At last, I belong in Utah County

While I got some wonderful gifts for Christmas, I couldn't help but covet my sister, Diana, when she texted me on Christmas morning with this text:

Diana: "Brandon got me a bumpit for Christmas! lol!"

After I responded, she said she was gonna bring it over so we could play around with it. And. She did.

Just a little background. For some reason, many of my friends and roommates believe that I really want a bumpit. I'm not sure where the idea that I love the "utah poof" came from, but apparently I do. And as much as I do make fun of the huge utah poof, I am secretly amazed by the volume some woman can get from teasing their hair. And I will neither confirm nor deny that I have tried (and failed) to see just how poofy I can get my hair. Theoretically, if I had ever tried this, it was an epic fail. My hair just isn't very teasable. Oh well.

Anyways, I've secretly always wanted to try the bumpit. Just to see what it looked like in my hair. Even though Cortney has told me many times she would no longer be my friend if I used one. Granted, I would never actually wear one out in public, because really, I make fun of the Utah Poof and I think it looks silly, but yeah.

So Diana brought her's over. And we tried it out on here hair. Look how cute (in a i-wish-i-was-the-star-of-hairspray kind of way), she looked!

We ended up doing other things the rest of Christmas, so I unfortunately did not get the chance to try it out, much to my disappointment. However, Diana, being the smart cookie she is, decided to bring it the next day. So, since I feel the need to document everything I do, here's a play-by-play of my experience with the Bumpit. Be excited. But please ignore the messiness of my  hair. I had blow dryed it that day, and didn't really feel like straightening it. Just sayin'



The beginning. Can you tell how nervous I was. For one thing, I was a bit concerned that I may just love my hair in the Utah Poof, and I would want to wear it every day. Which would result in Cortney and I no longer being friends. And then my hair would have endless split ends from all the teasing (because, much to my dismay, you still have to tease your hair to use the bumpit). Which would be terrible, as I have gone to quite a few measures to make sure I don't get split ends. But. I sucked it up and took one for the team.

Here, Diana has finally brushed my hair enough, and is placing the first bumpit in. It was very exciting.

In the process of still putting it. It's a lot harder than you think to put a piece of cheap (but awesome) plastic in hair. And apparently having a bumpit in your hair gives you license to look like you're hopped up on something. Or maybe the sugarload from all the cookies I had eaten was finally starting to settle in . . .

After Diana put the bumpit in, I was not impressed. It just looked so silly. Then she realized that she had used too much hair. Thank goodness. My faith in As Seen On TV things almost was diminished. This is my "Wow Michael, please stop taking pictures of me as I look like a polygamist wife"

Sweet Tori. Even she was disgusted.

As Diana decided to try again, Tori felt that I needed to have my eyes covered until the moment of truth. Since we were in a bathroom, she felt that a piece of tissue was the best option. It was hard not to look, but I was tough, bit my tongue, and went forward with faith that Diana would not lead my hair astray. Again.

The Moment of truth. Beautiful. I know. And you know what they say, the higher your hair, the closer you are to heaven.

This doesn't have much to do with anything, but I just thought it was a funny picture. Star trek?

Finally, we put a headband on, just to accentuate the poof, and make the look more polished. I feel like I'm a mix of someone from the Brady Bunch, my mom when she was in high school, and the mom from the Adams family. But in a really cute way.

Look at that height. And can you even see the bumpit?! I think not! I most definitely will never be featured in the facebook group "Spot the Bumpit!" Thank goodness for having super thick hair. It may be killer to wash, blow dry, straighten, and curl...but it sure can cover a bumpit!

So the final verdict? I'm embarrassed to admit I slightly enjoyed the time I had with the bumpit and was slightly tempted to borrow Diana's to wear to Church, but I decided against it. I do have an image to uphold.

But now I know that I can successfully pull of big hair, and if I'm ever feeling left out when I'm in Provo, I can just go get one of these, and I'm sure my self-esteem will soar. Brandon and Diana did seem to think it looked good. But they may just be trying to make sure I detract any attention males might give me so I forever will babysit on New Years Eve for them. Any boys out there wanna date me even more after seeing how cute I look with big hair?

