work perk

this baby goat was left in a park and transferred to my work on friday. she made the rounds and stopped in for an office visit before heading to the ranch where she'll be fostered until she's old enough to find a permanent home. all she wanted to do was nuzzle in a pair of arms and fall asleep. too cute! it's not unusual for me to interact with dogs, cats, birds, lizards, rabits, guinea pigs, goats, donkeys, and whatever else we have in our temporary care. by far the best part of my job!

january review

january's theme for my happiness project was 'be prepared'. oh baby. nothing could have prepared me for january, but i'm so glad i was implementing some new skills when the crazy hit. let's see...i was asked to give a talk in church which parlayed into giving the same talk in stake conference the next weekend (oh and the talk was on the temple and the temple president and matron were sitting next to me. no pressure.), subsequently being asked to facilitate a discussion at a temple coordinators meeting by said president, the stress of planning a HUGE activity for yw, then being asked to be the yw president, rounding up an entirely new board and presidency, an assortment of health issues, aaron starting school again, and other fun things that threw off my calm routine. whew.

i was so happy i was working toward being more prepared and if i succeeded at nothing else during the day, i could cross picking out tomorrow's clothes and planning all of the next day's meals off my list before bed. small simple things, but they really work.

i am happy to say i survived january and am still planning for the next day each night. i think i've formed new habits! february seems to be following in january's busy footsteps, but one can always hope!

old man winter

during my commute home last night, my frozen long lost friend, sandy, tells me she has traveled 3 miles in the last 4 hours on her way home from work. apparently she made a rookie mistake and took the infamous lake shore drive. for anyone keeping score, steve hijacked her to chicago like 2 minutes after their wedding. we miss you, sandy. anyway, she's in the snow with various factors that add up to danger in my mind. us california girls don't think of blizzard necessities. long story short she made it home after about 8 hours in the car because steve came and got her. he stayed behind with the car. until about 4 am, then left the car.

the next day i'm viewing a blizzard slideshow on msn and what is the first picture? cars stuck on lake shore drive in chicago. anyone see a black honda accord? poor sandy.

i thought about sending a care package but i doubt it would get there.

blueberry waffles

something about sunday morning breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. here's what i made last sunday:

2 eggs
1 C all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 3/4 C milk
1/4 C oil
1 T white sugar
4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
1 pint blueberries

beat the eggs well. like real well. take out your anger on them. beat in flour, milk, oil, sugar, baking powder, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries. Do not treat them like the eggs.
the batter is a little thick cause i skimped on the oil (the real recipe calls for a 1/2 cup). pour on a hot waffle iron and rub your hands together in anticipation.
i used fresh blueberries because they were on sale, but i'm sure frozen would work. we put the leftovers in the freezer and have been loving them all week. enjoy!

go jimmer, go

what a great picture. doesn't he look like a fabulous little monster? i get excited just looking at it.while i was busy sweating to the oldies in my tkb class, aaron was glued to the treadmill at the gym watching this game. of course, being in san diego and at a gym extremely close to sdsu, the byu v. sdsu match up was on many screens. since i couldn't hear anything except my legs screaming at me, i was unaware of the ruckus going on while byu proceeded to whip sdsu last night. i'd say sore losers, but it really must have hurt to watch your perfect record get shattered. this article shines for jimmer, including twitter shout outs from nba pros. check out urbandisctionary.com for great ways to turn the name jimmer into a verb. aaron and i have no alumni biases, but how could you not love him? we do. so does everyone else. except those who feel the wrath. like i said, what a fabulous little monster.

yose, yose, yose

i call yosemite 'yose' and that is almost all that's been going through my head since we got reservations on saturday! we snagged the same campsite as last time! i squealed with delight when i found out. excited doesn't begin to describe my current state, but we'll use that word. i have a childlike Christmas feeling toward Yosemite. for months before the event I dream of the fun things we'll see, do, eat, smell and experience. oh the joy. a huge thank you to my family for participating and allowing me to dominate your saturday morning with my barking orders. your help was much appreciated! june cannot come fast enough!

also, i still have trouble believing i climbed that beast. what was i thinking? never again to the very top. best not to press my luck.

crazy town

can i just say, what is up with this year? this is not the start to my new year i expected (good, bad, or whatever) and i've spent the last two weeks trying to come up for air from this ever changing life. i'm hoping things will stabilize soon and i can get back into my familiar routines. but, i am so thankful i started the happiness project and january's theme is 'be prepared'. i'll give a full update of my progress at the end of the month. 3 weeks in to the year and i'm already crying, 'uncle'! i think i'm up for the challenge. i guess i'll just move forward!

earth shattering discovery

last night i whipped up some pasta (heavy on the veggies, light on the meat) for dinner. before aaron had to run out the door he sampled a small amount with the promise of more to be consumed upon return. accordingly i left some in the pan for him. once he got home he announced his big discovery. he said, "i have discovered that i don't need to eat as much pasta as i think i do. i ate a tiny bit and i'm not even hungry anymore! i could eat a lot less!". i'm pretty sure a tear came to my eye and visions of me being so right flashed through my head. i almost asked him to write it down for next time, but why ruin the golden moment? 2 thoughts came from this. 1: i carefully recorded and tucked that memory away in a deep corner of my mind to retrieve at a later time. 2: i could take a hint from him because i ate way more pasta than he did and he's a foot taller than me.
the end.

the flooding

here is an image that helps to capture all the flooding that happened with the recent rain storm in sd. for those not familiar with the area you're looking at qualcomm stadium, where the chargers play. as you can see, most of the parking lot is under water. the road running parallel on the left of the image is the trolley tracks and just east of this location was where a portion was submerged under water. not a fun ride that day. the greenery on the left of the image begins the san diego river which runs through most of the city and brilliantly floods each time it rains. we were blessed and had no real disruptions to our life during the rain. good times!

muddy good time

oh, the anticipation. saturday we signed up for the 2011 camp pendleton mud run. similarities to years past? steven is coming down (scratch that. it sold out before he signed up. we'll see if they release any entries he can snag), the mud, the glory, the icy cold showers. new this year? we have fresh meat. we recruited a husband/wife duo to join the fun. i need to keep my eye on the wife. she is a few moons older than me, but i'm pretty sure she could take me. i'll have to step up my game. can't wait!

ps- who didn't tell this kid to stay on your feet, or at least your elbows, through the mud pits?

project beginning

with january came the beginning of my 2011 happiness project. i have almost all of the months formed. only august is lacking. i have developed 12 personal commandments and will be tackling one each month and bringing what i've learned from the last month to the current month. the goal by the end of the year is to recognize the things that drain my happiness and cut them out of my life while discovering and accentuating the things that increase my happiness.

january's commandment is be prepared. i'm huge on planning things and find i become quickly frazzled and unhappy when i am unprepared. this week i'll be working on setting out my clothes the night before, whether they be work, gym, or other. sounds simple, but makes a huge difference when the morning comes and i'm running late. it worked great this morning when i was getting ready for church. wish me luck!

ps- it is not too late to start your own project!

roasted yum

i simply love roasted vegetables. love, love. many people get excited with their seasonings, but i stick with a few swirls of EVOO and some salt n pepper and let the magical heat do the rest. aaron and i attended a dinner party last night and i brought a pan of roasted veggies and a green salad. i think i'm obsessed with vegetables. i try to work them in at every turn. at least that's what aaron thinks. here's what i roasted last night:

broccoli
sweet potatoes
butternut squash
brussels sprouts
onion
carrot

divine is the best word to describe them. i had the leftovers today at lunch. i could eat them for hours. does anyone want to do an eating contest of roasted veggies? i think i'd win.

my happiness project

A few months ago I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben. An excellent read. I highly recommend it to every one. It chronicles her quest for increased happiness for a year. She attacked the project in a very organized fashion including developing personal commandments, resolutions, and splendid truths. The book title jumped off the shelf at the library because for many months (years?) I have had the nagging feeling of needing to be happier. This is not to say I don't have much to be happy about; in fact, it is the exact opposite. I have so much to be happy about and I feel like I am not relishing all my blessings like I should. I feel like one day, when some blessings have reached their expiration, I will look back and sadly wish I had enjoyed them more.
After reading Gretchen's tale I have decided to begin my own Happiness Project. Part of any good goal is writing it down to shore up your accountability and what better accountability is there than what can come from your peers? So, I'm putting it out there. I am announcing my project and will be sharing my progress (and any setbacks) via monthly posts. This is huge for me because I am very private, but it's time to shake things up a bit. Will you join me by starting a Happiness Project of your own? The Happiness Project Toolbox makes it very easy to get started. I'll be laying the foundation for my project for the next few weeks, so come January 1st, I'm ready to rock n roll. I'd love a friend in the adventure!

Gingertect

i think the paring of gingerbread and architect is a fitting title for me now. we lucked out with an amazing teacher who is currently being courted by the Food Network for her cake decorating skills and travels the nation!
in no way am i a pro, or even approaching pro status, but i know a thing or two about the Christmas confectionery delight and can't wait to sharpen my skills each december. after seeing what others did in my class i've already begun planning for next year!here is my finished product. my baby. e was pregnant while taking the class and i wondered aloud if i loved my gingerbread baby more than she loves her real baby. perhaps? i went with a log cabin motif. not being the creative type, i figured i could glue more easily than come up with an actual design.

the beginning stages of assembling. i forgot to take a picture of the nightmare that was baking our houses. hopefully i can get one from erin!

obviously overjoyed with the process. or a product placement for golden grahams.

one proud mama. this is not the complete masterpiece i envisioned because i ran out of time. it felt like iron chef at the end and i was racing against the clock. oh well. i'll tuck the unused ideas away for next year.

katie took the more colorful route.

erin kept it classic and elegant.

all 3 beauties on display. i loved seeing how even though we did the entire process together, all of our houses turned out different and are a reflection of our personalities! i had a blast, girls! next up, cake decorating!

wedding weekend!

last weekend was sandy's wedding. it was a blast, but can i say that i'm very thankful that all of my close friends are married because i don't want to be a bridesmaid ever again? the two weddings where i've been in the wedding party have been quite the workout. however, it was an amazing day and everything was beautiful, especially the bride!a quick shot at the temple.

after the ring ceremony. aren't the sword detail and all the blues amazing? i felt like i was going to see richard gere any minute.

a little cheetah time on the dance floor. the three of us haven't been together in years!

aaron was such a great sport all weekend. i pretty much didn't see him all day except in small 5 minute increments.

oh sandy, i miss you already! my sadness began to settle in at the reception and is still present. i guess we both couldn't be in san diego forever. i'll have to watch for flights to chicago.

if you want to see more pictures, i think my mom posted a bunch on her facebook page!