Conference Weekend

Twice a year my church does a wonderful thing. They have a little something called General Conference. They broadcast the conference from Salt Lake City all over the world, so we get to watch and from home.

One the things that sets The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apart is that we are lead by a modern day prophet. And during these conferences we get to listen to the prophet, his apostles and other church leaders give talks to inspire, guide & direct us. So many inspiring words it is hard to choose a favorite. But here is one of my favorites.

"We live in troubled times. I assure you that our Heavenly Father is mindful of the challenges we face. He loves each of us and desires to bless us and to help us. May we call upon Him in prayer." President Thomas S. Monson

I had a lovely weekend snuggled up on the couch eating yummy food and enjoying the words of men of God.

I watched with my friend who had the brilliant idea to bring out some coloring pages so we would not be tempted to doze off while watching and let me tell you, it worked. And honestly, I haven't colored in so long it was really fun!

Hunger Games

Yeah, I know everyone has been posting about Hunger Games, so I will just jump on the bandwagon. I loved it. I am so obsessed that I saw it twice and loved it even more the second time. I thought it was extremely well cast and that they covered all the important parts of the book. Oh I just loved every bit of it!

That's all!

A Brown Thumb? Is that something?

So, I admit it. I have whatever the opposite of a green thumb is. I am struggle to keep any type of plants alive, indoor or out I usually end of exchanging them at Home Depot and getting new ones because I just can't do it! (PS. If you didn't know that Home Depot, Lowes, OSH, all take back dead plants, with a receipt of course :) So When my hubby brought home an adorable rusty little Radio Flyer Wagon, that he snagged, I had this cute idea to make it a little portable garden and fill it wil flowers and other pretty things to cheer up my back porch. Between my dogs chewing on them and me forgetting to water them they were all dead within a month. So I decided to go a different direction and I really like how it turned out.

Succulents! There aren't any tasty leaves & flowers for the dogs to munch on and they barely need any water to survive, which are both crucial. And they look pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!

Forrest Gump was right, you never know what you're gonna get

So the latest with me isn't a super fun story, but you know what? Life isn't always super fun, and that is okay. Trials are what make us learn, grow and become stronger. I am going to try to make a long story as short as possible, but this may still be a novel...

About 6 months ago I found a little bump on my neck just behind my jaw. At first every dr I saw told me it was nothing. They almost made me feel silly for pointing out this tiny little thing but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't normal. After what felt like a million visits to different doctors and a CAT scan, I finally found a doctor at UCLA who could tell me what was wrong with me. I was extremely relieved to finally have some answers, even though it wasn't exactly the answer I wanted. That little bump was actually a tumor.

I scheduled the surgery asap and tried my best not to talk and/or think about it so I wouldn't stress about it. I mean I haven't ever broken a bone, no ER visits, so the thought of being in a hospital overnight was mildly alarming. Anyways, the surgery went swimmingly according to the dr. (I of course have no memory of any post surgery conversations). He was thrilled to report there was no damage to the facial nerves, and aside from a numb ear lobe (that nerve they did have to cut) I should eventually be good as new! The recovery period has been much worse then I was anticipating, I mean its a small tumor, small cut, a little swelling, no big deal right? But as I told the dr at my follow up appt "Honestly, it felt like I was hit by a bus" to which his response he was, "Oh believe me I know, I was the one driving it." While it may not sound like it, it was actually comforting to hear. I felt like I was being a baby until the dr explained all the gritty details of the surgery like how he had to stretch the muscles from the middle of my neck up in order to fill in the hole where the tumor was. Super fun.

I spent a couple weeks resting, watching Gilmore Girls dvds and enjoying applesauce, smoothies, soup & mashed potatoes (the swelling & soreness did not allow for any chewing). I am so lucky to have best husband to take such good care of me and for these little guys to snuggle me all day.

I have decided that pain killers are both the best & worst invention all in one. They definitely ease the pain but man they mess with just about everything else. I am so grateful for family & friends who brought food and kept me company in my, lets just say, altered state.

But all in all the story has a happy ending. The lab work is back, the tumor was benign (excuse me while I dance around the room Rocky style!) and I am feeling better and better everyday. I am young and healthy and I am going to be just fine. And those that know me will appreciate this, because as soon as my discomfort was under control and my jaw was working well enough for me to eat real food, I'll give you one guess what my first meal was....

That's right, a cheeseburger from in n out. In the weeks following the surgery I think I must have said at least a dozen times in a slurred, sorry sounding voice at the thought of eating pudding for dinner again "I just want a cheeseburger"! It was a very triumphant moment, I almost high-fived the cashier on the way out.

Yeah, and as a side note I have learned something new about myself. I am a lightweight, and while on pain meds I am not allowed to browse the internet. Apparently I did some online shopping while feeling a little loopy, since a package of 12 yes is said 12 bathing suits showed up in the mail today.

Really? 12? Half of them are the wrong size, and some don't even have matching bottoms. Maybe my subconscious is telling me I need to go on a tropical vacation. : )

And cue the awwww...

A Shower for Sharie

Last week I had the pleasure of co-hosting a baby shower for the lovely Sharie. She is expecting a baby boy next month and we had a fun night celebrating with the mom to be!

Good food and friends, in my opinion the recipe for a great night!

Emily's cupcakes & homemade kettle corn were delicious and I had fun learning to make our little party party favors, marshmallows dipped in chocolate! My favorite were the milk chocolate ones with graham cracker crumbs, but I also did white chocolate with coconut and milk & white with sprinkles. Yum.

Vegas Weekend

Last weekend was just what the doctor ordered! I got to spend the weekend in Vegas with some of my best friends from college. It was a weekend full of sleeping in, watching girlie movies, eating delicious food, mani pedis, talking, laughing, shopping and eating some more.

We also celebrated this fabulous lady's birthday! And I was introduced to a delicious little place called Nothing Bundt Cakes...seriously so yummy! I want some right now!

I don't usually enjoy driving. Living in LA, with traffic and everything I always prefer that someone else takes the wheel, but on road trips I don't mind it. It can be very peaceful and this roadtrip was great.

On the way up I listened to a book on tape by Lee Child who is one of my fave authors right now. And on the way home I just listened to music. I am kind of obsessed with the song Safe & Sound off the Hunger Games Soundtrack, so that got played a lot on the drive home. So pumped for that movie!