Spring Forward

This past spring brought resplendently beautiful skies . . .

. . . and lots and lots and LOTS of rain. But all of those drenching cloudbursts brought honeyed flowers and the most rapturous fruit tree blossoms!

The best part is having a little girl who adores flowers. She gathers them by the bunches and presents the bouquets to her Mommy. She collects more for her own "flower collection", which she keeps in the windowsill of her bedroom. Oh, and she has a firm testimony of wearing them in her hair to adorn any outfit.

Springtime also brought with it a lovely Easter, with an even lovelier Easter dress for Summer. The gown resembles an enchanting wedding cake with layers of creamy lace and pink satin rose buds and ribbons. It's all that is floaty, poofy, and princess-like and Summer loves it. She even wore "high-heeled" sandals, too. And of course, her Aunt Steph custom-made the hair bow to match. What a dream!

Oh, for the Love of Jerald!

On March 13th . . .

. . . Jerald and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. And I must say, after eight years of gleeful matrimonial wedlock, he continues to hold my complete attention. Jerald is, indeed, the very best man I know.

Beauty Tip -- Coffee Shop Body Scrub

I am no Java Joe in the coffee drinking department (we don't consume the beverage for religious reasons), but I simply must share this bewitching body scrub recipe I found in a recent issue of Woman's World magazine. It involves the use of coffee grounds, sugar, and olive oil to exfoliate and shed your skin of dead skin cells, revealing newer, brighter, and softer skin, while improving skin's overall texture and appearance. The ingredients in coffee grounds are rich in antioxidants and when applied topically to the skin, are very purifying and detoxifying. They also help to reduce epidermal swelling and can temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite. Body Scrubs made with coffee grounds have been used for years in luxury spas, but you can make your own for a fraction of the cost! The recipe (which I renamed because the original title was achingly boring) is as follows:

Silkifying Smooth Brew Body Scrub

1 cup coffee grounds (don't use instant coffee -- it dissolves)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

~ Combine all ingredients and store in a glass jar. The mixture will keep for two months. To use, step into the shower and before you turn the water on, gather big handfuls of the mixture and massage it in circular motions over your whole body for several minutes. Work it especially well into any rough spots like elbows, knees, and heels. Most people use body scrubs on wet skin, but that makes the treatment only half as effective because the layer of water between your skin and the scrub makes the scrub not "grip" as well onto the dead cells to whisk them away -- so definitely use the mixture on dry skin. It will feel rough and scratchy, yet shockingly invigorating. When the scrubbing experience has concluded, turn on the shower and rinse off. Forgo using soap after the rinse-off because it will wash away the moisturizing benefits of the olive oil in the recipe. Pat yourself dry and finish the treatment with a coat of rich body cream or lotion, which is important after a scrub. You will be astonished at how severely alive, vibrant, sleek, polished, glossy, glassy, and baby soft your skin feels. Your whole being will look ablaze with moonlit glory! Not only that, but you'll have the pride and all around self-glorification in the fact that you'll be the first of your friends to be a body scrub java junkie.

Past and Future Tag

My dear friend and one of my all-around favorite girls, Megan, tagged me in a "Past and Future" blog post! I tag anyone who who desires to reminisce the past and plan for the twinkliest of futures.

20 years ago . . .
1. I was eleven years old and had a pioneer-themed birthday party at the Lion House Pantry in Salt Lake City. My little friends and I pulled taffy and played pioneer games.
2. I played Barbies for hours each day, reveling in imaginative play.
3. We received "Goggy" our sweet and beautiful beagle who blessed our lives for the next eleven years.


10 years ago . . .
1. I was in the Days of '47 Royalty and worked to perfect my parade wave.
2. I traveled the world while working as a Reservation Sales Representative for Delta Airlines. That year alone, my parents I jetted off to Paris, Switzerland, Germany, New York, and Hawaii. We were spoiled. Now we actually have to pay for flights! Oh!
3. I dated some real imbeciles, which makes me all the more grateful for my majestically illustrious husband, Jerald.


5 years ago . . .
1. Jerald and I were privileged to be ordinance workers in the Bountiful Temple. What a glorious experience! We had to stop when...
2. I became pregnant with Summer! How excited and thrilled we were at the prospect of becoming parents!
3. We had her in June of that year and rolled out the red carpet for our little 3-pound baby princess. We adored her right from the start.


3 years ago . . .
1. We attended my ten year high school reunion that summer! So glad to see everyone had lost the high-waisted jeans that adorned us back in 1998.
2. We took Summer on her first trip to Disneyland!
3. This blog surfaced over the cyberspace infrastructure! I realized, then, how much I truly enjoy writing.


1 year ago . . .
1. We took Summer on her second trip to Disneyland, and since she was older this time, she could more adequately express her deep and abiding love to Mickey Mouse and the other characters.
2. Jerald released his "Hymns of Exaltation" CD! Talented man, heavenly hymns, and inspired arrangements.
3. After spending too many evenings performing extraction surgery on the stubborn gray hairs that insisted on multiplying and replenishing my head, I took the plunge and began having my hair dyed.


This year so far . . .
1. I turned 31, which was easier and less painful than than turning 30. Surprisingly.
2. I have begun making it a habit to exercise every day. Let me tell you - Jillian Michaels and her workout DVDs will make you beg for mercy and plead for help from on High.
3. I have loved teaching primary to the little 3-year-old Sunbeams in my ward. Jerald plays the piano for primary (you should hear how he embellishes those songs!), so with Summer in there too, it's a family affair!


Today . . .
1. We registered Summer for Kindergarten! I know!
2. We went to the mall where Jerald purchased some running shoes and I acquired some jaw-droppingly fabulous sparkly silver stiletto sandals.
3. Tonight, we will have a pizza party with a double feature rented movie extravaganza.


Tomorrow . . .
1. I will attend a luncheon put on by the "Daughters of Utah Pioneers" association. As you can imagine, I am the youngest member by a long shot, but I have such a love for my ancestors and a real fascination with history in general.
2. I will bake some gingerbread chocolate chip cookies. Oh, this recipe is divinely glorious. Indeed, I will share it sometime soon.
3. It's Jerald's and my 8 year wedding anniversary this Sunday, March 13th! We'll celebrate it full-force tomorrow, though. We're still making the final plans on the celebratory events, but a dazzling restaurant is in order, along with viewing a motion picture at the "cinema", as the British would say.


In the next year . . .
1. I would like to start a recipe blog! I really love to cook and bake, so it would be such a pleasure to share the recipes that are dear to my family - such as the luscious cookies mentioned above!
2. Summer will go to school and I will miss her. The thought that comforts me, however, is that she is so excited and simply aching for Kindergarten!
3. I wish for good health and safety for my family. One thing I know is, life is full of surprises and we never know what is right around the corner. Good things happen each day - it's up to us to find them!

Hey, it's okay!

Hey, it's okay...

. . . that even though I have never tasted a single drop of coffee in my existence, I find the smell of the beverage overwhelmingly tantalizing. In fact, I may or may not have been spotted with my nose up inside the coffee bean dispensers at the local market. Glorious aroma.


. . . that I wear wear short sleeves in the dead of winter. And if it's February, but there's no snow on the ground, you can bet your coat I'll be wearing my high-heeled sandals as well. As a result, I am usually in a Siberian state of cold, but I never complain of my chilled state to others because I will get the inevitable, "Well, look how you're dressed! Come on!"


. . . that I enjoy studying people. And if you happen to have peculiar personality quirks, unique facial expressions, quaint mannerisms, idiosyncratic eccentricities, and especially a freakishly unconventional accent, I'll try my hand at impersonating you!


. . . that I can't get through nearly any conversation without a certain keyword or sentence reminding me of a movie line. Sometimes I, along with my husband and brothers, will actually complete the scene from the movie and then go back to our originally scheduled conversation. I won't be afflicted with worry about this habit, however, because "fear does not exist in this dojo".

P.S. The previous movie line of cinematic joy was from "Karate Kid")

Christmas Memories

I'm one of those slightly (very) dorky mortal beings who, with gleeful enthusiasm, ceremoniously brings out the Christmas CDs on the day after Halloween. In point of fact, I tune in to the holiday classic tunes at various points throughout the year as well. After all, Karen Carpenter, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra deserve an attentive audience more often than just in December, right? It's actually intriguing in the scorching heat of the summer season to hear songs about just "letting it snow". This line of conversation leads into the fact that I simply adore Christmas. I love the music obviously, but also the snow, the baking, the shopping, the crowds, the lights, the commercials, the movies (we watched 17 of them), and most of all, the sublime magic in the air. It's glorious to participate in such Christmas traditions as...

Beautifying and embellishing the tree with ornamental accessories...

Showing off our gingerbread architectural and construction skills, as well as our praise-worthy interior and exterior design work...

And Santa Claus, himself, had the supreme honor of actually meeting the famed, the renown, the esteemed...Summer Simon - who displayed true mercy and fortitude to grace him with her very presence.

One word: Tickets. Two words: David Archuletta. Three words: Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Four more words: The best concert ever! Enough said.

No, this is not the Burning Bush you are beholding, so do not attempt to observe and identify Moses in the background. This is the spectacular lights display at Temple Square in Salt Lake City! T'would not be Christmas without viewing them!

Yes, the night was a bit frosty and Siberian in nature, but proper bundling and cousin snuggling always warm the bones and heart.

Christmas Eve jammies!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

...in hopes that Saint Nicholas would bring something staggeringly stupendous! A first class Barbie Townhouse with sleek design should do the trick...

...which proves that the best part of Christmas for us, were the twinkle lights in Summer's eyes as she excitedly opened her presents and felt the love we all have for her in shockingly overwhelming abundance. :)

Tutu twirls!

Our budding ballerina practiced her whirls and twirls for many weeks in preparation for her dance class's Christmas recital. They performed the Nutcracker, which is Summer's most esteemed and favorite music. She has watched four different versions of the ballet and even saw it live and in person, so she is a seasoned veteran when it comes to the Tchaikovsky classic. The performance day arrived, and Summer was so excited for her big day! I gathered her hair into a bun, applied her stage make-up, dressed her in her leotard, ballet slippers, and tights, and away we went to the show! We first shot some pictures of her onstage with the Christmas decor.


Jerald and I sat perched on the edge of our seats with proud and dorky smiles adorning our faces, while clutching our camera and camcorder to capture every minute. The most comical moment of the performance came when the group flitted offstage to change into pink frothy tutus and out came little pirouetting Summer, whose skirt immediately fell down. Her waist is so tiny, that it couldn't stay on! We watched, laughing, as she was quickly hoisted backstage to have it pinned and then was rushed out again as if nothing had happened.

Here is Summer posing with her dance teacher, Ms. Linell.

After the performance, Jerald presented Summer with a charming bouquet of red roses for a job well done. He surprised me with a bouquet also! What a man. Even though my dancing, lately, has been limited to foxtrots and frolics in the kitchen whilst preparing meals, I accepted the bouquet with gratitude, blowing kisses to my imaginary audience. Anyway, we could not have been more proud of Summer at her first-ever recital. Prima ballerina!