Book Recommendations

I just finished reading "The Looking Glass Wars" by Frank Beddor. And I would highly recommend it. It's a new and interesting take on the story of Alice in Wonderland, and it's very original. The characters were interesting, the story was exciting, and the best evidence that I really liked it? I'm actually excited for the sequel instead of groaning that they stretched a story out longer that it needs to be. This story actually merits a trilogy to tell it. I'm excited to go find "Seeing Redd" next.

Today

Today's Impossible Wish: I wish I were a cat, so I could lie in this giant patch of sun by my (what shall I call it? It's not really a cubicle) workspace and soak up the warmth.

Today's Possible but Not Likely Wish: Since I can't be a cat, I wish I had a cat so he could lie in a giant patch of sun and then I could snuggle with him and soak up the warmth.

Today's Mental Pep-talk: Just an hour and a half left and I can take a nap.

I <3 the bus

I'm on the bus right now, on my way home from work, and I'm feeling positively cheerful. I didn't know how much of a difference it could make, not sitting behind the wheel for an hour and a half for a change. It's true, taking the bus made the commute a little bit longer, but I think it's worth it. I don't feel exhausted right now, like I usually do making the drive home from Murray to Provo. Sitting on the bus, I get to hear the soothing bus-voice that tells you "Next stop—Lehi Park and Ride" and "Please be sure to take all personal belongings as you leave the bus." I get to be rocked gently, and sometimes not so gently, but the swaying of the bus. I get to people-watch. I get to see the scenery. I get to read all the billboards without feeling like I might go veering off the road if I look a second too long. Summing it all up, I get to do something other than drive!

This morning I saw something kind of interesting while boarding the bus in Provo. When I got on the bus, there were no completely empty seats—every two-person block of seats had just one person sitting in it. So, I just sat down next to someone—a nice Asian lady. Okay, I don't really know if she's nice because I didn't talk to her, but she sat very nicely. The guy that got on after me, though, he just looked around, saw no completely empty seats, and opted to stand. I thought that was just so typical of our culture. I don't know if we're afraid of each other, or if it's just that bubble of space we all need that makes us uncomfortable if we get near someone. I mean, even I was uncomfortable. I sat as skinny as could, trying to make myself as small as possible to avoid touching the Asian lady or any of the air around her. We Americans are weird.

I had a really pleasant day at work today—which I attribute mostly to the nature of today's commute. I didn't feel tired or antsy or bored. The other factor I'm going to acknowledge is that today I was (practice) editing multiple choice History tests. That was the most fun I've had editing so far. I like when I get to learn something along with fixing the awkward sentences and spotting the obvious answers.

So, my life is good. Today was good. And the best thing is I'm guaranteed to go home and enjoy a pleasant evening with my wonderful husband. I <3 my life. I <3 the bus.

A Christmas Review

This was my first Christmas with the West family, and it was indisputably a wonderful time. So many things happened and I had such a good time that I can't possibly write every detail of it here. So, I'm going to steal a technique I learned from my father-in-law and give you the top tens of the vacation.

My Top Ten Favorite Things About This Christmas Vacation:
1. Playing with Gigi.
2. Talking books with my sisters- and mother-in-law.
3. Playing Mario Galaxy with Little James- seriously, that was a blast.
4. Christmas shopping with the whole family and conversation with Dad West over lunch at McDonald's.
5. The food: homemade ice cream, tons of chocolate, and delicious meals. Mmmm.
6. Our awesome Lord of the Rings Marathon!
7. Being exposed to new tv shows and movies--including Firefly, Serenity, Twelve Angry Men, and yes--even Night at the Museum.
8. Meeting Tim and getting to know everyone better.
9. James getting his face cast done by Tim, and then scaring Anthony with the plastic mold of my husband's head.
10. Christmas pajamas.

My Top Ten Favorite Things about the Road Trip:
1. Not dying when we ran off the road in Nebraska, and getting rescued by some nice Air Force boys to boot.
2. Stopping to meet Heidi and her family.
3. Free breakfast at Penny's Diner in North Platte, Nebraska. Really nice people, great food and fun, classic atmosphere. We haven't shut up about it since.
4. Listening to musicals--Newsies, Les Mis, Phantom, Into the Woods, Wicked, and Trail of Dreams. Can't get better than that.
5. (And this one's really the best) Stopping in Ohio to see Chauncey and Melanie, Little Chauncey, Jackson, and Kate.
6. Their hot chocolate maker--we're obsessed! We want one now.
7. A side trip to Kirtland where I learned the meaning of the phrases "The whole nine yards" and "Let's get down to brass tacks."
8. Playing DDR with Melanie.
9. Allison's delighted exclamations of "Snow!" as the fierce winds blew gusts of snow across the road and I hid my face in my pillow.
10. Getting home, safe and sound, eating some pizza and sleeping in my own bed.

And now, for your enjoyment, some pictures:

"Holy War"

Hey Everyone- we just got home from the BYU-Utah game. Whoa, holy intenseness. I think this was the first rivalry game I've been to, and I don't think I've ever been so nervous. Our guys played really well, but there were a few moments where we were all more than a little concerned. But we pulled ahead there when it counted and finished the game 17 - 10. Beautiful. Just beautiful. I'm kinda sad there won't be any more home games for a whole year, but I think I may need that much time to recover! Here's a little scrapbook I made of the pictures we took today.

Make a slide show, scrapbook, or ecard

Experimentations

So, I borrowed a hair-cutting kit from a friend and James oh-so-kindly submitted to being my guinea pig. I'm not sure what possessed me to actually try this, but I did and now James has to live with the consequences. Remarkably, he tells me I have to continue to cut his hair in the future as well as cut our kids' hair. Crazy man. Well, here is the evidence of the crime:

Football Fun

Here's a little online scrapbook I made of our recent football adventures. Enjoy!

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Recent Adventures

Here are some pictures from our latest adventures. First of all are just a few pictures from Halloween (more to come later). Many of you know that James and I dressed up as Pokemon for Halloween-- specifically Charmander and Pikachu. We got a lot of laughs out of people and some kudos on the costumes. :) You can see how cute James was in his Pikachu footsy-pajamas:





































And then here is a picture of me and my friend Brittany at our little Halloween get together (we watched Addam's Family and played games on the Wii on a giant projector! It was sweet, I tell you.)



Yesterday James and I had a blast babysitting James's cousins, Jonas and Max. Here are some pictures from the event:
Here is Max-- he had a blast climbing in this basket and also trying on our shoes! :)





















Last, here's Jonas-- we turned him into a zombie with James's Nintendo DS. Next time we babysit we may just conveniently "forget" to bring it so we can actually have some fun with the little guy.

Football Game and Post Game Pajama Party

So last night's football game was a blast. It started out a bit rocky when I realized I had lost my purse somewhere and so didn't have my student ID card. I sent James and Allison ahead and tried to find my purse for about an hour and a half with no luck, so I printed out a copy of my ID card, put a hold on the bank card and went to the game. Things happen. Anyway, so the game was great--BYU had some really nice interceptions and some really good runs by our good pal Harvey Unga, and we ended up crushing the other team, which was what everyone expected. What we weren't expecting, however, was the 2nd-half snowstorm! It started as a few flakes mixed with some light rain but quickly turned into a flurry of snow flakes that made for some very cold fingers and toes. I guess one exciting thing about it was that everyone but the die-hards left and I think the stadium actually got louder. Final score: 42-7. After the game we were so frozen we abandoned any plans we had for going out after the game and instead picked up a pizza and soda on the way home. The three of us went back to the house, changed into pajamas, ate pizza, and played a fun but silly game called In A Pickle which I would highly recommend. James eventually fell asleep on the couch and Allison and I just talked for a while. All in all, it was a great Saturday and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Except for the frozen toes part.

Halloween Madness

Yesterday we enjoyed a traditional Halloween activity and, as James would put it, brutally mutilated a living thing--we made a Jack-o-lantern! Two of our good friends came over and we sliced and diced our way to October bliss. James's and my pumpkin is inspired by Pikachu, because we were desperate for inspiration. He actually came out looking pretty good, though perhaps he needed some ears and a tail. As is, he kind of looks a bit like a clown. Well, we'll let you guys decide. Here are some pictures from the event. our pumpkin is the one on the far right side.