10 Loves

1. Laughing so hard with Mom that we are crying and have black running down our cheeks and our bellies ache. (See the post below...)
2. When we are sleeping and Brandon snuggles up next to me and kisses my shoulder and gives me a squeeze.
3. This SUNSHINE!
4. Musical bonding with Lindsey.
5. That scent you can smell in the air as the seasons begin to change.
6. Running into good friends on campus and you end up chatting for so long you are 20 minutes late for class.
7. Sister-in-Laws. I'm pretty excited about this shindig.
8. Our marriage, our ability to laugh with each other, forgive each other, and serve each other.
9. Bright colors! No more blah, blah, blah.
10. Good grads on horrid subjects.

What does Julie do when she's waiting for laundry to finish?

This.....









Charming, eh?


**Ugly stick compliments of Mac Photo Booth**

This Morning...

I discovered a gray hair. That's right.

I am horrified.

Guilt

I am supposed to be studying for my midterm on the philosophies of this......

Instead, I am playing this....

And have been doing so for the last 2 hours. I'm so ashamed.

That's Just Rich

I went to the Cheesecake factory with my good friends Sara Ham and Steve Lamb the other day. If you know me, you know I like chocolate...make it cake and its all over. I ordered this.....



It has taken me three days to eat only half of the piece. I'm not complaining, but that is some serious cake.

10 Loves

1. Neti Pot....I'll explain later.
2. Family, family, family.
3. Having a clean house.
4. 600 thread count sheets. They are divine.
5. TAX RETURNS!
6. When I am holding Casch and I pat his back, then he pats mine.
7. Random phone calls from Brandon when he's at work.
8. The fact that February is almost over and its that much closer to spring.
9. My midterms are all take home this semester!
10. My kiddos were SO happy to see me today! I love being loved.

Confessions

**I prefer writing with pen and paper as opposed to typing on the computer. When I use a pen I feel like I am actually creating, not just "inputing information."
**I am over the literature part of my major. I no longer wish to analyze and make arguments about what someone else has written. I want people to analyze and argue about what I have written, like they did last semester.
**I've been having nightmares every night for the last two weeks.
**Children's Literature is making me question the whimsy of my childhood.
**I like waking up early and the freedom that gives me for the day....However, this does not actually drag me out of bed at the crack of dawn when I know I don't have to be up for anything all day.
**I think Emily Dickinson got a bad reputation.
**I am reading Peter Pan and Kensington Gardens
and I have actually been to Kensington Gardens. It is one of the most charming places I have ever been.
**Vanity Fair is a brilliant beyond brilliant magazine.
**Other married couples our age, that we know, sort of wear me out.
**My shoe closet is a mess right now. Normally this would bother me, but I have only worn two pairs of shoes the entire winter....Uggs and Nike gym shoes...Boring, boring.
**I weight 5.3 pounds more at the gym than I do on ANY other scale....I think this a conspiracy.


Come on now...lets hear your confessions...

My Honey

I just adore him.
The last month or so has been a bit hard for me. Lots of unlucky spells, falling on the ice, losing everything except my mind (I might have lost it a little bit), and being sick a lot.
Brandon gave me such a beautiful blessing last night. I am so grateful for a husband that is there when I am sick or hurting, a husband who can answer any question I have when we read scriptures, a husband who kisses me on the nose when I am crying over something silly, a husband who takes care of me and makes me laugh on the days that it takes all I've got just to "keep up with the biggest losers."
He is my rock, my love, my protector, my husband.

I have....

Hoocus...or Hookus. Either way you spell it, you probably don't know what is, unless you are of the Hansen family. I have been sick three times in the last month. I need a vacation.

10 Loves

1. Brandon goes out and shovels the steps and sidewalks outside our apartment every time it snows...just because. He's such a good guy.
2. Massages.....ahhhh.
3. Spy and Espionage movies.
4. Watching the Roethel kids, they are so darling...even if Dalton did tell me my house "doesn't look to good on the outside, but its better on the inside."
5. The jewelry at dogeared.com
6. De-cluttering our apartment. I do this often, it feels great.
7. The power of prayer.
8. My job. I just LOVE my job. The worst day at my job is far better than most peoples good days at their jobs.
9. Weekend trips to "the sticks" to see the fam.
10. They safety I enjoy every single day and my protective husband.

They Melt in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand

Haley made this funny little picture, the little candies have a startling realistic resemblance to us. According to Haley they are: Katie "The Great," Julie "The Brain," Brandon "The Husband," Haley "The Make-up Artist," and Morgan "The Littlest Sister."

****Little edit--if you can't see the picture, just click where its supposed to be and it should come up.

Happy!

The sun is shining, I didn't even need my coat when I walked to school! It's warm! I understood just about everything in my modernism class. YAY for me, its the first time this semester that I felt like I actually knew what was going on. AND I found the keys I have been looking for for two weeks! I only found them once all the snow had melted, but still, I found them! I like today!

Sad Fact

A guy was shot and killed two houses down from mine two nights ago. This is the sixth homicide in Utah this year. This just blows my mind. Enough guns, enough violence. Lucky for me I had three DeCoria brothers here to make me feel safe.

Elect Lady

I have enormous respect for this woman. I cannot even begin to describe my admiration of her strength, obedience, compassion, and faith.

The Trouble With School

1. Um, hello? Financial aid office? It is not acceptable to be put on hold for 17 minutes.
2. Girls on campus...why do you need to carry a book bag and a purse? How much stuff do you need on your person at one time?
3. Boys...shorts? Really? It's, like, negative a zillion outside? Did you not notice?
4. Yes, here at the U we are more liberal than say, BYU, but lets try and go a little less out of our way to make that known. We know we support Barak Obama and Ron Paul. We know we don't have a dress code. We know our programs are great. We know we are Red and White. WE KNOW already. We don't need to hear it every time we turn around. Cause not all of us concur. I'm just sayin'.
5. Sleeping on the couches in the Union building is not sanitary.

This is not to say I hate school. I just hate school today. And this week. And probably last week, too.

I Don't Get It

My Child Lit teacher hates me. She actually rolls her eyes at me on a regular basis. I'm not making this up. I have never done anything to challenge or test this woman in any way. As far as I know....no, I know for certain that I have never done anything remotely upsetting in this class....ever. I'm not a difficult person. I think myself to be a pleasant person. I don't get it? I'm taller than her...is this a tall person thing? Is she one of those people? I don't get it. I just don't.

10 Loves

1. Brandon. He makes me laugh and laugh. The last little while has been a bit hard with the weather and a dozen or so bouts of bad luck. I just adore him.
2. Sally Hansen Nail Pens. They are the neatest things, they dry fast and look good!
3. Compassion. Those who have it. Those who are finding it. Those who are learning learning it by the trials they endure. It is beautiful thing.
4. Locksmiths.
5. Sisters. They are good for a laugh, venting, a bit of gossip, or a cupcake. You just gotta love'em.
6. The one single day of Sunshine on Tuesday. It was bitter, bitter cold....but it was sunshine.
7. A strong hubby. I think every girl should have one. He got my car unstuck. It was really, really stuck. Pfft.
8. Audio books. I have really gotten hooked on these.
9. Movies, movies, movies.
10.Sleep aids...I might not sleep without them.

Lost...Not All of Them Bad

I lost a set of keys to a car that doesn't even belong to the person who let me borrow it. I lost my coat. I lost Brandon's coat, too. I lost the book that I have to have read and a paper written by Thursday somewhere between laundry and snow. I lost some weight lately. I've lost my ability to breathe in the cold, cold air. I lost the tab key on my computer. I lost interest in a handsome vampire. I lost my fear of Virginia Woolf. I lost my loneliness almost a year ago. I lost some hair in the shower this morning. I lost my paper on the the sexuality of Little Red Riding Hood half way through writing it. I lost my desire to live in cold states. I lost my dislike of the summer. I lost a lot of sleep last week. I lost the need to be alone all the time.

Just Sick

Brandon has been sick for days. This awful miserable weird sickness. Poor guy. Now I am getting it. My lungs burn and my head feels like its going to implode. This only furthers my current hatred for winter.