A Royal Wedding

How many of us as little girls dreamed of our future royal wedding? Walking down the aisle with our prince. Ah, the memories. I remember practicing walking down the aisle with my veil (aka curtain or towel), flowers in hand, step-step together-step, music playing (or me humming), and then kneeling at the altar (the couch) and taking my prince's hand (my little brother). If only I could find the picture of my brother and I kneeling at the couch! Makes me laugh now, but it was so real then.

With the wedding of William and Catherine tomorrow, I have spent many hours this past week watching shows about the upcoming event. And I have to admit, a part of me is envious at all the fuss and magic of this wedding (except the constant camera shots). But mostly it has brought back the memories from my childhood and the dreams of that regal wedding to the man of my dreams.

I can't wait to watch tomorrow's wedding. Of course, I won't be dragging myself out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to watch it, but will wait and take advantage of the wonders of DVR and watch it when I will truly appreciate the splendor of it all.

Happy wedding William and Catherine! And sweet dreams to all the little girls out there - some day YOUR prince will come.

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My Day in Photos

Breakfast options

Drive to work

Blogging at night in the comfy chair

Treats for the hounds - food in the Kong

Nap time

See more days here.

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Easter Celebration

Easter is much like Christmas in that it has two sides - the religious aspect and the fun/child-like side.

Yesterday was the fun/child-like side with the required egg hunt. It started several years ago as a small affair that included three children and five adults and has grown to yesterday's group of 14 children and 17 adults. In the days before the hunt, we filled eggs with candy and coins, marked two eggs with stars to designate them as grand prize winners, and set aside the remaining chocolate bunnies and ducks, marshmallow goodies, and other assorted treats. We were ready. Unfortunately the weather wasn't quite ready. About an hour before the hunt the rain started and it didn't stop until after we ate dinner (a BBQ). That meant we hid the goods in the house - upstairs and down, and then turned the kids loose. It was chaos, but happiness as they scrambled through the house finding the hidden treats. Once everything was found, we awarded the humongous chocolate bunnies to the finders of the special eggs. The food was wonderful, had a great time chatting with everyone, and even more fun keeping track of everyone's bag of goodies and making sure the hounds didn't help themselves. All in all, a successful event.

The prize bunny!

Today, attended a beautiful program at church that involved music and spoken word. It was uplifting and a wonderful reminder of the sacrifice made by the Savior on our behalf. I am grateful for my elder brother Jesus Christ and his willingness to give his life on my behalf.

The day wrapped up with dinner with family - everyone bringing a part of the meal. The food was delicious! Plus it was fun swapping stories, laughing, and just being together.

An incredible two days celebrating a divine holiday. Happy Easter!



Oh, one final note, the lighting inside and the close quarters produced less than stellar egg hunt photos. Very bummed, but such is life.

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Sometimes life bites

And I do mean literally! Last week while at a CK Convention, we had an incident with a shoplifter that ended up with a short chase scene (myself, the shoplifter, and the exhibitor who was stolen from), a lot of grabbing (exhibitor of bag with merchandise and me of shoplifter), one bite and one attempted bite, and a grand finale of said shoplifter being held down on the ground until the police arrived.

And the bite, well my arm has a lovely Easter colored bruise and an egg shaped lump from the experience. But no worries, only one small spot broke the skin (which meant a quick trip to urgent care for shots and antibiotics).

The lesson learned from this experience? Call for help before chasing shoplifters and keep all extremities far away from teeth.

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Here come's Peter Cottontail

And his chick friends. And these are the edible variety! Today on Good Things Utah I made cake pops that are perfect for Easter treats. My inspiration - the ever famous Bakerella! Of course, her cake pops look tons better, but you'll see from the segment that they are easy to make.

Bunny and Chick Easter Cake Pops

I took a few pictures during the process because there isn't enough time on the show to do everything. Plus, I'll share a few tips I learned along the way - hopefully you can avoid the pitfalls I ran into.

Tip #1: Don't mix in all the frosting at the beginning. Add about 3/4 of the can to the cake, mix it together, and only add more frosting if it seems dry. Adding too much frosting makes the cake pops really soft and more challenging to work with when dipping in the melted chocolate (although they do taste really, really good with all the frosting).

Cake pops with sticks ready for the freezer.

Tip #2: Make your cake pops small. Especially if you are doing the bunnies otherwise the candy corn ears aren't proportionate to the head (as I quickly discovered). If this happens, no worries, only take pictures of the ones that look okay :)

Cake pops dipped in melted chocolate.

Tip #3: Make your cake balls assembly line style - make all the cake pop balls, dip them all in melted chocolate, add all the faces, add all the ears, etc.

Bunny

Chicks

Tip #4: The chicks are much easier to make. Maybe not a tip, but definitely good to know.

Tip #5: Allow plenty of time so you can enjoy the process. And let the kids join in for the decorating. It's loads of fun. And if you don't want to make animals, roll the pops in sprinkles before the chocolate is totally dry.

Happy Easter!

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Do you ever wonder....

Why people do the things they do? Was it the way they were raised? Did something happen in their youth? Were they born that way?

This question applies to positive as well as negative actions, but I think it comes up more often in regards to negative behavior.

Over the past few days I've experienced multiple situations that made me stop and think about how we react to things (myself as well as others). If we're confronted, do we flee or do we stay and face up to what we've done? In an emergency situation, do we get demanding or do we express gratitude to those that are helping us? When we are told something that is not correct, do we storm off while verbally expressing how upset we are or do we calmly explain why we are frustrated?

I think the way we handle things is a reflection of who we are. I know that sometimes I handle situations with grace and other times I can definitely use improvement. I know we aren't perfect, so I hope that I'm aware enough of how my actions affect others so that I can change the things I do that are less than positive so that I don't hurt people around me.

That is my challenge to myself, think before reacting.

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Blog Hopping Love

A relaxing day at home often equals blog hopping and tonight, that is the case. Here are some things that caught my eye. Hope you enjoy them as well.

Cute as a button necklace - well Crate Paper didn't call it that, but I definitely would . I'm thinking I'm going to have to track down the ribbon for sure since my button collection can support at least a dozen of these cute fashion accessories.

A different Easter basket - I love this adorable project from Sarah Martina. It is so soft and frilly, perfect for Easter. And a fun way to give someone a little basket of love that can be hung on their door or back of their chair.

Angry Birds is taking over the world - or so it seems. I love the game and when I saw these cute cupcakes, well some day I'm going to make these.

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Home Sweet Home

You know that feeling you get when you drive down your street and see your house approaching after you've been gone? That's what today was for me. As much as I enjoy traveling, there's nothing like coming home. Home to sleep in my bed. Home to loving hounds. Home to my comfy chair. Home to the open arms of friends. Home.

What do you miss the most when you are away from home?

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What a difference a year makes

Funny how you think that in a year from now things will be different. But really, are they that different?

Last year at this time, I had several CKC's under my belt for the year and was feeling crazy trying to balance travel and office work, not to mention life at home (when I was home).

This year, I'm at my third CKC for the year. And while keeping things moving this year started out feeling easier, I've now reached an insanity point (hopefully a short trip). Balance? Well, still trying to keep all the balls in the air and honestly, work still manages to take over my life. I might need to take a break for a reality/balance check.

So, while a year can make a difference, sometimes life doesn't change as much as we think it will. Not necessarily a bad thing, but worth taking time to evaluate is this where I want to be and if it is, great. If not, change. After all, this is my life and I am in charge, maybe not in control, but definitely the boss.

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My second dad

We each have a father, it's a fact of life. Some of us are lucky to have additional fathers in our lives. I am one of those.

Dad Thomas came into my life in the early 80's through his daughter, the missionary that taught K the gospel. The Thomas family welcomed us with open arms and enfolded us in love and family activities. There were many times in those first years in Utah that they fed us, let us hang out in the evenings with them, and included us in family traditions (like the July 4th BBQ).

But I think the most memorable activity was each Christmas as we decorated their house. I posted earlier about those memories and the integral part it was in our Christmas season. So many memories come from those special occasions.

Well, as things happen in life, Dad Thomas has aged and his body over the past few years has slowly given up, even though his spirit and mind were still active. And so this past Sunday, he passed from this earth to his heavenly home.

Sad, for those of us left behind, but happiness for him as he is freed from a body that was holding him back. As I drove home the other night, a song from Brad Paisley came on my iPod and I was touched by how appropriately it was timed (my apologies to those that were driving the freeway at the time as tears streamed down my cheeks). The song is "When I Get Where I'm Going" and the chorus is what started the tears flowing:

Yeah when I get where I'm going,
there'll be only happy tears.
...
Yeah when I get where I'm going,
Don't cry for me down here.

How true these words are for I know that Dad Thomas is so very happy where he is.

Tomorrow is his funeral - a tribute to the amazing man that he was. He was kind, peaceful, devoted, loving, hard working, smart, and so much more. His love of sports provided hours of entertainment and discussions. He was a loyal BYU basketball fan for many, many years and attend as many home games as he could. He loved his family, the gospel, and life. He was a leader and an example to us all.

My life is truly blessed from the years spent as part of his family and I am grateful for his love and constant encouragement and interest in what was best for me. I know he will be missed, as I miss him now, but I look forward to the day when we will be reunited.

Thank you Dad Thomas. You have made an impact on many, many lives (including mine) in ways you may never know. I love you!

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Project Day

Motivation is sometimes an issue, but usually it is more a time thing. So it is good to have an excuse to create - no way to avoid it. Today was Good Things Utah day. The project I did was based on a page from the Scrap Your Vacation class taught by The Paper Loft at CK Scrapbook Conventions.

So as not to totally show the class project, I took just one page with a slightly different twist. Here's the link to the project on GTU: A Place to Put All Your Vacation Photos.

At the beginning of the clip, I point out one page of the layout that is taught in class. The cool thing about this page is the mini-album. Not only does it provide lots of space for photos and journaling, but it can slides off the layout (the strip of dot paper is adhered on the edges to act as a pocket of sorts).

On my project, rather than do the larger, more involved mini-album that is on the original project, I created an accordion album and adhered it to the layout. It has the same benefit of providing plenty of space for photos and journaling.

I really love this paper line from Paper Loft - the colors are muted versions of primary colors and fun designs that mix well together and are versatile enough to use for any occasion. Here are a couple of photos showing the layout with the accordion album. Now to find some pictures to add :)

The layout with the mini-accordion album closed.

Showing the four panels of the mini-accordion album.

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Technology

Today my laptop's processing was consumed with backing up a very large folder of files and so I have not accessed any of my normal computer things. Needles to say, I was very frustrated.

And then the lightbulb moment happened - my iPad!! I AM still connected to my Internet world! So I downloaded an app for accessing my blog and voila, here I am posting.

Isn't technology wonderful? What tech thing could you not live without?

I'm off to see what other wonders I can find.

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Some days....

You're grateful to make it to the end. Today is one of those days. Not a bad day, just a crazy, busy, out of control week with today being the busiest of them all. But I survived and tomorrow is a new day - a day at home.

Life is good!

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