Something new this way comes....

I have had an idea in my head. It probably came to me while drifting off to sleep one night, or while cleaning my toes in the shower. Usually proclaiming those ideas are usually a bad idea. Most of those ideas sound ridiculous hours later, but this one has stuck around. Therefore it must be good right?

New Years Resolutions……ridiculous right? Every year I think of one, every year I desert it after a week or two. But what if I made a new resolution every week? Anyone can stick to something for a week….and here lies the idea.

Try something new once a week for a year.

The Rules:

1. Make a list ahead of time, do not alter list…..ever!
   
2. Draw a weekly task on Sunday, finish task by Saturday night.
   
3. Blog about task once it is finished….give proof such as a photo or great story.
   
4. Failing is not an option
   

Some are going to take longer than a week. They just need to be finished by designated due date. Extra tasks can be done in conjunction.

This will start the first week of January…..only 2 days away. Please comment on your thoughts regarding this. I need a couple more weekly tasks…if you have any ideas please let me know.

Thanks!!!

It is interview season again. On Monday I have about 11 interviews (so far). I am not going to speak of these like I usually do because well it just isn't all that professional. And as all of you are aware, I am as professional as it gets just about 72% of the time. I just have one thing to say though…

If you want an interview from me and you send in your resume please be aware that you will not get an interview time slot if you spell opportunity as spelled below:

APPERTUNITIE

No good, no good at all

 

Merry Christmas....early

Here is my Schedule for the next 2 days:

December 24th
7am-9 Me and Anthony opening our gifts from Santa
10-3 Breakfast at his moms house
4-10pm At his Dads
10-11pm Driving to Tremonton
December 25
In Treetown til about 8 then driving back home.

When I write it down it doesn't seem like such a big deal. But its hectic and every year on December 26th we are completely hungover with exhaustion. Hungover with exhaustion? I have no idea where that came from, but i'm not going to erase it....yes, that was me being spontaneous.

I am grateful for the family that we have. I know they all care about us dearly. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. With all the hustle and bustle I have to constantly remind myself the reason for the season. May you all have a safe holiday season. Love you all!

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)”

Party part 2

I just got home from our work Christmas Party. It was a blast. We didn't have a budget this year so we had a pot luck and a white elephant gift exchange. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

After eating lots and lots of yummy food we headed up to a room. We all sat in a circle with a present. Shanna read one of those corny left/right games. At the end we all took turns opening up our gift that we ended up with. Here are some pictures of some of the employees and their gifts.

Shanna and her cute wallet. It was the best decent elephant gift of the night....lucky
Mariel-Sporting her awesome gifts. She is a riot!
Everyone loves to get a vibrating farting man.
Hmmm, she looks too happy to have received a creepy ski mask and used pez dispenser.

Check out this gem.
I love us! Thanks to everyone that came. It was a blast!

Friday is the end of the semester! YAY one more to go. Saturday is Anthony's 26th birthday. Sunday my parents are coming over to my house to celebrate Anthony's birthday. Plus me and Anthony are going to attempt to make a turkey that day. Monday is book club. I am the host. Tuesday is Anthony's birthday party at his Dads......wow! Crazy days ahead!

Party part 1

I have been a busy busy girl. December is always a busy month for me (like every other person right?). Between the open house and work parties, Anthony's birthday prep, Finals week, family events its just exhausting.

Last weekend I got the privilege to go to my step mom in laws family party. If I lost anyone I will give you a better description-Anthony's Step mom's side. Did that help? How about Debbies Family? Ok, let me tell you about that family. I love them. I love Debbie. She is so sweet. I love her emails that she sends to me, I know that she thinks about me and Anthony (tony to her) often and I am so grateful to have her in my life. With that being said let me explain the party.

First off, everyone go ahead and start clapping and cheering for me. I went all alone! Anthony had school and I felt that I was grown up enough to go at it alone. Debbie and Anthony's dad was with me of course. But don't you get how big of a deal that is? I am still in shock! Debbie's family have always welcomed me in the past, I thought....they definiately won't shun me this time hahaha. You remember the bathroom situation right? Well I feel like I can do anything with that family now. We are tight.

