Stirring the hornet's nest

I know I am probably taking my life in my hands but I have some questions I am hoping someone can provide me insight on.

1. Why do people who have never been to BYU or lived in Provo hate BYU? ( not just in a sports rivalry setting)

2. Why do these same people view it as a virtue to hate BYU?

I just had someone make comments the other day about the fact that people who want to go to BYU aren't listening to the prophet when he said go to state schools and participate in the institute programs, and they are just being "good mormon lemmings". These types of comments are usually followed by some sort of caveat about liking and knowing people who went to BYU but they just don't like the institution. That always feels to me like when a teenager will say something insulting and then follow it with "Just Kidding". Okay, I am stepping off the soapbox now, I am truly just trying to understand this phenomenon, any insight is appreciated.

New Addition to the Family

I would like to introduce you all to the newest addition to the Hansen household.

We finally have a filing cabinet, the three filing cabinets are no more. The file folders are full, and even alphabetized. I feel like such a grown up.

Gorgeous former roommate and her handsome husband

My former roommate Monica (The beautiful and amazing marathon runner) married Tim (the ultra cool real estate agent) on Monday, and had a reception at her parents home in Santaquin the next evening. The weather was a tad difficult, it insisted on sprinkling most of the time. Monica, still managed to look radiant and beautiful. Here dress was so classy and flattering, kind of like Monica herself.

I can't even express how happy I am for them. Monica and I were roommates about 10 years ago after I graduated from BYU. We had a great time playing softball, flag football, and watching movies that Monica usually slept through. I am so glad that a great guy like Tim (he actually runs the marathons with her) finally realized how amazing this woman is.

The other perk of the reception was that I got to chat with Erica while we drove to Santaquin. Brad couldn't come with me because of work. We had fun shopping for a present at Target, and just generally being chatty girls. On the "It's a Small World" front, we sat at the same table with a cousin of a family that Erica grew up with in Washington. It was a fun event, if you want to see a better picture of Monica in her gorgeous gown go to www.jbroadbentphoto.blogspot.com this is the same photographer who did my wedding pictures, she is amazing, as well as being Monica's sister-in-law.

Little Miracles Everywhere

Our neighbors have beautiful rose bushes around their porch and along the fence. The side yard entrance to our apartment walks right past the fence line. Some of the roses have pushed through the fence so these are the little bits of beauty I get to see everyday.

It has been fun to watch the rose work it's way through the fence, bud and blossom. I love how there is beauty in the most mundane places. I think sometimes it is put there just to brighten our day.

It has been about 3 weeks and my garden is still alive in fact everything I planted has actually sprouted. I had to actually weed the other day, It has been nice for the past couple of weeks because it has been raining a lot so I haven't had to worry about my garden drying out. Behond the garden beauty.

Behold the plethora of radishes I will have to eat as the summer progresses. I probably need to thin them out but they just look so healthy I can't bear to get rid of any of them yet.
If everything goes will I should have fresh red potatoes to eat in September, I am hopeful that my first attempt at gardening will actually result in something edible. Here's to the potential for fresh vegetables.

First Anniversary

A year ago June 5th Brad and I were married in the Logan Temple. I do have to say as great as that day was, the past year has been even better. I have to say that marrying Brad was the best decision I have ever made. We weren't able to celebrate on the actual day because of work schedules so Brad was sweet and brought me flowers at work. When he got home from work that night we exchanged gifts.

Aren't these the happiest brightest flowers you have ever seen, yellow alstromeria, and bright happy colored gerber daisies. It was a really nice surprise at the end of a long work week.

Not romantic, I know but whenever we go to picnics or bbq's with only one camp chair, Brad is always the gentleman and lets me have the chair. I decided that wasn't terribly practical or fair. Whenever we are shopping somewhere and I see a campchair he says "don't buy it we don't need it". So I decided to go over his head and buy him one anyway. So we are officially a two camp chair family.

I have recently developed an addiction to the foodnetwork show "Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives" so when Brad noticed this cookbook he decided it was the perfect gift. So I will be having fun trying out recipes from great local resturants from around the country.

We thawed out the top layer of our wedding cake. Brad thought our anniversary deserved a candle and song to make it an official first anniversary. My sister deserves props because even a year later, and after being frozen, the cake was still delicious.

Here's to many more wonderful years to come.

I have a garden!!!!

My landlord finally moved his jet skis so I was able to put my garden in. These are the before pictures.

The pictures below are the after pictures. It is amazing what a few hours of sweat, some blisters, and a lot of mud on your shoes can accomplish. I have a little pot of herbs outside my backdoor so I can get to them easily for cooking. I am so excited to try gardening, I am hoping that I will actually have something to show for my efforts, I will keep you all updated on my progress.

I have little tomato plants, they are protected by stakes so that if it gets cold I can put plastic over them. There are also some bell peppers, a couple of cantelope and cucumber starts. I even found an unopened box of miracle grow in our storage room, so I can make an even better effort to make my garden a success.

My Sewing Machine Works again!

My sewing machine has been having issues for the past couple of months making it difficult to do any fun projects. I had it serviced last week, and voila! it works like a dream now. A week ago at enrichment we learned how to make reusable shopping bags. I didn't have the supplies at the time but it ended up working out great because I stumbled on a sale that provided the fabric for three large bags for about $5. Below are pictures of two of the bags, I am rather happy with them. I am already figuring out ways to put pockets through the middle to change it from just a big open bag to something more like a tote bag, diaper bag, etc. So if you are interested in having a custom made bag let me know.