Handwarmers

So, I had this fun idea that I would make hand warmers for people for christmas. They are just like the heating "socks" you put in the microwave and then put on your body to stay warm. I thought these would be a fun idea for my sister and friend in Utah who take the bus or just are going somewhere outside where their hands are freezing.So Dustin and I stayed up late one night making them. We filled them with rice and various herbs like lavender, clove, orange, and other spices. We also made a couple large ones that people can use for their low backs. It was fun!

Thanksgiving at the cabin

Just about every year my family goes to our cabin over Thanksgiving with family and friends. We shoot pumpkins leftover from Halloween and throw eggs as far as we can over the hillside. I usually can't throw them very far...

This year our wonderful friends the Hardisty family came along with us and they are just hilarious. My uncle Alan and our family friend Jeff as well as my dad's buddy from Wyoming also came up (he currently lives in So Cal however). He has just been relieved from being a "spy sniper dude" in Afganistan. I thought it was pretty cool that he spoke a bunch of the Afgani languages and dressed up looking like one to get secret info. He was a sharp shooter.

Touring the wine country...

Since Dustin had become a concierge at a hotel in an area he didn't know too much about, we felt the need to tour around nearby wine country so he could be more familiar.

We started at Ferrari-Carano Winery which owns both Vintners Inn and John Ash.

VERY nice grounds.

A lot of the wineries have dogs or friendly cats hanging out in their lobbies or on the property. I always have to pet them and say hi haha.

This is a photo of one of the wine cellars at Bella Rose winery I believe. They had a really cool cave for a tasting room.

Some had some really cool views that we got to enjoy.

Photos of our workplace...

So here are a few pics of where we work... in case you are unfamiliar with the area or have not heard of Vintners Inn or John Ash & Co.

Vintners Inn and John Ash are right next to each other. So we get to see each other a lot. It helps with carpooling at the same time to work.

Here is a photo I pulled off the internet to show a little bit of the restaurant...

Safari West

A few miles from us is a safari zoo where they have a bunch of african animals as well as some others from all over. They mostly have giraffes, all kinds of deer, birds, and zebras. But they also had some rhinos, cheetahs, monkeys, porcupines, and a couple other small cats.

It is not like a typical zoo where the animals are kept in small cages so people can see them easily. Here you drive around in this safari jeep and search for them on their large property. It was fun to ride on the top of the jeep even though it was a little chilly.

We were lucky enough to get a free VIP pass from our managers at our work (because we're cool like that) who also know the owners of Safari West. Normally is is like $100 per person to go there.

My favorite was of course the giraffes. I have an obsession with them.

They are so cute!

Zebras!

Gotta love the coast.

We love hanging out at the beach and going just to chill together. We have been exploring new beaches and taking lots of photos of course of our days watching waves and shells wash up on shore.

We usually like to get clam chowder bread bowls and bring them to the beach with us and have a little picnic. The seagulls stalk us for the bread and it gets to be kind of funny.

Dusty also provides entertainment...

I always thought rock stackers were pretty talented. I envy their patience...

I LOVE this commercial. So excited. :)

Funny Thanksgiving Quotes

So this year I will be having thanksgiving with my family which is kind of weird because I have spent the last few years at Taylor and Austin's house in Spanish Fork, Ut. (Going to miss that by the way! I loved all of Taylor's good cookin'!)

Some of you know I re-decorated my dad's chiropractic office this last month, it looks so much better haha. Anyway, he has a quote board in his office that needs to be updated more, so I looked up a bunch of quotes for me to write for this month. I found the motivational ones of course but then I came across a few funny ones that I won't post in his office but I thought I would share with you....Haha.

"Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants." -Kevin James

"I love Thanksgiving turkey. It's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts. -Arnold Schwarzenegger

"Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often." -Johnny Carson

"The thing I'm most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands." ~Author Unknown

"You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out."
~ Jay Leno

"Here I am 5 o’clock in the morning stuffing bread crumbs up a dead bird’s butt."
~Roseanne Barr

"I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land." -Jon Stewart

"May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey plump, May your potatoes and gravy, have a nary lump. May your yams be delicious, And your pies take the prize, And may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs." -Anonymous

Creative Project Ideas

So on my search for cork ideas, I found some other fun ideas that would be so cool to make. Here are favorites that I found...

