It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!!! Today was one of those days that was busy from start to finish. My legs and back have that "been at Lagoon" all day ache. But I'm not complaining. It was a really fun type of busy. First, I plugged in the tree that Bri and I decorated last night. Isn't she so pretty and sparkly? :)

Then I put up our Christmas garland:

And when the house was sufficiently festive, I set to work making my first ever Thanksgiving dinner. We get to go to South Carolina to visit Brian's family for the holiday, but with the gluten-free stuff, we figured we'd make everybody's life a little easier and pack a dinner for me. On the menu: Herb roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole, biscuits, yogurt jello and blueberry cheesecake. Everything was homemade, and I have to be honest...I went into it feeling like I had NO idea what I was doing. But after lots of calls to my mom, it all ended in a pretty yummy feast, if I can pat myself on the back a bit. I was excited to have done it! And Brian was thrilled about his "manly rite of passage". :)

It really was quite scrumptious, and worth the achy legs...and calories. :) Happy holidays everyone...thanks for humoring me. :)

Today I'm thankful for:

1-Flights to South Carolina, and missing out on the 11 1/2 hour drive back in traffic (thank you Danna and Larry!!)

2-A mom who's creative, and taught me to love to create. She's a gourmet cook, does amazing holiday decorating, and came up with some of the most incredible ideas for school projects! :) She definitely passed her love of creating on to me. I'm nothing compared to her, but few things are as fulfilling to me as creating something...whether it's a meal, a Christmas tree or a holiday garland. It makes me so happy. Thanks mom for teaching me to let my imagination fly!

3-A husband who does dishes. All the time. It is rare I ever touch a dish. I'm always grateful for that, but never so grateful as I am today :). What a mess!

More exciting news...

Saturday was a crazy day! Not only did this little guy come along (couldn't resist the chance to display another cute picture)...




...but also... my littlest sister, Meg, got ENGAGED! Pretty exciting stuff, right? A big congratulations to her and Daniel! We look forward to seeing the "oh-so-sparkly" ring and giving Daniel the 3rd degree at Christmas! :) Love you guys!

Our first nephew!

Introducing Tre Jayden, mine and Brian's first and only nephew!

Halee had little Tre early, early Saturday morning, and I woke up that morning to Brian saying, "Meet Tre" and leaning over me with his cell phone displaying the cute picture above (Doesn't he look happy?). We both oohed and ahhed and laughed about the fact that someone in one of our families actually had a boy. We're so excited to have a nephew!

We love you little Tre, and can't wait to meet you in a month! And hugs and kisses to the mom and dad. You sure did make a cute little guy.

Today I am thankful for:

1-Family. I get to go home in one month and see my cute new nephew and niece and I couldn't be more excited! Let the countdown begin.

2-The advances in gluten-free cooking. Really weird one, I know, but you have NO idea how excited I am when I go in a store and see a Betty Crocker brand, gluten-free devil's food cake mix. Sometimes it's nice to not have to do EVERYTHING from scratch. :)

3-Friends. Heavenly Father has always seemed to surround me with people who lift and inspire me--in West Jordan, at BYU, and now here in Virginia. I'm so thankful that I've always had exactly the friends I need placed right where I need them.

Proudest Day of My Life

So, I think our bad luck streak is long over. Tink is back from the shop and looks fantastic, but perhaps more impressive-- check out this Scrabble board:



Yes, with words like "wrongest" (which I really didn't think was a word, but Mr. Webster disagrees and it scored me the bonus bingo), "archives" and "wooded"... let's just say Brian didn't stand a chance! :) baaaaaa ha ha ha. (Ok...so for all you Scrabble players out there who are laughing at our pathetic board, just realize that usually when we play, everything is clustered in the middle, and we're trying to build off words like "the" "dog" and "an". :) This beautifully spaced board was quite the accomplishment. And that high score...unheard of for us! )


And that is your current edition of "When 2 Dorks Collide". (Hmmm...maybe it's time to change the name of the blog. What do you think? The Newlywed thing will only be true a little longer, after all.... hmmm. Wait for it...wait for it...)


OH...and one more thing. My good friend is doing a special thing on her blog in honor of Thanksgiving. Each day, she's posting three things that she's grateful for. Her blog has been making me so happy every time I read it, and leaving me feeling so warm and fuzzy (ok...that was cheesy, but true. That's the only way to describe it...), that I thought I'd end each post I make this month by following her lead.

So, today I am grateful for:

1-The founding fathers and their wives. Random and weird, but I've been reading a lot of history stuff lately, and my usually average patriotism has been given a big boost. I can't believe what the founding fathers, and even more so their wives, sacrificed to establish America. Go Adams and Washington!

2-The upcoming holidays. Who doesn't get an extra surge of happiness when they realize they're humming along to a Christmas tune while they shop?

3-An amazing husband who provides for me materially, emotionally and spiritually. I melt when he leaves for work at 6:30 a.m, exhausted but not complaining, and then celebrates (seriously, celebrates) when he gets home and hears I had a crazy unusual morning and was able to sleep in til 10. Boy did I ever luck out with him! :)

Our Boo Fest

A little childish, but that's what we're all about around here... (Brian's amazingly creative idea!)

Apparently I find unibrows IRRESISTIBLE. :) (Ok...so actually, weird side note, Brian has the most PERFECT eyebrows EVER. While we were dating, we constantly had this conversation: Me: "So...tell the truth. Do you pluck under your eyebrows?" Him: "No." Me: "Come on...it's nothing to be embarrassed about." Him: "I don't." Me: "You soooooooo do. Nobody's eyebrows are THAT perfectly sculpted. Who taught you? Your sister?" Him: "Whatever Am." Now that we're married, and I'm around him pretty much 24-7, I can attest to the fact that his eyebrows really ARE that perfectly arched naturally. Weird, drawn out moral of the story: we're keeping our fingers crossed that our kids get his eyebrows. :))

Yummy yummy pumpkin stew...

And finally, what do you dress up as when you're going to a couples' Halloween party, and your otherwise amazingly good sport of a husband pouts like a 2 year old when he's told he has to dress up? :) Charlie and his favorite angel.

I get a gun, and he just has to embellish his everyday work outfit a bit. Win win. :)