So cold that...

...the snow makes that annoying squeaky noise when you walk on it...

...you have five layers of winter clothing on and you're still cold...

...the road remains one solid sheet of ice, no matter how many cars drive over it...

...there is frost INSIDE your car on the dash board...

...OR, there is no frost at all...

...all the fluids in your car have turned to slush...

...your steering wheel is stuck...

...the gears in your car won't shift...

...forget the gears and steering wheel, your car won't start at all...

...you wake up to the radio in the morning and hear the announcer say that it is -25 degrees fahrenheit and you're positive you're still dreaming, until you walk outside...

Welcome to Nebraska.

Feezing what?!

Okay, so Rob and I had our first experience with freezing rain today. Yes, you heard right freezing rain... nope, it's not snow (just in case that's what you were thinking). I know, it's okay, that's what I thought when I heard it too ( : But no, freezing rain is a combination of who knows what (I mean really... like I know how these things happen! Yeah right!) that coats EVERYTHING in this thick diamond looking crust of ice. It leaves things looking a little bit like this: No, this is not a picture of my neighborhood, just a picture I got off the internet. However, it does give you an idea of the kind of damage this stuff causes! This is also not a picture of my own car: but it is sort of what my car looked like this morning. Maybe not quite as thick as this ice, but similar, non the less. You can imagine how long it took Rob and I to "scrape" (hack, claw, mutilate and destroy is more like it) the windows this morning just so we could see! Also this stuff really does a number to the roads. It puts a whole new meaning to the phrase "walking on ice."

Finals are OVER!

Goodbye, law library!! I've just finished my last final yesterday! It feels good to have one semester of law school under my belt! I feel like I've really accomplished something. A lot of people in my home ward in Pocatello didn't think I could (or would) really go through with law shcool. I don't know why they thought that... seems strange that anyone would tell me I can't do something. I believe that ANYONE can do whatever they want to. And I wanted to go to law school... and I've done it! It certainly feels good to prove those people wrong!!

Yay for being done with finals!!

Three Firsts...

This morning I awoke to something cool and soft brushing against my face. I thought I was dreaming and was about to turn over and go back to sleep when the soft, cool touch brushed my face again. Curious this time, I opened my eyes. To my absolute delight, my wonderful husband Rob was leaning over me with a long stemmed rose in his hand. The soft, cool touch happened to be the rose petals brushing my face. He bent down and whisphered softly in my ear... "bet you've never been woken up by rose petals before." I had to admit, I never have. It was a first for me.... The first time I have been awakened by the touch of a soft, velvety rose gently caressing my face... (how's that for good descriptive writing, eh?) Have I mentioned that I have the best husband ever?!

On a less mushy and romantic note... it snowed today!! Which would make it the first time it has snowed in Nebraska while I have been living here! Another first! I love the snow... Isn't it beautiful? I think so. It pretty much dumped on us all day long. The roads are very slippery and it is freezing outside (I'm talkin' about -10 farenhiet... yeah... COLD!) but it is so beautiful! Like a sparkling white wonderland. Have I mentioned I love the snow?

Today is also the first day I have been locked out of this apartment. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Rob is very forgetful, so I always make sure that he has his keys before I lock the door behind me. He's not going to let me forget it that I locked myself out today... the person who never forgets her keys forgot her keys today...grr... my pride definitely took a fall on that one! I'm sorry that it also had to happen during this ridiculously cold wheather! Luckily I was wearing a very warm coat ( :

They say that there is a first time for everything, and those are my three firsts for today!

More good books

Every time I finish a good book I just want to tell everyone to go out and read it! It's like I'm so excited about reading it that I want everyone to be excited about it. You think misery loves company? Well excitment loves company too!! Anyway to get to the point, I just read another fabulous book. It is Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy: I've actually only read the first one, but I'm thinking about waiting until AFTER finals to start the next one. It's too addicting! Screw being a vampire... I want to be a mistborn! ( :

And, of course, this is still in addition to my last recommendation, The Hunger Games. Luckily, thought, the Mistborn series is complete, and you won't have to wait on the edge of your seat for the next addition.

