i'm melting.

i found the man that i want to marry.
no kidding.





his voice melts my soul. (basically to the same degree that i end up in a puddle on the floor when i hear josh groban or michael buble sing...)


:) 
have an awesome week!

swirling tides

you know that feeling you get when life is changing? 
it's like standing in the middle of a river. 
you can feel the current pushing you forward... or you can fight it and try and walk upstream. 
(i don't usually recommend the latter)
i have this theory:
life is going to work out.


i get so caught up in the fast-paced lifestyle... that i forget to stop and smell the roses that are blooming all around my house...

i keep thinking that everything has to be done NOW!
there is no time to breathe. to think. to do anything other than stress about life.
but you know what?
it's all going to be ok.
so sit back. 
breathe.








i have a slight obsession with this song.
:)

the garden. 
my mom didn't get the memo that slavery was abolished...
at least it gives me something to do while i am looking for a job. (any takers?) my dad says that i have "slave labor" written on my forehead. 


speaking of change, my mom talked me into doing a diet... (shhh! you can't tell anyone...)
being an exercise physiology major, i personally find all of these things fascinating... so i am considering this more "research". 
it's all about becoming "leptin sensitive"
so what is leptin you ask?
it is a protein hormone that plays a "key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism." thank you wikipedia for that flash of inspiration...
basically. if you are "leptin sensitive", you don't get hungry. it's a natural appetite suppressant. 

basically... the mouse on the left is you without leptin.

i'm kidding.

there are 5 basic rules to this "leptin reset"

(the foodie in me died a little when i read this.)

rule 1:  never eat after dinner.  

rule 2:  eat three meals a day.  

rule 3:  do not eat large meals.  

rule 4:  eat a breakfast containing protein. 

rule 5:  reduce the amount of carbohydrates eaten.

if you want to read more in-depth about these rules see here.

what i've learned is that WHEN you eat is much more important than WHAT you eat. (this is only partially true... but you will need to do a little research on your own from here on out.)

suffice it to say, when i get munchy around 9:00 every night, the rest of the family packs up and leaves the room. ;)

the basic way of eating follows the paleo-diet. if you've never heard about it, just think caveman. if you didn't have a wal-mart down the street, and instead lived a million years ago, what would you be eating?

and then you eat it. 

and ONLY that.

which is all fine and dandy until you drive past the chinese buffet... 

self control might need to undergo an overhaul as well...

so we're still in the intial stages of this "experiment".

i'll keep you updated.

only 4 more weeks to go...

--------------------

if you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are. 

for where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained.

keep adding, 

keep walking, 

keep advancing.

saint augustine

no mere mortal can resist.

i bet you all had the same reaction i did when you saw this movie.

i MUST learn this dance!

i learned it tonight. (and hopefully i will get to ahold of a video here shortly...)

.

.

.

what else have i been up to lately???

i realize that i fail miserably at updating this blog.

i'm repenting though.

even though that means i will have to limit my pinterest time...

*wipe a tear*

one of my favorite classes this semester is sports nutrition.

at times it makes me want to re-think my life and just go into dietetics.

i mean, what a better major than someone who loves food as much as i do?

it just makes sense.

but i guess i'll just have to own a bakery on the side.

hmmmm...

but i digress.

back to the subject.

sports nutrition. yes.

we had to develop a menu for an overnight hiking trip, and make sure that all of the calorie/carb/protein/and fat requirements fit.

the extra credit?

we had to make it.

and guess who made pizza tonight?!

it was... (considering it was supposed to be eaten while hiking, and NOT gourmet?)

actually pretty good.

i mean... flatbread pizza? not my first choice.

but it's hard to pass up pizza while camping.

i mean... come onnnnn!

(granted, we cheated a little. i mean, how am i supposed to dehydrate the spaghetti sauce to make a leather when i don't even own a dehydrator??? i mean, i want one. but i have nowhere to put it. and i have too much junk already.)

we just threw regular sauce and veggies on the flatbread, but you would normally use reconstituted sauce and re-hydrated dehydrated veggies (if you like veggies on your pizza.) top that with some cheese and you are set to go!

i can just imagine this cooking over a fire right now...

