Exciting News!

I've been wanting to make this post for about two months now, but wanted to wait until is was official. And now it IS official; I am USC's newest full time employee!



I'm working in a biology research lab helping a post doc on his research in genetic sequencing of drosophila. To those who don't understand the importance of this accomplishment, let me explain. The most important is that on top of my salary, Paul now gets HALF OFF his tuition! And since his yearly tuition is more than America's average household income, the tuition break is a big deal. Other great things include health benefits, retirement benefits, I can take classes at USC for free, and Paul and I will get to carpool to school and hopefully eat lunch together. Getting a job at USC is an amazing blessing and we're truly grateful.

Halloween

duuuuhhh... I should have made this post two weeks ago and I just woke up from a four hour nap and I'm not sure if I'll completely regain full mental capacity for the rest of the evening. I had high hopes of a clever blog about our costumes and about you all guessing what we were, but as it stands now, I'll just tell you. I was a bunch of grapes and Paul was Flavor Flav.



We went to our ward Halloween party and I won 2nd place in the chili cookoff. Woohoo!

Here's something else kind of crazy to think about... It was two years ago at our student ward Halloween party where Paul and I fisrt met...
Paul and his roommates Ashton and Sam were lodge folk and me and my roommates were zombie rockers.

My Nanny Kim

After my mom died, my dad hired a nanny to take care of me, my sister, and my brother while he was at work. Actually, she was interviewed while my mom was still alive. My mom was very sick at the time, but the interview took place in my parent's bedroom. Kim was our nanny for about nine months until she got married and moved to Utah. I remember having so much fun with Kim! One of my favorite activites was when we went to the drug store and got ice cream cones. One time Kim promised us that if Erin and I cleaned our room (apparently Erin and weren't very good at keeping our room clean) that she would take us to get to get a double scoop ice cream cone. I remember thinking that life didn't get better than that. Well, Erin and I did get our room clean, but I wasn't able to finish my ice cream cone- it was too big for me, and I was very disappointed that I wasn't able to eat it all.

The first day Kim came to nanny she promised us that the following day we would make a home made pizza. I didn't even know there was such a thing. She was true to her word and the next day Erin and I chose the toppings for our first ever home made pizza.

I remember that we played lots of games with Kim. My very favorite was Hi Ho Cherri-O. I have no idea what the object of the game is, but I remember we played it all the time. We also loved Chutes and Ladders and Go Fish. We had a video called Sign Me a Story. I think it was supposed to be an educational video that taught sign language (Erin used to have a deaf friend). One of the stories that they told/signed was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Kim would sometimes make Cream of Wheat for breakfast and we would pretend it was the porridge from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The first time we came out of our room to the kitchen table, we would say, "This porridge is too hot!" Then Erin and I would run back into our bedroom so the next scene could start. The next time we came into the kitchen, the porridge would be "too cold!" And then the third time it would finally be "juuuuusstt rigghhht."

We were always on an adventure with Kim. We got season passes to Sea World- I used to adore Shamoo and the dolphins. Erin and I also loved the water show- I can still remember the song they played during it. I remember peeing my pants once while we were there, and apparently I barfed on Kim once while we were watching the Shamoo show. Oops.

Most of all, when I think about our time with Kim, I feel a very profound love for her. She stepped in when our mom couldn't physically be there. I was very cuddly with Kim and loved to be snuggled.

Kim now lives in Nebraska with her husband and six kids, and I hadn't seen her in years, but a couple weeks ago Paul and I got to have dinner with her while she was visiting her mom here in California. It was so wonderful to see her again. She looks exactly the same as I remembered her, except this time her hair was staight instead of curly. What a blessing she was to our family! Kim told me that often times when she was having issues with us kids, she felt like my mom would be there helping her. Soon after Kim became our nanny, she took me to the doctor's office for some kind of check up or something. They said that they needed to see my immunization records and if she couldn't find them, then they would need to give me the shots again. Shots were the last thing she wanted me to go through, so she said that when we got back to our house, she called my mom by name and said, "Please Jamey, help me find the records." Immediately it came to her mind to look in our medicine cabinet. She was able to find the number of our previous doctor, who then sent my immunization records to the new doctor.

