DeAnne's Bridal Shower

My stepsister DeAnne just got married about a week ago. Her mom came up from New Mexico in February and threw her a bridal shower. It was a lot of fun! My Grandma French and Aunt Jovanna came up from New Mexico too and we spent Saturday together. It was fun to be around family and especially to join in celebrating DeAnne's engagement. DeAnne has always been a great friend to me. We're very happy for her!

We had a couple of games that we played that night. In one game, we had to create the most beautiful wedding dress from toilet paper and have a fashion show to let DeAnne decide which dress was the best. Grandma French was the winner (although the dresses were not exactly Temple appropriate. I don't think toilet paper would be appropriate no matter the length :).

Here are some highlights from the shower:

DeAnne is in the middle of the couch. The Bride to Be :). She received a lot of great stuff too!

Nancy Jones was one of the models. This dress was close to winning. I believe it came in 2nd.

Grandma French modeling the winning gown. It is a very contemporary look over one shoulder, complete with flowers in her hair and on the dress. Very nice!

Our three models. Looking good in toilet paper! That was fun!

Me, my Aunt Jovanna, and my Grandma French. I loved having them visit that weekend!

Procrastination--Not the Best Way to Get Things Accomplished

"If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it." ~Olin Miller

"What may be done at any time will be done at no time." ~Scottish Proverb

"Procrastination is something best put off until tomorrow." ~Gerald Vaughan

"Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week." ~Spanish Proverb

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." ~Mark Twain

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." ~William James

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." ~Don Marquis

“Procrastination isn’t the problem. It’s the solution. It’s the universe’s way of saying stop, slow down, you move too fast. ” ~ Ellen DeGeneres

I have been procrastinating a paper that is due this week for awhile now. I have done all the research, did a detailed outline, and brainstormed all that I want to write in the paper. I just haven't actually written the paper yet. Now I feel somewhat like the cartoon below:

Yeah, I have a big project towering over me even now! I have been productive too--cleaning the house, keeping up with the laundry, preparing meals, preparing Sunday School lessons, reading for Brit Lit, studying Geology, and even took a Dance history test, and studied a lot for it. It just always seems like I'll try to get everything else done but the paper. Now I must complete it. I am not one to procrastinate normally. I must be hesitating because I haven't written a literature review before.

I have procrastinated my last today by publishing this blog! I will definitely feel better once this is all over. Procrastination isn't as glorious or fun as it sounds :). Wish me luck!

The Cat That Adopted Us

Notice how the title is phrased: the cat adopted us. We moved in to this condominium complex in August and we soon had a frequent visitor to our front porch. We enjoyed petting her (her name is "Kitty") on the cool autumn nights as we sat on our porch. Kitty likes to jump up onto your lap if you're ever sitting down and will put her head into your hand if you're not petting her enough. She is hilarious.

At first I had sympathy for the kitty and loved to have the company as I have always wanted pets (and as my family well knows, I once had a bunny that I took extra special care of. We even had a leash so Thumper could hop around the yard as I took her for a walk); but soon she wore out her welcome, especially as winter came in and kitty started to sneeze on us. Yuck.

Bryan never let me feed the cat, but when Cristie was in town one weekday we took some milk out to her, away from the apartment. She followed us out to the sidewalk but didn't touch the milk. We left it there and it was still full when we came back from shopping a couple hours later. I don't know what the cat wants from us.

We don't know if she belongs to someone in the complex. She is obviously fed well. We talked to a couple neighbors at our ward party and they also receive visits from the cat. So, it looks like this cat makes the rounds to different apartments every day. It makes me wonder if she makes a daily schedule: Bryner's from 8:30 to 9 am, Johnnsons from 9:00-9:30, etc. At the same time I question the intelligence of this cat almost daily.

Here's a photo of her favorite place to hang out on our porch. She's there every morning basking in the sun and greets us as we go to work/school.

Kitty is a little bit cross eyed. She is very lovable. I don't know what to do with this cat.

The funny thing is that some times when we're coming out of the house at night she will be at the door and will start meowing like she's trying to tell us something ("What?? Timmy fell down the well?"...kind of the cat form of Lassy). So, we can't figure out her motive. She doesn't want food, she doesn't want shelter, what does she want? Maybe just some good old fashioned attention.

...I wish kitty was a dog. At least then I could teach her some tricks!

The Crazy Things You Learn in School

I am currently in school, again, working on finishing an English degree. I am taking a full schedule: Brit Lit before 1800's, English advanced writing, a Dance history class (we have lectures on Mon, Wed, and dance on Fri. Fun stuff!), and Geology (give me a rock and I'll identify it!...hopefully). It has been such a blessing to be back in school and feel like I'm one step closer to graduating. Bryan has been such a huge help and support to me as I've transitioned back into college life, something I've been out of for three years now. It hasn't been easy for me to get back into the swing of things, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Of course, my favorite class is my Brit Lit class where we get to read works from authors before the 1800's. We've read Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Canterbury Tales. Those works I've read before (but not in Middle English like I did this time with the Canterbury Tales. Reading aloud goes a long way:). The unusual works have been the crazy religious ladies: Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe.

Julian of Norwich was an anchoress (an anchorite is the male form of the word). What does that mean? Well, it means that she voluntarily decided to live in a cell for the remainder of her life, completely shut in. Anchorites denied their bodies and the church would have a burial service for them on the day they were quite literally cemented into their cell. They had one small window facing the inside of the church so they could hear Mass. They also had a small window facing the outside world where they would get their "worldly goods" like food and drink. Other than that, they just hung out in their cell in solitude, praying and writing whatever visions they might have. Julian was shut into the church in Norwich and wrote 16 visions called "A Book of Showings". I have never heard of anchorites/anchoresses before!! It just substantiates the view of the Middle Ages as a dark and dreadful time. The cell looked something like this:

So, I guess you do learn something new every day! And just when I thought Julian of Norwich was strange, we read The Book of Margery Kempe and she is quite literally crazy. Interesting reading! I am glad we'll be on to Utopia this week :).

It has been fun to learn and to study again. I am very grateful to be in school again and to be one step closer to the ever-desirable degree!

Catching Up :)

This blog sometimes feels like a journal I'm supposed to be keeping :). I didn't go through our Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays and I want to. So, we'll do it by picture-board; somewhat like a comic strip or little kids' story book. The pictures start from Christmas and go back to just before and Thanksgiving.

We had our first holidays away from family this year. Bryan was with the Jones's for Thanksgiving and I was with the Bryners for Christmas. It was fun to get to know the families better and feel more a part of the "new" side of our families. I'll explain more with captions below. Enjoy the pictures!

CHRISTMAS IN PRICE, UT WITH THE BRYNER FAMILY!First off, we were POUNDED with snow this Christmas season. This is a picture of the picnic table on the back porch. That was all just from Christmas Day!

Bryce on Christmas Day trying to figure out what we gave him :). We got some great gifts this year from family and everyone was so kind!

Bryan and me on Christmas Day. Bry got a lot of tools so he's all smiles

This pinata had everyone a little nervous. Three words: Big screen TV. Metal baseball bats and kids in the basement are a recipe for disaster :). Luckily, there were no injuries and everyone got PJ's to wear Christmas Eve night.

Matt and Leticia on Christmas morning just after all the "damage" was done. We played a ton of games with them and the rest of the family. It was a great day!

Christian and Liz Bryner on Christmas Eve. We had a delicious meal with the whole Bryner clan including Grandma and Grandpa Bryner, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Kathy, and Liz's sister, Becky, and their family.

Anna Bryner and her cousin, Alyssa. Anna is one of the smartest kids I've ever met! I played a lot of Connect Four with her and I think she beat me all but a couple times :). She is so fun!

Pierce and Garrett aka "the twins". They are four and are so much fun to play with! Pierce slipped me a couple of Oreos so we're good friends :)

Bryan and James. James is 7 now and loves to play football. We went over to the church to play football with the kids inside and when we got to the gym James started sprinting around and saying,"Come on, everybody! Run around and get some exercise!" I laugh with Bryan all the time about this. Winter makes everyone get a little cabin fever. James is so funny!



