Woah, what the-

So I know I lured a whole bunch of new followers with the promise of a book giveaway and then abruptly dropped off the face of the earth. My apologies to you all but a GREAT BIG Congrats to Jana for winning a copy of Edenbrooke! 
One of the reasons it's taken me so long to get a new post up is Blogger recently CHANGED a whole bunch of blog stuff, from the way the post page looks, to the layout of "Blogs I Follow", and it's just really weirded me out and made it hard for me to learn my way around a site I already had down pretty well. 
Change is hard but I am persevering!
Yay. 
So...catch up...
I participated in a Single's Ward activity night where those who had served missions put together displays of both both cultural and spiritual reminders from our missions.
In our church the guys serve two year missions while the ladies serve 18 months. You fill out an application explaining any special skills you have like speaking a foreign language etc and send it into the Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, UT. You then have to play the waiting game while waiting for a big white envelope that will explain where in the world you will go. I was assigned to the Texas Houston East mission. 
It was SO much fun pulling out all my mission memorabilia and I got so super distracted going through old photos of mission companions and ward members, reading old journal entries, and flipping through mission planners that I was almost late for the evening!
Here's what my table looked like:

 
I even brought treats! The cookies on the bottom left side are a favorite from a family in my last area. We call them Texas Hurricane cookies as the recipe was given out during one of our hurricane evacuations during my time in Texas. I set out my mission scriptures, my official call, my mission plaque, our teaching manual (Preach My Gospel), our mission rule book (aka the White Handbook) my name tag (ALWAYS worn while a missionary) as well as one of the Helping Hands t-shirts I received while cleaning up after Hurricane Ike and the pamphlets we would hand out on the street when contacting potential investigators. 

Other tables that night included displays from Africa, Japan, the Ukraine, and Germany. It was so much fun going from table to table and checking out all the cool stuff people had brought back and hearing even cooler stories from each mission.

That night I realized how grateful I was to have experienced time as an official missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All of my mission stuff had been sitting in a box in my closet since my last move and getting it all out and reading through old letters, flipping through mission planners, and basically taking a walk down memory lane was so rewarding. 

Serving as a missionary gave me a chance to make new friends for life. (And although I may be terrible at keeping in touch with the people I met, I pretty much think about you guys everyday! Both missionaries, church members, and investigators alike!) The 18 months I spent in Texas with everyone were life-changing and I absolutely cherish the time I spent there. 

I realized that I'd like to go through all my Texas keepsakes a little more often. I find it incredible that I've been home for (almost) three years! I love seeing everyone's updates on Facebook as well as emails and texts. I definitely consider the people and missionaries of Texas to be an extension of my family!

Serving a mission means leaving friends and family behind for eighteen months to two years. As a missionary you definitely look forward to coming home, back to the family and friends who have been so good about keeping you in the loop (FYI, missionaries LOVE letters no matter who they're from!) The work can be terribly difficult some days and it's hard to avoid counting down the number of weeks and months left before you get to return home. 

But then, before you realize it, your time is up and it's time to pack up your belongings, say goodbye, get on a plane, and fly back to the life you knew before.You arrive home to hugs, tears, and familiar faces but you find there's an ache in your heart as well whenever you think about the wonderful people that you left behind. 

You go to the Stake President's office the day you arrive home and you talk about your mission when suddenly, before you're ready, he tells you to take off your missionary tag and just like that, you're no longer an official, set-apart missionary.
You work on getting back in the swing of things, and you keep discovering that you're changed forever. (For example, it's an adventure just going to the store by yourself for the first time in 18 months!)

As the weeks, months, and years pass you listen for news of your friends back in your mission area and celebrate their triumphs as well as mourn their losses alongside them. The mission adds a new depth to your life and you are never the same again. 

In closing, I wasn't planning to write all of that. I started out just wanting to fill you in on my comings and goings and apparently my mission is a big part of that. Thanks to everyone who supported my decision to go and who showered us with love while there!

Thanks for reading! Until next time!
               -Em

Blog Follower Giveaway! Woot!

Hey peeps! Guess what? I'm trying something different and offering a BLOG FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY! That's right, for those of you that follow my blog you have the opportunity this Wednesday to win...

Julianne's mom gave me a copy of this book a few weeks ago along with a very sweet note. She thought I'd really like Edenbrooke and wanted me to read it and then pass it along to someone else in order to get the word out about her daughter's new book. I was more than thrilled to have a brand-new book in my hands as I LOVE TO READ and am always on the lookout for new stories. The gorgeous cover didn't hurt either. (I know the saying goes, "Never judge a book by its cover" but I totally and forever will ALWAYS  do just that.) By the fourth chapter I'd absolutely  fallen in love with this book, the clever dialoge, and witty characters.

Edenbrooke begins with Marianne Daventry attempting to escape the unwanted attentions of a rather enthusiastic (and entirely too old) suitor. Having recently lost her mother and now living in town, separated from her father and sister, Marianne finds her current situation lonely. She sees a surprise invitation to visit her sister in the country as just the thing to lift her spirits while her grandmother sees it as a fine opportunity to make a smart match. Highway robberies, mistaken identities, and kidnappings certainly keep things from becoming too dull. Where's a girl supposed to find time for love?

I think if you're into British Lit you'll really like this book. It's written a little less formally than Jane Austen's novels but keeps enough of the "slang" and customs of the time to make you feel like you've stepped inside the Regency era. Julianne Donaldson does a fabulous job at subtle writing. I've found that a lot of first-time authors bash their readers over the head with clues and foreshadowing just to make sure that the reader GETS IT. Not Julianne. She did a fabulous job building characters, weaving plot and subplot through the chapters, and writing believable dialog, (not an easy thing to do either)! All in all, a fabulous book!

If you'll recall I was given Edenbrooke with the stipulation that I pass it along. Well...like I said, I loved it so much I just couldn't bear to give it away. So I went out and bought a second copy which is what you'll receive if you're the winner of the blog follower give away! You can try to find yourself a copy, but Fair Warning! I received an email on Friday informing me that Edenbrooke has SOLD OUT at Deseret Book! You can find it at Costco and  Barnes and Noble here in Utah and New York. BUT...if you follow me you'll have the chance to get this book for FREEEEEE!

(See the book I'm holding in my hands? By Wednesday this could very well be YOUR VERY OWN COPY!)

Following my blog is easy! Just click "Follow"at the top left hand of the screen. Feel free to follow with your screen or blog name! However, anonymous follows are not eligible for Edenbrooke because I have no idea who you are! The winner will be chosen at random with the help of Random.org. If you win I will ship this book to you free of charge! (Just to be fair this giveaway is available to my international friends as well!)
You've got until Wednesday at 12:00 MST to follow my blog publicly and I'll announce the winner soon afterwards! Good luck! I can't wait to see who wins!
Em
P.S. Check out Julianne Donaldson's website HERE. 

April Happenin's

Hey hey hey! Yes, TWO posts in a day! Ha ha! You are so lucky. Just call me magnanimous.
So...APRIL. LOTS of fun and exciting times! First of all, Tuima came home from French Cooking school in Boston. PARTY TIME! Here's a couple of pics from our "Jane Party". A Jane party includes LOTS of tasty food with incredibly nerdy conversations. We stopped by a FABULOUS little restaurant in Provo called the Nicolitalia Pizzeria. Ha ha. I thought it was Italian, but turns out, it's a Boston-themed restaurant. You know, just in case she was missing Boston in the few days she'd been away. Here's a few pics of us and the amount of napkins we used per person/dish.
Tuima's neat singular napkin...

Ere used a few more than that...

 

And Andy?...Well, he used a few more than that. 

Ok, ok. In Andy's case it wasn't his fault. The napkin holder made it REALLY difficult to pull out napkins. The rest of the night was spent laughing and watching the brilliant Joss Whedon's Buffy. 

Of course, with Easter fast approaching the only thing to do was make as many Easter themed treats as possible, as it only comes around once a year. Tuima came up with a fabulous idea: Sheep cake pops! Just you wait:

I hope Tuima wasn't too appalled that we just used a cake mix!

 Toss in a block of cream cheese and mix it all up and until it gets to be about the same consistency as Play-Doh. Yum yum!

Tuima's fabulous sister volunteered her talents and helped give our little sheepies their pretzel legs. 

A quick stint in the refrigerator and they were ready to stand on their own little feet. A lovely white chocolate bath and and a little coconut dusting and these guys are ready to go!

Here's our little flock, complete with the black sheep of the family.

 Now, our Easter eggs weren't such a hit, but they tasted just fine.

The three of us got together that weekend and made more tasty Easter treats! This was just the beginning of a lovely, LOVELY evening and began innocently enough...I mean, what harm could BAKING do?

                                   

(FEEL the creativity power! Ere FREE HANDED that bunny!)

                               

And from there? An inevitable flour fight.

I didn't even escape unscathed. Le sigh...

Now...as was mentioned before, Jane is currently being all cool and attending a fancy-schamncy cooking school in Boston. While there she gets to mingle with all sorts of amazing people. One of her colleagues is an incredibly amazing world-traveler foodie who just about freaked when he heard she was from Provo. He made the claim that the best restaurant he'd ever eaten at was in Provo, UT called Communal. Of course we HAD to check it out. And WOW. Wow wow wow. A little hipstery for my taste, but INCREDIBLY tasty and WORTH the price. We were able to sit at the bar and watch the cooks at work. Tuima was in Heaven of course watching these guys sling sauces around, braise pork loin, sprinkle spices over steaming dishes, and duck and weave around the kitchen like a tornado on steroids. The idea of Communal is to have each person order a different dish and then share with your party. We started off with a fennel tart garnished with tomato jam, creamy Gouda, and grilled spring onions. The next dish included roasted sweet potatoes and molasses glazed apple and THEN the main dish...the main dish consisted of the most absolute, hands-down, flavorful pork belly in the world.
THE. WORLD, people.
Next stop of the evening was Sparks. A dry bar/lounge. I'd give it 3.5 stars. The service wasn't that great, but it's a fun place to hang out with friends. They've got a pretty nice selection of virgin drinks. Definitely on the sweet side. It was a nice way to top of our savory dinner.

Last stop of the evening was The Cabin. (SO FUN!) Of course, we came prepared. LOTS of chocolate!

The flour fight was only the beginning. Tuima taught us the basics of boxing and Ere showed us some pretty awesome Tae-Kwon Do moves as well.

We finished out the evening doing what we do best. LOTS of creativity!Writing and drawing and talking. Thanks ladies for such an awesome time! Let's do it again soon!

BLOG ALL THE THINGS!

Hey peeps! So...yeah. Yet another mini-mega post about my life. Dang. I write for a living. You'd THINK I'd be better at keeping up with something as simple as bragging about my life! Hee hee. 

Ok, not so much bragging as just informing you as to my life. And here we go:
Dilly came home for a visit!!!! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long time! Late nights and breakfast at the IHOP was definitely a high-light. See you once you're graduated!

My sister Lauran is preggers and looks ADORABLE:

She and her hubby come over and hang out a lot. (And eat our food. JK!!!!) I LOVE this pic where Lu is eating with a knife and fork and Dustin...isn't. Hee hee. 

We celebrated Pie Day with a yummy chocolate chip pie! Look at me being all cool and artistic with shots of just food. NOT. Who do I think I am? Bakerella? (For real guys...GO check out her website. Can I be like her please please please?)

March just wouldn't be complete without the HIGHLY anticipated HUNGER GAMES MIDNIGHT SHOWING! Me, Jess, Dustin, and Lu hit up the midnight premier. I think we were the OLDEST people there. Everyone else was in high school. No Joke. I was surrounded by students studying for AP finals. And I had to sit by myself. It was so crowded. (That makes THREE midnight showings in a row I had to sit alone! Harry Potter 7 part 1 and 2 being the others.) I digress. LOVED the movie. I think mostly because they were like 95% true to the book. Duh, Hollywood. If a book is popular you really don't need to change anything! Good job everybody!

MORE fun stuffs: BABY SHOWER TIME!

 We had SO MUCH FUN putting everything together and making yummy treats! BEHOLD THE DELICIOUSNESS of chocolate cake, robin eggs, cake pops, crackers, hummus, and lots of tasty salads!

 SO cute...pregnant friends!

So Cute...NOT-pregnant friends. (We were SO exhausted after the shower! But it was very fun!) Thanks to everyone who was able to come and help. I'd hurt my shoulder/neck muscles earlier that week and really couldn't move, but had a shower to run. Mom and the sissies were FABULOUS. I basically just got to sit there and boss people around telling them what to do. So thanks Ladies! You are FABBO!

Happy March Everyone!