Black Friday...

The shopaholic/consumer in me says Black Friday is the best day of the year. Growing up in my house, Thanksgiving was spent with my mom pouring over ads while watching the Macy's Parade and mapping out the best game plan for the morning. We would determine who had the best doorbusters, who was giving away free stuff, where the on-demand ticket items were, and so on.

Early...and I mean EARLY... the next morning, we would get all bundled up and go stand in the lines. I would get sent to one department store and my mom would take over the other. Part of the game plan was to run into the store, grab the free item and doorbusters, pay, then run into the other store and meet up. We seriously have a shelf full of our JCPenney's snow globes! It was the perfect mother and daughter bonding experience.
This year, my mom wasn't able to go. I wasn't sure if I really even wanted to get up early, especially since I had work that day.

But then I saw this bracelet in a JCPenney ad...

2 CT. Diamond. Silver.
Door buster sale for $99, down from almost $700.

I'm not even really a fine jewelery kind of person, but I've wanted a diamond bracelet ever since our honeymoon in the Caribbean, where the diamond industry is huge. I saw them everywhere there... but we figured we should probably use our money at the time to eat shrimp every night instead.

For any other deal, I would have happily gone down myself to the store at 4 in the morning... but this is a romantic gift, so I figured Judd should be the one to buy it for me.

So being the romantic dude he is, Judd accompanied me to JC Penney before the crack of dawn. We found the one outside door with 5 people in front of it instead of 500, which was also conveniently located by the jewelery department. At 4 a.m. sharp, the doors opened and we flew in. We were the first ones in the jewelery department, and there it was!

Once the bracelet was purchased, Judd realized there are HUGE advantages to waking up this early on Black Friday. He couldn't believe the major sales and how cheap everything was, particularly a remote-control helicopter he'd been eyeing for awhile (Oh Judd and his toys...)! It really is a rush to see everything you've wanted for a quarter of the price...

Don't worry, we're not completely selfish. We got almost everyone covered that day as far as gifts go.

I know it's best to be frugal, but I honestly believe it's perfectly okay to spoil yourself every now and then. It doesn't have to be huge or extreme, but it's good to be good to yourself. And if you give to others in the process, the better! And what better way to do it when everything is cheaper anyway?

Rest in Peace, Little Cousin

When I was younger, I always wondered why I didn't have more cousins than I could count like a lot of my friends did. I was shocked that there were people out there who didn't even know all their cousins' names. For me, it was easy. I had 3 cousins total for most of my childhood, plus another that came along in my teens. We joked that we got a new cousin every decade and it was somewhat true.

The Alworth family couldn't have been more thrilled to find out several months ago that a new cousin was on the way. My uncle Cameron and his girlfriend Berit were expecting. November 11, Anderson Montgomery Alworth was born. He had our nose, our chubby cheeks, and our dark hair. He was one of us...

A few short days later... November 25... he left this world, all too shortly.

I'm sad I didn't get to meet the little cousin I have waited years for, as he lived across the country. I'm feel terrible that I couldn't go with the rest of my family to his service tomorrow. My brothers and I donated a floral arrangement, but I wish there was more I could do. I love my extended family and wish I could be there just for support.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't believe in a life after this. It's such a tragic and hopeless thought to think that little Anderson was here and gone without a purpose. His life has brought people together and strengthened family bonds. There is another baby out there who lives because they received Anderson's heart. I hope there is a day when we will all be with this little baby.

Robin's Baby Shower!

Robin's baby shower for our first little nephew Jett (it's still Jett, right?) was Saturday!

It was the first time I've had any involvement in planning a baby shower. I did games and made sure I didn't include the poopy chocolate diaper game. Judd's height was as always helpful for hanging stuff up. We got Jett a little baby bath/basket.

Robin looked fabulous in a non-maternity dress. I hope I look that awesome preggo someday!

Molly made this really good cheesy vegetable soup we ate with bread bowls. Recipe please, thank you! I have a ton of it in my fridge and have been eating it all day, it's so yummy!

I'm thinking maybe next time around, I could maybe possibly potentionally be preggo with my sisters-in-law. I think it would be fun to have a pregnant friend to go through it with. My mother in law asked me to promise it. No guarentees there, but after seeing how fun baby stuff can be, I'm open to it! Of course, after Judd graduates and I get my fill in as a producer!

