Other Oceans

This season of dancing with the stars is filled with crazy celebrities. Ryan and I watched the premier and we have to say that we are totally rooting for Nicey Nash. She is super funny and we are hoping that she can go all the way! Buzz Aldrin was kinda awkward to watch but he is so brave to go on national television and dance when he is 80 years old! When I'm 80 I hope to be just as vivacious. The only trash I can't hardly stand is freakin Kate Gosslin! Now, I don't know anything about her personal life beside what is in the tabloids but when you have 8 kids I don't know how you can manage 4 hour a day practices much less hair, make-up and interviewing time...oh yeah and the after-parties. I just don't get it! Maybe because I'm not a single mom, or even a mother for that matter, but I just don't know if I would give up time with my kids to be on a TV show. Now I don't think I will ever have to make that decision and I truly hope I don't EVER have 8 children so I guess I will try not to judge and just shut up and watch the crazies dance!

Sunday was a good day. Church has been so uplifting and I feel so blessed to be in the ward we are in. I had time to make dinner for Leslie and David, hence the picture of the casserole above, and we had our peeps over for games later that night. We played the name game and the 50 states game. If you haven't played the 50 states game you must! You try to list all 50 states within 8 mins. It sounds easy, but unless you know the song it is nearly impossible! It alwasy makes me feel like a retard but it's fun to see everyone's reactions when they can't list them all. We are so lucky to have so many great friends who put up with our crazy games :)

I woke up Saturday morning to Ryan making pancakes. Yep, I'm that lucky! He previously made me the "i love you" pancakes so this times he made a lobster. It's on the right if you can't tell which one it is :) My nickname for him is lobster (or wobster if you talk in baby talk like I do) because in the show Friends Ross is Rachel's lobster because lobsters mate for life. I was very impressed with his creation and look forward to more pancake art in the future.

Date night! After a long week of work and school we went to In-N-Out in American Fork for dinner. It hit the spot! As we crossed point of the mountain the weather was crazy! It was snowing and super stormy while in Provo it was sunny and beautiful! We had to snap a picture of the craziness. We also went to a movie in Sandy. The theatre was amazing! You could reserve your seats online and there was a full-blown food court right in the movie theatre! People were bringing in burritos and salads and all kinds of food right into the movie. It was truly heaven on earth! We enjoyed popcorn, cotton candy and a soda...even though we had just eaten :) Oh well! It wouldn't be date night without some good comfort food.

Ok, what is the deal with the Census? I know it is suppose to help the government and all, but why do they need my cell phone number? I was about to just throw it out when Ryan brought up a good point. What if our future ancestors are looking for us for their geneology and then they happen upon the 2010 Census and there we are! Pray answered! Lol...I'm pretty much hoping to be twinkled and that by the time someone is actually looking for Ryan and I the world will have come to an end and the census will probably be up in flames, but I'm going to be a good citizen and send it in anyway.

While I was still recovering from my cold and trying to catch up with e-mails and RS stuff Ryan went to our friends hockey game. I'm not a huge fan of hockey because it involves voluntarily going somewhere cold to watch the game, but I was sad I missed it. Ryan said the game was super fun to watch. He especially likes it when the guys start checking each other. Really that is the only thing making hockey interesting to me! It's not a hockey game without a good brawl.

This picture is not one that is very attractive, but I am sooo proud of it. One of my new goals is to actually do the dishes on the same day that I made them dirty...meaning no dishes in the sink by the time I go to bed. Here is the proof I am living up to my goal, and no the dishes are not just on the other counter piled up...I actually did them! Yea me!

Ryan was super sweet and made me dinner on Monday as I was still trying to recover from a terrible cold. Let me tell you the remedy to the common cold...Brownies! Always does the trick! Thanks Ryan :)

I am seriously not the best picture taker, but here is a picture of part of my closet. I got rid of a trashbag full of clothes and another trashbag full of shoes! Yes it must be the end of the world! Still I take up my whole side plus half of Ryan's side of the closet, but I have really scaled down. I have everything organized by type of clothes i.e. work short sleve, work long sleve, work sweater, casual sweater...you get the drift. It has truly changed my life! I love having an organized closet and don't tell Ryan, but I really don't even miss those old clothes!

Nothing will stop me from getting a good sale! Lara, Emily and I went to Park City to shop for some new clothes even though the weather was less than ideal. It was fine on our way there but on the way home it was a little more snowy than planned. No worries though...the Volvo is a tank and did great in the snow. We also made out like bandits with our good deals and a little bit of Taco bell to top it off.

I get so excited when I see that my Real Simple magazine has come in the mail! I love their recipes and all of their tips and tricks to help me save time and money. This week I enjoyed reading the magazine while eating almost the entire box of girl scout cookies. Now if only the magazine came with a personal trainer...

Who wants a Clean House?! So I'm totally obsessed with this show on the style network called Clean House. Basically this cleaning crew comes in and takes over someone's house, goes through their clutter, sells it at a yard sale and then uses that money to makeover their house. It is truly inspiring! These people are living in seriously filth and then 2 days later their house looks amazing! The reveal part is my favorite as the people are usually so happy they gave away their junk because they seriously didn't need it. It's amazing what people will hang onto because it's "sentimental" when in actuality it is just junk! Are you holding onto your clutter?

Lately I have been feeling so blessed to have such amazing girlfriends. I feel like I have had more meaningful friendships in the past year than I have ever had. I wish I could sit and type everyone's names out, but we might be here for a while! I am so grateful to know that I have so many truly inspiring friends to turn to when the going gets rough and when life totally rocks. I feel like I can share the good and the bad and that these experiences in life have brought me closer to those I truly love. I look up to each one of you and am so blessed to be your friend. Thank you for helping me to be a better woman! xoxo

Ok so for those who don't know I do a lot of food posts so just be prepared. This recipe is reatively easy and makes for perfect leftovers. It's my Mom's chicken and potatoes. You just brown a couple of chicken breasts with olive oil and thyme for 2-3 mins on each side, but don't fully cook them. While your chicken is cooking slice 4-6 potatoes (depending on how hungry your man is) and cut up an onion as well. Put the potatoes and onions in a pot and salt and pepper them. Then place your chicken breasts on top of the potatoes and pour in about a half an inch of white wine vinegar on top of everything. Turn the heat to medium and put a lid on top and let the steam of the vinegar do the cooking. Continue to stir and pour in vinegar as needed until potatoes are cooked. Watch this though because the vinegar burns out quickly! Your house may smell like vinegar for a day, but your belly will thank you later!

Monday was my first official day of vacation. It has been wonderful to have time to relax and do some things I have been putting off for a long time. Jenni and I celebrated her birthday at Cafe Rio and caught up with all of the work and life drama...oh how I miss her! Then I went to visit Lara to get my teeth cleaned for the first time in...well...nevermind. Lets just say it's been a while. It was fun to see what she does and she did a great job and was super gentle. I was impressed! I then made a monthly menu of meals for Ryan and I and watched some TV shows on DVD while starting my new "I'm NOT going to eat In-N-Out more than 3 times a week" diet by making a salad with grilled chicken. It was a productive first day of vacation.

This seriously loks like an awkward family photo! Lol! Thanks everyone for indulging me for the blog's sake. We all went to Stake Conference on Sunday and had a fun after-conference lunch. It's great to catch up with everyone after a long week.

This picture is so gross! Our vacuum, which I got at Wal-Mart for like $20 at a Black Friday sale has not been working and has been spitting things back out onto the floor instead of sucking them up! I told Ryan no biggie...we will just buy another vacuum. Instead Ryan decides to take apart the whole vacuum at like 10:30 and try to figure out what was wrong with it. Apparently we had a clog, as you can see. Ryan managed to wash stuff and unclog some pipes and mess with it long enough so that now it is working again...at least we think it is, but nothing is making it back into the little bucket place which holds all the dirt. So the question is, where is our dirt going?

So when I told my boss I was giving my two weeks notice she was nice and understanding. At the end of the conversation she was like, "Now, you know we don't do any goodbye parties or anything here, just so you know." I was kind of shocked she would even say anything. She was super nice until she made sure that I wasn't expecting any party in my honor before I left. So weird! So the girls in the office decided that was crazy and threw me a bagel and Dr. Pepper going away party anyway! They know me so well! The party was broken up at the end by my boss but for the few minutes we had just relaxing it was awesome. My last day at work was pretty normal and I still kinda feel like I'll be going back, but come Monday morning I'll be at home taking my vaca. Maybe by then it will hit me. Thanks for the party girls! You will be missed! xoxo

Ryan is obsessed with ice cream. I feel like he eats it for breakfast lunch and dinner. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is, it's always a good time for ice cream.

So no, I didn't take this picture but you can't take a picture of your feelings and right now, with a new job in sight, Ryan's graduation feeling within reach and us living in Florida soon I could not be happier. Life is crazy and always will be, but sometimes it's good to just take the time to be grateful and be content with what life has given you. You might just find happiness in unexpected places.

We decided to make it a week of celebrating so we went to Shoga for some amazing japanese food and then went to Macy's to dream about one day buying the perfect couch. I found this couch and totally feel in love with it! There were lots of leather choices but it was $4000.00...so probably not even in my wildest dreams would we buy this couch. But it's ok to dream right?

Monday I gave my two weeks notice to my job. I have been working there for almost a year and a half now and I really felt like it was time to move on. I start a new job in a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to the challenge and hopefully WAY less drama. We only have about a year left here in Provo so I'm hoping this new job will last me through til we move. Ryan got me flowers and sour patch watermelons to congratulate me on the new job and for being brave enough to actually tell my boss I was quitting :)