WANTED: Roommate for SWF

I successfully convinced someone to move to Portland! All it took was two visits and she was sold. Actually I am pretty sure she was sold during the first visit, but she had to pass a little thing we like to call probation before she could transfer... It's official now though and I am SOOOO excited! I wish I would have held off on moving just a month longer. But I am here in my new place for a few more months and there's not a whole lot of room for two people in here. So that means we've got to find Lauren a place to stay in Portland. Anyone looking for a roommate or know of others looking for one? She starts out here March 1st.

If you know of anything let me know!

Under the Weather

The fact about music is its power to evoke emotions. Music has the ability to inevitably tap the still, mysterious deep well of our emotions. What's also interesting is the different emotions that come from a single song depending on your current state. I have listened to a certain song many times and thought nothing of it. But when I listened to it last night, I felt the words speaking to me and really comforting me when I needed it. Music has so much power!

I am also amazed at the perfect timing of some things. The inspiration we receive to help others along, is truly a testament that there is a God. Many times I have done things for others without a single thought that it would be just what they needed at that time. We are the hands of God on this earth. Phillipians 2:13 says "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." When I recognize this in my life I can't help but thank God for the people he has placed in my life. I am surrounded by amazing people!

Thank you Ty for sending the CD. It arrived yesterday and could not have been at a better time. I love every single song you chose. It's exactly what I needed to feel comfort from a friend when I felt so alone.

On my agenda today:
Listen to this playlist on repeat. All day.

No Way Josessica!

Last night while working super hard I looked at my phone to see a text from my bff saying "leave work and bake with me." Only because I had been wanting to bake something pumpkin did I think this was a great idea! Who cares about making money at work, when you can bake delicious treats at home with a friend. Right???

So we rendezvoused at my house an hour later. After perusing through recipe books and Food Network Magazines we gave up and went online to find the perfect pumpkin treat.

This is where Rachel Ray sometimes comes in handy. The other times she's just loud and makes weird recipes with hot dogs...

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

We read the comments and saw that the frosting was no bueno so I just whipped together some cream cheese frosting and it turned out great. You can never go wrong with cream cheese.

{My friend thought she could steal one before they were frosted.}

{the final product}

I'm saving mine for my lunch tonight at work. Can't wait.

Always on Vacation

I get newsletters from alwaysonvacation.com every week sent to my inbox. I don't actually read them. In fact I delete them right away. I don't know how I got signed up for them, but I am too lazy to unsubscribe. But every time I do receive an email from them I smile. It is so fitting for me to be a recipient of a newsletter from this website. As it seems I really am always on vacation. Especially right now in my unemployed stage of life. I have all the time in the world to do whatever. I may not have the unlimited funds I would like, but I make do.

On Tuesday I returned home from the most amazing trip to Spain. It was my first time traveling to Europe and I am in love. Everything was perfect. (sans the food in Spain) I will show pictures later.

Next week, on Wednesday I will fly to Fresno for some birthday celebrations. I am excited to make cupcakes for Ava's birthday party. I went to the library yesterday and came out with a few more cupcake/cake decorating books.

From Fresno I fly to Las Vegas for a few days, before I head up to Provo for my graduation. It will be a fun gathering of many family members and friends. I am excited!

A few days after graduation I will hop in a car (or two) with 6 of my friends as we make the trek to San Francisco. We will do a day in the bay area before flying to Hawaii!

I will be in Hawaii for 7 days. One of those days will be my birthday! Second time celebrating my birthday in the Aloha state. Me and 6 great friends relaxing on the white sandy beaches of the North Shore sounds so amazing right now. We are all stoked out of our minds and can't wait for April 27th to get here. I can't wait to get my hands on some delicious papaya :) This time I think I will skip trying to smuggle it back into the mainland.

Upon return, we will do a few more days in San Francisco and then it's back to regular life here in Beaverton. Hopefully I will get my butt into gear these next few days and I can have some work lined up for me upon arrival.

But right now I am just enjoying this time I get to spend with the people I love most.

Baked With Love

I haven't blogged about cupcakes in a long time. That doesn't mean that I have stopped making them. Because if anything, I am making more lately. Ever since I got my new kitchenaid mixer, baking has been a thousand times easier and so I love doing it more. If that's even possible.

A few months ago my grandma asked me to make some cute cupcakes that she could take to a friend who had just adopted a baby girl. So my first thought was pink. After looking through my "bible" (my Martha Stewart cookbook) I decided to make little piggies. Obviously they didn't come out as perfect as Martha makes them, but they still were pretty dang cute! I used mini m&m's for the eyes and bubble tape for the ears. I made a ton extra so I could take them to my sunbeams the next day. I don't think they had anything to do with the lesson. But of course that particular Sunday the other teacher decided not to show up so I had double the number of kids and didn't have enough cupcakes. So I had to wait until after church and deliver them instead.

