Hi!

Surprise, surprise, I have been non-existent in blogging again. I really have been non-existent on Facebook as well. Goodness. So since I have blogged I went home for my sister's wedding. And of course I didn't get pictures because I was in the wedding :) I also went to Las Vegas for Molly Jane's birthday and I did get a few pictures but I posted them all on Instagram and then deleted them from my phone. We have also found out that LA Molly has thyroid cancer and that she will have surgery and start treatment at the end of June. I think she has had some moments of fear but her faith and trust in the Lord is so uplifiting. She feels like this is a blessing and she is just looking to find the lesson or message the Lord wants to teach her. It is funny she tells people that Molly Jane and I were her missionaries but I'm pretty sure she is my missionary :) Today we went to get her Temple clothing because next weekend she will be going through the Temple to get her endowments and since she will be doing it in LA (and because I'm not really Temple worthy right now) she came to Utah so that Molly Jane and I could help her choose her Temple dress and get all of her ceremonial clothing. All day I felt so happy and excited for her, it just reminded me to get on the ball. I feel like I keep saying that I'm going to start going back to church and that I'm going to start paying my tithing but it has been all talk. I need to make an action plan and then stick to it. I have been able to, for the most part stick to my diet plan, so there is NO reason I can't do something so important as getting back to church and doing my part to have a great relationship with my Savior. This post has just been a big run on paragraph. Oh yeah, I talked in my last post about my depression and anxiety...I'm now done with counseling, I'm still taking depression meds but I feel so much better on them! I feel like I have had a fog lifted. I'm still sensitive but I think that is just me, and I kinda like that I'm sensitive :)

Quick meet-up

On Friday night Molly and I went to the state fair to see Fictionist (haven't hear of them?!?! You should follow that link and become familiar!) While there I was able to meet up with a fellow blogger (I say fellow blogger like I'm really a blogger, I'm not!) Caitlin from Hue and Hum (you should also follow that link and become aquainted, she is great!). Caitlin just so happens to be the wife of Robbie (he plays guitar for Fictionist, sings some backup and has a jazz project on the side). Can I just say that she might be one of the sweetest people I have ever met!
I suppose I should back up and explain the reason that we had a short meet-up. Caitlin is an artist. Pretty much a really great artist! I have bought a set of three paintings from her, won a print she did in a giveaway and recently she started an etsy shop where you can buy some of the art that she does. In addition to painting she also sews. Like really awesome custom designed t's! So I decided that I really needed one. And I bought one, which brings us to the meet-up.
Molly and I got to the concert and were a bit suprised to see that there were not many people there. Sad! But we danced in our seats (no one else was up and dancing and I get embarassed super easy, so dance in our seats it was) and sang along have a grand time! Part way through the show Caitlin made it there and stopped by to introduce herself and also to give me the shirt she had made for me (I know there have been a lot of these little tangents but I feel in a bit of a tangenty mood, any how because I'm super awkward sometimes I actually thought about how I should say hi, yep awkward! But she was so sweet and came up said she was Caitlin and gave me a quick hug. Thanks for helping this awkward girl!) and she also brought me a print of a painting she had done to say sorry for taking a while with the shirt (I didn't think it took her long at all!). She then said to wait around after the show so we could talk and so that she could get a picture of the shirt and a picture of us together. So Molly and I went back to rocking out :)
After the show we walked over to her and had a short conversation (that was not awkward, maybe I'm not as awkward as I think?) and then took a couple of pictures. Which will bring us to the end of this post...good job if you made it this far :)
p.s. Sorry for the quality of these pictures, neither of us had a camera so we just took them with my cell phone.

Not much....

So I realized today that I have not blogged in over a month. That is a bit to long for me:) I have been busy doing lots of fun stuff but I don't have any pictures to show for it. I can't think of what I did for the rest of October except I know that I went home the last weekend in October for my niece Chloe's birthday, she turned 5. It was very nice to spend time with my family and it was also fantastic that I got to see my friend Afton! For the first part of November I started to look for a new roommate because my current roommate is getting married the 15th of January and she was wanting to move out at the beginning of December to save some money before the wedding. I thought I had found a roommate and so I was feeling good about things (I'm a planner and need to know what is happening, I hate trying to figure things out as they come) but while I was in Oregon the girl that was going to move in called me to let me know that she was no longer able to do that. So I was back at square one and apparently this time of year is a hard time to find a roommate so thankfully I have a couple of friends who had an extra room in their house that they were willing to let me move into. I think we might wind up having a bit too much fun! Are you sick of reading this rambling yet? :) So right now I'm in the process of cleaning, organizing and starting to look into packing so I can move the first weekend in December. I HATE moving but I'm very excited to move into the house that I'm moving into!
Now on to other random things that I have done this month so far; on the 2nd I went to my second Neon Trees concert, I have been to the doctor a million times! and I also went to a show at Desert Star this last Saturday.
This year I have run out of time off and so I will be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in Salt Lake with out any family. But thankfully I have really fantastic friends with families that have welcomed me into their families so I will be able to spend both holidays with a friend(s) and their family:) Ok that is enough rambling for one day. I'm going to do better about taking pictures and blogging so that I don't have to post such random things:)

Super productive weekend:)

Another post with no pictures. I will add some pictures if I get some from the party on Friday night. Basically even though I have a camera I suck at remembering to take pictures and so I have no pictures for you. So sorry:)
On Friday night my sweet friend Becka had a birthday party for me. She themed it 80's. Most people dressed up in costume, the food was all popular in the 80's (such as kool aid) and we had 80's music in the background. It was so much fun. We played games and ate yummy snacks and then had a campfire in her back yard. Thanks Becka for the party I had a blast even if it didn't seem like it:)
On Saturday I lied around the house all morning watching movies. I watched two movies and then decided I should get up and get busy. So I finally hung the cable that was laying in the middle of the floor in the living room and hallway. Then I showered and got ready, went grocery shopping and then another dear friend Melanie came over to see the apartment and took Emily and I to Hale Center Theatre to see the Wedding Singer. It was so funny and I had a lot of fun!
On Sunday we had church and then I came home and watched a movie (notice a theme here, I was a bit lazy but really I got so much done). After the movie Emily left and went to her parents for Sunday dinner and I stayed home to get lots of things done. I washed all my laundry (clean and dirty just so they would all smell and feel fresh) unpacked my room ( I have lived here for two months, geez) and cleaned up my room. It is so nice to have the house unpacked finally! Now I just need to invite people over for dinner and games:) Still no baking but I hope maybe this coming weekend.

Big Move

Emily and I are moving in to Salt Lake today, yay! I'm so excited to be closer to work and some of the fun things in Salt Lake:) We have been slowly (I mean really slowly) moving stuff over since the first and we are finally ready to move the rest today and then clean the apartment tonight! I will be sure to post pictures of the new place as soon as we get unpacked and decorated. We will have two weeks to unpack and then we get to pack for Disneyland because we are going to Disneyland on the 4th of May! It will be so nice to have all of my stuff again. I have not been able to bake anything for weeks. This blog has just been sitting here for to long! So hopefully I will have a few new posts by the first of May. Wish me luck.

It's been awhile

Wow it has been awhile since I have posted anything here. I have not done any baking, cooking or cleaning for about a month. I have been feeling really sick and turns out I had a huge cyst growing in my abdomen that needed to be removed so I had surgery last Saturday and I'm just now starting to feel like I'm getting closer to normal again. But apparently there should be no lifting for 6 weeks. Which I was told last night includes changing my sheets, moving my laundry basket, vacuuming and such things. My poor roomate is going to want to kill me before 6 weeks have gone by. I did go to a couple of game nights this last weekend (it was so wonderful to get out of the house!!). I also went shopping on Saturday afternoon and was able to buy pants two sizes smaller, woot woot!! I'm still swollen/bloated from surgery and so I think I will be able to buy even smaller next time. This post is so very random:) So hopefully this weekend or maybe next I will be able to bake again and I will have something to post. YAY! I want to make this cake but I'm not sure that it will be the first thing I bake but maybe, I bought a silpat for it just a few hours ago. Anyway I hope you are all doing well and I hope to have a real post soon:)

Resolutions or Goals

Last night in FHE our bishop talked with us about the difference between resolutions and goals. Someone made the comment that they feel like the biggest difference is that with goals there is an ending point and with a resolution it is more of a life long change. My bishop read from a book that gave four areas to focus your attention when making goals or resolutions. They are Spiritual, financial, physical and mental/emotional. So I'm going to focus my attention on these four areas and I think that I'm working on more of a resolution mind set than a goal mind set.
My resolutions are as follows;
Spiritual- I will read my scriptures and pray everyday which sounds easier than it is for me, I swear I can do this really well for about a month and then something comes up and I forget for even just one day and then I'm out of the habit again. I also want to make it to the temple at least once a month.
Financial-I will start saving a little every month (not including the money I'm saving for Disneyland). I also need to find out about my student loans and start paying on those!
Physical-I'm not going to say that I will loose weight because I feel like when I say that I wind up working really hard at it and then letting go and gaining it all back so instead I will say that I will go to the gym at least three days a week and I will start to eat healthier (i.e I will eat at least three meals a day!)
Mental/emotional-I'm not really sure what to do in this category but I think I will try to let things slide off my back more often and choose to not be offended! I really get my feelings hurt easily and I would like to not be offended so easily!
Well there are my resolutions I really hope that I will be able to stick with it and see some progress by the end of the year!
Good luck with any and all goals or resolutions you have set for yourself.

Breakfast of Champions!

This morning one of the attorneys I work with brought me oatmeal cookies that his wife made, so for breakfast I had five (yes five! so much for my diet) oatmeal cookies and a caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks. I might have to skip weigh in tomorrow at the watchers. But man is this a great breakfast!

Zoo

Like I said in the previous post I also was able to go to the zoo last weekend! I love going to the zoo, right now it is a lot of fun because several of the animals have had babies this year and they are so cute! We were only there for about an hour because by that point it was really hot and we had already been walking around for a couple of hours. The baby elephant was so fun, it would come right up to the fence and play with the fence and then it went to this concrete wall that was in their area and it got it's two front legs over it and then it was rocking back and forth trying to get it's two back legs over, everyone that was there looking at her stayed and watched until she figured it out and then there was lots of clapping and cheering:) I only got a couple pictures but here they are.

Heritage Park

This last weekend Emily and I went to Heritage Park and the Zoo. It was a lot of fun! At Heritage Park they had a lot of the homes closed because it was not the right season, I guess between June and August they have most of the homes/sites open so that you can explore. I really enjoyed Heritage Park and think that I will probably have to go back again next year during their busy season so that I can see most of the attractions. We saw a structure that I had to take a picture of because the last name was the same as a good friend of mine:)
They have this really cute little area with small houses and other structures that kids can play on, I think that most little kids would have a blast there. Here are a few pictures of that area.
The next part might be scary for little kids...
We also learned that they do a haunted village at Heritage Park for Halloween. A lot of the houses/structures were closed in preparation for that but we stumbled upon one structure that was getting ready but was not closed or locked up, in fact the door was wide open and so we went in and had a look around...before going in we did not know that it was part of the haunted village we learned that after going in. Anyways I will let the pictures do the talking.

