Not too far off.

Where to start?

Life seems to be standing still yet moving so quickly. James is on the hunt for a job and so many opportunites come up but are diminished because of this or that; not enough experience, someone else snagged the job, or they're not hiring for another few months. We're just holding on, trying our hardest to stay positive, and keep praying.

I'm finally broadcasting my new hair!

I went three shades darker brown, two above black (even though it looks super dark) and then got a vertical slice of red, which is just a type of highlight, but in thicker chunks cause I wanted the red to be obvious.

Rockin' the lazy eye.

Sorry the pictures are kinda blurry.

A lazy sunday afternoon, watching a movie on the love sack. 

Life is good and I'm so happy with James. We're so close to selling the car! We're going to use the extra money to first pay off some credit card debt so that we don't have to pay wasteful interest, and then we're going to get a new car. So exciting! Hopefully when we go to Arizona for Thanksgiving I'll successfully get my license. That sounds so pitiful but ohhh well.

The hugest blessing in our lives right now is......{drumroll please}... being pregooo! I'm 99% positive only family reads this so I feel safe speaking of it :)

It involves a lot of sleeping, eating, and peeing. It's hard to get up in the morning and even harder to sleep peacefully through the night. Luckily my morning (a.k.a. all day) sickness doesn't involve throwing up but it includes long bouts of nausea and sometimes incurable cravings. 

I love knowing that there's a little bean growing inside me; that's what I refer to he/she as often--my little bean. Sometimes when I lay on my stomach or even just push my stomach I can feel things there that weren't there before. It's hard to explain. Like little lumps. Deep inside me.

James is my sweetie-sweetheart. For some reason, I've been calling him crazy pet names lately. Boo boo bear, Booger butt (may not seem affectionate, but it totally is.), Sweetie sweetie sweetie sweetheart. Yeah, I'm grossed out by myself sometimes but it's fun. Moral of the story is, he's super sweet and loves to cater to my every need. Five minute back massages while I'm in bed before he goes to work (when they need him of course), Back massages to help me fall asleep, foot massages while we're watching tv, food outings when I crave, and he has become THE kitchen cleaner. Much like my own father. It's kind of awesome.

We've temporarily moved the TV into the bedroom because I'm much more comfortable there and it's easier for me to fall asleep to a movie. Life is never going to be the same.

We went to our very first ultrasound last week and found out that i'm 10 weeks along (11 tomorrow!). We arrived and were informed that it would be, uh, awkwardly administered (my words, not theirs) because they thought I was only 7 weeks along, instead of on my tummy like the nurse had said it would be. So they gave me a giant napkin to dress in, a cup to pee in, and off to the bathroom I went. After all was said and done, it wasn't as horrifying as I thought it would be. James was holding my hand and we got to see the little bean in my tummy and hear the heartbeat. It was an amazing experience.

Bakin' and Bowlin'

Heyyyyyy thuuurrrrr

I always like to pretend I'm best friends with whoever's reading this.

Update with Grace&James

Today at school, the first half of the day I worked on my doll for my worksheet (two blow-drys; one directional and one round brush. Then I did a shampoo set. In case you wanted to know) And then for the second half of the day the whole school went to the park! The Learning Leaders wanted to reward us for some excellent funraising (yes, they make sure we know it's call funraising, not fundraising). So they barbecued us some yummy hot dogs and hamburgers and everybody brought a side or dessert. Then we played some kickball where the bases were little kiddie pools filled with water. It was pretty sweet and I got a great tan! This week it's finally been consistently warm in Rexburg and even reached 95 today! WoOt.

So the only documented things I've cooked are these:

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk. So good, so easy, and surprisingly tastes exactly like the stuff in the can. I use it a lot more in desserts cause it's so dang irresistible.

Recipe:

4 C. Whole milk 

(I didn't have whole so i used 1% and heavy cream)

1 3/4 C. sugar

In a large (very large) pot, bring the milk and sugar to a boil over medium heat. It's important that it's medium heat so that the ingredients can slowly immerse together. 

Turn the heat down to low and let the mixture simmer, very gently, for two hours. (yeah, I know.)

Give it a stir every 5 minutes or so so that the milk doesn't form a "skin" on top. 

