Out of Character

I am pretty timid about my opinions--not in private, of course.  I am prone to ranting to poor Kyle and my family and best friends.  But out in the open--especially amongst people who disagree with me--I avoid debates.  They make me uncomfortable.  However, the other day I felt I had to stand up for the Church when a discussion was turning anti-Mormon.  I made a comment, just to clarify a blatant lie--which turned into answering some questions from a friend.  I ended up feeling quite strongly about something I had never thought a lot about because it was easier not to.  It was kind of exciting to research and pray and gain a testimony of a topic that I never felt strongly about.  The conversation closed with me bearing my testimony of the Gospel--and it felt really really good.  I never bear my testimony in church because I'm terrified of speaking to the congregation.  I'm never the first to bring up gospel topics with non-members.  I'm just too shy, I guess.  Anyways, it was exciting to me that I was brave enough to engage in this conversation.

And then, the conversation that I was so happy about ended up being turned into a negative blog post that was strongly anti-Mormon in tone.  My sincere words were used to illustrate my ignorance (and indeed the ignorance of all Mormons--sorry guys).  It hurt my feelings that my friend was so disingenuous.  Usually, this sort of thing would be DEVASTATING to me.  And while I was disappointed, I'm happy to say that I don't really care all that much.  Instead of being embarrassed and bitter, I feel...good.  I feel good about what I said, good about how it made me feel.  It doesn't matter that my words fell on deaf ears.  I'm grateful that my testimony was strengthened by bearing it and by learning new things about the Gospel.

I love the Gospel. I love the Prophet.  I love the temple.  I love knowing that everything is going to be okay, because the Lord loves me and my family and everyone.  I am so happy to remember that it's important to say these things--often and bravely.

*Update:  What do you do when you want to debate with someone but you're just not up to it?  You sic Russell Stevenson on him, THAT'S what you do.  And that's what I did.

Fact. I am happy.

Black Eyes:

• Umm...these are hard to come up with right now
• But I'll try anyways
• Sometimes my internet is slow
• Running makes me SO TIRED
• Cleanliness doesn't happen on it's own
• No good movies on AMC's Fear Fest lately
• SNOW
• 2 weeks until our new couch is delivered

Feathers in my Cap

• The new "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" Dove/Walmart commercial
• Wait Until Dark with Julia and Taylor
• Pomegranate 7Up for the holidays
• Going to a Pioneer Woman book signing in a week
• Bearing my testimony to a questioning friend
• My new house continues to thrill me
• Finding my Halloween costume at DI
• Kyle is my husband

My wooden spoon/spatula collection is a serious feather in my cap.  It's not ultra impressive or anything, it just pleases me.  I really need to expand it though.  And I know they are actually rubber scrapers, but, I like "spatula" better.

Celia's baby shower!

Yesterday was Celia's baby shower. It was totally fun and successful. I rarely enjoy myself at parties that I am in charge of, because I'm too worried the whole time about how it's going. But this time I actually had a good time too! Celia got cute presents, we all had a god time chatting and holding Eliza and Atticus, the food was really good, and Homa (Celia's mom) even got to come! I feel like Ashley's apartment looked really cute. I was quite happy with how it turned out.

A couple of people had left by the time we took this picture, but here's most of us.

Amanda made these cute party favors for everyone.

Coreyann made an adorable diaper cake!

(Side note: Celia is beautiful.)

I made this bunting banner out of NEWSPAPER. So easy and fun.

OH MY GOSH these Oreo Truffles I made were SO GOOD. I was shocked.

The food was awesome. Turkey Harvest Croissants (which Celia always got with us from the MOA Cafe), Oreo truffles, cupcakes, and this delicious peanut butter caramel dip with apples.

Ashley did the writing on these cupcakes and they turned out so cute! She is so great at cake decorating.

I just thought Caitlin looked really pretty in this picture. And cute Atticus is wearing pants that Caitlin made!

Amanda came all the way from Logan! We were so happy about that.

Amanda came and hung out with Kyle/Barbara/me the rest of the day. It was so fun to hang out with her again! I've been missing her. What's up with living so far away anyways? I'm grateful that she's willing to make the drive once in a while. We had a great time going couch shopping! Kyle and I chose one. It's thrilling and beautiful and amazing. We won't be able to get it for another couple of weeks though, because it's shipping from California. I'll be sure to post a picture when we get it--I LOVE IT. It's so us. It's so generous of Ken and Barbara to give us this gift and we are SO EXCITED! We'll have a housewarming party after we get it in our living room.

We've had a great weekend! It's really fun to have Barbara (my mother-in-law) here visiting. Today was her birthday so we ate some brownies and gave her presents--Hunger Games and a Snuggie. (Kyle and I are really proud of those gifts.) Kyle and I bought a great air mattress that's up in one of our rooms and it's been surprisingly comfortable. It doesn't even feel like camping.

I just realized I didn't post a single picture of Eliza from the shower! Sorry.

Adventures in Miniature Baking

I hate pumpkin. I think it tastes and smells SO GROSS. I've never had a bite of pumpkin pie in my life--because sometimes you just know that you won't like something, even without trying it. I don't like pumpkin bread either.

BUT.

This week I was on a mini-baking kick, and it's all autumnal outside, and I just couldn't help it. These were too cute. SO I had to make these mini pumpkin pies that I saw on Bakerella:

They worked! I didn't try them (because EW!) but Katy and Kyle said they were really good. I just love how adorable they look!

And with the leftover pumpkin, I made teeny little pumpkin gingerbread loaves:

I actually did try these, and LOVED it. They tasted so good. I put in a ton of spices to drown out the pumpkin and it totally worked. You can't taste any pumpkin! And they're so cute! I made one big loaf that tasted equally good, but it just isn't the same if it isn't mini.

BAKING SUCCESS. It's what I live for. Jk, Kyle is what I live for. (Oh fyi--when I write"Jk" I'm not abbreviating "just kidding"--in my mind I'm really saying "Jk". Don't know where that came from.)

Speaking of Kyle, yesterday he did something really nice. Katy and Kyle and I were jogging on the trail right by my house that goes along Hobble Creek. It's really pretty! We were exploring it so Katy and I went one way and Kyle went the other way. On our return, we were about to meet in the middle when there was a dog and its owner in the path. (Now, you probably know that I am totally scared of dogs--stemming from the almost pit bull attack when I was just a little girl. I can like dogs if I know them and they aren't evil and their owners are around, but meeting a strange big dog that's not on a leash? Terrifying.) Anyways, Kyle saw the dog and started sprinting towards it, so that it would run and bark at him instead of me and would be under control by the time I got there. Isn't that pretty sweet? I know that it's not that big of a deal, but it's just indicative of Kyle and how he looks out for me. It's little things like that that happen all the time and melt my heart a little bit every day. And being rescued? Gets me every time.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Here's what I got for my birthday on Wednesday!

From Kyle:

He KNOWS how obsessed I am with Coconut Lime Verbena. So he went and bought me enough delicious smelling stuff to keep me happy for a LONG time. Seriously, the body scrub makes me indescribably happy--and ATTRACTIVE.

He loves to overwhelm me with quantity.

He also got me...

$$$

Money at Joann's is like a dream come true. Now I can make all the crafts I want without feeling guilty for buying unnecessary items when we're paying for a house. SO FUN.

AND he got me this beautiful mirror!

I really should have taken a picture where you could see the white crown molding--it looks SO GOOD with the white mirror and beige walls. Wow. We spray painted the mirror white yesterday. It was so easy and fun, and makes such a difference. Every time we walk into the living room we just stare at the wall. It's beautiful!

He ALSO gave me something that I've been wanting for a long time:

An angled spatula! I wanted one ever since Alton talked about it on Good Eats. I used it yesterday to frost a cake. It worked BEAUTIFULLY. I'm obsessed with it. Kyle went all out and I was really excited with my presents from him.

From Katy:

First of all, this pretty necklace from Etsy:

I even used it's magnifying glass function today when looking at my temporary license. YES I GAVE UP MY CALIFORNIA RESIDENCY ON TUESDAY, OKAY? I'm still really sad about it. But at least I have this pretty necklace.

Katy also went delightfully overboard on the DVD front:

Along with an X-Files craze comes, inevitably, a Return To Me craving:

My favorite movie since high school, which I couldn't watch anymore because I have a VHS and no VCR:

And, right in time for Halloween, the best zombie movie ever made:

Oh man that pleases me. I also got some sweet cash from Mom and Dad so I can actually buy furniture for my new home. I have a couple more presents coming that I know of--and I'm very excited. I love that Birthday Week didn't end this year!

Ashley made this beautiful delicious Brazilian cake for my birthday, and Alan brought enough beverages to hydrate an army. It was a nice gesture :)

It was a great birthday. Katy and I saw Zombieland and LOVED IT. I mean, it was gory, but it was so funny and we love zombie movies. I laughed the whole time! And, strangely enough, it made me like Woody Harrelson. I REALLY didn't see that coming. Kyle and Katy and I went to Art City Trolley, a really cute restaurant in Springville that we wanted to try. It turned out to be delicious!