ICE SKATING ON CHRISTMAS EVE and OUR WEEK WITH CHASE

Bryan, Chase, and I went down to the Gallivan Center on Christmas Eve and went ice skating. Bryan and I were a little shaky but never fell down (the reason why we're smiling in this picture!). Chase was a pro from the start and we were expecting some triple lutz from him, but I think he didn't want to make us feel bad :).

Just after landing a triple sau cau :)...at least I think. I love Chase's hood of many colors!

Bryan looks like a professional here! Way to go Bry!

We took Chase to the lights at Temple Square. It was a lot of fun! Poor Chase didn't do much else with us but play games because it snowed like crazy the whole time he was with us!

Great shot at Temple Square! I love my brother! Chase came in from Tallahassee, FL where he is attending college. He came out for Christmas and we were lucky to have him stay with us for a week and a half. I was sad to see him leave! He is so much fun!

Bryan and I at Temple Square. It was fun to reminisce on how it all started there!


THANKSGIVING AT THE JONES FAMILY IN WATERFLOW/FARMINGTON, NM My family bought some cows at the local auction this summer. I LOVE COWS! I was so happy to do the chores of feeding the animals this morning. Unfortunately, these are meat cows and will be sold soon. I may try to bring them back to SLC to live with us...I haven't told Bryan this yet :).

My Grandma French, one of my top favorite people of all time, and Ross, the HUGE Labrador. Ross isn't much of a guard dog. His tail is wagging the moment you enter the gate!

Thanksgiving dinner. These are two of my nieces (the blonde girls on the outsides, Madison and Alexis), and my cousin Olivia. They are so fun to be with and so happy!

My uncle Mike and one of my newest nieces, Brinley. She is hilarious. My dad fed her a little bit of his KitKat Bar and from then on she was diving to try to eat his chocolate. Definitely a girl :).

Aw, yes. The Thanksgiving Hat. We passed this hat around and everyone has to wear it while they say what they are thankful for. What Bryan doesn't realize is he got off easy this year: there was one year where the whole Jones family was wearing pioneer hats and aprons for the dinner :). Anything can happen with the Jones family.

Little Sophia (the 2nd girl) had her birthday party over Thanksgiving weekend. She turned four. She is a sweet heart.

The newest Jones: Kirra Rae Jones. She is just pure joy. She just hung out with her Aunt Lindsay for a couple hours on this night. I am excited to see her grow!

Bryan and Tavin (aka "Tav Man") riding the John Deere Tractor. One hilarious thing we did while in NM was to ride in our uncle Cory's Back Hoe. He had us get inside and would spin us around. Tavin loved the big tractors and trucks they own for their company!

Bryan and I were in charge of decorations for the Thanksgiving dinner. My grandma laid out a bunch of different things to use and we were in charge of making it lovely ;). This is the finished product of one of the tables. Not bad! We're going into the decorating biz!

All in all, it was SO fun to be with family over the holidays. Nothing says Holiday better than spending quality time with family. I loved getting to know the Bryners better and loved playing with them. Bryan enjoyed seeing New Mexico and playing games with my family. I feel blessed to have such great family relationships on both sides of the family! We have so much love and support. It was so fun spending our first Thanksgiving and Christmas with family!

2009 A New Year

A New Year. What a great concept. It is a time for us to recommit ourselves to the goals we have in life, the dreams we want to pursue, and the commitments we have made. I love January for that exact reason. It may be wintery and cold, and it may slow us down, but it is a great time to reflect on where we came from, what we learned in the previous years, and to realize where we want to go.

It is interesting to note that the New Year follows Christmas, the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. He is the one who makes new years, weeks, and days possible. We have a neverending hope in Christ to be able to change our natures and to become more like Him, which is our ultimate goal. I am grateful for the holidays to reflect on what matters most to me: my new family with Bryan, my family, my religion, and my Redeemer. He is the source of light. He helps me daily to become less flawed, more humble, and more teachable.

So, as we start the New Year, remember what hope we have gained in Jesus Christ. We can lose those extra few pounds, try to read our scriptures better, and pray more fervently. More importantly, we can become, through Jesus Christ, more humble, more loving, and more kind. I am grateful for the hope a new year brings to me. I truly "can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phillippians 4:13).

Happy New Year to all our family and friends!!