The American Dream

Time to go

2011-07-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well Friends, here the obvious truth...I can't keep up so I decided to only do my French Blog. Feel free to check it out from time to time but as for this one...Scott is no longer in trouble! :)

a little bit of us

2011-06-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

Versailles

2011-06-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

ZEE Louvre

2011-06-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

Honfleur Forever

2011-06-15T18:06:00.001-07:00

It rocked!!!!

2011-06-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

Best Concert EVER! They have so much energy. I was ready to sing and dance all night! I love U2!

My little Heaven

2011-05-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

Spring in SLC

2011-05-14T13:10:00.001-07:00

Scott and I went to SLC this week for a wedding dinner. It is so nice to escape Logan and join the life of trendy SLC. The sky was blue, the temperatures warm and atmosphere filled with the aroma of so many beautiful flowers.

My New Treat

2011-05-04T20:08:00.001-07:00

Have you watched that show "Extreme Couponing" ? Man, that show changed my life. I watched in awe as I saw a woman getting over $1500 of groceries for less than 10 bucks. That was so amazing.

I thought to myself, if you could only cut your monthly bill by 30% it would be nice and over a year we could talk hundreds of dollars saved. I could understand how to save a dollar here and there with coupons but I still was so confused how those women in the show could get away with paying so little for so much.

I am proud to say that today I got over $67 of groceries and paid absolutely nothing. It was a big first for me and it felt really weird not to slide my card or give any money. I felt like I was stealing something but I liked it very much.

Over the past 4 weeks I have cut my grocery bill by 63%. Wow what a difference! And I did it without printing anything! Yes it takes a lot of time between gathering the coupons, checking the sales and doing all the math but hey if you cut even 50% of your expenses, it is way worth it to me and to my bank account! :)

Feel free to send me all your unwanted coupons! :)

Week-end Getaway

2011-04-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

We went to Idaho Falls for my niece Brinley's baptism. It was nice to get away and run from the snow storm. Are we ever going to see some green instead of white? On the way back we decided (aka I begged Scott) to drive through Alpine WY instead of I-15. It's only 2 extra hours! We had fun driving the detour.

2011-03-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

CHECK OUT MY NEW BLOG:

http://bettermejourney.blogspot.com/

DIVORCE

2011-03-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

It’s always good when you are healthier. It’s a nice feeling when your wedding ring gets loose or you finally are able to wear those jeans. You know those that you got out of the storage boxes when you used to think “one day they’ll fit again”. And now they’re almost too big. And I’m not even mentioning the looks I get from my hubby! I love those.

But what’s really great is when you finally went from dieting to lifestyle changes. Diets, well, they know me and I know them and we just don’t get along very well. It’s like a Hollywood marriage. We’re so in love but 2 weeks later we got to divorce. Ah, diets they were my friends and all but now I just like living my life instead of trying to fit into the diet box.

I’m at a point where I don’t lose a lot of weight at once but it’s better to lose a little and keep it off than doubling the pounds after the “divorce”. I think this time I’m in it for the long run. I don’t even think about much anymore. I am used to the better choices and still get a few bad choices from time to time. I don’t see the pounds come off of the scale that fast but I sure see the difference physically. I am more fit, I have more energy and I just love life so much more. I have more confidence.

I got over my fears of “I can’t do that” like push-ups or sport. I did not do PE in school because of some medical restrictions so I never felt like I was good at any sport. To some extent, I still feel that way but less and less. The other day I was at the gym for over 2 hours and all I could think of is that I could easily do another and did not want to go home. Now let me reassure you that I do not do that every day but it’s a nice feeling to think that way. Don’t you think?

I’d like lose another 25 pounds. It might take me a while but I don’t care. I just want to be healthy and happy. Step by step, right? I lost 20 pounds already since last September and that includes the pregnancy so it’s not too shabby. How did I do it?

*exercise everyday (or at least 4-5 days a week) and switch it up. Someday I do cardio, some day I do weight resistance. It can be as simple as going on a walk to running on a treadmill. I started with 3 lbs weights and I am only at 5 lbs now but I can see the difference. Pick up a dance DVD or a yoga one. Do something fun. Like for instance, I just walk up and down the hall at work when it is super slow.

*whole is better. I make sure that everything is whole grain from pizza crust to cookies.

*Substitute. Yes I love sweets so I substitute a lot. Use ½ succanat ½ stevia instead of regular sugar or substitute ½ whole wheat flour ½ gluten free mix instead of white flour. You can also substitute eggs with egg replacer/substitute or apple butter/almond butter for shortening. It tastes as good and I feel I don’t have to restrict myself.

*Portion. Duh, you know that. I make sure I always eat 1800 calories a day. I eat 3 meals but 2 or 3 snacks so I never go more than 2-3 hours without eating so I never go hungry.

*Get plenty of water. I drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Spread it out and don’t drink during meals. Herbal teas are also great for that extra boost.

MARCH MADNESS

2011-03-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ok March is almost over but did you know that March is National Nutrition Month?
Check out their website: http://www.eatright.org/nnm/

And of course March is also Basketball frenzy. I'm not doing too bad especially I don't know anything or not much about it. I just know Scott told me not to pick BYU so I changed my bracket and now I am WAY mad because they're making it happen! Argh!

yep

2011-03-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I have not done much on this blog for a total lack of motivation.

I was raised that way: when something is tough...suck it up and keep going. Then I got married and Scott opened my eyes that I have gone too extreme on the private suffering stuff. It's true I just did not know how to express my pain. If you read my blog you know that it has gone to the other extreme. I share everything mostly the way it is without filtering much (beside the very deep dark stuff that no one should ever know about because it's just too private...you know).

Well those past few months, as life had gone a bit harder than I was willing to take, I saw my old me come back and that is why I have not been very present in the blogging world. Part of it was that I wanted to move on as fast as possible.

I am all about moving forward and moving fast. I hate pain. Any kind of pain. You can ask Scott I am the biggest baby in the world when it comes to pain so I am all about forgetting bad moments so I can pretend to be tough.

All that blabla is to say that I'm back - sorry for going M.I.A. I am ready to share all my crazy thoughts again.

Starting with...food. Why do we always have to eat when we go to a social event or professional one for the matter. We eat we eat and we eat all the time. Can we not get together and do push ups? Man I am doing good and then boom...time to eat more bad unfriendly food. No wonder I can't lose weight. You never hear let's eat carrots sticks for a birthday or let's have our next business meeting at the gym! Argh..why can't people understand I need to live in my own diet bubble in order to be on a diet. monks are so lucky they have the best environment for losing weight. Wait that doesn't make sense why isn't there more skinny monks? I decided it's hopeless. Probably because I haven't watched the Biggest Loser for the past 2 weeks.

Check out this great MSN video: Volkswagen Super Bowl Commercial

2011-02-22T16:43:00.000-08:00

Check out this great MSN video: Volkswagen Super Bowl Commercial

Alive and Kicking!

2011-02-01T20:08:00.001-08:00

You won’t guess what happened to me yesterday. So I’m at home eating lunch in front of the TV. There’s never anything good on TV, it’s amazing. Usually I watch the Colbert report but for some reason they changed the time schedule so it was not on. My daily routine just got all messed up. Anyway, I’m flipping through the channel when suddenly, out of nowhere, a storm of amazing memories storm out back at me. Did I imagine this? I go back to that channel. Yes, it is. It must be. I want to jump, scream, call everyone… DURAN DURAN is back baby! That’s right. Don’t you just feel all giggly inside?

They’re just the same. They haven’t changed. They look the same, they sound the same, they provide me with the same teenage-like ecstasy! I love the 80-90’s. Ah that just makes me so happy to think about the 80’s. Those were the days!

Aside from my day dreamy flashback about Duran Duran, I am just so excited that it is February now. January was just one the crappiest months ever. But I have faith in February. It sounds like love and romance and birthday cake. I will probably do another post on how madly in love I am with Scott around the 14th until then I don’t want to make you jealous.

So for now, Duran Duran being back it’s official! February is going to rock!

你相信命运？

2011-01-19T10:24:00.000-08:00

Do you believe in Destiny?

I was invited to a work luncheon organized by our Chamber of Commerce with a guest speaker Doctor Sun who was going to talk about Chinese immersion (business approach). I was so inspired by her lecture and I kept thinking how cool she was. I saw eye to eye with her approach that business is a battlefield. I won’t redo the lecture but let just say it was uplifting to me.

I went home at night and was so excited to tell Scott about my lunch and her lecture, all the concepts and what I wanted to read about it and so on. I kept thinking how cool she was and how disappointed I was when she was cut short because we had to meet the deadline.

Then I realized I had been talking too much about her and better hit the store before the pharmacy closed. I rushed over and guess who I saw? Doctor Sun. Yep. How cool is that? I had to approach her and then I noticed that she was serving at the Church Employment center. Get out! Then we talked some more and she went to BYU too. We talked some more and she told me she is actually over a Art group that promotes talents throughout the valley and that she, herself is a photograph as well. (well as for me I am just a shy wannabe photograph, not a real one). GET OUTTT! I felt so honored that she gave me her number and email. We probably talked more than an hour in the store. She is just the coolest. She probably thinks I am a great stocker!

life is tough

2011-01-09T17:40:00.000-08:00

well, Scott found this book on Souffles which is a Egg based French dish and he has decided to try one recipe every week. Man, life is so tough for me right now. This week he made me lemon-berries souffle with its coulis. I'm in heaven. Might go for a second one!

