31 Day No TV Challenge

After much deliberation and trying to reason my way out of not doing this (because I'm going to be honest, I love Seinfeld) I have decided to pursue a month without television. It's very convenient because tomorrow is a new month, so it's perfect! This is a personal goal, so I am not forcing Nicholas' participation; this is something I want to do for myself. Starting tomorrow through March 31st, I will not do the following things:

• Turn on the T.V. Period.

• Play our N64. Occasionally I play when I'm bored.

• Play any online games, including ones on Facebook.

• Watch movies unless it's for a date with Nick.

• Be in the front room when Nick is watching T.V.

There are many reasons to do this, but one is that it is something I can lay aside in my life to grow closer to my Heavenly Father. He has great plans for me, and none of them include wasting my precious time in front of a television set. I have made a goal "to relish life as [I] live it" and that is best done outside the realms of the world of television and pointless Internet meanderings.

Another thing I often think about is a talk I listened to about Mothers Who Know. Here is a portion I think about a lot (emphasis added):

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods...These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all.

Another talk I enjoy is Good, Better, Best, which is a fantastic talk on time management. This is a small quote that helped me make this decision:

We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives...Consider how we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it.

I encourage you to find something in your life that does not deserve the attention you give to it. May I just say that the opportunity to make my life better tomorrow than it was today is just one of the many blessings of the Atonement of Christ. I am so grateful for the hope I have in the future and the faith I have to know that, with Jesus Christ, I can accomplish difficult things.

I am so excited to see what I accomplish by the end of the month and will be updating everyone on all my new adventures!

#1: Smash a cake into my husband's face.

This past Thursday I continued living from my list and participated in a time-honored and cherished event in our marriage: smashing cake into Nicholas' face. Like many great things it was completely spontaneous and messy, so I didn't have my camera at the ready to capture it. So, instead, I am posting pictures of some past cake smashings and will tell you a bit about each of them. Sorry, most of these pictures were developed then scanned are not super high quality, but they do the job!

This is the inaugural smashing on Nicholas' 22nd birthday. We barely knew each other, but I just had a hankering to hit someone with food! If you really embraced your feelings, you'd admit you feel the same way occasionally.

One thing you should know about Nick is that he does not take these cake smashings lying down. No way! He retaliates! After the surprise of the first smashing wore off, he got me back by bombing me with flour.

Well, I couldn't just let that happen. So at the ward Halloween party, while Nick was coming around on the Cake Walk (he should have seen that coming), I nailed him with a cake my roommates and I had just won! Oh, sweet revenge!

This one is at Nick's Appreciation Day, a little tradition our Family Home Evening Group designed to have a good excuse to party. And with parties comes cake. And with cake comes, well... 

Much to my original dismay, my roommates convinced me to invite Nicholas to Preference. If you were me, how would you do it? I decided to bake a cake, cut it in half, layer it for optimal smashing effect, write "Preference?" on the top, and then of course give Nick no time to read it as it hurled towards his face when he opened the door. Awesome!

Note how the cake is all up in his ear. That's how you can recognize a quality smashing.

He responded with an ambush cake answering "YES." To be explained later...

This was at my Appreciation Day. I think at this point we were technically dating. For this one, Nick was very sneaky and hid an EXTRA CAKE under the counter so I wouldn't see it coming. Even though he initiated this fight, it looks like to me he got the worst of it! I love winning.

Moving forward about 8 months, we dated, got engaged, and were making wedding preparations. One way to be sure you are marrying the right man is for Valentine's Day he gives you a bunch of things that remind him of you. Of course, that would include cake.

 
He re-enacted his response to my "Preference?" cake, and allowed me to smash half of it into his face without retaliation, fighting, or anything. What a man I married! I look like such a retard in this picture.

I don't know what TLC was thinking, but The Ultimate Cake-Off happened on April 28, 2006. The culmination of every dirty shirt and inhaled chocolate before it. No explanation needed, just enjoy!

That last picture is of Nick consuming THE ONLY PIECE of our wedding cake that actually went into his mouth!

