Resolutions Week 1

This week has gone well. I didn't feel overwhelmed by my resolutions which is usually why people give them up. (Okay. which is why I give them up). I knew that I wanted to make them attainable which is why I wasn't super strict about having to do them EVERY SINGLE DAY! Especially when they haven't been getting done at all.

Church: I've read only twice this week, but I was planning on reading today before bed and tomorrow which will be 5 times this week. Perfecto! Right on goal schedule. Prayers were good too. I haven't missed a day. Eventually, I know I'll be doing AM & PM, but like I said when you haven't been doing anything at all... it's easy to get overwhelmed, get down on yourself, and get negative! So, baby steps for me. I want things to STICK LIKE GLUE! The only thing I've ever decided I really needed to start doing daily and just did it was flossing. Decided I needed to be better and BOOM! Have only missed like 3 days and that was 3 years ago. I wish all things were that easy to stick with!

The bad: I didn't read my Ensign. Not even once. It should have been read at least twice. I will need to be better about that. No temple, but I still have the rest of the month and only 6-8 trips to complete.

Exercise: None. :( What? How is that possible? I did skip (Yes. Literally.) across the parking lot to get a referral from the dentist over there. (twice). Does that count a little? I was hot. I broke a sweat. (A little one). Also, I put away all the office stock the other day which is lifting boxes, unloading, getting into cupboards, etc... I totally was hot after that one. I really just need to DO IT! Right when I get home... Change clothes, grab my ipod, and head out the door. How hard can it be? Apparently, it's REALLY hard!!

Money: I have already used up my 2 trips to Target for the month!! Yes! Seriously! I wasted one. I went really quick for a dollar bin oil pan and they were out!! I only spent $4o so I guess that's not too bad. I went with Soni today. Got yogurt and sour cream. Whoo-Hoo! Also, I spent my last penny today at Bath and Body Works. The Clearance sale is just too good to pass up. Bonus: I think I have enough wallflowers for the next year!! (maybe 2) :)

Work on:

1. Reading my Ensign when I don't study scriptures
2. Getting in the 30 minutes of walking or physical activity
3. Making & sticking to a list for Target
4. Make an appointment this month to go to the Temple!

VACATION!!

I know! I should have blogged this vacation as soon as we got home, while it was fresh in my mind, but did I? No. Of course not!! I am now. So, here goes:

We left Saturday and drove to Solvang, CA... Whoo-Hoo! I've never been here before. Seriously? I didn't even know it existed. My family IS Danish (along with a lot of other stuff), so how could I be so in-the-dark? Anyway, it was a totally cute town and I would die to go back and stay longer (any takers? Probably when one of the festivals is going on!)

We parked here... and there was a mural on the wall with lots of Danish people...

This is the bakery our Aunt told us about... She said the pastries are TO DIE FOR! She was right!! They were so unbelievably good! The sunlight hit it just right.. it's like heaven was shining the sun on it.. "ahhhhhhh" (heavenly music)

I just liked the street name...

Cute windmills all over! I especially loved the Days Inn as you drive in.. So adorable. I'll have to get a picture next time.

There was a little shop where you could look up your name... this is The Christensen Coat of Arms. I thought that was pretty freakin' Awesome!

Anyway, after getting some aebleskivers (that were AMAZING!!!!) we hit the road heading for San Jose. (Follow the aeblskivers link to see how these SUPER DELISH BEAUTIES are made!)

This is all along the 1. We stopped along the coast... we only had like 2 gallons of gas and a LOT of highway! We were sooo nervous we would run out. Finally we found a place that had gas for over $5/gallon!!!! Crazy! But, we had to pay! Or else push the car the rest of the way!!

To be continued...

San Jose, Winchester Mystery House! Ooooo!!

