amazomeg

mush!

2012-02-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

JG's parents got to come out for a dog sled ride last week. that snow and those pines are just so pretty.

dogs with their tongues hanging out and eating snow are good too.

I've been cooking A LOT lately.

2012-01-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

I try and tell myself it's for JG cause he loves food and works hard all day long and deserves good meals, but really I just get a lot of satisfaction out of making something delicious from boring ingredients like quinoa or cauliflower. I never even knew how much I love cooking until I got married, and even then not til I moved to China and couldn't cook no matter how badly I wanted a grilled cheese. so, I started saving the recipes I've made that I love on a blog so I don't have to save them all on my computer. it's called Things I've Eaten That I Love. I highly recommend the mexican chicken lime soup and sweet potato fudge brownies.

a few things I love in the morning

2012-01-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

this smoothie. it's just an orange, a banana, some frozen raspberries, and some fresh blueberries blended up.

this lazy little girl.

and our new bed! even if it is on the floor. we've been sleeping on a full the last year, so a king feels very luxurious. it's also the first piece of furniture we've bought since we got married. so now we just need a frame and stuff to furnish the rest of the house, I guess.

this is what our house looks like.

2012-01-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

white with gray shutters? kinda cute. plus, it's kinda big. cause there's three bedrooms and two living rooms. and the floors and paint are new. and there's a deck, hot tub, swingset, and playhouse in the back. what I'm getting at is, I never thought that a double wide trailer would be the nicest place I'll probably live in the next five years.
oh, and can you spot the swan in our front yard? one of many elegant touches.

I have a sneaking suspicion

2012-01-22T16:25:00.002-07:00

that all I'm gonna post about is our dog (who's named sugar and is a 4-year-old samoyed that we rescued from our sled dog job cause she's 100% more of a pet than a sled dog seeing how all the other pups want to run all day long and she just wants to snuggle). she's great. and she loves people. and she didn't even care when five of my nieces and nephews all crowded her and the two-year-old started whapping her with her brush. oh, and her eyelashes are white! they look like feathers. and her favorite thing to do while I'm on the computer is to nudge her nose under my hand so that I'm magically petting her. basically she's just great and hopefully this need to tell everyone everything about her is out of my system now.

"oh, that wrapper and lack of sucker on that stick? I have no idea how that got here while you were at church. interesting."

so, now I mostly just hangout with this girl all day.

2012-01-17T12:04:00.002-07:00

and she mostly just sleeps and wants belly rubs and watches cars go past the window while her picture's being taken.

(as of last week this pup is ours for keeps, hooray!)

some goals and resolutions and whatnot

2012-01-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

thanks to my friend bethany for the inspiration.

frugality: be more self-relient and save more

self: have more fun and don’t sweat all the small stuff
marriage: stay in love and go on dates more
health: start doing yoga again, cook as often as possible
spirituality: make religion more of a daily focus
knowledge: re-read my favorite books (I've never re-read a book!)

creativity: stop adding to my list of things to do and do stuff

career: open an etsy shop...?
travel: be less adventurous, create a home instead

{sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}

gimme.

2012-01-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

working with all these dogs just makes me wanna keep one.

so, we live in a double wide now.

2011-12-20T16:34:00.006-07:00

the best thing to happen thus far since moving is going to the general store and asking if they sold bolt cutters. the man we asked said "no, but we've got a pair in the back you could borrow if you bring them back before we close." I just, this guy had never even seen us before! and five minutes earlier at the local diner when the owner asked us what house we moved into the old man behind us in line told her exactly where it was when we weren't quite sure how to describe it. so I just really love small towns I guess.

oh, and this is the view from our back porch.

o tannenbaum

2011-12-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday. Thursday. Thursday.

I can't wait to find a spot for our teeny tree in our new apartment on Thursday!

the coat

2011-12-11T15:47:00.001-07:00

JG showed me this and I just really love everything about it.

happy bowtie

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

somehow I've convinced myself that JG likes homemade gifts the best even though I'm sure there are plenty of things he'd want that I can buy. anyway, when we were dating he learned how to tie a bowtie but since then has never owned one so I decided it was about that time. I took him to Joann's (not the most fun experience for a dude) and had him pick out some fabric and this is what happened.

anytime I sew any kinda curve I start freaking out so I gotta admit I was pretty pleased that it looks properly bowtie shaped.

**if you're interested, I used this pattern from burdastyle, except I made it to fit instead of using sliders.

remember this from last year?

2011-12-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

well, looks like we'll be doing it again this year! only this time we'll be living in our very own apartment (supposedly), we'll only be an hour away from family, I'll be working too instead of Pinterest-ing all day long, we get Christmas off, and it's for three months instead of 10 days. by my estimations, that's a ten-fold improvement. if we only have luck finding seasonal employment, at least it keeps getting better, right?

happy birthday to this guy

2011-12-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

when he turned 25 I gave him a homemade pop-up card featuring a horsey and he told me it was one of the best gifts he ever got. here's to hoping one day I'll be able to give him a real horse.

seeing how we spent Thanksgiving in Idaho...

2011-11-29T15:05:00.001-07:00

I find it fitting that the only pictures I took were when we went shooting after dinner.

cool sweater, I know.

the trouble with living with a ton of kids.

2011-11-20T17:16:00.001-07:00

of the 13 people now living in my parents' house, 7 of us have gotten the stomach flu this week (and maybe two more are starting to feel sick). it wouldn't be so bad but I just watched contagion last week and I'm pretty sure we'd all be goners if this thing were lethal.

some things I did in october

2011-11-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

peeled, cut, and froze 30 lbs. of peaches.

ate the top of our wedding cake on our 18 month anniversary.

turned 29 and officially changed my name.

carved a green pumpkin named Timmy.

dressed up as Frida Kahlo. but most people didn't know who that was.

I also went to Cornbellys for the first time and had no idea how big it is. It almost made up for the fact that I didn't get to go to a haunted house. I seriously love October.

I got my stitches out yesterday.

2011-10-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

and I got to thinking about all the money I've spent on dental work in the last few years. and I could've bought 8 new iPads already.

reddest leaves!

2011-09-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

somehow I kept not driving the alpine loop the last few years despite promising myself I'd do it. but our cool friends david + loralee like doing that sorta thing and thanks to them we did it on sunday. plus we went to Midway which was even prettier. please last for two months, fall weather.

bad news pears

2011-09-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I went to an endodontist last week and it turns out I'm having oral surgery today. what a huge bummer.

on the up-side, our neighbor put a "free" sign next to all their pears so I made this pear and almond tart. the crust is really good.

I guess it's fall

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'd always thought seasons change on the 21st so the fact that it's two days later is really blowing my mind. but now I can start making all those pumpkin flavored recipes I have saved up.

