New Hobby

I found something to do to while away the hours at home. With encouragement (and supplies) from my mom and sister (you'll see I'm definitely not doing this for anyone in my household), I have myself a new hobby.

My favorites, so far.

This one was my first. Wouldn't this be adorable on a cute little man? Too bad the onesie is too small for any of the little men in my life. Who did I make it for, you may ask? I have no idea.

Becca, I think you may recognize the fabric. The cool thing about this project is that I can literally make it from scraps. And the onesies my mom has just hanging out in her craft room. Carrie requested the chunky little elephant for Lola Bug. Not that she's going to fit in a 9-month onesie for much longer.

I really like this little birdie pattern. I think there will be many more like it. No idea who this one is for either.

So, now I have a new hobby. I will be making tons of these. If you have any requests, seriously let me know. I can tell you Rich won't be wearing them anytime soon. And I just want to make stuff.

I Drive a Dodge Stratus!

If you know me, you probably know that I don't really like talking on phone. Okay, I pretty much HATE talking on the phone. So much so that it's basically a fear. It's fine if it's Rich, or my mom, or my sister, or Alex. (No offense to anyone who's not on the list. I promise - it's not you, it's me.) For everyone else, I am just afraid I won't be able to come up with things to say. Or that I will say something wrong. I get really nervous before I dial the number, and then I get all tongue tied when I try to talk. It's ridiculous, I know. (Just FYI - I think texting is perhaps one of the greatest inventions. Ever.)

I used to work at the Heritage Halls Front Desk (a residence area at BYU), and I dreaded when the phone would ring. I knew the answers to most of the questions, and I had usually a manager to fall back on when I didn't. But I hated answering that darn phone. I would NEVER be able to work in a call center.

This absurd fear also makes it difficult for me to call to make doctor appointments or to report visiting teaching or pretty much anything like that. When possible, I make Rich do these things (and he graciously does them).

Which is why I'm pretty proud of myself today. The transmission in our car ("I drive a Dodge Stratus!" - see below) is having some serious issues, and we needed to get it towed to a repair shop. This would typically fall under Rich's realm in our household, but he has to work and can't call around to figure things out. I am proud to say that I (finally) stepped up to the plate for this one. I called the repair shop and then got a tow truck. I almost had a panic attack getting myself to do it. But it's done.

Maybe I'm one step closer to conquering my fear. Or maybe not.

If you didn't understand the "I drive a Dodge Stratus!" reference, watch this SNL skit. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, you can skip to around 2:40 and watch from there.

Fredrickson Family Pictures

The last time the Fredricksons took family pictures (besides weddings) there were no children. In fact, there weren't even any in-laws. Needless to say, these were long overdue. We found out it's a lot harder to take pictures with all the chilluns, and with my dad's transition lenses.

There are only three kids in this picture, and we still can't get them to look at the camera.

"Dad, take off your glasses!"

 

Check out Max's fake cheese. Not in the mood for a photo shoot. Khloe wasn't either, but it's a good thing she's adorable, as this photo clearly shows.

Best Present Ever (Well...In My Top 5)

So I have an obsession with sports. The secret is out.

Along with this obsession comes a strange fascination with team logos. I used to draw the NBA team logos and put them up on my wall (colored-in perfectly, of course). I also love tracking the progress of teams and looking at the current standings on a daily basis. I appeased the baseball nerd in me by buying an MLB standings board a couple of seasons ago that includes a little batting helmet for each team. However, since then I have always wanted a similar contraption for the NBA. I described to Shara one day what they should invent to please basketball nerds like me...and apparently she was taking more careful notes than I realized because on Christmas morning I opened this:

That's right. My wife is AWESOME. She went online and printed out every NBA team's jersey and logo and mounted them on magnetic paper. She even included the Eastern and Western Conference logos and a complete Finals bracket for when the playoffs roll around!! Her thumb is still a little numb from all the intricate cutting...

I wouldn't have been able to guess in a million years what the present was while it was wrapped. She included a big magnetic frame which she will put to good use during the off-season...unless I get a baseball or football set next year. Not even Santa's elves could have followed through the way Shara did this year. She even offered to hang it up in the kitchen...which even I have been a little hesitant about. Needless to say, my evil plot to brainwash her into my sports-infested fantasy world is nearly complete. Thanks honey!!!!

Christmas

I just wanted to put up some pictures from our great Christmas.

Max knew just what he wanted for Christmas - he just couldn't form the words for Santa.

"How about a nice football?"

"Football? What's a football?"

Lola was all about climbing on the presents.

We wrapped up Max for his mom.

"I don't want to be a present!"

Trying to get to the forbidden tree

Opening Christmas joys

Hope your holidays were fun! Happy 2011 in just a few more days!

Birthday Boy

I'm not the best at planning parties, so I'm always a little anxious for Rich's birthday because I'm afraid I won't do enough for the hubby. Rich will have to say whether or not he enjoyed it, but I had a pretty good time.

Rich started his birthday at 4 AM and worked until 5 PM. Great fun, right? I had a good day at school (my second to last day), and I had an even better eye appointment. No more SPK! For now. (Cassandra, I'm going to follow your advice about Clear Care to see if I can keep it gone.) The doctor seemed a little surprised that it was gone, and I thought in my mind, "It's a birthday miracle!" And it wasn't even my birthday!

We had a Papa Murphy's pizza with artichoke hearts for dinner (all for Rich - I realized I am not really a fan). And then Rich got to open his present from me. I think I was more excited for this than he was. I got him a Kevin Durant shirt, his second favorite player in the NBA (he already has a D-Will shirt). He loved it, or at least was a really good actor to make me feel good.

Later that night, we had the 5th Annual Christmas Cookie Party on our schedule. Our friend Chad's sister Krista and her friend Susan throw a cookie party every year, and Rich has been to every one. I was happy to be pulled into the tradition (now in my third year), and we are looking forward to "Four more years! Four more years!" (Arrested Development? Anyone?) Here are some pics from the night. You'll see Rich couldn't wait to don his birthday apparel (which I'm telling myself is a sign of a great birthday gift).

Just have to say - notice the lack of glasses. Hallelujah!

See Rich's cookie scene? Don't ask about the facial expression.

Sorry, Chad. Had to put it on here. He didn't pose this at all. It just happened.

Friends, with some cookie loot

Us, with Chad, Bethany, Susan, and Krista. Merry Christmas Cookie Party!

Saturday brought Fredrickson family pictures, the BYU vs. Arizona basketball game in the Energy Solutions Arena (don't worry - we won 87-65 and Jimmer was on fire), and then a trip to the lights at Temple Square. We finished it off with cake and ice cream at our place, along with some Sorry Sliders.

  I think this first picture is so cute. He was actually just taking a breath before blowing out the candles, but he looks like a little kid overcome with birthday excitement. Love it.

Like I said, I had fun. I hope the husband did, too. Now, I have way too much free time, and Rich has none at all. It's going to be a crazy rest of the month. Well, at least for one of us.

Nearly There

I took my last college exam last night. My very last one. It hasn't quite hit me yet.

And I have two more weeks of student teaching, which isn't really quite teaching... I am team teaching this week, and next week I am observing. I can't believe how close I am to being done.

Then I will be graduated, with no idea what to do with my future. Anyone interested in hiring me. I have a BYU degree in History Teaching (with a Psychology Teaching minor)? It doesn't have to be in a school? Anyone? Please? It's probably going to get desperate over here.

Yeah, the job is my next problem. Along with what on earth to do with the upcoming free time, time when I would have been studying or writing lesson plans. Anyone have any good book suggestions? If not, I think I hear Harry Potter calling my name. (Make fun of me all you want - they're great books and J.K. Rowling is a genius.)

"My Boss is Literally the Devil"

In my US History classes, we are talking about the Industrial Revolution. To give students a little taste of working conditions during this time period, I formed a little factory in my classroom. Students had to pass books around the room, while not smiling, talking, laughing, or sitting; I even cranked the heat up to about 90 degrees while they were working. And I did a lot of yelling (I don't think I've ever really yelled at a class before this).

A lot of students realized that this was just a simulation. Their assignment after the activity was to write a letter home as if they worked in a factory during the Industrial Revolution and describe the conditions. After reading through their letters, I found that some students took the simulation a little too seriously. One girl wrote, "My boss is literally the devil." I know she was talking about me, not a fictional boss, because she was describing our box-moving factory, and she said "she" when referring to the boss (there were few, if any, she-bosses during the Industrial Revolution). I feel like that should have hurt my feelings, but it only made me happier.