(I was preparing and cooking dinner on the side while it simmered so it wasn't a hassle to stir it every 5 minutes.)

Then remove the pot from heat and let cool. It'll thicken up a lot as it cools.

After that, store in jars in the fridge and it's good to go! It makes about 16oz and it's cheaper to make than buy! 

On our honeymoon cruise to Cabo, there were these delectable chocolate melting cakes on the menu when we went to the fancy, dress up dinners (I know, I'm so classy.) and afterwards I searched online for the recipe and found it. A chef on the Carnival cruises had posted it so I decided to give it a try. Here's the second time I made it:

They may look like regular baked cakes but the inside is delicious ooey gooey goodness. I added the link below. Just a warning though, it says to cook it for 15-20 but don't. you. dare. Or you'll have a fully cooked cake. Bake it for 10-15 TOPS

http://www.ehow.com/how_5205252_make-warm-chocolate-melting-cake.html

        James has put his car up for sale; we love the stylish gas-guzzler to death, but we both know it would save us a lot of money to get a cheaper car with better gas mileage :( He's kind of attached to it so it's been a journey on deciding whether to sell it or not. I kind of promised him that when we're more settled and can afford two cars, we can get him the same car, but the latest, coolest version.

Speaking of the future, I've noticed that it's really fun to dream. I know that sounds funny, but starting out new with the person you love, it's almost as if the possibilities are endless and it's so much fun to imagine all the adventures the two of us are going to embark on together. The current ones are (Just so you know, they're not always exactly...practical. They're just hopeful dreams. Remember that) going to Europe when I graduate, going to Disneyland for our one year anniversary, being able to afford tickets for me to visit Arizona every once and while just for funsies, and having a wee little one as soon as... well I don't know about that one. Anyway, James is set and determined to save up and take us to Europe (mainly Holland and France; our dream places) I want him to experience it like I did! They're such incredible places. And I'll admit Disneyland will most likely not happen this year because we're set on having enough money to go to Ohio for Christmas {fingers double triple quadruple crossed!!} I'm really excited to get to know my in-laws better, as usual.

We're both doing well and James has found other, better job opportunities so we're excited to see how they'll play out.

I was asked to be a model for a photo shoot by one of the girls I go to school with. It's a huge competition and she asked me! I feel super honored and a little surprised. You can be a pretty girl but that don't mean you know how to model.. So I'm a little worried. Also, they were asking girls to try out as models for a huge Paul Mitchell event in Las Vegas where there's a runway fashion show and then the big Paul Mitchell hair guru's cut your hair on stage. So if I'm picked, (They pick 10 out of about 100) they're going to give me a edgy bob... crazy right? In all reality though, I tried out for fun and cause everyone was encouraging *cough, pressuring* me to. I don't expect to be picked.

We went bowling for FHE one night and it was actually a lot of fun. I hadn't been bowling in over a year and  I had a blast with James. Love that guy.

There's no such thing as an angry kiss, right? Wrong.

Just kidding.

And yes, we wore matching shirts we got in D.C that say "Ben's Chili Bowl", so we thought we'd trick people and make them think we're on a bowling team and we're that good.

Home?

Where is home? Lately it's been interesting. I love coming home, here in Rexburg, from a long day at school. But sometimes, when I'm home, I miss home home. I miss Arizona. I miss the stinking, stale heat that swarms you as soon as you step outside. I miss the cloudless sky. I miss walking on pavement that burns your feet. I miss going on nighttime walks where it's still 90 degrees. I miss the city, where there's more than two or three things to do. I even miss, even though I never thought it possible, the dry, brown desert that is Arizona. But most of all, I miss the people there dearly. I mean seriously. I stalk my sisters blog and crave information whenever I call. I miss my papa and mama and sisters and brothers and nephews. They know this and I know they think I'm pitiful--even if they act so nice about it. James is my everything--he's my strength and my rock and I wouldn't trade my relationship with him for anything. But... why can't I have both. I just want both. Is that so wrong? Can't I have everything I want??? Ok... just kidding. I'm not a spoiled brat.. even though sometimes I want to be.

Lovely Lately...

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...
Lately..
It's been great.
Ok,
Most of the time it's great,
so this isn't really news.
But let me just share a bit, eh?