Burnt lightbulb vases

Push Pin decor balls

Outdoor twister

Cupcake decor balls (You know, the ones you usually see hanging over a crib)

Jewelry Holder

Curtains with a little acrylic paint/stencil

Good use of an old crib for a bench

Coffee filter lamp

Put a cork in it!

So being back in the wine country, you see a lot of corks n' bottles. At my work, John Ash restaurant, they sometimes decorate candle holders with corks. This week they were throwing out a bunch of them and I asked if I could take them instead, and of course they gave them to me. So I am trying to make the letter "G" out of them. I made a search of cool projects and I found some really fun ones. I already am using mine for the letter, but I thought I would share some fun ideas maybe I could do eventually...

Cork Bath mat

Cork chalkboard

Cork Stamps

Cork "note" cake (Guests post notes to the cork cake) So cool!

Cork card holders

Where is Luna?

Tonight I spent time with my Uncle Alan and his daughter (my cousin) Paikea, at their cute little home in Sebastapol. We had spaghetti, salad and I brought some Autumn couscous. It was a very relaxing hangout as usual with Alan. Which I love. It is like a breath of fresh air.

I am able to clear my thoughts and just be.

I had a little one on one time with Pai. We played airplane (where I lay down and she has her tummy on my feet pretending to be an airplane), she played with my long hair with her feet haha, and she danced to just about every song that played on Pandora. Of course she wanted me to dance with her. I lack in the dancing department. I didn't get those skills that my sister did haha. But I had to shake it a little bit to make her happy haha.

She is so dang cute. So smiley and silly and full of giggles. Loves to dance. Loves long hair. Very chatty and comfortable around adults. Likes to do things herself.

Once it got darker, Alan asked Pai, "Where is Luna?" With my basic knowledge of spanish I knew that meant the moon. So we walked out to their porch that has a gorgeous view of the mountains and trees and looked for the moon. It so sweet how they name certain things or creatures spanish names so that she can learn some spanish. I love it when families mix different languages in cute little ways. I have always loved it when I see kids that know sign language. I attempted taking a class for that. Learned basics and then gave up. It was a hard class haha.

I admire how Alan and Christina raise little Pai. They don't let her watch tv (I hate tv), she eats very healthy and they don't give her sugar or treats and she is 2. I think it is great. She is a perfect little girl for a reason. Sugar and media are two things that little children shouldn't be around as much in my opinion.

Anyway.

Great night.

I love my family.

Goodnight.

Pants. Pictures. Paint.

PANTS:

We arrived in California Thursday, September 15th at 10pm. We both had interviews the next day at 2pm and both got the jobs. Dustin now works at Vitners Inn as a concierge and I work as a hostess at John Ash & Co right next door. Yay!

I, having lost a few pounds in the last 2 years, had thrown out all my old slacks because they were too large for me so this required me to go look for some new pants. Dustin needed some as well as some more dress shirts since both our jobs require a business attire look. Luckily I don't have to wear a uniform shirt like I did while working at Applebees or Tucanos or other catering events. I get to wear slacks, dresses, skirts. As long as they are appropriate and clean. Which I am modest (:D), and I am very clean. I am standing a lot though and my feet kill me by the end of my shift.

Dustin is loving his job. He says there is a lot to remember and not ever living in California, he is having to learn fast at where things are and where he should recommend people to go. But he is good at that. So needless to say we are both enjoying our jobs and the perks that come with them.

PICTURES:

Two Saturdays ago, two days after we moved in, we shot a photo shoot of senior pictures of a girl in our ward. She was very cute and fun and we got a lot of great pictures. Hopefully we will get a lot more photo opportunities in the future. Especially since people pay a lot more out here for photos. Dustin might actually be shooting an event for our head boss that is the general manager over Vitners and John Ash. $$$

PAINT:

We are living with my parents temporarily until Dustin finds a better opportunity. As he becomes closer with Percy, our GM, as well as some of the other top dogs in the company, he is hoping for something to open up through them. Once that happens then we will be able to afford our own place hopefully. But for now, we are occupying my parents guest room/laundry room and are quite at home. It is my old room that I lived in and the last time I lived in the room I was in high school, and in high school... I was very, um dark and angry to say the least haha. So my room has been a dark painted color since. When moving in the was the first thing to be changed. I painted it a very light beige color and it brightened the room right up. Much happier. I have made our room feel like ours and with all our own furniture and stuff.

