Ramblings and Updates

I know I did a whole post on Reality TV and how it's my favorite and it's all I watch on TV, etc.  Well, it seems as of late that my reality TV shows are failing me.  Dancing with the Stars has boring celebrities so it's hard to watch.  Project Runway has boring contestants and whenever I do watch it, I only pay attention to the very end when the clothes are finished and going down the runway. (I don't know though, maybe a lot of people just do that with the show anyway)  However, Amazing Race has started (Scott wants the Vegas girls off) and the Sing-Off (A Capella singing) has a group from Provo on it, so my hope in reality TV is not lost yet. 

Since I am watching an episode right now I should probably say that Scott and I are re-watching the Smallville series.  We are in the second season right now.

I need to water our bamboo plant.  I know it doesn't need to be watered often, but it's been a while.  I like that we have a plant that won't die within a few days.  Actually, I'm pretty sure that Scott gave me this plant for our 6 month anniversary...all the way back in February.  Bamboo plants rock.

Update on recipes:  So, I haven't cooked any new recipes as of late.  I will probably have some after Thursday.  Scott is going to talk to some people in the hospital on Friday and try to impress them so when he tries to apply for jobs at the end of October, he already has a little bit of a head start.  Apparently I need to make at least 4 different kinds of treats to impress this lady he is going to talk to.  Come over to our house Thursday if you want to try some yummy treats!  Or we'll probably door-bell ditch some since we won't be able to eat that many.
 

We'll see how these turn out!  From the awesome picky-palate website.

  

Update on teaching: Teaching is going well.  We have started cooking in my FACS (8th) and CTE (7th) classes, so that is fun.  The kids made an Alfredo sauce from scratch last week and loved it.  If you want, I'll post the recipe to share.  My 8th grade students also made a shoebox room for their interior design unit.  I was so impressed with how above and beyond they went in making these rooms. 

70 shoe box rooms to grade.

This was made by a boy. Very impressed.

The principal and vice-principal were also very impressed as well, so that made me feel good.  The principal and I did not get along too well last year and so it is nice to see that she is finally acknowledging the better part of my teaching rather than the negative (which is all she focused on last year).  I just hope this momentum I've got going will keep up! (at least until Christmas break)

Update on church:  We've been to all 3 hours of church about three times so far since we've moved.  Not that we don't like our ward, just with Scott's new schedule where he does graveyards on Saturday nights, going to church isn't much of an option for him.  I go to sacrament meeting, but it is hard to go to the other hours by myself.  Luckily these graveyards won't last forever.  Also, I am going to a relief society activity tomorrow.  They will see my face and know that we are not inactive.  We are doing crafty things, so I will blog about what I made only if it looks good.  A member of the bishopric did call us in and our callings have been put on hold.  Apparently things are happening in our ward and quote "organizations are fighting over our names."  I sure hope that the last ward didn't say how awesome we handled our 5 callings.  Even though we were awesome, 5 callings is a lot.  

Update on gym:  Ha. Ha. Ha.  Why is it so hard to exercise?  Now, I don't hate exercise; it's just hard for me to get motivated to do it.  Yeah, I have motivation to exercise by wanting to be healthier and look better, but for some reason, it's just not enough.  I think I might need to bribe myself with a prize if I lose so much weight, exercise so many days, etc.  I just need to find a prize that will give me the right motivation.  Any suggestions?




Update on life in general:  Scott and I are doing great.  Yeah, nursing school and all that it entails is hard, but it will end soon and be worth all the hard work.  I might complain, but I support all that Scott does and wants to do and I know he supports me in my teaching as well.  And because of that, we are doing great!

P.S. I have not recent pictures of Scott and I.  Maybe a new camera would be a good prize for exercising.  Something like this?

Reality TV

I have a confession to make...I am a little bit of a reality tv junkie.  Reality shows have overtaken the TV a little bit in our house. (Scott does watch a few of the shows with me...yay!)  It just gives me a little bit of joy and entertainment watching these shows. 

This is our #1 reality show that Scott and I both watch...and I am actually watching it right now.


Millionaire Matchmaker

This show cracks us up.  The matchmaker, Patti, is so honest and forward.  She will call the girls who come in to be picked to talk to the millionaire ugly and tell them that they need to change their hair, clothes, make-up, etc.  Also, I love it when she yells at the millionaire when they're being dumb.  She does cuss a little bit (okay, a lot), but I just can't help watching it.  It just sucks you in.

Project Runway 

 This is the other show that I am watching right now.  I have been watching this show since about season 4, so this is a reality tv show that I have been with for a bit.  I love to watch this and critique the clothes when they show them on the runway and the challenges are fun, although this season's challenges aren't as exciting as past challenges. The drama is more than other seasons.  I'm not gonna lie, I would rather have fun challenges and see what the designers come up with rather than a bunch of drama in the workroom.  It just gets a little boring to watch the same arguments over and over.  Update: So glad that Bryce is kicked off...pretty sure he was in the bottom every week.  Also, teams again for next week?!  I'm tired of these team challenges.  Too much drama!

Top Chef: Just Desserts 

  I do miss the original Top Chef show, but I like this one because they make desserts and I do have quite a sweet tooth.  Scott isn't into the cooking shows as much as I am, but he humors me when it's on and watches it with me.  I am just impressed by the things that they can make on whim in 30 minutes.  This last episode, the chefs had to make a Willy Wonka wonder world.  They even had 4 of the original cast members there to taste the food.  I just love to see what they come up with.

 Four Weddings 

This reality show isn't one that I get upset about if I miss an episode.  The three above, however, I need to watch every single week. :)  This one is fun to me because 1. I am still a newlywed so it's fun to reminisce about my own wedding while watching and 2. these brides' weddings are so ridiculous and expensive I can't help but watch.

 Dancing with the Stars 

 Can't wait for this show to start next week!  I am not too big of a fan of the celebrities that they have chosen, but it's entertaining so I will probably still watch it.

The Amazing Race 

 LOVE this show.  I can't wait for it to start again on September 25th.  I love having a show to watch on Sunday nights with my hubby.  Loved the cowboys in season 16 and the recent amazing race all-stars.  Season 15 was exciting because two of the contestants (the brothers) I went to high school with.  Technically, the older brother (Sam) is the one that I went to high school with so that was fun to watch.

 Honestly, I could probably list about 5 more reality shows that I watch (America's Next Top Model, So You Think You Can Dance, Say Yes to the Dress, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, The Real Housewives of Orange County, etc.), but I think 6 is already too many.  I might be a little embarrassed of how many reality shows I actually watch now that I listing them off.  Please don't judge this guilty pleasure of mine. :) 
 

Schedule Changes

I have recently discovered that with my day work schedule, Scott's part-time night work schedule and now his new graveyard nursing school clinical schedule that we will see each other about 1 night a week.  Yes, even the weekends are not available.  Scott says that we have Sundays also, but I think that after working a graveyard and (6pm-6am) then going to church, that he will be sleeping the rest of the day and not really available for anything.

This is not the most ideal situation for me.  It is hard to always have nights and weekends off while my husband doesn't.  Yeah yeah, I know it could always be worse, but hey I am still in newlywed mode and want to see and go on dates with my husband more than one day a week.  What's a girl to do during this time?  I am slowly staring to go back to the gym, I've worked on lesson plans for school, I've cooked new dishes, I started a blog and I watch T.V.  I am not the biggest crafty person or scrapbooker.  I wish I had a more creative mind set, but it just doesn't come that easy to me.  It was really nice when we had our kitty Tom.  Somehow, he was a really big comfort to me when Scott would be gone a lot for school and work.  I miss being able to have a pet in our new apartment.  My friends are few since the last ward we were in was about 90% older adults and the new ward we are in has about 2 other young couples that I've seen.  Also, living 40 minutes away from my job constricts hanging with anyone there as well as that I am the youngest teacher at the school, next oldest being 40.  It is nice that I have family living close, but they have their own busy schedule that I don't want to impede myself on all the time. 

I am just not a fan of doing things by myself especially now that I have a husband.  I am always a little bit lonely every night Scott has to work.  Sometimes I wish I worked nights the same as him, so that I won't be so lonely.  Home starts to get a little bit boring by myself too many days in a row.  It's going to be hard the next month or so with this new schedule, so PLEASE send any suggestions to help me keep myself busy and not think about the loneliness.

On the plus side, my favorite T.V. show is coming back, so that's something to look forward to right?


These two better get together this season!!

Testing, Testing...New Recipes That Is!

During the summer, there were days where I would be home by myself while Scott was either at school or work all day.  During that time I happened to stumble upon two blogs that I love.  They are picky-palate and kevinandamanda.com.  These ladies take fun trips and share everywhere they went and ate and think up delicious recipes and craft ideas.  Obviously I can't test out their travel tips anytime I want, but I can test out their recipes anytime and all the recipes I've tested have turned out delicious.  I am sad to say that I haven't taken pictures of all that I've tried, but I have recently started to take pictures of what I've made.  I have about 50 recipes from both blogs that I need to test out.  Here is what I've tested so far...

From picky-palate I have made the "Oreo Truffle Surprise Cookies".  She also has these Oreo stuffed cookies, but I like the truffle cookies better because of the cream cheese mixed with the oreos. 

I made the "Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Layered Krispie Treats".  These will most likely require a glass of milk to drink with all the peanut butter and chocolate.  

For a Sunday dinner, I made this "Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Rice Casserole".  This was an easy Sunday meal that I paired with zucchini and rolls.  I actually also used canned chicken since I forgot to take my chicken out of the fridge and it tasted great!  Since there's only Scott and I, we definitely had leftovers and they made for a great lunch to take to work. 

Lastly and my most recent test was these "Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cookies".  I actually have pictures of these!

These have a lot going on! Peanut butter cookie, peanut butter cup inside cookie, marshmallows on top, melted chocolate covering marshmallows and m&m's on top.  A glass of milk would also pair well with these cookies, but they are definitely yummy.

I still have a ton more recipes to test from her website.  I also found a few things from kevinandamanda.com that are pretty good as well.  I have pictures of both of the recipes that I've tried from this website so far.

Scott really enjoyed these Crispy Southwestern Wontons and we've actually made them twice because we had some leftover of the mixture.  I used a can of corn instead of frozen corn and I accidentally used a whole can of corn and a whole can of beans, so if you like the corn and bean flavor it tastes great!  The dry ranch dressing is really what gives the mixture flavor and even after they were cooked, I dipped them in ranch dressing to make it even tastier.

Lastly, Scott and I both loved these cute Mini Lasagna Cups.  This was great because I had leftover wonton wrappers from making these lasagna cups first, so then I made the Southwestern Wontons.  There's no need to let those wonton wrappers go to waste.  Now, with this recipe, she adds sausage to the beef (which does give it good flavor), but I don't really like sausage so I just did beef.  Also, since there is only two of us, I used about 1/2 lb of beef and it was the perfect amount.  Our freezer isn't big enough to hold a ton of leftovers that you would freeze and use again another time.  These were really yummy and I think Scott likes this version of lasagna better than a pan of lasagna!Woo-hoo!

Like the box?  This was just a few days after we moved into our new apartment.

I still have a few more recipes to test from her website as well.  It has been fun making different things.  I usually get stuck in a routine of making the same dinners, so I'm glad I found some recipes that will spice up dinner and dessert.  Plus, it's just fun to try something new and then show off what you make. :)  I will keep testing new recipes, taking pictures and then blogging about my experience.

P.S. Picky-palate's website has been acting a little funny lately, so hopefully it starts working again soon so you can check out these recipes!

1 Year of Marriage Down, Eternity to Go Part 2

I don't really remember when a lot of these events occurred, but I will try to post them in order.

I forgot that in February, Scott and I got our first kitty.  We named him Tom and he was a handful sometimes, but he was cute and we loved him lots.  He passed away about a month ago and we are sad, but we are glad we had Tom when we did.

Tom was even so nice to get a bird for us.  What a hunter.

David and Kristene came to visit!  We ate at a restaurant with the biggest scones ever.

Since Scott and I were living in his aunt and uncle's house for the first year, we had the ability to plant some flowers and grow a garden.  Scott got really into it and we had fun reaping the rewards of our hard work.

We got a small crop of strawberries and they were delicious!

We loved this rose bush.  It grew like crazy!

This is our berry garden. Straw/rasp/blue/blackberries.

 In June, we headed to California for a quickie vacation and wore ourselves out! We had a blast, but I want longer than 3 days next time.  :)

We took a hike to the Hollywood sign.

We hung around downtown Hollywood.

Dodger Game!!

We went to Catalina Island and did a zip-line tour.  So much fun!

Kristene and David were our fun companions.

Hanging out at the San Diego Temple.

Also in June, I ran the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. What is Ragnar?  It was exhausting and hard, but a blast!  I hope to keep running it.

July was a fun month.  We went to the hot air balloon festival (which was a little disappointing because it was too windy for them to fly in the air), mini-golfing, Scott made me a delicious dinner (and he never cooks), hung out at Snowbird with my family and Scott had his 27th birthday!

Best backpack ever!

Darth Vader balloon!  Really the only reason for going.

For someone who never cooks, I think my husband did a great job!

Scott got golf clubs at D.I. for $10.

And that takes us to August, where we celebrated 1 year of marriage and started back up to school (both teaching and nursing school).  Now we are getting back into being busy and figuring out schedules.  I have a feeling that this 2nd year of marriage will be just as great as our first!