My Current Loves

This is a Ninja. It is from Wal-Mart. It costs 25 dollars. It is amazing.

Yes, it's true.

I have fallen in love with this because it is SO much easier to clean than a blender. (The blade in the center actually comes out!) It also has a lid for drinking and one for storage. Ben and I have been having strawberry orange yogurt smoothies every night lately...thank you, Ninja. Hi-Ya!

We went to WinCo when we lived in WA, but I forgot how amazing it is (good grocery stores just don't have the same appeal when you are in high school...) It is totally worth the fifteen minute drive. Everything was so cheap, cheaper than Wal-Mart groceries! And the self-served bulk candy/baking needs/cereal idea--genius. Ben and I stalked up for our road trip this weekend! The only down side is having to bag your own stuff...I don't like that, but it's worth it for the low prices. WinCo=happiness.

Also, I am obsessed with watching Lindsey Stirling music videos right now. This one is her most famous.

First of all, I love the violin (if I could play an instrument, that would be it).

Second of all, I love that she can dance and play the violin at the same time!!

Thirdly, Lindsey was in one of my BYU wards for a couple of months, and although I didn't get to know her super well, she was darling. I even sang a solo right before she did her violin/dancing...and felt really talent-less after, haha. She does everything from hip/hop violin to Lord of the Rings--filmed in New Zealand). Here are some more of my favorites from her:

I just wanted to share my happiness with the world :)

Snapshots

So the past week or so has been filled with many exciting, and not-so-exciting happenings. Both are included  in this recap. First, I'd like to thank Skye for offering to design my blog header because I had no idea how to! She is amazing :)

Lately, I have enjoyed picking flowers from our yard and putting them in a vase to enjoy inside; I am beginning to wish I had taken that Floral Design class at BYU because I never know how to make them look like they do from the florist :)

I made cookie dough cupcakes for my Laurels as a back-to-school motivator. These are the heaviest cupcakes I have ever experienced, but what can you expect when there is a ball of cookie dough (no raw eggs) in the middle? I won't tell you how much butter went into making this recipe. I just won't. 

Making things look nice has never been my forte, but these no-fry glazed doughnuts screamed fall! As they were rising (they were baked and then dipped in glaze), the whole house smelled like cinnamon and nutmeg--fall is almost here!

On to more exciting happenings, we had a fun night hanging out with my dear friends Heather and Becca and their sweet families. I get to serve with Becca and Heather in YW, and they sure have been great friends to have around! Heather decorated  her patio so nicely, we felt like we were at a restaurant. This was the only time we had eaten outside all summer--kind of heart breaking that it's almost over!

The best part was watching Heather and Becca's oldest together on their own mini "date." They have the cutest kids! 

This weekend Mike was home from BYU-I and so we went to the cabin to visit him. Mike and Ben practiced their archery skills. 

They were much braver than I. 

I preferred to watch once I learned the arrows were sharp enough to kill someone, and I don't trust myself. 

So I had the most relaxing evening on the porch watching the boys shoot arrows, listening to the Little Women soundtrack, and watching the sunset through the trees. 

It was pretty much blissful. Saturday we went down to Provo and spent time with family and then our dear friends, the Collettes, at their new home in Spanish Fork! Basically, it was a perfect weekend. The past couple weeks have been made up of some significant and insignificant moments, but I am learning day by day--that's what life is all about.  

An Aggie in the Family

Mary went off to college a week ago, and I was able to go and help her move in and experience a little bit of Utah State (which is a beautiful campus, by the way). 

She is rooming with one of my Laurels! 

Her delightful kitchen

Her bedroom (very reminiscent of DT except they have a whole apartment). 

We are excited to have Mary only an hour away and to make excuses to come and visit her in Logan--one of the most charming places. It's weird to think my little sister is all grown up! Now all four of my sibling are in college, except me--talk about left out :) I am happy for her new exciting adventure!

The Pros and Cons of Keeping a Journal

I always loved writing in my journal when I was young. In fact, from the age eleven on I hardly missed a day.  This is not to say my writings were profound. With entries like "Today I turned in my report on Native Americans," some of my journal entries reflect little about the former Katie Connors, but at least I can now kind of recall writing that report from forever ago...

The last couple of weeks I have felt like I should go through and read former journal entries. Some entries touch my heart like that one from 1996 "I know Mommy and Daddy love me." Others break my heart. I have started rummaging through them (in no order) and have only read through four journals so far. Unfortunately, I started with the toughest journal.

Seventh and Eighth grade.

I know life for most eighth graders isn't particularly "charmed", and I know that for me, it was tortuous. In fact, I have been trying to forget it ever since it happened.

I admit. I brought a lot of it on myself. I had crazy curly hair when the style was stick straight...so I thought I would remedy the situation. I would just stick my hair in a lacy hair net with a big satin bow hair clip thing, reminiscent of my favorite 1800 time period--perfect, right? Oh, and then I would carry around big leather volumes of Shakespeare and Dickens so I could start up conversations with peers about their favorite books. And I wanted to be elegant, so of course wear dresses with flowers and shoulder pads and maybe, occasionally, floral overalls. I just wanted to look dignified, elegant, and like I fit in. Too bad, I don't think I accomplished any of those categories looking back. And as a disclaimer, my mom tried to make me wear jeans and normal clothes and hair styles, but I was stubborn, so none of this was her fault. I put the blame all on me...

So back to the journal entries. I went from reading about a sweet, innocent girl who loved to read, loved animals, and loved her family to a girl who was constantly feeling left out, mocked, ridiculed, and frankly, alone in the world. At the time, I couldn't understand...how could people be so cruel? I was "kicked out" of friends' groups until there came the day where I went to school and had no where to sit for lunch. No where. I had been alienated from all the groups I would dare attempt to join. I remember wandering the halls feeling so very, very alone. I even wrote notes to my golden retriever in class while the other kids would write to their real friends so that I wouldn't look like the loner I was.

I tell this story to friends now because it is comical--my "outfit," writing a note to my dog, my hair...but when I read my journal the other night, I remembered that the pain I had felt was real, so very real, so excruciating.

If I could go back to that younger me, wandering around the halls without a friend in the world (other than family and church leaders, oh and the dog). I would go and hug her and say, it will all work out! You will have friends, many of them! You will get through this. Just be you! And you can even save your passion for literary figures for your Masters Degree in British literature; you don't need to spill it all in middle school. Some kind girls will reach out to you, and just like Princess Diaries--although not quite as dramatic--help transform you. And please, young Katie, wear jeans and don't wear that awful hair net thing.

I guess this is why I try to be sensitive for awkward teens; I was the epitome of one.

It hurt to read those sad, tender feelings of my young self trying to connect to others and part of me wants to throw that awful, painful journal away, but a part of me wants to keep it. A part of me wants to hold on to it forever. To remember. To remember that I have felt rejection and loss, but I can get through it. I have before, and I will again (although for different reasons as life progresses).

Because AFTER that painful time, a sweet friend told me I could sit at her table (thank you, Kari). And I started wearing jeans. And girls tried to help me through my awkward looks. And through them I learned that I can love Dickens, Shakespeare, classical music, animals, the Victorian Era, and still fit into today's world without being so dramatic about it.

Rereading my journal taught me that the young 13 year old Katie is still the Katie of today who loves all those same things, and I am still going through bumps and bruises, and although it hurts to remember those painful times, I can remember that I will get through the trials of today just as I did at 13.

Thank you, journal. Thank you for helping me remember.

I Have Been Changed for Good

For those who know Amber Haueter and I, know that we are quite the pair with some crazy similarities.

Amber and I go back to senior year of high school when I moved to WA. Her dad was the bishop and he encouraged his daughter to e-mail the girl moving in (who was her same age) to help her feel more comfortable. So we became pen pals and amazing friends before we even met each other.

Then we met, and realized our curly hair, love for singing, dancing, and overall personalities were destined to be friends.

So we sang and danced together...all...the...time (her parents can attest). We would talk for hours on her parents' porch swing when we weren't hanging out with other friends, singing, dancing or eating ice cream together. We even went to Disneyland together on choir tour.

We became "Amber and Katie" and we were always together. Then we went separate paths. She went to BYU-I and I went to BYU, but we still talked to each other quite often and would have the occasional reunion (and had one summer together in between BYU semesters while my parents still lived in WA).

Then amazing Amber decided to go on a mission and was called to CA Fresno Mission. She gets back TODAY! I can't wait. She has always been such an example of goodness to me.

I had the opportunity to be with Amber & family the night before she went into the MTC, and it was a really neat experience. I know Sister Haueter has changed many lives, including mine.

Neat Fact--Amber was in my dad's branch at the MTC (out of all the other hundred!!)

I can't get this picture to flip, but this is her most recent letter. And it's totally Amber--a Monsters Inc. stamp and the BF4E. Amber has always been a terrific note/letter writer, ever since high school!

Until we can make our trip to WA, I am looking forward to hearing her voice on the phone! A lot can happen in 18 months, and we have a lot of catch up to do!

My Cheesiness

Hello, my name is Katie, and I'm a cheeziholic.

One of the first few things people find out about me, usually, is ironically my love for cheese and all things cheesy.

In fact, the first gift I ever received from Ben was a book titled, The Cheese Lover's Companion. My addiction is that obvious, apparently.

For instance, my favorite two meals -- a grilled cheese and pepperoni pizza (yes, it's like I am still in fourth grade...)

I have tried to overcome this *addiction* for many years; okay, not really, but I am aware that my love for cheese may be a little overkill. I have it every day in some form.

The weird thing about my cheesiness is that I don't necessarily like TONS of cheese on things. I like one slice on my sandwiches and maybe one and a half on my grilled cheese, but it's not that I like a stack of cheese on everything.

From this week forward I am embracing my cheesiness. I found an article from HopeHealth that talks about cheese and argues that people obsess over the negative side of cheese more than they need to. To summarize...

Cheese does contain fat, but only accounts for 9% of the total fat and 16% of the typical U.S. diet.

People worry about the salt levels, but cheese contributes only 8% of the sodium most people consume in the U.S.

Studies show that countries where people consume MORE cheese have lower rates of obesity. For example, people in Greece eat an average of 68 lb of cheese annually. The country's rate of obese individuals is 18% whereas in the US people eat an average of 33 lb of cheese, and the obesity rate is 34%.

In summary, valid or not this article makes me feel better, and if the Greeks can eat 68 lb of cheese annually....then why can't I? Right?! Okay, maybe I am justifying my addiction, but it feels so good to justify

my cheese!

Weekends

I felt like writing in fragments today. Just to list. 


There are two type of perfect weekends, in my book. The kinds where you have nothing planned, do some house things, don't get ready, read, watch movies, and feast on home-made deliciousness. Then there are the kinds where every minute is planned out with family, friends, and events. This weekend was a mix of both. A great combination, actually.

Recap...so far:

Maddox Dinner w/gift card. The most amazing rolls with raspberry butter; fresh corn; turkey fried steak; salad; baked potato, and a coupon for free dessert--snickers pie = heaven. All free...bliss.
Baptisms for family names at the Logan Temple with almost no one else there. Finally doing baptisms with my husband.
Starting off the morning with the Fresh Farmer's Market in Ogden and buying fresh produce, honey, seasonings, and eating a delicious, warm, and HUGE cinnamon roll while with husband and family.
Going canning with my Relief Society and buying some of our first food storage and canning it, ourselves. Loved all the neat things you could buy for so cheap and loved playing with the canning machine.
Crock pot Mexican beef for soon-to-be chimichangas. Ben helped press the fresh-from-the-market-garlic.
Reading, cleaning, prepping Sunday's lesson, making Nutella cupcakes, some movies to tie up the day. Perfection.

I am so glad weekends exist...what would we do without them?