Journals

So ever since my first church lesson about the importance of keeping a journal... I have kept a journal. I think that was when I was in the 3rd grade. I wasn't always super consistent... but over the years I still ended up with a lot of journals. Those journals ended up in a box when I moved out of the house along with other boxes I kept at my parents house. I stopped writing in a journal when I started using this blog as my journal almost 7 years ago.

Years ago my parents had us take all of our boxes. It's interesting because you look through those boxes again years later and you think... why was I keeping this or holding on to that? Then you end up throwing a bunch of stuff away and keeping very few things.

Well somehow I had a couple of boxes get left behind and I recently acquired them. They were all of my old journals.

Lately I have been trying to get rid of the clutter in my life and throw away or give away to DI things that I don't use or need and also trying to figure out how to keep things but in a better space efficient way... I threw away all of my DVD cases and have all of my DVD's in a smaller case. I got rid of 90% of my CD's and put all of the music I didn't already have on my computer. So on and so forth.

Now I have all of these journals. Journals are important and I don't necessarily want to just throw them away even though most of my younger years journals consist of who I played with, who I had a crush on and what I ate that day. Do you type them all out? That would be so much work and sometimes it's cute to see your younger self's terrible penmanship and terrifying grammar. Do you toss them out at all? That would save space. Would I miss the actual journal itself one day? Do I scan them? I don't have a scanner and I would imagine paying a company to do it would add up quickly.

My idea is to go through each journal in order and take a picture of each page with my phone (easier than scanning) and then storing the pictures on my external hard drive. That way I have them all still in the original writing just without the original journal. I could still put it in a book one day if I so desired and I'm saving space... tons of it. I know it would be a lot of work, but less than being scanned. Just take one journal at a time.

That is my idea but I am open for suggestions. Anyone else still have their old journals? If so what have you done with them?

5 Ingredient Blender Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

My co-worker made these and brought them into work and they were super good and I love that they don't have any flour in it. That much healthier. :) I will be making them for sure.

5 Ingredient Blender Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 medium sized very ripe bananas
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons honey (optional)
• Optional toppings of choice: dark chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, craisins

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place ingredients in the blender and blend until well mixed.
• Pour batter into muffin tin greased with cooking spray or coconut oil.
• Add a variety of toppings into each muffin spot and stir.
• Cooking time varies- 9 minutes for regular muffins for me, 8 minutes for mini muffins.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 256

So... my MacBook Pro is still not working right. I'm not sure what to do. Do you take MacBooks in to the Apple store for them to fix it? Maybe my brother will know something? I just don't know and I'm getting frustrated. I was so close to finished my Italy and Greece video and now I can't finish it until it gets fixed. I can get on the internet... but that is about it.

Let me tell you something else that is frustrating. Just when I didn't think I would have to worry about cars or dealerships again.... something went wrong with my loan when the dealership was processing it. They told me my loan was through Wells Fargo. Last time I went in to Wells Fargo for something else they told me I had an Autoloan showing up under my account but paperwork still must need to be done because it hadn't gone all the way through yet. Then I was waiting and waiting to get some sort of statement in the mail to make my first payment and I never did. Then I got something in the mail from Capitol one about my car. My loan isn't through them, so I ignored it. Then I got a call from Capitol One... someone with  broken English asking me the soonest I can make a payment. I told them I hadn't received anything in the mail to know where to make the payment to. I also told them my loan was through Wells Fargo. They asked me if I had the Mazda CX-5 I said yes. They asked me if I was refinancing, I said no. They said thanks for answering the questions and hung up. Still have not received anything in the mail. I called the dealership about the problem and that I was concerned. I talked to the secretary and she said someone would call me back. Nobody did. I called again, this time the guy that I bought the car from and left him a message. He called me back that day and said I was under Capitol one, I told him that is not was I was told or agreed to and then asked Why Wells Fargo had a autoloan waiting for me? He said he would talk to finance to see what happened and call me back. he never called back. I have called again twice today and have left a message and have yet to get a call back. I am starting to get VERY frustrated and mad at Young Chevorlet! I mean come on! Shouldn't they be more concerned that I haven't made any payments on my car for two months? What I am most afraid of is this mix up reflecting bad on me and messing up my good credit. Again... I haven't even received anything in the mail and have really been trying to be proactive about getting this figured out and taken care of and NOBODY WILL CALL ME BACK! I don't know what else to do, but the longer this goes on, the more I am starting to worry. There had to be a mix up somewhere... I would just pop in to the dealership if they weren't an hour away... although maybe it will result in that. I hope not.

