Updates

Wow! So it's been almost a month since I posted- time has really started to fly by! I can't believe that there's only 4 weeks of school left. Hooray!!! Although, for the first time in my life, I will be in school during the summer. Not really excited about it, but hey, can't pass up free scholarship money, right?

But so many exciting things have been going on! I am officially hired to be a counselor for EFY again, so I am super stoked, but I can only do one of two weeks, because I'm going to stay and work my other two jobs. Which, by the way, I am having so much fun with! I have made lots of new friends at my BYU job, and am making all sorts of new fun things at Bernina. Pretty sure my roommates feel like I'm taking over the living room with all of my fabric and sewing stuff.
And I'm now part of a dinner group. If none of you have ever been part of a dinner group....START ONE NOW! It's so great! Depending on how many people you have, you only have to cook once a week or even once every two weeks. Plus, you have people to eat with every night, so it's great! And my dinner group is so much fun and we always have a great time. :)
Here's some more recipes that I tried from Pinterest (both of which were absolutely delicious!)

This is the Monterey Chicken. It is insanely good! It's spicy and savory and absolutely mouth-watering.
And then this little beauty.....is called a Butterfinger Blondie. When I served these at dinner group, everyone said they'd died and gone to heaven. And my roommates tasted them and ordered me to get them out of the apartment so that they wouldn't eat the whole pan! Haha. I am a big lover of blondies (like the one at Applebee's), but this was really incredible! And I'm sure you could make it without the Butterfinger and just have regular blondies.
Anyway, I hope all of you have an amazing day! And I really hope the sun starts shining again soon!!! All of this good weather has given me Spring Fever! :)

Man, lots of changes recently. First of all, my old phone of 4 years finally died....she wouldn't let me into the menu or let me press enter, so I had like 10 text messages that I couldn't read, which was a tad bit frustrating. Anyway, so I have a new phone! I beautiful, fun, way to distracting iPhone. So, I'm having a lot of fun with that...figuring out Siri and the GPS and playing too many games and stuff. haha.

I'm moving!!!! Surprise! Now, before any of you freak out, it's just down the street from where I'm living now, but it will be quite the change: 4 roommates to six, sharing a bathroom with 1 girl to sharing a bathroom with 5 girls (who had the brilliant idea to put only 1 shower in an apartment of 6 girls anyway?!), a new ward, living away for the summer, a large bedroom to a ...not so large bedroom, knowing all of my roommates to not knowing any of my roommates. But it will be a grand adventure!!!

Another exciting thing: some great people in my ward and I have started a dinner group! It's so much fun and I love not having to worry about dinner every night and I actually rather enjoy cooking for people, so double bonus for me. We've been going for a week so far and it's great! You all should try it sometime. :)

Next: my wardrobe. Well...at least some of it. My dear friend Katie and I went shopping the other week and we got me some amazing deals on kind of a new style of clothing for me. And I have to say, I love it! I feel more comfortable and pretty and I just love new clothes in general. :)

And the last...well, it's bittersweet. Friends come and friends go. I've had so much change in this category over the past couple of years, but I guess that's all part of the point of life that I'm in. One thing I have to say I don't like about college is that people move away. Many of the friends that I've made this semester and gotten really close to...they're graduating in two months and moving on with life. I know it's not practical, but I'd like to keep everyone I love in one area! Gr...just one of the frustrations of life I guess. But anyway, it's great to meet new people and have amazing, fun times, but (and I know this sounds cheesy, but you should know me well enough by now to know I'm completely cheesy, so just deal with it) my heart aches when people who I've been friends with for long periods of time just either fade or we just have to go our separate ways. Some of them have been my choice, and some of them have been theirs. It's just hard sometimes, but I guess it's for the best.

But enough complaining from me. The sun is shining, and it's been incredibly warm! My sister and I actually went and got ice cream the other day and just sat outside on the grass. It was wonderful!!!! School is half-way over and then I'll be free for 4 months! Woot! Life really is so great. And it's amazing how much better it is when you are living the Gospel. I'm telling you people: IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!!!! I'm just super grateful that Heavenly Father has so much patience for me, because I certainly need it. But anyway, have a wonderful day!!!!

P.S. I just got a whole bunch of new assignments for work, so look for new sewing projects coming!!!

PPS. The Vow was kinda disappointing, but I cannot wait for The Lucky One! Have you seen the trailer? My future husband sure does look hot!!! ;)

PPPS. I've discovered I love NCIS.

PPPPS...Boys are confusing. Boys say girls are confusing.....but no, it's the other way around.

Pinteresting it up!

