A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

maybelline

I have the so pearly pink and I absolutely love it! Funny thing is, it really does last all day! 

nordstrom bp

Who doesn't need, or could not benefit from these? They are adorable, fashionable, and subtle enough for summer!

jonathan adler

Oh goodness...need I say more? So freakin' cute and it would be the perfect touch for any outfit or occasion!

5 boxes for $1 at fresh market

The absolute most refreshing snack on a hot day. Just pop them in the freezer and enjoy!

whole foods

Weston's cousin introduced this to me a month ago and I have not been able to stop drinking it since. I found my new weakness! It has just the right kick and it is the perfect change up to the regular juices.

treehouse

I believe pilates is the transformation that any body needs and I am so excited to be doing this every week! What a great way to relax and get toned for the summer!

jcrew

What would summer be like without a wide-brimmed straw hat? Not only is it fashion forward for the beach, pool, boat etc, but it blocks the sun too; in all the right places!  

LEARNING TO TRUST

"This life is an experience in profound trust--trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning (see Prov. 3:5-7). To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience.

"To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants in our understanding of eternal matters and their impact on us here in mortality. Yet at times we act as if we knew it all. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you.

That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time. While you are passing through each phase, the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue. If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love." 

- Richard G. Scott

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

TURKEY BURGER WITH RED ONION AND JALAPENOS

I saw a picture of this burger last week and my mouth seriously started drooling right then and there. I knew I had to make this and I knew it had to be soon! Last night was the night, and it was amazing! The burger was juicy and with all the toppings, it was jam packed full of flavor! Besides the fact that Turkey burgers are uberly healthy for you, this will become a regular in our home...

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 red onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rings

coarse salt

3 tablespoons lime juice

1-1/4 pounds lean ground turkey

whole wheat hamburger buns

1 ripe avocado

1 cup romaine lettuce

1/3 jarred pickled jalapenos

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Heat oil in skillet. Cook onion with 1/4 teaspoon salt stirring occasionally until tender. Transfer to a bowl with 2 tablespoons lime juice. 

Heat grill to medium-high and place divided turkey patties brushed with vegetable oil and seasoned with salt to cook. Grill until cook through. Grill buns cut side down.

Meanwhile mash avocado with fork and mix with remaining lime juice and salt. Spread onto buns and layer lettuce, burger, onion, jalapenos and cilantro. 

Enjoy!

  (Martha Stewart)

I paired my burger with some sweet potato fries to make it a meal!  

PEACE OUT PLAYA!

When it is coming on, it is unmistakable and sadly, unavoidable! 

Yeppers! 

The dreaded sinus allergy cold.

You look pale as a ghost.

Your eyes sink further into your skull.

Your nose is sore to the touch from all the blowing. 

Constant sneezing.

Congested sinuses that amount up to a gazillion on the pressure scale.

Coughing.

Sleepless nights even with medicine. 

A pounding headache.

Body aches.

I have all of, but not limited to, these symptoms and it totally sucks!

I am heading home early today and not returning to work tomorrow in hopes of ridding myself from this nasty virus!

Peace out Playa 

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS!

Do you ever feel like this?

I have felt this way a lot lately. It is almost as if I am in the movie Groundhog's Day and every day is 

M-O-N-D-A-Y!

I am one of those who suffer with S.A.D.S. and with the weather and all being out of whack this spring, it sure has taken its toll on me. It has sucked me up in a whirlwind frenzy of emotions, drenched me with mounds of water from constant floods of tears, tossed and mangled my body with fear, nervousness, anxiety and then spit me back out again to this ever so unpredictable and unreliable world.

I hope for brighter days ahead and more positive situations.

My day yesterday went a little something like this:

woke up twice in the middle of the night for puppy pee time with Telly,

hit the snooze button several times in the morning to try and catch the last few minutes possible of sleep that I didn't get during the night,

got Tahoe, Telly and our doggy-sat dog Callie outside and fed them breakfast,

got myself dressed and ready for work at half awake capacity, 

drank breakfast on the go,  

drove frantically on the freeway to work to ensure I wasn't late, again, while listening to "Radio from Hell" on x96,

fanned myself off with a work file-folder because my 'hot flashes' last more than just a flash,

remembered that I forgot to put out our frozen steaks to thaw for dinner,

yawned a few times and google searched "why my left eye won't stop twitching",

did computer stuff that somehow reflects my job description but I had no clue what it was that I was doing while using the function of only one eye,

fanned myself again and used an entire box of tissues to wipe away all the sweat dripping down my face,

got home and checked in on all my pups giving them lots of hugs and kisses, 

became overwhelmed for the fifty-hundredth time and cried uncontrollably again, 

forced myself and Tahoe on a jog down Wasatch trying to count the many blessings in my life that I have been given,

headed to the grocery store to buy new steaks,

started the never-ending loads of laundry that seem to be stalking me around the house in heaping piles,

yawned some more and wished for a D.P. to rid my migraines, 

started building the A.R.K. for primary that is a gazillion feet long out of teacher butcher paper using only 30% of my potential function due to lack of sleep, 

texted Sweets to find out what time, or how long, he would be home for,

grilled up the seasoned steaks and paired them with a steamed spinach, grape and almond salad, 

cleaned up after dinner and loaded the 2nd dishwasher because I never unloaded the 1st dishwasher from the day before,

fed my pups dinner and snuggled with them until they could no longer stand me,

attempted to sit for a nano-second without having to feel guilty and catch my breath while the laundry room kept beeping at me to change loads, 

changed the loads of laundry and folded all the clothes, 

yawned again, 

stuck my head in the freezer and realized I was still sweating so went for the whole body in the freezer thing, 

shed one or two more tears before Sweets invited me to Home Depot with him to buy a drill,  

cleaned up the last bit of dishes and wiped down the kitchen while putting the laundry back into its respective place, 

binged ate a handful of BBQ chips, 

showered and got ready for bed,

let out a big and much deserved sigh,

watched True Grit with my Sweets, Tahoe, Telly and Callie, 

fell asleep feeling completely worn out!

I am usually not one for such a Debbie Downer post, but I got to be honest with all of you! This is what goes on inside of me every day and each day it continues I feel worse and worse. Sorry Sweets for not confiding in you earlier, but thank you for being my constant rock! 

I love you!

AND THERE'S YOUR SIGN...

Sweets and I are the proud new parents of TELLY! Yes, we got another dog!!!! A blonde Golden Retriever to be brothas (from anotha motha) with our Tahoe. We seriously could not be any more excited! OK- story time...but first enjoy these pics:

Ever since we were married I wanted to get another puppy so Tahoe could have a friend to play with. Sweets would remind me that our home was too small for 2 big dogs and said he would think about it when we moved. Well, we moved in November and I didn't let it go. I begged and pleaded for a new puppy for Christmas - I didn't get one, then I begged and pleaded for Valentines Day - I didn't get one either, then for President's Day, St. Patty's Day, my birthday, Easter, Mother's Day, for his birthday, Memorial Day - and still I didn't get one! But, late Friday night as we were laying in bed I found this really cute liter online and asked Sweets if we could just "look" at them (tehe). He agreed and we headed up to Kamas Saturday night after his work. The true intent was just to look. As soon as we arrived to the house, this little guy came barreling out of the house and straight into Sweets lap. (a sign indeed). All the other puppies just sniffed us and walked away. After Sweets played with him a bit I took over and he just gravitated to me too. (another sign). We mutually decided that we were interested in this little guy but we needed our secret weapon to seal the deal. We got Tahoe out of the car and let him meet the puppies. Once Tahoe stepped into the yard this little guy, again, came awkwardly pouncing over to Tahoe. (sign). He never left his side as Tahoe walked around the yard sniffing. (yet one more sign). The other puppies didn't pay any attention to Tahoe but this guy couldn't get enough of him! (a heck yes sign). Sweets and I both turned to each other, smiled and laughed. We hugged and in a whisper he said "go get the check book". I kissed my Sweets and ran to the car. We had been looking for puppies for awhile but nothing ever felt right until we met Telly. It was plain and simple that he had to be apart of our family! I grabbed the check book and headed into the house to finalize our newest addition to our family and the rest is history in the making...

Tahoe and Telly just love each other. They have so much fun playing, when it's convienent for Tahoe, and sleeping/cuddling together. Telly still follows Tahoe all around the house and yard and just can't get enough of him. We are so happy to be growing our little family...but our next addition we hope is a wee little human baby! 

DEVELOPING DESIGN

So the 'big project' that I have been working on is finally finished!!!
The grand reveal...
(drum roll please)

If you haven't guessed it already, I was put in charge of furnishing 2 of our model homes! It was a partial furnish, with design to the living room and kitchen with accents in the bathrooms, but nonetheless it was tough work to get done in one week. I have never staged a home before so it was a really neat experience to be able to learn more about what staging entails and just what is needed to really make a home sell. Remember, less is more! I spent countless hours researching online and then hit up the stores and started designing layouts and color schemes. It was super fun and I really hope that I get do this again.

The first home was at our project in Riverwalk, which is just behind Mulligan's Golf Course on 10600 S. I completed this home with a base of black and then added blue/green for the color scheme accent.
furniture: IKEA
kitchen decor: Tai Pan
accessories: Pier 1
The second home was at Pioneer Ridge in Spanish Fork. It is the same floor plan so I choose to do a similar layout but with different colors. I used a white base and then added yellow/purple for the colored accents.
furniture: Sofa Mart
kitchen: IKEA
accessories: Tai Pan
Both the houses were to be completed on a pretty low budget so, that made for some fun digging finds of the sale and clearance areas. I was very happy with the way they both turned out and the two color schemes seem to blend perfectly with the homes. I only had a few minutes (like 2) to spend inside the model before I had to go pick out everything. I did a lot of crossing my fingers in hopes it all would match...and I think they do!
Now, I can relax and get back to the grind of the office work.   

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

I made this meal tonight and it was D-lish! It was super easy to put together and really tasty. Sweets and I ate all of it and wanted more...sadly there was none left. Give it all a try and let me know what you think!

2 medium zucchini - (I used 3)
4 oz Italian turkey sausage - (I used 8 oz)
1/4 cup diced red onion - (I used 1/2 cup)
2 garlic cloves minced
1 medium tomato - (I used 2)
fresh basil, salt, pepper to taste
2/3 cup Italian cheese blend
1 tablespoon Italian bread crumbs
EVOO

step 1: slice zucchini half length and scoop out center. Sprinkle with EVOO and salt and pepper. Turn grill on to medium and place zucchini face down for about 5 minutes until slightly cooked.
step 2: over the stove, cook the Italian sausage until done. Add onions, garlic, and zucchini until onions are translucent. Add tomato, basil and a few cracks of pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

step 3: add in cheese and bread crumbs to the mix stirring until combined. Stuff zucchini with mixture and place back on grill face up for about 5 minutes or until cooked and soft.  

step 4: enjoy!
I served mine with an iceberg lettuce salad and some rosemary bread. I topped it off with Mango Orange sparkling water. Not only did it hit the spot and was the perfect dish for the weather outside, but it also is uberly healthy. It was so colorful and lite. I hope you like it as much as we did!
(from best bites)

IT'S ALMOST DONE

Work has been absolutely crazy for the last two weeks. It has been stressful, exciting, time consuming, difficult and rewarding! I was put in charge of something big that needed to get done asap (details to be revealed next week when I am finished) and I have been running around the Salt Lake Valley like a mad woman for days trying to finish it. While there is an end in site, I don't think it will come soon enough. I love my job and I love the experiences that I am given to grow and better define my place in this Company. This task has been an eye opener to me and I am learning so much. Hopefully it'll all come together and be amazing when it's done! 

Here is a tiny sneak-peek into what it involves...

Wish me luck this weekend as I finish the project! I will definitely post some pics to go along with it so stay tuned!

 Oh, and it also requires lots of these...