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Long Time Over Due

I have come to realize that I need to blog more. I am not making any promises because I know as well as the rest of you how unreliable I can be at blogging :) But I feel like I have had some interesting events occur in my life the last couple months. Not life changing, just eventful. I have pictures and videos and it is time to share them.

To Preface, I am pretty sure that both moose and fires are attracted to me the proof is as follows.

FIRE EVENT #1

I really don't know much more than what is stated in the video, but how random to see a motorbike on fire at a Gas Station in Boise.

FIRE EVENT #2 & #3

This wonderful picture was taken from my apartment window. Tip for those moving out - Never move into an apartment complex with 900 19/20 year old girls. This was a picture after being told it was safe to come back in. And this is only one of two fires that happened in that building in the last three months. Needless to say I am moving to another complex, but there are other reasons in addition to my life and safety :)

FIRE EVENT #4

This is where I work. Normally, I work pretty late but yesterday I left early to watch my niece and nephew. An hour or so later my mom called and told me she drove by where I work and one of the buildings was on fire. I drove by and got this picture. I spoke to a police officer who told me no one was hurt. Which is good. The building that was on fire was the maintenance shop which means that yes I still have a job. I really won't know much until Monday at work.

Do you believe me that I attract fires yet? Now the moose...

MOOSE EVENT #1 & #2
Sorry no pictures for these ones unfortunately, I didn't take my phone or camera on the river with me.

So when it is nice an hot out, we like to take to the river and leisurely float. The river is not that wide or that fast. My dear friend Todd had mentioned seeing moose on previous trips but I didn't really think it was going to be an issue. I was wrong!

First trip down the river we come around a corner and I see a large dark brown animal on the other side, 20 ft away from us. I really really wanted it to be a cow but it didn't take long to realize it was not. I think the giant rack on it's head made that quite simple. One of my idiot friends, if you're reading this Mark I say idiot with the warmest friendliest intentions, wanted to swim over to it as I was having a heart attack about being that close on a flimsy air mattress. But luckily the moose got annoyed and ventured off.

The second trip down the river was uneventful but the third time we again encountered a moose mere meters away from us as we floated towards it. Freaky! But once again the moose meandered away. This one was a female.

MOOSE EVENT #3

This is my most traumatic experience by far. I literally had anxiety for at least a week after this.

My roommates and I were coming home and as we got out of the car I glanced over and saw what I at first thought was a horse running through the parking lot. It was weird to see a horse but when I took a double take I realized it was not a horse, it was a moose! My roommates didn't believe me when I yelled out but when the moose came to a dead end and turned it's gait toward us, they certainly knew I wasn't crazy and ran screaming. It was pretty frightening and I am sure glad that some guys on their four-wheelers came screaming in scaring the moose back towards the corner. The moose had no option but to bound up the stairs and between the buildings. From this point the newspaper article, picture and video can show you the rest. She ended up jumping a fence that got her stuck in a field.  

http://www.uvsj.com/news/moose-draws-a-crowd-near-apartment-complex/article_3f9bc93a-c555-11e1-a1c8-0019bb2963f4.html#axzz21zAXcSoU

MOOSE EVENT #4

So this one is just kind of funny. A friend in my spanish class liked to bug me about moose searching me out. There was another moose on campus the next week he said the moose was looking for me.

Then one day he handed me this piece of paper and I was like what but when I turned it over this is what I saw.

Funny yes, pretty good drawing though hey :) LOL

Well that is all for now, as you can see my life is pretty boring :)

Quick & Light Tuna Salad

1/4 c. Italian parsley leaves
3 scallions (green onions) with stems, cut into pieces
1/4 tsp. each of salt and pepper
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 cans (6-oz. each) light or white albacore tuna packed in water, drained

1. Put parsley, scallions, salt and pepper in Quick Chef bowl with blade. Turn handle until chopped finely.
2. Carefully remove blade; insert paddle whisk. Add lime juice, hot pepper sauce and tuna. turn handle until well mixed.
3. Serve immediately as spread on crackers or serve on bread with lettuce and tomato. Cover and refrigerate leftover tuna; use by next day. About 4 sandwiches or spread for 24 crackers.

Raspberry Cream Pie

1 (6oz) Reduced Fat Graham Cracker Crust
1 (14oz) Can Regular or Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT Evaporated Milk)
2/3 Cup Western Family Frozen Raspberry Lemonade Concentrate, Thawed
8oz Western Family Fat Free Whipped Topping, Thawed (3 cups)
1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Whole Raspberries

In a large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and juice concentrate; mix well. Fold in fat free whipped topping. Spoon 1/2 cup raspberries into bottom of crust; top with filling. Freeze 6 hours. Top with remaining raspberries just before serving. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.

Taco Chicken with Corn Salsa

1 envelope (1 ¼ ounces) taco seasoning mix

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 ¼ pounds)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon honey

1. 1 Reserve 2 teaspoons of the taco seasoning mix in medium bowl. Coat chicken with remaining taco seasoning mix.
2. 2 Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken in oil 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until brown. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook about 8 minutes, turning once, until chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.
3. 3 While chicken is cooking add remaining ingredients to reserved taco seasoning mix; toss gently. Serve salsa with chicken.

Expert Tips

You can make the salsa ahead of time, but be sure to add the avocado just before serving to preserve its color and texture.

Long Awaited

I am beginning to feel the pressure. People keep asking me about my blog and I keep saying, yeah yeah I'll get to it. So this is me getting to it. Now what do you want to know about my life. I think that is the harder question to answer. Well since I haven't written anything in over a year I guess that is a lot of information to cover. But being the one who has actually lived through the last year of my life, I don't really know how interesting it has been but here it goes...

I have been living in Edmonton this past year and have enjoyed spending time with my family and getting to know new things about the city I grew up in. I believe the most exciting thing that has happened to me this past year would have to be the birth of my new little niece, Eden Lily Chiu. Eden was born on May 16 and I had the wonderful opportunity to be present for her birth. Contrary to my mothers fears and my sisters worries, I still wish to have children someday, even after seeing the labor process. The best moment of my year was definitely the time I was able to spend with Eden minutes after her birth. We were able to have some time for just the two of us and it was amazing. I love that little girl so much and love spending time with her and her big brother whenever I can.

When I am not smothering my niece and nephew with love, I can be found at my place of work, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) Side note: It is kind of funny that the name of the organization is CNIB, they recently changed the name from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind because they wanted to get rid of the false assumptions that one must be blind to receive services from our offices. Many of our clients still have partial vision. But when I tell people I work for CNIB and am met with their puzzled looks I usually have to say it is the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Kinda defeats the purpose don't ya think? :)
Anyways, I have had some awesome opportunities working at CNIB. My official job title is Administrative Support. I do third party invoicing in the mornings and cover reception in the afternoons. Well those are my official duties but I have been lucky enough to become somewhat of a go to do all employee. Which I am thankful for, because it keeps things interesting :) Due to turn over in the Children's department at work, I had the opportunity to go to a Weekend retreat in Kananaskis as well as to organize the Children's summer camps. I was also able to attend a conference with the Seniors group and have been asked to volunteer with the deafblind group. I am constantly in awe of the people around me and how awesome they are. I work with some amazing people, who are always putting others first and I am able to learn so much from them.

That said, I have mixed feelings about leaving them this coming April and returning to school at BYU-Idaho. As much as I enjoy the people I work with, I am ready to finish my degree and work in the advertising and design field. I have been taking online classes here and there to keep my degree going but at the rate I am going I will never get my degree, so the plan is to go back to Idaho in April for the Spring semester and see how that goes down. If all is well I will be back in January to do both the Winter and Spring semesters in 2012. I will work on getting an internship for Fall of 2012 and then should be able to finish my classes and graduate in April of 2013. Allowing me to reach my goal of graduating before I turn 30, with a little bit of time to spare.

Other than work and family I have spent a lot of time in the last few months doing missionary work. It has been pretty awesome and I have completely selfish motives for doing it but I think it has benefited more than just me. I have definitely gained a testimony of visiting teaching and of that sharing your testimony helps strengthen it. I have made some awesome friends and had some really uplifting experiences. One reason I am sad about going back to Idaho is that missionary work is not as straight forward as it is in Edmonton. In Edmonton I meet people everyday who I can teach about my faith, in Idaho 99.9% of the people I meet will either be a member already or will have knowledge about the Gospel. I do look forward to being around people who share the same beliefs as me but sometimes that can make things harder as well. Regardless, I am happy with my decision to go back to school and look forward to finishing my degree.

I will miss my family and friends in Edmonton but after living here this past year, I have come to not hate this place as much as I thought I did, so I will be back to visit as often as possible. Preferably in the summer :)

A Call for Change

I was sustained and set apart as the Highlands Ward Relief Society Secretary yesterday afternoon and I have to tell you that it was a call that came to be quite overwhelming. I know I can handle the call, mostly because I will rely heavily on my Heavenly Father to get the job done, but I think it hit hard because I fully set on hiding away from the rest of the world for the remainder of my time in Edmonton.

Apparently, once again, my plans differ from the man in charge. Instead of remaining invisible I am now going to become BFF’s with the whole Relief Society. Yay Me! I don’t really understand why it is such a hard thing for me to do while I am in Edmonton but I really struggle with putting myself out there when I am up here. Maybe the cold makes me grumpy. Regardless, I know it is possible and I really am looking forward to it. I just hope that no one is disappointed.

As the secretary I am a support to the President and really have nothing to complain about regarding meetings and other tasks, because my load is minor in comparison. However, I sit at the front every Sunday looking out at the girls and having them looking back at me. I know that no one is perfect but this spotlight that hovers around the Relief Society Presidency makes me think I need to step it up a few notches so that I can truly be the example I am needed to be.
As I spoke with my Bishop yesterday I was told to forget myself and everything else would work out, both within my calling and within my personal life. Now is the time to put that to the test.