A Christmas Carol: Our Review

Today Adam had work off, so we decided to go see the movie "A Christmas Carol." We were really excited about it since it looked like it had some great animation and Jim Carrey was playing Scrooge (as well as the ghosts he sees). Plus, we both really enjoy the Christmas Carol story.

But, we are sad to confess that we were actually kind of disappointed in the film.

Yes, there was some great animation (really great actually... that was the part we really liked), and yes there were quite a few funny Jim Carrey moments, yes the movie was clean, and yes the story as a whole was a good one... but we found some of the movie to be lacking and there were some seriously creepy parts... especially for being a family Disney movie!

We do not recommend that you take your young kids to see this. There were a number of times Adam and I would just look at each other, completely shocked at some of the scary elements in what was supposed to be a family film. We ourselves got kind of creeped out!

We felt that the ghost section, which was the bulk of the movie, was not as effective as it could have been. A lot of it seemed to drag on, especially on pointless or unnecessary parts. We actually felt somewhat drained after watching it all. It was just lacking substance, focus, and that sense of wonder. We just didn't feel the power & inspiration of the Christmas Carol story.

The ending was good and redeemed the movie for us, but we do have to say... think twice before you go spend a bunch of money on this movie! (If you do see it in the theater, we suggest doing a matinee)

But, don't get disappointed from our opinion. You may really like it, so don't feel like you can't go see the movie now. There were some worthwhile elements.

Keeping Busy

  The other day I woke up to pink emanating from the blinds of the window next to our bed.  I got up, opened the blinds, and saw this:

It was so beautiful that I grabbed the camera and started snapping some photos. Then I went out to get Adam to show him and by the time he got there, the breath-taking sunrise was gone!  Most of the pink had faded and the sky had become plain.  I was sad that such a beautiful thing only lasted so short a time!

Since I have a lot of spare time lately, I decided to get busy with preparations for the baby. 

I went out a couple days ago to a craft store and got some wire thread, some sequins and beads to make a baby mobile for Jack.  Below are some pictures of my progress:

Then I also decided to start on a baby blanket for Jack's crib. So I bought some muted yellow fleece fabric to match a Van Gogh print that I have (I thought it would be a nice thing to base the "nursery" colors off of). I am still deciding how I am going to edge the blanket and such. I think when I go up to see my family next, I will have my mom help me;-)

This morning I woke up to find frost covering the ground, so I had Adam come with me on a quick drive to take some pictures. (Plus, I have to do it for an assignment anyway... I don't normally go take pictures at 6:30 in the morning ;-)) I posted some of the beauty I saw below:

... And still no news yet on the job!

Our Pumpkin Carving

Yesterday Adam and I decided to carve the pumpkins his parents got at a pumpkin patch. I love doing festive things, so I relished in the whole experience. I breathed in deeply the strong pumpkin scent and I saved the seeds to roast for later. Adam and I had a good time. Adam was pretty proud of his pumpkin. I thought he did a pretty good job too. Maybe Adam does have some artistry in those hands of his after all! ;-)
Anyway, here are the pics:







Also, for my digital illustration class we had the assignment to make a Halloween poster. Again, I was excited for the extra chance to be festive and I had a lot of fun making it, so I thought I would share the poster for the sake of festivity!

A Fun Weekend

This last weekend I went up to see my family. It was so fun to see them again and have so many good laughs with them! At the beginning of my visit, my dad and I went to a store called Trader Joe's. It's a health food store that has really good prices and quality foods. We had fun scrolling the aisles and picking out things you don't usually find in a regular grocery store.

I also went with my dad to take Benji on a walk. I got some good pictures of the fall beauty (again ;-).

On Friday night & Saturday day I went with my Mom, Michelle, Adam's Mom, & Adam's sister Melinda to Time Out For Women (which is why Adam wasn't there). The speakers and performers were great and they shared a lot of funny and inspiring stories.

Anyway, one of the performers at Time Out For Women was the music artist Cherie Call. Michelle was really inspired by her because that is what Michelle wants to do. I can totally see her doing it too! I hope that one day she finds a way to that dream.

After Time Out For Women, us girls went out to eat for Melinda's birthday. We went to the restaurant "Pardon My French". It was delicious.. especially the desserts! We got four different ones and shared them. Mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about them!

The trip was so fun. We had a good weekend together. On Sunday Adam's mom and I drove back to Iowa. When we got back, I was very happy to see Adam again. There is nothing like seeing the one you love again after being apart.

The Treasure Chest

Yesterday I went out with Adam's mom to a consignment shop close to their house. It is called "The Treasure Chest," which I thought was appropriate because I was able to find a few treasures there! Below are my finds:

This heirloom rocking chair... $16 (I haggled down from $20)

A vintage pillow... $1.50

Craft basket... $3.00

I love getting deals!

