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Monday, February 29, 2016

weekend happs

last week was CRAZY! i got off to kind of a bad start by staying up way too late on sunday night. it was a bit of a downhill slope the rest of the week. i barely slept, and i was way too busy. i was so looking forward to the weekend. even though it went by really fast, it did not disappoint.

friday night after work i went to the temple. after a week of complete crazy, it was so nice to sit in peace and quiet.
i went running for the first time in a month. we ran to liberty park-my favorite run! it was sunny and warm and such a beautiful day.

i met bonnie for some blog photos-coming soon.

the rest of the evening was all about relaxing. tiffany and i got some dinner, did our nails, and watched fuller house on netflix. we made it a little more than half way through. i have so many flashbacks to growing up. i love it!
if you follow me on snapchat (aubreyzaruba), you've seen my nail polish obsession. i bought this pink (bachelorette bash) last week and couldn't wait to use it. i LOVE it! it's the perfect pink.
sometimes i feel like sunday isn't really part of the weekend which is so weird. it's not the weekday so i don't know what in the world i think it is. 

how was your weekend? any exciting happs?

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Friday, February 26, 2016

foodie friday...taco stuffed peppers

there seems to be a bit of a food pattern around here-quick, clean, and easy. as much as i love to cook, i don't have time to make food that takes forever and ever. when i find something i like, i make it a lot and eat it for days. these taco stuffed peppers are one of those foods.
i originally saw the idea for taco stuffed peppers from tasty on facebook. it sounded really good so i modified it to make it my own.

ground turkey-1 pound
taco seasoning
1-2 cups salsa
chopped onion
quinoa and brown rice packet from costco
black beans
mexican blend cheese
bell peppers

saute onions. cook ground turkey. add taco seasoning and cook per instructions. add salsa. simmer for a few minutes. add black beans and quinoa/rice. stir and simmer. add 1/2 cup cheese. stuff filling in peppers. bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. it's so good!


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Thursday, February 25, 2016

random rambling...a birth story

i had the most amazing experience last month. before i get to that, there's a little bit of backstory... 
one of the saddest things to me about getting older is the very real possibility that i may never have children. i'm not saying i won't for sure, but the window of time is definitely closing. it's not something i talk about a lot, but it is something i think about a lot. i know i can adopt, freeze my eggs, have kids until i'm old, and every other thing you might be thinking to tell me, but unless i meet the man of my dreams pretty pronto, it might not be in my life plan.

as i have thought more and more about that recently (especially the last year), i realized i also may never have the experience of birth (either my own story or witnessing someone else's). it's not the kind of thing i would necessarily ask someone. i would never expect anyone to invite me to be present for their delivery, and i would never be upset if someone offered and then changed their mind.


somehow this topic came up at bookclub in december. mauri was pregnant with baby #6 and talked about how she didn't really care who was in the delivery room-parents, students, whoever. she invited me to come to her birth. i assured her over and over that she didn't have to, and she also assured me that it was totally fine.

the week came and we exchanged several texts about the plan. she would be induced sometime on sunday-probably in the morning. she again assured me that she was completely comfortable with me being there.

sunday morning came, and she let me know she was at the hospital. she invited me to come and be there for as much of the process as i wanted. i got to the hospital after they started her on pitocin and gave her the epidural. we spent the next several hours visiting in the room. her husband was there of course and her parents came. her mom watched the monitors. the nurse came in about every 15 minutes to check the baby's heartbeat, and we waited.

eventually her midwife came in and broke her water, and we waited some more. we chatted throughout most of the afternoon, and eventually she got tired and took a little rest. the room was so peaceful and quiet. the midwife checked her a couple of times, and the progress was a little slow. she came back to check in the early evening. she checked her and then said it's time to have a baby.

i wanted to make sure to be completely out of the way, and everyone else wanted to make sure i could see. since it was baby #6, things went pretty quickly. the delivery went very well. the whole thing was so incredible. mauri was completely calm the whole time. she talked a little between contractions, and it seemed almost effortless. i saw the baby's cute little head, and i could barely contain my emotion. the baby was born, and there were tears in the room (the baby's, grandma's and mine for sure). words cannot adequately describe the sweetness of the experience.  

i stood back and observed as they finished taking care of things and taking care of the baby. i didn't plan to stick around too long after the baby was born, but i did wait until everything was pretty wrapped up. dad held the baby and then passed her to grandma and grandpa. i got to hold the baby before i left. there is something so completely precious about a brand newborn. i held her for a few minutes and savored the sweet experience. as i congratulated my friends on their new arrival and thanked them for the experience, i felt so much emotion. i witnessed a miracle that day, and it is something i hope i never forget.

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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

wear it wednesday...a casual day in san diego

part of my california trip at the beginning of the month included spending the day with jacque in san diego. she is one of the best dressed people i know, and i always feel the need to look super cute when i see her (well i feel that way all the time but especially when i see her). we didn't have really set plans. we talked about possibly walking around some beach towns, grabbing lunch somewhere, and maybe doing a little shopping. 

i'm all about fashion over function, but walking around san diego in really cute shoes didn't seem very smart. i stressed a little about what to wear, but then i had to pack.




target cardi|old navy dress|nordstrom BP purse|converse shoes

we ended up walking around balboa park and ending the day shopping at the mall. i was so happy i wasn't in somethings terribly uncomfortable.
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Tuesday, February 23, 2016

blogging the bach 20.8

this happens every time, but i can't believe we're already at hometowns. the first part of the season goes slow, and then all of a sudden we're here. 

who's watching: celsey, alicia, amanda, lacey, megan

hometown #1:amanda
what i saw
ben seems pretty awkward with the kids and the kids weren't too excited to see him either. 
what i heard
stop being so predictable with your shirts--megan
first of all the sleeves are just an accessory. it's not helping anything--megan
i'm sorry lady. no one is ever going to love your kids as much as you--megan
ok, you don't wear short shorts if you've got thick thighs and you're a man--cel
why do the kids look like they are dressed for jerusalem?--megan
her mom looks like franklin the turtle--megan
what i thought
i really don't know how these 2 could really work.
ben says he can picture being a part of this family. i can't picture it at all.

hometown #2:lauren b
what i saw
ben seems so much more comfortable with lauren than with amanda and her kids and her family
what i heard
why is he always trying to feed people in a weird way?--megan
her mom ages well--lacey
unless you are giselle, no one should wear high waisted jeans--megan
they both cried?--cel
what i thought
these 2 really like each other a lot

hometown #3:caila
what i saw
poor caila has the worst style
what i heard
is she ready to ride a horse--megan
is your dad santa?--cel
i would never color with a boy on my same paper--cel
that's why she was kept. her dad paid abc--alicia
dad was obviously a total goober and got a mail order bride--megan
the dad is going to die when he hears ben called her a sex panther--cel
straight men don't wear mustard pants in that shade--megan
straight men don't wear mustard pants--cel
what i thought
ben says building a toy house is one of the coolest things he's ever done. i am concerned about his life.
caila likes ben more than he likes her

hometown #4:jojo
what i saw
jojo has the best hair, makeup, and clothes of all of them
jojo took all the looks in the family
what i heard
it looks like a model home--alicia
she had her house staged--cel
why is she having this conversation right now?--alicia
mr rogers--megan
how did chad know she was coming home today?--alicia
she's wearing one of those weird bracelets. you're not jasmine--megan
her mom has had some word done to the face and some botched jobs--alicia
megan had the funniest things to say about mom and her accent and how clueless she is about the whole thing.
oh guys i found a website-jojo's ex boyfriend chad 5 things you need to know--megan
are the brothers married or they grumpy old men?--cel
booze mom up before the cameras get here--megan
what i thought
her brothers were kind of the worst. i would be so mad at my brothers if they acted like that.

cocktail party/rose ceremony
what i saw
the girls all look really pretty.
poor jojo was so nervous
what i heard
after her brothers, she has to lead with her boobs--megan
caila looks like she's going to a mormon prom--megan
oh my gosh, an off the shoulder--cel
caila's dress is from downeast--cel
i won't miss you that much because there are 3 other women here--megan
she's holding it together because she has cry voice all the time. she has a lot of practice--cel
what i thought
i knew amanda was going home. he clearly is not ready for that role, but it was sweet how sad he was.

tear tally-13 (the same as last week. we were all surprised. it seems like there were a lot more)
word tally-there was a lot of talking tonight. i very possibly missed a few.
husband/wife-2
love-35
journey-0
connection-2
amazing-5

my guess is caila goes home next, but it looks like there's going to be a good amount of drama and tears coming up. who is your fave? i still really like jojo.

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Monday, February 22, 2016

more february happs

there are a lot of weeks that i have plans every night of the week and weekend. i have a lot of fun, but it also makes me really tired. i've been trying to make a few less plans lately, but that doesn't mean no plans ever. 

celsey had the cutest valentine's day treats at monday night tradish. 

on tuesday i had an activity with the ladies at church. it was my first time being in charge. we did cocoa and conversation. the hot chocolate bar was a big success and cleaned up before i had a chance to take any pictures.

i met friends for dinner on wednesday. i got off work a little early so i went to the gym before dinner. i had enough time to work out but not enough time to shower and change. it's not the first time it's happened, and it's probably not the last but there i was at dinner in my gym clothes.

i ran into michelle money and cody sattler at the gym. i knew they had been working out at the gym i go to, but i hadn't been there at the same time. i saw them when i walked in on friday. i don't normally get too star struck, but it was really cool to meet them.


thursday, friday, and saturday i attended the power of choice seminar. i have a really great life, and i really love my life. this workshop was all about making the choice to live the best life. even though i already really love my life, there is something really great about learning to be even better. i learned some powerful tools and met some great people.

how's your february going so far? any exciting happs?
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Thursday, February 18, 2016

foodie friday...another stir fry

if it seems like a eat a lot of stir fry, that's because i do. it is quick and easy clean and healthy. i keep things pretty simple-meat, vegetables, garlic powder and minced onion, rice. i usually cook on sunday and eat the leftovers as long as they last-usually several days. it's a little boring, but mostly it's nice to have a quick easy meal.
sauté shrimp and pre cooked, grilled chicken in coconut oil with garlic powder and minced onion
add a bag of frozen vegetables 
add cooked brown rice/quinoa packet
simmer for a few minutes to mix flavors
add a side of steamed edamame

I had this cooked, eaten, and cleaned up in about 30 minutes. 
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winter woes list: brunch

i think we all know i hate winter. there is really not one single thing about it i like. i love the holidays, but we could just as easily have those in the summer. just ask australia. they manage to celebrate just fine, and it's summer for them. in order to combat the anger that comes with winter, we made a winter woes list. one of the things on the list is brunch.

a few weeks ago i had several things happening around the same time on saturday morning. it was stressing me right out trying to figure out what i was going to do. on friday night decided to plan a last minute saturday brunch. i bailed on all my other plans and went to brunch.

we went to the original pancake house in sugarhouse. i have never had such good service in my whole life. we told the server we wanted buckets of soda because we were all so thirsty. she brought out 2 glasses on the first time. we had to wait a little bit longer for a table so they brought us free food. i had a delicious omelet. we all loved our food, but the service was even better.


we had such a fun time laughing and eating that we almost forgot how terrible winter is.

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

what would you do...with a brand new car

what-would-you-do
it's time for another round of what would you do. this month we want to know...

if money wasn't an issue, WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with a brand new car?

i spent 20 minutes last night looking for this picture which is actually my car

i am not a car person. i don't care about fast cars or fancy cars or even very nice cars. i commute about 60 miles per day for work plus i drive around all day. miles add up fast. my car is almost 4 1/2 years old and has almost 125000 miles. mostly i want something that is safe, reliable, good in the snow and has decent gas mileage.

i hate car shopping! i have a connection with nissan so whenever i buy a car i usually at least have it narrowed down to nissan. last time i shopped for a new car i only had 2 things i really really wanted-all wheel or 4 wheel drive and heated leather seats. i pretty much insisted on those things, and that's what i got. i really love my nissan rogue. it's been a great car. if i was car shopping right now and money wasn't an issue, i still think i would end up with a nissan rogue-maybe in charcoal instead of red.

i'm pretty boring when it comes to car. we want to know WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with a brand new car? we're not big on rules so grab the button, link up, and hop around. come back next month and tell us WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with your favorite pin on pinterest.

Grab a Button and Link Up



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Tuesday, February 16, 2016

blogging the bach 20.7

who watched the bachelor 20/jade and tanner wedding special on sunday? i totally forgot about it for the first hour, turned it on and watched for a few minutes while i made dinner, and missed the rest. we watched it while we ate dinner on monday which means we still missed much of it. i'll probably go back and watch at some point.
who's watching: celsey, alicia, amanda, and lacey

date #1: lauren b-asked out in person
what i saw
lauren b was acting so weird, and the ben asked her on the date. all of a sudden she was fine.
what i heard
probs wish she had a belt on right now--cel as lauren's pants are falling off
her ovaries are crying right now--amanda
20 bucks they paid that kid to sit there and cry--lacey
lauren and ben are wearing the same outfit--cel
what i thought
i would be in so much trouble on this date. i am so terrible at basketball.
ben took lauren to meet his friends. that's always a big deal.

date #2: JoJo let's find love in the windy city
what i saw
jojo was feeling really insecure, and you can kind of tell when she sees ben.
what i heard
that would be so awkward running for no reason--amanda
the things he's saying about her are really good--amanda
homerun???--cel
what i thought
ben hasn't seemed to have any reservation about jojo. he wanted to make sure she is into him. once she opened up, he was all smiles again.

date #3: caila, amanda, becca 
what i saw
becca is basically on a date with amanda in the boat
ben's conversation with becca was kind of weird. he didn't do anything to reassure her.
what i heard
becca is having flashbacks of her hideous velvet dress with chris--cel
i told the girls i needed them to say something funny about them being at mcdonalds. alicia responded with "there's nothing to say"
you're not the only 2 people in the world because there are thousands of people staring at you--alicia
what i thought
if ben was going to keep becca, he would have given her the group date rose. i feel so sad for her.
i'm so surprised he has kept amanda around for so long. 

date #4:emily-home is where the heart is
what i saw
back on the pontoon
ben's mom making the best faces. she's scared that all the girls are like emily,and she's freaking out.
what i heard
mattis, i really hope you're kidding--cel to her dog getting in the trash (i laughed so hard probably mostly because i was bored)
that's a harsh one--lacey
what i thought
i kind of just wanted to cover my eyes through this whole date, and i did a couple of times.
so far emily has told ben's parents she 1. wants to be a cheerleader 2. will be an amazing mom and 3. loves to watch movies
she's going to paradise for sure
all the other girls are bawling their eyes out that emily is going home. is anyone surprised?

cocktail party/rose ceremony
what i saw
i don't know if we've ever seen dresses covered up by coats. it must be so cold.
what i heard
oh there's no cocktail party--everyone at the same time
what i thought
i feel so sad for becca. she is the cutest, classiest girl. i hope she has tons of dudes calling her now. and if not, i hope she's the next bachelorette. 

who's still on: amanda, lauren b, jojo, caila

tear tally: 13
word tally
husband/wife:6
love:21
journey:0-not a big word this season
connection:2-also not big
amazing-12

do you blog about the bachelor? linkup your posts below.

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Monday, February 15, 2016

february happs

this month is kind of running all together for me. between going to california for a few days, taking a couple of days off work, having the worst cough ever, and a holiday today, i barely know what day it is much less if it's a weekday or weekend.

i love holidays-all of them. if no one is buying you gifts, buy yourself some. i bought this alex and ani love bangle for my valentine's day present to myself. flippin waffles gave me the key to my heart for a valentine's day gift for helping at a wedding. they are the perfect combo.
celsey planned the cutest valentine's day photo shoot for her little babe. i helped a tiny bit, but mostly i was there dying at the cuteness. 

celsey and i also did a cute gender reveal-coming soon.

besides monday night tradish and the gender reveal prep, i kind of took it a little easier than normal last week. i have had the most wicked cough from the disgusting air we have here. i am not a good sick person so it's really driving me completely crazy.

friday night sage and i went to dinner and saw the choice. i usually read all of the nicholas sparks books because they are easy to read, and they're all set in north carolina. it reminds me of home, and i love it. i can't really remember if i read the choice or not. they all kind of run together for me, but i liked the movie-very predictable but that's fine with me.

on saturday i helped laurann cater a wedding. it was the prettiest wedding inside a LDS gym that i've ever seen. i wish i had more pictures. this time we did the waffles in the kitchen and other ladies carried them out to the food table. it made things much simpler and easier than other times.
other than that, i've been busy with work and trying to stick to an early morning workout schedule. how's your february going so far?
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Friday, February 12, 2016

quick so cal trip

tiffany and i went to southern california last week for a quick few days for a little bit of work and a little bit of fun. we left wednesday night, and i came back saturday early morning. we weren't gone very long at all, but it was so nice to get away for a few days. the warm weather was such a welcome break from the bad winter we're having this year.

we had a training for work all day thursday, met up with jacque in san diego on friday, and i left the hotel at 5:30am on saturday. 

waiting for the shuttle bus to get our rental car which actually meant waiting for the parking shuttle to take us to the parking lot where we met a van to take us to the rental car company-not questionable at all. we rented an economy car, but they were out. we ended up with a bright red dodge journey that kind of looked like a fire truck or at least a bright red minivan. 
our training was really good. it was all about early intervention which we don't always find. 

after the training we relaxed in our hotel for a while and then decided to walk around downtown disney. we worked around the shops and ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. it was such a nice evening and made me all kinds of excited for summer. 

we bought face masks at Sephora so we came back and did those. 
we drove down to san diego and met jacque at her place. she took us to kensington cafe for lunch. it was the cutest place and delicious. after lunch we walked around balboa park and soaked up the sunny day. 

we ended the day at the mall where we looked in a lot of stores and did some lipstick shopping. i've missed jacque so much since she moved so it was so great to spend the very best day with her. 
we originally planned to stay until saturday evening, but i had to change my flight for a funeral. it was an eventful morning that included 2 shuttle buses on the tarmac of LAX airport, but I made it back in time for the funeral. 

i'm so glad i got away for a few days. a quick little break was exactly what i needed. 
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