Day 212-Zucchini Bread

Day 211-Risotto!

Get the ingredients gathered

"Put it together and what to you get? Bippity boppity boo!"
Risotto Primavera for dinner tonight! It's actually pretty easy to make (though it takes some time) and it sounds, looks, and smells impressive!

Day 210-She's Home!!

One of my very best friends just got back from her mission! I'm so excited to have her home!

Day 209-Fillin' Up

I don't like the process of filling the car up with gas; I always feel awkward for some reason. But I love how the car feels after I feel it up with gas. It's probably just my imagination, but I feel like the car drives smoother with fresh gas in it. Like, it had low blood sugar before, and just got pepped up. Like the car is all happy now that I put new gas in it.

Day 208-Red Pen

I love having an excuse to use my red pen.

How awesome would it be if my red pen actually looked like this?! (Just less cartoony):

Day 207-How Would You Do It?

As I was waiting for my train today (which was two hours late! Thank you protestors.), the other train was sitting at the stop in front of me and I saw this:

"Do not cross between cars."

So I started looking around and starting thinking about why anyone would do that. First off, you can't get to one car from the other. There aren't doors, or even sensible windows. There are these little tiny windows at the side of the cars that may or may not open. And if they did open, it would take some fancy maneuvering worthy of James Bond to get onto the hitch thing.

But I guess they have to put it on there anyway.

Day 206-Classic Comedy

Day 205-Pioneer Day

I read a story recently that really touched me. This story is found in a book called Love Life and See a Good Day, that will be coming out sometime this fall from Deseret Book.

There was a man come from England to join the Saints in the Salt Lake Valley. He brought with him his wife and young son. On the way across the plains, his wife and child became ill. His wife died, and they buried her in an unmarked grave. The company moved on and the next day, this pioneer lost his boy. He walked back to where his wife was buried, unburied her, laid their child in her arms and buried them both together.

His journal is empty for weeks. When he finally did write, he just said, "We kept moving."

I think that that is really the motto of early Saints. They kept moving. They were persecuted, forced from their homes, and giving to much mocking and scorn. But they were strong. They kept moving.

I'm an grateful for the strength those early Saints had, and am proud to have them as part of my heritage.

Day 204-Borders Clearance Sale

Day 203-Baby Hands

Day 202-Holmes Mania

Day 201-Binding

I learned something new today! I learned how to bind manuscripts with one of these machines:

Completed manuscripts:

Day 200-"Elementary"

I just finished reading my first book of Sherlock Holmes stories. My first impression was, "This is way different than I was expecting." But as I made my way through 23 short stories, I really enjoyed getting to know Holmes and Watson as they solved interesting case after interesting case: murders, mistaken identity, robbery, blackmail.

Day 199-Cleaning the Church

Only 165 days left in the year!

Day 198-Dinner

My visiting teaching partner and I took dinner over to a woman who had surgery this past week.

Day 197-Eldredge Family Reunion

The oldest and (one of) the youngest: Grandpa and Pierce.

Day 196-Twins

We have two sets of twins in my extended family:

Set number 1:

Judd

Boston

Set number 2:

Ashton

Pierce

Day 195-Buy Your Tickets!

New and upcoming writing team Suzanne and Mangum are releasing a new play! Bound to become a classic, it's the timeless tale of one girl and all the roles she plays in life!

Starring:

Whitney Hinckley as . . . The Editor

Whitney Hinckley as . . . The Intern

AND

Whitney Hinckley as . . . The Teacher

There are a limited number of shows, so be sure to get your tickets now!

Day 194-Jitterbugs

This is a jitterbug. The jitterbug bites those who sit for long periods of time doing the same thing, with low blood sugar. The bite of the jitterbug makes one feel on edge, grumpy, and ready to explode. After bitten, you will get easily irritated by small things, and get the urge to lash out irrationally at those you love. The only cure is time, and a good meal.

Day 193-Protestors

These picketers have been just down the street from where I work every morning for the past two weeks. They just walk in a circle and hold their signs. Sounds like a boring morning to me.

Day 192-Scrabble

Day 192-Grandma's Birthday

Sorry for the blurriness. I had to sneak the photo because I'm pretty sure

my grandma wouldn't have liked me to take her picture. Oh well, haha.

My grandma turned 85 today. She has lived through the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and several other conflicts. She graduated from college with a degree in social work and has been married to the same man for over 60 years. She raised three kids (one being the best dad ever) and has 8 grandchildren and two and a half great-grandchildren. She has battled cancer, and won. My grandma has traveled the world, and lived in Ethiopia for two years. She loves birds, good food, and company.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Day 191-90s TV

Sometimes I just like to go back to an earlier time. Like watching old John Hughes films. And 90s TV series. Like this one that I just finished today:

It was only on for one season. It stars Claire Danes as Angela Chase, a fifteen-year-old with all the drama that goes with it: cute boys, annoying sisters, out of it parents, ex-best friends. Angela is in love with Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto), he of the amazing eyes. What I love about this show, is that once I got past the horrible clothes, I feel like it's my teenage years. I mean, I didn't make out in the school's boiler room, or have a friend almost OD, but the emotions and relationships--it's all true.

Day 190-Cherries

First cherries of the summer!

Day 188-Free Book Day

Imagine how my day looked when I walked into work and found out that it was free book day! Just one of the perks of working at a publishing company.

And then my day looked even brighter when I turned the final page of this manuscript:

500 pages of dry content. But it's done now!

Day 187-The Greatest Joy

I love these little things! I ran out a couple of days ago and the supply room just got some more today--thank heavens!

Day 186-Piles of Paper

This is what happens when you are the only intern at work. I think that there were five manuscripts on my desk.

Day 185-O Beautiful!

I am grateful to these men who had the courage to fight for what they believed in, even when faced with death.

Because of them, I live in a country were one of my first basic rights is the freedom to choose and practice whatever religion I wish.

Day 184-100!

Yup, I have now read over 100 books this year.

Day 183-Book Charm

I went and bought myself some books today. And this pretty little bookmark to help me keep my place!

Day 183-Casual Friday

I love casual Fridays! Work is so much better when you can wear jeans.