Still no snow in site. It's very weird since it is January and has stayed 40-50 degrees almost the entire month. Again... I'm not complaining, but hopefully we got enough snow in the mountains because I know we need it.

I finished Dollhouse. I liked it. Now I am watching Parenthood. I started it the other day and I am almost done with the 2nd season. I really like it. My roommates watched it a while back and I only saw an episode with them and have been meaning to watch it since. I'm really enjoying it... but I hear it gets sad. Who knows... maybe it will have me crying in my office at work.

I have been better about exercise this week. That feels good. I have also been pretty good about sticking to the diet... up until today. I cheated a little. It is becoming more and more tempting, but I'm trying really hard to stay strong. Hopefully I will see bigger results soon. Especially with more exercise.

I went to another marriage fireside done by my Stake Presidency. It was good. Each of the members talked and so did their wives and they talked about the things in marriage that are hard, but worth it. Between each one they had question and answer time... where any of us could ask any question and they would answer. I was pretty disappointed in most of the questions people asked... probably because it is young stake and most people are not really too experienced with relationships... but overall it was great.

My friend Alli that does my eyelashes broke her hand... so she couldn't do my lashes. I called on my friend Natalie that I haven't seen in over 2 years... that I used to go to when Alli first moved to Salt Lake before we started trading. It was so fun to catch up with her. She is so great. I love having a lot of different friends, even if I don't get to see them very often.

Liz came over on Tuesday and helped me with my taxes. For the past 3 January Fort Weeks... she comes and hangs out in the fort and helps me do my taxes. It's awesome. I love hanging out in the fort, I love hanging out with Liz and I love getting my taxes done before the end of January. Don't want to have to worry about that anymore and I will get my refund back faster... and I will get a pretty good refund this year. $1600. Did I mention that I almost have $40,000 in my 401k now too? I just get a statement once a year and I don't really look at it the rest of the year, so it is always fun to see grow at the end of the year.

I also went on a couple of dates this week. One was a lunch date... which was ok... but I wasn't interested in him. However, I ran into my good friend Kellie Hawkins while I was there... so that was exciting since I hadn't seen her in YEARS! And now we are going to get together soon. Love that. The guy was nice, just not my type. He has already text me to go out again, and I already know I don't want to go out again. Instead of just not texting him back like so many do... I decided to be an adult and mature about it.... like I wish more people would do. It's not easy, but I feel it is the best way. Here is what I said to him. "Hi, It was a fun lunch. Thanks again for taking me out. It was fun getting to know you. You're a really nice guy, but I'm not sure we have enough in common for me to be interest in going out again. I wish you the best, you deserve it. :)" Sure it isn't easy to write someone and reject them, but I know if it were me, I would want to hear they are not interested in a nice way than nothing at all. That is such a cop out and I hate when guys do that to me. I appreciate someone that can communicate their feelings. You know what he said back? He said it was fun and best of luck to me as well and that I deserve it as well and that I was cute and fun. He also thanked me for being direct in my response, thanked me again and sent me a second hug. See how pleasant and mature that was? That is how it should be people. My second date... he was young and the date was ok... I will probably give him a second date and see how that one goes since he is being so persistent.

My friend Ellis invited Daniel and I to his ward TED Talks tonight because he was going to be talking about traveling and we were in his presentation because of our Southeast Asia trip. So Daniel and I went to support him. He did an awesome job. Ellis is awesome and I'm glad we took that trip and built some amazing friendships. I also thought it was a cool idea for a ward activity... so I might bring that up with Ian and see what he thinks about it.

