Today was a fairytale

And so here we are... August 26th! In some ways it still feels like I just moved to SLC, that could be in part because I have been all over the place this summer. Up to Logan, down to Cedar City and plenty of stops in between. I have definitely turned a page in the new chapter of my life. Post-Grad life is pretty awesome. I can't believe school is starting up again, and I'm not in Logan. I do miss it. Just last week I was up in Logan partying it up with some friends and old roommates. It was so great. A piece of my heart will always belong in Logan.

This weekend was the best weekend I have had in a really long time. My friend Alison was visiting from Singapore. I met up with her down town SLC and then we went to get manicures. SO fun! Then I took her to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square. In a word... YUM! We both got the spinach tortellini with alfredo sauce. Delicious! Of course we had to get Italian sodas, I was adventurous and went for Blackberry Vanilla... SO GOOD! And bonus we get to keep the glasses! Then I took her up to the Capitol, by then it was dark so we got to see the awesome view of the city in the dark with all the lights on.

Afterwards we went back to my apt. and I made us Orange Madeleine's - recipe to follow, they are my new favorite - we may or may not have dipped them in white chocolate. YUM!

Saturday morning I was up and out of the apt. by 8am. I drove down to Provo and was at the MTC for a couple of hours! Best way to spend my morning. There are currently 22 missionaries going to the Singapore Mission - Malay speaking. They were so great, I got to meet 8 of them, and saw a girl who was in my ward my last semester at USU - who also happened to be my Visiting Teachee. Small world!! I am so excited for her! I can't even describe how great it was to be in the MTC. All of the missionaries taught lessons on Receiving revelation through going to church. Each companionship taught a slightly different way, and each had a different commitment for me. I of course committed to everything they asked and I followed through with that today. I was really uplifted through my experience there, and of course speaking Malay so much definitely was good for my soul. I love that language so much!

After the MTC I went and hung out with a couple Elders who had served in my mission. We made a Home Depot run to pick up the new flooring for their apt. Good times! Then the day got even better, my trainer Sis Young rolled into town. We got to chat and quote movies just like old times.. and plan a Jane Austen night- I'm super excited to for that! We met up with Alison a bit later and had a fantastic dinner at The Banana Leaf in Provo. Cameo and I got Chicken Tikka Masalah, and Alison got the Coconut Curry. A little taste of the mission food - also medicinal for the soul. Quote of the night: A: How do you feel? C: Like I can do anything! Haha love those girls! SO good to be back together after years!

I had to leave pretty quick, because my day got EVEN better. I got to go to the temple with family and friends. It was my cousin's first time going to the Temple. Such a special night!

Today I went to my ward for the first time in weeks. I have been all over! Right after church we had another one of the epic Roommate crepe fests. I made us some orange Madeleine's as well. Then our home teachers came over :) They're great. Then two of my roommates and I went to the Stake Center for choir practice - first of many. Our group of about 350 girls are singing at the Women's Conference this September. The songs are so beautiful, I am so excited to learn them! I was assigned the 2nd Alto part. There are some pretty low parts, but I am excited to extend and strengthen my range a bit. It is going to be such an amazing experience I can tell. - and it was the perfect way to end such an amazing weekend!

In a word... Yuna!

So tonight was amazing! My darling friend reminded me that Yuna was opening for Grafiti6 tonight here in Salt Lake and I was able to get a ticket. I am SO glad I did!! I wish that Yuna had been headlining, I could have listened to her sing all night. Next time.

The Orange lights gave a cool atmosphere

The Urban Lounge isn't very big, but it was perfect to see Yuna. I don't think she is very well known here, our group of Returned Singapore Missionaries made up a big chunk on those there. There were of a few people from Malaysia there as well. It was so fun!

Lincoln and Yuna... keep working on that Malay Lincoln! ;)

Yuna was fantastic live. I loved her tracks even more live. She is delightful. After wards, she didn't run away back to her hotel, she stayed for a long time and talked with us. We all spoke a mix of Malay and English, I'm sure everyone else who was there was trying to figure out what was going on. But we were in 7th Heaven. I can't get over how likable she is. Super down to earth, if I am any where near where she plays again in the future I will for go see her again.

Yuna and me! (She had some high heels on!)

It was so fun to be with one of my mission companions, and with people who understand my love for Malaysia. I can't believe that I have been home for 2 and a half years! Sometimes it feels like I was there yesterday, other times it feels like a lifetime ago.

Other highlights from this week:
Discovering the Millcreek Library and Community Center
Taking a Zumba class!

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

So if you didn't know, today is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. I decided that I definitely needed to celebrate that by, of course, making cookies:

Peanut butter cookie sandwiches!

Needless to say, it was a cause for celebration. I don't remember the last time I made peanut butter cookies. I used a new recipe from a magazine for peanut butter cookie sandwiches. Yum! Our house smells so good now!

I have been in Salt Lake (Millcreek Area) for about a week and a half now. It is fantastic. I love my new little house! My roommates are great and I love the location! Since I have moved in, I put my extra time- not spent in the car - to good use. I started an herb garden, am nurturing a couple mini rose bushes back to life, I finished the Hunger Games Trilogy.  Cooking has also been on the agenda. Harmons over on 33rd inspired me to make Thai Red Curry. I will definitely be making that again! On Sunday, we had a roommate crepe fest. (Hopefully the first of many!)

Crepes are the best!

So life is good! I have been keeping busy with work, and hanging out with the roommates. Sunday night we even watched the old Clash of the Titans. Good times! Not having homework is a nice change, but I am still as busy as ever. I'm definitely finding things to fill up my time. It's great!

A New Beginning

So I realize that I have been a little MIA lately... so here's an update in a nutshell...

...job hunting, working part time at the VA, trips up to Logan and down to Payson, cousin's wedding out in Nauvoo = flight to Kansas then drive up to Nauvoo, basically the best trip ever, more quick trips up to Logan and down to Payson, General Conference, 25th Birthday, job offer -

I am the newest employee at Desks Inc. of Utah! We are located in South Salt Lake City, and so far so good. There is tons for me to learn but I am feeling confident and excited to be working. I am an Interior Designer for them, so I will be doing lots of drafting on a new program (to me) so it should be fun to find the differences in comparison to the drafting programs I am already used to.

I am currently looking for an apartment in Salt Lake, we are gravitating towards the Sugar House area. I am excited to find one and move down there to cut the commute to work, and just being in Salt Lake is awesome.

I went to the IIDA Fashion Remix 2012 last week - and it was fabulous! My favorite was Architectural Nexus/Forbo dress.

My latest thing is I have been up to is rekindling my love of plants. It slowly started picking up last year when I tried to save 'Mr. Darcy', and then got 'Tiana' as a replacement. Tiana is alive and well, I recently transplanted her into a larger pot and she is very happy. Then I found some old hibiscus seeds from our hibiscus bush back in Alabama, no sprouts yet, but all seeds take time to germinate - *fingers crossed!* Our plant had dinner plate sized red flowers. It was so beautiful! My next addition was an 'Orange Star'. It is so cute, and I love the vibrant orange blooms. I got a nice gray pot for it, and it has followed me to work. It is a nice addition to my desk!

I love giving living flowers as gifts, if cared for they are the gift that keeps on giving - although you can't really go wrong with a bouquet either. Anyway, a while back my cousin and I picked out a little rosebush for our Grandma. Today, I found it out on the back porch clinging to life... along with an Azalea 'tree' that she had also received as a gift. They were both looking pretty sorry so I took pity on them. I took all the dead leaves off for good measure.

My patients: Rose and Azalea

My new project is to bring them back to life... so I took a trip to Lowes today to pick up another pot and some Miracle Grow.... I can't tell you how excited I was to be there. It was such a beautiful day, the sun was shining, it was warm and the plants were all out and happy looking. If I had a house of my own, I would have walked away with some fruit trees today - but instead I was inspired to start an Herb Garden from scratch so here is my other project:

Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Coriander/Cilantro, and  Oregano 

Yes, they had more mature herb plants, but what is the fun in that? I like the satisfaction of having grown something from a seed myself. *fingers crossed* I get this need to grow things once the weather starts turning. I am excited to help my grandparents this year - their cherry, apple, and apricot trees are in bloom! Next week I'll be heading over to help plant the tomatoes. Perfect. I <3 Plants! Hehe if I were a Batman super villian I would totally be Poison Ivy.

Hello February...

I have had quite the February so far...

I took last week off to do a bit of travelling and have some 'me time'. It started with dinner and a show with my brother. We went to see 'Something Funny Happened on the way to the Forum' at a local theater here in South Ogden. It was pretty funny. Then the next morning I drove up to Logan. Good times! My darling roommates decided to have a 'Flying the Coup' party in honor of Annika and I moving out and on to other things. It was a blast. Sunday was great as well - it was great to be back in my church there, then we had some friends over for Hawaiian French Toast - yum! and to end the night, the annual Joseph Smith Memorial Fireside.

Most of Monday and Tuesday I spent, looking and applying for jobs. Monday night we had FHE at our place where we made mormon.org profiles. (Here's mine) I had already made one  a while back so I just helped others make theirs. Then we made pancakes :) Tuesday I went to Institute with some friends, then worked on my portfolio and applied for another job in SLC. (I have an interview on Friday!) then I was able to go to the temple. It was so nice. I love the Logan temple. After I got back, my friends picked me up for Taco Tuesday at Cafe Rio. Yum! I haven't been there in ages. Wednesday was my roommate's birthday so we partied it up a bit, had pizza, hung out, and then I went country dancing. :) Thursday I was able to go to Institute again - it was so great! Then I had lunch with another friend I haven't seen for a while... and despite the threat of snow - drove down to Provo to hang out with another friend I haven't seen in years! She did homework, I read my book and then we went to Guru's for dinner! We had hummus and pita bread to share then we each had the Thai peanut pasta. Yum Yum Yum! I will definitely be going back there!

The rest of the weekend I spent in Payson. I got to go to school with my cousin and see her awesome class. We made cheesecake, and all sorts of amazing things, which was even more amazing because her fridge was broken! Then Monday night I headed back up to Ogden, because I was working on Tuesday...

If you happened to be driving east bound on 400 S. between 8:15 and 9:00am yesterday morning you may have noticed a black car in the right lane with the hazard lights on about 80 ft from the intersection at 700 E. ... that was me.


After I had exited I-15 I made it a couple of lights when my radio died. Then there was a slight clicking noise and a new warning light (normally I have three regular ones that pop up... but don't really mean something is wrong, I just haven't had them reset)... again I was concerned, but I was also in the middle of traffic so my goal was to make it up to the hospital and then see what could be done... it wasn't meant to be. When we stopped at the light on 700 E. Sassy gave it up.

I then spent the next half hour, standing in the Shell Gas Station parking lot, on and off the phone with my insurance and the tow company. I had a SLPD Officer pull up behind Sassy, park and put on the blue lights so no one would rear end me. I am very happy he showed up. I was even happier when the tow truck showed up, and because I had died far enough from the light, he was able to pull up in front of Sassy and get her on the truck. The driver said that usually when he comes to tow a vehicle and the driver is a woman, she is hysterical... but that I was surprisingly calm. The way I figured it, my car broke down with the best possible scenario. It could have happened on the free way... or it could have been snowing. So really, for as inconvenient my car breaking down was, things worked out really well. I was towed to Little Garage, where they were too busy to check out my car right away so they gave me a ride to the VA and then called me later. After work I got a ride back to the garage where my car was ready to go and I drove home - with a newly installed alternator.

I didn't work today so I stayed home, watched Castle - the Blue Butterfly episode, and Ocean's 11 with my brother, did laundry, baked wheat bread, followed up on some e-mails and things for work, and finished reading Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to promote peace one school at a time ... It is such an amazing book! I highly recommend it, and checking out the Central Asia Institute and finding out more about what they do. It could change your life.

Up coming plans: work tomorrow, job interview on Friday in SLC, then down to Payson, dress shopping on Saturday and I am sure lots of adventures in between!

ps. The bread recipe we used tonight was from a 1962 Better Homes Cook Book. My Grandpa gave it to me after my Grandma passed away. I was looking through the rest of the pages and there are tons of great recipes in there! I am so excited to try more of them. The wheat bread was perfect. I just followed the recipe exactly (well, I didn't use quite as much flour but I went by the texture of the dough) and voila! Delicious home made bread. I am taking some to work for lunch tomorrow, but had to sample some tonight. One of my very favorite things to eat in the whole world is fresh, warm home made bread ... and with honey!

Random fact about me: I LOVE cook books! 

Here we are in 2012

Life is good. Life is so good. I have a bunch of unanswered questions still, but that is okay.

So here I am, Recent Graduate of USU, 18 days into the new year and I am working part time in Salt Lake while searching for a full time position. I am just taking it a day at a time. It has been a great year so far, I have been able to spend time with family and friends as well as work. I am excited to find another job, and see where it takes me. I lot can happen in a year, so here's to you 2012.

Can I ask you a personal question...?

So for the first time ...ever.... I have worked over the Christmas break. (Although can I still call it Christmas break when I don't have school next week??) Anyway, I have been keeping busy - today I was reminded why I like working at the VA in SLC....

Here's the scenario: I needed to deliver three chairs and a keyboard tray - one chair and the keyboard tray to B.4 and the other two to B.14. Easy enough right? Well they were all stored together in a different building so that meant I got to push the chairs all around the VA Campus. It was the perfect day for it!

I got the best comments! Here are my favorites:

"I have never seen a person taking a chair for a walk before!"

Patron: "Wait! You forgot the person!"
Me: "What?! Dang it!"

Patron: "Can I ask you a personal question?"
Me: "Sure!"
Patron: "I have seen you two or three times pushing a chair around... is it for your back?"
Me: "Ha, nope I am delivering the chairs!"

"I have seen people walking with canes or walkers, but never a chair!"

I found this picture and thought it was funny. Imagine me in a cute shirt and jeans instead of a skirt suit and there you go. That is almost the same chair I was delivering!

Well that experience totally made my day. It was really funny! Other highlights from today included making progress on my organization project, and getting another chair repaired! 

In other news, I saw the sun rise on the way to work, and saw it set on the way home. The colors were really pretty. : ) 

Confession: I sing along to the radio when I drive somewhere by myself. :)