Christmas 2010

Christmas is over?!  How could time fly so fast?  I realize this will be a lame post since my camera was dead for 99% of the holiday but I will try and describe everything in great detail (kidding).  Most of these pictures aren't very clear because I took them with my iPhone.   First of all...an update.  We went to John's work party at Castle Manner a while back and I didn't get around to posting the one picture I took.  It was a fun time though I was bummed that I didn't win the Xbox 360 with Kinect.  (Especially since I had purchased one already for John for Christmas and could have sent it back)  

John got off of work early on Thursday before Christmas which was AWESOME!  I had fun while he was working with my mom making Christmas gifts for her neighbors.  I got some cute sparkly tissue paper to wrap up some cookie dough.  Super easy and turned out darling!

I also decided John and I needed first-year-of-marriage stockings and since I couldn't find ANY cute fabric in Logan, I resorted to buying simple pre-made stockings and sewing our names on.  I chose this method because my parents have stockings from their first year of marriage that my great grandma made them...with their names in sequins. I also bought beads to sew a big snowflake on each one but ended up not having time.  Guess I'll save that for next year!  I had fun listening to my niece Mia read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to my parents on the kitchen floor while I worked.

 

We started out Christmas Eve by singing at the rest homes.  It is a family tradition and I loved sharing it with John.  He was a good sport and sang a couple of duets with me.  We then tried to find a restaurant for breakfast without an hour long wait.  We ended up at Village Inn. After a short nap at our place we headed out for grocery shopping with my dad.  Another tradition in the Ballam family.  All the kids go to the store and pick out their favorite meal (we make them all for a huge feast that night) while my mom stays home and cleans.  For some reason she loves this tradition.  Haha.  Anyway, John and I went all over town looking for Guarana, a traditional Brazilian soda that Nick requested we buy.  We couldn't find it anywhere.  Luckily John made his famous eggnog which was a delicious replacement.  We had fun opening presents and doing a little concert.  Yet another tradition we do for my mom each year.  John even played the piano and sang at the same time.  So impressive!  We slept on the couch in the basement of my parents house that night with my niece, nephew, sister and brother in law.  The others chickened out this year and slept in beds.  (John and I were both sore in the morning and wishing we'd followed suit)  Christmas morning was full of aebelskivers, candy, presents and sleepiness!  We tend to get up a few hours earlier when the kids stay over, though I'm not complaining.  It was perfect. We headed to my grandma Ballam's for our annual House-A-Fire battle.  John and I didn't do too great and only ended up with one gift card each.  Better practice up for next year!  We rounded out the night watching Tron at our apartment with some of my siblings before heading for our annual late night Christmas Beto's trip.  We are full of traditions at our house! 

The partying continued through today.  John and I used our one night's stay at the Marriott and took advantage of their hot tub.  We also had a nice dinner at Elements before.  To top off a romantic evening we went back to our room and watched Tommy Boy.  So classy.  So fun!  Though we wanted to hit up the continental breakfast we overslept.  Guess we'll have to return someday to check it out.  (I did take 4 suckers from a bowl at the front desk to make up for it)

Christmas was different but wonderful this year.  John is my best gift.  I am so lucky to have such a perfect person as my husband.  He makes me happy every day.  I couldn't ask for more!  (Though the new clothes and sleigh bed were nice too ;))

Where Are You Christmas?

I have officially been doing homework for 6 hours tonight and decided it is time for a break!  I have been thinking a lot about Christmas this year and how things have changed so much for me since last year.  It seems like it was JUST Christmas and I was performing with Pickleville Playhouse.  This year I am far too busy to even sing a note!  As far as John and I go, last year at this time he was hoping I'd finally agree to marry him.  I was still a little freaked out at the idea, having other boys on my mind, but definitely loved him a lot.  I never would have imagined that I would be married in less than a year!  I am so thankful that John was patient with me last year so that I could have him to myself this year :)

I feel a little bit like Cindy Lou Who as I contemplate how Christmas is different when you are "grown up".  This year since I am now married will be much different.  Though we will be spending the holiday with my family, the present giving situation will be much different.  My parents are no longer giving me gifts to unwrap but instead giving me a check.  This will be a huge blessing to me since John and I just moved into a much nicer apartment and the cost reflects the niceness.  Isn't it funny that I am excited to pay rent for my Christmas present?  My gift giving will also be a little different due to lack of funds.  It is amazing how expensive it is to be married!  Hopefully I can stay within budget but still find great presents for my siblings.

The hardest part is not buying everything that I want to give to John.  He has been the greatest blessing to me and I want to give him the best Christmas possible.  However, since I am not able to work this semester I have to use the money that he is earning to buy his presents.  Seems a little weird to me.  Hopefully he will love what I got him and not be too mad at what I spent ;)  John is seriously the best. I love him more every day and feel so blessed to have him in my life.

Anyway, that is my two cents about a grown up Christmas.  I am excited that I have nieces and nephews to share it with.  Christmas is so fun with the little tykes!  :)  John and I were supposed to get some Christmas pictures taken but have been too busy so I will have to post an old pic to go with this post!  This is us in 2006 before the LHS Christmas dance.  :)

I Miss This...

Thinking back on my last 20.5 years there are a few moments that stand out in my life.  Most of them come from September 3rd, 2010.  I am so blessed!

Thanksgiving Time!

Thanksgiving has never been one of my favorite holidays but this year I was definitely ready for a break!  Life is so crazy these days with work, school, apartment hunting etc.  I feel like I never see John and when I do I am in a rush to do something or grumpy about doing homework.  Thankfully we both got a few days to relax. 

Our break unofficially began Tuesday night around 5:30 when John got sent home from work because of the approaching blizzard.  However they sent him home too late and it was already too snowy for him to make it up Mountain Road, let alone up my parents' street.  So he parked a few blocks away at the stake center and climbed up the hill.  He had holes in his shoes so I hiked down the hill and met him with a pair of boots.  It was fun to have him home and I was happy he was safe in our not-so-safe car.

The next day they let him come in early and only work a half day so he was done around 4.  I spent the day cooking with my mom since I knew I wouldn't get another chance this Thanksgiving.  When John got home we headed to Park City.  It was too slick for our bald tires so we drove through Tremonton and stopped in Centerville to switch to his dad's truck.  Thank goodness!  We made it to Park City around 9.  John's parents' rented a really nice house with lots of bedrooms to fit us all.  John and I had fun watching the Jazz and hitting they hay early.  Thanksgiving was an interesting one.  I loved being with John (our first Thanksgiving meal together in all the years we've been together) but it was hard to not be with  my family.  I have dreaded that part of getting married for years.  I hate the thought of not being with them on Christmas but luckily I can face that obstacle when it comes next year :)  We also went and saw "Tangled" which was adorable!  (Luckily, since my parents have tickets for us to see it again this Saturday).  John and I also tried out the hottub at the house in the FREEZING outdoors!

Friday we spent the day shopping around the outlets and then getting new tires on our car in Centerville.  Then we headed to Training Table and rounded out the night perfectly with the Jazz vs Lakers game! (Need I say more)

We contemplated going home Saturday but decided to stick around and see my brother in law Stefan before he went to the airport.  We met them at a funny restaurant called Bucca de Beppo where we all ate way too much and enjoyed each other's company.  After that we did a little Christmas shopping and met up with Ruth and Forrest for a fun dinner at The Melting Pot.  Definitely one of my new favorite restaurants!!!  We didn't want to face the music (school/work) in Logan so we stayed one more night with the Blair's in Centerville and headed home Sunday.  Now back to reality!  This year I am Thankful for my husband... and a break from school! :)

Finally!

After many, many years of attending the Anderson's Seed and Garden Christmas Open House John and I FINALLY won something!!!  I had been in earlier this fall to put our names in for the drawing and have been watching the newspaper for drawing slips.  We also went early to the open house to buy some stuff to be able to get more drawing slips.  We had a grand total of 7 slips with our names on them entered in different drawings.  John really wanted the food smoker and I really wanted the one night/dinner for two at the Marriott.  We also entered in for a night at an inn at Bear Lake and passes to Beaver.  Anyway, John ended up winning the dinner and hotel that I wanted and I couldn't have been more excited!  We have to use it before December 30th so we are planning on going after Christmas :)

I also had a fun time at my aunt Lila's annual Wreath Party.  It is a fun girl's craft night that I look forward to all year.  This year I decided I had too many wreaths so Ester and I bought some other crafts.  We also made white boards that turned out really cute.  So nice to take a break from school and visit with family.

After the wreath party I went to bed for an hour or two before John came home.  I then took another short nap before we headed to the movie theater for HARRY POTTER at 3 am.  It was so amazing.  I loved it.  Definitely my favorite of all the movies so far!!!

Let it Snow!

I can't believe I'm saying it but the snow in the mountains makes me smile every time I see it.  It makes me feel like Christmas is around the corner. 

This weekend was a fun but stressful one.  John and I had to move out of our apartment on Friday which was CRAZY because John worked all day.  His dad came up to help us move all the big stuff which was so helpful.  Saturday morning he came up again and helped us box everything up.  If I learned anything from this experience it is to keep boxes!  Having the box for my pans and china would have been so nice.  We also found mold in the livingroom, kitchen, bathroom and closet.  The closet was the worst because it was all over our shoes etc.  I have a feeling they will be going straight in the trash.  :(  We got mostly done with Forrest's help but ended up having to finish today.  (Not the greatest Sunday activity I know but we are paying rent every day we are there)  I am incredibly disappointed in having to move, especially because of the way our landlord handled it.  I do NOT like being lied to so I will be glad to eventually find an apartment with an honest landlord. 

After packing we HURRIED to Centerville, met up with John's mom and headed to Orem.  We were able to make it just in time to see the Scarlet Pimpernel at the Hale Center Orem.  It was awesome!  I am always impressed with their productions.  After that we stopped at Tai Pan and then met up with John's sister and her husband for the Christmas Expo which was fun.  John got a hat and I got a cute little snowman.  Then we ate dinner at the Mayan which is always a treat.  We watched a movie after and got home around 2 am.  Needless to say it was difficult waking up this morning!  But oh so fun!

ONE more week til Thanksgiving.  I am so lucky to have professors who are cancelling class the week of Thanksgiving.  The only class I have that week is my Monday evening class!  YIPPEE!!!  Time for Christmas decorations and pumpkin pie!  If only John and I had an apartment to decorate...

Surprise!

So...I have had a cold/flu for about 2 weeks. John has also been extremely sick and our poor dog has been coughing. Friday night we figured out why. After living in our muggy apartment for 2 months I decided I couldn't handle it anymore and I went to open the window. This is what I found.
Dirt? Guess again. Mold. I have more nasty pictures but for the sake of the internet community I will refrain from posting them. This disgusting stuff was all over the window, baseboards and the carpet was soaked. It makes sense that I was more sick than John because it was mostly all on my side of the bed. It also explains why when I stayed home in bed to get better I ended up feeling 10 times worse!

Anyway, we packed up our stuff that night and moved back in with my parents. We talked to our landlord today and he wants us moved out by Friday. Not sure how that will work since we have nowhere to go and John and I are never home long enough to pack a suitcase, let alone an entire apartment. But somehow we always seem to work these things out. We are desperately looking for a new apartment, so far with no luck. I have a feeling we will be living with my parents til Christmas or later. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!! Happy 2 month anniversary to us!

Once Upon A Time....

Once upon a time I had a boyfriend who ate anything I cooked for him. Then I married that boyfriend. Now he only ever eats 1/3 - 1/2 of whatever it is I have made for dinner. I am starting to realize that he ate thousands upon thousands of calories to save my feelings before we were married. HELP!

Things I Learn

I feel the need to compile a little list of things I have learned in the last week or school.

*Cutting out laminated papers is the best part about being a teacher. I could honestly do it all day.
*Everyone over the age of 10 will lie to you about liking your haircut so if you want a real opinion you have to ask a kid.
*Teachers who cannot pronounce the letter N should not attempt to say "Funky" during their lectures. Especially when they are congested. Not funny.
*It takes a lot more energy to aid a female teacher than a male.
*Eating Taco Bell after 11 PM when you are sick is never a good idea.
*Living in Logan, having an ice scraper in your car is a must.
*Take out the garbage immediately after cleaning out the fridge.
*Wendy's spicy hot wings are nasty, but their baja salad is delish.
*Just because you have your lineup set for 3 weeks on NBA Fantasy League doesn't mean you don't need to check it every single night (Thank you Tyreke Evans)

That's about everything I've learned that is important. Today I went to my new practicum (just when I was FINALLY enjoying the classroom I was in they sent me to a new school) which was interesting. I was not thrilled to be the only person in my class at that school to begin with so I didn't have the best attitude going in. The teacher asked me to observe for a few minutes at the start of class and gave me a nice padded swivel chair at the back of the room. I took off my coat, set it on the chair and sat down. A few minutes later, much to my surprise, when I went to stand up my dress was stuck to my coat, which was stuck to the chair. Apparently when I put groceries in the car on Saturday I set a leaky bottle of honey on my coat. What are the odds. So I had to pull my sticky self off of the chair and deal with my skirt sticking to everything all day. Other than that it was a pretty good day. :)

Fantasy League

Fantasy League Basketball is awesome... but a time waster. But...awesome!

Once again

Ok... I think I posted a blog yesterday but I have some things to say. I think blogging is a good way for me to release my thoughts on someone other than my husband which I'm sure he will appreciate. It seems like I have so much going on every day and I don't really have anyone to talk to about it because well... no one really cares. :) So I will post it online where no one has to rad it and I will feel better.

Anyway, I started my new practicum today. What a different experience. I am at Lincoln Elementary in Hyrum and it is a whole different world from River Heights. I met with the principal this morning and she gave us an overview of the school. She told us that most students have free or reduced lunch, serious family issues, some are homeless or only eat when they come to school. There are many cases of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and many students whose parents are in jail. It is the poorest school in the Valley and one of the poorest in the state. I'm not going to lie, it made me really nervous. However, these students are itching to learn! There is such a sense of excitement in the halls all day long. The teachers are a lot friendlier and I think it has to do with a less... stuck up attitude in the school. I hate to say that because I love River Heights but I always felt like everything was a competition and everyone's love of learning came second to social status. Anyway, it's only been one day but I am looking forward to learning from my teacher and students. It will be an experience.

It also snowed today. Shoot me. I hate it so much. I only have stilettos and flip flops at my apartment so I trudged through the snow on campus tonight and and now sitting in class completely soaked. Oops, you caught me, I'm in my Ed Psych class right now. I will be paying attention as soon as I finish this post. (Now that I've checked my fantasy league stats, email and facebook).

Anyway, hopefully I will get back home for the first time by 10:45 (14.75 hours after I left this morning). Poor John expects a happy little wife when he comes home. I will shoot for awake and hope for happy!

P.S. I emailed one of my professors telling her I was concerned with my grade to find out what I could do to bring it up and she responded with the following "Olivia, I am also concerned about your grade. -Professor Jones". Awesome. Thanks for your help!

A New Week

I can't believe it is already Monday. I swear the weekend gets shorter each week. This weekend was a little less "planned" than past weekends. John ended up going to play cards with some friends for work so I just hung out at my parents house. I think I spend more time there now than I did before I was married! Anyway, we did make it to the Pumpkin Walk Saturday night for a few minutes before it closed which was fun. Last night was our Fantasy Basketball Draft. So stressful! I ended up getting a pretty good team (definitely stacked) so I'm happy.

This week I start my new practicum. I am going to be honest...I'm really stressed about it. My last block I was in a 2nd grade classroom with an awesome young lady mentor teacher. 2nd grade seemed surprisingly old to me. I guess I am just so used to preschoolers! Anyway...this block I'm in a 5th grade classroom with a male teacher. So intimidating. Pretty sure I will be shorter than a lot of the kids too. Agh. Oh well... I'll survive. I'm starting to get stressed out about finishing school. Right now I feel like I'm not contributing much to our financial situation since I only work one day a week. Though teachers get paid dirt around here, it will be nice to someday have a second income coming in.

Anyway, there is a bright light at the end of this week's tunnel...Halloween! My favorite holiday! Hopefully John and I can find a time to figure out costumes :)

A Week Off

And by a week off I mean a week off of practicum. I still have school and teaching my acting class but NO PRACTICUM this whole week!!! (And the angels did sing) It has been so glorious to sleep in and not have anything til 2:30 every day. Today Izzy and I walked from our apartment to my mom's house. Izzy proved to me that I am very out of shape as she ran and I huffed up Mountain Road. I am officially on a diet and back on the exercise band wagon. I ran on the treadmill last night and it really made me miss the days when I lived at home and could run any time I wanted. I also found that playing games on my iPhone while I run sure helps pass the time.

It is also Pumpkin Walk season again! My favorite! This year they asked the Israelsen Clan to do a tribute to our Grandpa Israelsen. Since it is a cartoon theme we did a farm with "hidden" Looney Toones characters. I made Taz and a couple of sheep that ended up looking slightly like poodles. I was pretty proud of the final product though. I enjoyed spending the entire day with my family setting up and enjoying the crisp fall weather. I love watching my grandma at the Pumpkin Walk. She is definitely in her element. She kept saying "Now this looks great but we're just missing..." She said she would be making a few more characters before she went to bed tonight. :) My mom also put up her Beatles characters that she made a few years back. She found some awesome gourds that looked like John, Paul, George and Ringo's signature hairdos and luckily they dried perfectly so we can use them every year!

