Wrapping up 2010

This last year has been a good one. Here are a few of the highlights:

• I got promoted from mailroom to web designer at Deseret Book.
• I went full time as an Associate Producer with the Church and made the choice to leave Deseret Book.
• I have been involved in the first ever International Video Contest for the Church.
• My brother left for Afghanistan and will come home this next year.
  
• I moved into a basement apartment and am roommate free.
• I got to go back to my mission in North Carolina and see dear friends.
• I got to visit places in my mission that I never had the chance to see while I was there 8 years ago. (Outer banks, the Biltmore mansion, Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Columbia)
• I got my bow hunter safety card and learned that I'm a great shot.
• I ran my first race, a 6K at Thanksgiving Point.
• I turned 30 and went to Disneyland to celebrate with friends.

Here's a few of my favorite pictures from this last year:

Family photos were taken before Kyle left for Afghanistan in March


Kyle leaving for Afghanistan and holding his nephew.


Two guys crossing the street with the whitest and most delicate umbrella I've ever seen.

Kitty Litter cake for Alan's birthday.

Bow Hunter Safety Class


Rowe has a thing for laundry baskets.



Scuba Trip in Catalina Island with family


Jason got to come visit us on the dive boat just off the coast of Catalina Island since he was working at a scout camp there. Check out his tan line.


Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina

Hanging out with friends.

Rowe's new trick

So in case you hadn't noticed...I'm playing catch up with my blog.

Most people got this whole week off from work, but I had to work. So I'm finally just getting time to sit down and post some of the fun stuff that's been happening.

My brother and his family are at his wife's family's cabin. Lucky him.

He sent this video of my nephew who has now learned a new trick. He's pretty funny and boy does he know it!

Let it Snow!

So Utah got hit with another pretty big snow storm Wednesday and Thursday.
For whatever reason though, we didn't get a snow day at work.
Go figure...the time we actually need a snow day, we don't get one.

This is on my way home. It was a bit treacherous at times, but doable.
You should have seen the roads the next morning. Snow packed!
My parents got a foot of snow in Northern Utah.
Where I live we got about 6 to 8 inches.
Now I just need a day off of work so I can go enjoy all of this fluffy, perfect powder!

Found this video a few days ago. It's pretty amazing! This is just a few days ago in New Jersey. We have nothing to complain about here in Utah. I'm just saying...

December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

Christmas 2010 - continued

One of my goals for the year 2010 was to finish a photo book that I had started for my Europe trip last November. I wanted to make one not only for me, but also for my travel buddy. Christmas seemed like a prime time to shoot for getting it done. Plus, there's always good deals going around Christmas time.

So guess what? I totally finished it, ordered it, and had it shipped before Christmas! :) Boy was I pleased with myself. And you know what? It turned out alright too. :)

The book was only part of the Christmas gift to my travel buddy though. While we were in Hungary we saw these cool Christmas crafts at the Christmas markets in Budapest.

I took quite a few pictures of them and we had talked about making them at some point when we got home. Well...that had been over a year ago and we had done little more than talk about it. So...I decided to get the stuff and then have her over one night so that we could make them together.

I made this little handmade coupon to go along with the travel book.

Since we are both not crafty people, this was a bit of an adventure. But...with lots of research, trial and error, and hunting down an all-knowing person at the craft store, I was able to figure out what we needed to do to make these things.


We both were pleasantly surprised and pleased that they turned out as well as they did. I know Christmas is over, but you know what... I seriously don't care. :) They smell good, they look pretty, and there are lot of good memories tied to it.

Christmas 2010

Christmas was awesome!

I was able to spend Christmas with my family and almost all us where home. We were only missing Kyle, but he did call home. It's amazing that they are able to call us from Afghanistan. Sure is a blessing.

It was a low-key Christmas, but it was still nice. Rowe, my little 1 year old nephew, made things that much more magical.


As siblings, we drew names and then had a max spending limit. I had Alan and I had some fun getting him some things. He got a book, which is normal for him to ask for and not much of a surprise. However, I did find a Techno Hoodie from Old Navy that knocked his socks off. These things are the coolest. The draw strings for the hood are actually headphones. The plug for your mp3 player is in the pocket and you don't see any wires. It's pretty darn cool and he was pretty excited about it.

EvaLyn had my name and she got me one of the coolest gifts I think I've ever received. Get ready for it...
She got me a Sushi making kit!
So in case you didn't know...I love sushi!
In college I used to go donate plasma just so I could get the money to get my weekly sushi- kick. Ahh...those were the days. :)

Anyway...it was a good Christmas and one that will be remembered.

Snow Day!

We got out of work early today! How awesome is that? I love snow days! :)

This one was a bit weird because the storm didn't really touch downtown Salt Lake City, but I guess Utah Valley got hit pretty hard.

