We had family pictures done at Inkley's. Reagan looks adorable, but I wish the photographer would have spent a little more time touching things up electronically, so that Nick's hair, my hair and my pants didn't blend in with the background.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Rise and Shout!
Last year I treated Haley to lunch as a result of BYU losing the Holy War. But this year it looks like the reverse is true. Go Cougars.
As always, I visited with my BYU-Blue-Blood relatives before the game. Here I am with my wonderful cousin, Julie.
The throw-back uniforms (in tribute to the 1984 championship team) were such a treat to see. My own opinion is that they ought to go back to them! Gary Crowton was coach when they unveiled the new/current colors; and along with forgetting Coach Crowton why don't we forget the new colors and go "old school"?
I could hardly contain myself when Tight End George caught the game winning touch-down. The stadium erupted! Really, I almost peed my pants from the excitement (the fact that I was jumping up and down like a deranged Easter Bunny did nothing to help my bladder control either. Ha Ha.)
I did manage to compose myself, and made it to the Ladies Room. But not before I got a picture of me and Nick beaming with pride.
Go Blue! I love the Cougars. Always have, always will.
My Dad graciously offered us his season tickets to the game. The group that ended up going consisted of: Me, Nick, Brian Scheurer, Jeff (my Ute Fan Brother-In-Law) and Jeff's two Ute-Fan minions: his Dad and friend.
As always, I visited with my BYU-Blue-Blood relatives before the game. Here I am with my wonderful cousin, Julie.
The throw-back uniforms (in tribute to the 1984 championship team) were such a treat to see. My own opinion is that they ought to go back to them! Gary Crowton was coach when they unveiled the new/current colors; and along with forgetting Coach Crowton why don't we forget the new colors and go "old school"?
I could hardly contain myself when Tight End George caught the game winning touch-down. The stadium erupted! Really, I almost peed my pants from the excitement (the fact that I was jumping up and down like a deranged Easter Bunny did nothing to help my bladder control either. Ha Ha.)
I did manage to compose myself, and made it to the Ladies Room. But not before I got a picture of me and Nick beaming with pride.
Go Blue! I love the Cougars. Always have, always will.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Giving Thanks.
I am thankful for our cozy home. But sometimes, boy- do we miss having a landlord! It is so nice to have someone else responsible for the upkeep of your residence. Since purchasing our home I have found myself having this sentiment several times. Most recently... The morning before Thanksgiving. We were hosting it for Nick's family again this year. Nick and I both thought it would be fun to build a fire in the wood stove that we recently had installed in the basement family room and decided to give it a trial run the morning before Turkey Day. Nick prepped everything, Scout Style, and lit the match. He got a big fire going in a matter of seconds, but much to our dismay the smoke was not disappearing up the pipe. Rather, it was seeping out of every crevice of the wood stove directly in to the room! We put out the fire, but the damage was already done. Our basement smelled like campfire.
Thanksgiving day, itself was awesome! Nick, ever the chef in the kitchen; did not disappoint. He made a "from scratch" herb gravy that was the best I have ever tasted.
Nick enlisted the help of his brother to try to solve the problem. We don't have a flue on the chimney, so that couldn't have been the problem. Nick and Brian climbed on to the roof and lowered a flashlight down the chimney. It did not meet any resistance, and proved that nothing was blocking the fireplace. We were at a loss??? It is still a mystery, and to boot: my basement still smells like icky campfire. I don't really want to pay to have someone come out and diagnose the problem, so we may just end up not using the wood burning stove, in fear of having a repeat scenario.
Thanksgiving day, itself was awesome! Nick, ever the chef in the kitchen; did not disappoint. He made a "from scratch" herb gravy that was the best I have ever tasted.
Reagan really stuffed herself, not!
She had Cereal, and Celery.
And some of uncle Nathan's pie, that she enjoyed feeding to him, more than feeding to herself.
And some of uncle Nathan's pie, that she enjoyed feeding to him, more than feeding to herself.
We had a riot playing Guitar Hero, World Tour after the meal and between several helpings of pie.
I (once again) showed my ineptness at cooking. The night before thanksgiving I started making pies. The first piecrust was cooking by itself. I took it out of the oven and started to empty the beans that I was using as piecrust weights in to a bowl, and ended up dumping the piecrust out. Of course. Nick made a trip to the store and got me two more piecrusts. While he was gone I cooked another pie shell, and poured the pumpkin pie filling in to the crust. The crust shrunk and Nick said I added too much cinnamon to the filling. Pie #2 ruined. I cooked the two crusts Nick brought home from the store and they turned out fine. I put Nick's favorite (Raspberry Sour Cream) pie in the oven. The brown sugar crumble topping wasn't cooking, so my brilliant idea was to turn on the broiler and finish the pie. Little did I know I was actually FINISHING THE PIE OFF! The brown sugar ended up caramelizing and pie #3 went to the garbage. The last pie turned out, but only because it had a pre-done piecrust and the filling was instant chocolate pudding.
Village Inn came to the rescue Thanksgiving Morning. I managed to get their last pumpkin pie.
My talent never has been AND will never will be cooking. Shopping, however, is a different story. Yipee for Black Friday. I hauled Nick out of bed at the wicked hour of 4AM to go shopping with me on the day after Thanksgiving. Nick was a good sport, but it was obvious he didn't get a "charge" out of it the way I do! I felt a real sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when we returned home from our visit to the countless number of stores we patronized and realized that we had managed to buy everything I set out to get (with the exception of two items. The Power Wheels Barbie Jeep, and the Leather Executive Chair). I was so tired by the end of the day, but that doesn't deter me from doing it again next year!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Weight. Wait?!
Nick and I are getting more life insurance, and had the mini-physicals done yesterday. Ladies, I am sure you will agree with me and the shock I was feeling when the Phlebotomist lady announced Nick's weight. He has lost 10 pounds in the last year, without even trying! Argh. Some things are inexplicable. Like your husband being able to eat as much as he wants, whenever he wants and still managing to LOSE weight. Another example: my two little nephews having the most beautiful and long eyelashes you have ever seen! Boys just can't appreciate things like that.
Back to the weight loss.... I just don't understand it? Especially considering, that it was far easier to eat healthy when we lived in the Pacific Northwest (Whole Foods was a few miles away, we usually had fresh fish at least 3 times a week, we were able to find quality organic produce in every grocery store, the list goes on and on...). One would think that by moving to land-locked, steak and potatoes UT the pounds would be packing on, and not vice versa. Oh well, at least I still weigh less than my handsome husband. That is something to be grateful for. One of the worst days of my life was the day I went to a prenatal checkup and found that my weight had surpassed Nick's. Thank goodness that is over!
Last night I hosted the pampered chef party. Having Heather as a pampered chef consultant isn't doing anything to help me keep a trim figure :) The "trial runs" she has been doing on the recipes for her parties just cannot be passed up!
It is no secret that I am a failure in the kitchen. I hate cooking. I have long thought that Heather got the cooking talent that was meant for me, because Heather has more than the normal person's share of aptitude in the kitchen.
Here are some of the delectable treats Heather whipped up for my party.
Honestly, I love good food, so I ought to stop complaining. In fact, I am incredibly lucky to have found a husband who (more than) makes up for my faults, especially in the kitchen! Nick is a phenomenal cook, AND- here's the kicker: he LOVES doing it! Nick will be preparing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for the 3rd year in a row, and I know I am not the only one who is looking forward to it! Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Back to the weight loss.... I just don't understand it? Especially considering, that it was far easier to eat healthy when we lived in the Pacific Northwest (Whole Foods was a few miles away, we usually had fresh fish at least 3 times a week, we were able to find quality organic produce in every grocery store, the list goes on and on...). One would think that by moving to land-locked, steak and potatoes UT the pounds would be packing on, and not vice versa. Oh well, at least I still weigh less than my handsome husband. That is something to be grateful for. One of the worst days of my life was the day I went to a prenatal checkup and found that my weight had surpassed Nick's. Thank goodness that is over!
Last night I hosted the pampered chef party. Having Heather as a pampered chef consultant isn't doing anything to help me keep a trim figure :) The "trial runs" she has been doing on the recipes for her parties just cannot be passed up!
It is no secret that I am a failure in the kitchen. I hate cooking. I have long thought that Heather got the cooking talent that was meant for me, because Heather has more than the normal person's share of aptitude in the kitchen.
Here are some of the delectable treats Heather whipped up for my party.
Honestly, I love good food, so I ought to stop complaining. In fact, I am incredibly lucky to have found a husband who (more than) makes up for my faults, especially in the kitchen! Nick is a phenomenal cook, AND- here's the kicker: he LOVES doing it! Nick will be preparing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for the 3rd year in a row, and I know I am not the only one who is looking forward to it! Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
A Whole Lot of Changin' Goin' On.
