Frau Bluher!

Hallo! I'm lying in a hotel room in Berlin writing this and eating a Ritter Sport. Why? Because the city sleeps between 6 PM and 10 AM (it's 6:45 PM here now). The stores and museums all close and the streets empty and become silent. I thought Germans were hardcore partiers -- where do they go?!

We've been here for two days now and absolutely love how quiet and relaxing the city is. It's a much-needed break after a week in London! Speaking of, here is how we spent the remainder of our time in London and our two days here:

On Thursday we explored St. Paul's Cathedral and climbed to the top of the dome. Unfortunately, the little old bird woman wasn't there to sell us food to feed the birds for toupence a bag. :( I might have pouted a little; I don't remember. We then ventured to Abbey Road and took a couple of awesome shots there, took a nap, and checked out the National Gallery for a few minutes before we saw Richard III starring -- wait for it -- Martin Freeman. It got mediocre reviews, but we thought it was a lot of fun and that they'd done a great job modernizing it. 

Crossing Abbey Road

On Friday we walked through Hyde Park, watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (would not recommend!), and explored the British Museum before nap time. After a nap, we headed to the West End to see Wicked, which was fantastic! I insisted on buying cupcakes afterwards. It was my birthday; I couldn't not eat cake!

Changing of the Guard

On Saturday we wandered until we found the Millennium Bridge and The Globe, which we didn't have time to cross or explore, but it they were still fun to see. We met a high school buddy of Joe's in Hyde Park and his girlfriend and chatted until it was time to head to the airport. Airporting and reaching our hotel in Berlin pretty much took up the rest of the day. It was so weird when we arrived -- it was 10:30 PM on Saturday night, and yet the streets were empty and quiet.  I've loved that here! But I have to say, Berlin wasn't so quiet for a while after we found out that Joe passed the Bar that night!

Joe and Greg

On Sunday we walked to the Brandenburg Gate and went through the holocaust memorial for the Jews murdered in Europe. It was really sad. I mean, you know it's sad, but then you hear individual stories and experiences and realize that every one of the victims had a story just as tragic... It puts the whole thing into perspective like nothing else ever has. We walked over to Checkpoint Charlie and read about the division of Berlin. Then we went to a DDR museum to see what life was like in East Berlin in the time of the wall. That was a ton of reading and site-seeing for one day, so we went back to the hotel after a delicious doner and crashed. Well, I crashed, anyway. Joe did some more tourist research. :)

Pieces of the Wall at Checkpoint Charlie

Today, Monday, we woke up early because we had a 9:00 reservation to tour the Reichstag. The dome was so cool! The roof of the building is transparent so that everyone can see what the German government is up to from now on. The top of the dome had a great view of the whole city. We took a train to Sachsenhausen (a concentration camp in Berlin that held mostly criminals; most Jewish criminals were transferred to Auschwitz pretty quickly). What a sad tour! It's heart-breaking to go to the actual location and hear stories of what happened in certain areas. Sachsenhausen was by far not one of the deadliest concentration camps yet, all by itself, it was horribly deadly and tragic. On the way back from Sachsenhausen we stopped to see a small remaining section of the Berlin Wall, which was pretty cool. It's very tall but surprisingly thin considering its purpose!

Inside the Reichstag Dome

When it gets a little darker tonight, we're going to check out Brandenburg Gate all lit up. Tomorrow we are off to Rome. We're a bit worried about thieves and pickpockets there... So we wish us luck!

Guten abend!

Update: It's 9:13 PM and we just got back from Brandenburg Gate. The city is NUTS on Monday night. I don't know what everyone's doing tonight, but it is not FHE.

Marriage Lessons Learned from Funerals

On Thursday, October 10th, my husband and I took the day off work to drive to Iona, Idaho and attend the funeral of my last grandmother, Barbara Elliott ("Toady Gramma"), who died on Friday, October 4th. She'd suffered from severe Alzheimer's for years. She also suffered from hearing loss, which made her as amusing (though in a sad way) as her funny, lively personality made her when she was more "with it." For instance, here are some Grandma quotes from my Aunt Helen's funeral last December, which she hollered instead of whispering to my grandpa:

(Repeatedly to my sister-in-law, as if it were her doing) "This is a good party! These are beautiful flowers."

(As a large man walked into the viewing room) "Boy! He ate his mush!" Cue Grandpa's smacking her in the face with his program. ;)

(As an African American woman with long dreadlocks walked into the viewing room) "Johnny, look at the hair on that darky!" I still contend that old people are allowed to be racist because they don't know any better. So rather than cringe as you would with a middle-aged or younger person, you have to chuckle a bit-- except in this case, where, I assure you, the woman heard.

Anyway, some great things were said at her funeral. How she was incredibly service-oriented, adored her children and grandchildren, and how she had an unmatched sense of humor and love of throwing parties and dressing people up. In the end, there were far more laughs than tears at her funeral. I think that's a mark of a truly special, unique person.

I finally started crying when my dad talked about Grandpa's reaction to Grandma's death. He was a lost puppy, and understandably so! They had been married for 72 years, eight months, and had dated for three years. He was miserable and didn't know what to do with himself. Fortunately for him, however, and unfortunately for us, he only had to suffer his loss for 19 days. He, John Elliott, died on Wednesday, October 23rd. His funeral was yesterday.

The last conversation I had with Grandpa was at the luncheon after Grandma's funeral. As I said good-bye to him (I knew it was my actual good-bye for life, though I treated it more to him as a "see you later"), he said "Jaynee, I hear you got married recently. I was married for 72 years!" He is a quiet man, so I couldn't hear exactly what he said next, but I caught the word "happy." He either said "I was very happy," "I hope you are as happy," or gave me advice, such as "You have to work at it to be happy." All three messages were received and taken to heart at his funeral yesterday.

His entire life was caring for my grandma. He built her a house, and, apart from about 2 years, beginning a year into their marriage, when he fought in WWII, he never left her side nor the tiny town of Iona where both were raised and married. Grandpa was a quiet and simple man while my grandmother had what he called "go-itis," constantly needing to go out and do things. He took her wherever she needed, even in the last few years as her mind suffered but her body did not, and his body suffered but his mind did not. He fought to keep up with her and care for her.

These deaths were very sad for us -- Iona, Idaho was a big part of our childhood, as were our Grandma and Grandpa Elliott. Now all three are gone until we go. They left us with very important lessons about marriage, though. At my grandpa's funeral in particular, the emphasis was on their life together (they didn't really have lives outside of each other. 72 years!). In my dad's talk, the phrase, said by my uncle to my dad the day Grandpa died, was repeated: "It's a love story." Some lessons I learned from my grandparents are these:

It doesn't matter how different you and your spouse are, as long as you are both willing to serve each other and work hard at it.

Love is perfect when you love and serve constantly.

It's okay to laugh at yourself -- please do!

Pet names can go a long way (my grandpa called my grandma "Bobby," and she called him "Shawn." we never figured out the Shawn thing).

Do what you are passionate about. Support your spouse in pursuing his/her passions. 

BE HAPPY. 

On a final note, here's a song a coworker on my team sent to the rest of us. He said it was very touching, and he was not wrong: 

I listened to this all week, and it shows really well the feelings I have about my grandparents. :)

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

I know everyone has been overloaded with gratitude posts on Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, etc., this week, but if you're apt to complain about it, let me point something out to you: long, gushing, Oscar-style "I'd like to thank my..." posts are a heckuva lot better than the ranting/venting/life-is-terrible posts that you're overloaded with the other 364 days of the year. Eat that for breakfast!

Speaking of breakfast, I'm starting my gratitude post there. There are many things that I'm thankful for this week. Right now, I'm grateful for the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that I had for breakfast - that it sat so invitingly in the fridge, that I could eat and enjoy the holy shiz out of that dessert. I mean breakfast.

I'm so thankful for my amazing fiance who understands and never criticizes me, even when what I do is irrational or selfish; in fact, selfishness is almost encouraged? Honestly, the man's perfect! I'm thankful for the support we've received from family and friends. Actually, in a way I'm also grateful to any who questioned us along the way - for causing me to reconfirm that I am making the right decision. I have zero doubts that I am!