Anyways, congrats to Robin and our nephew! We can't wait to meet him!

A "Wasted" Vote

Judd and I took advantage of early voting a few weeks ago. Why not hit two birds with one stone, shop at Galleria and do our duties as citizens?

While we both voted for who we individually felt would be good candidates, we were stumped on who to vote for as our Senator. We didn't like either any of the choices available. I refuse to vote straight Republican just because I am one, I truly believe in picking the best person for the job, and we both felt that none of the candidates were the "best".

Luckily in Nevada, there is a "none of these candidates" option, so that is what we chose for this question.

I've been told several times that I "wasted" this vote by picking that option. I "gave away" my vote to someone else.

Obviously someone will become our new (or current) senator tonight. I'm not thrilled about the choices I was given and I hope that whoever the new senator is will rise above expectations and help our state.

In 1844, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were in a similar situation. They all really wanted to do their duty as citizens and vote, but unfortunately, none of the presidential candidates were sympathetic to their cause. They could not feel good about voting for any of those options. Prophet Joseph Smith stepped up and decided to run for president. He obviously wasn't going to win, but he ran so the Saints could have a peaceful conscience with their vote.

Voting is a right people, especially women and minorities, worked hard to make happen in this country. I feel it is important to honor their sacrifices by voting today. We shouldn't complain about our leaders if we didn't do anything to help or discourage their election.

In choosing "none of these candidates," we express our opinion that none of the candidates shared views that are consistent or close to our own, therefore we cannot select any of them. If the chosen candidate does terrible in office, we can have a peaceful conscience knowing we didn't help put them there. There's no such thing as a perfect candidate, and people do make mistakes, but there's no reason why we should have to vote for someone we obviously do not agree with.

This election is extremely tight today, and in Nevada, every vote really does count. So wherever you are, take a few moments to cast a ballot. If anything, you get a sticker that might give you a discount somewhere!

Hallow's Eve

This weekend was full of lots of fantastic Halloween fun, and while I was too busy to take a million pictures, I have these few for just a glimpse!


Sierra and Darren had a Halloween party, so we all carved the goofiest pumpkins we could come up with. Ours is the Cheshire Cat at the end, but I think my favorite had to be Casey and Andrea's pumpkin-eating-a-pumpkin at the other end!

Darren home-brewed some root beer (something I'm dying to figure out how to do!). Lexi and Tori look so entranced by this!

And of course I had to love on the babies! Sierra and Darren's dog Anonymous had puppies a few weeks back, and it is very tempting to not steal one every time we see them!
The one time a year I'm allowed to dress my dog up...at least she liked it!
And our happy little family! The police skirt was a bit shorter than I expected, but thank goodness for really opaque leggings! I know it looks like a cop, but really, it's Public Information Officer Kidman! And of course, Judd was nice enough to wear the prisoner shirt.

I wish I had my camera for work, Channel 8 sure celebrates Halloween in style! Plus it was great to finally be able to dress up for Halloween at work.

Oh yeah, we do have a life...

I realized that I spend so much time just spouting off whatever's going on in my mind that I've neglected to update this blog on other happenings! And what's the point of having a Mormon Mommy Blog (minus the mommy part)/Cute Young Married Couple blog without sharing for posterity's sake what we do these days?



There's about a billion October events in Las Vegas, mainly because people can finally stand to be outside for more than 15 minutes. We go to as many as we can, but by far, the funnest is the Ren Faire! Okay, so it may just be me who thinks that, but I'm trying to stretch out my childhood for as long as I can, and since I've been going to this since I was 11, it works. Jousting, great food, freak show, I love it! Judd loves it too, he just won't openly admit it =D

Karaoke Night! Kristin with an I came into town (you know I love you!) the other night, so it was a bit of an LVA/Friends We've Gathered Along The Way Reunion at the Ellis Island Karaoke bar! I'm permanently scarred from constantly having to compete against overly-amazing singers back during my LVA years, so I don't sing by myself publicly... but I'll sing in a group! Unfortunately the line to sing was about 100 years long so our little group didn't get to show off our best Spice Girls rendition (I was going to be Baby), but it was fun to cheer on Maria and Kristin. And Sasha should put out an album, she was the best singer there!



And this morning there was one of those rare freak thunderstorms. We don't have grass in our little yard, so I made Bindi wear bags on her feet. Such a patient dog!

Other then that, I'm just counting the days down to Graduation. Judd is making Cowboy Beebop Grips for his gun, and he hopes he can eventually make some to sell on Ebay. Apparently (nerdy) people pay hundreds of dollars for these. Thankfully I married someone extra nerdy who would rather make his own! (that's why I love him!)

We've been doing so much better at eating healthy and have shed some of those nasty newlywed pounds. Not that there were a lot, but I think everyone who is married knows what I mean. I'm on this big vegetable and "blue fruit" kick right now. I tell Judd it's in an effort to keep him around longer, but really, I know I at least feel a lot healthier and have more energy lately.

And the holidays are coming up! I'm already working on my Black Friday list, because I'll be honest, Black Friday is my favorite holiday after Fourth of July. I save up for it for months...then just let loose for a day! Don't worry, I'm getting in everyone's Christmas presents in there, I'm not that selfish.

And we're about to be an aunt and uncle for the first time! Robin is having a little boy and Molly will know soon what her baby will be. We're super excited to meet the little ones!

Sister Wives Marathon

TLC sure loves "unique" families.

They love "little people" families, they love really big families, they love really big families made up of multiples. They love families who work on motorcycles, they love families who enter beauty pageants, and they especially love families with freak or accidental pregnancies. If there's anything I've learned from watching TLC, it's that families come in many, many different forms.

Including polygamy, as demonstrated by the lovely Brown family.

I was a little late in tuning into this show, but lucky for me (and Judd since I was in so much shock that I made him sit through it with me), all the episodes were re-running last night in preparation for the season (and probably series) finale. So we had a little polygamist TV marathon last night, complete with pizza and grape soda.

Watching "Sister Wives" to me was like watching a really bad movie that makes you really uncomfortable to sit through, but at the same time it is so fascinating that you can't turn it off. There were a lot of moments where the partial feminist in me cringed, gasped, wanted to throw the remote at the TV, and so on. These moments seemed to happen the most whenever clueless husband Cody or ditzy 3rd wife Christine opened their mouths to say anything. I especially wanted to slap Christine for setting up her newborn daughter to fail by naming her "Truely Brown." I know she had a middle name, but no one is going to remember to use it. Better hope Truely marries someone with a better last name, "Truely Brown" just sounds sad. I'm all for unique names, but come on, think of your kid and all the teasing they might get at their polygamist home school!

Oh, the other cringe moments came whenever about-to-be 4th wife Robyn burst into tears. She bursts into tears every time someone talks to her, she thinks a happy thought, and especially over her shared soul mate Cody.

Which made me wonder, if Cody is everyone's "soul mate", did he have to create some Horcruxes to split that soul up among four wives? So every time he remarries, he becomes less of a person? (sorry, I'm way too excited about Harry Potter in a few weeks!)

Cody may not be Voldemort, but it's pretty obvious the dude just wants a younger, more fertile wife since the other three are in their late thirties and just about past their child-bearing years. The worst was when he told one of the wives that it makes him sick to imagine her with another man...how does he think these wives feel on a daily basis?

But there were aspects of the show I liked too. I really liked 1st wife Meri since she seemed to be the most honest of the bunch and told Cody off the most for legitimate things. I liked the gaggle of teenage daughters who had life goals other than marrying the second they could. I wasn't able to form much of an opinion on 2nd wife Janelle other than that I'm glad she worked because someone needed to keep Cody in his shiny new Lexus and pay for Robyn's country club reception...oh, and feed the kids too.

I appreciate that TLC chose a more mainstream family to represent polygamy other than literal modern-day pioneers that you see in stories about raids and child molestation. These people look pretty normal and their kids seem pretty well adjusted. The wives seemed to genuinely care for one another and their kids. Quite honestly, I'm not sure what part of what they are doing is illegal, as Cody is legally only married to Mari. It's not much different than "The Girls Next Door" except these are mommies rather than Bunnies and there's a bunch of kids involved. But as evidenced in this show, Mr. Brown has several bedrooms he must rotate between, much like Mr. Hefner, I can imagine.

I could never do it. I'm glad I was born in the century I was, because I really don't think I could ever do it. I understand why it was done, but it's not for me.

But it does raise an interesting question: If gay marriage becomes mainstream, will polygamy become a more open thing? Not for religious reasons, but just because it, too, is an "alternative" view of marriage? Or what about one woman and two men? Is there even a culture that allows that?