Pinterest Sunday: St. Patrick's Day

I pretty much don't do Pinterest Sunday anymore, but with a holiday coming up I decided it would be a good time to put up all my St. Patrick's Day pins! You can find my personal Pinterest page HERE and this blog's Pinterest page HERE. 

22 St. Patrick's Day DIY Decor Ideas

Blessed 

St. Patrick's Day Desserts

St. Patrick's Day Banner

Home is Where the Boat Is: St. Patrick's Day Ideas

St. Patrick's Day Printables

A Lucky Breakfast

St. Patrick's Day Centerpiece

History of St. Patrick's Day

Well that's it I guess. I hope you all do something fun for St. Patrick's Day! 

THANKS FOR READING!! 

Things I'm Good At

I got the idea for this post from a Jenna Marbles video on Youtube. I would share the video on here but part of it is inappropriate and I don't want to have that on my blog. So feel free to look it up if you want.

These past few weeks have been difficult for me with school, moving, constant stress, and depression. But things are starting to look up... slightly... I'm still insanely poor and have to pay college tuition on Wednesday... stressful!

Anyways, in an attempt to make myself feel better about myself, here are the things that I am good at. 

I'm really good at driving in the snow. This is good because I live in Northern Utah where it snows a lot. I learned yesterday that some Canadians don't know it snows in Utah. Well, it does. In fact, our license plates sometimes say "Greatest Snow on Earth", although I don't believe that's true. But it does snow a lot, usually from October to May. This year we got a late start on the snow and it's just barely starting up, but that means it'll probably last till summer. There's a saying that there are only two seasons in Utah, winter and road construction, and that's basically true. But yeah, it snows here, today it was -24 degrees when I first went outside. And it's real surprising how many people in Utah cannot drive in the snow, so I'm proud for being good at it.

I'm fairly good at writing papers quickly. Like I should be doing right now. I have my final essay due at midnight tonight and I haven't started it yet. Let me clarify, I haven't started writing the paper, but I've done tons of research and wrote out notes for my paper. It only has to be at minimum three pages so I'm fairly confident I can whip out a good essay before midnight.

I'm good at dancing. It's true. I was in the Ballet West Nutcracker three times, I danced half-time at the Poinsettia Bowl in 2010 (which I will be writing about soon because it's such a good story and my school is in the Poinsettia Bowl this year, GO USU!!!) and I just absolutely love dancing! I've done ballet, jazz, tap, and both Latin and standard ballroom. I'm currently looking for a dancing teaching job because that's one of my main goals in life, to teach dance.

I'm good at making minute rice. And Ramen, and toaster items, and other microwave items. But that's about the extend of my cooking abilities. Oh! But I am good at making cookies!!

I'm good at finding good music. At least I believe I am. Jon McLaughlin and Christina Perri are my two favorites and they are a billion times better than what's popular right now. Like Miley Cyrus? She can't sing. Or all those rappers? They can't sing at all! But Jon and Christina are not only talented singers, but also play the piano, which happens to be my favorite instrument.

I'm good at giving gifts. I absolutely LOVE buying and giving people gifts! It's one of my most favorite things in the world! It's why last year I spent over $200 on Christmas presents for my family, why I gave my husband 24 all Star Wars themed gifts for his 24th birthday, and why I love doing giveaways on this blog. But, alas, I currently have no money so I'm super disappointed this year that I can only give each person on my list one gift, and it has to cost less than $10. I'm so upset. But don't worry because...

I'm good at making cards. I love making creative cards! It's so much fun! I just love crafting really. And, according to my sister, I'm good at writing cute and meaningful notes to people inside said cards. So I will be making special cards for all my family for Christmas in an attempt to make up for lack of good gift giving.

I'm good at sleeping. This is only partially true. I occasionally struggle with falling asleep, but once I'm asleep I'm out and I can sleep forever! That's why I struggled so much with my 8:30am class this semester and why I never look good for 9:00am church. I'd much rather sleep than do anything.

I'm good at making future lesson plans for when I become a teacher. I find it so much fun to explore Pinterest and different teaching blogs and find ideas for school lessons. Not only that, I create my own and save them to an external hard drive. Even though I won't graduate for three and a half years, there's nothing wrong with being prepared, right? :)

I'm good at doing hair. It's true! I am! And I absolutely love doing it! I love playing with my hair and love testing out new styles I find on Pinterest. The only problem is I have super shaky hands so I can only do my own hair, don't ask me to do your hair because it won't turn out as good, but I'm used to it on myself.

I'm good at using Pinterest. Well duh, I mentioned it in the past two things! I'm on Pinterest ALL THE TIME and am super good at pinning things. Not as good at actually doing the things, but I'll get there someday.

I'm good at being neutral. Every year of college my roommates would end up splitting into two groups and hate each other, but none of them hated me and I somehow avoided having to pick sides. I don't even know what I did but it's a talent. I think it's because I don't really care what other's do and am very accepting of others, I'm also super good at never letting my emotions show. So I could hate someone and they would never know. That's totally a talent. But I currently don't have any friends so maybe I'm too neutral...

I'm good at helping others. I have this inner desire to love and help everyone I meet (why don't I have friends again???). I use Charity of the Month on this blog to help others, I volunteer with an elementary school twice a week, I started 12 Days of Service this month, I love doing anything I can to help others and make them happy and I only wish I could do more.

I'm good at being a janitor. Is that something to be proud of? Maybe not, but it pays the bills so I'm happy about it. I'm really good at my job and work hard to make sure I'm one of the best. I've always been a hard worker, no matter what the job and consider that an additional thing I'm good at.

I'm good at people watching. Not a talent, just something I'm good at. I'm also good at not getting caught. I hear the best conversations sometimes and no one even knows...

I'm good at eating French Fries. Put French Fries in front of me and I'll eat them all. Every last crumb, every last grain of salt. I love French Fries! They are quite possibly my favorite food and I crave them everyday.

I'm am incredibly good at talking myself out of buying something. Only with clothes though, with food, not so much. But with clothes I rarely buy new things, even though I hate all my clothes, because I can quickly talk myself out of it. It's a fantastic trait considering I have no money but I'm hoping I can control this ability once I do have money and start to work on a new wardrobe for myself.

I'm good at writing. Or at least I consider myself to be good. I make mistakes, I know that, but everyone makes mistakes occasionally. I believe that we continually learn from our mistakes and when I make a mistake writing on this blog I want for my readers to point it out so I am aware and work harder to avoid doing it again in the future. Not only am I good at writing, but I absolutely LOVE writing. So while I previously said that I was too depressed to write, I'm continually learning that I have to write to keep myself happy. I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be writing on this blog as much as I possibly can because it genuinely makes me happy.

Pinterest Sunday: Candles, Star Wars Kids, Red Pants, Cashew Chicken, Bat-Cat, Pink Sparkles, Autumn, Snails, Cardigan, Tennis Shoes, Relief Society Binder, Carmel Highlights, Weed, and Choosing to Be Happy

New Years is on it's way, can you believe it's almost 2014?? I love the simple-ness of this craft! I'm also in love with glitter. This could also be done for other types of candles. Like a leaf for November or mistletoe for Christmas. 

These are the cutest little Star Wars costumes!! I absolutely love it! 

I love this outfit! Love love love! 

I'm so in love with cashew chicken! It's one of my favorite things in the world. Yet I swear every Chinese restaurant I go to, doesn't have it and it makes me so depressed. I hope this recipe is good! 

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

Cutest Bat-Cat ever! Happy Halloween! 

This dress is fabulous! It's so me! 

I love when the leaves change colors! It's my favorite time of year! 

