A week to forget...

This past week, I literally could not remember anything. I do not know what happened, but I experience some senior moments. Here are some highlights:

1. Twice, I forgot to get off the elevator at work when it stopped at my floor (the first time was on Monday morning).

2. I forgot where I parked my car. And both times, I had friends with me. They just laughed at me as I lead them through the parking lot searching for my car.

3. I forgot that Lewis and Renee were coming over to my house on Thursday.

4. I could not find my email the contained my travel information for my upcoming work trip. However, thanks to the help of the staff assistant, I found it.

So I did not have the best week and I attribute it to being tired and moving and a few other things. Oh, well. I guess all I can do is laugh about it.

I HEART Bieber!!!

Back in December, Renee and I were at the movies when we saw a preview for the Justin Bieber movie "Never Say Never." Because it is us, we started joking about how much we wanted to see that movie because we love Justin Bieber with all our hearts. Since December, whenever we saw a movie poster or trailer, we would be like "we are totally seeing that movie." In January, our joke became reality. We decided that we were going to so see this movie. Yes, a movie about a 16 year old pop star who brings girls to tears. We thought it was hilarious.

This past week, our dream came true. Renee, Lewis (isn't he the world's best husband to endure this movie), and I went to see it. It was not a bad movie. I learned that Justin Bieber is a pretty talented musician. He taught himself to play the drums, piano, guitar, and some other instruments. He is Canadian. What is not to love about that? And finally, he can bring girls to tears, especially when they are fighting over who loves him more. This reminded me of my teenage crush on the Backstreet Boys. I loved them during my teenage years, but I do not think I over cried over them. I remember hurrying home to watch Total Request Live to see if they best NSYNC out for the number on video. Those were the days.

But the Bieber movie was entertaining. However, I realized that there is one scene that will not make sense to you if you have not seen the new Karate Kid movie with Jaden Smith or at least heard the Karate Kid soundtrack. I finally saw the Karate Kid last night and I felt like I had come full circle. Renee will tell you that one of her favorite parts of the movie was when I asked "What does this song have to do with karate and China?" That is why knowing the Karate Kid connection is key.

Overall, it was a fun movie to go see and I figured if I was a 13 year old, I would definitely be in love with Justin Bieber.

Renee and I kissing our boy!

2010 Reflection

Wow, I cannot believe it is 2011 already. This past year has just flown by. I have spent the past few days reflecting on 2010 and how my life has changed for the better. When last year began, I made a few resolutions. I wanted to continue living a healthy lifestyle, finish graduate school,find a job, and reevaluate what relationships in my life were truly important and worth keeping. I have continued living a healthy lifestyle, most of the time. I work out six days a week and try to watch what I eat. I have this insane love of running and my goal this year is to run some 10K races and I have a roommate who is trying to convince me to give a half marathon a try. We will see what happens. When I get the chance I like to go to Zumba classes. I love Zumba. Zumba is basically an aerobic Latin dance class. It is so much fun and a good work out. And so who cares if I do not have the best rhythm, it is a real great work out.

I graduated with my Master's in May. I was so happy to have finished my degree. It was two years of hard work, but it was worth it. After graduating, I stayed in Boston as I looked for a job on the West Coast. While I loved my time in Boston, after much prayer and contemplation, I realized that I needed to move back home for awhile as I looked for a job. While it was hard to leave behind my friends, I knew this was the right move for me. And by following this path, my life changed for the better.

Returning to California, I applied for every job out there in my field. One day, I came across this position working for the LDS church. After spending a day thinking about whether to apply or not, I finally submitted my resume. All I thought was this is never going to happen...not in a million years. So one day while I was babysitting my two little nephews, I received a call from a Utah number and a message was left that the church would like to interview me for this position. I could not believe it. After talking with the man who is now my boss, he persuaded me to come up to Salt Lake for an in person interview. I left this interview knowing that I had made it to the second round of interviews. Than before I knew it I had gotten the job with a little hitch. They wanted me to start my job in a week. I had a week to pack up my life in Cali (honestly, most of my stuff was still in boxes) and get to SLC. So I had a job with great benefits, but no clue where I was going to live. So on Saturday, after my job offer, I found a place to live. Everything just worked out so well and the silver lining, I now live in the same town with my sister.

It is funny because a year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be living in Salt Lake City, Utah. I would have told you "no." I thought I would end up back in California, but that was not part of the Lord's plan for me. He needs me here. I need to be here because this is exactly where I am suppose to be. There is no doubt in my mind. Things are working out as they should be and I love all the possibilities that lay before me.

The last resolution on my list was to reevaluate that relationships in my life. Honestly, I have been doing this for the past two years. I realized there was many relationships in my life that had just emotionally drained me. I went to a place that scared me...With the help of some incredible people, I pulled myself up when I finally figured out that I needed to have healthy relationships in my life. I needed relationships where I was treated with love and respect. I realized for this to happen that I needed to change myself, which began with finally standing up for myself and telling people that "hey, you cannot treat me however you want" because I deserve so much more than that.

I have incredible parents, who love me unconditionally and would do anything for me. They want the best for me and believed everything would work out for me even when I had lost hope. Thanks Mom for never giving up on me and knowing that it would all work out in the end. Some days, I wish I had your faith. My sister is my best friend and I love her so much. Her husband is not that bad either. Just kidding! Lewis, you are a great brother-in-law. My brother and his wife are amazing. Laurel is a great sister-in-law and I am grateful for the friendship we have. She is a great mother with the two cutest boys, who I miss everyday. I miss my games of tag with Eli and West. I feel like I have really strengthened these bonds with my immediate family.

Through this time, I have developed a close relationship with my cousin Jessica. She is an answer to a prayer. In times when I have struggled, she has provided me guidance that I so desperately needed or just send me a card that made my day. I have shared all my highs and lows with her. It is funny how our lives have paralleled each other in so many ways. Thank you for everything Jessica and thank you just does not seem like enough. I have loved sharing these past few years with you and look forward to sharing everything else that is to come with you. I could not ask for a better cousin and friend. I hope to come visit you one of these days and play with you cute kids. It is one of my resolutions for this coming year.

I am still in this reevaluation process. It is not easy and some days, it is a struggle. But I want to move forward on my own terms and not on the terms of others. When I tried to live according to the terms of others, I lost my way and became a person I did not like. I now try to live every day according to what makes me happy and by doing this, I have found who I truly am. I love who I am. It may have taken me years to get here, but it is through these trials and triumphs that have made me who I am today.

I view this next year with great hope and faith. Good things are coming as I continue along this path the Lord has set out for me. My main goal for this following year, is to be happy.

Christmas...

I still cannot believe that Christmas is less than a week away. I guess time flies when you are having fun! No, time flies when you are working and living your life to the fullest. For Christmas this year, I am going to Florida with my parents. We are specifically going to Orlando where we will go to places likes Disney World and the new Harry Potter wizarding world. I think my dad is most excited about that one. He loves Harry Potter more than life it self. Just kidding!!! It will be fun though I joke that I am going by default. What does that mean? Both my brother and sister are spending Christmas with their in-laws this year so I am the one who gets to go along with my parents on this trip. I do not mind at all. I am excited to be going to Florida. In all reality though, I will miss having my siblings their, but that is how life is. I want them to have great Christmases. Both of them will be celebrating Christmas with a brother-in-law who just returned from a mission. How cool is that?

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Some weeks are just better than others

This past week at work was hard. It just was. It just did not start off right. Last Sunday night when I returned from California, I arrived in the middle of a blizzard. Yes, I left sunshine for eighteen inches of snow up at my house. This is the kind of snowfall you get when you life up in the benches and you can tell that I am not the biggest fan of snow, but I will deal with it to the best of my ability. Though the snow stopped by Monday morning, we had to dig out our driveway and our cars. In doing this, I was just late to work. There was no way I was going to be on time, but my boss understood. So Monday was okay and Tuesday was too. But by the end of Wednesday, I was just mentally exhausted and it carried over to Thursday and Friday too. We are working on some big projects that just take a lot of you. I would come home and be like, "I just want to sleep." Wednesday I laid on my bed for a few hours, destressing. I was so excited for the weekend.

Yesterday, helped me get over my rough week. I took my sister out to get manicures for her birthday (Yes, I know her birthday was in October, but she did not care). That was so much fun and then we had lunch after. I love hanging out with my sister and I love the pizza at Cafe Trio. After lunch, we decided to go shopping. The highlight Costco because we went around and tried all the samples. I ended the day by going to watch a friend of my play the piano at Assembly Hall in Temple Square for the LDS Business College with my roommate. It was amazing. After, we walked around Temple Square and looked at the lights. I love Christmas!!!

This coming week will be better as I begin it in Northern California!

Turkey! Pie!

Two weekends ago, my roommates and I throw a "mock" Thanksgiving. It was tons of fun and was the first time I ever cooked a turkey by myself, which was an interesting experience. As my roommates had to go to church early, I was left with the task of getting the turkey in the oven. Mind you, this was a 20 pound turkey. So I prepared the turkey to be cooked by flouring the oven bag you cook the turkey in. After this, I diced celery and onions and spread them on the bag's bottom, which I placed in a roasting pan. Next, I gave the turkey its very own butter bath. Once I finished this, I then realized I had to get the turkey into the bag, all by myself. So I opened the bag as wide as I could and then just hefted the turkey into it. I am still amazed I got it in there, but I learned that next time I cook a turkey, a second pair of hands would be great. However, the turkey tasted so good. I was quite proud of myself. Again, I give all the credit to my mom, who is the best cook I know. It is just in the Litchfield/Hall genes. Along with the turkey, I made stuffing. My roommate made a chocolate pie she covered in meringue. That was delicious too! It was a fun night all around. And it tasted oh so good.

The following is pictures of my turkey:





The pie my roommate made:



So this past weekend, I decided to make a pecan pie. I love making pies for some reason. I promised Lewis I would make this one for him. It was quite easy to make as all you do is mix together corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, molasses, eggs, flour, and vanilla and dump it over the pecans you placed in a pie shell. The pie tastes really good, especially warmed up with ice cream. Here is the end result:





I am so excited for Thanksgiving. In my family, it is a total group effort these days. I am looking forward to going to California and spending time with my family, especially with all the snow that is rolling into Utah at the moment.

Cake, Stuffing and Gardner Village...

I was going to post this last Monday, but life got in the way. Last Sunday, I decided to make a Buttermilk pound cake. I borrowed a bundt cake pan from Renee and went to work. However, the most important lesson I learned when making a pound cake is to flour the pan because if you do not the cake comes out in pieces. And though it looks a little funny, it tasted oh so good!

The cake

After making the cake and attending church, I went over to Renee and Lewis' for dinner. Renee and I made my mom's stuffing. Her stuffing recipe is truly amazing and because it is so good, I basically will not eat anyone else's stuffing. This stuffing just is so delicious. I meant to take a picture before we dug in, but I forgot so I made Renee hold up the leftovers. I am planning on making this stuffing tomorrow for my apartment's mock Thanksgiving.

Renee and the stuffing

Today, my roommates and I along with a good friend of ours went to Gardner Village. I had never been here before, but it was so fun. The village is filled with shops that include quilting, knitting, sewing, candy, etc. I loved it. Their Christmas shop was amazing and I bought some ornaments for my family's upcoming ornament exchange. We also visited their candy shop!
Here are some photos:

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!