scary movies

I know that Halloween is over but the spirit of spooks just never dies.
I think that I must have a pretty gloomy soul because I have been craving all things scary lately.
And soothing the desire by watching Criminal Minds and reading Goosebumps hasn't been cutting it.
So I come to you with my list of my favorite scary movies!

1. The first on the list is The Visit. Believe it or not, I watched this movie the night before my wedding with two of my new cousins. And let me tell ya, it is everything that I have ever wanted in a scary movie. It's funny and sad and terrifying, but not demonic. I give this movie all of the stars in the world.

2. The Orphanage. This movie is in all Spanish with subtitles. But it is also one of my absolute favorites. It's rated R but I have no idea why... It is creepy and has SUCH a good story line to it. Highly recommended.

3. The Conjuring. I wrote ALL about this one right over here.

4. Insidious Chapter 2. Not the first one. Not the third one. Just the third one. It of course had it's lame parts, as all movies that try to bring demonic creatures into it do. But the way the story tied into the previous movie was creepily brilliant and the spooks were a lot more spooky in this one.

5. Sinister. This movie, I admit, was pretty messed up and very much cray. But it was like an episode of Criminal Minds on crack and it was glorious! It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and I can't wait to see what the second one brings!

6. The Uninvited. Classic thriller from the high school days. You will have to watch this one a couple of times to pick up the pieces of your mind from being blown the first time around. Great story, not the best acting, and Elizabeth Banks.

7. Paranormal Activity 3. ONLY the third one. The rest tried to hard in my eyes. This one had the element of an oscillating fan that made the creepy "what's just beyond the edges of the screen??" feeling so much more intense. 2 thumbs up. Don't bother with the rest of them.

Movies I'm anxiously awaiting this year:
1. Poltergeist
2. Sinister 2
3. The Boy
4. The Forest
5. The Other Side of The Door

uncut sunday

PC: Don't Know.

The New Year is fast approaching.
And people are thinking of what resolutions they want to make for the year and how they want to be a better person.
Being LDS, there is somewhat of a New Year's every Sunday.
We all go to church and hopefully think about how we can be a better person the coming week.
I was challenged by my home teachers once to take some time on Sundays to think about 3 things I did good that week and 3 things I could improve on.
It really helped me to focus on what I really did need to be improving on.
But of course some weeks there would be things that continually made it on the "must improve" list.
And it was so frustrating to not be getting any better at it.
But when I was working at a bracelet shop, beading bracelets, I had a thought.
Each day my boss would calculate the number of bracelets I made that day and then calculate the average each week and that would determine how many bracelets I could make per hour.
And it made me think about all the things I try to improve on and just never seem to get better at.
I realized that it's OK if we have bad days and do terrible on our goals.
Cause I think Heavenly Father is just going to take our average....
So we might be better some days and worse some days.
But it's OK because as long as at the end of everything we ended up better than we were at the beginning, that's all that matters. 
It's not the day to day that will determine our outcome.
(Even though it's the day to day that ultimately builds our outcome, but I digress.)

3 things I want to improve this week:
-Be more present in my relationships.
-Don't give energy to the thoughts that bring me down.
-Dedicate time each morning and night to the Lord.

christmas 2015

It was a pretty swell Christmas.
We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house playing games and opening presents.
The next morning we woke up to SO much snow.
After the boys shoveled all the snow, we opened more presents, and ate breakfast; we headed out the door.
We went down to Spanish Fork to spend the rest of the holiday with Derek's family.
After opening even more presents there and having more delicious breakfast we went sledding for the rest of the day.
It was such a fun couple of days spent with family, talking and laughing.
This is the video of our fun Christmas festivities.
Complete with a Justin Bieber song.
:)

Christmas 2015 from McKenzie Sant on Vimeo.

winkel house rules and a merry christmas

Along with our awkward family Christmas photo (Mind you, this is our final take home shot. There were a lot more awkward ones) I present you with:
"Winkel House Rules"!!!!
(Some of which I am instating right now)
1. No tickling after 10 PM.
2. No eating everything in the secret chocolate stash by yourself.
3. No playing ukulele for more than 15 minutes.
4. If you don't put the cardboard in the recycle it will get thrown at you.
5. Fights are only solved with sharing of a Mountain Dew.
6. If the other person is sad, you must poke them on the nose and say "Beep. Boop." until they either laugh or slug you in the arm.
7. In an uncomfortable situation the code word is: Dingo.
8. On Mondays one shall only talk in limericks.
9. If you spend more than $100 in one trip then you have to buy the other person a gift to make up for it.
10. No TV on Tuesdays because that is the day that Derek has to listen to all my gossip.

uncut sunday

Image Source
I had a dream that I was asked to go and give one of the graduation speeches at my old high school.
But then I got trapped in an elevator and accused of murder and then my hoodrat friend helped me to escape the detective but then he got arrested.
So I had to spend all of my efforts getting him out of jail and never got to give my speech I had prepared:
So here it is:
"Finally, 8 years later I am her graduating."
(This was a joke. They had asked me to wear my old graduation cap and gown)
"Just kidding. I graduated 5 years ago."
(!!!!)
"And since then I have attended 3 different colleges, got an associates, traveled to Africa, traveled to Europe, got promoted to manager at a job I love, quit that job, and got married to a handsome man."
"I was in a class once where a girl said she had graduated 6 years ago and felt that she hadn't done anything with her life. Despite what she believed, she had accomplished a lot. She had graduated from a respected university, went on a mission, had a job she was passionate about...."
(I'm sure there were more things but....I didn't know her personally...it was a dream.)
"We are all going to do different things with our lives. Some will go to college, some won't. Some will get married, some won't. Some will travel, some won't. But none of these things is better than the other. There is no top of the ladder, no point we have to reach to be considered to 'have it all'."
"I am STILL in school with a couple of years left, currently jobless, and haven't done a lot of the thing that I consider to be 'top of the ladder'. But I also don't look back on my life and think that I haven't accomplished anything. I make an effort to do things that I love and believe to be challenging so that my life is worth it."
"So live your life after this graduation day in a way that you won't look back thinking that you haven't accomplished anything, even though you may not have done the same things others have. Make an effort to do things that mean something to you and give your life meaning."
(APPLAUSE)
(APPLAUSE)
(APPLAUSE)

taking stock

The following is adapted from other blogs.


Making: Christmas presents and trying to finish them before it becomes procrastination.
Cooking: Steak fajitas....mmmm :)
Drinking: Mountain Dew. Free at work? Yeah I'll take some.
Reading: The Work and The Glory. #1.
Wanting: A puppy!!!
Looking: At the messy apartment, but waiting until tomorrow to clean.
Playing: Nothing. I'm boring.
Wasting: A lot of money on chiropractors and a suspended license (!!?)
Sewing: Blankets.
Wishing: For a white Christmas.
Enjoying: Chocolate bars that Derek keeps buying me.
Waiting: For Derek to get home.
Liking: The feeling of working out.
Wondering: Where Derek and I will go on vacation in a couple of weeks.
Loving: The time Derek I have to snuggle and giggle before sleep.
Hoping: That things get figured out.
Marveling: At people's generosity.
Needing: Gas in my car.
Smelling: A candle from the dollar store that has no real scent.
Wearing: My workout clothes. From this morning.
Following: A lot of new people on Youtube.
Noticing: The dust on the TV.
Knowing: This weekend will be a good one.
Thinking: About writing this because it's actually kinda hard.
Feeling: Energized.
Bookmarking: Valentine DIYs. Can't start too early.
Opening: A new container of milk for Hot Cocoa.
Giggling: When I spend time with Derek.
Feeling: I already did this one.

the reason for the season

On the radio show I listen to they do a "Secret Santa" everyday for a family in need.
And you bet your bottom dollar, it makes me turn into a blubbering buffoon right there at work.
They had a lady email in talking about how her kids were just so ungrateful for all of the presents they had gotten.
And they started talking about ways to turn our focus during Christmastime back to what it should be.
Because without Christ then what is even the reason?
So here is a list of ways to bring the reason back into the season.
And to make Christ the purpose.

1. Along with all of the fun Christmas music about elves and reindeer, also throw in some more feel-good-heart-warming stuff too. There is good music all over out there. This one by Lennon and Maisy is one I just found:

2. Volunteer your time to people in need. Homeless shelters, soup kitchens, the food bank, a neighbor, visit an old folks home.... there is always help needed. (97.1 ZHT is the radio station I listen to and you can donate to their Secret Santa as well. Link here.)

3. Have a 12 days of Christmas (I think it's too late for all twelve at this point but....for next year right?) I found this adorable Nativity Countdown. Or you can do a countdown of service like this one here. Lots of cute ideas!

