Quite a different experience

Well you might remember this post I wrote a while ago about my less than satisfactory experience at Wal-mart. Well today I went and it was quite different. I think it was the time of day. I was ironically returning the items I bought in the above mentioned post. I was also picking up a prescription and didn't really have a list of anything else to buy there. Weird I know. I had to wait about 40 minutes for the prescription so I was left to browse. This is a bad thing to do in this type of store. Of course I found many things to buy. Some of which I'm glad I thought of while I was there so I wouldn't have to make another trip later, and some of which were just for fun. After items were purchased (including prescription), in very short lines I might add, I headed to the car. As I was unloading my merchandise, an employee was there a few seconds before I was done to retrieve my cart for me. I tried to hurry as he told me to take my time. I gave a subdued yet enthusiastic thank you along with a little laugh as this is so different from what had happened in, again, the above post. Not that is was the employee that caused the problem before, but it was just the feeling I left with. I guess I'll try to do my Wal-mart runs before dark.

Other news, our friends the Murphys had their little boy the other day. I went to see him yesterday, and even though it was after hours for me, I gave him a little photo session, off the clock. It was fun to take pictures with a family I knew. He's a sweet little guy and handled all the friends and flashes very well.

Sad news, our friends moved today. They were the only church friends we had here in Cheverly and it will be sad to walk by there house, knowing it's not their house. They gave so much service to everyone the knew. I mean, I can't even say how much they did for so many people. I told her to start a lot and I think she will. I can't wait.

Exciting news for them, but sad news for us, Matty and the fam are moving to Utah. We hope they like the new job. Cortnie and Jack are moving TOMORROW to get him going in school, and Matt is staying for another little while to get things sorted out. We've been so busy that we haven't even been able to say good bye. Good thing we have blogs.

Great news, KC is coming home before 9:00 tonight. Well he said he would try. He doesn't even have to go in tomorrow! Yeah! We do have to be at road show rehearsal at about 8:30 in the morning however. It should be fun though. My friend Molly is directing and we are the main roles. I know, something to brag about. But you should see this script and these dance moves, we have to learn. It is intense. Well, maybe for the drama-illiterate folks like me.

Hard working husband

KC is working twelve hour days for the next little while and this includes weekends. I think it finally stops come Labor Day. I like having me time during the day, but there comes a time that I just get sick of trying to keep myself busy. Knowing he'll be coming home lets me relax a little and know that I'll have something to do, even if it's just cuddling with him watching TV or something. I suppose we should travel or just get out more, being in this stage of life that everyone call the perfect situation: young, no kids, no pets. But with all the hours he's putting in, you tell me when we shall do that. Hopefully we'll plan a vacation in the next little while. We could really use it. Horray for all the hard working husbands.

Molly's Surprise Shower

On Saturday a few of us girls threw a surprise baby shower for my friend Molly. It was great! We had something like 20 people there, the food was wonderful (we asked anyone who would, to contribute since we had so many people coming), and she didn't even see it coming. Her mom and sister were even in town and pretended that they were leaving to their flight when they were really leaving to her party. It was supposed to be a girl's night to partly celebrate her birthday last Wednesday, and a little going away party for Tracie, who's house the shower/fake girl's night was at. Courtney did so much work, and Christina, Tracie, and I just did what we could to help. I think the tears in Molly's eyes when she saw her family and everyone there to surprise her, let us know she was happy. Here are the pictures for Molly or anyone at the Shower that needed them. The lighting is not so great, sorry.

Why today is a good day...

-I finished a short and productive day at work.
-I listened to the Book of Mormon to and from.
-I ate fresh guacamole and Hint of Lime tortilla chips (oooooooooohhhhh man those are so good.) and Mediterranean grape leaf rolls for lunch. An odd combination, but they were both starring at my from the fridge.
-A best friend just told me she's engaged.
-I cleaned the bathroom before I went to work. I love getting something done before I have a chance to think about it again.
-I have two loads of laundry getting done.
-It is a beautiful, overcast, 70 degree day outside.
-I have nothing planned today so I can do whatever I want with the rest of it.


I know this seems silly as these are all regular things, but for some reason today I felt so grateful for the day. It's nice to enjoy the simple pleasures since life can seem pretty mundane sometimes going through the same things everyday. I feel like when a Monday goes well, the rest of the week follows. I hope everyone is having an especially great Monday as well.

Possibly the best I've ever had

Last night at Christina's house playing games, she displayed some GIANT chocolate chip cookies, with GIANT chocolate chips just waiting for us to devour. They are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever consumed, and I have consumed a lot. I just don't remember any of them being quite that good. When she opened up the suggestion of people take some home, KC wanted one for his lunch tomorrow. I said no, he may not, knowing they probably had our daily caloric intake in one alone. But with slight persuasion I gave in and told him to get one for me while he was at it. Another guy took three for himself, so I didn't feel quite so bad. Thanks for the branded memory of the best cookie ever, Christina. Here are some pictures of our friends just for fun.

I "knead" a break!

It has been a crazy couple of days. I've been very busy with different events since Thursday, I think. Dinners with friends and family, a baby shower, and baking bread. They are all fun activities, but a lot to do all the same.

A couple of friends and I put together a quaint shower for our friend Courtney. It was just a few ward friends and we did fondue. This is what I made the previously mentioned cinnamon spice cheesecake and pound cake for. It was really fun complete with a baby memory game, among other classics. I ate way too much. I had had delicious fondue at Cami's the night before and was still full from that adventure. Who gets fondue two nights in a row?! We did the broth and cheese versions at Cami's house. Delicious! We must do it again sometime, when I have recovered.

