remembering 9/11

today is september 11-a day many of us will never forget. has it really been 14 years since that horrible day? the more time passes, the more removed it feels. elementary school children weren't alive. they learn about it in school as a historical event. even young adults may not remember, but i will never forget.

i will never forget the horror and shock and fear. i will never forget the unity and patriotism and national pride. we are lucky in utah to have a memorial. there is a statue as well as a freedom field.

every year it is set up with flags remembering those who lost their lives on 9/11 as well as other military who have lost their lives since then.

i took a little time to visit last night. it was a little dark and mostly empty which added to the experience. there is a flag for each person that died on 9/11 including a card with their name, age, and something about them. i read several of the cards. i didn't realize there were so many small children. i read about a family (mom, dad, 2 little girls) that were all on the plane. there were older people and younger people, business travelers and personal travelers-people from all walks of life.

i never want to forget that day, but i almost did. luckily the radio reminded me about the utah healing field. i'm glad i took a few minutes out of my time to remember.
the last time i visited NYC, the 9/11 memorial was done. it is one of the most amazing things in all of NYC. it completely captures the situation and transports people outside of the hustle and bustle of the city. it is a definite must see in NYC and the most unique experience. 9/11 memorial

every year my thoughts on 9/11 are very similar. i think back on that day that changed the history of the world.
2014

2012

2011

what were you doing on 9/11? how do you remember?

alison's cabana boogie

i kind of hate dance parties. i know. i kind of can't believe it either. i grew up dancing so it doesn't really make sense. it's just not my thing. every time the alison show has a big dance party, i don't go. 

i somehow (ahem looks for lovelies) ended up buying a ticket this time, and i'm so glad i did.

things started out a little crazy with dinner. i got out of work late, and traffic was a beast. i was super late to dinner and never got a chance to order. the restaurant was BUSY and instead of telling us they were short on staff they just ignored us (no drink orders, food orders, or check for 40 minutes). needless to say I wasn't impressed. despite the lack of food, we had a fun time. 

emma, sandy, natasha, cecilia, sarah, michelle

the gallivan center was the perfect venue for a party with 600 of our closest friends. we got there and rushed the light to take a few pictures. 

alison making her grand entrance on the throne of awesome. 

photos with the cabana boys

sarah in the throne of awesome

besides the dance party, there was a braid bar (platinum studio), a soda truck (sodalicious), cookie ice cream sandwich truck (penguin brothers), yogurt bar (milk and honey) and a fun swag bag. i spent the evening with lots of friends and had a really fun time. 

what would you do..with apples

since everyone but me is freaking out about fall, kimberly and i chose a little bit of a fall theme this month. we want to know

WHAT WOULD YOU DO..WITH APPLES?

i have recipe for sweet potatoes that is really delicious (and i'll share some other time). i decided to adapt that recipe to fit my 21 day reset and include apples.

baked sweet potato with apples

sweet potatoes

apples

avocado oil spray

cinammon

pumpkin pie spice

almond coconut milk (or cream)

1. slice sweet potatoes and apples

2. make thin layer in pan and spray with avocado oil

3. sprinkle with spices

4. repeat 2-3 times

5. poor almond coconut milk over the top. sprinkle spices again

6. bake 400* for about 20 minutes

so quick and easy. the apples and spices definitely sweetened it up a little. it definitely tastes like fall.

now it's your turn. link up all your apple recipes below.

join us next month for
WHAT WOULD YOU DO..with the color orange.

An InLinkz Link-up

blogging the bach 2.6

i love all things bachelor including paradise, but i'm not too sad this is the last week. does anyone else miss bachelor pad? the competitions made it much more fun to watch. since this is the end of paradise, i predict a lot of people will go home before it's the real end.

who's watching...amanda, celsey and shawn if we're lucky

recapping last week-ashley i requests a date with jared

the sad part is she's wanting to do this after he said she's not over what's her name--amanda

there must be a lot we don't see--cel

there's no way he takes her v card

mimosa party/mikey breaks juelia's heart

i thought juelia was going to break mikey's heart not the other way around

i don't want to be the one to tell her this, but that swimsuit is not the best--cel

juelia's a cute girl. i'm sure she'll have plenty of guys wanting to date her now

jaclyn has a date card/cassandra arrives/nick wants the date card

why wouldn't she take dan--cel

except he's butt ugly--cel about justin not dan

i thought cassandra got back together with her baby daddy (edit-confirmed they were engaged last year)

why is justin the hot stuff

because he's available--cel

she looks like a bull--amanda

she's nice. i wouldn't have done it--amanda

that's the old jaclyn that we love--cel

cassandra and justin on a date

her eyelashes look good--cel that's because she just got there

they look like the worst kissers in the world--amanda

does he have beer flavored nipples? i'm confused--cel

at the house-jade and carly don't trust samantha/jared breaks up with ashley i

samantha made a lot of enemies this round

i'm so upset we have to watch this breakup again. 15th time's the charm--cel

jared might not be the most attractive, but he is the nicest

you need an ugly cry tally next time we watch this show--cel

young mom is falling into her born role as ashley's comforter--amanda

nick and samantha on a date

i'm kind of bored with their date and just checked out for a few minutes

i seriously don't care about either of them, and i wish they would both just go home

rose ceremony-AKA the grand exit

jaclyn's outfit it terrible--amanda

ok miley cyrus, you don't have to show us everything--cel

ashley i is holding herself together a lot more than i would expect

ashley s might be a little crazy, but she consistently has the best style

ok seriously, where does jade shop--amanda

dan should have stuck with ashley s--cel

when did they have time together--cel about mckenzie and mikey

we're down to 5 couples-chris h shows up to tell them all they have a date+fantasy suite

anyone who wants to take it slow should not come on paradise

nick's like your creepy uncle that never gets married--amanda

my heart is breaking for carly. 

you can't be graciously be broken up with on tv after basically being a power couple since day 1--cel

pull it together jade--cel

k, why is everybody crying--shawn

i have a lot of thoughts about kirk and carly. they are the reason i hate this show. in real life, this would never happen like this. sure he would freak out and have commitment issues, but it would be a few months down the road. i didn't watch after paradise so maybe i'm wrong, but i think kirk really liked carly. he started getting a little nervous near the end thinking about what would happen after the show. the next to last night she started talking marriage and kids, and he freaked the heck out. instead of talking through it and talking about how maybe things needed to slow down a little, she freaked out and didn't want to hear a single word. i don't think he tricked her, and i don't think he was trying to be a d bag. he was obviously very upset about the whole thing too. i wish she would have let him talk a little more, but i also understand she didn't want to hear it was over 7 different ways. what a heartbreaking mess!

nick and samantha on a date

he keeps calling her a beautiful thing--amanda

can he not read her at all--amanda

justin and cassandra on a date

did he borrow jj's pink pants

so she gets to stay there and he doesn't--amanda

tenley and joshua on a date

they are seriously the weirdest couple

tanner and jade on a date and in love

they are boring but really cute

they probably seem boring because we don't see them a lot because they're basically married--amanda

final day/final rose ceremony

justin and cassandra decide to stay together. we all think that's a little crazy but whatever

samantha and nick also decide to stay together

out of nowhere--amanda

i feel like she just said that so she didn't get backlash--amanda

tenley and joshua really like each other but tenley knows eventually it won't work even though she really likes him. i'm 100% confused. they're not the first couple in the world to live in idaho and california. the whole time i thought they were the weirdest couple ever, but i think this is the stupidest thing.

jade and tanner get engaged. i saw that coming.

tear tally

23 but really how do we even count this?

this season was pretty crazy the whole time. the finale was equally crazy. i didn't watch after paradise. what did i miss!

2015 goal update...FOCUS on...slumber soiree

AUGUST was FOCUS on slumber soiree

i hosted a super fun blogger sleepover last fall, and i plan to do it again this year. before august i started a few things, but there was still a lot of work to be done.

1. secure venue (in the works)-check

2. solidify date (also in the works)-check and then i changed the date 

3. open registration-check and then closed it due to date change

4. contact sponsors-half check. i got some responses and need to follow up with others

i picked the date, started intense planning, and opened ticket sales. it turns out it was a really bad weekend for a lot of people so i am moving the date and completely changing the format.

last year i provided all the meals, drinks, and snacks. i am pretty good at doing things on a small budget, but it costs a lot to provide all those things. here is my question...

WOULD YOU RATHER..

a. pay more and have everything provided

b. pay less and help bring food

even if you're not local/able to attend, i would love your opinion.

SEPTEMBER is FOCUS on health

the 21 day reset last month was a really good start for me. i like to be healthy, and i consider myself a healthy person. the truth is i have gotten into some really lazy habits over the past couple of years, and i need to stop making excuses. 