FYI: My Sister is a Pampered Chef Consultant and I agreed to host a party for her; Friday, November 20th @ 6:30 PM. If, by some unfortunately oversight, you did not receive an invitation to this party; and would like to attend- just let me know and I'll get the information to you. The more the merrier!
SOOO "cliche", but so true: "The only thing constant in life, is change".
The good change, for us:
Nick's Mini Cooper arrived, safe and sound, from Texas. As I mentioned previously, Nick bought the car off of eBay, from a BMW dealership on Plano, TX. I kept repeating that I hoped this would turn out to be a screaming deal, for us. Rather than a cautionary tale.
I did get a little worried at one point when I called the transport company that was shipping the car to UT and their "hold" music was MJ's Smooth Criminal- on repeat! Fortune was on our side, though, and things went well. Nick loves his new ride.
One (of the two) exterior projects on the house that I wanted to have completed was done. Nick and his Dad put up the shutters, and they look great! I am hoping to have the vinyl porch railing done next year. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Obviously (as you can see from the shutter picture), we also had our first substantial snowfall. I put Reagan in her little snow suit and boots. As soon as we got outside she did a face-plant in to the snow. I picked her up and cleaned her off, but also took this picture. Nick said it was mean of me to take pictures of our daughter crying, but I think it is comical. Besides, after she realized that the snow wasn't going to kill her she had a great time. She picked up on the fact that eating snow is apparently, delicious, all on her own. Smart girl! I am sure that if Nick were writing this post he would insert some joke about staying away from the yellow snow, right here- but I like to think I am above such humor. Love you, dear!
The biggest change that I am absolutely loving, are the changes we made to the interior fireplaces! We moved the Wood Burning stove downstairs. And I had the space left vacant by the move: fitted with a gas fireplace insert. You can see the "before and after" above. To make this change happen, I was on a pretty tight budget. Ideally, I would have loved to rip the brick out and replace it with stone and a gigantic mantle. However, I still love how it turned out. You can make things just as pretty, even when you are pinching your pennies!
Lastly, the not so great change: and also my reason for not blogging as much lately.... I have been thinking and thinking about whether I ought to even mention anything. The argument in my head: " It has been such a big part of our life the past few weeks, I don't know how I can not mention it". "However, I don't want my blogging about it to turn in to a pity party, that all of my readers are invited to...". So, I'll keep it concise.
UT Albertson's were purchased by the locally owned Associated Foods. The buyout has not gone smoothly, and it seems that there has been zero communication between the "higher-ups" and the employees. Nick still has a job, but he no longer has a contract with his employer. This little paragraph of explanation is just the tip of the iceberg- to say the least! All I can ask for is that everyone send "happy thoughts" our way, while we try to wade through this unexpected mess. There are a lot of hard decisions that need to be made, and what I wouldn't give to own a crystal ball to see the future and what will be the best for our family.
I'll cut away from being all "cryptic". And conclude with wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I, for one, and thankful for the continued readership and comments that my blog receives!
SOOO "cliche", but so true: "The only thing constant in life, is change".
The good change, for us:
Nick's Mini Cooper arrived, safe and sound, from Texas. As I mentioned previously, Nick bought the car off of eBay, from a BMW dealership on Plano, TX. I kept repeating that I hoped this would turn out to be a screaming deal, for us. Rather than a cautionary tale.
I did get a little worried at one point when I called the transport company that was shipping the car to UT and their "hold" music was MJ's Smooth Criminal- on repeat! Fortune was on our side, though, and things went well. Nick loves his new ride.
One (of the two) exterior projects on the house that I wanted to have completed was done. Nick and his Dad put up the shutters, and they look great! I am hoping to have the vinyl porch railing done next year. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Obviously (as you can see from the shutter picture), we also had our first substantial snowfall. I put Reagan in her little snow suit and boots. As soon as we got outside she did a face-plant in to the snow. I picked her up and cleaned her off, but also took this picture. Nick said it was mean of me to take pictures of our daughter crying, but I think it is comical. Besides, after she realized that the snow wasn't going to kill her she had a great time. She picked up on the fact that eating snow is apparently, delicious, all on her own. Smart girl! I am sure that if Nick were writing this post he would insert some joke about staying away from the yellow snow, right here- but I like to think I am above such humor. Love you, dear!
