Sad Day...

I have been waiting to post my cruise blogs for a few reasons, but don't worry, I'm sure NONE of them were procrastination... ;) However, I took some videos on my Flip Video on the cruise, and my flip worked fine this weekend... and when I went to put the videos on my laptop last night, it wouldn't turn on!! I had hope that my videos would all be saved, however, that did not happen.

I went back to Best Buy and they said it's not fixable, and that they can't get my videos off the camera. I am really disappointed because I had some great videos. It really sucks, but oh well, what can ya do? Looking on the bright side, I did get a new Flip Video, with the cover that I had lost... and I also got a new laptop! Not at the same time, but my new computer will make me much more motivated to do it from my bed... or in front of the TV. Pathetic, I know.


I have wanted a Laptop for a really long time, so I am pretty excited about it! Hopefully I will keep you all up to date.

Bon Voyage!

So I've been working on a few blogs for about a week, trying out videos and what not, but in all the craziness I haven't been able to get them finished.... sorry about that!

Anyway... I'm off to here: (AKA Paradise) for a week!


I feel you all in on my adventures when I return!

Ben & Moab

Last weekend I wanted to go to Park City.... well, Ben had a different idea in mind. He wanted to go to Moab... I'm pretty adventurous, so I figured, what the heck? We went to Moab and several other places in one day, and it was awesome! We had a ton of fun, and surprisingly, didn't kill each other... or yell at each other, which is quite a record for us. (and no, we are not siblings, dating, or married... although you might think some of those things with the way we argue.

Ben and I went to the San Rafael Swell, which is also called "Little Grand Canyon." One of the biggest benefits of going on trips like this with Ben is that he has seen quite a lot in Utah, for more than anyone else I know, and knows the very best places to go.

After the swell we went to Canyonlands and I hadn't been there before either. We took a road that goes from Canyonlands to Moab.... it is AMAZING!

Okay, I quit. I have been trying and trying and trying to load more of my videos, but for some reason it will not load. It is so frustrating. So, you get half a post because frankly, I'm done fighting with the whole thing. I'm a little OCD about my blog though, so I'm sure at some point I will add more pictures and MAYBE videos and also finish the story. But, for now, I am tired of trying to finish the blog I have started weeks ago, that is still staring me in the face.

Are ya freakin kidding me?!?!

I walked out the door this morning and saw THIS!!!!!

Okay, seriously, it's April Fools' Day and Mother Nature must really be playing a cruel joke on me... so I thought. I started my car, and went back inside hoping that when I came back out it would be a nice spring morning, just like the day before... but when I went back out, it looked the same, and then it continued to snow the ENTIRE DAY!!!!  This is so NOT funny! It's Spring... come on now!

At the end of the day it still looked like this:

At least I'm not this guys parents... hahahaha.

 

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS -- Tracy Hawkins was expecting his son Todd to do something on April 1st -- he says he got his prankster spirit from his mother -- but he didn't expect to have to use his garage door to get in and out of his house.

Hawkins awoke early Thursday morning and decided to a have a look outside his house near 1700 East and 7400 South to see how much snow had fallen.

"I tried to look out the sidelight window, and it was all dark," he said. "So I opened the door, and I saw a brick wall."

The wall was made with cinder blocks, bricks and mortar. It covered all but the very top of the front door entrance. But this isn't the first time Todd Hawkins, 26, has pulled April Fools' Day prank.

Tracy said, "Two years ago, he put up a temporary fence. He put three goats in our backyard and a bunch of chickens. He put a duck in every bathtub in the house and a goldfish in every sink in the house."

Hawkins found himself explaining to his neighbors what happened. "They got a little antsy when the goats got out," he said.

Todd Hawkins rents a basement room from his parents, but he blocked the door to discourage any kind of payback.

"He's getting married soon, so he's finally leaving the nest, so the sooner the better," Tracy Hawkins joked.

Best Ever Oreo Cookies

I will warn you now... these are VERY ADDICTING!!! But if you think you can handle it, here's how to make them!! 

Ingredients:

Outstanding Oreo Cookies
1 box devil's food cake mix
3/4 cup butter of margarine, softened
2 eggs
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

 

 In a large bowl combine cake mix, the 3/4 cup butter, and eggs.  Chill about 10 minutes. 

