So much to my dismay, I have very little time to blog although I want to. So here is an update. Lin and I just got back from Ft. Bridger (sorry no pictures my camera is having problems). It was so great to get away. That is truly the only place I feel like I get more relaxed on a vacation. We got there Friday night and stayed through Sunday evening so we could drive home when it was cooler. We rented a fire-pit while we were there and we roasted hotdogs the first night and made a jiffypop. In the morning we made a great breakfast with sausage, eggs, peppers, onions, and bacon (I know we have both bacon and sausage- I meant to put the bacon back because the sausage was cheaper, but somehow we ended up with both and since we had a cooler we decided we better cook it all). The days there were quite warm (I got sunburned), but the nights were freezing; literally. There was frost on the ground in the mornings and we are pretty sure it hit freezing Saturday night. Thankfully Lin got me an awesome sleeping bag for our anniversary so I was fairly warm. Lin is so funny, he LOVES Ft. Bridger and the primitive camping idea. He and his dad are planning on making a fire cooker and we are thinking about buying a canvas tent for Christmas. We are both really excited about it.
Other than that we both have started school. Lin is taking 14 credits on top of working 40+ hours per week. I have started my one class and my internship. I like it so far, but it is a lot of work. I am putting in 20hrs per week at Stouffers for my internship, working 12-15hrs at BYU and filming football Friday night. I know that is spreading me very thin, but we are trying to save as much money as possible so when Lin's work season ends we won't be totally broke. . . I am also trying to start up my clogging classes. My adult class has 1 for sure person and about 4 maybe students. Hopefully that will take off.
So life is good other than Lin and I not seeing each other EVER, but I know that at some point that will end. Until my next post. . . .
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
100th
So this is my 100th post. . . . to be perfectly honest this is part of the reason I haven't written in awhile. I felt that this post needed to be special. However I didn't know what that should entail. Therefore I just avoided writing. Today I had an experience worthy of being my 100th post.
My ultimate dream is to be a mom and to teach clogging. While neither Lin or I feel it is the right time to start our family I did begin to think it was time to start teaching. I wanted to teach last summer, but I couldn't find a place. In June of this year I called up Charisma Studio in Springville. The owner, Tresa, was willing to let me look at her smallest studio, but unless I could protect the floor in someway she wasn't willing to have cloggers. While I was there she suggested I look into a marley floor because I would be able to leave it down and her dancers could dance on it as well. I began to look online and found the flooring to be pretty expensive. It was around $1000 for that size of room. I thought about it, but still wasn't sure if it was right to spend that money at this point in our life. After talking with Lin and thinking if over for a few weeks, I decided to go for it as long as rent for the room wasn't too expensive. I called Tresa again and found out that she was expanding that small room but would be willing to pay for the additional floor and split the cost of covering the whole room. Today I went to talk to her, see the room, and show her the sample floor piece. As we talked she really wanted to put that floor in and we figured out how much we thought we would need. As I was leaving she decided to just call the company and have them figure out if our calculations were right. She invited me to stay.
I waited as she talked with the company. The total price (including the floor, tape, and shipping) came to $1800. I had already committed to myself and Lin that I was going through with this unless it was much more than $1000 for my cost. I was still unsure about how it would work out, but resolved that I needed to take action.
Part of my resolve came from a lecture video that we watched in my stress management class last fall. I have embedded for you because it really is an amazing video. It is an hour long, but well worth the time.
In this lecture he talks about achieving dreams. One of the points he makes that has stuck with me is that brickwalls (things inhibiting us from achieving our dreams). "Brickwalls aren't there to keep us out; they are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. They are there to stop those that don't want it badly enough."
I felt that this floor and price was one of those brickwalls and I want to teach; I had to not give up. Back to the story. I was at Tresa's studio and she was talking with the floor company. I was going to go home and get her a check for half of the price. She went into her office to get the information for them to get the payment from her. When she came back (off the phone) she sat down next to me and said, "I have been thinking it is kind of unfair for you to pay for half of the floor now that the studio is bigger and it wouldn't be as plausible for you to take it with you if you went to teach somewhere else. I would then need to buy the other half again and the parts of the floor you get might not fit in the place you go to teach. I have been thinking that I should just pay for it all. I think it is going to be some of the best floor in my studio now so it really is good for me and my business. Would you feel like it was fair if maybe for the first year you paid $15/hr instead of $10/hr rent?" WOW! That is definitely a deal! She continued to say how she figures I am a young married, student and $1000 is ALOT of money. She doesn't want to put that burden on me. She said that the Lord has blessed her. Yes she has had trials, but He has blessed her and she feels right about doing this.
As I left her house I was overcome with such feelings of gratitude for her and for the Lord that I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh, cry, sing, dance or just yell. I truly believe the Lord blessed me for being diligent and trying to accomplish this dream. I have felt like it is really the right time and therefore I didn't give up when those brickwalls came. I just trusted that it would all work out and the Lord rewarded my faith. I am still very amazed and relieved.
I am extremely grateful for this blessing from God letting me know that He is there watching out for me even when I am not as diligent as I should be at some of the small things. I am grateful he knows my heart.
I feel this is a great post for my 100th because it is a testimony builder for me as well as an opening of a new chapter in my life.
