Free Giveaway!!

So guess what?  How many of you have already started your Christmas shopping?  Or perhaps you are about to get married and need some extra cash and/or stuff?  Well, lucky for you, there aren't a ton of readers on this website, because that means you have a greater opportunity to win a free GIVEAWAY for $35 to any of CSN's stores.  They have 200+ online stores selling products of all shapes and sizes, like leather messenger bags and a wide variety of just about anything you can think of.  So if you are poor like me, $35 is a lot of money, especially if its going towards one purchase.

Maybe I'm a weirdo but I kind of liked this one:

And this would be perfect for Italy..I dont know why I love the hard luggage so much.....am I the only one?  They have other stuff too.  

CSN stores also sells furniture, cookware, bed and bath, home improvement, rugs, toys, etc.  

So what do you have to do to win?  Just write a comment by December 15th and let me know you want in, and I will put your name in for a drawing....and I will let you know soon!

(Ps this really is Shayna, I haven't been taken over by some random company trying to sell their stuff on my site.)

Merry Christmas! 

I Love to See the Temple, I Went There Saturday!

What a handsome ward I have ;) 

My roommate Kleresa. I just love this girl, she's such a sweet, humble soul.  And she just got released from being the RS President for about a year and a half, and she was great at it! I can't believe I was trying to give her advice when she first got put in--just goes to show, she's much humbler than me, as she turned the RS around a ton because she followed inspiration, not what her friends were trying to say! 

An island of calm in the middle of the bustling, crazy crowds! It reminds you of what the season is really about.

And then instead of ending up at the Pie with everyone else, we drove to South Jordan and found a Panda Express, because the Pie was so freakin busy, and by this time of night we were all frazzled and irritated at life, and needed a little bit of food to make us happy again.  What a stressful night.....remember, if you are in Salt Lake, especially on a Saturday night, prepare to look forever to find a parking spot!

Oh well, we had some really special experiences watching the Joseph Smith movie and seeing the lights, sigh....next time...the Pie WILL be eaten at before I leave Utah.  

This is a terrifying commentary on Provo...oh dear....

December is Here!

.....and I have been a failure at blogging!

Thanksgiving I spent with my roommates' family, which is almost like my second family.  After work, I exercised, jumped in the shower, and raced over to the Miller Thanksgiving.  I made a Spice Cake* the night before, and brought it nice and cold to the feast!  (Note, this is a really, really bad idea because I cannot stop eating that cake when I make it...oh my gosh holy cow.)  At work, they provided some really, really good food for FREE to all the employees that had to work that day.  I was very grateful for it, and by the time I got to the Millers I was still full haha.....oh boy, at least I didn't have to sleep on a too-full stomach!  I am grateful for good friends that let me join in on their family holiday.  Thanks Millers!

And then comes Christmastime to prepare for!  I've been working like crazy on Christmas presents, I am so excited because my family doesn't know what I am doing, and I can be sneaky about it since I am completely in another state!   Plus I have another couple of weeks to work since I won't be going home until January 1st.  

And speaking of flying on a plane to go home, I found out from a work acquaintance today that his wife works for Delta and she can get me free airline tickets to anywhere in the world.  Hello!!!  I don't want to push it, but I am thinking Hawaii at least!  Maybe I'll ask about Italy, but really, that seems like a really big thing to ask so I might chicken out of asking about that one....As of now, I have a few friends that want to come with me to Hawaii and THAT has ALSO been a lifelong dream of mine, so I figure, if he can get all of them in for free, then I can seriously be grateful for that and not ask for Italy too! Oh no, what oh what should I do, I really really really could use a free ticket to Italy.....!!

And can I say I just love my dinner group?  Last night, we started dinner at 7:15 and for some reason we were all still sitting at the dinner table until 9:00, just talking.  I love it, and I am grateful for friends and food, and how just this simple little dinner group has brought so many people together.  

I am totally going to have family dinners each night! That is, when I am not sitting on my computer alone blogging because I actually HAVE a family haha

*Spice Cake*

1) Sift together in a large bowl: 2 ½ cups flour and 2 cups sugar.

2) Mix in sauce pan: 2 sticks of butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a rapid boil. Pour over sugar and flour mixture while boiling hot. Blend together well.

3) Add ½ cup buttermilk ( ½ cup milk + 1 ½ tsp vinegar if you don’t have buttermilk), 2 eggs slightly beaten, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Mix well. 

4) Pour into greased sheet cake pan and put into oven at 400 degrees for 20 min (or less if using a crappy oven lol).

5) Make Cream Cheese Frosting and spread over cake once cooled. 
Frosting:
Blend together: 4 ½ oz cream cheese, 4 Tbsp butter, 2 ¼ cup powdered sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla