@ contact music
It seems like everyone I know is really connecting with one of the many themes of the movie. The best thing about the movie for me is its message of making your own happiness through hard work, creativity, and a positive attitude. Anything can be the GREATEST if you make it.
Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make.
Every night I lie in bed
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make.
-a million dreams.
LOVE you, hugh! ;)
and here we go, Christmas 2017 in review
the borscht
Every year during December, our ward does a combined Sunday worship with the Catholics. I've never seen anything like this in all my years as a member of the church and I think it's just the greatest! I volunteered to make soup for the shindig afterwards. I wanted to get rid of a bunch of red cabbage, so I texted my cousin Romney for her favorite borscht recipe from Russia. It turned out lovely, with a rich red color thanks to the cabbage and beets. The recipe called for a whole chopped onion and it was the most acidic onion I had ever encountered in my entire life. I was a flooding faucet! Mascara all over my face. Giuseppe walked into the kitchen and said, "you look like a doofus!"
the sweetest gift exchange
I had the greatest night with my old roommates! We dined at Terra Mia in Provo and then chatted late into the night at Ally's apartment. We did a gift exchange and seriously, they were the most thoughtful gifts. Madi gave me a handwritten note that said, "I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck, not because he owns me. But cause he really knows me" and a little necklace with a G on it! SWEETEST gift ever. Kylie, of course, created a work of art for us that I'll have hanging up forever. Good friends are the best.
the mysterious tipper
One Friday afternoon during my lunch shift at the sushi restaurant, I waited on a particularly finicky table of 6. The old lady who paid for everyone was very demanding and I was constantly running around fulfilling her random requests. I did a really good job, got everything out quickly, removed used plates and trash from the table promptly, and I was super charming. The greatest waitress. Anyway, after they left and I picked up the checkbook from the table, I noticed she took ALL of the receipts, meaning I had no way of adjusting a tip for her bill! I was so bugged. The restaurant had been so slow that afternoon and I was relying on that table to make the shift worth it. Well anyway, I shouldn't have fretted for so long because later couple tipped us TWO hundred dollars on their little $40 tab and said "Merry Christmas!' Aren't people the NICEST?!
christmas eve
We drove up to Brigham City early on the 24th to go to church with Laura. Afterwards at her home, a doorbell ditcher came by and dropped off the last gift of an anonymous 12 Days of Christmas. Mama Hess was more irritated than gleeful over her stash of trinkets. We watched her unwrap about 8 of the presents she had shoved into the corner that had piled up from the last week. "What am I going to do with all this stuff?" We ended up walking away with a terrarium, a puzzle, and a box of things to go to DI! She did, however, love the leather key clip Giuseppe got her.
a christmas SHOCK
Giuseppe TOTALLY spoiled me on Christmas morning. I was getting a little sad to be honest, because I knew he wasn't hiding any gifts in the appartment- I had deep cleaned multiple times. I thought he might be pulling a Valentine's Day Giuseppe, which means that he doesn't get me anything. However he totally came through with things I LOVE, such as a super long, sturdy yoga mat, a new sports bra, TWO candles from Anthro, a hand cream in my favorite scent (Florence by Tocca), a new lip balm, a romper, and.... PLANE TICKETS TO ROME. I was shocked. Confused. In a large Tumi box, I had opened several gifts from him and I was ready to discard the empty box. "There's something else in there..." he said casually. I saw a Rick Steves Rome travel guide and boarding pass-looking things with the United Airlines logo but it didn't make sense. Half of me was saying, "you're going to Rome. YOU'RE GOING TO ROME." But it just seemed too unrealistic. So I had the lamest reaction, just reading the itinerary over and over saying, "what? What? WHAAAT!?" Once I finally accepted reality, I squealed and jumped and kissed and celebrated. Isn't that the BEST Christmas surprise in the world?! We leave on January 18th! I spent the rest of the day planning our trip. I just CANNOT wait!!
fun house
One evening I got together with Liz & Tate, Brett, Luke, and his girlfriend Savannah. My high school clan! We met at my parents. Brett was late, so we prepared a warm welcome for him. He gets scared super easily, so we turned off all the lights in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I played the Insidious soundtrack softly in the background and placed Suzi Kin, the mannequin head from high school we demonized, on the table to glow under the dimmed chandelier. I hid under the dining room table prepared to grab Brett's leg as he walked by. Everyone else hid in a different corner of the dark room ready to jump out at him. We texted Brett and told him we were all in the middle of a game in the basement and to just come downstairs. Unfortunately when he opened the door, the soft eery music alerted him that something was off. He stood his ground on the porch. "I am NOT coming in! I am not falling for this! I am NOT coming in!" He yelled about his refusal to come in for several minutes before Luke, pretending to come up from the basement, came to the door and told him his yelling was causing a ruckus and he didn't know where the light switches were and that Ava was just listening to some weird music. He finally convinced Brett to come inside. He bolted through the house but I still managed to pop out from under the table and hiss at him devilishly. His scream was satisfying to us all.