Sunday Meals: Crock-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

Last Easter the Easter Bunny gave me a wonderful cookbook! It's from Cambell's and it has three books in one. I recommend this book! We use a lot of recipes from the last part of the book, "Slow Cooker Recipes" for our meals. This recipe is adapted from the "Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice" recipe on page 208. We changed it up a bit for ourselves. 

This recipe was really good, however, it didn't have as much flavor as we might have liked. I think if we would have followed the actual recipe it would have more flavor, but we still really enjoyed today's Sunday Meal! 

CROCK-POT CREAMY CHICKEN & RICE

Makes: 8 servings

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high

2 cans Cambell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups uncooked, long-grain rice

5-7 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 package of frozen vegetables (small)

1. Stir the soup, water, and rice into slow cooker. Add the vegetables and chicken turning to coat with the soup mixture. 
2. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through. 

Pinterest Sunday: Black & Navy, Bread, Octobers, Cantaloupe, Han Solo, Baby, Kay, Hoodie, Get Well, Brain Sneeze, Bag Lady, Smith Family, and Moo Point

I pinned this because I am in love with every part of this picture! Her shoes, her pants, her shirt, her jacket, her bracelet, her hair, and especially that bag!! Goodness, if someone would mail this exact outfit to me I would love you forever! 

"Miracle Bread" This supposedly takes one hour from start to finish and is supposed to taste super good. I'm excited to try it out! Click on the link for the recipe!

Everyday at work my friend Todd and I talk about how excited we are for Fall and Halloween! Also, yesterday when writing my Cache Valley Checklist I got really distracted looking up all the Fall events for the Pumpkin Walk and at Little Bear Bottoms. I'm just so excited!

This is so lame but I laughed, so maybe you'll laugh too. 

Chris and I had a Star Wars marathon last weekend so I have Star Wars on the brain. (Secret time, Chris and I are being Han and Leia for Halloween!)

Cutest baby ever! I went to a baby shower yesterday so I have baby-on-the-brain.

I got so excited when I first saw this because it's the first part of my name!! It come with instructions on how to put words in a cake, found HERE and the best part is, it doesn't look too difficult! 

I am a huge fan of hoodies and this one is super cute! I want it! 

"Get Well Soon Gift" This is super cute and I love it! The Pin took me to this website HERE but it didn't lead to the direct post, sorry! 

Any Duck Dynasty fans out there? I think the show is so funny and this quote is the best! 

I don't know if you've realized from all my Pinterest Sunday posts, but I'm a bag lady. I'm obsessed with bags and would buy a new purse once a month if I could. I love the bag in this picture as well as her outfit!

I'm late on the whole Miley Cyrus VMA thing. I did watch it, I was mortified, but I found no reason to write about such filth on this blog. But I pinned this picture of the Smith family reacting her her performance, because this picture is exactly how I felt and it makes me laugh. 

This is my favorite quote from Friends. Hands down. So awesome and yes Rachel, it does make sense. :) 

My 2013 Resolutions

So we are halfway through the year 2013, which in my opinion went by super fast. This is a crazy year. I got married, I moved back to Logan, I'm starting school again in the fall... crazy. :)

So at the beginning of the year I made 10 New Years Resolutions. Since we're halfway through the year I figure now would be a good time to look back at those resolutions and see how well I'm doing and remind myself to keep working on some of them. So here are my 2013 resolutions and what I've been doing on them.

1. To limit my income of sugar and salt. (Okay, so this one I was doing pretty good at before my wedding. I didn't eat any sugar and salt in order to fit in my wedding dress.... but after the wedding I kind of lost it. I've gained about ten pounds since getting married, so I need to work on this goal some more again.)

2. To learn to love cooking. (I haven't worked on this one. I was lucky to marry a guy who is great at cooking and doesn't mind doing it. But I did cook something special that was very very delicious!! You can find it HERE.)

