Jimmer's Kings vs Rockets

So our computer has been on the fritz and is on its way out the door. Hopefully I will be posting from a new computer soon. I have a few posts ready to go, but I'm gonna parsel them out. Since we got back from vacation we have been taking mini-vacations. 

We got lucky enough to snag a few tickets to the Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings, which just so happens to be the team Jimmer was drafted to! We got the tickets through the BYU Alumni, who also upgraded our tickets. We sat about 30 rows from the court; it was awesome!

 

Here is one of 4 points Jimmer made throughout the game. 

 

Bruce took this great picture of Jimmer on defense.

 

 Team huddle!

 

Us and the court. I realized a little too late that I needed the flash to be on.

 

And this is what  Bruce would have looked like if he pursued a career in professional hoops. 

We really had so much fun going to a real live professional basketball game. Even though Jimmer didn't preform at the level we are used to seeing, it was super fun to scream for him whenever he got the ball.

Looks Like We're Gonna Need an Ark Down Here

Wow, what a Monday! We had a little drizzle throughout the night, and that combined with the sprinkling the next morning made for an exciting, wet, and adventurous day. Here are just a few pictures of the water around our apartment.

 

If you can see in the lower right hand corner of the picture there is a sign that is supposed to say "Camping Is Prohibited" 

 

This is the bayou next to our apartments. It is about a quarter of a mile from where were live, and when the water levels got to high for the bayou the water backed up and created a water way of the streets around our apartment. These photos were taken a few hours after the rain had stopped and the city was started to drain the bayou. 

 

These two photos (above and below) are the route I take while running in the morning. Guess I won't be on that trail any time soon . . .

 

As scary as this may look, it was kinda fun. My friend Stephanie and I had a little adventure. Because Bruce had to go off-campus in the middle of the day for vision screenings he took the car, which left me stranded at home (which I usually don't mind). However, this particular morning Stephanie and I decided to hang out with our friend Nikki who just had a baby. Stephanie was kind enough to pick me up (not knowing that she would be driving up a river). I waited for about an hour before she called and said that there was a puddle in the road that she was trying to get around and she would call when she got here. After about two hours of driving around trying to find a road that wasn't flooded that would get to our apartment, we agreed that it would be best if I walked to her. I pulled on my red rain boots, zipped up my jacket, and hid my cell phone inside my jacket. I opened the front door to embark on my adventure. 

Initially, I wasn't impressed with the current drizzle from the clouds. It wasn't until I got to the street that I saw the damage that "drizzle" had done. The first step into the street felt as if I was wading though a stream. I tried to take slow and calculated steps so water wouldn't splash up into my boots. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a guy run through the river on our street with nothing but tennis shoes and jeans on. When I made it to the other side of the street I noticed about 15 cars parked in the grocery store's raised parking lot just sitting there waiting out the flooded streets. But I trudged on through the rain. 

At the next intersection the water had risen past the side walk and was starting to flood the shopping center's parking lot. Looking around I saw only trucks and raised SUVs braving the drive through the river-street (little did they know that it only got deeper from there.) I chose to cross the road about 20 feet from the intersection, where the water wasn't as deep. On the first step into the road-river I sank into water up to my calves, with about 3 inches to spare before my highwater boots went under. But I made it to the other side without getting water in my boots. Pretty talented, I know! 

Just before crossing the bridge over the bayou I walked by two city buses that had stopped in the middle of the road and refused to continue their route through the water. The passengers were being kicked off and into the rain. Crossing the bridge over the bayou, I peeked over the edge to see that the water had risen to the top arch of the bridge. Floating leaves and trash were piling up against the bridge. 

The second intersection crossing was slightly easier, except when my boot got stuck and I almost fell. I had finally made it to Stephanie, and just had to cross the street . . . There were 4 cars stopped in the middle of the road, another car driving on the wrong side of the road, and several more trucks haphazardly driving through the river-street intersection. I cautiously crossed the river-street trying to not get splashed by the passing trucks. My reward was a warm car and good friends to hang out with!

Here are some more crazy photos of the Houston highways, taken the same day by local journalists.  

 This is the highway we take to get to our favorite Greek restaurant. Not the over pass. The flooded road the guy is canoeing down.

 Downtown Houston; looks like traffic is gonna be a little backed up.

