When one door closes...

My portfolio at work got realigned. Excited for the changes, sad not to be working with some of my hiring managers, so grateful for my job. I will be taking back over the Advanced Practice Clinicians I recruited for a few years ago, with a dash of nurse recruiting for our Medical Group and a splash of ancillary RN service lines. Wishing me luck this week:}

A different Dear Lizzy...

This Dear Lizzy obsession is spelled differently than my one a few days ago. This is paper, ribbon and stickers I have been dreaming about for the last few months. Got my hands on a whole bunch of it today.



If you don't have quite enough blogs to read, add Dear Lizzy to your list. She is the creator behind all of this fantastic stuff. Plus has amazing taste in music (can let her playlist run forever). And the most beautiful kitchen backsplash you have ever seen. Want a daily two minute inspiration? Subscribe now! One of my favorite blogs ever!

http://elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com/

Arella Pizzeria

A few of us at work went to visit the Bountiful Health Center to meet some new hiring mangers we are supporting and to get a tour of their updated space. We decided to hit this restaurant for lunch afterward. Another recruiter that I work with suggested it--her brother just opened it last December.

Totally exceeded what I thought it would be. I love really good pizza, and we usually go to Settebello downtown when we want yummy, fresh pizza. But, this place blows Settebello out of the water. Everything was fresh beyond anything and so well thought out. Such attention to detail. And that wood fired oven. Seriously. So. Good.

Here is what I had...

Small Caprese Salad - Grape tomato halves, fresh mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, sea salt, balsamic vinegar

Mini Arella Pizza - Caramelized pears, brie, gorgonzola, candied pecans, and arugula tossed in bleu cheese dressing

and I wish I had room for their signature dessert...

Arella Cookie Skillet - Warm sugar cookie skillet baked with fresh raspberries and topped with vanilla bean ice cream

Seriously, go! You will love me for the recommendation:}

535 West 400 North
Suite D, Bountiful, UT 84010
(801) 294-8800

Dear Lizzie

One thing about me you may not know. I love celebrities. Of any type. Any fame. But my favorites? Paper, digital and scrapbook celebrities. They actually do stuff that I aspire to do. I love getting cool ideas on transforming paper and photos, and the celebs I follow never cease to amaze! So, when I found out Rhonna Farrer was teaching a digital brush class at Dear Lizzie, I had to get in on it! Amanda of COURSE agreed to come being the awesome friend she is!

I have never been to Dear Lizzie, but have wanted to go for months. It was AMAZING times a zillion. You get inspired by color, fabric, ribbon, books, texture, design, art, jewelry, and treats at every turn. Add that to a PhotoShop class taught by Rhonna Farrer, an entire Paris section, and I was in Casey heaven.

Pics from the night...

Planning for Paris...

A month away. So excited, nervous, wondering if all my dreaming will turn out to be the realities I am hoping for....but, I love the planning stages of a trip. The anticipation is sometimes just as sweet as the actual experience. Here is what we have planned...

Day One
Arrive CDG 8:35am
Louvre/Jardin des Tuileries

Dinner in the Latin Quarter
Early evening

Day Two
Eiffel Tower and neighborhood

Arc de Triomphe/Champs-Elysees and neighborhood

Day Three

Notre Dame/Conciergerie
St Michel
"Getting lost in Paris”; possibly Montmartre/Sacre Coeur

Day Four
Pick up rental car
Versailles
Driving in country around Paris
Hanging out in Latin Quarter

Day Five

Drive to Bordeaux
Explore Bordeaux/Leisurely drive back to Paris

Day Six
Catacombs
Musee d’Orsay

Possibly Montmartre/Sacre Coeur

Day Seven

Check out of hotel
Head to CDG

2010 Winter Olympics - Vancouver

Anyone else crushing on the Olympics?

Loved this thought today..

Chinese Helicopter

Jason and Stacey gifted M this authentic Chinese helicopter from their trip. He has loved playing with this. Thanks you guys!

BabyKinz

Ashley finally let me babysit her little sweetie bear tonight. He is SUCH an easy going little guy. Mack helped Clark play his little electronic piano, tried to teach him to how play PokeMon, and we introduced him to SpongeBob. Thanks so much for letting us watch him Ashley!

Curly or straight?

Always get a straight blow out when I get my hair cut. People say I don't look like the same person, but never say if that is a good or bad thing. Hmmm, what do you think?

Shutter Island

Date night at the movies. Loved this one!

Candy Buffet

Helped plan a birthday party for my boss at work. Her favorite dessert is candy, so I put together this candy buffet. I had seen this idea at a wedding, and thought it was so cute. Made some quick tags in PhotoShop to wrap around the various jars. Would be fun for a kids birthday party too!

Time Management

Primary Presidency meeting tonight. I found a really old talk from the 70's on time management, but thought this little excerpt was a very good idea. Kind of like a food journal, but for time.

A very valuable exercise in learning better time utilization is the task of keeping a time log for a specific period of time. Try writing down every 15 minutes how you spend your time. Keep this log for a week and total up where you have spent your time in those 15-minute increments. Your summary will usually bring about a great realization that you have not been spending your time where you thought you were. With that information, sit down and think through the ideal expenditure of your time as compared to the actual. Make plans and commitments to change your behavior accordingly.

Personal Time Management:One Key to a Leader’s Effectiveness
by Rex W. Allred, New Era 1977

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

After we got back from glorious California and were blasted with the cold, it was definitely a soup night. My aunt gave me this recipe, and I love how easy and yummy it is.

When I used to visit my dad on weekends when I was little, he made us chicken and rice a lot. Basically, it was white Minute Rice with condensed chicken soup. I LOVED that lunch. Started making it again in college when times were tough, and realized it was quite horrible. So, this recipe is a grown up version of that beloved childhood lunch with fresh veggies and whole chicken. Love this stuff!

Wild Rice & Chicken Soup

5 2/3 cups water

1 package & seasoning Long Grain & Wild Rice Rice a Roni

1 envelope Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup Mix

Bring to boil and simmer 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup chopped carrots (or amount you like)

2 celery stalks chopped

1 small onion chopped

Simmer 10 minutes.

Add 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

1 -2 cups cooked chicken - shredded or chopped (I use fresh rotisserie)

Simmer 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Disneyland Weekend

It all started with some passing talk of taking a family trip down to St. George. After we decided February in St. George would still be too cold to really do anything outside, we planned to go a bit further west. A plan to go to Disneyland over President's Day was hatched. Here were my favorites this trip around:

The weather

We left Utah at 35 degrees, and entered paradise at 75 degrees. T-shirts, shorts and sandals were so enjoyed. M kept asking me why California wasn't Utah. So spoiled by the amazing temperatures.

Peter Pan's Flight

Never get tired of flying over London

Dole Whip

This could be my favorite thing in Adventureland--next to Indiana Jones

The castle

The fireworks show this year is so spectacular. They go through Disney history, and highlight all the rides. Loved every popping second of it!

BJ's

We have a tradition after we get into Orange County, we book it to a BJ's our first night. Their pizza and pizookies are a family favorite. Fingers crossed Utah gets one of these soon!


and, the best...

Family Time

We had to wait in some MONSTER lines. But had so much fun talking, laughing, enjoying the sun, it was just fine:}

Hope to see you again soon Disneyland!

Valentines Day Treats

We haven't celebrated a holiday at school in a few years. Our new track provides Halloween parades, Christmas celebrations, and of course, the famed Valentines Day box! Or, in this case, bucket. Mack picked out the paper to decorate the bucket himself. I don't think we have brainwashed him or anything....

and a darling treat from my friend Tonya! She is so uber digitally talented. Love this!

I decided this week I needed to start setting goals. To get more disciplined. Kind of discovered I tend to do whatever I want, whenever I want without a whole lot of thought about the impulse. So, after a hard swallow when I discovered I owned every novelty tshirt practically that JCrew had sold in the last year, decided I needed to really reign it in.

So, for the next 21 days I am giving up...

and...

even this!

and those ruffles...

I am identifying what causes my little shopping binges. It is going to be an interesting study of my behavior. Hoping this little step will help me learn how to set goals for the harder stuff coming up I want to work on. Physical goals. Nutrition goals. Spiritual goals. Excited to see where this will lead!

Mud Wrap

M & S took in my last Christmas gift to them tonight--lower bowl seats to the Lakers game. It may have been a bit of a selfish gift. I was totally looking forward to a night alone. Decided to indulge in a mud wrap at Cottage Retreat at Gardner Village.

The mud wrap there is...hmm..can't think of the right adjective. It pleases all of your senses to the core. The first luxury is the spa itself. Cute, vintage country with quilts, beadboard and amazing smells everywhere. Every little detail of the spa is well thought out and lovingly cared for. So, after you get into your robe, you are treated to a body exfoliation with this special brush. Then, the mud is painted on. It starts getting just a bit cold as you keep getting slathered in the mud. Word of warning. This is not a treatment for those that may be body conscience. There is mud EVERYWHERE, and while you are completed covered, it gets messy! After you are painted, you get wrapped in this huge warm cocoon and are left alone to bake and think. This part isn't for those that are claustrophobic either. It is a tight squeeze! But the relaxed, quiet meditation is really wonderful. Then, you are cleaned off. Some places I have gotten a mud wrap at have a vichey shower--basically a shower over the table you can get cleaned off with--but Cottage cleans you off slowly with heated towels. Funny, but the simple act of someone cleaning you off makes you feel very cared for. Love. Kind of felt like all the mud sucked out my stress and yucky winter skin. Felt so relaxed and light after.

Followed up my treatment with a lush Cobb salad from Archibald's. Loved my night off!

Book Report

Worked with M tonight on a John Stockton book report. A few cool facts I learned:

Played in every game in 17 of his 19 seasons.

Selected in 1996 as one of the "50 Greatest Players in NBA History"

NBA's all-time leader in assists (15,806) and in steals (3,265)

I think reading this biography kind of inspired M. He was amazed about how much practicing and work goes into being great at something. Hopefully this will get him thinking...

My favorite solo lunch spot

There was a touch of spring in the air today, so grabbed Subway and headed to my favorite little lunch spot along the Jordan River Parkway. I love this little stream, the trees, ducks and fresh air. Combine this with a little reading, and it really is the perfect break from work.

Super Bowl

I hosted my first Super Bowl party this year! Found some super cute cheap decorations at Target (inflatable footballs, penalty flags, football beads), but the focus was on...

and...
and especially...

Promise to post this amazing spinach dip recipe if I can get it from Amanda. The first picture is a bunch of chocolate dipped stuff I did--idea courtesy of Joey! The toasted coconut marshmallows dipped in chocolate were beyond. Next year I need to remember to take pictures of people! Thanks everyone that came!

Loved this thought...

photo credit unknown

When In Rome

Movie day with Amanda and Janet. Love a good rom-com and movie popcorn. The best!

Heart Attack!

We got a surprise Heart Attack on our door. Mack was THRILLED and tried so hard to figure out who could have done it. Copper even had his own little heart:} I was a bit of a better detective though. Bazzill cardstock & Galaxy markers cracked the case. Love you neighbors! You made our Valentine's Day season very sweet!