Make New Friends, but Keep the Old!

One is silver, the other is gold!

Tonight, after going to tutoring, I got together with Veda and Katie! In my opinion, I don't see these girls enough. We live so close, but then will go so long without seeing each other. I love them though. We all know each other so well, its so good to get together, catch up and pour out our souls to each other since we know each other so well and then be there for each other to support and uplift one another. We went to get ice cream (which is always good for the soul) and then we happened to run into Kendra, also a friend from back home. I love it! I love seeing all my friends from Santa Barbara because it makes it seem like I am not so far away from home. We had a great time. I hope this will be happening more often (hint hint).
Thanks girls for always being amazing friends for the past 15+ years! It is so nice to have that understanding, love and support. You mean a lot to me!

Secret Lake

Saturday, AFTER the tea party I went on an adventure with my friend Matt. Remember the apartment group date that I made the shrimp pot pies for? Matt was the guy I went on that date with. I didn't get any pictures then, but you can see one now.
Anywho, Matt and I both volunteer for the tutoring program. He usually goes on Thursdays and I usually go on Tuesday's, but from time to time we are there on the same night. A while back we were walking some of the kids home and one of the kids had a net. We asked if they had caught anything and they said no. It reminded me of when I was a kid. One of my FAVORITE summer activities was catching tadpoles at the creek in my neighborhood. I would do it for HOURS! I just couldn't get enough. I would bring a bucket to the creek and see how many tadpoles and frogs I could catch. I didn't use a net, just my hands. I would bring home the bucket and I had an aquarium that I would keep them in and watch them develop into cute little frogs. One time I found a turtle in the creek and brought it home. I wonder if my parents ever got tired of my obsession with animals and creatures. Anyway, just the thought of it brought back such great memories. I guess Matt was the same way. So we talked about doing it at some point this summer.
Well... Saturday was the day! He came and picked me up at 3pm and we set off for Salt Lake, then went up into the mountains to Alpine. Because we were so high up, it was a lot cooler (which was awesome because the days are getting VERY hot). It was SO beautiful up there. We brought a net and a bucket so we could catch tadpoles at the lake. I had never been there before (neither had he) so we both didn't know what to expect. It was a mile hike to the lake. A beautiful hike. Tons of streams and wildflowers. I loved it.
*We saw this little guy on our way up for the hike*

We got to the lake and we walked around looking for tadpoles. We didn't find any tadpoles... but what we did find were Salamanders! I had never seen one before! They are so cool. So we decided to catch Salamanders instead, which might be even cooler than catching tadpoles. They are fast little swimmers. We ended up catching 5. I caught two big ones, Matt caught two big ones and then Matt caught a little baby. I just couldn't stop staring at them. They look like little Dragon's. In fact.... they reminded me of the movie "How to train your Dragon". Awesome little creatures. We were a big hit with the kids once we started catching them. We stayed at the lake for a while, and when we were ready to go, we decided to let two of the big ones go and then take the rest home. Just like when I was a kid, I wanted to see them finish developing!

So we hiked a mile back with a bucket of Salamanders, had a great time chatting and then on the way home we stopped for dinner and then when he dropped me off at home at 11pm, we put the Salamanders in my water fountain in the back. More space to swim around than in the bucket. So now I get to watch them everyday in my backyard. Love it. Matt stayed for another couple of hours just chatting and then we both headed to bed. It was a long fun filled day. Matt and I ended up spending a solid 10 hours together! You know someone is awesome when you can go on a 10 hour date with them and not get tired or bored of them. :o)

If you have not been on the hike to Secret Lake, I totally recommend it! It is a pretty easy hike. I did it in flip flops and there were lots of kids doing the hike. This is a beautiful time of year to go up there and it is a nice way to get away from the heat!

P.S. What should I name my new pet Salamanders?

Summer Tea Party

Remember when I had the Pride & Prejudice Tea Party? That was great and all, but what I really wanted to have was a summer tea party outside at the park... where everyone was dressed up with hats, like you see in the movies? I have seen so many cute pictures of other tea parties (mostly kids). I saw this one picture of a few little girls sitting around a table, all of the girls had flowers in their hair and they were sitting on suite cases and sipping from their tea cups. A-Dorable! Well, since I don't want to grow up.... I just decided I would throw a cute tea party. Why not? I have already discovered that my friends like to play as much as I do. So on Saturday morning (Brunch) we did just that. It was beautiful and it was fun. Everything that I wanted. Everyone had so much fun AND talked in British accents the whole time! Here are some of the pictures from the event.

Somehow we got one of the guys in our ward (Isaac) to be our waiter. He dressed up and everything. I think he was just as excited as we were for this party. :o)

We had an extra table set up for the food.

I made every girl a name tag for where they were going to sit.

And of course, everyone wore hats! Here is mine. It was just white, but then I added some ribbon and some flowers.

Here are all of the girls that came! From left to Right.
Jeanna, Mieka, Lorelie, Whitney, Karianne, me and Kailey. Sarah was also supposed to come but I guess she was injured.

Today at church... it was amazing how many people already knew about this event. Awesome things spread fast I guess. :o)
Thanks to all who helped make this happen. I seriously have the coolest friends... Seriously! We have so much fun and I am so thankful for them in my life.

