The wierdos I live with

I love my new roommates,,, even if they are a little wierd.

And their wierd boyfriends..

Seriously, I live with beautiful and awesome girls!

My New Diggs

So it has been a couple weeks since I've written anything about me, but its past time. The big announcement,,, drum roll please,,, I moved into a new apartment. I've been living with my sister for the last six months, which has been great. I've really enjoyed being there, it has provided lots of opportunities to spend time with my sister and nephews and new brother in law. However, they moved into a new home, congratulations them, and decided not to take along the extra baggage. ;)

I happened across an apartment complex that I am extremely excited to live in. First and foremost, I realized just recently I have been living in a "temporary status" for the past four or five years. I haven't been living anywhere where I've really settled in and made it my home. Even when I was in Romania, I knew I wasn't going to be there forever and so even though I lived there for two years, it still felt like I was living out of a suitcase. The first thing major benefit I've really enjoyed is hosting people.

Last week I had a couple of co-workers over and we made a cake together.

I also live closer to friends, such as Marcie and Dave

I've also made new friends, and I'm having lots of fun meeting tons of new people. Sam, one such new friends, and I went for a drive up Millcreek Canyon and oh the spendors we enjoyed.

However, the thing I am most excited about in my new place is my awesome new roommates. They are absolutely darling girls and we are already a tight knit group. I'm incredibly grateful I found such awesome friends I get to live with.

Shana, and her boyfriend Dave,
And I have yet to get a picture of Lynette, but this pretty much encapsulates all that is Lynette:

Look familiar?

One of the many delicious treats I used to enjoy in Romania was "cozonac"; poundcake. This is extremely popular around Easter. Today I happened to open my webbrowser to MSN what what should I see on today's recipe's but... this!
YEAH!!! This stuff is fantastic! You can find the recipe here:

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/nutella-swirl-pound-cake-recipe

Obama awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

I'll say it; I'm a fan of Obama. I think he is a great man with great aspirations. I truly believe that he could have a tremendously positive affect on the world, not just the US, but the world. I think his beginnings as a community planner in the inner city of Chicago is a great place to be coming from when you are trying to make decisions that affect everyone. I read his biography. I earnestly believe he is a good and honorable man. That being said, I have to admit, learning that Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace this morning was a bit of a surprise. He's been in office less than a year.

The flip side of this I believe is that it is an indication of just how well thought of he is internationally. I was not in the United States for most of Obama's campaign and therefore didn't get to see how things were unfolding. However, being overseas did give me the opportunity to see how receptive the rest of the world is to him. As a result, right from the beginning I thought Obama would be good for the US in repairing relationships with other countries. I think the fact that he has been nominated is a great indication that the rest of the world is open to what the US can achieve.

Way to go Mr. President. We're behind you!

Camping!

So this last weekend I got to go camping! I went with my "married" friends and a very handsome, attractive, charming person with beautiful blue eyes and winning smile.

Everyone, this is Parker! Troy and Katie's son, he is six months and absolutely adorable!

Of course because Nicole & Brent and Troy & Katie were all together, there was a game of bang. Brent and Katie really got in to it. Autumn is my favorite season and it looks like this year is going to be an incredible year for the leaves so I'm looking foward to that. I have a goal of going all all the major canyons on the Wasatch Front this fall. I'm way jazzed about that. A perfect example of why fall is better. There is nothing like hanging out in a hammock, in the mountains, with someone you love. But something about the autumn, the warmth of the light, the crisp air, the delicious food, just makes all that even better.

We didn't get Dave in the picture, he left way early in the morning to get to work. But the rest of the crew, from left to right; Troy, Katie, Me, Nicole, Parker, Brent, and Seth. Too much fun! Thanks for a good time guys!

Setting up House

My sister is trying to move into a new house within the next week. (Everyone cross their fingers for her, we aren't sure if everything is going to work out yet.) So last Saturday we tried to get everything ready for her to move it. Its amazing how many little details go into these things. The great part was her two boys got to help with the action.

Rusty helped clean

Wyatt was quite the handy man, putting the closet door knobs on

And my dad over-saw all of us. (Read: came behind us and fixed all the mistakes, like putting the lock on backwards on the door.)

A swingin' time

So last Friday I went Swing dancing with a couple friends and man was it fun. I really enjoy dancing, but I'm really terrible at it. So finding someone that can move me around was quite enjoyable.

This is my super svelt friend Andrea

I tried to get a picture of her and Ryan dancing, but there were moving so fast it was literally just a blur
Here we have Emily and Tyler, who are getting married this weekend. Congratulations to the happy couple!

And finally me, in my all time favorite dance move, the dip!