4. Take a night or two or three and discuss the birth of Jesus and read scriptures about it.

5. Attend Christmas performances that put you in the spirit of Christmas. Plays, music concerts.....

6. Opt for Non-Toy gift ideas like the ones here.

7. Make the time to be with your family and PRESENT. Play games (board games, card games, minute to win it) or do puzzles, make a treat together.....

What are your guys' ideas to keep Christ the reason this holiday season?

uncut sunday

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It's so easy to just not say something.
To hide in the background and blend in with the wall.
Whether it's for or against something, silence is easy.
You don't have to worry about rebuttals or repercussions.
You can go on your merry way and maybe feel as if nothing is different.
But something is different.
You didn't say anything.
And now that thought is lost or that compliment is meaningless.
It begged to be let out and you locked it in.
You didn't give it the voice it deserved.
Because your thoughts deserve a voice.
There's a reason you have your thoughts, and they should be shared.

There are occasions when it's best to keep your thoughts inside, safe from the world.
Where they can build roots and grow into an even better thought.
But usually, if it's pounding at the door over and over again,
It REALLY needs to be given to the world.
There's a reason you have your thoughts, and they should be shared.

throwback thursday: the flip phone days

We all know that the weirdos and hipsters thrive in college.
And me, trying to thrive, tried my absolute hardest to be hipster enough.
And what is less hipster than a fancy touch screen smartphone??
Nothing.
I just knew that I had to downgrade to uphold my reputation as the cool girl on campus.
(Also.....I was poor. And what is more hipster than that??)
So I went to the nearest mall kiosk for phones and asked them for their free-est one.
The young man said that he had one he could give me for a penny.
I felt in my pockets and I had just that!!
One penny, saved from my pan handling earlier that morning.
(Wait wait wait. I'm being hipster....not homeless.)
One penny, saved for my next coffee.
(Hypothetically of course. I just like to hold the mug and look cool. Really, it's hot cocoa.)
Anyways, he brought the phone out and it was PERFECT!
Buttons the size of my face, 911 button front and center, charging night stand, exercise programs for the elderly embedded right into the menu, man I was lucky.
"SOLD"
As we then proceeded to the cash register he said,
"Now are you sure you want this phone? My grandma has the exact same one and she hangs it on a piece of dental floss that she keeps around her neck."
I just smiled at the naive fella, gave a light chuckle,  and then discreetly pulled out a notebook to write down this fabulous dental floss idea.
You better believe it was the best phone I've (n)ever purchased.

christmas gifts

Haven't bought those oh so important gifts for your loved ones yet??
No prob bob, I've got your solution right here.
I now present to you Christmas 2015 top gifts:

>Handerpants. Keep their hands warm in those cold winter nights.

>Booger Bins. For the cold nights when EVERYTHING freezes. And by everything I mean boogers.

>Unicorn Horn For Cats. Enough said. (And doesn't he look so happy wearing it?)

>Frozen Smiles Ice. Just don't mistake them for your grandma's dentures.

>Squirrel Mask. So you don't scare off those sweet little woodland creatures outside your window.

>Yoga Joes. To inspire peace, not war.

For these and more head over to www.offthewagonshop.com to buy a gift for that special weirdo in your life.

uncut sunday

Image Source
There is a story that is coming out of Oklahoma about one of their University’s presidents.
A student had come up to him and told him that he felt victimized by a sermon on love that had been given on campus.
The student said that the sermon had “made him feel bad” and that it wasn’t fair to make him and his peers feel uncomfortable.
The president came out with, what I thought, was an excellent statement.
Among other things he said,
“Oklahoma Wesleyan is not a “safe place”, but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn’t about you, but about others; that the bad feeling you have while listening to a sermon is called guilt; that the way to address it is to repent of everything that’s wrong with you rather than blame others for everything that’s wrong with them. This is a place where you will quickly learn that you need to grow up.”
We are a society of justice that hungers for justice and offense.
I have been wanting to write a post on justice for a while and I feel that now is the time.
For the past couple of years I have demanded justice when things just “aren’t fair”.
And I’m honestly embarrassed of myself.
But we live in a society that demands fairness and equality in everything.
We take offense to too many things everything.
And I don’t mean all of us, but society as a whole does.
We want our mistakes looked over and when they aren’t we seek justice and vengeance.
(For what?….I don’t know. Just justice…for something!)
Nothing is our fault and everything is the government’s fault, the school system’s fault, our neighbor’s fault, the church’s fault.
We expect people to accommodate us and believe like we do.
Well, guess what?
People can believe what they want and act how they want and live how they want.
We shouldn’t have to tiptoe around others because we shouldn’t be trying to make everybody around us comfortable.
And when we make mistakes, we take care of it.
Not somebody else.
And when we don’t like what somebody says or what they believe then we have the power to walk away.
We have the ability to put the protest signs and angry voices away.
We have the ability to not take offense.
Most things are off limits now, and that’s not how it should be.
But this is also not a perfect society.
This is sadly a society of “narcissism”.


