Nightmare

I had a nightmare that I lost all my followers on this little blog. I know. All 31 of you. And somehow I was so worried.

My next nightmare included my friend Mike Romney. He was just in my bathroom, cleaning the toothpaste off the toothpaste tube. Just sitting there, staring at me through the mirror, cleaning. It was scary.

Then I had a nightmare that all my cake pops that I made turned out awful. Wait, that wasn't a nightmare. It really happened. So now I have two huge trays of cake pops sitting outside (There wasn't room in my freezer and outside works just as well). They still taste good, but they aren't very pretty and I am too prideful to serve something that is ugly. But I did buy cute little mini cupcake liners, Halloween style... I guess this just means I have to make another Halloween type treat.

Tonight I'm carving pumpkin and maybe watching an old Alfred Hitchcock short film. Tomorrow? Who knows? Grocery shopping, lesson planning, homework and a show? Maybe I'll even dress up. I don't know, the only way I'm feeling Halloween-y is through my cooking. What are you doing this weekend? Any fun ideas?

Thoughts

My wise uncle once taught me, "Funerals are just simply a way to mark time".
The only way to dispel darkness is to bring in light.
It sometimes scares me when people get engaged after knowing each other for only two months. Not saying it can't and won't work. But sometimes, I just get scared.
Hard work is hard but it's the only way to be successful
Never curse a broken heart-having the ability to love is one of our most God-like attributes.
Staying up too late makes your brain fuzzy and you say silly things. Worth it.
We always have a choice. Always.

This is a happy weekend. Lots of rain, a clean apartment, Cornbelly's tonight and relaxing at home with dear friends. October truly is my favorite month.

Check out tastespotting.com :) You'll love it!

Praying for Paxton

Everyone needs to know this story, and we all need to be praying for Paxton.
I am blessed to know this family personally. They live down the road from us and my mom and Shannon are very good friends. Their two older boys are sooo much fun to watch and they have an amazing story to share. They were just on ksl news... so here's the video clip and check out her blog for some inspiration. daveandshannonnorton.blogspot.com


ksl.com - Family praying for infant with extremely rare disorder

Kind of puts your life into perspective huh? I can't watch this without feeling complete peace. I know that those with disabilities have the gift of love. We are blessed to be surrounded by them. I am blessed to be an older sister to a "spiritual celebrity". What an extraordinary family, so much faith and love.

Parisian Love

I love this video. It was shown in my religion class (yes, I'm taking marriage and family-it's awesome). Just a happy little video.

I had a happy weekend visiting my family and spending time with people I care about. :) Not enough sleep so I'm considering a 9:30 crash time tonight. Hope your weekend was fun and that you are finding love.

I'm a Senior

So here I am in the fourth year of college. I should be graduating this spring right?
wrong.
I love when people ask "what year are you?" I reply, "I'm a senior!" *then people get really excited and ask, "oh does that mean you're graduating this spring? That is SO exciting!" I just laugh and say, "no, I have another two and a half years."

People, this is what happens when you change your major half way through your Junior year. And your major is a five year program. But I don't care. Not at all.
Today I caught a glance at the end. As I was planning my next semester, I planned the rest of my college life. I see the end. And I'm excited. I don't regret changing my major because I love the classes I'm taking. I love sewing and interior design, observing cute preschoolers and cooking. Why would I ever want to leave this blessed school? Maybe provo...but that's another story. :)

Oh and another factor in my delayed graduation? Over 20 dance classes, and 10+ credits of unneeded credit.

I like learning.

Step aside Cafe Rio...

Okay friends this is the first time I'm going to share a recipe here. And I hope to do so many more times...
I made this salad tonight. Delicious. All my roommates asked to eat some (and they liked it) and this really cute boy asked if I could bring him some at work...hmmm we'll see. ;)

Black Bean and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Dressing
total time: 30 min
makes: 4 servings

Cilantro Dressing
2 limes
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
2 T reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. coarsely ground black pepper

Salad
1 small head romaine lettuce cut into 3/4-in pieces (8 cups)
2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Kirby cucumbers (4 ounces each), not peeled, each cute lengthwise into quarters, then crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 can (15 to 19 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
( you can really add whatever you want... I added green onions and some chicken)

1. Prepare dressing: From limes, grate 1/2 teaspoon peel and squeeze 3 tablespoons juice. In blender, combine all ingredients. Scrap down the sides if needed. Cover and refrigerate if not using right away. Makes about 1/2 cup.
2. Prepare salad: In large serving bowl, toss lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, and beans with dressing until well coated.

Hello! Delicious!
Try it...I dare you

Also I'm updated my life...This is mostly for you my dear freshman roommate (you know who you are pretty girl).

So last Friday I went to a homecoming dance with said boy, covered apples with sticky caramel and bruised my knees. Saturday found me dressing up as a Ukrainian and walking around in the parade handing out balloons to really cute kids, watching BYU win the game, a freshman year reunion (I couldn't remember many people's names...oops), and watching Nightmare Before Christmas with some fun friends.
Sunday=church (amazing), dinner at a friend's grandma's, pumpkin bars (heaven), and a swan princess.

My life is good. Oh so very good.

Dodging Raindrops

I love the rain

And I was thinking about something today as I walked around in the drizzle. We try to avoid getting wet right? We pick up our pace, walk where it's dry and carry umbrella's. It's logical, we don't like to get wet. It's uncomfortable, takes a long time to dry off and we end up looking really messy.
Here's my point...
We can't continually dodge problems we will face in life. It's scary. We don't like getting wet. We don't like making mistakes, we don't like being affected by someone else's mistakes but golly! Just because you may do something wrong and get "wet" doesn't mean you won't eventually dry off. You'll change your clothes and become a new person. And you'll probably even enjoy those dry warm clothes a lot more because you were wet before.

Life is wet sometimes. And sometime it's hard. But I guarantee it's worth it.


Embrace the rain.

Happiness inside and out

I'm sitting in the Harold B. Lee Library, homework completed, waiting for my class to start, and I found this quote, by they man himself.

"Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you, but on what happens inside of you. It is measured by the spirit with which you meet the problems of life."

I just wanted to share that.

a new crock-pot recipe book, my lovely family, performing with my best friends, my freshman year reunion on Saturday (ha!), when other people are happy, my love of nature, when people look at me on campus and aren't lost in their own world with their i-pod, knowing that I can feel true joy forever.

Also, this weather makes me really happy
so does studying with blond boys.

So what's happening inside of you that is making you truly happy?