All you gotta say is No-whoa!

Our primary leadership really goes above and beyond. This past Saturday was Primary Safety Day. With a few kids that we have in primary, they could use that as an excuse to not do very exciting activities. But not so. This day was well thought out and well planned to let them know what to do in various situations: household safety, stranger safety, spiritual safety and fire safety. The kids really responded, and I think they will remember a little from it. Christina and I couldn't help but sing a few Safety Kids or Standin' Tall songs quietly to ourselves as they children were told how to say "NO" when strangers approach them. ("Say a tough no, N-O. A cool no, no gotta go... A laughing no, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha NO. A lengthy no, Noooooooooo..." or " Look for a Grandma or mother with children..." You'll understand if you listened to those songs when you were younger. The title is also part of the "No" song, if you didn't get it.) The put pictures of strangers in front of their faces to role play with the kids to learn what to do. (Mike Huckabee was one of the strangers-run away!) Anyway, it was a success complete with healthy snacks and a fire truck! Yep, right there in our church parking lot with about 3 or 4 firefighters. They were really good sports. And even though the kids saw the man put the gear on piece by piece, they were still scared when he was fully uniformed. I can kind of understand, it looks rather intimidating. But let let us all have a seat in the truck and the kids just loved it. It was a very successful activity despite several absent members of the primary who we missed. But I think the adults had just as much fun as the kids. Our next activity will be the Zoo in May. Sadly, I won't be able to make it, but I'm sure there will be fun to be had. Remember kids, be safe! "Safety Kids, you'd like to be one, smile when you see one, they're everywhere..."

Me vs. He

I got tagged by Mari, so I think I'll do it with a bit of a twist. Since KC has yet to post on "our" blog, I think I'll try to guess what he would answer to these questions as well. He'll let us all know how close I got.

Emily

A - Attached or Single: Very much attached.
B - Best Friends: KC, Melody
C - Cake or Pie: Cake-hot out of the oven with it's perfect pair, ice cream.
D - Day of choice: Friday. Sometimes my stomach even does a little turn on Friday afternoon knowing it's the weekend and the prospect of doing something different and fun, even if it's just getting Chipotle. It must still be with me from high school when I lived for Fridays.
E - Essential Item: The internet/my laptop, and camera. Oh where would I be...
F - Favorite Color: I suppose blue. It seems calming. Though this question is silly. Who can really choose.
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears. I loved it when my dad would buy the 5 lb. bag and we'd eat them by the handfuls. The pink ones are the best.
H - Hometown: Pleasant Grove, UT.
I - Indulgence(s): Sweets-Doughnuts (I probably have these item once a year), almond croissants from Bonaparte Breads, chocolate dipped macaroons and Pina Coladas (most coconut flavored desserts.) Homemade Ice cream is also on top. I like to eat as much as I want, choosing to forget it is pure cream. Non-sweets- Bloomin' onion or equivalent, and carrabas bread and dipping herb oil.
J - January or July: July. As much as I hate the humidity, I love my flip flops.
K - Kids: YES! Just not yet.
L - Life is incomplete without: KC, red shoes (for every season), and Aldi ( That was for you Matty.)
M - Marriage Date: March 4 2006
N - Number of Siblings: 6- 2 brothers, 4 sisters
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges. I feel like they are such a luxury sometimes. The perfect fruit. It comes in it's own little container and doesn't bruise.
P - Phobias or Fears: Sharks, and a lot more, I just feel like I'll jinx myself if I mention them.
Q - Quotes: "The harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph." -Thomas Paine (I'm keeping Marianne's, it's so true.)
R - Reason to smile: Last Tuesday!
S - Season: Usually Fall, but I am seriously needing some bright flowers, and warm sunlight in my life. Spring wins this one.
T - Tag Three Friends/Family: Molly (I'm tagging you until you actually do one. I think this makes three), Tracie, Matt.
U - Unknown fact about me: Jason Castro is my favorite American Idol Contestant so far. I like his unique voice. Who said you have to belt every note to win? I like the new sounds this year. I was losing a little faith in the show for the past couple seasons. It's gripped me this time.
V - Very favorite store: H&M lately. You can't beat their sales. Or their low prices on non-sale merchandise if you are willing. You can buy such uniques styles for a great deal. I.e. a fun dress for 5 dollars. My kind of store. although, it's conditioned me to not go above their sale prices when I go anywhere else. So now I'm stuck in super-bargain mode wherever I go.
W - Worst habit: Getting too comfortable on the couch under my electric blanket and staying there way too long.
X - X-ray or Ultrasound: Silly, but I suppose the only option for X. I've had many ultrasounds so I suppose that is how to answer the question.
Y - Your favorite food: A perfectly ripe mango or pineapple, nachos, or anything mexican, loaded with everything. Those short ribs, etc. I had on my anniversary were pretty dang good. I also think a good yolky breaskast sandiwch always hits the spot. This changes a lot. What if I haven't tried my favorite food yet?
Z - Zodiac: Libra. Meh.


KC (in Emily's words)

A - Attached or Single: Attached to the love of my life.
B - Best Friends: Emily, Nate, Neil, Scott (college buddies)
C - Cake or Pie: Cake, d.o.c.
D - Day of choice: Saturday, my one day to sleep in even though Emily usually wakes me up before I want to. It's nice to wake up that way anyway.
E - Essential Item: Cell Phone so Emily can call me at a moments notice. Settlers online.
F - Favorite Color: Brown
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears, but I love fruit snacks better.
H - Hometown: I grew up a lot of places, but my parents reside in Provo, UT.
I - Indulgence(s): A huge bag or Goldfish crackers, ice cream with malt sprinkled on top, anything my wife put thought and love into.
J - January or July: January, it's my birthday month.
K - Kids: I can't wait to be a dad. Kids gravitate to me wherever I go. I think it's a good sign.
L - Life is incomplete without: ukulele music
M - Marriage Date: March 4, 2006. Emily says I looked smokin' in my tux that day.
N - Number of Siblings: 3 sisters. They taught me to be the sensetive, and stylish man that I am. O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges. I had some fresh squeezed juice this morning.
P - Phobias or Fears: I don't like giving blood, but I don't know if it qualifies. I'm not scared of anything (said in a super hero voice)
Q - Quotes: "Fear is the opposite of faith." (Not sure who said it.) I say it to Emily all the time and it really puts her at ease.
R - Reason to smile: When Emily take initiative on a car maintenance issue and I don't have to worry about it at all.
S - Season: I like the pros and cons of each season. They all have a purpose so I'm not going to get in particulars.
T - Tag Three Friends/Family: Anyone that would like to. I don't like to ask people to do anything they don't feel inclined to do.
U - Unknown fact about me: I take a long time to reach a decision on most things. Emily usually ends up getting her way because she makes decisions faster. I think in some instances she has learned that the slow and steady win the race.
V - Very favorite store: I love the quality of Banana Republic clothes. But I don't indulge very often.
W - Worst habit: Sleeping past my alarm.
X - X-ray or Ultrasound: Weird. I guess I've only had an x-ray.
Y - Your favorite food: I am not a picky eater at all. Emily is very grateful that she can make whatever she wants, and I'll be happy with it. But when she makes pizza, or chicken pot pie with my favorite crust I'm all the happier. I also love fresh fish or a good juicy medium steak.
Z - Zodiac: Aquarius. Don't believe in it.

Okay, I am not sure on quite a few of these, but it was fun and interesting to see how much I know, or didn't know, about him. We'll see if he needs/wants/cares to correct me on any of these.

August Rush

If you haven't seen it, add it to your Netflix queue. We loved it, and though slightly unbelievable (without the best review from rotten tomatoes-boo), it was so touching. We even watched well into the night, not wanting to stop even though it was way past our bedtime. It's nice to have a wholesome uplifting movie to watch these days.

