I was lucky

Yesterday I did some major grocery shopping.I am attempting to start our food storage. It's really been getting to me lately. We have very limited space here, so I am trying to figure it out. Anyway, I went to Aldi to stock up on some things, plus the regular shopping I haven't done in a while. If you've been to Alid, you know that they don't give you bags. It is a discount grocery store. I try to remember my laundry baskets to help carry the loads in, but I usually forget any carrying devices. So I had a trunk full of groceries (that amazingly at Aldi never costs as much as you think it will). I backed into my landlord's driveway to make the unload a little easier. After a few trips inside I tried to start the car to move it back on to the street where I park. It was acting funny and wouldn't start, so tried again... and again, and again and again with no luck. Just a lot of clicking noises and the lights flashing on and off. I called the landlord to let her know why I was in her parking space and luckily she wasn't coming home that night (She stays at her boyfriend's sometimes). When KC got home, we tried the jumper cables, and no-go. We didn't think it was the battery because all the lights would come on inside, but we gave it a try anyway. We were planning on calling a tow truck first thing in the morning since we couldn't roll it to the right spot on the street with our little muscles. We tried to forget about our woes, and play some games with the Murphys. During game playing we eventually brought up the car and they ironically had the exact thing happen with their car a while ago. They tried a couple things and what worked for them was switching the battery, even though the gauge said it still had power. KC woke up and when straight to Wal-mart where they luckily had one in the back straight off the truck. He installed it and, voila! It runs. Thanks to the Murphys for their trial and error that led to the right answer, and saving us a lot of money. I felt so blessed that it decided to quit at my home instead of in the parking lot of Aldi with a trunk full of perishables.

Now their gone...gone...gone, whoa-oo-whoa-oa-oa

Title hint: Righteous Brothers. KC needed help, I thought others might too.

Well now the parents are gone too. I understand this happened a few days ago, but like I said before, I don't like to dwell on things as they happen. It makes me sadder. Instead, I wait until it's far enough removed that I can dwell on the fun things that went on. We had a smashing time together. The came over on Wednesday and planned to sleep over for their last night here in MD. Mom and I did some serious shopping. I have the best luck with her. For some reason, every time she is with me, I not only find a lot of things I love, but also in my price range. This is not an easy task. I refuse to buy things full price, or even half. We hit the jack pot when at a shoe store where we both found purses, there were two boxes with a clearance sigh saying $14.00 on top. Being a bargain shopper I had to look inside awaiting something hideous since nothing in this store was that cheap. To my excitement it was two pairs of beautiful size 7 cowboy, I guess cowgirl boots. We snatched those boxes right up without hesitation and made our purchases. Now that, my friends, is a steal. If you know me, you know my love of boots, particularly cowboys boots, and a bargain so I was in heaven. Okay, the boots are distracting me from why I am writing.

We decided to take them somewhere fun to eat that they wouldn't find back west. We love this Indian place called Tandoori Nights. I was introduced to it by a friend who I worked at the Hyatt with a few years ago. Her husband was one of the managers. We love it and use it as our special occasion type place. Or whenever we want good Indian food. It's in Virginia, and with the messed up DC roads, mixed with the drizzling rain, dad did a great job to get us there, with a little help from Garmin, his GPS unit. Dad has got from aggressive driving skills up his sleeve.

After a very satisfying meal in our own private room, we went home to watch an Alfred Hitchcock Mom and Dad had from Netflix, Notorious. I fell asleep in the fist 20 minutes, as usual, but finished it later and it is pretty good. I love any Hitchcock, especially on a rainy afternoon, which was the circumstance when I finished it.

Mom and Dad flew to Dallas for a conference and I am so proud of them for working so hard and doing all of this traveling for such a good cause. They have started a foundation a while ago promoting moral and family values that seem to disappear more and more each second. They work so hard at researching and doing all they can to help these values continue to exist in the world. I am so grateful to them and those who believe like them so when I have children, there might still be a world safe enough to come into. Thanks for being such good teachers and examples, Mom and Dad. We'll miss you.

By the way, the pic of dad is him with some White Castle burgers I gave him for his birthday. A little inside joke from our road trip to Maryland.

23 years old!

I've been hesitant to write this post because it means my birthday is really over, which also means Melody and the baby have really already come and gone. I have been looking forward to it for so long, it's hard to believe it's over. I guess I should dwell on the positive which is that we had such a fantastically fun time. Julia is an absolute delight. I even liked her few bouts of crying because it reminded me that they were really here to be with us. So Let's see if I can recall all the fun.

I went to meet everyone at the airport on Thursday evening. We went to Cami's to introduce the Turpin boys to their little cousin/niece. The little one's were so excited as you'll see in the pictures. Cami wrote more about their new friendship on her blog. We ordered Chinese for dinner and then Melody the baby and I headed to my apartment. The baby wasn't having it. She decided to cry louder than Melody claims she has ever heard. We made it home after a feeding stop in a grocery store parking lot where I purchased our traditional birthday cereal while the baby ate. The cereal has been a tradition as long as I can remember. My parents would let us kids pick out any cereal in the whole grocery store that we wanted. No need to look at the price or anything. This was very exciting since we ate a lot of oatmeal and cream of wheat, or store brand bagged cereal. A box of Lucky Charms or Trix was such a treat. We have come a long way from the younger days when Alpha-Bits was our birthday choice. Now I'd much rather have the ones we chose this year (see pic), or any hot cereal compared to any of those gross sugary ones.

So on Friday, the actually birthday we got up earlier than we thought (baby's decision) and got right to eating our cereal and getting ready for the day. We gave Julia a bath in my tiny bathroom sink, It was hilarious and she was a great sport. And even though we told each other no presents, we each had a small token to give each other. We went to pick up Lili who was staying at Cami's for lunch and a little shopping. Cami generously offered to babysit (her kids were home from school so she couldn't come along) and we went to Silver Spring to eat at one of my faves, Lebanese Taverna. We had a nice lunch of Mediterranean cuisine, shared a Jamba, when to a little market that I love and had a great time. Mom and Dad were at a conference until late in the night so we were going to save any family celebrations for the next night. We headed home and made a huge plate of nachos for dinner. What is more appropriate for my birthday. We were going to go to Ritas for a gelati, but Julia was not having fun in the car so KC, by his suggestion, when to get a couple of pints of Haagan Dazs for us to share. I LOVE the pineapple coconut, and KC prefers Sticky Toffee Pudding. It was such a beautiful night, Melody and I just sat on the patio and talked while we waited for KC to return. It was so fun to just relax and chat.



We went to sleep and when I woke up around 7:00 I was so happy to hear the Melody and Julia were both still sleeping. They didn't get much the night before. At about 8:40 they work up and we started on our birthday desserts for Sunday. We made a flourless chocolate cake with a ganache glaze, a Pithiver (pronounced pi-tiv-yay) with red wine poached apples and pistachio frangipane (shhh, we used wine and coffee in my kitchen that day). We decided we would make it a dessert buffet and also use the delicious fruits of the forest pie Molly gave me. These things have to be done in stages, so we finished what we could and went to Cami's to hang out with everyone. We went on a beautiful walk and then headed to dinner with the fam. That night we all went to Carrabas, one of my favorite places (it might be the fact that it's the place where I realized I liked KC, but the food just happens to be SO SO SO GOOD). Melody and I even each got a huge bowl of delicious ice cream with sugared pecans. What a fun night. We badly missed the family who wasn't there. That would have made it that much better.

On Sunday, Melody came with us to church, where I had hardly any kids to sing with. The baby was a hit though. I had a great time showing her off. We made some more progress on the desserts then all got much needed Sunday afternoon naps. We than did our finishing touches and headed to Cami's for dinner. We all ate way too much dessert. And Molly, if you are reading this, everyone was raving about the pie and I had to keep reminding them I didn't make it. Sarah Lee has secrets I just don't know. We played a couple rounds of Wakee Six, and Lili came home with us since I was driving to the airport in the morning. We had one final sleep over, and took the inevitable drive. I was trying not to think about them leaving until it actually came. It made me so sad to come home and see the pack-and-play still assembled. I can't wait to see them again (that includes you Lili, even though I have been talking about M&J the hole time). I'm glad Mom and Dad are still here to ease the separation a little. We had a fun time shopping yesterday and I'm sure there is more fun to come.

I love being with Melody. With out even trying, she has a way of making me want to be a better person. She helps me remember what is important and how I can improve. She's one of the kindest people I know. Someday we WILL live by each other and I can feel this happy all the time.

Many thanks to everyone for all the gifts, cards, and phone calls. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family. If you are still reading, you are a real trooper. This is slowly taking the place of my hand-written journal so I like to add a lot a details. Here's a cute video of Julia's cute voice and smiles. I've already watched it a few times and can't get enough. We love you guys!