{one of the perks of living at my parents' is seeing the leaves change in real time.}

how can you read this? there's no pictures?

2011-09-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

the Provo library left me pleasantly surprised at how easily I could find books to fit my requirements. I like to get five books at a time in each of the following categories: fiction, short stuff like essays or stories or poetry and occasionally cookbooks, nonfiction, hobbies, and some kind of home or gardening something or other.

I'm not living anywhere without a library ever again. unless, of course, it has something to do with an apocalyptic, end-of-the-world type scenario.

but really I'm only posting about this cause I need to know: are there any books I should be reading right now that I mighta missed while I was in China?

doing things

2011-09-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

after the last month, I feel L-A-Z-Y. all I wanted to do when we got back was sew things and make things and cook things and mend things. and starting now that's all I'm gonna do. so, these are some necklaces I made. next up, earrings (hopefully).

on the farm

2011-09-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

we stopped in Kansas for our friend Pete's birthday. after cake we took a tour of the farm so I stopped to pet some pups. I think it made the goats jealous.

and if you look closely in that top picture you can see where my hair is going gray. weird.

our nation's capitol and the hamills

2011-09-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

I'm just gonna say it, I love DC. our visit couldn't have been timed better considering our whole uber-patriotic thing we've had going on since coming back from China. I loved the museums, I loved the botanical garden, I loved the Eastern Market (pickles on a stick!), and I loved the Hannah and Robbie (and the tomato torte and peach pie mentioned here).

typical.

JG has that same picture from when he was a teeny tiny.

Old Europe. that table on the left is pissed that I took a picture.

Abe and Martin.

proof of Hannah

I nearly had a panic attack

2011-09-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

but I cut JG's hair.

I can't believe how long it was.

north cackalacky

2011-09-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

when we were in North Carolina, we met up with JG's aunt Nancy who took us on a mini tour of the fam's old stomping grounds. we visited the cemetery where his grandparents are buried, the old factory his uncle owned (who incidentally once dated Ava Gardner) and what used to be the family-run truck stop. there was this really great hand-painted ladies restroom sign still hanging on the building that has since "fallen off" and somehow landed in our possession as a little souvenir...

then we headed off to Kitty Hawk in the Outer Banks where we lounged at the beach and ate grilled cheese sandwiches and shopped at a ton of thrift stores and a pet shop. I want a puppy.

PS If you ever see a sticker that says OBX it means Outer Banks and it's really stupid.

I just drove through a bunch of states.

2011-09-04T13:44:00.003-07:00

Kentucky is a lot prettier than I ever even knew.
Nerbraska is still the worst.

El Nido

2011-08-22T22:55:00.014-07:00

I don't think we coulda picked a better spot to go to in the Philippines. the water was insanely clear, you could island hop all day long via boat or kayak, there were secret lagoons & treasure caves, when we went snorkeling we saw angel fish and clown fish and blue starfish and a sting ray, the seafood was amazing, and we just got to be super lazy and lay in our hammock a lot. cool. oh, but I did get stung by a jellyfish which was most definitely not cool.

oh, and we totally found a coconut and ate it. JG's pretty good with a rock.

taipei

2011-08-21T12:30:00.001-07:00

I seriously love Taipei. it's full of nice people, great public transportation, a cool college-y area (where we went to a grilled cheese restaurant!), it's close to a national park, the night markets are bomb, and there are actual wards to go to. it's my favorite big city I think I've ever been to.

JG makes a lovely butterfly princess.

my first experience with conveyer belt sushi.

Alphonse Mucha exhibit

Shilin Night Market for FHE with the Bishop and his wife

saw this whilst riding the bus.

Long Dong

2011-08-20T15:56:00.001-07:00

being the sociable person JG is, he found us some new friends in Taipei so we could go climbing despite having sent back most of our gear. the spot was right on the water and the group we joined was about thirty people! it was nuts. and Taiwanese people know how to do the outdoors. lots of them brought sleeping mats to rest on and stoves so they could make tea and coffee. oh, and there was a helicopter that kept flying past us which created some much needed wind.

hualian

2011-08-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

I didn't love this place as much as Taidong, but it was still really fantastic. the hostel we went to didn't have any rooms left but they were super nice and let us stay in a storage room that happened to have a bed in it. we went to Taroko Gorge which blew our minds. then we got drenched since we went via moped and it's monsoon season. we drank kiwi slushees. and, again, we went to an empty beach. but this one was even more insane than the other ones. sooo pretty. on the way we stopped by some really awesome statues. oh, and we ate the hugest mango ever.

taidong

2011-08-14T14:34:00.001-07:00

let's get real. I was really excited to leave China. the government makes me really sad for all the people living there, I missed my western comforts and English speaking friends and family, and I really wanted to be able to do more hobbies other than rock climbing. the second we landed in Taiwan I coulda forgotten about all that cause I loved the place so much. first off was Taidong. we rented a moped, went to three empty beaches, stayed in a very colorful hostel, saw the hugest snail ever, and ate amazing fish tacos and hamburgers with pineapple and apples on it. it was kinda the best.

...and we're back!

2011-08-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

we did it. after two days of riding buses and taxis and planes we have finally arrived in the good ole USA. I wish I could say I'm ecstatic to be back but honestly I feel so jet-lagged I'm not sure what's reality and what's not. but it's cool that I can blog in blogger now. and that I have a phone. and a soft bed. and chips and salsa. and lots of family all living in one house. and in two days we'll have our clothes and truck. what a world.

see ya later china

2011-07-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

I've had a really hard time feeling like we're actually leaving. but we booked a taxi to pick us up at 5am tomorrow so I guess that means it's go-time. goodbye great firewall. goodbye squatters. goodbye walking everywhere. goodbye cheapest food. goodbye climbing during work hours. goodbye co-worker JG. I'm gonna miss you.

oh how I will miss the fruit.

2011-07-18T19:55:00.001-07:00

I decided I had better start taking pictures of stuff so I don't forget all my favorite stuff once we're gone. here's some fruit.

mangosteen: our absolute favorite fruit of all time. the first day we tried these we ate 6 each. and we try to repeat that as often as possible.

mango: who knew it was so delicious for breakfast with oats and a little milk? (I use the word milk liberally though. I can't wait for real milk again.) we've eaten this for breakfast for two weeks straight now and I can't get sick of it.

lychee: these guys are just so cute and delicious and it's so easy to carry them in your pocket for a snack later.

I also wish I had a picture of some wax berries, too, but they were only in season for about a week and a half. boo.