On another note, it is THE MOST beautiful day outside. Ideal for a solo, leisurely, thought provoking walk. I might just do that.

Sour Milk

I am a fanatic about using up all the food I buy and never letting anything go to waste. I'm also a fan of getting the most for my money. So I try to be careful about buying too many perishables at a time, but when it comes to milk the full gallon is a much better deal than the half gallon, even though the half suits our tiny family better. I guess we're not much of milk drinkers. But if I make a conscious effort, I can use it by it's sell by date by making milk based soups and sauces, or milkshakes, and custards, etc. There is an occasional occurrence where we have about 1/3-1/2 of the gallon left, and because if my principles I refuse to throw it away. So I just use it in recipes that call for buttermilk or regular milk since it doesn't really get too rancid for a few weeks after the sell by date. I'm not grossed out by this, though you may be. Sometime I will swallow my pride and throw a tiny bit away but only if I I need to make room for a fresh carton and have a little of the another old one left. It's silly to try to fit three cartons in our fridge. But I find using it up a fun challenge. Here are the things I made with my last carton that was a little past it's drinkable/cereal eating life. The recipes I used are linked to the names.

Corn Muffins


Irish Soda Bread


Waffles and Pancakes (I used the whole wheat pancake mix my mom made for me for both. If she wants to, she can post the recipe. It is so delicious.)

Bread Pudding (this recipe was just thrown together, but it did record it and it will appear in EE very soon.)

Knock Knock

The boy I babysit has been crazy about knock knock jokes lately. I taught him the "boo who " one, which he thought was hilarious, so I reached into my brain to pull out something that would really knock his socks off. Here is the debut, unless it's been circulating for years and I haven't heard it (which is probably has).

Knock knock.
Whose there?
Hatch.
Hatch who?
Bless you! Do you need a tissue?

Boy did he laugh. He wanted to retaliate with one equally entertaining, so here is what he came up with.

Knock knock.
Whose there?
Bike.
Bike who?
I see my bike outside. (laugh,laugh,laugh,laugh...)

He kept telling jokes like that until I finally didn't give as enthusiastic of a courtesy laugh and I think he realized it didn't really make sense. We had a good time anyway.

2 Sweet Years

As I mentioned before, Tuesday was our 2nd anniversary. It has been such a joyful couple of years (plus the year and a half or so that we were just friends/dating/engaged). I couldn't ask for anything more than what he has provided me all this time. We had a wonderful celebration. Here is how our fun went down:

He wrote me an email on Monday morning to pack an overnight bag and pick him up from work at 5. I was so giddy. I was talking to Melody on the phone when I saw the email, and I'm sure she could sense the excitement. I did a few chores, made a few stops on they way and picked him up. He got in the car, plugged the secret destination into the GPS and I continued to drive following the directions that it gave me. About 30 minutes later we pulled up to a Westin Hotel near Baltimore. It is such a beautiful hotel away from busy streets, and by my guess, very recently built. You could even smell fresh paint in the hallways. We got settled in our quaint, but modern room, complete with a large flat screen and screen and sharp silver and brown decor, and then headed to the in-house Pan Asian restaurant, Luminous. We were seated in our own private booth. They had several tucked into the wall literally like sitting in your own mini dining room. Everything about this hotel was so modern and classy. I loved it. We were given fried wantons with plum sauce as our "bread" course, ordered the most amazing spring rolls with some weirdly delicious green glassy noodles for our appetizer and then moved on to the main course. I haven't had food this good in a long time. I ordered the shortribs with a very elegant stir fry, and wasabi mashed potatoes. I can't even express how awesome it was. There was no need for a knife to cute the short-ribs, they simply fell apart with my fork, and melted in my mouth. There are still leftover in my fridge calling my name. KC ordered another red meat type entree, sirloin or something. It was tasty too, but I was so wrapped up in mine, I couldn't concentrate on any other flavors. As delicious as the desserts looked, we were stuffed so we opted out, that is until the manager came by with a dessert made especially for us, on the house for our special occasion (there alternative to a free bottle of Champagne which we were offered first.) I could tell the manager was so proud he even had the chef come by to present us with who had created this special treat for us. Like I said, this looked like a brand spankin new hotel, with new employees, so they were all very anxious and eager to show us a good time. We felt very taken care of.

We had planned on finding the nearest Walmart to buy cheap swimsuits for the very inviting indoor pool since we forgot, but being so stuffed, swimming didn't quite suit us. I could've also had fun in their huge fitness area for a while, but neglected to bring my gear. However, we thoroughly enjoyed our short stay and couldn't have asked for better service.

KC is such a genuine guy. He is sincerely nice to everyone he meets. And he is the husband I always strived to find. I sometimes really think I don't deserve the positive attitude and hard work he puts forward everyday. Two years may not seem long to most folks, but we feel closer than ever and can't wait to see how much close we become years from now. I have learned that through many of life's ups and downs, if you are standing with the right person, you can make it through. Even if it means that person has to push you sometimes, you can get through anything, and actually be a stronger person for it. KC is always helping me become stronger and to learn whatever I need to learn from what is going on in my life. We all know it's not so easy to figure those out by ourselves sometimes. I am truly blessed.

So, if you didn't know, the traditional gift for the second anniversary is cotton. Last year being paper, he got an origami set he has yet to make anything from (maybe for our next FHE). So this year I just got him a plain old t-shirt that he happens to make pretty cute. I think the idea of the traditional gift is to get bigger/better every year so this is my little silly tradition. We don't really give big gifts, and are using other big gifts from other holidays to count for the rest of the year. I actually didn't get around to giving it to him until last night. Between Monday when I bought his at Old Navy, and Wednesday when I presented it, I found a very closely matching one in my size at Forever 21. I was so excited and was going to be silly and take a picture in them together. As I was making dinner (babysitting at Cami's) I was searching for an apron, gave up promising myself to be careful, and promptly spilled pasta sauce all over it. He wasn't home yet and hadn't even seen it. Oh well,the joke wasn't that cool anyway, but we will get our picture. Two years and counting!

New Discoveries

• I like leftover pizza even better than fresh pizza.
• Paula Abdul makes me uncomfortable.
• I really like rock music.
• Never watch the morning shows the day after the finale of a reality show you like and are meaning to watch later. They are bound to have in interview with the winner.

Just some random thoughts for the day.

Very Fruitful

Lately I can't stop buying fruit. I usually only buy us one or two varieties at a time since, there being only two of us, I don't want it to go bad. Although, when they are getting on the ripe side, I do love the excuse to use them up in some kind of dessert. Anyway, for some reason, I just keep buying different kinds. It must be the good deals at Aldi, (pineapple: $1.99, etc.), or maybe my body is craving more fresh fruit, but I just can't help myself. Not to mention the frozen strawberries and mixed berries I have in the freezer for smoothies. I love blending them with chocolate soy milk. It was just funny when I saw all that had accumulated over the past week or so. But I'm not complaining, I'll find ways to use it right up in no time. Oh, and I am calling avocados a fruit in this circumstance.

One more thing. This is about the cute guy I live with. Yesterday was a little bit of a rough one so I wasn't quite in the mood to make dinner. KC was late coming home from work, so knowing he'd probably be good and hungry, I thought I'd just throw some potatoes in the microwave and do the whole sour cream, cheese, bacon thing (I did not neglect the parsley garnish). I put what to me seemed like a pitiful meal together and KC's face lit up and he couldn't stop saying how good it smelled. He told me that there wasn't a better, more wholesome tasting and warm thing I could've made for him at that moment. After his dinner had rapidly disappeared, he asked if I wanted to put this picture on my food blog and I turned around to find him with a huge smile on his face and a plate that was licked clean. If my mood was right, I'd have been all over that. He's always making me chuckle. He was even more happy to wash it down fruit salad of strawberries, oranges, bananas, and mangoes tossed with pina colada juice. It doesn't take much to please my boy. What would I do without such appreciation and gratitude. More on him later as yesterday was our two year anniversary.

I feel like a sub sandwich

"Would you like oil and vinegar?" This is a question I have always said yes to at any sandwich place. Little did I know I'd also be saying yes to using as my facial treatment as well. Here's the story.

The girls in my family are prone to eczema starting at about age 19. Blame it on cleaning chemicals, dry winter weather, stress or just genetics, but we've got it. Some of us have it worse than others. I have had a few bouts here and there due to repeated hand washing, and constant introduction of new substances while I was working in the kitchens, but nothing too serious. A few months ago I found a small red patch was on my chin thinking it was a normal blemish, I thought it would go away in a day or two. But when it started to spread and another spot was forming, I made the diagnosis that it was eczema. Cami has an ointment that works rather well, but still didn't take it completely away and more patches were forming. With out using the cream it really began to take over and become quite painful and itchy, and more parts of my face were forming patches. So I made an appointment for the doctor and bought something over the counter to hold me over. I was also using a pretty harsh facial treatment which was probably drying my skin out even more and aggravating it. The medicine I bought made it worse and so I started to look for home remedies for this annoying problem. I found a particular forum where numerous people swear the apple cider vinegar is the only thing that has worked to cure their life long eczema. Some people have horrible cases all over their body. I'm very fortunate that is not my case. But, I thought I might as well give it a try and use it as a spot treatment. Someone also added that they use Olive oil as a moisturizer since petroleum based products are prone to cause more heat production drying out the area even more. So with a few changes to my daily routine: cold water when washing my face with a mild face wash, sleeping with a cool mist humidifier, a good moisturizer, and my acv spot treatments (there is a temporary sting that I brace myself for when applied), with my olive oil spot moisturizer, it is truly making the long lasting, seeming incurable, inflamed eczema dissipate before my eyes. I seriously saw a difference within hours. It's been several days and it hasn't completely disappeared, but it has changed dramatically. Who would've thought? I am truly grateful. It's really been occupying my thoughts and I was pretty stressed out about it, which was probably making it worse. I am still going to the doctor today to get a real diagnosis, and probably a prescription if it will make it go away faster. But If I hadn't already made this appointment, I'd probably not have made it knowing what I know now. I think I'll get charged if I cancel now anyway. I suppose it's good to play it safe.

Now, I know that you might not have wanted to hear all about my skin imperfections and my facial regime, but I'm hoping that I might help others with this pretty common annoyance. Now I am not much of a holisitic healing, home remedy person (have you heard of the blue man. Yikes!). I like a good old fashion perscription, but I thought it wouldn't hurt. I also found out, and you might be interested to know that acv has many health benefits. It's supposedly a miracle cure to a number of ailments. Here's a little info. I'm still a little sceptacle, but after this, I might have a little more fath in this strong smelling substance. Or maybe I'll use this new found knowlege to allow myself to eat more of my favorite salt and vinegar chips. Hmmm... somehow I don't this the health benefits will be the same.

It's been very quiet in our apartment.

Well this is another picture from the aquarium, but it's funny because that's just how I have felt since Friday. I woke up with a slight tickle in my throat but no resemblance of any kind of cold or flu. I tried to brush it off and ignore it, but when my voice was a few octaves lower by Friday afternoon and pretty much gone by the night, I assumed Laryngitis paired with an annoying chest cough had kicked in full swing.