100 Book Challenge

Remember this list?
My Book List

1. The Grimm Legacy -Polly Shulman
2. School of Fear -Gitty Daneshvari
3. The Graceling -Kristin Cashore
4. The Clockwork Angel -Cassandra Clare
5. The Lost Hero -Rick Riordan
6. This Book Is Not Good For You -Pseudonymous Bosch
7. Red Riding Hood -Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
8. Emma -Jane Austen
9. Getting Away is Deadly: A Mom Zone Mystery -Sara Rosetti
10. The List -Melanie Jacobson
11. Mobbed -Carol Higgins Clark
12. I'll Walk Alone -Mary Higgins Clark
13. Lemon Tart: A Culinary Mystery -Josi S. Kilpack
14. English Trifle: A Culinary Mystery -Josi S. Kilpack
15. Devils Food Cake: A Culinary Mystery -Josi S. Kilpack
16. Key Lime Pie: A Culinary Mystery -Josi S. Kilpack
17. Blackberry Crumble: A Culinary Mystery -Josi S. Kilpack
18. Cross My Heart -Julie Wright
19. Why Shoot A Butler -Georgette Heyer
20. The Circular Staircase -Mary Rinehart
21. School of Fear:Class is not Dismissed -Gitty Daneshvari
22. Jane Eyre -Charlotte Bronte
23. Hide In Plain Sight -Marta Perry
24. Sight Unseen -Mary Rinehart
25. Children of The Lamp: The Five Fakirs of Faizabad -Phillip Kerr
26. K -Mary Rinehart
27. The Help -Kathryn Stockett
28. Behold, Here's Poison - Georgette Heyer
29. Pumpkin Roll: A Culinary Mystery -Josi S. Kilpack
30. The Gathering (Darkness Rising) -Kelley Armstrong
31. Footsteps In The Dark -Georgette Heyer
32. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel -Michael Scott
33. Invisible (Ivy Malone Mystery Series #1) -Lorena McCourtney
34. Sprinkle with murder -Jenn McKinlay
35. Buttercream Bump Off -Jenn McKinlay
36. Death by the Dozen -Jenn McKinlay
37. Envious Casca -Georgette Heyer
38. The Unfinished Clue -Georgette Heyer
39. The Witch of Agnesi -Robert Spiller
40. Mama does time (A Mace Bauer Mystery) -Deborah Sharp
41. Spying in high heels -Gemma Halliday

It was supposed to be a list of 100. I only got to 41 which means I read 3.5 books per month. I don't think that's too shabby.
I was also thinking any more than 3 per month would be ridiculous with trying to live a life also! I think I'm going to stick with the 40 books since that is more reasonable.
You are welcome to join me in a 40 book challenge if you want... Happy reading!

New Year Resolutions!!!!

I NEED to be MUCH better this New Year in the following areas:

1. I have really neglected my relationship with my Heavenly Father for years and really want to get that back on track! So to fix that I will:
A. Read my scriptures at least 3-5 times per week.
B. Read the Ensign on the days scriptures are not read.
C. Say at least a morning or night prayer or both.
D. Go to the temple more than last year... so 6-8 times this year.

2. In addition to other neglected things? My body. Some idiot 'helped' me sprain my ankle a second time 3 years ago at our annual turkey bowl. It was a BAD one. (Let's just say I fell on my ankle and someone fell on me. So twice the weight on it. It seems like it will never be the same.) But I don't want that to be an excuse anymore. So, I will:
A. Walk at least 3-5 times per week even if it's just leisurely. (Seems to be the only thing that doesn't kill it!)
B. Make a menu for meals for the week to avoid snacking.
C. Carry healthy snacks with me at all times so when a hypoglycemic attack hits I won't be tempted to shove anything and everything in my face!

3. Spend less money!
A. No more quick trips to Target. 1-2 stops per month only!
B. Make a list and stick to it! If it's not on the list it shouldn't be in the cart!
C. Delete all saved credit/debit card info from all accounts.

4. Find a new doctor and GO! ... We moved over a year ago and I should go for multiple things I just don't since old one is in long beach and I tell myself it's too far away. :/
A. Get referral for dermatologist (Chances are pretty much 100% that I'll develop skin cancer.)
B. Get referral for podiatrist...for Ankle obviously & since I'm on my feet all day at work... couldn't hurt.

5. Stay close with family.
A. Schedule visits with each family. At least 2/family/year.

That's all for now. I'll be updating once/week or at least trying which means my blogging habit should be better this year also. I'll try ot to make the updates too boring! :)

Baking update...

I had every intention of trying out my Lightened-Up Monkey Bread recipe... I just realized I bought regular yeast instead of quick-rise. Ugh! I did whip up 3 batches of cookies last Friday. Frosted Ginger, Ultimates (named by Bro. Regnier), and Chocolate Chocolate chip. The Frosted Ginger are my new ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!! I think I ate all but 2 out of the 10 or so that we didn't give away. I LOVE THEM!! They have cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and molasses and are topped off with a powdered sugar frosting that has a hint of lemon! SO YUM!