Other than that... The fort is still up, and I have had some people over to hang out in it. A lot of new timers. I can see why the Bishopric put Ian and I together in our calling. Ian showed up to the fort in his PJ's and a leopard print pillow and a teddy bear. That is something I would do. I love it. We get along well. No matter who it is, everyone loves being in the fort. :) Nothing brings people together like Fort Week.

Photo of the Week 254

Yet another picture from the snowshoe adventure. I like the Winter Wonderland Pics.

Fort Dinner Party

Usually I just do pizza and snacks in the fort... but this fort week.... I decided to step it up a notch and do a Bohemian type dinner party in the fort. So we sat on the floor in the fort and we ate Indian and Thai food. Daniel and I even wore our clothes that we bought in Thailand. It was low key, but something different and fun.

Here are some of the pictures from the dinner party.

Crock-Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

I have made Chicken Tikka Masala before. I love it. The other recipe I did... you can find here. However, I wanted to try one in the Crock-Pot thinking it would be faster and just as good? It was faster, but I think the other recipe is better and tastes more authentic. However... this one is a little healthier because I used Coconut Milk instead of heavy cream. Both good... but if you want to save time and be a little healthier... try this one.  *again, using their picture*


Crock-Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

Serves 4 to 6

1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece whole ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
Fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups cooked rice, to serve
Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and transfer them to a 3-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, paprika, and kosher salt until the chicken is evenly covered with spices. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices.
→ If you have the time: Marinate the chicken in 1/2 cup yogurt for up to 6 hours. Shake to remove excess yogurt before transferring to the slow cooker.
→ If you have the time: Sauté the onions and garlic in a little olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet until softened, then stir in the ginger, tomato paste, and spices until fragrant. Transfer to the slow cooker with the chicken and diced tomatoes. This will give your tikka masala more depth of flavor.

Cover the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the heavy cream. If you prefer a thicker sauce, leave the slow cooker uncovered for the last 15 minutes. Taste and add more garam masala or salt to taste.
Serve over rice with fresh cilantro sprinkled over the top of each serving. The tikka masala can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for 3 to 4 months.

Thai Chicken Salad

This salad was YUMMY! Another Pinterest find that I totally recommend. I'm using the picture from the website because it is prettier than mine. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For salad

• 1 bag of broccoli slaw about (2 or 3 cups)
• 1 cup sliced papaya
• 1 cup sliced cucumber
• 2 cups baby boy choy, chopped in small pieces (2 small bok choy)
• 1 red chili pepper, diced
• 4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded or cut in small pieces
• ¼ cup chopped mint
• ½ cup peanuts or slivered almonds

For dressing

• juice from 2 limes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• a pinch of red pepper flakes

Superman Bank

Today I spent many hours going through the change in my Superman Bank. It has just sat there for years. I figured I should sort the change and pouch it up and take it to the bank. I ran out of pouches... so I'm not done, but I kind of had fun doing it. It's like $100 in change. Not bad.

One of the reasons I was having fun with it is because I was going through all of the Quarters and seeing how many different states I had. Out of all the quarters I had 34 of the states... none of which were California, which I was a little disappointed about. I even had two different ones for a couple of different states. Anyway... I took a picture, because I'm weird like that.

Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa

I saw this on Pinterest and have been meaning to make it for a while. Well... I finally did, and I LOVED it. So good.


Grilled Salmon with Avocado Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tbs olive oil (I used light extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• for the Avocado salsa:
• 1 avocado, sliced
• ½ small red onion, sliced
• Juice from 2 limes
• 1-2 tbs finely chopped cilantro (depending on how big of a cilantro lover you are)
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Mix the salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion and black pepper together, rub the salmon fillets with olive oil and this seasoning mix
2. refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pre-heat the grill.
4. Combine the avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt in a bowl and mix well, chill until ready to use.
5. Grill the salmon to desired doneness. (I grilled for about 5 minutes)
6. Top with avocado salsa and enjoy!

