Got a lot of livin' to do!

Rules: Anything you have done has to be in bold and/or underlined. How much have you done?


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (High School band count?? :) )
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched an amazing lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (No fair! It was closed when I was there!)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill...hehe
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (debatable, but yes!)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (never again!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (but not as the patient)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (if you're happy and you know it?)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen (worst thanksgiving ever! haha, I was a sadly selfish teen!)
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (all of the above!)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check :(
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (a book at a time!)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (too many times...)
100. Visited Italy

Phew! I’ve gotta lot of livin’ to do!
(So of course this song came to mind- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMXDOodv4t8)

Obsession

Whenever Aaron and Max come over, dinner is inevitably followed by 2-3 hours of playing old Nintendo games. And these are some serious games! They may just be playing super dodge ball (the game that Jason got for his 10th birthday) but they are still yelling and laughing hysterically and threatening each other like their lives depend on winning! Take a look at this secret footage I got of them.

(notice that outside it goes from being day to night and yet, they are still on the couch playing the exact same game...lol)

"All at once one day it's spring..." :)

Jason and I have been craving warm, spring weather like no one's business!! During the last two weeks (whenever it has warmed up to 50+) we've taken a hike in the canyon, rode our bikes along Provo river trail, and played tennis in the evening. On St. Patty's day we got blessed with some warm weather and took a stroll to Bridal Veil Falls. Jason wasn't as convinced as I was of how warm it was outside, so he made a studly-man cape out of our picnic blanket.

The falls are still completely frozen over (seems they haven't got the memo that it's time for spring) but we made the best of it and even found some patches of green to take a picture with. Yay for spring!

(We also found a long lost Adams family relative...Cousin It! See the resemblance??)

Bane of my Existence

I'm taking calculus right now, and though it's not conceptually as difficult as other classes I've taken (such as organic chemistry or applied physics) it is soooo time consuming and so annoying that the only words that come to my mind when thinking about it are- "bane of my existence." That got me thinking..."where did that phrase come from and what the heck does it mean?" So, nerd that I am, I looked it up. Here's what google told me:

To say that something or someone is "the bane of my existence" means
that the person or thing is a constant irritant or source of misery.
As a cliche, "bane of my existence" has lost its edge to a large
degree over the years, and today is most often applied to something
that may profoundly annoy us but is certainly bearable... "Bane of my
existence" is now almost always used in a semi-jocular, "what are you
gonna do?" sense.

But "bane" was once a very serious word. The Old English "bana" meant
literally "slayer" in the sense we now use "killer" or "murderer."
Early on, the English "bane" was also used in the more general sense
of "cause of death," and by the 14th century "bane" was used in the
specialized sense of "poison," a sense which lives on in the names of
various poisonous plants such as "henbane" and "wolfbane."

From this very literal "something that kills you" usage, "bane" by the
16th century had broadened into its modern meaning of "something that
makes life unpleasant, a curse."

- So Calculus isn't poison and it certainly isn't going to "slay" me, but it is definitely a curse and I can't wait to be done with it.

(I googled the two inventors of Calculus. Turns out if was Newton and Leibniz, a drag queen and a vampire respectively. Huh, who knew?)

Wintery Walk

Jason and I took a stroll down the Provo River Trail to enjoy the 40 degree weather and sunny sky on Sunday. Winter can be such a depressing time, but we saw some pretty beautiful sights. This trail is one of the many things we'll miss about Provo!

Loverly Suprises

Jason and I really made an effort to make Valentine's day special this year. So, we decided to recreate our first Valentine's Day together from 3 years ago. While he was gone at work, I decorated the house with balloons and trails of chocolate and left notes all over the house and hid presents for him to find. Later, while I was gone at work, he cooked an amazing gourmet meal for me out of our Cuisine magazine (which is a fabulous magazine that I highly recommend to everyone). He had a dozen roses, a bottle of Martinelli's, and my present- "Mamma Mia!" waiting for me when I walked in the door later that night. To top it all off we went dancing after dinner and had a great time. I'm so grateful for my wonderful, thoughtful husband. I love you baby! :)

Here's a video clip from our first Valentine's Day together. This is Jason discovering the surprise I left in his apartment for him.


A Scrumptious "Choco-Colada" Cheesecake Jason made: (coconut, chocolate deliciousness)


Our yummy dinner complete with french bread and balsamic vinegar and oil dipping sauce. (Jason thinks of everything!)


My recreation of our first Valentine's. (The notes were a lot more profound this year!)


Here's my personal chef in action in the kitchen: (and yes, that is HIS apron)

Oh the Cheese...

Jason and I went to a dance on Valentine's day and had a really fun time. There was a live band and lots of food and people. We had a few pictures taken at the "photo" area while there. Though this picture is so cheesy I almost gag looking at it, I thought it was worth sharing to document our night.