Totally Random Thoughts

Today's blog post is about totally random thoughts. 

Why won't the font on my blog default to Georgia? And why, after I change it manually to Georgia font, does it revert back to Times New Roman? For real. That's just stupid.

Why, when I take this,

do I still have to use a million of these

every stinking day?! 

How come the only meal I want to drink a barrel of water at is lunch?

Why does Yoplait Greek Yogurt taste like rotted cream, but this yogurt 

tastes delicious (even the blueberry flavor, which I normally abhor)?

I wonder sometimes what my kids will look like. Nobody wants to have ugly kids, right? Do you love them any less if they are ugly? Or do you just think they're cute because they're yours? What happens if they get beat up because they're so ugly? That can't be good, and it would be all my fault.

What was said to be "the best thing" BEFORE sliced bread since the phrase is "the best thing SINCE sliced bread"?

If I've already shrunk an inch-and-a-half in life, does that mean I won't shrink anymore as I get older? Or will I eventually be 4'2" tall and have to declare myself a little person? 

Some day, I'd like to tour the entire United States in this car 

or on this bike

with this kind of guy

and not care how long we are gone or what we miss while we are away.

Best friends are really hard to come by, and no matter how hard you try, some of them aren't really as good a friend as they profess to be. Email buddies or "convenience" friends never measure up to what I'm willing to give in a relationship. Thankfully, I have very few "convenience" friends in my life and they are easy to identify. We won't list names. 

My parent's 46th wedding anniversary is less than a month away. That seems like an interminable amount of time. Is it really possible to love someone for that long and be happy about it? 

If I died in my sleep tonight, would it really matter? Would people really miss me, or would it be a fleeting "aw, shucks" moment in their lives? In other words, have I really made a difference in anyone's life? 

Is it possible to get too much sleep? I mean, could too much sleep really kill you? 

Should I write another Christmas story this year or call it quits? 

Is it wrong to think about Christmas right now? In August? Because usually I start listening to Christmas music in September (with the exception of last year). Why is that not normal? All the baking and wrapping and decorating make me happy, and it only happens once a year. How is that right?

Maybe the Excedrin I mixed with the highly caffeinated Rockstar Recovery Non-Carbonated Lemonade I chugged this morning should not become routine since apparently it makes my brain vomit in blog form. 

More Books

My name is Katie, and I'm addicted to books. Have I admitted this once before? It feels like it .... 
There's been a lot of talk about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. On my week off of work, I finished two books in the Percy Jackson series and also finished The Hunger Games. I'm now reading Catching Fire. Now, this blog is not a book review site in any way, but sometimes it's fun to talk about the books you're reading. Maybe others have different points of view or explain something that didn't make sense, etc. Perhaps joining a book club is the way to go. But then I wouldn't enjoy reading because it would be something that was "assigned" rather than a hobby. Like Oprah's book club. I think I started two or three different books she suggested, and ended up hating them all. Not a good way to read. 
Anyway, it took a while for me to get into The Hunger Games. 

Everyone said how addictive it was once you picked it up and started reading. Honestly, I kept reading because there wasn't much else I wanted (or needed) to do. It's a fast read, which I like, but the story seems so unbelievable. It's not like the world of Harry Potter. I got lost in that, even though I knew it was totally unrealistic. This series isn't like that. This series is more like let's-see-how-unbelievable-and-out-of-this-world-we-can-make-it. The third book, Mockingjay, comes out at the end of this month. I find myself hoping it's the last book in the series ....
Mom and I went to Costco last week. They always have a large selection of books. I found a series by V.C. Andrews called the Dollanganger series. 

It's five books, and Costco had two books in one for $6.97, so I got the first four books in the series for practically nothing. That will be my next read (probably after I finish the last three of the Percy Jackson series). 
I guess the point of this blog is that it's nice to have a hobby I really enjoy. One of these days, I'm going to have more time to enjoy books that are church-related rather than young adult fiction or fun stories. Because of time constraints with school, work, and life, I'm not able to focus on books that take a lot of thinking since my brain is already pushed to the limit with other information that's supposedly going to provide me with income the rest of my life. 
On a side note (that has nothing to do with books), I slammed my right middle finger in the bathroom stall door at work. THAT was pleasant. Maybe I should write a book about it ....

Thank heavens for little girls!

My 77-year-old friend got married yesterday. Happy day! 
We went to the reception. Lots of food, small cake, totally the way it should be done. 
UNTIL she sends her granddaughter out to collect the "single girls", specifically me, so she could throw the bouquet. Now, I don't put weight on silly things like that. Just because you catch a bouquet does not mean you will be the next to marry. 
I tried to get out of it. Tried to talk Mom into leaving. Tried to hide in a group of people. Tried to pretend like I didn't exist. It didn't work. She wouldn't throw the bouquet until I was standing in the group of single women. 
As she's getting ready to throw, she notices several little girls at the front of the "pack" of singles and says, "No, no. You girls are too young for this. You go play." I (from the back of the crowd) say, "Oh, no. They're fine. Really! Let them be a part of this." 
Thank heavens for little girls!!! She looked at me, tried to "aim" where the bouquet went, and totally missed. All the little girls ran for the bouquet and one of the taller ones caught it. She had a huge smile on her face and was overjoyed that she caught it. 
I was smiling, too, until I saw my friend's face. She was NOT happy that I had avoided catching the bouquet. In fact, I think she was rather upset. I gave her a big hug and told her thanks for trying. Relief! I'm glad I didn't catch it! 
When I found Mom, I told her what happened, laughing about it. Then, when I said my friend looked kind of upset, Mom said, "I bet she was. She really wanted you to catch it." 
Oh, well. I feel bad she was upset, but you know, catching a bouquet really doesn't mean anything. It's just a tradition we do. And it's kind of a silly one at that. Catching some flying flowers in no way means you will be the next to marry. Because if that's all it took, I'd have been married for the last 20 years. 

Fun with family

Mom and I wanted to do something fun this year that didn't cost a fortune. We opted for the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City - and it was SO much fun!!! We invited my mom's sister, Kathi, and their aunt, Nadine, to come with us. We saw three plays (The 39 Steps, Pride and Prejudice, and Much Ado About Nothing). They were wonderful, and so funny! 
We only stayed one night, but it was the perfect amount of time. Alex came and "tended" Dad during the day and then stayed the night to help David listen for him if he needed anything. I think Bear (the poor dog) missed us more than any human. We are already planning another trip next year because we had such a good time being together and getting "cultured." 
Here are some pictures of our time together. I also took several pictures of the sunset as we drove home. It was incredible! The weather was great, but lightning storms were coming in as we drove home. There were beautiful, fluffy clouds in the sky and the sun tried to peek through. I've included those as well. 

Mom bought us all a "tiara" to wear. You can't see hers because her hair is so much lighter than the rest of us, but it was fun to wear them and feel like princesses for a little bit. The lady who took our pictures was funny. She kept hitting the button on my iPhone and we ended up with LOTS of these pictures. Several of those pictures included her finger. Nice! And in one of those with the finger, Mom said it looked like Nadine was going to throw up. We laughed so hard over that none of us could breathe. I'm sure the people trying to watch the greenshow really appreciated the idiot ladies laughing their heads off. Oops! 

One of the things we did was shop in the gift shop. Mom found a display of hats, so she made me try them on and take pictures. Every time we saw a hat after that, I put it on and she took a picture. I don't know why we thought it was so funny, but here are her photos of our hat fun. 

I don't know why, but the last hat made me think of Strawberry Shortcake. I used to love her! I had a doll that smelled like her, had a board game with her theme, and just loved to watch the cartoon. That phase only lasted a little while, but I have fond memories of Strawberry Shortcake. 

These are pictures of the sunset I caught out the window of Mom's van as we drove home. There's no explanation needed, but I will say that God has truly created some beautiful things in this life, and sunsets in Utah are one of the most beautiful. 

My obsession with sunsets (and the occasional sunrise) continues. I don't know why, but there's something about the picture that Heavenly Father creates when the sun goes up and comes down. No two pictures are ever the same. It just makes me appreciate how small I am in this world, and yet how much I am loved that I could witness something so beautiful. It was the perfect ending to two wonderful days with three of my favorite people. I'm really looking forward to next year, and hope that we really and truly do it again. 

