let it snow! (?)

jennie, jennie, jennie.

it's your birthday...

happy birthday to you!

thank you for being:

-a great sister in law who listens to my rants & raves

-a fabulous mother with a darling bebe

-a talented crafter

-a good example (you totally teach me how to be a good wife & mother -not that i'm a mother, but you know)

-always on top of things (she keeps our family organized!)

-fun to hang out with, whatever the occasion

-always positive & cheerful

-the ultimate party planner

-a devoted beatles/paul fan!

-my go-to-girl for many things: crafting, ideas, what store to go to, etc, etc, etc

-a fabulous cook (love that macaroni salad, sopapilla cheesecake, and the pies!)

-the olsen family event coordinator (seriously, thank you for that!)

-a mini-martha

-my email buddy

-and a great friend!

{hope you don't mind the blog shout out!}

have a fabulous day, my dear!

i was called a "scrooge" today.

by my very own husband.

for the very first time in my life.

{our family christmas tree.
i wasn't home to decorate it, but i still think it is beautiful.
picture by k, he insisted i include that)

i admit i've been having a hard time getting into the christmas spirit this year.
i admit i've cried more often lately than i have in the past two years of my life.
i admit i haven't looked on the bright side of anything.
i admit i even once said, "let's just skip christmas this year" (can you imagine?)

for the first time in my life, i've have had a hard time getting into the christmas spirit. i don't know if it's my grandpa, or the new house, or the lack of sleep/free-time or a combination of everything, but i've been very down lately.

when thinking about this today, i realized that i've been on the receiving end of so many kind & thoughtful acts of service this past week, it's amazing i don't just have the christmas spirit oozing out of me.

for example:

-my family received dinner twice from neighbors this past weekend.
-meg & her parents showed up on a cozy, snowy night with a giant poinsettia in hand (i love poinsettias)
-we have more bouquets of flowers on our counter than we know what to do with.
-i've received many thoughtful texts from all my friends. i love you.
-i got to see long lost faces at the viewing and funeral.
-and felt loved when g's family & the bennetts showed up to show their support. thank you.
-i got to spend time with my darling grandmother and be uplifted by her strength.
-i had the opportunity to appreciate my life & the people in it.
-someone brought us poppy seed bread.
-and oranges.
-and caramels.
-and cards.
-g took a day off.
-and actually said, "lets just relax tonight". (yes! hasn't happened forever)

all of these things remind me of christmas and make me so grateful for this time of year. and i plan to spend the rest of the month thinking of ways to focus on christmas' true meaning. i'm going to start with my favorite christmas movie & go from there. who knows, i may even get a mini christmas tree & some twinkle lights for our current digs (brother's old bedroom).

see g? no scrooge here.

and a few pictures, too.

i just found a bunch of pictures that my brother took last sunday after dinner.
i am so lucky to have these people in my life.
i love them.

the brother's idea of helping with dishes was creating a chain of 5 of them (from the sink to the hutch) and tossing the plates across the room like frisbees. obviously, a good use of their time and a HUGE help to us women (i mean, how else would we have put them away, really?)

i love this squishy babe.

please notice my dad's calm, cool & collected gq poses in these next two pics. work it, dad.

he let's nothing distract him...

and please notice scotty's shirt. a favorite, obviously.

and i am especially lucky to have that one, in the blue.
he is a rockstar husband. i don't want to embarrass him, but he has done so many sweet things for me the past couple days. i really really like him.

grandpa's obituary.

{first of all, thank you so much for all of your kind words. they have been a big source of comfort to me over the past few days as i have read them & re-read them often. thank you. my grandpa's obituary was published today and i absolutely love it. i know it is pretty lengthy, but don't worry, i am not posting it for all of you to read the whole thing, only for my own safe keeping. it is a great tribute to his extraordinary life.}

Jackson W. Moffitt
Jackson W Moffitt 1923 ~ 2008 Jackson W. Moffitt, beloved husband and father, passed away quietly at his home on Dec. 3, 2008 of natural causes incident to his age. He will be deeply missed by his wife and family, but we rejoice that he is reunited with family and friends who preceded him in death. Jack was born in Orangeville, Utah on February 20, 1923 to Leona Moffitt and Edward Garr. He grew up under very modest circumstances in the farming communities of Emery County, Utah, but was surrounded by a loving extended family and many friends. He graduated from Central High School in Castle Dale, Utah. He remained close to his high school classmates throughout his life, continuing to attend frequent class reunions even in his advanced years. His friends were a life-long source of joy and comfort. In 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers. He served his country in World War II in campaigns in the Philippines and New Guinea. Following his honorable discharge from the military at the conclusion of the war, he returned to Emery County and went to college under the GI Bill, studying at Carbon College (now the College of Eastern Utah) and later at the University of Utah. He graduated with honors from the College of Engineering at the University of Utah in 1952, with a degree in Mining Engineering. He married Valaine Jones on February 28, 1947 in Huntington, Utah. Later that year, they were sealed in the Manti Temple. Together, they raised four sons. Jack began his professional career in 1952, as a mining engineer with Kaiser Steel (and later with U.S. Steel), designing coal mines, washing plants and other mining facilities in Utah and Colorado. This began a life-long love affair with both geology and building things. Jack could design and build anything-from coal mines, to LDS chapels, to garages or home additions, to beautiful cabinets, to killer Pinewood Derby racers. His designs were precise and his structures were sound. He was always concerned about the safety of the men who worked in the mines he designed and supervised, and with the well-being of their families. To his credit, no mine that he designed ever experienced a fatality from its design or in its operations. Wanting to raise his family in a larger community, with more opportunities for education and personal development, Jack left U.S. Steel in 1962 and accepted a position with the Mining Branch of the United States Geological Survey. His career with the U.S.G.S. would open the world to him and his family. He began his second career in Billings, Montana, as Deputy Director over the Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota regions. Later, he was promoted to Deputy Director of the National Office, and he and his family moved to Washington, D.C. While in the National Office, he helped author many of the Federal regulations which still stand as the primary source of regulatory law for the mining industry. In 1969, he returned to Salt Lake City to ultimately become the Regional Director of the Mining Branch of the U.S.G.S. He worked there until he retired in 1987. He received many awards and recognitions as an engineer, including certification as a Professional Engineer. He was also a respected administrator. Jack was blessed with a keen intellect and an unquenchable desire to learn. He loved to read. History, philosophy, the scriptures, Tom Clancy novels, the sports page- it didn't matter what it was, if it was well written, it was worth reading. As a young man, he loved to hunt and fish and was well known in his community for his stamina, his marksmanship, and his good luck as a fisherman. Of course, Jack would tell friends that his prowess as an angler had nothing to do with luck. His love of the outdoors ultimately evolved into a passion for gardening. His yard was always immaculate and his flower beds were beautiful -designed and executed with the kind of perfection you would expect from an engineer. He loved and grew beautiful roses and delicious raspberries. The roses were for his sweetheart and eternal companion, Valaine. The raspberries were for him and his grandchildren. He loved to dance, and at 6'5" was as imposing as he was graceful on the dance floor. Jack and Val were great dance partners, and they were even better life partners. Their love and devotion to each other, through good times and bad, have set an example of commitment and companionship to which their posterity aspire. Most of all, Jack loved his wife and his sons, and he was completely devoted to them. He provided a life-long example of hard work, perseverance, fulfilling one's duties, serving others, and, most of all, keeping one's word - no matter the cost. He was honest in everything he said and did. In his last years, he was a living example of enduring great pain and physical indignities with courage, patience, and remarkably good humor. We are blessed to be his wife and sons. He was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints his entire life. He served in several bishoprics, in the Mission Presidency of the North Central States Mission, in High Priest Groups, and with his wife, as an Ordinance Worker in the Jordan River Temple. He leaves a legacy of dedicated service to the Lord and to all who associated with him. He is survived by his wife, Valaine - his completely devoted and eternal companion, his lover, and, in his last years, his full-time caregiver. He is also survived by his four sons, Jackson Kirk (Fern), Billings, Montana; Ronald Glenn (Suzanne), Mark Howard (Jana) and Scott Edward (Jerelyn), all of Salt Lake City, Utah; and by 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 8, 2008 at 12:00 noon at the LDS Brighton Fourth Ward Chapel, located at 2300 East Bengal Blvd. (7600 South). Family and friends may call at the Cannon Mortuary, 2460 E. Bengal Blvd. (7600 South), on Sunday evening, December 7, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., or at the Brighton Fourth Ward Chapel from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m., prior to the funeral services. Interment, with military honors, will be at Mountain View Memorial Estates, Cottonwood Heights In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Missionary or Perpetual Education Funds or to your favorite charity.

i'll miss you.

