THE DEARTH DUO

My 2012 WORD of the year

2012-01-04T02:00:00.003-07:00

ONE LITTLE WORD:
"A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything"

Last year I started my new tradition of focusing my entire year on one little word. One word that I pick out each January – a word that I can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life. I immediately took a liking this idea since I've always had a hard time setting (and sticking) to New Years Resolutions. So, instead, I pick a word or rather... a word seems to pick me.

The word I chose to focus on in 2011 on was SEEK.
It was my first year trying this new tradition but it worked SO well for me I will NEVER make goals any other way from now on. I don't know if I've ever accomplished as many goals as I did in 2011! (Yea me!) Below is the list of goals I set for myself last year and how I did focusing on them.

In 2011 I want to...
Seek... new adventures of any and every kind. *Always*
Seek... a closer relationship with my Heavenly Father. *YW helped me reach that relationship*
Seek... opportunities for new friendships. *I am more "open" then I've ever been.*
Seek... travel adventures and new cultures. *I got to visit Hogwarts!*
Seek... to make my Book Club a place of comfort and friendship.
*From the surprise notes I received from each of them in December, I think my book club is a great place of comfort, friendship and love.*
Seek... to excel in my Young Women's calling. *I LOVED my calling & left only after I begged to stay a little while longer!*
Seek... a closer bond with my family. *That goal never changes*
Seek... to become a mother. *Smile...can't wait for June!*
Seek... more "date time" with my Husband. *Best year yet*
Seek... to read at least 30 books. *I read 47 books*
Seek... to be less selfish and more giving. *Always a good goal to keep in mind*
Seek... to learn...and never stop. *I LOVE learning, its not a goal I ever seek to complete.*
Seek... to make my home complete. *I still need drapes in every room but it feels like HOME.*
Seek... a new job. *This one didn't happen but it didn't feel right when I prayed about it so I guess being a new mom in June will have to count.*
Seek.. to never stop seeking... *Never*

Moving on to 2012...

The idea of having to focus my year on ONE word is perfect for me because it doesn't have sharp corners, strict boundaries and definite outcomes, it can mean whatever I want it to mean. And when I was thinking about what word I would choose to center my life around for 2012 it came to me after a day of pondering suddenly and I knew right away it was perfect.

My word for 2012 is Nurture.

For me, especially with my first baby on the way, I have been thinking a lot about nurturing in all the many faucets it suggests. It’s such a soft, slow, kind, peaceful and gentle word and that quickly helped me come up with my 2012 goals.

The things I would like to focus on nurturing in 2012 are:

I want to nurture...our new baby, in all the ways a new mom can and more.
I want to nurture...my relationship with my husband, especially after the baby comes.
I want to nurture...my new passion for photography and hopefully, grow my talent.
I want to nurture...my level of patience because I know I'm going to need it in the coming months.
I want to nurture...my lovely book club that I will give as much love and attention I can give it.
I want to nurture...myself during this time of major transition in my life and feel as relaxed and ready as I can before everything changes in June. (Here's hoping!)
I want to nurture...my love of visiting new Temples and try to go to as many as I can.
I want to nurture...my new calling in Relief Society (enrichment) and show all the amazing women in my ward how much I care by the time and energy I put into each activity.
I want to nurture...my cooking skills (what's left of them) and find time to make dinner when I can.
I want to nurture...my love and passion for reading by trying to read a book a week (52 books.)
I want to nurture...my love of the arts by attending: plays, musicals, symphonies, exhibits etc.
I want to nurture...my soul by surrounding my life with people who help me love myself and want to be better than I was the year before.
I want to nurture...positive energy and see the good in everyone and every situation I can.
I want to nurture...my creativity...and NOT just by what's hot on Pinterest at the moment!
I want to nurture...my spirit and find time to write again.

There is something very special about this word for me. It represents slowing down, simplifying, and pinpointing what is really important to me in my life (not just the next 365 days). I am nervous and excited and so looking forward to what is to come and if you want to join along in choosing a word of the year for yourself I'd love to hear about it!

My other "tradition" that follows suit with picking a word each year is to pick a necklace that will help me to remember the meaning and purpose behind the word I choose.

This year, I purchased this beautiful handcrafted brass envelope necklace from HERE that includes my custom word inside it. Using a vintage typewriter, my word will be typed onto a piece of card stock alongside a heart cut out of vintage paper and both of them will be slipped inside this little envelope like a wish for me to open each time.

I think its the perfect way to keep all my goals close to my heart.
If you had to pick, what would your word of the year be?

Meet the MEN of the Hunger Games

2011-07-28T13:43:00.001-06:00

Get a sneak peek of the 'Entertainment Weekly' cover and article of the men of the Hunger Games! This issue will be released tomorrow but I couldn't wait to share. :)

Awesome

So, what do you think, can theses boys pull of Gale and Peeta? Do they look like you imagined them?

J.K. Rowling Announces Pottermore {and the reason I have rainbows all over my house}

2011-06-23T12:41:00.024-06:00

A week ago I started hearing a lot of BUZZ about a new website created by J.K. Rowling called "Pottermore." I didn't want to get too excited until I knew WHAT the website was going to be but I can officially cry rainbows of happiness! (read on to find out why).
Here is what some of the 'buzz" was saying,

"Potter" author J.K. Rowling has created Pottermore, a secret new website teasing a special announcement from the writer hitting in just a little less than a week. The title certainly implies that we're on the cusp of seeing "more 'Potter,'" but Entertainment Weekly reveals that the announcement is "not a new book." But a new movie, perhaps? Stay with us and we'll keep you posted as we learn more!"

There was a countdown on the website that continued to fill up with owls the closer it got to the announcement. The only bread crumb fans had was a short YouTube clip from J.K. herself telling us to "Follow the Owls."
Watch the short video below to see the OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
If your a fan like me, you will want to cry rainbows of happiness too!

I'm crying rainbows as you read...

I found these images on the 'Pottermore official facebook page' so I think they are legit.

The Pottermore site opens soon and, conveniently enough, the highly anticipated website for all muggles and wizards will open for registration for the first million fans on July 31st, Harry Potter's birthday.

So for now, all we can do is follow J.K's advice and FOLLOW THE OWLS...

I hate waiting.

THE 411 ON THE HUNGER GAMES MOVIE

2011-05-27T21:42:00.002-06:00

I dont' know about you all but I've really been trying to keep up on the Hunger Games movie casting since I am very protective of this book series. I am mostly pleased with who Lionsgate has chosen for the cast but I will say that the casting of Lenny Kravitz as Cinna is throwing me for a loop...to put it kindly.
Take a look through the pictures of the cast and let me know who you are excited about or who you wish they could recast!

"You don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope."

"She has no idea. The effect she can have."

Jennifer Lawrence is a beautiful golden bombshell! Here she is gracing the cover of a couple magazines and I have a feeling that we will see her on the cover of many more in the years to come.

THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING IT ALL HAPPEN:

WRITTEN BY: DIRECTED BY:
SUZANNE COLLINS GARY ROSS

THE CAST:

GALE HAWTHORE KATNISS EVERDEEN PEETA MELLARK
(played by Liam Hemsworth) (played by Jennifer Lawrence) (played by Josh Hutcherson)

"Remember, we're madly in love, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it."

HAYMITCH ABERNATHY SENECA CRANE
(played by Woody Harrelson) (played by Wes Bentley)

PRIMROSE EVERDEEN & KATNISS' MOM
(played by Willow Shields) (played by Paula Malcomson)

"Her name's Prim. She's just twelve. And I love her more than anything."

CAESAR FLICKERMAN & EFFIE TRINKET
(played by Stanley Tucci) (played by Elizabeth Banks)

CINNA
(being played by:)
{I WISH it were Hugh Dancy! (shown above)} Instead, the casting crew picked...LENNY KRAVITZ

I added the center picture of Lenny because he DOES look like an eccentric fashionista stylist in that picture!

"It crosses my mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman."

CLAUDIUS TEMPLESMITH AVOX GIRL
(played by Toby Jones) (played by Amber Chaney)

PRESIDENT SNOW

(Played by Donald Sutherland)
He's PERFECT don't you think?

THE TRIBUTES:

DISTRICT 1:
GLIMMER MARVEL
(played by Leven Rambin) (played by Jack Quaid)

DISTRICT 2:
CLOVE CATSO
(played by Isabelle Fuhrman) (Played by Alexander ludwig)

DISTRICT 5:
"FOXFACE" TRIBUTE BOY
(played by Jacqueline Emerson) (played by Chris Mark)

DISTRICT 11:
THRESH RUE
(played by Dayo Okeniya) (played by Amandla Sternberg)
"Rue, who when you ask her what she loves most in the world, replies, of all things, “Music."

THE STYLISTS

OCTAVIA PORTIA
(played by Brooke Bundy) (played by Latarsha Rose)

VENIA FLAVIUS
(Played by Kimiko Gelman) (Played by Nelson Ascencio)

FILMING BEGINS IN NORTH CAROLINA!

Extras on set of the Hunger Games movie in North Carolina.They have the boys lined up in the first picture and the girls lined up in the second pic.
It looks like they are getting ready for the reaping!

"May the odd ever be in your favor!"

Filming began on May 26th

Jennifer as Katniss in her blue reaping dress

"District 12: Where you can starve to death in safety."

Below are just a few photos of the beautiful landscape and scenery of North Carolina so you can get the image of what the arena and district 12 will look like in the movie.

According to local officials, the small town (its population is less than 2,000) is being transformed into the country of Panem for the big-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

"I keep wishing I could think of a way...to show the capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than a piece in their games."

I can't wait to see this movie...who else is excited?

It's FINALLY done!

2011-05-24T03:19:00.001-06:00

I've been M.I.A in the blogging department as of late because I've been busy creating, revamping, photo-shopping and changing my mind again and again, while designing my Book Club's new look!

As a group, we voted and decided to rename our club, "DELICIOUS READS!"

HERE'S THE STORY...

When I originally set up my book club blog in 2008, I had to come up with the URL address to publish the blog so I didn't put much thought into the name I chose, "Book Klubbers," and told myself, "I'll change our address as soon as I get the blog set up..." That was three years ago.

