Adventure #2: Family Christmas Party

Family Christmas parties are always a blast, but since this year's ugly sweater Christmas party included the best sweater I have yet laid eyes on, it was particularly memorable.

The competition was fierce.

Who needs a Macy's when you can handicraft your own attire using some hot glue and fresh-off-the-lawn pine cones?

Then there was this little beauty-- a shirt with as big a personality as... dare we say it?  It's wearer.  Jake seemed a little too confident in this eyesore.

Aw the famous "Y"... at an ugly sweater party.  Bet you can't tell what school our family favors, can you?

Tyler is modeling our cowboy meets biker look here.  The practicality of nice flannel combined with the classy physique of leather accessories wrapped up into one bright package?  No, it's not too good to be true.

Don't let the ruggedly handsome appearance of this little number fool you.  This looker was in fact stolen from our model's Mother's closet.  What a find!

Complete with battery powered flashing lights, this sweater is sure to help you reminisce of yesteryear when every John and Jane had flashy festive sweaters that screamed out, "Pass the egg nog ladies and gents!  There's a new caroler in town!"

Who says this sweater is out of date?!  A little tinsel here, a little tinsel there, and it's hipper than hip.



As seen here, Kelsi is channeling the Great Southwest in her Native American-like patterns and desert color scheme but more importantly, her outfit reminds us all of one monumental fact: shoulder pads never go out of style.



 


 

True, each of these sweaters brought their own wonderful contributions to the party, but in the end only one could walk away with the coveted 2010 ugliest sweater title.  That honor was rightly earned by this piece of eye candy:



We love everything from the upside down, slightly tipsy looking Frosty, to the awkwardly placed jingle bells.  But mostly, we're fans of the best feature about this sweater-- the ten inch long stuffed carrot protruding out from the mid section.  Nothing brought me closer to spitting out my mouthful of root beer like hearing someone ask loudly, "Is that a carrot or are you happy to see me?" 

Game over.  Game over.



Since blogger keeps protesting my posting of the sweater on the right here and I wanted to find a picture with a better view of the 2010 ugliest sweater winner, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone by displaying this pic instead.  Hopefully this one will give you a better idea of just what was so hilarious about this year's winner.  On his left, you'll notice another favorite among this year's stars; the cheermeister made an appearance at our family Christmas party this year and anyone who has seen Jim Carey in The Grinch will surely appreciate the authenticity of this replica.





I would love to post pictures of everyone on here, but I'm afraid I'm just not patient enough for that. This will have to do.  We are so thankful to be surrounded by such a wonderful family during the Christmas season and for all the laughs we were able to share with them this year.  Thanks to all who participated and we hope everyone else's festivities were just as enjoyable.



Temple Square

My original intention for this post was to include 3 different activities that we've been able to participate in the past few weeks.  Unfortunately I don't have my camera with me and I don't want to put it off any longer, so I guess we'll have to do this in short sets instead.  So... stay tuned.  There's more to come and I know you're all sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear about what exciting activities have consumed our lives as of late.

Adventure #1:  Night on the Town

Last night we went out with our friends Jordan, Steve, Eric, and Chelsey.  It was so much fun!  We all went out to dinner at Tucanos at the Gateway and oh my was it tasty!  Of course I didn't think to take any pictures of it, but it was a lot of fun to try new foods.  For any of you who haven't had a chance to try this place out, it's a lot like Rodizios.  According to Steve, our chicken heart connoisseur, their chicken hearts far surpass those served as Rodizios. 

After dinner we all headed to Temple Square where we walked around in the rain and admired all the beautiful lights.  We even ran into Tim and Amanda!  Why did we not get pictures with them??  Ugh.

Anyway, the lights were beautiful as always, but I couldn't help but notice that they seemed scarcer this year than they have in the past.  Has anyone else noticed this or am I just crazy?

At this point, you might be annoyed with my total lack of visual documentation of our night and I don't blame you... I'm terrible.  BUT I did walk away with these three beauties, thanks to our phones:

Check it out!  The glare in this picture creates the illusion that Tyler is carrying some sort of a satchel AKA man purse.  Do you see it?  I'm not sure how that happend.  Sadly, this is not the case.  The view is lovely though, is it not?

