So Long 2010....

2010 has flown by!! It's been a year of ups and downs. Trent and I both had the blessing of getting promotions with work thus helping us financially but had to experience the heartache of having three miscarriages. Hopefully 2011 will be a year of great outcomes. Bring it on!!

Happy New Year

Yummy, Yummy, In my Tummy!

It's been a tradition for a very long time to go to our friend Michelle Kelly's house to decorate sugar cookies during the holidays! Well tonight after work we spent a few hours decorating 75 cookies or so! It was so fun!! I used a new technique while decorating called "flooding." It's used with watered down royal icing and makes a very smooth layer of icing! Here's a picture of my first ever "flooded" cookies. Not bad....right?

It's Almost Here

ONE WEEK!

It's my favorite time of year and it's one week away....Christmas is almost here!!

'Tis the Season!

It's my favorite time of year.....Christmas! I put up my Christmas decorations last week after Thanksgiving and am loving the holiday feel in my home! There are a few decorations that I made for the season. First is the Christmas countdown blocks. When I originally took these pictures it was 27 days 'til Christmas but now it is 21. So excuse my inaccurate picture! The other is a cranberry Christmas tree. I had this old wire Christmas tree decoration that was losing it's vibrancy and I had a grocery bag full of fake cranberries. Well if you put two and two together and hot glue than you get.....the new and improved Christmas Tree. I'm thinking of adding some type of beads for the "ornaments" but haven't quite decided on it yet. Anyways, I hope you all have as much fun putting your Christmas decorations up as I did!

Merry Christmas :)

*Don't worry....the door that the tree is blocking, we never use.

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Your Family!

The Golden Years Cake

My mom's parents, my grandparents, celebrated 50 years of marriage on November 19th...yes, 50 years! My mom and her sisters are throwing them a family dinner party and I was asked to make the cake. So here it is!

*Made of royal icing and fondant. The flowers and bow are handmade with fondant!

I Wanna Be A Cowboy Baby!

One of my best friends, Ashli, is having a little boy next month! So her baby shower is this weekend to celebrate the little one's birth! I am lucky enough to have been asked to make her baby shower cake. It is a cowboy theme baby shower so the cake obviously had to match! I found a design similar to this online and just had to make it!

*It's a 2 tiered white cake made of fondant and royal icing!

The cowboy hat is made of fondant and giant marshmallows!!

*(above) I wrote the baby's future name on the belt buckle...Charge

*(below) I took pictures of the cake from every angle so everyone could see how it turned out!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something....YUMMY!!

I was lucky enough to be able to make my friend's wedding cake. They decided on a four tiered cake made of fondant and frosting in their wedding colors. The three bottom layers of the cake are all styrofoam. The top tier is funfetti and chocolate cake. I had so much fun making it! Congratulations Tage and Alanna!!!

*This picture lets you know how big the cake is....I took out 2 shelves just to make it fit!

Another Home Decoration Created by Me!

I once had an assignment in high school to create items that depicted my likes into my name, here was the finished project!

*I drew art utensils to show my creative side, toothpaste & toothbrush because dental hygiene is very important to me, a curling iron because I liked to curl my hair, a swim cap & goggles because I love to swim, and a mirror & mascara because I like to look purty!

I decided to make something to hang in my home that depicted things that Trenton and I like. This one turned out so much better!

*I drew art utensils to show my creative side yet again, a rifle because Trent loves guns, a movie reel because we enjoy going to the movies, my most favorite hair item = my chi, a flashdrive because Trent is ALWAYS on the computer, and a fishing pole because Trent likes to go fishing & I like to accompany him to enjoy the scenery...sometimes.

Who's wants homemade fondant??

I am just in a baking mood this weekend! I decided to try and make homemade fondant. It worked out pretty darn good! Here's the finished cake!!

I follow this blog called Bake at 350. She gives ideas about baking and decorating cookies. She is amazing at what she does! She wrote about making homemade oreo cookies....creme filling and all! The recipe looked pretty easy, so I tried it tonight. They turned out great!! I didn't have a plain circular cookie cutter so I used a flower one. It was a lot of fun....and yummy!!!!

1st Day!

Trenton's first day of work was on Monday. I had to take a picture of him in his uniform!

Don't you just love a man in uniform!

Congratulations!

Trenton graduated the Correctional Officer Academy on October 1, 2010!! He is now working at Lewis State Prison. Congrats Trent! Here are a few pictures from the ceremony.

*Trenton receiving a certificate for academic achievement.

*The Santa Cruz County Sheriff was the guest speaker.

*Officer Grijalva who also graduated was the class speaker.

*Trenton receiving his badge.

*Taking the oath.

Great Job Trenton!!

SuPeR sAtuUrDaY fUn!!!!

Yesterday my mom and I attended her ward Super Saturday! It was so much fun making cute decorations for my home. Take a look at what we accomplished!!!

* Made of wood, painted and sanded, and vinyl art.

*Made of wood, painted and sanded, and vinyl art.

*Made of cork board, white washed with brown paint, and vinyl art attached to the glass in the picture frame.

*Made of wood, sanded and painted, mod podge, scrap paper, and vinyl art lettering.

Funny, Ha Ha!

One night Trent and I decided to go and get a movie from redbox. There wasn't really any good movie out at the time, so we decided to get this movie.....Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging. I know, I know the movie sounds really dirty....but it's not. It is hilarious!!! It's typical English humor and language but is so funny! It's definitely a coming of age movie. I would definitely recommend it!

My New Love....

I have found a new love....ZUMBA!!! If you haven't tried, I would highly recommend it. It is an exercise routine that is so much fun, you can't stop! It's a mixture between merengue, salsa, cumbia, and reggae dancing. It gets your heart pumping and your body sweating. It is so much fun and a great workout!!!

Power to Women!

At work, we have a Daily Chronicle that we hand out each day to our residents. It consists of information like famous birthdays, historical facts that happened on the same day, and a humor of the day quote. This was the quote from Thursday, August 5th. I loved it!

''I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they are the first to be rescued off of sinking ships.'' -Gilda Radner

Way to go Trent!

I just wanted to let you all know that Trenton got the job!! He will now be working for the Department of Corrections for Arizona. He reports to the academy on August 15th! Congratulations Trenton, I Love You!!

Utah or Bust!

Trent and I recently went on vacation to Utah. We went to Beaver for a few days and then on to Vernal to visit the family. It was so fun! We arrived in Beaver at about midnight Friday night. The next two days were spent fishing at Puffer Lake, riding quads all over Beaver Mountain, and relaxing! The cooler weather was extremely nice compared to the Arizona heat. Then on Monday, Trent and I drove to Vernal to visit his family. Vernal definitely wasn't cooler than AZ. When we were there Utah was having some of the hottest days they have had that year! 100+ degrees! But don't worry, being a native Arizonan meant the heat was like home! Anyways, the next two days were spent hanging out with the family. Then we made the 11 hour drive home conquering thunderstorms most of the way! All in all, it was a great Utah vacation!

p.s Here are a few pictures from the trip. Sorry for not having very many, I never have my camera on me!

*A creek we had to cross on one of the trails!

*Holy Deer!!

*My favorite brother

*A meadow that was at the end of a quad trail

*This grasshopper stared at me while in the bathroom at my in-laws house! He had made a home on the plant growing inside the windowwell. I named him Fred.

The Twilight Saga

YES....I did go see the new Twilight movie and loved it!! I would definitely recommend going and seeing it but then again, I am a twihard!!

A New Bed!

Last weekend Trenton and I went up to the cabin. He decided to gather some logs to make a new bed for us! I love having a husband who is so talented. Here are some pictures of the work in progress!!!

*The logs for our new bed!

*The mess after peeling the logs.

*Trent gathered enough logs to make another bed to sell. It will be a queen size.

CaN yOu SaY.....FAST LEARNER?!

As most of you know I work at a Senior Living Center aka Nursing Home. Most of the residents there are over 85 years old and know an interminable amount of things! For example how to crochet. Well we recently had a resident there who was the best crocheter I have ever seen and I asked her to teach me. That was on Tuesday. It is so fun to do! I have found a new passion for crocheting. My first project is making a baby blanket for Ashtyn's dolls. I am almost finished. Here is a picture of my work in progress!!

Yay for Me!!!

Since September, I have been working on becoming a Certified Activity Director. I recently finished the second half of my classes the first week of May. After that, I had to send in my application to the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals, or NCCAP, to Virginia. It must then be approved by the council. Well......I am now officially certified! With this certification I have been given the opportunity of a promotion and raise at work. I am now the Enrichment Coordinator!!!! Yay for me!

Gila Valley Temple!

A couple of weekends ago, I accompanied my parent's ward young women on a trip to the new Gila Valley Temple open house! The Temple is so beautiful...small, but still as gorgeous as any other temple. It was so fun. One of my favorite things about going to the Temple is feeling the Spirit. I am so thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.