This year's ward Christmas party was an ugly sweater dance. Friday night Moroni and I headed over to the Goodwill to do a little sweater shopping and found these lovely gems, among other things. Notice that mine has a lovely Native American theme with head engulfing turtleneck. Moroni got lucky and found this lovely flesh toned beauty of a turtleneck which perfectly complemented his pasty white skin. We found the perfect accompaniment to this ensemble in the printed sweater vest.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Ugly Sweater Dance
This year's ward Christmas party was an ugly sweater dance. Friday night Moroni and I headed over to the Goodwill to do a little sweater shopping and found these lovely gems, among other things. Notice that mine has a lovely Native American theme with head engulfing turtleneck. Moroni got lucky and found this lovely flesh toned beauty of a turtleneck which perfectly complemented his pasty white skin. We found the perfect accompaniment to this ensemble in the printed sweater vest.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Bike Trail Mania

This picture is taken from a website about the Alum Creek Trails. http://parks.columbus.gov/Facility.aspx?id=27060
Moroni lives off of the worst street in the world to bike on or even walk on. We have attempted once and after that I swore I would never bike on it again. It is a narrow, two-lane road with multiple curves, no sidewalks and blind shoulders that people drive on at 45mph. I have cycled on many types of roads in my life but never one where I have seen my own life flash before my eyes. About 2-5 miles up and down the road from his house are trail heads. One is the start of the Alum creek north trail and the other is the start of the Alum Creek South trail. But there was absolutely nothing in between. So every time I wanted to run or just go on an easy bike ride, I would have to drive to either trail head. Then one beautiful day last Spring we noticed a sign that said "DO NOT ENTER, Alum Creek Trail Construction" and much to our delight it was the beginning of the connecting trail between the North and the South trail sections. Last Sunday we walked behind his neighborhood (about a block, its a small neighborhood) and much to my surprise there was a trail there. It wasn't paved but it was well groomed. So this week the adventures began. Sarah and I ran on it on Tuesday in order to see how far it goes, and it almost connects to the existing trail and today Moroni and I took a walk and a good portion is now paved. I am so excited I can't even say. It's going to be so nice to just head out the back door when I get home and go for a run or hop on my bike and ride right out of the house without driving to a trail head. Pretty soon the trail will be connected and will complete a 19 mile trail which also connects to other trails throughout Columbus. I'll never have to drive anywhere again! Yay!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
"Fate chooses your relations, you choose your friends." - Jacques Delille (1738 - 1813).
Something I've been thinking about for awhile is friends, and I have lots of them. I think part of that is the fact that I will talk to anyone, whether they want me to or not. Sometimes though, I get to feeling like I live the life of a friendship nomad perhaps because I have lived in multiple places over the last 10 years including, Idaho, Washington, Utah, Colorado and Ohio I have moved in and out of people's lives in a hurry, and sometimes I just start feeling guilty, like I have been a bad friend because I am so terrible at keeping in touch. There have been so many people I have cared about so much, and still do care about but its not like I'm actually picking up the phone and calling them on a weekly basis. I guess my point to all of this is that, I'm sorry, sorry I am that friend who is bad at calling and sorry I'm that friend who is good at moving away. To all my friends over the years I still think about you and thank you for being my friend at a time when I needed you in my life. For the rest of this blog entry, I am just going to write individually about my friends--your first name and something about you that reminds me of you. If you are reading this feel free to comment, it would be nice to hear from you! Also, apologizing now to anyone I leave off...I'm sorry in advance.
Andrea: Full-size Brad Pitt cutout poster coming with us for night on the town, prank calls from the Chinese restaurant.
Collin: You always made fun of me for my "Mormon" ways and yet always stood up to other people who tried to do the same...
Carrie: Camping at Baker Lake, jumping on your trampoline, our horrible 16th birthday party
Jen: Chocolate chip cookies and you taught me the ropes of thrift shopping (of which I'm still no good at)
Jason: "If I were a hot dog!" and Mariner's baseball
Danielle: Softball, camping, girl scout camp, New Kids on the Block....Sugar the cat
Amanda: Alfy's pizza after our games and all night out at Sherri's
Nisha: My first room mate ever! Hairspray and fun! You made the first year away from home really great. The grover voice. Always the entrepreneur.
Lael: Driving me to the MTC, Sunday dinners with your family, running races together, I still have the blanket you made and sent to me on my mission!
Dayeong: Good Korean times on and off the mission. You always kept me well fed and whenever I see snickerdoodles I think of you.
Emily: Laughing. I always laughed with you because you are hillarious. Also, I envy your artistic skills to this day all the things you do amaze me.
James: Driving to everywhere and nowhere in the black Jetta...random adventures that were always fun. Cutting down a Christmas tree in the dark.
Shannon: "I want to share the gospel with you!"..long drives in the middle of nowhere in Colorado. The Phone Call...what a great movie!
Jake: Music, music, music...that's what I think of when I think of you, I am still listening to Sufjan Steven thanks to you.
Leaa: My most loyal friend in the entire world. You saved me during my last college years. Shared groceries and our crappy house that we loved anyway! Working at Bed Bath and Beyond together...helping me to get back into the real world when we got off our missions.
Tyler: Hiking, running, snowboarding and fun. You are always up for anything...including Nair and nail polish! Remember home movies and going out to the farm and hiking up the hill? What about Mail Box Peak? You almost killed me. Your parents are like my second parents, your mom wrote me every week of my mission and used to feed me dinner almost every night of the week.
Kristi: Commercial art, Boston Market and mashed potatoes and calculus. Spanish club and everything else. We always threw the greatest parties because we loved decorating so much.
Stacy: I still remember when you got your braces? and remember prom and how you let me highlight our hair the night before? The Beast and toilet paper. You and the Titanic song...I still hate it! Fun in the singles ward.
Diane: camping and sharing a tent for a month. You getting married on me when we were supposed to be room mates (don't worry I do not hold this against you)!!!
Tyler: Always a great friend to just sit and talk to. I still remembering sitting in my backyard for hours with our feet in the kiddie pool.
Jenna: Even though we have lived in a lot of the same places the only time we end up seeing each other is when we go back home! Remember the recovery period after the missions? Dinner at you parents and running into you at RICKS and BYU. Swimming in the ocean, not getting eaten by sharks.
Molly: Almost ten years younger then me, but a friend from the very start. gCHAT, gCHAT, gCHAT!
Diana: I know your entire life story...amazing what people talk about on the trail!
Aaron: Always a big truck around...and a broken down jeep. The friend who always paid for everyone at dinner and the hardest worker I have ever met!
Sarah: Running, hiking, backpacking and everything in between. Sleeping in a tent in my back yard and freaking out and coming inside! My sidekick in hobbies and all things crafty
Julie: Craiglist...the greatest way on earth to find a roomate. Two years of bliss and fun...adopting cats together and trying to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Trips to World Market.
Melissa: The Jetta that smelled like crayons. Playing hookie to put in laminate flooring. Sharing clothes and a bathroom. The Office. Dwight is still on my desk.
Carrie: Camping at the beach, riding the mopeds. Cycling (I'm pretty sure we never did this together, but we always talked about it).
Melanie: The greatest person I have ever met in my entire life. Hours of "therapy" sessions from my counselor in training. You were someone I could always just sit and talk to for hours.
Jesse: Anything adventurous and fun. Climbing over train cars to see Great Blue Herons nesting and then realizing they were only a short ways from the parking lot of the gas station. Backpacking.
Amy: Europe. I still have the perfect picture in my mind of me getting off the train in Germany and the doors closing and taking you along with it to its next stop an hour away! Eating good food!
Shlece: Working out on our lunch break. Commuting. Surviving the vivarium...
Carly: New York at Christmas and girl time. Long talks and hanging out. Crafts are fun when done right. The outlet mall and sharing my pain over watching a certain someone try on a certain leather jacket a billion times over multiple trips.
Katy: The only two people to show up for a relief society activity but we still had fun anyway on our 5 mile hike!
Tara: You could always make me laugh. You always know when everyone is in need. My support system when I needed it to get the job done!
Jon: Friend by default when you moved into town and your sister left town for a month. You could always make me laugh. I remember listening to MIA in your car for the first time. I didn't like her then, I still don't really like her now.
Wendy: Hey BFF. I realize that I am now number two but I feel at peace with that. I heart that you hate hearts. One of few people who truly understood me all the time. Movies on Lifetime and ABC family on Friday night. The farm and Hank.
Moroni: Wendy is okay that you are my number one now. I love you. You are my best friend. Thanks for liking me anyway, even though I'm the grossest girl you've ever met. Cycling in the cold, the heat and every other temperature. Going to multiple festivals just for fun. World Market, REI and climbing to the top of the hill just for me. Psych. Learning how to deal with hair and windows down in your car in the summer.
Something I've been thinking about for awhile is friends, and I have lots of them. I think part of that is the fact that I will talk to anyone, whether they want me to or not. Sometimes though, I get to feeling like I live the life of a friendship nomad perhaps because I have lived in multiple places over the last 10 years including, Idaho, Washington, Utah, Colorado and Ohio I have moved in and out of people's lives in a hurry, and sometimes I just start feeling guilty, like I have been a bad friend because I am so terrible at keeping in touch. There have been so many people I have cared about so much, and still do care about but its not like I'm actually picking up the phone and calling them on a weekly basis. I guess my point to all of this is that, I'm sorry, sorry I am that friend who is bad at calling and sorry I'm that friend who is good at moving away. To all my friends over the years I still think about you and thank you for being my friend at a time when I needed you in my life. For the rest of this blog entry, I am just going to write individually about my friends--your first name and something about you that reminds me of you. If you are reading this feel free to comment, it would be nice to hear from you! Also, apologizing now to anyone I leave off...I'm sorry in advance.
Andrea: Full-size Brad Pitt cutout poster coming with us for night on the town, prank calls from the Chinese restaurant.
Collin: You always made fun of me for my "Mormon" ways and yet always stood up to other people who tried to do the same...
Carrie: Camping at Baker Lake, jumping on your trampoline, our horrible 16th birthday party
Jen: Chocolate chip cookies and you taught me the ropes of thrift shopping (of which I'm still no good at)
Jason: "If I were a hot dog!" and Mariner's baseball
Danielle: Softball, camping, girl scout camp, New Kids on the Block....Sugar the cat
Amanda: Alfy's pizza after our games and all night out at Sherri's
Nisha: My first room mate ever! Hairspray and fun! You made the first year away from home really great. The grover voice. Always the entrepreneur.
Lael: Driving me to the MTC, Sunday dinners with your family, running races together, I still have the blanket you made and sent to me on my mission!
Dayeong: Good Korean times on and off the mission. You always kept me well fed and whenever I see snickerdoodles I think of you.
Emily: Laughing. I always laughed with you because you are hillarious. Also, I envy your artistic skills to this day all the things you do amaze me.
James: Driving to everywhere and nowhere in the black Jetta...random adventures that were always fun. Cutting down a Christmas tree in the dark.
Shannon: "I want to share the gospel with you!"..long drives in the middle of nowhere in Colorado. The Phone Call...what a great movie!
Jake: Music, music, music...that's what I think of when I think of you, I am still listening to Sufjan Steven thanks to you.
Leaa: My most loyal friend in the entire world. You saved me during my last college years. Shared groceries and our crappy house that we loved anyway! Working at Bed Bath and Beyond together...helping me to get back into the real world when we got off our missions.
Tyler: Hiking, running, snowboarding and fun. You are always up for anything...including Nair and nail polish! Remember home movies and going out to the farm and hiking up the hill? What about Mail Box Peak? You almost killed me. Your parents are like my second parents, your mom wrote me every week of my mission and used to feed me dinner almost every night of the week.
Kristi: Commercial art, Boston Market and mashed potatoes and calculus. Spanish club and everything else. We always threw the greatest parties because we loved decorating so much.
Stacy: I still remember when you got your braces? and remember prom and how you let me highlight our hair the night before? The Beast and toilet paper. You and the Titanic song...I still hate it! Fun in the singles ward.
Diane: camping and sharing a tent for a month. You getting married on me when we were supposed to be room mates (don't worry I do not hold this against you)!!!
Tyler: Always a great friend to just sit and talk to. I still remembering sitting in my backyard for hours with our feet in the kiddie pool.
Jenna: Even though we have lived in a lot of the same places the only time we end up seeing each other is when we go back home! Remember the recovery period after the missions? Dinner at you parents and running into you at RICKS and BYU. Swimming in the ocean, not getting eaten by sharks.
Molly: Almost ten years younger then me, but a friend from the very start. gCHAT, gCHAT, gCHAT!
Diana: I know your entire life story...amazing what people talk about on the trail!
Aaron: Always a big truck around...and a broken down jeep. The friend who always paid for everyone at dinner and the hardest worker I have ever met!
Sarah: Running, hiking, backpacking and everything in between. Sleeping in a tent in my back yard and freaking out and coming inside! My sidekick in hobbies and all things crafty
Julie: Craiglist...the greatest way on earth to find a roomate. Two years of bliss and fun...adopting cats together and trying to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Trips to World Market.
Melissa: The Jetta that smelled like crayons. Playing hookie to put in laminate flooring. Sharing clothes and a bathroom. The Office. Dwight is still on my desk.
Carrie: Camping at the beach, riding the mopeds. Cycling (I'm pretty sure we never did this together, but we always talked about it).
Melanie: The greatest person I have ever met in my entire life. Hours of "therapy" sessions from my counselor in training. You were someone I could always just sit and talk to for hours.
Jesse: Anything adventurous and fun. Climbing over train cars to see Great Blue Herons nesting and then realizing they were only a short ways from the parking lot of the gas station. Backpacking.
Amy: Europe. I still have the perfect picture in my mind of me getting off the train in Germany and the doors closing and taking you along with it to its next stop an hour away! Eating good food!
Shlece: Working out on our lunch break. Commuting. Surviving the vivarium...
Carly: New York at Christmas and girl time. Long talks and hanging out. Crafts are fun when done right. The outlet mall and sharing my pain over watching a certain someone try on a certain leather jacket a billion times over multiple trips.
Katy: The only two people to show up for a relief society activity but we still had fun anyway on our 5 mile hike!
Tara: You could always make me laugh. You always know when everyone is in need. My support system when I needed it to get the job done!
Jon: Friend by default when you moved into town and your sister left town for a month. You could always make me laugh. I remember listening to MIA in your car for the first time. I didn't like her then, I still don't really like her now.
Wendy: Hey BFF. I realize that I am now number two but I feel at peace with that. I heart that you hate hearts. One of few people who truly understood me all the time. Movies on Lifetime and ABC family on Friday night. The farm and Hank.
Moroni: Wendy is okay that you are my number one now. I love you. You are my best friend. Thanks for liking me anyway, even though I'm the grossest girl you've ever met. Cycling in the cold, the heat and every other temperature. Going to multiple festivals just for fun. World Market, REI and climbing to the top of the hill just for me. Psych. Learning how to deal with hair and windows down in your car in the summer.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Fall: Week Three--Circleville Pumpkin Festival
As I have already stated in the last few weeks, the fall is my absolute favorite time of year and this Saturday we attended one of the festivals I look forward to here in Ohio more than anything else--The Circleville Pumpkin Festival. Is it the name? Is it the quaint little town that it is held in? Is it the food? Is it the cool fall day, with crisp air and smell of decaying leaves? I believe the answer is--ALL OF THE ABOVE! One of the things we love about this festival is the food, my own personal rule is you can't eat it unless it has pumpkin in it. I think this is a pretty good rule, since it is the pumpkin festival after all. This year, I chose my personal favorite, pumpkin chili and a pumpkin buckeye (a delicious chocolate candy only found in Ohio--home of The Ohio State Buckeyes). The rest of the pictures are all the other pumpkin food items that can be tried at the festival!

Our friend Carly...

I have never had pumpkin walking taco..but I am now curious...


The weight of the pumpkin is written on it!












Notice that the sign says "World's Greatest Pumpkin Pie!" not "World's Largest Pumpkin Pie!" and I had to wait in line to get a picture of this thing! Ha Ha...
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants/pumpkinpierecord.htm
This is the link to the world's largest pumpkin pie...its only about 100 times larger (slight exaggeration)...so how they determined this was the world's greatest pumpkin pie I have no idea, but what I do know is that they make really tasty pumpkin donuts at this place and if that's any indication of how great the pumpkin pie is, then I bet it is pretty darn delicious.












Another specialty of all festivals are fried things...if you ever wondered how something tastes fried, just go to the fair or your local festival, someone is bound to be selling it. Here is our friend Dave trying a fried Twinkie, which pretty much did him under for the rest of the night! So gross.

SIX bras for $12! That is some kind of deal!

A huge block of shea butter...

I generally disagree with people dressing up their dogs, but in the spirit of all things pumpkin, I retract my former opinion. This dog was cute, and seemed to like its ridiculous outfit!




This girl looks like she should be on a horror flick...she is found in the bottom corner of the mural that was a few pictures back!


Finally: The last thing I learned this year is that if someone tells you "Come see the weirdest thing you will ever see right here! Only a dollar!" Do not believe them, and do not give them your dollar.
Have a great week!
Our friend Carly...
I have never had pumpkin walking taco..but I am now curious...
The weight of the pumpkin is written on it!
Notice that the sign says "World's Greatest Pumpkin Pie!" not "World's Largest Pumpkin Pie!" and I had to wait in line to get a picture of this thing! Ha Ha...
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/giants/pumpkinpierecord.htm
This is the link to the world's largest pumpkin pie...its only about 100 times larger (slight exaggeration)...so how they determined this was the world's greatest pumpkin pie I have no idea, but what I do know is that they make really tasty pumpkin donuts at this place and if that's any indication of how great the pumpkin pie is, then I bet it is pretty darn delicious.
Another specialty of all festivals are fried things...if you ever wondered how something tastes fried, just go to the fair or your local festival, someone is bound to be selling it. Here is our friend Dave trying a fried Twinkie, which pretty much did him under for the rest of the night! So gross.
SIX bras for $12! That is some kind of deal!
A huge block of shea butter...
I generally disagree with people dressing up their dogs, but in the spirit of all things pumpkin, I retract my former opinion. This dog was cute, and seemed to like its ridiculous outfit!
This girl looks like she should be on a horror flick...she is found in the bottom corner of the mural that was a few pictures back!
Finally: The last thing I learned this year is that if someone tells you "Come see the weirdest thing you will ever see right here! Only a dollar!" Do not believe them, and do not give them your dollar.
Have a great week!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Fall Camping
This Friday we camped at Mohican State Park near Amish country with some friends. Since, I was in charge of planning this activity, I'm glad the food turned out great because 5/8 people were freezing all night! (I was not one of those people..all though I can empathize with them because I have been one of them before). We drove up Friday after we got out of work and then thanks to a hard to find, lengthy detour, we did not arrive at our campground until after dark! The next day we drove to Amish country, which was packed. It felt like Disney World in July or something. We decided to try Amish country again in the winter when its freezing and no one wants to be walking around, so there are no crowds to fight against or traffic. All in all, I had fun, I hope everyone else did too:)

These lovely ladies are my friends Diana (who backpacked with me last September) and Sam (fellow Oregonian from Nessa).

Here I am snuggling down for a cold night. I probably had the best sleeping bag out of everyone (thanks Dad and Megan, this Christmas present from four years ago still does the most amazing job ever!) and the trick to staying warm on a cold night is making sure your body is still warm when you get inside the sleeping bag and that you have dry clothing on (so if its a damp night even if you are warm in your clothes outside, you will be cold in your bag..always bring dry clothes to change into). Luckily, we were car camping, so Carly and I drove to the electrified campground a few miles away with the heat blasting and washed our faces and drove back...we were warm and dry in our bags!
Here is Moroni, Ryan and my friend Paul who I used to go to school with here in Ohio until he graduated (lucky!)in the morning after being miserable all night..I would say that they look pretty chipper (probably because I just served up bacon, french toast and hot cocoa)!


I took this picture through my sunglasses. The fall here is not going as well as I would like it too...the colors on the trees are quite disappointing! As I was driving, I kept thinking "all the leaves look so nice and red this morning" and then I took of my sunglasses...

I hope everyone had a great weekend!
These lovely ladies are my friends Diana (who backpacked with me last September) and Sam (fellow Oregonian from Nessa).
Here I am snuggling down for a cold night. I probably had the best sleeping bag out of everyone (thanks Dad and Megan, this Christmas present from four years ago still does the most amazing job ever!) and the trick to staying warm on a cold night is making sure your body is still warm when you get inside the sleeping bag and that you have dry clothing on (so if its a damp night even if you are warm in your clothes outside, you will be cold in your bag..always bring dry clothes to change into). Luckily, we were car camping, so Carly and I drove to the electrified campground a few miles away with the heat blasting and washed our faces and drove back...we were warm and dry in our bags!
Here is Moroni, Ryan and my friend Paul who I used to go to school with here in Ohio until he graduated (lucky!)in the morning after being miserable all night..I would say that they look pretty chipper (probably because I just served up bacon, french toast and hot cocoa)!
I took this picture through my sunglasses. The fall here is not going as well as I would like it too...the colors on the trees are quite disappointing! As I was driving, I kept thinking "all the leaves look so nice and red this morning" and then I took of my sunglasses...
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Oven Mitts and Illnesses
So Monday this week a woman I work with, Li, came into the lab and said "don't come near me! I am ill"..needless to say, by Thursday I had the symptoms of her cold and have beeninside with it all weekend. It was probably the last nice weekend we will have here until next Spring too!
Last week I set my oven mitt down on a hot burner (not an "on" burner--in case moroni is reading this--a hot burner) and all of a sudden I smelled something not quite right and this is what I ended up with!

Monday night we were at the mall and I was sneakily looking at new oven mitts...but the cute ones, of course, were the expensive ones. As I was taking a close look at one of the mitts at Sur La Table (pronounced Sur La Tab--for Megan), which was priced at $9.95, I thought to myself "I could make this myself and for a lot less and I could pick out some really cute fabric", so on the way home I had Moroni stop at Jo Ann's, which is my new hang out and I found some affordable fabric. The red mitt was my protype...I had some troubles with the thumb, so I redrew the pattern and the next mitt was my final product. I think they turned out pretty cute and all in all cost me about $3.00 each...possibly less!

Last week I set my oven mitt down on a hot burner (not an "on" burner--in case moroni is reading this--a hot burner) and all of a sudden I smelled something not quite right and this is what I ended up with!
Monday night we were at the mall and I was sneakily looking at new oven mitts...but the cute ones, of course, were the expensive ones. As I was taking a close look at one of the mitts at Sur La Table (pronounced Sur La Tab--for Megan), which was priced at $9.95, I thought to myself "I could make this myself and for a lot less and I could pick out some really cute fabric", so on the way home I had Moroni stop at Jo Ann's, which is my new hang out and I found some affordable fabric. The red mitt was my protype...I had some troubles with the thumb, so I redrew the pattern and the next mitt was my final product. I think they turned out pretty cute and all in all cost me about $3.00 each...possibly less!
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