1. lift weights 2x/week

2. run 1x/week besides saturday long runs

3. continue 21 day reset maintenance (food prep, 1 cheat day/week, whole grains, fruits/vegetables)

although my overall goal is being healthy, i definitely hope to lose some pounds. my reward for meeting this goal is going to be paying myself cash for each goal i accomplish each week.

how are your goals going? i can't believe we're getting closer to the end of the year.

it's a ...(kimberly+adam gender reveal)

gender reveal cakes are my fave to make. they are especially fun when no one knows the gender. i was super happy when kimberly and adam agreed to let me make a cake and have it be a complete surprise to everyone. she requested a yellow ombre cake, and i was more than happy to make that one.

i picked up the ultrasound envelope from her and got to work. the baking and prep take a while. i made all the frosting that first night too.

kimberly was pretty sure the baby is a girl

it's a boy! i'm sad i missed the actual reveal, but i think it's fairly safe to say  it was a great surprise.

21 day reset recap

when a few of my friends started talking about doing a cleanse, i knew it was the perfect opportunity for me to try to get my act together with eating. rather than a cleanse, i wanted this to be more of a reset, and thankfully it was. i wanted the rules to be easy enough to follow but challenging enough to make a difference. 

*no treats-check (even at a blogger crepe night and sugar cookie making night)

*whole clean eating-fruits and vegetables, protein, good fats, whole grains-mostly check (overall I did really well. i increased fruits and vegetables and ate more protein. i did eat white flour a couple of times which is still way better than what I was doing before)

*no sugar syrups in drinks-check 

*drink 50 oz of water before soda-check (i'm so happy to be back in this habit)

*rule breaking costs $10=not worth it-check (i did not want to pay anyone anything so that definitely helped me stick to the rules)

the long term goal of this thing was/is to kick me in the booty. i really love eating healthy, and this was the jumpstart i needed. while i definitely want to lose some pounds, that was not my goal for this 21 days. it takes me an extra long time to start losing weight, and it's a slow process. hopefully weight loss will be a side effect of healthy mindful eating. in the meantime i'm enjoying my increased water intake and recommitment to healthy eating. 

have you ever done a cleanse or something similar?

wear it wednesday...rocksbox numero dos

**i received a trial subscription courtesy of rocksbox in exchange for promotion.

ever since my first rocksbox, i've been pretty excited for more boxes. how fun is it to get a box of jewelry in the mail?!? it's fun!

the rocksbox idea is genius for people who love jewelry like me-pay a small fee, make a wishlist, get a box of jewelry, wear as much as you want, send it back when you're ready to trade. keep what you want and send the rest back.

i sent back my first box and couldn't wait to see what came next. i requested a lot of necklaces and earrings, and that's exactly what i got.

this necklace was really cute but too short. i didn't even wear it.

 beautiful but expensive necklace. i wore it, loved it, and sent it back.

 love love the earrings. it's hard to see, but they're the perfect sparkle. i kept these, and they're great.

photos by ashley

thinking of trying rocksbox? use code aubreyxoxo to get your first box free

blogging the bach 2.5

i heard nothing about sunday night except someone on snapchat said "i guess this is the samantha and joe show now". ugh!

who's watching:celsey, amanda, lacey-small crowd tonight

we start out with joe.again. he manipulates samantha to not go on the date with justin

his monotone voice drives me crazy--lacey

i don't understand why she said yes to him and not the other guy--cel

i've never heard a 30 year old man say it's not fair so much--amanda

i'm pretty sure amber is darker than you--cel to me

chris b arrives. all the guys are mad another guy is here. chris drinks and drinks all day long and asks tenley on the date. joshua basically steals the date card and chris leaves.

again? 

chris is so wasted--lacey

if this is your fifth time on the show, shouldn't you have learned by now not to drink so much

you need to go drink about a gallon of water homie--cel

how is ashley s still here? she's crazy--lacey

amber and justin on a date. they come back and dan and amber have a talk.

let's make dan jealous. that's real mature--amanda

she's like i'm with the whitest white man who's actually red--cel

sponsored by the honest company--lacey (we have a little inside joke about how terrible the honest company sunscreen is)

you knew you had feelings. you said you wanted to make him jealous--amanda

how great, i was making out with someone else and thinking of you--cel

ya cuz that's what she wants to hear--amanda when dan says they will be friends after the show is over

tenley and joshua on a date

why do they keep going to guadalajara?