Some Fun Halloween Decor

I was just browsing online for the fun of it and I came upon an online store called "grandin road"... It is full of some really clever Halloween decorations... so I thought I would share!

This broom fits on top of a roomba vacuum so it looks like a broom sweeping on its own!

29 weeks

Early Bird

Back when we were in Idaho, my doctor there told me that my due date was January 12th.
I was surprised because I hadn't expected to be so far along (I had been calculating wrong). I was pretty excited too!

Now here in Iowa my doctor is telling me that my due date is actually January 4th and that I am actually 28 1/2 weeks along instead of 27!  Again, I'm surprised, and excited!

Everybody in my family will be coming out to Minnesota for Christmas, so we're all praying that I will be able to have the baby when they are all there! (they are thinking of coming down to Iowa for a little while during Christmas time) It would be so great to have them all meet our baby!   (but Phil won't be there of course... It's kind of sad, our little guy will be 6 months old or older before Phil meets him!)

A Couple Days and A Couple Visitors

Friday morning my Mom and Scott came down to visit us here in Iowa. It was so good to see them!

They just stayed overnight, so I didn't get to spend too much time with them, but I was happy to have them here nonetheless. I got to spend a lot of time just sitting and chatting with my mom and I played some Wii with Scott. When Adam got home from work, he took Scott out shooting.. something Scott has never done before, so he really enjoyed that! We also went out to eat at Olive Garden. It was a long wait, but it was well worth it. Italian food is my favorite!

This morning, my mom and I sewed some pillows for Adam's & my bed. She had some nice fabric that she brought down with her and we had a great time sewing the pillows together. The pillows turned out so nice.. I love them! Thanks Mom for helping me do that!

Here are the pillows: (Oh, and I surprised Adam with them when he got home from work. He looked at me and said, "Okay, how much did you spend?" I gave a guilty grin, just to play with him and then held up a "zero" with my hand. He said, "Huh? What, did you get them in the mail or something?" I said, grinning, "No, :-) I sewed them!" He relaxed and said, "Oh! Good!")

My Mom & Scott went home this afternoon. I miss them already!

A Wonder

And to Cara, thanks for reminding me about Little Bill! I forgot about that one too and it is also one of my favorites! I haven't seen the Backyardigans, but I just looked them up online and I agree, the music is great! It looks like a good one!

Celebrating the Fall

Adam and his dad had work off yesterday, so we all (Adam, his dad, me, & Adam's Mom) decided to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to Gays Mills, Wisconsin. The drive up was very beautiful with the rolling hills, farms, and changing leaves. I really enjoyed the scenery and it brought back pleasant memories of falls gone by. Jack (yes, that is the what we plan on naming him:) must have been enjoying himself too because the whole way it felt like he was doing somersaults in my tummy! One minute he'd be nudging my side, the next my ribs, and the next my bladder!

Before we got to Gays Mills, we stopped at a nature reserve where we saw some deer, eagles, owls, a bear, a fox, a cougar, and a bobcat. I wasn't able to get good pictures of all of them since the fences were in the way. I wish I could have gotten a pic of the fox there. She was so beautiful! I think foxes are my new favorite animal now (along with deer, birds, dogs, & giraffes).


Once we arrived in Gays Mills, we stopped at an apple orchard where we bought huge bags of apples, some apple butter, some freshly-made apple cider, and freshly-made apple donuts! I also got a bag of fresh cranberries, yum! (I like to put different kinds of berries on my cereals, so I thought I'd try cranberry.. and I found it tastes great!)




On the way home, we stopped at a family diner for lunch/dinner. It was nice & cozy little place and the food was good. Adam's mom and I had a nice big burger and fries, while Adam and his dad had roast beef & potatoes piled in gravy.
It was a nice day and I was glad for the chance to go out and enjoy the fall atmosphere. What a lovely time of year! I love the changing colors, the crisp feeling in the air, and bundling up in jackets and scarves!

It was such a wonderful way to celebrate the fall!


*Oh yeah, and a little note... I know I should get better about getting a picture of Adam and I when we go places like this... but I usually am not a fan of getting my picture taken.. that's why I hide behind the camera! I promise though, our next excursion I will get a picture of us ;-)

A Few Things

Adam and I have been reading the book The Giver together. Adam has never read it before and I haven't read it since my 5th grade year, so it feels somewhat new to both of us. We both really enjoy the book and have been getting really into it. It has been fun spending that quality time together and we enjoy it a lot!

...

Jack has been moving around like crazy lately. It has gotten pretty uncomfortable at times, but really I don't mind it much. I'd much rather have him move around than not! It's kind of funny though because now I can actually see when he punches & kicks. Adam and I have been laughing watching him give those big ol' jabs every once in a while because it's so visible now!
It's weird though, to think that I have a little human creature living inside me... and that he's going to grow, eventually, into a functioning unique adult. But then, it's even weirder to think that every single person who is living was once in that fetal state. I don't know why it is weird to think about.. it just is.

...

Okay, so for probably about a year, I've had to wear glasses in the evenings that were without a handle on one side. It broke off and I never really could do anything about since the screw-in part on the handle was broken and I wasn't too pressed to get new ones since I don't wear my glasses during most the day anyway... only before bed and in the mornings. But, while I was out somewhere, Adam's dad had Adam get my glasses and he fixed them for me! He had some old glasses that he took the handles from and attached them onto mine. It actually turned out quite nice and I'm glad I don't have to deal with the awkward one-sided glasses anymore! I'm really grateful to Adam's dad!


...

So, something cool happened the other day. I was watching a commercial for this arm&hammer baking soda toothpaste. They said this new kind had a really good taste. I had tried a baking soda toothpaste before a long time ago, but I didn't like the taste so I didn't get it again. But this new toothpaste claimed to taste really good, so I wanted to try it, since I've heard good things about baking soda for teeth. But I didn't want to buy a huge big tube of the stuff if I wasn't going to like it. So I hesitated. But then, the other day in the mail, I got a little sample of that very toothpaste! How ironic! And it actually tastes pretty good!


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Fall is such a beautiful time of year. I've been enjoying the beautiful changing colors and the crispness in the air. I went out the other day to take pictures and I thought I would post a few of them here in honor of the fall!


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Loving Conference Time

I've decided that Conference time is one of my favorite times of the year. There is nothing like that sweet spiritual uplift it brings, not only with the great talks by men & women of God, but also with the beautiful music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (and other choirs). I went online to listen to the music from Conference and realized you can actually download the music for free! So for those who didn't know, you can go here to save the songs to your desktop & media player!

Whenever I watch Conference, I experience such a tender feeling of peace, happiness, and calm. It seems to bring back sweet memories and feelings of a time and location I can't really place. It's like a memory of home, but not a specific memory... its just that feeling... a feeling I've felt before someplace else, long ago and far away. I sometimes wonder if it is my spirit remembering my spirit home before this life... because in those moments I feel so close to God, as if I can truly remember Him and how He was/is. I love it when that feeling comes.

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Preparing

As we've been getting closer to our baby's due date and as Adam's clearance has been getting closer to an end, we've gotten more into a "preparing-mode."
Yet our preparing can only go so far because we are still unsure of when we will be moving out. But, I have found I am a lot less anxious when I start doing things to prepare for the future, even if it is just a little of this or that.

I've been scanning some possible apartment choices out east and its been somewhat of a challenge because as we look at our potential income, calculate all our potential costs (such as rent, food, utilities, etc), and add in trying to save money... we're barely able to fit it all in... except maybe the savings part. We might be able to save a little extra each month, if we really try to be frugal in our utilities, food-spending, and such. But as for furniture, I think we're going to be furniture-less for a little while. I mean, we'll probably have to get cheap table, couch, and a bed, but that's about our limit I think. (I mean I could look at garage sales... but who has garage sales in the winter??) I'm fine though... its not like we'll need a ton of furniture anyway. Its kind of nice keeping things simple... and plus we don't have a TV anymore, so we don't need a TV stand! ;-).

I am trusting that God will help us find a way. If we put Him first, I know He will bless us.

So these are some ways we are going to cut back on our future expenses.. if any of you have any other ideas, please let us know! Here we go:

--No cable, just internet (its not like we've ever really had cable anyway.. and even without a TV, what's the point?... I'm actually fine with this, I like not having TV)
--Make more home-made food (I'm going to try to home-make as much as I can.. at least with what is more practical than buying from the store. I am thinking I will make my own baby food as well. I just hope I will have the time and energy to do so! I find a lot of joy in cooking.)
--Use more coupons (self-explanatory)
--For utilities: use the toaster-oven more often than the big oven, avoid using heat/ A/C as much as possible (and using a portable heater maybe where the baby is), use sun light as much as possible (avoid using lights during the day), unplug things when not using them.
--Use cloth diapers (Agh, I am kind of scared about this one... we are considering doing a cloth diaper service though, which actually is cheaper than buying disposables and is more environmentally friendly, which I feel a little better about... so I don't think it should be too bad)
--Making our own decor (I'm not sure I will really have much to decorate, but I was thinking of some fun things like sewing my own decorative pillows, painting something to hang on the wall, and making a little airplane mobile for the crib...
Adam actually is thinking of building a crib for the baby while we're here in Iowa! He knows people who have the tools he would need. I think it could be a fun project and would make it so much more meaningful!)
--Go on FREE outings and plan FREE dates (it shouldn't be hard when we'll be living so close to DC!)

New to the Blog Scene

My brother Jon has started a blog! He only has one post right now, but he plans to keep it updated. Feel free to check his blog out at : jonathantyoung.blogspot.com