12 more days in china

2011-07-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

I can't remember the last time I felt this pants-on-fire. maybe right before I got married? but anyway, I can't focus cause it's nearly impossible for me to think about anything but going home. I keep saying things like "when we get back I'm totally... cooking this, making this, buying that, going here, blah blah blah." I started jotting down all that stuff, and it turns out it's a really long list. like, I've saved 500+ recipes since we got here, long. (embarrassing?) I don't really know where I'm going with this. I just miss hobbies like cooking and sewing and thrift stores. but I don't want to not enjoy our last two weeks here because I'm just thinking about all that since I don't think there's a time in the foreseeable future where I'll get to hangout with JG as much as I do here. we've had it pretty good.

moon hill

2011-07-09T23:59:00.005-07:00

anything with the word moon in it makes me get moon river stuck in my head. but having lived in Yangshuo for 6 months now, we thought it was about time we made it to a popular tourist attraction and climbing spot called Moon Hill. as made evident by the pictures, JG has way more skill and style than I do when it comes to climbing. though I blame part of the on the fact that I was being attacked by flying ants.

this is what a bbq looks like in china

2011-07-08T19:25:00.003-07:00

bricks + charcoal on the sidewalk followed by make-your-own kebabs.

God bless America.

2011-07-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

if your day looks anything like ours you'll be riding bikes, buying goods for a bbq, and blogging while you wait for the monsoon to come and go so you can tube down the river. but hopefully yours includes more parades, fireworks, red+white+blue, and Will Smith. I'm still really hoping we can find a copy of Independence Day before the day is through.

coolest clouds on the planet.

2011-07-03T00:32:00.001-07:00

after that glacier hike we went back to our hotel and decided to take a look at the mountains from the roof. bomb.

diqing

2011-07-02T00:32:00.001-07:00

after Shangri-La we took a little excursion to Diqing to visit Ming Yong glacier. it was really beautiful and we shared a car and part of the hike with some new Israeli friends which made it even better.

I still want a pony.

we wore way too many clothes.

that's a glacier behind me.

see?

soooooo greeeeeeeen.

I told jg to go to the top without me. I blame the high altitude.

j/k

2011-07-01T02:28:00.000-07:00

remember when I said we're coming back October 12? welp, move that up two months and a day. see ya August 11, America.

the way back

2011-06-20T20:17:00.005-07:00

as is always the case over here, traveling is not the easiest or most comfortable thing to do. it took us 55 hours to get from Diqing (I'll post about that awesome place later) back to Yangshuo. we started off well enough in a minibus with a driver who didn't even smoke inside. but after lunch it became very evident that the food was not sitting well with me. let me just say I'd rather use the wilderness as a bathroom over a Chinese bathroom every time. we opted to take a 7 hour train from Lijang to Kunming during the day and then an 18 hour train from Kunming to Guilin that night. but when we got our tickets for the night train, they were seats instead of sleepers and sleepers were sold out. ugh. when we boarded the train I imagined there would be seats similar to an airplane that all faced one way and reclined a bit so that at least we'd be able to attempt sleeping. I was very, very wrong. the seats all faced each other, the 18 inches of legroom was to be shared with the person sitting across from you, and the seatbacks were straight up and down because it was also the seatback for the person sitting behind you. I didn't see any possible way for a person to be able to sleep in those conditions. I wish I could paint an accurate picture of what that traincar looked like. beside the sub-par sitting conditions, there was minimal luggage storage. and I can't figure out what exactly chinese people are lugging around with them but many of them carry multiple large plaid waterproof bags on the train with them. I'm talking huge. like four foot by three foot bags. so we put our backpacks on top of some suitcases despite being told that it was dangerous cause where else were we gonna put them? and the people were interesting too. the man sitting in front of me couldn't help but stare at the two foreigners through his very dirty reading glasses he put on ten minutes into the ride. and the group on the other side of the aisle from us broke out a few bottles of baijiu and that's when realized, people sleep on these seats by getting drunk! oh dear. but I've left out one important detail. JG read in a guidebook that there's a way to upgrade tickets when someone gets off (so, basically you take their spot). when we got on the train he asked where you sign-up for that and we put our names on the list. we were pretty close to the front of the list but I couldn't imagine anyone buying a sleeper that didn't need it overnight and so my hopes were pretty low. but that didn't stop me from praying and pleading that somehow we'd get ourselves some beds before 3am. a half hour into the ride everyone who'd signed up for upgrades had to go wait for a train conductor to tell them what the verdict would be. by that point the list was two entire pages long. so many people sleeping in seats! I sat quietly awaiting JG's return to see if and when we might be able to switch seats. when he came back he told me to grab my stuff. did we get beds? are they near each other? how long do we have to wait? apparently, they hadn't sold half the beds on one car. which meant, not only did we get to go to our beds right away, but they were right next to each other and unslept in and on the bottom bunk which is tall enough to sit-up in! hallelujah! I couldn't believe our luck. I will never take a sleeper ticket for granted again.

Shangri-La

2011-06-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

for your listening pleasure whilst reading.
about ten years ago the Chinese government decided that James Hilton's book Lost Horizon took place not in a fictional city but, in fact, a place in southwest China. and so, they changed the name of the city and turned it into a money-making tourist destination. but we actually really liked it.

the highlight of our visit was the Songzanlin Monastery. JG made friends with a guy who told us of a way to hike into it instead of taking a bus to the entrance (which incidentally saved us from paying an entrance fee). the trek in was actually the best part. the wildflowers were out in full bloom and there were stairs up to a stupa with a fantastic view of the golden roofs atop the monastery. plus it included two funny german boys we made friends with at the bus station in Lijang that we just wanted to travel with us everywhere.

engraving.

these have to be spun clockwise.

baby monk.

prettiest wood.

doesn't he look like Falcor from Neverending Story?

we also ate yak meat for the first time, and let me tell you what. that stuff is delicious! I would forsake all other red meats for yak meat if I could. and unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of how beautiful all the Tibetan homes are. I'm determined to build a treehouse like that one day so I'll show you a picture then.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

2011-06-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

I love direct translations.
so, our little jaunt to Yunnan was actually to do some scouting for work. and part of that involved fulfilling one of JG's lifelong dreams since he'd read about it in National Geographic when he was 12: hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge. since it's actually a difficult trek, the only people we saw doing it were foreigners and therefore it wasn't crowded. domestic tourists much prefer riding cable cars to the tops of mountains or walking along paved trails at the bottom (which are plentiful at most scenic areas). and because the trail is scattered with villages with guest-houses you don't even need to camp or bring your own food. and you get to play with kids and chickens along the way. that's my kind of hike.