Happy reading! ( :

From the Archives...

Thought you guys (especially the Londoners) would enjoy this one ( :

For some people...

Just for the record, nothing I write on my blog is meant to me mean, vicious, vindictive or offensive in any way. I am not the kind of immature person who posts nasty things about people in hopes that other people will read them and think less of those people. Anything and everything I write is for pure enjoyment or entertainment. If I have said something on my blog that you perceive as offensive, this is probably because you are taking it the wrong way. It was probably meant to be a joke and you have spun it out of proportion.

You people know who you are.

If you don't like what I post, don't read my blog. It's as simple as that.

Look what I found in my pocket yesterday!

Oh to be a teenage girl again ( : By the way, have I mentioned that I love this movie?!

Ode to Thanksgiving Break...

Well after Rob's rather embarrassing post.... I figured I had better set the record straight. No, he isn't fat, he just wanted to stuff pillows in his shirt to make him look fat. When I wanted him to contribute to the blog I didn't really have that in mind. Oh well. Such is life. Beggars can't be choosers, I suppose ( :

A highlight of our trip to Utah was the BYU/Utah game! Alright, so maybe that wasn't such a good game.... Rob so appropriately labeled it as a "Maxacure." This is appropriate because anyone who saw the game can attest to the fact that BYU's quarter back, Max Hall, was probably the best player on the field--for Utah. Shucks. Kiss the Hiesman goodbye, Hall... grr. The worst part about losing the Utah game at Utah is the humiliating walk back to the car. And not only were Paul and I wearing blue, but we were kind of asking for it... big time... as you can see from out chosen apparel for the evening:
"Asking" probably isn't the right word... "demanding" is probably more appropriate. I kept trying to figure out ways to make a Utah person throw the first punch so that I could claim self defense in court, but those Utah people are smarter than they let on--despite the large quantities of alcohol they were consuming. And in the end, we all made it out of the stadium alive. Yay.


Another motivation to keep out of jail after the Utah game was that we went to see Twilight afterwards! I was pretty sure our jailer wouldn't let us out to see the movie, so that was another carrot to avoiding major brawls with the utes. I don't care what any of you "Twiligh-is-so-stupid-and-way-too-sappy-and-so-dumb-and-I-hate-Edward-Cullen" people say.... it was AMAZING! I've seen it twice already, and I loved it more the second time (if you can believe that). My favorite scene was the baseball game!! You Twilighters know what I'm talking about... that scene was the best!! It totally rocked!

The only complaint I have with the movie, is that I wish they would have spent more time developing the vampire family. One of the things I love most about the books is the development of the individual vampires. I love hearing their stories. I felt like the movie didn't touch on that enough. I want more vampire!! Maybe we'll get more of that in the next movie. Cross your fingers!!

We also went and saw our cute little niece and nephews! Here's Rob and I with the twins, Sophie and Johnathan:
Sophie is so chunky! She looks like a little cabbage patch doll! And Jonathan has the goofiest ears ever! They are so cute! But apparently they didn't enjoy smiling for the camera. Apparenly Aunt Julie and Uncle Robo don't come around enough. They were scared of us at first.

Then Johnathan discovered my "bling," and we were best friends after that. Apparently sparkly metalic necklaces taste good...
Rob bonding with Johnathan:
Rob bonding with Sophie:


While we were in Utah we also went down to Provo to explore our old trompin' grounds.

And of course, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat at our favorite greasy restaurant: Stans. All you Provo-ites who have not eaten there must do so! Its the broken down shack accross from Gold's Gym on 9th East. Trust me. You might gain 5 pounds eating there, but it's worth it!



Then we had family pictures with my family. They decided that since Rob and I were going to be in UT for Thanksgiving, they might as well come down too. Ahh... see, people love us!! ( : hee, hee! Here are some of the goofy shots we took after the picture taking session was finally over.

Paul was picking on me... I hate that he's bigger than me now. You totally lose your edge as a big sister once your sibblings get taller and stronger than you.






Isn't Robbie handsome?! I think so!! ( :


Then after a long break in Utah, we stopped in Denver on the way back to Nebraska to see Rob and Allie. It was SOOOOO good to see them again! I miss you guys! Hopefully we'll live by each other someday so we don't have to drive so far to see each other ( :

Anyway, I'm getting pretty tired of blgging at the moment, so I think I'm going to stop now. (I told you, I get bored really easily!) That's our trip to Utah in a nutshell. Just three more weeks and we get to go to Idaho for Christmas break!! ('cept this time we won't be driving... halelujiah! [or however you spell that...])

Love you all! And happy belated Thanksgiving!!

Rob's Blog Contribution

Ok I had to contribute something to "the Hansen blog." I want everyone who reads this to first know that everything Julie says about me is a lie. Yep everything. I'm a jobless bum who lives off of Julie's financial aid. Second, I'm fat. Yep you heard it right I've gained 50 pounds and I look like a porker...



Pretty bad huh. Yah Julie keeps trying to get me to go to Gold's gym with her, but I refuse. On the way back from Utah she actually got me to do some phyisical activity. I had to hobble to the other side of the car and actually DEPRESS the gas pedal...I think I might have broken out in a sweat! Well lazy is the new workhorse, so hoorah for computer games and movies!
The End

I cut my hair!!

Rob kept bugging me about wanting to get his hair cut, and my hair kept bugging me, so we had a hair cutting party last night! Don't worry, we weren't cutting each other's hair or anything... that'd probably turn out bad! Here's the before and after...
BEFORE:

As you can see it's ridiculously long! I had the hair stylist snap a shot before she started chopping away. I'm pretty sure I haven't had a real hair cut since London (about 2 1/2 years ago) It's been a while!
AFTER:

This was definitely a self portrait, so it's not the best picture in the world, however you get the point.

It's so short! I like it, but I'm still getting used to it... I'm going through about half the shampoo I used to, and I keep reaching back to keep it from getting caught on my back pack, only to realize that's not a problem anymore!

Yay for new hair styles ( :

5th of November

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I can think of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.


Happy Guy Fawkes Day, Londoners! ( :

Tagging Maddness

I've been tagged by Adri. I'm not exactly sure what this means, but I suppose I'll follow up on it, since it seems as thought I haven't posted anything substantial in a while.

The Rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you (which I have no idea how to do... we'll see if it works!)
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about yourself
4. Tag 6 more bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blog's to let them know they've been tagged

I might have problems with that linking thing... we'll see!

MY 6 UNSPECTACULAR QUIRKS:

1. I hate it when people read over my shoulder

Seriously, it doesn't matter what I'm reading or who it is, I can't stand having someone looking over my shoulder! Silly, I know. This quirk seems to have spilled over into other aspects of life. For instance, I like to sit in the back of the class so that no one is behind me. I'm not parinoid or anything, I just like to be able to see everything that is going on. I also don't like it when people will walk about 3-5 feet in back of me. I usually end up slowing down so they'll pass me.

2. I love fuzzie socks
A couple Christmases ago my mom bought me these pink and red fuzzie socks. It was love at first sight. I now have several pairs of "sockies" that I wear around the house like slippers. They're the best!

3. I like to have the house freezing
Yes, even in the winter time. Marrying Rob has put somewhat of a damper on this one. He seems to think that the house should be kept just short of sweltering. He likes to turn the heat up, and wear hoodies, sweat pants and socks to bed. I can't see how he doesn't sweat to death! I like to have the house freezing and then cuddle up under the blankets... it's much more cozy that way! My mom used to get mad at me and Lisa, because we'd keep our bedroom window open during the winter time. I seem to remember getting grounded on several occasions for doing this...

4. I love to have my toe nails painted!
I hate having my toe nails "naked." I don't think they're very pretty without anything on them ( : So basically my toe nails are always covered with some sort of color! I don't really care about fingernails... if anything, I prefer polish-less finger nails, however toe nail polish is a must for me!

5. I am very good at multi-tasking
Seriously, I could probably set records for how many things I can do at one time. Rob teases me and says I have a mutated form of multi personality disorder. He calls my personalities "Julie 1" "Julie 2" "Julie 3", etc., depending on how many tasks I am doing at once. This talent has come in handy during law school. Rob thinks its unfair to the other students that I can read for a different class while still taking notes on the class I'm in, emailing, chatting with him online, writing another chapter of my book (by the way, I'm writing a book, p.s.) and listening to a lecture all at once. ( : I think I'll take all the advantage I can get!

6. I L-O-V-E to read
Pretty much everyone already knows this about me. This little quirk gets in my way of getting things done sometimes. At times I'll get so into a book that I just can't put it down. The multi-tasking talent comes in handy when I come across a good book, that way I can keep reading during class ( : I like all genres, from science fantasy, to just plain fantasy, to history, to historical fiction, political thrillers, everything! I just finished readig The Hunger Games... I couldn't put it down. I suggest you check it out! Currently, I'm reading The Wizard Heir.

People I tag:

Allie
Emilee
Kristen
Natalie
Karen
Nat-a-baby

The Hunger Games

I just read this incredibly good book! You guys should check it out!!



Don't read it unless you want to be held in suspence until the next one comes out. She leaves you hanging!!

Would you fall for this?

Nice try, Rob.

A week in the life of the Hansens!

This has been a fun week in Lincoln! Despite the fact that I miss the mountains like CRAZY (thanks to all you friends who have been posting pictures from your fun mountain camping trips online...I live vicariously through you) Rob and have actually managed to have a lot of fun this week! Not like we don't always have fun, of course! ( :

First we went to Rob's baseball game. He was so cute out there playing baseball! I'm sure Rob doesn't appreciate me refering to his sports playing abilities as "cute" but hey, I'm a girl, I'm allowed to use that word! Rob is an excellent baseball player! Unfortunately, this was a tournament game, and since they lost this week, there won't be any more games til spring... oh well! We'll just have to find something else to do on Wednesday nights now!
Up to bat!
He's so handsome! Even when he is all hot and sweaty!!
Every good player needs a good cheer section! That's me!! By the way, it was FREEZING! I was too happy to be mad about the cold, though... the cold weather reminds me of being in the mountains, and that makes me happy!... I'm so pathetic!

On Friday, besides watching BYU slaughter the Aggies, we also went to this SWEET dance concert. Rob's work does some of the advertising and sponsering for the fine arts center in town, so we got free tickets to this modern tap/Irish/Clogging deal. IT WAS SO COOL! So I'm a clogger, and I geek out over things like this... but I'm telling ya, even if you aren't a dancer, you'd think this was awesome!
Yes those are all guys dancing up there, and yes, they were AMAZING! Seriously, they could kick my trash in a dance down.

I know you can't see this picture very well, cause it's really blurry, but this guy is playing guitar AND dancing at the same time. SO COOL!!!

On Saturday morning, Rob and I went to the Haymarket. The Haymarket is in downtown Lincoln, and every Saturday, during the fall, they close off the street and a whole bunch of vendors come in and sell stuff. Its kind of like a mini Portobello Road! Rob's favorite part was sampling everything... he was like a little kid in a candy store!

Notice how big the sky is? Creepy, eh? No mountains to break up the skyline!
While we were out we ate at this FABULOUS downtown pizza parlor! It had a Huskers theme (of course) and I think this is supposed to be Rob's gameday face...
Seriously, I know it doesn't look like much, but this pizza was AWESOME! Probably up there with the best pizza I've ever had in my life.

And just so you don't think that I'm completely unproductive as a law student, I also finished my first major law school assingment today! I was worried earlier this week when I realized there was a page limit of 11. I realized that there was a limit right about the time that I was on the 11th page and not nearly finished yet! No worries, though! I managed to shave 3 pages off the 14 when I was finished! Look at me go! Yay for law school! ( :


AND THEN.... (yes, I told you we had fun this week!) after I finished studying... Rob and I carved pumpkins! We realized that we've been dating/married for 4 Halloweens now and we've never carved pumkins together. We decided to remedy that!

We opted to take our Cougar pride out on the poor defensless pumpkins... I'm not so sure how long they'll last sitting on our porch in Huskerville...

I think it's supposed to be a facemask... what do you think?...
GO COUGARS!!!!