the gift of heat

Know what Santa brought me? Among other marvelous treasures, he brought me a Lasko 5532 Ceramic Tower Heater. This space heater is the king of space heaters! It is quiet, it rotates, it has a REMOTE CONTROL so I can lazily control it from the comfort of my bed, it has temperature settings, etc, etc, etc. And the best part? Now I don't turn into an icicle in my cavernous basement bedroom. Yay! It is kind of nice to only have to wear one hoodie to bed instead of two, and to loose the bathrobe, too. Thanks, Santa!

navidad

Christmas was fantastic! It was probably my favorite Christmas I can remember in years. I was able to spend several days in Idaho with my fantastic family. We did all of our traditional things--hour d' oeurve dinner for Christmas Eve, acting out the manger scene while my dad read Luke 2, opening almost all our gifts Christmas Eve night, Christmas dinner at my Grandparents' house, sledding at the cabin, etc. Oh, how magical it was!

I think the highlight of the holiday season was the sub-for-santa I was able to organize. My "litter sister" through the Big Brother Big Sisters program comes from a very low-income family. Her mother asked me a while back if I knew of any programs that could help her with gifts for her kids for Christmas. I decided to organize a gift collection through my office. Wow! I was overwhelmed with the generosity of my co-workers! The five children in this family were so spoiled for Christmas! Here is my roommate's SUV totally FILLED with gifts! It was so fantastic to see the look on the dad's eyes as he helped unload the car. Wow. What an awesome feeling!

I hope your Christmas was just as great as mine!

can you tell me how to get, how to get to sesame street?

sesame street turns 40! has anyone else loved the google tributes to sesame street? how cute! i loved this show as a kid.

Sunny Day
Sweepin' the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

Can you tell me how to get,
How to get to Sesame Street

Come and play
Everything's A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

day 7...almost over!

So the cleanse is still on. Day seven is coming to a close. I have not eaten for a week. Wow. Crazy, huh? But I must say, it has not been all that bad! I have had a lot of energy and have even been able to work out. I really am rarely hungry anymore. Weird. Creepy weird. But I feel great! I have three days left of the cleanse...then easing back into normal foods. I feel like it has been effective so far. I have learned a whole lot! I just need to get through the next three days (as I now hate the lemonade!). Yay for almost being done!

My internet has been down at my house and I have not been able to update the blog. Sad! So, I am stealing a few minutes of work time to post.

So, I am currently on DAY THREE of the Master Cleanse! Yeah! No food (or gum, or candy, or mints, or anything) in about 64 hours so far. And the surprising thing?! It's not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Whenever I feel the tiniest of hunger pangs, I just take a swig of my awesome lemonage concoction (that I always have in tote), and voile, I am not hungry any more. It has been totally amazing to me.

I feel like I have more energy, oddly. I guess my body doesn't have to work on digesting anything, so there is ample energy to spare. I usually can't get through the work day without a Diet Coke. Now? Not a problem at all! I even worked out at the gym last night (not a hardcore workout though, because I really don't have many extra calories to burn up at this point).

I have realized so much during these three days.

-Human beings eat out of habit. We eat because it is "lunchtime," whether we're hungry or not--because everyone else is eating, and because it's weird if we don't eat at certain times/

-Eating is very psychological. We THINK we're hungry sometimes when we're really not. If we decide we're NOT hungry, it's easyt o not eat. It goes both ways.

-We eat to comfort ourselves.

-We eat entirely too much food. As proved, we don't need huge portions of food to sustain our energy and feel good and healthy. I am living on very minimal calories, yet I feel like I have MORE energy than I have on my normal diet. Maybe this is because my body isn't clogged full of unhealthy, greasy food?

I really think that my eating habits are going to change a lot after this experience. After I reach day ten of the cleanse, I have to ease food back into my diet slowly and cautiously. Days eleven and twelve will be days of drinking orange juice only, as suggested by the experts. Then days thirteen and fourteen will allow me to eat raw fruits and veggies. After that, I should be good to go on eating whatever I want. But the interesting thing to me during this process is that my cravings are not for greasy fast food or fatty sweets. I am craving very healthy things--like hummus, veggies, salads, etc.

I think that for me, the cleanse has been an awakening of sorts. So far, I feel like I have learned a lot about my body and about how to care for it better. I am glad for that. That's what I was hoping to gain from this experience. And, as a bonus, I have also lost six pounds so far! Not a bad side effect at all.

Seven days to go...

am i TOTALLY crazy?!?!

So, the other day, out of boredom, my mind was wandering...and I decided I wanted to do a cleanse. Not totally sure why.

So I did some googleing and decided on The Master Cleanse. Eek. I'm scared. Really scared. But I talked my co-worker, Teresa, into doing it with me. I probably wouldn't have the courage (or stupidity) to do it myself.

So what is The Master Cleanse? Basically, it is a starvation plan. Haha.

The Master Cleanse has been around since like the 40s I think? I have read so many websites about it, that my brain is a little mushy. But basically, you only drink this lemonade concoction for ten straight days to cleanse your body. Yeah, I know...sounds insane. But lately, my body feels like it needs some sort of purification. I just feel sluggish. And I'm not okay with that.

Here is the lemonade recipe:

• 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed organic lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of organic, grade b maple syrup
• 1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 cup filtered water

You mix up the lemonade and drink 6 to 12 glasses a day--you drink every time you feel hungry. Ugh. Already dreading it...but excited to see the results!

