Check out these strawberries! Each picture is one strawberry. And they taste good!

Friday was my friend Jennifer's half birthday, so she requested half of a birthday cake. A few weeks ago I bought a 4-inch spring form pan that I hadn't had a chance to use yet, so rather than make half a big cake, I decided instead to make mini cakes. So I made individual 7-layer tortes. They tasted okay, but they looked awesome.
For the last few months I've had a pot of soil sitting on my counter behind my sink. I planted date seeds in it in December, but nothing ever grew. Since then, I've just stuck random seeds in there every now and then. I know for sure I put some grapefruit seeds in a while ago, and I might have put an avocado pit, some orange seeds, and some apple seeds in there, but I really can't remember. But nothing's ever happened. I completely gave up on it and stopped watering it about a month ago, and it was just a pot of dry dirt. The only reason I didn't throw it away was because it was too cold outside to go dump the dirt out. But then, last Thursday, I was getting a drink of water and noticed that there was a sprout in the pot! In the middle of all the crusty dry dirt, there's actual life! So I quickly gave it water and plant food and have been watching it closely ever since. It doesn't have any leaves yet- it's just white and straight- but it's definitely growing. And I have no idea what kind of plant it is! It's very exciting. I can't wait for it to get leaves so I can look it up and find out what's growing.

It's been forever since I last posted, and I still don't think I have anything to say, but I feel like I should post anyway. So here are just a few ramblings.
First, one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast: I mix together about 1/3 cup of oatmeal, and a little less than that of the chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats. Put in about 1/2 milk and microwave for a minute. You don't have to add sugar or anything. It's really good!
Next, last week I saw Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was much better than I expected, but I didn't expect much. I'd say it's worth a dollar theater for sure.
Third, my favorite song this week is "Say Hey" by Michael Franti and Spearhead. I have no idea what category of music it would be put in, but I like it a lot. It's fun to sing along with.
Fourth, it's been raining a ton here all weekend. We've gotten more rain in the last two days than Utah probably gets in a summer. It's been awesome. And I'm very glad for the big marshy area/drainage pond behind my apartment to give somewhere for all that rain to go. Oh, and the rivers and lakes here are completely full. It's pretty cool.
Fifth, I gave a talk on family history in church today. As part of my preparation, I was reading stories out of the family history book that Grandmommy gave me a few years ago. I think Mommy Rene is going to be a fun person to meet.

New Game

The deal: The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me for you! It will be my choice, but custom designed especially for you. Just so we’re on the same page, here are the details: No guarantees my gift will make you will feel absolute true love, but possibly some happiness, slight fervor, or maybe chocolate. It will be done sometime this year. You will have no clue what it will be… cookies, a photograph, a piece of homemade jewelry. It may be some other random thing I am capable of making or doing that would be enjoyable to you! I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you! That’s for sure. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.The fine print (which is actually the same size, but whatever): You must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. When you get your lovely homemade goods from me, post a picture on your blog so I know my love arrived without a hitch. I got this from my sister's blog and I couldn't NOT keep the love going around. Who wants to play?

Recent Happenings

I don't think my life has been very exciting lately, so I haven't had a lot to write. But I'm starting to get complaints about that, so here's a post. Let's see...stuff to write about. I found a few more reasons to love Michigan. A few days ago I went for my standard walk around the neighborhood. While I was out, I saw a bunch of cardinals and blue jays (you may not all know this, but I'm a birder, and blue jays are my favorite). Then, I was walking past a little forest, and it just looked like wild animals should be there. I heard what sounded like footsteps, so I looked more closely and realized there were about 20 wild turkeys walking through the trees. It was pretty cool. I thought wild turkeys only existed in pilgrim days, but there they were, right in my neighborhood!

Last weekend some of my friends and I couldn't think of anything fun to do. It's usually too cold to do anything outside, and we're sick of videos and phase 10. But, Mother Nature took a little pity on us and gave us a weekend above freezing. We actually got into the 40s on Saturday! Detroit's Winter Blast festival was going on downtown. I'd never been, but it sounded fun so I went down there with one of my friends. Oh, first we saw Coraline. It was good, but I wouldn't take little kids to it. Back to the Winter Blast: there was an outdoor ice skating rink , techno music, and lots of people. There were also a lot of ice sculptures. Since it had been so warm, they were melting, but it was still fun to see (note: that was my third ice sculpture event in a month- it must be a Michigan thing or something). Afterwards, we went to a Cuban restaurant. It was super good!

Yesterday I flew to Phoenix for a job interview. I flew out early in the morning, interviewed for a few hours, then flew back, getting home early this morning. It was a long day. I think the interview went well, but I'm not sure how enthralled I am with the job (it's not finance! and it turns out, I really like the auto industry), so we'll see. This morning I had an interview with a seat belt/air bag supplier here in Michigan. This job is right up my alley, and it's only a 15 minute drive, so I'm kind of hoping something happens with that.

So that's my life right now. Like I said, not very exciting, but it's what I've got.

A Whole New World

Now, this may come as a shock to most of you, but I'm not technologically gifted. I'm not the person who knows months in advance of a new product release, and I don't pour over all the new and exciting features of electronics that will make life so much easier. Case in point: music.

I love music, and I love listening to the radio, but that's about as far as my interests have traditionally gone. I haven't bought a new CD in nine years (seriously- if I only like a few songs by the artist, why should I buy 15?). I was firm in my position that a sunroof is more important in a car than a CD player. I always thought it was exciting to listen to the radio. It's kind of a gamble- you never know if the radio gods will be with you or if you'll end up finding only ads and annoying songs.

But in the last few months, some of my friends and family (you know who you are) have given me a bit of music therapy. They've introduced me to new music and websites where I can explore my own specific music tastes (pandora!). The next step in my music growth came in Germany. One of the tv channels in my hotel room was actually an Austrian radio station (HitRadio O-drei). The only things that showed on the screen were the name of each song and artist and a periodic traffic report. With more traditional radio stations, I never know what I'm listening to, so I can't explore it. But with this, I could write down the stuff I liked and research it later to find even more stuff that I liked. The final step of my music transition (and the link to my technological weakness) was getting an Ipod for Christmas. All of the sudden, I don't have to rely on the radio gods to help me find my favorite songs. My favorite songs are all in one place! I just have to plug it in and go! And if I get a new favorite song, I don't have to buy a whole CD! I can just download that song! A new world has been opened to me, and I don't plan on returning to the old. Thank you to my friends and family and Austrian radio for helping me find the higher road.

So much to do, so little time

Well, life continues to run at a demanding pace. Here's a rundown of a typical day in my last few weeks:
Wake up
Lie in bed for a while, delaying the inevitable cold that is my apartment
Yoga
Gym
Shower, hair, etc
Breakfast/Scripture Study
Check email
Job search/Send resumes out
Piano/Violin practice
Lunch
Jigsaw puzzle
TV break
Read
Dinner
Read/TV
Yoga
Bed
I was so busy today (finished my puzzle!) that I couldn't even find the time to go shopping. I know, just reading my oppressive schedule probably wears you out. It's rough, but don't worry about me- I'll manage.