I'm so grateful that Kim was able to be our nanny! She provided so much fun and so much love when it was so badly needed. Thanks, Kim! I love you!

Bleh! Bleh! Bleh!

Today is a very sad day. As many of you may know, I love to cook and I love to try new recipes. Allrecipes.com has become my new friend this past year. It is a simple website where people can post recipes and others rate those recipes. For the most part, I will only make recipes that have a 4 out of 5 star rating or higher, and at least 30 people have reviewed the recipe. So, naturally, I thought a recipe for chicken tikka masala that scored a 4.5 and 451 people had reviewed it would be a sure winner. I should also mention that along with their ratings, people leave comments about what they would change, things that they particularly loved, etc. Before making the recipe, I should have read this review:

Good grief! This recipe as written has WAY too much salt in it! My fiance and I couldn't even finish it, the salt was overpowering. 7 teaspoons in all. I am going to try it again with about 1/2 teaspoon for each sauce (the marinade and the tomato cream sauce.)

7 teaspoons?! you say? Yes, that's correct. But let me explain. Certainly I would have noticed that there was way too much salt going into this recipe, but Paul and I made the recipe together and didn't realize how much salt the other was using- he made the marinade, and I made the tomato cream sauce. After the first bite I knew something weird was happening inside my mouth- I thought maybe the dish was just spicier than what I'm used to, but then my throat started to burn...
After all that time and preparation, we ended up tossing the whole meal and tried to think of what else we might scrounge up for Sunday dinner. I decided that all I wanted was a piece of zucchini bread that I made yesterday. I made two loaves, but gave 1 1/2 away at church. Paul got me a slice, buttered it, and brought it to me. What a sweetie, right? The first bite tasted strange. I thought maybe my pallet was still moded from the horrible chicken dish, so I took a nice long drink of water before I had my next bite of bread. Hmm... still weird. Then, I was able to put my finger on the weird taste- garlic! Paul had just picked up a knife that was on the counter to spread my butter with. It was the same knife that I had used to cut the garlic for the tikka masala. Gross! And so here I sit, venting to the blog world about my cooking woes- still hungry, but not daring to eat anything else.

"Tolerance"

"Those who favor homosexual marriage contend that “tolerance” demands that they be given the same right to marry as heterosexual couples. But this appeal for “tolerance” advocates a very different meaning and outcome than that word has meant throughout most of American history and a different meaning than is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Savior taught a much higher concept, that of love. “Love thy neighbor,” He admonished. Jesus loved the sinner even while decrying the sin, as evidenced in the case of the woman taken in adultery: treating her kindly, but exhorting her to “sin no more.” Tolerance as a gospel principle means love and forgiveness of one another, not “tolerating” transgression.
In today’s secular world, the idea of tolerance has come to mean something entirely different. Instead of love, it has come to mean condone – acceptance of wrongful behavior as the price of friendship. Jesus taught that we love and care for one another without condoning transgression. But today’s politically palatable definition insists that unless one accepts the sin he does not tolerate the sinner."

- A statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

FINISHED!

I proudly present for your viewing pleasure, this adorable sweater I made for myself! Somewhere in my excitement, I gauged the stitches wrong and the final product ended up probably a size or two small.






Oh, man. I tricked you guys so bad. I made this for my niece, Elizabeth. In the process of making this sweater, I've discovered a few things about myself. The first is that I am on the accelerated track to old lady-dom. I would often knit on the bus on my way to work and the look on people's faces screamed: "Ok, early-twenties wannabe, I can see right through that face lift and dye job. You're not fooling anyone!" The second thing I've learned is that sometimes I take on projects and gravely underestimate their time of completion. This definitely is true when it comes to cooking. I have yet to have a meal ready and on the table when we have friends or the missionaries over for dinner. I've convinced myself that this is just the learning process of cooking, but who knows, maybe I'll never figure it out. Anyway, I think I started knitting this sweater about six months ago and anticipated being done with it four months ago. Oops.

But I loved making it. Knitting is a great release... as long as you don't have to rip out too many rows along the way.

And hey, now that I think about it, if my arms were just a little skinnier, I definitely think at least my head could fit through the top... don't be surprised if the next time you see me I'm sporting this sweater as part of my ensemble.

