Oh Brother

My Brother Brandon just said "He grasped his last breast" instead of saying "He gasped his last breath." I laughed a lot.

My Favorite Christmas Treat/ Craft

I always remember this craft from when I was little, and it has always been one of my favorite. I have yet to make it this year, so these pictures are from last year.
Christmas Trains

Obsession

Okay okay, so I like Hello Kitty, and I'm sure anyone reading this is aware. I believe there is a big difference between obsession and enjoyment. There are some basic human necessities, and generally they are not very cute. Here is where I justify my Hello Kitty purchases.
Instead of a boring toaster, I own this. And yes, it does imprint Hello Kitty's face on your toast.
A cute humidifier?? I got one.

A hair dryer, and one that wishes me "Have a happy hair day". Seriously.

Lastly, my most recent addition, courtesy of my brother Mike, a water cooler & gumball machine. I would like to add, the water cooler is the exact minimum amount of daily water intake. Oh yes.

Great-ful

I am glad that Pokemon shed some light onto my condition (Hypersomnia) with this little (big) cutie, Snorlax

I am greatful that Toby, (Beefy's dog) is a Patriots fan.

Not his best photo, but I am definately greatful for Mr. Elephant. My biggest stress as of late is if/when I get married, what will my husband think of our friend spending the wedding night with us.

Lastly, I am greatful that I got to spend two hours on Saturday, with this

Realization

I have come to the realization of how funny this is. In Massachusetts, I set two friends up only because they were one of a very small demographic that was a.) republican and b.)liked country music. Strangely enough they are still very serious after two years. I was thinking about the fact that if those were my two criteria in Utah, I would be the number one matchmaker in the state.

Crazy!

Did anyone realize that ok is a sideways person? Crazy!

Depressed, Happy, Depressed, Happy?

Depressing- Swine Flu. AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL
Happy- I got a 100% on my Family Studies Midterm- as in 1/4 of my final grade! I really did not believe they handed out 100's in college.
Depressing- I don't think I can go to Boise this weekend because of Swine Flu, and I am missing Midnight showing of New Moon.
Happy- I can go see New Moon at matinee time for $5

pictures so my mommy won't miss me so much

Me and Andrea


Me on my 21st birthday. I had a Red Bull so that I wouldn't be tempted to use my ID. hahaha I am JOKING.

I was Rosie the Riveter for Halloween. I think I can pull it off.

Domesticated

I am becoming domesticated, and you know what? It really stinks! I was coming into this realization the other day. I had a long day of classes, a mid term, and then I came home and had to make dinner, or starve. Even a pb&honey sandwich seemed to be to much work! I luckily had a Bertolli dinner in the freezer, and while it was cooking itself I thought wow, it is so hard to be in school full time, and clean, and launder, and cook for myself. Do you know what I then realized, everyone else works full time, and cleans and launders and cooks for themselves and OTHERS! This is when I decided I will become a hermit, or live in a hotel with room service forever. My newest phenomemnon is starving, then making something, and by the time I'm done, I have lost my appetite. This happened when I was making monkey munch, AND curry chicken salad. I now know, I was not cut out for this. This picture is not me!

Porcupine

I will again plug my favorite eatery in SLC Gourmandise. "Gourmandise offers the finest European pastries & desserts in the valley. With a kitchen full of Salt Lake City's best pastry chefs crafting the most delicious, made-from-scratch confections in the West, it's no wonder Gourmandise is a favorite casual downtown eatery, famous for its spectacular desserts. Anyone who visits and experiences the deliciousness can see why this family-owned business has been bringing smiles to customers' faces for almost 20 years." I have only ventured down the amazing eclair route until my 21st birthday when I felt the need to go a little crazy, and got this delicious porcupine. Chocolate cake, moouse and chocolate and nut covering makes this divine critter.

My Dad

So I'm pretty sure there is some saying to the effect of "They're so smart, but you have to remind them to put their pants on in the morning." Well Steve is the smartest person I know. My Mom called me today to relay this little gem. Steve left Tuesday night for a week+ business trip to Denmark and India. My Mom recieves a phone call at 7:15 a.m from Steve in the Oslo airport. He says, So I'm going to have to go shopping in Denmark, since I didn't pack a single pair of pants. I really wish he was going to go to India first, and would be forced to buy a sari, or the male equivalent.

You know its a problem..

When you easily have 30+ pairs of underwear, and you notice the huge pile of dirty clothes, and notice that there are only 2 pairs left in the drawer.

My Cute (Dog) Niece

My dog niece Greta dressed as Darth Vader

Shower

I thought this was kind of funny. I was in the shower at the temple, and I looked up at the shower head and saw there were three choices, Spray, Massage and Niagra.

Funny Halloween

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfk2me7p9us

September Stuff

The man in my life- Leroy
He wasn't being very photogenic


Me and my roommate Andrea went to the State Fair. We got airbrush tattoos. Of course when I saw that I could get a Hello Kitty tattoo I knew I had to have it. I also had my first ever deep friend Snickers.

Yum

I love candy corn! It is so yummy. Someone needs to realize that they should market it all year long, I'm sure they could think up different shapes/colors etc.

Halloween

I have to admit I kind of hate Halloween. I'm trying to be positive so I will make a list of things that I DO like about Halloween.
1. Hocus Pocus- This is about the scariest movie I watch :)

2. Decorations


My Grandma got me the Beanie Baby. His name is Treats.
3. Candy
4. Knowing that in exactly one week it's my birthday

P.S This sign was on a resturant door. I certainly hope it is in lieu of Halloween and not a permanent sign.

My Talented Sister in Law

Hop over to Brandon and Anne's blog to see how talented my sister in law is!

Part Dos

Some of my favorite things = I like Utah!

Exhibit A: I get to go to the temple once a week! I've been doing baptisms and the last two times all the people I was being baptized for were from Massachusetts.


Exhibit B: Gourmandise. It is an AMAZING bakery,bistro,cafe. It's so yummy/reasonably priced. I had THE perfect BLT and the an AMAZING eclair.

Exhibit C: The conference center. My roommate got a ticket from a friend to the Relief Society Broadcast, so I decided to go to the conference center and see if I could get a ticket. I was standing in line at the will call window and these women in front of me had extra tickets and they gave me one. I got to sit right in the center, and 13 rows back!!! I was spitting distance from the Prophet and all the other people! It was an amazing meeting and you can definately feel a spirit being with all of the sisters, and the brethren.


Exhibit D: School! I love school!

Cutie Pies

Some of my favorite things = Homesickness

Exhibit A


Exhibit B


Exhibit C

Who weighs 3,000 pounds and wears a flower behind their ear?











A Hippie-potamus

On a stranger note...

The other day I had a dream I was pregnant with twins (thanks Crystal) and I was married to Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal). He wasn't faithful, so it wasn't like we ever saw eachother but I didn't mind because I got to sleep in his bed (I saw it on cribs) which is pretty cool since its like 13 feet wide. All I could think about is "I can't have Shaq's twins, they are going to be enormous!". So all night I was freaking out about having 3 foot twins coming out of me. The end.

