1/27 - Mom's Picture of The Day

A few days ago my mom decided to try making some homemade wheat bread. I took a while but eventually she ended up with some really flat bread that was still good but she didn't like it. She had me feed it to the chickens so she could try it again this morning. When I woke up, I came downstairs and she showed me her beautiful loaf of bread. She was so excited and said that it should be my picture of the day so here you go Mom!!

1/26 - SUN!!!

It's January and what a wonderful surprise! The sun came out for a visit! I think he could tell that we were all a little cold and could use some sunshine to warm up and brighten our spirits. I was actually just talking to my mom the other day about how I could really use some sun to put me in a better mood. I've just been aching for some warmth on my skin. Although it's still January so it's not really warm, it was still nice to go driving in the sun and dream about summer. Man I can't wait for summer!!

1/25 - What's Different?

"One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just don't belong." Can you find it? It's the cheese grater on th top shelf! For those of you that keep up with my blog, you know that my family and I went to IKEA last Saturday to get Kaylynn some college supplies. She was thrilled to get her how cheese grater. We are not exactly sure why but she loves it. She forgot it in the van and was a little panicked until we found it the next day. Anyways, you are probably asking yourself why it is currently in the refrigerator. You see, it can hold the cheese in the bottom while you are grating it so Kaylynn grated a bunch of cheese just because she could and left it in there and stuck the whole grater into the fridge. Now we just need to teach her to put the cheese in a bag instead of leaving it in the grater.

1/24 - Love

This happens on quite a frequent basis. The order of the pile changes depending on who was on the chair first but we constantly pile on top of each other and then the ones on top laugh as the one of bottom yells for help. Today, Danielle was the victim yelling for help but Mom was on the phone so we just shushed her until Mom got off. Eventually I told them to get off but not until I had taken a picture.

1/23 - Sisterly Feud

My sisters and I very rarely get into arguments or fights but when we do, they are just silly. Nothing is ever serious because when we try, the other one always ends up laughing. Danielle and I had more of a feud today because I just recently got her reading The Hunger Games trilogy but she reads faster than me so that presented a problem because she was almost done with the second and I was only halfway through the third. We spent the whole evening reading because we were both so absorbed leaving Kaylynn totally bored. That's alright though - she watched a movie with mom. So around 8:00, I went to the bathroom and while there, Danielle yells at me, "Lisa! You need to finish the book!!!" Yup, she finished her book which leaves you on the biggest cliffhanger I've ever read. But haha Danielle, I wasn't going to let her read it until I finished. I ended up finishing it but not until she was asleep so now I can give it to her so she can read it and we can talk all about it!! I'm so excited!!

1/22 - She's In!

Kaylynn got her track for BYU-I today and she's officially on the Spring/Fall track!!! I am so excited!! It's the one that Matthew and I are on so she will leave in the Fall. I don't think she is nearly as excited as I am but I remember when I got that track being disappointed. It's just one of those things where you have to be there in the summer to realize how truly awesome it is. Don't get me wrong, she's thrilled but she really wanted Fall/Winter to avoid the heat. I think she's warming up to the idea though. Anyways, in celebration our family took a trip out to IKEA where she got a few kitchen items and an alarm clock that she's in love with. She was pretty excited! After working our way through the whole store and checking out, we went back upstairs for some delicious IKEA cuisine. We just love how cheap the food is and found a new love, half lingonberry pop mixed with half Sprite. It's delicious but you can only do it there. We looked for the pop but couldn't find it. I guess we will just have to make more trips over there for it. Congrats Kaylynn!!!

1/21 - Ladies Night!

Friday night and no work! What an exciting event for me! Kaylynn was off at some concert which was sad but I was able to spend the night with Danielle as we made a huge fort big enough to stand in (blankets were strung up to the fan!), at pizza, painted our nails crazy colors, and watched Tangled. Cute movie! It was such a great night and it makes me sad to think of when Danielle can drive and will have plenty of friends to hang out with and will be too cool for her oldest sister. I don't really have any friends to come home to in the winter so I love it when I can hang out with my sisters. It's always a great time full of lots of laughs and plenty of memories being made!

1/20 - Cop-Out Picture

These kinds of photos come every so often and today's the day. This is my current mode of transportation. I don't have my own vehicle so I have to borrow from my parents and this is what's available. This truck is older than time. I don't even remember when we got it but it's been good to us all these years. Now, as a broke college student, it is teaching me how to drive stick shift in any situation with lots of added challenges like not being automated fuel injected or having power steering. It's latest issue was the popping off of one of it's springs connected to the passenger side wiper so it doesn't really work anymore. It irritates the passenger but not me because I am not looking over there so it just continues to flap in the wind. What an adventure my life has become.

1/19 - Finished!!!

After today I am finished with my antibiotic!! Thank goodness - it left me feeling a little sick, ironically. My cough is mostly gone at this point which is wonderful and it will be nice to be done feeling sick with the side affects. It was worth it to take and not be hacking up a lung all day long but man I felt so tired all the time and enough sick to be irritating. Hallelujah for getting better!

1/18 - A Fine Day

$1 bowling games on Tuesdays at Crosley Lanes! Grant Walker, Matthew, and I headed out that morning to go have some fun considering we work a lot and don't have much time to hang out with friends. We paid for two games but the guy at the front desk gave us three games so we spent about an hour and a half bowling! It was so much fun and exactly what we needed - some socializing! So the scores at the end have our overall scores on the top then the scores from the current game on the bottom. 322 overall for me! Then Matthew is second with Grant on the bottom. Yeah, Grant was pretty good. After that, I raced over to Las Mesitas in Battle Ground for lunch with Shelby. So much fun! I just love shooting the breeze with that girl! I'm going to miss her when she goes back up the Rexburg in February!

1/17 - Babysitting

Courtney had a doctor's appointment and needed a babysitter so my mom offered but wasn't able to get out of work in time so I ended up going. This is how the little kid was most of the time. Just tired and content with sitting there. We just sat on the couch for a while and it was about the cutest thing except that it wasn't normal for him to be so still. He's usually all over the place and can't stay still for more than a few seconds. It turns out that he had an ear infection. Poor boy!

1/16 - Love It!!

Okay so I didn't take this picture but come on, I take a picture every day. Give me a break, I've been pretty faithful for the most part! Anyways, I asked my Aunt Jodi if I could borrow her copy of "Mockingjay," the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy, and I got it on Sunday. I am so excited to finish it! Another bit of exciting news relating to this topic - I got Danielle to start reading the first book!!! I can't wait for her to finish so we can talk all about it!!

1/15 - Temple

For some reason our ward always goes to the temple really early!! It's nice that they invite the young single adults to go to the temple with the youth so that we have someone to go with. I guess it's good I went also because I am assistant Beehive advisor or something like that. It was really fun to be with the youth and hear what they have to say about everything. It's so interesting to hear about their lives as I currently don't have one of my own! I'm super excited to be with the youth and am glad I got to have the opportunity to be with them Saturday morning.

1/14 - Flu Shot

How did I spend the day after working a double? With my adorable nephew and wonderful sister-in-law! Connor had a doctor's appointment to get a flu booster shot and Courtney needed a car so I drove them. Got up feeling like I had a hangover (not that I would know but it's how I imagined) from work and headed out to go get them. Connor did so well at the doctors - didn't cry! A little fussy like "What did I ever do to you" but was fine once the doctor started playing with him. Afterwards, we went back to their house and we just hung out until coming over to my house for a sleepover. It was such a nice relaxing day and exactly what I needed after a day full of work madness.

1/13 - Ouch

Okay so I know my arm looks a little gross but this is what happened after getting my blood drawn at the doctors. Actually, this is a few days later. I always bruise when I have blood taken. I was once told that I have very small veins and it makes it harder to find a good spot but the lady at the clinic had no problems. Anyways, this is my battle wound ;)

1/12 - She Can Fly!