Anyways, we ate lots of good food, then we had a ornament exchange. They do this every year. Its so fun! I love the ornament that I come home with every time. This year I ended up with a happy go lucky Santa. I wuv him. I put him at the top of the tree right next to the star...Yes he is that special.
After ornament exchange SANTA arrived! The kids were overjoyed and it was super cute. I moved a little closer to Santa (who may or may not have been a relative...shhh don't tell the lil kids). I wanted a closer look because the kids faces were priceless. One by one the kids went up and told Santa what they wanted and then received some gummy bears. We were getting ready to wrap things up when I heard someone say "Lindsey hasn't seen Santa!".....I about died!!!
"Its fine really! Santa doesn't need to see me!" I then heard a dare thrown out...."DO IT FOR YOUR BLOG!". BAHAHAHAHA how could I resist!

I was forced to sit on Santa's lap. I remember telling Santa that I hope I don't break his leg. Then he was asking me questions (too many questions) I look ahead and there are cameras everywhere. My face is heating up. "I'm always a good girl! No, I don't want anything!!!". I then got up and sat in the furthest seat and tried to catch my breath. It was intense. And so hilarious to me as soon as the party ended.

Notice how red my face is. hahahhaha i was such a mess! I bet I was one of those kids at the mall that crys for their moms.

I will attend again folks! Don't you worry, once again you have not frightened or rattled me to the core yet! Thanks for the food, the company, and thanks to Santa for the free gummy bears. Sorry I wasn't too friendly on your lap, I was too close to a mental meltdown.


P.S After the party Anthony met up with Me, Leonard and Debbie and we all went to Temple square together. It was nice, we haven't been for a couple of years. Here's a pic or two, they aren't great. Love you all!

Ooooops, My Bad!

I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. Most don't need to be pointed out, you move on, you forget about them, you get stronger and hopefully smarter from them. I bring this up because unfortunately I made, yet again, another mistake. This one is worth sharing though.

Yesterday me and the husband went to Costco. As soon as we arrived back home we left all the stuff on the counters and left for his Dads house to devour some of their Turkey Day leftovers. We also watched a movie and then came promptly home and went to bed.

This morning I woke up and looked around and realized how big of a mess the kitchen was. I promptly put all the groceries away. There was a huge box of cheerios on the counter. I HATE anything on the counters. Our kitchen is so frustrating. We have no pantry....at all. Therefore we cram as much in the cupboards as we can. There is a furnace closet in the kitchen that Anthony managed to get a small skinny shelf in to help with the grocery madness. With that being said, on the top shelf is where this story begins. I decided that since the box of cheerios were so big that I would take the 2 single bags out. You know, space management. I specifically.....SPECIFICALLY remember telling myself that I better not turn the lightbulb on in the closet because the cheerio bag was close nearby.

Hours past....................I finished the kitchen, the dishes and even managed to bake some bread. I felt satisfied with the work I had accomplished and turned off the kitchen light. I was on my way to join Anthony on the couch to see if Star Wars (eeeek!) was ever going to end. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a light.....oh my dear! I run over to the closet, open the door and all I smell is smoke....

Heres what I found.........

OOOOOPPPPSY! MY BAD!! Here is what I learned today....

#1 I learned that I am no good at putting things away. I don't even eat cereal! He is going to put his crap away from now on. I know that means that it will sit on the counter all week, but I am bitter and am done. I am not a slave! Put your own crap AWAY!
#2 I learned that I need a new house. A house that was built after the 70's and therefore has a pantry in it. This was bound to happen eventually! Luckily I caught it (I'm quite the hero) before it burnt the house down (me being dramatic).
#3 I learned that lightbulb + burnt plastic + burnt Cheerios =horrid smell. So much for the banana bread scent, its now gone and overpowered by a horrid stench!

