Around the House

I couldn't think of anything to write today, but I thought I'd post some pictures for everyone to enjoy!

She loves this activity table.

Swinging at the BBQ last weekend
Another Easter photo.
Thirsty girl!

Save Time with Google Reader!

My friend Abbie wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about Google Reader, and I feel like I should share the information, too!

I love reading blogs. I read friends' blogs, family blogs, money blogs, Church blogs, BYU Sports blogs, frugal living blogs, medical blogs, entertainment blogs, news blogs, humor blogs (ok... now I sound really pathetic. I really don't spend all my time reading blogs.).

Anyway, in the olden days, when I found a blog I liked I would send the web address to the "My Favorites" tab in Internet Explorer, and then I would check it every day or so to see if it had been updated with a new post. Needless to say, this wasted a lot of time because many of the blogs I enjoyed were only updated once or twice a week, yet I would check them whenever I sat down at the computer. Then I found "Google Reader" and my blog-reading time was so much better! So... what is Google Reader? Well, Google Reader tracks the blogs you like to read and updates you whenever a new post has been published on each blog (kind of like an email - but it updates in Google Reader instead of sending you an email). So, whenever you sign into Google (or gmail, or whatever), on the top there is a link that says "More" with a down-arrow - and on the bottom of that list it says "Reader". Click that - that's your Reader! (and if you don't have Gmail...well... I guess none of this information really helps. But I'm of the opinion that everyone in the world should have Gmail. It's the best). Anyway, once my Google Reader is open, I can then see a list of all my favorite blogs that have been updated since I last checked in. :) This makes life so much easier!

So, once you've found a blog you like and that you want to keep track of, how do you add it to Google Reader? Well, there are a couple of ways, but here's how I do it: In Google Reader, over on the left side of the page, there is a button that says "Add Subscription". Just cut and paste the URL (that's the web address, Mom...) of the blog you like right there. And Presto! Every time that blog is updated, it will be posted in your Google Reader. You can read the post right there in the Reader, or you can click on the link and read it on the actual blog page. Also, you can separate your blogs into different folders to make everything organized. I have separate folders for family, friends, Church, BYU Sports, humor, news, etc....

I hope this helps at least a few people. And I hope my directions were clear enough that everyone can use Google Reader now! Now you never have to worry about losing track of a blog you like. Including mine. :)

This is not a paid advertisement.

Flashback Friday - Summer 2001

Growing up, we had a lot of lawn to mow. For a while it was okay because we had a couple of riding lawnmowers, but then my parents decided that we weren't getting enough exercise, so they sold them and bought three push-mowers. Sometimes I didn't mind mowing, but it was pretty miserable in the middle of the humid summer. And it's discouraging to mow when it feels like it's never completely done.

This flashback is from when I was in high school, and Mike was living at home. It was the summer between Mike's freshman year and his mission. Anyway, I was mowing the side yard where the raspberry bushes were, and all of a sudden I felt a really sharp sting on the back of my leg. I yelped in pain and stopped the mower, and rubbed my leg, looking around for the bee that I figured had stung me. It was then that I heard laughing. I looked behind me at the house, and there was Mike, leaning out his bedroom window, with a BB gun in his hands. Ouch! I don't even remember if I told my parents what happened, but I do know that I had a bruise there for a few days.

On a similar note, Mike also had a pellet gun for a while and he and his friends thought they were pretty tough. Mike, Brandon J., and Matt P. (and a few others, I'm sure... but I can't think of them now) would use the pellet gun to demonstrate to us just how tough they were. They would hold the pellet gun up to their inner forearm and shoot it, leaving huge ugly welts on their arms. But they had to do it if they wanted to be considered a "cool tough guy". I don't recall ever thinking they were very tough; in fact, as they were writhing around on the floor in pain, I'm pretty sure I thought completely the opposite.

I hope you enjoyed this week's segment of Flashback Friday. I think next week I'll write about Garrett starting Medical School.

Mixed Emotions

Sometimes she's happy...

And sometimes she's not!

But she's always cute! (that's our unbiased opinion, anyway)

And isn't that the cutest rocking chair? My Grandpa O. was a carpenter and he made it for me when I was little. Isn't it just perfect for Abby? I just need to stain that replacement piece on the seat. I'm not sure what happened there.

P.S. That picture of her crying was her reaction when she saw me cutting Garrett's hair last night. I don't know if it was the hum of the clippers or the sight of hair falling from his head, but she was very unhappy about it.

Opening Day!!

Baseball season has officially begun! I LOVE baseball. I love everything about it. And I love my Red Sox! Finally, a team I can count on! With the Red Sox I'm not nervous at the beginning of every game, and they usually don't let me down (*cough BYU cough*).

Today in our season opener in Japan, the Red Sox beat the A's 6-5 in an exciting 10-inning game. Hopefully that is just a preview of all the excitement that awaits us this season! I really hope Garrett and I will be able to make it to a baseball game this year. Unfortunately, the Red Sox aren't playing near us at all this year, but maybe we'll be able to go to a Braves game or something. They're ok, too.

Papelbon

(I took this picture during the World Series last year)

Happy Easter!

Ready for Church

Abby with some of her friends (she just woke up from a nap) She sat in this doll stroller and was content for about 20 minutes - it was great!

Easter was really fun this year (I think all holidays become more fun when you have kids!). Yesterday we had our Easter Egg Hunt & BBQ, which was lots of fun, and today we went to another friend's house for Easter Dinner, which was great! The weather was beautiful so we were able to eat outside, and the food was really good. It's always fun to hang out with friends. And thanks to Grandma W for sending Abby's cute little Easter outfit - it was adorable! And unfortunately, the Easter Bunny didn't quite make it to our house this year... I haven't even eaten one jelly bean! But that's ok. Garrett didn't mind and I know I didn't. And thankfully Abby's too young to know the difference!

I love Easter! And I love the meaning that it has in our lives. I'm so thankful for our Savior and His resurrection, and for the sacrifice that He made for us. I am excited to teach Abby about the true meaning of Easter - hopefully by next year she'll be able to learn a thing or two about it!

Easter Egg Hunt & BBQ!

Today we went to a friend's house and had a BBQ, and there was an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. It was a lot of fun - there were probably about 16 adults and 15 or so kids there, so it was crazy, but everyone seemed to be having a good time. The weather was just perfect - in the high 70s, and sunny - so we all got nice tans, too!

After most people left, Garrett and I stayed and played some games with some others who stayed as well. That's usually my favorite part of hanging out with our friends - we play fun games! Our favorites are Catchphrase and Scattergories... we could play these games for literally HOURS if our kids would let us - and sometimes they do! We are so lucky to have such great friends here. I will miss them when we all go our separate ways after medical school/military/dental school.

Helping Daddy find candy
Abby with her friend Zoe

Homemade Oreos!
Peeps Cake! (made by my friend Abbie)

And.... it's over.

Well, BYU's basketball season is over. We didn't play our best game, and we lost by a handful of points. Oh well... there's always next year. Now I guess I just won't be spending so much time watching basketball this coming week, which is a good thing I guess. But I really thought we had a good chance this year, at least to make it to the second round!! Oh well... story of my life as a BYU Cougar fan (all my years at BYU, we never beat the U in football, we won 1 home basketball game, and we just stunk all around). My biggest dream as a student was to rush the field at the end of a football game. Lame, I know. But I never got to do it. At our last home football game, senior year, we were playing the U, and it went into double overtime. Garrett and I were sitting in the second row of the endzone, so by the second overtime we were literally hanging over the railing, reading to storm the field. Needless to say, we went home sad.

Anyway, that's my rant. BYU really turned around and started winning after I graduated and left (in football, anyway. But basketball's improved a lot, too)

Flashback Friday - Easter 2005

So I decided that every Friday I'll do a little "flashback" and write about past experiences, funny stories, etc. It would be a fun way for people to get to know me better, plus it's always fun to remember funny stories and experiences. This first flashback is from Easter 2005. A little background information: Juniors at BYU, Garrett and I were living in the Provo house, Mike was living in the studio in the back, and Emma and John were newly engaged. We decided that we would all have Easter dinner together, and Emma and I would do all the side dishes (rolls, salad, deviled eggs, dessert, etc) and we asked Mike to get the ham. I told him that I would cook it and everything, but we just wanted him to get it. So, Sunday rolls around and I ask Mike for the ham because I need to put it in the oven. At this point I had been looking forward to yummy brown-sugary, syrupy ham all week, so I was very impatient for Mike to bring it upstairs. So, I remember I was laying on the couch waiting for Mike, and finally he comes upstairs, opens the back door, and tosses the ham to me. And it's LUNCH MEAT. Okay, it's not thinly sliced lunch meat, but it was a little 2-3 lb. chunk of Hormel ham, the boneless kind you slice for sandwiches. I was SO sad... luckily, I was able to slice it up, concoct a brown sugar syrup to pour on top, and heated it up in the oven. It wasn't exactly the kind of ham I was envisioning, but it actually ended up being just perfect. The End.

I hope you like Flashback Friday. Next week's story is about Mike too... it's also pretty funny.

Let the Games Begin!

I love March Madness! I completed my bracket on Sunday night, almost as soon as the teams were announced (clearly, I don't put much thought into it. I just think it's fun). I have BYU winning 3 games (yes, three... I'm very optimistic this year). Ultimately I have Duke winning the championship. I really don't know why I chose them... they're a number 2 seed this year, but I think I heard somewhere that their coach has the most wins in postseason play.

The BYU Cougars play Texas A&M tonight at 7:25. Don't miss it!

GO COUGARS!!

Homework

Every week during Sunday School I go to an ASL class. There is one deaf woman in our ward, and only a few interpreters, so the Sunday School class is to teach ASL to anyone who wants to learn. Now, realistically, most people in the class will probably never feel comfortable enough with the language to actually interpret. I have been learning ASL for 4 years and I still feel very underqualified for it. In fact, I don't really interpret as much as I probably should. I do the hymns (mostly because I can practice many of them beforehand with a DVD I have), and I feel very comfortable interpreting prayers (especially the sacrament prayers). However, I would really like to improve. The ASL teacher in our ward (she just happened to be the best at ASL out of any of us, so she became the main interpreter) has told me that I have improved a lot since last fall, so that has really boosted my confidence. So... now I'm going to start co-teaching the Sunday School class with her! She let me borrow some of her materials, and she even gave me a homework assignment with instructions of what I should prepare to teach on Sunday. I'm nervous because the things I'm supposed to teach (some ASL grammar rules) are things even I haven't learned yet, but it's exciting. Hopefully this will really jumpstart my abilities. The signing isn't really an issue for me - I know most signs, I think - but the grammar is difficult. Like any other language, ASL has it's own unique grammar... it's similar to how Yoda on Star Wars speaks, actually! It's one thing to sign in a conversation with someone, but interpreting is a whole other difficulty. Especially in Sacrament Meeting, people tend to speak quickly, so you have to really be on your toes to listen to what they say, turn it all around in your head to make it fit with ASL grammar, and then sign it! And you still have to be concentrating on what the speaker is saying next, so you can sign that next. Whew, it's a challenge. But I enjoy it and hopefully someday I'll be really comfortable with it all. Also in our Sunday School class we are watching the short Joseph Smith movie (the one that came out in the Ensign a couple years ago) with the ASL interpreter on it, and that has been really interesting and helpful.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

There are some traditions from growing up that I hold sacred, and one of my favorites is having corned beef for dinner on St. Patrick's Day! Mom always made this New England Boiled Dinner of corned beef & cabbage. YUM! I've been making it on my own every year since I moved out - I have always loved it! This afternoon Garrett called me from school because his friend had brought corned beef for lunch today, and Garrett was sad because he had forgotten about this tradition (he was worried I had forgotten, too). He was very excited when I reassured him that there would be a big pot of traditional Irish food waiting for him when he got home. I also made some really good Irish Soda Bread to go with our corned beef, and it tasted great, too!

I'll admit... we didn't wear green today, and we didn't go to any parades or look for 4-leafed clovers. But I was NOT going to skip out on making this dinner! Thanks Mom, for passing this tradition on to me. Garrett loves it as much as I do!

Landscaping

When we moved in to our house, the front walkway really needed some landscaping done, but we sure have taken our time getting it done! I am not very good when it comes to deciding what flowers or shrubs to plant, so we've been doing it slowly but surely (and as things go on sale!). Anyway, we finally got some pretty flowers to line the walkway with. They're African daisies and I love them because they're supposed to be in bloom from the beginning of spring until late fall, which is a very long time - especially here! Since we planted them they have already gotten more full and large, and have TONS of flowers on them! Now all we need is a little more mulch to make that area look better.

Pat the Bunny

This is my stuffed rabbit from when I was growing up. For a while it sat on a shelf in Abby's room, but the other day when she woke up from her nap she was pointing to it and talking to it, so I brought it down for her to play with. She seems to enjoy hugging and kissing it, which is really cute. I should probably wash it, though... I don't know if it ever has been washed. Mom?

New Laptop!

Well, a few months ago our laptop start having some problems on the right hinge. Eventually, the hinge broke, but that was okay for a while because we just had to be really careful when we opened it, used it, closed it, or carried it around. Then, it could only be used on a still surface (not our laps) because if it wasn't, the screen would slam down on our fingers (or it would fall backwards). But that was okay too... it was still usable. But, we had resigned ourselves to the fact that it was time to start looking for a replacement. This laptop was more than 5 years old, so it's not like it's brand new. So the other night, as Garrett was using the decripit laptop to research new ones... it broke all the way. The other hinge completely snapped. Now, the only thing keeping the screen and the keyboard together is a little wire. I thought it was kind of funny that the laptop broke as he was searching websites for a new one (you can see it on the monitor)... Garrett didn't quite see the humor in it all. Anyway, the laptop is still usable, and we are using it - it just has to be propped up on the couch and we can't move it. But hey, whatever works, right? It's fine... but unfortunately, the whole point of having a laptop is that's it's portable. So, last week we went to Best Buy and Circuit City to see what's out there, and we finally found a great one for a pretty good price, and Garrett would only have to upgrade one or two things to make it ideal. However, when we went to the store, it turned out that we had to order it from them, and that it would take 2 weeks, AND it would cost $75 for shipping and handling! What a rip-off! So, we ended up buying the laptop that was a step up from that one... it already had the features Garrett wanted, plus we could walk out the door with it. And, after the rebates, the price was still ok. So now Garrett is the proud owner of a new hP! He is very happy with it so far. Hopefully it will get us through residency! And what has happened to the old laptop? Well, Garrett jimmy-rigged it to stay open (it just can't be closed) so now it's mine!! Woo hoo! It's joined my "old things people didn't want anymore so they gave them to Hannah" collection. So now I have a 10-year-old car (love it!), a 7-year-old iPod (yes it's a first generation - antique!), and now a 5-year-old laptop (really, that's not that old, it still works great). I like having old things... sometimes new things make me nervous that I will break them!

Daylight Savings

Don't forget to move your clocks ahead one hour tonight! Sorry, Garrett... I know how much you will miss having that extra hour of studying for your test on Monday!

Happy 26th Anniversary!

Congratulations Mom and Dad for 26 years! There are many things I love specifically about each of my parents, but here's a little list of reasons why I love both of them (some of these things I really didn't appeciate when I was younger, but looking back I appreciate them):

1. When we were in high school and had that huge lawn to mow, we thankfully had 2 riding lawnmowers and we would sometimes race each other while mowing, which made it fun (as fun as mowing can be, really). Then my parents decided that, as a family, we weren't getting enough exercise, so we sold the riding mowers and bought 3 push mowers. We HATED it! Looking back, I only appreciate it because I think it's funny.

2. On Valentine's Day, at TCCA, there was a program where kids could buy carnations for $1 to give to their friends. If we wanted to give them to our friends we had to use our own money, but Mom and Dad always gave us a dollar or two to give a flower anonymously to someone that we knew would probably not get a flower from anyone. I think that was a great lesson for us.

3. At the Church worldwide leadership meeting last month, Elder Oaks said that he doesn't remember ever learning anything at Church that he hadn't already learned at home. That's definitely true for me, too. Mom and Dad frequently had gospel discussions with us, whether it be at the dinner table or in FHE, or just driving in the car.

4. They let us have friends over and parties pretty much whenever we wanted. Mom would buy snacks for us, and Dad would clear out some space in the barn for our parties or concerts, and would even get lots of seating out so that everyone would be comfortable. Dad would also spend hours getting a big bonfire ready for us, if that's what we wanted.

5. I remember one time my dad drove me to someone's house to babysit (a young couple in the ward). He walked into the small apartment with me, and as they were getting ready to leave, he took me aside and told me to do their dishes for them, and to not let them pay me for babysitting. Similarly, Mom was always helping people in the ward, whether it giving people rides, making meals for them, or helping them clean their home.

6. Whenever we had friends spend the night, it could be expected that they would be included in the Saturday morning chores. That was embarrassing.

7. Dad was always willing to play the piano for us girls to sing in Church, and mom was always finding really nice songs for us to sing together.

8. On Saturdays Mom and Dad would take us to walk along our mile-long road and we'd pick up trash. That taught us a good lesson about taking care of the environment.

9. Mom and Dad supported each other. Dad used to play the piano for Mom's school concerts, and sometimes Mom would bring Dad lunches at work, or they'd meet and go out for lunch together.

10. We cleaned the Church building... a LOT. And when it snowed, Dad was always one of the first people to check on the Church building, making sure the sidewalks were shovelled and salted.

11. Even on long car rides, we weren't allowed to have anything with headphones (discmans, walkmans, etc) because Mom and Dad said it "shut us out" from the rest of the family. We didn't really like that rule at the time, but looking back I'm grateful. I hate when all some kids do now is listen to their iPods and don't really know how to have a conversation.

12. Dad drove us to seminary every single day, and then when we got home, Mom always had a nice hot breakfast ready for us.

13. In a nutshell, Mom and Dad taught us the importance of hard work and service. They taught by example, and also by just making us do it.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for everything you have done for us and taught us. We love you!

See Bach

I have been trying to practice the piano more often, but it's nearly impossible to do it while Abby is awake. Every time I start to play, she comes up next to me and fusses until I pick her up so she can sit on my lap and play, too. She'll be giving her own concerts in no time!