One last thing - if you're ever in Cedar City, you have to visit The Pastry Pub. They have excellent food, and their pastries are to die for! Now, I don't eat pastries anymore, but when I did, these were the ones I craved. We had a wonderful lunch there on our second day. They have good food and it's a fun environment. I didn't get any pictures, but you can check out their website at www.cedarcitypastrypub.com.

Handy Woman

There are lots of things you learn to do for yourself when you've been single as long as I have. Things like fixing a toilet, cooking for one, assembling desks, entertainment centers, and other furniture, and changing light fixtures. 

Well, the last one was a new one for me. Truthfully, I called the bro-in-law for help. But only because I stuck a fork in a light socket when I was four and had trouble sleeping that night. Dad slept on the floor with me because the parents weren't certain I was really okay. My hair stood up on end and I was kinda buzzed. So, visions of that whole incident ran through my mind as I considered changing the bathroom light fixture by myself. 

In the end, the bro-in-law was busy bathing kids and putting them to bed, so (since I'd already ripped the old, broken fixture out of the wall) I had to have light to put my face on for Sunday morning. I could have waited, but, well, patience has never been my strongest virtue. At least not when it's something I can do myself by reading a few instructions. (There are some gospel/life lessons here, I'm sure.) 

So, I installed the new fixture - all by myself. I told Mom if she heard a faint buzzing or if the lights in the house flickered or went out to come and check on me. It only took about 15 minutes, but I got the new fixture up and - voila! - it actually worked when I flipped the switch. AND, because it's a four light fixture that replaced a two light fixture, I can totally see in the bathroom now! That's good and bad. Good because I can see my face better, but bad because I can see my face better. 

Go me! I am handy woman! Hear me ... meow.

Dreams vs. Nightmares

Last night, I had a dream. It woke me up at exactly 4:00 a.m., at which point I could NOT go back to sleep. (This makes for a not-so-great day. I'm barely coherent with a good amount of sleep, but limit me to four short hours and we have trouble ....)

My dream was this:

A certain cute boy, who shall remain nameless, told me to meet him at Provo High School to go on our first date. Traffic was bad, I was late, and he wasn't there. I ran towards University Avenue to look for him, and sure enough he was running in place on the corner of University and Bulldog with two of his best buddies. He didn't hear me when I hollered his name, so I started running to catch up with them. The light (of course!) turned red so they could run across the street. I picked up the pace to try and reach them, but the boys, having ultra long legs, out-ran me. Somehow, I had a cardboard box around my waist that was keeping me from moving my stubby legs any faster, and no matter how hard I tried to get the blasted box off of me, I couldn't get rid of it! The boys kept running, crossed another street, went up a set of stairs, and then did a 180 to run down a set of stairs. I was standing across the street watching them as they turned and wishing my lungs would fill with air so I didn't pass out. At this point, cute boy waved at me and smiled. Then, I woke up. 

This is not all. Oh no. It gets better. The thing I remember most vividly was the color of cute boy's running outfit. He had on light pink sweatpants, hot pink shoes with two wide white stripes, a dark pink hoodie, and a hot pink sweatband on his head that matched his shoes. It was over-the-top in pinkness. 


So, tell me psychoanalysts, what the heck all that means?! I can handle the whole running away from me thing (it's really nothing new), but what the heck is up with all the pink? For real, I need answers, because I'm beginning to think this was not a dream - it was a nightmare!

One of my dreams has come true!!!

August 28th can't come soon enough! Michael Buble is in concert at the MGM Grand in Vegas and I WILL BE THERE!!! I can't believe it. Honestly, I keep pinching myself to make sure this isn't some cruel dream I will shortly wake from and plummet back into reality. 

IT'S NOT A DREAM!!! I'm really going to see him in concert! One month from today! 

If only I could promise not to throw myself on the concert floor and ask him to marry me ... he's engaged, but he's not married. Still fair game, right?

This face could sing to me ANY time, ALL the time:

Give me some of this any time!