Another lesson learned. Boo!

Thanksgiving

This year me and Anthony were with my parents in Tremonton for Thanksgiving. We headed down on Wednesday night after I finished up at work. By time we got to Tremonton we were all pretty exhausted. I was upstairs talking with my parents about nothing in particular and decided to head downstairs and see what Anthony was doing. He was slumped over in the lazy boy sound asleep. Thanksgiving morning came and we helped get everything prepared. Each "kid" was assigned a specific item to bring to dinner. Josh & Varinia brought vegetables, Kristi brought a really yummy pretzel, cream cheese cranberry dish (it was so good!) and I made a salad. It had pomegranates, mozzarella, red onion, walnuts, apples and spinach in it. It was ok.

Mom and dad made a whole smorgasbord of food. They both are really great cooks. After dinner we watched a couple of movies and then went up to the nursing home to visit my grandpa. It was nice to be with family. I love them all and am glad that the weather was good so that we all got there safely. We didn't take any good pictures. But here some horrid ones.

Anthony-looking pretty hungry

How many people does it take to carve a turkey?

YAY finally time to eat!

For the first time in many many years I decided to stay home from Black Friday Shopping. It was a decision that I did not make quickly or easily. I told myself that I would be done with my Christmas shopping by December 1st. I doubt I will be completely done, but I am close. Therefore I decided that I didn't need to go because I would just end up getting things that I didn't need. I did get my Christmas cards ordered today though and I can't wait to get those out of the way. I am hoping that I can get all the stressful stuff out of the way so that I can really truly enjoy the holiday season this year.

On a completely different note, me and Anthony decided to get out of the house today and we went out to dinner. After dinner we discussed that Goooder (turtle) was low on food. So being the great parents we are, we went to petsmart to pick up some food. In the past we have bought him some fish for company. We decided that since he has been so good lately we would get him some more. We got 7 lil guppy fish (only $0.13 each). I carefully carried them in the car and made sure they were safe. As soon as I got home I poured them into his tank. "Look how cute and happy they are", I said to myself. All of a sudden Goooder started freaking out! He started eating them! He chased them around and around. I was screaming and tapping on the tank. It is an hour since I put those innocent fish in the tank, they are now all in his tummy....I have guilt.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's over. This year is going by way too fast!

Thank you-Thank you

This is a shout out to the Pizza Hut that entertained me profusely as I was waiting for my cheap dinner. As I walked in I instantly knew that I was going to end up with a great blog. I ordered my pizza without an incident. I sat down on the uncomfortable benches and looked across the way at the lovely couple. The chick was a mess. Let me try my best to explain her. ***I am in no way judging her, we all have these days where we don't want to look our best, but I just want you (the reader) to feel as if you are there...that's all. *** She was wearing purple crocs, yellow pajama pants with colored rainbows, and an oversized hoodie. Her hair was curly. It looked like my curly hair from back in my highschool years. You know the look. The "look" appears as if you used a brush to frizz it up and then shoved it in a beanie so the top is flat and the bottom flares out. Her man was wearing skinny jeans and a pacman shirt. I was decked out in my work attire and felt very overly dressed.

I tuned into their conversation and this is what I was privileged to hear. The conversation is choppy. I had to text my friend Shanna during some of it because I couldn't believe it. Therefore I only got bits and pieces.

Rainbow Bright: My parents live really south of here.

Mr Pacman: Oh really? Where do they live?

Rainbow Bright: They live up in Logan. It's really South of here.

***Does anyone spot the flaw in this?***

Mr. Pacman: Isn't that north?........yeah I think that is north.

Rainbow Bright: You are so dumb, no silly it is south.

Rainbow Bright: Can I tell you something? Its personal but I normally tell this to people on 3^rd dates. So here goes. I have a tattoo on my Ace*.

Mr. Pacman: Wow, You do? Wow! That's really cool!

Rainbow Bright: yep, it's a nose. I have a nose tattoo on my ace*

Mr. Pacman: holy cow that is really cool!

Rainbow Bright: Don't ask why (she then winks)...***EEEEW I didn't want to know either***

Rainbow Bright: O shoot! I just realized that we got a large pizza and I usually eat 4 to 5 pieces of pizza and that usually doesn't fill me up so we better get an order of breadsticks.

Mr. Pacman: I would do anything for you!

After this cherry of a conversation they began to talk about their future house (apparently this young man wasn't turned off by the grotesque tattoo conversation). She has 60, 000 in debt so they probably won't get a nice house for awhile. But their children (wow this relationship is moving fast) will make lots of money and will eventually donate a house to them.

After they finally got their pizza they left. And I was then there all alone with my thoughts of the future mutants they were going to create one day.

Suddenly I hear an employee in the back say "I once had to deliver to the biggest witch! If I wasn't so nice and medicated I would have shot her in the face." The manager started yelling at him and said "If you say something like that with a customer at the front again you are gone." I started to laugh because it all was just hilarious to me by now. He came up to the front and looked at me and said "you didn't hear anything did you? "Oh no! I heard nothing at all, I said. "See boss, she didn't even hear." The manager looked at me and apologized and I said something to the affect of "there is one in every job." He stopped in his tracks and shouted, "if my boss wasn't here I would flip you off, right here and now! But because she is standing here, I am going to forgive you and call you my brotha!" I thanked him, grabbed my hot pizza and went home.

Who knew that a short trip to a local pizza shop would bring such joy? The west side is a treat. In my day to day conversations I mention my town in a negative tone many times. I sometimes feel bad. I don't tonight. I have been proven right time and time again about how ghetto my town is. I never ever had so many great stories in Midvale. That may be because we lived in an old geezer condo community. None the less, this place is a new adventure every day. Sorry this was so long, I just felt like it was too good to not pass along. I hope everyone else had as good a night as I. Thanks Again Pizza Hut!

Pop Up Pancakes (because I earned it)

I decided I would make me a special breakfast. I worked at the Gateway last night. For work I had a table during the new moon premier. It was insane and I didn't get in bed until 1:00. So many screaming women…too too many.

For Breakfast I made pop up pancakes. Its not healthy….at all. I am going to enjoy myself until the Monday after Thanksgiving and then I am going to start being healthy (again). This would have been soooo yummy with fresh strawberries and bananas. Of course I didn't have any though. Therefore I had to get creative.

I used chocolate. I mixed peanut butter, vanilla, almond extract, chocolate chips, and a tsp of butter to help it mix better. Its highly caloric, and highly indulgent. Shame shame! Go ahead, try it, love it, lick it off your fingers!

Please take note: I did not eat all of these. I ate 3, Then i had a glass of orange juice. I really don't want to be judged too heavily for this. Thank you!

Pop up Pancakes

• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 cup flour
  
• 6 eggs
  
• 1/4 cup melted butter
  
• 2 tbl sugar
  
• dash salt
  
• Mix until smooth and pour in muffin pan (fill halfway) Preheat oven at 400*
  
• Syrup, powdered sugar, fresh fruit, you name it….cover these bad boys!
  

Not worthy of a post “title”

So I feel as if I am pretty optimistic in life. I usually censor my posts so that people think that I am keeping things together in an orderly fashion. This is not one of those posts. I am beaten down today. Have you ever had one of those days at work where one thing after another tumbles down and you just want to lay on the ground and literally kick and scream and pout like a 2 year old? I hate, HATE when people say "well at least you have a job". No! That is a cop out, I have a job because I am a really, really, REALLY hard worker (at times haha) and you cannot say that to me when I am having a bad day. Let me have my moment, let me be upset.

None of this is going to make sense, that's not the point of this. The point is for me to rant and rave and then go to bed in a peaceful manner knowing that I have said what I have wanted too.

Today really wasn't any different than any other day I guess. It just seems like I am losing control of everything. I am not going to explain anything because #1 you won't care #2 it's nobody's business and #3 this post would go on way too long.

