Christmas Trees and Decorations

So this is our first Christmas married. Last Christmas we got our Christmas tree (yes a fake) together- well I bought it and Brad carried it. My mom said she knew he really loved me when he got up at 4:30 the day after Thanksgiving to carry my Christmas Tree. So it's our little joke that our Christmas tree symbolizes our love. This was the first year we decorated it and other parts of our condo with our few Christmas decorations. We had hot chocolate and listened to Christmas music while we decorated. What a fun tradition to start. Our Christmas tree is biased with my ornaments. When I asked Brad about having any he looked at me incredulously and said "Do I look like the kind of guy that would have ornaments." So as another tradition to start this year we will pick out our first ornament together and it will probably be a star for the top of our tree. What fun memories for our first Christmas!

Thanksgiving Memories

A good book

I've always wanted to write book reviews after I finish my books like my cousin Lynn and sister Angie. They however have majored in English and so this will be somewhat amateur but alas here are my thoughts on East of Eden. The concept of duality in man, or man versus self, is quite common in literature. Hugo, Dostoevsky, Dickens, and I'm sure lots others have explored this. However, in this book Steinbeck has been the first to personalize the idea to me and all people for that matter. The protagonists are painted as colorful characters with evil and good in them. The antagonists are painted more one sided with black and white type thinking all selfish and evil or all pure and good. The entire book is centered around the word "Timshalt " and whoever reads this book will never forget it ( though they might forget the correct spelling). I honestly did not realize I liked this book so much until the last page. Their are painful moments in this book where the protagonists disappoint you and you wonder who are you really cheering for. Yet in the end the magnanimity of man shines through with the strength and power to choose his character and destiny. I reccomend this book to all those who like books that make them think (this is not a light novel) and if you start to read it push yourself through the painful parts because in the end it will not dissapoint.

I have a new favorite musical. In my weekly venture to the library I thought of asking if they have any piano music. They did and I got The Best of Broadway. Lately I go through spurts of playing the piano and singing all the time and then rarely at all. Well when I found music I was interested in I hit the other end of my spurt. I was playing some of the music when I found a selection of music from Jekyll & Hyde. Everyone knows "This is The Moment" from the musical but there is so much moving music in this show. Most of the songs are written for a mezzo soprano which is my current voice range. I got Brad to sing "This is the Moment" and after I convinced him not use his pop voice (my choir teacher is still influencing me) he sounded amazing. I just love music that gives you tingles.

Election Day

"Election day should be a holiday," declared Brad on election eve, "It's like christmas eve." What? Well to Brad anyway. Every day since the primaries (seriously) I have been updated about candidates, who's doing well or not in the polls, and other election news. I don't think I would have a clue about the candidates or news if not for my funny husband. Good thing I like to be informed but don't like the homework. Anyhow Election Day was like a holiday for us and we went to a party to watch the results. I was impressed with both McCain's honorable speech and Obama's moving speech. It was fun to be so involved and apart of a historical night. Now dinner conversations might be a little boring, what will we talk about? Oh just kidding there is always political news.

Happy Halloween

What a night. Brad and I with the help of my wonderful mom created our costumes from scratch this year (well relatively speaking). I'm not exactly sure how I got the idea of Barney and Betty but it was early in October due to the fact that I work at an Elementary and kids start asking what you are going to be for Halloween in September. I've never made my own costume so it was a first for both of us. We went party hopping with Jon (the football player) and Laura (his cheerleader), sang the Flinstones Theme song on Ryan's green screen (Well I sang the right one, Brad unexpectedly sang the Homer Simpson Flinstone Theme Song). It was a hit! At another party we found a Fred but he didn't have a Wilma. We danced and sang karaoke all night. I told Brad he gets to pick out our costumes next year- he's threatened Homer and Marge so we'll see:)

Going South

For fall break we worked really hard and got a lot of stuff done Thursday and Friday and then we took our vacation on Saturday. We left 8AM and headed to Manti. We barely made the 11:30 session. And both of our phones thought Manti was a different time zone so we were very confused and thought it was daylight savings time. Weird. The temple was beautiful! We went to lunch in Manti where they had the best Motzarella sticks I've ever had. Mmmm. And we got some candy at the cute candy shop on Main. After lunch and dessert we headed to a little town called Salina to see Grandpa Dennis and Aunt Rochelle. Grandpa Dennis told us story after story from his 95 years of life. He seemed to me like quite the rogue when he was young. Aunt Rochelle loved her surprise visit and had cookies all ready for us. We met up with some friends in Springville for dinner and stopped by Mom and Dad Dennis's for apple pie and rolls to take home. What a busy but fun day!

