Friday, August 10, 2012

miscellaneous

I am one hundred percent skeptical of any workout that claims to fix anything in "just five minutes a day!" Pinterest is replete with these workouts. I have never pinned one. I will never pin one. ( I just checked my fitness board to make sure I wasn't lying about this. I wasn't. )

Yesterday I made strawberry freezer jam all by myself for the first time in my entire life. This morning I ate some on some toast for breakfast. It was heaven and I was happy. This afternoon I ate some in my Greek yogurt for lunch. It was even better and I can't stop thinking about it.

That being said, I would take chocolate over fruit any time, day or night, regardless of what food it is. Aka, I happen to know Jason has a brownie in a ziploc baggie on top of the stove at home. The chances that I will eat that at some point tonight instead of some strawberry jam are almost certain.

Writing about chances reminded me of statistics, which I took last fall and which Jason is taking this fall, which reminded me of what classes I am taking, which reminded me of the letter my business finance teacher sent out yesterday. It included this phrase: "In order to enhance your [financial] hero potential, we have much do to. We need to start fast and run hard." One simple sentence, and I hate the class already.

Last night Annie and I went to Smart Cookie and ate some cookies. Namely cinammon sugar cookies with a fat layer of frosting on top. Umm delish? Why did I never think to make cinnamon sugar cookies? It's like a snickerdoodle, only a sugar cookie, and with frosting. Hello!!

I like blogging again right now. It's kind of nice.

I am in dire need of a dress to wear to the wedding tomorrow. We have to be there at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Aka, I have about two hours tonight to make a mad dash to the mall and find a dress. I hope it's successful. I'd really like that.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Family and family and more family

Last week, Jason and I had the uniquely glorious opportunity to spend the weekend at Lake of the Ozarks state park in Missouri. There are a few words I can think of to describe this experience. They include hot, very hot, sweaty, and hot. And fun. We had our Jensen family reunion (my mom's side), and almost every family was able to come. It was in the low 100s, with about 99% humidity, I swear, so I'm not exactly sure it could have gotten hotter if it tried. We spent most of the days in the lake, swimming by the dock, which my poor sunburnt cheeks weren't too thrilled about after a while, but which I loved. Working 40 hours a week hasn't left as much time for playing in the sun this summer as I had hoped.

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I think this picture makes it fairly evident how hot it was... and  Paige, please don't be mad I still have/wear your  John Meyer shirt...love you!!!
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Anyhow, I was  absolutely thrilled we were able to go to the family reunion and see my aunts and uncles and cousins and especially my parents and baby sister. I had the best time.

Jason's younger brother Bubba left on his mission yesterday. It absolutely broke my heart, especially when Jason and Bubba were saying goodbye. It is going to be so weird without him around for the next two years. He is the sweetest brother in the world. When I couldn't eat gluten, he would regularly buy me ice cream or gluten-free pies to eat after Sunday dinners. What 19 year old boy even thinks to do that?! He is the best and I am so proud of him.

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Tonight is my sister-in-law Whitney's bridal shower and Jason's brother Mike's bachelor party, and Saturday is their WEDDING!! I can't believe it is finally here, after all the months of their engagement. And I am so so so excited for them!!! Now that I don't have to think about/plan/stress over my own wedding, I looovvee weddings. They're so fun. And Jason's sister Annie is home from Virginia from the wedding with her absolutely adorable baby, which I am really excited about. This week has been so family-filled and I have loved it so much. Hooray for summer!


Also p.s., I think reduced-fat Oreos are a joke. That's all.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

I like showing off

Today I was in the mood to shake things up on this blog a little bit. Not a lot, mind you, just a bit. So I decided to make a nice little sidebar for this blog. And I thought of some things I like and I thought of some things Jas likes and I wrote a little sidebar, and then I kinda decided, "Maybe I will ask Jason for his input." So I texted that boy and asked, hypothetically speaking, if he had to name a few things that he really, really likes, like, for a blog, for instance, what would he say? And this is what he said:

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And I laughed a little bit because all of that is very true. Very, very true. I cannot even tell you how many times I have heard Jason say, "Hey, Amy! Watch this!" and then do some really cool trick. "Hey, Amy! Wanna come watch me throw some football in the backyard?" "Hey, Amy! Wanna see me chug this waterbottle really fast?" In fact, the other day as he was leaving for work, he did a sommersault in the living room for me. Like, what the!! It's charming and it makes me want to pat his head and tell him good job and then give him a big kiss.