Everything I Need to Know About Life I Learned from Calvin and Hobbes

Another reason I love my husband is because while he is daily a mild-mannered physicist, he also begins each day with a little literature. Some politics, current events, and definitely some college football updates. Among this seemingly predictable list is something no one saw coming, not even me when I first found out about his possibly unhealthy habit. Every morning, my sweet husband, reads his daily Calvin and Hobbes. He reads because "it provides deep and meaningful insight into the human condition" (yes, that is a direct quote). He imagines joining Spaceman Spiff on his extra-terrestrial adventures and contemplates the joys of raising such a boy with such an active immagination.
Here are a couple strips that Nicholas found particularly applicable to his daily encounters.

(I think when Nick decided to pursue physicism that he imagined that's what it would be like.)

 

(Nicholas said that "different types of Gusto require different apparel," so he doesn't always need a helmet and cape.)

This is one that I thought really spoke to my values and capabilities:

We also love The Far Side, Doug, and The Emperor's New Groove as additional inspirational media sources.

He makes me laugh EVERYDAY!

#13: Make a completely new meal.

Tonight I began living off my list and made a completely new meal full of foods I have never tried to make before. I suppose that's not entirely true...we had white grape juice which I have made previous to tonight, however, everything else was brand new to my repotoire.

 Tonight's Menu
Side: Italian cut green beans with oil and Italian seasonings
Pasta: Linguine (never tried this type of noodle)
Main Course: Chicken Cacciatore (oh yeah, that's Italian)
Dessert: No-Bake/Whatever Cookies

I will be the first to admit that I am no chef, but all of this was rip roarin' delicious!! Quite seriously, through some cooking miracle, it WORKED! The sauce was delicately seasoned to perfection, the cookies were a perfect combination of chocolatey and coconuty goodness, and even the beans had something special to them tonight!

I really did pat myself on the back during dinner tonight...gotta relish my little victories!

Happiness is...falling head over heels into LOVE.

My friend Rebecca posted this poem and I thought it was perfectly descriptive of how I feel about Nicholas. Perhaps even how we feel about each other.

LOVE

By Roy Croft

(emphasis added by Rachel)

I love you,
Not for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can't help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.

14 Reasons I Love Nicholas James

Five years ago this month I was rejecting Nicholas' proposal to start dating. Now, it is fun to see how far we've come. In no particular order, here are 14 reasons Nicholas has my heart for eternity:

1. He cried at the end of The Notebook and
asked me never to get Alzheimer’s.

2. After I bear my testimony my hands are always freezing
and he holds them until they are warm again. 

3. He watches Stargate on Hulu so as to not infect the whole house with his nerdiness.
It’s funny when he laughs while watching it.

4. During the 15 minutes between getting home form church
and my needing to leave for choir practice he rushes
to make me a grilled cheese sandwich.

5. Whenever we go to a friends’ house, right before we knock on the door I ask him to put on his best face and
this is the smile he gives: 

6. At Twin Lakes when I was embarrassed to wakeboard
in front of experienced wakeboarders, Nick went first to offset any
awkwardness as he does not wakeboard well either.

7. He quotes movies with me. “Hansel is SO hot right now.”
“Fran-cis-co.” “Is this hand-shucked?” "I do not think that means
what you think it means." "Help, help, I'm being repressed!"

 

8. When I ask him how much he loves me he stretches out
his arms as wide as he can and then moves his fingers
in and out to indicate “more than this.”

9. On snowy days when the car is iced over he’ll go outside
and scrape the windshield because he knows I hate being cold
and the sound of ice always gives me chills.

10. He still keeps the contract-card in his wallet I gave him
(before I knew we would be sealed for eternity) that says
he can take pictures of me whenever he wants.

11. This is Harold the Cricket, Sir Gallahad the Fly, and Paco the Bird.
We name little creatures that find us.

12. On the Christmases when we can’t be in Oregon with family
he always puts a pen in my stocking because he knows
that’s what my dad would do if we were there.

13. He finds things like this funny (I’m lost):

14. Every morning when I’ve realized that, once again, I hoarded a lot of the covers on my side of the bed that night, he says it’s okay because the covers he had were enough and he was glad I was warm.

There are so many other reasons to list, truly.
Daily I am surprised that I could possibly love him more than I did the day previous. He is the Otter to my Pop, the Foot to my Ball, the Teddy to my Bear. I strive to be better everyday to live up to what he already believes I am. We have always been comfortable just talking from our very first date, neither of us trying to impress the other. After 5 years of being together we are so close, truly each others' best friends. Nothing is as good without Nick as it could be with him. Our love feels like going home; it’s so comfortable. I have the highest respect for him and wish I did not have to wait another minute to see him as a father. 

For these reasons, and a billion more, Nicholas is my Valentine today and everyday forever!

Happiness is...a chance for a miracle!!

It's official, we are completely done with adoption paperwork and after our 10 month certification journey we are:

APPROVED FOR ADOPTION!!!

Anyone can look at our profile now, but remember, it could still be quite sometime before anything else happens. You can be rest assured though that when something does happen we will post it here post haste! This is just another type of waiting, a rather great type in fact!

Wendy is the angel that started getting things going for us! She really did save us from having to wait longer than necessary. We are so grateful for her! This is her and us just after signing everything:

We are SO THRILLED to have made it this far and look forward to all the exciting new adventures ahead!

The Man Behind the Boat

One thing I enjoy doing is making videos. They're usually nothing fancy, but I do have fun with them. This is one I made of Nick's brother, Chris, as he is a wicked awesome kneeboarder, something I aspire to become!

Happiness is...freshly fallen snow

I took these a couple months ago when it was snowing like mad. I got up before the hustle and bustle of life ruined the serenity of the snow. It's snowing again today, so I thought it this post was especially appropriate.

 

I have to admit that being raised in Oregon I have a slight aversion to snow. Generally, I would prefer it was raining. However, I also must admit, that snowfall can be very peaceful and beautiful.

Happiness is...feeling the peace of the Spirit!

This is how I feel right now:

This is how I felt after I decided to marry Nicholas and after we decided to try having children and after we decided to pursue adoption. Only this time the decision was to NOT do something.

There is a lot that went into this decision, but ultimately here it is: this summer Nicholas is probably going to France for two weeks for work, and I am not going with him.

You maybe wondering "why is she so excited to NOT go to France?" Well, simply put, it's what is best for our family and our future plans. I can feel courageous and full of faith and hope for the promised blessings of living within our means, getting out of school debt as soon as possible, and preparing for our future family.

This is what I read this morning that solidified my decision from February's Visiting Teaching message: “To pay our debts now and to avoid future debt require us to exercise faith in the Savior—not just to do better but to be better. It takes great faith to utter those simple words, ‘We can’t afford it.’ It takes faith to trust that life will be better as we sacrifice our wants in order to meet our own and others’ needs.” I can absolutely live very happily with this decision!

I am so blessed by the Gospel in my life! It helps work through life's difficult decisions, and gives me hope for the future. Having hope and peace brings such joy, even if France must wait!!

If you want details I'll share, but save your breath in trying to talk me out of this! I know this is right, with every energized part of my being! It looks as though I am going to need to make a special Two Week To Do List while my husband is away...

Famous for My Face?

We all hope to be known for something someday. In today's world being known for something means coming up in Google search results. One day I would like to be known for my research and/or my teaching, but today it turns out I am known primarily for my face. Don't believe it?
That's right. The most famous thing about me is my face. In fact, the #1 image result for "Nicholas Nelson" is this image.So if I leave no other imprint on this planet, at least the world seems to like my face.

Happiness is...Singing!

Now, I don't claim to be the best singer, in fact my friend Crystal is a much better singer than I, but it makes me so happy! I also love this song, and the message is pretty much how I feel all the time. My life is so blessed, how could I not be happy, and that usually comes out in a song! How can I keep from singing?

Pass-A-Long

We just got the initial preview for our Pass-A-Long cards which we ordered from Spaces For Faces, and this is what they will look like:

(Back)

(Front)

So, what do you think? They're not off to print yet, so we can still make some changes per your critiques and suggestions. Let us know ASAP!

I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite!

I saw this and just HAD to post it! What a wonderful reminder that I have everything in the world to smile about! It's a little long, but absolutely worth watching!

Happiness is...concquering your fears

On January 19, 2009 the Nelson family celebrated the beloved Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by sending out traditional cards in behalf of the event. We sent out a message that said:

'Cuz Your Not Hardcore...Unless You Live Hardcore

Our Hardcore-ness came from snow skiing in -28 degree weather. It was SO INCREDIBLY COLD!

Skiing used to scare me to no end! Let's just say I saw this movie where a girl was paralyzed and her boyfriend left her and the whole event was just tragic! Well, I am no longer horrified of skiing, just appropriately anxious. I hope we get to go again soon so I can continue beating my fears into submission!