I'm grateful for my supportive, understanding family that takes care of me, is genuinely concerned, and is so willing to offer and deliver help at the drop of a hat. It's inexpressible the gratitude I feel for Buster and Emelie for providing me with a cheap (and free for most of my stay, until I put up a big enough fight to pay rent) place to live, and for the love and support that they give. Even during those few times when things seemed hard, I could never complain; I had them and a place I felt totally at home (and still do!).

I'm grateful for the Gospel in my life, for a loving God who is willing to give me blessings I know I do not deserve. I'm grateful for covenants and promises, the opportunity to give (although very little) back to my Heavenly Father and Savior. I'm sure this gratitude will only grow when I go through the Temple soon.

I'm grateful for my wonderful friends (some of which are also family!) for supporting me and putting up with my flakiness and endless faults. Maegs, Nell, Rach, Weenie (in no particular order besides alphabetical) - thank you for being so kind and caring. You are seriously the best friends I could ever ask for, and if I were to have bridesmaids, you would definitely be they! You're welcome, by the way, for not making you stand in line and try on and wear borderline skanky dresses that you will never take off the hanger again. ;) Hehe, just kidding. Sorta.

I'm grateful for my health, my continued safety (especially driving 70+ miles per day! That's a REAL blessing), and for the health, safety, and happiness of my family and friends.

There are so many other things I'm grateful for, but those are the ones that I absolutely had to get out for fear of bursting this weekend. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Feelin' Campy - Like Karate Kid!

Earlier this month (the 4th through 7th to be precise), some of my family and I ventured on our I-can't-count-that-highth annual camping/fishing trip to Bridger Lake - the mystic waters of abundant planters! I defy you to spend an hour there and not catch your weight in puny, white rainbow trout. What made this trip special (among other things which I shall detail later), was that we invited Joe along. It was great spending time with him and getting him more acquainted with my wonderfully insane family.

As per tradition, the moment we arrived, we set up camp at a speed only possible for super humans, and hauled our fishing gear to the lake. This year, it started raining about an hour after we started fishing. This picture is of the lake during our first afternoon at Bridger Lake. We were soaked through pretty dang fast, so we pretty much froze the rest of the night (I was too stupid to change my socks before bed and wound up with really cold feet all night).

The second day was a blast, because after a morning of throwing our lines in Bridger and a hike (only Joe and I did that), Dad and Larie put their four-wheelers to good use, finding a lake with decent-sized trout that were actually native to the lake. All of us took turns riding the four-wheelers to that lake and fished there the second half of the day with some pretty good results. Most of our fishing time was spent there the rest of the trip. My favorite thing about Marsh Lake? Buster found this salamander in the weeds one morning. I'll not lie, once he showed me what he caught, I stole it and played with it for a ridiculous while before I even considered giving it back. It had so much energy! Sally was old and weak her last few years, so having to work to keep this salamander in my hands brought back some much older memories!

Some other fun moments of note:

Papa Gary teaching Chloe and Gaige to whittle - as he did for all of us when we were younger. Chloe asked me for whittling tools for her birthday next year.






Joe being silly whilst fishing at Marsh Lake.

You know, Catholicism. We believed in the teachings of Cathol and everything it stood for.

These last two weeks have been pretty dang eventful, considering I haven't done a thing really! How does that work? Oh, well, have a seat, get some popcorn, and I'll tell ya. I paid off my car last Monday (and I received the title in the mail 2 days ago). Yeah, I officially own The Black Mamba... but wait, IS she black? I'm very convinced that she's actually gray... but then again, I only wash her in the summer. Hm.

On Wednesday, I came home from work and immediately went to the kitchen to make dinner, 'cause I was starving when Buster said, "There's a surprise for you downstairs." I was very confused, so I went down there, and I have a brand new cedar chest. I instantly knew who it was, because my mom's been talking about getting me one since I graduated from high school. I called her up and thanked her, but she insisted it was all Dick's doing, 100%. A few days before, he had texted to ask our address. I was suspicious, but I didn't connect these two immediately. I can't believe he does these things for me - he's so thoughtful!

On Monday, I got to play with my best friend for the first time in what felt like forever (though it's only been a couple weeks). We went to Zupa's and watched an episode of the Gilmore Girls. Such good times! I've been missing all that - I'm pretty sure I've been craving Zupa's for 6 months, I've been needing friend time badly, and then there's the Gilmore Girls withdrawals... I think I might just pull through now.

See? Like I said, it's been eventful, but at the same time... think about it, all but the playing is over in an instant - and even then, the playing sure feels like an instant. I hope everyone had as good a week as I did and has an even better one this week! Hopefully in the next couple days I'll finish some sewing projects I've been working on and have some pictures to share. :)

PS (can you PSify a blog?) check out this song! No More Hotdogs
Buster came home with a copy of this CD, and we've literally been laughing for 3 days straight at this song.

Obviously You're Not a Golfer

To copy my good pal Elise, I'm dedicating a post to 2010. I hadn't planned on doing this until I woke up this morning and realized how drastically my life changed last year.

January:

I started off my new year hanging out with these clowns. This picture was taken after running out in the street barefoot (there was a ton of snow and ice out there), screaming to the neighbors and causing quite a stir. While I have no picture documentation, they also were company to my first attempt at snowboarding this month. I still suck at it, but hey! I'll get there.

February:

Wow, some very huge changes came very close together and very quickly this month. On the 10th, I moved. Yes, it's true. I, Jane E., the girl who spent 22 years, 4 months, and 29 days living in the exact same house finally moved. The picture on the left is my old room, my last time in there before hauling the last load. The picture on the right is my new room, all set up.

For some reason I can't find any pictures, but my mom was married on February 25th this year. We all spend that weekend in Wendover (my first time there) where I did and did not gamble. I didn't use one cent of my own money, but I did play craps in Dick's stead when they left the table to go get dinner.

March:
I spent March adjusting to my new home. What does that entail? Chasing this up-to-no good kitty around the house. You know, coaxing him out of drawers, the drier, blinds, etc...

April:
April was pretty eventful... one of my very best friends and cousins was married to a good friend of mine. And Weenie asked me to be a bridesmaid - that was so much fun! The picture on the right is our surprise for them when they were on their honeymoon. We painted their bedroom.

Oh, and I also ran my very first half marathon at the end of this month.

May:
I enjoyed a 2-week break from school and then started what I thought was a 10-credit semester. And then I discovered something about how summer Spanish classes work and came to the conclusion that I could graduate in December rather than next April. Long story short, I started a 17-credit semester this month.

June:
Despite all the time spent in school, I managed to find time for other things. For instance, I went to my first concert in June - it was my favorite band, Cake! They put on an excellent show too. We also adopted this little kitten that Ludo is scoping out. We named him Archie after a character in the movie Rocknrolla.

July:
I played entirely too much this month! On July 5th, I once again set off to hike Mount Olympus alone (this time it wasn't snowy though). I also hiked Timpanogos (that's the jumping picture there). I also went to Bridger Lake for a week, a tradition of my family's. Those are two of my nephews chilling in my camping chair after we caught a few frogs.

My brother, sister-in-law and I also took a Wednesday we all had off to go explore. We wound up driving in the Jeep, top down, to a canyon waaaay out in the middle of nowhere. There we discovered a teeny, tiny, abandoned mining town. Ghost town hunt, whoot! It was pretty dang cool. I included a picture, but I think I accidentally deleted it and I'm too lazy to reupload it. Just trust me, it was rad.

August:

This is where I started my last semester. I also went on my favorite hike of the year, up Red Pine trail and to the top of the Pfeifferhorn. So much fun! It was freezing up there though. I also commenced my final semester at the end of the month.

September:

I turned 23. Still not sure how I feel about that...

October:

Pretty uneventful month. I think I spent most of it studying. By November I gave up and just prayed I'd just pass.

November:

I invested in a pair of snowshoes. Good purchase! The picture on the right here is from Donut Falls. Looks absolutely gorgeous in the winter, right? I also started a new job. By some miracle, I landed a job as a technical writer at a software company in Provo. I worked part time on Tuesday and Thursday start November 9th.

December:

Christmas! Oh, and I finished classes. yeah, I took my last final on December 17th. I also had some random illness during this week that made me so achy and feverish that my hand hurt like heck when I tried to write my exam essays... yuck. But I did pass everything and now I'm free! I also started working full time on December 20th. Looks like I don't have any major decisions or milestones to hit anytime in the near future, and I'm actually liking that. Maybe 2011 will be the year of remaining static.... except when I'm using my AWESOME new snowboarding gear I got for Christmas. check me out!

Start Wearing Purple!

So... I love living with Buster and Emelie. The language is a bit colorful, but, my crap, it's funny! I'm posting a list of hilarious moments/quotes from the last few months.

Sass Pills
Buster: I took a lot of sass pills today, it's time for someone else to get crap. And you're not going to sleep tonight, you know why? Because I'm going to say "let's have a booger contest!" *sniff sniff sniff* and whoever can get a booger out first wins! And I will get a booger on your face, and that's how you know that you lose. Because you have a booger on your face!

Emelie and I one night while Buster was at work:
Me: I should go to bed... should I read Great Expectations, play Final Fantasy II, or watch Be Kind Rewind first?
Emelie: Let the cats decide!
Me: "Let the Ring-bearer decide!"
Emelie: That's exactly what I was thinking when I said that!
Me: Okay, Gandalf!
Emelie: Gandalf isn't here, Mrs. Torrance.
Me: Buster would be so proud.

A conversation I overheard:
Emelie: For your day off tomorrow, I have one request.
Buster: What's that?
Emelie: Fix the vacuum!
The phone conversation I heard about later:
Buster: So I fixed the vacuum. I used it in our room for two minutes and it started smoking again. I stabbed the front of it with the screwdriver and took it outside. I didn't just beat the s*** out of it, I f***ing MURDERED it!

Nertz 1.0
Buster: Wife, I don't care what planet you're from, that s*** don't fly!

Overheard in the Kitchen
Emelie: I love that little guy! He's retarded though!
Buster: He has brain sammich.

Cooking Dinner Together
Buster: One of you needs to pick the movie.
Me: I can't, I'm stirring these onions.
Buster: Wife?
Emelie: If I were the little red hen that could, I wouldn't be chugging up this hill making bread all by myself!
Me: HUH?
Emelie: It made sense in my head.

Nertz 1.3
Buster: Our language gets a little out of hand when we play...
Me: It's awesome! My favorite curse Buster says is effing shiz-a**... ARSE! DANG it!
Jess: I'm telling Mom!
Buster: I guess you can't do a triple-whammy...

On the Subject of Church
Buster: CHUHCH? I haven't been theh in MUMFS!

As Archie Nibbled Our Toes
Me: Archie bit mey...
Buster: Ouch. Ouch! OUCH, Archie! Ooooooouch! Archieeee!
Me: Ha... Archie bit mey. And that really hurt, Archie, and it's still hurting!

You Know You Can't Be Certain that You'll Lose until YouTry....GIVE IT A TRY!

Man, life is so awesome! Y'know why? Lotsa reasons, but mostly because I said it was, and I'm the boss! Maybe not of the universe like I aspire to be someday, but of my life, heck yes I'm the boss! Rock the fetch on! Anyway, some specific reasons I love my life:

1) I tried to apply for another federal loan, but I found out I couldn't earn one because Dick makes too much money. For reasons best known to our government, I have to include his information. So I applied for a ton of scholarships and applied for a few jobs with absolutely no luck. One day my mom called and I let slip that I'd applied for a second job. I was mostly thinking that she gets upset when I don't include her in things like this, but she asked the right questions... basically, "Why do you need another job?" "What happened to your loan?" "Why can't you get a loan?" I tried to change the subject, but she kept pushing it and she knows I can't lie... so I finally cracked and felt AWFUL because she took the stress on herself.

About a week later, I checked my account balance to see if I could buy some fabric, and I randomly had a TON of money in my checking account. I called my mom immediately and pulled the same maneuver on her. She tried to deflect me, but no dice. There are only two people with my bank account number, and I knew my dad didn't do that. So I thanked her over and over and promised to pay her back. She said, "Don't tell him I told you this, but it was all Dick. I asked Jess if she knew anything about these loans that could help you out, and Dick overheard and asked what was going on. I told him, and he said, 'You've seen me give money to my kids and they don't do anything. That little girl is doing everything she can, and she can't take a second job.'" I don't cry easily, but at this point I lost all control and started crying.... I've never cried out of happiness or being touched before, so this was new and exciting! I don't know what I did to deserve this blessing, and I'm actually still convinced that I don't, but what can I do but accept? I sent them a thank-you card, I'll have to see what else I can do...

2) I'm almost done with school! While I'm very burnt out and Spanish class is killing me with 3-hour class periods 4 days a week, I'm getting there. Soon I'll start applying for real jobs and make some money, either pay rent or move out (maybe Maegan and I can find a place?).

3) I have some amazing family and friends. Buster and Emelie let me live in their basement, and I still can't thank them enough for that... they are absolutely amazing. Haha, so yesterday after work, Buster and I had a serious book discussion about The Road and A Clockwork Orange and wound up driving to Barnes and Noble randomly and buying a few new books... while we were looking at Cormac McCarthy's books, this little kid saw this stool right next to me, went bolting down the aisle, stepped on the stool on his way and leaped off of it. Buster and I started laughing and finally he's like, "he** yes, he did!" Yeah, I was dying. Jess usually includes me in her family stuff, or at least invites me to roast marshmallows and stuff with them... my mom still calls me sometimes and checks up on me.

I also have amazing friends in my cousins/uncle/aunt. They invite me to their house all the time and include me in their family stuff even though I'm not really immediate family... they're so amazing, I don't know what I'd do without them! I also have an amazing friend in Maegan (who comes home this Fall! That should be a number all on its own!), I have Danielle too, who's also an amazing friend... this is gonna be an awesome weekend. I'm gonna play with Nell on Friday, FINALLY!

These amazing people have also given me the confidence to know that I don't deserve to be treated the way the last couple guys I've dated have treated me. I finally have the confidence to know that I don't have to put up with it. I am absolutely not sitting on anyone's back burner. I'm tired of them trying to attach and string to me and just pull me in whenever they feel so inclined... I'm NOT sitting around waiting for anybody. I'm having fun casually hanging out with friends and just being me and feeling like that's absolutely okay. Someday I'll find a guy who's willing to treat me like I matter, but in the meantime, I'm perfectly happy where I am!

4) While I'm still the odd person out in my ward, my bishop tries SO hard to make me feel included. He asked me to sit with one of two mothers (wives of people in the bishopric) to help them with kids during sacrament meeting. The two women have the most well-behaved children in the ward, so I KNOW he asked that for my sake. He noted in my temple interview that I was very much alone (not just at church, but I'm very isolated here), and he also said he saw me sitting alone and didn't like that... I also have a calling teaching Sunbeams, which I like so far for the most part. It isolates me a little more from everybody, but it's hard to make friends with married people anyway, so no biggie!

5) I love the summer! I love the winter too, but I'm so excited about hiking and things it's not even funny! By the way, does anyone have the know-how, equipment and patience to take me/teach me rock climbing? Because I'm DYING to try it out...

6) I've got a huge list of books to read and I'm SO stoked to get started! SHAZAM!

7) No matter what happens at work, with friends, with boys, I have a place to go where I'm welcome and loved, where there are people who think I'm worthwhile.

Even though I get down sometimes about school, work, or dating, I'm pretty fetching happy.... I've got a bajillion reasons to be, so I'm ALL about ignoring the other things!

Oh! I'm still debating about what to get myself for a graduation present, because, trust me, I'll deserve it... here are my ideas so far:
1) One of the new, HUGE video iPods so I can put my movies on it.
2) The new iPhone.
3) A decent bike.
4) Skydiving.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Complaints? I suggest you talk to somebody else about the latter. I'm not on the clock, I don't gotta listen to your complaints. ;) Oh, and if you choose skydiving... you better either be willing to go or have someone in mind that'd go with me, 'cause that'd be funner/cheaper with more people!