The Randomness of Becky

Scrubs!

2012-02-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

I wear scrubs 8 hours a day 5 days a week. They are ugly, ill fitting green things, but tonight I made a few of my own scrubs. No, not the kind I can wear to work, although if they would let me I certainly would. You know there would be a BYU pair, but I digress.

Tonight we had our monthly Relief Society activity night and this month we did a "Pamper Me" night. We had glasses on make-up, hair care, eye brows, nails, up-dos and home made body scrubs. I was the teacher for the scrubs. I had about 20-25 minutes to demo how to make a couple of different ones. I also made one last night to just hand out becuase I knew I couldn't get through all three. Thanks to pinterest for all of the following recipes.

Foot Scrub

1/2 Cup Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Oats
2 Tablespoons table or Sea Salt
6 Drops of Essential Oil

Put the oats in a blender, food processer or coffee grinder and blend until they are a powder. Add cornmeal and salt then blend until mixed well. Add essential oil and stir until the oil is incorporated throughout the mixture.

To use: Place a ½ cup of scrub into a bowl and add water a little at a time (and stir),until a grainy paste forms.

Rub paste onto feet, paying extra attention to any rough areas.
Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Finish by applying moisturizer or body oil to your feet.
Rinse tub immediately to be sure the cornmeal doesn’t swell and clog up the drain.

If giving as a gift you would want to attach the above instructions.

This original recipe used lemon essential oil but since I was making another citrus based scrub I chose to use eucalyptus in mine. You can use whatever you like best.

Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub

2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Sunflower Oil (Olive Oil may be subsituted)
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Mix 2 Cups of Brown Sugar and 1 Cup of Granulated Sugar together until there are no lumps. Add in 1 Cup of Sunflower Oil and 1 Tablespoon of Pure Vanilla Extract. You can use olive oil but the smell of the sunflower oil is a little more mild and seems to work better with the other ingredients. It smells like you are whipping up a batch of cookies...YUMMY!

Citrus salt scrub

1/2 cup sea salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 or 2 slices of lemon

1 or 2 slices of orange

The recipe says to combine the olive oil and sea salt in a bowl or blender. If you are not going to blend it then you will need to cut up the slices into VERY fine pieces. Mix it all together. That's it, it is that simple.

I did mine a little different. First DO NOT put the salt in the blender first unless you have a turbo style blender. Mine has trouble blending water so I should have known to put a liquid in the bottom. I used 2 slices of each fruit so I didn't put in as much oil. I really liked the consistancy I came up with and will make it that way again. The smell is fabulous by the way and it's all natural! As a side note, this is wonderful for removing all the glue, paint, etc from your hands after working on those crafting projects.

The class was small but it turned out great! We collected baby food containers over the past couple of weeks so everyone at my class was able to take home a sample of each. Since you are using natural and in some cases fresh ingredients it would be best to use in the near future. The beauty is that you probably have many of the things needed in your kitchen right now so you and make a batch whenever you want. This also beats the 24 dollar price tag on the jar of Salt Scrub I have from Bath and Body!

These would make fun gifts as well. Think of the fun jars you could put them in. I randomly saw an awesome jar at Walmart the other day. It had salad dressing in it (a brand I had never heard of before) I almost bought it that night just for the jar. You know I am going back for it now that I have something to go in it!

I apologize that there are no photos at this time, it was a little hard to teach the class and be photographer at the same time. I will be making these again most likely this weekend so I will get some pictures up then.

Family Home Evening for 1

2012-02-13T23:06:00.002-07:00

F.H.E.. For those of you not familiar with this term, The Church of Latter-Day Saints has a program called Family Home Evening. It is a weekly activity which is usually held on Monday nights.

Since I never grew up having a single family home evening I have never really viewed it as a necessity. I have attended at other peoples homes but generally my "F.H.E." has consisted of watching Monday night football during the fall...with a treat of course :) I have been trying to make an effort recently to have a more structured activity on Monday nights that does not involve a televised sporting event. So tonight I have decided to share with you my own little mini lesson.

But first, here are just a few suggestions:

What makes family home evening successful?
•Start and end with prayer. This invites the Spirit, increases love, and teaches your family how to pray.
•Learn from the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets to help your family live the gospel.
•Add music, such as hymns and Primary songs, to create an atmosphere of love, peace, and joy.
•Make it fun by playing games, acting out scripture stories, and making treats. Keep the atmosphere light and loving.
•Be consistent. Monday nights are set aside by the Church for family home evening. If that doesn’t work, find a night that does.
•Add variety. Help a neighbor in need, hold a lesson at the park, or go for a walk as a family.

David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

(I love this talk because as you can guess from it, Family Home Evening doesn't always run smoothly. The important thing is to be consistent in having them.)

Yesterday at church we had ward conference. During the Relief Society hour our Stake Relief Society President as well as our Stake President took some time to share with us the goals our Stake Presidency has identified for us.

Study the Scriptures Daily
Have Daily Family Prayers
Perform Daily Acts of Service
Have weekly Family Home Evenings
Actively Participate in Church Meetings and Assignments
Attend the Temple Regularly

We discussed the parable of the ten virgins and needing to be prepared. These goals help individuals and families "add oil to their lamps" so that they might be more prepared as we face the growing challenges of this world we live in.

Interestingly, at the beginning of the year instead of setting a bunch of new years resolutions like usual, I picked three things that I thought I needed to be more consistent with. Two of those items just so happen to be on this list. Hopefully over the coming weeks I will able to continue follow through with my goals so that I can begin to incorporate more of the others into my life. I know myself well enough to know that if I tried to be perfect at all of these at once I would fail and give up on all of them.

I challenge each of you, even if you are not in my stake or even the same religion for that matter, to take a look at the list above. See if there isn't something there that you personally couldn't be doing a little better at. If you have them all down.. CONGRATULATIONS, I would encourage you to look for another aspect of your spiritual growth to work on.

"Did It" project 3: Disney Fund Jar

2012-02-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my desire to go to Disneyland again. In that post I also mentioned some of the costs associated with a trip like this. I thought it might be fun to make a jar to start saving my pennies in for it.

The following is a little tutorial of what I put together.

First I found a canister that wasn't getting any use. This one was perfect because it had flat sides which would make it easy to put on the vinyl letters.

Next I got out my trusty Cricut. I choose Calligraphy Collection font for this project. Then it was just a matter of getting the settings right for it.

My favorite part is hitting the cut button and just sitting back and letting it go.

( As a side note: I really which this little gem would have been around when both my parents were teaching school. This would have made bulletin board life much more simple.)

Here is what the vinyl looks like once it has been cut with the Cricut.

The next step is to pull off all the negative space vinyl, this is what you are left with.

Another shot of the vinyl removal. I think it is actually called "weeding" but I don't like to weed so I'm not calling it that.

Once the excess vinyl has been removed you put your prepped pieces on a sheet of vinyl transfer film.

I rub the back of the piece to make sure that the letters will stick to the transfer film. I would normally use a extra stoneware scrapper I have from all of my Pampered Chef pans but I was too lazy to walk to the kitchen to get it. The handle from my scissors worked just as well.

Now peel the background paper off slowly just to make sure the letters did transfer OK.

For this project I transferred one letter at a time. The font was such that when it cut out on the vinyl the letters didn't line up exactly how I wanted.

Here is what it looked like once all the letters were on. Now on to the decorating of the jar.

First a giant red tulle bow. I am pretty much allergic to all things red but this is one of the VERY few places I will make an exception. Red and Black are classic Disney colors to me.

Next, I added some more ribbon in the black and red theme.

I finished it up with this fun little black polka dot flower.

Voila... The finished product! It is super simple but that is what I was going for. Also, I wanted to make it with things I had on hand.

1 container or jar- found this empty in my pantry.
Cricut machine- already own
Black Vinyl- I was given various vinyl scraps by a generous ward member a few months ago
Vinyl transfer film-Donated by my cousins talented and very crafty wife Amy
tulle-left over from Christmas
ribbons- These were purchased for a previous Disney project that never came to be.
flower- This was out of my very large collection of scrap booking embellishments

Total cost of my jar...FREE!

Happy Crafting everyone!

Little Bluebird

2012-02-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

This evening I attended The Snow Queen presented by the ballet department at BYU. They have recently started preforming a full length production each year. Most of the dancers are in the dance program but they needed a few younger ones for the little bluebird parts.

Katie in the "bluebird" pose.

Most of the bluebirds with their choreographer. She is retiring after 44 years of teaching.

Katie and The Rose

Katie and Greta

Last but not least Katie with the Snow Queen.

Katie did a fantastic job, I wish her good luck for tomorrow night performance.

Lapping the couch

2012-02-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

I went back to the gym today for the first time in months. Ever since I got hurt nearly a year ago I have kept my distance. My doctor told me that running was out of the question and gave me three options for exercise:

1. swimming

2. stationary bike

3. elliptical machine

I don't do swimming for several reasons but the biggest one is I won't/can't pay to exercise. A swimming pass doesn't fit into the budget and I the pool hours don't really work with my schedule.

I would love to ride the bike but someone in their great wisdom on our HOA board replaced the stationary bike we had with a spin bike. While this is great for some, the tension is too tight for me even on the lowest setting to ride without being in pain.

This leaves me with the elliptical machine. I don't know why I have been so leery of getting back on it. I have used it in the past with success. Well, tonight after The Biggest Loser was over it was off to the club house. Wow was that a challenge! It took me what seemed like forever to go a mile and I don't think I burned enough calories to work off an ice cube, but I did it anyway.

Proof of my accomplishment!

I recently found this quote on pinterest. I LOVE it! Even when I did run I was so slow. My goals were to finish the races and to not come in last. I just have to remember that doing something no matter how slow is better than doing nothing.

This weight thing is something I have battled since Jr high school. I have been able to drop weight on a couple of occasions but I always end up gaining it all back. More than anything I hate not being able to do things. Between not having the confidence to do things and not be physically able to, I have missed out on quite a bit. I used to ski, go repelling and scuba dive. I can't do any of these things right now. Once, on vacation I wanted to go para sailing so bad. I couldn't go because I weighed too much. I had to sit on the beach while watching everyone else from my group do it.

I want to buy cute girl clothes at a regular store.

I want to complete a half marathon.

I want to go hang gliding at point of the mountain.

I want to learn how to to snowboard.

I want to go para sailing!

Little peek

2012-02-06T23:51:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a quick look at something I have been working on.

Some straight stitching

not so random "t" shape

Sew up one side

More pinning and stitching

Close up of some of the fabrics used in the project.

This little project is just the beginning of a bigger project that I plan to share with you soon. I'm hoping that my mad sewing skills (disclaimer: DON'T sew when you are mad it never turns out well especially if there is a seam ripper within reach) will pay off a little for me.

Stay tuned...more details coming soon :)

Disneyland

2012-02-01T18:17:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure why but I have developed an obsession with Disneyland. I went as a kid and I have been a few times since. Last January I got the chance to visit the park for a day with my friend Kirsten and her daughter Kate. I had a great time but apparently I didn't get enough in or something. I have been dreaming of a return trip ever since.

I recently decided to start a little savings fund to get me back to the happiest place on earth and no I don't mean Lavell Edwards Stadium. I would like to spend more than one day there but the one thing about going to Disneyland is it is NOT cheap. Currently, a 3 day adult park hopper pass (entrance to Disneyland and California Adventure) is

$183.00

and that is off season pricing. The more days you spend in the park the cheaper the admission price is however you are incurring other trip costs. Then there is hotel, airfare, transportation, food, a souvenir or two, etc. Needless to say, I have a lot of saving to do.

Kate and I in front of the Walt and Mickey statue.

We were the last people to get a picture with Minnie in Toontown that day.

It would sure be fun to actually go with someone...who's in?

Fearless

2012-01-29T00:30:00.000-07:00

I bet it would surprise most of you to know that at one time I was pretty fearless. Not much scared me. Sure, I might be nervous to do something but I still had enough guts to go ahead. I don't know when that changed. It could be from many legitimate failures on my part or being told that I was a failure that I began shutting down. I won't even consider a task anymore if I think there is a chance I can't do it.

I hate living my life this way. Today, I told someone that I am a hermit. Although I was laughing about it at the time it is the truth. You don't have to be afraid if you don't do anything and you don't have to worry about people thinking you're a failure if you aren't around them. At least that is what I used to think, now I know that people don't even have to be involved to feel that way.

I wish I knew how to just flip the switch and turn all this off again.. I would love to get back some of that Becky I used to be. That person that wasn't deathly afriad of failure or rejection. Some one that didn't turn and run from every challenge. How do I find me again, is there even anything left?

A Boy, A Painting and Buffalo Wings

2012-01-27T14:24:00.001-07:00

Today's post is a little like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game....if you stick with me long enough it will all make sense. I mentioned yesterday that I have spent a lot of time on Pinterest lately and one of my favorite things to "pin" is recipes. This past week I have seen many variations on the Buffalo Wing and it got me thinking of a story.

Once upon a time or about 18 years ago, whichever works better for you,

I met a boy named Dean.

He had recently moved to Utah and we ended up living in the same apartment complex and ward. I had no idea then what a great friend he would turn out to be. Dean has been there for birthdays, holidays, a funeral and most importantly just regular days.

Dean has so many talents but one I admire is his ability to see the best in people. I have never heard him say a negative thing about another person. He treats everyone like they are important...as it should be. I always feel like I come away a better person after being around him. He has known me at my best and my worst and has treated me the same no matter what.

Another talent is that he can always make me laugh, he has a great sense of humor. No matter the situation he can think of something witty to say. Dean is just a happy person.

Dean is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and has an amazing testimony of the Gospel.

This photo was taken on my birthday but I couldn't tell you what year.

Art Show September 2010 and yes, all those pieces are Dean originals.

I told you Dean has many talents and ARTIST is one he is particularly good at, amazing really. It has been interesting to watch this talent develop over the years. I've seen his paintings of landscapes, portraits and fantasy but my favorites are the animals. In fact, I have informed him that one of his animal paintings is mine. It will belong to me one day!

The actual title is Canyon Cougar but I just call it my Cosmo painting.

He was an artist before I knew him and an artist he will always be. Because of this talent, last year he made the decision to move back to New York. My friend Dean and Cosmo packed up and left Utah.

He is currently living in the Buffalo area and working as a full time artist. He has worked on several projects since returning home and a book was just released that he did all the illustrations for. I'm so excited for him and wish him all the best in everything he does. I sure miss him though and I hope that one day I will get to see him again. Maybe he will come visit here or if I'm ever "in the neighborhood" I can visit him. Until then...there's facebook right? Love Ya Dean!

A lot of down time and Pinterest

2012-01-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

Being home bound for over a week now has made me a little crazy. I got out for a bit yesterday to visit the local insta-care and have some prescriptions filled. I also grabbed a couple of Jamba Juices while I was out and about because they were they only things that have sounded good to me in days. Later last night my friend Jann texted me and said she was headed over with some home made chicken soup, oh it was so yummy!

With all this time at home I have spent a bunch of it on Pinterest. Well today Jann pinned a recipe for fried rice and oh did that sound like something good to me. I already had most of the stuff for it and was willing to make the quick trip to Wal-mart for the rest. Mostly, I just needed to escape the house for a few minutes again today.

Here is the recipe as given on Life as a Lofthouse:

Fried Rice

3 cups cooked white rice

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated! **You could really play around with this rice too! Try adding some diced ham, or green onion :) Yum!

Here is my rice with everything added, just heating it all through.

FYI I halved this recipe for my needs, everything that is but the peas and carrots...I love me some veggies!

You know I'm using my cute rice bowls and chopsticks to eat this :)

This is a quick and tasty recipe that I would definitely make again. I think next time I would like to try out that sesame chicken recipe floating around Pinterest with it. As for right now, I am very full from my little serving tonight and will have to eat the rest tomorrow.

Let's hope the antibiotics kick in soon so I can get back to my regularly scheduled life! Until then, I will be hunting for more recipes.

The Plan

2012-01-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my neighbor and friend Lori passed away. It was totally unexpected, she wasn't feeling well after church and laid down for a nap...she never woke up.

This is the one part of "the plan" I hate. Lori was such a good person and had so many things she still wanted to do. Part of me is so grateful that I understand that she has moved on to some where far better. I know she will see her family again one day. The other part of me says why... why now??

I don't like these tests!!

All Aboard!

2012-01-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

I hate being sick! I feel like I always miss out on something. The worst part is I hate wasting my time off days sitting home doing nothing.

Growing up, both my parents worked. When I would get sick they didn't have much choice but leave me home alone. Early on my dad made up the "boat". The boat consisted of my bed and everything conceivable that I might want or need during the day. I would have dolls, stuffed animals, games, my record player and records, books, etc plied all over my bed. Dad would also stretch the phone cord into my room. I had to stay on the "boat" all day with the only exception's being eating lunch and using the restroom. If I got off the boat any other time the alligators that were surrounding the boat would get me. They would call at recess and lunch time to make sure I was OK and they would come home as soon as they could.

Lunch was another experience. I did learn to cook quite young but in kindergarten and first grade they really didn't want me running the stove while they weren't home. They would set up the crock pot on a little end table in the hall. Come lunch time I would heat up a can of soup and eat my lunch, then back to bed quick because the gators were snapping!

I remember one time I found a box of cherry chocolates in the house. I ate the whole box while listening to my Mary Poppins record. To this day whenever I hear Spoon Full of Sugar I can smell cherry chocolates.

These days the boat is a little more streamlined. I have a book, my computer, the TV remotes and my cell phone. I'm not so worried about the gators getting me either. Hopefully I will over this soon so I can dock the boat and get back to real life.

"Did It" project 2

2012-01-17T21:41:00.002-07:00

I have been commuting to my current job for a little over two years now. It is not a long drive by many peoples standards but it is long enough that I have been meaning to put together an emergency overnight bag for some time. I am mostly concerned about driving in bad weather...I know we will get snow around here eventually. As I searched the web for possible lists of what to include I was quite surprised as to what most others considered an "emergency" overnight bag. Let's just say I don't live the kind of lifestyle what would necessitate packing ANY of their suggested items!

Disclaimer: This is not meant to replace a 72 hour kit

I found an older pair of jeans that don't have much life left in them and a plain white tee shirt. I figure that basic is good. I also found my fleece Olympic pull over if I needed layers. Then I rounded up a pair of pj's that have seen better days. A pair of socks and some underwear complete the clothing collection.

I remembered that I had this towel and wash cloth I bought for girls camp a couple of years ago.

A few weeks ago I made a trip to the dollar store to pick up extras of things I didn't already have on hand. They are basic items but it's for an emergency right? I have a genetic condition that compels me to put everything into baggies. I don't want something to break and leak all over the bag.

Items included in my bag:

Shampoo

Conditioner

Soap

Razor

Deodorant

Tooth brush

Tooth paste

Floss

Mouth wash

Hair brush

hair clip

head band

mirror

lotion

tissues

chap stick

hand sanitizer

wet wipes

frebreze

small garbage bags

flash light

hand warmers

Then just to make sure the clothes stay clean I put all those baggies in this large zip-lock.

Just because it may be an emergency situation doesn't mean I can't do something fun. I found this word find at the dollar store and added a deck of cards.

Remember this great Amy Butler bag I won last summer? Well it holds all these things perfectly. Tomorrow morning when I head to work I will put my bag in the car. My bag, along with the blanket I keep in there will make me feel a little better if I should ever get caught in a situation where I can't get home one night.

Pay It Forward 2012

2012-01-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted this on her facebook page today:

Pay it forward 2012: I promise to make something homemade for the first five people who comment. They must in turn post this and make something for the first five people who comment on their status. The only rules are that it has to be homemade/handmade by you, and they must receive it before 2012 ends. It can be as simple as making a friend a cup of hot chocolate :). Happy 2012!

Of course, I entered as my facebook post as well. Then I got thinking, I know several people that don't have facebook accounts so I thought I would expand to this here blog as well. Since many are not facebookers obviously you don't need to repost this but if you wish please post it on your blog, send out and e-mail or just do some random acts of kindness over the next year. It can be as simple as you want to make it and it doesn't have to be crafty. I happen to know that many of you have made baking skills. Remember you have a whole year to complete your task...if you are anything like me you will need it :) (I'm still trying to complete 14 Christmas presents for 2011).

I'd love to hear back from you if you choose to participate, what projects did/will you do?

"Did it" project 1

2012-01-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I told you about my motto for this year, DO IT! My project this week is ridiculously simple. I am sure some of you will be thinking "She really blogged that?". Yes, yes I am blogging this, you have to start somewhere.

This clock has been perched on my toilet paper holder for almost two years. For some added artist flair it is on a slight angle...ok who am I kidding I was too lazy to even straighten it out. My thinking was that I was going to hang it any day so I really wasn't concerned about it being off set.

This morning while I was getting ready I looked at my clock and thought today is the day, I am hanging that baby! I dung out a little nail and screwdriver (I couldn't find my hammer) and my measuring tape and went to work. As you can all guess this took all of about 1 1/2 minutes tops.

Ta Da, I did it! My clock is hanging on the wall where it should have been years ago. Like I said, super simple but it is done.

I am willing to bet that most of you have something that needs to be hung up. It could be a clock, picture, mirror, shower curtain or any number of various items. You know that thing that has been sitting on the floor waiting to be put up...yeah , that thing. Don't wait any more. If you don't have what you need to put it up go to the store Monday and get it. You don't even need a hammer is some cases :)

Get that thing hung up...DO IT, now! I would love to hear back from you once you complete my challenge.

Learn a Snow Sport Month

2012-01-06T22:53:00.001-07:00

I am always amazed at how many people have lived here in Utah their whole lives and have never been skiing. Ok, when I was young all there was to do was ski, snowboarding didn't exist. SHOCKING, I know! I remember one year for Christmas Santa brought me the full ski package, skis, poles, boots, coat, snow bib, after ski boots, gloves, hat and a student ski pass. I was completely surprised.

That winter I my parents would drop me off at Bountiful Junior High every Saturday morning and a bus would haul us and all our gear up to Alta Ski resort. We had a ski school with an instructor for a couple of hours and then the rest of the time was ours to ski the day away. At the end of afternoon we would hop back on the bus and I would be asleep in about 2 minutes. The true fun was had the next morning when every muscle you had and many you didn't know about ached.

I haven't been skiing for many years now and I really miss it. Every time I went I had a great time. I was by no means an expert but I did OK. All my ski experience is Utah based and I have always dreamed of going skiing in other states as well as Europe. Unfortunately, I don't know if I can do it now. It's not really part of the treatment plan with my ortho specialist :)

Another dream of mine is to learn how to snowboard...maybe one day. I did however, on a recent family vacation, make a couple of runs down a sledding hill. I was really nervous to do it and just took pictures most of the afternoon. Part of my was afraid that I would get hurt and the other part was just general chickenness . (Hey it's my blog, I can make up words if I want!) I kind of had an irrational fear that I was going to somehow turn around and end up going down the hill backwards. I know it's crazy but it happens every time I go down a water slide. The sun was quickly going down and I knew that if I didn't go soon I wasn't going at all.

The final straw was this cute little girl, Taryn. During the course of the day she started out just playing at the bottom of the hill. She was NOT going on a sled! Then she went down with one of her parents, then her uncles were running behind her with a rope attached so she wouldn't go too fast. One of her trips down she suddenly decided that she wanted to do it herself. She even hauled the sled up the hill all by herself. I figured if a recently turned 4 year old could find enough courage to brave the hill on her own I certainly would be OK.

I did it...twice! I made it down the hill in one piece and I had a great time.

I don't know if sledding counts as a snow sport but it's the only one that I feel comfortable doing at this time. So whether it is skiing, snowboarding, sledding or snowmobiling get out and try something new this year. You might have to put a little extra effort into getting to the snow but it is out there if you look hard enough!

If you are interested in learning to ski or snow board this month please check out the following link: Ski Utah. Many of the resorts are offering special discount packages to Utah residents both adults and children. I know you can find a deal for you. I would love to hear your new snow sport experiences once you go.

Party of One

2012-01-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

The older I get the more I am realizing that I need to accept being alone. Is it something that I want, not in a million years but it is my now and most likely my future for many years to come. The past few months I have been working to overcome my fear of doing things alone like going out to eat or going to a movie. I imagined a huge, Vegas style, neon flashing arrow pointing at me and scrolling LOANER across it anywhere I went.

This last week on my way home from my little family reunion in Woodland I stopped in Park City. After a trip to the outlets I decided to head to The Baja Cantina (my favorite place to eat in PC). I honestly thought it would be packed with the lunch crowd from the slopes. I was surprised to find at that moment it was fairly empty so me and my LOANER sign went on in. I ate my lunch and I didn't die being the only person at my table.

Today after work I went to the District to see a movie. I wanted to go to a matinee because it was cheaper. Whatever, it was still $6.25 but that is beside the point. I think there may have been about a dozen people in the theater. I survived that adventure too.

Whenever I need a little courage I think of this fabulous lady named Merial that was on most of the Cougar Club trips mom and I went on. On more than one occasion I ended up sharing an airport shuttle with her. I don't know what her story was she may have been divorced or widowed, all I know is that she always came alone. Merial would travel all over the place and had even been to Europe on her own. I would think wow how brave of her. Her personality was amazing as well, such a happy and confident person. I haven't been on a own of those trips for many years but I am sure if she is still able she is signed up and sitting on the front row of the tour bus.

When I grow up I hope to have just a little of her confidence!

Queso Blanco Dip

2012-01-03T17:41:00.001-07:00

I haven't done much cooking the past month or so and my collection of recipes to try is growing on a daily basis. New Year's Eve day I was going through a bunch of appetizer recipes when I found this one. The rule I usually follow is that I don't serve untested recipes to anyone, but the plans changed and I ended up with nearly a dozen taste testers. Luckily for me, this one was a success.

1 1/4 lb block White American Cheese cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup diced green chiles
2 pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 ounce pickled jalapeno juice
2/3 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cold water
pinch of cumin (optional)

Toss all ingredients into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stopping to stir after every minute. The mixture might seem watery during the first few stirs, but should come together as a nice runny dip after all the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately as a dip with tortilla chips or as a sauce over your favorite Mexican dish.

*Recipe Note: White American cheese is found at most deli counters in your local grocery store.

*Reheat Instructions: Store any leftover cheese dip in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until creamy and hot.

Source: Adapted from Christine, Reader of Pennies on a Platter

Becky's Notes: Here are a few things I did differently. First, I used heavy cream instead of whole milk. I thought we might need the cream for another recipe and wasn't about to by two things I wouldn't use in anything else. Second, I didn't add any cumin due to the number of little people that would potientally be eating it. I would use it the next time around. Lastly, I didn't microwave it. I put it in a crock pot and stirred it occassionally until the cheese completely melted.

P.S. This reheats very well. No clumpy, greasy cheese. Two Thumbs UP!

Do It!

2012-01-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Procrastinate-to put off intentionally and habitually.

Nothing describes me better, I am the Queen of Procrastination. I could teach classes. If it was a professional sport I would be a multi-millionaire! Needless to say, this is something that I have battled for years. I have done this for so long that I now pretty much only function in panic mode. Unfortunately this way of life has started to take a toll on me physically. My blood pressure has been out of control and the stress headaches I have begun having totally do me in. It is time for a change.

Long before Nike began a new slogan sat a little plaque on the desk of President Spencer W. Kimball, Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The plaque simply read:

DO IT!

I saw the same plaque for years in the home of my grandparents but never gave it much thought.

This year I am taking a different approach to the traditional new years goals. I posted a little about this yesterday. In addition to those few things I decided that I needed a personal motto and the thought that kept coming to mind was DO IT. I have so many ideas, half finished projects and other things that need to be done that nothing could express it better. I need to stop talking about doing things, writing them on lists and waiting because of the "what ifs". I'm excited about the prospects of actually getting things done this year.

I'm looking forward to sharing some of my successes from just getting in and doing things in the upcoming months.

Goals for the New Year

2012-01-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have so many thoughts and feelings today that I have had a hard time picking one topic to write about. With it being the first day of the new year it is typically the time to set new goals or resolutions for the coming months. Usually, I am all about making lists, setting goals, etc. but this time has been a little different for me. Every time I have sat down to do this during the past week I have not been able to focus on the task. I have been trying to make plans of the things I want and I haven't given very much thought as to what my Heaven Father has in store for me.

So, with that little self discovery in mind I set out to start over with my new years "goals". Instead of a long list of things to accomplish I have set on three things of a spiritual nature that I need to improve on. I know that doing these few things consistently will improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I am hoping that through this process I will be able to be more in tune with what He has planned for me and I will be able follow that path.

Project Life

2011-12-30T00:04:00.001-07:00

I spent the past few days with some of my cousins on my dad's side of the family and I had a great time. (More about the holidays and time off in another post) My cousin Anthony's wife Heather is really into scrapbooking, blogging, etc and she was at this family gathering. Heather and I were talking about scrapbooking and that she has gone digital. I have tried it before and while there were definitely some great benefits to it I really miss physically working with the products. I love handling the paper, embellishments, photos etc. I don't get the same satisfaction from doing it on the computer.

One of the biggest drawbacks for doing "traditional" scrapping for me is time. I don't know why but I never seem to have any free time to do scrapbooking anymore. Since I can't spend hours getting everything out, planning the layout and then finally putting them together I just don't do it. This isn't getting me anywhere and fast.

Heather showed me something that I have heard about and even briefly looked at, Project Life by Becky Higgins. When I checked this out before I completely missed the digital angle of this concept. She showed me how to do this scrapbook through Snapfish. The idea is that you take a photo a day and do a little journaling about each one, at the end of the year you print the book. The real beauty to this project is that if I try it and it doesn't work for me I won't feel like I have wasted my time and money on all the supplies for a half finished album.

I still want to do scrapbooking for various occasions, heaven only knows I have enough supplies to do this for years to come, but I am excited to try this other angle. I think it will be interesting to document the day to day things of my life. Hopefully, I can also improve on my photography skills.

No Christmas Spirit

2011-12-23T21:23:00.001-07:00

It is the 23rd of December and I have yet to find any Christmas Spirit. It's not that I haven't tried. We had our ward Christmas party at the beginning of the month which I attended. I helped out with a couple of Sub for Santa projects and I even put up my little tree. Christmas music has been on in both my car and house all month and cards went out last week. Nothing has helped. I'm not sure I am going to find any at this point.

Quick gifts

2011-12-20T21:00:00.001-07:00

I wanted to get something for my co-workers for Christmas this year but I needed it to be quick and fairly inexpensive. Here is a little step by step of what I came up with.

I started with the basic Symphony bar.

Next I cut a piece of wrapping paper the same size as the wrapper on the candy bar.

Here is what it looks like once you have covered the bar.

Next, I choose a coordinating wrapping paper and cut it the same length but only half the width.

Wrap the second paper around the candy bar.

If you know me at all you know there is most likely going to be a ribbon or fiber of some sort involved. This project was no different. I tied some netting around right where the paper seams meet and tied a knot.

You could stop right here but I wanted to add a little more.

The gift certificate didn't quite fit so I folded it in thirds and tucked it into the second wrapper so it would not fall out but could be seen.

Lastly, I wanted to give them a little personalization so I got out my Cricut and cut out some Monograms.

Here is the final project! I hope they like them :)

The Magic Travel Chair

2011-12-17T22:03:00.000-07:00

My cousins daughter, Mauri, has quite the imagination. One of her newest things is that their papasan chair has some magic travel capabilities. She recently boarded the chair with a full bag to go visit Steph and John in Georgia. Man I wish I would have known about this chair years ago!

If only this really worked. As I mentioned in a previous post O the places you'll go, I have a goal to visit all 50 states. The past few years travel hasn't really been an option for me. Another issue is that when I do travel I seem to end up back in states I have already been to. Needless to say, I am not making much progress on my goal. I am hoping to change that a little in 2012.

The plan is to visit my cousin Stephanie and her husband John in Georgia next fall. This trip is subject to a couple of things. First, the Army. John is currently working in Georgia but who knows where Uncle Sam will want him come 9 months from now. Second, BYU is playing Georgia Tech sometime in 2012 but they keep changing the date of the game. I have work conflicts in September so I am keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't end up being the week I can't go.

Now with all that said, if you consult my map on the previously mentioned post you will notice I have already been to Georgia. What this means is that if this trip happens I will have to also visit at least one other state. In consulting the world wide web (AKA the Internet) I noticed that there are some plausible options.

1. Hilton Head South Carolina depending on the time of year. I am semi-adventurous but don't really feel like participating in a hurricane anytime in the future.

2. Birmingham Alabama-what would I do here?? The benefit here is that is within a couple of hours of Peachtree City. I could rent a car and drive over.

3. Nashville Tennessee would be a little trip in honor of my dad's love of country music. I would have to find Sawyer Brown Road and make a trip to the Grand Ole Opry. I might also have to check out Vanderbilt University while in town.

I'll have to see if Steph is interested in any of these for a mini road trip. If not, I'll have to figure out what will work out best for me. If only Mauri's chair worked I could get to all of them with no problem :) Now I just need to start my trip fund A.S.A.P.

If you were to visit a state that you have not already been to, where would you go and what would you do there?

Sneak Preview

2011-12-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling this holiday season more than usual. It seems like most of the Christmas traditions I have grown to love over the past 8 years, have gone completely by the wayside. Since I don't have control over most of them I decided to work on one that I do.

I LOVE Christmas cards. December is the only time I actually look forward to making the trek to the club house to get my mail. I refuse to do it on a daily basis any other time. I can't tell you how excited I get when you open it up and there is an actual hand written envelope from someone.

I didn't have time to make cards this year and for some reason I think they have to be handmade. I finally convinced myself that a photo card is perfectly acceptable so I started looking for a location to take pictures. To be honest I originally had a different idea in mind but when I found this place I knew it would be perfect!

My cousin Lynley agreed to do a little photo shot for me so we met up last Saturday and snapped away. Here are just a few of them:

Just a little explanation on the tree lot sign...Fred Parker is the father to one of my first roommates at BYU. I lived with Susan Parker in F Smith hall in the Heritage Halls dorms. When Christmas came around we all loaded up in car and trekked over to see her dad at the lot. We could have our pick of trees that year and what did we end up with? A Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was the saddest little tree in the lot. Another roommate Michelle convinced us that if we didn't take it no one would. We brought our little tree home and literally had to tie it to the blinds to keep it upright. That was one of the most memorable trees ever!

As a side note...it wasn't until looking at these photos that I noticed the bottom of the sign. Sadly Brother Parker passed away this year. I wish his family peace and comfort at this time of the year and hope they know how much joy their dad brought to people during the Christmas season.

Well folks, there are some of the pictures that were taken last week. I will tell you that while I love these (and actually my favorite is among them) I didn't choose any of these for the card. The one I did pick was exactly what I envisioned when I found the location. Thanks again to my amazing photographer/cousin for capturing the perfect shot!

The Great Gift Card Debate

2011-12-04T22:25:00.001-07:00

The holiday season is upon us and with it comes the quest for the prefect gifts. I love to both buy and make gifts when possible. I try hard to do things that the giftee will truly appreciate, but it seems that every year there is the one or two people that you don't know very well but need a gift for in various situations. You also run into the person who has everything or can't resist shopping long enough for others to buy gifts for them. What do you do?

Here's is where my delima comes in. I am a HUGE fan of gift cards! I could give you a list as long as my arm of places I would love a gift card to, ok maybe not as long as my arm but you get the point. They I love them because the person receiving them can use it toward whatever they need/want. It's easy enough to strike up a conversation and find out what kinds of stores they are shopping at. Obviously, if you get one to a store you never frequent that can be a let down.

On the flip side I know there are people out there that think that GC's are THE most impersonal of all gifts. They don't feel that any time or effort was put into the gift buying experience. Also, I know some that are offended that you made no attempt to learn anything about them to buy a "real" gift. So I am putting this out there to you all for some feedback....what are your thoughts??

Time to take control

2011-11-26T11:21:00.001-07:00

The past few days I have been confined to my house. Yes, someone had to be sick for the holiday and this year it was me. I was so disappointed because I had grand plans for the weekend. I was going to spend Thanksgiving day with my Aunt and Uncle in Santiquin then I was heading to Hyrum/Logan for a weekend of candy making and crafting. Thanks to my awesome family I received not one but two deliveries of Thanksgiving dinner which I am still working on today. I am so glad that the cooking gene was in abundance when my Nana and her daughters were going through the line:)

What I have done instead is sit around and watch a lot of TV and do many loads of laundry. I decided that while I had some "down" time I would start working on my 25 days of RACK which I mentioned in a previous post (you can find it here). Since I haven't figured out something for all 25 days yet I thought I would work on the things I do know. One of these things is a book I made for several family members many, many years ago. The book has a story, song and scripture for each day in December. There is a family in my ward I really wanted to give it to and due to the nature of it, the perfect Dec 1st item. The problem is I can't find my copy anywhere! I know I had it last Christmas and I thought I knew right where it was....nope.

Yesterday, as I started digging through all the STUFF in my room I finally realized it is time to take control of the disaster that is called my house. 8 hours of searching later, still no book. It makes me sad to know that I can't find something I need or want because I have too many things taking up space. I have too much of everything. Too many clothes, shoes, craft supplies and tools, dishes, worthless paperback books, old stuffed animals, cassette tapes, etc. You name it I have too much of it. Last night I found that I had duplicates of a cookbook. I can almost guarantee that isn't the only thing that I have duplicates of.

I have a hard time letting go of things so this isn't going to be easy for me. In fact, this is the reason I haven't really tackled it before. Part two of this problem is that I am continually bringing more home. I have recently tried to be more aware of what is coming in the door. I have done better with this aspect, what has come in has had a practical purpose.

I hope that one day in the near future I will be comfortable in my own home again. Better yet, I would love to get to the point where I would let others come in. I would love to actually decorate this place and make it mine. I have never gotten around to it becuase I didn't plan to still be here 14 years laster. I guess I am here to stay and I need to make it livable.

A lesson learned from Dee

2011-11-19T14:47:00.001-07:00

My dad was a car guy. Not just someone who appreciated them, but spent quite a bit of time working with them. In fact being a car mechanic was my dad's second job for many years. As a child I spent a lot of weekends playing in the office of the service station and on a good day dad or Mike (one of the kids that worked at the station with dad) would let me into the service bays. Mike used to let me sit in a car while "riding" up and down on the lift.

Not only did dad work on the cars at work but obviously he maintained the family cars as well. I was his assistant on several of his projects including bleeding the brakes. To this day I am not sure what that means but I do know I took my job of holding the break pedal down every seriously. I would sit on the floor under the steering wheel and push on the break pedal with all my might. I would push on it so hard that my legs would be shaking but I wasn't about to let up until my dad said so.

My dad's shirt from one of the stations he worked at. Isn't Dee the perfect car guy name?

I do not by any means claim to be a mechanic but my dad did teach me some very basic things I could do on my own. I am so grateful for what he taught me. More times than I can count I have had to change a tire or jump start my car and each time I think "Man, I am sure glad dad showed me how to do this"!

Today some of my dad's car genes kicked in and I decided to do a little maintenance on my own car.

My car battery has been giving me trouble for about a year now. I have made many a call to family and have had to have friends and total strangers jump start the battery for me in recent months. I looked into a battery earlier this summer but was surprised that they were over a hundred dollars! I don't know why this was such a shock to me because everything is so expensive these days but it really caught me off guard. So much so that I refused to buy one at the time. I don't know what I was thinking, its not like the cost was going to go down. Anyway, after having to have a total stranger bail me out in the parking lot of Chick-Fil-A this last week I decided it was time to suck it up and change the thing.

This morning I went to the local auto parts store and the nice customer service guy came out with this little machine to check my battery. Just as I suspected it wasn't holding a charge really well. So back into the store and a couple minutes later and $100 bucks poorer he installed my new battery. Hopefully he didn't think I was too creepy watching everything he was doing but I wanted to know how to do it for future reference. I am pretty confident that with the correct tools I could do this myself if the need arose.

Now that I had a new reliable battery I thought I would swing by the gas station and check the air in my tires. A couple were low so I put air in them. Thanks to the Cheveron next to my house "air" is still free and I got that taken care of.

Next on the list was refilling the windshield fluid. This ALWAYS seems to run out on a day when your window is getting all the dirty slush flipped up on it but there isn't enough water in it to wipe off. I end up with a smudged window you can barely see out of. This is never a safe way to drive but with the road construction being the way it is I don't even want to tempt fate on this one right now.

Lastly was checking the oil...looks like a trip to Walmart is in order.

While these aren't the greatest skills on earth and certainly don't fall into the girly category I am glad that my dad took the time so show his little girl how to do a few of these things....and that I actually listened!

Mauri's party

2011-11-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had a little party for Mauri and my Aunt and Uncle's house. Mars' aunt and uncles skyped in on a conference call of sorts for a bit. Through the wonders of the Internet we were able to talk to an uncle in Texas and an aunt and uncle in Georgia. Too bad we had some technical difficulties. They could see us but we couldn't see them. That is a little unnerving I must admit but is was great to at least hear them.

Then we enjoyed a fantastic dinner of pancakes, fruit, ham and hash browns. I LOVE breakfast foods! My Aunt even made this amazing buttermilk syrup that is divine, I need the recipe. Mauri doesn't eat much on a daily basis but her little brother would have been more than happy to eat her share.

After dinner was present time

A sticker/coloring book and some clothes from Nana and Papa

Olivia the owl that I made

This fabulous painting that Aunt Lynley made for her. This was inspired by the same bed set that I got the idea for Olivia from.

Here are the two room decor items together. We didn't even plan this! I am so excited that they both worked out so well.