3. To become more flexible. (I haven't been working on this one either, however, I was stretching the other day and did my left splits completely. So I haven't lost any flexibility, which is good, but I want to be stronger in my flexibility, so I'll keep working on that.)

4. To become a better friend. (Yeah... I don't have anything to say on this one. I current don't have any friends in Logan except my husband, but when school starts I'll work on that...)

5. To work harder for my education. (I don't know if I'm accomplishing this or not. School hasn't started yet. But I am super excited for school and making sure I have all the right tools and study time for this semester. I'm so excited!!!)

6. To learn ways to spend less money. (Well I don't spend money right now because I have none. So I guess I'm doing this, in a way.)

7. To (finally) get my six pack. (Again, I worked on it at the beginning of the year before my wedding, but I'm failing at it now. Actually, no, I'm giving myself credit because I did a lot of abs workouts today. So I'm working on it.)

8. To be more organized and clean. (I am slightly surprised that our apartment stays as clean as it does. If you would have seen my bedroom before I got married you would never know it to be possible, but we work together and do a great job at keeping our apartment clean. We struggle, but we're still getting used to things.)

9. To blog more. (I regret to say I have not been doing this. This year, as stated above, has been crazy. With wedding plans, honeymoons, busy work schedules to zero work, this year has been filled with ups and downs and craziness that has kept me from writing as much as I would like. But lately I've been doing a bit better. We'll see though. The goal is to write everyday.)

10. To love Chris more each and every day. (I am very proud to say that I do follow this. I can honestly say I love Chris more than I did at the beginning of the year. I love him more now than I did when we got married. Heck, I love him more today than I did yesterday! I'm so happy to be married to him. We're having the best time in the world and being married to my best friend is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.)

Nothing to Write...

I have a goal to write on this blog everyday... but I literally can't think of anything to write today. So here's the random musing that come to my brain... WITH PICTURES!!!

My husband is growing out his facial hair. YAY! Lot's of people think I'm weird for liking his facial hair, but I think it's sexy! Sometimes he has a creeper stache and looks at me weird like this:

But it's fine. Because I still love him no matter what he looks like. :)

My husband really like otters. When we went to the zoo he held hands with this otter and made me take a picture. Otters are cute. They hold hands with their companions while their sleeping. I read that Harry Potter thing about Harry waking up in the 7th book and finding Ron and Hermionie holding hand in their sleep and Hermione's patronus is an otter!! How exciting is that? And Ron's patronus is a Jack Russel terrier which are known to chase after otters... apparently...

I took a picture with the seal at the zoo because I thought it was cute. But I'll be completely honest, that's a fake smile, because I had surgery that morning and I was in a lot of pain at this point. :( I haven't written about my "procedure" (not exactly a surgery) yet on my blog because it's very personal. But I do want to write about it, because it changed my attitude about life. For reals.

Our table broke recently. Everything on it collapsed to the ground. Including my laptop, which somehow landed underneath the pink pillow thing, and my cell phone, which the glass cut up the screen a bit, which I really don't care about that much because I'm not a fan of my phone. It's okay though because we didn't love that table much anyways. But it came with the apartment so we'll have to pay for it eventually. But we've decided not to tell the manager till we actually have the money to pay for it. Although, we kept the frame and it's very likely we'd just have to replace the glass.

Apparently The Wizard of Oz is "Coming Soon" to IMAX 3D! I've always loved The Wizard of Oz. I'm a huge fan of this movie because it just makes me happy! However, there is no IMAX theater in Logan. So who knows if it'll actually play up here in the middle of nowhere.

My husband is a very sexy fisherman. I love how passionate he is about fishing and how much joy he finds in doing it. He's so cute. He's also very good at catching fish, then cooking them for dinner. He's made them taste very good every time. Last night we had a delicious dinner of fish in rice bowls with vegetables. So so yummy!!! But he made a very big mess... which wasn't very fun... but it was very good and I love my husband for his cooking abilities. Because I'm not a fan of cooking.

