About Me: Six of my "Quirks"

Ok, so Holly Archuleta (Jordan's FABULOUS cousin) tagged me...I'm "IT" she said. I always thought I was an "IT" girl, but it IS nice to hear it from someone other than myself and maybe my Mom. :)

And the rules are:1. List six quirks, habits, or unknown things about yourself.2.Tag three other people3. Let those three people know on their blog that they have been tagged. And that's all as far as I know!

1. I don't like Swedish Fish OR Red Vines. I know, it's a crime becuase the whole WORLD seems to like them, but what can I say...they're GROSS! They taste like extra-chewy melted candle wax! Twizzlers ANY DAY, even the black ones. Although, I'd rather do gummy bears, cinnamon bears or anything chocolate instead.

2. Ok, I have to admit this unknown, possibly detrimental-to-my-eternal-salvation fact: I don't really like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They're just a little too....old...for me. I'd way rather listen to EFY on Sunday. I also don't like a LOT of hymns in our hymnbook, like "In Our Lovely Deseret," "Count your Blessings," and "Scatter Sunshine..." yuck. I like some other ones though, I'm not THAT much of a heathen!

3. Here goes...I have to admit that I LOVE reality TV. Shows I watch include: Project Runway, Amazing Race, .....the....Bachelor (just the last few seasons, promise...and I mostly just watch it to make fun of the girls falling all over themselves!!), ...America's Next Top Model (I know, I'm waaay to old to be watching that, but I love it..., and well, of course, American Idol. I know, they're all very silly. But I can't help it!! I'm a silly girl I guess!! (at least I don't watch "The Hills"..hehe)

4. Ok, this is embarrassing and gross, but I KNOW I'm not alone in this!! I love getting my husband's zits (well, my own too, but it's fun to do his). Sometimes, in a moment of "niceness" he will allow me to get one or two...usually though, in exchange for a nice long back massage... My aunt actually PAYS her kids like $20 for each blackhead she can get...I can TOTALLY relate...it's bad. An addiction, I must say.

5. If I were to do school over again, I would have majored in Interior Design, and not worried about how competitive the program was at BYU. Instead, I majored in advertising, and it's good, but I think the grass is greener in Interior Design. I totally love decorating, so now I just help my friends decorate their houses (since I'm pretty much done with mine! But I wish I had more expertise, that's for sure!! Oh, and I also have this dream to have like 5 or six different houses, condos, lofts or whatever...because I can't seem to decide on a STYLE I like. I really like ultra modern, but it wouldn't work for my home now, I like Tuscan, Spanish, Contemporary, Traditional, but I want to do them ALL, so I have to have a few different houses to do them in...maybe I should just be a designer...

6. Ok, now it's time for the big fear: Past fear: Before I was married my biggest fear was to marry someone who would come out of the closet after three kids or be addicted to pornography. Now that I AM married to the most wonderful man in the world, I don't worry TOO much about that! Well, I guess I don't have any quirky fears, to be honest...but here's a Present dumb fear: I really worry about teaching Gospel Doctrine..that my class will get BORED. I try to make it not boring. I don't want to be perceived as the "boring" teacher... you know? I want people to feel like "oh good, Janessa's teaching today!" And people other than my husband or best friend, hahaah... I'm boring, I know.

That's me in a nutshell! I'm sure there are many other weird quirks I could bore you with, but as you know, I don't like to bore people, so I'll end...HERE. :)

Fofa (mom) comes to town!

So, Fofa came to town to help Heather with her new baby, Lauren. It was fun to see her (well, she'll be here for like 2 more weeks, so I will see her some more soon) and see Heather and Jay and the baby again. Friday night, Jordan and I went up to Heather's to hang out with them. We had some great lasagna, made by "The Jay" and played Dominoes and Speed Scrabble with them. Heather of course, won Speed Scrabble all night, but Jay won Dominoes later... Fofa actually got SO riled up she said a few CHOICE WORDS to Jordan!! It was crazy. But fun.

By the way, just so you know, Fofa looks like a supermodel now. She's totally skinny. ALL because she decided to just eat 1/2 of what she usually eats!! That's called smarts...and self-control. Nice job, Mainha! And here in the picture I posted, she looks so young and cute!! Anyway, that's all for today... hasta luego!

Heather's New Baby: Lauren Grace Barnum

So, it finally happened! Although it was a bit of a scary start to Lauren's life! Heather was life-flighted to the hospital, because she had "placenta previa" and started bleeding last Sunday! Miraculously, she only started bleeding when Jay got home from church, and the emergency medical guy that he his, he knew exactly what to do...and then the helicopter came.

Everything is okay though, and Lauren is SOOOOOOOO cute!! I guess it helps to have good genes...you know, Gollaher genes :) Hehhe..although Jay has a very cute sister, so I guess he helped a little too :) AND, she was delivered cesarean so her cute little head was perfectly shaped (unlike Jordan's...he was a little cone-shaped... and his mom said, and I quote: "he was the ugliest baby I had ever seen!" Boy how times have changed, right honey? He's so cute now :) SO, I guess if I have an ugly baby is won't mean necessarily that he or she is ugly for LIFE. I can find comfort in that...

Kristin and Stephen visited Lauren at the same time. That's how we got THESE cute pictures too! So next up will be me for SURE. I'm really baby hungry right now, honestly. But Jordan

won't discuss baby names or ANYTHING with me right now until I'm "8 months pregnant...." yeah RIGHT!! He's in for a big surprise, that's for sure! Well, that's it! I'm going to see Fofa this week, as she comes to help Heather with the baby! So fun... Oh, and just so you know, Jay is a total baby-hog (Heather says so!) He won't let her out of his sight!! It's so funny :) He is very cute with her too. And to think he wanted a BOY. Crazy.

The Loves on my Life Come to Town!

Jordan does get a little jealous when Sydney and Gavin come to town. They do kinda consume my attention; let's be honest here. During their stay in Salt Lake, Jordan and I had so much fun visiting them at "Grandma and Grandpa who Check for Bats'" condo! Sydney and Gavin and I had so much fun in the pool--it was the best. They are just so cute. One funny thing Gavin likes to do is call people "doo doo head" and Sydney now likes to talk in a southern accent! It was so unpredictable and hilarious! Where does that come from? She's only 4!

While Michelle & Andrew were here, Jordan and I played extensive, competitive games of "The Dice Game." It's Jordan's new favorite! It was really fun. Jordan and I also had fun putting Sydney & Gavin to bed. It was especially funny one night when I put Sydney to bed, and all of hte sudden, she said, "Did you know that Grandma & Grandpa "who check for bats" have THREE houses?" And I said, "really?" And she said, "Yes." She said, "They have the CABINET, (it was too cute to correct her on this one!!) this house, and the.....house they live in!" I said, "where is the house they live in? Hawaii?" And she said "No." Haha... I finally convinced her that Fofa and Painho still live in Hawaii, yes. :) Then, in her Southern drawl, she asked me to blow dry the bed because she was cold, saying it like this: "Nu Nu, will you get the blow DRIIIIR, and blow DRII the bayed?" It was so funny, I was dying... :)

That night was their last night, and it was sooooo sad to see them go. I actually almost shed a few tears...I know, I'm turning into the "manteiga derretida" that Fofa is!! (melted butter--and expression in Brazil that is equivalent to a "boob--cry baby") But then, guess what... the next day, while they were driving home, Andrew called, and Sydney had been "bawling" because she was sad to leave "Nu Nu and Mon" (that's Jordan and me, btw.). I talked to her, and it was so sad!! They keep telling us we need to move there...if only....

Holiday Party...in February, actually!

On February 7th we had a work party at the Larry H. Miller movie theater complex by my house, called "The District." We had a really nice buffet lunch and afterward we had games and prize drawings. I have to say that I wasn't on the "fastest" team ever :) But it was still fun! The main lowlight although, was the fact that about 1/3 of the people there won prizes!! Including big screen TVs and gift cards, and I got NOTHING! I am so unlucky... OH WELL.

It was still fun... Here (above) I am with my work friends, Judd, Camilla, and Chris, with me. And to the right, are my friends, Wendy and Michael. They just got engaged, so that is really exciting! All in all it was the best Holiday party we have had at my company, actually.

Some New Things for 2008

HAIR
Well, as you can see from the picture...I cut my bangs. AND everyone thinks I dyed it black--well, I didn't...it's "brown level 4." But yes, it's a little dark. Don't worry, Painho, I'll go much lighter next time--for summer! And though I'm still getting used to having bangs, it is a nice change! I can't have the same haircut my whole life, I guess! But, although you can't see it here, since it was up, I only cut off about 2 inches of length (don't worry, Nater)! So yeah--here I am with my bestest friend, Kika. She likes to do the "Kissie Face," and that one actually turned out the best of us, so I posted it!


DINNER WITH KIKA AND TREVOR
We had Kika and her hubby, Trevor, over for dinner tonight. It was their first time having dinner with us in our new house. It was really fun! I made something really salty for my little brasileira :) And Kika brought "Pudim" or as the Mexicanos call it, "Flan." It was really good. I totally cheated on my diet (sorry Lenore!) But, hey, I can cheat maybe once a week right?

I'm trying to lose 15 lbs. because I've gained 10 lbs. since being married (the STRESS Jordan puts on me, you know?? :)) and I figured, "what the heck, I'll lose that, and then lose 5 more!" So that's what I'm doing. I'm down 3 so far, and It's been 3 weeks...I know, pathetic. But hey, when you don't have that much to lose, I mean, they say the last 10 lbs is the hardest! I also need to be more regular at the gym, of course. But my husband is VERY impressed, because I've never had enough willpower to stick to any...dietary regimens so I'm proving him wrong! AND if...wait, WHEN I reach my goal, he is going to do the ULTIMATE wonderful thing!!! CLEAN his OFFICE!! YAY!! I don't really get mad at him over it anymore--you know, I've realized my words just fall on deaf ears, and it definitely doesn't help our marriage! So, I just close the door and forget that the office is there...ahhhh... My parents cursed me with cleanliness...


NEW CALLING FOR ME!
So, another thing that is new is my calling! I was called (well, in December) to my Dad's dream calling. He is jealous, since he has NEVER had the PLEASURE of fulfilling this particular calling. I'm a new Gospel Doctrine teacher in my ward! Most people are extremely scared of this, but I love it. It has been so fun--well, I've only done two lessons--but it already has been great. Now, I get to teach, but I don't have to go to MUTUAL every Tuesday! :) And even when I'm not teaching, I go to that great website, www.ldsgospeldoctrine.net and read Brad Constantine's verse-by-verse lesson material. Well, basically, when you click on his lesson guide, a pdf file comes up with the entire reading, interspersed, verse-by-verse, with quotes from general authorities, BofM teachings, Hugh Nibley stuff, etc. It's great. You should all go there and read it every week :) I've learned TONS of interesting stuff!!

So that's all for today. Life is good. Work is good. I'm supposed to get promoted soon. I'll keep you posted!! BYE :)

Christmas & the New Year!

Ok, so I'm finally getting to this... Christmas was great. Jordan and I stayed here in Utah, and had Christmas Eve over at Shaunie & Bart's house (ok, so it was just me--Jordan had to work) and then later that night, (or should I say morning! It was past midnight) we went over to my in-laws' house, Dan and Lenore. It was really fun. Although, I don't really have pictures. I've been waiting to get them from my mother-in-law. But here's a picture of Jordan with our tree in the background...he's so cheesy :)

This year, Jordan's big gift to me was Celine Dion tickets for her concert at the Energy Solutions Arena this November! YES, I have to wait until November of THIS year to see her, but hey it is WORTH THE WAIT. We saw her in Vegas when we were dating (my 25th birthday present!) and it was amazing. Don't think she looks that great in this photo-looks like a lot of fake big hair to me... hmm... BUT she's amazing, and I'm excited!!

Another fun thing we did during Christmas was make caramel apples to give to the neighbors! I must say, we were pros...well, I learned how to make them in Las Vegas with Michelle (we helped her friend make caramel apples for her husband's clients) and Jordan is just a natural :) He dipped the apples in caramel, then after they cooled in white chocolate, and I sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar and crushed pecans. YUMM! Everyone loved them! Here is a picture. Aren't they cute!? And now we have the stuff to do them next year too--well, if we have the energy! They are pretty time consuming!

Well, that's about all I need to say about Christmas and New Years festivities! It was great to be with family and friends!