Mattie invited us over for dinner the next day for a very upscale salad bar with artichoke hearts, streak strips, avocado, and cherry tomatoes, to name a few fixins. It was nice after eating everything covered in cheese or chocolate for the past two nights.

I was asked, and gladly agreed to teach a class on baking bread for an enrichment activity on Tuesday. I decided to make wheat, French, and foccacie breads. I love baking bread, as you probably know, but teaching a class requires a lot of prior preparation and organization. For instance, having the finished product baked before the class begins, having a batch of dough raised and ready to be shaped at the precise time in the class when you want to shape the loaves, teaching how to make the doughs (details on kneading, yeast, and gluten), and getting all the equipment and ingredients you need to the church. This seemed an easy enough task, so on Sunday I thought I'd go straight home from church to test out the recipes for quantity, and to check my timing. The class was Tuesday and this was getting close to procrastinating for me. I used a cheap measuring cup for the water that I realized after a long time of kneading a big glob of what was supposed to me a French bread recipe I've make dozens of times, was 1/2 cup over what it actually says on the cup itself. How deceitful! This solves a lot of mysteries in my occasional baking misfortunes. I thought I was going insane when really, every time I'd used that cup, I was mis-measuring. I was pretty upset, as I usually am when a simple cooking task doesn't turn out how I want it to. KC is very patient with me. He never takes these types of situations personally. So all that work was for very big, and not quite right, loaves of French bread (see photo, pre-baked) that actually made a very nice pizza later on. Anyway, the next day I couldn't let the bad batch haunt me anymore. I needed to make it right. I find that whenever something doesn't turn out right, I have a very strong urge to make it again immediately no matter what time of day or what previous engagements I have. I started making both the wheat and the French bread doughs one after another right when I woke up at 6 something, since I would need them both as examples to present and have something to eat in case the other batches didn't get done. Everything was going wonderfully. Both were rising, the wheat in the pans, and the French, ready to be shaped. Then I got an emergency call from my boss telling me to go into a different hospital since the girl that is normally there is now in the middle of morning sickness. My bread was mid-rise! I said I would since this hospital is very busy and out company gets a lot of words if people get missed. I was upset, once again, and had to put the wheat bread in the oven immediately, and freeze the French dough to stop it from rising altogether. What a pain. I thought I was never going to win with this bread. Anyway, after all that, I went home and had to go straight to my friend Jeanette's new apartment, 40 minutes away. She is a former co-worker from Just Cakes, and she invited me and a couple others that have worked or still work there. I brought all of them a loaf of the semi-raised bread, which was actually still good, just not as fluffy as I would've liked. I had a great time catching up with them. It's weird working with people for 40 hours a week to not seeing them at all. We became great friends.

That night KC and I did a reimbursable shopping trip and I was finally feeling prepared. I had my recipes typed up, and my class itinerary ready to go. After work on Tuesdays, all I had to do was prepare the foccacie toppings, and make one more batch of dough to be ready to be shaped in the middle of the class. We had a trunk full of ingredients and tools. KC was a huge help, going on grocery store runs, hauling equipment, and moral support. The class went perfectly, there was a small but fun group of ladies there and it was a great successful night. The foccacie was the hit. I supplied prosciutto, goat cheese, fresh rosemary, parsley, and basil, caramelized onions, garlic, marinated tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese. I've made enough bread in the last three days to feed an army, and gained a few pounds from eating a good portion of it. I really loved teaching this class. All the worry and freaking out was for nothing which is usually the case. One crazy thing happened though. A girl who seemed to be happily interested the whole time passed out and was completely gray. We didn't even see her until she woke up and told us since we were all eating in the kitchen. We had to call her in-laws to pick her up since he husband was at work. She didn't get much color the rest of the time but we fed her a little bread and she started to feel better. Poor girl. I hope she's okay.

I gave my friend my camera and asked her to take a FEW pictures. She knows how picky I am so she's kept on taking. I only wanted a documentation because of all the hard work that went into it. Notice how I look progressively hotter, and my face gets more red as the class goes on. Kneading 4 batches of dough is hard work. Sar, notice the cute Hawaiian apron.

So, today I was happy to finally do the jobs that have needed to get done around the house that I couldn't get to earlier due to more pressing matters. The fridge is now clean, and I think the flour is cleaned off of most of the surfaces in the apartment. I have a few more baking projects I have to do in the next couple weeks. Funny how last week I baked endlessly for no reason at all, and now I'm swamped with mandatory jobs. Good thing I love to do it.

Excessive Baking

Lately I have really been in the baking mood. As soon as I get off work, I have this sudden urge to bake something. Sometimes I have an idea of what I want to make, some things have actually been for something in particular, and others have just been something that I made to use up something in the fridge. Here is the list, most of which you'll see in my "something we've eaten lately" sidebar:

-puff pastry dough--(previously mentioned) I actually made this for something and it's in the freezer waiting to be used.

-Caramel corn--It was actually pretty intense. More info in sidebar.

-Banana whole wheat brownies--I was asked to bring a refreshment to a baptism on Sunday. I wanted to use some frozen bananas and just thought I'd go crazy and make them whole wheat. They weren't received as well as my usually contributions to pot lucks( I was told to my face that they weren't that good), but I didn't care. I wasn't that willing to bring something anyway. There were also two other fantastic batches of brownies there, so I asked for it. I don't usually make brownies since I know there will always be some already. They would've been great with a cream cheese frosting. People are suckers for that.

-Bacon and cheese biscuits--Made for something but I decided against it and now they are in the freezer to be baked whenever we desire.

-Key lime pie--I had to use a bunch of lime I had in the fridge. It is also frozen to be used at an appropriate time.

-Cinnamon spice cheesecake bars--I made this to be dipped in the chocolate fondue we're having at a baby shower this weekend.

Strawberry mango swirl pound cake--I use this fruit combination a lot because I made a not so great batch of jam with them. I like finding ways to use it since it's not quite jam consistency. This is also for the fondue.


I have a couple more things on the back burner (ha!) that I have to make next week. I don't know what has gotten into me. I've been known to bake during stressful times to help relieve it. I haven't felt as stressed as when this usually occurs, but maybe my body is just taking care of it's self. Maybe I've learned to crave my spatula and red Kitchenaid mixer when I need them the most. It's a great way to channel any anxiety into something productive.

By the way, the picture above is a batch of coconut ganache I made a while ago for something I didn't end up using it for. It is delicious on ice cream, however. Most of the things I make and have no use for, come in handy for the spur of the moment game nights or Sunday dinners with friends. Rarely would be defrost a key lime pie, for example, for just the two of us.

Shocked and Appaulled

We just returned from Wal-mart picking up an online order and had a less than satisfying experience. We know we need to avoid that store at all costs because first of all, the store itself is quite annoying never being stocked properly and being a mess in general, and second, the area we live in. The people that work AND shop there are so rude and distasteful. It is a pretty low income area but that is no excuse. I don't understand the ethics these people live by. We waited in the customer service line to ask where to pick up our order. She called someone to come to us, and after a little while of no one paying attention to us, someone had asked if we were helped. She had us follow her to the back of the store to where you are supposed to pick it up. We got it, everything was all fine and good and we were gladly heading out of the store to escape the madness. The store was actually closing in 20 minutes and the lines were getting wild. Luckily we didn't have to stand in one. So we stepped into the car and watched as a laughy couple in the car a few spaces over left their cart just rolling freely in the lot obviously heading toward a white truck. They saw exactly where it was going, got in the car, taking their time mind you, to adjust the radio or whatever, not even caring that they were about to dent another car with their cart. They knew full well it was happening and didn't even care. The cart gatherer saw it a quickly caught it before it did any damage, but I just stared. It honestly made my blood boil. What goes on in these people's heads? I am the kind of person that has guilt if I don't put the cart in the cart return even if I'm in a huge rush. And there are the people that just place it in a spare space because they are too lazy to take it to the cart return stall, and that isn't even as bad as just letting it roll to hit whatever it comes in contact with. If I must go to Wal-mart again, I'm parking in the back where no annoying, careless, people's carts will come in contact with it. But that is not the point. I'm so tired of people trying to get away with doing the least amount of work as they possibly can at the expense of others. Why are some of us so willing care about other people, while others seem to have never heard the golden rule. I witness this behavior a lot around here. Whew, I could go on and on, but I just needed a little vent. I need to remember that even though seeing this initially makes me wonder why I am so willing to go out of my way to be nice, and want to turn around and do it right back to them, I would never want to stoop to that level. There's so much to say, but I better stop now.

Unsuccessfully, successful day

On Saturday we didn't have any plans. I woke up and was in a mood to do something fun, out of the ordinary. I looked up some berry picking farms we're going to go to at some point, and found a fair in Cami's county and thought I'd call and see if they were interested. Of course, Ethan is confined to the house with his potty training state. So Cami said I should come shopping with her instead. I was glad to agree. We went to the mall where we ate my favorite, Mexican (Thanks for buying Cami. I even got the chips and salsa to myself because of her diet.), and to Target. We went to some of my favorite stores, and you know what? I didn't buy a darn thing. Not even at Target! I always need something there. I was trying to think though, was this successful or unsuccessful? Usually when I don't actually need anything, or am not looking for something in particular, it's hard to convince yourself that you really need something that you just happen to like. I think it's my bargain shopper mentality, or the fact that I hate having things cluttering my house that I don't really need or forget about. It gets too crowded and it makes me feel like I can't control myself if I buy something I don't need. I don't like feeling out of control. Maybe if I saw an amazing deal on something, but I wasn't quite satisfied with the sale prices, so let's call it a success.

We decided during the day to go to a later showing of Hairspray with a couple more friends. I was missing KC and asked if he wanted to come hang with Jake and the kiddies. We weren't quite thrilled to have two cars here, so Jake offered to go all the way to our home and pick him up. They even got dinner while they were out. Before we went to the Movie, Corrinne and I were talking about the Baltimore accent that I had heard John Travolta really does well in the flick. Corrinne found a website that explains it very well. We were laughing very hard since we are hearing this accent daily. It was hilarious in the movie, but my favorite character was probably Christopher Walkin. We were laughing non-stop, and I need to get the soundtrack soon.

Ipod+Harry Potter=Productive!

