Thank you!

Okay, I hope I am doing this right..

I won this! It's called the Arte y Pico. Bestowed upon me by darling Shannon from Salt Lake Designer Gal. This is passed around from blog to blog. It's to award those blogs who show creativity, design, and for contributing to the blogging community.

I love blogging, it's a great creative outlet. I am so flattered that someone as creative as Shannon would pay me this compliment and say such nice things about me. (she said this)

"This gal posts almost everyday (which I love)! Her funny stories, great recipes and awesome finds will keep you coming back for more! "

Now I am supposed to give this award to five of my fellow bloggers. For their creativity and fun blogs! Truth be told, I love all of the blogs I visit. I love being able to stay in contact will all of you, as well as get insight into your fun lives. Here are a few bloggers I would like to spotlight for their efforts and creativity..

(#1) Eric (my fellow blogger at he said/she said) He is always making his blog fun and interactive. Full of polls, pictures, reviews, and banter. Always makes for a good read.

(#2) Lindsey Lulu Hall You can always count on Lindsey for comments, and she is one of the most complimentary bloggers I know. What I love about her and her blog is that she puts her real self out there and doesn't try to sugar coat it. She admits that she can't spell and says who cares? She says, like me for me. (and I do)

(#3) Reesa Reese is someone who is a brave blogger. She posts about her diet and her weight. I look up to her a great deal for her dedication. She is a great support to me and my blog and I appreciate it very much.

(#4) Jessica I don't know anyone else who can get such a response from posting on a grilled cheese sandwich! She may post a little infrequently, but when she does I always find it interesting and thought provoking. She can always spark a debate.

(#5) Bonnie Her blog posts always make me smile as well as her funny comments her and her husband always seem to be leaving me. She knows how to make her posts interesting and fun. She is also one of the most talented girls/bloggers I know. She makes shoes. She is an amazing pianist, and she rocks the Wii.

Everyone on my list is talented and I wanted to say thank you for letting me be a part of your lives. Oh and thanks to Shan again for being so nice to spotlight me.

"rules" Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community. 2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog. 3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name of and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award. 4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of Arte Y Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award. 5. Show these rules.

Pasta Salad

Made this salad for the weekend festivities. I made half for Jess's party and half for the 4th. I thought it was okay when I tasted it at Jess and Gav's bbq, but then on the 4th my mom helped me tweak it to make it even better. (my mom is the food expert after all) We added a little more dressing, tomatoes, parmesan cheese (which I forgot to add) and pistachios. It made it so so yummy. If you're interested in making it. This is what I suggest..

-corkscrew noodles
-spinach
-tomatoes
-green onions
-pistachios
-parmesan cheese
-Light House ranch (next time I might try homemade ranch to see if I like it better)
-mayonnaise to help thicken and cover noodles

*add the pistachios last and right before you serve so they don't get soggy. Enjoy.

Human Slingshot

I am not sure who invented this. You kind of go until someone gets hurt or falls. Ah, the carnage. What fun. Thanks Gavin and Jessica for introducing us to this new.. um.. sport? It's no secret that I am accident prone. So I am not sure what possessed me to try this. (no shock that I fell my first time)

BBQ

Enjoyed the holiday weekend. Thanks go to Gavin and Jessica who had us over for a fun BBQ and fireworks on Thursday. And my parents who had us over on the 4th. Love this time of year!

Good friends...

and great fun...

What's the yellow thing surrounding and possibly hurting those people? Check the next post to find out. Two words for you.. Human Slingshot. (or is that three?)

pretty lucky

I have been very blessed to travel out of the country..

Have been here.. sailed there..Explored here..

Would you like to know where I like best?

Every 4th of July helps me remember how much I love my country. We are incredibly blessed with freedom. The places I have traveled have helped to mold me into who I am. But my country allows me to live how I love.

B&W Test Roll

Have to say I am pretty pleased with the first roll ever using Ms. Holga. Especially because I did a couple of things wrong, and thought nothing was going to turn out. I just love how they look old fashioned.

Why were week day concerts invented?

Went to this concert last night...


I have to admit that I had no idea who these guys were. I just went because I love concerts, fireworks and hanging out with my girls...


But I also have to admit that I had a blast! I realized that I knew a lot of Collin Raye's songs. Every time he would sing one I knew, I would turn to Wink and Gibbs and say "I actually know this one!" Turns out I am a fan. I also didn't realize how dang attractive Josh Gracin is...


(*insert funny story here*) We were going to get drinks and see if we could get Josh's (we're on a first name basis) autograph. Well it turns out we walked right past him.. but not before Gibbs tapped him with her water bottle and said "Hey! That's Josh!" Well when Wink heard that she freaked and went into slightly psycho fan mode. She ran after him screaming "Josh, Josh, Josh, Josh!" This picture is her trying to get him to stop..


He just kept telling her he couldn't stop, until she grabbed his arm and then he kindly stopped and said fine lets take a picture. (It was lucky I had my camera out) He took this picture with Wink..


The whole thing happened so fast that neither Gibbs or I could get into the picture. So we decided to wait in line and get autographs. (see ticket above) I didn't even know any of the songs he sings, but hey, why not?


It was such a fun night. I think we seriously turned into 13 year old girls. It was just fun to let loose and not care what anyone thought of us and just dance and sing. (there is a video I might post later of our antics)

It was a great night even if it was 100 degrees and I did stay up way too late on a Monday! (1 a.m. never used to feel so late!) Thanks girls!