Along with these things were some more outfits from Steph and John as well as a couple of Hello Kitty coloring books. She also got even more clothes from her mom and dad and an umbrella that she has needed for some time now. Of course it's Husky purple.

The birthday girl requested a Curious George cake and thanks again to aunt Lynley and Pinterest, this cake was located and sent to mom to create. It worked out great.

All in all the party was a success!

Introducing Olivia

2011-11-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my cousins daughters 3rd birthday. I have been trying to think of what to do for a gift for some time now but the few ideas I had someone was already doing for her. Then one night I was up way too late playing on Pinterest (my new all time favorite site) when I found this:

This one was made as an Etsy store item and here is the link to the original creator emmiscottage.blogspot.com.

This was perfect because Miss Mauri's new bedspread has cute little owls and trees on it. I knew I had to make this but since there wasn't a pattern I was going to have to wing it, get it...sometimes I crack myself up! Anywoo, I searched online and found an owl pattern that would work for the basic shape.

I started with this collection of supplies...

...and this is what I ended up with Olivia.

I was quite happy with how it turned out.

cards and other things

2011-11-05T22:50:00.000-06:00

Today I had a little craft day with my cousin Monica. I had been trying to decide what to work on all week and I found a whole stack of ideas off of Splitcoast. I love that site because I can type in the names of the stamp sets I already own and pull up galleries of what everyone has made with them. I picked three to do and spent the morning going through all my paper getting just the right combos. How many did I actually make today?? Four of the same one LOL! It turned out great though, I really like it. I did add another little bird on the inside of the card. I had extra punched pieces when I was done so I figured why not.

When I got home and brought everything in the house I set up my table and went to work again. This time I made a couple of little gift tags. I am teaching a class in a few weeks on gift wrapping and needed a couple of make and take tags.

This snowman is all over the Internet right now. Most of what I have seen have been Christmas cards but I shrunk this down to a 3X3 tag. I thought it would be something cute that I can do most of the prep work before hand. My Cricut (Jiminy as I have named mine) is going to come in extremely handy when it comes to cutting out all the circles.

This tag was ridiculously easy. I used Jiminy again to cut out the tag shapes and a snowflake punch. I'm not sold on the ribbon but it was the only thing close I had on hand. It will do for the display tomorrow until I can get a better match. I also think I will drop the punch down toward the bottom more so there will be a little more room to write.

Operation RACKed

2011-11-03T22:49:00.000-06:00

As we head into the holiday season I thought I would share a few thoughts on the subject. I have pretty strict self- imposed rules on celebrating the different holidays. It makes me sad that Thanksgiving has been pretty much left in the dust to the commericalism of Christmas. I like to say "let's be thankful before we are greedy"! The idea of thankfulness and gratitude has become more important to me over the years and I think these things should carry on through the Christmas season. It is on this note that I want to focus the rest of this post.

Commerical Christmas comes earlier every year. Along with this it seems that many people, both young and old, have over the top expectations to the point of greed on what they should GET. When did Christmas become about collecting the largest and most expensive pile of gifts?

The past few years I have tried to find ways to focus on the true spirit and meaning of the Christmas season. For many years I have done 12 days of Christmas for various people. I helped provide Christmas for the missionaries of the Provo mission. I have also participated in sub for Santa programs. In recent years finances have been such that it has been difficult for me to do such things and I have noticed a difference in the overall feeling of the holidays because of it. This past year we were lucky enough to have the beautiful Carl Bloch exhibit of paintings of Christ at BYU's Museum of Art. I scheduled my tour for Christmas Eve day and spent quite a bit of time there.

While playing on my new favorite website Pinterest for craft projects and Christmas present ideas I can across this pin Random Acts of Christmas Kindness. This pin took me to the following blog post random acts of Christmas kindness :: summary and Operation RACKed was born! I have been familiar with the term RAK (random acts of kindness) through a scrapbook site I have been following for years but I have never thought to take it this far before. I LOVE this idea of preforming some form of service each day from Dec 1st through Christmas day. The site even comes complete with a PDF file to print your own RACKed cards.

The tricky part of this project will be what to do for my daily acts. While I love the suggestions given...

Taping candy canes to ATM machines around town

Bringing the girls riding instructor {and barn manager} hot cocoa and a muffin early one morning

Taping quarters to vending and toy machines around town

Grocery shopping for the sole purpose of putting it in the “Food for Families” box in the

entryway of the store

Plugging meters around town {and lots of fun explaining to the girls what “plugging” a meter

meant!}

Donating 72 stockings with treats, candy and a craft for second graders at a school in need

Ringing Salvation Army bells

Handing out Starbucks gift cards {$5.00 value each}

Paid past due library fees for 5 people

Donated a poinsettia to the girls school

Bought and donated toys for “Toys 4 Tots”

Brought the girls teachers their favorite Starbucks drinks

Brought treats to the employees of our local Post Office branch

Purged from the girls personal “library” and donated to a school library in need

.... These ideas can be costly and could soon be well beyond what I am able to spend. I really want to do this but I have to come up with cheaper and when possible free acts of kindness. Some of the ideas I have come up with so far are:

1. Scrape snow from someones car (you know it will snow at some point)
2. Make awards and give out to the top 5 homes decorated for Christmas while out looking at Christmas lights. I just envision a car full of people with hot chocolate, doughnuts and Christmas music blaring while cruzin' town and checking out lights.
3. Set up a free gift wrap station somewhere (I haven't quite figured out where I would do this yet but oh I love to wrap!)
4. Make Christmas cards to give away ( I don't know where I would distribute these or how).
5. Make teddy bears or Christmas stockings for the peds unit of the hospital.

Since this is a fairly big project I will need to get started on things soon. Obviously I don't have nearly enough ideas yet. I welcome any suggestions you all might have to help me make this successful. I look forward to reading all your ideas.

I will keep you all posted on how this all works out, Wish me luck!

No spend the final projects

2011-11-01T20:11:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I wrapped up the last of my no spend projects. It turns out that this was a sewing month for me. Trust me, there are plenty of other crafts I have but I just seemed to be on a roll with the sewing machine right now.

I made myself another scrub hat. If I remember correctly I bought this fabric in Hawaii on my last trip with my mom. I don't know what I had planned for it but it makes me happy.

This is a close up of a little project I am working on for Christmas. You will have to wait for that post after Christmas....sorry!

OK so this is a little wrinkled :) I started this apron several YEARS ago. I bought all the fabric at an amazing store in Gardner Village called Pine Needles. Their fabrics are wonderful but I'll be honest, if you are on a budget this is not the best shopping for you. Don't ask me why it took so long to finish it. I have even had all the supplies the whole time, it's not like I ran out of thread or couldn't find the D rings. Finally, on Saturday I completed my apron!

Well there you have it, I completed a bunch of projects this month that I know I would not have done until who knows when. I definitely think that No Spend October was a success. In fact, I am already planning to do it again early next year.

Simpilcity 2444-Project Runway

2011-10-27T20:46:00.001-06:00

I have been working on several sewing projects lately and I am reminded just how much I love it!Most of the things I make are to give away for gifts. I have a boatload of projects lined up for Christmas gifts as well. In fact, the spare room will soon become Santa's little workshop the Orem division. More on those projects later, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise ;)

I haven't made many things for myself in quite some time. Recently, I made a scrub hat for work and I am hoping to make a few more, but this is the sewing project I have been eying for quite awhile now.

Simplicity 2444

This dress is fabulous! I look longingly at the pattern every time I am at JoAnn's. I have not purchased it yet but I so want this. There are a couple of reasons I have not bought the pattern/made the dress.

First, My weight is still far from where I would like it to be. Reality says, in my current shape, this will be less than flattering on me especially with the giant bow in the front. I know I could make it without but let's face it, it's my favorite part!

The second reason is that it is a little fancy for your average church dress. What semi-formal event am I going to need this for?

I finally figured out where I can wear this dress and I have enough time to get into better shape in order to pull this off. Thanks to my cousin I will be going to Wicked in July 2012! Since fashions at Capitol Theatre vary from shorts and a tee-shirt to pageant wear my dress will fit right in! What color will it be you ask? Emerald green of course!

The Challenge Continues

2011-10-20T22:08:00.001-06:00

I am three weeks into no spend October and it has gone really well so far. I have made the choice to pass on a few things this month in order to stick to my personal challenge. Here are a couple of more little projects I have made/finished up in the past few days.

I finished up another cute little Hawaiian print teddy bear that I started earlier this summer. I made a larger one several years ago for a family luau and had the fabric left over. The big one was pretty popular so I thought I would create a petite version.

Tonight I made my very first gift wrap bow. I am going to be teaching a little mini class at a church activity soon so few practice runs beforehand are necessary. There are tons of tutorials out there for them but I just might add one more. There are a couple of more things I would like to try and work out before posting one though. I am really pleased at how this one turned out.

You Matter to Him

2011-10-19T20:45:00.002-06:00

I have struggled lately to find perspective and purpose to my life. I am so grateful for those occasional reminders that we do matter. Hopefully one day I will understand the meaning in all of this.

"My dear brothers and sisters, it may be true that man is nothing in comparison to the greatness of the universe. At times we may even feel insignificant, invisible, alone, or forgotten. But always remember—you matter to Him! If you ever doubt that, consider these four divine principles:First, God loves the humble and meek, for they are “greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”17Second, the Lord entrusts “the fulness of [His] gospel [to] be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world.”18 He has chosen “the weak things of the world [to] come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones”19 and to put to shame “the things which are mighty.”20Third, no matter where you live, no matter how humble your circumstances, how meager your employment, how limited your abilities, how ordinary your appearance, or how little your calling in the Church may appear to you, you are not invisible to your Heavenly Father. He loves you. He knows your humble heart and your acts of love and kindness. Together, they form a lasting testimony of your fidelity and faith.Fourth and finally, please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him.21 Have hope and faith in that promise. Learn to love your Heavenly Father and become His disciple in word and in deed."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second Counselor in the First Presidencyof the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

More no spend projects

2011-10-16T21:05:00.000-06:00

I am half way through no spend October. Honestly, I thought I would have finished more items by now. At least I am working on it right?

The first project is this camo teddy bear I started months ago. I finally finished him up this week. I am not quite sure what I am going to do with him yet....he might just be my first Esty store item.

Come on, you knew you were bound to see more BYU print items didn't you? I have had a couple different cuts of this print laying around. When I bought it I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with it.

Last month when I came across a piece big enough to work with I decided that I wanted to make a scrub hat for work. I have bought 3 online but the store recently raised the price on them. I knew all along that I could make my own but, until the price went up, I was willing to let someone else create them. I ordered the toggles several weeks ago and they have been sitting here just waiting for me to do something. What I did forget, was the little bead that needs to be threaded through the elastic so it stays looped through the toggle. (Technical I know but an important piece to a functional hat.) I found a plastic do-dad that I hope holds up for a couple of weeks until I can buy the real deal.

I can't wait to wear this at work tomorrow!

Game Day accessories

2011-10-08T13:09:00.000-06:00

In my last post I mentioned that I was doing "no spend" October. Don't you worry though, I have plenty (A.K.A. way too many) craft supplies to keep me busy without spending a dime this month. I have had some BYU print fabric for quite awhile now. It is actually intended for a different project but I know I will have plenty left over so I decided to make a couple of hair accessories for football game day. Here are two pieces I have completed.

Headband: I covered a plastic headband that was hiding out in my hair accessory bin with the BYU print. Then I made a rolled rosette out of the same fabric. I also found a navy solid cotton which I made a raw edged gathered flower from. At first I was worried that the navy flower was to rough looking but it came out great. Lastly I had some tan tulle laying around so I added it to the headband, I love the final result!

My second accessory is a simple finished edge ruffle bow. It is about 3 1/2 inches across. This is pretty plain but I think the print makes up for it.

Now GO COUGARS!!

October Challenge

2011-10-02T22:13:00.000-06:00

With the holidays approaching I am getting a little nervous about money for Christmas gifts. I used to have a Christmas account but that is not the case this year. I need to get that account set up again for future use but that isn't going to help too much come December. I have also been spending to much money in general these days. The sad thing is I can't really account for some of it. So, as a two fold solution, I am putting myself to a challenge. During the month of October I will not spend ANY extra money. I will pay the bills, buy food and gasoline but that is it. It sounds easy right?...we will see.

I have found all kinds of random craft supplies recently as well as some unfinished projects. As a side note to this little challenge I want to see what I can create for zero dollars. I have about a millon ideas from my new favorite site Pintrest so I am sure I can find inspiration among the items pinned to my various boards. Hopefully this part of the challenge will keep me out of the craft and fabric stores for the next 30 days! I plan to post the results, if you wish to join in on the zero dollar creations I would love to see what you come up with. Post a comment with the link to your projects so we can all admire your work :)

Self Timer Challenge

2011-09-25T21:13:00.000-06:00

Last week my cousin Lynley posted a little challenge over on her blog Lynley J to take a picture of yourself using the self timer function on your camera. Normally I wouldn't be caught dead participating in a challenge like this, but coincidentally I need a photo of myself for another project I am working on this week (more on that later). So I grabbed my camera, some more batteries and the tripod and headed out to find the perfect shot for my own photo shoot.

I ended up at the railroad tracks not far from my home. I picked this location primarily because it was pretty secluded, let's face it I felt kind of dumb taking pictures of myself and didn't really want a bunch of people to be watching the whole show. we won't talk about the sounds of the creatures that weren't far away in the brush near the tracks.

After hundreds of shots...I am so not kidding, here is what I finally chose:

now for some fun:

a few of the not so good shots

Pillow Pets

2011-09-14T20:38:00.000-06:00

OK so I have always been huge fan of stuffed animals and I still have quite the collection. I haven't purchased one for myself for years.

The past few years there has been a craze called pillow pets. They are larger stuffed animals with a flat body you can use as a pillow. to be honest some are more cute than others. This evening I received an e-mail from a local fabric shop that I frequent. This was the advertised special of the week:

Are you serious... a Cosmo pillow pet!?!? Oh you know it, I am going to pick of one of these babies after work tomorrow.

Living in Utah

2011-09-14T20:23:00.000-06:00

I was born in California but I have lived in Utah nearly my whole life. In fact, the reason we moved to Utah was because of me. I was sick when I was very small so my family moved here to be close to Primary Children's Hospital and family. I really have loved it here and that is why I stay.One of the things I love here is the mountains. I live minutes from the mouth of the canyon and can get up there anytime I like. A few weeks ago I was able to go up with a group from our ward to walk around Cascade Springs and then have dinner at our Bishops cabin.

One of the great little waterfalls along the Cascade walk

Just missed the moose frolicking in the pools

The bridge reminded me of a woodsy version of a Monet's water lilies photo

Brooke and Lori

The bishops cabin just above Sundance

Fire is mesmerizing

10 years later

2011-09-11T19:17:00.000-06:00

Today on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks there are countless posts, memorials, and moments of silence all over our country and the world. I can't begin to describe the feelings I had that day and the days to follow. Do I remember what I was doing when I heard the news, yes. Will I always remember, yes. As we all take time today in our different ways to reflect on the things that have taken place I want to add a few thoughts of my own.

I know that our country is far from perfect, in fact we seem to be really struggling these days, but I love the freedoms this country offers me. I am very grateful on a daily basis for all the men and women that serve to protect those freedoms. They and their families sacrifice everything, even their lives at times, for my benefit.

Nothing will change the tragic events of 9/11. Nothing will bring back the 3,000 lives lost to senseless violence. I only hope that the families and friends of those who lost loved ones that day know that we will never forget, we can't forget.

Wardrobe must haves

2011-09-10T01:48:00.000-06:00

I just came across a list of 10 must have items for every woman by Michael Kors. Since I absolutely love both my sandals and perfume baring his name I thought I would give this list a gander.

Here they are in no particular order:

1. tailored black pantsuit
2. crisp white shirt
3. black sheath dress
4. black pencil skirt
5. Neutral colored cashmere sweater
6. fur vest
7. classic trench
8. dark fitted jeans
9. nude stiletto
10. Cognac leather satchel

I must admit there are some fabulous items on this list. I would love to dress more stylish. I feel like my wardrobe makes me look like a slug most days. I guess it doesn't help that I wear puke green scrubs 5 days a week.

On the plus side I can say a few of these items have actually made it into my own closet. Recently, I scored a great pair of peep toe wedges at Kohl's on clearance. Not exactly a stiletto but I'm counting them. I have only had a couple of occasions to wear them but I love them. I also have some dark fitted jeans courtesy of the Park City Outlet stores and a new white shirt as well. I don't know that the fur vest will ever find it's way into the closet but the rest of the list I would be willing to work on.

To take a look at this list and photos of each item click here.

What items are staple wardrobe pieces in your closet?

one ping only

2011-09-08T22:49:00.001-06:00

In the movie Hunt for Red October there is a scene where Captain Ramius is trying to establish the range between their submarine and another one. They call this Pinging. In an effort to find out if anyone is out there I am sending out my own "Ping" to you. If you actually read this blog please comment on this post.

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Over due sewing project

2011-09-08T22:29:00.000-06:00

Just one of the the many projects I have been working on lately. These are for three little ones that were born into the family earlier this summer.

Beyond the game

2011-09-02T23:50:00.000-06:00

   Tomorrow BYU kicks off their 2011 football season by playing Ole Miss. To say I am excited is a huge understatement. I LOVE cougar football!! I have been a fan of the game since I was little. Way back in the day, I was lucky enough to get to listen to the games on the radio. BYU was rarely, if ever, on TV.  They have come a long way since the days of working in the yard with my dad while listening to the play by play.

   Several years ago the football team started presenting firesides the night before their away games and some home games as well. These firesides are religious meetings where both members of the LDS church and non-members alike are invited to attend.  Tonight that tradition was continued in Tupelo Mississippi. The coaches and players spoke and sang before a full house. The word is that the Chapel, Cultural Hall, every other room and hallway in the building were full.

I am impressed that they are not just out there to win. Everyone hopes to be victorious but there is more to this school. Not all members of the team are also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints but they do agree to live by certain standards while they are here at school. I believe that Coach Mendenhall teaches them not only the game of football but teaches them how to be great people too. They are held to higher standards than many other athletes from other schools, especially when it comes to moral standards.

Recently, some of those standards have been questioned in other BYU sports by some in the media when there have been issues of the team losing a key player. Life is all about the choices we make. While we are free to choose our actions we are not always free to choose the consequences that go with those actions. Unfortunately those consequences can and usually do affect more that just the person involved.  I am so glad that they have the courage to say this is what we believe in and we will not make exception just to win a game. In the end it is just that, a game. Sticking to your beliefs is not always popular but it will impact more people than you know.

No matter the outcome on the field they have already won in my book.

Trials of life

2011-08-31T19:50:00.004-06:00

I have always loved listening to and watching General Conference but it seems like time there is a talk intended just for me. This past April there were two talks that really spoke to me. The following talk, More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us was given by Paul V. Johnson and was one of those talks for me.

I don't like to share serious matters openly with many people and I am not likely to blog about my specific trials but they seem to be a way of life for me these days. Every time I think I have finally made it through one something else comes up that is more stressful than the last. I don't have a rest period anymore. I know we are given trials as a test us but honestly I never liked tests.
As I have watched, listened and read this particular talk numerous times since it was given I am always reminded that we are not given trials beyond what we can handle. I do, however, believe that we are pushed to our absolute limits at times. Everyone faces trials in various and although someone appears not to have a care in the world, you don't know what they are dealing with inside.

One of my favorite scriptures has always been D&C 122:7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. I hope I never have to endure anything even close to those things mentioned above I hope that all these things will be for my good.

Have I done any good?

2011-08-28T00:51:00.000-06:00

In April's General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, spoke on the opportunities to do good. During the address he talked about this being the 75 anniversary of the Church welfare program. President Eyring also said that during the coming months members of the church worldwide would be invited to participate in a day of service.

Today was that day for the Lakeview 4th ward. Our project consisted of putting together hygiene kits and coloring kits as well as making burp cloths and receiving blankets. Our finished items will be donated to a local shelter.

Assembling hygiene kits

Cutting out burp cloths and receiving blankets

Sewing

As we worked to complete our projects today I couldn't help but think of hurricane Irene which reached land earlier this morning on the east coast of the US. I know our items will not go to those people but I hope that someone closer to them will be able to help with temporal needs.

Why is it that serving others seems so difficult at times? Are we so wrapped up in our own situations that we are not taking the time to look around us? Our service day today reminded me that I need to be more aware of the opportunities around me.

To read or watch the talk by Henry B. Eyring click here.

Becky's Recipe Box

2011-08-23T22:46:00.002-06:00

Shortly after I started this here blog I also created a recipe blog: Becky's Recipe Box. I entered a few recipes and then kind of forgot about it. I decided last week to get back on the blogging bandwagon and started entering recipes again. You will still get some here as I try some new ones from my ever growing "recipes to try" collection.

The Recipe Box blog is just that, an online version of my little wooden box of favorites. This will serve two purposes. First, if anyone is interested in checking in and trying a few please be my guest. Secondly, I am frequently standing in the middle of the grocery store with the sudden urge to make something but I can't remember all the ingredients. Due to fabulous technology I can pull it up on my phone via the Internet right there and shop away. No more making a shopping list only to leave it in the car or better yet on the table at home.

My hope is that you might find a recipe or two that become a family favorite at your house. Some of them ARE your family favorites, I got them from you after all.

O the places you'll go

2011-08-20T23:51:00.000-06:00

I was doing some cleaning and dejunking today when I came across this map of the US. I haven't seen this for several years now. This little map has quite the story and has become a personal goal of mine.

One night about nine years ago I was goofing around on the computer and found this map of the US. I thought it would be fun to mark all where I had been. I printed it off on some card stock and colored in all the states I had been to. A couple days later my mom came over and saw it on my table. She asked me why I had decided to take up coloring so I told her what I was doing. Mom thought it was a great idea and had me print her a map too. We spent the evening talking about all the places we had been while mom colored in her map.

That night we set a goal to visit all the states and we chose Washington. We got tickets and started researching Seattle. Mom was a teacher and we never went anywhere without learning where all the museums and anything else remotely educational was located. She would even get the Foders and Frommers books for everywhere we went. We never made this trip together. Mom passed away from congestive heart failure two weeks before we were to go.

Mom was never able to complete her map but I am determined to keep this for both of us. Since the night we set this goal I did go to Washington. BYU had a trip to a football game, what better way to remember her.

I have also been to the following:

Indiana- I went to a BYU vs Norte Dame with my friend Emily. Trip would have been even better if BYU would have won.

Ohio- I went to my cousin Mary and her husband Louie's wedding reception.

Florida- I won a several night condo stay in Orlando in an auction. My friend Emily and her friend. Amanda spent 6 days at Disney World.

Oregon- to visit my cousin Monica and her little family while Grant was in law school

Here is how the map looks today

Technically I have also been to Minnesota, Wisconsin and Kentucky as well but I am not counting airport time. The standard rule is I have to stay there overnight night. Indiana was an exception, I didn't stay overnight but we were there most of the day and actually did something in the state. Also it's my little game so I make the rules!

So where might the next state be? I don't know yet. Any suggestions?

Chicken Salad in Pitas

2011-08-16T18:20:00.001-06:00

It's been a long time since I posted a recipe so I thought I would post one for you. Since the weather is a little on the warm side I chose this light and refreshing salad/sandwich. This is super simple but very tasty stuffed pita recipe that I got from my friend and former roomie Valerie.

Chicken Salad in Pitas

1 5-6 ounce can chunk white chicken
grated peel of 1/2 fresh lemon (opt)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 small unpeeled red apple cut into bite size pieces
1/2 tsp mustard
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 six inch loaves of pocket bread cut in half
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts (opt)

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except bread. Spoon 1/4 chick mixture into pocket of each bread half.

Back in business

2011-08-15T22:22:00.000-06:00

A year later and I am finally back in business in the computer world. Thanks to everyone who has been so generous in letting me use theirs this whole time. I am so excited to get back to some regular blogging and hopefully some more exciting photos.

Speaking of photos I think I lost one of the memory cards that I didn't have a chance to upload. Don't even ask me how stressed about I am about it. I thought I knew right where it was but that is a big negatory good buddy. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that it makes an appearance soon.

I look forward to having you read more of me soon :)

Reinventing Me

2011-08-12T20:50:00.012-06:00

About a week ago I had a dream that Ali was reading something I had written at about her age. Once she finished reading she turned to me and said "What happened to that Becky?" I too have been wondering lately what happened to the Becky of 20 years ago (yes I am that old), a happy, fun and more outgoing me.

I have not been able to pinpoint an exact moment when things changed for me but I know that it all started around the time my dad died. Since then I have seen many of my goals and dreams slowly slip away from me. The plan I had for my life has not worked out at all like I had envisioned.

Last year I tried a new hobby of running. Recently, due to an accident at work I have been banned from that too by the orthopedic specialist. During some testing we discovered some other complications. I have been to 5 different doctors and I have an appointment with a 6th in a couple of weeks. Depending on what that doctor has to tell me I could have to make yet another decision that will drastically affect another life long dream of mine.

I want so much to be that person I used to be but I don't know how to get back there. I don't even know who I am any more. I feel like I now need to completely reinvent myself and set new goals for my life. I was talking to a friend of mine recently and I told her that I really wish I knew what I wanted to be when I grow up.

Happy National Sneak a Zucchini Onto Your Neighbors Porch Day!

2011-08-08T00:00:00.001-06:00

I love zucchini but can't really grow it at my place. Imagine how excited I was to discover that today, August 8th, is

national sneak a zucchini onto your neighbors porch day (or rather night)!

Oh the things I could do with a basket full of zucchini. I would grill it, fry it and make it into bread. I could also try out the fabulous new cake recipe I just acquired today courtesy of my Aunt Lyn's Paula Deen magazine.

So if anyone out there way wondering what to do with your abundance of Zuc, my porch light will be on. If you need my address please contact me ASAP :)

It's Sew time!

2011-08-07T20:49:00.001-06:00

Every year I have a goal to get my Christmas projects finished early and every December 25th about 3:00am I am still working on whatever it is I am making. This year I am trying my goal again. I ventured out to the fabric store to find the perfect prints for the Top Secret project I am creating.

As soon as I walked into the store these wonderful Christmas prints said "hey come over here and look at us". Well you can't turn down talking fabric so I went right over. These were fantastic!! I started having visions of what I could make with them and before I knew every bolt was in my arms and headed to the cutting table. This was not what I had come for at all but I have had enough bad experiences where I wait to get the supplies and they are gone. Not this time, I wasn't risking these babies selling out. After much googling for a pattern and many measurements and notes by myself and the store employees I finally worked exactly what these will become. I can't wait to get going on this project.

As for the Top Secret... don't worry I got the material for that as well, you really didn't think I was going to show that to you did you ;)

You may or may not see a sneak preview as we get closer to the holidays on what that will be but if you can hang on until after Christmas you can see the whole project.

As an extra bonus The Fabric Mill (the store where all these delightful prints are from) was doing a weekly drawing for an Amy Butler bag.

This Amy Butler bag!

I entered the drawing and Friday morning I received an email saying I was the lucky winner! I think they just felt bad for taking my life savings from me a few days earlier. Whatever the reason I am so excited. This bag prefect as a travel bag, you know the "airplane purse" that you put half your house into to survive the flight.

All in all I would say the trip to the store was a success

National Can-It-Forward Day....Seriously

2011-07-21T12:39:00.000-06:00

I just stumbled across this and frankly is was too unique not to share. For anyone into canning mark your calendars for Saturday August 13th!

Step 1: Mark your calendars for August 13 and pick a location to host your very own National Can-It-Forward Day Home Canning Party. Simply select any spot with a working stovetop and some counter space — your kitchen, community center, office break-room, etc.

Step 2: Spread the word - Invite Your Friends, Family, Neighbors and Co-workers for August 13, National Can-It-Forward Day! Twitter #canitforward

Step 3: Select Your Recipes. For National Can-It-Forward Day, we suggest Fiesta Salsa – it’s fun and easy and who doesn’t enjoy salsa made with fresh tomatoes?

Step 4: Decide how many jars of Fiesta Salsa you will be making at your party, just a few or a large batch.

Just a few friends: Make 1-6 jars of Fiesta Salsa. View recipe

The more the merrier: Make 7-16 jars of Fiesta Salsa. View recipe

Step 5: Download the printable Intro to Canning Guide, Party Tips Guide, National Can-It-Forward Day Regular Mouth Lid Labels, National Can-It-Forward Day Wide Mouth Lid Labels, and Party Games for hosting your own Can-It-Forward Day party. Links to print these labels may be found by going to: http://www.freshpreserving.com/community/events/can-it-forward/host-a-party.aspx.

Lid Label Directions: The National Can-It-Forward Day labels for the regular mouth jar lids are designed to fit AVERY 5293 Labels. The labels for the wide mouth lids are designed to fit AVERY 5294 labels. Simply download the PDF of your choice, insert the appropriate label sheet into your printer, push print and apply to your jars. Then show your friends and family what you created and listen to their oohs and aahs!

Step 6: Host your own home canning party and receive valuable coupons.

Click here to sign up

Since I still have tons of salsa left over from last year I just have to make some more raspberry jam. :) If you do participate please come back and let me know what you canned!

Good things come in 3's

2011-07-08T19:23:00.006-06:00

I was so excited to get my third phone call in the past few weeks letting me know that the latest member of our family had finally arrived. He held out for awhile but finallly decided to make his grand entrance on June 14th.

We are so happy to meet

Zachary Bryce

Introducing.....

2011-05-31T17:00:00.001-06:00

Sarah Ann

May 25th 2011

7 lbs 14 oz 20" in length

Top Ten Utah Foods

2011-05-26T14:41:00.006-06:00

Last week the Salt Lake Tribune ran a story about the top 10 signature foods of Utah. Since I live in this pretty great state and I am a lover of food I thought I would share them with you and a personal experience in each category.

1. Fry Sauce- LOVE it! This mixture of ketchup and mayo really enhances my fry eating experience but, as I have learned, this is an acquired taste. People outside of the Utah area generally think of this as "gross". My favorite is a homemade mix of mayo and sweet baby rays BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce adds just the right amount of tangy for me and is a little most zippy than just plain ketchup. I will also put this on my burger instead of the standard ketchup, mustard condiments.

2. Utah scones-These are not to be confused with English scones. This is a deep fried scone ( I always called it Indian Fry bread) and tastes great with honey butter. I haven't had one of these for quite some time but now that I have been reminded of them I have been craving it.

3. Jell-o- What can I say....plenty! Jell-o could and very well might be a blog post of it's own one day. This was and still is a staple food at most family functions. There are probably as many ways to fix jell-o as there are people it eat it but I am more of a jello naturalist. I don't really go for all the mix-in kinds. I will eat red jell-o with fruit cocktail in it but that is it. Mostly, I just like plain raspberry jell-o with possibly some whipped cream on top.

My Aunt Lyn has one of the weirdest jell-o recipes I have ever heard of in a ward cook book of hers. It is kind of a family joke and to my knowledge no one has ever made it. I am sure someone will be dared to eat it one day. I may have to share it with you soon.

4. Bear Lake raspberries- My dad was a diabetic so we didn't have a lot of candy or goodies around our house. What we did have was tons of fruit. My dad grew up in Logan and he knew his way around a garden. We had a whole section of raspberries plants that came from a family friend that lived in Garden City Utah. There were only the three of us, well four if you count Cinnamon my dog, and we loved those berries. Mom and I would make batches of jam at a time and my dad made the WORLDS BEST homemade raspberry ice cream every summer.

Two summers ago on my way home from a vacation to Idaho, my friend Emily and I stopped in Bear Lake and bought a flat of berries. I made a batch of jam which was to last me the year. I ended up giving away most of it as gifts but is was as good as I remember it being.

My Aunt Cheryl has starts from our plants from years ago and I am hoping to one day get some of my own. I don't really have a place to plant them right now but I might experiment in a big planter with a couple.

5. Pastrami burgers- OK to be honest I had never tried this before. I like burgers and I can eat pastrami but I have never tried them together. Since this was the only thing on this list I didn't have any personal knowledge of I went and got one the other day. According to the article these showed up on the Crown Burger menu back in the 80's. I figured I should go right to the source so I headed to the Crown Burger just off campus to get one the other night. My official rating: There OK. I could eat another one but they certainly aren't on my favorite burger list. It is a cheeseburger with a pile of pastrami on it. I would prefer to keep these meats separate :)

6. Funeral Potatoes- No matter the name Funeral, Cheesy or Mormon this is one tasty potato side dish. The name Funeral potatoes comes from the custom of a meal served to the family and invited friends after a funeral in the LDS church. The meal usually consists of ham, green salad, Jell-o, veggies, rolls, cake and of course funeral potatoes.

These aren't just for funerals folks! As with the Jell-o, funeral or cheesy potatoes as we call them are a holiday staple food. My Aunt Cheryl makes the best Cheesy potatoes. I tried to make them this Easter but they didn't turn out quite the same. I will have to see if I can acquire her recipe and give them another try.

7. Dutch Oven fare-I am a big fan of outdoor cooking. I love to be outside in the summer and for some reason the food just seems to taste better when cooked on an open fire. My only real experience with cooking a full dutch oven meal was on a trip to Lake Powell with my family one year. I didn't have the right formula for the briquettes to dutch oven ratio. We ended up making a bonfire and putting the dutch ovens right into it to speed up the cooking time. Dinner finally happened about 10:30 p.m. but it did turn out really good, I just need to practice some more. P.S. If anyone is interested in testing this out again with me this summer please let me know.

8. Green River Melons-Watermelon is by far my favorite melon and the melons from Green River are wonderful. I don't know if there is something special about green river water but they sure can turn out some great ones. Watermelon reminds me of fun summer holiday meals at my grandparents house in Bountiful.

9. Honey- With my dads health issues we didn't have much junk food around our house. We had a neighbor that lived down the street that kept beehives. He would always bring us jars of honey. It might be plain honey or whipped or my personal favorite was the waxy honeycomb. People might worry that it wasn't "pasteurized" but we survived just fine.

10. Collegiate ice cream- Both USU and BYU make their own ice cream on campus. Coincidentally, my parents attended both of these fine Universities. My dad is the Aggie and my mom is Cougar blue. No matter which Blue and White you cheer for there is fine ice cream to be had in Logan and Provo. Since I live in Orem, I have more experience with the BYU creamery and I have to say my favorite kind is mint chocolate chip there. When I take the kids to the BYU football games the favorite among them seems to be cookies and cream.

Well there you have it, Utah's Top 10 as reported by the Tribune. To read the full article please click here.

Welcome Lincoln

2011-05-14T18:37:00.008-06:00

Lincoln

May 13th

7lbs 5oz

19 inches

I am so excited that the first of the three babies coming has actually arrived. I LOVE babies! Lincoln was born at 4:17 p.m. yesterday. I got home from work and was just in time for the call that he was here. As I pulled into the parking lot I got a text message saying that he had been taken up to NICU for some respiratory issues. I waited with the rest of the family that was there for awhile to see if they would bring him back down. Finally we got word that he would be upstairs for awhile. He was upstairs for several hours but around midnight he was brought back down to him mom. He spent the night in the room with her and has been doing great ever since.

(sorry for the blurriness of this photo-my phone doesn't have an action setting)

I think that one of the most excited people to meet Lincoln is his big sister Mauri. She was so sweet with him and kept saying "Aw it's Blinkin, he is soo cute!" I hope she thinks the same a couple of weeks from now when he is crying in the middle in the night and won't stop :)

Literary Junkies

2011-05-06T16:01:00.003-06:00

Alright I did it, I created a new book club blog! You can now find my book club at Literary Junkies. I am really excited about it and I hope it goes well. The first book is The Count of Monte Cristo so no worries to the few of you that might be following the "club" here. It will be the same format over on the new blog, plus I have some other ideas up my sleeve. Those will depend on YOU the reader though. You will have to stay tuned to find out what those might be. Good things come to those who read and those tell their friends:) Just sayin'.....

May/June Read

2011-04-28T16:07:00.003-06:00

This time around we will be reading:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

We will discuss some time in June.

Happy Reading!

David Copperfield discussion

2011-04-19T15:09:00.006-06:00

Congrats to any and all of you that made it through this one! Before we get to the discussion portion of this blog a few housekeeping items:

1. If you read the book please comment, its the only way this online book club is going to work.

2. I am very seriously considering starting a book club specific blog but I need help naming it. I have no creativity in literary matters.

3. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on what to read next please let me know.

4. Please feel free to let your bookworm friends know about us, the more the merrier!

...and now back to your regularly schedule post.

As I finished this book last night the first thought that went through my mind was how many topics there are to discuss on this. We could be here for days! The following are just a few things I thought about as discussion points.

Who is your favorite supporting character in this story?

Who did you just love to hate (come on I know you did)?

Was there any aspect of the story that you personally identified with?

In your opinion, what was the moral of the story?

OK now for a couple random things that came to my mind as I read:

1. In the beginning of the story David was born in a home named the Rookery. I have always been fascinated by the idea of naming your home. If you were to name your own home what would it be and why?

2. Any thoughts on Davids "sister" Besty Trotwood??

I LOVED this book!

Cheddar-Cauliflower Soup

2011-03-28T16:48:00.004-06:00

Cheddar-Cauliflower Soup I love soup and even though it is technically spring you would never know it by the fact that it is snowing outside right now. Since the "weather outside is frightful", I decided to give a new soup recipe a try. I got this recipe out of an old Williams-Sonoma catalog:
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 head cauliflower, about 2 1/2 lb., cut into florets
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 oz. white cheddar cheese, shredded
Toasted crusty bread for serving

Directions:
In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, cream, the 2 tsp. salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to a fine puree, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted and well combined with the soup. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and serve immediately with toasted bread. Serves 6 to 8. I made it as is and really liked it. I do have an immersion blender but you could blend in small batches in your blender as well. I think the only thing I would do differently next time is hold off on the second tsp of salt until later to see if it really needs it. Other than that, this one is definitely a keeper!

Pedicure on the cheap

2011-03-25T17:35:00.005-06:00

I consider Pedicures a luxury. I have had a few in my day and love every minute of them. Lately I have had the desire to get one but a trip to the nail salon doesn't fit into my current budget situation. The next bext thing was the DYI version. Its not quite like getting the royal treatment but I was happy with the end result.

As luck would have it we had a great weekend with warm weather a few weeks back, in February of all months. I was excited to sport my sandals that I bought last fall.

Buzz's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-03-19T11:44:00.002-06:00

Brief history of this recipe: I met a girl that became my friend Girl started dating Boy Boy can cook Girl married Boy Becky got cookies! OK so there is a little more to it but that is the condensed story. I love these cookies! Meagan (the aforementioned girl) brought these in a few times when we worked in purchasing at Utah Valley. She gave me some for my birthday one year as well as when mom died. I know it sounds kind of strange as a funeral rememberence but she knew it was something I really liked. I recently found this recipe on Meagan's family food blog Say it With Carbs. They have some great recipes posted.

Buzz's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups brown sugar
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
4 ½ - 5 ½ cups flour
1 bag milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together shortening, butter, sugar, brown sugar. In separate container, beat eggs and vanilla together and pour into mixing bowl. Add baking soda and salt, mix well. Add flour, mix well. Mix in chocolate chips.

2. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not over bake.

Ali- these don't go flat :) I discovered that the dough freezes really well. This makes a decent sized batch of cookies and although I have talked about cutting down recipes in previous posts this is not one of them. I make the dough and use my handy Pampered Chef cookie scoop to make equal sized dough balls. I freeze them on a cookie sheet for about half an hour until the are firm and them I put them in a freezer baggie. I can get out a few at a time when I am having a cookie craving.

Quilting Treasures

2011-03-15T18:29:00.003-06:00

I have been working to clean out years worth of clutter from my house. Recently I came across these treasures in a box I was working on. I found 7 of these pieced fabric flower circles in awesome retro prints from my Nana. I am not quite sure how I am going to put these together yet but I am excited at the possibilities.

I am just getting into quilting. I have really wanted to make something so I started with a wall hanging for my cousin Sherri for Christmas last year, I am still doing the quilting part... ( Sherri, I haven't forgotten about it).

I can't wait to create something of my own soon. I usual give away everything I make but I am going through a little selfish phase and want to do it for ME! I have visions of several different quilts in mind:

A denim quilt

A BYU quilt

A hawaiian print quilt

A car/emergency quilt possibly a quillow

I am gathering the fabrics and other things needed to make the first one slowly. Hopefully I will get one of my rooms set up to use as a craft room in the near future so I can work on these.

Cliantro Lime Chicken

2011-03-10T19:00:00.003-07:00

This is my first recipe I made from my vast "to try" collection. It had all the makings of a great one to me. I always read through the ingredients to see if there is either something weird or one of the many things I won't eat.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

6 Chicken breast halves

3/4 Bag tortilla chips, preferably blue corn

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup honey

zest of 2 limes and juice of one lime

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped

3/4 cup mango salsa

1- 8oz block Cache Valley Monterey Jack Cheese

Crush tortilla chips in bag with a rolling pin. Add garlic powder and black pepper then shake bag to mix. Mix together honey, zest of one lime and juice of one lime in a bowl. Pound chicken breasts so they are level and will cook evenly. Coast chicken breast generously in honey lime mixture then coat well in crushed tortilla chips. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is almost but not thoroughly cooked. Remove from oven and turn on the broiler to low. Mix together sour cream, cilantro, and zest of 2nd lime and remaining juice of 1st lime. Place evenly atop chicken breasts; cilantro lime sour cream, then mango salsa, and finally, slices of Monterey Jack cheese. Place chicken breasts in the back on the middle rack of oven and broil until cheese is golden brown and chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 5-7 minutes.

My Review

I will admit that I didn't have Mango Salsa so I used a pineapple chipotle instead. I don't know if that one ingredient really makes or breaks the dish but the end product wasn't my favorite. I am not totally discounting this one yet. I am willing to give it another try using the right stuff next time. I did use the blue corn tortilla chips but I might try regular ones.

On a positive note the chicken was very moist! Also, since I made the full recipe (I really need to start cutting them in half) I was kind of obligated to eat it for a couple of days, it did taste better to me the next day.

I guess it would help to explain the rating system I have developed for this little project of mine. There are three possible ratings a recipe can receive. 1. Keeper-good enough to add to permament recipe collection. 2. Second Chance- I'm willing to give this one more try. 3. Didn't make the grade- not worth repeating.

I give Cilantro Lime Chicken....a Second Chance.

Favorite thing March

2011-03-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing this month has to be the text messages I get from my friends at Redbox for FREE movie rentals. The texts come earlier in the day on Mondays and then the code expires that same night at midnight. I have been able to see a few movies lately including: Eat, Pray, Love and Inception. I am excited to see what the current selection has in store. The best part is there are several Redbox machines on the way home, so if something doesn’t tickle my fancy at the first one I always have more to choose from at another stop down the road.

Happy movie watching!!

Collecting recipes

2011-03-05T19:13:00.002-07:00

I love to cook and try new recipes. I know that some of you are thinking, yeah right! You have had many meals with me and know I can be picky at times. It is true that I am selective in what I eat but I still enjoy trying new things.

One of my many piles of recipes to test out

I have been collecting recipes for years and have quite a stash saved up. In fact, I have been copying recipes every sunday night at my aunts house for several weeks now. I have recently been thinking that it is about time that I actually start making some of these. I know that not all will be winners but it should be a fun adventure trying them out.

My goal is to make a couple of new recipes a month and post whether or not they are successful (in my opinion). I hope everyone will enjoy this journey with me. Just a heads up....if you are looking for seafood recipes you will NOT find them here :)

Reading Check in

2011-03-01T19:00:00.001-07:00

Just a quick check in for everyone participating in my blog book club. How are you doing? You still have a little over a month to read it. I am excited to discuss this one with everyone. For anyone new out there we are reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. We will have a blog post/discussion at the beginning of April.

Chicken Tikka Masala

2011-02-20T16:43:00.005-07:00

I admit it, I'm a blog stalker. I have several sites that I follow on a daily basis and one of them is The Pioneer Woman. I especially love the recipes. I was so excited one day as I was looking through past posts to find a recipe for ChickenTikka Masala. I have had this before and really enjoyed it so I thought I would tackle it at home. For some reason I thought this would be more difficult than it really is. For the step by step instructions check it out by clicking here. The following is the short version:

Ingredients

3 whole (to 4) Chicken Breasts
Kosher Salt
Ground Coriander
Cumin, To Taste
½ cups Plain Yogurt
6 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Large Onion
4 cloves Garlic
1 piece (approximately 2 Inches) Chunk Fresh Ginger
Garam Masala
1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes
Sugar
1-½ cup Heavy Cream
2 cups Basmati Rice
_____
OPTIONAL:
Fresh Cilantro
Chili Peppers
Turmeric
Frozen Peas

Preparation Instructions

Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with some kosher salt. Next sprinkle them on both sides with some coriander and cumin. Then coat the chicken breasts completely with the plain yogurt. Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and place it about 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side. Watch carefully so as not to totally char the chicken. It should have slightly blackened edges. Remove from oven.

Next dice one large onion. In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. As the onions cook, mince your garlic. Next, cut off the outer skin and mince or grate a 1 by 2 inch chunk of fresh ginger. Add the garlic and ginger to the onions. Also throw in about 1 tablespoon of s

alt.

Next you are going to add about 3 tablespoons Garam Masala spice. And if you like it hot, this is also when you will add your hot chili peppers. Serranos work well. Now you are going to add your can of diced tomatoes. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add about 1 tablespoon sugar. Let this mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes.

To a rice cooker add 2 cups Basmati rice, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Ground Turmeric and 4 cups water. Cover, turn on your

rice cooker and walk away. If you do not have a rice cooker, cook your rice as usual but make sure that you use Basmati rice.

After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, add in the 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. Now, chop up your chicken breasts into chunks and stir them into the Tikka Masala sauce. A handful of chopped fresh cilantro is a nice addition if you like cilantro. You can also throw some frozen peas into the cooked rice, give them a stir, and allow the heat of the rice to cook the peas. It tastes great and gives another nice dash of color. Ser

ve the rice with the Chicken Tikka Masala over top. Make sure to have some Nann bread handy, too.

Here are some things I learned in the process of making this dish.

First of all, this recipe makes quite a bit. If there are 3 or less people eating you may consider cutting the recipe in half.

Second, Garam Masala is not as easy to find as you would imagine. If you live in Utah County

let me save you the trouble I went through to find it. After checking out over a half a dozen stores I finally found it at Good Earth, the heath food store on State Street in Orem.

Lastly, Turmeric stains just saying....

So I give this recipe a two thumbs up and will be adding this to my "keeper" file.

Becky's Book Club

2011-02-07T19:10:00.001-07:00

Growing up with both my parents as elementary teachers there were a few things I was destined to enjoy. I have a small obsession with office supplies and I love to read! Reading is one of my favorite hobbies. The best part to me is imagining what the characters and places look like. I get into the story and create my own mental movie as I go.

I used to be part of a great neighborhood book club. We read all kinds of books and we were very consistent for years. Here is just a sampling of the books we read:

The Devil’s Arithmetic
Tuck Everlasting
Pride & Prejudice
Ender’s Game
The Alliance
Scarlet Pimpernel
Across Five Aprils
Holes
I Capture the Castle
The Great Divorce
The Westing Game
The #1 Ladies Detective Agency
Stillwatch
The Importance of Being Earnest
Skipping Christmas
The Da Vinci Code
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Jane Eyre
Eragon
The Secret Life of Bees
The Hiding Place
Cheaper by the Dozen
How to Hug a Porcupine
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Peace Like a River
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Flipped
Princess Bride
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Midnight For Charlie Bone
Walk Two Moons
The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands
#2 Ladies Detective Agency
Eat Cake
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
These Is My Words
A Girl Named Zippy
1776
The Peacegiver
Running with Angels
Step, Ball, Change
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Chosen

There were always people coming and going but we had a core group that made it nearly every month. As time went on families began to move out and it made it harder for everyone to get together. We worked at it for another year or so but finally our little book club came to an end.

My current ward tried to do a book club but it never got off the ground so I have decided to start my own club. Since it is difficult to impossible to get everyone together in person this will be a web club. If there is enough interest I will set up a separate book club blog but for now it will be handled from this one.

The book I have chosen for our first read is:

I have decided that we will start off by reading/discussing every other month. You have until the end of March to finish this one. I will post again the beginning of April to discuss it with questions etc.
I hope that this format will work out as I am envisioning. Please feel free to give any suggestions that you might have as well as titles for future reads.
Happy reading!!

My favorite thing January

2011-01-31T19:00:00.001-07:00

Several years ago my mom and I went to Atlanta to see BYU play Georgia Tech for my birthday. They didn’t actually play because of my birthday, wouldn’t that have been awesome….but I digress. I had never been there before so we went to some of the touristy sites while we were in town including the underground, CNN, Olympic Park and of course a Braves game.
One random place we toured was the Coca-Cola museum/store. Now anyone that knows anything about my mom knows that she was a diehard Pepsi gal so I was kind of surprised with the suggestion but mom was also a teacher so anything remotely educational (even in a trivial manner) was not far off her radar.
We took the tour which wasn’t all that exciting to me until we got to the sampling room. This place was amazing. They had fountains shooting different Coke products on the wall and then there were self serve fountain stations all around. There was the standard Coke, Diet Coke, etc that you usually think of but they also had drinks from around the world. Some of them were just down right nasty. I actually watched some guy totally make his wife drink one that was horrible telling her it was the best one and she had to try it. She pounds it back only to spew it all over. I admit it, I laughed, I laughed hard.
At this same fountain of refreshment I tried one called Birch Beer. It is like a root beer. I fell in love!! Now the folks at Coke think they are clever by putting out these tiny cups for sampling, well not so smart my friends. I had cup after cup of it.
As soon as we got back home I called up the local Coca-Cola distributor and asked where I could find some of my new favorite drink and you know what they told me? It wasn’t carried in this part of the country. I was so disappointed . I find something totally wonderful only to be denied. I kept my eye out for awhile at the store just in case I had somehow overlooked but gave up after awhile.
Fast forward to last week. My friend Emily and I went to dinner in American Fork. She was given some gift certificates at work to a place called DP Cheesesteaks so we decided to give it a try. Since neither of us had been there before we took a few minutes to go over the menu and decide what we want. As I am waiting to order, I glance over at the counter where all the sandwich fixings are and notice a line of bottles. The first thing I see is a Jackson Hole Huckleberry Soda (another mighty fine beverage) and then what do my eyes behold but Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer! I am thinking to myself this must be a dream. It wasn’t, right in front of me were bottles of my drink I never thought I would have again. I grabbed a bottle and said to the guy at the register, “I have to have this!” He tells me OK but they have it on tap at the fountain too if I would prefer that. Are you kidding me?!? I am not sure how many refills I ended up getting, I lost count.

Sorry Coca-Cola you missed out on my business but I will definitely be going back to DP Cheesesteak for no other reason than to get some more Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer.

Sick and Tired

2011-01-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

No really....I have been so sick and tired. I spent the majority of last week home in bed only leaving to go to the doctors, the pharmacy and a trip to the bank. BLEH! My neighbors are mostly likely sick and tired too, of listening to me cough all night long. To make matters worse, it is not your average cough but the seal "bark" variety. You've got to love that one.

Armed with drugs, rubs, throat lozenges, etc I sat in bed and watched more TV this week that I saw all last year.

As if being sick wasn't bad enough my furnace decided to be fickle on whether it wanted to start. I finally had it on Friday morning when I thought I was going to freeze to death (OK it wasn't that cold but I am sick, remember? :) ). Luckily I was able to find a company to come take a look at it same day. After replacing the ignition coil, cleaning the sensor and putting in the new filter I bought but couldn't get to fit, it works like a champ, an old Champ, that has been holding strong for almost 14 years now. Let's just say that was not exactly what I was hoping to spend money on this week. At least I have heat and won't have to worry about coming home from work to frozen pipes some night. Never have I been so excited to see a blue glow from the closet before as I was to see the gas jets ablaze.

Another real downer to the whole sick experience is that nothing tasted good. I couldn't eat anything for several days and when I did want something my throat was so sore it felt like I was eating glass with every swallow. I have consumed more chicken broth, apple juice and water than one really should in five days.

I don't think I will really get a redo on the first full week of 2011 so let's put it behind us and move forward. Here's to a better and healthier new year!

Welcoming in 2011

2011-01-01T18:04:00.006-07:00

I am so excited for a new year. I'll be honest this past year was not the best for me. I have high hopes that this year will be better.

I have a few things I am looking forward to this year already:

1. I get to go to the happiest place on earth, no not Lavell Edwards Stadium (although we all know I will be there several times this year), Disneyland!

2. I am participating in Utah's Tour de Cure again this year. Last year I rode 25 miles on my first ride. I am planning to ride 65 miles this year. Crazy I know but that is the goal. It was such a great experience that I am actually on the Utah committee this year. I work with a wonderful group of people and I am excited at the potential for this event.

3. I am volunteering for my cousin and her husbands Ragnar team. There is no way I could run it this year and I am pretty sure they wouldn't want me on there team anyway since I am so slow. I don't really know what I will be doing yet because I don't get my assignment until May. I am really looking forward to seeing what this crazy overnight race is all about.

4. Hobblecreek Half in August ...can I do it? This is my current delima. I need to make this decision soon because it will take me from now until August to train for it.

This past year I ran in 3, yes count them 3, 5k races. They were the Freedom Run, Lavender Run and the Cougar Run. My times were far from stellar but I completed every race and I was not last. The best part was that my time improved every race. I also participated in the first ever Dirty Dash for Utah which is a 10k mud run. It was completely nuts. I had a great time with my cousins in laws who were my team members.

5. Hopefully a trip to Jackson Hole.

6. Lastly, there is a slim and I mean slim hope of cheering on the cougars in Hawaii this December. This is largely dependant on money that I don't have at the moment so we will see on this one.

Well there will surely be more things to look forward to that I am not even aware of yet. Bring on the new year!

Testing

2010-11-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Just testing to see if this works from my phone. Only problem is the font is so tiny

Still alive

2010-09-24T13:53:00.002-06:00

I just thought I would post a quick note to say that I am still alive...however my computer isn't. As soon as I am able to get a new one I will get back to posting.

Upcoming events:

Tonight Lion King the musical
Sept 25th: 10K Mud Run

Missing Micco

2010-07-25T13:48:00.009-06:00

July 3rd 2010 about 11:00 p.m. my roommate and little buddy of almost 13 years passed away. I knew it was coming but it didn't make things any easier. I am so grateful I was home with him and he didn't have to die alone. I feared every night coming home from work to find out he was gone. I never realized how much I talked to him until these past few weeks of not having him here, I really miss him.

Run through Lavender

2010-07-25T13:16:00.006-06:00

Monday July 5th I ran my first 5K, Tuesday July 6th I sign up for my second one..that coming Saturday.

Saturday July 10th Mona Utah, I take a run through the lavender.

Young Living farms Lavender Festival starts out with a morning 5k run through the lavender fields, ok it is more like a run around the fields but you get the picture. A beautiful setting but not really geared for 1000 runners and certainly not the numerous jogging strollers that were present.

Official Chip Time= 48:13

Running

2010-07-25T12:32:00.005-06:00

I have been determined to run a 5K for several years now. I hadn't done much about it until last year. I was training for the Freedom Festival Run on the 4th of July when a few weeks before I twisted my ankle really bad and had to be on crutches with no weight on the ankle. I could barely walk on the 4th let alone do the run...so much for 2009. Fast forward about 6 months.

I came across a fundraising bike ride for the American Diabetes Association called the Tour de Cure. The Utah ride takes place in Brigham City in June. They have a 25, 60 and 100 mile ride you can choose from. I decided that I had to do this to raise money for all the diabetic members of my family, not to mention I fear I will test positive myself at some point. I didn't even have a bike so I worked out in the club house. With the bike training in mind I was alternating biking and running the treadmill. I said to myself "Becky, since you are running anyway you can do the 5k this year!" So the training for both began. I committed to both the Tour de Cure 25 mile route and the Freedom Run 5k. Now I know that to those exercise pros out there neither of these distances are a big challenge but I knew it was going to take a lot of work to accomplish both.

Monday July 5th 5:30 a.m. My alarm goes off and I wake up thinking you have got to be kidding me, I can't do this. I get up and shower (yes I know this is completely pointless, I did it anyway) and get ready in some running gear, grab my Ipod, hat and head out.

6:25 a.m. I park in law building parking lot at BYU with other runners and get out to head over to my starting line. As I am getting my shoes tied and hat on I overhear a conversation about my running number needing to be on the front of your shirt. Of course, mine is on the back, stupid rookie! I quickly work to get it unpinned and replace it on the front.

6:40 a.m. I am at the starting area and I am looking for my pace flag....they don't have one for a 20 minute mile :( I am now back in the walkers/baby stroller line.

6:50 a.m. I am standing among a couple thousand other runners listening to the National Anthem while watching the balloons go up from Fox field in the background, oh I wish I had my camera right now.

7:00 a.m. Ready, Set, GO! wait...walk...wait..walk OK now GO! I am off and running, I am getting passed by people with jogging strollers and even a few walkers but I am still going. I must admit I did have to walk a few times but I ran most of it.

7:50 a.m. I round the last corner and head into Kwanis park and the finish line. There are people lining both sides of the road cheering on all the runners, my cousin Melissa this there taking pictures and is right before the finish line. I cross the timing mat I DID IT, I completed my first 5K. I proudly take my finishers metal and look for my cousins Monica and Mary who ran the 10K. Wow what an accomplishment I finished it and I wasn't last.

Official Chip Time= 48:49

Mary, Monica, Me

photos copied from Monica's blog

View Photos from Utah Tour de Cure

2010-06-16T22:54:00.000-06:00

View Photos from Utah Tour de Cure

Training update

2010-04-21T22:03:00.005-06:00

I have been training for the Tour de Cure bike event for almost 3 months now. I will be riding 25 miles on June 12th in Brigham City. Just this past Monday I pedaled 16 miles in 45 minutes. Not only am I happy about that accomplishment, but I have lost 30 pounds (20 since starting to train) through this process. What a great way to support this cause as well as help prevent diabetes in myself.

I am so excited that the weather is trying to warm up a bit, present weather excluded. My cousin Stephanie is graciously loaning me her bike for outside training and the actual event. It really helps to have a bike when participating in an event such as this :)

I want to thank all the awesome people that are sponsoring me so far. My goal is $480.00. I know this sounds like an odd amount but it is 10 dollars for every year of my dad's life. So far with everyones generosity I have raised $400.00 so I am just $80.00 short of my target. With 7 weeks to go I know I can make my goal!

For more information click here: Tour de Cure.

(Make that $30.00 shy of my goal, thanks so much for your donations!)

What makes a great blog?

2010-03-21T19:41:00.003-06:00

(picture courtesy of Lynley Dowdle)
I have been contemplating lately what makes a great blog. I have had mine for a while now and I haven't always been consistent with it. I have been out a camera for a few months and to me that is half the fun of blogging. I am a very visual person and I like to see things whether it be a recipe, craft, family story, you name it, so, I assume everyone is like me and doesn't want to just read boring posts all the time. (This problem will be rectified shortly as I purchased a new camera this week)

The other thing holding me back is my ability or should I say lack of ability to write well. I read other peoples blogs and they seem to be able to express themselves in a way that I am not able to. I don't feel like I can adequately comunicate my thoughts in writing.

For anyone out there that my still keep up with this blog, what makes a great blog to you. You know the ones that you can't wait to log on and read, hoping it has been updated since you read it yesterday. What are the elements that draw you to it?

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

2010-03-10T21:51:00.002-07:00

Tonight I went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and got myself one of my favorite treats. I bought a chocolate covered caramel apple. My favorite kind is called the Avalanche but so far I have only been able to find this particular one at the Provo RMCF. Oh sure, there are other great kinds out there..snickers, rocky road, reeses but the Avalanche is the one for me. Is it wrong to eat a caramel apple for lunch? I hope not because that is exactly what I plan on doing with it tomorrow :)

Tour de Cure

2010-03-09T21:31:00.003-07:00

For anyone who tunes in just for photos I hate to disappoint but I don't have any. My camera officially died a few weeks ago and a new camera is still a couple of weeks away. To anyone still left reading....I am participating in Tour de Cure in June. It is an annual bike ride fundraising event for the American Diabetes Association. There is a 25, 60 and 100 mile course to ride along with a family fun mile. I am going for the 25 mile adventure, 60 is pushing my athletic skills which are basically non-existent at the moment. I actually have been very good about going to work out the past few weeks. I switch off riding the bike and running on the tread mill.

Christmas memories

2009-12-05T10:48:00.004-07:00

Last night or rather early this morning as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I watched the Christmas lights from my Great Grandma's little tree and listened to Christmas carols. I was remembering many Christmas memories and traditions I had growing up in Bountiful. I couldn't believe how many I was able to think of and saddened at the same time because very few traditions are still practiced.

What ever happened to Christmas Caroling? I am not talking about the singles ward FHE group getting together to sing a few songs at the "Old Folks Home". Do people actually walk around neighborhoods and sing? I can't sing to save my life but I remember going out with people from my ward and walking around the neighborhoods talking, freezing, throwing snowballs and singing a song or two.

We also had some great neighbors that lived in the circle (the cul-de-sac) right across from our house. They would make a big bon fire in the circle and they would have tables with hot chocolate and treats, what a great time we would have.

Even the year we visited Nana and Papa in Hawaii we had not one but two groups of carolers. The college kids would ride on the back of flat bed trucks and drive around caroling.

I say bring back the Carolers!

Not only is it a fun thing to do but you never know who's spirits might be lifted by hearing you.

Still Alive....Barely

2009-12-05T00:34:00.003-07:00

For the 6 of you that read this I am still alive. I don't know where to start so here are the highlights:

My last day of work was Oct 30 and I am still unemployed

Saw New Moon and attended a New Moon Experience/Concert

I have been and currently am sick....again

Survived this years BYU/UofU game, good thing the Cougs won it in overtime

Decorated a small tree in "Santa's Workshop" A.K.A my spare bedroom

Hairstyle makeover

2009-09-03T21:32:00.010-06:00

Howdy all, long time no type.

Have you ever watched one of those style makeover shows and thought I would really like to "fix" someone? Well, now is your chance. I am in desperate need of help with my hair and I have decided to let you my public help. Please e-mail me a picture of a hairstyle and color that you think would look good on me. I will post the entries here for all to enjoy. The winner will receive a prize :)

(As you can see, help is needed ASAP!)

Style 1

Style 2

Style 3

Style 4 (color of style 6)

Style 5 (color of style 6)

Style 6

Style 7

Style 8

Style 9

Style 10

Style 11

Style 12

Style 13

WANTED

2009-08-01T22:07:00.003-06:00

This one will be short and sweet...

I need these!

I have tried them once and actually seen them on two occasions but when I went to buy some for myself, no luck. If you have seen

Coconut M&M's

please let me know where you found them.

Collin Davyce

2009-07-26T20:26:00.002-06:00

Welcome to the family

Happy birthday to

Collin

who was born on

July 24th

I am so excited for you to join our family. I can't wait to see you in person.

Thanks to Lauren and Brian for providing the photo and the subject :)

I hope all goes well and that he can come home from the hospital soon.

S is for Stampin'

2009-07-01T23:24:00.002-06:00

Check out my new blog http://sisforstampin.blogspot.com . This blog is dedicated to my adventures as a Stampin' Up demonstrator. I will be posting projects with supply lists, photos and instructions. I hope you will check it out.

Still Alive

2009-07-01T21:17:00.002-06:00

For the 6 of you read this...yes I am still alive. I have been really busy lately, including being our wards Girls Camp director. We just went last week so I will be posting more on that shortly.

State #19

2009-05-01T17:30:00.001-06:00

As many of you know I am on a quest to visit all 50 states. Many of you also know that my cousin Monica has been living in Oregon while Grant is attending Law school. Well,I had the chance to go up to Oregon at the end of March to visit along with two of Grant's sisters. Not only did I have a great time but I can mark off state number 19. It was a short trip but we packed in a whole bunch of fun stuff. Since a picture is worth a thousand words I thought I would post some of the highlights for you.

Eliot with Aunt Lesa (Grant's sister)

Eliot and I

Eliot was really excited to get out of the car. Man, if he only knew what the next few days would bring.

OK, I requested that we go to the Tulip festival which conveniently started the day I got there. I was so excited because I love flowers

Monica is modeling her new shoes

There were some displays of Tulips around the activity area, aren't they pretty?

Grant riding the pipe slide

Lesa and Eliot making some shoes

More displays, I can't wait to see the fields

They had a little windmill just Eliot's size. He even made several attempts to get in.

Hum...so here are the Tulip fields. I am sure that a week or two after these were beautiful but this was our experience. Yep that is right, they took our money (luckily it was just 5 dollars a car) and turned us loose to look a a bunch of green stems. So you will have to imagine what it would look like in full bloom.

Willamette Campus

Aquarium

Grantica and Moosie inside a fish tank

Tori about to pet a shark.

Eliot loved this little play area.

Girls , I don't have time to sit here and take pictures.

Lunch by the sea

We were hoping to see some whales but no luck. We still had this beautiful view to look at while we stopped to eat.

This is running here in Salt Lake right now and I tried to get tickets. I stood in line for hours and froze then I tried to order them online. I thought I had them but the system overloaded and I got booted off the ticket site never to get back on until they were sold out. Monica called me one day about a month before the trip to tell me that she had just happened on a site that said Wicked was playing in Portland and wanted to know if that was something I might be interested in doing while I was there visiting if she could still get tickets. Are you kicking me?!? I was so excited. Monica checked and they had plenty and might I add they were cheaper than here too. I had waited a long time to see it and it was worth the wait! I wasn't disappointed at all. I would tell you what happens but that would be WICKED.

We set out for the coast again on Friday but we had to stop at this place called Otis. What you see is what you get. They had about 5 tables and a counter. I think the max capacity was 45 (on a good day). It was misting so we were all waiting on the porch for our table. That is right, there is no waiting area inside, either you stand on the porch or you wait in your car for your table. As you can see from the picture below, Eliot wasn't a fan of the waiting in the car plan. Don't worry he made many loops around the post office right next door. It was about the same size building.

C is for Cookie

2009-05-01T16:48:00.003-06:00

If there is anyone out there with a sweet tooth be sure to check this out:

FYI- I have not recently joined a drill team, like one would ever let me. This is to help out Alta High Drill.

DRILL TEAM COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER!

Please help me raise money for my drill team, and enjoy a delicious treat at the same time:)

Please help me by purchasing some delicious gourmet cookie dough. Each box contains 48 pre-formed cookies (3 lbs.) It can be frozen for up to one year, and it comes in many delicious flavors: Chocolate Chunk, Peanut Butter, Snicker doodle, Oatmeal Raisin, M & M, Double Chocolate Brownie, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut. Hurry go ask your mom! Oh yeah it's a really good deal for only 15 dollars a box! :) E-mail me or call me right away if you are interested!

Please click here for full details

Coming soon to a computer screen near you

2009-04-17T20:15:00.002-06:00

For the six of you that read this I have not fallen off the earth. I am working on a post of my recent trip to Oregon. Since I am the only person in the free world still using dial up internet it you have to understand that it takes FOREVER to load pictures.

Newest Family Member

2009-03-17T02:51:00.009-06:00

Introducing........

Madelyn

A.K.A Raffi

born March 11th

I was so excited with a call on Wednesday night telling me that Madelyn had finally arrived. Mary and Scott decided not to find out the gender of their baby before it was born, did that ever add some extra excitement. I had a feeling it would be a girl and I was right...for once.

I can't wait to visit and see this little one in person.

Congratulations to Mary & Scott and welcome to our family Madelyn!

Skiing anyone??

2009-03-08T21:04:00.006-06:00

I few months ago BYU was offering some 2 day for 1 day ski passes to Snowbird. I bought two of them but I am not going to be able to use them this year... so my lose could be your gain. I have two 2 for 1 day passes to be used this season. Each 2 day for 1 day pass is $72.00. If you or anyone you know would be interested in buying these passes please let me know by Saturday March 14th.

New Favorite Site

2009-02-27T19:54:00.003-07:00

I was invited to be a "friend" by my cousins daughter on a website I have never been to before. It is the bookworm version of Facebook. You can list the books you have read, are currently reading and books you have on your to-read list. You can write your own review of the books and give them a 1 to 5 rating. You can invite others to be your friend. You can see what others are reading, comment on their books, etc.

You can join online book clubs or find groups that meet in person through here. If you want you can get in on one of the reading challenges that someone periodically has. One of my favorite features is a section where you can enter giveaways for new books. Publishers giveaway copies of their soon to be or recently released books on this site. They are hoping you will read it (love it, of course) and write a raving review of their literary genius. The big disclaimer here is that they don't give you much of a write up on the books so you are hoping for the luck of the draw on getting a good book. I won a book giveaway already and I am just waiting for it to come in the mail.

So I know you are all either thinking..wow Becky is a bigger geek than I thought OR this sounds like the greatest site ever, I would love to check it out! What is this site that has it all and a bag of chips??

Goodreads.com

If anyone wants to be my Goodreads friend let me know :)