Since I have been listening to the infamous new Harry Potter on my ipod, I have been so much more productive. It seems boring and silly to just sit and listen with two free hands. I have been making my bed everyday (not a usual occurrence I'm embarrassed to say), I have been keeping the house tidy, and exercising more. It's also nice to have something to listen to during simple things like doing hair and makeup, driving, and doing mundane tasks as work. Here is the list of the things I've done today alone while listening, on and off, to this gripping novel:

-Worked at the hospital for about three hours
-Washed, folded, and pit away load of laundry
-Made a batch of puff pastry dough (A long process. My rolling pin muscles are not what they used to be.)
-Dusted the whole apartment
-Organized my kitchen pantry
-Organized a kitchen cabinet
-Organized my clothes closet
-Made chicken salad for dinner
-Cut up a watermelon
-Took Matt to the metro station so he could catch his flight
-Went grocery shopping (remember that requires unloading into the house, and reloading into the kitchen )
-Written this blog

Granted there are things that obviously can't be done while listening, but still it's nice to see a list of everything you've accomplished in a day. Being home more that usual, you'd think I would get this much done all the time. But there are some days that it is harder to get things done when you know you have plenty of time on your hands. I feel so blah after those days of doing nothing after work but watching Lifetime movies, The Style Network, or Oprah (yuck). There are times for those types of days when you really need one, but I think I've found my key to productivity. Not that I'm lazy everyday or anything, but I love the feeling of getting things done. I'd better get another book ready since this one is rapidly coming to a close (Amber bring Ender when you come). I have turned it off from time to time to concentrate on whatever I was doing, not wanting to miss anything, but I've had it one for the most part. It keeps me company while I'm here alone all day. I'm actually feeling pretty tired now. It has also kept me from taking my afternoon nap I've gotten in a habit of taking. KC is reading the hard back (thanks to Cami and Jake who loaned us both mediums) and we just found out we are at the same part but were each too afraid to ask details for fear of giving something away.

I actually liked this one

Only rule: you have to answer with one word.
1. Where is your mobile phone? charging
2. Relationship? giving
3. Your hair? bangs
4. Work? easy
5. Your sister(s)? RAD
6. Your favorite thing? creating
7. Your dream last night? weird
8. Your favorite drink? pina-colada
9. Your dream car? convertible
10. The room you're in? living
11. Your shoes? colorful
12. Your fears? sharks
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? settled
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Kenny
15. What are you not good at? oversleeping
16. Muffin? oatmeal
17. Wish list item? House
18. Where you grew up? Wedgewood
19. The last thing you did? rearrange
20. What are you wearing? bathrobe
21. What are you not wearing? makeup
22. Your pet? beta
23. Your computer? laptop
24. Your life? Simple
25. Your mood? chipper
26. Missing? Julia
27. What are you thinking about? work
28. Your car? Accord
29. Your kitchen? functional
30. Your summer? eventful
31. Your favorite color? blue
32. Last time you laughed? last night
33. Last time you cried? Tuesday
34. School? L'Academie
35. Love? organization

New friend and new do

So, my lovely split ends were jealous of KC's fresh ones so I made a long overdue hair appointment. I went in for a trim, nothing serious, and came out with this swoop type of bang. I found a picture in a magazine and just went for it. It grows pretty fast so it's fun to try new things every now and then. It's nice to have a new hair cut and still keep my hair long. There's not much you can do with long hair to make a change in your style. But any girl with bangs will tell you that going from having none, to having some, makes quite a difference in the everyday look and routine. It may not seem so, but it does. It will take a little more maintenance than normal, but I can deal with that. I still have the length that I'm not sure I will ever get rid of. One of these days, I suppose. I'm trying to talk Melody into some layers. We'll see if she complies. And don't worry that I'm wearing that same red pok-a-dot shirt in many blog photos. I really don't wear it everyday.So the new friend I speak of is this little beta fish.He's actually had quite a list of owners. About two years ago, we purchased this fish for a friend in our singles ward for her birthday. She lived in the basement apartment of our friends/neighbors/bishop and family. She went on a mission a year ago and left the little guy to the landlords. They have suddenly decided to move (a big bummer) and didn't think the fish would make it. We are technically fish sitting for the next six months, until the rightful owner returns to claim her little friend. His name escapes me now, but I know it translates to "fish bate" in Spanish.

My big boy's first haircut (by me)

On Saturday I cut KC's hair for the first time. With the corney, outdated video, KC's advice, and any memory I had from my mom doing it, It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And hopefully it will only get better from here. We are happy with our Costco hair cutting kit but will definitely have to replace the scissors with a more cuttable pair. KC was a great sport and we both glad we can cut the cost of his haircut every three to six weeks. We both go to the same stylist. I don't need a cut nearly as much as he, so when I have to pay, it doesn't seem so bad. But when he has to fork over $20 plus tip, it seems silly to not take this task upon myself. My haircut costs more than his which is also silly because mine is probably easier to cut. Oh the price we girls will pay for a good haircut. I've tried the less and more expensive route when I first moved here, but with the black population being so high, they are usually skilled with that type of hair. When you find someone you like, you must hold on. But something that makes me more happy than saving money about this situation is that cutting my husbands hair really makes me feel like a wife. I remember my mom cutting hair on the porch countless times, and I'm happy to join club. I tried to take pictures of KC, but I think he was too nervous and wouldn't let me, so maybe next time. Yay for all the hair cutting wives!

