This is what I did this weekend instead of making that other pillow:

i only had one throwing up episode on sunday, but it was enough to make me not want to move for a long time. i thought the throwing up was going away...oh well. baby is healthy. i'm glad.

i've made the decision that while i would like to eat healthy foods, there is absolutely no point if i can't keep it down. so sunday i had: pancakes (stayed in belly), potatoes (stayed in belly), spaghetti (definitely did not stay in belly), tater tots (stayed), ramen noodle soup (stayed) and mandarin oranges (probably wouldn't have stayed if i hadn't gone to bed right after). yes, i probably had 3 days worth of salt. but at least i didn't get sick right after i ate that stuff.

two weeks until we find out the gender. i couldn't be more excited!

in other news, we head to houston tomorrow. i'm excited to see kirk's family and a few friends down there. i'm also excited that we are missing the snow. *crosses fingers*

I'm back!

i am TERRIBLE at writing in my journal. absolutely terrible. i have written like twice...maybe three times since i got pregnant. i originally phased out on this blog because no one was reading it, and i figured facebook would be an easier way to connect with people.

but, the other day i was scrolling through old posts of mine, and i remembered how much fun i had doing them. it nice to have some kind of record of our lives.

so, i'm back. not for people to read necessarily (although you are welcome to,) but to have something to look back on and say "hey. we had some good times."

so here goes nothing...
kirk and i watched this movie this weekend. i'll be honest, i wasn't going into it thinking "this movie is going to be the best movie EVER." but i've already had it on the background once while i've cleaned/thrown up/done whatever else in my house, and i'll probably have it on again today while i sew my other pillow cover.

i loved this movie! maybe it's because i love to just watch them eat. they look so happy when they eat the delicious food and since everything i ate yesterday i threw up (counted four times yesterday. yuck), it was a comfort to see people enjoy food when i could not. plus it made me really want to try french cooking. who knows...maybe julia child's book will end up under my christmas tree?


ladies and gentleman, rachel is no longer afraid of the sewing machine! i successfully made a pillow cover to cover up the hideous pillows that we have on our couch. mind you, i have only made this one, but i plan on making the other one today.

i didn't follow a pattern. i just went to this website. i can't tell you what a relief it is to finally have done a sewing project by myself.

well, i'm hungry. husband is making me pancakes. they smell good.

Just watched this movie. Loved it!

Can't describe how I feel when I listen to Regina Spektor

i'm gonna keep up the days in my personal journal. it's too much work on my blog. :)

Day 7

went to a great seminar on infertility at BYU. we're NOT infertile as far as i know, but it was nice to hear about people who had had miscarriage(s) as well and how they dealt with it. really great info and they gave great spiritual advice for couples. rock on.

*note: i loved this picture i found on sophie blackall's site. she is an awesome illustrator.

Day 6

we bought some life insurance today. yay!

Day 5

today during church, a man was bearing his testimony and mentioned "when he was going to BYU." right after he said the words "BYU," a little toddler yelled out (like he was at a football game) "BYU!!" everyone laughed in the congregation, which apparently encouraged the toddler, who yelled "BYU" a couple of more times, until his parents hushed him. :)

Day 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAcRdI2sTzQ


all the single babies!

so i didn't really get tonight's episode. maybe it was because i had to stand in the middle of the living room JUST right so the bunny ears would get the signal, so i missed some parts? but i didn't get what Whiskey was doing. why was she suddenly so confused about her purpose? why did she remember that she was a doll? SO confused. maybe i just didn't remember the last episode well enough...

Day 3

it's friday. 'nuff said.

Day 2

listened to Harry Potter on cd as I drove back from dropping off Kirk at the airport.

100 Days of Happyness

lately i haven't been my usual chipper self. i've been super exhausted and i feel like i complain ALL the freakin' time!

so i'm trying an experiment. every day i'm going to post at least one happy thing that happened to me, that i saw, that i felt, etc. etc. etc. we'll see how long this lasts.

this does not mean that I'm ashamed of having negative feelings. negative feelings are normal and healthy. but I think I need to put my life back into perspective.

"Men are that they might have joy."

Day 1:

during a crazy busy day, i still got to steal some time with people I love. kirk and i squeezed in a quick dinner/trip to the mall, and carol and I were able to have some much-needed girl time.

So excited for Tuesday

I HAVE INTERNET!! Woo-hoo!!!

i miss having the internet at home...only a few more days. *sigh*

on campus watching BYU football with kirkalicious. they are doing this big thing at the wilk with free food and...well need i say more? kirk and i had a debate about going to ikea (what i wanted to do) and going to watch the game (what he wanted to do). we decided on the game, and seeing kirk's happy face makes it worth it. he said he got goosebumps as he heard the huge group of students cheering in the ballroom. adorable.

kirk made sure i got a yummy cinnoman roll to make this trip worth it. i'm not complaining. plus, BYU football is a religion in my household. i think my dad would be very disappointed if i didn't watch the game.:)

the compelling thing about making art--or making anything, I suppose--is the moment when the vaporous, insubstantial idea becomes a solid there, a thing, a substance in a world of substances.

--The Time Traveler's Wife

So tired...

we just finished moving a ton of stuff today to our new apartment. i cried a little bit last night, simply because we have loved living in this house so much. we truly felt at home in our cozy little house and we loved the ward we lived in. our landlady decided at the last minute to sell the house. understandable, but still sad for us.

kirk and i talked about it last night though, and really it seems like whenever you get comfortable, that's when God decides to put you in a new situation. maybe we're needed somewhere else, or we'll achieve a different kind of happiness in our new place.

thanks jenni, carol, paul, and sara!! y'all were so nice to help us move.

now it's time to play with kirky. and to get excited for our extra bathroom, dishwasher, and plentiful kitchen counter space.

for a few minutes this morning, i am just eating this scrumptious cereal and kirk is asleep. i like these few stolen moments of deliciousness, and not just because of the cereal.

psych and better off ted. love these shows right now.

Amy's wedding

aren't they adorable?? amy is my cousin on my mom's side, and we loved going to her and jeremy's sealing. sara, kirk and i took a quick jaunt up to rexburg and back (in one day, i might add) and we had so much fun!

of course, at every sealing the sealer will give advice to the couple. really i think that the advice is better received from the others in attendance at the sealing, because the bride and groom are way more focused on each other. :)

it was good for kirk and i to hear the words of advice. he said that the most important thing in marriage is to focus on the other person's happiness more than on your own. i liked his metaphor of how we never say to God, "i really like this rainbow, but couldn't you have put a little more red, or yellow in it?" our spouse is a gift from God, just as the rainbow is. so don't mess with your personal rainbow!

kirk and i had bickered a little bit that day, so we both apologized pretty quick after hearing what the sealer said. :) it's good to remember what's important in a marriage, and what really isn't. i've noticed that kirk is much better at putting me first than i am at putting him first. i'm definitely going to work on make him feel like his happiness is more important than mine.

our 2 year anniversary was on tuesday! i can't believe it's been that long. i love my kirky. we didn't take many pictures of our weekend trip to salt lake (we did the celebrating on that day because we wanted to get away for a little while) but here are the few that we have.



we went here:

and...


and ate...





and went...

and watched...


we did go out to eat on our anniversary, but to a place that wasn't too expensive since we played so much the weekend before. :)

500 Days of Summer

joseph gordon-levitt is adorable, and so is zooey deschanel. i loved how this movie wasn't cliche too. i've already seen it twice and i am contemplating buying the soundtrack.

it made me think about fate. are we brought to people because we were meant to be with them, or is it just coincidence? i don't know if i believe that there is necessarily one person that is meant for you, but i feel that God does manage our lives in such a way that we will meet those people. then he lets us use our agency and pick the one we want.

i would say that this is true for most people. but not all.

i will say, at least for myself, i feel that the number of people i would be truly happy with is pretty small. i dated a lot before i married kirk, but the true and utter bliss (which of course, is mixed with the normal utter frustration) i feel with him is different. natural.

it's something i forced with other guys, but not with him.

and i kind of like that.

p.s. i am seeing how i like this no capitalization thing, jenna. i think i like it. you are my inspiration.

Had a cheeseburger today. Loved it.

Okay, ignore the cleavage. Focus on the pants that look EXACTLY like my marching band trousers. Who knew that they would be seen as fashionable??

Aaaah!! I want to find this sheet music soooo bad. I'm obsessed.

Should be studying for my Life and Health license. And I'm on my blog...

Life has been good lately. Normal ups and downs. I went to Texas this past weekend and saw my family. I love being with them and wish that they lived closer...not across the Atlantic. *le sigh*

And I got to see Kimmy with her preggo Buddha belly. She's a cute preggo woman!

Had a meltdown yesterday. Didn't go to Youth Conference because I was soooo tired and stressed--I was in tears. Poor Kirky had to stand there and watch me go into a cleaning frenzy (cleaning out the kitty litter, killing every ant in sight, washing the bathroom floor) until I collapsed on the bed. I didn't talk to him the whole time. My loving husband simply came and held me (and didn't even mention how crazy I was being). Then he cooked dinner. I love him.

We watched Brideshead Revisited last night too. I added that book to the bajillion books that I want to read. I had no idea that Catholicism played such a big role in that movie. Kirk and I had a good discussion on the symbolism in the movie. I was happy to watch something that made me think.

And I'm getting the soundtrack to that movie too. I can't get over the piano in it...I've been listening to the menu over and over again. I just melt when I hear it.

So Proud

I actually got up this morning (alarm rang at 5:45...I got up at around 6) and went to the gym! I have found that I have way too much going on at night to go. Plus, if I go to the gym at night, it takes away the precious few hours I have with Kirky before I collapse into my bed.

I read Inkheart while I rode the exercise bike. A book and a bike at once? Can life get better? I think it cannot!

Today I am grateful for friends who are there for me, even when I'm prickly.

Nie Nie

I met Nie Nie at the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery yesterday. I didn't talk to her much (Kristen, my sister-in-law, did the talking) but can I just say . . . wow. That woman is so beautiful. Her radiant spirit just shines through her eyes. Just being in her presence made an impression on me.

Ryan Reynolds was soooo good looking in the Wolverine movie. I hate that he had to turn into ugly Deadpool.

p.s. I had no idea who Deadpool was until Kirk and Jeremy explained more X-Men trivia to me tonight.

Spontaneous Trip of Awesomness

aturday around noon, Kirk and I were trying to think of what we should do with Bret and Jenni because they were going to be leaving soon for about a month. Kirk mentioned that he had always wanted to go to Moab, but not necessarily today. I said, "Why not today? Let's go!" So, we went. Within three hours we had packed up everything and gone grocery shopping. We were on our way. I love that Bret and Jenni are as random as we are. It makes life interesting. :)

As you can see from the lovely pictures, we had so much fun. We went and hiked up to Delicate Arch (3 mile hike...wow it was hot!) and up to Landscape Arch (which was more of a leisurely walk). I felt bad because Jenni caught some kind of bug while were there, but she still did the 3 mile hike! We also drove around the park and saw things from the comfort of our air conditioned truck.

We camped outside of Arches National Park at a random campsite by the Colorado River. There was no running water, but there was some sort of toilet. Funny story about the Colorado River...right before we left to go back home, we decided to go swimming. We were driving along and saw that people were swimming at a sandbar. So we parked and climbed down this hill that was covered with bushes. We couldn't see the sandbar but we knew where we were going.

As we emerged from the bushes, we found that a) we had found the sand bar and b) there was a large group of men standing around completely naked!

So be careful if you decide to go swimming in the Colorado River. You might see more than you want to...

Thanks Bret and Jenni for an awesome-tastic adventure.