Sunday, November 25, 2012

DISNEY!

Hey Jessica!

I got my Concert Choir sweatshirt! It's so cool. I feel all official and selective and I swear I sing better in it too. You know I'm the fourth Leete to get a sweatshirt, and the third girl to be an alto. We should take a picture with all of us in our sweatshirts. However I do see how that can be a problem since you have more than one.

NATS Musical Theater was a couple Saturdays ago, and it was a ton of fun. I went early to see Cami perform and then Keturah (my accompanist) and I hung out and worked on college essays until it was my turn. I think I did well and I had lots of fun.

Keturah and I took her little brothers and friends trick-or-treating for Halloween. It was fun. I guess. We all dressed up as characters from Great Expectations. Keturah was Miss Havisham, I was Estella and one of her brothers was Pip. We looked good.

Here's a picture of me:



For Thanksgiving we went down to California to visit family. We even went down to Disneyland for a day, for free too (well we bought one ticket, but it was discounted.) Ya, we've got connections. I had a ton of fun. Rachel and I closed the park out, even when our cousins went to go sleep in the car. I got blisters for it but it was worth it. 






Disneyland made me act like a child. I got all giddy and energetic and I just wanted to ride everything and go everywhere. It was exciting. 

Thanksgiving dinner was nice to have with family. We went on a walk on Avila Beach afterwards. It was beautiful weather.

I hope you are having fun at college!
Melissa

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Crazyness!

Hey Melissa!

So these past two weeks have been CRAZY!! Classes are really loading up on the work and I actually seem to have a social life this year, so that's also been taking up a lot of time. Here's some highlights:

I went and saw Il Trovatore  by Giuseppe Verdi done by the Utah Opera. So good! I've only been to one opera before and I don't think I really appreciated it as much as I could have (I was younger). This one though was wonderful. The story line was great, but mostly it was the music that made me love it. It's just beautiful! And it reminded me just how much I love classical music. So now, when I really need to work, I crank up the classical and drown out all the distractions.

Next up.. Rubik's Cubes! Mom sent me mine (I love her) and it is the best thing to let my mind relax and focus on something simple and easily solved. It's also probably one of the reasons my homework always seems to get pushed to the last minute :)

I'm taking beginning social dance this semester and it is definitely my favorite class (sorry calculus). We're working on cha-cha right now, and it is a ton of fun. In a few weeks there's a competition thingy for the different classes and I'm competing. I'm a bit nervous, but I think it will be really fun.

In the past four days, I have taken big 3 tests.They went well, but now it's just time to catch up on everything I put off in order to study. I really don't have the best study habits, I'm working on that :) Also, I have to get more done before the weekend because I'm going up to Rexburg to see Jennifer. So excited. Let's hope I'm not too stressed on Monday.

-Jessica

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Homecoming!

Hey Jessica,

It's been a long time and a lot has happened so I'll just try to highlight some of the more important things for you. (If I can even remember what has happened.)

Mom made me a dress. Not just any dress, but a homecoming dress. She did it in two weeks too. She's amazing! So basically everyday after school I checked in on her to see how the dress was coming. I got to try it on a lot too. I think it's the best dress she's ever made me!

Then I went to Homecoming! Not with a date, but with three of my friends, Cami, Keturah, and Hayley.  We went to Cami's house before to eat dinner, a formal sit down but we were not dressed up yet. Then we got ready. You know, make up, hair, girl chat, and so forth. I wanted to curl my hair, but for some reason the curling iron wasn't working. Or maybe I wasn't . . . But anyway I had to wait for Cami to finish curling Keturah's hair so that I, well really Hayley, could use that curling iron to curl my hair. The end result (besides me looking fabulous!) was we ended up taking the pictures really late so it was too dark outside, we took some inside but I don't think most of the turned out. So in the following pictures the background will be all black, that's just because I was being vain.

Me

Keturah, Me, Cami, Hayley


Funny pose!
The only decent picture where you can see my whole dress

 When we got there we had ticket issues. Keturah's brother bought her ticket because he has an asb sticker (another mix up) and we thought that they had to show up together because the ticket would be under his name. But she at first left it at home, then her mom forgot it when she came to take pictures, then she couldn't find it, then we found out Keturah's brother had them, but then he lost them, either in the car, at home, or at the restaurant he went to. But anyway, in the midst of all this an administrator heard out our problems and let us in. It was all good. The dance however wasn't that fun. Well for me. I think I'm just worn out from too many dances. They had a cool chandelier made by a student hanging from the ceiling. Personally I didn't really like most of the music they played the hour and a half we were there. They played YMCA though. That's a good song. After an hour and a half we went to Keturah's house and watched "How To Loose a Guy in Ten Days". It's a good, funny movie.

Besides that school has been, well school. I have homework, that when I schedule well, isn't all that bad. But I tend to leave my chapter study guide for AP Psych until the last minute, which isn't fun. I think I get half of calc. That is until I have to take a quiz or a test and suddenly I don't remember anything. I'm sure it'll get better though, right? Ya, homecoming is the most exciting thing that has happened recently and that Rachel is sixteen. It makes me feel old. I even registered to vote! Not like I can this year, but I'll be all registered for later.

See you later!
Melissa


Friday, August 24, 2012

End of Summer

Hey Melissa!

Well, I'm now in Utah for school. It's been a great summer though! Here's one of the highlights:



My good friend Linnea had them and they just needed to be made into cookies.
So here's us making them:


And our 3 little frosting helpers: Rachel, Melissa, and Melissa's friend Amanda



Now for some finished projects!








 I love the look of the mint chocolate chips for eyes :)






 This one is getting kicked in the head by the purple one.



Didn't they turn out great! We made a lot though, we were frosting for hours and definitely were not hungry for dinner afterwards.

So I got here Wednesday night and so far I'm the only roommate moved in and living here. One has been in and out, dropping off stuff but spending the day with her family and no one else has shown up yet. So I've been unpacking and reading. More reading than unpacking, I really don't like unpacking. I read  one of my favorites from when I was younger, Poison by Chris Wooding. Now I'm about halfway through with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It's a lot of fun to relax and read something easy.

- Jessica

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Turtles and Japan and Potterness!

Hey Jessica!
So it's been a little while so I'll have a lot to say.

On June 26th my turtles turned two! I know! They're so old! So for your watching pleasure I took a little thirty second video of them. Of course at that moment they decided not to be spazzes so they're just swimming around. I swear, they were totally being crazy two seconds before I took the video!


They are the best pets ever! I love them so much! And of course they complete my turtle collection:)

I was gone for a whole five days for girls' camp. The theme was the scripture, so Arise and Shine or Get up and Glow. Every cabin was a different nation. I was a counselor with my friend Kirsten. Our cabin was Japan. Everyday we dressed up. We wore kimonos, were Mario and Luigi, ninjas, and I was pikachu and she was my trainer. It was a ton of fun. In our cabin we even had a short table and cushions so we could sit cross-legged on the floor. It was so cool! The crafts were amazing. There was a photo booth one day. This is the picture we took: 


I made a frame for it too. I also made two rings, a lantern and a book made from a paper bag. And we can't forget how spiritual it was! We had a lantern walk where we went to multiple stations and they each had a thing they had to read. We weren't allowed to talk either so all you could hear was nature and the clink of electric candles in the lanterns. It was amazing to look and to just see a bunch of yellow/orange lights moving in one direction. Then there was the musical program that had music and narrations. There was also the candle circle that was really cool as well. And the testimony meeting to close off the week was really sincere and touching.

I've joined Pottermore. And I've been nerding out ever since I did. I was sorted into Gryffindor and I have a fir wand with a unicorn core that's 10 3/4 inches long. It's almost too much for me to handle. I definitely dreamed about it last night. All the new information you find out on it is great! McGonagall was always a favorite but now even more so! I can't wait until I can go through the second book too!

Besides those things I've been playing Pokemon and sitting around, fairly bored. I really need things to do. Or maybe I just need to at least sit outside for a bit. I have been indexing though! The youth are having a competition against the bishopric to see who can index more this month. So far I've done 241 names! I'm getting better too.

Anyway, that's all for now!
Melissa  

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Sewing, sewing, sewing.....

Hey Melissa!

I've got lots to tell you about today. First of all, I had my first job interview a few weeks ago! It was at a movie theater and I was soooo nervous. It went well, but it was a group interview and everyone else had much better answers than me. I didn't get the job, but it's ok, because I found a job as a nanny for the summer! It's for two kids, a 10 year old boy and a 8 year old girl. Its turning out to be lots of fun. The kids love me and we do lots of fun stuff together. I taught the girl how to make friendship bracelets, and we've made cookies together as well. Today we played an hour or so of hide and seek. Lots of fun!

However, I had a few weeks before my job started, so I had a ton of free time and very few friends back from college to spend it with. So I've been crafting it up! I sewed an apron and a dress and am almost done with a skirt. The patterns for the apron and dress I found online (I love blogs!) Both were a lot of work, and I learned some new skills - lining with bias tape, installing an invisible zipper- but I think it was totally worth it! They both turned out super cute and I love them! Here's some pics:





The skirt somehow turned out way too small for me, I have no idea how! But it should fit our sister, Rachel. I just need to get her to try it on so I can hem it!

I've also been cooking a bit. We made some chicken pot pie cupcakes! They were delicious as you know. Sorry, I didn't take pictures, but they looked pretty much like the ones on the website I got it from, I just kinda overfilled them, so they spilled out a bit.

So that's everything really! I'll try to post more often, but I'm not promising anything :)

-Jessica

Friday, May 18, 2012

You're home!

Hey Jessica,

So I feel weird writing to you because you are home. But here it goes . . .

Yesterday I took the AP Econ Macro and Micro tests. I was at the testing center ALL day. Except for the five minute dash to Burgerville for milkshakes in between tests. It kinda sucked. And it was really sunny all day too! I was only outside in the thirty minutes between tests. It was sad. Afterwards I went to my friends house and ate a ton of ice cream. Then I vegetated on the couch for like two and a half hours. I was kinda brain dead. I don't think I may ever recover! I also think I know too much econ for any one person how isn't an economist. However I think it would be more correct to say that I think I know too much econ. I probably don't actually know anything. Well maybe the basic supply and demand curves. And that's basically it.

Jennifer is painting some pretty cool stuff. If you haven't seen her oil painting blog you should check it out. She's pretty amazing!

Ya, this is weird, you know everything that has happened to me since you wrote. So I'm just going to leave it like this. Except . . . BROWNIE RECIPE!

You know I love brownies . . . well I fixed up a recipe I found in my cookbook and made it awesome! So here it is!

Cocoa Brownies with Mini Chocolate Chips
(I don't have a picture because Mom sent them off to Jennifer for her birthday before I had time to take a picture.)

Ingredients:


  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 + cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Line 8-inch square pan with foil by turning the empty pan upside down then covering the bottom of the pan with foil, shiny side out, then removing the foil. Place the foil in the inside of the pan.Grease foil.
  3. In bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
  4. In 3-quart saucepan (or microwave), melt butter over low heat.
  5. Remove saucepan from heat; with spatula, stir in sugar, then eggs, one at a time, vanilla, and oil until well blended.
  6. Stir in flour mixture.
  7. Spread batter in prepared pan; sprinkle with chocolate chips.
  8. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from center comes out almost clean. Cool brownies completely in pan on wire rack, about two hours.
  9. When cool, lift foil, with brownie, out of pan. Peel foil away from sides. Cut brownies into 4 stripes, then cut each strip crosswise into 4 squares.

So ya. Those are some of the best brownies you will ever have. Even if you don't put on the chocolate chips.


See ya!
Melissa

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Guess What?

Hey Melissa!

Being home now is a very different experience then before. First of all, even though it is summer I am intent on getting things done! I am not going to spend 4 months sitting around watching tv. I am trying hard to get a job, but it seems like no one will even look at me because I have no work experience. I haven't even babysat consistently because I was so busy with band and winter percussion. But maybe I'm being impatient. I've only been home for like a week or so. Also, I'm am going to take organ lessons, read lots and lots, and try out tons of new recipes so I won't end up always eating the same things in college.

Guess what? Today is Kevin's one-year-on-a-mission-day! He has been serving in Londrina Brazil for one year today! I am so proud of him and the work he is doing. I love reading his e-mails home every week. Mom has been putting them in a blog. You can read them here. I sent a snail-mail letter to him a few days ago. I wanted to send him a paper crane, so I made a red one and named him Eduardo. Unfortunately, the letter came back. Apparently the post office doesn't like sending paper cranes in normal envelopes. So sad... So I took Eduardo out, updated the letter and re-sent it! I hope he actually writes me back this time! (He's only written me back once, but that's ok, he's super busy)

Funny story... Today Mom is going to a relief society party and is bringing a cake, so I helped her make a cookie monster cake. The funny thing is that for Kevin's first birthday, Mom also made a cookie monster cake. (And it's his one-year-on-a-mission-day. Funny coincidence, right?) So Mom made the cake and the frosting and somehow I ended up frosting it all with her guidance. It looks so cute!




More fun stuff: Mom's birthday was a few weeks ago!! Happy Birthday Mom! Her favorite cake is carrot cake, so I made her favorite recipe of it. We've eaten this recipe many times before, but this was the first time I made it. And guess what? I'm going to share it with you! I don't understand how, but the picture seems to have gotten lost. I'll put it up when I find it!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

4 eggs, well beaten
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups finely grated carrots
1 cup coconut (optional)
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Oil 3 8 in pans. Set out butter and cream cheese to soften (for frosting). Put pineapple in strainer to drain.