I'm including Steve and Jordan's picture because, well that's what they get for letting me take it on my phone.  The more pictures, the merrier, right?  We sure had fun with them!

Basically the night was totally awesome and we are so thankful for all the great people and wonderful friends we have in our lives!  Hopefully you are all gearing up for Christmas and cherishing this time of year.  Happy Christmas!!

P.S.

Today while I was going through my picture file for this blog, I found that I had accidentally left off one of my favorite things.  Normally this wouldn't bug me, but these things are awesome!  I would feel so bad if I left them off my favorites list because they have saved me in many ways.... or something like that.

So, before I move on to other posts, here is my last favorite thing for 2010:

Clorox toilet wands rock my world!  I won't deny it, I'm easily satisfied, but these things are spectacular!  I use them to clean my toilet bowls, which meant saying goodbye to all those permanent brushes that totally gross me out.  Instead of my old stainless steel set that sat in my bathroom and cleaned the same toilet every week, this thing has disposable attachments full of lovely blue cleaner.  Each week I snap one on and then throw it away when I'm done.  How did I go so long without investing in them?!

These are a few of my favorite things!

I have a confession to make.  I love Oprah!  Not Oprah herself; she and I disagree on so many different levels. I love Oprah as an interviewer and I love her talk show.  In fact I've always looked forward to being home during the day ... one day... a long time from now so I can watch Oprah and Ellen and Good Things Utah.  Poor Tyler has to allow me to watch these shows during the day whenever we are given a paid holiday.  Those women really know how to entertain! Well, either that or I'm just a nerd destined to be one of those stay at home Moms that wears her robe all day and engrosses herself in daytime television, but let's not go there.

So in honor of Oprah's Favorite Things TV special, which I always want to watch but never actually do, I'm going to present to you all, our loyal blog followers, a little slice of Shaela's Favorite Things... the inexpensive Oprah style.

In no particular order:

This isn't exactly a product but I'm addicted to these things, so I had to include it on the list.  Basically you take a dish towel (or other similar sized fabric), fold it in half, sew up the sides, fill it with rice or beans (and yummy spices if you'd like), and then sew the top.  I throw mine in the microwave and carry it around with me all over my house-- in my shirt, in my bed, etc... and it always helps keep me warm.

Oh how I love my Awesome cleaner!  I usually buy it in a much larger, less watered down form but I couldn't find a picture of that variety so this will have to do.  It can be used to clean almost anything and it is in fact, awesome.

There is no better alarm clock than the smell of freshly baked bread.  I have the hardest time waking up in the morning but when delicious warm loaves are there to greet me, it's a piece of cake.  Some people still haven't figured this out but bread machines can be used to make bread of all varieties as well as dough, which I use often.

Try and tell me that it's not fun to wear humongous fake eye lashes.  Can't do it?  I'm not surprised because they totally rock.  I love costume parties and Halloween and really any excuse I can come up with to wear these puppies.  Ooh la la!

Sweet Daydream lotion from Victoria's Secret smells heavenly.  I go on spurts with their scents.  My first love: Love Spell.  Since then I've also found myself on Amber Romance and Passionate Kisses kicks but for the time being, this is my fav.

What would my life be like without ready-made pie crusts?  I love making chicken pot pie with these things and there is no way I would have time to throw one together after work without these handy things on my side.  Not only are they easy, but I love how they taste.  Thank you Pillsbury, for making meal planning so much easier!

Shabby Apple dresses are expensive, but that won't stop me from admiring them.  They are original, stylish, creative, and so cute!  I browse their website regularly just to see what new designs they've come up with and I like pretty much all of them.  That being said, I only own one so far.  Why?  They are expensive.  Thankfully my patience is starting to pay off though.  I have recently noticed that other companies like Downeast Outfitters and Impel Clothing have started mimicking their styles for half the price so hopefully I'll be able to indulge in the future.

Tyler bought me a pair of sheepskin slippers last year that look just like these and I couldn't be happier with them.  The company he bought them from usually sells their products from kiosks in the malls around Christmas time and my oh my are they comfy, sturdy little things.

-THE END-

So now you know some of my favorites.  What about you guys?  Are there any products out there that you couldn't live without?

Murder Mystery Party

Our computers are still experiencing technical difficulties, so it has taken a long time to get this posted.  Sorry about that.

Last month we hosted a murder mystery party and it was an absolute blast!  I had so much fun decorating the place and putting our costumes/dinner together and I laughed hysterically throughout the entire night.
The actual game had a couple of hiccups, but that was to be expected since neither of us had done one before.  Overall though, it went really well.  There was a special going on when I bought the murder mystery so I ended up buying two, which can only mean one thing... another murder mystery party in the future! Hooray!  The next one is going to work out perfectly since I now have a better idea of what I'm doing and what things need to be done differently.

Thank goodness our talented friend Rachelle came!  As usual I took zero pictures, but Rachelle was there to save the day.  Next time I'm going to remember to take pictures of the table settings because I was so happy with how they turned out (complete with bones, candles, etc...).  Until then, I'll leave you with these pictures that I've stolen from the lovely Rachelle.... hopefully that's okay with her :)

Thanks everyone for coming and being such good sports!  You were all so much fun!  I hope you're brave enough to try it again in the future.

The Murder Victim (above)

The Murder Victim's second character (below)

He's Baaaaaack!

I cannot believe that I finally get to say these words!  He is back!  Elder Wall aka Elder Lalaga aka my big-little brother whom I have missed dearly, has at last returned.

Jake appeared on the escalator with darker hair, a skinnier looking face, and the dirtiest feet I have ever seen, wearing a skirt and flip flops.  His adoring mother was on the verge of hysterics and instantly ran to the bottom of the stairs, fighting back every urge to bound up the steps and carry him down.

Here are some of the things I want to remember about Jake's homecoming.

• His first words to me were, "Sorry to say it Sha, but you haven't grown at all."
• I had every intention of being tough, but as soon as Kels, Kin, Mom, and I all surrounded him in an enormous hug and I felt everyone (except Jake of course) crying, I became a total wimp and cried my eyes out.  Bah!  So much for being tough.
• Ty and I stopped at Paradise Bakery on our way to the airport and bought a chocolate chip cookie for the returning Elder.  I mentioned it to Jake in passing so he could be aware of it whenever he felt hungry.  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, he headed straight for me.  He barely had time to say, "You have NO IDEA how bad I want that right now", before snatching it out of my hands, breaking it in half, and shoving it into his mouth.  Now that's what I call appreciation!  Lucky for him, I had another partial cookie in my purse that I had purchased for myself and he demolished that one pretty quickly as well.
• The first souvenir Jake pulled out of his bag for me was a hand-carved Fijian fertility statue with our name engraved on it.  Haha!  I guess he wants us to have kids or something.

Since his arrival, Ty and I have been able to spend a pretty good amount of time with Jake and the family and it has been so much fun.  Besides a new ability to entertain me for hours with hundreds of cool stories from the jungle, Jake is much the same; he is still the fun-loving, silly brother I missed and love and it is so great to have him home.  He really has been an incredible missionary and has grown up a lot in the process.  Welcome home Elder Wall!  We are so proud of you!

The only pictures I currently have were taken on my phone directly after my crying episode, but it's all I've got so they'll have to do.

Halloween

I've been meaning to post about this for quite a while now, but our computers/internet have been giving us problems and I expect that we haven't yet seen the last of those problems.  Dang machines!

Anyway, I'm a firm believer that it's better late than never, so here are our  Halloween pictures from this year.  Happy late Halloween and  happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

#30 - Who are you?

I awoke at about 2:30 this morning laying next to my husband on our recliner with a sudden realization that we had missed the very last post of this thirty day challenge.  Blast!  On the plus side, 29 out of 30 isn't bad, right? 

The last post in this challenge is a deep one; one that I don't feel entirely qualified to answer, but I've made it this far so there's no turning back now. 

We are a couple of kids who like to have fun.  We are a husband, a wife, a daughter, a son, a sister, a brother, a friend.  We love to serve and we serve to love.

Tyler is a competitive, ambitious number cruncher who loves all things soccer.  He is patient and kind and will do just about anything for me.  He loves to laugh and get together with friends.  He also loves creating things, especially around the yard.  I thank my lucky stars every day that I get to share my life with someone who treats me so well.

I am a quirky redhead who will probably never grow up.  I love the mountains, the Book of Mormon and my savior, my family, and my husband more than anything in the world.  I get to hang out with beautiful beehive girls at least twice a week and I couldn't be happier about it.  I like BBC movies, pedicures, and dirt bikes and I'm always looking for good buys.

Together we are two people who fell in love despite firm plans not to.  We have filled the past four years with learning and growing together and still have much more to do.  We like surrounding ourselves with good people.  We love being married and we love setting/accomplishing goals together.  We have so much joy in our lives and sometimes wonder what we did to deserve it.  We love life and look forward to what lies ahead! 

WOOHOO for passing the thirty day blog challenge!  It has been a fun experience.  Now hopefully we can keep this habit up of posting more regularly.  I hope you all do the same because your blogs are all so fun to read!

P.S.  Happy Veteran's Day to all our brave Veterans out there.  Thank you so much for fighting for freedom and for our country.  As I once heard Sheriff Thompson explain, our legal system is so flawed, but it's the most perfect of all the other systems out there.  We're so thankful for the rights we enjoy every day and for the beautiful country we live in.

-The End

#29 - In the past month what have you learned

For your convenience, I am providing a color code for today's post:
Items in green were contributed by Tyler.
Items in purple were contributed by his lovely wife.

-Blogging is a lot easier than I make it out to be.  It really doesn't take much time.  You just have to sit down and do it.
-We need to take more pictures!  I noticed that our post from last night included a picture that we've already posted on here before.  Unfortunately we are terrible at taking pictures, but this has opened my eyes to the fact that we need to get better.  How sad is it that I have no recent pictures with friends?!  Sheesh.
-Our relationship has become more dynamic since we've been married and we like it a lot.
-Tyler really can write and blog!  Happy day! 
-Tyler does really care about more things than soccer and money.
-Tyler likes to try to upsell me in every purchase decision we make, even trivial items like laundry baskets.
-Shaela is really scared to play on a coed soccer team with Tyler.
-Tyler thinks that before you ask for his help you better have tried to work it out yourself (this is not aimed at Shaela).
-I LOVE bargain shopping!
-I LOVE buying stuff!
-I like the movie "North and South" (BBC version) just as much as I did when I first saw it.  It is still fabulous!
-I could never be an army wife.  It was so sad to be a lonely person in my house while Ty was gone.  The cleaner house was not worth the trade off of having him here with me :)  Hats off to all the lovely ladies out there who are better at it than I am.  You are strong women!

#28 - A pic of you last year and now, how have you changed

Shaela has tasked me to write the post tonight, I don't think she fully understands what she was asking me to do.  She wants me to write how we've changed?!  Why can't I get an easy topic like what we crave or something like that.  How have we changed...Physically I'd say fatter which is a horrible thing since our cruise is coming up.  We just seem to run out of time, what an excuse huh?

Below is a picture of us in DisneyWorld which is almost a year ago.

Below is us this summer.  I couldn't find two really comparable pictures so these will have to do.

We are more relaxed now which is a great thing.  A year ago we were always thinking about school work, what test was next, how long was our paper suppose to be, and other various school stresses. We may not have more free time but we get to chose what we do with that time.  We have decided to spend more time with friends and family, it has been fantastic!  When we were first married we were so focused on us, getting use to being married, trying to make it financially, it was all about us.  Now that we have adjusted to married life and are more comfortable with our situation we have the opportunity to grow closer to our families and make new friends.

#27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge

Tyler agreed to go along with me and my desire to do this 30 day challenge because he is a good husband and lets me do whatever I want.  It has been a lot of fun to involve him in all of this!  It's definitely the most I've seen him get involved since we started the blog.  Surprisingly, he actually reminded me about the need to post on several occasions when I forgot about it. 