Truth

This kinda made me laugh at first. But then after laughing at the rock hitting him and imagining God being sarcastic, I thought more about how this is really true and so many of us forget or don't think that He is really answering our prayers in ways that we don't always see.

See ya Provo!

So it is coming down to the last couple weeks before we leave Provo for good... It is a weird feeling. I have been here for 5 years, feels like forever. All summer I have been excited to leave Utah and now it is time...

We put in our 3 weeks notice today. I had to pause and think, is this really happening? I still want to go but I felt sad a little. The things I posted about in the below post, the things I will miss, are very true. We have met some wonderful people out here and we have made many great memories together. We have become very comfortable with our simple way of life here. With everything we need within 5 miles of where we live it has been convenient. With Sierra and Jelina living next door for 2 years was a huge blessing and we had so much fun and laughs. Having Dustin's sister live one city away for most the time we were here was amazing and I loved the relationships that grew.

But Dustin and I are wanting to expand our family in the next couple years and would love to be close to family for that. We are honestly bored here and feel that with our job there is no working up to anything higher. Our owners won't offer higher pay or any benefits so...see ya!

With my sister and best friend Sierra here, as well as Dustin's friends and cousins, we will be visiting often and making little road trips.

We are having a multi-garage sale this Saturday the 27th if you would like to help us to move outta here haha.

Things I am excited for in Cali:

1. Family/friends so close

2. Fresh produce/amazing food

3. No snow

4. A Dishwasher finally

5. The beach

6. The weather

7. Less judgmental people

8. Less tempting fattening food on every corner like in Utah

9. A quiet Sacrament room where I can actually hear without turning my head sideways and squinting to hear the speakers...

10. I won't be living in a bat cave...

Things I will miss about Provo...

So as we get closer and closer to moving I can't help but think about the things I will miss here.

Here is my list of "I'll miss you Provo" things:

1. Jelina and Siewwa

2. Late night Maverick ice cream with friends

3. Cafe Rio/Bajio

4. Having everything we need within 5 miles of us

5. Empty streets on Sundays...

6. Church buildings/temples close/everywhere

7. The dollar theatre

8. Everyone is trusting here (sometimes too trusting)

9. I'll be honest... there are more conservatives...

10. The shopping :)

My 7 wonders of the world...I wish to go to...

So in one of my mindless internet searches, I came across vacations to New Zealand... A place I have always wanted to visit.

Which somehow led me to researching pretty places all over the world.

I decided to share with you 7 of my top places I dream of going to in this life. I hope to be able to go to at least ONE of these places. If not... I will be sad to have never left North America.

So here they are...

#1. Milford Sound (Mirror Lakes)- New Zealand
#2. Machu Picchu - Peru (Lost city of the Incas) - I have always had a huge excitement whenever I learn about the Incas or Mayans. It would be so awesome to go where they established a civilization.
#3. Santorini - Greece

Ahh Greece... it just sounds so exciting and tasty and greek :) I'd love to yell, "Opa!" in the streets and tour history.

#4. Yucatan - Mexico

This is one of the 'cenotes' (underground caves/water). I don't know why but I have always wanted to go to these underground water caves.

The Chichen Itza (built by the Mayans) and the life around it...

#5. The Great Barrier Reef - Queensland, Australia

Dustin loves to snorkel around awesome sea creatures and if I were to pick one to go to, this would be it. Plus this is where that heart shaped island is you see on all the travel mags and honeymoon ads.. :P

#6. The Old City of Jerusalem -Because, that's where He was born and a lot of good history took place. Why not? I think it would be cool.
#7. Italy - Tuscany, Venice, and the Colosseum in Rome -I combined these into one since... if I am spending money going to Italy I am going to see as much as I can :)