Our Gingerbread House

It has been so snowy here lately. Finally it is starting to feel like Christmas. And, to boost the Christmas spirit Todd and I made a gingerbread house. If you notice any sloppy parts, they're Todd's. After four hours of putting this house together and listening to my instructions on proper color coding, he just started slopping it on. At one point I just told him he could stop if he wanted. Anyways, we had a fun time putting it together! I love Christmas!!

You can tell the back is not as detailed... i.e. we got tired.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I know we are. Thanks for sending this kit to us Mom!

Jacob Black

Confession: I am TEAM JACOB.

When I first read Twilight about 2 years ago I was not that impressed. Then I saw the movie and that definitely did not change how I felt. I thought it was a little cheesy and didn't love the line, "You better hold on tight little Spider Monkey". Well I waited until the last minute to read New Moon and told myself I would not watch the movie until I had finished the book, so I read it in 2 days...and loved it. I realized there were better things out there than vampires: werewolves. I liked Eclipse and am currently around page 400 of Breaking Dawn. So far I am still Team Jacob. My mom tells me my feelings for Jacob might change towards the end of the book so I am anxiously reading to find out. I have officially been sucked into the Twilight Saga. Typical, I know. I loved the movie New Moon. Todd liked it too. Can't wait until next summer to see Eclipse!!

I love Taylor Swift

Chef - [shef]

–noun

1. the chief cook, esp. in a restaurant or hotel (or Jessica's tiny kitchen), usually resposible for planning menus, ordering foodstuffs, overseeing food preparation, and supervising the kitchen staff.

Before I got married, my love for cooking only consisted eating that of others. It wasn't until I had my own kitchen that I discovered my passion for cooking. Maybe it is due to the fact that I have so many nice, new kitchen appliances (thank you wedding). Maybe it is because my mom is a great cook. Maybe it is because I like the compliments from my husband. Maybe it is because I know he will eat my experiments. Maybe it is because I know he will lie to me. Whatever it is, it has changed me. I know you all saw my "banana nut bread" - if you could call it that, and now you want to steer clear of my cooking. I understand. I am a work in progress. I have to say I am getting better. My food no longer implodes and do not require a tall glass of water to accompany it. Who knows, one day I might start my own cooking blog that can help new wives like myself. Anyways, here is my latest attempt:

Asian Chicken Stir-Fry

It is so easy and quick, you must try it.

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Stir-fry in a little oil in a nonstick skillet until cooked through; remove. Add sliced bell peppers and sliced carrots to skillet; stir-fry until crisp-tender. Stir in bottled stir-fry sauce and bring to a simmer. Return chicken to skillet; toss to heat. Serve over rice.

Halloween

For those of you who don't know, Todd and I met last year carving pumpkins in our BYU Family Home Evening group. So naturally I encouraged us to carve some this Halloween!! We invited Kylee and Rodney over to carve them with us. They won the contest for difficultly and speed. Todd and I tried to keep ours simple :) Here are some pictures:

Rodney, Kylee, and Todd

Todd and I

Our pumpkin is on the right...

Here are some pictures of us in our Halloween costumes. We had fun going to a few parties and getting dressed up. I was so happy that Jana came to visit. We had a great time with her and Brad. I can't wait until she moves back in January!

Todd, Jess, Jana, and Brad

The Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Big Bad Wolf

JB and I

Us again

The Real MAD Hatter

Braden, Kari, Jess, Todd

I love this one!

Cookies and a Hole-in-One

For Family Home Evening tonight, Todd and I decorated sugar cookies with candy and cream cheese frosting. Here are some pictures. P.S. They tasted great!!

Can you tell which ones are Todd's and which ones are mine?

We also had such a great weekend. Friday night we went over to Braden and Kari's for chili and pumpkin pie. Then we went to Trafalga to play mini golf, arcade games, and eat dip & dots. During mini golf, Todd somehow managed to get a hole-in-one. We all would not have believed it if we had not seen it with our own eyes. Somehow he managed to hit his ball against the side which caused it to hit the other side making it ricochet off of a jagged rock into the hole. I call it luck, he calls it talent. Braden also had some amazing hole-in-one experiences while Kari and I, well we enjoyed the game :) We ended the night with some great rock band playing till 1:30am and we got 5 stars, yes all of us are good - of course I play on easy... Anyways, here are some pictures!

Braden focusing hard...

Kari on her back swing

Me

Todd

Kari and I showing off our balls...

Todd and I with my "golf stick" as I like to call it.

Saturday night my cousins Steph and Anthony cooked a delicious meal and all the cousins came. She followed dinner up with amazing angel food cake topped with chocolate mousse and raspberries. We all ate and watched the Bears game...poor Bears. Wish I would have taken some pictures. I love Ben, he is so so so cute!!! I just love babies!

Sugar Mama

I finally got a job...yay!!! I am super excited. I am working at Aspen Salon in Provo as a stylist. I am so happy to be doing hair again. I start tomorrow and will be there full time. I would love to see you in my chair!!

Aspen Salon - Provo

801.375.4247

http://aspensalonutah.com/

Aruba, Jamaica ooo I Wanna Take You

I miss Aruba!!! The cold Utah weather has finally begun and I cannot say that I am pleased. I love warm summer nights and already miss them. The cold weather only has one bonus: I get to wear my boots all the time. Yes I know, Im obsessed.

Here are some pictures from our honeymoon in Aruba.

Things I've Become Way to Familiar With...

Since I have been job-less.

(These are not my actual pictures, but yes this did happen to me)

Signs You're a Bad Cook

This Picture. ENOUGH SAID.

After I graduated with a double major in making people beautiful I sat down with Todd and together we picked out some new recipes that we wanted to try. New dinners, cookies, and other desserts. I would have to say that overall I have done a pretty good job. Since then I have made red enchiladas, cheesy parmesan chicken, yummy pumpkin cookies, good teriyaki chicken, chocolate chip cookies from scratch, and great tortilla soup. I was on an amazing "cooking delicious things" streak, until today. Here is my first attempt at making Banana Nut Bread. If you didn't realize that this was a picture of banana nut bread...I understand; However, I will say that it surprisingly tasted good. It seems a little on the sweet side so my only guess is that I lost count of how many cups of sugar I added. Lessoned learned.