this is what i did at work today

yep, washed a cat on a friday afternoon. no scratches, success!happy friday and have a good weekend!

the happiest place on earth

well, my happiest place on earth. the WS outlet in primm, nv. the only one on the west coast. a must stop every time we pass it on the way to utah.

aaron knew i had to go on the way back from LV. oh, the deals i've scored there. they have everything and it is so marked down. i owe it all to K for telling me about it years ago.

because of this store, i've become a glass collector. juice glasses, to be exact. they're all packed away for the day i have a place and family to use them. i've developed quite the eclectic collection. this time i found tall sundae glasses for .99 cents each. awesome! pans, knives, linens, bake ware, appliances, it's all here. love it!!
i was not doing my best marilyn monroe impression. it was quite windy that day...

Las Vegas-all i do is wynn

we went to LV recently and, after reading many reviews, decided to stay at the wynn. we were not disappointed. i am not a LV person by any means, but i would gladly go back to this place in a heart beat. you never need to leave the property. we toured most of the hotels on the strip and this outshines them all. there are a lot of hotel pictures, but we just loved it so much.
isn't it amazing? we didn't get too many good pictures of it, but all around those trees are amazing water displays. similar to the belagio, the wynn has a large lagoon in front.
our room. very spacious and everything was remote controlled. the lights, the curtains, the temperature, the bathroom all on one panel. the bathroom was gorgeous, too. i almost slept in the tub and i am so not a tub person.
okada, a hotel restaurant where we ate one night. see the waterfall in the background? part of the water display. there was no wall separating you and the waterfall, so you could hear it, see it, smell it.
night view of our room.
tired and a bit haggard from the drive, but happy to be there. it was so great to walk around with aaron. although the strip was a freak show and you have to avert your eyes a bit, we loved staying up late and exploring. one night we were so tired that we literally came back to the room and passed out in our clothes.
dinner out with shelly and dayna.
we were propositioned on the way out to join a group of guys at the crazy horse. said they were looking for classy ladies. huh.
we saw, love, by cirque du soleil. i'll be honest. i didn't have high hopes. it was aaron's pick. i've always wanted to see O. however, i went and was blown away. not only do you get the amazing performance that is cirque du soleil, you also get all the beatles music. fabulous, start to finish. if you remotely like the beatles, go. now.
swimming with ava and the boys. such cuties.
a little nightlife. hard to believe, but only the person on the right was part of the show. the lady on the left was just walking by...
hallway leading to the suites.
atrium shot. those blue hydrangeas are totally real. very alice in wonderlandish all over.
so gorgeous.
since the hotel is curved it only makes sense that the hallways are, too. it looks so cool!
hallway leading to the theater and the encore (which is an after thought to the wynn. they are sister hotels that share the same property, but are a little different in decor. the wynn is more laid back, if you can believe it)
i almost got these from the wynn home store, but i thought it might clash with the ikea theme i have going at home. oh, and they were $16,000. there was a huge one leading to a restaurant in encore. over the top.

all in all, we had a great time at the wynn and would absolutely go back. i could easily stay there and relax by the pool (or all 6 of them!) for a few days.

african coffee cake? really?

monkey bread, sticky bread, bubble loaf, golden crown, pinch me cake.
yes, those are some of the odd names wikipedia calls the glorious creation before your eyes.

growing up we called it cinnamon pull apart. aaron called it suze's sticky buns (in honor of mama). we still don't know what to call it around our house. usually a hybrid of names comes out of my mouth. i made it yesterday for Easter. while many of you were having a fine feast, i was making this fabulous white trash creation.

rather than having it for breakfast and passing out in sunday school after my sugar high wears off, i made it after church. we had it for a late lunch, before dinner. much more nutritious.

i don't make it as my mom made it and i don't follow the directions on the bridgeford rolls package. (don't even bring those pillsbury rolls to the table. no.) just as the name, my recipe is a shapeshifter. it changes each time. i think i found the perfect combo yesterday. i'm so happy i only occasionally make it. i consume a disgusting amount of butter, bread and sugar in one sitting. my recipe is not for the faint of heart. but, it is delicious! just had some leftovers. did i mention i'm going running after work?

yea for special occasions!!

dream come true

one fine saturday in febrauary (that's how far behind i am on posting), i came home from the temple to find the follow scenario:
*the laundry done
*the clutter picked up
*vacuum lines on the carpet (i'm not sure if i prefer that or a pile of money. close call)
*aaron in the kitchen, depicted in the photo below

this is not a normal occurrence. aaron hates cooking. a lot. sees no need for it. waste of time. has a bunch of excuses that makes my head explode. he hates it so much so that this image is akin to spotting bigfoot.

how could he hate what i love? oh, the humanity.

anyway, he decided to make jamaican jerk chicken from the WS cookbook he recently bought me (see it there in the background?). note the bag of doritos that was his cooking companion. i think that would be his scotch if we drank. note all the garlic on the cutting board. he thought a bulb was a clove and the recipe calls for 8 cloves. oh yeah. i came home just in the nick of time.

i pointed him to my mini food processor and i think he wept for joy at not having to chop all that by hand. and for knowing he didn't have to add all that garlic. the chicken turned out great and i had a fine saturday off.
and i was aided in remembering what a great hus i have.

spring break 2011

we were in vegas for spring break.
there i said it. i had to confess right away. but, that's not the reason we went. it was an early birthday celebration for aaron and it happened to coincide with his spring break.
i really didn't fit in with the spring break crowd. i was the only person at the pool in a one piece and i was reading the latest issue of 'urban farm' magazine. i stuck out and people took note.
just wanted to give an explanation in case you saw us on some youtube video.
i'll post pictures soon.

royal fever

i'm thinking of getting up at 2am to watch the royal wedding next friday.
somebody talk me out of it, please.
i am not fascinated by them ('them' being the royal family or will or kate) in anyway.
except for the 3 sets of commemorative china i purchased and bobble head dolls at my desk.
just kidding. did i get you, though?

however, as the date gets closer my desire to watch it grows stronger. maybe it's that it is a once in a lifetime/many years kind of thing to watch. maybe it's because i'd like to throw reality to the wind for an hour or so and see what kind of craziness money can buy. maybe it's because these kids seem so down to earth and since they've dated for almost a decade it looks like they actually might last, unlike so many of their royal fore bearers. maybe it's because marriages are sacred and i'll always want to watch one. or maybe i want to check out all the funky hats.

who knows the reason? obviously i don't. is anyone else going to do this or have i crossed over into a psycho realm of voyeurism? party at my place, 2am, the 29th. we can totally scream and yell. maybe order a pizza. aaron won't wake up. any takers?

i loved this book

and you will, too.
maybe not.
it's a bit intense.
but, do me a favor and say you loved it if we ever talk about it. actually, you'd be doing yourself a favor, too, cause if i hear you didn't like it or agree with the topics covered, i will get whipped up in a frenzy you probably don't want to be a part of.
another game changing book. ugh, it seems like that's all i read these days. i love books! if you read this book and it doesn't change the way you view and purchase food, you might not be breathing. take your pulse immediately.
poor aaron. this turned me into even more of a granola girl than before.
read it!

dream house

isn't this house gorgeous? i'd love to live there someday. oh, wait. it's only 11 x 12 feet. surprise! it's a child's playhouse. whose child, i'm not sure. want to be sick to your stomach? check out this slideshow. it showcases the poshest playhouses money can buy. some of these playhouses have working windows, air conditioning, granite counter tops and are cable ready. how embarrassing.

i'm going to make this someday

just watch me.

a 14 layer cake? how could i resist? i'm not sure when i'll get to it, but i will. it's in the noggin.

stop the fat talk!

this article scrapes the surface of a topic that really gets under my skin. fires me up, in fact. fat talk (talking negatively about your body to others, specifically saying you're fat) makes me batty! i won't say i've never done it. i won't say i'll never do it again. but, i will say it is not a part of my normal conversation and it is not a ritual i engage in when i get together with friends. most people at my work have an unhealthy obsession with food and it drives me nuts when i have to listen to their comments. my hackles shoot straight up when i hear my yw say things like this. oh boy, i'm sure they wish they hadn't said it around me cause i get to the heart of the matter real quick with them.

i'm not commenting on whether or not people are actually overweight. that has little to do with the issue. i am bothered when people: (1) fail to see how beautiful and amazing their bodies are and (2) do nothing to improve their health when that's all they talk about. let's just stop talking negatively about ourselves all together. especially in front of children! i am so, so, so careful to not say things like that about me in front of my yw because they will copy what they see. no more fat talk!

the end.