I need a key to his room!!!

A gorgeous face

July 24th Festivities

Every year our family celebrates July 24th. We've done it so long that I don't remember NOT doing it. Spanish Fork (where I grew up until we moved when I was 13) celebrates their "Fiesta Days" and they have a carnival come to town, a big parade, and a rodeo. We've never really been into the carnival or rodeo, but we usually have a family BBQ, eat tons of yummy food, light fireworks, and generally just have a last summer shebang before school starts. 

This year was no exception! We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, had a delicious broccoli salad, Mom's World Famous potato salad, chips, scrumptious shrimp dip, cream cheese and salsa dip, and a fruit salad with Oreos in it. Plus, Dave (the dutch oven guru) made a cherry cobbler and pineapple upside-down cake - served with REAL whipped cream. Delish! Oh yeah, we can't forget these bad boys:

This picture doesn't even do these justice. Go to Walmart and buy some. You won't be disappointed.

These things are HUGE! One marshmallow doesn't even fit in your hand. And I have big hands - like man-hand size! Boy are they yummy. And gluten free (which is a plus at our house). I think I ate two. And later wished I had not met the dang things! 

After we ate, we hung out in the front yard. We have two giant willow trees there and, since our house faces east, it makes for a very shady spot in the evenings. Mom bought bubbles for the younger kids, and I bought pop-its and sparklers. The sparklers weren't such a hit, but the whole box (40 small boxes total) of pop-its got used. The kiddies basically dumped them on the ground and stomped on them to their heart's content. Great fun! 

Once it got a little dark, we lit a few sparklers and then went for the main event - the "light your driveway on fire" fireworks! We had some really good ones this year (thank you, Sam's Club). Alex lit them all off (which is my least favorite job of the night) and we saved a couple of really good ones for last - the grand finale! Overall, one of the best 24th's we've ever had. 

On top of that, one of my best friends, Ashley, and her family came down to stay with me. Her husband, Paul, and their two little girls, Aubrey and Hailey, came as well. We got up early the next morning and went to the parade where we all got a little tan. Before they left to go home, I torched some steaks, made a really yummy green salad, and grilled some corn on the cob. Ashley made brownies for dessert (I had another marshmallow ...) and it was a wonderful meal with my favorite people. 

As much as I have disliked summer in the past, I find myself loving it now. Not only am I happy to not be freezing to death (which I do quite often now), but it's a fun time of the year to hang with the family and be active while we laugh and joke and poke fun at each other. There are fond memories made, and I really like that the most. 

Here are some pics of the events: 

Aubrey doing Pop-Its

 Hailey deciding what to do next

Paul keeps the little ones entertained with bubbles

Paul and Ashley laughing at the family (it was well-deserved)

My favorite adopted family

Um, yeah, not sure what I'm doing, but Pop-Its are being opened

They said to do a sexy pose. Notice how I'm the only one doing that? My sexy is scary!

It's fun to make memories with my favorite people. Thanks, Lisa, for taking pictures so we could have visual reminders of July 24th.

Mmmmm, cookies!

We got a new Primary presidency in our ward, so I decided to make M&M cookies and welcome the new ladies to Primary. As I was engulfed in the sound of the mixer, I thought, 'There has got to be a way to make a healthy cookie I can eat.' Lo and behold, I think I've done it! Well, it might not be "healthy" (I mean, really, what cookie is healthy?), but at least it's a cookie I can eat that's not too sweet and doesn't have a whole lot of calories. The recipe (and pictures) are below. Give it a try and tell me what you think. Mom says they taste like homemade Pecan Sandies. I just know they're yummy (especially dunked in a little Almond Milk).

Katie's Healthy Walnut Cookie Thingamajigs

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Splenda (or other artificial sweetener)
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (but I usually add more)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (other nuts - like pecans - would work well, too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl cream butter, sweetener, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add soda, salt, and flour. Blend into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts.
Drop by heaping tablespoon about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-13 minutes or until outer edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft. Do not overbake. Cool one minute on cookie sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
Store in a tightly covered container. Cookies can also be frozen.
Makes about three dozen cookies.

Pictures of the final product: