Lady Gaga's New Music Video...

...was released today. She's one of the few who can pull a giant machine gun out of her vagina & it seem normal compared to the rest of the video :) She is a total weirdo & I love it.



Random Fact: The pink triangle was used to complete the Star of David during the Holocaust for gay Jews. If they weren't Jewish, they would just have a point-down pink triangle badge. Now when turned point side up it is used as a gay pride symbol. (Opening of vid: down, closing:up)

finally...someone i can relate to.

i mean, seriously. just watch it.

she takes the words right out of my mouth / brain.

...i just want to do something special, okay?

one of my favorite salads in the whole world

Super fruit and veggie meal with SO much flavor!

Salad: Lettuce, strawberries, avocados, chopped walnuts (I buy them whole and food-process them, since it's cheaper that way) with Lite Poppyseed dressing. Try it! It's heaven.

Pasta: We buy whole wheat Barilla rotini (since you can almost always find coupons for it) and Ragu makes this amazing pasta sauce that actually has chunks of veggies in it (and supposedly two servings of veggies per serving!). So. Good.

our camera is being a little rediculous and won't turn on even with new batteries, so you'll just have to imagine this yummy meal and enjoy pics of baby d at Border's during our Monday date night playing with stuffed animals instead.

. 

Besides, you can't look at those cheeks and say they're not scrumptious, right??

wordless wednesday: blue 32!

Check out part 1 here.

Sanding and Painting and Trim, Oh My!

This post is super late at night because I spent the majority of my evening finishing up on painting the hallway, but my challenge for the week is to NOT sand, paint, or put up trim.  Reason being?  It makes your house look like a disaster zone and doing all of these projects at one time cannot be completed in one day... so disaster zone lasts for a long time!

Now... I have lived in disaster zones before, and these pictures are not to judge.  They are just to show that I should be able to handle a little painting disaster, but it still makes my skin itch.

Roomie's side our freshman year.  Love her, but loved to clean up for her too.

Sophomore year of college, loved the beds in the living room for sleepovers, but it gave me hives occasionally.

Living room before repainting.  It was really dark.

New paint in the living room.  Barefoot Beach is the color.  Still haven't put up the crown molding yet.

Hallway before.  Same dark color.

Hallway after.  Country Beige.  Replacing the trim soonish.

So... I guess try painting, or not painting, or, just try not stressing over the disasters that occur in a house over time.

I Love This One Blog Alot.

Hokay. So I've been following this random girl's blog for a couple years now... I don't even remember how I came across it...All I know is she is one of the funniest people in the world. Chances are you may have read it before as she has attracted a pretty strong cult following. I have quite a few favorite entries (they all are freaking Kick-A) but, one story she did hit home. It involves her being in a hospital & realizing that awful 'face-pain chart' is stupid... so she made her own, which in my opinion is pretty accurate.

My favorite entry overall has to do with her rant about grammar, specifically in which every time someone spells "a lot" as one word (alot) she imagines this monster creature to help make up for her Grammar Nazism.

I love love love creative people, & she sits atop of my creative envy shelf.

Her name is Allie Brosh
Her Blog is "Hyperbole and a Half"
Seriously, read it.

relax max.

i haven't seen too many artists in concert, but i do enjoy listening to live music. the three big ones i've seen have been AWESOME for their own individual reasons (n'sync -- watershed -- goo goo dolls) and i'm thinking of adding number four to the list this summer.

anyone ever heard of naturally 7?

they are pretty much awesome. they're an a cappella group, but they're so much more than that too. each of them has an "instrument" they embody (like drums, trombones, guitar, etc) and what comes out of it is really cool. seriously. youtube "naturally 7" and just see what kind of sweet music you end up with.

PLUS they're touring with michael buble -- coming to milwaukee in june. crossing my fingers that i can land some tickets / get time off work to see some awesome music! let me know what you think --

SSS's Mr. D's Oreo Cake

Are you ready for this???

Cake: 

Mix 1 Package Devil's Food chocolate cake (with eggs, oil, water) + 1 package crushed Oreos 

Bake it!

Frosting:

Mix 1 package crushed Oreos (via food processor) + 12 ounces softened cream cheese + a can of vanilla frosting.

Frost that cake! 

(keep refrigerated until you actually eat it, then I like it cold and Mr. D likes it nuked for 20 seconds in the micro).

Serve with milk, vanilla ice cream, and a heaping serving of sprinkles spelling out your name.

