Candlelight

What a crazy weather day! This morning on the way to church the weather was beautiful and it felt like spring! After all of the snow we've had, I happily hopped and skipped my way to church. A quick glance out the window during Relief Society and I noticed the wind had really picked up. Sigh...it had been so beautiful, but alas, it would not last. We walked home and I could see the black clouds rolling over the mountain. Almost as soon as we got inside it started pouring! The rain eventually turned to snow and it rained and snowed off and on all afternoon and evening. Thankfully, the snow isn't sticking, though I haven't looked outside in a few hours.

The big fun was that our power went out about 5 times! The longest was for about 20 minutes and I used it as my excuse to light the candles I didn't get to use on Valentine's day! After all...we can't really just sit in the dark, right? :)

What do you do when the power goes off and the light outside is fading? Why, the only thing you want to do is read, of course!

Oops, forgot to turn off the flash. J & T were posing for me. :)

I'm glad I decided not to make dinner tonight after all . Turns out the pilot light in our gas stove runs with electricity and my dinner would have been ruined! No such excuse tomorrow night...

Valentine's Love

Ah, Valentine's Day...so much potential for a perfectly wonderful or completely crummy day.

This year was happy.

I've decided that if you want something to be a big deal, then you have to make it a big deal. Eventually, people will catch on and they'll treat it that way too. I want holidays to be a big deal. I want to do something special for holidays! It doesn't matter how big or small, but you better believe that on Saint Patrick's day we'll be having green milk and green jello and other green foods that we are more likely to eat since they are naturally green! Lettuce, broccoli, spinach...kale....brussell sprouts. Mint chocolate chip ice cream. (Who wants to eat at my house??)
Ty hasn't always been a fan of Valentine's Day, so I decided I would do what I could to make it a fun and special day for us both and just be happy and work on him year by year. :)

I started off the day putting together a delicious meal and throwing it in the crockpot so I could concentrate on other things throughout the day.

Yum, roast, carrots and red potatoes! Delish!

Then I fought with my sugar cookie dough and made a little over 3 dozen for my work party that day. I tell you what, I am getting a silicone rolling pin ASAP. Tylan made a make-shift one for me by taping wax paper around my wooden pin.

I tried a brand new recipe and I don't think I'll be making it again any time soon. :) I simply re-taught myself that you don't try new things when it really matters.

(I loooove cookie cutters. Always a good gift idea! I'll show you my large collection another day).

We decorated the cookies at our party. The frosting was really really soft and difficult to work with. But they were tasty. Ah yes, I decided there should be a Valentine's Duck this year. I think he's cute!

Inches and inches of this fluffy white stuff was Nature's gift to us on Thursday. Gee....thanks Nature. Really...you shouldn't have.

I had to laugh at our presents to each other this year. We're romantic. (And poor).

Tylan bought me brand new rechargable AA batteries which I needed greatly for my digital camera. One sunset I was trying to get these GREAT pictures and I kept running inside because my batteries died so fast and I would switch them and run back out hoping the light was still where I wanted it. I was VERY frustrated, but now I am very happy.

When Tylan picked me up from campus at the end of the day I found THIS in our room:

Woo hoo!! What could it be? It's so big! A new end table? A GIANT tv perfect for watching six hours of Pride & Prejiduce? A deep freeze? Diamond jewelery in an enormous box just for fun??

Nope.

But it WAS something I had my eye on that week.

A new (well, new to us) FREE desk from some random person who advertised it in the laundry room! Yes!! Thanks, honey!! Right now it is working splendidly as an extra table in the kitchen to free up some counter space.

Then I kicked him out of the room so I could assemble my dollar store presents.

Pop rocks, a Cars ice pack, watercolors, candy necklaces, an assortment of candy and a "horsey" brush of his own. He calls my paddle brush a horsey brush and he loves it. I couldn't find one as wide as mine at Dollar Tree, but for a dollar, it works great!

The wrapped present is my real gift to him (besides the gift of being married to me, of course). I bought him this awesome, thick, stretchy laptop cover . It fits so snugly and perfectly and he loves it! Now I want one...

We ate dinner and enjoyed Molten Chocolate Cakes with fresh whipped cream for dessert.

We did not, however, light the candles I bought at the dollar store 'cuz Tylan pointed out we signed a contract or something that said we couldn't light candles in our apartment. (But we have a gas stove...what's the difference? It seems to me the little candle flames are safer!)

And that was our Valentine's day in a nutshell! We were happy, our house was clean (that was my other big present) and we are happily in love. I know he loves me since he let me take a BAZILLION pictures of him.

Our kitchen with the new microwave table and hubby making dinner. PS...long stem roses at grocery stores 2 days after Valentine's Day are 75% off. Totally worth waiting.

Birthday Wishes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIMEE!!

You are the greatest! I have been thinking about you a lot this weekend and about what I might write today to commemorate your birthday. So, without further ado, here are a few memories I have of the stupendous Aimee during my life.

First, Aimee was my best friend in 5th grade. We had SO much fun. I do believe she was the best elementary school best friend I ever had. She was tough, which I loved- being something of a tomboy myself- but I loved that I could be girly with her (in secret of course-- I was a tough girl!) ;)

Second, I remember her darling momma inviting me to her 7th or 8th grade surprise party. (I think it was 7th). Aimee and I hadn't really talked or seen each other in a while because we went to different junior high schools. But I remember being excited and surprised at the call and happily accepted the invitation. We got to Aimee's house early and kidnapped her from her bed. I remember that I was one of the first faces she saw as we grabbed her out of the bed before we put a pillowcase over her head and I remember her face looking very confused to see me.... I thought that was kind of sad and I determined to try and have as much fun with her as I could and to stay friends. Again, being with Aimee was always so fun. She was so happy and full of energy.