Well, I guess the majority of this post is about how much I love my husband. I honestly am the luckiest girl in the whole wide world! :)

Little Blessings

I was in the process of writing a very different post. It was me venting about this horrible situation where I couldn't register for classes and had to re-apply to the school.... but then I got an email saying that a wonderful, kind-hearted had read my email and fixed my account, allowing me to finish registering for classes for Fall Semester.

That was just a little blessing that made my entire day better.

I was absolutely devastated this morning when I was told I would have to re-apply. It didn't make any sense to me! I was so upset! I was angry and I was sad. Things are already stressful in my life and I didn't like this added pressure.

So to get this email changed everything. I'm happy again. I'm so excited for school again! I literally cannot wait until August. Normally I'd be so excited for the summer, but not this year, I just want to go back to school!

My new husband is also a constant blessing in my life. Today he deserves extra credit for helping me when I was having an emotional breakdown, for making me a delicious dinner and for helping me clean up the kitchen. He is the most amazing husband there ever was and is. He always knows how to make me smile. We spent a long time looking at the Humor section of Pinterest and even when I didn't think it was funny, his laugh always made me laugh. He blesses my life everyday and I love him so much.

My sister is also a great blessing. I don't know why, but anytime we text each other it just makes the day better. She's so much fun and cute and I just love her so much (and boys, she's single (wink wink)).

Chris and I went and got library cards yesterday and I checked out the book Jurassic Park. I had forgotten how powerful books could be. I honestly haven't sat down and read a book in much too long, but yesterday I sat down and without even noticing it, it was suddenly the middle of the night and I had read over 200 pages. Books are always a blessing. Books are the best blessing.

Dance is a huge blessing in my life. Dance has always made my life so much better. I've danced my whole life and never plan on quitting because of the absolute joy it brings me. And while I didn't end up dancing today, I watched dance and it certainly made me smile. And to see all my old dance friends and to be welcomed back in like it was my own home, was one of the greatest blessing I could have received today.

Cake is a blessing. Despite the fact that our stupid, messed up oven burnt the edges before the whole thing was cooked, cake is always a blessing and always makes me feel better. Yum! (I added extra things I found off Pinterest to make it better as well, I'll let you know what those are later)


I'm always grateful for the little blessings in life. I've been so blessed with the best family in the world and now with the greatest husband in the world. I love little blessing, and they changed my whole day today.

Things I've Learned From Being Married For Three Weeks

I realize three weeks is a very short amount of time, especially considering we're sealed together for eternity, but when you move in together and start new lives together, in just three weeks you can learn a lot.

1. You can't let the little things bother you.

When Chris proposed and I happily said yes, I had no idea that he had the tendency of leaving his socks around the house or left drawers open (one of my biggest pet peeves). But I knew that I loved him, and that I still love him, and if it's possible, I love him even more now than I did back then. The truth is that despite these little imperfections, I still love him. And even though it may be annoying that he leaves drawers open, it's not like it's that hard for me to go and close them.

2. Not all ovens like you.

In our apartment we somehow got some demon oven that you have to watch carefully or you'll burn your food. Yesterday I was making these biscuits. I set the temperature correctly, I put them in and set a timer. However, like eight minutes before the timer went off, the biscuits were done. Almost daily we end up burning something in that oven. We're trying to learn it's ways, but it doesn't want us to figure it out. It's a demon oven. Not all ovens will like you.

3. I have more clothes than I thought.

We have a beautiful two bedroom apartment. Each bedroom has two, fairly big closets. My clothes currently fill two of the closets and a large dresser. One of those closets is entirely for my coats, jackets and sweaters. I have a lot of clothes. I'm using some organization techniques that will help me visually see what I don't wear, so by December I want to donate some of the clothes I don't wear.