So, tomorrow marks day one of the cleanse. Wish me luck. I will tell you all about it as I go. But tonight, I had my "last supper" at Winger's with my old roommates, Susan and Brittany.

Sigh. Cleanse, here I come...

the birthday festivities

Yep, the birthday was fantastic! Here are some pics of the party:

28 is great!

So, I turned 28 yesterday.

Though a little traumatic to me
(how did I get to be THIS OLD?!),
I am determined that...WILL BE GREAT!

I mean, how could it not be great?

Let's take a moment to
contemplate the great things
associated with the number

there are 28 days in February (usually)
the 28th President of the US was Woodrow Wilson
in 1928, Mickey Mouse made his debut in Steamboat Willie
texas was the 28th state of the union (and i LOVE texas!)
the 28th LDS temple was in Sydney, Australia

and, most importantly...
is my new favorite number!

yep, in all my
LIFE
I have been truly blessed.

What a fantastic life I have.

And my 28th year is bound to be the best yet!

So, though I feel a bit old,
IS GREAT!!!

yay for

P.S.--My birthday was truly fantastic! I will post pictures and details soon.
My goal for November is to post a little something EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Yeah, we'll see how that goes...

logan

A few weeks ago I made the trek to Logan with some friends and attended the Homecoming football game. Much to our surprise, the Aggies actually won! Amazing! We had a great day in Logan. It was fun to reminisce of our college days. I got to spend some time with my brother, Sean, and his wife, Kaylyn. What a great day!

Tricia and I buying some Aggie gear at the bookstore.

Old Main

Tricia and me on the Quad--Old Main in the background

Josh and me at First Dam

Ashley, Chad, and Tricia at the game

Josh, me, Sean, and Kaylyn at the game

Chad, Tricia, Josh, me, Sean, and Kaylyn--showing off our Aggie tats

i heart logan!

zoom zoom

I FINALLY got rid of my Audi and bought something a little more reliable (fingers crossed on the reliability factor).
I am loving my Mazda 3 that I bought last Friday! Yay! So far, so good.

RIP Audi. I had so many problems with that car--but it was a truly a love/hate relationship. Here is my last glimpse of my Audi. And here is my happy face as I drove away in my new car. Yippy!

hermanita (little sister)

My roommates and I decided it would be fun to sign up for Big Brothers Big Sisters. We're all single, and we can all afford to donate a little time to help out a kid who needs a positive mentor/responsible adult influence in their lives. The process is long and arduous, but I finally have a little sister! I met Elizabeth about two weeks ago. We have had two activities together so far and are planning to go to a haunted house next week, at her request. She is ten years old and comes from an...interesting living situation. She is a sweet little girl and I know we will have lots of fun together in the months to come. Already is the works is a trip to see Disney on Ice: Princesses next month at the ESA. hahaha. Yeah. Should be fun. She is pumped! I will post some pics of her soon.

2-in-1

Tonight we had a girls' night making jewelry. I taught Barb and Tricia how to make their own bumble watch bands and helped my friend Jen make a necklace. And while I was in the beading mode, I made myself this little treasure:

And the best part is that it's like 2 necklaces in 1!

It can be worn doubled up like this--so it's short...

or long and lean like this...

I got part of my inspiration after attending a Lia Sophia jewelry party at work. They were charging $60-80 for items similar to this. Wow. I made it for about $10 and it took about 5 minutes flat. Much better.

Let me know if you want to buy one. I used a black faceted glass bead--but it would be fun to use a vibrant color as well. :o)

i feel the fall a brewin'

We are quickly encroaching upon my favorite time of year...AUTUMN!

Mmm...I can already taste the crisp fall air, the apple cider, the chilly evenings, the cozy hoodies, pumpkin shakes, jack-o-lantern carving, and best of all, HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween is, hands down, my favorite holiday! My roommates and I are planning to throw an epic Halloween bash. And that means it is time to begin the costume brainstorming. :o)

Last year I was Minnie Mouse. And this year...drumroll please...I am going to be...A WITCH! Yay!

Here are some of the elements of my costume that I have collected so far:

you're so vain...

I have been meaning to post pics of one of my latest projects for quite a while now...

So, in my new house, the bathroom that Tricia and I share has zero counterspace and we don't really have room to get ready in there. So I had been sitting on the floor in my room while blow drying/styling my hair and applying my makeup. I was kind of tired of it. So I thought of a fun/cheap solution to my dilemma...A VANITY!

Purchasing a nice vanity was a little out of my price range, so I decided to create one that met my needs.

Step 1:
Find a cheap desk that had ample drawer space. Check.
$12.00 at a local thrift store.
Step 2:
Find a large & affordable mirror. Check.
$15.00 through the KSL classified ads.
Step 3:
Decide on a color scheme & buy supplies. Check.
$25.00 for sand paper, paint, brushes, decorations, etc. at various craft stores.
Step 4:
Some good old elbow grease. Check.

Step 5:
Move the finished product into my room and enjoy the fact that I don't have to sit on the floor anymore! Check.

It just so happened that I already had a cute little hot pink corduroy stool. Perfect!
(oops--mirror is streaky in this picture. haha)

Yep. It's orange with pink polka dots. And while it might look like it belongs in a five-year-old girl's bedroom, I don't care. I like it. And I might as well have a pink and orange bedroom while I am still single and I can. :o)

For a total of about $50.00, I created a funky solution for my vain morning routine of prepping myself for the day.