One of my new year's resolutions was to make actual meals for myself this semester to eat a little bit healthier (since my schedule last semester made my eating habits totally wacko). And I have a plethora of new recipes to try from Pinterest, and so far they have been quite successful, so I thought I would share the ideas with all of you!

Here we have the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Tacos.

Ingredients:

-1 pound chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, cut into 1-inch pieces

-1/3 cup flour

-3 Tablespoons cornstarch

-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (I used Franks Buffalo Wing), plus extra for topping

-1 Tablespoon olive oil

-10 6-inch yellow corn tortillas

Toppings:

Shredded lettuce

Green onions, sliced thinly

Cilantro

Avocado slices

Ranch dressing

Preparation:

Ina large bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, cayenne, and garlic powder. Season the chicken pieces with pepper, then cook until done in the olive oil. Once done, dredge in the flour mixture until pieces are evenly coated. Toss chicken with 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce. Assemble 10 tacos (or however many desired).

Now, I have to say with this one that the original recipe says to put the chicken in the flour mixture before you cook it, but I was afraid the chicken wouldn't get cooked all the way through, so if you decide to try it that way, let me know how it goes! But it really was such an easy, tasty dish!

This is the Avocado Chicken Parmesiana
Ingredients:
-2 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthways
-1/2 cup plain flour
-2 Tablespoons fresh milk
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs (I used Ritz crackers)
-2 Tablespoons olive oil/cooking spray
-1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce
-2 avocados, sliced
-1/2 cup grated mozarella cheese

Instructions:
It says to first pound the chicken with a meat mallet, but I didn't have one of those, so I just skipped that step, but if you have one, go for it!
Place flour and breadcrumbs on two separate plate and lightly whisk milk and
egg together in a shallow bowl. Coat 1 piece of chicken breast in flour(shaking off excess), dip in egg mixture then coat in breadcrumbs using your fingertips pressing on to secure. Place on prepared baking tray lay with foil or baking paper, repeat the same process with the remaining chicken breast with flour, egg and etc. Lightly spray or brush the prepared chicken with oil, bake for 30-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from oven and spread each chicken breast with 1 heaped tablespoon of pasta sauce. Arrange avocado slices over sauce and sprinkle with a decent amount of mozzarella cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 5 - 7 minutes or until golden and chicken is cooked through.
Serve with either garden salad or use it as a main topping on cooked pasta.

And this one I don't have a picture of, because I forgot to take a picture before we ate it and I put the rest in a tupperware in the fridge, and now somehow it doesn't look quite as nice as it did when it came out of the oven. But anyway, this is the Doritos Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
-2c. shredded cooked chicken
-1 c. shredded cheese (or more if you are a cheese hound)
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (canned tomatoes with jalepenos-mild)
-1/2 packet taco seasoning (or more- to taste)
-Bag of doritos
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 350-f degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except doritos. In a greased 2 qt baking dish, put a layer of crushed doritos (about 2 cups), then a layer of the chicken mixture. Repeat once more, ending with a layer of chicken mixture. Top with more shredded cheese, cover, and bake for 30-35 minutes, till bubbling hot.

This one was so good that the friend that I had over went back for thirds! And it's not bad as leftovers either, as I've been discovering the past few days. haha. But with husbands or kids, it's sure to be a crowd favorite!

I know this is kind of a long post, but I hope that you enjoy these dinners as much as I and my roommates and friends did. I'll try to post some more recipes as I find good ones! Happy cooking! (I've been watching WAY too much Chef Pepin on the create channel at work...haha)

Luckiest Moment of My Life

Let me tell you a story. So yesterday my friend Jeff and I went to a place called Nickel City to play some arcade games. (Speaking of arcade games, I've decided that they are a Mormon and children's version of gambling, but that's a topic for another day.) Anyway, when I go to an arcade, I don't play the games just to play, like the racing or hunting games or even dance dance revolution. You want to know why? Because you don't get tickets from those games! And what fun is it going to an arcade if you don't get to see how many tickets you can win?

Well, Jeff and I were doing pretty well in the ticket area. We'd won 70 tickets playing Deal or No Deal and we were pretty happy. We were spending our last few tokens on a bouncy ball game.....when we won the Monster Jackpot!!!! Worth 999 tickets! I was jumping up and down because it was so unexpected and I was so excited. And this lady came up to us and said, "Congratulations you guys, I've been trying to get that for the past 3 weeks!" Haha. JACKPOT!!!!

We could barely keep ahold of them all as they kept coming out of the machine and we had to go ask the manager to put more tickets in because it ran out! We ended up with almost 2000 tickets, which I think is a record for me. And I got a cute little teal monkey with my share of the tickets. I still need a name for him though. . . any ideas? Anyway, it was a grand moment in my life. One I'll always remember *sniff sniff*.

Keep smiling. Life is good!

It begins yet again

School has been in full swing for a week now.

It's weird to be back.

I feel like I should still be going to anatomy lab, working on cadavers and such. Gosh...never thought I'd actually miss it!

But, this semester will be challenging enough without having to do anatomy all over again.

You see....last semester I really started to hate school. And I considered taking a break, never coming back...all of my options pretty much.

After much contemplation and prayer, I decided just to take a couple of classes and keep both of my jobs.

And one of those classes is....physiology.

I walk into the class the first day, see a coworker and sit by her.

Then the professor begins class and tells us that if we have not taken chemistry, we should do ourselves a favor and get out of the class.

My friend and I look at each other. Neither of us has taken chemistry. But, we decide we are going to tough it out, even if we have to study all semester long, all day every day.

I mean, why should we take a super hard class that we don't even need for our major just so we can take yet another super hard class? Doesn't really make sense to me.

Later that afternoon, my friend texts me to tell me she dropped the class.

So I go to the next class. And not only is the professor going so fast through his slides that I can't even get the title written down in my notes, I don't have a clue what he's talking about.

And I'm thinking...crap.....I'm so dead.

Then I see another friendly face and we decide to make a study group. And she says she'll look out for me, which is super nice considering her schedule.

Then I go to lab. More chemistry. And I'm really starting to wonder if I should take chemistry this semester. Then I have a brilliant idea.

Quentin.

He's a super smart, scientific, math-y kind of guy....maybe he'll help me.

His reply: I work for food.

I breathe a sigh of relief. Food I can do.

So maybe, just maybe...a certain divine being knew that I'll be working my butt off for one class...hence the reason I should only take two classes.

But with help from my friends, I'll be okay. :)

I hope your new school years are going well!

Late coming New Years

Well, we'll see if my computer actually likes me today and lets me post this...well, post.

I cannot believe that it is 2012!!!! 2011 went by so freaking fast! But I love New Years. Really, I do! I love looking back at the last year and seeing how far I've come. When I think of where I was this time last year...well, I was just starting out at BYU, didn't know anyone, wasn't sure of my major, and I hadn't experienced a plethora of things.

I've gotta say, 2011 was a hard year for me. SUPER good, but hard. I lost friends, I discovered medical issues, several of my friends got married, I went yet another year without dating....blah blah blah. But the past is in the past, and although those things were difficult for me to accept (and some still are), they have changed me, shaped me, just as all experiences do.

But I also had so many amazing things happen this year.

-I completed TWO triathlons

-I ran a half marathon

-I had my dream job of working for EFY

-I went on an awesome road trip to Disneyland with my friends

-I saw two of my best friends fall in love

-I started working at Dave's Bernina

-I discovered a love for teaching the Gospel

and so many more things, too many to list or count!

And I am so excited to see what 2012 has in store for me! I can't wait to meet new people in my classes, make new projects for work (I already have about 10 planned, so stay tuned and I'll post pictures!), learn new things, become a better me and grow closer to my Heavenly Father. So although I won't list my resolutions here, I do have them and I LOVE LOVE LOVE setting goals and encourage all of you to do the same. You never know what you can achieve until you set out to achieve it! Here's to an awesome year! Woot!

Truthfully

Truthfully, I miss you. A lot. And it hurts that you don't care or notice. And I really just want to get over you and move on, but that takes time. And people think it doesn't, which is all the more frustrating.

Truthfully, it's scary that I'm not nervous for finals. My mind was done with school back at Thanksgiving, so finals could be really bad. I need to learn to like school again.

Truthfully, I don't want a couple of my friends to go on missions because I'll miss them too much. But please, don't get me wrong, I'm totally proud of them and of what they are doing!

Truthfully, I like my new driver's license picture. It's a good one, which never happens!

Truthfully, it doesn't feel like Christmas yet. Maybe it needs to snow. Maybe I listened to Christmas music too early so I'm desensitized to it now. Maybe I should go Christmas shopping. Maybe I should watch Christmas movies and decorate my apartment.

Truthfully, I love Divine Comedy. I love laughing...and glow sticks.

Truthfully, I really want to do a study abroad. I want to travel to different places. I want to get out of this country and see things in a different way. I want to experience life at its fullest.

Truthfully, I just want to sew all day long. I want to finish all of my projects. I want to feel the relaxation and enjoyment that it brings.

Truthfully, I want to accept things that are happening. I don't want to feel weak.

Truthfully, I want to know why talking about feelings is so taboo.

Truthfully, I love cheesy Christmas movies. All cheesy movies, actually.

Truthfully, I can't wait for January 2nd, when the new Pretty Little Liars season starts.

Truthfully, I don't know how to end this post. So....the end.