I changed my mind.

You know how I posted about spending my tax money on a KitchenAid mixer? I think I've changed my mind. I had to go to Salt Lake today, so I stopped by to visit my parents, and I took advantage of their piano for a couple of hours (yes, hours—I hadn't played in a long time). As I was playing, I realized that the amount I'm getting back just might get me an electric piano . . . and holy cow, did I get excited.

I absolutely love playing the piano. Pounding on a piano is one of the most effective stress relievers ever. I can take out all of my anger on the keys and make beautiful music in the process. There was one summer when I had a roommate who owned a keyboard, and it was the most fabulous thing in the world to be able to play it in my apartment so I didn't have to fight people for the piano in the lounge.

I will commence piano research immediately. Because I can't wait to be able to do this whenever I want.



(Yes, I know it's weird that I recorded myself, and probably weird that I'm posting it. But I was bored. And I'm sorry that the sound sucks.)

What I Should Be Doing

• Going to the gym.
• Reading a book.
• Writing in my journal.
• Writing something creative and awesome.
• Cleaning my bathroom.
• Doing something social.

But instead, I'm dinking around on my computer. This is what happens when Lindy has absolutely no motivation.

Life Is Good

So I was reading some of my whiny posts the other day, and I realized what a waste of time whining is. Sure, sometimes venting is a good thing. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone and discover that someone can empathize with you. Other times, you just need to get over whatever's bugging you and move on with life.

Reading those old posts also made me realize how much I've grown in the last few years and how good my life is right now. At this moment in time, I have nothing to complain about. I have an apartment, a car, and a full-time job, so all of my essentials are taken care of. And on top of that, I'm going on a date tomorrow night and I'm getting a pedicure on Saturday.

Yeah, life is good. Life is really, really good.

I. Want. One.

So, now that I have begun to discover the joys of baking, I think I've decided what I want to spend some of my tax return money on (depending on how much I get, of course).

Obviously I'm thinking orange, since that's my favorite color, but I'm wondering how I could actually incorporate that into my future kitchen in my future home. Because you know that if I buy one of these beauties, I'll be using it for years to come. That's a rough decision, right there.

My First Foray Into Baking

I went to a friend's house for dinner tonight (which was so much fun), and I wanted to take something to contribute, so I decided to try out all of the cupcake stuff I got for Christmas. I decided to try the Sour Cream Blueberry cupcakes, a recipe that came from this cookbook:

 

I started by making the whipped cream, so it could stay in the fridge while I baked the cupcakes. I had never made whipped cream before, but it turned out to be super easy. Plus, it gave me a reason to use my new hand mixer!

 

 

Homemade whipped cream is the best. Seriously. I had to force myself not to eat it by the spoonful.

After I finished that, I moved on to the cupcake batter. All of the cupcakes in the cookbook use cake mixes, so they are super easy to make. Which is great for a beginner like me.

The batter was really, really sticky, so it was kind of hard to get it into the liners, but I think I managed all right.

 

 

 

I even got to use my awesome cupcake carrier, which I was pretty excited about. I might have to get myself another one of these.

In the end, I only ended up eating two cupcakes. Thank heavens. I managed to give all of the other ones away to various people, which I was happy about because it made sure I didn't eat them all myself. I think I understand the appeal of baking now . . . I'm already thinking about which cupcakes I want to try next.

I'm ready, 2010. Bring it on.

Happy New Year, everyone! A couple days late, but it's all the same, right? This is when I usually do a resolutions post, but someone gave me the idea of writing down five things that I have accomplished this year. I thought it was a great idea to look back on the things I did well before jumping into all the things I want to change about myself.

Accomplishments in 2009:

1. I got an official, grown-up, full-time job with benefits and all that jazz. 
2. I bought a car. Making the payments on time every month is a pretty big accomplishment in my mind.
3. I saved money. I haven't been able to do that in a while, that's for sure.
4. I started cooking more.
5. I learned to recognize when situations are detrimental to my spiritual health and learned to remove myself from those situations.

Now for my goals for 2010:

1. Continue to eat healthier. Mostly eat more fruits and veggies.
2. Get a gym membership (again) and actually use it.
3. Cook more and bake more. Though I think the baking thing might be a bit detrimental to my first goal...
4. Study the scriptures for at least 30 minutes a day.
5. Attend the temple twice a month.
6. Do more creative writing. I'm actually starting a blog, called The Block Breaker. It is a place where I will go to write about whatever I feel like writing about, but creatively and artistically, which is what will make it different than this blog. That is where I will stretch my literary muscles and attempt to possibly squeeze out the beginnings of some major writing project. There's not much there yet, but I promise there will be, so don't forget about it! You'll be able to vote (for lack of a better term) on how much you like each post. I welcome constructive criticism.
7. Make new friends in my current ward. It's quite pathetic how few people in my ward I actually know.
8. Focus on making myself a happier person in general.

So there you have it! 2009 in review (sort of), and a preview of what 2010 will bring (hopefully). Here's to a great 2009, and an even better 2010!