2011

2011-01-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

Even though it has been really cold for me, I have to say that I still enjoy the beautiful colors and light of Winter. It is just gorgeous.

We spent Christmas just the two of us mostly because we were sick so we had to cancel our plans. So it was more like a pyjama party than anything else. But it was still nice to be off and relaxing.

Scott took me to the BYU Museum to go see the Carl Bloch exhibit as well as James Tissot. Needless to say that I feel in my element in Art Museums. I just loved it. It was so well put together and we had rented the iPad presentation and I was just amazed at the quality of it all. It was real neat.

We spent New Year's Eve in Idaho. We had to go to Texas Roadhouse to get some yummy hot rolls. We also went to PetSmart because I just love staring at pets and from the comments of my nephews and nieces, I think it was a pretty good idea! They loved all the fishies and the birdies.

And Even though I'm an old grandma who went to bed at 9:30pm on New Years Eve, I hope that everyone will enjoy this new year and that it will bring great happiness to all!

2010-12-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We hope you'll have a blast during this holiday season! As for us, we'll be back in 2011...

It's back!

2010-12-08T08:06:00.001-08:00

If you ever spent a Christmas with us, you know there is no way around it. Scott has been already talking about it for the past 3 weeks. He even brought it over for Thanksgiving (bad timing)and was so excited to present the annual viewing of "The Muppets Christmas Carol"!!! He is so cute, his eyes are glowing, he can't stay in place...it's time for the Muppets. I told him that we will do a viewing (should I say re-re-re-viewing) of it Christmas week. It's almost better than to wait for Santa!

And there was winter

2010-12-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

Yo Yo Yo

2010-11-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

Lately it has been great! We had a little bit of opposition but the outpouring of blessings and comfort was far more influencial in our life.

We love life! We love each other! And we even are learning to love ourselves. Yeah to that! How can you not love life knowing that tonight there is a new episode of Psych on!

I can’t believe the weather. What a great blessing. It makes me so happy to see the blue sky and the last few leafs on the ground. I don’t really like the pitch black darkness at 6pm though. Oh well… as Scott says: time for Hot Chocolate!

I have a hard time realizing that Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas right around the corner. Wow time really flies a lot faster in your 30’.

Do you find yourself obsessed with something for a few weeks and then just don’t care anymore afterward? Like for instance, I am obsessed with cleaning/ organizing our storage lately. It has been in a chaotic state for about a year so I am not sure why suddenly it is really bothering me. Same with dieting/being healthy, I go extreme and won’t give in to any sugary food but then a few weeks later I eat a piece of cake or something and then forget about being healthy! Am I weird? Finding balance is super hard for me! I wish I could be more neutral or in the middle. I always have to go to extremes!

Is it hard to be different?

2010-11-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

I know that choices of words are a French thing. We are so picky with the eloquence of each phrase. We have to sound like we are writing poetry or political prose at every breath. At least, in French. We are HUGE snobs. I get it. I agree but here’s an example of how poorly chosen words gets me…well…wait I am choosing my words…..it gets me in a state of intellectual coma***!

*** Disclaimer: Not the most eloquent statement.

So the other day, I was waiting for my appointment trying to read a really interesting book on French mentality written by Canadian ethnologues (I know how can you not read such a book!?). The person sitting next to me was someone I vaguely knew. After the usual greeting, I was just eager to get back to my book unfortunately my neighbor did not bring anything to read with her so she went on to interrupt my reading to carry on a conversation. No problem, I like engaging in social interaction. So we start talking about the weather and other mundane things. When suddenly she asked: “is it hard to be different?”

Now (little parenthesis) I am right in the middle of the chapter explaining how annoying the French are because they have to rephrase everything in order to make it sound more scholar or educated. I have to admit it’s a true statement even though it’s a nasty habit.

So I went on to rephrase her poorly chosen words: “do you mean is it hard to be French in this community?” I know, I know. The time could not be funnier. I just had to demonstrate the application of the principles I learned from this book. Anyway, I was laughing inside when she decided to rephrase my rephrasing.

“No I meant is it hard to not have kids?”

Now I was struggling. Did I read anything anywhere in this book that would help handle this situation? For a French person to be defeated in a debate is like for a teenager to have his pants falling off in the cafeteria. You don’t quite recover from the shame. So how do you gracefully respond to that without showing emotion or making it a bigger deal than it is?

Quick something to say …quick, I can feel the French spirit weighing on my shoulders. Best to laugh first then to say: “well it depends whose kids you end up with.” Perfect, a little rude but perfect. It gives me the perfect opportunity to recontrol the debate and transition to: “So, how are your kids doing?” My middle name is nonchalance.

Pffew, that was close. Next chapter in my book: French politicians. Man that is one exhausting book!

life is good

2010-11-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

The past few months have just been amazing for us. Yes we had quite a few problems with material things and our health but spiritually it has been amazing. We really felt a call to prepare. Not sure what for exactly but to prepare to strengthen our family and to prepare for missionary work. I am not quite sure what the missionary work entails exactly but we felt we were called to prepare for such an event.

So it has been great, we fill the spirit so strongly and our love for each other and for the gospel is deepened. I did not really think it could be possible because I love Scott more than anything in the world and I love the gospel (but there is always room for improvement). I never realized how important and life changing having a couple prayer everyday is. I have to admit we always said our individual prayers but our couple prayers were hit and miss. But we made a goal to say them everyday no exception. What a difference! We are also studying preach my gospel together.

Scott has been called as the 2nd Counselor in the Sunday School Presidency. He oversees the Marriage and Family relations class. We have decided to attend that class and yesterday was our first lesson. We had taught that class when we were first married but being a student is a lot more fun! Our teachers just barely moved to Utah so they still very much have that newly convert spirit even tough they were born in the Church. I guess it’s because they just got back from their Senior Mission. Anyway we love their teaching. On top of that, they brought cream puffs to class so Scott was really impressed.

On another note, we were such party poopers for Halloween. We were so busy that we forgot to carve a pumpkin or even go to our ward party. I did made pumpkin soup though but no worries, Christmas will be our rock star!

Love it!

2010-10-27T11:43:00.001-07:00

You know me. I love something and then after 2 weeks I just don't care for it anymore so when I recommend something, it means it stands the test of time. I discover Melody Gardot last year. I just loved it right away. I am a jazz lover to start with but you hear everyone singing the same songs over and over again. Not Melody Gardot. She is fresh. I love her voice, I love her arrangements and I lover her sound. And I still do a year later... that's an accomplishment!

Fall

2010-10-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

We've been so lucky this year to have a real Fall. Usually we get 2 weeks of Fall and then straight to Winter. Our first snow is expected this coming Sunday but I am so grateful that we have been able to enjoy a nice and long Fall!

Jaffar....

2010-10-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ok so I caught a cold 2 weeks after finally being done with my flu which lasted a whole month! That's when I did my inner Jaffar laugh From Aladdin. You know a bit evil, a bit sarcastic. I love the Jaffar laugh. Anyway, it was really really bad for one day but the other days were bearable. I think I am almost done. I finally slept a few hours (5) and felt good to go. I go to work thinking...yeah I will make it through the day! My boss asked how I was feeling. I was almost proud to say: Better! and she said: really? You look worse today. Then I really wanted to act like Jaffar! But instead I did my little inner Jaffar laugh. It actually made me laugh. I guess I should be offended but I ain't.

today in the news

2010-10-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well I should probably start with: we’re alive and no, we did not move to New Zealand although very tempting! I know you’re probably dying (yeah right) to know what is going on with us. Well busy of course. It always is busy when we are not on vacation. We were really really tempted to go back to San Fancisco in October but we decided to calm down and spare these expenses.

Nothing exciting or new happening. Work is Work. School is School. Logan is Logan (no snow yet though). On the other hand, there are a few things that are kind of cool:

Our Veggie garden is pretty much dead…maybe because we (by we I mean I) did not water it for a while. I still have summer squash, strawberries and cucumbers. But I gave up on the rest.

Our car has not died yet (Miracle really) but this has limited our mobility. No more Salt Lake trips or other fun trips. That is a real bummer for me because I think everyone knows I can’t stay in place for very long! It also made our local life interesting since it does not go very far without dying for a few seconds. Patience is a virtue especially in the middle of an intersection with a car that won't start.

Scott decided it was time for me to stop stressing out about work. I am not allowed to work more than 3hrs of overtime per week which for me is really really hard right now knowing that I can easily work 50-55 hrs a week in my day job. But I have to admit that, even though it was hard at first, I am slowly transitionning to a 40hrs week and enjoying it. For instance, I am almost caught up with laundry and I actually cooked 6 times last week. Maybe that is why Scott wants me home more often. I noticed the cereals were almost gone. I am definitely grateful for an understanding and supporting hubby. He has been doing the “do what I say, not what I do” speech because he is litterally working more than I. For instance, yesterday he slept 45 mn. Who does that? Not me, I need my 5 hours!

And curiously enough, I am kind of feeling the Christmas vibe right now! I know it’s silly but I am kind of excited about it. It will be just Scott and I this year. Just like our first 2 years together. I want to do something special but I am not quite sure what yet. I just love the figuring out/project/mystery plans. I should have been some kind of planner. Putting things together brings so much joy in my life especially if it is a vacation.

Voila! That’s it for now!

Flight Of The Conchords - Jenny

2010-09-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

the SeeMore

2010-09-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

confession

2010-09-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

alright.. I admit it I love discovering with an option. What I mean by that is I am not Andrew Zimmer or Chris Angel. I play it safe but I love visiting new sites, exploring new cities and dream of exotic vacations. In fact I am well known for ordering tourist brochures from countries all over the world. The chances are pretty small that I'll ever visit Thailand or Norway but just in case I have their travel guides and I have studied it cover to cover. I just love planning fake trips in my head and turning the crisp glossy pages of their travel guide. What??? they're free! and they want me to droll on those glossy pictures and no I feel no shame that I kill trees and ruin their economy with the stamps they have to use to send me free (to me) stuff from the other side of the world! NO SHAME.. yes a tiny bit but my addiction overcomes it all. In the same time, I am all about pilgrimage. Every time, I go back to France I have to go see the same stuff I have seen a hundred times, eat the same food and debate about the same old stuff. It's no different for the US. I have my favs: San Francisco, Oregon coast (ahhhh cannon beach) and Seattle. Just can't get enough and that's mostly because that's pretty much all I know outside of Utah and Idaho. Well I have been to Vegas a few times and sorry, not my kind of stuff. Mostly because I went broke and I left broke. Anyway, so for our annual trip we had to go to Seattle. I have been pretty lucky this year: France, San Francisco and Seattle. We even stopped by the wonderful waterfalls of Oregon! Get out of here! I just loved it...again and again and again. Here's a few pictures of us and the crew (that is the other third of the Seymour's clan)

so what's up

2010-08-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

I guess I am way behind on the bad news updates:

Well, our car broke down on the Highway. It's the engine and it's pretty dead. The positive point is that I did not die with the engine.

We got a few nice and huge medical bills (Scott has Bronchitis and I have my issues). The positive point is that We are still alive and breathing.

Scott got a ticket getting out of the shop on his way to the Townhall (3 blocks) for not having insurance. Even though we had not driven that car for 4 years (1988 Honda from our college days) and that it was literally 3 blocks to get the car registered. The positive point is that it was not towed.

I lost my passport and my green card. Have NO idea where it's at. There is no positive point on that.

We won't be moving. That is all positive and we even got our rent to go down by 30 dollars! YEAH!

We had my brother's best friend over the week-end. He's also the son of my godmother and godfather. It was so fun to have him over, to speak french, to laugh, and the Guys had real men conversation about love, dating and how us we girls function! It was fun to listen to that.And that was all positive too.

New Spice | Study like a scholar, scholar

2010-07-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

my little heaven

2010-07-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

Everything tastes so much better when it's right out of the garden! I love my tomatoes they are just so yumm and usually strawberries don't make it home (Scott complains about it) I just can't resist them. I've got to eat them on the spot!

For reals

2010-07-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

So I was looking at job postings and I came into that one (I did not change it just block the contact info):

Job #: 6347
Title: Live Music For Farmers Market Wanted
Employer: ********
Contact: *****
Phone #:Not Applicable
E-mail:************
Address:
Pay Rate: $20+ per night
Schedule: Wednesday Evenings 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Description: Farmers Market looking for any style local, family-friendly live music or entertainment. Nice audience, peaceful park setting. Not much pay, but you usually get enough for gas + a little extra in tips.

What to Bring:
We just need you to be sober, friendly, and talented!

Hike

2010-06-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Scott and I decided to go hiking last week. Mostly because it was the first sunny week-end in a while (5 weeks of rain) and I also needed to check it out for Young Women Camp which is this week. It was so green and there was tons of flowers. It's also a great spot for wild raspberries, strawberries, onions and even wild carrots. So I will definitely go back in 3-4 weeks with my basket!

We were not alone on this hike...my favorite animal was there too (ok I am totally lying...I hate them). it was my first close encounter with a rattle snake and let me tell you I did not take long taking this picture...I was mostly thinking about running away as fast as possible (or should I say speeding away because we were in the car).

The Soccer Case

2010-06-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

Ok it’s about time I speak up on that matter. First I have to say that I am not into soccer as much as Scott is. I found him sleeping on the floor, his head half in a shoe, completely dressed (shoes on and all) so he could watch a game at 4 am or something. Not me. Sleep is more important than soccer but I have to say that out of all the sports out there soccer might be my favorite.

It might be a cultural thing of course. In Europe, soccer is a religion. Shops closed during a big game and it is often a matter of life or death. And I have to say I am partial to one team…the French one, well, that was until this year.

The French team had his glorious days. How can one forget winning the Soccer World Cup against Brazil, winning 3-0. Against BRAZIL! That was in 1998, and it still seems like it was yesterday. Everyone was so proud and excited. The streets of France were filled with excitement and overwhelming joy. There was a parade with the national team and it was just the craziest event ever. I mean Brazil is a darn good team.

Of course, the French have to make themselves known one way or the others. We can be just like in the movies: delicate, refined, cultured, romantic and classy….on the other end we can be just like the movies: rude, egocentric, snobs and down right stupid. And that is the France I despise.

This year, the French team has just let me down on so many levels. First, their game is, well, I have to say it, they sucked. They did not play as a team. It was just a quest for one’s glory. They got puffed up with pride thinking they would win easily and that they were the best. Ok we got into the finals almost every world cup for the past 20 years but that does not mean that we should assume we’ll make it every time. I know our coach is lost a bit and he does not know how to handle his stubborn players. Our players lost their sense of national pride and lost the ideal of the World Cup.

Mainly, you want to win but the Soccer World Cup is much more like the Olympic Games, it’s about fraternity. It’s about making your country proud and finding a sense of purpose and hope. It’s about building a nation and building the world. Such events have been known to open international doors to political opportunities. It has a higher purpose. Our current French team forgot that and it is all about their own personal paycheck.

Needless to say I am disappointed and even ashamed at our team. I wish we could go back to our glorious days. I think it’s time for a fresh start. We need young blood with a passion for the game. I think we got a huge wake up call and we’ll arise from our ashes again.

Dreamer

2010-06-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so this year we still don't have our own garden so I got all my pots out and even bought a few more. I've got to have my fresh veggies! So I got a bit ambitious and I am not quite sure it's going to work out. Yeah I know you've got to be a bit crazy to plant cucumber, zucchini, watermelon and summer squash in pots. Hey, if I don't try, I can't tell if I am just crazy or if it could work. I also planted green beans, lettuce which we have almost all devoured, tomatoes, peppers of all kind, strawberries (yum, I ate a few already) Chinese eggplants and some flowers for the moral!

SF Big summary

2010-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ok there is no way I can do this so just know that our vaca was OH SOOOO GOOOD! It was tough to get back. In fact on the day back, Scott kept saying: if I had one more day I would do this, If I had one more week I would do that...Then after one hour driving he was like: Could we move there? How about this neighborhood? Wow...it's pretty much how I feel too! :) In fact, he wanted to return to SF next month. My budget is saying no but my heart is dreaming....And no we are not returning next month.

My guy....17 miles drive
Golden Gate Bridge

Castello de Amoroso

You know them! Pier 39

SF-Napa Valley

2010-06-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Once we got there, we made a first stop to Napa Valley. It was just breath taking and I wanted to move in one of those castles! It was crowded, granted it was memorial week-end and that most places do wine tasting which, obviously, we did not do. But walking around taking in the sun, taking a million pictures...that's my kind of stuff! And check out the deli section!

And yes, those on the bottom are all CHEESES! But I was brave and did not get any....

BACK-SF 1

2010-06-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

We finally made it back from San Francisco. Not that we wanted to but we had to! Back to life, back to reality! Oh yeah, I know you know that song! :) Anyway we had so much fun and we had such nice weather. It was just incredible. Even though we only had 3 days in SF, we vacationed Seymour's style....pack it in, pack it in, pack it in so we came back with, well, we'll just say a lot of pictures so I am going to do a few posts on that!

On another note to go to SF we have to go through Nevada. Can I just say it's not my fav. Sorry if you are from there or if you like it, but it is not my style. I am in love with GREEN like Oregon or England. Let's just say Nevada should consider becoming the Solar Panel State. Let's cover that baby with Solar Panels! :)

Another day with SuperUncle

2010-05-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Some of the following pictures contains strong images, viewers discretion advised:

ATK

2010-05-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

And we went to play with the rockets....

Once upon a train...

2010-05-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you guys have seen the new AMERICA show on the History Chanel but Scott and I have been watching it faithfully. I realized that I still have so much to learn about American history. The "Golden Spike" (aka "The Last Spike") is the ceremonial final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory.. And the anniversary of the complition was last week. So Scott and I decided to check it out.

Did You Know? 2,000 gallons of water will get a steam locomotive approximately 15 to 30 miles. Then they'll have to stop and fill up to get the next 15 to 30 miles.

2 Weeks

2010-05-14T13:45:00.001-07:00

Whoa within 2 weeks I turned 30 and we celebrated our 5th year anniversary! I like round numbers! : )

I tried to keep it as low key as possible especially turning 30. Yesterday I had to fill some forms and of course they asked for my age and I naturally put 29 until I had a little internal wake-up call and I had to put 30. Just had to, because it’s true! The day of was hard but now I’m all better --- especially after the YW guessed my age and according to them I am old aka 23! Love being that old!

Our anniversary was nice. I got beautiful flowers. I love the wild flowers type. Never been much of a rose person. I can’t believe I have know Scott for more than 7 years and that we’ve been married 5 yrs. We must have it nice because time went by so fast.

