Unexpected.

Life is FULL of the unexpected, right?

I could go on & on about this topic ... but I won't. For now.

But, I HAD to share some great news with my blog readers!

I am going to be an EFY counselor! As in...tomorrow. Holy cow. I went to EFY six times as a youth & always dreamt of being a counselor one day when I was old enough. Well, I applied last year but didn't get any contracts & this year I applied and was selected as an on-call counselor. I was definitely bummed that I had not been selected. Why not me?

But,  instead I worked in Cedar. I learned many valuable lessons & made friendships that I would not have had I had been working as a counselor in a different city or state. Then, Friday night, I checked my email & I had a contract for Provo. And it all worked out perfectly, as the following week I am going to North Carolina.

So, even if I only have one week, I will try to be the BEST counselor I can for that one week. I can't wait for the people I will meet, the lives that will be changed (most definitely MINE), and the lessons I will learn. Plus. EFY dances were always my favorite & I'm sure there will be some handsome male counselors ;)

But, in all seriousness...I feel so lucky, nervous, excited, anxious...and I CAN'T WAIT! 

life lately ...

...according to my iPhone.

 [Aren't my brothers so handsome? i have the best siblings, and these two are especially fun around each other ... even with all the teasing they do!]

 [Can anyone deny that my nieces are super cute? Lucy is the newest addition. I love her little smiles that I've seen while staying at their house this week. And Lizzie and Millie ... too adorable. And they are so smart! I love the stories they tell and their wild imaginations...and making cookies together. That's always a plus!]

 [This is my other niece, Charly. She lives in Florida, so I don't see her as much, but luckily the family visits a few times a year. Her cute little smile and dance while watching the parade was pretty cute though.]

[A collage from the Fiesta Days parade on July 24. Some of the floats were quite advanced. All I know is my paper meche skills wouldn't hold up if I were in charge]
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Every summer I look forward to the tradition of spending a week with my nieces. We always have a photo shoot with the girls, go swimming, & eat yummy dinners. One of my favorite things is having Lizzie and Millie become my own personal alarm clock each morning. Even though sometimes I roll over and tell them, "Come back in 10 minutes," I still can't help but smile when I hear their sweet little voices whispering, "Cheri, Cheri? Wake up!" I'd choose that way to wake up everyday if I could!

Family helps puts things into perspective, you know? Even if I'm having a bad day, one little, "I'd recognize your smile anywhere" from my oldest niece Lizzie or a hug & kiss from Millie and things seem a tiny bit better.

I am glad I have four more days to spend here. It's definitely a highlight of my summer.

fragile life.

After reading many news stories, tweets, and watching CNN videos about the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, I wanted to write a blog about some thoughts swirling in my mind.

One of the victims, 24-year-old Jessica Ghawi, had escaped a mall shooting in Toronto last month. She was an active Twitter user & it's surreal to see her last tweet: "Movie starting in 20 minutes!"

Another victim was celebrating his birthday & tweeted that it was going to be the "best birthday ever." It's crazy to get a look into the lives of people moments before their lives were taken.

But, life really is so fragile. And no, I can't go around just living in fear, scared that some deranged person will go crazy at any given second. It's not common to think about these things when I'm in class, or going to the grocery store, or walking down Main Street to get a snowcone.

Yet, this incident has made me thankful for the countless experiences I've had in my 21 (and a half) years — for the college degree that's almost complete, the Saturday afternoons in the pool with crazy neighbors, the summer adventures, the nights spent stargazing on the carport, and even the heartaches through the years.

Because without all those moments — big and small — what is life about?

to travel.

Sisters' Weekend 2011: Washington, D.C.

Sometimes, I just get this insatiable urge to travel.

See the world. Explore. You know, all those good things? Maybe it's remembering that just a year ago I was coming back from a summer of seeing NYC, Boston, Spain, and Washington, D.C. But, as I sit here in my quaint attic room, I have this desire to escape this little town for a short while.

After some exciting guests that will be visiting this next week (I'll be sure to blog about it), my summer travels (part 2) will begin. Where to?

In the next month, I will be staying with my brother, sister-in-law, & (now) 3 nieces in Spanish Fork. While that's not really an exotic location, it will be a great getaway, & it has been a tradition for...7 or 8 years now. I can't wait!

I will be home for a break in between (hello, county fair!) & then I will head out of this state and off to visit beautiful Asheville, NC to see my sister Jen, the town she loves, her remodeled bungalow ... and as if it could get any better, my sister Becky, along with my sister-in-law Ange & niece will be visiting as well (SISTERS REUNION 2012). That means in the next month, I will see every single sibling. And with us being in 4 different states, that's pretty impressive!

So, hello to more summer travels before school starts again in just over a month!

music monday.

My goodness! I suppose summertime equals lack of blogging for me, unless it's posts of food :) Hehe. 

But, there are some GREAT songs that need to be shared today. 

First, Jason Mraz's song, "I Won't Give Up." It's a far stretch from "Remedy" or "Lucky" or "I'm Yours." But it's wonderful. So, give it a listen, will ya? And he has some rockin' hair these days...(looks like Yanni...do any of you even know who Yanni is? My mom listened to his music all the time)

"Red Light" -- David Nail. Funny story ... this song was an iTunes free download more than a year ago. But of course I didn't listen to it more than a time or two until it started playing on the radio this summer. And I'll admit. I think it's catchy. 

"The Fighter" -- Gym Class Heroes. What a great beat! You know those songs that you think, "This would be a great running song." That's how I feel about this! 

Any songs I should know about? 

the tradition.

Growing up, my mom would always make a flag cake on the Fourth of July. It was a sight to see. She is very meticulous in general, but especially when it comes to baking (or sewing). We would always listen to Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" while cutting the cake. So, of course I have to listen to that song every year (and include it here for you) but this year I decided to also make the cake myself since I couldn't be at home to celebrate the holiday & enjoy it with my dear mother.

There are variations using fresh fruit, but we always had pie filling cherries & blueberries on our cake. I was going to try to use fresh blueberries & strawberries, but when I went to Walmart the night before, all the fresh blueberries were gone! It still tasted good, even if it wasn't as pretty as my mom has perfected it to be.

decorating the cake -- excuse my somewhat disheveled look :)

the finished product. i need frosting classes. Ha! First attempt, remember.

Cutting the cake --> I used funfetti red & blue cake mix.

I love traditions. I love these memories of my family, our pool & BBQ in NC, and listening to that song every year ... the year someone threw a firecracker & it burned a hole in our trampoline (my mom wasn't happy about that) ... the year my brother's friends (or my brother & his friends) stole all the mini flags from the neighbors' yards & assembled them into our front yard ... the ward members & neighbors that would come to our house. Such great memories. I'm glad I was able to carry that tradition on & look forward to doing it when I'm married & have kids one day.

Do you have any fun traditions?

that time i baked cookies with quinoa.

I've been on a quinoa kick -- well, I've only had it a handful of times, but I've pinned many recipes! When I came upon a recipe for cookies that used quinoa, I had to try it. And they became a quick favorite. And, they are actually pretty healthy (as far as cookies are concerned).

Ingredients:

2 c. whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 c. applesauce (I used unsweetened)

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 c. raisins

2 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats

1/2 c. cooked & cooled quinoa

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I didn't have semi, so I used milk chocolate)

from start to glorious finish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (or spray, in my case).

2. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and baking soda. Set aside. Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth (about 3 minutes). Add in eggs and vanilla. Add the applesauce & mix. Stir in raisins.

3. Slowly add dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients & mix until combined. Stir in oats, quinoa, and chocolate chips.

 

4. Spoon about a tablespoon of dough onto baking sheet. Bake cookies 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are just barely set (for me, this was 10 minutes). Remove cookies from sheet & cool on wire rack. 

Try to resist eating the whole batch. You can even freeze some for later!  

**I made 24 cookies, chilled the dough, and then made the rest into bars (I might have eaten one for breakfast). I think it would yield around 36 cookies. I am also going to try this again, using less brown sugar, and perhaps adding white chocolate chips, walnuts, almonds, etc. Oh, the possibilities!