Mud

Tonight I was talking to my family via skype and Tegan kept poking her head in the picture. Ben said, "Hi Tegan," then in typical Ben fashion, "Tegan, why are you so beautiful?" She said, "Mud. I eat it. I eat mud." I have no idea where that came from, but I just started laughing. Then I remembered I have this beautiful picture that proves it.

It's actually chocolate, so don't be alarmed, and the other picture is becaue I felt bad, even though I did ask permission for the first one. So, if you are feeling ugly, try using the new miracle drug that's actually been around forever: mud.

The First Snow

Yesterday was the first real snow that Utah has had. There were flurries coming down all day and it stuck for a little bit, then melted. We all had fun being in it, but I think Tegan and I had the best experience. As we were walking home from work, 10-15 Asian men walk out of the conference center. They were pretty excited to see the snow and started to take pictures in it. They set one camera on the trash can to take a timed picture, but I asked them if they'd like me to take the picture. One of them said, "Ya, ya, ya" and handed me his camera. He said, "You, take pic-tcha (picture), and you," he grabbed Tegan's arm "come join us." So they put Tegan front and center, (she told me afterward someone grabbed her waist so she may look a little wide-eyed) and I took the picture. Then, the same man said, "Just a moh-ment, just a moh-ment," as he walked over to me, handed the camera to Tegan and said, "Now, you take pic-tcha, and you" he grabbed my arm, "come join us." So I was in their picture also. But that wasn't enough. They had to have both of us. So we stood in the middle of all of these funny asian men, while one of them took the pic-tcha. I loved it! It was a great way to start the day and as we were walking home, Tegan told me that she heard one of them say, "Proof, we are een Ah-mer-ee-ca" (Proof we are in America). And I thought, "Yep, and I'm so glad you are."

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

December in Utah. It's a new experience for me (somewhat) and so far it's not too bad. No snow yet, thank goodness, but I will also be grateful when it comes. Since I live on the third floor, there is a huge balcony that will be a perfect playground when it does snow . But for now, we're trying to be wintry and festive as much as we can inside of the apartment. As soon as I got home from Thanksgiving Break, I started decorating. One of our friends that lives in the adjacent building saw me, and called to challenge me to a who-can-decorate-the-best-window competition. We're not quite done yet, but I think we're winning. :) And we will win in the end.