The last week I was in Provo I decided to make the s'mores cupcakes from the cookbook. I searched all over for graham flour the whole summer and finally found some at my favorite place in Provo, Sunflower Market! So all semester I planned to make these cupcakes. But I never had a special occasion for them. Since the marshmallow cream is torched, they had to be eaten right away to be able to fully enjoy them. Well I tried making them in December and failed miserably. Miserably. But once again, this kitchenaid has saved my life. I could not live without it. I tried them again to make them for my grandma's send out cards party. They tunred out a thousand times better. They are so fun to torch too!

Bill and Heidi came to town last month and we celebrated Jenna's birthday while she was here. She loves strawberrys so I decided to try out the strawberry cupcakes with strawberry butercream frosting.

It all started with some fresh strawberries.

Then we put them in the yummy batter.

This is the finished product.

Rebekah helped me frost some of them.

Jenna loved them. It was also Valentine's day weekend, so I took them to my sunbeams at church. When Spencer's brother picked him up after class he exclaimed, "You got cupcakes again!?!?!" It made me laugh.

Because it was Valentine's Day weekend, and Adrianne came out for the weekend, I wanted to send some cupcakes back to Provo for some of my friends. Once again, this batch was a rebake. My very first cupcakes that I made with the Martha Stewart book were the Chocolate Marshmallow cupcakes. The book says to mkae them jumbo, but they didn't turn out very well. Plus the marshmallow cream for the filling was gross. So I decided to give them a try again. This time I made them regular sized. They turned out great! And then I covered them with a chocolate ganache and my mom (who has better writing with frosting skills than me) wrote Valentine and I love you on all of them. It took me hours that night to get them secured perfectly for travel the next morning. But it was so worth it. I am glad I could send a special treat to some people in Provo.

A favorite cupcake in our house is the flourless cupcakes. They bake like normal cupcakes but when they cool down they fall into the liner. And then you put a scoop of Tillamook Vanilla Bean ice cream. It's a delicious combination. I got these huge cupcake liners in my stocking this Christmas, and they are perfect for this recipe.

mmm. chocolate and butter.

turns into this.

and then poured into the egg mixture.

to make these yummy and easy treats.

Two weeks ago the sunbeam lesson was on flowers and trees, so I wanted to make some cute flower cupcakes. I decided this a little too late on a Saturday night, so I raced around town before the stores started closing to find the supplies I needed. I didn't find exactly what I wanted, but they still turned out pretty cute.

On Monday it was Howard's birthday and we had a bunch of people over for dinner. I was in charge of the cupcakes. Of course. He loves cherries and chocolate. So I made the black forest cupcakes sans the alcohol. These are very chocolately cupcakes that are then cut in half after baking. They are brushed with marishino cherry juice on each side. Then a handful of cherries are put on top on the both half. Followed by some pastry cream (think cream-filled donuts) Then I put the top back on and cover it with a layer of chocolate ganache. They were a hit. I don't really care for canned cherries, so I didn't actually have one.

There's still more yummy recipes to try. I picked up a few cupcake books from the library, so I keep adding to the list of recipes I need to try.

America's Attic

After posting about my friends' fun, spontaneous trips I decided I needed my own. I had been wanting to visit Emma in Vancouver ever since I knew she was going to be working the Olympics. Duh. Free place to stay. (Thanks Emma!) Short drive. Not only new city to explore, but new country as well. Yes, yes, and yes. Well seeing as how the last time I had a passport was when I was 10 years old, this brought about a slight problem. I applied for one about a month ago so I can go to Spain in March (!!!!) but I didn't think it would come in time. Plus, I was babysitting for some people in my ward while they were at the beach all week, so that eliminated one available week to go.

Well I get home on Friday to see that my passport had arrived! So of course, I start looking at flights to Fiji and Amsterdam... So typical of me. But it's like when you turn 21 and you have this sudden freedom that you didn't have the day before. Even if you're not going to use the freedom, it's still the fact that nothing is stopping you. That's how I felt when my passport arrived. So of course Sunday I began contemplating the idea of going to Vancouver. And there I was... Monday morning... in my little red Honda... driving up north. As I said before, the drive was beautiful. Loved it. That is until I reached the border... Story time!

Disclaimer: My Canadian brother-in-law should not read the first part of this. Thanks :)

This whole border thing is new to me. I was too young to remember my experience of going to Mexico. Please, I was just so excited that the PHX airport that our layover was in had an arcade room... Plus our flight was delayed. And then when we got there our bags were missing... It was a horrible experience. So driving up to Canada I didn't know what to expect. Though, I for sure didn't expect to be treated like a freakin criminal.

I pull up to the border and hand the man my passport. He seems to be about 5 years older than me so I thought in my head that I got lucky. This should be simple. He asked me a TON of questions. Ranging from my employment (sad) to where I was staying, how much money I had available to me, and what's my favorite major league baseball team... (just kidding... i wish) I thought things were going well. But then after about 10 minutes of questions, he hands me my passport back with a yellow slip and tells me to proceed to the left to park and go inside the building for some more questions. I ask him if this is normal, and he says they just want to make sure I am really staying where I say I am and if I have enough funds just in case I get stuck up there.

Whatever. I pull in and notice that "SWAT teams" are searching the others cars. They've got all their stuff out of the car, looking under the hood, under the car, every little crevice. It felt like I was watching one of my law and order shows. I walk inside and get asked the same questions over and over. So bugged at this point. I was making such great time. And I wasnted to get into the city before it got dark. At this point, it didn't look like that was going to happen... So after a million questions again he searches my wallet for money, me, and then takes my keys to search my car. 20 minutes later he comes back, gives me my keys and tells me I'm good. Well DUH! I am too stupid to smuggle anything into another country. Besides when I am lying, you can definitely tell. Although I did want to smuggle Kelli in because she didn't have a passport. But my mom said it probably wouldn't be a good idea to have a criminal record while job hunting... As I hand my yellow slip back to the man I tell him "I hate Canada" and "Thanks for making me feel like a criminal." I should have probably thought about the gun in his holster before saying that. But thankfully he just took me as another "Stupid American." and let me on my way.

I arrived in Vancouver just a short while later. Got into the hotel relaxed for a few minutes. Changed my clothes and went out to EXPLORE! I was hungry so I asked the hotel concierge where the best food was. She thought I was going to ask where all the Olympic stuff was going on. Nope. Don't care about that. But on my way I walked right into it.

All this was taking place at Robson Square. The games were being shown everywhere in the city. Every TV was showing CTV's broadcast. Even the sides of the buildings were showing the games. Before going to Vancouver I had watched about 1 hour total of the games. Now, I couldn't escape it. You always knew when Canada did something good, because cheering would irrupt in the crowds. "Oh Canada" was sung so many times I feel like I know the words...

This is more of the crowd at Robson Square. And the magician doing some hat trick that he talked up for about 10 minutes. I didn't feel like waiting long enough to actually see it.

My yummy nutella and banana crepe! After having no luck with the food search, I happened this crepe cafe. I had to wait awhile for this, but it was definitely worth the wait. In fact I went back every day after that.
I walked around downtown for about 3 hours waiting for Emma to get off work. Right before I met up with her I found the torch. It's funny because everything Olympic that I saw, I happened upon. I didn't have a map of anything. I just walked all over until I found things. It was great.

Emma got off work at midnight and I met her at the IBC. We got into a van full of NBC workers and rode up to Grouse Mountain. We had to take the gondola up to the actual mountain. That's us in the gondola.
After all that walking I didn't think I was going to feel like ice-skating. But it was actually a lot of fun. Grouse mountain is also where the Today Show set is during the Olympics so it was fun to be up there. Doing the "Olympic" thing. :) It was fun meeting all of the people Emma works with. I think broadcast people are more fun than anyone else... Is that true? We skated for awhile, until someone got "hurt." Then we headed back home. Meredith and Al were arriving while we were leaving and I thought to myself, "I will never have a job with a horrible sleeping schedule like that." I hope.

The next day I explored the city while Emma was working. I wish I had had a friend with me though. Especially when I wanted a picture by this Vancouver sign. I am always so weary of asking complete strangers to take pictures of my in front of things. It always turns out bad it seems. Like this. So I asked for picture with the Vancouver in it. This is what I got:

Great.
At least this one was better. There was a line to be able to see the torch without the fences in the way. But I didn't feel like waiting in any lines, so this is what I got.

I really wanted to rent a bike and ride it around Stanley Park. But because of the rain, the rentals were closed. Apparently the rain will make you melt... One lady said, "You want to bike in this rain?" I said, "Ya. I'm from Oregon." Oh well. It was better weather the next day so I considered renting a bike, but I figured I could always come back and do that another time. It wasn't going to go away when the Olympics were over. So I HAVE to go back sometime and do that.

That night after Emma got off work we went to what seemed like the only bar that was open and serving food. Alex met up with us too. I interned with him in St. Louis. And he was working for NBC also. It was fun to talk with him. Now that the Olympics are over, we are both living the unemployed life. great.
The last day I was there, Emma and I did a little exploring before she went in to work. This sign said please don't feed the bears. They're fake. Weird Canadians.

This is at Robson Square again. I was trying to fit in with all the Asian tourists...

I said goodbye to Emma, went back to the hotel and got my stuff and took off. Interestingly enough my stop at the border going south was smooth sailing. He asked me 3 questions and then handed me back my passport and said have a nice day. I love the U.S.A!

Even though I basically hate Canada right now, I loved Vancouver. I will definitely go back again someday. It has the northwest feel that I love. Everyone is so "green." I love it. Especially after being in Utah for 6 years, where finding a place to recycle was like finding gold at the end of the rainbow. Thanks again, Emma for a fun trip!

p.s. if you made it this far, wow. you must be bored right now!

I Want To Rock 'n' Roll All Night

I signed up for my first 1/2 marathon! It was kind of fun to mark that it was my first on the questionnaire. It is the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon.


Driving up to Vancouver through Seattle on Monday was just stunning. I am so proud to be from the Northwest. We have the most beautiful scenery. On Monday it was a gorgeous 60 degrees and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. I wanted the drive to last forever. On the way back down south on Wednesday I was driving through downtown Seattle right before sunset. The sun reflecting off the water and onto the buildings was picturesque. In fact I searched through my purse for my camera with one hand and one eye while using the other eye and hand to watch where I was driving. There was one specific 30 second stretch of the drive that I wanted to capture. Unfortunately on this particular occasion I was sporting my big yellow purse. Finding one small thing in a big huge bag is difficult at anytime, let alone while driving in rush hour traffic. So I have no beautiful picture to show. But just imagine it with me. As I passed downtown I found myself checking the rear view mirror every few seconds to catch one last look.

After seeing this I have had a new found love for Seattle. I would love to live there someday. a. It's close to home. b. There's a Major League Baseball team. (even if they are in the American League...) c. there's a NFL team. d. There's water. e. It's green. d. It doesn't cost an arm and a leg like San Francisco (my other dream place to live) I could go on and on...

So with this new found love I decided to check out marathons in Seattle to do this year. And immediately I found the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 marathon and new this is the one. It's June 26. Perfect time of the year. Not too hot, not too cold. Beautiful scenery. Fresh air. What more could you ask for?? Ok, maybe a friend to run with?? Kelli, get on that!

Go here to sign up.

I am excited for this new challenge!

Oh Canada

I am having a blast up here in Vancouver! This place is so much fun! So much excitement all of the city. I am so glad I decided to come up here. Here are a few pictures of what I have been doing/eating so far. I "talk" more when I get back to the U.S. (I love how that sounds!)

Long Live Lumie

This weekend I was so proud of some of my Provo friends. All those years together and I finally rubbed off on some of them.

Mallory actually flew in an airplane to visit a FRIEND (no relatives here) and go to the All-Star Game. Wow! This is big time for Mal! Not only did she take a trip to another state by plane, but she did it for a major sporting event. :) I am so proud of my Malpal!

This weekend is a 3-day weekend at BYU and when Ty's weekend trip with his roommates fell through he hopped onto a classmate's road trip to California. Deciding at the last minute to go he had to shuffle some things around, but decided it was all worth it when he took in the view from their beach house in Oceanside. [EDIT] I just found out today that this trip was even more spontaneous than I had really thought. He was invited to go on the trip at 9 am on Thursday morning. With classes, and assignments left to do for the day, he thought he wouldn't be able to go. But after calling them around 11 am he decided he ought to go. So by 11:30 he was in the car and cruising I-15 to the Happiest Place on Earth. Not only was he following my example with a spontaneous trip, but he's going with complete strangers (minus his friend from class) PLUS he ignored his responsibilities ie. class... That is SO me! Go Ty!

Leave Provo for this view? Duh!

This makes me feel that there is still a part of me left in the frozen tundra of Provo. I miss my friends.

LONG LIVE LUMIE!

Today I was thinking about all the things I want to do with my friends, especially once Annette gets back from her mission. And I realized I will have a full-time job by then (hopefully) and won't be able to take the time off. It's so easy to skip a class here and there. But work, that's a different story. Oh well. I always figure out a way to have a great time whereever I am. Good thing I am so much fun!

You've got a friend in me...

But apparently i don't have one in you...

I thought that maybe I have a twisted view on what a friend should be...

But I wikipedia'd it:

Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more people. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, affection and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis.

So I'm not crazy to think that my friends would be willing to do things for me because of the affection and respect and support we have for each other. But apparently some friends don't support.

So i put my friends into 2 different categories:

My Samantha's - those that won't come to my mother's funeral

My Carrie's - those that will run through the streets of new york in the cold and snow to make it just in time for the ball to drop on new years...

On a lighter note, today i asked a friend for what i thought was going to be a small favor. but it turned into something quite complicated and he helped me out. so i thank him for that.