With this being said I came home and made a fantastic meal. I can always tell when the day has gone by incredibly bad because I hunker into the kitchen. I made chicken meat balls and homemade sauce with some noodles. That's a fancy way of saying...I made spaghetti for dinner. I then called anth. He won't be home for a couple of hours. So I got upset. I then put the fancy spaghetti aside and these are the events that enfolded. Oh and before I continue, let me just add that I didn't do the dishes. I have no remorse/regret regarding this either.

I opened the fridge and popped me open a dr. pepper. These are reserved for Anthony and Anthony alone, mostly because a Dr. Pepper usually isn't a diet item. I then grabbed a cup and on my way to grab ice I grabbed a brownie. O no she didn't!!! Yes I DID! And it was just as good as the brownie I had for breakfast this morning!!! I AM OUT OF CONTROL! Just like I said. I carried these two items to the couch and turned on (here comes the third offense) 18 kids and counting. Sigh...as if I needed one more thing to be pissy about. I hate this family, but I love to hate them. I hate that there are couples out there that can't have children. But here these shmucks are poppin one out every 10 months!

My sugar is way too high. I can feel the palpitations as I type. I just want tomorrow to go swell. I want to walk into work and feel like I am appreciated. Is that too much to ask? I want a raise! A big one! I want a bouquet of flowers with a card that says "Lindsey is an asset". I want a cake that says "#1 employee. Do you think I'm going too far? You get the point though right?

Sigh......Ok. I am feeling better. I am now going to take a couple of minutes to practice some breathing techniques. Then I will chew up some nasty chalky tums and call it a night. Thanks for letting me rant. I will be back to my chipper mood tomorrow. If not, look forward to another post.

Love, Linds

 

 

Stolen Soup

It is windy.
It is cold.
I see more snow than I can behold.

I stay indoors
I don't go out.
I need something to do, no doubt!

I made this soup.
I love the spice.
I love it more than your fried rice.

I stole this soup.
From someone so dear.
I stole it while she turned her rear.

This story's true.
I tell no lie.
This soup is great, even with rye.

Love, Linds

Aquarium

Me and Anth went on a tiny date Saturday night. We went to the aquarium in Sandy. I remember when we went to the aquarium when it was just tiny, back when it was at the Gateway. I believe we were just dating at the time, oh how time passes. Here's some pictures. They didn't turn out the best...bad lighting ya know.


The Color on this one turned out really weird. This is Anth and the cute lil froggy!

This is my favorite guy. I took lots and lots of pics of him. This is the best.

I love this tank. I wish I had one at home this fun!



Anth has been so busy with school it was nice to get away with him.

New.....Recipe & Card

I have not made a card in months. I get in these cycles where I can only focus on one thing whole heartedly. It started with scrapbooking which moved to cardmaking, then knitting, then sewing, then cooking. Its all so exhausting to think of all the time, money and effort I have put into each hobby. I have so much scrapbooking supplies sitting upstairs unused. I decided I would wade through all of it and make a card for Anthony's mom for her birthday.

It only took me about 10 minutes. On the inside it says "We hope your birthday was a Hoot". Get it.....there;s an owl on the card...ahem....After I finished it I realized how much I have missed making cards for people. I am hoping that I can get back into the groove of things and start back up. Here's to ambition.

Oh and also here's some cookies I made. I got the recipe from this website. They are divine.

Oh and here's a picture of me eating one. They are so good! Promise. I look tired, but inside I'm screaming with joy!

What I have been reading...

Its amazing what a book can do to oneself. I can be in the most fowl mood. I will stomp up the stairs like a spoiled child, open a book and within a half hour I have almost forgotten what I am so upset about. I have hardly turned the computer or T.V on within the last little while due to all the good books I have found lately.

In the last couple of weeks these are the books I have read and would recommend

The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers By Harry Bernstein
In The Woods By Tana French
Blindness By Jose Saramago (very twisted!)