I gave James a haircut! My very first one. It's called a Eurohawk (in case you were wondering, a Mohawk is where everything is shaved except the very defined spikes all the way down. A Fohawk is a milder version of that, stopping at the apex {top of the head}. And a EUROHAWK is the European version of the two combined. It's pretty much a thick fohawk that goes all the way down the head.)  Let's just say I plan to be really talented.

We went to Jackson Hole last weekend with Heather and Erick and had a blaaaast! Heather had never been and the rest of us hadn't been in a long time, so we decided to make the 1 1/2 hour drive to that awesome city. We ate at a gourmet grilled cheese place, where James got the French {caramelized onions, brie, on french bread} and I got the Granny {tomato, pepper jack, applewood smoked bacon on sourdough}, and it was so fetching DELICIOUS. We walked along the board walk and had a lot of fun looking around the shops. We even went to this elegant chocolate shop and I couldn't resist trying one. They were about 2 bucks a pop but, to me, sooo worth it. I got a Saffron Vanilla Bean chocolate and James got a Orange and Sea Salt chocolate. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
At the end of the day, we went for a stagecoach ride and saw a live show in the town square. All in all, a fantastic day.
P.S.- The one thing I wanted was a ring; Not necessarily anything nice, but just a cute ring that would remind me of this day in Jackson Hole. James knows I love turquoise. But because it's so expensive, I've never really had anything real turquoise. He was way more enthusiastic about finding me a turquoise ring than I was. So we looked around the shops and found a couple I fell in love with. One was a vintage one, made in the 50's, and it was adorable, but a nice $70 so I said definately no. We found a different one we loved for half that price and it's beautiful. I love my new ring!

James is a little self conscious about his chest in this one... But I still think he's the cutest thing I've ever seen. Plus he's already lost a couple more pounds since then!

He's graduated! This is all the way back in April, but i'm posting it now! Yay James!

Sometimes we go on walks.

Sometimes we go see Bill Cosby.

I want a puppy dog! This is our friends lil puppy. They invited us over for dinner and I fell in love with their fluffy dog.

Sometimes James grows a beard....cause I request it.

Sometimes we take sneaky pictures in church.
That aren't really flattering to either of us.

We go to the Drive In's pretty much whenever there's new movies because you get a double feature for 6.50! It's a steal. This time we saw Snow White and the Huntsman and Battleship. Snow White was really interesting and I liked it except they didn't develop the Huntsman character enough! Plus James knows I have a secret crush on the Huntsman--he's so fine. But Battleship sucked. Except it had Rihanna in it so that was pretty neat-o.

We've created this perfect method of comfort for watching the movie--through much trial and error. What you see here is about six layers of goodness, with our warmest blanket on top. Plus James is our personal heater. And then we each have two pillows. And those pillows are resting on towel-covered boulders that lend support if cushioned correctly. Aaaaaaand a bottomload of snacks to make our bellies happy.

I love this candid shot for some reason. Even though he kind of looks like a puppy.

Well, I think that's enough for now! More later. 

A few more updates for y'all who care:

- I can start cutting hair officially on Monday. Scary...!

- School's going great. Learning, learning, learning.

-I'm looking forward to family coming up in July. I miss them all dearly!

-We got midnight showing tickets to the new Batman movie in July! I"m SO STOKED I CAN HARDLY CONTAIN IT.

-I've been making some dang delicious dinners and desserts lately... like wow ;) I'll have to do a blog post just about that.

-Tonight, with Heather, I went to my first Zumba work out up at BYU and it was freaking awesome! I'm going to be sore tomorrow. And all it is is dancing your butt off..

Well........... peace.

Home Sweet Home

James and I are have been here in Rexburg for almost six months. Woot woot. We love our little home, our little family, our little life. James is still working at his internship-turned-job and likes it most days. It's a little start up company and there are a lot of drawbacks to working for them. But we won't get into that today! He works with good people and he makes enough money for the two of us, which is a huge blessing. This is my last week of Core (5 week class where you learn EvERYthing there is to know about being a cosmotologist; hair cutting, hair coloring, hair styling, the chemical make up of the hair, Paul Mitchell products {the best in the world..trust me}, manicures, pedicures, facials, styling tools and how to "Be Nice or Else".) and then I move onto Protege for another two weeks and then I get to be out on the floor! So exciting.

James just got a new calling as a district leader in our ward. He basically oversees 5 or 6 families to make sure they're doing well and the men are doing their home teaching. I'm so proud of him and what a great priesthood holder he is and i'm looking forward to supporting him in this calling. I'm still the Fellowship Committee chair and I pretty much need to be the friendliest person in Relief Society and welcome all the new families into the ward. And because this ward is constantly circulating with people moving in and out, it's a nicely sized job.. I'm grateful for the people who help me and a supportive husband.

James and I are trying to be healthier. I mean, I buy whole grain cereals, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, wheat bread, lower fat everything(mostly), brown rice, cheese, I've been baking more with wheat flour, we don't drink a lot of soda, and I've even cut back on baked goodies, but what kills us is the late night snacking. It's like the best time to eat junk food!--it's the end of the day, you can finally relax and snuggle up and to top it off, we always have yummy crap to snack on! Our favorite is taking refrigerated crescents in the tube, unrolling them, putting a good amount of chocolate chips in, then rolling them back up and baking. They're delicious. Like a very americanized version of Pain au chocolat. And we eat them. All.
So, moral of the story, we've stopped eating after 9 o'clock, more veggies than anything else at dinner, James works out every night and I go with him most nights. He's already lost a couple pounds. Go James!

We love our little apartment. It's so fun to have a home! My favorite thing is making dinner and doing laundry. Don't really know why.. it's just so fun! James is probably cleaner than I am. He always makes the bed in the morning, does the dishes after I make dinner, and puts his stuff away in the bathroom. Marriage is great. Anyway.. Shall we go through a virtual tour?


Home.

Welcome!

This is Mildred. She sits atop our T.V. and brings us joy and smiles every time we watch it.

Kitchen.. Sorry for the blurriness

James's weekly flower to me :) He knows I love tulips.

This is our tree. The birds in the cage are our beloved pets, Peter and George (pronounced Peetuhr and shjorrrshj)

I got these at the local craft store for half off. Smokin' deal and sooooo cute!

Now, on to the next!

Bathroom!

This is sadly our only picture of Christ in the house so far..

I love Paree!

I love this curtain print. Found it at Ross for like twelve bucks!

In the bathroom, we have doors that fold to the sides to reveal.. This!

The title speaks for itself..

Now to the bedroom..

I love all these places on the posters.. whether in my dreams or real life.

I love the clothespinned picture idea I got from Pinterest! (if you can't tell)

We got most of our new furniture at amazon for whopping prices. When our new chest of drawers and T.V. wooden stand came in pieces, James was so excited to put it together. He stayed up till 5 finishing it, while I slept on the couch :)

Don't you love my new floral shoes?? I sure do!

Anyway, that's the end of the tour! Hope you enjoyed!

...Happy, Rachael? :)

Gelukkige Vaderdag

I adore my Papa. This is yet another blog post on my family--specifically my father because it's Fathers Day! Woot woot.
So Dad.. let me tell you about yourself. You're amazing. Every memory I have of you involves laughing or tenderness or trying my hardest to make you proud of me. I've learned that being away from home helps me realize and appreciate everything my parents have given me. I love you dad. So so so much. And I'm dating this boy.. and you want to know one reason I absolutely adore him? It's cause he reminds me so much of you. I'm not just saying that; there's lots of things that I love about you and him that are similar. For example:
He's the kindest person I know and he is a peacemaker. YOU are one of the most peace-filled persons I know! I remember many times in the past year that you wouldn't let me walk away angry from an argument with my loving parents.
He's slow to anger. Nothing seems to bother or annoy him and he's just a very optimistic person. You are also very much like that. I remember there were times me and Rachael laughed because you would get angry and it was just such an unfamiliar picture--Dad getting super angry at us. You've just always been someone who's slow to anger and full of love.
Not to mention He looks like you Dad--He is a hairy white man, with beastly eyebrows and black(ish) hair. Even his calves strangely look like yours. Now that I think about it even his eyes are almost the exact same color. And of course he's a handsome devil such as yourself!
Is it a coincidence he's into computers? I think not.
He teases me alllllllllllllllllllll the time. Sound familiar? Although he never uses the fat jokes like you do!
I love holding his arm in church. Although he doesn't smell quite like you do, it's the same white material that I'm holding and I think of you every time.
Anywayyyyy, these are just a few reasons. I'm not trying to make it all about James. I'm just saying that I'm so glad I've found a man as spectacular as you are :)
I miss you all the time. I miss your comforting voice, your familiar laugh, your words of wisdom and most of all your love. All of those things mean home to me. How am I going to live without you Papa? You better live to be a very very old man. I promise I'll take care of you. I'll make a bottomload of money and send you to Holland three times a year:) That's my dream.
I'm grateful for everything you've taught me through your example. I'm grateful for the amazing heritage you've given me. I'm grateful for the strength you have always been to me. I'm grateful to be your daughter. It was meant to be papa.

