Cupcakes

Oh my goodness! look how cute these are :) Becky had a cupcake book that has all different ideas and I just had to make these little 'ladybugs in the grass' ones. This was my first time using a tip to decorate and I think I did an okay job. The ladybugs are jellybeans and then I used black gel to make the dots. Lincoln thought they were cute but he wanted one with just frosting. He grabbed one and told me to take the ladybug off. ha ha silly boy

--Another Card--

Just made this card today for my mom...I haven't sent it to her yet though :) I saw this layout in a book and wan't to try it with what I had at home. I used the "Puns from the Past" stamp set. The card says--Sew glad we're friends--

Friendship

I made this "friendship" card today. It turned out pretty cute. You untie the bow to open the card. Also, I stamped the girl, boy, and tree with versamark and used embossing powder to cover them; then, finished with my heat tool. I really like the look it makes, almost like you are using a different kind of ink.

A new recipe

I made this dip today in my crockpot and it turned out really yummy! So I decided to post the recipe for all of you :)

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

2-8 oz. packages of cream cheese, (softened)

3/4 cup half and half

1 tbs. onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1-10 oz. bag frozen cut spinach, thawed and well drained

1-13 oz. can quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped

2/3 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Combine the cream cheese and half and half in a bowl until well blended. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour the mixture into the crock-pot slow cooker; cook on High for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until warm.

Recommened Unit Size: 2-4 Quarts

For the Love of Reading

Lincoln brought to my attention today that I seem to be always reading something. So I thought about it and listed the books that I currently am reading out of...

• Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing--for intro to lit class
• Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle
• Tony Hillerman's Skeleton Man
• Western Wind--poetry for Intro to Lit class
• Statistical Techniques in business and economics--for Stats class
• Macroeconomics--for Macro class
• News papers and articles about Parking at Universities--for Business Writing class

The range of books is definitely due to school.

The second and third books are entertainment books not required for school. The Glass Castle I got from a friend that was reading it at work so I asked her if I could read it after she was done. The back of the book says,

It is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family. The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The back of Skeleton Man says,

Former Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is coming out of retirement to help exonerate a slow, simple kid accused of robbing a trading post. Billy Tuve claims he received the diamond he tried to pawn from a mysterious old man in the canyon, and his story has attracted the dangerous attention of strangers to the Navajo lands--one more interested in a severed limb than in the fortune it was handcuffed to; another willing to murder to keep lost secrets hidden. But nature herself may prove the deadliest adversary, as Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee follow a puzzle--and a killer--down into the dark realm of Skeleton Man.

I really like both of these books and have read a Tony Hillerman book before. He is a very entertaining writing in the criminal investigation along with Native American writing. Shakespeare is very interesting but definitely rewarding to read. He really has a way with his words--you know what I mean if you have read his literature before. Then there is poetry for Lit class; I'm struggling with actually enjoying it but I think my understanding of it is slowing coming to.

The next books are not so entertaining but are very interesting :) Stats is enjoyable to me because it has to do with a lot of math--which I like. Macroeconomics is not my favorite but has to be learned. And I have a paper due on Parking Permits at Universities so I'm reading about that.

My mom has been reading a lot also. I hope to read the books she has read when I have my summer break from school. I never read very often in my earlier years but I am really enjoying it lately. Give it a try! :) and if you have any suggestions on books you have read or are reading, I would love to hear about them.

Disneyland Trip '09

We just got back from Disneyland. It was a lot of fun. It's easier just to post our pictures instead of trying to describe the whole trip :) This year our crew was Dick, Becky, Dewey, Kyler, Tag, Dacin, Lincoln, and I.


I took the first two pictures at TommorrowLand in the Future House. It's a place where they have the latest in technology and inventions. The first level is a depiction of a house that has a lot of neat technology--flat screen control panel for your house to control temperature, lighting, music, etc. for each individual room and also other neat things throughout the house. The second level is just games---x-box games, interactive games (a projection of the screen on the floor is the actual game), and kiosks with information on upcoming new technology. We also went to a show about ASIMO the most advanced humanoid robot created by honda. This robot was really neat. It can go up and down stairs, balance on one foot, and actually run! (while running the robot has both feet off the ground!)

Your never to old to enjoy a good video game! :) Look at Dick and Becky go One of the rides we went on was a canoe. Everyone in the boat had to paddle to get it to go instead of just riding it. It was really fun. Becky kept looking around at stuff while we went around the river and couldn't continue paddling. She can't paddle and look at the same time. It was really funny.