Read his article here. 

positive

Here's some more positivity for your lives.

>This story just because it's HA-larious.

>

>This is the proper way to show respect.

>Turtles are people too!!!!! 

>What an amazing alternative.

Spread the love people.

old people

Old people are my calling.
I really wish that I could have put a picture or video of one of the old people from work but....HIPPA ruins everything.
Well, I have chosen to change careers and I have left to find a job that was less....24/7?
And so here I am reminiscing on the good times with my best friends:

>There was a bed bound resident whose sheets I was trying to change. He was putting up quite the fight and I was getting pretty frustrated. So I put my hands on my hips and firmly said, "John." He replied back in an equally firm voice, "Marsha."

>One old man was very concerned about his belt being broken. He was wearing a new belt so I wasn't too concerned about finding a solution to his belt problems. Since I wasn't being much help he left and came back later carrying his oxygen tubing. He asks me, "This stuff looks pretty expensive but can I use it as a belt?"

>I put on the movie Daddy Day Care for them to watch. One man was particularly getting a kick out of it. In the movie there is a scene where one man dressed as broccoli is wrestling another man dressed as a carrot. The old man sitting next to me starts laughing hysterically and says, "Oh Ho! Been there done that!!"

>I was getting dinner ready one night when one man comes into the kitchen with his pants all peed in. I told him to go back to his room and put new pants on, not knowing that he did not understand what pants were. He leaves for a bit then comes back with no pants on but with one leg through a sweater sleeve... I take him back to his room and try to get the sweater off, but it won't budge. I ask him how in the world he got it on in the first place and he says, "Well, it wasn't easy!"

>One gentleman came to the table I was working at, sat down and said, "I would like to start working full time. I'm just not making enough money with this part time stuff." We then went on for 30 minutes discussing the details of his new job.

>One lady (who is well into her eighties) was grabbing a brief out of her closet. I asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom and she says, "No. I just started my period."

And I could go on.
If you need more laughter in your life just call me up and I'll give you a boat load more.

harry potter

One thing that you must learn when you become a Winkel is that they are a bit nerdy.
I remember so many conversations or inside jokes about Lord of the Rings and Star Wars and Harry Potter where I was just so lost.
Then once I decided that I was in it for the long haul I figured that I should maybe see what they were talking about all of the time.
So I started reading the Harry Potter books and loved them!
(I can't believe that I had never read them before now......I guess it makes sense though. Growing up, my goal was to read every book in the library so I began at A. I ended up reading a lot of Cabot and Dahl but not a lot of Rowling....)
Anyways, I pretty much loved these books.
There was almost more drama and excitement than Grey's Anatomy.
(Almost)
And that really speaks to me.
So my lil gem of a Winkel made friends with the used book store people and slowly bought me the whole series.

For a steal of a deal nonetheless, which is almost better than owning the series.
(Shameless love dedication to ma boo)
So to all of you bookworms starting at A....just skip right to R and read these bad boys.
Now, as for Lord of the Rings and Star Wars...that might take me a little longer to dive into.
Baby steps people.

uncut sunday

Image Source


We just celebrated Thanksgiving.
I was all sorts of inspired
Before Thanksgiving I had seen REI's #optoutside campaign and thought that it was pretty awesome.
But then when Black Friday actually came I realized that it was too cold outside to do anything.
Also, my family spends time together by going Black Friday shopping.
After we eat we get out all of the ads and plan our attack and coordinate where everyone is going and decide what we will buy.
And I sort of love it.
While I love the thought of being cool enough to go adventuring outside instead of buying things I don't need, why would I give up time with my family to do something that I can do any other time?
(I suppose shopping can be done any other time but with these deals??? And battling crowds with your family? That just cannot be done any other time.)
So instead of feeling 21st century guilt for buying a bunch of crap the day after Thanksgiving,
I shall embrace the consumerism because of what it ACTUALLY means.
"Coming together in a common cause."

thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to this stupid bird that kept flying into the window over and over again.

how to hike squaw peak

Decide you want to hike Squaw Peak.
The short way.
Pack some fruit, cheese, and granola bars for sustenance.
(Even though you only anticipate being gone for an hour.)
Drive up the canyon (There's two of them so you have to pick. But pick correctly).
Read vague directions on how to get there.
Make a few U-Turns.
Spot a man and his children hiking through a field.
Park and follow them to wherever they're going.
(They must be going the same place you are.)
Climb in agony, huffing and puffing, over rocks and boulders.
Get to the top and declare yourselves triumphant (!!!!)
Wander around a bit and realize that this looks a little different than the pictures.
Turn around and....
Notice Squaw Peak looming behind you, mocking you.
Turn around and go home, a failure.
In short:
How to hike Squaw Peak:
ACTUALLY HIKE IT
(Don't try to go the short way. There isn't one.)

 

uncut sunday

I don’t always feel the presence of the Spirit.

When I go to the temple I don’t necessarily feel warmer inside and I don’t always feel that I got answers to my questions.

When I sit in church I feel antsy more than I feel calm.

I don’t really feel my bosom burning when I read the scriptures.

And sometimes it really worries me.

Are other people feeling all of these things that I'm not??

What's wrong with me?

But living a life full of faith is a choice.

I may not feel the Spirit as much as I would like.

Or really very often.

But I have faith (enough) that I keep doing those things even though I don’t feel the Spirit.

I do them because I know that I’m supposed to.

(And I don’t do them perfectly or enough, that’s for sure)

But maybe that’s my obstacle for this life.

Believing without ever fully knowing or feeling the truth.

Choosing to have the faith to act without the immediate reward of the Spirit’s presence.

Does anybody else feel this or am I just crazy?

how to survive a workout class

My new thing is taking workout classes at the rec center.

It forces me to workout for more than five minutes.

(Does anybody else stop after the warmup of a workout DVD?)

Anyways, I'm now a seasoned "gym rat".

So to help the world out in striving to be healthy, I come to you with

#HowToLoseAPoundInTenDays.
(Anyone get the movie I'm eluding to?)

Tip #1:

Try new classes so that you find out what you like and what definitely isn't for you. (But go early so that you can get a spot in the back and figure out what equipment you're supposed to be using. You can't look like a complete newb.)

Tip #2:

If you sit down at a machine and can't figure out how to use it, just sit on it for a bit and pretend to be so worn out that you are just catching your breath and then casually stand up and start stretching as you slowly walk away. Nobody will be the wiser.

Tip #3:
If you're taking a barefoot fitness class, bring your own toeless yoga "shoes" or else you will slip in a puddle of your own sweat.

Tip #4:
Do NOT take a fitness class with a mirror in the front of the class. Because then you can take NO breaks because every single person in the class can see you, even if you strategically chose the back row.

Tip #5:
Don't eat a whole cake before (or after) your workout class. Or ever.

a man's lunch

Marriage has taught me one thing.
Men eat a lot.
I feel so bad because the other night when I was packing Derek's lunch he sheepishly asked me if I could put more food in there.
Poor guy has been trying to get by on the calories of a petit lady.
When we were first married I had high hopes, (as does every new wife),
Of making her man some food!!!
I thought that I would wake up with him earlier than the roosters and make him breakfast.
That maybe lasted a day?
I have now compromised and told him that I will make him lunch instead of breakfast.
(Functioning enough to cook at 6 AM is just....too much.)
SO every night I pack his lil lunchbox and leave it in the fridge for him.
Usually he gets the leftovers from the night before.
(The other day I had cooked some experimental carrots and then put the whole container of them in his lunchbox that night. Just carrots. I guess he ate the whole thing just waiting for some mashed taters to appear or something.)
But sometimes I'm more organized and ambitious.
Because some days I know I am not going to have ANY lunch for him so I do some meal prep.
And now, here is my unofficial meal prep post:

1. Ya gotta have some meat. So take a bunch of turkey or chicken or beef and cook it up real nice. Be creative and add some bell pepper or garlic powder or....siracha!!

2. Vegetables are important. So just cook up some corn or beets or broccoli with some good ol seasonings.

3. A side of sorts is next. Cheesy mashed potatoes (Mashed potatoes packet with cheese and ranch mixed in. No gravy needed.) Or rolls or rice....

4. Possibly a fruit. An apple? Pomegranate seeds? An orange? Whatever tickles your man's fancy the most.

5. Then just take a bit of each food group and throw it in a tupperware. This usually makes me 4 days worth of lunches. And then make the husband clean the dishes.

Easy Peasy Squeeze a Lemon!

uncut sunday

I used to write some real morbid dark stuff.
(Feel free to go back through the years and see for yourself)
And I haven't done that in a while.
not that I want to be morbid dark.
But I just want to write.
So here is my uncut Sunday.

I’ve been going to the gym pretty regularly.

And it makes me feel strong.

I like feeling strong.

I like to feel that everyday I’m getting better at something.

I had a sort of daydream where I saw

I was thinking about all of the bad in the world and the thing that brought me comfort in the moment was my knowledge of good things.

There could be no God, there could be no Heaven.

But even without those things I can still say that I am living a good life.

Even if there was no Heaven and no God, I wouldn’t change the way I’m living.

And I wouldn’t change the way I follow my church obey my church’s teachings.

It made me want to search everyday for things that will fill my life with goodness and get me closer to the life that I hope to live.

Everyday I want to become stronger spiritually so that I can feel as though I am better than I was yesterday.

And by doing that I can’t let the actions of others affect me spiritually.

I cannot let it sadden me to the point where there is no point.

I have to prepare now so that when hard things do happen, I can pull from my strength.

Inspiration for the week:

Bethany Menzel

positivity

There has been a lot of horror in the world and in the news very recently.
It is starting to make me feel really sick inside and hopeless to hear about Paris and the (continuing) debate about the LDS church over and over again.
So for anybody else that wants to see something new and get their mind off the bad, here's some good :)


>We should ALL be this grateful everyday.

>I wish I could be this generous.

>Inmates spending their time in a wise way.

>I dressed as a robber but....I was #morethancute

>I know that I have gotten scared about online transactions because so many bad things have and could happen. Hopefully not with this.

laundry day

I don't actually mind doing laundry.
The only thing I mind is that I have to do it just about twice a week.
Real Talk: I used to wash my sheets mmmmm.....once a year?
But now that I just luvvv white SO much I have to wash my sheets a lot more often.
White towels, white sheets, white underoos....
SO much white!!!
And I've started to feel like everything was getting just a bit dingy.
So I decided to start making my own bleach because I'm sure the Dollar Store bleach filled with chemicals wasn't doing much to whiten and brighten.

And then I of course threw them into the dryer with my DIY wool dryer balls.
They are so much better than dryer sheets and cheaper too.
(Sometimes with bigger loads I have to put two in though).

I thought that the DIY bleach worked really well.
First of all, it smelled Bomb. Not like my whole house had just been bleached from top to bottom.
It wasn't really a stain fighter so not every mascara blotch came out of my pillowcases.
But it definitely did brighten.
I was most concerned about my hand towels and all of the dinginess came out of those.
If I had done a smaller load and let the solution actually sit on the clothes maybe it would have worked better and gotten every dirty spot out.
But alas, for next time.

Here are the links to the DIYs that I used.
Bleach
Dryer Balls

smoothies

There's been a bit of a lockdown on my jaw recently.
It has decided to go on strike and not open up ever again.
This is unfortunate because I'm typically a very hungry person.
Derek knows that he shouldn't get in the way of my donuts and cake.
But sadly the limited movement has made it quite hard to eat a whole cake in one sitting.
So I thought "WWAWGD" (What would a workout goddess do)?
Naturally, I started making smoothies with our "Thanks-for-getting-married-here's-a-gift" Blender.
This is the first smoothie that I've made and it was quite satisfying.
Except I don't think our neighbors find the noise of fresh smoothies very satisfying.
Anywho, if you would like to drive everyone in a five mile radius up a wall make this smoothie.
(Or anything in a blender really...)
I also tried making it with oats because I saw a modified recipe on Pinterest.
But it pretty much made me want to scratch my tongue off so I decided to never put them in again.
But for those weirdies out there, just remember that it is an option.
:)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Plain, Unflavored Yogurt
• 1 cup Fruit (your Choice - Blueberries, Peaches, Pineapple, Etc)
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 dash Honey
•  Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Place yogurt, fruit, milk, a handful of ice and honey to taste all into a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste it for sweetness and add more honey if needed.