Surprising pleasant time at the MVA

I went to the MVA (or DMV for Utah people) to finally change my name and address. It's about time. Everytime we fly, I'm still Emily Graham. So I braced myself as we all know this can be a tedious and long journey. I had a doctors appointment in the same area at 10:45 this morning so I thought I'd get in the already formed line at about 8:00 to get in the doors pretty quick when they open at 8:30. I was actually thinking it would be stretching it to be done in time for my appointment. They started letting people in and they were handing the first numbers to license renewals, which is the category I was in. I wasn't sitting down for three minutes when they called me up. They took a picture, not a bad one for a license picture if I do say so, and that was that. I think that is record time. 15 minutes from the time I stepped in to the time I stepped out. I have been there a few times for car/license issues. In fact, I have had my picture taken there three times since I've lived here. None of those times were as easy as this. Now I had 2 hours before my appointment and I was 25 minutes from my house. So I decided to get some things done and read some of my book I brought along. Even my doctors appointment was just as quick and smooth, and we all know those can be an awfully long wait as well. So what I thought would be a hectic and annoying morning went quite smoothly. It was such a welcomed change since I've felt like ever since I got home from a hectic week out of doors, I've been faced with a hectic week inside. I think Heavenly Father was blessing me by making thse often tedious experiences a little more bearable while everything else is crazy. He knew I would break if something went even the tiniest bit wrong, so he went easy on me. I think sometimes he even tells the little babies to act really good for me while I'm taking their pictures so I can have a pleasant experience at work. The babies have to be on their best behavior for my job otherwise nobody is happy with the pictures, so it's nice when they cooperate. It's good to recognize the blessings we have in the places we aren't always looking. Heavenly Father knows us and how much we can take, and he gives us signs along the way to remind us he's there. KC and I are at a point right now where we both describe it as "unsettled". We want to move sometimes, but there's no reason to. We want kids, but well... We love our callings in church, but wouldn't mind helping in other areas. We're grateful for our jobs, but feel like there's more out there. We know all these things are coming in the future, but we are learning a great deal about patience in this awkward yet wonderful and easy time of our lives. I'm sure it's something a lot of people go though after the newlywed stage is coming to an end. Although, I don't think I'm quite done with it yet. I don't want this to sound like I don't love my life and the blessings I see in it every day. It's just been a time of reflection, you know? I think our lives have many more of these awkward years to come. I am enjoying it, but I'll enjoy it even more when we move to a place with a little more leg room.

It's OVER! Girls camp is over!

I am home and I think have recovered from a week in the wilderness. It was certainly a long time for me to be outside my comfort zone. I'm not much of an outdoorsy person unless I can go home and have a long shower immediately after a long hot day. So I tried to embrace my surroundings and enjoy not caring what I look like for 6 days. It actually was great. I am so glad I was asked to go. It was an experience that I'm so glad I was a part of. There was so much to mention that I think I'll just make a list and let you look at the slide show if you so desire.

-For the first two days it was 110+ degrees. I really didn't think the girls would make it. Our clothes just continued to stick to out bodies.
-We had different ethnic foods at every single meal. Some had an American twist to them to appeal to all the little picky eaters. The food really was amazing. The people in charge really knew what they were doing. Everyone giggled when I'd take pictures of my food at every meal.
-Some of the meals included: churros, chow mein, fried plantains, chimichurris (Dominican burgers) with homemade sauerkraut, Milanesa (breaded and fried stake from Argentina) Ethiopian chicken with injara bread to be eaten with fingers only, and many other food adventures.
-Being a leader is much better than being a young woman at camp. I could drive to Wal-Mart or McDonald's whenever I wanted. I only did this twice when there were others that wanted to go as well.
-I think I started really having fun when we went swimming at the beach that was a couple miles away. I thought we'd never escape the heat. I was giddy in the water. The girls thought I was a little crazy, but I think they enjoyed it.
-It rained and poured as we were cooking dinner over a fire on the third day. We all managed to hold tarps over the fire before it went out and ate very well.
-I showered three times in the 6 days of camp in the most disgusting showers.
-The bathroom was quite a distance from the camp and for some reason I always had to use it in the middle of the night when I had to walk all alone.
-I was so excited for KC to come on Thursday. My girls were excited to meet him . They all laughed and told me to keep it PG when I ran and jumped into his arms when he arrived.
-The skits were actually really fun to watch. The youth leaders topped them all by imitating a few of the leaders. They borrowed my cowboy hat and sunglasses I was wearing. I was laughing pretty hard.
-I never sang along to one camp song. I despise them.
-There is a Spanish branch in our stake so a lot of the girls were Spanish speakers. We had many girls from Africa as well. It was a diverse group.
-The second to last morning, we all woke up at 5am to attend a sunrise service. The YCLs, a few leaders and a couple men, including KC bore their testimonies in their home, or learned languages. There were over 14 languages spoken and a wonderful experience for everyone.
-I was in charge of the YCL challenges which I think went over very well. They really enjoyed the competition.
-I carried a bag around with me the whole time full of necessities that I might not want to walk all the way back to the tent to get. It was the magic bag. Any time anyone needed anything, I seemed to be able to pull it right out.
-I faithfully wore sunscreen and bug repellent. I got minimal burns, and only about 6 small bites. It was a miracle. Some girls had countless bites on their leg. It looked miserable. I sprayed so much that my watch and toenail polish actually started corroding and melting. I think my skin was reacting to the repellant by itching. Ironic, wouldn't you say.
-One of the meals was cooked in a pit in the woods dug by a few cook girls. We cooked whole chickens, and vegetables. Some of them weren't done when we took them out so we had to turn on the gas skillets and cook them in pieces. There were still rave reviews.
-I learned a lot about people's dedication to their callings and service. It was amazing what all the leaders, especially the director and the one in charge of the food did for the girls. What amazing women. And hardly a complaint.
-I learned that young women complain and whine about the dumbest things. It especially bothered me when I knew someone had worked very hard on what they were griping about. I hope I was never like that.
-I became really good at bossing the girls around and having them actually listen to me. It was great.
-Every night, the camp director and food director (long time friends) put on a News at Night program to tell of the events of the day. Their names used to be Seymour Butts, and I.P. Freely. One leader had a problem with that so they were Harry Back , and Harry Pitts this year.
-One day when we were waiting for someone to come for pictures we got bored of standing there and started singing randomly. It turned into a competition between the a few leaders and a few girls. We had a sing off for probably 30 minutes. I even broke out my Darrin's Dance Grooves. It was a great stress buster.
-We had so many left over marsh mellows from the YCL chubby bunny challenge, I thought we
should play "I am a chubby Bishop" when they all came up. It was a hit.
-I slept in my own little tent the whole time except when KC got there. It was a very good decision on my part to have my own space.
-I had no trouble falling asleep in my camping chair on a few occasions.
-When we finally got home I had a wonderfully long shower, checked emails and fell asleep for 14 hours. It started out as a nap and I didn't get out of bed until the next morning. I was very refreshed.


