The Shorties: Jeremy & Janice

On My Own

2010-04-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

I'm back on my own blog.
janijean.blogspot.com
If you are not already invited to read my blog, send me an email and I'll add you.
janbrown21@gmail.com

Time for an update

2010-02-26T13:13:00.000-08:00

Holy cow - it's been a long time! Where do I even being? What do I even remember?

Christmas was an enjoyable time. It's still hard learning how to share families and family traditions. I remember that we got lots of good stuff. =) Jammies, movie gift cards, clothes, etc. It's the most wonderful time of the year! I never got sick of listening to Christmas songs on the radio!

For New Years Eve we went to Magic Mountain. It was the last day to use our season passes. It was very exhausting because we haven't stayed up that late in a long time! Cooper, Jer's youngest brother, came with us. We stayed the night (morning?) in a hotel and drove home New Years Day.

At the end of January I had surgery to remove 5 areas of endometriosis and some uterine polyps. The surgery went well and I took a week off from teaching. It took a while to heal but I feel great. I'm still waiting to see all of the affects though. Thank goodness I have such great benefits because I paid absolutely nothing!

Nothing happened on Valentine's Day other than me getting sick. Boo.

Jeremy is still working for Decipher. I'm still loving my job teaching deaf and hard-of-hearing 2- and 3- year olds. I'm even considering getting another credential. It's getting scary in Fresno Unified this time of year with all of the budget cuts.

Other than the normal daily routines after 2 years and 2 months of marriage, we're still learning how to meet each others' expectations, show our love, compromise, and pick our battles!

Thank you to all of our friends and family who are helping, supporting, loving, and praying for us during the not-so-great times. We don't know what the future holds, but we plan on being happy in the end.

Date Night

2009-12-21T12:38:00.000-08:00

Friday night Jeremy and I decided to really have a date night. I mean REALLY.
After a nice dinner (of course we used a coupon), we headed to Maxx Putt Fun Zone (we used yet another coupon). It's located right by our house and we've always wondered about it. The mini-golf is glow-in-the-dark and themed "Around the world in 18 holes." Each hole was a different famous landmark. We got glowing wristbands, putters, and balls all of the same color (I picked green, Jeremy was orange). It was dark, but we tried to take pictures of our fun adventure.

These are where the landmarks' facts are shown.

Egypt

Big Ben!

At the last hole, The Golden Gate Bridge, where Jeremy got a hole-in-one!

In Antarctica.

I'm proud to say I only lost by 2. The mini-golf was fun and educational. What an awesome date night!

'Tis the Season

2009-12-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast the end of the year is approaching! After my birthday, Halloween and Thanksgiving came and went so quickly.

There's not much to tell about Halloween. We went to the ward party (dressed as nerds) then went home and ran out of candy (our neighborhood is popular apparently). I guess we ate too much of our own candy!

Thanksgiving morning we went to the movie A Christmas Carol in 3D. Although it was a very dark movie (not recommended for kids!), the 3D was absolutely awesome! It really made the movie! I can't wait to go and see more movies in 3D.

For Thanksgiving lunch, we met with the Short side of the family at the Amerjan's. We ate lots of yummy traditional food. My favorite was the mashed potatoes and Lindsey's home-made bread!

After a nice nap, we went to the Brown Thanksgiving festivities at Black Angus. My grandpa wanted to treat us to a nice meal where no one had to stress about cooking. It sure was yummy!

Jeremy and I had the opportunity to go to the Nutcracker on Thanksgiving weekend. Fresno Unified employees got a special ticket price so I jumped on that opportunity. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who is willing to try new things, like going to the ballet!

Here is a picture of us after the show:
Last Friday, Jeremy's company (Decipher) had their Christmas party at Erna's Elderberry House. I believe it is the only 5 Diamond restaurant in the valley. Everyone met at Decipher to load charter buses and we traveled to Oakhurst. We started out with questionable appetizers (Jeremy tried everything of course) and had an interesting 3-course meal. Everything was new to me, but it was all very good. Quite the once-in-a-lifetime-experience!

Here is a picture of us at our table:
We got home very late, so our Saturday was spent lounging around. I can't imagine what kind of Saturday morning was had by the people drinking at the party!

The inside of our house is decorated for Christmas, so hopefully the outside will follow soon. Here is a picture of our Christmas tree:
We hope everyone has a great holiday season!

A Great Brithday Weekend

2009-10-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

My 23rd birthday was one week ago. I decided to NOT get a substitute since I heard from other teachers that our principal specifically mentioned not taking birthdays off....I didn't want to get on her bad side my first year teaching....So instead I took Thursday morning off (I teach the PM class) and all day Friday (no students- only home visits).

After a decent work day Wednesday, my family took me out to a yummy Me-N-Ed's birthday dinner. The Shorts had a yummy Sunday birthday dinner a few days before. All in all, I felt very special! But it got even better.

Jeremy and I both got Friday off to make our way to the Bay area. We drove to the Oakland temple (after getting stuck in Atwater trying to find a Subway), and missed the 2:00 session. So we did initiatories instead. It was awesome! It was also my first "first" time. We bought some under things from the Distribution Center, too.

