Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Should 4 amazing words be allowed to be uttered right after each other? No. But they are. Caramel.Apple.Cheesecake.Bars. Well...maybe like 3 words. Bars isn't that great.

So last night i just got in this mood after i got home. We got home around 8pm from Campus, Katy and I. I looked at the kitchen and cringed, it was over flowing with plate and pans. It was gross to say the least. The thing is, i was in a cooking mood...and that my friends is a beautiful thing.

But i can't cook in a dirty kitchen. That's just gross. So i pumped up my music, dubstep as of late. P has gotten me back into dubstep...for some reason that's the first music he likes off his mish? The kid is weird, but i suppose i'll keep him around. For kicks and giggles. Clarification: P is one of my best friends that just got back from his mission.

SO, i pumped up Skrillex and CLEANED the kitchen.

and maybe a little clubbing music. Because i got in that mood too. Pitbull's 1234 song is perfection just fyi.

Then Daniel came over and everyone helped me make the bars. Well, Charls cut the apples and Daniel stirred something for a minute. I was really afraid they wouldn't turn out, but they did. It was around 11pm that i had finally finished them and they were right out of the oven.

I looked at how much i had and laughed, then invited Jas over to eat some. Jas shows up at my door panting "I just finished my homework and basically ran over here"
"Uh....ok?"

Charls and Katy told me they were amazing, but Jas' reaction was THE BEST. He started like moaning and took another bite. "These are...oh...my...gosh....these are orgasmic"

Never really had my baking described that way...but ok, i take that as a huge compliment. Then we proceeded to talk until the wee hours of the morning.

Now because of that Charls and I are super tired, and are about to take a nap...at 9pm....then wake up and finish homework.

Oh the college life.

Song of the Day

So Katy loves it when she finds songs that she knows about but i don't. It's one of the things that she finds true happiness in. The other day she started quoting a song called Wonderwall to me, and i told her i didn't know that song. Once she played it for me it sounded super familiar though.

So i blame her for this.

I have been obsessed with this song. Listening to it over and over again, and i've found some awesome covers.

The Original is by a band called Oasis. 

Then i found this acapella cover- while listening to Christmas Music of all things.

I was at work- so Sammi and i began our quest for the best cover of Wonderwall.

There were some absolutely horrid ones, like The Bullocks. Horrid. We laughed as we listening to about 40 different versions, ranging from Swingy- Jazz to Metal. 

This was our favourite hands down though.

Oh Boyce. Acoustic and beautiful. 

So there you have it. 

Song of the Day

It's not letting me load that stupid video Charls and I made on Sunday for you all. But I will do my best to post it sometime this week. Hopefully...kinda swamped with homework and projects and stuff. Finals are in two weeks. It's insane, but i could not be happier. Although i only get to go home for one week during Christmas Break i'm still really glad for that one week.

Digressing. So, here is a song that really really hit me when i was listening to it. The lyrics are beautiful, but what Mumford song doesn't have beautiful lyrics?

Mumford. Oh Mumford.

It's not what I do that makes me 

In my weakness I grew strong 

Held my tongue 

And I've learned from errors made early 

A brush with the devil can clear your mind 

And strengthen your spine 

Roadtrippin'

So Saturday Katy and I made a trip up to Rexburg to drop off some of her friends. It was an adventure to say the least. Neither of us had ever seen the Rexburg Temple so we decided to stop and check it out.

The Rexburg Temple is actually kind of beautiful. It's basically the only thing Rexburg has going for it.

I had to go pee by the time we got to Idaho Falls so we decided to stop for gas and an opportunity to stretch our legs. I had only been to IF once and Katy had never been so we took the opportunity to explore the Temple, Visitors Center, and the Falls. 

It was still as beautiful as it was the first time i went. I love that Temple. 

 The actual falls in IF are basically Idaho's only redeeming quality that i have found so far. Idaho itself really isn't that pretty...

Katy and I decided to take ALL the tourist shots. 

 Katy pulling a Greg

OK. We were driving from the Temple to the Falls and i noticed a LOT of geese just standing there, and i also noticed how HUGE geese were. I thought they were a lot smaller. Also- they were all just kind of chillin' at the edge of the falls creepin' on everyone. 

 Oh Katy

 More Falls 

 It's kind of stunning. 

 This made me laugh last time i was in IF too

 Tourists.

 We continued on with our Journey after getting some gas- and getting a little lost. 

I was talking with Katy about how Idaho really isn't that pretty, but maybe it's prettier during the spring when the sun started to set and i realized Idaho had this sort of hidden beauty. 

When the shadows come out and the light hits the hills just the right way i can kind of understand why some people live in Idaho. 

Then we saw a rainbow and Katy started geeking out. 

We made it to Utah and had some Post-Thanksgiving soup that her dad makes - it made me really really happy. And realized that the Oquirrh Mountain Temple was basically in her backyard. It's one of the only Temples in this area that i haven't had the chance to see up close so we drove to it on our way home. My camera had died so here is the best shot I could get with my ghetto phone.

It was as beautiful and had us in awe. We talked a lot after that about a lot of things and by the time we got back to Provo we didn't really feel like going home quite yet so we stopped by the Provo Temple and just sat on the fountain talking about life and everything else. 

Once we started to notice we couldn't feel our feet, because it was so cold, we got back in the car and drove the rest of the way home. 

That's the story of our Roadtrip from Rexburg. 4 Temples. 2 States. 1 day. 

thanksgiving. again.

Emily just posted her Thanksgiving post.  So, here is mine.
Since she posted the food, I will share with you the background information.

Shopping...

 Thawing the turkey.  In our roommates' bathtub.  Not sorry.

Emily.  I don't know who keeps giving that girl a knife.

 Table.

None of us were experienced turkey carvers. Paul took the reigns.

Maybe three people are in this photo, maybe it's only two.

Eh.  They look cute.

Dessert. Emily just lets people throw food at her.  This went on for like ten minutes.

So, yeah.  Thanksgiving.  This year I'm grateful for my little family that I could be with.  That my sister could come down and that I have an awesome friend who is just like a sister.  I love you guys.

Thanksgiving!

So this year i wasn't able to go home for Thanksgiving and I was a little bummed to say the least. That was, until Charls told me she wasn't going home either. We decided that we wanted to try to make our own Thanksgiving Feast, with the help of Keeley, her sister.

So we put on some jams

 And got to work. This is Kevin, our Turkey. Charls prepared him.

There will be many pictures of food. Garlic for our potatoes 

 While we were waiting for Kevin to bake we took shots of Coke Zero. Charls found some sweet shot glasses the other day at Walmart, so naturally we got them. 

This was my first time making Bullet Salad, an old family tradition. It turned out really well and now i have Charls addicted. She calls it the Pride salad. :| 

Our Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Green Bean Casserole

Kevin- Finally Finished.

Bullet Salad. 

Our Ghetto table and plates, but the food was AMAZING.

Paul and his brother Nate joined us for our Thanksgiving Feast. They brought Gingerbeer, which made me happy beyond words. They also brought fantastic pies an rolls. This is Paul cutting Kevin.

We tried to take "cute" pictures, but this was my favourite. 

That was our Thanksgiving Feast of 2012. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and all needed naps afterwards. 

What I'm thankful for: My family, my friends, the Gospel, Skype, food, and this crazy thing we call life. 

Big News.

So i've been fighting this for awhile now, believe me, ask my Mom or my sister! I wanted to know for me that i needed to do this. I didn't want to do it just because everyone and their pet dog was. And i got my answer. 

I'll put in my papers either in January or May :)

My Moms reaction: OHMYGOSHTHATISSOAMAZINGICAN'TWAIT
My Dads reaction: Good for you!
My Sisters reaction: I told you so.

My brothers was the best. I told him i had some pretty big news and he goes:
 "Yeah..."
"So i'm GETTING MARRIED!!!"
"Bull CRAP(he didn't say crap hahaha) I WILL KILL HIM"
"Do you really think i would get engaged without telling you..."
"Yes."
"I'm going on a Mission...."
"That's great!"