I thought I’d share 5 things about my marriage that I like:

*Trust. No one and I mean no one knows all my dark secrets, my fears, my insecurities, my secret dreams and my most embarrassing stories. And yet, he still loves me.

*Laughter. Ok Scott and I we are well known for having a strong and loud laugh. We just love laughing together and mostly at each other. We seriously laugh all the time. It’s pretty pathetic and dorky but I love it. There’s nothing better than teasing each other and nothing better than hearing each other laugh.

*Discovering. I love traveling. For me it’s an addiction for which I do not want to go to rehab for and luckily Scott is always on board. For Scott, he loves learning and need I say more, he knows everything from mushrooms to Arabic rituals. And that keeps us talking.

*Changes. I think people enjoy having things stay the same but honestly that’s never going to happen. And I love seeing the changes in our relationship. Of course, our soul is the same but we have changed, adapted and enjoy the new levels of our life. And quite honestly I am looking forward the next changes or should I say improvement.

*Support. It makes me feel so special when Scott is proud of me and you can see the excitement on his face. His favorite phrase is: “that’s Awesome Audrey” and he says it like he just won the lottery. Or when I am crazy busy and don’t have time to take care of my hubby, he never and I mean never complains. That’s cool.

Well that’s what’s up with us!

It's that time again

2010-05-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

After much difficulty with the weather, a lot of cutting leaves and branches, we are back in business!

This year I am trying: strawberries, cucumber again (last year they died), peas, lettuce and chinese eggplants on top of our regular peppers, herbs and tomatoes. I just felt ambitious this year! Plus I'll probably kill half of them by the time it's ready to harvest. : )

I had to chop most of that plant but luckily it's growing again! Pfew!

Mentally Challenged…literally

2010-05-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

So everyone knows that Scott is a library rat. He reads books like no other! Me on the other hand I read books with big pictures and small paragraphs written in big letters like for instance, cookbooks and magazines! So my average rate is 2 real books (no pictures) a year. Pretty lame I would say! And one of my strength in college was writing (surprisingly enough, don't laugh I am dead serious) and I have not written anything longer than a page for… well when was college again? 8 years, my friends. Wow time flies. So Scott got on my case and challenged me to read a book. A real one, no picture! It was in French. It’s a book by Assia Djebar called La Femme Sans Sepulture (the woman without a resting place) about Algerian Women.

And guess what??? I did it all within a month (that was my deadline) while I was keeping up with my crazy schedule. So I read the entire the book (I did not scan read as usual, no I really read it word for word) and all the resources (300 additional pages) and I started writing. 11 pages! Wow I felt rusted. I used to be faster and wayyyy better at it. Made me think that I should do it more often just so I can keep my brain working. It’s quite an accomplishment for me because anyone that knew me back in college knows that I was … hummm….a minimalist? What a good choice of word! We always appreciate life once it has passed us by, don’t we?

Argh

2010-04-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Why is it always snowing in Logan??? Where is global warming and stuff!?

Anyway I planted my veggies and herbs Monday and now it is snowing. Luckily, I have it all in pots so early this morning I brought everything in. Way to start the day!

Lost in Translation

2010-04-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

So as I was registering a candidate, he disclosed that he had a criminal charge so I asked him as usual to write the date and the nature of the charge, but I got really really confused when he wrote:

2008 Interal Posion... Any guess???

I love it!

2010-04-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

OK everybody knows that I looooove jewerly. I get most of my jewerly from this wonderful website. All the jewerly is high quality and real stones because I have super sensitive ears and I hate jewerly that just becomes fade and rusted so I LOOOOVE her jewerly. I even got some for my mom and she loves it and she is picky. Anyway this lady is just barely starting Ann Paul and I really want to help her out so check out her website:

http://www.annpaulcreations.com/

Oh well, it’s about time I talk about life.

2010-03-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

Going back to France was well sweet, difficult, confusing, sad, joyful, stressful, relaxing and just plain emotional. And I will pretty much leave it at that.

Now coming back is been … well let just say heavy with mixed emotions. Of course it was good to see Scott and find my routine and my home and those forever long showers. But it’s been soooo hard. Most of the time I have to say I am not a homesick person. I love France but the US is as much my home as France. During the majority of a regular year I don’t feel that void or emptiness. First life is always crazy busy so I don’t really have time to miss anything but my bed and maybe a good vacation. But coming back, I mean right after heaven most feel pretty much like a baby who just pretty much was in a warm womb a second ago and got squeezed out into a cold and difficult world. Now we come back to the forever old question of my life. You never belong anywhere. Argh. I just leave it at that. Anyway it has been a difficult week and I realize that Logan in itself is not where I want to finish my life. I have a forever long list of places in the US and in Europe where I would not mind moving to. Just like going on a vacation to Hawaii, it’s not for tomorrow. So we’ll make the best out of what we have. At least there’s chocolate.

After that, I have been able to go to the Young Women Broadcast with the girls. At first I have to say that I did not really feel up to it. I got back Monday night, was right back to work on Tuesday morning. I had things planned almost every evening and planning an all day activity on my first Saturday was not really my ideal week-end planning. But low, I went. I love those girls so it was good to see them and they always are so full of energy and enthusiasm so it made it better. We got there early for lunch and toured in small groups. We decided to visit the Beehive House which I actually never toured before. It was oh so very interesting and not at all what I had expected. Then we toured Temple Square. Since I have toured it well over a dozen times with the missionaries, I said goofing around that we should do it in Korean. Little did I know that we would actually have a Korean sister for our tour. Totally not planned. I can now read your fortune for a low cost of $150.00. Anyway, it was just the best thing ever. As I said I toured this place a billion times and I was not expecting anything ground breaking. I know totally poor jet lagged attitude. Anyway this sister shared how she was converted and we talked about Humanitarian Projects and I just cried and cried and cried some more until I was totally dehydrated. Then they took us to the secret passage which I had no idea about where they recreated rooms of a home and for every room there is a clip about family. As you all know that is a sore topic in more than one way. So of course, I cried some more and some again. At least I could say I got rid of my water retention problem.

We met with all the girls for the broadcast. We had a good group and I was pretty proud. I was so hoping Elder Utchdorf would speak because well I am bias. Anyway, he did (told you I can read your fortune for pretty cheap) and of course I cried and I cried some more. Wonderful talk about adversity and I really needed to hear it. We got home pretty late from our trip and Sunday came and for some reason Satan loves bugging me on Sundays. So here comes the opposition. I’ll leave it at that.

But God also knows where to pick me up so we had another stake fireside for the YW yesterday. It was a wonderful lady that was born without arms and she talked about loving yourself, reaching your potential and overcoming adversity. It was so inspiring. Man, she was one happy gal! And it reminded me that even though I thought I was tried beyond measure and that I had every reason to be miserable, I also was entitled to my happiness and comfort. It’s good to be reminded how much God loves you even when you think he does not. How to look at one situation and that there are so many ways to look at it. So I decided I was going to make myself happy. That and I am so sick of my mascara running out.

Back to reality

2010-03-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

I have much to tell but not time. So I will explain everything later. Until then...enjoy!

Guess where we're going in June???

2010-02-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Ta Dah!

2010-02-11T12:12:00.001-08:00

Things never work out the way I planned it! Go figure :<

Anyway so Scott and I we have been trying to go back to France in May to celebrate our 5th year anniversary. Woah time flies. But we were not able to find something for May that would work out for us so I will be flying solo in March because it is way cheaper. It's hard to leave the hubby behind and it's hard to go back to France in march because it's super cold. I know: "Poor Baby you get to go to France, that's horrible"....Ah Ah Ah...yeah I know it's super cool! Here's my plan of action:

*Cry to my mom that I feel lonely without Scott >>> Results: Homemade food and lots of attention

*Cry to Scott that I am miserable without him>>>Results: Clean House and lots of hugs upon my return!

IT'S A GREAT PLAN!!!

I have mixed feelings of course but I really felt like I needed to go and take care of my parents. My dad has been having health problems and so is my mom so if I can contribute in some ways it will be a great experience. Also I have never even seen my nephew (my sis') and he will be turning 1! so it will be good to have some family time.

Dear Audrey

2010-02-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so by now I hope everyone knows I work in the employment business. I received a little letter today from a potential candidate wanting to apply. It goes like this:

About myself

What I have come too realized about myself is that I am a people person. When my day is slow ware ever I seem to be i like too keep things going by having a positive attitude and keeping the people around me happy. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy; I enjoy the little things in life. You never know what you are going to experience being around me because Im spontaneous. I also enjoy out door activities or pretty much anything that requires exercise. But what I love doing the most is to be with my family, Just about every single person I get to know or meet seems to likes me. I’m pretty sure it’s not only my personality but most importantly it’s because I treat people as a person. I don’t judge them based on what they look like or what they ware. Wither they are different or not they are still a person. I would say I’m very lay back person to be around but when it comes down to making money or doing something serous I’m all business. I have an extremely large family on both sides that are very supportive of one and another. I also have a large social network of family, friends and business associates. I strongly believe that we are responsible for each others success based on one simple fact. Each and every one of us has a good heart and the will to keep going for our family’s and for our self’s. In conclusion I’m positive I wuld be a good a person to have working for you and your company.

Routine

2010-02-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

So life has been pretty much the same and then suddenly you're like: What???? It's not 1999? Yeah I know you relate to that!

But life has been really good. Can't complain!

