Utah Jazz- The One where Andrei Kirilenko has a really cool beanie.

Tonight Justin and I met up with some of our friends in the ward who are big Utah Jazz fans like us and went to the Jazz vs. Timberwolves game.  We were all cheering for the Jazz even though we live in Minnesota, Jeff even had his Jazz Jersey on.  There were a lot more Jazz fans there than I thought there would be.  We had GREAT lower bowl seats.  It was the closest I have ever sat at an NBA game! You could actually hear the players talking, it sure beats the nose bleeds at the Delta Center.  The game was awesome and the Jazz pulled through with a win in the end.  All in all it was a great night........... But wait, there is more!

As we were leaving to walk to the bus stop (yay for public transportation) we had to walk around the back of the Target Center (where the Timberwolves play) and we saw this big bus with some security and we were like, "Do you think that is the Jazz bus?"  We decided to wait for a second and see if anyone came out and sure enough out came Mehmut Okur.  He stopped and took a picture with us.  We were soooo excited and we decided to wait to see who else came out.  It was just Jeff, Jessica, Myself and Justin, a family that just moved from Utah with their 4 kids, and these 3 guys who you could tell were just looking for autographs to sell on ebay.  One by one sure enough we got to see and take pictures with everyone from the Jazz, with the exception of Carlos Boozer.  After a while we just got too cold to wait around any longer.  It was seriously the most awesome night ever!  This was a one in a million chance, and living in Utah we never would have got to have this experience.  It pays to be a Jazz fan in Minnesota eh?

Behold........ The Glorious Pictures!

The View From Our Seats!

The creepy mascot "Crunch" who does not wear pants.  What is up with that?

Me and Justin after the game.

Me and Memo

Jess, Andrei Kirilenko and me. Her husband Jeff went on a mission to Russia and they exchanged some words in Russian. It was pretty funny.

Me and Justin in front of the bus, waiting to see some more players!

Paul Millsap

Ronnie Brewer signing a ball for the Utah family.

Me, Justin and Deron Williams. We LOVE him!

And last but certainly NOT least!  Ladies feast your eyes on this!

Yes that is me and the sharply dressed Kyle Korver!

We didn't take pictures of everyone we saw, although I was tempted to snap a pic with Craig Bolerjack and Ron Boone! 

We had the best night ever!  It was once in a lifetime and a night we wont soon forget!  We sure love the Jazz and we miss being able to watch them play EVERY game.  I don't think we missed more then 1 or 2 games last season.  It was fun to see them play live out here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota.  

The number one comment by almost every one tonight, "Man it is cold here!"

Yes Jazz players, yes it is!

Oh and 5 extra points to those of you that got the "Friends" reference in my title.  

(5 imaginary points that is).

Tagged

I have never done a tag in all of my blogging but I was tagged by Cousin's Megan and Chad, and Paul and Allison.  Okay guys here is our list!

" 8 Things"

 

8 TV Shows We Watch

1- The Office

2- Arrested Development(it is cancelled but we have them on DVD)

3- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

4- 24

5- Project Runway

6- Top Chef

7- Wheel of Fortune

8- Flight of the Conchords

8 Things that Happened Yesterday

1- We had a big "Make and Take" event at my work and I taught one of the projects

2- Justin was in a 4 hour meeting in the morning. Yay for Saturday's!

3- We went grocery shopping at target and scored some clearance Valentines candy.  I got a cupid pez dispenser!

4- We bought a memory card for our new Canon Rebel!

5- We went out to dinner at the olive garden (thanks again mom for the gift card at Christmas)

6- We waddled back to the car after the above mentioned meal.

7- Scraped lots and lots of snow off the car.  It snowed about 5 inches!

8- Bought an early edition Sunday newspaper so that I can have my coupons and score big at CVS!

8 of Our Favorite Places to Eat

1- P.F. Changs

2- The Spaghetti Factory

3- Rodizio Grill

4- Taco Bell

5- The local bar scene....seriously! Bar food is great!

6- Olive Garden

7- Arby's

8- Anywhere that we have a coupon to.  That usually decides where we eat.  

Here is a funny side note.  In less then a week we ate at 4 of the aforementioned locations.  We really never eat out but we went to the Spaghetti Factory on Valentines day with a 10 dollar gift card, P.F. Changs for our Anniversay, Sallys Bar with a buy one get one free coupon on Friday and Olive Garden on Saturday with a gift card.

*Disclaimer- I promise we never eat out 2 days in a row but I worked from 8 a.m. until dinner time both nights and it we actually only paid for one meal this weekend!

Okay so here are 4 people that I tag

1- Jordan(maybe if enough people tag him he will do it)

2- Shawn and Krystal

3-Scott and Emma A

4- Daniel and Amanda B

Anniversary, The Bachelor, and the Cold stone Dilemma.

So this post is a random compilation of a few things. 

Thing one- Our Anniversary. 

On the 17th we celebrated being married for 2 years and still loving each other.  Justin surprised me with an overnight getaway at a resort a little south of the city.  We LOVE to get away overnight and stay at a hotel so it was awesome.  We went to dinner at P.F. Changs which I decided is one of my new favorites.  Seriously people have you tried their lettuce wraps.  TO DIE FOR!  Later that night we got all cozy in our hotel bed and popped some bubbly (aka sparkling pear cider from ikea) and toasted to 2 years while we watched our wedding video  I love that video.  I love seeing how happy we were on that day.  There is not one shot of me without the biggest grin on my face! 

My gift to Justin, was a scrapbook/storybook with pictures and it is basically "our story"  starting from the day we met to being married for 2 years.  And what else did we get you may be asking yourselves..... okay probably not but I am really excited so I am going to tell you anyway.  We got a Canon Rebel SLR Camera.  I am so excited to have such a nice camera.  Now I just need to learn how to use it.

Our Anniversary was great!  We had so much fun spending the day together, buying new dishes at ikea, going to the mall of america, and playing at our hotel and going to lunch and dinner.  Thanks again for spoiling me as always babe!

Thing 2- The Bachelor

Okay so I am taking a giant leap here.  Up until very recently I had never seen an episode of the bachelor and I thought people who were addicted to that show were so lame.  But I like to watch free tv shows online while I scrapbook or do other things in the house.  While browsing the shows ABC had to offer I decided to see what this stupid show was all about and......... well I kinda sorta got totally hooked.  But the reason for this post is not to admit to something I am a tad bit ashamed of, but it is to tell Jason ( the bachelor, we are on a first name basis since I practically feel like I know him) that he is dumb.  Why oh why did you send Jillian home?  She was gorgeous and so funny and lively and down to earth.  She has a great family and an adorable canadian accent.  What is not to love here people?  And I am sorry but Melissa just seems sooooo fake and tan and stuck in her cheerleading days.  And you know something is up with her family.  She says she is close to them but then admits that they never came to watch her cheer and have never been there for her and things.  That is messed up.  And molly... wipe that fake smile off your preppy little face my dear.  Her dad taught her that crying is unacceptable and that only winners are accepted and there is just something about her that seems arrogant and fake.  I just don't see either of them as mature and fit to become a mom over night.  I don't know, but frankly if you are weird enough to go on a tv show to find a wife, then I guess they all deserve each other.  

Thing 3- The Cold Stone Dilemma

Cold stone creamery.  Known for their unique flavors, plentiful mix ins, and incompetent staff.  That is right, you heard me... incompetent.  

Flash back to late last fall.  Justin and I needed a few little gifts for a friend and a gift exchange and all that sort of stuff so we decided to go to cold stone and get some gift cards.  We went in and told the girl at the register that we would like some 5 dollar gift cards.  So what did she do?  She handed us a bunch of gift cards off the counter and said here you go.  We  said something along the lines of, " Um... don't you need to put money on these first?"  She was like "oh yeah sorry" and took the cards and charged us.  She gave us our receipt and we were on our way.  Some of the cards were distributed but a few weeks ago we found the last gift card that never got passed out.  We went in to cold stone tonight to get ourselves a treat and use the gift card.  The girl at the register tried running it through a couple times and said that there was nothing on it, the card had never been activated.  I instantly felt sick!  I started thinking of all the people that we had given cards to in our very same situation hearing that there was no money on the card.  We bought our overpriced ice cream and left.  On the way home I started making some phone calls to those who we gave some cards to and miraculously their cards worked, (or they are being way too nice and lying to me).  As we went down the list we still had one gift card remaining that we could not remember where it went.  Then after a little while it finally hit me.  It was part of a gift exchange present that we gave away at Christmas along with some other things.  The girl who got it knows it was from us and she is one of Justin's classmates.  He is going to talk to her about it, but keep your fingers crossed that hers worked too!  I still feel a little sick to my stomach and sooooo embarrassed.  Justin calls it our " George Castanza gift". I could see him doing something like that, but believe me, if you ever received a gift card from us and it did not work let us know and you WILL get your ice cream! But let it be known, this is not an open invitation for me to take all of our blog readers out to ice cream (unless you play with my hair and give me a back rub)!

