melt in my mouth

I love all of the treats during the holiday season! Usually I'm baking up a storm during these months, but I was a bit busy this year. You know. With the wedding and stuff. Yeah.

So I finally got around to looking at some of the awesome recipes Becca emailed me a few weeks ago. Now all I want to do is bake! I love trying new cookie recipes. Perhaps I'll have time to try this tasty looking yumminesses before school starts.

Peppermint Snow Balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 10 starlight mints, crushed (heaping 1/4 cup)
• Red food coloring
• Confectioners' sugar for rolling

Directions

1.Heat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, with mixer on high, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt. Reduce mixer speed to low, and beat in flour (dough will be very dry). Beat in oats, mints, and 12 drops of red food coloring. Shape heaping teaspoons of dough into balls, place on ungreased baking sheets 1/2 inch apart, and bake 15 to 18 minutes per batch.

2. Place confectioners' sugar in large bowl. Roll hot cookies in confectioners' sugar, let cool completely, and repeat.


Oh, and don't fret. I'll post a zillion wedding pictures later. When I have internet at my apartment. I'm gonna talk the neighbors into letting me use their wireless! Perhaps with a small fee... but at least I wouldn't have to get someone to come install it. All those fees! Pooey.

Also, sorry I got so busy I didn't post something everyday for the wedding countdown. There just wasn't time. Fun while it lasted.

All I want FOUR Christmas is you!

4 days to go

This is a picture of a four-legged duck. Scares me a little bit. I also don't like how the man (of course it's a man) in the background is holding it's neck. Be nice!
Here's a less in-yo-face picture. I love Connect Four. You never know what's going to happen. There are so many possibilities! And I always miss something important and lose. But it's still fun. Monte and I have played before and had a blast.

on the fifth day before my wedding I give you this image

I don't know if I agree with all of these, but I do agree that I'd rather do a lot of things before going to grad school. I'm just not motivated enough. Or smart enough. Perhaps I'll just work on my undergrad and then have some kids? Ha haha.

Six days and counting...

The hitchin' will take place THIS Saturday. Does that blow your mind? Kind of blows mine. This engagement went so fast, but so slow. It's been great, but I'll be honest and say that I'm definitely excited to move onto this next part of my life.

I'm also SO excited about all of the fun people who are coming to town this week! Tye comes in on Monday night, Shay will be here on Thursday, and tons of aunts and cousins will be over at my parents house on Thursday night for a family bridal shower. I'm pretty much bursting with joy!

So, for this last week I'm going to count down the days til the wedding by doing a google image search for the number of days left. For example, tonight I'll type "six" into the search box and see what it comes up with. Here goes:

This one's pretty typical, just a Roman numeral six.

I couldn't resist posting this one, however.
Apparently this is someone named Mr. Six? Whatev. It's better than all of the pictures of six-packs that showed up... awkward.

Don't you love the holidays?

So. Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to go to Kmart (why are they open on Thanksgiving? Do they hate their employees? Greedy retail stores...) to get Debbie's birthday present (you can bet it's the best thing you've ever seen), some oversize fleece blankets (I need blankets when I become independent/married!), and picture frames for the reception. Luckily my mother was awake putting the turkey in the oven and she happily agreed to accompany me, otherwise I'd be scared out of my mind by those crazy Kmart-goers...am I one of those now? Also, good thing she came because she bought be a really cool ring! I can't describe it--you'll just have to see it. Or I could post a picture of it later.

Besides early morning shopping Thanksgiving was pretty great. Until Monte had to work from 6 p.m. to midnight! Stupid. But at least he got paid time and a half. That's excellent news. I went in and filed...for an hour. I would have stayed longer but Regan and I decided we needed to watch August Rush, which I had never seen. Also, she's moving back to Oklahoma in like a week and I won't see her for a long, long time. And...I got some music from her. Which took about 2 hours to transfer over because her burner wasn't working and we only had a 512MB flash drive. Funny.

Anyways. This morning Monte was such a champ and he got up with me at 6:30 to go hit the Office Depot doorbuster sale. In which I bought an 8GB flash drive so none of those music fiascoes, like the one complained about above, will ever happen again! Yay!

Now I'm at work. That's right. I had to work at 8 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving. And no one has called or come into the office. Seems like a waste of time for me and a waste of money for Chrysalis. Whatev. I'm just writing this blog and making copies. Oh, AND listening to Christmas music since it's no longer before Thanksgiving. Bring on the Christmas cheer.

BEST NEWS OF THE DAY/WEEK/MONTH:
I have an apartment! After weeks and weeks of searching, filling out applications, going to see disgusting apartments, Maecy's old landlord called her back and we get to have her old apartment! The one next to the Cannon's house! And it's pretty cheap, which is marvelous. Also, it has two bedrooms. And is right next to a bus stop. I'm so grateful! All those hours of searching and praying paid off, I'm telling you. The gospel is true.

Sorry I've been away for like a month. Planning a wedding really is the most time consuming thing I've ever experienced. Only 5 more weeks to go! And only 4 til I get my endowments. ;)

So, just finished writing this stats term paper for Stat 332 and I think I'll probably get a C on it. That's pretty good for an engaged person, right? Here's a graph I included in it.Doesn't that just look fantastic? No, it doesn't. Whatev. We were doing an experiment with launching rubber balls from wooden catapults. Yeah, pretty awesome. I love stats because of all the random experiments we get to do. I hope I can afford to go to school next semester so I can take that 6 credit stats class... should be a lot of work, but hopefully fun, too!

I won't bore you with talk of wedding stuff, so I pretty much don't have anything left to say. Welp.

We'll get through it somehow...

Last night I was reading in 2 Nephi 19 (in the Book of Mormon) where Jacob is quoting Isaiah 9 and I was struck by this verse:

16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

This verse seems so applicable to the time we're living in right now, especially with the upcoming election. I've heard so many foolish things come out of both of the main candidates' mouths (mostly Obama...). It's a scary time.

On the bright side, at least we have an amazing leader of the LDS church, President Thomas S. Monson! If only all of the leaders in our lives could be appointed by God...

it's sparkly

Here it is, folks.Also, here's the dress:
They'll take up the hem and take the waist out a bit so it actually fits me. Yay.

Here's the hairdo that I will probably be sporting on my wedding day:

I'm engaged!!!

Here's the ring!

I don't have it yet, but I'm really excited for when I do! I'm wearing this crazy huge one that makes me feel weird in the mean time:

So here's the real one:P.S. Becca has graciously offered to take engagement pictures for us! I'm so excited! She'll do great! And she's doing it for free for practice--she's starting to create a portfolio!

P.P.S. In case you were wondering, my fiance's name is Monte Mena.

Debbie's thingy...

This is how the game works: Use Google image search to answer each question. Then choose your favorite or most random image.

My Age:
Place I've Traveled:
Place I Want to Travel:

Favorite Place:

Favorite Object:

Favorite Food:

Favorite Animal:

Favorite Color:

Place I was Born:

Place I Live Now:

Pet:

Past Love:

Best Friend's Nickname:

Screen Name:

First Name:

Middle Name:

Last Name:

Bad Habit:

First Job:

Grandmother's Name:

College Degree:

What I'm Doing Right Now:

Honorable mention for best picture that wouldn't fit in a category:

Too lazy and tired to finish right now. I'll do it tomorrow...hopefully.

I can't decide if it's disturbing or cute.

Here's a cat with 4 ears.
If you click on the picture you can read the whole story. I'm glad he has a good home!

Surprise your attacker with a good taze!

If you want to see/read something that I find quite amusing, please go here.

You've probably already all seen this, but I still think it's all humorously true.

you know you live in Utah if:

-your local Dairy Queen is closed from September to May.
-someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there.
-you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time.
-you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number.
-'vacation' means going anywhere south of Salt Lake City for the weekend.
-you measure distance in hours.
-you know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
-you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day.
-you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both unlocked.
-you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching.
-you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
-the speed limit on the highway is 75 mph -- you're going 80, and everyone is still passing you.
-driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
-you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
-you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly'.
-you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your friends.

What's in a name?

If you know me at all, you know that I have headaches quite frequently, probably due to my back problems. By frequently I mean at least every 2 months. They generally last for about 3 days. Going to the chiropractor helps a little bit, but I mostly just have to wait it out. It bites the big one.

My most recent headache adventure began on Monday morning when I woke up with a pounding headache. Not the most pleasant way to start your day. I often wonder why this happens--you'd think that sleep would prevent a headache. What a conundrum.
Needless to say, I take a lot of Advil. A lot. I think my body is too used to it, in fact, to let it have any affect on me. I take it anyway, though, hoping it will help me somehow. I wasn't helping at all yesterday, however, so I took work off and decided to try a different pain reliever. I even talked to the pharmacist at Wal-Mart. I told him my situation with the Advil and he said "the next step up is Aleve." I was a bit surprised because I thought they were pretty much the same thing, but I followed his advice and bought some Aleve.
I'm still not sure if Aleve if my drug of choice because I don't know if I felt better because of it or because I went to the chiropractor. However, I am quite sure that the makes of Aleve chose the better sounding name for their pill. Think about it: Aleve sounds like relieve. Advil sounds like...? ANVIL! Who in the world would name their pain relieving medication after something that is know for smashing people in cartoons? Bad move, namers.

I will definitely keep giving Aleve a chance, even if it's only because the name sounds better than Advil.

Maybe he's no Romeo but he's my lovin' one man show

Here's a picture of me with Monte. Sorry it's really blurry. This is when we were at Seaport Village in San Diego. He's a winner. It's weird that hardly any of you have met him. In fact, I believe Hayley's the only one who has. Odd. That will have to change. I'm sure you'll see a lot of him when most of us will live together in the Fall. Yay. Another cause for yaying: he cut his hair!!

On another note, Idaho was fantastic! I don't have any pictures from the trip because I didn't bring my camera, but Debbie, Hayley, and Melissa will have many many. You just wait. Here's a list of some awesome things we did:
- boating on the Palisades Reservoir (beautiful!)
- drive-in movie ("Handcock" (yes, that's how people in Driggs spell it) was really dumb)
- bonfire
- chair lift ride at Targhee resort (wonderful view of the Tetons...and Mary's Nipple)
- rodeo in Jackson Hole! (Mutton Busting is one of my new favorite things to watch)
Besides all of the great activities and company we enjoyed, Dani's father made us the best food! Breakfasts of champions and an unbelievable Mexican dinner!

I'm bored...

Two names you go by:
1. Nikkerbocker
2. Sneaky Nikki
Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Khaki skirt that I ripped whilst I was trying to participate in the Pyramid at one of those Manwaring/Juarez dinners.
2. Gold flats
Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. My new phone to come in the mail
2. Graham Canyon ice cream
Two people who will fill this out:
1. Hayley!
2. Marie
Two things you did last night:
1. Flew home from San Diego
2. Played RAGE!
Two things you ate yesterday:
1. Massive bean and cheese burrito
2. A Cinnabon (both of these were at the airport)
The Last Two people you talked to:
1. Monte (through texting)
2. Hannah, my supervisor at work
Two things you are doing today (or did):
1. Having a filing party at work from 5-7. Woohoo. Not.
2. Post pictures of my trip to California
Two longest car rides:
1. Provo, UT to Ann Arbor, MI
2. Alamogordo, NM to Charleston, SC
Two favorite beverages:
1. Water
2. Pina Colada Slushee

I wish I could go back to sleep...

I'm in Escondido, CA right now. I think I'm the only one in this household who is awake right now so I'm kind of bored. The beach was a good time yesterday until Monte got punctured by a stingray. On a good note, I don't think I got sunburned at all! We've all been really forgetful about taking pictures but I'll try to post some when I get back. Sorry this is so short, I know I'm pathetic.

Some glimpses of my job.

Over here at Women's Services we have a pretty good time. Yes, it was more fun when Naomi worked here, but we're still very silly (thanks to Kristi). The following pictures are some things that I keep at my desk. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This is one of my favorite comic strips--luckily it's in The Daily Universe. I thought this one was bulletin-board-worthy. Sometimes I wish relationships could be like this. Except maybe there would still be kissing. Some of you know my nickname...My boss received about 15 monkeys from this man who was in love with her. Fortunately, she gave me this one. It's really tiny so I can keep it at my desk. The best part is that when you squeeze it's tummy it whistles at you. Woot woo!
We had to clean out a section of our office last week because they're doing construction. It was pretty boring going through all of the old stuff, but it was all worth it because I found this treasure:
Who knew floppy disks were so awesome?

Dang, that hurts.

This is what happened to me when I went on the Boomerang at Seven Peaks.Also, I really wish I had a picture of my face when this occurred. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it and I know that it would have brought you all much joy.

Is it just me or does it look like they're about to kiss?

Very intimate indeed. I saw the first one in the Daily Universe today and had a good chuckle with myself. This is the other thing that made me laugh in the news today:
I guess he won some awesome scholarship to study at a University in China. But just look at this picture! How can anyone take Greg seriously?

Invasion!

Read my review of The Host HERE
It's by the same author as the Twilight series, if you're confused.