 Roll into small balls. 

  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes.

Place on cooling rack.

 Get ready to frost...

To prepare filling, beat cream cheese, the 1/2 cup butter, and vanilla together.  Add powdered sugar and mix together.  Spread filling on top of cookie, and then top with another cookie.

Amazing!!

Spa Night

My mom has had this paraffin wax thing forever and my hands have been rather dry lately so we decided to finally use it. The fun part of it wasn't so much getting MY hands and feet waxed, but the fact that we got my Dad and Garrison to join in also. I was rather shocked that they did, but it was that much more fun.

 

 Here are the boys getting their hands and feet waxed

Garrison (a.k.a. Shawn White) refusing to cooperate and smile for the picture. Guess what? I'm still going to post it even if I can't see your face!

My mom, of course. I'm sure she'll be super happy that I put a picture of her on here in her pajamas. :)

 ummm.... SICK!

This is my lovely foot....

Now, enough with all of the seriousness.... it's time to play with the wax!!!!

These are my hands after they have been dipped.... about 14 times!!

if you carefully pull the 14 layers of wax off your hands, it may look like this

 I'M MELLLLLTTTIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!

 This is the before and after shot of Garrison's finger being dipped approximately 77 times....

One MILLION Dollars!!

My Pet

Have you ever heard of Sea Monkeys? No? Well then, I have a treat for you!

My friend Jason from Seattle was always telling me about his Sea Monkeys, and I'll be honest, I didn't know what they were either. Basically they are brine shrimp, like the ones you can find out by the Great Salt Lake, except for they are a little different breed from the ones in our lovely lake.

Jason was nice enough to send me my very own Sea Monkey Magic Castle!!

Now, I'm sure that you are wondering if there is anything in that empty looking tank - I can assure you that there is, they are just hard to capture on camera because they are less than cooperative when it comes to holding still and posing for a photo.

Someone else was lucky enough to get a great picture of one though, so I just took it from them. 

Having Sea Monkeys is kind of like having gold fish, so you just feed them every couple of days, and they make lots of babies - except... you don't ever have to clean the Sea Monkey tank----BONUS!!!!

P.S. All of my friends at work are jealous of my Sea Monkeys, so they come and admire them all the time!

Beck

I just finished reading my first Glenn Beck Book - conveniently titled "An Inconvenient Book," of course making fun of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." I really did enjoy several of the things that Glenn had to share in the book. He mainly debunk's stories that the media and that "polls" talk about, and he gets down to the real truth of things.

One of my favorite quotes from the entire book comes from the chapter entitled "Aging: God's System of Depreciation" He is talking about balding and toupees - "I guess toupees are kind of a solution, but honestly, they just make things worse. Going the toupee route is like deciding to hide a pimple by painting your face red. Sure, no one will notice the pimply anymore, but that's because you've diverted their attention to something far worse!"

Guess what?! I even found a HILARIOUS website dedicated to toupees:

http://www.toupeeornottoupee.com/- check it out!

Beck talks about things such as the supposed global warming not being as bad as Al Gore and others want to make it out to be; the media only reports on reports that have the worst possible outcomes, but avoids the good ones; people are too obsessed with themselves i.e. too much plastic surgery; and that the U.N. is basically a big scam and we Americans are totally getting screwed on that deal!
The thing I appreciate most about Glenn Beck is that he's not willing to take anything at face value. He does all of his research and gets down to the real trruth. He doesn't take any crap from the media or the politicians. I think it's great that he stands up to them and calls them out on things they are doing that may not be the greatest thing for our country. I am glad that he uses his influence for good. He's just what this country needs.

So in short - the book is pretty awesome - I highly recommend it.

Now on to my next one:

P.S. Glenn's Conversion story is awesome! You can see it on DVD - or check out his site! http://www.glennbeckmormon.com/

Love Love Love

So can I just tell you how much I love The Celebrity Apprentice? It is one of my favorite shows, although oddly, I don't think it was in the top 8 of my favorite shows because I truly do watch a ton of TV, sad I know, but it's hard to pick so few favorites!

Who can resist the thoughts of running their fingers through Trump's lovely locks? Or watching people cringe in the board room as he digs at them to answer questions that most of us would avoid? Not me! I love every second of it!

This season is going to be very entertaining because of people like Sharon Osborne, Rod Blagojevich

(yes that is the former Governer of IL who tried to sell Obama's seat in the Senate) and especially Mr. Rock of Love himself - Bret Michaels!

However - I did save the best for last!

Yes ladies and gentlemen - that is Mr. Curtis Stone. I am totally speechless when I look at his beautiful face... mainly that's because I'm foaming at the mouth!

Take his beautiful face plus his endearing Aussie accent - (you can listen to it here - under the "charity" tab) and that makes for one amazing man!

He used to have his own show - Take Home Chef  on TLC, but it's no longer on. However, if he would have come up to me in the grocery store and offered to cook for me, I would have just fainted right there!

Well, there you have it - I am totally spellbound, just like other millions of American women - but who cares about them?!

Landon

A few weeks ago Landon and I decided that we would take a little trip down to my Grandpa's house. For me it meant a weekend of peace and relaxation, and also a chance to make more memories with my Grandpa and to also attend the Temple with him.We went last weekend and had a really great time!

On the down we stopped and ate and One Man Band Diner. For some reason Landon couldn't grasp why it's called that, and I don't know why it is, but I'm really not concerned with it.

I had a ham and cheese omelet.... so good!

After that we went to my Grandpa's house and spent time with him watching some TV and then went to bed early.

 

The next morning I got up early and went to the Temple. My Grandpa was part of the session that I attended, and afterward he met me in the Celestial Room for some discussion. He also showed me all of the sealing rooms, and the spiral staircase. It's quite breathtaking. He also "lovingly" introduced me to some of his friends as his "old maid granddaughter." Thanks Grandpa.

 This is my Grandpa's house. I LOVE this house. It holds so much love and so many memories for me and my family. Especially memories of my Grandma who passed away three years ago, almost to the day. This place is so welcoming and comforting. There's just no where else like it.

My Grandpa had quite the collection on icicles on his house, and Landon couldn't help but use one as some sort of dagger! He looks like some kind of warrior.

When I got back from the Temple I made breakfast for Landon and me and then we eventually got up and went down to Manti and Ephraim and checked out some of the shops there. They are ones that have been there my whole life, but not once have I been to any of them. There really are some "treasures" there as you'll see.

 Scarfs of many colors.

Hillbilly fly swatters that Landon insisted that we buy.

 

Adult bibs.......

... which Landon was happy to model. Although I think the title of his book should be "special" child.

Children's Books.

And books about me! If you don't believe me, you should. Because I have wings, and I will show them to you.

We grabbed a snack at my favorite Pizza place... The Pizza Gallery. It was delish!

After that I had to show Landon the Zebra that is by my Grandpa's house... totally random. A zebra... in the middle of no where, central UT.

However... when I was flipping around on the main road I got a little stuck.

I refused to give in and call my Grandpa, so I just kept trying and trying to get unstuck. With my persistence and a little help from Landon, I got out! I wasn't stuck badly, but my tires just went over the part of the road where the road meets the dirt... 2 inches is what was keeping me from the road.

Later that night my Grandpa took us to this amazing restaurant in Mount Pleasant where I got a steak.

 

Yup... you heard that right. For the first time in my life, I ordered a steak. I'm sure that those of you who know me well are trying not to faint, but don't worry. Miracles do happen.... oh yeah... and I got another one at Outback on Monday. MmmMmm!

A new leaf

With the new year comes thoughts of the year gone by, and hopes for the year to come. This last year has brought a lot of changes to my life. Mainly my looks.I think that I maybe don't give myself credit for what I have accomplished thus far in my weight loss journey, but I think that some of it has to do with the fact that I'm not at the point where I wanted to be right now. I wanted to be done by my birthday, but as we all know, that didn't happen.I know that I have accomplished a lot, and other people recognize it, but I'm just feeling blah about it...

With that being said, finishing my weight loss goal, and well as increasing my spirituality and a few other things are on my list for 2010. Here's to hoping I can accomplish some good this year...

And here is some inspiration for me... and maybe a good laugh for you!!  Go Here to see it! 


Now if this isn't inspiration... I don't know what is!