I'm a Mormon

I've been meaning to get this set up for months now, but I finally finished it (and it was super fast and easy).  So check out my profile on mormon.org to learn a little more about who I am and why my faith is important to me!

{Click on the picture to go to my profile}

Mexican Chicken

Here's what I had for dinner tonight... this is my kind of recipe!  It only has 4 ingredients, it's ready to eat in 30 minutes, it's healthy, and it's tasty.

MEXICAN CHICKEN

1 package taco seasoning

4 (4 oz.) chicken breasts (<--I used chicken tenderloins)

1 c. salsa

1/4 c. nonfat sour cream

Put chicken & seasoning in a plastic bag.  Shake & coat well.  Place in sprayed casserole dish.  Bake for 30 minutes in 375 degree oven.  Top with salsa 5 minutes before done, then top with sour cream.  Serves 4.

{I am fully aware I am not a food photographer, so this picture doesn't do the dish justice.  But trust me, it is good!}

Death of a Headband

I have a big head.  So comfortable headbands are very hard to come by, which is why I loved this super cute, super comfy brown leather flower headband from Target.  But the other day it fell onto the floor in my bathroom and I think I stepped on it, because next thing I knew it was bent in ways a headband should not bend:

I even thought about buying the same one again the other day at Target, but then I thought maybe I could save it.  So tonight I decided to do a little surgery on my poor headband.  I pulled the felt backing off of the flower and cut the flower off of the band:

This next part should have been easier than it was, but like I mentioned in my makeup brush holder post, I only have super glue... if I had hot glue this step would've been done in about 2 seconds.  But here I just glued on a snap clip and covered it with the felt from the picture above.

Sadly, I no longer have a headband, but at least I was able to save the cute leather flower!  And try to ignore my hair in this picture... I am aware it kind of looks like a rat's nest, but this is my post-workout-hair and I know I'm staying in for the rest of the night so I don't have to impress anyone!

Makeup Brush Holder

This weekend I decided it was time for a craft project... it's been way too long!  This idea came from Pinterest.  It is a makeup brush holder and it is basically the easiest craft I've ever made.

Supplies needed:

-Any size/shape glass container

-Colorfill vase filler (the little clear beads)

-Ribbon and/or other embellishments

-Glue (hot glue would be best but I only had super glue)

Basically all you do is glue the embellishments onto the glass and then fill it with the Colorfill.  Easy stuff!

Here's my version... I love how it turned out!

{original pinned here}

Fresno Temple

Today I made the hour and a half journey down south to go to the Fresno temple.  It was so peaceful being there and I even got mistaken for a teenager.  The lady who thought so assured me that it was a compliment, but I'm pretty sure she was trying to covering up her mistake... it didn't quite feel like a compliment to me!

I loved walking around the temple grounds to take a few pictures.  Today was sunny, blue skies, and 66 degrees.  Now that's my kind of winter!

Running Playlist

Remember my goal to just run a mile this month?  (It's a little pathetic, I know.)

 I gave it a whirl today and got it, no problem.  I haven't been running in a while, and my knee was giving me problems earlier this week, so I was a little nervous.  But at least now I know where I stand and can move forward.  

I have to give a little shout out for this Running Playlist and Pace Calculator app I found.  I just put in the pace I wanted to set, and then it showed me songs I could download that had just the right beats per minute.  This was SO helpful and I will definitely be using it more... too bad the songs are not free though.  

Here's to becoming a faster and stronger runner!

**But first, I just have to share... I laugh every time I see it because it is just so true:

January Resolutions

Over the past few months I have really put a lot of thought into New Year's Resolutions.  I came to the conclusion that if I actually want to accomplish my goals and be successful, I need to make short-term goals and be accountable to someone if possible.  I will post each month's goals on here and try to keep up on my progress throughout the months & year.  Some of these I would rather not post for the world to see, but I'm holding myself to each goal once it is written!  At first I was only going to work on one thing per month, but I (obviously) have a lot more than that!  I feel really good about all of these and I'm excited to get going!