We then made our way across the ridiculously priced toll bridge to San Francisco. As we took in the awesome freeway-view of the city, we were excited about our next few days in a new place.

Our first hotel was near the airport...far from anything downtown. The good news was that the online booking site had a typo and we got the very clean and new hotel room for a whopping $5.50 (including tax). Yeah. And free breakfast. I know.

We were exhausted from all the driving so we napped and then walked down the road to Benihana, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. It was my first time experiencing such an event, and I was quite hesitant. Jeremy was great about my negative attitude and helped me order. It was...decent. And very expensive! Jeremy will have to find a friend to go with next time since I'm not much of a fan.

Saturday morning I had to drive 30 minutes to a seminar in Redwood City. It was an informative meeting regarding cochlear implants, free resources online, and a tour of the school where it was located. Afterward I drove back to our hotel to pick up Jeremy (he lounged around) and we headed to downtown.

Google maps can only be so reliable. We got lost in the city and couldn't find our hotel. We charged up our GPS (the tall buildings block the signal a lot) and eventually found the hotel, only to be informed that our room had issues. Turns out there was some sort of woodstock-like event happening and the hotel double booked. They sent us (with a map!) to a motel closer to the warf. AND the hotel paid for the motel! I know! What luck!

We walked to Nick's Crispy Tacos. Yum! Getting lost can be tiring so we relaxed a bit after filling up.

Saturday night we walked down towards Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman's Warf. We browsed the touristy shops and I bought a pearl ring. It was fun and interesting and a lot like other coastal towns. The walk back up to our hotel was tiring and we slept well.

Sunday morning we wanted to go to the Exploratorium but ended up just finishing the rest of the walk from the warf to Pier 39. We decided to drive this time and got lost, yet again, with all the weird one-way-streets. I guess city life just isn't for us, because after a great lunch at Boudin, we were so ready to leave.

Instead of heading back over the ridiculously priced toll bridge, we went south toward San Jose and went to none other than IKEA!!! It was huge and overwhelming but so exciting! We bought some cheap odds and ends, but my favorite purchases were an art easel for my classroom and a rolling laundry rack to hang and dry clothes! Oh, and the chocolate!

We made it home by 5pm and started laundry. It was a great weekend -- full of traffic, food, free hotels, and fun! It sure was hard having to get up for work Monday morning!

Thanks, Jeremy, for such a great birthday weekend! Even though we had stressful situations where we became frustrated with each other, I still knew that you loved and cared for me. You're my best friend and I love you!!!

Flower

2009-09-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

For being the first post in many months this sure is boring, I know! This is a flower from my "Hardy Blue Passionflower" plant that I've been growing for about 6 months. It's a beautiful vine with such an interesting flower I thought I would share. Most of my vegetables in the garden have died and are gone but this guy is blooming away! Enjoy

Janice's new blog

2009-06-09T18:15:00.001-07:00

I'm creating a new blog for myself. It will be a private blog so please email me or leave a comment with your email address so I can add you. Thanks.

Piano Lessons

2009-03-23T16:50:00.001-07:00

Check it out and please help spread the word!
http://pianojan.blogspot.com/

Chicken Fried Rice

2009-03-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

It was simple. It was good. It was gone in a matter of minutes.

We used Kikkoman's Gourmet Sauce on the chicken and a fried rice packet, an egg, and some frozen veggies for the rice. Nothing authentic but mighty tasty.
Mmmmm...new recipes are good.

Hangman

2009-03-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Some of the students I subbed for played hangman, and luckily I had my camera. Hilarious.
It says: The *student name* is good for you. I blurred the name, but you get the gist. Kids in Deaf Ed aren't known for their grammar skills. What's with the commas?
I asked him to have another go:
We finally figured out that he was talking about me (THE Jan, not just any Jan) and my "friend" Jeremy (boy)! He wasn't very good at writing down our wrong guesses or remembering to draw the hangman either.
Man, I miss those guys!

Jeremy's Speciality

2009-02-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

Jeremy can fix pretty much anything. He is very handy -- computers, coat racks, toilets, you name it, he has the tools and the drive to fix it. He also likes to tweak things, but that's another story.

Jeremy's favorite "tool" to use is the computer. He uses it (mainly the internet) when he needs tips on growing plants, recipes for cooking meals, advice for doing our taxes, etc. So when Christmas time came around, Jeremy used the computer to help him hang up lights.
LITERALLY!
No matter the situation, Jeremy knows a computer can help him out!

Just one of those days...

2009-01-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

Did I close the garage door this morning? Did I lock my car when I got to work? What else did I foget to do? Who forgets these things right after they may (or may not) have happened? Apparently, I do! This short-term memory loss was not a good start to my day! I must need to take my vitamins.

Baby Lincoln!

2009-01-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

Lindsey Davis, my sister 2 years older than me finally had her baby! Lincoln Wayne Davis born around 9:15pm last night, 9lbs 4oz and 19". He is sooooo adorable!

