cory's little brother chad's wedding was scheduled for november 30, 2013, two days after thanksgiving. cor and i looked at our schedules and were able to get monday and tuesday off of work and both only had to miss one class out of the two days of classes! we drove to wrightwood, california on friday after work with sienna in tow. she was so good and got some free steak from a nice cafe rio in cedar city. the drive would've been easy, except there was a horrible freak snow storm outside of cedar city and a fedex truck slid through a guardrail and shut down one lane of a two lane highway...so that threw us an hour behind schedule. we made it through the rainstorms in nevada and california towards wrightwood, where the police monitoring the mountain traffic took a look at cory's utah license plate and waved him on into the snow :) sienna sure loved playing in the snow at grandma and grandpa hill's house!
it was a cozy weekend at their house, eating, napping and watching movies and quite a change when we headed down to hot, sunny corona on sunday! we stayed with cory's sanchez family that week, so we could travel to family in yorba linda with ease. it was a blast! i'm so lucky i married into a fabulous family!
monday, cory, his aunt teri, and cousin sara made our way to disneyland where cor and i had the time of our lives! i had surprised him with tickets to disneyland a few weeks earlier and could not wait for this special day! one of the perks of a degenerative eye disease is that you get a pass to skip all the lines at disneyland, soooo. yeah...we went on every ride we wanted to by 1 pm. it was AMAZING. we had a good lunch and loved the atmosphere of disneyland where everything is so magical! sara was such a doll, and as a yearly pass-holder, is quite the disney expert. she would find us spots to sit and take us through secret, quicker ways to get places. at the parade, cory was totally solicited by one of cinderella's stepsisters for a good five minutes. our chicken strips and fries filled us up for most of the day, but we still ate dinner and watched the beatles impersonators perform (so great)! sara rode space mountain again with me. cory and i got mary pippins and merida ornaments because we had seen mary pippins at tuacahn earlier that year and merida, because cory LOVES "brave". i was holding out to try my first dole whip-very good! we watched the magical show at the end of the night and it was the perfect conclusion to a perfect day-even though my feet were KILLING me. i solemnly swear to wear shoes with arch support for all future disney visits!
tuesday was a low-key day-i think cory and i slept in and went to a japanese restaurant for lunch. we drove up to yorba linda to head to the newport beach temple for candice's first temple session. it was lovely to be there with her on that special day!
cory and i got to spend the afternoon with cory's dad and his uncle greg, aunt saundy and their kids at their huntington beach home. we took sienna to the beach for the first time and that was an ADVENTURE! cory strapped his go pro camera to her and as soon as she was off the leash, she ran full-speed into the ocean and bam! there went the camera into the ocean! cory sprinted to save his precious go pro (he saved it). and we just gave up and let sienna run around and said cory staying dry was a lost cause. she ran for what seemed like forever while cory's dad and uncle played catch and effie and i just played in the little waves. one thing neither of us knew was that dogs swallow a lot of saltwater which apparently creates instant diarrhea. TMI and gross, but probably someone out there needs to know. sienna had a bad five minute walk home from the beach and spent many minutes being hosed off in the front yard where she stayed for a long time.
thursday-THANKSGIVING! in the morning, we woke up early to be one of the first people at candice's family's turkey bowl. jodie and i sat and watched the family play flag football for awhile and then we all headed home to get ready for thanksgiving! we showed up at aunt steph's house for their thanksgiving extravaganza of thirtyish people! it was intense and hard to wait while starving for everyone to show up and then pass the food around! luckily, we had lots of pie. afterwards, cory's family talked about black friday shopping but cory has this thing about crowds and i have this thing about no peripheral vision, thus making crowds not fun...so we went back to corona :)
we helped set up for the #chandice wedding and then parted ways as cory headed off to BWW's for cha'd bachelor party. jodie, shera and i went to one of candice's bridesmaid's house for a nice dinner, games and bachelorette party. it was so sweet!
i really wanted to get my hair done for the wedding and figured a local great clips would be cheap and easy....NOPE. it took the girl nearly an hour and half to do a half up-do. it was insane and crazy and i didn't spend nearly as much time on my hair for my own wedding. poor cory had to speed to get to newport beach where we made it five minutes before the sealing ceremony. it was lovely and intimate and so great to see candice and chad married together forever :) lots of pictures later, we were on our way to a luncheon of yummy tacos and then a reception of dancing and seeing friends and family! jodie, adam, cory and i had to head up to wrightwood after the reception, so we had to leave right after the couple. we had breakfast with grandma and grandpa hill at the classic rick's and then headed home back to the last stretch of school!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
autumn 2013
i'm writing about this season months after it actually happened, but i'd like to have a little record of our lives since journaling isn't my strong suit and i doubt my husband secretly making scrapbooks...
fall 2013 was our last in provo, utah and the beginning of our last year at BYU. cory and i have been SO fortunate since being married to receive pell grants, as well as numerous scholarships, so the last two years of school actually made us money! which, we had to pay back in taxes later, so let's not talk about that. we both had heavy course loads that semester, yet were highly motivated, so it seemed to fly by, even though i probably read over twenty books in four months. we both were working at our respective jobs-front desk secretary at the department of visual arts in the mornings and cory, as lead student on the grounds crew for the southeastern part of campus (i hope that's right).
we had lots of fun playing with sienna at a local park down the street and hiking all over the region with her. sienna loves food, car rides and sneaking on to furniture when we are asleep or away. she loved our long driveway on 9th east and would run up and down it with sticks in her mouth.
one of my favorite things about last fall was the pallet headboard cory designed and mostly made himself. i helped sand and stain it. i arranged all the boards and would hold them up while he nailed them in. it is gorgeous and i'm so sad it's been in storage all summer.
my birthday weekend was low-key...we went to the cheesecake factory and i had a fun shopping spree at the outlet mall in lehi! cory made me a funfetti cake on my actual birthday and he and sean sang to me :) it was a fun surprise the next weekend when cory's family (mom, jodie's fam and nicki's fam) had ANOTHER cake and sang to me. SO sweet! i miss them all terribly now that we aren't in utah anymore!
halloween was spent at the beatty's house with pumpkins and treats and our lame costumes (construction worker and gingerbread woman). we aren't exactly the type to really GET into halloween, except for buying a bag of candy for ourselves (seeing as no trick or treaters came).
overall, it was a beautiful autumn in provo!
Saturday, August 10, 2013
weekend trip to seattle!
august 2013: spontaneous trip to seattle! cory, trey, gabe and i drove up to seattle for a long weekend. cory and i spent it with my dad's parents in federal way and with my grandma june in redmond. it was awesome! we drove the long 12 hour drive thursday (don't remember it being so bad, ugh) and spent friday at the boeing museum! we had fun eating and staying up with grandma betty and grandpa bruce. we went to dinner with aunt barb and grandma june at chinook's-mmm yummy crab and salmon! afterwards, we went to the dilettante, my favorite place in seattle, for chocolate delight. cory got a milkshake and i got the sundae, because it comes with a truffle. SO GOOD.
saturday, cory and i explored downtown seattle at pike's place, ate some good cookies, checked out ye olde curiosity shoppe, and looked for places to eat but could not decide! finally, we ended up eating sushi in federal way :) and then of course we went to home goods so i could get my most favorite lamps ever! i was determined to find white gourd lamps, and i happened to find some (BIG) ones with beautiful flowers on them. cory indulged me because i fit everything for the weekend in my backpack. i don't know that the other boys were too happy...but it's been a year and i'm still in love with them. i also got my first glassy baby that weekend! check them out-glassybaby.com or in stores in WA or CA. they're handmade candle holders where part of the proceeds are donated to various cancer foundations. they're all different and beautiful. if anyone ever needs to buy me a present, this is your no-fail idea. HINT HINT.
on sunday we went to church with the hatches and enjoyed exploring the treasure trove that is my grandparents' house. cory and i watched grandpa cut rocks and show cory all his tools and his collection of stones. he made me a nice necklace!
sunday night we went over to grandma june's for a sleepover! she has the cutest little place in redmond and we loved looking at family history and old pictures with her. monday, we got to see great-grandma marlowe (gamie) who was 106 and is now 107 years old! afterwards, we ate at ivar's, cory got salmon and chips, which he constantly craves.
of course no trip to federal way would be complete without a trip to the azteca with grandpa and grandma hatch! it was such a fun weekend being able to have some one on one time with my relatives so they could get to know my sweet husband better! i desperately hope to live in the pacific northwest one day.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
tikka masala yum!
i'm getting ready to go to seattle thursday early morning by cooking snacks and meals for tomorrow, while cory is away at his aunt's house. sienna keeps ringing the bell on the back door to signal she needs to go outside, but she THINKS it means "feed me". the house is clean and organized and i feel so at peace-crazy what a difference clutter makes.
we got our fall textbooks today and for my 14 books, it only cost $246! and cory's 3, yes 3, books cost $10. i think it's a record. and we are both taking 16 credits, so...thank you, professors. i might add, that we don't even have to pay that thanks to pell grants and scholarships. woohoo! we figured we'd start doing our school reading on our road trip up to washington...it's a nice thought, right?
life has been pretty chill. lots of work, cleaning, fixing up the house (new DIY projects), and cooking. cory's starting on a pallet headboard! we recently scored on some AMAZING deals on furniture, so our bedroom is coming together...after a year. and the cooking and baking is all thanks to free time at work...
one of my favorite blogs is preventionrd.com. the author has loads of delicious and nutritious (mostly) recipes. as i was scanning it while bored at work one day, i found her tikka masala recipe. i looked at it and figured we had most of the ingredients, so that's what we were having for dinner! and then i made it again last night because it is now one of my FAVORITE recipes. it is extremely easy and tastes very much like authentic indian food (as authentic as the indian food restaurants i've been to, at least).
the recipe is as followed:
tikka masala (with my changes)
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup brown rice (dry), prepared (i used basmati)
cilantro (for garnish-cory did not like)
1 cup brown rice (dry), prepared (i used basmati)
cilantro (for garnish-cory did not like)
marinade for chicken:
1 6 oz. container 2% plain greek yogurt-or 1 cup of greek yogurt from costco!
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger-i used a little less than a teaspoon of ground ginger
2 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger-i used a little less than a teaspoon of ground ginger
2 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
aauce:
1 tablespoon butter
3 garlic clove
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (remove membrane)-omitted because cory hates peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon sriracha sauce
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (i didn't have, so i used 1/3 cup butter plus 3/4 cup of milk, with a few tablespoons of flour, mixed together)
3 garlic clove
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (remove membrane)-omitted because cory hates peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon sriracha sauce
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (i didn't have, so i used 1/3 cup butter plus 3/4 cup of milk, with a few tablespoons of flour, mixed together)
directions:
mix the marinade together and let sit for an hour, or several
cook chicken on grill or in skillet. meanwhile, melt butter and
saute garlic and jalapeno. add seasonings and stir for 2 minutes until
fragrant. add in tomato sauce and heavy cream. add chicken into
sauce and cook an additional 10 minutes. serve over 1/2 cup rice and
garnish. yield: 6 servings
this is seriously so good. cory and i prefer less chicken (i used 1 costco chicken breast yesterday, chopped up into small chunks and we liked that better). here's the link to the actual recipe-http://www.preventionrd.com/2010/03/would-you-care-from-some-heat/
Monday, July 29, 2013
orthodontia aka torture.
i've noticed my bottom teeth are getting a little crooked, so i thought i'd wear my retainer. the one from middle school. the one that's supposed to look invisible, but is not so clear looking now...
yeah, i'm basically dying of my teeth being squashed together like my thighs in a tight pencil skirt. but i will NOT be the forty year old with braces! instead, i'm the twenty-two year old laying in bed, in so much pain, blogging about her teeth. yes folks, this is real life and it's only ten pm.
off the scale, people! and redheads have a higher tolerance than other people. it's scientifically proven!
things i love!
i just got off the phone with the insurance people...i do not love how complicated being married and being on my dad's insurance is, so i'm making a list of things that make me happy. in no particular order.
1. cory (duh), but especially cory when he dances.
2. when sienna is calm and falls asleep by me.
3. noodles & co. indonesian peanut saute, with chicken.
4. (500) days of summer
5. the drive-in movies, even though i can never stay awake through the second movie.
6. laying out at seven peaks with a book from the library.
7. making a good dinner.
8. getting new clothes, particularly with coupons and on sale!
9. when cory paints my nails :)
10. soft-serve cones, dipped cones, shaved ice, milkshakes and sonic slushies with ice cream. all in RED.
11. bright colored pants and pencil skirts.
12. new girl. i NEED season two and three!
13. getting packages (not mail, cause then i get bills, yuck).
14. my FAMILY! all of them.
15. vacations to the beach. vacations anywhere, really, who am i kidding?
16. my navy and white striped duvet cover. i love it so much.
17. SUSHI.
18. regina spektor pandora radio.
19. "wait, wait, don't tell me" and "good job, brain" podcasts
20. going to starbucks in the fall and winter and trying a new flavor hot chocolate/cider each time.
21. curry. i always want india palace. always.
22. hot tubbing! and pool-ing.
23. when my sunday school class kids participate and we have fun.
24. flea markets, farmer's markets, antique stores.
25. how whenever i'm angry or sad and turn to the book of mormon, i ALWAYS find the perfect verses to match my situation and make me feel better.
26. the fact that i'm graduating april 2014-hallelujah!
27. picking out baby names (been doing it since i was 13).
28. sewing.
29. red gatorade and orange soda (separately).
30. laying on the cold grassy hill at byu with cory while sienna runs around with her frisbee.
1. cory (duh), but especially cory when he dances.
2. when sienna is calm and falls asleep by me.
3. noodles & co. indonesian peanut saute, with chicken.
4. (500) days of summer
5. the drive-in movies, even though i can never stay awake through the second movie.
6. laying out at seven peaks with a book from the library.
7. making a good dinner.
8. getting new clothes, particularly with coupons and on sale!
9. when cory paints my nails :)
10. soft-serve cones, dipped cones, shaved ice, milkshakes and sonic slushies with ice cream. all in RED.
11. bright colored pants and pencil skirts.
12. new girl. i NEED season two and three!
13. getting packages (not mail, cause then i get bills, yuck).
14. my FAMILY! all of them.
15. vacations to the beach. vacations anywhere, really, who am i kidding?
16. my navy and white striped duvet cover. i love it so much.
17. SUSHI.
18. regina spektor pandora radio.
19. "wait, wait, don't tell me" and "good job, brain" podcasts
20. going to starbucks in the fall and winter and trying a new flavor hot chocolate/cider each time.
21. curry. i always want india palace. always.
22. hot tubbing! and pool-ing.
23. when my sunday school class kids participate and we have fun.
24. flea markets, farmer's markets, antique stores.
25. how whenever i'm angry or sad and turn to the book of mormon, i ALWAYS find the perfect verses to match my situation and make me feel better.
26. the fact that i'm graduating april 2014-hallelujah!
27. picking out baby names (been doing it since i was 13).
28. sewing.
29. red gatorade and orange soda (separately).
30. laying on the cold grassy hill at byu with cory while sienna runs around with her frisbee.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
my mom.
it was my mom's birthday last week and i was stuck living here in utah, so i couldn't make her a chocolate whipping cream cake, sing her happy birthday, or even send her birthday present on time! i've been thinking of her a lot lately as i adjust to my new role as wife/chef/maid/house decorator...mostly because my mom does it ALL.
i'm sure everyone wants to say their moms are the best, but trust me, even my mom's hair stylist tells me what a perfect mother i have. so why is susan hatch so great? well, i'm going to tell you! just for the record, i asked cory what he thinks my mom is good at and he said, "what can't she do?"
1. culinary prowess-i could probably devote a whole blog post to what an amazing chef is, with character references and pictures and everything. mom can make anything and she does. i am so grateful for the family dinners we had every night, which not only showcased her abilities, but also gave us a chance to talk. even on evenings where we were busy, there would be dinner on the island for us to grab and go. sometimes it's hard for me as a student because i'm so used to having these masterpiece meals and cory and i can't afford to, don't have time to, or even have the stomachs to eat like i did growing up :) i mean, an entree, side dish, fruit/vegetable and bread, sometimes dessert, EVERY DAY PEOPLE. and homemade snacks and cookies. i am happy to have used many of her recipes when entertaining our friends, though, with rave reviews and i owe it all to my mother! another little thing i'd like to point out, is that i love to cook and i think it's because my mom was always cooking and taught me.
2. sense of style-how many girls can say their moms were their personal stylists growing up? now, my mom probably doesn't want to take credit for my outfit choices, particularly in middle school, but she was always there to offer an opinion (don't wear glittery camouflage pants with a purple "Tokyo" shirt!) or point out cute clothes on our shopping trips together. so many times, people will compliment me on things, even now, and i have to shrug and say, "well, my mom picked it out". she is known for surviving on broccoli and rice during college, so she could spend food money at nordstroms. and that has not changed! my mother always looks immaculate and gorgeous. my friends think she is the classiest lady and it is so true. once again, i have a lot to live up to!
3. service-oriented attitude-would you be surprised if your neighbor welcomed you home from vacation with fresh bread and milk in your kitchen? not our neighbors. would you be surprised if a fellow church member drove you to your doctor's appointments, therapy, grocery store, church, multiple times a week, without complaint or compensation? that's my mom for you. i can guarantee that at least half, but probably 75% of her time is devoted to serving other people. making meals, helping clean, volunteering at shelters/events, volunteering at the chicago botanic gardens, doing things for our family-this lady is always SERVING. i wish i could adequately describe how kind my mom is. i truly admire how much she helps others, and does it with a smile!
4. p-a-t-i-e-n-t-i have no idea how on earth my mom handles everything she has to deal with. seriously. my mother doesn't like to burden others, and thus, acts like superwoman. if i were in her situation, i would have given up on so many things that she's accomplished (A's in her master gardening class and final!) as well as with personal matters, like raising erik, ainsley and i. she and my dad had to struggle for a long time (two kids) while he finished up his doctorate. nevertheless, she graduated with her degree and was able to stay at home with us, while dad worked two jobs, talk about a patient wife! then, when we were in school, she went back to work and still managed to have dinner on the table every night. thank you, mom.
5. hard worker-remember that time your mom landscaped the entire yard with your dad? oh yeah. or when she painted the entire house? or when she mowed the lawn every week? or when she prepared a gazillion lessons and events for church? or when she threw bridal showers, baby showers, weddings, birthday parties, holiday dinners? let's not forget how the house always looks like a museum-perfectly styled and spotless. my mom can do everything from crafting, sewing (pillows, bedspreads, costumes, curtains), cooking, decorating, painting, landscaping, baking, refinishing, planning...i can't think of any more things but if you do, she can do it. i feel bad for cory because after watching my parents do literally everything, i expect us (him) to do the same. luckily, he's lived up to said expectations. mom, you probably should sleep in past 6-7 am at least once.
6. full of love-i know without a doubt, that my mom loves me. i miss being able to shout, "mommmmm" throughout the house, or lounging on the leather chair while she's on the computer, or praying together before school, or texting each other from different floors. even though she's in illinois and i'm in utah, she manifests her love daily. i love our family group texts, where mom sends tons of memes. she surprises us with girl scout cookies or fresh salmon. we get to facetime her lovely face almost every week (not to mention the daily phone calls-"mom, how do i cook this?")....she gave me the most AMAZING wedding ever. i just love her!
so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! you truly are my hero, my advice-giver, my stylist, my inspiration and my best friend.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
one random day in july.
cory and i were just joking about "our blog," so i figured i should write a post or two. i mean it is summer, and i have a lot more free time than i expected! if i blogged consistently then i wouldn't have to write super long posts like the one that's probably about to occur. good thing i'm an english major....
april-chad and erik came to stay with us (different weekends). we had general conference with cory's family. we finished school for the summer (woohoo!). we also got rocking scholarships!
may-shelly came into town a few times and we got to ride the ferris wheel at cabela's with her :) we started going to the library every monday and to seven peaks waterpark (right down the street from our house). cory began working full-time and i stayed part-time...hard to believe but the visual arts department does not get a lot of action during the summer months! also, i got a perm! a beach wave perm to be exact and i like it. it looks a little like i crimped my hair (not good), but only sometimes. also, i haven't used a heating product on my hair from may 7 to today, july 16. nuts!
june-cory's birthday! he wanted it to be low-key, so we had a dinner of his fave foods (mac and cheese, salmon and broccoli-i know weird). and i made him a birthday cake oreo-flavored cheesecake. he loves birthday cake oreos and he loves cheesecake. so each year (second one running), i make him a cheesecake for his special day. it turned out great! oh...and for his present, he used all his birthday money and got a recliner. it was a hard battle and arguing point for weeks. we compromised and got one, in a fabric texture and color that i chose. it is truly very comfortable. cory competed in the utah summer games again with aunt nicki and uncle nick's family. we stayed at granny and dorothy's house from wednesday to sunday and had so much fun! cory got first in his nine events-so proud! and we got to eat sushi, see monsters university, go to mary poppins at tuacahn (AMAZING), went swimming and kayaking. we also got cable this month...thanks to comcast's super expensive prices for internet, it was cheaper to get a bundle deal. so dumb. i HATE talking to them on the phone more than any other company. june 29 we left for our san diego vacation!! i'll do a whole post devoted to that (shocker, right?).