saying YES <3
Later that evening when Giuseppe joined us after work, we decided to pull another prank. It's our thing! I highly doubt the person that we pranked would ever read this blog, so I'll write about it comfortably here. :) A friend of ours who had long since graduated high school was working an evening shift. We found his car in the parking lot of the business and covered it in cotton balls (water freezes them on in the cold!) and a note that said something ridiculous along the lines of, "I cotton not say no to going to PROM with you!" Hahaha.
goodbye 2017
we spent new year's eve at my parent's house. Unfortunately I was sick with swollen glands and a cold and I napped for a chunk of the evening while everyone else played games. I came out in time to see everyone dancing to eighties music. Of course Giuseppe was stealing the show, I don't know where he got his moves from but he's seriously so good. I played a bunch of rounds of Skip Bo with Callie, Giuseppe, and Ava. My mom told us about the woes of Tonya Harding. And then finally it was almost midnight! We counted down from ten while watching the ball drop in Times Square and as soon as it struck midnight, Ava blasted New Year's Day from her bluetooth speaker. It was hilarious as we all ran outside hollering and banging on pots and pans with fireworks going off in the distance, and then Taylor's soft piano music echoing through the house. Love you Taylor!
TWO YEARS
I love how much we have changed over the past two years. I feel like such a different person from my 19-year-old self and honestly I couldn't be happier about that. There are so many things I want to become and I feel like I'm on the right track to becoming them. Our relationship is so much different too and that's definitely for the better. I love change.
and here we go, Christmas 2017 in review
the borscht
Every year during December, our ward does a combined Sunday worship with the Catholics. I've never seen anything like this in all my years as a member of the church and I think it's just the greatest! I volunteered to make soup for the shindig afterwards. I wanted to get rid of a bunch of red cabbage, so I texted my cousin Romney for her favorite borscht recipe from Russia. It turned out lovely, with a rich red color thanks to the cabbage and beets. The recipe called for a whole chopped onion and it was the most acidic onion I had ever encountered in my entire life. I was a flooding faucet! Mascara all over my face. Giuseppe walked into the kitchen and said, "you look like a doofus!"
During the meeting the next day, I noticed a friar in his white robes. I imagined him eating my borscht in the flimsy little foam bowls that were sure to be used and spilling it all over himself! What a nightmare. Later, as the shindig was winding down, he came over and sat by us! And what do you know, he had a flimsy bowl full of bright red borscht! Turns out he's Polish and borscht is a traditional Christmas dish in his culture. He was delighted to see it at the party! He loved my borscht, he told me he wouldn't change a thing about the recipe. I was really pleased with how I creatively asked, "So, what would you do differently?" to figure out if it was good or not. Luckily he ate it successfully and we all became great friends.
the sweetest gift exchange
I had the greatest night with my old roommates! We dined at Terra Mia in Provo and then chatted late into the night at Ally's apartment. We did a gift exchange and seriously, they were the most thoughtful gifts. Madi gave me a handwritten note that said, "I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck, not because he owns me. But cause he really knows me" and a little necklace with a G on it! SWEETEST gift ever. Kylie, of course, created a work of art for us that I'll have hanging up forever. Good friends are the best.
the mysterious tipper
One Friday afternoon during my lunch shift at the sushi restaurant, I waited on a particularly finicky table of 6. The old lady who paid for everyone was very demanding and I was constantly running around fulfilling her random requests. I did a really good job, got everything out quickly, removed used plates and trash from the table promptly, and I was super charming. The greatest waitress. Anyway, after they left and I picked up the checkbook from the table, I noticed she took ALL of the receipts, meaning I had no way of adjusting a tip for her bill! I was so bugged. The restaurant had been so slow that afternoon and I was relying on that table to make the shift worth it. Well anyway, I shouldn't have fretted for so long because later couple tipped us TWO hundred dollars on their little $40 tab and said "Merry Christmas!' Aren't people the NICEST?!
christmas eve
We drove up to Brigham City early on the 24th to go to church with Laura. Afterwards at her home, a doorbell ditcher came by and dropped off the last gift of an anonymous 12 Days of Christmas. Mama Hess was more irritated than gleeful over her stash of trinkets. We watched her unwrap about 8 of the presents she had shoved into the corner that had piled up from the last week. "What am I going to do with all this stuff?" We ended up walking away with a terrarium, a puzzle, and a box of things to go to DI! She did, however, love the leather key clip Giuseppe got her.
a christmas SHOCK
Giuseppe TOTALLY spoiled me on Christmas morning. I was getting a little sad to be honest, because I knew he wasn't hiding any gifts in the appartment- I had deep cleaned multiple times. I thought he might be pulling a Valentine's Day Giuseppe, which means that he doesn't get me anything. However he totally came through with things I LOVE, such as a super long, sturdy yoga mat, a new sports bra, TWO candles from Anthro, a hand cream in my favorite scent (Florence by Tocca), a new lip balm, a romper, and.... PLANE TICKETS TO ROME. I was shocked. Confused. In a large Tumi box, I had opened several gifts from him and I was ready to discard the empty box. "There's something else in there..." he said casually. I saw a Rick Steves Rome travel guide and boarding pass-looking things with the United Airlines logo but it didn't make sense. Half of me was saying, "you're going to Rome. YOU'RE GOING TO ROME." But it just seemed too unrealistic. So I had the lamest reaction, just reading the itinerary over and over saying, "what? What? WHAAAT!?" Once I finally accepted reality, I squealed and jumped and kissed and celebrated. Isn't that the BEST Christmas surprise in the world?! We leave on January 18th! I spent the rest of the day planning our trip. I just CANNOT wait!!
fun house
One evening I got together with Liz & Tate, Brett, Luke, and his girlfriend Savannah. My high school clan! We met at my parents. Brett was late, so we prepared a warm welcome for him. He gets scared super easily, so we turned off all the lights in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I played the Insidious soundtrack softly in the background and placed Suzi Kin, the mannequin head from high school we demonized, on the table to glow under the dimmed chandelier. I hid under the dining room table prepared to grab Brett's leg as he walked by. Everyone else hid in a different corner of the dark room ready to jump out at him. We texted Brett and told him we were all in the middle of a game in the basement and to just come downstairs. Unfortunately when he opened the door, the soft eery music alerted him that something was off. He stood his ground on the porch. "I am NOT coming in! I am not falling for this! I am NOT coming in!" He yelled about his refusal to come in for several minutes before Luke, pretending to come up from the basement, came to the door and told him his yelling was causing a ruckus and he didn't know where the light switches were and that Ava was just listening to some weird music. He finally convinced Brett to come inside. He bolted through the house but I still managed to pop out from under the table and hiss at him devilishly. His scream was satisfying to us all.
saying YES <3
Later that evening when Giuseppe joined us after work, we decided to pull another prank. It's our thing! I highly doubt the person that we pranked would ever read this blog, so I'll write about it comfortably here. :) A friend of ours who had long since graduated high school was working an evening shift. We found his car in the parking lot of the business and covered it in cotton balls (water freezes them on in the cold!) and a note that said something ridiculous along the lines of, "I cotton not say no to going to PROM with you!" Hahaha.
goodbye 2017
we spent new year's eve at my parent's house. Unfortunately I was sick with swollen glands and a cold and I napped for a chunk of the evening while everyone else played games. I came out in time to see everyone dancing to eighties music. Of course Giuseppe was stealing the show, I don't know where he got his moves from but he's seriously so good. I played a bunch of rounds of Skip Bo with Callie, Giuseppe, and Ava. My mom told us about the woes of Tonya Harding. And then finally it was almost midnight! We counted down from ten while watching the ball drop in Times Square and as soon as it struck midnight, Ava blasted New Year's Day from her bluetooth speaker. It was hilarious as we all ran outside hollering and banging on pots and pans with fireworks going off in the distance, and then Taylor's soft piano music echoing through the house. Love you Taylor!
TWO YEARS
I love how much we have changed over the past two years. I feel like such a different person from my 19-year-old self and honestly I couldn't be happier about that. There are so many things I want to become and I feel like I'm on the right track to becoming them. Our relationship is so much different too and that's definitely for the better. I love change.
We celebrated our second wedding anniversary with handwritten letters, dinner, window shopping, and a movie. It was a perfect day, and the perfect end to a perfect Christmas break!
...this is where you wanna be