I just barely realize that I am in love with my rubber boots. We got them (Scott has one too) on our last trip to France. My parents live in the country side and so it can get pretty muddy in the winter, well spring and fall too. I got a plain pair for 7 euros and I 've been wearing them ever since (and now they are in style...I'm a fashion guru). Anyway it's a random thought but I was thinking: oh I can't wait to go home and wear my rubber boots! then in the summer it's pretty much the same but with my flip flops. I guess I am not a Parisian anymore! : )

Lately

2010-01-20T08:48:00.000-08:00

Time flies. Is it me or the older you get the faster time goes by?

Anyway life has been crazy. 2 jobs 2 callings 2 people to take care of! I guess it’s the month of the 2!

By some miracle (called tithing) we were able to pay Scott’s tuition. We’re back to square one being poor but we paid tuition and that was a huge relief. There’s going to be a new class about Finances for Sunday School at Church taught by Lucas Martin. Scott and I signed up because Lucas is the guru of finances and budgeting! So we are really excited about that one.

Having two callings has been a bit demanding time wise. But it has been fun to get to know the YW and to hang on a little bit longer to the Webelos. It makes for a long evening because Scouts are from 5:30pm to 6:45pm and then YW from 7pm-9pm. But then again, I’ll miss those boys so I’m enjoying every bit of it. Scott’s been teaching on Tuesday nights so I am a one woman show on Tuesday!

Katia is leaving this Friday. I can’t believe it has been already 3 months. Crazy. I took a couple of days off last week to enjoy the last minutes of sisterhood. We went to Hardware Ranch to see the Elk and then to the Hogle Zoo in SLC. It has been lots of fun:

Dont' pick it up!

2010-01-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

Ok so totally weird story. I was in the shower yesterday and I heard my cell go on. No big deal right? So problem is that it started ringing and ringing and ringing and some more ringing. I am like: ok this must be an emergency. So i get out of the shower with my hair covered with huge foam of shampoo..run to the phone to pick it up and I don't recognize the number. I pick it up and....................................... Hi it's brother Nielsen. And it goes as followed:

Him: "Are you planning on being at Church today?"
In my Head: I know I missed a few sundays lately because of my traveling...Am I being called on it?
Me: Yes
In my Head: Maybe he needs someone to say the opening prayer.
Him:"Oh good, can you come meet with us half an hour prior to Church"
In my head: NOOOOOOOOOO, I have very important things to do like huh huh huh.....
Me: Yes
In my Head: I only said yes because I have shampoo in my eyes and I want to get back in the shower....Take that!
Him: Great we'll see you then
In my Head: Is it because I cried on your shoulders a couple weeks ago and ate your chocolate????
Me: ok bye.

Now I get there and I got the FULL bishopric waiting for me. It's never a good sign! NEVER!
Anyway you know what's coming... a new calling or shall I say an additional calling because I won't be released quite yet of my webelos calling. (I really don't want to be released either). So here's the scoop: 2nd counselor in Young Woman. My first thought was: again? I had served in the Young Woman Presidency for 2 years in France so I thought ok no big deal I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. Can I???? Really? I had mixed feelings until I went to our first meeting. I sat there and I am like: Am I at the right place??? I was so lost things are wayyyyy different over here than they are in France. So It's like a brand new calling and I just have NO clue what I'm doing. No clue, now I don't have mixed feelings anymore. My feelings are: Run, Run as fast as you can! Too bad I already said yes. :)

that one minute resolution

2010-01-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Ok I have to admit I don’t watch a lot of TV. But last year I got caught up in the season of the Biggest Loser. WOW I cried, I yelled, I rejoiced…I guess that’s how intense things are when Scott watches a game with the Cougars. I can finally relate to him. Anyway yesterday by pure chance I came across the new season kick off. I saw those people so overweight. I just started crying. I can relate to them in some degree. I have struggled with my weight all my life. Luckily I am not 200 pounds or heavier but I already feel like crap so I can’t imagine how you must feel when you’re 500 pounds and still in your 20’s. That must be just unreal and so depressing.

Along with Biggest Loser I also like You Are what You Eat with Gillian Mc Keith on BBC America. Since we moved we don’t get the BBC anymore which is just a crime. I love BBC America. She is a holistic nutritionist and she is just sooo funny and passionate. I think that is awesome.

So anyway after watching the biggest Loser yesterday, I decided that I needed to get back on track with watching my weight, eating healthy, listening to my body and exercising. Just by making this decision I already feel better about myself. I have to say that being healthy can be frustrating. It takes money to eat well especially in the winter time. Sometime I wish I had a HUGE freezer and a HUGE garden so I could freeze all the veggies and fruits for the winter season. It would be nice to have a farmer next to us who could give some fresh eggs and milk! Ahhhh here’s the romantic in me. Anyway being healthy also takes time: time to shop, to plan, to prepare, to exercise, to cook. And frankly who has time and money??? But I realize it does not have to be extreme in order to be better like drinking more water, not eating the entire chocolate bar at once, and sleeping 20 mn more. I can only say that if it’s too drastic it won’t happen for me. So we’ll see how that comes into place for me.

2009-12-29T07:22:00.000-08:00

O Global Warming
Where Art Thou?
I'm Freezing

O Global Warming
Where Art Thou?
I could use a little Heat...

O Global Warming
WHERE ART THOU??????

2009-12-24T09:04:00.001-08:00

How to confuse a guy 101!

2009-12-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was not all that great. Been a tough day at work. On top of that Scott got in a car accident on the way to work. Thanks goodness he is well and so is the other conductor. Not really any damage to the cars but the other conductor decided to make it a big deal and so goes the car insurance and the deductible!!! What a great news! I was so in despair that work became even more hard to handle between the usual jerks and losers. Anyway someone sweet that I know came in to get some paystubs for her husband. I told her that I could not do that unless he approves it which I told him a million times. I thought I was nice about it. Anyway she started crying and that just broke my heart because I know she is a wonderful woman and she helps so many others. That was just too much for me. I'm like forget it, I'll do it anyway and I apologized a billion times and she was so nice about it but still I felt like the bad guy! Argh I hate that feeling. Time to go home and after a few bus trips I was able to arrive at Scott's work to get the car since that it is the only one we have left. Of course the bus stop was on the wrong side of the street and if anyone knows Logan, the road is in the dark, covered with snow and no where to cross safely. So I run across with my business boots on (bad idea) make it safely by the tracks (luckily no train in view). I have to fall in the snow of course! Just not fun. Get the car back. Ran my errands. Notice that Scott did not know our phone number because the police report says some kind of weird number (not even close to ours). At this point one more thing to take care of and I just don't care anymore. Run all my errands, pay the bills with a pinch in my heart, deliver stuff and so on. Start making Christmas cookies and they are just disgusting and I mean. Did not get to do 1/4 of what I had to do. Run to the bishop's office for tithing settlement. It was actually his counselor. His is a very sweet soft spoken man. Anyway, go through the usual questions and I am being all brave and all. Then comes the question that you should NEVER ask me.... Are you doing ok? Then I could not contain my emotions anymore...I cried like I was making up for the water shortage of the entire planet. And replies: everything is fine! How confusing is that?!?! Poor guy was so lost. She cries like a baby and yet she says she is fine. How do you respond to that when you're a guy? Well the best way a wise man like him can...He said nothing and showed me the chocolate! : )

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

2009-12-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

I don’t really know where to start. I am felt so overwhelmed in so many ways. I feel like there is no time for anything, I feel busy all day and yet I feel like I’m always behind. I hate that feeling of not being on task, on time, on schedule.

Yet amidst the craziness, we have been blessed beyond measure and I truly mean beyond our dreams and expectations. I have shared earlier (and maybe I should not have said anything) that we have been pinching our pennies more than usual. It’s been definitely a learning experience and I never thought that I would second guess myself so much. I am so grateful for my wonderful Scottchy (don’t ask don’t tell about the name). I have so much admiration for that man. This trial definitely has shown me his true nature, how kind and righteous he is and that is a really reassuring feeling to know that you married a good man. On top of that I have we have been blessed the following way:

*The gift of Prayers: I don’t anyone who prays harder than our moms! I know that they have a lot of faith and boy, it works. We also have felt an increase in our prayers and the depth of them. It’s been a good feeling. It’s also interesting to me that the more I pray for help, the more aware I become of my blessings. Once of my favorite scriptures is in 3 Nephi 13:

“ 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.”

Isn’t it the most comforting scripture ever??? I love it. We faced difficult choices. I never thought I would think: “should I pay tithing?” I had so many experiences with it and so many blessings coming out of paying it. But I have to admit that I started thinking otherwise. Well maybe…. And If…. Couldn’t we just? And so on. BAD IDEA! Anyway we decided to be full tithe payers. I will turn in our final little envelope to the bishop this week. So YEAH! I did not think we would make it. Now we faced the reality of: what now?

*The Gift of Ideas: It’s unbelievable the ideas that can pop up in your head! And I swear I don’t take drugs, well not illegal drugs at least. Scott and I have thought long and hard of what to do, what to try, what to cut etc.. you know how it goes. We have been blessed with great ideas to make our life easier. Sometime big sometime small but always very welcomed! For instance, Scott and I decided that we would not give each others gifts this year. All good by me because I got everything I wanted (I’ll tell you what later). But I really really wanted to give something unique to Scott. And I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. Everything I could think of consisted of spending money. Finally last week, out of nowhere came this great idea which at the present moment I can’t share with you. And I thought: WOW this is such a cool idea he will love it. It’s a small thing but it meant so much to me to still be able to offer something to him.