Yes on 8

22

My little wife Snort turned 22 years old this week. She's growing up so fast. It seems like just yesterday she was a wee 20 year old wandering the world of Provo on her own... until a sharp young gent' threw her in the saddle, straightened her compass and directed it southwest to Los Angeles. That once aimless 20 year old developed into a 22 year old metropolitan and chique woman of the west. She is the pride of Los Angeles, a true diva in her own right, and the best wife a husband could ask for. We celebrated her birth with the Ashby's who were conveniently in town and joined us for a slumber party. The following night, we had our USC friends over for dessert and The Office - only to find out The Office wasn't actually on - whoops. Oh well... here's to you Snort.
Photo courtesy of the Paparazzi:

PS Those aren't Japanese peace signs. She's holding up two 2s or 22.

Courtney's Coupon Conquest

I don't usually shop at Albertson's because it's so expensive, but this morning I braved the snooty shoppers (jk) and made the trip. Here's what I bought:

9 boxes of cereal (good kinds!)
1 box of Bisquick
2 bags of spinach
1 lb of strawberries
1 gallon of milk
1 bag of chips
2 cans of diced tomatoes

All for a grand total of... $25!!! Everything I bought was on sale and I also used some coupons. I love saving money!

TODAY I DID 43.5 POUNDS OF LAUNDRY

All Hail to Dr. Fjeldsted!!!

John and Trudy visited us last week as Paul took the next step to becoming a dentist at his white coat ceremony as he took the dental oath. I can't remember it exactly, but it went something like this: "I promise to be the world's coolest dentist by having games in the waiting room and flat pannel tvs on the ceilings in the oporatory rooms. I promise to get people excited about flossing! I promise to work only Monday through Thursday from 10-5 and snuggle my wife all day every other Friday. I promise to go boating every Friday I'm not snuggling my wife. I promise to take long and frequent vacations. And last but not least, I promise to put in long hours while I'm in school and graduate with lots of debt!"

It really was a great ceremony and it got us all so excited about Paul going to USC! I had no idea what an accomplished school it is- I was thoroughly impressed. After the ceremony, John and Trudy took us out to an AMAZING dinner at The Chart House. It's right on the ocean near Malibu and as we ate we could see the waves crash onto the shore. WOW!

I'm so proud of my hubby! Someday he's going to be one great dentist!

The Main Event: Lake Oroville

Monday morning we made our way to Lake Oroville for a week of waterskiing, fishing, sun bathing, wakeboarding, and relaxing. You know how by the end of some vacations you've had a great time, but are ready to come home? That wasn't the case for us this time- we were wishing that it would never end. Truly, we couldn't have asked for a better ending to the summer.

And Then We Paid A Visit To Mr. Hearst

Our next stop was in San Simeon at the famous Hearst Castle. I don't think you can appreciate the enormity of this man's "little ranch in the country" as he called it, unless you've seen it with your own eyes. Mr. Hearst hit it big as a newspaper tycoon and built a mansion late in his life in San Simeon. His family donated the castle to the state, and now tours are given of it several times a day. We're hoping to purchase it back from the state after we pay off Paul's student loans.

The Vacation Began With A Trip To Our Homeland

We've ended our summer in a great way- a week long family vacation on the water. We left LA Saturday morning, and since it was going to be a long drive to the Bay Area anyway, we decided to make a few stops along the way. Our first stop was in Solvang, California. It's a little Danish town tucked away in the mountains near Santa Barbara. We ate brunch at a Danish pancake house and then walked through the village. Paul kept saying he felt like he was finally among his people. After only a few minutes of being there, phrases like "Welkomen", "Privuet", and "Guten Taag" kept popping out of his mouth... over and over and over again. You may know that "Privuet" is Russian and "Guten Taat" is German, but that didn't stop my over-excited hubby.

Summer Lovin' 2008

The summer should be a season full of sunburns, running through the sprinklers, popsicles, lazy afternoons, marco-polo, cannon ball competitions and sun-bleached hair. Unfortunately, as both of us are full-time employees, there just isn't quite enough time to get it all in. Our summer break now is scattered over a day here and a day there. Here's a slideshow of what we've snuck in when we could.

Beloved Megan - A Eulogy

Thanks for this pic Dakin


Approximately two weeks ago, Megan went missing. The FBI was immediately contacted and a thorough search/investigation was conducted of the surrounding areas as it became their foremost priority. It is true her award winning potential as a show dog is astronomical and thus dognapping was initially suspected. However, she has yet to show up in any dog shows, so it is therefore believed that Megan simply fulfilled her earthly mission and transcended through the veil. Yes she had tumours, yes she had cataracts, and yes she was dangerously obese. But the Megan we will all remember will be the Megan that warmed our hearts as a dear friend through her kind acts of service and outreached paw. We will never forget the fond memories... when she came home from the groomer- completely bald save the tip of her tail and bottle shaped face, when she ate 3/4 of a large pizza, when she habitually tipped over the trash can as a puppy to find a lunch time snack, and when she territorially protected the family from dangerous onslaughts of wild squirrels. Megan, yours is an enormous kennel to fill... Please feel welcome to leave your feelings and memories of Megan as you wish.

What the Fjeldsteds do on a Sunday afternoon...

We put the leaves in our table and set up the ping pong set we got from Grandpa Norm and Grandma Sue for Christmas, and then things got crazy! Here's how it went down: Game 1: The first person to 21 wins. I started with a 5 point handicap. Paul won 21 to 13. Game 2: The first person to 21 wins. I started with a 20 point handicap. I won 21 to 9. Game 3: Actually, there wasn't a game 3. Paul wanted so badly to play "welt pong," but I had to put my foot down. Seeing how well I did in the first two games, people would have thought I was abused. Here's just a small sampling of our intense games.

The Defending Champ Strikes Again

Professor Snort Sauce did it again. On behalf of the late Dr. Garth Lee, the biochemistry dept of BYU was pleased to announce the recipient of the undergraduate teaching award. Although Courtney has since received tenure and retired, she was more than happy to accept the prize. Here she is in all her splendor and glory.

"That's way wicked, bro."

We saw Wicked! Back in the days of London study abroad, I was seeing a Broadway performance probably every other week with my London loves, but let me just say that Wicked is by far the best! The whole way home I kept singing "Defying Gravity" ... I mean only that phrase, I didn't know any of the other lyrics. Anyone who has the opportunity MUST see it!

swwwwwwish

As most of you know (I hope, anyways. Can you really consider yourself an American if you don't???) the NBA playoffs are happening. Paul had no problem deciding to be a die hard Lakers fan. I, on the other hand have had a more difficult internal struggle. Do I root for the Lakers since I am now an offical Los Angelesan? Or do I stay true to what I've been taught since childhood: Lakers Suck! My dad has instilled this truth in me ever since I could understand the rules of the game. He loves the NBA and has hated the Lakers ever since the first time they dominated the Jazz in the western conference finals. I'm sure that since last Thursday and for the rest of this week he has a banner on his forhead that reads: Bob out for the next week. Please send all communications through email which will be read no sooner than after the last day of the finals.
But don't worry your pretty little faces. I've reached a solution. For now I've just decided to cheer for neither. While Paul watches the games, I usually just lay on the couch and knit.

Happy Hour?

Today at work this girl Julissa and I were in the back chatting and getting some things done and in the middle of the conversation she said, "Girl! We need to do a happy hour!" Not knowing exactly what she meant and thinking that maybe it was an office game of some kind I said, "What's that?" She looked at me like I was dumb. Immediately I realized what happy hour was. Duh. I explained to her that I don't drink and kind of changed the subject. Regardless of my blonde or naive or sheltered Mormon girl moment or whatever you want to call it, I kind of feel honored to have been invited to happy hour. I was talking to a girl in my ward about how I'm feeling culture shocked here in LA and she said that I should expect that to persist for at least the first year or so. I think she might be right.

A Most Memorable Memorial Day

Our BFFs the Feys, Grewals and the Bell (hopefully BellS next time) came to town to celebrate the true meaning of memorial day. The weekend was topped with slumber parties, donut runs, celebrity sightings, Tommy the Trojan, wild animals, beach strolls lots of pizookies, and the worlds most valiant patriarch. We stole this pic off of our "Fey"vorite blog. Thanks for coming out here everyone!