This is a common occurrence for me. A few of you may know the story of me being in a spelling bee in 4th grade with Laryngitis and being laughed at because I could barely say my name to introduce myself. So being the sensitive 10 year old that I was, I cried and my mom took me off the stage and I went home. My mom put Elise (Lili) and me in speech therapy to learn how to take care of our sensitive voices. We learned not to make loud outbursts at all, and to keep our vocal chords nodule and callus free.

But I think the latest instance of Laryngitis was due to allergies mixed with winter weather, so I don't think it's my fault from any loud outbursts. It's just something that happens a couple times per winter. So KC has been answering my phone, and whispering with me, even though he can speak just fine. And my friend Courtney kindly volunteered to lead the primary in the songs but I did hold up the pictures for the kids to learn the song. It was so nice to not have to try to do all the necessary talking and singing that comes with the job.

Now my voice is almost back, and sometimes I forget I don't have to whisper, though it still feel a little better since there is still a little strain on my voice to speak. The few days seemed so long that I was even beginning to wonder what is was like back in the day when I could talk normally. But I'm sure it gave others around me a break from my usually overly-talkative self. Oh well, I'm back.

Baltimore Aquarium Adventures

I love aquatic life...from afar. I would normally be deathly afraid to be within close proximity of most water creatures, but I like to watch shows about them on tv, or go to where the creatures are enclosed. The fact that I'm so frightened of these types of things makes me want to get within controlled proximity even more, knowing they can't hurt me (I know, I know they are more afraid or me yadda, yadda yadda). So when my friend Christina told me her family was going and that there was a special deal going on, I couldn't help but makes plans to go with them. They got there early and graciously bought tickets for us so we didn't have to stay in the very long line, (after a lot of bad traffic) which would've made us late to the dolphin show, which is what we saw right when we got there. It was so cute and amazing to see the dolphins do tricks and splash people on command. It looked like the trainers were having so much fun and just loved the dolphins, as scary as that profession seems to me. The tank was 24 feet deep and you can see through the side walls so we got to go up to the side at the end and really be within a few feet of them. They're just so cute. I could probably get rid of my qualms and pet a dolphin if I ever get the chance. Btw, Christina was teasing us about all the pictures of us kissing in the past, so I humored her with the picture above.
We then proceeded to the frog exhibit. I'm constantly amazed at the different shapes and colors these animals can be. Some frogs were hard to spot even though there were right in plain sight.

There was a little tank for kids, mostly, to reach in the water and tough some Horseshoe Crabs, and gigantic snail looking things (I can't remember their name but they were like the size of my shoe.) I even did a little touching myself. The Call boys were so hilarious at how excited the were at every corner. They loved telling other people to look at the fish, even if it wasn't particularly fish we were looking at.

We went to the huge tanks where the sting rays were seriously so big, it looked like you could lay down and take on a nap on one as they glided through the water. There were a lot of seperate exhibits showing the different types of environments the fish live in. There were some very intricately designed fish, and some huge odd looking fish. There was only one tank we saw with a Clown Fish. Who can name a famous fish from this family? Yep, Nemo, and we really had a hard time finding him. He would seriously hide in the anenome, just like where he lived in the movie, and only give us little glimpses when he popped out. It was so cute. I have watched this movie several times lately while I babysit, and I really love it so it was so delightful to me to see the sweet little bright orange and white striped fish playing with us.

There was also a cool rain forest section complete with mist, colorful birds, and a sloth hidden up in a tree. He was so high, you couldn't see much.
And I must not forget about the sharks. There was a very dark walkway that took you lower and lower into the building where you were circled by several huge sharks. They even had eerie music playing. The sharks have a pretty sweet pad there if you ask me.
Baltimore is so beautiful and I think it has been years since I was there. When you drive into the city, you feel so invited by the water and lighted sky scrapers. I am so happy that we went to the aquarium. Especially with the Calls. They are such a fun family. I recommend the aquarium to anyone. You probably won't get the steal of a deal that we got, but you will get the cool sensation of being under water, but feeling safe and dry at the same time. And they have a 4-D movie we didn't see. That will be something to go back for. Here are some more pictures for you viewing pleasure if you didn't already get enough.

