wherever the wild wind blows.

saturday and my quest for a donut pan.

2012-02-12T23:37:00.003-07:00

okay guys, remember how i said i was going to take a picture every day of 2012? fail. the topics got suuuuper lame... like "button" and "sun". no thanks. too much work. oh, and over half of my pictures from my phone got deleted. boo! i don't even know where they went, but it cut me deep. anyways, i'm sorry to all my picture a day fans out there... but not really. i could probably count you on one hand.

ANYWAYS. want to know how my saturday was? wonderful. thanks for asking.
i made oatmeal and discovered the best combination!! while your oats are cooking, mash half a banana into your oats, add a dash of cinnamon and a little coconut milk. eat it with sliced bananas and a dollop of peanut butter, which gets all melted in and delicious. it is wonderful

i went to spin. remember how i talked about my gem of a spin teacher, rona, the walking talking tabloid who wears fake hair pieces to class? believe it.

i grocery shopped and bought myself vday chocolate. it's my favorite past-time, lately, actually. i could sit in the chocolate aisle for days picking one out, but this one was a good choice.

i went to the bball game! byu creamed pepperdine. i took no pics because my phone was busy being dead. then hailey came to town from slc! we played around and burrito-toasted at mountain west burrito. man, that place makes a good vegan burrito. (vegan week is still going strong, my friends... but i miss eggs. and yogurtland.)

afterwards i told her about my 21 things list and she agreed to help me out. we decided on the donut activity. don't worry that we spent the next hour going to FIVE different stores looking for a donut pan. at 8:55 i called michael's crafts to see if they had one in stock... success! but they were closing in five minutes. i sped. we ran inside and they turned off the lights on me. i found the pan, though AND used my 40% off coupon. victory is sweet.

we made vegan donuts. so wonderful. i gave them away. they were appreciated.

we played bananagrams with more friends. we watched larry crowne and i fell asleep, so i naturally had to watch it again today while i painted my fingernails all festive-like.
you'll have to wait for that one, though.
listen to this in the meantime.

vegan wednesday woot woot

2012-02-08T21:41:00.002-07:00

so remember how i'm being vegan this week? it's fun. it's kind of normal... okay it's not that normal but i like it. i figured people out there might be wondering "what the heck does vegan alyssa eat?!"

alright, maybe you don't really care that much, but if you do, well... consider all myths dispelled.

it was an early morning. i made these pancakes that were the. bomb. probably because i finally bought real maple syrup, which is probably laced with gold, but totally worth it. it reminded me of the time i was at britni's 12th birthday party. her mom made us WHOLE WHEAT pancakes with REAL maple syrup. i wanted to barf. it was so.... natural and healthy. i wanted my golden griddle syrup. now i am just thinking, "wow, you stupid 12 year old girl!" anyways, the recipe can be found here, and i used almonds instead of walnuts.

lunch came and i ate this huge salad beast in my car. it looks small, but don't be fooled, people. it was in a huge popcorn bowl. in the mix? red leaf lettuce, half a head of broccoli, half an avocado, a whole cup of chickpeas (i just can't help myself), salsa, a couple almonds, and salt and pepper. it. was. awesome.

dinner was foraged from my backyard! just kidding, i made it. joy the baker liked it, so i figured i would too... its toasted kale and coconut over farro. so good. so good! the recipe is here if you're feeling adventurous... but too bad it didn't fill me up and i had to wash it down with more chickpeas.

so there you have it. consider yourselves educated on my eating habits! throw in an apple, orange, and copious amounts of trailmix, and you know exactly what is in my stomach.

happy wednesday.

photo a day(s) 33-42

2012-02-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

you thought i'd forgotten about photo a day, huh?! well, i was in boise this weekend, so it got put on the backburner. but it's back and ready to attack! onward.

29. inside your fridge. notice my staples: alternative milks and cinnamon swirl raisin bread. mmmmmm

30. nature. okay folks, this stuff is super natural and smells like straight up almond extract. i'm in love

31. you, again. hi- this is me pre-ski. post-ski is a scary look.

32. your view. environmental science every wednesday... three cheers for cinderblock walls!

33. words. i had some choice words for this traffic jam situation as i was trying to skip town!

34. hands.

35. a stranger. nothing like a little late night wendy's... or the token fast food fam. that baby had some serious pipes and she knew how to use them.

and there you have it! in other news, remember this? i've got just a little over two months to complete it all! this week i'm being completely vegan. it's real exciting... more on that later. i'm off to do some more home-workin! hasta pasta

hygge.

2012-01-31T08:14:00.002-07:00

not a typo, i'm just learning some danish.

via

i read a cool article on npr yesterday. it talked about the danes,and how despite living in one of the coldest climates ever with the leastsunlight, they are among some of the happiest. according to the article, theirhappiness is derived from this sense of "hygge" (pronounced hYOOguh),the people tend to feel. hygge is described as "cozy", but the typeof cozy that is"fireplace warmth with candles and family and friends andfood, tucked under blankets on a snowy day, cup-of- coffee conversation,scarf-snuggle, squiggly, warm baby love." sign me up. hyggeembodies the danes lifestyle as they take things slow, make time for people,and don't get too caught up in the everyday living. i read an article formy living prophets class last night by deiter f. uchtdorf that made me think alittle more about the sense of "hygge" it is entitled, "ofthings that matter most", and when he says that, "love isspelled T I M E", well, that struck a chord with me. making time for god,your family, your fellow man, and yourself. that is what matters most.

this sounds like a research paper. bear with me.

i keep having this recurring dream that i take my family to spain.(except for last night. last night i dreamed that two of my friends were bothdating justin beiber. that two-timer!) we stay with my host family. they lookaround bleary eyed as we chat in spanish. i have a helluva time getting tospain because i keep losing my passport, id, yadda yadda. anyway, every time idream this dream i have this sense of "hygge". it rolls my favoritethings, family, spain, quality time, all into one. these are the thoughts ilike to dwell upon when life slows down, when it doesn't, and when itshould.

"There is a beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity thatwe sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions."-Deiter F. Uchtdorf

this week i am going to make a conscious effort to live in myhygge, even if that just means waking up 2 hours earlier than i need to,simply to make breakfast, sit under a blanket in the quiet, and enjoy.

sunday morning.

2012-01-29T08:24:00.004-07:00

the other day i got a phone call from a girl who currently lives in my old apartment. "hi... uh, alyssa? i'm just calling from liberty square because we got a package for you from china today...." at this point i got really excited and exclaimed, "MY LENSCAP!" right in her ear. she was probably confused. i told her i'd come get it. you see, about 2 months ago i lost my lens cap. i'm cheap, and those suckers are not! what is there to do, you might ask? ebay it! ebay solves all problems. there i found a nikon lens cap for .99 and hit "buy now" before the page had even finished loading (and obviously before checking my address...) the last two months have been a waiting game. i seriously thought china had forgotten about me/ scammed me, but i wasn't too worried about getting gypped out of .99 cents, so when i got that call it was like christmas day.

getting my lens cap reminded me about this special camera i have. this morning i photographed breakfast because i have been eating it for a week straight. you really should make it. forget sunday dinner, caramelize some bananas!

caramelized banana toast
inspired by pinterest

2 pieces cinnamon raisin bread
1 T almond butter
1 banana, sliced
honey
cinnamon
raisins

preheat oven to 350. spread almond butter (or pb) on toast, top with banana slices, drizzle of honey, sprinkle of cinnamon, and raisins. cook for 10 minutes, then turn on broil and cook 2 more minutes. cut. plate. count to 30 so you don't burn your mouth off.

have a great sabbath!

photo of the day(s) 22- 28

2012-01-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

january is almost past. (thank you heaven above)

don't let the above picture fool you. if you follow me on twitter you'll know yesterday i was all stoked on getting up and skiing after work since class was cancelled. yeah, i went.... on two runs. and then i went home. the mountain was a straight up sheet of ice! i feel like i would have had better luck if i'd have brought a pair of ice skates rather than strapped on those skis of death. an hour later i was back in provo running 15 400 m sprints... because my obvious death of choice is by treadmill, not "falling off a mountain" as my mom would say. (mom, when i was [this] close to falling off the mountain all i could hear was your voice)

on to the pictures of the week!

22- your shoes. hey, best christmas gift of my life boots!

23- something old. okay, so there are a lot of "old" things here, ie my ancient 3 year old macbook with alzheimers aka no battery life, but what i want to direct your attention to is the fact that my table has no power so i have to drape my power cord aross the walkway to another table's plug. classy, byu!

24- guilty pleasure. i went to zuppas and bought tomato soup. i felt like i was cheating on my immersion blender.

25- something you made. a shload of copies at work!

26- something colorful. funny story here- a dentist office gave our office a "groundhog's day" basket. in it? stickers, pencils, groundhog figurines, and a six lb bag of gummybears. if getting presents is what groundhog's day brings i don't care if phil sees his shadow!

27- lunch. do not be fooled- this is no ordinary salad in no ordinary popcorn bowl sized dish. leftover salad from brick oven office meeting + raspberry vinaigrette (both words i can never spell on the first try)+ almonds = welcome to my lunchbreak life

28- light. or lack, thereof in my apartment. sometimes i dream of a huge kitchen with big bay windows and no winter lighting. if wishes were fishes!

monday

2012-01-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

today i was sitting and thinking about granada and the alhambra. (pictured above) my spanish literature class makes me wanderlusty because my teacher is always showing us pictures of spain and then i get anxious because everyone in that class has flawless spanish and i usually feel like belong more in a spanish kindergarten than three credits away from a minor. (!!!!) i try to follow e. roosevelt's mantra of "do one thing every day that scares you"... but i am beginning to wonder what exactly that does to a person's blood pressure over time.

its snowing/raining and my plant is dead. january! who do you think you are!!
this weekend was a weekend of dreaming. winter is always a catalyst for my a. stir-craziness and b. my pastime of hypothetical situation planning aka WHAT am i DOING with my LIFE.
lately i'm really good at putting my brain into what i like to call "advance planning mode"... the daydreaming state i lock myself into during relief society (always) or dull moments of work where i decide on some far fetched but somewhat attainable goal, then painstakingly go through every single to-do that must be accomplished to get there. travel is always involved... how to finance that travel is always hanging overhead. the life of a student! it is both exhilarating and confusing. (kind of like the brown boots i wore today with predominantly black everything else. or like changing into workout clothes while driving through the snow. this is my life.)
til then, i will just wait for the chips to fall and continually edit and re-edit pictures. and keep a watchful eye out for cheap plane tickets. :)

pizzeria 712.

2012-01-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

provo has a lot of restaurants. this one is the best. last night one of my pals wanted to do something. he suggested rock climbing and food. i said i was lazy and i wanted cafe rio. we ended up here.

best decision of the weekend made early! the place was full to the brim.... but then again, it's in a little bitty place.

there is no back kitchen. there are only a few employees. they make all the pizzas in that little fire oven in the picture. i fell in love immediately. our waiter.... may i call him danny? that was his name. anyways, he was so proper and helpful and earned every penny of tip. he brought us our menus and used all kinds of fancy food lingo i'd never heard before. gasp! i need to eat fancy more often.

we settled on two pizzas... the menu is ever changing, so i am not 100 percent on what we got, but i am pretty sure one was fancy tomato sauce with "house ricotta" (fancy) and basil, oregano, and topped with arugula. the other was roasted butternut squash with caramelized onions, rosemary, and subtly laced with crack. favorite! we ate and savored and i tried to be girlish and not eat my entire pizza. (i finished it in the car on the way home. ha!)

then they brought the dessert menu. we split this crazy good amano chocolate mousse thing that tasted like straight up heaven.

i can't forget the bathrooms, either. even the bathroom was fancy! oh no, there were no paper towels, but real linens. sustainable! delicious! beat still, my heart.

so do you need any more reason? go eat here, already... but make a reservation if you don't want to sit in the cold for half an hour. i really can't get over how good the experience it.... frankly, it makes malawi's look like mcdonald's.

fancy. did i say fancy enough, yet?

photo a day(s) 15-21

2012-01-21T09:11:00.001-07:00

welcome to this week's addition of my life through photo. sit down and put your feet up!

15- happiness. have you seen shiz mormons say? it's definitely a happy moment.

16- morning. this is how life plays out at work for me. i eat hummus and make lists... of things i want to eat and names for my children. awesome.

17- water. water water everywhere at sundance ski!

18- something you bought. this pineapple came in my bountiful basket. did i mention the fact that it is impossible to cut a pineapple without eating about half of it? guilty.

19- sweet. in all senses of the word, this banana chocolate smoothie concoction was SWEET in all senses of the word.

20- someone you love. pizza, unfortunately, isn't a "someone"... but the creator of pizzeria 712 is. yep, love him!

21- reflection. we don't have many reflective surfaces around ye old apt.... so a tv reflection is gonna have to work

the things in my head on this friday.

2012-01-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

via

sometimes you just need to wear a ponytail and not change it for 3ish days. 3rd day pony hair is where. it's. at.

i highly advise you to buy yourself some dried chickpeas, soak them overnight, then boil them for an hour and a half the next day. when the time is right, use this recipe for mindblowingly delicious hummus. forget vegetables, this stuff is good from spoon to mouth.

whenever i hear about SOPA i just want a steaming bowl of sopa.... like tomato sopa. and i wonder if the mexicans are really confused as to why the heck all the americas hate their sopa all of a sudden? (want in on the joke? sopa=soup in spanish. *lightbulb*)

wanderlust has hit me full force! MUST GO ON VACATION. this blog about packing doesn't help me one iota! nor coworkers telling me about their sixteen day florida vacations.

the homework just keeps coming, i tell you. so does the work! i am beginning to think i should just keep my sleeping back there for the days i work afterhours then the next morning too... saving on gas and an endless supply of hot chocolate in the breakroom? win win.

toasted cinnamon raisin bread topped with a slather of greek yogurt, drizzled honey, cinnamon, and banana slices. you're welcome.

snow in the mountains! i love it.... "in the mountains" being key words here, folks.

it is the weekend! the next two days are looking nice and empty. mmmmm freedom. oh, and did you notice the date? it's my 20 5/6 birthday today. i think that constitutes yogurtland or something. just 2 more months until 21. scary. you have a great one!

ah ski ski ski

2012-01-18T07:08:00.001-07:00

yesterday was tuesday. you know what that means? ski class! two hours of unadulterated time away from provo up at sundance frolicking in manmade snow. it doesn't get much better! you see that? that's me per kelsey's sweet iphone in skiing garb and i can't believe i haven't written all about it yet. (the skiing, not the spiffy iphone, although that's pretty awe-inducing, too) i mean, granted i've only been twice and there are children 1/4 of my age doing a heckuva lot trickier stuff than i am, but nonetheless i am learning and it is exciting.
i've got a wicked snow plow.
sometimes i can turn.
my toes are habitually numb. forever.
anybody up for a little weekday shred? i can't promise that they won't have to slow down the lift so i can get on in one piece, but i promise not to intentionally knock you over when we're getting off (or at least i will put forth my best effort)
oh, and would you pray for some snow to fall? i think that might enhance the experience, although i can't exactly complain about the shining sun.

more pictures. no ski trip is complete without a photo shoot, obviously.

photo a day(s) 8-14

2012-01-14T23:41:00.003-07:00

8. the sky. oh the grey january sky...

9. daily routine. i've been eating this chocolate every single day for a couple weeks- dark chocolate with sea salt... a heavenly combination. life altering!

10. childhood. look at me, just cheesing it up. life was good

11. where you sleep. i'm just real happy about those pillows!

12. close up. post workout sweaty bangs.

13. in your bag. you like that voodoo doll? it gets a lot of compliments. thanks, ma.

14. something you're reading. okay so i already finished it, but it was great.

i've been more or less MIA

2012-01-12T07:36:00.002-07:00

this post is going to be short because, well, it's basically either slap something up on the internet this morning or comb your hair for work and i can't seem to find a brush. it's fine, life is still good.
i forgot about the inner student inside of me. the one who likes to learn and takes notes but forgets to bring anything to write with to aforementioned classes on the daily. the jerk who sits at the left handed desk and makes everybody else squeeze on by me down the row if they want to sit somewhere in my proximity. sorry! we lefties are bad news.

school life is good. draining. mostly pretty enlightening and i am happy to be back. my major is cool. in environmental health yesterday we spent 2.5 hours discussing food borne illnesses and can i just say that all that talk about crypto and e.coli is enough to make you go veg? wash your hands, people. oh, and don't eat at subway if you aren't feeling like chancing it.

take a look at my AMARYLLIS! can you even believe it? it's beautiful! and about two feet tall! i have never in my life had a green thumb.... does a freeze-dried plant you just have to add water to count as being gardener-ish? i sure hope so because this thing is kind of my pride and joy. i speak of it as it is my child in daily conversation oh you should come over and see how big my amaryllis is... would you like to see a picture of my amaryllis? it just doesn't stop. i am thinking about putting some 3x5s in my wallet.

yesterday was kourtni's birthday. she is now 17. seventeen! birthday shout out to her. i love you, kourtni! girl's got a good smize, no?

speaking of love, last night for friend dinner i made this... and the heavens parted and the cherubs sang and spoonfed me. it was wonderful. i suggest this meal. i can hardly wait to eat the leftovers on my way to school from work today. tables? i never sit at them.

alright, been at this too long. looks like we won't be combing the hair or flossing this morning. it's aight! have a wonderful day.

picture a day 1-7

2012-01-07T19:51:00.002-07:00

buckle up, blogging buds, the time has come to start a photo journey through 2012! i saw this idea floating around twitter and thought it'd be fun to join in. i encourage you to do the same, even if you're a week late!

1- yours truly... in case you forgot what i look like with anime eyes.

2- breakfast! my favorite meal of the day. bagel thin, banana chocolate spread and bananas. mmm
3- i adore the boise river. and the greenbelt. and the beautiful weather.
4- letterbox. i promise i don't live in a haunted house?
5- i wear this every day thanks to linds and christmas presents! love it
6- lunch at chipotle and this friend are both things that make me smile. PERFECT DAY.
7- my new favorite... these shoes. drool
so school has started and blogging has definitely been put on the backburner. my days are crazy. i eat all my meals in cars or on my way across campus. i am already forgetting homework assignments and losing my mind a little, but life is good, and it snowed today so i am less worried about serious droughts come summer. oh my life. happy weekend!

the lorenzo's challege.

2012-01-03T15:21:00.001-07:00

school starts tomorrow! i can't hardly believe it. somebody hand me a paper bag!
i'm blogging from the airport... my plane decided to take a nap in spokane or something, so we get to chill here til it comes. meh.

can i just talk for one moment about how much i like my boise friends? on the real. they are the best... mostly because we only congregate around food, and today a mere lunch date turned into us meeting at a shady-ish pizza place called lorenzo's and deciding to complete our own "challenge"- the lorenzo's challenge! you know, like eating the big jud's one pounder, but a heckuva lot different and excluding all meat.

challenge: finish your piece of pizza.
challenge accepted and completed.
since we were more or less putting this plan into motion, we brought our own pictures to start lorenzo's very own wall of champions.

the owner was confused. we pulled out our scotch tape, scoped out a good wall spot, stuck those bad boys smack dab in the middle of it all (yep, that is definitely me at junior prom) and left. from the parking lot, we watched the owner go over to our table, check out our pictures, and just walk away. we fully expected here to rip them down and come running out the front door shaking her fists, but i think she dug the idea.

you're welcome, lorenzo's. we have started a revolution. so here is my spiel about lorenzo's- hit it up! it's delicious and the lady that owns it is nice and friendly and calls you by name... plus they have ice cream cones with names like "blue goo". sadly, i didn't indulge... but that doesn't mean skyler didn't. if for nothing else, go check and see if our pictures are still there! ... or better yet, take the challenge and add your own.

back to provo for the win!

**update. flight now delayed until 8. a five hour delay? my life rocks.

meet the cat.

2012-01-02T11:49:00.003-07:00

have i ever posted about the animal that took my place when i moved out? oh wait... he got run over. so this is the animal that replaced the animal that replaced me when i moved out.

he's most likely a member of the gay feline community. we're not homophobic
he drinks out of toilets and leaves his muddy pawprints on the seat....
and he has got a serious staring problem.

leo fritze + my dad = best friends forever.

buh bye to you, 2011!

2011-12-31T01:51:00.000-07:00

it's over! can you believe it? i remember last year's new years eve, watching the ball drop and wondering what exactly would go down in 2012. well past self, this is future self telling you that nope, not much changed! just another normal year filled with pretty normal stuff! granted, there were highlights and lowlights. there were moments for laughing and moments for wanting to punch somebody in the kidney. hard. a couple times i made really rad decisions.... and vise versa. you live! you learn! you smack yourself in the forehead and get over things.
i'm not making any resolutions this year. i'd going to do an experiment where my only resolution is to just keep living right- step out of myself and do something for somebody. eat vegetables. don't take myself to seriously. be patient.

oh, and remember my list? still going strong!

as for the year, here it is... in pictures.

i had great roommates and good pizza

i drove home in the middle of the night and surprised my family

i played with my friends in a foam pit

i burned stuff

i got glasses (and hardly even wore em)

i turned twenty and burned more stuff

i threw some chalk

we visited hailey in slc

we celebrated cinco de mayo and grew mustaches

i had sushi for the first time

we day tripped to park city

i ran the redrock relay in moab, ut

i worked a lot... and made wonderful work pals

i lived with more friends and had the most relaxing summer ever

i bummed at the pool

i met a famous guy. (payton... who is this?)

i grilled. and cooked

we went on vacation to california

a hefty chunk of my gal pals got married

i laid on the grass and stared at the sky

we went to concerts

and more concerts!

britni and i flew to colorado

i hung out with my cute colorado cousins (alliteration)

i made a mental note of coming back here....

i had a mini quarterlife crisis and dropped out of school and ran more relays!

more weddings!

general conference was attended on a whim (sweet parted bangs?)

a big chunk of cash was deposited on this new "investment"

i started learning how to take pictures

my pretty sisters were in homecoming court

lots of fall hikes happened

i discovered rock canyon park!

halloween came... i carved a masterpiece.

i celebrated with friends

christmas parties happened.

i went home for christmas and hung out with my nearest and dearest!

i knit

it has been a good year. thanks for the memories. here's to 2012 and the good it will bring.

thoughts for a wednesday.

2011-12-28T17:33:00.003-07:00

my sister got one of those mega-magnifying mirrors for christmas. can i just say that those things don't do a thing for a girl's self esteem? i mean, can you think of a single instance when you've walked away from finding hair in places you didn't even know existed anything less than a little bit scarred?

i've been tango-ing with liquid eyeliner... and i am learning very quickly that there is LITERALLY a very fine line between cat eye and drag queen.... and my hands just aren't steady enough to do anything but the drag... even with the help of that magnifying mirror.

christmas break is a great time to get dressed up in new christmas clothes and have no place to go.... so just know i am sitting at my house wearing clothes with price tags sticking out the back. no worries, though... i've only managed to make it out into public sporting the anthro price tag once. heck- i just want EVERYBODY to know about the good deals i've been scoring.

i am toying with whether or not to buy the kindle fire. i've got christmas money burning in my pocket, people! they're so shiny and cheap! it is either that or perhaps loading up on some goods at the vs semi-annual sale. unmentionables, or books? oh the decisions i am faced with. speaking of books, i'm currently mildly obsessed with the glass castle. oh, and reading it on my sister's HUGE bed that i've claimed as mine for the time-being. she's got so many pillows and pillow pets... i never want to leave.

the new year is coming that means resolution time is just around the corner... i'm still working on that list of 21 things before i'm 21, so i'm thinking any other goals are gonna go on the back burner. BUT i am 21 in less than 3 months... crazy right? where is my life? the semester is starting a WEEK from today, which seems a little unreal. last night i bought a huge spanish book that i can't even pronounce the name of, and justified buying a new coat because i just remembered all the walking that will commence in seven short days all those cold wintery days that are going to last until mid april... or later! however, i'm ready to get this show on the road and for the madness to begin... but let me master the make-up and pull all the tags of my new clothes first.

post-christmas recap and roll

2011-12-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

christmas was a great day from sun-up to sun-down. this year we didn't make it to presents until 9 am, which in and of itself is a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE. we must be growing up because i can't remember ever sleeping past 7 in previous years.

good news. santa came! he brought us nicely wrapped things. i got the immersion blender that santa bought last minute at costco on christmas eve (thanks big guy). it makes some KILLER mashed potatoes, i will tell you what. santa brought me this great glass, too. it makes for a great photo-op, no?

after stocking madness and breakfast of candy and toast we went to church, which reminded me why exactly i love sunday christmas. my home ward is great! and the singers are talented... boy can they belt it. and can i say how floored i was to see how grown up the babies of my memory are? last time i recall seeing half of them they couldn't even walk, and now they're singing in the choir. can i have the last three years of my life back, please?
church ended and the christmas celebration continued. we opened presents. i made rolls and cursed my drafty house when they didn't hardly rise. we spent the afternoon playing fashion show and cooking christmas dinner. family came over and we dined on christmas delicacies. oh, and we played just dance. why is it so hilarious to watch people shake their booties in just dance fashion? i find it hilarious, and a video is in the works... stay tuned.. here's a load of pics til then!

christmas ham(s)

we own couches... somewhere...

the cutest face.

all this knitting and purling paid off

merry christmas from my family and please notice the phantom hand at my waist? yeah.

mom + dad

thanks for stopping by, christmas 2011! you were wonderful. see you next year. (but could you bring some snow? thanks.)
oh, and the video for which you've all been waiting...

keepin the tradition alive

2011-12-24T22:59:00.000-07:00

merry christmas eve!

in our family, the day always involves some last minute shopping, pizza, and christmas lights. this year we dined at flatbread since dad got off early from work. usually ups holds him hostage until at least 8 pm, but a christmas miracle happened, and he showed up around 3! after eating at the nearly empty restaurant we saw sherlock holmes, and then went on a hunt for the best lights in boise. twas a great night with the family. merry christmas from me, friends and fam! and please don't forget to celebrate the birth of our savior. his condescension truly is the greatest gift any of us could ever receive.

FESTIVE EARRINGS!

i was feeling vegan?

don't mind us, just practicing the smize.

somebody watches too much ANTM

nailed it

now i'm going to bed so santa can come.... i advise you to do the same!

honey i'm home

2011-12-23T19:54:00.002-07:00

getting here was quite the debacle, but i am proud to report that I AM HOME and i just must say that i stink at airports and flight in general. i won't go into it too much, but let's just say i only arrived at the airport 30 minutes before my flight, barely caught the luggage lady attaching a tag labeled PHX instead of BOI to my 6 lb overweight suitcase, and nearly lost both my driver's license and my mind through the process. those places turn me into a BASKETCASE.

anyways, i got home nice and safe to a city free of both snow and cares. yay. what did i do to celebrate my boise? ate a load of chex mix and set out on a 21 mile run with diana. feel free to re-read that last sentence, but you aren't dyslexic and that wasn't a typo. a couple weeks ago she told me about her harebrained scheme to run 21 miles on her 21st birthday, and for some sick reason i agreed... and so that is why i found myself running for 3 hours, 49 minutes, and 48 seconds yesterday.

as sick as it sounds, it really wasn't that bad... things actually went pretty well until mile 17. that's when my legs started screaming and life started to suck. before that, it was actually kind of fun! the greenbelt is wonderful and i am jealous of all the people that get to take advantage of it's sheer greatness on the daily! anyway, what a way to celebrate, eh? i figure for all that, i am now exempt from working out for the rest of christmas break.... and not because i want to be, but because right now i can hardly walk.

will somebody please rub my feet?

things for a monday

2011-12-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

it boggles my brain that even though i am most likely the only one still living in my building, the water in my shower still does not stay hot for more than 3.4 minutes.

i bought a bag of mixed vegetables with ten servings inside. i've managed to eat half of it and i am more or less determined to finish it by thursday.... stir fry for breakfast! stir fry for lunch! stir fry for dinner!

i am really good at getting stupidly addicted to tv shows. right now it's parenthood... don't ask me why, the show isn't even funny but they play bob dylan in the credits and i just feel like the bravermans are my friends. all the seasons are on netflix, which is not helping my problem... hello christmas break waster!

i have been pretty good at dodging excess christmas foodstuffs this year up until this last weekend. maybe it's the fact that emily made awesome gingerbread cookies. or my grandma rocks at making toffee. perhaps it lies in the fact that our break room counter at work has turned into my own personal candy buffet? when the candy popcorn comes out, my self control flies right out that window.

my gym class instructor was playing brittany spears christmas at class today. now that awful stuff is mildly stuck in my head so i'm currently trying to down it out with some of the following. i'll just take my sufjan stevens christmas album. thanks!

if you're smart, you'll itunes that album. if you're smarter, you'll download spotify and listen to the whole thing for FREE because that man's voice is like sweet, sweet buttah.

all in a day's work

2011-12-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

welp, this weekend was my last free one in provo! it didn't go wasted. saturday was a day to get things done- as exhibited by the images above. sad cookie decorating/eating, a long run by a decorated christmas tree outside, finally cleaning my room, zupas, a tree made completely out of candy, the riverwoods lights, and tofu tacos. the only thing that could have made it better was if it wouldn't have been so cold! winter is too cold. so christmas in a week? CRAZY.

the other day i chatted with the fat man.

2011-12-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

i think the real santa claus has been working part time at the university mall.

i know it because he's got a real beard. he doesn't wear the traditional suit, but mixes it up some with jolly suspenders and seasonal sweaters that look like they were purchased from ll bean circa 1995. (i would know what sweaters were from that year because i am pretty sure we have some old catalogs from about then sitting in the drawer in the end table at my house in boise... mom, go check)

he had the jolliest laugh. how do i know this? i witnessed it firsthand afte he asked me what i wanted for christmas last weekend.... to which i replied without a second thought,

"santa, i just want the metabolism of a fourteen year old boy... do you think you can handle that?"

(insert jolly laugh here)

he said he would see what he could do. i'm counting on you, mr. kringle.

in other news, i did this tonight.

evidently i am eligible to start a 401k retirement plan through my job since i've been there now over a year, so tonight was dedicated to making heads or tails of retirement planning....don't worry that the minimum age requirement to do so is 20.5 years of age and i don't even have a career yet. future husband, you're a lucky one. i've got ~~our~~ my life plan after 59 all figured out. between now and then is kind of hazy, but ya know, from the looks of things i'll be a millionaire just from working a reception job (sarcasm). investing in the future starts NOW.

three truths

2011-12-14T23:19:00.002-07:00

i have the beginnings of an online shopping addiction. for real. christmas shopping this year was done almost entirely via interweb. i just get too sidetracked at real stores. couches and sweatpants suit me better. the other day these mocks came for me in the mail and i am pretty sure they haven't left my feet since. i'm more or less infatuated. they're minnetonka and wonderful... and they make me feel like i should habitually be singing "colors of the wind"

nope, i am not driving with my foot. i've been wearing this pair of socks on my hands every day this week and last on my commute to work. i've got gloves somewhere.... but at this current time socks are getting the job done just fine. another truth is the fact that i really don't even know whose socks these are....

yesterday kelsey and i went on a birthday day to terra mia.... wonderful italian food that still has me hooked and dreaming. i ordered tomato soup.... and while it was lovely and i wanted to backstroke in it, i keep wondering why exactly i didn't go for the delicious looking pizza they had. ohhhh maaaan i've gotta go back... and with delectable gelato to boot, i'm pretty sure it will be sooner than later. pistachio and coconut. it is what dreams are made of.

you just need a picture of a christmas tree. that is all! only working half a day tomorrow... hallelujah my kitchen needs a clean.

today is kelsey's birthday

2011-12-13T07:27:00.003-07:00

and she's now officially twenty one! this weekend we celebrated by having all her buddies congregate at cpk (california pizza kitchen if you didn't know... but if you didn't know that, you probably aren't all that tight with kels... she and cpk are on a nickname basis)

party of twenty eight? we've got it!
stressed out waitress? we've got that, too.
twenty eight different pizzas? in the bag.
fruity drinks for the girl of the hour? of course!

you're twenty one today, kels! live it up

it must be christmas

2011-12-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

in the past two days our kitchen table has become overtaken with cakeballs, gingerbread men, snickerdoodles, caramels, and rice crispy treats laced with crack. yep, must be close to christmas.

i have posted very little about christmas.... i mean, obviously i've been to busy eating the heads off gingerbread men and picking at snickerdoodles. i promise, though i have been doing christmas-y things!

last week i spent some time making hot chocolate mix and cherry hazelnut biscotti. i've also spent a lot of time explaining what exactly biscotti is. i'll tell you what- delicious. growing up, i've got fond memories of making all kinds of christmasy things to take to neighbors around christmas. my mom is a caramel corn fiend, so that was always on the menu, along with cutesy reindeer cookies. thumbprint cookies i couldn't get my hands off of.... and a very memorable year of "christmas fudge" aka hershey's candy and a cutesy song to go along with it my mom made us sing at every. single. door.

anyways, making the stuff brought back good memories... homemade gifts are fun.

alton brown's hot chocolate mix.

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cornstarch
sprinkle of cayenne pepper (really.)

mix all the above ingredients, heat up milk (almond is delicious) and add desired amount. mix. sip. rinse. repeat.

********
cherry chocolate hazelnut biscotti
from real simple magazine

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 c toasted hazelnuts
1 c dark chocolate, chopped
1 c dried cherries

preheat oven to 350. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
mix first four ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside
with an electric mixer, mix eggs, sugar, and almond extract for 5 minutes
gradually add flour mixture to liquid. fold in hazelnuts, dark chocolate, and cherries. get your hands in there and mix it all together
on parchment paper, form two logs of dough, side by side. bake until golden brown, 30 minutes
remove from oven and let cool. when cool, slice each log into 3/4 inch strips. turn them on their side, then return the biscotti to the oven for 8 minutes, flipping halfway thorough. remove from oven and let cool. eat with above hot chocolate.

there is some tension in the air.

2011-12-08T21:21:00.001-07:00

can you feel it?
even though i am not participating in school, i can still feel the death grip that finals week has on my provo people. can i say i'm glad i'm not one of them?
can i say that my biggest worry today was that the biscotti that i was making would crumble and fall apart?
that i wouldn't make it to cycling on time?
that i'd lost the mail key? (found in a coat pocket in the trunk of my car... don't ask how that happened...)
how about that i might be developing an addiction for this jar of crack? street name: biscoff spread.

i think this was actually my only feasible worry. it's delicious. it's peanut butter and gingersnap's love child.

and all i know is that if this is the worst of my problems, my life is pretty good. and i need to remember this when i have to go back to school in less than one month. meh
ps i go home in two weeks. yaaaaaaaaaay

thirteen hours and a little star struck

2011-12-06T22:57:00.001-07:00

i brushed elbows with fame today. welllll kind of.
there is one doctor in my office who seems to be the pediatrician of all the on-the-cusp-of-provo-famers. if that makes sense? anyways, today i checked in yet another one of the lot... the mother of a certain gledhill baby. mindy gledhill, herself!
i was a little tongue tied as i tried to explain her preventative care benefits. i stumbled around trying to find a questionnaire for her to fill out. i wanted to ask her about all her famous blog pals... like good ol c. jane, who i want to be best friends with, or natalie, who i just want to show me the nyc sites. instead when she was about to go sit down i told her i liked her music like an idiot. greeeeeeeat.
we'll just leave the talking and singing to her. (ps, if you're reading this mindy, you never called me back to give me your insurance info. i forgive you)

its the great christmas stick, charlie brown.

2011-12-05T15:53:00.001-07:00

no, i'm not expecting. this was not supposed to look like a decoration for somebody's bridal shower...

pinterest gives me crazy ideas. an utter lack of monetary resources possesses me to yank branches off of neighboring apartment complex bushes in the middle of the day and go scavenging for rocks. sales at craft stores bully me into buying bags of plastic ornaments for 1.99.

but in a strange way, i am a fan of the christmas stick... its one plant that this girl can't kill.

saturday night christmas cheer

2011-12-04T00:21:00.001-07:00

tonight was our work christmas party.
of course, sweaters were encouraged.... and, of course, whitney and i won best sweater awards. (please hold your applause) i'm really glad this xxl hug me bear sweater has come in so handy the last three years...

we probably ruined a perfectly good picture right here, but still, it was great. i like my job... and those coworkers of mine, too.

on another note, i am obsessed with the lower lights christmas album.... well, maybe just the five songs i can stream online for free until i break down and buy the album. it is so good. if you've got five minutes, fast forward to the last song. it is wonderful.

<p><p><a href="http://thelowerlights.bandcamp.com/album/come-let-us-adore-him">Come Let Us Adore Him by The Lower Lights</a></p></p>

i've been knitting so much i think i might purl.

2011-12-01T17:35:00.001-07:00

that was a knitting joke. a purl is a stitch.

remember last week how i said i was busy knitting all week? well it wasn't a joke. and that trend has carried over into this week. so maybe i've been to michael's three times this week. maybe i downloaded their app..... maybe i go on my lunch break? it's fine. i'm learning a trade all thanks to youtube dot com.

you might wonder what i have been doing when i am not knitting, since i haven't been doing much blogging.

i've been cultivating plants.... a term of which we will use very loosely. pretty sure this is the amaryllis (i just had to ask kelsey, my personal botanist what the heck it was called) for dummies. my grandma swears by them. she bought me one and i potted it myself. (again, a term used loosely....) it came with a compacted disk of dirt and all i had to do was add water... and watch it exponentially grow into real dirt. mystifying.... anyways, i planted it, and it hasn't died yet. i'm kind of a plant murderer. my friend corey had all these amazing plants in his apartment freshman year. when he left on his mission he told me to take care of one until he returned. pow pow! dead. i tried to grow basil on two different instances this summer. it never worked. aaaaaaaanyways, third time is a charm? i certainly do hope.

what else, you ask? well, yesterday night i went to see this!

savior of the world. its a biannual production at the conference center theatre in slc that the church puts together. one of my coworkers performs in it, so when my boss offered me a free ticket last night to tag along, i just couldn't decline.... plus a free ticket totally justifies a stop at paradise bakery on the way out. per the weird face i'm making in this picture, i think my excitement was quite obvious. (notice my knitted scarf oh yeah)

so yeah, that's life. i paid rent today so i'm poor again. i'm making huevos rancheros for dinner with anita and doing a double feature of cycling and yoga the the gym later on... that is, if the high speed winds utah is experiencing don't blow me away in the process.
if they do, maybe i'll just sit at home and knit.
happy december, ya'll. go get a salted caramel hot chocolate from starbucks and listen to harry connick jr on repeat.

weekend stats

2011-11-28T00:06:00.001-07:00

thanksgiving dinners eaten: 3
scarves knitted, only to be dismantled as a result: 2
episodes of the duggars watched (a little bit strangely obsessed? nbd): at least 19
verbal exchanges in a 24 hour time period while home alone: 4 (to my sunflower market cashier: hello, here you go, thank you, have a good day)
redboxes rented: 3
hours spent black friday shopping between shifts at work: 2
trips to the craft store for more yarn: 2
containers of various alternative milks in my fridge: 3 (coconut, almond, and pumpkin spice soy thankyouverymuch)
tree branches yanked off bushes at the neighboring apartment complex in an attempt to make a crafty pinterest inspired christmas tree: 1
times i've listened to the new she & him christmas album: countless. listen. december soundtrack. you're welcome.
times i've put these shoes and these moc boots in my online shopping cart: 4
days until i get to go home: 24.

happy monday

good feeling 24

2011-11-24T22:57:00.001-07:00

my aunt sent this to me tonight. i laughed.
so my thanksgiving was pretty good. and yours? i seriously never cease to amaze myself with the amounts of food i can stuff into my body. its ridiculous.

times 3?

my galette. it was.... meh. the pecan pie was where it was AT.

window shopping sans windows

the "i just ate my body's weight in sweet potatoes" face

just some friendly family competition. jan is grandma. grandma is really good at dice.

because no holiday can be complete without a deep drama about the holocaust

but i lit the christmas tree... and all that jolly counteracts the depressing movie, right?

day twenty four- i loved today. thanksgiving is great. i got to hang out with the family, eat eat eat, and just relax. it would have been even better if i could have been at home in boise, but saying here just makes me anticipate going home for christmas that much more. i'm so grateful to have family here to take me under their wing in the meantime! the time has come to turn up pandora's peaeeful holiday, cook up some gingerbread men, and make a certain infamous paper chain.

christmas 2011. its on.

(and thanks for hanging in with me while i posted all these ramblings every day this month... back to your regularly scheduled programming!)

good feeling 23

2011-11-23T22:44:00.001-07:00

provo is wonderful when 5/6 of the students leave. TONS OF PARKING!! it is a legitimate ghost town here! i tell you what- i think i shaved at least 10 minutes off of my commute home from work... wonderful.
i'm making a galette for thanksgiving. it sounds fancy and uppity but trust me- it is not. last week i got a TON of pears. i don't even like pears.... and what are you supposed to do when an entire bag of pears is staring you in the face? combine them with butter and sugar, i presume. at least, that is what the blogdom tells me.
speaking of blogdom, it's been going insane with thanksgiving recipe round ups and last minute ideas that are making my head spin. every time an author talks about thawing and brining her turkey, i get really anxious. at winco today i wanted to shake everyone who was purchasing a turkey and tell them that, according to my little knowledge of poultry, that thing needed to be thawed and brined STAT if it was going to be ready for tomorrow.... which begs the question, do people even like turkey? i remember it tasting pretty dry during my meat eating years... in fact i have fond memories of it sticking to the roof of my mouth and then having to scrape it off with my fingers. okay thats gross. i will stop now. eat your turkey and enjoy it, alright? i will enjoy my sides. people always ask me what i eat on thanksgiving. i think that is possibly the dumbest question ever. everything but that gamey bird. don't feel bad for me. trust me-i won't be going hungry.

day twenty three- tonight i sat in my vacant apartment, cooked vegetables and pasta and spent some time with claire and phil.... and michael and cam and the whole gang. seriously modern family night gives me just one more thing to live for.
gotta get going on that galette. (hi alliteration...) happy thanksgiving, everyone!

good feeling 22

2011-11-22T22:04:00.001-07:00

woke up. drove to work. worked 8.33 hours. drove home. cooked dinner and hung out with britni. GOT THE BEST PHONE CALL EVER.

day twenty two- today this girl called me. the one, the only, diana isabel cook. this picture i snapped during freshman year skype chat sits on my desktop and makes me smile on a daily basis. she's good looking even with facial hair, no? this girl is down in az living life and we haven't seen each other since last december (shudder) but every time we talk it is just like yesterday we were riding our bikes to high school and speaking spanish (well she was speaking spanish. i was just sounding more or less ridiculous) when we wanted to be sneaky. she's great. i can't wait to see her (and a host of others.... melissa i'm looking at you) come christmas. friends are awesome

good feeling 21

2011-11-21T22:55:00.001-07:00

kelsey put up the christmas decorations. it might be november 21 but around these parts, we're welcoming christmas with open arms...i mean, its hard to say no to christmas lights. there is just something about them.
day twenty one- this has got to be my picture perfect winter. i've got a thing for hot chocolate. have you ever eaten spoonfuls of hot chocolate mix and those freeze-dried marshmallows right out of the can? .... me neither. i definitely didn't do that tonight... alright, i totally did and i recommend it. oh, and maybe i discovered THE BEST HO-CHO COMBO EVER. coconut milk + french vanilla hot chocolate mix... or maybe it was dulce de leche who knows it was just so good. i am borderline obsessed!
oh- ps, i am more or less really excited for thanksgiving. mostly for the sweet potatoes. did i ever mention how lately i have an obsession for all thing pureed? it's true. i blend everything up in my ninja mixer and just drink it. basically i've decided that i'm either a baby or a senior citizen at heart. it's cool.

good feeling 20

2011-11-20T20:16:00.001-07:00

uuuuf today was a marathon eats day. sunday might be a day of rest, but there is no resting for my stomach. i tend to do a lot of cooking on sundays... like four hours worth today. kelsey and i made t-gives dinner for our friends. it was bomb i must say... there were rotisserie chickens. mashed potatoes and gravy. grape salad. this soup. these rolls. that pie. pat on back. fist pump. needless to say, it was a pretty good pregame.
how many boys does it take to "carve" a chicken you might ask?

day twenty- so i made rolls today. they are my grandma's recipe- she makes them every week on sunday and they seriously are ambrosia. i had to make the recipe twice after a failed first attempt, but in the end i pulled out all the stops and let them raise in the dryer (fact). needless to say, they turned out! alyssa 1, yeast 0.

here's the recipe. you will want it.

grandma's rolls
makes about two dozen

2 packets yeast (4.5 T)
1/2 c warm water sprinkled with sugar

2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c oil
2 t salt
1/2 c warm water
4 1/2 c flour

mix yeast in water and let it bubble and dissolve. in a separate bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil, salt, warm water, and yeast mixture with a mixer until combined. add flour cup by cup, knead with hands, butter dough, and put it in a bowl to rise until doubled in size, about an hour. after it has doubled, punch down the dough, roll it out, and cut out circles using a cup. fold the circles in half, then pinch them at the edge (does that make sense?) let rise 30 more minutes, then bake at 400 until done!

good feeling 19

2011-11-19T23:32:00.001-07:00

today i realized that i've been unintentionally participating in no shave november. yeah- oops. now the question is do i just keep it up or..... yeah, probably not shaving anytime soon. that, my friends, is the beauty of winter and tights.

day nineteen- so this summer i got into spinning. it's great. nobody can see you sweating your brains out, you're encouraged to scream and hoot and holler, and its kind of your own tailored workout. i like it. this morning was no different on the cycling front. the instructor today was like a walking talking tabloid, wearing a cheetah print top and donning a full set of extensions in a ponytail all tied up with a bow. all through class she gave me the lowdown on the kardashians, beiber, nordstrom, etc etc. we all need those little escapes, no?

good saturday. i'm gonna faceplant into my bed, goodnight

good feeling 18

2011-11-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

i got hit in the face with a flying tshirt shot out of a cannon today.
kelsey and i were at the byu game and i had my face buried in my phone when OOF a flying shirt came and hit me. and everyone in the the crowd made that "oooooooh" noise. what a week, eh?

let me give you a little peek into the the good feelings of today. they are all pretty random.... but i'm feeling list-y. day eighteen here goes

1. it snowed tonight and i'm only okay with that because the flakes were HUGE. i am all about the "go big or go home factor"... even when it comes to snow.

2. i bought big grandpa sweaters at tj maxx. so big.... so boxy.

3. look at this! i love ryan gosling just about as much as the next girl. i love pancakes probably a lot more than the next girl...

4. look these rad shoes. i put them on at the store today and then took them off. then put them on, and took them off. then looked at the price tag.... and put them right back on the shelf.

5. i think i've eaten variations of this about every day this week sans the meats. it is more or less delicious.

6. i can't wait to pick up my bountiful basket tomorrow. it is going to be like christmas.

7. speaking of food, i am probably going to make a whole batch of this next week to keep me company when my roommates ditch out on me for their homes. homemade gingersnaps are probably happening, too. feel free to drop by...

8. i went on a major shoeshopping binge today online without buying anything, and now all my sidebar ads are taunting me with beautiful boots. maybe its a sign.

good feeling 17

2011-11-17T22:46:00.001-07:00

dating tip #1. not that i am speaking from experience or anything, but if some guy asks you out, it is a good idea to give him your accurate address. i mean, unless you want to take playing hard to get figuratively AND literally. (and that was not my motive, btw)

so maybe i'm a little dyslexic and mix up my norths and easts. in my defense, it is a known fact that women communicate better by landmarks, not by road signs.

so maybe i have to ask my roommates what our address is every single time i need to know it. at that exact moment, no roommates were around!

maybe i need to write it down and safety pin it to the inside of all my clothes? i'm thinking that isn't a half bad idea.

day seventeen- i'm at a loss for words of thankfulness. i think i have thankful hangover from the wallet incident yesterday.... today the best feeling is just laying here on my couch and having yogurt in my belly that was the effect of the aforementioned date that actually took place once that poor guy had driven around aimlessly for fifteen minutes while i tried to tell him i lived on streets that didn't exist. oy. sorry, dude. what a trooper, hey- that's a good feeling, right? knowing people won't judge you for your dyslexia?

i'm stopping this post before it becomes any weirder.

goodnight.

good feeling 16

2011-11-16T22:15:00.001-07:00

i'm kind of a spontaneous person.

it's both a blessing and a curse. virtue and vice. yin and yang.

i worked this morning, then after my shift i was supposed to go back at 5 to work again. i had 3 hours to kill so i up and decided it would be the perfect time to go to check out the new h&m in the mall like 30 minutes away. fashion place mall is plush- university mall palls in comparison and it makes provo towne center look like a straight up trailer park.

anyways, so i went in. h&m was disappointing. it was so great in spain and here it is just a glorified forever 21. ah well its fine because i didn't have any money. (this is what we call foreshadowing. read on) next stop was crate and barrel and my oh my did i enjoy myself in there. ya'll can just give me that whole place for christmas because i want to live in there with all the le crueset bakeware and matching placemats.

i wander through lots of stores and around 4 decided it would be a good time to go back to work. my last stop was tcby... they have one there! and it's self serve! i was on cloud 9 with my huge cup.... until i reached into my purse to find my wallet and found it to be MIA. i told the guy at the counter to hold my yogurt while i went to my car to search for it because THEY DIDN'T TAKE CHECKS. wtf tcby!

much to my dismay my wallet was actually not in my car.

much to my dismay my beautiful gingerbread and cheese cake swirl with a dollop of caramel yogurt topped with raspberries and strawberries is still sitting in the freezer at tcby.

much to my dismay my gas light was on.

much to my dismay i was supposed to be at work in 1 hour.

so i called britni and i cried a little. (embarrassing) that working girl had a date with downeast! i went to the gas station and begged them to take a check sans id because that was also in my wallet. they shook their heads woefully at me. i was straight up stranded in salt lake!
don't worry though, this story has a happy ending.

day sixteen- kelsey called, and even though she had class, she drove out to meet me and bring my sorry self my wallet so i could get gas. seriously, she is the best and i owe her big. time. like a lifetime supply of zupas tomato basil soup or something.

so i am all about learning experiences and what do we learn from this little story? a. keep your gas tank half full b. keep wallet on person at all times c. when at tcby make sure to stuff yourself full of samples because you just might have a freak accident resembling the one mentioned above. d. have a kelsey on speed dial. you won't regret it.

good feeling 15

2011-11-15T21:17:00.001-07:00

hi i'm a slacker. its been kind of a long two days... forgive me? i've been busy and feel pretty lame saying that seeing as its not due to school, children, etc etc etc. i'd talk about what i've been doing more but it involves christmas, so my lips are sealed. you know in the book wayside school by louis sachar where there is no thirteenth floor of the school building? well, in good feeling series, there is strangely no 14th day. creepy. moving on, though.
day fifteen- HAVE YOU SEEN THIS TRAILER? i am so excited. i was getting goosebumps up in here while i watched it the first time. these are almost the exact images i had in my head when i read all three over christmas break last year. seriously, so good. i can't wait. i foresee a lot of trailer-watching until march 23.

good feeling 13

2011-11-13T16:03:00.001-07:00

fall is sticking around regardless of the fact that christmas keeps trying to butt on in here.... like somehow on the way to work this week my fingers put my car radio on some seasonal tunes. seriously, alyssa. stop that.

day thirteen- i jumped on my bike and rode around today. the weather was unseasonably warm so i headed out, camera around my neck, dress blowing in the wind. (probably a little bit too closely for comfort, but tights make it all okay, right?) my tire was flat due to serious neglect, and riding was somewhat awkward.

it was awesome still. today at church our stake president said something about the difference between experiencing joy and having fun... and that is about the point i trailed off and remember little else of what he said, BUT it got me thinking. this semester i've had fun. i've done cool things and met sweet people, but i feel like i've also learned how to be a little more joyful- snap a couple more pictures, bottle up a few more memories of hanging out in nature, bask in a good meal with friends, learn things for myself and not related to academia and whatnot. it's lovely. i'm joyful.

good feeling 12

2011-11-12T21:46:00.001-07:00

bsu lost and that is not a good feeling. at all.
good thing this happened this morning.

and i am not feeling writing much about it. it's fruit and vegetables forcryingoutloud. here's a haiku to express my feelings poetically.

day twelve- bountiful baskets

oh so much produce
and all for twenty dollars
my heart and purse sing.

2011-11-11T23:30:00.001-07:00

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good feeling 11

2011-11-11T17:35:00.001-07:00

11/11/11. i totally blew my opportunity to make a wish this morning.
typical.
one of my friends got married today- and the best part about that? 1.5 years ago we were sitting on an italian beach lamenting our love lives and he said that no matter what, he WAS getting married on 11/11/11. well done, good sir. that is dedication. faith. insanity?
here's to hoping for my own marriage to be 11/11/2111. yeah.
i read an article. it said vegas's little chapels are going downright crazy right now and i believe it.
anyways, strangely enough, other things happen on days like today. like veteran's day. hug a soldier! oh... and discounted race registrations.
alyssa just can't pass up a good bargain.

day eleven- i'm doing it. well, the half. one day i will be hardcore and run a full, but for now i'd like minimal chafing and whatnot. june 23! seattle! i've never been there and figured running a half marathon is the perfect excuse opportunity to get up there. who is with me? 20 bucks off if you register before 11:11 tonight. i'm excited.... it's been far too long since robie creek 2009. (prepare yourself for a throwback...)
now i'm off to watch the clock. 11:11 pm... i've got my eye on you.

good feeling 10

2011-11-10T17:07:00.001-07:00

you've missed me talking about spain. i know it.
a couple of weeks ago i was sleeping on the floor at my aunt's house having final hoorah sleep over in celebration of the last day of single-dom for alexis. that morning, my phone alarm went off. i sleepishly rummaged around for it, turned the alarm off, and checked my email like i do each and every day before breakfast. amid the groupons and citydeals there was one that caught my groggy eye. a message from fernando poveda... the guy i'd lived with in spain! it read:

Este mensaje tiene como objetivo, darte la posibilidad de ponerte en contacto con Pilar y conmigo sin pasar por Roberto que siempre anda ocupado.Un abrazo de Pilar y Fernando.

i seriously had to read through it 4 or 5 times before i even half understood what it said. really it's not that difficult. he basically just told me to email him, but evidently when you are half asleep spanish doesn't make all that much sense, and that led me to forgetting all about the message, then accidentally deleting it, then accidentally forgetting i'd accidentally deleted the message. whoops.
anyways, the other day i remembered this email. i facebooked roberto for his parents address and in a matter of hours the email was sitting in my inbox. this time i didn't delete it, but instead just forgot to respond at all. i'm a really great american.

day ten- today i redeemed myself and emailed my spain family. it was so good to type spanish (of which i am sure they will laugh at). so thankful am i to have lived with such a great group of spainards, to have had the opportunity to eat their food, listen to their rants, smell their cigarettes, and learn their ways. i miss them a lot, but i'm really glad we are good friends and they still think i'm cool. anybody want to go for a visit? obviously i've got the hook ups... i mean, they own a churros shop for crying out loud.

the man and his masterpiece.

good feeling 9

2011-11-09T14:07:00.003-07:00

real life is:
throwing away an entire loaf of bread when it molds (sigh)
wearing the same pair of black pants to work er..... every day?
resurrecting the claw clip and owning it.
sitting at barnes and noble and listening to the old guys behind me talk dancing with the stars and their views on getting massages (favorite quotes being "i just usually don't feel good with people getting that intimate with my body"and "i'm a horse rider! i know pain...")

hi. this is my life.

day nine- this is also my life. this blog post via melissa coles. i first read this while sitting at work, and i was doing everything humanly possible to not die laughing. i think you'll do the same. girl's got a gift for writing and humor and that is fact.
now excuse me while i go look up "tight end" and a certain "kellen moore". maybe i'll bake some cookies, too. i feel like that might be one point melissa skipped over. a couple weeks ago in church our bishop devoted an entire meeting to dating panel. always hilarious, always controversial. my favorite moment was when the question of "how many plates of cookies must i bake before boy x asks me out?" my favorite real life response from the audience? "bake one plate, maybe two, and see how it goes.... if he doesn't ask you out, lay off of them. you might be making things uncomfortable. "
no sir, YOU are the one making things uncomfortable. and that is also real life.

good feeling 8

2011-11-08T23:39:00.003-07:00

today was all about the small victories....
ie: zupas catering work lunch, thus leading me to drink that tomato basil bisque of the gods like it was going out of style

making it in and out of the temple with britni before the crazy byu crowds hit

buying a brand spanking new jar of smart balance creamy peanut butter and eating it with a spoon. <-- seriously the best peanut butter. get you some.

hosting dinner group and 1. making brussel sprouts and cauliflower fancy and tasteful and edible by boys and 2. reheating a full pan of meaty lasagna that was semi-stolen from break-the-fast on sunday and calling it good home cooking.

buying a watercolor set on a whim. new favorite activity? probably. especially when paired of episodes of this american life. (seriously, listen to this story. it is hilarious and will strike a chord with all those who made it out of middle school in one piece)

day eight- it was a good day. i did all the things i never have time to do when i am buried in college life. however, i am more or less itching to get back into school. i miss structure. i miss sitting in the library on the fifth floor wanting to gauge my eyes out as i read microbiology textbooks. i miss walking up rape hill and never knowing which of the identical classrooms physiology is in, even though i've gone to class every day for 7 weeks. i miss the pitiful daily universe newspaper. i even miss the awkward couples doing their thing. but don't get me wrong, i don't miss it all enough to not enjoy every second of my freedom currently..... it is just nice to know that in 2 short months i will be back at it and getting stuff done.... because for me, that is where my true good feeling is.

another small victory? finding gem pictures like this in photobooth. i miss my missionary buds

good feeling 7

2011-11-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

the extra hour daylight savings has given me has been awesome. waking up to light outside is a beautiful thing.

day seven- watch this video.

my friend emily sent me this video last week. it is so great to get real email from real people that isn't wells fargo telling me to pay my credit card bill or living social trying to sell me a four day excursion to mazatlan. (which is always tempting, btw, and always causes my fingers to delay deletion, btw)

anyways, i digress. this video is great. his testimony is spot on and his voice is so entrancing.... take five minutes and listen in. you won't regret it. if you have questions, visit mormon.org or drop me a line!

good feeling 6

2011-11-06T16:21:00.002-07:00

this weekend my family came to town.
i failed in the photo department. probably because this had to happen.

so much cold in so little time, but that is probably fact of life #1053 though, right? i should probably quit complaining and channel those emotions into a coat or something.
day six- this weekend trip with my family basically can be summed up with this equation. fun=food and i am pretty okay withthat. i had an amazing salad at malawi's where the key players were tomatoes the size of donuts, sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar and an entire block of mozzarella cheese. yum

on saturday i was feeling hungry and angry at the cold so i went to "ginger's garden cafe". i dined upon an overpriced salad with vegan mozzarella and listened to customers in the herb section repeatedly ask the cashier if he could mix them some herbs... to which he replied it wasn't fda approved. shady? i finished tofu laced ranch dressing then took my business elsewhere.

these pictures are misleading. much more food ensued than this. obviously i was just too hungry/busy eating to pull out any camera. but really.... is there anything better than just sitting at a restaurant and eating something good? i don't think so. especially when it is with the people you like and you can sneakily steal all the muffins off the salad bar.
alright this is making me hungry, so it is time to eat. and research astrology... a good sunday activity, right?

good feeling 5

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

day five- most days are good. some days are not. this is a post for those days. this summer i found a really great blog. joanna, the author of cup of jo, is the epitome of cool, and her baby is the cutest. she posts daily about interesting topics and this was just one of her good posts the other day. it really struck a chord with me- maybe it will ring true for you, too.

good feeling 4

2011-11-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

my family is fifteen minutes outside of provo. you know what that means? i am getting my other car! big red is going back to boise where he belongs. hallelujah.
today's outfit paid homage to big red, though. i semi planned it. we really bonded, that car and i... he's got quite a powerful heater. there was ample room in the back seat for my lunchbreak naps. when i turned up the volume on my radio is sounded like there was a whole symphony right in my back seat. he just about drained my bank account with the amount of gas he consumed. it was good times...but to everything, a season. thank. goodness.

incaseyouwerewondering: jeans-levis, sweater- roxy, scarf-gap, boots- steve madden

good thing i have another big red to replace the one i'm losing.
good feeling 4- sometimes life hands you a really great pair of jeans. sometimes you only have to pay nine bucks for that aforementioned pair of pants. sometimes you buy them and wonder what exactly people will think of you parading around in a pair of maroon pants. sometimes they become cool and trendy and all of a sudden you're stylish for once in your life.
but mostly, sometimes they match your mom's van perfectly. and you thought twin day was only something you celebrated in 2nd grade.

good feeling 3

2011-11-03T19:13:00.000-06:00

i bought dental floss today. and new make up. how is it that all toiletries seem to run out at the exact same time? please, somebody- riddle me that one!
things have been a little bit on the slow side at work this week. it is probably the calm before the flu and strep throat storm, so i've been relishing in watching "annie" and reading every single issue of cooking light then enters the premise.
day three- usually when it is slowish i find myself gravitating towards msnbc.com. it's my favorite place for news. they've got pretty pictures and large print. (am i 5? 95? both?) anyways, flipping through their photoblog is my favorite and i highly suggest it if you want some high quality images of what is going down in the world. my favorite topic as of late has been their stories on the "7th billion baby". that's right folks, our population has hit 7 billion.

what do seven billion people look like?

go check it out.

good feeling 2

2011-11-02T23:44:00.000-06:00

i spent three hours cooking curry tonight in my kitchen. samosas, too. i probably smelled a lot like that weird international college roommate everybody seems to have horror stories about... it's fine. it was my first rodeo with the moosewood cookbooks and i am very happy about it.
did i ever write about discovering that the provo library has an awesome cookbook section? well, it does. and it has great books, too. which leads me to today's good feeling.
day two- lofty goals.
do you see this stack? yeah, i probably am biting off way more than i can chew, but it is what it is...currently i'm becoming acquainted with mr. tolstoy. my goal for november... or life? we'll see. all i know is that having absolutely nothing better to do than read classic novels feels pretty dang good.

good feeling 1

2011-11-01T21:57:00.000-06:00

welcome, november!!

last year i made it a point to post the things i was thankful for on a pretty regular basis during this great month. this year will probably be no different.

to me, november just ushers in a sense of "good feeling".... and that is the only way i can describe it.

for the next thirty days, expect to see a lot of posts centering on the things i am most thankful for and that, for me, evoke that good feeling i am talking about- you know, the little things that make life great. i encourage you to do the same.

day one- outside.
if i've said it once, i've said it one thousand times. i am a lover of nature, especially in the fall. having a break from studies has opened my eyes to the everyday changes and beauty of the world and has given me a chance to experience what is in my own backyard. it might sound cliche, but for seasons and changes i am truly grateful.

photo montage of halloweekend

2011-10-31T23:21:00.000-06:00

when i read blogs, all i really want to see is pictures. when it is 11 pm and i'm feeling like an old lady, its hard to conjure up the words to explain myself. halloween 2011. i will just say it was great. dressing up for no reason at all is all the reason i need and spending the day working at a peds office is great because parents would much rather go to their child's costume parade than have a doctor swab their throat! anyways, here's the pics, feel free to connect the dots!

i carved a pumpkin. sometimes i dream of getting this exact image tatooed on the bottom of my foot.

biker chick. belle. meg. (disney should probably make a movie about a member of hell's angels. they've missed that one!)

we spent some time crafting boys' halloween costumes. meet chester. the real question is does his parole officer know he's out for a night on the town?

but he brought candy, so we didn't ask too many questions. good thing he'd already found his lost puppy earlier that day...

us and said rat. which is more disturbing? you be the judge.

family halloween party! the convict escaped!

next year i might have to jump on that morphsuit bandwagon. but to snag a physique like harrison i think my diet will have to start tomorrow...

this baby.

living dead!

this baby was not enjoying my company

cat lady for halloween. (next year?)

let the games begin!

i don't advise trying to compete with the creative stylings of food a la virchow family.

case and point.

mixing up the costumes! notice that full bowl of dark chocolate mint 3 musketeers- the rejects of halloween candy and the last thing sitting on the candy shelves of the grocery store at 6:45 halloween night!

attempting to capture the disney theme with kelsey's disneyland license plate... yeah.

it was good times all around... and i can't believe tomorrow is november first and that means winter and snow in the forecast tomorrow.
that is another thing for which i have no words.
happy halloween, friends.

a whole month of thankful starts tomorrow.

trick or treat. or rat.

2011-10-30T13:14:00.000-06:00

late last night the doorbell rang. we'd just come home from a halloween party and were doing what any sensible girls would be doing after a long night of your run of the mill byu dance party.

exfoliating with face masks!

caked in green creamy stuff we told jennifer to go answer the door. she did.

she opened the door to find a pumpkin with a note attached. she read us the note. from the bathroom, we yelled at her to open the pumpkin and she what was inside. she removed the top and, well, this sewer dweller looked up with beady little eyes.

we screamed. we slammed the door. we ventured out again. i uttered some choice words and the tricksters came out of hiding.

don't worry, it was just our home teachers. (aka guys from church)

they took back their rat and wreaked havoc upon more girls, i'm sure.

happy halloween! i hope something as awesome as finding a rat in a pumpkin happens to you.

start spreading the news.

2011-10-24T16:03:00.001-06:00

third time's a charm. that's what they say, right?

three years at byu and three major changes. ayyy! hopefully this is the end all of these changes. freshman year i was a biology major. i was going to be a dentist and that was the plan.

sophomore year i was a pre-dietetics major. i was going to be a dietetician, and that was the plan.

junior year, well, welcome to the new plan.

a couple days ago i was laying on the couch watching forks over knives, yet another documentary about food production in the us. (watch it. it's really great.)

i zoned out for a minute as my mind drifted to the ever present question of what exactly i wanted to do with my life. then it came to me, and all of a sudden everything just started to make sense. public health. what hadn't i thought of it before? when i was a dietetics major, i told everybody that in the end, i wanted to educate about health and whole foods, work internationally, and do something with early childhood nutrition. while you could probably do something like that with dietetics, mostly an entry level dietician is going to be working in a hospital telling diabetics what they can and can't eat. red flag. wrong major.

anyways, thats the sitch and although i won't be done with school for ten years, i'm still breathing a sigh of relief.

and bought my copy of mylo xyloto. (and i suggest you do the same!)

is that the wasatch?

2011-10-23T00:05:00.000-06:00

if you ask me, the mountains that shelter provo to the east are the best part about the place.

i thought i'd seen fall before i'd moved here... but mostly i was just accustomed to the gradual browning of the boise foothills. last week when i drove around the point of the mountain and into utah county my jaw about dropped. i had to remember to look at the road once in awhile and peel my eyes off the red and yellow mountains. before i went home i thought fall was basically over- heck it had snowed almost to the base of the mountains and when mt timp is covered, you kind of know to kiss fall goodbye. but i was wrong! fall pulled through. good job.

anyways, friday britni and i went to rock canyon. i'd been up there only once before, despite the fact that it is literally a 10 minute walk from my apartment. it's fine, though. i like finding cool stuff gradually.

my right hand hiking woman

as we hiked, an old guy and his wife and granddaughter caught up to us. the guy was the kind of wise grandpa everybody wants in life. we became friends with him and he showed us the way to a mineshaft all while telling us stories of his boyhood in rock canyon.

here we are... in the cavity of a huge rock. pretty sure the guy told us to "watch our heads" roughly twenty three times. what a gent.

if you haven't noticed, i have a crush on fall this year. taking a semester off of school has given me ample time to really get in there and live it! runs in the canyon, hikes in the mountains, and a whole bunch of soup. i hope this is a long lasting relationship.

first world problems.

2011-10-21T15:42:00.002-06:00

if november is the season of thankfulness....
then i should probably get this all out of my system before october bails.

happy friday

yet another little list

2011-10-20T22:58:00.001-06:00

today at work i compiled a montage of all the reasons my job can be pretty dang awkward. i don't know what is worse- the things i find myself saying, the things i find myself doing, or the things i find myself thinking. i will let you decide. but really- i've posted about a lot of the "happenstances" at work time and time again, but they just seem to get better and better. so here i go, divulging what happens from the other side of the counter.

1. the fact that one of my jobs is to check people out... and i say things like "i can check you out over here!" "you're all checked out!" or "i just checked you out". oy.
you can only say this to so many five year olds before you start creeping yourself out a little bit.

2. those parents. the ones who call for an emergency stubbed toe.
the ones who painstakingly spell out their last name.
the last name is smith. S......M......I.....T..............H.
the ones who give WAY too much information... use your imagination.
the ones who give no information.
"and what are we seeing your child for today" "i think they're sick" ok. awesome.
the ones who think you are best friends.
"oh hey alyssa, it's me again. hailey's mom!" (hailey who...)
the celebrity families. notorious for their style, number of children, booming voices, craziness, or ability to dismantle an entire waiting room before they are even checked in. or all of the above.

hands down my favorite parent.

3. asking people if the urine sample they are thrusting towards me is "fresh" and then getting as far away as possible as they try to drop it right off into my hands. thanks.... but no thanks.