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add oil and mix well with whisk.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat in flour mixture into first bowl until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour batter into oiled pans. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted in center of cake. Cool slightly and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese
1 1lb. box powdered sugar
3tsp vanilla

Mix together till smooth. Frost between layers and on top. Try toasted coconut for decoration.

So much fun food! I love it!

--Jessica








Thursday, May 3, 2012

Turtle Cupcakes!

Hey Jessica!


My friend's birthday was on Tuesday so me and my other friend, K, made her cupcakes. But not just any cupcakes. Cupcakes decorated and placed so that they look like a turtle. Why a turtle? Because my friend loves turtles! I gave her a turtle that kind of looked like this turtle. It was white with colored polka dots.She collects them like I do. However her collection is not as big as mine. But it's still impressive. And everything in her collection is nice too. She even has a turtle pillow pet. So cute! I think I would like multiple turtle pillow pets. One of the normal ones, the peewee ones, and then the keychain ones. That way they can stack like actual turtles!


I tried to play Mario Kart Wii left handed yesterday. I didn't think it would be that hard, but it was! I have drifting all timed out and perfect right handedly but when I switch it my fingers didn't know what to do! I kept on using items instead of drifting. And when I did drift I went off in the wrong direction! Not like that doesn't happen normally, but it happened more when I played left handed. I don't think I'll do that again. Maybe when I get so good that I beat everyone without really trying. Like Inigo Montoya. He's so awesome.

Dude. I think I have the right formula for the perfect guy. Are you ready for this? Well here it is:

Westley + Johnny Lingo + (insert favorite prince charming here) = Perfection in guy form (or as close as you can get)

I know. Awesome right? Well if you find that guy, and he has a brother, let me know:)

Melissa

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zuchinni!

Hey Melissa!

My first week back from college and its been crazy! I went to a Coldplay concert on Tuesday. It was crazy fun. I've never been to a concert before, but it was certainly worth it. My favorite part was when they lit up the wristbands they had given to everyone and the whole stadium was full of little points of light. They even timed it with the music so there was parts where the wristbands would flicker on and off in time to the music! So cool!

So... I have a confession.... I am hopelessly addicted to pinterest. My favorite is the FOOD. I even have one board for food and another for dessert! Now that I'm home from college for the summer I can finally start making them! (I don't have a very complete kitchen at college. So sad... ) So this week I made Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini courtesy of skinnytaste.com. Isn't that a fun name? It has a rhythm to it. Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini. You could make like a rap out of it! It was delicious! I will definitely make it again sometime. It would be great for a group dinner with friends. So here's the recipe and some pictures I took.


Chicken Rollatini Stuffed with Zucchini

Ingredients:

     Zucchini-cheese filling:
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 1/2 sups (1 medium) zucchini, shredded
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Romano cheese (or Parmesan, that's what I used)
  • 3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella
  • salt and pepper to taste
     Chicken coating:
  • 8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
  • 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1 lemon, the juice of (or 3 tbsp lemon juice)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil non-stick spray

Directions:


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. Saute garlic a minute or until golden. Add zucchini, Romano cheese, salt and pepper and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. When cooled, mix in the mozzarella cheese.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 3 tbsp of zucchini-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Combine breadcrumbs and grated cheese in one bowl; in a second combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper.

Dip chicken rolls in lemon-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray with oil spray.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately. Serving size is one roll.

I absolutely loved it! I served it with rice with carrots and strawberries as a side. It was even great as leftovers the next day!

-- Jessica

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Hey, Soul Sister

Hey Jessica,
I tried to be "gangstah" today. It didn't work. I went all "hey sistah. wuz up. u good?". Ya . . . it really didn't work too well.
I made brownies! They were fantastic! Homemade, from scratch. I even melted the butter over the stove, not in the microwave like most losers.
I'm being attacked by a plastic chicken right now. Yup, you read that right. A plastic chicken. I think it's name is Joe. No, actually I just made the whole Joe thing up. He does look like a Joe. Wait . . . I think it's a girl. XD But yes, a wind-up hopping chicken was bouncing, rebounding, and attacking my foot. I don't know what to think about that. It's one of the ones we got in our Easter baskets this year. You know, one of the really stupid cheap (hehe, I accidentally spelled that cheep) things Mom buys us that entertains us for a surprisingly long amount of time.
Anywwwaaaaaaaayyyyyyy.
I'm really tired and think I'll go to bed now.
Bye!
-Melissa

P.S. Here's a video that I think you'll like ;)