I need to take more chinglish pictures.

this chick was tough.

stone house built into the mountain.

even taller mountains than the one in Dali.

this kids brother was shooting me with a toy gun while this happened.

black and white chickens?!?

though, I've gotta admit I didn't actually hike the entire thing. after the first couple hours my stupid tendinitis started acting up and we got worried that if I hiked the most difficult section I wouldn't be able to hike the rest of it. and thus, we called in the cavalry (a local villager with a mule) and I rode up the 28 bends section. that little mule was a trooper and now I want a pony.

cool make-shift shorts.

dali

2011-06-15T19:57:00.002-07:00

so, we've been in Yunnan Province the last ten days and are finally home. it was amazinggg. we took a long sleeper train to Kunming where we did things like pull-ups and attempted to play two truths and lie to keep busy. (it's really hard to play that game with each other.)then a bus to the little town of Dali. it is so far my favorite city in China. most old towns here have been exploited by the tourist industry and all that's left are restaurants and shopping and a million people. somehow this place has managed to keep its charm.

all the houses have beautiful paintings on them.

this wall surrounds the entire city.

we went on a 30km bike ride to an even smaller village with a large Muslim influence which was interesting since there's generally so little religion here.

apparently pointy uppy roofs bring good fortune.

senior picture time.

the bean noodle soup was halal.

I can't do this.

a bike is really the best way to see China and I kinda wish we lived in Dali.

no chinese adventure would be complete without a lotus blossom picture.

this spot kinda reminded me of utah.

and Lijang doesn't deserve its own post (lame) but this mountain was too tall not to share.

the longer I live in China...

2011-06-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

the more I want to learn French. I just hear people speaking another language all day long and it makes me want to learn one. but why not Chinese? weird.

good at being bad

2011-06-07T05:28:00.002-07:00

guys, I forgot to tell you to watch my friend's new music video.

apparently John's also really good at finger break dancing.

okay, last Borneo post

2011-06-05T02:00:00.016-07:00

we went back to Kuching to visit the Sunday Market, which happens to be on both Saturday and Sunday. lots of pretty fruits and flowers and interesting fish. I wish we had more markets in the US.

and, I just like this picture of JG doing a handstand and didn't want to deprive the internet of it.

the end.

Sarawak Cultural Village

2011-06-04T00:51:00.015-07:00

At first I was skeptical about this place cause we went to the cultural show which started with a guy playing the saw which I didn't think seemed very Malaysian so much as something you might see at the county fair. But it improved a hundred fold and the rest of it was filled with different tribes doing traditional dances set to live music.

blow darts are cool.

prettiest costumes.

that guy just climbed up there and they started spinning him.

The rest of the village is filled with traditional homes from different minorities which left me wanting to watch Swiss Family Robinson. I still want to live in a treehouse.

lychee + lemon juice

hiding behind a banana leaf

apparently I'm obsessed with drinks.

meow

2011-06-03T06:39:00.029-07:00

so, we were actually on Borneo which is different than Malaysia even though it's technically the same country but all I know is we had to go through customs in both places. we stayed about 45 minutes outside of Kuching at Damai beach. but, we did go to Kuching a to visit some free museums.

Kuching means cat in Malay and thus there is the Cat Museum. I thought of Hannah the entire time.

spacey

awesome.

All I wanted to see at the Natural History Museum was shrunken heads and there weren't any but there was enough other gruesome stuff to suit my needs.

luckily you can't tell just how sweaty I am.

Fort Margherita was cool cause we had to take a boat across the river to get there and we had the joint to ourselves.

this was just hanging from the ceiling in the tower.

we also went to the Islamic Museum and the only pictures I managed to take were of the weird drinks we drank before we went in.

jelly grass drink + kickapoo joy juice.

and speaking of drinks, we also ate at Pizza Hut which is a place I don't think I would ever eat in the States and they had Mountain Dew! oh dream of dreams.

hip hip hooray

2011-06-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

we booked our flights back to Utah last night, and come October 12 we'll be residents of the good old US of A! I miss that place. but there's things we do here that we don't really get to do there that we're gonna miss. like walking around town without a shirt on and no one thinking you're homeless (jg, not me). or getting cream boba slushies everyday for $1. basically what I'm saying is, time is running out for visitors. so, book a flight already.

may-laysia!

2011-06-01T20:32:00.004-07:00

it was a hit! I loved Malaysia. the people were all so kind and the culture so diverse. I really don't think I've ever been anywhere that was so proud of its diversity and so accepting of everyone. it was inspiring. and our hotel room was literally twenty feet from the beach. the water was warm and full of jellyfish (freaky). the sand was hot. we spent a lot of time lounging and reading and eating oatmeal hazelnut crackers. sometimes I think snacks are my favorite part of every new country. but seriously, we had the best time.

there are killer jellyfish in there!

skipping.

we're in love.

not naked.

I like that they called them coconut fruits.

our back porch.

best sunsets.

(more to come.)

huge hills + kumquats

2011-05-22T21:31:00.003-07:00

best experience in china. we went on a two-day 45 mile biking trip through the prettiest scenery on earth. there were kumquat trees growing all along the hillside. there were lakes and karsts and spectacular views. I can hardly describe it. compound this all with the satisfaction of riding up hills that seemed impossibly steep and tall. like, I had some seriously embarrassing inner-dialogue convincing myself I could climb those hills.

unreal.

and then we ended it all with a swim in the river:

life may not get better than that. unless you add pizza, which we did.

an old village whose name I forgot

2011-05-21T17:41:00.002-07:00

so, Carrie came to visit (!) and couldn't have picked a better week. the weather was the best it's been the whole time we've been here and has since reverted back to it's rainy cloudy self. plus, she got to come on a work holiday with us to Huang Yao (I never knew the name til I just asked jonathan). if you want to see how cool looking the village really is you should watch the Painted Veil. it's super old and super picturesque and exactly what I thought China was going to look like when we got here. but mostly it doesn't so it was fun to dream about living in an old stone house.

our hostel.

carrie!

these flags are everywhere around here.

handsome.

kate got super scared about one second after this.

coolest tree

why it took three cops to ask one thing, I don't know.

I want these.

puppy love.

silversmith.

seat cushions.

we also ate a lot of mangoes when we were there and not one of us escaped without dried on mango on our faces and shirts. have you ever tried eating them peeled by hand? it's very satisfying and messy.

disneyland

2011-05-07T22:47:00.001-07:00

a few months ago we discovered that Hong Kong has a Disneyland. and so it was decided we had to go. our sleeper bus got in at 5:15am and thus I wanted to be the first person in the gates. success! I also decided I wanted to be the first person on Space Mountain. double success! we had loads of fun and took more pictures and acted way more idiotic than we normally would've for which I blame the lack of sleep and all the chinese people acting the same way. some highlights include: the subway had mickey shaped windows, riding Space Mountain twice in 20 minutes, eating hamburgers (glorious western style hamburgers), a huge yellow flower falling off a tree and nearly hitting me on the head, the Lion King show, a jelly currant popsicle, not puking on the teacups, and doing all the rides by 3pm. Disneyland is totally escapism at its best.

bolting

2011-05-06T07:05:00.002-07:00

so, because we have super sweet jobs we got the chance to go bolt some new climbing routes in Guilin. our boss Jack had just gotten back from a Petzl sponsored trip where they bolted 250 routes in like 10 days and was still itching to do more. so he took us along and taught us the ropes. turns out jonathan really loved it and has another hobby to add to the list.

monster sized drill.

this is really tiring.

once you bolt a route you have to clean up any loose rocks so people don't grab something that's loose and it tumbles down crushing their belayer. this is one of the smaller one's we knocked down.

also, it was the first sunny day in weeks while we were there so I took advantage and laid in the sun like a cat about 20 feet away from where this pup was tied to some bamboo. I closed my eyes for maybe 7 minutes and nearly jumped when I was awoken by face-licking. she had completely chewed through her rope to come hangout with me. she's a good friend.

apartment tour!

