from our family to yours

the countdown begins!

5

happy birthday to steven! we went over to the irelander's house for a special christmas family home evening and delicious birthday cake. we were going to go visit opportunity village's magical forest but alas, it was rainng caitlins & mels this day.

4

again with the rain- i wanted to go to the temple but roads were flooded so the irelands came over and we watched UNLV stomp on someone.....and i bakedbakedbaked! lots of christmas goodies!

3

when will it stop raining?! planned activity- the gift of lights, cancelled due to inclement weather. so we went to my mump's house and got our pizza on then spend some time at the harrison's house. love our family!

2

what says merry christmas better than a tree made of money? nothing. nothing else says it better. when we were little chicklens, our dad made us a  money tree, topped with crisp $1 bills. then after church on sundays, we would go to jone's feed and get a coke or candy bar [i guess my dad didn't mind breaking the sabbath. us kids sure didn't mind]. i wanted to continue this tradition but alas, our poor-ness made for some adjustments. justin still loved it!
we also went to our annual ornament exchange with kelly & cindy's families. kelly & cindy are teryl's [my MIL] best friends- they've been doing this for over 15 years! so kelly, kelly's parents, kevin, brian, whitney, little penelope, [poor sick] taylor, nichole, cindy, lauren, mallory, teryl, lynsey, justin, and i partied like it was 2010. they always find the funniest ornaments to give to each other- last nights' winners: lauren's twin fleur de lis' and justin & brian's matching butt-farting ornaments. our tree finally upgraded from 3 ornaments! and kelly's parents made us this BEAUTIFUL afghan!

Michael: Okay, you know what? I will not donate my winnings to Comic Relief, since apparently it doesn't exist. I am going to donate to Afghanistanis with AIDS.

Jim: I think you mean the aid to Afghanistan.

Michael: No, I mean Afghanistanis with AIDS.

Phyllis: Afghani.

Michael: What?

Phyllis: Afghani.

Michael: That's a dog.
Pam: No, that's Afghan.
Michael: That's a shawl.
Dwight: Wait, canine AIDS?
Michael: No. Humans with AIDS.
Creed: Who has AIDS?
Jim: Guys, the Afghanistananies.
Michael: Okay, you know what? No. No. AIDS is not funny. Believe me, I have tried.

this is last year's pic

nothing says happy holidays like some office quotes. happy day!

EXTRA! EXTRA! paperversary in t-minus 10 days

our paperversary is in 10 days and since i'm going to be MIA from the blogosphere starting tomorrow, i decided to post the newspaper i made for justin! this is one part of his gift. he's really not that into homemade gifts [is any man?] so i made it mainly for my pleasure. i'm pretty excited how it turned out. it's kind of our year in review.  any more ideas on what to get my hubsters?

the party that white people like

remember when i wrote this? well, it was that time again- the harrilander's 1st annual ugly sweater party! i guess it's a utah white people thing because many a'folks when i talked about the party had NO IDEA what i was talking about. weirdos. here's a blast from my 1st ugly sweater party, which i didn't really wear an ugly sweater but ugly clothes.our party marked the

 8th

day of christmas. much fun was had by all- alot of people had to cancel at the last minute [blast those family and work parties!] but we rocked it til canada day. i was super excited to make decorations!

meghan & i went shopping for out outfits weeks before- i wore a yellow work-out bear sweatshirt that was quite stylish. that plus my christmas-snookie hair [as justin called it] made me look quite the fancy lady.  meghan wore the fanciest dress with shoulder pads i've ever seen. she looked magical. here's some pics of the ugly sweater-ites!

7th

we planned on going to play in snow at mtn charleston but alas, like true las vegans, we were scared by a little bit of precipitation and instead went shopping with my g.ma at the base [score] then went to my work's christmas party.

6th

what better way to celebrate christmas then by watching a wonderful musical program? sacrament was absolutely amazing. then i had the opportunity to teach along with my presidency about mary, elizabeth, & anna. plus dinner with my fam [and meeting josh's new flame] = magical day.

here are some pics from the party!

a trip to willy wonka's factory

from http://craftily-ever-after.blogspot.com/

who doesn't like chocolate? no one, that's who. so for our

11th

day of christmas we went to visit ethel m's chocolate factory. no, it's not willy wonka's [or even as awesome as his] but it did have real live, life-sized oompa loompas! we got a little lost on the way and it was bfe but man, it was worth it. it was MAGICAL . and so romantic. if only there was snow. or it was colder so i could get the maximum amount of snuggleage in. 

