do it.

go see the ice castles up in Midway.
it won't disappoint.
plus the entrance fee goes towards a boy's mission fund.
so you get an awesome winter wonderland adventure AND do some service at the same time.

then go to Fill Her Up Coffee Station on main street for gourmet hot chocolate.
i recommend the tan (dark + white chocolate) hot chocolate but the mexi (hint of cinnamon) is good too.
the decor is funky, retro, nick-nacky and there are toys to play around with.
like ridiculous sunglasses, ice cream cone hats, and mini cars to ride in.
its the hidden gem of Midway.

something that makes me feel better

looking at ridiculous old pictures.

something that makes me cry

i am losing steam on this 30 posts in 30 days thing, even with only picking the ones i like and doing it whenever i want. this might be one of the last.....

things that make me cry:

1. Finding Neverland
2. Little Women (i always end up watching it with Stefi)
3. too many books to list. one of the top ones would be "To Kill a Mockingbird" (plus it would be boring to read for anyone else but me. and maybe Abby.)
   
4. WWII anything - museums, books, movies. The best Holocaust museums I have been to: the one in Washington D.C. and Yad Veshum in Israel.
5. the more i think about it, a lot of things make me cry. i am easily moved by significant things. i don't cry over just anything, it has to be meaningful- if only to me.
   
6. my favorite art pieces
   
7. sunsets over Jerusalem and Sea of Galilee
8. last Sabbath in the Jerusalem Branch
9. saying goodbyes. (to people, cities, phases of life)
10. being really happy
    

cake pops

every valentines i love to get my bake on. i am really good at baking (my cooking is much more limited....) and pink is my favorite color. so i get really excited for any excuse to bake pink things and valentines day is perfect! (not to mention that it is my favorite non-religious holiday. yes it even beats out the 4th of July)

for a dessert party i decided to make CAKE POPS! I didn't really have a recipe, I just kinda did whatever my inner baking goddess told me. It was super easy and totally worth it.

1. Bake a cake from a box. I used milk chocolate, but you can do whatever flavor. like cherry, yellow, red velvet or white! Just follow the instructions on the back of the box

2. let the cake cool down completely. then scoop out the cake into a mixing bowl and mix in one can of frosting. once again i just bought a can. i did buttercream. but if you wanted death by chocolate or something, you could do chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. but i think buttercream works best because then it doesn't overpower the cake flavor. Blend together with a handmixer and a dough forms.

put the dough in the fridge overnight or for at least a couple of hours.

2. once the dough is chilled, roll it into little balls3. put the balls of cake back in the fridge for another couple hours. then melt 2 bags of chocolate chips in a separate bowl. take the balls out of the fridge then dip into the melted chocolate. 4. decorate with sprinkles! if i had sticks, i would have put some in to make them look like lollipops but i didn't have any. the party-goers had to just had to use their hands or a fork. and voila! yummy cake pops!

it was a hit at the party. and people thought it was more work than it really was. (i mean, it was all store bought stuff that looks homemade! muahahaha) this is a great baking secret. i am also excited to try new combos like carrot cake with white chocolate or strawberry with white and dark chocolate or maybe Funfetti! the possibilities are endless!

happy baking and hope your valentines day was splendid!

dream

my very first dream i remember was when i was super little. i was still sleeping in a crib.

in my dream, the opening scene was the last thing i remember before falling asleep.
i was watching mom close the door to my room through the slots in my crib.
then the closet started to rumble and out came a monster! it was the same monster from a book i was obsessed with. it scared me to death but it was terrifically terrifying. the book was called "There's a Nightmare in My Closet".

Anyways in my dream i started to cry for my mom but then the monster said, "no don't be scared! i am nice!" to prove it, he and i went up stairs to my kitchen and made sugar cookies. and for cookie cutters we used toy fire trucks.

then i woke up in my crib.

this week

monday: classes and after my last one, i met up with my family. they drove down to provo to have an fhe to see the Carl Bloche exhibit. then dinner @ los hermanos!!!! after that i went to my other fake fhe (the byu kind) for ice cream sundaes.

tuesday: snow photo shoot at 2 am again with skj. this is our second year of doing this.

wednesday: classes and went to the lib with the roomies

thursday: roomie date with camilia. we went to guru's for dinner and saw BYU's ballet of Cinderella. excellent night!

friday: took a test in the morning and in the afternoon i picked my cousin up. we went to target for a shopping spree. we may or may not have both bought a matching boyfriend sweater that we both didn't need.

(but for good times sake we got it. while growing up we would get "twinner" outfits every season..... embarrassing i know. but now we brought it alive again for a cute sweater sake)

par avion concert that night! it was a) free b) in a random red barn in the middle of nowhere c) got lost trying to find it. a 15 mins drive took an hour d) packed with college kids e) tons of good bands f) great dancing. SUCCESS

saturday: breakfast at bryanna and kylie's! (best friends since jr high and high school)
"and in the morning, i'm makin waffles!" - that is exactly what we did. i love these girls!

as for right now.... i am not studying for D&C and tonight is the DI dance. and making cake pops for a dessert party tomorrow. be jealous.


sunday: (tomorrow): stake conference then dinner at skjelse's aunt and uncle's

what's in my bag

i will have you know that i have not used a backpack in 7 years. starting in 7th grade i have used a cute purse or side bag. i was so over backpacks and i didn't care that one shoulder would ache carrying all on the weight it. the purse made the outfit.

but......... something strange has happened since coming home. i got this little pup for Jerusalem last semester. i used EVERYWHERE. i dragged this bag and traipsed all around the Middle East with this strapped to my back. i even lived out of it for 3 days in Luxor, Egypt. (they made us) it has gotten me through some rough spots. i have a lot of emotional ties to this bag and am very sentimental about it. weird as it is, this bag has become apart of me and i now use it every day. it helps bring a little of Jerusalem life into my Provo life.

i don't care about the chocolate pudding stain from the bus ride to Jordan (that also got sand on stuck onto the pudding from the beach in Galilee...and yes its still there by the zipper. and i love it) i don't care that it is tattered and worn. that just means i had an adventure, the best adventure of my life using it. i don't care that people are sick of seeing people with it around campus. (actually its is really convenient , because i can immediately pick out a jeru buddy in a crowd) they are just jealous that they aren't in the super cool jeru club and don't get an awesome pack back haha.

now that my ode to my jeru bag is over, here is what is inside:

• Mac
• Charger
  
• American Sign Language Workbook
• Notebook for Lecture Notes
• Pens
• Pencils
• Highlighters
• 2 chocolate chip Chewy Bars
• 1 key lime yogurt
• Wallet
• Scriptures
• Airplane ticket from Chicago to Salt Lake City (from my flight home from Israel)
• Headphones from the headset i used on jeru field trips