Merry Chritsmas!!

Just wishing you and yours the best Holiday on the books!!!

Snow

It's finally really snowing (and it has been off and on since Friday)!

Here are some things I love about snow:

1.) How quiet everything gets. Something about when snow is falling muffles sound, I love the peaceful feeling it brings.

2.) The white blur/glow that lights and trees and well everything gets.

3.) How clean and fresh everything looks when there is a fresh layer of snow on the ground.

4.) Big fat flakes that fall on your coat or hair that don't melt right away.

5.) Making the first step on the sidewalk and knowing that the next person will see your footprints.

6.) The real laughter that comes from playing in it.

7.) Grabbing a handful off the car before you brush it all away and making a snowball just to see what "type" of snow it is.

8.) How bright it gets at 12:30 am just because all the lights reflect off of every flake.

9.) The pull that makes you want/need to be outside in the falling snow.

10.) That each snow flake is individual, different and unique, just like us.

To Do List

1. Go to Relief Society Breakfast
2. Make amazing Lasagna for dinner
3. Clean apartment
4. Borrow neighbor's table and set an amazing holiday spread
5. Get ready for date
6. Enjoy Date's company, dinner and performance of the Nutcracker
7. Find time to make Jell-O salad.

In all the many things I had to do yesterday, none of of them included: Falling down the stairs and injuring my ankle AGAIN!!! but what did I make sure to do? That's right the one thing I did NOT have time for. So let's recap... I got up and started checking off items on my list but my ankle didn't hurt so I figured it would be alright to go one day without my brace, maybe if I made it through the day I could wear heels on the date. Big mistake. I realized this when my ankle gave out (stupid torn ligaments) and I tumbled down five steps... and boy do I have the bruises to prove it.

Anyway, the Nutcracker was really fun and the little kids they got to dance in it were REALLY cute. I took a friend from my ward and my roommates Jana and Lauren each took a date. It was fun to get all dressed up and have a fancy dinner and a show. I made my Turkey Artichoke Lasagna and we set the table with red and green place mats and linen napkins in green and white. I used my "Company Dishes" (Diane would be so proud), and we even served Martinelli's in Champagne flutes. We set up the tables in the living room under the canopy of lights next to the "fireplace" and Christmas tree. After the show we came back and had pumpkin pie for dessert.

The best part of the Ballet though was the Crazy old lady that sat next to us. Whenever the lights were up and my date and I were talking she would be eavesdropping and break in at certain points. The bad thing was I'm pretty sure she was going deaf because she heard things wrong and always took them in a bad light. So she spent most of the time mad at my date because she thought he was putting me down. I couldn't help but laugh at the look of utter terror on his face that screamed "SAVE ME" She wouldn't stop either. I tried to tell her it was all right that he hadn't said what she thought he said (we were after all only talking about how I was the youngest child and I called myself spoiled). She stopped only when the show started and picked right back up when the curtain went down for intermission. After a while I Nathaniel started just agreeing with her that he was a bad guy or that he needed to do certain things and I think it threw her off course because she finally let it die. I just couldn't stop laughing at that face he was giving and when Nathaniel started to laugh too (because let's face it the situation was hilarious!) she only asked "what's so funny?" and he imploringly looked to me to fix it and said "I don't know, I'm laughing because she's laughing." Poor guy. . . I already made him get dressed up and dragged him to the Ballet and then he has to spend a good half an hour being berated by a senile old lady! I hope he thinks it was as funny as I did!

Today after church I took my jello salad (that I did find time to make) to my sister's house for a second Thanksgiving dinner. YUM. It snowed here a lot this weekend though so driving up there was scary! The freeways were good but the neighborhood streets don't get plowed right away so they were very icy and where they weren't icy they had about 6 inches of snow and my car likes that almost as much as it likes ice. But I was not going to not go because I stayed up late to make that Jello salad after the Nutcracker!

Oh Tannenbaum, Oh Tannenbaum

IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS!!!!

Today I went and bought a Christmas tree and then my roommates and I decorated it and the rest of the apartment. We now have a real tree, fake presents wrapped to match the tree, lights strung across the ceiling creating "mood" lighting for our dinner on Saturday night and soon we will have a completed construction paper fireplace with a fire and stockings. Now mix in the matching PJ's Jana got for us all and we are set for Christmas.

On Saturday Jana, Lauren and I (with dates) have tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet and we are making dinner for the guys before hand. I'll let you all know more details after the date. . . .

Temple Square Lights

This was the conversation:

Brooke: Do you have plans for tomorrow (Friday) night?
Amanda: No. Do I ever?
Brooke: Well you do now!!!

That is how my friend Brooke invited me to go see the lights on Temple Square up in Salt Lake with her. I'm really glad she informed me we were going because I really wanted to go already and she made it cute by making us brownies and hot chocolate to take with us, and we listened to Christmas music and talked while we sat in traffic for like an hour. I had fun on our Girl "date" although she won't let me call it that. The lights were gorgeous as always but I felt like I enjoyed them more this year. especially the Nativities. I really liked the on in the middle of the Temple reflection pool It was beautiful especially with all the floating votive candles around it. I also liked the luminary bags that had holiday words like "peace," "love," "joy," and "harmony" in different languages lining the flower beds around the church office building. It's nice to remember the true reason for the holiday and to get a little bit more in the right spirit and frame of mind. Sometimes Christmas is so commercialized and I get so focused on how I haven't done any of my Christmas shopping that I forget to stop and think about why we celebrate at all. Having a little moment to stop and spend time with people (or a person) who I care about reminds me what the season should really feel like. So thanks Brooke for helping me pause this December and remember.

Oh, plus I found a glove in Brooke's car that I've been missing since last December when we went up to Temple Square to see the lights!

Disneyland Days

While I was home for thanksgiving Brandee and I went to Disneyland. I can't believe how many times I have been there this year. I know I got deals every time I went and so of the six days I've spent in the happiest place on earth in 2008 I've only paid for three days, but it would have been a good idea to buy an annual pass. I think I might for this next year. Considering we go in for free on someone's silver pass and that I was (and am) still nursing an ankle injury we took it easy this trip. I believe our word for it was putzing. We got into the park around noon and they closed at 8 so we had 8 hours of walking slowly and deciding what we wanted to do carefully. The best part of the WHOLE day though, was that we went on the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion. I have only been on it one time before and that was back in 2001. That was like the first Halloween they decorated the Mansion for Christmas like that and they hadn't put as much in to it. The last time it was like riding the normal ride with jack and zero added in here and there, this time it was amazing! Whole rooms were different! I'm really glad I went just for that ride. Even if it meant the next few days my ankle hated me even more than before Disneyland. I should really let it heal. . . .

OH, Oh, oh!!! I almost forgot! While Brandee and I were waiting in line to meet the Disney Princesses (or rather while we were meeting them) I saw two celebrities who had brought there children to the park for the day. I saw actress Laura Dern and her husband the musician Ben Harper. I thought that was exciting because even though I was raised in LA and have seen stars quite a few times (inculding riding horses down my street), I hadn't seen them at Disneyland and I thought it was cute how excited their daughter was to meet Ariel... Except for the fact that they got to cut in front of a line that we waited in for half an hour, they seemed like such a normal family. Who knew? :)

Recommitting

So I know I've been really bad at blogging since this Summer. In my defense, I had no time to blog and work and I never felt like frustrating myself more than necessary to blog at home. You see, my computer decided to redevelop an old injury. The "5" "7" "y" and "0" keys decided to break for the second summer in a row. Last summer my laptop was fixed, this summer it wasn't worth the price. So I just dealt with it... and that meant very little typing to maintain my sanity (really you would be surprised how often you need those keys, this aside for instance used them seven times). Well anyway, I went home for Thanksgiving and on Black Friday, I got this, my new glorious laptop! Now I know that it is my Christmas and Birthday presents but I am SOOOO thankful that my parents didn't make me wait till after either of those holidays to bring it back with me. Well back to the purpose of this post. I'm going to try to be better at blogging now that I have a usable keyboard!