First picture is the one from the site... my picture you can't even see the salmon because it's buried in Spinach

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 255

So for the first time since I have had my MacBook Pro (which I bought about 5 years ago) I am starting to have problems. My account that I sign in to use for everything got corrupt or something and stopped working. If I log in to that account, nothing happens. However... if I log into the guest account, it works just fine. It doesn't make sense to me. So I brought my laptop into work as I sometimes do. Just to see if I could get something to happen. Then I instant messaged the Tech guy at work asking him if he knew how to fix Mac's and he said he was the only one on the team that did. So... even though it wasn't work related, he was kind enough to come up and help me with my laptop for over an hour. He created a new account for me and copied everything over from my corrupt account.... which is way more than I would have been able to figure out how to do on my own. I thought everything would be fine then... but I am still having problems. My computer doesn't like me doing anything with my files from an added account. It makes it super frustrating. So... now I wonder what I need to do next. Is it time for a new computer? Or is this fixable? Thoughts? I am secretly hoping my brother in law Dan reads this and tells me what to do.... or some other Mac savvy person. I'm pretty frustrated with it. I did figure out how to change privacy settings on iPhoto and iTunes so that it will let me makes changes/add/pull from it. However... it sometimes changes back if I turn the computer off or whatever. Ugh.

Friday was another chill day. We went home a little early from work and my roommates and I just sat around and we watched the newer version of Romeo and Juliette. It was alright. When watching it again I do realize that it is probably the most dramatic teenage love story of all time.

Saturday I felt super productive. I always feel good having productive days. I slept in, but by the time any of my roommates had gotten out of bed, I had watered the plants, vacuumed the entire downstairs, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned my bathroom, cleaned Purple Rain's bowl, gathered a small pile for DI and blogged. So, I can feel good about that. After that it was driving around running errands. Went to Ikea, the fish store, Costco....  it was a beautiful day to be out and about.

Sunday it was 55 degrees. I almost couldn't believe it. I mean... we are in January. That is typically our coldest month. I feel like it's Winter back home. I haven't even been dressing in thick coats or anything... I have been dressing for fall weather. It's crazy. I wonder how long it is going to last. Some people don't even think it is going to snow again. Who knows, there is still no snow in sight. I'm not complaining about it though. I love it. This is Winter I can handle.

I started watching another tv show... finally decided to start another one. This one was pretty low commitment though because there are only 2 seasons with 13 episodes each. I am watching "Dollhouse" which was a suggestion by this guy, Mike.. on my activities committee. So far it is pretty interesting. If you have ever seen "The Island" it reminds me of that. I have no idea what I will watch after this.

Speaking of the activities committee... we are planning our next activity. We are planning an epic talent show. It will kind of be like American Idol in the fact that we are going to have the Bishopric be the judges (not that they will say anything bad really) but we are going to make it so people can text int heir votes and there will be prizes. We will have dinner... should be fun, especially since we have the Studio C guys in our ward and Jed the Piano Man. If you have any ideas of how to decorate of talent ideas that were really creative/ different and fun... I want to put together a talent as well... even though I will be working hard to put it on. Anyway... suggestions are always welcome. This is going down at the end of next month. We already have the place we are doing it booked.

It has been a pretty slow work week. I haven't had much to do. It makes the days kind of long... but usually they let us go home a little early which is nice.

I need to be better about going to the gym. It's so easy to be lazy! It would probably also help me feel like I'm losing weight. Right now... I'm sticking to plan and not really feeling any results. It is a little frustrating, but I'm hoping I will get past that soon. Snowshoeing on Monday was good exercise though so the week wasn't a total loss. And at least I am sticking to the diet. I just want to feel awesome. Also since being healthy.....I haven't gotten sick much. Just that one time right after Thanksgiving for a couple of days. Not bad. So I have that going for me too. Looking on the bright side here.

