It's been one week...

Last weekend I got to spend time with my dear friend Ruth. She was in Utah at the start of her four week vacation. We met at a local water park and then I followed her up to Eden (up the Ogden canyon) to stay with her at her good friend's house. Her house overlooked Pineview Reservoir and was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

It was wonderful to spend time with her and her family - not to mention the day on the lake was one of my best few days so far in Utah!

There really is a place called Eden, Utah. For reals. Look it up. It was so pretty and quiet and basically a piece of heaven on earth.

The best part was spending time with good people, eating yummy food (thank you Judy for the red vines - I had to go and get some this week because the craving had been activated), playing the most fun game, getting yelled at while on the lake because we were unaware that people could actually reserve the beach and leave it unattended and catching up on each other's lives.

Thank you Davis and Smith families for a great weekend!

Wish I was I there

Do I even have to tell you why?

Should've Known Better

And I'm not talking about that quasi-famous song by Richard Marx from the late 80's, early 90's.

I'm talking about Wal-Mar[t]. I should have known better than to go there starving. I went to pick up a few things for my new cherry limeade recipe that I am sharing at a RS board meeting tonight AND to pick up my prescriptions.

$37 dollars and a half a loaf of warm french bread later, I almost left the store without my prescriptions! I say half a loaf because I was starving and it was right there when you go into the store and it was warm and crusty and I swear I heard it whispering my name like a Harry Potter veela. I started picking at the loaf while in the dairy section and by the time I got home, it was half gone.

Speaking of the dairy section, I ran into someone that under other circumstances (say church, for instance) I usually nod and say "hi" and then turn the other direction. Not because I don't want to talk to this person, but for some reason lately when I talk to this single guy person and he seems a little bit interested in me, I turn shy and quiet and don't know what to say. And then, when this single guy person pays compliments and GAVE me a free airplane ticket so I could go home and visit a sick family member...well, you can see where it can be a little awkward for me.

Anyway, I tried the whole "nod hi and run" thing tonight when I ran into him because for 1) I had a mouthful of bread and 2) see above paragraph. Well, it didn't really work out for me because I ran into him again on another aisle and since I had then finished my mouthful of bread, I tried with all of my might to come out of my "shell" and talk to him. Luckily, he made the first move (as he usually does - he seems to not be easily put off) in the conversation and his children were with him and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be when we were back in the dairy section and I had a mouthful of bread. In fact, I left them in the soda aisle feeling like I was in the right place at the right time and I now realize that maybe I shouldn't be trying so hard to go in the opposite direction of where life is trying to take me.

I don't know why I'm telling you this story because it doesn't really put me in my best light. I mean seriously - a HALF a loaf of french bread and trying to avoid someone who keeps ending up in my path?

I really should know better.

Cravings

I have several friends that are pregnant. They don't complain too much about cravings but I think that I am experiencing sympathy cravings for them!

These are the things that lately, I just cannot get enough of! Luckily, most of them are not that bad for me...

I owe you one...

Or two, or three or even FOUR blog posts about everything that I've done for the last five weeks since I've last posted.

I came home from vacation two weeks and two days ago (but who is counting). I still close my eyes at night and think about it and the great time I got to spend with my dad.

I got home tonight from a business dinner (gasp, YES, I know it's Sunday but after arriving to the dinner discovered that one of the hosting business associates was also LDS and for some reason it made the dinner okay. PLUS, the hosting business paid for the dinner so technically, I did not break the Sabbath...hmm, do you buy that?) and I ate too much and was thinking I couldn't go to bed with this feeling in my tummy and thought I would check in online (ahem, check Facebook) and thought I'd do a quick update.

Now that I'm here, I realize that I'm incredibly tired and that even though I've been home for two weeks and two days, I never got over the jet lag. And, I need to be up super early to prepare for an all-day work meeting. In other words, this just about wraps up your update.

I know, I know, I leave you wanting more. I will do my VERY best to get back to you later this week with a more comprehensive update. I have SOOOO much to tell you!

For now, I leave you with this beautiful picture of one of my new favorite places in the world - Cinque Terre on the coast of the Ligurian Sea in Northwestern Italy. Well, it's really a self-portrait of me and you can kinda see part of Rio Maggiore in the background...this is just a teaser of the pictures that are to come!

Can't Wait

This is the week! I am getting ready to go out of town for work which in and of itself requires a lot of preparation. In fact, I will go into the office today to get some stuff done peacefully and without the phone ringing or emails coming in at lightning speed.

BUT, I also get to see my sister and her family this week as they will be in Missouri in approximately 30 hours! They have planned their family vacation to Missouri to take care of Penny the Beagle while my dad and I gallivant around The Netherlands and Italy. Well, not around The Netherlands as much as Amsterdam and not so much gallivant as work, work, work and play just a little bit. Anyway, I digress. I GET TO SEE MY SWEET SISTER! Since our dad has been sick (and since she's found the awesomeness that is motion sickness patches) we have been able to see each other more in the last two years than we have in the last 10 years (okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but maybe not)!

Another bonus? Seeing this guy. He's my favorite brother-in-law. Okay, he's my only brother-in-law, but WHATEVER. He's very patient and kind and funny. I just realized his funniness a few years ago. He's been my brother-in-law for almost 16 years...I'm a little late. Anyway, I love that he's so supportive of his wife and children and BRAVE enough to come to my cramped little house in O'Fallon and live and work for 3 weeks. That's love, people. Serious love.

Mostly I'm excited to squeeze and love on these little people. The older girls probably will tire of me hugging and kissing them after 3 minutes but the boys are all about it. And I can't wait.

Like I said, they will be at my small house for a long time...for 6 people who need their space, they will probably be like this at the end of the 3 weeks:

I will only be with them for approximately 40 hours but I plan to make the most of every minute. Excepting of course the mandatory time it will take for me to get my hair done. That is the second most important thing about being in O'Fallon for 40 hours.

Unable to Follow Instructions

Today I went and did something that I am always hesitant to do. I had my eyebrows groomed. If you're a regular follower of my life, you know that I cannot be trusted to do my own eyebrow grooming...I removed the scissors from the bathroom after an unfortunate mishap last September in which my right eyebrow became noticeably (ahem) thinner than the left.

Well, evidently, even the "professionals" can get a little carried away. I solemnly promise to not talk to any esthetician while she is in charge of making my eyebrows pretty. I specifically told her, "I do not want them super thin. I just want them trimmed and cleaned up." Well, I guess that meant something completely different to her than it did to me.

When she was finished she handed me the mirror and asked, "How do they look? Are they too thin?" At that point there was NOTHING I could possibly say that would give me back the 1/8 of an inch of eyebrow that was lost. So, as any of you would, I said, "Oh, yeah, that's fine". She slathered on the "cooling gel", I paid my $14 and left the building. Oh, and I paid her a $3 tip. Maybe I shouldn't have but the girl probably only makes minimum wage and who can live on just that?


The furrowed brow will be permanent in about 3 years. I'm sure of it. There may be Botox in my future. See the left eyebrow (your right, my left). It has a bald spot!!! I'm now off the buy an eyebrow pencil to fill in the missing parts. And the dark eyelids? That's NOT eyeshadow my friends. Those have been hard earned from incessant allergies and more than likely, not enough water. What cosmetic procedure is there for that? Skin bleaching?

Needless to say, I won't be going back to that salon. I may have to make special trips to Missouri for my hair cuts AND my eyebrows.

I'm sure my O'Fallon friends and family won't mind a bit.

Love It

One of my favorite blogs is giving away a free, pretty June Calendar. Download it today. If I didn't already know what I'd be doing for the majority of June, I would totally use it. Hopefully she'll give a free calendar every month!

Sunday Dinner

I have an open invitation for Sunday dinner at the home of my good friends, the Vick family. Stella never fails to feed me well and lately, has been really helpful with healthier choices for appetizers, dinner and dessert.

Well, they travel quite a bit and are out of town this weekend. When they are out of town, I'm on my own. Sometimes I just eat leftovers of something or I snack all day long on meaningless, empty calories.

Last night I started thinking about what I could make today. I decided on sour cream chicken enchiladas and spanish rice. The enchilada recipe comes from a dear Fremont/O'Fallon friend Anisa Widmar Mears. Lucky for me, I actually had the recipe in my little box, and not sitting on the counter at my home in O'Fallon where I thought for sure I'd left it. I made it with light sour cream, 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup and 2% cheese. I also added diced tomatoes and green chiles and frozen corn. If you know Anisa, you should ask her for the recipe. I know she will share...

The spanish rice recipe never turns out the same twice. I try to make it like my Dad, or like Stella, but it's not quite there. It tasted good, but got a little crispy on the bottom. I happen to like it that way, but since I didn't have full cup of rice (that isn't in a huge #10 food storage can) I probably cooked it a little too long.

As you can see, I added a little side salad and it was very yummy. I only ate 1/8th of the pan so I have a lot of leftovers. I think I'll keep one serving out for a dinner this week and freeze the rest.

What did you have for Sunday dinner?

So much to do, so little time

Or is it so little to do, so much time? Honestly, it's a toss up. I feel like I'm cheating when I finally get motivated to blog and then I put a list of some kind and call it an "update".

So, my friend Amy wrote a post about how boring she is as a mom, and well, it must be something in all of us because I am definitely a boring non-mom too! Excitement in my life consists of treating myself to a $1.45 frozen yogurt cup at Costco. I'm not even kidding. Just for fun, today I decided to splurge and get a pack of roma tomatoes that will more than likely rot before I eat all 8 tomatoes. Oh, and I bought a bag of low-fat organic caesar salad and a new pair of pjs. It was a red-letter day in Lehi for Leslie!

I did get a massage today. I woke up with a kink in my left shoulder and decided to do something about it. The massage therapist was like, "umm, you're one big knot!". She worked on my back, neck and shoulders for an hour and suggested that I come back often. I don't believe she was just saying that to make more sales either. My back was a great big knot.

In case you didn't hear, my dad and I are taking little trip in less than two weeks (he could tell you the exact number of days, hours and minutes). I have to go to Amsterdam for work and following that, we are heading to Florence, Italy for a week. I've already started making my packing lists and deciding what I'm going to wear. I've got the shoes covered. No worries there!

Hmmm, let's see...what else have I been up to? Not much. I'm sure you can daydream something much better than my reality. In fact, what do you think I've been up to? I'd love to hear your imaginings.

Confession

I feel the need to confess the following things to you, my faithful friends & readers:

1. I got a mani/pedi yesterday and feel the need to keep looking at how pretty it looks even though two nails on my right hand are messed up because I couldn't sit still at the salon.
2. I woke up sick in the middle of the night and could only attribute it to a carne asada quesadilla I ate yesterday at lunch with my friend Michelle. Knowing that it might have made me sick (I'm not used to that much cheese) I still ate the leftovers today for lunch. Um, just for the record, it was the quesadilla that made me sick.
3. Laying on the couch all day napping/watching TV and skipping church doesn't actually make you feel better. I think it gave me a headache to go with the nausea.
   
4. Browsing online sights for LDS singles does not guarantee that you will have a "Must Love Dogs" experience. In fact, it mostly just makes you think that you can't meet anyone ever. Even online.
5. My fingernails and toenails really do look pretty.
6. I just might be over Facebook. Maybe.
7. The latest Hannah Montana movie was pretty good. I'll probably buy the DVD.
8. I would like to wake up skinny tomorrow. What are the chances?
9. I ate graham crackers for dinner.
10. I really, really, really want to make chocolate chip cookies but I know that I would eat them all and that's a bad thing.
11. Even though I don't update my blog as much as I could/should, I get disappointed when the blogs I read frequently haven't been updated in awhile.
12. My new flip-flops really are even more cute on (especially with sassy reddish/pink toes).
13. Watching reruns of the Nanny make me laugh out loud.
14. I need to consume less carbs and more protein and vegetables. For reals.
15. I wish every week ended with a 3-day weekend.
    

So, there you go. Just some random thoughts from Leslie.

I guess she misses me, too!

Just look at her little tongue sticking out...that's signature Penny!

My New Favorite Shoes

These were delivered today. I bought them at www.shoes.com with free shipping! I loved my first pair and I think I'm going to love these even more. My first pair lasted nearly 4 years. At $28 a pair, that's $7 a year. Not too bad for a GREAT pair of flip flops. So cute. I wish I could wear them to work.

I miss her

I was browsing through my photos looking for a "before" picture to post on a weight-loss blog that I'm participating in. I couldn't find a good "before" picture, but I found this picture of Miss Penny the baby girl beagle dog and it made me realize how much I miss her. I hear that she's lost a little bit of weight and a few teeth in the last couple of weeks. She's just a baby girl dog...

Mission Almost Accomplished

Well, it's missing legs and the hem isn't finished because there are no legs (I need to find them online) but the slipcover is done! This was BY FAR the hardest project I have ever undertaken. I actually did it once and didn't like the way it hung on the chair so I ripped apart and started over again. The people on HGTV make sewing a slipcover look so easy. Trust me, this wasn't.

Now that I've looked at the fabric for so long, I'm not sure I even like it anymore! Whatever though, it's staying in my living room because a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this. Literally.

If you're ever at my place, please don't look too closely. There are lots of mistakes. Let's just call this chair my "Amish" chair. In case you don't know, the Amish purposely make mistakes on their handiwork because the only thing perfect is God. Yeah, let's go with that...


Oh, and I know that the chair doesn't match the curtains. The curtains will go back into the bedroom. I think I'm going to go with some kind of vintage lace curtains or something like that. I think it will go better with the "shabby chic" look I have going on in my apartment.

Happy Birthday Friend!

Today is my friend Ruth's birthday. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Truth be told, I have known a few friends longer but with Ruth it feels like we've known each other since before forever..

When we first met I didn't want to be friends with her because I was jealous of all of the attention she gathered. My bishop at the time was a good friend of hers and "encouraged" me to be friends with her and even (gasp) suggested that we be room-mates. I wisely followed the counsel of my bishop and my room-mate and I invited Ruth to find an apartment which we could all share.

I quickly learned that the attention that Ruth gathered had nothing to do with her beauty or "way with the boys". She has a heart like no one I've ever known. Ruth taught me the meaning of the atonement, she taught me about the importance of making covenants and most of all, she was the greatest influence in my life inspiring me to serve a mission.

There are as many things that Ruth has taught me as there are minutes in an hour. Everyone should have a friend like Ruth.

We don't get to see each other that often but now thanks to blogging, we are able to keep up with each other's lives MUCH better. I get to see pictures of her and her sweet family more than just once a year at Christmas!

Happy Birthday my friend! I wish you nothing but love, health and happiness!

PS - I tried and tried to find a picture of her by herself (on her blog) but I couldn't and I don't have a scanner here at home to upload a picture of the two of us from years gone by. So, I give you a picture of Ruth and her husband. I'm allowed to say that I love him too because I think I loved him before Ruth did!

My weekend to-do list

Not too long ago, my (famous) friend Melynie posted about the joy she gets from making lists. Since I'm all about trying to emulate the good I see in others, I've decided to try making a list of what I want to accomplish so I can feel like I did something worth talking about this weekend.

1. Buy cumin. For a dollar. I'm not going to spend more than $1 for this (will this count as three things if I actually buy the cumin?)
2. Cut the fabric for the slip cover for my $20 thrift store chair
3. Get a prescription refilled
4. Hang two pictures on the walls
5. Make chocolate/peanut butter chip cookies
6. Clean the bathroom
7. Go for at least one walk around town
8. Return library books
   

What are your plans for this weekend?

I love, love, love this decorating idea!

Picture courtesy www.designmom.com

I've got nothin'...

I keep thinking of things to post on here and I really can't come up with anything witty or wise or even half-way interesting.

Hopefully I'll snap out of this funk I've been in for the past six weeks soon.

In the mean time, I'll be doing my taxes (yes, I've waited until the last minute), trimming and painting my toenails, making a slip-cover for my $20 D.I. chair, eating bon-bons, finding a cure for cancer, cleaning the bathtub, plucking my eyebrows and writing thank-you notes to a few lovelies in my life that deserve them. All of this will be done in no particular order in no set time frame. Except for the taxes part of course.

Love to all six of you that took the time to read my update. Huge love and lots of hugs.

Why I Love Spring

I changed the title of this post from "Easter" to "Spring" when my friend Ruth asked what I liked about Easter.  It got me to thinking that I love Spring because of the flowers.  I love Easter because it reminds me of the sacrifice of Christ and that because of Him we can live forever.