about a boy

almost all my real-life friends post regular updates on their kids, including their recent milestones, likes and dislikes, etc. that's all well and good for them. but, since i don't have any kids i decided i would write an update post about b :)

b joined a flag football team at byu. he doesn't really love it because, as he constantly tells me, he just "really wants to tackle someone." sorry, buddy -- hands-off policy at the Y. but, it's the closest thing he'll get to achieving his dream of playing college football.

[picture taken last night, when i showed up for only the last five minutes of his game:]


b is busy busy with school, but it's manageable. he stays on campus from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, then comes home to eat dinner and hang out with me for a little while before heading into our little office to study. second bedrooms are so convenient! if they weren't also so expensive in LA, i'm sure i would have discovered this long ago.

his favorite class is marketing. his least favorite is accounting. this is funny because it's the FOURTH accounting class he's taken in the past two years. you'd think he'd like it by now.

b has been interviewing with tonsssss of companies all over the country, trying to get an idea of where he'd like to intern next summer. basically we could end up anywhere. i'm voting for germany :)

this is b's favorite time of year: football season. he obsessively reads football blogs every day and enjoys our new ottoman for 4 - 5 hours each saturday, watching parts of the USC, BYU and Utah football games. too bad none of those teams are doing very well.

even though b is so busy, he still makes time for date nights, dinners out, tv time, and my favorite: couch chats. my favorite thing since we got married is just to lay on the couch and talk. he's good at allowing me my daily brandon time :) he ALSO still makes time to do his chores -- dishes, bathroom and making the bed. all my least favorites.

b taped a whole marathon of "band of brothers" and watches it regularly. i usually do not participate because my heart is still wounded from 9/11 and a late-night showing of boy in the striped pajamas. i think i'm too sensitive to media. [if you want to cry, rent the pajama movie. i bawled for 10 minutes after it ended.]

it's like 40 degrees outside. b came home from a study group and made me a mug of his world-famous homemade hot chocolate. he is my favorite boy. and probably the only person who could make me move to utah :)

just some things

i have been a bad blogger lately :(
so here is some random catching up.

i cook now. i made dinner from SCRATCH [not a box] five out of seven nights last week.
good tv is pretty much back on, with the exception of 30 rock, so our dvr schedule is booked right up. wed + thurs nights are the best.
my hands bleed a lot at my job. i get paper cuts daily. good thing it's from beautiful stylish paper.

speaking of work. my desk chair looks like a dog chewed on it. one of the arms is broken and falls halfway off unless you wiggle it back together. the cushion is scratched. you get the idea. today our IT guy installed windows 2007 [yay!!] on my computer, and two hours later i got this email:
"lyndsey - i couldn't help but notice how horrific your desk chair is. i've ordered you a new one and it should arrive tomorrow."
HA! that was nice. i wasn't complaining or anything :)

we've finally rounded out the front room by purchasing this lovely ottoman. it was on CLEARANCE at target. oh how i love target.



this means b spends a lot of time like this now on football saturdays [except on weekdays. because it's 8:30 p.m. and he's STILL at school. geez, i thought i spent a lot of time on my own when he had the crazy nintendo hours -- mba school is quite comparable. i need new, solo, time-consuming hobbies]:



speaking of nintendo. we finally got ourselves another wii -- yay! mario kart here i come. it was a sad sad day when we had to give back all our "loaner" units. that is one thing i miss about b's old job.


oh, and, back to my cooking. one year ago this week we returned from our whirlwind european extravaganza. while in paris i bought some adorable eiffel tower-shaped pasta [at the top of said tower, naturally] and couldn't wait to cook it -- but then of course i didn't because i wanted to "save it" for something special. i finally busted it out a couple weeks ago. it was just as cute as i remembered.



oh, and btw, my mom came and hung out with us over a weekend two weeks ago. it was SO SO great to have her here. i miss having her just 30 minutes down the freeway :( we shopped, we ate, we read books, we shopped again, we got cupcakes.
and we took NO pictures together. sad! i do however have this one, which will suffice to document the weekend. she canned cinammon pears with my grandma and brought us a delicious jar -- thanks momma! we miss you already.



annnnd that's a wrap. hope you feel caught up with the payzant-wells family.
and p.s. we still miss california.

butter cake

the best part about the little mba wives club is that i received a free cookbook. this thing is chock full of mouthwatering, tried-and-true, favorite mormon recipes. so you KNOW it's gotta be amazing. so far everything i've cooked from it has been off-the-charts great. my favorite [up until the reason for this post] was honey-cilantro chicken and soba noodles. MMM. i kept going back to the kitchen to sneak pieces of chicken late at night, like it was candy or something.