4. My husband likes fishing a lot more than I thought.

I knew Chris liked fishing. I've been fishing with him a lot and I enjoy it. I knew that he had been going fishing a lot with his friends and his brothers. I did not, however, know that even when we're married, he'd want to leave me at least three times a week to go fishing. I'm fine with fishing and I'm fine with joining him, but I currently haven't, because I'd rather get this apartment all fixed up first. I just never imagined he would fish this much without me.

5. I am much more like my mom than I thought.

My mom loves to clean. Everything in our home always had to be clean. There couldn't be any dishes in the sink, there couldn't be things on the floor, the counters had to be clean, etc. Apparently, when I moved in to a place of my own, I brought all those qualities with me. I hate when there are dishes in the sink. Because it's MY sink. I own (fine, rent) that sink. Those are MY dishes (fine, mine and Chris's). They can't be dirty! All the dishes have to be clean because they're MINE. What's more, I feel like I'm constantly cleaning. I stress out when things aren't clean. It has to be perfect. I don't know why I'm suddenly like my mother now, but I like it. I love having a clean apartment (but it still has a lot of work) and I'm so much more like my mom than I ever thought I was. Thank you mom!

6. I don't handle unemployment well.

There's an episode of How I Met Your Mother where Marshall is unemployed and he just goes around to all his friends and is like "What are you doing?" Because he has nothing else to do with his life. (I was trying to find the clip but couldn't, the episode is called "Do I Know You?" It's the first episode of season four.) That's how I feel. I don't know what to do with my life besides clean and watch Friends (but now I really want to start watching How I Met Your Mother again...). I'm losing my mind. And I've applied for some jobs, I still need to apply for more, but I better get a job soon, because we can't live off of Chris's job right now and we're getting low on funds and have bills to pay (anyone want to donate to the Help-Chris-and-Kaylee-Afford-Their-Apartment fund???). Or if anyone knows of a job in Cache Valley, just let me know. :)

7. I spend too much money.

We got a whole lot of money from our wedding. TONS! We felt rich! But now it's gone-ish. Why? Because life is expensive and I like shopping way too much. I'm trying to resist, but it's hard. Chris and I need to sit down together and discuss our finances better because we're losing too much money and certainly not making enough.

8. Communication is important.

Chris and I have been together over a year and a half. We know each other very well. I'd say one of our best qualities as a couple is that we've always been able to communicate in a mild and friendly manner. Even when we're upset with each other, we know how to communicate without starting a huge argument. I've always been told that fights are good for a relationship and it helps you to grow. Chris and I have grown so much as a couple because of our communication skills. With marriage, our communication skills have only gotten better.

9. We love spending time together!

...which is very good consider we're with each other constantly except when Chris is fishing or at work. I know someone getting married in a few months. She's been with her man for over a year, but she still says things like, "I don't know how couples can be with each other all the time, sometimes I just get so sick of him and need a break." Needless to say, I'm a little worried about their relationship. Chris and I have never had a problem with being together. Growing up I was a very private person, I would sit in my bedroom alone and hate if anyone in my family bothered me. And while I still love my alone time, for some reason things are different with Chris. I don't care if he interrupts my private time. I just love having him around.

10. Love always grows.

This past week I had a medical procedure done (I will possibly be writing about this later). I was lying on the medical chair thing and Chris was sitting in the corner of the room, watching as my whole body was shaking with nerves. He got this strange look on his face. He was genuinely worried about me. He kept telling me over and over again that everything would be alright, that everything was going to go well, I would be okay. After his words and a short prayer my body stopped shaking. Later that day, when the numbing was wearing off and the pain started, I squeezed his hand so hard because of the pain, but he didn't care. Chris loves me in every way. He always has and always will take care of me. And after a silly thing like that I could feel my love for him grow even stronger. Love always grows, I'll never be done loving Chris.

Sunday Meals: Crock-Pot Herbed Turkey Breast

So this is a new segment. Every Sunday Chris and I make a special meal for Sunday dinner (or lunch, in this case lunch). And then I rate the recipe and write it down here so you can try it too!