Sorry this post was REALLY long. So to sum up I hope I will get some great pics on the blog soon from my new camera.

Do any of you watch the bachelor like I finally do?  And who was your favorite and who do you think he should pick?  I am still trying to decide between the last 2.

And finally, cold stone, once I fell in love with your cake batter goodness, but now I am afraid you have put a damper on our relationship with this little mishap.  I think I will be seeing more of my good friend Sebastian Joe and his famous Pavoratti ice cream. 

2 Years

2 Years ago today, I married by best friend and the love of my life for all time and eternity in the Logan, Utah Temple.  A lot has happened since that day, but I am more in love with him than ever.  We are off to go celebrate our special day!

Happy Anniversary Babe, 2 years!

Valentine's Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  Here in Minnesota, we Atkinson's had a very fun and romantic day! 

The day started off with some long overdo sleeping in.  It has been a LONG time since we were both able to just lay in bed in the morning! It was awesome.  Justin left for a minute while I was getting ready.  He arrived home with a lush vase of red roses, they are amazing and they smell sooooo good!  Then we decided to exchange our little gifts for each other.  I made him a card and wrapped up some of his favorite candy and a gift card to his favorite store (Banana Republic).  He gave me some toblerones (my favorite) and a gorgeous white gold necklace! Justin does a great job picking me out jewelry, he really knows my taste.

(Me and my roses and my new necklace!)

We headed out and went to lunch at LeeAnn Chin, and then we did some shopping.  We didn't actually buy anything, more just wandering around, but we still had a good time.  Then we went to downtown Minneapolis to the Spaghetti Factory.  The wait was an hour and a half so we put down our name and then wandered the city.  It was fun but then I started whining because the shoes I was wearing were of the "great for looks not walking" variety.  We got back to the Restaurant just in time and didn't have to wait at all.  We had a great dinner.  You can not go wrong in my book with spinach tortilini from the Spaghetti Factory.

 

(Justin in mid-chew and me. He just "loves" that I document everything!)

After dinner we went and saw, "He's just not that into you", which was pretty funny.  I know that ours is the typical dinner and a movie Valentine's Day, but for poor college kids like ourselves, any excuse to eat out and see a show is fine by us!  It was a great day and my baby sure spoiled me!  

Thanks again hunny, I LOVE YOU! 

Ending the night with a kiss!

Becoming Jane

Today I am doing a movie review.  I know that I usually do book reviews but I really wanted to talk about this movie.  As the title states, this is a review of Becoming Jane.  Have any of you seen this?  I know there are people out there who don't like this movie.  If you know much about the life of Jane Austen then the ending is no surprise, but if you do not know much about her, I am not one for spoilers.  

For the record, I LOVE this movie.  I think it is beautiful and heart wrenching and incredibly romantic.  I think there are moments in this movie that are some of the most passionate and romantic scenes without being physical.  This movie also caused me to develop an irreversible and deep "crush" on James McAvoy, (he is also great in Penelope, which is also an adorable and great movie).  In this movie, unlike most out there, everyones lives don't end up perfectly, but the relationships and emotions are real and moving.  I have seen this film a couple of times and I watched it again last night.  Although I knew the movie, it sill made me fall in love, it broke my heart, and made me love Jane Austen even more.  

There are characters in this movie that are very similar to those in Jane Austen's novels showing where a lot of her inspiration came from.  And I know there are some who will say that this is not entirely a historical biography of Ms. Austen, and to them I say, " Who cares it is awesome and romantic and I love it, so leave me alone."  If you have not seen this, you should check it out.  You may not love it as I do, but it is a love story that I think will touch your heart.

