New Year's Resolutions

I'm not a huge believer in the New Year's Resolution(s) idea, but I always hear so much about them around this time of year, and that gets me thinking. Since I've been pondering a lot about life changes in general lately, I've decided that if I were to make some resolutions for myself, they would be:

• Go to the gym at least 3 times a week
• Take care of myself/put myself FIRST, as a healthy me = a life of greater satisfaction & peace
  
• Eat healthier, and more regularly
• Submit a demo to Sounds of Zion, instead of just thinking about it...
• Continue to find ways to make my marriage better every single day
• Go to the Temple more consistently
  

I tag anyone who reads this to write some hypothetical (or real) resolutions for themselves, too. Happy New Year!

Candycane Cookies

This is for you, Jenifer. :O)

Candy Cane Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. gold medal flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red food color

Heat oven to 375. Mix butter, shortening, powdered sugar, egg & flavorings. Blend in flour & salt. Divide dough in half & blend food coloring into one half of the dough. Refrigerate dough for at least one hour. Shape 1 tsp. dough from each half into 4-inch rope. For smooth, even ropes, roll them back & forth on lightly floured board. Place ropes side by side, press together lightly & twist. Place in ungreased baking sheet, & curve top of cookie to form cane handle. Bake about 9 minutes or until set & very light brown. Mix 1/2 c. crushed candycane & 1/2 c. granulated sugar & sprinkle cookies immediately after coming out of the oven. Makes about 3 dozen.

Tag, You're It!

As requested, I'm going to do this tag. I realize how sadly boring my life is but oh well! The rules: bold anything you have done.

1. Started your own blog (thanks to peer pressure!)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (if Rockband counts, which I say it does)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa at the Louvre
20. Slept on an train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (at a job where we had far too many sick hours & far too few vacation hours)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon - I WISH!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (in the past, I think so)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (well, Paul bought a homeless man food, and I think that counts because it was adorable).
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance - Not transported but have been following one many times.
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (homemade movies count. I said.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving - Never! I'm terrified of heights, and it just keeps getting worse.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (Serious misunderstanding b/c of another coworkers bitterness)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a Bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Sterling scholar)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (maybe not literally, but they would have died had they not been removed from a situation)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

Hey, Jenifer

So what if I've made candycane cookies twice in the past two days. So what. This is the second attempt, but the very first time I made them was only yesterday, so I'm pretty proud of them! Jenifer, can I bring these to the chocolate party? We can pretend they're chocolate, right?

I love this dog

In an effort to save on utility bills, we bought a space heater. *Side Note: If I can endorse this heater for a minute, it's freaking awesome! You set it to a certain temperature & it will heat the room until it reaches the set temp and then turn off. When the temp drops beneath your setting, it starts up again. How cool! Any way, the husband and I did a little experiment because our dog, (Jack), loves heat & loves to snuggle. Of course, within a minute or so of us setting up the heater, he was right where we thought he'd be. :O) Love him!

The big wedding day part two

I decided to post the pictures in a separate post because my words look all weird when I post them together - I haven't figured everything out yet! Any way, the pictures below are from my just younger brother's wedding a few weeks ago. It was such a fun family day & the Temple was amazing. I love my family!

The big wedding day

Thank you, Jenifer!

Ever since I have been recruited to the blogging world, I read blogs almost every day. Jenifer's blog had this awesome idea about carving pumpkins, and I've been thinking about it for the last few days. Tonight, I made the idea come to life; although my pumpkin clearly is not as cool as the examples from the pros, I'm still pretty happy with the way it turned out. Thanks for the idea, Jenifer!

High School Tag

I saw this on a friend's blog & thought it was cute. Go ahead, try it yourself!

1) Did you date someone from your school? Yes. I had multiple boyfriends in high school...but not at the same time...or maybe once or twice at the same time. :O) The ones I would call steady at one point in time or another were Chance Harding, Chris Hooley, & Bryant Williams.
2) What kind of car did you drive? I didn't drive except for a few days here & there, & that was usually just whatever family car I could get my hands on.
3) Did you pass your driver's license test the first time? Yes.
4) Were you a party animal? For awhile until I learned healthy coping skills.
5) Were you considered a flirt? In some sense of the word, I guess. I was very outgoing & was friends with lots of people, so I think that was misconstrued from time to time. But, I was a bit of a flirt when I felt comfortable.
6) Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in a traveling show choir & I LOVED LOVED LOVED it!
7) Were you a nerd? In some subjects, yes.
8) Were you on any varsity teams? I was President of the Sports Marketing Team, but I don't think that counts.
9) Did you ever get expended or expelled? No.
10) Can you still sing your fight song? If I thought about it long enough, I think so...CRAP. Now I'm going to be thinking about it.
11) Who were your favorite teachers? Tiffany Nutter, Brenda Peterson
12) Where did you sit at lunch? I always went out, even if that just meant eating outside of the building.
13) What is your school's full name? Lehi High School, (isn't that SO lame!!)
14) School mascot and colors Pioneer, Purple & Black.
15) Did you go to homecoming and who with? Sophomore year - No, I wasn't 16 but that was an excellent excuse because I got asked by a friend's ex-boyfriend, & that would've been a mess. Junior Year - Yes, Chance Harding. Senior Year - Yes, Chris Hooley.
16) If you could go back and do it again, would you? Some things, yes, some things, absolutely not. If I could have done anything differently I would have been more carefree & willing to put myself out there like I was in Senior year. I participated in a lot of extracurricular activities & made a lot of really great friends during Senior year because I was willing to put myself in new situations.
17) What do you remember most about graduation? I cried, A LOT. I'm not sure why, but I did. One of my close friends also sang a song he wrote at graduation & that was really cool. That night, I hung out with Chris Squires at Jonelle Wilkey's house with a bunch of people, & that was fun. Chris is still one of my closest friends today. Oh, graduation day was my birthday, too, so that was pretty sweet.
19) Were you in any clubs? Yes. Encore Show Choir & Sports Marketing. I was in a play & was a sterling scholar too, but I don't know that those count as clubs...
20) Have you gained weight since then? Yep. Blasted thyroid problem started ruining everything in 11th grade.
21) Who was your prom date? I only went to Prom senior year, by choice, & went with Chris Squires.
22) Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Probably - we'll see what happens. I've have this theory about reunions, & that is that they are a lot of work for the people that plan them & are completely pointless. I keep in contact with the people I want to, so why go pretend to catch up with people who never cared about me back then? Kind of a rant...sorry.
23) Did you have a job while in high school? Yep. I worked for a catering company for awhile, then KFC, then a Tanning Salon, & then KFC again.