Here is our crew right before getting on Splash Mountain. (LtoR) Dewey, Dacin, Kyler, Tag, Me, Becky, and Lincoln.
Lincoln and his mommy :) They couldn't get a perfect picture so we had to keep taking them over and over. One would close their eyes or the other wouldn't be looking. Crazy people. But we finally got a good one. cheeeeese....

The boys....what an adventure with these ones :)

Dick and Becky.

Ooh! Husband and Wife of 1 year

I bought these running shoes awhile back and Becky went and got her some too, so we both wore ours to disneyland. Thanks goodness for good shoes when walking all day.

This picture was taken on the teacups. The platform your cup is on spins and you can also spin your individual cup. With lincoln in with us, we definitely were way dizzy when we were done.

It was dark when I took this picture. At Califonia Adventures they do a fun parade with different floats with the characters from different movies. This one is UP...You can see Doug, the dog, on the back of this float. That show is so super cute!

This picture was taken late. Becky and I chuckled a little---

Award Wieners, best wieners in a supporting bun.

They were actually pretty yummy. Funny sign...:)

This is the backside of Goofy...

The boys on the streets of California Adventures. This was right before we went on the Ferriswheel. Dewey was super scared...we aren't sure why. He rode with Dick and Becky and the rest of us went in a different bucket. The buckets are like cages and you can swing them around while the ferriswheel goes around. It was actually really scary to ride with the boys, because they made it rock a lot!

The next few pictures are from ToonTown...a cute little cartoon depiction of Mickey and Minnie's neighborhood. I really like taking pictures here.

Dick fixing the flat tire...

My favorite ride of all...Toy Story! This is us with our 3d glasses on, ready for the game. Tag won the first game and I won the second out of our group of people.

These are the pictures from our camera. When Becky gets me their pics I will probably post a few more. Oh, we just love Disneyland!

Anniversary Gift

Last night Lincoln surprised me with an early anniversary gift. I knew he was heading to Walmart before he came home and when he got home he had a little bag of stuff for me. I didn't think anything of it because he usually brings me a little somethin-somethin back.

I'm looking through the bag and pull out a pair of gloves...he knows my hands are always cold, sometimes he even makes me put gloves on before we cuddle ha ha, I think he does it to make fun of me...then I pulled out two dvds--if any of you know me well you know I love disney movies and the like--the dvds were Ice Age III and UP!...then at the bottom of the bag is a card? I wasn't sure what this was. He had come from Delta so I'm thinking maybe an anniversary card from his parents of grandma. Nope, It was a card from my loving husband! Wow he is so sweet!

He handwrote a little letter to me about how he couldn't wait four days to tell me that the last year of his life has been his best and he can't wait to grow old with me. Yes, that definitely was a tear jerker. He took the time to look through cards, reading a few to get just the right one! I have guys come into albertsons to get their wives a gift, usually on the holidays, and for a man to actually take the time to let their wives know how they feel is just amazing! (you all know what I'm saying :) I could tell this letter and gifts were from his heart and that he really took the time to figure out what exactly he wanted to tell me. Thanks so much Lincoln for being such an amazing husband! I definitely want to grow old with you!

Here is a sneak peak into my letter for my hubby...

I looked up on the internet the traditional gifts for the 1st anniversary and it said paper...which I'm assuming means letter/card. So I got this really cute card. Since we are to spend it in disneyland I went with the disney theme. It says, "Know what I love about you?...Simply EVERYTHING! Happy Anniversary". I bought it a few months ago while shopping with my mom. And he wants an xbox game that doesn't come out till next week so I will get that for him then. His gift is early...mine is late. Ha ha (for those who make cards...yes I didn't make my anniversary card. How dare I! but I just thought this one was so cute)

Thanks for reading this blog. I tried not to make it mushy but it is our life right now! :)

Happily in Love

The Happiest Place on Earth

School

Work

School

...(long drive)

Disneyland!

Yes, three more days till Disneyland. I posted a few pictures from our past trips...Looking through them gets me so excited :) Vacaction is so nice but vacaction in the happiest place on earth, priceless. Our crew consists of Becky, Dick, Dewey, Tag, Dacin, Kyler, Lincoln, and me! Hope to take a lot of fun pictures and I will make sure I post them when we get back.

Have fun in cold UT...We are on our way to warm California!

Lincoln and I went to the Jazz game last night. Jazz did lose :( but we did get our pictures taken by some camera guy that walks around for the Jazz...taking photos of fans..expecting ppl to buy there $25 4x6 photo off of their website. Yes they are nuts and I hope ppl don't really buy them. The link is www.printroom.com/pro/utahjazz we are Event: 11.02 Rockets and Gallery 11 if you would like to take a look :) he just took three pics of us. It was a really good game until Jazz lost it in the second half. They do that all the time, sadly. Hope they learn from it and win their game tonight!

Oh and during the fourth quarter while the Jazz were not playing so well, we were entertained by a Rocket's fan being dragged out by security. Apparently a big mouth and booze aren't suitable for that dude :)

In case you haven't noticed our sidebar...Disneyland! I'm so excited! We leave November 13 although our anniversary date isn't till November 15. Should be a blast just like it has been the last two times we have went. Can't wait to see Lincoln get a picture with his princess crush, Sleeping Beauty!

Aunt Evy got to listen to my heart murmur today! She said it was the first time she has been able to listen to one. This is how she explained it:

(normal hearbeat) Lub...Dub...Lub...Dub...Lub...Dub

(heart with a murmur) Lub.......dub..Lub.......dub..Lub

Does this make sense in type-mode?

Oh and I found a black widow on my front door! way not cool...the landlord said he would spray on Friday. Hope it works

Paper Storage?

Everytime I attempt to scrapbook or make cards I have to sort through all of my paper to figure out what I would like to use. At the end I have to stack it all up and put it back. I am really looking for a storage unit that looks nice to have in your room but also a unit that I am able to view my paper with just a look. Here are some pictures of different storage units I have found online. If anyone has any info on what they use or any way that I can make my own without spending lots of money, let me know :) A lady online said she used these Target cubes and just bought a few of them and stacked them together....as in the below picture. I really like the classy look of this.
This unit is like the ones you see in the actual craft stores...There is a way of building these yourselves but I couldn't find it online. Does anyone know how?

New Look

I dyed my hair today. It is back to it's dark color. This shade actually may be darker than I usually go. It's not black but the shade of brown before black. (if that makes sense) Jerrica, Courtney, and I all dyed our hair tonight and we all went dark! I work with jerrica and courtney. Courtney and I have pretty much the same hair so a lot of our customers mistaken the one for the other. I will have customers come up to me and call me courtney and vise versa. Other customers ask us if we are sisters. It's pretty fun...she is super cute so being called her twin is totally fine with me :)

Random thought for today

As I'm shaving my legs this morning I thought of Grandma Christensen...She never shaved her legs because they never grew hair on them. Why didn't she pass that trait down?

Atlanta Georgia Aquarium

After visiting with some students from school, I decided that I really want to go visit Altanta, Georgia. The aquarium there has the world's largest viewing tank that was especially made to house the whale shark. The whale shark is the largest fish! and it is so pretty...that is the picture above. They grow up to 60 feet long! The students from my class are from Georgia so I'm having them write down a list of places to visit when I visit Georgia. I really hope Lincoln will want to go! I just love aquariums :)

Intro to Literature

I'm taking a literature class this semester..decided to take it instead of public speaking. I have a hard time getting up in front of a lot of strangers and speaking, so this class seemed like a better route to go. (I have to have a communications class to graduate.)
We have read "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien and are now reading "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. I really like this class. We learn a lot of analytical/literature stuff. I wanted to post this post to tell everyone to try and read some kind of literature. "Life of Pi" is a fiction novel so literature doesn't mean boring. :) My class feels like a book club...which I'm really loving. I would also like to mention that I have never been a reader. Never! I usually read enough to get by. This class has really broadened out my viewpoint on reading. It really is enjoying! ha ha I can finish a book in little time. My words per minute have increased drastically and also my vocabulary has upgraded. There are a lot of plusses to reading more often. Who would have thought.
If you would like to get a feeling for what we talk about in class, we have a class blog (another fun assignment for my class) http://www.uvu2200.blogspot.com/ This is where the class posts their feelings about the book. After I'm done with this class I think it would be really fun to set up a blog for a group of friends to comment...like a book club online! How 21st century of us!

Today 9-9-09 Lincoln and I went to see the movie "9" at 9 o' clock. It was in theatre number ten...wish it would have been 9 ha ha. It was a really neat movie at a really neat time in history.

Also today I did my laundry at Bobbie's and played with Kaylin. I have taught her to put on lipgloss which is really nice because she doesn't eat it now. This picture is really cute. I took it today...she put her purse over her shoulder and put my shoes on. She is such a girly girl: shoes, lipgloss, purses, cute clothes, shopping! Kaylin already loves them all!

On Monday Lincoln and I went to a Blink 182 concert! It was a lot of fun. Here are a few videos Lincoln took on his cell phone. It was really loud and there were alot of people there. I only knew the lyrics to a few songs but Lincoln was able to sing along to every song. It was really fun to do this together. A couple of weeks ago we went to Wendover on a spur of the moment. We played craps and blackjack. I have never played before so it was a really fun adventure. We both had a good time. I love hanging out with Lincoln and doing random stuff! Can't wait to see what we decide to do next :)

School, School, and more school

I started school last Thursday and after going to my class I found out that alot of my assignments, quizzes, and other stuff, are all going to have to be submitted online! Aaah...here comes technology.
I didn't get internet at my house because I didn't see any value to paying another bill when I can just use the internet at school (or bobbie's or evy's). My thoughts began to change after I attended school. With going to school full-time and working around 30 hours a week, I finally gave into the Internet bug. ha ha
My neighbors in apartment 2 have wireless internet and Brit actually happens to be in my Macroeconomics class so I asked him if I could have their password and pay half the bill :) That way we both get internet but won't be paying the whole bill! Sounded like a good trade off. Now the stress of getting homework submitted on time is not part of my busy schedule. Yay! and don't worry bobbie and evy...I will still come visit! I don't have a washer and dryer yet or a place to set up quilts. :)

A Little Bit 'O Court Experience

so a couple of weeks ago I'm at work...just doing what I usually do, checking. When one of our former employees comes through my line. (I worked with him when he was a bagger at Albertsons.) His transaction goes like it always does, me saying hi, him saying hi, talk a little about life while I grab his cigarettes he usually comes in for. Then he hands me his money (a 20 dollar bill), it caught my attention because it just didn't look right. But I thought to myself, "why would anyone want to make a fake $20!?" We have been trained to watch for 50's and 100's but not 20's. So I give him his change and off he goes. I call my manager over to take a look at the 20 he gave me. She runs our counterfeit detector marker over the 20 and it stays black...if it was real it would have faded to a brown color. To verify our marker we take it to the bank that is located in our Albertsons. They verify that, yes, it is. So the manager calls the cops.
After taking down our info the officer leaves and not but five minutes after he does. The former bagger and his buddy (also a former bagger) return to the store to get a drink. I notify my manager and she calls the officer back to our store. The officer then arrests the two in line at the checkout! The next day we see on the police report that the kid is charged with using counterfeit and his friend is charged with possession. Very crazy story...caused alot of gossip at work.

The story doesn't end there...

A little over a week goes by, so that story is old news to me, right? Wrong, I get a call from the Utah County police, they need to stop by my house to drop off my subpoena! I was very frustrated and nervous all at the same time. WHY ME! but as you have all read, I was the one who interacted with the defendant and took the counterfeit bill.

This morning was the court date. I showed up at 10 a.m. As I'm pulling into the court building I see the kid and his family getting out of their car! wow was I intimidated. Not sure what to expect and hoping they don't hate me! I enter the court room and it's his family, another family, a few lawyers, a few officers, two inmates handcuffed and in striped uniforms, and ME :) after awhile of sitting there, a lawyer pulls the kid outside. Another lawyer comes over to me to tell me that they are making him an offer and that if he takes it, I won't have to testify, but if he does, I will. So I'm thinking to myself, Please just take it! (haha) Well it turns out that he did take the offer and I was free to go!

He was charged with a theft crime (taking the cigarettes) because he kept claiming that he had no idea that it was counterfeit. So no felony and no jail time, just a little marking on his record for theft. Moral of the story: if using a counterfeit...make sure you don't know it is :) (You get my sarcasm?)

