What gets me through the cold weather...

There's so many good hot chocolates out there but this is my new official favorite: Chocolate Cinnamon. The nice thing about this flavor is that you don't even have to buy the fancy stuff. You can just add a little cinnamon to you're plain hot chocolate. I definitely recommend it.
In general I just love Christmas drinks. I can drink hot cider or wassail all day.
Do any of you have any great recipes for homemade wassail? I made some last year but it was super sour. I would love any tips.

My Inner European...

I suppose I am a Peterson now?!?!

Your Inner European is Swedish!

Relaxed and peaceful. You like to kick back and enjoy life.

Who's Your Inner European?

Best Prank Ever...

Honestly, you've got to see this! Go to http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4183967147021677751
Or just go to google.com and type in "Best Prank Ever" and the video will come up. It's hilarious.

Freecycle...

Most cities across the nation have implemented some sort of method in order to promote recycling. I'm a big fan but there is so much more to recycling then just old soda pop cans and peanut butter jars.

While browsing MSNBC I came across an article listing "7 items you didn't know you could recycle."
These items include: 1. Athletic Shoes 2. "Techno-Trash"-VHS tapes, game cartridges, digital cameras, MP3 players, cords, cables, cassettes — not to mention bigger items like VCRs and computer monitors. 3. Computers 4. Matresses 5. Handheld devices-old cell phones, pagers and PDAs 6. Dry-cleaning hangers and plastic 7. Soiled glass and plastic.

The great thing about most of these objects is that you can bring them to many local stores. Drop your handheld devices off at any Staples store. Dell will recycle any Dell product for free, and if you buy a new Dell, they’ll recycle any other brand of computer for free. Hewlett-Packard, Gateway, Apple and Toshiba also have recycling programs — check their Web sites for details.

Lastly, everything else you can give away for free. Think how many people could benefit from the items thrown away daily just because we're sick of them or because we bought something better newer. If it's still usable, donate it on Craigslist (post the item for free) or go to The Freecycle Network and share your items with the world.
I love their mission statement:
"Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community."
Can't go wrong there!

Welcome November...

Fall is my favorite. For all the obvious reasons: the leaves are changing, the weather is crisp, Thanksgiving break, etc.
Here's are all the reason's I'm looking forward to November this year:
-Mitch's Birthday- Mitch is one of those guys that is really difficult to shop for because he never really wants anything (and if he does, he'd rather be the one to get it so it's exactly what he wants). This is nice for our budget but difficult when it comes to gifts and holidays. This year, Mitch picked out his own birthday gifts, bought them a month early and now all I have to do is wrap them. I still may come up with a couple little surprises for him but I'm really excited to be getting him exactly what he wants this year.
-Two delicious, untraditional Thanksgiving dinner's- one with my great friend Lauren at Tucano's (can't go wrong there) and another with Mitch, probably Chinese take-out. Although this won't be a permanent alternative to Thanksgiving, I really enjoy just spending the day with Mitch, not worrying about cooking, and having delicious Asian cuisine.
-Getting a real paycheck- Atlas hasn't paid me since Sept. so now that I've started my new job, my first pay day is November 2nd. A great way to start the new month-with money!
-3 days off school- Even though I still have to work I love it when Mitch doesn't have to go to class. He gets to sleep in, relax, and do whatever he wants. He deserves the break.

This is going to be a great month! I hope you all enjoy it as well. Christmas isn't too far away either so this is a good month to start getting prepared and make some purchases in advance. Not to mention, V for Vendetta is in my top 25 favorite movies, "Remember, remember the 5th of November."

Halloween's too scary...

Today's Halloween and I've decided that there's a lot of things about this holiday that are just a little too scary for me. I've always been easily spooked but it seems like costumes and decorations are getting gorier and more disturbing these days. Too many costumes involve fake blood being streamed down cheeks and chins, or ugly stitches and bruises. I know this is cool to a lot of young boys but I think I'm just too much of a girl for all this gruesomeness. Not to mention all the horribly scary movies out right now. Nonetheless, I hope you all have a wonderful, terror-free Halloween.

"After Clouds, Sun"...

As I was perusing a friend of a friend's blog I came across this picture. I've always been an art lover and get really excited when I find paintings or other works of art that move me or inspire subtle but sweet feelings inside. This is one of those paintings. I love pictures that somehow edify us in a way nothing else could.

"Sometimes the Spirit Touches Us Through Our Weaknesses" by James C. Christensen

"In this picture, the hunchback is an Everyman; his hump is indicative of the burdens we all bear. He sits on a box that says literally, in Latin, "after clouds, sun." That's supposed to remind people to find the silver lining.
"I think that we often grow through adversity. No one wants trials and ordeals, and yet, having passed through the darkness, we often experience great spiritual illumination and feel the most connected with our Maker." -- James Christensen

A New Start...

I've finally found a new job! This was my first week with the John Kuchinski Agency in Pleasant Grove, Utah (gotta love his last name- it's Russian/Polish if you're curious).
The works not very interesting but I really enjoy the people I work with and it has a really laid back atmosphere. Plus I get to use my insurance agent's license (it's nicely framed above my desk) so I don't feel like taking that stupid test was too much of a waste of time.
The only bad news is that Atlas still hasn't paid me since Sept. 25th (which is a big deal considering I worked all the way up until Oct. 19th). But I'm trying not to freak out too much.
This job is a really nice change and all in all I actually glad I had such an easy excuse to leave my last job, the fit just wasn't so good for me there.
So. . . if any of you would like a car or home quote just let me know, we'd love to have you business :o)

I'm usually not into online surveys like what color are you, or what animal are you, but this one's actually kinda fun. It's only a few questions so it doesn't take that long either. Supposedly I belong in Rome, I don't know how much I agree but my dad did serve his mission in Rome so I remember always thinking I was Italian when I was little.

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart
Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome
Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand
And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

Want to find out what city you belong in?

All the reasons I miss Kansas...

I know Kansas doesn't sound like that cool of a place but I just can't help loving it so much. Not to mention my whole families there including a new niece that I'm quite obsessed with. These are a few little the things (other then my family of course) that I miss most of all:
I love the open sky and flat land. A lot of people can't understand that but the truth is I really love it. I love how open it is and being able to see the sun rise and set on the horizon line.




The food. Jose Peppers has the best steak taco in North America. Mr. Goodcents is like Subway except a million times better. And Jack Stack is just amazing.










Street names. Utah just doesn't cut it with all of the numbers. The ones shown on the left include Mur-Len and Blackbob Rd.
Honestly, who comes up with these?
Some of my other odd favorites include Pflumn, Strangline and Quivira.





Even though I'm terribly afraid of tornadoes, I still love a good storm. Especially seeing the sky turn black in half the sky while the other is still sun and blue sky. This is a classic picture of a Kansas wall cloud. Spooky but incredible. I also really miss the warm rains, something non-existent in Utah.



Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be in Utah for the time being (I mean what would Mitch and I do without the dollar theatre) but there's some things Utah just doesn't have.