(and my mouth is watering.)

taken using my new phone!

i'm impressed.

alas... i haven't gotten cool enough to get a smart phone yet.

maybe someday...

well that's enough to bore you for now! 

(if you really want to see more of what i've been stalking for the past few hours... check 'em out!) 

here and here and here...

can you tell i'm excited for this summer?

i am SO going hiking.

a little bit of every scattered thought.

how is everyone this (lazy) holiday morning?!


i'm fantastic... just in case you were wondering. :)
today is one of those mornings when life is just good. 
happy music-baking-motivated-i'm gonna go on a long run-type of morning!








so i have to work on my motivation to try this... because you know me, i am a very lazy person when it comes to my hair. anything that takes over an hour to do just isn't worth it in my book. 
this one looks like it could take a while...





and you remember that granola that we made like, two days ago?
it's gone!
crisis! i need to make some more!!!
this time, i think i'm going to try this recipe. and then maybe this one. this one??? (i have a surplus of recipes, most of which i haven't had the chance to try yet!) 


pumpkin granola
originally from baking bites


ingredients:
5 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ tsp. salt
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup applesauce
¼ cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pepitas


directions:
1. preheat the oven to 325° F. line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. in a large bowl, combine oats, spices, and salt. mix well.
3. in a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. whisk until smooth. pour wet ingredients into oat mixture and stir until the oats are evenly coated. they will be moist. evenly spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.
4. bake for 20 minutes. remove pan from the oven and stir. bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the granola is golden and crisp. remove from the oven and stir in dried cranberries and pepitas. let cool completely. store in an airtight container.




i was reminiscing this morning... and decided to plan my next big adventure.

i'm gonna get over you.

this is my happy thought for the day. :)

i want her clothes. and her hair. 

so we tried an experiment today, and made super yummy pumpkin crunch granola. 

(this is like pavlov's dog... i say a food, and you start salivating. muahaha!) 

looks pretty delish don't you think?

(we did make a little subsitution and just used honey instead of all the agave-necter-health-nut stuff... i mean, we are poor college students after all!)

so i told you about my dream yes?

of running a half marathon.

tomorrow is the 5-mile run.

and guess who is a little scared.

NOT ME!

i'm gonna dominate this thing.

:D

{ten.}

something i'm afraid of.

i am afraid of nothing.

and do you want to know why?

because i'm wonder woman.

(i'm in disguise of course!)

and. i have a group of SUPER friends. 

you know superman? yeah, we're BFFs.

(come to think of it, i think i have next year's halloween costume idea now!)

i've always liked superheroes. don't judge! just listen to me for a sec!

this is doing a little homage to my nerdy superman-loving days in high school.

of course, nothing like the tv shows or movies could ever happen in real life. duh. but (this may sound corny) everyone is a superhero. 

i think good 'ol aunt may had it right when she said, "i believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride. even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most...even our dreams." 

timothy dalton said that we can't relate to a superhero. "but, you can identify with a real man who in times of crisis draws forth some extraordinary quality from within himself and triumphs... but only after a struggle."

those are the kinds of heroes that i like. 

these people are the true heroes - the people that might not look especially interesting at first glance. the quiet individuals that you don't stick out of a crowd. the ones that go about every day, silently but stalwartly living their lives. they are true to their ideals, their goals, and they will fight for them when the cause is important enough. 

so what are YOU afraid of?

***

the major work of the world is not done by geniuses (or superheroes!). it is done by ordinary people, with balance in their lives, who have learned to work in an extraordinary manner. 

~ gordon b. hinckley

i haven't done this in a while.

i think it's high time for some musica!!!

this girl will capture the world.

{day 5}


this just fits today

a ghostly beginning to halloween

you know you are addicted to the internet when it goes down and you have no idea what to do with your spare time...

oh yeah.

i had like a pile of books that i was supposed to be reading.

and a cowl i was crocheting.

and food that needs to be made...

a blog to write!

.

.

.

it was definitely tough.

but we are oh so glad to be back online!

(it's even sadder when you are trying to think of something to make for dinner... 

"oh wait let me check... ah crap! i forgot i can't get on the internet. again. for like the 3rd time."