So that's it in a nutshell. Pretty random and probably boring to everyone, but that's how it was and I'm glad I was a part of it. I really bonded with my fourth year girls that I was over, and the girls in my ward I didn't know that well in the beginning. We have such a great group of young women and I really grew to love them.

Belated Indepencence Day

I have been getting ready for camp that is now only hours away and haven't had a chance to blog about my last culinary adventure. It was Jake's birthday last Saturday and since he was jipped on a cake from being in New York (boo hoo), and the 4th was right around the corner, we decided to combine the occasions for a very special cake. Jake's birthday is always fun to experiment with since he doesn't mind something really rich and over the top. The construction of it was diagrammed on a post it note so I wouldn't leave anything out. This cake went as follows: The crust was made of leftover chocolate chip cookies, then there was a layer of chocolate ganache on top of that. Then I lined the sides of the spring form pan with halved peanut butter cups. The design didn't quite work out . Then a layer of cookie dough ice cream was spread followed by a layer of chocolate cake. The ice cream and cake are repeated, and topped with another thin layer of ganache. That is frozen overnight and when it was time for the party it was topped with a border of ganache and loaded with fresh whipped cream, along with broken pieces of chocolate chip cookies. The reason I went so into detail into describing this heart attack on a platter is because this is the result of someone telling me to do whatever I want. Especially when their favorite things are peanut butter and chocolate. The possibilities are endless. It was kind of hard to stop adding different components. Anyway, we went to Cami's for the fun and you can read her blog for more July 4th details.

For now I have to say good bye for a week as I'm off to give my life to 70 teenagers. I feel pretty prepared and I think it will be a good experience despite how much I may have complained about this and that. I'll miss my honey until he comes on Thursday, but I know we'll be fine. With my own tent equipped with a queen sized air mattress, I think I'll survive.

Thank you, come again.

As some of you may know, 7-Eleven is transforming some of it's stores into Kwik-E-Marts (from the Simpsons for the uneducated) to promote the new movie coming out later this month. KC was reading about it the other day and found that one of the dozen nationwide locations they have renovated is only but a mile from our home. We decided to check it out. Man, there were so many people taking pictures, getting squishees, buying boxes of Krusty-Os, taking free packing boxes, the O's were shipped in, and purchasing much more Simpson memorabilia. I even overheard a guy say that he was annoyed when they were driving all the way there, but now he was glad they did. That lead me to believe that he had driven quite the distance since there isn't another closer than New York or Florida. It was quite the scene. Security and everything. I'll present you with this slide show of our adventures. If there are any requests for any Simpson keepsakes, let me know and I'll make another trip. Lili, I already thought of you so don't worry. And course, on our way out, we were told my many Kwik-E-Mart employees, including the Indian cashier,"Thank you, come again."

Another eventful summer weekend

We had a pretty busy week but had a big weekend to look forward to. I had work off on Friday but spent a lot of it helping a friend with some food she was making for a shower on Saturday. She always does such great things for the parties she throws. She made dozens of royal icing cookies, stacked them to make a wedding cake, and topped them with tiny royal icing roses we piped. It was fun to get into my tools from school again and try to remember how to do the techniques I was taught. The cookie favors turned out beautiful. We also did some cupcakes. She wanted gold and pink cupcakes so I had some pretty cupcake cups I've been wanting to use, and then loaded them with pink buttercream that everyone seemed to love, myself included. She and a couple of other ladies made the rest of the food and it looked beautiful. Friday night we went to 1408, the new John Cusack movie. I needed a movie to remove all thoughts from my head. something to really distract me from normal life. It sure did it. Not only was the movie scary and thrilling, but the audience members were distracting as well. We decided we can't go to movies here without getting upset at the rude people who think it's their time to tell us all about their lives. I can't believe the disrespect of some people. But The movie was a good one.

We had been planning to help babysit the Turpin boys while Cami took Jake on a birthday trip to New York. We picked them up at about noon, after our car insurance meeting, and they were very excited. We had been invited the night before to birthday party at the Drapers for Thomas. We told them we had the boys and they said to come along anyway. We were also asked to bring out ice cream maker along. The kids always love that. They had the makings for mint chocolate chip. It was very minty, but very good. The boys were excited to see other kids and play with the new presents. The parachute was fun for everyone. I headed to the shower while they played and then we took the kids home to relax after a long day. We had a good time reading books and eating pizza, and they went to bed very well. KC and I watched a little Jaws until they came home. We stayed up way to late talking and eating the sugared nuts they brought us from NYC that I love so much. It was fun to spend a day in the life of the little Turpins. They had us constantly laughing.

I like eventful summer weekends, as long and I have a chance to stop for a few moments to soak it all in before the season is over. With girls camp next week, I'll have a lot to do until then. I think the summer will be a lot more relaxing when that is over.

Catching up

I had to take a breather after that long post about the trip but I suppose it's time to come back to the blog. We've had some fun happenings around here. On Friday we were having the best weather. It was a nice cool breeze and I couldn't resist eating outside. I also figured it was too windy for the mosquitoes so I took advantage. We had cheese steak pizza, and perfectly ripened ice cold nectarines. It was very nice.

The next morning, Saturday, we had our yard sale. Yes, the thing that has kept stuff piling up in our little hallway for months. Matty and the gang were getting things together too. We had a couple dressers, broken and not, many clothes, bags, toys, and free homemade cookies and suckers. Cheverly had silly rules about signs. You have to register, pay a one dollar fee for one authorized sign, and put it up in an authorized location. I was very annoyed at the time going through the silly process, but all was well in the end. Good thing Craigslist was an option. We planned on no one showing up but actually got a few shoppers. We made a decent chunk of change, but the best part, aside from how excited jack was about customers and selling his toys to other kids, was ridding my home of all unnecessary items. All my old clothes are out including some shoes that were hard to part with. Before everything went to the salvation army, the Grahams and we exchanged a few things and then it all went.

We went immediately to a ward picnic and more time in the sun. It was nice to visit with friends. Luckily Matt and Cortnie told me about these new citronella bracelets that you can wear to keep mosquitoes away. I didn't get one bite all day.

KC's mom flew in on business that night and was staying in DC. We decided to have dinner in Georgetown. We don't go there often enough so it was nice to have an excuse to go there. After all, it's only a short distance from our house. We ate at Clydes, a local, chain that was very delicious. We did some shopping and walked along the water. It was a beautiful night. My throat was getting a little froggy by this time of night and I was praying and it was just the result of a long day in the sun and wouldn't amount to anything. The next day my voice became worse and so did the cough. It's not a major cold or anything, but enough to take my voice and keep me coughing for a couple days. I have a history if losing my voice and it's not too pleasant. Maybe tomorrow I'll find it again.

Sunday was kind of catch up for me. My substitute apologized that she had forgotten to teach both of the two weeks that I had asked her to. Luckily our primary presidency and kids are flexible. I told them what had happened without mentioning any names and they just laughed. I just made up a lesson since my manuel was still in the hands of another. We had lunch with KC's mom at our place. It was nice to see her again. It had only been a couple weeks since we were together, but it's always nice to see people in your own neighborhood.

Our friends the Millers invited us over for a game of Settlers that I was playing for the first time. It was fun to play a new game even though I lost miserably. And you can always guarantee there will be popcorn at their house. This time they put parmesan on it so it was extra good. We were debating on going to IHOP at midnight, it being Sunday and all, but our long weekend demanded a good sleep for work on Monday.

They invited us again yesterday along with a few other friends for a graduation ice cream party for a couple of the guys. There was so much ice cream and toppings, it was hard to stop eating. We played more games, part of which I slept through, and had a fun time. I really enjoy the time we spend with our friends here. It feels like we really have become close.

So there is the catch up. I just felt it was a nice weekend that I didn't want to let go by without recording. Now, what to do with all the garage sale money we made?

Bittersweet

Whew, that was a trip! It was so great to get away to be with both sides of the family, but it's always hard to leave the people we love. I promised my real journal that this would have more details so it is very very long. I tried the slide shows instead of a few pics so that it would take up less space. I'm not offended if you just read fragments.

I'll begin with California. The Robinsons have a time share with Marriott and this year they chose Newport Beach. We arrived on Saturday afternoon to a not so hot Orange County. It was in the upper 60s, lower 70s the whole time. I quite liked the weather. Better than blazing hot, in my opinion. It didn't make for very fun wave jumping at the beach, but much better for touristy type things. Anyhow, they showed us around this resort where we were staying and it was something. There were multiple pools and hot tubs, a sports court, a tot lot, a fire pit, tetherball, activities for the kids everyday, and beautiful suites to stay in. The lobby even had a choice between ice cold lemon-lime, and mixed melon water to drink. I had anticipated waking up well before anyone else so as we were walking around the wonderful Marriott property, I was making note of things I might do at 3 am when I wake up. Not only do I normally wake up earlier than most, but we were also three hours earlier than Maryland in CA. There were eight of us in the suite and we fit quite comfortably. That night we ate at the cheesecake factory until we were very full, but didn't forget to order several cheesecakes to go. We ate them after a rousing game of Hoopla.