I set up the fort this week. It was time. January is the other month the fort goes up and January is almost over... so it had to go up. It is a pain to put up and it always takes me longer to do it then I think it is going to, but it is up and I love it. So let the parties begin. JK... I don't even really invite many people over to it anymore, but I will try and invite a few this time.

Monday my roommates and I went to Trader Joe's for the first time (since it has been in Salt Lake). It was crowded. I sure wish we had one closer. They have so many options you don't get at other stores and a lot of healthier options that are cheaper. We all got some stuff. Who knows when I will go back again... since it is in Salt Lake. Maybe I'll make a trip whenever I just happened to be in Salt Lake. ha ha.

Tuesday was my friend RJ's birthday. He had a huge group meet at Pizza Pie Cafe. That place has the crappiest pizza I think I have ever had. Thankfully I am dieting and I had a delicious salad before I went, so I just went to socialize. His YouTube famous friend that he does filming for, Stuart Edge was there.... entertaining us all with magic tricks, and people around us too. I just think it was cool that he was on Jimmy Fallon. I love Jimmy! There is a reason why RJ has so many friends... he is great.

Other than that... I think that is all. Not too much going on. I wish I had more dependable adventurous friends. I would go out a lot more and do a lot more.

Photo of the Week 253

Another picture from the beautiful snowshoeing trip up Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Snowshoeing Little Cottonwood Canyon

Monday was a Holiday. I didn't get it off. A lot of other people got it off. That always bums me out. My roommates had talked about going Snowshoeing the night before. I told them that I was going into work, but if they were going to go Snowshoeing to text me and then I would leave work and use sick time and go with them. So.... that is what happened. I worked a half day. Worth it!

We were a tiny bit worried when we were driving up the canyon that there wouldn't be enough snow to need our snowshoes since it has been so warm lately and melting the snow. We also had a hard time finding our trail, but once we did... it was great. There was plenty of snow and the trail was very pretty. It followed a river and went through the woods. I just loved it. We all had fun exploring together.

MacKenzie refuses to be in pictures, so it's just Allison and I. After we got done snowshoeing, since we were already in Salt Lake, we shopped at Trader Joe's (really wish we had one closer) and got some good stuff, then we went out to eat at this REALLY yummy BBQ place. It was a great Holiday filled with good food, adventure and roommate bonding.

Do You Want To Build a Snowman?

I have lived in Utah where it snows for a good portion of the year... and I had never built a snowman, until today. 

I know it's kind of pathetic, but I didn't grow up in the snow, and by the time I moved to Utah... everyone grew up in the snow and was over building snowmen. Anyway... last year John and I tried a few times to do it because he knew I wanted to, but the snow was never right when we went to try and it didn't snow that much last year. Well... this year, it has only snowed like twice... and who knows if it will snow again at this rate since January is usually the month where we get the most snow and on Sunday it was 55 degrees. However, my roommates and I went up into the mountains today... and the snow was perfect. Allison said she was sick of me saying I had never built one, so it was going to happen today. And it did. Mackenzie, Allison and I each rolled up a snow ball, stacked them on top of each other and shaped them. Then we all went out into the wilderness to find arms and the eyes and nose and buttons. At the end I put my beenie on top and he was complete. If only I would have had a scarf to put around him as well.

I was very proud of my first snowman.. and what a beautiful location for my first one. Now I can say I have built one. 

Lexi

Yesterday I decided to go to Ikea. Just got kicks... I had to run a bunch of errands, so I thought I would just go look around and see what's new. I ended up getting a couple of things. On my way out I happened to run into my friend Lexi (that I met in the Flashmob) and her hubby.

I said hi, she asked me what I was doing that night because her husband had plans... I happened to not have plans and so we decided to make plans and meet up for a healthy dinner later that night. I was more than happy about this because I like having plans and I like hanging out with my friends and I love Lexi and it had been a while since we had caught up.

