Opportunity :)

So, a few weeks ago me and Jadon Webster went up to Provo and recorded at Priddis Recording Studio!! Jadon is incredible. He won a state wide karaoke contest and he moved onto the national competition. He made the top, and had the opportunity to go to Russia to perform in the world wide competition! He turned it down, but he DID win 8 hours of free recording time at the Studio, and a free voice lesson with Dean Kaelin. (He worked with David Archuleta) anyway, it was an  amazing opportunity and I can never get sick of listening to Jadon's voice. He is serving his mission now in Riverside, California. I miss him too much for words. I can't even imagine the day when we meet again. It will be glorious at the highest :) If you'd like to give us a little listen, feel free! Love you all!

Insanely Delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

These baby's are to die for. I found the cake recipe and the frosting recipe separately, and put them together to create maybe the best cupcakes in the world. Enjoy!

Chcolate Cupcake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
You will need: 1 or 2 cupcake pans, 2 large bowls, electric mixer, paper liners.
3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking bowder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 C. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (Healthy alternative = shortening)
1 C. sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 C. sour cream

In a large bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In another large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture, alternating with sour cream.
Pour batter into paper lined cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes before adding frosting.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting:
1 C. confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
1 C. creamy peanut butter
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature.
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 C. heavy cream

Mix together confectioner's sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt with electric mixer. Mix on medium-low until creamy. Add cream and beat on high speed until mixture is light and smooth. Add a more than decent amount to cupcakes. I added chocolate sprinkles. You could add mini reeses halves, or reeses pieces :) Enjoy with a glass of ice cold milk. these joys make you super thirsty!

YUM YUM!

So, all my life i've been obsessed with food. It. Is. Amazing. And I have always loved to cook and bake, but i've never been too good at it. something is always...off. Jadon and I used to always bake things together: cakes, cookies, brownies, pies, you name it. and he was always really good at it and his treats were divine! wah :( Well, he left on his mission this week. and I think that when we shared one last hug, he transferred his cooking talent to me (he's not going to need it much, right?) It was amazing!!! This week i've made Chicken Stir-Fry, Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes, and Apple Danish Pastries!! (all from scratch ;))
Perhaps I will share some of my beautiful creations with you. I borrowed the recripes from other people, but made some minor changes!

Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry
What you will need: a wok (or a large frying pan) & a large spoon.
2 tbsp. Vegetable oil (or enough to barely coat the whole pan, you may need to add more later.)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 C. Cashews (the original recipe calls for slivered almonds, but in my opinion, cashews taste better with the soy flavor. )
1/2 C. diced carrotts
1 C. Brocolli (florets or pieces)
1 green and red pepper each (sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)
1/3 C. soy sauce
3 tbsp. Pineapple juice
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
Hot cooked rice (Healthy alternatice = Brown Rice)
Salt, and Garlic Powder to taste.

Cut each chicken breast in half, long ways, and then cut into small chunks. pour oil into pan on medium high. Let heat for 2 minutes. Add chicken and cashews. stir for about 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Add Broccoli, carrotts and peppers. Continue stirring for about 5 more minutes. Add Soy sauce. Mix pineapple juice and corn starch in seperate bowl, then add to pan. Add 1/8 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder. Serve over rice. you can also use chow mein noodles. Makes about 4 servings.

SCREEAAM!!!

ugh
so much going on right now.
curse the month of March.....

• One of my very best friends is leaving on his mission tomorrow. I gave him one last hug tonight. And we just cried in each other's arms...It was one of the best moments of my life. 
• I've been having a meltdown about college. and work. I cherish my free time more than any other time, so college and work takes that AWAY :( waahh. growing up is stupid. 
• This time next year, 90% of my close friends will be gone....missions, school, traveling, marriage. noooo....
• I still have feelings for my ex-boyfriend. and he could care less. and i know your going to say, "well if he doesn't have feelings for you, then he's not worth it." hush. i know.
• My money is disappearing. I spend more on clothes than anything else, and then I give them away a few months later. BLEH! 
• two vacations in one month + no exercise and careless eating = balloon legs

that's all folks.