Roommates

I have an insane roommate. Literally insane. In my 2 and a half years of psych majoring I would say Manic Depressive, very fast acting. I will tell you the whole story, if you aren't interested in the life of a crazy CRAZY crazy person, I suggest you stop reading. FYI I have two awesome roommates who are nice and sweet and a life saver in this situation. I have been here for about 4 weeks. The first week I was here she was very loud, and very excited all the time. She was looking for a job as a nurse (she graduated in the spring) and any lead she had you would think she won the lotto. My Uncle Garry would never refer to her by name, only by calling her "The Drama Queen" which was very appropriate. She was always talking about her self and always talking period. She was like this for about a week or two. Then she told us about her past. Her parents had a meth lab and got busted so they moved around using false names (so she says). She went to a "boarding school" (school for troubled teens) in Tooelle. She absolutely hates Mormons which is pretty obvious when you talk to her for more than two minutes. Here comes the turn for the worse. My Dad, if you have ever met him is THE sweetest, most sincere, most caring person I know. He asked her where she went to church when he and my mom were helping me move in, and the next day, joked that no one lived here to her (since she had been staying at her boyfriends, one roommate hadn't moved in yet, and one was on vacation). So crazy says to me two weeks later "I wanted to punch your Dad in the face. I was so offended when he asked me where I went to church and said nobody lives here?" SERIOUSLY exact quote. She started leaving moldy, really moldy dishes around the house, and never cleaning them. One of my roommates left a note on the white board asking her to please clean the moldy dishes and she did it about a week later. She joined a cult about a week ago. She told us she was taking a class that at first she thought was a cult, because they did offerings and stuff, but she decided to do it. Here comes the crazy part. She left MOLDY MOLDY MOLDY bananas downstairs and they were stinking up the house. My roommate Kendra wrote on the white board, Throw away the bananas. Thursday morning she barges into my roommate Andreas room, sees she is asleep and starts screaming "did you write that note on the white board?" andrea is dead asleep and shes keeps yelling did you write that note, blah blah blah, finally andrea says get out of my room. So she runs up the stairs to wake me up and find out if i read the note. She barges in while im in the middle of a REM cycle and starts saying "Did you write the note about the moldy bananas?" and I was like "whaaa" (what in asleep talk) meanwhile Andrea heres her waking me up and wont stand for it. She marches upstairs and is yelling "You do NOT wake us up! This is NOT okay! Leave us alone" all while im still drooling. Crazy proceeds to say Why are you attacking me, like you guys are so perfect, and starts to cry, then leaves. Crazy CRAZY CRAZY. She confronts Kendra the next day (by Screaming) and then when Kendra trys to talk to her she turns up the tv volume etc and acts like a 3 year old snothead. (Crazy said "Havent you ever heard of banana bread?"...uh I havent not with MOLDY bananas) She pooped in me and Kendra's toliet and didn't flush just to be mean. She tries to pick fights at all times. We told our landlord this and the fact that she is NOT obeying the rental agreement, i.e. having men staying over (and having really loud sex) and drinking in the house. So she is moving. Not soon enough though. She started yelling at me and Andrea again today and I yelled back saying "You do not talk to me like this". Im pretty proud if you cant tell. I dont ever want to talk about her again thus, the novel I just wrote.

The Diet of a College Student

Often times I catch myself eating Milk Duds and Moutain Dew for dinner, but my new vice are these babies
It's been causing me to think, the idea of eating a teddy bear or a goldfish is not appetizing, but why do they taste so good?

Class Schedule

I have THE best class schedule. I pretty much love all of my classes, minus one, which is pretty awesome. I'm taking Abnormal Psychology, History of Rock n Roll, Human Development, Isaiah with Michael Wilcox, Research Methods <- GAG, and Family Studies. Im also going to the Temple every week which is amazing, and I'm volunteering at the Humane Society. Life is good. Minus being away from all my amazing MA friends.

Labor Day Weekend

I spent my long weekend with these little cuties. My aunt and uncle in Sandy were nice enough to let my tag along up to Boise. It was a really fun trip and I got to see a good chunk of my family. It's always amazing the stories you hear that you've never heard before. It was a good weekend with good company and good food. My aunt made this amazing Chicken Tetrazzini (courtesy of Giada de Laurentis) recipie that tasted like heaven.
Ingredients
9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces linguine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

MY WARD HAS TWO ELDERS QUORUMS AND ONLY ONE RELIEF SOCIETY! SO THIS IS WHAT HEAVEN WILL BE LIKE :)

My Room

Here are pictures of my room. This is the only time my room will ever be this clean.

Cute Things

Two cute things,
I find this little guy all alone on the floor of Walgreens and had to give him a home. (This has nothing to do with my addiction to Wii Lego Star Wars I swear)



My Aunt knitted this dishtowel with Mickey Mouse's face in it and I can bear to wash dishes with it since it's too cute so it is sitting on my bedside table.

I Made It

Me, and all of my stuff have made it to Utah.

I didn't believe my mom that I had too many clothes until I had to purchase 90 hangers, and thats just the stuff in my closet. It's been pretty stressful trying to furnish a room on the cheap, but I now have a bed, a desk, a dresser, a bookshelf and a bedside table. Pictures to follow.

I Finished My Quilt

I finished my quilt and I'm very happy with it! I wanted to finish it by August, but I have to say finishing it IN August isn't that big of a disappointment. Without further ado, here it is.






p.s. a thanks to Steve whose hands made a cameo