Maybe I'll go buy one. And wear it. Just because I'm sure it would ensure me a place on What Not To Wear...They do pay attention to what your hair looks like, you know. Then again, I really don't have 10 dollars to spare. Hint. Hint.

But in the mean time, I think I'll go with an Iteeze. They seem a little more natural. And you don't have to spend forever making a tease mess out of your hair. As the commercial shows.

I love As Seen On TV items.

Ho, Ho, Ho...Merry Christmas!

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more

Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your leave and then speak it again . . . Christmas is a celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of the true meaning of Christmas -- with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself unselfishly in the things that matter most."

--President Howard W. Hunter 

First Presidency Christmas Devotional 

December 1994

Merry Christmas, everyone! I love this quote from President Hunter and I am going to definitely try my hardest to heed its advice. What a beautiful time of year it is, and I know I personally have so much to be grateful for. Most of my family is here (except for Daniel and Charbel...Let's all pray for a Christmas miracle that Charbel can come soon), and I couldn't ask for much more. Even though I usually despise the snow, I'm so happy we'll have a White Christmas this year! I hope we can all remember the true meaning of Christmas and spend time with those we love the most. I know I am :) 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his should: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6

© David Lindsley

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And just for a little bit of holiday cheer, since we all know you all will see a lot of these in the future, here's the pajamas the elves left me.**

**Every year, we go out and look at Christmas lights as a family . . . and when we come back, the elves have mysteriously left us pajamas! Don't be jealous that my fam has an in with Santa and his elves. Not everyone can be that cool. :)

Oh, you're supposed to park BETWEEN the lines?

Need I say more?


Probably. I can't park a car. No matter how big the parking space, or small the car, I always come out crooked. Sometimes I wonder how I passed my drivers test. Not only did I park crooked that day, but I did the entire test with my e-brake on. The person who gave me the test didn't even mention either of those things. Fail.

I won't even mention how many times I got a note on my car in high school telling me to "park in my own spot" or "learn how to park." I cherish those notes. They make me laugh. Don't get me wrong, I try and park correctly. It just never happens. I seriously am scared to death that I am going to hit the cars next to me. Especially when I'm driving our family van. The other day I was driving around at Target (which, I am proud to say, I have been to about 6 times since I've been home), and I started to pull into a spot, only to immediately pull out because I was convinced I was about to hit one of the cars next to me. Let's just say I parked at the very back of the parking lot. Next to no cars. I think I should get an award for worst parker of the year. So, along with What Not To Wear, feel free to nominate.

Honestly, I find it hilarious. Even though I know it makes it harder for people to park around me when I park all crookedly, it makes me laugh. I've never had much coordination, so I guess I'll blame my issues with parking on that. Even though they probably have nothing to do with each other.

All I have to say is that I will never try to parallel park. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

Ode to a Ammonian

Sorry I look like I'm high in this picture. I wasn't. I was just holding back the tears. haha. 

This is Ammon. He is basically my BFF. And one of my most loyal blog readers. I told him I was gonna write a blog dedicated to him. He may not have thought I was serious, but, being the integrityful person I am, am following through. I don't want to be the blog writer who cried wolf. That would be terrible. Ammon has been the inspiration for a few of my blogs, so I figure he is worthy of his own post. So, without further adieu.

I met Ammon at the end of October. Though I should have met him several different times before that, to which I'm bummed I didn't. Because he is AWESOME. Even though I haven't known him all that long, he's really become one of my very dearest friends. 

Ammon is probably one of the most legitimate people I know. Just for the fact that he says legitimate when he's around me, since he obviously knows how much "legit" annoys me. What a pal. 


Why is Ammon so awesome? Well. For one thing, he's super nice. After meeting him, it has given me faith that there are some decent, gentlemen out there. He's an awesome listener; he looks you in the eye when you are talking to him, which really impresses me. Some people find it creepy when people do that, but I think it's awesome. It drives me crazy when people refuse to look you in the eyes. Makes me feel like they aren't listening. And they probably aren't. Looking a person in the eyes at least makes it seem like you are listening.


Ammon loves his family, and it's pretty darn apparent right when you meet him. I remember that the one thing which stood out to me the first time I hung out with him (besides his dashingly good looks ;-) was how he talked about his sisters. It was so sweet, and you can tell he loves them very much. And he's gonna be a kick butt dad someday. I'm just sayin'. 


