HOLIDAYS ARE ALMOST HERE!!!!!!!

This has been the busiest semester of my life! Project after project, field trip after field trip! It's been insane! I only took 15 credits, but it was quite the load considering that half of them were project intense classes. Through all of this craziness, I have been able to learn the following:

• The Lord truly does want you to succeed and is willing to help you in any circumstance even if it doesn't happen when you want it to. 
• Taking 4 classes that require a lot of projects at the same time probably isn't the best idea ever.
• Online classes should never be an option for me. 
• I shouldn't underestimate myself with anything. I am better than I think I am. 
• Don't procrastinate a big cake assignment until a few days before it's due.... you wont get any sleep the night before it's due. 
• Using a calendar is a great idea! 
• Sometimes it's ok to take a breather and be with family. 
• You can't do it all. 
• It's ok to say No. 
• My life doesn't revolve around swing. Homework should come before swing. (This was a way harder concept to get than I thought it would be.)
• It's important to broaden your talents.
• I love photography! 
• Running a foodservice type of business is a lot harder than you would think. 
• AND NEVER EVER EVER EVER PROCRASTINATE A 50 HOUR PROJECT 
• It is possible to do a 50 hour project in 3 weeks..... you just get a few nights of no sleep. 

I could seriously go on forever, but those are the main things. This week is the last week of school, but I am basically done. I have a few flowers to make and a few online things, but other than that, I am done! After that I only have one more semester and then I will graduate! That is a little far in the future though. Right now I can't wait to go home! You might think, you are only 15 minutes away from home, but I still get homesick every once in awhile. I don't see my family as much as you would think. 

Here are some pictures from this past semester. It should give you a good idea of what I've been up to the past 4 months:

I got a new camera. However, after I got this one, I had to exchange it for a different one that had the settings I needed for my class. I now own a Cannon PowerShot SX150 IS. I love it!

This was the first cake I did for my advanced cake decorating class.  

This was my final cake! It was a pumpkin spice cake. It was also my first topsy turvey cake! 

This is the scarecrow I made for the top of my cake.   

This is a picture I took on a field trip to Bannack, MT for my digital imaging. 

This is also a picture I took at Bannack, MT. 

I love the Holidays! I am so excited to be with family and do our usual traditions. My sister posted on her blog some of the traditions that we did through our childhood and I kind of want to share them! They are wonderful! These traditions just remind me of how magical Christmas was in our house growing up! I love it! It always seems to continue to be more and more magical every year because of the love we feel for everyone and being able to have all the smells and music around us. Here are the traditions of my childhood:

• Pajamas
• Read Luke 2
• Watching Mr. Krueger's Christmas (If you haven't seen it, you need to! Jimmy Stewart will make you cry.)
• Watch Luke 2
• Muppet Christmas Carol
• Taking fresh salsa and chips to neighbors
• A new ornament every year
• Christmas music, especially the Harry Connick Jr. album
• Staying up most of the night with my sister in anticipation for Christmas morning
• Wrapping Dad's presents for mom (even though she already knew what they were)
• Knowing where all the presents were "hidden" but also knowing if we got in to them Mom would know and return them all!
• Dad not wanting to put up lights
• Sorting through all the Christmas piano music
• Caroling with the church youth group
• Eggnog and rice pudding for breakfast
• Going to Grandma and Granddad's house
• Sledding down Granddad's hill and trying to get as close to the river without falling in as you could all while avoiding the tree (that is not a fun thing to run into)!
• Wearing a new outfit
• Playing games and watching movies all afternoon
• Going down the stairs youngest to oldest
• Dad checking to see if Santa came and telling us he didn't and to go back to bed!
• Lots of good time with family!!!

I wish I had some pictures to show you, but I don't have them on my computer. Maybe I will post them another time after I've scanned them. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!! Here is a great video to help you remember the true meaning of Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

If you would like to check out my sister, Heidi's blog, click here! She is the one that came up with the list of Christmas Traditions! =) 

Cakes and Breaks! =)

So school is finally done! I have been looking forward to this break for the past two months! Well... after I was done with clean checks and finals on Friday, I got to go home, but I started to get sick. Just my luck. It turned into a nasty cold and then I finally started to feel better on Tuesday. Well Wednesday night I started having this really bad ear ache. I was up half the night because it hurt so bad. Well in the middle of all this, I was working on my friends wedding cake that had to be done by Friday. Well my mom made me call in sick on Thursday and I went to the doctor. The doctor told me that this is usually something you see with toddlers, not 21 year olds. He told me that I needed to take it easy and not do anything strenuous for the next couple of days. I said ok, all I have to do is this huge wedding cake haha. Wedding cakes always stress me out because they are so much work and I always worry that the bride wont like it. I truly believe I had help from on high because there is no way I should have been able to push through getting that cake done on time like I did. I was able to stay up late and work on the cake without feeling absolutely horrible. I never had to take my pain medication which was a very good thing considering the fact it knocks you out for hours. The cake took a long time and a lot of work, but it turned out beautifully and the bride absolutely LOVED it! =)

1 MORE WEEK AND I'LL BE FREE!!!!

So as you can imagine, it's been a CRAZY, BUSY, HECTIC semester..... to say the least!  I have learned a lot, mainly the fact that fast grad wears you down FAST! I was ready for the semester to be over about a month ago. I have got to the point where I just am dragging and it is taking all of my energy to keep up. We are now down to just one week! YAY!!!! I will then get an 8 week break! Just what I need! This summer is going to be busy with weddings and family reunions and lets not forget the trip I am planning on taking down to Utah! I plan on meeting my new nephew Edward Lawrence Stone. I am so excited!

