time flew...

I was in BC for a full 8 days, and now, I sit here scratching my head, wondering where my beloved break went.

Because I'm back to reality, see...

I've been back in IF since Saturday afternoon. And as much as I love my life in IF, I'm rather bummed that my week-long hiatus is all gone.

It was a great time, that hiatus. The entire thing.

Some of the highlights include (but are not limited to):

*Playing with my nephews
*The cold (but successful!) BYU football game against Air Force
*Cuddling with baby Jane
*Breakfast burritos
*Chillaxin' with the fandamily
*Getting lost in Provo and eating at Bombay House with Coretta
*Seeing Lisa 3 times in 1 week!!!
*The Thanksgiving Feast
*Brisk walks with Brent and Dad
*Setting up Christmas decor and over-stocking a couple of shelves that resulted in Mom very nearly having a stroke (bwa ha!)
*Beautiful weather
*Listening to Jane squawk because she's recently discovered her voice
*Watching New Moon and not completely hating it
*Trying pomegranate again
*The Blind Side (what a stellar movie!)
*Surviving the entire week without a single solitary nap :/

And now...pictures:

Amy and Janie

Jackson got tired and climbed on my bed

I.Love.Stuffing.

The boys and the bird...
(carving the turkey is Dad's job every year)

Janie's first Thanksgiving
(She's so precious I could just die)
I think she was smiling big at Brent when I snapped this pic...

Me and Abby licking pickled beets
(They really aren't any good. I may or may not have gagged when I popped one in my mouth)

Story time: I used to love pomegranate, back in the days of my youth. Until, one day...I came home from school in search of an after-school snack (tradition in the O-household). At this time, one of my brothers--who shall remain nameless, but it starts with a V--came out of the kitchen with a fruit roll-up in hand. The fruit roll-up was unwrapped, and rolled up tightly. This brother of mine gave me said roll-up and told me to eat it as it was. (Oh, blind, foolish Gina! Don't do it! Don't trust him, look at his mischievous smile!)

But guess what? I did it: I bit into that fruit roll-up--a big bite--and what do you think was rolled up in that lumpy roll-up? (Did I forget to mention it was lumpy? It was.) Pomegranate seeds! Only, not just a few pomegranate seeds, oh no! An entire fistful! All wrapped up tightly and delivered to the stupid and unsuspecting Ginabean!

Well, folks, it wasn't good. Not at all. And ever since that fateful day (somewhere in the '90s), I've avoided pomegranate. It really hasn't been hard to avoid 'em.

Anyway, since 2009 is the year to be brave, I thought I'd give pom another go.

Me and my pom (provided by the lovely Kelly!)

I still don't like it. I just had 2 or 3 at a time, but still...it took me back to the day I stopped loving them. No more pomegranate for this Ginabean!

Aaaand...that was my Thanksgiving week in a nutshell.

sweet taste of India...

Well, folks, I finally did it. I've been on this earth for...several years...and I finally tried Indian food. It's not that I haven't wanted to try it, but rather, I've never really had the opportunity to try it. (Okay, there was that one semester in grad school when I lived in "The Curry Palace" with a nice Indian gal, but we were never there at the same time, and I wasn't about to dig into her leftovers when we knew so little about each other, you know?)

Anyway...I made a resolve to try it this year, and when Coretta found out about it, she asked me, please, could she be there with me when it went down, and also that it needed to go down at the Bombay House in Provo.

So that's what happened.

The drive there was not out of the ordinary for the Ginabean in a city she doesn't know well. I'm no good with directions, even when I google-map it beforehand. I had full intentions of going to the Jordan River Temple yesterday afternoon. But somehow...somehow!...I missed my exit. So I just continued on to the Provo Temple.

Things weren't any better in Provo, in case you were wondering. I've been to the Provo Temple before, but never from the way south exit.

Know how I bragged about my apple pie, and that I can change at lightning speed? 'Member how great I am at those two things? Well...my sense of direction (or complete lack thereof) is something else entirely. Other adjectives that apply: intriguing, astounding, "impressive", interesting...umm...pathetic. Sad. Depressing. Right. Get the picture? To help my sad little ego just now, let it be said that I make quite the navigator if I'm not driving. (And if we're not driving around in Nanaimo, BC. Man, I got us way lost there, but I blame it on the scaling of the map we used.)

Moving on...

I met Coretta (a dear friend/previous roommate from yesteryear) at Bombay House at 7:00 last night. (I drove by that place 3 or 4 times before I found it. And it ain't hidden, really.) Oh, how joyful it was to see my Coretta-friend! I think the last time we saw each other was nearly 4 years ago. She's married and has 3 kiddos, we haven't seen each other in 4 years, and things felt just like it was yesterday that we were roommates at BYU-Idaho. STUPENDOUS, don't you think?!

Coretta knows what foods I like, and, more importantly, she knows what I don't like. Plus, she knows Bombay House. So we figured out some options I'd likely like, you know? And, since they had lamb on the menu and it's my goal to taste lamb by the year's end, I killed two birds with one stone and ordered lamby, Indian-style. (I so wanted to call the title of this post "Mary had a little lamb, and I ate it," but my mom said it sounded too harsh, like I'm eating a pet. Out of respect for my mom, and pets everywhere, I obliged.)

Coretta and moi at the Bombay House
(I love this girl!)

We went all-out and ordered beverages too...
These are Rose Lassi and Strawberry Lassi

It really is the darnedest thing, but Rose Lassi tastes exactly how a rose smells, but delicious. Not so you'd want to throw up at all! Who knew?! -I ordered Strawberry to be safe, but Coretta let me have a sip or two of her Rose...

The spread...
You ought to be jealous!

My first bite of Indian food...
This was the Lamb Boti Kabab Masala, FYI...

I wasn't quite ready for the picture, can you tell?
This is just before my first bite of Raj's Chicken.
(If I could write "Supremely Delicious" in Hindi, I would)

Holy. Crap. How have I gone my entire life thus far without going crazy on this stuff?! -I'm fairly sure my body would hate me if I tried the super spicy stuff, but Indian food is amazing! And what the what? They use ginger and mango in, like, tons of their recipes. Mango ain't my fave fruit, but I rather enjoy what India can do with it!

Coretta and I also ordered the Onion Naan (flatbread) and mango ice cream. (Yeah, here's something truly shocking: that ice cream didn't hurt my tummy at all. I think it's cause it was more yogurty than ice creamy.)

The Mango Ice Cream...
Isn't it lovely?!

So yeah. Yesterday was good (despite the set-back that is my sense of direction). It was DYNAMITE seeing Coretta again for a couple of hours! And after that, Lisa let me crash at her place so I wouldn't crash on the freeway. It was loverly seeing her again too!

so far...

Just finishing up day 2 of my big fat break from reality. So far, so good. Except...before I left town yesterday, I ran some errands. After one errand in particular, I was getting back into my car and WHAP! totally smacked my noggin on my car. Who does that?! And how old am I? I don't think I've hit my head on the car since I was just a wee lass.

Anyways, I hit it hard enough that I saw stars, and I was slightly stunned that I didn't knock myself out. WOWCH. Later on, I decided to diagnose myself mildly concussed.

Also, I have an invisible bruise on my forehead today.

I got to Brigham yesterday afternoon and I headed straight for Vance's place, because everyone else was at work. And also because baby Jane lives there (with Vance, I mean). I got there just in time to change a nasty diaper (much to Vance's satisfaction). And then I got to hold and cuddle Janie to my heart's content. Happy. Day.

Then...I headed to Layton with my folks to visit with Aaron, Amy & boys. Shoot, I love that family. Jackson was happy as a clam rocking out in the rocking chair, and Seth spent the first 20+ minutes of our visit pretending he was a puppy; he even scratched his ears and rolled over for us. Seth is the cutest puppy ever. When we were all getting ready to head out for dinner, Seth stood up and informed us "I'm not a dog," and then he looked at me, cocked his head to one side, and said, "Niiiiiiiiiiice jacket!" I just love that kid to bits.

I didn't get to see Marshall yesterday, as was my plan. But I saw him this morning for a few minutes before I headed out of town, and Marshall gave me a tight hug and a big (and rather wet) kiss. Oh, he's cute!

Concerning football...
Dad took me to the BYU/AFA game today. It was cold, but fun. According to those who were seated in my vicinity, it surely seems like the referees made some pretty awful calls. Honestly? Twice BYU made a touchdown, and the refs yoinked it away from us. What the what?

Aaron texted me afterwards, and it went something like this:

A-dub: How was the game?
Me: Good. We won so that's good. Dad thinks your game next week will be a good one. The refs made some truly horrible calls but we still won comfortably.
A-dub: Dad has never seen a fairly called game.
Me: Is that just him or do they really call bad games every time?
A-dub: It's him.
Me: In his defense there were 2 calls that I fully understood to be ridiculous. He's still fun to go with. And nice to share his tickets too.
A-dub: Yeah, but you don't even know what a flea flicker is.
Me: When the quarter back and the running back toss it back and forth and then the quarter back throws it down the field, you mean?
A-dub: Did dad tell you that or do you remember from before?
Me: I have the memory of an elephant.
A-dub: An elephant with alzheimer's that has suffered a severe blow to the head, repeatedly?

Me: Something like that. I actually thought you had made up the term flea flicker and had to ask dad if you were yanking my chain:)
A-dub: You had the exact same reaction a couple years ago when me and Vance quizzed you on football!
Me: See? The memory of an elephant...
A-dub: Yeah. I was thinking your answer was way too precise anyway.
Me: Dad had to explain it twice...

He's right, you know. Aaron, I mean. I'm a very sympathetic sports fan. I don't understand enough about most sports--especially football--to get annoyed with certain calls or fouls. Not on my own, at least. But when everyone starts yelling or booing, I just hop right on board and find myself supremely upset if it "feels right." And it always feels right if everyone else is booing. Oh, but if the call is against the team I'm rooting for, I truly mean it when I furrow my brow and shake my fist at those stupid men in the stripey uniforms.

Anyways, I discovered today at the game that my camera is broken. I made this discovery when I pulled it out to capture my memories pictorially. Boy was I one sad little Ginabean! I took a couple of pictures with my phone, since that's all I had. Ready?

This picture gives you an idea of the elements we were up against:
grayish whispy clouds hovering low-ish and hazy and whatnot...
I'm guessing that the weather hovered somewhere near 40 degrees Farenheit.

Me and my Da, bundled up.
(Seriously? We were both wearing thermals,
plus-let me count-5 layers on top for me, plus the quilt.)
Oh yeah, and see that guy in the gray jacket sporting a beard?
He kept looking at me. I think he liked me. Or, at least, my colorful tuke...

recent past and into the future...

It's cold outside where I live, especially in the mornings. I have to remind myself daily to go out and warm up my car several minutes before heading off to work, so as to defrost the windows. All in the name of safety, of course. I usually don't remember in enough time, so I let the windows thaw while scraping the ice off with my handy-dandy window-ice-scraper thingy. (What are those tools called anyway?) Anyway, on my way to work this morning, I watched the the frost melt on the windshield, rather rapidly, as I sat at the red lights. I'm not gonna lie, it was cool. I like watching ice melt. Who knew?

In the mean time, I get to dress in layers without sweating. I love layers. Always. Even in the summertime. It's true.

This past Friday, I did something I had never done before: I went to the theater all by myself. Yes, I did. Michael Jackson's This Is It. It was pretty good, quite honestly. That guy sure cared about every last detail, he did. And dang, the man could dance! Cool movie. Although the theater was practically deserted when I saw my show at 2pm, and no one saw me in all my lonesome glory, I don't think I'll do that again. Just sayin'...

I almost forgot to take my medicine with food this morning. In fact, I was at work when the nausea hit. At this point, I forced an apple down my gullet; against all logic and reason, I ate when nauseous. And it worked. Weird. Pretty sure I'm going to do my darnedest to take said medicine with food from now on. -Let the record show that I'm so glad I didn't have to run out of my office (while with a client) to vomit and stuff, you know?

I learned some stuff about Abraham Lincoln on Saturday. He's at the Museum of Idaho through December 5th. I like Lincoln.

In a perfect world, I'd be able to avoid using public restrooms. Also, in a perfect world, my bladder would be bigger than a walnut.

I'm uber excited for the next few days, plus the entire week beyond. Here's why:

Wednesday: Relief Society recipe exchange. The theme is comfort food.
There will be samples.

Thursday: "Old Turkey" dinner with my branch and some old folks from the stake.
We'll get to hear stories about the old folks. Senior citizens are great though, aren't they?

Friday: Deliver goodies to the Festival of Trees. Payday. Get the heck outta Dodge.
Also, I'm pretty sure I'll get to see every niece and nephew I possess that day,
which makes bad days good, and good days better. Yesssss!

Saturday: A BYU football game with Daddy-O. I might just freeze to my death
(expected high of 36* Farenheit), but I'll have fun in the meantime!
It's all about creating memories, folks!

Sunday-Friday (or maybe Saturday morning): Stay in the land of my inheritance
and just soak it all in! Not to mention, it's the blessed week of Thanksgiving!
I love Zion, my family, and Thanksgiving dinner. A winner of a week, me thinks!

regarding the ginabean...

Back in the day, when I was a wee lass living at home with my entire immediate family, scuffles sometimes occurred. And it wasn't just between the brood of boys, either. No, no...I, the lone girl sandwiched between 2 boys on each side, was occasionally involved.

We fought, just like any normal family, see...

At times, my brothers and I would say mean things about each other. Face to face.

That's not to say that our home was one of chaos and hatred. No, we loved each other, but didn't always like each other, if you know what I mean.

On the occasions that things felt less than peaceful, Mom fought back.

With love.

In fact, that's what she called our punishment: "You two are withloved!" This meant that the kids in question had to sit by each other on the loveseat until we liked each other again.

This usually felt a bit cruel and unusual, if you catch my drift. WHY would Mom inflict us with each other for (sometimes) ridiculously long periods of time when she knew full-well that we, in fact, didn't like each other?

I already know that I'll be using this with my own crew of kids one day.

If they ever fight, I mean...

Another something Mom did when her children had heated words is this: for every mean thing we said about the dumb kid who, for reasons unknown, God gave us as a sibling, we would have to say two nice things about that kid. Got that ratio? 1 mean:2 nice.

Torturous. Seriously, when you think you hate someone, it's really hard to come up with something stupendous about them. And Mom wanted TWO stupendous things. Not an easy task, just so you know...

Now that we're all grown up, we think only the best of one another. Isn't that you and your siblings too? -Okay, not always, but try this one on for size: You are your own worst critic, don't you think? I actually have a pretty healthy self-esteem. But man, sometimes life happens fast and I feel little and insignificant, and when lots of crap flies, it's sometimes hard to find the good in one's self.

There there, little ego.

So. In light of the aforementioned "punishments" a loving mother inflicted on her chillins, I'm going to inflict the same punishment on myself.

I am going to come up with two good things about me. FOR ALL THE WORLD TO READ.

Are you ready?

#1. I've never made a bad apple pie. I'm being completely honest here, folks. Alright, sometimes I've made ugly apple pies, but DANG, they always taste good. REAL good. The recipe is found right...here.