Seriously the best cake I have ever made in my whole life.

Calorie content? Zero. But only if it's your birthday, because calories never count on your birthday. :)

WHAT THE HECK?!

Suddenly all the children in America can sing perfectly with no training.

WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT THIS PHENOMENON?

1. i love this song

2. now i love her

3. you should too

mama

a bout 45 seconds in for 10 seconds....someday i'll learn to edit these movies

you guessed it...

Inexpensive Flights

I am sure that most of you are aware that I love to travel.  From road trips down to Vegas for the weekend with my sister's family to ten days in Asia spanning four countries (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand) I am all about the travels.  The single most expensive part of traveling from my experience is the plane tickets for the trip.  So, for Try Me Tuesday, I want to share a couple of flight secrets that I have found.

The first secret is Jetblue. 

They are by far my favorite airline.  They have in-flight entertainment in the back of every seat including an awesome trivia game where you compete against the people sitting around you.  The other awesome thing?  FREE in-flight snacks.  That hardly ever happens any more.  Other amazing ammenities?  They offer extra legroom to every customer and every seat has the same pricing.  And, here's the kicker, every first checked bag is still free.  That does not require a special credit card.  It does not require any sort of membership.  It's just standard.  Jon and I signed up for the Trueblue club and get emails about discounted flights.  From one of those emails, we bought tickets to Long Beach, California, so that I can go to Disneyland for the first time.  How much did we spend?  $79 each way.  Such an awesome deal.  Jetblue, we love you!

Our plane to Singapore in 2009

Look at the awesome seats on our 19 hour flight.  The phone looking thing was a remote for playing the video games on the screens.  And rather than leaning back, the seats slid forward and then leaned back.

The other secret is one that I just discovered.  It's called Air Fare Watchdog.  You sign up for free and get emails when there are cheap flights from any city to any other city that you select.  I've signed up for SLC to SAN and SLC to DTW notifications.  The other fun option that they have is "fares from a city."  I signed up for SLC because that's where we live, so once a week I'll get a list of discounted rates to a random assortment of cities around the world.  It's pretty fun.  I already found a flight that I am sooo considering to book.  $310 to Detroit from Salt Lake.  That's less than half of the regular price. 

So... give either one a try.  If you plan to travel, why not get a good price?

Super Scrumptious Saturday: spaghetti squash!

I'm going to preface this by apologizing to Anna for taking her day :/ If you are reading this and haven't read her post, do it! Its hysterical,

So I've never really understood or attempted to make spaghetti squash, and the other day I decided that I wanted to start making baby food and grabbed a few veggies... before I knew it, I was google-ing "Baby food Spaghetti squash" and GUESS WHAT? Its basically the only veggie you AREN'T supposed to puree and give to babies. So, I decided to make it for myself, since I had already bought it and everything. 

You bake the whole thing on a pan in the oven at 375' for 50-60 minutes, then let it cool for a bit and slice it in half. Scoop out the seeds (kinda like a pumpkin) and with two forks start scraping out the insides and would you believe it?! It comes out looking just like angel hair pasta. So I just added some cheese and sprinkled a bit of salt and basil and viola! A yummy, healthy lunch. It even pairs well with tomato basil soup.... nom nom good. Told you it looks just like real spaghetti!! 

two of my favorite things combined.

i'm hoping you guys have seen this already, since most of you are in awesome provo, but just in case -- you've gotta see this.

p.s. two of my fav things: jimmer and the news ( :

OH AND GUESS WHAT?!?

dayzero project is backkkkk.

summer plans:)

This is the plan...

It'll take the whole summer to get there and back.

good thing I own a kayak!

No worries though. After 2,756 miles across the Pacific, we'll get to stop in Hawaii...

which will be a perfect break to prepare us for the next 3,879 miles to finally get to Japan.

BEST SUMMER EVER, CLEARLY!

any takers?

jimmermania.

i feel it is my duty to document this momentous occasion.


unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, you know all about the letter to the editor that this girl michelle peralta wrote the daily universe concerning byu's "idol worship" of jimmer fredette.

in the off chance you haven't already read it:

Letter: Idol worship

Mon, 02/07/2011 - 21:02

I can’t walk across campus without hearing Jimmer Fredette’s name a dozen times. His name comes up everywhere: in class, at work, during lunch …  really, people? Cut it out with the Jimmer worship. Last time I checked, idol worship was very much frowned upon in the scriptures.

Don’t you have a life to live? Then quit wasting it in front of the TV or in lines at the Marriott Center.