Hummus

Lately I have been kind of obsessed with Hummus. Same with my co-worker Heather. Sometimes, we will go down to the cafe at work... JUST to get the chips and hummus. It is not always there, and usually when its not I say oh well and leave or grab something else. Not lately. Heather and I will go down there and if its not out then we ask for it. Usually they have either made a fresh batch or they just need to scoop up more and put it out.
Because we have been on this hummus kick, Heather thought we should bring in fruit, chips & hummus today for work. Everyone else just bought stuff, but I decided I wanted to try making it. Why not? I like it enough that I should know how to make it. So I did... and I think it turned out pretty good. Once you know how to make it, you can experiment with flavors. This time, I just made plane.
*Side Note* It says that you need a food processor, which it probably would turn out better it you do BUT I don't have one. I just made it in my blender and it still turned out great. Just sayin.

Hummus


3 tbsp juice from 1-2 lemons
1/4 cup water
6 tbsp tahini, stirred well (aka sesame butter) *I had to find this at a health food store*
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 (14oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (aka Garbanzo Beans)
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro or parsley

Directions:
Combine lemon juice and water in a small bowl. Whisk together tahini and 2 tbsp oil in second small bowl. Set aside 2 tbsp chickpeas for garnish.

Process remaining chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin and cayenne in food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream through food tube. Scrape down bowl and continue to process for 1 minute. With machine running, add oil-tahini mixture in steady stream through food tube, continue to process until hummus is smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

Transfer hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle reserved chickpeas and cilantro over surface, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Yum! Hooray for Hummus day at work! Happy Friday!

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 22

Well, I think my skin is finally done peeling off. Its only been 3 weeks since the sunburn. Wow. Lesson learned? Always wear sunblock, even when it is overcast and windy and a little on the cold side. I really should know this since I grew up in California, but I guess my many years in Utah have caused me to forget.  Don't worry guys, I won't post anymore pictures of peeling skin. I thought it was funny, but I guess most of you were pretty grossed out by that. ha ha. Don't look at my back! Ha ha

It is funny, I didn't really have a lot of plans this summer, but it has been JAM PACKED! Seriously.. its flying by and there is still so much that I want to get done. I don't remember it being like this last summer. Maybe because I wasn't have as much fun as I am now. :o)

Say you have a friend, that every time they see you or contact you, all they want is for you to do something for them. Does that friend soon just become annoying? Or is it just me? I feel like... really? Is this the only reason why we are friends? Just sayin...

At tutoring on Tuesday, there was a couple that came together to tutor, or rather, they came to talk to and flirt with each other while other people helped the kids. At Institute last night, there was a couple that came and sat right next to my friend and I, they talked through almost the entire class. Really? What is the point? Why are they going to these things? Just to say they are going? It is pretty annoying to the people that are there because they actually want to be there. 

Last night, when I got home from a friends house, I saw my neighbor outside on his porch on his computer. I said hi to him and asked him if he was blogging. He said he was! His stroke of genius hit me like a ton of bricks! Why in the world have I not been doing this since the beginning of summer? I mean, I planted all of these flowers and have a beautiful garden on my patio (I know, I still need to post about that too) and I have a comfy bench swing with pillows (pillows are a new addition this summer), and I have a lap top which = portable aka outside. I mean... we only have a our beautiful summer nights for not so long, so I need to take advantage of it right? Starting last night, you better believe that is where I did my last blog post from! I lite one of those candles to make the bugs stay away, brought out some water and chillaxed on my bench swing as I blogged. It was so relaxing, so refreshing, so wonderful! And now I am taking advantage of the atmosphere that I created out there. So awesome. I totally recommend it if you are able to do it.
While I was out there, I got on facebook and started chatting with Jeanna and told her how awesome it was and that she should come join me. So she did! I got a camping chair out and we relaxed outside while doing our nightly computer thing.

The view from where I'm sitting

My new favorite spot. If I ever post a blog entry at night... I was probably sitting here when I wrote it. :o)

Friends Frolicking in Fields...

of Lavender!
While coming back from St George, we passed by Mona Utah. Mona Utah is where "Young Living Farm" is located. They make essential oils and such... so of course, they have a field of lavender. When we passed by, we thought of my new beautiful dress that my sister made. This led to discussion of a photo shoot in the field with my dress (everything turns into discussion of photo shoots when Lorelie and I are talking). So the next day, we made it happen. We had no idea how to get there (no near by exit by the field) or if we are even allowed to just go hang out in the field and take pictures. So we just went. Obviously we figured it all out. It was great. Lorelie and I had a blast and we still laugh every time we look at our pictures. Since it was just the two of us, if we wanted pictures of us together, there was no one to take our picture, so we had to use Mr Timer & Mr Tripod. I have a setting on my camera where you can have it take like 10 pictures in a row. We used it and now could make flip books. Watch facebook for that. They are so funny. Or maybe just funny to us?

Oh, ALSO... I remembered to bring back some lavender for Jeanna, you know, so we can try again making that Lavender Lemon Cake. Remember when we went looking for Lavender and couldn't find any? Little did I know I just had to drive 20 minutes away to Mona.

Here are some of our pictures in the field of lavender. I had no idea that Utah had so many little treasures!

photo of the week 20

A sneak peak at a spur of the moment photo shoot.