4. even more fantastic child names.
rayjin waters
autumn sky
alexandr khristian (neither black nor rapper)
and my favorite family of trees: aspen, autumn, everett, ivy, and oakley. true life!

5. the stickers. oh, those stickers. if i have one piece of advice to offer up, it is probably this. never ever ever ever touch the stickers at the doctor's office. i am quite positive that every single symptom and syndrome can be found on that special box of princess stickers. the throaty coughers hack all over them. the boogery kids wipe their noses then dive right into the bucket. whole boxes get stuck in toddlers' mouths. never touch them unless you're trying to leave with a souvenir of a whole different strain.

in other news, i still don't know what i should be for halloween. it has got to be good. i've got to wear it to work and the children have got to like it! i want witty. i want comfortable. i want some great ideas!

i made applesauce. i am going to make my children their own baby food. i will probably eat more of said baby food than the actual baby.

i probably spent the last hour trying to figure out how to use spotify since i am getting the vibe that pandora is so.... 2010. it's just me, getting with the times!

did i tell you i drive a van? it is awful. dreadful.

happy almost friday... big plans this weekend! working. hiking. continuing my college drop out bumminess. making hummus and more soup. a recap will most definitely ensue.

i'm locked out. it's cool

2011-10-16T23:21:00.000-06:00

having wifi rules.

so does having your car held hostage in boise.
followed by having the privilege of driving your mom's minivan back home. (to utah? where is home? who am i?)
but only as much as having zero music the entire time and resorting to super classy josh groban for the last four hours. yep. that desperate. josh, your spanish accent could use a little work.

i guess i should preface that all by saying i made a special trip to boise this weekend. my car needed a little tlc, my teeth needed the plaque scraped off, and my sisters had a homecoming dance i needed to take pictures of. high school is great place.

i drove down on thursday.
brought greek food to my mom, spied on her class, and watched kourtni and lindsay in homecoming court on friday.

me and the models. but really

i just found this on the camera and laughed a lot.

went on a long run with my parents, ate gourmet fries and burgers, and played paparazzi for homecoming on saturday

purple fries. totally normal.

idaho fry co.... i was a little skeptical, but it was gooood

just passing the time, taking pictures of my home/farm.

the parents

the couple

cutest baby. i just couldn't pick only one

:) or should i say >:(3)

this picture is proof you should never ask a sixteen year old boy to take a picture

clearly, enough was enough.

and then drove home in the ss honda odyssey today.
what a weekend! upon arriving home, i was greeted by letters from two of my missionary pals. two! i never get letters. what are the odds? elder pittson sent me this beauty

"i included a picture i found of you being all vegetarian and whatnot." classic. i miss my buddies.
have a wonderful week... and bear with me as i try to change the layout of this blog over the next few days... it needs an update.

fall drive

2011-10-09T23:24:00.003-06:00

it was a good sunday... fall, can you stay a couple more weeks, please?

obviously, the canyon is a pretty great place during september and october

after this week's snow scare, we decided we might as well milk the prettiness for all it's worth...

and i really just wanted to play with my camera.

it was great to catch up with friends

and reminded me just how lucky i am to be where i am, do what i am doing, and learn what i am learning.

it's a good life.

split pea soup.

2011-10-08T18:55:00.000-06:00

the cold weather caught me off guard at first when it kidnapped my high 80s temps, but now i think i've developed stockholm syndrome.... its fine. it's also fine that i had to google ("fall in love with kidnapper" to remember what that was called. i love technology) hey, anything that gives me an excuse to unpack my sweaters and lay on my couch cocooned in a blanket.

october has made me mildly obsessed with two things right now.

soup.

and pumpkin. (per chef kelsey.. heaven forbid i bake something)

have you ever tasted a split pea? my guess is yes... when you were about 18 months old and your mom was doing her own rendition of "here comes the plane". lets just say the split pea bin at sunflower market intrigued me this week. after this soup, well, i'm a believer.

split pea soup
serves 2

1 c split peas, picked over, rinsed
1/2 onion, chopped
spoonful of coconut oil
2.5 c water
small potato, chopped
medium carrot, chopped
dried basil
dried oregano
dried parsley
s + p

1. on medium heat, saute onion in coconut oil. salt and cook for 2 minutes
2. add peas, water, potato, and carrot. bring to boil, then reduce to simmer
3. add all spices to taste- i never measure. simmer until vegetables are soft, but split peas are still toothsome.
4. pour half the soup into a blender and blend to baby food consistency (sick... but delicious) return blended soup to pan and mix together, adding copious amounts of salt and pepper.
5. dish up. don't burn your tongue!

some suggestions for you.

2011-10-06T19:29:00.000-06:00

there are some serious things happening this week.

if your area code is 801, you probably better be pulling out the sweaters and dusting off the snow shovels. utah is ridiculously funny... like i am pretty sure it was in the mid 80s on monday. now it's snowed past the y. i wonder if fall ever feels a little short-changed? the weather today made me pull out all the stops. i think it was completely understandable, too. ie fuzzy socks. heat on full blast in the car. leftover chili and cornbread. hoodies. google searches for sweet potato recipes and more soup.

monday. 82 degrees

wednesday. 43 degrees.

when you ask a girl on a date, it's probably a good idea to not wear your favorite sweat pants. sure, i understand they are your favorites and your steelers sweatshirt your friend picked up at a flea market is screaming classy, but it does nothing but give aforementioned girl another good story for her date stories vaunt. lets just be real for a couple minutes. or a couple hours.

steve jobs passing led me to find this commencement speech he did at stanford in '05. that guy was probably the definition of real. it is what i needed to hear, and maybe what you need to hear too! (and makes me feel even less bad about being a college dropout.) my suggestion is to listen to it while folding your laundry. therapeutic!

i bought peaches from a fruit stand... best peaches of my life. today i was feeling like a cross between a squirrel prepping for winter/hibernating bear as i sliced them up, doused them in lemon and sugar, and threw them in the freezer in preparation for the doldrums of winter and those days when you'd give anything for a ripejuicy. do you hear that? i think the fruit stand on 800 n in orem is called to you.

the cocoa bean.

2011-10-04T22:07:00.003-06:00

my cousin has a nifty job.
she makes cupcakes, wears neon shirts, and blasts music all day long at this cupcake shop in idaho falls called cocoa bean. last weekend when we were there we made it a point to pay her a visit and basked in cupcake glory.
mostly i try to deny the fact that cupcakes are pretty delicious, but there was no denying those mounds of perfect frosting. the pumpkin chocolate one was a great reminder.... as was the better than "whatever". (beating around the bush, much? haha)
and from the looks of these pictures, i wasn't the only one who enjoyed having their cake and eating it too. kourtni was getting a little out of hand. its fine.

there is definitely a cocoa bean in provo... i wonder if they deliver...

meet my newest bundle of joy

2011-10-03T22:21:00.000-06:00

my heart is happy. my pockets are empty.

today i walked into best buy with a lofty mission in my brain.

today i was defeated... by myself. and i was also victorious... over myself. win win? i hope so.

i am now the proud owner of a nikon d3100. (eeeeek!)

i've been in a battle with myself for the last six months over whether or not i should buy a dslr, parts of me thinking it was a great idea, other parts of me thinking it was an awful idea. however, the decision was set in stone this weekend as i lay on my grandma's floor, unsuccessfully attempting to edit blurry pictures taken from the wedding. my point and shoot was just not cutting it. i could hear pomp and circumstance playing in my head. it was time to graduate.

i thought about it all day at work, and right at 5 pm i plowed into best buy, my eyes on the prize. i bossily told the clerk what i wanted, quoted the exact online price, and within fifteen minutes the world was at my fingertips!! (for a small fortune)

say hello to my little friend.

i feel like a new parent. is this what it feels like to have a baby?

shooting practice starts tomorrow.

scenes from a wedding.

2011-10-02T22:01:00.000-06:00

seth roth, i am just going to say it. you're a lucky man.
this weekend one of my favorite people got married- my best friend and sidekick, alexis murphy. it was beautiful. the couple was beautiful. the venue was beautiful. the flowers were beautiful. the guests were beautiful. even the food was beautiful.
i feel like i've been to a lot of weddings, but it's sort of weirdly different to have your best friend get married when you're single. however, i am so happy for seth and lex. they're both great people and perfect for each other. i'll miss the sleepovers in idaho falls and other shenanigans, but the fact that they're relocating to boise gives me one more excuse to drive down there every now and again.
congrats, roths! i love you.
ps. lexi, you will always be lexjmurf in my phone.
pps. please have some babies so i can be the cool aunt. (cousin?)

tuesday things.

2011-09-27T23:43:00.001-06:00

today was one of those days where everything is planned sun up to sun down... and i liked it. business for me equals happiness.

the highlight of my day was definitely trying to explain rectal stimulation as a means of relieving constipation to a mother with a two year old. with the help of wordreference.com, i think i got my point across ...was that in the job description? not so sure. however i don't think lunch and massages courtesy of alpine therapy is in the job description either, but it is definitely happening tomorrow anyways... did i mention i am a big fan of my job?

i was late for a meeting tonight because i went on a beautiful run up provo canyon and somehow i ended up doing 8 miles, all thanks to my new favorite android app endomondo. this app tracks time, calories, pace, distance, and has a robot that tells you your pace and time every mile. it is so great and addicting... and much cheaper than a garmin. i am in love. what did i do without a smartphone? ... oh yeah. i had to sing to myself and clock my distance with the odometer. that was fun.

i love fall.

i am obsessed with this banana bread recipe i've adapted from joythebaker. add chocolate chips and sub wheat flour. you will think you've died and gone to heaven... and the girls you visit teach might even let you come over.

i found new black suede steve madden boots at ross... and now i have buyers remorse.

this girl is getting married this weekend... my favorite cousin alexis! tomorrow i'm headed to idaho falls to bask in the wedding happiness and craziness. it is going to be a great weekend... i mean, when the weekend starts of a wednesday night it just has to be.

time to make the best roadtrip playlist on this side of the mississippi.

grandma burleigh.

2011-09-25T22:57:00.001-06:00

last tuesday of of the sweetest ladies i've ever had the opportunity to call family passed away at the ripe old age of 91.

grandma burleigh was one of the cutest, funniest, most endearing women i have ever met. while i only got to see her once every couple of years growing up, i will always have good memories of singing songs, visiting her little house in evanston, wy, browsing at walmart, getting yearly birthday cards filled with immaculate handwriting, and her soft voice- the way she'd call me "honey" and tell me how much i looked like my mother through her crooked little grin. grandma burleigh was the perfect example of the qualities i want to emulate in my own life; those of kindness, grace, talent, and love.

her funeral was held on saturday. it was wonderful to have all my family gathered in celebration of the life she lead and the legacy she left behind.

i love you grandma. can't wait to see you again. til then say hi to sara and brycen for me, okay?

thursday according to my phone.

2011-09-22T20:35:00.000-06:00

do you see what i see?! little flecks of red! on the hills! fall is here. break out the pumpkin.

i just figured i should document where i spend a good chunk of time... state street, driving to work every day. those lights never change, i will tell you what. blasting arcade fire from the inside helps keep it all bearable, though. i always have some album obsession for every season, and i think fall 2011 has neon bible locked and loaded.

oh hey katy perry with pink hair. this treasure came in the mail today addressed to a former resident. scoooooooore i spent my downtime at work smelling all the pretty smells and coveting all the boots. and skipping the article that had anything to do with k. perry and her pink hair.

and i went grocery shopping and bought this!! yeah, just a wild guess, but pretty sure i am the only twenty something that gets excited about buying coconut oil. in my defense, the internet told me olive oil isn't high heat safe and releases toxic chemicals into the air and burns up all the good stuff anyways, so i converted. oh, and you can rub it on your body. win win!

speaking of food did you really think i'd get through a whole post without mentioning it? nope.

here's what i ate for lunch. seriously, salivating right now. i am a tofu convert thanks to this recipe.

and something else i've learned! saute broccoli and cauliflower, then drench them in balsamic vinegar. heaven.

maybe i just liked it because while eating it i was laughing my head off at up all night. you need to jump on this bandwagon. pronto!

"to live is the rarest thing in the world. most people exist, that is all"

2011-09-20T15:10:00.001-06:00

oscar wilde, you say it well.

at work today i realized upon telling my first patient the date (sept 20 for those who are still wondering) that today is my half birthday.
in six short months i will be 21. 21! sure at 18 i was deemed a legal adult, at 19 i endured the awkward "teen but not really", and at 20 i added the first zero, but i still feel like a person really exits childhood at 21. you're really a big kid now. no ifs, ands, or buts.

as my patient left and i was left to my own thoughts, my mind went reeling into what i want the next six months to be. it seems that fall always brings a lot of reflection, especially when every person you meet wants to know your how, what, when, where, and why of your life and the past summer. my summer was great- the first half of my twentieth year has been spectacular, but when i try to think about things that have really made an impact or that i can truthfully deem important, i come up a little bit short.

that is all about to change. it has to. i mean, i spent the next couple hours wracking my brain on ways to make it memorable and worthwhile, so it better be! as i thought about what i could do i thought about a list of things joy the baker posted back in the spring entitled "thirty things before i turn thirty". i remembered thinking it was a pretty genius idea... something i would have to do upon arriving at the top of that hill. then it dawned on me that i didn't need to wait til i was thirty to make such a list- i could do 21 before 21. and so i did.

and i can hardly read my own handwriting. here's the official list.

twentyone things:

learn to make one loaf of bread by hand.

memorize two meaningful poems.

read three substantial books.

bake and deliver food to four people i don't know.

try five new restaurants.

leave six quarters on the sidewalk for people to find.

be completely vegan for seven days.

watercolor. make into thank you cards and send to eight nearest and dearest.

make nine new friends.

overtip a waitress ten dollars.

learn to make donuts. give away eleven. use that can of coconut cream somehow.

learn to make jam. smother it on freshly baked bread. eat for twelve days.

practice yoga nightly for thirteen consecutive days.

watch fourteen sunrises/sunsets.

bike fifteen miles.

travel to one new place. shoot sixteen videos of the experience.

read the entire book of mormon en español seventeen minutes a day.

leave eighteen meaningful quotes, words on encouragement, praise on cars, sidewalks, doors, elevators.

give somebody nineteen extra minutes on their parking meter.

compliment twenty strangers.

make a list of twenty one good quotes to carry with me.

list, its on!

hey i was on the news pt 2.