My sweet grandpa, Jackson W. Moffitt passed away last night, December 3, 2008, in his home.

We got the news late in the evening & rushed to the hospital where my grandma & 3 of their 4 sons (including my Dad) where waiting with their wives. He was already gone when we arrived, but we were still able to say our goodbye's, share some special memories of him & have a family prayer. Needless to say, it was a very hard night for all of us.

My Grandpa is amazing person. A strong example to his family. A good father. A loving grandfather. A devoted husband. A great-grandfather. A war veteran. A brilliant mind. An excellent dancer. A loving companion to his sweet wife and an inspiring member of the church.

 He was married to my grandmother, Val, for 61 years & their love was the stuff of romance novels. I remember going over to her house one summer afternoon a few years ago to officially have her tell me her life's story, a conversation I will always treasure (if you haven't done it-do it!) We spent the whole day talking. She told me things about her life & about her marriage with my grandpa that I had never heard. She told me how in love they were, how happy he made her. How he wasn't necessarily the person her parent's had hoped she would marry; his father had left him & his mother at a young age and they were very poor, while her dad was successful and owned the only gas station in town. But, despite everyone else, she followed her heart and she told me she has never once regretted it. They had a beautiful marriage. He took her dancing on the weekends. She cooked him all his favorite meals. He built her anything she asked him to & she painted him pictures of his favorite mountains. The adored one another. Even on the night he passed away, my grandma had just returned from the grocery store with his favorite candy bar in tow. They were always thinking of each other.

Although I know he is in a better place, although I know it was his time to go, I will miss so many things about my grandpa. I will miss his sweet laugh & grin. I will miss him teasing us and joking with us. Jon & I were over at their house just a few nights ago & one of the last things he did before we left was tease Jon about the fact that he hadn't shaved his beard that day. I knew him as a happy, sweet, kind & gentle man. I will miss him helping us build things. He was a talented craftsman. He helped me build my science project in the 6th grade & I remember being amazed by everything he knew. I will miss his sweet influence in my life & his good advice. He taught me to serve others & to be thoughtful. I can still remember all the times he randomly brought me & my Mom roses & he never missed a Valentines Day. He treated all of his girls like queens & all of us; his family, his children, his grandchildren, knew how much he loved us.

Being in that emergency room with him & my grandma was such a special experience for me. I will never forget how it felt to see her with him. It really made me realize how precious marriage is & how important love is. I feel honored to have seen my grandma share some tender thoughts about her husband & watch her stand at his bedside and stroke his face or admire his "silky hair" that she loved so much. She will miss him & so will we.

Grandpa, thank you for all you have taught me. I am honored to have been your lady J. I love you so much.

who wants to decide my future?

Yes, that's right. I'm putting my whole life in your hands. I've got a long life ahead of me, and you, dear bloggers, get to decide what I do with it.

My future & the future of all my un-born babies might revolve around this one decision, so choose wisely. (Can you feel the crushing preasure on your shoulders?) Me too.

No, not really, but in all seriousness, I've decided to change my major. Elementary Education doesn't feel right anymore (luckily, I am only 1 semester into the program) and I've realized I don't think teaching is really what I want to do with my life, but now, the problem is, I have to figure out what to change my major to. And I have to figure it out fast.

Any ideas?

PS. If you are wondering why I am 21 years old & still don't know what I wan't to major in, when I should probably have graduated from college by now, I don't know. I am still trying to figure that out, too.

PPS. How does anyone really know what they want to do with their life anyways?

PPPS. I would prefer to do something involving writing. Or babies.

PPPPS. Being an Adult is hard work.

operation chapstick.

actual emails sent today,

December 2nd, 2008

from Husband to Wife & Wife to Husband:

G to J:

"I haven't put on chapstick since yesterday morning-before work. Almost 3o hours and I am dying, but I have to break this addiction."

