Green smoothies, U2, little boys, and my missionaries

I have quite a few things to blog about tonight and the first thing I want to ramble about is the green smoothie. If you've heard of the green smoothie lady you'll know what I'm talking about. But basically what a green smoothie is is water, spinach, kale (whatever greens you like,) berries, bananas, apples and any other fruit you like and agave if you'd like. You blend it all together in a super blender and drink 32 oz of it a day. It looks a bit nasty, just don't look at it as you drink it (today Abby put card stock around her cup and wrote "beware!" on the side so she doesn't have to look at it.) But it is so good for you! A quart only has 188 calories, it will double your fiber intake, you can get 12-15 servings of vegetables and will increase weight loss, increase energy and encourage better digestion. As you can see in this picture, it looks like green mush, but it actually taste pretty good and to be honest, whats the harm? It has nothing but raw fruits and vegetables in it and quite frankly I'm ready to feel good again. Everyone that has tried Robyn's program has had nothing but good results. They simply feel better overall. I put on a pretty good face most days but the truth is my chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia have been kicking my butt lately. I don't like to talk about it because the last thing I want is "poor Haley" comments and we all have our own trails to learn and grow from and I would rather help others then lay in bed feeling sorry for myself! Anyway, among that I have a few other health problems and I'm SO ready to feel good again! http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/ Check out Robyn's website, I went and heard her lecture the other night and she basically rocks!

I also wanted to say that I went to the U2 concert the other night and loved it. The fray opened for them and I loved it! Their stage it the coolest thing and it lights up and does lots of cool things. I wish I had brought a blanket and a warmer coat because I was freezing, but it was so nice of my dad to let me take his ticket and experience a wonderful evening!

The other day I went to lunch with my grandma and aunt and three of my little cousins. They are the cutest little things, but man are they wild! We went to Applebee's and they were all over the place and so was the food. But I couldn't help but smile and laugh and chase them down the hall to pick them up and squeeze them and kiss them like crazy. Oh! and while I was in the parking lot at gateway, a woman totally backed into me. She broke one of the headlights on my little mustang, but it's fixable and no one was hurt. She felt so bad and apologized over and over again but and I assured that it was okay. As silly as this sounds, I feel like the experience gave me a chance to share my testimony. I could have flipped a lid, yelled at her and asked "how in the world didn't you see me?!" But I smiled and assured that it was okay, that I wasn't mad and that accidents happen. She seems so shocked and grateful that I was nice about it. But in my opinion what would have yelling done? This poor lady would have felt more bad then she already did and that's just stupid. I was glad that I was able to keep my cool and respond to the situation in the way that I felt good about myself and show this women that there are decent people out there.

And the last thing I wanted to blog about tonight is how much I love my missionaries! I am incredibly grateful for what they doing and look up to them so much! What incredible young men they are, and I mean that sincerely. I love receiving their letters, watching how quickly they grow up and reading all about the experiences that they are having. I can't help but spoil them a little bit. These are only two packages I have spent and I honestly think I have more fun putting them together then the boys do receiving them! I often include homemade food such as banana bread, cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies or whatever sounds yummy at the time. In the bottom picture you can see the hearts all over the place. I covered them in scriptures and quotes about loving others and the Lord and little things like "You're incredible! Never forget it!" Silly things like that. I often think that they receive my heart covered, tissue paper filled, confetti packages and laugh at me. But if you know me at all, I tend to go all out and get a little carried away at times. But it's so much fun, and I want them to know how much they are cared about! If you made it through this long post, congrats. Thanks for reading. :)

Emily and her babies

If you don't know my little sister Emily, she should get to know her. She's one of the funniest people I know and she constantly keeps us laughing. When Emily was nine she got two bitty baby twins while we were in New York on a trip. We took her babies everywhere and she named them Hannah and Henry. She even had the stroller and diaper bag. She played with those babies and changed their clothes for years. As she grew up the dolls got put away and every so often as the storage room gets cleaned out Emily remembers her dolls. Well Saturday we stared cleaning the storage room and sudden Emily was gone. We found her in the living room changing the babies. She's kept them in her room and every time you ask her about them the story gets longer and funnier. This afternoon she told me that the neighbor was watching her babies, she pays her $1.50 for every two hours she babysits. Well it's better to show you then to try to explain Emily, so enjoy the video of my very funny little sister. Don't mind the laughter and camera shaking, that's me laughing hysterically. She wanted me to clarify that she's not talking about her real mother, the nasty looks and comments are referring to her fake mother. (Video currently isn't working. I'll try to upload it later)

Nannying, chalk art, and missionaries

So I just finished nannying my cousins for a week while their parents were in Hawaii. Five boys ranging from 16 to 4 and it was a handful! I love them all to pieces and we got through the crazy week with only a handful of melt downs. Just preparation for moving to California I suppose. I'm so excited for something so new and wonderful. I have no doubt that it will be hard at times and my homesickness with kick in once in a while, but why no do something different? I'm 19 (well I will be on Wednesday) and have so much freedom to do what I'd like.

Anyway, this week Megan and I went to the chalk art festival in Bountiful just like we did last year. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since I've graduated. This year we drew lots of beach things including sea turtles, hammocks and my a scuba diver that didn't turn out so well. But the weather was delightful and it feels so nice to be able to hang out with my best friend again. She is always there for me and I don't know what I would do without her. She seems to always understand where I am coming from and often is there to remind me "Hay. Everything will be alright." I love her like a sister and am incredible grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sent me such wonderful friends. Speaking of friends, so many people are leaving on missions! It can be hard to see them go sometimes, but I can't express my gratitude for friends who are willing to take two years out of their lives to serve the Lord. I think about them daily and what wonderful examples of righteousness they are not only to me but to their friends and family and the people they will come in contact with and serve while on their missions. A good friend of mine, Trent, had his farewell last week. I might have teared up a little bit during his talk and thought how lucky the people of the Netherlands will be to have such a wonderful young man there to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ. So as missionaries leave and return home again, I can't help but be anything but grateful as I strive to be a better person and a missionary myself.

End of a great chapter and... Tiffanys :)

Well, just a few blog posts ago (see how terrible I am at this) I posted how great it was to be settling into school and my new apartment and now as I look at my again empty bedroom and apartment as I'm ready to move tomorrow, its crazy to think how fast time has gone by. I've grown so much and have loved this adventure. I've met lots of new people, learned loads, and well I can't believe how fast it went. My last few weeks here have been incredible as I've gone scuba diving, cliff jumping, [paint dances, laid at the pool, hung out with new people, worked on a wonderful tan, had a ballroom dance performance, and counted down the days until I could go home to see my family. I sat by the fountain on campus today for the last time and just soaked up the sunshine, I will miss dearly but on to California I head, so I guess I can't complain about wanting more sunshine now can I? :)

Oh! I went to Vegas a few days ago to spend some time with my grandparents while my grandpa was there on business. We ate out lots and shopped even more but the highlight you ask? I went to Tiffany's. Twice. I kinda have this love/obsession for Tiffany's encase you were unaware of that fact. Anywho. I walked into that store and was a bit speechless as I started at the charms and necklaces through the glass. But as I walked to the back of the store my jaw dropped as I saw the engagement rings sparkling through the glass. I gingerly placed my hands on the glass and stared at the rings I had seen online only twenty times before. The salesman asked me if he could help me and I told him I was just looking. He then asked what I was looking at and as I pointed he pulled the ring out of the case and placed it in front of my. It so happened that it was a size six and slipped right on my finger. I admired and then took it off and gave it back and then he pulled out the other ring I had been looking at. My favorite ring in fact, the Tiffany legacy ring priced at $36,000. I quietly giggled as I stared at the most beautiful ring that was on my hand and had no desire to take it off. To sum it up, I giggled and grinned for the rest of the evening, feeling very complete. :) I don't ever expect to owe a ring from Tiffany's, I"ll be more then happy with whatever engagement ring comes from the right man. But hey a girl can have her fantasy right? As Holly Golightly said in one of my favorite movies "Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!" http://www.tiffany.com/?siteid=1