Next on the list (starting it tonight) is "Have A Little Faith: A True Story By Mitch Albom''.

Any recommendations for what I should read after that? I know there's some avid readers out there..... I'm hoping to read a couple more before the hustle and bustle of the holidays take over.

Halloween

Every year at work we hold a costume contest. I take this very seriously. Last year I won best over all I believe. This year I was determined to bring home the gold for a second year. I made my costume out of paperboard and fluff and it actually came together. I was a cupcake.

I was very disappointed in our staff this year. The only people that showed up for the contest was me and Shanna and the employee that was working the desk....hmmmm, lame. There were about 6 housekeepers that came and participated. I blame the lack of interest in 2 things. #1 Halloween was held on a Saturday. #2 Jill was out of town. Jill is like our mascot. If she is into things then everyone else will be. I don't want to solely blame Jill, but at this time I feel as if I want to be bitter towards her. She's in California. After taking the ballets I won Most Unique. I got a cute pumpkin with candy and a Target Gift Card. So Cute!

After the contest me and Shanna worked the desk for the night. We decided to give all the other employees a break and let them enjoy their holiday off......you know......for employee moral. My costume was kind of a pain. I couldn't bend in it, nor could I sit down. So after complaining for about 6 hours on my feet I took it off and put a robe on...and voila, lame bedtime costume came into play.

It wasn't the best Halloween I have had, but if I had to be stuck at work I'm glad Shanna was the one to get stuck with me. Hope everyone else had a fun Halloween.

Here's some really corny work pictures. We love to make them as corny as possible.


Shanna was a smurfette. It was really cute!

Here's Ashlee, I think she was a 80's chick. Not 100% sure though.

Housekeepers and Shanna

Me and housekeepers. I don't think anyone knew we were taking a picture...besides me.

This is Ana. I love her. She won too!

I was so proud.

I made these for everyone. They are suppose to look like eyes.




We started to get grumpy

sugar buzz wearing off

Flying Smurf

HAHAHAH best pic of the night!

Smurf ready to go home

Complaints about dinner

There is nothing more frustrating to me than having dinner not turn out exactly the way I have meticulously planned it in my head. It doesn't happen a ton because I know what I am capable of doing. If it is too difficult then I put it aside for another time. I expect perfection when it comes to a meal. I had specific plans for dinner tonight. It consisted of a simple meal, all I wanted was breakfast for dinner. On the menu was:

*Pumpkin Apple Muffins
*Orange Slices
*Juice
*Sausage
*Hollowed out baked potatoes filled with scrambled eggs & bacon

These are all simple things to make. I got the muffins made earlier in the day knowing that they would be the messiest and most time consuming. They turned out beautifully. I couldn't be more happy with the result

The juice was just a frozen concentrate. I cut up slices of oranges and put a slice on the rim of each of our glasses.

Sausage, again, not to hard to cook right? Yeah for some reason I didn't cook them all the way. "Hmmm.....its okay, take a breath. It happens to everyone."

I put the potatoes in oven for about an hour. After an hour they still weren't done. "Its okay, Anthony won't be home for another 20 minutes. Just put them back in, its fine."

20 minutes later....

Still not done. I start getting agitated. Anthony is home sitting patiently on the couch while I am in the kitchen banging dishes around and mumbling angry words under my breath.

20 minutes later.....

Threw hard potatoes in the garbage, dished up the scrambled eggs on a dish and yelled..."Dinner is freakin done, it sucks but come and eat."

Its sad when all you want to do is impress someone. I just wanted to blow him away with the beautifully decorated table. The sausage was red in the middle, the eggs were cold and when he asked if the muffins were hot I about punched him. Oh well, I'm over it. I know in my heart I had the best intentions. I took some lame pictures.......go ahead and look at the patheticness of it all.


There was clearly too much bacon. It was suppose to be sprinkled on top of the eggs in the potato. The food looked sad on that big plate....booo