july-first week we were in san diego...then back to real life. we have been to the drive-in movies, which is basically the best thing EVER. we went to antelope island and swam in the great salt lake. super trippy-you totally float! and oh, all our water was out when we got home from vacation cause our house is so old and the pipes were all backed up. the city and some company had to totally dig up our yard and replace the sewage pipe from the house to the road...i guess our 50 year old house decided to demand all its renovations while we are renting...new faucets, new floor, new AC, new furnace, new sewage pipe. oh so many things wrong, but that's the (cheap) price you pay when you're a poor college students with a dog. living here has definitely taught us to do without (water and heat) and given cory the chance to fix everything possible. he is now a pro drain cleaner and faucet installer and pipe installer, amongst all his other handy talents that i'll have to list some other time. july is halfway through and with a month and half of summer, cory and i are going to make it awesome! even though, we are currently home watching tv and blogging (i worked, worked out and cooked a full dinner today, so i'm good...). LIFE IS GOOD and we are happy. this is probably the last relaxing summer we will have, so we are living it up!
april-chad and erik came to stay with us (different weekends). we had general conference with cory's family. we finished school for the summer (woohoo!). we also got rocking scholarships!
may-shelly came into town a few times and we got to ride the ferris wheel at cabela's with her :) we started going to the library every monday and to seven peaks waterpark (right down the street from our house). cory began working full-time and i stayed part-time...hard to believe but the visual arts department does not get a lot of action during the summer months! also, i got a perm! a beach wave perm to be exact and i like it. it looks a little like i crimped my hair (not good), but only sometimes. also, i haven't used a heating product on my hair from may 7 to today, july 16. nuts!
june-cory's birthday! he wanted it to be low-key, so we had a dinner of his fave foods (mac and cheese, salmon and broccoli-i know weird). and i made him a birthday cake oreo-flavored cheesecake. he loves birthday cake oreos and he loves cheesecake. so each year (second one running), i make him a cheesecake for his special day. it turned out great! oh...and for his present, he used all his birthday money and got a recliner. it was a hard battle and arguing point for weeks. we compromised and got one, in a fabric texture and color that i chose. it is truly very comfortable. cory competed in the utah summer games again with aunt nicki and uncle nick's family. we stayed at granny and dorothy's house from wednesday to sunday and had so much fun! cory got first in his nine events-so proud! and we got to eat sushi, see monsters university, go to mary poppins at tuacahn (AMAZING), went swimming and kayaking. we also got cable this month...thanks to comcast's super expensive prices for internet, it was cheaper to get a bundle deal. so dumb. i HATE talking to them on the phone more than any other company. june 29 we left for our san diego vacation!! i'll do a whole post devoted to that (shocker, right?).
july-first week we were in san diego...then back to real life. we have been to the drive-in movies, which is basically the best thing EVER. we went to antelope island and swam in the great salt lake. super trippy-you totally float! and oh, all our water was out when we got home from vacation cause our house is so old and the pipes were all backed up. the city and some company had to totally dig up our yard and replace the sewage pipe from the house to the road...i guess our 50 year old house decided to demand all its renovations while we are renting...new faucets, new floor, new AC, new furnace, new sewage pipe. oh so many things wrong, but that's the (cheap) price you pay when you're a poor college students with a dog. living here has definitely taught us to do without (water and heat) and given cory the chance to fix everything possible. he is now a pro drain cleaner and faucet installer and pipe installer, amongst all his other handy talents that i'll have to list some other time. july is halfway through and with a month and half of summer, cory and i are going to make it awesome! even though, we are currently home watching tv and blogging (i worked, worked out and cooked a full dinner today, so i'm good...). LIFE IS GOOD and we are happy. this is probably the last relaxing summer we will have, so we are living it up!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
san diego :)
our trip to san diego was over a month and half ago now, so i should probably write about it before i forget all the little details! we went with my parents and brother and sister and stayed in a beautiful house in la jolla, california. my grandma and uncle were also there for part of the trip. it was SO fun and wonderful to spend time with the family. that's the one hard thing about being married is that you don't really get to live at home and be with your family for a long time.
we all flew into california on saturday, june 29 from chicago, salt lake city and minneapolis! that afternoon we explored the house (HOT TUB) and in the evening, we went to brigantine at coronado island for dinner. that's where we began our week of eating fresh seafood! crab cakes and creme brulee-yum. so fun to be with my grandma june, uncle craig and his girlfriend and her daughter!
sunday, cory and i traveled in our blue open top jeep to corona, california to have brunch with his uncle humberto, aunt teri, cousin sarah and uncle greg and aunt saundy. first of all, why did i bother doing my hair? second, it was REALLY hot having the cali sun blazing down on us on the freeway for the two hour drive. especially in a black dress. brunch was great! we got to chat with our awesome family and eat yummy breakfast casserole, with many flavors of hot sauce!
from there we drove to wrightwood, california where cory's grandparents live up in the mountains! it was a beautiful drive and i was excited to see the house (we always facetime his grandparents and cory always talks about their house). it was so pretty and full of family history. grandma hill showed us around the trails that she hikes and we had a great dinner on their front porch, enjoying the mountain and tree beauty that is their yard.
monday morning, cory, dad and erik went to the uss midway for a nearly 5 hour tour! mom and i decided to scope out the shopping in downtown san diego...unfortunately we didn't find any :) we all ate fish and chips at a fun place on the pier, overlooking the san diego bay. then we went to mission bay beach for some boogie boarding and tanning! we made a big dinner at the house using the grill and the fresh foods of california, and maybe some ice cream after ;)
tuesday, we went to the state park of some explorer-we went there so many times and i can't remember the name! not cortez...hmm. i was so excited to go to old town san diego and explore the shops! i got some pretty tiles made into coaster-esque things to put your hot dishes on. use them all the time! they had so many fun places to see like the hot sauce store and handmade glass and weird root beer flavors. many minutes were spent on yelp looking for authentic mexican food...which was alright. i think everyone enjoyed wahoo's more!
wednesday was spent jet skiing (my favorite) and paddle boarding. later we went to humphrey's seafood restaurant. these fancy restaurants all serve orzo, chorizo, polenta...etc trying to be all posh. every night was also spent in the hot tub in the backyard patio.
thursday was family pictures (khaki, white and blue!) that went better than previous photo sessions in our family, at least! we had yummy wahoo's fish tacos. happy fourth of july! bbq and fireworks from the house's balconies and hot tub.
friday was another state park day. we went back to the ocean and enjoyed more water activities. this time we rented a boat and drove it all around. i love that my parents try to always do this wherever we go-whether it is just to sit and rest on the boat or to tube or water ski or whatever-it's the best!
saturday we made a trip to wahoo's before we had to go home. SAD DAY. overall, being with family is the best. especially in beautiful san diego, with the beaches and water and palm trees and a lovely house and an open air jeep and good food!
we all flew into california on saturday, june 29 from chicago, salt lake city and minneapolis! that afternoon we explored the house (HOT TUB) and in the evening, we went to brigantine at coronado island for dinner. that's where we began our week of eating fresh seafood! crab cakes and creme brulee-yum. so fun to be with my grandma june, uncle craig and his girlfriend and her daughter!
sunday, cory and i traveled in our blue open top jeep to corona, california to have brunch with his uncle humberto, aunt teri, cousin sarah and uncle greg and aunt saundy. first of all, why did i bother doing my hair? second, it was REALLY hot having the cali sun blazing down on us on the freeway for the two hour drive. especially in a black dress. brunch was great! we got to chat with our awesome family and eat yummy breakfast casserole, with many flavors of hot sauce!
from there we drove to wrightwood, california where cory's grandparents live up in the mountains! it was a beautiful drive and i was excited to see the house (we always facetime his grandparents and cory always talks about their house). it was so pretty and full of family history. grandma hill showed us around the trails that she hikes and we had a great dinner on their front porch, enjoying the mountain and tree beauty that is their yard.
monday morning, cory, dad and erik went to the uss midway for a nearly 5 hour tour! mom and i decided to scope out the shopping in downtown san diego...unfortunately we didn't find any :) we all ate fish and chips at a fun place on the pier, overlooking the san diego bay. then we went to mission bay beach for some boogie boarding and tanning! we made a big dinner at the house using the grill and the fresh foods of california, and maybe some ice cream after ;)
tuesday, we went to the state park of some explorer-we went there so many times and i can't remember the name! not cortez...hmm. i was so excited to go to old town san diego and explore the shops! i got some pretty tiles made into coaster-esque things to put your hot dishes on. use them all the time! they had so many fun places to see like the hot sauce store and handmade glass and weird root beer flavors. many minutes were spent on yelp looking for authentic mexican food...which was alright. i think everyone enjoyed wahoo's more!
wednesday was spent jet skiing (my favorite) and paddle boarding. later we went to humphrey's seafood restaurant. these fancy restaurants all serve orzo, chorizo, polenta...etc trying to be all posh. every night was also spent in the hot tub in the backyard patio.
thursday was family pictures (khaki, white and blue!) that went better than previous photo sessions in our family, at least! we had yummy wahoo's fish tacos. happy fourth of july! bbq and fireworks from the house's balconies and hot tub.
friday was another state park day. we went back to the ocean and enjoyed more water activities. this time we rented a boat and drove it all around. i love that my parents try to always do this wherever we go-whether it is just to sit and rest on the boat or to tube or water ski or whatever-it's the best!
saturday we made a trip to wahoo's before we had to go home. SAD DAY. overall, being with family is the best. especially in beautiful san diego, with the beaches and water and palm trees and a lovely house and an open air jeep and good food!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
him :)
not many girls know how much their husband would sacrifice for them, but cory shows me every single day. because he is ALWAYS helping me. it's not easy having a legally blind wife. one with a hearing loss, to boot. he never makes me feel like i'm a burden though. instead, he finds so many ways to make me feel loved. this is my continuous list of acts of love by my darling husband:
-finds everything i can't find or don't see
-makes food when i'm tired (occasionally)
-always lets me lay on his chest
-rubs my back when i have a bad dream
-knows when to say yes or no to my wishful thinking, mostly in the mall or when i'm hungry
-always lets me try a bite of his food even though he's hungry and hates to share his food
-paints my nails (and well)
-comes to my rescue when i'm hurt
-mops and vacuums the floor
-drives us everywhere
-encourages me to be better
-compliments me
-sings along to every song he knows, no matter the singer, pitch...
-helps everyone in need, sacrifices way more than i can
-constantly educating himself, at museums, class, library, books he orders. this kid is nuts!
-has a testimony and is an awesome teacher to our sunday school kids
-fixes every thing in our house, yard or car or learns how to (and i mean, EVERYTHING)
-always showing me affection, but only at home :)
-loves his family unconditionally
-will be the best dad, i have no doubt whatsoever
-planner/scheduler, love this
-picks me up from evening classes
-social butterfly-he makes friends easily, but more importantly, keeps them
-builds us furniture and indulges me in my DIY projects
-so handsome
-wakes up early to let the dog out, so i can sleep in a few extra minutes
-carries my books
-shovels snow at 3 am in the winter for all those byu students (me)
-dances with me in the car, in the movie theater, in our family room...i love when he shakes his hips!
-wiggles his eyebrows
-shares his pinterest with me
-and his computer
-always tells me how beautiful i am, especially without makeup
-holds my hand
-pushes the golf ball in the hole with his club or foot, so it doesn't take me forever to mini-golf and then pretends like he didn't
-rides on a tandem bike with me so i feel safer
-picks up sea anemones out of the ocean so i can see and feel them
-sleeps on the side closest to the door so he can protect me from bad guys
UPDATE: july 14, 2014
-drives us all over the country to see family and friends (california, washington, idaho, minnesota, illinois, wisconsin)
-takes sienna out at night so i don't have to walk around in the dark or deal with creepy people at the hotel we are staying at
-worked so hard for over a year to find a job after graduation, and received several offers! what a stud
-he now is training with accuquest and works 9-5, commutes anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour and a half, and does homework after work
-because i've been sick, he goes grocery shopping for us and will get me wendy's baked potatoes (yes, that's what we've been reduced to at times)
-doesn't get mad when i buy a pair of $60 baby shoes (i love you!)
-tells me how beautiful i am in the morning when i first wake up
-whispers "i love you" in the middle of night, like all the time
UPDATE: october 9, 2014
-flew to minnesota over labor day weekend to see sienna and me after six weeks apart
-lived for two months by himself in a hotel room
-tells me my huge baby belly is my best accessory
-carries all our boxes and suitcases (we've lived out of suitcases for five months now)
-loves our dog and it is so cute
-while i'm sleeping, lays next to me and feels our baby kick and then talks about it the next day
-really good at couponing!
-drove up to minnesota to pick sienna and me up, only so he could drive us down to tennessee two days later
-always makes me feel protected (i've learned how much security he provides me living/being apart from him)
-did i mention he makes me laugh every day? even with his gross bathroom humor
-i've changed so much, or maybe i have just learned to trust and be myself so completely with cory that i don't even recognize myself sometimes
-makes spreadsheets to reliever stress...pretty dorky and cute (ask him about LED lightbulbs)
TO BE CONTINUED....
-finds everything i can't find or don't see
-makes food when i'm tired (occasionally)
-always lets me lay on his chest
-rubs my back when i have a bad dream
-knows when to say yes or no to my wishful thinking, mostly in the mall or when i'm hungry
-always lets me try a bite of his food even though he's hungry and hates to share his food
-paints my nails (and well)
-comes to my rescue when i'm hurt
-mops and vacuums the floor
-drives us everywhere
-encourages me to be better
-compliments me
-sings along to every song he knows, no matter the singer, pitch...
-helps everyone in need, sacrifices way more than i can
-constantly educating himself, at museums, class, library, books he orders. this kid is nuts!
-has a testimony and is an awesome teacher to our sunday school kids
-fixes every thing in our house, yard or car or learns how to (and i mean, EVERYTHING)
-always showing me affection, but only at home :)
-loves his family unconditionally
-will be the best dad, i have no doubt whatsoever
-planner/scheduler, love this
-picks me up from evening classes
-social butterfly-he makes friends easily, but more importantly, keeps them
-builds us furniture and indulges me in my DIY projects
-so handsome
-wakes up early to let the dog out, so i can sleep in a few extra minutes
-carries my books
-shovels snow at 3 am in the winter for all those byu students (me)
-dances with me in the car, in the movie theater, in our family room...i love when he shakes his hips!
-wiggles his eyebrows
-shares his pinterest with me
-and his computer
-always tells me how beautiful i am, especially without makeup
-holds my hand
-pushes the golf ball in the hole with his club or foot, so it doesn't take me forever to mini-golf and then pretends like he didn't
-rides on a tandem bike with me so i feel safer
-picks up sea anemones out of the ocean so i can see and feel them
-sleeps on the side closest to the door so he can protect me from bad guys
UPDATE: july 14, 2014
-drives us all over the country to see family and friends (california, washington, idaho, minnesota, illinois, wisconsin)
-takes sienna out at night so i don't have to walk around in the dark or deal with creepy people at the hotel we are staying at
-worked so hard for over a year to find a job after graduation, and received several offers! what a stud
-he now is training with accuquest and works 9-5, commutes anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour and a half, and does homework after work
-because i've been sick, he goes grocery shopping for us and will get me wendy's baked potatoes (yes, that's what we've been reduced to at times)
-doesn't get mad when i buy a pair of $60 baby shoes (i love you!)
-tells me how beautiful i am in the morning when i first wake up
-whispers "i love you" in the middle of night, like all the time
UPDATE: october 9, 2014
-flew to minnesota over labor day weekend to see sienna and me after six weeks apart
-lived for two months by himself in a hotel room
-tells me my huge baby belly is my best accessory
-carries all our boxes and suitcases (we've lived out of suitcases for five months now)
-loves our dog and it is so cute
-while i'm sleeping, lays next to me and feels our baby kick and then talks about it the next day
-really good at couponing!
-drove up to minnesota to pick sienna and me up, only so he could drive us down to tennessee two days later
-always makes me feel protected (i've learned how much security he provides me living/being apart from him)
-did i mention he makes me laugh every day? even with his gross bathroom humor
-i've changed so much, or maybe i have just learned to trust and be myself so completely with cory that i don't even recognize myself sometimes
-makes spreadsheets to reliever stress...pretty dorky and cute (ask him about LED lightbulbs)
TO BE CONTINUED....
Sunday, March 17, 2013
2 month catch-up.
i've taken a hiatus from blogging because i realized i don't have the natural inclination for taking pictures and i really don't like uploading pictures, as well. so i'm just going to have to suck it up i guess! cory wants all our recipes in one place, so this might as well be it :)
february
-valentine's day: we had a low-key valentine's day because we both had evening classes that thursday. however, i made cory his favorite foods (salmon, macaroni and cheese and cupcakes-those were mine haha). and he got me an ipad mini! super surprised. he had hinted at getting me something big and when he handed me the present on campus, i thought it was a dvd. such a great husband for working all those extra hours working in the freezing cold, shoveling snow.
-jodie's bridal shower! i threw my sweet sister-in-law a bridal shower on president's day because we all had school off. her parents came into town and chad did too for the weekend. we had the party up at nicki's house and it turned out great! i wish i took pictures of everything but i didn't. i'll post them if jodie has some. anyway, her wedding colors were light pink, lace and burlap. we had burlap tablecloths with pink, light brown and white paper hearts scattered on it. pink roses in milkglass vase. valentine's day m&m's. sepia pictures of adam and jodie strung on twine. we had brunch: breakfast casserole, muffins, fruit, dip, bagels, cupcakes, oj and pink lemonade. i'll post the cupcake recipes because they are to die for! i pretty much ate all the leftover ones. whoops. we did a video of adam answering questions about jodie. a candy bar/wedding theme guessing game. a quiz about jodie. and presents! i'm super happy with how it turned out and happy to have adam in our family :)
-i got a scholarship from the UAC and was recognized at a formal banquet! cory and i had to get all dolled up and we ate a delicious dinner with the deans of our colleges. i had to go on stage and shake president samuelson's hand and got a nice certificate. it was really a beautiful event. jericho road performed and there were some AWESOME people honored (chy's guys) and the keynote speaker was fabulous! i feel very blessed to attend such a wonderful university with such good people.
march
-well, it's march 17th (happy st. patrick's day!) and so much has already happened!
-so, march 5th was the day we were scheduled to fly red-eye from slc to long beach to dc, arriving 5 am wednesday morning. but there was a huge snow storm (not really), so our flight got cancelled and we got to stay in cali for a whole day! it was SO awesome. we stayed at aunt steph's house in yorba linda and ate station doughnuts and went to newport beach and went shopping. i got the most adorable purse ever. so CUTE. and then that night we flew to dc. but it was a glorious day. i didn't realize how gorgeous the weather is in socal all the time. i mean, how do you live like that...beautiful sun and blue skies every day?!
-we got to dc thursday morning (all 8 of us-nicki, steph, carter, regan, ash, cory, chad and brynna) and drove to cory's parents house. we scattered across floors and couches and chairs to sleep for a few hours. jodie's reception was at the church cultural hall, so we headed over to decorate. it turned out really nice-shelly did SO SO SO much work for this and it paid off. thursday night, cory and i went to see barry, ami and kayla! barry worked with cory on grounds for a year or so before moving to dc for his job. their baby, kayla, is adorable. cory and i fought over who got to hold her after ami fed us a delicious japanese meal. i can't eat chinese food anymore because it doesn't compare to japanese cuisine. there were a few more trips around damascus and germantown before we finally got to sleep in our hotel with the groom in the other bed! :)
-wedding morning! friday was absolutely, freaking WINDY. oh my goodness, it wasn't too cold, it was lovely and sunny but the wind was ridiculous. adam and jodie's sealing ceremony in the temple was so touching and the dc temple was amazing. we took pictures outside for a few hours where it was a constant effort to keep warm. so much for shaving legs. jodie was such a beautiful bride and it was great to finally see her and adam as a married couple! after the ceremony and pictures, we headed to panera. i so wish they had it on the west coast. then to the reception! lots of yummy desserts, a ring ceremony for those not of the mormon faith and dancing and eating and chatting.
-saturday was a blast! it was like fifty degrees and not windy :) we went to dc with cory's hill grandparents, uncle gregory and cousin elizabeth. oh man, we did so much! grandpa and grandma generously bought us all passes on the double decker tour buses and we saw all the sights...mlk memorial, fdr memorial, wwi, wwii, vietnam, capitol, white house, arlington cemetery, changing of the guards, the pentagon, ford theater, lincoln memorial. it was awesome. cory ate a pound of pulled pork at hard rock cafe. we met up with everybody around 8:30 at carrabbas and it was a good conclusion to the day. we slept on our flights the next day and have been home a week.
cory and i are trying to make summer plans. all we have so far is a san diego trip with my family! woohoo! looking for internships, jobs, anything really to pad our resumes. cory's doing the splash and dash. i'm trying to eat healthier/work out more (and dragging cor along with me). we are enjoying jodie and adam's new place in slc. we are sad to have finished all six seasons of "rules of engagement". and loving our rascally puppy who chewed up part of the vinyl kitchen flooring. can't blame her :)
february
-valentine's day: we had a low-key valentine's day because we both had evening classes that thursday. however, i made cory his favorite foods (salmon, macaroni and cheese and cupcakes-those were mine haha). and he got me an ipad mini! super surprised. he had hinted at getting me something big and when he handed me the present on campus, i thought it was a dvd. such a great husband for working all those extra hours working in the freezing cold, shoveling snow.
