Our Tree

I know Christmas is over and we've already celebrated the new year . . . but I wanted to post a few pics we (as in John) took of our little family and our tree on Christmas Eve:

I love how Zoe looks sad in this picture with us kissing!

It was tough getting Zoe to look at the camera. We finally had to throw a toy at the camera for her to look!

We hope you all have a Happy New Year! My favorite part is I can say I will graduate NEXT year! Yahoo!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I cannot believe Christmas is tomorrow! We are headed down to my mom's tonight to spend Christmas.

This is our Christmas card that John designed. I think he did a great job. And I love this picture (thanks tripod and remote control).

Stay safe and warm! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

A Cold Day Exploring

John and I had a lot of fun today. When it is 2 degrees F with -19 windchill we did what anybody would do, go spend the day outside taking pictures! We decided to explore Minneapolis looking for some new places to take pictures. The cold wasn't too bad when we layered up! We drove around Nicollet Island, Stone Arch Bridge, along the Mississippi, and Hiawatha area. We also stopped and walked around the Walker sculpture gardens.

Looking back at Spoonbridge and Cherry (aka the cherry on the spoon sculpture). I can't believe we've lived here 2.5 years and this is the first time we've been here. It's pretty cool in person. You should come visit and we will take you here. (And I guess we will take you the Mall of America . . . there is more to Minnesota than the MOA but whatever.)

Inside the conservatory at the Walker. It was warm and a nice break from the cold.

Frank Geary, Standing Glass Fish at the Walker (and the only place I've seen palm trees in Minne"snow"ta)

This is me in my furry hood. That's it.

Trying to get some air on the Stone Arch Bridge

My hot husband. I love the Stone Arch Bridge because you get great views of the city in the background.

John and the cherry on the spoon.

This is a random building we drove past. John stopped the car and jumped out to take this picture! I locked the doors while he was out of the car because we weren't in the safest part of town if you know what I mean...

It was Minnesota where I first learned that a hood is not only used for precipitation. It works really well to keep you warm. The must have accessory in Minnesota, 180s ear muffs. Yup, ear muffs. They keep you so warm.

I don't know why it looks like I'm smiling in this picture. I was screaming because I was so cold!

Better air on this one.

Word.

A cool picture John took. I really like the mixture of the leaves on one side and the snow on the other.

I'm better at throwing snow than John. See his picture above and let me know what you think.

Good times. I guess my bitterness about the cold may be resolving, at least today!

I Like Minnesota Until . . .

I've enjoyed living in Minnesota. I love my school. John has a great job. We have great friends. My mom lives close by. People are nice. There is lots to do. Etc, etc. I often contemplate living in Minnesota past my training, then I am reminded of it's biggest flaw: Winter.

Today the high was -1 F. That's the high! The low is -13 F. But it gets better: a wonderful thing called WIND CHILL. The wind chill is predicted to be as low as -40 F. This does NOT happen in Utah.

For those of you who prefer the metric system, that is a low of -18 C and a high of -25 C. Interestingly enough the wind chill is the same at -40 C. We have actually reached a point where
fahrenheit and celcius are the same. Global warming/climate change = yeah right.

Regardless of the scale you use, it is cold. It is so cold it makes you scream to get into your car. When I took Zoe out on our walk today, she didn't even want to walk very far (this is very unusual). It was so cold my nose ran, then the snot froze (is that a word?) to my face. Normally I don't want people's sympathy. I'm tough, I can handle it. But today I will take it. It is days like this that make me consider residency in Arizona. What do you think hubs?
(In reality, we will choose a residency based on the program and not the weather . . . but that is not the point.)

On the bright side: If I am ever outside during daylight (which rarely happens because it gets dark around 4pm), it's too cold for clouds so the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Well, that's the only bright side I can think of. You are more than welcome to mention any others.

Christmas Came Early this Year!!!!

This week my precious new camera came in the mail! I was as giddy as a school girl playing with my new camera. I know they say that a better camera does not make a better photographer, but it sure makes taking photos a lot easier. My new camera is huge and just feels good in my hands. I had a family shoot yesterday in near '0' degree temperatures (gotta love Minnesota in December). It was a little tough with the cold, but we got some great shots. I love shooting people all bundled up. It adds an element of charm to the photographs. Here is a preview of shots taken with my new camera.

Self Family Portrait - More difficult than advertised

A couple weeks ago, Emily and I had the bright idea of shooting our own family pictures. We went out one cold morning with my tripod and came up with these pictures. It was fun, but it was sure cold! It was easy to take pictures of Em, but it was a lot harder to make sure I was framed properly. Oh well. Ps. Our Christmas card is ready too, but we'll post that in a couple weeks.

Best Craig's List Posting

The following is a real Craig's List Posting in Montana. Enjoy:

NINJA HAULER: 2005 Nissan Xterra - $12900

OK, let me start off by saying this Xterra is only available for purchase by the manliest of men (or women). My friend, if it was possible for a vehicle to sprout chest hair and a five o'clock shadow, this Nissan would look like Tom Selleck. It is just that manly.

It was never intended to drive to the mall so you can pick up that adorable shirt at Abercrombie & Fitch that you had your eye on. It wasn't meant to transport you to yoga class or Linens & Things. No, that's what your Prius is for. If that's the kind of car you're looking for, then just do us all a favor and stop reading right now. I mean it. Just stop.

This car was engineered by 3rd degree ninja super-warriors in the highest mountains of Japan to serve the needs of the man that cheats death on a daily basis. They didn't even consider superfluous nancy boy amenities like navigation systems (real men don't get lost), heated leather seats (a real man doesn't let anything warm his butt), or On Star (real men don't even know what the hell On Star is).

No, this brute comes with the things us testosterone-fueled super action junkies need. It has a 265 HP engine to outrun the cops. It's got special blood/gore resistant upholstery. It even has a first-aid kit in the back. You know what the first aid kit has in it? A pint of whiskey, a stitch-your-own-wound kit and a hunk of leather to bite down on when you're operating on yourself. The Xterra also has an automatic transmission so if you're being chased by Libyan terrorists, you'll still be able to shoot your machine gun out the window and drive at the same time. It's saved my bacon more than once.

It has room for you and the four hotties you picked up on the way to the gym to blast your pecs and hammer your glutes. There's a tow hitch to pull your 50 caliber anti-Taliban, self cooling machine gun. I also just put in a new windshield to replace the one that got shot out by The Man.

My price on this bad boy is an incredibly low $12,900, but I'll entertain reasonable offers. And by reasonable, I mean don't walk up and tell me you'll give me $5,000 for it. That's liable to earn you a Burmese-roundhouse-sphincter-kick with a follow up three fingered eye-jab. Would it hurt? Hell yeah. Let's just say you won't be the prettiest guy at the Coldplay concert anymore.

There's only 69,000 miles on this four-wheeled hellcat from Planet Kickass. Trust me, it will outlive you and the offspring that will carry your name. It will live on as a monument to your machismo.

Now, go look in the mirror and tell me what you see. If it's a rugged, no holds barred, super brute heman macho Chuck Norris stunt double, then contact me. I might be out hang-gliding or BASE jumping or just chilling with my ladies, but I'll get back to you. And when I do, we'll talk about a price over a nice glass of Schmidt while we listen to Johnny Cash.

To sweeten the deal a little, I'm throwing in this pair of MC Hammer pants for the man with rippling quads that can't fit into regular pants. Yeah, you heard me. FREE MC Hammer pants.


Here's the real post if you are interested: http://montana.craigslist.org/cto/945361858.html