I also called one of my best friends to tell her about the news and she goes,
"WAIT. Tell me your story and I'll tell you mine!"
She also decided to serve last week :D :D

Video Nueve!

So i was grumpy most of this video- but in my defense I had a tooth hurting me really bad and was stressed out about a paper and other stuff.

SO HERE YA GO!! :D

also- i didn't get a root canal.

It is almost Thanksgiving!! I am super stoked.  We mentioned our Thanksgiving plans in our video of the week.  But that video is not yet posted.  It will be though.  We didn't forget.

Something that I hate is Christmas starting at Halloween.  Wait until after Thanksgiving.  I love Christmas.  A lot.  And come the day after Thanksgiving I will be just as ready for it as the next person.  Until then...



And even afterwards.  Because Emily and I love Grumpy Cat.  I am officially on my Thanksgiving break.  First year of college I have ever gotten classes cancelled on Thanksgiving week.  Stoked.

viva la musica

So i'll let you in on a little secret.

Music has always been a part of my life for as long as i can remember. I grew up with my sister playing french horn and the flute. She also played the piano...a skill that i covet. My sister Cristina is 10 years older than me and i've always looked up to her. When i was younger she used to sing me to sleep, even when i  got older i'd beg her to climb into bed and sing to me until i fell asleep. She'd sing me all the songs from the Little Mermaid and then go on to other Disney movies. She's mix it up with the Prince of Egypt a lot too. I used to hate singing, but my sister made me sing with her as she played the piano and our parents gathered around the piano(my brother was already married at this point). We'd sing A Child's Prayer and countless children's hymns, then ventured into the Prince of Egypt as i got older, along with other movies. My dad always complained when my sister and i started singing in the kitchen while he was watching TV. Now he tells me it's too quiet without me and i can see the smile he gets on his face when i start singing to myself as i do things around the house when i visit. He's got a soft spot :) He's the one that made me go to Ward Choir with him, he's got a nice tenor voice but never really uses it. My mother can't carry a tune in a bucket and she passed that gift onto my brother.

I blame my sister for my love of music, because her and I are the only ones that are really into music. My mother did raise me on Josh Groban though and an Italian opera singer, but i can't remember his name. Andre Botelli? Maybe. So i used to hate singing because i got very nervous, but my mother forced me to take Choir in 8th grade, although i wanted to take anything BUT that.  It was in High School that i really experienced music. Sure i loved to hear it, but singing it was a different story, especially with a choir. I lost myself in music and really began to understand what people meant when they talked about music touching them in ways they could never describe. I also started playing around with my voice in High School. I started harmonizing- i can still remember the first song i harmonized with, it was Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol- and pushing the boundaries of my voice. I found comfort in singing alto but also realized if i wanted to i could hit soprano notes that had scared me before.

The feelings that music can create in a person...it's too beautiful to describe.That's why i love live music. It's just so much more than listening music on a cd or your computer. I began to write music and really start searching for my own music taste.

I really found my music taste when i came to college, i'd say it happened Winter 2011- Fall 2011. Friends began to introduce me to music and i picked out what i liked and what i didn't. I opened myself to Rap, i started singing with acoustic versions of songs i loved, and began to identify with lyrics of songs that i would have never listened to before. I'm not going to lie, i love songs more when i can sing and harmonize with them. There is just something about singing...i can't describe it. But it's a sort of freedom, a way of expressing myself. It's a blessing that i've been given, a talent that i try my best to hide. I don't sing around people that i'm not comfortable with, so if i sing around you...well then we're at that point.

It's something that i can't get away from, nor do i want to, it's a part of me. Music is a large part of me. I don't know what i would do without it. I would continually be frustrated because i wouldn't be able to express myself fully.

As Victor Hugo once put it "Music expresses that which cannot be said but on which it is impossible to be silent"

Music stirs something within my, it touches my soul, and can anyone really keep it to themselves when they experience that?

Here is one of my new favourites. It hits my in my soft spot and moves me in ways i haven't felt in awhile.

Where to start?