Burnt

I've started to take on the responsibility of cooking dinner twice a week for my family. I switch off with my mom and Maecy. This is only the second night I've cooked, but I can tell it's going to be rough.
Yesterday my mom and I were deciding what to make and she requested that I make barbeque chicken pizza (the same kind Deb, Ali, and I made those two times). And, since I'm such an obliging person, the ingredients were written down and purchased to day so I could make it.
Everything started out fine, except that (as usual) I was running low on time. My mom was gracious enough to grill and chop up the chicken (the part I hate doing). She's a winner. Did it in record time. I grated all of the cheeses, measured all of the sauce, put the pizzas all together, and tossed them in the oven. Set the timer for 15 minutes because the recipe said 20 and I thought that was kind of long.
After those suckahs were in the oven I went outside to check out the progress on our halfway newly paved dirt road (I know! Crazy news. I'm not sure what in the heck their thinking, but there's suddenly pavement out there). After a few minutes (I thought) I came back in to hear the buzzer going off, smoke everywhere in the house, and my mother pulling the stupid things out of the oven.
They were completely burnt. As in "you'll get cancer if you eat this" burnt. And this, my friends, is why I hate cooking. You put so much effort into a meal, turn your head for one second, and then....it's ruined. Bites the big one.

Close Proximity

Everyone in my family is gone right now: parents are in Michigan visiting Tyle & Millie, MaecyKenAbby all went to Oregon for a family reunion. The result of them leaving is that I am left all alone at my parents house. I was going to sleep over at Regan apartments last night, but I was so tired that I decided to just sleep at my house by myself. Bad idea. I felt bad for the animals that I was the only one home--I didn't want them to get lonely so I left my bedroom door open. Of course, then the cat jumped on my bed and tried to sleep with me, which I can't stand. It always keeps me awake because I'm afraid of kicking him. Also, my door kept on moving back and forth because of the wind. After about an hour and a half of not sleeping I decided to kick the cat out, close the window, and shut my door. After this was accomplished it only took me about 20 minutes to go to sleep. But by then it was like 12:30 and I had to wake up at 6:45. That's just not enough sleep for me.

Anyway, I only have to be alone for one more night, so I hope I can sleep a little better. Especially since I have to pick up my parents from the airport at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday night. That will be a late night.

Here's some good news: I got another part time job! I'll be the afternoon receptionist MWF at Chrysalis, a company that hires people to take care of/hang out with disabled people. I'm a little bit nervous, which I guess is natural when you start a new job. I have a 5 hour training session tonight and I start working on Friday. Crazy.

I'm excited for the get-together at Becca's this Friday. It will be bizarre to be with all the oldies again. Bec, do you want me to bring anything?

If anyone wants to come, I'm hiking up to Timp Caves on Saturday morning. It's kind of pricey ($7/person) but it's really fun, at least a once-every-two-years kind of experience. It's not a very hard hike, just kind of like hiking the Y. Here are some pictures of what you could be missing if you decide not to attend.

Okay, so it looks kind of creepy, but I promise it's actually really cool. Oh, and I liked Narnia: Prince Caspian. Especially the good looks of High King Peter. And someone told me I look like Susan. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

She done got me!

inanechatter tagged me! Here it is.

The rules of the game: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was 11 years old, in the last month of 6th grade, the last month of elementary school ever. I was excited to move on to bigger and better things: middle school, Young Women's, playing the flute in band. Just kidding about the last one.


2. What was on my to-do list for today?
- Wake up on time
- Go to work and get things done
- Go do baptisms
- Work on my quilt
- Watch 27 Dresses with my mom
- Go to sleep by 10:30


3. What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire?
Pay off my parents debts, buy two houses (one for me, one for my parents), give my car to a poor college student and buy myself a 2-3 year old reliable vehicle, go visit Meg and Steph on Nantucket, take a few friends with me to Europe, pay for my whole mission. The list goes on...

4. 3 Bad habits
- Leaving my straightener out on the bathroom counter
- Checking Facebook 5 times a day (sometimes more)
- Eating when I'm bored.

5. Places I have lived
Provo. Yeah, that's it.

6. Places I have worked...
JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts, BYU Bookstore, BYU Women's Services & Resources

7. 3 Things people don't know about me.
- I am a huge romantic. I cry and get weak in the knees over just about anything.
- I have two massive warts on the bottom of my right foot (a few people know about this). I am trying to remove them with Compound W Fast-Acting Liquid.
- I like going camping a lot, but I'd really rather just come home and sleep in my bed.

I tag: Micky-d, Naomi, and Missy

Something for everyone...

Well, here are my makeover pictures. My word, are they hideous or what? I'm blown away. For those of you who don't already know, go to this website to have some fun of your own. Go down to Beauty Secrets and click on "Get a makeover".
I call this one Natalia. What a poser.
Purply hair.
Me with black hair and blue eyes. Weird.
Whew! This one's hair is pretty hott.