This is Jared and Lindsey's second child. Lily, the first was born while I was on my mission in Orlando so I didn't get to see my big sister pregnant, in the hospital, or be there right after Lily was born. So this felt like the first for me and boy was I excited. She went in yesterday around 2:30pm to be induced, and it wasn't until around 5 that she got a room and received some patosum (i have no idea what that is or if that's how it's spelled). Lindsey was worried about giving birth this time because the last time was not a pleasant or short experience, she was in labor with Lily (I'm told) for around 14 hours, but Lily was worth it! Lindsey was not excited to have it go so long or so painful again, but luckily it wasn't a repeat at all! Janice and I went to the hospital around 8:30 prepared to wait it out until at least 11-12. We wanted to see that baby! But after waiting only 1 hour Jared came out with amazing news, "HE'S BORN!" He also came out with some stunning video of "Lincoln" soon after birth, being weighed and crying as every newborn out of the womb should! We couldn't wait to go and see him and Lindsey.
After less than an hour of waiting we all got to go in and see them. What surprised me most as we walked into the room wasn't how adorable Lincoln was, I expected that, but how amazing Lindsey looked! When you see people in movies and scrapbooks after giving birth they are normally covered in sweat, their hair strewn about in a greaseball of mess and an anguished loving look on their face. But of all those the only one Lindsey had was the loving look on her face. Her hair was perfect, she was smiling away and looked like she had gone in for a normal doctor's appointment and come out with a baby! What a relief from what she was expecting, I'm sure!

VS

Come on, you be the judge!

The Short, Davis, and Reed families all got a chance to hold little "dewbie" as was his nickname in the womb and it was so great! He was a very solid little baby, pretty heavy for his height it seems. He had dark hair and quite a bit. I couldn't really tell who's facial features he had, some said he looked a lot like Lily, but others weren't really sure.

Janice and I were SOOOOO happy we went to the hospital to be there for the experience, we both decided that it was the best way we could have ever spent the night. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences I've ever had and I'm so happy for them.

The January Update

2009-01-15T16:19:00.000-08:00

Apparently our blog has turned into monthly updates. Where did all the free time go? I guess that's what happens when you grow up and get a full-time job. Who knew?

So the last blog was a video of our wedding to celebrate our first anniversary. The one before that was an end of November / beginning of December update. I bet everyone is dying to know what happened to us over Christmas and New Years. I shall oblige...somewhat. It's been a while.

We had our first Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve we went to Jeremy's grandparent's house (the Reeds) in Sanger. We enjoyed some great soup, yummy Swedish snowballs, and an awesome game of turkey leg dominoes (of course, I won!). We opened presents. The Reeds got us a food storage starter kit and a 72-hour emergency backpack kit. Awesome! We then went to the Shorts' home to spend the night. Christmas morning we got some cool presents from the Shorts -- Jeremy got lots of tools and fun things that he's been hoping for. I got a cute sweater and a black giraffe purse! Our stockings had great stuff, too!

Then we were at the Brown home on Christmas morning. Breakfast included muffins and danishes at around 10am. But right after that my half siblings came over for lunch at 11am! So we had both breakfast and lunch within 2 hours. Now that's a feast! Now to the presents. I love presents. I got a brown giraffe purse, wallet, blanket, plate, and pillow (my new obsession, I guess), brown Sketcher boots, footsie pj's, a watch, some clothes, a Disneyland sweatshirt (we're going in the spring!), and season passes to Magic Mountain! Jeremy got some shirts, slippers, a Grumpy sweatshirt (for our Disneyland trip), and goodies in his stocking.

We then went home to exchange our own gifts for each other. Jeremy got me a new car stereo so now I can play MP3's! I gave Jeremy a new Fossil watch, snowboarding boots, and shoes. We're kinda boring but that's what we wanted! After a nap we caught a movie with my family. Bedtime Stories was a cute one.

Christmas night all my extended family gathered at Retired Teachers for our holiday party. Rob, Danno, and I met early to practice our "band." I think it turned out well. Rob played bass, Danno played mandolin, and I played piano. The party included the music, some good Mexican food, a white-elephant type game, and a gift exchange. It was a blast to have all of the family together again!

On New Years Eve (and to "celebrate" our anniversary), Rob, Cody, Jeremy and I went to Magic Mountain! The lines were long at first but by the evening, everyone else in the park was ready to party instead of go on the rides. The weather was great and we got to go on pretty much everything. We were all exhausted and some of us felt pretty sick but we still had a great time! Of course, X2 broke down right when we were about to get on it the second time, but it turns out that Tatsu is an awesome ride with a lot smaller line. I think we went on it 3 times or so! Then we rang in the New Year with a few fireworks and tons of strangers. Thankfully we got a cheap but very nice hotel room so we could sleep and leave the next day (we also went back after dinnertime to take a nap before going on 6 more hours of rides). What a long and tiring day! We love spending time with Rob and Cody and we can't wait to go again soon! Hopefully Dan and Kham can come with us next time (they got season passes, too).

After the New Year we just enjoyed what was left of our vacation. Going back to work was pretty hard, and still is, but that's how it goes! Jeremy has moved to a different team in his company so he works with a new group of people focusing on a specific client. I am back at Garfield till February 10th. I will miss my students and will really miss having a steady subbing job.

1 Year!!!

2008-12-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Curtis and Melody Linton, our aunt and uncle on my mom's side gave us this video for our anniversary! What a great gift and well made movie! I had to lower the quality a lot to get it online, but I hope you all enjoy.

December Update

2008-12-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we've updated and since I've read any blogs, but we'll try to catch up during our time off. Jeremy and I are both off of work till next year! Here's what we've been busy doing (not necessarily in order):

1) Weekend yard work. The neighbors helped us rake up our leaves, bury our dog, and trim down our persimmon tree. It was the big trash pick-up in our neighborhood. The junk by our sidewalk was swiped up in literally 5 minutes. Wow.

2) Christmas Tree Lane. We went on the second walking night with Jazzy. It was very crowded.

3) Decorating our house for Christmas. We actually have quite a few decorations that we got as wedding presents last year. No real tree, though. Maybe next year!

4) New recipes. Our favorite right now is pizza bites.

5) Babysitting a family from the Alluvial ward from a Thursday through Sunday. Good extra Christmas money!

6) Friends. We've been trying to catch up with our buddies and actually doing stuff with them, not just wishing we could. We had a blast playing the new game of LIFE with Staci and Marshal Robinson, and their baby Lily.

7) Grandma's grave. We were able to see the new headstone before church when the weather was beautiful on Sunday. It turned out very nicely.

8) Jeremy is still working hard at Decipher. His company gets Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off this week for Christmas and next week for New Years. Jeremy took Monday and Tuesday off for both weeks so we can spend a ton of time together! He definitely deserves some time off after much overtime and even some double-time.

9) I am working as a long-term sub at Garfield Elementary. My class consists of 5 Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. I am extremely blessed to have this job till their teacher returns after maternity leave some time around March. The students, interpreters, and staff are so fun and welcoming. This has kept me very busy and tired, and the lack of housework has definitely started to show!

10) Jeremy went to his work Christmas party (unfortunately it was employees only) while I babysat for the Wards. I love their musical trees in the front!

11) Christmas shopping/making/baking. Can't give too much away. And this year we can actually concentrate on Christmas because we're not preoccupied thinking about our wedding!

12) Planning our first year anniversary. Our dream was a cruise but our funds told us otherwise. We were thinking Las Vegas, but now we're leaning towards Magic Mountain on New Years Eve. Who knows? We just hope we have fun!

13) Our ward calling in the nursery, and our ward Christmas party on Saturday.

Well, after listing our activities it doesn't seem like we've done a whole lot, but it sure has felt like it! I probably forgot a few things here and there, but our December sure has been fun and it will just get better! Also, as of yesterday (12/21), I have been an endowed member of the Church for a whole year!

We truly have been blessed. Merry Christmas to all!

Black Friday!

2008-11-28T20:43:00.000-08:00

We had a great day-after-Thanksgiving day. It started at 4:30am getting up to go to Old Navy, which opened at 5. We let Matt cut in line with us, got Jeremy some new pants, and then were out pretty quickly since the men's side was relatively calm. After getting home around 5:30 from our only shopping destination, we (of course) went back to sleep!
At 9:30 we joined the Short family in their 15-passenger van on an excursion to Yosemite. We survived the winding roads, passed through the amazing tunnel, and arrived at the beautiful lookout in the Yosemite Valley.
The giant Sequoia trees were huge!
We ate lunch near a little waterfall and walking trail, but in the van because it was so cold.
We visited the Yosemite Store where it was very difficult to find a bathroom that wasn't closed. On the way out of the valley, we took some pictures at Bridalveil Falls.
It was a beautiful and breathtaking day, yet very tiring. Many naps were taken in the van.

It was super crowded in the park so this may not become a Black Friday tradition, although shopping in the early morning certainly will continue!

Did you get any great deals? What are your day-after-Thanksgiving traditions?

Fall

2008-11-25T14:29:00.001-08:00

The leaves on the trees are beautiful this time of year. I have a hard time concentrating while driving sometimes because I am looking at all of the wonderful colors surrounding me.

Our house has a big ginkgo tree in the front. I love it because it reminds me of my old house where we had three ginkgo trees in the front. It also provides nice shade during summer evenings and now is a bright splash of color on our street.

Unfortunately, since it is fall, all those leaves have to come down. That means raking. (I can't imagine all the raking my dad had to do with THREE! I do remember making his work worse by jumping into the piles and then seeing tons of black trash bags piled in the yard.)

We don't own a rake, and we certainly weren't prepared for all the yard work we'd have to do since we moved from an apartment to our very own house.

Thankfully, our next door neighbors have some great kids because this weekend they knocked on our door and ASKED if they could please rake our leaves. They said they did it all the time for the old owner of the house. Well, SURE! They did a great job, but wouldn't you know it.... the very next day our grass was covered with yellow leaves again! Hopefully they'll come over again and we can give them a little thank-you gift!

