Nebraska.....The Good Life

To the Zoo!

2011-08-04T21:34:00.001-07:00

Dane and I went with our friends Addie & Sami to our children's zoo here in Lincoln last week. It is a great zoo for kids - really cool animals but not too big to be overwhelming. Dane had a blast! He especially liked the areas where you could actually touch the animals - the volunteers had a rat and a mouse he petted, and also the goats, and the butterfly pavilion. And we got to see the new penguin exhibit! One more reason to love Lincoln!

Family Vacation~

2011-08-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time in Florida in July with James' mom and her husband. Some of James' relatives live right on the ocean and they left us their house while they were out of the country. We lived the rich man's life for a week! They have 2 really nice wave runners that we took out almost every day. We went wave running with dolphins! They also have a pool we spent a lot of time in. James and i headed to Orlando and did Islands Of Adventure one day and stayed the night while grandma and grandpa spent some time with Dane. We also hit Clearwater beach and caught a Tampa Rays baseball game. And it wouldn't have been a vacation without some shopping. :) I'm ready to go back! They spoiled us!

Family Photos

2011-06-19T10:08:00.001-07:00

Dane Reaches Whole Numbers!

2011-05-15T22:17:00.001-07:00

Here are the highlights of Dane's Family Birthday Party~

We played the Korean traditional First Birthday Game because Koreans are really cool (Miriam). My sisters have done an Americanized version where they just put objects that represent different career fields and whatever object he chooses represents his future career path. He first picked the calculator. Next the apple. And finally the spool of thread (which in the Korean version represents a long life)

He got a cool red wagon (pictured) from Auntie M and Thompson Grandparents. He also got lots of other cool gifts from family members..!

And he couldn't get enough of that little cake. At first i think he was surprised that we were just letting him go to town. then he really got in to it - flinging the cake off his fingers all over the room.

Sister Time~

2011-05-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

My sister Holly came to visit us in Nebraska this past weekend! So fun! Its not always easy to get visitors when you live in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was a little easier when i lived in Los Angeles! So we really enjoy our visitors out here. We inadvertantly booked the trip over Mother's Day so she missed out on her family spoiling her but i think the neverending pie parade at church almost made up for it... She was without kids so we tried to show her a good time. The fun involved shopping, rollerblading, and a tambourine. Don't ask. Except that a tambourine makes everything more fun. :)

We have a cheesy picture like the one above from many years ago so we tried to re-enact it. Thanks to Holly's awesome husband Mark for holding down the fort back in Boise so she could come play!

Old Pictures~

2011-05-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

In December my whole family was together for Christmas in Boise so my dad hired a photographer to get pics of everyone and individual families as well. Well, they just bairly got the images back from the photographer!! Remind us never to hire this guy again. ;)

Kinda cheesy and old but still wanted to post em..

Monterey, CA

2011-04-03T14:12:00.001-07:00

Dane & I have been having a blast visiting my parents in California for a couple of weeks. The trip started with an unfortunate unplanned stay at the hospital for my dad - who had to have his gallbladder removed. But it also means he has been home to spend time with us. We took a side trip for a couple of days to Monterey - short but so FUN! I am always reminded by Dane that i can only see/do about 1/3 of what i want to if Dane is coming along. :) But we got to visit Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, and do 17 Mile Drive with the Lone Cypress and Pebble Beach. Its been too long since i have been to the beach and it was Dane's first visit to the beach. He ate it up!

Santa Sightings!!

2010-12-15T13:25:00.001-08:00

Santa has been everywhere this last week! Our good friends the Lees (below) dressed up as Santa & Mrs. last night for a Juvenile Diabetes event. Don't they look great!? And the pic below is from our ward Christmas party.

My hero in a half shell!

2010-10-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

We dressed Dane up tonight to go to some Family Friends' for a little gathering. I wish i got some better pictures of his humpback shell cuz it was too cute!

Post Vacay Letdown & 4 mos pics

2010-09-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Boise for James' sister's wedding and some time with my sisters. We loved spending time with everyone! And i'm ready to move there! I got to run the Boise River Trail a couple of mornings and i was in heaven. I love running in beautiful settings. It doesn't get much better for me. Now we need something else to look forward to because that has been our highlight!

Right before the trip, we got these pictures of Dane on his 4 month bday!

More Pictures - when Dane was 2 months

2010-07-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Its A Hard Knock Life for Dane...

2010-07-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have stopped avoiding pictures of Dane crying because crying is what he does best. I got me a colicky baby. So here is Dane in all his glory. :) Luckily he is cute even when he's crying but I'm really hoping this phase is over SOON! And as i post this it sounds as if his 15 minute nap is up....

young love

2010-07-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Now Where Were We...?

2010-06-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well we just had a fabulous visit from my BF Heidi. She came in last Wednesday and left on Saturday and there was good times in between. But from the minute Heidi got in town Dane made sure that we all knew that we still needed to drop everything for him. Within a few minutes of walking in the door he had a major blowout with Heidi holding him. And as we changed him he did some more damage during the split second we had his diaper off to wipe down his back (more #2 and #1 as well). Welcome Heidi! :) We found ourselves saying, "Now where were we?" several times during her visit after one episode or another. But despite the episodes we had fun shopping for deals, trying her workout video, eating, and just hanging out with Dane. Heidi took some fun pictures of Dane including the one above. And as you can see from the pic i took of Heidi & Dane - Dane has become a big fan of Heidi!

Two Weeks Old!

2010-05-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

We took these pics on Sunday when he turned 2 weeks. Doesn't he look grown up!? Now he is 8 lbs 9 oz as of this morning! Everyone asks us who he looks like - what do you think?

My First Mother's Day!

2010-05-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

Our little Dane made his grand entrance on Mother's Day at 10:32 am. He was 7 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long and we were relieved he is healthy and well. I had been worried about knowing when "its time" but my water broke during the night about 2:30 am and it quickly became clear we needed to get to the hospital. I dialated to an 8 1/2 - 9 very quickly and that is when i got an epidural and i'm glad i did because after that things slowed significantly. it was another 5 hours until he was born. James was really curious about everything and asked a lot of questions and took some pictures that i promptly deleted when i saw. :) But we did get a few good pictures of Dane that first day. Since then we've been more overwhelmed and we need to start taking more pics again. He is absolutely adorable and the pics do not do him justice. But here are some pics from the hospital:

Hopefully this post is coherent because this week has been quite sleepless! We can't wait to introduce him to you all very soon!

Janssen Projects

2010-05-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

Below are a couple of pics that my sister Marnie requested. The first are our living room curtains i made a few months back. I'm working on some similar ones (more casual) for the nursery right now..

The second is a pic of the nursery. It doesn't look like much but i should have taken a before and after. We put in new carpet, painted the walls, removed old baseboards, painted and put up new baseboards. I sewed the crib quilt, crib skirt, crib sheet, and changing pad cover. Its just missing some personality/decorations on the walls! Ideas??

Baby Shower

2010-04-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

I thought about making this blog private before posting pics of the shower and only inviting a few select people to have access, but that seems like a lot of work. So my laziness takes precendence over my vanity. The long awaited photos of Large Marge....

A couple of my friends and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw the shower. The food was fabulous!

My friend made this hooter hider! So cute!

This friend just had her baby on tax day last week. I'm jealous!

This was over 3 weeks ago now and so you can imagine how i've grown. I get bigger every day! The ladies at work don't think i'll last til my due date. I love the comments about possibly twins or shock at the size of my belly. Those who lack tact really come out of the wood work right about now! Gotta just laugh!

Pics of Baby Boy Janssen

2010-02-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

These pics are exactly a month ago now - but i wanted to post them anyways. He is probably two pounds by now and in the pics the ultrasound lady said he was 1 lb 1 oz. So he has doubled since these! Maybe he just looks cute to me because he is ours!

We are heading out to Kansas City now for V-Day Weekend! Yeah! Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Team Blue~

2010-02-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

I am always behind in my posts (if i post at all :) )
We found out last month that we are having a BOY! The ultrasound experience was awesome! The 3D pictures are so real! I just wanted to squeeze the little guy! He was sleeping and wouldn't move much. Everything looked great which put me at ease. James is obviously ECSTATIC that its a boy. Our good friends are due to have a baby boy 10 days later so he'll already have a best friend.
I'm getting larger by the day but only 3 1/2 months til D-Day! Hopefully it flies by.

Negative Degree Weather, Travels, and a Turnip

2009-12-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

i'm not much for taking pictures but we got invited to a picture party last weekend and we got this picture... She did ALL cheesy poses - not really my style. I think both of us thought most of the pictures reminded us that we need to go on a diet...!

