Creative Genius!

Okay, so calling it genius might be a little much, but I thought I'd share a couple of my recent projects...

I made these turkeys for one of our Thanksgiving dinner desserts. They're made out of cake and they were yummy! They were a bit time consuming, but I think they turned out well and everyone (especially the kids) loved them! I found the recipe at www.bakerella.com.

These are my "crazy crayons" as Martha Stewart calls them. I wanted something cute to tie to the top of the gifts for my niece and nephew. I found this project on Martha Stewart's website. You just chop crayons into pea sized pieces and bake in the oven. I used a heart shaped cake pan. This would also be a great project to do with kids, just make sure you use Crayola crayons--other brands don't work as well.

Someone should have paid more attention...

...during those grammer lessons in English class... checks excepted?

And during those spelling lessons... this ficture?

Couldn't believe it when I stumbled across these...just had to share....

I can't seem to upload the best one I found. I was looking at a hotel listing and one of the amenities was listed as an "outdoor poo." Juvenille maybe, but I laughed out loud!

Sunny London

My sister Meghan and I visited London for a week in July. We took a Rick Steves' tour and had an amazing trip. We loved the city, loved our hotel, really loved our guide and the group and had a blast. We saw it all! Here are some photos: The Roman Baths in Bath
Stonehenge! Very mysterious!
The British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone.

Windsor Castle in the charming town of Windsor.

The changing of the guard in Windsor.

A guard outside of Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace

We rode the tube and buses quite often, but loved the taxis!

The Tower of London where we saw the crown jewels and Price William!

Yep, we saw THE Price William, he was that close. My sister shook his hand! I was too busy taking photos to get a handshake...

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliment

Harrods! The craziest department store I've ever been in (I really think it's designed to get you completely lost) but a lot of fun!

Picadilly Circus

Leicester Square. We saw three shows, Les Miserables, The Mousetrap and The 39 Steps, all three were wonderful!

We had so much fun. London is such a great city! Can't wait to go back!

Snowy Yellowstone

My family and I spent this past weekend in a very snowy Yellowstone. Who would have guessed we'd encounter snow in June?! But we still had a great time; luckily we were prepared for the cold weather. And the sun did make a few brief appearances. We saw lots of animals, including a bear, and of course lots of springs and geysers. Yellowstone is such a beautiful place, no matter the weather!

Norris Geyser Basin

The bear!Buffalo...
Old Faithful

The brink of Upper Falls

For Sale

My sister and brother-in-law are selling their darling 2006 Lehi townhome. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, is immaculate, has a garage and fenced backyard (with automatic sprinklers) and easy access to I-15. It's really a great place.

If you know of anyone who might be looking, leave a comment and we'll get you pictures and more info. Thanks!

It's Not Easy Being Green

I try to at least think about being more "green," I definitely think it's good to take care of our environment and be kind to the Earth. Sometimes it's just a lot harder than it sounds. But I am making efforts and I'm going to proudly share them here. Every little bit counts, right?

1. I bought a reusable shopping bag, and I've it used a few times, but right now it's sitting in my bedroom, not in my car where it should be, I'll work on that...
2. I now wash all my clothes in cold water only, and they seem to be just as clean.
3. My family participates in the city's recycling program.
4. At work I've been working on uploading reports to a shared site so we don't have to print them and pass them out, people can just look at them online.
5. I try to consolidate my errands and drive less.
6. I try to be good about unplugging appliances, chargers, etc. when they're not in use, although I need to keep working on that one.
7. I always turn off lights when I leave a room.
8. I just recycled 7 photos from an old calendar by framing them and hanging them in my room. They look great!
9. I've heard that you use less water running your car through a car wash than you do when washing it by hand, so I'm using car washes (okay, maybe that's just laziness).
10. For Christmas I requested (and got) a lunchbox and some plastic containers which I now use to tote my lunch instead of paper bags and plastic bags.
11. I just purchased a new bag made entirely from recycled plastic bags for an upcoming trip.

Small steps, I know, but I'm working on it!

Keeping Up

Sometimes I get a little caught up in keeping up with everyone else. I worry that I'm not in the same place in my life as all my friends. I'm definitely not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. But it's at times like this when I have to remind myself that I'm right where I'm supposed to be and I have so many blessings...

So I'm counting my blessings (in no particular order):

1. I have a wonderful family. My parents are supportive and loving (and they let me live with them.) My sisters are my best friends. I have a really great little brother.
2. I have the most adorable niece and nephew and I absolutely adore them and I think they like me too. I'm lucky to get to live close to them and see them often.
3. I have a good job and I work with great people.
4. I have the gospel in my life.
5. I have a warm place to live with plenty to eat and a car to drive.
6. I live in a beautiful area.
7. I have access to as many books as I can possibly read.
8. I've had opportunities to travel a little and live in a few different places.
9. I have a great group of friends, near and far.
10. I had the opportunity to attend college.

And I could go on...I really am a lucky girl.