Happy Birthday to Me!

Back 3:Red Velvet
Front 2: Maple Brown Sugar

You will be seeing a ton of these guys from me.  Sweet Cake Bake Shop.  They are my favorite (and should be yours too) bakery.  And I assure you it isn't just because they are 100% gluten free.  They are just amazing.  So weather you are gluten free or not, give them a taste!
My dear mom put in a special order for me.  My personal favorite is their Maple and Brown Sugar Cupcake.  SO GOOD.  She also got Red Velvet with butter cream (another favorite) and Lemon Poppyseed, which was new for me.  All were a huge hit.  (Mostly among me, but my family members LOVED them as well.)  I have to give a shout out to my favorite ladies at the bakery.
You're simple yet fantastically complex baked
goods made my birthday! Thank you!

Click HERE for ordering information as well as shop hours and location!

22 candles? Definitely. My mom knows how to pary

Lemon Poppyseed

Maple Brown Sugar

Gluten Free Eateries: Roosters Brewing Company

So if you are anything like me, you LOVE to go out to eat! It has to be one of my favorite things.  If you are gluten intolerant, or have Celiac, it is really challenging to find places to eat because there is always the chance of your food being "contaminated" by food that is not gluten free. First restaurant on the list:

Roosters Brewing Company

ADDRESS:

748 Heritage Park Boulevard Layton, UT 84041-5734 (801) 774-9330

HOURS:
Open Mon-Thu 11am-10pm; 
Fri-Sat 11am-11pm; 
Sun 10am-9pm


roostersbrewingco.com

Any of the items listed on this menu are fantastic.  My personal favorites are the lamb and the flat iron steak.  Visit Roosters and ask for their Gluten Free menu!

We begin with some interesting statistics:

 

• Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.
• One in 133 Americans have celiac disease.
• An estimated 3 million Americans across all races, ages and genders suffer from celiac.
• 95% of celiacs are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions. 
• 6-10 years is the average time a person waits to be correctly diagnosed. 
• 5-22% of celiac patients have an immediate family member (1st degree relative) who also has celiac.
• Celiac disease can lead to a number of other disorders including infertility, reduced bone density, neurological disorders, some cancers, and other autoimmune diseases.
• $5,000-$12,000 is the average cost of misdiagnosis per person/per year of celiac, not including lost work time.
• There are NO pharmaceutical cures for celiac disease.
• A 100% gluten-free diet is the only existing treatment for celiac today. 
• A positive attitude, 100% of the time, helps celiacs create a gluten-free lifestyle for themselves and their affected family members.
• The celiac disease diagnosis rate may reach 50-60% by 2019, thanks to efforts to raise public awareness of celiac disease. 
• Gluten-free sales reached more than $2.6 billion by the end of 2010 and are now expected to exceed more than $5 billion by 2015. 

Confidence

Confidence is defined by the dictionary as: Belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities. 


Let me just tell you, in the past few weeks I have learned that a little bit of CONFIDENCE goes a long way!  I am a small gal. 5'3/4".  But if I walk into a room with a confident attitude and swagger, I appear 6 feet tall!  I know this because over the last few weeks I have experienced this newfound and glorious spur of confidence in daily life, education, and job opportunities.  


I had an interview, first, to become an adult leader on a YMAD (Youth Making a Difference) humanitarian expedition to the Philippines.  I went into my interview confident that I was the best person for the job.  I got in! Instead of being an adult leader, however, I was put in charge of Community Outreach and Photography. Exciting, I know!


Second, I met with the founders of YMAD at our first Philippines meeting.  I walked right up to him, unafraid to share my capabilities and confident that I could assist their humanitarian mission.  Wouldn't you know it I got an email that night asking if I would be their "One Day" event media director.  Holy Cow! 


Finally, at a soccer game that I was coaching I saw a man that I was once introduced to by my dad. I knew he had something to do with the business school and marketing department.  So I walked up, shook his hand, and introduced myself throwing in the fact that I am a strat comm major with a minor in marketing.  To my astonishment and surprise he asked if I wanted an internship.  The business school was revamping it's marketing strategy.  I interviewed yesterday and I got the job!!! It's a paid internship where I will be working simultaneously with the business department and their ad agency to make the department more student and U friendly.  This is perfect for me.  The biggest and best opportunity I have ever had.  It's amazing what came of a little confidence and a handshake!


So, my advice to you, is that although confidence may seem like such a small trait, it goes an incredibly long way.  I feel like because of my confidence I have all of these fantastic opportunities knocking at my door.  I am moving toward the person that I want to be, and the one I know I will be proud of.  The next step will be to grow and sustain confidence in each of these opportunities.  Confidence has been the creator of my success!




CONFIDENT WORDS TO LIVE BY:


"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today.  I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet.  I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."


-Groucho Marx


For more information on YMAD and details of how to get involved, go to www.ymad.org!


I will leave you with some awesome images implying confidence!:)

Cheesy? Quite possibly. Funny? Absolutely.

My Little Taste of Sugar

So recently I decided that I eat WAY too many treats! It's amazing to see what you actually eat if you write it down. So I cut back on sweets and sugar. Yesterday it was 4 whole weeks without them! (Except on Easter, but I'm not counting that. Who resists candy and treats on Easter?) Anyway, this morning my Gram and I went to Costco to buy strawberries to make homemade jam! I couldn't resist having a little taste! And it was so easy to make!

2 cups crushed strawberries

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 cups sugar (yikes!)

1 pouch certo (stuff that makes it thick)

Two medium size bowls

First, cut up FRESH strawberries. A bunch of them

I love my cuisinart chopper! Crush your strawberries in something like this next.
They should be slightly chunky, but mostly liquid.

Then, mix your crushed strawberries in with 4 cups of sugar.
After you stir it slightly, it has to sit for 10 minutes, so your sugar isn't crystallized.

As your strawberries are absorbing the sugar, juice your lemons.
My sweet cousin Pickle was my little helper!

It also helped to use my brand new Cuisinart juicer! (I really like Cuisinart stuff)
You can find these at Sur La Table or Williams & Sonoma.

Mix 2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 pouch of certo.

Fold the lemon juice mixture into the strawberries and sugar

Taste! This part is extra important.  (This batch was kid approved!)

Finally, Package your jam into little containers such as these.
Leave them out (at room temp) for 24 hours before sticking them in the freezer.

Once frozen, spread on a thick toasted and buttered slice of Liberty Heights French Bread.
M favorite! After it's taken out of the freezer, make sure to put it back into the FRIDGE!

This is a perfect and easy gift idea for Mother's day!  Try it out!  I love to cook and make things from scratch.  Something even as little as a container of jam.  A tiny taste of sugar after so long without it is just a little thing that stems from a BIG change in my life! After my tiny hint of sugar delight, it's back on the diet!

My Mom is a Badass!

The older I get, the more I realize how lucky I am to have the family that I do.  My parents are young and hip! This morning, I went to my parents house to drop off my mom's car.  I walked in and she had Enrique Iglesias "I Like It" BLASTING from the stereo downstairs.  She was cleaning the house in style! She is also an exercise freak; hikes every day even after back surgery.  She makes me a better person every day, and even though I hate admitting it, I would be happy if I turned out to be just like her! We have little fights every now and then, but the way that she knows every tiny thing about me outshines any glimpse of our dark moments.  I love you, Mom!

Finding happiness in not so happy things

My first entry.  I sold my car today.  My 97' Jeep Cherokee Sport.  I called him Jason.  I bought Jason when I was 15 and 1/2 years old.  I LOVED to HATE that car.  He was with me through good and bad.  But the little bit of happiness that came from selling my first car, is thinking about the excellent shape I'll be in after riding my bike all summer!!!