Highlights from Vegas

 I was going to edit a video together of our trip, but right now I'm just not feeling it... I'll probably get it done later, but for now here are some highlights of our month in Vegas! 

Our second Christmas together! And I love the Bellagio during Christmas time! Yes, that tree is REAL! It is massive! If you haven't gone to Vegas for Christmas or at least around Christmas time, I would recommend going to see the Bellagio! It's amazing.

      

Dallan and I both have brothers serving missions for our church. My brother is in London and his brother is in Maryland! We got to skype them for Christmas and it was by far the best gift I got. =) They both get to come home this year and we are so excited!

I tried to get over my fear of birds... despite my face, I was having a heart attack inside..

I love Zupas! It was my "go to" place to eat when I lived in Utah and I got so excited to hear they had one in Vegas, so of course I had to eat there! YUMMY!

This is one of Dallan's two doggies. Beau just passed away a couple days ago. =( We were happy to be able to spend a month this this little guy! 

I got to visit my Great Grandma and Great Aunt's graves. I never met them, but Dallan has taught me to appreciate my ancestry. =)

And speaking of Ancestry, we went to the Mormon Fort in downtown Vegas where one of his ancestors, and two of mine helped settle there! Pretty cool! 

I love this picture of Dallan!

  

We got to FINALLY meet our first nephew! He's so precious! Definitely didn't help the baby hunger..

         

I mean c'mon... mom status right there =P JK! We are still waiting! 

  

Last but not least I got to go SLEDDING on Mt. Charleston! YAY! It was a different experience sledding in 45 degree weather, without gloves or hats needed (for me at least), but it was really fun!

     

Movie Monday

If anyone knows me, they know I love going to the movies! So I'm going to start a Movie Monday review series. Now it may not be every Monday, but it may just be here and there, or whenever I think movie is super great or super horrible! My thoughts are always kind of scattered, but welcome to my A.D.D kind of thinking. Also, keep in mind that I'm not an English major so my punctuation and all of that may be off.

Go see Saving Mr. banks if you haven't! I really enjoyed this movie. It wasn't AT ALL what I was expecting from a Disney movie. I was expecting a happy story when in reality, it's really not. This docudrama was very intriguing and has a lot of adult themes for a Disney film. If you haven't seen it, I would stop reading because I may give some things away

I've always liked movies that are based on true events (besides horror movies.. count me out on those!). But holy crap, this movie was really heartbreaking! For those of you who haven't seen it, here is a TINY synopsis of the film, " Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen." And reflect she did! Her upbringing was really sad. Throughout the movie it goes back and forth from her childhood to her present time. Now I realize that some stuff isn't 100% accurate (trust me, I fact checked when I got home.) but it was really well done. There are many things in her book Mary Poppins she wrote about people in her life as a child. Mr. Banks is a key character here, obviously. Mr. Banks was based on Travers' father and how she tries to save his character from coming across as a mean and arrogant person in the movie. This was almost an over reaction because she couldn't save her father from dying in real life. Whenever Travers would get upset about how Disney wanted to play out this particular character, let alone the whole movie, she would always revert back to a childlike state. Including playing in the dirt and remembering the good and fun times she had with her dad.

This really got me thinking about the human mind. When you really think about it, everyone reverts back to a time when it seemed to be the happiest time in their lives. Especially during a hardship in their lives. I know I do for sure! Think about Walt Disney. It is mentioned in the movie that he started working at around age 8 for his dad and had to grow up pretty fast. He never got to experience childhood, hence his childlike mind with all the cartoons! I'm not complaining about it, I love them, it just makes sense why he was so into the children's books and all that! Michael Jackson comes to mind too. Yes, he was a weirdo with great music, but he never got to be a kid! Starting with The Jackson 5 at such a young age and going right into a music career made him grow up to fast. 

I then start to think of childhood celebrities and how sad of a life they really have. I realize no all end up crazy, but the majority do. Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes anyone? They grow up way to fast and at some point they just burst! It is such a sad thing to see happen and I really feel bad for them. 

This movie is definitely a tear and thought jerker! So be prepared! It makes you really appreciate what and who you have in your life.

Editing Spree

As soon as I got back from Vegas, I got super motivated to edit videos that have been sitting for months waiting for me to get my hands on.. SO...