#2. I can change at darn-near lightning speed. Seriously, I'm quick at changing wardrobe. Out of church clothes (tights included!) and into jammies (booties included!) in no time flat. Okay, so I've never technically timed myself, but I'm faster than you, I'm sure of it. Here's a comparison; I'm the female equivalent of Clark Kent/Superman (minus all those special powers, I mean). Think about it, though; you've seen it in the movies and cartoons: CK enters a phonebooth, and before you've had time to blink, Superman emerges! I'm that fast, people.

What about you? What are your mad skills? It's definitely something worth thinking about...

my loves...

Since I'm not married and taking part in replenishing the earth, I fully love and appreciate being an auntie. Adore it, actually. And the reasons are 4-fold:

Action Jackson:
This little guy is the firstborn of the firstborn of the O family.
He's terrific for about a billion reasons; most specifically, his laugh.
And also, he's beautiful.


Sethington/Seff:
This kid makes me laugh each and every time I see him.
He can be a handful, but that just means he's good at being a toddler.
And also, he's beautiful.


Jane/JanieBug:
The first girl born to the O's in quite some time (like, 27 years or so).
She is kissable, oh-so-interactive, and is getting squishy.
And also, she's beautiful.


Marshall/Marsh:
(I know "Marsh" prolly isn't a terrific nickname for this cutie, but it keeps happening.)
By no means the youngest, but the newest to the O-clan.
I just met this kid the day before he joined the fam, and I'm totally smitten.
And also, he's beautiful.

i, photographer...

My younger brother, Goose, was married this past weekend, and he asked me to be the photographer. YIPES, I am by no means a professional...but here are a few pictures of the Big Day...

the Beautiful Bride...

the Goosey Groom...

The happy couple...

Mr. Marshall...

the Bouquet...

Marshall totally approves...

Kissy-kissy!

So this is love...

Into the future...

Pausing for a kiss...

Like I said, I'm no pro, but we got a few good shots, and the wedding was lovely. And the happy couple truly are a happy couple. Congrats to Goose, Janel and Marshall!

looking up...

Typically I look forward to the end of daylight savings time. You know, because of the whole "fall back" thing; a whole extra hour of time, typically filled with the joy that is slumber. I forget about it getting darker earlier until I go back to work the next day, when I walk out of the office into the blackness of the night. And it's only 6pm.

It makes winter seem that much closer, and although I'm searching my soul to find some spark of excitement over winter, it still messes with me; it's a reminder that the dog days of summer are well behind me, and who knows when spring will spring this next year?

It makes me tired too. I get tireder earlier, all because the sun dips below the horizon earlier each and every day. Living an Alaskan winter might kill me. (You heard me right, Eskimo Bob.)

Maybe I should live the credo: "early to bed, early to rise...." That way I can enjoy the sun while it shows its lovely face. It's probably worth a shot, right?

Now I just gotta make myself GO TO BED before midnight. (Yes, I said I get tireder earlier, but that doesn't mean I hit the hay when I feel the first inklings of sleepiness.)

I'm not going for negative here, really. Let me prove it to you.

Find a happy place...

I came up with a few other things to love about winter (all by myself):

*Hot cocoa; whether coming in from playing in the snow, or coming in from work, hot cocoa is a pleasantry of the coldest season.
*Wearing slippers/booties. I love them, but they make my feet hot and sweaty any other time of year besides winter.
*I can pile on all the blankets I want at bedtime. I LOVE having my bedroom cool (very, very cool) with lots of heavy blankets piled on top of me when I sleep. I. Love. It.

Want some more good news? The weather has been lovely the past couple of days; it's still autumn here in Idaho Falls! Life is good.

Also, Goose and Janel get married this Friday, and I get to meet Janel's boy, Marshall; I'm the proud new owner of a nearly-3-year-old nephew! Nephews (and nieces, of course!) are spectacular! Hooray for me and my wonderful life!

Aaaand...Abby had her birthday yesterday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY, Ab!), and I get to chill with her Thursday evening. And I get to see my ENTIRE FAMILY this weekend because of the wedding. YAY! HOORAY!