*

listening to music is one of my favorite things in the whole world.

(sometimes i wonder if it is because i wish i was more creative, so i live vicariously through those who actually have some musical talent...)

but we saw this "rock opera" open in rexburg back in april, and loved it.

so we went back tonight.

they were actually playing in idaho falls, so definitely moving up in the world...

;)

tonight's was definitely better than the first time.

*

i was up late (not doing homework apparently) and was flipping through channels, when i stopped at the history channel. i hadn't watched it in, like years, so i thought i'd see what they had for me. zombies. yeah. the history channel??? yeah, i thought so too. but i did learn several good things about surviving the zombie apocalypse.

now i won't tell you all of my secrets, because if there is a zombie apocalypse, i need to have the heads-up on you to make sure that the zombies eat you first.

just kidding.

find what you need to make your own zombie survival kit here.

the best part was finding out that the CDC actually put out a statement about emergency preparedness in case of a zombie apocalypse. suffice it to say, i was impressed. 

(don't judge, i wrote my senior research paper in high school on monsters. why do some lame research on drugs, sports and energy drinks when you can talk about vampires, werewolves and zombies??? and i wrote this paper before twilight. thank you very much.) the sad thing is that i am finding all of this cool stuff now, after i've already written the paper and done all of the research.

a quote from the CDC's website:

"if zombies did start roaming the streets, CDC would conduct an investigation much like any other disease outbreak. CDC would provide technical assistance to cities, states, or international partners dealing with a zombie infestation. this assistance might include consultation, lab testing and analysis, patient management and care, tracking of contacts, and infection control (including isolation and quarantine). it’s likely that an investigation of this scenario would seek to accomplish several goals: determine the cause of the illness, the source of the infection/virus/toxin, learn how it is transmitted and how readily it is spread, how to break the cycle of transmission and thus prevent further cases, and how patients can best be treated..."

i can sleep peacefully tonight knowing that the government is watching out for a zombie attack.

it's been keeping me up lately.

cheers!

oh, and i'm going to try this.

bubbly toes

do you ever have a day when you don't know why, but you just wake up and feel glum?

i have a solution for you:

(just try it one time and tell me that it doesn't make your whole entire day that much better!)

last night, the sis and i decided that we needed to use the massive amount of food that we had just received from the parents... and grandpa.. and winco...

(i think my roommates hate us. we take up at least half of the refrigerator.)

but we got squash.

buttercup squash.

and a lot of buttercup squash.

and guess who got a box of apples from grandpa's tree yesterday?

it was meant to be.

my version of buttercup squash & apple soup

kind like this one. and this one. but mostly different.

ingredients:

chicken stock (mom got us some rotisserie chickens from costco... so we de-boned them and then used the carcass to make stock)

2 buttercup squashes

3 onions - roughly chopped

2-4 apples cut into large chunks(depends on the size... and how much you want your soup to taste like apples)

cut the squashes in half and throw them, the roughly chopped onions, and chunked apples on a cookie sheet that has a little bit of water on the bottom

bake in oven until you can easily scoop the squash out of the shell (we left ours in about a half hour at 400)

throw the squash, apples and onion in stock, let simmer and cook together for a few minutes (you can season it with salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, chicken bouillon... i don't ever really measure when i'm making soup. i go purely by taste)

throw it into a blender - and voila!

yummy soup and a very happy tummy.

now stop listening to the music and go party.

it's saturday!

is this the real life? is this just fantasy?

can't you just tell today is going to be a beautiful day?

it's fall, there isn't any snow yet (knock of wood), i slept in, i'm going to ride my bike to d.i. today, and watch football, and make FALAFEL! i don't know if it really can get any better...

we started the weekend yesterday with a date. (yes, i actually did get a date... if it is only the one date that i get of the semester, i will consider my dating life a success!)

here's the crew:

and yes, it was a masquerade.

aren't those guys studly?

can you believe we got those at walmart?

they have reaffirmed my belief that they really do carry everything.

for dinner, we had fajitas - which we absolutely amazing. and that was followed by what we lovingly refer to as a "cookie monster"... which i have seen other places called a "pizookie." 

they were the cutest things that i've ever seen!

we each got out own individual cookie that was in a skillet that was about the size of the top of a mason jar. oh my lanta - i think i died and went to heaven!

(and it even came with the cute little hot pad for the handle!!!)

i want.

and when i do get some... cuz i shall!

this is what i'm going to be making. 

and then it is going to go for a very looooooong swim in an ice cream bath.

right before it all ends up in my tummy.

oh happy day!

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10″ cast iron skillet lightly with vegetable oil. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat about 2 minutes.

Add in the egg and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes longer.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well-combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Press the dough into the skillet as evenly as you can.

Bake about 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

Transfer the skillet to a wire rack to cool. When ready to serve, cut into wedges. Add a scoop of your favorite ice cream on top while it’s still warm!

if i might quote my idol, rachel ray...

{YUM-O!}

do you ever feel like your cookie-cutters are under-utilized? 

i mean, the poor things get to shine only once a year when you decide to make sugar cookies!!! it is a sad, sad existence if you ask me. 

so i think it is time to let the cute little cookie cutters out of their stereotypical role as a "cookie" cutter (here and here) 

i think that would make an interesting movie plot...

"the cookie cutter that wouldn't cut cookies."

i mean, they've got to run out of ideas for movies eventually...

today i love:

sweats after wearing a dress all night long

showers - since i ran out of time yesterday... (and yet my hair doesn't look that bad!)

farmer's markets. i caved and bought a honey bear. (my last one suffered a very horrible death in the microwave.)

writing. stuff. (no you don't get to see it yet!)

food. i'm currently soaking chickpeas for falafel for a picnic this afternoon!

going to school. and not having to worry about real life. yet.

the (im)proper way to do things.

"life is pain highness!"
can you guess what movie that's from???


this last week was "one of those weeks" that i probably would care never to think of again. 
like ever.
after 6 tests, 2 projects, trying to find time to squeeze in donating at the plasma center (yeah. i do that.), going to the temple, and trying to stay dry (even though rexburg decides that it is funny to rain for 3 days straight. and then throw a little snow in there for kicks and giggles. i don't appreciate it thanks!) this week was... tough. but, you know what? i feel so good now that it's over! 
and i aced 3 of my tests. (we'll see how the other ones turn out next week...)
so not too shabby for taking every day not just a day at a time... sometimes it really was hour by hour. just to make sure that i would survive until the weekend. 
now enough of that! 


"you gotta put your behind in your past." 
or something like that. (said by a very wise meerkat)


as i was leaving the library late last night, finally being finished with the week-from-you-know-where, i saw a girl with a backpack. and i wanted it. luckily i restrained myself and she lives to wear it another day. 
you wanna know what it looks like?

super cute right?

but i'm too poor to buy them right now. 

maybe i'll get lucky at d.i. one of these days...

i'm one of those people that likes change. 
at home, the layout of my bedroom changes about every 6 months... i move my bed, the desk, and i have to go through and "de-junk". (that's a common term in our household... whether or not it is actually an effective practice has yet to be seen.)
but having a bed on cinderblocks doesn't leave a whole lot of room for change. 
so i have to change other things. 
i'm also a list person.
i have so many goal lists that i sometimes forget what goals i am actually trying to accomplish! then i find them like a year later and go oh yeahhhhhhhhhh. oops. 
so i am making a goal list. but this one has an end date. the end of the semester. 
which is like... december 17. 
this list might be considered a "de-junk-ing" of my life. because i can't move my bed. i guess i could move it into the closet (like harry potter!), but i don't know how roommate allison would take that...

da list:
train for a 10k. run 6.1 miles by the end of the semester.
go to a dance class
do something to my hair. maybe this?
spend less time on the computer. sorry there guys.
meet one new person every day.
read the entire book of mormon. (i'm in 2 nephi right now...)
try a new, healthy recipe every week (that i've never ever tried before!)
have an unbirthday tea party. and here. and here. and here. and here. 
go to bed earlier (so that i don't sleep through class...)
write more often. and share it with someone.
read a book a week. currently: a single voice
memorize the family: a proclamation to the world


ok. i think that's enough for now...
have an awesome (and hopefully less-rainy!) weekend

and just feel good.