Anyways. Our house is really coming together. I'll post pictures later--although the best part is that bookcase/mirror wall that I already showed you.

I Want to Believe

October 13th has always been my favorite day. I'm pretty sure I mention it on my blog every year. This year it just seems extra special--probably because of my rejuvenated obsession withX-Files. I always watched it and loved it, it just seems different lately. Maybe it's because Whitney came back, so we've been having designated X-Files nights instead of just watching it randomly. It is just THE BEST SHOW EVER.

My love affair with X-Files began when I was 11. Kayla introduced me to it--which I'll always be grateful for. My 12th birthday party (my one and only surprise party) was super exciting because we watched the first X-Files movie--for some reason I've always remembered that. It just spiraled out of control from there. 8th grade was awesome because every Monday I spent the first ten minutes of Social Studies discussing the previous night's episode with my teacher Mr. Lamoreaux. I have a ton of Sunday night memories because of it--watching scary episodes with Dad, mostly. I remember the first episode that Christy and Katy actually watched with me--Duane Barry. Oh man, I remember watching Closure, the last episode about Mulder's sister Samantha--Christy and I bawled. It was so depressing when the series ended (although it was hard for me to watch seasons 8 and 9--without the Mulder and Scully duo, WHAT IS THE POINT?).

When Mom and Dad bought me the series box set for Christmas a couple of years ago, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I still do. I burst into shocked tears at the time. I've put it to good use since then.

The 2nd movie wasn't great, but it was so good to see Mulder and Scully again. Not to even mention SKINNER, who for some reason I will love to my dying day. It's all about the characters. When I say that I love Mulder (and I DO LOVE MULDER), it's not in a way that Kyle should be jealous about. Honestly. I don't even see his attractiveness anymore. I love him the way I love a character in a book that I have read my entire life. Does that make sense? Scully, on the other hand, I only love because she's hot. Just kidding. She is though. I love both of them separate and together. And Skinner and Frohike and Langly and Byers and Krycek and Deep Throat. Man. I just can't help but sigh.

Anyways. 1013 is the X-Files number. October 13th is the X-Files day. Katy and I are on our 4th episode, and going strong.

Again--I have to just sigh.

FINALLY!!!!!

We got the keys last night! We are finally moving in. I am SO EXCITED. We met there last night with our realtor (who we LOVE...if you ever need one in this area, get Pam Montero--she was amazing), got the keys and did a quick walkthrough (we tried to find things to put blue tape on, but there is nothing wrong with the place!). We started moving boxes immediately after! The next two days we'll move boxes, and then on Saturday we'll move furniture, and then we'll live there! I am ridiculously excited. I wish moving didn't take so long. I shouldn't even be blogging--I should just be loading up the car. That's how anxious I am to move--I'm doing it on my own while Kyle is at work! Ridiculous.

ALSO--yesterday was the start of my Birthday Week! YES! For Birthday Week so far, we bought a house. Jk. We did have a birthday dinner with Grandma Kay and Grandpa Dee. They gave me the most beautiful gift! It's the sapphire ring that Grandpa gave Grandma early in their marriage, in Arlington. It's gorgeous and I love it. I especially love knowing that this will be a treasure to me, my children, my grandchildren, and so on.

Birthday Week is awesome.

Here's the quilt I made for Lucy:

And here are two funny pictures of Alan:

My husband, the Vulcan/serial killer/lazy worker

Ron Livingston from Office Space (who I always thought was attractive, incidentally)

Zachary Quinto, who terrified me as Sylar and delighted me as Spock.

Is this freaky, or is it just me?

I can't decide who he looks the most like. Maybe a hybrid?

Halloween

Kyle and I have no idea what to be for Halloween this year! I would just forget about it, but the Bluffs' are having another sweet party this year so we have to come up with something. This always stresses me out for some reason. Katy has a REALLY cool costume in the works...it makes me want to be clever!

Here's what we've done over the years:

Halloween 2005--

I was a Gopi. Kyle had to work.

Halloween 2006--

Kyle was unbelievably attractive as Superman. I was too busy being dumped by a loser to dress up.

Halloween 2007--

We freaked some people out. If we had been really dedicated, I would have dyed my hair and Kyle would have waxed his eyebrows.

Halloween 2008--

Kyle was a character from his favorite movie, and my hair was really short so I HAD to have a mohawk.

So now what do we do? I guess we don't have to do something together--we didn't last year and it was fine. But I'll just be sad if Kyle has an awesome costume and I am lame. Dang it. It's October--it's officially time to start worrying about it.