Our solution to me not liking to cuddle

So I do like to cuddle, but NOT while I am sleeping, I get panic attacks and feel like I am being smothered...Kory on the other hand loves it, so does Zoe. And many people probably think that we are crazy for letting our dog sleep in our bed, but you see we all win because I get to roll over to my side of the bed and sleep peacefully without having to push Zoe or Kory over, and Zoe and Kory get to snuggle up next to each other and I don't have to offend either of them by pushing them away.

So you see we all win!

In like a lion and out like a what?

Who ever came up with the saying "in like a lion and out like lamb" for the month of March seriously didn't know what it was like to live in Utah. Its more like in like a lion and out like lion. I am so frustrated right now, because I woke up this morning and looked out the window and what did I find? 3 cold and wet inches of dreaded snow?! I usually would not be this frustrated over just a few inches of snow, except that I spent count less hours weeding, raking, leveling, shoveling, and digging in my flower bed yesterday to prepare it for some beautiful tulip bulbs that I bought earlier this week. I was already worried that they wouldn't thrive because I waited to long to plant them, (I really struggle at the whole green thumb thing, mine is more like a yellow or black thumb) but now the snow is going to kill them for sure. I have heard that tulips are tough, but I just don't know if these ones are, they were just barely planted in the ground. It may be too much shock for them. (SIGH)

Kory's Photoshoot

I had to share these photos...Kory may be mad about it but they are so funny!

Zzzzzz's

Aren't they just so adorable when they sleep? I am watching my nephews while their mom (my sister Liesel) gets her wisdom teeth out... They are both sleeping so soundly, and peacefully so I had to share how cute they are...

Hinkley is congested and is having a hard time breathing so I have to use one of these dreadful things every so often to suck his boogers out. It makes me feel bad for the little guy, but at least he will be able to breath for a few more minutes before I have to do it again....

ZOE and BENDER

I took Zoe on a walk a couple of days ago with my friend Jess and her dog Bender, who is an adorable Australian Shepherd. Zoe is somewhat afraid of him, but they are good on walks together... for the most part anyway. Well we decided about half way through our walk that we wanted to take them to a park instead of just walking them around the neighborhood. However, seeing how we are both new to the area, we only knew of one park near by, but it was a few neighborhoods over in the opposite direction. So we turned around and made the trek to the park.

When we got to the park we let the dogs off their leashes and let them run around. At first this was fun, and Zoe sprinted freely through the grass and Bender beside her, but then Bender's sheep herding instincts kicked in and he began to push or rather "herd" Zoe with his nose. She was not ok with this. As she frantically ran to get away she began to make what Kory and I call the Ewok noise to scare him off, which she usually makes when she is either upset or wants to play...

They ran in circles around each other, and I must admit I was impressed with her ability to dash and move so quickly away from Bender. When I realized she probably had enough I went and picked her up and felt just terrible because she was breathing and panting sooo hard. I felt bad after that for allowing it to go on for as long as I did.

After the park we walked back home, I ended up carrying her most of the way back because she was so tired. When we got home she was pooped, and she wouldn't let me put her down. Even in our own house she needed me to be with her. SO here is a picture of me working, with her on my lap, and she was out cold...

And this is a picture of Bender, (stolen from Jess' blog, and yes he just graduated from puppy training)

"IT's BETTER TO WAIT CAKE"

Formally known as the "better than sex cake".

I entered this cake into a cake contest for my ward relief society birthday party tonight, and it was a success!

At first I couldn't decide if I wanted to make a really yummy cake or a really cute cake, because lets face it, rarely are they ever both.

So after about a month of debating and thinking about it, I decided to make a cute cake. You see I have this Temple cookie cutter that I have been wanting to use since I got it over two years ago. I mean lets face it how often are you like "gee I want to make someone a plate of temple cookies?" But a Relief society gala is, well, the ideal opportunity to break it out.

Well, anyway I decided that I would use it as a sort of stencil, and then write "Families are Forever" by the side of it. I know so cute right? Well, as cute as that sounds, that just didn't have enough in my mind to be first place material, and lets face it we all know I was in it to win.

So I decided, in order for me to win, I had to not only make it cute, but it had to be super scrumptious. I am not a big cake fan, never have been, except for one cake, which it seems to be just about the best tasting cake there is, and no matter who makes it, it is always delightful!

So me and my friend Jess, got together and made our cake.

We made the cake from a devils food cake mix. When that was done we poked holes in it with a wooden spoon, and poored caramel ice cream topping and sweetened condensed milk over it. Then we made a layer of a few HEATH bars. We let that cool overnight and in the morning we topped it with whip cream.

To decorate we drizzled caramel swirls on the whip cream, placed the "Temple" cookie cutter on top of that, and filled it in with crushed up Score bars. We then took fudge syrup and wrote "Families are Forever" and then lightly sprinkled a few more score bar chunks on top.