Since I no longer live in Utah Valley, today was a good day. For those people who live in Utah Valley, I'm sorry. Good luck with all of the snow and all that goes with it. Be safe and stay warm. Hope you were all wishing for a White Christmas, because it looks like we are going to get one after all! :)

So the picture below might look a little funny. This is actually a picture of the view outside the window of the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City today. It was a white out at one point. At least when looking out at 27 floors up. Quite the view, eh?

FedEx scare

I ordered a gift online for a friend and have been waiting for it to arrive anxiously. I received my tracking information and was notified that it would be delivered today. Since I really need this package to arrive before Christmas, I have been checking on it quite a bit.

So...things were all good to go about 9:30 this morning. My package was on the truck out for delivery and I was expecting my delivery before 3:00 today. Things were good. And THEN...at about 1:30 I check the tracking and it says it's in MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE! What the crap?!? I tell you my heart stopped!

I figured it was a mistake...well prayed that it was a mistake. I figured I'd give them an hour, maybe two before I all out panicked. After an hour of checking and trying to decided what to do...it finally showed up delivered. Phew!! Thank goodness for technical errors...but ones that don't actually cause problems.

Christmas Goodies - Part 2

Work Gifts.
I needed something for the awesome people that I work with.
This year, I decided to do something around the theme of "warmth."
Perhaps it's because I live in a basement apartment and it seems to be a constant 62 degrees right now and I'm always freezing.

Anyway here's what I did. They got a little snack baggy of pure goodness that some people like to call, "Russian Refresher." You add a couple spoonfuls of this to a mug of hot water and it's Christmas to your soul any time of the year.

To go along with the warmth topic, I also included a package of hand warmers that will keep your little mitts warm for up to 8 hours. You can put them in your gloves or pockets and make it so your little fingers don't fall off in those cold situations.

I attached a cheesy little note that said something like,
"Hope you have a WARM and wonderful Christmas!"
They'll love it! :)

Russian Refresher recipe:
2 c. Tang
1 1/3 c. Sugar
1 pk (3 oz) Lemonade Mix* (6 Tablespoons if you got the big container like I did)
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

* Lemonade Mix should be pre-sweetened powder mix. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well. Put in a 1-quart container. Label as Russian Refresher Mix and store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 months. Makes about 3 1/2 Cups of mix.

RUSSIAN REFRESHER: Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of RUSSIAN REFRESHER MIX to 1 cup hot water. Stir to dissolve. Makes 1 serving.

(Recipe from "Make-A-Mix Cookery" by Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward & Madeline Westover and found here.)

My first Christmas tree

Ta Da!
I finally got around to posting about my first Christmas tree!
So...the first tree I bought did not work out. A friend of mine had an extra one
and let me borrow it. It's beautiful! It's one of the smaller ones and fits perfectly in my little apartment.

It took me awhile to take pictures of it because once I got it set up I couldn't find my ornaments. I have been saving my ornaments over the years and have a modest little collection. My sweet and creative grandmother makes us ornaments every year and I have been waiting to have my very own little tree to use them. But I can't seem to find them and I'm totally stumped. I don't have a very big place and I've got through all of my boxes and can't find them anywhere.

I managed to find 4 ornaments that were in random boxes I still have packed away. I'm sure you can imagine how sad that looked. I finally broke down and bought a box of red glass ornaments just so my tree wouldn't resemble a Charlie Brown tree. If you look closely though, it's still pretty ghetto. The store was out of the hanging hooks, so I am using paper clips.

Ahh well...it's all good. It finally looks like Christmas in my apartment and I am pleased. It's a good thing it doesn't take much to make me happy! :)

Christmas Goodies - Part 1

At work we have a treat table where we can volunteer to bring in goodies during the month of December. I love this time of year for so many reasons, but this is one of them.

I made Burnt Sugar Almonds. If you're not sure you know what I'm talking about, think of the warm, toasted nuts you usually find at hockey games. I stumbled across the recipe on the Pioneer Woman's blog. Here's step by step instructions.

I also brought in one of my family's favorites, Cream Saver Candy Bark. It's similar to peppermint bark, but we use Strawberry Cream Savers instead of the peppermint candies.

If you ask me, it's so much better. :)

It's super easy. All you need is are 2 packages of strawberry cream savers (you can also use 1 package of lemon drops) that you've crushed and a package of white chocolate bark coating.

Melt the white chocolate.
It's probably best to use a broiler, but since I don't own one, I improvised. I used a glass bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Works just as well.

Once the white chocolate is almost melted, remove from heat and stir so the last bits of chocolate melt. Once everything is melted, throw in the crushed cream savers and stir.

You don't want the cream savers to melt, so just stir until everything's good and incorporated.

Pour the white chocolate cream saver goodness into a sheet cake pan that has been lined with wax paper. The wax paper makes for easy clean up. Spread it out evenly and then let it set up. It takes about 20 minutes. If you want things to set up even faster, refrigerate them and it cuts the time to about half.

Once it's set up, break into pieces and enjoy!

It was a huge hit at work.
I think most people would agree...the strawberry cream savers totally beat the peppermint candies.