So, I finally decided to asked my book club for help and soon after our renaming contest began! After about 50 name submissions I whittled it down to my top favorite five choices and at our last book club we all voted. Mandi's submission of "Delicious Reads" was the clear winner landing her a $25 gift certificate from me to Amazon as a "Thank You."

I think we all liked the name Delicious Reads because of how much we savor and pour over each book we read as if it were the most amazing chocolate cake! I think it also has to do with the fact that we have seriously fabulous food EVERY MEETING which is half the reason everyone comes I'm sure!
Each one of our meeting is its own "Book Party" where we dedicate the decor, menu, give-a-ways, games, and dress to the theme and feel of whatever book we are devouring at the moment.

And besides, reading really is delicious.

So, we have said our goodbyes to our old bookklubber name and embraced our new name and image of Delicious Reads! If you are a follower of our blog or know of anyone who is then don't forget to save our new address which is http://www.deliciousreadsbookclub.blogspot.com/ to your favorites!

Happy Reading!

XoXo.

Kelly

A book worthy of your nightstand

2011-04-24T14:45:00.000-06:00

This Easter I wanted to give everyone I care about a gift.

My gift to YOU this Easter is a book recommendation. Rarely do I recommend a book to everyone like this but when I do its because it's touched my heart and spoken to my spirit in a way that has changed my way of thinking about something from that point on.

This book by Lloyd C. Douglas "THE ROBE" has changed my testimony and relationship with the Lord forever. I felt strongly that I needed to share this book with someone, I'm not sure who, but I hope this book finds whoever is in need of it. I know that if you decide to read it, it will strengthen your testimony and change something inside of your heart as it did mine.

Here is a quick synopsis of the story:

"This story has a biblical foundation, and regards the tale a Roman soldier present at the crucifixion of Jesus. This particular soldier is the one who engaged in casting lots (a dice game) for the robe of Jesus and won. Lloyd Douglas gave this character a name (Marcellus Gallio)and an incredible fictional life story. Marcellus turns out to be a Roman Tribune, the senior Roman soldier present on scene at the execution site. He is the son of an important Roman senator, and even later finds favor with Emperor Tiberius and is commissioned to investigate, on behalf of the Emperor's curiosity, the new emerging religion of "Christianity".

This book also touched my mother deeply when she read it with us in my Book Club last year. Month's later when a good friend of hers birthday came along, she decided to gift this book to her with a personal note inside which said,

"...I was drawn to this story in a way that I almost hungered for the positive and often spiritual feelings I experienced while reading it. I felt an intimate connection to the Savior, in spite of his character only being revealed through the eyes and thoughts of others. When I read how His Spirit affected those he touched, I understood the longing these people felt to be in his presence. The positive energy and light that flows from Him to those who embrace His teachings, will in turn, help them to feel that power within themselves to change.

The story pulled me in and I felt as one reviewer said, “as though you're walking side by side with the characters, living with them and enduring their emotions, seeing the things that they see.”

Lastly, I want to point out the entirely unique story line of this book. The idea of picking up the pieces after Jesus is gone and being able to "watch' as we followed his disciples in their formation of a new church--lost, alone, all muddling their experiences together to create the picture of Jesus, all piecing together their puzzles without the help of written material like the Gospel...it's amazing and unlike anything you've ever read before.

In my humble opinion, this it is one of the BEST books ever written. It was first published in 1942 although it is truly a timeless piece of work and I believe it to be a classic that will stand the test of times. This book should be taught in schools and read by anyone who wishes to find a relationship with Christ and walk with his true disciples...the people he taught with whom his spirit resides.

"This faith, is not like a deed to a house in which one may live with full rights of possession. It is more like a kit of tools with which a man may build himself a house. The tools will be worth just what he does with them. When he lays them down, they will have no value until he takes them up again."

— Lloyd C. Douglas (The Robe)

There's No Place Like Home...

2011-03-15T01:53:00.003-06:00

I had the giddy fun and pleasure of creating lots of magical things for our Wizard of Oz themed New Beginnings that we hosted in February. Some of the fun items I got to create were:

- The Invitations (see above)
-A poem that went along with our theme I digi-scrapped and printed off
-Cupcake Circles (These are addictive to make! See example at bottom of post)
-Custom OZ character pictures
-Food labels (I love coming up with creative food name labels)
-The program for the evening
-Custom name labels circles
-Lettering to go on our 'brick road'
-Cute Country paper banners
-Magic... :)

This was our vision of what we started calling the "Chic Country OZ!"

The program started with me introducing our theme and why we chose Wizard of Oz. I talked about how Dorothy represented all the girls on their own "journey" through Young Women's and how Christ has sent them people in their lives to help them along their way "home." Just as Glenda (the good witch) gave Dorothy the Ruby Slippers and a kiss to start her off right on her journey, each Young Woman has Personal Progress and us as leaders to do the same.

Then, the next leader who talked represented the LION and talked about the COURAGE it takes to be in YW's, to represent the morals we believe in and to complete personal progress. The next leader represented the SCARECROW and discussed the KNOWLEDGE you gain while being in YW's and working through personal progress. She then walked us through an online demonstration of the new Personal Progress Online! It was perfect!

The last leader who spoke represented the TIN MAN and represented the love and HEART we have as women in the program. We used this opportunity to introduce the new Beehives and show a short slide show of some of the wonderful things we did together last year set to the song, "Somewhere over the Rainbow" sung by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and his ukulele. (You may remember this song being played at the end of the movie "50 First Dates" with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.)

It was so fun to revisit memory lane and see the girls who will be coming in this year get so excited!

Mission Accomplished.

***

The food table

*My Inspiration*

Leslie (our YW president) made this amazing ruby slippers filled with Glenda the good witch's "gummy kisses" to give each of our Young Women to take home. She found the idea HERE at on of my favorite blogs Skip to my Lou

Here are one of the 10 different cupcake circles I created...I got a little carried away!

Seeing these beautiful Red Velvet Cupcake in every ones hand at the end of the evening made me smile... :)

Can I just say one more time how much I LOVE my Young Women...I can think of no better calling in the Church then the one I'm in right now. I'm so thankful for the girls in my ward and for the leaders I get to work with and I can't wait to see what other big ideas we will surely come up with next!

Books Becoming Movies in 2011

2011-02-18T21:16:00.001-07:00

This book came out AUGUST 2010 and in less than 5 months of hitting the shelves this book it ALREADY a movie!!!
I heard that the director got an advanced copy of this book and instantly starting working on making it a movie so I have high hopes for this flick.

This movie came out TODAY, Feb. 18th so let me know what you think of it as you see it!
Directed by: D.J. Caruso
Starring: The new breakout star of the year, Alex Pettyfer.

One of my favorite classics is being remade into a new movie and the movie trailer for it looks AMAZING!
Instead of playing up the love story in this new movie they are playing up the haunted mystery part of the book...I am already sitting in the movie theater mentally right now!

This new remake of Jane Eyre comes out on March 11th...
I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Directed by: Cary Fukunaga
Staring: Mia Wasikowska (who played Alice in 2010 Alice in Wonderland
& Michael Fassbender (who played in 300 and Inglourious Basterds)

Eeee!!!

This children's books is being remade into a not so kid friendly movie coming out on March 11th.
Directed by Twilight's Catherine Hardwicke and Staring the beautiful Amanda Seyfried.

This Young Adult Beauty and the Beast retelling by Alex Flinn is a fun modern day fairy tale.

The movie comes out on March 4th and I am actually really excited!
I am about 3/4 the way through this book right now and I'm loving it so far!

Directed by: Daniel Barnz
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate

Water for Elephants is a unique book about life in the circus in the 1930's

This movie opens on April 22nd
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Reece Witherspoon & Christoph Waltz

I never read comic books but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching the movies!

This movie opens on May 6th
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman

Yes, another comic book turned movie!

The Green Lantern opens on June 17th
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Starring: Ryan Reynolds & Blake Lively

"After spending the night together on the night of their college graduation Dexter and Em are revisited each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives."

This movie opens on July 8th.
Directed by: Lone Scherfig
Starring: Anne Hathaway & Jim Sturgess

I am already in mourning for the official END of the whole Harry Potter phenomenon. Since the first book was published in 1997, J.K. Rowling writing magic has had me mesmerized and when I read the final pages on her last book I remember feeling like I had lost a great friend. To cheer myself up I remembered that, "At least I still have the movies to look forward too..." but now, the magic of the movies is also coming to an end. *sigh*

This EPIC story comes to a close July 15th when part II comes out!
Directed by: David Yates

Yes...ANOTHER comic book being made into a movie.

Captain America opens on July 22nd
Directed by: Joe Johnson (who also directed Oct. Sky and Jumanji)
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones

"It was hard enough for Mr. Popper to support himself, Mrs. Popper, Bill and Janie Popper. The addition of twelve penguins to the family made it impossible to make both ends meet. Then Mr. Popper had a splendid idea-the talented penguins would be a sensation on the stage."

This adorable book turned movie opens on June 17th
Directed by: Mark Waters
Starring: Jim Carry!
(I remember LOVING this book as a kid so I'm excited to see it!)

"Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t."

"The Help" opens on August 12th and I'm pretty sure my entire book club can't wait to see it opening night!
We LOVED this book and can't wait to see it played out on the big screen!

If you've read this book then you'll know that this first installment of the Twilight saga should be...interesting.

LOL, this fan made movie poster made me laugh so I used it because there isn't an official movie poster yet!

This is the ONLY photo I could from the movie but if you didn't know what was going to happen next then I'm sorry, these photos are kind of spoilers.
Directed by: Bill Condon

"The Invention of Hugo Cabret unfolds its cryptic, magical story in a format that blends elements of picture book, novel, graphic novel, and film. Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Brian Selznick has fashioned an intricate puzzle story that binds the reader like a mesmerist's spell."

This movie opens on November 18th and I'm already planning on seeing it because Jude Law's in it! ;)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Chloe Moretz, Jude Law & Christopher Lee

"Sherlock Holmes II: A Game of Shadows" opens on December 16th, right in time for Christmas!
Directed by: Guy Ritchie

"Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo."

This movie opens on December 21st and is the first in a trilogy
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, & Rooney Mara

The movies from here down are only "In production" which means they are in the works and will probably come out in 2012 but I was TOO excited about them NOW to wait until next year to mention them!

-IN PRODUCTION-

"When Jonas turns 12, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. Now, it’s time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back."

I still remember the first time I read this book in 5th grade.

EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
"When her mom is attacked and taken from their home in New York City by some creature, a seemingly ordinary teenage girl, Clary Fray, finds out truths about her past and bloodline on her quest to get her back, that changes her entire life."

This movie is HAPPENING!
Director: Scott Charles Stewart
Starring: (yet again) Alex Pettyfer, Darren Criss and Lily Collins

I actually think Lily Collins will look great as Clary!

Double EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

This is another fan made movie poster but don't let that worry you because this movie is FOR SURE coming out soon and you know that I'll be blogging about it as soon as I find out exactly when!

Which books becoming movies are YOU most excited about? I'd love to hear.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

2011-02-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy creating lots of fun and magical things for our Young Women's New Beginnings Program next week that I haven't had time to blog anything so be patient with me as I take a small leave of absence for another week!

(And wish me luck...I'm new to creating things in photoshop!)

2010 PARTY Picture Recap = {Magical Overload!}

2011-01-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

After looking through all of my photos from 2010 I decided that if I was to choose a word to capture my feelings for the entire year of 2010 as a whole, I knew right away what that word would be...

...It couldn't be any other word other than

**MAGICAL**

2010 was FULL of parties and themed adventures with my friends which I will never forget. So, as an ode to 2010 I decided to do a picture recap from the beginning of the year until my birthday at the very end of ALL our magical adventures together!

{*I want to make a special note to thanks to Bethany Madison for her LARGE part in many of these parties and the beautiful pictures she takes of them as well. Thank you for reminding me that pixie dust and magical moments do exist.

I'd also like to thank Angie, Cassandra, Kitch, Laura and Libby for playing dress up with me as well, you are the most creative, talented group of girls I've ever been blessed to know.}

{WARNING:} You may become over whelmed by all the visual eye candy you are about to be exposed to so watch for symptoms of: raised eyebrows in unbelief, wide eyes of amazement, an 'Oh my gosh' expression of your mouth and/or a general overall sensation of enchantment and creativity. }

***************************************************************

*In January we had a ladies TEA PARTY at the Grand America Hotel in full era dress.

(And YES, the other guests there kept stopping us to ask why we were dressed up and we only said, "Because we can."

That's a good enough reason in my book.

*In February Bethany hosted a Valentines/Chinese New Years Party.

*In March we attended Cassandra's UNBIRTHDAY party in Wonderland!

{The whole group at the theater}

Jared and I went as the Dormouse and Cheshire Cat

*In April we Celebrated LIBBY'S BIRTHDAY with a get-together party at Olive Garden!

*At the end of April we held a delightful Marie Antoinette BABY SHOWER for Cassandra to welcome her little girl Genevieve into the world.

*In May we attended the 'Beehive Bazaar' at Thanksgiving Point and met at my house afterwards for homemade cokes and treats.

*In June we held a "CHOCOLATE CULTURE CLUB" where Eric and Cassandra gave a fascinating presentation of the history and benefits of chocolate. We had a chocolate tasting and chocolate making activity that followed.

At the end of June we were all SO excited to go see ECLIPSE at MIDNIGHT!

So, naturally we had to make a party of it!

Bethany put together a "Twilight" themed dinner and drinks and afterwards she had set up a Twilight photo shoot for us to play around with! It was hilarious fun!

Jacob inspired cupcakes

All of our "bloody" drink options

PHOTO SHOOT!
Were trying to be serious... :)

*In August we were delighted to throw Angie a "LITTLE LAMB BABY SHOWER" to welcome baby Carrston into our lives!

*At the end of August we also got to celebrate Angie's very PINK BIRTHDAY PARTY!

We had fondue, balloons, goodies and lots of pink treats to choose from.

*In September we attended the long anticipated CHEESE CULTURE CLUB at a cabin up Sundance where we hiked Stewart Falls the next morning.

Jon Fotheringham put a LOT of work into this amazing and educational night and I learned a LOT about C_H_E_E_S_E!!

The invitation

Just 2 of the 20+ cheeses we were able to sample

In October Bethany put together this AMAZING MURDER MYSTERY PARTY on Halloween titled, "The Last Gasp!" We each got an invitation with our character parts and instructions. No one had ANY IDEA who the murder was after hours of fun trying to solve the mystery we were no closer to figuring the mystery out. But in the end we discovered that indeed I was the murderer!! (Muuahhhhh...insert evil laugh here)

My getup

This is "George Sweet." My (newly deceased) husband who I killed because he wouldn't give me the money he promised me when I married him!

My Character profile said that I used to be an exotic dancer named Babylon JoJo before I met my husband George and my customers used to call me "Dynamite on Legs!" Ha ha!

*In November we celebrated "BETHANY LESTRANGE'S" HARRY POTTER BIRTHDAY PARTY which I couldn't have been MORE excited to participate in since I love the books!

(I secretly believe that Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry DOES exist out there...somewhere.....)

Bethany made us all our own Marauder's Map for our invitation.
I know, she is amazing.

We ate our lunch under the tent like in the movie

I went as Moaning Myrtle and Jared went as a Dementor

*In December I through our 5th annual Christmas party and this year the theme was "YULE SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT," A Christmas Story Christmas Party!

Jared and I dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Parker on Christmas morning.
Jared made the 'Fragile' box in the background.

We made a pole for people to take pictures with and stick their tongue too!

*And lastly, on December 30th Bethany and the girls took me out for MY BIRTHDAY to the BEEHIVE TEA HOUSE for a quaint cup of tea and cucumber sandwiches!

Bethany made me this beautiful birthday crown

After the Tea House we went back to her place for cake and "girl time."

And NOW, I'm celebrating the New Year by taking the month off of from any parties!

2011 Word of the Year to Live By

2011-01-13T19:39:00.001-07:00

HAPPY (belated) NEW YEARS!

ONE LITTLE WORD:
"A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be the ripple in the pond that changes everything"

For the past couple of years I have seen people follow the tradition of focusing their year on one little word. One word that you pick out each January – a word that you can focus on, mediate on, and reflect upon as you go about you daily life. I liked this idea since I have a hard time setting New Years Resolutions and sticking to them!

I really WISH I were one of those women who set goals at the beginning of each year with a clear plan of how to accomplish each item with a spot to place a check next to it once it's been completed, but sadly, I am not. I am the type of woman who says, "I am going to stop eating sugar for the next 3 months," but after 3 hours sees a tasty looking piece of cake and forgets all about my new resolution because the frosting had toasted coconut on the top so how could I resist?!
Sad but so true.

So, the idea of having to focus my year on ONE word was very enticing to me because it doesn't have sharp corners, strict boundaries and definite outcomes, it can mean whatever I want it to mean which = I can't mess it up right?

Perfect.

After some thought over a cup of tea late at night last week I finally settled on my word for 2011. I choose the word SEEK. It just seemed appropriate. I know it's sort of an odd word to choose but it just popped up in so many areas of my life that when I finally settled on it the word seemed to kick off it's shoes and nestle on the couch in my heart so I knew it was the right choice for me.

SEEK: "To try to get or reach, to try to locate or discover; to search for. To endeavor to obtain or reach. To go to or toward: To inquire for; request: seek direction, to try to endeavor: seek to do good, to explore."

In 2011 I want to...
Seek... new adventures of any and every kind.
Seek... a closer relationship with my Heavenly Father.
Seek... opportunities for new friendships.
Seek... travel adventures and new cultures.
Seek... to make my Book Club a place of comfort and friendship.
Seek... to excel in my Young Women's calling.
Seek... a closer bond with my family.
Seek... to become a mother.
Seek... more "date time" with my Husband.
Seek... to read at least 30 books.
Seek... to be less selfish and more giving.
Seek... to learn...and never stop.
Seek... to make my home complete.
Seek... a new job.
Seek.. to never stop seeking...

So many possibilities and so little time!

I ordered this necklace so that from now on when I wear it, it will remind me to:
Seek after the things I want, to seek my Heavenly Father at all times, to always Seek the good in others, to Seek knowledge and opportunity, to Seek new possibilities and adventures and to Seek after the Kelly I hid away years ago.
I lost her for a time but I'm determined to seek her out and bring her back for good.

Do you have a word of the year?

If so, I'd love to hear about it! :)

Watch our family ROCK this Christmas!

2010-12-10T10:39:00.002-07:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Etsy Find:Cafe Baudelaire:

2010-11-28T19:36:00.002-07:00

Etsy is one of my favorite eye candy shopping indulgances and when I find a SHOP I like that I think is truly unique and delightful...I do what any other girl would do...

...I HAVE to share it with everyone!

Let me introduce you to Cafe Baudelaire

"Enchanting French, Shabby Chic, Regency, Vintage Style, Art Prints, Wall Art and Collectable Aceos. Luscious French Mannequins, Peacocks, Butterflies, Birds, Jane Austen romance and Marie Antoinette."

Wendy Patterson has over 25 years of design experience and creates each beautiful print "in house" from her home in Australia.

*Enjoy!*

I adore these antique chair prints

Maybe a Marie Antoinette print is your cup of tea!
(Pun intended) ;)

Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland fans will be delighted with Wendy's work!

Check out Cafe Baudelaire's shop HERE

Jasper

2010-11-17T11:46:00.001-07:00

Jasper at 7 weeks old

I just realized that I've never blogged about our newest family member!

His name is Jasper and he is an adorable little pup with lots of love and energy.

He's an interesting mixed breed...basically he was a happy little accident with his mother being a 15 pound TOY Australian Shepherd and his father being a 55 pound yellow lab!

(I know, how did it happen right?!)

But it did happen and now we have this sweet little face waking us up every morning because he wants to cuddle with us!

Jasper now at 6 months old

I love his patch work paws!

PHOTO 1:
See how Jasper USE to fit in his bed?

PHOTO 2:
See how he WANTS to still fit in his bed?
(We bought him a new big bed but he didn't want to give his baby bed up!)

The thing I find most entertaining about Jasper is how he likes to sleep.He is CONSTANTLY changing positions, moving this way and that.

PHOTO 3:
LOL, he finally realized he couldn't fit!

PHOTO 4:
Last attempt to fit

Love that fox like face!

Dear Lizzie Ladies Luncheon, yes please!

2010-11-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the question I've been asking myself,

"How have I NOT gone on a girls luncheon to dear lizzie before NOW??"

I think most of us have either driven by or heard of this amazing boutique and bistro located in Highland but how many of you have take the time to go explore the wonders hidden there?

How many of you have taken a day for yourself to have a "girlie get-together" with those girlfriends you haven't laughed with in a while as you nibble on scrumptious yummies from the bistro?

Am I selling you on the fact that I think you deserve a diva day for yourself yet?

Just tell yourself, "I deserve this."

Because you do.

Every woman deserves an afternoon delighting in the wonders at dear lizzie.

Here's the storefront that just invites you in with it's warm glow of feminine jewelry, clothing and do-dads inside.

Just a few of the delights waiting inside.

Hungry? Well step on over to dear lizzie bistro and order yourself a scrumptious bowl of homemade soup with a fresh sandwich and side salad.
You won't regret it.

I wish my kitchen looked like this.
Seriously.

For all the girls who love to visit the candy store, look no further.

For dessert, make sure to try one of dear lizzie's famous cupcakes!

Thanks for the girl time ladies!
I think we should make our luncheon a monthly thing, don't you?

The Monster Mash Staring the Dearths!

2010-10-26T19:02:00.002-06:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

BOO!

2010-10-21T01:16:00.000-06:00

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

I love the Costumes.

I love the Candy.

I love Spooky, creepy, macabre over the top themed parties.

I love the carved Pumpkins with their perfect soft glow.

I love the crisp fall air and the smell of dried leaves.

I love all the spiced ciders, wassails, caramel cupcakes, apple tarts, and pumpkin breads.

and I LOVE that everyone else seems to enjoy these traditions as much as I do!

(Right...?)

So when I got "Booed" last week by one of my anonymous sneaky neighbors, I was thrilled to see that others were getting into the Halloween spirit as well!

I decided to take a risk and blog about what I did to "BOO" two of my neighbors to keep the fun going!

(I don't think they look at my blog!)

I went simple this year and bought Pillsbury's boxed Halloween "funfetti mix."
To spice it up a little I also bought Targets Halloween cupcake decor set.

Here's the final result.

I thought they turned out pretty cute!

To finish, I wrapped up a plate of cupcakes with cellophane wrap and added a decorative Halloween Tag which I found here at eighteen25 if your interested in downloading them.
You can download the "BOO" sign here at TOMKAT studio.

There's also an adorable Booed sign here at WhipperBerry.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Have you been Booed yet?

6 Years, I love you Dear!

2010-10-18T19:14:00.001-06:00

Jared and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on October 8th this month, yea for us!!!
(Can you tell were trying to tell you that in the picture? ;)

Memories...
Here is our old school wedding announcement!

Wedding Day Bliss

Since we got married in October I thought there would be more color in the trees but the year we got married it was record hot so we only had this one little tree to take "autumn" pictures with!
Oh well, at least it didn't snow on us like it did last year on our anniversary!

Jared surprised me with these gorgeous light and hot pink roses that smelled AmAzInG!
(He's great about making me feel special)

Jared got me this super cute shirt for an anniversary gift.
And yes, I know I look crazy in this photo because I was telling Jared I needed to suck in my belly for the photo and he caught me at a weird moment.

I was lucky enough this year to have both sets of parents join us for our anniversary dinner at Tepanyaki's!
Jared's parents were in town for the day from Vernal so we thought it would be neat to have everyone come and celebrate with us!

Check out my Dad trying to catch this shrimp coming straight at his face!

HAPPY 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SWEETIE!!
XoXo

Angie's 'Little Lamb' Baby Shower for Carrston

2010-10-12T20:39:00.000-06:00

When my friend Angie announced that she was pregnant, my first thought was pretty typical. I think I said something like, "Oh my gosh!! I am so excited for you.."

But my immediate second thought was, "We are going to through you the best baby shower EVER!"

Angie mentioned to us that her nursery was going to be decorated in earthy nutrals with touches of soft sweet looking lambs here and there so we decided to theme her baby shower around those ideas!

We decorated in lots of whites, off whites, taupe's, and browns with a general theme of little lamb touches.

(See pictures below for examples)

Bethany's parent were kind enough to let us use there BEAUTIFUL home in Salt Lake so we could eat and party in the ambiance of their peaceful garden.

Since Angie is from the south, her wonderful sister Laura volunteered to make just about ALL of the Southern themed food on the menu which all turned out to be mouth watering delicious! Believe me, it was AMAZING!!

(Again, see pictures below)

Libby & Laura in the background cooking up something gooood in the kitchen!
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Look at the fun book jackets the girls made to go along with our little lamb theme.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

This was how it looked before any of the guests arrived.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

This was the dessert table full of tasty tempting tid bits
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

This is only one of many arrangements that Bethany created for the shower.
I feel like I can't say enough of how TALENTED she is...she always takes my breath away with whatever she decided to create.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Angie with one of her table of friends.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

I had to take some photos of the delicious desserts as well!

These little cupcakes that Libby made were BEYOND good! They were unforgettable...for real!

We hung a close line with cloths pins where guests could write notes and hang them to give Angie and baby Carrston.

I had to take a picture of the note Angie wrote to her future son..it was so tender.

The SPREAD!
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Ohh! Oh of my favorite parts of the lunch were the homemade biscuits with chocolate gravy... SO GOOD!
You heard me right, I said CHOCOLATE GRAVY! It was heavenly.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

I took a picture of my plate of food before I inhaled it!
1. Biscuits smothered with chocolate gravy
2. Stuffed mushrooms
3. Shrimp and grits on toast
4. Grilled asparagus
5. Basil corn salad
6. with a side of seconds!

More food pics

I just wanted to show a few of the fun details from the shower.
Cassandra surprised us by finding someone who made cotton candy and got bags for everyone to take home! It wasn't cotton candy though, it was "Sugar Spun Wool."

It was pina-coloda flavored, yum!
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Libby enjoying some Cotton candy.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Bethany made these adorable knitting wool balls to bring that warm lamby feeling to the shower.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Megan, Rachelle, and Mindy enjoying the shower.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Cassandra with her sweet daughter.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Angie's sister Laura made this ADORABLE "Little Lamb" banner which Angie will hang in her nursery!
Love it!!

As guests left the shower, they took a bundle of Cotton candy and one of these cute gift boxes which held four pieces of the most wonderful divinity ever! It was so smooth and light to eat, thank you AGAIN Laura for making all the wonderful food, you are hired whenever I need a cook next! ;)

Cassandra made these fun burlap bags that said, "Three Bags Full" that were stuffed with actual wool!
I have no idea where the girl found it but it was the perfect touch to the shower.
(Picture courtesy of Bethany)

Here are a few photos of Angie opening some of her gifts.
(Doesn't she look so beautiful? Pregnancy is good to her! I hope to be as lucky when my time comes!)

LOL, Angie loves David Bowie so I surprised her with this vintage David Bowie Onesie to give her a laugh!

Angie's Mom painted her this sweet little rocking chair for baby Carrston.

Here's the whole crew!
We loved making Angie's shower special because of how much we love her. Angie has done SO much for all of us over the years that it was our pleasure to finally be able to do something in return for her.

Angie and Laura were sitting on this love seat after the shower had ended just chatting like sisters do while I was cleaning something up on the table across from. I looked over and thought, "They are both so beautiful...they need a picture together to remember this beautiful day and all the love that went into it."
So, I snatched up my camera and asked them if I could take their picture and I'm glad I did because look how good it turned out! What gorgeous sisters!

I love you Angie and I cannot wait to meet Carrston in November!!

Eclipse Midnight Madness Party: Get your vamp on

2010-09-29T22:16:00.000-06:00

As I've already admitted openly several times and posted about here, here, here, AND here, I am a fan of Stephenie Meyers books and I love to GEEK-OUT whenever a new Twilight movie is released.

(Let's be honest, your not surprised.)

So you can only imagine how THRILLED and utterly EXCITED I was when I found out that my amazingly magical and creative friend Bethany was throwing an Eclipse Makeover Party!!

(Can you imagine me clasping my hands together with a huge grin on my face while doing my happy dance? There you go, enjoy imagining my four year old moment of glee.)

Below are the photos from our Twilight themed Dinner and "Vampire Makeover" photo shoot before we went to the movie.

*Sigh*

I want to do it all over again!!

All the food was themed in Twilight colors

Vegetarian Burger and Mushroom Ravioli were the two main courses

Bethany made these amazing werewolf cupcakes!! They were perfection.

My favorite part of the menu was the Drink Bar. There was:
-Type O negative Jones drinks
Type A positive Jones drinks
-Virgin Bloody Mary's
&
-Amps (since Vampires never sleep)

Bethany always does such a wonderful job on all the 'little touches'

Some thirsty vamps

Drink Up!

Jared took a sneak behind the scenes picture of what the vampire photo shoot looked like.
Trying to look Vampy is HARD!!
I have NO idea how to do the parted lip, thirsty looking, deep soul staring pictures that everyone else seemed to nail no problem so enjoy giggling at my attempts!

Kellie Hall, Elisabeth Weight, and me

Trying to get my vamp on...and failing

Angie did a fantastic job on Elisabeth's makeup, she looked great!

I know I look strange in this picture but I was trying to show off my bite marks on my neck.

How Twilight of us..tee hee

The Kellie's!!

Kellie Hall looking gorgeous!
Laura did an amazing job on her and I's makeup as well!

Bethany's party was above and beyond my expectations but it didn't stop there!
She surprised us all with our own Eclipse themed gift bags for the movie!!
{I wanted to cry, hug her and jump up and down all at the same time!}

Here's a collage of all the fun things she put inside.
{Notice the 'fire & ice' theme}

There were also a pair of silly plastic fangs in our gift bags that Kellie and I couldn't help but try out!
Oh my gosh we look SO ridiculous!!

Libby and I taking a quick shot together before the movie...we waited in our seats for over an hour...you get creative.

Like I said...we got bored.
Bethany and Kate look like for real vampires right?

Here's one half of our group waiting for the movie to freakin start already!!!

Thirsty? Why yes thank you.

Edward for life!

Manti Temple Trip=AMAZING

2010-09-01T23:40:00.002-06:00

I blogged a few months ago (here) about my families new goal to visit a new Temple every three months and in July we choose to go to the Manti Temple.

Jared and I had never been to Manti before so it felt like we were going out of state hours and hours to see some new landmark yet to be visited! (Maybe I'm the only one who felt like that, but still!)

You can see the Temple in the windshield as we drive up to it in the picture above.

Isn't the Temple beautiful? I love how old and different it is than any other Temple I've visited.

It looks like a castle doesn't it?!

The Fam

Just ignore that we all have our sunglasses on in these pictures but it was SUPER bright and sunny!

XoXo Mom and Dad!

I wanted to learn about the Manti Temple after our trip and learned some interesting things!

I thought you may want to learn more to so below are a few Temple facts:

-The Manti Utah Temple was the third temple built in Utah.

-The Manti Utah Temple was the only temple dedicated by President Lorenzo Snow on May 21-23 1888 .

-The Manti Utah Temple was built on a rattlesnake-infested site, known as the Manti Stone Quarry.

-On the morning of the site dedication, Brigham Young confided to Warren S. Snow that Temple Hill was the spot where Book of Mormon Prophet Moroni dedicated the land for a temple site.

-Open-center spiral staircases wind up each of the 179-foot towers of the Manti Utah Temple. The dramatic stairways are an engineering marvel of the Mormon pioneers.

-A large arching tunnel under the east tower of the Manti Utah Temple, which has since been closed, allowed cars to pass from one side of the temple to the other.

(I saw this arch, it's plastered in now but it's crazy to see it in the middle of the temple!)

-The Manti Utah Temple is one of two temples that still employs live acting for presentation of the endowment. (The other is the Salt Lake Temple.)

-The Manti Temple was completed in 1888 after eleven years of construction.

Were going to the Logan Temple next.

I can't wait.

The Logan Temple is MY Temple.

We will be going through sardine canyon right when the leaves should be changing (Eee!)

I'm doing my happy dance right now just thinking about it!

To be continued...

My Most Memorible Trek Moment... I Wasn't Sure, but I've Decided to Share It With You.

2010-08-11T00:54:00.004-06:00

Please watch this short 4:00 minute video of Gordon B. Hinckley BEFORE you continue reading my post.

On October 19th, the Martin handcart company pulled their handcarts across the chest deep, freezing water of the North Platte River. Just as the last handcarts reached the opposite riverbank, a raging blizzard struck them. The frozen emigrants were forced to move on to where there was wood for fires. That night many of them laid out their stiff frozen tents and slept under the canvas. The next morning, thirteen bodies were left under the snow as the company struggled on.

In order for the pioneers to reach shelter at Martin's Cove to get away from the bone chilling Wyoming winter storms, the pioneers had to pull their handcarts across the Sweetwater River. On November 4th, 1856 they did just that. At this point the river was only knee deep, but chunks of ice were floating on the river. Many of the gaunt-faced handcart men and women sit on the bank and pulled their tattered blankets around them; a few started to sob; after the North Platte crossing, they could not face wading across another river. All of the rescue party helped, but four young men were singled out in one journal for carrying people across on their backs. The tireless young men waded back and forth in the icy water until all of the emigrants were on the other side of the Sweetwater River.

The four young rescuers (George W. Grant, C. Allen Huntington, David P. Kimball, and Stephen W. Taylor) who helped the Marin company cross the clogged icy river, all later died from the effects of the exposure from that crossing.

Learning about the Mormon Pioneers before trek was a humbling experience. The more I learned the more I stood baffled at what miraculous people the pioneers were as they gave up everything they had, left their homes and came across the seas to walk to the promised land. Doing all of that, giving up everything because they believed in our church. They believed in the Book of Mormon and they felt the spirit of God testify to them.

But nothing touched my heart and my spirit as strongly as the accounts of the sweetwater crossing in the Martin Handcart company.

Listening to President Hinckley talk about those young men with such respect, admiration, love and gratitude helped me gain a better understanding of the sacrifice they made. When I watched this video for the first time and heard Hinckleys voice start to crack and tear up at the mention of those boys names...

I broke.

When I say I 'broke' I mean I too wept.

Could you feel the spirit of what Hinckley was saying?

I wept imagining I was on the river bank that day watching those young men carry nearly every member of that handcart company across the river.

I felt the complete and overwhelming sense of gratitude towards those men as I'm sure every man women and children must have felt as those four men carried out all their prayers.

The picture above are two of the statues that are near the sweetwater river showing how exhausted and worn out the pioneers were as they were graciously carried across.

Below is a picture of my own personal rescuer.

After trekking for 5 hours on the second day we finally came to what I had been looking forward to the most on this trek, the sweetwater river.

I had no expectations of seeing Jared there because he was on the Logistics committee and had stayed back at camp to finish several tasks with no intention of leaving.

The plan was once we reached the river we would have all the young men walk the handcarts to the other side of the river except for 4 young men who were chosen prayerfully by the Stake President to help carry women across in symbolism of the original sweetwater crossing (excluding the ice).

(You can see the 4 young men in prayer before they began in this picture)

In my heart I was silently devastated that Jared wouldn't be at the river to carry me across.

I trekked with a smile on my face but secretly I was wishing to see Jared, trying not to get my hopes up.

When we got closer to the river I saw someone who kind of looked like Jared.

As we got even closer I realised, that is my Jared!

When I reached the river bank I saw Jared already in the river helping people across from the first group.

I was baffled

How did he know I'd be here now?

I was elated!

Can he carry me across?

My heart started to pound in my chest as the spirit washed over me.

I couldn't stop smiling.

My silent wishes and prayers worked.

Then it was time to cross the river.

The river had recently been closed down due to flash flooding and they had only re-opened it again to trekkers the week before.

Can you see why?

Everyone was clinging to that rope to stay upright when normally the rope is hanging out around your calves.

Typically, the sweetwater river is only about knee or calf deep.

It was up to the men's chests at the deepest part with a fast current that swept your feet out from under you.

We were told that if your spouse was at the river they could carry you across, otherwise one of the assigned young men would carry you.

Because of how high the water was, every woman was carried on the backs or shoulders of the men crossing.

Jared didn't even ask.

He scooped me up in his arms without even wondering how I would like to be carried across, somehow knowing that I wanted him to pick me up in his arms just like I imagined the pioneers were carried.

I wasn't even worry about getting wet, I didn't care.

But Jared cared, he wanted to "do it right".

He somehow lifted me in his arms me above the water while carrying me across the deepest, swiftest part of the river. I don't know how he did it without without even wavering at the current but I know it took a lot of strength for him to do that, and he did it out of respect and love.

Right after the moment he had me elevated out in front of him in his arms is about the time I felt a wave of emotion sweep over me and I felt my full weight, my body, my spirit being lifted up.

I lost it again as tears came steaming out of my eyes, I couldn't control my breathing and I couldn't seem to stop. I let myself weep in front of Jared and everyone on the other side of the river who then too started crying as they felt the spirit I seemed to carry with me from across the river.

As soon as Jared set me down on the bank I instantly turned and hugged at him, holding on tight as tears escaped from my eyes.

I kept hiccuping, "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You."

Jared quietly responded, "For what?"

I said nothing.

Jared left me at that point to help many other women cross the river with his assistance.

I watched him without blinking for the next 30 minutes reigning back my tears as he worked himself into total exhaustion with a smile on his face.

I realized later that day after I had time to think about, why I felt so touched by being carried across the river and why I felt such an urgency to keep telling Jared Thank You for carrying me across.

I couldn't figure out my own emotions all day and then it hit me...

I started to cry when I thought about those four rescuers in the water doing exactly what Jared was doing for me at that moment...carrying me and many others across without being asked at the price of their own life.

In that moment I realized that if Jared had been at the Sweetwater River on November 4th, 1856 he would have BEEN one of those rescuers, sacrificing himself to help those in desperate need.

Theres not a doubt in my mind that Jared would have even thought twice about whether he should help those people or not, he would have volunteered himself immediately.

No doubt.

That's part of why I fell in love with Jared and why I look up to him so much, he's ALWAYS helping others. Think about it. He's probably served you, your spouse, your children, someone you know or all of the above at one time or another but if he hasn't then know that he would do anything for you with an attitude of love and service.

That's how Jared shares his testimony with those around him.

He serves them to the highest capacity.

He doesn't tell anyone what he knows to be true, he shows them.

Service to others is Jared's way of showing Heavenly Father how much he loves him.

And Jared truly loves those he serves.

I know deep in my heart that if Jared and I were pioneers in that Martin Handcart company in 1856, he would have jumped in the river and carried every person he could across without complaint.

And I would have lost him.

He would have sacrifed himself, and I would have lost him...

...but the Lord would have gained him.

It's so hard to try and explain when you feel such strong impressions like the one I had in the middle of the sweetwater river but I hope you could feel the spirit of it.

I want to end with this quote which says it better than I ever could,

“Let us never forget that we have a marvelous heritage received from great and courageous people who endured unimaginable suffering and demonstrated unbelievable courage for the cause they loved. You and I know what we should do. God help us to do it when it needs to be done.”

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Kelly

"Oh My Lan, My Grannies 80!"

2010-07-16T20:48:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Grandma Joan, 80 years young is right!

This is my new favorite picture.

It makes me smile

It make me happy

It makes me want to hug my grandma while she smothers me in kisses

It makes me want to laugh with her

It makes my grandma look like she's 25...

but actually, she's 21 at heart.

Check out how beautiful my grandma is.

What a looker!

Right after she blew out her candles she announced, "I made a wish but I ain't tellin no one!"

"Ohhhhh, I've heard about this book, its supposed to be a good one!"

(My grandma proclaimed as she opened her gift from me)

We each wrote and read out loud a special letter for my grandma.

Telling her how wonderful she is

Letting her know how much we appreciate her

Saying how much we love her

and shedding a few tears during the process.

God knew how much we needed each other,

So he made you my Grandma.

Happy Birthday, we love you

and we especially love your:

Sass-A-Frass attitude

Las Vegas working woman drive

Who had Elvis Presley sing to her in the elevator

Don't take no crap from no one

Was this close to being a show girl because she's so beautiful and graceful

The best cook I've ever known

Loving

Funny

Sweet

Oh, my Lan

Spirit!

XoXo,

Kelly

Super Dogs and the 4th of July

2010-07-13T16:28:00.002-06:00

Happy 4th of July!

It's not the 4th of July at our house unless you have "super dogs" to go with it!

{For anyone who cares to know what a super dog is, it's a basic hot dog but with every possible topping spread on top, hence the usage of the word, super, because it is.}

All my mom wanted me to do when I got to her house was take a picture of her with her beautiful strawberry lemonaid jello cake...all I wanted to do was eat it.

{I captured a few fun moments while we were waiting to eat}

Jared LOATHES taking pictures so I appreciate that he will at least drum up a smile for me

We started off the evenings fireworks rather small but I love me some sparklers!

Now it's time for the bottle rockets!

I caught this rocket on it's way up but I could never catch a picture of one as it went off so use your imagination!

Here are some shots of the fireworks at Thanksgiving Point that I took while sitting on my back porch.

Again, Happy 4th and Thank You to all those who serve our country proudly and make it so that I CAN sit on my front porch and snap pictures of fireworks.

I am eternally grateful for all the sacrifices others have had to make for my freedom and liberties and I hope that I never take that for granted.

Thank You.

Must See Eclipse Movie Pics!!!

2010-06-28T00:13:00.002-06:00

I don't think I'm surprising anyone out there at this point by admitting that I'm a HUGE Twilight fan (full on geek actually) and can I tell you how excited I'm getting to see Eclipse this Tuesday night? (The answer to that question is yes I can!)

I thought I'd share my excitement with you all by sharing some seriously STEAMY photos from the upcoming Eclipse movie.

Let me be honest with you. I already know I'm going to have a huge grin PLASTERED to my face the entire... movie,

Through the drive home that night,

into the entire next day,

until I see it again on Wednesday afternoon,

and until I go to bed that night.

I'm serious.

Awesome for me,

Not awesome for Jared.

It's possible I may call him Edward on accident...

...I said accident.

Enjoy!

{Warning: Boob grab!}

In case that wasn't enough Twilight excitement for you, I've added a few fun photos and fan art from Breaking Dawn which they are just finishing filming.

Breaking Dawn will be broken up into 2 movies (good and bad news) and the first part will be released on November 18th 2011.

The Twilight Saga is about to get freaky people!

Isle Esme

Enjoying their honeymoon

Fan art

Reneseme with Jacob

"Please, I don't want to fight!" My Review Bree Tanner and of the Eclipse Novella

2010-06-13T23:33:00.002-06:00

2.7 out of 5 Stars

"Please. I don't want to fight"

Synopsis: Bree Tanner was a fifteen year old runaway before she became a vampire. Now, a three-month-old vampire, Bree has to find ways to stay alive, to feed without getting caught, and to find the truth about her new life. But Riley, the leader of this gang, is spurring them to war.
What I Didn't Like:
1.) I don't know if I consider this a bad thing or not but you know it's a Stephenie Meyer book when after meeting a boy for two seconds, the girl cannot live without him. Yes, Bree becomes very friendly (never exactly romantic, though) with Diego and when he is gone, she is devastated to the point of giving up on living. Hum.

2.) I guess one of my biggest complaints is that Meyer takes a character, who was in the big battle with vampires and werewolves, and TOTALLY AVOIDS WRITING THE BATTLE SCENE! Bree ends up avoiding it by hanging in the back for two seconds, and POOF! When she appears, the battle is all gone, the werewolves are elsewhere, and I am so confused about how long this battle took, who was where, who did what, and what was the point of writing from Bree if you can't even write the battle that she would have taken part it?

What I did Like:
1.) Bree Tanner, for one, is not a Bella clone. She is far more independent and curious, a lot more proactive and a lot more involved in her own life. I thought she had way more spunk than Bella has ever shown. Sure, Bree has no hobbies either, besides reading, but Bree is a newborn vampire. I don't expect to find her in a knitting circle.
2.) Learning more about newborn vampires in general was eye-opening. Finally, Meyer gets to explore her creation. We get to see newborn vampires have absolutely no loyalty to each other, no self-control, and no qualms about sinking their teeth into their poor human food banks. I liked reading Bree and Diego roam Seattle.

3.) Since I'm a Psychology Major and"people watcher," I love anything that has to do with behaviorist perspective. I loved how Meyer acknowledged the other vampire mythos by having our newbie vampires believe that sun is bad, they can get staked through the heart, and to fear garlic.
Overall Review:
If you are looking for a Twilight extension...this is not the book. Most of the book is centered around Bree's life...and as much as I wanted to fall in love with this book...I couldn't. For me, the first 3/4 of the book was quite slow with not much action happening but the last 1/4 of the book was great! I though this little book was good, and I hope Meyer continues to write these short accounts of other "Twilight" supporting characters because they adds a whole new dimension to the overall Twilight saga story and keep adding layers of perspective depth...which I love.
Now, Stephenie...if you ever read this little review of mine, could you please write down my list of characters I'd rather you write novella's about? Here they are:

-Please, PLEASE finish Midnight Sun! (Edwards Perspective)
-Jacob's thoughts would be hilarious to read!
-Reneseme's story would be crazy cool to play out don't you think so?
-Leah's story would also be so interesting to me

Thanks Stephenie, I may have written a somewhat harsh review but I will still buy anything you publish so I guess in the scheme of things you have the last laugh.
Kelly

P.S. I want to hear your reviews on this book!! Leave a comment for me.

Rise Up & Take Your Place

2010-05-28T14:03:00.005-06:00

SO...I have a new adventure coming my way in about 3 weeks where I'll be joining our youth in going on a Pioneer Trek at Martin's Cove in RawlinsWyoming!

Our Stake has been planning this trek all year and just a couple of weeks ago I was asked to be on the "Activities Committee" which is the committee that basically plans EVERYTHING we do on the trek!

(I'm a planner of fun in every way shape and form so this calling is a perfect fit!!)

I feel like I am in a unique position in this treks planning process since I am also our Young Women's second councilor so I feel like I can see and feel what the needs of our youth are in preparing them for this historical pilgrimage.

I never went on a trek as a youth so I feel very blessed to have this opportunity now as an adult to learn about those pioneers who had faith in every footstep. I have been feeling a strong and unique spirit every time I have helped plan for this experience, unlike anything I've felt before.

I have a feeling that I'm going to come back from this trek with a renewed and enriched testimony, a new found closeness with those faithful pioneers who's spirits and memories still dwell in Martin's Cove, and a gratitude for this gospel. I hope and pray that the youth going will keep their hearts and minds open to the spirit because I know that if they do, this trek could change their life and their testimony forever.

Our theme for this trek is

"Rise Up and Take Your Place"

A couple of weeks ago we took our Young Women's group on a little two mile hike in our neighborhood to help prepare them for some of the hiking they'll be experiencing on trek.

(see below)

When took a break half way into our hike and had Megan, the only leader who's gone on a trek, talk about her experiences and how it's affected her life and testimony. It was a beautiful and peaceful moment to hear her share her story and thoughts.

When we got back to the church the girls were already feeling closer to one another...spiritually and literally!

I love these girls more than I fully realized until today and I look forward to seeing their beautiful faces every week at Church and mutual. They probably have no idea what amazing examples they are to me. Their faith and love of the gospel is truly a power unto itself and I feel blessed to bask in their growing spirits and testimonies, it's an honor.

I LOVE these girls and I can't imagine my life without them in it. Look at how silly they make me! (see above) I love that they are in that whirlwind, crazy, adventure filled, hard at times, memory making phase of life where they are grabbing life by the horns and not letting go! They help me to love life a little more and I love them all the more for that gift.

XoXo to all my Young Women,

and to the Young Women's leaders I work with who inspire me DAILY,

Love you,

Kelly

P.S. If you have any trek advice for me, PLEASE leave me a comment!

Imagination comes to life when you see what WoNdErLaNd REALLY looks like

2010-05-20T15:28:00.004-06:00

I've been meaning to post on this little adventure of mine since Tim Burton's new movie came out in the middle of March. To be honest with you, I've been avoiding this post on my Alice in Wonderland fall through the rabbit hole party because I knew how long it would take me to compile everything I wanted to share.

(NOTE: This is my warning to you that your eyes are about to be assaulted by many, many magical and fantastical pictures. Keep your eyes and the white rabbit and here we go!!)

NOTE: Before I get started I need to give props to Bethany & Kitch for many of the photos your about to see. My pictures are the ones that look like an amature took them! Thank you both for taking such fantastic photos so we may all remember this experience.

This whimsical party started off right with a formal invitation from the queen of hearts herself finished off with her wax seal of approval.

Once opened I was delighted to see an over sized queen of hearts playing card!

To read your invitation you had to hold it up to "the looking glass" to read it, I was seriously giggling in the mirror while doing this!

On each invitation was a specific set of characters that you and your spouse were asked to dress up like.

Jared was asked to dress up as the drunken Dormouse and I was asked to be the purpulicious Cheshire Cat.

Below is the list of Alice in Wonderland characters and who was asked to fill each role, starting with:

ALICE: the birthday girl herself, played by: Cassandra

This whole party was focused on Alice (Cassandra) because it was her birthday the day before the movie was released. Thanks for having a birthday Cassandra!

THE MAD HATTER: PLAYED BY CASSANDRA'S HUBBY, ERIC

Wasn't Cassandra PERFECT as Alice?!

I don't want to say that Eric was a perfect MaD hAtTeR as he's NOT mad but I will say that he looked the part! ;)

THE CATERPILLAR: PLAYED BY JON

THE MARCH HARE: PLAYED BY BETHANY

THE WHITE RABBIT: PLAYED BY REECE

THE DORMOUSE: PLAYED BY MY HUBBY, JARED

THE CHESHIRE CAT: PLAYED BY YOURS TRULY

(I wanted to show a close up of my fun makeup and accessories!)

THE KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS: WOULD HAVE BEEN PLAYED BY NICK AND LIBBY BUT THEY UNFORTUNATELY GOT SUPER SICK THE DAY OF THE PARTY. BOO!

THE WHITE QUEEN: PLAYED BY ANGIE

(She could have played Anne Hathaway's character don't you think? She looked PERFECT!

Also, I feel awful beause I didn't have a picture of her hubby Bear dressed up as the White Knight but he looked awesome in his full body metal armor!)

DINAH (Alice's Cat): PLAYED BY LAURA

A PAIR OF ACES IN THE QUEEN'S ROYAL ARMY: PLAYED BY KATE & NICK

(Sorry I don't have a better picture!)

Here is where my adventure began as we entered the party. Before you join the tea party you first had to fall down the rabbit hole. The black-lit hallway was a trip to walk through! There were: hanging clocks everywhere, butterflies, over sized playing cards, crazy signs and mirrors to confuse you along the way.

...and then you popped out into WoNdErLaNd!

This was were we held the tea party.

Your about to see some AMAZING food that will make your mouth water, your stomach growl, your fingers twitch and your eyes will blink twice.
At least that's what happened to me when I was there.

After our afternoon tea party we zoomed off to the 3-D Movie!

(Yes, we were THOSE people dressed up at the movie.)

We walked in the doors and were instantly assaulted by people wanting to take their pictures with us! We stood as a group like this picture below as what seemed like hundreds of flashes flooded our eyes!

It was so fun to dress up and make someone else's day... I highly recommend it.

Reece with his hot 3D glasses

After the movie we went back to wonderland (who wouldn't) to enjoy some more food, games, and to sing "Happy Birthday" to Cassandra!

Do you like our stockings?

{Me, Cassandra, & Bethany}

Ahh, below is one more character from Wonderland I forgot to mention!

Helen played a beautiful, pink and rainbow colored butterfly.

Happy Birthday!

I wonder if she's wishing she could stay in wonderland

More doin's at the after party tea party

*SIGH* Jared and I were TIRED after a long day of playing in a magical world with amazing friends and characters! I enjoyed every minute and every memory I made and can't wait for the next Harry Potter movie to come out this fall...I want to be THOSE people again at the movie theater.

A couple of weeks after the party had ended and the magic had started to wear off I unexpectedly got this in the mail. (below)

It made me happy.

{Me Too Alice, Me too}

Word to my Mutha

2010-05-12T23:22:00.005-06:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom because I caught her in a total giggle! :)

Mother's Day was great. We had a fantastic mexican taco dinner at Shay & Destiny's with a full spread of desserts! (My favorite part).

Here's my Mom with her two favorite kids! :)

My Mom wasn't the only one getting expensive store bought items on Mother's Day! Jared has always been great about celebrating me on mother's day because he says, "You are the mother of our future children and therefore you deserve to be spoiled on Mother's Day..." Seriously, I LOVE my husband! He surprised me and bought me the vacuum of my dreams because our current vacuum hates me and hates to do what it was born to do..suck.

My Mother's Day card from Jared

These are the yummies and gifts I made for my mom to show her I love her!

{Paula Deen loves you too}

My BIG gift to my Mom was a homemade"Gift Certificate" for a FREE pair of ANY prescription Maui Jim Sunglasses.

This is a picture of the AmAzInG white chocolate orange macaroon's I made.

I took a picture of the recipe in case anyone else wanted to make little happy coconut cookies too.

The final result of my attempt at Paula Deen's Fresh Orange Cake

Being goofy

XoXo Jared,

You are the BEST husband out there and I had a lovely Mother's Day...thanks to you...thanks for everything.

Kelly

Beehive Bazaar!

2010-05-10T21:06:00.003-06:00

I have been trying to get myself to the Beehive Bazaar for three years now and I am SO glad that I FINALLY got my lazy tush there! If you aren't familiar with the Beehive Bazaar here is a little appetiser to get you excited for the next one!

"The Beehive Bazaar has become all-the-buzz in Utah every spring and winter when they showcase the independent designs, arts, crafts and edibles of more than 50 trend-setting local artists. The Bazaar touts a hand-selected inventory of unique, quality and most importantly, to-die-for handmade goods including jewelry, paintings, bags, glass, vinyl, paper, clothing and accessories as well as couture cupcakes, jams, cookies, caramels and treats. This is in no way your mother’s craft boutique."

Below area few of my favorite "finds" that I saw at the show. Enjoy!

I bought the bird and nest necklace shown below because it wanted me to buy it...at least, that's what I told my husband. :)

I also bought this wonderfully unique "Anne Made" jam shown below.

All of the flavors I tasted were amazing, I especially loved the strawberry basil.

Libby especially liked Colt Bowden's artwork...maybe too much.

Here are a few websites of other vendors I liked:

Persimmon & Pink

Dejavu Old & New

Elsa Bag

After the Bazaar we all gathered at my Casa for Laura's homemade cherry coke's.

It was the perfect end to a perfect Friday. Perfect Days are rare and hard to catch so I enjoyed every moment of mine. Here's hoping you have one soon!

XoXo,

Kelly

Art & Soup, Birthday's Galore & Marie Antoinette Shower= :)

2010-05-02T23:02:00.005-06:00

April was a BUSY month and May is proving to be even nuttier! Here's a picture overload of what I've been up to as of late:

One of my favorite things that I did at the end of March (that I forgot to blog about) was the "Art & Soup Celebration." The Sheraton Hotel in Salt Lake City hosts this event every year and it's a hoot to check out! Local restaurants (NICE restaurants) participate in the event by bringing their specialty soups for everyone to sample and local artists participate by bringing in samples of their works to sell. A portion of the entry fee goes to a charity so it's all in good fun.

While we were driving up to the event I remember thinking, "I wonder if these soup samples are going to be enough for me for since I didn't eat dinner. I probably should have eaten something before I came." Boy was I wrong! After about 5 of those little soup cup samples I was FULL! I probably tried 10-12 different soups and skipped many because I was stuffed!

The art that was mixed in between the restaurant booths were breathtaking. Below is a collage of a few of my favorite art pieces.

Shalease and I were enjoying our 10th soup sample...afterwards we were SO thirsty, we HAD to make an emergency stop to the Barnes & Noble cafe to grab my favorite Passion Fruit Iced tea (non-caffeinated). They are surprisingly refreshing and I'm fully addicted.

Below are a few pictures of my beautiful nieces and nephews who we spent time with this Easter. It was fun to watch them search for eggs all over the house since it was FrEeZiNg outside that day!

I thought it would be fun to make each of my nieces and nephews an Easter bag from their FAVORITE Aunt & Uncle Death! I had a blast finding creative things to entertain them because I don't believe in marshmallow chicks and cadbury eggs that always seem to induce stomach cramps and regret.

Libby had a FABULOUS 24th birthday on April 15th, one of MANY birthday I was blessed to celebrate. The Olive Garden is always a great place to gather with the girlfriends to mingle over salad and bread sticks. Libby, you are one amazing woman and I love you!

My next EVENT was a luxurious baby shower for my friend Cassandra. The premise for the party was "Let them eat cake," a Marie Antoinette theme full of sparkle, over abundance, and French touches.

Are you hungry yet?

My fabulous friend Kellie Hall had her birthday on April 28th and it was a joy to get-together with all of the girlfriends to celebrate it with her! Thanks for being such a super woman Kellie! You are the best!

On Saturday my Provo manager,Chase got married to his eternal sweetheart Lauren. Their reception was held at Wadley Farms in Lindon which is a beautiful French looking cottage and hidden gardens...basically heaven in my mind. Congrats again you two love birds!

And last but not least, TODAY was my Brother's 30th birthday!! We enjoyed a home cooked meal by my amazing cook of a mother and a Coldstone Oreo cake (Oh my goodness divine btw). His wife got his some custom Oakley Sunglasses and a trip to Vegas.

This is what I look like after celebrating myself into a tired mess...totally worth it and I look forward to the celebrations May holds for me (6 birthdays, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, 3 work meetings & clinics, book club, the Beehive Baazar, YW activities, and whatever else comes up!)

XoXo,
Kelly

A much needed trip for my Spirit

2010-04-19T22:52:00.004-06:00

Last Friday afternoon Jared and I went to enjoy the beauty and spirit of the Salt Lake Temple. My parents joined us on our adventure and all we have to say on our way home was "wow." What a beautiful place the SL Temple is. I've never felt the spirit like I did when I went through those old Temple doors.

It was exactly what my spirit needed.

I'm so grateful I followed my heart and decided to make the date for this trip.

Below are a few pictures I took of the bright and beautiful Temple grounds and our dinner at the aMaZiNg "Garden Room Restaurant."

(PS. They have the BEST creme brulee my taste buds has EVER encountered)

Dear Dad,

2010-04-05T23:27:00.004-06:00

Dear Dad, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
I love my Dad SO much, I have to admit that I'm a total "Daddy's Girl" and proud of it. My dad is one of the greatest examples in my life. He's always taught me by his actions and soft words. Here are a few of the many things I love about him most: He's so Christ like, hardworking, funny, loving, in touch with his emotions, gOoFy, in tune with the spirit, he knows how to work his mustache, and he has one of those contagious laughs that makes everyone near him smile. I love you Dad, I hope you had a great birthday!

New Stephenie Meyer Book!

2010-03-30T15:00:00.006-06:00

Brace yourself... a new book by Stephenie Meyer is on the horizon. You heard me. "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, an Eclipse Novella" will be released at 12:01 on June 5th!

This 192 page story is an offshoot from her third book in the Twilight series, Eclipse and her first book book to be published since Breaking Dawn two years ago. (Is that all it's been? It feel like ages!)

Stephenie said that, "Back when I was editing Eclipse and in the thick of my vampire world, I thought a lot about the newborns, imagining their side of the story and then one thing lead to another. I wrote a short story, a Novella really, about Bree being a newborn and what it was like." To read more about "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" go to Stephenie's blog here.

This new Novella is told from the perspective of the teenage vampire Bree who we met on page 569 in Eclipse who 10 pages later ended up dead. (It's okay if you can't remember her, I couldn't either!) Bree is part of a newborn vampire army created by the Cullen's nemesis, Victoria who is seeking revenge for her mate who the Cullen's killed to protect Bella.

In the Novella, Bree has been a newborn vampire for about three months. Most of the book is pretty much contained in the last week of the newborns existence before the big fight with the Cullens and the vampire army in the meadow in Eclipse. It's the last week before Bree dies.

For those of you who are interested in reading this book, Stephenie told her publishing company that she would only publish this book if her fans had an opportunity to read it for FREE! They still wanted to publish a book with a cool cover (see above) but on June 7th-July 5th you can view this book online for free at breetanner.com
*SIGH* I feel like I'm breathing a bit easier for some reason. It's like I'm more at ease knowing that Stephenie is still writing and allowing all of us to continue peeking into her vampire world for just a little longer. What do you think about all this?

Hunger Games Trilogy-Be Honest!

2010-03-29T21:37:00.004-06:00

Be honest...How excited are you for this book to come out on August 24th?!

I will admit when I first finished reading Suzanne's 2nd book in the Hunger Games series last fall, I didn't have very nice thoughts.

Imagine me being completely lost in the story and action of the book, turning the last page, holding my breath, clutching the book, eyes wide open reading as fast as I could, on the edge of my seat in anticipation...I read the last sentence...and then I wanted to SCREAM.

I CANNOT believe how Suzanne ended Catching Fire! To say that the end was a cliffhanger would be like saying Oprah has a little money. I was mad at first but when I calmed the book reading Hulk inside of me down I then realized how brilliant she truly is. Suzanne had me, hook line and sinker into this series! She knew that anyone who read these books would be standing in line at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Costco, Target, Walmart etc. to get this book. I hate when I fall for those author tricks! (But I secretly love it too.)

*sigh*

So, I want to know, how excited are YOU for "Mockingjay" to come out on August 24th?

::Etsy Find #6::

2010-03-22T22:41:00.004-06:00

Mojo Spa StyleI had so much FUN perusing Mojo Spa Style's store because it has such variety! They offer:Handbags, Jewelry, Accessories, and homemade all natural Spa Items and cosmetics!!
So kick your feet up, take a break, and enjoy surfing through this great store!

Strengths Finder 2.0 Results!

2010-03-18T14:21:00.020-06:00

I've been dying to read this book "Strengths Finder 2.0" By: Tom Rath for almost a year now since my hubby read it last summer and found out some really interesting things tid bits about himself. In Strengths Finder 2.0 you learn about what special, unique and individual strengths and talents you may have by taking an online test with a unique code that's in each book. That's why it took me SO LONG to get this book because Jared already had it and it bothered me that I had to buy another copy just so I could retrieve the individual code for my test!! But... I finally caved and decided that this was the month I was going to head to Barnes & Noble to pick it up. Well, actually, what happened was Jared got sick of me saying,

"I really want to get that book, I need to take that test! I wonder if you can just purchase the code online to take the test so we don't have to have 2 copies of this book (you cant btw, you'd better believe I checked!) etc...etc"

So, my sweet hubby surprised me a couple of weeks ago "just because" with this book so I could finally take the test to see what strengths I have. (I feel like I have NO CLUE what they are!)

Side Note: For those of you who don't know this about me, I have an unhealthy curiosity about individual behaviors, personality, psychology, self-help ideas, etc. Anything that can help me have a better perspective on the world, the people in it and myself is something I gravitate towards. This book, as you can imagine, was totally pricking at my interest! The best part of the results that you get from the book is that your not going to hear back that your strengths are that your kind, smart, or witty. (you may be but it's not relevant at the moment.) The results actually measure talent, not strength so your going to get some really specific and intriguing results. The ultimate goal after reading this book is to build true strength, and talent is just one of the ingredients in the formula. (Eeee, I'm geeking out!)

I want to share this one story from the book that helped me understand more about my true potential.

All too often our talents go untapped. Mark Twain once described a man who died and met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. Knowing that Saint Peter was very wise, the man asked a question that he had wondered about throughout his life. He said,

"Saint Peter, I have been interested in military history for many years. Who was the greatest general of all time?" Saint Peter quickly responded,

"Oh that's a simple question. It's that man right over there."

"You must be mistaken," responded the man, now very perplexed. "I knew that man on earth, and he was just a common laborer."

"That's right my friend," assured Saint Peter. "He would have been the greatest general of all time, if he had been a general."

This story illustrates a truth that is, unfortunately, all too common. Far too many people spend a lifetime headed in the wrong direction. This is why it's essential not only to discover and develop your strengths as early as possible (oops, is 27 too late in life?), but also to help the people around you build on their natural talents as well. Everyone has talents that are just waiting to be uncovered!

So, below are my TOP 5 strengths. If you are interested in the strengths then the book has MUCH more information on each theme, I'm giving you the very condensed version. (P.S. sorry this was such a L-O-N-G post!)

#1 INDIVIDUALIZATION-People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively. You can identify the talents, skills, knowledge, motivations, and or of individuals.

#2 INPUT- People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information. Chances are that you absorb the written word like a sponge sops up water. You revel in an opportunity to lose yourself in a book. Your hurry to finish books as quickly as possible because you yearn to know more. Instinctively, you thirst for new ideas and knowledge.

#3 LEARNER- People who are talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continusly improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites you. You are happiest collaborating with individuals who are not stingy with what they know. You have an ability to figure out how everyone on the team can benefit from each other's knowedge, skills, experiences, or wisdom. By being inquisitive, you begin to see each person as he or she really is.

#4 RESTORATIVE-People who are especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it. You may realize that great ideas without action are rather meaningless. You might become frustrated with individuals who lack the gumption-that is, boldness-to transform some of their original throughts into tangible results. When necessary, you might be the person who brings the conversation back to practical or factual matters.

#5 POSITIVITY- People who are talented in the Positivity theme have an enthusiams that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get other excited about what they are going to do. You characteristicially are the cheerful optimist in the group and you have an upbeat and easygoing attitude which usually has a favorable effect on those around you. By nature, you might engage in life with gusto. You sometimes approach assignments, tasks, projects, opportunities, or problems with a creative flair. Instinctively, you are occasionally surprised when your upbeat attitude inspires people. (Really?)

Well, there you have it. I'm basically an aware, book geek who likes to learn, fix problems and stays positive while doing it! ;)

What do you think? Do you feel as though any of these themes are strengths I have or that you've seen in me? It's always harder to believe and distinguish things like this about yourself than about others isn't it?

::ECLIPSE TRAILER!!::

2010-03-11T13:20:00.004-07:00

Eeee!! I am super excited for my FAVORITE book from the Twilight saga, "Eclipse" to release this June! The trailer for the movie just came out TODAY and you'd better believe that I was on it like a bee on honey! Enjoy your Twilight fix and let me know if you'd like to join me for the movie this summer! (You may want to consider that I am pretty embarrassing to sit by in these movies, but, I'll try to contain myself this time around...try.)

::Etsy Find #5::

2010-03-08T23:33:00.003-07:00

Orqueshaw WalldecorI la, la, LOVE wall art and there is nothing easier and simpler to spruce up a bare wall than a vinyl decal! I've put decals in my: kitchen, bedroom, piano room, on mirrors, in the basement, on my bookshelves and in all of my bathrooms! Basically, I think everyone should have wall art somewhere near them to bring happiness into your life!
What I like about Orqueshaw's wall decor designs are they are totally unique and very detailed! There are endless possibilities for your imagination to go wild so enjoy your search through Orqueshaw's shop!

::Etsy Find #4::

2010-03-07T16:08:00.007-07:00

Monkey & Squirrel
"Monkey and Squirrel" is a shop filled with girlie, dainty, whimsical items that will make you want to play dress up and redecorate your house at the same time! I had a great time browsing through all the items and I know you will to!

*THE DEARTH DUO*

My 2012 WORD of the year

Meet the MEN of the Hunger Games

J.K. Rowling Announces Pottermore {and the reason I have rainbows all over my house}

THE 411 ON THE HUNGER GAMES MOVIE

It's FINALLY done!

A book worthy of your nightstand

There's No Place Like Home...

Books Becoming Movies in 2011

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...

2010 PARTY Picture Recap = {Magical Overload!}

2011 Word of the Year to Live By

Watch our family ROCK this Christmas!

Etsy Find:Cafe Baudelaire:

Jasper

Dear Lizzie Ladies Luncheon, yes please!

The Monster Mash Staring the Dearths!

BOO!

6 Years, I love you Dear!

Angie's 'Little Lamb' Baby Shower for Carrston

Eclipse Midnight Madness Party: Get your vamp on

Manti Temple Trip=AMAZING

My Most Memorible Trek Moment... I Wasn't Sure, but I've Decided to Share It With You.

"Oh My Lan, My Grannies 80!"

Super Dogs and the 4th of July

Must See Eclipse Movie Pics!!!

"Please, I don't want to fight!" My Review Bree Tanner and of the Eclipse Novella

Rise Up & Take Your Place

Imagination comes to life when you see what WoNdErLaNd REALLY looks like

Word to my Mutha

Beehive Bazaar!

Art & Soup, Birthday's Galore & Marie Antoinette Shower= :)

A much needed trip for my Spirit

Dear Dad,

New Stephenie Meyer Book!

Hunger Games Trilogy-Be Honest!

::Etsy Find #6::

Strengths Finder 2.0 Results!

::ECLIPSE TRAILER!!::

::Etsy Find #5::

::Etsy Find #4::

THE DEARTH DUO