 So yesterday I realized that i need Neff-my hat. Not want, but NEED. I was walking around without him and all of a sudden my ear started hurting. It was then i realized why no girls were wearing earrings. It was below freezing and my cartilage piercing- the actual earring-was freezing and causing my ear to hurt because it was cold metal. It was then i started cursing my cartilage piercing. (because i can't take it out yet) I also realized i had left my beanie at home- worst idea ever. So from here on out i am wearing that sucker 24/7. Yes. Even when i sleep. (That's a lie.)

So my classes are a little weird compared to most. For instance, in my PD Biology class we go to lecture, take notes, and then take tests. Maybe turn in some homework, a project or two. BUT in my Major classes- Theatre Arts Studies with an Emphasis in Makeup Design- we get a little more hands on. Right now we are working on our plaster replicas of our faces. I spent some quality time with mine this morning, sanding the rough edges and theeeeeeen WAXING.

Waxing means mixing furniture wax with 70% alcohol until it's a nice applesauce consistency,  rubbing it all over the face, buffing when dry, and then repeat. Multiple times. Like...i spent an hour waxing and i'm still not done. On a better note my hands reek of furniture wax. 

I also realized that I have no idea what i want to do for my final project. Which is a problem seeing as design sheets are due on Thursday. Oh joy. 

Another realization was this: If you are in a "meh" mood The Civil Wars will cause it to become a sad mood. And you will have no idea why you are sad, just the fact that you are. But you love them so much that you keep listening. It's a tragic circle of sadness. Moral of the story: Listen to them when you are happy. Or hyper, and they will calm you down.


Six Facts:

1. Attractive men make PD Bio 10 million times better
2. Charls has a Jay Z range of emotions
3. Katy makes the best cinnamon rolls- even if they are from a package
4. Dark Chocolate is Gods gift to man. Especially with caramel and sea salt. 
5. Spending time with your face makes you realize a lot. For instance- my nose is a little crooked and my bottom lip is huge. 
6. I love Winter. Why? Men in Peacoats. Enough said. 

This morning: 

Charls-"Gaaaah, it's cold as balls" 

Me-"I've been told that balls really aren't that cold..."

Katy-"But they are colder than the rest of the body...."

Me- "Valid point."

Charls- "Cold as balls."  

Song of the Night

Because we don't love Joseph Gordon Levitt enough already...

Video Ocho

On this beautiful Sunday night we bring you Video Ocho. 

And here is our little rift on smell goods. 

Over 750 views on our Blog :D We love you all!! 

This is Normal, Right?

So, here I am spending my lazy Sunday morning studying.  Because my life is that exciting.  I have two biology tests on Monday and I have a genetics test to take this week as well.

Anyways, here I am studying molecular and evolutionary biology when I realize, "I'm sure that the internet world wants to know all about this."  So, I decided to share these things with you all.

I was watching a video on translation when I came across this bad boy.  For anyone who wants to know what my major is about, this video summarizes what my entire major revolves around:

My evolutionary biology professor showed this next one in class.  I think it is way awesome.

The other videos I have been watching aren't as entertaining, but they have their moments.  Funny thing, when I finished watching these, YouTube recommended that I watch Jenna Marbles videos and videos on hairstyles.  So, yeah.  That basically summarizes what I do on YouTube.  

I hope you appreciated these.

Biology <3

¡Nieve!

For those of you who don't know me- i'll let you in on one thing. I'm basically a five year old at heart, and i'm really not afraid to show it. Sometimes it means that people don't take me seriously, which is their loss because believe me, the 5 year old is just the tip of the iceberg. Digressing...so i find joy in the simple things in life.

One of them being snow. I'm happier than a hurricane in...wait...too soon? Snow makes me happy beyond belief, i just look up and see those fluffy flakes and can't help but stick out my tongue. Snow brings me peace. There is just something about walking around in a muffled world, usually i don't like silence, but i cannot get enough of snow silence. That moment where you walk outside, the snow is slowly falling, and it's like the world pauses for a second. It allows me to breathe and think clearly. Suddenly, for a moment, every problem just melts away and i'm so grateful for the simple beauty of the world around me.

I also enjoy running around in the snow, making snow angels, and making snow ice cream :D 2 Thanksgivings ago i was in Idaho with some friends and my friend Skyler taught me how to make snow ice cream. Grab a bowl of snow and then add some condensed milk and voila! We experimented with flavors, like rootbeer extract...? Also another random fact- I love rootbeer flavored anything. Rootbeer Milkshakes are my favourite! I blame my father for this, he ALWAYS got rootbeer when we went out to eat.

So today, if you are in Utah, appretiate the snow! It's beautiful. Yeah, maybe it's a little cold and the slushy stuff gets in your shoes, but honestly...it's not going to ruin your life. See the beauty of a fluffy snowflake, look up in awe at the gray sky, enjoy a good cup of hot coco- or mate, or any type of tea!, read a book, or listen to chill cd! Snuggle up under a blanket, or heck, cuddle with someone!!!

So be thankful that you have the opportunity to live in such a beautiful world! Even if it's not snowing where you are, look for something about today to be thankful for. Today i am thankful for the snow and the fact that i packed boots.

                                                          Perfect chill day music

Cultural Awareness.

This post contains some explicit content.  For those of you who are concerned with such matters, this post is not for you.

For those of you who are not:

You know how you learn something new every day?  Well, Tuesday night I most certainly did.  Our friend, Mike, brought a matter to my attention that I had not been aware of.  For those of you who do not know, Snoop Dogg changed his name.  To Snoop Lion.  Yeah.

Then, as things to tend to do, this topic of Snoop's name led us to other topics.  Eventually, Mike and I ended up here:

Appreciate.  Because we do.  Mike and I both feel that he should be famous for suresies.   

oh for the love of awkward people

So when my friend David got home from his Mission he was a little awkward for about a day. Then it was back to David, we would talk on the phone until 1 or 2 in the morning laughing over the past and he would tell me some stories about Italy. We were back to normal, frankly it was better than when he had left!

I made the mistake of thinking that every guy was like him. They get of their mission, spend a couple of days getting back into the swing of things, and BAM they are back to normal. Tis not so. Right now i have an awkward RM on my hands, and if you are reading this, well you know it's true.  Let's be real here. Do i know what to do? Nope. Am i impatient? Yep. I've made it my goal to un-awkward him, or at least help with the process. Yes. Heavens, it's like the kid forgot to communicate with girls. And if you knew him before the mission...well you'd be surprised. He's one of my best friends though, so i'll be as patient as i need to be. I got David out of it, and i promised to get two other guys out of the awkward phase- Christian and Andy. I got this. Yeah....i got this....right?

On another note I found out on Tuesday that i have claustrophobia. Not super bad, but enough to where i freaked out when we did life masks in Theatre. Gah, i almost started hyperventilating.

Some of the girls in their masks.

Finished Product

It was kind of trippy to see my own face. But yeah, that's my week. Also went on a lady date with Katy last night, we went to the boys soccer game- Rafa, Renan, and Diehl. Then got ice cream after. I embarrassed myself HORRIBLY to the guy serving my ice cream, but we both laughed about it after. 

His name tag said Andy, so i tried to make some small talk with him as he dished up my icecream. 

I saw his name tag and it immediately made me think of Toy Story, so without thinking i said...

"So Andy, where is your Woody??" and he looked at me with a face that said "Girl just say whhaaa???"

That's when i realized what i had said and LOST IT. I started laughing so hard i was supporting myself on the counter. He laughed a lot too, it was a beautiful moment. 

"AND BUZZ LIGHTGEAR, I MEANT IT LIKE WOODY AND BUZZ. TOY STORY"

there was really no going back...

And now i am going to do laundry and ponder about what i should do with my life and the situations i've gotten myself into. Heavens. 

Song of the Night

Charls and I both love this song greatly.

Video Siete

We bring you our 7th Video and thank you for over 600 views of our blog. Anyone else excited for Movember? Because i am. A little project will be happening during November, pictures later!!

also- ima kill this stupid fly charls named Bob. i hate this fly.

