make an offer.

I go back into the house to tell him I like the couch and loveseat and as we are talking, I see out of the corner of my eye a framed picture of a white-haired man. I completely lost my train of thought as I recognized the man in the picture, but I couldn't figure out who he was exactly. The seller could tell I was distracted and I so I asked him who the man in the picture was. He said Spencer W. Kimball! I was like "oh you are LDS? So am I!" He then pointed out The Family Proclamation, a picture of the Portland Temple, a Greg Olsen picture of Christ. How did I not see this sooner?! It was great!

Next, he showed me a picture of his family and the new couches he bought. We then turned back to business and I confirmed his asking price. He then asked if I wanted a deal. Of course I did! So he said make an offer, which I did, and he accepted! He added that wasn't so hard was it!

So then I had to figure out how to get the couch and loveseat to my place and what I was going to do with the furniture I already had! I wasn't planning on buying so soon. So I got back to work and texted some friends and within the hour, I had a friend with a truck and another friend willing to help me. We met at my place at 6pm and moved the old furniture into the dining room to make space for the new. Then I ran to my neighbors to see if they had a tarp and rope I could borrow because of course even though it hasn't rained in days it would rain the one night I decide to move furniture! So my neighbors totally had a tarp and rope, he is an Eagle scout! Then we went over and picked up the furniture.

The wife answered the door and was so nice to us. She told us that her husband was so happy his furniture was going to a good home. He told her that I reminded him of their daughter who has things together so when I told him I had a tarp and rope he responded, "Of course she does!" He then let us try out his new couches and told me to come back in 5 years and he would sale them to me. Then they gave us pizza! Seriously, though what a great craigslist experience!

We got the couches home and then moved the old ones to the DI truck. After, my friend, Adeline came over and she brought me dinner and helped me get everything put together! I think it turned out great and they are super comfortable. And all that happened in less than 24 hours....what a great day!

I just can't get over how nice the people are who I have met in Oregon and how small the world is especially in the church. I am so blessed with amazing friends and so many tender mercies from the Lord.

You've Got Mail

For the past three weeks, I have received at least one package a week! It feels a lot like Christmas....oh wait it is!!! So today, I got a package from my friend, Shalee. She sent me an incredible scarf she found in Spain when she was there a few months ago. We had high hopes of being able to meet up, but a new adventure started for her so we had to settle for a package. Also in the package, she included our Christmas card that we exchange every year! The idea started in 2004 when we were on Study Abroad in Vienna. We wanted to have a little reminder of our time in Vienna so we found a cute German Christmas card and decided to start a tradition of sending the card to each other every year. We sign and date it each time!

We have missed a few years, but I super impressed still that we haven't lost the card with all the moving we have done since 2004. I hope we continue this tradition for many years to come!
 PS I will get a picture of the scarf once I find the perfect outfit to wear it with.

Spirit of Christmas: Living Room

So the thing I was most excited for this Christmas was getting an amazing Christmas tree. I mean Oregon is the Christmas tree farm capital of America! I was going to take full advantage. This tree is pretty amazing with how thick and full it is!

I made the bell garland so there wasn't so much white behind the tree, but I tried to keep everything very simple and classy. It went pretty well with the limited resources of decorations!

So of course, I was going to decorate the mantle, but for some reason it took some time to get it right. It probably doesn't help that I only have one stocking, but I haven't found anything perfect to give it that complete feel yet.

I reused some of the decorations I got for Thanksgiving, but just made a few twists. I added berries to the branch lights and think they look even better than before. Then I love having the two little nativity scenes from Jerusalem and Vienna. The nutcracker music box is from my third grade teacher and love it!

I had to use the little chest since I love it so I just added a little bow to make it Christmasy!

So one thing that really threw me off decorating for Christmas was having blue couches. If only I had tan ones! I must confess I looked at craiglist a lot this past week and even stopped at a furniture store, but luckily I had a few decorations that made the blue couches work.

When I was home for Thanksgiving, I found this nutcracker in my closet. I got it in Frankfurt, Germany when I was there on a temple trip during my study abroad. It is so awesome especially compared to the ones I have found here, but why did I only get one? Clearly, I wasn't in thinking decorating when I got it because everyone knows you should get two!

Spirit of Christmas: Bathroom

Even the bathroom got a little Christmas cheer this year!

And I just love how many penguins there are in my place now!

Spirit of Christmas: Front Door & Hallway

I wanted an advent calendar so badly, but it was sure hard to find a good one. The cute little wooden ones are cute, but are made so poorly that they were already falling apart at the store. I found this cute little wall hanging one and just loved the colors. Then I found the cute red rug that I thought just made everything come together!

Surprisingly, finding a place to hang the tree was kind of hard, but I decided the door was the best place because it would be visible so I would remember to change it.

For the hallway since the cranberry centerpieces in the kitchen went so well, I made another one. I just love how it looks with the pine cones and the sign above. Oh, Christmas joy!

Spirit of Christmas: Dining Room & Kitchen

So of course, I have spent the last week decorating for Christmas. I could barely focus at work because I just wanted to be home getting ready for Christmas. It seriously is the most wonderful time of the year! And this year, I was so excited for it! So my ideas started in the dining room and kitchen this time. I wanted to use a lot of red berries since there are red berries in the curtains.

 Fresh cranberry centerpieces. I just love them. I have one on the table and one on top of the bookcase. I think they are just so cute especially with the floating candles.

 In the kitchen, I used a combination of old decorations and new decorations!

 I found this "Take Joy" plate and I just had to have it because it reminded me of Brian Regan "Take Luck" so I just laugh every time I see it and say it!

 I found this adorable penguin dish at the craft store and it just was too cute to pass up. I brought out some penguin plates and cups and they just went perfect, so clearly it was meant to be!

 I was planning on using the Merry Christmas blocks on the mantle, but the blocks worked too perfectly in the kitchen because they have teal accents and then the perfect green and red!

 I added little ornaments to the tree!

Pot Roast Heaven

Lately, I have been doing a lot of pot roast dinners. They are just so easy and turn out so yummy. This was a typical one of roast, potatoes, and carrots. I also made an avocado and cranberry spinach salad. For dessert, it was crepes with nutella and raspberries, but of course there are no pictures of those because they get eaten up too quickly!

 

Today, I tried a new pot roast recipe. It had me combine cream cheese, cream of chicken, ranch dressing mix, and I added some sour cream just for fun. It was quite tasty! I also made butternut squash soup, just one of my absolute favorite things especially with how cold it has been lately. Then there was also homemade bread that my friend gave me. Of course, since it was Fast Sunday, I was starving and then ate too much.