Thought Box

Merry Christmas to all!

It has been an exciting year for the Rosenbaugh Family, and I’m really grateful that we were able to share it with many of you. Here’s the month by month rundown:

The wicked awesome seal we used on the wedding announcements

January: Wedding planning was in full swing. Wedding announcements were printed and shipped to us so we could get started mailing everything out to everyone while Hayley was finalizing her dress fittings and I enjoyed Jimmer.

February: We held our annual Super Bowl party (I hate the Packers) and had a really good turnout – including a lot of delicious food. Hay went skiing over President’s Day weekend with her family, and I got to see Jimmer destroy TCU in their high school sized gym with my buddy Gary. More wedding planning madness ensued, including me purchasing a sweet Hugo Boss tux and a bunch of stuff from Brooks Brothers.

March: “Mawwage. Mawwage is what bwings us together today. Wove, twue wove… So tweasure your woves forever!” We got married on March 26, 2011 – GO TEAM ROSENBAUGH! Then we swiftly left the country to party it up in Costa Rica for a week. The wedding was great, and both of us are incredibly grateful to all of our family and friends who made the sacrifices to be there with us. I personally have to thank my most excellent groomsmen, Travis(aurus Rex) Tidball and W. Spencer Porter - you guys are truly great!

Family and friends in front of the temple doors

April: The honeymoon continued into April, and then it was time to get used to normal life and the fact that BYU wasn’t going to play in the Final Four. Hay studied up a storm for her next exam while I finished Red Dead Redemption and began the amazing Mass Effect 2. Honestly, April was allllll about relaxing after the wedding planning, and boy did we need it.

Hay & I on the beach in Costa Rica

May: We had a wonderful Open House in Houston to celebrate with friends here at home, and then we were off to Chicago for a fun filled adventure in the city and another Open House at my parent’s place! Rand and Cynthia (Hay’s parents) made the trip to both Open Houses, which made it that much more fun.  Also, I beat Mass Effect 2,was immediately sad it was over, and Hay took her actuarial exam of doom. It was a busy month!

June: The beginning of Birthday Season! Hay was spoiled with a birthday celebration and a really awesome road bike: Orbea Onyx (lady edition – Hay named her Betty). We also went to an Astros game with ExxonMobil, X-Men First Class was great, Assassin’s Creed 2 helped me learn Italian (“Requiescat en pace…”) while I enjoy assassining, and Jimmer got drafted.

July: The “Birthday Season” continues!!! I was spoiled w/ a Cannondale SuperSix road bike (awesome – it’s named Thor, after the cyclist and not the Marvel Superhero) and a really great little birthday party! We went on a bunch of bike rides and thoroughly enjoyed the weather before it started getting really warm. Oh… and CAPTAIN AMERICA WAS AWESOME!!!!

August: Papa Ron came to visit us while in town for work! We loooooove having people visit us! We got all caught up on Mad Men, which is highly recommended. (OhDon – we just want you to be happy and make good decisions!) Other than that, we went on our first long bike ride (34 miles, Hay was a trooper) and threw a party for absolutely no reason other than that we wanted to see our friends from the single’s ward.

Hay relaxing on the rocky cliffs of Acadia National Park

September: We went on am amazing trip to the Northeastern United States, hitting seven states and getting to see Derek and Brooke, Carly (Hay’s Sister), and the Jersey Boys (along

Riding in the Tour de Cure (50 miles)

with the beautiful Acadia National Park, the Freedom Trail, the US Open, and forests of the Northeast). Later in the month I participated in the Tour de Cure, riding 50 miles w/ the ExxonMobil cycling team to support research for the cure to diabetes.

October: Hay went with her sisters to Tennessee for a long weekend and came home singing “Rocky Top” nonstop, I got the new iPhone 4S and proceeded to use Siri for just about everything, and we got to see Memphis as our first show in this year’s Broadway Across America season! For Halloween Hay was the Morton Salt Girl, and I did nothing… Again… Maybe next year I should buy that bear suit I’ve always wanted?

November: November started off with the Romans Family Reunion in Arizona – I got to meet a bunch of Hayley’s relatives who weren’t able to travel for the wedding, and I think I successfully proved a valuable addition to the family. I met Brandon Sanderson at a local book signing, the author of some of my favorite books, including Mistborn and The Way of Kings! On a mini-adventure in Houston, Hay and I successfully found the Presidents statues, which was a little trickier than I had originally thought. For Thanksgiving it was off to Chicago! We had a great time hanging out (Color Me Mine w/ the sisters!) and we were able to go on several adventures (including a trip to downtown Milwaukee to see the Jelly Belly factory and Pabst Mansion, and another trip into Downtown Chicago).

(from top left to bottom right) Hay w/ Grandma Katee; me meeting Brandon Sanderson; Hay and the sisters @ Color Me Mine; Hayley discovering the Presidents!

December: This month we’ve hit 5+ Christmas parties ( 2 ExxonMobil, 1 Towers Watson, 1 Ward, 1 friends), celebrated the birthdays of our AWESOME friends Jenny & Kyle, and we’re headed to Utah for Christmas tomorrow (I’m going to learn to ski this year?!)! Oh, and I think I have Hayley now hooked on Fringe, I totally finished inFamous 2 and then got quickly wrapped up in Uncharted 3, which is amazingly wonderful.

We are incredibly excited for 2012 and all of the adventure that it will bring! We already know we’ve got a big trip planned for March/April, I’ll be riding in the Houston to Austin MS150, and The Lion King musical will be coming to Houston in the summer (I’m way too excited for it)!

We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the new year!!!

It blows my mind that 2010 is coming to an end..  If I really think about it, it does seem like forever since I moved into my new apartment, which was September 11th – not that long ago.  Lots has changed, and I have a lot to be thankful for.  I think we can classify 2010 as a successful year, even with some of the ups and downs.

In order to truly appreciate the year that has passed, I think it’s time for a mini-retrospective…  Well, not a full retrospective – I don’t know that I have the desire to spend the time necessary to do something I would consider complete.

Favorite YouTube Video:

This vid is double awesome because it includes one of my favorite places back at BYU – I really loved the library and worked there for about 8 months…  Funny, Funny!

Favorite Movie:

Even with the wonder that was Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Inception, I think Toy Story 3 was the one movie I enjoyed the most from beginning to end.  Pixar has a magical way of sucking me in…  I doubt it will win the Oscar for Best Picture, but I really think it’s my personal “Movie of the Year”.

Favorite Book(s):

I know I’m two years late on reading this one, but Hayley and I busted through the trilogy within just a couple weeks (well…  Hayley read all three in a single week, it took me a little bit longer).  The concept of the book – a dystopian world where children of the 12 districts are selected to compete in a battle to the death as a demonstration of the central government’s authority – is certainly troublesome.  Luckily, the reader is spared anything too gruesome as the author avoids going into explicit detail of the killings (with most happening “off screen”), but you certainly get a feel for the terror of the participants and how twisted the world has become.
The second and third books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, aren’t quite as good as the first, though they certainly have their moments.  Hayley and I disagreed on the quality of Mockingjay…  I enjoyed it and found it to be interesting due to its own contribution to the world found therein, but Hayley felt it was too significant of a departure from the two books previous.  Either way, we both agree that it’s a very good series to pick up and read.

Other Favorites:

Modern Family and Community (TV): if you’re looking for some really good comedy, these two shows are gold!  They’re very different in their approach to comedy, but if you give them both a little bit of time you’ll find some seriously enjoyable television.

Perbacco (Restaurant): This Italian gem, located in downtown Houston, is GREAT!  The owner is from Capri and makes a point to visit each table at some point during the night.  In fact, he’s usually the one who will give you the day’s specials and take your order.  I took Hayley here on our first date and it was a major success.  To quote Hayley, “You’re taking me to an Italian restaurant?  That’s a bold move!” … “I LOVE THAT PLACE!  Yeah Jeff, you did goooooood!”

That’s about it for a list of favorites.  Most of the other fun stuff is chronicled in other blog posts or somewhere else on the internet.  It’s been a fun and enjoyable year, but I’m honestly hoping for an even better 2011!

We have a wedding to look forward to, my first trip out of the United States for the honeymoon, a couple of additional open house events, a family reunion in November, hopefully some golf clubs and lessons, and an innumerable amount of adventure!  I have no major resolutions this year, other than maintaining my weight loss goals, focusing on becoming more patient, and developing myself spiritually.  I’ve never succeeded with resolutions; I work better with broader goals and themes.  Perhaps on New Year’s Eve I can sit down with Hayley and we can think of a really solid theme for 2011.

Until then, I’ll go with the first one I find by searching 2011 theme on Google: “Drunk Brits and Cleavage”!

Soooo, when I was a freshman at BYU I took a class to work on a film project that would rival something PBS was running called “The Real Jesus“. The documentary, rather than just a simple film, would be about Jesus Christ but without discrediting or ignoring His role as the Messiah and Savior. Apparently the project was put on the shelf for a while since it seemed like a fairly large undertaking, and there were already other documentaries in production (check out the Journey of Faith docs if you haven’t already).

Well, now it looks like some waiting and prayers have paid off! MY DOCUMENTARY IS HAPPENING!!!

More updates to come soon.  I’m feeling a good blog post coming on…