So that's what I do.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

thiiiiiiiiis month is such a special one, it's birthday time for youu

That is the song my husband has sung approximately three times per day for the past month. It starts as a Primary song and morphs into a yo-ho-yo-ho pirate song, and then has a little bit of a improv verse. It's lovely and I'm going to miss it, especially when I very first wake up, because July has been a marvelous birthday month.

I suck at blogging and I suck at taking pictures and that's all whatever. I'm really very happy and that's what matters, I guess. My birthday was on Friday (hooray for being 21) and Jason planned every bit of the weekend to spoil me with my favorite things. It started with breakfast in bed..birthday waffles. Does it really get better than that?

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The rest of the weekend consisted of:
  • lunch at Zupas
  • sealings at the temple
  • grilled cheese at Firehouse subs
  • a walk around the mall
  • a new iPod armband
  • seven-layer chocolate cake at Iggy's
  • See's chocolates
  • sleeping in
  • Kneaders french toast for breakfast (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
  • shopping at a cute little store and buying a piece to decorate my house
  • lunch at Cafe Rio with the Demkes
  • a relaxing afternoon
  • a trip to Hobby Lobby for loads and loads of craft supplies!
  • a surprise visit from Megan and Egan
  • Magleby's chocolate cake
  • a chick flick
  • waking up super early
  • Bubba's farewell!!!!! 
  • working on my crafts (pictures soon!)
  • and lots and lots of smiles.
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I mean, doesn't that sound pretty perfecto? I think yes.

Of course we don't really have any pictures from the weekend. SURPRISE!!!!!!!!

The other highlight of my weekend was Sunday night, when I wanted mac and cheese sosososososo bad. But we didn't have any. So we cut up lasagna noodles and poured cheese sauce on them.

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Coulda been worse, if I do say so myself.

Anyhow, my weekend was absolutely perfect. Thanks Jas :)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Cars n stuff

This weekend was strictly business.

For the past month, every time we push on the brakes when we're going slow, the car sounds like we're dragging half of the bottom of the car on the ground. (and when I say "we," I mean "Jason," because I basically never drive except twice a month when we pretty much pretend I have my drivers permit again and let me drive to refresh my memory so that someday when we have two cars, I don't kill myself or somebody else with my lack of driving practice. I like it.)

Anyhow, we took the car in and it was going to be a lotta money for them to replace the brake pads and the rotors. Yayyyy for broken cars!

And yayyyy for Jason, because he studied up on YouTube and googled a lot of stuff and decided he was going to buy some brake pads and rotors and do it himself!

And he did!!

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My job was basically the tool girl/sit-on-the-soccer-ball-er/water-getter/cheerer-onner/chocolate-milkshake-drinker. So that was nice. I was so proud of him for figuring it out all on his own and saving us a bunch of money!! 

It kinda feels like this week is going to be really long. It feels that way because it's 11:00 and I've been at work for only two hours in real time, but I feel like I have been at work for about twelve hours. Hooray.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Things I am happy about

Things I am happy about right now:

 1. Having a clean apartment! Having a husband who helps out around the house (without even being asked!) is the best, ever ever ever. Last night we deep cleaned and it's all so sparkly and shiny and clean right now and I love it.

2. Going to the gym. I had an awesome workout last night. My legs are hurting more and more as the day goes on and I love that feeling and I can hardly wait to go to the gym tonight. (Who am I? That is not normal.)

3. Writing thank you cards! Because a) it gives me something to do at work (hallelujah), and b) I am so sincerely grateful for every single person who thought of us during our wedding!!! So I'm actually fer real having fun with it.

4. That one of the faculty members offered to help Holly and I move out two giant bookshelves and two metal lateral files from the office we're putting a new professor in. Seriously saved us like two hours of trying to figure out how to move those babies. I'm glad I'm Relief Society, not Elder's Quorum.


Other things of note:

1. It's hot right now in Utah. Today it's 99 degrees, and I just ran an errand across campus. I always struggle to decide whether to walk really slow so that I don't sweat, or walk really fast so that I get outta the heat asap. I still don't really know which is best.

2. This sign was in the bathroom today.

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It sincerely concerns me that it's necessary for signs like that to exist. But I can testify: it is important.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

That's that

Yesterday was Brianna's golden birthday. Apparently most people don't celebrate golden birthdays? But it's on Wikipedia for it, so it's a pretty real thing. Bri turned 19 on June 19. Golden birthday. I'll turn 27 on July 27, someday. Golden birthday. Easy peasy!

But Bri has escaped the heat of Utah for the summer, so Cristina and I had a birthday dinner for her on Friday before she flew home. Grilled chicken, ribs, smashed potatoes, grilled vegetables, spinach strawberry salad, rolls, and crepes for dessert. Freaking love dessert crepes.

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In other news, Jas and I went to our first movie together, ever, last weekend. We went to The Avengers, about a month after the rest of America went to it, but you know what? We were just proud we went to a movie. Jason leaned over to me once and said "Amy! We're doing it! We're laughing! We're fitting in!" It was silly. I liked it.

That's really all that I have to say right now. We need to take more pictures. The end.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Thoughts on Marriage

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A lot of people are married. A lot of people that I know are married. I don't just mean people my age, I mean at church and in my home ward and at work and at school. A lot of people are married. And I've received a lot of advice about marriage, and about how to make my marriage the best it can be. I'm grateful for all of that advice, and I know I've only been married for a month and there's going to be a lot more to learn, but I think it can all be summed up in two words. Be nice.

Jason's best friend Egan married his cousin Megan (Jason's cousin, not Egan's cousin) the week after we got married. We went to a barbeque the night before they got married, and while we were there, Jason said to Egan's sister, "Your husband is looking so good! He's lost a lot of weight, hasn't he? He looks like he's been working out." Egan's sister got really excited and said, "You should tell him that! He's been working so hard! He would be so happy to hear that you noticed." I thought that was the sweetest thing. His wife was so proud of him, was so excited for him, and wanted him to be complimented and to feel good.

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On the other hand, a lady and her friend just walked past my office a few minutes ago. One of them was ranting, loudly, about how difficult it is to have to support her husband when he's lecturing their teenage son, when she wants him to deal with it differently and she just wants to "hit him across the head." I hear women complaining about their husbands a lot, about how they wish they would do something differently or act differently or be different. And I get that marriage is two imperfect people trying to be a team, and that it can't always be easy, and that you're going to see things from conflicting perspectives and want to do things in ways that just don't agree. But I don't think that's an excuse to trash-talk your husband.

I think it's perfectly, perfectly possible to never, ever say anything negative about your husband to him or to anybody else. And that's my goal. That's not only my goal, but my promise to myself. It's just not right. It's just not right because we are sealed for time and all eternity, and I don't want anything to ever, ever, ever get back to Jason that I don't mean for him to hear. Because I think he's wonderful and I want him to know that.

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And when it all comes down to it, I think the advice my Grandpa Jensen always gave is the best advice of all. A marriage, he would tell us, is for two people to both give one hundred percent. It's not fifty-fifty. It's not about "well, he did that so I'll do this.." It's just about treating Jason the way that I know he deserves to be treated, to make him feel like the happiest, most spoiled, well-taken-care-of, luckiest man alive.

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That's  marriage.


All photos via Angela McAllister Photography

Monday, June 4, 2012

D.e.l.i.s.h.

After a loooooong week of work, this weekend started with a very grumpy Amy, which Jason dealt with like a champ (as always). I am seriously the luckiest, he is so good at being patient with me! He picked me up from work Friday afternoon bearing three gluten-free Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes. Under normal circumstances, cupcakes would win a husband major brownie points, but yummy gluten-free treats are a rarity and Sweet Tooth Fairy really knows what they're doing, so Jason's points tripled. In fact, they taste exactly like regular cupcakes. Needless to say, I was one happy camper.

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This picture's old, from the last time Jas got me gf cupcakes, so it might appear that the focus of the picture is the granola we had just made. Just ignore that. There's cupcakes down there.

And those cupcakes turned the weekend right around and I wore a smile the rest of the time. It was such a fun weekend, between wandering the shops at Riverwoods, driving around fancy neighborhoods, yummy yummy dinners, an awesome workout (I still can't walk straight), boating/skiing/wakeboarding under the only storm cloud of the weekend, family dinner, and, of course, chillin' in our 9000 degree apartment.

Yay for no air conditioning!!!!!

Friday, June 1, 2012

That time we went on our honeymoon

Our wedding day was absolutely perfect. If anything went wrong, I didn't know about it, and I don't want to know about it. I'll put some pictures up soon. It was really the happiest day of my life. I hardly stopped smiling the entire day. My face hurt from smiling so much. It was beautiful.

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We stayed at the Zermatt in Midway on our wedding night. They upgraded us to the sweetest room ever and we were absolutely in love with it..

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Sunday morning we hopped in the car and drove to Vegas. Jason's brother-in-law and sister offered us their timeshare at Westgate Flamingo Bay for our honeymoon, a resort a few miles off the strip. It was incredible. It had a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a huge bathroom, a king-size bed, and a jacuzzi. Everything was granite and leather and enormous and we were so, so grateful that Annie and Joe offered it to us!!! 

Our honeymoon was the single most relaxing vacation that I have ever been on. Fer real. There was nothing to do and nowhere to be and the only word I could think of to describe it the entire week was BLISS. It could not have been better. 

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Enjoying our huge slab of yummy yummy YUMMY gluten-free cake from our top tier on our drive down :)

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Jas found this cool car....

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Tasting pop from all around the world...or was it just an excuse to sit down for a few minutes? All I can say is, I'm supahhh glad we live in America and have yummy pop...

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Sometimes we just have to take a break from shopping and eat some frozen yogurt. YES PLEASE.

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And our excursion of the week...the Hoover Dam!

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Jas being a rebel

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Uhhhh we asked some lady to take our picture at the resort. It would appear that she was unaware of the function of the zoom button...

IN SUMMARY....
I love Jason and our honeymoon was the greatest week ever and I am so, so, so happy.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Hello again!

After a month-long hiatus from this blog, I'm hoping that a facelift, some photo-catch-up time, and a new URL will get me re-excited about blogging. No guarantees, but it's feeling pretty promising. :)

Monday, April 30, 2012

festivities

Today is the first day of the week of my wedding. I can't decide if this week is going to fly by, or if the days are going to tick past one by one, each one longer than the last. March and April have been the quickest months of my life, but I feel like I have been engaged for years. Planning a wedding with my mom in Minnesota hasn't been as easy as I had anticipated it would be, and I'm anxious to put it all behind me. And, of course, to become Mrs. Jason Demke. :)

Last weekend, Jas and I flew to home to Minnesota so that I could go through the temple in St. Paul. My uncle Daryll and aunt Maria came out, as well as my Grandma and Grandpa Cragun. It was one of the most special experiences of my life, and I was so glad to have so many people that I love so much there to share it with me.

On Saturday, I had a bridal shower in Mankato. It was absolutely beautiful, and so, so much fun! I'm not having a reception in Minnesota, so it was perfect to be able to share my wedding with the people who raised me.

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 This Saturday, I ran my first half-marathon. I was so super nervous about it, because I haven't been able to run outside for the past month. My foot was injured (peroneal tendonitis..yayy!), so I couldn't run outside for the three or four weeks leading up to the race. I've been on an elliptical all month and I was bored out of my mind!! Somehow, though, my foot was perfectly fine through the entire race, and despite my cross-training-only training, I was able to run 9:30 miles and finish in 2:04!! I was so excited. And then, of course, I got to go home and eat all the rice pancakes I wanted. Best. day. ever.
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 After my half, Cristina threw me a bachelorette party that was so, so, so fun. All the pictures, naturally, are on her camera, but just trust me. It was the best night. I am so lucky to have such wonderful sisters who will put the time into making my wedding as special as possible. I adore my sisters.  She made (all gluten free!) clam chowder, French onion soup, pina colada salad, strawberry spinach salad, appletinis, strawberry daquiris, pina coladas, vanilla fudge, chocolate fudge, rice krispies, AND red velvet cheesecake. It was incredible.