Third, I remember a Halloween party that Aimee invited me to, probably that same year. I had also been invited to another party that night with some of the older girls and guys in my stake. I decided to go to that one first and then head to Aimee's when it was over. That was during the lovely junior high years that we try to be "cool" and fit in with the crowd - and going to that party would definitely increase my cool points.
It was SO boring and stupid. I was so surprised at the immaturity I encountered. I left way early and got to Aimee's and had a BLAST playing Bunko with her and few other friends. I remember walking into her house and relief washed over me - I was so happy to be there! That taught me an important lesson - good friends are more important than pretending with "cool" friends (who actually aren't that cool).

Fourth, I remember that when we rekindled our friendship during high school I was so happy to have her back in my life. We used to scheme during choir to get those senior boys to notice us. Our closeness fluctuated during the years, as most friendships do, but I have so many good memories of Aimee and her awesome dance moves. ;)

and Fifth....she was a willing guinea pig in Operation Hawaii. 'Nuff said.

I love you, Aimee!! Happy Birthday!

Capturing Life

Isn't it fun to find amazing photographs? A recent love is Jamie Hammond. Some of her pictures are beeeyootiful. Here are a couple of favorites:

Can you believe those gorgeous lashes?

I love creative family photos. They show off personalities so much better.

Nicole Hill is a local photographer and a favorite of mine. I'm hoping to interview her for my final project in my Home-Based Women Entrepreneur class.

I'm thinking about applying for the Photography program at school. I have no idea if I'd be accepted because I'm pretty dang close to graduating, but I'm going to try anyway. The application does note that Seniors can apply, so why not? It has been SO much fun putting together my application materials and portfolio. I haven't applied for anything in such a long time that somehow it became fun! Actually, I think it is fun because it doesn't really matter if I get accepted. I'll still graduate and I'll still eventually find a teacher/ professional to take classes from - it just would be AWESOME to take the classes offered at school.

The application is due on Friday, so wish me luck! :)

Feed Your Little "Chickins" Right

Found this cool nutrition tracking board a few days ago. I don't remember where I originally read about it, but apparently it was highlighted on Rachael Ray and business has been booming ever since! I can understand why! The boards are adorable and any idea that helps your kids to be involved and interested in their own nutrition in any way is fantastic. I love the banana pudding color.

Click on the picture to go to the site. Thanks Maria for the webshot capturing tip!

Need a Laugh?

Oh my gosh...

I hope I'm not stealing Sarah's idea, since she was the one who forwarded it to me, but I found this video clip HILARIOUS. I was laughing hysterically with tears in my eyes. Tylan thought it was funny and my brother just smirked, so apparently, not everyone will think it is as funny as I did.

Regardless...you've got to watch this if you haven't seen it.


http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/01/hawaii_chair.php

Some Mom's Have ALL the Talent

Happy Birthday to my cute nephew!!!

He's three years old today and had a fantastic birthday party with his family. His daddy was nice enough to post pictures of the festivites on our family website and I had to show off how amazing and talented my sister-in-law is! Cute Nephew is crazy about Peter Pan right now, so he received a Peter Pan/nautical themed creation for his birthday.

Isn't that amazing!??!?!?

The cake is composed of 2 main parts: the sea is a "devil's food" cake with wavy cream cheese frosting, and the ship is a chocolate pound cake with dark chocolate frosting "planks". The cannons are black licorice whips housing the candles, the railing is assembled with Butterfinger Sticks, the sails are fruit leather, and the crow's nest is a Rolo candy. Also spotted on deck are Whopper cannon balls, Root Beer Barrels, and Rolo pirate booty!

I want one...

IKEA: Warehouse of Wonders

I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to IKEA a couple of weeks ago. I went with my Family Meal Management class on a fieldtrip one snowy afternoon and I spent a few blissful hours there taking millions of pictures and dreaming about buying many, many things. (The "purpose" of the field trip was to look at the kitchen styles and dining rooms and discuss how the arrangement might bring the family back to the table.)

Halfway through the store I remembered I hadn't taken any pictures yet, so I got to work. Then I realized when I was almost through that my camera was on some weird setting and most of the pictures were dark and/or blurry. I had to go back to the beginning anyway to complete my assignment, so I took pictures of my favorite things sooo many times. After I got home and started to show Ty all of the pictures, I wished I had taken more!

I loved these little ceramic colanders.





My favorite Kitchen, Dining, Living room combination. It was SO pretty in person. I loved the beadboard backs of the bookshelves and entertainment center.




This living room just felt beachy and it was beautiful. I loved the display shelf/cabinet in the kitchen.

My second favorite kitchen. I thought the lowered slab/table was a great touch and a nice place to sit your kids with coloring books or something while you make dinner and keep an eye on them.



I loved the juxtaposition of the the white cabinets and dark brown bookshelf/table. The bookshelf is pretty simple, but I want one! I love the cubes.

Very cool wall art. They were ENORMOUS.

A lovely touch to any kitchen! Your own utensil and apron holder.

LOVED these cute curtains! The red petals/circles popped away from the curtains. I am definitely going to try this.

I love floor to ceiling bookshelves and the library feel.

Loved the entrance to the kid zone and the fun light fixtures.

I adore this painting. What are these called again? They are white and fluffy and you blow on them and the seeds scatter everywhere. The name of this weed has escaped me. :)

This bed frame is SO cute! I love it! And at that price, what a steal! I love head/foot boards.

Another adorable bed set with tulips carved in the wood.

And last but not least, a fantastic painting of Audrey Hepburn a'la Breakfast at Tiffany's.


IKEA, I see the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Oh, to have a home big enough for everything that I want... ;)