July 11th - Slurpees, Smiles, and the World

A day late again, sorry.

Yesterday was a good day.  It wasn't as productive as I had hoped it would be since I was not feeling so well.  But!  I did the best I could.  So I started out the day with some inspiring quotes and scripture study that lifted my spirits.  Then I got to talk to my dear roommate Madi Jeanfreau.

Just so you know.  I love this girl!  She is one amazing woman.  We got to talk for a good 40 minutes and it made me VERY happy.  Good times.  Then I made some delicious pasta for lunch - whole grain penne with a homemade cheese sauce with lots of pepper.  mmmm.  That also made me happy.  Then I ran some errands which included splitting a frozen yogurt from costco with my mom.  Frozen yogurt makes me happy.  So does my mom.  Then for dinner we had rotisserie chicken, salad, green beans, and rolls.  That also made me happy.  Then the real celebration began.  Marisol and I decided we should go to institute at least once this summer.  They were going to go bowling afterwards which sounded appealing so we headed out.  On the way we had to stop and get a "slurpee" from Chevron.  They had this new flavor!  Pomegranate Lemonade.  Holy deliciousness.  It was wonderful.  Slurpees are always too sweet for me, but this was brilliant!  Ah.

Yeah...check out those red teeth.  Gross. Haha.  Anyways, then we found out that bowling was canceled so we just got to chat with a few people we hadn't seen for awhile.  That was good fun!
So obscure holidays celebrated:
Slurpees- Check
World Population Day - well, how are you really supposed to celebrate that??  Well I found out that the current population of the world is 7,025,808,653.  That is one large number.  Anyways, you can just store that in the section of your brain reserved for random facts that you can't ever remember when you want to.  Ha. For some reason the first thing I thought of when I saw "World Population Day"  was the song below.  It  is a whole bunch of popular artists from many genres coming together to help the people of Haiti.  Isn't it a beautiful thing when people come together like this?   I especially like Celine Dion's part.  Brilliant.

Cheer Up the Lonely - well, I would like to say that I cheered up someone but I'm not really sure if I did.  I tried to be friendly if that counts for anything.  I tried to have extra patience with my siblings when it came to chores.  I guess it is just a goal of mine to try to live this day everyday from now one.  Sounds SUPER cheesy but I think it is a good idea.  Yeah?  You should join me.  I'm sure it would make a difference.  Actually, I know it would.

Today's Holidays:
Pecan Pie Day
Different Colored Eyes Day
Simplicity Day

(:

July 10th - Teddy Bears and Pina Coladas

Happy July 10th!

Can I just tell you how stoked I was when I found out that I would get to celebrate Teddy Bear Picnic day??  So when I was younger my mom would always sing us the song "Teddy Bear Picnic."

Sounds cheesy now but I l.o.v.e.d. that song and ever since I have wanted to have a picnic with my own teddy bear.  Well it's never too late right?? So we packed up little lunches and headed to a nearby park.  We had a quiet picnic in the shade.  It was splendid.

Our family is full of Harry Potter fanatics so when we found some sticks it could only mean one thing...WIZARDING DUEL.  Logan and I had some good fun!

After the park we headed home for some relaxing.  Then dinner time came around.  It is Taco Tuesday which complimented our celebration of Pina Colada Day.  I am not a big fan of Pina Coladas because I am not a huge coconut fan.  If you are you can look up a good recipe to enjoy a normal version.  Here is the recipe I used for a coconut free Pina Colada.  It was very yummy!

1 cup ice
1 1/4 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. white sugar
(http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070816181633AAkDyEg)

Throw it all in the blender and voila!  It makes about 2 servings and takes just over a minute. My family thoroughly enjoyed it!

Tomorrow is:
Cheer Up the Lonely Day
Slurpee Day
World Population Day

enjoy (:

July 9th - National Sugar Cookie Day

Who doesn't love a good sugar cookie?  I like mine soft and chewy with a light but super yummy frosting.  I had all these great plans.  #1 I was going to call up my roommate Courtney.  Her mom has a BOMB! recipe for sugar cookies, but the dough has to be refrigerated so I would have needed a little more time for that option.  So then Plan B was to turn to good ol' Pinterest.  I had previously pinned a scrumptious looking recipe for sugar cookies (that did not require refrigeration) and I thought I would just try that out.  An unexpected trip to the doctor's took up all of my baking time.  Stupid.  So we had to resort to Plan C (for cookies! ha)  I sent my wonderful father to Wally World to pick up some Granny B's Sugar Cookies - you know?  The ones that are circle shaped with perfect bubblegum pink frosting and in almost every vending machine for $1.  Yup...those ones!  haha.  As we waited we decided to have a photo shoot.  If you know my family you know that my brother Nathan and I don't necessarily look like we belong.  As the two brunette children we seem a little too abnormal (ironically) in the midst of the 4 flaming red headed siblings.  Just a few weeks ago I went on a trip with my mother and sister to Utah for my roommate's wedding.  Everywhere, and I'm not exaggerating, we went (including gas station restrooms) people would stop and stare at my gorgeous sister.  They would ask my mom if she was proud to have such a beautiful red headed daughter.  They would comment that if they could have anything in the world they would have red hair.  They admitted that they would pay all the money in the world to get hair like that.  Oh geez.  In the midst of these comments they would shoot a pitiful glance in my direction.  It was a big self esteem boost!  Let me tell you.  But that was a big side note.  So back to the real story.  My brother Nathan and I decided to have our own little "black head"  (probably not the most flattering term) photo shoot.  We got our dog Molly and starting just goofing off.  Well at 10 o'clock at night with two crazy kids and a tired dog this is what you get.

My most flattering photos?  Nope.  Do I care?  Not at all.  This was SO  fun.  We especially got a kick out of Molly's face in the second photo.  HAHA.  oh man.  It was just one of those hilarious yet VERY quirky family moments.  We were laughing SO hard.  What else is worth living for?  Ah man.  Good times.  Then,  we finally got our sugar cookies.

MMM.  Well, I might have to redeem myself and make some homemade ones later this week.  Stay tuned for some more good holidays.  Today (since I am writing this post a day late)  is Teddy Bear Picnic Day and Pina Colada day!  Enjoy!

(: