Christams

For Christmas this year we were able to go down to Salt Lake to visit and spend Christmas Eve and day with my mom and brother. It was such a fun time because we got to play a lot of games together. I realize I will always give up on Monopoly when people start buying hotels, I love Scattegories, and Chris will always complain if we play Scrabble. On Christmas day we were able to sleep in : ) and have a great breakfast together. We were planning on driving back up to Logan that night but the snow kept us in Salt Lake a little longer. The drive up on the 26th was an adventure to say the least, but we made it up okay and were able to make it in time to help the neighbors shovel a car out of the snow the plows buried it in.

Now we are able to spend a little more Christmas cheer with the Merkets who drove to Logan to drop of Larry for school and spend some time with old friends and family. Sadly they will be headed back up on Wednesday and our time together is dwindling by. School starts soon and that is very, very, very sad news because the break did nothing to build my academic morale... I'm going to have to somehow find the courage to go on. I'd never just quit but a very long break sounds appealling. But the day I great a break will be the day I die (wahahahaha--> evil laugh).

Anyways, I am finally finishing a book that I have been reading sporadically for the past year and a half. I included it in a blog earlier this year. Its Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. I love her style of writing because she describes everything in a manner that strikes the reader and makes the most ordinary scene profound in some way. This novel is about the ability of man's mind to produce. In the society setting America is starting to believe that man deserves things based on his needs. This however, creates unproductive citizens who simply wish to take advantage of all the systems in place to get more than his or her neighbors. In the end the productivity of a nation is screwed because no one wants to show their real ability and get targeted to work harder for the needs of others. Every single sentence that I read brings a new spiritual insight to my opinions and I see her messages in everyday life. I am glad that I have been able to finish this novel during the Christmas break because it makes even the most tedious jobs bearable. I can't wait for my 15 minute break to read more of her powerful words. She is also the founder of a philosophy known as objectivism. If you are ever in need of a few powerful words look it up and you will be motivated to read her work.

The picture above is from our traditional activity of visiting the Temple Square lights for Christmas. The reflection pool was beautiful this year and we couldn't really take a good picture : )

The Happy Ending of This Semester

Now that school is over for the semester I am ecstatic! This semester has been long and tedious and due to my own stupidity I took all of the education courses in one go. I'd recommend it to those who want to be done but it was a real trial for me as a student. I met some professors that I have really enjoyed this semester, but I have also met some professors who I really don't care for. In the end, I am better for it but I'll enjoy my Christmas break. I am busy with two jobs still, but I am going to enjoy the possible future snow, time with my hottie, and family during the holidays. I'll be sad to see a lot of my friends continue the education program while I head to ESL classes but it needs to be done.

Its currently 2:20 AM on my first day off and I sadly cannot sleep. Chris will blame the endless cycle of napping that is a main part of my life; but, I will remain faithful to the benefits of napping to my dying breath. So if ever we ask your opinion on the subject side with me (God will reward you I'm sure). For the break I hope to finally finish Brisingr and start a new novel, be on my way with Chris in learning Spanish (thanks to our wonderful gift to ourselves- Rosetta Stone), mentally prepare myself for the next semester, and create a routine for hitting the gym. I sadly don't know if I'll be enjoying Rugby next semester because of conflicts with a night course and the never ending need to work. Not only do I need the money but I feel a lot more productive with at least two jobs : ). I hope we will be able to move someday because the DOUCHE BAGS who live above us are ever so annoying. Anyways I'll stop my rantings and let you continue with your blog updates.

Random

So while wasting time in the computer lab with Miriam... slacker... I discovered a really interesting site. Its by the author of a rather interesting book called Post Secret. From what I understand people mail in their secrets to the author by post card. Here are some that made me laugh, although not all of them are funny.


The link to the site is http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ I was struggling to make it work for me. Hopefully it works for you.

Merry Christmas everyone! Now that Thanksgiving is over I can finally choose a Christmas layout and show everyone how we decorated our small.. no tiny.. maybe microscopic would be better word, apartment. Cheap was our theme but it came out great! This lovely dollar ornament hangs above our stove and adds a nice touch to our stain white walls.

Our two dollar wreath was decorated with dollar ornaments and old ornaments that we had. This is a horrible picture but because of the lack of a plug outside we cant hang lights outside. Our neighbors upstairs (whom we love with all of our hearts, read the sarcasm) are too lazy to decorate the front of the house so we tried to bring a little bit of Christmas cheer to our door. In the daytime it shimmers with all of the glitter that I put on it but at night its sad in our back porch light.

This is the beginning of the Christmas tree pictures. I don't know why but I just can't get any good pictures of the ornaments and decorations that we used. We went with the cheap theme again, reusing our fake and small Christmas tree from last year and a lot of our ornaments. Chris was nice and let me choose a lot of blue ornaments that I didn't take pictures of. I love our modern, icy Christmas decorations we have this year.

And this is our little corner of Christmas cheer. If anyone knows me they are aware of my deep love for the wreath on the wall. Its actually my mothers and I gave it to her two years ago for her birthday (which is in December) but she was gracious enough to let me take it up to Logan. Its even hung on our wall year round.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Chris' First Draft

So Chris brewed his own beer at home and it is finally finished. Although our Californian visit interrupted the schedule we were able to open the first bottle and taste it. He chose to make a honey hefeweizen for his first try.I like this picture the most becasue it captured the last droplet from the bottle. If you look close enough you can see it stand out from his green shirt.This is his face right after the first taste. Not completely satisfied, but not disgusted. I'm proud of his first attempt, but I realize that it will take a couple of tries to get the right recipe.

And this is us... ya I know... a little disappointing right.

Family Visit

So we were able to go to California recently to visit family, see Larry, and celebrate Thanksgiving. When we were there we were able to take some great pictures. This is the Lee family: Steve, Laura, Corinn, and Cary.
This is the Heil family: Katrina, Jennifer, Jack, Sam, Micheal, and Lucas. And the Merket family: Ami, Larry, Cathy, Dan, Liz, Chris, and me!

It was a great visit because we got a lot of really good food. There is one more picture of everyone together but I haven't gotten a copy of that yet. We were able to go to Knotts Berry Farm while we were in California and we got in at a pretty great price thanks to Larry. We were also going to go to The Price is Right but unfortunately the fire, a lack of cars, and a big desire on my end to sleep canceled our plans. We had some good food and I met a really interesting drink re filler at The Chicken House. Below is the picture that I felt best compared to by drink re filler. He was handsome in his own way, especially when those big lips parted into a smile.