In other news, Rich and I went to the BYU basketball season opener versus Fresno State on Friday, and it was a wonderful blowout. It's going to be a great season! Have I mentioned that BYU basketball is my favorite?!

2-in-1

Yesterday was a sports-filled day for the Nelly family. We started our day with a drive to Provo for BYU vs. UNLV. That game was reminiscent of the BYU in John Beck years, with a final score of 55-7. It's always nice to watch a blowout like that. It helps your self-esteem. (Sorry any UNLV fans. Nothing against you.)

Our seats were the best we've had all season. On the second row by the north end zone. And the people in front of us never showed, so Andrea and I sat in the very front row. The weather was AMAZING. In the 70s in November, and I even got a little tan line from my glasses (hopefully, only a couple more weeks of glasses left).

This is how close we were to the field. I think this may be the closest I have ever sat in my 5 years of college football.

We also scored tickets to the Jazz vs. Clippers game, so after the football game (and lunch in the Cannon Center provided by Andrea) we quickly came back to Midvale, changed gear, and headed to Salt Lake. We thought about taking Trax to the game since we live right next to a station, but we're glad we drove because we even scored free parking.

Our seats at the Jazz game were pretty much the complete opposite of the football game. Here's a picture of our view for comparison.

We were literally in the VERY top row. You can see everything from up there. Only, things are the size of ants.

My brother Skyler has season tickets to the Jazz, and Rich I actually found him and his buddies from our seats. (They're kind of hard to miss - they're perhaps the craziest ones out there. If you know Skyler, you know what I'm talking about.) He even came up to say hi to us, after catching his breath from our thousand-step climb.

The Jazz game turned out to be pretty intense. Things didn't look so hot as the Clippers dominated the first half, but the Jazz came to life in the second half, and the game ended after a second overtime with some pretty crazy shots and dunks. It all paid off in the end when they pulled off a 109-107 victory.

I think our pictures from Jazz games look almost identical. But it's nice to get a shot every time. (Thanks again, Scott, for letting me use the jersey. Maybe someday I'll get my own Jazz gear.)

To top the weekend off, Utah got dominated by TCU, 47-7. A BYU win. A Jazz win. A Utah blowout. What more could I ask for in a sports weekend?

P.S. This has nothing to do with sports, but it's funny. Rich and I totally forgot about Daylight Savings Time this morning. We didn't set back any of our clocks and got ready like normal this morning. It wasn't until I turned on my computer right before we were heading out the door that I saw the real time - 7:44 AM. Yeah, we went back to sleep for another hour.

Happy October 30th!

Only in Utah can you change the day of Halloween if it falls on a Sunday. So, it's Halloween today, but all of our Halloween happenings have already happened.

Our Halloween weekend started on Friday with our ward's trunk or treat. We had visitors, lots of them: my mom and dad, Carrie, Ryan, Max, Lola, and Ryan's parents who are visiting from Kentucky. Rich made some delicious chili for the chili cookoff, and it turned out to be a hit. Max looked adorable in his fireman costume, which he has probably worn every day since they bought it three weeks ago.

Our trunk, which consisted of pretty much all of the Halloween decorations we own

Lola with Grandpa Steve, in her Halloween tutu

Fireman Max got a TON of loot this year, which makes sense after trick or treating 3 different times

Saturday night brought us to the Durhams' house for their annual Halloween party. As far as favorite costumes for the year go, Chad and Bethany definitely win. The party, and the food, were a huge hit, yet again! Thanks, Durham family! I just wish I had gotten a picture of Chase and Savannah in their costumes - they were adorable!

The food setup, complete with Witch's Brew and Mummy Dogs

Being the poor, starving couple that we are, we didn't go all out for costumes this year. We decided it would be fun to pull out the Jazz jerseys again, and the masks are recycled from last year (and they terrified Savannah again, like last year).

And here are the winners of best costumes...

 

Bleaker and Juno. Their costumes are really spot on. Especially Bethany's. Right down to the orange-striped shirt and plaid skirt. I put the movie poster there so you can compare. Pretty darn good, right?

And now, it's Halloween night, and we've had two trick-or-treaters come to our door. At least we got someone. I guess Rich will have to finish off our giant bag of Skittles and Starbursts ( I don't think that will be too hard for him).

Farewell, Halloween. Til next year. When we will actually celebrate you on October 31st.