Momma

I love you momma. I was going to write and send you a letter but I got so busy I wasn't able to. Sad day. However, I figured dedicating a blog post to you would be sufficient :)

This year, Mothers Day is probably one of the most significant ones so far in my life. The reason? Well, I've had 5 months to realize all the things you have done for me. 

Starting off, let's talk about the physical things you've done for me my whole life that I am now able to appreciate more. Laundry; it's been an adventure, but sometimes I wish it could go back to me chucking it in a magic hamper and coming back to me clean. Dinner; not only do I miss the food, but I miss that family setting--something else that is also because of you. Free living; not having to pay rent and having someone to drive me places when I need. The Necessities; I'm starting to realize that when you have to pay for every little thing, it adds up. It was nice only having to worry about buying my favorite hair products and clothes if I wanted them, instead of soap, shampoo, Q tips, cotton balls, mascara, lotion, deodorant, brushes, toothpaste, kleenex's, paper, pens, socks, bras, hairspray. Hugs; I don't get Momma's hugs from nobody. As a matter of fact, on my road trip down to Mesa in April we stayed at one of the passengers friends parents house in St. George. She was very motherly to us girls and at the end of our stay I gave her a hug--ONLY based on the fact that i wanted a hug from a mom. I'm completely serious. Also, i was grateful she let us stay at her house.

Next, let's dive into how grateful I am for how you raised me. Once again, these five months being away from home has majorly helped me realize how AWESOME of a mom you have been for soooooooooooo very many reasons. I see weird kids around me. I see kids with divorced parents and how much it has screwed with their life. I see kids who don't know anything about the world because they're parents put them in a bubble. I call them Bubbles (clever, right?). I see kids who severely judge people because that's what they saw their parents doing there whole life. I see kids who had parents who didn't care what they did and now they think they can do and say anything they want and they're unhappy. Taking my Childhood Development class has also had a huge impact on the way I see parents. And it definitely makes me grateful because, 99% of the time (ok like ALL the time), you have done all the "right" things in raising your kids. We talk about Behavorism, Grand theories, Psychoanalytic theories, Nature vs. Nurture, Cognitive Equilibrium, Self-Efficacy and all this stuff and when we talk about it in class I'm usually always thinking "Yeah, my mom did that. And that. And that. I was raised spectacularly. Boo yah!" It talks about loving children, and not doing things that belittle them or let think they're not good enough. it talks about raising them in the gospel, and letting them figure things out for themselves. There's a lot more than that but I can't think of it right now. Basically what I'm saying is, Mom, I don't how many books you read about raising kids, but you've done it right and you've done it good. Sitting in that classroom I am proud to say I have a fantastic mother. Oh and outside the classroom too OF COURSE. But I take pride in that classroom especially. Just saying. 

You've always let me be me, I realize that. And you have a love for the gospel that you passed on to each of your kids, through diligent scripture study and prayer together, and just by your example. And wow, I know this may sound weird but, thank you for staying married to my dad. It's infinitely blessed me and made me happy and I'm sure you also. I'm grateful that I have two loving parents who love each other. It's a good example for me to see and I definitely aspire to have what you and dad have one day. I'm so glad for what you taught me and how you raised me and I want to do it the same. I love you so so much and i miss you and hope you have a wonderful day :)