Dear Mom and Dad-

I got you a new dishwasher.

It is really cute.

Sometimes it is really quiet but can get super loud at times.

And sometimes it gets water all over the counters and the floors.

But did I mention it is REALLY cute.

See. MUCH cuter than your old dishwasher.

Love-
your cute daughter (and even cuter granddaughter)

Dear Mom and Dad-

Last week, my super hero helper, his cute little sister and their fabulous mother were helping me weed the garden.

And look what we found:

A CARROT! All by itself. We didn't plant it but we did eat it.

It is was better looking than it was tasting.

Lots of love-
your green thumbed daughter

Dear Mom and Dad-
Guess what?

It's snowing. A lot.

I must say it does look kind of pretty with all the white snow on the green grass and trees.

Not sure your lilac tree would agree.

Like the pool that looks like it is our yard but it's really the neighbors?!? Not sure why they decided to put it right beside the fence... probably so I can just jump the fence and go for a swim.

Now if only it would stop snowing and go back to the 30 degree (90 Fahrenheit) weather we had 2 weeks ago.

Love-

your favorite daughter

Happy Birthday to YOU! part 2

It's that magical time of year again.... MY BIRTHDAY.

2 years ago I shared with you a bunch of things you could sign up to enjoy on your birthday (click here to check them out)

Today I will share with you a few more I have discovered. And as far as I know they are all good in the U.S. and Canada (unless otherwise noted).

Papa Murphy's
free cookie dough with the purchase of any pizza (and coupons throughout the year)

Orange Julius
free 16 ounce Julius Fruit Drink (and coupons throughout the year)

Pizza Delight (only in Canada- big in the east with only a few locations out west)
free meal ON your birthday (and a coupon when you sign up)

Lofthouse Cookies
coupon for free cookies (I haven't received mine yet for this year. hmmm...)

Michaels- The Knack
coupon for store discount during your birthday month (and coupons throughout the year)


Sign up today and have an even happier birthday whenever that blessed day arrives.

Please share if you know of any other birthday deals!

Dear Mom and Dad-

It has been a long time since I last "wrote" (even though I send you several emails a week!). My excuse for this past week is that it was SPRING BREAK!

As you know, I headed to Idaho and Utah where I was able to visit with a few friends. Not as many as I would have liked but that will just mean another trip in the near future!

One of the reasons I headed south was to attend General Conference. I got to go to both Sunday sessions and it was delightful. Thanks to my friends "presidential" connections we sat just 13 rows from the Prophet. So neat. I could make eye contact with the Quorum of the 12.
I so badly wanted to take pictures but since I was surrounded by family members of the people on the stand I was making eye contact with, I felt a little awkward.

After the morning session I was turning around to leave our row and who did I come face to face with? Sheri Dew. Oh my. I apologized and she kindly said "that's okay". (that may not have been her exact words but it was something to the effect of it being okay that I almost chest bumped her).

Don't worry- even after my brushes with fame I am still the same humble, wonderful daughter you remember.

Lots of love-
your humble, wonderful daughter

Dear Mom and Dad-


Last night my roommate and I went to the ward party- a Dessert Cruise. It was fun. And made me want to go on another cruise! When you came in they took your picture. You then could watch a movie in the primary room, do aerobics in the young women's room, golf in the relief society room, games and karaoke in the gym. Then came the dessert. mmm. I decided to make No Bake Peanut Butter Toblerone Cheesecake (click here for recipe).


I LOVE making desserts but something always goes wrong when I make something to take somewhere. Well I should have been smart and cut it up before- but I didn't. Someone (who will remain nameless) had to come get me to find out if they should take my dessert out of the pan. Apparently they have never used a springform pan before. So I removed the rim and she immediately began cutting it like squares. That kind of disturbed me since it was in a circular shape. And cheesecake. Whatever. It was really soft since it was supposed to be refrigerated and it had been sitting on the kitchen counter for over an hour. My roommate actually had to go get it from the kitchen because they hadn't brought it out and it was one of very few desserts she could eat (gluten free other than the crust).


I didn't have any until today. When I took it out of the fridge I realized that no one had eaten the crust. (you can see the pan in the picture where I cut the crust). It may look nasty but it was tasty. But with peanut butter AND toblerone- how could it not?? I think it is funny that the one time my crust isn't crumbly and falling apart it gets stuck on the bottom of the pan!


Back to the cruise... after eating desserts they had a Guess Whose Legs contest. 7 men hid behind a curtain on the stage showing nothing but their legs. I guessed 3 out of 7 right. Then there was a fun and entertaining "talent" show. The Elders played ukuleles and sang the Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World song. I wonder if both of them knew how to play or if one taught the other. All of the other numbers were wonderful. It was a great evening and you were asked about by several people.


I am sick again- the last time (only a few weeks ago) I was congested. This time it is my throat. I sound like a man and may possibly lose my voice. I am subbing the next 3 days for a friend while she goes to the Olympics. So if I don't lose it from that, all will be well.


Love-
Your sick daughter

Dear Mom & Dad-

Happy Valentine's Day!

(even though it was yesterday for you!)

I made these cookies for my primary class.

Gotta suck up on my first day of being their teacher.

Love-

Your sweetest daughter

Dear Mom & Dad-
Tonight was the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. There is a whole lot of excitement buzzing throughout all of Canada.

All of the excitement made me realize I never shared with you the pictures I took of the Olympic torch. It was pretty exciting having it so close- just down the street. Since I had the day off, I had to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Here it is right before everyone showed up. (It reads Canada welcomes the world).
Here are some fun ladies that got all decked out. Sadly I forgot my maple leaf toque, sweatshirt, facepaint and ribbon at home. The flame is being passed- you can't really see it. The previous "runner" was in a wheel chair. As it passed right in front of me. Look at all the people!! And there it goes.

It was over pretty quick. But so neat. I sure wish I had the means to head to Vancouver to enjoy some events in person. Since I don't I will enjoy them from the comfort of the couch!

Let's go Canada!!

Love-

your proud to be Canadian daughter