Minnesota Pachecos

Finally!! The pictures you wanted to see....

2010-12-13T14:22:00.000-06:00

Well I wasn't going to post any pictures until everything is done.... but what I've realized now as a homeowner is it will NEVER be completed since there is always a project to do.... So without futher ado.... Our new house! But first... some pictures of the snowstorm we got this weekend!!

Pretty intense huh? 2 feet of snow in 24 hours :) Gotta love Minnesota!

Ok now keep in mind that our camera isn't taking the best pictures and the house isn't entirely clean... but hey beggars can't be choosers right?

Let's start with the master bedroom:
It used to look like this-

Ugggh!!! Pink Carpet!! Wallpaper? Glued on mirrors and shelves?!
Now-

We painted the accent wall red with tan other walls, put new carpeting in (bedroom and walk in closet)... As of right now we haven't done anything to the bathroom other than a shower curtain, showerhead and paint it.... but its functional :) Much better than the pink (at least that's what Dave says)

Ok remember the 2nd bedroom? That ugly paint job and carpeting?

Now it's Dave's office and we may put a twin bed in there as a guest bedroom (but we haven't yet)

Let's show you the third bedroom while we are with the theme of bedrooms:

I don't have a before picture of this one.... but just imagine bad :) Honestly since it is just us and Maggie we don't really use this room for anything.... We may turn it into Maggie's room to let her roam more when we are gone during the day... but only when she gets older. Speaking of which, we got a new puppy!! Her name is Maggie (also known as Moo, Sharptooth, McMoomerson, etc)

Here are some pictures of her. She really is a great puppy....lots of energy and she keeps us on our toes :)

Alright lets show you the basement:
We have some great crawlspace and storage space for food storage (that we are going to start soon) We think the previous owners used the crawlspace as a play area for their kids since they carpeted it and there are cable lines for a TV.... we don't use it for anything right now.... But it was a cool find when we found it (we bought the house BEFORE knowing it was there!) For me it's not really a crawlspace... more like a kneelspace.... which makes it pretty neat!

Ok here are some pictures of our stairs and the basement:

The before

Now after... the wall that the TV is against used to be halfway open, but we closed it off so it really feels like a seperate space.... This is looking towards the TV from the sofa on the other wall

Stairs leading to the basement

Stairs leading to the upstairs (technically our house is considered a split level, but it doesn't feel as much like a split level since it doesn't split in the immediate entryway of the home)

So we did some renovations on the other bathroom of the home (new vanity, toilet, tile, paint, showerhead, etc) It still isn't finished as I had to patch the wall where we ripped out the old vanity and repaint where it needs it.... but it's coming along!

The new tile (you can also see the carpeting that we placed throughout the entire house in this picture)

Ok, now where most of the work went- The main floor

Here is a picture of the entryway (I don't have an old picture for this one):

There is new paint and new tile in the entryway

Ok this was the old view of the living room from the entryway:

Now (we painted, put hardwood floors in):

Old view from the stairs of the main floor:

Now:

This is a picture of how there was no seperation between upstairs and downstairs because of the weird half wall banister.

Now: We closed the wall off (same wall that the downstairs TV is on, just the other side and put in a nice buffet with granite and extra storage space) We also put in a new light fixture and now have our dining room!

Last, but certainly not least.... the Kitchen. Oh was this a bad kitchen before.... I almost didn't get this house because of the kitchen... so here is the before:

Now- we took out the cabinets that jutted out into the kitchen and rearraged some cabinets so that the kitchen would feel larger. We replaced the countertops with granite and got a stainless steel sink. We also got new appliances (we still haven't hung our over the stove mircowave yet to give us more counterspace, but we will do that soon) and put in hardwood floors here as well.

I didn't take the picture very well, but basically there is a row of cabinets and granite and the sink and dishwasher on the left (you can see it in the other picture) Taking our that set of cupbords that jutted out gives us so much more room in the kitchen....I also attached an up close picture of the kind of granite so you could get the details:

Well that is about it from the new place. Just now finally getting things settled... but the next task is decorating (something I am horrible at) So much thanks goes to my family for all their hard work at helping us overhaul everything!!! We love you!!

Moving.... Moving.... Moving

2010-08-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

Well the biggest news in our life right now is that we are moving!! We are in the process of buying a house (which I have concluded is not my favorite thing in the world). We looked at many houses, but ultimately decided on one in the 'burbs that needs a little love to really shine. We love the area. We are going to now live in Oakdale, Minnesota. One of the great parts of this move is we will now live in the same city as the Minnesota temple! I feel like I'm back in Utah! So now there won't be any excuses for Dave and I....

Moving from a studio apartment to a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house is going to be pretty interesting. We close next week but do not need to be out of our apartment until the last day of September. This give us time to go in and do some MUCH needed painting and replacing of flooring. There are such great deals going on right now that we think we are going to give the main level and kitchen some hardwood floors, and recarpet the rest of the house. We are also going to take out a couple of cabinets and turn them into an island for the kitchen with some granite and new appliances.... We have about a month to do it.... And I think we'll be able to.

Some things I love about this new house:
~It's not a studio apartment
~It's got a nice big backyard with some great trees
~Three (yes, 3) car garage
~Walk in closet in the master bedroom
~It's a single family home (not a townhome or condo)
~Bathroom right off the master bedroom (no more walking down the hall to use the bathroom!)

Here are some "before" pictures just to give you an idea of the work we have cut out for us... Once we finish and settle in, we'll post some "after" pictures... Count on those in November or so.....

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Ok.... so we aren't living at the temple... but it's pretty much our new neighbor :)

So as you can see, we have some work to do... But a little sweat equity I think will go a long way.... There were other houses just like ours with the sweat equity already done asking for a lot more... But I figure this way I get to redo things how WE want them.... not someone else :)

The Pig Saga Continues!!

2010-04-26T20:41:00.001-05:00

So after bringing Chubbs home we read up on Guinea Pigs (because lets be honest... he was pretty dang cute but we didn't know much about him) So we realized when we got home that Guinea Pigs actually live longer, happier lives if they have a companion...... So we are now a family of four!! Meet Spartacus (Spartie for short) We actually adopted him since a family did not want him... He's just a baby (only about 2 months old) so Chubbs is about twice his size! He is feisty though and super cute. They are two happy piggies!! At first when we brought Spartacus home we thought that Spartacus was a girl since Chubbs kept jumping on him, but we figured out it was just Chubbs making sure Spartie knew who the boss was. They get along just fine now. We love having them!!

Meet The Newest Member of the Pachecos

2010-04-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Today Dave and I got our first pet! His name is Chubbs and he is a Guinea Pig. Pretty cute huh? He already loves his new home and this handsome devil is a happy pig. So far he has gone on a car ride, checked out his new home, and lounged around with Dave... I'm sure there will be more pictures to come!

Working with the Youth and Our First Anniversary

2009-12-23T05:25:00.000-06:00

Dave and I recently got new callings in our ward. Dave is the 1st counselor in the Young Men's presidency (working with the teachers) and I am the 2nd counselor in the Young Women's presidency (working with the beehives). When we first got the callings, I was pretty shocked. I have to admit that I began the calling with some doubts as to how I could really help these girls. However, I have to say that this calling is BY FAR the best calling I have had in my life so far (ok... being a missionary was probably first.... but you get what I mean!) It is a lot of work (lots of phone calls, rides, activities to plan, meetings to attend) but really a blast so far (now don't quote me on that this summer when I am sweating my brains out in a tent!)

Partly due to these new callings, and partly due to the very cold snowy weather that has set in, Dave and I caved in and bought a new car (ok, it's not new... but new to us!) At first I thought it would be a pretty big process since Dave wanted a "boy" car and I typically do not like cars that are geared towards men. However we went car shopping with my parents and my Dad pointed out a very well taken care of 2001 Ford Explorer. We both thought it was a good buy for the price and that night we went home with the first car we've bought together. We are actually going to pay for it through payments, only to establish credit. We have very good credit, but only through credit cards (neither of us have student loans) and we wanted to establish greater credit just in case we ever want to make a big purchase someday.

Our very first anniversary was on Sunday. Since it landed on a Sunday we did most of our celebrating on Saturday (although we did go over to my parent's place on Sunday and they had a cake for us). We went out to one of my favorite restaurants in the world! Snuffy's! It's only in the Twin Cities and there are only 4 of them. They are really old Malt Shops. Just with your typical burgers and fries and old style shakes. Boy is it good. I didn't realize we lived so close to one now, so Dave and I went and he had his first Snuffy's experience (It was always a really big deal to go when I was younger, and a special treat) We also saw a movie that my co-worker reccommended, Precious. Honestly, I can appreciate why she reccommended it, but I did not like it... Definately not a "feel-good" movie. Then Dave and I exchanged Anniversary/Christmas gifts.... I know I know, its not Christmas yet. However, Dave and I are very practical people, and it's just silly to spend money on two different gifts 5 days apart, so I think this will be our tradition the rest of our lives... combining Christmas and Anniversary gifts. I got a cookbook that I wanted from Dave and also new garment! Woohoo! Oh and since my computer crashed and had to get a new hard drive, I needed the new Windows 7 to install on my computer, so he got me that as well. I got Dave a radar detector. I swear, he was like a kid in the candy shop! He has never had one (since they are illegal in Virginia) but in Minnesota they are legal, and since Dave has been so good about his driving for the past year, I caved and got him one. He LOVED it.... When Dave REALLY loves something he goes into what I call "little kid" mode... he acts like a little kid, he gets this little grin and looks like he did in his childhood pictures... Anyway, he immediately opened it and asked for permission to go "try it out" I laughed and out the door he went.... I waited for him for a while, but little did I know he was joy riding around the city with his new toy.... Ahhhh boys.... So I went to sleep :) hehehehe I am just glad he liked it so much. A new toy to go with his new car. Don't worry about him starting to speed or start driving recklessly.... If he starts that again, the toy is gone... Those are the rules :)

So that is just a little update about us... sorry I have not had a chance to write... But like I said, it has just been very busy lately! We are excited for Christmas and hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

A night at BodyWorks

2009-11-07T08:19:00.000-06:00

So Dave and I met my brother Mark and his wife Danielle at the Mall of America to see their new exhibit "Body Works". Strange date night, I know, but ever since they have been advertising it, I've wanted to go see it. Basically they have preserved corpses and disected them to show the different parts of the body. There was much to learn. They showed what different organs do and gave lots of interesting facts (For example: Did you know that women have more tastebuds than men? Maybe that's why most guys will eat anything....) The picture in this blogpost is an example of the type of things we saw in the exhibit. All in all I really enjoyed myself. At times I had to tell myself that it was just a body... and to not freak out. After this exhibit though I became very grateful for this gift we have been given: our bodies! What an amazing piece of machinery!

Some sneak peeks...

2009-10-07T16:26:00.000-05:00

Well we finally moved in.... and since I do not start my new job for another week and a half I have been unpacking lots of boxes and trying to get everything in its place. (Sorry about the glare on the first picture.. It's a sign that my sister KJ made for us in her ceramics class... if you can't tell it says "The Pachecos") Now... don't you worry.... every big event in our married life so far has stories behind it and this move was no different..... When we moved in it was POURING rain.... there were lulls here and there, which is when we were able to unpack the cars. My parents and I did the first two loads. Dave took work off early to help with the third load, and the last few loads were handled by my parents and Dave. It was a crazy day and we were sooooo tired. Our brand new bed (King size of course... Dave didn't want it any other way) was so inviting and at around 9pm we turned in. Around 9:30 I got hot and put my leg outside the covers. A couple seconds later I felt water hit my leg. It was then I realized that our ceiling was dripping water. We got out of bed and called the emergency maintenance guy. He was there until a little after midnight but wasn't able to fix the leak.. So for the next few days we had bowls catching the dripping water. Eventually it got fixed, but here are some pictures of the damage!

And

Here are some pictures of our new apartment... It is brand new and has never been lived in, so it is pretty nice :) Other than the leak we haven't had any problems and love living here! It's great to finally have a place to call home.

This is our kitchen... sorry about the glare, there was something on the camera lens. There is an island in the middle of the kitchen with storage. We bought the black storage cabinet for more food storage space.

A better view of our kitchen!

My piano! Ok... so it's not a REAL piano... just a small digital one.... but I love it and it has its own space :)

This space is lovingly called "Dave's Den" It's actually just a large second closet that was big enough to put a desk in. When I took this picture we hadn't set the computer up yet, but now Dave can have a small space all to himself to do homework :) I also store things I don't use all the time in here as well.

Our new kitchen table. When this move came, I became really obsessed with finding good deals on already used stuff (like craigslist.org) I found this table and 4 chairs on there for only $100! They are practically brand new... the girl who previously owned them was moving and didn't want the hassle of moving them with her! Just one chair would have been that much at a store (since it is real wood) I also found our swivling bar stools and the desk and chair for Dave's Den and our couch on craigslist. I also took and old beat up dresser, nightstand, and bookshelf from my parents place and sanded and painted the first two black and spruced up the third with cool fabric boxes to make them look nice again. It's been fun, and I've saved us a lot of money in the process!

Our shower

Our Vanity. Off to the left in this picture is more storage.

Our walk-in closet. I gave Dave the dresser that I fixed up (can't tell that my little brother carved a cartoon of little men fighting in it, can you? hehehe) and I have plastic bins for my stuff. It is plenty big!

Our utility closet. We keep our cleaning stuff and tools in here. Since we are the only apartment in our whole complex with central heat and air (since it's new) we also get a utility closet for the furnace!

We have two huge windows in our living area... this is the view from one... the other is pretty similar so we are pretty secluded (since on the other side of the trees is a lake) which is nice.

Our new bed... We decided against getting a new bedset and instead used the money for other things like a couch, table, etc. For now, this will do (but I did make Dave promise to get me a nice headboard someday :)

Again, sorry about the white smudge on the picture (must have been on the lens) but this is our new couch (well.. new to us!) Our apartment IS a studio apartment.. and even though it is quite big, there is no real separation between the living room and bedroom.... But we don't mind.... We aren't exactly part animals and don't host parties.... so it's just us and it suits us just fine.

Another view of the main area

This last picture is basically taken from the couch... We just put the TV on the nightstand that I revamped.....

That is our new home. Sorry it's a little messy in some of the pictures... but we are still settling in! If you are ever in Little Canada, Minnesota, feel free to stop by!!

It's official

2009-09-23T13:13:00.000-05:00

My background check went through with flying colors... so I am now set to start my new job at Wells Fargo on October 19th! Dave and I were also approved for our new apartment! We sign the lease on Saturday and move in October 1st..... So lots of changes in the next few weeks.... Plus, Dave is working on school everyday.... It will be great to finally be in our own place and get settled :) New city, new job, new apartment, new school for Dave, new ward.... new new new! Should be fun to start a new adventure! It will be great to carpool everyday to work together. We were thinking about getting a new car, but for the time being, we don't need a second car (which is great! Less expenses!)