another post on beliefs

A couple of years ago I struggled for a hot minute about my beliefs.
I stopped trying to believe and I started questioning for all of the wrong reasons.
I wasn't questioning to gain more knowledge, I was questioning to try and "trip up God"
I questioned with the intent of finding an answer that satisfied what I really wanted to hear and not the actual truth.
I finally met with the missionaries and through a lot of study and prayer I finally decided for myself.
I guess I would consider that my personal conversion?
I don't know.
I feel like I've had multiple personal conversions.
Anyways, while I'm a good and faithful church going member of the LDS religion I still don't see or do things perfectly.
When the new policy on same-sex marriage from the church came out I immediately had thoughts of doubtfulness.
For a minute I wondered what church I was a part of that would deny somebody the right to be baptized.
I read threads upon threads of the discussion and I have finally come to my conclusion.
This is a church that I love and admire.
So even though this was (is) a hard thing to understand, I will still support my church.
This article here (Seriously it calmed my heart so much. So...read it.)
I (and my church) do not hate or frown upon people who have same sex attractions.
We are not banning them from the church and we aren't denying them the ability to lead a good life.
But our church DOES have certain beliefs, as does any religion/country/organization.
And we firmly stand by those beliefs.
While I (and my church) sill love people that participate in same-sex marriage, it is not something that we teach or accept.
And it's something that a lot of religions don't teach or accept.
(So get off our religion's backs punks!!)
Anyways, the article up yonder should clear up a lot of confusion as to why this policy has come out.
(Even though....it has BEEN in existence, it just now has to be said because of circumstances in the world)
Anywho, the church is still good and gay people are still good and its OK to doubt.

positivity

We see so much negativity in the world.
The news is filled with stories of dirty cops and hate and violence and evil.
It feels massively overwhelming and as if there is no hope for anybody.
And watching the news just leaves a blanket of sorrow over everything.
But I remember something that my 7th grade english teacher told me:
"People in the news want to show stuff that is crazy and rare and attention grabbing.
So if the news is showing all of these bad things in the world then doesn't that mean that
All the bad in the world is crazy and rare and attention grabbing?"
How powerful is that?
We only see and focus on the bad because it is so "unique" and overwhelming to us.
But that is so heartbreaking.
There is just so much good that we don't see because we are bombarded with the bad.
But I would love to focus on the positivity and have my heart melt into a puddle of mush.
So every once in a while I am going to share a post filled with some faith in humanity so that we can turn our eyes to the good.

>>A cop turns a competition into a Dance-Off.

>>

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>>REI closing their doors.


>>

halloween

We started off the day by eating pancakes and watching Pokemon with our family.
That's really how every Saturday should be spent though.
For our Halloween festivities we were invited to attend a party hosted by our cousins.
Before we left for said party we got some trick or treaters.
This was our first year being put in the trick or treater situation so we lacked the very important bowl of candy.
So instead, I started passing out random items of food that we had laying around.
Those lucky kids moms got themselves some Ferrero Rochers!!
And one got a whole package of Red Vines.
Those lucky numskulls.
*Here kid. Have a half a ham. We forgot to get candy*
What newbs.
I also tried to get a little festive in how we ate.
I made lil mummy hot dogs (complete with Siracha eyes) and was going to make pumpkin pretzels but with no orange food coloring they were just regular chocolate covered pretzels.
Still good but NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

new car

Due to a recent series of unfortunate events that includes my poor little run-down Taurus,
I was "forced"to be this lil guy.
I had been looking around for a new car for a while, but then the process was sped up when I got in a bit of a fender bender.
I wanted something rull fancy and posh but given the limited time and limited funds....
I bought this beauty.
And I love it.
Also, now when Derek and I decide to move to the PNW we will look like we actually fit in.
Well, this car has been working out pretty nice for me but new stuff always takes some getting used to.
I mean, all of the gadgets are in the wrong places.
I keep thinking I'm in my old car and I go to turn on the windshield wipers and the headlights turn on...
So the other day I was driving down the road minding my own business when some punk pulled in front of me.
I wanted to warn the dumb that I was going to hit him if he didn't go faster but I could NOT find my horn in that moment of panic.
I turned on the headlights and the windshield wipers and the rear windshield wipers and...
Five minutes later I finally honked at him.
Needless to say, he was clueless as to why some BEAUTIFUL brunette in a hawt car was honking at him.
I think I need to take some time to study my car gadgets.