At the very least, stop trying to convert those of us who don’t follow BYU sports and don’t care that baseball and badminton are two different things. Pushing basketball on us isn’t going to make us like it any better.

I’m not blaming Jimmer for all this; was it Nephi’s fault in the Book of Mormon when his brothers worshiped him? As far as I’m concerned, Jimmer is perfectly free to live his dreams. If he reaches his goals and lives his dreams, more power to him. I would like the same courtesy from his fans: let me live my own dreams in peace, even if they don’t include ever sitting in the Marriott Center screaming my brains out.

Michelle Peralta

Apple Valley, Calif.

the past few days since this (literally, three days ago now) ALL of byu campus has been going NUTS about this article. today i picked up a copy of the daily universe myself and EVERY SINGLE letter to the editor was bashing this michelle girl! completely hilarious. the whole byu-facebook world has exploded, too, with countless groups just poking fun at her. all day yesterday when i was studying in the library, all the students around me on the computers were at http://michellegotjimmered.com/ and laughing up a storm reading all of the posts. my spanish teacher yesterday even declared that he was going to make it his own personal vendetta to make some kind of jimmer reference in every single class for the rest of the semester (and this is a daily class). so far, he has been completely [and hilariously] successful.

basically, this is putting byu on the map, as news stations such as espn have even picked up the story about this girl and her now infamous letter to the editor. i myself am a proud member of one of the 'jimmer fan clubs' : JIMMER LOVE. you can join it if you click here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134770566589133

all in all, this is really just something funny and i think it's fun to just laugh at. so here are some of my favorite jimmer pictures, although you probably thought you saw them all (:

ps here's the link if you haven't read the string of funny threads to this poor girl's facebook page: http://vrusp.com/jimmered/

this next one is COMPLETELY real + legit. makes it that much better.

mostly just love this one because he is eating my favorite snack of all-time: cinnamon bread (: taha

jimmception:

CAPTAIN jack sparrow

in my spanish class today we started our chapter on movies, tv shows, etc.
pirates of the caribbean was brought up and everyone was bashing it saying that it stopped being good after the first movie. well, clearly they haven't seen the preview of the fourth one! it's all about johnny depp.. so how could it possibly be a bad movie? exactly. it can't be!

for those of you who haven't seen the trailer.

watch it now.

for those of you [like me] who have already watched it 3892032 times,

watch it for the 3890233rd time.

MAY 20TH. 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS LADIES.

wordless wednesday by Baby D with help from the Kevs.

Give the Midwest a try...

Looking at the list of girls who help write this blog, a majority of us hail from the Midwest.

Wearing our matching Detroit shirts.  We love to represent.

I tried to find one where they all had Ohio shirts, but it was impossible.  Feel free to replace this one if any of you have one.

I don't know about the Ohio girls, but I know that in my experience people have knocked the Midwest a lot. I've had people tell me it's the middle of nowhere. I've had people say to me, "I'm sorry you had to live there," when I told them I was from Detroit. Honestly, I'm fed up with people knocking the Midwest. You cannot talk crap about it until you have been there. I don't make fun of Nebraska even though driving through it is probably THE most boring thing to do ever. So, I guess what I am trying to say this week is, give the Midwest a try.

If I were going to be even more passionate I would say, give Detroit a try. I just wrote a post yesterday on my blog about my love for Detroit and the way that the Chrysler Super Bowl commercial really rang true for me.  Rather than just reposting that here, I'll let you go there to check it out.  Looking for a summer vacation for this year?  Think about trying Michigan, and if you need some tips of the best spots to go, just ask me, I know quite a few.  From the bottom of the glove to the tip of the top pinkie,  I love my home state.

If Thou Endure it Well

I wasn't going to post today. These past couple weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions & feelings & tears-some of them I'm not too proud of. Going from being so happy that this last year of hell was finally coming to an end & being able to finally walk again to having my leg shatter within hours of that moment was way too much for my small selfish mind to handle. It has been really hard to not just break down entirely & give up. It has been hard for me to understand why this has happened, & it has been very hard to not feel completely alone. I still don't know why, I still am hurt, & I still feel abandoned at times--not only by friends & family, but even God. I feel guilty for thinking that, let alone writing it, but I think, or at least I hope, that sometimes it's OK to feel that way.

A few months before my accident I was able to go to Liberty Jail. It was such an emotional experience being in the same place Joseph was when he felt some of the same things I do right now. His pain must have been so much greater, after all the good he had done to then be made a prisoner while all of the saints, his family & friends, were being tortured, raped, & murdered. But, even he, a worthy Prophet of God, was so hurt & pained he cried out with total despair, "Oh, God, where art Thou?...How long shall thy hand be stayed?" A painful feeling that has tagged onto my heart these past few days.

There is a song from the musical, 'Prophet' about Joseph's life that has been a huge comfort for me since highschool. I listened to it for the first time in a while today, & it again poured in a peace that I have long been without. I am not perfect- not even close. Sometimes I feel grateful for this accident. Sometimes I cry for hours wishing I had my old life back. Sometimes I feel so sad & alone & other times I feel God crying right along with me. I don't have all the answers, & I still am devastated over all that has occured. But, for this moment I am comforted & I suppose that's how anyone get's through trials in life--moment by moment. And that it why I love the Lord's response to Joseph's prayer; "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment...and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

"Though thine afflictions seem at times too great to bear, I know thine every thought & every care. And though the very jaws of Hell gape after thee...I am with thee. Know my child, My kindness shall not depart from thee."

And with that message, I have a few hours of comfort.

this that i am about to show you all is a humorous rendition of a number of hit songs in a musical arrangement that is incredibly appealing to me personally.

enjoy getting tickled this thursday (:

wordless wednesday (the movie version)

wordless wednesday

Ice Fishing

Okay, so I know some of you probably think that fishing is an evil sport, but Jon really enjoys fishing a couple times a year.  Rather than being left at home to be lonely all day, twice a year I hit the water with him to catch some fish.  We go once in the summer and once in the winter.  Our summer trips have usually been really productive.  We catch a lot of rainbow and cut throat trout and bring them home to eat.  Our winter trips on the other hand, have, in the past, been horrendous.

Two years ago when Jon and I were still dating, I drove up the canyon to meet him at Strawberry Reservoir.  On the way though, I hit some black ice and my car spun twice, hitting the guardrail both times.  It was a pretty scary experience, but I escaped with only a few bruises from my seat belt.  I made it up to Strawberry and we were skunked.  No fish caught that day.

Then, last year, Jon bought himself an auger so that we could drill our own holes for ice fishing.  We loaded up the car and drove to Pine View Reservoir.  We slid down the embankment with all of our gear and I started setting up the chairs.  Jon, using his brand new auger, started drilling the holes.  After drilling two holes, the wife of the family we were with asked Jon how thick the ice was.  He leaned down and put his hand into the hole to show her that it was about 10 inches thick.  As he was getting up though, he lost his balance and steadied himself by setting his hand in the snow... right on the blade of the auger.  He stood up and Joann (the wife) noticed that he was bleeding.  It was gushing pretty bad so I ran up the hill and found what I could to bandage him up before heading to Insta-care.  Duct tape and a maxi-pad was the solution and the doctor at Insta-care thought it was pretty ingenious.  Jon got 4 stitches and we did not catch anything, yet again.

Well, after such awful experiences in years past, I decided that this year would be the final decider.  If something bad happened this year, I'd never go out on the ice again.  Lucky for me, ice fishing this year was wonderful.  We went out with Curt and some of his buddies from High School and they kept us entertained.  Mostly by teasing me, but hey, I can handle it.  I got a line in the water and 5 minutes later pulled up a cute little rainbow trout.  We kept the fish to give to some people we were fishing with, but it ended up being eagle food within a half hour of our fishing escapade.  Jon caught two fish that day also.  Here's some pictures of our ice fishing adventures.  If you haven't tried it, it's worth a shot.  Even if you don't bait your line.  The experience of sitting out of the ice and hearing whoops and hollers of excitement from the people fishing around you every 20 minutes makes it worth it.

Me holding my little Rainbow.  Notice that my finger is sticking out of the mouth.

Jon with his first catch of the day.

Jon and Curty being goofballs with their fish.

An eagle stealing one of our fish.  The kids we were with threw the fish over there when the noticed the eagles circling.

Jon looking in his fishing hole.  It was so warm and clear that day that he could see the fish swimming around.

And... since we all love youtube, here's a hilarious rendition of "Ice Ice Baby" about ice fishing.  I love that their accents are soooo Canadian and that they specifically mention putting on their Sorelles.

So, give it a try.  But... maybe not this week.  The temperatures aren't supposed to break 30 for a couple of days, so maybe wait til it's a little bit warmer.