Blogging With Beth

Dan and I will have been married eight years tomorrow. Isn't that unbelieveable?! It doesn't seem so long, that's for sure, but then, it seems like we've been together forever at the same time.

Now, although I have plenty of sappy, loving things to say, they aren't going to be said on this blog! I'll say them to Dan instead, who will probably appreciate them more and not throw up a little bit in his mouth while he hears it, like you might if you had to read it. Instead, I'll take a cue from Caity's recent blog and talk about how things are with Dan and I today.

1. How long have you been married? Eight years.
2. How long did you date? Ummm...technically since I was 16, but I think we "knew" earlier than that: I was 14. That's 14 years.
3. How old is he? Dan's 29 - he'll be 30 in Feb.
4. Who eats more? At one sitting, it's definitely Dan, but on some days I bet I eat more just by grazing.
5. Who said "I love you" first? That's hard to remember. I think it was Dan...
6. Who is taller? Dan, by a lot - he's 6' 2"
7. Who sings better? Well, I guess I do, but there's a lot of untapped potential in Dan's voice.
8. Who is smarter? Dan would probably say I am, because I have all of this information in my brain, but when it comes to practical and useful things, it's Dan by a mile. I write better than he does but he can do nearly EVERYTHING you can imagine, so there it is.
9. Who does laundry? Me, mostly.
10. Who does dishes? Me, mostly.
11. Who cooks dinner? Me (or at least I buy it from somewhere!)
12. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.
13. Who pays the bills? Our computer and bank work together on that one. :)
14. Who mows the lawn? Dan - I've done it before but he's, I don't know, 40 times faster than me.
15. Who drives when you're together? Usually Dan, but if I want to get somewhere fast I drive. It seems faster if I'm driving.
16. Who is more stubborn? Um, we both are, but I'm more vocal. Surprise.
17. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine. They live nearby.
18. Who proposed? Dan did. That is a whole separate post!
19. Who has more friends? I guess I have more friends, but Dan has more work acquaintances and interaction with the outside world.
20. Who has more siblings? If you include all of my stepsiblings along with my one natural sister, i have 8 siblings, as opposed to Dan's 7 natural siblings. But if you include HIS stepsiblings he has MANY more. In fact, I cannot count them.
21. Who wears the pants? Get ready - sit down - put down your drink - Dan does! I just talk more. The buck stops with him.

There are a few things that I particularly love about Dan that I want to post here, for posterity. :)

First of all, he's the perfect dad. Our kids are both enamored with him. He has a really deep sense of spirituality that moves him to tears, which I find endlessly endearing. He knows the value of work and isn't afraid of it - snow and cold won't stop him from fixing the car or taking out the trash! I have never worried about whether or not he can provide for our family's necessities, and some wants. He is faithful in his covenants. He isn't fake. He has a funny laugh - when he sees something he finds totally hilarious, he has this kind of high, "girly" laugh that is fantastic. You should hear it. Family is important to him. He puts up with my extended family. :) He is a talented artist. There is no skill at which he does not, or could not, succeed if he wanted to (cross-country skiing and ice skating come to mind - he hit them both on the first try.). He loves me and thinks I'm beautiful no matter how self-deprecating I am. We share the same goals and values. He accepts, more or less, my devotion to Walt Disney World. We like the same things, except for seafood, and the best part of my day is when he's done with work and can be with our family.

I've loved you nearly forever, Danny, and I'm so grateful you married me. I must have done something very right in the pre-existence to find you!

Oops. Sorry to my Loyal Fans for that Sappy Moment.

And I'm curious - what side of the bed does everybody sleep on? Just wondering.

Mitt Romney's speech? Spot on.

After this speech, Romney has my vote. He finally showed emotion and passion and conviction about something that is clearly close to his heart. His address went beyond his own campaign and reminded us all that America is a great nation, founded on great principles, where liberty is considered a right given to each person by God and is thus respected by government. If his practices as President stem from those principles we're on track. The only thing I think he has REALLY flip-flopped on is this NRA thing. I don't think he hunts, I don't think he believes that hunting is universally right (see the teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young on this topic), and he probably doesn't own any guns, unless they are used for decoration in his study or something. But he must have felt that joining the NRA would shore up his support among us gun-toting Republicans. His other changes in opinion (for lack of a better word) come, I think, from a more careful consideration of the effects certain legislation could have in a long-term view. And at least he had the courage to change when he felt it was time.

Plus, and this is no small thing: Even though he has clearly been blessed by wealth and privilege, he has been successful in almost all aspects of his life (I can't really give examples of his failures). His success in business, in particular, hasn't come from his father or other sources - it's come from his own efforts. Why would he, all of a sudden, fail at being the President of the United States?

BUT - who cares about politics? Let's get to the good stuff.

A couple of days ago, Helena was shopping at Wal-Mart with my mom. As they walked along, Helena stopped at an endcap display and said, "Ga-ga, can you buy me one of these?" She was pointing at some bright purple bras. My mom said, "Well, honey, those are bras for girls when they get bigger." "But I'm a big girl!" Helena replied. (She had her there: Helena's twice the size of most kids her age.) "I guess we'll need to call your Mommy then" says Ga-ga, cracking up inside. So, the phone rings at my house, and I pick up. It's Helena. "Mommy, can I have a bra?" "What? What do you need a bra for, Helena?" I say, shaking with laughter. (I didn't know she even knew it was called a bra!) "I need it to cover my things and keep me warm when I go to bed." "Most girls don't wear bras to bed, honey." (Nice retort, me.) "Plus, they don't have it in your size, Helena." "Well, next time we go to Meijer maybe we can buy one in my size." "Maybe when you get just a little bigger, sweetie."

Also in the family news: Emma had a baby today! That's right, 3-year-old Emma had a healthy baby girl. Helena and Tanner assisted in the delivery, which occurred on our coffee table in the living room. It came right out of Emma's belly button and it "didn't hurt at all!" Everybody's healthy, but I think Emma left her new baby here at our house.

Speaking of babies, we found a Baby Pooh that is sort of like those Glo-Worm thingys: it's face lights up and it plays songs and stuff. That is, it does when it has batteries. Helena asked me to put batteries in it today - it's been literally years since it's had any juice - since she noticed the battery pack inside, so I found the AA's and put them in. When I pushed on Pooh's tummy, his face lit up and the song started and Helena got MAD! "Babies DON'T GLOW! They DON'T GLOW!" (Imagine her maddest face and a truly distressed voice.). "Take out those batteries! They DON'T GLOW!" A couple of hours later, I found the Baby Pooh That Shouldn't Be Glowing in the recyclables box. Nice.

And Hunter says Mama. Life just can't get any better.

I have so much to be thankful for...it would take the whole post just to list a few of them! Basically I realize that I've been blessed beyond what I deserve and it brings me joy.

This year I was assigned (for lack of a better word) to make the turkey. I had Dan pitch in to help a little, because I could not stick my hand up the business end of a turkey without gagging. Here are a few shots showing our progress:


First rule of cooking: Make sure you have everything on hand!


We put the bird in the sink. I actually prayed over this bird. I realize that Heavenly Father must get a lot of prayers over the turkey on Thanksgiving, but I just didn't want to completely screw this up. After all, a turkey gave its life so that we could enjoy this tasty meal, right?


All bagged up and ready to go! At Rachel's suggestion I decided to go with the Reynolds Oven Bag. It was easy to put together and came with simple directions. Dan thought he could improve on the directions by "injecting" some butter underneath the turkey's skin; instead, he just put two little drainage holes for the juice to leak out of.



I also made some apple pies (someone else made pumpkin). After some practice I'm now able to do pies pretty easily, and it's relaxing to put the crust together, roll it out, smooth it carefully into the pie pan. One of the pies has an "A" for apple cut into the crust; another has an "H" for Helena.

I don't have a good "final turkey" photo, because after we removed the bag it all looked pretty messy. It tasted okay, especially the dark meat, but the top breast was a little bit dry. Oh well. Practice makes perfect and I'll probably get another chance to work on it in the future. Also, my pictures look a little dark. There's another area I where I could use some improvement!