My mom and I went grocery shopping tonight. I am beginning to get pretty frustrated about all the crap (pardon my language) John and I eat. It seems we are ALWAYS on the run and I never get the chance to cook him anything healthy. I've found that though I'd rather eat a peach it is much easier to grab some fruit snacks when I run out the door. It is a shame because I think I am a pretty good cook and have a TON of healthy recipes to choose from...it's just finding the time!!! Hopefully next semester will be slightly better since I won't have practicum. Though I will have more credits. We'll see. If anyone has any ideas PLEASE share. I'm glad I have Izzy as an exercise buddy...even if she is in WAY better shape than me :)

Thoughts

Last week I attended an ICCJ conference for school. It was basically a day-long workshop where my colleagues and I had the opportunity to discuss our beliefs and stretch ourselves to opening our minds a little more. I am not going to lie... it REALLY stressed me out. I didn't go with the best attitude since it was a 6.5 hour conference about accepting others. I wasn't quite sure how we could talk about acceptance for that long but boy was I wrong!

One of the exercises really got to me. It was called "Forced Choices". Basically they would give us a scenario and 4 different choices. We were required to make one of the 4 options and then sit in a corner of the room depending on our choice. The first question wasn't too bad and I made my decision easily. However they got progressively worse. One of the questions was "Which would you have the hardest time with? Your child marrying someone of a different race? Having them marry outside of your religion? Having them marry someone of the same sex? Or having them marry out of necessity." about 80% of the people at the conference went and sat in the corner for the "same sex" situation and the other 20% sat in the "out of necessity" corner. I was so torn because of my feelings! I knew where I needed to sit but was ashamed that I felt that way so I sided with the majority of my class and sat down. After a few minutes I told our instructor that I wanted to switch sides and I went and sat in the "different religion" corner. I felt bad, not only because I was the only one sitting there, but because I felt that way. The instructor asked if I would share with the rest of the class why I chose to sit there. It was really interesting for me to think about WHY I felt the way I did about having a child marry outside of my religion. It had nothing to do with feeling any kind of superiority over other religions, I just couldn't picture myself being able to accept that very easily. Being brought up in the church is one of the greatest blessings in my life and I plan to share that blessing with my children so we will be able to be together for eternity. Having something interfere with that would be devastating to me. Anyway, after I expressed my feelings there were 5 girls who asked if they could switch and come sit with me which made me feel better. I went home from the conference feeling horrible about myself for believing the way that I do. It took me a few days to be able to realize that my feelings aren't wrong... I just need to think more about WHY I feel the way that I do about things. I think that I am a pretty open minded person when it comes to other people, but sometimes I have a hard time accepting my own feelings.

Another thought on this matter. I got a call on Monday night asking if my new Relief Society could come over and meet with me on Wednesday. I said sure, hung up the phone and started getting really anxious. John and I talked about it and I just told him I didn't think I would have time to do all I needed to do AND clean the house for them to come over. PLUS, I told him, I'd need to make cookies or some kind of treat for them! He laughed and asked why I felt the need to always impress people like that. At the time I was just frustrated and shrugged off his comment. Wednesday evening when I got home from school I found our apartment spotless! He had cleaned, Lysoled, vacuumed and dusted every corner for me. What a sweetheart! I was excited that I would have time to throw together a batch of cookies for the sisters before they came. I mixed up the dough and popped them in the oven. Right as I put them in they showed up and we sat and chatted for 45 minutes or so. When they left I collapsed on the couch. After a few minutes I started smelling smoke and guess what.... charcoal cookies! I felt so embarrassed and silly that I had left them in for almost an hour and I started to cry. This brought me to reflect again on my own feelings. Why was I so freaked out about these ladies coming over? Why did I want them to be impressed and think I was the world's best wife? Though I don't think anyone should have company over with a pigsty of a house, I don't think it was something to stress over.

Anyway, those are my thoughts tonight. This whole personal reflection thing is new for me and definitely causing a lot of grief in my life. But, I do think it will be good for me in the long run. It is important that I understand myself if I expect anyone else to understand me! Props to my husband for the awesome job he did cleaning our apartment! Picture attached (Notice the two Ensign magazines on the coffee table :) )

No more sickness!

I am sad to say that I woke up yesterday feeling horribly sick again. This time it is something completely different having to do with my stomach and not my sinuses. Hopefully it will pass before I go back to practicum tomorrow!

This week should be a good one. My morning class was canceled today so I got to sleep in which was amazing! I have two days of practicum and then NOTHING on Thursday and Friday! (Except homework for my online classes). I am so excited. I just wish John didn't have to work so we could get out of town! Hopefully we can do something exciting on Saturday.

This weekend was a great, but short one. John and I went to a movie with his sister and brother in law Friday night at midnight which kind of set us back sleeping wise and we didn't wake up til around 11 on Saturday. We did make it to the farmer's market which was great! Then we spent the entire rest of the day shopping for a stand to hold our DVD's and cable box. What a treat! :) It was really fun to be shopping with John instead of by myself though. Saturday night we played cards at my grandma's and Sunday we laid on the couch feeling sick and watching Prison Break. I don't know if any of you are into that show but it's pretty good. I was really into it in high school when I had all male friends. It's even more fun to watch it now with my husband :)

Well...that's about it! Oh...I did make some super cute lanterns for Halloween. I found the idea on my favorite website! http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/10/crafty-in-kitchen-mason-jar-lanterns.html

Also...here is a picture of my hair cut. I posted it earlier but will post it again by request. :) Sadly this is the only photo I've taken since then!

Busy busy busy!

