stress...it's a killer...

salted caramel chocolate chip

One of my guilty obsessions is Starbucks' Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I love it. However, it's only available seasonally. Last week I found a recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies! So now I can have one of my favorite things all year round!!

Here's the recipe:

2 1/4 c. flour

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 c. butter (room temp)

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

2 lg. eggs

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

10 soft caramel chews (cut to size of chocolate chips)

1/2 c. roughly chopped almonds

Course sea salt

Preheat oven to 375.

Line sheet with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Stir well to mix. In a separate bowl, beat butter, sugars, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, caramels, and nuts.

Drop rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets then sprinkle with sea salt. Bake 10-12 minutes till golden brown.

ENJOY!! :)

forget-me-not

Last night I learned some important lessons that were illustrated using the Forget-Me-Not flower. I did some research this morning and there are several legends surrounding this tiny blue flower, as well as some different meanings that have been attached to it over the years.

"A German legend refers to the small, yet unnamed plant who cried out to God, 'Forget me not, Lord!' However, the most romantic legend as to how the Forget-Me-Not gained its name is a medieval legend. A knight was said to be choosing some flowers for his sweetheart, who was walking with him, when he fell into the river, due to the weight of his armor, the knight is said to have thrown the blue flowers to his sweetheart on the river bank crying, 'Forget-Me-Not.'

"In the Victorian language of flowers, the Forget-Me-Not flower was interpreted as meaning faithful or true love...it is also said that in 15ht century Germany, the Forget-Me-Not was worn by one lover in recognition of not forgetting the other.

"The Forget-Me-Not has been used as a symbol of remembrance for those who have suffered of have been lost in war. In Newfoundland, Canada, Forget-Me-Not flowers are worn on July 1 each year in memory of those who died in World War I. The Forget-Me-Not is also worn as a Masonic symbol in recognition of those who have suffered in the name of Freemasonry, particularly during the Nazi regime of World War II.

"The Forget-Me-Not is a symbol of Alaska, as it is the state flower. The Forget-Me-Not flower has also been adopted as a symbol for Canada's Alzheimer Society." (http://sharonfalsetto.suite101.com/the-symbol-of-the-forgetmenot-flower-a84954)

#1. Forget not to be patient with yourself. God is aware that you are not perfect. Stop punishing yourself. Be patient and compassionate with yourself as you are with others.

#2. Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish one. Are you committing your time and energies to that which matters most?

#3. Forget not to be happy now. Don't wait for your "golden ticket." If we spend our days waiting for roses we could miss the beauty of the small forget-me-nots that surround us.

#4. Forget not the "why" of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not an obligation--it is a pathway. Don't walk the path of discipleship with your eyes on the ground--seek out the beauty and majesty of the "why" of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

#5. Forget not that the Lord loves you.

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Relief Society Broadcast, September 24, 2011.

one more

I forgot my most favoritest thing about Fall in my post yesterday.

CANDY CORN!!!

Did you know....

...October 30th is National Candy Corn Day.

...More than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces--enough to circle the moon nearly 21 times if laid end-to-end.

...One serving of candy corn contains only about 140 calories.

...Candy corn contains less sugar than raisins.

fall

Today is the first day of Fall.

It is 106 degrees outside.

Despite, the summer temps, however, I can feel that Fall is in the air. I love this time of year and here are a few reasons why...

Caramel Apples!

Sweaters!

Hot Chocolate!

MY SHOWS ARE BACK!!!

I am also in the process of making some personal changes while the weather is is and seasons are changing. It's been a rough summer, but I am hoping that Fall is the start of some good things....

a karaoke bucharest

Last night I went to the Gilbert Constitution Fair with my sisters. Every year the city of Gilbert, AZ puts on a fair to celebrate the U.S. Constitution and help to educate people on the importance of the document. As part of the festivities they have some different entertainment set up. This year, David Archuleta came to perform. We got there about 6pm, under the impression that David was going to be going on at 7pm. Turns out, he didn't actually get up on stage until after 8pm so we were forced to endure some really bad opening acts. It was like a really bad karaoke nightmare. I typed this into my phone to send as a tweet: "This is turning out to be a really bad karaoke nightmare." This is what came out after my phone auto-corrected: "This is turning out to be a really bad karaoke Bucharest."

o_O

Dear, stupid phone of mine. I did not mean to type Bucharest instead of nightmare. When have I EVER needed to type the word Bucharest? Please stop trying to correct my texts. I'm an English major. I know how to spell, and I know what word I'm trying to type. Thanks.

My camera isn't the best (I'm beginning to think about finally upgrading to a new, more better one), but here are a few shots that I was able to get last night:

Skydivers with awesome flames. Not sure how the fire didn't disintegrate their parachutes....

