Fighting Hunger

Do you have a Facebook page??

If you do, I am sure you have seen all of the Fighting Hunger in Salt Lake City stuff that has been going on! If not.... where the heck have you been?!?!
Walmart is giving 1 MILLION dollars to one city's food bank to help those in the area that are struggling. Salt Lake City is currently in 1st place!! But not by much!!
The contest ends tomorrow night and we need as many votes as possible to stay ahead of Fresno, CA!

So, if you have not done so already, go to:

www.fightinghunger.walmart.com

When you are there "like" SLC!! That gets you one vote!! If you post a little commet with your "like" you get a second vote!!
You can also get votes when you "like" other peoples post about the comments!! So after you have voted, go to all of your friends pages and start clicking like crazy!!

My awesome friend Nicole posted something on her page about people that have open walls where it is just post after post about the contest!!! Seriously... there are HUNDREDS of posts between these pages and you can like every single one {which means HUNDREDS of votes for SLC}!!
PLEASE take just minute to go through these peoples walls and "like" as many of their posts as possible!!

Search for:
Jodi Hollingshead Frkovich
            and
Miranda Kyker
            and
Feed Utah-Now

I am sure we all know someone who is stuggling with money right now and has the fear of not getting a meal!! I heard on the news the other day that the Utah Food Bank has the ability to $1 in to $7 worth of food!!
That means our food bank would be able to produce 7 MILLION dollars worth of food to families in need!! Wouldnt that be amazing!!!!

If you are still trying to decide if it is worth some of your time, let me tell you one last thing. The news said that much of the food they provide would go to help children! I hope that gets you motivated to spend some serious time "like"ing peoples posts!!!

THANKS Everyone!!

Goodbye 2010

Here is my annual, yearly post!!! Is it lame to say that I have been looking forward to this post since July??

MY 2010...
1.What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before? Moved out of my parents house!

2.Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for next year? I don't think I made resolutions last year!! I am always HORRIBLE about keeping them, so rather than having to say what a failure I was, I didn't make any!!
As far as making them...... I think I am actually going to try to be good about it this year!! I have a small list in my head!! Maybe you will see them later!!

3.Did anyone close to you give birth? Not this year {that I can remember any way. SO SORRY if you did and I didn't mention it}! Next year should be interesting though!! I swear that almost every married person I know is pregnant right now!!

4.Did anyone close to you die? No! And just like last year I am SO grateful!!

5.What countries did you visit? I was hoping to have a really awesome answer to this question this year {even if I just said Canada}. But sadly, it's the same as last year. None =0(

6.What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? I'm just going to say it..... more money!


7.What date from 2010 will remain etched in your memory, and why? The day my brother married my wonderful sister-in-law!! SO glad Hayley is part of our family!!

8.What was your biggest achievement of the year? Losing 40 pounds between February and August!!

9.What was your biggest failure? Gaining back some of the stupid weight that I lost during the first half of the year!!

10.Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing at all really, aside from the occasional migraine!!!

11.What was the best thing you bought? Cardigans!! I have a new found love for them!!


12.Whose behavior merited celebration? My friend Megan at work! She mailed me a booked for my birthday.... while I was in California!! How awesome is she?!?!


13.Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The CEO of BP oil!!


14.Where did most of your money go? Rent.... car payment.... student loans.... basically it all went to other people!!!


15.What did you get really, really, really excited about? I got really excited about Eclipse, which came out in the summer!! And then I was really excited for Harry Potter in the fall!! I was also really excited about the book Mockingjay!!


16.What song will always remind you of 2010? Secrets by One Republic!! Love, love LOVE this song!! The cello in the intro!! Ahh!! Just beautiful!!!


17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
i.happier or sadder? About the same!
ii.thinner or fatter? For the first time EVER I can say thinner!!! Even if its not by very much!
iii.richer or poorer? Poorer


18.What do you wish you'd done more of? Saved my money!


19.What do you wish you'd done less of? Eat less holiday Reeses {between Halloween and Christmas it has been bad news}!!


20.How will you be spending The New Year? Not 100% sure yet!! I am pretty sure I am hanging out with my friend Miranda for a night of movies!! And then New Years day will be spent playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii and Rock Band on the XBox!


22.Did you fall in love in 2010? Same as last year.... nope!


23.How many one-night stands? Never!


24.What was your favorite TV program? My favorite show {Heroes} was cancelled!! REALLY bummed about that. Now that it is gone, I don't really have anything that is a favorite. I do like Criminal Minds..... and I like to watch The Nanny re-runs!


25.Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Nope, no one new!! Just the same on VERY strongly dislikes!


26.What was the best book you read? The Hunger Games series!!! You should read it!!


27.What was your greatest musical discovery? Steven Sharp Nelson and his cello!!

28.What did you want and get? Wanted to go to Disneyland for my birthday and I got it!! I wanted to switch my desk around at work so I wasn't sitting in the corner all day long and I did that too!!


29.What did you want and not get? I always want the government to just say "Oh Amanda.. you are so great.... how about we just forgive all your student loans?!?!"
This was not my year for that!
30.What was your favorite film of this year? There is no way I can pick just one!! How To Train Your Dragon was SO cute!! Letters To Juliet!! Prince of Perisa! Toy Story 3!! Inception!! Life As We Know It!! And I cant leave out Eclipse and HP 7!!!


31.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? It was my golden birthday this year!! I turned 25 on the 25th!! And I just realized that I never posted exactly what I did on my actual birthday!! I will have to that because it was FANTASTIC!!! But long story short, I got to go to Disneyland on my birthday! This may sound totally cheesy but it was a dream come true!! I got to eat a delicious lunch with friends, had cupcakes and saw a great show! Ahh! It was awesome!! Seriously.... post coming soon!!


32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having lots of money in my bank account and losing another 30 pounds!


33.How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? I still like to get dressed up!! I like skirts and jewelry and scarves and cardigans!!!! And I have become a HUGE fan of Toms!


34.What kept you sane? I never really know an answer to this question!! Probably venting all my lame problems to my mom!!


35.Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Have you seen Tron?? If you have, I probably don't need to say anything else!! But if you haven't...... Garrett Hedlund!!! Ahh!!! SO good looking!!!

 36.What political issue stirred you the most? All the stupid mid-term election crap!! Remember my post about it?!?! All the mud slinging and name calling!!! Politics drive me crazy!!


37.Who did you miss? I miss my family a lot....... it's weird living away from home and not seeing them every day!


38.Who are your favorite people that you met this year? My sister-in-law Hayley!!


39. Quote a song lyric that accurately summarizes this year.“I just haven't met you yet!"

I Always Thought That Song Was Too Long Anyway!

So much for my 12 days of Christmas stories/thoughts/songs!!!! I actually had a really cool song I wanted to share...... and I was going to post the Christmas story with some really awesome pictures! But.............. I waited WAY to long this year to get started on shopping!! I was actually running around picking up last minute things on Christmas Eve!!!
BAD idea!! The stores were crazy!! Parking was horrible!! And people are awful drivers!!! Never again!!! I am making a promise to myself that all my Christmas shopping will be done by the end of November from now on!! That way I can enjoy the month of December and not stress so much!!!
So I guess you will have to wait until next year to hear my new favorite Christmas song!! That's okay though... it gives me time to put something to together {a really great way for you to hear it}!!

This month has been so crazy!! I haven't been able to post as much as I wanted too!! I have all kind of pictures of my Christmas tree and of all my treasured ornaments!!

And I got to celebrate some fun birthdays with some really great people!!! And I have been to some fun Christmas parties and shows!!!
I know the holiday is over..... but I think I am still going to post about those things!! This month went by way to fast and I don't want to forget all the things that went on!!
The only problem now....... finding some spare time to type up 5+ posts!!!!

Spoiled

Christmas came and went WAY to fast this year!  I even started listening to Christmas music shortly after Halloween {not ALL time okay.... but a good chunk of it.....} to try to get into the Christmas mood!! But despite all of that, it still came and went with out much notice! I hate that!! Next year will be much better!!

Christmas at my house this year was wonderful! I spent Christmas Eve with family and friends eating yummy food {thanks to my parents} and playing fun games {I am still not a Rock Band champ!}. I stayed up really late wrapping presents and watching Christmas movies on TV!

Before I went to bed my mom had started putting presents out under the tree..... I told her she had to STOP, that couldn't put any more out until I was asleep!! One of my favorite things about Christmas day is walking around the corner and seeing all the presents piled under the tree!
One or two small packages under the tree is okay during the weeks leading up to the big day but I love the anticipation of waking up the next morning and seeing everything Santa brought!!

I was extremely spoiled by my family and friends this year! I was also surprised by a lot of the presents! As you get older, it gets harder to be surprised {for me anyway....}, but this year my parents were so sneaky!! I had wanted some perfume that I was positive I wasn't getting because my mom told me she had missed the order by date!! Little did I know that was all an act!!
I got everything I asked for and more off of my list! Like I said..... I was very spoiled!!!

The biggest surprise of all though was this:

A brand new Kindle!!! I cannot even describe how excited I am about this!! I LOVE to read, so this is perfect for me!!

I don't remember specifically telling either of my parents how awesome a Kindle would be..... but I must have mentioned how cool I thought they were at some point, because my awesome Dad remembered and picked it out for me!! My Dad is so great with that kind of thing!! He makes awesome mental notes about things he hears you say you want throughout the year and then surprises you with it later on!! He is the best!

I have already downloaded a few books onto it....... first book downloaded....... Pride and Prejudice!!!!

Christmas day was spent with family!! My brother and sister-in-law came up in the late morning so we could all open family gifts together!! My little sister got me a REALLY cute apron and I am SO excited to use it!!

We spent the afternoon visiting grandparents and other family members!! I also got the chance to talk to my wonderful friend Christine {who is currently serving a mission in AZ} via Skype!!!

After all the days activities, my family went back to my parents house to watch Despicable Me!! We put the movie in, grabbed blankets and pillows, and within the first 8 minutes on the movie, 4 out or 7 people were asleep!!! Haha!!

It was such a great few days!! I love this time of year and I'm dreading taking my Christmas tree down!!

Tied With A Bow

I found some of the coolest wrapping paper this year at Hobby Lobby! It is black and white damask and I couldn't wait to use it!! I also picked up some turquoise and red ribbon to put it all together. This is how they turned out:

I though they were pretty! I was excited to hand them out to family and friends!

I was also excited about the gifts I made for my co-workers..... Oreo Balls of Goodness!!!

 I saw an idea to package them in egg carton containers so I filled them up with a bunch of different flavors!

I added some scrapbook paper to the outside and tied it all up with a bow!!

5 Gooooold Rings, {ba da dum dum}

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Now The 4th Day of Christmas

I just found this story online while sitting here at work!! I love it!! I hope it touches you the way it did me!!

The "W" In Christmas

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.  I had cut back on nonessential obligations, extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.  Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year.  It was an exciting season for a six-year-old.  For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant."
I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production.  Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher.  She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation.  All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then.  Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats.
As I waited, the students were led into the room.  Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor.  Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as Christmas, I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.  When my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in their best for the show.  The children in the front row center stage held up signs with large letters, to spell out the title of the song.
As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C.  Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."
The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down!  She was totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W."
The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake.  But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W."
Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.  A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.  In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, and why we celebrated the holiday in the first place.  Why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.
When the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

"C H R I S T W A S  L O V E"