Sir-Scoots-A-Lot

We've been wanting to make a new post, but we left our camera on Paul's parents' boat... and I think posts are always so much better when accompanied by pictures. Well, that's the excuse for not blogging. But please enjoy this image courtesy of google.
Paul and I have been having so much fun lately! Especially since we got our NEW scooter! If you haven't heard, the day before we moved to LA we found out that we couldn't license our 2 stroke Senor Scoots, so we sold it to the Seavers. (Thanks for giving him a good home.) After scoping out craigslist nearly every day, Paul finally found a good deal on another scooter and we jumped at it! I think we'll name this one Sir-Scoots-A-Lot. (Thanks Deneigh.) Apparently the guy who was selling it has only lived in America for a couple years and his parents are making him move back to Taiwan to take over the family burlesque house business. Weird. Only in LA.
WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT OUR SCOOTER: No, it's not that it gets 90 mpg, nor that it cuts commuting time nearly in half because you can pass cars. I love that homeless people stop us and tell us how sweet our scooter is, and they can get us a really good deal on one that's not yet assembled, and it can be red with silver flames.

Happy Haircut

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Thinking back, my BFF Jenni and I have gone through a lot of good hair years and bad hair years. I only wish that I had pictures on my computer of when I had a mullet and Jen had the world's-tightest-ever-spiral-perm. But we thought we were so cool and so grown up. Back in 8th grade when I came for my annual summer stay, Jen and I got our hair cut together- we were only able to make the chop because we were doing it together and provided each other the necessary intense moral support. Since that time, we've done other other crazy hair things together.

And the most recent: Once again, Jen and I chopped our hair off.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Busy, Busy, Busy

Here's just a sample of what we've been up to lately and what we'll be doing in the next few days(we'll post pics later):
1. Graduated from BYU
2. Had a rockin party at the Skyroom
3. Packed up and COMPLETELY moved out of our apartment
4. We checked out of our apartment painlessly
5. Attended Sam's wedding
6. We met our niece, Chloe, for the first time (she is SO cute!)
7. Went apartment shopping for 20 hours in 2 days (and used an entire tank of gas in one day... not that we went an incredibly far distance, but because we kept getting lost and had to turn around... oops)
8. I sold my wedding dress
9. We found an apartment that we're hoping to get into
10. Tomorrow Paul has a job interview
11. We'll be attending Erin's graduation on Friday
12. When we get back to Provo, we have to get the Jetta fixed before we drive it to LA
13. Paul will drive our moving truck and I'll drive the Jetta (hopefully) to LA on Monday
14. ... And then maybe we'll get a chance to breathe...

Zoop Zoop!

We got a scooter!!! Since we knew that the time was coming when Paul and I would be on different school/work schedules, we decided it was time to look into another mode of transportation. We found this scooter on craigslist for less than HALF the blue book price, and just couldn't pass it up. There was some work that needed to be done on it, and Paul has loved busting out his tools (and MY tools that have pink flowers on the handles!) and getting his hands dirty to fix it. One of our favorite activities now is going on scooter rides together. And even though there's some additional work that needs to be done (can you help us Dr. John?), and the spark plug keeps falling out every few miles, and we slowly come to a stop on the side of the road, we think that this scooter rocks! We are currently in the process of picking a name for the newest member of our family. After hours of deliberation, my number one choice is Senor Scoots. What do you guys think?

GRADUATION!

Hello, old friend...

We've got a lot of catching up to do. Paul and I have been busy, busy, busy the past couple weeks, and it's time to play catch up on our blog. Here's some of what we've been doing...

Zion National Park

As part of Paul's birthday present, I bought him a backpacking tent and planned a suprise trip to Zion National Park. We got there Friday night, set up camp, made tin foil dinners, and then s'mores. We got up early Saturday morning and made breakfast burritos and then started on a full day of hiking. Our first hike was Angel's Landing. The last .5 mile of the hike is extremely narrow- part of it is only 3 feet wide with steep cliffs of 800 feet on your left and 1200 feet on your right! And the worst part? No railing whatsoever. Instead they offer a mere chain to hold onto for dear life. At the beginning of this treacherous terrain, a sign warns that only really hot, studly husbands should attempt the last part of this hike. And so, I let Paul do it by himself, and I waited for him on safe ground.

And, I have to give a special shout-out to the Seavers and the Glausers for helping me with all the preparations. Thanks, guys!

This is the last part of the hike that Paul traversed- scary!

Here's a view from the top.

Hello, Boston

Paul had the exciting opportunity to interview at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine last weekend, and I had the exciting opportunity to go with him! Other than its chilly temperatures, we loved Boston- there were so many things to see and do. It was neat to see hundred-years-old buildings integrated with massive skyscrapers.

After his interview, we drove to Rochester, New York to visit Paul's sister Dakin and her growing family. It was so much fun to visit them. We especially liked playing with Dakin's little boys, staying up late to talk to Dakin and John, and eating the delicious food they made us. The night before we left, Paul and the boys made up a game where Paul would launch them into the air and they'd land on the love sack. I've never heard these little boys giggle so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BERT!

On March 26, Paul officially achieved old man status... he turned 24!!! It's funny to think that by that age, my dad already had two kids and Paul's dad had one. But don't worry, this isn't a post to announce a pregnancy, it's just funny to think that Paul could be a daddy right now. Sadly, Paul had to take a Biochemistry exam the night of his birthday, but as soon as he was done we raced over to Red Robin to redeem his free birthday burger and have their "Mountain High Mudd Pie." YUM! After we got home, Paul opened his presents...

Here's Paul opening his birthday card and birthday cash-ola from his parents.

Here's Paul trying to sing on pitch with his guitar tuner.

And here he is with his new capo.

RUN FROM (or for) CANCER!!!

Last Saturday Nate (aka Kojisan) (aka Boo) (aka Boo Bear) Itoga made a sizable donation to fund cancer research. Although paying to run doesn't appeal to most, Nate couldn't help but throw money down. He also paid Paul's entrance fee for the Rex Lee Run. Paul finished in an amazing time of 22 minutes (give or take a few minutes... the times aren't actually up yet). Nate won the race in the category of Hawaiian-Asians-Wearing-Nike-Shoes. Paul's friend and future USC dental school alum, Bradley Thompson, motivated every runner with his sweet faux-hawk and massive calves. We have confidence that this financial contribution will cure at least five cases of cancer.

THE REAL ELECTIONS 2008

As the official assistant to the south of campus regional campaign manager, I feel it my utmost responsibility to publically pledge my support to Brother Steele Kizerian and Sister Amanda Kizerian. If you have any sense of dignity and self-worth (and a BYU net ID), you as well would rally behind this pillar of integrity by casting your vote. As a long time leader at this university, and a longer-time dear friend of ours, the choice is clear. Head to byusa.byu.edu and vote before Friday at 5pm. PS As an official in the campaign I can promise free tuition to all and world peace if Steele becomes president.

Snowshoeing

The risks of contracting lung cancer and emphysema have been rather threatening in Utah Valley this week due to inversion factors. To avoid getting smoker's lungs we were forced to scale Provo's bordering mountains in a quest for pure oxygen. The climb was strenuous and often arduous but the rewards of health were... well, see for yourself. Paul was so excited he could finally breathe again, he could hardly contain himself.

10 Things Before Spring

10 things we want to do before we leave Provo

1. Hike the back of Timp
2. Eat dessert at The Roof
3. Go kayaking
4. Go hiking at Zions National Park
5. Go snowshoeing under a full moon
6. Go mountain biking in Moab
7. Run in a 5K
8. Eat at the Skyroom
9. Spanish Fork Canyon Hot Springs
10. Farewell to Temple Square

**If anyone has ideas of fun things we should do before we leave, please let us know!

Baby Chloe and Sweater Fun

Chloe Fjeldsted is probably the cutest baby I've ever seen. I know that Peter and Amber are going to great lengths to make sure she is also the most stylish baby around. I thought I'd help them out a little, so I made Chloe this little sweater. And by little, I do mean little. It looks like it would fit a doll. So here's to Chloe! We love you!!!

Here's Chloe swimming. (She's very talented.)

california dreamin' on such a winter's day

In the midst of a deep winter freeze, Paul and I escaped to sunny California for the Christmas break, and thanks to Wal Mart's one hour photo, we finally got our underwater camera developed. You may be surprised to know that Paul and I are professional surfboarders. We couldn't post some of the pictures due to copyright issues with some popular surf magazines. (See January's edition of Waves for more sweet pics.) Hit us up with an email if you want our autographs.