As for me, I just thought it sounded fun.  I've always liked blogging, but I rarely get around to doing it because it's such an easy thing to put off when there's no time constraint.  I knew that with this challenge I'd have a reason to blog every day.  It's been great because it has gotten me into the habit of sitting down and just doing it.  It's actually a fairly easy thing to do and doesn't take nearly as much time as I once imagined. 

Here's a shocker though- I never expected to gain such a conscious eye for things to blog about.  Now that I'm in the habit of blogging every day, it's always in the back of my mind.  I can think of several times in the last couple of weeks where I've seriously made mental notes about possible future blogging topics.  It has really gotten my brain juices flowing.  Overall, I'd say it's been a great experience; I accepted the challenge for fun and surprised myself with the consequences that came because of it.  You should all try it sometime!

#26 - What you think about your friends

Ty and I just came home from a fabulous night out with friends so today's post is especially appropriate.  We love our friends!  I think that one of the greatest blessings we have is credited to the people around us.  It really feels like we are surrounded by tons of awesome people!

Being married is awesome because you instantly gain tons of new friends through your spouse.  Tyler has such a fun group of friends and I really enjoy hanging out with them and their wives.  I pretty much end up laughing until I cry every time we get together with them, due to all the energy and hilarious comments floating around between everyone.

My friends are also fun to be around.  We don't live as close to some of my friends as we do Tyler's so it feels like we don't get to see them nearly as much, but we always have a nice time whenever we plan things.  Speaking of which, hooray for pizza parties!

Additionally, we have made lots of hip new friends through school, work, and church since we've been married-- friends we go camping with, friends we play Rockband with, etc...  and it's always a joy to kick it with them as well.

I can honestly say that each of our friends are incredible.  They are all great people and very supportive of us and we feel so blessed and so privileged to have them in our lives.

As a side note, Tyler and I got talking about friends on our way home today.  We were discussing how awesome it is that you can go years without seeing a friend and then run into them and it's like nothing ever changed.  It takes some truly great friends to pull something like that off.  Recently we've been getting together with some friends who Tyler hasn't seen since elementary school.  Seriously, elementary school!  And guess what?  We have enjoyed it immensely.  Everyone gets along great; they still have tons of fun and make a point to get together now regularly.  And what's more?  The wives/girlfriends have totally hit it off.  Now that's what I call cool! 

Thank you to everyone who is reading this for being such awesome friends!  You guys are the best!

#25 - What I would find in your blog

Our blog is pretty low key.  I imagine that people reading this right now already know the answer, but basically you'll find our story on our blog. 
We don't have a themed blog offering great advice and project portfolios.  We don't even have cute kids to brag about.  We're just a couple of young college graduates who occasionally write their thoughts as they experience life and document what little experiences they remember to capture on camera.  You'll also find a variety of music that we try to add to on a regular basis.
In a nutshell you'll find the many ramblings of Tyler and Shaela; so cliche and yet so true.

#24 - A letter to your parents

Dear Mom and Dad,


It’s hard to write a letter to the two people who made me who I am today. I guess that’s because some things are so hard to put into words. How can I tell you what great influences and examples you are in my life? How can I assign words to the feelings of gratitude, respect, and appreciation I have for you? Truthfully, I don’t think it’s possible. But I’ll give my best shot at providing a glimpse of who you are in my eyes.

As a young child, you taught me to read and to write and instilled in me a love for learning. That knowledge and desire to progress has fueled me through college, through my career, and through every day that I exercise my creativity or teach others.

As a teenager you stuck with me even when it seemed that everyone else in the world was against me. You taught me what it was like to be a true friend and supporter as I experienced some of the hardest times of my life. You even put up with all of my crazy adolescent hormones, which is a miracle in and of itself.

In my young adult life you gave me just what I needed- independence. I learned so much about myself as I attended college classes and made decisions that determined the rest of my life. It was so wonderful to have two wise and supportive parents to hear my concerns and hold my hand whenever I needed guidance.

Now as a twenty-three year old wife, I recognize that my entire life has been possible because of the sacrifices you have made for me and the lessons you’ve taught me. There is no way I would be the person I am today without you. Even now, I love knowing that whenever I need a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on, you are always there.

The crazy part about all this is that in spite of all you’ve done for me and all we have been through together, I know that this is just the beginning. All three of us still have so much ahead of us! As the rest of your children grow older and you become grandparents, and we journey into our futures together, I look forward to sharing my path with you. You are wonderful, selfless, sincere, young-hearted people who will always be a huge part of my life and I couldn’t be happier about that!

Thank you for teaching me that laughter is the best medicine, that motorcycles=therapy, that life is beautiful because we’re all alike, only different, and that if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.

You guys rock my socks off!

Love forever,

Your Daughter

#23 - Something you crave

Tyler's firstish response: money, knowledge, more attention from his wife, fast sports cars

Shaela's response: babies (yes, sometimes I get baby hungry), naps, motorcycle rides, delicious desserts that I shouldn't eat, pretty jewelry and clothes

Okay folks.  It's nearly 10:45 pm and right now what I'm craving is my BED.  Years of college and midnight cramming have taught me not to try to write anything profound when I'm tired; it just doesn't work.  So this post is going to be quick and simple... hopefully.  I really have no idea what I'm going to write about at this point.

Let me tell you about why I'm suffering from writer's block at this moment.  Each night at our house, events play out like this:
9:30  Tyler says he is tired.  Shaela tells him he is an old man.
9:45  Tyler says he is tired.  Shaela begins feeling desperate and begins doing silly things to hold his attention.
10:00  Tyler grows weary of Shaela's shenanigans and begins ignoring her.
10:01  Shaela pouts.
10:03  Tyler forces a begrudged Shaela to lay down by him.
... from this point on I have two choices.  1- I can give in and fall asleep, on the couch inevitably, after Tyler promises we'll get up in 5 minutes.  Instead we wake up at 2:30 and stumble to bed while I grumble.
Tyler's interjection:  NOW you'll hear the truth.  I used to not wake up in 5 minutes but I have turned over a new leaf and when I promise we'll get up we do.  So that is no longer a valid point. Whatever!
Back to Shaela: or 2 - create a scene and keep Tyler up until I'm ready to sleep.

That being said, it is now 10:56 which means that I have been working very hard for nearly an hour to keep him distracted from his sleepiness.  How can I be expected to write something of consequence under the circumstances?

What do we crave?  Sanity, each other, free time, Ovaltine, and chocolate chip cookie dough.

Goodnight!

#22 - What makes us different from everyone else?

 Shortly after becoming engaged, Tyler and I made a pact; we decided that we wanted to be eternal newlyweds.  As we watched friends and family members get married and endure accusations of being "newlyweddy", we discovered that a good amount of people felt like holding hands, kissing, cuddling, giggling, flirting, etc... were actions reserved for newlywedded couples only.  Whatever!  Who says an eighty year old couple can't hold hands and giggle and enjoy one another just as good as we could?!  Isn't that half the fun of being married?  You have even more time and opportunities to enjoy one another!  This idea isn't limited to PDA., mind you.  We just mean enjoying one another in general... just as much as we did on our first day as husband and wife.

From that day forward, we decided to live the lives of eternal newlyweds.  So far, I think we've done a pretty good job.  We really do laugh and play and help one another whenever circumstances allow.  I really feel like this will be one of our greatest strengths when we become parents one day.  The time that we have already been able to spend together as just the two of us has really helped us to zero in on one another and our "newlyweddedness".  We plan on working to keep things this way far into the future.  So one day sixty-five years from now, if you see us tickling each other from our wheel chairs and basking in the glory of our false teeth and silver hair, just smile with us, give us a little fist pump and know that we really will go down to our graves as eternal newlyweds.

Happy Voting to All!

I know this isn't part of our thirty day blog challenge but....

EVERYONE get out and VOTE!!!

We are so lucky to live in a nation where we have this right.  Don't take it for granted! Get and vote!  The future of our country depends on voters like us!

#21 - A pic of something that makes you happy