Oly Homecoming

Earlier this evening Brad and I returned to high school years. Our ward had a tailgate party and it just so happened right after was the homecoming game at Olympus High. So I dragged Brad and for the first time since 2001 I returned to a sports event at Olympus. We decided high school sport events can be much more entertaining than college due to the more unsportsmanlike conduct of player and spectator. We sat with the families and moms and dads sure get into there kids games. I think the family section cheered more than the students. I was fascinated observing the social adolescent zoo (it's hard to believe I was a part of that not too long ago). It's amazing what a couple years in college and grad school can do for your perspective on high school. It was also freezing cold and after the game was complete the students rushed the field BEFORE the game was over. Oops. Brad and I couldn't stop the laughter. What a night!

Active versus Content

One of my favorite things about our DC vacation was all of our active routines. Running, Biking, Hiking, Walks, and just working out. I feel my very best when I am Active. It brings me back to my years in ballet when I was in tip top condition and felt I could conquer anything. When we returned to Utah and thus reality I vowed I would not fall back into my content routine of laziness, but alas life overcame me and I returned to bad habits. The other day I was driving somewhere doing another errand and I saw a lady out jogging pushing her baby in a stroller. She was probably in her mid 30s and at least had one baby. I was inspired by her effort to be active, though she could easily find other things needing to be done. I was reminded of a quote "We are the architects of our lives." And so I am making the goal of doing something Active (despite the business of life) at least 3 times a week. As long as I can I want to be an Active woman and I will start now.

1st Date Anniverasary

So I have the day off thanks to Parent Teacher Conferences and I thought I would report about our first ever anniversary. On Sep. 15th 2007 Brad asked me out on our 1st ever date. At the time I was annoyed with dating (after a really bad date previously in the week) and was set on taking a break from dating after this date with this kid Brad who moved into my ward. Well I ended up having the best first date in my life. He took me to the Krishna Temple Festival of India in Spanish Fork. It was so much fun and started our love story. So this year after being married almost 4 months on Sep 13 we ventured out to the same festival and re-lived our first date. A few slight changes occured. For some reason unknown to me but to Brad's delight I now like curry. Last year I did not. And during the production there was more "physical contact" last year there was only "leaning":) Our friends from DC met up with us and we had a great time. We decided we will always celebrate the anniversary of our first date this same way (well as long as we are in utah). So if you want to have a new cultural experience and some yummy curry set your calendar next year for the middle of september. Oh and did I mention the shopping! I got this beautiful salmon colored shawl handmade in India for not much money at all.

A new twist on Cannon

So Brad and I have enjoyed a new past time. Duets with me on the piano and him on the guitar. It all started with Canon in D which I was playing and he got out his guitar and we rocked. Tonight we repeated the experience but with his electric guitar, this time it was a hard core rocking experience. He just loves his guitar and gets all these facial expressions and moves to "feel" the music. I love it. But we are louder then the average condo owner in our complex, our poor neighbors...

A free moment

Well blog access is quite limited now that I am working for granite district and unlike jordan they block gmail, blogspot and sites like that. I also don't know what to write about now that I'm back in the day to day life. We had amazing steak last night. It was Brad's first time grilling steaks and we used a marinade recipe from Mom Dennis. Yum, we both thought mmmmm restaurant quality. So I am wanting to take a poll. Do you (whoever reads this) have difficulty waking up in the morning- especially in the winter months? I am conducting a personal research study to find better ways to rise and shine. I consider myself a morning person once I am up and showered but it is the getting up that is difficult. Just 10 more minutes mentality aided by the snooze button is difficult to resist. But 10 minutes late in the morning sets back my whole day. Does anyone else have this problem and what do suggest for intervention.

Home at Last

Brad got home Saturday evening. Yeah! We both felt like 2 weeks was a whole lot longer than we thought. Sunday we went to our home ward (in Utah) for the 1st time. They were so welcoming, and randomly our homeward was the same home ward Lil Josh and the Ashcraft's were at to see their friend's mission talk. Small World. I don't know if it was sympathetic jet lag or I haven't been to a whole block of afternoon church for a while, but Brad and I were both struggling to stay awake in Sacrament meeting. Sunday night we celebrated Jon's birthday with great food and a whole lot of The Great Dalmuti. Brad made Dalmuti into a verb and we both got really into this 1 1/2 hour game. I think the family was a little surprised with our competitiveness with eachother. We can get a little intense:) I love that monday was a holiday because we spent the whole day together. Brad and Dad built a bookshelf and now we have an office because all of his books are off the floor. Hurray! Then we celebrated and did lunch and a movie. The Dark Night was a bit crazy scary for me but Brad liked the plot. We finished the day off with grilled cheese and Seinfeld. Now it is back to normal. It's amazing the things that you miss when your love is absent for two weeks. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He makes me laugh. He makes me think. He inspires me to be great and he shows me how to love. I love this cute boy.

Top 10 Things to Enjoy While Your Husband is out of the Country

1- Ice Cream Cones every night
2- Gilmore Girls
3- Real Milk
4- The Fun Bus w/ the girls
5- Lobster & Crab buffet w/ the girls
6- Rocking out w/ the girls
7- Love Letters (with him of course:)
8- Having the Computer to Yourself
9- Rearranging/ Decorating w/out questions
10- ok I can't think of 10 it's really not that enjoyable, there is more like 100 things you miss but I was trying to be positive hmmmmmmmmmm, can't think, hmmmmmmmmmmm...................................................................................................... ok I got it
10- Cupcakes for breakfast w/ out guilt!

Back to Reality

Wow what a busy week. We left Virginia last friday and drove all day to Wisconsin where we stayed and spent the next day with Wisconsin family. Then we left Sunday morning at 5 am and drove to Rock Springs WY. We got there about 10:00, and finally found my friends address around 10:30. I think in that last 30 minutes everything Brad did or said annoyed me- probably likewise. But alas, we found our haven and ditched living in our car for the next 12 hours. We got home on monday and found a few surprises at home. A dozen bees and hornets and a black widows web on our patio. Ahhhhh! After discovering the black widows web. I screamed "I'm not ready for home owership!" and was ready to hide in the house, but Brad looked up online how to rid yourself of these infestations and boiled some water which we through on the black widows nest. I got some Bee, Hornet, and Wasp killer at the store and we went Kamikazi (I'm not sure how you spell that) and started spraying the bees and in so doing killed some of the flowers they were around, oh well- the bees died:) I destroyed a hornets nest he was making and we made a mountain dew bee trap we found online. I realized from this venture that I am way above these stinging, poisonous insects on the food chain for a reason and I want them to know that. I also started my job in Granite District this week and am very pleased with the situation. 15-20 min commute rather that 40-45! Sadly Brad left on saturday to go to Turkey for 2 weeks and I started missing him the second he left. It really is a great opportunity for him and 2 weeks isn' t that long right? It sure gives me great admiration and appreciation for women who send their husbands to war. I can't imagine that. What a sacrifice they make. Well back to reality- work, home ownership woes:), and an absent husband.

Final Museum

So after 7 weeks of adventuring I have come to an end of tourism (for now). I debated in my head a while about going to this last museum. At first I really did not want to but I am very glad that I went. The National Holocaust Museum is unforgettable. I have a better understanding of how Nazi Germany came about and was reverenced by the millions of people who died because of it. What would it be like to be hated and condemned to die for your nationality, religious preference, color of your skin, having a disability, having a different lifestyle? Most of us living in the United States will never really understand. Though there is still hatred and nationalism we have built in safety structures in our government to protect each individuals basic rights. So many other countries do not have this and are still threatened by the same roots of the Holocaust. Even though we have these safeguards just like our founding fathers and civil rights activists we need to keep them working. Perhaps it is because I have surrounded myself this summer with American History, perhaps it is because I have my incredible husband who informs me about world politics, but I have developed a greater appreciation for the "one" who fights for freedoms for all people, who is informed about problems and dares to make changes, who raises their voice when they witness injustice, and mostly who has a perfect brightness of hope that all people can learn to forgive and love and the world can be a better place. I want to be the"one".

Ethiopian Food

So saturday Brad and I doubled with my friend Maria (from BYU) and her boyfriend. We celebrated our last weekend in DC at an Ethiopian restaurant in Adams Morgan- which seems to be where the night scene is in DC. Ethiopian food is entirely different than anything I have ever had. The appetizer was delicious- some sort of deep fried cabbage and mashed potato. The meal came out on this big pancake crepe thing (see picture). After I looked at it for a moment I was ready to try this interesting looking thing and looked around for my fork- no fork, maybe some sort of stick thing?- no... this is African not Asian food. So I asked and Brad laughed at me and explained you eat it with your hands. What? This did not look like finger food to me. So I mimicked what he did and tore off part of the crepe and tried picking up the food with it. Some of the food was really good, some was different. Afterward we walked down the club strip of Adams Morgan, Maria and I spotted a bookstore we had to check out. We parted at the metro station and Brad and I took our last metro ride home in DC.

The last Farmers Market

Yesterday I went to the last Farmers Market I will be able to attend while we are in Herndon this summer. It was a little sad especially when I got my last cookie from Poppy's Gourmet Cookies- mmmmmmm... the best cookies I have ever had. The historic town of Herndon has been really fun to explore and relax in this summer. It has a relaxed southern feel which I have come to enjoy and I will miss, though I am really excited to come home and see family and friends. See you all soon!

Cleaning the Temple

So yesterday I did something I have never done before. Our stake was in charge of volunteering to clean the DC Temple. Having no job and kids I would have felt guilty if I didn't volunteer and I was excited to see the temple from a different perspective, however I was not excited to get up at the crack of dawn in order to do it. LDS people always seem to be early birds but not just early birds super early birds because unlike in Utah the temple isn't 15 minutes away so you have to get up even earlier to travel to get there. But after my initial sleep interruption grumpiness I was excited to clean the temple. I was given a white jump suit and the assignment of cleaning the women's locker room. In the middle of my shift the temple practiced an emergency evacuation. That was interesting we got to exit through this hidden back door in the temple and listen to the workers give scripted instructions- some of which were very amusing. Then we went back in and completed our cleaning assignments. When we were finished we found we were trapped because there was wet cement that had just been poured all around the temple. Luckily we found a tiny path on the side of the temple that had not yet been done so we got to our car ok. It was different to be working in the temple that way. Temples are beautiful inside and out because of the spirit and also because people keep them clean -every inch it seems like and that is alot of work.

NYC trip

The next morning we had to figure out how to get into the city. We were only an hour outside but our guidebook warned against driving in NYC even for a day. So Brad found a nearby train station that would take us into the city. That was an experience! We transfered to another bus in Newark and ended up having to run to barely catch our next bus on a different track. When we got into NYC the bus station was entirely confusing and thank goodness for kind New Yorkers we were pointed in the right direction and headed off for an adventure. Having both been to NYC before we wanted to go a little off the beaten path. We started at 125th street Harlem- reccomended by our guide book for all of the unique aromas of food. They have cleaned up Harlem quite a bit since the 90's when it had it's dangeroous reputation. The guide book was right you walk along 125th street and are bombarded with all kinds of delicious aromas and quite a few people selling jewlery- sticking with tradition I got some unique earings. For lunch we had one of New Yorks famous street vendor Gyro's and mango sold right on the street, yum! Here is a picture of Harlem

After exploring Harlem Brad mentioned he had never been on the Staton Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty so we took the metro to the Ferry and took a ride. Here he is with Manhattan behind him
After the Ferry ride we headed to China Town for the highlight of the trip- Hand Bag Shopping. I found a perfect bag knock off of course and even haggled down 10 dollars. Then we headed to Little Italy to get some Cannoli. Here I am with my bag, and here is Brad trying his first Cannoli.

It's the best treat in Little Italy. After dessert we headed for dinner. My favorite memory of China Town before when I was in New York besides the hand bags of course was the soup dumplings in China Town. So we went in search of those and to my delight found some. Yum
After dinner we raced for the train station- got lost yet again and then got on the right train towards our car and then drove home happily exhausted. What a fun trip!

Our Trip

Wow what a weekend adventure we have had. We left friday afternoon and headed out to Philadelphia. I drove because Brad had gotten up really early to go to work, and it was a good drive until Philadelphia. We took a bit of a wrong turn and I don't think GPS systems account for one way streets so we ended up in what you would call the slums of Philly. It was very interesting- there is nothing like this in Utah, and a little un-nerving. So we locked the doors and Brad took over driving. We got to Liberty Square about 4 in the afternoon. We walked around and saw the sights except Independence hall- you had to have a ticket for that. But we got a pcture of the building. Here I am standing in front if it.

We also saw the famous liberty bell. It was really cool to read how it has been a symbol of liberty throughout the revolution, emancipation, womens rights, and civil rights movements. Here is Brad standing in front of it- you can even see the crack

It was also really cool to walk around Philly and imagine who all had walked there before- a bunch of rebel patriots who become the founding fathers. DC doesn't really have this feel because it is rather new compared to Philladelphia. After touring Philly we headed to a nearby park and had a picnic dinner. Then we drove to Rareton, New Jersey where we stayed the night.

Wedding Pictures

So I have finally gotten around to getting our wedding pictures. My awesome cousins Jess and Adam were the photographers. If you want to view or order pictures they will be available for a couple more months at this website evergreenstudios.lifepics.com and the event code is Mary Jefferson. Thanks Jess and Adam!

Arlington, KramerBooks, & The Library of Congress

I started my day with a walk through Arlington Cemetery. What an incredible place, rows and rows of white tomb stones as far as the eye can see. As I walked through the cemetery I couldn't help but think about all of the War Memorials I had previously seen and especially the powerful words on the Korean memorial "Freedom is not Free." I wasn't really paying attention to the time and so was really lucky when I got to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier- it was right at the start of the changing of the guard. I was touched by the sharp clean uniforms and movements of the guards and how they honored the Unknown Soldiers. After this I took the metro over to Dupont Circle to check out DC's famous bookstore Kramerbooks & Afterwords. I had lunch in the cafe and browsed the book store. I like book stores like this more than your chain Barnes & Noble, Borders, ect. It actually reminded me of a book store Brad and I found on main street in Park City (right by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory). We went in to do our usual browsing and found big fluffy cats walking around and even sitting on some books, it gave it such a homey feel. No cats walking around Kramerbooks but same type of atmosphere. Then I took the metro again over to the Library of Congress. I am beginning to feel very confident with the metro system. The Library of Congress was like a greek temple and artistically amazing. I took a tour and learned about all of the symbolism throughout the building. Cousin Wendy said when she was is DC she could spend hours in the Library of Congress. I guess I'm not as intellectual because I got bored with the library after a couple hours. Oh well, we all can't be mesmerized by libraries.

Tagged- All About The Boy

Cousin Kiley tagged me and so here goes, but some of these answers may be influenced by the fact we are still in our honeymoon stage of marriage.

1. What is his name? Brad

2. Who eats more? Definitely Brad- he is nearly twice my size

3. Who said, "I love you" first? Me!

4. Who is taller? Definitely Brad

5. Who is smarter? Hmm, I think Brad is smarter in general, but I am smarter with understanding people.

6. Who is more sensitive? Probably me, he tries to be a tough guy but sometimes can be really sensitive.

7. Who does the laundry? C'est moi

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Brad

9. Who pays the bills? So far both of us, but I am the book keeper.

10. Who cooks more? C'est moi

11. Who is more stubborn? I don't know, I know we both are determined type of people but with eachother we seem quick to empathize and compromise.

12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I think its a tie

13. Who has more siblings? Brad-5 older siblings, he is the baby.

14. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Don't know again, I think we both have a leg in the pants.

15. What do you like to do together? Travels and adventures-new things, new places, new people, play games (especially scrabble), and working out

16. Who eats more sweets? c'est moi

17. Guilty Pleasures? Mine is decorating & shoes, Brad's is reading the news (in all kinds of languages) and Gingerale.

18. How did you meet? He moved back from Turkey and checked out his old singles ward (mine). We met at a linger longer- they work!