My ultimate dream is to be a mom and to teach clogging. While neither Lin or I feel it is the right time to start our family I did begin to think it was time to start teaching. I wanted to teach last summer, but I couldn't find a place. In June of this year I called up Charisma Studio in Springville. The owner, Tresa, was willing to let me look at her smallest studio, but unless I could protect the floor in someway she wasn't willing to have cloggers. While I was there she suggested I look into a marley floor because I would be able to leave it down and her dancers could dance on it as well. I began to look online and found the flooring to be pretty expensive. It was around $1000 for that size of room. I thought about it, but still wasn't sure if it was right to spend that money at this point in our life. After talking with Lin and thinking if over for a few weeks, I decided to go for it as long as rent for the room wasn't too expensive. I called Tresa again and found out that she was expanding that small room but would be willing to pay for the additional floor and split the cost of covering the whole room. Today I went to talk to her, see the room, and show her the sample floor piece. As we talked she really wanted to put that floor in and we figured out how much we thought we would need. As I was leaving she decided to just call the company and have them figure out if our calculations were right. She invited me to stay.
I waited as she talked with the company. The total price (including the floor, tape, and shipping) came to $1800. I had already committed to myself and Lin that I was going through with this unless it was much more than $1000 for my cost. I was still unsure about how it would work out, but resolved that I needed to take action.
Part of my resolve came from a lecture video that we watched in my stress management class last fall. I have embedded for you because it really is an amazing video. It is an hour long, but well worth the time.
In this lecture he talks about achieving dreams. One of the points he makes that has stuck with me is that brickwalls (things inhibiting us from achieving our dreams). "Brickwalls aren't there to keep us out; they are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. They are there to stop those that don't want it badly enough."
I felt that this floor and price was one of those brickwalls and I want to teach; I had to not give up. Back to the story. I was at Tresa's studio and she was talking with the floor company. I was going to go home and get her a check for half of the price. She went into her office to get the information for them to get the payment from her. When she came back (off the phone) she sat down next to me and said, "I have been thinking it is kind of unfair for you to pay for half of the floor now that the studio is bigger and it wouldn't be as plausible for you to take it with you if you went to teach somewhere else. I would then need to buy the other half again and the parts of the floor you get might not fit in the place you go to teach. I have been thinking that I should just pay for it all. I think it is going to be some of the best floor in my studio now so it really is good for me and my business. Would you feel like it was fair if maybe for the first year you paid $15/hr instead of $10/hr rent?" WOW! That is definitely a deal! She continued to say how she figures I am a young married, student and $1000 is ALOT of money. She doesn't want to put that burden on me. She said that the Lord has blessed her. Yes she has had trials, but He has blessed her and she feels right about doing this.
As I left her house I was overcome with such feelings of gratitude for her and for the Lord that I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh, cry, sing, dance or just yell. I truly believe the Lord blessed me for being diligent and trying to accomplish this dream. I have felt like it is really the right time and therefore I didn't give up when those brickwalls came. I just trusted that it would all work out and the Lord rewarded my faith. I am still very amazed and relieved.
I am extremely grateful for this blessing from God letting me know that He is there watching out for me even when I am not as diligent as I should be at some of the small things. I am grateful he knows my heart.
I feel this is a great post for my 100th because it is a testimony builder for me as well as an opening of a new chapter in my life.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Organization
I should be doing my reading for class tomorrow, but I am really having some attention deficit. I am ready for school to be out! So I thought I would share my new organization tip. Lin and I are on a really tight budget because he decided to go off of salary pay back to hourly in order to be able to leave work early to go to school in the fall. Unfortunately with this rainy spring it has meant less hours and therefore much less income. So one of the ways I have tried to save is on food. We were already pretty good at eating inexpensively, but now we have gotten even better. We don't eat out (except lunch when Lin works out of town-work picks up dinner) and are going 3 weeks strong. I have also gotten back to planning meals. I try to plan about 2 weeks of meals so that I can go shopping every other week. Since money was very tight this last week I decided to try out Buy Low market. It was great. I got almost the same amount of food I usually do for about $20 cheaper. That is a lot for us :) I was pleasantly surprised by BuyLow and plan to shop there again (although I will always have a bias towards Maceys in Spanish Fork). Well I am on a tangent. . . . .While I was planning my meals I decided to search for cheap recipes on the internet. I stumbled upon the 99cent chef and was pleasantly surprised to find a delicious salisbury steak recipe using ground turkey or chicken. (Lin made it and it was delicious) I also found on the blog a comment about saving money by using leftovers. I try to use leftovers, but lately we either haven't had enough leftovers to use as a meal for two or it just hasn't seemed appetizing later. The comment said to make a list of leftovers as they get put in the fridge that way when you go to the fridge hungry you can know what is in there and avoid the disgusting science project I came across last week. :b Lin thought it was a great idea because then we can also put a date on the list so we know how long its been there. He suggested a white board so we could just erase the item we eat or use. Since we are trying to save I didn't want to go buy a whiteboard unless it was very cheap but I was excited about the list so today I improvised a whiteboard and I think I like it better. I simply took a piece of cardstock and slid it into a shiny, smooth sheet protector. I stuck it to the fridge with magnets and viola! a dry erase board. It works really well and I even labeled the paper with pen (leftovers/date) so that we can erase the leftovers without erasing the category. This is important because I also put a grocery list spot on the paper broken down into categories (meat, produce, breads, cans, dairy, & non-food). I feel so organized and I love it. How do you plan meals, save money, or what are your cheap dinners?
I guess I should get back to homework. . . . . .
I guess I should get back to homework. . . . . .
Sunday, May 29, 2011
another update
So I am once again behind on my blog posts, but on a happier note I have 3 weeks left of school including finals :] Then I will be onto summer and hopefully have time to clean my house, find a studio to teach at and catch up my blog. This semester has been crazy to say the least. It has literally flown by and I am technically taking more credit hours than I ever have (10 which is equivalent to 20 in normal length semester). Plus because Lin hasn't been getting enough hours at work due to the rain I have been working my normal 10 hours at the Cannon Center and picking up a few shoots with SF17 (my old job). I am not complaining though. I am enjoying all I doing and I know that it isn't forever, but now you can see why I don't do things like blog right now :)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Dream
I forgot to mention that someday I want to attempt to learn to paint from Bob Ross. He is amazing. I love to watch his show on PBS. He is incredibly talented and makes it seem so easy to paint masterpieces. I watched him paint a mountain scene with a beautiful sky full of clouds and a pond surrounded by trees. It was incredible. While I highly doubt I could paint that well in the near future I still would love to try it out.
Ramblings
So I just felt like writing. I don't really have much to say, but maybe something will come out as I type :) I am finally getting over this cold that I have had. It will be one week tomorrow. I had forgotten how horrible it is to be sick since it had been around 9 months since I was last sick. Today was the first day my nose and eyes weren't watering uncontrollably. It was great. I could actually concentrate in class.
Speaking of school, this term (yes its only 7 weeks counting finals) is going to be interesting. I am taking 10 credits which is the equivalent of 20 credits in a normal semester. Health 100 Intro to Public Health is like taking a high school course again because it is the intro to the major and only 1 credit. Most of the class is based on attendance and readings. Health 420 Injury & Violence Prevention is so far kind of common sense. The difference between intentional and unintentional injuries and that even though they are commonly called accidents they aren't accidents because they can be prevented. Health 439 Program Planning and Evaluation is a combination of my two group work classes from last semester (social marketing and methods of health promotion). Basically we research, form, and write a proposal for an intervention of some sort figuring out marketing and cost, etc. I will be honest I am not super excited about this class I am sick of group work papers. 5-6 people is just too many without a boss farming out assignments. (I will stop my ranting there, but if you want more just call me up and ask me about group work). My last class is Health 310 Chronic Disease and Prevention, this will probably be my toughest class because it will move super fast and is pretty technical. However sometimes really hard classes excite me. Hopefully I will be able to balance all of these and not go totally crazy, but if I disappear for awhile you will know why.
Today I was reading in the Daily Universe (BYU's newspaper) and there was an article about journal writing. It was talking about what makes a journal valuable for future readers. I have always struggled to write in a journal, but I feel that this blog is somewhat of a journal, although I don't write everyday I do keep track of events in my life both big and small. Perhaps that is why I am writing now. . . .
I feel like life is at such a weird spot right now. It can be so hard, yet wonderful. Most days Lin and I don't really see each other, and when we do, one of us (or both of us) are tired or stressed so we usually get annoyed really easily. Luckily we both know that we love each other and it isn't our fault that the other person is ornery. Yet despite this we are on the cusp of something more, something better. We are both so excited for the future. I will be graduating in 8 months and will hopefully find a full-time job, with benefits. Then we won't be living paycheck to paycheck (something that stresses me out quite a bit), and when I will come home I won't have homework (meaning I can actually relax at home). If I make enough Lin can go part time and focus on school so he can get out of his manual labor job. Then we can start a family, get a house and live happily ever after. . . ok so I know it probably won't work out exactly like we plan, but the future is so near, and I feel like school has been such a long endeavor, good but long. I am ready for the next adventure in my life.
Well if you are still reading, thanks. . .
Speaking of school, this term (yes its only 7 weeks counting finals) is going to be interesting. I am taking 10 credits which is the equivalent of 20 credits in a normal semester. Health 100 Intro to Public Health is like taking a high school course again because it is the intro to the major and only 1 credit. Most of the class is based on attendance and readings. Health 420 Injury & Violence Prevention is so far kind of common sense. The difference between intentional and unintentional injuries and that even though they are commonly called accidents they aren't accidents because they can be prevented. Health 439 Program Planning and Evaluation is a combination of my two group work classes from last semester (social marketing and methods of health promotion). Basically we research, form, and write a proposal for an intervention of some sort figuring out marketing and cost, etc. I will be honest I am not super excited about this class I am sick of group work papers. 5-6 people is just too many without a boss farming out assignments. (I will stop my ranting there, but if you want more just call me up and ask me about group work). My last class is Health 310 Chronic Disease and Prevention, this will probably be my toughest class because it will move super fast and is pretty technical. However sometimes really hard classes excite me. Hopefully I will be able to balance all of these and not go totally crazy, but if I disappear for awhile you will know why.
Today I was reading in the Daily Universe (BYU's newspaper) and there was an article about journal writing. It was talking about what makes a journal valuable for future readers. I have always struggled to write in a journal, but I feel that this blog is somewhat of a journal, although I don't write everyday I do keep track of events in my life both big and small. Perhaps that is why I am writing now. . . .
I feel like life is at such a weird spot right now. It can be so hard, yet wonderful. Most days Lin and I don't really see each other, and when we do, one of us (or both of us) are tired or stressed so we usually get annoyed really easily. Luckily we both know that we love each other and it isn't our fault that the other person is ornery. Yet despite this we are on the cusp of something more, something better. We are both so excited for the future. I will be graduating in 8 months and will hopefully find a full-time job, with benefits. Then we won't be living paycheck to paycheck (something that stresses me out quite a bit), and when I will come home I won't have homework (meaning I can actually relax at home). If I make enough Lin can go part time and focus on school so he can get out of his manual labor job. Then we can start a family, get a house and live happily ever after. . . ok so I know it probably won't work out exactly like we plan, but the future is so near, and I feel like school has been such a long endeavor, good but long. I am ready for the next adventure in my life.
Well if you are still reading, thanks. . .
Monday, April 25, 2011
No Homework!
So I had a brief break between Winter semester and Spring. Friday was the first day I didn't have any school work weighing on my mind. It is amazing how much I can get done when I don't have school stuff I "should" be doing. Here are the projects I finally got done on Friday.
Organized my closet. This shoe rack is wonderful! It makes my side of the closet so neat and tidy.
Lin made these frames when we were first married, and I finally got around to painting them (its only been 3 years). Now we just need to get glass and backing.
I planted my peas in my garden and planted all my starters. Zuchini, Butternut squash, Onions, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, and Hungarian Hot peppers (they looked fun). I also started some flowers for one of our flower beds.
And finally my quilling project. Dusty Nance taught us how to Quill at young womens. I had to leave early and decided to finish mine at home. I finally got some Mod Podge and finished it. There are things I would do differently but for my first one I think it turned out pretty nice.
And I think I am finally caught up!
And finally my quilling project. Dusty Nance taught us how to Quill at young womens. I had to leave early and decided to finish mine at home. I finally got some Mod Podge and finished it. There are things I would do differently but for my first one I think it turned out pretty nice.
School update
So school is finally over for this semester. I am amazed I survived. 3 group work classes are more than I can handle, but everything worked out, and I am glad it is over. I start Spring classes tomorrow and I have a huge load. 10 credits (yes they only allow 9, but I got special permission) my 10th credit is Intro to Public Health. This is the intro class to my major, but I have never been able to fit it in my schedule. This is my last chance because it has to be done before I can do my internship. So the next 7 weeks are going to be very full and busy with school and work, but I think I can do it (my house may be a disaster however). After that I will have a break for the end of June through the end of August. Fall is my last semester and I will have my internship with Stouffers, one class for my major that is yet to be decided (I have proposed to substitute a class and am still waiting to hear back. If it goes well I will be taking Positive Psychology. I also may take Turkish language 101. I haven't decided. I am kind of obsessed with Turkish culture (music, dance, and language). I would love to be able to understand the songs I have, and someday I want to go to Turkey. So I don't know if I will, the only reason I am considering it is because I will still be working and I would like to have the late morning shift (10:30-2:00). The Turkish class is from 9-10, so it would work out perfectly. . . we will see what happens. Other than that I have 34 weeks until I graduate!!
Spring snow
So by now it is old news that we have had tons of snow this SPRING but here are the pictures I took of the storm on April 2nd. For those of you who don't have facebook I posted this story on there because it was hilarious. Around 6 AM I woke up to a loud crashing noise. In my half awake mind I thought we were under attack, or that our trailer was splitting apart (that's how loud this noise was). I turned over and saw Lin hovering over me. I must of had a look of terror on my face, because thats how I felt. Lin grabbed me by the shoulders and tried to calm me down. I however couldn't understand his repeated phrase of "its ok." as he shook me. I was still not fully awake and I thought he was still asleep as well. (Lin sometimes acts things out when he is asleep, its kind of creepy). I was worried that he didn't realize he was holding me and might hit me or something (no this has never happened I was just so terrified anything seemed possible.) Finally I screamed and woke myself up. Besides losing some heartbeats we were both okay. I couldn't go back to sleep however and was lying there awake a little while later I heard a sound just like our front door opened and closed. For those who don't know our screen door sticks and is very loud when it finally opens. I jumped a mile at the noise because i was still on edge. I woke Lin up and made him go check it out. The door was closed and locked and no one was in our house. Finally I just got out of bed. Still paranoid. I looked outside and this is what I saw.
We think these branches are the ones that sounded like the door opening
For all of the problems it caused it still looked so beautiful.
Luckily we didn't have any damage: not on the car, no windows broken, and our trailer is still hanging strong. Here are all the branches after the snow had melted.
These are the ones that were on the car.
This is the culprit that caused all of the ruckus in the morning. It doesn't look as thick in the picture as it really was.
That same day that all the snow melted I came home to see this in my front yard.
So beautiful and springy, like the snow was never there.
That same day that all the snow melted I came home to see this in my front yard.
Food :)
Since I have a lot to catch up on I thought I would just put all of the food pictures together because I love cooking and I love to take pictures of what I make when it looks especially nice. So I will share it with you.
February 27th:
This was one of the last world dinners I made. It was from Spain. It is a tomato chicken dish. It was pretty good. The sauce is different because it is thinner than what we normally consider as tomato sauce.
We didn't have a star tip for our dough gun, so they are just cylindrical. I think they would have cooked a little better if they were star shaped, but they were still so good and super easy.
These are just two meals I make often but they looked so pretty I just had to take a picture:
Taco Salad:
I just love food that is full of color.
Lasagna:
Lin and I decided to make a cake, but it was 10:30 PM. We made it and were waiting for it to cool so we could ice it. Unfortunately we wanted to go to bed so we just iced our pieces individually. This is what we ended up with.
The other great thing about food is it brings ants. . . .ok so that is not that great, but our house is infested with them. They have been here every year and come as soon as it gets warm. This year they began in our bedroom and would mostly stay in the bathroom (these are weird ants). We found a small space in the ceiling, above our bed of course, where they would come in and out. Then they would travel around the piece of wood that connects the wall and ceiling into the bathroom. Soon enough we had them in the kitchen too. Even after spraying they are still everywhere. You can't leave ANYTHING out:
I know this plate looks fairly clean but they like it still. We have figured out that if you leave out something super sugary like icing, white sugar, or something else equally full of sugar the ants go into some sort of coma. They aren't dead, but they are super slow and its kind of funny.
February 27th:
March 6th:
The last world dinner I made wasn't really a full meal. Lin and I made churros. DELICIOUS!
Taco Salad:
Lasagna:
Lin and I decided to make a cake, but it was 10:30 PM. We made it and were waiting for it to cool so we could ice it. Unfortunately we wanted to go to bed so we just iced our pieces individually. This is what we ended up with.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Update!
So it has been forever since I have written. School was taking over my life. I am on break until Tuesday when Spring Term starts. I plan to update my blog on Monday I don't know if I will get everything on there because there is a lot, but I will try to get as much as I can. I also might schedule some to post later in the week so you don't have to read them all at once :)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Quick Update
Life has been very busy so I just wanted to give you a quick update (more will come later). I haven't done a world dinner in awhile because I couldn't find any lamb anywhere (that wasn't crazy expensive or in HUGE packages) but I am going to try to do one tonight. I am counting down the weeks until I graduate. 40 :) I have a paper chain because I am still dorky enough to want one. Life is great. Lin and I are excited about the future and still as busy as ever. I know this wasn't a great update, but I promise to post more soon.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
New food idea
So if you haven't figured out by now I love food! I love to eat it, but mostly I love to cook it. I am not however a spender when it comes to food. I like and buy good food, but that doesn't mean name brands. I always try to buy things on sale. This past week I decided to get ground turkey instead of beef. I have tried turkey before and liked it, but then I couldn't find it at Maceys anymore. This past week when I did my shopping I found the ground turkey in a bulk pack of four 1lb packages for $6 when I compared it to the beef it was a no brainer that I should try the turkey and see if it worked in the meals I was planning.
I am still not sure if I will get it all the time but it is cheaper, plus it is much healthier because it is so low in fat. The taste isn't much different, but it does have a smoother texture which is a little strange. I think we could get used to it though. To try it out I made taco salad on Monday and meatloaf tonight. The texture difference was more apparent in the meatloaf because it was a lot softer and didn't crumble quite like ground beef does.
So I would recommend trying ground turkey especially if you are trying to cut down on fat or just cut some costs it might be a helpful way. Let me know if you try it!
I am still not sure if I will get it all the time but it is cheaper, plus it is much healthier because it is so low in fat. The taste isn't much different, but it does have a smoother texture which is a little strange. I think we could get used to it though. To try it out I made taco salad on Monday and meatloaf tonight. The texture difference was more apparent in the meatloaf because it was a lot softer and didn't crumble quite like ground beef does.
So I would recommend trying ground turkey especially if you are trying to cut down on fat or just cut some costs it might be a helpful way. Let me know if you try it!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Shawn's Baptism
My brother-in-law Shawn got baptized on Saturday. It was really awesome. He is married to Lin's sister and is the same age as me (our birthdays are the same week even). It was so awesome to witness this special event and see the support of our family as well as his family even though they aren't LDS. My in-laws are AMAZING! There are a lot of us in the family (7 kids, 5 spouses 1.5 grandkids). It is awesome to see the support and friendship between everyone. Everyone tries to attend Jake's basketball games, everyone came to watch me in Christmas Around the World, and everyone was there for Shawn's baptism. It was great to feel the spirit and realize that someday Carly and Shawn can hopefully go to the temple and be sealed. I am so blessed to be married into a family that I truly love and consider family. I know so many people that don't really get along with their in-laws and I am glad that isn't me.
Sorry its been so long!
So it has been a very long time since I last wrote; I have had a lot to write about but no time to write. Things have been crazy in our life right now. School is INSANE I knew that 15 credits would be difficult (I have done it before) but my classes are in some ways ridiculous.
First off two of my classes are practically the same. Over the course of the semester we work in groups to write an intervention/marketing plan. That is the basis of our grade. Along the way we turn in worksheets that help us work through the process of forming these plans. This idea actually is exciting to me because it feels more like what I would potentially be doing for work rather than just lectures. In my social marketing class it is going pretty well. My teacher designated a topic (Reducing Morbidity in Hispanics with diabetes) and we have gone through research and segmentation to come up with our target population. Currently we are working on coming up with our solution to the problems of our target population.
In my methods of health promotion class we are basically doing a similar project but we picked our own topic based on a recent publication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They published the Six Winnable Battles in December. My group is focused on the battle of Obesity and from there we have narrowed in on environmental influences in low income areas. This project is not working nearly as well. This is the first semester my teacher has done this project and while it is a great idea and he has great intentions (trying to get us published as undergrads on a brand new subject) it is so overly organized that it is unorganized. . . .We had these worksheets to do which were beastly. They were super detailed and confusing and while he thought they explained his intentions none of the groups did them how he wanted. After we had struggled to complete a worksheet we would have a lecture where we learned the purpose behind the worksheet. Unfortunately it always seemed to me that if I had known the intention BEFORE I had done it I would have done it differently because the way we did it wasn't helpful in the scope of things. So then the next worksheet would be handed out and it was like starting over when it should have been building on the last one. I just feel like this class is very backwards. Our teacher wants us to find and understand what he wants when we all feel he should just come out and tell us his expectations.
On top of this project and worksheets we have reading, reading write-ups, thought papers on video segments, and of course the midterm. If it were up to me we would just focus on the project so we could do a good job. So while I like those classes they are wearing on me.
This past week has been especially hard. I don't normally like to talk about my health problems because I hate being asked if I am okay and frankly I don't like talking about it. This past while however my medications have been off. I have been thinking my thyroid medication was off but my doctor's office phone number "is unallocated" according to the operator. Since I don't really know what that means I have been unsure whether to just find a new doctor or if there is a new phone number. I don't know. Finally Valentines weekend I started having problems. I thought I was getting the flu but I never really did, I just felt crappy. Then my blood calcium level plummeted. This meant my hands started to cramp up, I had digestive problems, and overall I just felt achy and twitchy. Monday I stayed home from school and I decided I had to find a doctor. I called up the Springville clinic to see if they had anyone that could regulate my medication. They did, so I made an appointment for Wednesday. Tuesday I forced myself to go to work and school. The cramps and pain would go in waves, but I was having a hard time holding a pencil and I couldn't type. Wednesday I went to the appointment and they drew my blood. It takes a few days to get the results so nothing very helpful yet. After the appointment it was downhill for me. My symptoms started getting more constant and more severe. Finally I called urgent care to see if there was anything they could do to get my calcium level up. When I originally had this problem the nurses taking care of me just had me taking extra calcium but online I had found things that said for severe symptoms IV treatment is necessary. The nurse told me to go to the ER. So at 9:30 in the middle of a snowstorm Lin drove us all the way to Timpanogos Hospital. As we drove I got worse and by the time we got there I was having a hard time talking. They put me on some anxiety medication while they waited for blood test results. This helped my cramping some but I also ended up needing oxygen because I felt like my lungs were cramping. My calcium was super low (3.2) It is supposed to be between 8-10 normally. They put me on a calcium drip of some sort and said I had to stay laying down because getting that much calcium can cause heart problems. So after two 30 min treatments and 6 hours later we left. We got home at 3 AM and I got up at 5 to go to work because I had no way to get a sub that early in the morning. My boss let me leave as soon as I got the breakfast food out and the lunch cases full. That afternoon I was feeling so much better. Low calcium can make you depressed so it had been a very rough week mentally as well as physically. On Saturday I found out that my Thyroid level is super high which would cause my calcium to be lower because the thyroid hormone takes calcium out of the blood to put in the bones. Basically I just haven't been able to keep up with it by taking supplements and slowly my calcium has been slipping lower and lower. So now that we know all of that hopefully we can get some maintenance going on. So in answer to all of your questions, "Yes I am fine. It was rough, but we are working it out."
I have the best husband though. He spent part of that ER visit sleeping on the floor of the hospital until we were the only people in the ER and the nurses gave him the bed next door. He has been great to take care of me, not mind that I haven't cooked or cleaned, and have been super irritable all the time.
We had a make-up Valentines date on Friday. We cooked steaks, fries and made home-made ice cream. He has been amazing!
So on top of that fun excitement I have 3 midterms this weekend. My methods one was crazy hard but it is done, my Environmental health class is take home, open note, etc, but I haven't done the reading so those questions take some searching, and my social marketing one is on Tues/Wed. So much for a nice long weekend.
First off two of my classes are practically the same. Over the course of the semester we work in groups to write an intervention/marketing plan. That is the basis of our grade. Along the way we turn in worksheets that help us work through the process of forming these plans. This idea actually is exciting to me because it feels more like what I would potentially be doing for work rather than just lectures. In my social marketing class it is going pretty well. My teacher designated a topic (Reducing Morbidity in Hispanics with diabetes) and we have gone through research and segmentation to come up with our target population. Currently we are working on coming up with our solution to the problems of our target population.
In my methods of health promotion class we are basically doing a similar project but we picked our own topic based on a recent publication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They published the Six Winnable Battles in December. My group is focused on the battle of Obesity and from there we have narrowed in on environmental influences in low income areas. This project is not working nearly as well. This is the first semester my teacher has done this project and while it is a great idea and he has great intentions (trying to get us published as undergrads on a brand new subject) it is so overly organized that it is unorganized. . . .We had these worksheets to do which were beastly. They were super detailed and confusing and while he thought they explained his intentions none of the groups did them how he wanted. After we had struggled to complete a worksheet we would have a lecture where we learned the purpose behind the worksheet. Unfortunately it always seemed to me that if I had known the intention BEFORE I had done it I would have done it differently because the way we did it wasn't helpful in the scope of things. So then the next worksheet would be handed out and it was like starting over when it should have been building on the last one. I just feel like this class is very backwards. Our teacher wants us to find and understand what he wants when we all feel he should just come out and tell us his expectations.
On top of this project and worksheets we have reading, reading write-ups, thought papers on video segments, and of course the midterm. If it were up to me we would just focus on the project so we could do a good job. So while I like those classes they are wearing on me.
This past week has been especially hard. I don't normally like to talk about my health problems because I hate being asked if I am okay and frankly I don't like talking about it. This past while however my medications have been off. I have been thinking my thyroid medication was off but my doctor's office phone number "is unallocated" according to the operator. Since I don't really know what that means I have been unsure whether to just find a new doctor or if there is a new phone number. I don't know. Finally Valentines weekend I started having problems. I thought I was getting the flu but I never really did, I just felt crappy. Then my blood calcium level plummeted. This meant my hands started to cramp up, I had digestive problems, and overall I just felt achy and twitchy. Monday I stayed home from school and I decided I had to find a doctor. I called up the Springville clinic to see if they had anyone that could regulate my medication. They did, so I made an appointment for Wednesday. Tuesday I forced myself to go to work and school. The cramps and pain would go in waves, but I was having a hard time holding a pencil and I couldn't type. Wednesday I went to the appointment and they drew my blood. It takes a few days to get the results so nothing very helpful yet. After the appointment it was downhill for me. My symptoms started getting more constant and more severe. Finally I called urgent care to see if there was anything they could do to get my calcium level up. When I originally had this problem the nurses taking care of me just had me taking extra calcium but online I had found things that said for severe symptoms IV treatment is necessary. The nurse told me to go to the ER. So at 9:30 in the middle of a snowstorm Lin drove us all the way to Timpanogos Hospital. As we drove I got worse and by the time we got there I was having a hard time talking. They put me on some anxiety medication while they waited for blood test results. This helped my cramping some but I also ended up needing oxygen because I felt like my lungs were cramping. My calcium was super low (3.2) It is supposed to be between 8-10 normally. They put me on a calcium drip of some sort and said I had to stay laying down because getting that much calcium can cause heart problems. So after two 30 min treatments and 6 hours later we left. We got home at 3 AM and I got up at 5 to go to work because I had no way to get a sub that early in the morning. My boss let me leave as soon as I got the breakfast food out and the lunch cases full. That afternoon I was feeling so much better. Low calcium can make you depressed so it had been a very rough week mentally as well as physically. On Saturday I found out that my Thyroid level is super high which would cause my calcium to be lower because the thyroid hormone takes calcium out of the blood to put in the bones. Basically I just haven't been able to keep up with it by taking supplements and slowly my calcium has been slipping lower and lower. So now that we know all of that hopefully we can get some maintenance going on. So in answer to all of your questions, "Yes I am fine. It was rough, but we are working it out."
I have the best husband though. He spent part of that ER visit sleeping on the floor of the hospital until we were the only people in the ER and the nurses gave him the bed next door. He has been great to take care of me, not mind that I haven't cooked or cleaned, and have been super irritable all the time.
We had a make-up Valentines date on Friday. We cooked steaks, fries and made home-made ice cream. He has been amazing!
So on top of that fun excitement I have 3 midterms this weekend. My methods one was crazy hard but it is done, my Environmental health class is take home, open note, etc, but I haven't done the reading so those questions take some searching, and my social marketing one is on Tues/Wed. So much for a nice long weekend.
Week 5
We have moved on to. . . . . Spain!
The first week in February I made Pork with Orange and Peasant Potatoes. The potatoes were delicious. Basically just a fried scalloped potato but delicious nonetheless. They were fried with fresh garlic which gave them great flavor.
The recipe for the pork called for either chops or ribs. I went with ribs because they were on sale. One thing I learned (or attempted to learn) is how to de-pith and orange. I didn't even know what the pith was. . . I still am not perfectly sure either. I know it is the white part, but I kind of think it includes the thin skin around each slice as well. I don't really know. So after looking online for instructions Lin and I worked on de-pithing the oranges. I definitely need practice on that! The pork was yummy though. Basically it was browned and then the orange slices were placed on top and the whole thing was steamed until the pork was done.
The oranges because surprisingly bitter ( I think just the skin was) but the pork had a sweet, orange flavor. Overall it was pretty delicious.
(This is the only meal I have had the time to make this month so a few weeks were missed)
The first week in February I made Pork with Orange and Peasant Potatoes. The potatoes were delicious. Basically just a fried scalloped potato but delicious nonetheless. They were fried with fresh garlic which gave them great flavor.
The recipe for the pork called for either chops or ribs. I went with ribs because they were on sale. One thing I learned (or attempted to learn) is how to de-pith and orange. I didn't even know what the pith was. . . I still am not perfectly sure either. I know it is the white part, but I kind of think it includes the thin skin around each slice as well. I don't really know. So after looking online for instructions Lin and I worked on de-pithing the oranges. I definitely need practice on that! The pork was yummy though. Basically it was browned and then the orange slices were placed on top and the whole thing was steamed until the pork was done.
(This is the only meal I have had the time to make this month so a few weeks were missed)
Week 3 & 4
Since I am working to catch up I am going to post these two weeks together.
On Jan 22 I made Beef Stroganoff which is a common Russian dish and a Beet Caviar appetizer. I love beets but I felt like the seasoning the recipe called for overshadowed the earthy taste beets have. It was much to strong, so I didn't like it much and Lin doesn't like beets at all. So probably not making that again. The Stroganoff was delicious. Nothing too different from how I learned to make it originally. A lot of people around here seem to use ground beef but in the real thing you use a cut of meat (I used flat-iron) and cut it into pieces. It tastes a lot better that way I think.
The next week I made Chicken in Garlic and Sourcream. It was also delicious and as Lin said, "This is the most likely to fit in our usual meal selection" The only thing I would have done differently from the recipe is use skinless chicken. The skin didn't really brown up and it was kind of soft and blubbery. Yuck!
So that wraps up our month in Eastern Europe!
On Jan 22 I made Beef Stroganoff which is a common Russian dish and a Beet Caviar appetizer. I love beets but I felt like the seasoning the recipe called for overshadowed the earthy taste beets have. It was much to strong, so I didn't like it much and Lin doesn't like beets at all. So probably not making that again. The Stroganoff was delicious. Nothing too different from how I learned to make it originally. A lot of people around here seem to use ground beef but in the real thing you use a cut of meat (I used flat-iron) and cut it into pieces. It tastes a lot better that way I think.
The next week I made Chicken in Garlic and Sourcream. It was also delicious and as Lin said, "This is the most likely to fit in our usual meal selection" The only thing I would have done differently from the recipe is use skinless chicken. The skin didn't really brown up and it was kind of soft and blubbery. Yuck!
So that wraps up our month in Eastern Europe!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Week 2-- Eastern European
So I know this is a late post but last Monday I made another world dinner. This time we had Sausage and Cabbage soup and Vereniki/Pierogi. The soup would have been super delicious but I unfortunately got the gross sausage at the store. I have gotten it one time before and we didn't like the flavor. It has a very heavy spice in it (we think it is anise, and/or rosemary). It kind of tastes like licorice. While I was at the store I was debating which sausage to get remembering the previous experience, well out of a 50/50 chance I picked the wrong one. So minus that detail the soup was delicious. I didn't like cabbage growing up, but this was good.
The Vereniki were the best part though. They are basically a dumpling (or similar to an Asian pot sticker). I made the dough and then decided to use the mashed potato filling. The filling had caramelized onions, garlic and mashed potatoes. It was so tasty! I ended up eating most of them (Lin thought they were really good; I was addicted). So they are definitely going on the make again list.
I am sorry that I didn't get any pictures, we were mostly through eating when I remembered and there weren't really any Vereniki left and I just didn't take any pictures.
The Vereniki were the best part though. They are basically a dumpling (or similar to an Asian pot sticker). I made the dough and then decided to use the mashed potato filling. The filling had caramelized onions, garlic and mashed potatoes. It was so tasty! I ended up eating most of them (Lin thought they were really good; I was addicted). So they are definitely going on the make again list.
I am sorry that I didn't get any pictures, we were mostly through eating when I remembered and there weren't really any Vereniki left and I just didn't take any pictures.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Week 1- Eastern Europe
Today was my first day cooking food from my new world recipe book. The month of January is all going to be from Eastern Europe and Russia. Today's dinner consisted of Mushroom & Cranberry Chicken, with steamed broccoli and carrots, and kasha. The chicken was pretty good. It was technically braised (a term I have never actually used in my own cooking). You sear the chicken and then cook it covered in liquid. The mushrooms were shitake mushrooms which I still don't know if I like they have an interesting taste. If you don't know what kasha is it is known more commonly here as buckwheat groats (not to appetizing sounding so I prefer kasha). According to the author buckwheat is used because in the northern countries rice and wheat don't grow so they use buckwheat which is actually a grass. Kasha is a common staple food and is basically porridge.
Tonight I made the recipe for plain kasha. It was definitely plain, kind of like eating bland oatmeal with a slightly bitter flavor. Overall not the favorite of the night. Both Lin and I want to try it again however with one of the other flavored recipes (with cheese (cottage or ricotta) or bacon and onions). It was quite filling and really healthy because it isn't polished like white rice. If we can find a way to make it a little more flavorful I think we will adopt it into our regular meals maybe to replace rice or potatoes sometimes.
Overall I would call week 1 a success. Definitely different tasting but not terrible.
Tonight I made the recipe for plain kasha. It was definitely plain, kind of like eating bland oatmeal with a slightly bitter flavor. Overall not the favorite of the night. Both Lin and I want to try it again however with one of the other flavored recipes (with cheese (cottage or ricotta) or bacon and onions). It was quite filling and really healthy because it isn't polished like white rice. If we can find a way to make it a little more flavorful I think we will adopt it into our regular meals maybe to replace rice or potatoes sometimes.
Overall I would call week 1 a success. Definitely different tasting but not terrible.
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