The girls had Wednesday off from school for some teacher work day or something so we got to spend the morning together. Now most mornings where we are all home, my parents leave a list of chores for us so that we aren't just sitting around all day. We didn't have much to do, just make sure the house was clean but Mom's audit at work got rescheduled so she called to come home early. I got the dishwasher unloaded but someone else had to load it so I told the girls that one of them had to do it but their excuse for not doing it was that Danielle was on top of Kaylynn on the chair so they couldn't move. Eventually, we heard the garage door open meaning Mom was home and no one had done the dishes. Kaylynn jumped to do it causing Danielle to fly across the room. I think Danielle laid there for about five minutes in total shock that she had just been flung across the room so easily!

1/11 - Winter Cleaning

This is the closet that Matthew and I share. We have stuff in other places of the house but this is like our storage unit for our stuff for school. I was in there the other day and realized I have a ton of crap that I've accumulated over the years. It was time to de-junk the closet of my stuff. This was the end result when I had to leave and go to work. It still looks pretty bad but I actually got rid of a lot of stuff. I need to continue going through everything in the house but this was a good start.

1/10 - Pneumonia

I've had a pretty bad cough for about three weeks now. It used to be a cold but I got over that and just have a dry cough. The other day it started to hurt in my lungs so I decided it was probably time to go visit the doctors. Now those of you that know me well know that I never go to the doctors. The last time I went was in August to get a booster tetanis shot in preparation for Russia but before that, it had been seven years. Anyways, I've been taking any cough medicine I can find and nothing was changing so I went in to the Urgency Care Clinic on St. John's. After an hour and a half of vitals, x-rays, and blood drawing, they finally came in and said they aren't totally sure what I have but they are pretty sure it is an early case of pneumonia. They gave me an antibiotic for ten days and if that doesn't work, then I have to go back in. This picture was right after they took my blood and while I am waiting to hear what I had. I was a little nervous because I could hear them talking about me outside trying to figure out what I had :S

1/9 - Michael Rambert

This is Michael. I was his Primary teacher two years ago when he was four but I guess he still remembers me. Today I got called into the Young Women's and when I stood up in Sacrament meeting, Michael turned around from the front row and gave me a thumbs up! He then proceeded to point at me to make sure I knew who it was directed towards then continue the thumbs up along with winks. It's good to know that I have the support of a six-year-old for my new calling!

1/8 - Happy Anniversary!

Saturday was my great aunt and uncle's 50th anniversary!! It was a lot of fun to go to their party and catch up with family I haven't seen in a long time. Although Aunt Sally and Uncle Richard are my grandma's family, I have still known them since I was very little with us going to their house every Halloween for their annual party. It was always a lot of fun and it's always great to see them again! While there, I got to spend lots of time talking to my Grandma Diann. She told me all about my cousins whom I haven't seen in years. For about eight months now, I have been really into getting in touch with my dad's side of the family and it was wonderful hearing what they are all up to. My grandpa is hoping to get all of us together next summer and I think that is a wonderful idea! Anyways, happy anniversary Aunt Sally and Uncle Richard!!

1/7 - Kaylynn

The Brinkmans are up here for the weekend for my great aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. I got bumped out of my room and ended up in Kaylynn's room for the night while she slept downstairs with the cousins. I couldn't really fall asleep so I started looking around her room to see what she had. Of course she had a ton of notebooks because she has always loved to draw and used to love writing so I started looking through them. I always knew she was a good artist but what amazed me is that she was an amazing artist when she was younger as well as now. These drawings were from when she was like twelve! They are better than anything I have ever done! That girl has a bright future ahead of her!!

1/6 - New Obsession

Maybe I have been away from good bread for too long but man is this stuff good!! My mom has been buying this 5 Seed bread from Safeway lately and I can't seem to get enough of it. I think she is actually buying it for my dad because he loves healthy stuff like this but I've been snitching for a while now. I highly recommend you trying it!!!

1/5 - Star

I think that my most favorite resident at Mallard is Verna. She moved in almost a year ago and we became instant friends! She has suffered from a stroke so has limited movement but is still one of the happiest people I know! Today, I got off work at 9:30 but had to wait until 10 for Matthew to get off so I went up to visit with Verna and tell her all about Russia. As we were talking, she told me that she still had the golden star I made her up on her mirror. I had totally forgotten about it!! You see, I made this star for her about a year ago because she reached a goal (which I won't tell for privacy's sake) that she had been working very hard on. I was checking up on her every day and helping her the best I could. Anyways, so she has kept that thing there for a long time to remember me. I think it's the sweetest thing and it just made my day! :)

1/4 - Resolutions

I'll be honest, I suck at resolutions. I basically loathe New Year's resolutions because I feel they are just setting you up for failure. I mean let's be real - there are very few people who can keep a goal for an entire year! I am not one of those people. When I do make resolutions, they are super simple. The only one I can remember ever working out well was when I made the goal to be more observant. It was a wonderful goal because it didn't require me to beat myself up when I didn't do it. There weren't really any consequences, just beneficial when I did follow through. That's how I like to make resolutions because I don't want to be unhappy all year when I don't succeed. I know this is a little late but here are the two resolutions I decided upon this year: 1. Make my bed every day, 2. Take my vitamin every day. That's it. Simple and if I don't follow through, no beating myself up on that.

1/3 - Missed

When I first emailed my job about coming back, I asked to work day shift so that I could be home with my family at night since I had been gone in Russia for so long. At that time, they said they could get me on but once the time came for me to come back, they had no room on day shift and basically no one working swing shift at all so the moved me over to that shift. Since I am just coming back, they have me scheduled for a ton of hours. I don't really know why they do that but it seems to happen every time I go back that I start by having a streak of like 10 days in a row. Anyways, I came home after working only three days in a row to this note on my pillow. I didn't see my mom the entire day and she told me that she realized that and decided to say hi to me when I got home by putting this on my pillow. The funny thing is that when I saw it, I looked around my room trying to find her because I thought she was hiding or something. Nope, it was just a nice hello from my mother!

1/2 - Cinda Lu

This is Cinda. She is the original artist that drew Grumpy off of "Snow White." One of my favorite things is when she wears her Grumpy sweatshirt. She is one funny lady. She's a little hard to understand sometimes but she just cracks me up every time I see her. Today, I was trying to give the resident next to her some pills (you can't see her) and Cinda here was making grunting noises the whole time. I couldn't figure out what was going on and actually still don't really know why she does this but she constantly grunts when she eats I'm assuming because she is enjoying it. I asked her if it was good and she said yes. I just love this woman and she is one person that makes my job worth it!

1/1 - Goodbye Old Friend

A new year, a new beginning - but not for everything. This phone that Kaylynn is on is older than me at least and has been such a reliable phone for us. It's been through many, many cords but the phone itself has always worked. It even has old speed dials from our last house (17 years ago!). We finally decided that it was it's time to go because we couldn't really hear anyone on the other end but trust me, it was hard for us to let go. It had just become a joke for us that it would always be with us and always work no matter how old it was. So here's to you old phone! May you rest in peace.

12/31 - What A Way To End

How did I spend my last day in 2010? Closing out my accounts at Wells Fargo!! What a glorious event! For those of you that don't know, while I was in Russia, I had so many banking problems with this company. They started charging me monthly payments while I was there without notifying me or anything, they charge $5 every time you use an ATM, and they froze my accounts many, many times including while I was stranded in Germany. I don't mind them being cautious with my money but it was overkill when I'm stranded in a foreign country when they knew I was abroad. I finally cancelled my accounts and am now with Columbia Credit Union and thrilled!!! They are such a great bank and I am sure we will form a great relationship :)