but anyway. yesterday we went up to slc to have dinner with the in-laws and b's grandma, and i volunteered to bring dessert. i made this almond butter cake, which yes, is quite as good as it sounds, thank you for asking. it even impressed my MIL, who is herself an amazing cook and baker [i totally married into the right family!].

the cookbook was created last year so some of the contributors are no longer in the mba program. heck, even if they were still here, i doubt i'd know them. so anyway, jennifer maner, wherever you are -- thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this recipe. it was easy to make and even better to eat.

you know how sometimes calories aren't worth it? [i.e. you order dessert in a restaurant and swallow 1,000 calories even though it doesn't taste that great] THIS cake is worth every bite. it's even worth accidentally eating a whole piece for dinner while you're talking to your mom on the phone, shoving pieces in your mouth without a fork, and then running four miles just to feel slightly less guilty. [yep, that was my night.] so here, blog friends. enjoy the recipe :)

butter almond cake

1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. flour

blend sugar with melted butter; beat in eggs. add almond extract + vanilla. add salt + flour. spread batter into a greased 9" round pie pan. sprinkle with granulated sugar and sliced almonds [almonds optional]. bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes; garnish with fresh berries and whipped cream. drool over how delicious it is.

to greet or not to greet

one of the perils of moving back to a town you've already lived in is that you have a history. i am bound to run into people from my previous provo life -- people which, in some cases, i haven't seen in almost eight years who may not remember me.

normally this wouldn't be a big deal [especially because facebook has confirmed to me that a few of my creepy ex-boyfriends have, in fact, moved out of state] but for some reason i am unsettled about the whole thing.

for one thing, i had no idea it would be THIS intense. in the past 10 days i have seen:
- a PR program acquaintance at the gym
- a freshman ward acquaintance at costco
- a bookstore co-worker at world of dance
- a freshman year friend at the grocery store
- a friend-of-a-friend [and a husband of someone i blog stalk] at the gym
- my little brother's on-again-off-again girlfriend's sister at target
- two boys in my current ward that i cannot for the life of me place, but i know i knew them back during school

you get the idea. i did not say hi to any of these people, except one, because i figured they wouldn't remember me. especially the acquaintance ones. don't you think it would be awkward to say hi and have them stare at me, trying to remember how they know me?

the freshman year friend actually said hi to me, and i was very glad he did -- he was an actual FRIEND. we have a lot of history together, although most of it happened in 2002. i probably would have said hello if i'd seen him first.

but what about these others? should i have said something? should i remind them of how i know them, and what color my hair was the last time they saw me? ugh, too much work. mostly i just kind of do an extended double take, trying not to obviously stare, and then walk away quickly like nothing happened. i think i will continue with this as my M.O. for now...but i'll keep you posted if i change my mind.

p.s. it was ridiculously freezing cold when i left my house this morning. :( :( :( forget trader joe's stuff, someone bring me some california sunshine!

cougar town

yesterday we went to the first home game of the season. i was so excited to go -- first game always has so much great energy. unfortunately the cougars didn't get the memo and decided to leave their whole defense at home.

but i digress. we had decent seats, in the lower section on the north end zone:



we were in the sun for the first half of the game -- it wasn't awful, but i was definitely HOT. b made it through the whole game without saying anything mean about the cougars -- though he did wear black, a neutral color:



respective treats for the game -- junior mints for him, jelly beans for me. all the grocery stores around here have self-serve jelly belly dispensers and it is seriously my downfall. [also, please note my unpainted nails. i left them that way for a week, just to see if i could do it. i did...and now they're black again :) ]



we were near a bunch of other MBAs and one of them brought his little son [coincidentally named cooper] and sat right next to me. i spent most of the second half -- after byu started spontaneously combusting -- feeding jelly beans to little cooper. he was more entertaining than the game.

ultimately we got our butts kicked -- final score was florida state 54, byu 28. so much for an awesome season. also, all the other favored teams in the payzant-wells household [university of utah and USC] lost as well. what a depressing day.

at least i had a nice view of the sunset :)

provo date

last night b was a gem and took me to world of dance at byu. this show was one of my favorite things while i was in college -- i think i went every year i was a student, so naturally i wanted to go again now that we're back here.

each of the dance groups at byu participate in the show -- folk dance, ballroom, ballet, modern, etc etc. however, i recall that while i was a student the cougarettes were in it too and they were my FAVE...so i was disappointed that they weren't part of the show this year :(

regardless, the show was great. i was seriously reconsidering my decision to attend during the first half of the show, watching b squirm in his seat half the time [he is not a fan of male ballet dancers' tights] and watching boring kooky dance numbers the rest of the time. but, all was redeemed at the end due to a fantastic indian number -- i've always been a fan of bollywood movies and this song was right up my alley. [it was actually a song off bride and prejudice -- a movie that sayid from lost is in, randomly. the dude's got moves...watch the music video here :) ]

annnnyway. before the show we had some delicious jdawgs hot dogs for dinner. mmmm i love them. special sauce, onions, pickles, mustard, ketchup.



he was a happy boy:



we watched a really cool storm roll in over the mountains...



then we headed over to campus and saw a rainbow! we also saw these guys from the sword & quill club [similar to medeval times], practicing for their next dragon slaying no doubt. so i had to get them in the photo too :) classic byu.



we took a picture to document the moment. my myspace self-portrait shots are seriously lacking these days [sorry, half of b's face].



then we headed over to the byu bookstore to load up on candy for the show. i worked at the bookstore during my senior year of college as a cashier...it was the BEST job ever. mostly i just read books and occasionally helped people check out. plus i got a discount. anyway, it was kinda weird to be back in my old haunt.



then it was the show, and then we came home to watch the season premieres of the office and survivor [both of which were fantastic]. it was a great date night...for provo, i guess :)

cocoa = death

you know how sometimes monday mornings seem painful and unnecessary? yeah, my monday was like that.

this morning i got up a little early to begin mixing a cake. tonight we're going to dinner at a friend's house and i offered to bring dessert, but i knew i wouldn't have a ton of time after work to bake the cake. wanting to save time, i decided to make the batter this morning and then just throw it in the oven at 5 p.m.

7:20 a.m. i grabbed a brand new can of cocoa powder out of the cupboard. it was vacuum-sealed so i went to pull off the top -- and it exploded ALL. OVER. ME. all over my clothes, hair, face, kitchen, floor.

of course i had the presence of mind to tell b to get the camera ["this would make a great blog!"] but mostly i was pissed for 10 minutes. i got back in the shower, finished getting ready, picked a new outfit and still made it to work on time by 8 a.m. i am STILL finding cocoa in the weirdest places...like my belly button. and inside my nose. yuck.



[oh yeah, my hair is darker now. it's not done in this photo, but you get the idea.]

this cake better be freaking amazing.

the new hiz

in response to popular demand, here's some pictures of our new apartment.

just a reminder, we found this apt online while living out of state, couldn't see the inside till we actually moved here, our landlord is a jerk and i do NOT love this apartment. whew. now that's out of the way, here we go :)

this is the building we live in, with the lovely carport in front. [yay, my car won't get snowed on.] i think the apartment community looks like army barracks.

this is our front door. we live on the second floor.

we have this lovely view from our landing -- we overlook a little park:

here's one of the BEST things about living here :) we have our own washer & dryer! yay. i'm doing a load of laundry right now actually -- i LOVE being able to wash clothes, whenever i want, for free!

the dining room. no, the utah flag is not a permanent fixture here...just something the little ute fan put up at the start of football season. [sorry about the reflection of the square mirrors...there are actually only three, on the right wall.]



ALL i wanted to do in our new apartment was paint the walls. when we moved in and met our landlord and were informed we absolutely could NOT paint, i was pissed. like, so pissed i wanted to sell our contract right there on the spot and move somewhere else. but, i dealt with it. and we stayed. and instead, i did things like put stickers on the wall [see above photo of dining room] rather than painting a cool design. i painted my mirror turquoise rather than painting a whole wall turquoise. and, i painted a frame with chalkboard paint [see below] and hung it next to the front door rather than painting a whole WALL with chalkboard paint.

above the tv, we hung some pictures of our favorite architecture. from left to right, it's a photo i took of the eiffel tower [where we visited in 2008]; me & b in downtown LA [from our LA photo shoot]; the empire state building [where we got engaged]; the salt lake city mormon temple [where we got married]; neuschwanstein castle [where we toured also in 2008...it's the castle walt disney based cinderella's castle off of].

here's the front room. this is the first time we've ever owned curtains in our married life and i think i love them:

opposite view of the front room, with the mirror and the kitchen:



the teeny tiny kitchen:

another first of our marriage...having a second bedroom. this is the office / craft room / storage room / guest room. but mostly b spends all his time in here studying. hence the mess. don't judge me :( i TRY to keep it clean!

our bedroom. we have a walk in closet! woo hoo.

overall, the apartment isn't so bad...i actually started becoming a little attached once we got all our stuff moved in and situated. also, this is by far the biggest apartment we've ever lived in, and we have TONS of storage space which is exciting.

it doesn't have as much character as our LA apartment, and doesn't enjoy the great location of our pasadena apartment [which, for whatever reason, i never finished decorating, so i guess we got a step up on that here], but it works. we live less than a mile from a super target, three different grocery stores, a giant mall and a future location of in n out.

i'm just happy to have my own space :) but i still wish i could paint.

