Love Thy Neighbor

This week Mindy and I became bosom friends! Just like Anne Shirley and Diana berry….actually more like Lucy and Ethel (I’m Ethel, the innocent bystander that get ropes into doing crazy things!) This started because Matthew and I have moved about a block from Mindy and since were home most of the day we spend our lonely hours together to make them less lonely and a lot more adventurous. For example, last week we went to this fun new park that has play equipment for grown ups! Mindy wanted to show me one that spins around really really fast! I got on, not knowing what to expect and found my world spinning dizzily around me while I was clinging to the rod or iron for dear life ( a little teaching moment plug) that was almost two weeks ago and I am STILL dizzy (really! I’m not exaggerating!) Then on Wednesday we went to the cannery to meet the body quota for Mindy’s ward. The peaches were coming so fast we felt like Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory. For the younger generation, here is a link to show you what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWvWcGIHPPQ

On Thursday Mindy took me to dream dinners where Mindy discovered powdered mustard for the first time and she showed me her mad zesting skills. It was such a new thing for Mindy that I had to video tape it!


But, out of all our fun adventures, Saturday was the best! We were suppose to help with a boy scout function but when we arrived we were informed that we would be doing football drills with about 30 nine year old boys for forty five minutes. Kyle saw the fear, dismay, and confusion in our faces and graciously took our spots. With that covered Mindy and I went to the mall. Now, those who know me know how much I detest shopping. It really isn’t my “thing” but Mindy went to great lengths to make it less torturous and even at some moments enjoyable. We also went to a farmers market which brought great amusement as the sales clerk explained supplements to Mindy and I gleefully looked on. Several moments in that conversation stand out to me, like when the clerk was explaining “the three super foods” which are spinach, salmon, and blueberries, but Mindy thought they were Twinkies, ho ho’s and brownies combined. Or when I had to explain to the clerk that Mindy’s idea of eating healthy was a caffeine free, diet, mountain dew. I knew it was time to go when Mindy stopped the clerk to ask her if she was speaking English. It was quite entertaining and I knew that some of it had sunk in when Mindy made the most incredible salmon dinner for us! It was citrus salmon and Matthew confessed that he preferred it over my lemon pepper salmon ( to which he got the stink eye!) I have to hand it to Mindy! She’s come a long way! From not knowing what an apple is (ask Mindy to explain) to spending several minutes in a health food store/farmers market! With all this fun packed into one week, I’m excited to see what the future holds with Mindy as our new neighbor.

Opposition in All Things!!!

This last week we were up in Salt Lake while Matthew and Terry were working. It was lots of fun to be up there and play secretary while Pam was gone camping. On Wednesday Matthew promised a shopping trip for my birthday, and since my birthday lasts from the beginning of July to the middle of August he wasn't late! After reviewing my wardrobe and realizing that the majority of it was either from high school or the mission, it was time for an update! We headed up to Park City early in the morning to go to the outlet mall. We had a blast! Matthew took me to every store in both malls! We found so many cute things and I fit in a size 2! (it doesn't get any better than that!) We had a great time shopping but started to get a little hungry. We decided to go and get our lunch at Whole Foods. Paradise on earth. Utopia in one store. Greatness in one glorious location. Our first step within its walls we stopped for a moment of silence as we soaked in the good ju ju. We headed for the deli section and were overwhelmed by the splendor of the plethora of dishes before us. After ruffly half an hour we could wait no longer! We left the store in search of a park to enjoy our organic feast. We were forced to follow a trail of cars headed for The Canyons. We had to turn into a parking lot to get out of the on going throng and as we did we couldn't believe our eyes. We had a 365 degree view that was breath taking. It was overwhelmingly serendipitous! We had the valley at our feet, the mountains as our backdrop and each other at our side! Ahhhh! This is the fodder that movies are made of! As we sat down at the top of a rolling green hill we layed out our lunch which consisted of the most glorious organic grouping of elements I've ever beheld! We had organic quinoua with sundried tomatoes, curry turkey with currants, Spinach and feta hummas with blue corn tortilla chips, cold pressed apple ginger and cranberry juice, stone ground organic whole grain rolls, unsweetened rasberry mousse, and to top it all off, the most amazing electrolite enhanced water I've ever tasted! How can anything go wrong when you have such heaven sent goodness flowing through your body enriching every cell! (you know this is real. this is to much to make up!)


After lunch we finished shopping and found several other needed items. We had arranged to meet my dad for dinner after our spree and were hurrying back to Salt Lake to meet him. We were just starting our on our way when to our surprise we felt a powerful jolt in our rear end. No, it wasn't the quinoua, we had been hit by a young guy who was more rattled then we were. After inspecting ourselves and the car to check for any damage we found everything to be in good order, shook hands, and went on our way. After hitting unexpected traffic and getting to our dinner date over an hour later then expected, we still had a wonderful dinner and found it to be one of the most pleasant days we have had!

But Then...............

