Warming up the North Pole

We had a nice heavy snowfall yesterday which managed to finally make my leftover Christmas decoration not look totally silly. The whether has certainly been up and down the last few weeks! However Richard and I are armed with our new secret weapon, a new electric heater that we plug in when we are in our 'office' bedroom. Since I work, watch TV etc etc all from this room, and Richard has super-human cold tolerances, essentially this is the only room in the house that we actually need to heat. And our little electric heater will get it up to 83 degrees in 45 minutes! Anytime I am elsewhere I am usually cleaning and cooking or doing dishes, all activities where one doesn't generally get too cold. And our bed has a nice fluffy down comforter from IKEA that keeps us nice and toasty.  I usually get cold when I am sitting still, working or vegging, which happens in the office. Which I can now heat to ridiculous levels of warmth and comfort guilt-free! We can't figure out why we didn't think of this ages ago! Yay for finding more ways to save money!

Christmas Salt Shakers

I finally got around to taking a picture of one my very favorite Christmas presents Richard has ever gotten me. He did a really fabulous job this Christmas, as those of you who have seen my adorable red coat already know.  Other than the coat, he gave me the following line-up of salt shakers-one for every room in the house! All filled with my favorite blend of Morton’s sea salt flakes!

From right to left the salt-shakers are: Back room, Front Room, Kitchen, Bathroom and Office.

The office salt shaker has a cute little lid that flips open and shut easily, so that I can stop spilling salt all down in between the couch cushions.  The front room is a cute mason jar replica he picked up in a spice shop in St. Charles while my back was turned. The bathroom shaker is comprised of a small plastic jar he painted white and a lunchbox salt shaker that looked like a dental floss box.  Engineered together by my crafty husband (he used a glue-gun!) to resemble a toilet. All in all they are adorable, and amazingly useful! (I need extra salt on almost everything…I even carry it with me in my purse. I have no idea why, but my blood pressure is still fine, so I don’t guess I’ll stop anytime soon).

Hold On

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf  “You Matter to Him”

General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, October 2011.

 It is sometimes hard to understand why we or our loved ones experience trials and pain, often while others seem to have a free pass through all the toughest parts of life. I personally believe that every single person will at some point in their life experience great tragedy and heartbreaking sorrow. If you are experiencing it now, my heart goes out to you.  If you have experienced it in the past, take a minute to flex the strong spiritual muscles and faith you developed to get you through it, to enjoy the strength that now resides at your very core. You are a survivor.  

Sweet Nothings

Occasionally the hotel room we get in Chicago is a little bit on the chilly side...I mean, I put the thermostat up to 80, but let me tell you, the room does NOT reach 80 degrees.  I know this.  I have a very accurate inner temperature gage...like, princess and the pea accurate. I'm pretty much only comfortable between 75-80 in the winter when it's cold outside, and between 70-75 in the summer when it's hot. That's my zone.  I KNOW when it's 80 degrees.  Anyway, the point of this entry is my darling Richard's comments when I tried to snuggle up to him for warmth, gently rubbing his back. "Get off! It's like a polar bear is mauling me!" Yep. Sweet nothings from the man I love.

I Guess I'll Just Call Him Richard

Inevitably Richard is present in so many of my blog entries and stories, usually referred to by his given name, and occasionally Rich, or Richie. However, as I have recently been reading other bloggers more, I have come to the realization that I am woefully lacking in the creativity department! How could I have been so completely inadequate and behind the blogging curve that I have failed to have a cute/spunky/unique way of referring to him! From Mister to Spouseman to That Husband, all the good ways of referring to a husband seem to already be taken! What can I do? I played around with Hubbie,(too normal), Darling (too Peter Pan), The Man (too political),  Sweetums (too pharmaceutical). You see the problem?

 

I guess I’ll just call him Richard.

*From a brief internet search the topic of using birth names vs nicknames on a blog is a hot one! If you have an opinion, or a good idea for a name for Richard, let me know.

Help Me Name the New Blog!

I need to name my new Scripture Study Thoughts blog, something memorable and applicable.  I have come up with the following available names, so if anyone wants to vote on them before I pick one that would be awesome! All reference one of my favorite hymns or scriptures.

ThatMyChildrenMayKnow.blogspot.com

AfterTheMannerofHappyness.blogspot.com

JoyUntoSalvation.blogspot.blogspot.com

BeautifulBrightMillennialDay.blogspot.com

ThyGoldToRefine.blogspot.com

PureHeartandCleanHands.blogspot.com

BearASongAway.blogspot.com

My New Scripture Study Thoughts Blog

I have decided that an important element of my personal study of the scriptures and the words of the Prophets is the meta-thinking that happens when I write about what I am learning.  Therefore I am creating a new, additional blog for the purpose of recording my Scripture Study Thoughts!

Whipsy: It's Not Just Calories Anymore Girls

Ever had one of those really rough days that makes you want to come home, rummage through the fridge, find the whipped cream can and just shoot it straight into your mouth? 

Chicago: From 2-star to 4-star

It is crazy to think that we have been going to Chicago every weekend for more than two years now. Well, Richard had 2 months last summer off, which was nice. And the 10 weeks in Europe---those were awesome.

Doing the right thing, at the right time, without delay

Elder Jose L. Alonzo, General Conference October 2011

“Do the right thing, at the right time, without delay”

I really found this thought inspiring, because I think that so often it is one of these three elements that I struggle with.   

WAHOO!!! Richard the Rockstar

During our last weekend in London at the beginning of December, we decided to pull the trigger and have Richard spend one of the days we had previously slated for sightseeing (e.g., the British Museum) writing an essay to submit to an essay competition hosted by Accenture, the big consulting firm.

Apartment Hunting with Dave

My big brother Dave just took a job in Hastings, Nebraska. Nope, he’s not crazy. He’s just building his resume to get a hospital research job in Alaska. After graduating in pharmacology from UMKC in 2009, he stayed on for a year, taking a job in their drug information center. After completing that in 2011, he began the job search, with his sights set on Alaska (he cannot wait to ‘move back home.’ And WE can’t wait to visit him there once he does!)