Spring Break!

The last couple of days I've had the chance to spend some time with my sister, Andrea! She flew out from Indiana on her spring break and spent a couple of days with me. We've done so much stuff, it's almost been exhausting! On Monday we went prom dress shopping, and let me tell you, I'm glad I could just watch HER try on dresses. It was really awesome because we made our first stop at Allyse's Bridal, headed over to the clearance rack, and she found a dress for $100 that we both fell in love with. We tried looking at other places, but she just loved the glittery, hot pink one so much we went back and bought it! She got some really cute jewelry from a different dress store, and it looks so good with her dress! Yay!

Today we made a trip to UVU for a campus visit that we scheduled. It was actually really cool. UVU is a much nicer school than I thought it was. All of the buildings are connected, so you never have to walk through the snow, through millions of people to get to class in a building that is two miles away (..BYU!...) Andrea seemed to really enjoy it there and now claims to be torn between schools. She seems like she's thinking of trying it out for at least a semester and that way if she doesn't like it, she can go back home. We'll see! We got free ice cream for touring the campus and Andrea got a free UVU shirt. Pretty sweet.

After the tour we headed up to Draper to check out the new, two-story Forever 21 store. Holy cowza it's huge! It's supposedly the biggest one around, and boy, do I believe it! Andrea and I almost went into clothing stimulation overload. We both ended up with some cute 80's neon-ish colored t-shirts (they make us look darker than we actually are!) and Andrea bought a "snap wallet" that she's been looking for the whole trip.

Driving home from the mall we were trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our time, and once we got home we ended up taking naps! It was awesome. We both laid down in the living room here and fell asleep to the sweet sounds of Food Network.

It was so great to have someone to shop with, laugh with, chill with, and take naps with during the day while Tony was away at work. It's been so fun, and I'm sad that she is leaving tomorrow morning! Hopefully there will be more sister visits in the future.

*Sorry we don't have pictures. Both Andrea and I are horrible at remembering to bring our cameras places and when we do, we forget we have them.*

My Dream Job

I have quite the announcement, folks. I have a job! Before I reveal my new place of employment, I'd just like to reminisce back to my childhood. Back to about 5th grade......

*wispy clouds and harp music*

One day in my 5th grade life, I went over to my friend Christa Frye's house after school. We were very best friends and played together nearly every day after school. Christa was especially excited for me to come over because she had a brand new toy for us to play with.


Her mom had purchased for her the oh-so-coveted McDonald's Barbie. Do you know the one? She had the most beautiful McDonald's uniform, her own drive-thru window, and miniature fries and burgers to hand out to Ken, Skipper, Kelly, and all her other friends. She even had a headset to work the drive-thru window.

Oh how Christa and I longed to be McDonald's workers. Prestige and reputation weren't important factors as we dreamed of the day when we were 16 and could make french fries like Barbie did. She did it so fashionably, and so well. My dream job was to be a McDonald's crew member and work the drive-thru.

*back to reality*



My job isn't exactly my dream job, but I WILL be working a drive-thru. I'll be at Wendy's instead of McDonald's, but there's not much difference right? Even though this job is just until I find something else, I am going to work that window as beautifully as Barbie did back when I was in fifth grade.


You know you're jealous.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

On Saturday Tony and I decided to take advantage of the 74 degree weather. We went to a local park and had a picnic and flew kites! It was really fun.

We started off our adventure with our picnic. I made Cajun Chicken wraps and we had some carrot sticks and fresh pineapple and strawberries and some Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Banana muffins for dessert (low-calorie, if you can believe it). Yummy! Here I am munching down on a carrot. I'm a dork.

Nice view of our picnic spot.

We then had to assemble our kites that we got for $1 at Wal Mart.

Tony successfully assembled Buzz Lightyear. Not pictured: my Barbie kite.

I pretty much rock at flying kites.

Can you see me and my kite? I'm the little speck on the right, and my kite is flyin' high. It's the dark spot up in the middle of the picture.

This was such a fun and inexpensive date! We had a blast and it was so fun to be out in the warm weather. I, being pasty Snow White, got sunburnt (haha) but it was well worth it.

Trying My Hand At...

The other day I thought it would be fun to start my own little herb garden. I headed off to WalMart where I found some cute little kits complete with containers and I bought two of them. In one container I'm growing oregano, basil, and thyme. In the other, I'm growing baby tomatoes, lettuce, and sweet peppers. It was so fun to plant them! Tony jokingly said that this is our first step in taking care of something. If we can grow plants successfully, we're ready for a pet. Once we can take care of a pet, we're ready for a kid. haha!

Here are some pictures from our Monday night planting:

What's even more exciting than planting these was waking up this morning and seeing this!

That's the lettuce and basil. I'm a proud mama!!!

My New Babies

I don't know how many of you know that I am training for a 5K, but I have some wonderful running news! On Saturday Tony took me to the Salt Lake Running Company and I was fitted for some brand new spiffy running shoes! There they are, on the left. Aren't they beautiful?

I'll make this blog somewhat informative by answering the question I know you're all asking. "What's so great about those shoes? They look normal to me." Let me start from the very beginning.....

As you probably know, everyone's feet are different. Some of us have high arches, low arches, or flat feet like ducks. I fall into the duck category. If you're interested in seeing where you are, try this "wet test." What happens to me when I run, because I have flat feet, is that I over pronate. That is, a micro-second after footstrike, my arch collapses inward too much, resulting in excessive foot motion and increasing my risk of injuries.

At the SL Running Co, they put me on a tredmill and videotaped me running. They then went frame by frame to show me what my feet and legs were doing as I run. It looked so painful! It looked like my ankle was bending in the wrong way! It was very interesting. So, then the store clerk brought out probably six different pairs of stability shoes (they have a more supportive arch so that mine doesn't collapse when I run), all of which I ran with on the tredmill.

I finally settled on the Asic Gel-Kanayo 15's (pictured above). They feel wonderful and I can tell that they really support my arches. I took them out on our 4-miler on Saturday and they did pretty well, they made my legs sore because they were brand new, but I still liked them. Today on my 2-mile run they were fabulous! I feel like a new runner woman!

I know some of you probably aren't the least bit interested in all of this, but I find it very interesting! Plus, I'm excited about my new (and fairly expensive..sheesh!) shoes!

If you're curious, Tony did the biomechanics test at the running store too, and he has perfect form. So he can get neutral, less expensive shoes. I'm just a handicapped runner :).

Help Us Out!

Hello faithful blog readers!

I just wanted to let you all know about my mother-in-law's new blog/website "Creative Options." She is an amazingly talented woman who cooks like a pro and designs the CUTEST embroidery patterns for pillows, blankets, table runners, and more. She's in several quilting stores in Utah including Pine Needles and Material Girls, and also has her patterns in stores all the way in Nauvoo! I believe she was also in Mormon Handicraft magazine as well! She has just finished a pattern for an awesomely adorable memory board that you can stick pictures on. Love it.

I have used a couple of her patterns and they are so easy to use and I've created some really cute stuff! I helped her build a blog so that she could share her awesome recipes and patterns with all of you! Once you get to her main site, you can also visit her patterns site (a button on the right sidebar) and even buy some to try yourself! (safely, of course, through PayPal).

Leave a comment, tell a friend, go on, go visit! You'll love it!

Creative Options

Minus the Negative

I've been kind of down lately because it seems like all I do is sit at home and look for jobs all day long. Oh wait, I do sit at home and look for jobs all day! So, I've decided to make a list of all of the positive things going on right now to cure my jobless, school-less, sit-at-home-all-day blues.

+ I am losing weight! It's true. My running and healthier eating are paying off. Whoda thunk?
+I haven't had a bad hair day since January. I love the no humidity Utah climate.
+ I got an A on my Bulgaria internship projects. That means I had a 4.0 semester last Fall! Wahoo!
+ I'm going to see Andrea (my sister) graduate from high school in May. Which means a trip to Indiana, and a trip to see my bestest sisters! (and my parents, too...)
+ This past Saturday Tony and I went on a 4-mile run, and I found a $20 bill on the street!
+ I ran for almost 3 of those 4 miles! Holy cow.
+ I have a concert coming up. Yeah, a concert. I play with a group called the Wasatch Winds. I haven't played a concert in almost a year!
+ The weather is warming up, despite the snowstorm we had yesterday. I am really excited for a 58-degrees Saturday
+ I got a call today for an interview next week. Cross your fingers for me!
+ I just may get some spiffy running shoes this weekend. Prepare yourself, flat feet!
+ I get to go watch Tony play an intramural basketball game. I love seeing those games!
+ I did some laundry today, go me.
+ The Biggest Loser is on tonight, and I'm super pumped for it.
+ I have chairs to sit on. I always think of this when I think about gratitude. One FHE when we were younger, we went around the family circle and spouted off what we were grateful for. Andrea and I gave the typical "family, church, food" answers, but Morgan, being about 5 at the time loudly said "chairs! I am SOO grateful for CHAIRS!" We all laughed but quickly realized that we should be grateful for chairs as well.
+ I have a wonderful husband who supports me in everything I do, and encourages me through my unemployment period :)

This felt good to think about. I encourage everyone to do this! It's really nice to think about all of the GOOD things that are happening right now instead of dwelling on the not-so-fun things.

Me Monster

This video always makes me laugh because I know a handful of people that are Me Monsters. My mom was even talking to me on the phone the other day about a Me Monster she encountered.

We actually watched this video in my Forming Marital Relations class last year when we were discussing the differences in men and women's conversations with each other. Men like to compete, and women like to relate.

Do you know any ME MONSTERS?

My Soap is Sexier Than Yours!

Last night as I was showering I was getting excited to use my new moisturizing body wash. I have been suffering from dry, itchy skin and I was hoping my body wash would help with that. Tony also got some manly Old Spice-ish body wash (we buy generic brands) to use in the shower. When I turned to reach for my body wash, I saw this and began laughing:

Do you see? Look at how buff and manly Tony's soap is, and how sleek, sexy, and curvacious mine is. It looks like there's a handsome little soap couple in our shower!

I had to wonder what Western Family was trying to do with this. Did I really buy this soap because it looks like a lean, beautiful woman's body? Was Tony tempted by the wide shoulders of his Old Spice knock off? Are we so into body image that even the shape of our body wash bottles affects our purchases?

As I thought about my skinny little soap bottle I began thinking of all of the people I know who buy products to make them skinnier, prettier, or whatever in record time. We ALL do this, of course, but is it possible that these people would truly buy things based on the fact that the soap bottle has a strong resemblance to a "sexy woman's" body, so that they, too could have a more beautiful figure?

After thinking more, I realized that I was guilty. I began thinking "would I buy a bottle of soap to help my skin be softer and more healthy that looked like Tony's soap?" No way! Even I am guilty of wanting even my SOAP to look sexy!

What about you guys?