The next day was different. Matthew had worked on my hormonal system the night before and the whole next day I felt sluggish, tired, and icky. In an effort to get the most out of the work Matthew had done, I decided to rest for the day and to spend my time reading and answering the phone. But the reading made my eyes hurt and several people were a little less than friendly on the phone. At around six I was done with the day and ready for Matthew to be home and to get something to eat. Well, neither of us wanted to cook and nothing sounded good so I sent Matthew out to hunt something down to feed his starving family. He called me from an Indian restaurant and said, " There are NO people here, I'm going somewhere else!". So he went to a different restaurant where he ordered some sushi, giozas, and chow mien. Where, upon arriving home he found they had sent him with two side salads and some sushi. Being as hungry as we were we decided just to eat anyway. As i took one bite into the sushi i knew it wasn't good to eat. So Matthew packed it all back up and took it back where he had to explain to the girl how to give a refund and make change (what is our society coming to?) he then returned home where we decided to have a pizza delivered but the place we wanted pizza from didn't deliver. We were about ready to start gnawing on the plants in the front room when Matthew suggested we go out and find something. We were so hungry we found a Carl's Jr.(yes, a carls Jr.) and saw their menu that the sandwiches had lots of lettuce and tomato and thought that would be good and we can pick off the meat. We ordered and headed to a park in search of some good ju ju. When we got there we unknowingly parked in a flys nest (do flys nest?), found our order was wrong, and there was nothing wholesome or organic about the meal except the paper bag it came in. We tried to make the best of it but completely gave up as we both dribbled ketchup all over! Enough is enough!

But I guess you have to take the good with the bad. If it weren't for soda how could I know the joys of cold pressed apple,ginger, and cranberry juice. and if it weren't for carl's jr how could I appreciate organic hummas. Yes, after it all, I must admit, there is wisdom in opposition in all things.

My Deepest Apologies

I wish to send out my apologies to all my faithful readers for the lack of blogness these past few weeks. I committed to be blogly faithful and I have failed. But, in my defense, I have been writing my blog every week but because of the lack of Internet I have not posted. But enough with the excuses. I have posted several blogs to make up for the lack and pray for your forgiveness.

“Lover bum, lover bum, where fore art thou lover bum?”

Last Thursday the 7th Pam and I drove up to salt lake for the all powerful, death defying, awe inspiring, nauseous making, voice male concert. It truly was a sight to behold! I didn’t know weather to laugh or to cry! Truly! It was like a train wreck! It was horrifyingly disgusting but yet, I couldn’t look away. At one point I was laughing so hard I almost threw up. It turned out to be a fun night. We sat a little ways behind Jessica and her group that were on a date……and Amy, I have to tell you, we were watching like hawks all night and you wouldn’t believe this boy! And his hands! You wouldn’t believe his hands! I couldn’t believe it myself! I was shawked! What kind of a boy acts like that! I mean come on! He had his arms folded the whole night! He didn’t try to hold her hand! He didn’t put his arm around her! He didn’t even prop himself up with his arm. He just sat there with his arms folded the whole night! And he was such a nice boy too. I mean, he’s from Texas! You don’t find guy’s like that every day (well unless you’re in Texas that is)
After the concert we stayed at Grandma Jeans and Grandpa Dick’s house in north salt lake. It’s a beautiful home with plenty of room to sprawl out in but under the circumstances Pam and I bunked together that night…..and every night till our “men folk” joined us. Now some of you may think, “why, with several rooms and a king size bed at your disposal would you bunk down with your mother – in- law” well, I’ll tell you. I’m not scared of the dark, if that’s what you’re thinking, even thought I do sleep with a night light (it’s for security purposes) and I don’t think there are monsters in my closet. It’s just that all of my life I’ve never slept alone. Now, I know what you’re thinking again “wow that Jessica, we knew she was a wild one!” The truth is that the last time I slept in a room by myself I was six! Then my little sister was born and I got a roommate. This lasted till I left home at 17 where I again had a roommate. After that I went on a mission where I received a “white bible” which clearly states “companions will retire at 10:00 pm and must sleep in the same room but not in the same bed.” Following this all to brief period I came home and had my mom for a roommate for the brief four month period until I was married. Upon which I gained a new roommate.
With this kind of sleeping history I’m sure you can understand why I never sleep alone (to the pure all is pure) and I was especially grateful when Matthew finally came to salt lake. Not that Pam was all that bad, in fact, quite the contrary! It was nice not to have to fight for covers all night and to stay on the bed without being nudged off and holding on for dear life. But I must admit, Pam doesn’t cuddle half as well as Matthew! J
After a torturous four day stint without each other we came to the conclusion that we just can’t live without each other. I truly don’t know how we survived! Having Matthew without Jessica is like peanut butter without jelly! It’s like Mac without the cheese! It’s like organic without a recycled canvas bags for $1.99, you can have one without the other but it’s painful to imagine life that way.
So, Matthew and I are together once again. And once again I have to fight for nightly necessities. But after one cuddle with him, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

A difference of Three Bucks!