How close we were to the stage:

David:

At the end there was an awesome firework display:

sliders

Thanks to Netflix, I've been able to re-watch some of my old, favorite TV shows. One of which is this one:

For those of you who don't remember this one, it started in 1995 and starred this guy:

Jerry O'Connell. Isn't he dreamy?? He's been one of my crushes for a looooong time. The premise of the show is that Jerry O'Connell aka Quinn Mallory (isn't that a sexy name?) is a college student who figures out how to open up the doorway to an infinite number of parallel universes. Each slide takes him and his three friends to a new dimension. They're always in San Francisco, but each world is different. Last night I watched a couple episodes. One had the sliders visiting a world where dinosaurs were still alive and another one had police officers (male police officers) wearing skirts.

So, here are my questions: do you believe in the possibility of parallel universes? If you could, would you travel to these different worlds? What kind of world would you like to visit?

"Penny, while I subscribe to the "Many Worlds" theory which posits the existence of an infinite number of Sheldon in an infinite number of universes, I assure you that in none of them am I dancing." -Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory.

remembering

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centers in New York. I'll always remember where I was that day and how it made me feel. September 11, 2001 was a day that started out like the day before, but quickly turned into one we would never forget. I was sitting in my 7am math class that Tuesday morning at Dixie State College when I first heard someone talking about a plane crash. I remember not really thinking much of it. Plane crashes are sad, and I always feel bad for those who were lost and the families who are left grieving, but it didn't really have an impact on me. It wasn't until I got back to my dorm room and found my roommate, Devone, watching TV that I realized what was going on. The world stopped turning as we were all riveted to the television, unable to believe what we were seeing. Unable to believe it was real.

I wrote down some of my thoughts and feelings of that day after it happened:

Have you ever had a mushroom problem in your yard or garden? If you haven't it's interesting. It happens when there's a change in the weather. You go to bed and everything is fine, but when you wake up, the weather's changed and you have an invasion of mushrooms marching in your grass.

Tuesday I awoke, unaware of what was happening to cause widespread alert across the country. Almost like the invisible army of mushroom spores that materializes overnight, the United States had been hit with an unforeseen force. Who would have thought that terrorists would attack us? You always hear of stuff like this happening in other countries and you think, "It'll never happen to me. There's no way." But it did happen to me.

As I sat in the school dining area and ate my popcorn chicken and cold French fries, my eyes and ears were riveted on the television screen. "How did it happen? I hear myself asking. "Someone should have known something was in the works, surely."

But just like that, the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, taken out. The Towers destroyed. Suddenly, without warning, the pillars in American life, gone. Could this be the event that slingshots the world into WWIII? Could this be the last straw that brings about all that the propjets down through the ages have prophesied? The last great war between the nations of the world? I shudder to think it, afraid my thoughts will become reality.

My eyes are drawn to the sky. "Clouds," I say out loud to my roommates. "How fitting." Just like the change in the weather brings the mushroom army, bent on destroying your yard, so today the change accompanies this national attack in my country's backyard.

It has been interesting to watch and see what has happened over the last 10 years in response to the attacks on the Trade Center and the Pentagon. Many things have changed, and many things have stayed the same. I feel, sometimes, that we have gone back to sleep as a nation and have forgotten the way we felt after the attacks and the resolutions we made. I am afraid of what our next wake-up call will be.

sisters

I'm kickin' it at home alone this weekend (Katy is up in Flagstaff with her parents and her boyfriend). Faith and Julia came over last night for a sleep-over. We didn't do anything too exciting, but it was fun to be together. We went to Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's last night for fall/Halloween decorations for my house. We came home, decorated, then watched "The Last Song." This morning we watched "The Princess and the Frog."

I love my sisters.

labor day 2011

Last year Katy and I went to San Diego for Labor Day. We've decided to turn Labor Day into an annual trip to California. This year, we decided to do Disneyland. Katy hadn't been since she was little and she was SO excited! We did a two-day park hopper pass and spent all day Friday and Saturday at both parks. Got a little sunburned and thought my feet were literally going to fall off by the time we were done on Saturday.

We didn't take too many pictures because we were having too much fun. Here are the ones we got though...

On the tram to the park Friday morning...

On the teacups in the afternoon...

Watching the "Soundsational" parade...

Aladdin was the only Disney "prince" we saw and we decided he was kind of a tool...

I wondered out loud who the princesses were hooking up with since there was NO sign of any princes around...

...and Katy said they were hooking up with the chimney sweeps.

Soaking our feet Friday night. Note to self: next time you go to Disneyland, bring foot soak stuff. We ended up going to Walmart on our way back to the hotel on Saturday night to buy some snacks for Sunday and got some Epsom salt to soak our feet in.

Dead Katy...

Jedi Training Academy on Saturday morning. The little tiny Jedi's were the cutest things ever!

California Adventures

Sunday we slept in, then got up and drove to the beach. We were going to go to Huntington, but parking was INSANE. I had made plans to meet up with my friend Lauren, but after trying to find parking we decided to head north a little further. We ended up going to Seal Beach. We had lunch at the Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier, then sat and watched the waves and talked for a couple hours. It was great! And we actually saw a seal! I saw one a couple of times, I'm not sure if it was the same one or different seals...

It was windy and chilly...

Next year, I think we're going to do a California to Mexico cruise. Can't wait!!