First Signs Of Fall

There are so many things I love about Fall!!! The leaves changing color; the cool, crisp air; hoodies; fires in the fireplace; s'mores [oh wait, I eat those all year round]; drinking hot chocolate [I do this all year round too...]; no more allergies; school starting; and FOOTBALL!!

Taken by Caty near Brighton Ski Resort

I don't remember catching the football bug, but I definitely did and have never lost it. There is just something about the excitement, cheering, competition, and lessons learned. It is best when the team I am cheering for--BYU [way to win!!]--(shout out to the Aggies and Utes for good games this week) wins, but even when the game doesn't go the way I want it is still a great experience.

I am especially excited about this as well as the upcoming seasons. The landscape of college football in Utah is changing and I am very excited to see where it might lead.

This song by Kenny Chesney has been playing on the radio for a while now, but I adore it. I am a fan of the Boys of Fall - it just wouldn't be the same without a little football to cheer about.

LOVE This

So, I came across this video today and I just HAD to share it.






Hopefully you thought it was as worth watching as I did. =]

Quilting Adventures

So, I have decided to pick up a new skill...Quilting. And not just the put batting between two pieces of fabric quilting, but actual patchwork quilting. Going into today I felt very overwhelmed at the prospect of what I was about to undertake, but I feel so much better about it tonight.

I mean, look at what I did today!!!!!!

The entire block

a bit of detail

It was so fun! The time just flew and I feel like I accomplished so much more than this one block. It was great and I can't wait for more quilting fun to come!!

Now that I have some basics under my belt I feel a lot better prepared to take on the quilt I am planning to make for my brother Kyle...although I am in a bit of a time crunch as he comes home the end of July. Lets hope I retained everything I learned today...

More on my other quilting adventures to come as progress is made.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

And I guess Valentines Day (or Single Awareness Day) as well...

I chose to see through all of the red and pink and directly into the orange, black and white. Why you might ask? Because its the year of the TIGER!!! Its my year!! GO TIGERS!!!

 

 Isn't he cute!!

Anyways...

Since I am sans a significant other this Valentines Day I treated myself to dinner...and by treated I mean paid for everything and had to cook it myself. Thankfully I know a little bit about getting around a kitchen. =] I thought a lot about what I wanted and finally decided to splurge on filet mignon au poivre (pepper sauce) with oven roasted asparagus, a roasted beet and goat cheese tower and sauteed beet greens, and red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. It was absolutely delicious!!

There really is just something fantastic about a really good au poivre and a wonderfully moist red velvet cake. It makes me feel hungry all over again. All in all it was a really great Valentines Day/Single Day Awareness/Chinese New Year!!

Weekend Birthday and Fun Adventures

Wow. I think that is really all I can say in response to this weekend. What a crazy party! I absolutely love busy and fun-filled weekends.--or weeks for that matter. Anyways...


So, I got some tickets on Friday to the Valentines Variety Show that my friends Jessie Funk and Daniel Beck put on every year and Chris and I decided to go check it out. The show was at the Rose Wagner Theatre, so we just met downtown. After getting something to eat we decided just to walk to the theater because it wasn't very far away...and by the time we got to The Gateway and hadn't found it we were googling the address on my cell phone. We technically were never lost, but we did definitely misplace the theater. We figured it out and headed another street south and back the way we came and eventually found the theater just in time to find our seats and have the show start.

The show was really funny! Jessie and Dan did an awesome job with the set list and costumes and everything else. My favorite part of the whole thing I think was the 80's tribute mix, the stories they told at the end and of course their version of The Prayer. That song always gives me the chills! If you miss the show this year...thats sad. However, you should keep your eye out for information about next years show! And if everything you just read made no sense because you have no idea who Jessie and Dan even are, you can learn more about them here and here.

On Saturday it was my cousin Jessica's birthday, so we partied. =] We met downtown again and went to Cafe Trang for dinner. It was fabulous! Well, what we got to eat of it anyways. By the time Tiffany and Jessica met Chris and myself at the restaurant, we ordered and got our food we only had about forty minutes to eat and walk back to Capitol Theatre to make it in time for our play. So we ate some, while simultaneously getting and paying the check and stuff our dinner into to-go containers. We then walked to Tiffany's car to store the food until we were done.


While we were putting food in the car I challenged Jessica to a toothpick sword fight and she tried to karate kick me...enter wardrobe malfunction of the skirt. This was the night that we learned that it would be a really good idea to keep safety pins, duct tape and/or a sewing kit in your car at all times as first aid kits contain none of these and athletic tape doesn't really stick to anything and that karate kicking in a pencil skirt is a very bad idea. (The tent to prevent bear popsicles still remains optional and open for debate).

On a side note...this article only mentions duct tape, from our list, as something essential to keep in your car...they have obviously never delt with a serious wardrobe malfunction like that before...

Anyways...

Needless to say (as we had none of the above) we carried on the night as best we could with the ever growing wardrobe malfunction. It was decided that that had to be our free entertainment before the actual show even started. Avenue Q was awesome, super funny and carried on the laughter that began when we all sat down for dinner. After Avenue Q we all headed back towards southness to have Molten Chocolate Cake and meet up with Kevin at the Chili's at Fort Union. As none of us had really eaten dinner at all we also ended up ordering appetizers to share as well. It was delicious as usual.

I do have to say that the laughs never really end with us...I can't wait until we get toghether again for dinner on Tuesday!

Joys of Teaching

For anyone that didn't know, I am a Wilton Cake Decorating Instructor and I love it!!! I have been teaching for four months now and I have enjoyed every minute of it! This month is going to be especially...interesting and fun.

When I first started teaching I had five students. They were all awesome!! As time went on and life got in the way, I lost a few. I went from five to four to two and finally one. Which was partially why I was so excited to start over again this month and get a few new students. Little did I know I would get...TWELVE!!!

Last night I did a fair amount of freaking out silently to myself while keeping a smile on my face and teaching them what they needed to know. I LOVE having that many people in the class, but having that many people also takes away some from all of the one-on-one time I can spend with everyone. Then there is learning everyones names. I did pretty good last night, but I had all of them and the role sheet in front of me. I guess we will see how things go next week!

Week of Fun and Stuff...

Baby Austin is here and I am so excited!! Isn't he such a cutie!! I just love him already!! More importantly than that though is that he is here and healthy and so is mom. I went to visit Brenda and Austin in the hospital on the 29th and had a fabulous and long visit. I can't wait until the next time I get to go out and see them!! Congrats Bryan and Brenda!

So...basketball. Did anyone else watch the BYU vs. Utah game tonight? BEST GAME EVER!!! Not only because it was exciting, nerve racking, super fun, but also because they brought awareness to a great cause. It is Coaches vs. Cancer weekend around the NCAA and to show their support the Cougars wore pink sneakers and their white home jerseys trimmed in pink. They were really cool looking. I think it is a cause dear to any Cougars heart with the recent treatment and remission of Head Coach Dave Rose and his run in with pancreatic cancer. Both the Cougars and the Utes played a great game--very thrilling to watch. Could have done without the punching, but Henderson is a freshman, so I guess he will learn soon enough that there is no punching in basketball...That and the fact that this rivalry runs deep within the state and he is probably not going to live that down for the next 3.5 years and at least 7 more games...Not going to lie though...I'm really glad Jimmer is recovered from his little stint with Mono, because things really would have gone down a bit differently without him. Go Cougars!!!

 

Photo Credits Tom Smart, Deseret News 

I am going to try my hand at patchwork quilting. Never really done anything other than tie a quilt, so I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but we are going to try. I have picked out and reworked a pretty simple design (at least I hope it is), so hopefully things will come together nicely. I guess only time and my hopefully good (muscle memory) sewing skills will tell...

Long Time No Blog...

So...A lot has happened in the last several months that I haven't blogged about. A lot hasn't happened that I haven't blogged about for that matter as well. Lets be honest, blogging became more of a chore than something I loved to do. So I took a break. Fortunately for everyone...BREAKS OVER!! =]

Tonight was awesome!! Chris, Jordan and I went out to dinner at The Melting Pot. If you have never been there, I would suggest that you go and give it a try. Fondue is amazing!! I mean, who doesn't like to dip food in in yummy cheese or sauce or CHOCOLATE!!! Absolutely delicious! It is making my mouth water again just thinking about it, even though I just got back and I am still so full I practically had to roll myself out of my car and into my house...

Anyways...

Life is great and super busy!! I can't wait for all of the fun I have planned for the rest of the week!!