So, now that all of those big events are out of the way, it's time to get maaaaarried. I had my last day of nursery yesterday at church (YESS!!!!!), Wednesday my parents come to Utah, Thursday is my last day of work for a week, and Saturday I get to put my pretty white dress on and walk into the temple with my Jason and be sealed to him for time and all eternity. 

I can't wait.

Friday, March 23, 2012

life is beautiful

This morning I woke up to the sound of birds outside my window. Yesterday I ran ten miles and rocked it. Today I get to see my mama. My office is filled with fresh tulips, yellow and red, and the snowy mountains are a breathtaking backdrop to the warmth of this spring day. Finals are in three weeks and then this crazy semester will be over. In less than a month, I'm going home to Minnesota for the weekend, and in forty-three days I'm marrying my sweetheart.

I'd say thing are going pretty well.

My days have been filled this semester, with homework, and studying, and training for my half-marathon, and falling in love with cooking, and working my way down a massive wedding to-do list. I'm ready for a break, and I'm ready for summer, but spring will do for now. :)

Friday, January 27, 2012

love you like a love song, babyy

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I'm happy. I am so, so, so happy. Not just today, although I'm fairly happy today (it's Friday, and I slept in 40 minutes, and I had delicious Greek yogurt for breakfast, and I get to go running with Brianna this afternoon, and it's going to be such a fun weekend), but in general. I can't remember a time I've ever felt so completely whole and content. And I'm happy.

Jason and I met in accounting class, which isn't terribly exciting, and is very typical BYU. We studied a few time and hung out a few times and I liked him a little bit, and then one night he came over and we put in a movie but we didn't even press play. We talked and laughed and talked for eight hours. It was one of the best nights of my life. That night, something clicked.

The next day, I went to his family's house for dinner. I couldn't stop smiling as I drove there. I couldn't stop smiling as I walked up the steps. I couldn't stop smiling as I ate my dinner. I felt like such a dork, but I really, really couldn't stop smiling.

And I haven't stopped since. Nothing else matters quite as much as the feeling of absolute rightness that I have because of Jason. I am absolutely, unequivocally positive that Jason is the love of my life, my best friend, The One. He is it.

And I'm happy.

cooking.

I think I'm getting better. I made chicken three times this week and it worked like a charm every time. Of course, a little Sweet Baby Ray's never hurt, either, but seriously--I can do this! My roommate thinks the chicken kept burning because of the pan I used on the stovetop, which is comforting that maybejustmaybe it's not just me.

So without further ado, here's my failproof chicken:
1. Brine chicken in salt and sugar.
2. Put chicken in pan. Cover halfway with chicken bouillon, a few teaspoons of olive oil, and any seasoning in the world.
3. Cook at 500 degrees for 20 minutes.
4. Cover for 5 minutes. If you want.
5. E.A.T.

Impressive, yes?!

On another note, Brianna and I made sugarless, oilless cookies last night. Uhh what? Yeah. Fer real. Thank you, Pinterest. The recipe's here but the truth of the matter is, I'd only make them if you (a) have not made or consumed cookies in months and months and have most likely forgotten what they taste like, (b) really enjoy natural food, or (c) want an excuse to eat a few chocolate chips so bad that banana-sweetened cookies sound good to you. Which category do I fall into, you might ask? Definitely a.

Bri and I decided we might make them again (read: I decided I might make them again), but we would never, ever make them to feed to other people. Amen.
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But if you decide to give it a shot.. we replaced the oil with applesauce, and used gf flour in place of almond meal ($11 a bag? I think not.), and rolled them in coconut, and sprinkled the top with nutmeg. And i thought they were pretty yummy.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

again.

Last night was Attempt #84 at chicken. This time, it was garlic & brown sugar chicken. Jas took one bit of the chicken, picked me up, spun me around, kissed me, and said, "Thank you, beautiful! This is delicious."



What does that tell us? That tells us that either (a) the chicken was really, really good, or (b) my last several attempts at chicken haven't provided that boy with much faith in my abilities to cook.

I'm going with b?