-jodie's bridal shower! i threw my sweet sister-in-law a bridal shower on president's day because we all had school off. her parents came into town and chad did too for the weekend. we had the party up at nicki's house and it turned out great! i wish i took pictures of everything but i didn't. i'll post them if jodie has some. anyway, her wedding colors were light pink, lace and burlap. we had burlap tablecloths with pink, light brown and white paper hearts scattered on it. pink roses in milkglass vase. valentine's day m&m's. sepia pictures of adam and jodie strung on twine. we had brunch: breakfast casserole, muffins, fruit, dip, bagels, cupcakes, oj and pink lemonade. i'll post the cupcake recipes because they are to die for! i pretty much ate all the leftover ones. whoops. we did a video of adam answering questions about jodie. a candy bar/wedding theme guessing game. a quiz about jodie. and presents! i'm super happy with how it turned out and happy to have adam in our family :)
-i got a scholarship from the UAC and was recognized at a formal banquet! cory and i had to get all dolled up and we ate a delicious dinner with the deans of our colleges. i had to go on stage and shake president samuelson's hand and got a nice certificate. it was really a beautiful event. jericho road performed and there were some AWESOME people honored (chy's guys) and the keynote speaker was fabulous! i feel very blessed to attend such a wonderful university with such good people.
march
-well, it's march 17th (happy st. patrick's day!) and so much has already happened!
-so, march 5th was the day we were scheduled to fly red-eye from slc to long beach to dc, arriving 5 am wednesday morning. but there was a huge snow storm (not really), so our flight got cancelled and we got to stay in cali for a whole day! it was SO awesome. we stayed at aunt steph's house in yorba linda and ate station doughnuts and went to newport beach and went shopping. i got the most adorable purse ever. so CUTE. and then that night we flew to dc. but it was a glorious day. i didn't realize how gorgeous the weather is in socal all the time. i mean, how do you live like that...beautiful sun and blue skies every day?!
-we got to dc thursday morning (all 8 of us-nicki, steph, carter, regan, ash, cory, chad and brynna) and drove to cory's parents house. we scattered across floors and couches and chairs to sleep for a few hours. jodie's reception was at the church cultural hall, so we headed over to decorate. it turned out really nice-shelly did SO SO SO much work for this and it paid off. thursday night, cory and i went to see barry, ami and kayla! barry worked with cory on grounds for a year or so before moving to dc for his job. their baby, kayla, is adorable. cory and i fought over who got to hold her after ami fed us a delicious japanese meal. i can't eat chinese food anymore because it doesn't compare to japanese cuisine. there were a few more trips around damascus and germantown before we finally got to sleep in our hotel with the groom in the other bed! :)
-wedding morning! friday was absolutely, freaking WINDY. oh my goodness, it wasn't too cold, it was lovely and sunny but the wind was ridiculous. adam and jodie's sealing ceremony in the temple was so touching and the dc temple was amazing. we took pictures outside for a few hours where it was a constant effort to keep warm. so much for shaving legs. jodie was such a beautiful bride and it was great to finally see her and adam as a married couple! after the ceremony and pictures, we headed to panera. i so wish they had it on the west coast. then to the reception! lots of yummy desserts, a ring ceremony for those not of the mormon faith and dancing and eating and chatting.
-saturday was a blast! it was like fifty degrees and not windy :) we went to dc with cory's hill grandparents, uncle gregory and cousin elizabeth. oh man, we did so much! grandpa and grandma generously bought us all passes on the double decker tour buses and we saw all the sights...mlk memorial, fdr memorial, wwi, wwii, vietnam, capitol, white house, arlington cemetery, changing of the guards, the pentagon, ford theater, lincoln memorial. it was awesome. cory ate a pound of pulled pork at hard rock cafe. we met up with everybody around 8:30 at carrabbas and it was a good conclusion to the day. we slept on our flights the next day and have been home a week.
cory and i are trying to make summer plans. all we have so far is a san diego trip with my family! woohoo! looking for internships, jobs, anything really to pad our resumes. cory's doing the splash and dash. i'm trying to eat healthier/work out more (and dragging cor along with me). we are enjoying jodie and adam's new place in slc. we are sad to have finished all six seasons of "rules of engagement". and loving our rascally puppy who chewed up part of the vinyl kitchen flooring. can't blame her :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
cedar city and vegas weekend!
DISCLAIMER: this is going to be a long post.
shelly, cory's mom, flew into vegas and spent two weeks in cedar city at cory's granny's house. on her last weekend in cedar city, all of us kids went down to visit shelly, granny and dorothy! on friday, chad (brother) hitched a ride down from idaho and drove with cory and i in our car and adam and jodie (sister and future brother-in-law) drove in the prius. we arrived in cedar city about three hours later, around 11 pm. we were exhausted! cory's granny lives with her gal pal dorothy...they literally are like thelma and louise. on saturday morning, we went to ihop and DI where i scored some AWESOME samsonite suitcases for $3 apiece! i'm planning on making end tables of them. they're shades of grey/black, so i want some that are bright yellow, orange or blue. anyway, after that, adam and jodie took engagement pictures and we prepared for a mini thanksgiving with the fam. the star of the show? why, that would be the turducken that granny cooked! it was pretty good-i only ate the turkey with cranberry sauce, my fave. we ate up because granny and dorothy are notorious for their game marathons. usually it's five crowns, wizards and mexican train. we had brought our own games down this time and taught everyone how to play bang. it took forever because we had so many people and some people couldn't really cheat at the game...afterwards we played five crowns, which shelly won, wresting the title of "granny's favorite" from chad to herself.
sunday morning, we woke up and said goodbye to chad, who drove our car back to provo where he met his ride back to ideaho. we then went to church and came home to leave for VEGAS! oh man, i had never been to las vegas and just pictured girls in skimpy clothes walking around and lots of fluorescent lights. we arrived around 2ish and walked through the aria hotel and the bellagio hotel. mostly vegas is hotels, with casinos and malls inside them. those are the two nicest hotels, according to adam-our vegas guide :) he's been there a bunch of times and has this membership which allows him to stay at those hotels for free or for very little. unfortunately, we were not staying at those AMAZING works of art. seriously, they had tons of pools and floors and restaurants and lights. all the parking is free because they want you to gamble. which people do like crazy! we stayed at the new york new york hotel because adam had originally booked it for shelly and her sister, who couldn't come out and so they had it reserved for two nights and only needed it for one after aunt steph couldn't go...so that's why we went. the new york new york hotel's pool was closed for the season which was really sad. we are already planning a trip back to stay at the aria in the next few months.
so we walked around and looked at all the crazy sights and went in all the couture shops like jimmy choo and fendi...where cory talked to the sales girl in japanese and totally made her day. at fendi, she showed us a purple alligator skin coat that was...$245,000! INSANE. jodie and i lusted after the diamonds at tiffany's (not really) and we made our way to the hotel to check. after relaxing for a bit, and a little bit of football, we walked about 20 minutes to the bellagio. we walked everywhere in vegas, but it doesn't really feel like a long walk because there's so much action and so much to see! we were all famished by the time we made it to the infamous bellagio buffet! this meal was the only thing we paid for on the whole trip, and it was the most expensive meal we've ever eaten (about $30 per person) but i daresay it was worth it. the buffet was this huge dining room and at the end was the kitchen/buffet area with all these stations with every food you can imagine! they had the grill with all the meats and the vegetables and the fruits and desserts and asian, mexican, italian, pizzas, ice cream, breads...everything! i was determined to eat at least $30 of food, so cory and i started off with the BEST kobe beef we had ever eaten. it was delish. after that, we both stuck to our favorites. i had steak, ribs, crab, SUSHI, SUSHI, SUSHI, pesto mashed potatoes and dessert-oh man. all the desserts were somewhat bite-sized, so i grabbed carrot cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate mousse in a waffle cone, pecan tart, and the most amazing cheesecake. cory, adam and jodie all had their favorite foods too. it was GOOD. and we stayed for over two hours, so as to make sure we ate as much as humanly possible. i'm really craving sushi right now.
after our meal/experience, we decided to check out the bellagio fountain show. it was really beautiful. it plays every fifteen minutes and the water shoots up almost as high as the hotel! it reminded me of disneyworld. adam then wanted us to see the volcano at casesar's palace. so we walked another 20-30 minutes down to that hotel/casino and looked at the aquarium and waited for the mechanical volcano to erupt...which never happened. nobody bothered to put up a "out of order" sign either. lame. it took us about 45 minutes to walk back to our hotel (which i timed) and didn't even realize it took us that long. all the lights were glowing and there's always music playing (songs that i know!). oh, a major downside to vegas and this is SO prevalent, is the SMOKE. people smoke cigarettes like no other! it is everywhere you go, especially as you walk through the casinos, which you have to do to get most places. gross. it's funny cause everything smells like smoke, even the restaurant lobbies, and then the stores/malls are all WAY overperfumed. like it's sickening how much perfume they pump in. when we got back to the hotel, jodie and i went to bed right away. adam and cory decided to go check out the hotel casino. cory had a budget of $20...i don't know adam's :) in the morning, i woke up and cory was out $20 and adam had made $369! he was very happy. i think they had a good time people watching and being grateful for their standards. one other thing the casinos do is not have drinking fountains because they want you to buy drinks. and they pump oxygen in to make you stay awake. it's also very dry. and there are no windows so you don't know what time it is. the casinos have the gambling thing down to a science, and boy, it works! (or so it appears)
on monday, the boys slept in till 11 am. i was up around 8, so i just napped and played on my phone, read restaurant reviews...etc. adam wanted us to try hash house a-go-go...which if you're ever in vegas, GO THERE! it was fantastic. it's in the quad hotel/casino. we checked out and drove there. it was gorgeous outside! like in the sixties. and when we walked through the hotel, there was a tina turner impersonator singing on stage. it was awesome. the restaurant usually has a wait. we waited maybe 20 minutes and there are not a lot of servers. food ranges from $7-$16, but they give you a TON. everything on the menu looked so good. i settled on the brown sugar and banana pancakes, and i got a side of the grilled mashed potatoes. the pancakes were HUGE, as evidenced in the picture and they were DIVINE. the best pancakes i have EVER eaten. ever. the potatoes were alright-good, but nothing special, however they were like a family size portion. cory got the vanilla waffle and bacon and eggs. jodie got the same. adam got the snickers pancakes combo. he loves them and i had a bite-they were good. but not as good as mine ;) oh while, we were waiting for our table, adam stuck a $5 bill in a machine and won $215. no big deal. so he bought us breakfast! thanks adam!