9.11

i've been thinking a lot about sept. 11 lately, so today is a little somber for me. i just finished a book called 102 minutes [i saw it in the gift shop of the world trade center memorial the last time i was there and really wanted to read it; finally got around to it last month], all about the WTC and their collapse. the book was super hard for me to get through -- every time i picked it up, my heartrate increased dramatically. i freak myself out reading intense encounters of other people. haha. anyway, highly recommended book if you're interested -- i learned a lot.

i was a senior in high school on 9/11 and spent the day talking about it in my classes and watching cnn. b was in the missionary training center, getting ready to go to germany on a mission for our church, and they wouldn't tell them anything about it. i think to this day he still doesnt really get all the drama behind it.

and last year on this day i was on a plane, flying to europe. [crazy how fast time goes, isn't it?] i'll never forget going through the security line that morning and seeing everything freeze while we had a moment of silence at the exact time the first plane hit the trade center. 9/11 is a sad day, especially now that i've read that book & know personal stories of people who died. but i do feel like i have a new respect for that day and all the people involved.

p.s. i watched a show on spike tv about how to save yourself in the event of a terrorist takeover on an airplane, so i could probably save your life now. in case you're wondering :)

happy.

i really need to go to bed.

but, today was great.
good day at work.
hung out w/ b.
bought that leather jacket i've been eyeing.
saw my hero again in the office.
and best of all:
went to ANOTHER mba wives thing [these people are serious. they have activities at LEAST once a week. overkill? maybe.] and was feeling seriously skeptical about it all. i'm just so over these mix-and-mingle things and i'm tired of trying to make small talk with people i have nothing in common with. not to mention i'm still attempting to make the best of this whole utah sitch while seriously erring on the side of pure hatred. and THEN? then i got free candy. and i met new friends who i actually maybe could possibly be real live friends with. i even called my mom on the way home to tell her my life improved 75%.

and tomorrow?
tomorrow GLEE is back on. [this is my new favorite show. set your dvrs...it is SO great.]
tomorrow top chef is on. [i am pathetic for loving my tv shows so much.]
tomorrow i go to my fun job and hang out with my fantastic husband and blog.
tomorrow is a new day and i am happy about life :)

three short stories

I.
today is labor day. YAY! we heard about chik fil-a giving out free chicken sandwiches to anyone in sports attire so we headed over. never before have i seen so many desperate byu fans in such a small area, pining away for free crap. i wore a boise state sweatshirt for 20 minutes [thanks, spencer] so i totally earned that sandwich, because i was sweating by the time it arrived. i also spent time at the pool, working on my blog, hanging out with b and oh yeah, not working! i love holidays.

II.
once upon a time i spent most summers and tons of weekends at my grandparents' house in north hollywood. there was a deaf girl in their ward who fascinated me -- i wanted to be her friend realllly bad, despite our obvious communication difficulties. so, at the age of 9, i decided to teach myself sign language. i'm sure most of my signs were wrong and i still had to spell out lots of words, but i thought it was so fun to be able to talk to her like that. we went to primary classes together at church and had picnics in the park.

then we lost track of each other, though i saw her in various places over the past 10 years [tv commercials, byu magazine, etc.]. yesterday b & i went to my other [non-north hollywood] grandparents' ward in provo because my mom & brother were in town, and who should be visiting HER grandmother in the same ward that same day but my long-lost friend! luckily her parents were there too to translate for me, but really she reads lips fantastically well so i didn't even need them. she has a baby girl and is married and is still the same sweet, beautiful girl i was friends with when i was just a kid. what a small world!

III.
on saturday, byu played oklahoma for their season opener. oklahoma is [WAS] ranked #3 in the country, their quarterback won the heisman last year, etc etc. even i will admit i had NO hope byu could win. but, thanks to an oklahoma qb injury and the hand of god, byu pulled it out and won 14-13. i was thrilled!...the ute fan, not so much. he had to take a late night trip to the gym to get out his aggression. it's gonna be a loooong season around here.

momma came...

and look what she brought me!
:) :) :) :)