2011-04-16T20:25:00.001-07:00

one of the best things we got out of our one week stint as teachers was our friend atilla. the place next to him was vacant, so he talked to the landlord for us and we moved in asap. it's really clean & quiet plus it's on the top floor so has a really great view (and we get a nice workout on the stairs everyday). it's basically a bedroom with a full sized bed, a small table, a cupboard for clothes, and a bathroom. the bedroom technically has a heater, but it's worthless since it's right next to the door and on the ceiling. apparently no one is aware of the fact that heat rises. we've yet to try the A/C. the bathroom has a teeny sink that doesn't have hot water and a shower room with the squatter right in the middle of the floor (I normally wouldn't post a picture of a toilet, but I had to show it). luckily, we do have a small hot water heater for the shower that you just have to turn on about 45 minutes before you want to use it. and it worked out that it's only a block away from where we work everyday, which is double cool since we didn't have our jobs when we moved in. anyway. we really like our place and our neighbors and our landlord and the view and having a place that's all our own.

jonathan's guiding a trip

2011-04-15T00:25:00.001-07:00

and I'm not. so he's gone, which is kinda the worst.

but I've really enjoyed looking at these "china: daily life" pictures on the big picture blog. the babies here are so fat and cute.

mel visits!

2011-04-14T04:42:00.001-07:00

so last week Mel came and visited us and we had the BEST time. we took her climbing on rock for the first time. we hiked the TV tower. we went to cooking school. we got chinese foot massages. we ate entirely too much food. we visited the rice terraces and had a good time despite not being able to actually see the rice terraces. we found jonathan a little red book. we watched old woman carry lazy people's suitcases up a big hill. we drank ginger tea. we watched a lot of Parks and Recreation. we tried to teach her a little chinese (though I liked when she made up her own names for things). all in all I'd say we had a slammin time and we miss her already.

oh, and that last picture is just all the american treats she brought us (well, except for the cheetos I already ate). mountain dew and pickles! I never woulda thunk. and I'm slightly embarrassed by how little of that food is still left.

it's our anniversary

2011-04-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

being married for a year is nice because it's less crazy that we've been married longer than we dated. instead of presents we've kinda decided that we'd rather go on trips for our anniversary and seeing how we're already in asia we couldn't really pass up going somewhere exotic while we've got the chance. so... in just 6 short weeks we'll be hiking through the jungle and lounging on the beaches of Borneo! before a few weeks ago the only thing I knew about Borneo was that headhunting used to be a popular sport. anyone else only remember the violent/gross parts from history? anyway, I'm just really excited and I can't actually believe it's been a year since we got hitched but I'm still probably gonna refer to us as newlyweds cause it just feels right. I'm really glad we fell in love and got married and get to hangout and laugh and be together all the time. jonathan's the best.

an attempt

2011-04-03T21:30:00.001-07:00

it turns out that other than friends and family, the things I miss most are food. my slight obsession with nachos is a real problem where we live since there's no where to buy cheese, tortilla chips, or the ingredients for salsa. we especially dream about cheese on a nearly daily basis. luckily for me, jonathan went to shanghai for work a couple weeks ago and showered me with gifts of cheese upon his return. there was babybel which we consumed immediately, cheddarella that we polished off the next day (after first attempting to make grilled cheese on the only bread available which happens to be sweet), and then decided to save the last bit of cheddar for later. so, naturally, when we went to hong kong last week we made it our mission to find chips and salsa. mission accomplished. and both imported from the US. although neither of them are kinds we would ever buy in the US (Old El Paso + blue chips) we were pleased with our success. the chips made it home with only minimal crushing and with the aid of a very old and rickety microwave we were in business. now, I can't claim the nachos were even a fraction of the gastronomical delight they usually are but given the circumstances they were delicious. and instead of satisfying my craving, it's only been intensified. we've been told chinese people don't like mexican food so I won't even entertain the idea of opening a restaurant just so I can import items for myself. guess I'll just have to settle for steamed buns and boba tea for now.

PS we also spent $6 on a box of frosted flakes. and they weren't even imported.

things that are normal here.

2011-03-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

riding your bike and nearly getting hit in the face by someone's spit flying out a bus window.

walking down the street only to see a little kid peeing in the middle of it.

women wearing tights as pants.

men wearing head-to-toe camo

at least two different employees following you around the store telling you which shampoo is best for you.

cashiers refusing money if it's barely torn aka "broken"

laughter anytime an old chinese woman hears a foreigner speak chinese.

3 person tandem bikes (a child sized chair tied on the back of a regular tandem)

being stared at constantly. intense staring.

people saying hello at you over and over.

the teeniest tiniest babies in remote villages knowing to say "hello" when they see foreigners.

shopkeepers getting mad at jonathan for being so good at haggling.

so I guess that last one isn't normal for everyone. and even though spitting is so common I wouldn't say I'm getting used to it like I am to everything else. blech.

being sick in the US is so much easier

2011-03-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

this past weekend we had our first big guiding trip for an international school. it was rainy and muddy and slippery and the kids kept getting lost ( we weren't allowed to direct them since it was an orienteering trip). but the teachers in my group were pretty great and the scenery was really beautiful so it wasn't so bad. until the night before the final hike into town. I sat down at the campfire and couldn't figure out if I was having convulsing chills because it was actually that cold outside or if I was some kind of sick. a half hour later I concluded it was the latter because of the accompanying massive dizzying headache. but I figured it would go away with a good night's sleep (is that even possible in a wet sleeping bag?). anyway. after a feverish night of constantly waking up in a panic over things that it turns out I was dreaming I thought, okay, I'm better. I put my shoes on and ventured out to find a bathroom spot. only, I kept running into trees and falling sideways when I'd try to step up the hill. I figure maybe that's what it's like when you're drunk? I can only speculate. by the time I got back to my tent I was breathing like I'd just climbed Mt. Everest and my head was spinning. I got back in my sleeping bag and promised myself I was never getting out. jonathan talked to our boss and it was decided that instead of hiking someone would come pick me up and drop me off at the restaurant everyone would be meeting at for lunch. as I was walking from the campsite to the road I had the same problem as before and couldn't quite get my foot placement right and kept sliding off the muddy path. my boss told me my CPU must not be working. after a very loud and bumpy truck ride (I wish I could understand chinese so I knew why the driver was listening to a man yelling on a walkie-talkie the entire ride) we made it to town and I walked to the restaurant. the woman working luckily knew some english so when I explained to her that I was with the group coming for lunch later she told me to have a seat and turned on a space heater under the table for me. she also brought me a glass of hot water which, when I tried to drink I just managed to spill it on myself and the table. then I speedily fell asleep with my head face down in the wet tablecloth. the whole reason I write this is that I'm trying to imagine a restaurant in the US letting someone show up three hours before their reservation and sleep on the table. I just don't know if that happens. but I'm feeling much better now.

hong kong 2.0

2011-03-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

{the sign above the squatter on the train. don't ask me why I had my camera in the bathroom.}

we had our second visa run to hong kong a couple weeks ago and opted for the sleeper train over the sleeper bus. oddly, it takes about 3 hours longer on the train plus an extra hour and half bus ride to get to the train station in guilin, plus you have to take an earlier bus than you think because you never know just how many times those buses will stop or for how long which adds up to a 5 hour longer journey. but I suppose it's worth it when you consider you have the option of walking up and down the aisles, there's a bathroom, the beds are actually long enough to lay flat in, there's food, there's a few seats for sitting in if you don't want to go to bed the second you board, there's enough room to watch a movie on my laptop, and on and on. all in all, the extra five hours isn't so bad. and this time we stayed overnight in hong kong so we could meet with a couple schools about outdoor education trips. we had booked a room at a guesthouse that got decent reviews so headed that way as soon as we crossed the border. when we found the address we were a bit confused. the place was swarming with people trying to get you to stay in their hotels and shop at their shops which were lining the whole area. amidst these shops were some elevators. so we found the elevator we needed (each elevator only went to a certain section of the building, and also only to either the odd floors or the even floors) and headed up. we got lucky though cause the elevator only held 500 pounds and one person that loaded with us had to get off. when we got to our floor the lighting was like something out of a bad movie. flickering flourescent and a small sign directing us toward the reception area. we checked in and a possibly young man showed us to our room. I use the term "room" very loosely. it was split up into three areas. the entry was 3' by 4'. directly left of it was the bathroom which was 3' by 4' (and still wet from the previous occupants shower). directly in front of the entry was the bed which was 4' by 6' and encased by 3 1/2 walls. so there was a 3 foot opening to get into the bed and the only storage was under the bed because if you put anything on the floor in the entry it would get hit by the door when you opened it. oh, and one of the corners of the bed had a little shelf jutting out which made it even shorter. the best part of the room was an outlet with a converter and free wireless internet so I could use my laptop. except the outlet didn't work. I didn't think the front desk would be much help if I told them about it, but jonathan convinced me to be optimistic. so I went and got the receptionist and, using a knife on a very live outlet, he detached the converter from the wall and plugged in a new one. hooray! and just to give a proper feel for the room I would like to briefly mention the stained sheets and ants on the walls. anyway. when we went to bed that night we just laughed and were glad it was only for a night. and not nearly so bad as the sleeper bus.

the egg

2011-03-06T01:35:00.001-07:00

{I didn't take my camera so this picture from here will have to suffice}

a few days ago some friends invited us to go climbing at a place called the Egg. it's only about five miles outside of town so we grabbed some bikes and headed out. it was a really great spot and we had fun with our friends for about an hour before they had to leave. we ended up staying so I could finish a route I was working on (by working on I mean trying really hard not to swear at my inability to do it). we were starving by the time I finished so we decided we'd better head back into town to nourish our pumped muscles. but when we walked back to where we'd left our bikes, it turned out going home wouldn't be such an easy feat. my front tire was completely flat! ughh. and not just like, oh there's a hole in the tube flat, but the tube is completely torn in half flat. jonathan considerately traded me bikes and we set off walking. a local villager told us there was a bike repair shop only about a mile away so we set off in that direction. but when we counted our money we only had 9 RMB which is less than $1.50, so we prayed that somehow that would be enough. turns out it wasn't even close. had the tube only needed a patch 5 RMB would've done the trick, but for a new one it was 30. shoot. we'd have to walk. but with our hungry mouths, walking just wasn't fast enough so jonathan came up with an idea. he'd ride the good bike, I'd sit on the back, and I'd attempt to hold the bad bike with one hand. so he got on, I got on, I put one arm around his waist and one on the gimpy bike. as it turns out it's really, really hard to steer a bike with just a tire and no tube. the tire would flap every time the wheel turned and occasionally slide off enough to cause the metal wheel to hit the ground (incidentally swerving the bike directly into my knee and me yelling for jonathan to stop since the road was full of noisy trucks making it impossible for him to know what was going on behind him). eventually I decided it was worth the risk of being thrown off the back and just use both hands to steer. this worked like a charm. so there we were, two huge white foreigners on one bike, dragging a second beside us. we got plenty of strange looks and laughed at more than once by people passing us on their mopeds. and we had to stop about every 200 yards to rest since it was quite the workout for both of us. though I must say jonathan was the real champ because of the huge hill he had to pedal in the last stretch of the trek. in the end, we made it back in much better time than if we'd walked and went out for some celebratory claypot rice and boba tea which was probably even more delicious because of the fiasco we defeated.

"oh, I like your hair. it looks like ramen noodles."

2011-02-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

says my co-worker kate. which is why I try to avoid going in public with wet hair.

a chinese valentine

2011-02-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

(forgive the bad picture)

normally I'm way into making valentines or decorations or wearing red or pink on valentines, but china made all of that pretty difficult. and since we see each other every second of the day either at home, work, or meals surprises weren't really an option either. so I just didn't think we'd get much, if any, celebrating done. but, I should have known jonny wouldn't let that slide. there were some really beautiful flowers and expensive (Dove) chocolates waiting on the table for me when we walked in the door after work! but how did he manage to sneak those into the house without me knowing, you say? well, after lunch we were the first ones back in the office and he was complaining about feeling sick, which isn't uncommon over here. after a while he started looking pretty bad and was sorta just standing in the middle of the office not saying anything and I jokingly asked him, "did you just poop your pants?". then he looked at me, embarrassed, and said, "yeah, I gotta go home." I won't gross you out with the details he fabricated to tell me why he was gone for a half hour when our house is only a minute's walk away, but it involved having to take a shower. anyway. he didn't poop his pants. that's just his way of being romantic.

hoppy new year!

2011-02-06T03:18:00.001-07:00

jonny wasn't really amused by it when I first wished him a hoppy new year, but I just can't resist I guess. anyhow. we wandered around yanghsuo seeing if anything was going on for new year's eve and saw some people putting on one of those huge dragon costumes they dance around in and decided to stalk them a bit. lo, and behold there was a huge party going on but we didn't have tickets. but when we were leaving we ran into a friend from the english school who got us in! (mainly because they wanted as many foreigners as possible). she took me on stage where I got filmed by a tv crew (yikes!) making dumplings. after that we were seated next to the mayor of the county where they kept bringing us tons of food to eat including traditional new year's food but I can't remember what. oh, and those dumplings I helped make were the best part but I was pretty wary of the rest of it since there were unidentifiable meats in them. then we watched different minority groups dance, people sing, an acrobatic act, and listened to traditional music. and since jg speaks chinese he got interviewed by the tv crew while we ate. he tells me he said something along the lines "I love chinese new year, it's better than christmas!" and generally acted a lot more enthusiastic than he would in any other circumstance. he also got a red envelope from the equivalent of the communist governor of the province we live in. oh, and they drew numbers for prizes. and I won first prize! (not to be confused with the grand prize). I acted awkward on stage and got a stuffed rabbit and tickets to almost every thing there is to do in yangshuo and a free night in a hotel. woohoo! when we walked home to the sound of one million firecrackers going off we were stunned that our night had been so awesome. new year's day was followed up with a bike ride and us trying to cook our own dinner which I'm not so sure will ever happen again. so, our new year's was pretty cool I think.

hong kong + a sleeper bus

2011-02-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

so, we thought we were gonna go to vietnam on a visa run (our visas are only good for 30 days at a time at which point we have to leave the country) but then it turned out we needed visas we didn't have so we quickly changed our plans to hong kong. we rode a sleeper bus there, which wasn't so bad as everyone made it out to be. then we met up with j's old mission president for lunch and headed back to china. it was easy and warm and we ate subway which has never tasted better. now, to explain the picture which doesn't really do the experience justice. we took another sleeper bus back to yangshuo, only it was a little different than the first. it got to the bus station 45 minutes late, but when we got on the bus driver told us the bus wouldn't be full and we'd only be making two more stops to pick people up. so, naturally we headed to the spot in the back where there were five beds all next to each other and claimed three of them so we wouldn't have crunch our long limbs in beds made for people much, much shorter than us. we made two stops, then three, then four, then I stopped counting. we drove around the city for over three hours picking up more passengers. and as it turned out, the bus was overbooked! so two teenagers and an old man came and overtook our extra bed we'd been so happy about. I was smashed into the window, jg was smashed into me, one of the teenagers was spooning him, and all because the old man was taking up two beds leaving the last teenager smashed into the other window. so, we finally left shenzhen four hours after we'd boarded the bus in shenzhen. (that city is huge, but still.) once out of the city we picked up five more passengers who slept in the aisles. I'm just glad we weren't them. and that I didn't have to get spooned by a teenager.

wei zhou

2011-02-03T00:17:00.000-07:00

I couldn't choose so I'm attempting to see just how many pictures I can send in one post via email...anyway.

after only three days of working, our bosses told us we'd be going on a work holiday to the south china sea. hard life. we road tripped for 9 hours to bei hei, then took a 2 1/2 hour ferry to wei zhou. it was just as cold there as in yangshuo, but it was great fun getting to know all our new co-workers. mostly we biked around the teeny island and saw lots of banana trees, dragonfruit trees, and papaya trees (if only they'd had fruit on them!). we also ate tons of seafood and mandarins. on the way back to the ferry when we left, we ended up hiring a tuk-tuk. we made it about halfway up the big hill toward the harbor when the engine started getting really really really loud and slowing really really really down. so jg and another guy hopped out to push, but it was no use. it was dead. so there we were stranded in the middle of a banana plantation with only ten minutes until the last ferry of the day left. but don't you worry, some of the others in our group had gone in a taxi and made the ferry wait for us until their taxi could come get us. I feel like things like that happen a lot over here and thus it didn't really make me nervous so much as it made me laugh.

just around the river bend

2011-01-30T23:45:00.001-07:00

on the first day at our new jobs one of our bosses was like, "it's kinda nice today, let's duck out early and go bouldering". there's a nice spot about a five minute walk from the office right on the river. it was still too cold for my toes, but jonny gave it a go. those feathery looking trees across the river are bamboo phoenix. I can't stop loving them.

xingping

2011-01-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

now, don't get me wrong, this place is gorgeous. the hostel we stayed in was fabulous, the food was great, the company was better (jg's little brother came to visit us three days after we got here!). but the trip started out badly and ended badly. first of all we forgot to bring our passports with us to the hostel. china requires all tourists (even chinese tourists) to register in every city they visit and therefore hotels or hostels all have to get your visa info before you can stay there. xingping is close to yangshuo, but the last bus back had already left. boo. so the hostel negotiated a reasonable price for jonathan to take a taxi to yangshuo and back to retrieve our passports from our apartment. two and a half hours after arriving we finally checked into our room, hooray! fast forward to the next day... this was the first time I've been in a literal tourist trap. basically the idea is to ride a bamboo raft upriver and then hike back to xingping. the only catch is, you have to cross the river three times to stay on the trail and make it back. so, we rode a raft upriver, froze our tails off, jumped off in yian de, and ate lunch. then we started to walk back only to discover that because it's low season right now, the rafts that you ride across the river are few and far between. so, we basically got charged half as much as it cost to ride the whole way up the river just to cross it once. then the exact same thing happened when we got to the next crossing. it just felt so horrible to be looking at the side of the river we want to be while jg tries to haggle with the only raft driver around who knows he's our only chance of crossing. ugh. I'm glad we made it back safely and without any real incident, but we just felt kinda dumb. now we carry our passports with us and have vowed not to cross that river again. though the views are kinda worth it.

I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do.

2011-01-25T23:54:00.001-07:00

in a nutshell: we got to yangshuo with no problems and showed up at our english school dead-tired just in time for dinner. we ate and they gave us a place to sleep and we basically spent the first weekend jet-lagged and me a little shell shocked. the food didn't really taste like anything I would call "good", the apartment we were in was not quite what I had in mind as far as cleanliness and privacy goes, and the great weather we'd heard so much about had disappeared into full on winter in a place with no central heating. so we bought winter coats, thanked our lucky stars that we brought our sleeping bags and decided to rent our own place that we can keep as clean as we want. oh, and I found lots of snacks and drinks that make eating here more of a treat than I originally thought. isn't candy kinda the best part of going to a new country? anyway. then we spent the next week team-teaching english to twenty-somethings. (let me just say that teaching anything in a communist country is interesting to say the least.) we really love all the people at the school but decided ultimately that teaching wasn't really for us. so, we met up with some guys jg had been emailing that own a climbing company and they offered both of us jobs! woohoo! for now we're mostly doing office work like helping with some design stuff and editing english and j's doing some marketing as well. then once spring hits we'll be taking groups out hiking, cycling, climbing, camping, etc. plus, they provide lunch and dinner every day but sunday. we feel so so so so lucky and can't wait for things to warm up.

testing?

2011-01-14T07:09:00.001-07:00

apparently blogger is blocked in china.
but it turns out I can email small posts with pictures at the top. radical.
so, yeah. I live in china.
right now I'm in xingping and since I figured out how to do this I'll post some pictures of my own once I get back home.
weird that this place is home!

welp.

2011-01-02T11:42:00.002-07:00

I'm trying to take advantage of my last day in the US by eating candy and not bursting into tears.

also, here is a picture of me dog mushing. even though it looks like I'm not moving and there's no sign of any dogs, I really am doing it.
see you in china.

dog sledding

2010-12-21T11:18:00.001-07:00

so jonny's done with school (hooray!) and basically we're at this mountain lodge in wyoming staying in the employee dorms while he works with the dog sledding outfit. it's mostly like an old cabin/hotel with two twin beds pushed together. it's actually pretty fun and we have lots of stuff we didn't have at our house like internet, tv, three really good meals a day where so far I've always eaten way too much, a hot tub, more snow and colder temperatures, our friends keith and michaela, and lots of dogs to pet. this place is what I always imagined Christmas was supposed to be like as a kid, so that's cool too.

togwotee

2010-12-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

just a taste of what jonny's doing right now.

and look how much snow is covering up our window!

packing.

2010-12-14T22:45:00.003-07:00

can anyone give me some sympathy over only getting to take four shirts and two pair of shoes to china? I'm feeling pretty anxious. more clothes would probably make me feel less so.

it's just mind blowing you guys.

2010-12-06T20:14:00.003-07:00

that a month from yesterday we'll be living in China.
and in a week and half we'll no longer live in Rexburg.
and I don't even know when we're coming back to America.
yep, weird.

happy birfday to this guy.

2010-12-04T08:44:00.007-07:00

do schools kill creativity?

2010-11-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

this is long but totally worth it. thanks TED.

oh my gosh.

2010-11-17T14:08:00.001-07:00

I have been in bed for the last seven days. and then a miracle named Dr. Jones gave me a diagnosis and a prescription for way less money than any non-insured person should ever be lucky enough to pay. and I am now sitting upright and in real clothes and even though I still can't really hear out of my left ear I feel like a million pesos.

also, it turns out Arby's tastes even better when you're sick.

gratitude.

2010-11-12T09:31:00.001-07:00

this sunday in Relief Society we had a pretty awesome lesson on gratitude (read this). just made me realize there are so many more things to be thankful for than I ever even realize or express. like, I smashed my knee on a rock on friday and was pretty annoyed at myself for it and after the lesson, I felt like I should've been happy and grateful that I even had a knee to be smashed. and I don't have a point, really. just that I'm really happy that I have knees and jg and delicious food and a nice house to live in and warm clothes and a bicycle and friends and family and electricity and clean water.

thank you.

some good things.

2010-11-11T09:52:00.001-07:00

*sweet potato gnocchi
*setting up our fancy pants new tent in the living room and watching movies in it even though it's late by jg's standards.
*changed my name on my passport. guess I'm changing my name now.

steven alan

2010-11-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

I just think this is how dudes should dress.

I still can't get a grip on this extra hour business.

2010-11-09T20:59:00.007-07:00

and I wish I liked cold weather.

I hated this movie.

2010-11-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

husbands that love mountaineering should never, ever show it to their wives. but I really wanted all the clothes luise wore.

pumpkin cinnamon rolls

2010-11-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

in honor of the season I made these babies yesterday. I highly recommend making them and eating two immediately.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
{slightly tweaked from here}
Dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon melted butter
3 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Filling:
1 stick butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon lime juice
1-2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Let rest for 5 minutes before stirring. Add milk, eggs, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 cups flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Gradually add rest of flour, a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough. It'll be a bit sticky still.

Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl, set aside. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16" x 12" rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Roll the dough into a log the long way; it'll stretch to about 20" long as you roll. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 15 slices. Place slices in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 20-30 minutes until they're brown around the edges and beginning to turn golden brown across the center.

While rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Blend the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and lime juicer until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you get the consistency you want.

Frost warm rolls with the cream cheese frosting and serve immediately.

some climbing.

2010-11-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

we took advantage of the possibly last couple days of good weather this town will see until july and went out to Heise yesterday.

jg is much better than me.

I still think wearing a helmet is funny.

an awkward faces one.

a happy one.

happy dia de los muertos!

2010-11-02T08:08:00.003-07:00

it doesn't get much better than purple skeletons.

there was a halloween party.

2010-11-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

we looked like this. (can you tell what we are?)

we tried to eat donuts on strings.

we bobbed for apples.

halloween is still my favorite.

lauren moffat: the honeymooner

2010-10-25T12:47:00.001-07:00

basically I can only buy like a shirt at DI once a month to supplement my wardrobe at this point in my life so I just like to dream. but have you guys seen this collection yet? it's bomb.

so my birthday was really great.

2010-10-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

jg kept giving me presents and making me food (I got all the books from this post!) and I drank some diet mountain dew and did like four crossword puzzles and took jg a tie on campus cause he forgot he needed it for a presentation and that might all sound boring but it was actually really nice and then we made this cake:

it doesn't matter how many of these I see on the interwebs, they're always just as cute. and I don't know why I wanted easter colors. my color preferences are getting more and more like a four year old's.

twenty-eight, a poem

2010-10-20T12:41:00.001-07:00

late twenties?
don't people say late
when they're talking about
a person no longer with us?
I don't appreciate the association.

{eating bat dots makes me not care as much}

been hanging out with this one a lot this week.

2010-10-17T11:58:00.001-07:00

pumpkin patch

2010-10-15T22:20:00.002-07:00

I'd never actually been to a pumpkin patch til today. turns out there are things like bounce houses and hay rides and really expensive, miraculously vine-free pumpkins. and nieces.

{I'd never even met this one til today. she's real cute.}

a bag for sister

2010-10-13T21:43:00.002-07:00

so my sister Mandy is pretty great and therefore I wanted to give her present to jumpstart our sister week. I think I'd promised to make her a library bag like two years ago and so why not live up that promise?

the thing is, I love canvas totes but they are seriously lacking in the pockets department (that painted triangles part is a pocket in case it's hard to tell). and now I think I need something similar for mineself.

it's official.

2010-10-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

in two and a half months we'll be living here:

{yangshuo, china}