quilted

I quilted this little wall hanging! it's a likeness of my house in clayton.

list

things that are trying to make a comeback according to billboards along I-15.

1. sizzler

2. colonoscopies

3. liposuction

4. churches with less strict commandments

yellowstone

this week we enjoyed our (first) annual nieman family reunion in beautiful yellowstone national park. it was awesome. we saw some buffalo

when my nephew carson saw these he made the comment "i think i just saw two buffalo that weren't in the same family, look at eachother and they fell in love."

we also learned about geyser saftey, (a picture which refused to be rotated)

ate some sandwiches in the parking lot,

AND, dad even let me wear his cal ranch hat.

it obviously looks much better on him...

good job niemans. we are all proud of you.

easy anti-plague formula

our relief society just made everyone these very cool emergency preparedness binders. it has lists of things you'll need in a 72 hour kit, ways to organize food storage, talks about being prepared...lots of good things that are very legit. however, i did find this recipe tucked away in the back.

Easy Anti-Plague Formula

A handful of each:

Horseradish root

White onion

Ginger root

Garlic

Habanero peppers (or the hottest you can find)

Add:

Apple cider vinegar- blend with all ingredients

Pour into glass jars, cover with wax paper and lid. The older it gets the more powerful it becomes.

How to take it? Take it be the teaspoon, or by the tablespoon if a plague comes along.

It is very strong.

So, next time the plague comes to town we will all be prepared.

granola

this is by far thee best granola i have ever had. thanks to karen and carly for introducing me to it:

Combine in a large bowl:

4 3/4 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)

1 1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup cashews

1 1/2 cup craisins and/or raisins

1 cup dried coconut

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

pretty much anything else you think would be delicious

In a separate bowl:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Stir brown sugar/spices into large bowl

Stir continuously as you drizzle

3/4 cup REAL maple syrup over mix

Spread out on one jelly roll pan,

bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes (depending on how crunchy you like things)

eat.

oh and i'm sorry about the lack of pictures going on here but i can't get my camera to upload anything. i'm working on it.

also, i think this is my very first recipe post. congratulations me.

storm

this evening i went for a walk and was surprised by the most amazing combination of atmospherical events. 1. the sun was setting, looking good as always 2. the right side of the sky was looking like spring time 3. to the left of the sun were some ominous silhouetted mountains covered in an orange-ish grey filminess 4. further left were some super scary black clouds. 5. thunder that lasted for like 30 seconds at a time 6. lightning that didn't stop for an hour! There was seriously a flash like every 10 seconds. and it was so close that it felt like someone was taking a picture with a flash. 7. behind me were some beautiful green mountains with two full rainbows arching over them. I could see were the rainbows actually hit the ground. it was amazing. and all the while it was about 70 degrees.

I was really enjoying all of this when I realized that i was standing on top of a very high hill surrounded by nothing, making me the tallest thing around. it has been a while since i reviewed any lightening safety protocols but something told me that that was not a good thing. so i hightailed it home just as it started pouring.

book

has everyone read "believing christ" already? seems like everyone has and that nobody thought it would be important to tell kaity about. so i i thought i would do the responsible and friendly thing and tell you all about it (not that it is a new or anything, I'm sure you've all heard of it). it is one of the best explanations of the atonement i have ever read. the blog seems like a not very reverent forum to address this kind of thing in detail, but if you read this i would really love to talk about it with you. probably you already have an understanding of these things- but I have learned a lot of new ways to think about and apply the atonement and to be a lot happier along the way.

recommended.

planning

i like to plan things. mostly because i like to have my expectations met. i spend most of my time somewhere in the following cycle: thinking of things to look forward to or planning things so i can look forward to them, waiting for these things to come to fruition, enjoying the satisfaction of said fruition, making a new plan. Sometimes I forget to start this cycle over and find myself with...nothing to look forward to. in which event i think of the next thing that is going to happen to me or the next obligation that i have to meet and make it a plan. this way, as i'm doing all of the things that i would normally just do anyway- everything is way more enjoyable because i planned it. but what if things don't go according to plan? typically this is when one would feel"disappointed" because the appointed activity was diss-ed, but i have learned that the quicker you can make whatever is happening to you- the plan. the less disappointment you will be living with, and the more you will be ok. i think being ok is underrated. it's important. ok.

ok i will

i'm going to start blogging again. its been a while, so just don'e expect too much and you won't be disappointed. here is a brief update of what has been going on lately...

I started the PhD program in Speech Language Pathology at Utah state

I decided that "Master" was a much cooler title than "Doctor" so I quit the program and graduated!

I moved to Sandy to live with my roommate's family- they are so amazing and so nice and so fun.

I'm have an internship at "health south rehabilitation hospital" for the next few weeks. it is good. I've been trying to start a health south frisbee league, but it doesn't seem like anyone is overly excited about this (which I am trying not to take personally so I'm blaming the lack of response on the high level of hip replacements and strokes going on around here).

I got a job in the Alpine school district!

Mostly I just spend all my time talking to old people and reading and trying to find people who will play frisbee and/or croquet with me.

it is summer time.