Time for another update! Life is so busy! I never thought I could be so busy and still be alive. Every day is about the same for me. I wake up before John, get out of bed (SO much harder to do when my husband gets to sleep) go to practicum, go to class, take John dinner, go to class, do homework, clean, pick John up, take a shower, go to bed...repeat. Luckily I am enjoying my classes. It's fun to finally be learning things that I will actually use in my career!!!

Being married is awesome. I'm glad that I at least get to spend an hour or two with my husband every night before I go to sleep. I can't wait for the day when I am done with school and can at least have time to cook him dinner. Since every day is pretty much the same I don't have much to report on. However, our dog has been taking over our apartment. We were worried at first that she would have a hard time adjusting. Boy were we wrong. If you are sitting or lying on the couch you better not get up or she will move right in and take your spot. And don't think she won't growl at you if you try to move her. Every night this week I have had to pick her up and move her to the end of the bed because she thinks she owns it. She will lie right in the center of the bed so John and I have to share one half so we won't squish her. Last night I actually told John to move because I was getting squished by him and the dog. Guess we know who is in charge in our family!!!

We also got a TV. The day it arrived was probably the best day of John's life (aside from our wedding I hope). Pretty sure he didn't think of anything else for a week! It has been nice for me to be able to turn on the tv while I'm cleaning. I get pretty freaked out at our apartment after dark.

I also cut 16 inches of my beautiful hair off a few weeks ago. Why? I have no idea. I'm considering taking prenatal vitamins... I hear they make hair grow faster?

Wow that's about it! Life is so great and I am so blessed to have such wonderful opportunities to go to school and have an amazing husband. :)

Conference Weekend

For Conference Weekend John and I had planned to go to Bear Lake with my family. Since my sister ended up having to work, my brother's family went to New Mexico, my other sister went to TX and my mom had surgery, they all ended up not being able to go. So...yesterday after Conference John and I packed up the car and drove over ourselves. It was fun to feel like we were on a little vacation together. I feel like I do the same exact thing every single day and then am too tired to do anything fun when John is finally home on the weekends so it was nice to at least have a change of scenery. We went to Bear Lake Pizza for dinner to celebrate our one month anniversary which was really fun. Nothing better than eating out with my husband! Then we watched movies, listened to Conference on the radio and napped the rest of the weekend away. I've had a sinus infection for the last week and have felt pretty crummy. I am lucky to have a husband who will just lie around with me when I am sick. I sure love him!!!!

One of my favorites...

One of my favorite things about our wedding reception was our entertainment. My grandpa's friend Clyde Anderson and his barbershop quartet walked around singing tunes throughout the evening. It was such a fun/cute thing to have them there. They performed a special rendition of "Climb Every Mountain" special for John and I. Here is a picture by our awesome photographer Brittany Cascio.

Simple Joys!

I SHOULD be blogging about my honeymoon but I just had the best day and wanted to write about it! After class today I had a date to run errands with my mom. First stop...Kitchen Kneads! Thanks to all of my generous friends (and John's) I was able to buy my very own...BOSCH!!! I am SO excited! Agh! It is so awesome! I couldn't wait to get home and try it out so I whipped it out at my Mom's. :) I tried a new recipe from ourbestbites.com for chocolate banana bread. We'll see how it turns out. (Cook time: 1 1/4 hours) Hopefully John likes banana bread! I also got the blender attachment and some cookie paddles so I should be set. I have big dreams of getting the pasta maker attachment but that will probably be down the road.

My mom and I also went around town looking for pots and pans. What a hard decision! (I thought deciding on knives was tough!) I ended up being too overwhelmed to decide so I'll probably be going back with John on Friday, since that's the only day I will see him during store hours. Hopefully he can help me decide.

Married life is awesome. Definitely hard at times but I love it. Cooking is even more fun now that I have my own stuff and a husband to feed. I'm excited for weekends because then I can actually cook him a meal! He is seriously the best. We had a fun time this past weekend hanging out with John's sister Lindsey and her husband Cory. It was fun to finally have company at our apartment once we finally got all of our wedding gifts put away. :) I'll post pictures of my Bosch soon! (Since I'm sure none of you have ever seen one :))

P.S. Thanks for all the comments on my last post! I had no idea I had so many fans :))

Honeymoon Days 1 and 2

Ok I have a few minutes to start blogging about our awesome honeymoon so I'll start with day 1. John and I drove down to SLC the night of our wedding and stayed at Little America (can't remember if I blogged about this yet.) The next morning we drove to the airport and flew to Honolulu. When we got to Hawaii we realized we didn't have the key to my parent's condo or any information on how to get it. Luckily my parents are on the ball and got everything worked out for us quickly. We were so exhausted when we got to the condo that we ordered pizza and went to bed. I don't think we meant to sleep all day... but we did.

The next day we went to the temple which was awesome. We'd both been before but it was neat for me to go back now that I've actually been through the temple. Sadly it is closed for renovation so we couldn't do a session but we enjoyed walking through the visitor's center. We also checked out a beach and had fun walking in the sand. Then we drove back down to Honolulu and ate at the most AWESOME Indian restaurant ever! Definitely our best Hawaiian meal! We stopped at RedBox on the way home and rented our first of many movies. Such a fun, relaxing trip. I'll post the rest later when I don't have so much homework!

I'm married!

I decided to blog about this even though the 1 person who reads my blog already knows I am married since I am married to him. :) We were married on September 3rd in the Logan Temple. What a BEAUTIFUL day. I went through the temple the night before and that was wonderful as well. I admit I was a little nervous, but it ended up being the best night of my life up until that point. It was such a neat experience to have my whole family (minus one sister) there. John's parents, my grandma and two of my sweet cousins came as well which meant so much to me. I think I have a special bond with those people now. I think it is one of those memories that I can't really put into words but I know I will never forget how I felt.

Our sealing ceremony was the best part of the whole experience for me. I woke up that morning and didn't feel a bit anxious or nervous or anything! I was shocked! I fixed my hair, zipped up my suitcase and waited for my anxious parents to drive me to the temple. When I got there John had already arrived and sat teary eyed waiting for me. :) After I put on my temple dress the little helper lady had me stand in the 180 degree mirror and look at myself. I have honestly never felt more beautiful. Funny how in that simple, white satin dress I felt more beautiful than in my expensive, beaded wedding gown. I was just so happy! John looked more handsome than ever and I was so excited! The sealing was great. I had a hard time listening to what was being said because I was distracted by my future husband sitting next to me but I am sure his words were beautiful! SO neat!

The luncheon and reception ROCKED. The food at the luncheon was awesome and I have been told the reception food was just as good. We started out with a formal line but decided to just walk around and mingle instead. I liked that a lot better since our wedding was more of a party than a formal event. We had a friend of my Grandpa Israelsen and his barber shop quartet perform for the guests. They were so adorable and walked throughout the reception center singing. SO cute! at 20 minutes to 8:00 Ester told me what time it was so we quickly cut our cake, I threw my bouquet, changed our clothes and we were outta' there! I had purchased 20 bottles of Silly String for our send off... kind of a surprise for John. HAHA! It was hilarious. I couldn't even breathe it smelled so bad!

We went to Little America that night which was awesome too and John let me order room service :) Then we were off to Hawaii! I'll post more about that later when I have more time and less homework! Such a great week. Definitely the best of my life!!!So far the only pictures I have of the wedding day are ones my siblings/cousins posted. This one was my favorite. My niece Mia just loved my sparkly dress :)
I will post pictures

10 DAYS

Wahoo! Down to the last 10 days as a single woman! I can't believe our engagement has gone by so quickly!

We are down to the last week and a half and still have a lot to do. I am mostly stressed to get our apartment ready for us to move in. Today John and I went and purchased paint for the bedroom and kitchen. Since John just started his new job he works from 2-10 PM so I'll be doing the painting myself. (I'll post pictures later) I'm really excited to get it all finished up and move in. Yesterday when we went to move some shower gifts in we smelled mold in our little apartment which I was not thrilled about. Our landlord said that they've never had a mold problem before so I'm heading over there now to check out the smell situation.

My sister and her husband took some fun formal pictures of us a few weeks ago. We were excited to get all dressed up again (or at least I was) and help them build their portfolio. For some reason blogspot isn't letting me upload pictures today so I'll post a few of my favorites tomorrow. :)

Tried to return some stuff to Bed Bath and Beyond today. It's not that I don't love wire whisks, but I've decided that 9 is a little excessive!

17 days

The countdown to September 3rd continues! Things have been exciting and hectic and fun and frustrating all at the same time. We still have LOTS to do, not only with wedding plans but starting school. I can't wait to just relax in Hawaii for a week! :) John just got a job at Thermo Fisher and we couldn't be more pleased. I'm so proud of him. I also got hired to teach acting at the Utah Festival Opera Musical Theater Conservatory. It will be really fun for me to have a little job while I'm going to school. Though working full time and going to school full time is fun...it wore me to the bone last semester.

My cute friend Whitney Olsen threw me a bridal shower last night. It was so fun to get together with my girlfriends and just relax! Everything has been so hectic I had forgotten how to just "hang out". It was also nice to talk to girls again and hear what is going on in their lives.

My goals for this week are to get out our invitations, finish up with centerpiece arranging, buy a bed, deliver wedding clothing items to all of the brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, pay tuition, buy books, get a rental car for the honeymoon, and hopefully squeeze in a date with my sweetheart.

Dear Dish Network

why, oh why, oh WHY do you make life so difficult!? I have spent the last hour and a half looking for the remote control to the basement TV and cannot find it anywhere. Why on EARTH are your remotes not compatible with more than one TV? I have three remotes upstairs but that doesn't help me one bit because they won't even turn on the TV downstairs. *sigh* Also, whose brilliant idea was it to make it so you can't watch anything on Dish Network unless you have a remote?! Pretty sure this is just adding to the laziness of the American people. Alas, my dreams of catching up on my DVRed episodes of Top Chef have been shattered. :(

P.S. This is actually a picture of my sister Ester but I thought the look on her face and clenched fist fit this post nicely.

One more month

We are officially LESS than one month away from our big day! Can't wait. Invitations are ordered... Photos are being printed...plans are wrapping on up! Now...school. :( On a happier note...we LOVE our photographer Brittany Cascio!

One more week

of operas! Crazy! Time sure flies when you are having fun. I am so grateful for all my dad has done over the years to create such a wonderful world of theater for me to enjoy. This is my 13th season at UFOC and I can't imagine spending my summer any other way.

33 days til our wedding! Now that it's August it feels so much closer! John and I are really needing to design/order our invites! We'll be sending them out in just a few weeks!

My brother Nick and his cute family are here now which is WONDERFUL. I miss them so much when they aren't here. I've had fun playing with his daughter Mia and cute dog Jasmine.

So far I've had 2 showers and have another one tomorrow night. I am most looking forward to the one tomorrow since it is my family quilting shower. I picked out some cute yellow and black fabric for the quilt and am excited to see the finished product!

Life is busy...but great!

Long Week

The last week was a busy one. John and I got our formal pictures taken which was fun. It was fun to dress up and pretend it was our wedding day. :) I'm anxious and excited to see the finished product. We also went and took a few more engagement photos which was fun. I am almost pictured-out though. Hopefully by September I'll be ready for more pictures again! :)

Tonight we (my entire family) are making "poofs" for wedding reception decorations. I will post pictures later. It is funny to see my brother in laws and John doing crafts. They are all really good at it though. Some of the best poofs were made by the men!

Last night we went to a concert at UFOC starring the famous Marni Nixon. It was amazing! She is so talented. I can't even imagine doing all that she has done in her lifetime. I have so enjoyed getting dressed up and going out with John almost every night to the opera functions. I will definitely miss it when the end of the season comes. Hopefully I can find more excuses to get John into suits and tuxes. :)

My future mother in law and sister in laws also threw me a shower this week. It was really fun and we got some awesome stuff! I feel so blessed/spoiled! I can't wait to set up our apartment. I have already used one of my new cookbooks! John and I also purchased paint to paint the living room in our apartment which I'm excited about. We also found FREE carpet on KSL.com to replace the turquoise wonder-carpet we currently have. We had to drive to Holladay but it was definitely worth it. Things are starting to really fall into place!

P.S. This is the most un-chronological post in history.

I've decided...

I've decided that I have the most handsome fiance in the world. I actually have always known this to be true, but had it affirmed to me numerous times last night at the opera. John and I were invited by my dad to attend a gala/fundraiser dinner at Elements that was really fancy. So...I put on my fanciest dress and John borrowed my dad's tux. It was so much fun to show him off all night. I had random old ladies come tell me how handsome he was all night long. :) He was even given a "shoutout" from Miss Adelaide during one of her songs. Anyway, it was a fun night.

The last week was a rough one. I had my surgery Monday and felt pretty great that evening. The next morning I started to feel the effects of the knife and it progressively got worse throughout the week. Tonight is the first night I have felt pretty decent. Hopefully that means I'm on the uphill slope!

John and I get our formals taken tomorrow and I CANNOT wait! We picked out his tux yesterday and he is going to look so sharp. I'm also, of course, excited to wear my dress. Still need to figure out the hair situation. But wedding preparations are coming along nicely. I need to remember to step back and take in this wonderful time. I realize how easily I get caught up in planning and forget to just enjoy myself.

Anyway, life is good!

July 4th Weekend!

Wow what a crazy weekend! First of all, I just looked at my blog and realized that I am wearing the SAME outfit in most of the pictures I've posted. Friday was John's little sister, Lindsey's wedding and of course...I wore that same outfit. So, I will forever be remembered in their family pictures in that same outfit. Time to go shopping...or something! The wedding was fun. I went to bed the night before with an upset stomach which was only amplified in the morning so it was rough to spend a whole day smiling and being cheerful when I was concentrating on not throwing up. But it was important for me to be there and I think John appreciated it. Lindsey looked so amazingly beautiful. I'm so happy for her! John and I spent that night chatting and making a late, late night trip to McDonalds.

Saturday morning I woke up early for SoM's orchestra dress rehearsal. Things there went well except that one of my costumes was WAY too tight and I could hardly breathe at all. Luckily, my microphone has been moved to my thigh so I gained a few inches of costume around my waste. Hopefully tonight I can breathe enough to sing. After the dress rehearsal Vaness and I screamed home, changed and headed to Orem with my mom. We stopped first at Alysse's Bridal for me to pick up my dress. I was so relieved that it fit AND I could lift up my arms! Then we went to dinner and to the Hale Center Theater in Orem to see 110 in the Shade with AUDRA MCDONALD. No big deal. Just my favorite Broadway performer of all time. Just a few feet away from me. No big deal. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. She was so amazing. Ah! I could go on and on. I'm so lucky to have a dad who will spend the big bucks for me to have experiences like that. My mom and I drove home after the show and got to Logan around 1:45 am and to bed around 2:30.

The next morning we woke up early again and drove up to Bear Lake. John came and picked me up at my cabin and took me to spend the rest of the weekend with his family in Bloomington, ID. We had fun visiting, eating and playing games. It's crazy to me to have a new family. Definitely something that will take time for me to adjust to but they are great.

Yesterday we slept in and went boating with his family. Now this was a big deal for me because I don't usually do things involving water over 3 or 4 feet deep. I did enjoy it though, despite the sunburn I received on my shins and neck. When we got back to Logan we ate at Fredrico's and went to Aggie Ice Cream. Our fun night was topped off with two rousing games of Mormon Bridge. Overall it was a fun, but tiring weekend.

This week is opening week for UFOC which I'm excited about. I'm not sure if I'm more excited about watching the shows or just being done rehearsing Sound of Music. It has been great but I'm ready to move on. :) Anyway, that's about it. I guess I better post another picture of me in THAT outfit to go along with this post. Enjoy!

The Hills are Alive...almost!

Summertime is in FULL swing at the Ballam house. The operas open NEXT WEEK which is crazy to me. Things have been organized differently this year so we had tech rehearsal early but haven't rehearsed onstage since. I have mixed emotions about this. I like getting Tech Week over with but I am worried things will be rough tomorrow at our first dress rehearsal. i have 6 or 7 quick changes which will be exciting and stressful. Can't wait for the show to open so I can stop worrying about it!

Today I had the JOY of going to the OBGYN. Joy. I had expected that I was seeing a female nurse practitioner but when the doctor walked in not only was he male, he is my neighbor! AGH! It turned out I am glad it was him because he was really helpful. It turns out I am going to need surgery ASAP and I feel a lot more comfortable having him as my doctor. So that was a little TOO exciting. I hate doctors, IV's, blood, needles and all that jazz so I'll be glad when it is all over.

On a more pleasant note...this past weekend was the annual Israelsen Family Reunion. It is one of the few times I get to see most of my 100+ cousins and I look forward to it ALL year! I had rehearsal the first day but made it up in time to witness the Shasta Shootout (my favorite part). It was fun to have John with me and introduce him to the whole family. Hopefully he wasn't too overwhelmed. We are a pretty intense/crazy family but I think he can handle it :). I love my family SO much! I'm sad the reunion is over and I'll have to wait another year for it.
John and I got some of our engagements back and we are so pleased with the outcome! He is critical about how he looks but I think he looks so handsome! I am such a lucky girl! We are excited to see the rest of them. Wedding plans are coming right along. We don't have a ton left to do except take our formal pictures, order invites, find John a tux and that's about it! I'm getting really anxious and want it to be September already!

The Latest

The stress train has stopped at my door! Life is getting crazy now with weddings, summer camps and operas. I'm trying to stay positive about everything and enjoy it like I should. John and I purchased a couch and chair for our apartment. We took them over in Ester's truck and our new neighbors helped John move everything in. We also got our engagement pictures taken by Cascio Photography last night which was fun. John was a good sport and donned a bow tie and suspenders as well as pink socks :) My mom snapped a few shots of us before we left.
This week is going to be a long one. Since I never know my rehearsal schedule til the night before it is hard for me to make plans and organize my schedule for the week. It is hard for me because I always like to have a plan! Friday is the first day of our Israelsen Family Reunion which I look forward to all year. John has never been to the Israelsen cabin except on New Years so I'm excited for him to see it when it isn't covered in snow! Hopefully I'll have Saturday off so we can enjoy all the festivities!

Blah - g

I thought I'd better post a wedding-plan update. Most importantly...I found my dress! I had actually found it by my last post but hadn't purchased it. I'm really pleased with my decision and excited to actually get to wear it! The seamstress called yesterday and told me she finished the alterations so I just have to go try it on to make sure it fits. Unfortunately the store is in American Fork and with my crazy unpredictable rehearsal schedule it will be hard to find a time to make it down there. I'm hoping for Friday!

John and I were scheduled to shoot our engagements last Friday but unfortunately had to cancel due to the rain storm. Hopefully it will be bright and sunny next Monday so we don't have to cancel again! I don't love getting my picture taken so I'm glad that John has to do it with me ;) I'm also excited to get that part of wedding planning done. One less thing to worry about!

We also found an apartment! We looked at a bunch of apartments on West Center street that were pretty nice but really expensive. The main problem we had was our dog. Most places charge $100+ more per month for a pet or make you pay a huge pet deposit at signing. Luckily I checked KSL every day and found a little basement apartment for a really good deal. The ad said no pets but the landlord said our dog would be fine. We went to look at it and it is perfect for us! It is a small, one bedroom one bath basement apartment but it actually has a lot of windows so it is really light down there. I love everything about it except the turquoise and green carpet in the living room. :) It will be fun to decorate and have a little place of our own though. We went to the DI yesterday and purchased a coffee table and a painting (picked out by John). It makes me feel so old to be buying furniture!

The bridesmaid dresses came and they are perfect (just need sleeves) and I ordered John's ring yesterday. We also registered at BB&B which was interesting. Totally exhausting to me! It seems like we have so much planned already and now we'll just have to wait... and wait.

Life aside from that is good. I've just been rehearsing and planning. I'll be glad when the summer is over and I can sleep through the night!

I better not post without a picture so here's one of one of our favorite pass-times. Definitely the quickest way to blow a lot of money!

Beginning

Wow! What a crazy few weeks I've had! Being engaged sure isn't what I thought it would be. So far there are lots of things that I have enjoyed about being engaged. I must admit, I really love showing people my ring and my fiance. I am so proud of both :) I am the kind of girl who has been planning my wedding since I was 5 so that has been fun too. Though when I was 5 I didn't realize just how expensive weddings are. I HATE that part of wedding planning. Luckily we were able to book our perfect photographer for a bargain! To me the wedding pictures were top priority so I'm thrilled that we were able to get Cascio Photography to shoot our special day :)

The hardest part about this whole thing for me is choosing a dress. I have been to SO many stores and tried on so many dresses that my head is spinning with taffeta, silk and lace! The first 2 dresses that I tried on were by far my favorite. Though now I'm not sure if I really loved the dresses, or if I just loved the way I looked in them because they were the first ones I tried on (and the only ones that were actually my size). So... the final step in this process (I hope) is to drive back down to American Fork and try them back on! That is how I will be spending my evening tonight. Hopefully I will be able to make a decision. I don't think I can handle trying on any more big, poofy dresses!!!

My mom is a pro wedding planner so we have a lot already planned out. I have favors purchased, flowers picked out, engagement/formal shoots lined up, temple reserved, luncheon/reception venue reserved, flower girl dresses purchased, bridesmaid dresses purchased, slideshow and videographer lined up, and we meet with our caterer on Friday to finalize our menu for the luncheon and reception. Sounds like a lot but we still have much to do! Once I get the dress out of the way I'll feel a lot better about things. We have also had a struggle finding somewhere to live that is affordable AND pet friendly. My little dog is going to be costing us $100+ a month in rent I'm afraid. But oh how we love her! :)

Though it has been stressful to work things into our budget, wedding planning has been a lot of fun! I am lucky to have a fiance with an opinion. It makes decision making easier because I don't have to do it alone. Maybe that's why choosing my dress has been so tricky!

Anyway, that's the latest. Better not post without a picture so here are a couple from 2 weeks ago. John and I had a fun time staying with my brother Chris and his family for a few days. We were able to attend my niece, Ava's graduation which was a lot of fun. We also love any opportunity to drive down South so we can eat at In N Out! :)

New Project!

This is kind of a random post but I'm pretty excited about my new skill. I decided after watching many hours of Ace of Cakes that I needed to learn how to cover a cake with fondant. So I watched a couple of YouTube videos, bought myself some fondant (I decided to take baby steps with this. Next time I'll try making my own) and made myself a cake. The pictures basically show how it turned out.



Here is what I learned:
1. Do NOT use a cake mix cake. The cake wasn't quite as strong as I would have liked. Next time I will use a wedding cake recipe or something a little more sturdy.
2. Don't roll the fondant too thin. I was trying to make sure I had enough to cover the whole cake and ended up making it a little thin.
3. Wear gloves when coloring fondant. It's not possible to not get food coloring on your fingers when kneading it into fondant. I even somehow managed to get it on my knees...

That's about it! It wasn't that difficult and only took me about 2 hours (including cake making/baking time) which I thought was pretty good for my first time! :)