Lila Tueller Giveaway!

I found this fun fabric giveaway while blog stalking! :) I think that the fabric designs are amazing, and I want to win! If you want to win too, and thereby diminish my chances of winning, click HERE.I'm pretty sure the Web site will now be listed as one of my favorite sites!

More Books and So Tired

I think the summer has caught up to me. I'm so tired! I just want to stay in bed every morning. The heat must be draining all my energies:)

Anyway, I decided to get up enough gumption to tell you about books. Shocker, right?

Okay, I started typing about books, and, it was boring. I don't want to be boring. So I'm just going to sum it up as succinctly as possible.

Started: Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride. It was a disappointment. Perhaps I'll read it another day, when I'm in the mood to hear about how the air around Denver does wonders for consumption and how PT Barnum and his daughter had a falling out, but in the end she still wound up the richest of his kids.

Finished: The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother. Felt that it was about time to read this, since I've had it forever. It was a nice read. Not earth-shattering, but nice. I hadn't heard some of the stories before, and I liked the perspective of Mother Smith. Writing style wasn't my fave. (This counts as my non-fiction/biography book for the summer. I'm considering counting it as my religious/spiritual/self-help book as well.)

Finished: The Bumblebee Flies Anyway. Cormier didn't disappoint. Best 50 cents I've ever spent. I plan on rereading all the Cormier books I read when I was 11.

Currently reading: The Grapes of Wrath. It makes my teeth hurt. I am finally giving Steinbeck a chance. Love his writing. Hate the topic. The Depression was sad. (Obviously.) I want to hit a lot of the characters in the book. I'm not to the end yet, but if this ends badly, I might actually cry.

Planning on reading The Rising Tide. Love Shaara. Started this book once a year ago and couldn't get into it, which is weird, because I really like all of his books. The second book in this trilogy is already out, so I thought it was about time to pick this up again.

Pioneer Day Joy

Yesterday was such a great day. So nice to have a day off right in the middle of the week. Especially a summer day. So grateful that the pioneers entered the valley during July.

I've been so lazy lately that I decided the only thing to do to celebrate the pioneers was to sew something and to bake some bread. This plan worked out splendidly.

I bought a wallet (and a purse) pattern from a great seller on Etsy named JennaLou. I've had the patterns for weeks but never put together the energy to complete the projects because the matching of fabrics was throwing me for a loop. I finally found some fabric for the wallet 2 weeks ago but am still searching for the perfect purse material. I decided that in honor the pioneers I would finally be creative and sew. So I pulled out the sewing machine and got to work. I really enjoyed this project, though I'm sure the next time around things will go more smoothly and less unpicking will be required. I had some problems with the pattern (one piece was a 1/2 inch too short) but once those were overcome, I felt okay. I'm not the greatest at whip stitching either, so the top where I had to close up the wallet is a little sad. I'll get better at this too. I just felt so accomplished at finishing a project! I'm using it to hold all my important documents right now. Hopefully it doesn't fall apart.



As for the baking of bread, if anyone needs some banana bread, I have PLENTY. I had tons of bananas from our camping trip that were going bad. And it was making me sick to think about throwing away all that money, so I decided to whip up some culinary treats. I planned on giving away some of the loaves. This plan failed when I realized I cannot make banana bread that does not sink in the middle. There was no way I was going to hand out sunken banana bread. This banana bread disaster happened Tuesday night, by the way. The bread tastes good, but it's just not pretty. Rich will be eating on this bread for many weeks to come.

To redeem the pioneer's opinion of my baking skills, I decided to make this banana blueberry bread recipe from SouleMama for breakfast. This bread was worth it! I love it so much. And so does my tummy! The best part? No sinking in the middle!

I changed the recipe a tiny bit by not adding the whole wheat pastry flour (I didn't have any and was not about to go to the store on my day off). I simply added more all-purpose flour, and this seemed to work out fine. I love the cornmeal addition to the bread because it gives the texture a tiny crackling feeling. Something I'm sure the pioneers would have relished. So, make the pioneers proud, and your tummy happy, by making some of this bread. :)

Rich and I continued to make the pioneers proud by going to the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo! Rodeos=Summer. This was a great evening and a great rodeo. We went with my roommates from college. Such a fun triple date! Plus, Toni's little girl, Aurie, is adorable, so that makes the getting together even more fun! Toni and AnnDee remind me how wonderful friends are. I was so blessed to have them as roommates in college. I am even more blessed that they still talk to me after living with me for 3 years!

Loving Rich

There was once upon a time in my life where I didn't even have to look at the diesel truck passing by to tell you whether it was a Cummins, a Power Stroke, or a Duramax. I thought that this was one of the most important talents to possess. This was back in the day when I believed cowboys and Wranglers were all I'd ever need. Clearly I didn't marry the cowboy my 17-year-old self envisioned. And this is fine. But it still makes me sad sometimes. Is this wrong? I don't believe I'm thinking of these things because I'm not happy with my life, because I am. I love Rich, and he is an amazing husband: so patient, kind, funny, and sweet. But I've realized that I'm sad about letting my cowboy dream go because it's just that, time to let a dream go. Obviously I let this dream go when I got married, but it didn't really hit me until summer rolled around. Until I listened to Chris LeDoux. It's just one of those moments when you realize that you're not a child anymore. And it makes me trend toward the melancholic because it's always sad when a childhood dream fades away. Growing up is sometimes sad. Even if you're surrounded by all good things. And moving toward even better things.

I don't want anyone to worry about me; my LeDoux love still burns strong. But as I listened to LeDoux on the bus ride home this week, I realized that sometimes I forget that the world my 17-year-old self created is not the world that I live in. Not the world that Heavenly Father has planned for me. And if I insist on viewing the world through my 17-year-old lens, I'll be living in the past and not recognizing today for what it is: A WONDERFUL LIFE! (Not the movie.) It's not important that my husband doesn't wear Wranglers; it's important that he cares about me more than anything else. It's not important that he doesn't drive a big truck; it's important that he tells me he loves me many times a day. It's not important that he doesn't love Chris LeDoux (I'll just listen to him on my iPod); it's important that we have a marriage that is based on reality and love and hard work and centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think that sometimes I place too much importance on things that don't actually matter, and this skews my perspective on the things that really count. So, I'm going to focus on the life I do have, not on the life I thought I wanted almost 10 years ago. How lame am I that it took me this long to figure this out?

I don't know why I needed to blog about this. But it's been on my mind. I'm so excited for the future with Rich, and honestly, I know we are meant to be together. And this makes me happy.

The Great Outdoors

So, now that you have the marathon update, here are the rest of the glorious details from our week vacation!
The first night in Pine Lake was eventful. I was staying in a tent all by myself because Rich wasn't coming until the next day. Can you believe that this was the first night Rich and I have spent apart since getting married? We are so cute! It took me a bit to fall asleep, you know how it goes, getting used to the hard ground, the sleeping bag, the spotlight that is the full moon shining in your tent, but I did eventually get to sleep. However, at about 4 o'clock in the morning I was awake. I thought perhaps this was the outhouse trying to lure me from my warm bed, or perhaps the moon shining directly into my eyes, but no, what had awoken me was noises coming from the food tent. Bears! No, not really. After waiting for a few minutes, just to make sure no one else was going to get up and be responsible, I got up to investigate. I could see a little hole where some genius animal had unzipped the tent. I hit the sides of the tent to make the creature think I was large and ferocious, then I unzipped the bottom of the tent and shined my flashlight in. And . . . I saw a paw. Dramatic right? I thought I would find some chipmunks, but oh no, it was a large, big-man-handed, scary skunk! So, I immediately ran away to find my mom. While my mom got up to help me, Dad rolled over to say "Just be careful," and went back to sleep, leaving us tiny little women to take care of the animal! Apparently skunks don't scare easily. The skunk just kept on feasting on our bread for what seemed like hours. No matter how much we hit the tent or made noises, the skunk kept on keeping on. And then, another skunk came! Scared me to death, too, because I was walking around the tent and all of a sudden there it was right in front of me! I backed up so fast I fell over a tree root; thankfully this skunk decided not to join the other in the tent and ran away instead. At this point, Mom and I decided the only thing to do was to watch the tent to make sure no more animals got in and to wait until the skunk had his fill. We may sound like babies, but we did not want to be taking tomato juice showers any time soon! So we set up some chairs and fixed our flashlights on the tent door. Eventually the skunk's beady little eyes reflected in the light, and he scampered out of the tent. At about 5:30, we climbed back in to bed. For the remaining nights we put a twist-tie on the tent zippers--this will probably work until another genius skunk discovers how to use his or her little paws to undo such advanced security measures.

This is going to be a long post. I can sense it now. Perhaps I'll just give you some highlights.

The next day was spent 4-wheeling and lounging around reading. Does this not sound ideal? Cuz' it was. Until about the time we were ready to prepare dinner. Then the heavens opened. And doesn't rain always seem much worse when you're camping? This was hail and rain combined, and it was cold! Plus the ground couldn't drink up the water as fast as it was coming down, so rivers started forming down the middle of the campground. The best part of the rain? My tent was not waterproof. So when Rich got there that night, we had to make our bed in the back of my dad's Tahoe. This was not a comfortable night. One might think that the Tahoe would be more desirable than a tent, but I am here to attest that this is not the case. Always choose the tent. Always.

I'm complaining. Or at least it sounds like it. I'm not really completely ornery about all of this . It's all in the adventure of camping!

We did some hiking to Powell Point on Thursday. I love going up there. You feel like you're on top of the world. It's so humbling to understand that my place in the world takes up such small space. Especially since I normally live as if the world revolves around me. That night we had dutch oven mutton. My favorite! I love dutch oven cooking; it's just so much fun. Plus dutch ovening reminds me of college and all the good times we had up on Cedar Mountain. It also makes me feel like I'm living on the plains or experiencing something equally dramatic/romantic. Kind of like the way I feel every time I listen to Garth Brooks' "Lonesome Dove." Perhaps I have too vivid an imagination. Perhaps I'm rambling.

On Friday morning we cleaned up camp and went down to Tropic. Where it was super hot! I immediately wanted to be back up at Pine Lake where it was cool. No, not really. Tropic was great. It was a nice weekend to hang out with the family. The marathon was Saturday morning (see below for those details), which was a lot of fun. The rest of the day after the marathon was spent relaxing, as everyone's muscles were sore. Then we returned to northern Utah on Sunday.

It was such a great week and so nice to be away from everything. I didn't want to come back! But alas, I decided to grace work and real life with my presence.

Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

Camping was a success! But before I get into other details, we'll start from the end and say CONGRATULATIONS to Rich for finishing the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon! I decided to break the week into two posts since the marathon can be a post all by itself, so you'll get camping details later.

Back to Rich and his amazing running skills.

(This is the only picture of Rich before the race. I rolled over and grabbed the camera then went back to sleep!)

Rich started to train for the marathon months ago, but then school and the Philippines got in the way, so he hadn't been running as much as he wanted (or should have), but he finished the 13 miles in good time, averaging 9 and 1/2 minute miles 9 minute and 17 second miles (I stand corrected). I'm so proud of him! He knew he wasn't going to do as well as he wanted to, but he met his goal of not walking at all. Way to go sweetie!

Brad, Erik, Phil, Jo, and Wendi also finished the race, and Dawn and Troy worked through injury to walk 8 miles to Tropic. Yay for my family! I'm so proud of them all. I had no desire at all to run/walk 13 miles, so I was there to take pictures--here are some from the finish line. (So many pictures!)

Rich is running so fast!

Aw, they gave my baby a medal.

We are the cutest.
(I wouldn't let him touch me until all his sweatiness had dried.)

Phil in his John Stockton shorts at the end of his journey.

Jo is so happy to be done!

Erik approaches the finish line!

Brad and Jo at the finish.

Everyone at the finish line (Jo, Brad, Rich, Phil, Wendi, and Erik).