My sister suggested we rename the cake to go with our theme. So we named it The "Its better to wait cake"

It was breathtaking, however because we both were kind of crunched for time today, we stumbled into enrichment 30 minutes late and by then pretty much everyone had already voted for their favorite cake. So alas, we didn't win the contest based on looks, however, for taste it was the first one cut into and the ONLY one gone within minutes! SO if you ask me, that right there is first place material! And although it wasn't the prettiest cake to look at, it was whats inside that made it the bell of the ball!

Because I don't have a camera, we didn't remember to take a picture of it until it was all gone, but here is what we left the party with.

Have you seen me?

MISSING:
Samsung Digimax A503

Date missing: March 19, 2008 around 8pm
LAST SEEN: The chaotic "Chuckee Cheese"

LAST SEEN WITH: The sneaky chocolate cake with butter cream frosting.

Discription:
- 5.0 mega-pixel digital camera
- 5X digital zoom
- 2.0" TFT LCD monitor
- VGA 24fps move function
- Delightful effect function

WOE is me! I have lost my camera and I fear I will never have it back! It all happened so quickly, one minute it was by my side, and the next minute it was gone. I looked everywhere and asked everyone if they found it, but alas after searching for what it seemed like an eternity, it never showed up. Surely someone had to have seen it? Those things just don't go unnoticed. I cried the whole way home... no joke. I feel like a big piece of me is gone. And the worst part is that I HAD pictures on the camera, and now they are gone, gone forever, and I will never get them back. And if you think thats not bad enough, I had two very important things to photograph today, and did I get to? NO... I really can't blame anyone else but myself. I should have watched more carefully. I should have not let it out of my sight even for a second, because you never know who is lurking around the corner waiting to snatch your most precious belongings from you.
Also, I will never bring anything valuable to Chucke Cheese EVER AGAIN.

And to all my regular readers, I don't know when I will be able to get another camera. Probably not for a very long time. Kory said I cant have any more electronics because I lost/someone stole my thumb drive last year the day before all my finals and yes had to retype about a dozen papers. He says I need to learn to be more careful. So I understand if no one reads my blog anymore because of the lack of visual stimulation...woe is me...

Props to my ultra creative sister...

I have to give props to my super creative sister... she rarely gives herself credit for being creative, but I am always impressed with all her many ideas. Yesterday she came over to my house and created this impressive Baby Diaper Cake...She described her intentions of making it to me on the phone before coming to my house, but I never expected it to turn out so cute! So here it is, a 3 layer diaper cake, topped with an assortment of baby essentials from lotion to binkies...

Baby Hinkley David!

My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby boy this morning sometime around 4 am! They are naming him Hinkley David Alcantara. He is adorable! This is my 12th nephew/niece... (not including Kory's side, cause lets be honest, they don't even know that...)

WARNING

To all those who haven't seen the last episode of LOST Season 3, or who plan on watching the show ever... DO NOT READ ON, consider yourself warned...



Kory and I finished LOST Season 3 last night, and I am greatly saddened by the events that unfolded. Alas, my favorite character, (besides the Claire) died. Even though his death was heroic, it was one of the hardest things for me to watch on TV. I really liked Charlie, and he made the perfect pair with Claire. Even though they made it clear that this was going to happen, because of the previous episodes I thought that it wasn't going to happen, that perhaps he and Desmond found a way out of it. But he didn't... it was tragic, and I am sad for Claire.



I know I know, it's just a TV show... I am sure I'll get over it, but all I can say is WHAT WAS ABC thinking!

Birthday Cards!

So my brother and his family moved to the San Fransisco bay area back in August of last year. This is the first time anyone in my family has moved so far away. It has been really strange having them gone. I miss seeing them and their 7 kids, and going to their Birthday parties. You see, my nephews are more like my little brothers. The oldest was born when I was 11 and to me that was Heavenly Fathers way of giving me the little brother I always wanted. I hold a very special place in my heart for these little boys (now pre-teen). I miss them so much, and I miss seeing my older brother. Our family things seem so different. It seems like we are missing someone all the time.

Since November, 5 out of the 7 kids have had Birthdays that we missed. So in November I had this brilliant idea of making them cards and loading them full of cash (from me and my sisters)...However because I am the biggest procrastinator EVER I didn't do them until now. I spent all day yesterday working on them, something like 10 hours, but it made me feel not so far from them. Kory also joined the fun and made something just for me. It probably was the funnest Saturday I have had in a long time. Let me know what you think!

Kory's Paper doll


Kory's Paper doll's back view

The "Pirate"

Inside

The "Super Hero"

Inside

The "King" Card

Inside

The "Knight"

Inside

The "Fairy"

Inside