Childhood memories

I just got babysitting where I took a nice walk. It is such a beautiful day today and I couldn't resist. Plus, I felt like I could use the exercise. So we went to a fun little park enclosed in tall trees. It had one of those turny platform things, which I love. It completely relaxes me, and the little one loved it too. Then I tried the monkey bars for the first time in probably 12 years, and I think I'll be sorry tomorrow. Those are so hard. I don't remember it being that hard when I was younger. There were more parts to the park that I remember from the playground in elementary school that I played on at every recess. I was so peaceful and quiet and fun at the park it really made me reminisce. Childhood was great, and I'm finally to the age where I really think about it as a time of joy. Until now, I think I've just been too preoccupied trying to get to an age where I am comfortable and settled to think about the past. I guess that's where I am now. I'm missing the days when my biggest disappointment was that my friend couldn't have a sleep over. And something as simple as going to get a Slurpee at the gas station made my day. I want to be like a child again for those reasons. I think that's the first time I've said that since all I've wanted to do was grow up. I remember begging my mom to let my shave my legs when I was 10 or something crazy. She let me beg for a while before giving in. I'm glad she prolonged my childhood as long as she did. I can't wait to relive it through my own kids.

A new fave

When I elipticize, I like to watch my online shows so I don't have to deal with changing channels, or moving the machine too far. The laptop can come wherever I want it. So, yesterday, I had caught up on all the shows I usually watch so I tried a new one I have been curious about, Pushing Daisies. I am totally hooked after only two episodes. It's so different from all these dramas that are so trendy. It's almost like you are reading a storybook with the exaggerated colors and clothing. Kind of like Series of Unfortunate Events, or Big Fish. There's even a nice sounding narrator. It's so entertaining and I'd recommend it to anyone. It's also probably the cleanest of the primetimes shows out there, so far. If you haven't seen it and want to catch up, you can watch it here, or the previous link. The acting is fantastic. It's not too corny, and not too overdone either. I love the chemistry they all have. It's so nice to see some new faces. And Kristin Chenoweth is on it and even sings! I love her voice. She is a great character for these types of shows. I hope this one lasts. With all the new shows, you never know what will get the boot. I think this is a keeper. Here is a picture to peak your interest.

Ahh...Monday

I usually don't like Mondays that much since they are the very beginning of a new week, but for some reason, maybe the fact that I'm done with work and it's only 11:00, or that this is the week my family is coming, or that it just means that last week is over, I'm okay that Monday is here. It was pretty busy week and it's nice to start a fresh new one. Here is a re-cap of last weeks happenings:

I babysat from Tuesday-Saturday, all for the same kids except Wednesday which was Jeffy and Ethan. I have been trying to find new ways to have fun with these kids I am watching regularly. It is two families combined. They are best friends so one brings her daughter to the other's house. Two of them are toddlers and just like to run around and steal toys from each other, but the other is a 5 year old boy, and he is always asking me for things to do. I asked him if he wanted to make cookies so we make banana cookies with frosting. He had a great time. The best part was when we were mashing the bananas with our hand he had to make sure to put on his plastic knight's helmet in case banana would squirt in his eye. So ever since then, he asks to bake every time. I was hesitant to start as I knew this would happen. His mom encouraged me to do it with him as much as I wanted. She doesn't min at all. So turns out this will be a regular activity which makes it much more interesting for him and me. The next time we made chocolate frosting for Graham Cracker sandwiches, and the time after that, blueberry lemon scones. He loves it. He even sits in front of the oven to watch them bake. We also had a fun time at the park. with a picnic. I tell you, pushing a two year old, and a five year old up a long, graduated hill in a stroller is no fun, but a great work out. They also helped me clean out my pumpkin and make the cake for the party.

Also, the other day it was raining really hard all of the sudden and I had a sudden urge to just go for a ride in the rain. I didn't have anywhere to go, I just love the rain. On the way to the car, even under the umbrella we got soaked, and 2 minutes later it stopped. So we decided we needed to stop at the bank, which is close to Ross. I actually felt like looking through the rack and found a couple things I liked. Sometimes I can't stay in there for 5 minutes without getting a headache. I just wanted to document my whim to take a ride in the rain and thank KC for going with it.
So, my friend Molly is due any day now and she loves Halloween. She decided to have a party before the little one arrives so she threw one last Saturday. It was fun to get dressed up. It has been years. I bought this cowgirl dress a couple years ago and have finally used it and gotten it out of my system. I even tried to get my hair to stay all big and curly like the Utah rodeo queens. They must use TONS of Harispray. KC hadn't been thinking about a costume much, so I gave him some chef gear and we called it a day. Of course after bobbing for apples, all my bright eye shadow and hair was messed up, but I was happy to be done with it anyway. We at a lot of food, had a pumpkin carving relay, had a caramel apple bar, and played Mafia. I made a pumpkin cake, phyllo ghosts (didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped), and wassail. Molly made some of her delicious traditional Chilly and pigs in a blanket that looked like fingers (the ketchup is the blood) and one friend even made "vomit fudge". It was quite tasty. I forgot to get a picture. It was a great time. Anyway, it now feels even more like the fall, and that just makes me excited.



KC was called to be the next Elders Quorum President. We have known for a while, but now it is all official. We has some great counselors that are two of our good friends. So I invited them and their wives over for dinner last night. We ate outside and it was lovely. This ward has it's fair share of challenges so I hope he's up for the task. I think KC and I will learn a lot from this calling and with the challenges will also be a lot of blessings. It is a little scary, though, that the last two bishops were the EQP prior. I think we'll move before that happens.

So that is our eventful week. I just want to add that I love slide shows. it makes posting lots of pictures so much easier.

As promised

Here is the Road show. Just a few notes. This was the first night that we used the mics, so I was a little unsure about what to do with it sometimes. Feel free to have a good laugh over that. And, the signs that people are bring across the stage just say things like: BYU summer bash, three months later, airpot security, 40 years later, and thing like that in case you were curious since you can't really see them on the video. We had to break it up into a few videos so I hope you don't mind waiting in anticipation for the next to start. We understand that some of the sound is hard to hear, and expressions are hard to see, but just use your imaginations. Have fun!

I guess I'll do a tag

I have other things to blog about, but I am at work and don't have my camera accessible, so I'll do a this little game Whitney tagged me to do:

What I was doing ten years ago: Well, I was about to be 13, so I guess I was in 7th grade. This might've been the time I had a big mosquitoe bite on my cheek and I was afraid all the cool kids would think it was a big zit. They laughed at me when I was trying to cover it up with makeup. I called them on it too.

What I was doing five years ago: I was a big senior in high school, and the Student Body Publicity Chair. I was probably busy planning a dance, or a spirit bowl. I was probably dating Kyle Robbins.

One Year ago: I was a few months into this photography job, and I think hosting the in-laws, which is funny because they just left a few days ago. I think a tradition it forming.

Yesterday: I trained a new employee, pre-made the enchiladas, and pear cranberry crisp for the missionaries during the hour between work and babysitting, babysat for 4 hours, baked the enchiladas and crisp for the missionaries, fed them and got a gentle lecture for not being more of a member missionary (it's funny how they can look so kind with their big smiles while they are reminding you that you can do a lot more as a member), worked out on the elliptical during The Office, and went to bed way too late.

5 snacks I enjoy: salt and vinegar chips, grape leaf rolls, chocolate covered fruits from Costco, bananas and peanut butter, Turkey Hill extreme cookies and cream ice cream

5 Things I would do if I had $100 million: Build a huge house with a ginormous kitchen with three ovens, an eight burner gas stove ,and all the counter space I could ask for, take a lot of vacations to tropical places, let most of it collect interest, I like to think I would lead a normal and frugal life (don't know if I could ever shop without looking at the price tag), of course tithing (that is so cliche, I know), I have a shoe weakness. I'd probably have too many with that kind of money.

5 Places I would love to run away to: My dream house, the future, a hammock on a deserted tropical island with my honey, Ireland, a cabin with three feet of snow outside.

Five TV shows I like: The Office, Clean House, Split Ends, Americas Next Top Model, Good Eats (and some I'm ashamed to say)

Five things I hate doing: Going into work on Monday finding out that nothing was done on the weekend and I have to pick up all the pieces, going to the Wal-mart customer service line, going to the MVA, paying for car repairs, thinking of the perfect gift.

Five biggest joys of the moment: My Kenny loves me, work is almost over, it's Friday, I have like 4 shows to catch up on online and I can't wait (it makes working out so much better), it's finally fall weather and my birthday is next week and the fam is coming. Mel and I are going to party!(That was like three in one. I guess I have a lot of joy right now.)

We've been simpsonized!

I found this on someone's blog who I don't even know, and knew I had to try it. KC has a special liking to the Simpsons, so the whole time I was doing it, I didn't let him look. When I was done, I showed him what we would look like as Simpsons characters. Although, the simpsonizing process is pretty exciting so I should've let him watch that part. Check it out here. I kept myself entertained for quite a while. KC was so curious to know what I was doing, and probably a little worried. I worried myself at how excited I became as they began to take on our characteristics.

Happy early birthday to me!

I forgot to blog about my early birthday present from KC's parents. I love it and KC got one too, luck him. I feel like my teeth are straight from the dentist every time I use it. And it times you in four 30 second intervals so you switch quadrants on each beep. No shortcuts with this toothbrush. Janice always thinks of the perfect gifts. Thanks Robinsons!

Fun with the Parents

It's weird sitting here in my empty apartment as KC takes his parents to the airport. We have all been in this little apartment for a few days and it actually seems big now that I'm the only one here. Well we weren't actually here the whole time they were visiting. They arrived on Thusday evening. They had some plans for us the next day so we got a good rest to get up and out the door on Friday morning. We drove to White Sulfer Springs, West Viriginia to visit the former U.S. Government bunker. It was very interesting. It was crazy to see that this place was active only 15 years ago until it was releavled. Now, when I think of 24 when they had to retreat to the bunker, I can understand better. It's cool to think that there are actually places hidden where you'd never expect. The Bunker was under this amazing, extravegant 5 star resort that we walked through. We stopped at the chocolate shop to look. I asked out of curiosity their prices. They started at $55.00/lb. Man, I need to get back into that business. Our guide for the tour, Traudi, was quite animated, enthusiastic, and very entertaining. It was a great and informative time, and I would recommend it to anyone.

So we went onto Charlottesville, our next stop and where we were going to stay for the night. We decided to eat in their historic downtown at an eclectic place called Rapture where I couldn't resist the crab and goat cheese nachos. This was not a Mexican restaurant, and had many other options. And what did I choose? But I was glad I did. it was delicious. We also stopped at a very cute little Gelato shop and I couldn't resist getting the sampler so we could try 8 flavors. We found our motel and all tried to get some sleep. KC, I know didn't get much. He and I have been coughing, sneezing and nose-blowing for days. Mine seems like a very mild cold that will run it course with only a few symptoms. Nothing a little nightime medicine and cough drops can't cure. KC's is far worse and we think it's just allergies. It was quite sad seeing how miserable he has been with these allergies. They seem to never go away, and I think with the air drying out a little, they are hitting hard. Our guests were so patient with out constant couging and sneezing. So after the little sleep anyone got, we had our continental breakfast and drove to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. This was also amazing and it was a very gorgeous day to enjoy it. Honestly, It was so beautiful. My favorite weatherbesides the fact that is completely ruins anything you try to do to your hair. Anyway, it's always so amazing to see historical places where you know they actually stood right where you are standing. Like Washington at Mount Vernon, Jefferson had very distinct taste and it's funny to see what a man would do if he were in charge of the interior decorating. It was a great day. We ate lunch at Panera, and headed back to Cheverly in time to hear the last hour of Saturday conference. The boys went to the priesthood session and mom and I had a good time talking and talking. We were invited to the Drapers for brunch the next day so I made my traditional cinnamon rolls since they had to sit in the fridge overnight. We had a good time with everyone Sunday morning with delicious breakfast casserole and the rolls. It's funny that I always just feel like making cinnamon rolls during conference and forget that I always want to make it a tradition. It's an accidental tradition I guess. We watched conference with a little Napoleon Dynamite on cable in between. KC's parents were so patient with the little seating and sleeping areas there are in this apartment. There's just enough room for an air mattress if we move the table and chairs. They were perfect guests and we are sad to see them go. But Christmas is right around the corner and we will get to see everyone. I can't wait. And since I can't decide of what pics to post, you get a slide show. Ta da!

I'm behind

I try to post things as they happen, but of course life gets in the way. Last weekend was pretty eventful. On Friday, we tried to plan a cast party for the road show (which will still be posted asap) but it ended up being a few of us that always hang out anyway. I made dough for grilled pizzas and everyone bough toppings they liked. We had it at our house. our landlord is always kind to let us use the patio and the grill whenever we want. I was a little nervous since I'd never done it before, but it turned out great. I thought we needed a little fruit so I roasted some plums and pears with rosemary. Very fallish, I must say. It was a fun night and the perfect weather.


We're pretty busy lately. I am working at the hospital and am also working as a regular babysitter fro some girls in the neighborhood. I'm not sure how much longer the photography job is going to last. I'm trying to make it until January, but I don't think I be able to. I need a change.

I can't say how excited I am for the fall. The chill in the air makes my stomach turn with excitement. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the change and relief from the dreadful heat and humidity, or that it means Christmas is that much closer, but I love it. I am needing some pumpkins spice candles burning or something. Ooooooooo, I love fall recipes.