The Gift of Opportunity: Sometime God works like the last minute deals on Orbitz. It has to be the very last moment to get the best deal ever. I hate that part. I am for purchasing my ticket years in advance! Anyway, Scott has been blessed to find a full time job during his break. It was so not expected especially with the economy and we are soooo grateful for it.

The Gift of Gifts: Well, duh! I don’t really know how things turn out that way. So many angels have blessed us in so many ways: food, money, gifts and so on. It’s been Christmas for days now. I am amazed at everything we are getting thanks to all of you out there! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You have carried us through all of it.

And the best one: The Gift of Divine Love: It’s amazing to see. I am not the most spiritual person out there. I don’t pray, serve or read my scriptures as often as I should. I could do way better. But I know one thing for sure God loves me very much in such a personal way. For instance, it’s a small and insignificant thing but I really wanted a Christmas tree this year. Not a huge one but bigger than our 2 inches one. I had found one at Walmart for $19. I went back and forth for a week debating whether I should buy it or not. I mean I reallyyyyyy wanted it. Finally I decided I’d rather use my money for tithing. I just needed to get over it. And I did. The following day, I was offered a Christmas tree exactly like the one I wanted. Seriously, how often do you get someone saying out of the blue: Do you want a Christmas tree? Well at least it was my first time. Cool huh? Then I was grocery shopping and anyone that knows me knows that I like good stuff so it’s been an adjustment for me. So I was looking at this soup mix. You know the fancy ones that cost almost $5? Well I was looking at it thinking, ohhhh I never tried one of those and they look so good but $5 for soup…not a chance. Guess what? One of my visiting teachees gives me that very same soup mix for my Christmas. Come on! That’s not coincidence! All those little things make me realize that God is the best Gift giver of all time. Way to read my mind!

But most of all, as we tried to focus on Christ and the true meaning of Christmas I realized how filled my life was. How knowing the truth about God and its Gospel is just the most precious gift. How having such a wonderful family and friends is more important that a nice wrapped gift. I really feel like I have felt the Christmas spirit this year. I have had so many more spiritual experiences, so much comfort, and I feel like I am on a huge cloud. My love for God is stronger, my love for my husband is stronger, my self-esteem is better and just life in general is wonderful. I am so appreciative for my life. I am thinking of all those people who were so desperate and who would probably give everything to feel that way. I don’t have much on the material side but I sure have everything when it comes to a healed heart. Isn’t it the most wonderful gift?

So to all of you, have a merry merry Christ-mas!

Let it snow!

2009-12-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency: “Disciples of Christ throughout all ages of the world have been distinguished by their compassion. … In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us, and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers” (“Happiness, Your Heritage,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 119, 120).

This Christmas will be different. I made up my mind about it. First we’re still pinching our pennies and with the economy we’re not even sure Scott can go to school next semester. But we’re hopeful and we know that things always work out. So without the worry of what to buy, I’ve been thinking a lot more about Pst Uchtdorf’s quote. I want to be able to answer prayers. Now I feel so frustrated with that because I am always running and even though my heart is full of good intentions, I don’t put hardly any into actions (and I mean this has been going on for ages…the not doing thing). Arghhhh! Not so good. So yesterday even though I only have a kid size shovel, I decided to shovel the sidewalk of one of our neighbors in the middle of the night. I looked around and saw it was pretty clear and so I thought it was safe to shovel. So I went on with my hoodie in the dark to do some service like a ninja on a mission. Since the shovel is so tiny I felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was funny. It took me forever but I did it and was imagining their faces in the morning when everything was cleared out. But of course….it snowed some more last night so it looks like I did not do a darn thing! So I laughed pretty hard this morning thinking… “Ah I get it God! You won’t let me get away with a one-time deal!” Lesson learned.

so what's up?

2009-12-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

October and November have been packed! In a good and a bad way but we’ll talk about the good stuff!

Katia (my sis) has had a few good real and amazing AMERICAN experiences. She went to the Boise state/USU game in the middle of the cold night for 4 hours. She loved it and wanted to take a picture of her and Big Blue but she was not able to. Poor kid!

Thanksgiving was her first. The real deal…big turkey and lots of pies. So good. Since we went to Idaho we had to initiate her to a couple things. A/ a good trampoline. B/ 4-wheeling C/ Bowling D/ a crazy Christmas light and music show ( people are so funny when it comes to decorating their homes for Christmas). On another note, she thought it was hilarious that everything was called Tetons (which is a French word for…can I say this on my blog?) so Tetons cleaners, Tetons dentist, Tetons everything.

2009-11-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'."

~ Bing Crosby

Did I ever tell you…

2009-11-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas season?
I love the smell of pine and cinnamon?
I love singing Christmas songs?
I love looking at a surprised face of a kid opening their gifts?
I love decorating the house?
I love peppermint?
I love Christmas lights?
I love the Christmas concert of MoTab?
I love the nativity?
I love a beautiful Christmas tree?
I love putting the ornaments on a Christmas tree?
I love Snuggling under a blanket and drinking some herbal tea?
I love CHRISTMAS????

Evil animals

2009-11-18T09:49:00.001-08:00

Surprisingly I love a blue sky winter day. There is a beautiful light which is warm and kind of intimate. One of my favorite things to do in the winter is feed the ducks. I know it sounds weird but it reminds me of my childhood. My parents would take us to Switzerland to visit my grandparents and we would always go feed the ducks at the Leman Lake. It was so fun because there were a lot of seagulls too and they would catch the bread before it would reach the ducks. It’s simple but it is one of my best childhood memories.

So we went with my sister Katia and we just had a blast trying to make the ducks fly after the bread. They would be so loud and fun to watch. Katia would try to throw bread on a duck’s back to get him in trouble. She is crazy that way! It was a blast unto the geese came. They are sooooo nasty and not scared to come after us so we had to run to the car to save our lives. It was just so fun!

Dragging

2009-11-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

So you know how I said that I hated Mondays? Here’s why:

Slept 4 hours Sunday night
My brand new Dryer just broke down
I had a really really crappy day at work
Someone told me I did not speak English because I had an accent
We had some unexpected expenses (not in the budget)
Came home to an empty fridge
Decided to grab a burger on my way to the gym (yes I know it’s Ironic), car broke down on the parking lot. Still there this morning
Got cold after my burger trying to fix my car in my short (bad idea in Nov), got sick. Was up all night.

And that’s exactly why Mondays suck@*$&#&(%^(@*73(% and I did not even eat chocolate to recover!

Truth be told!

2009-11-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Why do I always write about this??? I hate Mondays! Today it’s one of those.

So I’d better talk about something else. I am getting to a blank spot. Meaning my creativity is running dry…real dry! You know you’re getting to a point where you cook the same thing once every three days? Yeah, that’s pretty much me. A/ I don’t have the time I’d like to innovate. B/ I don’t have the money I’d like to innovate. So HELP???!!!! Anyone? What super fast/cheap/crowd pleaser recipes do you have to share with me?

2009-11-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

And finally the answers

2009-11-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

My favorite Dessert:
a/ Chocolate cake
b/ Tapioca pudding (my mom’s recipe)
c/ Crepes
d/ Cookies

My favorite animal is
a/ lion
b/ cat
c/ mouse
d/ penguins

What I like about my job:
a/ My office
b/ making reports
c/ my business card
d/ days off

I could wear this all year:
a/ flip flops
b/ pants
c/ hat
d/ shorts

I love:
a/ cooking
b/ cleaning
c/ singing
d/ sleeping

Halloween

2009-11-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

My sister Katia finally arrived. She will be spending 2 1/2 months with us. Just enough times to go through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve American Style Baby!

So we decided it would be fun for her to have her carve her first pumpkin. This included picking the pumpkin from the farmer's field all the way to lighting it up. It was fun for me as well. I don't think I have done this since my very first year at BYU, more than 11 years ago.

Katia did the Jack O Lanterns, Scott did the haunted mansion on the far right and I did the skull.

Then we had our Halloween dinner:

Bleeding chicken and green mashed potatoes!

Totally Weird

2009-10-19T14:32:00.001-07:00

Wall of fame quotes

2009-10-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well, this week-end was Kids’errific! In an awesome way that is. First, we saw our nephews and nieces on Saturday! It was a blast. They inspected every room making comments: “ooh that is so cute” (on our bathroom) and our nephew also wanted us to trade homes which is hilarious because he actually has a home and we have a small basement. I’ll take that deal!

One of my favorite quotes was my nephew’s. We were eating and I made devil eggs. He held one up and told me:

“I love those things!”
“What are they called?” I asked
With great enthusiasm: “Egg things!”
Duh Aunt Audrey!

And on Sunday it was the very popular and most entertaining Sunday of the year: the primary program. And you know how it goes, you laugh and you cry and you’re just having the greatest time ever. My favorite talk was from Anna. She is 3 years old and just the cutest. Her talk was on how her mom helps her. It goes like that:

“My mom helps me read my scriptures.
My mom helps me get dressed.
But my mom does not help me say my prayers because I can say them on my own!”

