Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Bi-Annual Husband Post

Well folks, it's that time of decade again; the time where birds hush their warbly tune, dogs and cats go out for drinks together, and planets align causing the Provo River to rise imperceptibly.

Yup. Time for a husband post.

I've been very blessed in my lifetime. Blessings of friends, family, opportunity, health. All the biggies. I've especially been blessed with an amazing wife. Why is she so amazing, you may ask? Well let me give you a few reasons.

1) She married me. That's not just fortunate for all parties involved, it also proves she has impeccable taste.

2) She looks beautiful all the time. No, seriously. I'm typing this in bed with her asleep next to me, and ya know what? She's freaking gorgeous. You know what's even cooler than a beautiful wife sleeping next to you? Knowing she's going to look JUST AS GORGEOUS in the morning. How does that even work? Physically, it shouldn't be possible. If you get a chance to listen to the Bruno Mars song "Just the Way You Are" it pretty much sums up what it's like being married to Danielle (plus it's pretty catchy).

3) She's going to be a fantastic mom. She just is. She loves kids and is great with them. They kind of flock to her during our calling in nursery. They might just be flocking away from me, but I like to think they're flocking to her. Flock flock flock. That's a weird word.

And number 4) She puts up with me. Here's where the REAL purpose of this post comes into play. I've been known to talk her ear off about this, that, or the other thing in which she has zero interest. Usually it's something technological like a new smartphone, laptop, router firmware, or something of that geeky sort. But this time....


This time....




Ok, it's still something technological. But I've worn out my "Wearying Husband Credits" for the month (That's the currency in which I measure my wife's patience for listening to a particular topic. I call them "Glazies" for the look she gets in her eyes). Now because I've worn out my Glazies for the month (and possibly the entire Q1 of 2011), you get to hear about my latest technological obsession.

The Nook Color

Da daaaaa...

Ok, I'm not a super "booky" person. I have to confess that in a given year I'll probably read 2-3 fiction books and 4-5 nonfiction on a GREAT year. This new obsession of mine is only marginally associated with reading books. It really has much more to do with the "Gee Whiz"-ical expression that creeps across my face at every new advancement in technology.

What it is: The Nook Color is the latest e-reader from Barnes & Noble. It's designed primarily to purchase and consume books, magazines, & newspapers, but has the added bonus of a full-color LCD screen, WiFi connectivity to the internet, a music/movie player, and expandable memory.

Why I want it: To hack it and make it more awesome.

It's simple: Everyone drools over the iPad, which is certainly a drool-worthy device, but it's completely and hopelessly out of my price-range at $499 for the most basic model. What the Nook Color offers is a slightly less polished experience for half that price. With a seemingly minor hack it can be unlocked into a full-fledged android tablet to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Tab which rings in at around the $500-600 mark.

To sum up some of the most important points:
- The screen is a 7" 1024x600 IPS Capacitive Touchscreen Display that displays 169 pixels per inch. That's a decent step above the pixel density of the iPad at 132 ppi.
- It's got the same 800 MHz processors as the Droid 2 & Droid X smartphones
- The 4000 mAh battery can provide up to 8 hours of constant use on a single charge.
- It can read & possibly even edit Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, & PowerPoint), and can play back an impressive array of video & audio formats.

But honestly, the biggest reason I want it is because I am honestly, obviously, notably, notoriously, and unapologetically a gigantic nerd who loves toys. There are hundreds of things it can do that would actually make life easier by streamlining things with school and work, but my biggest reason for wanting this thing is because it's awesome.

Well, I've started saving my pennies. One day she will be mine, but until that day comes I have to yearn from afar.

Thanks for listening.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Missing camera and other excuses...

Well I apologize for the lack of posts. My camera is currently MIA and of course we can't find the adapter for Jesse's camera that would let us download the pictures from his. It's quite the predicament if you ask me. And a post with no pictures is not near as exciting which is why I haven't posted. I'm pretty sure we've had fun this break but I guess we won't know for sure until we can get our pictures onto the laptop!

Side note: You all should try my new favorite snack, avocado with Worcestershire sauce. I can't get enough of it!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Noteworthy

Today marks the 3 year anniversary since Jesse asked me to be his wife.

Has it really been 3 years? I can hardly believe how quickly time flies by.

I am so grateful I said yes. It has been a great journey that I wouldn't want to spend with anyone else!



Friday, December 10, 2010

Our nephew Drew

On Saturday Dec 4th we went to Temple Square with Jesse's family. We went to lunch with Jesse's parents up in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in honor of his birthday which was a lot of fun! And then our niece Abbie was singing in a choir up there so we got to listen to them sing, which was amazing. Jesse's sweet mom broke her ankle so she has a scooter to get around. The carpet wasn't the easiest thing to move around on though so she just put her legs up and let Jesse and his dad push her. It made me laugh!


While we were waiting for the 2nd choir concert to start we were holding our nephew Drew and to keep him entertained we decided to take pictures. Little did we know that it would entertain us even more! That kid is a crack up! He would totally do anything we said.


His kissy face was one of our favorites!









Oh boy do we love our nieces and nephews!

Jesse's Birthday!

Jesse's Birthday was Sunday, December 5th. He's been fairly determined to not age a day past 23, but here we are at an undeniable 26. Luckily he's still a kid at heart and in my opinion get's sweeter every day so I'm pretty sure that balances out the increasing number!



I tried to throw him a surprise party, but for some reason he had an inkling that there was a party a brewing. I kept a poker face and tried to lead him back to the idea of just having dinner and playing games with the Hansen's instead of some big party. I'm not sure how well I did but it turned out really fun regardless. Thanks to our awesome friends who were able to come and to the Hansens for letting us play at their house! We had a great time!


I hope you had a Happy birthday sweetheart! I love you!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

My brother is a MISSIONARY!

Brad's farewell was Nov 14th and he did such an awesome job! He had lots of family and friends there and it was a delightful day.









For some reason my mom and I matched both days we were together. I'm not sure how we do these things but it's getting rather ridiculous.

We love Bradley!


Brad and his youngest cousin who is only 5 months old.
He'll be so big when Brad gets back.

Uncle Mike & Aunt Kerry.

Aunt Jen

Brad and his best friend KC

Jesse and I could not get enough of this kid. He's just so cute.
And has the most kissable cheeks!



We took Brad, or should I say Elder Dorius, to the MTC on Wednesday Nov. 17th. First we stopped for brunch at Denny's.
The it was off to the MTC!
Brad is one of the least huggy people I know so we really basked in these last hugs of his!
Korea is in for a treat.
See you in 2 years! You're going to make a great missionary!

Cutie Patootie

We got this cute little niece of ours for a day a few weeks ago. And we had a blast! Isn't she the cutest?