Yesterday's meal we had herbed turkey breast. I got the recipe out of a cook book I got from the "Easter Bunny" this year. Chris and I would both give the recipe two out of three stars. The recipe goes like this:

• 1 can or Cream of Mushroom Soup (10 1/4 ounces) 
• 1/2 cup of water
• 4 1/2 to 5 pound turkey breast (but ours was like 3 or 4 but still worked)
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• Mashed potatoes (which I failed at making, the potatoes were still good, but not mashed at all)

1. Stir the soup and water in a 3 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker. Rinse the turkey with cold water and pat dry. Rub the turkey with the poultry seasoning and place in the cooker. Sprinkle with the parsley. (If using a frozen turkey breast, thaw it before cooking.)

2. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 9 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours. 

3. Remove the turkey from the cooker to a cutting board and let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Thinly slice the turkey and put on a serving platter. Pour the juices from the cooker into a gravy boat and serve with the turkey. Serve with the mashed potatoes. 

My mashed potatoes failed, but we still had yummy, slightly mashed potatoes. 

We both loved it and found it very delicious! :) 

Things to Do Before I'm 30

So I'm 22 years old and getting married in about three weeks. I feel I'm stepping into a new stage of my life, where I have to 'act' like an adult more and work harder in school and work. I can't depend on my parents anymore. I have to be independent. But most importantly, I want to make goals for myself.

I'm currently watching the episode of Friends where it's Rachel's 30th birthday and it flashbacks to everyone else's 30th birthdays. Phoebe on her 30th has a list of things she wanted to do before she was 30.  So here's my list of things I want to do before I'm 30.

1. I'd like to graduate. It's been a long (slightly painful) journey so far and I sadly have a few more years left, but I know I can graduate if I really set my mind to it. I'm going to graduate as soon as I can, definitely before I'm thirty. 
2. I want to start having kids before I'm 30. I'd like to start having kids after I graduate. I kind of want them now... but I know myself, and if I had kids now I would never graduate. So in this case, these goals are in order. 
3. I want to teach high school. Again, this is sort of in order. I obviously can't start teaching until after I graduate, but teaching is something I really want to do and I really think I could be a great teacher and really make a difference in my student's lives. I want to help high school students. I want to be a teacher. 
4. I want to become a good cook. I'm not saying I want to be a great cook. Good is fine enough for me. I just don't want Chris to continually be expected to be the cook in our relationship (because he currently is).
5. I want to throw a party. Like a Superbowl party, or a surprise party, or a bridal shower, or a soccer party (for my soccer loving fiance). I just want to throw a party that people enjoy. 
6. I want to learn to sew. I know how to sew on buttons, use a sewing machine and mend things, but I want to be able to sew the things I've pinned on my Pinterest page. 
7. I want to travel outside the United States. Preferably to Scotland with Christopher because he is so in love with that place. But I just want to experience a new place. I've never been outside the US before and it's just something I'd really like to accomplish before I'm thirty. 
8. I want to run a 5k. Maybe. I just want to be able to do it with Chris, who told me he wants to run a marathon. There is no way I'm running a marathon, but I 5k I'll maybe do. 
9. I'd like to have a fit and healthy body. This is a life-long goal. I want a healthy body at all times. I want to always be at my ideal weight because it makes me feel good and healthy. 
10. I want to choreograph as much as I can. Teaching dance is something I'm incredibly passionate about. It feels as if it's a need. I need to teach dance. It's a necessity to keep me happy. I know I can do it. I know that I would love it. I will teach dance and I will choreograph as many dances as I can. 

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!

Hey blogging world! I hope you're as excited for 2013 as I am... because I'M GETTING MARRIED THIS YEAR!!! :)

Anyways, as is customary, I have a few New Years Resolutions to start out 2013. I hope you have all thought up so new resolutions, and if not, (if you're in Utah like me) then you still have a couple hours. And actually, I think it's acceptable to still be thinking of resolution on New Years Day. I'll allow it.

