Christmas Tag

When do/did you start decorating for Christmas? The day after Thanksgiving. This takes MAJOR self control for me, since I'm ready for it by July.

Do you decorate alone or do others join in? I pretty much do it alone.

How/where would your dream Christmas be? Be home with family in California (but it would be snowing there...I can dream whatever I want), Christmas music playing, a fire in the fireplace, family and friends.

Did/do you get a tree this year? We got a Christmas tree tag this year, but so far we have had no luck finding one.

Did/do you put up lights? James does. Last year we had a bunch of lights on our tiny doorway and stairs and our friends teased us and said that we looked like we were in Vegas.

Do you decorate with colored or white lights? I think I like white lights better since it looks so nice. However, I decorate with colored lights. It's what I was raised on and it is more kid friendly.

What is your favorite Christmas CD? I just got the album, "White Christmas" by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I was raised on this and it makes me giddy.

Favorite religious song? O Holy Night...especially when my dad sings it. Also, Mary's boy child. Very sweet.

Favorite secular song? Sleigh Ride! When it comes on, I have to grab the person closest to me and dance around the house. You should see my family when we get all together. James is not a fan yet. He thinks I'm a dork. Mason thinks it's the greatest though!

What is your favorite Christmas movies? Muppet Christmas Carol, Elf, Christmas Story, White Christmas and Mr. Krugers Christmas.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition? My family celebrates St. Nicholas Day. We picked it up when we lived in Switzerland in 1988. On December 6th you put your shoe out and St. Nick fills it with goodies (if you're good). Also, you bake a king figurine in rolls and whoever finds the lucky roll gets to be the king/queen for the day (However, I learned the hard way that this does not necessarily bring with it respect).

What is your spouses? Listening to Bing Crosby and making spritzer cookies.

How do you decorate? (traditional, fun, classy, etc.) Traditional with a fun twist. The kid in me comes out.

When you you start listening to Christmas music? I sneak it all year round but I don't officially start until the day after Thanksgiving.

What did you do last year for Christmas? We went to James' parents in Texas and spent it with his family. It was very relaxing and fun. I got my fill of sappy made for tv Christmas/romance/heartwarming movies. Gotta love them! We also had Mason blessed the week following.

What are you doing this Christmas? Hopefully going to my families in California. All of my siblings and their families are going to be there! Plus, James' family might all be out there, too!

What food do you eat for Christmas dinner? My family always got Chinese food for Christmas dinner. It is tricky to find a place open, but well worth it. :)

What do you want Santa to bring you this year? Hmm...I can't really think of anything right now....crafty stuff?

I tag Kiersten, Kathryn, Heidi, and jessica...and ANYONE who reads this! I LOVE hearing about anything Christmas so blog away!

Tagged

Audrey tagged me with this little ditty: Go to your photo files and download the fourth picture from your fourth album. Then tag four people.

This little picture is of my brother, Tony, and his son, Ryan. Last December, Mason and I got to visit them with the rest of my family. This is a shot of them leading the way on a little hike. Now, I love all my nieces and nephews, but Ryan holds a special place in my heart because he made me an aunt for the first time. I was so proud!!! I would take him up on campus with me during my last semester at BYU and would have to work hard at containing my glee as I pushed him around in his stroller. I must have looked like a freak of nature. Oops. It is nearly five years later and I am still just as proud of the neat little man that he is. I just wish I could see him more often!

I tag: Aria, Kathryn, Kristi, and Jennie

More Tags

For you that don't care to read tags, ignore the next two posts and come back again in a couple more days. I'm sure I'll have some other incredibly interesting post ready then. For the rest of you, enjoy!

I am...Sitting at the edge of my couch trying to prepare myself for this tag. This is tricky stuff!

I think...too much. I worry a lot more than I should.

I know...That I am here for a reason and that there are things for me to do.

I want...Everyone to know how special they are and how loved and known they are INDIVIDUALLY by their Heavenly Father. We are his children! There is a reason we are here and experiencing the things we are and there is a way back. I want everyone to have the peace and the answers that the Gospel brings.

I have... Everything I need. Life is good.

I wish... James could be home with us instead of working and studying. I'm glad he does it though. He's a trooper. I also wish that I already got dressed for the day...seeing as it is coming up on NOON and I feel like a slug.

I hate...Mean people.

I miss...being a kid. Not that I don't enjoy growing up and being married and having our baby...it's just that I miss frolicking around with my siblings in our backyard and not having a care in the world. Now we have all scattered and I miss them.

I fear...falling down and breaking something.

I feel...a little bit drowsy.

I hear...Mason in his crib.

I smell...nothing really. My sniffer is pretty poor and so if there isn't anything really scented or stinky, I generally don't notice it.

I crave... melted American cheese on a scrambled egg english muffin. I'm not that classy I guess. D'oh!

I search... my friends blogs. Nothing deep right now. I don't have time!!!!

I wonder...Where James will get into vet school and where we will end up?

I regret... some dorky things I have done. I say SOME because most of them I just chuckle about.

I love...James. I have from the start and I always will.

I care...about people's feelings.

I always...prefer playing over working.

I am NOT...very picky.

I believe...in people. Especially James.

I dance...At every opportunity. Few things in life are better than dancing with friends and family in the house to whatever music is playing.

I sing...whenever I feel like it, BUT...

I don't always...sing the right words. In fact, I rarely do.

I write...more on my blog than I do in my journal. I need to work on that.

I win... rarely. I generally don't care, unless there is a prize. WOOHOO!!! However, I do like to trash talk like I think I'm going to win. It makes gmaes so much more fun.

I lose...my mind sometimes. I swear, I'm not all the way back to normal since having mason.

I never... turn down a yummy treat.

I listen... pretty well. Especially if someone is telling me something about relationships or dating. I'm a hopeless romantic. :)

I can usually be found...looking at my paper mache figurines and thinking about what to do next. James claims I love them more than I love him and Mason.

I read...a lot. I love a good book. I just finished The Host.

I am happy about...quite a lot of things. Life is good. I am pleased with how things are unfolding.

I tag...Kiersten

Heather's Tag

Four things you may not know about me:
1-I love really easily.
2-Once I love someone or something, I am devoted to the end.
3-Earthquakes freak me out SO much 'cause I'm afraid that things will fall on me and I'll break something.
4- Um...I guess that I break really easily and have Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I have broken almost every bone in my body. The femur bone is the worst though. Fortunatly, I haven't broken anything big for a while. Unfortunatly, I never do anything cool to brag about when I have a cast on. I usually did some lame-o thing. I've even lied to my doctor once about how I broke my hip. I told him I slipped, when in reality, I was spinning around on a dustpan and fell at the end of my suave spin...at the age of 14. I've always been cool.

I can't: Speak in accents to save my life. They all sound the same when I speak them.

I am extremely: fond of my family

Four places I go over and over again:
1-Wendy's (The frosties are keeping us cool this summer).
2-Campus to visit James.
3-Craft stores.
4-Sames Club

Four people who e-mail me:
1-Forwards from my mom.
2-Updates from facebook....I just signed up to view a picture of our friend and now I feel trapped!
3-Blogger letting me know that someone comment on my blog pictures...warms my little heart! :)
4-miscellaneous stuff. My friends gave up on me I think when they realized that I turned into a pretty poor pen pal. D'oh!

My four favorite foods:
1-Anything pasta. Especially mac n' cheese....my taste buds never matured.
2-Pizza
3-Steak or shredded beef.
4-Salt...James even gave me a salt lick for a birthday once.

Four places that I would rather be:
1-With James anywhere.
2-At a family reunion.
3-Swimming in a lake.
4-Camping.

Four Movies I watch over and over again:
1-Legally Blonde
2-While you were sleeping
3-Simon Birch
4-Nacho Libre

I tag my sister-in-law Sarah, when she gets her blog going :)

My Tag

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago....Hmmm, I guess I was getting ready to start my freshman year at college. I just barely got a new haircut for the big event. I remember trying to be daring but I think I just ended up looking like a mix between a lion and Jennifer Aniston. D'oh! Needless to say, I didn't make the biggest splash with the men-folk when I first got to BYU. I had no clue who my roommate was going to be, but I did get her name before we started school. I remember thinking that her name seemed so familiar to me. I guess it is no surprise that she is still one of my favorite and closest friends all these ten years later. Heavenly Father is good to me. I really think that we are around the people we are for a reason. He knew I needed a good pal to party-hard with in the wee hours of the morning. :) Ten years ago I felt so sad about leaving home and couldn't believe that life as a college student would be anywhere as great as it was then. I had no idea how much fun I would have!!! Life just gets better and better....and so does my hair (I hope).

2. 5 things on my to-do list:
-Paint the painting that I have been meaning to do since December for my mother-in-law.
-Finish getting our house in order. I love decorating, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. We'll see how long that will be....
-Research trade shows and enter my figurines so that I can move forward with my little business.
-Cut James' hair.
-Clean the house....continually on my list. I hate it.

3. If I were a billionaire I would....
I can't even imagine having that kind of dough. I guess I would pay off all school loans and then pay for James' vet school in advance. Then I would start my figurine business. Then I would share it with the people I love and then people who need it. Then buy a home that fits our needs (not too big, but enough for an art studio and enough land for James to have a barn and a bunch of animals) and decorate it the way that I wish. As stressful as it is NOT to have have money, it sure has helped me be a lot more creative than I ever would have been otherwise.

4. Bad habits:
I have a bunch, of course, but I guess a major one is that I am lazy. I would MUCH rather play with my little man than I would wash the dishes (BY HAND!!!!) so I usually do just that. I also am not the best planner. I MEAN to do so much, but that doesn't always happen. I am not very good at keeping in touch (thank goodness for blogs).

5. Last 5 places I have lived:
1. Stubbs Avenue....right smack dab in the middle of the ghetto of Provo!
2. Stan Smith's house....we JUST got married and stayed in this man's house while we were looking for a place. We were graciously invited to stay at his place while he and his wife were in the hospital. We were under the impression that they would most likely not be coming home anytime soon, but we wanted to hurry out anyway and find a place of our own. Two days later, the doorbell rang and in walked the old man! There went our relaxing movie night. Luckily we had found a place earlier that day so we headed out FIRST thing in the morning. SO AWKWARD!!!! I'm sure he still thinks we stole his old person bed linens....gross!
3. Thousand Oaks, California...moved home to persue a master's degree but ended up meeting my honey-bun.
4. Provo, Utah finishing school
5. West Virginia as a missionary

I would love to read a little tagging info on Heather, Jennie, Kristi, Carlee, and Amanda

Our Romantic History

My friend Kiersten tagged me with this fun little questionnaire. It looked like fun anyway, but since I'm currently away from my honeybun while visiting in California, I was especially happy to reminisce. What a great reminder of how much I love him!

Where did you meet your spouse?

I had just finished at BYU and had moved home to pursue a masters in art therapy. I was really not looking forward to joining the singles branch in our area and figured that i would NEVER meet ANYONE romantically. All the guys that I was not interested in as a teenager were who made up the branch. I sure was wrong! I walked into a meeting the first Sunday and saw a cute red-headed guy! He was the ward mission leader in the branch and I was so impressed with how much of a leader he was. I had never seen him before since he lived in another town and was two years younger than me. He was obviously the best catch in the ward and so I wrote him off since i knew that ALL the girls were trying to woo him. However, I was tickled pink that he was the guy that just happened to help set me apart for my new calling. (He doesn't remember this.) I tried over and over not to have a crush on him, but i was hooked from the start. Little did i know that he he had vowed NEVER to date a return sister missionary, (bad experiences with siters on his mission.) and so he never even thought about me as an option. I had to weedle my way into his heart.


What was the first thing you said to your spouse?

I have no clue....I'm sure that i initiated it though. It was probably "thanks" after he set me apart. the firs time that we really spoke was at a ward beach party. James brought his two kayaks (even more evidence of how studly he was.) and i hijacked one of them for most of the day. the majority of the crowd spent the day sunbathing, but we swam around with our friend, Craig. We talked about how hard it was to be home from our missions, etc., and i realized that he was more than just a good looking guy. i really enjoyed his company that day and that has never changed. I still think that he is the most interestng and funny person i know.


Where was your first date?

James and I had eventually become friends and spent some time together with other people at branch activities. One night he gave me a ride home from the branch temple night and the two of us gave dating advice to our mutual friend, Craig. James got really excited about the idea to go on a double-date to Ana Capa Island. (right off the coast of Southern California.) He kept going on and on about the details and I just figured that he was so excited because it would be a fun excuse to go out with me! I was pleased as punch! I waited and waited by the phone. Just when i gave up on the whole thing, (and while i was complaining about my woes to my sister on the phone.) he called! I had plans but i canceled them in a minute. When the happy day came, we rode on a fun boat out, hiked, kayaked, and talked. Even though he didn't seem super interested, I figured he was just shy.....after all i WAS an older, mature, and ravishing woman and most likely VERY intimidating. I was way off. It turned out that he just asked me as a friend because he thought that i would like that type of thing and he figured i was available. D'oh! I soon realized my folly and watched him hook up with a pretty tall blonde and figured that we would just be friends. However, i could not stop liking him. It killed me to see him with her because the more i got to know him, the more i loved everything about him.

Obviously, things didn't work out with her. (!!!!!!!!) When he asked me out for the second time, (six months later.)I was SO nervous because by this time i knew that if we started dating, that we would get married. PRESSURE! He took me down to Santa Barbara and we had dinner on the pier and then walked along the break wall holding hands. :) After that he took me to Golf n' Stuff to drive the go carts. I had always wanted to drive one, but i never was tall enough! It was worth the wait though. While getting out of the car, i realized that my FLY had been DOWN!!!! HORRORS! How long had it been down?!!! I had even just made fun of someone Else's embarrassing zipper. He claims that he didn't notice it. Probably because i was so sly at zipping it up while we walked through the crowd. the whole night was really nice. When we said goodnight on the doorstep, i was so nervous that he was going to try to kiss me that i didn't hear him say that he had a good time at first and therefore sounded disinterested when i said, "uh...yeah, me to."


Where was your first kiss?

We had been dating for about a month and i was house sitting for a family nearby. He came over to hang out and we ended up talking and flirting late into the night. At one point we were sitting on the couch talking quietly. I closed my eyes because i was so tired, and when i opened them, i saw a different look in his eyes. YIKES!!! I had never kissed anyone before and so i was so nervous! (Call me socially retarded, but i just didn't want to kiss a guy unless i really liked them and it just never really worked out before him.) He was such a cutie about the whole thing. The next day I had all my friends over for breakfast and I filled them all in on the happy event.

Who said "I love you" first?

I did. we had been dating for a while and I had loved him for so long that i really could not hold it in anymore. I totally freaked him out.

Did you have a long or short courtship/engagement? We dated from June to December. We got engaged on December 10th, 2005 and got married on January 6, 2006. About four weeks. Stressful, but sorta nice to hurry it up a little. My family was moving to China and wouldn't be back for a long time so we decided to get married before they left.

Where did you get engaged?

He took me back to our first REAL date in Santa Barbara. This time i had him take me to a Mexican restaurant instead and then we walked along the break wall like we did before. I had NO idea what he had planned. I thought that it was just an extra nice date because he was going to be leaving soon for BYU. He had talked to my dad earlier that evening and had the ring tucked away in his pocket all without me knowing. I was so pleasantly surprised!



Our engagement picture!

Where were you married?

We got married in the Newport Beach Temple. The LA Temple was closed for renovations and the San Diego Temple was closed for the yearly cleaning. I was so glad to live in a state with lots of options! I had never been there but it was beautiful!



How did your reception go?

It was really nice. We didn't want a reception, but family and friends kept pushing it. We were glad that they did because so many people came, and it was really fun. We didn't want to have a wedding line, but so many people kept walking through the door that we never really moved from one spot.

Where was your honeymoon?

We went to Solvange, California, a cute little tourist trap town an hour away. It was so quaint and beautiful.

If you could have changed anything about your day, what would it have been?

I was pretty grumpy leading up to the wedding ceremony. I was mad that i did not have time to buy a pretty new dress to wear to and from the big events. Mostly I was just SUPER nervous. He was so patient with me and i eventually came around.