So we are shopping the other day, (this is Matthew, by the way. Yes, Jessica allows me on the computer every once in awhile, as she looks on, ensuring that I don’t download some virus… whatever a virus is.) and we head to the egg section. I became enthralled with the many varieties of organic or otherwise free range eggs on hand. As I reached for the $5.00 a dozen eggs which were all organic, brown, and vegetarian fed, free range etc. etc. my sweet wife, not wanting to offend my organic sensitivities but still conscientious of our budget, softly responded, “what about these extra large eggs for only $2.00.” they were generic. Maybe I am just wicked (as Jessica would say) but I really wasn’t going to spend $5.00 on a dozen eggs. I just wanted a reaction. Her soft non-offending response to my suggestion made me chuckle and love her all the more…Kucky! Anyway, we decided to meet somewhere between free range eggs and non-recyclable cartons, splitting the $3.00 difference. Of course, with the $1.50 saved I went and bought some doughnuts – I think I need some counseling.

To whom it may concern….

I hope ya’ll will bear with my as I unburden my soul on a heavier note ( I have to warn you, I read through some old journals recently and they were so disgustingly dramatic that I felt I was lost in some nightmare of Edgar Allen Poe dreaming he was lost in a Jane Austen novel that had been revised by jerry Louis)
I wish to apologize to all ya’ll. These last few months I have been uncharacteristically anti-social. I know I’ve missed several family functions and hope ya’ll will forgive me. Last month Matthew and I went to the doctors because I had been exhibiting pregnancy like symptoms for quite some time. With the hope that we were expecting we were told by the ultrasound tech that we had what was called a mole pregnancy where we were almost pregnant but not quite. Or in technical terms, the zygote had implanted but that was as far as it got. The hormones were still pumping which were causing the symptoms and the “mole” was still in the uterus but we were not expecting. After several months of symptoms this was a bit much to take and with all the new arrivals I have had difficulty handling it all.
I want to let ya’ll know how truly excited I am for ya’ll, especially Kenzie. I know you have hoped and prayed for Heston and I am overjoyed for you and want all the new mom’s to know how excited I am for them! I really do love ya’ll and I am so grateful for how ya’ll have welcomed me into the family. Ya’ll have been Amazing!
I love ya’ll and I appreciate you’re patience and understanding. Please know how happy I am for ya’ll! Thanks for bearing with me!

p.s. and Scott….thanks for the cucumber, it relieved my soul as I spiritualy feasted on the though of home grown produce.

“ I like to move it, move it, I like to move it…..”

Growing up my mother always said that “move” is a 4 letter word. After about our fifth move I understood what that meant. By the time I was 17 I had moved 18 times so I guess you could say that I’ve got this down to a science. I remember as a kid we stayed in the same place for more than a year and I started moving my furniture around every month to mix things up a bit. In our extensive courtship, Matthew and I found that we both had nomadic tendencies….it’s in our blood! One of Matthew’s friends was excited that Matthew was getting married and finaly “setteling down.” After 2 years and finishing our tenth move (that’s a move every 73 days) I have to say I’m a bit nervous. We just signed a six month lease (that’s a total of 180 days!) that’s 2.4657534246575342465753424657534 times longer than we have stayed anywhere! (it’s true! Do the math!) I don’t know how I feel about that. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I consider myself a “mover and a shaker and hottie high heart breaker” (to quote a popular song of the day) I don’t know if I can sit still that long! But, again, as my mother always said, you bloom where you’re planted.
This move was quite unique compared to our other moves. Matthew and I have learned how to live quite comfortably on what the airlines will allow. And in Seattle we discovered that it wouldn’t be so bad to be homeless because we can live like kings on what we can fit in our car. But, for the first time in our married lives we have all our earthly positions in one location (minus food storage and a few odds and ends at my mothers..bless her soul). We never realized we have so much stuff! By the fifth truck load matthew was ready to throw it all off the balcony, light a match, and head for missourie. I can’t say that I blame him! After living in a 15 x 20 studio I realize how little we need to live on. But we are now setteling in comfortably and loving our new place. My creative juices are starting to flow (to matthew’s fear) and our apartment it working into a beautiful home with portability in mind. All our positions fit in rubbar maid containers, our soon to be king size bed (we’re enjoying the romantic sentiments of sleeping on the floor with a georgeous headboard!) is made of detatchable parts that can be moved by one person, and the majority of things we’ve bought are colapsable and can fit in an overhead compartment.
After it all, we have been truly blessed! We have a great apartment that is close to family and friends (yes, we’ve even made friends). We’re growing closer together and learning to depend on each other as a couple, and the Lord is blessing us in abundance. We’re greatful for all He’s done and for the fun adventures that await us in our next move in 175 days….and counting. J

P.S. all are invited to come, stay, and play! We have a pool, comfy couches (thanks to the case family), and plenty of twiggs and berries to share! Ya’ll come down now ya hear!