the only one that has worse tattoos than his (joshua) is my cousin--cel

they have gotten super cheap on their dates--lacey

tenley has the perfect little body for a romper--cel and we're all jealous

if tenley is the one with the pregnancy, i'm going to die--cel

back at the house

that dang silver eye shadow is back--cel about carly

everyone thought sam was psycho too, but now everyone's forgotten--amanda

rose ceremony FINALLY

what's with that tie? it's not even a real tie. it's a zip up--lacey

why is she throwing a pity party for herself--lacey about amber

i specialize in text messages--cel after ashley i says she is a good writer

wow! every adjective there is in websters--cel

listen lady you have one guy that likes you--lacey about amber

you make out with all your friends? i don't--cel

they only come around every bachelor season--cel

i hate dan right now--amanda

dan, love you bro but you're an idiot--cel

chris didn't even last as long as the flight to get there--lacey

unwillingly wifed up--lacey about jared and ashley i

we're all in a little shock that samantha gave her rose to dan

she's like a praying mantis--cel about samantha

she was literally just talking about love at first sight with him an hour ago--amanda

there's no way you made it through middle school with no drama--cel

he's so obsessed with her he can't even be mad at her--amanda

samantha and joe are the biggest snakes ever. we all get why dan talked to samantha because it was his last prayer to stay, but she is awful. dan is not smart for wanting to be with her.

is she a pathological liar and can't remember her lies--amanda

she's a terrible fake crier--lacey

chelsie arrives and everyone is so tired. all of a sudden it's morning. we all think she's taking dan but no-she asks nick.

i like carly right now--lacey

they don't even care that she's pretty--amanda about samantha

i'm 48 and i'm a personal trainer and when i'm 80 and can't do that anymore i'll just be on food stamps--amanda when nick said he's a personal trainer

he didn't seem to care about her weirdness the other day--cel (nick wants to get away from ashley s and her weirdness)

mckenzie arrives and gets the scoop. she talks to a few guys and asks justin.

amber all of a sudden is interested in justin.

you're right. after this show you have to become a nun--cel (amber freaks a little)

i don't really care for mckenzie or justin so i decided to take a break for this date

chelsie and nick on a date

look-there's sunscreen guys--lacey

is it honest co--cel

not quite bro you're at sea level--cel about nick says i'm on top of the world like he's on titanic

jaclyn arrives ready to steal people's boyfriends

her voice doesn't even sound the same--cel

we love jaclyn, but she's looking a little rough

jared is the nicest guy in the house. he can't ditch ashley i even though he's told her he's not interested.

ashley i is so insecure she thinks she can trap a guy by having sex with him--amanda

saved by the bell--amanda (ashley i comes with the date card right as jaclyn asks if jared would say yes to a date)

i feel so bad for jaclyn because i love her so much and she looks terrible and she's acting terrible--cel

tear tally-not nearly as many tears this week

7

apparently next week is the last week of the show. we're all a little ready for it to end, and we miss the competitions of bachelor pad.

weekend happs

i know i keep talking about summer ending, but it's a real problem. i have serious seasonal anger disorder (yes i made that up, and yes it's real) so the end of summer pretty much ruins my life.

some years utah likes to jump the gun on fall a little, but this year the weather is cooperating with the calendar-HOT!

i worked a lot of long days last week so i took friday afternoon off to sit by the pool. it was amazing! 

i had to make a cake friday night so i planned to grab some dinner and come back and back. that is what happened except we ended up going out for dinner. i didn't bring real clothes or any makeup or anything. i was a little embarrassed to be out in public, but oh well.

after dinner i came back and baked a gender reveal cake. it's been a while since i have made a cake so even though i was really tired it was a lot of fun.

we had the prettiest sunrise on our saturday morning run.

after the run i went back to the pool. it wasn't super sunny, but we stayed out until the very end anyway. we picked up some dinner and came home to decorate the cake. i loved making the cake, but by the time i was finished i had been awake for 20 hours and completely exhausted. all i wanted to do was sleep.

thanks to 1:00 church, i slept in on sunday. i woke up early and refused to stay awake. after church i dropped off the gender reveal cake.

michelle and andrew had their baby this weekend so i stopped by the hospital to see them. michelle and i were roommates after college for years so she's basically like my sister. babies are my favorite so it was the perfect visit. i could hold that little babe all day.

another amazing weekend. how was yours? any exciting happs?