2011-09-16T23:50:00.001-06:00

remember when i was on the news a couple years ago?

well, it happened again. we were just so good at dodgeball, they challenged us to another go at it!

watch the white shirt girl make a complete fool of herself by clicking the link below...

The other rivalry game: dogeball | ksl.com

bingo.

2011-09-15T13:34:00.003-06:00

i think that craigslist has just given me all the direction in life i need.

if only i could find my camera cord to upload those few pictures...

HA just kidding. but really. bikini barista? where the heck are these places in orem? i've never seen them.... however i always wondered what really went down at the "cyber cafe" next to shopko.... i have a feeling free internet isn't the most lucrative business.

in other news i did something trendy yesterday. like i've written in the past, wednesday evenings are usually cleared so that emily, anita, and i can have our own version of "finer things" club/dinner. we cook, discuss our angst towards byu/our majors (or lack thereof), travel, music.... and making crucial life decisions based on the magic 8 ball app for android.

life changing.

anyway, last night i did something cool with this leafy green.

welcome, kale.

don't worry if you aren't familiar with it... even the checker lady at winco had to ask me what exactly it was. people these days... acting as if kale and buckwheat groats weren't found in every american kitchen.

kale, meet olive oil and copious amounts of salt and pepper. oh, and a low grade oven.

in goes leafy greens, out comes paper-like crunchy chip things.

if you invite me to your bbq, expect me to bring a fresh batch as my date.

they're like crunching on decomposed leaves... only a trillion times better.

pair with carrot ginger coconut soup and grilled tomato/mozarella/pesto on sourdough, and well, you might have just reached the trifecta.

wednesday should be every day.

now excuse me while i go searching for that blasted camera cord and try to think of the perfect private dancer name for myself.

and the world spins madly on

2011-09-12T23:24:00.003-06:00

hi, spain. te amo

life is a funny thing.

i am learning that more and more as i make decisions, change my mind, succeed, fail, and improvise in almost every aspect of my life.

last weekend i dropped out of school for the semester. they call it "discontinuance" or something frilly like that. quite frankly, this is not anything i ever in a million years would have imagined myself doing, but after a lot intense thought and a pretty big quarter life crisis right before the add/drop deadline, i decided it would be in my best interest to pull the plug on fall semester.

my decision to discontinue stems from my inability to decided what i want to be when i grow up. i like food. i like exercise. i like spanish. i like writing. i thought that dietetics would be the best option for me, but last friday it just hit me that dietetics wasn't quite it. half of my fall schedule was geared toward this major, and while this realization came to me before any major deadlines, it was 2 weeks into the semester and too late to catch up if i tried to get into new classes, and i was tired of wasting my money on frivolous classes. taking that big deep breath and pressing that "drop all classes" button was both exhilarating and terrifying. calling my parents and explaining the situation was both satisfying and shameful. trying to figure out what i am going to do for a whole semester is proving to be both frustrating and, well just frustrating.

i've always been a woman with a plan- i've had something to look forward to and work towards, but currently the only thing occupying my brain seems to be a resounding "now what". i'm good at filling time and being productive, but i'm still worried taking a semester off will prove to be either the best or the very worst decision i've made. i've got a lot of introspection to do. a lot of prayer, pondering, and decision-making.

patience is a virtue and change is the only constant. i have a lot to learn. in the meantime i will call this quote my mantra.
"life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage: it can be delightful" - george bernard shaw, anglo-irish playwright.

the red rock recap.

2011-09-11T16:06:00.001-06:00

this weekend i earned my stripes... even if my team misplaced our sharpie the entire race and only marked our calves after the whole shebang was over!
remember when i posted a little bit about the red rock relay down in moab in may?
it happened again. enter red rock relay: zion. here's the breakdown
2 days
186 miles
12 team members
210 teams
4 hours of sleep in a 48 hour time period
obviously, it's a recipe for a really great time!

this time our team of "red rock relay rookies" was a conglomeration of coworkers and a coworker's extended family. the fun started in cedar city thursday night with a big sign in party and pasta feed. i was worried this mass produced food would be disgusting, but thanks to the best veg pasta sauce i'd ever inhaled and great harvest cookies the size of frisbees, i was pleasantly surprised.

after a quick trip to walmart for the goods, ie tons of clifbars, chocolate milk, trail mix, string cheese, and enough bagels to feed a small county, we slept for a couple hours. then it time for van 1 to make it to the starting line for our 6 am debut.

demon eyes. they come out in the wee morning hours

obviously we were pretty bright eyed and bushy tailed.
the first part of the race was freezing cold and i didn't feel the least bit envious of our first runner, who had to ride a ski lift twenty minutes up a mountain in the freezing just to run all the way back down.
what did we do for these twenty minutes? jump in our car without knowing where the next exchange was and drove around completely lost, only to go back to the starting line and find out that the first exchange was right by the ski lift. we're a good team.

i was the second runner. do you like my ninja suit? when i was thinking "relay in st. george" i was thinking running tanktops and shorts, not underarmour and ear muffs. its a good think i threw those pants in at the last minute! my first leg was a baby 2.7 miler, but a big hill that kind of chewed me up and spit me out at first. i blame the elevation!

while we took turns running, the rest of us stood around on the road playing cheerleader and justified eating way too many bagels. six hours later we got to our van exchange, passed the baton, and went to chili's for lunch.

chili's is gross. i had a salad and it was mediocre- not even picture taking worthy, and that is saying something... i should have gotten the molten lava cake. next time! after that it was two hour nap time, then back to run our second phase of the race. my next leg was a 3.7 miler. since my legs of the race were short, i set little goals, mainly consisting of passing as many men as i could and finishing this run in under 30 minutes. it took me 28. i was proud of those 7.30 mile splits!

then it was dusky and dusty... and i thanked my lucky stars i didn't have to run down this eternal road.

it got dark and pretty. just look at that sky! the sun went down and the headlamps came out while the rest of our runners hauled up the mountain.
when our phase was done we exchanged with van 2 and went to st. george to shower and "sleep". i closed my eyes for two hours, then it was up again so we could meet our team and finish our last leg.

enjoy this picture. it kind of shows how sleep deprived crazy i was feeling, just look at those bags under my eyes! 4 am is the prime time to run. your brain is so tired, it doesn't even know what it's doing. my third run was 6.2 mile, then i ended up running another 4.2 for a team member who'd gotten sick. i'd never run in the pitch black darkness with a headlamp, and it was kind of fun! our van finished our part of the race, handed off to van 2 to finish, and went back to st. george to shower and eat.

nielsen's caramel cashew custard. i would run any number of miles just for a cone of it!
after eating, we made way to zion to run across the finish line with our team members.

again, so gorgeous.

we waited and waited for our van to finally show up. my favorite part of the day was watching all the teams before us finish. they were so creative! i especially liked forrest gump's guest appearance.

our van finally showed up and we ran/hobbled across the finish line as the announcer told everybody to give it up for the"red runners relay rockies". rookies, rockies, tomato, tomahto. we were just happy to be done!
carbo-loading/snacks devouring ensued, then the long ride back to provo with a delirious bunch of women. let's just say that trivia and my aunt carolyn's jokes are a lot funnier when you've had four hours of sleep.
i am now accepting applications for team mustache 2012 (get it? must-dash? i'm hilarious) next september.
til then i will probably be trying to scrub these inch wide stripes off my calf. i don't doubt i'll be loofah-ing until next year's race rolls around.
the strange looks from my bishop are well worth it.

fast times in the mile high city.

2011-09-07T07:38:00.003-06:00

i feel like the title above is a little misleading... or sounds like the sequel to night at the roxbury.it's 6:30 am, so let's just go with it. with the way this weeks schedule looks, i figure blog now or it might be brushed aside and become the red headed step child of memories.

first off, i just have to say that i love colorado. it's pretty! it's clean! people wear their workout garb all day and there are ample places to park a bike. there are running trails less than 100 meters from my aunt's front door. there's public transportation and a cafe rio. really, i think a combination of these things are the only necessities to life.

on saturday, britni and i boarded a jet at million air airport. in provo, utah. no, we are not high rollers, but leaving from an airport proclaiming "million air" and having to walk outside on the tarmac to board the plane made us feel pretty fly. (and in need of some aviators)

oh, skymall... i need this.

my aunt aly collected us from the airport and we went on a fieldtrip to krispy kreme on the way home.

we then embarked on to highlands ranch, co, where my family lives, and proceeded to spend the day stuffing ourselves with chips and salsa for lunch, shopping around for hours, and having a repentance dinner of salad at cpk. oh, and i started getting a cold, how lame is that? i always get sick on trips, and that is a fact.

sunday we hung out and went to church, watched the baby, and went to my aunt's house where a lot of good eating ensued, followed by a lot of laughing and pinterest. it's safe to say we've converted my aunt.

i kind of think this is exactly how a 17 month old lives life.

monday i went trail running. it was so great, like i said above, there are many paths and trails that all connect in the area my family lives, so i was able to go crazy, with a little help from my gps. (what did people do before technology?!)

later monday britni and i rode the light rail to real denver and proceeded to chew that city up and spit it back out in a good 8 hours time.
we went to the "taste of colorado" fest and got free eats and watched cooking demos.

we rented bikes and rode all over the city

we spent a couple hours inside of the coolest bookstore of our lives

we had the best ice cream ever. ever. little man's chocolate coconut, you are something else.

we had sub par food at a crappy parisian cafe.

we met black rappers who wanted us to be in their music video... and wanted pictures with us, after ordering us to "putcha shades on!" oh, and told us to look for them on mtv. done deal.

we did touristy things like ask people on bikes to take pictures of us in front of rando buildings.

we tried to go see boyz to men... but decided against fighting the crowds.

all in all, it was a great day in the city, minus the fact that everything was closed for labor day.

tuesday morning i went on another run on these remarkable trails i just can't stop talking about. all the runners i passed were all smiley and wave-y. sometimes they would try to talk to me, but i had my headphones in so i just pretended i understood and gave them a little laugh. i still wonder what they all said to me.

back at the fort my aunt made us award winning smoothies. mental note, get a vitamix.
later, we took a field trip out to my uncle's work and stopped at the red rocks amphitheatre, which is breathtaking, by the way.
we found out zac brown band had been playing all weekend, and we were sad to have missed it, seeing as britni's cousin is in the band, and we could have scored some great tickets. boo. maybe if we had gone the red rocks would have collapsed on us? yeah we'll just go with that.

you can't hear it, but he's saying CHEEEEEEESE

later, we ate at a mexican restaurant and more chips and salsa ensued. then it was back to the airport and onto a smallish plane to finish our travels. we landed safely in provo and patted ourselves on the back for a trip well done.

all in all, this weekend taught me a couple things. colorado is beautiful. i have a wonderful family who are great hosts/tour guides. when you have a cold and there is already pressure in your head, the descent on an airplane is pretty painful. i am going to suffer this week for being irresponsible and not going to school.

i hardly care because my trip was completely worth it.

colorado and family there, thank you. you're wonderful.

colorado

2011-09-05T09:58:00.001-06:00

Sorry I have been a little MIA... but currently I'm blogging from my phone and scheming as to how one devises a plan to live here.Colorado I love you and I don't know why it took us so long for us to find each other... but better late than never, right?Going to explore Denver. Have a great labor day.. put on those white shorts one last time!

september first

2011-09-01T14:45:00.001-06:00

summer's over. i wore a cardigan. if cardigans don't say autumn and typical byu girl student, i don't know what does.
you see that pucker between my buttons? it's been causing problems. it keeps popping open and surprising all the people i come into contact with. what can i say? i'm just so darn busty. (joke)

but really, i am sad to see summer go.
i'm happy for fall, though! bring on the pumpkin, boots, and trendy cardigans.
oh, and i just have to share this.

it's probably violating laws for me to post such a picture, so don't tell.
this lady, a former co-worker called th other day to make this burn appointment. anyway, evidentially while playing relief society president/mortician she picked up the curling iron by the wrong end and burned all her fingers.
i laughed and laughed and laughed. i hope you do, too.

now i am going to try to find a safety pin for this shirt/teach myself chemistry. it's a tie between which task will be most difficult.

today was great

2011-08-31T14:30:00.002-06:00

i went running this morning.
i had leftover couscous and broccoli for lunch.
i found a front row parking spot in the y lot (and that is like winning the powerball, lemmetellyouwhat)
i was miraculously on time for chemistry!
all in the makings of a great day.

and then the girl sitting across from me during study time pulled out a tuna sandwich.
it's smelly particles are still hanging in the air.

all good things must come to an end.
(i just am really hoping i can keep my OWN lunch down.)

tuesday things.

2011-08-30T20:16:00.001-06:00

i rode my bike to school today in a skirt. i'm sorry if i unintentionally flashed anybody. (dismounting is tricky)

school started. have you ever been thrown into a deep pool while wearing ankle weights, then been told to tread water for a couple minutes with your hands above your head? i haven't either. however, i would imagine that would kind of stink, and i have a feeling my struggles this semester might come in at a close second. the more time i spend in "introduction to bio organic chemistry", the more i kick myself for not going to spain this semester like was the original plan.

i just want to cook. i want to chop fresh basil and smash garlic and drink out of my lone mason jar. ...and i killed my basil plant. (i bought another. it's bigger)

we have a swamp cooler in my apartment and so my showering towel never dries completely. and my mom says that my foods will probably start going soft. however, it's fun to stand under when its on full blast... kind of reminds me of the rainforest room at the zoo.

i went to art history today only to find out that i bought the wrong one. now i get to buy another and pray that i can sell the one i don't even need. anybody in the market for a comprehensive overview of art history? (or a stepping stool? or a weight? or a weapon?) ((how about just trading it for a shoulder i can cry on?)) however, i did rejoice upon finding out my old access code for chemistry works for my new chem class. (tricky! and lessens the blow from my art history realization!)

i am going to denver in four days.... and that is all the motivation i need to get through this week of crazy!

i like to talk about things i like

2011-08-28T13:02:00.003-06:00

and this is definitely one of those things.

last night as a final summer hoorah, britni and i went to salt lake to say what's up to our ute friend, hailey.

of course upon arrival, our first order of business was finding some dinner. hailey suggested zupas. i suggested we go somewhere new. i'd heard about this place called blue lemon downtown, so we checked the site to make sure it was veg friendly and drooled over the menu.
seriously, everything sounded good. AND it only uses local ingredients/is environmentally friendly/blah blah all that jazz. we were totally in because we're all about being the aforementioned hoity toity things.

it had the typical utah set up of a restaurant. walk in, choose something off the huge menu displayed overhead, order, and sit, kind of like cafe rio, zupas, jason's deli, chipotle, diegos. i really like this style for one great reason: you get delish food and don't have to leave a tip. it's wonderful for the customer, probably not so wonderful for the waitstaff.

we started off with the hummus platter. we were feeling fancy and ordered an appetizer! be crazy! school starts monday!

then the food came out. i ordered the "blue lemon portabella burger" which is just the turkey burger with a portabella mushroom in place of the animal. well, obviously from the pic below you can see they forgot to mention adding a choice other animal product. and i bit right into it in my haste to get that delicious looking sandwich in me. i chewed, chewed, chewwwwed.... and then had my brain register that i was eating bacon. prompty found the nearest napkin to spit that out. britni informed me she'd been dreaming of bacon for the last two nights, so i dissected it out of my meal and handed it over.
we're a good team.
nevertheless, the rest of the burger was scruptious. if you've never eaten a portabella like this, i suggest it. i mean, just look at that cheese! tempting!

the best part of the meal came out last. sugar cookies! we didn't order them, a girl just brought them to us and apologized for our food coming out so slowly. i guess 5 minutes is just not quick enough in fast paced salt lake time. man. these cookies were wonderful, though.

i think i can speak for all of us when i say we really enjoyed the meal.

blue lemon. make a mental note of it. locations in downtown slc and highland. tell them i sent you. (or take me with you?)
may a wonderful sunday ensue.

weekend.

2011-08-21T23:59:00.000-06:00

like i mentioned previously, i spent lots of time in my car.
and scoring deals at the mall on jeans. (okay they are jeggings) judge not.
and kissing my dreams of buying an SLR goodbye and deciding to be a responsible person and pay my college tuition.

thursday we went to slc for the twilight concert series and got our rave on. kind of.
ghostland observatory was pretty neat. they pumped smoke into the air that smelled like maple syrup, then shot lasers across the sky.
it was pretty great.

on friday britni and i went to the sound of music at sundance, after only a minor mishap where i thought i'd lost our tickets in the abyss that is my car. they were found. prayer works. i've got the attention span of a six year old and the lower back pains of a sixty year old, so we left at halftime. i mean intermission.
i stink at theatre. but i will just tell you... those hills were alive.

saturday i worked, which is super uncommon but necessary because of that college tuition deal.
then i ran on the provo river trail in the 94 degree heat, but thankfully i didn't die.
i ate at jason's deli and became obsessed. seriously, get there.
i slept on britni's floor and dreamed of spain.

sunday was my final hoorah in the 227 ward, and they said farewell to the best relief society room coordinator they'd ever seen.
every single week i mess up on leading the hymns on the computer. either i can't scroll, i turn it on at the wrong time, or only the piano part plays. i'm a spazz and get ever spazzier when i know about 30 sets of eyes are staring at me fumbling around with a mouse with no mousepad! none! it's been traumatic and sweat inducing, but great. and those ladies are gonna miss seeing those beads of sweat roll down my temples as they are yelling out orders on how to work that newfangled device, i know it.
it was family dinner week, too. we ate at a park and i probably downed an entire costco container of grapes. i just can't help myself!

and now it's almost monday and school is starting in seven days, and saying "seven days" just reminds me of the ring, and how in seven days you die, which i kind of feel like might happen to me. the clock is just a ticking. don't get me wrong, i do love school as much as the next zoobie, but i like my summer life. it's when "i do what i want" is the motto reigning supreme, i do what feels good, and i have next to zero serious cares.
byu is getting ready to pull that rug out from under me.... eeeeeeek! on my horizons are: organic chemistry. spanish phonetics. world religions. art history. cooking.
hopefully i don't get chewed up and spit right back out.
but hey! as of tuesday i will again be able to put my clothes in a closet.
for this weekend of fun, the last week of summer, and that last fact, i am indeed thankful.

inspired.

2011-08-21T09:58:00.000-06:00

i just stumbled across these and think they definitely need some sharing.
new motto.
secret crush on all three guys.
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....

= a trip of a lifetime.

move, eat, learn

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

vagabonding.

2011-08-20T00:26:00.001-06:00

when i was small i used to play "poor".
while other little girls ran around wearing cinderella dresses and playing barbies, all i really wanted to do was to pretend i was homeless, that i ate grass, and mostly that i had no parents and lived outside. (and that my name was felicia, but that's probably another story)
it's all the truth. we've got the home videos to prove it.

.... this week all those things became a reality. (besides the grass eating... for the most part)
this is a funny time in my life, mostly because of the amount of times i've packed up everything i own and moved it 2-3 blocks away from my previous location.

welcome to the beautiful life of a byu student who is never satisfied with her living conditions! don't worry though, i am not the only one.
welcome to this phenomenon that occurs every year around this time for about 3-5 days where roughly 1/3 of provo's population is between housing contracts and bumming off their more established friends' couches and living out of their cars.
welcome to life until tuesday.

today is day 2/6 that i am living in the corolla. for clarification's sake, i am using the term "living" pretty loosely, seeing as i have this saint of a grandmother who lets me sleep at her house and eat food out of her refrigerator. when i say "living" i simply mean that everything i own is chillin in my car, and i don't see the point of taking it all out just so that i can put it back in in four days.
time consuming. mind consuming. physically arduous.
it's basically the last way i want to spend my last week of summer.

however, living out my car has had some perks, for instance:
i now have full disposal to my entire wardrobe at all times... costume change during my lunch break? don't mind if i do....
the fact that i lost my phone charger and only have a car charger doesn't even matter, since i couldn't use the regular one anyways
i can appreciate the good gas mileage my car gets when it's lighter and fitter... cuz having your whole life in your back seat doesn't exactly help to keep the gauge at full...
i am learning what's really important in life... you know, outfit wise. for instance, are those black flats buried in the deepest confines of that tote REALLY worth the digging/unpacking/repacking? maybe. the skinny black leather belt? never.
there is always a mirror nearby for doing your makeup, and the natural lighting rocks.
plus, you know how sometimes you see some poor fool in some unfortunate circumstance and you just think about how glad you are not to be that guy? it's nice to finally be the cause of that life altering moment for somebody, somewhere.

now if you'll excuse me i've got to go scrounge around in one of my garbage bags for something appropriate to wear to work tomorrow. and my razor. this transient needs a shower.

who turned out the lights?

2011-08-17T22:31:00.000-06:00

but really. WHO TURNED OUR POWER OFF?!
you see, we move out tomorrow, but our power was turned off today at 12. poo!
too bad our roommate who is in charge of the power jet off to panama today (something about building a canal....)so we can't even yell at her.
anyways, it has made for some bad news to us procrastinators who were planning on packing up all night long...
tonight emily got out her headlamp and we tried to make heads or tails of our kitchen supplies.
it worked... kind of. too bad it was like a sauna in there... and maybe thats a little dangerous with knives? maybe?
finally we gave up and went with the next best thing... sleeping at grandma's.
man i love having family close.
and man do i love electricity.
guess we'll be packing by the light of the sunrise tomorrow bright and early.
yayyyy

tuesday things.

2011-08-16T21:31:00.002-06:00

facts of the week this far:

my best friend is a complete bad a.
this picture needs to be blown up put on my ceiling. i may or may not have to do just that.
but really. i am so awestruck by her level of cool... and guess what? her main parachute failed, too! i haven't exactly talked to her about it yet... so your guess is as good as mine. diana- comment and give us the story!

dinner.

dessert.
the best decisions of my week right there. exhibit a is sautéed zucchini with lentil balls, doused with marinara and a sprinkle of fresh parm. the recipes are simple and i will give them to you.
the first one is via pinterest, the goddess of internet searching. she's married to google. i just decided. the 2nd one is via mama pea... the queen of vegan cooking. seriously, follow her, she is hilarious.
the second one is hardly a recipe, more just inspiration from heaven above. cut a peach in half, sprinkle a little cinnamon and brown sugar in each hole, broil the halves for 5ish minutes, then eat it with greek yogurt. I DIE.
this is real life.

they make hearses still... maybe i am the only one who didn't know this, but it's true. i swear it looked brand spankin new, straight off the lot, and plate-less! impressive.
and just a gem of wisdom for me remember at a later date. note to self: if the guy on the bike next to you at cycling boisterously tells you to "just slap him if he gets too loud for you during class" do just that. really. for any man over 45 who yells out the words along to "like a G6" and "hold it against me" during a class like that, well, it's probably in his best interest as well as everyone else's.

and i'm moving out tomorrow! i'm going to miss my mates.

mid august already?

2011-08-14T22:01:00.003-06:00

alright school starts in two weeks. weird? yes.

every single day at work people ask me the date, and when i tell them, about 50% say some variation of "oh my goodness where has this summer gone" and i smile and comply and say some variation of "yes, it's really crazy" or "man it's just a-flyin" an average of 12 times an hour. maybe tomorrow i'll keep track. you'd think that being aware of how "fast time is going" would have the reverse effect of slowing it down or something... but anyways, i digress! weekend happenings!

first off, thursday isn't exactly weekend material, but when your friday/saturday/sunday goings on don't account to much, you've got to scrounge up something. and thursday totally counts because it is like weekend's eve.

thursday is a great day in the summer because it means there are free concerts in salt lake. like legit free concerts! like bright eyes. it was great, the music was fun, the marijuana smoke was a little overwhelming, and the people watching was as good as ever.

here are a few key players in thursday's games

a. your run of the mill high school couple. i thought this kid was gonna rub a hole right through his gf's shift
b. your average beer drinking f-word-every-other-word frat bro
c. the token ginger. wearing a polo. (mostly for kelsey)
d. the 65 year old in denial. woodstock was about 40 years ago, buddy.
e. your average drunk groupie chick
f. and us.

thanks for a good time, connor.

next thursday it's ghostland observatory.

wondering who they are? i gathered this from their myspace bio. (yep, myspace)

Ghostland Observatory is not a band, but an agreement between two friends to create something that not only heals their beat-driven hearts, but pleases their rock ‘n roll souls

something tells me they've got a following worthy of a couple paparrazi pics. stay tuned for that!
anyways, as for the rest of the weekend, well, it can be summed up pretty easily.

saturday: i failed at getting back to my pastoral roots. you see i had this great idea that i could go pick my own vegetables at u-pick farms, this farm in orem where you are quite literally picking your own vegetbales, right when i was done with my workout. however, note to self that farms mean mud, which means don't wear your brand new running shoes out there. you WILL step in and immediately regret the decision.
needless to say, i left with no vegetables and a whole lot of angst.

don't worry though, it was easily remedied by a trip to see "the help" and it was great. better than the book, in my opinion. the movie just rocked that character development... and made me want to buy some crisco. it's just one of those "what would minny jackson do?" moments.

sunday: a day that starts out with pancakes and a bike ride to church (risque, i know) can't be anything but good. i spent the rest of today cooking myself food and getting creative with leftovers, seeing as i move out in three days. i'm going to miss this apartment. it's the best ever. i mean, where else am i going to live where i sleep on a mattress on a floor and my walls are blue and green? it's one of a kind, i will tell you that. it's great being a provo vagabond.

excitement coursing through my veins.

2011-08-12T00:23:00.000-06:00

the deed has been done.
the flights have been booked.
we really have no idea what we're doing.
brit and i are going to denver over labor day weekend.
i've never been to CO and i think it's high time i get a little taste of this place.
priceline negotiator, i love you.
flights straight outta provo to denver, i want to kiss the person who created you.
my sheer denial of school starting and a prolonged summer weekend? i'll take it.
let the countdown begin.

a neutral day

2011-08-09T23:44:00.004-06:00

the good news:
i forgot that i'd already paid last month's rent with my initial deposit, so the phone call from the management company notifying me that i needed to come pick up my check was like christmas morning.

the bad news:
somehow our electric bill ended up being 174.23 for july. what. the. heck.
***
the good news:
i am more or less obsessed with lunabars. yes, the "nutritional bar for women!" i am so ashamed of my habit. but they are delicious. eating a chocolate dipped coconut one will turn your day around. i know from experience.

the bad news:
see "good news"
****
the good news:
i had a wedding epiphany today. i went to a reception for a friend of a friend and maaaaaaan i just want to press fast forward to my own wedding, rewind back to this reception, and then press play. it was stylish and simple. you know the wedding is good when you can't find a single thing to make fun of in the engagement pictures.

the bad news:

i am gonna need a whole lot of mason jars. and key lime pie cheesecake. and some poor fool crazy enough to marry me.

***
the good news:
i am hardcore working full time until school starts. and making mental lists of all the items i want to buy on my mental back to school shopping list.
like these. drool.

the bad news:
dr. cornish doesn't have any openings for well child checks until september 23rd, so don't even think about calling and trying to weasel your three children in to get their kindergarten immunizations today. (because they're triplets, obviously)
***
the good news:
i finally got my fall schedule all ironed out!

the bad news:
look at the size of this book why don't you. it weighs 9.6 pounds. i checked. the bad news isn't so much that i have to take art history as that i fear that i might have to cart this thing up to campus. (or is that good news? i can imagine some pretty good skull crushers or bicep curls in between classes might come from that beaut)

***
my life is neutral.