Truth be told! LOL

I know

2009-10-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine we've been busy moving and we are still trying to unpack and find our marks. I think I lost Scott's favorite pyjamas and my business pants. Argh it just means I get to go shopping! :)

Anyway here's some picts (before/after) of our bathroom (still needs more frames):

Hercule Poirot Jr

2009-09-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ah long story short...I met with the police this morning. First time beside a couple speeding tickets..but this time it was a REAL detective. So impressive! Anyway the story is someone tried to do a huge scam on me pretending to order 700$ worth of MK products and to pay sending me $2400 in which I have to wire to remaining to a bank account in England and bla bla bla (it's really condensed because it took 5 days of back and forth emailing). I had to call the police though because I did get the money order and I don't really wanna keep criminals' money if you know what I mean esp when they have my address and phone number off my Mary Kay website. Police can't do nothing about it because it is an International scam and the FBI won't do nothing about it because it's not $50 000. But it was fun to have a little adventure with the danger side and not become a victim of a huge scam where they steal all your money and on top of that the bank is taking you to court. Good thing I have read all the Agatha Christie's! I did send an email to our dear Mystery Client telling her that I had given her money to my financial advisor Mr Robinson (the Detective) and that if she had any question she could call him! Funny I did not get a response!?!

Gotta be Monday

2009-09-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

I know for Scott it's the best becauseeeee IT's FOOTBALL! but I have to say I really really disliked Mondays. I just want it to be Friday again as fast as possible. It's bad huh?

Well we still packing-unpacking making a lot of messes but hopefully at the end of the week we should be fine! : )

I'll post pictures soon... promise

Things I like about my day so far:

2009-09-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Nice cool weather with gorgeous blue sky

It’s Thursday which mean that tomorrow night is PSYCH! I know I’m addicted.

No more appointment for the day! I can catch up with those applications now! And no boss around: party time!

I’m almost done organizing the storage room of our new place. That’s half the battle.

Loved reading all the blogs and emails and comments etc… I shed a few tears but don’t tell anyone.

I finally get to do some laundry tonight. Yes I am actually excited about that and Scott too because I think he is out of pants and shorts! Poor guy! I do have the best hubby in the world.

We’re getting a new mattress on Saturday and even though we are not moving in for real until the end of the month (gas gets turned on only on the 28th to save money while we still can live at our other place for free), I am still gonna take a nap on Sunday on it and feel the joy of life.

I’m just glad to be alive!

I just feel the urge...

2009-09-09T15:04:00.001-07:00

I have to say I have amazing friends. Yep I’m talking about most of you guys who actually read my blog (sorry random visitors from Thailand, Holland and other beautiful countries…I love to come visit you though! Let’s become friends!).

I know that I am probably not as amazing of a friend to you as you are to me. I know I don’t hang out or call very often and I mostly always forget birthdays and other important things I ought to remember. But there is one sure thing is that I truly love all of you guys!

So instead of embarrassing you publicly I am going to send a quick email or a note to you.

Some days...

2009-09-09T12:46:00.001-07:00

Some days you'd better stay in bed! I have not sleptmuch the last 4 nights, my back has been killing me and I just can't seem to find a comfortable position. Scott's been sick for almost 3 days and poor guy...it has not been pretty (let's leave it at that) so he has not slept much either. Moving is taking a lot more time than I thought it would be and I am wayyyy behind. One of our kids (webelos) told me yesterday that I looked reeeeeallly bad (thanks). On top of it it's that lucky time of the month for me (tooo much info) but the worst and I mean THE WORST is this:

Kenny G's White Christmas in Hobby Lobby! I had to ask the girl when then put it up (remember las year was August) and she said: "2nd week of July".

SHOOT ME NOW!

Before-After Makeover

2009-09-08T07:42:00.001-07:00

Lucky me!!!

2009-09-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Ok you guys you know the drama with our current place and I mean I have been dying to move for over a year now. That said, I have been investigating, scrutinizing the market for a nice place to live. By nice I don't mean fancy but NO WAY I am living in an apartment complex unless I'm in a coma. But let's face it finding a nice place within my price range, no too far, not too close, not too big and not too small. Not too hot and not too cold...you get the picture. My criteria: HIGH MAINTENANCE renter! :) Scott's criteria: Does it have ESPN? I know. Life's priorities.

Anyway I probably visited over 20 places in the past 6 months and NADA. Plus we kind of made it in our ward. After 3 years we are not totally the newbies anymore! So it would be nice to stay within ward boundaries. I know I said that already...I am high maintenance. I admit it.

My sister Katia is moving in in October so now the pressure is tripled to move SOON in my perfect dream place with ESPN of course. (well I'll make that part happen). Yesterday I have been running around everywhere and frankly I am getting sick of visiting places. On top of that I was doing VT (visiting teaching) and Mary Kay and all and all and on and on. You know the song.

There is that one place in our ward boundaries that just came up for rent. So I was WAY excited to see it. I knew God knew that had to be it! Meeting 6pm. Believing in miracles 100%. Game on. So all my hopes and dreams are in this place. I see it, I question it, I think about it. And really in all truth can't live there and we won't say why. So I am all sad. believer 0%. It's like candy fat free sugar free don't taste good.

Anyway so as I went on to do my VT I follow Tracy my VT C (companion) needed to drive on her own. No big deal. (I need to call her and tell her that story) anyway I follow her and she takes a street that I don't usually take and there goes the RENT sign. So we carry on and then I go back in front of the sign once we were done with VT. I call and the owner said it's basement and 3 bedrooms. ARGH of course it could not be main floor 2 bedrooms. But I'm there so why not see it. we never know. I visit the place and I looked at the owner straight in the eye and said here's my check. I'll take it. I think he had a mini stroke when I said that. :) I'm French...it's in the blood. I'm passionate. Believer...50000%! So there you have it we're moving.

Now on the other side we have NOOOO furniture but a billion bookcases. That's ok. I'm happy.

And not to make you jealous or anything: new carpet, new paint, new bathroom, new kitchen, no tiles, new wood floors and a fire place. Did I mention the 2 rooms just for storage? Did I say I was happy?

BYU Education Week

2009-08-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

Scott really wanted to go to BYU education week so once again forget the Grand Tetons National Park and direction Provo.

We could only go Thursday and part of Friday but it was way fun. We saw a few family members and friends. It always fun to run into people you know. I did not think it had been that long since we studied there but I guess it's been a few years already and boy, I sure needed a map to find my way around campus!

Here's the classes I took:

Daniel C. Peterson

Apostasy and Restoration

* How the Ancient Church Councils Transformed the Christian Idea of God

* Mormonism and the Trinity

D. Morgan Davis Jr., Kristian S. Heal, Paul Y. Hoskisson

The Work of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU

* The Quest for Authenticity within Islam (D. Morgan Davis Jr.)

* Exploring the Manuscript Treasures of the Vatican Library (Kristian S. Heal)

Jerry A. Wilson

The Book of Moses: A Plain and Precious Part Restored

* Moses 3: The Story of the Creation of Adam and Eve

Steven A. Tersigni

Obesity, a Modern-Day Pandemic

* It Does Matter What You Eat

Gracia N. Jones

Celebrating the Dawn—A Descendant of the Prophet Joseph Smith Rejoices in the Restoration of All Things in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times

* Emma’s Garden: A Story of Sorrow and Devotion

Scott L. Anderson

Listen to a Prophet’s Voice

* A Perfect Brightness of Hope

It was way cool and super interesting. My favorite was by far the Maxwell institute serie and Gracia Jones who is a convert and happen to be the only direct great grand child of Joseph and Emma Smith. It was way inspiring to listen to hear.

Afterward, we went to eat our sandwich at Sundance but it was way packed because of the play so we decided to take the Alpine Loop which I never took before and it was just plain gorgeous. I did not want to leave but it was getting dark...anyway one more thing on my to explore list!

Sunday Dinner

2009-08-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

One of our goals is to try to make a new dish every week. this week I found some interesting food at the Farmer's market:

Purple Potatoes

Super Sweet Carrots

So I decided to make:

And we also tried to make our first creme brulee. It was way harder than I thought but Scott REALLY enjoyed the blow torch and was always saying: more sugar, more sugar!

Marry Right and Live Right

2009-08-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

"How shortsighted so many of us are, how prone to look only at today without thought for the morrow. But the morrow will surely come, as will also come death and separation. How sweet is the assurance, how comforting is the peace that come from the knowledge that if we marry right and live right, our relationship will continue, notwithstanding the certainty of death and the passage of time. Men may write love songs and sing them. They may yearn and hope and dream. But all of this will be only a romantic longing unless there is an exercise of authority that transcends the powers of time and death."

Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Marriage That Endures,” Ensign, Jul 2003, 2–7

Painful Loss

2009-08-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I learned that one of my friend’s husband passed away. He had been battling with cancer for a while but I just thought everything would work out. He was young and had good life habits. They were the cutest couple and have a young boy. I guess it hit me harder than I thought. First, he was so young. I relate to them. She is French, he is American. They married later in life and we just got along so well. She was in my ward for the longest time and we even worked together which in France is very rare. We had not seen each other for a while since they live in France and we don’t, but you know internet does wonders. I went home thinking: she is so young, she is so young to go through that, to raise her little boy on her own. Interestingly enough I am not sad for him because I know he lived a good life and he is in a good place but I just ache for my friend and her young boy. I realized that I am not scared of death per say but I have the biggest fear of suffering, physical and emotional. I came home and I hugged Scott a little longer and thanked Heavenly Father that I could come home to a loving and healthy husband. I can’t imagine my life without him. I know that families can be eternal. I can’t conceive life any other way. It makes me think about my own family. If I only had one day left what would I do?

I was reading a new blog yesterday about marriage and the first post was “affair proofing your marriage”. She mentioned the latest politician’s affairs and all the emails and letters they would exchange with their lover. She said if only all those efforts and communication could have been oriented on strengthening their marriage. I thought when was the last time I wrote a love letter to Scott or a long email just to let him know I love him. Scott and I are in love there’re no doubt in our minds that we are, we’re best friends. We’ve gone through a lot together. I am sure that everyone feels the same in a way but after hearing about my friend’s loss, I made my goal to make sure at 200% that Scott knows he is loved. When we made the decision to get married I made the personal goal to say I love you everyday and I kept that promise (ok ok I missed a couple days). But yet it does not seem enough. I show him my love in ways that I can relate to. I know how he would like to be loved but I don’t always relate to those ways. Shay (my sis-in-law) was talking to me about the love languages. It put a re-focus in my life especially after yesterday. It is time to make my awesome marriage even more awesome and meaningful. It is time to build our eternal marriage to make sure that if anything happens to one of us, we will have the desire to move forward with a purpose, to make our life meaningful that we can return to and be worthy of each other.

If you have any ideas and advice, please feel free to share them.

sooooo romantic

2009-08-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

So we learned that tonight (wednesday) it's meteorite shower night. I just really really want to see it. Anyway so after running yesterday with Scott (10:00pm) we decided to drive up the canyon and see if we could see something. Let me just tell you how gorgeous the sky was. So many stars. I love stars, I could stare at them forever. Then we saw a lot and I mean a lot of shootings stars and I thought that was it. Shootings stars equals meteorites, right? NO WAY JOSE! NO We saw two meteorites that were just like the movie, a ball a fire coming down to earth. They were so big and bright and yellow! That was awesome! A true amazing experience. Then Scott looked at me with a smile and said: I have something for you! He pulled his Ipod and started playing Yellow from Coldplay. you know? "look at the stars, look how they shine for you...." Ahhhhh so romantic! What a night! then on the way home, he said: " you're going to blog about this, aren't you?" YEP! So we are returning tonight... for the official shower night! Can't wait!

How well do you know me?

2009-08-11T12:12:00.001-07:00

I would die for:

a/ Chocolate cake
b/ Tapioca pudding (my mom’s recipe)
c/ Crepes
d/ Cookies

My favorite animal is

a/ lion
b/ cat
c/ mouse
d/ penguins

What I like about my job:

a/ My office
b/ making reports
c/ my business card
d/ days off

I could wear this all year:

a/ flip flops
b/ pants
c/ hat
d/ shorts

I love:

a/ cooking
b/ cleaning
c/ singing
d/ sleeping

perfect week-end

2009-08-10T10:49:00.001-07:00

I love a good week-end! Who wouldn't? I just love spending time discovering the beaten paths. we picked raspberries with Shay (my sis-in law) and it was just plain fun. It reminded me of my childhood. And who would not love to gorge themselves with freshly picked raspberries.

Of course I had to go on a 4-wheeler with Ty and Scott. Boy, I laughed so hard! It was a good workout for my abs. And I had to brush my teeth a couple times because I swallowed a lot of dust laughing with my mouth wide open! Totally worth it!

Of course there's spending time with our full of energy nieces and nephews. They are just so hilarious. They tease so much. We love it because we love teasing too.

Here's a good example. Tyson my nephew is 3 (right?). We were coming back from Church and i pointed to him my car parked in front of his house.

Here's my car and my house! I said

No it's my house! he replied

Oh but there's my car so it should be my house!

It's not your car. It's your daddy's car, it's Scott's car.

Scott is my daddy?

He smiled. No it's your friend!

Scott's my friend. are you sure?

He thought about it for a second. Then he added: No you're in love!

You should know:

2009-08-10T10:29:00.001-07:00

- I hate pickles but I love cucumbers

- When I was 9, I was a member of the Barbie Club

- I barely type 45 wpm

- My favorite class (beside art) in College was English 404

- I faint easily when I see blood or just hear about it

- I love good seafood

- I ran to school on my first day (2 years old) and did not say bye to my mom.

- I skipped class a few times in college (for no good reason beside the clear blue sky)

- I hate folding my clothes. It has to be on a hanger. (which explains why Scott’s clothes have to be folded, what an amazing husband I have)

- My favorite date is going on a walk

- I wanted to be a pianist but ended up an artist

- I always order wheat bread for my sandwich

- When I was 6, I burned my parents’ carpet

- I am very clumsy and burn myself very often (do you see a theme there...pyro?)

- I hate sleeping with socks on

- Can’t stand people chewing gums with their mouth open.

All right All right

2009-08-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

I know I know I don't update my American Dream Blog as often as I should. I am kind of ashamed of it. (no not really)

So what's going on with us? Well we are a happy bunch! We've been enjoying some time off with family, visiting places and enjoying nature. (Vague as can be!)

But in order to keep the fire alive, I wanted to do a little poll on what is dear to me: ART. For those of you who don't know this yet, I actually studied art for 9 years. Yep that's right. I am one of those crazy artists. Being from Paris, I got a lot of exposure to a lot of different styles, artists and ahhhh museums (I miss you Musee D'Orsay). Anyway, I thought it would be kind of fun to talk about art in Utah. So I did a little bit a research on artists (all of whom are alive) in Utah that I actually like and I want to know what you think. Let's be honest there is no Monet or Da Vinci talent here (sorry, we're in Utah) however in the midst of Cowboy's paintings there are a few artists that I truly enjoy.

So here's my first little serie of: Like or not?

Erin Westenskow Berrett

http://www.ewbpaintings.com/

New Complete Book of Breads

Cake Wreck!

2009-07-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

If you're not an avid follower yet! What are you waiting for???

Cake Wreck : http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

So here's my own cakewreck from Wally-World in Logan:

So what is it?, you're thinking: a prison? An ocean of gravel? I'll give you a clue:

It's a Harry Potter Cupcake Cake of course!

Yummy

2009-07-31T07:35:00.001-07:00

Love coming back from our pot garden with one of these everyday!

Bored???

2009-07-30T09:47:00.001-07:00

You know when you wanna do something but yet you don’t want it to be too hard?

I am not a very patient or fine details person. It has to be quick and easy! I am a real American now! Anyway I am not very talented but I wanted to stitch a cute design but a onesie. So while we were watching the Bourne ultimatum for the 10th time I thought I’ll try this:

Yes you can definitely tell it is not a professional job! I am not the Jason Bourne of Sewing! But it was fun to do.

Secret Garden

2009-07-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

Of course I took the pictures after picking all the juicy red and yellow tomatoes! (duh! Audrey) but you get an idea:

Got it!

2009-07-27T08:41:00.001-07:00

No I did not get the swine flu! But finally I received my new Camera (Thank you Mary Kay). I am getting used to it and I still need a memory card but at least I can take some pictures!

So Scott and I we were thinking about going to Grand Tetons National PArk for the week-end but then we realized that we had to travel almost every week-end for a while so we decided to stick around instead.

For pionneer day, we went to SLC to see the cemetary. yeah I know what a weird idea. But it was actually really good and humbling to see all those graves of those early pionners. It was hard to see the kids one. They were so young. There is also a load of prophets and apostles there. I really wanted to go check out Pst Hinckley's. What was neat about his is that his stone is the same batch of the one of the conference center. I thought that was really neat! It was small and humble, just like he was.

It was super super hot. It was so hard for me. I got used to the rain and the cool weather which I dare say, I actually enjoy. Reminds me of the coast! Anyway it was really hot and I was dying.

The following day we went check out Antelope Island which we had never visited before. I know: shame on us! It was really different than what I expected but it was really neat. I was still getting used (still am I dare say) to my camera so the pictures are not the most fantastic:

And then I saw those cute little birdies! Also I have never seen so many gigantic spiders everywhere, everywhere, just everwhere. I am not scared of spiders but I had to watch where I was going.

We also went to check out the Bird Refuge in Brigham City. But we could not spend much time there so we did the small loop. I wanna go back so bad to do the big one! It was so peaceful and pretty. We saw a lot just in 15mn!

We also had to stop by the Farmers stands. Oh it's just divine. I bought soooo many apricots. I love apricots and guess what they are already all gone. I also got cherries, tiny potatoes (i don't know how they are called but they're cute), and a cantaloupe. I just want to go back though because a- it tastes like heaven. So different from store bought. b- it is wayyyy cheaper. Got to love that, right?

Then Sunday it was Fiesta at home! Scott was in the kitchen and I got:

-Black Bean soup (which I was to admit I was a bit scared about. But it was sooooo yummy)

Recipe: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=8B90D018%2DD6A0%2D4005%2DA7571E194FBECE4E

-Carne Asada tacos (with gabbage, avocado, homemade salsa with our own growned tomatoes and a special sauce)

-Madarin Mousse

I know my hubby is a genius! Let me tell you it was way better than the restaurant and way more fun! Luckily he does not cook often because oh gosh my waist line!

Thanks Nikki!

2009-07-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Blessed are the sisters with camera! That should be included in the Beatitudes!

So last week-end we went up to Idaho for my niece's baptism. Yes, it's true Kambria is 8! And it was such a sweet experience to be there for her baptism and to see the family.

I love that picture of us! Actually now that I think of it Nikki has taken the majority of our pictures (at least the one I like). Here's a career move for you Nikki!

Way way way

2009-07-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Behind! I know. It is frustrating to write without being able to show pictures. I have always liked books with pictures especially cooking books and magazines. Anyway Since I have not received my new camera yet I don't feel like writing anything because well then it is just a block of hieroglyphs and no picture!

Argh! Anyway we're doing well.... still alive... no really. :)