Mesa Falls

Today has been absolutely wonderful! It started out with a relaxing morning, and as I was fixing my hair Derek told me to hurry it up because we were going on a picnic and it was a surprise. So, I hurried and got ready.

We made a stop at Walgreens for some chips and juice, then headed to Subway to pick up some sandwiches. Then, we hit the road!

While we were driving, Derek ate some chips.

I did my crossword puzzles. Yes, I am a nerd and I love crosswords.

As we drew closer to our surprise destination, I started to suspect where we were going. We pulled into the Upper Mesa Falls lot, got our food, and sat down at a picnic table to eat. Once we were done, we went down to the falls to see what everyone goes there to see. 

Upper Mesa Falls

It was a straight drop down from where I was standing.

Derek at the upper falls.

Lower Mesa Falls

It was so much fun, and the falls were beautiful. I just loved being able to spend time with my husband, and get outside! What a great day.

Fears

I had a wonderful experience today. I was able to sing a song in the BYU-I Center for the Education Week Devotional. I was in an ensemble of eight girls from my Stake, and we sang a beautiful arrangement of "Draw Near Unto Me." It was incredible to sing in that incredible auditorium, and to hear our voices ring through the sound system. As soon as we were done, I thought about the first time I sang in front of a large audience.

I was 14 years old. As the lead alto saxophone in my Junior High's Jazz Band, my director was shocked to hear me singing one day after school. The next week he had picked up a vocal chart, "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and I was going to be featured at our last concert. Secretly I was excited. Mostly, I was nervous. I had never sung in front of more people than my family, and even in front of them I was still shy. But, through the many rehearsals at school I grew a little more comfortable. 

The night of the performance drew near and I was constantly singing the song. Before I was ready for it, the concert came up. The jazz band had played their first two numbers, and my name was called.

As I sang the last note and the song ended, I was greeted with a standing ovation. 

I had faced one of my biggest fears: singing in front of a big audience. It ended beautifully, and I was able to turn a fear into a strength. 

Now I sing every chance I get. I love music, and I love to share that with people through my voice. All of these thoughts rushed through my head as I was sitting on the stage of the I-Center. Then, President Clark got up to speak.

His talk was wonderful. Filled with encouraging words, helping everyone to find peace in their lives through our Savior Jesus Christ. While his main message was perfectly delivered, there was one sentence that stuck with me: Never take counsel from your fears. 

He said it once, and did not expound upon it. But it rang true in my heart. Our fears are things that are weaknesses. They are things that will hold us back and keep us from achieving the potential that lies within every one of us. So why would we take counsel from them? The only counsel or advice we would get from our fears are words of discouragement. They would encourage us not to progress, and discourage us from pushing through and becoming stronger. If we take counsel from our fears our lives will be filled with uncertainty, sadness, and dissatisfaction. 

When I faced a fear (well, was forced to face a fear) I came out stronger because of it. Being able to sing in front of an audience has brought me much happiness, and has helped me to improve upon one of the talents the Lord has blessed me with. When each of us face our fears and push through them, we will come out stronger. But there is one thing that we must always remember: never to take counsel from our fears.

One Year

A year ago today, Derek proposed to me in my backyard. It was a beautiful sunny July afternoon in Washington, and everything was perfect. I felt so overwhelmed when I saw him down on one knee, and couldn't even say a word. All I could get out was my response, of course, telling him I would marry him. 

It's been a good year together, and the last seven months of being married has been wonderful. 

To read the story of how he proposed to me, click here. 

I love you Derek!

A Weekend in Burley

It was Thursday night and Derek, Ryan Brower, and I were studying for our DNA final when all of a sudden, we hear, "I'm all jacked up on Mountain Dew! I'm all jacked up on Mountain Dew!" It's Derek's ringtone. Special. 

The phone call was from his cousin Brian inviting him to play in a basketball tournament with him in Burley. Derek accepted. We finished studying, packed an overnight bag, and went to bed. It was an early morning for Derek, seeing as how he had to go to work. 

He went to bed at 11:30 pm.

Woke up at 3:30 am.

Worked from 4:00 - 7:00 am.

Took a DNA final at 7:15 am. 

Left for Burley at 9:15 am.

And then after driving for three hours, he played basketball in a tournament from noon until 4:30 pm. And their team did pretty well! They made it to the quarter-finals. Considering that my hsuband hasn't played basketball in a few months, I'd say that was pretty good. And he played really well! I was proud.

Then we went to his Great-Aunt Kenna and Uncle Neil's house. The boys showered and then we went out for dinner. Afterward we hit up the Oakley rodeo. It was really fun! 

We stayed the night at Kenna and Neil's and had a relaxing morning with a delicious brunch of waffles, eggs, potatoes, and bacon. 

I wish I would have thought to take my camera and take some pictures.

I Stink

Derek and I went for a run tonight. It isn't a really warm night, but it isn't exactly cold. Thus, an hour later I stink. Don't judge me for being too lazy and tired to take a shower. I'm getting up in eight hours and showering anyways. Lay off me...

But that's not the only reason I stink.

I have been an emotional, grumpy, bored, and flat out stubborn piece of work today. I pouted because I was bored and there was nothing to do. Then I started to cry when I realized how ridiculous and pathetic I was being. Then I stopped crying once I realized how stupid and pathetic it was to be crying, and then I was grumpy because I felt: stupid and pathetic. It was a great afternoon.

But luckily for me, I have a husband who is patient and kind. Who knows just how much kindness to give until he needs to hold my face between his hands, stare me straight in the eye, and tell me I need to calm down and be rational. Without him I'd probably be one of those people that everyone else talks about and pities. 

So thanks Derek. I love you.

Derek's Birthday

Well, yesterday was Derek's birthday! He turned 25 and now refers to himself as "old." 

On Saturday morning, after Derek came home and slept after work, I had Abbie come over and drop off the grill and charcoal that I bought for Derek. 

I put a big bow in it and set it up in the family room, and after he woke up and showered, I had him close his eyes. Once in the living room, he opened his eyes and saw his new Weber charcoal grill! He was excited about it. It will be perfect for when we go camping in September.

I gave him his grill a day early because when I asked him what he wanted for dinner he said, "Either lasagna or steak. If you're getting me a grill, steak. If you aren't, then lasagna." He put me in a pickle. So I gave him his grill a day early and we had steak for dinner last night.

Yesterday morning Derek opened up his presents. He got two Nike shirts, a pair of Nike shorts, a movie, a lot of candy, and another BBQ. Hooray!

Derek's presents. 

Derek opening his presents.

 Setting up the grill. Right after Derek opened his presents, he broke open the box and set up his new bbq. Then after church, he cooked up some delicious steak and we had that, potatoes, and green salad for dinner. It was delicious!

At 7:30 we had some friends and family over for cake and ice cream (a cake which I butchered, by the way). It was really fun.

Happy Birthday Derek. I love you!

It's Probably Nothing

Do you ever wish you could go back in time to just one moment? I bet if I could, I would take that moment to think and really dig deep to figure out how I was feeling. What I was thinking. 

If only wishes came true.

Marbled Cheesecake Bars

While Devin was here in town we made a delicious dessert. This recipe, again, comes from my Best Loved Hershey's Recipe Book. 

They are delicious! However, not a good treat to consume in large amounts. Definitely not a healthy-weight-friendly recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Chocolate Crust (recipe below)
2. 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
3. 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
4. 3 eggs
5. 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6. 2 bars (1 ounce each) HERSHEY'S unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

Chocolate Crust:

1. 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 60 wafers)
2. 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3. 1/2 cup powdered sugar
4. 1/2 cup melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare Chocolate Crust: stir together vanilla wafer crumbs, cocoa, and powdered sugar. Stir in the melted butter until well blended. Press mixture firmly into bottom of ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk, beating until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
3. Pour half of batter evenly over prepared crust. Stir melted chocolate into remaining batter; drop by teaspoons over vanilla batter. With metal spatula or knife, swirl gently through batter to marble.
4. Bake 45-50 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate several hours until chilled. Cut into bars. Cover; store leftover bars in refrigerator.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Bake Time: 45 minutes

Cool Time: 1 hour

Chill Time: 2.5 hours

When we made the bars, I found that pouring half of the batter on the crust left me with a LOT of chocolate batter. More than I could use to swirl on the top. So, I ended up tossing out quite a bit of cheesecake batter. So in step number 3, I would pour a little more than half on the crust and then mix in the melted chocolate.

Other than that, this recipe is easy and very yummy!

I'm So Sad

My heart is broken. I worked hard to figure out how to make the font that I used for the header consistent throughout my whole blog... and it didn't work. I didn't realize this until today when I looked at my blog on someone else's computer. 

Since my computer has the font Jenna Sue installed on it (the one I used on the header) I can see that my post titles and tabs text is all the same font. However, from your point of view it looks like it's all Arial. How boring. If you would like to see my blog the way I see it, you can download the TTF file of Jenna Sue and copy it into the "Fonts" folder of the control panel. Then you will not only be able to see my blog the way it's supposed to be seen, but you can also use this incredibly cute font!

Click here to download the TTF file of Jenna Sue.

Anything

You know those days where despite your many efforts in front of the mirror you just can't seem to look how you would like? You have this image in your mind of how you should look, and no amount of hairspray, bobbin pins, or mascara seems to do the trick. 

Today was one of those days for me. 

Needless to say, I was not happy with the way my hair, makeup, or outfit turned out today. Church was nice. But I came home grumpy. 

Reason #1: I had to drive Derek's car (he had to stay home sick today). It's a stick. I stink at driving his car. I can do it, and I can safely get from Point A to Point B, but I stink at it. Honestly, I'm horrible. 

Reason #2: I feel like a loner going to church all by myself in a married student ward. Everybody has someone to sit with. Everyone is married. 

Reason #3: I have a paper due tomorrow, and I came home with two pages left to write. 

There are a lot of other things that played a part in my grumpiness, but they're pathetic to the point that I will not bother to mention them.

The minute I walked in the door Derek knew I was grumpy. I went into our bedroom, switched my skirt for some capris, and slumped down on the couch to finish writing my paper. With EFY music playing in the background, I was focused on my writing. Well, semi-focused. I was mainly grumbling to myself about how miserable the day had been. 

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something moving. I looked up only to find my husband on his knees in front of me. He had his hands up by his ears, making a goofy face, and waving his hands to the music. No matter how hard I tried to keep my "I'm-grumpy-and-nothing-will-change-it" face, I could prevail nothing against the smile pushing at the corners of my mouth. I broke out in a grin, he started laughing, and pretty soon I was laughing as well. 

That is one thing that I am most grateful for about Derek. No matter how much of a grump I'm being, or how awful my horribly bad mood is, he will do just about anything to make me smile. 

I am very grateful for every little anything.

New Testament Class

I don't know if I have ever posted on here about one of my other blogs, "The Weekly Address" or not, but I am going to now!

The Weekly Address is a blog where I share my thoughts on talks given in the most recent session of General Conference. This semester here at BYU-I, I have been taking a New Testament class online. Each week we are required to research a certain topic and present our research and new-found knowledge through writing a talk we would give in church, a lesson, a power point presentation, or through a blog post or podcast. I chose to write a blog post every week, and share them on The Weekly Address. 

In the past, the posts for this class have been short and simple, the main purpose of them being to fulfill my assignment. However, this week we were asked to research the suffering of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane. I have decided to take this assignment and not write a quick, short post about it, but rather turn it into a 3 week discussion. I would love it if any of you who are interested would read the posts and give me your input. The first one is posted (click here) and the next one will be posted in a week, and the next one after that. 

I hope that you will share your thoughts with me because I think this is a great opportunity for anyone and everyone (including myself) to learn something new.

Boring

I know I just posted one of these not too long ago... but I'm really bored, and Derek is asleep, and I can't sleep, so this is what I am turning to for entertainment. Convincing myself for the length of time it takes me to answer these 99 questions that people actually care about the answers.

The sad thing is, I just barely started writing this post, haven't even started the questions, and I already know most people don't. And I'm okay with it.

THE BASICS

1.     Nickname: Tay

2.     Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

3.     Male or Female: It's a She-Male! Ha, kidding. Female. Most definitely female. 

4.     Elementary School: Graham Elementary. Go Grizzlies!

5.     High School: Graham-Kapowsin

6.     College: BYU and BYU-I

7.     Hair Color: Light brown

8.     Tall or Short: Short in comparison to the average height for females. Tall when it comes to my immediate family. I think Courtney and I are about the same height and are the "tallest" in my family. Ha, funny.

9.     Sweats or Jeans: Jeans for every day. Sweats when I just don't care.

10. Phone or Camera: Camera. I love pictures.

11. Health Freak: I wouldn't exactly say "freak", because I don't enforce healthy food all the time, but I do love learning about nutrition and eating healthy. Most of the time.

12. Have a Boyfriend or Girlfriend: I've got my husband! "I've got rhythm! I've got music. I've got my guy, who could ask for anything more?"

13. Eat or Drink: I love to eat. That's my problem. 

14. Eye Color: One blue, one green

HAVE YOU EVER

1.     Been on A plane: Yep. First time was when I was ten. My family went to Disneyland and we took the short flight from Seattle to California. 

2.     Been in a Relationship:  Yes sir. Or Ma'am, whichever you prefer.

3.     Been in a Car Accident: Only little ones... nothing major. 

4.     Been in a Fist Fight: If you count the time I socked the bully in the stomach that was picking on my little brother. Then yes. But he didn't fight back. I'm pretty sure he just doubled over and started to cry.

5.     Been Baptized: Yep! I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when I was 8 years old.  

6.     Celebrated Halloween: Only every year since birth. My mom has photographic proof of it.

7.     Had your Heart Broken: Of course. What girl who was a typical teenage female hasn't?

8.     Went over allowed time on your Cell: I went over my allowed text limit. Well, I technically didn't have texting on my cell phone plan at the time. But I decided I wanted it, so I texted all I wanted for one month and then when the bill came, I sat down with my dad and told him I would pay my texting fee for the month if he would get me unlimited texting. Only $10 a month... better than the $175 I rang up in texting overages.

9.     Had someone Question sexual Orientation: Heavens no.

10. Got pregnant: Nope!

11. Had an abortion: Not a chance.

12. Did something you regret: There are a lot of things in my life that I wish I could change. So I guess you could say that I regret them... but all of those things have made me who I am, and brought me to where I am. And I am in a great place and married to an amazing man. So, no. I don't regret.

13. Broke a Promise: Yup. I would always promise Morgan I'd play Barbies with her to get her to calm down, and then I would deny it later. I was a horrible older sister.

14. Told a Secret: Not without permission.

15. Pretended to be Happy: Happens all the time.

16. Met someone who changed your Life: Yep. 

17. Pretended to be Sick: Ha, yeah. All the time in Elementary School. It never worked though.

18. Left the Country: Once. In sixth grade. To go on our field trip to Victoria. Whoo, what a traveler I am.

19. Tried something you normally wouldn't and liked it: Did something like that today. And it went really well. I'm just not allowed to say.

20. Cried over the Silliest Thing: Yep. When Derek and I were first married, I started crying randomly one night over nothing. Derek looked at me with this expression that said, "I have no idea what's going on and thus I have no idea what to do." Then, in the midst of my tears, I realized how ridiculous it was and started to laugh. You really should have seen the look on his face then. He looked like the most confused man in the history of TIME.

21. Run a mile: Yep. My fastest time was 7:15:38. I'm not track runner, but I think it's pretty good. (And I guessed on the last two digits... I have no idea how many hundredths of a second was left until I reached 7:16.)

22. Gone to the Beach with your best friend: Yep

23. Got into and argument with your best friend: Yeah. Nothing too serious. Just small stuff.

24. Dated someone: This is a ridiculous question.

FIRST AND LAST

1.     First Piercing: On my earlobes. I had to pass Level 4 of swimming lessons at Rogers High School to get my ears pierced. 

2.     First Award: Probably something like Student of the Month in Elementary School. The one I remember the best though is getting my Gospel in Action Award.

3.     First word: I have no clue. Probably just mama or dada. I was not a very creative young thing.

4.     Last person you talked to in person: Derek

5.     Last person you texted: I can't remember. I'm going to have to check my phone. (Checks phone.) Ah yes, it was Morgan, my little sister.

6.     Last Person you Watched a Movie with: Derek and I watched Grown Ups with Devin! I love that movie. It gets better and better every time.

7.     Last Food you ate: A marbled cheesecake bar. It was delish.

8.     Last movie you Watched: Grown Ups

9.     Last Song you listened to: "My Friends Over You" by A New Found Glory. It was on in the car. 

10. Last thing you Bought:  Groceries at the store to make Taco Salad for dinner and the ingredients to make the delicious Marbled Cheesecake Bars.

11. Last person you Hugged: Darrick (Derek)

FAVORITES

1. Favorite Food: Anything Italian, and I have discovered a recent obsession with Jimmy John's Sandwiches. Mmm.
2. Favorite Drink: Mango smoothie
3. Favorite Bottoms: My own! Bahaha. Okay, I'm guessing this is talking about my favorite pair of pants. I would have to say my AE pair I got two summers ago that I have worn so much that they have holes in the knees. And no, I did not buy them that way.
4. Favorite Top: My tan button-up Hurley shirt. Love it.
5. Favorite animal: I don't know. This question has always plagued me because I come to it and I think of a million different animals simultaneously. For this survey, I'll say giraffes. 
6. Favorite Color: Orange
7. Favorite Movie: I can't pick. Honestly. I can't. It's like asking me to pick out a candy on the candy aisle in the store. I have been abandoned on that aisle for indecisiveness before.
8. Favorite Subject: Nutrition, current world issues, exercise, music, ...so I don't have a favorite.

CURRENTLY

1. Eating: Nothing.
2. Drinking:  Nothing.
3. Listening to: The sound of the box fan in our room.
4. Sitting or Lying: Sitting
5. Plans for Today:  went unfinished.
6. Waiting for: me to start to get tired.

FUTURE

1. Want Kids: Yes. I can't wait!
2. Want to Get Married: Already did! 
3. Career: I would like to work in my field for a little while. But once Derek and I start our family I want to be home. I'll probably teach music lessons from my home though.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

1.     Yourself: Not as often or as much as I should.

2.     Miracles: Most definitely.

3.     Love at First Sight: No. I believe in interest at first sight, but not love.

4.     Dreams coming True: Of course!

5.     Kiss on first date: No. I think it's silly. 

STRAIGHT UP AND HONEST

1.     Is there anyone you want to be with right now: Yeah. The one person I want to be with all the time is already next to me... sleeping. But I wish that all of my sisters and I could get together and just spend time with each other. It's hard to be so far away from most of them!

2.     Do you know who your real friends are: Yep. I think it's a somewhat sad realization, but it's one that you need to come to.

3.     Do you believe in God: Without a doubt.