Ammon is one of those people that just makes you want to smile. There were a few times last semester where I was feeling pretty down, and then I hung out with Ammon, and I just couldn't help but smile the whole time! He's just got one of the most amiable personalities. Seriously, whenever we were gonna hang out, I was always so excited because I knew I'd be happy afterwards. 


Ammon loves the Gospel. He's not all show-offy about it but you can just see in his eyes (as cheesy as that sounds), and by the way he talks and lives his life. I want to be a better person when I'm around him. 


Ammon is funny. And he thinks I'm funny. Or at least he acts like it. At first, I'm pretty sure he didn't, but after awhile he caught onto my very dry sarcasm, and for that, he gets a gold star. Anyone who finds what I say to be humorous automatically is awesome. He's so fun to joke around with. 


Ammon can cook. Or so I'm told. I've just eaten brownies/cookies made by him. Oh and some epic mashed potatoes.  But from what I've been told by him and others....he can cook. Hence why Hilary and I made him an apron. Every awesome cook deserves and awesome Apron. He especially loves recipes that involve veal ;-)


Ammon scraped the ice of my windows once. Ain't he nice? And that same night, he trusted me to drive him home even though it was icy and snowy. Then again, he didn't realize I hadn't driven in the snow for about 2 1/2 years. I left that part out ;-) 


Ammon is extremely easy to talk to and be yourself around. Right when I met him, I felt comfortable around him. Which can sometimes be rare. Believe it or not, I can be really shy before I warm up to a person. But not with Ammon. He's just such a nice guy! I could talk to him for hours and not get bored. And he'll listen to me, and act like he's not bored (even though he probably is). 


Ammon is talented. He can sing. He can dance. He can play the piano. He can play other instruments that I can't think of. He definitely doesn't hide his talents under a bushel. 


Ammon likes country music. 'nuff said. 


He introduced me to an awesome song tonight. Anyone who tells me about a song that I end up putting on repeat several times is automatically cool in my book. Because they obviously have awesome taste in music. 


Ammon has tons more great qualities and I'm sure I could go on forever. But a) it's late b) this post may be borderline weird/creepy if I go on much longer and c) You just gotta get to know him to find out more. 


He's leaving on a mission to Brazil in March, and all I can say is that I'm very jealous of the Brazillian people who are about to be blessed by him. Ammon is awesome, and I feel extremely grateful to have gotten to know him over the past few months.  Ammon...you're an amazing guy and have so much potential...don't ever forget it! God speed brotha.


"A faithful friend is a strong defense: and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure.” --Ecclesiastics 

TLC, here I come!

What do all these pictures have in common?

Well. If you guessed "Wow, Katie is the most ridiculously good looking person I have ever seen." You'd be wrong. Well, technically you would be right, since I am, but that's not the point of the pictures.

Pretty much, I have a (not so) secret goal in life to be on What Not To Wear. I was obsessed with that show for awhile. My mom and I would watch the new episode on Friday nights (I was so popular, and everyone wanted to hang out with me, so I felt that I should be fair and hang out with no one on Friday nights. Aren't I so nice?), and would be so excited whenever a marathon came on. You'd think after watching all those episodes I would most definitely know "what not to wear."

Believe me, I do. I know it's not socially acceptable to wear pajamas to the store, nice shirts with pajama pants, pink and orange together, certain types of shoes with certain outfits, aprons while going to get the mail, etc. So why do I still do it? Well, reason #1 . . . I think it's funny. I get a kick out of some of the looks I get. Reason #2--I just really like sweat pants and pajamas. Reason #3--Sometimes it's just more convenient. I mean, if I'm going to the gym, and I need to go the gym, why not wear my gym clothes? I mean. It's not like they are immodest. It's just a t-shirt and knee length gym shorts. I'm not about to waste gas and make two trips out, when I can kill two birds with one stone. Reason #4--Mainly, I just really want to get on what not to wear. In case you were wondering, I have no money. At all. I may work 20 hours a week at school, but after rent is paid, tithing paid, and groceries are bought, I have about 10 dollars left. That leaves about..zero dollars for clothes. A 5,000$ wardrobe and a new hairstyle would be so nice. If I had a ton of money, I would totally have a better wardrobe. But alas, I don't. So I have to just buy one thing every few months, or when school starts or it's Christmas time, I get new clothes from my mom and what not. Which is nice. and Reason #5--TLC...Seriously, who wouldn't want to be in that channel? I mean, I'll never get on for having 75,000 kids, for for being a midget, owning a tattoo shop, or not knowing I was pregnant (since seriously....Those are the only shows they have these days), so I have to go for the most in reach show.

And I tend to wear clothes during the wrong season. I'll wear skirts and flats when it's negative degrees outside and a foot of snow. I wear bright colors during the winter. Just the other day, I was showing my mom the church outfits I brought. She was absolutely appalled. Apparently she didn't think a short sleeved, yellow dress was appropriate for Christmas Sunday, or a flowery short sleeved dress. She looked at me and was like "And you think I have no fashion sense....". Thanks mom. Thanks.

And I love shoes, right? I think they are fun. But I don't have enough money to buy all the ones I want. And for some reason, I always seem to lose one of everyone of my shoes. It is so super sad. So when I am running out of the house, I just grab the first pair of matching shoes I can find. Usually they don't really match my outfit. Example:

Yesterday I went with my dad to the airport to get Cindy and AJ. I wasn't aware I was going until my dad was running out the door, so I didn't have the chance to change into normal clothes, and find normal shoes. So I threw on the heels I had worn to Church. I figured I wouldn't be going inside. Imagine my surprise when I get a text from AJ telling me and Michael to come in and help them with their bags. For some reason, I was just way self conscious about my outfit choice (complete with a tye dye shirt and my coat), but I sucked it up and went inside. It was okay. No one made fun of me, out loud...except for maybe Cindy.

And, sometimes I wear clothes that are too big for me. I lost some weight over the past few years (and continue to do so...yay!). Which is good/awesome, but I can't buy a new wardrobe with every 5 pounds I lose. So my clothes don't always fit that great. That's a problem as well

But, even if I intentionally wear mismatched, silly clothes sometime, on occasion I do wear a fashion disaster, not on purpose. Like last summer at work, I woke up, put on a bright orange shirt, and then my bright red flats. That just does not go together. In my defense, I had to get up at 530 every day. And I'm not a morning person in any respect. And I will wear my apron for hours at a time without realizing it. I have accidently walked out to my car with it on, driven places, or just sat around in it for hours. I get that from my mom, because she does it too. She was just telling me how she's dropped kids off at school, gone to the post office, etc. with her apron on. I guess we just love to cook so much, we just have to be ready at the drop of a hat.

So, if you are reading this, I'm pretty sure you should nominate me. If I ever get on that show, I swear I will never wear weird clothes again. My goal will be complete. And I'm pretty sure a 5,000$ wardrobe will have me set for awhile.


(Okay I have to clarify. I don't ALWAYS dress like this. Truly, I do like looking nice. I LOVE doing my hair and putting on cute clothes. Epsecially for like Chuch, and School, and work. But if it's after 8 at night, I will likely be wearing sweat pants and won't change out of them to go somewhere, unless it's completely necessary. I apologize especially to Kristian and Ammon and the rest of their apartmenet, since I am pretty sure I have worn sweat pants to your apartment more often than not and given the impression that I don't wear anything else. That's what you get for hanging out after 10 o clock. I have tried to fix that though, and look nicer when we hung out towards the end of the semester. I hope that effort has been appreciated. I really don't like changing out of my comfy clothes once their on for just anyone!)

Qdoba. No other words are necessary

But since I can't ever do something without saying words (I don't know how people do wordless Wednesdays on their blogs. Blows my mind away), I will now recount the epic adventure I had today. To Qdoba.

For anyone that has never had Qdoba: I feel very sad for you. Words cannot explain how delicious this place is. I would choose it over Costa Vida, Chipotle, Cafe Rio, or any other Mexican-style place. All those places are good, yes....but they just don't have the same deliciousness that Qdoba emits. And none of them have the three cheese queso that I find myself craving on a regular basis while I'm in Utah. Rumor has it Provo used to have Qdoba, but it went out of business. Why? Because the world hates me.

Before I leave for Utah, I always make sure to hit up Qdoba. And you'd better believe it's the first place I go out to eat when I get back. A few days before I got back, I texted my friend Megan and we decided we would go to Qdoba on Saturday. I anxiously awaited this trip. I didn't even eat breakfast, so I didn't feel as bad eating the highly caloric meals they have. Such a sacrifice, I know (it also helped that I didn't wake up til about noon thirty).

So Megan shows up. Comes in my house. We are pretty much wearing the exact some sweater. I didn't take any pictures (shock, yes). But I really felt the need to document this with a photo, so, this is basically what we looked like:

This looks exactly like us, by the way. Like Megan really has no hands

We both felt really silly. And that we probably looked like we were on a date and matching when we went to Qdoba and then ate our food at the lake. Awkward. I mentioned boys as much as possible as we sat. But then again, I would do that anyways. This is just more proof of our twinageness. If she was born two years sooner, looked like me, and had the same mother, I would really think we were twins. It's pretty uncanny how similar we are. When she's having a bad day, so am I. She's messy and piles her clothes up her room, and so do I (sorry Mom. I still haven't learned how to hang my clothes up very well). She's awesome, and I'm awesome(er). And there's a lot of other things, but it's late and I don't feel like thinking of them. Just take my word on it. The only thing we really differ in is taste in boys. I like those nerdish, tall skinny ones with green or blue eyes that I described in a few posts ago. She likes kind of chubby/buffer ones with brown eyes. Today we took a survey of something we were discussing. All my guy friends seemed to have similar views to me, and her's to her. Interesting. Anyways. We both realized we decided last night we were gonna wear the similar outfit. It's like our minds are connected.

Anyways. Qdoba was delicious. I wish I could go there everyday. Part of me would like to work there, just so I could get free food. But then I realize that I really don't speak much Spanish, and the people who work there would probably just talk in Spanish about that crazy white girl who keeps eating all the food. My self-confidence would be lowering without me even knowing it. It just wouldn't work. Too bad Qdoba is dang expensive, and I'm a poor college student. Speaking of, I'm about to start looking like a heroine addict. Plasma selling begins in my life as soon as I get back. Yeah  baby.

If you haven't had Qdoba. Eat it. Love it. Crave it. You're life will never be the same.

I just thought everyone should know that.

(And today Hannah and I practiced our song for Church on Sunday. I'm pretty sure whoever decided that we should sing together was hopped up on something crazy. Oh, that was our mother's. We can barely make it through without laughing. And both of us are too lazy to actually look at the notes and rhythm. Heh.  Sorry Cortney. I'm sure your life was miserable for that hour we "practiced".)

It'll be a miracle . . .

If I don't gain 50 pounds this break.

(Let's ignore the fact that I look like I'm 5 years old and have no neck in this picture. No wonder i get asked if I want the kiddie menu at restaurants.)

The ingredients. For all the holiday cookies/awesome treats I've volunteered to make.

That would be...several bags of milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet, and butterscotch chips, Mint M&M's, candy canes, german chocolate cake mix, peanut butter, andes mints, coconut, oats, white chocolate chips, white chocolate bark, nuts, hershey kisses, pretzals, jam, and a few other things I can't recall right now . . . hehe

Thumbprint cookies.

German Chocolate Cookies (my personal favorite. The recipes on my cooking blog :)

No bake cookies

Chocolate chip with Hershey Kisses

The finished products for the day

I'm just saying...I would most definitely want to be friends with the Barker family this Christmas season.

And I don't think that this helps convince anyone that I'm not addicted to cookies, eh? In my defense, I really didn't eat that many. And I'm gonna be hitting up the gym every day that I can. There's just something about having any cooking supplies I want to make anything I want, a big kitchen, and a mother who's more than willing to turn the cooking reins over to me, that makes me just want to spend as much time in the kitchen as possible. Oh how I love being home.

Round two begins soon. Right after I go to Qdoba with Megan. Can I just say how long I've been waiting for this. Qdoba = Love.

I saw Julie and Julia last night for the first time. Loved it. I mean, it combined two of my favorite things. Cooking and Blogging. It made me wish I could do an awesome blog like that. Suggestions? I actually just found that Julie girl's actual blog...Yay! And can I just say my favorite part of that movie was that Chloe from 24 was in it? Love her.