 

This is the worst! I would've had to abandon my car and watch it flood! (There are sunken cars under there)

Nativity Costumes

So here is the basic outline of how I made just about all the Nativity costumes. After these instructions, each costume only needs minor unique adjustments:

The angel costume has sleeves and a fitted bust. For one of the wise men I left off the sleeves. For Mary I made the sleeves fitted, and for Joseph I changed the neck into a V neck. I made the costumes ridiculously big so they would fit EVERYBODY!! 

Here is how to make these costumes. First, and this part is always confusing, lay the fabric out flat then fold so the short ends are together. (the fabric I bought was 48" wide) 

Then fold the long ends together. You want somewhere between 2-3 yards of fabric.

Now, you want to find the corner of the fabric with both folds. This is were you will cut the neck hole. I would start by making the cut hole about 5 inches wide. You can always make it bigger, but it's much harder to make it smaller.

This is the fun part. Now you are gonna create the shape of the garment. For the angel, I made sleeves with openings and the silhouette a triangle (make sure you don't make the bust too tight). For Mary I made the sleeves straight and the silhouette more rectangular. For Joseph and one of the wise men, I didn't add sleeves. The possibilities are endless.

Here is the final silhouette, still folded, with the neck hole on the upper right of the picture.

When you unfold the first fold it should look something like this. The top of the sleeves should still be uncut. So, you just need to sew up the sides and the bottom of the sleeves, and hem the neck, sleeve ends, and the bottom of the dress.

Here is the final product. I give you . . . The Angel!

 

I will try to get some pictures of the other costumes up as soon as possible. If you have any questions about making these costumes, let me know.

Christmas is in the Air!

It's the merriest time of year! Now that Thanksgiving has passed we can hang the lights, turn up the Christmas music, and wrap the presents. I am a firm believer that Christmas with all of its trimming should come only after Thanksgiving. Isn't that the order they are in? Anyways, I had a request from a friend to post a tutorial on easy, homemade Nativity costumes. Our ward is putting on a play called "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." It's based on a book and has been made into a movie. It's a really cute play and the kids in our ward are doing a great job. I jumped at the chance to make the costumes for the Nativity scene. It was much easier than I anticipated. I am gonna do a few posts on this. So I will start with a list of supplies and how to make halos.

The costumes are going to use a lot of material. I bought a couple of flat bedsheets at Walmart for $5 to make the shepherds and Joseph. For Mary, the angel, and the wise-men I got satin-poly material from Hobby Lobby. I used the 40% coupon that can be found online. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot but I will add as we go.

Okay, for the Angel and the little choir of angels' halos I used 18mm wire (Hobby Lobby), gold garland (Dollar Tree), and a headband (Dollar Tree).

First, cut the garland into the halo circumference you want; then measure the wire to the same length. Twist garland around wire. Shape into a circle.

Second, (this part is optional) paint headbands white. Spray paint works best. I got the cheap kind from Walmart for $1.

Third, cut two wires 3" long each to hold up the halo.

Fourth, wrap one end of the 3"-wire to the halo. Try to secure it tightly with hot glue to keep in place.

Fifth, wrap the other end of the 3"-wire around the headband and use pliers to tighten the wire around the headband. 

All Done!

Happy Turkey Day!

I hope you all enjoy your yummy Thanksgiving dinners surrounded by loved ones. I thought I'd give you a few ideas for what to do with your dinner leftovers. Click the links for the full recipe.

http://www.chow.com/recipes/29029-thanksgiving-turkey-cake

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/turkey_white_chili/

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/

http://www.curbly.com/



http://www.realsimple.com/

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

Hope You Enjoy!

Pies and Yummy Deserts

 So our lap top broke last week and we just got it back so I apologies for not post more Thanksgiving recipes. But this post should be pretty good! I made a list of pie recipes I love. Here they are:

bettycrocker.com/recipes/pumpkin-cream-cheese-pie

apple crisp

banana cream pie

turtle cheesecake

apple pie

 

Hope You Enjoy!

Potateos

Basic Smashed Potatoes

 

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/two-cheese-and-rosemary-mashed-potato-casserole

Cheesy Potatoes

http://www.cooks.com/rec

The Graham clan requires two types of potatoes every year. The top dish is a traditional smashed potatoes. It can be added to and changed up. The second dish is a cheesy potato, my sisters favorite. Both are really great!

Hope You Enjoy!