My Hair Color Changed--Shocker!

I am in a current hair crisis. My hairstylist quit on me (and it took me 3 years to find him) and I've just been biding my time hoping I could find where he is working. I haven't had any luck and my regrowth got so bad that I had to color my own hair. As always, I erred on the side of red. My hair was so blonde to begin with that I had to go reddish so it wouldn't turn green. The first picture is the final product, the last picture is the in-between redder version.

Picture

Here's my picture: The Chicago Bulls played the Utah Jazz at Assembly Hall in Fall 2008. There are a bunch of former Illini basketball players on the Jazz, so they played an exhibition game. Dave and I got tickets when we first started dating.

Corn on the Cob?

Dave and I are a part of a dinner group with some friends from church. We get together once a month. January was my month to make dinner. I decided to go for a "Wintery BBQ." I made Marisa's beef brisket, smoked gouda mac and cheese, roasted potatoes and broccoli. I figured it's not a BBQ without corn on the cob. So we had it as dessert. I'm not sure my skills are that good, but can you tell those are cupcakes dressed up to look like corn? Dave's sister gave me a cupcake decorating book for Christmas and this was one of the ideas. Fun, huh?!

This is the table all set for dinner. I got the salad plates on clearance at Bed, Bath & Beyond and couldn't wait to use them! I think they're very festive!

Gnarly Bruises

I went snowboarding for the first time over break. Utah was having a great deal: $13 for rentals, $13 for lift ticket and $13 for a lesson. It was too good to pass up, so Dave annd his siblings Nicole and Jonathan came with. Dave already knew how to snowboard, and Nicole can ski, so Jonathan and I took the lessons. It was tons of fun! I didn't fall down too much, but I still have some gnarly bruises all along my tailbone.

Cheddar is Better

I'm starting to realize that my husband thinks the Lukes eat weird foods. Some of our most beloved meals growing up do not impress Dave. Today I introduced him to the "american cheese melted on a tortilla in the microwave" quesadilla. I was really craving an easy snack, so of course I thought of this old family fave. I made him take a bite to see if he liked it--he didn't. He promptly made a microwave quesadilla with cheddar and proclaimed "Cheddar is better!" I beg to disagree...it's not better, it's just different.

Dave does not appreciate the Luke family hash pizzas, waffles for dinner, spam, egg mc muffins or tuna on toast. I don't know if this marriage is going to work...

Lots and Lots of Peas

I've been trying to use what's in my freezer so I don't waste food. While working my way through all of my freezer food I have found like 4 bags of peas. I apparently thought I was out of peas every time I went to the grocery store! Now I'm trying to think of meals to incorporate peas...so far I've got chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie on the list. Any other ideas for meals with peas?

He Knows What He Did!

I took some time out of our busy school schedule to decorate for Christmas. I have the nativity set up on the high boy, my cluster of trees near the piano, and I set up my Räuchermänner (smoking men) on my sewing cabinet. Here is what they are supposed to look like:

Dave and I have been doing nothing but homework lately. We sit around and type papers and finish projects. Dave had a long, beastly paper due last Friday. He woke up at 8 am and worked on it for 14 hours straight. I would periodically check on him to see if he needed anything. One time when I went into the living room I found the smoking man who is painting the nutcracker like this:

I asked Dave what was going on, and his reply was: "You'd better ask him, he knows what he did!" Needless to say, we were/are both a little loopy from so much homework, so I obliged. I asked the smoking man what he did, and he told ME that he didn't do anything to deserve being put in time-out. Dave begged to differ. He says the smoking man tried to sabotage his paper...he apparently jumped onto Dave's computer while Dave was working, or so Dave says. I think Dave just got bored and started playing with them--after all, his chair is right next to the smoking men. I did get a good laugh out of the whole incident. I wonder what the camels in the nativity scene are going to do to Dave next...I'll keep you posted.

Besides doing homework, we had stake conference last weekend. I sang in a trio for the adult session. We sang "Love at Home." I feel like there should be more to say about that, but there isn't.