The latest

We've been having some fun with the last few weeks of summer. We went to the Davis County Fair to watch the diving dog competition. It was so cute. Funny side note we were the only couple there our age without any kids. Yeah....we are cool like that.

This dog was so funny. He would really dive for his ball that kept sinking. He'd look at it a long time and then go for it and all you could see was his tail a waggin' above the water. Then he'd get his ball walk up the ramp to get out of the water, drop his ball and then it would roll back in the water. Over and over again. Cracked us up.



This little dog would jump in after lots of coaching she finally jumped, I mean got pushed in. But she was so excited and yet unsure at the same time. It made us really want to get a puppy.



About this time my camera died. Sad. Then we went to the Bunny Barn and got all hopped up on bunny love. We meandered through the displays and then made our way over to the petting zoo! Once again only couple our age without any kids. They had some fun animals like a Camel, he kept making angry noises at me so....I gave him plenty of space since they spit. They also had a couple of Llamas and they were so soft and adorable. Then a Zebra, but we weren't allowed to touch him and lots and lots of goats in various shapes and sizes. It was fun and I kind of felt like a little kid but I really wanted to pet the Llama.

After that we enjoyed some fair food. Justin got a "brick" of curly fries. Basically 3 huge potatoes sliced and filling the fryer basket then dumped out on two plates and seasoned. I really wish I could have gotten a picture. It looked like one of those eating challenges it was so huge. Needless to say Justin didn't eat it all. =)It was a fun pretty low key fair.

We've also been enjoying this delicious pairing.

That's what you get when I go to the store hungry. It was especially delicious.

It's been a good summer but I think that we are both ready for fall. I am ready for it to be cooler, it's been a challenge this summer since my bed buddy is a very sweaty sleeper. I am excited for all the fun things we have planned for September. Our anniversary, Birthdays, and da ta! The Circus! I am jazzed about that. =) We hope that you are enjoying the last few breaths of summer.

Cooking like a Newlywed

When cooking with my grandma and if she would make a mistake or accidentally burn something she would say, "You would think I was a newlywed with how I made this meal." Now as my newlywed status is slowly getting less, ( coming up on one year whoo!) you would think that all my cooking disasters would be getting less. Au contraire, lately I have been doing some really good mix-ups.

I do like cooking, I feel really good about myself when I make a good dinner that we like to eat and when it all turns out. Does that mean I cook every night, um no. Possibly 2-3 nights a week or more if I happen to make a menu that week. I like to try and make new things I've never made before like scones, breads, different meals or salads.

Last week my cooking whoops was when I was making the ever famous Stoddard Frog Eye salad. In it you have to cook these really tiny balls of pasta at the same time as making the goo. A pudding type mix that must be stirred or else it will burn. So I am going along everything is going good. The pudding is thickening and the pasta is almost done. Without thinking I dump my teeny tiny pasta into my colander, and get the water running on them to cool it down. ...Yeah...my colander has very big holes see:

Do'h! It's a good thing that I put in a little more of the pasta because a good portion of them got washed away. It's a good thing realized what was going on before I lost all of them. In the end it all turned out great and just as good as I remember.

Another time I was making stuffed shells one of Justin's favorites. Well this time I decided to add some shredded vegetables to the cheese mixture for some fun. I shredded them all and mixed them in the cheese before I read the directions that said, " Saute the shredded vegetables before putting in mixture." Whoops, oh well. I felt bad because there was nothing I could do but comforted myself in the fact that the were shredded pretty small and would probably be okay. Then I was seasoning the mixture with some salt and pepper, right after I put two eggs on the top. While dashing some pepper in, the lid to my shaker falls off and poof! Tons of pepper all stuck to the eggs and cheese. Do'h! I got out what I could and just mixed it really good.

I did a taste test to see how peppery they were. It was pretty potent. I fretted over it the whole rest of the time I spent putting the shells together. Now when I make shells it's a lot like two pans worth so I am hoping and praying that they taste ok or else....that's a lot of wasted food. After they baked and we tried them they were actually not that bad, still peppery but not as strong.

While I will probably continue to make mistakes in cooking even after not being a newlywed anymore I still enjoy it. It also helps that my husband is not that picky and is sweet enough to tell me loves whatever I cook. =)

The New and Improved Crafty

( I know that this a repeat post but my sister-in-law posted it on her craft blog so it needed some more information and pictures. But it's still cool and since I am trying to post more it all works right? =) )


Growing up my mom always had some project going on. Whether it was sewing, embroidery, knitting, or just a fun craft for us kids to do. Needless to say I picked up a lot of different skills and hobbies from it. I can sew my buttons back on, sew a quilt or make something that I saw in the store for half the price.

A while ago I was really struggling with staying awake at work and needed something to do to help me stay awake. While at my mom's house I came across this:

How cute are they right? They also had patterns for fruit, vegetables, bread and sandwich makings, sushi, stir fry, and pretty cakes. Since my niece's birthday was coming up I thought how awesome would that be. I loved playing with some play food, and dishes my grandma sent me. It was really fun and pretty easy to learn. I was familiar with crochet but usually had a hard time getting my lines straight. However, most of these items are really easy to make and had understandable instructions. I did have to do a few items a couple of times to get it the right way but I think they turned out pretty cute.

So much fun and they won't hurt if you step on them. They were about the size of the actual fruit which was fun. They also don't take that much yarn so they are a perfect project for any leftover yarn. After that I was getting a little bit bored and needed something different. Well these were too cute to pass up and were perfect for little babies or toddlers. I got the book at my local Hobby Lobby for about 5 dollars.

The elephant turned out a little wonky and the monkey really tiny but still adorable and fun to play with. . So cute and easy to make. I did have some trouble finding the eyes at my local craft stores so I ended up getting them at etsy.com. The end product measures small so if you want them bigger use a bigger sized needle and yarn and vice versa. If at first you don't succeed try again. The top is my first attempt at the elephant the bottom the second.

They make the perfect friends.

I have been having a lot of fun and at times just feel my creative juices flowing and it keeps me awake when I go to work! My next project is to try my hand at hats, slippers, and baby booties. There are a lot of free patterns out there in the internet world here are some you might like to try:

http://www.allcrafts.net/crochet/crochetflowers.htm

http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory/flowers.php

http://www.headhuggers.org/patterns/patterns.htm

Or if you want something more specific check out the patterns at etsy.com . They always have super cute stuff. Happy crocheting!

Ask and ye shall receive

For my job I work with kids which I have really been loving, especially my little baby patients. The only bummer about my job is that it's at night. I watch the kids so that their parents can sleep to be able to take care of them during the day. It's not too bad it just gets really hard when I am scheduled to work 5-6 nights out of the week.

So....as you can imagine it's been a struggle for me and for my husband. Me being a variety of tired and my husband being consistently patient and kind. I have always been trying for other jobs and praying for more opportunities. It was only when I accepted my fate (for now) and changed my thoughts and prayers to having a good time at work.

I have a particularly difficult patient who on occasion can get out of control, hitting and crying and being very unpleasant. It's not only a physically but emotionally draining shift.

So....I have been praying, at times pleading ,for good times at work, able to stay awake , and more importantly a good attitude. I have also been talking to Justin about me asking to have part time hours since he is now making the big bucks. I decided to wait on asking and just keep going to save up some money and pay off our debt. All the while praying and asking for help at work.

My schedule for the month of May was rough 5-6 nights a week consistent but it went by really fast and my patients were all good. June I had less work and so-so on the patient's being good or not. Then July it got even better. I had less nights and more then once my patients would sleep all night. (YES!) Now it's not bad if they wake up it just makes me feel better to tell the parents that they slept well. Now comes August and I thought that I would have to work a lot. I didn't request very many days off and school is starting so some of the nurses are on different times.

However, I received the greatest blessing and answer to my prayers. I only am scheduled to work 11 times in the month of August. At times only once a week. I think I could get used to that.

I was so overwhelmed by the love I felt from my Heavenly Father who has heard me all these months through my tears, my struggles and pleading for a break or change. I am so grateful and amazed by this blessing. Some things I started doing at work to help was to not watch t.v. ( not that there is much on a 3 in the morning.), read my scriptures, write down what I am grateful for and read a conference talk. It only took about an hour and I almost always had an hour in which my patients would sleep. It was so great! I learned so much and I believe it made the night more bearable.

So...now that I have all this free time what will I do. Well I already made a trip here:

I've already spent the day deep cleaning my apartment, organizing, decluttering and other fun stuff.

Other stuff on the to-do list:
Go to a Bee's Game
Check out the fairs that are going on
Reading
Exercising

Visiting with Family
and enjoying sleeping normal for a while. =)