What I have been up to :)

I haven't blogged in along time so I have a random blog...just a few things that I have been up to recently. I made these cards for my mom. I really like how they turned out and I think I will make a few more with this same layout. Maybe different colors and different stamps but same layout.
On Wednesday the 12th Jenny, Wendy, and I went to Timanogas Caves. They are a few of my friends from work. We all love rocks and geology so we decided to go hiking together up to these caves. It is really neat and we had alot of fun. Hiking was tough but a good workout! We saw blue birds, chipmunks, squirrels, lizard, and bugs. The caves were really pretty. In one cave the tour guide turned off the lights and shined a lazer into me and Wendy's diamond rings and it made a reflection that sparkled all over the roof of the cave. Way fun :) Here are a few pictures of inside the cave. The second one shows the heart of timp cave.



I finally finished Lincoln's quilt! I really love it. I just picked out fabric that had to do with his interests...basketball, golf, ...and then added some camo and just a solid brown to calm done all the other busy fabric.
I spent a day at Aunt Evie's to finish Lincoln's quilt and tie a quilt. While I was still on a quilting "high" I decided to go to my mom's and spend a day quilting! ha ha We had a good time hanging out and tieing quilts. I really like to do it but it's all about taking the time to actually go do it. Kind of like making cards, scrapbooking, shopping....ha ha I just wish we had another day added to our week to just play :)
I start school on Thursday the 27th! I'm signed up for five classes this time so I hope I can keep up with all the homework and reading! (along with going to work). My life is about to get really busy. I think I'm ready !?...

Not so fun :(

Yes that is me! This picture was taken by Emily...or my mom? right after I got my wisdom teeth out on Thursday 7-9-09. It looks like I'm in alot of pain but what I really was feeling was a nauseated stomach. I thought I was going to hurl. My mouth was so numb that at this moment I wasn't feeling any pain.
Lincoln got called out to a fire a few days before I was to go in and get this done so my mom pitched in to come and help me out! Emily also was a good sport and helped with driving me home after and running in to get my meds. Thanks Em! (She also brought me a Jamocha shake from Arby's...which is my all time favorite shake!)
Going into the "Oral surgeons" office was pretty scary for me...I had butterflies in my stomach! and after reading the side effects (including DEATH), I was so ready to walk out! :) It is one thing when I went in for my appendix..where there is sudden pain, not much time to think about it, and morphine pumping through your veins :)...to having two weeks to think about it, no good morphine, everyone elses stories, and a long list of scary side effects! I'm totally fine with the all-of-a-sudden surgery! ha ha
So the doctor had me pee before the surgery which was a good thing because I didn't end up going to the bathroom till late that night and not until my mom told me that I should probably go. Ha ha Thanks mom! You could tell I wasn't quite all there :)
I pretty much slept for about three days straight. I had the resting and relaxing down just fine. Sleep for 3-4 hours...wake up for 15 minutes to eat applesauce, pudding, yogurt, or a milkshake...and then off to sleep I went. I only took one nap yesterday and haven't taken one yet today (I'm doing laundry at Bobbie's) but I'm sure starting to get tired.
My swelling isn't too bad. Just little chipmunk cheeks. The pain was really bad the first day. When I was awake I would just sit there with tears rolling down my cheeks. It was not fun at all! My mom will probably laugh when I tell you this part...she took really good care of me! bringing me liquids and reminding me when to take my meds :) She did give me dry gauze once, which brought big tears to my eyes and had me rinse on the first day, which we found out later that we didn't need to do. (that made me cry too) (ha ha I just had to type that mom, it was pretty funny after the fact!)
All in all I have been doing pretty good. Quit bleeding the first day. I upgraded from applesauce to saltine crackers and mac n' cheese! Yay for me! When my mom was staying with me there was an Olive Garden commercial that kept coming on and I told her that once I can chew, I am eating at Olive Garden! No Rocks! I really bad want real food :) I have been watching the food network channel and thinking of all the things that I'm going to eat when I can finally chew! My mom says it's self-inflicted torture. ha ha I just want to eat!

To get my mind off of food I decided to make some cards...here they are...


I put this picture up because I was so excited for my mom to get her sidewalk done! The boys did this Saturday night and finished it up on Sunday. I can't wait for her to get grass now!
One more crazy thing to tell you guys about...on Saturday before my mom was getting ready to leave, my mom, me and Evy were sitting on the couch talking and all of a sudden there was a very loud bang and a huge flash of light! We thought our apartment buildings got hit by lightning...after a few minutes we walked outside to look around and the tree across the street had been the object that got hit. The lightning had hit the tree and blasted the bark all over the road! Very scary! Watch out for Spanish Fork lightning...it'll getcha!