Christmas!

It has been a never ending party since we arrived to SNOW in Las Vegas. It’s ironic that it hasn’t snowed like this in Las Vegas in my life time, until I moved to one of the coldest places in the US!

My mom hosted our extended family Christmas Party this year. Her house is so festive you can’t help but feel the Christmas spirit. Katee and I were in charge of the tables, they turned out fabulous if I do say so myself!

Brandon and my dad grilled up an amazing meal, and we had a fire pit with a “s’mores bar”.

We had an early Christmas dinner and did presents with Chris and Kara and our nieces Taylor and Lauren since they were going out of town.

My dad took us to Lawry’s for Christmas Eve. The decorations, Christmas carolers and food were fabulous.

At least half of Brandon’s gifts had to do with Michigan State…

And we have stayed up all night playing Wii and Rock Band every night since Christmas….

I Need to Focus

We’re leaving in a few days to go for home for Christmas for 3 whole weeks! This means I need to scrub my house (I refuse to come home to a messy house when we go on vacation), do all of our laundry, pack for three weeks, and get caught up on my work all why Brandon is taking his finals. So what do I do last night? Something listed above you would think. No, I made a Christmas card I had absolutely no intention of sending to anyone. Luckily for me, my time wasn’t completely wasted; I have this handy blog to post it on!

Merry Christmas!

(click-to-enlarge)

It's a Small World

Last Friday in the men’s shoe department at Nordstrom in the Fashion Show Mall, a guy named Michael was helping my dad try on overpriced Italian leather loafers. I asked him if he had any shoes for MI, because when we were at the Silver Bells parade Brandon said the only part of him that was cold were his feet. He asked me where we lived in MI, and when I told him Lansing he said, are you a Brian Hoyer hater?

What!? How does random Michael with a purple pocket square at Nordstrom in Las Vegas know I wrote a letter to Brain Hoyer politely suggesting he find another career path?

So he explains that he had some customers a few weeks back from Lansing that hated Hoyer, and apparently it’s pretty common. Random Michael went to High School with Hoyer AND played football with him. He said he’d be sure to tell Hoyer he met another hater next time he talked to him. I told him to please wish him well in his future endeavors; he is a 5th year senior after all. What a small world!

Well Hoyer, lucky for you, you have one last chance to impress us all. Michigan State is going to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, FL on New Years Day! Good luck guys!

Thanksgiving and Other Good Stuff

We are so grateful for my parent’s generosity so that we could come home for Thanksgiving! My sister came home from BYU as well and it was crazy and busy and loud with all 7 of us at my parent’s house, just how I like it. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Focusing on gratitude and food...what's not to love? We spent the day with Brandon’s side of the family in Mesquite and for some reason I only took one picture, it was raining so my hair is weird and flat, and basically it's not getting posted.

In other exciting news, no one will ever guess who we saw while shopping at The District last week. Drum roll please…Stephanie Pratt! She had the same blank stare on her face that she has 90% of the time. If you don’t know who Stephanie Pratt is, you seriously need to devote some time to watching one of MTV’s finest, and one of my favorite “reality” shows, The Hills. I’m also eagerly anticipating the arrival of another fine MTV creation, The City starring one of my favorite Hills gals Whitney Port. Following The City we have the pleasure of watching Brody Jenner in his new series Bromance. Yay!

This week we spent most of our time decorating for Christmas. I love decorating and I couldn’t take all of my Christmas stuff to MI so I’ve been living vicariously though my mom’s decorations. My little sis Kenzie and I have done the “fancy tree” for past few years and we did it again this year. It’s hilarious because we’re both completely indecisive and 5 feet tall. We ask each other where we should hang things, move them around a bunch and almost die standing on the very top of the ladder and on the edge of the window sill. Here’s the final result…

On Sunday we had our “all girl” McPherson Family Christmas party with all of my aunts and cousins on my mom’s side of the family. This year it was in St. George at my Granddaddy’s house. Every one brought an appetizer and dessert. We do a gift exchange and eat and chat, so fun!

This is getting long, but I discovered a few great things I have to share. Starbucks has a delicious new beverage, Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate. This sweet and salty combination brings together rich, indulgent Signature Hot Chocolate and the flavors of buttery caramel and smoked sea salt. It is topped with whipped cream, a swirl of caramel and a sprinkle of our sea salt topping - a combination of artisan sea salt and Turbinado sugar from Hawaii. (Don’t worry; I didn’t write that description myself, I stole it from the website.)

And last but certainly not least, my new favorite product is The Present by Philosophy. It’s a clear makeup skin perfector for day and night. Look like you have perfect skin, even if you don't. You should try it, great stuff.

A Shout Out to Blogging Moms...

My sister is getting her masters at BYU and is part of a team researching young mothers and blogging behavior. I think it's fascinating how blogs affect people, their self esteem and how they view others vs. themselves. So, I need your help! The email she sent me along with the link is below. I'll try to post her findings once the study is complete.

This survey is part of a study being conducted by Brigham Young University. We are studying young mothers and blogging behavior. This study has been approved be the university. All you have to do is click on this link: https://byu.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_9yi8C8VkcG7rgNu&SVID=Prod take the survey and at the end, enter your email address if you would like to be entered in a drawing for one of five $100 Target gift cards just in time for Christmas shopping. We appreciate your participation and support of our research.

Thanks,
Communications Research Team

While I Was Out...

I’m finally back in Lansing after my “business trip” to Las Vegas.

While I was gone it snowed for the first time this winter! I can’t really say I’m sad I missed it. Sunday and almost every day since then I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing it first-hand. This is the view from our window…

I missed our last home game which I was super sad about. I feel like the games have given us something to look forward to and have helped keep us sane during this first semester. MSU played Purdue, and won! I watched it with my dad and couldn’t help but notice it looked absolutely freezing. It was the last time the seniors we have grown to know and love would play in Spartan stadium. Ringer went out with a bang scoring two touchdowns and had 121 yards on 32 carries to lead Michigan State, final score 21-7.

It's only been 3 months since we moved from Las Vegas but I definitely noticed that the mountains didn’t blend into the background quite as much, I can actually appreciate the desert as more than a wasteland, and no one should EVER take for granted roads without pot holes. If you live in Lansing you know what I’m talking about!

When I wasn’t working I got to hang out with mom and sisters, and I got to go to all my favorite restaurants…Pei Wei, Chevy’s, Carrabba’s, and Port-of-Subs (thanks Dad!). It was so good to see my in-laws and my cute nieces. Since I was mostly there for work, I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to so I’m glad I’m going back on Saturday for Thanksgiving and that Brandon gets to come with me this time!

Mister Sister

If your all burned out on tags, feel free to skip this one (but my title will never make sense unless you keep reading).

I’ve been “husband” tagged, which is super appropriate since I haven’t seen my husband in forever! (Well, 10 days really.) When we were first married he had to travel a lot for work but made sure he was never gone longer than 10 days. When I scheduled my work trip for 14 days he made sure to remind me of that.

What is your husband's name? Brandon

How long have you guys been married? 5 1/2 years

How long did you date? We dated for about 6 months and we were engaged for about 6 months (with a break-up in the middle)

How old is he? 27

Who is taller? He definitely is

Who can sing the best? He can, he was even in choir for a year in high school (feel free to make fun)

Who is smarter? He’s really book smart and generally knows something about everything, I love it when I know something he doesn’t (it rarely happens)

Who pays the bills? Me, but he helps

Who does the laundry? I usually do it since I’m home during the day, but he occasionally throws a load in, I do all of the folding and hanging

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does

Who mows the lawn? If we had one it would be him, it's not up for discussion, our house in Las Vegas is desert landscaping

Who cooks dinner? Brandon has a few signature dishes, but that’s usually me too

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? I’m never wrong, so…

Who kissed who first? Depends on who you ask, since I’m being asked, he kissed me

Does he have any nicknames? Oh yes, I call him everything but his name- one of my favorites is Mister Sister, I also enjoy Yo B- as in, what's up Yo B?
(Now he calls me the counterpart to Mister Sister, Misses Brother)

Who wears the pants? What does that even mean? I like to think that we both contribute to making our life together productive and happy

A few pics I enjoy...

Miss ya!!

Oh My Heck!

I’m such a blog slacker. So, where to begin…. We’ve been super busy because as mentioned below, I had to get ready to leave for 2 whole weeks for work. Brandon and I decided to go on a date on Friday night before I left. We went to The Somerset Mall in Troy MI to get winter coats.

It felt like home. Big buildings, great landscaping, busy streets, nice stores. Loved it. We went to The Northface and we’ll be super warm this winter.

On Saturday it was GAME DAY. We started doing this really dorky thing before the first game of the season, Brandon or I will yell… WHAT DAY IS IT? And the other one answers GAME DAY! We do it all day, and think we’re awesome.

So we went, and it was intense. Wisconsin came in with literally nothing to lose and played some rough, dirty football. Can you say pass interference like 20 times? However, Michigan State being the incredibly talented, fight to the end, team that they are, sealed the win in the last few seconds of the game. Swenson (our amazing kicker) kicked a career-long 50-yarder with 5:16 to play to cut the deficit to 24-22. So we’re 2 points away, holy cow. What happens? Swenson kicks a 44 yarder with only seven seconds left, we win 25-24 and he wins Big 10 special teams player of the week for the third time. Well deserved.

I took tons of pictures; it was my last home game- I’ll be in Las Vegas this Saturday for the Purdue game and the last game of the season is away at Penn State. Hopefully they can win without me.

The Tailgate

Our favorite football friends, the Helegsens

Cohen

The band played Thriller, they did the dance everything, so sweet

The team after the big win

On Sunday morning we woke up super early and Brandon took me to the Lansing airport. Tangent- the Lansing airport is small, really small. When we moved to Lansing I flew into the Lansing airport and it was one of the things that made me cry. I thought I was a city girl, but I’m adjusting nicely. Since I've been home I realized I miss the humidity, the girls in my ward, and Brandon of course.

Joy

It was a HARD week, seriously! Work was overwhelming, school was busy, we’re talking multiple nights at the library past midnight, and nothing compares to the heartache we are feeling for our friends that suffered a devastating loss. So we’re supposed to find joy in the journey which can sometimes be a daunting task. One day last week I was so upset (about all of the above) and I called Brandon and left him a VM. He wasn’t supposed to be home for hours, but he came home early, burst though the door and said he was home to “rescue me”. A few other things that have brought me joy this week:

More great, strolling up and down every isle, grocery store finds!

Marzetti's has a new Cream Cheese Fruit Dip in individual 100 Calorie containers. Makes a great snack with a sliced up apple!

Welches has new 10 Calorie individual bottles of juice, super good when I’ve had one too many Diet Cokes!

(Neither of these pictures are what I was looking for, but they'll do.)

MSU was victorious over Michigan in the big house, the first time since 1990. Hoyer was 17-of-29 for 282 yards and a season-high three touchdowns. I think my letter motivated him. Thanks to Ken for hosting (and for feeding us). A little trivia for you MSU fans, we currently hold all 4 rivalry trophies, until the Penn State game of course!

They are once again ranked number 22 in the nation. Go Green!

And last but certainly not least, business is booming so my dad called and said he is flying me home so I can be at the office to get everything situated with our new accounts. I though it was going to be Thanksgiving before I got to go home, so I’m thrilled and I can’t wait to see my family, eat Port of Subs, and I know Brandon is secretly excited to be able to stay late at school without feeling guilty.

I Hate Recycling

I prefer to not be a Debbie Downer and keep my posts positive...however…I was once a naive Nevadan that would look at the side of my aluminum can or plastic bottle and think, wow, if you live in MI you can get 10 cents for all your cans or bottles, that would be cool (especially considering the number of cans my mom, sisters and I would go through).

I imagined a clean recycling center with a friendly staff that would take your cans, count them out and hand you a wad of cash at the end. This is SO not the case.

The first few times I shopped here I didn’t even notice the extra $1.20 that was tacked on to the end of my receipt for each 12 pack. What a sad day when I realized you actually pay an extra 10 cents, and only if you choose to collect sticky old cans that cannot be crushed, stand in line in the back room of a grocery store with all the homeless people trying to make a buck, and feed your cans individually into a machine do you get your money back.

So we had a brilliant idea…while we’re home for the summer we’ll collect all of our cans from our family and we’ll drive back to MI with tons of cans that we didn’t pay the deposit on and actually make some money. I have a thing about needing a picture for my posts, so I was googling, and found this…

Suspects Arraigned In Pop Can Smuggling Ring

DETROIT -- Authorities said they arrested 10 people and seized more than $500,000 in cash after breaking up a smuggling ring that collected millions of beverage containers in other states and cashed them in for 10 cents apiece in Michigan. The 10 people were arraigned on charges ranging from false pretense, a possible 5-year felony to running a criminal enterprise, a possible 20-year sentence. The scheme defrauded the Michigan Bottle Deposit Fund, whose proceeds are used to pay for environmental cleanup efforts.

What!?! There goes that idea.

CT, MA, ME, NY, VT, HI, IA, and OR have the same situation, only its 5 cents. I would have to think long and hard before I moved to one of these states!

Dear Brian Hoyer,

I’m glad you’re a 5th year senior, because you’re not a very good quarterback, and clearly we need a new one. Seriously, 37 yards!?! Do you know why you got put back in the game in the 4th quarter? I certainly don’t. Please give Kirk Cousins my best. Although he threw an interception and fumbled, he is a freshman and threw for 161 yards with a TD (the only touchdown). I’ll allow you to redeem yourself at Michigan next week.

Best,
Mandy

It was a sad day, but coach Dantonio said it best, "Five turnovers? That's a loss. Missed tackles? That's a loss, but we're a 6-2 football team. We have to move on."

I'm in L-O-V-E

with these diaper bags! So stylish!

When we decide to have a baby Brandon should buy me one as a "thanks for carrying my child" present, don't ya think?

I've Been Tagged (Holy Cow, Again)

The rules of the tag are as follows:

1. Link the person who tagged you. (Thanks Em!)
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let the person know you tagged them on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when you've posted.

Random fact #1- I love to buy new cleaning products and try them out. If I see a commercial for something, you can bet that next time I’m at Target I’m going to pick it up. Most recently I purchased new Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel Discs. So far, I’m thrilled with my purchase. Here is part of my current collection:

Random fact #2- I don’t like buying clothes on sale. Usually the sale items are in the back of the store, a huge mess and you have to search for your size. Usually I feel like I’m just buying the thing because it’s on sale, not because I love it. I should probably get over this since my husband is quickly accumulating law school loans. However, this does not apply to mark downs. For example, there was a sweater at GAP I loved. I didn’t buy it right away and next time I went in it was hanging in the exact same place with a sticker over the original price that was $15.00 cheaper.

Random fact #3- Whenever Brandon and I are talking about our future children I use the words, she and her, because I know we’ll have girl. I’m so convinced, when me and my sisters picked baby clothes our Grandma knitted for our future children, I subconsciously only picked out girl stuff. On top of that, there’s the Christensen Family Curse. Brandon’s Grandpa Christensen has 6 daughters, and all of Brandon’s male cousins (that were born into the family, not married in) have had girls: Nate- 2 girls, Justin- 2 girls, Chris- 2 girls, Ryan- 1 girl, Trenton- 1 girl, and Devon- 1 girl. Count ‘em, 9 girls.

Random fact #4- Brandon and I started dating when I was still in high school! (He loves it when I tell this). We both went to Green Valley when he was a senior and I was a freshman. We actually didn’t meet until after his mission when I was doing independent study my senior year and attending the University Ward. My good friend April that I cheered with at Green Valley introduced us at the University Ward FHE. He was even at my High School graduation.

Random fact #5- I’m a huge fan of small food. Appetizers. Tapas, mini desserts- love them! There’s an excellent Tapas restaurant in Las Vegas, if you’re a fan as well you should check it out. I don’t love comfort food- meat loaf, chicken pot pie, stew, you get the idea.

Random fact #6- This stint in MI is the longest I have ever gone without seeing my family. That includes when I was at school in Provo. When we finally get to go home right before Thanksgiving it will have been 108 days! There is definitely more here to distract me than I thought there would be which has made it easier, but going so long without seeing them has been harder than I thought it would be.

I tag Holly and Katee and 4 others that are dying to participate.

A Few Thoughts for Your Friday

I don’t think people should wear scarves with short sleeves. What, your neck is cold but your arms aren't? Doubt it.

McDonald’s Monopoly is back! Quick story… McDonald’s has the BEST Diet Coke. One day a few years ago I went through the drive-thru and got one and it had Monopoly pieces on it. I went back to my office and decided to play the online game. I rolled the dice, landed on free parking and won a brand new 20GB IPod Classic. I know, so exciting. I have yet to repeat my winnings, but every year I get a few Diet Cokes, play the online game and try to win.

Lately I’ve been a crafty lady (that’s was I call creative people). I’m attempting to make my own version of the Pottery Barn message center. It requires assistance from my missing husband, so it may take longer than I’d like to complete. This is what I’ve done so far… a photo of the final product will hopefully be posted in the near future.

The other day when Brandon and I were grocery shopping we saw these crazy looking aluminum bottles. Come to find out, “Pepsi began U.S. distribution of aluminum bottles of Mountain Dew with a series of 12 limited-run designs created by young artists and personalities called Mountain Dew Green Label.” If you like Mountain Dew it can serve a dual purpose as art, how

convenient.

I'm It

Since I don’t have anything original to offer, I thought I would participate in the blogging world’s version of the chain e-mail, “tag”. Kara (my sis-in-law) tagged me twice, since I like her, I'll participate...

8 Favorite TV Shows...
1. So You Think You Can Dance
2. American Idol
3. One Tree Hill
4. Grey’s Anatomy
5. Gilmore Girls (It’s only reruns, but I never get tired of it)
6. The Office
7. The Hills
8. Project Runway, Top Design, Top Chef, Real Housewives (insert ANYTHING on Bravo here)

8 Favorite Restaurants...
1. Carrabba’s
2. PF Changs (or its cheaper counter part, Pei Wei)
3. Port of Subs (I miss you!)
4. Café Rio
5. Chevy’s
6. Mitchell’s Fish Market
7. Elephant Bar
8. Cosi

8 things that happened yesterday (Monday)...
1. I was so sick (with a cold)
2. I drove Brandon to School
3. I made fish tacos (I thought were mediocre, but Brandon liked them)
4. I worked…a lot
5. The Hills was on and Spencer was as psycho as ever
6. I did laundry
7. I picked Brandon up
8. Brandon and I got groceries (don’t be jealous of my exciting life)

8 things to look forward to...
1. Seeing my family!!
2. Selling my house
3. The Hogge’s Halloween party
4. Going home for Thanksgiving
5. Christmas
6. Colton coming home from his mission
7. A Vacation
8. Brandon making it through his first semester

8 things I love about Fall...
1. Fall candles
2. Football
3. Leaves changing
4. Apple cider
5. Halloween
6. The smell in the air
7. Thanksgiving
8. Pumpkin desserts

8 things on my wishlist...
1. To see my family
2. Have a baby (one day)
3. That Brandon will succeed in law school
4. Pay off our student loans (one day)
5. To go to Chicago again
6. To sell my house
7. That Brandon will get a great internship this summer
8. Overpriced Coach snow boots (I wish my sister could have them too!)

How To Play This Game of Tag:
1. Post these rules on your blog
2. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself
3. Tag 3 people at the end of your post by leaving their names

3 Joys:
1. My husband
2. My family
3. Fridays (Brandon gets done early, I don’t cook dinner, we go do something fun)

3 Fears:
1. The economy right now
2. Brandon not being able to pass the bar or get job
3. A member of my family dying

3 Goals:
1. To cook dinner at least 5 nights a week
2. Figure out how to live on less
3. To live in the moment

3 Current Obsessions:
1. Blogging, reading blogs, peer pressuring people to start blogs
2. Cooking, baking, my new Kitchen Aid mixer
3. Winter clothes

3 Random Facts:
1. I make up weird names for people...Brandon is Mister Sister, McKenzie is Mac-a-doodle-doo, Katee is Sissy Pants or Seester (you get the picture)
2. I will only use Big Sexy Hair hairspray and have a year supply
3. Every time I walk into a public library or Barnes and Noble I have to pee…without fail

I Now Tag 3 people:
1. Holly Wallace
2. Jamie Helgesen
3. Anyone else who feels inclined to play…

Homecoming 2008

On Friday night the main street through East Lansing was shut shown for the homecoming parade. I love parades, school spirit and living in a small town (temporarily). We love Las vegas, but you can't do things like this in a big city...

Of course the cheerleaders were my favorite and I have to give a shout out to the Young Republicans and the GOP bus.

Saturday at the homecoming game the Spartans were victorious yet again! We defeated Iowa 16-13 after the defense made a key fourth down stop in the fourth quarter.

Michigan State in now ranked number 23 in the nation...GO STATE!