What spice are you?

I took this quiz twice, from two different venues, and this is what I got.

What Spice Are You?

You are Basil! You are widely known as being dependable, cheerful and caring around others. Not much rubs you the wrong way, but you're not above defending those close to you if the situation calls for it. You can adapt to almost anything, and can find ways to be of use in nearly every situation. However, you're not the type of person to stand out in a crowd or seek the limelight. But for the most part, you're happy with your place. You are a perfectly normal and decent person.Basil, a very common spice in nearly all cooking, originated in India. It was introduced to the world at large in the 1570's. It flowers in July and August. Dried basil is used in tomato sauces, pizzas, soups and other dishes, while fresh basil is used in a myriad of summer dishes and is excellent with fresh sliced tomatos and mozerella cheese. Basil has long been a standby spice in Italian cooking.
Take this quiz!








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I'm not quite sure about this. I do love basil, but it's an herb, not a spice. And I can only relate to about half of the description. Ok, here's the next one.

You Are Cayenne Pepper

You are very over the top and a bit overwhelming. You have a fiery personality, and you can give anyone a good jolt. You can easily take things up a couple notches, no matter what crowd you're running with.

What Spice Are You?

Now this might be pushing it a little too far. I don't think I'm quite that obnoxious (I hope).

Isn't there something in between like cilantro (since they consider herbs spices) or mustard seed. They add a great flavor and pack a punch in small amounts, but too much would take away from the main ingredient. When they are over bearing, you realize you added too much and will try to hold back next time.

KC says he is Posh Spice.

Small talk

KC's boss presented him with an opportunity to go to a scholarship type gala at the Hilton. We don't often go to these types of parties, but we know just what to expect when we do. The theme was Prom Night, as you can see on the ticket. We didn't take this literally and buy corsages, boutonnieres, and rent a tux, but we did see people that did. Only a select few, but the dresses were big, and the hair was very done up. It was really fun to people watch as we browsed through the silent auction items. I guess these people really look forward to these types of events. With KC not being extremely familiar with his few co-workers that were there, we didn't have many people to chat with and when he did recognize someone we had those types of "So do you like what you do?" and "the hors douvres are really good."with awkward silences in between-conversations, which always kind of annoy me. No one likes to do it, but no one cares to say anything else for fear of saying something dumb in front of someone they don't know very well. We did have a few laughs when we ran into some more out spoken people that go right pass small talk to real conversation with no fear at all. It was very refreshing. We had a great four course meal complete with multiple cheeses, coconut shrimp, steak, crab cakes, multiple desserts and had a great time being entertained by The Capitol Steps, a political satire type of performing group. You really have to keep up on the latest politics to get a lot of their jokes, but they seemed pretty spot on.

I have to say that I was very happy to leave. It was nice to match some faces to some names I hear every now and then, but I just couldn't help feeling awkward at at event that is mostly for drinking and partying with old friends, when I didn't do any of that. It's hard for KC, or probably most LDS guys, to get to know the other guys at work, when they biggest bonding moments are during happy hour, so we're glad we have great friends from church to eat ice cream with instead. At least I got to wear this fabulous shirt that a friend loaned me. It happened to go perfectly with one of my favorite skirts (don't pay any mind to my half closed eyes in this picture). And I had to show you the new look KC is sporting. I actually think he looks pretty sharp.

Motivation

I have owned and enjoyed my elliptical for about 7 months. Only recently, I have noticed this nice motivational comment right by the button you push to unfold the machine to begin working out. Now I feel that every time I push that button, I have a sense of power and energy that really gets me moving. Don't you wish you had a motivational button?

More adventures in babysitting

Today Claire's mom was feeling a little under the weather, so I brought her to my house to have some fun. I gave KC a Play and Freeze ice cream ball for his birthday, so in light of today's fluffy snow fall, we decided to put it to use.


We filled the ball with ice...


and rock salt.

Then we filled with coconut ice cream ingredients.

We rolled it...

and sat on it.

And then Claire got bored so she took a break with the Rubiks cube...

But came right back to play some more.

Soon it was ready,

and we ate it up (but only a little bit since it was right before dinner)

And to distract the little one from wanting more we read some stories (KC was home to take pictures for us).

Another fun day in the lives of Claire and Emily.

We thoroughly enjoyed our coconut ice cream and our time together, as always.

It's a surprise

So what kind of yogurt is it?
Oh Aldi, you make me smile.

The contents of the purse

Just when I was thinking there was nothing to blog about (besides the unusually warm and inviting temperature of 70 degrees outside) Cami tagged me to do this little ditty. So here goes:

I am supposed to write about my purse and what it's contents are at the moment. Here is a list of the items. All very necessary.

• Water bottle-Of course. I don't leave home with out it.
  
• Toiletries-I guess that's what you could call them. Hand sanitizer (for any eating out type situation, or after filling the tank etc.), lotion, concealer, tissues, flossers (love those) and a couple make-up pencils for emergencies ( I don't think I've used these in a long time. They look pretty old, I just can't bring myself to take them out.)
  
• Ibuprofen-This bottle actually has a number of different pills if the need ever arises.
• Keys-I also have a valet key, not because I expect to use it for valet, but I feel it might come in handy if I lock my keys in the car. But then again, I would probably lock my purse in with them. Oh well. I keep my keys on a lanyard from a Hawaiian flea market. I really don't know what I'd do with out it. It always hangs out of my purse and helps me find my keys very quickly. I highly reccomend getting one.
  
• Lip gear-If I don't have my chap stick I am lost. I have a gloss and a lipstick hand just in case as well.
  
• A metro card with 90 cents left on it.
  
• A checkbook with my old name and addess on it-I use this once in a blue moon, but and I am sure glad to have it when I need it.
  
• Two wallets-I'm even confused about this. I wanted to try a smaller one for the cruise and it was great, but now I can't bring myself to transfer them back since I like having a smaller one better, but I still need all the stuff in the big one. I'll figure it out one of these days. The big one is the exact color of the purse even thought I ordered it online at a different time.
  
• Mittens- for the cold steering wheel.
• Orbit gum
• Jelly bellies-these have been in there since Christmas. I guess I just forget they are in there. I'm always a little afraid to eat them without a flavor guide.
• Phone and hands free device-I don't talk on the phone with out the ear piece. I have a bluetooth, but people always complained about the static. As annoying as the cord is always getting tangled, it's better than holding the phone. There was also a cover to the ear piece that I found in here. I had lost it a while ago.
  
• Trusting God-An inspirational book I'm slowly making my way through.
  
• Sunglasses-Two pair and a case for one of them. It's better than four, like I had in a previous post.
  
• A pen and a highlighter- I think the highlighter is there from when I'd keep a book of word searches with me when I got bored. And the pen is an "Office" pen. Whenever you click it open or closed, another Michael Scott quote appears on each side. Right now the quotes are: " I don't understand...you want to see other people? Oh...only other people..." and, "I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." Always good for a few laughs.

Probably a lot more than you wanted to know about my purse, but it is very important to me. I am very much a just-in-case person though these contents might not prove that. I also usually carry around my camera bag that is almost as big as the purse. I have a few bags I cycle through, bigger and smaller than this one. I seem to like the depth and size of this one so I've stuck with it for a while. But alas, it's not perfect, it's handles are wearing out, and I think most women would agree that we are always on a quest for the perfect purse. I am constantly talking myself out of buying more purses, and think I do pretty well. I would buy one every day it those wallets above were a little thicker.

Id like to know what Sarah, Marianne, and Molly have stashed away in their purses. (I'm not sure of the rules of how many people to tag, so three seemed good.)