Giving Thanks

Well it's Thanksgiving time and in less than 48 hours I will be (hopefully) half way to Los Angeles for a little bit of Mom's Home cooking!!! But since it is Thanksgiving I thought I would pause and express some things that I am thankful for at this moment. Tonight at Family Home Evening we made "I'm Thankful Turkeys" out of our hand prints and filled them in with things we are thankful for. Well that was at 8 this evening and somethings have changed since then. First, I am thankful for friends that I can joke around with and it doesn't matter if I act dumb because we all are. Second, I am thankful the HOURS of entertainment that old wrinkled apples can be. Third, I am thankful for sprained ankles instead of broken ones. That's right. I sprained my ankle while messing around with some people after FHE. Apparently it is not a good idea to try to run away in shoes not meant for running, because I definently heard my ankle crack four different times as it rolled so I am very very thankful that I was still able to put weight on it even if it's not much. OK, so more things I'm thankful for are that it is my left foot so I will still be able to drive, that I might have to start my thanksgiving break a day early, and that there were friends close by who were willing to help me up the two flights of stairs and too my door when the pain was making me dizzy. Well that's my post for now. I really need to go to bed so I can get up and decided if the injury is bad enough to stay home tomorrow. Oh and one last thing I'm thankful for today: PAIN PILLS.

The Hills of Los Angeles are Burning

Most people think of fall and they think beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow appearing on all of the normally green trees. Not me. It probably has everything to do with growing up in a climate that has. . . unusual seasons; hot, windy, fire and earthquake. Now granted the earthquake season isn't really one of the seasons and a wet el nino season occasionally comes between fire and hot (unfortunately a wet year makes the following fire season ten times worse). Well now that you know what the seasons I am used to are, can you guess which one trumps the reds and yellows of fall? Well I guess I lied... we do get reds and yellows and oranges.... the color of flames. Every year about this time the Santa Ana winds start to blow warm air from the desserts into the coastal valleys and with those winds come devastating fires. I can't remember one year growing up that lacked at least one fire that you could see the smoke from miles and miles away. The worst fires are the ones that are miles and miles away and you find yourself brushing not snow off of your car, but ash. Well this afternoon I discovered that there is one of the AMAZING fall events taking place less than five miles (as the crow, or fire, flies) away from my childhood home and threatening many of my friend's homes. So I guess it's official, Fall is here.

This is the Little Tujunga Canyon Fire.

Google Tag

Here's a fun tag to try...

Google each of the following things and post the first image that comes up...

First Name: Amanda
(Amanda Bynes)

Middle Name: Lee
(Oh isn't it great being named after THE Confederate soldier Robert E. Lee)

Last Name: Watson
(Emma Watson)

Age: 23


Place I'd like to visit someday:

Vienna, Austria

Favorite vacation spot:
London, England

Celebrity crush:
John Krasinski
Oh Yeah! (That's what she said!)


College Major:
History

Place I grew up:

Sunland, CA

First Job:

AMC Theaters Crew Member

Favorite treat:
Cake Balls!!!!

Favorite food:


Favorite color:
Teal

Somewhere you've gone today:
The DI to drop of stuff.

What's for dinner:

Turkey Artichoke Lasagna in Aribiatta Sauce

YOU'RE IT!!!

All caught up

So now maybe you will all be a little more understanding as to why I didn't update for a month and a half! I was gone so many days that I don't know how I would have posted! The most exciting things about August so far are that I got an Ice Cream Maker and have used it twice now (I love it and don't know how I survived so long without one!) also my Mom came and spent some time with me after the family reunion I took her to my Family Home Evening Group and she bought me groceries and a bookcase and took me to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Moms are Great! I floated down the Provo River a couple weekends ago and that was really fun. Right now I'm stressing out because all three of my roommates are moving out on Wednesday and I don't know who is moving in to take their spots! Think good thoughts for me in a week when the new girls will be moving in! I really hope they are nice!


Oh, oh, oh, and the most exciting news of August so far (to me) is that I finally broke down and got a new phone! And not only is it a new phone but it's an iPhone 3G!!!! I absolutely LOVE my new toy and think it is so worth it! That's all for now!

Family Time

I really like this picture because my cousin David matches the scenery! (He just got his mission call to Spokane, WA and I am so proud of him!!!!)

The game that never was! I think we just weren't meant to play it!

The last week in July my family had a reunion in the Grand Tetons. We hadn't really had a reunion since 2000 so it was amazing to see how many families have grown and changed. We ended up having about 65 people there and I had to stop for a second when I realized that that was only about half of our family! I guess when there are 45 first cousins, and most of us are grown up now, the numbers just start snowballing and unless you stop to think about it they get away from you! I remember the family reunion when I was 5 that we had in Nauvoo, Illinois and I can't believe that the cousins that my sisters and I made up skits with are now grown up with kids of their own! Luckily we're not all "grown ups" yet!

I think my favorite part of the reunion was getting to know some of my younger cousins that I haven't really had much of a chance to know until now. One night four of my cousins and I sat down to play the game Mao (totally awesome card game that I can't tell you the rules too). About and hour into the game I made the realization that all five of us were the youngest in our families (OK maybe I was trying to use the "I'm the baby" excuse and it backfired). Until now the age differences between us all had kept us from really spending much time together because we spent time with our other cousins that were closer to our ages. But now it didn't really matter that I was 23 and the youngest was 14! I was glad to really get to know Issac and Felix who I hadn't ever spent time with before. I already knew Sarah and David because they both have siblings my age. So we five, at 23, 20, 18, 16, and 14 had a really fun time staying up way to late and just being silly no matter what the age difference.

The next night we played Mao again with different more of the cousins and a few of the Aunts and Uncles. I really enjoyed making my Uncle Bob squirm because he couldn't figure out the rules right away! He is so competitive that it really irks him when he doesn't win. I think the whole family is like that though!

I'm glad that I was able to spend some time with my family and rekindle some of the friendships that I had forgotten. I really hope we do things like this more often!

Oh Pioneer.... Day!

For Pioneer day I drove up to Rockport State Park after work on Wednesday and met up with my sister and her sister in-law's families. We camped Wednesday night and spent all day Thursday on the lake. I was invited because both my sister and her sister-in-law, Noel, are afraid to drive the boat and Tim, Noel's Husband wanted a chance to water sky too, and not just pull everyone else all day. So I got to learn how to pull a water skier (I've only pulled tubes before) and also just cruise around the lake. I went tubing for along time (oh man was I sore the next day!) but I also tried my hand at water skiing. I think I took this a bit too literally because on my third attempt to stand up on the skies I wiped out so hard that I knocked my fingers against the edge of the ski as I was falling and within 10 minutes my nail was black and blue! It still feels slightly numb, I think I'll probably lose it. Well, needless to say that was the end of my water skiing attempts. I don't think I could have held onto the rope if I had wanted to after this!

I had the rest of the weekend off after Pioneer day on Thursday so I went up to my sister's house and helped her clean her house as well as just hanging out with her. We had Olive Garden and swam in her new pool and just had fun (plus she lets me do laundry)!

LOS ANGELES or BUST

So the day after the Fourth of July I packed up my car and took the drive home! I did so much while I was home that I can't believe that I was only there for 9 days (including driving days)! On my first full day I headed out to Disneyland with Brandee, Anibal, and Percy. We spent the whole day running back and forth trying to get everything in. I went on the new toy story 3d ride in California adventure and it is AMAZING! I really loved it! You go through the ride playing different 3D carnival rides and to make them even better they are interactive so if you break a balloon with a dart you actually feel the breeze from them (beware of water filled balloons!) or when you launch a rocket and you can feel it taking off! I still think that the Hollywood Tower of Terror is my favorite ride but Toy Story is ranking a close second.

Monday was spent recovering from my active day at the happiest place on earth. Really I should have been doing the massive amounts of laundry I took home with me but I really just wanted to sleep all day, so I did.

Tuesday I went to lunch at the Olive Garden with my mom (I love girls days!) and then spent the afternoon and Grandma and Grandpa Huckvales house with my favorite Huckvales! I went swimming with the kids (I can't believe that they are all getting so big!) and then learned new girls camp games from the recently returned Kayla Langford. I know that Kayla didn't remember me but oh man was it a shocker to see the little one year old I played with after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Sixth grade all grown up and done with the sixth grade herself!!!

Wednesday my sister got into town in the evening (I know I did something during the day but I'm blanking at the moment).

Thursday my sister, her friend, their kids and I headed to Disneyland (for my second, their first day). Disneyland is fun with kids because they are so excited by everything but oh my goodness is it tiring! And we didn't even have a day to recuperate because they checked into a hotel across the street and I stayed in Buena Park with my Tall friend Laura :) so we could be to the park the next day bright and early!!! My goodness did I wear myself out with three days of Disney parks packed into one week!


It was ok though because Saturday we relaxed at Point Dume beach for a while before calling it a day at our pool with a BBQ and friends!


Sunday I went to the Dodgers Game and sat in the hot hot sun while watching our team serve defeat on a platter to the other team we won the game 9-1! I had fun pigging out and watching the game with good friends even if it meant getting back to Provo and extra day late and missing an extra day of work. Although in my vacation from the 4th of July through the 14th I only missed ONE day of work I could have actually worked! The Nicolson's were on vacation the rest of the time. Well so that was my trip to LA, crazy I know but oh so fun! I'll add some pictures that I know I have later when I have my camera with me.

Fourth of July

So I don't have my camera with me right now and I don't really know what pictures I have so there might not be any!

On the Fourth of July I had the day off of work so I got up super early and went to the parade in Provo. Now besides the Fourth of July Parades in my home town of Sunland, CA and the trucks throwing candy with banners in the even smaller (four blocks square) town of Tabiona, UT, I have never been to a parade besides the Rose Parade which is a big deal everywhere not just in LA. So I didn't really know what to expect because I thought it had to be a pretty awesome parade or people wouldn't camp out on the streets for it... apparently I was wrong. Don't get me wrong for a smaller town parade it was pretty good, but I guess camping out for the rose parade has ruined me for any other parade or maybe it's just getting older that does it.

Well after we left the Parade early we headed back to the apartment complex where it was BBQ time!!! I think the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday because there are BBQs and Fireworks! The BYOM (bring your own meat) BBQ was pretty spectacular even if it was EXTREMELY humid out for a Utah day (ok I know it's nothing compared to what they get in the south or even on the east coast but I'm used to like -30% humidity!)

In the evening my ward got together and walked a couple blocks for a prime viewing spot of the stadium of fire fireworks. As we were waiting for the fireworks to start we played Egyptian Ratscrew and could even here Miley Cyrus performing in the background although I think the Blue Man Group did better than she did! Well again I told you on of my favorite parts of the holiday are the fireworks so I was pretty much on cloud nine watching the huge explosions and then setting off a few of my own after the big show was over. I definitely want to live somewhere fireworks (even the small kind) are legal when I grow up.

Breaking the Blog Silence

Hello! Yes I am alive! I can't believe I haven't posted in a month and a half! July was a very busy month and I have a lot to write about so expect some catch up posts over the next few days (hopefully). I hope you all had a great July and half of August!

Wishing

Do you ever come up with what you really wish you could say if only you had the guts? I do. I practice out these speeches and rehearse them over and over until they are perfect and every aspect is planned and every possible response has a rebuttal and then I file them away in my brain under "As if." SOMEDAY, I will actually give one of these speeches without fear of what the person I am speaking to will say or think when I am done. I will march up to them speak my peace and walk away, leaving a trail of wreckage that I don't care about cleaning up. I'm done cleaning up, let someone else do it. But for now? The worst I do is write them out and THINK about doing it. I'm so much of a chicken that I don't even have the guts to post them here! Oh well. maybe next time I'll have the guts.

Kick Ball and Popsicles

On Sunday I was called to my a Family Home Evening group leader in my Ward. I've done this calling before three years ago but I'm a little nervous/excited to have it again. On monday I had my first activity and we went to play kick ball and then had popsicles at the elementary school just up the street. Sometimes you just need to revert to being 10 years old again and enjoying the simple fun of a Summer's day. I think people enjoyed it and hopefully they will like everything else I come up with for the rest of the Summer! Wish me luck with my new calling!

Moab

Last week I took a vacation to Moab. Ok, so maybe I did work while I was there but not for who you are thinking of! My sister and her best friend went on a one day white water rafting trip and she invited me to watch my neice for the time they were gone because she is too little to go on a trip like that and my brother in law had to work. We drove down on Wednesday and after we were all checked into the Motel we drove to Arches National Park and went hiking. We hiked up to Delicate Arch (3 miles each way). It was a little scary hiking straight up the side of a giant sandstone mountain but the view from the top was spectacular. Thursday I spent with my little neice who is being the BIGGEST diva lately so we didn't do much in the way of outdoorsy stuff every five minutes there was whining and saying she was bored no mater what we did. Well, I guess that's not true becuase she was quit for the hour we spent in the pool other than bossing me around about where I could and couldn't swim too. It really is funny how five year olds think they know more than adults (they're like mini teenagers!). Friday we spent more time hiking in Arches, this time a more little girl friendly trail so she complained less (especially after we told her it was the "children's trial"). I am only sad that I forgot to charge my Camera so I didn't have it with me to take pictures! My sister's friend took pictures so when I get them from her I will have to put some up.

Oh the Merry Month of May!

Well this month has just flown by and I realized that I haven't really posted much at all! So as I was trying to come up with things to post about I realized that this month has been a month of a lot of firsts for me.
1. I started my first ever official relationship with a guy that I really liked.
2. I went to my Mother's graduation.
3. I went to my very first Dodgers game!
4. Had my very first DTR (and yes I mean destroy the relationship, not define it...Provo is dumb).
5. So the DTR lead to being dumped but I guess that this wasn't my first time being dumped (even though it was my first relationship... High school boys are dumb).
and last but not least:
6. The first time ever I wished summer vacation was over before it even started! (there are three mini people I wish were back in school already)

So yeah... I think that the graduation and Dodger's game were the Highlights. Probably why they got their own posts. Number One and number Five are probably the reasons I haven't posted much this month. I apologize, I'll do better next time!

I Love L.A.

I went home over the weekend for my mom's graduation, but it was nice to spend some time with friends too! On Monday night Brandee, Anibal and I went to the Dodger game against the Cincinnati Reds! It was my first ever Dodger game. Brandee and I got really excited about it and made T-shirts that said "I love LA" on them. We made ours with a blue sparkle material but we let Anibal have non-sparkle letters. We went to batting practice before the game and the guest relations person there with the crowd was making fun of him for not having sparkles like us! The game was amazing because we won in the bottom of the ninth! It kept me paying attention through the very end, and Brandee was happy because her favorite player #44 Takashi Saito (the closer) got to come out and pitch the last inning! I think though that my favorite player is Blake DeWitt! He's the one that batted the winning run in! (He is also cute and only 7 months younger than me). :) I had a really fun time in L.A. and I am glad I got to go!

After 40 years!

I am so proud of my mom! I went home to LA this past weekend to attend my mother's graduation! Forty years after her graduation from the University of Utah with her bachelor's degree she graduated with her Master of Fine Arts in Education from Cal Lutheran! I am so happy for her and proud that she was able to do it even though she thought she wouldn't survive! Way to go Mom!

ICE CREAM!

Last night after FHE we went and got shakes at the Malt Shop. It was nice to just hang out and the ice cream hit the spot! Steve and Krista, sorry your not in the picture!

The Curtis'!

Jason and Lindsay made it official on Saturday. I am so happy for them and I am glad I could help in anyway even if that was looking after a screaming baby and ignoring Lindsay's wishes about her car being decorated! CONGRATULATIONS JASON AND LINDSAY!

Graduation: One Year Later

On Friday I went to Amy's Graduation. Her mom spent hours trying to get the "perfect" picture of Amy but I think I beat them all with this one. Everyone can have a nice picture of them smiling at the camera. Only Amy can pull off faces like this! Congratulations Amy!

On another note.... it was weird to be at graduation a little bit because I've already graduated. I can't believe it's been a whole year!

Tulips!

While in Washington Shannon took me to a tulip festival and I was in heaven! I've never seen so many of my favorite flower all in one place! I know that i want to have tulips in my garden when I grow up. even if it means i have to take them out of the ground and refridgerate them for 9 months of the year!

Washington!

While the family I work for took a cruise for Spring break I got to go to Washington and visit some of my favorite people! I can't believe I hadn't seen them since 2006! I loved my visit so much and I am so happy I got to go. Thank you guys for letting me come! (I loved it so much I missed my flight on the way back!)

Five!

My neice turned five in February and I realized that I never put anything up about it. She had a ballarina party. She is so cute and I love her so much! I can't believe she is 5 already!

Catch up!

I have a LOT of catching up to do on this blog! I have been so bad lately. I need to talk about my trip to Portland, and Amy's graduation, and Lindsay's Wedding and maybe some other things... I am going to try to remember to take my camera to work tomorrow and then I can get some pictures going and start catching up!

Cake Balls

So these are my all time favorite thing that I learned from Amy. They are pure Deliciousness. To make them can be a little time consuming but a lot of fun. Ashley and I made this batch for our book club on the 9th. We read Twilight and so I wanted to use red chocolate to make them look like the book cover. Sometimes I think I over think things... Anyway, This is how to make them so you can all enjoy them!
1. Follow the directions to make a yellow or chocolate cake mix in a 13x9 pan.
2. Allow the Cake to cool (this step is very important. The cooler it is the easier it is to work with)
3. Take the Cake out of the pan and crumble it into a large mixing bowl.
4. Add a tub of frosting to the crumbled cake making sure that it is fully and evenly covered. A wooden spoon works best for this step but you hands are more fun.
5. Scoop out in 2 Tbsp balls and roll till smooth and round.
6. Place balls on to waxed or parchment paper and let them dry (if you don't wait till they are dry they fall apart in the chocolate)
7. Dip each ball into melted Almond bark or other similar candy coating. Chocolate chips don't work!
6. Place covered ball back on to paper and let dry. If you want you can add sprinkles while the Almond bark is still a little wet or wait till they are all dry and use a contrasting color to make swirls.

Now this is what I call Spring!

No more of the snow that fell on Sunday and Monday! The first bulbs are up and the buds on the trees are about to pop, and OH that beautiful blue sky!
These are a few of my favorite things about my favorite season. I just can't wait for two things: The rest of the Green like leaves and grass and the TULIPS!

It's almost April... and it snowed.

I am SO over the snow. When I woke up on Sunday I got ready for church thinking I was safe because it has been so nice lately... HA! When I went into the front room and looked out the open blinds I was shocked to see fresh snow falling, and it kept coming. It did not help the mood that I had already been in since getting out of bed. I almost all melted by the end of the day but then I woke up this morning and there was MORE! I don't know about anyone else but I'm ready for the flowers and the sun and shorts and flip flops and sitting in the park with a good book and a Frisbee! I think I might go on strike if it snows again before i get these things!

Bookie

My friend Ashley and I decided that we wanted to start a book club to give us a reason to get together with a group of girls once a month (and more of a reason to read). Ashley made the request that our first book be Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Well that was it, the end of any sort of productivity or sleep for a week! I went and bought the first book after work last Tuesday and by Thursday I was dying to get off work to go buy book two, New Moon and then Saturday I was ready for Eclipse, the third book. The fourth book doesn't come out until August so I guess I'll just have to wait. I can't believe that I got so sucked in! And I've never been one to enjoy something to Fantastic like Vampires (except for Harry Potter)! I can't believe that I've finished all three books when we still have three weeks until we are suposed to discuss just the first one! I'm glad to know that I still can read books this quickly though... I guess being done with college for almost a year now hasn't affected my good reading skills. HA! I am excited to discuss it with everyone at my book club!

Life Lessons

Ok so I know it's been forever and a day since I posted (or three weeks). I have been busy and yet not busy at the same time. I guess I just didn't feel in the writing mood. But today I realized that even if my job is difficult and not always rewarding, I am making observations and am learning habits and skills that will be VERY useful in my future life.

#1. If you do a little bit of housework everyday, you can stay ahead of disastrous situations.
#2. When you say no, mean no. Boundaries are good things and everyone wants them, not just kids.
#3. Explaining rules, consequences and decisions can take five minutes and save hours.
#4. Spend more time happy with what you have, than worrying about what others have that you don't.
#5. Tattling is obnoxious, no one wants to hear over and over again what someone else did wrong. Worry about making amends for what you have done first.
#6. Love your spouse and love your kids, but don't let your love for one cloud, or even eclipse, your love for the other.
#7. The three little words "I am sorry" can do just as many wonders as the three "I love you," use both phrases often.

Guitar Hero!

I just beat Guiar Hero III for the Wii on Easy. Now I can go back to not caring about the game because medium is TOO hard for me!

Work and Play

Ok, so I just got home from working 4 days straight. I seriously don't know how I survive sometimes, when I get home from times like that I feel so drained of everything it's as if I could sleep for days and days. I have pictures I need post from my niece's birthday party last weekend. I went to the BYU v. UNLV basketball game last night and I wish I had remembered to take pictures, but I didn't. I had a lot of fun at the game though. I hadn't been to a basket ball game since I was a freshman and I had forgotten how much fun it is to yell and really get into the game. I told the guy I went with, Todd that my favorite part is the chanting "left, right, left right... SIT DOWN!" when some player on the other team fouls out. I am so glad I got to spend last night away from the kids, I think i might have had to shoot myself in the foot if I didn't get a few hours off. Jessica was sweet for offering to babysit her brothers so I could go!

President Hinckley

Yesterday evening the President and Prophet of my church, Gordon B. Hinckley passed away. I have to admit that I was shocked when I heard the news. It just hits you when you hear something like that. It is a little sad because he has been the Prophet for almost 13 years (since I was 10) and I loved him so much. He was such a sweet, nice, spiritual man. I could really feel his love for all of the members of the Church. I know that he is now with his wife again and so happy to be with her. You could tell when Sister Hinckley died a few years ago that it really affected him. I am so glad that I know that his death doesn't affect the authority of the church or it's truth. And I am glad that we were able to have such a wonderful man lead us for so long. It's so good to know that death isn't the end. It is only the beginning!

Tubing!

Saturday my ward went Tubing at Soldier's Hollow in Midway. It was SO much fun! After tubing we went in the Heber and had awesome burgers and shakes at the Dairy Keen. It was so good. I managed to survive the day with out killing myself too! No broken bones and not too many sore muscles and only a couple bruises on my knee where i had to stick my legs off the back of the tube because my feet weren't slowing me down enough and there was a stupid worker standing just at the end of my lane! She should have moved!