So, without any further ado, here are my 2013 New Years Resolutions:

1. To limit my income of sugar and salt. (when I die, they doctors will say "Woah!! She ate way too much salt!" because I do, daily. I just eat it. It's delicious and a horrible addiction. So my goal is to stop that and only use it when necessary (like on everything... just kidding))

2. To learn to love cooking. (I'm getting married this year and for Christmas this year I got a binder to hold recipes (that is adorable!) so I really want to start cooking more. Besides, I have a million recipes on my Pinterest page just waiting to be tried!!)

3. To become more flexible. (I've been taking a flexibility class... so here's hoping!)

4. To become a better friend. (Yeah... I don't have a lot of friends it seems so I figure if I work harder to be a better friend it will help. But, the friends I do have are the greatest in the world! I love them all so much!!)

5. To work harder for my education. (The past three years I've been in college feel like a waste considering I have to retake like 4 or 5 classes. I need to push myself harder! This is my year to be a better student!!)

6. To learn ways to spend less money. (I've been a little addicted to Extreme Couponing lately. They spend like $8 on $500 worth of groceries!! It's ridiculous! I don't want to be quite that extreme, but I do want to save money anyway I can. Money will be really tight once I get married in May, but Chris and I are both willing to work hard and save wherever we can.)

7. To (finally) get my six-pack. (I know I can do it!!! For Christmas I got Jillian Michaels' Six Weeks to Six Pack workout video and I fully intend to make it work. I will have a six-pack by May for my wedding. I will!!!)

8. To be more organized and clean. (It's not that I'm a terribly messy person, and I do like this organized, but if anyone were to walk in my room right now... it's kind of impossible to walk in my room right now. I just have too much stuff! I need to de-clutter and organize what I have so that when I move in with Chris he isn't appalled by my mass amount of junk (yes I have a very large collection of clothes, but that is not going out... ever))

9. To blog more!!! (I really love writing on this blog! It makes me happy and I love sharing my thoughts and ideas with you! I also really want this blog to be helpful for others. So please leave your comments and tell me what you think. Also, remember that any proceeds I get from this blog go to charity, so spread the word. The more followers I get, the more money I'll have to send to charities! (by way of Charity of the Month, which doesn't currently exist because I don't have enough followers, please share this page with others!))

10. To love Chris more each and every day! (I'm so excited to get married this year!! Chris really is my soulmate, and he deserves for me to show it to him every single day! Love you Christopher!)

Christmas Brownies!!

I am now going to share with you THE BEST BROWNIE RECIPE IN THE WORLD!! Seriously, I've tried tons of different brownies (I'm kind of a desert addict) but this recipe is the greatest. They are truly perfect! And I'm not only going to share with you the recipe, but show you how we Christmas-ed them up for a neighborhood Christmas party.

FUDGE BROWNIES

1/2 cup margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 Tablespoons cocoa

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup flour

Melt margarine and cocoa in pan. Remove from heat, add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add flour. Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees in a 8x8x2 inch pan. 

My family always doubles this recipe!! 

After that, we made some frosting (or my mom did). Her recipe for frosting is not a real recipe. It's simply powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. She mixes and keeps adding until it tastes right. It tastes delicious too! It's very simple.

Then to make them Christmas-y we crushed up candy canes and sprinkled them on top! My brother had a lot of fun with that part. He put them in a Ziploc bag and smashed them with a mallet. Then we spread the frosting over the brownies and sprinkled the candy canes on top.

The edges were a little burnt so we chose not to take them to the party and just keep them for ourselves. :)

The brownies were a huge hit! This really is the best brownie recipe and I really hope you try it out and tell me what you think!

My brother and I were very proud of what we had made! :)

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Have fun cooking!