MILESTONE

Yesterday my car and me had a little milestone moment. I'm glad I was paying attention and didn't miss it; it came and went so quickly. This milestone is one that I'm personally very proud of, let me explain.

150,0000 miles. No, not all these miles are mine, but i'm proud of the ones that are. I'm proud that the car is paid off and all these miles only cost maintenance and gas. But most importantly I'm proud of how I got these miles. My parents teach by example, a principle they've taught me is that people matter more than things and cars are meant to be driven. I can remember years ago my parents getting the invitation to attend a game night at the new home of an Aunt and Uncle of mine in Idaho. My Dad got off work and the two of them drove hundreds of miles. Played some games for a few hours and made the trek home. The miles on the car, the gas, the time weren't important. They wanted to support family. I can never recall them saying no to me or a sibling asking to borrow the car to attend a concert, drive to a restauant in SLC; they were generous with their resources and it made an impact on me and my siblings. I've noted my Brother picking up homeless people and going out of his way to the food and care coalition, sisters making special trips just to say hi, and family vacations that cover hundreds of miles. We all drive...lots...with purpose.

With that principle I have driven my car. Sure there's been times when I'd notice how much gas I was using or how soon my next oil change would approach but I've never regretted how I've used my car. Extra trips to the grocery store to pick up a treat or special ingredient for dinner that will make a loved one feel important. Trips to only leave a note on the door of someone I'm thinking of. Countless miles driving to Salt Lake or Logan to visit my then future husband. Miles to meet up with family for dinner-worth it for the laughter and memories. Back and forth to work-worth being able to save and support myself. Priceless the miles to attend piano recitals, choir concerts and soccer games of nieces and nephews and celebrate loved ones accomplishments. Grateful for the miles that went towards me earning my degree and making friends. I've had a lot of special moments driving in my car in silence. Time to think, ponder and often I find myself glancing at the mountains or sunsets that are so lovingly created for us by our Heavenly Father.

Yes, I'm proud of my miles and grateful I have a car. I'm hoping this car will be with me for quite a few more miles. My car is my vehicle for service opportunites and how I can show people they matter; more than things, more than gas, more than miles. They're worth every one.  

Do you Doodle? I do.

Do you doodle? I am constantly sketching/doodleing. On envelopes, receipts, anywhere, all the time. It's like a nervous tick-but I really thinks it helps me concentrate sometimes. I always like to be doing something. Sure, reading a magazine or cereal box will suffice but most of the time i'm doodleing-from table settings to party themes and decor. Most of the time, like 99% of the time, i'm drawing and arranging home decor. Usually I draw rooms over and over again in my many "someday" houses and rooms.
Although I'm reluctant to show my artist of a husband my sketches and preface them by saying "They're just ideas" I am always showing Mr. Finch my rough doodles. "Look Babe" I say, "I rearranged this family room. What do you think about this table I thought of? If our room looked like this, would you like it? Look how cool and functional this would be!"  And always he pays attention, compliments my efforts and encourages me.

Below are some someday "Sketches" and floorplans (I love these too). They're terrible as far as drawing goes. Nothing is to scale, there's probably 50 different perspective points and i'm sure I miss crucial details like legs on tables that should be visible. It's my hobby. Doodeling.

The Living Room/Study: This would be used as a sitting room/study. One of the rooms my family spends the most time in is my parent's library. I probably won't ever have just a library but hopefully this cozy setup would help future kids read books, complete homework and enjoy some time away from the TV. I'd do this space in a home with a formal living room. I don't think i'd use a formal living room much, I don't feel like anyone really does besides occasional visits from home and visiting teachers. This way I feel like it has function and purpose.

Family Room: The one thing i'd want in an ideal family room is lots of seating. Enough for everyone, including family and friends. Yes I realize a room would have to be fairly large to accomodate this many pieces of furniture but remember, these are "someday" ideas. In the very left corner, see that butler stand, I want one so badly.