So we got together for dinner and yummy salads and then went back to my house and chatted. I was wearing some of my new bold lipstick that night so Lexi commented on how she liked it and didn't think she could pull that off. Well... I had her try on all of my new lipstick to see.... because it looks good on most people, it's just that you are not used to wearing it. In fact I am still not used to the way it looks on me and at this point I think it looks better in pictures than it does in person, but everyone else tells me that it looks good, so I will believe them. Plus, it's a nice change. Lexi ended up loving the pink and I think she might go buy some. It's really cute on her. I am just going to convert girls one at a time... first I got my roommate to get the red, now Lexi to get the pink... who is next? ha ha

Here we are showing off the bold lipstick.

Nail Polish Storage

Lorelie and I had not seen or talked to each other in forever.... so we decided it was time to get together and catch up. We started out by going to dinner, then we went decided to do a craft.  We went to the dollar store to pick up a couple of items for our crafts. Went back to my house and spent maybe 10 minutes putting together our craft and mostly talking. P.S. You may have noticed that my picture with Lorelie my Nail Polish Storage looks different than in the final product. I ended up changing it later... which I was glad I did.

I love the way this turned out, I love that it only took 10 minutes to make and I love that it only cost me $6 to make. Mostly I love that I got to do it with Lorelie and catch up and hang out like old times. Doesn't happen enough. Hopefully it won't be so long until it happens again.

Emergency Car Kit

Years ago I bought an emergency car kit. It's awesome and has jumper cables and a first aid kit and tools and lots of things that you would need in an emergency. I think it's a great thing that everyone should have and keep in their car.

Well, I saw on Pinterst of another emergency car kit. One for if you got stranded. It gave a list of things that you should have. I think the only thing I didn't put in there that was on the list was duct tape. Everything else I put in.

I just happened to have this really nice backpack laying around that I got for free from Apx back when I worked there and it was actually called Apx. I never needed a backpack like that much and plus I didn't like advertising their name. It's a great backpack though and now I'm finally putting it to use! I also took clothes that I would have just given away because I don't wear them anymore and put them in there along with an old pair of shoes. These were all items on the list. Other items included water, a blanket, a flashlight, protein bars along with an extra pair of socks and underwear.

I finally put it all together and now it is in my car along with my other emergency car kit. Hopefully I will never have to use them, but always nice to feel prepared and safe.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 254

This week flew by. Probably because I was so busy. It was a great week that I got together with friends that I hadn't seen or spent time with for a while. First I hung out with Nicole while she did my hair. I LOVE my new hair. Oddly nobody has even noticed that my hair is darker and has red instead of blonde highlights in it. She didn't like the red the first time around so it took 4 hours to do my hair. I didn't mind... just longer I got to hang out with Nicole. The next day I drove up to Salt Lake to hang out with Desiree which we hadn't gotten together in months. She helped me pick out some fun new lipstick! I already blogged about all of this. Wednesday I hung out with Lorelie! We had not seen each other or spoken in almost a year and I don't know how long it has been since we have actually hung out. So it was great to go out to dinner and catch up on life and then we did a little craft after.... I will still blog about that... I think I just want to fix mine before I do. So yeah, lots of good friends. Tonight I went make up shopping with my roommate MacKenzie. I guess my getting new lipstick inspired her to want to get some too.

Last weekend I saw a couple new movies. First we went for work. Our quarter end tradition. We saw "The Imitation Game" which we all really liked a lot. We rented a Red Box that night with the roommates "What If" with Daniel Radcliffe aka Harry Potter. It was weird to see him play in something else besides Harry Potter. The movie was a little odd... but it was cute. Saturday night my roommates and I went to go see "Unbroken" which was super depressing, but it was good... I just don't think I could watch it again because it was too sad. Those true stories... they get you every time.

I went snowshoeing which I already blogged about. It was nice to get out. I always struggle to get out during Winter because it is so much easier to stay in and not be cold. However... so far the weather this Winter has been pretty amazing. It has hardly even snowed! The weather has consistently stayed in the 30's and 40's which is amazing. I would much rather have that than it be in the teens... which is usually the case. Anyway, I still hope to get out lots this Winter and hike. I get too stir crazy and sometimes depressed if I stay inside all of the time.