5 on Friday

i know this is a linkup somewhere, but i just spent 30 minutes looking for it. i can't find it so i'm giving up. i'll just say this...5 on friday is not my idea. i got it from someone somewhere, and i have no idea where which brings me to #1.

thanks kaylynn for my new fave hashtag

1. #sonotdoingitall

social media can make it look like people have it all together. i exercise, work, spend time with friends and family, travel, run, blog, etc, etc. people tell me all the time they don't know how i do it all. the truth is-I DON'T. i don't sleep nearly as much as i should. i feel like i'm running on empty almost all of the time. looks can be deceiving. 

2. massage

ever since i injured my hip and had hip surgery, my hip has been super tight. sitting on the floor all day surely doesn't help. i'ved tried a lot of things, and it's still the same. i decided recently to try more intense massage. i had the best 90 minute massage last night. even if my hip is still tight, the rest of my body was so relaxed.

3. weather

we had the weirdest weather on wednesday. it was rainy and kind of cold. it was only 70 degrees most of the day. it made me think of fall, and it made me sad. i've had the best summer, and i don't want it to end.

4. 21 day reset

the 21 days are almost over. i'll have a full recap next week, but it's been so great. i am so glad i did it. it's so great being more mindful of what i eat, and i'm doing so much better drinking more water.i'm a little sad the 21 days are ending.

5. september slumber soiree

i am so excited for this year's blogger sleepover. we had the best time last year, and i am looking forward to this year. tickets are on sale now for anyone interested in attending.

blogging the bach..in paradise 2.4

i don't always look at twitter especially on sunday night. i don't usually watch until monday. for some reason i did read twitter this sunday. after the tweets i saw, i can't even wait to watch.

who's watching: celsey, lacey, alicia, amanda, alexis, and alyssa

everyone is mad at joe from last week. we basically can't stand him and no one has anything noteworthy to say.

rose ceremony

i'm going to pick my nose and flick my boogers on samantha--cel

does he think they're not going to show what he said--alicia

that might be the best dress we've seen from jade in her whole bachelor history

why the suspenders?!?

i hate this 5 hour long rose ceremony--lacey

she and tanner are the lacy and marcus. so boring--alexis

everyone's acting so normal about this--alexis

she's a single mom not a dead animal--alexis

tanner and jade on a date

we're dressed so nice. i'm in a cotton dress--cel

do you think he's googled her--cel

do i need to show you the video tanner--cel

she's going to be the pregnancy scandal--cel

what does he do? (we don't know but we think it must be finance or something) well, she works at wet seal so it's perfect--cel 

update..tanner is an auto finance manager

nick arrives with a date card, samantha says no and he takes ashley s

jorge is famous now. he's going to be the next bachelor--alyssa

why don't they ask the producers--alyssa

eeewww, noooo!--everyone

he looks like he's on chip n dales--alexis

who knew she could get crazier--alicia

back at the house, samantha seems like she's avoiding joe, jared breaks ashley i's heart, joe sets up his own birthday party

well it's only 10am--alicia

how hard is it to not repeat outfits in 2 weeks--cel

if you didn't plan to stay that long, order something online--alicia

wait, you're confused about the drama you caused--amanda

you already need to work on things and you've known each other for a week--alicia

here comes the ugly cry--alicia

here's what i want to know. why does everyone want samantha--cel

how is she welcome with open arms--amanda

the next morning at the house

she needs to recap all the time--lacey about carly's hilarious recap

i can totally see her hooking up with joe--alicia

her crying is making me anxious

tanner and jared the detectives

why would you blackmail someone into loving you--amanda

mikey gets the date card and obviously takes juelia

why does everyone act like this is her only chance to find love? she'll go home and date like all other single moms--alexis

again i wouldn't trust a private mexican airline--lacey

they just need an intervention--lacey

there's nothing like making out ringside at a WWE match--cel

i'm so embarrassed for them--amanda

i'm still waiting to see what's so amazing about that room--cel

hashtag sex hair--cel

kirk and carly on a fake date

i thought she liked to fish--cel
if someone tries to take me on a romantic date, and they take me fishing...oh boy

bonfire at the house, joe is still trying to talk to sam, justin arrives

he looks like one of snow white's dwarfs--amanda

it's a thousand degrees why are you wearing a beanie. you should never wear a beanie and a swimsuit--amanda

is she wearing a custom cut wife beat--cel

imagine how awkward this show would be without the music--lacey

fire chris harrison if he lets me walk into the show covered in sweat--cel

she's keeping him on the hook so he doesn't show the text messages--amanda

tear tally

12-how do i even count? ashley i cried for hours and hours. we didn't see any actual tears from joe, but i'm pretty sure it was close a few times.