REAL OR NOT?

I found this on this person's blog, it's crazy! If it's true, I never want to eat fast-food again!

TAG

4 places I go over and over again:

1. Wal-mart
2. Anytime Fitness
3. Church
4. The bank

4 people who e-mail me regularly:

1. My mom
2. My dad
3. Tim
4. People from church

4 places I would rather be right now:

1. Hawaii
2. Cedar City
3. The beach
4. On vacation

4 people I talk to on a regular basis:

1. My mom
2. Tiffany
3. April
4. Tim

4 favorite places to eat:

1. Mi Ranchito
2. Noodles & Co.
3. Applebee's
4. Cafe Rio

4 shows I would watch over & over:

1. The Office
2. Friday Night Lights
3. The Hills
4. Flipping Out (On the Bravo channel about house flippers, it's HILARIOUS!)

4 people I tag:

1. Tiffany
2. Sarah
3. Trisha
4. Ashley

JUST FOR FUN

You Are Snow White!

Pure and trusting. You are a gentle soul who can get along with just about anyone. Everyone you meet instantly falls in love with you. How can they resist? You have a pure, lovable nature that's irresistable. Just don't trust everyone who comes across your path.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Ramen Noodle Chicken Stir-Fry

• 2 pkgs. Ramen Noodles
• 1 (16 oz.) bag of your favorite frozen mixed vegetables (I like mine to have carrots, broccoli and snap peas)
• 2 chicken breasts, seasoned, cooked and cut into small pieces (or you can use steak) 
• 1/2 c. Kikkomans Teriyaki Glaze
• 1 Tbs. olive oil

-Put the frozen vegetables in a large skillet or wok with 1 Tbs. vegetable oil.  Cook until tender and seared (seared=browned).  While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the noodles as directed on the back of the package.  Cook until soft and drain ALL of the water and DISCARD the season packets.  Add the cooked chicken, noodles and teriyaki sauce to the cooked vegetables. Stir and make sure it is heated through.  I add me some extra teriyaki sauce because I am a saucy kind of girl! ;) 

-Also good as an Asian low-mein dish served with sweet and sour chicken and ham-fried rice.

-Easy as cake!  ENJOY!

  

MY SISTER IS AMAZING!

Do you love my new 3 column blog and background? I just have to tell everyone that my sister Tiffany is AMAZING. You probably all know by now that she has a photography business and I think her pictures are outstanding. Well, she has opened up a new sight called Layla Kay Designs. If you're looking for a phenomenal background for your blog, then you should check out her site! She doesn't just use downloaded scrapbook paper and edit the html, she actually designs her own scrapbook paper and comes up with some beautiful designs. She can also custom make a background and a header to fit your personal style. She only has a few to choose from right now, but there will be more to come and I am pretty sure that everyone will be flocking to her site to use her magnificent backgrounds.

FUN AT THE ZOO

On Saturday we went to Hogle Zoo with some friends of ours, the Mauermans, the Morris', and the Lambsons. (I can't believe we didn't get a picture of all the kids together!) It was very, very hot and very, very crowded, but very, very fun! Addi's favorite animal was the giraffes and Hally said she liked the monkeys. I think next time we go, it will be in the late fall or early spring. I hear the animals are more active when it's cooler outside and I suspect it would be less crowded.

"MUST-HAVE" MONDAY

I am by no means a hair-dresser, but my friend Beth let me in on a little secret.  It's called Guts by REDKEN.  This is a root-lifter that works fabulous!  I just spray it on the roots of my damp hair, blow dry while my head is upside down, then.... Wahla!  Instant Va-Va-Voom Body!!

I generally don't spend money on name-brand hair products, but when something works this good, I am willing to shell out the bucks to have it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALLY

Happy birthday Hally. You're 2 years old today! You were born at 8:15 a.m. in the Orem Community Hospital. We were so excited to see you. You were and still are such a beautiful baby! All of the nurses would tell me how pretty you were. We had a hard time coming up with a name, but when your daddy mentioned the name Hally, we knew that was it. Such a happy name, it fits your happy personality. You are my little sunshine, my breath of fresh air. You have such a tender heart and you get worried when someone is sad or upset. You are very small for your age, but big things come in little packages. You stand up for yourself and will be the first to yell at someone if they treat you the wrong way. You look like me, but have your daddy's eyes, sparkly blue. You give the best hugs and snuggles. Your smile melts my heart! You're a sweet little sister and love to play with Addi. You two will be best friends forever. You're my little angel, Hally Bear. Mom and dad love you so much!!!

*Pictures of her actual birthday coming soon!

YAY ME!

I just have to tell you how proud I am of myself! For those of you who know me well, you know that I have never been fond of reading. I have always admired people who are "well-read" and wished that I was the same. I think I had only read one novel in probably 5 years. (Yes, I read to my kids and try to be diligent in reading the scriptures.) My mom and sister have always LOVED to read books and when I was growing up they could sit and read a book all day long. I couldn't understand it! How could they just sit and read a book for days on end? I had to be doing something. My dad and I would always call them "book-worms." Well, things are changing for me. I am proud to say that I have read 4 novels in 6 months! My husband even called me a "book-worm." (Although I still don't think I warrant the title of "book-worm.") I read these books in less than 3 days each! I couldn't put them down! What is happening to me? Am I really turning into a "reader?" I guess I still wouldn't call myself a "reader," because all four book were by the same author, Stephenie Meyer. I know there are a lot of "real-readers" out there that look at my blog, and please I ask you, don't be ashamed of me. Yes, I know there are so many better options for reading, so many classic books! Why would I choose books about vampires and aliens? I guess it's a step in the right direction. Right? I am feeling like I want to read more and more books now. Maybe go outside of the box, maybe read something by a different author. Maybe I can achieve my dream of becoming "well-read!" I am open to suggestions people. What are some good books? I am talking exciting, suspenseful, and passionate books. Something that will keep my attention and not let me set it down. (Nothing against it, but not "Harry Potter.") Yay for me!

"MUST-HAVE" MONDAY

This is my favorite candy bar.  It's not a popular candy bar, but if you try it, you will love it!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!

Happy birthday sweetie pie!! Your girl's love you so much! You're such a hard worker and thank you so much for all you do for us. You're such a great dad and you always do fun things with our kids. Thanks for always making me feel like a million bucks! You really are the perfect husband for me. Your smile melts my heart and your twinkly blue eyes still give me butterflies! You're 31 today and still as handsome as the day I met you! Happy birthday.... I love ya!

P.S. Happy Father's Day too!!

HOT TAMALE!!!

So You Think You Can Dance is one of my favorite shows. When I watch the dancers, especially the ballroom dancers, I get homesick for my passion. I used to ballroom dance eons ago in high school and college, but it's a hard hobby to carry on after you get married especially if your husband hates to dance. I can't say, "Okay, see ya honey, I'm going dancing with Henry!" Yea, that probably wouldn't go over well. Tim and I were watching the show last night and I said, "Doesn't this just make you want to dance?" He said nothing and shook his head no. Then I asked Addi if she wanted to do that someday, her response, "I want to do that all by myself. Not with a boy!" Maybe there is hope for me to live vicariously through Hally.

I am posting this clip because I went to high school with this guy (There are actually 4 people from Utah on the show). His name is Thayne Jasperson. I never knew he danced, he was a pretty popular kid at school. He said in this clip that he quit dancing when he was little because he got made fun of. Him and his partner are both contemporary dancers, so their ballroom technique isn't precise, but it is still hot and fun to watch!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Dutch Oven Style Potatoes

• 4-6 large potatoes
• 1 lb. bacon
• 1 large onion
• 1 c. grated cheese
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/4 c.-1/2 c. water
• salt & pepper to taste

-Thinly slice the potatoes; thinly slice the onion into long strips.  Place the potatoes and onions in the already warm frying pan with the oil.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Cover and cook on medium heat until the potatoes are tender (adding water if necessary to keep from burning), then remove lid and let the potatoes and onions brown a bit on both sides.  Meanwhile cook the bacon separately, crumble and add to the potatoes and onions.  Just before ready, add the cheese and stir until melted.  Serve and enjoy!!

-Everyone loves some good dutch oven potatoes, but sometimes if you're not camping it easier to use a frying pan.  It's less mess and almost as good!!

"MUST-HAVE" MONDAY

I have to have flowers!!!  I love, love, love to plant flowers in the very small garden that I am alloted  living in a town-home.  My mom is a flower expert and has some beautiful gardens of her own.  I definitely get my love of planting flowers from her.  I remember helping my mom in her flower gardens every summer.  We would lay the flowers out on the dirt until we got the pattern we wanted, then we would go back through and plant them.  When we moved to our town-house, we pulled out the bushes that were here when we moved in, just so I could have more flowers.  What good is it if it doesn't blossom?  Good thing Tim appreciates a pretty yard/garden as much as I do.  This year we planted some of these:

Snapdragons

And some of these:

Zinnias

And some of these:

Dahlias

And this is my cute planter:

I will post a picture of our garden once it starts filling in and blooming.

GIRL'S WEEKEND

Every year my mom and sister and I go to Park City. This year my aunt, Darlene came with us too. We leave Friday morning early and shop at the outlet mall basically all day. Then we go to dinner and stay in a hotel that night. On Saturday we finish doing any shopping we need to and then browse main street and eat lunch before heading for home. I took my camera, but regretfully didn't take any pictures. It's so much fun to have some time to myself (well, I mean time to myself without kids). Just one night is perfect. I think I would miss my kids too much if it was any longer. Tim took Friday off work to take care of the girls. Thanks sweetie for holding down the home front while I was away!!

FUN WEEKEND WITH ANTHONY & KRISTA

Tim's brother Anthony, and his wife, Krista came to visit for the weekend. We played disk (frisbee) golf on Saturday. I had no idea that disk golf is such a big deal. People play it professionally in the PDGA and there are 17 professional disk golf courses in Utah! Crazy, I know! The weekend wasn't all kicks and giggles though, on Saturday morning one of their chihuahuas, Javier, ran into the road and got hit by a van. He was yelping so loud, it was so sad. I think the van just braised him because he was actually just fine the next day..... thank goodness! They are such a fun couple to hang out with. We hope they didn't get too bored and we hope they come and visit us again soon!

~It was a really hot day, but the kids seemed to handle it okay.~

~Future PDGA players!~

~Sisters and friends!~

~Go Krista! Par 4!~

~Thanks Anthony for packing Hally around, what a good uncle!~

"MUST-HAVE" MONDAY

I am kind of obsessed with having my house smell good.  There's just something about walking into a house that smells good.  Here are a few of my favorites:

1.  Scentsy is a great product to make your house smell nice and inviting.  You can buy a cute warmer and they have hundreds of scents to choose from.  My favorites are, Summer Sippin', French Kiss, Grove & Clove, Red Clover Tease & Cherry Clove Chutney.  You just put one cube of wax in and it will make your whole house smell sensational!

2.  Wallflowers from Bath & Body Works.  These are probably my favorite product for making my house smell magnificent.  You plug it into an outlet and the scents are just fabulous.  One bottle lasts for about a month, where the cubes of Scentsy wax just last a few days.  My favorite scents include Brown Sugar & Fig (this one is my absolute favorite!), Sweet Pea, Warm Vanilla Sugar & Cinnamon Vanilla.  If you're trying to sell your house, purchase one of these, I promise it will help you sell faster!  There is something about walking into a home that smells simply divine!

3.  Last but not least, the reed defuser.  I keep one of these in each of my bathrooms.  They're enjoyable to look at and they last a very long time.  I bought mine at Old Navy, but haven't been able to find them for sale on-line.  I have seen them for sale almost everywhere, including Wal-mart.  My favorite two scents from Old Navy are lime and guava.  Not only do they smell delicious, they also look pretty.