Home Sweet Home!

2009-09-21T17:24:00.001-05:00

Well, Dave and I went on an adventure on Saturday to look for apartments. I got a job offer from Wells Fargo working in the collection department, helping people restructure their spending habits and payment plans. So basically, just helping people to be wiser with their money! I am really excited about it. Just waiting for all the paperwork to go through and to receive the final offer..... which I should hear by the end of the week! It's at the same Wells Fargo campus that Dave works at right now, so we decided that it is time to move closer to work and out of my parents (woohoo! Not that we don't love them, but we are just excited to finally get a place of our own)

So I researched some of the towns in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I wanted to be closer to our work, a Gold's Gym, closer to the temple, and relatively close to a chapel. The city of Little Canada stuck out and I made a few appointments to tour apartment complexes on Saturday. We liked the first one we visited, however it was the second one we were sold on. It's called Cedars Lakeside. We looked at 4 different layouts of apartments and we ended up liking one of their studio apartments. It's around 600 sq feet (PLENTY big for us), has an island in the kitchen, a walk-in closet, it is brand new (they converted a large community room into this apartment) so new appliances, carpet, tile, EVERYTHING!! It has central heat and air, all utilities except for cable and internet are included (BIG plus in our opinion), and we have underground heated parking for our car for those cold Minnesota winters! It has a brand new community room (we might host Thanksgiving there for our family in November), brand new work out room (if we decide we want to stay close and not go to Gold's that day), and an outdoor pool for use in the summer. All in all, it's a great deal, and something we just didn't want to pass up. We sign the lease later this week and move in October 1st!!! Once we get in and get settled I'll take some pictures and show you what it looks like!

Giving the Blog a new look

2009-09-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note about the new look. I decided I was tired of the old look and revamped our blog! And even though it is pink.... Dave said he likes it! (I think pink is his secret favorite color... He denies it.... But I know the truth!) Hehehehehe! Anyway, enjoy! Lots of new changes in the works for Dave and I, so I'm sure I'll have lots of fun stuff to post in the next little while!

Family.... Isn't it about... time?

2009-09-15T09:15:00.000-05:00

Well lately while Dave has been doing his homework, I have gotten on a kick of doing Family History research and indexing. Every week we've been taking names that I've found to do their work for them. However, it seems now that I find more names than I can take to the temple!! So much work to be done!! I love it though. It's my new (righteous) addiction :) I've found names on my mom's side and also on Dave's mother's side. It's really great that I've finally caught the family history bug :) I've learned a lot about our families histories. There are some great stories on both sides. I even found out that some of my mother's ancestors came from Denmark... I had no idea (and neither did she) that I was a tiny part Danish!

I have also been doing some indexing. The Church has asked us to start digitizing records. They have some pretty lofty goals and I thought I could help out. Our ward alone wants the members to index 50,000 names by the end of the year! My personal goal is 1,000. I'm a 1/4 the way there. Right now I've been indexing the 1920 Wisconsin Census data. I always hope that I might run into my ancestors on there (my Dad's whole side was in Wisconsin at that time) I hope they put out some romanian records someday that I could help digitze. They have lots of other languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, etc.) but I'm not brave enough to do those yet!!

I am just so grateful I found a new hobby and that I won't be a distraction for Dave so he can do his homework :) My testimony of family history work and temple work has been strengthened a great deal in the past few weeks, and being able to go with Dave to the temple every week has really strengthened our relationship. Just great things all around!! If you have some time, I'd encourage you to try it! Let me know if you want any help getting started (I've already taught my mom and my sister!)

Imaginiff Victory for the Pachecos!

2009-09-09T15:45:00.000-05:00

So for Family Home Evening this week, we played this new game called Imaginiff. It was really quite fun. It's a game that basically has you imagine that the people you were playing against were certain things, which would they be. Example: "Imaginiff Dave were a color.... What color would he be? 1.Teal 2.Pink 3.Brown 4.Yellow 5.White 6.Burgundy And the object is to guess the same thing everyone else guesses. Everyone shows their guess and the majority wins. Guess right and you get a point. Well... there is this part where you can challenge someone.... If you challenge them and both of you pick the same answer, you go up two spaces.... If you pick different answers, you go back four. So right as I was about to get to the end, it was Dave's turn and he challenged me!! So the question was suppose to be about me. The question was: Imaginiff Jess was an animal noise.... Which would she be? Lucky for us, the animal noise I ALWAYS make (a meow) was the first choice!! We didn't even have to read the other answers.... two points for the both of us and I reached the finish line! My Dad thought it was rigged....And I thought it was awesome! David got a big kiss after that win :)

Always Better Together

2009-09-08T18:12:00.001-05:00

Dave and I have decided to make this OUR blog instead of just my blog, so we can keep family and friends updated about our life here in Minnesota (or wherever else we end up!)

Last weekend we went to the great Minnesota get-together! Unfortunately my camera died at the fair... so I can't post any pictures of us because I could not take any :( Oh well!! The Minnesota state fair is one of the biggest state fairs in the country... and boy was that proven this year. It was a record-breaking year for the fair and over 1.8 million Minnesotans participated in the yearly ritual that is the Minnesota State Fair! We saw lots of animals, including cows, pigs, sheep, horses, and dogs. We had some good food. Dave tried the infamous "Deep Fried Twinkie" (ewww!) but he said it was good! We only we on one ride... it's called the SkyGlider. It's these bucket seats that hover over the entire fairgrounds so you can get an aerial view of everything. Dave loved it, however I am slightly afraid of heights. Dave convinced me to go and I thought I would enjoy it.... no such luck.... dangling my feet into open air 20 to 50 feet off the ground is not exactly my idea of fun. Let's just say I was a little wobbly afterwards!! hehehe

Applications

2009-08-19T09:17:00.003-05:00

Well this post is more just going to be some venting.... I HATE FILLING OUT APPLICATIONS!!!! Ok.... now that is out of my system, I feel slightly better. Seriously though, they are incredibly annoying. Same information over and over, same dumb questions (Q: "So do you feel like you are able to handle the tasks that you are applying for?" A: "Uhhh... duhh! Would I be applying if I didn't?") So that has been my life for the past few weeks. I've had a bunch of interviews, but nothing has worked out thus far. I know it will eventually (I'm sure it's just God getting me into the place I'm suppose to be) but the process is rather frustrating. Oh well :) Wish me luck!!!

Ok.... I'm turning over a new leaf...

2009-08-06T21:44:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been another year since I've written on this blog; and yes, Kristine is right, I need to be better. So now is better than never to start :) Let's see.... changes since I last wrote.... well.... if you are reading this, then you probably know me already and you know what is going on in my life. However, if you want a recap:

1. I got married to the most wonderful man in the world! So I am now Jessica Pacheco :)

2. I finished at BYU and am now in the big scary world trying to find a job in this horrible economy.... nothing like a challenge to start out "adult" life with.

3. Dave and I are the new nursery workers in our ward, and although I love kids, Nursery is the best form of birth control out there :)

4. Right now we are living with my parents while I find a job (Dave is already working) and then we can get an apartment between our jobs. Living with the family again is QUITE the experience... and actually fun for the summer.... but we are excited to get an apartment of our own soon.

5. Not only did I get married, but my brother Mark got married in June to Danielle. Dave's brother also got married in June... so I gained two sister-in-laws in June :) Also, with the marriage came NEPHEWS!!! SO COOL!!! And then in March came our first niece Josephine, followed closely by our second niece Francesca, in July. So there have been many additions to both our families!

6. Dave's brother James became Elder Pacheco in July, as he left for a 2 year mission to the Dominican Republic.

7. All in all, life is good.... and I promise I will update this weekly from now on (not that anything will be exciting... )

I'm back!!!

2008-05-09T12:07:00.003-05:00

Wow.... I'm back at BYU. A lot has happened in my life since I last posted, and really my life is completely different! I love it though. I am excited to start another new chapter.... or I guess try and CLOSE this college chapter :) Let's see... I promise I'll talk lots more about my mission later. I'm just doing this one to say hi. I got home on February 7, 2008 (It should have been the 6th... but I'll tell you THAT story later!) I spent a couple of months at home in Minnesota... babysitting dogs, going to my cousin Andy's wedding in Portland, vacationing in Arizona and Florida.... and in general just trying to get back to normal civilian life! I decided to do spring/summer classes.... because if I didn't, I won't graduate next April. I like my classes so far and they seem to be going well. I bought my first car a couple of weeks after I got back. It's a Scion xD and I love it. I'll put a picture up of one so you can see what it looks like. Mom, Dad, and I drove out to Utah since Sam was graduating. I'm so proud of her! (And it makes me look like a slacker!! hehehe Little sister graduated before me!! hehehe) Mark is now engaged to his girlfriend Danielle. I first met her when I got back from Romania.... but I love her to pieces. She's so good for my brother (keeps him in line ;) ) They are getting married on June 12th, 2009. So next summer I'll be in the first Nettesheim wedding in my family. Scary!

Updates Updates Updates!!!

2006-05-24T13:16:00.000-05:00

Well... a lot has gone on since I last post in February (February?!? Man.... I'm horrible!) I finished my last semester at BYU for the next two years. Very strange feeling that I won't be back in Utah as a student for a while. Being a student has been my whole life for the past 3 years! My really exciting news is that I recieved my mission call on May 6th.... I am going to serve for eighteen months for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the.... (drumroll please....) Romania Bucharest Mission!!!

I report to the Provo MTC on July 19th, 2006. So I have slightly less than two months to get ready (and let me tell you... I feel like it is not NEARLY enough time! hehehe) For those of you who don't know where Romania is, I will tell you. Romania is in Eastern Europe, just south of Ukraine. To the east is the Black Sea. They speak Romanian in Romania (obviously, but I have honestly been asked many times what language they speak there) The Romanian mission also includes the small country of Moldova. Everytime I think about having my call I just become overwhelmed with excitement! Although, waiting for it was torture! They do say good things come to those who wait though, don't they? It took over a month to get to Minnesota, and then I didn't get it in the mail until a Saturday afternoon!

So for the past few weeks, other than looking for mission clothes and slowly (and I mean VERY slowly) learning Romanian, I have been playing Mom. My mom had surgery, so I was in charge. I definatley have a greater respect for mothers in the past couple of weeks. There is always something to do, or clean, or something to worry about or remember. It is very different than my single college life where I really only have to worry about myself. Unfortunatley I think I grew very selfish in the past few years being at college and not having to worry about anybody other than myself. I think playing mommy has really helped get me back to my senses.

I have also been trying to brush up on my piano skills so I can at least play the basics in Romania (because who know how many people will really know how to play there for church and such) Hopefully I can get up to speed. The problem with my piano playing is that my hands are so small that it is hard for me to even play an octave. So when playing I have to kind of improvise or even leave out some notes altogether! hehehe Shhh! Don't tell anybody!

Well that's about it from here. Not much excitement, just lots of preparation until I report to the MTC!

My camping trip

2006-02-23T17:56:00.000-06:00

Well a couple of weekends ago (I know I know... I never post) I went to Arches National Park with some friends and went camping. It was way fun. We didn't get to our campsite until late Friday night. By then it was dark and cold... Speaking of cold... it was FREAKIN FREEZING on this campout... I don't think I've ever been colder! On Saturday we hiked around Arches National Park. I was the official photographer (even though I have absolutely no skills with a camera) That park is so beautiful. I loved the red rock and the snow on the surrounding mountains. It was perfect weather during the day to go camping too... a little chilly, but if you had a jacket and kept hking you were fine. Saturday night was the coldest... I thought I was going to die I was so cold... I got up at like 1 am and decided to sleep in my car I was so cold... my car was so cold inside that my water bottle froze solid... so if it was that cold inside you can imagine how cold it was for the others! They all said they were fine though... I think they are crazy! Sunday morning was pretty much heaven... I got to take a hot shower and get ready and clean for church... It was a wonderful feeling. Pure bliss :-) After we packed up camp we went to a single's branch in Moab that literally had about 5 regular people there. My group more than doubled their attendance! So anyway, that's a little about my Moab trip! Yeah for camping!

I'm a horrible, HORRIBLE person....

2006-02-06T01:45:00.000-06:00

What kind of a blogger am I that I can't even write once a week... oh man am I bad! hehehe Ok... let's see... what have I been up to lately? I went to the play Aida put on here at BYU. For BYU it was great, but it had a little too much "Utah Flair" for my taste. I went with my sister and afterwards we decided that we have been spoiled by some pretty good theater out there in Minnesota :-) My roommate Lori got engaged on Friday... that was pretty exciting. Her ring is beautiful and of COURSE she is on cloud nine. hehehe. Last night I went to see old roommates and friends from my freshman year. It's really kind of strange because all of them (literally) are married. One has a kid, another one has one on the way. All they could talk about was pregnancy and stuff like that. Needless to say I couldn't contribute much to the conversation ( read: AWKWARD) My friend Christian and his wife Whitney were much better to be around. Maybe it's because they have only been married a month so they are not completely into married people habits yet :-) Right now it really bugs me the way my old roommates acted, but I figure I shouldn't be too peeved because there is a good chance that someday I'll be like them. This upcoming weekend my friends and I are going on a camping trip to Moab (well... actually Arches National Park, but Moab is close enough) It should be great and I am way excited!!! Well... I'm getting a little tired so I'm going to call it a night!

Saturday Morning Wake Up Call

2006-01-21T12:15:00.000-06:00

Every Saturday morning, I know when it is time for me to wake up but the sound of my roommates stomping above me. Not that I mind; I actually appreciate it. Every Saturday they do their workout video in the living room. Since my bed is right below the living room, I wake up around the same time every Saturday. It's a good thing too, because I'm afraid if there wasn't any stomping I'd sleep through Saturdays :-)

Settling back in

2006-01-11T11:42:00.000-06:00

Well it is officially the third day of classes here at BYU and I feel like I am getting back into a routine rather nicely. I'm really excited about my schedule this semester. I'm taking a lot of classes that are GEs that I haven't exactly completed yet... :-) I think either my Humanities class is going to be my favorite or my Bible as Literature class. Both seem excellent, and the professors for the two are very passionate about what they teach. I love that in a teacher. I can't stand classes where the teacher doesn't know something they are suppose to teach or drawls in a monotone voice about things that aren't entertaining to begin with. Right now, my first homework assignment is Othello. I've read it before, for some high school class I took, but this time I want to take my time (I have until Tuesday) and really study it. I wish I could grasp the old stuff better than I can. That takes practice though... and I just don't have time for that in my life right now. :-( Well that is about it for now... I promise that now that I'm back in the swing of things I'll post more regularly!

After Christmas update

2005-12-26T09:43:00.000-06:00

So... it's been a while since I've written... and since I'm enjoying myself so much this is just going to be a short post. I'm in Minnesota! Woohoo! It's been great seeing my family and grandmother. This weekend I'll relearn how to ski... be prepared people of Spirit Mountain because I might severely hurt you if you aren't paying attention! he he he Yesterday my home ward had a nice Christmas program and I was able to sing in the choir. They were severely lacking in the alto section, and even though I am usually a soprano, I sang alto. My parents and some others said I helped them out a lot and that they could tell a difference (not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing... :-) This year for Christmas I got a candle and candle warmer (something I'm sure my apartment will use a lot), a digital camera, gloves and a hat (not sure if I'm going to actually wear the hat...) a new larger capacity memory stick for my GIS projects that were too big for my old one, Swedish fish, and some money. I also recieved a cute new pajama set. It's in a really pretty bright blue color... Anyway, my little sister is wanting to get on the computer to figure out how to put songs on her new iPod nano. I like my mini, but can't help feeling a little envy about that gift... hehehe Well, I'll let you know how skiing goes..

One day left until Minnesota!

2005-12-15T17:41:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to finish up everything (finals, packing, etc) so that I can head home on Saturday morning. It will be so nice to finally be home with my siblings and parents... my grandmother is also spending all of the break with my family in Minnesota. She lives in Wisconsin, so it is a special treat. It is very strange thinking that this is going to be my last Christmas with my family for two Christmases! I have to make the most of it :-) Once I'm on that plane, my stress levels will drastically drop :-) (Although I'm not really into flying. I love to travel to other places, but the plane right is the least fun part for me) Well... I'd better stop procrastinating and get my to my prep work! Next time I blog I'll be in my homeland! Woohoo!

Full vs. Wide

2005-12-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

I was watching a movie last night and it was brought to my attention that I was watching Star Wars in fullscreen (which is apparently a sin) After this little experience I've pretty much decided that it is not really an issue of wide vs. full but rather men vs. women. Let me explain... Have you ever heard a woman complain that the movie she is watching is in full screen? I haven't. Women seem content to see the whole T.V. screen filled up with the pictures. However, men (like my incident yesterday) seem to have a big problem with fullscreen. They want to see the WHOLE frame of video taken... I think this is the reason they want huge T.V.s and surround sound... so they can have the "full experience" Women however, just want to get the plot and feel good and such. Another reason why I am glad there are both men and women on this earth... so we can balance each other out...

Cooking with Jess

2005-12-05T17:30:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure how I've got this reputation... but apparently in my circle of friends I'm know as the cook. In all honestly, between my sister, my mom and I, I am the worst cook. But I guess here at college if you can actually make something like bread, pie, or a meal that doesn't come from a box, you are considered a gourmet chef :-) hehehe I think it's rather funny. For example... yesterday my ward had break the fast and the activity co-chair handed me a 10 lbs Ham and asked me to have it cooked by 4:30...
Is he nuts?! A 10 lb ham in a hour? Luckily it was already pre-cooked... but still... this ham had been sitting on his balcony for a few days... so it wasn't exactly thawed...
I just turned up the heat on the oven and high as I thought I could get without burning it poured a Sprite and some brown sugar on top and started cooking...
It turned out pretty well... although the middle was only warm... I think the basting with the warm Sprite and brown sugar helped at least the outside get hot...
I think that if everyone here is so cooking hanicapped that they should require at least one cooking class as a GE... I mean, we have to take Physical Science... why not make us take something more useful like a cooking class? :-)

Donating Blood and Volleyball

2005-12-01T18:00:00.000-06:00

Well last night my sister and I decided to go donate blood. I try and do it frequently because apparently my blood (O negative) is the stuff that can be given to anyone, regardless of their blood type or rh factor (positive or negative) It was my sister's first time going. We got through it... but it wasn't a very plesant experience. Both she and I have not been feeling the best today. However, right afterwards I was foolish enough to go to the ward co-ed volleyball game. I'm the captain so instead of playing I just captained and line judged. I started feeling lightheaded during the game since I was yelling and cheering so loud... but it didn't show its effects until I got home. I slept for a REALLY long time (almost ten hours) before I woke up this morning. I felt much better, however the moral for this story is: Blood loss and volleyball do not mix :-)

Good to know...

2005-11-29T13:19:00.000-06:00

I went to Family Home Evening tonight (nothing new) and had a really good experience... let me explain. We played this "game" where each of us took a playing card and depending on which suit we chose, we had to tell different stories from our past. I chose clubs, which was a childhood memory. Spades was telling something embarrassing about someone else in the room. Hearts was a funny or memorable dating story. Diamonds was something embarrassing about yourself. As we were going around the room and hearing everyone's stories, I was all smilies. It was great to hear about other people's mixups and blunders. I then realized that everyone has their little mess ups like I do. Sometimes I feel at BYU that everyone is amazing and perfect and never has any extremely embarrassing things happen to them.... but they do! It was just nice to know I wasn't alone in that department :-) And, well it was way fun to hear their stories. I feel like I know my FHE family way more than I did a couple of days ago... Moral of the Story: Go to Family Home Evening

Wishing I could fast forward...

2005-11-28T14:32:00.000-06:00

Do you ever wish that you could just fast forward your life a couple of weeks to get through rough stuff? I do. I mean... I know it wouldn't be life and I wouldn't be able to learn the things I do when I go through trials... but I've always wondered what life would be like if we could. I guess the reason I've been thinking this way is because finals are looming in the near future. I've never liked tests. When I am able to sit around and contradict myself over every answer it's hard for me to come up with the right one. Give me fifteen seconds however (like in high school when I was in Knowledge and Quiz Bowl... I know... nerd....) and I can usually produce a qualified answer.
Also yesterday I was thinking about the Sunday School lesson I taught. I swear, every time I teach I always look back and see some huge holes in my lesson or places where I misspoke. I mean, everyone always thinks I'm funny and that they learn a lot... but do they really feel the Spirit? I know I do... but it's mainly from other's comments. I guess it's just another thing I can contemplate on... (as if I don't have enough to mull over :-)

The first snow!

2005-11-27T11:22:00.000-06:00

Last night and this morning was the first real snow of the season.... and it makes me happy! As much as I hate driving in it, it's hard to find anything more beautiful than snow. Especially the snow on the mountains. I just wish everyone would be required to take a "How to drive in the snow" course... even if they are from Arizona. I learned how to drive in snow from the start of my driving career. It's kind of a given in Minnesota. If you don't learn the skills quickly, your insurance premiums are sure to go through the roof with all the accidents you'll be in. Anyway, sorry about my snow driving rant...

Deck the Apartment

2005-11-26T03:52:00.000-06:00

Well... tonight was my official night to set up my Christmas tree for this year. I wanted to do it before my roommates come home to suprise them. Little did I know that it would take me FIVE hours to do it. Ok... so most of you know that I am a spass sometimes. Trying to get a real tree in my apartment was one of those spass moments. First I recruited the help of a friend. We went to Smith's (a grocery store) and got a tree. Then we tried to stick it in my 2000 Jetta.... HA! Some idea that was.... I put all the seats in the back down and ended up driving home with my trunk completely opened and a Christmas tree sticking out the rear end of my car! The real problems was in getting the tree to stay up. We put it in the stand and tightened all the screws.... but it still kept tilting to one side. We resorted to extreme measures to hold this tree up. The items that are holding up my Christmas tree right now you ask? Electrical tape, a wooden board, and Jenga blocks.... that's right... I said JENGA BLOCKS... (ok, so we were really desperate!) However, the tree now is decorated and brings a wonderful smell and spirit into my apartment... oh how I love Christmas... Even if it takes five hours to put a tree up.... hehehe ;-)
P.S. ok... so that is not really MY Christmas tree... but how neat would it be if it was?!

2005-11-24T03:33:00.000-06:00

Me in a closet... and again... I'm having problems
figuring out how to post pictures... it's a miracle
you can see this one... no... I'm serious about that!
Me

I love technology.... (NOT!)

2005-11-24T02:47:00.000-06:00

Well I figured it was about time to start one of these things... It will be a journal of sorts for myself. I figure I can type much faster than I can write. Don't worry, don't worry... I'll still have a written journal. However, for my everyday life events, this seems like an easier way to record it. Plus, then everyone can see how my life is going etc.

Right now I have just tried to finish a slideshow I am putting together with pictures of my family for my Sunday School lesson coming up in a few days. I figured since tomorrow (well... seeing its really late... today) is Thanksgiving, I thought I'd get it done before I forget about it. Now for those of you who don't really know me.... 1. Why are you reading my blog? (Ok, now that I've got that out of my system) 2. I'm what the geek squad likes to call "computer stupid". I mean, I have taken some computer programming classes... but lets be honest. What does CS 142 actually help you to do?.... NOTHING! I'm learning Vb.Net Again.... NOTHING! So I'm trying to burn my slideshow on a DVD-R and my DVD burner is not recognizing that I have a DVD in my computer. So I try a CD-R... it burns just fine.... but it doesn't work on anything I put it into... not my computer.... not my TV DVD player. So by this time I'm frusterated. I change the format to VCD and burn on a CD-R again. This time at least my computer recognizes the disk and can be read after it is burned... but now the quality of the pictures has decreased significantly. And there is nobody left in Provo who can help me! :-( I hope my roommate's boyfriend Thomas comes back from Vegas before Sunday. He is our apartment's computer expert... but knowning my luck, probably not.

Well that was my rant for the night. This whole blog thing is very exciting and I hope I can find at least a bit of time each day to tell about my life! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!