!i! The Great Power Outage of 2012 !i!

Okay...maybe it wasn't the biggest power outage of 2012, but it certainly was an adventure. Saturday afternoon, I was driving home from work. I turned onto 10th east and the cars were all being diverted in another direction. I wondered what was going on. Then I looked up. Suspended in all the power lines and wires was the top of a power pole. It had been seared right off! Later I found out it was caused by a fire.

I thought to myself, 'I wonder if our power will be out.' When I got home, I discovered that our power was, in fact, out. At first, I thought 'this might be kind of fun. I haven't been without power for years and years!' Then I discovered how electricity powers EVERYTHING! I had to take my shower in the dark with a lantern. I couldn't dry my hair. I put my makeup in the dark. I couldn't tell what time it was. My food was cold. I couldn't listen to any music or TV. I was cold...and bored!

We decided to run some errands to waste some time and to get warm. By this time, it had started to snow. We left for the night. Surely the power would come back on by the time we got home later that night. Around 10 pm we checked the power company's web site and, sure enough, estimated restoration time was 3 a.m. There was no way we could sleep in our apartment with the power off. The thermostat read 64 degrees when we left and it could only go down from there.

So we drove home to pack our things. By this point, the thermostat read 60 degrees. We were gathering our things with flashlights and we felt like we were looting. My parents were gracious enough to let us sleep at their home. It was nice to have somewhere warm to sleep and I was worried about those who didn't.

By the time we awoke, the power had come back on at our apartment so we headed home. When we got home, we immediately checked the thermostat. It read:
...And with that, we turned on the heater. We had survived the great power outage of 2012.

!i! The Bachelor !i!

Whelp...the new season of the Bachelor has begun! And A.J. is thoroughly excited.
...He was so excited, that he brought in a second TV to play Donkey Kong while the girls watched the Bachelor premier.

!i! New Year's Eve !i!

We celebrated New Yrs Eve with my family. My sister is a New Year's Eve baby, so we have a party every New Years Eve. This year, I attempted to make a gourmet cake: a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse in the middle topped with a dark chocolate ganache and toffee bits. I was worried about how it would turn out, but I think it turned out well.
When it was time, we lit it on FIRE!
After the party, we went over to my sister's house and played games on the wii and stayed up until midnight. I think AJ and I finally went to bed around 2:00 in the morning. I cannot remember the last time I stayed up that late! It took about a week for my body to finally adjust.

It's always hard to see a year go. There are so many great memories shared with friends and famiy. But it's exciting to bring in a new year. 2011 was a great year...let's see what 2012 holds!

!i! Our Cute Tree !i!

I just love our little Christmas tree. Actually, it's not very small...it's approximately 6 ft. tall. It is full of old Christmas ornaments that I got from my mom or from family. Each ornament tells a story. No ornaments are the same. I think the saddest day is when the tree comes down. The living room looks so bare and lifeless. I refuse to participate in that day!

!i! Lights at Temple Square !i!

The Monday before Christmas, AJ and I went to see the Lights at Temple Square. I thought that since it was a weeknight, it wouldn't be too busy. Boy was I wrong. I forgot to calculate that it was the MONDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS!...Family Night. It was jam packed with people in every direction. I heard muffled coughs all around me and thought 'please don't give me the gift of sickness for Christmas!'

It was so cold! Most of my pictures turned out blurry from my shivering and lack of steady hand. The lights were so beautiful this year. There were so many different colors tightly wound around each tree. I love the nativities from around the world. We didn't stop to watch the nativity scene this year because I was freezing! Did I mention it was so cold?!!
We stopped under my favorite tree: THE red tree. There must be a million lights on that thing!
It is interesting to stand under it and just look up. All you can see are red light bulbs. It looks like they extend forever!
Seeing lights downtown is a tradition we love to do together. I just wish it weren't quite so cold.