The Meandering Thoughts of Jan

As promised, the unveiling of Jonnifer the gnome's Halloween costume!  Can you guess who he is?   (I may or may not have neglected doing a load of laundry to put this little number together.  Priorities.) Let's just say we watched a little Harry Potter whilst making this magical costume.  Happy Halloween to all!

I think I went through a dilemma of needing change recently.  Not big changes, just something to spice up the monotony life can become if you aren't careful.  When this happens, my friends who are online on gchat are the first to hear about it.  You already heard about when I asked my friends for suggestions on new tunes .  Well, they also heard from me recently concerning new recipes.  Trying new recipes gives me more motivation to cook, instead of telling Danny to order a pizza. (Even though that still happens on long work days.)  I haven't made all the recipe suggestions given to me, but here's a couple that I've really liked so far. Recipe #1 Spanish Chicken with Sausage and Potatoes (Photo courtesy: pickyin.blogspot.com.au)  I found this recipe on pinterest and it was really delicious.  Danny gave it an 8 out 10.   (I always ask him to rate a new recipe I make to see if it is worth making again.)  On the blog this recipe originally comes from, it

For our anniversary, Danny and I went to St. George.  We had a fabulous time eating, hanging out with family, going to a concert and so forth.  However, our grand adventure was visiting one of my favorite spots in Utah, Zion National Park.  Our first day there, we hiked the Riverside Trail which took us to the mouth of the Narrows.  We decided to forge on in the frigid water and came across some breathtaking scenery.  Danny and I were snapping pictures like crazy.  We only hiked up the Narrows for a couple of miles and then turned back around.  We now have a new goal to hike the whole thing.  The second day we did some quick short hikes before we had to head back home.  We visited the Weeping Rock Trail which was beautiful and the Patriarch Court look out, which was more like 10 steps than a hike.  Prepare yourself for some awesome red rock photos. The Narrows The entrance Danny and Me Behind us is the hanging gardens that grow right out of the cliff, so amazingly beautifu

It has been 2 years since this blessed event... Funny that this picture is one of my favorites from my wedding.The semi-awkward moment when my brothers and new husband were trying to hold me up still makes me chuckle.  I  remember vividly Tim yelling out, "I don't know where to put my hands!"  Haha, my brothers are such good sports. Here we are all sorted out.  It kind of looks like I'm floating. And here is a picture with my sisters so they don't feel left out. I know I should make a comment of how time flies, but honestly, I feel the passing of time since my wedding has felt like 2 years to me.  No more, no less.  Marriage has brought a lot of good times and growing times.  I think the thing that amazes me the most is how much Danny has become such an integral part of my life. Both good and growing times have caused us to grow together, so much that I really can't imagine life without him.  For that I am grateful. In other news... We (

I know what you are thinking, "Jannifer, do you really need to have two posts about your half birthday?"  The answer is yes, because it just made sense to split the post in half considering the topic.  So during the day at work on the day of celebrations, I found I had to watch hours of HR videos which needed very little attention to understand.   (That's a nice way to say they were really boring.)  So with my other half of wandering attention I decided to start searching YouTube for some new tunes.  Especially since I remember I still had a partial Amazon gift card that I could buy some music with.  I turned to some of my wise music friends who were online for their suggests.  They led me to some sweet songs which are now part of my collection.  A little half birthday gift to me and since I like to be giving, I shall share some of their suggestions with you. Suggestion from Talena... Suggestions from Eliza... Suggestions from Julia... Ok for this n

One evening last week I said the words that make many husbands nervous: "Do you remember what tomorrow is?"  Danny's response, "Umm, Wednesday?"  I prodded some more and gently reminded him of my half birthday!  Good thing we have been together long enough for him to understand the importance of this day, since I celebrate every year.  I wasn't really thinking of anything big, just going out for a treat, but Danny really surprised me.  He came home with the following little present: A Happy Birthday Card (cut in half) and carrot cake (my favorite) to split in half and share.   Happy half birthday to me!  Thanks Danny! I only have 6 months left in my 20's, which is a crazy thought.  Any suggestions on how to end my 20's with a bang?

A couple of months ago Talena and I were chatting online about how we needed something to look forward to.  I think everyone needs something in the near future to look forward to all the time, hence why I celebrate a lot of random holidays.  We came up with the idea to both take a day off from work and have a girly day together.  We chose last Monday (Oct. 8th, I tend to post everything a week late) which was perfect.  I had worked a couple of long weeks/weekends, so the break was very much needed. First we met up for a late breakfast at Talena's place.  She made pumpkin waffles, which were amazing. Masters in the kitchen, or at least we pretend to be. After breakfast, we headed up to Park City.  It tends to be the go to getaway in these parts, since it is so close, but feels far away.  Talena and I headed to Main Street and perused art galleries, gift shops and bookstores.  Most of our day involved walking and talking, two things we are very good at. Me, Talena and Fra

Before I post some of my favorite quotes from Conference, I wanted to share my thoughts concerning the announcement about the change of missionary age, 18 for Elders and 19 for Sisters.  I'm excited for both groups but especially the announcement concerning the change for the sisters.  As everyone knows, I loved my mission to England.  I honestly think/talk about it every day.  To put it simply, those 18 months changed my life for the better in every way.  I hope with this age change more young women will see a mission as a viable option in their future.  I think in Mormon culture there is has been a stigma that girls who go on missions go because they didn't have anything else to do when they were 21+.  I didn't find that attitude in any of the sisters I knew on my mission.  Missions are difficult things and quite honestly, I don't think you would last very long if that was your attitude. My hope is that with this age change, it will do away with that silly stereotype.

We finished watching the VP debates earlier this evening.  So much bickering; I was not impressed.  You might as well have put some middle school girls up there and have them fight over the same boy from their gym class they both have a crush on and it would have sounded very similar, just a little more hair pulling.  However, if the debates were a little more like the video below, I would find politics much more interesting.   (Thanks to Danny for showing me this.  I was laughing so hard, I was crying.)  Enjoy.

General Conference weekend was a bit of a blur.  There were lots of family gatherings, spiritual feeding and work.  Here's a rundown of the weekend happenings... Friday After work Danny and I went down to my parents' house to spend some time with them.  Remember when  you were little and, at times, wanted to run away to live some exotic life where you could do whatever you wanted.  Now that I'm older I find myself sometimes wanting to run away, but rather to my parents' home.  I kind of did that for 24 hours this weekend and it was such a nice break. When we got there we helped them clean up from their mission reunion (since my dad was once a mission president).  It was kind of fun to see the look on my mom's face when we walked in.  I could almost hear her thinking, "I love my missionaries, but my kids are here.  Time to wrap this party up!"  We quickly went to work clearing tables and putting away chairs.  When everyone went home, we went back to my

My sister Noelle came over for the evening earlier this week.  Her husband was out of town so we had a girly night together.  Noelle, being the sweetest ever, first made dinner for us since my work schedule has been so busy.  She didn't make just any meal, she made a southern dinner since Danny is from Louisiana.  We had shrimp gumbo, cornbread and homemade apple pie for dessert.  It was delicious and Danny was in heaven. After dinner Noelle and I decided to make this craft that we saw on pinterest for Halloween.   It was pretty easy.  Noelle cut 2x4's down to 6 inch blocks beforehand.  Once you have your wood blocks, all you need is craft paint and brushes, foam sheets, permanent marker, hot glue, some time and patience. Before Noelle in the midst of painting. Succeeding in not burning myself with the glue gun. Jonnifer and his new Halloween friends. Noelle and I with our creations. My Halloween blocks.  I thought they turned out pretty cute. On