I tag all of you, so there.

Why Now?!

For the past three weeks or so I have had this recurring thought that I was hoping would disappear if I pushed it into the back of my head long enough. It hasn't. For all of my life I have known that I wanted to be a "people helper." I went back and forth between wanting to be a therapist and wanting to be a special education teacher, but finally decided on taking the play therapist route, and felt concrete in my decision, until NOW! Now, when I have paid the fees and am filling out the applications for the Masters of Social Work program. Now, when I have passed out the letters of recommendation for that program. Now, when my life was mapped out so strictly and when the deadlines for applying are only getting closer. I keep having this thought that maybe I don't want to be a play therapist and that maybe I do want to work with individuals with disabilities. I mean, I know that being a play therapist would be good for the world and that there certainly is a shortage of them. I know that I would be good at being a play therapist and that I would enjoy my job. But, when I think about working with people with disabilities, I have a warm feeling, a sentiment, that I don't have when I think about being a play therapist, and I am finally allowing myself to realize that that must mean something.

Today in church, this amazing man in our ward bore his testimony. He has down syndrome and has the most pure, sweet spirit. I love when he bears his testimony because it is so simple and so strong. During his testimony today, I felt that unsure feeling even more, and it was strong enough that I know I have to pay attention to it. *Oh, and as a side note, I looked over at Paul during the testimony & he was wiping away tears. So cute! But, of course, he denied it until later when he felt okay admitting that he was touched & isn't always macho all the time. :O)

So, this is where I am now, using my blog as a journal to sort out all of my feelings. I just need TIME to explore both career options, and time is what I don't have now. Maybe, after I get my Bachelors, it will be time to take a break from school for awhile, which isn't what I planned, but possibly something I need to do so that I can be sure I end up where I truly want to be. How inconvenient.

HELP

One more post & I'm done for the day, promise. Can someone please tell me how in the world you do all the crazy things you do in your blogs, like insert pictures in your posts & things? I'm generally a computer savvy person, but you explaining things to me would be easier, and more fun.

Lastly, my Dad's surgery saga continues, & I feel awful for him. He called me this morning & was in so much pain that I asked Paul to take him to the ER. The doctor looked at things and decided another surgery was necessary. When I heard that news, I felt strongly that my Dad needed a blessing before the surgery; he has been and continues to go through so much in relation to the initial surgery and I hate for him to be in so much pain and to have so much fear. I asked a family friend if he could meet Paul down at the hospital to assist in the blessing, & he is really what this story is about. He was in class when I asked him to help, but responded in the perfect way. Within a few minutes of my asking the favor, he sent me a message that said he was leaving class & was headed to the hospital. I expressed my appreciation & he said, "This is God's work." His simple phrase was the comfort that we all needed today, & I hope that comfort can continue throughout this healing process for my Dad and for our family.

Date Night

CRAP! Blogging is so technical! I just wrote an entire post and then I erased it, or something. Any way, when I got home from work today, Paul was insistent that we go out. Since we're basically broke it seemed sensible to treat ourselves to a night out, (just go with the logic - I did). The husband wanted to go to a movie so we did some research beforehand. We generally don't see movies in theaters because they are pricey & are sometimes a let-down. Today, however, was different. We saw the movie Ghost Town, and we LOVED it! I think the husband may have even teared up a few times. It's this fantastic story about a grumpy man who is touched by the happiness you can achieve through serving others. And, of course, he finds love along the way - it wouldn't be a movie if he hadn't! Check out the trailer: http://www.ghosttownmovie.com/

Do you believe it?!

Yes, Data Team friends, I just started a blog. The name is lame & I'll probably never use it, but I did it JUST for you - All of you! Enjoy the sporadic postings friends.