Remember how I told you I got new coral last week. One of the coral I got is dying... or being eaten by worms... which I didn't know I had in my tank. I'm a little worried. I will have to go to the fish store this weekend and ask them about it. I don't my coral to dye and I don't like the idea of having worms in my tank... especially since I don't know how they go there. Just when I thought things were going so well. No... they are. My new grass I bought is growing and spreading quite nicely so far. I thought I had killed it all, but I was happy about that. I hope it grows fast and spreads to the entire back of my tank, that would look so rad.

I still haven't committed to a show on Netflix yet. I have a few in my list to watch, but for some reason I haven't wanted to start one. I did find "Ring of Fire" which only ended up having two episodes... so it was like a long movie. It was pretty good. It has Michael Vartan in it as the main guy and I like him a lot. I have watched more documentaries and some strange movies I have found on Netflix. I have found some good ones too. Like... "Listen to Your Heart" it was a little cheesy, but in a sweet way. I actually was crying in my office watching it. I know... how embarrassing. ha ha. It was a slow work day.

I have been sticking to the diet but wasn't great with exercise this week. I have just been so tired. I don't know why. I also am not feeling like I lost weight like I was last week... which is frustrating when you are sticking to plan. I'm still sticking to it, but I am hoping to feel better SOON!!! It's starting to get a little more tempting to cheat... I just have to stay away from the snack at work and not even look at what they have and not go in the conference room when they get treats. Too tempting.

Last Sunday was so busy. I kind of hate it when my Sunday is that busy. It's supposed to be a day of rest right? Ha ha.. it was "Munch and Mingle" after church that day and Ian and I had decided to make chili. So we had to get together at my place at 8:30 that morning to chop chicken and onions and cilantro and put everything together in 3 crock pots. We thought it would only take us a half hour but it took us an hour and a half. Which didn't leave me a ton of time to get ready for church before Ian came back over and we had to go to Ward Counsel. At ward counsel the Bishop brought up maybe doing Break the Fast and Munch and Mingle or instead of Munch and Mingle... which Ian was all for it and I am completely against it... so after ward counsel Ian and I were arguing it out. It got a little intense to the point where the Bishop got involved and said he didn't care either way and then President Sandburg (who I adore) even got involved and he pretty much sided with me. Anyway... I think I won the fight (and yes Ian and I still are good friends and are getting along fine) but we got so into it that we missed the 1st 15 minutes of church. Not sure how that happened. After church we of course had to put on Much and Mingle which requires me to leave Relief Society early to start setting up and serving and then I served and until it was gone and everyone got some and then I had to clean up and take everything home and Ian home and then I was a half hour late to family dinner....which  had to leave dinner earlier than I normally do because I had a fireside to go to. I don't usually go, but Ian asked if he could go with me PLUS President Sandburg gave the fireside and I will go and listen to anything that man has to say..... because he is the best. So I was glad that I went. After the fireside I was chatting and catching up with people and then I finally went home to relax around 10pm. So I guess that is why I was so tired.... I was constantly going from 8:30am - 10pm. That is a long day. It was very productive, but it's not my favorite way to spend Sunday.

So I guess that wraps it up! It's been a busy week. I don't have much going on this weekend, but I am hoping that it can be just as productive. I like feeling productive. :)

Photo of the Week 252

The fog last Friday was nuts! However, when the sun is trying to shine through it... it's quite pretty.

Snowshoeing Big Springs

The weather has been so great. January has been very tolerable so far. The weather has mostly stayed in the 30's and 40's. Because of this, I wanted to go out and hike this last Saturday, so I asked my old roommate and friend, Sarah, if she would go with me. She had never been before, so she was up for it.

We had a fun time chatting and catching up with life while we enjoyed the beautiful snowy scenery up Provo Canyon. I'm so glad I bought snowshoes last year so I can just go whenever I want without having the hassle of renting them. We found a couple of little igloo's built by someone... so we stopped to check them out.

We also followed a little creek along the trail, which was pretty.

We didn't get all the way to Big Springs because we didn't have time, but we hiked about 3 miles or so. So glad that Sarah wanted to go with me. I'm hoping to go more in the next couple of months.

P-Rain

P-Rain is what I call my fish for short. His actual name is Purple Rain and yes, he has a theme song by Prince.

I have had him for a few years now. He has the longest prettiest tail fins I have ever seen on a beta. He is social... he always goes to the side of the bowl where the people are. He has been great. I'm impressed that he is still alive and doing so well... because I don't think they live much longer than 3 years.

ANYWAY....

When I first set the bowl up I put black rocks on the bottom and had this big plant taking up the majority of the bowl. I decided... I couldn't see Purple Rain that well and I wanted to see him better. He is so beautiful. Anyway... so I gave his bowl a little makeover and I like it a lot better. Now he has the natural colored rocks and the plant in there is real. I pinched it off my other kitchen plant and now you can see all of the roots growing in the water which is cool PLUS the live plant is better for P-Rain. Maybe it will help him live even longer!

Bold Lipstick

It was long overdue that Desiree and I get together to hang out. We decided to have a girly night and do make up and such while we catch up.

The trend right now (although not everyone is doing it) is to wear bright and or bold lipstick. I have a couple of friends (Lolly & Geedge) and others that wear the lipstick and it looks SO beautiful on them. I wanted to give the bold lipstick a try even though it would take a little getting used to.

So Desiree went with me to MAC and I picked out a pink, red and purple lipstick and lip liners. I originally was just going in there for pink and red, but Desiree had me try on this purple and it became my favorite one that I tried on. I'm excited to wear it more. I also think the bold lipstick goes great with my new dark hair! Just makes it pop you know? I hope I can be bold enough to wear and pull off this bold lipstick.

After we bought the lipstick, Desiree gave me a make over to try out my new look. Love it! I need to remember how she did my make up so I can try and do it again myself. I really only know how to do make up on myself one way... but I need to branch out. Love my new lip sticks and I always love my time with Desiree. :)

The New Hairdo

I had an appointment to hang out with my friend Nicole... aka get my hair done. I love getting my hair done and I love hanging out with Nicole. It's a win win.

Usually I go in there with no ideas and just let her do what she wants. This time I had sent her a picture from Pinterest of this beautiful brunette with some red in her hair. Obviously everyone's hair is different a takes dye differently etc... so I didn't expect the same thing, but was just giving her a general idea of what could be fun and a little different if she thought it would look good on me. She thought it would so I let her go for it.

It ended up taking 4 hours because the red wasn't as vibrant the first time around as she wanted... so we did the red again. I didn't mind, more time to hang out and catch up. It was late and we were the only ones at the salon, so it was fun. The end result? It's a beautiful rich brown with some beautiful red mixed it. I absolutely LOVE it. I was ready to go darker and I like the way red looks in my hair. The more I see it in pictures and in certain lighting... the more I love it. Thank you Nicole! You are the best hair stylist!

Here is what my hair looks like in different lighting to give you an idea. Did I mention I love it?

Nicole and I having fun while she does my hair and we catch up on life.

Black & White Mocktail Party

My old roommate who is still in my ward had a birthday party tonight. My roommates and I all committed to going, but we were all not excited about it. Why? Because we were feeling lazy and this was a dress-up party. I don't know why you have a fancy dress up party at your house... but so it is. We all talked about how much we didn't want to dress up for this party all night.

I finally got my make up out and offered to to my roommates make up. They both agreed... so I did both of theirs and then did my own. First step. Now we were committed. So we found black and white fancy clothes and we headed over to the party. We chatted with a few friends and got ourselves a mocktail and then went back home and changed into our PJ's.

Although we all dreaded it, I rarely get an excuse to dress up. I also enjoyed doing my roommates make up... and don't we all look nice? (Besides the fact that Daniel can't take serious pictures). Daniel served the mocktails at the party. Anywho.... that is what we did tonight.