shelly, granny and dorothy drove down to vegas that day so they could spend the night in the new york new york hotel and then shelly flew home the next day. anyway, so after breakfast, we met them at the hotel and went to M&M world! which was crazy huge and i had no idea that people loved those candies so much. we got a bag of the 22 color mix for trey (who watched sienna again, THANKS!) and some coconut ones for us. they had so many colors! and a few flavors. it was cool to see though. while in the check-out line, we hugged gran, dorth and shelly and headed to the prius to drive back to provo. the drive was pretty fast, about 6 hours and we watched my big, fat, greek wedding...cory's favorite movie. overall, it was a super fun weekend :) i'm so grateful for my family! i feel very blessed to have my awesome immediate family, but also be a part of cory's family, who i love so much. it amazes me how comfortable i feel with them now and it also weirds me out that chad and i say the same things so often. yay for blessngs :)
shelly, cory's mom, flew into vegas and spent two weeks in cedar city at cory's granny's house. on her last weekend in cedar city, all of us kids went down to visit shelly, granny and dorothy! on friday, chad (brother) hitched a ride down from idaho and drove with cory and i in our car and adam and jodie (sister and future brother-in-law) drove in the prius. we arrived in cedar city about three hours later, around 11 pm. we were exhausted! cory's granny lives with her gal pal dorothy...they literally are like thelma and louise. on saturday morning, we went to ihop and DI where i scored some AWESOME samsonite suitcases for $3 apiece! i'm planning on making end tables of them. they're shades of grey/black, so i want some that are bright yellow, orange or blue. anyway, after that, adam and jodie took engagement pictures and we prepared for a mini thanksgiving with the fam. the star of the show? why, that would be the turducken that granny cooked! it was pretty good-i only ate the turkey with cranberry sauce, my fave. we ate up because granny and dorothy are notorious for their game marathons. usually it's five crowns, wizards and mexican train. we had brought our own games down this time and taught everyone how to play bang. it took forever because we had so many people and some people couldn't really cheat at the game...afterwards we played five crowns, which shelly won, wresting the title of "granny's favorite" from chad to herself.
sunday morning, we woke up and said goodbye to chad, who drove our car back to provo where he met his ride back to ideaho. we then went to church and came home to leave for VEGAS! oh man, i had never been to las vegas and just pictured girls in skimpy clothes walking around and lots of fluorescent lights. we arrived around 2ish and walked through the aria hotel and the bellagio hotel. mostly vegas is hotels, with casinos and malls inside them. those are the two nicest hotels, according to adam-our vegas guide :) he's been there a bunch of times and has this membership which allows him to stay at those hotels for free or for very little. unfortunately, we were not staying at those AMAZING works of art. seriously, they had tons of pools and floors and restaurants and lights. all the parking is free because they want you to gamble. which people do like crazy! we stayed at the new york new york hotel because adam had originally booked it for shelly and her sister, who couldn't come out and so they had it reserved for two nights and only needed it for one after aunt steph couldn't go...so that's why we went. the new york new york hotel's pool was closed for the season which was really sad. we are already planning a trip back to stay at the aria in the next few months.
so we walked around and looked at all the crazy sights and went in all the couture shops like jimmy choo and fendi...where cory talked to the sales girl in japanese and totally made her day. at fendi, she showed us a purple alligator skin coat that was...$245,000! INSANE. jodie and i lusted after the diamonds at tiffany's (not really) and we made our way to the hotel to check. after relaxing for a bit, and a little bit of football, we walked about 20 minutes to the bellagio. we walked everywhere in vegas, but it doesn't really feel like a long walk because there's so much action and so much to see! we were all famished by the time we made it to the infamous bellagio buffet! this meal was the only thing we paid for on the whole trip, and it was the most expensive meal we've ever eaten (about $30 per person) but i daresay it was worth it. the buffet was this huge dining room and at the end was the kitchen/buffet area with all these stations with every food you can imagine! they had the grill with all the meats and the vegetables and the fruits and desserts and asian, mexican, italian, pizzas, ice cream, breads...everything! i was determined to eat at least $30 of food, so cory and i started off with the BEST kobe beef we had ever eaten. it was delish. after that, we both stuck to our favorites. i had steak, ribs, crab, SUSHI, SUSHI, SUSHI, pesto mashed potatoes and dessert-oh man. all the desserts were somewhat bite-sized, so i grabbed carrot cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate mousse in a waffle cone, pecan tart, and the most amazing cheesecake. cory, adam and jodie all had their favorite foods too. it was GOOD. and we stayed for over two hours, so as to make sure we ate as much as humanly possible. i'm really craving sushi right now.
after our meal/experience, we decided to check out the bellagio fountain show. it was really beautiful. it plays every fifteen minutes and the water shoots up almost as high as the hotel! it reminded me of disneyworld. adam then wanted us to see the volcano at casesar's palace. so we walked another 20-30 minutes down to that hotel/casino and looked at the aquarium and waited for the mechanical volcano to erupt...which never happened. nobody bothered to put up a "out of order" sign either. lame. it took us about 45 minutes to walk back to our hotel (which i timed) and didn't even realize it took us that long. all the lights were glowing and there's always music playing (songs that i know!). oh, a major downside to vegas and this is SO prevalent, is the SMOKE. people smoke cigarettes like no other! it is everywhere you go, especially as you walk through the casinos, which you have to do to get most places. gross. it's funny cause everything smells like smoke, even the restaurant lobbies, and then the stores/malls are all WAY overperfumed. like it's sickening how much perfume they pump in. when we got back to the hotel, jodie and i went to bed right away. adam and cory decided to go check out the hotel casino. cory had a budget of $20...i don't know adam's :) in the morning, i woke up and cory was out $20 and adam had made $369! he was very happy. i think they had a good time people watching and being grateful for their standards. one other thing the casinos do is not have drinking fountains because they want you to buy drinks. and they pump oxygen in to make you stay awake. it's also very dry. and there are no windows so you don't know what time it is. the casinos have the gambling thing down to a science, and boy, it works! (or so it appears)
on monday, the boys slept in till 11 am. i was up around 8, so i just napped and played on my phone, read restaurant reviews...etc. adam wanted us to try hash house a-go-go...which if you're ever in vegas, GO THERE! it was fantastic. it's in the quad hotel/casino. we checked out and drove there. it was gorgeous outside! like in the sixties. and when we walked through the hotel, there was a tina turner impersonator singing on stage. it was awesome. the restaurant usually has a wait. we waited maybe 20 minutes and there are not a lot of servers. food ranges from $7-$16, but they give you a TON. everything on the menu looked so good. i settled on the brown sugar and banana pancakes, and i got a side of the grilled mashed potatoes. the pancakes were HUGE, as evidenced in the picture and they were DIVINE. the best pancakes i have EVER eaten. ever. the potatoes were alright-good, but nothing special, however they were like a family size portion. cory got the vanilla waffle and bacon and eggs. jodie got the same. adam got the snickers pancakes combo. he loves them and i had a bite-they were good. but not as good as mine ;) oh while, we were waiting for our table, adam stuck a $5 bill in a machine and won $215. no big deal. so he bought us breakfast! thanks adam!
shelly, granny and dorothy drove down to vegas that day so they could spend the night in the new york new york hotel and then shelly flew home the next day. anyway, so after breakfast, we met them at the hotel and went to M&M world! which was crazy huge and i had no idea that people loved those candies so much. we got a bag of the 22 color mix for trey (who watched sienna again, THANKS!) and some coconut ones for us. they had so many colors! and a few flavors. it was cool to see though. while in the check-out line, we hugged gran, dorth and shelly and headed to the prius to drive back to provo. the drive was pretty fast, about 6 hours and we watched my big, fat, greek wedding...cory's favorite movie. overall, it was a super fun weekend :) i'm so grateful for my family! i feel very blessed to have my awesome immediate family, but also be a part of cory's family, who i love so much. it amazes me how comfortable i feel with them now and it also weirds me out that chad and i say the same things so often. yay for blessngs :)
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
macaroni and cheeeese!
i never really cared about macaroni and cheese, or grilled cheese for that matter, until i married cory. i knew he loved grilled cheese-i'm pretty sure he had ten grilled cheese sandwiches a week during our engagement. he makes them himself, i make them, or he gets them from various restaurants! anyway, during our first few months of marriage, with our own kitchen and a stocked pantry, i made my way through my mom's repertoire of delicious meals. one day, i decided to make her adaption of martha stewart's macaroni and cheese (http://www.marthastewart.com/271998/perfect-macaroni-and-cheese). we had this every so often growing up and i loved it, but i never craved it, you know? however, when i made it for cory, i got a reprimand for having withheld it from him so long! and then he made me make it for guests and for a work bbq/pool party and other various occasions. this mac and cheese is the kind that you bake in a glass 9x13 pan and cut it with a knife and it comes out in a nice square. it is cheesy and delicious, but it is not oozing with creamy cheese...which is why i included the second recipe!
the second recipe i've included is one i found online in my search into the wonderful world of CROCK POT MACARONI AND CHEESE. yes, you can put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and come home to yummy, cheesy goodness. i've only made this once (tonight, actually). i've made other macaroni crock pot recipes, but they weren't as creamy as this one. the only thing i don't like about this is it was a little grainy-i did use pre-shredded cheese-and i felt like it needed a little more spice. in my personal opinion, you can't make a good mac and cheese without DRY/GROUND MUSTARD. mom's recipe adds onions/bread and this recipe calls for cayenne (which i omitted for cor, but will probably include next time. or maybe some onions. we'll see :) personal preference. anyway, if anyone else has favorite macaroni and cheese recipes, let me know!
our favorite mac and cheese (serves a lot of people. like 8-10 easily).
8 T butter
3-6 slices white bread crust removed, small pieces (i usually use about 4 slices)
2.5-5 c milk (i usually use 3 c)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 c flour
1 lb noodles-elbow, rotini, shells..
1 tsp dry ground mustard
about 6 c cheese-usually i use what's on hand-colby jack, cheddar, mexican
1. preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. melt 2 T butter in large sauté pan
3. pour melted butter over bread pieces in a bowl. mix. set to side.
4. make noodles according to package while making cheese sauce. takes same amount of time for both roughly.
5. spray 13x9 pan with Pam or rub with butter, set to side
6. melt remaining 6 T butter in saute pan, add onions to it. sauté them. once butter is all melted and bubbly，add flour. you are making a rue here. keep over medium heat. stir until all blended. then slowly whisk the milk in. this is a little tricky. add a little milk at a time. keep whisking (is that a word?) so it's smooth. you want it to be thick and smooth. i usually add about 3 c milk total to the rue. it takes maybe about ten minutes to make the rue. once you stop stirring, it starts to thicken.
7. when it's done and a nice smooth sauce, remove from heat and add salt, pepper, dry mustard and 4 c cheese. stir it all till it's blended.
8. then add the noodles. mix them in. (make sure you drain the noodles-obvious but you never know). 9. pour cheese and noodles into 13x9 pan. spread evenly and then add more cheese to the top! like 1.5-2 c. then top with bread crumbs.
10. put in the oven for thirty minutes. i always check it about halfway and usually cover with foil then because I don't want the bread crumbs getting burnt. if the bread topping is not brown at the end of cooking, remove the foil and let brown for a few minutes.
11. enjoy! we usually eat this with fruit and vegetables. mom has served it with ham before too. it's mostly a main dish for cory and i. it also refrigerates well!
sorry i don't have a picture. just picture a casserole dish with mac and cheese in it.
creamy crock pot mac and cheese
(from http://www.101cookingfortwo.com/2012/08/creamy-crock-pot-mac-and-cheese.html?m=1)
i followed this recipe exactly. i will do bread crumbs, spices and better cheese next time i make this!
2 c noodles (cooked)
1/2 c sour cream
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 stick butter (4 T)
1 c milk
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 1/2 c shredded cheese
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional-i did not use)
1. cook pasta according to package, except cook for 2/3 cooking time. i cooked mine for about seven minutes, instead of ten.
2. combine pasta, milk, cheese, soup, sour cream, salt, pepper, butter and dry mustard into crock pot.
3. stir until blended and then turn to low.
4. cook on low for about two hours. stir when done.
that's exactly what i did. i went to class after i assembled it and then came home and it was a little brown on the edges, but barely. cory actually took a picture! it's not super appetizing i guess, but trust me, it's good. otherwise i wouldn't put it on the blog, and my crock pot wouldn't be empty. also, it doesn't make a ton...i would say it serves about 4-6 single servings. and that's like 1 c servings, not cory size. (he used my mom's serving bowl as his cereal bowl when we were home for christmas! :) he must burn some serious calories working so hard on the grounds crew!)
happy cooking!
the second recipe i've included is one i found online in my search into the wonderful world of CROCK POT MACARONI AND CHEESE. yes, you can put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and come home to yummy, cheesy goodness. i've only made this once (tonight, actually). i've made other macaroni crock pot recipes, but they weren't as creamy as this one. the only thing i don't like about this is it was a little grainy-i did use pre-shredded cheese-and i felt like it needed a little more spice. in my personal opinion, you can't make a good mac and cheese without DRY/GROUND MUSTARD. mom's recipe adds onions/bread and this recipe calls for cayenne (which i omitted for cor, but will probably include next time. or maybe some onions. we'll see :) personal preference. anyway, if anyone else has favorite macaroni and cheese recipes, let me know!
our favorite mac and cheese (serves a lot of people. like 8-10 easily).
8 T butter
3-6 slices white bread crust removed, small pieces (i usually use about 4 slices)
2.5-5 c milk (i usually use 3 c)
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 c flour
1 lb noodles-elbow, rotini, shells..
1 tsp dry ground mustard
about 6 c cheese-usually i use what's on hand-colby jack, cheddar, mexican
1. preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. melt 2 T butter in large sauté pan
3. pour melted butter over bread pieces in a bowl. mix. set to side.
4. make noodles according to package while making cheese sauce. takes same amount of time for both roughly.
5. spray 13x9 pan with Pam or rub with butter, set to side
6. melt remaining 6 T butter in saute pan, add onions to it. sauté them. once butter is all melted and bubbly，add flour. you are making a rue here. keep over medium heat. stir until all blended. then slowly whisk the milk in. this is a little tricky. add a little milk at a time. keep whisking (is that a word?) so it's smooth. you want it to be thick and smooth. i usually add about 3 c milk total to the rue. it takes maybe about ten minutes to make the rue. once you stop stirring, it starts to thicken.
7. when it's done and a nice smooth sauce, remove from heat and add salt, pepper, dry mustard and 4 c cheese. stir it all till it's blended.
8. then add the noodles. mix them in. (make sure you drain the noodles-obvious but you never know). 9. pour cheese and noodles into 13x9 pan. spread evenly and then add more cheese to the top! like 1.5-2 c. then top with bread crumbs.
10. put in the oven for thirty minutes. i always check it about halfway and usually cover with foil then because I don't want the bread crumbs getting burnt. if the bread topping is not brown at the end of cooking, remove the foil and let brown for a few minutes.
11. enjoy! we usually eat this with fruit and vegetables. mom has served it with ham before too. it's mostly a main dish for cory and i. it also refrigerates well!
sorry i don't have a picture. just picture a casserole dish with mac and cheese in it.
creamy crock pot mac and cheese
(from http://www.101cookingfortwo.com/2012/08/creamy-crock-pot-mac-and-cheese.html?m=1)
i followed this recipe exactly. i will do bread crumbs, spices and better cheese next time i make this!
2 c noodles (cooked)
1/2 c sour cream
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 stick butter (4 T)
1 c milk
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 1/2 c shredded cheese
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional-i did not use)
1. cook pasta according to package, except cook for 2/3 cooking time. i cooked mine for about seven minutes, instead of ten.
2. combine pasta, milk, cheese, soup, sour cream, salt, pepper, butter and dry mustard into crock pot.
3. stir until blended and then turn to low.
4. cook on low for about two hours. stir when done.
that's exactly what i did. i went to class after i assembled it and then came home and it was a little brown on the edges, but barely. cory actually took a picture! it's not super appetizing i guess, but trust me, it's good. otherwise i wouldn't put it on the blog, and my crock pot wouldn't be empty. also, it doesn't make a ton...i would say it serves about 4-6 single servings. and that's like 1 c servings, not cory size. (he used my mom's serving bowl as his cereal bowl when we were home for christmas! :) he must burn some serious calories working so hard on the grounds crew!)
Monday, January 14, 2013
mr. & mrs. pillows!
i am so excited to finally debut my new favorite pillows! they are made of burlap and we used iron-on paper to write the "mr. & mrs." i saw something like this on etsy, but the pillows were over $100! when i went home to illinois for winter break, i had one goal-to make these pillows. i wasn't sure about sewing burlap and i had planned on using stencils to paint on the fabric, like most of the pillows i had seen. however, my mom, who is all about making life easier for the most part :), suggested iron-on paper! we finished this project in a few hours, because of a few unexpected occurrences, otherwise i imagine it wouldn't take more than 2 hours. i love, love, love these pillows! you could do any words on them. one of my favorite ideas is "mr. right & mrs. always right".
supplies:
2 yards burlap
scissors
measuring tape
thread
pins
sewing machine
computer/printer
iron on paper
3 14x14 pillow forms
1. cut out six 15x15 squares of burlap
2. mom and i ironed down each of the sides 1/4 in. to make sewing easier (we didn't use chalk)
3. i went on to microsoft powerpoint and used like 350 pt. font (can't remember exactly what size) to write out the words in the font of my choice-courier new
4. we got the paper at jo-ann's, as well as the fabric-use their app on your smartphone because you can use as many coupons as you want and save so much money!
5. so here's where it gets crazy-we thought the iron on paper would iron the ink onto the fabric. luckily we did a sample and found out that it ironed the entire paper to the fabric! we tested out a period and we got a nice patch of white, as well as the period. my darling husband, who happens to be a perfectionist, painstakingly cut out each of the letters/symbols
6. mom and i sewed straight seams across three sides of each pillowcase-making a sort of sleeve to slip the pillow into. don't forget to put the right sides together! just use a smaller seam, like 2.0 when sewing with burlap
7. i then turned them right side out and stuck a piece of cardboard on the inside and ironed the letters onto the pillowcase, following the instructions on the paper packet
8. we got some pillow forms on sale at joanns, and used more coupons and then cory, surprising me while i was cooking, folded the open side down and sewed a straight seam across the bottom and voila! three adorable pillows made for under $25!
shout-out to my mother for shopping with me and helping me out...sorry i'm so impatient! also, thanks to cor for your cutting and sewing skills-what a stud! i'm hoping to make an awesome headboard soon...hopefully a tufted one.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
oh fudge!
here's the easiest fudge recipe ever! it's pretty good, too. i'm not really a fudge expert because i don't eat it that often. but this tasted pretty good to me, my friends loved it and it didn't even last a week in our house. i made it because i had friends coming over for game night and needed to use the marshmallow creme in my cupboard...so great success ;)
i found this via google, sorry i don't have the link!
3 c. sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 stick butter (2 T.)
1 12 oz. package of chocolate chips
1 7 oz. container of marshmallow creme
first, mix the sugar, evaporated milk and butter in a saucepan. cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring frequently. when it begins to bubble, let it boil for five minutes, still stirring constantly. after the five minutes, remove from heat and add marshmallow creme and chocolate chips. stir until very smooth (no chocolate chip lumps!) and pour into a buttered 9x9 pan. let cool for a few hours until it sets. i put mine in the refrigerator after about an hour of setting out.
it's very sweet and rich! we liked it because it doesn't taste like chocolate chips. and as a disclaimer-the picture is not of the fudge i made, it's just one i included to tempt you into making this recipe :)
i found this via google, sorry i don't have the link!
3 c. sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 stick butter (2 T.)
1 12 oz. package of chocolate chips
1 7 oz. container of marshmallow creme
first, mix the sugar, evaporated milk and butter in a saucepan. cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring frequently. when it begins to bubble, let it boil for five minutes, still stirring constantly. after the five minutes, remove from heat and add marshmallow creme and chocolate chips. stir until very smooth (no chocolate chip lumps!) and pour into a buttered 9x9 pan. let cool for a few hours until it sets. i put mine in the refrigerator after about an hour of setting out.
it's very sweet and rich! we liked it because it doesn't taste like chocolate chips. and as a disclaimer-the picture is not of the fudge i made, it's just one i included to tempt you into making this recipe :)
dates, sushi and pokemon.
cory and i don't really have a set "date night". honestly, we try to make every outing into a date/quality time. since i can't drive, we run all our errands together and that's basically our alone time. and since we love food, most of our would-be dates involve going out to eat. we usually have friends that come along, like last night! i've been making an effort to be healthier so we haven't eaten out in about two weeks and i've been cooking all our meals. it's been good because i've loosened up on the idea that all meals have to be fancy and contain entree, fruit, vegetable, side dish, bread, a set table...etc. cory's low-keyness is starting to rub off on me. anyway, i'm trying to justify us eating out twice in two days.
we had a fab double date with matt and katie at the cracker barrel! basically, our fave place ever. lots of good food for a good price (under $10)! cory prides himself on eating six scrambled eggs along with the rest of his "country boy" breakfast. after, we played "wits and wagers" again (love it!) and watched "take it all"-this crazy show i have a hard time watching. so, yeah official date night accomplished!
aside-this is a really funny story, fyi. matt and adam were katie and i's home teachers my sophomore year. the first time they came, adam couldn't make it...and cory came instead. which is how we all first met! cory and i hit it off right away. i kept thinking, "is this real life?" and to make a long story short (or make for another blog post!) cory and i got married about eighteen months later and matt and katie got married nineteen months later :) and adam? yeah, he's marrying cory's little sister in two months!
saturday, cor had to shovel some more. i got straight across bangs (ahhhhhh!!!) and later we went out to my favorite sushi place, yamato. we like it cause it's decently priced sushi ($6-$15) and it's pretty authentic, at least according to trey and cory. and they both served in japan. we always get the yam roll, which is AMAZING, and the white or liz roll, which have salmon, cream cheese and apple or green onions...and an order of beef gyudon, rice, egg, beef and sauce mixed together. i love it. last night, trey came with us and thus, he and cory saw it as the perfect opportunity to play their gameboys. yep, you read that right. my 24 year-old husband and our 25 year-old friend have gameboys and play their pokemon game pretty much every other day or so. it started up last month. we have a pokemon game on our wii and all the boys became obsessed (reliving their crazy childhoods i guess). so to game stop we went and cory chose a gameboy as his christmas present from yours' truly. i'm so romantic. cory works hard to take care of our family-getting up at 3 am to work (shovel in freezing temperatures), and drive me places and play with pup and go to class and work between classes, so playing a little pokemon is not a big deal, right? my only hope was that people wouldn't judge because we were in a japanese restaurant, and the japanese invented pokemon...i love my life. really i do though :)
today was great because we went to our new ward at church-the family ward! it was crazy crowded but it seemed good! afterward, adam grilled some chicken in the frigid temperature outside and we all took long naps. we facetimed with cory's family simultaneously from four locations in the country via two laptops and a phone and ipad in our family room :)
anyway, LOVELY weekend in all. except for the fact that cor has a blog for his english class and it already has over 400 views and he keeps rubbing it in my face. rude.
we had a fab double date with matt and katie at the cracker barrel! basically, our fave place ever. lots of good food for a good price (under $10)! cory prides himself on eating six scrambled eggs along with the rest of his "country boy" breakfast. after, we played "wits and wagers" again (love it!) and watched "take it all"-this crazy show i have a hard time watching. so, yeah official date night accomplished!
aside-this is a really funny story, fyi. matt and adam were katie and i's home teachers my sophomore year. the first time they came, adam couldn't make it...and cory came instead. which is how we all first met! cory and i hit it off right away. i kept thinking, "is this real life?" and to make a long story short (or make for another blog post!) cory and i got married about eighteen months later and matt and katie got married nineteen months later :) and adam? yeah, he's marrying cory's little sister in two months!
saturday, cor had to shovel some more. i got straight across bangs (ahhhhhh!!!) and later we went out to my favorite sushi place, yamato. we like it cause it's decently priced sushi ($6-$15) and it's pretty authentic, at least according to trey and cory. and they both served in japan. we always get the yam roll, which is AMAZING, and the white or liz roll, which have salmon, cream cheese and apple or green onions...and an order of beef gyudon, rice, egg, beef and sauce mixed together. i love it. last night, trey came with us and thus, he and cory saw it as the perfect opportunity to play their gameboys. yep, you read that right. my 24 year-old husband and our 25 year-old friend have gameboys and play their pokemon game pretty much every other day or so. it started up last month. we have a pokemon game on our wii and all the boys became obsessed (reliving their crazy childhoods i guess). so to game stop we went and cory chose a gameboy as his christmas present from yours' truly. i'm so romantic. cory works hard to take care of our family-getting up at 3 am to work (shovel in freezing temperatures), and drive me places and play with pup and go to class and work between classes, so playing a little pokemon is not a big deal, right? my only hope was that people wouldn't judge because we were in a japanese restaurant, and the japanese invented pokemon...i love my life. really i do though :)
today was great because we went to our new ward at church-the family ward! it was crazy crowded but it seemed good! afterward, adam grilled some chicken in the frigid temperature outside and we all took long naps. we facetimed with cory's family simultaneously from four locations in the country via two laptops and a phone and ipad in our family room :)
anyway, LOVELY weekend in all. except for the fact that cor has a blog for his english class and it already has over 400 views and he keeps rubbing it in my face. rude.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
lists about the last week.
as evidenced, the other half of this "couple's blog" has now posted...much to my chagrin. i get these ideas in my head and am very inflexible. cory's away at scuba diving class right now, so i can blog to my heart's content! it's been a few days and yet in those few days, much has happened! i've included some lists of things that have occurred, because i love lists. i use my reminders app and my wunderlist app so much on my phone.
1. chad and jodie came to utah!
1. chad and jodie came to utah!
2. jodie moved in with us until she gets married march 8, 2013!
3. cory and i took chad up to rexburg, id to byu-i.
4. we shared cheese curds (surprisingly good) and a root beer freeze from a&w's.
5. i started running again (almost every day-woohoo!)
6. school started up again!
7. we had an awesome game night at our house and played this fabulous game called "wits and wagers". it's so fun-all about betting and trivia.
8. i made delicious fudge with only six easy ingredients-butter, sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate chips and marshmallow creme.
9. we finished sewing all the pillows in the front room and my decorative pillows for the bedroom. ABOUT TIME.
so thursday night, cory and i took chad to the local wal-mart and literally picked out everything he would need for his new adventure...COLLEGE. he pushed the cart and couldn't care less about things like sheets and skillets and toiletries. except for choosing the color of everything-black-cory mostly just grabbed stuff that i told him to and we prayed that chad would actually USE the stuff he bought :) i'm so excited for him up in idaho! i kinda felt like a mom, helping her child begin his first step towards independence. after that first (of four three) trips to wal-mart, we headed to the byu basketball game! it was the last one of the season and they crushed the other team. i don't remember who they played. i mostly just talked to all our friends who came with us. cory and i had received 13 free tickets from the bookstore after we bought christmas presents there. the next day after work, we drove up to idaho with chad. we stayed at one of his mission families' homes-the jones' were SO super nice. we helped chad check in and unpack at his new apartment. i rearranged furniture for a better ambiance. who wants to walk into an apartment and run into a kitchen table, anyway? on saturday we hit up wal-mart for food for chaddy and he got his id...where we witnessed a boy being turned away because he had holes in his jeans. luckily he traded pants with his dad. makes me grateful for byu!
cory and i are still adjusting our school schedules and getting used to this new lifestyle in which i work out every day, i cook healthy meals and we don't eat out, jodie lives with us (yay!), and our class/work times are totally different from last semester and from each other's.
and another list of funny things that happened to us to end this post...
1. i accidentally stole my co-worker's lunch today because we have the same tupperware. whoops!
2. as we were taking in chad's groceries, cory shut the trunk without taking in a lot of chad's food...and we drove home with us!
3. i was bending down and whacked my head super hard on our kitchen chair. it was the bone right above my eye and it's all bruised and swollen and cory is worried about domestic abuse charges.
4. for one of my classes, we are doing a masterpiece theatre production in place of all papers and tests. YEP, just like downton abbey-only the history of the english language.
5. cory and i have been accidentally charged way more the amount we owe on two different companies in the last week, which has overdrafted our account, but we've gotten it all worked out and don't have to pay anything (cause it wasn't our fault, itunes and winder farms!).
6. we're trying to "bell-train" sienna and it's not working very well. this isn't funny, it's just horrible and frustrating.
7. shelly is coming to visit utah. TOMORROW-for like two weeks! woohoo-cedar city trip in two weekends :)
8. oh, someone at costco made a rude comment to us about how we don't "look" very handicapped after we parked in the handicapped spot (with my pass-because i'm legally blind) and i had to casually shrug it off. RUDE.
the end! hope our life get's more exciting soon. i'll have some pillow tutorials and some recipes up soon.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Sears (Willis tower)
It is what it is and thanks to the iPhone 5's panoramic function it's a beautiful picture!
SINGER SEWING MACHINE
For Christmas and her birthday Ashley got this little sewing machine! So far, we have threaded it successfully and, AND sewn (sewed?) with it. Very nice!
chicken croissants=guaranteed man-catcher
this is my inspiration/where i got the recipe (my mom's website)
our first recipe! and it’s a good one! trey watched our dog
sienna for a week and for payment, he asked for these. cory can eat up to six
at a time. i normally will eat two per serving. they are AMAZING. and EASY! that’s
right people, a quick and delicious recipe that the boys love. sorry i don’t
have a picture yet. i usually don’t take pictures of my food…no instagram you
see :) but i’ll start soon enough! the link above is the recipe from my mom’s
food blog. i included it below with the few changes according to how i make it!
you’ll see that most of my recipes are from mymother-the domestic goddess .
chicken
croissants-this makes about 24 croissants for
me
8 oz cream cheese
4 tbls melted butter
4 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
4-5 tbls milk
2 tbls green onion
3 cans pillsbury crescent rolls (mom’s
recipe calls for 2, i usually can get 3 cans with the chicken mixture. also, i’ve
tried the knock-off brands-don’t do it. they’re gross.)
melted butter
bread crumbs (you can also use
crushed up ritz crackers)
chicken
croissant gravy
1 or 2 cans cream of chicken soup
about a can of milk
preheat oven to 350 and spray cookie
sheet. soften cream cheese, mix with melted butter, salt and pepper, and milk in/with
mixer. then add chicken and onion. i usually use about 2 costco frozen chicken
breast and thaw them in the microwave. dice them and boil it in water to cook
quickly. i have also used about 2 tbls of yellow onion before too, cause i
usually don’t have green onions on hand :)
i roll my triangle of crescent
dough into a ball and then flatten it into a circle and then put a spoonful of
chicken cream cheese mixture onto it. i pinch all the edges together on top and
then flip it upside down, so the seam is on the bottom. it looks like a rock,
but of dough and chicken goodness.
bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. meanwhile,
mix soup and milk together in saucepan for a few minutes until heated. use as
gravy!
.
that’s it! we usually serve it with stuffing and fruit or
vegetables. happy cooking!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)