Date #3: Group Date Night

Last night was so fun! We invited over the Mansfields, the Dokukins, and the Kwants and had a group date night here. For dinner we did a pasta bar with different noodles and sauces, breadsticks, green beans, and salad, which was great! We enjoyed getting to know each other over dinner - finding out what everyone is doing with their life, where they're from, when they were married, etc. I look at my parents and how well they know everyone in their ward and it felt so good to start moving in that direction!

After dinner we played Word on the Street (my team won by a longshot - I think the key is whoever has Megan on their team wins!) and then we played several rounds of Catch Phrase, in which the guys could never beat the girls (I think it's a indicator that girls communicate a lot more with words!)

It was such a fun night. I am so excited about having friends in our ward and think this is one we will definitely repeat with other couples!

Continue or Quit?

This is the closest thing I feel I have to the open void, which is where I'd like to throw out the question "Do I continue with school or quit?" I feel that the guidance from our Church leaders can be spun either way, as attending school now requires, for the first time for me, student loans. $9450 a semester is not cheap, and I can't help me consider all the other things we could put money into: investments, for one thing, but other things that would just be nice - our yard, a trip every once in a while, our mortgage, etc. It's a hard decision, and it's keeping me up at night... Do I really need an MBA or is it just excessive? The material is great, but maybe I won't work forever, and if that's the case, maybe just reading more is the better solution. And it would be so nice to have more time to be a wife and a homemaker and a better neighbor and friend and family member and Church member. Maybe I'm just doing this program so I can tell others about it, maybe it's not really something that is important in the long run. Maybe I should stop now and save my money and if I'm still interested in a few years, go back and pay without loans. I know this is just plain rambling at this point, but this is really, really hard - I'm tired of being up at night thinking. And when TJ and I talk (he is fully supportive of whatever I choose, so he doesn't voice a strong opinion), I feel like I just talk myself into circles.

How could I ever know if it will be worth it?

Date #2: Movie of Her Choice

Tonight's date was to watch the movie of my choice. :) We watched Cars, thanks to TJ's jump drive and our new DVD player (thanks, Mom). We didn't plan ahead for dinner, so to my stomach's dismay, we had Panda, which just tastes so wonderful it's hard to remember how bad it hurts my stomach.

I never realized before that our female star, Sally the Porsche, has a tattoo on her bum that Lightning McQueen comments on. TJ smiled at that part. :)

I super love the Italian cars - they kept me laughing (and thinking of you, of course, Kiri). I especially loved at the end when the Ferraris came in and both of them fainted. Ha.

Creative show, especially the flies. A fun date, just home with my wonderful husband.

Date #1: The Cookie Hunt

Our first date out of the jar was a cookie hunt - a search for the best cookie in the valley! :) We did some research about the best places to go and came up with three choices.

Stop 1: Over the Top
I actually read somewhere online that this is the best cookie in America! This is a cookie spot right here in South Jordan - just across from Cafe Rio. Naturally, we picked up a salad to split and then walked over for our first cookie.

There were two little boys in front of us; I loved watching them look through all the cookies to decide which one they wanted to get (it took them forever, there were just so many appealing options!)

Over the Top's theme was about going too far; they make delectable cookies and add candy bars on top, for an unforgettable experience. :)

We ordered milk chocolate Twix to split. I really liked it. The consistency was very unique - TJ pinned it by saying that it felt like a sugar cookie, which was very different. The Twix on top was wonderful and it was so big that it was perfect. Yum!

Stop 2: The Dough Girl

We were actually looking for a place called Ruby Snap, but it turns out they changed the name. :) This little cookie spot is set up to be from the 50's and all the cookies are named after different girls.

This place was definitely the best at being unique; they had chocolate cinnamon mint cookies, dark molasses with sugar, sweet potato with cream cheese, and a number of others that were equally interesting!

Big bonus here is that they'll let you sample as much as you want! We tried several different cookies that were great and ended up getting Margo - chocolate cinnamon mint.

To their credit, I have never had such a unique cookie in my life! TJ loved the mix and loved the mystery of how they made it. The flavors were not ideal for me; my mouth couldn't figure out whether the dough was chocolate or cinnamon. :) For me, Over the Top was better, but TJ definitely prefers Margo!

Stop 3: Kodiak Cakes

I don't know what it is about cookie places, but according to Google, this place is called "Ben's Cookies." :) I guess the new thing is changing your name.

Okay, first we must say that a big downside to this place is that it's in the middle of The Gateway, which means we spent 15 minutes finding parking. We both said that this would seriously dock our rating of their cookie - like anybody wants to pay for parking to grab a quick cookie! We finally found half of a spot and took it, praying that we wouldn't get a ticket, and ran to the store.

The theme here was the wilderness and bears - who knew there was such a thing as a Kodiak bear (not me). Anyway, it was a cute little shop, but after the different options at The Dough Girl, this one didn't seem to have such incredible offerings. I do have to say, though, that looking at a bunch of cookies lined up and smelling the sugar and chocolate in any cookie shop just does something for me. :) I'm drooling looking at these pictures.

We each got out own cookie here, which we felt justifiable since it was the cheapest spot ($1.85 each). TJ got a snickerdoodle and I got lemon with powdered sugar.

Oh my gosh - these are the best cookies we've ever had in our lives. They were the perfect mix of soft in the middle but a little crunchy on the outside and the flavors were out of this world. I wish I had gotten a snickerdoodle (TJ said it was the best one he's ever had), but I certainly didn't have any issues finishing every bit of mine!

The Winner: Kodiak Cakes
The winner for us was definitely Kodiak Cakes, in spite of the drama finding parking. It was a fantastic date and we had such a fun time driving to each little shop, enjoying the ambiance every place offered, and savoring all the sugary bites we took. For me it was definitely one of our most enjoyable dates yet.

The Date Night Jar

In spite of all the advice we were given about continuing date night after we were married, we haven't made it as much of a priority as we should. So, to revive things a bit, I made TJ this "Date Night Jar," filled with ideas of different dates that we can do; some of them seasonal, some of them with other couples, some of them serious, and others just plain fun. The plan is to draw 4 or 5 at the beginning of every month and then choose which nights we'll do each of them. I'm so excited about it! (If you want the Word files that I typed up with the ideas, let me know and I'll gladly pass them over!)

Because She Is a Mother

"She broke the bread into two fragments and gave them to her children, who ate with eagerness. 'She hath kept none for herself,' grumbled the sergeant.

"'Because she is not hungry,' said a soldier.

"'No,' said the sergeant, 'because she is a mother.'"

-Victor Hugo



Over the past few days as I've reflected on Christmas and the generous gifts my mother gave us I've been thinking of the many other things my mom has given me over the years; certainly life is enough to deserve life-long appreciation, but she's also given me so many things that were important to me like a homemade pumpkin wedding cake, the wedding dress of my dreams, a trip to Spain for graduation, decorations for every birthday, countless cookies and more love than I'll ever know. Today I am grateful for a loving mom, whose care for me surely goes beyond what I'll ever know.

He Gave Me the Sun

For Christmas, TJ gave me the sun - in the form of a pass to the tanning salon. I am ecstatic. My intention is not to get tan but rather to feel the sun - it makes such a difference with Seasonal Affective Disorder. I went yesterday for 8 minutes and it was so, so wonderful. It was a very thoughtful gift and one that I will certainly enjoy for a long while.