19. Who asked whom out first? Brad- it was quite surprising in this day and age of boys who don't date.

20. Who kissed who first? It is debatable:) But it was while we were making brownies.

21. Who proposed? Brad- we were playing a question game (I ask a question, then he does, ect.) and he got more of a serious look and asked me. I was completely shocked.

22. His best features and qualities? His smile, green eyes and build. He is always opening my mind to new things and inspiring me. He can be a kid and has a great sense of humor. He cares a lot about people all around the world and really wants to do his part to make the world a better place.

23. Tag you’re it. Who do you tag? The Shields, Jayne, and Rozzie

DC Temple, Iwo Jima, & Georgetown

We had another busy weekend with a few tourist attractions. Saturday we went to the DC Temple. It was just beautiful. It was our first time at the temple since our wedding. I can't believe we are nearing two months. Time certainly flies. Inside the DC temple is an incredible mural I could just look at for hours. It has left a lasting impression on me- as art often can do. Sunday we visited the Iwo Jima memorial, again very impressive and touching. I didn't realize it would be so huge but it really does justice to the famous photograph and what it represents. Then we drove over to Geogetown and Brad showed me around the campus. I think it was one of the hottest days plus humidity in DC and so we just walked around a bit and then came home to an air conditioned apartment- ah the blessings of modern living.

Cat Pictures

And this is what happens when boys learn how to blog...help us all!

And here is Brad after a hard day at work

Here is Mary getting up in the morning and uttering her first morning words.

Viva L' Arts

So I spent the entire day in one museum- broken into two buildings. The National Gallery of Art is a must see whether you are an art lover or not. I happen to enjoy art and so it probably took me a lot longer than the average person. It helps to have a knowledge of greek mythology and biblical stories in order to understand a lot of early art periods. I did learn Madonna is the name used in all art depicting Mary the mother of Jesus. And the greek and roman perception of a beautiful Venus is not the skinny anoresic western view we seem to have- Go Greeks! I saw the only Da Vinci on this continent, and some other famous paitings and sculptures (Monet, Degas, VanGogh, Rodin, Veneer, and more.) I still think my favorite is the Impressionist works. Though I do love the scupltures by Rodin. The day was topped off with lunch with my friend Maria who works in the library side of the Gallery. We dined inside on the roof (it was too hot to dine outside) but still had a great view of the Mall outside. Lovely day with L'arts.

The Big 3, Chinatown, and Who's who in the US

So I had another fun adventure in DC. It started with my first (on my own) metro transfer. This may not seem like a big deal but given the fact that I didn't really know where I was going I was proud of myself. When I got out of the subway I could not figure out which way was north and was lost in what direction to walk until a metro worker saw me staring aimlessly at my map. It was at this point that I realized how much I use the mountains to orient me- thank you Salt Lake. So my first stop was the Archives Building where I stood in line for an hour to see the Big 3 (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights). It was very worth it and made me realize how inspired the "rebel" patriots were- if you think about it, it is amazing that over 200 years later we are still using the theories of government and freedoms a group of "rebel" patriots came up with. In this aspect they were definitely inspired men. After touring a bit more the Archives building I headed up the street to Chinatown for lunch. Now Chinatown kind of has a shady reputation so I was careful and a little nervous to walk into a basement restaurant on my own so I followed another tourist couple in- just to be safe and had a good (pretty cheap) lunch. After lunch I headed to the National Portrait Gallery or as I like to call it the "Who's who in US History." It was a review of my US History class and was fun to see so many familiar names in portraits. I saw all my favorite authors, actresses, all of the US Presidents- including the famous portrait of George Washington, and even Joseph Smith & Brigham Young. It was funny on the label for Brigham Young it said "notorious for his many wives"- no comment about how polygamy isn't practiced anymore. No wonder why so many people think Mormons still practice polygamy. The day ended with another transfer on the metro to get home, but this was during rush hour. Whoa! Busy! I had to stand the whole way to my stop. After all of the walking and standing of the day I was exhausted when I got home, but Brad ended the day perfectly by making dinner. So nice.