Seeing these two together actually makes my heart flutter.  Lame, I know. 

Do any of you get in those "Time Period" phases?  Two nights ago I watched Pride and Prejudice, and last night I watched Becoming Jane.  I have just been in the mood for movies like that as of late.  I also Just finished a book 3 days ago called Enthusiasm.  It is about two friends and the one is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice.  I wonder what sparked the phase this time?  Maybe it is the upcoming Valentines Day and my Anniversary so I am feeling extra romantic.  I tend to turn to things like this when I am feeling Romantic.  

And since it is almost Valentines Day.......

Question: What are some of your favorite romantic movies?

Wednesday's Read

The read for the day is, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I just finished this book a few days ago.  I can't say that this is a happy book at all times, in fact the narrator is Death himself. So if this is not a warm and fuzzy read then why did I love it?

 This book is set in Germany during the holocaust.  It follows a girl named Liesel.  She is the book theif, and Death has seen her a few times throughout her life and so he tells her story and the story of what is happening at the time.  This book is unlike any book I have read before.  The style of writing and the flow of the book was great.  There was just something about this book that really hooked me.  As with any great book it made me laugh, and it also made me cry (I actually cried kind of hard at one point).  I also REALLY loved the characters in this book.  I really felt like I cared about the characters by the end of this book.   This book also made me think.  When I am really interested in a book or when I really enjoy a book it stays with me for a couple days.  I think about it when I am in bed or driving in the car.  I have been thinking about this book and about the characters.   I recommend this book because there was just something about it that I can't quite put my finger on yet.  Although it was depressing at points, I really enjoyed this book.

Have any of you read this?  I am interested in what you think about this book.  What did you think of it?

I LOVE CVS!

I'm in love with CVS.  I had heard of their Extra Care Bucks program but never really thought that it would work out, and I figured it was going to be more hassle then the stuff was actually worth it, but boy was I wrong!  I decided to give CVS a try this week and here is the result.  

I got all of the merchandise below for less then 5 dollars

AND.... not only that but I have 5 "extra care bucks" to still spend in the store.  So basically I made a few cents!  

So I got

I jumbo bag cotton balls- 1.99

Nail polish remover- 1.99

Gillette fusion gamer razor- 11.99

(2) Heat pads 3 packs- 7.98

(8) Packages of cotton rounds- 7.92

That is 31.87 of merchandise for under 5 dollars out of pocket, and I still have 5 dollars in extra bucks so it was more then free.

I think I am officially addicted to CVS! 

Have any of you ever done this?  Are you ECB reward members?

A Package came in the mail.

Yesterday a package came in the mail.  I was very excited you see, because I LOVE getting packages and mail. When I opened the package this is what I saw

And here are the contents of my package.

It was perfect timing since this is what our candy dish looks like. 

This package was from my mother.  It was not the first of holiday packages stuffed with cheer though. For every holiday we get a package with treats, decorations, and all sorts of fun stuff.  Our last one at christmas had lots of candy, a decoration, and a Christmas movie.  Since the day I left for college I have been getting packages like this from my mom.  She even used to put little treats in for my roommates.  I seriously have the best mom who is always thinking of us and doing such awesome things for all of her kids.  

The night that we got our Christmas package, my little sister's facebook status said " I'm putting up Christmas decorations that my mom sent me in the mail."  

Mom, you are awesome.  Thanks again we LOVE it.

p.s. I guarantee that candy wont make it to Valentines Day!

The Rasmussen Family

I never got around to posting these pictures and I wanted to get them up here forever ago, but better late then never.  A few days after Christmas my family went and got some pictures taken.  It was really fun because A) We had baby Kaden there and we just gushed over him. B) My little brother Jake was the only one without a significant other so we gave him a hard time about it. C) My brother Jordan was posing like a pregnant lady, looking down upon and admiring his belly.  I guess you had to be there, but it was a lot of fun, and here are some of the pictures.

Here is my family, I love them to pieces!-

First we have baby Kaden Jay Rasmussen.  He is the youngest and cutest member of the Rasmussen family.  He is the only grandchild and we love him to pieces.  He is also the first boy with the last name Rasmussen and so he is the only  great grandchild so far to carry on the Rasmussen name. 

Next we have Jordan and Aubrey Rasmussen.  Jordan is my older brother of about 19 months or so.  He was one of my best friends in high school and I was pretty devastated when he left on his mission.  He is the nice happy peace making child of our family. He is currently in the Psych program at the U of U.  His wife Aubrey is one of the nicest and coolest people I have ever met! I am soooo glad my brother married such a great person who is so great to him. Oh and I forgot to mention, he is a DIE HARD Real Salt Lake fan.  He has season tickets and a blog devoted to them called View From the North Goal. Check it out.

Next we have Justin and I. You already know us. And I hate this picture of myself but Justin looks great as always.  I can always count on him to save pictures because he has the EXACT same face in every picture. It is actually pretty funny.

Next up is Caleb and soon to be Julie Banks.  This is my little sister and her fiance. Julie is currently a freshman at BYU Prove (boo)! Julie is such a fun girl who is smart, energetic, talented and beautiful.  She is barely five feet tall, but don't let the small exterior fool you, she is a firecracker! She plays the piano beautifully and is mostly self taught.  She is gorgeous with amazing green eyes and the deepest auburn hair ever. She is my only sister, and we can drive each other crazy, but I love her to no end.  Caleb is her fiance.  He is a marine and is going to be stationed over seas for most of the year. When he returns they will be married on November 21st. YEAH!  He is a really great, funny and sweet guy.  They are lucky to have each other. 

Next up is my baby brother Jake who towers over us all at just over 6 feet tall, remember my sister is barely 5 feet I am 5'2 and so is my mom.  My dad is 5'8 and Jordan is a little shorter then that. Jake is an incredible person. He is a senior in high school. He is the gifted child. He has over a 4.0 GPA amazing test scores, and he tutors kids after school.  Not only that he was the number one spot on the varsity tennis team and he played varsity golf as well.  And not only that, he is soooo kind and soooo funny.  He makes us laugh all the time.  We love Jake so much.

And last but not least, My mom and Dad.  My Dad is Jay. He is a Colonel in the U.S. Army.  He has been a hard worker and has sacrificed so much for his family.  People always think he is going to be some tough army guy (especially Justin before he met him), but my dad is the life of the party.  He is so fun and crazy.  He loves to play jokes and always has us laughing.  He is a great person and a wonderful Father.

My Mom is Jane.  She truly is one of my very best friends.  When we talk on the phone it is usually for over 2 hours or until one of our phones die.  We have sooo much in common.  I am my mothers daughter and I love that I have turned into a mini her.  She has the kindest heart and loves her kids with all her heart.  She has always been there for us and no matter how old we all get, all of us kids still need our mom in our life.

Here is one of all of us. Notice how Jake has to kneel because he is so tall.  And notice how him kneeling is the same height as my mom sitting on a stool. 

The Siblings.

p.s.  Did you notice how we are all J's? Jay, Jane, Jordan, Jessica, Julie, and Jacob.  I am the only child that stayed true and Married a J. Thanks Justin for fitting in so well.  But we love Aubrey, Caleb and Kaden too.

p.p.s. When Justin and I have kids should we name them all J's too to keep it going? We do have one name picked out that we like. Ji'Shaku.  What do you think?

p.p.p.s Ji'Shaku is the name this crazy magnetic force game that my mom got us for Christmas.  We thought it was so rad we would name a kid after it.  

Thanks a lot Punxstutawney Phil!

Happy Groundhog Day to all!  

Last night Justin and I watched Groundhog Day which is such a great movie.  I was hopeful that today, the beloved ritual would end in the result of Phil the groundhog not seeing his shadow, and this horrible winter would come to an end, but that is not how it all played out.  Phil, you really disappointed me this year man! He saw his shadow.  Winter will continue on for six more weeks.  Now don't get me wrong, I am not deranged.  I know that living in Minnesota the winter has no possibility of ending in just six weeks, but I was hoping for the earliest end to winter possible.  Just so you all know and can all have pity on me, this has been one of the coldest Januarys in Minnesota history.  In fact I think we were only a day or two short of the record.  It is COLD here.  Think warm thoughts for me.