Don't they look delish!!!?

I'm probably rethinking the nutella cookies also. I hate recipes that look simple but require a lot of menial work. I refuse to knead dough after mixing it in the mixer. I might try it over Christmas break when I have more time on my hands or next time I'm super bored and want to spend time kneading dough. :(

Anyhow, back to the market to exchange my yeast. I guess I'll make the bread saturday... I'll let you know if it's super yum!

UPDATE: 11/15/11 Okay, I tried my Monkey Bread recipe! I've actually made it twice so far! 1st time... I don't think I let it rise enough. The completed product was really short out of the pan... It still tasted yummy, just looked funny. 2nd attempt was AWESOME! The bread rose beautifully... I made it my way instead of all the steps they put you through. I mixed the butter & milk w/ the 2 sugars and cinnamon and just used additional cinnamon/sugar mix to roll the bread in. It's much quicker and easier! It's sooo good I can't believe it's light!!!]

YAY! NOVEMBER!!!

I LOVE this month!! Seriously! I love that the nights start to get oh so cold and I just wanna snuggle deeper into my warm, comfy bed... [only on weekends :( ] I recently had an offer for a free trial of Cooking Light magazine and I have so many NEW recipes that I want to try! Since it's cooler I can bake away to my hearts content since I don't have to worry about the house getting hot or myself getting hot!! (Have I mentioned how much I hate being hot?)

New recipes that I want to try this month:

1. PB and Dark Chocolate fudge
2. Triple Chocolate Cake (Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse filling and chocolate ganche to top it off... YUM!)
3. Nutella Sandwich Cookies (I recently discovered Nutella and how yummy it is!!)
4. Lightened-Up Monkey Bread (This is already a favorite! This is made w/ homemade wheat dough only 2g of fat/serving as opposed to 13! Can't wait!)

5. 14-layer chocolate cake... (Have had this recipe for awhile courtesy of Bakerella.com and she makes it look so easy... you should look at the picture it looks AMAZING!)* I pasted it here for you, so you don't have to do any work except maybe wipe the drool off your face!

That's it for now. I'll let you know when I bake all these... Once I find the time and money!

The Lovely Little Girl & the Bathroom...

Alrighty. Since Halloween is in 4 days I'm going to tell you a VERY scary story!

About 2 months ago, a lovely little girl was feeling tired, so up to bed she went. She was a very good girl so, of course, she brushed and flossed. It was while she was brushing the girl noticed little spots on her bathroom ceiling... they looked like someone had dirty hands and flicked their hands all over the wall. The lovely girl decided to look closer... AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!! The little dirty spots were actually baby SPIDERS! I know what you're thinking, baby spiders? What's so bad about that? They're BABIES!! Well, this lovely little girl suffers from severe arachnophobia (that means fear of spiders) and it wasn't so much the baby spiders... she was wondering where the mama spider was that just hatched all those baby spiders! So, this lovely little girl (really trying to keep it together) went and grabbed her spider spray, and then turned into John Goodman from Arachnophobia! She sprayed and sprayed and sprayed and sprayed AND SPRAYED! She sprayed so much that her throat was hurting for an hour afterwards! She sprayed until there was nothing left to spray and then sprayed some more! Then the door was shut, a towel was pushed under the door so nothing could get out (everything had to die in there!!) Then the lovely little girl let herself have a moment of pure breakdown! After a quick cry (no really, it was quick) she tore her whole room apart checking for escapees and other creepy visitors before she was finally able to relax a little ( a VERY LITTLE)! The lovely little girl had a terrible time trying to sleep, but finally, she was able to drift into an uncomfortable sleep (she left the light on, of course!)

The next day, the lovely little girl, put on her BIG GIRL panties and OPENED THE BATHROOM DOOR! The spots were still on the wall and ceiling but they were plastered to the wall and ceiling b/c of all the spray (DIE SUCKERS!) Everything was taken out and that bathroom and spider carcasses were vacuumed and scrubbed away! Then, the fan was sealed off b/c that lovely little girl was smart and realized that was where all the babies came from and she never wanted to meet Mommy and Daddy Spider. The lovely little girl now sprays her room and bathroom about every other month to keep anything and everything away... and so far so good.

THE END...

FOR NOW...