Brad was the first in the family to come in (averaging 7 and 1/2 minutes miles--woot!), then Phil, Erik, Rich, Jo, and Wendi (who had started training for the race then stopped when she injured herself, but she decided to be Wonder Woman and do the race anyway). While the others were running I was sleeping and then patiently waiting to take pictures. I bonded with Sheena's parents at the finish line while we waited for the runners to come through.

As I was driving to Cannonville to the finish line, I had to stop on the side of the road to wait for the pilot car to lead me. I took this picture of the fields in Tropic. I just thought this was a fun picture.

And while I was snapping up rays of sunshine, runners were sprinting past me. Literally. I've never been to a marathon before, but some of these guys were in a full-on sprint at mile 9! I do not understand this. But good for them for clocking in at less than 5-minute miles!

The Latest!

So, I had big plans to blog over the weekend. This didn't happen. I've discovered that I'm inherently lazy. Though I had projects to complete and tasks to check off my list, I mainly laid around all weekend. So productive. I did have a pretty good weekend, I mean, how could it not be good if all I did was be lazy! Friday night Rich and I hit up the drive-in again. Srsly, our set up was amazing this time. Rich hooked up the speakers so we could put them out of the car and put them right up by our heads. Surround sound in the wide open! Are we not ghetto-fabulous? Here are some drive-in pics for you. The second two are from our last adventure.

On Saturday, we went to a backyard BBQ for my good friend from high school Katy Barnes and her new husband Danny Cox. This was kind of a family affair because Danny is my sister-in-law Jo's brother. Did that make sense? Anyway, I'm so happy for Katy and Danny and had a great time celebrating their marriage. It was interesting to see all sorts of people from high school--I mean, some of these people I haven't seen since graduation! It was a lot of fun to catch up with people. Rich loved it:) He mainly hung out with my brother while I flitted from old friend to old friend. Congratulations Katy and Danny!!

Sunday I baked up some cookies and whipped up a batch of scotcharoos (peanut butter rice krispies) for our camping trip this week. That's right. We're going camping! SO EXCITED! I'm leaving tomorrow with my sister and her kids, and Rich will come down on Wednesday with my brothers-in-law. We're going to Pine Lake for 3 days and Tropic for another 3. Some of the family is running in the half marathon at Bryce--we'll see if Rich decides to participate--on Saturday.

I'm so looking forward to days of hiking and napping and reading and games of horse shoes. Quiet nights of campfires and millions of stars and banana boat desserts. Sleeping in a tent just makes you feel so. . .right. I look forward to our family camping trip each year, and I'm betting that this year won't disappoint. I hope everyone else's week is pleasant--I'll be out of cell phone range till Sunday!

Another Book Read--Check!

So I finished my second summer book. Yay! This adventure was my classics pick. But before I get into my review, I thought you might like to hear some of this high-brow conversation I was blessed to overhear on the bus this morning:

Girl 1: Oh my gosh, you would be an amazing bartender. You are hot. You would get so many tips.
Girl 2: You think so? I wonder how much bartenders make in tips?
Girl 1: Well, I don't know cuz' I've never gotten tips, I've only given them, but I know you would make a ton. [Feels her own wrist, then reaches over to feel the other girl's wrist.] Feel my wrist. Can you feel that? Does yours feel like that?
Girl 2: No, but I think it's because I'm fatter than you.
Girl 1: If we were stranded, I would totally eat you first.
Girl 2: What? You mean that you would get eaten first.
Girl 1: Oh yeah. Right [laughs].
Girl 1: So isn't [name] Mormon?
Girl 2: Yeah, but he likes to get drunk. I think he went on a mission though.
Girl 1: Yeah, somewhere Spanish right?
Girl 2: I think so. But he's not Spanish. His last name is Boyton.
Girl 1: What's that, a French name? No, it's England [sic]. He looks like he could be from England.
Girl 2: Oh totally from England. I'll ask him though.
Girl 1: Yeah, text him and ask him what the lineage of his name is.
Girl 2: [texting] wait, how you do you spell lineage?