Song of the Night

Charls and I love us some cello. It's been a crazy day. We chilled for most of it and did homework...and stuff. Then finally heard from my friend who just got back from his mission, embarrassed myself multiple times, and then our friend Kris stopped by. Kris, Charls, and I are beginning the tradition of Mozza Saturdays. It's beautiful and i love it. Now time for sleep.

movie night.

So Charls and I have started a tradition of sorts, and it all started with Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We both love movies, and yesterday we passed a redbox when we were in Walmart. We decided to see what they had, and so Charls and I rented two. Then we passed the 5 doller bin, as you've been told Charls made a commitment and got Zombieland. Which i LOVE, well the parts that i've seen. Unlike Charls, i LOVE LOVE LOVE Zombies, but i also love Emma Stone. Charls and i found out we both adore her...next purchase will be Easy A.

I also commited, but that's nothing new. I love movies and am trying to slowly build my collection. Last time i was there i bought 500 Days of Summer, which is amazing- if you haven't seen it GO WATCH IT. This time it was She's the Man, and words cannot describe how happy i was when i found it. Hidden gems all up in that bin, i'm telling you. I've been looking for that specific movie  for awhile though.

So Charls bought her special chicken sandwich and I had a bowl of pomegranate seeds and we started with What To Expect When You Are Expecting. We didn't know what to expect because we hadn't heard all that much about it. It was SO funny, like Charls and I will be quoting that one for awhile.

Our second movie from Redbox was Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection, which i have been waiting since the day it came out to see. My family loves Tyler Perry and i have seen all of his movies, including his stage movies and such. Tyler Perry is amazing, and make me laugh like no other. I might or might not have fallen asleep, but hey, it's been a really really long week.  I'm finishing it right now though, and it's pretty hilarious. I love how his movies are funny but at the same time have something deeper to them. 

So Charls and i will be telling you about all the movies we watch on our random Movie Nights. Earlier  this week we also watched Enchanted when i was in a really really weird mood- mostly i said a quote about being angry and just wanted to watch it. 

Kela came over for part of the night and we realized we all had a lot in common. So now Charls and I have a new friend! He is the same Kela that is referenced in our Ward Prayer video. We plan on watching Zombieland soon. :D 

Committing.

Are you ever concerned that you have completely and totally lost your mind?

I am.

Things are a little crazy in my life right now.  Things are always going to be crazy in my life.  Does that ever change?  I doubt it.  Cynical.

It's going to be a rough week.  I have my major exit exam coming up.. That makes me feel old.

On another note, I suppose it is time for me to confess something.  I have commitment problems.  I made a big step forward in my life, though.

You know the five dollar bin at Wal-Mart?  We all end up there eventually.  I see movies there all the time that I love and wouldn't mind owning, but I never seem to be able to actually take that next step and take one home with me.

However.

Today.

Everything changed.

They had Zombieland. 

That's right, my friends.  I now own a movie.  Making that leap forward in my life was pretty intense, but so much wonderful.

I love that movie.  I don't love zombie stuff.  Actually, I think it's ridiculously overdone.  But.  I love that movie.

girls night

2:20 is where it gets interesting.
as you can tell...charlee and i are a little upset.

BUT it's a girls night. so face masks it is. and ice cream.

and of course, let's not forget the ear infection that has me bedridden. this sucks.

anxious.

i  can't really find a word to describe my mood right now. i'm exhausted beyond belief-that's what being sick does to me- and i'm very excited. the tired is over powering the anxious excitement i have right now.

so i'm listening to this song right now to calm me down.

Halloween was super fun, wore my Bubu all day and it was fantastic. Then came home and watched Sweeney Todd with Charls and David.

My favourite song from the play.

Who knew that Johnny Depp could sing?! That man, is there ANYTHING wrong with him? 

So today, i am about to take a nap. Maybe watch some Doctor Who. Maybe talk to one of my best friends. I have an ear infection on top of the flu, fantastic eh? Well...on a brighter note- naps rock! 

Until later!