Bodering on Boredom

2008-11-21T12:28:00.001-08:00

So lately I've noticed that I have to really stretch my mind to figure out what to blog about. Nothing in our lives seem all that exciting at the moment. We've already moved from our first apartment to our first house, we've blogged about our first pets, we haven't been on any trips lately, no more crime in our neighborhood (let's keep it that way, knock on wood!).....

It seems like instead of experiencing the excitement first hand these days, we get to see others enjoying their moments of joy. For example, our last post was about our newlywed friends, Leslie and Jason.

From the weddings to the babies...

Here are some pictures of our adorable new family member, Maycee Givens. She's one month old already! And parents Rob and Cody are just the cutest Daddy and Mommy.

My BFF, Lauren Green, is expecting soon. It is so fun to see her blog with ultrasound pictures and a baby crib with bedding. I can't relate to the whole baby thing yet, but I am so excited for my family and friends, and I can't wait for my turn!

Hmmm...what else?

We washed Jazzy.

Jeremy tried a new recipe with jalapeños (with some modification because me no likey bacon).

And.....that's about it....for now!

Weekend of Wedding

2008-11-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

On Friday we went to the wedding and reception for Leslie Hansen and Jason McOmber, a couple that we have been friends with for a while. They are the cutest couple and it has been really neat to see the development of their relationship.

I met Leslie about 2 years ago when Micah brought her to our weekly "12:01am donuts" (don't you miss that Lauren?!) and we grew closer last summer when we became the Beans (Chili Bean - Christie Bessinger, Lima Bean - Leslie, Jelly Bean - me). Jeremy has known both Leslie and Jason for a while because they all grew up in the East Stake.

Well, this weekend all started Thursday when I went to the East Stake Center to help Leslie set up for the reception (actually all the prep started earlier but whatever). I wish I had pictures of her adorable polka dot tablecloths and her tents with colorful paper lanterns. Leslie is so creative and she planned and carried out everything all by herself! Later that night, Leslie took us bridesmaids out to dinner and then we finished setting up the reception.

Friday morning, Leslie and Jason were sealed in the Fresno Temple. They looked absolutely perfect for each other. We then took pictures outside of the temple, had a luncheon at the Sierra/Fowler building (the McOmber family hosted it and the food was great!), and then we took more pictures at a member's beautifully landscaped yard. While I was posing for photos, what was Jeremy to do? No worries -- he was busy helping the photographer hold the light reflecting screen things. They loved his work and his willingness to help!

Jeremy and I were able to go home and take a nap cause it had been a very long day so far. Then it was time for the party! Our feet were definitely hurting by this point so we bridesmaids took off our shoes and helped collect presents from the people standing in the large receiving line. Jeremy was great and helped collect/buy supplies to decorate their car and apartment. After everyone else had partaken of the wonderfully catered food from Luna's and most of our duties were done, we got to sit and enjoy the food.

Towards the end we loaded all the presents into a van (I was getting itchy fingers at all those pretty and big gifts!), then we were very ready to say goodbye and good luck to the bride and groom and head home. After a group watched them drive off in their decorated car, we got into our own car and rode off into the night.

I was never one who extremely enjoyed going to weddings or receptions (it tends to make single women feel even more alone), but I have always loved being a part of the wedding party and seeing the joy of the families and couple. Looking back I feel really bad towards my cousins and other family or friends who have been married because I didn't understand the excitement or significance of weddings, especially temple weddings. Now that I have experienced the excitement, the nervousness, the stress, the wonderfulness of it all, I have noticed that I am much more understanding of what people are going through. For Leslie's wedding I couldn't wait to hear her talk about her ideas and decisions or help her get everything ready. I know I can't change the past, but I do wish I could have done the same and been more excited and understanding for past weddings.

The point of this post? I'm not even sure but I do know that going to weddings as a married person definitely makes me feel happy that I am married and reminds me of all the wonderful feelings that we felt almost a year ago. Instead of being a reminder of being single, weddings are now so romantic! Also, I figured it was time for an update and this is the most significant thing that has happened in our lives lately. The reflection at the end of this post is kinda apologetic and silly but it's nice to get my feelings out there. I'm sure I'm not the only post-wedding mind changer! Plus, I'm tired of all the anti-Prop 8 stuff happening, so with that it's time for more pictures.

Jon + Kate + 8 + The Soup = Awesomeness

2008-10-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

Janice and I love watching Jon and Kate Plus 8, it's hilarious to watch the dynamics of the family and each of their personalities. One of the things that I really like is what a good example Jon is of a great husband (most of the time.) Kate sometimes is a drama queen and Jon is usually very patient and doesn't get frustrated or angry with her. I'm sure Janice will add some more reasons why we love the show later, as well as fix all my grammar mistakes :)
One of the other shows we really enjoy watching is "The Soup". If you haven't seen it before, it is a show where the host, Joel McHale, stands around and makes fun of all the hilarious moments from the last week's TV shows. For example, if someone did something stupid on survivor, he would show the clip from the show and then make fun of it. It's awesome because Janice and I love seeing what we missed and remembering the funny things we saw and having their funniness validated. Well one of those funny moments comes from Jon & Kate + 8. Below is the actual clip, I think it speaks for itself.

Picture Game

2008-10-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

Grab your camera &
take pictures of the following WITHOUT cleaning up!

(I got this from Jennifer's blog)

1. KITCHEN SINK

I swear I did the dishes earlier today.
What else is there to do when you're home sick?

2. TOILET

Our "master" bath is SO little!

3. LAUNDRY ROOM

In the hot garage...Boo!

4. FRIDGE

I swear half our fridge is soda.

5. WHAT THE KIDS ARE DOING RIGHT NOW

The closest thing we have to kids:
Squirt (eating) and Jazzy (scratching).

6. FAVORITE SHOES

They were $4 from Payless!

7. FAVORITE ROOM IN THE HOUSE

Most of the pics were blurry, but I love the family room because it has our comfy love seat and our DVR!

8. DREAM VACATION

Anywhere with my hubby!

9. CLOSET

I have sliding doors so I had to take two pictures (No, these are not all of my clothes -- naturally the spare bedroom closet holds my other clothes. And like Jennifer's, I color sort mine).

10. SELF PORTRAIT
Now it's your turn! Have fun!

YES on 8

2008-10-19T17:31:00.001-07:00

Ace of Cakes

2008-10-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

We love the show from the Food Network Channel and we love cake, so why not make our own? Jeremy found a fondant recipe online (made from marshmallows and powdered sugar) and it was his grandpa's and niece's birthdays this weekend. What a perfect time to try a new hobby!

Half of the cake was for Grandpa Reed
(manly blue stripes).

The other half of the cake was for Lily
(cute girlie polka dots).

Together, it made a pretty cool looking cake.

It was super yummy inside and out.
White cake with Funfetti chip frosting and colorful fondant on top!

Next, we'll need to experiment with multiple layers and even more colors and decorations.

Have an event coming up? We're taking orders!
J/K

Jazzy

2008-10-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family!

Introducing:
Jazzy, the Australian Shepherd mix dog!

We got her yesterday from the Clovis Pet Adoption Center (on Villa between Barstow and Bullard) after looking at different dogs and different shelters for a few days.

Although we do have Squirt, our parakeet, we have been wanting a dog for a long time. I always grew up with dogs, (big and little, outside and inside) and Jeremy has never have the privilege (he's lived in unfenced country in Sanger his whole life) and always wanted one.

Jazzy was known as the "office dog" at the shelter because she was so calm, friendly, and loving. No matter how many dogs barked at her out of jealousy or how many new people visited the office, she always remained happy and serene. She was tranquil but not boring because she loved to lick and rub up against her well-known friends working the office.

We learned only a few things about Jazzy. For example, she is approximately 5 years old, medium in size, she knows how to walk properly on a leash, and she is very good at sitting on command.

We bought some essentials before picking her up and then went on an exciting car ride to PetSmart to pick out food and other fun things with Jazzy. Now that she's home with us, we've discovered that she doesn't like toys (in fact, she whines in fright at anything that squeaks), she's a picky eater, she likes taking a bath, she crosses her legs like a lady, and she LOVES attention and love.

In her new home, she is learning new tricks like stay, lie down, go ni-night, go out, etc. She is making a lot of progress and is hopefully very happy with her new home!

Help!

2008-09-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 9 month wedding anniversary and we've been dreaming about a cruise to celebrate our first year. We've been looking online but nothing seems like a great deal or a great place to go. Does anyone know of any great cruises or great deals that we could check out? We're hoping to go right around our actual anniversary which may be more expensive since it's between Christmas and New Years. However, Jeremy has work off from December 20 - January 4, so we can be flexible. Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

What a weekend!

2008-09-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

Our weekend went by so fast! I can't believe it's already Monday night (ug)! But I must say, it is so nice to finally be sitting in my own house, using my own internet, updating my own blog! Woohoo!

Emma, Maddy, and Benny were a blast to have over. I never knew my house and its contents could create such a fun time! We did lots of cool things, like running through the sprinklers, watching an old Chipmunk movie, playing school, playing pillow maze, playing card games, coloring, eating at McDonald's for lunch and Monkey bread for breakfast, etc. Oh, and of course Saturday morning started at 5:30 AM!!!

Here are a few captured moments with the kids. And another look at our clean garage and security light (since I didn't have those pictures for the last update).

Maddy's board says "Emma has the gas bubbles!!!!!!" We each wrote "secrets" about each other on our white boards.

Emma's board says "Maddy has a pimple on her butt. Gross!" What a secret! Kids will be kids.

They loved that bean bag chair

The garage. It's not much, but it makes us happy!

The security light. Makes me feel safe.

Spark plugs & Subbing / Cars & Cousins

2008-09-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

The car "incident" inspired us to make a few changes around the house. First we installed a motion-detecting security light over the garage with the help of Jeremy's dad, Bill. Then we cleaned out the garage and made room for car-parking. It looks and feels amazing! With the light and tucked-away car, I feel a little safer at night.

Thankfully Jeremy is a great handyman around the house. Not only can he take apart random things, figure them out, fix them, and put them back together into working order, but he can also sew, do dishes, and cook. This week's projects included replacing the spark plugs on my car, cutting down a screen to fit our window, and fixing and upgrading the sprinklers. Future pursuits may include a fireplace mantle, a front porch and walkway, and a shower in the second bathroom, among many other aspirations.

As for me, subbing for Fresno Unified is becoming sort of a joke. I finally got a subbing job for regular ed at an Elementary School last week. My second and last job thus far was for the same teacher and class just yesterday. I did pass out my information cards to all the Deaf Ed teachers, but I still seem to only get calls for random jobs. For example, a certain High School wanted me to sub Special Ed, French, and chemistry. Uh....no thanks! I've never taken any of those classes! What would I do unless they had worksheets and movies? At least I start subbing for Clovis Unified next week. THANK GOODNESS!!!

This afternoon and tomorrow we are privileged to have our cute cousins stay over at our house to play with us. Hopefully Emma, Maddy, and Benny have a great time playing hide-and-go-seek, running through the sprinklers, watching movies, making tents, etc. I know if I were little, I think it would be so cool to stay at another person's house and have new experiences and treats. We'll see how it goes!

Besides work, school, our home, and playing, that's about it for an update. One more thing...Monday we are getting Internet!!! Wooohooooooo!!!

Robbed of Security

2008-09-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

Friday was a welcomed relief after a long week. Naturally we stayed up late and retired to bed around 12:30am. I awoke at 1:30am to the normal howling of neighborhood dogs, thinking nothing of it. But at around 2:20am, Jeremy and I were startled into consciousness at the sound of a car alarm...my car alarm!

It took a while to figure out what was going on, and even longer to locate my keys to turn off the alarm. By then I realized that the only way I could be hearing that repetitively loud clamor was because someone tried (or did) get into my car. I wanted to run out the front door of our house and confront the blasted thief. Luckily Jeremy talked some sense into me and we decided to open the garage door, attempting to:

1) scare the robber,
2) possibly catch the robber,
and/or
3) shed some literal light on the situation.

Keeping in mind that my back right door rarely locked properly (because of past child passengers that played around with the lock), I figured the crook saw an unlocked door and tried to get in. But to my horror, the view from the garage door was not what was expected.

My driver-side door was wide open and no one was in sight!

It had taken so long for us to get our bearings that, of course, the bandit had made out into the night, scared away by the roaring of my little car. What would anyone want with my silly car anyway? Turns out Honda Civics are very popular cars to steal!

Anyway, I called 911 on my cell in a pathetically shaky voice and reported the incident. The Clovis Police were there in about 3 minutes (we timed it while looking out from our "safe spot," AKA the bathroom window). A nice officer knocked on our door and told us yet another unexpected development:

The driver-side window was shattered and broken!

Definitely a large detail that was overlooked at our first garage gander! We walked out with the officer (glad he had a gun), assessed the damage (nothing was stolen...the alarm scared him/her off when the door was opened, whew!), and told him our story (by the way, we got dressed into regular clothes within those 3 minutes). He took down our information, dusted for prints, and gave us our claim number (no, we don't have comprehensive car insurance). He also said that another car break-in was in progress down the street. What the heck!? My first thought is, "We're MOVING!!!" The second? "Go catch the flippin felon!"

We went back into our house after the officer promised to patrol the area closely for a few days. It was around 3:10am and I was still full of adrenaline and anxiety. There was no way I could go back to bed! My sense of security had be robbed! Even after saying a prayer, I was up for the night.

Jeremy said he'd fall asleep next to me on the couch while I watched TV. Around 5:30am we got back into bed and I was finally out of it. I didn't/couldn't get up until around 10am, and I discovered that my amazingly wonderful husband got up early to clear out all the glass inside and around my car. Of course, he took pictures of the damage first!

We called around for repair estimates and got a great deal. The rest of our Saturday was packed with other commitments, but we still got me a new window! Boy were we tired, though. And to make matters worse, Sunday night was scary too. The Fresno Police Department Helicopter was circling our neighborhood and shining a bright light around our area. Again, what the heck?! "We're moving!" A loudspeaker came on and announced, "This is the Fresno Police Department. Come out now. This is your last chance. We will find you." Or something like that...

I wanted to go outside to see the helicopter and determine how close it really was to our house. Wait, is that a stupid idea? Kinda like wanting to run out and catch the car thief? What I really wonder is, why do I have the sudden impulses to run outside and see what's going on? If Jeremy wasn't there to knock some sense into me, I might have run out into two dangerous situations!

Here are some pictures for an even more dramatic effect:

No, we didn't leave the door open all night.

The glass was everywhere!

Jeremy parked his car behind mine so no one could try to hotwire the car and drive off with it (our garage is still a little un-car-park-able)

Fingerprint dusting

Lots of glass

There's still glass stuck in my seat belt so I have to buckle it into the passenger side!

What have we learned from this? Always lock our cars, never keep anything valuable or seemingly valuable in the car, install a motion sensor light over the garage, and keep our outside lights on.

Is it okay that I feel totally unsafe and paranoid in my own house? I quote my husband: "It's a new experience for you and sometimes me. It's a valid feeling to have. It will be good to look back on."

Ha! We'll see....

Labor Day weekend -- Camping at Monterey

2008-09-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to Monterey for the long weekend
(after grape picking, of course).

Our friends suggested a great camping spot about 1 1/2 miles from downtown
(pretty much 5 minutes from all the good stuff).

We went...
(luckily the overheated car made it!)

We camped....
(at Veterans Memorial Park, arriving just as the attendant put up the "Camp Full" signs!)

We got a free ticket to the Monterey Bay Aquarium...
(we were at the right place at the right time!)

Spent a full day there...
(THE busiest day of the year! Most of these pictures were only able to be captured through the crowds because we stayed till closing!)

Ate lots of yummy food...
(Archie's American Diner)

Visited Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row...
(lots of interesting sights and smells)

And everything was grand!

Hilarious!

2008-08-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

We were over at our friend Leslie's house last night and we had a little fun with her new MacBook. Turns out there's a wonderful little program called PhotoBooth that can take some really funny pictures! Here they are:

Squirt

2008-08-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

Our new pet bird, a Parakeet named "Squirt."

Squirt was found one evening, sitting on Janice's Dad's truck outside the Brown house. It flew onto Dale's shoulder, and he said it wouldn't survive out in the heat. The Browns took in the parakeet, placed him into a doggie kennel, and gave him food and water.

After no one responded to a found-ad on Craigslist, I (Janice) brought it home for us, and we bought a cage (from Craigslist, of course) and named him (his yellow and green colors resembling the soda can). We researched online and even went to the library so we could become more informed pet owners. We discovered that the blue part of his beak meant that he was a boy, and that he was already hand-trained. After spending a few weeks with him, we're still learning more about bird behaviors, but we hope his singing and pecking mean that he is happy and healthy.

Now we just have to figure out how to catch the white female parakeet that has been wandering around our backyard to make sure she survives.......But that's a whole other story.

Presedential Election

2008-08-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have been very skeptical of John McCain since first seeing him. I'm not sure why, but I've never really felt that positive about him. Barack Obama is interesting to me, but I'm not really sure that I would want to vote for him either. But as I was surfing the net this morning I found a link to a page on John McCain's website that delightfully surprised me. Pretty much everything on this page directly addresses concerns of mine and it turns out that John McCain is on the same side of things as I am (Pro-life, protect marriage, ...etc.) I like that Barack Obama is all about "change" and improving the economy and such, but I can't ignore the fact that he wants women to be able to kill their unborn babies or allow the sacred unity of marriage to somehow be able to be applied to same-sex couples. I still haven't completely made up my mind with who I will vote for as our new president, but this webpage certainly has influenced me more than anything else. Here is the page so that you can read it yourselves:
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm

(Janice adds- If Romney becomes his running mate, my vote is set!)

Camping!

2008-08-15T10:15:00.001-07:00

We're both so excited to go camping this weekend. This will be our second time this year at "Family Camp" and the first was an extraordinary experience, so we can't wait for this one! Last time we went up with the awesome Ward family. This time we are going up with the Ward family as well, but this time it's the Peachwood Ward, not our cousins with the actual last name of Ward. It should be an amazing time.

Part of the reason I am so excited is because I have learned that Janice LOVES camping! Of course there are certain requirements for that love (running water, bathrooms, etc...) But it is really neat that we both love being outdoors. We've slowly been purchasing and acquiring camping gear-- so far we have a tent, sleeping bags and a tarp. We are yet to purchase camp chairs, an air mattress, and a few other odds and ends.
We're so excited for this weekend!

Update: we're back!

The Opening Ceremonies -- Our Favorite Highlights

2008-08-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Some pictures to depict our favorites from last night:

1. The amazing light-drummers counting down the start of the ceremony.

2. The footprint fireworks leading to the stadium.

3. The huge LCD screens on the floor "scroll" and the top of the Birds Nest stadium.

4. 15,000 different non-repeating performers

5. The non-computerized, perfectly synchronized boxes

6. All of the beautiful and unique costumes

7. The glow-in-the-dark suits

8. The commentators explaining the "clear" yet confusing symbolism.

9. The runners on the paper-lantern globe.

10. Trying to figure out where the heck these countries are that I've never heard of.
(Mauritius vs. Mauritania?)

11. The stamped colored footprints of the athletes.

12. The torch

13. The OLYMPICS!!!!

Links to more awesome pictures:
1
2
3
4
5

The Olympics

2008-08-07T11:42:00.001-07:00

We're so excited for the Olympics!

And what a cool date to be on -- 8/8/08

(But did you know that some sports have already started competing? 'Tis True! Check it out here!)
We're thinking of getting Chinese food and doing silly made-up gymnastic routines to celebrate the occasion!

Thank goodness we got satellite TV w/ a DVR just in time!
Go team USA!

UPDATE: If you're a little lost with over 3600+ hours of olympics and not sure what to watch, here is a link with the Top 10 things you want to be watching this year at the olympics. I'm (Jeremy) especially enthusiastic about the men's basketball "Redeem-Team" and Shawn Johnson winning all-around Gymnastics gold!