Yes I know It's Almost Christmas

Christmas is almost here, so before it gets here I have to have to finish my Thanksgiving day post. For the third year my friend Brad and I ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. And it sure was a good thing I did, because later that day (like most of you) I eat a ton. My favorite was the pumpkin cheesecake that I made the day before. It was my first cheesecake ever, and it proved to be quite the ordeal, but it was all worth it in the end.

The day after Thanksgiving my family went bowling and to the Mesa Temple lights. It was so fun to all be together, I'm so glad Jason was able to come home from BYU.

yummy

Strike! Go, Preston.

Never Too Late

It's never too late to post pictures from November..right?

I had a wonderful time in Ohio visiting my sister and brother-in-law, and getting to see Amelia for the first time.

... Or October?

Elle made and excellent hot dog!

In my defence I left my memory card in Ohio, and only recently got it back.

Thanksgiving

HaPpY ThAnKSgiVinG EveRyONe!

I am thankful for all of you. I am thankful for this wonderful season in which we pause, reflect, and put our grateful thoughts into action.

Absent

10 Ways to know if you have been absent from regular life...

1. You have clothes in the dryer that you washed a week ago.

2. You open up your google reader to see that you friend (Kayla) has posted 25 times since you last logged on.

3. Your fridge is completely empty of anything that could be called food.

4. Your toilet bowls have rings inside them.

5. You have an ironing pile as tall as a small child.

6. You have 10 unheard messages on you answering machine

7. There is something that reeks in your pantry but you haven't had a chance to investigate it.

8. You call your husband by your boss' first name.

9. You can't remember the last time you cooked a meal that didn't come out of a box, or cooked anything for that matter.

And the #10 reason to know if you have been absent from regular life

10. Your husband is doing the grocery shopping!

Life has been just a little busy since Labor Day weekend, at which time I began taking an accelerated anatomy class online through Rio Salado. It ended on Halloween weekend with a whopper of a final, but I am proud to announce I pulled off an A!

Since the conclusion of my class I have been out of town every weekend. With a last minute trip to Las Vegas, and a wonderful visit to Ohio. And then just when I thought things were settling back into the old routine, I got sick, and regular life was put on hold again.

This weekend was my first weekend at home, since Labor Day, that I was able to be home and not worry about homework. It was amazing! My home is clean for the first time in 12 weeks, and there is food in our fridge (if only I could muster up the courage to tackle the ironing).

Thank you so much Dave for putting up with my crazy schedule and pitching in on all the house work! You are the best!

Coming soon... posts on Halloween, our trip to Vegas, and my visit to Ohio.

My Little Puppy is All Grown Up

Tonight we celebrated Elle's first birthday ("Why?" you ask, maybe it's because we like to spoil her, or maybe it's because we have no life, or maybe it's because she is just so darn cute! It was also a good excuse to make some really cute cupcakes.)

I love making cupcakes! They turned out pretty great if I do say so myself.

Our next door neighboors absolutley adore Elle, (how could you not?!) and came over for the celebration and cupcakes. Riley really liked his cupcake.

Dieter (my brothers winner dog) spent all night getting ready for the party. Elle was so impressed, but luckily she didn't eat him.

Instead she went to town on the new toy she pick out at PetsMart last night.

We are so glad to have Elle fill our house with joy everyday since we brought her home. I can't believe how big she has become.

Toyota Commercial Isn't Dog Friendly

While watching our prerecorded version of the Office, "Jim and Pam's Wedding" (which ended up being a bit disappointing) a Toyota commercial featuring a squeaking dog toy, similar to many of Elle's toys, came on and had Elle running in circles. We couldn't stop ourselves from playing the commercial again and again as she continued to run in circles looking for the toy.

How to Save $30

The other day I was in Old Navy's dressing room trying on a jean skirt. I looked at the price tag, $30, I debated it and then tried it on. I was glad to discover that the skirt made my butt look 3 times larger than it already is, cus then I didn't have to decide weather or not to spend the $30. However, I still really wanted a new skirt.

The next morning I was hanging my new jeans in my closet when I decided that more than two pairs were overdue for a tossing out. And that's when I had a brilliant idea, and less than two hours later, and just in time for church, I saved myself $30, and my old jeans a trip to the garbage when I turned this:

into this:

It was so easy even I could do it. It was fun too. All you have to do is google "jeans into a jean skirt" and you will find tons of instructions.

Amelia Marie Rowley

My sister Lonica had our families first grandchild yesturday at 5:30 Eastern time.

Date: 8/29/09 Weight: 8 pounds 15 ounces (just shy of 9 pounds!) Height: 21 inches

And already sucking her thumb, just like her Mom.

Meet Erin

Erin and I met in 9th grade when were put on the same AYSO soccer team. We instantly became friends, and then tried out for Mountain View's team. After making the team, the two of us became inseparable.

We had great times together; at soccer practice, at games, and during long car/bus rides to and from games. With tons of inside jokes we never stopped laughing even when refs were dumb and coaches were dumber.

We decided to go to NAU together where we were roommates in McConnell Hall (yeah for 2:30am fire drills). It's been a long wonderful friendship. Filled with great times and not so great times. (I looked for some old photos of us, but it would require scanning to post any and I'm just not that committed.)

After hanging out a couple weeks ago and discussing future wedding plans for Erin her fiance (and bf of 5 yrs.) called to tell her that moving alone to Alaska sounded like a better plan for his future. My heart brakes for my Erin! I know she is strong and will persevere, but I wish I could make all the pain go away.

In attempt to do so Erin and I and our other favorite high school friends (Kayla, Shawna, and Joslyn) went out to lunch.

It was so great to all be together again. I love these girls!

Erin (in green) and Joslyn.

Kayla and her boy Wes.

Shawna was very proud that day, as it was her first day with health inssurance since graduating.

Hanging Out With Old Peps

I have now been at my new job for over a month. For the first while, every week felt like a new job as a floated between different tasks and positions, but for the third week now I have been working as a Physical Therapy Tech (what I really wanted to do in the first place).

Our office specializes in Nero therapy so we see primarily stroke victims and spinal cord injuries (I can tell you some sad stories about them). Strokes most commonly occur in the elderly, which means I get to hang out with a lot of old people/ get hit on by old men all day.

I love to hear their stories about fighting in WWII, or living in Chicago with the Mafia, they say the funniest things! But one old timer in particular keeps me shaking my head. His name is Tom and he thinks that b/c he is old he can get away with saying just about anything. I was warned about him, but didn't find out for myself until after a couple of visits.

Last week he said to me, "You've got nice boobs...their cute. You've got cute boobs."....

I saw him on Monday and then on Tuesday he said to me "Your boobs have gotten bigger."

Seeing that my boobs were becoming a common topic of conversation I choose to wear a must looser shirt today.

And today Tom said, "You know, these exercises are going to be good for my sex life.." he's 82!

A Week Ago From Right Now

We were welcoming Jason home. There were so many smiles!

Blogger is being dumb (yes, blogger, not me) so pictures will be added to this post later.

Operation Cafe Rio

I absolutely love Cafe Rio, more specifically their pork barbacoa salad. Insearch of a way to more often satisfy my cravings for sweet pork I went to the internet in search for an authentic receipe. After much research, I found choose these reciepes as the best variations to try. Off to the grocerie store I went, and home again to begin Operation Cafe Rio.

First order of buisness, the pork.

Sweet Pork

3lbs pork roast (butt of shoulder)

3/4 cup coca cola

1T garlic minced (1 clove)

3/4 c Ketchup (I use El Pato and Ketchup b/c all the other receipes I read called for taco sauce)

1 c brown sugar

juice from 2 limes

1 C tomatilla sauce (this was the only receipe that called for this, and is probably the reason I chose this one)

Place the pok in a crock-pot. Tope with garlic and coca cola. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until you can shred it with a fork. Shred pork. Mix in the remaining ingredients for the sauce. Cover and simmer on low until ready to serve.

The pork turned out great. Other receipes say to cook it in water and then add the coca cola later, which would be interesting to try in the future.

Next the rice. I've decided that I like lime rice sooo much more than spanish rice. This rice was easy and turned out great!

Lime Rice

in a saucepan, saute:

2T butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

In a large pot, bring to a boil the following:

6 2/3 cups water

8tsp chicken buillion

1/2 bunch cilantro choppped

2tsp cumin

2 sm cans diced green chilies

1 T lime juice

1/2 tsp pepper

3 C rice (maybe a half a cup more, you have to play)

And of course you can't forget the tomatillo dressing

Tomatillo Dressing

2 Jalapenos

3 garlic cloves

2 tomatillos

1 handful cilantro

2 limes

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups mayonnaise

2 pkgs Hidden Valley Ranch salad and dressing mix

Blend all ingredients except mayonnaise in blender until smooth. Whisk in the mayo and chill until ready to serve. Yummy yummy!

I was so pleased after taking my first bite that we had to bust out the camera! It really tasted like the real thing. If you to have a love affair with Cafe Rio, like I do, you've got to try this!

In May

During the month of May I...

Watched my tomatoe plants dry up and die from record heat.

Drempt about our cruise and wished I was still there.

Wished my mom a happy Mother's Day, (can't wait to see Wicked with you next month, Mom!)

Counted down the days until MPS released for summer break.

Picked peaches with my best friend and made yummy peach jam.

Obseved Memorial Day with a hike up Camalback (in the rain). Made strawberry jam.

Said goodbye to Kids Corner, and 60 of the greatest friends I've had for the last 3 years.

Thoroughly enjoyed my first week of summer vacation.

Found out my brother is returning from Columbia on June 18th (only 10 more days!)

Looked for a new job.

Found a new job at The Jackson Center as a physical therapy tech.

Hiked 14 1/2 miles through the Grand Canyon with my mom in one day! (Check out details here)

It was a great month, and so far, June is off to a great start. Tomorrow, I start my new job, wish me luck!

Day Four:Key West

Our last port of call was Key West, Florida. The island used to be the wealthiest city in Florida, but today it is a huge tourist location. However, as you travel farther in from the coast you can still see tons of old homes with large porches and front yards covered in tropical gardens, they were so pretty!

We walked into a small indoor mall, and wondered upstairs where we found a very sweet lady feeding parrots. She told us about a free movie playing inside that she described as "scuba diving without getting wet," so we decided to go in and check it out. The film was played on three huge side by side screens. It featured all of Florida's beautiful wildlife and reefs. Dave and I were looking at each other and asking how is this free?! Then we figured it, near the end of the film it took a very different turn. Suddenly we were watching the a description of the 7 creative periods and being quoted Psalms. As we left the theater they were handed JW literature, and then it all made sense...kind of.

From there we continued our walk around Key West, this time in search of some key lime pie. A local told us about a lady that worked in a grocery store up the road and said she sold the best key lime pie on the island. So we headed up the road for a slice. We lucked out and got the last one on the shelf. It was the strongest creamiest key lime pie I've ever tasted. It had a great brown sugar crust, and was topped off with banana cream frosting. We met the baker and she was totally flattered to be called the best. She then recommend a great place to go get conch fritters, and after giving Dave an English lesson on how to properly pronounce conch (conk) we were on our way.

The place turned out to be a total shack. It looked like all its walls and roofing were built with depree left over from the last hurricane. It had so much charater, and was a great place to eat.Dave's conch fritters, which are basically hushpuppies.

Here we are at a the Blond Giraffe, a key lime pie factory, that every tour guide book will tell you has the best key lime pie, but our local friend knew better.

After walking around for so long we were getting hot, so we stopped at the dock, put our feet in the cool water, and enjoyed the view.

From start to finish, the whole trip was a blast! It was very relaxing and beautiful, and so much fun to get to spend so much time together.

Blurb Book

After spending way to much time choosing background colors and then forgetting about it for a long time, I finally finished our album for 2007. If your bored, you can check out the first 15 pages here.

Day Three:CocoCay

Tuesday was by far Dave and I's favorite day. Royal Caribbean owns a little island in the Bahamas called CocoCay it was very beautiful and a ton of fun. To me, the day was as if someone had a private party on the beach and invited us to come.
We found this comfy spot on the beach...With this view and didn't want to move all day, and the best part was we didn't have to.
The water was so crystal blue.

There were huge sand bars you could walk out into the ocean on and find conch shells.

We participated in the boys against girls relay that was a blast, but Dave had the most fun playing volleyball.

We also went for a late night climb on the ship's rock wall.

And just like every other night, the night was not complete without a stop by pizza the parlor for a late night snack.

Day Two: Nassau

One of the greatest things about being on a cruise is going to bed in one place, and then with no effort of your own, waking up in a completely new and exciting place. Tuesday morning found us in Nassau, Bahamas. Aside from the pushy locals that want your business and money Nassau was really great.

We took a boat ride Past Paradise Island to Athol Island where we went snorkeling. Neither of us had ever been before, it was a great first experience.

Tuesday night was formal night on the ship.

And when we got back to our room we found an elephant in our bed!