Here's Your Sign

On Saturday my friend Afton called me and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her to Tai Pan. I don't think that even qualifies as a question, it is pretty much a given that I want to go to Tai Pan:) Anyways we went to Tai Pan and partook of the wonderfulness that Tai Pan is, on the way home there was horrible traffic on the freeway. Afton said there must be an accident I on the other hand said I think it is just because of the construction. As always she was right and I was wrong. Now to preface the rest of this post I need to tell you that when Afton and I first moved to Utah we would go home to Oregon a lot! And every time we would listed to Blue Collar Comedy Tour, one of the comedians Bill Engval does the Here's Your Sign jokes and one of his jokes goes like this;
I learned to drive an 18 wheeler in my days of
adventure. Wouldn't ya know I misjudged the height of
a bridge. The truck got stuck and I couldn't get it
out no matter how I tried. I radioed in for help and
eventually a local cop shows up to take the report.
He went through his basic questioning. No problem. I
thought for sure he was clear of needing a sign...
until he says "So..is your truck stuck?" I couldn't
help myself! I looked at him, looked back at the rig,
then back to him and said, "No I'm delivering a bridge and I ran out of Gas.
...Here's your sign!".
So when we got to this accident this was what instantly went through my head:)I feel sorry for the driver but I couldn't help taking a picture and having a good laugh.

Hydrangeas

So I have a confession to make, I spend way to much money on buying myself flowers for me desk at work. I just love the smell and look of fresh flowers and since I don't have anyone to buy them for me (and I'm sure that when I do I won't want them to waste the money) I will just buy them for myself. This week I bought flowers at Smith's because they had these beautiful hydrangeas and they were not really all that much money (only $8) which is cheaper than most other places. I love them and they have brought a smile to my face several times this week which makes it worth it for me!
p.s. I used the black fade so that you would not see as much of the random stuff around the office:)

New shoes

Ok so I know that some of you won't care but those of you that do...will you please give me your opinion? I want a pair of nude colored heels because they elongate your leg and we all know that I need as much elongating as possible:) Anyways look at these and let me know which are your favorite in the comments.

New Post coming soon!

Sorry there has not been a new post recently, I have missed placed my camera and need it for a couple of posts I have been waiting to do. I made almond cake cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting this weekend that I want to post about. I also made a tutu for one of my nieces (I need to make at least two more) that I also want to show all of you, it is so cute! Anyways as soon my camera shows back up I will have a few posts.

Pioneer day weekend

For about 2 or 3 weeks I had the opportunity to be in a choir that was going to be performing in the tabernacle on the 24th (for those not from Utah the 24th is a celebration of the pioneers who settled this area). During the rehersals I was not sure that I really wanted to be a part of this choir because the practices were long and the day we were to perform we had to be at the tabernacle by 5:30 a.m but in the end I'm very happy that I had the opportunity! It was a wonderful experience! On Saturday I went with a friend and watched the new Harry Potter movie and did some shopping at Gateway. Then on Sunday after church I went to a friends house and we watched a movie and just had fun hanging out. It was a fun weekend and I got some new tools for baking that I'm really excited to try out. I can't wait to post pictures of either my failures or accomplishments:)

Life the last little while

I have not posted for a while...I have done some baking but they have not turned out nice enough to take pictures of. In fact I'm lucky people would even eat them:) Last weekend I made red velvet cupcakes with a buttercream frosting, the minute I stepped outside with them the buttercream melted everywhere! Including the black shorts I was wearing on the way to a Ward lunch. That was fun:) This weekend I made white cake cupcakes with fresh stawberries in them and learned the hard way that I need to adjust my from scratch reciepes in this altitude because they did not rise and the fresh stawberries made the cupcakes kinda mushy. No good! Other than baking a couple of times life has been pretty low key, I'm taking Spanish at work and so there is always something to do with that (studying), but really not much happening. It has been a nice couple of weeks, now I just need to clean my house! Maybe this week while my roomate is out of town:)
So here are a couple of pictures of how I thought the cupcakes should turn out but did not. Just pretend they are the ones that I made:)