Okay, now that you've enjoyed that, we'll move on to Dickens! For my classics pick I read Bleak House by Charles Dickens. (Thanks for the suggestion Faith!) I really love Dickens, and it's been awhile since we've had reading time together, so this was a great choice. Obviously completely different than Bluebear, but that was the beauty of it. I could get right in to this book because it was such a break from what I read before. This is one of Dickens' last novels, and he was certainly reaching for the stars. The novel is about 1000 pages long, and it's a scathing satire on English society. There isn't as much of Dickens' humor in this story--but rest assured there is still some. Plus there's enough irony and hilarious second characters to keep you smiling and applauding the wit of Dickens. I also loved that this was a mystery novel. Not in the Mary Higgins Clark sense, but in the dark, you never know what's going to happen, family secret sense. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering the mysteries and uncovering the connections. Also, my favorite character was Inspector Bucket. Why? 1) His last name is "Bucket;" 2) He is omnipresent, and it's so disconcerting that it's funny; and 3) His way of conversing with the other characters makes them uncomfortable (and the reader too sometimes), but he always comes out on top and persuades people to act "appropriately," even if it's their desire to do all but be appropriate.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially Annalisa. This isn't my favorite Dickens' though, but it's up there and it just reaffirms Dickens' status in my heart. I want to read another Dickens right now! But instead I'm going to take a mental break, after I read an essay on Bleak House from my Cambridge Companion to Dickens (thanks CUP!), to read a Robert Cormier book. When I was perusing my book shelf last night deciding what to read next, I alighted on The Bumblebee Flies Anyway. I found this book, and another Cormier book at The Strand for a mere 48 cents. Score! When I was younger, my sister Wendi had all of Cormier's books, and I loved them. It's been years since I've read one of his books, and I'm excited to have a reunion with him. I hope I love his writing as much as I did when I was 11. After this diversion, I'm planning on reading a biography on Billy the Kid (what can I say, Young Guns 1 and 2, are some of my favorite movies), but I'm saving it for when I go camping. I'm imagining that reading the book in the woods close to the same area that Billy ran in will make the story even that more delicious! I also have The Grapes of Wrath to read, thanks to Annalisa, but I'm afraid to read the book because she lent me her first edition copy--it's a lot of pressure because I'm positive I'll spill water on it like I did with her Bluebear book! Anyway, enough of my rambling. Happy reading to all!

Happy 4th of July!

Yay for the long weekend! I love fireworks and think that the 4th and 24th of July are my favorite holidays! We normally are in southern Utah for these holidays, but this year we won't be there for either. Oh well. Instead, for the 4th we stayed home and had some family fun. First thing Friday morning we had a neighborhood breakfast complete with games and a patriotic program. It was good food and interesting to see some of our neighbors who we never talk to!

After that I baked up some goodies for our barbecue and then the family came over for some fun. We went to Wall-E, which I thought was pretty cute but which Rich thought was boring, and ate too much nasty popcorn. What was I thinking!? After the movie with the kids, we came back to grill up some corn, hot dogs, and hamburgers and to walk back and forth on the back retaining wall with Canon (this really was fun), burn some ants, and eat lots of food!

Later that night we had fireworks and then Rich and I played the Wii till way to late. I'm amazing at MarioKart:)

Fireworks are so loud!

Rich was so great and was our firework-show coordinator. He lit all the fireworks and helped the kids with their sparklers. What a sweet husband I have!








Here are the most amazing cupcakes ever! So rich and chocolatey. I used the inspiration of this recipe Peanut Butter Fudge Cake, but like Bakerella, I added double the amount of peanut butter cups. These were a hit!

This is the top of the coconut cake I made in the crock pot. I just thought this was a cool picture. I poked holes in the cake to pour a mixture of coconut milk and powdered sugar over the top. I made this cake with a gluten-free cake mix, and it was still super moist and super good! Plus, it's just neat to bake a cake in the crock pot. I used this recipe from this super inspiring blog, but did fold in a cup of shredded coconut into the batter and I used coconut oil in place of regular oil because we had it in the house. Wendi loved her gluten-free dessert!