The biggest change that I am absolutely loving, are the changes we made to the interior fireplaces! We moved the Wood Burning stove downstairs. And I had the space left vacant by the move: fitted with a gas fireplace insert. You can see the "before and after" above. To make this change happen, I was on a pretty tight budget. Ideally, I would have loved to rip the brick out and replace it with stone and a gigantic mantle. However, I still love how it turned out. You can make things just as pretty, even when you are pinching your pennies!
Lastly, the not so great change: and also my reason for not blogging as much lately.... I have been thinking and thinking about whether I ought to even mention anything. The argument in my head: " It has been such a big part of our life the past few weeks, I don't know how I can not mention it". "However, I don't want my blogging about it to turn in to a pity party, that all of my readers are invited to...". So, I'll keep it concise.
UT Albertson's were purchased by the locally owned Associated Foods. The buyout has not gone smoothly, and it seems that there has been zero communication between the "higher-ups" and the employees. Nick still has a job, but he no longer has a contract with his employer. This little paragraph of explanation is just the tip of the iceberg- to say the least! All I can ask for is that everyone send "happy thoughts" our way, while we try to wade through this unexpected mess. There are a lot of hard decisions that need to be made, and what I wouldn't give to own a crystal ball to see the future and what will be the best for our family.
I'll cut away from being all "cryptic". And conclude with wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I, for one, and thankful for the continued readership and comments that my blog receives!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
THIS IS IT!
For all you MJ "haters" out there. Just stop reading now.
Last night, Jill and I got away from our respective children and indulged ourselves in a "girls night out". We met up at the Gateway for dinner and a movie. The entire purpose of the night was to see the Michael Jackson Movie: This Is It. We are both fans (our husbands, sadly, are not). I have loved Michael Jackson FOREVER. When I was 7 years old I owned a fabulous "Thriller" t-shirt, and am still sad about the fact that it ended up going to the D.I. My MJ History CD's have been a staple in my car CD player for probably the past 10 years. I could continue, but I think it is obvious that I am a TRUE fan.
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this post defending Michael Jackson. Anyone who is close-minded about the guy and uses him as the butt of lame jokes shouldn't still be reading anyway. It is obvious that the man was unbelievably gifted. I appreciate true artists (another controversial ICON on my list of "music people I crush on" is Elton John.... Swoon).
Anyway, Back to the movie... The movie delivered everything MJ and more! It was worth every penny of the $8 ticket. Jill and I sat in the theater in complete awe. We kept commenting back and forth to each other about the fact that MJ still, so obviously HAD IT! Of the three movies I have been able to see in the theater, in the past two years; this one took the cake! Words cannot even describe the magnitude of greatness that this movie exuded. It was classic Michael. Singing, dancing; all of it genuine. You couldn't tell the guy was 50. It was like watching Michael of old. The one thing that Jill pointed out, that I had to agree with her on, was that it was disappointing that there wasn't a good, long sequence of MJ doing the Moonwalk.
Other than that.... it gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me! If you "Heart"/love MJ this movie is a MUST SEE!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
HalloWeekend
I am certainly no party-pooper. But has anyone else noticed that major Holiday's are no longer celebrated on a single day?
My evidence: both Friday and Saturday, this past week held Halloween activities for Reagan.
All pointless notations aside... We had a great time!
Reagan was invited to her first party. It was a Halloween Breakfast on Friday morning.
Reagan wore her pink skeleton jammies. I am not sure why this picture is so yellow?? It's a good thing my kid's cuteness shines through, even when her Mommy's lack of talent at taking pictures is apparent. And yes, that is an electric toothbrush in her mouth. Anything to get them to brush, right?!
Also, on Friday we tagged along with Heather's family and went to a Halloween party at her church.
Saturday: Nick had to work both Friday and Saturday. So, we made sure to make a special appearance at Nick's work so that he could see Reagan in her costume.
After we met up with Nick I ran to Walmart. I threw my necessary shopping items (credit card, car keys, ID) in to Reagan's trick-or-treat bag. Much easier and smaller to carry around than my purse. I purchased three things and the lady at the checkout gave me so much grief about the trick-or-treat bag. She thought I was trying to steal it! I told her I had brought it in with me, and that I had originally bought it at Dollar Tree. At one point she told me that they might have to check the security camera's to verify that I really did bring the bag in with me. Are you serious?! All of that for a flimsy trick-or-treat bag! The only thing I could figure was that she was so miserable, and she was trying to strangle out the small bit of control she had in her life on Walmart patrons. I know my "preppy Mom" appearance just screams: SHOPLIFTER!
I wish this were an isolated incident, but I get this feeling every time I shop in Walmart. I swear, their employees have got to be the most miserable on the face of the planet.
Anyway, I have sworn this many times before: but I am done shopping there. I managed to go 4 years without shopping at Walmart when we lived in WA. So I know it is possible.
Moving away from my rant...
Heather and I took the kids to Toys R' Us for daytime trick-or-treating.
For Halloween Day, itself; Reagan was a Pink Poodle. Lance was Clifford the Big Red Dog, so we said Reagan was: Cleo (another Clifford cartoon character). They both looked awesome!
Grant was Curious George (YAY for public television). Isn't that the most handsome little monkey you have ever seen?
My little brother, Brian was a Godsend. He picked up Reagan from my House and took her trick-or-treating in my Mom's neighborhood for a while.
Then he brought her back to our house and walked around our neighborhood with me and her. His sweet wife, Jenny stayed at my house and passed out candy (since Nick was still working).
Reagan picked up the rules of trick-or-treating very quickly. She would pick up a piece of candy (or two, or three...) from the bowl and put it in to her trick-or-treat bag (we switched to an Elmo-Head trick-or-treat bag when we got home. I was so annoyed with the one that we took in to Walmart with us that I didn't want to look at it :)
Reagan had a vice-grip on that little Elmo-head that carried all of her candy. She knew what was in there, and she wasn't about to let anyone take it from her.
Thanks to everyone who helped make our HALLOWEEKEND fun!
My evidence: both Friday and Saturday, this past week held Halloween activities for Reagan.
All pointless notations aside... We had a great time!
Reagan was invited to her first party. It was a Halloween Breakfast on Friday morning.
Reagan wore her pink skeleton jammies. I am not sure why this picture is so yellow?? It's a good thing my kid's cuteness shines through, even when her Mommy's lack of talent at taking pictures is apparent. And yes, that is an electric toothbrush in her mouth. Anything to get them to brush, right?!
Also, on Friday we tagged along with Heather's family and went to a Halloween party at her church.
Saturday: Nick had to work both Friday and Saturday. So, we made sure to make a special appearance at Nick's work so that he could see Reagan in her costume.
After we met up with Nick I ran to Walmart. I threw my necessary shopping items (credit card, car keys, ID) in to Reagan's trick-or-treat bag. Much easier and smaller to carry around than my purse. I purchased three things and the lady at the checkout gave me so much grief about the trick-or-treat bag. She thought I was trying to steal it! I told her I had brought it in with me, and that I had originally bought it at Dollar Tree. At one point she told me that they might have to check the security camera's to verify that I really did bring the bag in with me. Are you serious?! All of that for a flimsy trick-or-treat bag! The only thing I could figure was that she was so miserable, and she was trying to strangle out the small bit of control she had in her life on Walmart patrons. I know my "preppy Mom" appearance just screams: SHOPLIFTER!
I wish this were an isolated incident, but I get this feeling every time I shop in Walmart. I swear, their employees have got to be the most miserable on the face of the planet.
Anyway, I have sworn this many times before: but I am done shopping there. I managed to go 4 years without shopping at Walmart when we lived in WA. So I know it is possible.
Moving away from my rant...
Heather and I took the kids to Toys R' Us for daytime trick-or-treating.
For Halloween Day, itself; Reagan was a Pink Poodle. Lance was Clifford the Big Red Dog, so we said Reagan was: Cleo (another Clifford cartoon character). They both looked awesome!
Grant was Curious George (YAY for public television). Isn't that the most handsome little monkey you have ever seen?
My little brother, Brian was a Godsend. He picked up Reagan from my House and took her trick-or-treating in my Mom's neighborhood for a while.
Then he brought her back to our house and walked around our neighborhood with me and her. His sweet wife, Jenny stayed at my house and passed out candy (since Nick was still working).
Reagan picked up the rules of trick-or-treating very quickly. She would pick up a piece of candy (or two, or three...) from the bowl and put it in to her trick-or-treat bag (we switched to an Elmo-Head trick-or-treat bag when we got home. I was so annoyed with the one that we took in to Walmart with us that I didn't want to look at it :)
Reagan had a vice-grip on that little Elmo-head that carried all of her candy. She knew what was in there, and she wasn't about to let anyone take it from her.
Thanks to everyone who helped make our HALLOWEEKEND fun!
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