So the next day, I did wake up hours before anyone else so I decided to take a stroll to the tetherball court and get a little exercise. I was in my pajamas and the only jacket that I brought. It was a beautiful crisp morning and I was so excited to be out instead of staring at the ceiling until the others began to stir, which is what I normally do in these situations. I actually had a lot of energy running up the stairs and straight to the tetherball court where I instantly fell into the freshly sprinkled mud surrounding it. My whole right side was coated in dark, thick, mud. I wasn't sure what to do so I kept walking and stumbled onto some sprinklers and had a nice little shower. Than I went in to the pool gates, before pool hours, to soak my feet in the hot tub after a slightly traumatizing experience as it was at 5 am. Eventually I went home and showered and whispered KC the story. Later we went to church where the Temple also was. It is a beautiful temple and we took many pictures. Then we went to LA where KC's sister Camille lives. We went to the La Brea Tar Pits and found out very fascinating things about the fossils found there. It was even better when we found out there was a dog show on the property that day. Then we then went to The Getty museum. It was massive and so much to see. It was also getting very cold. Camille took us to a great burger place where you can customize your's however you want from the meat to the sauce with many options for each component. Mine was a turkey burger on wheat, with gruyere cheese, banana peppers, grilled pineapple, sprouts, and avocado, with a horseradish mayonnaise. It was amazing and the sweet potato fries were great with it.

Monday we did some shopping and lunch at a huge mall. We went to the beach, and it was suddenly cloudy so we just played in the sand for a while. KC's cousins and a new wife don't live far so they came for dinner. We had grilled teriyaki salmon, and smores at the fire pit later on.

Tuesday was all about Disneyland. Michelle wasn't feeling well when she woke up, and the parents had recently been to Disney World, so it was Nicole, Casey, Camille, KC and I that headed to the happiest place on earth. It was silly that we could only get a reservation for 4 at Club 33. Camille was really nice about not making me feel bad for having her be the only one that didn't get to go. It was an amazing lunch of appetizers, London Sirloin, and a great dessert buffet. I'll probably never look at Disney Land the same. Since Camille is a local, I told her to bring some friends some time and I'd try to get her in. We stayed as long as we could walk, and enjoyed finding lines shorter than we thought, in some cases. The new Nemo Submarine ride was a 6 hour wait. I'm glad those people were in that line and not the ones that we were in. I had a quest to find that wonderful pickle we always get there and it was delicious.

The vacation to California was so wonderful. I feel like I’m getting to know the Robinsons so much better and they are really welcoming me in as one of the family. They are so close and I love that because mine is the same. They did so much for us including driving everywhere, providing all the food, and planning fun things to do. I’m so glad KC comes from such a loving family. I know ours will someday be that way too.

So off to Utah I went. It was nice short flight and there to meet me was Mom, Melody and little sleeping Julia. I was in tears looking at her in person for the first time. Dad was driving. I was pretty hungry so we stopped off at Crown Burger. It more than satisfied us and we didn’t even finish the two we were sharing. Amber was slaving away making all the fixings for Café Rio Salads exactly as they make them at the restaurant. Turns out it is pretty close to the recipe I had on my food photo a while ago. The slow cooked, brown sugar, salsa, chicken and tomitillo cilantro dressing that I had made into tacos. This was better and so like the real thing. We ate it after one of Katy’s baseball games where she did very well.

The next day I helped with Julia’s bath and then had a fun time with Grandma Julie who came to visit. We had to get a picture with the namesakes. We had lunch, took lots of pictures and took naps. The Pecks had more games that we watched, and then had pizza at their house. The kids wanted to sleep over at Nana and Papas so we had a slumber party. Man, the party never stops. Unless it’s forced to when you wake up with some bad stomach bug at 4 am and throw up for 12 hours straight. Mom came down with it about 5 hours after I did. We were two poor pitiful girls all day. Melody came over to see us and was nice to get a few things at the store we thought would help. I wanted to hold the baby so bad, but I could hardly open my eyes without wanting to puke. Since I went into the hospital last time, I knew what kind of great medicine they gave me to stop the nausea, so I asked my dad to take me. What is a trip to Utah without a trip to the ER? They gave me an IV again to replenish my fluids. They could barely find a vain since I was so dehydrated. I felt much better after more medication and a shot. They also gave me a prescription that mom think helped prevent her from throwing up a few more time. What a waste of a day!

We made it up the next day with shopping, black and white movies, and dinner on the deck. I didn’t forget to stop at Purple Turtle after visiting Grandmother to have a coconut dip cone that I love so much. I may have over done it eating all I did after being so sick, but I was so hungry!

It was so unreal to be with my new niece. Melody and Jonny are such patient, easy going, loving parents. They are so sweet to let all the kids constantly take their turns with the baby. (They all think the baby is their own, especially Jordan and Allyson.) I took more pictures than I really needed but I just couldn’t stop. I wish I could be more a part of her life as she grows up. Melody will have a lot to teach me by the time I have my own baby, so she better be keeping notes. I had a wonderful time spending time with everyone. Amber helped me make a beautiful watch with her beads, the kids and I had a slumber party, Melody and I were always together, mom and I were sick together, dad and I did an Ice Cream Run, and I presented Lili with a Club 33 keychain she would appreciate much more than I would. I feel like I really bonded with everyone and it makes me want to be with them even more. I also used the old BMW for my wheels the whole time and you know how I love convertibles. It was a nearly perfect trip, minus being sick and husbandless. Thanks to everyone for always making me feel so loved when I come home. I love you Julia! Check out her pictures. They are priceless.