I finished our Hawaii vacay video, FINALLY! If you haven't seen it, click here. 

When that weight was lifted off my shoulders, I was ready to tackle another project... Alie and Chris' AK ring ceremony and reception video! I got it done in 10ish hours! I was super motivated and had SO much fun. Although I wasn't there at the reception, I got to piece together video that others had taken. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. Here is the video for all you who want to watch!

Wood AK Reception from Jordan Petersen on Vimeo.

Now onto our Vegas video! YAY!

Vacation Hangover

I have had NO motivation to do anything lately and that includes my absence in the blogging world. I always have a hard time adjusting to the real world especially being gone a whole month. It feels so good to be home! Remind me to NEVER be gone that long again... It messes up my body and mind. My sleeping has been extremely weird for me. 10+ hours a sleep a night for me is RARE! But I have been sleeping that much since I've been home! Talk about recovery. 

January itself so far has been pretty lame. The weather melted a ton of the snow here in Alaska, so now it is just icy.. I just want to go sledding! I'm hoping it'll snow a ton soon! 

On a side note... I have been editing a ton and have a couple more videos to show you guys soon! Probably this week and next! YAY! =) 

Here's the amazing sunset we had the other night! I can't get over it!

Hawaii Part 2

FINALLY, I am done editing our Hawaii vacation video after about 2 months! I have had a big lack of motivation, but today BAM! I got it all done! =) I'm really excited to share it with you all and watching it makes me want to go back right now. So many fun memories and goofy moments. Enjoy!

Hawaii November 2013 from Jordan Petersen on Vimeo.

A Few Things I've Learned About Marriage

Briar Photography

Reflecting on 2013, I decided to write down just A FEW things I have learned about being married. I have learned so much about myself and about my husband but these are a few I want to share for now. =)

#1. It is NOT possible to spend 24/7 with your spouse without wanting to rip their heads off. It's just not possible. Personal space is still prevalent even when you're married! Let yourself have "me" time, it's super important, not only for your own sanity but for your spouse as well.

#2. There is no such thing as OVER COMMUNICATING! D and I always make sure we are on the same page for every little thing! We have no problem letting each other know what's going on, whether it's our daily or future plans.

#3. It's okay to argue. In fact, it's healthy to argue. It's better to let your spouse know what is bothering you and kind of fight it out and come up with a solution then to hold it in. This sort of goes along with communication, but it is really important. If you hold stuff in because you don't want to hurt your spouses feelings, DON'T! It will only hurt the relationship more if you let it simmer and then it comes out years later. 

#4. It's more then okay to have different interests. For instance, D is a history buff, specifically in church history and family history. Me, not so much. Some things intrigue me about it but I can only handle so much at a time. I am a TV junkie and I'm sure D could care less about which person is crazy and which person is pretty in the TV shows I watch. If we both had the same interests and hobbies life would get really boring! 

#5. Define your roles as a couple. It is important to define things in the relationship like: who is going to be the sole money maker, or if both of you will do that, who does what chore, who does the finances, etc. If these are not defined then future arguments and assumptions can come up that can really take a toll on a marriage.

#6. DATE NIGHT! This is super important as work and other things get in the way of having time for just the two of us to be together and enjoy each others company. Try and do something out of the normal date night routine.

Happy New Year!

WOOHOO!!! It's 2014!!! How CRAZY!! The New Year always brings up things we all want to work on or a certain goal we want to meet. I have a two that I think are actually obtainable!! Which is freaking awesome!!

#1 Work out AT LEAST 4 times a week for AT LEAST 30 minutes. D and I came up with rewards for ourselves if we complete them. D will get to get a new history book! He was actually excited about it because he loves history obviously, AND he has a chance to get 12 new books! My reward is new cinematography equipment! The first thing I'm going to get (after 4 months though... It has to be equivalent to D's book prices) is a glidecam! I've been wanting one for a while now and I think it will take my video's to the next level! YAY!

#2 I have been wanting to expand my knowledge in cooking. So my goal is to cook AT LEAST one NEW meal a month. I'm trying to build a solid recipe book so I don't have to eat the same stuff over and over again. If you guys have any recipes PLEASE send them my way =)