January Resolutions

1. Lose weight.  Gaining weight (or even maintaining what I am now) is not acceptable!

2. Participate in sibling weight-loss challenge.

3. Run 1 mile non-stop.  I'm pretty sure I can do this now, but I haven't run in a long time, so this is more to see where I am.  I hate running.  But I am going to work to be better this year!

4. Read the illustrated Book of Mormon.

5. Study & memorize the 1st and 2nd Articles of Faith.

6. Attend the temple at least once.

7. Be better at saying regular morning and nightly prayers.

8. Read one book.

9. Learn to play IZ's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" on the ukulele.
10. Print 2011 blog into a book.

2011 Recap

January:

-Got the news that my dad fell off a ladder and broke his leg and wrist

-Began a 2-month unpaid break from my job due to a paperwork mix-up

-Drove to Utah to surprise my parents (my dad was in the rehab center from his fall)

February:

-Attended my Grandpa Dahl's funerals in both San Diego and Salt Lake City

March:

-Attended Mike & Chloe's wedding in SLC

-Jon & Emilee visited me in Chino Hills, CA (Wicked, Clippers game, Six Flags, lots of fun!)

April:

-Went to my Grandpa's house in San Diego to help sort through his things

-Spent Spring Break in Arizona

-Had a short visit from Heidi & Steve in L.A. on their way back from the Cook Islands

-Joined a hiking club with my friend Christina

May:

-Made the best of my Disneyland annual pass

June:

-Lori & Mom visited and helped me move from Chino Hills back to Sandy for the summer

-Had fun at the first annual Johnson family girls' weekend in Park City

July:

-Loved the Dahl family reunion at Zion Ponderosa resort

-Painted and re-did my parents' basement bathroom

-Bought my first car

August:

-Moved to Turlock, CA and saw northern Cali for the first time

-Started a new job

-Auditioned for the Biggest Loser (...post coming soon!)

September:

-Flew home to SLC for my birthday (but really to renew my driver's license)

-Watched Heidi run her first marathon

October:

-Called to be Relief Society president in my singles' branch

November:

-Spent a week in SLC for Thanksgiving with my family

December:

-Performed Handel's Messiah with my stake in Turlock

-Spent 2 weeks in SLC for Christmas and New Year's

Today

Today was a productive lazy day.  Is that possible?  It is in my book! 

I got to sleep in a little bit, and woke up to this:

I am quickly learning that this is a typical winter morning in central/northern California!

I made my way over to my church for a cleaning assignment.  I think there were 8 of us that showed up and we finished cleaning in about 1-1/2 hours.  I cleaned all the windows in the building and also worked on the kitchen... we sorted through all the cupboards and reorganized/threw away a bunch of stuff and it looks so much better now!

I got my car washed... it was desperately needed.

I went grocery shopping for enough food to last me through Wednesday, when I leave for Utah!

I watched a Christmas movie.  I absolutely love Christmas movies!  But let me tell you there are slim pickings on Netflix and I left my other movies at home in Utah.  So today's choice was ABC Family's "Snow"... not much to get excited about and super cheesy, but it was cute.

For whatever reason I had a sudden urge to make cupcakes, so I went with it and I tried out my cake decorating set that I won from my family's Favorite Things exchange back in July!  I think they turned out pretty cute, except I couldn't get the frosting to turn red.  So my Christmas cupcakes are pink and green instead!

Today I also read a good chunk of my current book, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.  I'm only about a fourth of the way into it, but so far it has a similar feel to the Hunger Games series, which I absolutely loved.  I'm excited to get into this new series!

And on a random note, type "let it snow" into Google and enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree Lane

For FHE on Monday my branch went to Christmas Tree Lane in Ceres, CA.  This definitely brought the spirit of Christmas!  We walked up one side of the street and down the other and loved all the houses!  Here are some of my favorites: