things i love and things i hate

Today on my way home from work i ran into something i hate. (No, i did not literally run into something. The occurrence of something i hate happened and led me to consider this list because i needed to think of things i love to make the angry things-i-hate-thoughts go away).



things i H-A-T-E:

- dirty dishes 
- awkward social situations
- when my pen runs out of ink
- being late
- smoggy sunlight
- being sick 
- slow drivers
- when my flight is late
- breaking a nail 
- walking behind slow people (i may be short but if i'm walking somewhere i just want to get there)
- running out of food
- hitting snooze too many times 
- boring movies
- feeling overwhelmed
- creepy crawly things 
- when my favorite show isn't on Hulu for viewing yet (i'm not about to pay for Hulu+)
- but the one thing that just takes the cake in this list is when drivers are absolute jerks because they can't take the extra 30 seconds to turn around like a normal person (i shouldn't even say 'cake' and this hateful thing in the same breath because i love cake).

See, there's this one traffic light on a main road where the far right lane become right turn only. Nothing abnormal, right? Wrong. Because right across the light from that lane there's a bus stop which means there's plenty of room for people to zoom (illegally) through the light and cut off the folks who got over when the sign clearly stated the lane was right turn only. Or they WAIT the whole light cycle in the turn lane to then zoom in front of you. Seriously? You can't just turn right and turn around to get back to the light? Well blah to you, sirs and madams!



things i L-O-V-E:

- getting a new book
- Dr Pepper
- walking into Barnes & Noble
- playing with my nieces and nephews
- singing at the top of my lungs (when the key is in my favor and i actually sound decent)
- rainy days
- the Christiansen mix of Dr Pepper and Diet Coke
- my teddy bear from Brave (one of the cutest things you've seen in your whole life)
- hot chocolate
- zombie shows
- Pitch Perfect
- sweat pants
- cupcakes
- Tinker Bell
- Joe Bandido's salsa
- mismatching my socks
- Cupcake Wars
- dyeing my hair
- reading
- my family (and probably yours too because i'm sure they're fab folks)
- Casa Salza salsa
- baking
- drink runs
- going to sleep (have you ever been so excited that you get to finally go to sleep that you are suddenly too excited and can't actually fall asleep? ya...happens frequently...)
- being introduced to new songs/artists
- fairy tales
- finding new recipes
- getting my haircut
- cover songs
- getting an A on a test/assignment
- books with 'awesome' in the title
- Disney movies
- being done with classes for the day
- painting my nails with an accent nail
- learning interesting things that make me more excited to be a future educator
- FRIENDS (the TV show)
- friends (as in my real life friends)



Notice i made the hateful list significantly shorter because i would rather not burden you so deeply with my crazy. But can you tell which hateful thing inspired the list making? Ya, me neither (sarcasm intended) 

it's a cupcake kind of world

if you know me in real life (or even from my about me section) then you know that i love cupcakes. The odd thing is that it's only been in the last year that this has become apparent.

it all started with the discovery of Dr Pepper cupcakes on Pinterest. Dr Pepper is one of my all time favorite things in the whole wide world, so Dr Pepper cupcakes have to be equally amazing, right? After perusing a few recipes i found one that wasn't quite so involved and my love of cupcakes was born.

i soon began searching all over Pinterest for the best cupcake recipes i could find. See it isn't necessarily the eating of the cupcakes i love most (although i do love to eat them); it's the creating. Pulling all of the ingredients together and coming up with something fantastically delicious. The decorating makes them almost too cute to eat and then i get to share them. One of the greatest feelings is someone telling me that my cupcakes are delicious; seriously, hands-down one of the best.

My love of baking has led to some changes in my life goals. i'm still ecstatic to become an elementary school teacher. This semester has been my favorite because i just love my classes. i'm also only a year away from actually getting to teach and i just can't wait. But someday i want my passion for baking to become more than just passing them out to my friends. i've seen everything there is on Cupcake Wars, Cupcake Champions and been to several cupcakeries in the area. Someday i hope to open my own cupcakery (which i don't know if it's actually a word but i'm using it anyways). i want to teach for a while and then maybe take some business classes and get a degree in management or something. i can open up shop and share my love of cupcakes with the rest of the community. i would say world but i'm trying to be realistic.

So, in honor of this awe-inspiring new life goal i would like to share with you the few cupcake items i have collected over these last few months.

Mickey Mouse measuring cups, oven mitt, and molds (courtesy of Miss Calah):

Sifter, frosting tips, cupcake cookie cutters, and bottle for decoration:

Measuring spoons with cupcakes printed on the metal (courtesy of Miss Momo)

music pt. 65

i am obsessed with music. This usually wouldn't be a problem, except i can't decide on a song. Usually i find a favorite song and listen to it on repeat for days and days. When i say repeat i mean i listen to it probably 100 times each day. Then i find a new favorite song and the cycle continues. But this last week...i've had several songs and i have a hard time deciding which one i want to listen to. i just keep skipping through them, listening to half of a song, and then switching again. i've posted them below so that you can feel my pain, because they really are all phenomenal songs.

Paperman by Disney

if you haven't seen the new Disney short film 'Paperman' then you need to click on the link at the end of this post right this very instant. Seriously. Get to it!

What you will see is the cutest ever love story told in less than 10 minutes. Well, after the beginning of 'Up' when Ellie and Carl fall in love, obviously. 'Paperman' is simple, sophisticated, and absolutely adorable.

Kudos to Disney for bringing magic to the mundane real world.


Paperman - Full Animated Short Film

missed opportunities

Missed opportunities suck. All you're left with is regret. What if you had just put yourself out there, asked a question, said something? But guess what? The opportunity has passed and now you're just left thinking, "next time...."

The other night at the gas station i ran into the cutest guy. How cute? He reminded me of Skylar Astin from Pitch Perfect; that's how cute. He was in front of me getting fountain drinks with a couple other guys. When they went to the register he explained that the two guys have mental disabilities and he's their mentor, which is why it took them a little longer to get their drinks. Seriously? He's cute AND a mentor? Good heavens.

The whole time my thoughts were going "ask him out, say something, do something, spark a small conversation, anything!" And yet.....nothing. People ask people out all the time, right? So why on Earth did i have to miss out an opportunity to put myself out there and meet someone? Because i think too much, that's why. Well you know what? Next time i will say something. Even if it's a stupid question. What's the worst that could happen? He could say no and have a good story to tell his friends about the crazy getting a fountain drink. i think i can handle that.

technology

Sometimes technology just plain sucks. One day your account works fine and dandy and the next it's telling you that it's all wrong and you have to go through what feels like 500 hoops just to prove that it is, in fact, your account and now you need to think of a new password. Why is that? No freaking clue. it just is. That's technology. Tomorrow i'll love it because it's finally working, but for now all i can say is "Blah!"

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

it's been a while since i've written and, quite frankly, i'm not so sorry about it. i got back to Provo after Thanksgiving and life became a whirlwind of end-of-semester projects, finals, work, cleaning checks, preparing for Christmas and finally, Christmas break itself.

My break didn't consist of crazy parties or anything, just family time. it was perfect. There were plenty of sleepovers at my sisters' houses, playing with the kids, and spending time with the rest of the family. Dad even watched a few episodes of FRIENDS with me. :)

AND my little Zoester has cupcake footie pajamas that match my fleece cupcake pants! We were rather proud of that and she even brought them when she got to spend the night with me. AND my most proud moment over break was when she was riding on her scooter and called "Auntie Em! Auntie Em! Come watch me!" i've wanted her to call me Auntie Em for forever! Yay! 
 
Now i know most end-of-the-year posts are about reflection and what can i do better. But you know what? i'm tired and school has started again. As has The Bachelor which is a must-see for me and the girlies.

So goodbye 2012, it was wonderful! And hello 2013, let's make it a jolly good and fancy-shmance year!

Notice the fancy-shmance 'staches ;)