Nebraska weather has been CRAZY this week. This is DAY 3 that the school systems have been shut down from the downpour of snow and blizzard conditions. James' work was shut down for 1 1/2 days but of course - no break for state workers. I still was supposed to be at work!
I heard today that it is supposed to be negative 25 with the windchill factor (still in the negatives without the windchill). I cannot help but think my car is broken when i get in and the outside temp registers on the screen as being in the negatives. Gotta love Nebraska. Our neighbors remind my why this is even a good place to live. On Sunday after a big snow storm one neighbor was out snowblowing our driveway. Then on Tuesday after more snow, the across street neighbor was doing our drive again. Then yesterday, a 3rd neighbor was caught cleaning up more snow. Where else do you find that!??

We haven't gone anywhere exotic lately but in Nov we made a quick trip to AZ and then a trip to my parents in Hanford, CA and down to Los Angeles. Next weekend i head to Denver for a long weekend and then in Jan i am visiting my sisters in Boise. We haven't been able to see everyone we wanted but it was fun to see a few good friends. And James had never been to Hanford, CA and the Smith house. Adventures. For those who don't know about Hanford or the Smith house, there are stories. He is now finally gone thru the final initiation to being a son-in-law. My brother in laws will tell you it gives a little perspective on our family.
And on to the turnip - well, for those we haven't told (which is probably a lot of you). I am prego! And according to all of the blogs which compare the growing fetus to the size of a fruit or vegetable - the fetus is now the size of a turnip. Surely they could come up with a better fruit or vegetable than that... But thats the comparison. I am 17 weeks and i am at the stage where i am just starting to look fat rather than looking prego yet. My pants are all tight but they still mostly fit.
i know many women who LOVE being pregnant - i am not one of those.. I will never embrace getting fatter, my chest was already two sizes too large and now i've added another size on to that (and more to come i hear), the morning(afternoon & evening sickness) was almost unbearable, and i had a severe bout of backpain for a couple weeks that is apparently caused by a combination of the hormone relaxin affecting my pelvis/lower back and my stair climber workout. But i have to believe that the worst is over. :) I feel better than i have in a few months now. We are going to find out what we are having - kinda later than most people do - not til i'm 22 weeks along - so in about a month. James keeps asking what i think it is. What my "gut" thinks it is. I truly honestly have no idea. And i don't care much either way. The only thing pulling me towards a girl is they have cuter clothes to dress them in. James is praying for a boy. We'll keep you posted..

Florida Vacation!

2009-07-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

We went to Florida last week and had a BLAST! We flew in to Tampa to see family on James' side. They live right on the canals of Tampa bay. Literally. It reminded me of Naples in Long Beach area. It was beautiful. They had wave runners and a nice boat so we did some playing!

this is their backyard:

This is us at the Tampa Bay Rays game:

After a couple of days in Tampa we drove over to Jacksonville Beach on the Atlantic coast side where the same family we visited, have condo right on the beach. It was perfect! But i ran out of battery on my camera and failed to pack the charger so you'll have to take my word for it.

Pics of the House

2009-07-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pics of our house.. Hopefully as we update some things and make some changes we'll be able to post "after" pics. Let us know if you have any ideas for improvements. We love suggestions!

master bath:
master bedroom:

living room:

dining room:

family room:

A New House!

2009-05-09T21:23:00.001-07:00

This is the front of our house - its not super beautiful but the inside has lots of potential!

This is our backyard - it has a woodsy feel. Its kinda small but on the other side of this fence is a huge commons area with trees and lots of grass. And just down the path are tennis courts, basketball courts, and 2 playgrounds as part of our HOA.

We are set to close on our home on May 29th! We'll be first time homeowners! We are super excited! We had to do some compromising - my top priority was to be near a trail - there are a lot of trails here in Lincoln. And James wanted a bit of a fixer-upper. So it has both. Everyone is invited!! There is plenty of room!

The whole purchasing process has been an adventure. James is competitive and was upset to hear that my credit score was higher than his by 2 points! Its been eating at him.

I have also been working at my new job for a couple of weeks now. Its with the Sate of Nebraska as an Administrator over "Financial Responsibility." Basically I oversee some of the collections process for the Department of Health & Human Services. Its off to a slow start but its getting better.

We can't wait to have visitors so everyone has an open invite.

The Mustache Bash

2009-04-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

We got to attend a great birthday party of James' sisters' friends who we have gotten to know.. Everyone was required to sport a mustache of some sort. It was awesome! Handlebar, Charlie Chaplin, they were all there..... It was a great theme for a party. Here we are..very realistic, don't you think...?

Birthday Party in Oklahoma City

2009-03-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

We decided this was the furthest any of us had ever driven for a birthday party. We drove 7 hours each way to OK City this past weekend to attend a good friend of James' surprise 30th birthday party. There were 6 of us friends from Lincoln who made the trek. And even though we drove all day Sat, played there Sat afternoon/eve and drove back the very next morning - we had a great time! Here are some pics of the quick trip..
Here is the birthday boy in the middle and Harmon & Scott that we drove down with. Kevin was SO surprised!!

We got there a little early so we had some fun before the party. Here are 4 of the 6 of us....

These trees are all over the city. I loved em.

This is at the OK City Bombing Memorial. Really neat place. The chairs were for each victim of the terrorist tragedy.

The Wizard of Oz in Nebraska

2009-03-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a tornado watch which was then upgraded to a warning here in Lincoln. I had never heard the Tornado Sirens before but they were going off in the afternoon/evening. I kept trying to figure out where they come from. They would get louder and then quieter and then louder again. i kinda wanted to drive around and watch - i've never seen a tornado - i thought it might be like the wizard of OZ - and that didn't turn out too bad. But we stayed inside for most of it. The newspaper said that at least 3 tornadoes hit our county flipping vehicles and damaging homes. Looks like they were all just outside our city limits! Crazy. Its all fun and games until your vehicle gets flipped. But i have heard that the city of Lincoln is pretty protected because the geography is a basin so the tornadoes will skirt the city but never really hit here. Grr... other cities get all the fun.

Warning.... this is gross....

2009-03-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

This is what i do to James - I tell him that there are toxins, and we need to get them out. His rule is - "No Nails" But i've never gotten these kind of results....

Valentines and Radio Show DJs

2009-02-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

Friday morning i'm at home and i get a call from James:

James: Ah-chay, are you at home?
Me: Yes
James: Go downstairs and let some people in.
Me: Who?
James: Just go downstairs and let them in.
Me: I don't have any makeup on.
James: Just trust me.
So i go down in my fuzzy socks and crocs and see through the window four men - two of them in red tuxedos. I don't know that i had ever seen a red tuxedo before. My first thought - "is this a singing telegram??" But i let them in the apt complex and then notice the non-tux wearers had a microphone and the other a camera. They are from KLIN radio in Lincoln. They are holding a huge bouquet of red roses. They quickly explain to me that my husband submitted an entry of why i deserved an extra special Valentine's and we were one of four entries that were selected. His entry said something about us recently getting married and moving from AZ and that i had sacrificed a lot and hadn't found a job in Lincoln yet (and that i was bedridden and blind). They handed over the large bouquet, a smelly candle, a $100 giftcard to a spa, and a $40 gift certificate to a mexican restaurant!!! What a valentine's! Then the camera flash started going and the two DJs stepped in on either side of me.! Although this isn't how i would have wanted the whole encounter to go down, it was a great and unusual Valentine's Day.

He Passed!!

2009-02-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

(Pictures were removed at the request of James)

James has been studying for his Series Seven test for the past few months. It was the only thing between him and a license to be a broker - the whole reason we moved to Nebraska. After hearing his stories about his horrible study habits (or no study habits) in college and hearing that most people don't pass this test the first time, I have been really impressed at how dedicated he has been about studying and wanting to know the material, not just pass the test. Today was the big day. It only takes a 70 to pass. But everyone says that this is a test you must respect. Very tough. So James passed with a ..... (drumroll) 87!!!! Can you believe!??? I am so proud. We had a little celebration tonight. We went to dinner with his family and had everyone over for dessert. Way to go James! We all knew you could do it!

Where the Buffalo Roam....

2009-01-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

PLUS

Only in Nebraska do you meet people who have buffalo on their land and want to share their buffalo meat. A friend of mine here in Nebraska is from Hershey, Nebraska and her family has buffalo. I'm learning all sorts of things about buffalo. (Apparently if one is sick you have to take them all to the vet together - they will not be separated from the herd.) Anyways...she personally has a hard time with different types of meat so she really wanted to share the buffalo meat with me.. :) Free what? So we tried it. I wish i hadn't told James what was for dinner. I think he would have enjoyed it more... But it really wasn't too bad! And she gave us plenty for future dinners. You are all invited for buffalo burgers tonight!! Bon Apetit!

Christmas Vacation

2009-01-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun in Boise playing with family. One of the highlights was this sledding adventure! Now i want a sled for my birthday!

Too Much Free Time

2008-12-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

So since I haven't started working yet, i have started a few projects here and there. James had a special request that I sew him a hoodie. I have never been the best sewer but a hoodie isn't too hard.... So here is the final project being modeled by James. He first teased that he was only going to wear it when he changes his oil... But he has been wearing it all around town!

Brrrrrr......

2008-12-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know if i have ever in my life experienced weather below zero. Honestly. I'm trying to remember a time. But most of my life I lived in Arizona. And LA for a few years. UT was the coldest but even there i don't remember it below zero. It is -1 degree right now and with the windchill it says its -21 degrees. Right now in Arizona its 50. And with the windchill its still 50. And in LA its 53. And with a windchill its still 53.

This video is becoming all too familiar:

Husker Pride!

2008-12-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

James & I attended the last home game of the Huskers last week with his family. The Huskers played Colorado and although it should have been an easy win it did turn out to be an exciting game and the Huskers did win the game. Its been fun that we have been lucky enough to attend a few of the games this season. James' dad has 7 season tickets so we got lucky. The Huskers are rich with traditions. They always have a plane fly over after the star spangled banner (a couple of games ago it was a stealth bomber!) and they always let off red balloons after the first touchdown. And EVERYONE wears red. Its a sea of red. I've never seen anything like it. These Nebraskans know how to be supportive fans!

The Mile High City

2008-12-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

I had the greatest mini vacation to visit Sarah Z in Denver a couple of weeks ago. Besides the speeding ticket i got , the rest was a blast!!! Here are some pics:

We also saw the movie:
Sad but good.

More adventures

2008-11-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

Some family friends gave us this picture from Halloween out here. I was the only one from James' family to dress up but we had fun passing out candy to the all the kids.

Another adventure i had this week - since i haven't started work yet - i volunteered to help James' friend who has a paper route before he goes to his FT job as an architect. He knew that the day after the elections would be especially busy because the papers print late, etc... So i got to see a day in his life and help him out. I went to bed about 12:30 or 1 and woke up at 3am to meet him at the Newspaper distribution center. The papers were even later than we thought and didn't arrive until after 4. For the next few hours i wandered around some neighborhoods in Lincoln, passing out the Lincoln Journal Star, the Omaha paper, and the Wall Street Journal. In case you don't know - it is still dark at 3 in the morning. And at 4. And at 5. :) So a headlamp came in handy as i studied his map to determine which houses got papers and which didn't. Quite an adventure. I don't think i'll ever get my own paper route. (I have never been a morning person) but it definitely makes me want to tip my paperboy!

Settling in Nebraska

2008-10-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

We have been in Nebraska for two weeks now. I wanted to share a few interesting things i have noticed besides the beautifully changing leaf colors and freezing cold weather -

**Nebraska is just about as vanilla as Utah. To put it bluntly - I never see Mexicans and rarely see african-americans. Its a little weird...

**The mid grade gas is cheaper than the lowest grade gas here - ALWAYS. I'm told it is becuase the mid grade has ethanol which is made from corn and we are in the land of corn. :) Thus it is cheaper.

**I miss the option to recycle. Nebraska hasn't joined the recycle bandwagon and i cringe when i have to toss a bottle. I didn't realize how much i cared, until now. Maybe that is becuase we just visited Costa Rica - one of the most earth friendly nations in the world. Or maybe its because i now have a sister-in-law who is more pro-recycling than anyone i have ever met. Anyways, we have been separating it and drving to sites that have limited hours, but they definitely don't make it very easy.

**I am convinced that the Lincoln/Omaha area has more pumpkin patches per capita than any other area of America. But maybe i haven't visited enough of the mid-west...

**Lincoln/Omaha also seems to have more Nissan Muranos per capita. I love it!! That is what i own and i love my Murano. These are my kind of people!

Other than that Lincoln is a fabulous mid-sized town. We have seen a lot of it so far - besides racking up quite a credit card bill buying a sectional sofa, kitchen table and chairs, 46" TV, and washer and dryer, we have also:

biked around the trails of Lincoln
gone ice skating
did a session at the Winter Quarters Temple
visited the greatest Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, NE complete with a big bouncy pillow (trampoline thing)to jump on, and go-cart tracks with adult sized tricycles.
went to a Husker Vball game - the girls are ranked 2nd in the nation! They are incredible!
went to a Husker Football game. (there's nothing quite like it)
visited the Henry Dorley zoo (one of the top 3 zoos in the country)

**Special thanks to Lindsay for getting us directions when we call on a whim...

Honeymoon Recap - Pura Vida!!

2008-10-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

Well - we spent 6 days in Costa Rica and LOVED it. Many of my friends had already been there so it was helpful to talk to people beforehand. We were in San Jose the first night. Arenal the next. MonteVerde two nights. And then on the coast at Playa del Coco/ Ocotal. We enjoyed every area and we stayed in some really fun hotels! The food was fabulous. The people were great. It was rainy season so we got at least a little rain every day which made it interesting, but it didn't ruin too many plans.

We did a zip line in Monte Verde which was through a protected rainforest. So fun!

Our hotel in Arenal was right at the base of the active Volcano.
Our hotel on the beach at Playa del Ocotal
Its funny because James was quite hesitant to go to Costa Rica becuase his only foreign travel has been Mexico. Beforehand he said he would have rather gone to Hawaii... But during and after.. he has said that he is so glad we went to Costa Rica. He has been recommending to everyone and their dog..

Professional Wedding Pics

2008-10-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Our wedding photographer, Justine, was great! She just sent us a link to view the proofs on her website. Follow the instructions below if you want to see the pictures that she is sending us. She is sending a CD with the images and we can print them out wherever we want. So let me know if you want copies of any of the images. She got some great shots of family and friends!

Your wedding photos have been uploaded into your password protected gallery. To view your photos, go to www.justinemillerphotography.com and click "enter site" at bottom. Once you are in the site, enter the proofing page. In the bottom right corner you will see a space for your password. Type in; Heather ( case sensitive) Your gallery should load, although it may take a moment depending on your browser and computer.

Wedding Pics

2008-10-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well, We've been married going on two weeks now and i'm finally posting a few pics. We haven't gotten the pics back from our photographer except for a couple that she posted on her blog:
http://justinemillerphotography.com/Blog/
But other friends have shared some that they took. I loved that i had my favorite people all around us for a couple of days. It was so great to see everyone! Hope to catch up with everyone really soon as we settle in to Lincoln this week.

Wedding Details

2008-09-15T01:25:00.000-07:00

Well its less than two weeks til my single life comes to an end. The big stuff is all taken care of but the little details drag on..... Its like when you are moving. And you think you have most everything, but then the little stuff takes forever..... Our wedding is going to be super simple - nothing extravagant - no bridesmaids, no groomsmen, just us and our parents. But even still - there are lots of little details. So one of the minor details i have been thinking about - is what music to play at the reception. Just for background music - this is where i need everyone's input. I thought about it as i looked at my sister Lauren's blog and the song "True" by Ryan Cabrera was playing... I thought to myself, this would be a good song to add to the mix.. So - all those who have asked what they can do to help - please provide your fabulous ideas. I need your input!

The Cornhusker State

2008-09-10T01:42:00.000-07:00

So - as most of you know - just after getting married, James and I are moving to Lincoln, Nebraska. Change-overload!! It will be an adjustment but i think a really good move. For those who have never been to Lincoln, now you have a reason to go. James keeps saying - " I want us to have a really cool apt/house where people want to come visit/stay with us." So you are always welcome! Lincoln really is a great town - not too big, not too small. Lots of pride - but in a good way. They are all about Husker Sports. The downtown is so fun. And there are bike trails everywhere all over the city. And a few other interesting facts about Nebraska....

Nebraska has more miles of river than any other state.

The 911 system of emergency communications, now used nationwide, was developed and first used in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have been to a record 27 consecutive bowl games and 27 consecutive winning seasons (James' dad was on the team for at least 2 of those winning seasons!)

In Blue Hill, Nebraska, no female wearing a 'hat that would scare a timid person' can be seen eating onions in public.

The largest porch swing in the world is located in Hebron, Nebraska and it can sit 25 adults.

In 1950, Omaha became the home of the College World Series.

So there you have it....come visit for the College world series, or to bike along the many river trails, or sit with 24 other adults on the largest porch swing! Whats not to love!?

Babies!!!

2008-08-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday both my sister Holly and my best friend Heidi had their babies!!! Holly named her little boy Jensen Brian Rawlings and Heidi named her first little girl Audrey Leilani Sherman. Both are miracle babies in their own way - Heidi and Jason have tried to have kids for 10 years. They have done every kind of fertility treatment you can imagine! This baby will never wonder if it was wanted! And Holly has had complications with all of her pregnancies and lost her last baby. Jensen has given them several scares over the months but he is healthy and happy! Heidi is here in Arizona so we were able to go visit them at the hospital yesterday. Here are some pictures!

Violated

2008-07-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

Last week i had my car broken in to and my purse stolen! They busted the passenger side window and grabbed the purse from the floor. I was in the gym for abou 30 minutes and came out to find i had been violated!! The random part is that exactly the same time i found all of this, my phone stopped working without warning at all ( i had the phone with me). So i had trouble trying to make calls to get credit cards stopped, etc. Luckily we got all of that taken care of within an hour or so and we discovered that the new credit cards that James had given me (from his credit card accounts) with 'Heather Janssen' on them - had already been used by the criminals who did the deed. Those dirty dogs. Anyways, a word to the wise - be extra careful at the gym... I never thought about it much, but apparently i have heard since, that this a huge hot spot because people don't usually take everything in with them. On a positive note - my phone started working (randomly) again on Tuesday. So i went a week of being phoneless and moneyless relying on my generous sugar daddy but now i've got credit cards and debit cards back so i'm on a spending spree to celebrate!

Everything's bigger in Texas

2008-07-27T23:24:00.000-07:00

We spent the last three days in Texas - San Antonio area. James' grandma lives in San Antonio and his uncle lives in the area as well. We spent time with their family friends in Boerne and Fredricksburg but we also visited Luchenback, TX and Bandera, TX. We saw the San Antonio temple, spent time at the famous Riverwalk and also the Alamo. It was great to get a small taste of Texas living. The people are so great!!

Lots o News

2008-07-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a month now and a lot has happened!!! Almost 3 weeks ago i got engaged!! I have discovered that i am not the type to shout it on the mountain tops...its taken me this long to update my blog. We were in Nebraska this past weekend for James' ten year HS reunion. Good times! Kind of randomly, his sister's best friend went out with us to take a few pictures to see if there was any we could use for our engagement photos. In between photo shoots she took some of us playing around.... Kinda fun. We are getting married Sept 27th in the Mesa Temple!

Zorbing in New Zealand

2008-06-25T23:59:00.000-07:00

So one of the highlights of my South Pacific Trip was Zorbing in New Zealand. You may have seen it in a Toyota commercial. There are only a couple of places in the world you can do it. Its like you are in a big hamster wheel... Check out my pictures:

So Stinkin' FUN!!!!

Finally over the jet lag...

2008-06-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the real world and missing my vacation days. I'm still getting around to posting more pictures. But in the meantime, one of the guys from the trip put together a best of the best photo assortment. You can see them at the following website:

http://www.stecks.net/southpacific

Check em out!

Bula! from Fiji

2008-06-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

We are on our way home tonight and Fiji has been incredible! We went scuba diving two different days and saw lots of sharks and a sea snake and incredible soft coral and fish. Lots of nemos (clown fish). Four of us went sea kayaking and our kayak got water logged out at sea. It was an adventure. We were trying to swim it back in and drag the kayaks but we were going about 10 meters an hour and someone on shore spotted us and sent out the boat! Stupid tourists!
We saw some Fijian dancers last night who were really good and there was some great firedancing as well.
Yesterday we went up to a real fijian village in the rainforests - just six of us. Not touristy. But the chief met with us and his son showed us around there land. We hiked up to a cave and some incredible waterfalls that we swam in. And they cooked us a traditional lunch - taro leaves with coconut milk, fried eggplant, fish, sausage, boiled tapioca and lemon juice. It was pretty good.
I don't have any pictures to post because i lost my camera in Sydney. Not sure where...I'm trying not to think about it. :) But everyone else has taken tons so i'll have lots to show!
Hope to talk to everyone very soon!

Aussie Style

2008-05-31T05:15:00.001-07:00

Today was day two in Australia! This place is even better than New Zealand!! We did a petting zoo today with all of the Australian animals. I pet a koala bear, fed tons of kangaroos, pet wombats, and saw a tasmianian devil, croc, flying foxes, penguins, and tons of other stuff. I thought of Miriam Oh who really likes furry animals like Koala bears and soft kangaroos. The gray ones were the softest Miriam. You would like. Tomorrow we are going to go to church, do the bridgewalk, and go to the sydney operahouse for a show. I'll keep you posted....

Greetings from Auckland

2008-05-28T18:18:00.001-07:00

we have been here in New Zealand for four days now and it feels like we have done it all!! Waterfalls, Scuba Diving at Poor Knights Island, Glo Worm Caves, New Zealand Temple, Maori Village, Zorbing (you need to look this one up), Shopping, the Luge, and eating eating eating. I haven't taken enough pictures but there are 11 others taking pictures of everything we see so i know i'll get some good ones. I'll post again soon...

The Season of the BBQ

2008-05-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I attended 3 BBQs PLUS a dinner at my cousin Marsha's with BBQ meat. All were very yummy. At my work BBQ someone brought kettle corn and my co-worker said she had a recipe that was great and easy. So James and I tried making some last night. The first batch was no bueno. But we figured it out the second batch and found this recipe online that was slightly different but helped us get a better result.
Try it out. Its addicting!!!

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/appetizer-side-dish-recipes/sweet-and-salty-kettle-corn/article.html

Bit more on Spain...

2008-05-13T14:41:00.001-07:00

Half the time we did public transport and half the time we rented this little number... It met our needs and got us all over southern Spain. But we HATED driving in Madrid. I don't recommend.

Not much to say about this one...

The Rock of Gibraltar. So cool. Down at the SOuthern tip of Spain is Gibraltar - a UK territory. So all of a sudden we could read the signs and speak English again!! We took a cable car to the top and you can see Africa from there!

We also saw these guys at the top. Miriam was dying to pet them. But we restrained her. Sarah and i forgot about the warnings posted everywhere and we started snacking on some chocolate. One almost pounced me!

MORROCCO

We learned to make tanjin chicken at a cooking class in Morrocco! Hands down the best meal that we had on our whole trip!

Morrocco was just how i imagined it... But everyone there makes you pay them if you want to take their picture. Especially this snake charmer.

Spain revisited....

2008-05-12T15:17:00.001-07:00

I went to Spain end of Feb/beg of March and several people wanted to see pictures. That was the main reason i started a blog....hmmmm... so, even though these are a couple of months old now, i wanted to share the amazing things i saw/did in Spain and Morrocco...
This picture is Toledo, Spain. Beautiful!!

We did a bike tour in Barcelona. We saw all the major sites of the city with our guide from South Africa!

There was a marathon going on in Barcelona - fun to watch but we chose to eat sweets we discovered at a great little chocolate shop!

The national favorite in Spain is HAM. Ham everything - from ham flavored potato chips to fried ham rolls. Here we are in Madrid eating one of many ham sandwiches.

This is how we spent a lot of our time....

This reminded us of Christmas...but it is buildings by the famous architect Gaudi...world famous who lived in Spain.

One of my favorite towns was Sevilla. Not too big. Not too small... And Beautiful with tons of history..

Sevilla is the home of Flamenco dancing.

Next Adventure.....

2008-04-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

I just booked my next adventure. On May 23rd i will dust off my travel journal and tell a new story... Guess where...?

Just your average Joe...

2008-04-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

People often think i am giving a fake name when i tell them my name is Heather Smith. All too common! My last ward had another Heather Smith. And my company recently hired another Heather Smith. You get the picture..... Here are some stats to back up my complaint to my parents:

There are 512,074 people in the U.S. with the first name Heather.
Statistically the 104th most popular first name.

There are 3,057,250 people in the U.S. with the last name Smith.
Statistically the 1st most popular last name.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
5,151
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

I challenge you to try and beat that!

Just Do It!

2008-04-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

I spent my Saturday morning running the hills of Agora Hills, CA. 13.1 miles to be exact. Here is Moh and I post-race looking like sweaty beast women but we are still smiling! I knew it would be 13.1 miles. I did not know however, that it was mostly trail running on mtn biking trails! Which means lots of hills, some sand to run through, a couple of streams to cross, and narrow pathways that make it hard to pass people. We got off to a late start because we were in a line that reached to eternity to use the restroom before starting. The best part of a race is the after party with all of the food! It was Dole sponsored so they fed us well!