Since it will be a break and a rather long one at that, I am planning on reading some books this summer because I can. =) Any suggestions on what I should read? I am for sure planning on finally finishing Harry Potter 5. =)

I will fill you all in on my life in a week! HOOOLLLAAAA!!!! =)

How lucky am I?

Yesterday was such a sweet, testimony building day. Sunday's have always been one of my favorite days of the week because you get the opportunity to go to church and spend 3 hours learning about the gospel and Heavenly Father's plan for us. I am so blessed to be brought up into this church. I had the opportunity to attend my friend's mission report. It was so neat to hear him speak and to be able to see that change he had while in Argentina. It was cool to hear these stories of him spreading the gospel and how they changed his life. I really am grateful to have the Holy Ghost with me and to be worthy enough to hear the spirit whisper to me telling me that all this is true.
I just want to bare my testimony that I know that this church is true. I know that I will be able to return to live with Heavenly Father again and that I will be able to be sealed to my family for all time and eternity. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that President Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet of today. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that the power of the priesthood is real. I know that it can heal us when we have the faith we need. I know that I am a child of God and Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. I know that Christ atoned for my sins as well as everyone elses. I know that when we pray to Heavenly Father with a sincere heart, we will recieve answers in His time. I bare this to you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

"All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." Abraham Lincoln

Mothers day is coming up and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate my mom. She is truly my best friend! I'm so grateful for her and know for a fact that I wouldn't be the person I am today without her. I know that my grandma and all the other mother-like figures have something to do with who I am today as well. A big thanks goes to all you mothers!

THE FINAL CAKE!!!!

I just finished my final cake for my cake decorating class! I am so excited to have it done. I feel very proud of myself as I look through the pictures of all the cakes I've done so far. I have improved so much from the beginning of the semester. So I guess I will do a little less talking and and more showing. So enjoy!

This was taken before it was finished. 

The final masterpiece! 

Bet you can't guess what I've been up too....

Well you guessed it, I have been doing more cakes and baking. Pretty much that is my life right now with all my other school work. Here is my latest cake. We had to do a basket weave on the sides of the cake with some flowers made out of royal icing and butterflies made out of colorflow icing. It was a lot of fun to do.

Another Cake....

So I just finished my first fondant cake! It was quite the challenge, but I think it turned out well. Enjoy!

First Wedding Cake

So this past weekend I had the opportunity to make and deliver my very first wedding cake. It was an awesome experience. I definitely learned some things that I will be doing differently, but overall I am very grateful for this wonderful experience. My sister Heidi has been begging me for pictures, so here you are:

Before the flowers

My Hero

So tonight I was a little depressed. I have been discovering more and more engagements and more babies on the way. All my friends are moving on. I couldn't be more happy for them, but it does get a little discouraging when I get asked why I'm not dating, or why I'm not married yet, or are you going to go on a mission? Well tonight I was having a really tough time. I called my mom and she always seems to do wonders at cheering me up. She reminded me of the quote by Sister Hinckley that she got on a plaque shortly after starting school. I really liked it and decided to look up more quotes by her. Let me just tell you, if you ever feel down, just look up quotes by Sister Hinckley and that frown will soon be turned upside down! I just want to share some of them with you:


"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache." 


"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." 


"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are." 


"The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead" 


"Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for an relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling." 


"We are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how we need each other. Those of us who are old need you who are young, and hopefully, you who are young need some of us who are old...We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance. We need to renew our faith every day. We need to lock arms and help build the kingdom so that it will roll forth and fill the whole earth."


"Develop some intellectual curiosity. If you have it, you will never be bored. If you haven't, cultivate it, hold fast to it. Never let it go. To the intellectually curious, the world will always be full of magic, full of wonder. You will be interesting to your friends, to your spouse, and a joy to your children. You will be alive to all the wonderful possibilities of this world." 


"...the beautiful thing--perhaps the thing I love most about the gospel-- is that everything we learn we can use and take with us and use it again. No bit of knowledge goes wasted. Everything you are learning now is preparing you for something else. Did you know that? What a concept!" 


 - Marjorie Pay Hinckley


These are just a few of my favorites. They put a smile on my face and helped me to cheer up a little bit. 

Cakes, Pastries, Law, and More Cakes........

So this semester has been awesome, but quite the work load. My teachers are all great and pretty easy to understand. The only problem with that is all the homework that comes with it. I think the class I have had the most work to do is my Media Law and Ethics class. Just the name itself makes you want to give up and run away now..... Well I haven't given up yet. It is so difficult to understand though. All this law language and everything makes my head feel like it's about to explode sometimes. There are so many process that journalists have to go through and the government. It's definitely I am not going into journalism...

My favorite class would definitely have to be my cake decorating class. I absolutely LOVE it!!!! I have learned so much and it just make me want more than ever to one day start up my own cake decorating business. I think it would be so much fun and I'm actually pretty good at it.
Here are some pictures of the cakes I have done so far:

My first rose EVER! =)

Well this has pretty much been my life lately. I'm still keeping up the swing dancing and all that. I have needed that break more than ever this semester. It helps me to relieve stress. Well that's all for today!