J to G:

"30 hours with no chapstick? Wow. That is amazing. Good luck."

J to G: (later)

"How's operation chapstick going?"

G to J:

"It's hard! I almost relapsed! I have one in my pocket that is tempting me."

J to G:

"Flush it down the toilet!! That's like crack in your pocket! Be strong."

You laugh, but I am not even kidding you, this is going to be a HUGE challenge for G. He is absolutely addicted to chapstick, worse than anyone I have ever met.

He never goes anywhere without a stick.

We will see how it goes, but I predict he relapses before dinner tonight (bless his heart).

Wish him luck.

the smellies.

These past few weeks I have had the extreme pleasure of going to see a few, ahem (4), movies. Fabulous. Amazing. Delightful. There is nothing better than going to a movie. And, I maybe saw Twilight twice (and almost a 3rd time) but that's a different story.

Moving right along.

Assigned seating at the movie theater is the worst, and I will tell you why. Flash back to the Thursday Twilight came out. It was a glorious evening. Excitement in the air, vampires on the mind. Holls picked me up promptly at 11 & we were off to the theater. After braving the crowds, prom dresses, and crazies, we settled into our seats, expecting nothing but hot vampire lust (or something like that).

AND THEN.

We smelled it.

We smelled the smell. And I mean the smell. The worst smell I have ever smelled. A strange mixture of booze, body oder & something rotting to death. I can't even begin to describe what the stench did to my stomach (or Holley's), but it was enough to make us both lift our jackets up over our mouths & noses and keep them there for the rest of the movie (impolite as it might have been). The movie was good (did I mention that?), Edward was steamy (or that?), but mostly what I remember was the smell of whoever that smelly person was. I think she might have been sitting beside me, or in front, you never can tell. But, being forced to sit next to the smellies is just one reason assigned seating at the theater sucks.

Flash forward to this weekend. It's Saturday night & I am like a 10th grader waiting to be picked up for her first prom. GJO is taking me on a date tonight. I full-fledged date, with dinner & a movie & a whole evening alone. This hasn't happened for months now due to packing, and moving, and remodeling our new place, and packing and moving & etc, etc, etc. We've been busy. But tonight, tonight GJO is taking me on a date. Get excited.

He picks me up (looking especially hot) and we are off. Dinner is fabulous and the company is splendid. After enjoying our pasta, we head to the movie theater to see James Bond (and not Twilight, despite my pleading). Once again, for this movie we have (dun, dun, dun)

Assigned seating.

G & I grab our seats fairly early & settle in. I am eyeing the door knowingly waiting to see who my arm rest buddy is going to be. He or she will decide the fate of this movie, so I am understandably nervous. A few minutes later a crowd of gentlemen walk in (I use the term 'gentlemen' loosely here) and I am hoping and praying none of them are going to be my arm rest buddy. But alas, I get a real winner.

I tried not to be judgemental. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he was everything he looked like he would be. And I believe he was wearing one of those t-shirts with the sleeves cut off, so you can imagine what he looked like he would be.

To make a long story short, arm rest buddy was beyond gross and I spent the entire movie shoved up as close to my husband as humanly possible while arm rest buddy scratched his armpits (multiple times), picked his face, cracked his elbows & fingers (ah!!), laughed loudly & sloppily, covered me with his stench, stole the entire arm rest and put his hand up his shirt multiple times to scratch his armpits & then sniff his fingers.

Yes.

Moral of the story: assigned seating sucks. And yes, sometimes you end up sitting on the 3rd row, but at least you don't have to sit next to the smellies.

blah blah blah blog.

While browsing through the blogosphere today, I came to the harsh realization that my blog (the actual looks-of-it, is what I am referring to here) is probably one of the plainest/most boring I've ever seen. My chosen colors are black, gray, white & when you are lucky I'll throw some red or gold/green in there.

It's all just a little blah.

In an effort to not be the most boring person alive, I have switched up my font. You'll notice I am now using something besides Georgia (my most loved font) & I even switched from a light gray border to a dark one.

For kicks, I might even wear something besides black/brown/gray/tan or green tonight.

I'm just edgy like that.