Hello 2012!!!

We just completed our family card. What fun memories!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Taxes - DONE

Yeah! We just submitted our taxes. It's a great feeling to have that over with. Plus we got a little something back. :)

1 Week

This morning marks 1 week of being wheat, sugar, and dairy-free. Well kind of, Garrett and I went to dinner last night at a new restaurant and I forgot to ask about the dishes enough. So I ate flour in the appetizer, cream/butter in the entree and by the end of the movie I was so thirsty that I had to have a sip of Garrett's Sprite (so sugar!). What a crazy night, but I'm back on the wagon with my brown-rice (sugar-free) cereal with Almond milk. I hope I can last a few more days so I can figure out what my "go forward" diet will be.

I'm not sure how much sugar, wheat, and dairy to bring back into my life. Any ideas?

PS - I've lost 1 lb, so there is lots of support for me to continue this a while longer.

Day 5

I've successfully started my 5th day of no sugar, no wheat, and no dairy. It is still hard especially if I don't think a head about what to eat. Finding meals that don't have these ingredients isn't as hard as it would seem, but it does require thought and energy. I guess that's an important part of any diet or life change. Some day (maybe sooner than later) I will go back to these items but in more moderation.

So here are just a few things that I've eaten...dried pears (love them!), almonds (yep - started to eat nuts), many clementines, grilled chicken with vegetables and barley, gluten-free vegan pancakes with fruit, and warm chocolate soy milk. For lunch I'm going to make french fries (with olive oil and salt).

48 hours!

I'm happy to announce I've been 48 hours (2 days) dairy-free, wheat-free, and sugar-free. Natural sugars are okay. :) It's been a long journey of cleansing, so I thought I would share the food journey for anyone who is thinking about this. It may be foolish or very wise to start this around Valentine's Day, but I got enough support last week with ideas that I just had to start right away.

Last week I became aware of all the dairy, wheat and sugar in my life. Though I tried to just cut it out, that was not the correct way. I needed options before I went completely free. So Garrett and I went to Whole Foods and went crazy. All the milk substitutes and bread ideas. With plenty of options to eat, I started on Sunday.

It wasn't too bad on Sunday but I really wanted a cookie or hot chocolate. I did eat lots of almonds, clementines, gluten-free bread. For lunch I made a ham sandwich with soy-cheese. Rice cheese is not that good. Then we ate a lovely lamb and brussels sprouts with frozen fruit for dessert. I survived!

That gave me great motivation for my second day. Egg whites with spinach and mushrooms greeted me for breakfast. Then I had 2 gluten-free, soy-cheese, ham sandwiches (not a good thing for a second day). Handful of nuts. This did not help me since it was Valentine's day with tons of chocolate and cookies outside my door. I was so sad to not partake. I ended up getting a headache.

So to save me from going off this, I went to Whole Foods and found their naturally sweetened soda - yummy! Once there I found the perfect dinner - tomales. And I was inspired for tomorrow's lunch - sushi. The journey is tough but everyone says that in a couple of days I will feel fabulous and not miss all of these things. Fortunately this is not a complete life change but a cleansing diet. Wish me luck!

Rome - My First Visit

Garrett is now in Rome, NY for the summer. He's working with AFRL on a research project, so I only get to see him on the weekends. :( But like my coworker stated - if you can't get quantity time then go for quality with the time. That's what we are going for. Every weekend will be full of memories and bonding time. Sounds like an okay summer.

So this is my first visit to Rome. We also went to Palmyra, NY to see the Hill Comorah Pageant. It was so beautiful.

A beautiful lake at Rome

The Hill Comorah Pageant

Palmyra Temple

My Hero :)

You might not be able to see it but the Victory USA on the concrete block is made out of pennies.

New York Library

Garrett and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to go to Bryant Park. Unfortunately it was being renovated and all the grass was torn up. But that didn't ruin the day - just the sitting on the grass part. We then had lunch and walked to the library to get our New York Library cards. The first books we checked out...an autobiography (A Backwards Glance) and a book on learning French.

7 Month Anniversary

It's our Seven Month Anniversary as well as the anniversary of our engagement. Yeah! In addition, our fabulous event was published in the Martinsville Bulletin. It looks beautiful!

http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=22755&back=accent

Blizzard in NYC - Feb 10th

It can't compare to DC, but we had plenty of snow to write messages in them. It did snow all day on Wednesday, so schools were cancelled (even Garrett's university). Most people didn't go into work, but I did! Garrett was sweet enough to walk me to work. Here are some memories of the day.

Celebration

For our anniversary and Valentine's Day, Garrett took me to a lovely restaurant called The Russian Tea Room. It was so amazing! Garrett had stroganoff which consisted of fillet mignon with an amazing sauce with mushrooms over noodles. It was a deconstructed meal - best ever. Our desserts were pretty cool too.

The art around the building was fabulous also. It was just a lovely evening. Thanks sweetie!

Crystal Bear that is an aquarium. So beautiful

Faberge Eggs hung from a gold tree.

Welcome Elizabeth Hales Rose

Well the long process of changing my name has begun. Who knew the complexities of the entire process, but it all began with the Social Security Card and hopefully will end by April with a passport.

I went to the Social Security Office near China Town and may have been the only person who did not speak fluent Chinese. It was great because it wasn't crowded. The 20-degree weather and time of day worked in my advantage and I only had to wait 10 minutes. Then I tried to change my driver's license or bank accounts, but everything needs to have a copy of the new Social Security card first.

However, when I start my new job on Monday, my office and telephone will say "Betsy Rose". Yeah!

Christmas doesn't end yet

To celebrate our relaxing weekend together, Garrett and I decided to go to the American Natural History Museum and see if their tree was still up. It was still very festive with the dinosaurs made out of large pine-tree branches and the TONS of people there. It wasn't as bad as Time Square at New Years, but we were amazed at how long the lines were.

When we mentioned that all we wanted to see was the Christmas Tree a worker took pity on us and showed us a faster way. And there it was the origami tree!
I was so excited. I had no clue about this until this year when I googled a few "must see" things in NY. But don't worry this wasn't the first and only year. "For over 35 years" OrigamiUSA has designed and decorated a tree to herald the beginning of the holiday season" for the museum. This year the theme was Origami A to Z. As you look up close you'll see dinosaurs, birds, letters, etc. So much fun!
The top was also very impressive. Maybe we should decorate Mom & Dad Hales' tree this way next year. Are you game?

Just a close up to show all the amazing detail. I love the centipede.

Christmas!!!

We spent our first Christmas in Virginia with Garrett's family. It was so much fun. There was tons of food, wrapping paper and love. And within a few days there were tons of people of all ages enjoying the season - just like a Utah Christmas. :) People kept asking me if it was too much, but it just made me feel more at home the more we played games and laughed.

We ate a lot, so there were a lot of dishes. Derek and Shauna weren't the only ones playing with the suds.

Toby is very loyal when you have ham, turkey, cheese...what a good dog!
Here is the Rose clan! I'm so blessed to be a part of this. Merry Christmas!

You Know Its Fall When There Is Football!

Garrett and I went to our first football game together - Army vs. VMI. Located at West Point, NY made it an easy commute to see a Virginia team play. Fortunately it wasn't that competitive so when we cheered for VMI, I didn't fear for our safety. All in all we cheered for good plays and groaned for the sad plays. Two things I learned...1)VMI does not pass (total of 5 tries with 2 completions) and 2) cadets are required to go to games and do push-ups when Army scores. A pretty fun event over all.

At half time they brought out a 100-yard flag - so cool! That was the largest flag I've ever seen.

In the end Army won. Go Army!

Vermont - Joseph Smith's Birthplace

On our way home from Vermont, we stopped by Joseph Smith's birthplace. I didn't realize that he was born in Vermont and then the family moved to New York. We arrived in time to watch the movie about his life.

It is so moving to remember what an amazing man he was and how the Lord blesses and loves us through so many great trials. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and has restored the loving gospel so that we can live with our Heavenly Father and our family for eternity.

More Vermont

At the Cabot Cheese store they had this fun cow. I think it's made for children, but we're children at heart!

I'm mooing!

Happy cows are in VT.
This is why I thought it was made more for children or those under 4 ft.

Wedding Pictures! - Eating Cake

Not the ones from our photographer, but ones from our friends. Thank you all! Here is how much fun we had eating cake.

It was just as delicious as it was beautiful!

The Wall

Garrett is in Ireland...but is Betsy?

Nope...this is Storm King's Wall. So cool!

I love that it disappears into the water, and it comes up on the other side.

Garrett wanted to walk the entire 2,278.5 ft. But we settled for a segment.

Garrett is so strong that he created a space for us to walk through...okay the break was already there. :)

Storm King Inspiration

We were so inspired by the art that we became a bit silly. Here are some of our favorite photos...

This chair is made of 1/2 dollar welded together...I felt like a queen.

Christina and I are trapped!

One of my favorite photos - go Robo!

Fairy Stone Necklaces - by Garrett S. Rose

The Legend:

Once upon a time in a wondrous land we now know as southwest Virginia there lived many happy fairies. These fairies lived a somewhat carefree life laughing, frolicking and doing all sort of marvelous things that fairies typically do. One day as the fairies were enjoying their favorite fairy games they received word from an angel that the Lord Jesus Christ had been crucified. Now this was news that made the fairies very sad - so sad that they began to cry. A wondrous thing then happened - as the fairies' tears hit the ground they formed into small stones shaped like crosses. It has been many years since the fairies last lived in the forests of Virginia but their tears still remain in the form of fairystones.

Two small fairystones are displayed in the necklaces Betsy and her mother are wearing in the photo above. My father has shaped fairystones for years now and both of my parents often make these necklaces together. Just a little taste of the Virginia Blue Ridge to share with the world.