10th

i planned on taking justin ice skating wednesday but alas, i had a mental breakdown. who knew christmas was such an emotional draining holiday? lots of tears were shed this day so we celebrated christmas by relaxing and making cookies.

9th

justin's work had their christmas party [didn't know about it originally] so i made some peanut-butter blossoms, cake pops for the ugly sweater party, then got my hair cut. because nothing says happy christmas like looking pretty.

let me preface this by telling you i'm a sore loser

12

and they're off! we finally got our magic christmas tree seed last night. i don't know the full story but i know it involves pooping fairies.... so i didn't ask too many questions. our seed was so small, you could barely see it all. but with regular kisses [justin refused] and singing [celine dion- who would have guessed?], it slowly grew! grew! grew!

slowly the seed became a little plant. i called this his teenage rebellious stage. he started asking to listen to nirvana and the ramones. i guess every child goes through that at one time or another.

eventually we got our full grown, 3 foot tree! we 'borrowed' the lights from lynsey's last apt and only had 3 ornaments with us [thanks teryl], including our 1st christmas ornament! little reginald is quite dashing don't you think?

that night we went to the irelanders house for some 'ginerbread' house building competitions. fortunately, steven is in the building community and secured the proper licenses for us. can you tell whose is whose? vote for your favorite house now! [i am a professional loser so i am determined to just beat steven's].

to vote: look to the left of the posts near the top [the sidebar].

let the voting begin!

Happy Ex-Mas Everyone!

the 14 days of christmas have begun! they were updated from the originally planned 12 days of christmas because 2 awesome events were planned to be included in the days because their incredible awesomeness. i made an advent calender to count down to christmas- inside each bag is a treat and our planned activity. notice my cute little 'elf on the shelf'!

14



as you can see, justin was way jazzed for the nativity



saturday was my wonderful mil's birthday so we celebrated with her then helped her trim her tree. she gave justin the BEST ornament. when he was little, teryl made a pillsbury dough boy outfit for him [she still has it so expect our little seedlings to one day wear it] so she got him a dough boy ornament. classic.

 that night we went to the live nativity that the Church puts on every year. this year is was through a different stake and different venue but i thought it was excellent. seeing the nativity story in person always brings it to life for me. despite justin & steven's cold bums, it was worth it.



cute tree right?

 13
sunday was a night not to be missed- the abc family original movie 'christmas cupid' was on; staring christina millian, chad michael murray, and that chick from 'pretty little liars'. classic abc family original movie. it was basically strooge's story but differ net, it was ex-mas [the ghosts of xmas past, present, & future were her ex-boyfriends]. it was all you could hope and dream an ABC family original movie could be. justin was appalled that i love for such movies. it was no 'holiday in handcuffs' but that's alot to live up to.

 

and look at our first christmas ornament i found at savers- only $4! granted, it said 'couple's first christmas 1994' on it but i just blacked that out. still works. if the pioneers can handle snow,death, and famine, i think we can handle a misprinted first ornament.

we still have no tree set up but our stockings are hung by our clock with care. tree to come shortly...

merry ex-mas everyone!

it's great not to procreate



my friend denise & her twins



so i know about twenty girls [no joke] who are preggers right now or just had a little bundle of joy. as a girl of a certain age, it makes you wonder what your missing. ever since i've gotten married...okay, ever since i turned 20, i've had, what i refer to as, baby hot flashes. one minute, i'll want one really bad then the next...not so much. it's hard not to want a little baby you can dress up like a old man garden gnome but real easy not to want a puking mess of nastiness.



now don't get me wrong, i am a mother of sorts. i've got my babies [read: neice & nephews], i've got fluffy [the fish], and rory [the baby doll i got from my friends on my 21st birthday. even back then i wanted a baby]. i have those mothering instincts to go along with my birthin hips. and heaven knows my mother & mol are ready for us to have those chicklens, but not yet. and anna- she's call me many a time to ask justin & i to hop on that wagon [why yes, this IS creepy].

honestly, i am way excited to have a baby one day but not today. i mean, who doesn't like babies? the cute little clothes, their little toes, did i mention the clothes?? i am quite green over these little mamas but alas, it is not my time yet.  babies are coming one day but until then, i've decided to help easy my hot flashes by making a list of things that i can do that those girls who had a little bit TOO much fun can't.
-well, i can drink or smoke or do recreational drugs if i want. i think my bishop would have issues with that but it's still something i can do
-i can clean out kitty litter boxes. for this though, i first need a kitty
-cross my legs
-i can eat fish & all the mercury i want! basically, i can become a thermometer and no one can say poo
-sleep on my belly
-dye my hair
-eat without vomiting
-back up without a loud BEEP! BEEP! going off [ok...im sorry! but i just had to throw that in]
-clean the bathroom with the door closed and vent off-go on that roller coaster tour of america i've been putting off-sleep through the night without getting up to pee
-caffeine! slurpees! my precious!
-run. not that i do.
-cook in a hot tub
-see my toes [thanks for pointing that out anna]
-not stink up a room. although i do do this more often then i should.
-eat raw milk. hello e coli! and raw eggs....cookie dough people!!
-get up [from sitting down] without help

-not pee my pants or have a spontaneous boobie leak

-jump on a trampoline
-inflate balloons

see? not being with child is kinda awesome right now. granted, when my time does come, i doubt i'll have any issues making a similar list [which would include 'getting to wear your fat jeans all year 'round' and 'eating.eating.eating']. honestly, us women have the best of both worlds. miley wasn't kidding.

i would give my left kidney for this mousse

this is, by far, the world's best chocolate mousse. no joke. if i had a baby, i would give him/her up for a day to eat this mousse. if i could eat whatever i wanted all day long and not gain poundage, i'd eat this mousse, ruffles & dips, cheetos, slurpees, whatchamacallits, &  more of this mousse. it's that awesome. we got it from the valley vista ward's cookbook [much grass alicia demille!] a few years ago and now i only get it once a year on my birthday. enjoy.

Chocolate Mousse

Crust:
3 cups crushed Oreos
½ cup melted butter

Mix together, pat down in the bottom of a freezed spring-form pan and return to freezer.

Filling:

1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 whole eggs

6 Tbs. powdered sugar

Separate 4 eggs (yolks/whites)

2 cups whipping cream

Melt the chocolate chips. Add whole eggs and the egg yolks. Whip egg whites until stiff. Whip the cream until stiff with 6 Tbs powdered sugar. Add a little of each (1 Tbs at a time until ½ gone [pudding looking] then fold in ½ then fold in cream) until add ingredients are combined. Pour into your pan and refrigerate for 8 hours. Top with additional whipping cream.

the songs of my heart

music has always been a huge influence in my life. my mom always said that i didn't speak my first words, i sung them. growing up, i loved loved loved singing and i loved performing. i had singing lessons, i sang at schools, county- fairs, anywhere that would take me. my mom forced all her little hoodlums [except josh, lucky dog] to learn to play piano starting at the age of 6 [5 for me] and we hated it all those years. every morning, starting at 5:30am, we took our turns playing for an hour. anna would always get pissed and have to blow in my mom's face [read: morning breathe anyone?] and i mastered the art of sleeping on the keys. now days, shannon is the only one who can play like a champ. the rest of us can fiddle through the hymns if we have to, but music was always a big part of our lives.

oh, and we loved our musicals. eliza doolittle had her rain in spain, the master of the house kept the zoo, and i enjoyed being a girl. my brother nate even gave us three little girls our own songs from les miserables ['castle on a cloud' was mine]. i never realized just how odd it was for little kids to like musicals til i attempted to get justin to watch [on tv, no less] a musical.



choir trip soph year- i wish i had a better one but alas, no.



while my brothers & sisters had to learn an instrument and be band-nerds, i was a choir-queer and i relished every moment of it until about sophomore year of hs. by that time i had done show choir with kayla, i had had that solo, and i had been the section leader. for some reason, i just started to hate it. maybe i burned out or i realized i could never be kristen chenoweth. either way, i was done. and i especially wouldn't sing for my mom [couldn't give her that satisfaction].

so now i have a meagerly-average voice and i'm okay with that. i sing loud in church, smugly knowing that the ladies behind me couldn't hit a pitch if it was the size of wiffle-ball. i will proudly jump from alto to soprano parts and back again at odd times just to keep people on their toes [esp caitlin]. i still won't sing in choirs [can't stand that mediocre talent, that i am sadly apart of] but every once in a while, especially at christmas time, i'll sing 'were you there?' for my mom. i sing too loud in the car and while i clean. and i'm good with that.

with all of that being said, i still love music. you know that feeling you get when you listen to a song and it sings to your soul? it speaks the words you can't form. says the feelings you can't express. or express a moment that you thought you had lot. songs do that to me; help me remember what it's like to be alive. i love finding a song that speaks the words of my heart. i most recently found this one, 'dog days are over' by florence & the machine [thank you glee. you surprise even me]. close your eyes- close your eyes. can't you imagine storming out of your crappy job, walking out with your head held high, and embracing the new & unknown? me too. these songs seem to capture some deep & life-changing point in my life. here are some of my favs. and ps- music snobbery is not tolerated here. just because you listen to indie doesn't mean you are cool. liking what you like is cool, no matter who sang it [lesson learned: jessica p. stoneman with 'love bug' by the jonas brothers].

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

deathcab for cutie: "i will follow you into the dark": If there's no one beside you, When your soul embarks, Then I'll follow you into the dark. epic love song.

hilary duff "come clean": don't hate. too many people are prejudice against teeny-poppers. sometime the masses are right. this song reminds me of blair & me, dancing in an empty parking lot, or at 7-11, or around her room. high school in a nutshell.

butterfly boucher:  "life is short": seize the day people. Oh I am young but I have aged, Waited long to seize the day, All things said and plenty done, Oh I am young but I have a past, Travelled far to find the start. Yes I am scared and I've been burnt, But life is short. 

plain white t's : "hey there delilah": this was my anthem for two years. every time i drove through the black mtn pass between st. george & cedar, i'd sing this song & cry. Hey there Delilah, You be good and don't you miss me, Two more years you'll be done with school , And I'll be making histoy. i think this song was made for missionary girls.

genesis: "that's all": i wish i could understand why this song touches my soul but no answers. phil is the master. i think i just love the beat. to me, this song is about toughin it out through the horrible times when you & that special someone can't agree on one single thing. that's love.

tim mcgraw: "indian outlaw": this song is for me & justin. he would sing it to me. i have a favorite phrase in this song- any guesses what it could be?

natasha bedingfield: "soulmate": n bedingfield is my #1 favorite female singer. this song is about wanting love. desperately. Is it possible that Mr. Loveable is already in my life? Right in front of me or maybe you're in disguise. he was for me, but i'm one of the lucky few. everyone has felt the pain of being single. but being able to know who we are when we're by ourselves makes us a better Mrs. Loveable for that Mr.

wham!: "wake me up before you go-go": THIS IS MY JAM! may i just say, wham! is the most misunderstood and under appreciated band of the century? sure, george michael is a freak. so was michael jackson- lots of musical genisus' are.

coldplay: "viva la vida": remember the itunes commercials to this? when chris martin does ONE action, just rockin his hand back and forth the WHOLE SONG? one time driving home from SLC with my sister shannon i did it. the whole song. which is not easy for a song that's about five minutes long.

jason mraz: "the beauty in ugly": talk about a song changing you. i never watched ugly beauty before this but have been a a mr. a-z fan since his musical conception [#1 favorite male singer]. this is prob my favorite jmraz song so that says something. the video changed how i viewed myself.

high school musical 3: "a night to remember": honestly, i love this song because of the movie. check out the link at 50 seconds and your whole mind will be blown. zac efron can move it like no other. when my bff8 bought me this dvd as a grad present, i watched that segment [and mimicked it shamelessly] a gazillion times. do it people. let yourself life.


kelly sweet: "dream on": while i know some who hate all covers [j.p.s.] i think this song could change your mind. aerosmith wrote the words, kelly brought them to life. Sing with me, sing for the year, Sing for the laugh, sing for the tears, Sing with me, if it's just for today, Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away. sometimes life is meant to be lived in the moment. let go, express your soul, sing.

nelly furtado: "explode" or the whole 'folklore' album. many of nights i couldn't sleep i would put this cd in my walkman and drift away to sleep. i stole this cd from my sister devin [she never missed it- i bet her reading this will be the first time she noticed it gone]. this is my absolute #1 favorite song. ever. this song reminds me of the feeling of hs- judging others by what you perceived. Then count the stars and the ten million woes, Just you and the universe judging each other, We never knew that we'd get caught up, Stuck in the teenage waste. no matter how horrible life might be in that moment, remember We're counting the stars
We're gonna go far. this song gives me hope.

i wish i could put more. i have so many more favorites. sometimes, i think my life is played out in songs.

a harrison family original: 12 days of xmas

i am so jazzed for our first christmas together officially as man & wife. before we were just boy & girlfriend so they obviously didn't count. this year, decorations will be quite sparse. we have to evacuate our home by dec 31st but we're going on a paperversery trip to san diego then so right after xmas we are homeless. well, not homeless, but bumming with the original harrison clan so we have to keep our 'things' light [which is hard bc we all know how much i love my things]. so all the decor we get this year is our fancy new stockings i made and our tree, which will most likely be the 12" pink one i use at work.


not bad quality for a camera phone

to make up for our lame holiday cheer, i've decided to reinstitute the 12 days of christmas! i remember my gma zobrist did this for us growing up [complete with homemade pj's] but this year, we're going to spice things up a bit.

WARNING:

JUSTIN IS NOT ALLOWED TO

READ PAST THIS POINT

[not that he reads our my blog but still, just in case]

i'm trying to keep things a surprise, in case you can't tell. so this list is obviously a work in progress but i'm way jazzed for the o'cassion.

(13) as a pre-12 days experience, we're gonna watch the new abc family original movie, 'christmas cupid' staring chad michael murray. now if your not familiar these sorts of movies, i pity you. some favorites include 'holiday in handcuffs', 'revenge of the bridesmaids', 'beauty and the briefcase' and 'my fake fiance'. classics.
12 our house will be visited by the magic xmas tree fairy. growing up, my dad would bring home a magical seed from the south pole [read: avocado seed] that would magically grow throughout the night into a robust tree! ours will be stunted in growth along the way, but still. + gingerbread decorating.
11 a visit to ethel m's chocolate factory + garden. they deck out our desert landscape with lights. and its free!
10 ice skating! along with hot coco- not hot quik. coco mix is different than quik. this is part of an ongoing debate justin & i have been having.
9 a drive to see the xmas edition of the fremont street experience [light show in downtown las vegas]

8 the harrilanders first annual ugly sweater party! throwing a fabulous coming to a home near you! don't you remember? this is stuff white people like. throwing a fabulous party is on my list of 25 things to do before i turn 25.
7 snow day at mount charleston
6 cookie baking + holiday movieathon. i've never seen the classics 'miracle of 34th street' or 'a christmas story' so it's on my to-due list.
5 the magical forest at opportunity village - this is a great fundraiser that opp village puts on every year- full of gingerbread building contests and the magical forest where many of my enchanted mice friends live.
4 a visit to the temple- what better way to celebrate christmas than by being in the House of the Lord?
3 a drive through the 'gift of lights' at the speedway
2 money tree! growing up, my dad would give us gifts a money tree for xmas- basically a naked tree rooted in a concrete pot that had crisp dollar bills on it. we'd then use these dollars to get a coke [or candy-bar] after church at jone's feed store. i guess my mom was pretty lax about keeping the sabbath holy back then...
1 pajama's! mine aren't homemade. and justin's going to get the ones he got last year [and never used] but i'll get some new ones [pink hello! kittys]. plus the reading of the christmas story

this list has been changed a number of times and i'll still not set on everything but i'm just so excited for holiday festivities! we're also going to the live nativity that a stake puts on dec 8-12th. and we've also made the commitment to change our scripture study routine each day in december to read a chapter from luke, which captures the life of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

and for all those married folks, one of my favorite marriage blogs Love, Actually made these cute free printables- the 12 lays of xmas! i thought this was a super cute idea...not that i'm doing that kind of stuff....gross.