Spring Break!

so uh. I'm going to California for Spring Break and I'm pretty stoked. I've never gone anywhere for spring break before. I've always been stuck working while everyone else got to go somewhere fun! but this year it's my turn!!

Me, Jadon, Kiri, Trevor, John, and Amy!

it's a gonna be a buh-last!! We're hitting up Venice Beach, Disneyland, Six Flags, LA, Hollywood and were seeing WICKED!! :) dream come true right there! I'll let ya know how it goes!

Friend.

So. I have this best friend. Her name is Kiri. And she doesn't know it but she means THE WORLD to me. No matter how much I try and tell her, she will never understand how much I look up to her.

We've been friends since 7th grade. I remember when we first met. We were sitting in choir and she brought these scrapbook pages to show the yearbook staff for a chance to get on it. I thought they were SOO neat and she invited me to her house to eat bagels with strawberry cream cheese. We hit it off so well, and we ate bagels and strawberry cream cheese EVERY DAY! Then we thought we were cool so we made music videos dressed as hookers. and we watched them all the time and were so impressed :) remember the P.I.M.P. video? how many times did we rewind that one part? hahaha. One time we walked to lins to buy tv dinners and gallons of juice. as we were walking home we had to pee, so we sat down in this river. and peed. it was...great?

Whenever I had any kind of issue, kiri was ALWAYS there. She would drop anything to help a friend. She won Senior Ball Queen and she didn't understand why. But you ask anyone else and they know exactly why.

She is a true role model.

She created "Dance for a Cure" which was a montage of dance performances to raise money for breast cancer. She also hosted this "Day without Shoes" which was an awareness barefoot walk down the main street of our city, for children out there who don't have shoes. She doesn't do these things to gain popularity or money. She truly cares for other people and that is why she is so loved :) She is the most humble, stubborn person I know. Also the most beautiful.
I love my Kiri Dear :) aaalllwwayysss WILL!!

First Love - Day 2

So.....to be completely honest. I have never had a first "love" before. 
BUT!
I've had a few "likes" so I will tell you about them.


                                                                                                                   First: Kyle Brogly

I met Kyle in 6th grade and me and my friend Christina were obsessed with him. He was the cutest kid in school and not to mention very nice and funny. We probably freaked him out but hey, we were 11! We would always walk home from Lava Ridge and play pool at his house and harass his older brothers. Funny story? a few years later, after my interest had fled, Kyle's older brother Allen started dating my older sister Tarci. Eventually they got married and had two kids. So now, I guess me and Kyle are related in a sense :) So everything worked out well, eh?


Second: Jake Rasmussen
So one day in 8th grade, this little boy (he was probably 5 inches shorter than me) started talking to me on MSN messenger. We talked every day, and eventually he asked me to be his girlfriend. Life was swell. I would give anything to go back to those days when I didn't care about my looks or my clothes, but just about the fun I was having and the love I was giving! Even though Jake was a little guy, I liked him a lot and I'll always remember the swimming pool, night games, hangman, reggy, and that time you shot a airsoft bullet into my ear ;) gooood times!


                                         Third: Alex Arnold
I met Alex my junior year of high school. I did a play "beauty and the beast" and apparently when he saw it, according to my friend amy, he thought i was really hot! hahahahhahah. anyway, he came to my show three times and kissed me on the cheek every night. We started to hang out a lot and became best friends. We did everything together. He took me on several dates, we went sledding together, went to the lake, rode fourwheelers and braxton's, went to the city pool, made brownies, went to every movie imaginable, taco bell pretty much every day! so many memories!! He was a lot of fun and taught me many valuable lessons such as being your unique self no matter what people think :) We have grown very much apart since then, but we do keep in touch!


If your one of my friends, you will know that this is not it. haha, in high school I probably had a new crush every week. But these are the guys who have made somewhat of a difference in my life.