Entry: I want my home to be welcoming and I think for quick visits, putting on shoes, signing a quick paper/note for a neighbor you need room to do that. I love the idea of a little settee plus I added some pullout stools under this table for additional "put shoes on" chairs. While not recognizable I'd love the art work near the front of my home to reflect what means most to us. Like a large picture of Christ, the temple, and all those small framed family portraits. Funny note: The little pillow on the settee: It's Mr. Finch's and mine's wedding day. Originally I wrote the 31st, because I always think of it as the last day of July. Mr. Finch smiled and reminded me. Good thing a 1 can easily become a 0.

Sketches, doodles, drawings-whatever these are called I do them all the time. They are my creative outlet. I keep them in a little folder. Someday they'll be applied. Doodle? I do.

Reposted Proposal

A Year ago Brandon asked me a very important question, I'm so glad he did. It is one of my favorite days and fondest memories. I've reposted my engagement story from my "single days" blog: justjessicajillj.blogspot.com. I don't use it anymore, it's not just me, it's us becuase of this day and the wedding that followed it.
Perfect Proposal

Friday. April. 1. 2011

Brandon and I have had a pretty structured routine over the past four years. Most evenings are grabbing a quick bite if I didn't make something and doing homework. I love it. As far as dinner is concerned we eat Subway 99% of the time. We know eachother's order forward & backward (it's the same thing with an exception, mustard for me, ranch for him).

Let's start out by mentioning that Friday was a bright, WARM, beautiful day and my mood matched. I left my office and headed north, calling Brandon to check in.
He answered deflated. Work was the worst. He was further behind in homework than he thought. It was not going to be a fun night.


I jumped on board with the nights plans and asked if he wanted me to pick up some sandwiches on the way.
No. He replied. I'll grab some on my way home.


When I got to his house he greeted me with a hug but appeared stressed out and fatigued from his day. "Lets just eat so we can get right to work".


He placed the sandwiches on the table; "Yours has the M on it for mustard/mayo". I kept talking as I unwrapped my sandwich. I opened the paper and sitting, pinned on top of my sandwich was this:

Perfect. Stunning. Just what I wanted and much more! (the picture doesn't do it any justice!)
My heart stopped just like it does when you reach the highest part on a roller coaster ride.
I just stared. I was so surprised!


He took the ring, dropped to one knee, said some very sweet things, and asked me to marry him.(By this point I've got mascara black tears trickling down my cheeks)
I replied yes, I guess pretty quietly cause he asked me to say it a little louder. Yes!


We hugged & kissed. Then he started saying, "The thing about April Fool's Day is..." I slapped his shoulder. I knew this wasn't a joke! He wouldn't do that, but I didn't want any part of it to be a joke or change. He continued..." The thing is, we won't be eating these sandwiches for dinner. I want to take you some place special. Now I need you to put this on..."


He proceeded to bring out one of my little black dresses and heels. He gave me time to get dolled up and then we headed out.

We ended up here:
The Metropolitan. Downtown, SLC.

 Absolutely Unreal & Perfect, Everything about it! Our table was so cozy, overlooking the fireplace. (The only thing about this evening is I didn't have a camera, but I can remember every little detail in my mind!)
Everyone at the restaurant knew about the special occasion and greeted us warmly.


The sommelier poured us a drink. Then when we walked by and we hadn't taken a sip yet he informed us. "It's sparkling cider...Not that sparkling." We toasted.


Here's our delicious meal! The Chef sent out chilled cucumber and mint soup

Appetizer: This came on a 4-way plate,(the pic below isn't ours but it gives an idea.)
~Metropolitan Mushrooms w/ truffle potatoes, red wine sauce, potato cylinder (The pic of this was what ours looked like)

~Artisan Cheesescardamom meringue, lemon curd, rhubarb water
~Bacon Marmalade & House Pork rinds (I know sounds interesting but was soo good!)
~Tempura Shrimp: These had amazing, bold flavor & just melted in your mouth,

Then both Brandon and I selected the 5 course tasting menu. Heaven!

1 Curried carrot & parsnip soup

2 Butter lettuce ceaser salad with anchovie
3 Intermezzo: Passionfruit sorbet with coconut crust & chocolate base
4 Entrée: braised bison short ribs with truffled macaroni n' cheese and brussel sprouts
5 Bread pudding with mango ice cream, pistachio spread and cherries


They brought out a plate with congrats written in chocolate with the dessert.

Although unable to breathe the Pastry chef sent out one more little bite:
An Orange chocolate pastry we intertwined arms and took the last bite



Brandon was so thoughtful when he selected this restaurant. I am such a foodie! I love artful, modern food. It was the perfect choice and so thoughtful! I was beyond thrilled! It was the perfect night & we were absolutely STUFFED by the end of it!


Brandon gave me these beautiful roses, my favorite! Such deep red color & smelled unbelievable!

Huge, Special thanks to Brandon's Brother-in-law, Brady & Sister Stacy for helping make our special night so special! They were so great to help get the reservation, sending us a delicious appetizer and treating us to such a great meal!


The truth about Brandon's day was it was great at work, he had worked hard to get homework done in advance, he actually came home a day early from school to pick up the ring, visit with my Dad, see my mom & pick up my dress!


I felt so special and taken care of. He made the night about us and what he knew I liked.

The only word to describe it is PERFECT! I love Brandon, he's such an amazing man!
I'm so excited to continue our life together & be by his side! He created the PERFECT Proposal!

I can't believe it's been a year since this day, I remember it so vividly and get giddy everytime I think about all the detail and effort Brandon went to. I love my Mr. and I love being his Mrs.

Perks

Brandon's new job has been keeping him quite busy. It doesn't help that his commute is an hour right now but we've had no luck in the apartment hunt. He works very hard and I'm so proud of him and grateful that my husband has such a strong work ethic. Most people asked if we'd get free Jazz tickets when they found out about Brandon's new job. We replied, "Maybe." We really didn't know if and how often that would be a possibility. A few weeks ago Brandon called mid-day and quickly asked, "Do you want to go to the Jazz Game?" Of course I did! We were glad my parents were able to go on such short notice. It felt nice to take them to say a little thank you for letting us live with them, they always brush our thanks away with a thanks to us. We really have been blessed to have the opportunity to live with them while we get things settled down. They've been so gracious.

Here's our first big perk: 4 free Jazz tickets, Row 21, Section 10.

Thanks for coming Mom & Dad! Thanks for staying at work late too babe:) I'm sure it's fun to stay at work for 16 hours! We sure look tired don't we-oh well, worth staying up late!

Brandon and I rarely, rarely ever buy concessions at the games but with his job comes 50% off for us. We decided to celebrate and got dinner and although we shouldn't have, Brandon was set on getting ice cream. I'd already been eating this for awhile mind you, not a bad amount of ice cream for $3 i'd say!

Brandon's perks make the job a little exciting, he's also recieved a key chain, visor, and lunch bag. We enjoy all of it! Thanks babe for working so hard so we can enjoy some perks!

It was extra fun since we won the game! Go JAZZ!

Lets Go Fly A Kite

Happy March and April Birthday! We celebrated March and April birthdays at my parents house on Sunday. Happy Birthday to Carrilyne, Holly, Madison, and Adrienne! With 20 people in our family there's a lot of birthdays! We usually have everyone over once a month to celebrate holidays and birthdays combined. Because April has General Conference and Easter we moved April up to join March. With more and more moments of sunshine occuring everday we decided to have Spring Fling.

What better way to celebrate spring then a picnic themed dinner. We made a 6-foot sandwich, baked beans, apples and dip, veggies, lemonades, chips, and a raspberry cake. We found kites 2/$1 at the local dollar store and displayed them, one for each person. Later we selected our kites youngest to oldest. It was fun to see what people picked. The sandwiches tasted so fresh and made me so excited for Spring and Summer, warmth, garden vegetables and time outdoors.

 

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

It was a pretty enough day to spend some time outdoors. We normally have a breeze at our home but it was weaker than normal. We managed by adding bigger tails and helping eachother. Such a fun time!

We did birthday presents and had raspberry cake. We ended the night by toasting Holly and Tyson who got ENGAGED yesterday!! That'll be 3 weddings in one year for our family! Welcome to the family Tyson! Congratulations to you both!

It was such a fun, carefree evening. I'm glad we didn't have to cook anything or clean up much with paper plates. That left the evening open to be enjoyed with company and birthdays to be celebrated. We spent quite a bit of time outside together and then just gathered around the table and living room chatting. What a wonderful way to say hello and welcome to spring.

Aunt & Uncle

Brandon and I are lucky to have wonderful nieces and nephews. They truly enrich our lives and teach us so many things. Together we have 8 1/2 nieces and nephews. We have 5 nephew, 3 nieces and one that is yet to be determined and we're thrilled to find out the new addition. Last week we had the opportunity to watch Indy, Libby, and Milo (poor darling Ellie was sick and stayed at Grandma's house to rest up) while Jared and Carrilyne had a quick getaway to St. George. I'm glad they went and glad we got to have the kids. They're a hoot!
We had a huge chalkboard of things to do at our slumber party. We crossed them all off the list. We started out with lunch.

Then it was craft time. They decided to make book marks and get well cards for Ellie. I was very impressed with their creativity and kindess as they thought what Ellie would like on her cards.

 

 Lucky for us there was snow on the ground to play in. We bundled up and prepared for a snowball fight by building forts.

Fingers got cold from preparation and the fight was postponed.
We headed inside and played balloon ping pong. Breathless from running around to keep balloons in the air we settled down for the evening talent show. Indiana played a tune for us on her guitar-she's very good! Libby tickled the ivories of the piano and Milo was Batman. What talent!
We performed stories with puppets that traveled far away and performed exciting adventures. All the kids sat still while waiting for their turn during their siblings stories.
The kids sat still watching an episode of Phineas and Ferb while I prepped dinner.

They are great eaters-the favorite items of the night were the orange peel jello molds, chicken and strawberries. These kids could eat strawberries all day-I'm so happy they love fruit.

Following dinner we changed into pajamas, cuddled up and watched Cars 2, we read a pile of story books and they fell asleep one by one. I'll have to admit to being anxious that Milo would wake up and not recognize were he was, so every little move I sat up to see if he'd woken himself up and needed to use the bathroom. He slept soundly, we visited the bathroom once but he returned to the bedding on the floor and later told me I didn't need to lay by him and could go back to my bed. What a big boy!

By the end of our slumber party we'd crossed everything off our list of things to do. Our nieces and nephews have our hearts wrapped around their fingers and we'd do anything for them. All eight continually surprise us with their intellect, their thoughtfulness, and the funny things they say and think! They are all our favorites!

Mr. Finch's New Job

Mr. Finch searched and interviewed. He wasn't looking to find a job, he was looking for the right job. I think he found it. His new office can be found here.

Brandon is a Graphic Designer for Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment. What does that mean? Well he'll be designing advertising for the following...

And anything that occurs at the EnergySolutions Center like concerts and events. It's a lot of work and for awhile may be a bit consuming. It'll be worth it, what an amazing opportunity we've been given. Most firms are only concerned about one thing, experience. Well how are you supposed to get any when that's all people want? We are very blessed that those interviewing Brandon saw his potential and his willingness to work hard. It's an amazing start and not a bad resume builder huh? Brandon had interviewed and the gentleman told him that he had more the following day and we'd hear back in a few days. We were very surprised when he called us that evening and offered Brandon the job, he'd cancelled all his other interviews and was willing to place his bets on Brandon's design ability and work ethic. We feel so blessed and I'm thrilled that Brandon gets to combine design and sports. Like any new job it'll take some getting used to but I think in a short amount of time we'll all celebrate over Brandon's first Billboard! I'm so appreciative of his efforts to work hard to support us. He's amazing and I'm blessed to have him in my life.
Here's two projects he was assigned on his first day on the job, they can be viewed at the Jazz's official website. www.nba.com/jazz (Yes I did take pictures of the computer screen, just so proud!)

 Game Pack Banner Changes when you roll over it.

Exciting! We're pretty blessed and amazed at this opportunity! And incase you were wondering we do get some perks like half off popcorn and concessions and maybe the occasional ticket. And don't worry, when we do those tickets we'll be thinking of you for sure!