Cupcake Craziness!

This is Ashley. Ashley is my friend.
Ashley is my friend because I stalked her in church, ambushed her, then TOLD her we should be friends.

You see, in our last area, there were no young couples in our ward. We had no friends. After two years in that ward, we finally started making friends, but then we had to move.

I was not going to let that happen again.

So in our NEW ward, Tom and I sit in the back. While Tom listens, I scan the congregation for young couples.
One Sunday, I saw Ashley and her husband.
The rest is history.

Today Ashley and I were going to go rollerblading/biking to get some exercise.
But then it rained.
So we made cupcakes instead.
I'm sure you see the irony here.

These weren't just any cupcakes. They were brownie/cake cupcakes.
The bottom layer is brownie mix, the top layer is yellow cake mix with white chocolate pudding powder mixed in. (Stole that idea from Mallory!) The icing is a lame-o vanilla buttercream, but it was yummy on top of these cupcakes.They are seriously some of the best cupcakes I've ever had. You can find the recipe here.

Me and Ashley stuffing our faces.Ready for my closeup. (So glad I got my eyebrows waxed today!)

Ashley looking gorgeous even though she has icing on her nose!

Stamp of approval from the hubby!

Ad-nalysis Sundays: Are you a Glee Geek?

I dedicate this week's Ad-nalysis to GLEE!!!!! (Yes I know this is an awful picture of me.)

Season 2 starts THIS week and Fox has done an amazing job of getting me psyched!!!! Every time I see a promo, I want to scream in excitement!

Let's see if they can get you excited too!









I even gasped out loud when I saw this ad in one of my magazines.

Is Glee the greatest show ever created? Hardly. But it's fun, dramatic, and a perfect show to watch with the girls. We'll be having a girls night every week until the season is over. You're welcome to join the (Glee) club.

*Side note: I realize this isn't really an "analysis", but my goal with Ad-nalysis Sundays is to share the ads that I think are clever, funny or effective. These Glee ads fall into that category because they get me PUMPED!

My first day as a Redneck

Don't I look good as a Redneck? That's my hubby's rusty pickup truck and his new Remington Wingmaster 12 gauge shotgun. But our story doesn't start here.

Tom has wanted a shotgun since we got married. But I work in TV news. Almost every day there is a shooting somewhere. The worst stories are of accidental shootings. Kids shooting kids. Or a fiancé accidentally shot by his future father-in-law.

I did NOT want a gun in my house.

My attitude softened when there were three major earthquakes less than three months. It Utah, most of us live along the Wasatch Front. Also know as a HUGE FAULT LINE! There could be an earthquake here any moment.

In the case of a natural disaster, we need protection.

Tom found a REALLY good deal on KSL.com for a shotgun, so I caved (after some negotiation).

This morning, Tom took me shooting for the first time in Payson. Every year his friend Nick holds "Nick-a-palooza", a shooting competition.

This is me holding the gun this morning. I couldn't hold it far enough away from my body.

This is Tom.
Tom, is that a gun in your pocket...?

Our brother-in-law Aaron looking too cool for school. They'll let anyone shoot as these things.

Even children. (She's shooting a bb gun.)

At "Nick-a-palooza" there's lots of food...

...Lots of guns....

...And lots of men with guns (and a couple girls)!

The view was also AMAZING!

Here is a video of my first time shooting a shotgun. For the record, I was seriously nervous, and when I say "Do I look good?", I don't mean "Do I look good for the camera", I mean, am I holding the gun right?


You can't tell, but I had my eyes closed when I pulled the trigger. Proooooobably not a good habit to get into.

Then I shot a 22. That was WAY easier! I even hit a few targets.

Then I started getting the hang of things.

Tom's already a pro.

This is Nick. For the first time in five years of "Nick-a-palooza", Nick won the grand prize.

I'd like to thank my super-hot hubby for this new experience. I enjoyed my first day as a hick. And to be perfectly honest, I'm glad we now own a gun (but I will deny saying that.)

P.S. Yes, my shoulder hurts.

My Modeling Debut

Every day I make a commercial for Studio 5 with hosts Brooke Walker and Darin Adams. By "make" I mean I write, shoot, and edit the promo. They're not very fancy or time-consuming like some of my other projects, but they're ALWAYS fun - just like the show!

Yesterday we needed video of someone wearing jewelry. Brooke suggested I model the jewelry, and Darin could shoot it.

No big deal right?

Wrong! Since I had to edit the promo myself, I had to watch the video of me over and over again. I can't tell you how many flaws popped into my head! I don't think a promo has EVER been so hard to edit!

I tried to be objective and imagine it was someone else. That made it easier, but I still cringe every time I see the promo come on T.V.

I think I'll leave "professional model" off my resume for now.

This is what happens when my husband makes "soup"...

Mind you, this is after a night in the fridge. But you get the idea.

Ad-nalysis Sundays: Add Old Spice to the Grocery List

Because I want my man to smell like this:



He tells you to look away, but you couldn't could you!

This is originally a Superbowl commercial, and most of you have already seen it, but I couldn't NOT post this on Ad-nalysis Sunday. After last week's post, a few people said the Big Red commercial reminded them of this Old Spice commercial, especially when they sing "You'll watch YouTube on a horse."

What is it with horses in commercials these days, and why are they so darn funny? I supposed it makes the ads gallop into our hearts!

What really makes this commercial is the star actor, former Seattle Seahawk, Isaiah Mustafa, and his amazing delivery in ONE take!

Even Oprah took notice! Last Friday, Mr. Old Spice himself was on her show. Since the commercial came out, he's auditioned for a Tom Hanks movie, television pilots and Tyler Perry's upcoming film Colored Girls.

Oprah surprised Mr. Spice with a message from Tyler Perry himself, saying he got the job! How exciting!

Hopefully you learned something new from this week's Ad-nalysis, even if you've seen the commercial before. And if at least one one person sees this ad for the first time on my blog, my work is done! (I'm guessing that one person is probably my mom.)

Be sure to come back every week for Ad-nalysis Sundays!

Easter

Tom and I originally decided to skip the non-religious side of Easter this year (didn't need the extra calories)....

But then Tom invited FIVE nephews (10 years old and younger) to sleep over Friday night...

So I caved.

We ate lots of pizza!And played with Tom's massive collection of GI Joes (for hours)!

We also played video games and watched movies. I went to bed at 11:30 p.m. and all the boys were STILL up. We figured if we let the boys stay up late, they would let us sleep in on Saturday morning. That DIDN'T work. The boys were up at 7 a.m.

On Saturday morning we had an Easter Egg hunt! My first experience as the Easter Bunny!

Finn was able to come over to join in on the fun!Sawyer with his eggs.Dillon with his Eggs.

Jarom with his eggs.Milo with his Eggs. I love the pose!

I tried to get a picture of everyone, but I missed Ammon with his eggs.

My biggest mistake this year? I went with quality over quantity. Not smart!

I told the boys they were allow to find one big Cadbury Creme Egg, and three small Dove eggs. The kids were like "That's it???" These are not cheap-o chocolates, but as if the kids care about that.

Next year, expensive stuff for me. Cheap-o waxy junk for the kids.

But everyone still had a good time.And ate their chocolate with no complaints.
I love, love, love this picture of Finn.I had to show off Kate in her adorable Easter outfit! We're hoodie twins!

P.S. Our apologies to the parents we left tired and cranky kids with.