Yum-O!

Rachael Ray has probably trademarked that word, but it is the appropriate description for my latest kitchen endeavor! I love desserts that are fresh and have fruit (I'm also a sucker for chocolate most of the time) and this one didn't have a ton of sugar so I thought I'd share!

The recipe is here! Oh how pretty it is!

Dah!

Walmart. A place where I spend most Saturday nights doing my grocery shopping for the week. I was driving down there on the freeway when I saw big puffs of smoke on the other side of the road a few miles down. Then came the firetrucks, then I saw the FIRE! I slowed down to take a look (typical Utahn, I know.) and it was a truck and a trailer full of ATVs with the trailer completely engulfed in flames. I hate stuff like this. It makes me sick for those poor people whose spring break has definitely taken a turn in the wrong direction. It just stinks. So the freeway was closed going the opposite direction. But no problems for me and after my moment of pity for the poor folks, I continued to my shopping adventure. I got done at the store and all checked out, groceries loaded and started for home. Taking a detour of course because the road was still closed. Then I remembered that we had used the back door today at work and I couldn't remember if I had locked it when I locked up tonight. Well, shoot. So I turned around and headed back to the salon (right next door to the Walmart). As I pulled into our parking lot, I noticed a couple of parked cars and a few people just hanging around the cars. Teenagers, I thought, just bored on a Saturday night. I went in, checked the door and came back out. That's when I noticed that the people looked more like a family, because there were some kids and a few adults. I got in the car and left, but as I was leaving I wondered if I should see if they needed some help or something. It seemed like a silly idea to me since there were so many businesses so close, and let's face it, if they were having car problems, I would not be any help. Plus it was pretty dark, and I was alone. So I left. I nearly turned around, but didn't. I wonder now if I should have. Maybe they could have used the cookies in my trunk that I had just bought (shouldn't have bought them anyway), or maybe they would just have liked to know that someone cared. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, my parents taught me that when you have a thought that prompts you to do good, you should do it. They didn't just teach me that, they showed me many, many times. And apparently it still hasn't sunk in. And for that, I say to myself "DAH!" And I will try better from now on.

Please keep your hands, feet, and head inside the ride while getting a haircut.

I may not be a morning person, but I try really hard to be nice to the people that are banging down the door at the salon when we open. This morning, the sun was shining! The birds were singing! My hair worked. Plus, I got to sleep an extra 30 seconds because I knew what I was going to wear today! Good morning so far, right? Right.

Now, I do enjoy my job. It's not as much of a creative outlet as I would like it to be, because no one ever REALLY means it when they say "Just do whatever you want", but it's enough to keep me happy!

So this morning I had a lady. Nice lady. Lovely hair. But she had her cup of coffee with her and brought it back to my chair. Fine. I actually don't mind the smell of coffee at all. But she held it during the haircut, and would occassionally take a big swig (have you ever tried to drink something without moving your head? Doesn't work. Moving head=bad haircut), forcing me to pause the haircut while she drank. I found this rather obnoxious. So what do I do? Instead of asking her nicely to put the cup on the counter and wait until I was done, I thought it would be a fun game to see if I could fling the hair just right so that it would fall onto her cup. I succeeded. Problem solved. Haircut turned out wonderfully. Yes, I may need to work on my people skills in the mornings. :-)

The Proof!

I did it. Tackled two major closets, one small closet and my bathroom drawers. I know, I know, I was supposed to do them on Saturday, but never quite got around to finishing them. So, just in case you are inspired now to clean your own closets, here are a few ideas of what to keep and what to toss.

Keep:

Husband's super decked out Home Depot apron

Cardboard cut-out Salt Lake Temple. (Do you know how long that took to make? Toss it? I think not.)

About ten suitcases. We should go somewhere once in awhile, I suppose.

Giant plush gorilla

Most of my shoes :-)

Toss:

Three non-matching socks in a gym bag. Seriously.

"Santa's Coal" bubble gum...from two Christmases ago.

All remaining clothing from the high school/college days.

About a zillion bobby pins that were missing the little rubber ends.

Two non working flat irons.

My treasured Doc Marten's. Sigh. LOL

Closet Before

Closet After

All in all, I'd say it was a success!

Cleaning out My Closets

I love the feeling of Saturday! Why?

• Because it's the day before Sunday and I always have Sundays "off" (a day of playing, practicing, teaching, reading, but which is technically a day off, since I don't have to go to work).
• Work is usually busy, but we have three girls working, so it normally doesn't get super overwhelming.
• I can catch up on my chores after work without worrying about work the next day!
• The town just has a little extra "buzz" on Saturdays. A good buzz. Like things are being accomplished and people are happy to be getting them accomlished.

Yes. Saturdays are delightful. So, since I am done with work, I am now making a mental list of all the things that need to be done. It is feeling incredibly spring-like outside, so I think a healthy dose of spring cleaning needs to be administered to my closets. I have lots of clothes that I NEVER wear. I have plenty of shoes that I NEVER wear. And my scrapbooking closet is awful, because I just throw the scraps from all my little 'projects' into a pile. I think is how I will spend my evening. Cleaning out my closets. Literally, of course.

Juice and Bunnies

Ryan is sick. No fun. I hope he gets out of work early today so he can rest and then he has tomorrow off. Last night we had a conversation. It went something like this:

R: You probably shouldn't drink that juice. I already drank from it and I don't want you to get sick.

J: Oh, I'll be fine! Do you know how many people I touch every day? I have built up immunities to so many things, I'll never get sick again. *drinks from container*.

R: OK, whatever. (is thinking, "just don't drink all my juice" LOL)

J: Do you know, last time I got really sick was my first month of college. My cousins had to nurse me back to heath(good times, right guys? haha), I couldn't move, and had to take like 4 baths a day to get rid of the achiness. Hmmm...It HAS been a long time since I've been REALLY sick!

R: Ya, I don't remember you ever being really sick.

I think we all know where this is going! That was the end of the conversation. The evening progressed, we watched a movie, I made some fun cards for my younger cousins for Easter. But this morning and all day I've been pretty much on the couch, facebooking and blogging my life away because I feel so SICK! That's just what I get. Spoke WAY too soon. That'll teach me! LOL.

Anyway, since I've had time on my hands, I've been getting into the Easter spirit! When I was little, my aunts and grandma used to make little bunnies out of washcloths for Easter decorations. I wanted to try them myself, so I looked up the directions, and seriously, they are so easy! They are quick and are so cute even if you don't do the pom pom for the tail, or the googly's for they eyes. Just tying the ribbon around the elastic makes a cute, simple egg-holder, or gift!

Washcloth Bunny

You Need:
White Washcloth (or colored if you want a colorful bunny!)
Elastic and Ribbon
Small Pink Pom Pom
Small White Pom Pom
Two Wiggle Eyes -- 10mm
Scrap of Craft Foam
Glue Gun, or Tacky Glue

Instructions:
Lay the washcloth on the table diagonally so it looks like a diamond. Beginning at the top point, roll down the washcloth to the middle. Roll the bottom up to the middle, so you have a long strip of rolled washcloth. Fold the long strip in half

Now fold that strip in half. Bunch up near the ends to make a head, putting an elastic around the bunch to make a head. Fluff the ends to make ears.
Glue on wiggle eyes, pompom nose and foam strips for whiskers. Glue on pompom tail.

Long Day

Thanks for everyone's encouragement with Brian's situation. I am feeling more positive and trying to trust that it's in the Lord's hands! I know that Brian will be able to handle whatever he is challenged with. He's awesome that way.

So I don't normally have days like this where I just go, go, go! I love the feeling of a good day's work...my parents taught me well (I was telling my mom about a situation that I encountered at work today and explaining to her how I reacted. She informed me that she "raised a good daughter". LOL). But sometimes I just want a nap!

I finally got home and had to go straight to Young Women's after changing out of my work clothes. I walked into my closet, and on the floor was one of my belts...chewed up.

I have a dog for a cat.

What a day. LOL

Another Call.

My younger brother, Brian,will be deployed to Afghanistan this August. How long? Don't know.


I'm just going to scold myself ahead of time. "Jayelle, you need a serious attitude adjustment."

Because I don't want him to go.



I'm worried about him being gone. And I wish I could do it for him (weird, huh? I know, but I really do wish that I could make it so that he didn't have to deal with it. As if I could deal with it any better. HA.)



I'm still sorting out all of my feelings on the whole thing. Right now I feel like throwing a giant tantrum...but I've thrown a lot of tantrums in my day and, looking back, I'm not finding any example of a tantrum that was extremely effective. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow.